TIRUCHY l tuesday l july 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION yoga edging closer to becoming part of asiad Yoga may feature in the marquee sporting event according to Indian authorities who are in touch with Olympic Council of Asia... OCA General Assembly’s vote pending Indian Olympic Association president, PT Usha, on Monday said the OCA’s Executive Board has agreed to include yoga and a confirmation from the OCA’s General Assembly would pave the way for its inclusion to the event’s programme. Usha said OCA acting president, Randhir Singh, informed her about EB’s decision India’s bid backed by prominent figures ■ ■ Usha, in a release, thanked sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who had earlier welcomed her initiative to get yoga included. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been a big advocate of yoga The ministry has already granted recognition to Yogasana Bharat for promotion and development of Yogasana as a competitive sport 2026 The year the next Asiad will be conducted 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 RTE students not be enrolled in city pvt schools: SEP panel ment primary schools, the committee said. The panel has recommended The panel constituted to draft that education should be in the State Education Policy has Tamil medium from primary proposed several reforms to to university. A dedicated reenhance early childhood care, search wing on teaching and streamline preschool educa- learning Tamil should also be tion, restrict funding to private set up, the report said. schools under the Right to EdIn line with the state’s focus ucation (RTE) Act, on social justice, the regulatory and banning or regcommittee recombody for ulating of private mended that a curcoaching centres — deemed univs riculum that “enaall with the aim to bles a socio-cultural, The SEP is against prevent commercial- any form of entrance economic, ecological isation of education. test for admissions and technological The panel, headed to higher education t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , by retired Madras courses, and wants deeply rooted in conHigh Court judge D siderations of social board exam marks Murugesan, submitequity and justice” to be the basis for ted its report to enrolment into such should be evolved. It Chief Minister MK stressed that the curcourses. It also Stalin on Monday . riculum should enwants a regulatory The panel recom- body for ‘deemed to gage “with strucmended against entures of inequality be universities’ P2 rolling children in in society and works , private schools under 25% towards equality. For the soRTE quota and reducing funds cial goal of annihilation of provided for this to private caste, it is imperative that curschools to a bare minimum. riculum addresses the evil in The government should con- our society .” sider providing financial aid The report has asked the under RTE Act only to unaided government to create a direcnon-minority private schools torate to oversee early childin remote areas like hills hood care and development for where there are no govern- children from ages 0-5. P7 Rahul’s fiery debut speech Govt in no hurry to pick pANEL formed Attacks BJP saying its leaders aren’t Hindus; criticises Agniveer scheme, NEET examination Modi makes two dy speaker interventions; BJP seeks apology S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi @ Chennai Retired HC judge D Murugesan, chairman of the panel on State Education Policy, handing over the panel’s report to Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday | Express Florida model ‘Space Bays’ to come up in 4 TN districts C S h i v a k u m a r @ Chennai As Kulasekarapattinam is likely to be ready in next two years to launch small satellites, Tamil Nadu is working on a blueprint to create ‘Space Bays’ in Madurai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar districts on the lines of Space Coast of Florida of the United States, according to the draft Tamil Nadu Space Industrial Policy 2024. The state aims to attract 10,000 crore investments in five years in the sector, officials said. Banking on two space industrial parks — one for propellants and another for satellites and payload manufacturing — which may create an ecosystem of supply chain in the four districts, the state government is aiming to generate jobs in the four districts through knowledgebased economy . The goal is to generate direct and indirect jobs for 10,000 people in 10 years and adoption of space-based technologies in transportation, agriculture, disaster management, and urban planning. The move will foster growth of companies in Tamil Nadu to capture a portion of the global space market and contribute to the state’s goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2030, said the policy draft accessed by TNIE. CONTINUED ON P7 RA J E S H KU M AR THAKUR @ New Delhi Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi (left) gestures during his debut speech; and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of two his interventions during the address, in the Lok Sabha on Monday | PTI P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The Lok Sabha witnessed a massive showdown on Monday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP in his debut speech, saying the leaders of the ruling party are not Hindus as they engage in “violence and hate” round the clock. The remark prompted sharp responses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, accusing Rahul of portraying the entire Hindu community as violent. In his speech that lasted nearly two hours, the Congress leader hit out at the government over a range of issues – from NEET to Agniveer to farm distress, unemployment and inflation among others. Alleging that the BJP was instilling fear in all sections of society, Rahul invoked Lord Shiva