KOZHIKODE l friday l October 25, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION PAC meet postponed as SEBI chief Madhabi Buch doesn’t turn up The Sebi chairperson skipped a Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, prompting panel head K C Venugopal to put it off Buch cites ‘exigencies’ to skip meeting Furore over jpc head Venugopal’s fiat Venugopal said the panel received a message from Buch at 9.30 am that she and her team wouldn’t be able to appear before it due to “exigencies”. The panel’s proceedings remained deadlocked even during its second sitting amid the NDA members’ demand that Venugopal allow a vote on agenda items like summoning heads of regulatory bodies, an idea opposed by Cong MPs ■ ■ BJP member Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to drop five of the 161 subjects picked by the panel for its annual agenda, and called for a vote With NDA members in majority, Venugopal didn’t allow the motion. BJP members accused him of not letting them air their views. They later met Speaker Om Birla to protest against Venugopal’s unilateral decisions Trai chairman Briefly Appeared before jpc but the meet was called off due to protests 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 EAM bats for fair, durable solution to W Asia mess Jaishankar says disputes and differences should be resolved through diplomacy M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi Informal interaction Expressing concern over the grave situation in West Asia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that any approach that seeks to end the conflict has to be ‘fair and durable’, leading to a two-state solution. Speaking at the BRICS Outreach session representing India, Jaishankar said efforts must be made to resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and diplomacy so that they don’t lead to armed conflicts or full-fledged wars. Referring to the multi-front war Israel is locked in in West Asia—with Hamas in Palestine, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the looming threat of a opening another front with Iran—he said the situation is quite serious. “Maritime trade has also been deeply affected. The human and material consequences of further escalation are truly serious,” he added. Jaishankar made these remarks while representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the outreach session hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan in Russia on the final day of the BRICS Summit. During his speech, Jaishankar reiterated Modi’s message of peace, that this is not an era of war. Suggesting ways to create a more equitable global order, Jaishankar said the distortions in global infrastructure, which he termed “a legacy of the colonial era”, must be set right, adding that corrections must be done with respect for territorial integrity . Lamenting that the benefits of globalisation has been ‘very uneven’, Jaishankar noted that the Global South has long suffered neglect at the cost of the Western nations. However, a new global order is taking shape and global institutions such as the UN must undergo reforms to deal with the new reality . “We face the paradox that even as forces of change have advanced, some long standing issues have only become more complex... BRICS itself is a statement of how profoundly the old order is changing,” he said. Jaishankar interacted informally with the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Thailand. He also interacted with Egyptian prez Abdel Fattah El-Sisi International law should be adhered to and there should be zero tolerance for terrorism S Jaishankar, EAM E X P RESS READ No fault on part of ADM: Probe report T’Puram: There was no fault on the part of former Kannur ADM Naveen Babu in giving permission to the petrol pump, the probe report by Joint Land Revenue Commissioner Geetha A has said. The report was submitted to revenue principal secretary on Thursday. P7 2 Army porters killed in terror attack Srinagar: Two porters working with the Army were killed on Thursday while four others, including three soldiers, were injured as terrorists attacked a vehicle of the force six kilometres from the tourist hotspot Gulmarg in north Kashmir, officials said. ‘Tour’ turns surprise raid; GST officials seize 108kg gold T o b y A nt o n y @ Kochi When they left their homes for Ernakulam on Wednesday morning, the officers of the intelligence wing of the State GST (SGST) de par tment thought they were going for a two-day training at the private college where they were told to gather. Similarly officers of , the SGST’s audit wing, who were told to assemble at Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) in Thrissur around the same time, thought the same. However, the officers, numbering around 700, who gathered at the two locations were in for a surprise. They were 700 Officers involved in operation kept in dark Around 700 officials of the SGST’s intelligence and audit wings, who had gathered in Ernakulam and Thrissur, were told that they were being taken for a tour as part of training. 1 2 Officials who got into hired tourist buses were dropped at places where raids were planned. They were barred from using phones. about to be part of perhaps one of the biggest raids ever conducted by the SGST department in Kerala. Code named ‘Torre del Oro’ (Tower of Gold) — a monument in Seville, Spain — the raid by the SGST officers on 73 locations linked to gold jewellers in Thrissur led to the seizure of 108kg of gold over tax evasion. The M P P rashanth @Kozhikode PDP leader Abdul Nazar Madani played an important role in radicalising Muslim youth in Kerala and that could be the reason why he is labelled the ‘ambassador of extremism’, says CPM state committee member P Jayarajan. The controversial reference to Madani appears in Jayarajan’s latest book ‘Keralam: Muslim Rashtreeyam, Rashtreeya Islam’, which will be re- leased by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kozhikode on Saturday . It may be recalled that PDP has been supporting the LDF after he was released from the Coimbatore jail and Pinarayi himself shared the stage with Madani during the poll campaign at Ponnani in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Jayarajan’s remarks are likely to ruffle feathers in the PDP and