THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l friday l july 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Centre says Oppn parties support motion to impeach Justice Varma Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion in the upcoming monsoon session Signatures to be collected soon: Rijiju Govt wants all oppn parties on board It is still not clear whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. For Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. For the Rajya Sabha, the support of at least 50 MPs is required. Rijiju said the process of collecting signatures could begin as soon as the government decides on the House where the motion will be brought ■ ■ Once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in a House, the Speaker or Chairman will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal has been sought Rijiju said since the matter involves corruption in the judiciary, the government wants all political parties to be on board July 21 Commencement date for Monsoon session. It will end on August 21 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 Established institution to decide Dalai heir: Rijiju RA J E SH K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi IN a snub to China, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the decision on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama would be taken by the established institution. “All those who follow the Dalai Lama feel that the Incarnation is to be decided by the established convention and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself. Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place,” said t h e m i n i s t e r, himself a practising Buddhist. The remarks came after China rejected the 14th Dalai Lama’s succession plan, claiming it’s for Beijing to decide. Rijiju and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh will represent the Government of India on the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday event in Dharamshala on Sunday . Reacting sharply the Chinese , foreign ministry said any future succession plan must have the approval of the Chinese government. 269 Def projects worth 1.05 lakh crore get panel’s green light Gill now holds the seventh highest Test score by an Indian batter 18 years since India passed 500 in a men’s Test in England Indigenous sourcing for 10 proposals: Ministry AoNs were also accorded for procurement of moored mines, mine The Defence Acquisition Council counter measure vessels, super (DAC) on Thursday granted Accept- rapid gun mount and submersible ance of Necessity (AoN) for 10 capi- autonomous vessels. They are tal acquisition proposals worth aimed at mitigating potential risks about `1.05 lakh crore in all, to to naval and merchant vessels. strengthen the offensive and defenTo provide further impetus to insive abilities of the armed forces. digenous design and development, The council’s meeting, AoNs were accorded under chaired by Defence Ministhe Buy Indian-IDDM (Inditer Rajnath Singh, approved an-Indigenously Designed projects that will be sourced Govt must also Developed and Manufacindigenously. The DAC is focus on R&D tured) category . the highest decision-making The MoD defines Buy (Inon emerging body on defence policy and threats such as dian-IDDM) category as the capital procurement. Its the black swan “procurement of products event of AoN is the first step in the from an Indian vendor that Hamas attack have been indigenously deacquisition process. on 7 Oct 2023 AoNs were accorded for signed, developed and manprocurement of armoured Maj Gen Sudhakar ufactured with a minimum recovery vehicles, Electronic of 50% Indigenous Content Jee (retd) Warfare System, Integrated (IC) on cost basis of the total Common Inventory Management contract value.” System for the Tri-Services and surThe Armoured Recovery Vehiface-to-Air missiles. These procure- cles help in recovery of armoured ments will provide higher mobility vehicles, including the main battle , effective air defence, improve supply tanks, in difficult terrain and chalchain management and augment lenging weather conditions. They the operational preparedness, the assist with recovery and repair defence ministry said. during combat conditions. MAYA N K SI N GH @ New Delhi record Play Shubman Gill registered the highest score by an Indian captain, surpassing Virat Kohli’s 254 n.o. He also became the 1st Indian since Rahul Dravid to score a double ton in England. Dravid’s 217 came in 2002 master & Commander India captain Shubman Gill celebrates his first double century on day two of the second Test against England at Edgbaston. Gill’s 269, along with Ravindra Jadeja’s 89, helped India post 587 in the first innings | ap | More on P11 Woman dies in med college building collapse; delay in rescue ops alleged ‘Structurally compromised’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kottayam A 52-year-old woman died and two others were injured when a portion of a decades-old and dilapidated building at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, collapsed on Thursday The death of D Bindu, . who was trapped under the debris for more than two hours, has sparked alle g ations of delay in rescue operations. The incident has triggered widespread outrage, with Opposition parties alleging negligence on the part of Health Minister Veena George and Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan — who arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident — as well as the hospital authorities in carrying out timely rescue operations. The rescue efforts were reportedly delayed as the ministers told the media that the building was not in use. Bindu, a native of Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam, was at the hospital for the treatment of her daughter. Aleena Vincent, 13, a native of Wayanad, escaped with minor injuries, while Amal Pradeep, an employee at the hospital, suffered minor injuries while evacuating patients from the dilapidated building. A portion of the 68-year-old building housing a bathroom complex attached to the 14th ward (orthopaedics department) of the hospital collapsed around 10.30am. Those who were Kottayam: The building that collapsed at Kottayam MCH was deemed structurally compromised 12 years ago. The public works department had classified the building as structurally compromised way back in 2013 | P4 Oppn demands min’s resignation Rescue operations under way after a portion of a building at Kottayam Medical College Hospital collapsed | Vishnu Prathap present at the spot managed to rescue two persons from the debris. Meanwhile, Veena and Vasavan, who arrived at the scene soon after, asserted that the building was not in use and there were no reports of anyone remaining trapped under the rubble. The ministers’ statements allegedly contributed to a significant delay in the rescue operations. It was alleged that excavators were not brought to the site immediately after the incident. The collapsed building is located deep within the hospital Holding the health minister responsible for the death of the woman in MCH building collapse, Opposition leader V D Satheesan called for her resignation. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal demanded an inquiry into the delay in rescue ops. campus, further delaying the timely arrival of rescue equipment. According to relatives of Bindu, the accident occurred when she went to take a bath in the washroom in the building. She was in the hospital for the treatment of her daughter, Navami, 20, in the neuro department. It was only after Bindu’s daughter reported that her mother had gone to the bathroom and could not be reached by phone that authorities decided to conduct a thorough search of ● More on P4 the debris.  Rahul cites TNIE, says farmers ignored P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Citing a report published in these columns on the number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the Centre for remaining indifferent to the plight of farmers. On Wednesday, this newspaper reported that as many as 767 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra between January and March 2025. The disclosure was made by Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makrand Patil in the assembly in a written reply to a question by the opposition Congress on the rising number of farm suicides, particularly in Vidarbha, and the rehabilitation measures. Rahul accused the government of ignoring farmers’ demands for a loan waiver and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Sharing a screenshot of the TNIE report, he wrote, “Think about it... in just 3 months, 767 far mers committed suicide in Maharashtra. Is this just a statistic? No. These are 767 destroyed homes. 767 families that will never be able to recover. And the government? It is silent. It is watching indifferently Congress lead...” er Priyanka Gandhi joined Rahul in attacking the government over the report. Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi 9:51 AM: Jul 3, 2025 262.1K Written response by minister Makrand Patil to a question on Tuesday reveals 767 suicides in Maharashtra in the first three months of 2025. State agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate on Thursday claimed he had no idea where the data was sourced from EXPRESS READ Govt rallies behind suspended registrar T’Puram: A day after the suspension of Registrar K S Anil Kumar over the Bharat Mata portrait row, the state government and pro-Left Syndicate members came out in support of the official, terming the action against him as a “misuse of authority” by Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal. Higher Education Minister R Bindu said Anil Kumar could continue in office as only the university Syndicate has the right to take action against him. P5 Fuel ban not feasible, says Delhi govt New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday urged the Centre’s air quality panel to immediately suspend the fuel ban on overage vehicles. It informed the Commission for Air Quality Management that the fuel ban is not feasible and cannot be implemented due to technological challenges. 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express