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THE ASIAN AGENATION| 3

LONDON FRIDAY 26 APRIL 2024

WORLD| 6 DELHI AGE| 11

Mallikarjun Kharge writes Blinken raises Chinese Kate Middleton gets
to Modi, seeks time to trade practices in meet Royal Companion title
explain party’s ‘Nyay Patra’ with officials in Shanghai from King Charles III
www.asianage.com Vol. 31 No. 70 | 16 PAGES | £1.50

WINDOWS ■ First time complaint on PM taken up ■ EC ‘super cautious’: Cong

EC issues notice to BJP, Cong

Candidates champion Indian
Chess grandmaster Dommaraju
Gukesh being welcomed on his
arrival at the airport in Chennai
on Thursday. ■ Report on Page 8
— PTI
NH on China border
washed away after
Arunachal landslide
Itanagar: A portion of
National Highway-313
between Hunli and Anini in
Arunachal Pradesh caved in
due to a landslide, triggered
by incessant rain in the
state, disrupting traffic
movement and isolating
Dibang Valley from the
mainland. The district
administration has deployed
workers and adequate
machinery to repair the
road on a war footing. The
vital highway stretch, con-
necting Roing in Lower
Dibang Valley with Anini,
around 83 kilometres away
from the India-China bor-
der, was damaged. The
road between Hunli and
Anini caved in due to the
landslide on Wednesday.
Full report on Page 4
Weinstein’s sex crime
conviction overturned
New York: New York’s high-
est court on Thursday over-
turned disgraced Hollywood
producer Harvey Weinstein’s
2020 conviction on sex
crime charges and ordered a
new trial. In their 4-3 deci-
sion, judges cited errors in
the way the trial had been
conducted, including admit-
ting the testimony of women.
56 candidates achieve
100 score in JEE-Main
New Delhi: Fifty-six candi-
dates achieved the perfect
100 score in the engineering
entrance exam JEE-Main,
for Modi, Rahul poll remarks
VINEETA PANDEY
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
The Election Commission
has taken cognisance of
complaints about the vio-
lation of the Model Code
of Conduct (MCC) against
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and issued a notice
to the BJP. The notice to
BJP president J.P. Nadda
on Thursday is over the
PM’s “divisive” com-
ments against a communi-
ty during a speech in
Rajasthan on April 21.
This is the first time that
the EC has taken cogni-
sance of a complaint
against any Prime
Minister. The EC added
that the campaign speech-
es made by those holding
high offices have more
serious consequences. It
has given the BJP time till
11 am on Monday to
respond.
The EC has also issued a
Congress-led Opp. is seeking votes to
give religion-based reservation: Modi
■ Vows to defend OBC quota rights ■ Rakes up inheritance tax row
SHASHI BHUSHAN
and RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/
BHOPAL, APRIL 25
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday alleged
that the Opposition
INDIA block is seeking
votes for changing the
Constitution to provide
religion-based reserva-
tion. Upping his attack
against the Congress in
particular, Mr Modi, at
poll rallies in Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh, claimed that the
Opposition grouping is
sacrificing the OBC quota
on the altar of minority
appeasement. He assert-
ed, “Modi is standing as a
wall between you and the
◗ THIS IS the first time
that the EC has taken
cognisance of a
complaint against any
Prime Minister. The EC
added that the cam-
paign speeches made
by those holding high
offices have more
serious consequences.
It has given the BJP
time till 11 am on
CEC Rajiv Kumar Monday to respond
notice to Congress presi- receipt of representations
dent Mallikarjun Kharge
on a complaint filed by the
from various political par-
ties/civil society organi-
BJP against him and Mr sations and individual
Rahul Gandhi regarding
their remarks.
entities alleging viola-
tions of the MCC by
Though the EC has not speeches made during
campaigning by some of
named the PM directly in
its notice, it has, however, your star campaigners.
attached the complaint These speeches are
letter filed by the alleged to be in violation
Congress Party over this of the MCC,” the EC said
issue.
“The commission is in
in its notice to Mr Nadda.
■ Turn to Page 4
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Yogi Adityanath during a public meeting for
the Lok Sabha elections in Agra on Thursday. — PTI
Congress’ plans to place a dictatorial regime.
loot you.” Addressing an election
The sharp retort by the rally in Uttar Pradesh’s
Prime Minister comes Aonla, the Prime Minister
amid the Opposition’s
allegations that the NDA
said that the leaders of the
INDIA bloc are vying for
will change and subvert votes to amend the
the Constitution to put in Constitution and intro-
Ph-2: Polling in
88 seats today
New Delhi, April 25:
Voting for the second
phase of the Lok Sabha
polls will be held on
Friday for 88 seats in 13
states with Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
seeking a second-
straight term from
Wayanad in Kerala.
All 20 seats of Kerala
will go to polls besides 14
of the 28 seats in
Karnataka, 13 seats in
Rajasthan, eight seats
each in Maharashtra
and UP, six seats in MP,
five seats each in Assam
and Bihar, three seats
each in Chhattisgarh
and West Bengal, and
one seat each in
Manipur, Tripura and
Jammu and Kashmir.
■ More on Page 3
◗ THE SHARP retort
by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi comes
amid the Opposition’s
allegations that the NDA
will change and subvert
the India’s Constitution
to put in place a
dictatorial regime
duce reservations based
on religion.
“Today, I am pledging
support to the OBC com-
munity of Uttar Pradesh,
encompassing Yadavs,
Kurmis, Maurya-
Kushwahas, Jat-Gujjars,
Rajbhar-Teli-Pal commu-
nities. I am committed to
preventing the SP and the
Congress from depriving
you of your reservation
■ Turn to Page 4
Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav files his
nomination for the Lok Sabha elections in Kannauj on Thursday.
Akhilesh throws
hat in poll ring,
files nomination
from Kannauj
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/KANNAUJ,
APRIL 25
Samajwadi Party presi-
dent Akhilesh Yadav
asked people to “clean
bowled” the BJP as he
filed his nomination
papers from Kannauj
Lok Sabha constituency
on Thursday.
Mr Yadav filed the
nomination in the pres-
ence of party leaders,
including Ram Gopal
Yadav. The SP chief
replaced his nephew Tej
Pratap Yadav, days after
the latter was
announced as the party’s
candidate from Kannauj.
Talking to reporters
after filing his nomina-
tion, Mr Akhilesh
promised to ensure
development in the city.
“The people and party
workers wanted me to
contest from here as SP
candidate. I hope I will
get the blessings of the
people. When I came here
for the first time after
Netaji (his father and SP
founder Mulayam Singh
Yadav) asked me to con-
test from here, top lead-
ers, including Janeshwar
Mishra, Amar Singh,
Azam Khan, Netaji were
there.”
■ More on Page 3
CBI books 5 for
land grab, terror
in Sandeshkhali
1st FIR after Calcutta HC order
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, APRIL 25
The Central Bureau of
Investigation has regis-
tered the first FIR against
five persons, including
suspended Trinamul
Congress strongman
Shahjahan Sheikh, who
is now in judicial cus-
tody, for their role in the
sexual assault on women
and land grab at
Sandeshkhali in the
North 24 Parganas dis-
trict of West Bengal.
A CBI spokesperson on
Thursday confirmed the
registration of the case
against five individuals
and “unknown others”.
He, however, did not
specify the charges in the
FIR. According to
sources, the FIR carries
sections pertaining to
sexual assault, physical
assault, forcible occupa-
tion of property (land)
and criminal intimida-
tion, among others.
The CBI filed the FIR on
the direction of the
Calcutta high court. On
April 10, a division bench
of Chief Justice T.S.
■ Turn to Page 4
— PTI
Bengal school
jobs verdict is
injustice: Didi
AGE CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA, APRIL 25
West Bengal chief minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee on
Thursday described the
termination of 25,573
state education
department employees’
jobs by the Calcutta high
court for graft in the
School Service
Commission recruitment
as a “gross injustice.”
At a poll rally at
Keshiary in West
Midnapore, Ms Banerjee
blamed the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) for
engineering mass termi-
nation. She said: “I
respect the judiciary, but
the termination of more
than 25,000 jobs is a gross
injustice. How will the
schools function if so
many teachers lose their
jobs? It is a trick of
the BJP.”
■ More on Page 3

with the maximum being
from Telangana. Thirty-nine
candidates were debarred
from taking JEE-Main for
three years for using unfair
means during the exam.
Over 10 lakh candidates had
appeared for the second
edition of the crucial exam.
Among the candidates who
scored the perfect NTA
score of 100, 15 are from
Telangana, seven each from
Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra, and six from
Delhi. According to officials,
the NTA score is not the
same as the percentage of
marks obtained.
Full report on Page 2
COUNTERPOINT
ISSN 1352-3082
17 >
9 771352 308557
India says US
human rights
violation report
‘deeply biased’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
India on Thursday
described the critical
references in the US
state department’s 2023
report on human rights
practices released earli-
er this week in
Washington as “deeply
biased” and said that
“no value” should be
attached to it.
During a media brief-
ing in response to a
query, ministry of
external affairs
spokesperson Randhir
Jaiswal said, “This
report is deeply biased
and reflects a poor
understanding of India.
We attach no value to it
and urge you to do the
same.”
On the pro-Palestine
protests at Columbia
University and other US
universities, New Delhi
had a few words of
advice for Washington,
“In every democracy,
there has to be the right
balance between free-
dom of expression, sense
of responsibility, public
safety and order.
Democracies in particu-
lar should display this
understanding with
regard to other democra-
cies. After all, we are all
judged by what we do at
home and not what we
say abroad.”
■ More on Page 4
Mahua’s ex-partner drops
Delhi HC defamation suit
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
Lawyer Jai Anant
Dehadrai on Thursday
withdrew from the Delhi
high court his defama-
tion lawsuit against for-
mer partner TMC leader
Mahua Moitra as a
“peace offering.”
Mr Dehadrai had last
year accused Ms Moitra
of taking bribes from
businessman and
Hiranandani Group
CEO Darshan
Hiranandani to ask
questions in Parliament,
which led to her expul-
Firefighters rescue a man after a fire broke out in a hotel near the Patna Junction railway
station on Thursday, leading to the death of six people. The district magistrate has ordered
a fire audit of all hotels and other commercial establishments following the incident.
■ Report on Page 4
sion from the Lok Sabha
on December 8.
Following the row, Ms
Mahua filed a case
against Mr Dehadrai
and BJP MP Nishikant
Dubey to restrain them
from posting, circulat-
ing, or publishing any
“fake” and “defamato-
ry” content against her.
Mr Dahadrai’s counsel
suggested that the pre-
sent case could be put to
an end if Ms Moitra was
willing to “de-escalate”
by undertaking that she
would not make “palpa-
bly false” statements.
■ More on Page 2
Glitch delays return of 16 from Iran
Delay in homecoming due to certain technicalities involved: MEA
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
Due to certain “technical-
ities and contractual
obligations”, the return of
16 Indian nationals
stranded on board the
merchant cargo vessel
MSC Aries that was cap-
tured by Iran earlier this
month is delayed, min-
istry of external affairs
officials said on
Thursday, adding that
they are not facing any
problems and their health
is “better” now.
Speaking with the media
in the national capital,
foreign ministry
— PTI
spokesperson Randhir
Jaiswal hinted that the
return of the 16 Indian
sailors hinges on the com-
pletion of technicalities
and contractual obliga-
tions. He added that con-
sular access was obtained
by India for all 16 Indian
sailors.
According to recent
media reports purported-
ly citing Iranian diplo-
mats, the sailors can only
leave the ship once they
have the permission of the
captain of the vessel. Iran
has indicated that it has
not blocked the return of
the 16 Indians to India in
any way.
Macron warns ‘mortal’ Europe must
rely less on America to defend itself
Paris, April 25: French
President Emmanuel
Macron on Thursday
warned that Europe faced
an existential threat from
Russian aggression, call-
ing on the continent to
adopt a “credible” defence
strategy less dependent
on the United States.
He described Russia’
behaviour after its inva-
sion of Ukraine as “unin-
hibited” and said it was
no longer clear where
Moscow’s “limits” lay.
Mr Macron also sound-
ed the alarm on what he
described as disrespect of
global trade rules by both
◗ FOREIGN MINISTRY
spokesperson Randhir
Jaiswal hinted that the
return of the 16 Indian
sailors hinges on the
completion of
technicalities and
contractual obligations
Iranian ambassador to
India Iraj Elahi had told a
news channel last week
that the 16 Indian sailors
still on board the mer-
chant cargo vessel MSC
Aries are also "free to
return to India" and are
"not detained" by Iranian
authorities.
In a statement last week,
Emmanuel Macron
the United States and
China, calling on the
European Union to revise
its trade policy. “Our
Europe, today, is mortal
and it can die,” he said.
“It can die and this
depends only on our
choices,” Mr Macron said.
“Over the next decade...
the ministry of external
affairs had said that the
Indian mission in Tehran
is in touch with the
remaining 16 Indian crew
members of the container
vessel. “The Indian mis-
sion is also in touch with
the Iranian authorities to
ensure the well-being of
the remaining crew mem-
bers of MSC Aries,” it
said.
In all, there were 17
Indian sailors on board
initially, but one of them,
lady crew member Ann
Tessa Joseph, had last
week returned home to
Kerala after being allowed
to leave.
the risk is immense of
(Europe) being weakened
or even relegated,” he
added, also pointing to the
risk of Iran obtaining a
nuclear weapon.
Mr Macron returned to
the themes of a September
2017 speech he gave
months after taking
office, speaking at the
same location — the
Sorbonne University in
Paris — but in a context
that seven years on has
been turned upside down
by Brexit, Covid and
Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. — AFP
■ More on Page 6
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | LONDON
pg 2

