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 ■ ■ bengaluru l wednesday l december 31, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 22 l late city EDITION Assam STF arrests 11 for ties with Jamaat radicals ‘All were working under direct orders from Bangladesh groups’ As the year draws to a close, we take a deep dive into the events, stories, and faces that mattered express news service @ Guwahati ELEVEN people were arrested in Assam and Tripura for their 04 alleged links with Bangladeshbased fundamentalist groups The challenger… D Who SEES lighT aT ThE End of EVErY TunnEl that were aiming to destabilise the Northeast, police said on Tuesday . Assam’s Special Task Force said the arrests were made for alleged links with Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), an offshoot of Bangladeshi terror CM writes to PM, seeks Cong announces MLC repeal of VB-G RAM G group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen candidates for Nov 2026 DK Shivakumar: Teachers, Graduates seats Bangladesh (JMB), which is The challenger | P4 banned in India. Ten among those arrested Stories that sparked were nabbed from Assam’s Baksa, Barpeta, Chirang and a change| P6 Darrang districts while one was arrested from Tripura’s NICE sAys Panel recommends deploying surplus staff from GowdA’s West Nation low-workload units to service-delivery functions Tripura district on DesTATEMENT ‘MIsLEAdING’ cember 29 and 30. Migration, mobility The IMK was founded in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud alias Sohail, and elections | P7 a former JMB member. The STF dossier said senior leaders Federalism at of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla tnie impact bengaluru Wednesday The state government has initiated the process of taking over the 108 Arogya Kavach ambulance service and managing it directly under the health department as per the announcement made in the budget for 2025–26 31 12 2025 l l newsmaker of The year R a m u Pat i l o d da l a h a l l i Kempegowda Shivakumar is no stranger to fighting difficult political battles, often pulling them off on his own terms. however, the one that he is facing now within his party is undoubtedly the most demanding and consequential of all the political battles that the 63-year-old Vokkaliga strongman – often referred to as the party troubleshooter – has ever fought. The most coveted ‘CM’s gaddi’ appears to be within his striking distance. it is unclear whether his political ambition will be fulfilled anytime soon or if his wait will be prolonged. But in the last two-and-a-half years, Shivakumar, the deputy Chief Minister and head of the party state unit, has firmly established himself as one among the most prominent leaders in Congress and the party’s future in Karnataka. his loyalty and tenacity in accepting challenges and fighting them without giving up seem to be his major strengths. loyalty may not be that uncommon a trait in Congress, but tenacity in the face of adversity is hard to come by . Many of those, who closely watched his political journey from being a 27-year-old legislator in 1989 to a minister in his early 30s and now an eighth-term Mla and dyCM setting his eyes on the CM post, say that nothing came to him easily and without persistent efforts. as political circles debate the possibility of a leadership change in the state, many often recall how Shivakumar had to wait for months before he was inducted into the cabinet after Congress came to power in 2013 under Siddaramaiah’s leadership. Then came the worst crisis in his political life when income Tax officials raided his house and the properties of his close associates in 2017. he was subsequently arrested by the Enforcement directorate (Ed) and sent to Tihar Jail in the national capital for 50 days. at one point, he was under the scanner of multiple central agencies. one of the richest legislators in the country was at the centre of the opposition’s criticism and under intense scrutiny Many assumed . it would be difficult for him to bounce back. But he converted a crisis into an opportunity by gathering sympathy and support from his community and the confidence of the party’s central leaders. as KPCC president, he, along with other senior leaders, turned around the fortunes of the party that was on a losing streak. So, his staking claim for the top post after the party won 136 seats in the 2023 assembly polls did not surprise many The win proved . significant for Congress’s morale ahead of the 2024 lok Sabha polls, and the momentum aided victories in Telangana and himachal Pradesh. Now, after the Congress government completed two-and-ahalf years in office, Shivakumar’s camp followers hope the party high command would ensure that the CM would abide by the power-sharing agreement that was said to have been reached before the government formation after the 2023 assembly polls. While the