cmyk
THE ASIAN AGE NATION| 3
India, Bangladesh share deep
ties, no one can undermine
our bilateral relations: Shah
www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
WINDOWS
Actress Kriti Sanon poses for
photos during the trailer
launch of her upcoming movie
Adipurush in Mumbai on
Tuesday. — PTI
SC to hear May 15
plea over HC order
on Kerala Story
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court will hear on May 15 a
plea against the Kerala high
court order refusing to stay
the release of the contro-
versial multilingual film The
Kerala Story. Senior advo-
cate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday
mentioned the matter for
urgent listing before a
bench comprising CJI D.Y.
Chandrachud and Justice
P.S. Narasimha. When the
bench enquired whether the
high court has passed an
order in the matter, Mr Sibal
said it has refused to stay
the release of film. “We will
keep it on Monday (May
15),” the bench said.
Full report on Page 4
1 more cheetah dies
after injury in Kuno
Bhopal: A female cheetah,
Daksha, brought from South
Africa to Kuno National
Park in Madhya Pradesh’s
Sheopur district three
months back, on Tuesday,
died of fatal injury caused
“during mating”, official
sources said. She was the
third cheetah to die in the
last 42 days.
Full report on Page 4
Messi likely to play in
Saudi in a mega-deal
Riyadh: Argentine superstar
Lionel Messi will play in
Saudi Arabia next season
under a blockbuster deal, a
source close to the negotia-
tions in the kingdom told
AFP on Tuesday. The deal
would mean Messi poten-
tially joins his arch-rival
Cristiano Ronaldo in the
Saudi league. — AFP
Full report on Page 8
COUNTERPOINT
WEATHER
Max : 38OC
Min: 23OC
RH: 14%
Rain: Nil
Forecast: Sunny
ASTROGUIDE
Shobhakrut: Uttarayana
Tithi: Vaishakha Bahula
Panchami till 1.49 pm
Star: Purvashada till 4.11 pm
Varjyam: 11.39 pm to 1.09 am
Durmuhurtam: 11.46 am to
12.38 pm
Rahukalam: 12 pm to 1.30 pm
SUNSET TODAY 7.01 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 5.33 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 11.55 PM
MOONSET TODAY 9.19 AM
Imran arrested, Pak boils Make K’taka No. 1
■Rangers grab him by collar inside HC PTI men storm Army HQ
Lahore/Islamabad/Kara
chi, May 9: In unprece-
dented scenes, support-
ers of former Prime
Minister Imran Khan on
Tuesday stormed the
Pakistan Army head-
quarters in the garrison
city of Rawalpindi and
the Corps Commander’s
residence in Lahore after
his dramatic arrest in a
corruption case.
Mr Khan, who travelled
from Lahore to the feder-
al capital Islamabad, was
undergoing a biometric
process at the Islamabad
high court when the
paramilitary Rangers
broke open the glass win-
dow and arrested him
after beating lawyers and
Mr Khan’s security staff.
TV footage showed the
Rangers grabbing Mr
Khan from the collar and
bundling him into a
prison van.
Gehlot’s leader is not
Sonia, it’s Raje: Pilot
Sachin won’t quit; plans 5-day yatra from Thurs
ASHHAR KHAN
NEW DELHI/JAIPUR, MAY 9
The knives are out in the
Rajasthan Congress. A
day after Rajasthan chief
minister Ashok Gehlot
hit out at his former
deputy, Sachin Pilot on
Tuesday said that the
recent speech by Mr
Gehlot indicated that his
real leader is BJP’s
Vasundhara Raje and not
Sonia Gandhi.
In an all-out attack on
Mr Gehlot, Mr Pilot said
he will not quit the
Congress as he didn’t want
to ruin party’s chances
ahead of the Rajasthan
elections later this year.
Instead, he announced a
five day, 125-km “Jan
Sangharsh Yatra’ from
May 11 over “corruption”
and cases of leaking of
papers for state govern-
ment recruitment exams.
The Pilot-Gehlot flare-
24 dead, over
30 hurt as bus
falls off river
bridge in MP
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHOPAL, MAY 9
At least 24 people,
including seven chil-
dren and eight women,
were on Tuesday killed
and 30 others injured
when a private bus in
which they were travel-
ling fell off a bridge in
Khargone district in
Madhya Pradesh.
The death toll may
increase, the officials
feared.
According to the
police, the mishap
occurred at a place
between Dongargaon
and Dasagaon at around
8.40 am.
Inspector general of
police Rakesh Gupta
said the bus, travelling
from Bijapur in
Khargone district to
Indore city, rammed
into the railing of the
bridge and then plunged
50 m into the dry, rocky
bed of the river Barod.
“Fifteen passengers
died on the spot”, he
said. Nine others suc-
cumbed to injuries in
the hospital.
State agriculture min-
ister Kamal Patel visited
Khargone district hospi-
tal and confirmed 24
deaths.
■ More on Page 4
NEW DELHI WEDNESDAY 10 MAY 2023
state, appeals PM
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-
e-Insaf chief Imran Khan being arrested by Rangers from
outside the Islamabad high court on Tuesday.
The arrest of the 70-
year-old
Tehreek-e-Insaf
Pakistan
chair-
man comes a day after the
powerful Army accused
him of levelling baseless
allegations against a
senior officer of the spy
agency ISI.
As the news of his arrest
Congress leader Sachin Pilot during a press conference
at his residence in Jaipur on Tuesday.
up comes just days ahead
of the Karnataka polls.
Addressing a press con-
ference, Mr Pilot said,
“He (Mr Gehlot) alleges
that the BJP tried to top-
ple his government... then
he says a BJP leader
helped save his govern-
ment. He should explain
the contradiction.”
He further added: “Some
people want to weaken
Common uniform for Army’s top ranks soon
PAWAN BALI
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
The Indian Army has
decided to adopt a com-
mon uniform for officers
of the rank of brigadier
and above, irrespective of
the parent unit and
appointment, to promote
and strengthen a common
identity amongst its
senior leadership.
The headgear, shoulder
rank badges, gorget patch-
es, belt and shoes of senior
officers of flag rank
(brigadier and above) will
now be standardised and
common. The flag-rank
After Gaza flareup, Israel FM
cuts short 3-day visit to India
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/GAZA CITY,
MAY 9
After a flareup in the
Gaza Strip as the Israeli
military killed three top
Islamic Jihad comman-
ders in airstrikes early on
Tuesday, amid rising ten-
sions with Palestinian
militant groups, Israel’s
foreign minister Eli
Cohen announced he was
cutting short his three-
day visit to India, soon
after landing in New
Delhi. Israel said its for-
WORLD| 6
Putin tells Red Square
parade ‘real war’
unleashed on Russia
■
or ministry, are usually
commanded by officers
on secondment from the
Army.
For the first time, Mr
Khan’s supporters smas-
hed the main gate of the
Army’s sprawling head-
quarters in Rawal-pindi,
where troops exercised
restraint. The protesters
chanted slogans against
the establishment.
In Lahore, a large num-
ber of PTI workers
stormed into the Corps
Commander’s Lahore
residence and smashed
— PTI
the gate and window-
by the Rangers spread, panes. Army personnel
massive protests broke
out in several cities ac-
present on duty there,
however, did not try to
ross Pakistan. Protesters
at several places turned
stop the enraged protest-
ers who surrounded
violent and burned police
vehicles and damaged
them and chanted slo-
gans against the “han-
dlers” of the PML(N)-led
public property.
The Rangers, which government in the
operate under the interi- ■ Turn to Page 4
In Raj today,
PM to launch
`5.5K-cr rail,
road projects
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will
launch development pro-
jects costing over `5,500
crores in Rajasthan on
Wednesday. Elections in
the desert state are
scheduled for November
— December this year.
In a statement, the
Prime Minister’s Office
said that the focus of
these projects will be on
bolstering infrastruc-
ture and connectivity in
— PTI
the Congress... We will
the region.
“The projects in the
not let them succeed. road and railway sectors
After listening to Mr will also facilitate the
Gehlot’s speech, I under- movement of goods and
stand why we could not services, thereby boost-
act on corruption cases in
4.5 years. No leader is
ing trade and commerce
and improving the socio-
more important than the economic conditions of
public.” the people.”
Earlier, speaking at a He will also be visiting
programme in Rajast- Shantivan complex of
han’s Dholpur on Sunday, Brahma Kumaris.
■ Turn to Page 4 ■ More on Page 3
officers will now not wear
◗ THE CHANGES will
any lanyard. The changes
will be implemented from
be implemented from
August 1. There will no
August 1.
There will no change in change in the uniform
worn by colonels and
the uniform worn by
colonels and officers officers below that rank.
below that rank.
The decision was taken Indian Army. This recog-
after detailed delibera- nition with distinct iden-
tions during the recently- tity within the arms, regi-
concluded Army comman- ments or services is essen-
ders’ conference and tial for junior officers and
extensive consultations the rank and file to fur-
with all stakeholders. ther strengthen cama-
“Different types of uni- raderie, esprit de corps
form and accoutrements and regimental ethos,
have specific association which is the bedrock of
to respective arms, regi- soldiering,” a source said.
ments and services in the At the unit or battalion
◗ IN NEW Delhi, Israel “initialing” an agreement
on mobility that will
foreign minister Cohen enable the presence of
said he would raise Indian workers in Israel.
the issue of a proposed The Israeli foreign minis-
free trade pact ter said at an event earlier
between both nations in New Delhi that the two
nations don’t compete
eign minister will return with each other but “com-
after calling on Prime plete” each other, as he
Minister Narendra Modi termed India as “the gate
on Tuesday evening. The from the East to the
foreign minister held West”.
detailed talks with exter- In Gaza City, meanwhile,
nal affairs minister S. after the targeted
Jaishankar in the after- airstrikes by Israel, a new
noon, with the two sides round of heavy fighting is
signing pacts on water expected. Palestinian
and agriculture, and also ■ Turn to Page 4
DELHI AGE| 16
‘Hard work and persistence
are crucial for success in any
field’, says Manushi Chhillar
■ Voters to go to polls today in K’taka
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
On the eve of the
Karnataka Assembly elec-
tions, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi claimed
that Indians in the “Azadi
Ka Amrit Kaal” aim to
make their “beloved coun-
try” a developed nation
and the poll-bound state is
“keen to lead the move-
ment”. In a video message
and an open letter to
Kannadigas on Tuesday,
the Prime Minister made
a strong pitch for the BJP
to retain power in the
southern state.
Reaching out, Mr Modi
said the affection he has
received in the state over
the last few days has been
unparalleled and it has
strengthened his resolve
to make Karnataka num-
ber one across all sectors.
“The dream of every cit-
izen of Karnataka is my
dream. Your resolve is
my resolve. When we
come together and set our
minds to a goal, no force
in the world can stop us,”
he said.
Appealing to Kannadi-
gas to exercise their fran-
chise to “make Karnataka
the Number 1 state”, the
PM asserted that while
India is the world’s fifth-
largest economy, the gov-
ernment’s “next aim is to
reach the top three,”
which is “possible only
when Karnataka rapidly
grows to become a $1 tril-
lion economy.”
“In our Azadi Ka Amrit
■ Turn to Page 4
Cong protests
to poll panel
New Delhi: The Congress
on Tuesday petitioned
the EC seeking immedi-
ate action against PM
Narendra Modi for his
appeals to Karnataka
voters “in violation” of
the model code, and
said it was “a litmus
test” for the poll body’s
capacity and willingness
to enforce laws. PAGE 3
level, a distinct sense of
identity reflects a strong
bond among officers and
men in the same regi-
ment, the source added.
“In order to promote and
strengthen a common
identity and approach in
service matters amongst
the senior leadership,
beyond the boundaries
of regimentation, the
Indian Army has decided
to adopt a common uni-
form for brigadiers and
above irrespective of the
parent cadre and appoint-
ment,” sources said.
This will also reinforce
the Indian Army’s charac-
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar with Israeli foreign
minister Eli Cohen at the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in New
Delhi on Tuesday.
Vol. 30 No. 83 | 16
Polling officials collect VVPATs and other voting materials
at a distribution centre in Bengaluru on Tuesday, ahead of
the Karnataka Assembly elections on Wednesday. — PTI
After K’taka, BJP’s
focus now shifting
to Madhya Pradesh
SANJAY BASAK
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
With the battle for
Karnataka now over, the
BJP has started zeroing
in on the next crucial con-
test — Madhya Pradesh.
The screening and sur-
vey of BJP MLAs have
already begun and will
continue over the next
few months. Sources
revealed that saffron leg-
islators have been told
that tickets would be
given “only on the basis
of the survey reports”.
While the Congress is
banking on “anti-incum-
bency”, chief minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
has reached out to
youths. Mr Chouhan,
who had already declared
an “Atma Nirbhar
Madhya Pradesh will be
built with the coopera-
tion of youth”, launched a
youth portal for “job cre-
ation”. Mr Chouhan, who
sounds confident of
returning to power for a
fourth time as CM, said
the “Mukhya Mantri
Yuva Kaushal Kamai
Yojna” will be imple-
mented from July.
ter to be a fair and equi-
table organisation, they
added.
In the Indian Army,
brigadier and higher-rank
officers are those who
have already commanded
units or battalions and are
mostly posted at the head-
quarters or establish-
ments where officers from
all arms and services
work and function togeth-
er.
A standard uniform will
ensure a common identity
for all senior-rank offi-
cers, while reflecting the
true ethos of the Indian
Army, said sources.
— PTI
cmyk
PAGES | `5.00
We are not
going to make
the youth
dependent by offer-
ing them unemploy-
ment allowance,
but make them self-
sufficient by teach-
ing them skills and
help them associate
with the best estab-
lishments
— Shivraj
Singh
Chouhan
MP CM
Speaking exclusively to
this newspaper, the chief
minister said: “We are
not going to make the
youth dependent by offer-
ing them unemployment
allowance, but make
them self-sufficient by
teaching them skills and
help them associate with
the best establishments.”
He went on: “Like birds,
we will teach them to
fly.”
Taking on the Congress,
■ Turn to Page 4
Nitish meets
Patnaik, but
no talks held
over alliance
AKSHAYA KUMAR
SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 9
Bihar chief minister
Nitish Kumar on Tues-
day met Odisha CM
Naveen Patnaik here
amid speculation that
both would talk politics
and join hands to raise a
political front against
the BJP. However, both
said after their one-hour
lunch meet no such dis-
cussion on forming an
anti-BJP alliance was
held.
“There was no discus-
sion on any alliance to-
day. I am delighted
Nitish ji is in Bhubane-
swar. We are old friends
and colleagues ever since
we served in Atal Behari
Vajpayee’s Cabinet. We
discussed a one and a
half acre of land in Puri.
The land will be given to
the Bihar government
free of cost for construc-
tion of a Bihar Bhavan
for tourists coming to
Puri to have a darshan of
Lord Jagannath,” said
Mr Patnaik.
Mr Kumar said: “Our
relation with Biju Babu
(Naveen Patnaik’s
father) and Naveen Ji is
very old. Due to Covid,
we could not meet.”
■ More on Page 3
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI
IN BRIEF
Imposter nabbed for
bogus ads on Google
New Delhi: A 25-year-old
man impersonating as a
dealer was arrested from
Thane, Maharashtra, for
defrauding people by creat-
ing counterfeit Google
advertisements for ‘OLA
electric scooty’, an official
said on Tuesday. The
accused was identified as
Rajendra Shivram Panda, a
resident of Dombivali East
in Thane. The DCP (Dwarka)
said that an FIR was regis-
tered at the cyber police
station Dwarka after the
complainant alleged that he
was in search of electric
scooty and on Google
search he found one con-
tact of Raghav Sharma, Ola
electric scooty dealer. The
complainant reached out to
the accused on his mobile
number. The alleged person
requested a payment of
`499 for booking and sub-
sequently demanded an
additional sum of
`80,999 to receive the
scooty within a week. “The
complainant made a pay-
ment of `80,999 into a bank
account provided by the
accused. When the com-
plainant asked for a receipt
of payment, the alleged
person insisted on transfer-
ring an additional `20,000
to his bank account.
38-yr-old held for
molesting teen girl
New Delhi: A 12-year-old
girl was allegedly molested
by a 38-year-old shopkeep-
er in north east Delhi’s Nand
Nagri area. The arrested
was identified as
Mohammad Imam alias
Imamuddin, a resident of
Nand Nagri. According to
police, the incident took
place on Saturday, however,
it came to light on Monday
when the victim revealed
about the incident, police
said. A senior police official
said that a complaint was
received from the victim’s
family where it was alleged
that she was molested. “A
case under relevant sections
of the Indian Penal Code
was registered and
Imamuddin was arrested,”
said the official. As per
police record, Imamuddin is
a ‘bad character’ of Nand
Nagri police station and he
has 18 criminal cases, includ-
ing Arms Act, robbery, crim-
inal assault, burglary regis-
tered against him.
Sarai Kale Khan
killing: Cabbie held
New Delhi: A 31-year-old taxi
driver was arrested for
allegedly killing a youth dur-
ing a fight near Sarai Kale
Khan in southeast Delhi,
police said on Tuesday. The
incident took place on
Thursday when police
received a call that a person
was stabbed in the stomach
near Sarai Kale Khan bus
stand, they said. Police
rushed to the spot and found
that the quarrel took place
between some people who
live in rain basera, Sarai Kale
Khan and a taxi driver, police
said. The cause of quarrel
was that three minors and
deceased Akash (18) were
going to their home from
Gurudwara Bala Sahib. In
their way near Sarai Kale
AAP GOVT’S FOOD
TRUCK POLICY
SOON: OFFICIALS
New Delhi: The Delhi govern-
ment is working on its food
truck policy which will be
finalised within the next cou-
ple of months and put up for
public feedback, officials
said. According to officials,
meetings have been planned
with different stakeholders
to discuss the various
aspects of the policy. The
stakeholders include the
MCD, DMRC, traffic police
and the transport depart-
ment, they said. “We have
identified metro stations and
parking sites as hubs for set-
ting up food trucks. But it
will have to be seen under
which category these trucks
can be placed by the trans-
port department and also
the rules governing their ply-
ing in Delhi,” the official said.
“We will also need the Delhi
Metro and the MCD to be on
board since we plan to sta-
tion these food trucks at
metro stations and parking
sites,” he said. Explaining
how the framework is likely
to be, the official said that
the food trucks will come
and go from the site where
they will be stationed. They
will operate in the night
hours — between 8 pm to 2
am. The Tourism department
plans to finalise the policy
within the next couple of
months, he said.
■ Victim’s father demands trial to start as soon as possible
Shraddha murder: Charges
framed against Poonawala
BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Finalising the trial in the
Shradha Walkar case, a
Delhi court on Tuesday
framed charges of murder
and disappearance of evi-
dence against Aaftab Amin
Poonawala. The matter has
been posted for further
proceedings on June 1.
Additional sessions
judge Manisha Khurana
Kakkar said the prosecu-
tion had placed on record
“sufficient material” and
prima facie a case was
made out against the
accused.
The court, however, said
whether Poonawala could
be convicted for both
offences was a matter of
trial and could not be
decided at the present
stage.
“...Sufficient material
has been placed on record
by the prosecution which
warrants trial of the
accused for both the
offences. From the afore-
said material placed on
record by the prosecution,
Wrestlers’ stir: Notice to police Hostel visit: DU to send notice to Rahul
over failure to arrest WFI chief
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Delhi Commission for
Women (DCW) has issued
summons to deputy com-
missioner of police (New
Delhi) Pranav Tayal for
failing to arrest the
accused persons in con-
nection with sexual
harassment of women
wrestlers allegedly by
Wrestling Federation of
India (WFI) chief Brij
Bhushan Sharan Singh.
In a statement issued on
Tuesday, the commission
stated that it has received
a complaint regarding
sexual harassment of
women wrestlers by Mr
Singh.
“The complainant has
informed the commission
that several women
wrestlers, including a
minor, have alleged that
the accused person has
indulged in the crime of
sexual harassment
against them during his
tenure at the WFI,” it said.
“The commission has
learnt that no accused has
been arrested in the mat-
ter till date. It is also
learnt that statements of
survivors including the
minor girl, under 164
CrPC have not been
recorded till date, despite
the passage of 10 days
since the registration of
FIRs,” it said.
DCW chief Swati
Maliwal has issued sum-
LSR College asks students
to vacate hostel for repairs
New Delhi, May 9: Lady
Shri Ram (LSR) College
for women has asked the
residents of its hostel to
vacate the 260-room facili-
ty which will be tem-
porarily closed for repair
work, students said on
Wednesday. The decision
was taken after one resi-
dent suffered injuries
recently following the col-
lapse of a bathroom cubi-
cle roof in the hostel.
“A student suffered
injuries in the roof col-
lapse incident. We have
been asked to vacate the
hostel rooms so that the
repair work could be ini-
tiated. Students are fine
with it because the hostel
needs repairs,” Kritika, a
first-year student, said.
However, no deadline
has been given to the hos-
Social media influencers among
other steps to boost city tourism
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
The Delhi government
has taken a host of initia-
tives to boost tourism in
the city, such as roping in
social media influencers,
upgrading the tourism
department website, and
teaming up with the
archaeology department
and cab aggregators
among others.
An official said on
Tuesday that the govern-
Aaftab Amin Poonawala
a prima facie case for the
offences under sections
302 (murder) and 201
(causing disappearance of
evidence of offence) of the
Indian Penal Code is made
out against the accused,”
the judge said.
“Accordingly, charges for
the offences under sec-
tions 302 and 201 of the
IPC are framed against the
accused. The charge is
read over and explained to
the accused in the pres-
ence of his counsel and
the accused has submitted
that he has understood the
charge and thereafter, the
accused has stated he does
not plead guilty and he
has claimed trial,” the
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Satyawart Kadian with
supporters during their protest against WFI chief Brij
Bhushan Sharan Singh at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on
Tuesday.
mons to DCP New Delhi
district and has sought an
explanation in the matter.
“The Commission has
sought details of arrests
made in the matter and
has asked for reasons for
non-arrest of accused per-
sons. Further, the com-
mission has asked for rea-
sons for failing to record
statements of survivors
under 164 CrPC along
with details of action
taken against concerned
police officers for failing
to record statements. The
commission has asked
DCP to appear before the
commission on May 12
with an action taken
tel residents. “A meeting
has been called for today
to discuss the matter by
the warden. After which
things will be more clear,”
said another student.
The hostel authorities
have informed the stu-
dents that the security
deposit of the students
will be refunded along
with the remaining fee.
The hostel residents
said no alternative
accommodation has been
provided to them.
When asked, LSR
College principal Suman
Sharma refused to com-
ment on the matter.
In an undated notice, the
hostel warden said that
the college invited a struc-
tural engineer to give his
observations on the state
of the building. — PTI
ment has decided to team trying to develop it and
up with a cab aggregator give it a better look by
popular among foreign- installing
ers and place brochures screen where people can
in those cabs. It has also see the menu,” the offi-
decided to revamp the cial said.
Coffee Home in
Connaught Place to make operated by the Delhi
it more appealing and Tourism and Transpor-
people-friendly, the offi- tation
cial added. Corporation (DTTDC).
“We are planning to
revamp Coffee Home been offering guided
located on Baba Kharak tours of historical sites
Singh Marg. It is famous under the ‘Heritage
among tourists. We are Walks’ banner.
judge added.
ASJ Kakkar noted the
“circumstantial and cor-
roborative evidence”
relied upon by the prose-
cution, including the
recovery of bones, a
bunch of hair, and the jaw
of the deceased which
Poonawala was accused
of strangling his live-in
partner Shraddha to death
and then chopping her
body into pieces and had
allegedly disposed of to
conceal the murder along