and the teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha and Mahavir to drive home the point that all religions preach, ‘don’t to be scared, and do not scare others’. “Lord Shiva says ‘don’t be scared,’ shows the abhaya mudra, talks about ahimsa, but those who call themselves Hindus indulge in hatred, violence and untruths round the clock,” He alleged, pointing towards the BJP MPs. As the Treasury benches erupted in protest, Shah demanded an apology for hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community An unfazed Rahul, . however, hit back saying he was speaking about the BJP and neither the ruling party nor the RSS represent the entire Hindu society “You are not . Hindus. It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and not back down from the truth or be scared of it,” he said. Taking potshots at the BJP over its defeat in Ayodhya after the Ram temple’s inauguration, Rahul said the voters have conveyed a clear message to the government for its failures. Holding the government responsible for the unrest in Manipur, he said the prime minister and home minister have totally neglected the state. He also accused the BJP of threatening the minorities and spreading hatred and violence against them. Referring to the NEET-UG row, Rahul said students do not believe in the exam because they feel it is for the rich and that there is no place in it for meritorious students. Multiple breaks Rahul had to stop his speech several times as ministers Amit Shah, Rijiju, Bhupender Yadav and others made interventions. As he held up a picture of Lord Shiva, Speaker Birla said rules do not allow placards in the House When Hemant Soren or Arvind Kejriwal goes to jail, I should be concerned. When you unleash enforcement agencies on them, we should defend them. When you are a constitutional person, your personal aspirations should take a back seat Rahul Gandhi on his new role BJP leaders on Monday launched a barrage of criticism both inside and outside Parliament against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for alleging they were not Hindus as they promote division and violence. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first intervention in the debate said Rahul calling the entire Hindu society violent was a serious matter, Union home minister Amit Shah and other ministers demanded an apology from the Congress leader. In his second intervention during Rahul’s speech, Modi said the Constitution has taught him to take the LoP seriously . Referring to the Agniveer scheme, Rahul described how the family of a martyr is deprived of compensation from the Army. Defence minister MSP issue Rajnath Singh rebutted When Rahul him by pointing out that alleged that the an Agniveer who lays govt did not want down his life in the line of to give a legal duty gets a compensation guarantee on MSP, of `1 crore. “This House agriculture is not for spreading lies. minister Shivraj Rahul Gandhi should Chouhan accused apologise to the House, to him of misleading the country and to Agthe House niveers,” Shah said. Later, Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Ashwini Vaishnaw did a media briefing and accused Rahul of denigrating the LoP post with his “utterly irresponsible” speech. Vaishnaw joined issue with Rahul who alleged that adequate compensation was not paid to the relocated shopkeepers in Ayodhya. “The state government and the administration provided `1,253 crore in compensation to 4,215 affected shopkeepers,” he claimed. Vaishnaw accused Rahul of insulting the Hindu. “This is an old habit of the Congress. In 2010, P Chidambaram called Hindus terrorists, and in 2013, Sushil Shinde repeated it,” he alleged. Rijiju stated that the BJP has contested many of Rahul’s claims and has requested action from the Speaker. “He will have to substantiate or apologise.” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also alleged that the appeasement politics of the Congress and Rahul “starts and ends with Hindu hate. AS uncertainty over the appointment of the deputy speaker post of the Lok Sabha continues, sources said the government is unlikely to move in this direction soon. The NDA is keeping the cards close to its chest over whether it will keep the post or allot it to an INDIA bloc candidate. However, Speaker Om Birla’s move on Monday to appoint a panel of chairpersons to help him run the House proceedings shows the government does not want to appoint a deputy speaker, sources said. Addressing the House on Monday, Birla said he has named Jagdambika Pal (BJP), P C Mohan (BJP), Sandhya Ray (BJP), Dilip Saikia (BJP), Kumari Selja (Congress), A Raja (DMK), Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (TMC), Krishna Prasad Tenneti (TDP), and Awadhesh Prasad (SP) as members of the panel of chairpersons. This comes amid speculation that the INDIA bloc has reached a consensus over fielding Faizabad MP Prasad for the deputy speaker post. Sources said if INDIA bloc puts up Prasad as its candidate, the BJP will find it difficult to oppose. According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, these chairpersons preside over House proceedings when the Speaker is not in the Chair. They enjoy all powers vested in the Speaker. By fielding Prasad, the Opposition is trying to send a message to the Dalit voters in Uttar Pradesh. “The government may not wish to send a wrong message by opposing Prasad’s candidature,” said an NDA leader. New guideline value kicks in, 10% jump in Chennai C S h i v a k u m a r @ Chennai After the Madras High Court quashed the Tamil Nadu government’s earlier upward revision of guideline value for properties for lack of adherence to due process, the state government has carried out afresh the revision exercise as per due process. The revised guideline for properties came into effect from Monday, a release from the