THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l saturday l December 10, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Sushmita Shukla APPOINTED nO 2 OF NY Federal Reserve The Indian-origin insurance sector veteran, 54, has been named First Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of New York Fed Did engg from mumbai, mba from new york To take charge in March 2023 Shukla has an MBA from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Mumbai. She has served in leadership roles in insurance industry for nearly 20 years and has extensive experience leading large-scale enterprise transformation initiatives, as well as in-depth knowledge of technology and Agile innovation methods ■ ■ The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks which, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, DC, make up the United States’ Federal Reserve System Sushmita Shukla will take over as the second ranking officer with effect from March 2023, the New York Fed said in a statement Largest tHE NY fed is the BIGGEST reserve bank in terms of assets and volume of activity 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 We were once partners, CPM reminds League M V Govindan changes stance, says IUML is not a communal party League’s support to the University Bills that the LDF governIn an attempt to further deep- ment moved in the assembly, en the fissures within the UDF, Govindan said the CPM and its the CPM on Friday made public government welcome whoever overtures to the IUML and re- support it. minded the League that it had “However it won’t be enough. once aligned with the Left front. The CPM will consider their reThe League, on its part, was sponse to concrete political decautious in its response and velopments, and then take an said it had not so far given a appropriate approach. The thought about switching sides. CPM will join hands with any The CPM, which had once democratic, secular party to potrayed IUML as comfight communalism,” munal, did a volte-face he said. with its state secretary The CPM’s signals to M V Govindan categorthe IUML, the second ically stating that his largest ally in the UDF, party did not consider comes at a time when League a communal all is not well with the party. “League is a Legaue’s ties with the M V Govindan democratic party Congress. working for the minorThe CPM state secreities. CPM has criticised it tariat wanted the party to take whenever it joined hands with advantage of the simmerings communal parties like SDPI,” within the UDF, and further exhe told reporters after the party ploit the political situation in state secretariat meeting. the party’s favour. “In a democracy there are no “League’s unhappiness with permanent friends and foes,” the Congress over the way in Govindan said, and pointed out which it handled the entire that the CPM, under the leader- Tharoor episode and the unreship of E M S Namboothiripad, lenting stand against the goverhad aligned with the League to nor has opened a space,” said a form a government in 1967. secretariat member on condiW h e n asked about the tion of anonymity  ● More on P4 . K S S r e e j i t h @ T’Puram IUML MP laments Cong absence in RS P r e e t h a N a i r @New Delhi The troubled relationship between the Congress and IUML came to the fore in Parliament on Friday with League MP Abdul Wahab taking a swipe at his UDF colleagues for not being present in the Rajya Sabha when a controversial Bill on the Uniform Civil Code was being presented. “My Congress friends are not to be seen,” Wahab said, while acknowledging the presence of all Left MPs in the House, who vehemently opposed the Bill along with members of TMC, MDMK, RJD, SP among others. , CPM MP John Brittas too took a potshot at Congress saying “this is how the Congress is helping its ally in Kerala.” A few minutes later, Congress members Jebi Mather Hisham, L Hanumanthaiah and Imran Pratapgarhi rushed back to the House. Himachal Cong authorises Kharge to decide CM pick H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh A day after wresting power in Himachal Pradesh, newly elected Congress MLAs on Friday passed a typical one-line resolution authorising party president Mallikarjun Kharge to name their chief minister. Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh leads the race for the hot seat followed by former state unit chief Sukhiwnder Singh Sukhu and outgoing Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri. The first meeting of the legislature party at Shimla had to Pvt member UCC bill introduced in Rajya Sabha A massive uproar erupted in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour on Friday after BJP member Kirodi Lal Meena sought permission to introduce a private member bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The proposed Uniform Civil Code of India Bill 2020 drew stiff opposition from various parties, which feared that it could result in national disintegration. However, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal (BJP) stood by Meena’s ‘le gitimate right’ to raise an issue that comes under the directive principles of the Constitution. The bill seeks to set up a national inspection and probe panel for preparation of the UCC. Members of the Congress, CPI, CPM and Trinamool Congress were vocal in their opposition, saying it will destroy India’s social fabric. When Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar put the motion to vote, it was passed with 