tirunelveli l Monday l January 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Advocates can’t use RTI Act to seek details for clients’ cases: CIC Using the transparency law in this manner fails to advance its core objectives, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has observed Case relates to dispute over a supply deed ‘RTI act can’t be used for personal ends’ The case relates to the termination of a fruit and vegetable supply contract at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Haryana. The supplier’s advocate sought to use the RTI Act to obtain information on behalf of his client. “It appears that the appellant has sought information on behalf of his client per se, which is not permissible,” the CIC said ■ ■ Quoting a Madras High Court order, the CIC underlined that “laudable objectives of RTI Act cannot be used for personal ends” The Madras High Court had cautioned against allowing advocates to use the RTI Act to obtain information on behalf of clients, stating that this “does not advance the objects of the scheme” 17.5 lakh the overall number of RTI applications filed during 2023-24 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 Modi targets Congress, Trinamool in poll-pitch against ‘infiltrators’ Don invites PM Modi to join ‘Board of Peace’ Accuses the two parties of endangering national security for the sake of vote-bank politics P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R & S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Guwahati / Kolkata PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mounted a sharp political attack on the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC), accusing the two parties of endangering national security by protecting infiltrators for vote-bank politics. After laying the foundation stone for the `6,957 crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, and virtually flagging off two Amrit Bharat trains from Kaliabor in election-bound Assam’s Nagaon district, Modi accused the Congress of allowing infiltrators in exchange for votes during its years in power in the north-eastern state. Taking potshots at the Congress for its poor show in the recent Bihar Assembly election and Maharashtra local body polls, Modi said the grand old party has lost the trust of the nation and the BJP has become the first choice of people. “In the recent Bihar elections, even after 20 years, people gave a record number of votes to the BJP helping it win , Projects worth `7,787cr launched Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, in Nagaon, Assam on Sunday | pti a record number of seats. Mumbai, for the first time, gave a record mandate to the BJP. In most cities of Maharashtra, people gave the BJP an opportunity to serve them,” he said. Modi also pointed to the BJP’s electoral breakthrough in Kerala, where the party secured the mayor’s post in Thiruvananthapuram for the first time. According to Modi, the results across states reflected a consistent national trend. “The voters today want good governance and development. That is why they like the BJP , ,” he said, adding that the results show the Congress is being repeatedly rejected by voters. Later in the day addressing a , rally at West Bengal’s Singur, Modi accused the TMC government of sitting idle on the Centre’s request to acquire land for fencing the Bangladesh border. “The Centre has been writing to the TMC government in Ben- PM launched development projects worth `7,787 crore in poll-bound Assam and Bengal. In Assam, he laid the foundation stone for the `6,957 cr Kaziranga Elevated Corridor and virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains. In West Bengal, he launched projects worth over `830 crore and flagged off three Amrit Bharat trains connecting Kolkata with other parts of the country gal for the past 11 years requesting land for border fencing to prevent infiltration in the state. But it sits idle on the issue,” Modi alleged. Sharpening his attack on the TMC, he said the party is “playing with the country’s security” by giving support to infiltrators from Bangladesh. “The state government is giving safety and security to infiltrators and that’s why they vote for TMC,” the PM said. Intel agencies warn of LeT recruitment drive in PoK M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi 10 months on, no takers for Salem’s silver anklet units S neha S i v ashanmu g am @ Salem The Silver Anklet Factory Complex at Ariyagoundampatti in Salem, mooted as the long-awaited solution for the problems of the silver anklet manufacturing sector, remains completely vacant nearly 10 months after its virtual inauguration by Chief Minister MK Stalin. According to manufacturers, high unit costs, soaring silver prices and design-related shortcomings are the key reasons for the unoccupancy . The three-storeyed complex, spread over 1.2 acres and developed by the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) at a cost of `25.29 crore, comprises 102 units, with 34 units on each floor. SIDCO has fixed the unit cost at `4,200 per sq ft, with unit sizes ranging from 613 sq ft to 1,034 