with the last seen evi-
dence and digital trails.
Other evidence included
blood stains in the fridge
and kitchen shelves, DNA
profiling report, voice
recording on Dr Practo
app, previous complaint
given by the deceased in
Mumbai, postmortem
report, call detail records
and statements of several
witnesses, the judge noted.
“Thus, in light of the
aforesaid material placed
on record, the contention
raised by the counsel for
the accused that no sub-
stantive material has been
report,” it added.
— PTI
“It is very unfortunate
that no accused in the
matter has been arrested
till date. Also, the Delhi
police has failed to record
statements of survivors
under 164 CrPC even after
passing over 10 days of
registration of FIR. This
is very serious. The
accused should be arrest-
ed immediately and the
statement of survivors
should be registered. Also,
action should be taken
against concerned police
officers for failing to
record their statement
under 164 CrPC,” said Ms
Maliwal.
Even his accountability can be fixed:
AAP on L-G being refused immunity
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Hitting out at the lieu-
tenant-governor, the AAP
on Tuesday cited a
Gujarat court decision
refusing Delhi L-G V.K.
Saxena immunity from
criminal trial in a 2002
case to claim that this
shows even his accounta-
bility can be fixed.
AAP chief spokesperson
and minister Saurabh
Bharadwaj while address-
ing a press conference
said that Mr Saxena, who
is accused of assaulting
activist Medha Patkar in
2002 at Sabarmati Ashram
in Gujarat, had filed the
application.
The AAP leader said that
a digital
The Coffee Home is
Development
The government has
placed on record by the
prosecution to frame
charges... is without any
merits,” the judge said.
“The stage of leading
evidence cannot be
trumped and the matter
cannot be prejudged. In
fact, if there is sufficient
material placed on record
by the prosecution qua
both the offences, there
seems to be no bar in fram-
ing charges for both the
offences...,” the judge said.
Meanwhile, Vikas
Walkar father of Shraddha
Walkar demanded that the
trial should start as early
as possible and also hoped
that the accused should be
sentenced to death.
“June 1 might be a little
late, I will be requesting
the court to start the trial
as soon as possible and we
feel that he should be
hanged to death. We wel-
come the court’s deci-
sion,” he said.
He also said that on May
17, he will hold a one-day
protest in Mumbai to
demand a speedy trial in
the case.
SUPRIYA SINGH
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Days after Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi visit-
ed the Delhi University,
the varsity on Tuesday
said it will issue a notice
to Mr Gandhi cautioning
him against making any
“unauthorised” visit to
the campus in future.
The notice will be sent
either on Tuesday or
Wednesday, Delhi
University registrar Vikas
Gupta said.
He mentioned that the
university will tell the
leader that this kind of
visit “jeopardise” the safe-
President Droupadi Murmu presents Shaurya Chakra (posthumous) to Rifleman
Aurangzeb during the Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New
Delhi on Tuesday. His parents received the award from the President.
Delhi health minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhara-
dwaj addresses a press conference in New Delhi. — PTI
Mr Saxena’s application
had cited Article 361(2) of
the Constitution which
says “no criminal proceed-
ings whatsoever shall be
instituted or continued
against the President, or
the governor of a state, in
L-G asks chief secy to report
on CM’s residence in 7 days
AVINASH PRABHAKAR
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Delhi lieutenant-governor
V.K. Saxena has sought a
detailed report from the
chief secretary within
seven days after Congress
leader Ajay Maken sent a
letter to him demanding a
probe into the “extrava-
gant” expenditure in the
renovation of the Delhi
chief minister’s resi-
dence.
In the letter to the L-G,
Congress senior
spokesperson Ajay Maken
has claimed that the
amount spent on Arvind
Kejriwal’s residence was
not `45 crore but `171
crore and that too during
the time of the Covid pan-
demic when people were
running around for hospi-
tal beds and lack of oxy-
gen.
The former Delhi
Congress chief has also
expressed his deep con-
cern and disappointment
regarding the “extrava-
gant” expenditure, envi-
ronmental damage, and
violation of the heritage
protection and zonal plans
in the construction of the
chief minister’s residence
in Delhi.
“The construction of
ty of students and that
proper protocol needs to
be followed for any such
interaction.
Mr Gandhi visited a
postgraduate men’s hos-
tel of the university on
Friday, where he interact-
ed with some students
and had lunch with
them.
“It was an unauthorised
visit. Many students
were having lunch when
he barged in. We cannot
tolerate this on our cam-
pus. We will send a notice
to Rahul Gandhi, telling
him that he should not
repeat such action and
should not jeopardise the
any court during his term
of office.”
He had submitted that
governors are selected by
the Central government
and are appointed by the
President of India while
the L-G is selected and
V.K. Saxena
the new CM house has
cost the exchequer
around `171 crore, with
15 out of 22 officers’ hous-
es adjacent to the CM’s
house at Flagstaff Road
being demolished or
vacated. This figure (`171
crore) includes around
`126 crore spent on pur-
chasing 21 new Type-5
flats in the CWG village
to compensate for the
housing shortage,” Mr
Maken has said in the let-
ter.
Claiming that the reno-
vation of the chief minis-
ter’s house has violated
the Master Plan Delhi
(MPD), 2021, Mr Maken
alleged that it has been
constructed in the Civil
Lines Old Bungalow Zone,
an area protected under
the MPD 2021.
Rahul Gandhi
safety of students,” the
registrar said.
Meanwhile, the National
Students’ Union of India
(NSUI), the student wing
of the Congress, has
alleged that the adminis-
tration was under pres-
sure to take action against
appointed by the President.
“L-G overturned the
Constitution itself. His
application in the court
said that he is above the
governor and below the
President. But the court
has rejected his applica-
tion saying that the L-G
does not get any immuni-
ty. Every day he issues
orders to government
departments to get work
done that is not in his
domain. This shows that
even his accountability
can be fixed,” Mr
Bharadwaj said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson
Praveen Shankar Kapoor
said it is regrettable to see
Mr Bhardwaj speak
against the L-G with polit-
ical bias.
pg 2
Mr Maken further said,
“I thus request you to
conduct an inquiry into
the matter. If found
guilty, grant sanction for
prosecution of the prin-
cipal beneficiary, the
chief minister, and the
principal perpetrator,
the PWD minister of
GNCTD.”
After receiving the let-
ter, the L-G, in a commu-
nication to the chief sec-
retary on Tuesday, direct-
ed that a report be sub-
mitted to him within
seven days.
“Hon’ble L-G has
desired that a detailed
report on each of the
issues raised in the afore-
said representation be
furnished within seven
days,” reads the letter to
the chief secretary.
To this, the AAP
responded, “Everyone
knows that this is a false
case meant to tarnish the
image of Kejriwal. Ajay
Maken’s complaint shows
that BJP and Congress are
both together and work-
ing against AAP. Ajay
Maken is a puppet of the
BJP in Delhi. What does
Congress have to say
about the `2,000 crore
liquor scam in
Chhattisgarh?”
Mr Gandhi.
The registrar refuted the
allegation and said,
“There is no such pres-
sure. It is a matter of dis-
cipline.”
A day after Mr Gandhi’s
visit, the Delhi University
issued a statement, saying
the “sudden and unautho-
rised” entry raised seri-
ous security concerns for
the hostel inmates and the
leader.
“University authorities
will take necessary steps
to avoid such incidents of
this trespassing and will
ensure that this does not
happen in future again,” it
had said.
Woman kills
mother-in-law
by hitting her
with frying pan
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
An 86-year-old woman
has died after she was
attacked with frying
pan/cooker by her
daughter-in-law in south
Delhi’s Neb Sarai area,
police said on Tuesday.
As of now, there seems
no immediate trigger
behind the incident. A
long standing frustra-
tion of taking care of
her, cooking for her, giv-
ing her food on time and
helping her with daily
routine things have
emerged as the reason
behind the incident, the
police said.
On April 28, a person
informed police that his
friend’s mother fell in
her flat and blood was
coming out, police said.
Surjit Som (51) lives
with his wife Sarmishta
Som (48) and 16-year-old
daughter in Swastik
Residency, Neb Sarai
since 2014. The family
hails from Kolkata, West
Bengal. His mother was
living alone there till
March 2022. He took his
mother to Delhi to take
care of her. He kept his
mother in a rented flat in
front of his flat, a senior
police officer said.
When police reached
the spot, they found one
Hasi Som was lying in
the kitchen having mul-
tiple injuries on face and
skull, police said.
Surjit stated that his
mother was suffering
from arthritis from a
long time.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI
TAKES
SHORT
‘Y+’ cover for Punjab
neta after Brar threat
New Delhi: After a security
assessment by the intelli-
gence agencies, the Union
home ministry has accorded
Y+ category of the Central
security to the Punjab
Congress leader Gursimarn
Singh Mand following the
death threat from gangster
Goldie Brar who is hiding in
Canada. According to the
sources, gangster Brar was
constantly threatening to kill
him as he kept raising his
voice against gangsters,
fanatics and Khalistanis.
Congress leader Mand is the
national coordinator of All
India Congress Committee
(Kisan Congress) in
Ludhiana. He was constantly
getting death threats from
gangster Goldie Brar on
phone and WhatsApp from
foreign mobile numbers. The
Congress leader had also
lodged a complaint about
this in the local police sta-
tion. In November last year
in Amritsar, Sudhir Suri,
leader of the political party
Shiv Sena (Taksali), was mur-
dered in broad daylight by
armed miscreants.
Mamata takes dig
at BJP over Tagore
Kolkata: Even as a controver-
sy broke out over what polit-
ical rivals saw as an attempt
to usurp the legacy of
national poet Rabindranath
Tagore by the BJP, West
Bengal chief minister Mamata
Banerjee in a speech here on
Tuesday to mark the Nobel
Laurette’s birth anniversary
pointedly spoke about his
secular vision and his use of
Raksha Bandhan to promote
Hindu-Muslim unity. Analysts
saw this as thinly veiled
attack on the BJP and Home
minister Amit Shah who is in
the city to pay homage to
the poet at a function organ-
ised by a BJP supported cul-
tural NGO. TMC has long
accused BJP and its top
leadership of promoting a
political ideology opposed to
the tenets of secularism. She
said that many things are
being bandied about for the
sake of electoral calculations
such as that “Tagore was
born in Santiniketan”. — PTI
CASTE CENSUS: HC
REJECTS EARLY
HEARING PETITION
Patna: The Patna high court
on Tuesday rejected the
Bihar government’s plea,
seeking early hearing of its
interim stay on caste-based
survey in the state. The
court said the hearing will
take place on July 3, the
date fixed earlier, and the
stay will remain in effect till
then. It had on May 4 put a
stay on the caste-based sur-
vey in its interim order,
while hearing a batch of
petitions. The division
bench of Chief Justice K.
Vinod Chandran and Justice
Madhuresh Prasad had fixed
July 3 as the next date of
hearing. Later, an interlocu-
tory application was filed in
the high court on behalf of
the Bihar government, urg-
ing for an early hearing in
the matter. In its May 4
order, the court had termed
the caste-based survey as
virtually a census by anoth-
er name, and “prima facie
unconstitutional” as it
“impinges on the legislative
powers of Parliament”. “The
state government has no
right to conduct such a
caste census in Bihar,” the
HC said. The bench had
held that the Bihar govern-
ment’s “intention to share
data of a caste survey with
various political parties in
the state Assembly raises a
larger question of the
infringement of the funda-
mental right to privacy of
the people in general”.
— PTI
■ ‘Modi openly attempted to influence voters during prohibited silence period’
Cong seeks EC action against PM
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
The Congress on Tuesday
complained to the Election
Commission (EC) over
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s appeal to
Karnataka’s voters after the
campaigning time was over.
The party demanded that
the EC take immediate
action against the PM and
several leaders of the BJP
for flagrantly violating the
Model Code of Conduct
(MCC) and the provisions of
the Representation of
People Act, 1951, ahead of
the Karnataka Assembly
elections.
In the complaint letter,
Congress general secretary
and MP Randeep Singh
Surjewala pointed to the
video message posted from
Mr Modi’s Twitter handle
and live interviews of other
BJP leaders aired on a TV
news channel after the
‘silence period.’
Sharing the complaint let-
ter on social media, Mr
Surjewala, in a strongly
worded statement, said the
poll body faces a “litmus
test” over the PM’s alleged
disregard for electoral laws
and code of conduct.
The Rajya Sabha member
emphasised that if the PM
can flout electoral laws with
impunity and openly
attempt to influence voters
Seizures in K’taka 4.5 times more than last polls
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
A day before Karnataka
goes for Assembly polls,
the Election Commission
(EC) disclosed that there
has been 4.5 times more
than what was recovered
during the last Assembly
election in the state.
The EC said seizures
totalling more than `375
crores have been recorded
so far and the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has
attached assets worth `288
crores after the imposition
of the Model Code of
Pawar hits K’taka Muslim quota: SC takes
out against exception to political remarks
its alliance
partners
SONU SHRIVASTAVA
MUMBAI, MAY 9
Disharmony in the
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) continues
despite the claims by
Congress, NCP and Shiv
Sena (UBT) leaders
about their unity.
Nationalist Congress
Party chief Sharad
Pawar on Tuesday hit
hard to its alliance part-
ner Shiv Sena (UBT)
over its assertion that
Pawar failed to groom
new leadership in his
party. Mr Pawar also
questioned the stature
of former chief minis-
ter Prithviraj Chavan
in the Congress.
Chavan has targeted the
Nationalist Congress
Party for fielding its
candidates in
Karnataka Assembly
election.
On Monday, an editori-
al in Saamana, mouth-
piece of Shiv Sena (UBT)
slammed Mr Pawar for
failing to ‘groom’ a suc-
cessor to take over reins
of his party. “Mr Pawar
is certainly a towering
leader at the national
level and his words are
respected in national
politics, but he has failed
to create a successor who
can take the party for-
ward,” the editorial said.
Sidda cries foul
over fake letter
in his name
Bengaluru: Former
Karnataka CM
Siddaramaiah on Tuesday
appealed to the people not to
“take into account” a fake
letter in his name, which is
being circulated on social
media. The Leader of
Opposition termed it a
“handiwork of mischief
mongers of RSS”.
Clarifying that the letter
was a fake one and not writ-
ten by him, he said, “The
mischief mongers of RSS
have made it viral on the
social media. I appeal to all
the people to reject this let-
ter.” — PTI
during the prohibited
‘silence period,’ it is impera-
tive for the Election
Commission to fulfil its
constitutional duty under
Article 324 of the
Constitution of India.
Taking on the EC, Mr
Surjewala asked whether
the laws apply to the Prime
Minister and whether the
poll panel has the capacity
and willingness to enforce
its mandates or if it will
remain a helpless
bystander.
Conduct (MCC). EC offi-
cials said such high
seizures are due to an
increased focus on expen-
diture monitoring in poll-
going states.
The EC has deputed 146
expenditure observers in
the state for stricter vigil
and monitoring even as 81
Assembly constituencies
have been marked as
expenditure sensitive.
“The recorded seizures
in the state mark a signifi-
cant 4.5 times increase as
compared to Assembly
election in 2018. Strict
vigil, extensive monitor-
PUNEET DESHWAL
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
The SC on Tuesday
expressed displeasure
over political statements
being made during elec-
tion campaigns around
scrapping of four percent
reservation for Muslims
in Karnataka, when the
matter is pending adjudi-
cation before the top
court.
A bench comprising of
Justices KM Joseph, BV
Nagarathna and
Ahsanuddin Amanullah
remarked that such state-
ments should not be made
after senior Advocate
Dushyant Dave, appear-
Nitish meets Naveen, says no talk on alliance
AKSHAYA KUMAR
SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 9
Bihar chief minister
Nitish Kumar on Tuesday
met his Odisha counter-
part Naveen Patnaik here
amid speculation that
both the leaders would
talk politics and join
hands to raise a political
front against the BJP.
However, as both the
leaders told the media
after their one-hour meet-
ing, no such discussion on
forming an anti-BJP
alliance was held.
“There was no discus-
sion held on any alliance
today. I am delighted that
◗ THE EC said seizures
totalling more than `375
crores have been record-
ed so far and the ED has
attached assets worth
`288 crores
ing, coordination with
neighbouring states and
inter-agency coordination
has led to checking flow
and distribution of
inducements in Karnataka
this time,” EC officials
said.
Notable hauls include
seizure of `4.04 crores of
cash in Bangarapet
ing for the petitioners,
said that the Union home
minister is consistently
making public statements
that the BJP-led govern-
ment in state has with-
drawn the quota for
Muslims.
“When the matter is
pending before the court
……then there should not
be any political state-
ments on the issue. It is
not appropriate. Some
sanctity needs to be main-
tained,” said the court.
The SC said that public
functionaries should exer-
cise caution in their
speeches, and should
avoid politicising issues
pending before it.
Nitish ji is in
Bhubaneswar. We are old
friends and colleagues
ever since the time we
served in Atal Bihari
Vajpayee’s Cabinet. We
had discussions for one
and half acres of land in
Puri. The land will be
given to Bihar govern-
ment free of cost for con-
struction of Bihar Bhavan
for the tourists coming to
Puri to have darshan of
Lord Jagannath,” said
Odisha CM Naveen
Patnaik
According to Mr
Patnaik, both he and
Nitish have shared a very
old friendship ever since
they served as Cabinet col-
Assembly constituency in
Kolar district, raid of a lab
illegally manufacturing
Alprazolam in Hyderabad.
In addition, 100 kg ganja
was seized in Bidar dis-
trict and significant liquor
seizures were made in all
the districts, said EC offi-
cials.
Another striking feature
of expenditure monitoring
has been huge seizures of
freebies. Sarees and food
kits have been seized from
Kalburgi, Chimanglur and
other districts. A huge
number of pressure cook-
ers and kitchen appliances
Shah: No one can break deep
ties between India and B’desh
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, MAY 9
Union home minister Amit
Shah asserted on Tuesday
that no one can "break" the
India-Bangladesh ties
which are on the path of
growth. He also underlined
the Centre's focus to boost
border infrastructure in
the country.
The Union home minis-
ter, on a one-day visit to
West Bengal, was speaking
at the inauguration of a
slew of projects of the
Land Ports Authority of
India (LPAI) and Border
Security Force (BSF) at the
leauges in Atal Bihari
Vajpayee government.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
said, “Our relation with
Biju Babu (Naveen
Patnaik’s father) and
Naveen Ji is very old. Due
to Covid, we could not
meet. No political discus-
sions were held. Our rela-
tionship is so strong that
there is no need to discuss
any politics.”
Contrary to the claim by
both the leaders, a tweet
by the Janata Dal (United)
official handle said, “CM
Nitish Kumar met Odisha
CM Naveen Patnaik today.
He has been selflessly try-
ing to unite the opposition
parties.”
were also seized from
Bailhongal and Kunigal
and other Assembly con-
stituencies.
The EC said it also
reviewed the law and order
situation and inter-state
vigil through border
checkposts of poll-going
Karnataka and neighbour-
ing states of Maharashtra,
Goa, Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu on May 1. Chief
Election Commissioner
Rajiv Kumar stressed
proper manning and moni-
toring of the 185 check-
posts in border districts.
integrated checkpost-
Petrapole in North 24
Parganas on the Indo-
Bangla border.
Hailing great poet
Rabindranath Tagore on
his birth anniversary for
penning the national
anthems of the two neigh-
bouring countries, Mr
Shah said, "We do not only
share deep relations with
Bangladesh. We also share
a common language, liveli-
hood, arts and culture. No
one can break India-
Bangladesh relations.”
He added, “Based on a
common culture, the two
countries have been coex-
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with his Odisha coun-
terpart Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
pg 3
Modi to launch
projects worth
`5,500cr in Raj
AGE CORRESPONDENT the public.
NEW DELHI, MAY 9 The PM will
also lay the
Prime Minister foundation
Narendra Modi will stone for the
launch development gauge con-
projects costing over Narendra version proj-
`5,500 crore in Rajasthan Modi ect and for
on Wednesday. Elections setting up of
in the desert state are a new line from
scheduled in November- Nathdwara to
December this year. Nathdwara town in
In a statement, the Rajsamand.
PMO said that the focus The Prime Minster
of these projects will be will dedicate three
on bolstering infrastruc- national highway proj-
ture and connectivity in ects to the nation,
the region. including 114-km long
“The projects of the six lane Udaipur to
road and railway sector Shamlaji section of NH-
will also facilitate the 48, 110-km long widening
movement of goods and and strengthening to 4
services, thereby boost- lane with paved shoul-
ing trade and commerce der of Bar-Bilara-
and improving the socio- Jodhpur section of NH-
economic conditions of 25, and 47 km long two
the people in the region.” lane with paved shoul-
Mr Modi will lay the der section of NH 58E.
foundation stone for The Prime Minister
road construction proj- will visit the Shantivan
ects for the upgradation complex of Brahma
to two lanes
Rajsamand and Udaipur.
in Kumaris and will lay the
foundation stone of a
He will lay the founda-
tion stone for the rede-
super speciality charita-
ble global hospital, sec-
velopment of Udaipur ond phase of Shivmani
railway station for old age home and exten-
enhanced amenities for sion of nursing college.
UP’s Swar, Chhanbey gear
up for May 10 byelections
Rampur/Mirzapur (UP), only in Chhanbey and the
May 9: The byelection to political leaders are either
Swar and Chhanbey campaigning in
Assembly constituencies Karnataka or busy with
in Uttar Pradesh on the urban local bodies
Wednesday will witness a elections of Uttar Pradesh.
direct contest between the As such, the hustings for
ruling coalition and the bypolls to the two seats in
Opposition Samajwadi Rampur and Mirzapur dis-
Party with the victor get- tricts have been lacklustre.
ting a moral boost before The focus of the bypolls,
next year’s Lok Sabha however, will be on Swar
polls. which was previously rep-
The Mayawati-led BSP resented by Abdullah
has decided to sit out the Azam Khan, the son of
byelection, the Congress senior SP leader Azam
has fielded its candidate Khan. — PTI
Nath launches
‘Nari Samman
Yojana’ ahead
isting over decades. India
of polls in MP
has also been playing a
very important and friend-
ly role with Bangladesh RABINDRA NATH
since its birth. The BSF CHOUDHURY
had a golden contribution BHOPAL, MAY 9
to the freedom struggle of
Bangladesh. That is why Congress veteran
the two countries have a Kamal Nath, who has
cordial and warm relation- been projected as
ship which will get a new ‘would be chief minis-
speed boost from here.” ter of Madhya Pradesh’
Mr Shah further praised by his followers, on
the LPAI in strengthening Tuesday ‘launched’
relations with the neigh- ‘Nari Samman Yojana’,
bouring countries. He promising to grant
informed that land trade of incentives to women
`18,000 crores in 2016-17 when he returns as CM
now surpassed `30,000 in the year-end
crores. Assembly polls in the
state.
Mr Nath unveiled the
scheme in his home
constituency
Chhindwara in the
state.
of
Mr Nath promised to
grant a monthly incen-
tive of `1500 each to the
beneficiaries under the
scheme besides provid-
ing LPG cylinder at a
subsidised price of `500
to each of them when
Congress assumed
power in the upcoming
assembly elections in
the state, due in
November this year.
The BJP has taken a
jibe at Mr Nath for
unveiling a scheme
promising to give incen-
tives to the beneficiar-
ies if Congress returns
to power in the state in
the ensuing Assembly
— PTI polls.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

