THURSDAY GOVT APPROVES `70,000 CRORE PACKAGE TO BOOST SHIPBUILDING 25 The Union cabinet on Wednesday cleared a `69,725 crore package to revitalise India’s shipbuilding sector and reduce dependence on foreign ships SEPTEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard TA I WA N & P H I L L I P I N E S RAGASA LEAVES TRAIL OF DEATHS PUSH FOR ATMANIRBHARTA IN SHIPPING SECTOR The package will extend the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, help launch a National Shipbuilding Mission, and set up a Maritime Development Fund. It is designed to boost domestic shipbuilding capacity and create substantial job and investment opportunities. It comes a week after PM Narendra Modi called for Atmanirbharta in the shipping sector | P7 Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia, struck Hong Kong Wednesday after leaving destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  `95,000 CR PAGES 12 WORTH PROPOSALS APPROVED BY THE UNION CABINET ON WEDNESDAY Roll revision ‘dirty trick’ from BJP’s toolkit: CWC R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna SENIOR Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that ‘mini-hydrogen, hydrogen, uranium and plutonium bombs’ were being readied for further exposing ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) by the ruling BJP in the next one month. He was speaking at the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Sadaqat Ashram, the party’s headquarters in Bihar. In his opening address, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sought to drive a wedge in the ruling alliance in Bihar, alleging that the BJP had forced Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar into ‘mental retirement’. A political resolution moved by general secretary Jairam Ramesh and adopted at the meeting dealt with several issues, including ‘vote theft’ and the SIR of polls rolls in the election-bound Bihar. The CWC lauded Rahul for exposing ‘vote theft’ and fighting ‘brazen attempts to subvert democracy’. “A government built on stolen mandates and rigged voter lists has no moral or political legitimacy .” It described the SIR in Bihar as another dirty trick from the BJP’s toolkit to manipulate electoral rolls and cling to power. “Their aim is clear: to disenfranchise the poor, workers, backward classes and minorities,” it alleged. On foreign policy, the resolution contended that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘huglomacy’ had backfired, leaving India diplomatically isolated. A second resolution — an appeal to the voters of Bihar — criticised the Nitish government not just on ‘vote chori’ but ‘zameen chori’ (land theft) and ‘note chori (currency notes theft). P8 2 1) People gather outside the burning BJP office building in Leh after it was set ablaze by protesters; 2) Smoke billows out after a structure was set ablaze by miscreants; 3) People outside the burning Council Secretariat building after it was set ablaze by protesters | PTI NO TAKERS FOR VIOLENCE Violence will defeat our five years efforts and agitation for statehood and 6th Schedule status to Ladakh 1 —Activist Sonam Wangchuk — Ladakh Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta 80 hurt as violent protesters seeking statehood for Ladakh clash with police; BJP office torched F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar AT least five persons were killed and 80 others suffered injuries in Leh district of Ladakh Union Territory on Wednesday as protests demanding statehood and inclusion under Sixth Schedule turned violent. The angry young protesters pelted stones at policemen, torched the BJP office, and damaged public property Some of the in. jured are in serious condition. According to sources, tension was brewing since Tuesday evening after two persons fell ill and had to be hospitalised during the ongoing hunger strike led by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk demanding Sixth Schedule benefits and statehood for Ladakh. Following the violence, Wangchuk said he was calling off his hunger strike. On Wednesday, hundreds of youths took to the streets in Leh in response to a call by the Leh Apex Body for protests and shutdown. Chanting slogans like “We will not beg for our rights”, the protesters clashed with security personnel. When the youth pelted stones on policemen, they retaliated by firing tear smoke shells and resorting to baton charge. The protesters then set afire police vehicles and a BJP office. They also pelted stones on some government offices. Intense clashes continued throughout the day, resulting in casualties and injuries. The authorities clamped prohibitory orders and booked a Congress leader for allegedly instigating violence by making a provocative speech at the hunger strike venue. Speaking to this newspaper, LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjey said: “We have been agitating peacefully but it went out of control. There was anger among people and they were disappointed over the delay in talks by the Centre and were perturbed over October 6 being fixed as the date for talks and not this month.” In its pushback, the Union home ministry charged that the violence was engineered by “certain politically motivated individuals” who were not happy with progress made in the talks between the Centre and Ladakhi groups. It said Wangchuk misled people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protests and references to the recent Gen Z protests in Nepal. IN COURT Sexual ‘predator’ RELIEF FOR RAHMAN IN COPYRIGHT CASE godman booked, cops on hot chase The Delhi HC Wednesday set