mangaluru l THURSday l JANUARY 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Meta India apologises for Zuck’s remark that NDA lost LS polls Meta India on Wednesday apologised for CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s incorrect claim that the NDA government lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections Inadvertent error, says tech firm’s V-P Company avoids parliamentary summons Meta India’s Vice President Shivnath Thukral took to X on Wednesday to tender an apology on behalf of the company for the “inadvertent error”. “Mark’s observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 holds true for several countries, BUT not India,” Thukral said responding to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s criticism of the remark ■ ■ BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads Parliament’s panel on Communications and Information Technology, said the matter is now closed. He had earlier said the panel will summon Meta India Zuckerberg triggered a row by claiming in a podcast that the NDA government lost the 2024 election due to its weak Covid response 1 billion users for meta APPs—whatsapp, facebook and instagram—in India 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 CM defers tabling of caste census report Sue mastermind E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was keen on taking up the Socio- Economic and Education Survey report, often referred to as the caste census, at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, now seems to be not so sure. Just three days after he made the statement about tabling the report in the cabinet, he said on Wednesday that they are not tabling it now, but will take it up in subsequent cabinet meetings. The agenda for Thursday’s cabinet meeting had initially listed it as “opening of sealed cover of the study report on the data of the Social and Educational Survey - 2015 submitted by the Karnataka State Backward Classless Commission,” but after the CM’s statement in New Delhi, it was removed from the revised agenda. The survey was conducted during Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as CM between 2013 and 2018 when H Kantharaju was heading the Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission. It was submitted in Feb- ruary last year by then chairman Jayaprakash Hegde. Since then, Vokkaligas and Lingayats, including the religious heads of these prominent communities, have raised objections to the report. Siddaramaiah, during an event in Vijayanagara district on Sunday, however, said that despite opposition, the government will table it before the cabinet as already Rs 160 crore had been spent preparing the report. “We will take necessary action in the coming days,’’ he said in Delhi on Wednesday . Interestingly, just hours before his statement, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said the report will be taken up in the cabinet on Thursday. The government spent taxpayers’ money on the survey and it is the government’s duty to tell people what is in it, he said. “Accepting it or not is up to the government. We all will get to know the abstract of the report,’’ he added. The government spent taxpayers’ money on the survey and it is the government’s duty to tell people what is in it Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara Karwar ruckus After clash with fishers, sailor ‘abducted’, freed S u b h a s h C h a n d r a N S @ Karwar The Indian Navy has rubbished media reports of its sailors assaulting fishermen who were allegedly agitating against two Navy personnel, whose vehicle collided with a fisherman’s scooter. Now, Uttara Kannada district police is planning to write to naval higher-ups regarding the incident, involving fishermen and staff of INS Kadamba. The accident at Mudga, near Karwar, on Sunday involved two Naval staff on a bike who rammed Srinivas (50) on his scooter. Both parties sustained minor injuries. The sailors extended assistance to the injured civilian, but things took a turn for the worse and the matter reached Karwar Rural Police. The sailors lodged a complaint saying a group of civilians gathered and there was a scuffle. “The sailors ensured the injured civilian received timely medical treatment. They escorted him to Pikle’s Nursing Home in Karwar, where necessary medical care was provided. Shortly after the accident, 4-5 civilians gathered and despite the sailors’ efforts to deescalate the situation, a minor scuffle ensued,” read the complaint, a copy of which is available with TNIE. “We disengaged and left the scene, but the civilians pursued us and demanded an additional Rs 50,000 in compensation. My friend was then coerced into a four-wheeler and taken towards Amdalli. He managed to share his live location with friends, who intercepted the vehicle and rescued him. The civilians abandoned the vehicle and fled. The incident was reported to police through the Naval Police, and the vehicle key was handed over to the authorities,” said Yogesh Kumar, the complainant. P5 Sonia Gandhi inaugurates the new All India Congress Committee HQ at 9A, Kotla Road, in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI Rahul’s claim of fighting Indian state draws BJP ire Pa r v e z S u lta n a n d RA J E SH K U M AR T HA K UR @ New Delhi A rather sharp attack by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday against RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks, drew heavy retaliatory fire from BJP’s biggies. At the inaugural event of the party’s headquarters here, Rahul criticised Bhagwat’s claim that India achieved “true independence” only after the Ram temple consecration, saying it amounts to treason. “Bhagwat has the audacity to say to the country what he thinks about the independence movement and the Constitution. What he said yesterday is treason… Because he is stating that the Constitution is invalid and the fight against the British was invalid... In any other country, he would have been arrested and tried,” Rahul claimed. Rahul went on to say that the BJP and RSS have captured almost every institution in our country, adding the Congress is now fighting not just both of them but the Indian state itself. In its pushback, the BJP launched a bazooka against Rahul for claiming the Congress was fighting the Indian state. Party president J P Nadda, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, IT cell head Amit Malviya and others castigated Rahul for his ‘objectionable’ remark, adding it and exposed his mindset against India. The BJP and RSS have captured every single institution in this country and we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Congress has a history of encouraging all those forces who want a weak India. Their greed for power meant compromising the nation’s integrity JP Nadda, BJP president “I compliment Mr Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what nation knows that he is fighting the Indian state. It is not a secret that Mr Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxal and the deep state who want to defame, demean and discredit India,” Nadda alleged. Sitharaman wondered why Rahul carried a copy of the Constitution when he was using such language. Malviya said, “Rahul Gandhi has now declared an open war against the Indian State itself. This is straight out of George Soros’s playbook”. The Congress got its new headquarters 47 years after the party made bungalow No. 24, Akbar Road its temporary head office. Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the swanky office. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge said Indira Bhawan, the new HQ, had been built on the foundation of democracy, nationalism, secularism, inclusive development and social justice. of Pannun plot, says top panel High-powered committee recommends expedited legal action against Vikash Yadav Yadav was with the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) A high-powered committee set when the alleged plot to bump up by the government in the off Pannun went sideways. He wake of a botched operation to was later sacked. bump off Khalistani radical The ministry said the panel Gurupatwant Singh Pannun on recommended expeditious leUS soil, recommended legal ac- gal action against him. tion against ‘an individual’ “The Enquiry Committee who masterminded the plot. conducted its own investigaWhile the report did tions and also pursued not name the individual, leads provided by the the Federal Bureau of US side. It received Investigation (FBI) idenfull cooperation from tified him as Vikash US authorities and the Yadav. two sides also exIn its lookout notice, changed visits. The the FBI said Yadav was Committee further exwanted in a “murderamined a number of for-hire case; conspiracy officials from differto commit murder-forent agencies and also Yadav and his hire; and money launscrutinised relevant co-conspirator dering”. The US District arranged for an documents in this conCourt, Southern District nection,” the ministry associate to of New York, issued an deliver $15,000 said. arrest warrant against It added that the panin cash in New him on October 10, 2024. York, New York, el further recommendas an advance The home ministry ed “functional imsaid in a statement that payment for the provements in systems murder the panel was formed in and procedures as also 2023 to probe the indiinitiation of steps that FBI’s wanted vidual’s links with the could strengthen Inperson notice drug mafia and criminal dia’s response capabilgangs after allegations ity, ensure systematic that a plot was hatched to dis- controls and coordinated action turb American security inter- in dealing with matters like est in 2023. this”. “After a long enquiry, the Yadav is accused of recruitCommittee has recommended ing Nikhil Gupta in May 2023 to legal action against an individ- hire the killer, who turned out ual, whose earlier criminal to be an undercover US agent. links and antecedents also Gupta was arrested in Prague came to notice during the en- and was subsequently extraquiry the ministry said. ,” dited to the US. M U K E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi ED gets Centre’s nod to prosecute Kejriwal, Sisodia M U K E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi Weeks before the Delhi Assembly elections, the Centre gave its approval to the Enforcement Directorate to initiate prosecution against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy scam. Officials said the Union home ministry gave prosecution sanction against Kejriwal and Sisodia earlier this month. It comes at a time when the two leaders are campaigning for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections scheduled to be held on February 5. The development is significant as a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi had delayed the framing of charges against Kejriwal after he challenged the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the ED. Kejriwal had argued there is no specific sanction to prosecute him under provisions of the PMLA. The Supreme Court had in November mandated that the ED must obtain prior sanction for prosecution under Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (now Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) in money laundering cases, similar to the requirement for the Central Bureau of Investigation. express read MUDA: Lokayukta will continue probe, says HC Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday allowed the Lokayukta police to continue its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathy by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) | P4 POCSO: Foolproof case against BSY, SPP tells HC record play India women posted their highest total in an ODI — it is also the highest for an Indian team across genders — 435/5, beating Ireland by 304 runs in Rajkot. Smriti Mandhana also scored the fastest women’s ODI hundred by an Indian | sportzpics Bengaluru: There is a foolproof case against former CM Yediyurappa in the POCSO case and the recorded conversation between him and the victim references what happened between them, argued SPP before the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday | P4 A token of gratitude: Ballari residents Trade deficit narrows as gold imports fall in Dec name link road after former DC Nakul Ex p r ess news s e rv i ce @ New Delhi K i r a n B a l a nn a n a v a r @ Ballari Residents of Ballari city have decided to show their appreciation for former deputy commissioner SS Nakul by naming a link road after him in Kappagallu area. Nakul, who is presently working for the Union government, is remembered as one of the best DCs the district has got. He was Ballari DC for more than two years, from 2020 to 2022. Nakul’s kind and friendly interaction with the public, response to the people when they apprised him of their problems, and especially his work during the Covid-19 pandemic has made him a local hero. A couple even named their baby SS Nakul Marg in Kappagallu in Ballari | Express after him, grateful for the treatment they got when they contracted Covid. Often, the public fears IAS officers because of their position and busy schedules, but if officials respond well to their issues, they try to remember the good work done and show their gratitude, say residents. Naming the major link road to the city as SS Nakul Marg is a measure of their appreciation and respect for him. Nagendra Reddy, a resident of Kappagallu, said the former DC will not be forgotten due to his working style, interaction with public and officials, and development of Ballari city. Usually, IAS officers are reserved and have limited interaction with the people, he said. “We got permission from the corporation and installed the signboard. Such IAS officials are needed everywhere. Earlier when he was working as ZP CEO, he had got his wife admitted for delivery at the government hospital, which was a big motivation for others,” he said. INDIA’s merchandise exports contracted 1% year-on-year even as imports rose 4.9% in December 2024, government data released on Wednesday showed. The trade deficit narrowed to $21.94 in December month-on-month compared to $32 billion in November as gold imports halved to $4.7 billion. In November 2024, gold imports had surged 186% year-on-year to $9.9 billion. In December 2023, the merchandise trade deficit was $18.76 billion. Services exports during the month rose by 3.25% year-onyear, while imports grew 12%. Total trade deficit (merchandise plus services) widened to $6.78 billion in December 2024 compared to $2.76 billion in the year-ago period. Merchandise exports during April-December 2024 were $321.71 billion compared to $316.65 billion during April-December 2023. Merchandise imports during the period were $532.48 billion compared to $506.39 billion a year ago. Merchandise trade deficit during the nine-month period of the current financial year widened to $210.77 billion from $189.74 billion a year ago. Total exports during AprilDecember 2024 is estimated at $602.64 billion, registering 6.03% growth. Total imports during the nine-month period Exports fall 1% year-on-year in Dec 2024 Merchandise 38.39 57.15 Services* 15.63 31.63 Total trade Exports: 70.02 Imports: 72.78 December 2023 ($ bn) Merchandise 38.01 Services* 59.95 17.5 32.66 Total trade Exports: 70.67 Imports: 77.44 December 2024 ($ bn) * The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for November 2024. The data for December 2024 is an estimation is estimated at $682.15 billion, showing a growth of 6.91%. According to Deepali Agrawal, deputy managing director, India Exim Bank, the trade data for December 2024 highlights India’s sustained growth momentum in non-oil, nongems and jewellery exports, underpinned by robust contributions from both labour-intensive and technology-intensive manufacturing sectors. She said textiles, agriculture, engineering goods, and electronics have demonstrated strong and consistent growth, underscoring the diversified and resilient nature of India’s export base. She also highlighted the turnaround in the readymade garments sector, which, after two years of subdued performance, grew 11.6% during April–December.