1992-1997 The Kuki-Naga conflict was at its peak, claiming over 1,000 lives MANIPUR BLEEDS AGAIN AS FRESH KUKI-NAGA TENSION LEAVES 3 DEAD Three persons were killed in two separate incidents of firing between the armed groups of Manipur’s rival tribal communities Kukis and Nagas on Friday Kuki, Naga outfits condemn killings The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust condemned the killing of ‘two village volunteers’ and the burning of houses ■ ■ HUBBALLI  SATURDAY  APRIL 25, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION In a separate incident, a 29-year-old man was killed in an ambush by militants near Sinakeithei village in Ukhrul district on Friday morning. The Tangkhul Naga Long expressed “profound sadness” over the killing | P10 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 AAP-ration Lotus in RS as SC internal quota implemented within 15% Chadha, 6 others join BJP D E V A R A J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru Cross two-thirds mark to duck anti-defection law’s disqualification ANUP VERMA AND HARPREET B A J W A @ New Delhi/ Chandigarh THE AAP’s Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha imploded on Friday with seven of its 10 members, led by Raghav Chadha, breaking away and merging with the ruling BJP . It came days after the party axed Chadha as its parliamentary party chief. Ironically, Ashok Mittal, who replaced Chadha as the AAP’s head in the Upper House, too bolted. The others defectors were Sandeep Pathak, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh. They comfortably crossed the two-thirds criteria for defection, leaving the AAP shell-shocked. Assuming Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan approves the merger, the BJP’s strength will go up from 106 to 113, which is 10 short of a simple majority in the 244-member House. As for the post-merger NDA, its strength of 146, including nominated members, is 17 short of two-thirds majority Two-thirds majority is what . is needed to pass Constitution AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and others arrive to meet BJP president Nitin Nabin, before their merger in New Delhi on Friday | PARVEEN NEGI amendment bills. “Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. I, along with two other MPs, personally handed over the signed documents,” Chadha said on X. Justifying his defection, Chadha said, “The AAP that I gave 15 years of my life has stepped away from honest politics. I was the right man in the wrong party I am moving away . from the party and going close to people. Today, the AAP is corrupt and compromised.” A livid AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said, “The people of Punjab should remember the seven names.” Their exit will have far reaching ramifications for the ruling AAP in Punjab, especially since assembly election are due next year. The state government is already facing strong anti-incumbency due to perceived ‘non-performance’ and the poor law and order situation. Political analyst Dr Jagrup Singh Sekhon blamed it on the AAP’s structural flaw — the over-centralisation of Kejriwal. “The problem is everything revolves around Kejriwal, which is not desirable in the political setup.” P O ST M E R G E R , N DA 1 7 S H O R T O F T W O -T H I R D S M A J O R I T Y NDA (POST MERGER) 146 Simple majority 123 BJP (POST MERGER) 113 Two-thirds majority 163 Opposition 75 Oth 23 ACTUAL RS STRENGTH : 244 CLAIMING it to be a historic decision, the state government on Friday decided to implement internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) with a quota matrix of 5.25% each to SC (left)A and SC (right)-B and 4.5% for Bhovi, Lambani, Koracha, Korama, 59 nomadic castes and others - C, splitting up the 15% RBI cancels licence of Paytm Payments Bank B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai THE Reserve Bank of India on Friday directed Paytm Payments Bank to wind up operations and cancelled its licence with immediate effect. RBI said it cancelled the banking licence as the entity consistently failed to meet regulatory requirements. The move comes two years after the regulator imposed business curbs on Paytm Payments Bank over violations, including lapses in customer due diligence. The order follows years of regulatory friction and persistent non-compliance. “The affairs of the bank were conducted in a manner detrimental to the interest of its depositors, thereby not complying with regulatory norms. The general character of the management of the bank is prejudicial to the interest of depositors as also the public interest. No useful purpose or public interest would be served by allowing the bank to continue,” RBI said. quota in recruitment. Facing a severe backlash from the communities as some were against internal quota, except SC left, the Congress government ultimately took a decision as any further delay could have cost the ruling party dear. A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, decided to throw the 15% quota open to all the three (A, B and C) categories, allowing them to compete with each other for posts. This means all the 101 SC castes have a free run at jobs, especially Group A and B posts, like assistant professors, assistant engineers etc. The government move will spark a debate as internal quota will now become irrelevant, said experts. The cabinet seems ARAGHCHI IN PAK, US TEAM TO FLY IN TODAY A G E N C I E S @ Islamabad/Tehran IRAN’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi reached Pakistan late on Friday night, rekindling hopes of a peace deal to clear the war clouds over Gulf skies. While Iran’s official version for the purpose visit is “bilateral consultations”, Araghchi is expected to discuss with Pakistani interlocutors the US-Iran ceasefire and ways to deescalate the conflict in the region. W h i t e House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will leave for Pakistan on Saturday morning to continue talks with the Iran team. It was not immediately known if Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the earlier delegation to Pakistan on April DAY 56 11, also accompanied Araghchi to Islamabad. According to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Araghchi will fly to Muscat and then Moscow after his engagements in Islamabad. A senior Pakistan official said Araghchi will hold talks with the Pakistani mediators, expressing hope that this would set the stage for a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran. The development comes a day after the US issued shoot-to-kill orders on Iranian boats found to be laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. On Friday, the US military said it now has three aircraft carriers—the USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Gerald R Ford and USS George H W Bush—in West Asia. The three battle groups comprise over 200 aircraft and 15,000 sailors and marines, it added. to have taken note of objections raised by organisations of certain communities, arguing that it would be injustice to them if the internal quota is implemented for SCs for few jobs. But Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa defended the move, saying it will create the SC general option on the model adopted by the Andhra government. CONTINUED ON: P4 CET ROW College staff ask three students to remove janivara EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Bengaluru DESPITE training college authorities frequently about dos and don’ts, warning them and issuing guidelines about frisking students during the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2026, three students were forced to remove their janivara (sacred thread) by the staff of a college in Koramangala on Thursday, the first day of CET. The college has suspended three staffers in connection with the incident. The parents of the three students filed a complaint at the Madiwala police station on April 24 morning. Anand S Theertha, Nakul H and Anirudh R Rao are the three students who were forced to remove their ‘janivara’, despite refusing and arguing with the college authorities. CONTINUED ON: P7