■ Chouhan, PMO announce relief ■ Magisterial inquiry ordered

SHORT TAKES Massive crackdown against
2 militant aides of
LeT arrested in J&K 24 die, 30 hurt as bus falls off J&K terror, raids at 16 sites
Srinagar: Security forces on
Tuesday arrested two mili-
tant associates of the
Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT)
outfit in Jammu and
bridge in MP’s Khargone dist
RABINDRA NATH hospital in Khargone.
AMRESH SRIVASTAVA,
NEW DELHI, MAY 9

In its second massive

Kashmir’s Shopian district
and recovered arms and
ammunition, including an
IED, from them, police said.
During the course of an
investigation into a case,
security forces arrested two
terrorist associates linked
with proscribed terror outfit
LeT, a police spokesperson
said. The spokesperson iden-
tified them as Shahid Ahmad
Lone, a resident of
Chotipora Shopian, and
Waseem Ahmad Ganie, a
resident of Borihalan
Shopian, in south Kashmir.
Incriminating materials, arms
and ammunition including a
pistol, a pistol magazine,
four pistol rounds, a silencer,
an IED, a remote control,
two batteries, and an empty
magazine of AK 47 rifle,
were recovered on their dis-
closure, the spokesperson
said. He said one terror
associate has already been
arrested in the case. — PTI
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, MAY 9
At least 24 people, includ-
ing seven children and
eight women, were on
Tuesday killed and 30 oth-
ers injured when a private
bus in which they were
travelling fell off a bridge
in Khargone district in
Madhya Pradesh.
The death toll may
increase, officials feared.
The mishap occurred at
a place between Dongar-
gaon and Dasagaon at
around 8.40 am, the police
said.
Chief minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan announc-
ed an ex-gratia of `4 lakhs
each to the next kin of the
deceased and `50,000 each
to the injured.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s office
has also announced a com-
pensation of `2 lakhs each
Locals gather at the site after a bus fell from a bridge in
Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district on Tuesday. — PTI
to the next kin of the
deceased.
According to inspector
general of police Rakesh
Gupta, the bus, travelling
from Bijapur in Khargone
district to Indore city in
Madhya Pradesh, rammed
into the railing of the
bridge and then plunged
50 metres down into the
dry rocky bed of the
Barod river. “Fifteen pas-
sengers died on the spot”,
he said.
Nine others succumbed
to injuries in the hospital.
State agriculture minis-
ter Kamal Patel, who visit-
ed the injured in the dis-
trict hospital in Khargone,
confirmed the death of 24
passengers in the inci-
dent.
The injured were first
admitted to the district
However, some of them
were shifted to a govern-
ment hospital in Indore
when their condition
worsened, police said.
Driver of the bus was
also injured in the inci-
dent. The bus was carry-
ing 50-60 passengers, the
police said. The front side
of the bus mangled under
the impact of the fall.
People in the nearby vil-
lage rushed to the spot and
removed the injured pas-
sengers out of the bus by
breaking the glass win-
dows of the vehicle, eye-
witness accounts said.
State home minister
Narottam Mishra said
that a magisterial probe
has been ordered into the
incident.
The state government
has placed the Khargone
district RTO Barkha Goud
under suspension follow-
ing the incident.
crackdown against terror-
ists in J&K in a week, the
National Investigation
Agency on Tuesday car-
ried out raids at 16 loca-
tions in the Valley at the
premises of terror cadres,
hybrid terrorists and over-
ground workers linked to
the newly-formed off-
shoots and affiliates of
several major banned Pak-
backed terror outfits.
The raids continued till
late on Tuesday evening.
They were spread across
locations in Anantnag,
Srinagar, Budgam, Shop-
ian, Kulgam and Baram-
ulla districts of Kashmir,
as well as in Poonch,
Rajouri and Kishtwar dis-
tricts of Jammu.
The NIA has been inves-
tigating the activities of
newly-floated terrorist
groups such as “The
Resistance Front (TRF),
United Liberation Front
Jammu and Kashmir (UL
G-20, Amarnath yatra: Home
secy, IB chief review security
AGE CORRESPONDENT,
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Union home secretary
Ajay Kumar Bhalla and
Intelligence Bureau chief
Tapan Deka on Tuesday
visited Kashmir to review
the security preparation
for a meeting of the G-20
later this month and also
for the upcoming
Amarnath yatra.
In the high-level meet-
ing, the home secretary
and IB chief reviewed the
J&K), Mujahideen Gazwat-
ul-Hind (MGH), Jammu
and Kashmir Freedom
Fighters (JKFF), Kashmir
Tigers, PAAF” and others.
These outfits are affiliated
to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba
(LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM), Al-Badr and Al
Qaeda among others.
security situation with
the chief secretary and
director general of police
and other high officials,
along with the Army’s top
brass in the Valley.
The international dele-
gates will be in the Valley
from May 22 to 24 for the
G-20 meeting.
Security of the G20
meeting is a top priority
for the government for
which all possible steps
are being taken, the
sources said.
“Cadres and workers
have been found involved
in collection and distribu-
tion of sticky bombs/mag-
netic bombs, IEDs, cash,
drugs and small weapons,
as well as in spreading
activities relating to ter-
ror, violence and subver-
sion in J&K,” the NIA said
in a statement.