IN BRIEF
2 groups clash in
Jamia Millia varsity
New Delhi: An argument over
a putative derogatory remark
escalated into a full blown
clash between two groups of
students at the Jamia Millia
Islamia on Thursday, a varsity
official said. No police com-
plaint was filed in the matter,
however, the students
involved in the fight have
been called for a proctorial
inquiry on Friday, the official
said. The incident took place
at the History department
building of the university,
when a group of students
seated inside the hall took
offence to a comment made
by a student from another
group who was passing by
the department. According to
a video of the incident the
fight attracted a huge crowd
of students and security
guards were seen trying to
break it. “Only a few students
were involved in the fight but
a large crowd assembled
there making it look like a big
one,” the varsity official said.
“We have not filed any police
complaint even as though
police called us to inquire
about the issue. It was a small
issue. There were no major
injuries. We have called the
involved students for a proc-
torial inquiry on Friday,” the
person said.
Gangster held after
shootout with cops
New Delhi: A member of the
Neeraj Bawana-Naveen Bali
gang was arrested by a team
of the special cell here fol-
lowing a brief exchange of
fire in Rohini Sector-34 on
Thursday, the police said.
Rahul Dabas (36) was want-
ed in a murder case and was
allegedly involved in seven
other cases of attempt to
murder and extortion, an
officer said. “A team of
Special cell got a tip-off that
he was coming to meet
someone in Rohini Sector 34
on Thursday. A trap was laid
but on seeing the police, he
opened fire at our team,” the
officer said. The officer said
no one got hurt as the police
team members were wearing
bullet proof jacket. Dabas
was arrested and interrogat-
ed. A firearm has been
recovered from him, the offi-
cer said. The police said he
is a close associate of gang-
sters Neeraj Bawana and
Naveen Bali, who are lodged
in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
‘Pvt schools hiking
fee sans approvals’
New Delhi: A parents associ-
ation on Thursday submitted
a memorandum to the Delhi
government’s education
department, alleging that
private schools built on gov-
ernment land were hiking fee
without prior approvals. The
Delhi parents association
(DPA) claimed in its com-
plaint that the private
schools have been hiking fee
substantially. “The fee has
been hiked by certain
schools by 94 per cent since
2015 without any authorisa-
tion,” said DPA president
Aparajita Gautam in the
statement. The DPA demand-
ed immediate action over fee
hike in an unathorised man-
ner and refunds for extra
money charged from the par-
ents, he added.
DELTA-48 UNIT TO
■ Atishi says BJP has anti-Dalit mentality ■ Cong says L-G decision at Centre’s behest
L-G cancelled MCD polls: AAP; he hits back
AVINASH PRABHAKAR
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
Amid the non-appoint-
ment of a presiding offi-
cer, the civic body polls to
elect the new mayor and
deputy mayor of the
Municipal Corporation of
Delhi which was sched-
uled to be held on Friday
(April 26) has been post-
poned. This comes after
Delhi lieutenant-governor
V.K. Saxena wrote to the
chief secretary that he
doesn’t deem it appropri-
ate to exercise his power to
appoint the presiding offi-
cer in absence of inputs
from the chief minister.
The MCD in an official
communication said,
“Since nomination of pre-
siding officer is mandato-
ry as per section 77 (a) of
the DMC Act. Therefore, it
may not be possible to con-
duct elections of mayor
and deputy mayor as per
schedule”. However, the
current mayor and deputy
Sunita Kejriwal likely to join CM kingpin, key conspirator
AAP’s poll campaign in Delhi of ‘excise scam’, ED tells SC
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
In an effort to generate
sympathy for the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) in
view of Delhi chief minis-
ter Arvind Kejriwal’s
arrest ahead of the Lok
Sabha poll, the party on
Thursday launched its
Lok Sabha campaign song
titled ‘jail ke jawab mein
hum vote denge.’
The song, penned and
sung in rap style by party
MLA Dilip Pandey, was
released by party leaders
at the AAP headquarters.
The chief minister’s
wife, Sunita Kejriwal, will
also campaign for Lok
Sabha polls and hold road-
shows in the city begin-
ning this weekend in the
absence of her husband.
A party functionary said
Ms Kejriwal is scheduled
to attend her first road-
show in the Kondli
reserved Assembly con-
stituency represented by
Kuldeep Kumar, who is
the AAP’s East Delhi Lok
Sabha seat candidate, in
the coming weekend.
She is also likely to
attend roadshows in the
other three Lok Sabha
seats contested by the
AAP in Delhi.
During the launch of the
Man murdered
at India Gate,
cops suspect
love triangle
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
In a suspected case of a
love triangle, a 25 year
old ice cream vendor was
stabbed to death near the
India Gate in the high-
security area in central
Delhi on Wednesday.
The police arrested the
accused Ajay from Noida
in the early hours of
Thursday, an official said.
Mantri writes
to PM & L-G,
mayor will continue until he has not followed the aid and deputy mayor contin-
says CM being
watched 24X7
the election for successor when the inputs from Chief and advice of the chief ue to hold their positions
is held. Responding to the Minister are not available, I minister.” He said that till such time that the elec- AGE CORRESPONDENT
people of Dalit community tions can be held in terms
development, the AAP don’t deem it appropriate to NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
claimed that the L-G office exercise my power as administrator are calling for this devel- of the legal provisions in
has cancelled the polls say- opment. This shows that this regard. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
ing he works on the advice
to appoint the Presiding Officer in BJP is anti-Dalit. Even in Delhi Pradesh Congress leader Rajya Sabha MP
of the chief minister. absence of inputs from Chief Minister”. 2019 when the Lok Sabha Committee in-charge of Sanjay Singh on
There have been previous polls were on, mayors MCD Jitender Kumar Thursday wrote two sep-
— V.K. Saxena
instances where he has were elected. Kochar said that the L-G’s arate letters to Prime
not followed the aid and lieutenant-governor Emphasising that it is decision to put on hold the Minister Narendra Modi
advice of the chief minis- important to ensure the MCD election, despite the and Delhi lieutenant-
ter, the AAP said. and propriety”. He said munity. This time by can- functioning of a munici- Election Commission giv- governor V.K. Saxena,
Earlier, the Delhi L-G in further, “Accordingly, I celling the mayor’s elec- pal corporation in the ing the go-ahead, was at alleging that Delhi chief
his letter said, “After don’t deem it appropriate tion, BJP has shown its given situation which has the behest of the BJP, minister Arvind
thoughtful consideration to exercise my power as anti-Dalit mentality. major public service which did not want to suf- Kejriwal is being moni-
of the matter and uphold- administrator to appoint Babasaheb’s Constitution responsibilities, Delhi L-G fer a major setback in the tored round the clock by
ing the sanctity of provi- the Presiding Officer in has given rights to the Mr Saxena underlined in MCD with the capital CCTV cameras by the
sion of law and constitu- absence of inputs from Dalits of this country, but the letter, “Section 36[1] of gearing up for the Lok PMO and the L-G in
tion, there is no scintilla of Chief Minister”. Delhi BJP wants to snatch those the Municipal Sabha elections, and the Tihar Jail. In his letters,
doubt that taking a deci- chief minister Arvind rights”. Corporation Act, 1957 pro- India Alliance all set to Mr Singh claimed that
sion regarding appoint- Kejriwal is currently AAP’s MCD in-charge vides that ‘The Mayor and sweep all the seven Lok the chief minister is
ment of the Presiding lodged in Tihar jail in con- Durgesh Pathak claimed, Deputy Mayor shall hold Sabha seats in Delhi. He being monitored from
Officer in the circum- nection to the excise poli- “The BJP got this election office from the time of his said that the LG’s decision the bathroom to food.
stances, when the inputs cy case. cancelled despite there election until the election was an anti-Dalit move as Claiming that Tihar
from Chief Minister are Meanwhile, Delhi minis- being permission from the of his successor in this year, the mayoral elec- jail has turned into a
not available couples with ter Atishi on a post on X Election Commission. The office...’. Therefore, in tion was for the reserved ‘torture chamber’ for
the factum that the said, “According to the L-G office has cancelled larger public interest, it category candidate, and chief minister, Mr Singh
Minister is making wild MCD Act, in the third the polls saying he works would be in the fitness of the decision to postpone said that Delhiites are in
and baseless allegations, year of MCD, the post of on the advice of the chief things that the proposed the election has hurt the deep pain over the
would be grossly inappro- Mayor is reserved for a minister. There have been elections be deferred and sentiments of the Dalit ‘harassment’ that their
priate both in terms of law councilor from Dalit com- previous instances where the incumbent the mayor community. elected chief minister is
being subjected to
behind the bar.
“Whatever is happening
with the elected chief
minister of Delhi is
extremely sad. All the
people of Delhi are in
deep pain. Tihar Jail has
been turned into a tor-
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25 Medical board suggests Kejriwal ture chamber for chief
minister. Reliable
Delhi chief minister to continue insulin dose for 5 days sources have revealed
that Mr Kejriwal is
Arvind Kejriwal is the being monitored 24
“kingpin and key conspir- New Delhi, April 25: A five- five days. hours by CCTV cameras
ator” of the excise policy member medical board set The board constituted by the PMO and LG, as if
“scam” and the arrest of a up on the direction of a by the director of AIIMS some big spy is spying,”
person for an offence city court has suggested consists of an endocrinol- he said in the letters.
based on material can the administration of low- ogist and a diabetologist. Mr Singh alleged that
never violate the “concept dose insulin to chief minis- The first dose of insulin the treatment being
of free and fair elections,” ter Arvind Kejriwal twice a was given to Mr Kejriwal given to Mr Kejriwal in
the Enforcement day for the next five days in on Monday evening when jail is a violation of the
Directorate has told the Tihar Jail, official sources his sugar level had spiked provisions under
Supreme Court. said on Thursday. up to 217. It was done on Article 21 of the
In its 734-page reply affi- They said the board will the advice of AIIMS doc- Constitution. “The
davit, the anti-money review the situation after tors. — PTI Supreme Court has
AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai with others at laundering probe agency interpreted Article 21 in
the party’s campaign song launch in New Delhi. — PTI said that Mr Kejriwal that his arrest violates exercise of the power of detail, covering every-
campaign song, senior ty that if by mistake BJP worked in collusion with “basic structure” doc- arrest which would vio- thing from health to
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, wins, the 2024 elections his ministers and AAP trine and the principles late the principle of equal- food, bail, speedy trial,
Delhi state convenor Gopal will be the last one. After leaders and was also of free and fair elections, ity enshrined under right to meet friends
Rai, national secretary this, no one will have the involved in “demanding the ED said, “The arrest Article 14 of the and family members,
Pankaj Gupta, Dilip right to vote, because the kickbacks” from liquor of a person, however Constitution,” reads the etc. But today all the
Pandey, and mayor Shelly BJP does not believe in businessmen in exchange high he may be, for a affidavit. fundamental rights of
Oberoi among others were the Constitution,” Mr for favours granted in the commission of offence Contending that the an elected chief minis-
present. Singh said on the occa- policy. based on material, can arrest of Mr Kejriwal was ter are being merciless-
With the third phase of sion. The ED said there are no never violate the concept made because the investi- ly violated in the coun-
its campaign set to kick off “This Lok Sabha election different provisions in the of free and fair elections. gating officer is in posses- try. I am sad that all this
on April 27, the AAP plans has changed into a move- Prevention of Money If the aforesaid argument sion of material which is happening under the
to engage with the elec- ment after Kejriwal’s Laundering Act, 2002, for is accepted, politicians would indicate his guilt of supervision of PMO and
torate through various arrest. People are anxious- different standards of evi- who are criminals would the offence of money LG,” he said in the let-
platforms, including mes- ly waiting for May 25 when dence to be available to be granted immunity laundering, the ED said, ter.
sages from the chief min- they will respond to the arrest a chief minister or from arrest on the “A differential treatment He further claimed
ister through his wife and imprisonment of Kejriwal a common citizen and the ground that he is in favour of a politician that despite keeping an
senior leaders like Punjab with their vote,” said Mr petitioner by emphasising required to canvass in who is guilty of the eye on Mr Kejriwal
chief minister Bhagwant Rai, adding that the cam- his position is attempting the election.” offence of money launder- throughout the day, he
Mann who will spearhead paign will be stronger with to carve out a special cate- “Treating a politician ing would violate the ‘rule was not given insulin for
election meetings and the launch of its campaign gory for himself, which differently from an ordi- of law’ which would be a 23 days and added that
door-to-door campaigns. song and will play a cru-
“I want to tell the coun- cial role in mobilising peo-
cannot be accepted.
Questioning Mr
nary criminal in a matter
of arrest would amount to
violation of the basic
structure of the
insulin was not given
even after his sugar level
try with full responsibili- ple in Delhi. Kejriwal’s contention arbitrary and irrational Constitution.” became bad.
Ex-partner withdraws case against Mahua Man thrown from 8th floor for
AGE CORRESPONDENT restrain them from post- tice Prateek Jalan said, “If
not paying back money, dies
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25 ing, circulating, or publish-
ing any “fake” and “defam-
this is something that can
stop the crossfire, it is a
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
9 lakh on high interest
from Malik, but could not
Lawyer Jai Anant Deh-
adrai on Thursday with-
atory” content against her.
Mr Dehadrai had earlier
welcome suggestion.”
Mr Dehadrai, who was Two men were arrested
pay back due to which
Malik and his associates
drew from the Delhi high this year also moved the present in court, subse- for allegedly abducting a were pressurising him,”
court his defamation law- present lawsuit seeking quently said he would 30-year-old man and ACP Sanjay Bhatia said.
suit against former partner damages of `2 crore from unconditionally withdraw throwing him to death The officer said that on
TMC leader Mahua Moitra the former lawmaker the lawsuit. from the eighth floor of a April 20 both Salman and
as a “peace offering.” claiming that after he filed In the lawsuit filed building in south Delhi Malik, along with their
Mr Dehadrai had last a complaint with the CBI Mahua Moitra through lawyer Mukesh over money, the police associates, kidnapped
year accused Ms Moitra of over Ms Moitra receiving that the present case could Sharma, Mr Dehadrai had said on Thursday. Chandan and his friend
taking bribes from busi- illegal gratification for be put to an end if Ms said Ms Moitra’s state- The accused have been from Sarai Kale Khan.
nessman and Hiranandani unauthorisedly providing Moitra was willing to “de- ments lowered his esteem identified as Ahmad They took them to the
Group CEO Darshan Hira- her Lok Sabha login cre- escalate” by undertaking in the eyes of friends, Salman, 29, and eighth floor of the NDMC
nandani to ask questions dentials to a third party, she that she would not make family, and colleagues as Dharmesh Malik, 33, they building in Lodhi Colony
in Parliament, which led to “embarked on a ceaseless “palpably false” state- they portrayed him as a said. Salman was found to and demanded money.
her expulsion from the Lok campaign of slander and ments. “person who has become be involved in two crimi- When Chandan asked for
Sabha on December 8.
Following the row, Ms
abuse” to disseminate “fal-
se, abusive, and defamatory
Maintaining that judi-
cial time is “best not
bitter due to a failed per-
sonal relationship and is
nal cases, including an
attempt to murder, said an
more time, the accused
beat him and his friend.

