KOLLAM l FRIday l February 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION gujarat to reclaim asaram’s ashram land near ahmedabad The Gujarat High Court allowed the state govt to resume possession of over 45,000 sq m of land from godman Asaram Bapu’s ashram at Motera illegal constructions on govt land allotment rules circumvented, hc told The state government submitted that the land had been allotted several decades ago solely for religious use. These conditions were violated over time, with construction carried out on the land far in excess of what was originally allotted, Gujarat submitted. the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation apprised the court of illegal constructions in the premises ■ ■ On a plea by ashram authorities to stop the takeover, the court observed that the allotment conditions were specific and binding, and that record showed construction beyond the permitted limits Self-styled godman Asaram, the owner of the ashram, is serving a life sentence in a rape case and is presently out on bail for six months A500 cr is the value of the land under the possession of the ashram 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 Those waiting to dig my grave will be disappointed: Modi in RS speech Kuki-Zo council boycotts 3 MLAs who joined govt Says there is renewed hope of global stability after India’s recent trade deals with EU, US P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati RAJ E SH K U M AR THA K UR Why the PM did not speak in the LS @ New Delhi A day after his scheduled address in the Lok Sabha had to be cancelled amid repeated disruptions by Opposition MPs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Opposition while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha. He began his speech by highlighting India’s recent trade agreements with the European Union and the US, which he said instilled greater confidence in the country in the eyes of the global community. “When we signed the trade deal with the EU, it instilled confidence and hope about bringing global stability After the trade . deal with the US, the world became even more confident that with stability, they can sense speed, too,” he said. Opposition MPs raised slogans but he continued his speech, taking a jibe at Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, saying: “Considering his age, he can sit and raise slogans.” Modi, then, turned his focus Prime Minister Narendra Modi replies to the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha | pti squarely on the Opposition and continued his fiery speech despite repeated disruptions. Tearing into the Congress, Modi flagged the party’s use of spiteful words such as gaddar (traitor) and kabr (grave). In a sharp jibe at the Gandhi family Modi said some “habit, ual thieves” have even stolen the surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi. When Opposition MPs staged a walkout during his address, he took a sarcastic swipe, remarking thak gaye, chale gaye (they are tired, so they left). Giving a political twist to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘traitor’ jibe against Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday Modi said , the comment amounted to an insult to the entire Sikh community . “How can the country tolerate a citizen being called a traitor? Such people will sink the Congress,” Modi said, targeting Rahul over his remarks against Bittu, who was earlier with the Congress. Referring to the slogan Modi teri kabr khudegi that was Potti walks out of jail; political tussle over Sabarimala reaches flashpoint E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Amidst continuing political slug-fest over the Sabarimala gold theft, Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused and the first person to be arrested, walked out of jail on Thursday after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to submit the chargesheet in the case within 90 days of his arrest. The Opposition UDF and the BJP stepped up their attack on the Left front over the development. While the UDF alleged that the accused persons were being released together to destroy evidence, the BJP reiterated its demand for a CBI probe into the theft. The Kollam Vigilance Court granted Potti conditional bail Unnikrishnan Potti comes out of Poojappura Special Sub Jail on Thursday | Express in the case pertaining to the theft of gold from the door frames of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum. He had earlier secured bail in the alleged misappropriation of gold from dwarapalaka idols on similar grounds. In the wake of the latest order, Potti was released from the Poojappura Special Sub-Jail by evening. While granting him bail, the court directed Potti to surrender his passport and barred him from leaving the state without approval. Ahead of Potti, three co-accused — former Sabarimala administrative officer Murari Babu, former Sabarimala executive officer Sudeesh Kumar, and former administrative officer S Sreekumar — had obtained statutory bail. Meanwhile, political tussle over the Sabarimala theft row reached a flashpoint with the assembly witnessing a stormy confrontation between the LDF and UDF on the day  ● More on P4 . EXPRESS READ Mandhana leads RCB to second WPL title Vadodara: Skipper Smriti Mandhana led from the front with a sensational 41-ball 87 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Delhi Capitals in the summit clash by six wickets to win their second Women’s Premier League title. For DC, the agonising wait continued as they suffered yet another heartbreak, losing in the final for the fourth successive time. RCB overcame the 204-run target in 19.4 overs. Georgia Voll scored 79 for RCB. P11 safe and sound Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a wheelchair on Thursday after he tripped and fell on the stairs of the Parliament complex during the Budget session | PTI In an unprecedented development, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address without the customary reply by the PM. Speaker Om Birla said he had information that