KOCHI l thursday l may 19, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION U.S., global banks unveil plan to tackle food crisis Anthony Blinken Billions of dollars to be spent on helping farmers, boosting fertiliser supply and developing land for food production World bank to contribute $30 billion Blinken chairs meet on food security The US Treasury Department said several global development banks will work together to address the food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The World Bank announced it will contribute $30 billion for projects to address food crisis. The Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, among others, will also chip in ■ ■ A two-day Global Food Security Call to Action meeting of foreign ministers from 30 countries, chaired by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began past midnight on Wednesday, in New York Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the world’s wheat, and the disruption of supply due to the war has led to prices soaring. P9 193 million people experienced acute food insecurity worldwide in 2021 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI PM’s economic advisory panel proposes urban job guarantee scheme E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi With income inequality in the country becoming starker, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Wednesday proposed implementing an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The panel raised concerns LSG byelections IN A BIG boost to the ruling Left front ahead of the Thrikkakara assembly byelection, the CPM-led alliance achieved major gains in the local body bypoll by winning 23 of the 42 wards across the state on Wednesday . While the UDF won 12 seats, the BJP-led NDA bagged six. An independent candidate prevailed in one seat. The LDF had won only 19 of the 42 seats in the 2020 local body poll. The LDF camp claimed its victory this time was more pronounced as it could wrest seven wards from UDF and two from the BJP. The UDF and the NDA lost four seats and one seat, respectively compared to last time. , Bypoll was held in two corporation divisions, seven municipal wards, two block panchayat divisions and 31 panchayat wards. A total of 60,7740 of the 77,634 electors had cast their votes. The NDA sprang a surprise by wresting two seats in Tripunithura municipality from the ruling LDF, causing the CPM-led front to lose simple majority Ernakulam South in Kochi cor. poration was another urban ward where the BJP-led front registered a shock win. The LDF lost power in Velinallor grama panchayat in Kollam district after the UDF wrested the Mulayarachal ward from the CPM-led front. The LDF, however, won the remaining five wards in the district.  ● More on P4 May 31 Byelection in Thrikkakara assembly constituency LDF 23 19 UDF 12 16 NDA 6 7 Ind 1 - 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express 20.17% Casual 33.5% Regular salaried 45.78% Selfemployed Source: Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 over growing inequality as captured in The State of Inequality in India Report released by it. The report said the labour force participation rate in the country was 51.5% in 2019-20, which was better than the 49% in 2017-18. However, the participation rate of those educated till higher secondary over three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20 was significantly low at 40-43%. The clamour for an urban jobs scheme has been growing louder in recent times with increasing income inequality and job losses. Experts said an urban-focused employment guarantee scheme will go a long way in supporting consumption. Talking to this newspaper earlier this year, BJP MP and chairman of the parliamentary committee on finance Jayant Sinha had said that a scheme like MGN- 1x5 E x p r ess N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai/New Delhi “Let me breathe; I’m free after 31 years,” said A G Perarivalan, a life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, after the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered his release by invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, and A S Bopanna, who held that the advice of State Cabinet is binding on Governor in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, said the Governor’s referral to the President of the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet (to grant pardon to all seven convicts in the case) two-and-a-half years after it was made doesn’t have constitutional backing. Non-exercise of power under Article 161 or inexplicable delay in exercise of such power, which is not attributable to the prisoner, is subject to judicial review of the court, said the judges rejecting the Centre’s argument that in some cases President and not the Governor is the competent authority to grant pardon. Chief Minister M K Stalin hailed the verdict as a victory for State rights and federalism. “The verdict has established that Governors cannot interfere in political and policy decisions of State governments. It is important to note that the judges have said that when Governor becomes inactive, court will intervene,” the CM told reporters at the secretariat. Speaking to reporters, Perarivalan credited his mother, 74-year-old Arputhammal, for her sacrifices and nonstop efforts that eventually led to his release. “She has faced insults, she was ignored, and she suffered agony. Despite all that she was persistent and Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person A G Perarivalan Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin embraces A G Perarivalan after the verdict as his mother Arputhammal looks on | Express fought for me without a break for 30 long years,” he said. “For both of us, me and my mother, it is the truth and justice on our side which gave us the strength to fight,” he said. Arputhammal profusely thanked everyone — from the State government to a whole lot of sympathisers — for their support in getting her son released. Perarivalan paid tributes to Senkodi, who took her life demanding the re- a brief TIMeLIne June 11, 1991: CBI arrests 19-year-old AG Perarivalan in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case 1999: SC upholds TADA court’s death sentence to the seven convicts September 9, 2018: The AIADMK government recommends to Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of all seven convicts May 18, 2022: SC orders release of Perarivalan invoking Article 142 It is important to note that the judges have said that when governor becomes inactive, court will intervene M K Stalin, Chief Minister, TN lease of the convicts, former Supreme Court judges Krishna Iyer and K T Thomas, and retired IPS