kollam l saturday l september 27, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l city EDITION MiG-21, the iconic jet of Indian air force, makes its last flight MiG-21, for long the primary aircraft of the Indian Air Force, was decommissioned on Friday after serving the country for more than six decades Played key roles in wars with Pakistan A workhorse with troubled safety record MiG-21, inducted into the IAF in the 1960s, played crucial roles in the India-Pakistan wars of 1965, 1971, and 1999, as well as in the 2019 Balakot air strikes. Speaking at the decommissioning ceremony, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the “mighty machine” a symbol of India’s pride. The event featured aerial displays, including formation take-offs by MiG-21s ■ ■ The ceremonial switch-off of six MiG-21 aircraft in the presence of dignitaries marked the culmination of the aircraft’s operational service While it was hailed as a “workhorse” for its long years of service, the Soviet-era interceptor had a troubled safety record and was involved in multiple crashes, earning it the nickname “flying coffin” 870 Mig-21 fighter aircraft procured by India since 1960s 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 Wangchuk held Govt nails NATO chief Rutte lie on oil diplomacy under the NSA, flown to Jodhpur J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Home Ministry says activist ‘incited mob that went on rampage’; Opposition cries foul noon. An FIR against Wangchuk has been filed under SIX years after he praised Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NSA in connection for granting Union Territory with incidents of rioting and status to Ladakh, Magsaysay arson on Wednesday . awardee climate activist SonUnder the NSA, a person can am Wangchuk, 59, was arrested be detained for 12 months withon Friday and booked under out a trial. Wangchuk, accordthe stringent National Security ing to sources, has been moved Act (NSA) for allegedly ‘insti- out from Ladakh and shifted to gating and inciting violence Jodhpur in Rajasthan. and unrest in Leh through proThe Ministry of Home Afvocative statements’. fairs blamed Wangchuk’s Parallelly, the govspeeches for instigaternment rescheduled ing unrest in the rea preparatory meeting gion. “It is clear that between Ladakh leadthe mob was incited by ers and Union home S o n a m Wa n g c h u k ministry officials in through his provocaNew Delhi to Septemtive statements,” MHA ber 29 so as to prepare said in a statement. the ground for the OcThe FCRA licence of Mehbooba tober 6 talks. Leh Apex slams move Wangchuk’s NGO, the Body (LAB) co-chairStudents’ Educational PDP president man Chering Dorjay and Cultural MoveMehbooba told this newspaper ment of Ladakh (SECMufti said the that the that a sevenMOL), was cancelled arrest of Sonam member delegation of on Thursday . Wangchuk is Ladakh leaders, inWangchuk has de“deeply cluding three each nied the allegations disturbing”, from LAB and Kargil and termed it “scapeterming him Democratic Alliance goating” and “witch as a lifelong and the Ladakh MP, hunting”. Immediateadvocate will participate in the ly after the arrest, auof peace September 29 talks. thorities suspended The meeting will mobile internet servdiscuss the agenda for the Oc- ices in Leh district, where curtober 6 talks between the La- few remained in force for the dakh leaders and the Union third consecutive day . home ministry in New Delhi. Opposition parties, including Wangchuk’s arrest comes the Congress and Trinamool two days after violent protests Congress slammed the Centre in Leh over demands for state- over the arrest, alleging that hood and Sixth Schedule status the move “clearly exposes the left four persons dead and 80 government’s witch-hunting injured on Wednesday . agenda” and its “abysmal failSources said Wangchuk was ure” to maintain law and order taken into custody by police in the Union Territory of from his residence in the after- Ladakh. F aya z w a n i @ Srinagar EXPRESS READ Orange alert in 4 dists as rains shift north T’Puram: India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a northward shift in rainfall by Saturday, issuing an orange alert for Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts. This comes as the low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal is intensifying into a depression and is expected to make landfall along the Odisha-Andhra coast on Saturday. K M Shajahan granted bail in cyber attack case Kochi: In a setback to the police, K M Shajahan, who was arrested by Chengamanad police for allegedly posting derogatory remarks against CPM leader K J Shine on social media, was granted bail by the Ernakulam CJM Court on Friday. The bail was granted on condition that he should cooperate with the investigation and should not be involved in similar crimes. P7 In touch with US on H-1B visa, says MEA New Delhi: India on Friday said it remains actively engaged with the United States over the H-1B visa programme and emphasised that skilled talent mobility has enormously benefitted both the countries. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is aware of the recent developments concerning the H-1B visa program in the US. 18 pages, including 4-page pullout India on Friday strongly rejected remarks made by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to clarify his stance on Ukraine and termed the statement as “factually incorrect and entirely baseless.” Speaking to CNN, Rutte claimed that India had been in contact with Moscow and Prime Minister Modi had con- fronted Putin over the Ukraine war, linking it to economic fallout from US tariffs. “Delhi is on the phone with Putin, and Narendra Modi is asking him to explain his strategy on Ukraine because India is being hit with tariffs,” Rutte alleged. In a sharply worded rebuttal, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the comments as false and irresponsible. “We have seen the statement pects better from a leader of such a key international body . “We expect the leadership of an important institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements. Speculative or careless remarks that misrepresent the Prime Minister’s engagements or suggest conversations that never occurred are unacceptable.” The controversy comes against the backdrop of rising trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump last month sparks fly in Bareilly amid ‘I Love Muhammad’ row Demonstration called off Police, locals clash Shops vandalised Over two dozen held Clashes erupted in UP’s Bareilly after a demonstration in support of “I Love Muhammad” campaign was called off on Friday As a large crowd marched towards the Islamia Inter College ground, police tried to stop them, leading to clashes at Khalil Tiraha Police in anti-riot gear used force to disperse the crowd, which resorted to stone pelting and vandalism of shops and vehicles More than two dozen people have been detained. No official figures were available about the number of injured people Dulquer moves HC Congress to take lead against car seizure by customs The actor submitted that the seizure was carried out hastily, without proper enquiry or reference to any relevant material. He sought a directive for vehicle’s release | P6 Surya, Rauf fined; BCCI appeals against verdict E x pr e s s N e w s S e rv i c e @ Chennai India captain Suryakumar Yadav (L) and Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf | AFP that Suryakumar attended the hearing on Thursday while the hearing for the Pakistan duo was conducted at the team hotel on Friday . The Indian skipper dedicated his team’s win over Pakistan on September 14 to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had lodged a complaint against him for making a political statement. in making peace with sulking NSS, hints KC feels that a communication gap with the NSS has been persistWith its back to the wall after ing for quite some time, necesthe NSS openly shunned its sitating high-level intervention long-held equidistance posture before it is too late. “If there is and warmed up towards the a communication gap, we will CPM, the Congress leaderresolve it,” Venugopal ship is exploring ways said. to assuage the ruffled He declined to comfeelings of the influenment when asked whethtial body . er Congress leaders “If there are any would visit NSS general lapses on the part of secretary G Sukumathe Congress with reran Nair as part of the gard to the ties with mission to reconcile the NSS, the party will strained ties between definitely address the two organisations. If there are any them,” AICC general lapses on the part However, Congress of the Congress secretary (organisainsiders said the party tion) K C Venugopal with regard to the leadership is likely ties with the NSS, send feelers to the NSS told TNIE. the party will Resentment is brewsupremo ahead of local definitely ing within the Conbody elections. Apart address them gress over Leader of f r o m Ve n u g o p a l , O p p o s i t i o n V D K C Venugopal, AICC former state Congress general secretary Satheesan’s frequent presidents K Muraleedstatements, further haran and Ramesh widening the rift with the NSS. Chennithala continue to main“He has already explained his tain cordial relations with the stand twice. There is no need to NSS. cling to a position when everyFormer KPCC chief Mullapone knows it failed to protect pally Ramachandran also said Congress’s interest,” a senior the party leadership will take leader said. the initiative to resolve all isA section of senior leaders sues with the NSS.  ● More on P6 K S Sr e e j j i t h @ T’Puram Asia Cup row Ahead of their first-ever Asia Cup final in 41 years of tournament history on Sunday India’s captain Suryaku, mar Yadav and Pakistan’s pacer Haris Rauf have reportedly been fined 30 per cent of their respective match fees by ICC match referee. Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan, however, escaped with a warning for his gunshot celebration after completing his fifty in the Super Fours match against India. It was also learnt that the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has appealed against the ICC’s verdict. While the global body didn’t issue any statement in this regard, sources claimed by NATO Secretary-General Mr Mark Rutte regarding a purported phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin. The statement is factually incorrect and entirely baseless,” said Jaiswal. “At no point has Prime Minister Modi spoken with President Putin in the manner suggested. No such conversation has taken place.” Jaiswal added that the Government of India ex- It was also learnt that Suryakumar has been asked not to make any statement that could be construed as political during the remainder of the tournament. Meanwhile, Rauf was fined for allegedly engaging with the Indian fans during the Super Fours match on September 21. The pacer allegedly mimicked a jet going down. The BCCI had complained against the duo. It all started with the first match between the two archrivals on September 14 when Suryakumar didn’t shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha after the toss. The India team then refused the solidarity handshake with Pakistan players after the match, escalating the tension further. doubling tariffs on key Indian goods to 50%, citing India’s continued imports of Russian oil. Reiterating India’s energy policy, the MEA spokesperson stressed that its purchases are guided solely by national interest, market conditions and economic considerations. Answering a question on the European Union calling upon India to cut energy imports from Russia, Jaiswal pointed to President Trump statement that the EU, G7, NATO also needs to stop Russian energy imports. CEO-Kerala recommends postal voting for NRI electors S O V I V I D YA D HA R A N @T’Puram The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-Kerala has recommended the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce postal voting facility for overseas electors in the assembly elections next year. CEO-Kerala Rathan U Kelkar told TNIE that he has sent a formal proposal to the ECI on bringing in postal voting for NRI voters, similar to the facility provided for service voters and officials on polling duty A demand in this regard . had come up from NRI representatives during a meeting with the CEO recently . Notably over 75% of all-In, dia overseas voter enrolments in the last Lok Sabha election were from Kerala. Also, more than 90% of overseas electors who voted in the Rathan U Kelkar, LS election CEO-Kerala were from Kerala. “As per the latest electoral roll, there are around 90,051 overseas electors in Kerala. During the 2024 Parliament election, a little over 2,600 of these electors had voted. During my recent meeting with NRI representatives from the state, most of them said their participation in the electoral process could increase manifold if postal voting facility is provided to them,” Kelkar said. The official said the services of Indian embassies and consulates could be effectively used, especially for the large chunk of NRI voters in the Gulf region.  ● More on P6 India sees low impact of 100% tariff on branded pharma export to US P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi Indian pharma exporters are expected to face minimal impact from the US decision to impose a 100% tariff on patented medicines, as the country’s $30 billion-plus pharmaceutical exports are largely driven by generics. India shipped $10.5 billion worth of drugs to the US in FY25, accounting for nearly 40% of America’s generic prescriptions. According to Aditya Jhaver, director at Crisil Ratings, the replacement risk for Indian generics in the US remains low, given the country’s limited local manufacturing capacity. “India delivers significant healthcare savings to the US, with manufacturing costs 3540% lower than those in the US,” he said. Mankind Pharma chairman Ramesh C Juneja noted that the tariff is likely to have less than a 0.5% impact on Indian exporters. “There are very few companies that send patented products to the US, and most of them already have manufacturing facilities in America,” he added. Still, exporters cautioned that India must remain alert in case complex generics, or even parts of the generic supply chain, come under tariffs or other restrictions in the future. The US Commerce Department is also probing under Section 232 whether pharmaceutical imports—including finished drugs and APIs—pose a national security risk. US President Donald Trump announced that from October 1, he will impose a 100% tariff on all branded or patented drugs unless they are manufactured domestically. Shares of Sun Phar maceutical and Natco Pharma fell over 3% each, while Laurus Labs, Biocon, and Zydus Lifesciences dropped 4-7%. The Nifty Pharma index ended the day down 2.14% and 5.2% lower for the week.