Congress MPs planned “some unexpected act” by reaching the PM’s seat. Following this, he requested the PM not to come to the House | P7 raised against him during a recent Congress rally he said the , Opposition could raise any slogans, but they won’t come true. “Why do you want to dig Modi’s grave? This is not just a slogan. It is a reflection of the hatred within,” he said, noting it’s an irory that such hateful slogans come from a party that talks of Mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love). He also criticised the TMC for allegedly protecting infiltrators in Bengal, DMK for promoting dynasty in Tamil Nadu, and CPM for neglecting development in Kerala. THE Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), which represents Manipur’s Kuki-Zo tribes, on Thursday announced a social boycott of all three Kuki-Zo legislators who on Wednesday joined the newlyformed government, even as the seventh session of the legislative assembly commenced with Governor Ajay Ku m a r B h a l l a ’s address. “By joining the for mation of a Meitei-dominated government, these MLAs have effectively aligned themselves with our enNemcha Kipgen emy, disregarding the immense pain and sacrifices endured by the Kuki-Zo community,” the KZC said in a statement. The organisation viewed the act as a serious betrayal and a deliberate attempt to undermine the unity, sentiments, and collective political stand of the Kuki-Zo people. Amid a demand by the Kuki-Zo leaders for a separate administrative unit, BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Wednesday was sworn in as the 13th CM of Manipur. Nemcha Kipgen, a BJP MLA who belongs to the Kuki community, took oath as deputy chief minister. L M Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate, are the other two MLAs facing boycott. BharatGujarat launched Taxi platform in Delhi-NCR, Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched Bharat Taxi, the country’s first co-operative-run ride-hailing platform, which will start services in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat initially and pan-India in the next three years Akkulam-Chettuva National Waterway stretch on track for opening this month S h a i n u M o h a n @T’Puram In a significant milestone, the state government is set to commission the AkkulamChettuva stretch of National Waterway-3 — part of the ambitious Kovalam-Bekal West Coast Canal project — this month. The launch of the 225km stretch from Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram to Chettuva in Thrissur, tentatively scheduled for February 26, is likely to be marked by a seaplane landing at Kadinamkulam Lake. According to sources, if plans go through, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will arrive at the inauguration venue on a seaplane for the inauguration — a move intended to showcase the potential of seaplane operations in Kerala’s backwaters. Aimed at creating a navigable inland water corridor to boost transport, tourism, cargo movement and economic growth, the 590km West Coast Canal connects Kovalam in the south to Neeleswaram in the north. It traverses through 11 districts of the state. To facilitate seaplane landing, stetting up of temporary waterdromes is proposed at ● More on P4 Kadinamkulam Lake.  Flights booked, says SKY; govt to take semis call: Agha F i r o z M i r z a @ Mumbai The biggest talking point started days before the first ball is bowled at the T20 World Cup on February 7 is hard to miss. Ostensibly so, the focus was on India and Pakistan when the captains had a media session here on Thursday . India captain Suryakumar Yadav, seemed relaxed with the team’s performance ahead of the mega event, but the topic veered to the muchtalked about match on February 15 which Pakistan are planning to forfeit on government’s instructions. India captain was pretty straightforward when he said: “Our mindset is pretty clear. We have not said no (to playing Pakistan). They have. ICC has given the fixture. Our flight is booked and we are going there (to Colombo). Their (Pakistan’s) decision is not in my control. I wish I could take their decision, but then it is their call.” While speaking on the ICC’s position, he said, “I feel it is not an easy job. I am sure they might be working out something as well, but (since) it has come from the other gov- ernment or the nation, how can they (the ICC) help as well...” Miles away, in Colombo, the other captain Salman Ali Agha too was drawn into the subject who said that playing India in the knockouts would depend on government’s approval. “The India game is not in our control,” he said. “It’s government’s decision. If we have to play them in semifinal or final, we have to go back to them.” SLC writes to PCB Says Pak forfeiture of India tie will hurt Lankan cricket & country’s economy At least 18 dead in rathole mine blast P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati AT least 18 labourers were killed, and several others feared trapped following a dynamite explosion at an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills early on Thursday officials said. , Asked whether the mine was operating illegally East , Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar said, “Yes, it K2 lakh seems like that.” Rescue teams have ex gratia been engaged in search operations, Director General of Police I NonPM Narendra grang said, adding that the tragedy Modi occurred in the Thangsku area in announced an the morning. ex gratia of “We are trying to gather informaI2 lakh for the tion about the mine owner and the next of the kin people who are running this mine. of each After that, we will take necessary deceased, while actions,” the SP said. the injured The National Green Tribunal would be given (NGT) had imposed a ban on ratI50,000 hole coal mining and other unscientific mining practices in Meghalaya in 2014. Despite the ban, illegal mining continues. There have been several incidents of coal mine mishaps in Meghalaya, endowed with coal. In 2018, 15 miners were trapped 370 feet inside an illegal coal mine, with 13 of them feared dead.