DHARMAPURI l saturday l february 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION blockbuster weekend as arch rivals face-off in CT Heavyweights England and Australia play on Saturday in Pakistan before the marquee India-Pakistan clash in Dubai on Sunday Ryan Rickelton’s century helps South Africa beat Afghanistan in Karachi | AP One-sided contests fail to grab eyeballs If New Zealand beating Pakistan came as a spoiler for the local fans, on Friday, South Africa overpowered Afghanistan to establish their standing in Group B. In an event where one bad loss could ruin a team’s chances, both Black Caps and Proteas seem to have consolidated their net run rate. This weekend could well decide the semifinalists ■ 2021 Old foes look to reignite rivalry ■ Both Australia and England are run down by injuries and the tournament needs the two teams to rise to the occasion and put on a show to stay in the reckoning for the knockout round The subcontinental contest hasn’t been the same but the hosts Pakistan need a win to keep their hopes alive | more on p11 The last time Pakistan beat India at an ICC event 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 $21 mn for ‘voter turnout’ deeply troubling: India Trump labeling controversial USAID fund as kickback scheme sparks BJP-Cong sparring Musk posted on X a list of funds disbursed by USAID, which inIndian authorities are inves- cluded $21 million allocated for tigating “deeply troubling” re- voter turnout in India. ports raising “concerns about “Relevant authorities are US government interference in looking into, and hopefully we India’s internal affairs,” fol- can come up with an update lowing President Donald subsequently Jaiswal said. ,” Trump’s suggestion Trump, addressing a that a US agency spent gathering of state Govmoney to influence ernors from his Repubelections. lican Party, opined: “I On Thursday Trump , would say in many casreiterated his criticism es, many of these casof the $21 million US es, anytime you have government funding no idea what we’re p rov i d e d t o I n d i a talking about, that through USAID during means there’s a kickWe have seen the Biden administraback because nobody information on tion for ‘voter turnout’, has any idea what’s gocertain US calling it a “kickback ing on there.” He also activities and scheme” and adding: questioned grants of funding. These are “What the hell do I deeply troubling $ 2 9 m i l l i o n t o care about it? We got “strengthen the politiRandhir Jaiswal enough problems (of c a l l a n d s c ap e ” i n our own).” Bangladesh. “We have seen information Building on Trump’s “kickthat has been put out by the US back” remark, BJP’s Amit administration regarding cer- Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari tain USAID activities and fund- alleged that the $21 million had ing. These are obviously very been used to support “deep deeply troubling. This has led state assets” in India, accusing to concerns about foreign inter- Rahul Gandhi and the “Conference in India’s internal af- gress ecosystem” of benefiting fairs. Relevant departments from the funds. and agencies are looking into The Congress hit back, allegthis matter,” External Affairs ing the CIA had paid RSS to Ministry spokesperson Ran- destablise the Congress govdhir Jaiswal said on Friday . ernments in the past and deThe Department of Govern- manded a white paper on USment Efficiency headed by Elon AID funds in the past decade. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi mistaken identity Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by handing over the body of a woman from Gaza instead of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas | P9 TN gangrape suspect shot in knee by police E x p r e s s New s Se r v i c e Amid cross-border firing, Both sides agree to honour truce INDIA and Pakistan held a Brigade Commander-level flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday in an ef, fort to de-escalate tension after several recent incidents of crossborder firing and an IED attack. The flag meeting took place in the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point area, with both sides highlighting the need to maintain peace along the border. At the 75-minute-long meeting that started around 11 am, the Indian army delegation lodged a Ceasefire violations along the border of Jammu and Kashmir have been uncommon since the two since February 2021 when the two countries decided to strictly adhere to the November 2003 border ceasefire pact. On February 10, an IED blast along the LoC in Akhnoor triggered by militants killed an army captain and a jawan. Another soldier was injured in the explosion. The extent of damage on the Pakistani side in the retaliatory action was not known immediately but officials had said the enemy forces also suf fered “heavy casualties.” There is no question of imposing any language on any state or community What will they do if we refuse to pay the taxes collected from Tamil Nadu? - Dharmendra Pradhan - MK Stalin NEP fight: Pradhan asks TN to rise above politics; don’t provoke Tamils, retorts CM Kavita Bajeli-DatT & Bagalavan Perier @ New Delhi / Cuddalore The language war between the BJP-led union government and the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu intensified on Friday. While Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the state government of turning ‘progressive reforms into threats for politics’, Chief Minister MK Stalin dubbed the National Education Policy (NEP) as a tool to promote Hindi and not education. “I urge the union government not to provoke Tamil people again. Do not throw stones at a beehive. You cannot enter as long as I and the DMK are here,” Stalin said. In his reply to a letter sent by the CM to the PM seeking the release of funds held back by the centre over the implementation of NEP, Pradhan slammed Stalin for his opposition to NEP 2020 and schemes linked to it, accusing him of having a “myopic vision”. There is no “question of imposing any language on any state or community,” Pradhan said in his three-page letter to Stalin. S p e a k i n g at a n event in Cuddalore on Friday evening, the CM lambasted Pradhan for calling the state’s opposition to NEP as politics. “The union minister claims Tamil Nadu did not receive `5,000 crore because we did not implement NEP schemes. What will they do if we refuse to pay the taxes collected from Tamil Nadu? Fed- TN minister gives 12 reasons against NEP Chennai: Listing out “12 key” reasons for rejecting the NEP, minister Anbil said TN is committed to linguistic identity and federal autonomy. “Our two-language policy has ensured high literacy and global competitiveness. A third language is an indirect attempt to impose Hindi,” he said | P4 eralism is based on mutual cooperation, which is the foundation of our constitution. Unfortunately those who , do not understand this philosophy are ruling the country today .” Stalin reiterated that NEP was introduced not to develop education but to promote Hindi. “As people would oppose direct implementation, they are trying to introduce it gradually. The union minister claims they are developing regional languages, but we know how to develop Tamil. Ask those who lost their mother tongues due to Hindi imposition. Tamil does not need their support for its growth,” he said. The CM also faulted the centre for withholding funds from Tamil Nadu. “Through GST, they take all the state’s revenue and refuse to return the rightful share. They are not announcing any new schemes for the state and are even denying funds for joint schemes. Despite these obstacles, we have managed to grow, which has irritated them. Now, they are trying to block our progress by creating new laws,” the CM said.  P5 Chennai Customs appraiser creates alter ego to help fraudsters scam crores Siddharth Prabhakar @ Chennai @ Krishnagiri A youth allegedly involved in the gangrape of a 30-year-old woman on Wednesday was shot in the knee by police, while another fell and broke his leg when police attempted to nab them in Krishnagiri on Friday . While two other suspects involved in the crime, Kalaiarasan (21) and Abishek (20) of Palayapettai, were arrested on Thursday, police had been searching for Suresh (22) and Narayanan (21) of Krishnagiri. According to Krishnagiri SP Thangadurai, “On Wednesday, the woman and her 35-year-old relative from Tirupattur visited Krishnagiri hill. When they reached the top of the hill, they decided to rest for some time. Four drunk youths, who saw them resting, threatened them with a knife and robbed the woman of her jewellery includ, ing necklace and earrings.” Suresh and Narayanan then sexually assaulted the woman while Kalaiarasan and Abishek recorded it on their phone, police said. The gang then forced the man to transfer `7,000 through an online app and fled the spot, the SP said. The traumatised man and woman then walked back to the bus stand and started crying in pain. Passersby who noticed their condi, tion, reported the matter to the Krishnagiri police.  P5 strong protest over recent instances of unprovoked cross-border firing, apart from infiltration attempts by terrorists and smuggling of narcotics and weapons. The meeting took place in a congenial atmosphere and both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in the larger interest of peace along the border, the sources said. “Pakistan army officials were warned of a befitting response in case of cross border firing,” sources said. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the flag meeting, saying it’s a good thing as it aims to reduce tension without using force. F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar The green peas import scam detected by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) two weeks ago is not the only major case where the alleged collusion of Chennai Customs officers and fraudsters has been found. Customs’ own intelligence wing has dug up a case where Sandeep Kumar Chorasiya, an ex-serviceman from the Indian Air Force working as an appraiser in Chennai Seaport Customs, allegedly took several crores of rupees as a bribe from multiple companies to help them evade customs duty due under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme. Chorasiya was arrested in May last year under Sections 135 and 136 of the Customs Act, and his house was searched. He was released on bail a month later and is currently under suspension for a year, sources said. According to court filings, Chorasiya forged records and created a document trail to make it seem like the companies had legally paid the duties, the investigation said. In a bid to cover his tracks, he created an alter ego, Ravindra Sethu, for his interactions with these companies, which only briefly delayed his identification as the alleged mastermind. As per conservative estimates, the bribe collected by Sethu would at least be `100 crore, a source said. The case was recently handed over to the CBI.  continued on p5 Combing ops Security personnel during a search operation in Imphal East and Tengnoupal districts of Manipur on Friday. They recovered pistols, improvised mortars, IEDs, ammunition and warlike stores | PTI ‘unacceptable’ Govt slams Erdogan’s Kashmir take on Pak trip E x p r e s s New s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi INDIA has lodged a strong protest with Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks on Kashmir during his visit to Pakistan last week. “We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are internal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Last week, Erdogan following his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said: “The Kashmir issue should be addressed according to the UN resolution t h ro u g h d i a logue and keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir... our state and our nation, as in the past, stands in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers today .” India’s stated position is that Kashmir is a bilateral issue where any third party has no role to play . Meanwhile, during his recent meeting with Bangladesh interim government’s foreign affairs advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed that Bangladesh “should not nor malise terrorism”, the spokesperson said. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in the Omani capital last week, where Hossain urged the Jaishankar to consider convening a meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee. great escape God’s own team: Kerala finds divine touch to enter maiden Ranji final F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai Kerala celebrates after edging past Gujarat on the basis of first innings lead | EXpress This seemed to have jumped straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not show. Call it providence, sheer luck or tenacity, Kerala lived up to its moniker God’s Own Country The team . needed divine intervention to make a match out of the semifinal a g ainst Gujarat in Ahmedabad, just like they did in the quarterfinal match against Jammu and Kashmir. Kerala started on the back foot on the last day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal at the gigan- tic Narendra Modi w Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday Hosts . Gujarat needed just two runs to reach Kerala’s 457 first innings score, when No 10 batter Arzan Nagwaswalla hit a ball to the leg side. Instead it flew to the short leg and hit Salman Nizar’s helmet — the man who was Man of the Match in the quarterfinal against J&K where Kerala managed to take just one-run lead from a desperate situation. Nizar turned the saviour once again. The ball ricocheted off the helmet and flew over the head of the batter and wicket- keeper Mohammed Azharuddeen – time almost stopped so did their hearts. As the ball quietly lodged into the safe hands of skipper Sachin Baby, Kerala players could hardly believe what happened. Wild celebration ensued and lasted until the end of the day. Kerala, who made their debut in 1957, took the all important two-run lead and at the end of the day it made sure they made it to their maiden Ranji final against Vidarbha who beat Mumbai on Friday, from February 26. If a magical last-wicket 81- run partnership saved Kerala against J&K, a helmet intervention saved them the day. The Kerala skipper admitted God has been kind to them. “There was a help from the Almighty I would say Baby told ,” this daily while recalling those anxious moments. “We have been putting our efforts and at the same time God has been kind in the last four matches. Before me, it has been a dream of every Kerala captain to lift the Ranji Trophy. I hope God remains kind and I fulfill our dream.”  P11