Govt to table bill on OBCs to restore states’ powers

Govt to table bill on OBCs to restore states’ powers

New Delhi:  05.08.2021

The government is set to table a bill in Parliament to restore the powers of states to identify local OBCs, a mandate negated by the Supreme Court’s Maratha reservation judgement of May 5.

The move will test the opposition which has declared that it will not allow the proceedings till its demand for a discussion on Pegasus is met. TOI reported the government plan on July 23 and  26. 

Union Cabinet Tuesday approved “the Constitution (127th) amendment bill-2021” to tweak clauses 1 and 2 of Article 342A and also introduce a new clause 3. The bill will also amend the Articles 366 (26c) and 338B (9) - all designed to clarify that the states can maintain the “state list” of OBCs as was the system before the SC judgement. Crucially, sources said, the “state list” will be completely taken out of the ambit of the President and will be notified by the state assembly. Shashank Ratnoo, a lawyer specialising in backward reservation, said, “The move is welcome, without which the system of OBC lists will go haywire.”

Sources said the bill may be tabled in Lok Sabha at the earliest, possibly on Thursday. TNN

Snake takes refuge in refrigerator

Snake takes refuge in refrigerator

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Cuddalore:05.08.2021

With the temperature rising in the state, a rat snake found refuge in a refrigerator in a house in Cuddalore town on Tuesday shocking the inmates of the house. The inmates on finding the reptile coiled on the back of the refrigerator called a snake catcher for help. Within minutes V Selvam alias Chellaa, 36 reached the house of P Prakash, an auto mechanic, at Kammiyampettai.

"Prakash's workshop, which is near his house, is surrounded by thick bush cover. A few days ago, he spotted two snakes in his workplace. The snakes were rescued by me and released in the nearby forest region. This time a non-poisonous four-foot rat snake managed to enter his house and coiled just above the compressor on the back of the fridge," said Chellaa, who took just a few seconds to capture the snake.

He said the mechanic spotted the snake after hearing an unusual sound of hissing from the fridge. He releases the snakes caught by him in the forest region near the Capper Hills after keeping them in his house for a couple of days to treat injuries, if any, sustained by the reptile.

DMK govt to present its first budget on August 13

DMK govt to present its first budget on August 13

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:05.08.2021

The DMK government will present its first budget, since coming to power in May this year, on August 13. A revised budget for the year 2021-22, it will also be the first paperless budget for the state. The state government will present its first agriculture budget on August 14.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has summoned the assembly on August 13, assembly secretary K Srinivasan said in an official release.

Prior to the budget, state minister for finance and human resources PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan will present a White Paper on the state of Tamil Nadu’s finance over the past 10 years under the rule of the AIADMK from 2011 to 2021. Ever since the DMK came to power, Thiagarajan has been harping about presenting the White Paper to bring to light the state’s financial burden, reeling under huge debt, to the tune of over Rs 4.85 lakh crore, especially since much of it due to the mismanagement of the previous AIADMK regime.

Meanwhile, the DMK government is keen on presenting a paperless budget from this year onwards. “MLAs will get personal computers on their tables and tablets with the government going for a paperless budget. The work to place the computers on tables is progressing now,” said an official.

The revised budget will be presented by Thiagarajan in Kalaivanar Arangam, the multi-purpose hall that is doubling up as the state’s assembly during Covid, at 10AM next Friday. Former deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam presented the interim budget for the year 2021-22 on February 23, ahead of the state’s assembly election.

VIT campus placement: 81 offered ₹25L annum salary

VIT campus placement: 81 offered ₹25L annum salary

Chennai:05.08.2021

Campus placements at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) began on July 15 for the 2022 graduating batch with companies like Microsoft, Dyte, Amazon, PayPal, DE Shaw India Pvt Ltd, Morgan Stanley, Udaan and WorkIndia making offers.

According to an official release, 81 students have been offered a salary package of ₹25 lakh/annum. Microsoft has selected 21 students for fulltime offers. At present, the highest CTC is offered by Dyte with ₹75 lakh annual package to 2 students.

VIT adheres to a centralised placement process and the students from all the four campuses of VIT- Vellore, Chennai, Amaravati (AP), and Bhopal (MP) participated. TNN

On the rise: State registers 1,949 new cases, 38 deaths

On the rise: State registers 1,949 new cases, 38 deaths

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 05.08.2021

After recording a decline in cases for two days, Tamil Nadu reported an increase in fresh cases on Wednesday. It reported 1,949 cases compared to1,908 on Tuesday. At the end of the day, the number of deaths rose to 38, but active cases dropped to 20,117 after the state discharged 2,011 patients.

Meanwhile, the directorate of public health said a negative RT-PCR test report or a Covid-19 vaccination (two doses) certificate is mandatory for people entering TN from neighbouring Kerala, which has been reporting more than 20,000 cases a day. The addendum to the Covid-19 screening/testing guidelines was issued by health secretary J Radhakrishnan. The test should have been taken 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey, the order said.

At least 22 districts contributed to the increase on Wednesday. Coimbatore, which continues to record the maximum cases, reported 226 cases compared to 208 Tuesday. Cases in Chennai came down to 189 compared to 203 Tuesday. Chennai saw the second highest number of cases in the state. After Coimbatore and Chennai, Erode, Chengalpet and Thanjavur reported 154,114 and 110 cases.

Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur, Kanyakumari, Pudukottai, Nilgiris and Ramanathapuram reported an increase of 15 to 10 cases over Tuesday. Barring Coimbatore, active cases were fewer than 2000 in all districts.

The state reported more deaths compared to 29 deaths on Tuesday. Of the 38 districts, Tiruvallur reported five deaths, followed by three each in Coimbatore and Tiruvarur.

Tirupur and Virudhunagar imposed tighter restrictions like those in Coimbatore in the wake of the rising incidence of Covid.

Pondy reports 120 fresh Covid cases, 3 deaths

The Union territory of Puducherry reported 120 fresh Covid-19 cases even as 95 patients recovered in the last 24 hours ending at 10am on Wednesday taking the number of active cases to

907. Of them, 745 patients are under home isolation and treatment.

Puducherry headquarters reported the maximum fresh cases with 85 followed by Mahe (18), Karaikal (15) and Yanam (2). Puducherry headquarters has the maximum active cases with 656 followed by Karaikal (134), Mahe (86) and Yanam (31).

Two women from Puducherry and a woman from Karaikal died of the infection taking the death toll to 1,798 on Wednesday. The territory has so far reported 1.21 lakh cases of which 1.18 patients recovered registering a recovery rate of 97.8%. The positivity rate of the samples (5,868) tested on Wednesday stood at 2%. So far, 7.18 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered (including the second dose).

‘Banker’ cons Madras univ prof of ₹10,000

‘Banker’ cons Madras univ prof of ₹10,000

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 05.08.2021

A man posed as a bank official and conned the husband of an IAS officer of ₹10,000. Cybercrime wing personnel are tracking the suspect’s location using mobile phone information to zero in on him.

The complainant Anbalagan, 58, of Virugambakkam said he received a call from a man claiming to be an official from SBI. The conman asked him to renew his bank account and asked Anbalagan, a professor at Madras university, for his KYC details.

The suspect reportedly told Anbalagan details on the present situation of the bank to gain his confidence. He managed to get the victim’s bank account credentials, including the one-time password sent to his mobile phone, after which the call got disconnected.

Within minutes, Anbalagan received a message that ₹10,000 was deducted from his account. Anbalagan tried to call the suspect back but the phone was switched off. He informed his wife Maheshwari, an IAS officer, and later lodged a formal complaint at the Virugambakkam police station. Further investigations are on.

It’s as if death penalty dictated by God, says Dr Subbiah’s wife

It’s as if death penalty dictated by God, says Dr Subbiah’s wife

‘It Has Taken 2,872 Days For Verdict’

Selvaraj.A@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 05.08.2021

“The sight of a sickle makes me shudder and I stopped using sickle even to chop coconut at our house. Whenever I see a sickle, the CCTV (camera footage) visual of my husband Dr S D Subbiah being hacked with one such sickle comes to mind. I have also stopped watching violent murders in movies,” said Shanthi Subbiah.

On Wednesday, when sessions judge S Alli was reading out the punishment part for each of the nine accused who plotted and carried out the gruesome murder about eight years ago, Shanthi was sitting still with tears rolling down her cheeks and face buried tightly between her palms.

“It has taken 2,872 days for the verdict to come. I felt like sitting in God’s courtyard and as if the verdict was being dispensed by the Almighty Himself,” Shanthi told TOI. “On Wednesday, I felt my husband would come back. I felt his presence in the court room too.”

“Every mortal dies, but the way he (Subbaiah) died is not acceptable. Despite living by his own high standards of ethics and morality, he was killed like an anti-social, on (the) road,” she said. “I still kept all his clothes neatly folded or on hangers just as the way he used to keep when he left me. I clean the cupboard and almirah without changing the order of his clothes.”

Shanthi has built a memorial for Subbaiah at his native Swamithope, near Kanyakumari, and has also floated a Dr Subbaiah Trust to support poor students.

Dr Subbiah was a top-notch neurosurgeon in the city, busy sharing his professional time and expertise between private and government hospitals. On September 14, 2013, three men armed with lethal weapons accosted him while he was getting into his car near Billroth Hospital at RA Puram. The doctor died of injuries on September 22. A CCTV camera at an apartment complex opposite the scene of the crime captured every detail of the gory sequence, sending shock waves.

Initial inquiries revealed that school teacher Ponnusamy, a relative of Subbiah, claimed he was legal heir for a property at Kanyakumari, which was under the custody of Subbaiah and his family.

Now-retired assistant commissioner of police P Subramani made the first breakthrough in the case. He told TOI: “Based on a tip, my team nabbed Dr James Satish Kumar from Koyambedu. His interrogation revealed the whole plot and subsequently, the hirelings — Murugan, Selva Prakash and Ayyappan — were arrested from Kanyakumari.” Based on their statements, police established the involvement of Ponnusamy and his family, and nabbed them.

The arrested were identified as Ponnusamy and his wife Mary Pushpam, their sons — P Basil, a lawyer, and P Boris, an engineer. Dr Kumar hired the three assailants, and also got lawyercum-kabaddi coach William and kabaddi player Yesurajan involved in the plot to eliminate Subbiah. Police said Murugan was involved in another murder after he came out on bail and Selva Prakash was arrested for a Pocso Act offence and detained under the Goondas Act.

On Wednesday, I felt my husband would come back. I felt his presence in the court room too... Every mortal dies, but the way he died is not acceptable

SHANTHI SUBBIAH