kochi l wednesday l December 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION hc judge deposes before sc collegium to present his case Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav met the Collegium members on Tuesday to explain why he made controversial statements at a recent VHP event SC panel to consider explanation given Justice yadav gets U.P. CM Yogi’s backing At the event on December 8, Justice Yadav said the Uniform Civil Code’s aim was to promote social harmony, gender equality, and secularism. He also allegedly made some communal remarks against Muslims. The SC Collegium asked him to put fourth his version on the remarks to satisfy the principles of natural justice, before any action is considered against him ■ ■ While the judge’s speech was panned for its communal undertones, it received the backing of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who said targeting the judge for merely expressing his opinion was wrong Justice Yadav had made the controversial remarks while addressing a provincial convention of the legal cell of the VHP at the Allahabad HC Dec 10 When the SC sought response from Allahabad hc on the judge’s remarks 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 Church dispute SC seeks data on population of Orthodox, Jacobite groups A n u K u r u v i l l a @ Kochi Hearing the dispute between the Malankara Orthodox Church and the Jacobite Church, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that status quo be maintained regarding the management and administration of the churches till the next date of hearing, which is on January 29 and 30, 2025. The SC also directed the state government to furnish the data regarding the population of both the Orthodox and Jacobite factions, a list of the churches under the complete administrative control of both denominations, the churches where the management is under dispute and their current status of administrative power. The apex court has also authorised the state government to intervene in the event of any untoward incident, while granting both factions the liberty to place their respective parish registers on record. The SC directive comes as a relief for the Jacobite Church. “It is a big relief. The directive to collect data on the population and churches of both the churches vindicates our stand. We have always been saying that the churches belong to the parishioners. The 2013 order had said otherwise,” Joseph Mar Gregorios, the Catholicos- designate of the Jacobite Church told TNIE. He said the church has started preparing for the detailed hearing slated for January 29 and 30. “We will present before the court all the necessary details in this matter. Everyone wants a solution that won’t see faithful being thrown out of their churches,” he said. Kuriakose Mor Theophilose, chairman of Jacobite Church Media Cell, termed the directive a recognition of the democratic system. “This shows that the SC is taking into consideration the Jacobite Church’s cry for justice,” he said. ● More on P4 EX P R ESS R EA D Tvm corp fines collector for illegal hoardings T’Puram: The placement of illegal hoardings as part of Karuthalum Kaithangum — a taluk-level complaint redressal adalat organised by the government in the capital recently — has landed the district collector in trouble. Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Secretary Jahamgeer S has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Collector Anu Kumari for having placed illegal hoardings. P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express One Nation, One Election 269 198 Members In Favour Votes against the bill A video grab of proceedings of the Lok Sabha during the introduction of two bills on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, in New Delhi on Tuesday | PTI ‘One poll’ bill introduced in LS Draws fierce protest from Oppn; govt ready to send it to a joint parliamentary committee P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Amid fierce protests from the Opposition INDIA bloc, the government introduced two contentious bills on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday through a division of votes, with 269 ayes and 198 nays. While the Opposition termed it anti-federal and against the basic structure of the Constitution, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal defended the bill on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country . Union home minister Amit Shah and Meghwal said that the government is willing to refer the bills to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further deliberations (JPC). “When the One Nation, One Election bill YSR Congress on board, BJD mum The YSRCP, which has four LS members, declared its support for the bill. The BJD is yet to reveal its cards — it drew a blank in the LS polls this year, but has seven members in RS. Kovind panel had said 32 parties were in favour of joint polls while 15 were against it was taken up in the Cabinet for approval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it should be sent to a JPC for detailed discussion. If the law minister is willing to send the bill to the JPC, the discussion on its introduction can end,” Shah said in the House. As the government failed to secure two-thirds majority in the introduction stage, the Opposition wondered if the ruling NDA had the requisite numbers to push them through to amend the Constitution. Speaker Om Birla allowed a division of votes after Opposition members insisted on it. Taking potshots at the government, Congress MP Manickam Tagore wrote on X, “Two-thirds majority (i.e., 307) was needed out of the total 461 votes... but the government secured only (269), while the Opposition got 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to gain two-thirds support.” The brief discussion on the bill saw uproar as a united Opposition, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party Trina, mool Congress and several other parties demanded its withdrawal. Leading the discussion from the Opposition side, Congress MP Manish Tewari said the bills are an absolute assault on the basic structure of the Constitution and are beyond the legislative competence of the House. “ONOE bill gives illegal powers to Election Commission to advise the President,” said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. Opposing the bill, DMK member T R Baalu said, “As my leader M K Stalin said, it is antifederal. Electors have the right to elect the government for five years. This right cannot be curtailed with simultaneous elections.” TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee said, “The proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution, so it is ultra vires.” However, NDA allies TDP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) offered