high command has not openly admitted to a powersharing agreement, it has also not denied it. The silence indicates their stance on the con- tentious issue. however, if at all there is a change in leadership that can happen only if the party’s central leadership convinces Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The CM enjoys considerable clout among minorities, backward classes, and dalits, and the backing of the majority of Congress legislators. on his part, Shivakumar is popular among the party cadres and relies heavily on central leaders to reward him for his contribution to party building. as the subtle tussle continues, the leader, once known for his aggressive style of politics, is seen trying to rely more on strategic discernment, as if taking a leaf out of the famous Chinese military treatise “art of War” by Sun Tzu that says, “he will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” Siddaramaiah’s politics is characterised by social justice, welfare schemes and strong ideological stances against the BJP and RSS. So much so, he often faces allegations of ‘minority appeasement’. on the other hand, Shivakumar appears to be a man of big projects and talks more about generating livelihood opportu- illustRatioN: maNDaR PaRDikaR nities. he also emphasises strengthening the party at the grassroots level. at times, his detractors accuse him of flaunting softhindutva as he effortlessly reels out Sanskrit shlokas, which he learnt from a home tutor in the mid-90s after he was inspired by Sathya Sai Baba’s speech. Many Congress leaders were displeased when he recited the RSS anthem in the assembly earlier this year, although he claimed it was part of his strategy to attack the BJP. he dons diverse hats. he often says, “By birth, i am an agriculturist. By profession, i am a businessman. By choice, i am an educationist. and by passion, i am a politician.” he CounCil polls is now an author too. his book on water management, ‘Neerina hejje’ (’Footprints of Water’), was released recently in Bengaluru by the CM. it looks as though he is trying to shed his aggressive image and project himself as an intellectual politician. But, at times, his blunt responses to criticism show he has a long way to go on that front. as Water Resources Minister, he seems to be pushing hard for the implementation of the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project near Kanakapura, but the progress has been slow. This has been the case with other irrigation projects too. he is also the Bengaluru development Minister, a daunting responsibility, given the numerous challenges a burgeoning metropolis like Bengaluru faces. Under him, splitting of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike into five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru authority (GBa) also faced flak from the opposition, which saw it as the state government’s attempt to usurp the powers of local bodies. The ambitious tunnel road project, his brainchild, has faced the ire of opposition and a section of civil society, which termed it unscientific. Shivakumar is not the kind to give in to any criticism. at least politically he seems to be, lieve there is light at the end of the tunnel. exPress read MLA Puppy gets bail in multi-crore betting case exPRess News seRvice @Bengaluru ChiEF Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suspend the implementation of the Viksit BharatGuarantee for Rozgar and ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RaM G) act and begin constitutionally mandated consultations with state governments. in a letter to the PM, Siddaramaiah stated that the repeal of MGNREGa weakens the right to work, centralises discretion and shifts an unfair burden onto states. While the new VB-G RaM G act raises the number of promised, guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125, it is not matched by planning or assured central funding, the CM stated. he wrote that the change in funding pattern is a concern. The act also requires states to notify in advance an aggregate 60-day period during peak sowing and harvesting seasons when work under the act should not be undertaken. “While agricultural activity CONSTITUENCY BREAKUP D eva Ra j B H i R e H a l l i @ B e n ga lu r u ThE Congress is thinking far ahead — at least 10 months in advance — having announced four candidates for the Karnataka legislative Council elections in November 2026. The names, made public on Tuesday, include two each for the Graduates and Teachers constituencies. aiCC president Mallikarjuna Kharge approved the names of former MlC Mohan limbikai (West Graduates), Shashi hulikuntemutt (South East Graduates), former MlC Sharanappa Mathur (North East Teachers), and sitting MlC Puttanna for Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency Except for Puttanna, the other three . a r e f r o m t h e Ve e r a s h a iv a l i n g aya t