16 suspected cadre
of radical outfit held
Bhopal: Sixteen people, 11
from Madhya Pradesh and
five from Telangana, have
been detained following a
joint operation by the
Madhya Pradesh anti-terror
squad (ATS) and the Central
investigative agencies for
their alleged association
with Hizb-Ut-Tahrir (HuT), a
radical Islamic organisation,
sources said on Tuesday.
While 10 alleged activists of
HuT were picked up by the
joint team during raids at
several places in Bhopal on
Tuesday morning, another
man allegedly associated
with the group was held in
Chhindwara in MP, sources
said. Similarly, five alleged
activists of HuT were picked
from Hyderabad, sources
added. The three-month-
long operation has resulted
in zeroing on these alleged
Curfew relaxed
in 11 Manipur
districts as
situation better
Imphal, May 9: The situ-
ation across violence-hit
Manipur is improving,
with no fresh reports of
any untoward incident,
while curfew has been
relaxed in all the 11 dis-
tricts where it was
clamped, officials said
on Tuesday.
Manipur chief minis-
ter N Biren Singh had on
Monday said that 60 peo-
ple were killed, 231
injured and 1,700 houses
including religious
places burnt in the eth-
nic violence that rocked
the north-eastern state
for the past few days.
3 Maoists shot dead
in Odisha encounter
AKSHAYA KUMAR
SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 9
At least three Maoists
were killed in an
encounter with police
personnel in Odisha’s
Kalahandi district on
Tuesday morning.
As per initial reports, a
fierce encounter broke
out between police per-
sonnel and the ultras
inside Taperenga-
Students from Bihar, studying in Manipur, following their arrival at Jayprakash Narayan Ludengad forest under M.
Airport in Patna on Tuesday, after being rescued from the ongoing violence in Manipur. Rampur police limits.
— PTI The exchange of fire
occurred in the wee hours
during a combing opera-
■ With death, 17 adult cheetahs, 4 cubs left tion. Sources said that one
DSP has also sustained
critical injuries in the
week-long Maoist cam-
paign as part of their
strategy to regroup in the
region.
The anti-Maoist opera-
tion assumes significance
in the backdrop of the
recent Maoist attack in
Chhattisgarh in which 10
District Reserve Guard
personnel and a civilian
driver were killed on
April 26.
Following the Chhattis-
garh Maoist attack, sen-
ior Odisha Police officials
had sounded an alert in
bordering areas of the
state. ADG (Operations)
Amitabh Thakur said
that the alert had been
sounded in Bargarh and
Kalahandi districts on
`51.4cr assets
of C’garh coal
scam accused
attached by ED
AGE CORRESPONDENT
RAIPUR, MAY 9
The Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has
attached movable and
immovable assets worth
`51.40 crore of an IAS
officer, two MLAs and
three other persons in
connection with the
alleged coal levy scam in
the state.
A press release issued
by ED on Tuesday said,
“The ED has provision-
ally attached 90 immov-
able properties, luxuri-
ous vehicles, jewellery
and cash worth `51.40-

Cheetah dies after injury ‘during

HuT activists before picking
them by the agencies, “The situation is impr- encounter. The DSP has May 2. crores belonging to
sources said. oving all over the state, been admitted to Bhima Earlier, three districts- Ranu Sahu, IAS,
with no reports of vio- Bhoi hospital in Bolangir. Nabarangpur, Malkangiri Suryakant Tiwari,

mating’, 3rd to die in Kuno park

‘Closely tracking’
Texas incident: EAM
New Delhi: External affairs
minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar
on Tuesday said he was
“closely tracking” the after-
math of a shooting incident
in Texas in the United States
in which several people,
including an Indian woman,
lost their lives while two
Indian nationals are also
among the injured persons.
The EAM said he was regu-
larly seeking updates from
Indian Ambassador to the
US Taranjit Sandhu. The EAM
tweeted, “Closely tracking
this and taking regular
updates from Ambassador
@SandhuTaranjitS. (The
Indian) Consulate (in Hou-
ston) is rendering all neces-
sary assistance to the berea-
ved family and to those
injured.” The Consulate stat-
ed, “Consulate is facilitating
completion of requisite for-
malities with regard to mor-
tal remains of the deceased.”
lence in the last 24
hours… The curfew has
been relaxed for four
hours in Imphal West
and Imphal East. Similar
relaxation is being pro-
vided in the other nine
affected districts,” a sen-
ior official said.
Violent clashes broke
out in the northeastern
state after a “Tribal
Solidarity March” was
organised in the 10 hill
districts on May 3 to pr-
otest against the Meitei
community’s demand for
Scheduled Tribe status.
The clashes were pre-
ceded by tension over
eviction of Kuki vil-
lagers from reserve for-
est land.
Meiteis account for
about 53 per cent of
Manipur's population
and live mostly in the
Imphal Valley. Tribals —
Nagas and Kukis —con-
stitute another 40 per
cent of the population
and reside in the hill dis-
tricts. — PTI
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, MAY 9
A female cheetah, Daksha,
brought from South
Africa to Kuno National
Park in Sheopur district
in Madhya Pradesh three
months back, on Tuesday,
died of fatal injury caused
“during mating”, official
sources said.
With her death, Kuno is
now left with 17 adult
cheetahs and four cubs.
She was the third cheetah
to die in the last 42 days.
“Daksha was found
injured by the monitoring
team at 10.45 am (on
Tuesday). She died during
treatment by the veteri-
nary doctors at 12 pm
(today)”, a spokesman of
Madhya Pradesh forest
department said.
A press release issued by
the state forest depart-
◗ DAKSHA WAS among
12 cheetahs trans-locat-
ed from South Africa on
Feb. 18 this year in a
cheetah reintroduction
project in India
ment said that prima facie
it appears the fatal injury
might have been caused
by violent interactions
during mating with two
cheetah male coalition,
Vaayu and Agni, who had
gained entry into her
enclosure three days ago.
Daksha was among 12
cheetahs trans-located
from South Africa to Kuno
National Park on
February 18 this year in a
cheetah reintroduction
project in India.
She was released into
acclimatisation enclosure
number one in the park
after the quarantine peri-
od of the 12 South African
cheetahs ended. Vaayu
and Agni were released
into the acclimatisation
enclosure number seven.
According to a senior
forest officer, it was decid-
ed in the meeting of the
cheetah taskforce and
other cheetah experts
from South Africa held on
April 30 to release the
male coalition in the
enclosure of Daksha.
Accordingly, Vaayu and
Agni were released into
the acclimatisation enclo-
sure of Daksha on May 1.
However, the male coali-
tion entered into the
female cheetah’s enclo-
sure on May 6, the forest
officer told this newspaper
unwilling to be quoted.
“Violent interaction
between female cheetah
and male coalition during
mating is a common phe-
nomenon,” the
spokesman said.
The combing operation
was launched in the
region in view of the
HC’s order on Kerala Files:
SC to hear plea on May 15
PUNEET DESHWAL
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
The Supreme Court on
Tuesday agreed to hear
on May 15 the petition
filed against the decision
of the Kerala high court
refusing to stay the
release of the film The
Kerala Story.
“We will keep it on
Monday,” said a bench
comprising Chief Justice
D.Y. Chandrachud and
Justice P.S. Narasimha
when the special leave
petition was mentioned
by senior advocate Kapil
Sibal for urgent listing .
“The high court has
passed the order and it
has refused the interim
and Nuapada were put on
high alert following the
Maoist ambush.
order. There is an element
of urgency,” he said.
On May 5, the Kerala
high court refused to pass
any interim direction
staying release of the
movie, saying that there
was nothing offensive in
it against any particular
community
In the high court, the
producer undertook to
remove from social media
part of the teaser which
claimed recruitment of
over 32,000 women from
Kerala to ISIS.
On May 4, the Supreme
Court for the third time
refused to grant any
indulgence on the peti-
tion related to the contro-
versial film.
Devendra Yadav, MLA,
Chandradev Prasad Rai,
MLA, R.P. Singh, Vinod
Tiwari, Ram Gopal
Agrawal in the illegal
coal levy extortion scam
in the state of
Chhattisgarh”.
The release said that
during the investiga-
tions, direct evidence of
the financial linkages of
the above persons with
Suryakant Tiwari were
established and assets
created by layering of
the proceeds of crime or
equivalent assets have
been identified for
attachment proceedings
under Prevention of
Money Laundering Act
(PMLA) 2002.
Earlier, the ED had
attached properties
worth `170 crore belong-
ing to Suryakant Tiwari,
Sameer Vishnoi, IAS, Ms
Soumya Chaurasia
(Chhattisgarh civil serv-
ice officer), Sunil
Agrawal and others, the
press release said.

Israel FM cuts short Make K’taka No. 1 BJP’s focus now shifting to MP Imran arrested, Pak boils
■ Continued from Page 1 ■ Continued from Page 1

3-day visit to India state, appeals PM

■ Continued from Page 1
health officials said 13 peo-
ple were killed in all, includ-
ing the commanders, their
wives, several of their chil-
dren and others nearby.
In New Delhi, Mr Cohen
said he would raise the
issue of a proposed free
trade pact between both
nations that may eventually
see bilateral trade surpass
the $20 billion mark in a few
years.
“Foreign minister Eli
Cohen landed a short while
ago in New Delhi, the capi-
tal of India, and as soon as
he landed he received a
security update. In light of
the events in Israel, Mr
Cohen decided to cut short
his diplomatic visit to India
and return to Israel after
meeting Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
that will take place today,”
the Israeli foreign ministry
was quoted as saying. The
visit was expected to be a
preparatory one for a visit
by Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu to India soon.
“A short while ago I land-
ed in India for a very impor-
tant strategic and political
visit. I am receiving con-
stant update from Israel on
the situation and I hope to
meet today with the Indian
Prime Minister, and after
that will shorten my visit
and go back to Israel,” the
Israeli foreign minister
said.
Mr Jaishankar tweeted:
“Productive and wide-rang-
ing discussions with for-
eign minister Eli Cohen of
Israel this afternoon. The
main pillars of our
Strategic Partnership --
Agriculture, Water, Defence
& Security -- are taking our
ties forward. New agree-
ments in water & agricul-
ture today underline the
potential to do more.
Discussed cooperation in
high-tech, digital & innova-
tion, as also connectivity,
mobility tourism, finance,
and health. Noted the
progress in I2U2 and coop-
eration in multilateral
forums. Exchanged per-
spectives on our respective
regions, Ukraine and Indo-
Pacific. Initialed an agree-
ment in the area of mobili-
ty.”
Both foreign ministers
later paid homage at the
Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in
New Delhi in memory of
Indian soldiers of the
British Indian Army who
died fighting to liberate
Haifa during the First
World War. Mr Jaishankar
said: “This symbol of our
shared history reflects the
enduring India-Israel
friendship”.
■ Continued from Page 1
Kaal, we Indians have aimed to make our
beloved country a developed nation.
Karnataka is keen to lead the movement
to realise this vision. India is the world’s
fifth-largest economy. Our next goal is to
reach the top three. This is possible only
when Karnataka rapidly grows to become
a $1 trillion economy. You have witnessed
the work of the ‘double engine’ BJP gov-
ernment over the last 3.5 years. Our deci-
sive, focused and futuristic policies are
imparting momentum to the growth of
Karnataka’s economy,” said the PM.
Claming that the BJP wants to “make
Karnataka the Number 1” in investment,
industry innovation, education, employ-
ment and entrepreneurship,” the PM said
the BJP is also committed to “making
Karnataka the Number 1 in agriculture”.
“The decisions taken by the double
engine government to boost connectivity,
ease of living and ease of doing business
have built a strong foundation for
Karnataka to become India’s Number 1
state,” said the PM.
The BJP’s “star campaigner”, who
addressed 19 public rallies, also noted that
the cultural heritage of Karnataka has
“always inspired our nation as well as me
personally”.
“Jagajyothi Basaveshwara, Nadaprabhu
Kempegowda, Shri Kanakadasa, Onake
Obavva -- this land has given us many
such greats. Guided by their legacy, the
BJP is working to build a modern
Karnataka that will make them proud…
The BJP government will continue to
work to create next-gen urban infrastruc-
ture across Karnataka, modernise trans-
port, raise the quality of life in rural and
urban areas and create new opportunities
for women and youth,” said the PM.
the chief minister said that his
rivals were running out of accusa-
tions. “They are running out of
ideas to take on the administration.
They can’t criticise us on law and
order, development and infrastruc-
ture issues,” Mr Chouhan said.
Brushing aside the Congress’ accu-
sations, the chief minister claimed
that under his government “per
capita income has increased from
`13,000 to `1.37 lakhs and the unem-
ployment rate of 0.8 per cent is the
lowest in the country”. He pointed
out that `8,000 will be given to the
youths learning skills under the
“Mukhya Mantri Yuva Kaushal
Kamai Yojna”.
Claiming that he was “not inter-
ested in playing votebank politics”,
the main election plank for him
was going to be “development and
welfare”. On the Congress cam-
‘Gehlot’s leader not Sonia, it’s Raje’
■ Continued from Page 1
Mr Gehlot said Ms Raje and two
other BJP leaders -- Shobha Rani
and Kailash Meghwal -- had
“saved” his government by declin-
ing to take advantage of the
Congress’ infighting.
Mr Pilot accused Mr Gehlot of
insulting his own MLAs and harm-
ing his own party ahead of the elec-
tions. He said: “I now understand
why no action was taken against
corruption by the Vasundhara Raje
government despite my repeated
requests.
The former deputy chief minister
said he had tolerated much name-
calling and attacks from Mr Gehlot
over the past two-and-a-half years.
paign, the CM pointed out that the
party was offering everything
“free”. He asked: “How’s it even
viable?” The chief minister also
touched upon how the state was
blending religious tourism with job
creation. Talking about the
Mahakal Lok Corridor, the chief
minister said the entire exercise
was bringing in investments and
creating various job opportunities.
On “empowerment of women”,
the CM talked about his “Ladli
Bahna Yojna”, through which
`1,000 a month would be given to
women from 23 to 60 years of age,
who have less than five acres of
land and an annual income of less
than `2.5 lakhs. The CM said not
only the amount was “empower-
ing” women as they “don’t have to
depend on menfolk for daily
expenses”, but the money was
being spent on child care.
“He called me gaddar (traitor),
nikamma (useless), corona… Many
insinuations and abuses were
directed at me. I didn’t say any-
thing, as I didn’t want to damage
the party,” he said.
The situation in Rajasthan
Congress is due to the complete
inaction of the high command.
After a revolt took place in
September last year when three
MLAs ensured that the CLP meet-
ing to change the chief minister
could not take place the high com-
mand did not take any action. It’s
been six months and no action has
been taken against them. Last
month, also, a flare-up happened
between Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot.
military establishment.
The protesters held a
demonstration in the can-
tonment area.
Lahore was virtually
cut off from the rest of
the province because of
the protest on main roads,
including the entry and
exit points.
The caretaker Punjab
government called the
Rangers to control the
law-and-order situation
in the most populous
province and imposed
Section 144 under which
not more than five people
can gather at one point.
According to the home
department, the ban on
gatherings will remain in
place for two days.
The Punjab government
also requested the Pak-
istan Telecommunication
Authority to suspend
Internet and mobile serv-
ices in the areas of the
province where violent
protests took place.
Violent protests also
spread to Karachi and
Hyderabad in Sindh
province and
Balochistan’s Quetta
where PTI protesters
assembled outside Army
cantonment areas.
A spokesman of the
Civil Hospital in Quetta,
Wasim Baig, confirmed
they had received the
body of a man with gun-
shot wounds.
“The dead body was
brought from the airport
road where protests have
been taking place since
afternoon,” he said,
adding that several pro-
testers and policemen
with injuries were also
brought to the hospital.
People confirmed that
internet and mobile serv-
ices had been blocked by
authorities as PTI work-
ers and leaders took to
social media to spread the
protests.
In Karachi, protesters
blocked both sides of the
main Shahrah-e-Faisal
road which remained
closed to traffic as police
resorted to heavy tear gas
shelling and baton charge
in which people from both
sides were injured.
Senior PTI leaders,
including members of the
National Assembly and
members of the
Provincial Assembly,
were present at the
protests.
Protesters have blocked
the roads and set police
barricades on fire. Angry
protesters also broke win-
dows and damaged public
transport buses and set
on fire a water board
vehicle in Golimar area.
The significant pres-
ence of PTI women sup-
porters was visible at the
protests in Karachi and
Hyderabad where protest-
ers threw away police
barricades and set them
on fire. — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI
pg 5

Subhani

10 MAY 2023

Art or propaganda? Real

‘Kerala Story’ is different
A
rticle 19 of the Constitution assures freedom of speech and expression
to all citizens. The arts exist and thrive on the strength and support of
this constitutional provision when they speak truth to power. The
Constitution also provides for restrictions so that this right is not mis-
used. It thus becomes imperative that both the citizen and the government be
reasonable in the exercise of their rights and powers.
The makers of the film, The Kerala Story, had claimed in their social media
promotion material that it was about the “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching
stories of 32,000 females in Kerala”, who converted to Islam and then left to join
the Islamic State. When challenged in court, they agreed to change the descrip-
tion of the movie as one “centred on the real-life stories of three young women
from different parts of the state”. This change in narrative the filmmakers
were forced to introduce reflects their less-than-artistic motive.
Artistes have every right to criticise religions and religious practices; and
terrorist organisations call for downright condem-
This change in nation. It is important that art asks the right ques-
narrative the tions about every system in society to make them
filmmakers were better and more humane. But attempts to spread
hate under cover of artistic freedom are unfair and

