Diwali bonanza for Central govt staff/ pensioners The government’s decision is with effect from July 1 this year and will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali The Cabinet meeting also cleared the price hikes for six rabi crops, with increases ranging from J130 to J300 per quintal for 2025-26 marketing season beginning April 2025 | P7 KOZHIKODE l thursday l october 17, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 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 India violated Sarin outburst sours Cong spirits sovereignty of Canada: Trudeau E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @Palakkad US, UK and other members of the Five Eyes group ask India to probe Canadian charges Y e s h i Sel i @ New Delhi Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said there were clear indications that India had violated Canadian sovereignty alluding , to the murder of Khalistani radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year. He was testifying before a federal commission probing into foreign interference in the country. Trudeau named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi jailed in India as one of the conduits for criminal activities in Canada at alleged behest of the Modi government. Trudeau said Indian diplomats were collecting information of Canadians who were opponents of or in disagreement with the Modi government. They passed the information to their government, which employed criminals like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to harm Canadians, he alleged. The Royal Canada Mounted Police (RCMP) wanted to disrupt this chain, which is why they went public on Monday he , said. “We wanted to question the Indian diplomats but since they didn’t agree we asked them to leave the country .’’ Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were involved in covert, clandestine activities, and were withholding family visas of suspects. The RCMP felt it had reached the threshold as it was soon turning to be a threat to public safety he added. , Trudeau said that when he apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2023 (on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi) about the information, he said that there Canadians who were involved in hate speeches and India would like them arrested. “I told Modi that the people in Canada had freedom of speech and we would work with India if it came to terrorism.’’ Earlier in the day, Canada’s allegations found resonance in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance it is part of. The grouping includes the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand. “When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously And we wanted to see . the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. The head start the Congress made on Tuesday by declaring its bypoll candidates within hours of the Election Commission’s announcement of the dates evaporated the next day after KPCC digital media cell convener Dr P Sarin, a contender for Palakkad assembly seat, slammed the party’s decision to field Rahul Mamkoottathil from the constituency . Sarin’s outburst at a hurriedly-convened press conference at Palakkad Press Club gave rise to speculation that the CPM, which is yet to announce its can- looked to represent his party in didate, will consider him as its Palakkad, Sarin emphasised he Palakkad pick if he shows inter- still believes in the inherent virest. Sarin’s praise of the Left tues of the Congress party He . party’s organisational urged the leadership to strength fuelled the reconsider the selection, speculation. “There’s a pointing out the need to common joke the CPM understand the ground can elect even a broomreality of the constitustick, but I believe it ency. “If Rahul Mamkspeaks to the strength oottathil loses, it will acof their organisational tually be Rahul Gandhi’s Dr P Sarin setup. We don’t need to loss,” he said. adopt a cadre system, Though pushed to the but we should aim for transpar- back foot following Sarin’s outency Sarin said. ,” burst, the Congress leadership Though he expressed disap- was quick to respond. “Rahul pointment over being over- Mamkoottathil was chosen as 70k online slots open, govt keeps pilgrims guessing on spot regn Terrorism won’t boost trade, Jaishankar’s veiled dig at Pak Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Pathanamthitta The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Wednesday started virtual queue bookings for the upcoming annual pilgrimage season at Sabarimala temple with a daily cap of 70,000 pilgrims, 10,000 less from an earlier decided limit. The government had earlier capped the daily booking limit at 80,000 devotees. While the TDB said a decision on the remaining 10,000 slots will be taken later, official sources hinted that the slots are being set aside for spot bookings, even though the term ‘spot booking’ may not be used explicitly . Last year too, 70,000 bookings were allocated for devotees online. Speculations about the government allowing spot bookings emerged after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while responding to a submission by MLA V Joy informed , the assembly on Tuesday that online registration would not be mandatory for darshan ● More on P5 at the hill shrine.  per the party’s norms, and the full responsibility of the decision vests with me and the KPCC president (K Sudhakaran),” said Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan in Tiruvalla. “He (Sarin) should introspect whether it was a wise call to hold a news conference against the party’s decision,” he said. Veteran Congress leader A K Antony too exuded confidence that Mamkoottathil would emerge victorious in the bypoll, and said once the Congress high command takes a decision, everyone is bound to ● More on P4 abide by it.  Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif (R) greets EAM S Jaishankar in Islamabad | PTI Informal Talks Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar held casual talks on two occasions since Tuesday evening, sources said Taking a jab at Pakistan’s policy of nurturing and exporting terror, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that three evils—terrorism, extremism, and separatism—are holding back regional cooperation initiatives. Speaking at the 23rd Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Islamabad, Jaishankar said these evils should be rooted out before any progress can be made on trade and people-to-people connect. “Our endeavours will progress only when our commitment to the SCO Charter remains firm… this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’. If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel,” Jaishankar said in remarks that were seen as directed towards Pakistan. In a veiled reference to China, with which India has an ongoing border dispute, Jaishankar said that trade and connectivity initiatives must recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty, and it is essential to have an “honest conversation” on lack of trust. 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