vijayawada l sunday l december 14, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION 19 U.S. states sue Trump over $1,00,000 fee on new H-1B visa The Democrat-ruled states warned that the policy will worsen labour shortages in key sectors such as health care, education and technology Petitioners say fee hike against law ■ $2K-5k Coalition led by New york attorney general The attorneys general argued that the new fee breaches both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as it was introduced without congressional approval or the required rulemaking process. “The administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise,” said the California attorney general | p13 ■ New York Attorney General Letitia James (L) led 18 other attorneys general in filing the lawsuit. In September, President Donald Trump announced a one-time $1,00,000 fee on all new H-1B petitions Many states depend on H-1B visa to fill essential roles. For instance, about a third of health care workers in New York are H-1B visa holders Is how much it cost to file an H-1b application before the fee hike 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 Resolution in US House against 50% tariff on India J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi LEFT: Fans turned violent after Leo Messi suddenly left the Salt Lake Stadium due to security reasons; and (R) Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Messi in Hyderabad | PTI/vinay madappu Godavari Pushkarams dates out E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Rajamahendravaram The State government has officially announced that Godavari Pushkarams will take place from June 26 to July 7, 2027. The government had consulted Tangirala Venkatakrishna Purna Prasad, Asthana Siddhanti of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, before announcing the dates of Godavari Pushkarams, which occur once in 12 years. The Commissioner of Endowments has informed that Godavari Pushkarams will commence on June 26, and continue for 12 days. The East Godavari District Collector issued a release on Saturday, announcing the dates of Pushkarams. With nearly one-and-ahalf years remaining for Godavari Pushkarams, expectations are high for large scale preparations for the major river fete. Although a ministerial committee, and two special officers have been appointed to oversee the arrangements for Pushkarams, infrastructure development works are yet to begin in Godavari region. Mess in Bengal, grace in Hyd No glimpse of star leads to paying public rage in a car, accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez, things All for a glimpse of Messi. For started getting out of hand. a Messi fan, it’s all that matters. Fans were delirious. As soon as I reached the gates However, the scenes turned of the Salt Lake Stadium at 8.30 chaotic after guests in the coram, fatigue from overnight doned-off VVIP area crowded journey just disappeared. The around Messi, blocking his view. stadium was draped in Argen- The event organiser was heard tina colours, with people in jer- repeatedly urging them to step seys with Messi written aside. All of a sudden on their backs. There the situation went out were giant cutouts and of control and Messi paintings of him as and his entourage were I am deeply well. Fans from across escorted out of the stadisturbed & the country were there. dium. We in the crowd My ticket allowed me to shocked by the did not know what was one part of the stands. mismanagement happening. Word spread today. I More than 60,000 fans that Messi had left. This apologise to would have gathered in- Messi, as well as sparked anger. Bottles side by 10.30 am. There were hurled onto the to all sports was a cultural profield, banners were violovers & fans gramme highlighting lently torn down, and India and Argentina, Mamata Banerjee the situation deterioratfollowed by a friendly ed. Fans began breaking football match between Dia- chairs and throwing them in the mond Harbour Club and Mo- s t a d i u m . S eve r a l p e o p l e hun Bagan. Fans were kept en- breached barricades and engaged, but as soon as the tered the ground. Makeshift announcer hollered in stadium tents were overturned, chairs PA system that Messi would be smashed.Even the goalpost was entering, at around 11.30 am, damaged. excitement quickly turned into Eventually, exhausted and a frenzy Fans began climbing disillusioned, fans began leav. the barriers placed in front of ing the stadium. Shah Rukh the stands to catch a glimpse of Khan and Sourav Ganguly who the World Cup winner. were part of the event cancelled As Messi entered the stadium their appearances. Atmosphere electric as city salutes soccer royalty As h u t o s h A c h a r ya @ joined by Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, with Revanth alongside them, a tableau that Hyderabad put its best foot blurred lines between sport, forward on Saturday by ensur- spectacle and dream. For the ing that the visit of Lionel Mes- record, Revanth found the net si to India was a resounding once and Messi twice. success. While the football was After the exhibition game limited to an exhibition match ended, Messi made a slow lap of between Team Revanth Reddy the ground, turning the moSingareni and Apar na All ment into something personal. Stars, playing for MesA gentle kick sent the si, the atmosphere was ball sailing into the electric at the Rajiv stands, triggering a Gandhi International scramble of joy At the . It’s been great to football clinics, young Stadium, Uppal. be part of the The stadium and its players shared the pitch tour. I am very vicinity turned into a with the legend, exhappy to be in roaring cauldron of changing crisp tiki-taka Hyderabad in the song, colour and belief midst of the love passes. The loudest apon a night Hyderabad plause came when a and affection came to salute football shown by you all child joined Messi on royalty. First, Chief the grass, the two sharLionel Messi Minister A Revanth ing a brief, unguarded Reddy stepped onto the moment that drew pitch with his team, drawing smiles across the stadium. loud cheers. Addressing the crowd in A while later, Messi appeared, Spanish, Messi kept it simple. first watching quietly from the “I feel very happy and grateful sidelines, smiling at the noise to see so many people, and I am he had summoned without very happy to be in Hyderatouching the ball. When he fi- bad,” he said. Suárez and Guinally walked onto the field, the do Rodríguez echoed the sentistadium erupted. Phones went ment, speaking of their delight up, voices cracked, and the sta- at being part of The GOAT Indium shook. Messi waved, took dia Tour. The evening closed in the scene, and soon offered with a brief felicitation on the flashes of the touch that has de- field by Revanth and Congress fined a generation. He was MP Rahul Gandhi. E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e Salt Lake Stadium stands @ Hyderabad 70-foot Leo Messi statue was unveiled by the legend | sri loganathan velmurugan Bengal CM orders high level probe Rahul joins the fun Stating that she was shocked and deeply disturbed by “mismanagement” at the Leo Messi’s event, CM Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level panel to probe incident. “I am consti-tuting an enquiry panel under the chairmanship of Justice (Rtd) Ashim Kumar” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined Messi and Reddy at the felicitation towards the end of the event, posing for photos in front of the sponsorship hoardings. Earlier, Messi took a tour of the stadium. He will reach Mumbai on Sunday for his third leg of the GOAT Tour 2025 Three Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have introduced a resolution seeking to terminate tariffs of up to 50% imposed by President Donald Trump on imports from India, calling the measures illegal and harmful to the US economy and bilateral relations. Representatives Deborah Ross, Marc Veasey and Raja Krishnamoorthi tabled the resolution on Friday If at all . the resolution is adopted, it would end the national emergency declared on August 6, 2025, under which the tariffs were imposed, and roll back the additional duties levied on Indian goods. The tariffs were invoked under the Inter national Emergency Economic Powers Act. They began with a 25% levy in August and were later supplemented with “secondary” duties, pushing effective rates to as high as 50% on several categories of Indian imports. The lawmakers said the tariffs have disrupted supply chains and increased costs for American consumers and businesses, while under mining long-ter m US-India relations. Krishnamoorthi, an Indian-American lawmaker, said the tariff strategy was c o u n t e r p r o d u c t ive a n d failed to advance US economic or security interests. He argued ending the duties would help strengthen cooperation between Washington and New Delhi. WITH THIS ISSUE The Wars Behind the War PLUS 12 P AGES Strong UDF show in Kerala AP’s fiscal deficit is highest in its history local polls, BJP takes capital Fiscal stress S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada A n i l S @ T’puram Local body polls often signal the changing course of Kerala politics. On Saturday, political Kerala witnessed one of the biggest comebacks of recent times, with the Congress-led UDF scripting an authoritative victory in the two-phase local body elections held on December 9 and 11, and the ruling LDF nearly washed out. Riding on an anti-incumbency wave, the UDF garnered a stupendous victory, winning four out of six municipal corporations, seven district panchayats, 54 