tadepalligudem l saturday l april 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Houses set on fire, Many sustained injuries 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 In one incident near Mullam village, security forces recovered two bodies at 11.25 am, officials said. The deceased were found in camouflage outfits and had bullet injuries. Earlier, a heavy exchange of fire broke out between militants at Mullam village in the Tangkhul Naga-majority district at dawn. Some houses were set on fire and several persons were injured | P8 ■ ■ The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust condemned the killing of ‘two village volunteers’ and the burning of houses 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 1992-1997 When the Kuki-Naga conflict was at its peak, claiming over 1,000 lives 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 Paytm Payments Bank loses licence Chadha, 6 others join BJP B E NN K O C HU V E E DAN @ Mumbai Cross two-thirds mark to duck anti-defection law’s disqualification A n u p V e r m a a n d H a r p r ee t 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 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 poli- The Reserve Bank of India on Friday directed Paytm Payments Bank to wind up operations and cancelled its licence with immediate effect. In a statement, 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 detri- which is not desirable in the political setup.” Another analyst Kuldip Singh described the split as an existential threat for the party . Social activist Anna Hazare rubbed it in. “They (the rebels) must have faced some trouble in AAP which is why they left,” , he said. P o s t m e r g e r , NDA 1 8 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 Two-thirds majority 163 Simple majority 123 BJP (post merger) 113 Opposition 75 Oth 23 Actual RS strength : 244 The Reserve Bank of India initiated action against Paytm Payments Bank after a comprehensive system audit report and compliance validation report by external auditors flagged persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank. According to the FY25 annual report, Paytm Payments Bank has 30 million bank accounts RBI said the bank has enough liquidity to repay its deposit liability upon winding up. As of March 31, 2025, Paytm Payments Bank held customer Peace hopes emerge as Araghchi in Pak, US team to fly in today AAP implosion Feb 2026: Early signs of AAP differences over parliamentary strategy, issue prioritisation April 2: Raghav Chadha axed as AAP’s deputy leader in RS; Ashok Mittal named replacement April 3-10: Chadha revolts, AAP friction deepens April 24: Chadha resigns from AAP, joins BJP along with six other RS MPs Why RBI went after it West Asia crisis 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 tics. 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, mental 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. The bank also failed to comply with the conditions stipulated in the licence,” RBI said in a statement. The central bank ordered its winding up and said it will make an application before the High Court. RBI said the licence cancellation is ordered under Section 22(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. day 56 Age n c i es @ 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 de-escalate the conflict in the region. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-inlaw Jared Kushner will leave for Pakistan on Saturday morning to continue talks Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire by 3 weeks Israel and Lebanon extended their shaky ceasefire by three weeks on Friday, as Iran’s foreign minister prepared for meetings with officials in Pakistan, which has been mediating efforts to end the wider West Asia war | P9 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 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 shootto-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. This is the first time since the 2003 Iraq war that three aircraft carriers are deployed in the region. Fuel shortage hits Kurnool; officials say no need to panic CEC back in cross-hairs K Madhu Sudhakar & S Guru S r i k a n t h @ Kurnool/Vijayawada Fuel stations across the erstwhile undivided Kurnool district witnessed panic buying on Thursday as several outlets displayed ‘No Stock’ boards, triggering long queues and anxiety among vehicle owners. With supplies from oil companies dipping sharply in recent days, many outlets either shut down temporarily or rationed fuel, forcing vehicle owners to wait for hours. In Kurnool district, more than 30 fuel stations remained closed, while official data showed fuel reserves of 8.35 lakh litres of petrol and 11.38 lakh litres of diesel across 202 outlets. HPCL held the largest fuel stock with 2.69 lakh li- A closed fuel station in Nandyal town due to lack of stock; vehicle users throng a petrol pump in Kurnool district | Express tres of petrol and 2.94 lakh litres of diesel, followed by Nayara with 2.03 lakh litres of petrol and 3.69 lakh litres of diesel. In Nandyal district, however, stocks