SAMBALPUR  THURSDAY  DECEMBER 19, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION DONALD TRUMP THREATENS TO IMPOSE RECIPROCAL TAX ON INDIA The US President-elect said India charges ‘a lot’, adding that he would retaliate with the same tax that New Delhi imposes on import of US products RECIPROCITY TO BE KEY FOR NEXT U.S. GOVT DON SENDS MIXED SIGNALS TO CHINA “Reciprocal. If they tax us, we tax them the same amount. They tax us, We tax them. They’re taxing us, and we haven’t been taxing them,” Trump told reporters. “Perhaps the most important element of my plan to make America extraordinarily wealthy again is reciprocity. It’s a word that’s very important in my plan because we generally don’t charge tariffs,” he said ■ ■ Trump’s tariff threat against India comes a day after his sweeping offer to work with China “to solve all problems of the world” After winning the presidential election in November, Trump had called for trade sanctions against China, Mexico, and Canada. Now he has added India to the list. Don had targeted India in his first term as well $77.51 bn INDIA’S EXPORTS TO U.S. IN FY24, WHILE IMPORTS AGGREGATED AT $42.2 BILLION 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 Modi raps Cong 13 KILLED AS NAVY BOAT RAMS FERRY over demand for Shah’s axe S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai 1 R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Narendra Modi Amit Shah Mallikarjun Kharge X ISSUES NOTICES The Congress and some of its leaders received notices from X for sharing certain video clips of Shah RS speech on their handles. Sources said X referred to the notice it received from MHA’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre for removal of the content, which is in violation of law of India HOURS after the Congress demanded Union home minister Amit Shah’s resignation on Wednesday over alleged ‘insult’ of Dr B R Ambedkar in his Rajya Sabha address the previous evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly defended him, saying Shah had instead exposed the Congress’ dark history of disrespecting the architect of the Constitution, leaving the Opposition “stung and stunned”. In a series of posts on X, Modi said, “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” The day began with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanding that Modi sack Shah before midnight if the minister does not quit on his own. “If there is no resignation, there will be protests all over the country Ba. basaheb belongs to everyone because he used to talk about every person of society including , Dalits, the oppressed and the deprived. He had sympathy for everyone,” Kharge said. Shah had launched a broadside against the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, saying: “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven.” Hitting back at the Congress, the PM said, “The people of India have seen time and again how one party led by one dynasty has indulged , , in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.” Getting Ambedkar defeated in elections not once but twice; Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue; denying him the Bharat Ratna; and not allowing his portrait the pride of place in Parliament’s Central Hall are some of the many sins committed by the Congress, he added. In his pushback, the Union home minister accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of forcing Kharge to go after him. “Kharge should not have supported this nefarious effort of the Congress in spreading false and distorted statements. I am very sad that you (Kharge) have also joined this under the pressure of Rahul Gandhi.” JPC PRIYANKA GANDHI AMONG 21 MEMBERS The Congress leader and MP from Wayanad will be among the 21 Lok Sabha members who will be part of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise two bills on simultaneous elections | P7 Border talks back on track as Doval meets Wang in Beijing M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi IN what is seen as a major step towards normalisation of India-China ties, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held “substantive discussions” during the Special Representatives dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday . Constituted in 2003, the Special Representatives (SRs) meeting is regarded as significant as it is the only structured engagement between the two countries to restore relations. During their meeting, the first after a gap of five years, the two SRs discussed a range of issues, including the management of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and normalisation of relations that remained frayed after the border clash in eastern Ladakh four years ago. ‘The SRs positively affirmed the NSA Ajit Doval with implementation of the latest disenChinese Foreign Minister gagement agreement of October Wang Yi in Beijing | PTI 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas. The SRs reiterated the importance of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question, and resolved to inject more vitality into this process,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The MEA said both sides exchanged views on bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest. “They provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade. They agreed on the salience of stable, predictable and amicable India-China relations for regional and global peace and prosperity,” it added. 