Karnataka 2023: Why Modi

forced to unacceptable.
introduce in their The film, of poor artistic quality and question- LETTERS
promotional line able factual backing, has now become a political
reflects their tool. Prime Minister Narendra Modi certified in
an election rally in Karnataka on the very day of
BACK TO THE MAT
less-than-artistic its release that it “is trying to expose the conse-
motive behind quences of terrorism in a society”. The BJP gov-
shooting The ernment in Madhya Pradesh, followed by the one
Kerala Story in Uttar Pradesh, made its screening tax-free while
the West Bengal government has banned it. The
movie hardly enthused the Kerala audience.
Radicalisation of youth by Islamists is a fact across India and Kerala is no
may face surprise this time In Karnataka, the he no longer remained an
It is heartening to note that
Bajrang Punia and Vinesh
Phogat have gone back to
the mat after a 15-day hia-
exception. There indeed are people from the state who have joined interna- PM is being MP. tus to prepare for the
tional Islamist organisations. It is also a fact that the traditional Sunni sects A further ignominy was Asian Games. The IOA’s
mocked. The that Rahul, who has now
which form the vast majority of Muslims in Kerala have for ages been battling
the radicals within the community.
Sunil Gatade Congress shrewdly become the face of the temporary committee
Entities such as the Jama Ath-e-Islami, the now-banned Popular Front of latched on to his Opposition, was forced to began preparations for the
India and its political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) have been lament of facing ‘91 vacate his government resumption of activities by
able to make little impact on the community in the state. In fact, the Sunni bungalow soon after.
sects that have over the centuries perfected systems to live in a multi-cultural
cases of abuse’ Everything could be said to determining a timeline for
society are fighting the radicals and radicalisation efforts tooth and nail. This from the Opposition be according to the rules the Asian Championships
story, the real Kerala story, is, however, hardly known outside, partially due party, which led to and procedures. But was it
(U-17, 23) trials. Resuming

N
to the generally reticent nature of the moderates on one hand and, on the other, arendra Modi
the success of the Islamists, with their elaborate communication tools, in cre- is a tireless
ating an impression that it is they who represent the community. campaigner. It
It will be better for our country to promote endeavours that seek to address made him
the faultlines in our society in a constructive way. It will be dangerous to pro- Prime Minister
mote the agenda of haters who seek to deepen them and make the presence of of India nine years ago. As
the moderates on all sides untenable. he seeks a third term in
2024, he is trying to use the
Karnataka Assembly polls
to sharpen his skills for the
“big battle” that is just ten
that it does not matter
much to him how gover-
nance is carried out effec-
tively. He is busy with his
slogans, his song. His
“Mann Ki Baat”, which
just completed its hun-
dredth edition.
As of now, the Aam
Aadmi Party’s campaign
against the PM over his
the unique sobriquet
‘CryPM’.
terated message, delivered
with a punch at a time
when the issue of corrup-
tion in the BJP administra-
tion is the talk of the town.
Reports speak of a sense
of unease among the pow-
according to the spirit of
the world’s largest democ- their sit-in at Jantar Mantar,
racy? This is for everyone
to judge. The message that
these grapplers refrained
has gone out is that the from sparring to call atten-
powers that be will go to tion to their demand for
any length to undermine
the Opposition and will the arrest of WFI chief Brij
attempt to use every insti- Bhushan Sharan Singh.
tution for this purpose. The
means don’t matter, only Bajrang and Vinesh have

Make India EV-ready quickly months away.

But his firepower is not
working as effectively as it
T
he buzz around is unmistakable — electric vehicles (EVs) are coming used to. The problem
and taking over. In the next two years, there are over 40 new models of which Mr Modi is facing
automobiles set to be launched that will be powered by electricity. A few this time is that he has not
others are moving to hybrid mode. The two-wheeler segment is afire with been able to make a splash.
excitement and several logistics and delivery companies are placing en masse He is virtually the
orders, building their fleets in green mode. Some reports say a total of over one “monarch of all he sur-
crore vehicles powered by electricity are expected to be sold by the end of the veys” as he campaigns in
decade. North India or in his native
At the same time, a Central government oil ministry panel has a unique pro- Gujarat. But not in
posal for cities with over a million populations — impose a ban on all diesel- Karnataka.
powered four-wheelers in four years, by 2027, and allow sale and registration This is compounded by
of only EVs in the urban centres. The panel wants to enforce a regulatory and the fact that chief minister
policy drive to catalyse faster adoption of EVs by commercial entities in logis- Basavaraj Bommai’s gov-
tics, supply, courier and cargo. ernment is facing a lot of
“By 2030, all city buses should be electric. Diesel buses for city transport anti-incumbency. The BJP
should not be added from next year,” the panel recommended. is finding it hard to shake
Almost on divine cue, the country reported that after lithium reserves were thisoff. The issue of corrup-
first found in Kashmir earlier this year, new and higher reserves were found tion through commissions
in Rajasthan’s Degana subdivision. As the world moves to electricity-powered refuses to die down.
devices across the spectrum of industry and life, the newly discovered reserves In the Uttar Pradesh
can, as per reported estimates, power a large chunk of the country’s needs. Assembly polls last year,
But even as rising fuel prices and environment awareness drives up the despite a dominant Yogi
demand for electric vehicles, at least in the direct passenger category, India Adityanath being the chief
must focus on readiness beyond manufacturing of vehicles to ensure that the minister, Mr Modi had car-
“charging ecosystem” is ready. India needs a public charging station network ried the day in the most
that can act as the equivalent of our CNG and petrol pump chains in order to politically crucial state. It
mobilise growth in EV usage. signalled he was the undis-
The fusion of EV technology and innovation, policy and fiscal incentives, pri- puted boss. There should
vate investments and a larger infrastructural overhaul will decide to what be no doubt about that.
level India would achieve its goals of reducing carbon emissions, decreasing
petroleum imports and usage and also correspondingly augmenting its green
Against this,
Karnataka, Mr Modi’s
in
energy producing capability. campaign looks like ram-
Let India become EV-ready. ming something down peo-
ple’s throats. The absence
of local issues and the focus
on national matters, ridi-
culing the Congress and
THE ASIAN AGE speaking on issues that
polarise, is itself the first
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR admission that something
Editor Printer & Publisher is wrong and that you want
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at:
to camouflage that.
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: The strength and weak-
(011) 23211124. nesses of Mr Modi are
Published and Printed on behalf of and for unmistakably clear. They
◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, are remaining constantly
New Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ.
in election mode. The per-
RNI Registration number: 57290/94 ception that has grown is
lack of educational
degrees, thereby implying
that he is less educated,
might not be having much
of an impact. But a wound-
ed Arvind Kejriwal is
bound to heat it in the com-
ing months, much to the
Congress’ delight.
If Prime Minister Modi
was serious about gover-
nance issues, he would
have promptly called the
agitating women wrestlers
and doused the fires before
it became a conflagration.
A notorious Brij Bhushan
Sharan Singh has single-
handedly pulled down his
“Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”
plank.
Similarly, during the
farmers’ agitation too, it
was made known that the
PM was only a phone call
away. But the PM on his
own never called up any-
body. That ultimately led
to his unilateral announce-
ment on the withdrawal of
the three controversial
farm laws in November
2021. This was egg all over
his face.
In Karnataka, the PM is
being mocked. The
Congress shrewdly latched
on to his lament of facing
“91 cases of abuse” from
the Opposition party,
which led to the unique
sobriquet “CryPM”. He
would be much better off
without such an epithet,
which shows that he is on
slippery ground.
The “PayCM”, “CryPM”
campaign shows that the
Congress is back in its ele-
ment after a long time. The
slogan itself is the unadul-
erful mutts that have a lot
of influence on people.
While the politics of con-
trol through Hindutva is
best suited for Uttar
Pradesh, whether it is
equally true for the South
is being hotly contested.
Whatever may be the
result on Saturday,
Karnataka is important
because the Opposition has
found the line and length
during the campaign
which is so crucial for stay-
ing on the pitch, so far the
exclusive preserve of Mr
Modi and the BJP.
May 13 will decide which
way the wind is blowing
when the results are out,
but it looks like Rahul
Gandhi will become the
“man of the match” if the
current trends continue.
The world knows that in
the Gujarat polls in 2017,
Rahul became the “man of
the match” despite the BJP
retaining power on the
home turf of Mr Modi and
home minister Amit Shah,
who were given a run for
their money.
The Karnataka election
should also be seen from
the national angle. It is the
first poll after Mr Modi
handed the “victim card”
to Rahul Gandhi, showing
that he remained central to
the mighty BJP’s ire day
and night. He was project-
ed as the villain of the
piece. Rahul was not only
not allowed to defend him-
self in Parliament despite
being targeted by three
senior Union ministers
and others, but circum-
stances were created that
the ends do. Mr Modi had
long ago proclaimed his
desire for a “Congress-
mukt Bharat”. There was
nothing unofficial about it.
Karnataka may be the
first election in recent
years where the Oppos-
ition seems to be in the dri-
ver’s seat in a BJP-ruled
state in the run-up despite
the high-pitched campaign
led by none other than the
Prime Minister.
The BJP’s drum-beaters
are insisting that the PM
has campaigned in some of
the difficult seats, giving
the BJP a fighting chance
there. “This is how a true
leader fights in Opposition
territory,” they feel.
What has become inter-
esting is that in this hour of
crisis, the PM as well as the
state BJP leaders have
started chanting the name
of Bajrangbali. The recita-
tions of the Hanuman Cha-
lisa have begun. The talk of
“double-engine sarkar” is
disappearing in thin air
and “sankat mochak” is
being looked upon as the
only saviour as the pre-poll
surveys start projecting a
not-so-rosy picture.
The Prime Minister has
little to offer on the devel-
opment front and looks
hell-bent on polarisation.
May 13 will reveal how
much people will bite the
bait or will look for new
promises and a new tomor-
row. Karnataka has at
times come up with
surprises.
The writer is a journalist
based in New Delhi
not participated in any
international tournament
since the start of the year.
N.J. Ravi Chander
Bengaluru
NO BANNING CRICKET
CRICKET AND ENGLISH are colonial
legacies. While intermittent noises are
made against English, nobody has dared
to attack the game of cricket on patriotic
grounds. Any politician speaking against
cricket would be committing political
harakiri. India may be divided on a hun-
dred issues, but when it comes to the love
of cricket we are united like nothing else.
The entire nation is glued to their televi-
sion during the current IPL season.
Commentaries in quite a few local lan-
guages like Bhojpuri and Punjabi have
given an added flavour to the tourna-
ment, As if the Hindi translation of short
ball and cut as “choti gend” and “kata”
were not enough to have the English
either roll up the aisles laughing or turn-
ing in their graves!
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai
DYING CHEETAHS
ANOTHER cheetah from Africa has died
in India’s Kuno National Park in
Madhya Pradesh. The cause of Uday’s
death remains unclear, and forest offi-
cials said an autopsy would be conduct-
ed. Uday was one of 12 cheetahs brought
from South Africa in February as part of
a cheetah rehabilitation programme
costing to the tune of crores. “During a
routine check at 9 am, Uday was found
sitting in a lethargic state,” an official
said. “When experts approached him, he
got up and staggered a bit.” Two out of
the 12 cheetahs are dead now and public
money has been wasted.
Bhagwan Thadani
Mumbai

L
ast week’s talks between the coalition gov-
ernment and the opposition took place in
an atmosphere unfortunately vitiated by
the exchange of inflammatory rhetoric
between the two sides. PML-N leaders set a more
Maleeha belligerent tone this time, with defence minister
Khawaja Asif calling the talks an “exercise in
Lodhi futility”, while Javed Latif declared that negotia-
tions with “a terrorist party” were impossible.
This prompted PTI leaders to question the gov-
ernment’s seriousness to engage in result-oriented
talks. Moreover, government actions, notably the
police raid on former Punjab chief minister
Pervez Elahi’s Lahore residence, made the politi-
The PTI side proposed dissolving the Sindh and
Balochistan assemblies in May for elections to be
fixed for some time in mid-July. This was rejected
by the government. Thus the ‘final’ round of talks
ended inconclusively with no indication that
negotiations will resume.
Considering the government only has four
months left in its term, offering to hold elections,
say a month or two earlier, could have forged a
national consensus to end the political deadlock,
ease political tensions and create a peaceful path-
way to the polls. But the ruling coalition squan-
dered this opportunity by not opting for this
course. Its obduracy on the election date is only
‘clarified’ that its order remained “unchanged”.
One of the reasons cited by representatives of the
ruling coalition for not conceding on the election
date is that the government has a trade policy to
announce and a budget to present. Whether or not
this was an excuse there is no getting away from
the fact that the government’s political distrac-
tions, tardy decisions and mismanagement have
left the economy teetering on the brink of a break-
down. The bailout deal with the IMF remains elu-
sive for several reasons. The last sticking points
include the Fund’s insistence that Pakistan fully
fund the external financing gap for the remaining
part of this fiscal year.
tainable basis and not by band-aid measures.
This is especially so as the coalition government,
instead of steering the shipwrecked economy to
safer shores, seems to be expending more time and
energy on political battles and power tussles.
It has now declared war on the Supreme Court.
Ruling coalition ministers have been lashing out
against court orders, exploiting divisions among
its judges and characterising their confrontation
with the SC as one designed to assert parliament’s
supremacy.
At times their aggressive statements seem to
suggest they are deliberately provoking the court
to take action against them. This conduct seems

Mess growing cal atmosphere more tense and hardly propitious

for negotiations.
Nevertheless, at one point in the government-
explicable by its desire to delay the polls as long as
possible out of fear that the electoral outcome will
not be in its favour.
The gap is estimated to be around $3 billion after
$2bn was apparently committed by Saudi Arabia
and $1bn by UAE. Before concluding the agree-
aimed at discrediting the court to justify the gov-
ernment’s defiance of its order to hold provincial
elections in Punjab.

in Pakistan as opposition parleys it seemed some headway was

made when the two sides agreed national and
provincial elections should be held on the same
day. This resulted from a show of flexibility by
What kind of difference a few months will make
to the political fortunes of coalition parties is
beyond comprehension. If anything, time has
been working against them, with PML-N steadily
ment, the Fund also wants to evaluate the budget
plans prepared by the government, with whom it
has an obvious trust deficit.
The IMF deal has been delayed since November.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has filed a
petition for a review of the court’s order on the
Punjab polls claiming the SC exceeded its consti-
tutional jurisdiction in fixing a date, which it
parties wrangle Imran Khan’s PTI, whose negotiators led by Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, also agreed to neutral caretak-
er administrations to oversee the polls.
losing political ground.
Failure to reach an agreement means confronta-
tion between the government and opposition will
This delay is continuing to impose a heavy cost on
the economy. This is reflected in depleting foreign
exchange reserves, tumbling exports and the vir-
lacked the authority to do. These clashes between
state institutions have left the governance system
in disarray and on the verge of collapse.

