kollam l tuesday l November 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 6,000 kg meth seized off andaman coast in ‘biggest haul’ The Coast Guard seized a fishing vessel carrying 6,000 kg of Methamphetamine near Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an official said on Monday trawler with 3K packets of drug stopped six Myanmarese nationals arrested The pilot of a Coast Guard aircraft noticed a fishing trawler making suspicious movements near Barren Island, 150 km from Port Blair and alerted the Andaman and Nicobar Command. The Coast Guard ships arrived and towed the trawler to Port Blair. Around 3,000 packets, each containing 2 kg of meth, were seized during a search ■ ■ “We have arrested six Myanmarese nationals and it is believed the Meth was meant for India and neighbours,” a defence official said, adding it was likely the biggest-ever drug haul by the Coast Guard In 2019 and 2022 too, large quantities of drugs were seized from foreign ships on Indian waters near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands A18,000 cr Approximate value of the contraband based on estimates from past seizures 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 Call taken on BJP SC trashes petitions against inclusion of ‘secular’, ‘socialist’ to the Preamble leading the new Mahayuti govt E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi Name of the chief minister to be announced in Mumbai; Shinde camp keeps up pressure Mukesh Ranjan and Sudhir S u r ya w a n s h i @ New Delhi/ Mumbai The leadership jigsaw of the new Maharashtra government remained unsolved on Monday though sources said the call on the BJP leading it had been made. The name of the new chief minister will be announced in Mumbai, they said. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis continued to lead the race but incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was in no mood to yield. Both along with the third element in the Mahayuti trinity, breakaway NCP’s Ajit Pawar, flew into Delhi to attend the marriage reception of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s daughter. While sources said no formal meeting of the trio has been scheduled with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, there was speculation that it could happen late on Monday night. With the tenure of the last assembly ending, Shinde is expected to submit his resignation on Tuesday and continue as caretaker CM till the final decision is taken. Though Ajit tried to tilt the scales in favour of Fadnavis, Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar Shinde remained adamant. For, Shinde’s demotion as deputy CM would give the Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, breathing space to revive itself. “Shinde should at least be made CM for the first 2.5 years of the new tenure. The next half can go to Fadnavis. After the big defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, Shinde took several cabinet decisions, including the Ladli Bahena scheme and changed the entire political landscape of the state. Therefore, the BJP should seriously consider him again as CM for at least the first half of the tenure. Else, it will send a wrong message to the allies,” said a close aide of the CM. On the other hand, the RSS and the state BJP are pitching for Fadnavis as CM, with one foot soldier threatening mass self immolation if it is decided otherwise. Thieves strike 300 sovereigns of gold, R1 crore looted According to a complaint filed by Ashraf, a rice wholesale merchant in Valapattanam, thieves made off with the cash and gold while the family was away on a trip. The family, which left for Madurai on November 19, discovered the theft upon returning home late Sunday night. P5 The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed pleas challenging the 1976 amendment to the Constitution to add the terms ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ and ‘integrity’ to its Preamble, saying Parliament’s amending power extended to the Preamble as well. “Neither the Constitution nor the Preamble mandates a specific economic policy or structure, whether left or right. Rather, ‘socialist’ denotes the state’s commitment to be a welfare state and its commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity ,’ the verdict authored by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said. Wondering why the challenge was made after over 44 years, the court said terms like socialist and secular were integral to the Preamble. In essence, the concept of secularism represents one of the facets of the right to equality woven into the ba, sic fabric that depicts the constitutional scheme, the sevenpage judgment said. The fact that the Constitution was enforced in 1949 does not make any difference. The date of adoption will not curtail or restrict the power of Parliament to amend under Article 368 of the Constitution. “The retrospectivity argument, if accepted, would equally apply to amendments made to any part of the Constitution,” the verdict emphasised. “While it is true that the Constituent Assembly had not agreed to include the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble, the Constitution is a living document... with power to amend,” it said. Manipur, Adani row paralyse Parliament T’gana declines `100 crore from Adani Foundation P r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi The winter session of Parliament was off to a stormy start on Monday with both Houses adjourned till Wednesday amid protests by the Opposition demanding discussions on Gautam Adani’s US indictment and the Manipur situation. Opposition members of Parliament including K C Venugopal, Manickam Tagore and Manish Tewari moved a motion in the Lok Sabha seeking suspension of the day’s listed business to hold a discussion on Adani indictment. But the Speaker declined, leading to protests and adjournment. In Rajya Sabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankar rejected seven notices served under Rule 267, seeking a discussion on the billionaire’s indictment. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed dismay over the Chair in both Houses disallowing the opposition to raise the Adani issue under Rule 267 and said the government should “let the truth come out” as the matter is affecting the country’s image. “Rule 267 is made only to raise such important issues. Else, that rule should not have B KARTHEEK @ Hyderabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the first day of the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on Monday | PTI Oppn trying to control parliament: Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition on the issue of disruptions, saying those rejected by people “80-90 times” were trying to control Parliament by resorting to hooliganism. “Certain individuals are trying to control Parliament for their own political gains...” | P7 been there. We want to be allowed to raise this issue under this rule,” he said. Kharge also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of spoiling the country’s image by “helping” some key businessmen get contracts abroad, and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against the Adani Group. The BJP slammed the Opposition saying it was stalling Parliament proceedings in retalia- t i o n fo r t h e i r d e f e at i n Maharashtra elections. During a meeting of the business advisory committee of