HUBBALLI l Monday l September 08, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION japan pm to resign following party’s defeat in july election Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to quit follows growing calls within his conservative Liberal Democratic Party to take responsibility for the historic defeat ldp was eyeing early leadership election The resignation came one day before Ishiba’s party was to decide whether to hold an early leadership election, which would have amounted to a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved. In July, Ishiba’s ruling coalition failed to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, weakening his government’s stability | P9 some time to take responsibility for his party’s election loss, but was first determined to make progress in tariff negotiations with the US ■ He said the moment had arrived after Donald Trump lowered tariffs on Japanese cars and other products to 15 per cent from 25 per cent rate 68-yr-old ishiba: was waiting to get u.s. tariffs cut ■ Ishiba told a news conference on Sunday that he had intended for ISHIBA, A self-confessed defence geek, WAS AT THE HELM FOR LESS THAN A YEAR 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 Last push by NDA, INDIA bloc ahead of V-P election Both sides strive to shore up their numbers, eye cross-voting gains India win Asia Cup, seal WC spot A superbly efficient India beat South Korea 4-1 to win their fourth Asia Cup. A look... 2026 World Cup bound As hosts of the previous two World Cups in 2018 and 2023, India were automatic qualifiers. This time, though, they had to win this or they would have found themselves playing a tricky qualifying tournament next year. They can now plan and attack that tournament with 11 months to go India go aerial to find some joy Both China and South Korea man-marked the Indian players. To reduce that effect, India went long to bypass midfield and transfer pressure. This ploy worked a treat Forwards come to the party Earlier in the tournament, the forward line was generally profligate. They were snatching at chances as composure was a worry. They addressed those issues as the likes of Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Abishek sounded the board after some teething troubles Veerashaiva-Lingayats must enrol as ‘others’, not Hindus: Mahasabha caste census E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru The Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha on Sunday asked its community members, Veerashaiva-Lingayats, to mark the religion under the “others” column in the Socio Educational Survey-2025 (caste census) to be conducted by the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission from September 22. The religion column in the survey will have options like the Hindu, Islam, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, Atheist, Not Known, Refused to Disclose and Others (specify). Marking their religion under the “others” column will revive the community’s demand for a separate religion status. “There is no relationship between Sanatana Hindu and Veerashaiva-Lingayat religions. Members of our commu- nity should enrol as a separate religion which the Mahasabha has been proposing for a long time. In the sub-caste column, you can mention accordingly,” said Mahasabha General Secretary Eshwar Khandre, who is also forest minister, at a joint press conference. “Everyone should participate in the Social and Educational Survey and write ‘Veerashaiva Lingayat’ in the ‘Others’ column under religion and as ‘Lingayat’ or ‘Veerashaiva’ or ‘Veerashaiva Lingayat’ in the caste column. They should confirm and write the code number of the sub-caste to which they belong in the subcaste column,” he said. He suggested that the community members should clearly provide the information related to their family to the enumerators.  P4 express read Thousands of chickens die near Koppal Reopening NH-2 a step in right direction: Ex-DGP Koppal: A sudden outbreak of an unidentified disease has killed thousands of chickens over the past few days in Koppal village. Poultry farm owners said the illness is spreading fast through local farms, and some of them have not buried the dead chickens, but have thrown them in the open | P5 Guwahati: Former Manipur DGP Yumnam Joykumar Singh (72) has welcomed the decision to reopen National Highway 2. Singh said the reopening of NH-2, which passes through Kuki-majority Kangpokpi and is widely used by Meitei commuters to reach other states, was “a step in the right direction” | P8 didate, B Sudershan Reddy. YSRCP has 7 MPs in the Rajya Sabha and 5 in Lok Sabha. with just a day left for TuesWhile BRS chief K Chanday’s