Trinamool Congress MPs are likely to support the no-confidence motion and vote against the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.According to news agency ANI, the decision comes as per the direction of the party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee.Earlier, TMC – one of the key constituents of the INDIA bloc – decided not to back the resolution, leading to confidence among the treasury benches members that Birla could bag support from outside the bloc as well.The stage is set for a fresh showdown between BJP-led NDA and the opposition as Lok Sabha will take up the resolution for the removal of Speaker Om Birla on March 9, as Parliament reconvenes for Budget session’s second part from Monday.The Congress MPs accused Birla of being partisan for “openly espousing the version of the ruling party on all controversial matters”, which they said constitutes a danger to the proper functioning of the Lok Sabha.“That in his partisan attitude he disregards the rights of Members of the House and makes pronouncements and gives rulings calculated to affect and undermine such rights; that he openly espouses the version of the ruling party on all controversial matters, that all these acts constitute a serious danger to the proper functioning of this House and ventilating effectively the felt concerns and grievances of the people, and therefore resolves that he be removed from his Office,” the list of business said.Meanwhile, BJP and Congress issued whips to their respective LS members, asking them to ensure their presence in the House as they seek to marshal maximum strength as a division of votes is expected.While BJP’s whip has called for a mandatory attendance of its MPs on the first two days, Congress’s directive stands for the first three days.Rules allow Birla to be present in the House, while not occupying the Chair, and defend himself.

NEW DELHI: With West Asia-bound cargo ships stranded in India due to conflict in the region, shipping ministry on Friday directed all 12 major ports to consider requests for reduction, waiver or remission of charges, including for storage rent, reefer plugging and change of vessel.The ministry said ports may permit storage of cargo destined for West Asia as transshipment cargo during the affected period, allot additional storage area and facilitate movement of export cargo lying in ports back to the domestic market in co-ordination with customs. They have also been asked to provide priority handling for perishable cargo to prevent deterioration and facilitate additional bunkering capacity to meet potential demand.The directions came barely hours after shipping secretary Vijay Kumar chaired a virtual meeting with stakeholders, including ministries, shipping lines, oil PSUs, companies and exporters, who flagged the imminent possibility of congestion at ports and shortage of containers in the next two-to-three weeks. There was also a suggestion to allow more foreign-flagged vessels to transport domestic cargo to tide over shortage of ships and containers, amid rising freight costs.As per shipping ministry, there are 11 vessels at different Indian ports destined for Persian Gulf and another 35 Indian-flagged vessels in the region.DGFT informed the stakeholders that department of financial services was holding meetings with insurance firms, General Insurance Council and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India to address the issue of spike in insurance premiums. It also informed that RBI has held a meeting with Indian Bank Association and SBI and banks operating in the West Asia region have been asked to allow their staff to work from home to ensure shipping lines, exporters and importers don’t face problems.Kumar said port authorities have been directed not to put any additional charge.

CHENNAI: The principle of equal pay for equal work applies only when employees work in the same institution under identical service conditions, Madras high court has said.“There cannot be any comparison in respect of employees working in public sector undertakings as well as govt departments. Since service rules are different and distinct, the question of applying the principle of equal pay for equal work does not arise at all,” the HC noted.A division bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and C Kumarappan made the observations while setting aside a single-judge order directing govt to provide equal pay to a lineman employed by Arasu Rubber Corporation Limited, a Tamil Nadu govt-owned public sector undertaking.“Govt directives issued on various occasions right from 2010 indicate that the implementation of revised scales of pay to corporation employees on a par with govt employees should not be done in a routine manner, and approval is to be obtained from govt,” the bench said. A PSU is fully funded by govt and, therefore, the financial constraints are to be considered by govt, the bench said.“No doubt, equal pay for equal work was considered by the courts, but the principle would apply if the employees are working in the same institution and duties and responsibilities are the sameand there cannot be any comparison in respect of the employees working in public sector undertakings as well as govt departments,” the bench said.

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Friday emphasised the necessity of making Indian ag-riculture export-oriented and asked farmers to leverage the country’s diverse climate to increase productivity and strengthen export of farm produce.“We have a diverse climate, and we must take full advantage of it. We are very rich in terms of agro-climatic zones… If we collectively scale high-value produce, it can transform agriculture into a globally competitive sector,” Modi said at a post-budget webinar on ‘Agriculture and Rural Transformation’.

Highlighting shifting global demand, he said the world was more conscious about health. “Natural farming and chemical-free farm products create a highway for us to reach the world’s markets. Govt is thi-nking about certification and laboratories,” the PM said.

Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi

NEW DELHI: Stressing the need for stronger industrial preparedness for modern warfare, Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on Friday said recent global conflicts have challenged the long-held assumption that wars would be short and decisive, highlighting the urgent need for nations to build resilient defence industrial capacities.Speaking during a session at the ongoing Raisina Dialogue 2026 in Delhi, the Admiral said developments over the past few years have underlined the importance of sustained military readiness, technological adaptability and large-scale defence production. “There is obviously a thought process that the post-Cold War peace dividend has certainly ended. Therefore, countries must be ready for their own national security, and that requires building their own defence industrial complexes,” Admiral Tripathi said.The Navy chief touched upon the need to stay abreast of fast-evolving technology in the defence sector. “Not only must one produce [military equipment] at scale, but one must also be ready to upgrade while producing, because technology is changing at the speed of thought. We have seen the need for that and must be ready on that count,” he said.He said rapid adaptation is a must because time waits for no one, and surge capacity must be sufficient to deal with challenges.“It is not that you will be subjected to situations when your equipment is ready. Managing inventory is critical, and we need the capacity to surge when required. That requires very evolved defence industrial bases. These are some of the lessons learnt from what is happening around the world,” the Navy chief said.

Mamata with nephew Abhishek at the protest site in Kolkata on Friday

KOLKATA: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee began her sit-in Friday, alleging a “BJP-EC conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengali voters” through SIR of the electoral roll, and said the upcoming assembly polls would be a farce if genuine voters are not allowed to vote.To back her charge, the TMC chief had also assembled several people who claimed their names have been struck off the voter list after being marked as “dead”.The protest was organised ahead of the visit of the full bench of the Election Commission, which is set to arrive in Kolkata Sunday night and stay in the state till Tuesday to review poll preparedness.The election dates are likely to be announced after the EC team returns to Delhi.“I will expose the BJP-EC conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengali voters,” the CM said from her dharna stage at the Esplanade. She said she would stay at the protest site overnight and declared that “the dharna will go on”.“Many people declared dead (on the electoral roll) are still alive. I will bring them to the stage,” Banerjee said. “Look at them. They are sitting here. BJP and its agents in EC have crossed all limits.”TMC Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee gave a “boycott BJP” call. “If 60 lakh people can be kept under adjudication, why cannot PM’s chair be kept under adjudication? The PM was elected with votes from these people,” he said.When the curtain lifted on the dharna site around 2pm, Banerjee was sitting on the stage surrounded by key faces of her party. Trinamool’s RS nominees, ex-DGP Rajeev Kumar and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, also made their debut appearance.Meanwhile, BJP dismissed the stir as another “theatrics” aimed at stalling the “cleansing of electoral roll”. “This dharna is definitely not for the people of Bengal. It is to ensure that infiltrators are retained in the electoral roll,” Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattcharya said at the Parivartan Yatra in Howrah.Union minister Giriraj Singh, who took part in the Parivartan Yatra in WB, said TMC is working to “legitimise citizenship of Muslim infiltrators from Bangladesh”.

Iran deputy foreign minister: There should be no cherry-picking on international law

NEW DELHI: A day after India expressed condolences over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, external affairs minister S Jaishankar briefly met Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh on the sidelines of Raisina Dialogue 2026. Jaishankar posted a photo of his meeting with the Iranian minister.Khatibzadeh was in India to address the Raisina Dialogue. After his arrival, Iranian authorities had approached MEA for a meeting with Indian authorities.“What is important is that everybody is supporting the international law and we hope that we are not cherry-picking international law. Now international law is under attack as well as Iran, unfortunately the principles of international law has been attacked and we have to stand together against these atrocities,” Khatibzadeh said.On Thursday, while foreign secretary Vikram Misri had signed the book of condolence at the Iranian embassy, Jaishankar had also spoken to his counterpart Seyed Araghchi.According to Iranian authorities, Araghchi spoke to Jaishankar and also Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath about the sinking of an Iranian warship by the US in Lankan EEZ.According to Tehran, during the conversations, Iran’s foreign minister described the “crimes committed by the United States and the Israeli regime” in recent days as part of their military aggression against Iran and stressed the responsibility of all govts and the United Nations to firmly condemn these actions.According to Iran, he also strongly condemned the US “criminal attack” on the Iranian naval vessel, Dena, which was targeted in international waters about 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores without prior warning, and emphasised that the crime will be pursued through legal and international channels in relevant international bodies.