BENGALURU  MONDAY  MARCH 27, 2023  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE CITY EDITION ISRO’S HEAVIEST LVM3 ROCKET PUTS 36 SATELLITES INTO ORBIT The 43.5-metre tall rocket, carrying internet satellites of UK-based OneWeb group, lifted off from Sriharikota at 9 am ISRO COMPLEX MANOEUVRES IN FINAL STAGE ONEWEB READY TO DELIVER GLOBAL SERVICES The rocket deployed the first set of 16 satellites around 20 minutes after the lift-off with the rest deployed in later stages. As per NewSpace India Chairman and Managing Director D Radhakrishnan, the mission’s highlight was that the LVM3 performed a series of complex manoeuvres during the cryogenic-powered final stage to place satellites into indended orbits | P7 ■ This is the second dedicated mission of NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO. OneWeb group’s first batch of 36 satellites were launched by the Indian space agency in October last year ■ The ones launched on Sunday were the final set of satellites OneWeb needs to deliver a broadband internet connection anywhere on Earth 616 NUMBER OF SATELLITES ONEWEB HAS ON THE ORBIT AFTER SUNDAY’S LAUNCH 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 ‘Rahul martyr’s son, can’t betray country’ PM hiding behind power, says Priyanka, addressing Sankalp Satyagraha P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Union Home Minister Amit Shah with CM Basavaraj Bommai and former CM BS Yediyurappa during the unveiling of the statues of Basaveshwara and Kempegowda in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Sunday | NAGARAJA GADEKAL 4% Muslim quota was unconstitutional: Shah EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bidar/Bengaluru DEFENDING the Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category recently and distributing it among Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Constitution has no provision to provide reservation to any particular religion. Congress leaders termed it an attempt to create hatred among communities. Hitting out at them, Shah appreciated the Basavaraj Bommai government’s decision to use that 4 per cent reservation to increase the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas by 2 per cent each. In a major decision on Friday , the Karnataka cabinet scrapped the 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims under 2B category and moved them to the Economically Weaker Section. The freedup quota was used to increase the reservation for Vokkaligas from 4 per cent to 6 per cent and for Lingayats from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. Shah, who was speaking after unveiling a statue of Sardar Bajrang Dal men disrupt Holi party in M’luru EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Mangaluru IN a case of ‘moral policing’, few pro-Hindutva outfit members disrupted a Holi party and tore posters at Maroli in Mangaluru on Sunday Six members . of Bajrang Dal have been arrested. Bajrang Dal members alleged that young girls and boys were celebrating Holi with obscene dance and were splashing colours on each other at a Holi DJ party named ‘Rang De Barse’ on an open ground. The accused forcibly entered the venue and got into a verbal spat with the organisers. They allegedly tried to manhandle some of the organisers, though the latter had taken prior permission to organise the event. The local police were informed and they immediately took six Bajrang Dal members into custody . Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain said the six people stormed into the venue at Surya Foods at Kankanady police station limits and disrupted the event. “Few banners put up at the venue were torn by the accused. We have taken up a non-cognisable case against the accused,” he said. The commissioner gave the names of the accused persons as Ganesh Attavar, Jai Prashanth, Balachandar, Akshay Chirag and Mithin. , Bajrang Dal members disrupting a Holi party in Mangaluru on Sunday Vallabhbhai Patel at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Gorta village in Bidar district, alleged that the previous Congress government had provided the 4 per cent quota to appease the minorities. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar wondered whether Lingayats and Vokkaligas had asked the government to take away the minority reservation to give it to them. “The existing 56 per cent cap on reservation should have been expanded to increase the reservation for the two communities. Lingayats had asked for a 15 per cent quota and Vokkaligas 12 per cent,” he said. He alleged that the BJP government threatened Vokkaliga community’s religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji and Panchamasali Lingayat seer Sri Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji to accept the 2 per cent hike each in reservation. “They are not beggars to accept it as it has been robbed from another community. Why is the BJP government trying to sow hatred between communities by scrapping the Muslims OBC quota? Are minorities not our P4 people,” he asked. Superb Sunday 4 CONGRESS leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday tore into the BJP for calling her brother Rahul Gandhi a ‘traitor’ and casting aspersions on the Nehru-Gandhi family . Addressing a gathering at the ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ outside Rajghat, she said BJP leaders have repeatedly insulted her family, whose members have sacrificed their lives for the country . The Congress organised similar satyagrahas across the country on Sunday to protest Rahul’s disqualification from Parliament. In Delhi, the party wanted to hold the protest at the Rajghat but Delhi police declined permission. Following this, the leaders decided to sit outside the memorial. “You call my brother, a martyr’s son, a traitor and your minister insulted my mother in Parliament. One of your chief ministers said Rahul Gandhi doesn’t even know who his father is. Your PM asks why this family does not keep the surname of Nehru... you have insulted the entire family,” she said, adding that leaders of the ruling dispensation get away with their words and deeds. “You don’t get a sentence of two years, you are not thrown Priyanka Gandhi at the party’s ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ to protest Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP, outside Rajghat in New Delhi on Sunday | PARVEEN NEGI out of Parliament, you are not barred from contesting elections for eight years,” she said, adding the family has kept quiet till now but not any longer. “My brother even hugged the PM and told him that he doesn’t harbour any hatred towards him. How much will you insult one man,” she asked. Launching a broadside against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka said: “You can slap a case on me and put me in jail. But the truth is that the PM is a coward. He is hiding behind power.” Taking a dig at BJP leaders EXPRESS READ KOCHI : Malayalam actor and former Kerala MP, Innocent, who was batlling cancer for the past few years, passed away at a private hospital in Kochi on Sunday | P7 Air India and Nepal jets almost collide Kathmandu: A major tragedy was averted on Friday when an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft came close to collision mid-air but the warning systems alerted the pilots who prevented the disaster. MUMBAI HIGH LOVELY BORGOHAIN Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain also had a gruelling fight. She was tested to the extreme by Australia’s Caitlyn Parker in the 75kg final. But her hand was raised after an absorbing final to make it four out of four for the hosts. This is her third medal and first title in the worlds Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to lift the first Women’s Premier League Sciver-Brunt again After restricting Delhi Capitals to 131/9 in the final, Mumbai overhauled the target with three NIKHAT STARS balls to spare. Nat Sciver-Brunt Nikhat Zareen dug deep in the final to led the charge with an unbeaten claim her second world title. Fighting in 60, while MI skipper supported her 50kg for the first time in the the event, with a well-made 37. MI’s Issy Wong she got the better of Nguyen Thi Tam got two wickets off three balls in of Vietnam 5-0. She had won the 2022 her first over to put brakes on edition in 52kg Delhi Capitals | P13 SATWIK-CHIRAG’S SWISS VICTORY Men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat China’s Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament. The 2022 World Championship bronze medallist beat the world No. 21 pair 21-19, 24-22 Erectile dysfunction cases rising, experts blame pandemic distress N A M R ATA S I N D W A N I @ B e n g a l u r u THE psychological and financial pressures faced by the people, especially men, during the Covid pandemic has affected their sexual and reproductive health too. Nephro-urologists said cases of erectile dysfunction and impotence among men have increased and so have invasive surgeries to treat the issues. Medical experts have seen an upsurge in impotency among the 18-45 age group post-Covid. This is because of emotional distress, job loss, isolation and excessive consumption of steroids to treat Covid, besides habits like smoking and alcohol consumption, experts said. social causes, he said the Congress is doing it for political THE BJP on Sunday lashed out and personal causes of a conat the Congress for its ‘Satyag- victed person. He alleged the raha’ against Rahul Gandhi’s Sankalp Satyagraha has nothdisqualification from Parlia- ing to do with fighting for truth, ment following his conviction adding that Rahul was convictin a defamation case. ed by a court after due BJP national presilegal process and his dent J P Nadda said disqualification as the Congress protest Lok Sabha MP came is aimed at supporting as a natural corollary . It is against the a convicted person. Questioning the real country’s “The court asked Rapurpose of the SatyagConstitution and hul Gandhi to apolo- the court’s verdict raha, the BJP leader gise but he did not do said: “Is it to justify against Rahul it because of his arrothe way you insulted Gandhi to justify his remarks gance,” he said. the entire backward Speaking in similar against the ‘entire community of the backward vein, BJP national country or against the , spokesperson Sudhan- community’ of the court which sentenced country shu Trivedi termed it you, or against the ‘a brazen display of provision under which Sudhanshu Trivedi, ar ro g ance. “It is y o u h av e t o b e BJP spokesperson against the country’s disqualified?” Constitution and the Trivedi alleged that court’s verdict against Rahul some Congress leaders, who Gandhi to justify his remarks were allegedly involved in the against the ‘entire backward 1984 anti-Sikh riots, participatcommunity’ of the country he ed in the party’s agitation. ,” said. “They still want one set of laws Dubbing the agitation as an for common people and anothinsult to Mahatma Gandhi who e r fo r t h e i r f a m i ly, ” h e organised Satyagrahas only for charged. R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Malayalam actor Innocent dies This was India’s fourth gold at the world women’s boxing championships. The last time India had won four gold medals was in 2006 (New Delhi) It’s a brazen display of sheer arrogance: BJP Dr Mohan Keshavamurthy Senior Di, rector, Urology and Chairman, Renal Sci, ences Speciality Council, Fortis Hospitals, said that before 2020 (pre-pandemic), around 30-40 cases of patients complaining of erectile dysfunction (ED) or male impotency (MI) were seen on a monthly basis. But now these cases have doubled. The number of procedures requiring surgeries too has doubled, he said. Consultations with doctors through the Covid and post-Covid periods revealed that most ED cases were linked to men facing severe financial and psychological issues and resulting stress and anxieties during the pandemic. CONTINUED ON: P5 for portraying Rahul Gandhi as ‘Pappu’, Priyanka said the government is scared of him after lakhs of people joined his Bharat Jodo Yatra. She added: “Our family members shed blood for this flag and the land. Those who think that they can threaten or put us in jail are wrong. We are not scared. We will continue to fight for the democratic values of the country she said. ,” Meanwhile, as a show of protest against Rahul’s disqualification, the Congress has asked its MPs to wear black dress in Parliament on Monday .