Pic: BAI hyderabad l Monday l February 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION golden moment for indian badminton in malaysia anmol victory takes team home With the gold-medal contest locked at 2-2, India were relying on teenager Anmol Kharb yet again in the decider. The 17-year-old played with plenty of authority to see off Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-14, 21-9. Earlier, twotime Olympic medallist Sindhu and the doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand had put the team ahead | P11 India women’s team pulls off 3-2 win over Thailand to bag first-ever gold in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam VISIBLE SIGNS OF ENCOURAGEMENT ■ ■ Anmol showed maturity beyond her years to get over the line, not once but thrice, in crunch matches. Her emergence is a welcome boost for the Indian team, that will be intent on nurturing her further Even the likes of Treesa and Gayatri were exceptional. Sindhu was on point in the final. This is encouraging ahead of key events this year 472 ANMOL KHARB’S WORLD RANKING. sHE WON THREE MATCHES IN THE EVENT 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 NDA’s 3rd term crucial for India’s progress, says PM Opposition parties are incapable of taking the country forward: Modi R A J E S H K UM A R T H A K UR @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a third term for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is essential for India’s progress because the opposition parties lack the vision and commitment to take the country forward in terms of development. Addressing BJP delegates from across the country at the BJP’s national convention, Modi said he is not seeking another term to enjoy power but it is for the country’s benefit. Asserting that the ruling alliance will storm back to power with a record mandate of 400plus seats, he said even world leaders are convinced about his continuance as PM that he is getting invitations for events that are months away. “The elections are yet to happen, but I am getting invitations from foreign countries for July, August, September... These countries know that Aayega to Modi hi (Modi’s victory is inevitable),” he said, adding that every country now wants to have deeper relations with India. In his 70-minute address to party’s delegates, Modi urged them to work hard and reach out to each and every beneficiary of Central government schemes. “For NDA to cross 400, the BJP will have to cross the milestone of 370. The next five years are going to be crucial. We have to take a big leap towards Viksit Bharat. The first imperative is to ensure the return of the BJP to power in strong numbers,” he said. Taking a jab at the opposition It’s Mahabharata war, says Shah Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday likened the Lok Sabha polls to the Mahabharata war, asserting that the BJP will win. “Just as in the Mahabharata war there were two camps, Kauravas and Pandavas, today there are two camps ahead of polls,” he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the BJP National Council meeting on its second day at Bharat Mandapam | pti Ram Rajya for 1,000 years: BJP resolution The next five years are going to be crucial. The first condition for realising the big goals for the country is to ensure the return of the BJP to power with a strong mandate The BJP’s national convention passed a resolution on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, stating it heralds establishment of ‘Ram Rajya’ in India for the next 1,000 years. The resolution noted the temple has become a temple of “national consciousness” Narendra Modi, PM parties, Modi said they may not know how to plan or execute large projects but they are matchless in making false commitments. “Despite this, these parties lack the courage to make one promise—ViksitBharat. Nor do they question us about it. They have acknowledged they cannot lead India to development,” he said. Modi claimed the BJP is the only party that aspires to make India a developed nation by 2047, adding that NDA’s past 10 years have been characterised by bold decisions and futuristic policies. “We dared to complete the tasks were left unfinished for decades—Ayodhya Ram temple construction, opening of Kartarpur corridor, abrogation of Article 370,” he said. P7 Nadda’s tenure extended till June BJP national president JP Nadda’s tenure has been extended till June 2024. The decision, which was announced in January by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was approved by the party’s national council held in New Delhi on Sunday Mega Master Plan to be prepared for the entire state soon: Revanth E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurates the headquarters building of the Telangana State Disaster Response & Fire Services at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, on Sunday @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that a “Mega Master Plan-2050” would be prepared shortly for the entire state. Stating that the master plan was limited to Hyderabad only till now, he pointed out that more than 40% of the people live in urban areas and the entire Telangana has now become like a city There was a . need to prepare a master plan for the entire state, the chief minister said. Addressing a meeting after inaugurating the Telangana State Disaster Response & Fire Services headquarters building at Nanakramguda here on Sunday Revanth said , the state would be divided into three parts and development works would be taken up accordingly. He outlined the development strategy into three distinct categories: the urban area within the Outer TS to start horizontal reservation for women E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e What it means @ Hyderabad The state government has decided to implement 33.33% horizontal reservations for women without earmarking any roster points in direct recruitments in each category — OC, SEBC-A, SEBC-B, SEBC-C, SEBC-D, SEBC-E, EWS, SC, ST, persons with disabilities, exservicemen and meritorious sportspersons — for which men and women are equally suited. The government, while suppressing the earlier orders, issued a GO amending the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996. The Amendments were made to rule 22 and 22-A. All the recruitment agencies under the state government, government undertakings, quasi-govern- While vertical reservation is for the people belonging to the marginalised communities such as SCs and STs, horizontal reservation is for other disadvantaged groups like women, transgender people and people with disabilities, among others ment institutions, including government-aided institutions and local bodies are directed to implement the reservation in favour of women accordingly, according to a GO issued by Women and Child Welfare Secretary Vakati Karuna. While deciding to implement horizontal reservations for women, the state government followed the judgment given by Kamal Nath Ryots harden stance as negotiations continue not leaving