HUBBALLI l thursday l october 17, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Diwali bonanza for Central govt staff/pensioners as DA/DR up 3% The government’s decision is with effect from July 1 this year and will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali DA/DR now at 53% of basic pay/pension cABINET CLEARS HIGHER MSP FOR RABI CROPS Earlier, the Centre had hiked DA/DR by 4 percentage points to 50% from January 1 , 2024. With the latest hike, DA and DR are now 53% of the basic pay/pension of central government employees / pensioners. The DA hike is based on the 12-month average of All India Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the Cabinet meeting ■ ■ The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared the price hikes for six rabi crops, with increases ranging from D130 to D300 per quintal for 2025-26 marketing season beginning April 2025 The Minimum Support Price for wheat has been increased by D150 to D2,425 per quintal, a move that comes ahead of key state elections | P7 A9,448 crore Estimated Financial implication of the da/DR hike on the Central government 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 India violated sovereignty of Canada: Trudeau US, UK and other members of the Five Eyes group ask India to probe Canadian charges of suspects. The RCMP felt it had reached the threshold as it Canadian Prime Minister was soon turning to be a threat Justin Trudeau on Wednesday to public safety he added. , said there were clear indicaTrudeau said that when he tions that India had violated apprised Prime Minister NarenCanadian sovereignty alluding dra Modi in September 2023 (on , to the murder of Khalistani the sidelines of the G20 Summit radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Delhi) about the informain British Columbia last year. tion, he said that there CanadiHe was testifying before a ans who were involved in hate federal commission probing speeches and India would like into foreign interferthem arrested. “I told ence in the country. Modi that the people Trudeau named gangin Canada had freester Lawrence Bishdom of speech and we noi jailed in India, as would work with Inone of the conduits dia if it came to for criminal activiterrorism.’’ ties in Canada at the Earlier in the day, India asked Canada’s allegations alleged behest of the for proof Modi government. found resonance in Trudeau said Indi- Trudeau said they the Five Eyes intellian diplomats were engaged with the gence alliance it is collecting informa- Modi govt as they part of. The grouping tion of Canadians wanted to know if includes the UK, the Indian agencies who were opponents US, Australia and were involved in of or in disagreement New Zealand. “When with the Modi gov- harming Canadians it comes to the Canaernment. They passed as they needed to dian matter, we have be accountable. the information to made clear that the But India sought their gover nment, allegations are exevidence, he said which employed tremely serious and criminals like the they need to be taken Lawrence Bishnoi gang to seriously And we wanted to see . harm Canadians, he alleged. the government of India coopThe Royal Canada Mounted erate with Canada in its invesPolice (RCMP) wanted to dis- tigation,” State Department rupt this chain, which is why spokesman Matthew Miller they went public on Monday he told reporters. “Obviously they , , said. “We wanted to question have not,” he said. “They have the Indian diplomats but since chosen an alternate path.” they didn’t agree we asked As for Britain, its Foreign them to leave the country .’’ Commonwealth and DevelopTrudeau alleged that Indian ment Office said, “The Governdiplomats were involved in cov- ment of India’s cooperation ert, clandestine activities, and with Canada’s legal process is were withholding family visas the right next step.” Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi It’s raining chaos in Namma B’luru Retaining wall collapses Bengaluru: A retaining wall collapsed at a construction site near Manyata Tech Park in Nagawara on Tuesday, following heavy rain. No casualties were reported. A tree and two temporary sheds set up for construction workers collapsed. There were no workers at the site at the time, and only a few earthmovers were stationed at the site. A video grab of the wall collapsing at a construction site in Bengaluru express read Will run as independent if denied ticket: BJP MLC Bengaluru: BJP MLC CP Yogeshwara gave all indications of contesting as an independent in the November 13 Channapatna Assembly bypoll, claiming that surveys have given him a clear edge. “If I don’t get a ticket, I will take a decision based on what our workers say,” he said | P4 7 of a family die as car falls into canal in AP Medak: Seven members of a family, including three children, died while another is undergoing treatment after a car fell into a roadside canal in Usirikapally village of Shivampet mandal of Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Incessant rain in the past two days brought the IT City to its knees. The steady downpour since Tuesday morning led to floods in many residential layouts in low-lying areas. Chaos prevailed on roads because of traffic jams due to waterlogging across the city even on Wednesday . Residents of Sai Layout near Horamavu and Kendriya Vihar Apartment in Yelahanka were struggling to clear rainwater that entered their homes. The India Meteorological Department’s Bengaluru observatory reported that the city recorded 6.8 mm of rain from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm on Wednesday . According to BBMP, rain battered Yelahanka zone, resulting in waterlogging at Central Residency Apartment. Thirteen motors were pressed into service to pump water. Waterlogging was also reported from Ramanashree California, Fathima and Bhadrappa layouts in the city. Properties in many areas were damaged as 47 trees were uprooted. Several electric poles were damaged as branches of trees fell on them. Rescue teams from the Fire and Emergency Services Department, BBMP and the State Disaster Response Force worked overnight to clear rainwater from houses and apartments. Kendriya Vihar Apartment was flooded again and BBMP sent tractors to shift the residents from there. Nagendra: ED wanted Siddu aide quits as MUDA chief, activist to ‘fix’ CM, deputy CM claims Mahadevappa will be forced to go E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru/Mysuru Amid investigation into the MUDA site allotment scam in which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is an accused, MUDA chairperson K Marigowda resigned on Wednesday, citing health reasons. Marigowda, a close aide of Siddaramaiah, submitted his resignation letter to Urban Development secretary Deepa Cholan, following a directive from the CM. “I have resigned as MUDA chairperson for health reasons. I have had two strokes and I am not in a position to continue as MUDA chairperson. There was no pressure from the CM to resign in view of the investigation into the MUDA case. The investigation is going on and I am confident that the truth will come out soon,” he stated in his resignation letter, according to a source. Marigowda’s resignation comes at a time when the alleged irregularities in allotment of sites by MUDA snowballed into a major issue with opposition BJP and JDS seeking Siddaramaiah’s resignation. Despite denying any wrong- doing, pressure has been mounting on Marigowda and a few others to quit. Marigowda, however, reiterated that neither Siddaramaiah nor other party leaders asked him to resign as MUDA chairperson or to act improperly in matters pertaining to the case. However, during Siddaramaiah’s Mysuru tour two weeks ago, several Congress workers, including his followers, gheraoed Marigowda, who was at the airport to receive him. After this, it was speculated that Marigowda would s o o n r e s i g n a s M U DA chairperson.  CONTINUED ON: P4 Terrorism won’t boost trade, Jaishankar’s veiled dig at Pak Y E SHI S E LI @ New Delhi Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif (R) greets EAM S Jaishankar in Islamabad | PTI Informal Talks Foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar held casual talks on two occasions since Tuesday evening, sources said Taking a jab at Pakistan’s policy of nurturing and exporting terror, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that three evils—terrorism, extremism, and separatism—are holding back regional cooperation initiatives. Speaking at the 23rd Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Islamabad, Jaishankar said these evils should be rooted out before any progress can be made on trade and people-topeople connect. “ O u r e n d e avo u r s w i l l progress only when our commitment to the SCO Charter remains firm… this means be- ing firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’. If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-topeople exchanges in parallel,” Jaishankar said in remarks that were seen as directed towards Pakistan. In a veiled reference to China, with which India has an ongoing border dispute, Jaishankar said that trade and connectivity initiatives must recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty, and it is essential to have an “honest conversation” on lack of trust. “If trust is lacking or coop- eration inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he added in an indirect reference to China’s assertive behaviour. Jaishankar also emphasised the need for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to make the global body more representative, transparent and efficient. “The SCO must be in the lead of advocating such change, not hold back on a matter of such importance,” he said. Ahead of the deliberations, Pakistan PM Shebaz Sharif shook hands with Jaishankar and received him. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha being greeted by Chief Minister-designate Omar Abdullah before the latter’s swearing-in, in Srinagar | PTI Omar 1st CM of J&K UT, Congress not part of govt FAYAZ WA N I @ Srinagar colonial legacy Purged Blindfold off from SC’s new Statue of Justice S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi A new Statue of Justice unveiled in the Supreme Court library for judges does not have the iconic blindfold and the sword. The new open-eyed statue instead holds a copy of the Constitution of India in the left hand. There, however, is no change in the scales of justice in her right hand. Commissioned by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, the idea behind removing the blindfold was to send a message that the law is not blind in the country The blindfold in the co. lonial era statue signified equality before the law. And the sword had represented authority and the power to punish injustice. A well placed source said Justice Chandrachud believes that India should move forward from the British legacy. According to the CJI, the law is never blind; it sees everyone equally . Quoting the CJI, the source said, “the statue should have the Constitution in one hand and not a sword, so that a message goes out to the country that she dispenses jus- tice according to the Constitution.” While the sword is a symbol of violence, courts deliver justice according to constitutional laws, Justice Chandrachud reasoned. The court complex already has a mural on the Lady of Justice in classical Indian attire with more or less the same theme. Holding the scales of justice in her right hand and looking upward at the scales, she stands atop a lotus. On the other hand is the Constitution of India. Murals of Mahatma Gandhi and the Chakra complete the iconography in that restricted section of the court. Dy CM Surinder Choudhary Equal share to Jammu To allay fears that Jammu may be neglected, Omar gave 2 ministerial berths to the region, apart from deputy CM post. Javed Rana and Satish Sharma are the two ministers from Jammu NATIONAL Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took over as the first elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory after Article 370 was read down. In a bid to maintain a balance between Kashmir and Jammu regions, Omar appointed giant killer Surinder Choudhary, who defeated J&K BJP president Ravindra Raina in Nowshera in the Jammu province, as the deputy CM. However, NC’s pre-poll alliance partner Congress chose not to join the government claiming it has decided to sit out till statehood is restored. Sources said the Congress is miffed with the NC’s offer of one cabinet berth as the grand old party, which has six MLAs, has been eyeing two berths. Since J&K is a UT with 90-member Assembly, there could be nine ministers including the CM. However, Omar filled only six posts on Wednesday , leaving three posts vacant. Two of the four ministers are from the Valley — Sakeena Itto, NC MLA Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, and Javed Dar, NC MLA Rafiabad in north Kashmir’s Baramulla. From the INDIA bloc, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, DMK’s Kanimozhi and D Raja, and CPI(M) veteran Prakash Karat attended the oath-taking ceremony . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Former minister B Nagendra on Wednesday accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of harassing him after his arrest in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in the scam to destabilise the Congress government. Speaking to reporters outside the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara after his release on bail, Nagendra alleged that the ED officials wanted to “fix them in the case”. He alleged that some bank officials are res p o n s i bl e fo r misappropriation of funds of the corporation and the government has no role in it. “At the behest of central and state BJP leaders, the ED arrested me,” he alleged. The SIT did not find his role in the scam and he is innocent, he claimed. Alleging that he was arrested because of pressure from some BJP leaders, the Congress MLA from Ballari asserted that his party will win bypolls to the Legislative Assembly from Channapatana, Sandur and Shiggaon constituencies. Nagendra was arrested three months ago in connection with the multi-crore scam in the corporation. He was granted bail on Monday . Munirathna released Meanwhile, Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna, who was granted bail in connection with a rape case, was also released from prison on Wednesday . His supporters, who gathered near his house at Vyalikaval, celebrated his release by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Guv change Reshuffle likely after assembly polls The buzz of reshuffle assumes significance as several governors and lieutenant governors have already served for over three to five years. Thaawarchand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka, has been in the position for more than three years | P7