chennai l monday l june 6, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION call it Nadal Open. Rafa wins it for THE 14th time Rafael Nadal, who arrived in Paris with an uncertain future due to various reasons, beats Casper Ruud to lift 22nd Major From outsider to another French crown Record-breaker, history-maker Nadal, who revealed that he had to manage a degenerative foot issue (the Mueller Weiss Syndrome), spoke about the pain he was facing throughout the event. In the final, though, he didn’t show any of it against the Norwegian, who has developed his game at Nadal’s academy. After a shaky first set, the 36-year-old zoomed through the final two sets to win 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 ■ ■ With the win, Nadal extended his Slam count to 22, two more than the next best among men (Novak Djokovic & Roger Federer) He is yet to lose a French Open final, having won all 14 of his finals on the dirt. Enroute to the title, Nadal had to save one match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the 4th round | P11 one 1st time Nadal has won both Australian & French Opens in the same year 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 BJP’s loose cannons get the stick for hate speech Qatar, Kuwait, Iran protest offensive remarks against the Prophet Rajesh Kumar Thakur and y e s h i s e l i @ New Delhi The BJP on Sunday sought to douse the communal fire lit by its loose cannons’ recent derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed, by suspending one and expelling the other. While the party suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her offensive comment in a TV debate, it expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal for his reckless tweets. Nupur later dropped names of the party’s senior leadership in another interview, saying they were all with her on the issue, perhaps one reason why the BJP had to distance itself from her. Also, the hate speech triggered anger in the Arab world with the foreign offices of Qatar, Kuwait and Iran summoning the respective Indian envoys to register their outrage. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, too, condemned the remarks. Deepak Mittal, India’s Ambassador in Qatar, was at pains to clarify that the hate speech did not reflect the views of the government, adding it was made by fringe elements. Nupur Sharma Naveen K Jindal Aimed at global audience: Omar “There is a context to the BJP suddenly waking up... This apology of a statement is aimed at an international audience,” National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said in a tweet “Ambassador conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements,” a spokesperson in Doha said. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) pitched in by underscoring India’s civilisational heritage and strong cultural traditions of unity in diversity, saying the government accords highest respect to all religions. “We should work together against such mischievous elements who aim to undercut the strength of our bilateral ties,’’ MEA statement said. Earlier in the day, BJP general secretary Arun Singh released a signed statement saying the party is against any ideology that insults or demeans any sect or religion. “The BJP respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion,” the statement read. The BJP also possibly had elections to a clutch of states on its mind when it decided to use its whiplash. For, the hate speech was threatening to derail the party’s outreach to Muslim voters, especially after drawing a decent percentage of votes from Muslim pockets in the UP polls. While poll-bound Gujarat has 9.67% Muslim voters, the corresponding figure in Himachal is 2.18%, Karnataka 12.91% and Rajasthan 9.1%. Nupur later said, “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement.” 25 pilgrims feared dead in U’khand bus accident Express News Service Twenty-five passengers of a bus were feared dead and three others critically injured after the vehicle carrying pilgrims from Panna district in Madhya Pradesh fell into a gorge near Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand on Sunday . The bus bound for Yamunotri had 30 on board, including 28 passengers. The accident took place near Rikhavu khadd on NH 94, Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said. Seventeen bodies have been recovered so far. A search is on for the rest. Three injured passengers have been admitted to the Community Health Centre in Damta. Police and SDRF teams have been rushed to the spot, besides ambulances from Badkot, Nagaon and Nainbagh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths. “The prime minister has announced an ex-gratia of `2 lakh each from the PMNRF. The injured would be given `50,000 each,” the PMO said. express read Omicron variants BA.4 & BA.5 now in Tamil Nadu Chennai: New Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, have been detected in TN and the Union Health Ministry will announce it officially, State Health Minister Ma Subramanian has said | P5 Major IPS rejig: Amalraj is new CoP of Tambaram Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has transferred 44 senior police officers. A Amalraj has replaced M Ravi as Tambaram Police Commissioner | P5 Amid targeted killings, 70% Pandit employees flee Valley Faya z Wa n i @ Srinagar Though the Centre has started shifting Kashmiri Pandit staffers under the PM job scheme in the Valley to various district headquarters in Kashmir in the wake of the recent targeted killings, it has now emerged that about 60-70% of them fled to Jammu in recent weeks. The Pandits wanted transfers to Jammu but the Centre rejected the demand. Some Pandits say the security situation is worse today than it was in 1990.“This fear was not prevalent in 1990 when the first migration of Pandits took place,” said Ranjan, a Kashmiri Pandit employee in Anantnag district. “Due to fear, we are unable to move out from our locations.” He said in the 1990s, it was clear who the terrorists were. But today, the situation has changed due to hybrid terrorists—radicalised civilians who carry out attacks while leading normal lives. He claimed about 60-70% of 5,500 Pandits have left Kashmir. Jagti Tenement Committee Jammu president Shadi Lal confirmed 60-70% of Pandit employees have reached Jammu. 7 of family drown in Cuddalore district Baga l ava n P e r i e r B @ Cuddalore Two women and five girls of a family drowned after getting stuck in the mud near the Kedilam Check Dam in Cuddalore district on Sunday afternoon. Their relatives complained the pit they died in had been formed by removal of sand some years ago and had been left open, allowing water to stagnate. M Navaneetham (20), of A Kuchipalayam village, and her sister-in-law of one month G Priya (19) had decided to take a dip in the pit near the check dam, and their relatives — sisters R Priyadarshini (13) and R Kaviya (11) — who had come from Kurinjipadi for the holidays, joined them, said a source from the Nellikuppam police station. “However, they got stuck in the mud. They drowned trying to rescue one another. Three other girls — M Sumatha (16) A Monika (16) and A Sangavi (15) — who were playing in the water nearby, also tried to rescue them but drowned,” the source added. On being informed by witnesses, youngsters came from the village and brought the girls out in an unconscious condition. Cops arrived and sent the victims to the government hospital in Cuddalore by ambulance, but they were declared dead on arrival. Meanwhile, fire and rescue services personnel checked whether anyone else was stuck in the mud underwater. P5 Tomorrow’s f light, propelled by tailwinds of innovation. In India. For India. And the world. A tomorrow that promotes a more sustainable way to take off. A tomorrow that makes our skies cleaner than ever before. A tomorrow that brings the world closer. This is our vision of tomorrow. For India, and for the world. A vision brought to life with 120 years of local expertise, experience and innovation. ge.com/in