tirupati l saturday l june 03, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION PM Modi to address U.S. Congress joint session for the second time On June 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his vision of India’s future and speak on the global challenges facing the two countries Rare honour for Indian prime minister bIDEN TO HOST Modi FOR STATE DINNER Ex-British PM Winston Churchill and South African prez Nelson Mandela are among the few who were accorded this rare honour on two occasions. Earlier, Modi had addressed a joint session in June 2016. Ex-PM Manmohan Singh had addressed the joint session on July 19, 2005, Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sept 14, 2000, Narasimha Rao on May 18, 1994 and Rajiv Gandhi on July 13, 1985 Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries ■ US President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Modi for an Official State visit to the US, which will include a state dinner on June 22 ■ The invitation to Modi was issued by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Dec 10, 1824 When The tradition of foreign leaders addressing the u.s. Congress began 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 at least 30 killed in Odisha train collision Coromandel Exp rams into derailed bogies of B’luru-Howrah Exp Hemant Kumar Rout @ Bhubaneswar IN one of the most horrific railway accidents in recent years, over 30 passengers are believed to have died while hundreds continue to be trapped after two express trains derailed and collided at Bahanaga railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening. The accident took place when two coaches of the BengaluruHowrah Express derailed and rammed into the Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Superfast Express at Bahanaga railway station in Bhadrak section of South Eastern railway Bahana. ga railway station is about 180 km from Bhubaneswar. At least 15 coaches of the Coromandel Express went into a tailspin and capsized. The casualties could well rise since rescue and relief teams found evacuation extremely difficult. The Coromandel Express, which bore the brunt of the impact, has a passenger capacity of 1,516. As per preliminary reports, the toll could well go be- Rescue ops on at the accident site in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday | Express yond 30. Another source said the toll could reach 70. The Chennai-bound Coromandal Express passes through five stations in Andhra Pradesh —Vizag, Rajamahendravaram, Tadepalligudem, Eluru and Vijayawada. While the Howrahbound SMVB HOWRAH EXP passes through 18 stations— Kuppam, Tirupati, Renigunta, Guduru, Nellore, Ongole, Chirala, Bapatla, Tenali, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajamahendravaram, Samalkot, Vizag, Vizianagaram, SrikakuP5 lam and Palasa.  Helpline numbers Visakhapatnam 08912-746330 08912-744619 Vizianagaram 08922-221202 08922-221206 Srikakulam 24/7 Vijayawada Rly - 67055 BSNL - 0866 2576924 Rajahmundry 08942-286213 BSNL - 0883 2420541 08942-286245 RLY - 65395 Farm mechanisation gets `361-crore boost Express News Service @ Vijayawada CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off farm machinery, including tractors and combined harvesters, worth `361.29 crore under the YSR Yantra Seva scheme in Guntur on Friday | Express Reiterating his government’s commitment to the farm sector and farm mechanisation, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday flagged off tractors, combine harvesters and other farm machinery worth `361.29 crore under the second phase of the YSR Yantra Seva Scheme at Chuttugunta in Guntur city . He also formally launched 4,019 YSR Yantra Seva Kendras (community hiring centres), handed over 2,562 tractors, 100 The aim of YSR Yantra Seva is to form farmer groups under each RBK and attach them to a community hiring centre, further providing them with farm machinery at subsidised prices —YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, CM 140 weapons surrendered in Manipur P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati HOURS after Home Minister Amit Shah’s appeal, miscreants in Manipur surrendered over 140 weapons they had looted from police stations and battalions, officials said on Friday . After concluding his fourday visit to the State on Thursday, Shah urged the miscreants to surrender the looted weapons. He had warned the police would launch a combing operation from Friday and those found with weapons would be prosecuted. Self-loading rifles, carbine, AK and INSAS rifles, light machine guns, pistols, M16 rifles, smoke gun/ tear gas, sten gun and grenade launcher were among the weapons surrendered. However, the surrendered weapons are only a fraction of the looted arms as claimed by the government. On May 8, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had revealed that 1,041 weapons and 7,460 cartridges were looted. combine harvesters and 3,573 farm machines to the farmers’ groups attached to the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs). Besides, Jagan disbursed subsidy of `125.48 crore into the bank accounts of farmers’ groups. The Chief Minister explained that the main objective of YSR Yantra Seva scheme is to form farmer groups under each RBK and attach them to a community hiring centre, further providing them with farm machinery like tractors and harvesters at subsidised prices. Stating that these groups can help farmers to use the equipment at low costs, he remarked, “This will be in true spirt of Gram P4 Swaraj.”  Oppn cross as panel backs sedition law Sh r u t i K a kk a r @ New Delhi Appalled at the Law Commission of India recommending the retention of the colonial sedition law, the Opposition on Friday charged that the government wants to use its report to make it more draconian. The panel recommended amending the law to enhance the prison term for offenders from three years to seven years, and incorporating a clause on the “tendency to incite violence” or causing public disorder, citing a Supreme Court verdict in the Kedar Nath case. The tendency to incite violence would mean “mere inclination to incite violence or cause public order rather than proof of actual violence or imminent threat to violence”, summer alert Weatherman warns of severe heatwave in eight mandals press Intake JSP chief Pawan Kalyan to commence Varahi Yatra on June 14 | P4 Grand alliance leaders discuss plans ahead of meet in Patna on June 12 | P8 After three blasts, security tightened at Golden Temple | P4 Peace deal must include Russia’s withdrawal, says US | P4 which would make the law more draconian. In his pushback, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the recommendations were persuasive but not binding, adding the final call would be taken only after consulting all the stakeholders. The report said the sedition law is the traditional penal mechanism to safeguard the unity and integrity on the country, adding it seeks to prevent violent, illegal, and unconstitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government. The Commission headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, in its report, said merely being a colonial legacy cannot be a valid ground for the repeal of Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code. It went on to claim that the law is a reasonable restriction on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. The report also said repealing Section 124A merely because certain countries have done so would essentially mean turning a blind eye to the ground realities in India. It recommended the Centre to issue model guidelines to curb the misuse of Section 124A. “A comparison of the sentences as provided for the offences in Chapter VI of the IPC suggests that there is a glaring disparity in the punishment prescribed for Section 124A. It is, therefore, suggested that the provision be revised to bring it in consonance with the scheme of punishment provided for other offences under Chapter VI. This would allow courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act committed,” the report said. The Law Commission also suggested amending Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the effect that an FIR under Section 124A would be registered only after a police officer, not below the rank of Inspector, conducts a preliminary inquiry . and Kanimerka in Vizianagaram district reported the highest daytime temperature of 44.9 degree Celsius. Around 100 places in the State reported daytime temperature above 43.96 degree Celsius on Friday . Severe heatwave conditions are likely in eight mandals, three each in Alluri Sitharama Raju and YSR Kadapa district, one each in Eluru and Parvathipuram-Manyam districts, on Saturday. Heatwave conditions, too, are likely in 256 manP4 dals. Commission’s position S edition law needed to combat antinational and secessionist elements S edition is a reasonable restriction for the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression E xistence of counter terror legislations like UAPA, National Security Act does not obviate the need for Section 124A Express News Service @ Vijayawada Mercury level shot up in parts of Andhra Pradesh after a few days of respite from the heat as severe heatwave conditions were reported in 10 mandals, while heatwave conditions were recorded in 105 mandals of the State on Friday . Epuru in Palandu district