over poll dates They went further, offering to help the govern-
ment, which lacks a two-thirds parliamentary
majority, to secure a one-time constitutional cover
to shift the election date beyond the constitution-
ally stipulated 90-day period through an amend-
ment. But the talks broke down on lack of agree-
ment on a common date for elections. Government
representatives didn’t budge from their position of
holding elections after parliament completed its
full term in August, which meant not before
October.
intensify with the risk of greater political turmoil
ahead. Khan had warned that in the absence of an
accord his party will go back to the Supreme Court
and he will direct his followers to agitate in the
streets.
PTI then submitted a letter to the apex court
informing it that “a solution within the
Constitution” could not be achieved in talks with
the government. It also asked the court to imple-
ment “in letter and spirit” its earlier order to hold
elections in Punjab on May 14. For its part, the SC
tual collapse of business confidence. The economy
is, in fact, precariously poised with the fall in
exports, decline in overseas remittances, inflation
at a 60-year high and the rupee losing record value
against the dollar.
Further delay in the Fund programme could
plunge the precarious economy into a graver cri-
sis. If anything, the dire economic situation makes
elections necessary sooner rather than later, so
that a government with a fresh mandate can deal
with Pakistan’s worst economic crisis on a sus-
There may still be a slim chance for government-
opposition talks to be revived. Otherwise, the rul-
ing coalition’s desire to cling to power as long as it
can and delay elections will keep the country in a
state of limbo and only kick the can down the road.
Far from ending the ongoing political crisis, it
will set the stage for an even bigger one later with
more profound consequences for the country’s
economic and political stability.
By arrangement with Dawn
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Aishwarya Thatikonda
PROCESS TO SEND
AISHWARYA’S
BODY BEGINS
Houston: The Indian
Consulate here has said it is
helping the family of 26-year-
old Aishwarya Thatikonda,
who was killed in a mass
shooting incident at a mall in
Dallas, in facilitating the com-
pletion of requisite formalities
to take her mortal remains
home and also confirmed that
two Indians were injured.
Aishwarya, of McKinney,
was shopping with a friend
when they were shot by gun-
man Mauricio Garcia at in
Dallas.
The shooting erupted around
3.30 pm on Saturday as throngs
of shoppers filled the outdoor
mall. The shooting killed at
least eight people before
Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old
gunman, was shot dead by a
police officer. Aishwarya, the
daughter of a district judge in
Ranga Reddy district court in
India, worked as a project engi-
neer at Perfect General Cont-
ractors LLC. Indian Consulate
in Houston has contacted the
family of Aishwarya.
ISRAELI STRIKES
IN GAZA KILL
THREE MILITANTS
Gaza City: Israel carried out a
series of targeted airstrikes in
densely populated areas of the
Gaza Strip early on Tuesday,
killing three senior command-
ers of the Islamic Jihad mili-
tant group and at least 10 civil-
ians, Palestinian health offi-
cials said.
Two of the commanders’
wives, several of their chil-
dren and other bystanders
were among the dead.
The attacks set the stage for
what is likely to be a new
round of heavy fighting.
The airstrikes hit the top
floor of an apartment build-
ing, a house in Gaza City and a
third house in the southern
town of Rafah.
The Palestinian Health
Ministry said 20 people were
wounded, and some were in
serious or critical condition.
Israel said it targeted several
militant training sites as well.
At midday, tens of thousands
of people took part in two
funerals, with at least 10 bod-
ies being mourned.
TRUSS HEADS TO
TAIWAN TO SHOW
‘SOLIDARITY’
London: British former prime
minister Liz Truss said on
Tuesday she would head to
Taiwan next week to support
the island democracy against
what she said was China’s
“increasingly aggressive
behaviour”. The announce-
ment coincided with the first
visit by a British minister to
Hong Kong since 2018, before
China dismantled the former
UK colony’s democracy move-
ment in a crackdown that has
sent thousands of
Hongkongers leaving for new
lives in Britain.
Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak’s spokesman denied
that the government was kow-
towing to China, insisting the
visit by investment minister
Dominic Johnson was “com-
pletely appropriate” to support
UK jobs.
REFUGEE SCAM:
NEPAL LAWMAKER
STRIPS IN HOUSE
Kathmandu: An agitated
Nepalese lawmaker took off
his shirt in the House of
Representatives for not being
allowed to speak, amidst a
heated discussion over the
fake refugee scam that appar-
ently involves top former
home ministry officials.
Nepal Police are investigat-
ing the scam related to the
trafficking of Nepalese nation-
als as Bhutanese refugees
abroad.
Amaresh Singh, an inde-
pendent member of the House
of Representatives, took off
his shirt as Speaker Devraj
Ghimire did not allot a slot for
him to speak at the beginning
of the meeting. As Singh took
off the clothes and exposed the
upper parts of his body, speak-
er Ghimire warned him of
action according to parliamen-
tary rules if he did not behave
politely in the House.
Following the speaker’s
warning, Singh put on the
clothes.
Cops, protesters clash
over Imran’s arrest
Videos show Khan manhandled by paramilitary rangers
Islamabad, May 9:
Protests erupted across
Pakistan on Tuesday after
former prime minister
Imran Khan was arrested
during a court appearance
in the capital for one of
dozens of cases pending
since he was ousted last
year.
His arrest follows
months of political crisis
and comes hours after the
powerful military rebuked
the former international
cricketer for alleging a
senior officer had been
involved in a plot to kill
him.
Police fired tear gas and
water cannon to disperse
Khan supporters in
Karachi and Lahore, while
protesters blocked
roads in the capital
Islamabad, neighbouring
Rawalpindi, and
Peshawar.
“Imran Khan has been
arrested in the Qadir
Trust case,” the official
Islamabad police Twitter
account said, referring to
a graft case.
Video broadcast on local
TV channels showed Khan
— who has a pronounced
limp since being shot dur-
ing an assassination
attempt last year — being
manhandled by dozens of
paramilitary rangers into
an armoured car inside
the Islamabad High Court
premises.
“As we reached the
court’s biometric room to
mark the attendance,
dozens of rangers
attacked us,” said Ali
Bukhari, a lawyer with
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-
e-Insaf (PTI) party.
“They beat him and
dragged him out,” he told
AFP.
It was not immediately
clear where he was taken.
— AFP
LANKA DISALLOWS Migration surge across border
EVENTS TO MARK
ANNIVERSARY OF
RAJAPAKSA’S EXIT
Colombo, May 9: A Sri
Lankan court on
Tuesday accepted a
request by the police to
curb the commemora-
tion of the events which
led to the resignation of
the bankrupt govern-
ment of president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa a
year ago.
On May 9 last year, Sri
Lankan Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa
resigned, hours after his
supporters attacked
anti-government pro-
testers outside embat-
tled President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa’s office.
Last year, thousands of
demonstrators protested
across Sri Lanka seek-
ing the resignation of
President Gotabaya and
Prime Minister
Mahinda, as the Sri
Lankan government ran
out of money for vital
imports; prices of
essential commodities
have skyrocketed and
there are acute short-
ages in fuel, medicines,
and electricity
supply.
Police on Tuesday said
the Colombo Fort magis-
trate has issued a
restraining order on
commemoration of the
protest preventing them
from entering key instal-
lations such as the presi-
dent’s house, presiden-
tial secretariat, finance
ministry, and the prime
minister’s official resi-
dence. — PTI
TECHNOLOGY | TAKES OVER
AI to replace 80% of jobs soon: Expert
Rio De Janeiro, May 9:
Artificial intelligence
could replace 80 per cent of
human jobs in the coming
years — but that’s a good
thing, says US-Brazilian
researcher Ben Goertzel, a
leading AI expert.
Mathematician, cogni-
tive scientist and famed
robot-creator Goertzel, 56,
is founder and chief exec-
utive of a research group
aimed at creating “Artifi-
cial General Intelligence,”
or AGI — artificial intelli-
gence with human cogni-
tive abilities.
NO RESPITE FOR IMRAN KHAN
Pakistan’s former prime
minister Imran Khan,
who was arrested by
paramilitary Rangers on
Tuesday, is facing 121
cases across the country.
SERIOUS CHARGES
● The charges include
committing treason and
blasphemy and inciting
violence and terrorism.
31 cases have been reg-
istered against Khan in
the federal capital
30 cases and call-up
notices have been issued
in Lahore, the capital of
Punjab province
12 cases of terrorism
have been registered
against Imran in Lahore
● An Islamabad court is set to
indict him on May 10 in a case in
which he allegedly hid the pro-
ceeds from the sale of state gifts.
Hours before arrest, Khan
got bail in multiple cases
Islamabad, May 9: An
anti-terrorism court in
Pakistan on Tuesday
approved former premier
Imran Khan's interim bail
pleas for multiple cases,
hours before the PTI chief
was arrested at the
Islamabad High Court by
paramilitary Rangers.
ATC Judge Raja Jawad
Abbas heard the Pakistan
Migrants cross the banks of Rio Grande river to enter the US through the El Paso
Sector in Texas. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is set to discuss
migration policy with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday, as the US plans to lift
pandemic-era border restrictions this week. The video call will cover the issues of
migration, fentanyl-drug crisis and development cooperation.
US’ strength is diversity: Biden
Washington, May 9:
America’s strength is its
diversity, President Joe
Biden has said, as he host-
ed one of the largest gath-
erings of Asian Americ-
ans at the White House
attended by several promi-
nent Indian-Americans.
The gathering
Monday was organised for
on
screening of the “Ameri-
can Born Chinese” movie
as part of a celebration of
Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific
Islander (AANHPI) Herit-
age Month.“You embody
Researcher explains it should be seen as a benefit rather than a threat
During an interview on
the sidelines of the Web
Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
the world’s biggest
annual technology confer-
ence, Goertzel said that
AGI is just years away and
spoke out against recent
efforts to curb
artificial intelligence
research.
When asked how far is
the future for artificial
intelligence with human
cognitive abilities, he said
“If we want machines to
really be as smart as peo-
ple and to be as agile in
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters
of former prime minister Imran Khan protest against
the arrest of their leader in Multan on Tuesday. — AFP
14 cases have 22 terrorism cases have been
been registered registered against Imran Khan
in Faisalabad across Pakistan
MORE TROUBLE ON THE ANVIL
● Pakistan’s military warned former prime
minister Imran Khan against making
“baseless allegations” after he again accused
a senior officer of plotting to kill him.
● THE 70-Y YEAR-OOLD ex-
premier arrested while
he was at court for the
hearing of corruption.
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
party chief's pleas seeking
bail in cases about the
March 18 violence outside
the Federal Judicial
Complex here and
Joe Biden
the truth that our diversi-
ty is our strength as a
nation. That’s not hyper-
bole. That’s a fact. That’s
why we rebuild our econo-
my, invest in America,”
Biden told a packed gath-
dealing with the unknown,
then they need to be able
to take big leaps beyond
their training and pro-
gramming. And we're not
there yet. But I think
there’s reason to believe
we’re years rather than
decades from getting
there.”
Speaking on the debate
around AI such as
ChatGPT and its risks and
the need for a six-month
research pause, Goertzel
said “I don’t think we
should pause it because
it's like a dangerous super-
approved Khan’s bail
against bonds worth PKR
50,000 in all seven cases,
the Dawn newspaper
reported.
The 70-year-old former
premier was arrested on
Tuesday by paramilitary
Rangers while he was at
the Islamabad High Court
(IHC) for the hearing of
corruption. — AFP
— AFP
ering of the AANHPI com-
munity from various
parts of the country
including several Indian-
Americans in the East
Room of the White House.
Biden said the AANHPI
represents diverse com-
munity culture that is
reflected in every part of
American life, including
in the government.
“I’m determined to
remind everyone and
we're doing it again
tonight that our strength
lies in our diversity," he
said. — AFP
human AI... These are
very interesting AI sys-
tems, but they’re not capa-
ble of becoming like
human level general intel-
ligences, because they
can’t do complex multi-
stage reasoning, like you
need to do science. They
can’t invent wild new
things outside the scope of
their training data. They
can also spread misinfor-
mation, and people are
saying we should pause
them because of this.
That’s very weird to me,”
he added. — AFP
Russian sailors march during the Victory Day military parade in the Black Sea port of
Novorossiysk on Tuesday. Russia celebrates the 78th anniversary of the victory over
Nazi Germany during World War II.
Putin: West is waging
real war against Russia
Moscow, May 9: President
Vladimir Putin declared
on Tuesday that the West
has unleashed a real war
against Russia, reprising
a familiar refrain at
scaled-down Victory Day
celebrations that may
reflect the toll the Ukraine
conflict is taking on his
forces.
Putin’s remarks came
just hours after the Mo-
scow fired its latest bar-
rage of cruise missiles at
targets in Ukraine, which
Russia invaded more than
14 months ago. Ukrainian
authorities said
defences destroyed 23 of
air
25 missiles launched.
The Russian leader has
repeatedly sought to paint
his invasion of Ukraine as
necessary to defend aga-
inst a threat. Kyiv and its
Western allies say they
pose no such threat and
that Moscow’s war is
meant to deter Western
influence in a country
that Russia considers part
of its sphere of influence.
Today civilisation is
once again at a decisive
turning point, Putin said
at the annual commemo-
rations celebrating the
defeat of Nazi Germany
in World War II. A real
war has been unleashed
against our motherland.
Putin has often used
patriotic rhetoric that
harkens back to the earli-
er war in an effort to rally
his citizens and forces and
May 9 is one of the most
Canada, China
expel diplomats
Shanghai, May 9: China
said on Tuesday it was
expelling Canada’s consul
in Shanghai, in a tit-for-
tat move after Ottawa
announced it was sending
home a Chinese diplomat
accused of trying to
intimidate a lawmaker.
The expulsions have pl-
unged the two nations in-
to a diplomatic row after
years of souring rela-
tions. They follow an out-
cry in Canada over allega-
tions that Chinese intelli-
gence had planned to tar-
get MP Michael Chong
and his relatives in Hong
Kong with sanctions for
sponsoring a motion con-
demning Beijing’s con-
duct in the Xinjiang
region as genocide.
In response, Canadian
Foreign Minister Melanie
Joly said Toronto-based
Chinese diplomat Zhao
Wei — who allegedly
played a role in the
scheme — would have to
leave the country.
Canada, she said, would
“not tolerate any form of
‘CLAIMS’ DEBUNKED
AI is presently not
When it comes
as smart as to regulations
humans. But, needed for AI,
Goertzel believes Goertzel pitch-
that stage of es for society
development can to be the
be attended in watchdog to
“years rather than ensure these
decades”.
technologies are used for good.
The cognitive scientist counters the risk of AI, saying
“AI can't invent wild new things outside the scope of
their training data”.
WAR INTENSIFIES
EU PROPOSES ACT TO
BOOST AMMUNITION
PRODUCTION IN EUROPE
● EU lawmakers on
Tuesday voted to speed up
consideration of a law to
boost ammunition
production in
Europe to the
tune of 500
million euros, due
to efforts to
supply Ukraine.
● The decision
should see the new
legislation — termed the
Act in Support of
Ammunition Production
(ASAP) — in place by the
end of the year.
● The spending proposal
comes as the bloc seeks to
supply a million shells to
Ukraine in next 12 months.
important dates in the
Russian political calen-
dar. But this year’s cele-
brations were markedly
smaller, at least partially
because of security con-
cerns after several drone
attacks have been report-
ed inside Russia.
Some 8,000 troops took
part in the parade in
Moscow’s Red Square on
Tuesday the lowest num-
ber since 2008. Even the
procession in 2020, the
year of the Covid-19 pan-
foreign interference in
our internal affairs”.
The Chinese foreign
ministry on Tuesday con-
demned the decision to
expel Zhao, and said it
had ordered Canadian
consul Jennifer Lynn
Lalonde to leave the coun-
try by May 13.
“As a reciprocal coun-
termeasure in reaction to
Canada's unscrupulous
move, China decides to
declare Jennifer Lynn
Lalonde, consul of the
Consulate General of
Canada in Shanghai per-
sona non grata,” the min-
istry said in a statement.
And foreign ministry
spokesman Wang Wenbin
urged Canada to stop
“unreasonable provoca-
tions”.
“If the Canadian side
doesn’t listen to this
advice and acts recklessly,
(China) will take resolute
and forceful retaliatory
measures, and all conse-
quences will be borne by
the Canadian side,” Wang
said. AFP
pg 6
— AFP
RUSSIA RAINS MISSILES
ON UKRAINE
● Russia unleashed a
barrage of cruise
missiles on Ukraine
overnight into Tuesday,
hours before the
start of Moscow’s
annual
commemorations
celebrating the
defeat of Nazi
Germany in World
War II.
● The Kremlin’s forces
launched 25 missiles
overnight in a wave of
attacks across Ukraine,
the Ukrainian air force
said, adding that air
defense had successfully
destroyed 23 of them.
● 8 Kalibr cruise missiles
were also launched.
demic, featured some
13,000 soldiers, and last
year, 11,000 troops took
part. There was no fly-
over of military jets, and
the event lasted less than
the usual hour.
This is weak. There are
no tanks, said Yelena
Orlova, watching the vehi-
cles rumble
Moscow’s Novy Arbat
down
avenue after leaving Red
Square. We're upset, but
that's all right; it will be
better in the future. — AP
Donald Trump
TRUMP TRIAL
HEARS CLOSING
ARGUMENTS
New York, May 9: A US
court heard closing
arguments Monday in a
closely watched civil
trial that accuses ex-
president Donald Trump
of raping and defaming
an American former
magazine columnist.
Lawyers for accuser E.
Jean Carroll urged the
nine-person jury to find
Trump liable for
the alleged sexual
assault in a New York
department store in the
mid-1990s.
“No one, not even a for-
mer president, is above
the law,” attorney
Roberta Kaplan told the
Manhattan federal
court.
Carroll, 79, sued
Trump last year, alleg-
ing that he raped her in
the changing room of
the luxury Bergdorf
Goodman store on Fifth
Avenue in either late
1995 or early 1996.
The former columnist
for Elle magazine also
claims that Trump
defamed her when he
called her “a complete
con job” after she went
public with the allega-
tion in 2019.
Trump has not been
criminally prosecuted
and has repeatedly
denied the allegations,
often referring to
Carroll as “not my type.”
“The truth is,” Carroll
“was exactly his
type,” Kaplan said to the
jurors who will begin
deliberating on Tuesday.
— AFP
 NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023
quick India’s growth
BITES outlook stable
INDICATORS % New Delhi, May 9: Fitch
Sensex 61,761.33 0.01
Nifty 50
S&P 500*
18,266.00 0.00
4,122.57 -0.38
Dollar (`)
Pound Sterling (`)
82.04 0.28
103.57 0.15
Euro (`)
Gold (10gm)* (`)
90.11 0.19
61,225▲298 0.49
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 76.06 -1.23
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.045 -0.002
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 3.486 -0.033
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Stride Ventures
raises $100 mn
for onlending
Stride Ventures, which pro-
vides debt capital to new-age
companies, on Tuesday said it
has raised $ 100 million (about
Rs 820 crore) for onlending.
This is the first close of the
third venture debt fund by the
firm, and the company is tar-
geting to raise another USD
100 million as part of the fund,
as per a statement. The first
close was achieved within four
months of getting a license for
the third fund, it said.
Raymond Q4
profit falls 26%
to `196.5 crore
Diversified group Raymond Ltd
reported a 25.8 per cent
decline in its consolidated net
profit at Rs 196.48 crore in the
fourth quarter ended on March
31, 2023, on account of excep-
tional items. It had posted a
net profit of Rs 264.97 crore
during the same period a year
ago. Its revenue from opera-
tions was up 9.8 per cent to Rs
2,150.18 crore during the quar-
ter under review, as against Rs
1,958.1 crore a year-ago.
Rukart ties up
with SBI for loans
to customers
Agritech firm Rukart, which
sells 'Subjee Cooler' to
enhance shelf life of fruits and
vegetables, has tied up with
SBI to help potential customers
in getting easy loan options to
buy the product. Founded in
May 2019, Rukart manufactures
Subjee Cooler, a cold chain
storage system that requires
only 20 liters of water a day to
function. It increases the shelf
life of fruits, flowers and veg-
etables by 4-6 days.
Anti-dumping
duty on import-
ed optic fibres
The Directorate General of
Trade Remedies (DGTR) has
recommended imposition of
anti-dumping duty on imports
of a certain type of optical
fibres from China, Korea and
Indonesia to protect the
domestic industry from cheap
inbound shipments. It recom-
mended the duty after con-
ducting an investigation on the
dumped imports of 'Dispersion
Unshifted Single-mode Optical
Fiber' from these countries.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited.
Printed at BFL Infotech Ltd, C-9 Sector
3, Noida-201301. Published at 219, N D
Tiwari Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi-110002.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI
Registration number 30074/09,
Air surcharge Re 1. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part without written permission of
The Editor,
Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.
Fitch sees India growing at 6% in FY24
on Tuesday affirmed
India's sovereign rating at
'BBB-' with a stable out-
look, on robust growth
and resilient external
finances, but said weak
public finances remain a
challenge.
India's rating has been
unchanged at 'BBB-',
which is the lowest invest-
ment grade, since August
2006.
“Fitch Ratings has
affirmed India's Long-
Term Foreign-Currency
Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) at 'BBB-' with a
Stable Outlook,” it said in
a statement, adding strong
growth potential is a key
supporting factor for the
sovereign rating.
It forecasts India to be
one of the fastest-growing
sovereigns globally clock-
ing 6 per cent growth in
the current fiscal (April
2023-March 2024) support-
ed by resilient investment
prospects.
“India's rating reflects
strengths from a robust
growth outlook compared
with peers and resilient
external finances, which
have supported India in
navigating the large exter-
nal shocks over the past
year.
“These are offset by
India's weak public
finances, illustrated by
high deficits and debt rela-
tive to peers, as well as
lagging structural indica-
tors, including World
Bank governance indica-
tors and GDP per capita,”
Fitch said.
All the three global rat-
ing agency -- Fitch, S&P
and Moody's -- have the
lowest investment grade
BSNL gearing up Import duties hurt MSMEs
to offer 4G services
New Delhi, May 9: State-
owned Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is gear-
ing up to offer 4G services,
and work is on in full
swing to bring these serv-
ices to consumers soon,
Minister of State for
Communications
Devusinh Chauhan said
on Tuesday.
The minister further
said that India Post is
looking at partnership
with government-backed
Open Network for Digital
Commerce (ONDC) as a
logistics service provider.
On pesky calls, the min-
ister said that the unwant-
ed calls are a “problem”,
and added that a lot of
work is going into
addressing the issue.
With Group of Ministers
(GoM's) approving the
deployment of 1 lakh
BSNL 4G sites, the minis-
ter said that 4G work is
Gabriel India to
make car sunroofs
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, MAY 9
Gabriel India, the BSE-
listed auto component
manufacture, on Tuesday
signed a technical collabo-
ration with the $1.5 billion
(Rs 12,370 crore) Dutch-
based Inalfa Roof Systems
(Inalfa) to manufacture
sunroofs for the fast-grow-
ing Indian automotive
market with an initial
investment of Rs 180 crore
($22 million).
The newly formed Inalfa
Gabriel Sunroof Systems
(IGSS), which will initial-
ly be a wholly owned sub-
sidiary of Gabriel India,
will manufacture sun-
roofs for passenger vehi-
cles at a new plant near
Chennai that will start
operations in the Q1 of CY
2024 at a projected $22 mil-
lion investment.
The IGSS will be con-
verted into a joint venture
between Inalfa and
Gabriel India, with Inalfa
holding 51 per cent share-
holding.
The new company will
create over 250 direct and
indirect jobs in India.
“Gabriel’s alliance with
Inalfa, Netherlands,
rating on India, with a sta-
ble outlook. The ratings
are looked at by investors
as a barometer of a coun-
try's credit worthiness
and impacts borrowing
cost.
Fitch said India will face
headwinds from elevated
inflation, high interest
rates and subdued global
demand, along with fad-
ing pandemic-induced
pent-up demand.
Fitch said growth
prospects have brightened
as the private sector
appears poised for str-
onger investment growth
following the improve-
ment of corporate and
bank balance sheets in the
past few years, supported
by the government's infra-
structure drive.
Still, risks remain given
low labour force participa-
tion rates and an uneven
reform implementation
record. “India's large
domestic market makes it
an attractive destination
for foreign firms.
However, it is unclear
whether India will be able
to realise sufficient
reforms to allow the econ-
omy to benefit substan-
underway and various
sites have been identified.
The government is keen
that the services should
start soon, he said.
BSNL is coming with
indigenous 4G technology,
which took some time, but
now the telecom corpora-
tion is aggressively work-
ing on bringing these
services to consumers, he
said on the sidelines of an
event to announce a mem-
orandum of understand-
ing among India Post,
CAIT and Tripta
Technologies for logistics
services.
Chauhan also expressed
satisfaction with the pace
of 5G roll-outs in the
country. “If you see glob-
ally, no other country has
achieved such a speedy 5G
roll-out. Today 5G roll-
outs have touched over 800
districts,” the minister
said. — PTI
known for its pioneering
and high-quality roof sys-
tems, is a winner for both
Gabriel and Inalfa in mul-
tiple ways,” said Anjali
Singh, Executive
Chairperson of the $2-bil-
lion Aanand Group,
whose range of auto com-
ponents and systems are
present in more than 99
per cent of passenger
vehicles on Indian roads.
Interestingly, some
OEMs including Gabriel
customers are seeing
close to around 40 per cent
of their passenger vehicle
sales come with models
equipped with sunroofs.
The partners say indus-
try assessments project
that automotive sunroof
sales in India could cross
well over 7 lakh units this
calendar year as against 5
lakh units in 2022.
tially from opportunities
offered by the deeper inte-
gration in global manufac-
turing supply chains, incl-
uding China+1 corporate
strategies that encourage
diversification in invest-
ment destinations,” Fitch
said.
It said service sector
exports are likely to
remain a bright spot and
banks appear well-posi-
tioned to support sustai-
ned credit growth if capi-
talisation is well-man-
aged.
Fitch estimates inflation
to remain near the upper-
end of the Reserve Bank's
2 per cent-6 per cent target
band, averaging 5.8 per
cent this fiscal, against 6.7
per cent last year.
Fitch estimates inflation
to remain near the upper-
end of the Reserve Bank's
2 per cent-6 per cent target
band, averaging 5.8 per
cent this fiscal, against 6.7
per cent last year.
It said that the fiscal con-
solidation path, under
which the centre's fiscal
deficit is to be brought
down to 4.5 per cent of
GDP by 2025-26, remains
challenging.
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, MAY 9
Though the new Foreign
Trade Policy envisages
growth of e-commerce
exports, import duty on
returns is affecting the e-
commerce exports by
micro, small and medium
enterprises.
According to Federation
of Indian Small and
Medium Enterprises, over
90 per cent of e-commerce
exporters in India are
MITSUBISHI ARM
TO SET UP NEW
FACTORY IN TN
Chennai, May 9:
Electronic equipment
manufacturer Mitsubishi
Electric India has decided
to set up a new manufac-
turing unit in Tamil Nadu
at an investment of about
Rs 1,891 crore and the
foundation stone was laid
by Chief Minister M K
Stalin here on Tuesday.
The manufacturing
facility is expected to
come up on a 52 acre land
in Thiruvallur district.
Mitsubishi Electric
India shall be investing
Rs 1,891 crore via FDI. It
would create over 2,000
jobs of which 60% would
for women.
Rising premiums a big concern
New Delhi, May 9: The
rise in premium amount
for life insurance is the
biggest concern for con-
sumers, and affordability
has become a more press-
ing issue, according to a
survey released on
Tuesday.
The report identifies
three major barriers to
customers' life insurance
purchasing decisions --
behavioural biases/ per-
ceived need, economic
constraints/affordability
and perceived difficulty in
Mankind
makes a
strong debut
on markets
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MAY 9
Mankind Pharma made a
strong listing on bourses
with shares up 31.86 per
cent at market close and
the market cap of the
company rising to Rs
57,045.80 crore.
Mankind Pharma has
become the fifth largest
pharma company by mar-
ket capitalisation after
Sun Pharma,Divi's Lab,
Dr Reddys Laboratories
and Cipla.
Mankind Pharma's ini-
tial public offering raised
Rs 4,326 crore in the price
band of Rs 1026 to Rs 1080
per equity share.
Mankind shares closed
at Rs 1424.05 on BSE after
listing at Rs1,300 com-
pared to public issue
price of Rs 1080 per share.
On both NSE and BSE
Mankind shares touched
an intra-day high of
Rs 1430 Brokerage firm
Macquarie in a note said,
"Mankind Pharma, the
second-largest domestic
pharma company in
terms of volume, appears
to be well positioned to
double its profit after tax
by FY26E. We believe con-
tinued sales outperfor-
mance to the India mar-
ket, focus on chronic ther-
apies and improved sales-
force productivity are
growth drivers."
MSMEs. E-commerce
exports face high return
rates as customers are
unable to examine prod-
ucts beforehand. Returns
are treated as imports and
face import duties, result-
ing in high logistics costs
and product disposal.
“In e-commerce sector,
returns are as high as 30
per cent. When a product
is returned, the exporter
loses the business as well
as the cost of logistics and
shipping. However, the
Ban on diesel vehicles:
No decision taken yet
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, MAY 9
Day after the move to ban
diesel four-wheelers by
2027, the oil ministry on
Tuesday said that the rec-
ommendation is yet to be
accepted by the govern-
ment. However, the sug-
gestions relate to multiple
ministries and a range of
stakeholders and consul-
tations with various
stakeholders on the report
are yet to be initiated, the
ministry said.
Focussing on clean ener-
gy, an oil ministry panel
— the energy transition
advisory committee
(ETAC) — on Monday had
suggested that India
should ban the use of
diesel-powered four-
wheeler vehicles by 2027
and shift to electric and
gas-fuelled vehicles in
cities with more than a
million people and pollut-
ed towns.
a purchase.
The survey done by
Hansa Research includes
the response of about 3,300
life insurance policyhold-
ers across India.
Respondents were asked a
series of questions relat-
ing to their experience as
a policyholder.
Another key finding of
the report is that 22 per
cent of customers cited
'Company does not keep in
touch' as a potential rea-
son for leaving.
In addition, 8 out of 10
Social security schemes
protect underprivileged
New Delhi, May 9:
Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Tuesday
said three social security
schemes, including PMJJ-
BY and PMSBY, aim to
provide essential finan-
cial services to citizens
especially underprivi-
leged and safeguard them
against unforeseen risks,
losses, and financial
uncertainties.
Three social security
(Jan Suraksha) schemes --
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan
Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJ-
BY), Pradhan Mantri
Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY) and Atal Pension
Yojana (APY) -- were
launched on May 9, 2015.
The three schemes are
dedicated to the welfare of
the citizens, recognising
the need for securing
EU, US subsidies to hit
Indian hydrogen market
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, MAY 9
India has the potential to
emerge as the most com-
petitive source for green
hydrogen and green
hydrogen embedded prod-
ucts. However subsidies
by Europe and the US
could impact India’s com-
petitiveness.
The global hydrogen
demand is expected to
increase from 116 MT per
annum in 2019 to 500 -800
MT per annum in 2050, out
of which 85 per cent will
be contributed by green
hydrogen. Cost competi-
tiveness for green hydro-
gen remains contingent
upon several factors,
including reduction in
import duty on returns is
an additional cost. We
have asked the govern-
ment to scrap import duty
for returns and use tech-
nology to identify returns.
A subsidised agency in
lines of Return USA can
be created to handle the
operational and regulato-
ry issues related to
returns,”
Bhardwaj,
said
General, FISME.
Anil
Secretary
They want a green chan-
nel for e-comerce exports.
The ETAC, headed by
former petroleum secre-
tary Tarun Kapoor, said
that India should ban the
use of diesel-powered
four-wheelers by 2027 in
cities with over 10-lakh
population and switch to
electric and gas-fuelled
vehicles. “The sugges-
tions by the panel relate to
multiple ministries and a
range of stakeholders and
consultations with vari-
ous stakeholders on the
report are yet to be initiat-
ed,” the ministry said in a
tweet.
The panel suggested
phasing out motorcycles,
scooters, and three-wheel-
ers with internal combus-
tion engines by 2035. “The
new registrations of only
electric-powered city
delivery vehicles must be
allowed from 2024 and
there should be higher use
of railways and gas-pow-
ered trucks for the move-
ment of cargo.
● DIGITAL BEHAVIOUR
is also rising across the
customer journey, be it
for pre-purchase infor-
mation on the compa-
ny website serving as
the first frontier or
service communication
like payment rem-
inders, it said.
customers would like the
bank RM/agent to
call/meet them after pur-
chase at least once every
human life from unfore-
seen eventualisation and
financial uncertainties.
In order to ensure that
the people from the unor-
ganised section of the
country are financially
secure, the government
launched two insurance
schemes -- PMJJBY and
PMSBY; and also intro-
duced APY to cover the
exigencies in the old age.
Speaking on the 8th
anniversary of Jan
Suraksha schemes, the
finance minister said,
these schemes aim to pro-
vide essential financial
services to individuals
from underprivileged
backgrounds, thereby
reducing their financial
vulnerability.
Citing data on the three
schemes, Sitharaman said
● DUE TO one of the
lowest costs of
renewable power
generation, India can
emerge as one of the
most competitive
sources for green
hydrogen
capital cost for the elec-
trolyser, cost of renewable
energy procurement, effi-
ciency of electrolysers
and viability of storage
and availability of bank-
ing for round-the-clock
supply from renewable
energy sources.
Due to one of the lowest
costs of renewable power
generation in the world,
India can emerge as one of
Nexus REIT
IPO subscribed
28 per cent
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MAY 9
Blackstone Group spon-
sored Nexus Select
Trust's Rs 3200 crore REIT
public issue got 28 per
cent subscription on the
first day of bidding.
Earlier on Monday Nexus
Select Trust REIT raised
Rs 1440 crore from 20
anchor investors ahead of
the initial public offering
that opened on May 9.
Non-institutional
investor portion got sub-
scribed 42 per cent while
qualified institutional
buyer portion post anchor
allotment got subscribed
17 per cent, said sources
close to the merchant
bankers. Nexus REIT pub-
lic issue closes on May 11,
2023.
Indian institutions in
the anchor book category
with allotments made
included HDFC Trustee
Company which included
HDFC Focused 30 Fund
(Rs 78 cr); HDFC Flexi cap
fund (Rs 171.99 cr), HDFC
Infrastructure Fund (Rs
15 cr) and HDFC Housing
Opportunities Fund
(Rs.15 cr), HDFC Life
Insurance Company (Rs
174.6 cr), SBI Life
Insurance (Rs 143.99 cr),
SBI Dividend Yield Fund
(Rs 99.99 cr) and others.
six months, it said.
Digital behaviour is also
rising across the customer
journey, be it for pre-pur-
chase information on the
company website serving
as the first frontier or
service communication
like payment reminders, it
said.
Brand perception of dig-
ital service is another
extremely critical aspect
for the online buyer, along
with customer support,
the survey added.
— PTI
pg 7
that 16.2 crore, 34.2 crore
and 5.2 crore enrolments
have been done under
PMJJBY, PMSBY and
APY, respectively, till
April 26 2023.
On PMJJBY scheme, the
finance minister said that
it has provided crucial
support to 6.64 lakh fami-
lies who have received
claims for Rs 13,290 crore.
Under the PMSBY
scheme, finance minister
Sitharaman said that
more than 1.15 lakh fami-
lies have received claims
for `2,302 crore. For both
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan
Jyoti Bima Yojana and
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha
Bima Yojana schemes,
simplification of the
claim process has resulted
in speedier settlement of
claims.
the most competitive
sources for green hydro-
gen and green hydrogen-
embedded products such
as green steel and green
ammonia globally.
The European Hydrogen
Bank (EHB) and the
Inflation Reduction Act of
the US provide subsidies
and could adversely
impact the competitive-
ness of Indian GH2 indus-
try, finds ICRA.
In order to cover and
lower the cost gap with
fossil fuels, EHB plans an
auction system for renew-
able hydrogen production
to support producers
through a fixed price pay-
ment per kg of hydrogen
produced for a maximum
of 10 years of operation.
FADA FLAGS
VEHICLE SALES
BY MULTI-BRAND
OUTLETS
New Delhi, May 9:
Automobile dealers' body
FADA on Tuesday said
the illegal practice of
unauthorised multi-
brand outlets selling two-
wheelers is making legiti-
mate dealerships lose
business and turn unvi-
able.
The Federation of
Automobile Dealers
Associations (FADA) said
it has approached various
authorities to take strict
action against the prac-
tice.
The multi-brand outlets
(MBOs) are acquiring
unregistered vehicles in
bulk from dealers and
reselling them to cus-
tomers at discounted
rates, higher than the
prices offered by original
equipment manufactur-
ers (OEMs) through
authorised dealers, with-
out any commitment to
after-sales service, FADA
said in a statement.
This has not only
impacted the legitimate
dealerships but has also
shaken customers' confi-
dence in the brand and
dealer partners, it added.
Furthermore, the out-
lets indulge in evasion of
GST, income tax, issuance
of fake/ undervalued
insurance policies, deliv-
ery of vehicles without
registration/ HSRP and
helmets, resulting in rev-
enue loss on various
fronts, FADA stated.
“We have raised the
issue of unauthorised
MBOs in the two-wheeler
industry, which are not
certified as bona fide
dealers and sell unregis-
tered vehicles without
any trade certificates or
after-sales services,”
FADA President Manish
Raj Singhania stated.
This has caused many
legitimate two-wheeler
dealerships to shut down,
making their businesses
unviable, he added.
“The dealership busi-
ness is dynamic and con-
tributes to the economic
development of the
nation, generating signifi-
cant employment oppor-
tunities in the sector.
Practices such as this
cause massive losses to
the government and
society,” Singhania said.
— PTI

