tirupati l sunday l november 10, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Suicide bombing in Balochistan leaves at least 27 dead, 62 hurt A suicide bomber detonated himself at a railway platform in Quetta, killing at least 27 people, included 14 members of the security forces baloch liberation army owns up attack toll to go up as many reported critical The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the area’s main separatist groups, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack “was carried out on a Pakistani army unit at Quetta railway station... after completing a course at the Infantry School,” the BLA said in a statement. Railway officials said the blast happened near the ticket booth when trains depart ■ ■ A local doctor treating the victims said that the toll is expected to rise as several individuals wounded are in a critical condition TV footage showed the steel structure of the platform’s roof blown apart and a destroyed tea stall. Most of the victims were taken to a state-owned hospital and some to a military one | P9 1,534 PEOPLE KILLED IN THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 2024 IN pAKISTAN 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 BSY in Covid scam trouble K i ra n Ba l a n n a n ava r / D eva ra j B H i r e h a l l i @ Sandur/Bengaluru Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that his government will act on the report of the Justice John Michael D’cunha Commission, which was formed to investigate the alleged corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic under the BJP rule. The panel recommended the prosecution of the then CM Yediyurappa and the then health minister B Sriramulu under Sections 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. About 1,500 pages of documents have been submitted, and a cabinet sub-committee is examining them, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gund u r a o t o l d re p o r t e r s i n Bengaluru. “As per the report, Yediyurappa and Sriramulu were involved in the alleged irregularities in the purchase of PPE kits. An inquiry will also be conducted against them as suggested by the panel,” he said. AS Ponnanna, legal adviser to Siddaramaiah, told this newspaper that the cabinet has accepted the interim report. Waqf Bill steamroller may face Naidu block JPC vetting the bill scheduled to submit its report soon P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Amid mounting pressure from its Muslim leaders, key ally Telugu Desam Party may ask the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to postpone the submission of the final report of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 to Parliament, according to sources. The panel led by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal is scheduled to table the final report on the Waqf Bill in the first week of the winter session of Parliament, which begins on November 25. With 16 MPs, the TDP, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is a key partner of the NDA government, and its support is crucial for passing the bill in Parliament. If Naidu opposes the bill, the Centre may buy time to table it, said sources. The JPC is in the final phase of consultations with stakeholders and visits to various states. “The government may not go ahead with the bill if Naidu opposes it. In that case, it will simply say that the report is yet to be finalised,” said a leader aware of the developments. TDP’s Muslim leaders have urged Naidu not to support the amendments. With Muslims accounting for 10-12% of Andhra Pradesh’s population, the TDP doesn’t want to antagonise the community, which played a crucial role in its stunning victory in the recent assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Muslim groups have been opposing several amendments, including the appointment of non-Muslims as members of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards. Senior TDP leader Nawab Jan said last week that Naidu will not let any bill that harms Muslims be implemented. At the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Sammelan’ organised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in Delhi, the TDP leader claimed that Naidu was instrumental in sending the Waqf Bill to the JPC. First test for AP CM’s secular credentials The Waqf Bill is perceived to be the first test for Naidu’s secular credentials ever since he joined the NDA government. He does not want to antogonise Muslims, who account for 10-12% of Andhra’s population and contributed to the TDP’s win in the polls Canada axes popular student scheme H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh It may not be connected with the India-Canada diplomatic chill, but Ottawa has just announced the termination of its popular visa scheme for postsecondary students, called the Student Direct Stream (SDS). The announcement is a big blow for prospective students from India. For context, more than three lakh students from India last year joined Canadian institutions mainly under the SDS stream. Most of them were from Punjab. Students already in Canada waiting for enrolment under SDS are now in deep trouble. SDS was popular because it simplified and expedited processing of study permit