tadepalligudem l saturday l february 03, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Centre to sell rice at `29 a kg as it tries to control inflation The Central government on Friday said it will sell rice in the retail market at `29 per kg from next week to fight inflation in the election year Bharat rice to be sold in 5 kg & 10 kg bags Dubbed ‘Bharat Rice’ it will be sold via National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd, Kendriya Bhandar along with mobile vans in 5 kg and 10 kg bags. The government has revised its export policy and reduced the reserve price of rice to increase its supply in the open market ■ 14.5% No plans to revisit export regulation ■ The government has allocated 5 lakh metric tonnes of rice for this retail sale. It has also decided not revisit export regulations on rice It asked traders, wholesalers and retailers to declare their stock of all paddy and rice in categories such as broken rice, non-basmati white rice, parboiled rice, basmati rice and paddy every Friday on its website rise in price of rice in the retail market in the last one year 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 Panel submits draft, Uttarakhand assembly to pass UCC next week N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun SETTING the ball rolling to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, an expert panel on Friday submitted the draft bill to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday . The matter will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Saturday and passed during the four-day special session starting Monday government sourc, es said. Under UCC, all citizens, regardless of their religion, will have a uniform legal framework for marriage, divorce, l a n d , p r o p e r t y, a n d inheritance. After its rollout, Uttarakhand will become the first state in India after Independence to adopt the code. It has been operational in Goa fcra violation CBI raids home, NGO of activist Harsh Mander M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE CBI on Friday registered a case against activist Harsh Mander and his NGO—Centre for Equity Studies (CES)—for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Following the registration of the FIR, CBI conducted raids here at Mander’s residence and at his NGO where he is the chairperson-cum-secretary . The CBI spokesperson in a statement said, “It has been alleged that the NGO had transferred `32 lakh other than salary/wages/remuneration, from its FCRA account into the account of individual(s) during 2020-21 in violation of the provisions of FCRA.” After questioning several people related to the case, the CBI prima facie found a case and filed the First Information Report. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its note to the CBI stated that Section 3 of the FCRA prohibits acceptance of foreign contribution by correspondents, columnists, cartoonists, editor, owner, printer, publisher of a registered newspaper, but Mander has been writing columns and articles in newspapers and web portals. The CES has acted as conduit for the transfer of foreign contribution to non-FCRA associations, the home ministry alleged. since the Portuguese rule. UCC was a major poll promise of the BJP in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls. “The committee’s major recommendations include equal rights for women in property division in all religions. The rights of women will not be violated even if they marry into other religions or castes. Registration will be necessary for live-in relationships,” said an official. The five-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai was constituted in May 2022. The committee was given six months initially but , it got four extensions to look into all aspects of the sensitive matter. The panel held over 60 meetings and received over 2 lakh written suggestions. 1 Uniform laws Uniform laws will be applicable for divorce, postdivorce maintenance across all religions in Uttarakhand 2 Uniform law for adoption will be implemented across all religions 3 Equal property rights for girls will be enforced across all religions 4 5 6 Legal age for girls to marry to be standardised at 18 yrs Registration for live-in relationships mandatory The principle of one husband, one wife will be universally applicable. Polygamy will be abolished 7 Tribal communities of the state will be exempt from this law YSRC names in-charges for four Lok Sabha and 6 Assembly seats Ruling party appoints one Minority and four BC leaders for eight unreserved constituencies E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Vijayawada In its sixth list, the ruling YSRC on Friday appointed incharges for four Lok Sabha and six Assembly seats. Reiterating its commitment to the Backward Classes, the party has named one Minority and four BC leaders for eight unreserved