www.thehansindia.com KURNOOL MONDAY 8 OCTOBER 2018 PAGES 16 `5.00 Forecast: Sunny. Temp: Max.34°C. Min.25C. Humidity: 38% Sunrise: 06:08 Sunset: 06:02 Devotees protest against Sabari verdict New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court’s verdict opened the doors of the Sabarimala Temple for women of all ages, several Ayyappa devotees have taken to streets to protest against the apex court order, claiming that the verdict had ‘diluted’ the age-old tradition at the Sabarimala temple. The devotees on Sunday staged a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, voicing their anger against the Supreme Court's verdict on the Sabarimala temple. A movement named 'Ayyappa Nama Japa Yatra' was organized in Delhi, wherein the devotees shouted slogans against the apex court for the judgment. S P15 MFs GOOD BET FOR RISK-FREE RETURNS REGION WINDOWS BUSINESS H Simultaneously published from Hyderabad | Warangal | Tirupati | Amaravati | Visakhapatnam | Khammam | Kurnool | Delhi H SPEED UP PNG PROJECT, NAIDU TELLS OFFICIALS ‘PM should have associated with Amaravati project’ Teary farewell to GITAM icon Venkaiah, Naidu recollect memories of Murthi OUR BUREAU Visakhapatnam: The mortal remains of founder president of GITAM University and MLC MVVS Murthi, who died in a car accident last Tuesday in the US, was cremated with state honors on the beachfront near GITAM campus on Sunday. After arrival of Murthi's body at 7.30 am, ministers and MLAs offered floral tributes to the departed leader. Then the body was shifted to his residence at Kanchana in Waltair Uplands. A large number of Telugu Desam Party leaders, friends, relatives and educationists paid tributes to him. In the afternoon, the body was placed at the TDP office at Daspalla Hills, where the party cadre came out in large numbers to pay their last respects. Thousands of people fol- lowed the last journey of Murthi from the party office to the funeral site. The state government allotted 1,200 sq yards land to the family members to construct a memorial for the departed educationist. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu paid tributes to the departed educationist and later comforted the grieving family members. The Vice President, speaking to mediapersons, lauded Murthi’s services to the nation, state and also to the education sector. He was all praise for the establishments and development of GITAM University as an internationally-renowned institution. “He led a life of ethics, morals and values. As an industrialist, educationist and politician, Murthi had discharged his responsibilities. Continued on Page 15 Amravati: Charging the Prime Minister with reneging on promise to financially support building of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said Amaravati project is a national pride and PM Narendra Modi should have "at least" associated with it. Naidu, a former BJP ally who quit the NDA early this year over the Centre's refusal to grant special category status to AP, said the BJP was not associating with the greenfield project due to "political reasons". Asserting that the capital city is being developed at a faster pace, the chief minister said that any Modi had laid the foundation stone for the capital city of Amaravati in October 2015 amid much fanfare but he later went back on his promise to provide funds for the project change of government in the state is unlikely to affect the works as a "solid eco-system" has been put in place. "The Amaravati project is a national pride and I wish the prime minister had associated with it. Why cannot the Centre share the pride by getting associ- ated with it? Because of political reasons, they are not able to associate with it," Naidu said. " Modi had laid the foundation stone for the capital city of Amaravati in October 2015 amid much fanfare but "he later went back on his promise to provide funds for the project," he said. "I developed Hyderabad as an IT hub. Former prime ministers always used to praise the city as a national pride....Why cannot Modi do it?" Naidu said. On the progress of new capital, the chief minister said roads, office buildings and courts are coming up at a pace never done before. Continued on Page 15 RAJNATH VOWS TO WIPE OUT MAOISTS IN 2 YEARS Lucknow: The long-drawn Maoist insurgency in the country will be “completely erased” in two to three years, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared here on Sunday. Addressing the 26th anniversary of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Minister said the situation had changed and Maoists were now confined to only 10 or 12 districts. “We will get news within 2-3 years that Maoism has been completely erased,” said Singh, who represents Lucknow in the Lok Sabha. Praising the CRPF’s role in Maoist affected areas, Singh said the 3.5 lakh-strong force had neutralized 131 Maoists this year between January and September 20 and caught another 1,278. “A total of 58 Maoists Kashmir is ours, it was ours and it will be ours. No power of the world can snatch it from us – Rajnath Singh had to surrender before the CRPF. The force also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition this year besides Rs 1.29 crore in cash.” In the process, the killing of security personnel in Maoist hubs had drastically fallen. A Maoist insurgency raging in parts of India since 1967 has claimed thousands of lives. Maoists are now known to be most active in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jhark- Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu presenting Dr Ramineni Foundation-2018 Visistha Puraskaram to badminton coach Pullela Gopichand at a function in Atmakur in Guntur districton Sunday. Former Test cricketer Kapil Dev and others are seen. S P2 Bring petrol under GST: Congress Dubs recent fuel price cut as an electoral lollipop New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday dismissed the Rs 2.5 a litre cut in petrol and diesel prices as "electoral lollipop" aimed at the five poll-bound states and asked the Narendra Modi government to bring petroleum products under the GST regime. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters that oil prices have begun rising again since the cut was effected on Thursday, adding that it showed the government's duplicity and hypocrisy. He questioned the government's claim of oil prices being deregulated, saying they depend upon the electoral calendar as they remained unchanged for 17 days during the Karnataka Assembly polls, and a similar pattern was seen during the Gujarat polls. "We reiterate our demand to bring in petroleum products under the ambit of GST so as to completely demolish this sheer hypocrisy of credit seeking just before the electoral season," he said. This government believes in tokenism for short term applause, he said. Taking a dig at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, whom he dubbed as full-time blogger and part time minister, Khera accused him of "lying" in his claim that the increase in the government's revenue is on the account of an increase in tax base. Khera said oil companies have made over Rs 13 lakh crore, which is fuelling the government's coffers. Continued on Page 15 hand. The Union Home Minister asserted that "Jammu and Kashmir would always be with India. “Kashmir is ours, it was ours and it will be ours. No power of the world can snatch it from us,” he said. Reminding that RAF deals with riots, major law and order issues as well as relief and rescue operations, Singh said “rapid action” did not mean “reckless action”. Continued on Page 15 CM to lay stone for HCL Centre near Gannavaram today OUR BUREAU Vijayawada: In a bid to boost the IT sector in the state, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will lay foundation stone for the HCL Technologies Development Centre at Kesarapalli village near Gannavaram in Krishna district on Monday. HCL founder Shiv Nadar and his daughter and CEO of the company Roshni Nadar will participate in the programme. The company would provide employment for 7500 persons by investing Rs 750 crore in two phases. The company would spend Rs 400 crore in the first phase providing employment for 4000 people. IT Minister Nara Lokesh made efforts to start the HCL unit in Andhra Pradesh. Continued on Page 15