ASSIST DELHI COPS The minor girl has also

been apprehended for
questioning.
Mahua filed a case against
Mr Dehadrai and BJP MP
Nishikant Dubey to
statements” against him.
On Thursday, Mr Daha-
drai’s counsel suggested
spent” on such disputes
that can be resolved
between the parties, jus-
now filing false com-
plaints to take revenge for
the said reason.”
officer. “We got to know
that victim, identified as
Chandan, took around `8-
They then
Chandan from the same
pushed

floor, the police said.

DURING NIGHT OPS
New Delhi: In order to keep
the police alert during the
night duty and improve coor-
dination among officials, the
Delhi police has launched a
four-personnel unit called
‘Delta-48’. The Delta-48 is a
call sign that the officers use
to communicate with each
other during night operations
and policing. Each police sta-
tion and district in the nation-
al capital has different call
signs. DCP Devesh Kumar
Mahla launched this initiative
after he was appointed as the
DCP. This unit comprises four
officials - constables and
head constables - who work
in rotational shifts in the New
Delhi district. They not only
keep the police personnel
alert during night duty but
also ensure that they are pro-
vided with tea, snacks, and
fluorescent jackets to the
patrolling staff from 8 pm to
6 am. The New Delhi district
houses the President, Prime
Minister, Parliament and par-
liamentarians and has 10
police stations. Each police
station has about 100 police
staff including three police
inspectors. On April 17, arou-
nd 28 bikers were nabb-ed
with the coordinated effort of
Parliament Street and Kartav-
ya Path police station staff for
allegedly driving recklessly.
The victim, identified
as Prabhat (25), was
standing near his ice
cream cart when he was
attacked by Ajay alias
Akshay at the C-Hexagon
of the India Gate at
around 9 pm. Passersby
informed the police after
they saw Prabhat lying
on the ground in an
unconscious state, the
police official said.
DCP Devesh Mahla
said due to the sensitivi-
ty of the case, around 12
police teams were
formed and multiple
CCTV cameras and tech-
nical evidence were
analysed, The accused,
Ajay, was arrested with-
in eight hours. Prabhat’s
two mobile phones were
recovered from the pos-
session of the accused.
However, the knife used
in the commission of
crime is yet to be recov-
ered, the police said.
The police said that
Prabhat and Ajay were
in a relationship with a
teenage girl who lives in
south Delhi. “During
interrogation, Ajay con-
fessed to killing Prabhat
and revealed that he was
introduced by the girl to
Prabhat as she wanted to
get rid of him,” another
police official said.
IndiGo places order for 30 Record 56 candidates score
wide-body 350-900 Airbus 100 NTA score in JEE-Main
AGE CORRESPONDENT ◗ INDIGO CURRENTLY
with agencies input has a fleet of more than
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25 350 narrow-body planes
and is also operating
IndiGo has placed an
order for 30 wide-body A two wide-body Boeing
350-900 Airbus aircraft 777 aircraft
and it plans to buy about
70 more in the near future sales, commercial aircraft.
as the airline looks to IndiGo CEO Pieter
expand its international Elbers termed it as a his-
network to long-haul des- toric moment. “Today’s
tinations. historic moment marks a
“This is an exciting new new chapter for IndiGo
chapter in our close part- and will further shape the
nership with IndiGo. The future of the airline and
airline has revolutionised for the Indian aviation at
Indian domestic air travel the same time,” he said.
with the A320neo Family IndiGo currently has a
by making flying more fleet of more than 350 nar-
accessible to more people. row-body planes and is
With the A350 selection, also operating two wide-
Indigo is now embarking body Boeing 777 aircraft
on further opening the leased from Turkish
world to India. We will sup- Airlines to Istanbul from
port the airline to take this Delhi and Mumbai.
pioneering and strategic The A350-900 planes will
step. A big thank you to the be powered by Rolls
IndiGo team for putting Royce’s Trent XWB
their trust in Airbus once engine and the exact con-
again,” said Benoît de figuration of these air-
Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP craft, whose delivery is
expected to start from
2027, will be decided later.
At present, Air India is
the only Indian carrier
operating A350. Among
the domestic airlines, cur-
rently, Air India and
Vistara have wide-body
aircraft in their fleets
while SpiceJet has leased
some wide-body planes.
In June last year, IndiGo
placed the largest-ever sin-
gle aircraft order by any
airline for 500 aircraft with
Airbus. With A350 planes,
IndiGo said it will be able to
connect to the world from
various Indian metros.
“The mission capability
of this aircraft (A350) cou-
pled with the efficiency of
the Trent XWB engine
will offer IndiGo unprece-
dented optionality as it
embarks on the next stage
of its wonderful journey
of addressing the rapidly
evolving needs of the
Indian customer and our
nation,” a statement from
IndiGo said.
New Delhi, April 24: A
record 56 candidates,
including two females,
achieved 100 NTA score
in engineering entrance
exam JEE-Main, the
National Testing Agency
(NTA) announced on
Wednesday night. The
qualifying percentile for
JEE (Advanced), the
entrance test for admis-
sion to the 23 Indian
Institutes of Technology
(IITs), touched a five-year
high.
While 23 candidates in
the JEE (Main) January
session scored 100 NTA
score, 33 candidates in
the April session
achieved it.
The 56 toppers include
40 from the general cate-
gory, 10 from the OBC cat-
egory and six from the
gen-EWS category. No
candidate from the SC
and ST categories man-
aged to get 100 NTA score
this year.
According to officials,
◗ 39 CANDIDATES
debarred from taking
JEE-Main for three
years for using unfair
means during the exam
the NTA score is not the
same as the percentage of
marks obtained.
“NTA scores are nor-
malised scores across
multi-session papers and
are based on the relative
performance of all those
who appeared for the
examination in one ses-
sion. The marks obtained
are converted into a scale
ranging from 100 to 0 for
each session of exami-
nees,” a senior NTA offi-
cial explained.
The official further said
that 39 candidates were
debarred from taking
JEE-Main for three years
for using unfair means
during the exam.
Candidates’ ranks are
released taking into con-
sideration the best of the
two NTA scores in accor-
dance with the policy
already in place.
With 15 candidates in
the top scorer list,
Telangana continues to
lead state-wise for the
third consecutive year.
Maharashtra and
Andhra Pradesh, with
seven candidates each
with 100 percentile,
came a distant second,
followed by Delhi with
six aspirants in the top
scorer list.
Of the 14.1 lakh candi-
dates, almost 96 per cent
of the aspirants took the
test for undergraduate
admissions to engineer-
ing and architecture pro-
grammes in centrally-
funded technical institu-
tions as well to qualify to
appear for JEE
(Advanced). There are
around 24,000 seats
across National
Institutes of Technology
(NITs).
— PTI
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | LONDON
SHORT TAKES
India wishes Maldives
on completion of polls
New Delhi: India congratulat-
ed the Maldives for the suc-
cessful completion of its
recent parliamentary “Majlis”
elections, acknowledging the
landslide victory of
Maldivian President
Mohamed Muizzu’s political
party. New Delhi pledged to
maintain cooperation with
the new “Majlis” to bolster
exchanges between the two
nations. President Muizzu’s
party’s triumph in the parlia-
mentary polls is perceived
by some as strengthening
China’s influence in the tiny
archipelago, which shares
maritime borders with India.
Widely regarded as pro-
China, Mr Muizzu made thin-
ly-veiled accusations against
India upon his return from
China earlier this year,
asserting Maldives’ sover-
eignty and challenging any
attempts at bullying. He also
emphasised that the Indian
Ocean does not belong to
any single country. President
Muizzu had secured victory
in the Presidential polls in
his nation last year.
VIP security given to
3 former Cong rebels
New Delhi: The Centre has
accorded VIP security to
three former leaders of
Punjab Congress following a
threat assessment by the
Central intelligence agen-
cies. According to sources,
Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary,
his mother Karamjit Kaur
Chaudhary and Tajinder
Singh Bittu have been given
a “Y” category security
cover provided by the
Central security forces. Ms
Kaur and Mr Bittu recently
joined the BJP. The CRPF
has been directed by the
Union home ministry to pro-
vide the security cover, the
sources added. As part of
the “Y” security, about four-
five armed commandos will
escort each of the three
politicians during their travel
in Punjab. The CRPF is
expected to soon take over
the security of the three
leaders.
TMC worker injured
while making bombs
Berhampore: A TMC worker
was injured in an explosion
while allegedly making crude
bombs in Murshidabad, West
Bengal. Zinnah Ali (40) suf-
fered severe injuries to his
right hand from the blast. The
EC has requested a report
from the police and district
administration regarding the
incident, which occurred at
Munai Kandra village in
Burwan. Shockingly, the loca-
tion was within 50 yards of a
polling station. Berhampore is
scheduled for Lok Sabha polls
on May 13. Villagers were
awoken by a deafening sound
on Wednesday night and
found Zinnah unconscious in
a pool of blood. He was
promptly taken to Birbhum
for treatment. Murshidabad
district Congress spokesman
Jayanta Das alleged that TMC
workers were making crude
bombs to intimidate opposi-
tion workers ahead of the
election.
SC VERDICT TODAY
ON VERIFICATION OF
EVMs AND VVPATs
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
The Supreme Court will pro-
nounce its verdict on Friday
on a batch of petitions seek-
ing complete cross-verifica-
tion of votes cast using elec-
tronic voting machines with
voter verified paper audit
trails. A bench of Justices
Sanjeev Khanna and
Dipankar Datta will pro-
nounce judgment in the mat-
ter. On Wednesday, the apex
court had reserved its ver-
dict on a batch of pleas
seeking complete cross-veri-
fication of votes cast
through EVMs with VVPAT
after taking note of answers
to its queries from the
Election Commission. The
bench had sought answers
from an official of the poll
panel to five questions relat-
ed to the functioning of the
EVMs, including whether the
microcontrollers fitted in
them are reprogrammable.
Senior deputy election com-
missioner Nitesh Kumar
Vyas, who had earlier made
a presentation to the court
on the functioning of EVMs,
was summoned by the
bench to answer the queries.
The bench had said it needs
clarification on certain
aspects as there was some
confusion over the answers
given by the EC to “fre-
quently asked questions”
about EVMs.
■ MeT predicts mercury to be above 40°C in many parts
Voting in 88 seats across 13
states in Phase 2 polls today
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
As election campaigns by
political parties start
notching up their decibel
levels, the country will
witness the second phase
of polling for the ongoing
Lok Sabha elections on
Friday amid predictions
by the meteorological
department that tempera-
tures will soar above 40°C
in several parts of the
country.
On Friday, 13 states and
Union territories will be
going to the polls, includ-
ing 20 seats in Kerala, 14
in Karnataka, 13 in
Rajasthan, eight each in
Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra, six in
Madhya Pradesh, five each
in Assam and Bihar, three
in West Bengal and
Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah offers prayers at the Kalbhairav temple
in Varanasi on Thursday.
‘Overthrow’ Patnaik govt, says
Shah during Odisha campaign
Corrupt bunch of officers running state: Minister
AKSHAYA KUMAR
SAHOO
SONEPUR, APRIL 25
Union home minister
Amit Shah on Thursday
gave a call to party leaders
and workers in Odisha to
oust the Naveen Patnaik-
led Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
government in the state to
achieve faster prosperity
and address some critical
challenges like poverty,
economic empowerment
of farmers and weaker
sections of the society.
Addressing a massive
public rally at Sonepur in
Western Odisha, Mr Shah
said Odisha is now being
ruled by a group of “cor-
rupt officers” who have
launched a reign of terror
in the state.
“Odisha is now being
ruled by a person who
does have regard for the
language of the land, its
culture and rich history.
The state is now being
Rahul: This poll is BJP launches drive to increase
to save democracy voting amid dip in MP Phase 1
and Constitution
New Delhi, April 25: A
day before the second
phase of the Lok Sabha
polls, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday urged people to
support his party and
asserted this is an elec-
tion to save democracy
and the Constitution
which he alleged the BJP-
RSS are trying to
“destroy”. Voting for the
second phase of Lok
Sabha polls will be held
on Friday for 89 seats in
13 states.
Mr Gandhi, who is seek-
ing a second-straight
term from Wayanad in
Kerala, in a video appeal
said this election is to
save democracy and the
Constitution.
“On one hand there is
the BJP and the RSS that
are trying to finish
democracy and destroy-
ing the Constitution and
on the other hand there is
the Congress and the
INDIA alliance that is
saving democracy and the
Constitution,” the former
Congress chief said.
“We walked from
Kanyakumari to Kashmir