among the Muslim organisations in general. Cyclone Dana 3.5 lakh evacuated in Odisha Odisha braced for impact as severe cyclonic storm Dana, packing strong wind, headed towards the coast where it is likely to pelt heavy showers post landfall well past Thursday midnight | P7 Rly projects worth `6,798 cr gift-wrapped for Bihar, AP five years will provide connectivity, facilitate ease of travel reduce oil imports In a big push for infrastructure develop- and lower carbon emissions. ment in the NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh The projects involve doubling the and Bihar, the Union Cabinet Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamaon Thursday approved one rhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhimega Railway project with a toMuzaffarpur sections, covering tal estimated cost of `6,798 256 km in Bihar with an esticrore. In another decision, the mated cost of `4,553 crore, and Cabinet approved the establishthe construction of a new line ment of a Venture Capital Fund between Errupalem and Namworth `1,000 crore for the space buru via Amaravati in Andhra sector under the aegis of INPradesh, covering 57 km with SPACe to promote and oversee Ashwini Vaishnaw an estimated cost of `2,245 private sector participation in crore, the minister said. the sector. The doubling of the rail line is expectBriefing the media after the Union ed to strengthen connectivity to Nepal, Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on the Northeast and the border areas. Economic Affairs met, Information & The new Errupalem-Amaravati-NamBroadcasting Minister Ashwini buru rail line will traverse through NTR Vaishnaw said, the two mega railway Vijayawada and Guntur districts of APa projects scheduled to be completed in and Khammam district of Telangana. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Senior rail officers on safety inspection R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Accident 48 40 35 Derailments 40 *2024-25 36 (Up to August) 27 25 22 18 *2024-25 2023-24 2022-23 Data based on a RTI reply 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 17 past seven months. The raids were carried out in only less than 1km periphery of Thrissur city As thorough prepara. tory work was carried out, we did not want anyone to leak the information about the operation. Only four senior officers knew about it. All others were kept in the dark,” he said. The raids were conducted on godowns, manufacturing units, shops and residences of 35 jewellers in Thrissur. “We selected Thrissur as it is the hub of gold jewellery manufacturers in the state. Four jewellers were slapped with a fine of `5.03 crore for GST evasion,” he said. ● More on P4 Madani played key role in radicalising Muslim youth: P Jayarajan to curb accidents Total train accidents, 55 Derailments raids that lasted till Thursday afternoon were planned and executed in complete secrecy, with only four senior officers kept in the loop. “After all the officials gathered at the college in Ernakulam and KILA in Thrissur, they were told that a tour was arranged as part of the training. Believing that they were going for a tour, the officials got into hired tourist buses and were dropped at places where the raids were planned. It was only after reaching the locations that the officials were infor med about the raids. They were also told not to use their mobile phones so that no information is leaked,” a top official who supervised the raid told TNIE. The search was conducted after much preparation and planning to ensure that there were no loose ends. “We were conducting a preliminary inquiry into tax evasion by people engaged in gold jewellery manufacturing and its sale in Thrissur for the Amid a spate of derailments, the Ministry of Railways has decided to involve its senior administrative grade (SAG) officers to conduct inspections to enhance safety . From now on, SAG officers will carry out two night inspections per month at roadside stations, level-crossing gates, or on footplates. This is in addition to regular daytime inspections of maintenance practices across all departments, which may include monitoring crew operations and visits to running rooms. They also have been tasked with conducting “ambush checks” at unmanned level crossings in collaboration with the police to check if safety measures are in place. The decision follows a safety review meeting on October 8, where a sys- tem was suggested for assigning officers for night inspections and to monitor the inspections carried out by other nominated officers. The ministry directed General Managers and Divisional Railway Managers to implement this system and ensure daily oversight of night inspections. “A number of accidents are avoidable as they are on account of failure of staff,” the ministry stated in its order. “It has been desired that all SAG officers at the headquarters of departments eligible to be posted as DRMs/GMs (civil engineering, S&T, Electrical, Safety Op, erating, Mechanical, accounts, Stores and also those working in Construction organisation) may be utilised to conduct inspections and look into allotted areas so as to effect improvement in safety in train operations,” the order said. File photo of Abdul Nazar Madani with Pinarayi Vijayan at election campaign in Ponnani LS constituency in 2009 “The series of speeches delivered by Abdul Nazar Madani throughout Kerala after the demolition of the Babri Masjid played an important role kindling extremist thoughts among the Muslim minorities. Madani tried to fuel extremist thoughts through his emotional speeches,” Jayarajan said in the book. He went on to add that the Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS) formed by Madani to take on the RSS provided arms training to Muslim youths. “The speeches during the march to the Thiruvanathapuram airport were extremely provocative,” the book says. Citing police reports, Jayarajan says that Thadiyatavide Nazeer, who is involved in many terror cases, was deeply attracted by Madani’s emotional speeches. He, however, added that there was a change in Madani’s stand after he was acquitted in Coimbatore blast case in 2007. The book also discusses in detail the ‘theocratic ideology’ of Jama’at-e-Islami and its role in radicalising Mus● More on P4 lims.