ORANGE
Faf du
Plessis, RCB 576
Yashasvi
Jaiswal, RR 477
Shubman
469
Gill, GT
PURPLE
Mohammed
Shami, GT 19
Rashid Khan,
19
GT
Tushar
D’pande, CSK 19
Short Takes
Rana fined `12 lakh
for slow over-rate
K olkata Knight Riders cap-
tain Nitish Rana has been
fined Rs 12 lakh after his team
maintained a slow over-rate
during their Indian Premier
League match against Punjab
Kings at the Eden Gardens. As it
was his team’s first offence of
the season under the IPL’s code
of conduct relating to minimum
over-rate offences, Rana was
fined `12 lakh, the league said
in a statement.
On Monday night, Rinku
Singh added to his reputation of
being an expert finisher with a
last-ball boundary as Kolkata
Knight Riders beat Punjab
Kings by five wickets to keep
their IPL play-off hopes alive.
Skipper Rana’s half-century
and Andre Russell’s exploits
were followed by Rinku’s 10-ball
21 not out, as KKR managed to
complete a chase of 180 at their
home ground.
Varun Chakravarthy spear-
headed their bowling depart-
ment to grab 3 for 26 as KKR put
up a tidy bowling show to
restrict PBKS to a below-par 179
for seven after the visitors opted
to bat on a slow wicket.
Russell‘s message to
Rinku: Stay humble
K olkata Knight Riders’ pre-
mier all-rounder Andre
Russell is happy that Rinku
Singh has become the team’s lat-
est heartthrob and his only
advice to his “brother” is to
“stay humble”. Having grabbed
headlines by smashing five
sixes in a row to seal an incredi-
ble victory over reigning cham-
pions Gujarat Titans, the 25-
year-old pulled off a dramatic
win with a last-ball four against
Punjab Kings, amid boisterous
chants of ‘Rinku, Rinku’ in the
IPL here on Monday.
“I’m very happy for him and
he is a good friend of mine, a
very funny guy. I love him as a
brother. I just want him to keep
doing what he is doing, and
keep being consistent,” player
of the match Russell said.
There was a sense of deja vu
for Russell who has gone
through similar situations as
Rinku. “It’s been going good for
him so I’ve been encouraging
whenever I get a chance to talk
to him I tell him to stay humble.
It does not matter how many
people are shouting Russell,
Russell, Russell, I always stayed
humble because when it gets
into your head, that’s when you
start to lose it,” he said.
WFI’S AD-HOC PANEL
TO WORK WITH JUST 1
MEMBER FOR A WEEK
New Delhi, May 9: The three-mem-
ber ad-hoc committee, tasked to
hold Wrestling Federation of India
(WFI) elections, will likely to work
with just one member for at least
one more week as one of the rep-
resentatives, Suma Shirur is away
with the national shooting team in
Baku, while a retired high court
judge is yet to be appointed.
Shirur could not attend the first
meeting of the ad-hoc panel on
Monday as she is the national
coach for rifle shooting and is cur-
rently in the Azerbaijan capital
with the Indian contingent for the
ISSF World Cup for pistol and rifle.
A senior National Rifle
Association of India (NRAI) offi-
cial confirmed the World Cup will
conclude on May 15 and only then
will she be available in person to
attend the meetings. With Shirur
away, Bajwa will likely have to
chair a few crucial meetings all by
himself till the ace former rifle
shooter returns. — PTI
SEASON-16
SUMMER BALL
MUMBHIGH!
Mumbai leap from 8th to 3rd with huge win
Mumbai, May 9: Mumbai
Indians beat Royal
Challengers Bangalore by
six wickets in an Indian
Premier League match here
on Tuesday. Chasing 200, MI
rode on Suryakumar
Yadav’s 35-ball 83, ably sup-
ported by young Nehal
Wadhera’s unbeaten 34-ball
52, to chase down the target
in 16.3 overs.
Earlier, a fourth century
stand of the season between
Faf du Plessis and Glenn
Maxwell took Royal
Challengers Bangalore to
199 for five against Mumbai.
After RCB were rocked
early by Jason Behrendorff
(4-0-36-3) who struck twice
in the powerplay, du Plessis
(65 off 41) and Maxwell (68
off 33) teamed up to expose
MI’s bowling troubles once
again while making the
most of the perfect batting
conditions at the Wankhede
Stadium.
Du Plessis and Maxwell
added 120 runs for the
fourth wicket off just 62
balls, powering RCB’s
charge after Mumbai
Indians made early inroads
with Virat Kohli (1) and
Anuj Rawat (6) falling early.
Maxwell was in his ele-
ment as he played some out-
SCORECARD
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli c Ishan Kishan b
Behrendorff 1, Faf du Plessis (c) c sub (Vishnu Vinod) b Green 65,
Anuj Rawat c Green b Behrendorff 6, Glenn Maxwell c Wadhera b
Behrendorff 68, Mahipal Lomror b Kartikeya 1, Dinesh Karthik c
Wadhera b Jordan 30, Kedar Jadhav not out 12, Wanindu Hasaranga
de Silva not out 12. Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-2) 4. Total (for 6 wickets in
20 overs) 199.
FoW: 1-2, 2-16, 3-136, 4-143, 5-146, 6-185.
Bowling: Jason Behrendorff 4-0-36-3, Piyush Chawla 4-0-41-0,
Cameron Green 2-0-15-1, Chris Jordan 4-0-48-1, Kumar Kartikeya 4-
0-35-1, Akash Madhwal 2-0-23-0.
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan c Anuj Rawat b de Silva 42, Rohit
Sharma lbw b de Silva 7, Suryakumar Yadav c Jadhav b Vyshak 83,
Nehal Wadhera not out 52, Tim David c Maxwell b Vyshak 0,
Cameron Green not out 2, Extras (lb-6, nb-2, w-6) 14. Total (for 4
wkts in 16.3 overs) 200.
FoW: 1-51, 2-52, 3-192, 4-192.
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 3-0-31-0, Josh Hazlewood 3-0-32-0,
Wanindu Hasaranga 4-0-53-2, Vijaykumar Vyshak 3-0-37-2, Harshal
Patel 3.3-0-41-0.
Rohit’s struggle with bat
is mental, feels Sehwag
New Delhi, May 9:
Mumbai Indians skipper
Rohit Sharma is suffering
from a “mental block” and
there is no technical prob-
lem with his batting, said
former India opener
Virender Sehwag. Rohit
has been struggling for
runs this IPL season, hav-
ing scored just 184 runs at
18.39 and a strike rate of
126.89. In the last two
games, he couldn’t open
his account.
In fact, Rohit got his 16th
duck, the most in IPL his-
tory, during the last match
against Chennai Super
Kings.
“Rohit Sharma is not
battling with the bowlers
but with himself. There is
Messi set for megabucks Saudi move Deepak, Nishant are into
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia),
May 9: Argentine super-
star Lionel Messi will play
in Saudi Arabia next sea-
son under a blockbuster
quarterfinals at Worlds
deal, a source said on
Tuesday, potentially join-
ing his arch-rival
Cristiano Ronaldo as the
kingdom lavishes its oil
wealth on sport.
Messi will sign a “huge”
deal with an as-yet-
unnamed club, said the
source, who is close to the
negotiations that are tak-
ing place just months after
the 35-year-old lifted the
World Cup in Qatar.
“Messi is a done deal. He
will play in Saudi Arabia
next season,” said the
source, speaking on condi-
tion of anonymity.
“The contract is excep-
tional. It’s huge. We are
just finalising some small
details,” added the source,
who is not authorised to
speak to media.
There was no confirma-
WEDNESDAY | 10 MAY 2023 | NEW DELHI | THE ASIAN AGE
standing strokes, hitting
four sixes and eight fours to
record his fourth half-centu-
ry this season.
On the other hand, du
Plessis, dropped by Nehal
Wadhera in the first over
when he was yet to open his
account, was equally
impressive with his stroke-
play, attacking fast bowlers
and spinners alike to get to
his sixth half-century.
Du Plessis also extended
his lead at the top of the list
for the highest run-getters
this year, reaching 576 runs
in 11 matches at an average
of 64.
But to their credit, MI
fought back in the second
half to dismiss Maxwell,
Mahipal Lomror (1) and du
Plessis in quick succession,
which halted RCB’s charge
as they could not go beyond
the 200-run mark, which at
one stage looked probable.
Mumbai Indians’ bowlers
did well to allow only 68
runs in the last seven overs,
putting up a far improved
performance with the ball.
RCB slipped from 131/2
after 13 overs to 146/5 in the
15th before Dinesh Karthik
(30 off 18 balls) did well to
banish his ordinary run
with the bat. —PTI
● Rohit got his 16th
duck, the most in IPL
history, during the last
match against Chennai
Super Kings.
a mental block,” Sehwag
said on on Star Sports’
Cricket Live.
“There’s no problem
with his batting tech-
nique. Some confusion is
going on in his mind. But
the day he gets going, we
will make up for all the
previous matches.”
They suffered a six-
wicket loss to CSK in their
last match after a poor
start saw them managing
just 139 for eight, a target
overhauled by their oppo-
tion from Messi’s current
club Paris Saint-Germain,
which noted simply that
he was under contract
until June 30 when con-
tacted by AFP.
A separate PSG source
said: “If the club had
wanted to renew his con-
Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav celebrates his half-century against
Royal Challengers Bangalore during an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in
Mumbai on Tuesday.
nents in 17.4 overs.
Opening the innings,
Cameron Green and Ishan
Kishan scored just 6 and 7
respectively and former
Australia batter Aaron
Finch said the Mumbai
openers look confused and
they should learn from
the way CSK’s Ruturaj
Gaikwad goes about his
business.
“MI’s opening combina-
tion looks confused they
are taking a lot of risk.
They were looking to hit
all the balls. They should
learn from Ruturaj
Gaikwad, he remains so
calm in the middle and
hits the loose balls,” Finch
said.
— PTI
tract, it would have been
done earlier.”
Just five years after
allowing its first non-
Muslim tourists visit and
letting women drive,
Saudi Arabia is attempt-
ing to open up its conser-
vative society and diversi-
INJURED ARCHER RULED OUT, MI
NAME JORDAN AS REPLACEMENT
New Delhi, May 9:
Struggling with fitness,
England pacer Jofra
Archer was on Tuesday
ruled out of the IPL, forc-
ing Mumbai Indians to
name fast bowler Chris
Jordan as his replace-
ment for the remainder of
the T20 event.Archer, who
was picked by five-time
champions MI for `8
crore in the auction, has
played just five games
this season and taken two
wickets. He has been out
of international cricket
for close to two years due
to a back injury and did-
n’t feature in IPL last
year.
Archer’s recovery and
fitness will be monitored
by the England and Wales
Cricket Board (ECB) as he
returns home to focus on
fy its oil-reliant economy.
The world’s biggest oil
exporter has thrown hun-
dreds of millions at sports
deals including Ronaldo’s
signing, F1 in Jeddah and
the divisive LIV Golf tour,
drawing frequent claims it
is “sportswashing” its
human rights record.
Messi was suspended by
Qatari-owned PSG last
week for an unauthorised
mid-season trip to Saudi,
where he is a tourism
ambassador.
His expected arrival fol-
lows in the footsteps of his
long-time sparring part-
ner Ronaldo, who joined
Saudi Pro League club Al
Nassr in a massive deal in
January.
Despite several reports
linking Messi with Al
Hilal, one of the top Saudi
teams, club sources said
they had not been in direct
contact with the
Argentine’s team.
— AFP
— DEBASISH DEY
his rehabilitation.
“Archer has been recov-
ering from right elbow
surgery. However, push-
ing through the discom-
fort whilst recently play-
ing, hoping it will settle,
has proven challenging,”
ECB said in a statement.
“Therefore, it has been
agreed for him to return
to the UK for a period of
rest and rehabilitation to
give him the best opportu-
nity for a full recovery.”
His replacement,
Jordan, made his IPL
debut in 2016. He has so
far played 28 IPL matches
and has 27 wickets
against his name. He has
played for RCB, Sunrisers
Hyderabad, Punjab Kings
and Chennai Super Kings
in the past.
— PTI
Tashkent, May 9: Indian
boxers Deepak Bhoria
(51kg) and Nishant Dev
(71kg) notched dominat-
ing wins to cruise to the
quarterfinals of the men’s
World Championships
here on Tuesday.
Continuing his good run
in the tournament,
Deepak brushed aside
China’s Zhangh Jiamao
by a 5-0 unanimous ver-
dict in the 51kg round of
16 bout.
Nishant, on the other
hand, hardly broke a
sweat as he registered a
Published by K. Sudhakar for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited at Jawaharlal
Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by him at
BFL Infotech Limited, C – 9, Sector – III, Noida – 201301.
RNI Registration number 57290/94 Price in Nepal - Nep.Rs. 20.00 per copy.
● Chennai Super Kings
● Delhi Capitals
● Gujarat Titans
● Kolkata Knight Riders
● Lucknow Super Giants
● Mumbai Indians
● Punjab Kings
● Rajasthan Royals
● Royal Challengers Bangalore
● Sunrisers Hyderabad
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W L N/R
GT 11 8 3
CSK
MI
11
11
6
6
4
5
LSG 11 5 5
RR
KKR
11
11
5
5
6
6
RCB 11 5 6
PBKS 11 5 6
SRH 10 4 6
DC 10 4 6
Chennai take on
resurgent Delhi
NEHA SURANA | DC
CHENNAI, MAY 9
A resurgent Delhi
Capitals will look to halt
Chennai Super Kings’
bullish run when the two
teams with contrasting
fortunes meet here at the
M.A. Chidambaram
Stadium on Wednesday.
Placed second on the
table with 13 points in 11
games, Chennai are rid-
ing on a crest of a wave
after securing the ‘El
Clasico’ bragging rights
against rivals Mumbai
Indians. M.S. Dhoni’s
team performed like a
well-oiled unit as the
bowlers rose to the occa-
sion and batters made
short work of the chase. A
victory against bottom-
dwellers Delhi will help
Super Kings put a foot in
the playoffs.
Delhi, who are languish-
ing at the bottom of the
table with eight points in
10 games, had a horrible
start to their campaign
with a five-match losing
streak. They have, howev-
er, managed to revive
their campaign by win-
ning four of their last five
games. They may be a lit-
tle late to the party, but
they are still in with a
mathematical chance of
making it to the playoffs.
Their victories against
table toppers Gujarat
Titans and Royal
Challenger Bangalore
changed the complexion
of the playoff race.
After trying out differ-
ent combinations, Delhi
Chennai Super Kings skipper M. S. Dhoni during a
training session in Chennai on Tuesday. — E. K. SANJAY
first-round RSC (referee
stops the contest) win
against Palestine’s
Foqahaa Nidal in his 71kg
last 16 contest.
Such was Nishant’s dom-
ination that he spent less
than two minutes in the
ring before being declared
the winner.
The Indian southpaw
resorted to body blows
before striking Nidal with
a powerful right hook that
compelled the referee to
give the Palestinian his
first standing count.
A few seconds later
Editor – Kaushik Mitter,
PAGE
Points Net RR
0 16 +0.951
1
0
13
12
+0.409
-0.255
1 11 +0.294
0
0
10
10
+0.388
-0.079
0 10 -0.345
0 10 -0.441
0 8 -0.472
0 8 -0.529
ACTION TODAY
CSK VS DC
FROM 7.30 PM,
LIVE ON STAR SPORTS
finally found a trump
card in keeper-batter Phil
Salt, who produced a
remarkable knock of 87
against RCB. Delhi have
to play out of their skin to
upstage Super Kings at
their fortress. Chennai
batting line-up should be
wary of the Delhi tweak-
ers Kuldeep Yadav and
Axar Patel, who will look
to take advantage of the
spin-friendly wicket at
Chepauk.
Chennai’s Matheesha
Pathirana with a slinging
action has proved to be a
nightmare for batters.
With Dhoni using him as
a death bowler, Pathirana
has taken 10 wickets in
seven matches with an
impressive economy of
7.6.
CSK opener Ruturaj
Gaikwad said they don’t
mind playing on any sur-
face. “The two games we
lost here, they were
almost close games, not
much of a difference, just
one or two hits away. So, I
think there is not much
difference. We would like
to play on any surface
given because of the
home advantage,” said
Gaikwad.
Nishant unleashed a com-
bination of left-right-left
hooks as Nidal fell on the
canvas, forcing the referee
to give him his second
count before stopping the
contest.
Competing in the 51kg
Olympic category, Deepak
put up a brilliant display
once again.
While the first round
was neck and neck, with
both boxers exchanging
blows, the 25-year-old
Indian managed to take a
slender 3-2 lead.
— PTI