party, claims MP Congress H A RPR E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh an u r aa g s i n g h @ Bhopal Amid reports that veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath may switch to the BJP Madhya , Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari on Sunday claimed the senior leader is not leaving the grand old party . “I spoke to Kamal Nath over the phone and he told me the media reports are misleading. He has assured me that he is with the Congress and will continue to be with the party Win. ning and losing are all part of democracy. Neither Kamal Nath or ex-minister Sajjan Singh Verma are going anywhere,” said Patwari. In a related development, Madhya P r a d e s h Congress released a list of ex-Congress leaders who joined the BJP in the last few years. Of the 62 who joined BJP in Madhya Pradesh, only seven gained politically while the rest found their careers waning, according to the party . Rumours of Nath’s exit from the party started making the rounds on Saturday after his arrival in Delhi cutting short his tour to his son Nakul’s constituency Chhindwara. Meanwhile, adding fuel to the fire, Kamal Nath loyalist Sajjan Singh Verma said: “Only three things matter in politics– Maan, Samman aur Swabhiman. When these are hurt, a leader is bound to take a major decision.” P8 FARMER unions on Sunday hardened their stance even as the fourth round of talks with the Centre kicked off in Chandigarh, with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions, calling for taking the protest to the door steps of BJP leaders. In Punjab, protesting farmers will gherao the residences of BJP leaders for three days starting Tuesday Also, . tolls across the state will be ‘liberated’ to allow free passage of vehicles. Farmer leaders warned the protest will continue even if the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into force, reiterating that the farmers will not accept anything less than the C2 (comprehensive cost of production) plus 50% formula for minimum support price (MSP) as recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report. The SKM announced its decision after its meeting in Ludhiana on Farmers raising slogans at the PunjabHaryana Shambhu border on Sunday during their ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest near Patiala district | pti Sunday. SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said farmers will stage protests in front of the residences of Punjab BJP leaders including MPs and MLAs from Tuesday to Thursday Toll barriers in the state . will also be deactivated during February 20-22 to make passage free for passengers, he added. Rajewal said the SKM will hold a high-level meeting on February 22 in Delhi to chalk out future strategy . Meanwhile, Haryana farmers un- ions have also got active after a meeting with khaps at Kurukshetra on Sunday. Haryana BKU (Chaduni) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni said they will announce their plan of action on Monday if the fourth round of talks fail. “If the government thinks it can continue to hold meetings till the MCC is imposed and then say back off citing the code, it’s not going to work,” said Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur). P8 Ts-nab to sai dharam tej Bro, say no to ‘Ganja Shankar’ E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Hyderabad Warned of action Legal action could be initiated against the filmmakers as the TS NAB believes that the film’s title and trailer could be seen as abetting commission of offences under the NDPS Act. Ring Road (ORR), encompassing the city limits of Hyderabad; the peri-urban region extending from the ORR to the Regional Ring Road (RRR); and the rural village areas The Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TS-NAB) has issued notices to actor Sai Dharam Tej, the producer and the director of the upcoming Telugu movie Ganja Shankar, directing them to change the movie title and refrain from showing any narcotic or psychotropic images or its consumption. In a post on X on Saturday, the TS-NAB said, “The TS-NAB director issued notice to Ganja Shankar film crew raising objection over title and content depicting character as a ganja peddler and its glorification. We request the film fraternity to sensitise the concerned to re- frain from glorifying sale, consumption etc, of drugs. .” TS-NAB Director Sandeep Shandilya said, “In your movie, depicting the protagonist as engaging in ganja business and glorifying his acts and the title Ganja Shankar will create negative impact on the viewers, especially students and youth.” “We expect you to refrain from depicting any scenes in your movie where consumption, sale, peddling and supply of ganja is glorified and shown as a heroic act and you desist from having such scenes in your movie and to abstain from propagating such acts which will have deleterious effects on the young generation,” he said. continued on p5 the Supreme Court. The apex court in the case of Rajesh Kumar Daria vs Rajasthan Public Service Commission stated that ‘social reservations in favour of SC, ST and OBC under Article 16(4)’ are ‘vertical reservations’. Special reservations in favour of physically handicapped, women/ etc., under Article 16 (1) or 15 (3) are ‘horizontal reservations’. Where a vertical reservation is made in favour of a Backward Class under Article 16 (4), the candidates belonging to such Backward Class may compete for non-reserved posts and if they are appointed to the non-reserved posts on their merit, their number will not be counted against the quota reserved for the respective Backward Class. Continued on P4 spanning from the RRR to the state border. He said that between the ORR and the RRR, 10–15 clusters would be developed into c i t i e s, a s w a s d o n e i n Bangkok. While appealing to residents to not fall for rumours of the Hyderabad Pharma City being shelved, Revanth said the previous government had planned the project in an urban area while the present administration was planning to do the same in a rural area, allowing for decentralisation. The Pharma City being close to the international airport was not a good idea as it would “pose a danger to the very existence of the city”, the chief minister said. continued on p4 rewriting records India post 434-run win g o m e s h s @ Rajkot Ravindra Jadeja was down on his knees, kissing the pitch at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot. He had completed a fifer, trapping Mark Wood on the pads and helped India secure a record victory in the third Test against England here on Sunday At least he thought so. . Wood reviewed and survived, but it was always going to be a matter of time. He dismissed Wood in the next over, this time the celebrations were much casual despite India registering a 434run victory the biggest in terms , of margin of runs, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Rohit, understandably was a satis, fied captain.continued on P5
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.