Polling officials, carrying election materials, leave for
their respective booths on the eve of the Phase 2 of the
Lok Sabha elections in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Chhattisgarh and one Wayanad, represented by
each in Jammu and incumbent
Kashmir, Manipur and Congress leader Rahul
Tripura. In all, 88 parlia- Gandhi, Thiruvananth-
mentary constituencies apuram by former Union
will be going to the polls.
Prominent seats going to Rajasthan’s Jalore, being
the polls include Kerala’s contested by former chief
Odisha is now being
ruled by a person
who does have
regard for the lan-
guage of the land.
The state is now
being ruled by a
bunch of ‘bhayankar
bhrastachari’ babus
— Amit Shah
Union home
minister
ruled by a bunch of
‘bhayankar bhrastachari’
(highly corrupt) bureau-
crats,” Mr Shah said.
His observation was
seen as a clear criticism of
chief minister Naveen
Patnaik’s inability to
speak Odia and his over-
reliance on a group of top
officials who are allegedly
managing BJD’s party
affairs, violating the code
of conduct for civil ser-
◗ RAHUL GANDHI SAID
Narendra Modi made
22-25 people billionaires
and the Congress ois
going to make crores of
women, youth lakhpatis
for over 4,000 km, we tra-
versed from Manipur to
Maharashtra and after
speaking with you and lis-
tening to your issues we
prepared our revolution-
ary manifesto. This is
your manifesto. It is pre-
pared by the Congress but
this is your voice,” Mr
Gandhi said in his appeal
to the people.
“We have given five
guarantees. Narendra
Modi made 22-25 people
billionaires and we are
going to make crores of
women and youth lakh-
patis. We are giving a
legal guarantee of MSP to
farmers and waiving off
their loans. We have
promised to give a mini-
mum wage of `400 to
labourers,” he added.
Mr Gandhi said this is a
manifesto to change the
country and it is revolu-
tionary. — PTI
— PTI
MP and
minister Shashi Tharoor,
— PTI
vants.
He called upon voters to
elect more than 20 Lok
Sabha members from the
state and give an absolute
majority to the BJP in the
147-member Odisha
Assembly.
In 2019, the BJP had won
8 of the 21 Lok Sabha
seats.
The home minister’s
broadsides against the
Odisha CM and the BJD
were seen as clear depar-
tures from the BJP’s “cool
approach” towards the
BJD.
Though the BJD is the
principal political oppo-
nent of the BJP, the latter
had bought peace with the
regional party, ostensibly
to get its support for cru-
cial passing bills in the
Rajya Sabha.
Mr Shah blamed
Odisha’s lack of prosperi-
ty to the inefficiency of
the 24 years of the Patnaik
government.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHOPAL, APRIL 25
The BJP has intensified
its drive to boost voting
in the coming three phas-
es of the Lok Sabha elec-
tions in Madhya Pradesh
in the wake of the dip in
the polling percentage in
the maiden round of elec-
tions in the state, held on
April 19.
Senior BJP leaders and
cluster incharges of the
party have intensified the
drive to mobilise the
workers, particularly
booth level cadres, to
Next-gen of political dynasties rise on J&K horizon
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, APRIL 25
Former chief minister and
PDP president Mehbooba
Mufti launched her cam-
paign for the Anantnag-
Rajouri Lok Sabha con-
stituency where she is pit-
ted against former minis-
ter and senior NC leader
Mian Altaf Ahmad among
many other candidates a
couple of weeks ago.
minister Ashok Gehlot’s
son Vaibhav Gehlot and
Chittorgarh contested by
BJP state president C.P.
Joshi.
The BJP-led NDA’s “star
campaigner” and “poll
mascot” Narendra Modi
has been leading the cam-
paign against the
Opposition camp, which is
trying hard to unseat Mr
Modi this time.
In 2019, the BJP had won
53 of the 89 seats and its
existing allies 12 of these
seats, including seven of
eight in Uttar Pradesh, all
13, eight and seven in
Rajasthan, Maharashtra
and Madhya Pradesh
respectively, and four of
the five seats each in
Assam and Bihar.
The constituents of the
now INDIA bloc had won
23 seats in the last general
election.
Akhilesh files nomination
papers from Kannauj seat
Urges people to ‘clean bowled’ BJP, end ‘negative politics’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/KANNAUJ,
APRIL 25
Samajwadi Party presi-
dent Akhilesh Yadav asked
people to “clean bowled”
the BJP as he filed his
nomination papers from
Kannauj Lok Sabha con-
stituency on Thursday.
Mr Yadav filed the nomi-
nation in the presence of
party leaders, including
Ram Gopal Yadav.
The SP chief replaced his
nephew Tej Pratap Yadav,
days after the latter was
announced as the party’s
candidate from Kannauj.
Talking to reporters after
filing his nomination, Mr
Akhilesh promised to
ensure development in the
city.
“The people and party
workers wanted me to con-
test from here as SP candi-
date. I hope I will get the
blessings of the people.
When I came here for the
■ ‘Unfavourable’ situation for saffron party in polls, says Pilot
‘People fed up with BJP, its false promises’
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, APRIL 25
Senior Congress leader
and former Rajasthan
deputy chief minister
Sachin Pilot on Thursday
said that the anger in
speeches of the BJP brass,
noticed after the first
phase of the Lok Sabha
elections, indicates frus-
tration over the
'unfavourable' situation in
the general elections.
Addressing an election
rally in Ujjain in Madhya
start door-to-door cam-
paigns to draw voters to
the polling booths on the
polling day, sources said
on Thursday.
Party leaders have been
holding workers’ meets at
district, block and pan-
chayat levels to mobilise
grassroots level workers
to intensify the mass con-
tact programme to
increase the polling per-
centage in the next three
phases of elections, a sen-
ior BJP functionary said.
Sources said that the
BJP leaders have been
asked to focus on the
While she holds road-
shows and addresses ral-
lies, making an aggressive
bid for her party, in
Anantnag, her effort is
being supplemented by her
daughter Iltija Mufti, who
has been incharge of her
social media since 2019. Ms
Iltija’s ‘X’ profile mentions
her as a ‘Kashmiri’ and
‘media advisor’ to her
mother..
36-year-old Iltija, while
Bengal school job judgment
gross injustice, says Mamata
■ Blames BJP for jobloss ■ Lawyers move HC over CM’s remark
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, APRIL 25
West Bengal chief minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee on
Thursday described the
termination of 25, 573
state education depart-
ment employees’ jobs by
the Calcutta high court
for graft in the School
Service Commission
recruitment scam as a
“gross injustice.”
The Trinamul Congress
supremo also reiterated
the blame on the
Bharatiya Janata Party
for engineering the mass
termination to stop the
affected state govern-
ment employees from
attending their duties in
the ongoing Lok Sabha
elections.
Ms Banerjee told a poll
campaign rally at
Keshiary in West
Midnapore, “If someone
makes an error, it can be
rectified. But the termi-
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav during his nomi-
nation filing rally for the Lok Sabha polls in Kannauj on
Thursday.
first time after Netaji (his chief said, “They will not
father and SP founder be able to throw a ball nor
Mulayam Singh Yadav) be able to use the bat.”
asked me to contest from
here, top leaders, including six balls,” he said, urging
Janeshwar Mishra, Amar people to “clean bowled”
Singh, Azam Khan, Netaji the BJP. Mr Yadav said the
were there.”
Asked about some BJP tive politics” of the BJP,
leaders’ reported com- and in a reference to the
ments that the polls were a city’s famous perfumes,
cricket match between said the fragrance of
India and Pakistan, The SP Kannauj will spread again.
Pradesh, Mr
Pilot said
that the sen-
ior BJP lead-
ers started
giving angry
speeches
after the first
phase of
elections. Sachin pilot
"This is a manifestation
of their frustration over
the disclosure of the elec-
tion slipping out of their
hand after the first phase",
he said.
Mr Pilot claimed that the
people are fed up with the
national issues, instead
of local issues, during
their mass contact pro-
gramme.
State BJP secretary
Rajneesh Agrawal, how-
ever, claimed that the
decrease in voting in the
first phase of elections in
Madhya Pradesh has not
impacted the BJP’s vote
share. He cited the
increase in the voting
percentage in the first
phase of polling in the
neighbouring BJP-ruled
states like Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh to drive his
point home.
addressing an election
rally in a remote village of
Anantnag on Wednesday,
said, “Our tribal communi-
ties will fight for their
rights and identity”.
However, Ms Mufti, who
became fiercely “protec-
tive” on social media after
Jammu and Kashmir was
stripped of its special sta-
tus, told this newspaper
recently that though she is
busy with writing the biog-
West Bengal chief minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee dur-
ing a public meeting for
the Lok Sabha elections in
Paschim Medinipur dis-
trict on Thursday. — PTI
nation of more than
25,000 jobs is a gross
injustice. How will the
schools function if so
many teachers lose their
jobs? It is a trick of the
BJP. I respect the judici-
ary. But what happened is
a gross injustice.”
She claimed, “These
— PTI
“We will hit six on all the
election will end the “nega-
false promises given by the
BJP and hence, an under-
current against the party
is visible across the coun-
try. He also wondered why
the BJP needed 400-plus
seats in the general elec-
tions when only 272 seats
are required to form the
government.
"There is something in
their mind. Initially, BJP
leaders said that they need-
ed 400-plus seats to change
the Constitution. But, later
the saffron party started
countering it, saying that
they will not tamper with
Kharge writes to PM, seeks
time to explain ‘Nyay Patra’
New Delhi, April 25:
Congress chief
Mallikarjun Kharge on
Thursday wrote to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
and sought time from him
to explain in person the
party’s ‘Nyay Patra’. In
his two-page letter, he told
the Prime Minister that
he is being misinformed
by his advisors about
things that are not even
written in the ‘Nyay
Patra’ — the Congress'
manifesto for the Lok
Sabha elections.
The letter comes after
the Prime Minister
attacked the Congress
over its manifesto, alleg-
ing that the party aims to
raphy of her mother which
would shed light on her
political journey and its
significance in Kashmiri
politics.
Meanwhile, NC vice-pres-
ident and former chief
minister Omar Abdullah’s
offspring — Zahir and
Zamir — too, are nowa-
days, being seen actively
involved in party meetings
and other engagements. On
Thursday, the brother-duo
pg 3
jobs were snatched so
that the affected employ-
ees cannot be sent to the
poll duty, while the
Central government
employees can be deput-
ed to work at the behest
of the saffron camp.”
Meanwhile, the high
court has accepted a plea
of a group of prominent
lawyers seeking suo moto
cognisance of the tirade
by the chief minister
against the judiciary in
the last couple of days
over the landmark order
in the SSC jobs scam.
The lawyers included
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP
Bikash Ranjan
Bhattacharyya who
urged the division bench
of Chief Justice T.S.
Sivagnanam and Justice
Hiranmay Bhattacharya
to act against Ms
Banerjee for her “con-
temptuous” remarks that
the judiciary has been
“sold out.”
K’taka CS to
be summoned
by NCBC over
Muslim quota
AMRESH SRIVASTAVA
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
The NCBC’s chairperson
Hansraj Ahir on
Thursday said that the
commission would be
summoning the Karna-
taka chief secretary over
the “blanket reservation”
given to the Muslim com-
munity in the state.
Criticising the Karnata-
ka government’s decision
to categorise the entire
Muslim community as a
backward caste for reser-
vation purposes, the
panel observed that such
blanket categorisation
undermines the princi-
ples of social justice.
“All castes/communities
of Karnataka Muslim are
considered socially and
educationally backward
classes and are cate-
gorised as “Muslim
Caste” separately under
Category IIB in the State
List of Backward
Classes,” NCBC chairper-
son Ahir said.
the Constitution", Mr Pilot
said.
He said that Congress
had secured 400-plus seats
in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls.
But, the then Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi
never said that he would
finish the Opposition.
He said that the speeches
of BJP leaders are con-
fined to three "M"- Muslim-
Hindu, mandir-masjid and
mangalsutra.
Mr Pilot also addressed
public meetings at
Mandsaur and Balon in
Madhya Pradesh.
“redistribute the wealth”
of people and give it away
to “infiltrators”.
Mr Modi also accused
the Congress of snatching
women’s “mangalsutra”.
In his letter, Mr Kharge
said the Congress’ ‘Nyay
Patra’ aims at providing
“nyay (justice)” to the
youngsters, women, farm-
ers, labourers and mar-
ginalised people across all
castes and communities.
“It has become your
habit to seize on a few
words taken out of con-
text and create a commu-
nal divide. You are lower-
ing the dignity of the
chair by speaking in this
manner," he said. — PTI
announced that they would
be campaigning for their
father Mr Abdullah, who is
seeking election to the Lok
Sabha from the Baramulla
constituency.
A Kashmir watcher said
that it is to be seen
whether the political
prowess of Ms Iltija
or Mr Zamir and Mr Zahir
will help their respective
parties to reach out to the
young Kashmiris.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | LONDON
pg 4

