tirupati l wednesday l february 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Eleven persons killed in MP explosion; 174 others injured The explosion at a crackers factory in Harda district in Madhya Pradesh triggered a massive blaze. Reasons for the fire are not known yet Hospitals on high alert for burn victims Factory in rubble; body parts scattered Fire brigade from Harda, adjoining districts and Indore were pressed into service to put out the blaze. Hospitals in Bhopal and Indore were put on heightened alert to deal with the sudden flow of critically injured persons from Harda. Besides fire brigades, ambulances, doctors, NDRF and SDRF teams were rushed from neighbouring districts to speed up rescue efforts ■ ■ A video shot from a helicopter, carrying cabinet minister Uday Pratap Singh showed the factory reduced to a rubble Videos on social media showed the intensity of the explosions was so high that the body parts of the victims were flung far off and people can be seen collecting what appeared like human remains | P8 11 am fire broke out and the entire area felt tremors because of explosion 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 Hockey player Varun Kumar booked under POCSO Act E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Bengaluru Police has booked feted hockey player Varun Kumar under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint by a 21-year-old woman, who accused the Arjuna awardee of sexually abusing her when she was a minor. The woman, who hails from Hyderabad and is currently working with an airline, said she met Kumar in 2018 when he was training at the Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru, where she was also training for volleyball. She said Kumar later contacted her through Instagram and insisted on meeting her. He then allegedly proposed to her and started physical relationship with her with the promise of marriage. In her complaint to police, the woman said that in July 2019, Kumar took her to a hotel room at Jayanagar in Bengaluru on the pretext of having a discussion about their Accused marriage and got physicurrently in cally intimate with her Odisha despite her resistance. Varun is She said she continued currently their physical relationtraining with ship for over five years the national based on his promise to squad in marry her. She finally Bhubaneswar filed a complaint when for the he allegedly stopped reupcoming FIH sponding to her calls and Pro League. messages and also reIndia are fused to marry her. scheduled to S Girish, Deputy Comface Spain in missioner of Police their opening (West), said: “A case has encounter on been registered against February 10 the hockey player. At present, he is not in Karnataka. Two teams will be sent to trace him.” Besides the POCSO Act, Kumar has also been booked under sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Kumar, 28, is a native of Himachal Pradesh, who made his debut for India in 2017. The Himachal Pradesh government awarded him `1 crore after the Indian men’s Hockey team won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was also part of the Indian team that won silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2021. He later moved to Punjab and was recently promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. immunity arguments rejected Donald Trump may face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of 2020 election, rejecting his claims that he is immune from prosecution | P9 Uttarakhand’s UCC bill tabled, live-in registration mandatory Opposition seeks more time to study legislation; wants it sent to House panel for vetting Key features N AR E N DRA S E THI @ Dehradun Among the major talking points of the Uniform Civil Code bill that was tabled in Uttarakhand’s special assembly session on Tuesday was the stipulation that live, in partners must register themselves within a month with district officials or face imprisonment. Anyone in a live-in relationship for more than a month without getting it registered could face up to three months in jail or a fine of up to `10,000 or both. Those providing false information could be asked to cough up `25,000. On the flip side, children born of such relationships will be considered legitimate and deserted women will be entitled to maintenance from their partners. Live-in partners cannot be under 18. If any one of them is under 21, the registrar would be mandated to inform their parents or guardians, bill states. During the debate on the bill, the opposition Congress pressed for it to be sent to a House panel for review. The bill was originally stated for debate and passage on Tuesday But since the op. position demanded more time to study it, Speaker Ritu Khanduri said the discussion will continue on Wednesday . The bill proposes a uniform process for the registration of marriage and divorce. Couples and officials have also been assigned responsibilities and accountability. Failing to register a marriage or not complying with the rules would attract a maximum fine of `25,000. Uniform divorce law across all religions Provision for compulsory registration for live-in relationships Across-the-board bar on polygamy Consistent regulations for post-divorce financial support Uniform adoption law irrespective of religious beliefs Equal property rights for girls across the board Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami holds a copy of the Constitution at Vidhan Sabha Bhawan Among the other significant recommendations made by the UCC panel were the prohibition of practices such as polygamy halala, iddat, and child marriage, , the establishment of a uniform age for marriage for girls regardless of religion, equal inheritance rights for all genders. Members of the ruling BJP referred to the Shah Bano case several times during the discussion, accusing the Congress of changing the law instead of respecting the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Shah Bano case. The BJP 47 MLAs in the 70member assembly . Education minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat said, “The UCC committee visited various regions of the state and sought suggestions from people in open meetings before framing the bill. It received a total Legal marriage age for girls to be set at 18 years universally Tribal communities exempt from UCC of 2,32,961 suggestions.