Vice-Presidential elec- drashekar Rao is yet to disclose tion, both the ruling BJP-led his preference for a candidate, NDA the Congress-led opposi- party insiders believe the retion have intensified efforts to cent turmoil within the BRS is boost their numbers. likely to tilt the scales in favour The NDA, which was the first of the NDA nominee. to announce candidate for the The BRS, BJD, and YSRCP V-P poll on August 17, has since have supported the Narendra been engaging with its MPs Modi government in passing to ensure victory for crucial bills in Parliai t s n o m i n e e, C P ment in the past, but Radhakrishnan. opposition strategists On his part, the are not ruling out adRadhakrishnan has ditional votes from concluded his camcross-voting by some paign by meeting all MPs from these parMPs of the alliance, ties. “Though we do t r ave l l i n g a c ro s s not expect major surstates and in Delhi. prises, we expect to Although the final improve our performC P Radhakrishnan result is a foregone ance this time. We conclusion in favour have reached out to of NDA’s nominee, all the three independeyes are on fence sitent MPs as well,” said ters and neutral para senior opposition ties, including Naveen leader, who did not Patnaik’s Biju Janata wish to be named. Dal (BJD) and K As the principal Chandrashekhar partner of the NDA Rao’s Bharat Rashtra and the party responSamithi (BRS), which sible for nominating B Sudershan Reddy are yet to show their the consensus candihands. The BJD has date for Vice Presiseven Rajya Sabha MPs while dent, the BJP is not taking any the BRS has four. chances and has asked all its Congress sources told this MPs to reach Delhi by Monday paper that they don’t expect ahead of Tuesday’s election. It any surprises in Tuesday’s vot- has also begun training the ing, as most southern parties MPs to ensure they cast their appear to be inclined towards votes correctly and avoid any supporting the NDA nominee. technical errors. A senior BJP Sources said the Opposition leader said first-time MPs are reached out to YSRCP chief Ja- especially given thorough traingan Mohan Reddy for support ing in the voting process and but he conveyed his unwilling- taught how to handle the secret ness to back the opposition can- ballot papers. RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR & PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi Oppn MPs to practise with ‘mock poll’ P r eetha N a i r @ New Delhi Opposition MPs would be briefed on Monday on the procedure to vote in the September 9 vice presidential polls, sources in the INDIA bloc said on Sunday . They said a ‘mock poll’ would be conducted in the Central Hall of the old Parliament House at around 2:30 PM on Monday after the briefing on the procedure to vote in the vice presidential polls. To ensure smooth voting and to avoid invalid votes, the Congress has also appointed coordinators to conduct training sessions with its allies. Though Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was to host a dinner for the opposition MPs on Monday evening, it has been cancelled in view of the flood situation in the country . Meanwhile, in a fervent appeal to MPs, joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy on Sunday exhorted them not to let party loyalty guide their choice and asserted that by entrusting him with this office, they would be ensuring that the Rajya Sabha stands as a true temple of democracy . In a 12-minute-long video message, Reddy told the MPs that he seeks their support not for himself but for the “values that define us as a sovereign democratic republic”. Govt notifies nomination of 4 MLCs E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru It’s official. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has given his assent to the nomination of four persons to the Karnataka Legislative Council and the state government notified it in the gazette on Sunday. Deputy Chairperson of NRI Forum, government of Karnataka, Dr Arathi Krishna, educationist, labour leader and vicechairman of Dr Ambedkar Foundation from the AICC SC Cell FH Jakkappanavar, senior assistant editor with The New Indian Express Shivakumar K and KPCC media cell chairman and former JDS MLC Ramesh Babu are the nominated. They are likely to be  sworn-in after Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti gives his date. Ramesh Babu will get a ten-month term that will last till July 21, 2026, as the term of his predecessor CP Yogeeshwar, who is now Channapatna MLA, ends then. The other three will get a full tenure of six years. Newly nominated members to the Karnataka Legislative Council (from top), Shivakumar K, Dr Arathi Krishna, FH Jakkappanavar, and Ramesh