municipalities, 79 block panchayats and around 505 grama panchayats. The LDF lost four sitting municipal corporations, as many district panchayats, more than 100 grama panchayats, half of the block panchayats and around 20 municipalities. The election results, widely perceived as a precursor to the assembly polls just a few months away and the writing on the wall is clear: despite all its inherent weaknesses, the Congress front appears UDF workers celebrating the bloc’s victory in Kochi | TP Sooraj to be on a comeback path. However, what will go down in history as the biggest takeaway of the 2025 local body polls is the saffron front clinching the prestigious Thiruvanathapuram city corporation—a victory that has the potential to fuel the BJP’s growth in Kerala in the coming years. Egged on by the BJP national leader- ship’s long-standing desire to win the city corporation in the state capital, the BJP-led NDA wrested the civic body from the LDF, winning 50 out of 100 wards. The NDA which was struggling to find a foothold in state politics, has managed to proved itself a formidable contender to both fronts, with its comprehensive win in a municipal corporation, a first for the saffron party in the state. In an election that was supposed to be a referendum on a decade of CPM-led rule under Pinarayi Vijayan, the LDF was banking mainly on the recent hike in social welfare pensions to win the people’s mandate, while its cyber team focused on the Mankootathil issue. The voters, however, were in no mood to take the bait, and chose to hand the Left a resounding defeat. On the other hand, the UDF and the NDA based their campaign on the Sabarimala gold theft, which seems to have made an impact on the faithful as well as the discerning public. A sharp fiscal contrast separates 2023-24 and 2024-25 in Andhra Pradesh, two financial years governed by different regimes. The State’s fiscal deficit jumps from `62,720 crore (RE) to `68,743 crore (BE), the highest borrowing requirement it has ever projected. Meanwhile, the revenue deficit narrows from `38,683 crore to `34,743 crore, signalling an effort to tighten routine spending or bank on stronger revenue flows. Yet, AP remains one of India’s most revenue-stressed States, with its deficit still the second-largest, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s Handbook of Statistics on State Gover nment Finances. The broader trend indicates that this is not a one-off fluctuation, but rather part of a deeper structural pattern. AP’s fiscal deficit has more than doubled since bifurcation, rising from `31,747 crore in 2014-15 to a projected `68,743 crore in 2024-25. A brief dip in 2021-22, when the deficit fell to `25,013 crore, Major growth 2024-25 (BE) FISCAL DEFICIT (in ` crore) concerns  AP still remains a revenue-stressed State  Revenue deficit remains structurally large and persistent  AP has not recorded a revenue surplus since bifurcation AP’s fiscal deficit has more than doubled since bifurcation from `31,747 cr in 2014-15 to a projected `68,743 cr in 2024-25  Borrowing dependence has doubled in a decade  Gap with fiscally stronger neighbours stands out as the only year of sharp compression in an otherwise steadily widening gap. Subsequent years saw the deficit rebound, underscoring the persistence of fiscal pressure. The revenue deficit trajectory is even more telling. AP has not recorded a single revenue-surplus year since 2014. The deficit, which was `24,193 crore in 2014-15, expanded to `43,488 crore in 202223 (Actuals) before easing marginally in the last two years. The State continues to bor- 1,10,355 1,08,690 86,531 82,981 68,743 Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Karnataka Andhra Pradesh 51,917 49,255 Gujarat Telangana 2024-25 (BE) REVENUE DEFICIT Tamil Nadu 49,279 Andhra Pradesh 34,743 surplus Telangana: -297 row heavily for routine expenditure — salaries, pensions, subsidies, and welfare — leaving limited room for capital creation. Long-term revenue expenditure trends explain much of this imbalance. AP’s revenue spending has tripled over two decades, rising from `31,307 crore in 200405 to `1,10,374 crore in 2013-14, with continued expansion thereafter. This sustained rise has kept the State locked in a structural revenue deficit. West Bengal 31,952 Gujarat: -9,821 Kerala 27,846 Karnataka 27,354 Comparisons with other States highlight the scale of the challenge. While larger States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka report higher fiscal deficits in absolute terms, AP’s deficit has grown faster relative to its economic size. Its revenue deficit of `34,743 crore is the second-highest in India, far exceeding those of Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal. Telangana and Gujarat, meanwhile, continue to post revenue surpluses.  P4