constituencies. The YSRC has also named BC leaders for seats that have been traditionally held by OC leaders. For instance, Guduri Umabala, an advocate belonging to the Setti Balija community has , been appointed as in-charge of Narasapuram MP seat, a constituency traditionally dominated by Kshatriyas. The likes Parliament Constituencies Rajahmundry Dr Guduru Srinivas Narsapuram Guduru Uma Bala Guntur Ummareddy Venkata Ramana Chittoor (SC) S Reddappa Assembly seats Mylavaram Sarnala Tirupathirao Yadav Markapuram Anna Rambabu Giddaluru K Nagarjuna Reddy Nellore City MD Khaleel GD Nellore K Narayana Swamy Yemmiganur Butta Renuka of late UV Krishnam Raju, Kanumuri Bapiraju, Gokaraju Ranga Raju were elected from this seat. Sitting rebel MP from YSRC Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju also hails from the same community . Umabala is the daughter of advocate and former vice-chairman of Bhimavaram municipality late Pampana Chandrasekhar. Similarly, Narnala Tirupatirao Yadav, a BC leader, has been appointed as the in-charge of Mylavaram Assembly seat, which is traditionally held by the Kamma community . The party has dropped sitting MLA Vasantha Venkata Krishna Prasad, who has revolted against it in the recent past. The YSRC has appointed Dr Guduri Srinivas, a pulmonologist and a leader from the Setti Balija community, as the in-charge of Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha seat. With this, the Rajamahendravaram MP, Rajamahendravaram Rural and Urban seats have i n - ch a r g e s f r o m t h e B C community . Further, the party went back on its decision of appointing sitting MP from Chittoor SCreserved seat N Reddappa as incharge of GD Nellore Assembly segment and minister P Narayana Swamy as in-charge of Chittoor MP seat. Both the leaders have been retained as incharges for the seats they repP4 resent.  Champai sworn in; Ranchi court lets ED take custody of Hemant M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi Days after a high-voltage political drama here, senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren took his oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan on Friday . Senior Congress MLA Alamgir Alam and the lone RJD MLA, Satyanand Bhokta, were then sworn in as Cabinet ministers. Late on Thursday night, Governor C P Radhakrishnan had called the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition leader Champai and Congress Legislature Party leader Alam to Raj Bhavan and invited them to form the new government. While Champai was asked to prove his majority in the Assembly within 10 days of taking oath, sources said the floor test will happen on February 5. In the interregnum, 37 legislators of the ruling alliance were flown to Hyderabad in two chartered planes in the after- We all stood against this conspiracy. The fight is about ideology... Democracy survived in Jharkhand —Rahul Gandhi, Congress Governor C P Radhakrishnan greets newly sworn-in Chief Minister Champai Soren | PTI noon to prevent possible poaching by the BJP . Outgoing chief minister Hemant Soren, who put in his papers after his arrest in a land scam case on January 31, did not get any relief from a special bench of the Supreme Court. The bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, M M Sundresh and Bela Trivedi, asked, “why should you (Soren) not go to HC?” Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, said they we are dealing with a CM who has been arrested. “See the evidence. This is not fair.” But the bench said, courts are open to everybody Second, . high courts, too, are constitutional courts. “If we permit one person, then we have to permit everyone.” Soren suffered a second blow, this time in the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi, as the Enforcement Directorate got his custody for five days. Hours after Champai took the oath of office, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Jharkhand on Friday. Champai reached Pakur to join the yatra. in full flourish Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 100 runs against England on Friday. He was unbeaten on 179 as India reached 336 for 6 on Day One | PTI `14 cr cash seized at check posts, 25 arrested E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Nellore/Kurnool With the police stepping up vigil at check posts across the State in view of the ensuing elections, more than `14 crore unaccounted cash has been seized in Tirupati, Nellore and Kurnool districts in two days (Thursday and Friday). As many as 25 persons have been arrested and valuables such as gold and silver have been recovered from them. In Tirupati, police seized `5.12 crore unaccounted cash during vehicular checking in Gudur division and arrested six people on Thursday for travelling with the cash without carrying valid documents. The arrested persons were identified as P Sai Krishna, M