community . The Congress appears to have made a strategic move by declaring its nominees well ahead of elections, as it was on a weak footing with only one MlC, Puttanna, while the remaining three seats are represented by the BJP. The move could also counter the probable BJP-JdS alliance by giving its candidates ample time to prepare the ground. “When the BJP declared my name early for the 2008 polls, i was able to defeat hK Patil (now law minister). This time, the Congress announcing my candidature early will give me an edge as i can establish personal contact with the electorate,” limbikai told TNiE. The former MlC switched to the Congress in 2023. he said the constituency comprises 29 taluks and 25 assembly constituencies, and the Congress having won 19 seats is expected to give him a boost. he hopes the Yuva Nidhi guarantee scheme for unemployed youths will also favour him. Meanwhile, KPCC president dK Shivakumar made a strategic move by picking former minister KN Rajanna’s supporter and novice Shashi hulikuntemutt of Tumakuru for the South East Graduates constituency say sourc, es. Shashi has distanced himself from Rajanna and identifies with the Shivakumar camp, which helped him make the cut. he is also a supporter of for mer minister TB Jayachandra. The term of the current MlCs -- SV Sankanura (West Graduates), Chidanand M Gowda (South East Graduates), Sashil G Namoshi (North East Teachers), all from BJP, and Puttanna -- ends on November 9, 2026. The BJP is likely to nominate the sitting MlCs for two seats and spare South East Graduates for its alliance partner JdS, as former MlC Chowda Reddy Thoopalli is a strong contender. West graduates: 74,311 voters Electorate includes enrolled graduates of all assembly constituencies of Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri districts south-east graduates: 1,51,374 voters Assembly constituencies of Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davanagere districts (excluding Channagiri and Honnali taluks in Davanagere) north east Teachers: 31,214 voters Assembly constituencies of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Vijayanagara districts bengaluru Teachers: 21,496 voters Assembly constituencies of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru South (erstwhile Ramanagara) districts 18.5k voters in Teachers’ constituency poll roll Bengaluru: Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, who is also the election officer of Bengaluru Urban district, said on Tuesday there are 18,496 voters in the final electoral roll for the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency election. He was speaking at a meeting with the representatives of various political parties at the GBA’s head office. According to a letter from the Election Commission of India (ECI), instructions were issued to publish the electoral roll for the Bengaluru teachers’ constituency of the Karnataka Legislative Council, with November 11, 2025, as the qualifying date. The draft electoral roll was published on December 25, 2025. Special Commissioner (Elections) R Ramachandran added that eligible teachers who were left out during the final revision might submit applications for inclusion till the last date for filing nominations, and that the voter registration and updation processes would continue. ens AuspiCious dAy BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa offers prayers at a temple on Vaikuntha Ekadashi day, in Bengaluru on Tuesday | PTI exPRess News seRvice @ Bengaluru REFUTiNG the claim of former prime minister hd deve Gowda that “at this age he is being forced” into cases related to the BMiC (Bengaluru Mysuru infrastructure Corridor)/ NiCE project, NiCE limited said Gowda’s statement is factually incor rect and misleading. “The ongoing cases are a direct consequence of actions initiated by him in the past. Neither NiCE limited nor the government has instituted any fresh proceedings against him or against farmers,” a statement from NiCE said. The company said it remains committed to the lawful execution of the BMiC project in line with judicial directives and reiterates its respect for the rule of law and public interest. may increase during that time, such a blanket restriction curtails the right of those who still need wage employment, particularly vulnerable groups, including tribal and marginalised communities, who may not find adequate farm work. This provision is likely to reduce the window in which households can demand employment, put downward pressure on wages and deepen livelihood insecurity potentially increasing bond, ed/distress labour, reducing women’s participation and triggering greater migration to urban areas,” the CM stated. he said the arbitrary and hurried enforcement of the VB-G RaM G act violates articles 258 and 280 of the Constitution, which explicitly require consultation with state governments, with focus on fiscal