■ Report reflects poor understanding of India, says Jaiswal

SHORT TAKES
10 killed in 2 road
mishaps in T’gana
Hyderabad: Ten people,
including a girl child, have
died in two separate road
accidents in Telangana. Six
persons died in Suryapet
district on Thursday when
the car they were travelling
in collided with a stationary
truck, police said. The acci-
dent took place near Kodada
town in this district, located
about 180 km from Hyderab-
ad. The car collided with the
truck parked on the roadside
for repairs, along the Hyde-
rabad-Vijayawada highway,
Kodada DSP Sridhar Reddy
said. A total of 10 people
were in the car when the
accident happened in the
early hours of Thursday.
Four passengers had minor
injuries and were shifted to a
hospital. Expressing shock
over the tragic road acci-
dent, chief minister Revanth
Reddy expressed condo-
lences to the family mem-
bers of those who lost
their lives. — PTI
6 die in major fire
inside Patna hotel
Patna: Six persons, including
three women, died in a major
fire that broke out on
Thursday inside a hotel, situ-
ated close to a railway station
in Patna, police said.
According to Chandra
Prakash, SP (City Central),
Patna, rescue work is over at
the hotel near Patna
Junction, where the blaze
had erupted around 11 am
with more than 20 people
trapped inside. “The
deceased include three
women. In addition, two per-
sons with severe burn injuries
are in a critical condition, and
they have been admitted to
hospital,” Prakash told
reporters. Police are trying to
ascertain the identity of the
deceased and the critically
injured persons so that their
family members could be
informed, he said. “We are
not able to pinpoint the rea-
son that may have led to the
fire. Forensic experts have
been called and based on
their findings, we will take
further action,” the SP added.
Meanwhile, district magistrate
Shirsat Kapil Ashok, said “A
fire audit has been ordered of
all hotels and other commer-
cial establishments”. — PTI
US report citing rights violations after landslide in Arunachal
biased, no value to it, says MEA
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
India on Thursday
snubbed the US and
described a report citing
alleged incidents of human
rights violations, including
in Manipur, as “deeply
biased”, adding that “no
value” should be attached
to it. Several critical refer-
ences to India in the US
state department’s 2023
Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices
were released earlier this
week in Washington.
At his weekly briefing
and in response to a media
query, MEA spokesperson
Randhir Jaiswal said,
“This report is deeply
biased and reflects a poor
understanding of India.
We attach no value to it and
urge you to do the same.”
Meanwhile, on
Palestine protests taking
pro-
SC imposes
`5L costs on
govt for filing
frivolous plea
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
The Supreme Court has
imposed costs of `5 lakhs
on the Centre for chal-
lenging a Meghalaya high
court order, saying it was
“sheer abuse” of the
process of law. A bench of
Justices Vikram Nath
and Satish Chandra
Sharma said there was no
occasion or justification
for the Centre to have
challenged the order by
way of a special leave
petition.
“The present petition is
sheer abuse of the
process of law. The peti-
tioners are cautioned not
to file such frivolous peti-
tions in future. We are not
inclined to interfere with
the impugned judg-
ment(s) and order(s) of
Portion of NH washes away
Connectivity to Dibang Valley & China border disrupted
MANOJ ANAND ◗ UNHAPPY OVER Dibang valley. “The dis-
The annual report, which GUWAHATI, APRIL 25
inconvenience caused trict administration has
In every democracy, there has to be is mandated by the US already deployed workers
the right balance... Democracies Congress, also mentioned In what has disrupted con- to commuters due to and adequate machinery to
in particular should display this raids by the Indian tax nectivity to the China bor- the damage, CM has repair the road on a war
understanding in regard to other fel- authorities on the office of der through Dibang valley, instructed to restore footing. It will take a cou-
low democracies. After all, we are the BBC. a massive landslide trig- connectivity at the ear- ple of days to restore traf-
all judged by what we do at home As per report, there were gered by heavy rain liest as this road con- fic movement,” said the
a number of press and civil washed away a portion of nects Dibang Valley to additional deputy commis-
and not what we say abroad. society reports of repre- National Highway-313 sioner (ADC) Anini Mr
sentatives of political par- between Hunli and Anini
the rest of the country Dhurbajyoti Borah. He
— Randhir Jaiswal
on pro-Palestine stir in US ties using disinformation in Arunachal Pradesh. highway between Hunli said that they are also try-
tactics against civil society Informing that the land- and Anini. Instructions ing to restore the move-
place at Columbia Univer- standing in regard to other organisations, religious slides took place around 5 have been issued to restore ment of small vehicles by
sity and other US universi- fellow democracies. After minorities, such as Sikhs pm on Wednesday due to connectivity at the earliest Thursday.
ties, New Delhi in turn all, we are all judged by and Muslims, and the water accumulation on as this road connects In statement authorities
seemed to have a word of what we do at home and Opposition, sometimes slopes of hills along the Dibang Valley to the rest of said, “All residents of
advice on the matter for not what we say abroad.” depicting them as security highway, security sources the country.” Dibang Valley are
Washington, with Mr As per reports from threats. Referring to the said that Arunachal It is significant that informed that due to con-
Jaiswal saying, “We have Washington earlier this raids on BBC offices, the Pradesh chief minister Dibang valley along the tinuous rain in the district,
seen reports on the matter week, the India section of report said although tax Pema Khandu has international border with an important part of NH
and have been following the report said that local authorities described the instructed the authorities China is also known for its 313 connecting Anini to
related events. In every human rights organisati- searches as motivated by to start restoration of con- rich biodiversity, including Roing has been washed
democracy, there has to be ons, minority political par- irregularities in the BBC’s nectivity at the earliest. medicinal plants like away on 24/04/2024,
the right balance between ties and affected communi- tax payments and owner- Mr Khandu in a social Coptis Teeta (Eroh) and restoration of which is
freedom of expression, ties criticised the Indian ship structure, officials media post wrote, Taxus Baccata. estimated to take at least 3
sense of responsibility and government for the delayed also searched and seized “Disturbed to learn of the The district officials said (three days). Hence, all con-
public safety and order. action to stop violence and equipment from journal- inconvenience caused to that they have issued an cerns are advised till the
Democracies in particular
should display this under-
provide humanitarian
assistance in Manipur.
ists who were not involved
in the financial processes.
commuters due to the
extensive damage to the
alert to monitor the vehic-
ular movement towards
road is restored and rain
returns to normal.”
‘10 Indians stranded Modi speaks
to Meloni,
in Russia back home’
AGE CORRESPONDENT the Russian government
thanks her
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25 for early discharge of such
Indian nationals.
for G-7 invite
New Delhi on Thursday Earlier, the MEA had also AGE CORRESPONDENT
said 10 Indians, who were issued an appeal to Indians NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
stranded in Russia earlier to not be swayed by offers
and duped to work as sup- made by agents for support P r i m e
port staff with the Russian jobs with the Russian Minister
Army, have been released Army, adding, “This is Narendra
and have returned to India fraught with danger and Modi spoke
from Russia. MEA risk to life.” New Delhi had to his Italian
spokesperson Randhir earlier said it is “trying its counterpart
Jaiswal said India is best” to secure the early Georgia
“actively pursuing the discharge of about 20 Meloni on Georgia
matter and is committed to Indians who are “stuck” Thursday Meloni
bring back” the remaining after having gone to Russia d u r i n g
such Indians stranded for recruitment as support which the two leaders
there. He said India has staff or helpers with the “discussed taking for-
been “assured by the Russian Army, adding that ward the important out-
Labourers and staff of the Assam forest department cut trees along the national highway Russian side that the other it is in touch with the comes from India’s G-20
for its extension at Boko in Kamrup district on Thursday. — PTI Indians will be released”. Russian authorities. presidency, especially
This also comes in the India had also said that ones that support the
SC to share cause list, info on wake of the visit of NSA
Ajit Doval to Russia to
attend a security conclave
in St. Petersburg. India
“each and every case” of
Indians has been brought
to the attention of Indian
authorities and has been
Global South, at the G-7
summit under Italy’s
presidency (in mid-
June)”, New Delhi said.
cases via WhatsApp, says CJI had last month said that
“several Indians have been
duped to work with the
Russian Army”, adding
taken up with Russia
promptly, adding that “sev-
eral Indians have already
been discharged as a
Meanwhile,
spokesperson Randhir
Jaiswal on Thursday
MEA

said the invite for India

CBI books 5 for
land grab, terror
in Sandeshkhali
■ Continued from Page 1
Sivagnanam and Justice
Hiranmay Bhattacharyya of
the high court directed the
Central agency to probe the
allegations of violence against
women and land grabs by the
TMC workers in
Sandeshkhali.
The high court bench had
asked the CBI then to keep the
identities of the complainants
confidential and ordered the
agency to open a dedicated
portal and email ID to accept
complaints.
Earlier, the state police inves-
tigated the Sandeshkhali vio-
lence cases and arrested Mr
Shahjahan amid a massive
public outcry.
the HC. As per special
leave petition is dis-
missed with costs for the
reason that before the
high court counsel for the
petitioner (UoI) submit-
ted that the matter was
squarely covered by a pre-
vious decision and,
accordingly, the high
court had disposed of the
matter on the statement
of the counsel for Union
of India,” the bench said.
The SC was hearing an
appeal against the high
court order, which
upheld a Central admin-
istrative tribunal judg-
ment. “We, accordingly,
impose a fine of `5,00,000
to be paid by the petition-
ers which shall be
deposited in Account of
the Armed Forces Battle
Casualties Welfare Fund,
Canara Bank, Branch
South Block, Defence
Headquarters, within
eight weeks, ” bench said.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
In a major move aimed at
digitisation, Chief Justice
of India D.Y. Chandrachud
on Thursday announced
that the Supreme Court
will share information
relating to cause lists and
filing and listing of cases
to advocates through
WhatsApp messages, say-
ing it will have a "big-bang
impact" and will go a long
way in saving paper and
the planet.
The announcement on
integration of WhatsApp
with its Information and
Communications
Technology (ICT) services
was made by the CJI
before a nine-judge bench
headed by him com-
menced the hearing on the
vexed legal question aris-
ing from the petitions
about whether private
properties can be consid-
D.Y. Chandrachud
ered "material resources of
the community" under
Article 39(b) of the
Constitution, which is a
part of the Directive
Principles of State Policy.
“In the 75th year of its
existence, the Supreme
Court launches a small ini-
tiative. It has the potential
to have a big-bang impact.”
“WhatsApp messenger
has been a ubiquitous
service in our daily lives
and has taken the role of a
powerful communication
tool. To strengthen the
right to access to justice
and enhance transparency
in the judicial system, the
SC announces integration
of WhatsApp messaging
services with its IT servic-
es,” the CJI said.
Justice Chandrachud
said under this initiative,
the advocates-on records
and the litigants, who
appear in person before
the top court, will get auto-
mated messages regarding
electronic filing of cases,
cause lists, orders and
judgments.
“The cause lists will be
sent to all members of the
bar by the registry as and
when published. The
orders and judgments
available on the website
will also be sent through
WhatsApp,” he said.
A cause list features the
cases to be heard by a
court on a given day.
Justice Chandrachud also
shared the SC’s official
WhatsApp number
8767687676 and said it will
not be receiving any mes-
sages and calls.
that New Delhi has strong-
ly taken up the matter with
2 Naxals killed in Odisha,
few others feel to forests
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 25
Two suspected Maoist
cadres were on Thursday
eliminated and some oth-
ers were feared injured
during anti-insurgency
operations in Odisha’s
Kantamal forests.
According to reports,
security personnel
launched a search opera-
tion after they got intelli-
gence inputs that a group
of Left-Wing extremism
elements had gathered in
forest near the Padel Dam
under Kantamal block in
Bouth district.
result” from the Russian
Army.
As soon as the security
personnel entered the
forests, the rebels assem-
bled in a camp opened fire
at them, prompting the
former to retaliate.
In the exchange of fire,
two radicals were killed
on the spot while
others fled to the dense
forests.
Boudh district in
Odisha has of late
become a hotspot of
Maoist activities. Maoist
cadres from Chhattisgarh
are believed to be hiding
in the region and training
the local youths to join
their organisation.
to attend the G-7 sum-
mit, hosted by Italy,
had been received and
is “under considera-
tion”. It may be noted
that the results for
India's general election
will be declared on June
4, just days before the G-
7 summit is held.
In a statement, New
Delhi said, “PM (Modi)
extended his greetings to
Prime Minister Meloni
and the people of Italy on
the occasion of 79th
anniversary of Libera-
tion Day. He thanked PM
Meloni for the invite to
the G-7 summit outreach
sessions to be held in
June in Puglia.”
The MEA added, “They
reaffirmed their com-
mitment to continue to
strengthen the bilateral
strategic partnership.
The two leaders also
exchanged views on
regional and global.”

