BHUBANESWAR  TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 26, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION 6,000 KG METH SEIZED OFF ANDAMAN COAST IN ‘BIGGEST HAUL’ The Coast Guard seized a fishing vessel carrying 6,000 kg of Methamphetamine near Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an official said on Monday TRAWLER WITH 3K PACKETS OF DRUG STOPPED The pilot of a Coast Guard aircraft noticed a fishing trawler making suspicious movements near Barren Island, 150 km from Port Blair and alerted the Andaman and Nicobar Command. The Coast Guard ships arrived and towed the trawler to Port Blair. Around 3,000 packets, each containing 2 kg of meth, were seized during a search SIX MYANMARESE NATIONALS ARRESTED ■ ■ “We have arrested six Myanmarese nationals and it is believed the Meth was meant for India and neighbours,” a defence official said, adding it was likely the biggest-ever drug haul by the Coast Guard In 2019 and 2022 too, large quantities of drugs were seized from foreign ships on Indian waters near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands `18,000 cr APPROXIMATE VALUE OF THE CONTRABAND BASED ON ESTIMATES FROM PAST SEIZURES 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 ‘Secular’ and ‘socialist’ are integral to Preamble: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a batch of pleas challenging the 1976 amendment to the Constitution, which added the terms ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ and ‘integrity’ to its Preamble. A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had on November 22 reserved its verdict on the pleas filed by politician Subramanian Swamy and advocate Ashwini Updhayay . “We do not find any legitimate cause or justification for challenging this Constitutional amendment after nearly 44 years,” the bench said. Disposing of the pleas, the court said the writ petitions did not need further deliberation and adjudication. “The amending power of Parliament over the Constitution extends to Preamble,” the CJI said. “This stems from the fact that these terms have achieved widespread acceptance, with their meanings understood by ‘We, the people of India’ without any semblance of doubt. The additions to the Preamble have not restricted or impeded legislations or policies pursued by elected governments.” Wondering why the challenge was made after over 44 years, the court said terms like socialist and secular were integral to the Preamble. “While it is true that the Constituent Assembly had not agreed to include the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble, the Constitution is a living document... with power to amend,” it said. MODI TO STAY IN ODISHA FOR THREE DAYS FROM NOV 29 He along with Union Home minister Amit Shah will be here to attend the three-day director general of police (DGP) and inspector general of police (IG) conference in Bhubaneswar | P3 Call taken on BJP leading the new Mahayuti govt Name of the chief minister to be announced in Mumbai; Eknath Shinde camp keeps up pressure MUKESH RANJAN AND SUDHIR S U R YA W A N S H I @ New Delhi/ Mumbai THE leadership jigsaw of the new Maharashtra gover nment remained unsolved on Monday though sources said the call on the BJP leading it had been made. The name of the new chief minister will be announced in Mumbai, they said. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis continued to lead the race but incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was in no mood to yield. Both along with the third element in the Mahayuti trinity, breakaway NCP’s Ajit Pawar, flew into Delhi to attend the marriage reception of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s daughter. While sources said no formal meeting of the trio has been scheduled with Union home minister Amit Shah, there was speculation that it could happen late on Monday night. With the tenure of the last assembly ending, Shinde is expected to submit his resignation on Tuesday and continue as caretaker CM till the final decision is taken. Though Ajit tried to tilt the scales in favour of Fadnavis, Shinde remained adamant. For, Shinde’s de- Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar motion as deputy CM would give the Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray he just decimated in the assembly polls, breathing space to revive itself. “Shinde should at least be made CM for the first 2.5 years of the new tenure. The next half can go to Fadnavis. After the big defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, Shinde took several cabinet decisions, including the Ladli Bahena scheme and changed the entire political landscape of the state. Therefore, the BJP should seriously consider him again as CM for at least the first half of the tenure. Else, it will send a wrong message to the allies,” said a close aide of the CM. On the other hand, the RSS and the state BJP are pitching for Fadnavis as CM, with one foot soldier threatening mass self immolation if it is decided otherwise. Oppn protests on Adani, Winter storm in the offing as Assly starts today Manipur stall Parliament E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE winter session of Parliament was off to a stormy start on Monday with both Houses adjourned till Wednesday amid protests by the Opposition demanding discussions on Gautam Adani’s US indictment and the Manipur situation. Opposition members of Parliament including K C Venugopal, Manickam Tagore and Manish Tewari moved a motion in the Lok Sabha seeking suspension of the day’s listed business to hold a discussion on Adani indictment. But the Speaker declined, leading to protests and adjournment. In Rajya Sabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankar rejected seven notices served under Rule 267, seeking a discussion on the billionaire’s indictment. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed OPPN TRYING dismay over the Chair in both TO CONTROL Houses disallowing the oppoPARLIAMENT: sition to raise the Adani issue under Rule 267 and said the PM MODI government should “let the Prime Minister truth come out” as the matter Narendra Modi is affecting the country’s attacked the image. Opposition on the “Rule 267 is made only to issue of disruptions, raise such important issues. saying those rejected Else, that rule should not have by people “80-90 been there. We want to be al- times” were trying to lowed to raise this issue under control Parliament by this rule,” he said. resorting to Kharge also attacked Prime hooliganism. “Certain Minister Narendra Modi, ac- individuals are trying cusing him of spoiling the to control Parliament country’s image by “helping” for their own political some key businessmen get gains...” | P7 contracts abroad, and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against the Adani Group. The BJP slammed the Opposition saying it was stalling Parliament proceedings in retaliation for their defeat in Maharashtra elections. During a meeting of the business advisory committee of the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla asked political parties to avoid a ruckus in the House in the name of protests. He also flagged the issue of disruptions and urged Opposition leaders to convey their dissent in a constructive manner. The winter session of Parliament, which began on Monday will run till December 16. , Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the first day of the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on Monday | PTI T’gana declines `100 crore from Adani Foundation B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad TELANGANA will not accept `100 crore donation offered by the Adani Foundation for the Young India Skills University, a skill development university being set up by the state government, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Monday amid controversy over billionaire Gautam Adani’s indictment in the US on bribery charges. “The Adani Foundation came forward with a proposal to donate `100 crore. In light of the recent controversies, the state government is not ready to accept the `100 crore donation,” the chief minister said at a press conference. “We do not want the skills university, started with a noble intention, to become controversial,” he said. His statement comes amid demands by the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party that the government cancel Adani Group’s investment proposals in the state. DOMINATING TIME Test of character Down Under: India celebrate happy Perth-day G O M E S H S @ Chennai THE Aussies are not invincible after all. In cricketing parlance, the first Test is done and dusted and India would be heading into the second with heads held high, very high. The beauty, however, was the manner in which the victory was enacted on the drop-in pitch of the Optus Stadium in Perth where Australia hadn’t lost a Test until now. This definitely has the potential to be part of cricketing folklore. The 295-run win in the first Test on Monday was a clear indication of India’s intent this summer Down Under. After a hammering they got against New Zealand at home — a humiliating 0-3 whitewash — this was the perfect antidote. Bowled out for 150 runs on the first day, all seemed ruined. But they came back, through some incisive bowling led by Jasprit Bumrah, Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah leads from the front at Perth | AFP who is equally lethal with the red as with the white ball. A little assistance from the pitch, he reaped through the top order like a scythe; the home side crumbled to never rise again. Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana chipped in. Like they say, Monday was just like going through the motions. Set a 522run target, Aussies had already lost three wickets and India had Bumrah — the name batters across the globe fear. What would seem even more wel- coming would be the steady batting of the top order. Especially after the jolt they got ahead of the first Test. Rohit Sharma was out, Shubman Gill injured and the side had two debutants and two batters in the top six with a cumulative experience of four Tests. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and Bumrah were under pressure. Inspired by the bowlers, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Nitish Reddy stepped up and bludgeoned the Aussie bowlers. This victory is monumental not just for the lead or the World Test Championship, but also because Indian cricket needed it. They also showed why the two series wins earlier were no fluke. “I was trying to put myself in that tough scenario to make the job a bit easier for the new guys coming in. It’s not very easy in the first tour to take a lot of responsibility,” Bumrah said. Over to P11 Adelaide now. THE winter session of the Assembly beginning Tuesday is set to be stormy with the Opposition BJD and Congress ready with potent ammunition to corner the state government. Increasing crime against women, death of three tribals at Mandipanka village in Kandhamal district due to consumption of mango kernel gruel, and torture of a tribal girl who was forced to eat human excreta in Bangomunda block of Balangir district are some of the major issues that will find echoes in the House. Presiding over the BJD legislature party meeting at Naveen Niwas on Monday lead, er of Opposition Naveen Patnaik listed several issues including the death of six women by consuming mango kernel gruel, liquor deaths at Chikiti and deterioration of law and order situation in the state that would be taken up aggressively by his party . Stating that BJD is the strongest Opposition in the country he called upon his MLAs , to use their numbers to effectively attack the government. “Be present in the House, don’t be absent. We will be able to corner the government,” he told the MLAs. The Congress legislature party presided over by Ramchandra Kadam also decided to raise the above issues along with the Adani CONTINUED ON P5 Group controversy . Speaker convenes all party meet Speaker Surama Padhy convened an all party meeting attended by CM Mohan Majhi and Opposition leaders, ahead of Assembly session, on Monday. “We held discussion on smooth and productive way of transacting business. The leaders agreed to extend their support in this regard,” she said.