PM Modi, Amit Shah meet Prez separately This was the first meeting of the PM with the President after his recent visit to the UK and the Maldives. The meetings came against the backdrop of the logjam in Parliament over the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the poll roll revision exercise in Bihar. Sources said Shah’s meeting could be regarding a resolution on President’s rule extension in Manipur kollam l monday l august 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 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 EC issues notice to Tejashwi on voter card slur To RJD leader’s claims of fraud in poll roll, EC asks him to submit his EPIC card inary investigation suggests that the EPIC number you mentioned at the press conference A day after leader of Opposition on August 2 was not issued ofin Bihar assembly Tejashwi ficially. You are therefore rePrasad Yadav claimed that his quested to hand over the EPIC name was missing from the card in original for detailed draft electoral roll, Election investigation.” The RJD leader, thereafter, alCommission of India (ECI) on leged that his EPIC Sunday issued a nonumber had been tice to him asking “changed”, but Dishim to ‘hand over for trict Magistrate Thiyinvestigation’ a voter agaraja S M repudiID card that he ated his claim.“The claimed to be in posEPIC number in the session of despite the electoral rolls is the EC not issuing it one that was submitofficially . Tejashwi on Saturted by leader of oppoday had demonstratsition in his affidavit EC says PC’s ed an online query, in 2020 assembly polls. views false with the EPIC If he has another number, to claim that Former Union minister EPIC card with anothhis name was miss- P Chidambaram on X er number as well, it ing in the draft elec- said 6.5 lakh migrants is a matter of investitoral rolls published were being registered gation,” the DM said. In Patna, spokesas part of special in- as voters in TN after 65 lakh were persons Ajay Alok tensive revision (SIR) disenfranchised in (BJP), Neeraj Kumar and, upon rebuttal from authorities con- Bihar. EC dismissed his (JDU) and Rajesh claims as false Bhatt (LJP) demandcerned, alleged that ed that a case be regishis voter ID card tered against the RJD leader. At number was ‘changed’. In a letter addressed to the a press conference in New Delformer deputy CM, the Sub Di- hi on Sunday, BJP spokespervisional Magistrate of Patna son Sambit Patra asked,“If a Sadar-cum-electoral registra- senior party leader like Yadav tion officer for Digha assembly carries two voter IDs, what will constituency said, “Our prelim- the party workers be doing?” r a m a s h a n k a r & RA J E SH K U MAR T HAK U R @ Patna/New Delhi ‘Train SC filmmakers’: Adoor remark sparks row E x p r e s s New s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram D irector Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s remarks over extending financial support to Scheduled Caste (SC) and women filmmakers sparked a controversy at the closing ceremony of the state government’s film policy conclave in T h i r u va n a n t h ap u r a m o n Sunday . Speaking at the event, Adoor criticised the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) for providing what he termed “excessive funding to directors from the SC community”. “Those from SC backgrounds should be given at least three months of training under experienced filmmakers before being supported. The `1.5-crore grant should be split among three people, rather than fund- express read Guv asks govt to start VC selection process T’Puram: Ruling out a rethink on his appointment of temporary VCs in APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Digital University Kerala, Governor Rajendra Arlekar has informed the government that the process of selecting permanent VCs in all varsities could commence at the earliest. Arlekar conveyed the stance to Higher Education Minister R Bindu and Law Minister P Rajeeve, who met him at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday on the instructions of the chief minister. P5 Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Finance Minister K N Balagopal, lyricistdirector Sreekumaran Thampi and Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian during the valedictory of Kerala Film Policy Conclave in Thiruvananthapuram | B P Deepu ing one project. Government money shouldn’t be used just because the film has a superstar or simply because the director is a woman,” Adoor said. Further, he claimed that many of the films funded under the initiative lacked quality and artistic value. Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian, while presenting a report on the two-day conclave, rebutted Adoor’s statements. He said the filmmakers were selected by an expert committee based on merit and their work reflects deep social and creative commitment. “The fact is that people from the SC communities were kept out of mainstream cinema for nearly a century. The government’s decision to support them is both timely and essential. This is the first time many of them are getting to direct a film. We have also taken steps to empower women and recognise transgender artists,” the minister said. The government will not backtrack on its inclusive film policy he stressed. , “This is a conscious decision to correct historical imbalances. We will continue to provide support,” he said.  ● More on P4 Series on ice: Fitting final day awaits TNIE in England Firoz Mirza @london THE weather Gods didn’t want this series to end. Not yet anyway And, so, this . mind-bending, narrative-shattering, finger-nail chewing fivematch Test series will go into a 25th bum-squelching day And . who would blame them? It’s been that kind of a series. A man with a broken finger came out to bowl. A man with a broken foot came out to bat. And, late on Sunday, a man with a dislocated shoulder, arm very much in a sling, Chris Woakes was prepared to come out and bat. In the middle, the Jamies, Smith and Overton, were involved in a dogfight against, really a trio of heroic pacers who , kept going and going and going. At least one of them had to take a painkilling injection. At least one of them wore a knee brace before discarding it because it was affecting their run-up. What’s a couple of dodgy ligaments when a potential trade off is a famous come-from-behind win to level the series. India go to bed needing four more wickets to ensure there is something tangible to show from Shubman Gill’s first assignment as captain. England go to bed needing 35 more runs. And, boy, Sunday was a right old scrap between two flawed sides giving it their all, their wounded bodies and tired minds ignoring the pain threshold. Harry Brook and Joe Root coruscating 195-run, thrill-aminute stand had seemingly sucked out all the oxygen from the Indian team. But after they fell, India roared back. It’s what has kept them alive going into the final day of a series that will long be remembered irrespective of the result. Army officer booked for assaulting SpiceJet staff F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar THE Jammu and Kashmir police have booked a senior officer of the Indian Army for allegedly assaulting four SpiceJet staff at the Srinagar airport last week, causing a spinal fracture to an airline staff. The Army has pledged full cooperation in the investigation while the airline has started the process to place the army officer on the no-fly list. The incident took place on July 26 when Lt Colonel Ritesh Kumar Singh, posted at High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmargm, was trying to board SpiceJet flight SG-386 from Srinagar to Delhi allege d ly w i t h e xc e s s c ab i n baggage. “The passenger was carrying two pieces of cabin baggage weighing a total of 16 kg, more than double the permitted limit of 7 kg,” read a SpiceJet statement. It said the passenger became aggressive when the airline staff flagged the excess baggage and asked him to pay the applicable charges. The army officer forcefully entered the aerobridge without completing the boarding process in violation of aviation security protocols. The officer was escorted back to the gate by a CISF official. “At the gate, the passenger grew aggressive and physically assaulted members of the SpiceJet ground staff,” the SpiceJet said.