63 ayes against 23 nays. CPM’s John Brittas said the UCC is neither necessary nor desirable in the country. Santosh Kumar (CPI) called it a dangerous bill. E X P RE S S REA D HC for uniform marriage code Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday said the Centre should seriously consider having a uniform marriage code in India in order to promote the common welfare and good of spouses in matrimonial disputes. A division bench made the observation on a petition challenging fixation of a minimum period of separation of one year under Section 10A of the Divorce Act, 1869 | P4 Brazil players in tears after their agonising 2-4 defeat in the penalty shootout against Croatia in the World Cup quarterfinal match | AP | P11 Super Saturday Defending champions, France, seek to move past free-scoring England while Portugal face Morocco test. A look at the remaining quarterfinals... Mbappe main man Kylian Mbappe has already scored five goals and will like the chance of running at an England defence. It’s no surprise that most of the focus is on him. But England, who have scored the most number of goals, will know they possess the tools to upset the defending champions. Situation surrounding Portugal The European outfit were at their attacking best in their 6-1 dismantling of Switzerland. They were fluid and it largely had to the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Whoever plays up front, they will find Morocco a tough nut to crack. Today Matches Portugal vs Morocco 8.30 PM | France vs England 12.30 AM (on Sunday) Pratibha Singh’s loyalists raise slogans demanding her selection as CM before Bhupesh Baghel’s vehicle, in Shimla | PTI the decision on the new CM will be made,’’ he said. Shukla claimed that no MLA proposed any name and it is for Kharge to take the call. However, sources claimed that all MLAs were told to give two names for CMship along with their merits and demerits. Right through the day, both Pratibha and Sukhu were lobbying among party MLAs. While Pratibha met Baghel, Hooda and Shukla, Sukhu remained elusive amidst speculation that he was keeping his flock of MLAs intact. Before the CLP meeting, Pratibha’s supporters raised slogans outside Congress Bhawan in Shimla, demanding that she be made the CM. SC: RTI Act not applicable to Collegium discussions S H RUTI K A K K AR @ New Delhi Monster waves from cyclone Mandous washing away a fishing village at Pillaichavady in Puducherry on Friday | Sriram R Cyclonic storm Mandous to batter north TN districts E x p r ess N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai R a j e sh K u m a r Th a k u r @ New Delhi be postponed thrice before it began late in the evening. The resolution authorising Kharge to name the new CM was moved by Agnihotri and seconded by Sukhu. After the meeting, AICC’s Himachal Congress in-charge Rajeev Shukla flanked by Pratibha, Sukhu and two party observers — Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda — made the announcement about the resolution. “Both our observers will give their report to the high command in a day or so. Then As cyclonic storm ‘Mandous’ began its landfall near Mahabalipuram around 9.30 pm and was expected to cross the shore in two to three hours, several north Tamil Nadu districts were expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Saturday the IMD , said on Friday . The weather system will lose stream as the wind speed will drop substantially by Saturday evening and rainfall will subside from Sunday . Chennai and neighbouring districts received heavy rainfall from Thursday night till late on Friday with the Nun, gambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations recording over 10 cm rainfall for the period. The actual cyclone onslaught will begin hours before the landfall and 28 flights cancelled Chennai: More than 25 domestic flights and three international flights were cancelled as part of Chennai airport’s contingency plan. Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports have been contacted to allot bays, in case flights are getting diverted from Chennai may extend till Saturday noon, IMD said. An official release issued on Friday said through the Common Alert Protocol system, 58.47 lakh people have been sent SMSs on precautions to be taken. Fourteen teams of NDRF and SDRF comprising 476 personnel have been stationed in 20 districts. Of this, three teams are stationed in Chengalpattu district alone since the cyclone may cause more damage in the district. According to S Balachandran, deputy director general of meteorology Regional Me, teorological Centre, at 6 pm on Friday the cyclone lay cen, tered about 135 km southeast of Mahabalipuram and about 170 km off Chennai over southwest Bay of Bengal. The cyclone was being continuously monitored by doppler weather radar located in Karaikal and Chennai, he said. The weather system will cross the coast as a cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph from Friday midnight to Saturday morning. It is likely to reduce gradually thereafter with a wind speed of 30-40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph by Saturday evening, he said. THE Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea seeking full details of the Collegium meeting that took place on December 12, 2018 under the RTI Act, saying the discussions and consultations among Collegium members can’t be disclosed as they are not final decisions. A bench of judges