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal said, “Nothing contained in this Code shall apply to members and group of persons belonging to Scheduled Tribes whose customary rights are protected.” During the 2022 assembly elections, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had set up a committee chaired by Justice Ranjana Desai to oversee the implementation of the UCC. Initially set up for a sixmonths, the panel got four extensions before submitting its final report. Coming as it does ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the bill fulfils one of the key promises of the BJP in its manifesto. It is the first of its kind legislation the country since independence. response to motion of thanks ‘YSRC will table full Budget in Assembly after 3 months’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Asserting that his government has implemented 99% of the poll promises despite the severe financial odds, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said his model of governance will ensure that he comes back to power in the ensuing elections. “I am confident that we will introduce the full Budget in the State Assembly after three months,” Jagan said exuding confidence. Replying to the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s address in the State Assembly, Jagan elaborated on the ‘strained’ financial position of the State at the time he assumed charge as the Chief Minister. He spoke about the financial burden the State faced due to the Covid pandemic and how the government managed to deliver on its promises despite all the odds. Dismissing the charges of the Opposition that the State, under the YSRC rule, was slipping into an economic crisis that was witnessed in Sri Lanka, the Chief Minister explained, “The total debt of the residual State of Andhra Pradesh, which stood at `1,53,000 crore at the time of bifurcation, went to `4,12,288 crore in 2019 when I came to power. Now, the total debt stands at `7,03,000 crore. This means that the rate at which the debt was growing during the previous TDP regime was 21.87%, while it has stood at 12.13% during the last five years.” “The dip in devolution of Central funds and reduced tax revenues during the last five years due to several reasons, including the Covid pandemic, resulted in a revenue loss of `66,116 crore. Despite the odds, the government has excelled in fiscal discipline, debt management, planning and implementation of a slew of welfare schemes transparently Jagan asserted. ,” Flagging the unjust manner in which the State was bifurcated, the Chief Minister pointed out that 50% of the revenue was allocated to Telangana, which had 42% of the total population, while the remaining 50% was allocated to the residual State of Andhra Pradesh with 58% population, further burdening the State with a yearly revenue loss of `13,000 crore. Lashing out at Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu for making false election promises for political gains, Jagan said, “The State rolled out DBT welfare schemes worth `2,55,000 crore and non-DBT initiatives worth `1,07,000 crore. The previous government, too, had the same budget but it could not deliver welfare. This difference speaks about the commitment of the Chief P4 Ministers then and now.”  Total debt of residual AP, which stood at `1,53,000 cr at the time of bifurcation, went to `4,12,288 cr in 2019. Now, the debt stands at `7,03,000 crore. This means the rate at which the debt was growing during the TDP regime was 21.87%, while it is 12.13% during the last five years I sat in the Opposition for five years after 2014 polls just because I did not make a false promise of waiving farm loans. I do not have any regrets. I only make promises that can be fulfilled. We will make a permanent mark in the hearts of the people with our credibility —YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister Speaker suspends TDP leaders for creating ruckus Opposition TDP members were suspended for the day on Tuesday for disrupting the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. They were demanding a discussion on the spiralling prices of essentials. Speaker Tammineni Sitaram suspended them for throwing papers on the Chair In jolt to Pawar Sr, ECI holds Ajit-led group as real NCP Pa r v e z S u lta n & S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ New Delhi/Mumbai IN a major setback to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday recognised the faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar as the real NCP and allowed it to use the party’s symbol Wall Clock. Sharad Pawar will have to apply for a new party and symbol by Wednesday 4.00 pm; otherwise, his MLAs will be recognised as independents. While adjudicating the matter in favour of the Ajit camp, the ECI said Sharad Pawar failed to prove he enjoys the support of a majority of