belagavi l tuesday l october 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Retail inflation rises to 5.54 pc in September on high onion price Retail inflation rose sharply to 5.54 per cent in September on the back of high onion and other food prices, government data showed Just within the RBI’s tolerance band Rural inflation crosses 6 per cent The consumer price index (CPI) based headline inflation was 4.83 per cent in August. The latest figure is just within the RBI’s tolerance band of 6 per cent. Food inflation rose to 7.74 per cent from 5.97 per cent the previous month. The top items with high inflation were onion (108.09 per cent), silver jewellery (87.8 per cent) and ginger (62.85 per cent) | P12 ■ ■ The top five states with high inflation were Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The figures for rural and urban areas are 6.08 per cent and 4.88 per cent, respectively Commenting on the data, Dipti Deshpande of CRISIL said food inflation is likely to remain firm as weak rainfall weighs on agri output 5.2 per cent The projected retail inflation for 2026-27 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 Rahul leads ‘1 protest’ march to SC HC quashes govt’s SC/ST quota Says anyone committed to protect Constitution has the Opposition INDIA bloc’s support Jantar Mantar denotified as designated protest venue E x p r ess n e w s se r v ice @ New Delhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar and others during INDIA bloc’s march to the SC | Sayantan Ghosh Rahul challenges legality of SIR ‘Didn’t approve or disapprove Form 6’ LoP Rahul Gandhi’s writ petition in the SC challenges the legality of the SIR, alleging largescale deletion of genuine voters. It seeks a direction to the ECI to place on record relevant ECINET and ERONET access logs and the complete file recording the decision to commence the SIR across India | P9 Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the SC had neither approved nor disapproved the revised Form 6. The court said the ECI cannot claim judicial endorsement for its revised form and that earlier orders (from Bihar SIR case) cannot be cited as approval for a form introduced later | P9 E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v ice @ New Delhi Opposition leaders, party workers and members of the public took to the streets of central Delhi on Monday as the INDIA bloc intensified its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging electoral irregularities, and demanding an end to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The ‘Chalo Delhi — March for Democracy,’ was later followed by the filing of a joint petition in the Supreme Court seeking judicial intervention over the allegations. Led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the march began near the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction and moved towards the SC. Opposition lead- ers, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and CPI general secretary D Raja, joined the mobilisation. Police stopped the march after a brief stretch, with security tightened across central Delhi. The petition challenges alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process. The INDIA bloc has also demanded Kumar’s resignation, the suspension of the SIR exercise, a return to ballot papers and electoral reforms. Addressing a reporters ahead of the march, Gandhi said the opposition’s campaign was a collective effort to defend democratic institutions. “There are no parallel protests, there is one protest,” he said, adding that anyone committed to protecting the Constitution would have the Opposition’s support. Directly addressing the CEC, he said, “Resign, turn approver; you have made a mistake but you are not the mind behind the mistake.” He said the campaign would continue until the Election Commission’s leadership changed, the Constitution was upheld and the electoral system was overhauled. On X, Gandhi said the INDIA bloc had written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who declined to meet the leaders but had said they could approach the court through a petition. Gandhi urged people across political affiliations to join the campaign, describing it as a broader struggle over democratic rights. “We want India to believe that India is not scared of anything,” he said, adding that the Opposition was fighting on multiple fronts. He said the agitation would continue beyond the march. “This fight is not going to stop. It will continue even if it takes days or years,” Gandhi said. The Delhi Police on Monday de-notified Jantar Mantar as a protest venue and named Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as the new designated sites for holding protests and demonstrations in the national capital. According to the order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, the Union home ministry had constituted a committee to examine alternative proper venues for citizens’ right for organising protest and demonstrations in place of the existing “designated site”. “Based on the Committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified. Three new venues viz Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, East Delhi have been designated as new venues for organising protest/demonstrations,” the order stated. Criticising the decision, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “It is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo that the historic Jantar Mantar will no longer be a place where our democracy is given a daily booster dose.” Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das called the decision an “assault” on the fundamental right to protest and assemble peacefully . “Why is Narendra Modi scared of Jantar Mantar? The Jantar Mantar belongs to THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India?” he wrote on X, adding that “we do not accept this arbitrary decision.” express read 4 LeT terrorists killed in mine blast along LoC Srinagar: At least four Lashkar-eToiba terrorists, including a top commander, were killed in a landmine blast at Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday while trying to infiltrate into the country | P10 Vigilance files FIRs against Pinarayi, kin T’Puram: The Vigilance and AntiCorruption Bureau (VACB) on Monday registered FIRs against former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members in connection with the Exalogic-CMRL payoff case | P7 final call Dasara elephants line up for the final round of cannon firing rehearsal in Mysuru on Monday. The rehearsals were held to acclimatise the elephants to the sound of gun fire during the Dasara Jamboo Savari | Udayashankar S hike as it breaches 50% ceiling Yat h i r a j u @Bengaluru In a major setback to the state government, the Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down Sections 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022, through which the reservation for persons from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) was increased from 15% to 17% and from 3% to 7% respectively. The reservation for other backward classes (OBCs) was retained at 32%, but still the total quota exceeded the permissible 50%. “Section 3, insofar as it takes the aggregate reservation beyond the ceiling of 50%, is struck down as it violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. Section 4 is also struck down as unconstitutional, as it violates Articles 14 and 16,” a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha said. The Bench passed the order, allowing a batch of petitions including a PIL filed by Mahendra Kumar Mitra and oth- Section 3, insofar as it takes the aggregate reservation beyond the ceiling of 50%, is struck down as it violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution Karnataka HIgh COurt ers questioning the width of the power of the state to provide reservation within the scheme of the equal protection and equal opportunity clauses - Article 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. The Act came into force on January 12, 2023. Referring to several judgments of the apex court, including Indra Sawhney case, the High Court noted that notwithstanding the state’s legislative competence to enact the Act, it was mandatory for the state government to consult the National Commissions for SCs and STs. Merely writing a letter after enacting the Act Gubernatorial reshuffle Sudha Yadav is K’taka governor, OP Mathur moves to Kerala RAJ E S H K U M AR THA K UR @ New Delhi President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed governors for six states, naming Sudha Yadav as governor of Tamil Nadu, transferring Om Prakash Mathur from Sikkim to Kerala and appointing Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as regular governor of Tamil Nadu. Braj Mohan Ram has been appointed Governor of Odisha, Dhal Singh Bisen will be posted in Uttarakhand and Dushyant Gautam in Sikkim. Sudha, a former BJP MP from Mahendragarh, Haryana, and member of the National Commission for Backward Classes, succeeds Thaawarchand Gehlot Sudha Yadav as Karnataka Governor. She entered politics after the death of her husband, Ex-MP, Kargil a deputy commandant in BSF, in the martyr’s wife Kargil war when Narendra Modi, then The 59-year-old BJP’s Haryana in-charge, proposed her Sudha Yadav was a candidature from Mahendragarh. member of the BJP Arlekar, who was serving as Kerala Parliamentary Governor, has been in charge of Tamil board before she Nadu following R N Ravi’s transfer as was picked for the Governor of West Bengal in March. gubernatorial post Mathur, a BJP leader and former Ra- on Monday. Her jya Sabha member from Rajasthan, suc- husband, Deputy ceeds Arlekar in Kerala. He assumed Commandant office as Governor of Sikkim in July Sukhbir Singh 2024. Mathur has held several organisa- Yadav of BSF, was tional positions in the BJP including as martyred in the , national vice-president and general sec- Kargil War. retary and served two terms in the Ra, jya Sabha from 2008 to 2022. He was also associated with the party’s election management in several crucial states. Ram, a former Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand’s Palamu, succeeds Hari Babu Kambhampati in Odisha. Difficult to release 11tmcft of Cauvery water to TN: K’taka to SC S U C H I TRA K A LYAN M O HANT Y Robert E Hall Michael Woodford Nobel honours work on managing crises US economists Robert E Hall and Michael Woodford won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for work on models that have helped central banks manage economic shocks | p12 @ New Delhi The Karnataka government told the Supreme Court on Monday that it will be difficult for it to meet Tamil Nadu’s demand for 11 tmcft of Cauvery water to make up for the “shortfall”, as this is a rain-deficit year and several areas have been declared drought-affected. But the Tamil Nadu government contended that it is only seeking its legitimate pro-rata share in the flows, together with the backlog. The entire burden of meteorological and hydro- logical distress cannot be passed on to the lower riparian state, while Karnataka continues to utilise the available storage and inflows for irrigation and other requirements, it stated. