FRIDAY 06 FEBRUARY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard GUJARAT TO RECLAIM ASARAM’S ASHRAM LAND NEAR AHMEDABAD K E I R S TA R M E R SAYS SORRY TO EPSTEIN VICTIMS The UK PM apologised on Thursday to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing Peter Mandelson, a friend of the sex offender, as US ambassador. PAGE 9 The Gujarat High Court allowed the state govt to resume possession of over 45,000 sq m of land from godman Asaram Bapu’s ashram at Motera ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS ON GOVT LAND A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 Those waiting to dig my grave will be disappointed: Modi in RS speech Says there is renewed hope of global stability after India’s recent trade deals with EU, US RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR Why the PM did not speak in the LS @ New Delhi A day after his scheduled address in the Lok Sabha had to be cancelled amid repeated disruptions by Opposition MPs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Opposition while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha. He began his speech by highlighting India’s recent trade agreements with the European Union and the US, which he said instilled greater confidence in the country in the eyes of the global community. “When we signed the trade deal with the EU, it instilled confidence and hope about bringing global stability After the trade . deal with the US, the world became even more confident that with stability, they can sense speed, too,” he said. Opposition MPs raised slogans but he continued his speech, taking a jibe at Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, saying: “Considering his age, he can sit and raise slogans.” Ban on mobile phones in all HP schools from March 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi replies to the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha | PTI Modi, then, turned his focus squarely on the Opposition and continued his fiery speech despite repeated disruptions. Tearing into the Congress, Modi flagged the party’s use of spiteful words such as gaddar (traitor) and kabr (grave). In a sharp jibe at the Gandhi family Modi said some “habit, ual thieves” have even stolen the surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi. When Opposition MPs staged a walkout during his address, he took a sarcastic swipe, remarking thak gaye, chale gaye (they are tired, so they left). Giving a political twist to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘traitor’ jibe against Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday Modi said , the comment amounted to an insult to the entire Sikh community “How can the country . tolerate a citizen being called a traitor? Such people will sink the Congress,” Modi said, targeting Rahul over his remarks against Bittu, who was earlier with the Congress. Referring to the slogan Modi teri kabr khudegi that was ILLEGAL OPERATIONS BLAST IN RAT-HOLE MINE, 18 KILLED IN MEGHALAYA H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh IN the biggest coal mine tragedy in Meghalaya in recent years, at least 18 people were killed while another was injured in a suspected dynamite explosion at an illegal mine on Thursday morning. The incident occurred at Mynsyngat, Thangsko area under the Umpleng police outpost in East Jaintia Hills district of the coal-rich state. “An explosion took place inside an illegal coal mine, and several persons were suspected to be trapped. Rescue and disaster response operations were initiated. During the course of rescue operation, 18 bodies were recovered from the explosion site,” SP Vikash Kumar told this newspaper. Another person, who suffered burn injuries, was shifted to a hospital. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that it was a dynamite blast at an illegal coal mine at a remote location. High daily wages The police registered an draw workers to state FIR suo moto under various sections of BNS read with High daily wages, which could section 21/21(1) MMDR Act go up to `2,000, draw a lot of read with section 3 of Explo- people, especially from Assam, sives Substances Act. “No ar- to Meghalaya mines. There are rest has been made so far. We allegations that most of these are trying to gather informa- illegal coal mines are owned tion about the mine owner. If by influential people. any person has any info about the miscreants involved in this illegal act, they are requested to inform the police. Their identity shall be kept secret and reward shall be given,” the SP added. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had in 2014 imposed a ban on rat-hole mining of coal and its transportation in Meghalaya. Despite the ban, illegal activities have been continuing in the state. There have been several incidents of coal mine accidents in the past in Meghalaya that is endowed with the finest qualities of coal. raised against him during a recent Congress rally he said the , Opposition could raise any slogans, but they won’t come true. “Why do you want to dig Modi’s grave? This is not just a slogan. It is a reflection of the hatred within,” he said, noting it’s an irory that such hateful slogans come from a party that talks of Mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love). He also criticised the TMC for allegedly protecting infiltrators in Bengal, DMK for promoting dynasty in Tamil Nadu, and CPI(M) for neglecting development in Kerala. P7 PAGES 12 Kuki-Zo council boycotts 