Gukesh draws with white in Game 13 Singapore: Indian GM D Gukesh tried his best but could not overcome a resilient Ding Liren of China and had to settle for a draw after 68 moves in the 13th and penultimate game of the World Chess Championship. With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and one classical game to go, it will be crucial for Gukesh to hold on with black pieces on Thursday | P11 vijayawada l thursday l december 12, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 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 Rahul’s pitch to WhatsApp for raising grievances Birla to make LS fully functional S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Urges Speaker to expunge BJP’s derogatory remarks; wants discussion on Constitution P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Gandhigiri to put BJP on the mat Rahul Gandhi and his party’s MPs were joined by some other INDIA bloc MPs outside Parliament in greeting BJP members with placards and the national flag, as they urged them to allow the LS to function Rajnath sidestep Rahul Gandhi also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and sought to present him the flag but the veteran leader moved on after exchanging pleasantries Amid continuing political showdown over Congress’ alleged links to US investor George Soros, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday and urged him to expunge remarks made by BJP MPs against him, and ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. “I had a meeting with the Speaker and I told him that our party is saying that derogatory comments against me should be expunged. The Speaker said he will look into it. We want the House to function,” he said. Rahul accused the BJP of running away from discussion on the Adani issue, adding he would not be provoked by any of its charges. With the Opposition protesting outside Parliament demanding a discussion on the US indictment of the Adani group, the treasury benches stepped up their counter attack on the Congress’ alleged links to Soros inside the House. Rahul said the Congress wants a discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha starting December 13, adding his party will ensure the House functions properly despite provocation, even though it is not their responsibility . He said BJP MPs can speak against “me on whatever issue, but the debate on the Constitution should happen”. On Tuesday Congress Deputy Leader in Lok , Sabha Gaurav Gogoi wrote to the Speaker, urging him to examine the party’s complaint against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s defamatory remarks against Rahul Gandhi and remove them from the record. Gogoi said after the Speaker announces his decision, the Congress would be keen to participate in the legislative business in Parliament. Andhra Pradesh will be the first State in the country to introduce delivery of citizen services through WhatsApp, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Tuesday Addressing a gathering at the . Collectors’ Conference held at the Secretariat, Naidu noted, “Services provided on WhatsApp should be user-friendly. Whenever new technologies are used, there will be some problems. We should resolve them and move forward.” Officials informed Naidu that citizens will soon be able to raise grievances via WhatsApp. Even if complainants cannot type their grievance, they can send a voice message instead, they explained. IT and RTG (Real Time Governance) Minister Nara Lokesh pointed out that any certificate can be easily received through WhatsApp without political recommendations. He highlighted that the United Arab Emirates is the only country where citizen services are delivered through WhatsApp. The Chief Minister wants governance to be streamlined and 153 citizen services are being proposed to be delivered through WhatsApp, he said. Naidu exhorted collectors to resolve grievances with a humane approach. Directing the officials to set a target of zero pendency, he said inspections will be conducted to check if complaints were being P4 redressed.  From the first collectors’ conference to the second one today, change is visible. Rays of light have started penetrating through the darkness. I believe that every crisis is an opportunity. How we overcome it is a matter of leadership N Chandrababu Naidu. Chief Minister Rape accused jumps bail, kills & dismembers victim in Odisha two-wheeler to a place under Lathikata police limits where he allegedly killed the 18In a horrific crime, a 24-year-old youth ac- year-old girl. The two places are about 145 cused of raping a minor girl last year, km apart. jumped interim bail and murdered the vicKisan who was arrested in August last tim before dismembering her body year on charges of raping the victim – a miand disposing it in Brahnor then — was granted mani river at Rourkela. Non-bailable warrant interim bail three months The incident came to later on December 4. As the accused had jumped light on Wednesday when IG (Northern Range) the bail granted to him in the rape Jharsuguda police brought Himanshu Lal informed case and did not appear before the the accused to Rourkela that the victim was staycourt, a non-bailable warrant was and recovered the body ing at her aunt’s house at issued against him parts, including torso of Jharsuguda and worked the victim, with the help at a beauty parlour. After of a forensic team and Odisha Disaster Rap- she went missing, a complaint was lodged id Action Force (ODRAF), from near Tark- with Jharsuguda police on December 7. era pump house. Search for the victim’s The IG said Kisan told investigators he head was still underway . was apprehensive about being convicted in Before committing the heinous crime, the rape case if the victim’s statement was the main accused Kunu Kisan kidnapped recorded during the trial and decided to the victim from Jharsuguda town and, take the extreme step after failing to conalong with an accomplice, took her on a vince her to give a favourable statement. P r a s a n j e e t S a r k a r @ Rourkela /Jharsuguda Will put the best foot forward to deliver trust, growth, and stable and certain policy Sanjay Malhotra, RBI governor Continuity New RBI guv to ensure policy stability After taking charge on Wednesday, Sanjay Malhotra said ensuring growth is a ‘huge responsibility’ and that decisions will be made with public interest in mind | P10 express read Google to establish AI Data Centre in Vizag Vijayawada: The State government on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Google to establish an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Data Centre in Vizag. The deal was formalised in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh | P4 Allahabad HC judge faces impeach bid New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court asked the Allahabad High Court to furnish details of the controversial speech delivered by Justice Shekhar Yadav at a VHP event, Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday started the process to move an impeachment motion against the HC judge | P8