NEW DELHI 28 DECEMBER 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES The Sun’s Shady Consequences MAGAZINE Anand Neelakantan Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shankkar Aiyar Debashis Chatterjee S Vaidhyasubramaniam Geetha Ravichandran INDIA’S LUXE PILGRIMAGES In a State of Emergency A Legend Reduced to Footnotes EXCLUSIVE VOICES The Artist as an Open Book ‘I gave My All to Wicked’ SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS The Making of Maturity A Dream Rann Cong to launch nationwide ‘save Allu Arjun 11th accused MGNREGA’ movement from Jan 5 in Pushpa 2 stampede POOR CROWD MANAGEMENT At CWC meet, first after Bihar drubbing, Rahul hopes the entire Oppn would join campaign @ Hyderabad P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi `1.26 cr to kin of man killed by DTC bus in ’23: Tribunal U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has awarded `1.26 crore as compensation to the family members of a 32-year-old man, who died of injuries after his motorcycle was hit by a DTC bus near Rohini East Metro Station in October 2023. The tribunal held that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the offending DTC bus by its driver. The tribunal was hearing a petition filed by the victim’s family seeking compensation. According to the petition, the accident occurred on October 18, 2023, at around 1 pm near Rohini East Metro Station on Rithala Road, when the victim, Manish Kumar Chaudhary, was riding his motorcycle. The DTC bus changed lanes abruptly caus, ing the motorcycle to collide with the rear portion of the bus, the petition said. Chaudhary was declared ‘brought dead’ at the hospital. The accused driver had opposed the petition, claiming that the deceased was trying to overtake the bus. In an order dated December 22, the tribunal relied on CCTV footage, which showed that the bus had changed lanes suddenly, contradicting the driver’s claim. It also rejected the driver’s plea of contributory negligence, noting that the footage fixed responsibility on the accused. The tribunal reached the amount after noting that the deceased was employed with a private firm, and the three petitioners, including his mother and sister, were dependent on him. It awarded them a compensation of `1.26 crore under various heads and directed the New India Assurance Co Ltd to pay the compensation. THE Congress on Saturday announced it will launch a nationwide mass movement from January 5 against the Centre’s attempts to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), drawing parallels with the pushback that led to the repeal of the three farm laws. The decision was taken at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, which also resolved to oppose any move to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the rural job scheme and to convert workers’ legally guaranteed rights into what the party termed a government dole. In a resolution, the CWC said the Congress would “protect MGNREGA and the rights of India’s workers” and would take the issue to “every last village” across the country . After a nearly three-hour CWC meeting, the first one after the Bihar poll debacle, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will lead the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ from January 5, and a detailed plan will be announced soon under which rallies will be held across the country . Theatre owners and partners, including Agamati Ram Reddy (owner), M Sandeep, M Sumeeth, TELUGU star Allu Arjun has and others, were booked for albeen named as the 11th accused legedly failing to ensure safety in the chargesheet filed by the arrangements, while the event Hyderabad Police in the Sand- organiser, Talla Kiran Kumar hya Theatre stampede case. Goud, is accused of lapses in exThe incident, which occurred ecution and supervision. Of the on December 4, 2024, claimed total accused, 14 were arrested, the life of 35-year-old M Revathi, while nine secured anticipatory while her nine-year-old son, bail and were served notices, poSritej, sustained critical inju- lice said. ries. Sritej continues to remain According to the police, the under treatment more stampede occurred than a year after the due to poor coordinastampede. tion and negligence The chargesheet among multiple stakefiled on December 24 holders, including the says the incident was Sandhya 70 mm Theadue to “serious lapses tre management, in planning, crowd event organisers, pricontrol and security vate security staff arrangements during and others involved in the event”. handling the crowd. Allu Arjun Speaking to reportThe investig ation ers on Saturday, Hyderabad Po- found that no proper crowd lice Commissioner V C Sajjanar management plan or adequate confirmed that the chargesheet security measures were put in lists 23 accused, including Allu place, despite the expected Arjun, his manager Josya Bhat- heavy turnout. la Santosh Kumar, another manPolice said the chargesheet ager Sharath Chandra Naidu, establishes negligence at multifans’ association in-charge Tati- ple levels, which collectively led pamula Vinay Kumar, and his to the incident. Further legal personal security guards proceedings in the case will conCheruku Ramesh and Sriramu- tinue as per law, Sajjanar said. The stampede occurred as fans la Raju. Several bouncers deployed at gathered to catch a glimpse of the actor during the premiere. the venue are also named. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE In cryptic post, Digvijaya hails BJP Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, ahead of the CWC meeting in New Delhi on Saturday | SEKHAR YADAV Addressing a press conference, Kharge said MGNREGA was a visionary UPA legislation appreciated globally. The scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi due to its impact, he said. “Repealing MGNREGA is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi,” he added, calling it an attack on the Right to Work. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP government, alleging that “the PM carried out a devastating attack on states and the poor, much like demonetisation.” He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “single- handedly destroying” the MGNREGA scheme without consulting his Cabinet or states and without studying the matter, terming it an attack on the democratic structure that will ruin the rural economy . The Congress, Rahul said, has vowed to resist the government’s action and expressed confidence that the entire Opposition would join the movement. He linked the decision to scrap MGNREGA to the decimation of Indian labour, saying it guaranteed a minimum floor below which labour could not fall. “It is going to cause tremen- Congress MP Digvijaya Singh triggered a row Saturday after publicly praising the organisational strength of the BJP and RSS. In a post on X, Singh shared PM Narendra Modi’s old picture seated near L K Advani, and said “... the grassroots ‘swayamsevak’ of RSS and worker of Jan Sangh @ BJP4India sat on the floor at the feet of leaders and became the CM of a state and PM? This is the power of the organization.” | P7 dous pain to the weaker sections, to Adivasis, Dalits, OBCs, poor general castes, and