U.N. AWARD FOR GADGIL The United Nations on Tuesday tapped ecologist Madhav Gadgil for the Champions of the Earth award, its highest environmental honour. Gadgil chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel to study the impact of population pressure, climate change, and development in the ecologically fragile region. The panel recommended in 2011 that the entire hill range be declared an ecologically sensitive area HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  DECEMBER 11, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  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 No-trust notice against V-P has 60 signatures First such notice against RS chairman so far P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE strained ties between the Opposition and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar came to a head on Tuesday as the INDIA bloc submitted a notice for a motion in the House to remove him from the post, accusing him of partisanship. Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice signed by 60 MPs — including from the Congress, RJD, TMC, CPI, CPI-M, JMM, AAP DMK, Sama, jwadi Party — to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody . The motion said, “Unfortunately, Dhankhar’s brief term has been rife with instances where he has acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair towards members belonging to the Opposition.” This is the first time that such a notice has been moved in the Rajya Sabha. While the Opposition conceded that the scales are tilted in favour of the ruling NDA, they said it was a “strong message to fight for parliamentary democracy”. Elaborating the reasons to move the motion, the parties pointed out that Dhankhar’s conduct of the House on Monday was particularly one-sided and totally unfair. “He was en- NDA HAS THE NUMBERS TO DEFEAT MOTION The NDA has 119, two more than the current halfway mark of 117 in the RS, while the Opposition has 85. Among the fence-sitters are the YSR Congress Party with nine and the BJD with seven members couraging and provoking the Treasury Benches to make outrageous remarks.” He has repeatedly acted in a manner that reduces the prestige of the position he holds, they charged. The Opposition enclosed a list of articles and videos covering various instances where the chairman has unjustly been critical of Opposition members or their actions. Later, Jairam Ramesh said that they were pained to move such a notice, but were “forced” to do so after he “crossed all limits” on Monday by allowing several members of the treasury benches to speak against the top Congress leadership in the House. CONTROVERSIAL SPEECH SC asks Allahabad HC to file details of judge’s comments S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi AMID criticism over the controversial speech of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, delivered at a VHP function on December 8, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for details from the High Court. “The Supreme Court has taken note of reports of a speech given by Mr Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the High Court and the matter is under consideration,” an official statement said. At the VHP event, Justice Yadav reportedly said: “This is Hindustan, and this country will function according to the wishes of the majority. This is the law. That’s how RETRACT AND APOLOGISE: BAR ASSOCIATION The Bar Association of India issued a strong statement condemning the HC judge’s speech. It said the judge should retract his statements and tender an apology for his remarks. It also urged the Chief Justice of India and companion judges of the Supreme Court “to deal with this issue in a stern and emphatic manner” any society works.” The judge also reportedly said that the main aim of the Uniform Civil Code is to promote social harmony, gender equality, and secularism. According to reports, the judge highlighted the cultural values of children brought up with Hindu values of non-violence, tolerance etc, contrasting them with those of other communities that practice animal sacrifice. The SC’s administrative action came after videos of the speech were circulated on social media, triggering strong S MAKRISHNA HAILED AS VISIONARY REFORMER 1 MAY 1932-10 DEC 2024 The former Karnataka chief minister and external affairs minister was a visionary reformer with empathy and a trailblazer who redefined leadership, writes Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw | P7 reactions from several quarters, including opposition leaders who termed it hate speech against minorities. Echoing serious concern, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday called for the impeachment of Justice Yadav. L aw ye r P r a s h a n t Bhushan wrote to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna seeking an ‘in-house enquiry’ into the conduct of the HC judge. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat also wrote to the CJI, flagging the HC judge’s speech. Restoring the inflation-growth balance is the most important task ahead for the central bank Shaktikanta Das, outgoing RBI governor RBI-govt ties were the best in my tenure: Das B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai OUTGOING RBI gover nor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the relationship between the central bank and the government was “at its best during the past six years”. Das, who demitted office on Tuesday, underlined the need for restoring the inflationgrowth balance as the key task for his successor Sanjay Malhotra, to whom he will pass the baton on Wednesday . Addressing his last press meet as RBI governor at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, the civil-servant-turned-central banker said: “The perspectives of the finance ministry and RBI can differ at times. But during the past six years, all such issues were resolved through internal discussions and coordination.” Listing out the challenges for his successor, Das said the new governor will also have to navigate the changing world order, deal with cyber threats, and focus on harnessing new technologies. He said the governor will have to keep in mind the needs of the wider economy, adding that it is a judgement call that every governor takes. RBI-government ties were not that cordial during the governorships of his predecessors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan. Das, a seasoned bureaucrat, was brought in to correct the deep imbalances. CM for Delhi amid Cabinet expansion talks B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad ON the eve of his visit to Delhi, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held a prolonged meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka at his residence to discuss various issues related to the party and the government. This meeting assumed significance given the ongoing winter session of the Assembly, the one-year completion of the Congress government and speculations over expansion of Cabinet. According to sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Revanth is scheduled to leave for Rajasthan on Wednesday morning to attend a rela t ive ’s we d d i n g . Later in the evening, the chief minister will travel to Delhi,where he is expected to stay for two days. While rumours of Cabinet expansion abound, it remains unclear whether deputy chief minister, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Ku m a r Re d d y a n d TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, will join him in Delhi. CONTINUED ON P4