BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  MARCH 28, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION Russian president Vladimir Putin accepts Modi’s invitation to visit India; preparations underway, says Sergey Lavrov | P7 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 Cong’s Assly gherao turns violent; Auto sector safe but parts to feel tariff heat 15 cops, many protesters injured D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi MG Marg turns battlefield as protesters go on rampage, cops lathi-charge A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar THE Odisha Assembly gherao programme of Congress, the first big show under newly-appointed state chief Bhakta Charan Das, turned violent as party activists clashed with police, leaving 15 cops and many protesters injured here on Thursday . For an hour, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the road leading to the state Assembly, turned into a battlefield as hundreds of Congress workers resorted to stone pelting and hurled chairs after breaking the security barricades prompting a batoncharge by a huge posse of policemen. Police used water cannons before firing teargas shells to disperse the agitators who were making an attempt to scale the barricades and proceed towards the Assembly which is currently in session. With the situation getting chaotic, police took the Pradesh Congress Committee president Das, state-in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu, MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Md Moquim into preventive custody. A l l o f t h e m we r e l a t e r released. The Congress had earlier given the protest call seeking constitution of a House Committee to investigate growing crimes against women under the BJP government. Fourteen of its MLAs were also suspended from the Assembly for their alleged Water canons sprayed at Congress workers during their attempt to gherao the state Assembly, at Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Bhubaneswar on Thursday | DEBADATTA MALLICK The protesters resorted to stone pelting and hurled chairs after breaking the security barricades. The perpetrators of violence will not be spared and put behind the bars YB Khurania, DGP unruly behaviour on the floor of the House over the same demand. Earlier in the day, a massive rally taken out from Ram Mandir Square converged at Lower PMG Square where a public meeting was held. At about 12.45 pm, the party workers tried to break the barricades prompting the police to resort to batoncharge. After an hour of violent protest, the police managed to vacate the area. Director general of police YB Khurania, who visited the Capital Hospital, to meet the injured policemen said the perpetrators of violence will not be spared and put behind the bars. Additional CP Narasingha Bhol said 15 police personnel were injured in stone pelting by the protesters and four of them were critical. Some mediapersons were also injured in the incident. Congress leaders claimed over a dozen of their workers also sustained injuries in the police lathi-charge. Pradesh Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das asserted that outsiders, and not Congress party activists, were responsible for the stone CONTINUED ON P5 pelting. THE Trump administration on Wednesday announced a 25% import duty on completely built-up automobiles and auto parts, with effect from April 3. While the decision has sent shockwaves through the global auto industry the reac, tion in India has been mixed. At first look, the broader Indian auto industry seems largely insulated, but the auto component sector, which currently attracts just 2.5% duty will feel , the tariff heat in the short term. India exported $2.6 billion worth of automobiles and auto components to the US in FY24, accounting for 13% of the country’s total auto and auto ancillary exports of $21 billion. Of this, passenger car exports to the US stood at just $8.9 million, compared to $6.98 billion in global car exports, meaning only 0.13% of India’s car exports are US-bound. Moreover, the 25% duty is still lower than the 70-100% tariffs that could result from reciprocal tariff measures. Trade analysts say India need not be concerned, given the relatively small volume of its car and bike exports to the US. Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY India, says the limited implications for India’s auto industry mean the Indian government may not aggressively seek exemptions from the tariff. Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, even discourages India from reducing its own import duties in response. He warns that lowering tariffs on passenger cars could be counterproductive, citing Australia’s experience—where import duties were slashed from 45% to 5% in the late 1980s, leading to the collapse of its domestic auto manufacturing industry . With the auto sector contributing one-third of India’s manufacturing GDP, policymakers will tread cautiously . Mrunmayee Jogalekar, an analyst at Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates, said Tata Motors could face challenges as its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover sells a significant number of cars in the US. WHAT IT MEANS FOR INDIA No big impact on Indian auto sector, but Tata Motors’ luxury car subsidiary JLR to be hit India’s auto parts exports to US stand at around $2 bn, attracting just 2.5% duty. This will increase 10 times on April 3 Imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts threaten to impair national security Donald Trump SHASTRI Bar leaders urge SC collegium to withdraw transfer of judge Varma ‘BETTING’ AD MAY ATTRACT CENSURE FROM MIB S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi A Ravi Shastri advertisement where the cricketer-turned-pundit seemingly endorses a betting company could come under the scanner of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) | P5 LEADERS of Bar associations from six high courts met Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and four other Supreme Court collegium members on Thursday urging them , to withdraw the recommendation to transfer Delhi HC judge Yashwant Varma amid a ‘cash burn’ controversy . After the meeting with the CJI and justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari said, “The CJI assured (us) to consider our demands...” Bar associations of Allah a b a d , G u j a r a t , Ke r a l a , Jabalpur, Karnataka, and Lucknow had sought the meeting. Tiwari said the collegium assured that each and every point raised by them will be considered within the premises of law. “This is a big statement...,” he added. The collegium’s recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to Allahabad HC triggered an indefinite strike by the state bar association since March 25. A fire at Justice Varma’s official residence on March 14 led to the alleged detection of wads of burnt cash. Justice Varma has denied the charges. Subsequently, CJI Khanna formed a three-member panel to probe the allegations. The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Friday a plea seeking a direction to the Delhi Police to lodge an FIR over the incident. The PIL was filed jointly by three lawyers — senior advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, Hemali Suresh Kur ne and Rajesh Vishnu Adrekar — and a chartered accountant, Mansha Nimesh Mehta.