registration department said. According to Builders Association of India and Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), the guideline value has increased by more than 10% across Chennai. Importantly, this time the registration department has come out with a rule to register apartments based on their composite value as a whole unlike the earlier two separate registrations for undivided share of the land (UDS) and the con- structed flat. Mohamed Ali, president of CREDAI, Chennai, said, “Previously when the , developer sells an apartment, the UDS and construction agreements will be registered separately. This has been followed for the last 30 to 35 years. Now the government, fearing queries from audit, wants a composite sale deed”. “You can’t have a UDS agreement and a construction agreement separately any- more,” Mohamed Ali said. This would mean that if a person is buying a new apartment, he or she would be buying the new apartment on a composite sale, which is similar to buying an old apartment. However, Ali says there are few anomalies in the fixing of rates, especially since prices vary from street to street even within the same area, and they are holding talks with the government. Road to Paris Trekking in Swiss—Hockey team’s Oly prep S w a r o o p S WA M INATHAN @ Bengaluru IN a week’s time, the Indian men’s hockey team will throw away their sports gear for some jackets, headlamps and hiking boots. As part of a team bonding exercise before the high-pressure environment of the Olympics, the contingent — the playing members and the support staff — will meet up with the side’s mental conditioning coach, Paddy Upton, in Switzerland for a three-day camp. “There will be no hockey there,” Craig Fulton, coach of the national team, said during an interaction with this daily. “Everything that we need to focus on to be the best team we can be. Most have a good time doing it because it’s been tough, training really hard. Sometimes, we also need to see the wood for the trees (laughs). The mountains The men’s team is scheduled to reach Paris on July 20 | hockey india could be what we need.” While there, the plan right now is to do some trekking before 2021 bronze medallists switch base to Netherlands for three friendlies before they leave for Paris on July 20. The three-day session could also see the side have a spell with Mike Horn, a motivational coach who has worked with the Indian cricket, the Germany men’s football team as well as Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. Doing these sort of team exercises is nothing new for Fulton’s wards. Last year, they climbed Table Mountain. Before the Asian Games, the players were split into small teams and were asked to shoot short movies (movies were shot on a mobile camera before they were screened). PR Sreejesh, who will be featuring in his fourth Olympics, spoke about why these exercises are vital. “Climbing the Table Mountain was a good experience,” he said. “Different people had different goals; somebody wanted to finish first, a few just wanted to finish, others wanted to come last so they could motivate everybody else to finish. It was about showing mentality .” On the upcoming trip to Switzerland, Sreejesh said: “We are going to meet Mike Horn (Horn had taken the South African men’s cricket team on an expedition to the Swiss Alps in 2012), I have read about his work in Paddy Upton’s autobiography That . was so inspiring and I’m sure his lessons will help us at the Olympics. When you feel like you are breaking down or the team is breaking down, his experiences will help us make good decisions under those circumstances. “It will be something new for us but that’s what we require, we need to distract ourselves. Three days doing this before coming back to hockey will refresh us.” Sources said the government has promised to correct the discrepancies. “Since the new registrations are to be done on the composite value (land and building) the cost of apartments will go up,” Ali said. Interestingly most of the de, velopers sell their flats for market value which is higher than the guideline value. “Even if the guideline value goes up, the prices of flats won’t go up. Only the registration cost will go up,” Ali said. WC Chess india miss out The International Chess Federation said that Singapore will be hosting the event, where D Gukesh will be taking on defending champ Ding Liren | P13 Patkar gets 5-month jail in 23-yr-old defamation case S u c h i t r a M o h a n t y @ New Delhi A Delhi court on Monday sentenced social activist Medha Patkar to five months in jail in a 23-year-old defamation case brought against her by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. The Metropolitan Magistrate Court also asked Patkar to pay `10 lakh as compensation to Saxena. In 2000, Saxena, who was then the president of Ahmedabad-based NGO, National Council for Civil Liberties, published an advertisement against the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) led by Patkar. The NBA was opposing the construction of dams on the Narmada. Responding to the ad, Patkar issued a press note saying Saxena was “mortgaging” the people of Gujarat and their resources before Bill Gates and the then World Bank president James Wolfensohn. Her press note also called Saxena a Gujarat government agent. Saxena filed a defamation suit against her in 2001. “It is evident that the accused (Patkar) harbored a clear intention to defame the complainant through her press note,” the Delhi court said in its verdict. Rejecting Patkar’s prayer to release her on the condition of probation, the magistrate said, “Considering the facts...damages, age and ailment, I am not inclined to give excessive punishment.” The court, however, suspended the sentence for a month to enable to file an appeal.
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