Bitcoin’s value tops $1,00,000 after 50% rise in one month Bitcoin crossed the $100,000-mark on Thursday amid a massive price rally sparked by the election of Donald Trump as US president. Bitcoin surged after Trump said he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the next chair of the SEC, signalling a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry. The current SEC chair Gary Gensler has cracked down on the industry, penalising many firms for violating securities laws | P15 bengaluru l friday l december 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 42 l late city EDITION 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 Fadnavis back as Maharashtra cm with 2 deputies Shinde, Pawar DCMs; no other mins sworn in S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday took oath as Maharashtra chief minister for the third time, marking the BJP leader’s return to the top post after a gap of five years. Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief ministers. No other ministers were sworn in. The cabinet is likely to be expanded next week, ahead of the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur. Fadnavis said portfolio allocations have been more or less finalised but a few more rounds of consultations with coalition partners are pending. An announcement will be made later, he said. “The posts may have changed among them, but the direction of work will remain the same. We will also hear out the Opposition if they bring the relevant points. The Speaker’s name will be decided on December 9. Maharashtra will have a very stable government in next five years,” Fadnavis said. Before taking the oath, Fadnavis visited the Siddhivinayak temple and also took the blessing of his mother. That Shinde would join the government as deputy CM was Devendra Fadnavis after taking oath as Maharashtra CM on Thursday | X confirmed only hours before the swearing-in ceremony amid the protracted political drama over his reported reluctance to accept the post. Shinde invoked late Balasaheb Thackeray and his Guru Anand Dighe while taking the oath. Over 42,000 people gathered at Azad Maidan to witness the swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan besides chief ministers of various states were present at the ceremony . Also in attendance were cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and Janhvi Kapoor. From the business world, Mukesh Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla attended. P12 Siddaramaiah lambasts Gowda, uses Hassan rally to showcase his might B R U D AYA K U M A R @ Hassan Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday lambasted JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda for his “cunning politics”. Gowda finished almost all Vokkalig a leaders politically in the state, he alleged at Congress’ ‘Janakalyana Swabhimana Samavesha’ here. With many top Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, lauding and throwing their weight behind him, Siddaramaiah used the plat- press Intake Will meet BJP brass soon, says BYV after North K’taka tour | P4 Nettaru murder: NIA searches locations in K’taka, TN | P5 2-state solution key to end West Asia crisis: EAM | P11 e x p r e s s r ea d Theatre death: Allu Arjun, others booked Hyderabad: A case was registered against actor Allu Arjun, his security team and the theatre management in connection with the death of a woman, as crowds jostled at the theatre during the premiere show of Pushpa 2 | P7 W ITH THIS ISSUE CITY’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 42 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID) CM Siddaramaiah speaks at Janakalyana Swabhimana Samavesha on Thursday form to send out a message that his writ runs in the state unit of the party. Overwhelmed by the turnout, Siddaramaiah claimed that many from other parties came to the rally to support him. Continuing his tirade against the JDS supremo, Siddaramaiah said Gowda did not grow on his own politically He could become CM only . with the help of the then Janata Parivar leaders. “Gowda also tried to tarnish my image by accusing me of being anti-Vokkaliga,” he alleged. The CM said that JDS leaders do not have the moral right to call themselves ‘Secular’ now after joining hands with the BJP . WILL BACK SIDDU LIKE A ROCK, SAYS SHIVAKUMAR: P4 Uproar in LS over Oppn-Soros link P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi LOK SABHA proceedings were on Thursday disrupted after the Opposition and Treasury Benches clashed over the latter’s allegation linking Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other leaders with USbased multi-billionaire George Soros. Chaos erupted during the zero hour after BJP member Nishikant Dubey cited reports in a publication based on findings of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which had alleged links to Soros. Dubey said an international conspiracy was hatched to derail India’s success story under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also alleged that the Congress had sought to halt Parliament on various issues published by Rahul Gandhi with other opposition MPs at a protest outside the Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI OCCRP including the Pegasus , spying row, questioning the efficacy of Covid vaccines developed in India, and the Hindenburg reports. Dubey said several Opposition leaders raised the issues flagged in media reports, many of which were published on the eve of Parliament sessions in India. As the House witnessed massive uproar, the Speaker called Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi to raise the issue of violence in Sambhal. Gogoi tried to counter the allegations levelled by Dubey leading to a ruckus. The House was adjourned for the day after the Speaker adjourned it twice at 2 pm and 3 pm. Later, Congress MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded that Dubey must apologise for his remarks. Meanwhile, in an unusual protest, leaders of opposition parties wore black jackets with stickers reading ‘Modi Adani Ek Hai’ and ‘Adani Safe Hai’ on them and raised slogans on the Parliament premises to demand a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani issue. Rahul Gandhi put the sticker on his trademark white T-shirt. Muda case K’taka HC issues notice to Guv E xpress N ews S er v i c e @ Bengaluru The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday issued notices to G ove r n o r T h a aw a rch a n d Gehlot and others on an appeal by CM Siddaramaiah, questioning the September 24 order of a single judge upholding the consent given by the governor to conduct an investig ation against him and others in the MUDA case. The court also issued notices to the governor and others on appeals by J Devaraju, who sold his land to CM’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy question, ing the single judge’s observations against him without making him a party to the petition. CONTINUED ON P4