Sridhar, G Ravi, M Lakshman Rao, K Mahesh Kumar and K Suryanarayana Murthy . Gudur DSP M Suryanarayana Reddy said the individuals cited different reasons for carrying the cash and failed to produce supporting documents. All six have been arrested and will be presented before the Income Tax Department officials for further action, he added. In Kurnool, the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) police Cordelia to set sail from Port City in August U sha Peri @ Visakhapatnam court, starlight restaurant, swimming pool, a fitness centre, and lounges. The ship offers five types of plush accommodations: interior, ocean view, mini-suite, suite, and chairman’s suite. The round-trip tariff for an interior room is `73,787 per person, `91,715 for an ocean-view room, `1,48,155 for a mini-suite, `2,51,739 for a suite and `4,23,051 for the chairman’s suite. Cordelia will be the first cruise to arrive at the Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal (VICT), which seized `1.84 crore unaccounted cash, and 4.23 kg gold and 5 kg silver worth `4.59 crore at Amukatadu toll plaza on national highway-44 under Veldurthi police station limits on Thursday midnight. Four people were arrested while transporting the valuables in a bus from Hyderabad in Telangana to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu during checking at P4 the toll plaza.  e x p r e ss r e a d bookings open Cordelia Cruise is set to return to Visakhapatnam to embark on a journey from to Chennai and Puducherry Bookings . for three separate dates—August 28, September 4, and September 11—are now open. The cruise has a capacity to accommodate between 1,500 and 1,800 passengers. Departing from the Port City on August 28, the ship will set sail on a picturesque journey, making a stopover in Puducherry before reaching Chennai. During the three-night trip, passengers will spend two nights on the ship and explore the amenities such as the food sixth list was inaugurated by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Wa t e r w ay s , S a r b a n a n d a Sonowal, in September 2023. Developed by the Visakhapatnam Port Authority with an investment of `96.05 crore, the VICT can handle cruise ships with up to 2,000 passengers on board. The terminal building has a passenger lounge, customs, immigration, recreation area, restrooms, duty-free shops, and currency exchange counters. The International Cruise Terminal is expected to significantly contribute to the development of both Visakhapatnam and the State, leading to an increase in international tourist arrivals. Actor Vijay floats political party Chennai: Putting an end to speculation, actor Vijay on Friday announced the launch of his political party, the Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), and said it will participate in the 2026 Assembly election. He clarified he will neither contest nor support any party in the general polls | P5 No interim stay on puja in Gyanvapi mosque Lucknow: In a major blow to Anjuman Intezamia Masajid (AIM), the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, the Allahabad High Court refused to allow the plea of AIM seeking an interim stay on the ongoing puja inside the southern cellar, known as Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana | P8 L a w c o m m i ss i o n r e p o rt Panel recommends retaining criminal defamation law has to enjoy his freedom of speech at the expense of The Law Commission of hurting the sentiment of India has recommendanother. It is to be uned that defamation derstood that the reshould be retained striction is not comas a criminal ofpletely on one’s fence within the thoughts and ideas. framework of crimiIt is a protection that nal laws in India. one can avail in a The recommendasituation where his No tion is in line with reputation is hurt,” absolute the Bharatiya Nyaya said the report. right Sanhita, 2023, which The panel headed replaced the Indian by Justice Ritu Raj According to Penal Code (IPC), as Awasthy, reviewed the Law it has retained crimall laws relating to Commission’s inal defamation but criminal defamation report, “there added community in the light of the exis no service as one of the isting criminal laws, absoluteness punishments. including the in any of the The Law Commis- rights and both Bharatiya Nyaya sion’s report, which Sanhita, 2023 and have to be was published on the Bharatiya Nagaharmoniously Friday said the right construed in its rik Suraksha Sanhi, to reputation flows ta, 2023, as well as all spirit to make from Article 21 of judgments on the the society the Constitution. matter, said the repeaceful and “Reputation being port. The panel was liveable.” an integral facet of mandated to reform Article 2l, it cannot the defamation law be allowed to be jeopardised by the Union law ministry in just because an individual August 2017. Preetha N air @ New Delhi