federalism, equitable development and strengthening of local governance before imposing financial frameworks under centrally sponsored schemes. This approach erodes the foundations of cooperative federalism, he said. While the new Vb-g raM g act raises the number of promised, guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125, it is not matched by planning or assured central funding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in letter to Prime Minister Modi exPRess News seRvice @Bengaluru ThE Karnataka administrative Reforms Commission-2 (KaRC-2) has recommended the redeployment of surplus staff from low-workload units to frontline and service-delivery functions for human resource optimisation and vacancy management in government departments. Former Minister and KaRC2 Chairman R V deshpande submitted the 10th report of the commission to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday . The commission conducted a comprehensive review of sanctioned, filled, vacant and outsourced posts across departments, boards and corporations. Cadre and Recruitment Rules were examined to assess relevance to present-day functional requirements, said a note from the commission. While recommending to the government to fill long-pending frontline vacancies on priority , particularly where vacancies have persisted beyond one year and affect citizen-facing serv- crossroads | P11 KarC-2 Chairman r V deshpande presents the report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Chief Secretary Shalini rajneesh looks on | exPRess ices, the commission asked the government to freeze further outsourcing in Group-C and Group-d cadres where sanctioned regular posts exist but remain unfilled. The commission recommended rationalising districtlevel staffing patterns by linking sanctioned strength to population, beneficiary load, regional backwardness and service intensity converting re, dundant clerical posts into technical or multi-tasking posts, based on functional requirements and departmental inputs, and abolishing obsolete and functionally irrelevant posts identified through Cadre and Recruitment Rules review. To strengthen governance systems, the commission recommended institutionalisation of a Reform Monitoring Unit (RMU) within the department of Personnel and administrative Reforms (dPaR-aR), inte- business Top trends that shaped the economy | P15 Sports How the year panned out for India in sports | P17-18 Bengaluru: The 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court on Tuesday granted bail to Congress Chitradurga MLA KC Veerendra, alias Puppy, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with an alleged multi-crore illegal online betting and money laundering case. The MLA had been in judicial custody for the past four months at Bengaluru Central Prison. He was arrested on August 23 in Gangtok, Sikkim, for allegedly operating illegal betting platforms and laundering money. He had filed multiple bail applications earlier. ens Cong ready for GBA polls: Byrathi Suresh Bengaluru: Hinting at elections to the city corporations under GBA in a few months from now, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh said on Tuesday that the Congress has started preparations to ensure the victory of its candidates in all 11 wards of the Hebbal assembly constituency. Stating that the government has launched many development projects, he said efforts are on to provide clean drinking water to every citizen. Suresh said BJP leaders appear in the constituency only when elections come. They disappear soon after. ens gration of reform recommendations into departmental annual action plans and performance review mechanisms, and continued use of the online recommendation-tracking portal for transparent, real-time monitoring. it also recommended closure, merger or consolidation of approximately 1,000 inactive heads of account/schemes that show zero or very small allocations or exist only for accounting/debt servicing purposes; joint review of 280 hoas/schemes with allocations below Rs 1 crore, and formally merge or close schemes that are no longer operationally viable. it suggested phasing out legacy state schemes with negligible beneficiary coverage, recurring spillovers and the absence of measurable outcomes, and reallocating funds to high-impact schemes, the note stated. The 10th report contains 355 new recommendations, bringing the total number of recommendations made in 10 reports to over 6,000, covering 42 departments. Nasim Uddin, the kingpin, and Junab Ali Another Hindu man killed in Mymensingh A Hindu security guard, Bajendra Biswas, was fatally shot at a garment factory in Mymensingh on Monday, marking the third such incident targeting minorities in the country in two weeks Team (ABT), and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) had issued directions to IMK leadership to activate its Indian modules. Bangladeshi nationals Umar and Khalid were assigned to coordinate Assam-based activities. One Nasim Uddin alias Tamim of Assam’s Barpeta Road is the head of the outfit’s Assam cell. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh in August last year, cadres of JMB, ABT and AQIS were activated, resulting in revival of their ideological influence and Indian networks, including through IMK-linked platforms, the STF said. “These elements were working under the direct orders from Bangladesh-based groups. Their main aim was to destabilise Assam and the rest of the Northeast,” STF chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta said. Those arrested from Assam were identified as Nasim Uddin alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22) and Md Dilbar Razak (26), he added. Jagir Miah (33) was nabbed from Tripura. Khaleda Zia: 15 Aug 1945 – 30 Dec 2025 the reluctant politician who shaped B’desh Jaishankar to attend funeral Reflecting the importance New Delhi attaches to Khaleda Zia’s legacy, foreign minister S Jaishankar will represent India at her funeral. He will travel to Dhaka on Wednesday Pushed education reforms Khaleda Zia’s tenure as PM restored the parliamentary system and introduced compulsory, free primary education J AYAN T H J ACOB @ New Delhi K haleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, died in Dhaka on Tuesday at the age of 80. For more than three decades, her fierce rivalry with Sheikh Hasina shaped Bangladesh’s politics, dividing the nation between two dominant leaders whose personal animosity often mirrored the country’s deeper political fault lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Khaleda Zia, recalling her contribution to strengthening bilateral ties. Born on August 15, 1945 in Dinajpur, then part of British India, Zia entered public life reluctantly At 15, she married Ziaur Rah. man, who would go on to become a central figure in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation struggle and become President in 1977. His assassination in 1981 pushed Zia into politics. During the nine-year military dictatorship that followed a 1982 coup, she emerged as a prominent face of resistance, boycotting army-backed elections and enduring repeated house arrests. Her uncompromising stance earned her a loyal following. Following the fall of military rule in 1990, the BNP won the general election, and Zia was sworn in as PM in 1991, becoming one of the few elected women in the Muslim world. ‘Fake’ wrestling coach forges federation letter for US visa F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai A bizarre query that could be linked with kabootarbaazi (immigration racket) left the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) stunned on Tuesday. The consular section of the US Embassy in New Delhi asked the federation about a wrestling coach who has claimed WFI’s backing for attending a training camp from January 10 to 28 at Mat Sense Academy (Oregon). According to the document submitted in the US Embassy , Sandeep, son of Bijender Singh, sought the US visa and submitted WFI’s sponsorship on its letterhead as a support- ing document. The letter signed by R K Purushotham, WFI’s joint secretary, claimed that the federation will bear Sandeep’s travel expenses, accommodation and camp fees apart from providing him a daily allowance. Sandeep claimed that he is a wrestling coach at the Sports Authority of India. The sponsorship and official authorisation letter also mentioned three names — Sunil (coach), Anshu (wrestler), and Rajan (physiotherapist) — apart from Sandeep. “We have informed the US Embassy that the person is neither empanelled as a coach with WFI or the world body, United World Wrestling,” WFI chief Sanjay Kumar Singh said. “...as per WFI regulations, only the President, Secretary General, and the Administrative Of ficers are authorised to sign official correspondence on behalf of the Federation,” WFI told the US Embassy in its reply . Pak now pokes nose into Kogilu row, EAM reacts M o h a mm e d Ya c o o b @ Bengaluru Forget Kerala, Pakistan too has now commented on the demolition at Kogilu slum in Bengaluru. Pakistan on Monday reportedly issued a press statement through its foreign office, stating that ‘Muslim’ homes were being razed with the backing of the state. It also commented on the alleged attacks on Christians and termed the developments a ‘serious concern’. Reacting to it, DCM and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar said senior national leaders will respond to Pakistan’s comments. In a strong reply Ministry of , External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself. Pakistan’s horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths is a well-established fact. No amount of finger-pointing will obfuscate it.” The DCM, on evictees possessing ID cards from two states, said officials will investigate. P2