minorities,” Rahul alleged. In his opening remarks, Kharge alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission of India and accused the government of misusing the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department, and the CBI. 20 injured in mob attack on popular rock band in B’desh A G E N C I E S @ Dhaka AT least 20 students were injured in a mob attack in Bangladesh that forced the cancellation of a concert by popular rock singer James, who has sung several hit Hindi film songs, organisers said. The incident occurred late on Friday night in Faridpur, amid a recent spate of attacks on cultural institutions. In recent weeks, organisations such as Chhayanaut and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi in Dhaka have been vandalised. James’ concert was to mark the closing of Faridpur Zilla School’s 185th anniversary celebrations. The programme was scheduled late at night on a temporary stage within the school premises, news portal tbsnews.net reported. However, just before it was due to begin, a group of outsiders tried to force entry after being turned away throw, ing bricks and stones and attempting to seize the stage. Students resisted the attackers, and at least 20 were injured by flying debris, according to organisers. However, Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Azmir Hossain Christmas decorations vandalised in Ahmedabad D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA Gangster, Woh Lamhe, and Life in a... Metro @ Ahmedabad The mob attacked the concert of popular rock singer Faruq Mahfuz Anam James late on Friday night in Faridpur, around 120 km from Dhaka. James, the lead singer of Bangladeshi rock band Nagar Baul, has sung in many Bollywood films, including Gangster, Woh Lamhe, and Life in a... Metro. said the exact casualty count was yet to be confirmed. “The number of injured in the attack is not yet known. We are trying to gather detailed information,” he said. Amid the volatile situation, organising committee convener Mustafizur Rahman Shamim cancelled the show on orders from the Faridpur district administration, The Daily Star reported. James, lead singer of Bangladeshi rock band Nagar Baul, has sung in several Bollywood films, including Gangster, Woh Lamhe, and Life in a... Metro. Rajibul Hasan Khan, convener of the programme’s publicity and media sub-committee, said the attack’s motives remained unclear. MAPPING THE UNMAPPED A booth level officer (BLO) records the picture of a woman after handing over a hearing notice under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, in Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal on Saturday. TMC MP from Barasat in North 24-Parganas Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s family members have been called for hearings as their names figure in ‘no mapping’ list. | PTI | P8 EXPRESS READ C’garh liquor scam: 81 named in ED complaint Foul air: 20 stations record AQI in red zone Bihar officers say Dy CM ‘humiliating’ them The ED on Friday filed a final prosecution complaint in the alleged liquor scam case in Chhattisgarh, naming 59 people, taking the total number of accused in the money laundering case to 81. The final prosecution complaint was filed before the PMLA court in Raipur, complying with the Supreme Court’s directions, the ED’s counsel said. Air quality in the city deteriorated sharply on Saturday, edging close to the ‘severe’ mark, with the average AQI recorded at 385. As pollution levels spiked, at least 20 air quality monitoring stations across the city logged readings in the severe category, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 385 at 4 pm. The Bihar Revenue Service Association has accused deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha of “humiliating” its members and written to CM Nitish Kumar, threatening to boycott public grievance redressal sessions if corrective steps aren’t taken. Sinha, also in charge of revenue dept, warned them against “collusion with land mafia”. Offerings pour in: Sabarimala scores record, logs `332 cr revenue this season EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Pathanamthitta UNPERTURBED by the controversies surrounding the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala temple, devotees continued to throng the hill shrine in large numbers and made generous offerings during the mandala pilgrimage season. As the temple closed its sanctum sanctorum on Saturday night, marking the end of the mandala season, the total revenue of the hill shrine stood at a record `332.77 crore, according to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). During the previous season, the total revenue after 41 days of the mandala pilgrimage was `297.06 crore. The temple will reopen on December 30 evening for the makaravilakku festival. TDB president K Jayakumar said the revenue collected till Friday stood at `332,77,05,132, generated through offerings, sale of appam and aravana prasadam, room rent and auction proceeds. Offerings alone accounted for `83.17 crore of the total amount. “This season, the revenue saw an increase of `35.7 crore, even though the count is for 40 days,” Jayakumar said. So far, more than 30.56 lakh devotees have visited the shrine this season. Last season, the pilgrim count at the end of the mandala period was 32.49 lakh. Jayakumar said despite heavy rush on peak days, the devaswom board and police and various de par tments worked in coordination to ensure smooth darshan. Preparations for the makaravilakku fest were reviewed at a meeting on Friday under Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan. IN the latest attack targeting Christmas celebrations in India, workers of a Hindu outfit vandalised decorations at a prominent shopping mall in Ahmedabad on Saturday . According to the police, four to five workers associated with a Hindu outfit entered the mall, l o c at e d n e a r T h a l t e j o n Ahmedabad’s SG Highway, headed straight to the central atrium, and pulled down Christmas trees, causing panic among visitors. “They demanded that all Christmas trees and related decorations at the mall be removed immediately a police ,” officer said. The mall authorities tried to calm them and explained that the decorations were part of the year-end festivities. “Despite repeated requests, they vandalised the decorations, following which the police were informed,” the officer said. Those involved were detained on the spot and security inside the mall was briefly tightened. Videos circulating on social media showed the men knocking down trees with Christmas decorations in the mall. The incident comes amid reports of widespread attacks on Christmas celebrations in various parts of the country . Earlier this week, the Federation of Parents’ Associations, along with a saffron outfit, protested against Christmas celebrations and holidays in schools in Ahmedabad. In a letter addressed to the state education minister and the district education officer, the federation demanded that Christmas holidays should not be granted and warned that schools celebrating Christmas could be forced to shut. The letter alleged that some schools were making Christmas celebrations mandatory .