‘Cong seeking votes to give religion-based quota’
■ Continued from Page 1
rights,” he said.
Earlier in the day, at an
election rally in Agra, the
Prime Minister said, “While
Modi focuses on uplifting the
poor, the SP-Congress
alliance is indulging in bla-
tant appeasement. The
Congress's manifesto for the
2024 elections bears the 100
per cent imprint of the
Muslim League, solely dedi-
cated to strengthening their
votebank.”
“The Congress, whether in
Karnataka or Andhra
Pradesh, has persistently
pushed for religion-based
reservations in its manifesto.
Despite constitutional and
judicial constraints, the
Congress is determined to
pursue this agenda. Their
strategy involves reallocat-
ing the OBC quota to provide
religion-based reservation,
as seen in Karnataka where
all Muslim castes were
included in the OBC catego-
ry by the Congress govern-
ment,” he said.
Mr Modi mentioned that in
2012, just before the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly elections,
the Congress government
attempted to allocate a por-
tion of the OBC reservation
to minorities based on reli-
gion but failed.
“Now, the people of Uttar
Pradesh, especially the OBC
community, must recognise
the Congress and the SP's
dangerous game. They aim
to take away the rights of the
OBC castes and give them to
their preferred votebank.
The SP, for its own gains, is
betraying the Yadavs and
backward classes. This
appeasement-driven mindset
defines both the SP and the
Congress, who aim to surrep-
titiously redistribute the
OBC rights to their vote
banks,” Mr Modi said, point-
ing out that before the
arrival of UP CM Yogi
Adityanath, the slogan of the
INDIA bloc in the state was --
the land that belongs to the
government's, that land is
ours.
Raking up the inheritance
tax issue, Mr Modi said, “A
new scheme by the Congress-
INDIA bloc has emerged and
that is ‘Congress ki loot
jindagi ke sath bhi, jindagi
ke baad bhi’. They claim they
will investigate your belong-
ings using the Congress
prince's (apparently refer-
ring to Rahul Gandhi) X-ray
machine, seizing everything,
including sisters' and daugh-
ters' jewellery and distribut-
ing it among their vote-
banks. Not even the sisters'
mangalsutras will be
spared.”
On the inheritance tax, Mr
Modi said, "The Congress-SP
and INDIA bloc plan to
impose a 55 per cent tax on
your inheritance. This
means they'll seize a signifi-
cant portion of what you
leave for your children. If
you build a four-room house,
only two rooms will go to
your children. The remain-
ing portion will be seized by
the Congress and the SP.
Similarly, if you own 10
bighas of land, only five
bighas will be inherited by
your children, the rest will
be confiscated by the
Opposition bloc. Are you
ready to surrender your
property to them?"
Reiterating that tough
action against corruption
under the BJP's third term,
he said, “Our commitment is
clear — corrupt individuals
will be investigated. The
money they've stolen from
the poor will be returned to
the poor. Modi is seeking
legal advice on how to recov-
er the looted money, includ-
ing bungalows and vehicles,
from these corrupt individu-
als.”
At a rally in Uttar
Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur, Mr
Modi alleged that "do she-
hzade" (two princes refer-
ring to Mr Gandhi and
Samajwadi Party president
Akhilesh Yadav) have come
together for the politics of
appeasement.
In a veiled attack on the
Congress and SP leaders, Mr
Modi said, "Can you expect
development from the flop
pair of 'do ladkon ki jodi' (a
pair of boys)? Appeasement
politics is the biggest
reason that the "do she-
hzade" have come together,"
he said.
Addressing a public rally in
Madhya Pradesh’s Morena,
Mr Modi said, “As you all
know, at the time of
Independence, the Congress
accepted the division of the
country in the name of reli-
gion to gain power. Today,
once again, the Congress is
scrambling for power. These
people are once again using
religious appeasement as a
political tool. But Modi is
standing as a wall between
you and the Congress' plans
to loot you.”
Alleging that the Congress
has been conspiring to
deprive the dalits, backward
classes and tribals of their
rights for a long time, he
said, “In Karnataka, the
Congress government has
essentially declared the
entire Muslim community
OBCs. This means that the
Congress has begun to give
reservations to the Muslim
community in education and
government jobs by taking
them away from the OBCs,”
Mr Modi said.
The Prime Minister stated
that the Constitution of the
country does not allow reser-
vations based on religion, so
the Congress has resorted to
this deceit.
“Even B.R. Ambedkar him-
self was strongly against
reservations based on reli-
gion. However, drowning in
votebank and appeasement
politics, the Congress
wants to implement this
model of Karnataka across
the entire country,” he
remarked.
Notice to BJP, Cong for
PM, Rahul poll remarks
■ Continued from Page 1
Reacting to the notice, the
Congress said the EC was
being “super, super cau-
tious” when it comes to
complaints against the
PM.
The Congress had
termed Mr Modi’s speech
as “objectionable and
malicious” and alleged
that he had made “false
and divisive insinuations
targeted at a particular
religious community and
a clear provocation to the
general public to act
out and breach the
peace, potentially against
such a religious commu-
nity”.
Mr Modi is a star cam-
paigner for the BJP. The
EC has also asked Mr
Nadda to ask all his
party’s star campaigners
to set high standards of
political discourse and
observe provisions of
the MCC in letter and
spirit.
The EC said the star
campaigners are expected
to contribute to a higher
quality of discourse by
way of providing an all-
India perspective.
“The star campaigners
are thus expected to
utilise this privilege for
◗ MR MODI is a star
campaigner for the BJP.
The EC has also asked
Mr Nadda to ask all his
party’s star campaign-
ers to set high stan-
dards of political dis-
course and observe pro-
visions of the MCC in
letter and spirit
propagating the pro-
gramme of the political
parties, therefore, their
speeches in the campaign
space necessarily needs to
be judged at a higher
threshold of compliance,”
the poll body said.
The EC further wrote to
Mr Nadda saying that it
has taken a view that
while individual star cam-
paigners would continue
to remain responsible for
speeches made by them,
the commission will
address the party chiefs
“on a case-to-case basis”,
thus, fixing higher
responsibility on the
party heads.
The Congress, CPI, CPI
(M-L), civil society groups
and some individuals had
filed complaints with the
EC regarding the remarks
made by Mr Modi on April
Gandhisagar
sanctuary
will get 5-8
21 in Banswara.
These complaints had
SA cheetahs
referred to Mr Modi's alle- New Delhi, April 25:
gations that the Congress Five to eight cheetahs
wanted to redistribute the will be released into a
wealth of the people to fenced area in the
Muslims and that the Gandhisagar Wildlife
Opposition party won’t Sanctuary in Madhya
even spare the “mangalsu- Pradesh possibly in the
tra” of women. second half of the year
Though political parties with a focus on the breed-
had lodged complaints ing of animals
against Mr Modi’s speech- and favourable weather,
es during the 2019 Lok according to officials.
Sabha polls too, the EC A South African delega-
had given a clean chit to tion reached India on
him despite a dissent note Tuesday to review prepa-
by then election commis- rations at Gandhisagar
sioner Ashok Lavasa. for the introduction of
Separately, the EC, on a cheetahs and the
complaint by the BJP, progress of the project in
issued notice to Mr the Kuno National
Kharge over Mr Gandhi’s Park.
utterances in Tamil Nadu. “Officials from South
The BJP had said that in Africa visited the
Coimbatore, Mr Gandhi Gandhisagar Wildlife
alleged that the PM was Sanctuary, Madhya
attacking “our language, Pradesh, and were
history and tradition” and apprised of preparations
was “pushing for one to receive cheetahs under
nation, one language, one the ambitious Project
religion”. Cheetah. Valuable
It also accused Mr insights were shared
Kharge of violating the while visiting the bomas,
MCC by claiming that he control room, and
was not invited to the Ram upcoming veterinary
temple consecration facilities,” read a post on
ceremony due to discrimi- X by the National Tiger
nation against SCs and Conservation Authority
STs. (NTCA). — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | LONDON
pg 5

Subhani

26 APRIL 2024

Inheritance tax paradox: It

may be costly for Congress
G
reat ideas come alive through history, the first time as a tragedy and
the second time as a farce. In one of arguably Victor Hugo’s greatest
novel, Ninety-Three (short for 1793), set in France two years after the
Revolution, following the lives of de Lantenac, a noble royalist,
Gauvain, an embodiment of a dreamy romantic revolutionary, and
Cimourdain, the pragmatist, people stand up and fight for ideas against their
personal interest. With Hugo’s artistic genius, this reversal makes for beauti-
ful art, but in the Indian political season, it is a bit of a comedy.
Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a family party, with generations of wealth, and
according to the BJP, decadent and ill-gotten wealth, and unearned, entitled
power and position, should, in normal context, oppose inheritance tax. After
all, he should favour the continuity of the power of the wealthy, the idea of
inheritance having no liability, and passed on from generation to generation.
If there was an inheritance tax in India, the Congress should oppose it, seek
its removal.
In direct contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came from nothing, the
most humble of backgrounds, and sold tea as a child to eke his most modest of
existences. Such a person should, personally and viscerally, dislike and dis-
approve of easy inheritance, without liability,

Is the absence of a ‘big

Notably, there has and would like to impose such a tax, and champi-
been no actual on against tax-free entitlement and inheritance. LETTERS
proposal for a fresh Indeed, it is a very philosophically, and politi-
imposition, or even cally, difficult idea that a hard working middle-
class person’s salary should be taxed every
FAIR OR FILTHY?
consideration, of month, every year, but a scion on inheritor’s
such a tax in either inheritance should be tax-free. The defence
the Congress against such a proposal for inheritance tax is that
manifesto or the such money, income or wealth, has already been
taxed; and it is not the right of the person inherit-
speeches of any ing but the one bequeathing that matters.
leader of the Grand But the irony is that while given the family real-
idea’ hurting the BJP? Mr Kejriwal, earlier its own story. The moves
Abusive language has
become quite common on
OTT platforms. The shock
value of the foul language
Old Party ity, Mr Modi must support inheritance tax and by Mr Modi and home min- has ended and it is now only
dubbed by
Mr Gandhi oppose it — in the election campaign ister Amit Shah to margin- an embarrassment to those
so far, the BJP, while giving an impression that the Congress wishes to Sunil Gatade detractors as alise or sideline the allies
watching it. India is a diverse
impose such a tax and that it would comprise a conspiracy to loot Indians of ‘Chhota Modi’, has during the seat allocation
their traditional wealth, stands against it. turned the crisis are leading to nation and what could be
Actually, there is no proposal for a fresh imposition, or even consideration, into an opportunity complications. perfectly acceptable to one
of such a tax in either the Congress manifesto, or the speeches of any leader of “Don’t be under the
the Grand Old Party. It is actually drawn from a somewhat irrelevant pro- by silently impression that there is a set of people may be abom-
posal of Sam Pitroda, who said in a virtual discussion that the Congress projecting his wife wave”, is the refrain of inable to another. Is this life
Party’s idea of redistribution of wealth to benefit the poor, should also include Sunita as the No. 2 some BJP leaders from
imitating art or art imitating

I
the inheritance tax, which is de rigueur in most Western nations. f the reports after the
The chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Mr Pitroda, associated with first phase of polling
the Rajiv Gandhi government and the early telecom revolution, is no stranger are to be believed, it
to controversy, while Mr Modi is not new to using one wrong statement from boils down to one find-
a rival to turn around the entire political situation. It was chai wallah in 2014, ing that Prime
then chowkidar chor hain in 2019, and now, in 2024, perhaps the idea of inher- Minister Narendra Modi is
itance tax might prove to be a very expensive mistake for the Congress. not just an asset but some-
Mr Pitroda’s statement and the subsequent controversy is such an inherited times a liability too.
problem for the Congress, and it might be taxed severely for this The omissions and com-
mega-blooper. missions of the Modi gov-
ernment are coming home
to roost after ten long
years, notwithstanding
claims that he has turned
former Army Chief Gen.
M.M. Naravane, which has
not spoken glowingly
about the controversial
scheme, a section of the
Jats are angry.
In western Uttar Pradesh,
the BJP is facing anger
among the Rajputs for not
fielding anyone from the
community in several
seats. This was the last
thing the ruling party
could have bargained for
in the party and his
natural heir
yatras have given Rahul
Gandhi a lot of confidence
and he can hardly be shak-
en off by the Modi dia-
tribes. It is helping the
Congress leader to realise
he is on the right path and
making the correct noises
and that the “strong
diverse states. It goes
counter to the ruling life? Young people are fond
party’s boast “Modi hai to
mumkin hain”. The BJP’s
of using four-letter words
projections that the South without the slightest trace of
is emerging as its new El awkwardness. However, in
Dorado must be taken with
more than a pinch of salt. more orthodox circle such
Pinarayi Vijayan’s grow- language is yet frowned
ing attacks on Rahul
Gandhi show that the UDF
upon. Those creating con-
could again be in a com- tent on OTT platforms must
manding position in think twice before using it in
Kerala, much to the embar-

