end to ‘woke ’ culture in military? The New Indian Express wishes its readers a President Donald Trump joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in declaring an end to “woke” culture in the US armed forces Hegseth had called military leaders to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington on Tuesday, without publicly revealing the reason. Hegseth said the US military has promoted too many leaders for wrong reasons based on race and gender. kannur l wednesday l october 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Ayudha Pooja Our offices and press will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Thursday 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 PM says the 20-point plan offers a pathway to lasting stability for war-ravaged region Stampede in Karur: Vijay insinuates conspiracy PM Modi backs Trump’s Gaza peace proposal T M u r u g anan d ham @ Chennai J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Actor and TVK president Vijay on Tuesday insinuated that there was a conspiracy in the stampede that led to the death of 41 people during his rally in Karur last Saturday and asserted that he and his party did not do anything wrong apart from delivering a speech at the spot for which permission was g ranted by the police. In a video message posted on X, Vijay also dared Chief Minister MK Stalin to take action against him instead of filing FIRs against his party people or those posting messages on social media. “CM sir, if you want to take revenge, do whatever you want to me, but don’t touch them. I will either be in my office or home,” he said. On criticisms that he left Karur for Chennai immediately after the incident, Vijay said he avoided visiting Karur again and left since he did not want it to be used as a reason to create further tension. “Am I not a human being? When these many people have been affected, how could I leave that place?” he asked. India on Tuesday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming the proposal a “viable pathway” to lasting peace, security, and development for both Palestinians and Israelis. The ambitious roadmap, unveiled by Trump during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah u at the White House on Monday, aims to bring an immediate halt to nearly two years of devastating conflict in Gaza. The plan mandates a 72-hour window for Hamas to release all hostages, both living and deceased, in exchange for a ceasefire and partial Israeli troop withdrawal. “We welcome President Donald J Trump’s announcement of a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict,” Modi said. India, which supports a twostate solution and has consistently condemned terrorism, said it hopes “all concerned will come together behind President Trump’s initiative and support this effort to end conflict and secure peace”. India’s endorsement of Trump’s plan is consistent with its longstanding call for diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. Sources highlighted New Delhi’s historical support for Palestinian statehood, its early recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and its vote in favour of the “New York Declaration” on peaceful settlement earlier this month. India has maintained a delicate diplomatic balance throughout the war, condemning Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terror attack while also calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan proposes a ‘Board of Peace’ led by Trump and international experts, including former British PM Tony Blair, to oversee an interim government in Gaza. Central to the proposal is the reconstruction of the enclave as New Gaza alongside a renewed push for a two-state solution with secure, recognised borders. ‘Unfit’ buildings in 1,157 Kerala schools S O V I V I D YA D H A R A N @T’Puram Even as the gover nment proudly showcases the various infrastructure development projects it has implemented in state-run schools, the latest figures tabled in the assembly paint a different picture. Buildings in as many as 1,157 schools across the state have been certified as “unfit” for conducting classes by the local self-government department (LSGD). Notably over 75% of these schools , housing the unfit buildings are government schools. In a written reply to Karungapally MLA C R Mahesh’s question in the assembly Gen, eral Education Minster V Sivankutty said the government views the situation seriously and was taking measures to address it. “While construction of new buildings is being carried out by utilising plan funds and through KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund schools in govt list Govt 875 Aided 262 Unaided 20 Total 1,157 Board) projects, separate funds are also being used for maintenance,” he said. Of the 1,157 schools listed, 875 were government schools and 262 were aided. An analysis of the statewide figures shows Kollam had most schools (143) with unfit buildings followed by Alappuzha (134). Notably, only 20 unaided schools had unfit buildings, exposing serious flaws in the periodic maintenance being carried out in state-funded government and aided schools. As per rules, schools need to obtain fitness certificates from the local body concerned before reopening ● More on P4 each year.  Asia Cup controversy: BCCI corners ACC chief Naqvi 7.42 cr in final list of Bihar voters, 47L out not handing over the trophy to the Indian cricket team,” a source, who attended the The Asia Cup trophy issue spilled over meeting told this daily. “Naqvi tried to to the Asian Cricket Council’s annual end the matter by saying the issue is not general meeting in Dubai on Tuesday. on the agenda but the BCCI representaSources said the Indian cricket board tives continued with their demand and (BCCI) registered a strong protest over also asked why the trophy is in the hotel the decision of not presenting and not at the ACC headquarthe winner’s trophy to Suryaters. Later it was decided that kumar Yadav and Co after they the ACC members will resolve beat arch-rivals Pakistan by the issue amicably The single .” five wickets in the final on point agenda of the meeting Sunday . was to elect a vice president but ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, that was also deferred. who also happens to be PakiEarlier, Naqvi’s opening restan Cricket Board chairman mark stirred yet another conand interior minister of the troversy as he congratulated country however, remained de- ACC president Mohsin Nepal for winning a T20I series , fiant even forcing at least one against the West Indies and Naqvi | AFP of the BCCI representatives — Mongolia for becoming an ACC former treasurer Ashish Shelar member but didn’t mention In— to walk out of the meeting though for dia’s Asia Cup triumph. Shelar then quesa brief period. Vice president Rajeev tioned Naqvi for not congratulating India Shukla was another BCCI representative for winning the continental tournament. in the meeting. Naqvi then duly obliged and extended his “The BCCI raised a strong objection for wishes to the winners, sources said. The Election Commission of India on Tuesday released the final voters’ list for pollbound Bihar, dropping 47 lakh names that were on the rolls before their Special Intensive Revision began. The final list has 7.42 crore voters in Bihar as compared to 7.24 crore in the draft list. While 21.53 lakh were added to the draft electoral rolls, 3.66 lakh ineligible ones were deleted from that list. In the draft rolls, the ECI had deleted 65 lakh names from the list of 7.89 crore electors in Bihar, who were eligible to vote in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2024. “If any eligible person still wishes to apply for inclusion of their name in Electoral Roll, they can submit an application up to 10 days before last date for filing nominations for the election and if any person is not satisfied with decision of ERO regarding an entry in final electoral roll, they may under Section , 24 of the RP Act, 1950, file a first appeal before District Magistrate and a second appeal before CEO,” the EC said. f i r o z mi r z a @ Chennai M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi