COIMBATORE l friday l august 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION State govts can’t move SC against Prez AND guv on Bills, SAYS Centre sc: How can Assent be withheld forever? The Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution bench hearing a Presidential Reference seeking clarity on whether timelines could be imposed on the President and governors for deciding on bills passed by the State legislatures, said the term ‘as soon as possible’ used in Article 200 of the Constitution will serve no purpose if consent is withheld for “eternity” State governments cannot file such writ petitions by claiming to be a repository of the rights of the people, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told SC Prez, Guv not bound by timeframe: s-g ■ ■ Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said governors and the President are ‘titular heads’ who have no discretion on executive decision-making, except a very few ones S-G Mehta said the Constitution does not envisage judicial directions binding the President or Governors to act within a timeframe Art 200 Deals with guv’s Assent, withholding, returning, or referring bills to prez 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 Important step India, Canada thaw as both name envoys J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India and Canada on Thursday named senior diplomats Dinesh K Patnaik and Christopher Cooter as their new high commissioners, filling posts that had remained vacant for over 10 months amid one of the most serious diplomatic crises between the two countries in recent decades. Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and currently India’s ambassador to Spain, will take up his assignment in Ottawa shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed the appointment of Cooter as high commissioner to India, calling it an “important step towards restoring necessary diplomatic services to citizens and businesses in both countries.” The appointments mark a cautious step toward normalising ties that had sharply deteriorated following allegations by then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey British Columbia. India , had dismissed it as “absurd and politically motivated”. In the aftermath, both countries halted trade talks, expelled diplomats, and downgraded the functioning of their missions. Though Canada follows a 120day process to finalise the agrément—a formal diplomatic approval process—for incoming foreign envoys, in Patnaik’s case, the process was expedited. While the deeper political tensions remain unresolved, the restoration of high-level diplomatic representation suggests both sides are now seeking to stabilise the relationship and move toward normalcy . sindhu stuns world no 2 in Round of 16 Storms into Worlds quarters after beating China’s Wang Zhi Yi Page 11 Bhagwat clears the air on retiring @ 75 RA J E S H K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi Clearing the air over his recent remark on retirement at 75, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said it wasn’t aimed at himself or anyone else, alluding to the speculation on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I never said that I will retire or someone else should retire... We are ready to retire anytime in life and ready to work for as long as the Sangh wants us to do so,” he said on the final day of the Sangh’s three-day lecture series to mark the centenary celebrations of the RSS. Reacting to ongoing attempts to reclaim Hindu sites of worship in Kashi and Mathura, he denied the Sangh’s participation in it, but added that its volunteers (swayamsevaks) were free to make their own decisions. Bhagwat also suggested that every Indian family should have three children to keep the population sufficient and under control. “To keep a civilisation alive, India’s population policy suggests 2.1 (average number of children), which basically means three. But resources have to be managed too, so we must restrict it to three,” he said. Centenary event On the issue of Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat said there is no need to declare Bharat a Hindu Rashtra. “It already is. Rishis and munis have already declared it. It does not need any official proclamation,” he said, adding the Sangh cannot change its stance that If Indians don’t budge, I don’t think President Trump will: Hassett Trump’s top Talks still on aides double at multiple down on India levels: Govt J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi Police lifeline Police personnel rescuing ST Residential School students trapped in floodwaters at Sarampalli village in Kamareddy district on Wednesday. Around 300 of those children were shifted to safer locations | Express 171.3 mm rainfall received at Ramareddy village in Kamareddy district between 8.30 am and 4 pm 69 trains were cancelled in in Telangana, while 18 other trains were partially cancelled due to water overflowing on the tracks tn cops arrest ap nurse 17-yr-old nursing student dies after illegal abortion R a j a l a ks h m i S a m pat h @ Chennai A 17-year-old first-year nursing student from Tiruttani died Wednesday night from complications that developed following an illegal abortion performed allegedly by a nurse in an Andhra clinic on the insistence of the girl’s parents. Tiruvallur district police on Thursday arrested the 45-yearold nurse, identified as Violet of Raja Clinic in Pannur village. The girl’s parents were also booked under relevant provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and the Child Marriage Prohibition Act while the girl’s 17-year-old boyfriend was booked under the Pocso Act. Police sources said that the girl’s parents had opposed their relationship and the two teenagers had eloped earlier this month. Based on a missing complaint lodged on August 5, the police traced the pair within two days. The girl was five months pregnant and the couple had got married, police said. Asked if the district Child Welfare Committee was informed about the case, police sources said that as the girl was comfortable returning with her parents, the police allowed them to take her home. However, a few days later, the girl’s parents allegedly forced her to undergo an abortion that was arranged through a relative in Pannur, Andhra Pradesh, where Violet is alleged to have given her tablets for a medical termination at the Raja Clinic.  