aside an interim order against AR Rahman in a copyright dispute over the song ‘Veera Raja Veera’ from ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’. | P4 Zelenskyy says India mostly with Ukraine UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s claim that India along with China is a key funder of Russia’s war effort, asserting that New Delhi is “mostly with Ukraine” despite its energy trade with Moscow. In a Fox News interview, Zelenskyy addressed recent criticism from President Trump, who told the UN General Assembly that India and China were the “primary funders” of Russia’s war due to their continued purchase of Russian oil. “I think India, mostly with , us,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy acknowledged the Those responsible for orchestrating violence to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in Ladakh will be identified and stern action will be taken against them 5 KILLED IN LEH RIOTS HORROR ON CAMPUS J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi 3 challenges posed by India’s energy ties with Russia but voiced optimism, placing trust in Trump’s ability to navigate the issue. On India’s continued oil trade with Moscow, Zelenskyy emphasised the importance of engagement. “We have to do everything not to withdraw India, and they will change their attitude to the Russian energy sector, I am sure,” he said. Zelenskyy drew a sharp distinction between India and China, saying the latter remains far more entrenched in its support for Russia. The remarks are seen as Kyiv’s effort to keep India diplomatically engaged while managing certain Western frustration. N I T I N R AWAT @ New Delhi ACCUSED of sexually assaulting 17 students at the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management in Vasant Kunj, godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, also known as Parthsarthy, is on the run, with his last location being tracked to Agra. Raids are being conducted in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan to trace the accused. During investigations at the institute, nine number plates, including six fake diplomatic ones, were recovered along with a luxury car. The 62-year-old served as a ‘sanchalak’ at the institute, run by the Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Daks h i n a m n ay a S r i S h a r a d a Peetham in Karnataka’s Sringeri. The Peetham has, however, distanced itself from him. “The public is hereby informed that Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, formerly known as Swami (Dr) Parthasarathy, has engaged in activities that are illegal, inappropriate, and detrimental to the interests of Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri (Peetham). As a result, the Peetham has severed all ties with him,” a statement said. At least 17 women students in PGDM courses under the EWS scholarship have alleged that Saraswati used abusive language, sent obscene messages, and made inappropriate physical contact. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Why protesters want the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh The Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, meant for the tribal population of the four northeast states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, makes special provisions in terms of governance, including financial powers exercised through autonomous councils. The protesters demand this special provision be applied to Ladakh Vested interests sparked violence in Leh, says govt Government sources said the violence in Leh appears to have been engineered by vested interests who wanted to sabotage the progress in dialogue between the Centre and Ladakhi groups. The Centre was to have another meeting on October 6 with Ladakh representatives to discuss all issues K’taka HC rejects X’s plea against purge of content YAT H I R A J U @ Bengaluru THE Karnataka High Court on Wednesday rejected a petition by X Corp challenging the authority of the government to issue content takedown orders under the Information Technology Act. No one can assume that they can treat the Indian marketplace as a mere playground where information can be disseminated in defiance of statutes or in disregard of legality, and later adopt a posture of detachment, the court said. The petitioner sought the court to declare that Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 does not confer the authority on the Government of India to issue information-blocking orders under the Act. “The petitioner’s platform is subject to a regulatory regime in the USA... Under the Take It Down Act of the US, it chooses to follow the said Act as it criminalises the violation of orders of takedown, but the same petitioner refuses to follow the same on the shores of this nation (India),” said Justice M. Nagaprasanna. X Corp had prayed the court to restrain the Union government from taking coercive or prejudicial action against it for not joining the Censorship (Sahyog) Portal. The court, however, said the portal is an instrument of public good. The challenge is without merit, the court said, rejecting the petition. “Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, right to free speech and expression, is hedged by restrictions under Article 19(2),” the court observed. “American jurisprudential thought cannot be transplanted into the soil of Indian constitutional law. This has been the clear law enunciated by the apex court since 1950. The judicial thought process has undergone a complete change in the realm of free speech, even in the United States of America,” the court said.