2 3 1. The Navy’s speed boat that lost control and crashed into the passenger ferry Neel Kamal. 2. The ferry capsizes after the collision. 3. Passengers of the ferry being rescued | PTI Four naval helicopters, 11 naval craft, one Coast Guard boat and three Marine Police boats were involved in rescue efforts —Navy statement Later, local fishermen and the rescue teams of the Navy and Coast Guard arrived,” he told this newspaper. Another passenger said they were not given life jackets by the crew members. “Only when the boat started sinking did they start distributing them to the passengers. There were several children in the boat. The quick rescue operation saved many lives,” he said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the rescue operation was on and the rescue team succeeded rescuing several passengers. “We are in touch with the rescue team and local administration. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said. The CM added that this accident took place after the Navy’s speed boat lost control and hit the ferry. “The injured are admitted in nearby hospitals while financial assistance will be provided to the deceased family members,” Fadnavis added. Ashwin’s big spin: Goodbye ED raids NGO BISWA in Odisha to international cricket & Delhi over `231 crore loan scam G O M E S H S @ Brisbane WAS THE FIRST BOWLER TO REACH 100 WICKETS IN THE WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP, REACHING THE MARK IN MARCH 2022 I NTRIGUE and suspense, the moments leading up to the revelation seemed like an episode right out of the pages of mystery books. It all started as murmurs as if something unexpected was going to happen. It seemed like a premonition. The cameras in the stadium that seem to be omnipresent and miss nothing panned it on an emotional conversation between two luminaries of Indian cricket — R Ashwin and Virat Kohli here at the Gabba. The veil was lifted when Ashwin walked out with the India skipper Rohit Sharma for the after-match press briefing. Someone retiring midway is rare but knowing Ashwin, the announcement wasn’t a surprise. He dropped the bombshell, just like taking wickets, out of nowhere. After spending years at the highest echelon of the sport, he would not want to travel if his services are not needed. CONTINUED ON P5 FIGURES Attacks Kharge claim on Ambedkar’s insult THIRTEEN people were killed after a speed boat of the Indian Navy crashed into a passenger ferry boat near the Gateway of India in Mumbai on Wednesday There were 114 people, in. cluding five crew members, on board the ferry which was carrying passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist destination. Sources said 101 were rescued and admitted in various hospitals. The condition of four is critical while that of 97 others is stable. According to a Navy statement, its boat was undergoing engine trials when it lost control and collided with the ferry Neel Kamal off Karanja near Mumbai. The ferry capsized due to the impact of the collision. The distance between Gateway of India to Elephanta Island is 30 km and it takes around 45 minutes to reach this tourist spot. According to sources, the Navy’s boat first circled around the passenger boat and then crashed into it repeatedly caus, ing the ferry to capsize. Narrating the horrific incident, a rescued passenger said the incident took place about 10 km away from the Gateway of India. “The speed boat directly hit the passenger ferry and sea water rushed into the boat. The crew members told us to wear life-saving jackets to avoid drowning. Then the boat sank and everyone was in utter panic trying to save their lives. We struggled a lot to keep afloat. Tests: Matches 106, Wkts 537 ODI: Matches 116, Wkts 156 T20I: Matches 65,Wkts 72 The cricketer in me, the Indian cricketer, international cricketer might have come to an end, but the cricket nut in me will never come to an end Ashwin while addressing his teammates in dressing room FAST-TRACK 2nd INDIAN Joined Anil Kumble in 500-Testwicket club in 98 matches during the series against England in Feb 2024 BECAME THE FASTEST CRICKETER TO REACH 250, 300 AND 500 TEST WICKETS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches across four locations in Odisha and outside linked to opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik’s late brother Khirod Mallik over the alleged `231 crore bank fraud case. Sources said the central agency conducted simultaneous searches at three locations in Sambalpur and one in New Delhi during the day Khirod was accused of swindling . a whopping ‘231 crore from various banks across Odisha and other states through his NGO, Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA). In Sambalpur, ED officers reportedly conducted searches at BISWA’s office in Danipali and a building in Modipara. Khirod, who passed away earlier this year, was accused of availing loans through fraudulent means on the pretext of lending money to self-help groups (SHGs) and misutilising the same. In 2021, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case against Khirod and chartered account KC Samal for failing to repay a loan amount of `10 crore which was sanctioned by Central Bank of India in favour of BISWA in 2010. CBI investigation had revealed that Khirod had cheated several other financial instiCONTINUED ON P5 tutions too.