NCP legislators. The ECI followed three tests — test of aims and objectives of party constitution, test of party constitution, and test of majority — to adjudicate the case. Both factions failed to pass the first two tests, while the Ajit-led group passed the third test of majority . The ECI found that Ajit enjoys the support of 41 MLAs and 5 MLCs in Maharashtra, 7 MLAs in Nagaland, one MLA in Jharkhand, and two Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya sabha MP. Sharad Pawar has got the support of 15 MLAs and 4 MLCs in Maharashtra, two MLAs in Kerala, and 4 Lok Sabha MPs and 3 Rajya Sabha MPs. One Lok sabha MP has given affidavits for both sides. Reacting to the decision, NCP MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule said they will move the Supreme Court within two days. “We are clearly doing two things. First, we are going to the Supreme Court in the next 48 hours. Second, the Election Commission has given us an option to give them three names and three symbols by tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, so we will of course do that…What was done with Shiv Sena earlier is happening with us now. It is not a new order. Only the name has changed but the content is the same,” she said. Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in July last year after he walked away with a majority of MLAs and joined the Eknath Shinde government as deputy CM along with eight other NCP legislators as cabinet ministers. express read Red sanders smugglers’ car mows down cop Tirupati: A constable died after red sanders smugglers mowed him down with their vehicle at KV Palle mandal in Annamayya early on Tuesday. When a team of RSASTF tried to stop a speeding car bearing Karnataka registration number, the car swerved to the right to escape and hit the AR constable | P3 Stay off Rakhine State, India tells nationals New Delhi: With the rebel Arakan Army capturing a major part of Rakhine State in Myanmar amid intense battles with the military, India on Tuesday urged its nationals to stay away from that province Jal Board scam: ED raids premises Will Naidu make BJP a ‘tempting offer’ it can’t refuse? linked to AAP MP, Kejriwal’s secy S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada u j w a l j a l a l i @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at over a dozen locations, including premises of AAP MP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal secretary, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) tendering process. Residences of CM’s aide Bibhav Kumar, former DJB member Shalabh Kumar, AAP Rajya Sabha MP N D Gupta, chartered accountant Pankaj Mangal and others associated with the ruling party in Delhi were raided at 7 am, sources said. Kejriwal said 23 ED officers car- ried out raids at the house of his personal assistant. They also searched the premises of Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh for 16 hours but nothing was recovered, he claimed. These raids are being carried out to trample AAP, he added. The DJB case stems from a CBI FIR and the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government. On January 31, the ED arrested retired DJB chief engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora and contractor Anil Kumar Aggarwal. As per the FIR, Arora awarded contracts to NKG Infrastructure for `38 crore despite its failure to meet the criteria. As TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to leave for New Delhi on Wednesday evening to hold talks with senior leaders of the BJP sources in the yel, low party say they are hopeful that a deal will be struck and the two parties along with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party will fight the elections in Andhra Pradesh. It is learnt that the former chief minister is likely to call on BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. As of now, the TDP and the JSP have announced their decision to contest the elections together, while the saffron party has, on multiple occasions, maintained that its alliance with Pawan’s party is intact and a call on forming a three-party combine will be taken by the high command. So far, Naidu and Pawan have held several rounds of talks on the joint election manifesto and seat-sharing. It is anticipated that after their last meeting on February 4, a final decision on the sharing of seats between the two parties will be taken on February 8. Amid these developments, Naidu’s visit to the national capital has gained significance. It is expected that the BJP will join the TDP and JSP in all likelihood. BJP leaders in the State have also sought the party high command to clarify on the electoral alliances. The TDP chief has reportedly decided to place a ‘tempting offer’ before the saffron party’s. Sources said Naidu might offer a good chunk of Parliament seats to the national party as it is focussed on win, ning MP seats in the Southern States. However, there are mixed reactions within the TDP over the alliance. Leaders, particularly from the Rayalaseema region, believe that the tie-up with the BJP will not yield any mileage for the TDP as the saffron party does not have any vote share in the State. On the other hand, another set of leaders believe that the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has positively affected the BJP’s image in the State, resulting in the party seeing a spike in its vote share P4 to two per cent. To convince the BJP to form a 3-party alliance, the TDP chief might offer a good chunk of Parliament seats to the saffron party as it is focussed on winning MP seats in Southern States TDP sources