from select countries. What would normally take an estimated eight weeks was processed within 20 days. Launched in 2018 for postsecondary students, the SDS was open for over 10 nations, including India, Brazil, China and Pakistan. That window was shut on Friday so as to give all international students equal and fair access, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada claimed in a statement. Bleak future Lawyer Shamsher Singh Sandhu said, “SDS nixing will hurt Indians, a very high percentage of whom hail from Punjab. Students in Canada under SDS face a bleak future as their chances of permanent residence are almost nil.” Express read 2nd list of nominated posts released Vijayawada: Second list of the nominated posts was released by the coalition government on Saturday. After filling the chairman posts for 20 corporations in the first list, the government recently appointed the Trust Board to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and announced the second list of nominated posts for several corporations | P4 CM’s warning against social media abuse Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday gave a stern warning to those who are posting inappropriate posts on social media platforms, saying if anyone behaves like an animal, the government is going to treat them like an animal. The warning came in the wake of arrests related to social media posts | P4 Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath during the trial run of the seaplane service from Vijayawada to Srisailam | Prasant Madugula CM Naidu pushes for higher investments in tourism sector K K a lya n K r i s h n a Kumar / Madhu Sudkhar @ Vijayawada / Kurnool Finance Minister calls on Guv Nazeer Vijayawada: Ahead of the Assembly Session on Monday, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and a few officials called on Governor S Abdul Nazeer at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday. Keshav explained the Governor about the Budget preparation and the government’s priorities. The Cabinet will meet on Monday to approve the Budget In a fillip to the tourism sector in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, launched the trial run for the seaplane service between Vijayawada and Srisailam on Saturday . Speaking before the launch at Punnami Ghat, Naidu asserted that he was committed to revitalising brand ‘Andhra Pradesh’ by investing particularly in tourism projects that will bring substantial returns. He opined, “Investment in infrastructure gives 4x returns and around 1.5 to 2 per cent in healthcare. On the other hand, investment in tourism can give up to six-fold returns. No ‘ism’ will be there in future except Tourism, which has a bright future.” As part of the trial run, the Chief Minister and the Aviation Minister travelled from Vijayawada to Srisailam in the seaplane, piloted by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Limited (APADCL). Outlining the State’s plans to extend the seaplane service to various scenic locations, Naidu explained, “By making picturesque destinations more accessible, including Gandikota and Araku, we can boost tourism and generate income for the State.” Highlighting the potential for tourism in the State, he remarked, “The joy of going to Araku and drinking coffee cannot be found in Paris also.”  P4 Master plan to develop Srisailam temple The CM announced that a special committee will be formed to draft a master plan for development of the Srisaila Devasthanam with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Ministers Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Kandula Durgesh, and Janardhan Reddy as members RTI data Women end the judiciary gender skew in Kerala ed it in a recent speech. Women excelled in the Kerala JudiThe higher judiciary may still be a cial Service Examination, 2023, with 75 male bastion, but Kerala is leading the candidates securing a spot in the rank charge to remove the gender skew in list. Fifty candidates have been apthe district judiciary The number of . pointed from the latest Kerala Judicial women serving as judicial officers, in- Services Examination rank list as civil cluding magistrates and session judg- judge (junior division) trainees. There es, in the state are almost as many are currently 36 female candidates as their male counterparts. among the 50 trainees undergoOf the 539 serving district juSunday ing the one-year pre-induction dicial officers in Kerala, 260, or training at the judicial Special academy. just over 48%, were women as on September 12, as per data Appointment of civil judge ofwas shared by the Kerala High ficers in the judicial service will Court in response to an RTI query by take place only after the completion of this paper. training, the RTI reply said. The picOf the 36 officers who recently com- ture is different when it comes to the pleted their one-year induction train- Kerala High Court. Of the 45 judges, ing for civil judges (junior division) at only four are women. Kerala Judicial Academy, 26 (72%) The RTI data also reveals there are were women. Former Chief Justice of 68 women district and sessions judges India D Y Chandrachud had highlight- in the state. P RAMDAS @ Kochi WITH THIS ISSUE Do We Need the UN? PLUS 12 PAGES