HYDERABAD l THURSday l DECEMBER 11, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late cITY EDITION india secure bronze, Germany lift junior hockey crown India produced a brave-heart performance to nullify a two-goal deficit to beat Argentina 4-2 in the third-place play-off in Chennai on Wednesday Pic: Ashwin Prasath Set piece goals help hosts Sreejesh remains coy on what next On a night when nothing worked for India, they managed to win and convert four deadball situations; three penalty corners and one penalty stroke. Arshdeep Singh won each of India’s first three set-pieces in the 4th quarter. Ankit Pal converted the first while Manmeet Singh the second. Shardanand Tiwari struck from the spot while Anmol Ekka scored the last mould this squad. When asked if he will remain with the junior programme, ex-India goalkeeper said he will continue to learn ■ Germany, who breezed past India in the semifinals, beat Spain 3-2 via penalties to win an incredible eighth title at this level | p11 ■ Over the last 12 months, coach PR Sreejesh has dedicated his time to 04 India won 4th medal at this event (gold in 2001 & 2016, silver in 1997) 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 reply to opposition Want to remove all infiltrators: Shah j aya n th j a c o b @ New Delhi A combative Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for its campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the Opposition wanted to keep infiltrators on the voter list. The Narendra Modi government’s policy, Shah said, was unambiguous — “detect all aliens from the rolls and throw them out of the country Shah .” said that the Opposition had raised the issue only because it could no longer win elections through “corrupt practices,” asserting that “the Congress’ repeated poll defeats stemmed from its leadership and not from EVMs or vote theft.” Intervening in the debate on electoral refor ms, Shah rebutted the Opposition’s charges. His 90minute speech saw frequent inter ruptions from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who challenged him to a debate on his three press conferences alleging “vote chori” by the BJP. The heated exchanges eventually led to an Opposition walkout. Seeking to corner the Congress, Shah claimed three episodes of “vote chori” involving party icons, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He said Nehru became Prime Minister in 1947 despite having fewer internal votes than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; that Indira Gandhi US gives mixed signals amid talks An outstanding speech by Home Minister Amit Shah Ji. With concrete facts, he highlighted diverse aspects of our electoral process and also exposed the lies of the Opposition —Narendra Modi, prime minister US team during negotiations with Indian officials in New Delhi on Wednesday | X PUS H PI TA DE Y @ New Delhi granted herself immunity after her election was set aside by courts. He said the dispute of the third “vote chori” has just reached the civil courts on how Sonia Gandhi “became a voter before becoming a citizen of India,” a remark that invited sharp reactions from the Congress benches. Shah said SIR was a long-standing administrative exercise to maintain integrity of elections. No party, he said, had opposed SIR between 1952 and 2004. He listed revisions carried out under former Prime Ministers Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, A B Vajpayee and even during the Manmohan Singh government. Shah also accused the Opposition of attempting to “normalise and formalise” infiltrators by resisting SIR in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Much in demand Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks in the Lok Sabha | PTI Oppn seeks poll reforms Opposition MPs on Wednesday sought machinereadable voter lists, a rollback of the 45-day CCTV wipe-out rule, access to EVMs, and changes to laws that allow ECI officers to act with impunity | P7 Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy receives a requisition from a student detailing a list of demands, submitted during his visit to the historic Osmania University in Hyderabad on Wednesday | P4 They have been a tough nut to crack... but they have been quite forward leaning. The types of offers they have been talking to us about have been the best — US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Cops in soup for custody, seizure without FIR express news service @ Hyderabad Justice NV Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday took strong exception to the actions of the Banjara Hills police, observing that the officers appeared to have disregarded established legal procedures governing arrest and seizure. The court sought a detailed explanation from the police on why the petitioner was taken into custody without an FIR and on what basis his vehicle was retained by them without lawful authorisation. The directions came in response to a writ petition filed by RV Samrat Vamshi, who accused the Banjara Hills police of acting at the instance of Congress leader C Rohin Reddy . According to the petitioner, he was picked up from his residence on November 29 and taken first to the vicinity of Rohin’s house and then to the police station. He claimed that officers in plainclothes were accompanied by Rohin’s associates during the episode. continued on P3 HC seeks explanation on mayor lands T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad The Telangana High Court on Wednesday criticised the state government for allegedly extending preferential treatment in the regularisation of encroached government land in favour of Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi and her brother K Venkateshwar Rao, both children of Government Adviser (Public Affairs) and former MP K Kesava Rao. A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin questioned why the state had deviated from the prescribed nor ms while processing the applications of the for mer MP’s children. The court noted discrepancies in both the procedure followed and the regularisation fee fixed for the two beneficiaries, and sought an explanation for the “special exceptions” granted to them. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Gadeela Raghuveer Reddy challenging GO 56 (Revenue Land Administration), dated May 23, 2023, which regularised 1,161 sq yd of government land at NBT Nagar, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, in favour of K Venkateshwar Rao at a basic value of `2,500 per sq yd (as on July 6, 1998), and 425 sq yd in favour of Vijayalaxmi, as GPA holder of Kavitha Rao, at a basic value AS the US and India look to finalise a broader bilateral trade agreement, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that India’s offers are “the best Washington has received”, though challenges remain in getting New Delhi to open up its agriculture sector. “There is resistance in India for certain crops and meats and products. They are a difficult nut to crack… but they have been quite forward leaning. The types of offers they have been talking to us about are one of the best that we have ever received as a country said Greer ,” while speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC. The comments came as the US trade negotiation team led by Deputy Trade Representa- of `350 per sq yd (as on February 3, 1993). The petitioner argued that the orders violated Article 14 of the Constitution, ran contrary to the state’s Land Regularisation Policy under GO 59 (December 30, 2014) read with the GO dated March 1, 2023, and breached the doctrine of public trust. Expressing serious concern, the bench observed irregularities in the entire exercise and directed the government to “rectify the regularisation orders, if necessary, otherwise this court will come down heavily .” Appearing for the state, Additional Advocate General Md Imran Khan sought time to consult the department concerned and consider corrective measures. The court accepted the request and adjourned the matter to January 7, 2026. U.S. Fed cuts key rates The US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday cut key interest rates by 25 bps to 3.5%–3.75% — the lowest level in more than three years E xp r ess Re a d GP elections start today Hyderabad: All arrangements are in place for the first of threephase second ordinary elections to Telangana gram panchayats on Thursday | P4 tive Rick Switzer commenced the twoday talks in New Delhi on Wednesday On . the first day he held , discussions with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. Both reviewed the ongoing negotiations for the agreement. Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is the US’ chief negotiator. India’s chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce. India’s former chief negotiator and current Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will be supervising the progress of the negotiations. “The two sides exchanged views on matters related to India-US trade and economic ties, including on the ongoing negotiations for a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement,” the Department of Commerce said. Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas in Jaipur on Wednesday Com, merce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated that the ongoing trade negotiations with the US are progressing well. “Talks are continuously progressing. We are moving forward towards a bilateral trade agreement,” Goyal said. Amazon to invest $35 bn more in India A day after Microsoft committed $17.5 billion investment in India to help build AI capabilities, Amazon said it will invest $35 billion in India over the next five years to expand its businesses in the country from quick commerce to cloud computing and AI. The $35-billion investment, the company said, would create one million job opportunities and quadruple cumulative e-commerce exports to $80 billion by 2030. Amazon has 1.7 million sellers in India. Of these, over 200,000 export to more than 200 countries and have generated $20 billion in cumulative exports. Since 2010, Amazon has invested $40 billion in India | P10 IndiGo to rope in tech experts for help ENS @ New Delhi INDIGO’s top management has broken its silence on the largescale flight disruptions caused by the airline this month. Late on Wednesday night, the airline’s chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said that external experts would be roped in to ensure no disruption occurs again. “The Board will involve external technical experts to... identify root causes and ensure corrective action so that this disruption never occurs again,” Mehta said in a video message released by IndiGo. “On 3rd Vikram Mehta D e c e m b e r, an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations... I know how much distress this caused. I want to say We are , sorry!” he said. The disruptions were due to a combination of internal and external events, adverse weather conditions, congestion, and implementation of/ and operation under the crew roster rules, Mehta added.