COIMBATORE l saturday l april 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Bhagavad Gita, Natyashastra part of UNESCO’s World Register Manuscripts of Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra are among 74 documentary collections added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register proud moment for every indian, says pm ‘central text of the indian tradition’ Entries on scientific revolution, women’s contribution to history and major milestones from 72 countries and four international organisations are included in the register. The development comes on World Heritage Day on April 18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, on Friday described the inscriptions as “a proud moment for every Indian across the world”. ■ ■ The Natyashastra of Bharat Muni is “an epitome of the Natyaveda, a body of knowledge of performing art containing 36,000 verses known as the Gandharvaveda”, the UNESCO said in its citation Bhagavad Gita is a central text in the continuous, cumulative ancient intellectual Indian tradition, UNESCO’s citation read 570 total number of inscribed collections of unesco as of now 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 Oppn lights into N-missile V-P rant against judiciary Never seen any RS chairperson make such political comments: Sibal P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi A day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar used strong words against the judiciary, several leaders from across the Opposition spectrum lit into him on Thursday, asserting such interventions are part of a broader, dangerous strategy to erode judicial independence, weaken federalism and centralise executive power. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal hit out at the V-P for questioning the Supreme Court that set a timeline for the President to take decisions. Sibal said the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman remain equidistant between the Opposition and the ruling party adding he , had never seen any Rajya Sabha Chairman make “political statements” of this nature. “Independence of the judiciary is fundamental to democracy What is being done is un. constitutional,” he added. The Constitution — not the government — gave Article 142 powers to the Supreme Court. Modi speaks to Musk on tech ties amid trade talks J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a phone conversation with Tesla and SpaceX CEO and a key advisor of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, discussing opportunities for collaboration in technology and innovation. The phone call comes amid ongoing trade negotiations and ahead of the upcoming visit of US Vice President J D Vance to India from April 21, as Musk-led ventures Tesla and Starlink also look to expand their presence in the Indian market. Taking to X, Modi said: “We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains.” In February Modi had met , Musk at DC. Their discussions covered key sectors including space, electric mobili t y, a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l innovation. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal had on Wednesday met senior Starlink executives to explore the company’s interest in launching satellite-based internet services in India. Starlink is currently awaiting regulatory approvals, including clarity on India’s upcoming spectrum policy and a pending security clearance. Tesla is also making moves to enter the Indian market. You said Article 142 is nuclear missile material. How can you say this? — Kapil Sibal, president, Supreme Court Bar Association The Vice President Mr Jagdeep Dhankar’s observations on this SC verdict is unethical! — Tiruchy Siva, DMK deputy general secretary The statement made by Dhankhar on SC judges borders on contempt — Kalyan Banerjee, TMC “I respect him a lot but you said Article 142 is nuclear missile material, how can you say this?” Sibal said. Echoing the view, Constitutional expert P D T Achary told this paper that the SC rightly used Article 142 and did not override any core Constitutional provision. “Article 142 empowers the highest judicial forum in this country to do complete justice in a particular case. Granting complete justice is the aim of the judiciary and the Constitution has entrusted the SC with this job,” he said. Dhankhar had described Article 142, which grants plenary powers to the Supreme Court, as a “nuclear missile against democratic forces available to the judiciary 24x7”. Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said the ruling is “timely accurate, cou, rageous, and a correction to the notion that those holding high office are above checks and balances... In our democracy only , the Constitution of India is supreme and most elevated. No office — be it that of the President, PM or governor — is above the fetters of Constitutional propriety he said. ,” DMK deputy general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva said, “The recent Supreme Court verdict on the role of Governors and President invoking Article 142 undoubtedly has established that no individual in the name of being a constitutional authority can sit over bills passed by a legislature indefinitely .” TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee accusing the V-P of “repeated disregard” for the judiciary . Khalistani radical wanted for terror attacks held in US H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh GANGSTER-TURNED-TERRORIST Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia, wanted in connection with multiple terror attacks across Punjab and who is alleged to have collaborated with Pakistan’s Deep State and Khalistani group BKI, has been arrested in the US, officials said Friday . Passia alias Jora, who had illegally entered the US, was arrested by the FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations in Sacramento. Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said the arrest is a “major milestone in the success of war against terror”, adding efforts are on to extradite press Intake Caste Hindus stay off Melpathi temple | P4 ED attaches `122-cr assets of Neomax Properties | P4 Passia. Yadav said between 2023 and 2025, Passia played a “central role in orchestrating targeted killings, grenade attacks on police establishments, and extortion across various other states”. In the last seven months, 16 grenade attacks took place in Punjab, mostly targeting police posts, religious places and residences of public figures including BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia. Passia’s name has cropped up during investigations into at least 14 such attacks. It is reliably learnt that Pasia is the key operative of the Khalistani militant outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) which has ties with ISI of Pakistan. TN will forever be ‘out of control’ for Delhi, says Stalin Express News Se rvi ce @ Chennai Harpreet Singh Terror modules Since 2023, he is associated with Khalistani militant Harwinder Singh Sandhu and involved in setting up terror modules CHIEF Minister MK Stalin, in a belligerent attack on the BJP said the party’s “formula” of , forming governments in states by breaking up political parties and intimidating politicians through “raids” will never work in Tamil Nadu and the “Dravidian model” government of the DMK will return to power in 2026. Asserting that the Tamils have a distinct character and self-respect that never allowed domination, he said they will never bow to those in Delhi. “Our Tamil Nadu will forever be ‘out of control’ for Delhi,” he said, while speaking at a government function in Ponneri in Tiruvallur district on Friday Alleging that the BJP . has threatened some to forge an alliance in TN, he challenged the party for a fight in 2026 and asked it to bring its “parivar”.  Continued on: P5