their unwavering support. Two arrested for dragging tribal man along road Express News Service @ Kalpetta heart-wrenching Varghese and Ruth, the distraught parents of Eldhose who died in a wild elephant attack on Monday night, are inconsolable as his body is brought to their house at Knacherry, Kuttampuzha, in Ernakulam district on Tuesday | T P Sooraj | P4 Drive responsibly or face music, MVD tells private bus operators E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Apparently identifying reckless driving by private bus drivers as a major cause of the alarming rise in the number of road accidents in the state, the motor vehicles department (MVD) has come out with a slew of deterrent measures like geotagging the carriers using GPS and suspending the permit of vehicles that cause serious accidents. The existing laws have the provisions to cancel the driver’s licence for reckless driving, Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar has said. In a bid to put the onus of responsible driving on bus owners, it has been decided to suspend the permits of the carriers that cause fatal accidents for six months. The permit of buses involved in accidents with serious injuries will be suspended for three months, the minister said. The first step in this direction will be the suspension of the permit of the private bus that caused the death of a pedestrian at East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram on December 6, he ● More on P4 said.  Police have arrested two youngsters in connection with the incident in which a tribal man, Mathan, was dragged alongside a car for around 400m near Mananthavady in Wayanad. Muhammed Arshid, 25, and Abhiram K Sujith, 23, both natives of Kaniyambetta, were taken into custody from Kalpetta on Tuesday Muhammed Arshid . was driving the car at the time of the incident. There were four persons in the vehicle and the police have identified the other two passengers. According to the police, the other accused — Vishnu Kunnummal and Nabeel Kamar, natives of Panamaram — are absconding. Arshid and Abhiram, who had gone to Mysuru after the incident, were nabbed by the Mananthavady police from Kalpetta while the former were returning home in bus. “We have intensified the search for the other two accused. They will be caught soon,” said Mananthavady SHO Sunil Gopi. The accused have also been charged under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  ● More on P4 Recruitment exams out NTA to manage higher edu entrance tests alone K a v i ta B a j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi In a significant shift from its role, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will now focus solely on conducting entrance exams for admissions to higher education institutions. It means the agency will no longer oversee recruitment exams. Making the announcement, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday that the idea is to conduct error-free exams for which accountability Representational photo will be fixed. He also said that the government is considering moving to computer-adaptive tests and tech-driven entrance exams soon. As the agency will be restructured next year, new posts are being created. “We have started the process of restructuring the NTA by creating new posts and appointing new officers. This will bring fresh energy the minister said. ,” The re-structuring of NTA, which conducts 10 major exams in India taken by an estimated 50 lakh candidates, is part of its reforms based on the recommendation of a high-level panel set-up earlier this year following alleged leaks and malpractice in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) medical entrance exam as well as a series of cancellations of other exams due to suspected leaks and other glitches. On NEET-UG exams, Pradhan said they are in talks with Union health minister J P Nadda on whether to hold it as a computerbased test (CBT) or pen-paper format. “Two meetings have been held with the health minister. We will announce the modalities as early as possible,” he said. Gen killed in Russia A senior Russian general was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter in Moscow | P9 Congress treated Constitution as pvt fiefdom: Shah RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi Union home minister and the BJP’s principal strategist Amit Shah on Tuesday tore into the Congress, terming it an anti-reservation party that recklessly amended the Constitution of India to pander to its appeasement politics during its long stint in government. Replying to the discussion on the ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’ in the Rajya Sabha, Shah accused the grand old party of treating the country’s Constitution as its private property and amending it frequently to appease its Muslim vote bank. “In 1953, the Kaka Kalelkar Commission was formed to provide reservations to the OBC, but its report was nowhere to be found. Had the recommendations of the Commission been accepted, the Mandal Commission would not have been formed,” Shah said. He further said that the Mandal recommendations came out in 1980, but they could be implemented only after the grand old party was voted out of power in 1990. Describing the Indian Constitution rooted with India’s culture and every aspects of natural justice and social ethos, Shah said the Constitution strengthened the roots of democracy and the transfer of power happens without shedding even a drop of blood. “The Constitution is not a tool for misleading or creating confusion in rallies; it is a symbol of belief and faith that must be respected,” he said. Targeting the Gandhi family Shah cited sev, eral amendments which he said were done during the Congress rule to appease one community so that the party controlled by the family can retain power. On the other hand, the amendments done during the BJP rule were aimed at providing justice, welfare, and empowerment to the people, Shah claimed. “Even before the first elections in the country Jawaharlal Nehru effected the first Consti, tutional amendment to curtail the freedom of expression. The Congress considered the Constitution as ‘private fiefdom’ of one family and deceived Parliament,” he said, adding that the Constitution is a symbol of belief and faith that must be respected. They (NehruGandhi family) considered not just the party as their private property, but also treated the Constitution as their ‘private fiefdom’ Amit Shah Jibe at Rahul Taking potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said: “The 54-year-old leader who calls himself ‘yuva’, roams around with Constitution” 77 vs 22 changes Shah said the Congress amended the Constitution 77 times during its 55-year rule, while the BJP made 22 changes in 16 years