were comparatively healthier, with 11.50 lakh litres of petrol and 9.71 lakh litres of diesel across 166 outlets. IOCL held more petrol stock with 4.43 lakh litres, while HPCL accounted for 3.57 lakh litres. Despite assurances from District Collectors A Siri (Kurnool) and G Rajakumari (Nandyal) that the fuel shortage was temporary, vehicle owners continued to crowd filling stations, fearing a prolonged crisis. The disruption was particularly SC allows 15-year-old girl to terminate her 28-week unwanted pregnancy S U C HITRA K A LYAN M O HANT Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday allowed a 15-year-old girl to terminate her 28-week pregnancy, noting that forcing her to continue the unwanted pregnancy will be an insult to her right to live with dignity and reproductive autonomy . “No court can force a woman, especially a minor, to carry a pregnancy to full term, against her will. The pregnant woman carry- ing an unwanted pregnancy if compelled to continue such a pregnancy, then the constitutional rights of the pregnant woman would be breached,” said a two-judge bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan. The bench said the choice of the pregnant woman is relevant rather than that of the unborn child, adding that continuation of such a pregnancy could have long lasting repercussions on the minor’s mental health, educational pros- pects, social standing and overall development. “Constitutional courts must prioritise the best interests of the pregnant woman over the statutory and procedural limitations under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act when dealing with cases of unwanted pregnancies, likely to result in major mental and physical trauma,” the court aded. The bench passed the order after factoring in the minor’s mental distress, as it was reported that she had attempted to take her own life multiple times. severe in towns such as Yemmiganur, Pathikonda, Alur and Adoni, where diesel scarcity even led to the reappearance of horse-drawn carts for transporting goods and passengers. Meanwhile, State Civil Supplies Commissioner K Kanna Babu clarified that there is no actual shortage of fuel and urged the public not to panic. The government is closely monitoring the situation and held a meeting with oil companies (IOCL, HPCL and BPCL) and the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Petroleum Traders. “Oil companies have agreed to supply 10% more fuel than April 2025 levels,” he said, adding that Joint Collectors have been directed to keep a watch and report any P4 signs of fuel crisis. E x p r e s s Re a d Liquor scam: ED raids 12 sites of key leaders in Hyderabad and Tirupati Vijayawada: In a major development in the alleged sensational multi-crore liquor scam during the previous YSRCP regime, the sleuths of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted extensive searches at 12 locations across Hyderabad and Tirupati. The raids targeted premises linked to several prominent individuals. The searches are part of an ongoing probe initiated through an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), based on inputs from a Special Investigation Team (SIT). This marks the second round of ED searches in the case | P4 of opposition Opposition submitted a fresh notice in RS seeking to move a motion for removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar deposits of `1,395 crore across wallet, and current and savings accounts. Payments banks can’t accept credit and can take deposits only up to `2 lakh. Backed by One 97 Communications, Paytm had obtained the licence in August 2015 that allowed it to take small deposits but not give out loans. RBI has been after the bank since March 2022 when it barred it from onboarding new customers. In January 2024, RBI had ordered the bank to stop accepting fresh deposits due to non-compliance of rules. Again in March 2024 it prohibited the bank from accepting new deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, Fastags and or NCMC cards. Spl Assembly session likely to flay INDIA bloc S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have informed NDA leaders that a special Assembly session will be conducted within the next 10 days to expose the ‘anti-woman’ stand of INDIA bloc, which stalled the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 aimed at fast-tracking 33% reservation for women in legislatures by the 2029 general elections. Holding a teleconference with his Cabinet colleagues, NDA MPs, and MLAs on Friday , Naidu faulted the INDIA bloc for obstructing the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, and asked them to organise protests and awareness programmes across the State, exposing the ‘anti-woman’ stand taken by the Congress, TMC and DMK. He emphasised the need to explain to people how INDIA bloc had hindered the efforts the Narendra Modi government to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures. Naidu directed the TDP, JSP and BJP leaders to ensure coordination in the conduct of protest programmes at mandal, district and State levels till the P4 end of this month.