3 MLAs who joined govt P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), which represents Manipur’s Kuki-Zo tribes, on Thursday announced a social boycott of all three Kuki-Zo legislators who on Wednesday joined the newlyformed government, even as the seventh session of the legislative assembly commenced with Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s address. “By joining the for mation of a Meitei-dominated government, these MLAs have effectively aligned themselves with our enemy, disregarding the imNemcha Kipgen mense pain and sacrifices endured by the Kuki-Zo community the KZC said ,” in a statement. The organisation viewed the act as a serious betrayal and a deliberate attempt to undermine the unity, sentiments, and collective political stand of the Kuki-Zo people. Amid a demand by the Kuki-Zo leaders for a separate administrative unit, BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Wednesday was sworn in as the 13th CM of Manipur. Nemcha Kipgen (pic), a BJP MLA who belongs to the Kuki community took oath as deputy , chief minister. L M Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate, are the other two MLAs facing boycott. TRIPARTITE PACT For Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority The Centre on Thursday signed a pact with the Nagaland government and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation for the formation of ‘Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority’, a long demand for a new administrative body within the state. | P7 P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Himachal Pradesh government has imposed a ban on the use of mobile phones for students in government and private schools from March 1. Violation to this rule will attract a penalty of `500, confiscation of the device, and mandatory counseling for parents. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the measure on Thursday with an eye on the mental well-being of students and their academic performance. The government has asked the education department to draft standard operating procedures to address repeated violations `500 fine in schools. for any Speaking at the violation 6 9 t h N at i o n a l School Games in CM Sukhu Bilaspur, the CM announced the measure said, “It has been observed that moaimed at bile phone usage the mental during lunch well-being breaks and school of students hours distracts and their students from results. Any their studies and violation to the rule will i n t e r p e r s o n a l growth.” Sukhu attract a highlighted the penalty of state’s push to `500 and promote sports mandatory and sports tourcounseling ism in the state. for parents. He announced that his government would provide employment opportunities to female athletes who recently competed at the Asian Games. To celebrate the victory of the Himachal team in the National Handball Championship, he announced a cash prize of `20 lakh for the players. He said that his government has significantly increased the daily diet allowance for student athletes to `400 for events held in the state and `500 for national events, adding that players traveling for more than 200 kilometres for competitions were now being provided with air travel facilities to ensure peak performance. In an unprecedented development, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address without the customary reply by the PM. Speaker Om Birla said he had information that Congress MPs planned “some unexpected act” by reaching the PM’s seat. Following this, he requested the PM not to come to the House | P7  BHARAT TAXI PLATFORM IN DEL-NCR, GUJARAT LAUNCHED Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-run ride-hailing platform, which will start services in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat initially and pan-India in the next three years | P4 The state submitted that the land had been allotted decades ago solely for religious use. These conditions were violated, with construction carried out on the land far in excess of what was allotted, it said. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation told the court of illegal constructions in the premises NMC norms banning MBBS migration binned U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court has quashed a regulation banning the migration or transfer of MBBS students between medical colleges, holding it to be “manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary” and violative of the Constitution. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia rejected the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) justification that student migration was prone to misuse, observing that the “mere possibility of abuse cannot be a ground to deny legitimate rights of a citizen”. The HC struck down Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, and directed the NMC to frame a “proper policy” permitting migration of students, subject to appropriate conditions. The order was passed on February 4 while hearing a petition filed by an MBBS student with 40% visual impairment, who had sought migration from Government Medical College, Barmer, to a medical college in Delhi. The bench directed the NMC to take a decision on the petitioner’s transfer request within three weeks. “What we find is that in the name of maintaining uniformity standards and integrity a total prohibition on , , transfer or migration of a student, the need for which may arise in various situations, including the present