Babu trailblazers Devi Awards honours Odisha’s fab fourteen E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar SPEAKER of Odisha Legislative Assembly Surama Padhy on Sunday called upon women to step forward and make their mark in every sphere of the society Pre. senting the 33rd Devi Awards, instituted by The New Indian Express, Padhy said women are the cornerstone of the society “A society truly ad. vances when its women are respected and given opportunities,” she said. She said real development of women is possible through their participation and inclusion in education, health, employment, social security and politics. When women become self-reliant and experience economic growth, it lends speed and strength to devel- Devi awardees seen alongside Odisha Speaker Surama Padhy, TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon, TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, TNIE Bhubaneswar Resident Editor Siba Mohanty at the award ceremony in Bhubaneswar on Sunday | DEBADATTA MALLICK opment and progress of the entire country, starting from individual families. “I hope women will step forward and make their mark in every sphere of society,” Padhy added. The fourth edition of Devi Awards in Odisha honoured 14 trailblazing women from a crosssection of the society, who have stood out through their achievements, excellence and impact. They include conservation architect Vijaya Amujure, the first girl from the primitive Didayi community to crack NEET Champa Raseda, disability activist Gargi Bhat- tacharya, farmer and preserver of Shree Anna (millets) Raimati Ghuria, ENT specialist Dr Smruti Swain, globally-acclaimed Odissi exponent Sujata Mohapatra, entrepreneur and innovator Minushri Madhumita, scientist Jyotirmayee Dash, social activist Nibedita Lenka, chef Madhusmita Soren, lacquer doll craftsperson Kanakalata Das, the valorous forest guard who captured 17 poachers Khirabdi Seth, award winning Ollywood actor and philanthropist Archita Sahu and Odisha’s sprint queen Srabani Nanda. Editorial director of TNIE Prabhu Chawla, TNIE Group CEO Lakshmi Menon and resident editor, TNIE Odisha, Siba Mohanty were among those present. Odisha Lit Fest concludes with diversity of ideas and discussions | P5 nmc sidelined? integrated BAMS, MBBS course to be of over 5 yrs ka v i ta baje l i - d att @ New Delhi THE Centre’s proposed new integrated MBBS-BAMS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) course at JIPMER in Puducherry will be a degree course spanning more than five years, with a one-year internship leading to the dual degrees, an RTI reply has revealed. The proposal, which has been prepared by Auroville Foundation and announced with great fanfare by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and AYUSH, Prataprao Jadhav, on May 27, also states that the syllabus for phase 1 is ready and is prepared on the competency-based curriculum (CBME) proposed by the National Medical Council (NMC), a statutory body that regulates medical education, medical professionals, institutes, and research. However, key regulatory bodies including the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), which decide on new courses and syllabi, were not involved in the proposal, as per RTI documents. This paper was the first to report on the Centre’s push for the integrated medical course that would combine MBBS and BAMS. Following the report, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), representing over four lakh medical practitioners, strongly condemned the move to “mix different systems of medicine unscientifically” and demanded that the government withdraw the “regressive proposal” in public interest. Despite the announcement by the Union Minister, JIPMER refused to share any details of the course after Keralabased activist Dr K V Babu filed an RTI. Moreover, Auroville secretary Dr Jayanti S Ravi, who acknowledged in her January 25 letter that discussions were held over the last several months with Dr VK Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH, and others, had also failed to share comments on the integrated course with the Union Health Ministry despite repeated reminders. Speaking to this paper, Dr Babu said: “There is no provision under any law in India to award MBBS and BAMS degrees together after any course. From files availed using RTI, it seems the government is supporting the proposal to award a dual degree of MBBS and BAMS by the Auroville Foundation in association with JIPMER and some satellite centres... There is nothing to suggest that the regulatory body in this case, NMC, had ever discussed it with other regulatory bodies, which is mandatory under the statute.” press clusive