officer Thiyagarajan, who admitted in the court that he had omitted to record a part of Perarivalan’s confession that proved his innocence in the case. “Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person through the course of my life,” Perarivalan said. While the AIADMK, the BJP, Left parties, the PMK and various Tamil outfits welcomed the verdict, the State unit of the Congress was circumspect in its reaction. “We do not wish to criticise the judgment of the Supreme Court,” Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K S Alagiri said. “At the same time, we want to emphasise that the perpetrators are murderers and that they are not innocent.” The CM said the State government will study the full verdict and take steps for release of the other six convicts in the case. P5 Ejj Nalloru Manusanakan Nokk 69 yrs later, bid on Nilambur Ayisha’s life back on stage loaded version of the play Ejj Nalloru Manusanakan Nokk (You try to be a good human being), which had ushered in a renaissance wave among the Muslim community -is set to be staged in Nilambur on Thursday and Friday . Director Rafeeq Mangalasseri has revised the play — penned by E K Ayamu — by incorporating incidents from the modern times. “The two-hour play, under the Ayamu Memorial Trust, starts with the shooting attempt against Ayisha. The play depicts how the A m i ya M e e t h a l @Kozhikode THE ATTEMPT on the life of a 16-year-old Nilambur Ayisha, on stage in 1953, has been (was then) recorded as the most apparent attack against art by religious zealots in Kerala. The reason? Ayisha was the first Muslim woman who dared to act in a play. That shooting incident happened at Melakkam in Manjeri. Sixty-nine years on, even as fundamentalist sections attempt to stifle progressive voices, a re- same forces that aimed at Ayisha 69 years ago continue to be active and are doing the same reprehensible act of stifling progress, especially against women,” says Mangalasseri. The play also mentions the recent incident of a girl being humiliated on stage by a religious leader. While gun-toting zealots stood against change in 1953, the reworked play attempts to portray the possibility of regressive forces now resorting to a bomb explo● More on P4 sion.  express read Pre-poll blow REGA for urban informal sector workers could be designed with the help of digital infrastructure that the government has already built. The EAC-PM also recommended that raising minimum income and introducing a universal basic income are some of the measures that can reduce the income gap and facilitate equal distribution of earnings in the labour market. SC invokes spl powers, frees Perarivalan after 31 years E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Front 2022 2020 bypoll poll Income profile Apex court refers to Article 161, says advice of state cabinet binding on governor; Arivu credits mother’s struggle; Stalin welcomes verdict, Congress circumspect LDF makes gains ahead of bypoll in Thrikkakara LSG RESULTS Figure it out 90% of India’s population survives on less than C25,000 a month 6.82% of total annual wages earned by richest 1% 35% of total annual wages earned by richest 10% 1.7% of the total annual cumulative wages earned by poorest 10% Day after raid sports code violation Hardik Patel finally pulls the Cong plug CBI arrests Karti aide SC-appointed CoA in money-for-visa case takes over from Patel In a blow to the Congress in pollbound Gujarat, Patidar leader Hardik Patel resigned from its primary membership, saying its leadership is not serious about issues facing the people. He accused the party of being more concerned about chicken sandwitch than Gujarat. The party hit back saying his words were scripted by BJP | P7 Chennai: The CBI on Wednesday arrested chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, a day after raiding the latter’s premises in connection with a `50 lakh bribery case for clearing visas of 263 Chinese nationals working at a power plant in Punjab. Bhaskar-araman was arrested since he was not cooperating in the investigation, CBI sources said. The SC-appointed a three-member Committee of Administrators headed by former judge Anil R Dave to manage the affairs of the All India Football Federation and ousted the Praful Patel-led executive committee that was at the helm even after completing its term. S Y Qureshi and Bhaskar Ganguly are also part of the CoA | P11 document writers fume Property regn in state to go fully digital Property registration in the state is set to become more customerfriendly in the near future. The registration department has developed an IT-enabled system to help customers register title deeds without the help of document writers, said a source. The pilot phase of the new system was launched at the sub-registrar office in Pattom, here, amid opposition from document writers. P4 An elderly woman struggles to board a bus on the Kazhakkoottam bypass road amid heavy rain and wind on Wednesday | Vincent Pulickal State’s civic bodies to get specific weather info E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram WITH natural calamities recurring in Kerala presumably due to climate change, the state government has initiated programmes to empower the local bodies with weather-related information specific to a locality . The aim is to help the civic bodies prepare better for disasters and minimise the losses. On Wednesday Minister for Local , Self Government M V Govindan inaugurated such an initiative. Launched by the state disaster management authority (SDMA) and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), the programme aims to provide information at the local body level on climate change and its impact on each locality on the basis of day temperature and intensity of rain. Govindan said study on climate change at the grass-roots level is imperative to survive calamities. “The local bodies will be provided with strategies that suit the weather conditions specific to them. It will help the local Rain till May 22 but may lose intensity The IMD predicts Kerala will get rain till May 22, but the intensity is likely to decline after Thursday CM Pinarayi Vijayan reviews the disaster preparedness ahead of the monsoon season during a meeting of top officials The meeting highlights the need to prepare a list of people who are most vulnerable in case of disasters bodies prepare development projects and disaster mitigation programmes accordingly ,” said Govindan. “There will be a system to give infor mation on daily weather situations and disaster warnings, locally. It will help predict natural disasters. By empowering local bodies scientifically, the government aims to make the state a much safer ● More on P2 place,” he added.