VVPAT: Uphold rights of voters India into a land of milk

and honey.
This is not to say that the
A
two-judge bench of the Supreme Court — while dealing with a batch of BJP is down in the dumps
petitions seeking complete verification of votes cast through EVMs with but that its slogan “ab ki
VVPAT — observed that it cannot control elections and cannot control baar, 400 paar” is just pro-
another constitutional authority. paganda. Lal Krishna
While it is true that constitutional bodies must respect each other’s domains, Advani, who was recently
the Constitution has envisaged the Supreme Court as the protector of people’s awarded the Bharat Ratna,
fundamental rights which are the cornerstone of any democracy. famously said his promi-
In its majority judgment of seven judges in the case of Kesavananda Bharti nent disciple is just an
vs State of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court declared that democratic set-up event manager par excel-
was part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Expanding it further, a five- lence. Nothing more, noth-
judge bench judgment in the case of Indira Nehru Gandhi vs Shri Raj Narain ing less.
(1975) said that “democracy further contemplates that the elections should be The failure to have a “big
free and fair, so that the voters may be in a position to vote for candidates of idea” is pulling down the
their choice. Democracy can indeed function only upon the faith that elections BJP rhetoric. In 2014, the
are free and fair and not rigged and manipulated”. alleged misgovernance of
In several other judgments referred to in a petition related to the electoral UPA rule was well exploit-
bonds, the Supreme Court had said that “under our Constitution, Article ed by Mr Modi to project
19(1)(a) provides for freedom of speech and expression. Voter’s speech or himself as the saviour. In
expression in case of election would include casting of votes.” 2019, the Pulwama incident
If people’s faith in free and fair elections is important for the survival of the and the Balakot airstrike
democracy, which the seven-judge Supreme Court bench had declared to be put all other issues under
the basic structure of the Constitution, the Election Commission is duty-bound the carpet for a better show
to convince a voter, if he or she expresses a doubt on whether his or her vote by the BJP. It was shown as
was rightly assigned to the candidate he or she wished to elect, that the exist- performance.
ing mechanism to deliver the voter’s right to elect was fool-proof. Now, the promise of a
Similarly, after the election, if a citizen doubts whether his or her vote was “Viksit Bharat” is not only
not properly assigned to the candidate of his choice, he or she can file a man- proving a dud but also help-
damus petition against the Election Commission. ing the Opposition to high-
But in all issues relating to voter’s faith, the apex court must stand for the light the “failure of gover-
citizen. nance” over the past
decade.
What has hit the BJP
unexpectedly is the belief
that “the Leader can do no
wrong”. The controversial
THE ASIAN AGE Agniveer scheme is turn-
ing a section of the power-
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR ful Jats against the ruling
Editor Printer & Publisher
party in Rajasthan, given
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: that the youth from the
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: martial community are
(011) 23211124. among the largest who join
Published and Printed on behalf of and for the Army.
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Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301. Despite the government
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. being able to put a lid on
RNI Registration number: 57290/94 the publication of a book by
given the fact that its new
chief minister in the state
is a Thakur and is a known
poster boy of Hindutva.
Mr Modi is increasingly
looking jaded. He has noth-
ing new to say and harps
constantly on the polarisa-
tion theme, feeling that it
alone could deliver him a
third term. As a commenta-
tor put it: the PM’s recent
remarks on Dr Manmohan
Singh and Muslims are re-
vealing of the BJP’s “back-
to-basics” strategy. His bit-
ing attacks on his oppo-
nents, including Rahul
Gandhi, are becoming
more and more personal.
The Election Commis-
sion too has inadvertently
added to the woes of the
BJP. The long poll schedule
was unveiled to help Mr
Modi campaign at leisure
in different areas, much to
the discomfiture of the
Opposition, but is now
becoming a drag for want
of issues.
TMC supremo Mamata
Banerjee has made
“maach” a big issue in fish-
loving West Bengal after
Mr Modi’s attack on an
Opposition leader for
allegedly eating non-vege-
tarian food on an auspi-
cious day.
A battery of Opposition
leaders, including Tejash-
wi Yadav and Uddhav
Thackeray as well as veter-
an Sharad Pawar, have
been their combative best
and have sought to take the
battle to BJP territory.
Right or wrong, the two
leader” is shaken. The
detractors of Rahul, who
dismiss him as a “Amul
baby”, may be in for a
shock.
The AAP is shrewdly
exploiting the arrest of
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
to make the BJP nervous.
With the AAP valiantly
fighting the battle, it is
helping the Opposition in
general at a critical time. It
has turned into a major
issue, with some Western
countries too raising
questions.
Mr Kejriwal, earlier
dubbed by detractors as
“Chhota Modi”, has turned
the crisis into an opportu-
nity by silently projecting
his wife Sunita as the num-
ber two in the party and his
natural heir. Even some
BJP faithful feel the Delhi
CM has been almost gifted
a third term in office by
seeking to make him a mar-
tyr. Assembly polls in
Delhi are due in January
2025.
Paradoxically, the issue
of dynasties is becoming a
matter for the BJP to con-
tend in states like
Karnataka. In the middle of
the elections, a section of
leaders known as B.S.
Yediyurappa’s baiters are
attacking the party leader-
ship for promoting family
rule by making his son
state party chief.
In Maharashtra, the BJP
and allies failing to resolve
the vexed issue of seat-
sharing despite the first
poll phase being over tells
rassment of the Left. The
Marxist CM and Mr Modi
have become strange bed-
fellows on the issue of
Rahul bashing.
Elon Musk postponing
his much-hyped meeting
with the Prime Minister at
the last minute speaks vol-
umes of Mr Modi’s projec-
tion as a powerful brand in
the global arena suddenly
being punctured amidst
the elections. Mr Musk
wouldn’t have dared to do
so if he hadn’t thought of
keeping away from a leader
who is a lame duck till
June 4. It also silently sig-
nals that the INDIA bloc is
not such a dud as is being
made out by Mr Modi and
his bhakts.
The growing desperation
of the PM indicates he fears
that he could be in for “Ab
ki baar, 2004”, when Atal
Behari Vajpayee suddenly
lost power even though the
BJP was proclaiming from
the rooftops “Who against
Atal?”
A redeeming feature for
the BJP is the way the
Modi-Shah duo go the extra
mile when facing a crisis. It
depends upon the
Opposition how it would go
about the advantage pro-
vided by the PM through
his tirades. In the remain-
ing rounds of voting, both
sides need to devise their
strategy minutely to
change the game in their
favour.
The writer is a journalist
based in New Delhi
their content.
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai
MILITARY SPENDS UP
IN 2023, global military spending
surged to a staggering $2.4 trillion, sig-
nalling a troubling escalation in res-
ponse to the deteriorating state of glob-
al peace and security. The Stockholm
International Peace Research Insti-
tute’s report revealed a notable 6.8 per
cent increase from the previous year,
marking the most significant year-on-
year jump since 2009. Nan Tian, a
senior researcher at SIPRI, emphasised
that this surge in military expenditure
directly mirrors the mounting chal-
lenges to international stability.
Military spending has steadily risen for
nine consecutive years. This marked
the first instance since 2009 where
every geographic area demonstrated
an increase in military expenditure,
indicating a global trend.
Amarjeet Kumar
Hazaribagh
MALARIA PUZZLE
APRIL 25 is World Malaria Day. In
some parts of the world every day is
malaria day, a day to keep up the
fight against this killer disease. It
kills 3,000 children daily. In 1902, Dr
Ronald Ross received the Nobel Prize
for his work on the transmission of
malaria. His discovery of the malari-
al parasite in the gastrointestinal
tract of a mosquito proved that
malaria is transmitted by mosqui-
toes. He made this discovery in
Secunderabad in 1897.
T.S. Karthik
Chennai

T
here was nothing surprising about the by-
election results. The ruling PML-N won the
Zahid Hussain majority of the National Assembly and
provincial assemblies’ seats up for grabs in
View from Punjab amid allegations of rigging.
It may not be an exact repeat of the February 8
Pakistan general elections but the by-polls were not fair
either. Being in power, the party has full control of
the administration in the province, which gives it
a distinct advantage. While the victory on two NA
and 10 PA seats may have strengthened the PML-
N’s position at the centre and in the province, it is
not a measure of rising popular support for the
within hybrid rule, with the power balance tilted
more towards forces outside Parliament.
While commenting on the ascendancy of Mohsin
Naqvi to one of the most powerful Cabinet posi-
tions, without any affiliation to the ruling alliance,
Rana Sanaullah, in his own piquant style, said it
all. The inference to the interior minister’s close
association with the security establishment is
apparent. Mr Sanaullah, the former interior min-
ister, who is one of the PML-N’s most senior lead-
ers, quipped in a TV interview that Mr Naqvi could
also become Prime Minister if he wished.
This view is shared by many other PML-N stal-
ple of the rising power of the establishment. A PTI
deserter, who was a federal minister in Imran
Khan’s government and whose strong ties with the
establishment are well known, he was supported
by all allied parties in the Senate election. In the
words of Rana Sanaullah, “they all belong to the
same tribe”.
While Shehbaz Sharif may not have a problem
playing second fiddle to the establishment, the
resentment within the PML-N is becoming
increasingly palpable. It is not just Mr Sanaullah
but other party leaders, too, who have spoken out.
Their tenor may not be confrontationist, but their
than him that it was a Pyrrhic victory for his
party? In fact, the return to power of the PML-N
and the survival of an extremely fragile coalition
government are due to the establishment’s sup-
port. In this situation, it is not surprising that the
balance of power in the hybrid arrangement is
with the military leadership. The question of legit-
imacy has further weakened Parliament’s power,
providing greater space to non-elected elements.
Despite the establishment’s support, the govern-
ment is standing on extremely shaky ground, with
continuing pressure from a strong opposition. In
such a situation, the Shehbaz government doesn’t

Fissures within party as its leadership claims. There is increasing warts. There is a widespread perception that the concerns about diminishing civilian space are have any choice but to work with the establish-
public cynicism over the fairness of the electoral interior minister does not work under but with the growing. ment’s handpicked interior minister.
process. The question of legitimacy continues to Prime Minister and that he is only answerable to Many of these PML-N leaders lost in the In fact, what could be described as a hybrid-plus
hover over the current dispensation. the establishment. His election to the Senate with February 8 elections, which has added to their arrangement has its own set of problems that will

PML-N to fore; However, it is the growing internal fissures that

appear to be more worrisome for the ruling party.
Some senior PML-N stalwarts are now publicly
the support of the PML-N and all other allied par-
ties gives credence to the assumptions regarding
his powerful patrons. The meteoric rise of a media
frustration. Most are believed to be part of the
Nawaz Sharif camp and want the former Prime
Minister to take charge. Curiously, the three-time
continue to affect the smooth functioning of the
system. The occasional outburst of some PML-N
leaders over the increasing involvement of the

Mohsin Naqvi’s airing their discontent over the hybrid rule of

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. There is even
insinuation that the real power lies somewhere
else and that the elder Sharif, the actual heir to the
baron to such a high political position is quite
amazing.
Curiously, the former caretaker chief minister of
Punjab now wears many hats. Beside holding one
former Prime Minister has confined himself to
Punjab, where he is helping his daughter adminis-
ter the province. But he is not completely out of the
decision-making process. He still calls the shots on
establishment in politics is not likely to change the
existing power matrix.
The only way out is reconciliation among the
political forces. The PML-N victory in the ques-