P5 15 SDRF teams and 5 NDRF teams deployed in Kamareddy and other districts; 100 Army personnel engaged in rescue, relief in Medak express read Four of TN family die in Chhattisgarh floods Tirupattur: Four of a family, including two children, from Parandapalli in Tirupattur died in Chhattisgarh on Monday due to flash floods on the Sukma– Jagalpur Road, after water from a lake overflowed, district revenue officials confirmed | P2 West Bengal readies for poll body’s SIR rollout Kolkata: In an indication of the SIR of poll rolls kicking in soon in Bengal, the state administration on Wednesday instructed the appointment of all electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers within 24 hours | P8 IndiGo lease of Turkish planes extended New Delhi: In a significant development, DGCA has given a six-month extension till February 28, 2026 to IndiGo to operate two leased Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines with certain conditions 22 convicted, 161 let off in 2015 Ambur riots case D h e e p t h i o j @ Tirupattur The Tirupattur District and Sessions Court on Thursday convicted 22 of the 191 persons booked in the 2015 Ambur riots case, in which around 26 police personnel, including three who were grievously injured, came under attack. Judge S Meenakumari issued the verdict, sentencing the convicts to fines and varying terms of imprisonment, depending on the charges. The collective fine of `4.22 lakh from all 22 has been deposited, Hindustan is a Hindu nation. Addressing concerns over foreign funding, he said that there should be no issue if they are used for service work. “But they should be used for that purpose alone. The problem arises when such funds are used for religious conversions. That is why restrictions became necessary .” Commenting on the language debate, Bhagwat said that all of Bharat’s languages are national languages. “All the languages of Bharat are national languages. But, there should be one common link language and it should never be a foreign language.” Public Prosecutor P T Saravanan told TNIE. Furthermore, for the damages amounting to around `23 lakh, the judge ordered that the amount be recovered from the properties of the late Aslam Basha — the then Ambur MLA and an accused in the case — and from his party, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK). A compensation of `10 lakh each has to be given to police personnel Rajalakshmi and Vijayakumar, who were grievously injured in the riots.  P5 P U S H P ITA D E Y @ New Delhi Hardening their stance against India over New Delhi’s energy trade with Russia and refusal to open up its markets for American corporations, US President Donald Trump’s two top economic advisers, Kevin Hassett and Peter Navarro, have issued sharp warnings against India. Hassett, director, National Economic Council, tied Washington’s steep tariffs on Indian goods to New Delhi’s stance on Russia. “If the Indians don’t budge, I don’t think President Trump will,” he said, calling trade negotiations with India complicated and criticising India’s ‘intransigence’ in opening up markets. White House Trade Advisor Navarro bluntly accused India of enabling Russia’s war. In an interview to Bloomberg, Navarro dubbed the Ukraine conflict ‘Modi’s war’, Peter Navarro blaming India for prolonging the fighting by continuing to buy Russian oil. The duo’s sharp remarks signal a renewed hardline posture from the Trump administration as it links trade policy with geopolitical alignment. Kevin Hassett “This isn’t just about trade,” Hassett said. “Part of it has been tied to the pressure we’ve been trying to put on Russia in order to secure a peace deal and save millions of lives. Then there’s the Indian intransigence about opening their markets to our products.” Taking a more provocative line, Navarro said: “Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing… Consumers lose, businesses lose, workers lose because of high Indian tariffs. And the taxpayer? They fund Modi’s war.” Navarro also lashed out at India’s insistence on sovereign decision-making in energy policy calling it “arrogant,” and accused the , country of siding with authoritarians. “India, you’re the biggest democracy in the world. Act like one. Side with the democracies,” he said, lumping India’s Russia and China ties into a broader critique of its foreign policy alignment. WITH the 50% tariffs officially coming into force, New Delhi has intensified efforts to mitigate the fallout. According to a senior commerce ministry official, discussions are on with exporters as well officials of the Trump administration. “Engagements with exporters are going on. Official-level engagements between the two countries are also on,” the official said. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Ministry of Exter nal Affairs (MEA), and the Ministry of Commerce are jointly coordinating efforts to cushion the impact on exporters. Speaking to this newspaper, an official said the government is trying to find a way out of the tarUnwavering and iff mess and seriously unequivocal pursuing engagements at support for the multiple levels – diplomatgovernment’s ic, political and commerstance on not cial. The official said the yielding to the unreasonable and strategies include putting unethical pressure pressure on the Trump of the reciprocal administration using the tariffs imposed on Democrats and businessIndia by the United es there. “Businesses are States the ones who are suffering even in the US,” said —Sudhir Sekhri, chairman, AEPC the official. Meanwhile, separate meetings between ministries and industry representatives are being held. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated dialogues with key trade bodies to address liquidity and financial concerns triggered by the new tariffs. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had earlier promised exporters that all measures would be taken to deal with the emerging situation. On Thursday a delegation from the Federa, tion of Indian Export Organisations met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to the federation, Sitharaman assured them that the government would safeguard workers’ livelihoods and urged industry leaders to reassure employees about job continuity despite global turbulence. Exporters, despite being concerned about the impact on their businesses, have largely backed the government’s stance of dealing with tariff pressure from Washington. Stalin, TN min warn of 30L textile jobs being at risk, urge centre to intervene express news servi ce @ Chennai A collective fine of `4.22 lakh from the 22 convicts has been deposited | express Then MLA allegedly spread rumours about man’s death The then Ambur MLA Aslam Basha allegedly spread rumours among cadre of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and other Muslim organisations that Ahamed’s death was caused by police custodial torture Chief Minister M K Stalin and Industries Minister T R B Rajaa on Thursday pressed the union government to urgently intervene after the US raised tariffs on Indian exports, warning of severe consequences for Tamil Nadu’s economy “I reiterate my de. mands to the centre for immediate relief and structural reforms to safeguard our industries and workers,” Stalin said in a post on X. Stalin had earlier written CM M K Stalin and Minister T R B Rajaa to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 16, cautioning that the 50% tariff hike could derail TN’s textile sector and warned that as many as 30 lakh jobs could be at risk without swift intervention. Rajaa on Thursday accused the centre of remaining “mute” in the face of the tariff rise and of failing to consult key states such as TN and Maharashtra during what he described as “extremely tumultuous times”. In a social media post, Rajaa said, “As a responsible state, led by a mature leader who puts our nation’s interests first, TN has stood with the central government and expressed support during this US tariff trade shifts.”  P5