sq ft, translating to prices of approximately `25.7 lakh to `43.4 lakh per unit. The project was announced by the state government in 2022 and inaugurated in March 2025.P5 Analysis of the voters who were deleted during draft phase of SIR shows ECI not only failed to identify duplicates, but may also have fully erased persons with repetitive entries deleted for wrong reasons | P2 Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has launched a renewed and intensified recruitment campaign with an aim to establish new training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Indian intelligence agencies have learned. The recruitment campaign is being spearheaded by senior LeT commander Nasr Javed. Sources said Javed has visited several strategic locations in PoK over the past few months to mobilise local youth. Over the past two weeks, he was in Mirpur, Kotli and Poonch districts of PoK. During these visits, he addressed more than four open rallies organised by the PoK unit of Lashkar-e-Taiba and held over 10 closed-door meetings with local operatives and sympathisers. The primary objective of these engagements, intelli- Three soldiers injured in J&K encounter Three soldiers were injured in a gunfight with terrorists in a remote forested area in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Sunday, officials said gence sources said, is to recruit young men for the new LeT training camps expected to come up soon in PoK. Javed is considered a key operational figure within LeT and is known for his expertise in terrorist training. As per the sourc- es, Javed has been tasked with raising a new unit in PoK, with a specific mandate to prepare recruits for counter-insurgency and cross-border operations. Noting that the recruitment push is not confined to PoK, the intelligence sources said in November last year, Javed, along with LeT operative Abdul Rauf, held more than 50 rallies and secret meetings across Pakistan’s Sindh province. “Security agencies assess that these coordinated visits across provinces point to an effort to build a broader pool of recruits and revive LeT’s operational strength nationwide,” a source said. Meanwhile, intelligence inputs suggest that efforts to reactivate Markaz-e-Taiba, the LeT’s headquarters, are gaining pace. Buildings damaged during Operation Sindoor are being repaired with photographs and videos of construction activity circulating on social media, sources said. express read Iran protests net death toll over 5,000 Kohli ton in vain as India suffer historic defeat Dubai: At least 5,000 people have been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, Reuters reported citing an unnamed Iranian official on Sunday. The consolidated death toll was based on verified figures, with the official accusing “terrorists and armed rioters” of killing “innocent Iranians” | P9 INDORE: Virat Kohli smashes his 85th international ton, but New Zealand had the last laugh as they beat India by 41 runs to win their first ODI series in the country. Less than 18 months ago, Black Caps handed India a 3-0 hammering in red-ball cricket and now have followed it up with a sensational ODI series win weeks before the T20 World Cup. Daryl Mitchell J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi People protesting US President Donald Trump’s policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland early on Sunday | AP Strong EU pushback against Trump’s tariff war over Greenland manuel Macron will ask the EU to activate a never-beforeEUROPEAN leaders on Sun- used “anti-coercion instruday slammed US President ment” against the United Donald Trump’s threat of tar- States if Trump makes good iffs over their opposition to on his tariff threat, Macron’s his designs on Greenland, aides said. warning transatlantic ties The bloc’s weapon, dubbed were at risk. its trade “bazooka”, allows Several European countries curbing imports of goods and — including Denmark, of services into the EU, a market which Greenland is an auton- of 27 countries with a comomous territory — bined population of emphasised they 450 million. “stand united” Trump had on Satagainst Trump’s vow urday threatened to on Saturday to hit Tariff threats are punish eight Eurounacceptable, them with tariffs of pean countries with have no place. up to 25 percent untariffs after they sent We’ll ask the EU to a few dozen troops to less Greenland is cedactivate ‘antied to the United Greenland as part of coercion’ if US States. a military drill. imposes tariffs “Tariff threats unItaly’s far-right dermine transatlan- Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister, GiorFrance President tic relations and risk gia Meloni, called the a dangerous downthreatened tariffs a ward spiral,” Britain, Den- “mistake”. mark, Finland, France, GerDutch Foreign Minister m a ny, t h e N e t h e rl a n d s, David van Weel meanwhile Norway and Sweden warned called Trump’s threat an “inin a joint statement Sunday . explicable” “blackmail”. The European Union, which British Prime Minister Keir clinched a deal with Washing- Starmer was planning to diston in July for most EU