case, can’t be said to be reasonable,” the court said. Is help a ring away when you need it in Delhi? Not really The Kiran helpline was unA day after three minor sisters reachable on After the Ghaziabad tragedy, the were found dead by suicide in four attempts. message is starkly clear: Behind every Ghaziabad—reportedly followIHBAS nummissed call could be a child, ing conflict over cellphone and bers rang endsitting alone, shaking, hoping a mounting parental pressure— lessly. The Vanvoice will answer. the question lingered heavily drevala Foundation in the air: what happens when helpline placed the a child, or anyone, reaches out sibility this newspaper caller on hold for over , for help and dials a helpline? four minutes on dialled six helpline This newspaper attempted to numbers commonly two occasions before test the alertness of mental listed online—Kiran, disconnecting. For a person in acute emohealth helplines meant to re- Tele-MANAS, IHBAS, tional distress, those unanspond to precisely such mo- One Life Organisaswered minutes can feel endments of crisis—when distress tion, the Vandrevala less—and dangerous. turns urgent, and deFoundation “A suicidal person cannot spair needs an immediand NIMwait,” said a counsellor workate human voice. HANS. Of ing with a Delhi-based helpline, On the other end was E X C L U S I V E these, only one requesting anonymity . a mental health helanswered. As cases of depression, anxipline number listed on Google, “What happened? Please one of several that promise share,” the counsellor at One ety and suicide continue to rise, support for people battling anx- Life Organisation said gently, helplines are projected as the iety depression or thoughts of , without rushing, without first, sometimes only, line of support. Delhi appears wellself-harm in Delhi and NCR. judgment. The others told a far more covered on paper: toll-free numFor someone in emotional free. fall, this moment—dialling a troubling story The phone rang. bers, round-the-clock availability, trained counsellors. Yet number, waiting for it to con- And rang. And rang again. Tele-MANAS played an auto- when tested on the ground, that nect—can be the thin pause bemated message assuring a call- safety net feels fragile. tween despair and survival. MORE REPORTS ON P3 On Thursday to assess acces- back—but none came through. , I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi Waiting to hear a voice Flights booked, says SKY; govt to take call: Agha F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Mumbai THE biggest talking point started days before the first ball is bowled at the T20 World Cup on February 7 is hard to miss. Ostensibly so, the focus was on India and Pakistan when the captains had a media session here on Thursday . India captain Suryakumar Yadav, seemed relaxed with the team’s performance ahead of the mega event, but the topic veered to the muchtalked about match on February 15 which Pakistan are planning to forfeit on government’s instructions. India captain was pretty straightforward when he said: “Our mindset is pretty clear. We have not said no (to playing Pakistan). They have. ICC has given the fixture. Our flight is booked and we are going there (to Colombo). Their (Pakistan’s) decision is not in my control. I wish I could take their decision, but then it is their call.” While speaking on the ICC’s position, he said, “I feel it is not an easy job. I am sure they might be working out something as well, but (since) it has come from the other gov- ernment or the nation, how can they (the ICC) help as well...” Miles away, in Colombo, the other captain Salman Ali Agha too was drawn into the subject who said that playing India in the knockouts would depend on government’s approval. “The India game is not in our control,” he said. “It’s government’s decision. If we have to play them in semifinal or final, we have to go back to them.” EXPRESS READ SC directs Bengal govt to pay DA to employees In a relief to 20 lakh government employees, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Bengal government to pay dearness allowance (DA) to them for the 2008-to-2019 period, saying that it is a legally-enforceable right. It directed the state government to pay 25% of the outstanding DA to its staff by March 6. Meanwhile, the state government unveiled interim budget focused on the assembly polls, augmenting the Lakshmir Bhandar allowance for women by `500. P8 Sabarimala gold theft case accused gets bail Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused and the first person to be arrested in the Sabarimala gold theft case, walked out of jail on Thursday after the SIT failed to submit the chargesheet in the case within 90 days of his arrest. The Opposition UDF and the BJP stepped up their attack on the Left Front over the development. While the UDF alleged that the accused were being released to destroy evidence, the BJP reiterated its demand for a CBI probe into the theft. P5 Top Maoist ‘commander’ killed in C’garh encounter In a success for security forces in Bijapur district, south Bastar, a senior Maoist ‘commander’ was killed in an encounter, while 12 others, including eight women, surrendered on Thursday. Acting on inputs, a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and CoBRA launched a search operation in the rugged hills and forests of South Bijapur. The senior Maoist ‘commander’ was identified as Udham Singh, who carried a bounty of `8 lakh on his head, according to the police.