M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said a decision is termed final only after it is formally drawn and signed by all Collegium members. Till then, it can only be considered a “tentative decision”, which can’t be put in public domain. “During the consultation if some discussion takes place but no final decision is taken and no resolution is drawn, it cannot be said that any final decision is taken by the Collegium,” the court explained. The apex court’s order came on a plea filed by RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj seeking the agenda, minutes and resolution of the 2018 Collegium meeting. According to the autobiography of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, the 2018 meet had agreed to elevate the then Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and the then Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon to the SC. However, the decision was kept in abeyance after news of their elevation was leaked. The petitioner also cited an article written by a former Collegium member expressing disappointment over the SC’s failure to upload the decision taken at the December 2018 meeting. 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express V-Guard grows, acquires No IFFK invite, but ‘phayalvaan’ doesn’t mind Sunflame for `660 crore real to reel & back S h a i n u M o h a n @T’Puram Four decades later, N Abdul Rasheed aka Phayalvaan Rasheed still remembers how ace filmmaker P Padmarajan tried to lift him after filming a major fight sequence and they both fell in the mud. The incident took place on the sets of Oridathoru Phayalvaan (1981), one of Padmarajan’s critically-acclaimed creations. The movie will be screened at the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Tuesday . Rasheed played the pivotal phayalvaan (wrestler) in the film. It marked his debut. He is one of the very few cast and crew members alive today . Rasheed came to know about the screening when TNIE tracked him down after an extensive search. However, he is okay with not being invited to IFFK.“I am happy they are screening my movie. I am not Abdul Rasheed at his home in Manacaud, Thiruvananthapuram | B P Deepu very active in film circles so it’s no wonder I was not invited,” said Rasheed, who ives in Manacaud, Thiruvananthapuram. Rasheed was around 35 years old when he portrayed the ‘gatta gusthi’ wrestler who becomes a local hero by defeating his opponents and claiming the prettiest woman in the village as his wife. Scoring a role in the iconic movie is one of the treasured 46 films in 15 years Favourites: His roles in Padmarajan’s Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil & Venu Nagavally’s Lal Salam. Forced to choose between acting and his job as asst transport officer, Rasheed chose the latter. His last movie was Devadasi (1995) Other movies include Ina and Vietnam Colony memories of Rasheed, who was the coach of the Transport department wrestling team at the time. “I was a light heavyweight wrestler and we won a contest in Kannur. It was reported in the papers. Padmarajan had been looking for a real-life wrestler to act in the movie. Still photographer and actor N L Balakrishnan, my friend, sug- gested my name. Balakrishnan then came to my home and told me that Padmarajan was waiting outside. They had come in a Fiat car. Padmarajan was waiting at a distance so that he could watch my way of walking and decide whether I fit the bill,” recalls Rasheed. Rasheed had to shave off his beard and moustache for the role. “Immediately after the meeting, the three of us went to Veli. Padmarajan wanted to see my swimming skills. I had done theatre for three years so I knew acting. After selection, I was given around one month to get into the character. The shooting took place at Kumarakom. Padmarajan was overwhelmed with the way I portrayed the character,” he said. Forced to choose between acting and his job as assistant transport officer, Rasheed chose the latter. “My last movie was Devadasi released in 1995,” he said. EXPRE S S N EW S S ERVICE @Kochi V-Guard Industries, a leading electricals and home appliances manufacturer, is acquiring a 100% stake in Delhi-based kitchen appliances maker Sunflame Enterprises Pvt Ltd (SEPL) for `660 crore. The transaction, which is expected to close by mid of January 2023, is on a cash-free, debt-free basis subject to closing adjustments, said a press statement. Founded in 1977 by Kochouseph Chittilapilly to manufacture and market voltage stabilisers, V-Guard forayed into other products such as fans, electric water heaters, air coolers, house wiring cables and others. By acquiring SEPL, the Kochi-headquartered V-Guard aims to become a significant player in the kitchen appliances seg- ment. “SEPL’s wide portfolio, product development capabilities and the recently established state-of-the-art integrated manufacturing facility provide the perfect opportunity for VGuard to scale up its kitchen appliances business. The transaction would be funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt,” the release said. V-Guard MD Mithun Chittilappilly said the proposed acquisition was a key milestone in the firm’s journey to have deeper engagement with consumers. SEPL MD K L Verma said, “V-Guard is the right organisat i o n t o t a ke o u r l e g a cy forward.” A publicly-listed entity, VGuard earned `3,498 crore in FY 2022. SEPL, which offers cooktops, chimneys, pressure cookers and others recorded a revenue of `349.8 crore.