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aapresh Kumar Singh reserved its decision on Tamil Nadu’s fresh application, seeking directions to Karnataka to clear the backlog of 11 tmcft of Cauvery water as on October 7 and 1.3 tmcft per day in 1 0 d ay s a s m e a s u re d at Biligundlu. Appearing for Karnataka, senior advocate Shyam Divan said it has been a difficult year and several areas have been declared drought-hit. “We have to ensure conservation of water so that the drinking water sup- ply is not affected,” he said. Divan said Tamil Nadu receives the northeast monsoon in November, when its reservoirs will be replenished, while it will not help Karnataka. “Every distress year, this has been the problem,” he said, adding that the Cauvery Water M a n a g e m e n t Au t h o r i t y (CWMA) applied its mind properly at its 59th meeting on October 8, where it directed Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water from October 9 for the next 15 days. Arguing for Tamil Nadu, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the court that Karnataka should be directed to release the shortfall, else crops in Tamil Nadu will be affected. The bench asked how can the backlog be cleared when there was scarcity of rainfall this year and both the states were affected. “Had it been a normal year, things would have been d i f f e re n t , ” Ju s t i c e N at h observed. Rohatgi said this cannot wait for another year as farmers in Tamil Nadu are facing a tough time and the court should at least make some interim arrangement. cannot be considered consultation as required under Articles 338 (9) and 338A(9) of the Constitution. The letters dated December 10, 2025 and January 20, 2026 were written by the state to the Commissions nearly three years after the Act was enacted and after its validity had been called into question before the court. Consultation, to be meaningful and effective, must precede the decision, it observed. Stating that the rule that reservation would not exceed 50% stood obliterated, the state government contended that Articles 245 and 246 empower the state legislature to enact the impugned Act and the said power is not affected by Articles 338(9) and 338A. The court said there is no dispute that the state legislature has the legislative competence to enact the Act, but it is erroneous to suggest that the power under Articles 245 and 246 is not circumscribed by the other provisions of the Constitution, which require consultation with Commissions on all major policy matters affecting SC/STs, and it cannot be disregarded, the court added.  P7 Fin Dept flagged concerns over tunnel rd project I n d r a S   @Bengaluru The Finance Department (FD) had flagged significant financial, contractual and mobilityplanning concerns over the upcoming 2.2km Hebbal short tunnel from Esteem Mall to Veterinary College, recommending that the proposal be def e r re d a n d a f re s h p l a n submitted based on an Integrated Mobility Plan. According to the document made available on a public platform recently, the department had raised several concerns after examining the revised Draft Cabinet Note (DCN) in 2025. But the cabinet went ahead without taking anyone’s concerns into account, and issued a government order on December 8, 2025, making the  Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) the executing agency . The department said the proposal attempted to address its earlier concer ns, but raised questions over the tunnel’s integration w i t h the proposed North-South Tunnel, the financial burden on BDA and the absence of an independent assessment of mobility alternatives. One major concern related to changes to the ongoing BSMILE tender for the NorthSouth Tunnel. The department stated that an addendum to the existing tender would reconfigure or delete key ramps at Mehkri Circle to accommodate the short tunnel. It warned that altering the scope of a tender after it has been issued could expose the project to legal challenges, compensation claims and reduced participation from international bidders whose original bids were based on a different project configuration. It highlighted that the changes had been justified through a procedural addendum without a comprehensive reassessment of the North-South Tunnel’s revised utility and financial model. It also questioned the decision to fund the Rs 2,215 crore project entirely through BDA’s internal resources.