the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla asked political parties to avoid a ruckus in the House in the name of protests. He also flagged the issue of disruptions and urged Opposition leaders to convey their dissent in a constructive manner. The winter session of Parliament, which began on Monday, will run till December 16. Telangana will not accept `100 crore donation offered by the Adani Foundation for the Young India Skills University, a skill development university being set up by the state government, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Monday amid controversy over billionaire Gautam Adani’s indictment in the US on bribery charges. “The Adani Foundation came forward with a proposal to donate `100 crore. In light of the recent controversies, the state government is not ready to accept the `100 crore donation,” the chief minister said at a press conference. “We do not want the skills university, started with a noble intention, to become controversial,” he said. His statement comes amid demands by the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party that the government cancel Adani Group’s investment proposals in the state. E X P R E S S R EAD Six injured in wasp attack in Kollam Kollam: Six people were injured in a wasp attack near Udayankavu temple at Kottathala in Kottarakkara on Monday afternoon. One of the injured, Thulaseedharan, was admitted to the ICU of Kollam district hospital following breathing complications, while the rest were rushed to the taluk hospital. Thulaseedharan and two others were working in Sugathan’s field when a swarm of wasps enveloped the area. The victims suspect the wasps’ nest was disturbed by a kite. P3 Treasury withdrawal cap lowered to L10 cr T’Puram: Financial crisis has forced the state government to impose additional restrictions on payments from state treasuries, specifically on the withdrawal of deposits by government and public sector enterprises. Now, the cap on daily withdrawals has been reduced from I25 crore to I10 crore. Several welfare fund boards and institutions like the Kerala State Financial Enterprises and the Kerala State Beverages Corporation have huge deposits in the treasuries. No error in candidate selection, says Surendran Not interested in prez post: Muraleedharan Express News Service @Kozhikode Amid speculation of his exit as BJP state president following the Palakkad debacle, K Surendran clarified that the issue rests with the party’s central leadership. Addressing a press conference in Kozhikode on Monday Suren, dran, however, refused to give a direct answer to the question whether he expressed willingness to relinquish the post of the state president. Surendran said there was no error in the selection of candidate for the Palakkad by-election. He asserted that senior leader Sobha Surendran played a key role in the campaign. T’Puram: Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan has rejected reports of a comeback as the party’s state president, stating that he was not interested in donning the role once again. Meanwhile, BJP leader incharge of Kerala Prakash Javadekar ruled out any leadership change, stating that the party has not sought anybody’s resignation. Speaking in Kozhikode, Surendran took full responsibility for the party’s defeat in the by-election. “In every election, the credit for victory goes to someone else, but the responsibility for the defeat lies with the party president,” he said. Surendran clarified that he has no personal ambitions regarding the position, emphasising that leadership in the BJP is determined collectively . Acknowledging that electoral outcomes are a collective responsibility he conced, ed that the president plays a significant role as he oversees candidate selection and cam- paign strategies. Explaining the candidate selection process, Surendran said it adhered to the party’s established protocols. He said Kummanam Rajasekharan was tasked with gathering opinions from the local cadre and presenting potential nominees. This process, he noted, followed extensive deliberations by the election committee in Kochi. C Krishnakumar was decided by the BJP’s parliamentary board, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and J P Nadda. Surendran defended Krishnakumar’s selection, citing his ability to increase BJP’s vote share in Malampuzha from 3,000 to 50,000 in a previous ● More on P4 election. anti-ropeway agitation People protesting against a proposed ropeway project along the trek route to the Vaishno Devi shrine clash with the police in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir on Monday | PTI dominating time Test of character Down Under: India celebrate happy Perth-day G o m e s h s @ Chennai Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah leads from the front at Perth | AFP The Aussies are not invincible after all. In cricketing parlance, the first Test is done and dusted and India would be heading into the second with heads held high, very high. The beauty, however, was the manner in which the victory was enacted on the dropin pitch of the Optus Stadium in Perth where Australia hadn’t lost a Test until now. This definitely has the poten- tial to be part of cricketing folklore. The 295-run win in the first Test on Monday was a clear indication of India’s intent this summer Down Under. After a hammering they got against New Zealand at home — a humiliating 0-3 whitewash — this was the perfect antidote. Bowled out for 150 runs on the first day , all seemed ruined. But they came back, through some incisive bowling led by Jasprit Bumrah, who is equally lethal with the red as with the white ball. A little assistance from the pitch, he reaped through the top order like a scythe; the home side crumbled to never rise again. Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana chipped in. Like they say Monday was , just like going through the motions. Set a 522-run target, Aussies had already lost three wickets and India had Bumrah — the name batters across the globe fear. What would seem even more wel- coming would be the steady batting of the top order. Especially after the jolt they got ahead of the first Test. Rohit Sharma was out, Shubman Gill injured and the side had two debutants and two batters in the top six with a cumulative experience of four Tests. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and Bumrah were under pressure. Inspired by the bowlers, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Nitish Reddy stepped up and bludgeoned the Aussie bowlers. This victory is monumental not just for the lead or the World Test Championship, but also because Indian cricket needed it. They also showed why the two series wins earlier were no fluke. “I was trying to put myself in that tough scenario to make the job a bit easier for the new guys coming in. It’s not very easy in the first tour to take a lot of responsibility ,” Bumrah said. Over to Adelaide now. P11 At 13, Vaibhav becomes IPL’s youngest player Bihar’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest-ever player to be signed by an IPL franchise at 13 years as Rajasthan Royals bought the prodigy for I1.10 crore in the mega auction. His base price was I30 lakh and Delhi Capitals made the opening bid. Rajasthab Royals entered the fray at I35 lakh and eventually got the better of DC to get the player on board. Suryavanshi made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Rajasthan on Saturday.