ex- cuss the situation with Trump ports to face a 15-percent US “at the earliest opportunity .” levy, has called an extraordi- Norway targeted by Trump’s , nary meeting of its ambassa- tariffs threat but, like Britain, dors in Brussels on Sunday . not an EU member, said it was France’s President Em- not looking at retaliation. AGENCIES US President Donald Trump has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza, in a significant outreach as Washington seeks to shape post-war governance and reconstruction of the besieged enclave. The invitation letter was sent on January 16. Pakistan’s Foreign Office had earlier said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also been invited to be part of the initiative. Several global leaders have been invited too, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada. Details about the peace board surfaced after letters sent by Trump to Argentine President Javier Milei and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña were posted by the two leaders on social media. In his letter to Milei, Trump said the board would work to “solidify peace in the Middle East.” A draft charter circulated by the Trump administration to 60 countries reportedly requires member states to contribute $1 billion in cash for memberships extending beyond three years. Trump has named former British prime minister Tony Blair as a founding executive member of the board, alongside his son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. CM announces TN literary awards for 7 non-Hindi languages, slams centre E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday announced that the Tamil Nadu government will institute national-level literary awards for outstanding works in select Indian languages. The CM made the announcement at the valedictory ceremony of the Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF), in the presence of writers, publishers and literary delegates from across India and several foreign countries. This was in response to the cancellation of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 following the intervention of the Union Ministry of Culture in December. Announcing the initiative, the CM said the state government would confer annual national-level honours titled the ‘Semmozhi Literary Award’ for outstanding literary works CM MK Stalin witnesses an exchange of MoU between the state government and a publisher from Malaysia at the Chennai International Book Fair on Sunday | P Jawahar published in select Indian languages. In the first phase, works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi will be recognised, with each award carrying a cash prize of `5 lakh. To ensure transparency and uphold literary standards, separate selection committees comprising eminent writers and awardwinning authors will be constituted for each language, he said. Underlining that it remains uncertain whether the Sahitya Akademi Awards announcement would take place at all, Stalin termed the political interference in arts and literary awards “dangerous”. Writers and representatives of literary organisations had urged the TN government to respond constructively (to the cancellation) and the government also felt such a response was the need of the hour, he said.  P5 Chennai to tag 50 century-old giants as ‘heritage trees’ under green mission S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai Chennai’s oldest living landmarks — sprawling banyans, towering neem, massive tamarind and even the rare baobab — may soon receive official recognition as ‘heritage trees’, as a Green Tamil Nadu Mission initiative moves to scientifically document and conserve 50 potential heritage trees across the city . As per the available records, Adansonia digitata (baobab) tree, located in Andhra Mahila Sabha on Greenways Road, is the oldest at close to 300 years. As part of the ongoing citywide mapping and scientific verification exercise, researchers will study 20 more potential heritage trees next week. “This effort is about formally recognising Chennai’s most ecologically and culturally valuable trees and ensuring that they are protected as living heritage,” said I Anwardeen, principal chief conservator of forests (research and education) and chief managing director of Green Tamil Nadu Mission. “Many of these trees have stood through generations of the city’s growth and continue to The 300-year-old baobab tree located on Greenways Road, Chennai | Express provide critical ecosystem services,” he added. An interim scientific report submitted by the ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, details how researchers assessed the age and internal health of these trees using a mix of field surveys, historical growth data and advanced noninvasive testing. The report notes that many of the identified trees are estimated to be more than 100 years old, and several are projected to have crossed 200 years, highlighting their role in Chennai’s urban ecology, microclimate regulation and cultural identity . The interim findings suggest several landmark trees could be far older than commonly assumed.  P5