chennai l Sunday l December 28, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Gone in two days: eNGLAND WIN Boxing Day ASHES tEST As Ben Stokes and Co beat Australia in the fourth Test within two days, Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch has come under the scanner visitors end 18-match winless streak in Oz Having already lost the series, England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG on Saturday. After Perth, where the visitors lost in two days, this was yet another two-day finish in the series. It was the first time since 1912 that multiple two-day results have occured in a series | P11 ■ 4th Not a good look for Test cricket ■ Both Ben Stokes and Steve Smith expressed concern over the quality of the pitch, which had about 10 mm grass at the start of the match. As many as 20 wickets fell on Day 1 and another 16 on Day 2 Only 852 balls were bowled in the Melbourne Test - the tenth fewest in a completed match - only five more than the Perth Test Two-day Test ever in AUSTRALIA so far 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 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 Two girls die as iron gate crashes on them in TN Express News Service @ Virudhunagar Two cousin sisters, aged nine and four years, were crushed to death after an iron gate along with the gate post collapsed over them when they were playing in front of their house in Konkalapuram near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar on Saturday The deceased were iden. tified as R Kamalika (9), daughter of Sivakasi AWPS constable Rajeswari from Konkalapuram, and R Lishika her cousin R Lishika (4) of Sankarankovil, Tenkasi. Police said the iron gate and gate post R Kamalika at Kamalika’s house were installed a few years ago. Around 8 am, the base of the gate post broke from its fixtures and collapsed over the girls, inflicting multiple injuries. They were immediately pulled out of the debris, and rushed to a private hospital and later to Sivakasi Government Hospital. However, they were declared brought dead, and the bodies were sent for autopsy  . P5 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 . In cryptic post, Digvijaya hails BJP 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 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- 20 injured in mob attack on popular rock band in B’desh A G ENCIES @ 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, throwing 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 said the exact casualty count A videograb of the mob attack in Faridpur of Bangladesh that left fans injured at a rock concert 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. 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- 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. Xmas decorations at Ahmedabad mall vandalised D i l i p S i n gh K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad @ Chennai The association representing nearly 20,000 Secondary Grade Teachers (SGTs) employed across the state on Saturday vowed to continue agitation to press for its 16-year demand of equal pay for equal work amid increasing police crackdown. Accusing the DMK government of failing to address their longstanding demand, the protest- ers said despite performing duty identical to their counterparts, they are being paid `25,000 to `30,000 less every month solely because they were appointed after an arbitrary cut-off date of June 1, 2009. The problem has been continuing from the DMK’s earlier rule in 2009, they said. On Saturday, hundreds of teachers staged protest near the Chief Educational Officer’s office in Egmore, following which several of them, including women, were forcibly dragged into buses to clear the site. Many of them fainted during the police action and had to be rushed to hospitals for treatment. The protest was first launched on Friday at the Perasiriyar Anbazhagan Education Complex, the School Education De- express read Even BJP supporters criticising NDA govt for its failures: Stalin Tiruvannamalai: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said that while his Dravidian model govt is being lauded by even those who did not support DMK, backers of BJP are now criticising the NDA govt for its failures | P4 TNCC chief: Power sharing must to fulfil promises made to voters Chennai: TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai on Saturday said he supported Congress state in-charge Girish Chodankar’s views on sharing power with DMK. Power sharing is essential to fulfil promises made to people, he said | P4 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, located near Thaltej on 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. 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 celebrat i o n s a n d h o l i d ay s i n s ch o o l s i n Ahmedabad. W I T H T H I S I SS U E India’s Luxe Pilgrimages PADMA VIBHUSHAN RATAN N TATA PLUS 12 PAGES 28.12.1937 - 09.10.2024 TN teachers vow to continue stir amid police crackdown Sub a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r 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. la Raju. The stampede occurred as fans Several bouncers deployed at gathered to catch a glimpse of the venue are also named. the actor during the premiere. Express News Service partment headquarters. The protesters said the disparity stems from the basic pay fixed at the time of appointment. While those appointed before June 1, 2009, were placed on a basic pay of `8,370, teachers appointed on or after the cut-off date were given a basic pay of `5,200 despite having the same qualification and performing the same duty Nearly . 75% of such teachers in government schools are women.  P5 Remembering Ratan N Tata, an icon of industry and a humanitarian, on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary. K30K pay disparity Due to an arbitrary cut-off date, TN teachers appointed after June 1, 2009, are being paid nearly `30K less every month TATA SONS & TATA GROUP OF COMPANIES