rise is a surprise throne, has been deviously sidelined. The divide is

becoming more pronounced.
It may not present an immediate threat to the
Shehbaz government but there is a real danger of it
all turning more vitriolic, with the administration
struggling to find its moorings. The discontent
within PML-N ranks is not just a manifestation of
the power struggle within the Sharif family; it is
also symptomatic of the inherent contradiction
of the most powerful Cabinet positions as interior
minister, he also heads the Pakistan Cricket
Board. There were several aspirants for the post of
PCB chief. Rana Sanaullah’s remarks certainly
make a lot of sense.
However, such an accomplishment is not rare,
with the deepening involvement of the establish-
ment in political matters. The election of Faisal
Vawda to the Senate is yet another curious exam-
important party and government matters.
Some party leaders see his decision to step back
as part of the strategy to keep himself out of the
controversies surrounding the government and
bide his time. But it may not be that easy for the
veteran politician. His political position has weak-
ened hugely after he lost one seat, and won in a
highly controversial contest on another in Lahore,
in the February 8 poll. Who would know better
tionable by-elections may not help the ruling party
assert civilian authority. It is likely to only exacer-
bate the politics of confrontation.
The multiple challenges faced by the country
cannot be dealt with by a distorted political order.
This is history’s lesson, which, unfortunately, our
political leaders have failed to learn.
— By arrangement with Dawn
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | LONDON
SHORT
RAIN WRECKS
TAKES
NIGERIA JAIL, 119
PRISONERS FLEE
Kano, April 25: Nearly 120
inmates escaped from a prison
in central Nigeria after torren-
tial rains destroyed the param-
eter fence, a Nigerian prisons
service spokesman said.
An hours-long downpour on
Wednesday “wreaked havoc”
on the medium security jail in
Suleja, destroying buildings
and the parameter fence.
This led to “to the escape of a
total of one hundred and nine-
teen inmates of the facility” in
Niger State, Adamu Duza said.
Prison staff along with other
security personnel were able to
recapture 10.
HAITI PM OUT AS
TRANSITIONAL
GOVT STEPS IN
Port Au Prince, April 25: Ha-
itian PM Ariel Henry has
resigned, his office said on
Thursday, as a transitional
council took power with the
aim of returning stability to a
country where gang violence
has caused chaos and misery.
Henry’s finance minister,
Michel Patrick Boisvert, will
be interim prime minister,
according to the nation’s offi-
cial gazette.
“Today is an important day in
the life of our dear republic,
this day in effect opens a view
to a solution... to the multidi-
mensional crises the country
faces,” Boisvert said.
MIGRANT DEATHS:
UK COPS MAKE
FOURTH ARREST
London, April 25: UK police
said on Thursday that they had
arrested another man after five
migrants, including a child,
died this week trying to cross
the Channel from France.
The National Crime Agency
(NCA) said it arrested an 18-
year-old from Sudan late on
Wednesday on suspicion of
facilitating illegal immigration
and entering the United
Kingdom illegally.
The arrest came as part of an
investigation into the Channel
small boat crossing which
resulted in the deaths of five
people on a French beach on
Tuesday.
TECH GLITCH
SHUTS AIRSPACE
IN NORWAY
Copenhagen, April 25: A tech-
nical problem caused aviation
authorities in Norway to tem-
porarily close the airspace over
the south of the country
Thursday, leading to signific-
ant delays at Oslo airport, one
of the largest in Scandinavia.
The airspace was gradually
reopened after more than three
hours, but delays would contin-
ue throughout the day, the sta-
te-owned airport operator said.
In a statement, Avinor said
the technical error was at the
Oslo Control Centre, which
meant that the airspace in
southern Norway had major
restrictions.
OZ, NZ HONOUR
THEIR WAR DEAD
ON ANZAC DAY
Melbourne, April 25: Thous-
ands gathered across Australia
and New Zealand for dawn
services and street marches on
Thursday to commemorate
their war dead on Anzac Day.
New Zealand PM Christopher
Luxon attended a dawn service
in Auckland, while Australian
PM Anthony Albanese saw the
sun rise at a World War II me-
morial in Papua New Guinea.
April 25 is the date in 1915
when the Australia and New
Zealand Army Corps landed on
Gallipoli, Turkey, in an ill-fated
campaign that was the soldiers'
first combat of World War I.
FRENCH ATC STIR
SCRAPS FRANCE,
EUROPE FLIGHTS
Paris, April 25: Thousands of
flights were cancelled in Fran-
ce and Europe on Thursday as
a strike by French air traffic
controllers over pay caused
stoppages not seen in decades.
Airlines cut more than half of
their normal flight schedules at
Paris’s two main airports Orly
and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle,
with many flights in Marseille
also grounded. Short and medi-
um-haul flights were the worst
affected, while long-haul serv-
ices faced the least disruption.
Budget airline Ryanair repor-
ted 300 cancellations on
Thursday, and easyJet and
Transavia each 200.
US colleges ask cops to Europe mustn’t become
quell pro-Palestine stir a vassal of US: Macron
18 nations call to free hostages but Hamas won’t relent
Austin, Washington, April
25: Some US universities
called in police to break
up demonstrations aga-
inst the Israel-Hamas war,
resulting in ugly scuffles
and dozens of arrests, wh-
ile others appeared conte-
nt to wait out student pro-
tests on Thursday, as the
final days of the semester
ticked down and gradua-
tion ceremonies loomed.
The United States and 17
other countries on Thurs-
day issued an appeal for
Hamas to release all of its
hostages as a pathway to
end the crisis in Gaza, but
Hamas vowed not to relent
to international pressure.
“We call for the immedi-
ate release of all hostages
held by Hamas in Gaza
now for over 200 days,” a
statement said, in what a
senior US official called
an extraordinary display
of unanimity.
But, senior Hamas lead-
er Sami Abu Zuhri told
Reuters that Hamas would
not be influenced by the
statement and said the
United States needs to
force Israel to end its
aggression. “The ball now
is in the American court,”
said Abu Zuhri.
At Emerson College in
Boston, 108 people were
arrested at an encampme-
nt overnight and four poli-
ce officers suffered injuri-
es that were not life-threa-
tening, Boston police said.
Those arrested were expe-
cted to appear on Thursd-
ay in Boston Municipal
Court. Another 93 people
were arrested on Wednes-
day night during a protest
at the University of South-
ern California, the Los
Ukraine’s missiles, secretly
provided by US, hit Russia
Washington, April 25:
Ukraine for the first time
has begun using long-ra-
nge ballistic missiles pro-
vided secretly by the Uni-
ted States, bombing a Rus-
sian military airfield in
Crimea last week and Rus-
sian forces in another oc-
cupied area overnight,
American officials said on
Wednesday.
Long sought by Ukraini-
an leaders, the new mis-
siles give Ukraine nearly
double the striking distan-
ce — up to 300 kilometres
(190 miles) — that it had
with the mid-range versi-
on of the weapon that it
received from the US last
October. One of the offi-
cials said the US is provid-
ing more of these missiles
in a new military aid pac-
kage signed by President
Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Biden approved delivery
of the long-range Army
Tactical Missile System,
known as ATACMS, in Fe-
bruary, and then in March
the US included a “signifi-
cant” number of them in a
$300 million aid package
announced, one official
said. The two US officials,
who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss the
delivery before it became
public, would not provide
the exact number of mis-
siles given last month or
in the latest aid package,
which totals about $1 bil-
lion. Ukraine has been fo-
rced to ration its weapons
and is facing increasing
Russian attacks.
Ukraine had been beggi-
ng for the long-range sys-
tem because the missiles
provide a critical ability
to strike Russian targets
that are farther away,
allowing Ukrainian forces
OVERCROWDED | CITY
Venice begins charging day trippers
Venice, April 25: Venice
became the first city in the
world on Thursday to intr-
oduce a payment system
for tourists in an effort to
thin the crowds that thro-
ng the canals during the
peak holiday season.
Signs were set up outside
the train station and near
an entry footbridge warni-
ng visitors they had to pay
the new 5-euro ($5.35) cha-
rge before diving into Ven-
ice’s narrow alleyways.
April 25 is a national hol-
iday in Italy and is the fir-
st of 29 days this year
SHIP IN GULF OF ADEN COMES UNDER ATTACK
Texas troopers on horseback work to disperse pro-Palestinian students protesting
the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Texas campus, on Wednesday.
IRANIAN PRESID-
ENT Ebrahim Ra-
isi has said Israel
must be brought
to justice for
“usurpation and oppression”
of the Palestinian territories, if
not there will not be a guaran-
tee that others would not do
the same in other lands.
Angeles Police Departm-
ent said. There were no
reports of injuries.
While grappling with
growing protests from
coast to coast, schools
have the added pressure of
May commencement cere-
monies. At Columbia Uni-
versity in New York, stu-
dents defiantly erected an
encampment where many
are set to graduate in front
of families in just a few
weeks. Columbia contin-
ued to negotiate with stu-
dents after several failed
attempts — and more than
100 arrests — to clear the
encampment.
At USC, tensions were
UKRAINIAN MEN IN POLAND, SAYS UN
Third man is detained
in a major bribery
case that involves
Russia’s deputy defence
minister: A third man has
been detained in a bribery
case. Moscow’s court serv-
ice said businessman
Alexander Fomin is suspect-
ed of paying bribes to
deputy defence minister
Timur Ivanov, who was
detained on Wednesday, as
well as Ivanov’s associate,
Sergei Borodin.
Poland says can help return military-aged
men to Ukraine: Poland could help return
Ukrainians of military age back to Ukraine,
the defence minister said. Poland has tens of
thousands of Ukrainian men of military age on its
territory, according to UN figures.
RUSSIA MAY DOWNGRADE TIES WITH
U.S. IF ITS ASSETS ARE CONFISCATED
Moscow, April 25: Russia
is considering downgr-
ading the level of its diplo-
matic relations with the
US if Western governme-
nts go ahead with propos-
als to confiscate its frozen
assets, state news agency
RIA quoted deputy forei-
to stay safely out of range.
Information about the
delivery was kept so quiet
that lawmakers and oth-
ers in recent days have
been demanding that the
US send the weapons —
not knowing they were
already in Ukraine.
For months, the US resi-
sted sending Ukraine the
No registration to invite fines between 50 and 300 euros
when people must buy a
ticket if they want to acc-
ess the lagoon city from
8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
Reservations are meant
to be made online but the-
re is also a booth on hand
for those who don’t have
smartphones.
“This system is very im-
portant because we are fi-
nding a new balance betw-
een the residents of the co-
mmunity and the day trip-
pers,” said Simone Ventu-
rini, the city councillor re-
sponsible for tourism and
social cohesion.
US-LLED COALITION forces
shot down four drones and an
anti-ship missile launched by
Yemen's Huthi rebels,
American authorities said on
Thursday. A ship travelling in
the Gulf of Aden came under
attack Thursday, officials said,
the latest assault likely carried
out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
already high after the uni-
versity cancelled a plann-
ed commencement speech
by the school’s pro-Pale-
stinian valedictorian, cit-
ing safety concerns.
After scuffles with police
early on Wednesday, a few
dozen demonstrators stan-
ding in a circle with lock-
ed arms were detained one
by one without incident la-
ter in the evening.
Officers encircled the
dwindling group sitting in
defiance of an earlier
warning to disperse or be
arrested.
Beyond the police line,
hundreds of onlookers
watched as helicopters bu-
Russian man sentenced
to 10 years for plan-
ning to fight for Kyiv:
Russia on
Thursday hand-
ed a long jail
term to a 26-
year-old Siberian man
in the central
Kemerovo region
accused of state trea-
son and terrorism over
plans to join Russian
units fighting for
Ukraine.
gn minister Sergei Ryab-
kov as saying.
The G7 group of nations
are looking to use nearly
$300 bnn worth of Russian
financial assets frozen by
sanctions since 2022 to
help Ukraine fight the Ru-
ssian invasion. — Reuters
long-range missiles out of
concern that Kyiv could
use them to hit deep into
Russian territory, enragi-
ng Moscow and escalating
the conflict. That was a
key reason the adminis-
tration sent the mid-range
version, with a range of
about 160 kilometres (ro-
ughly 100 miles). — AP
Although there are no
turnstiles at the city gate-
ways, inspectors will be
making random checks
and issuing fines of betw-
een 50 and 300 euros to an-
yone who has failed to reg-
ister. But, Italian tourists
arriving on Thursday said
imposing another charge
on visitors was unfair.
“To deprive a person on a
low budget of the opportu-
nity to come here for an
hour or two to enjoy this
city is surely a shame,”
said Gabriella Pappada,
from Lecce. — Reuters
ISRAEL STEPPED up
airstrikes on Rafah
overnight, killing
at least six
Palestinians, medics
said on Thursday,
after saying it
would evacuate
civilians from the
Gaza border city
and storm it despite
allies’ warnings this
could cause mass
casualties.
— AFP
A MEMORIAL at the
National Cathedral
in Washington on
Thursday will
honour the seven
World Central
Kitchen aid workers
killed by Israeli
airstrikes in Gaza
earlier this month.
zzed overhead. The school
closed the campus.
Earlier on Wednesday, of-
ficers at the University of
Texas at Austin aggressi-
vely detained dozens of
protesters. Hundreds of
local and state police —
including some on horse-
back and holding batons
— bulldozed into protest-
ers, at one point sending
some tumbling into the st-
reet. Officers pushed their
way into the crowd and
made 34 arrests at the
behest of the university
and Texas Gov. Gregg
Abbott, according to the
state Department of Publ-
ic Safety. — Agencies
TRUMP HUSH
MONEY TRIAL IN
NY, IMMUNITY
CASE IN DC
New York, April 25: A
reluctant Donald Trump
will be back in a New
York City courtroom on
Thursday as his hush
money trial resumes at
the same time that the
US Supreme Court hears
arguments in Washingt-
on over whether he sho-
uld be immune from
prosecution for actions
he took during his time
as president.
Jurors will hear more
witness testimony from
a longtime tabloid pub-
lisher, and Trump faces
a looming decision over
whether he violated a
gag order imposed by
the judge.
But he had asked to
skip out on his criminal
trial for the day so he
could sit in on the high
court’s special session,
where the justices will
weigh whether he can be
prosecuted over his effo-
rts to reverse his ’20 elec-
tion loss to Joe Biden.
“We have a big case
today,” Trump said.
His request was denied
by New York state Su-
preme Court Judge Juan
Merchan, who is overse-
eing the trial on the
hush money scheme that
was allegedly meant to
prevent harmful stories
about Trump from sur-
facing in the final days
of the 2016 campaign.
“Arguing before the SC
is a big deal, and I can
appreciate why your cli-
ent would want to be
there, but a trial in New
York SC … is also a big
deal,” Merchan told Tru-
mp’s lawyer Todd Blan-
che last week. — AP
Tourists ride gondolas in Venice, on Thursday. Venice
has begun a pilot programme from Thursday to charge
day trippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will
discourage tourists from arriving on peak days.
Prez says continent needs stronger defences
Paris, April 25: President
Emmanuel Macron appe-
aled on Thursday for
stronger, more integrated
European defences and
said the continent must
not become a vassal of the
United States, as he outli-
ned his vision for a more
assertive European Union
on the global stage.
With just three years left
of his second and final
term in office, and after
losing his parliamentary
majority in 2022, Macron,
46, wants to show his crit-
ics that he retains the en-
ergy and fresh thinking
that helped propel him
into the presidency in 2017
and that he has not bec-
ome a lame duck leader.
“There is a risk our
Europe could die. We are
not equipped to face the
risks,” Macron said in his
speech at the Sorbonne
University in Paris, warn-
ing that military, econom-
ic and other pressures
could weaken and frag-
ment the 27-nation EU.
Macron said Russia
must not be allowed to
win in Ukraine, and he
called for a boost in Eu-
rope’s cybersecurity capa-
city, closer defence ties
with post-Brexit Britain,
and the creation of a
European academy to
train high-ranking mili-
tary personnel.
“There is no defence
without a defence indus-
try ... we’ve had decades of
under-investment,” he
said, adding that Europ-
eans should give prefer-
50th anniv of Carnation revolution
Military vehicles that took part in the 1974 Carnation revolution, some with retired
soldiers, parade at Lisbon’s Comercio square, on Thursday, during celebrations of the
50th anniversary of the military coup. The April 25, 1974 revolution carried out by the
Army restored democracy in Portugal after 48 years of a fascist dictatorship.
Blinken raises unfair trade
practices in China meetings
Shanghai, April 25: US
secretary of state Antony
Blinken raised what the
US describes as unfair Ch-
inese trade practices duri-
ng his first full day of me-
etings in China on Thurs-
day with local governme-
nt officials in the financial
hub of Shanghai.
Blinken met with the
city’s top official, Commu-
nist Party Secretary Chen
Jining, and “raised conce-
rns about (Chinese) trade
policies and non-market
economic practices,” the
State Department said in
a statement. It said he
stressed that the United
States seeks healthy econ-
omic competition with
China and “a level playing
field for US workers and
firms operating in Chi-
na.” “The two sides reaf-
— AP
are not equipped to face the
risks. There is no defence
without a defence industry ...
we've had decades of under-
investment. We must pro-
duce more, we must produce
faster, and we must produce
as Europeans
MACRON SCORES PENALTY IN MATCH
TO RAISE MONEY FOR HOSPITAL KIDS
Paris, April 25: French
President Emmanuel Ma-
cron continues to show off
his sporting abilities ahe-
ad of the Paris Olympics
after dispatching a penal-
ty in a charity soccer ma-
tch on Wednesday.
Macron, playing along-
side a mix of former
international players and
healthcare professionals,
fired his shot low into the
bottom corner as the goal-
keeper remained rooted to
ence to buying European
military equipment.
“We must produce more,
we must produce faster,
and we must produce as
Europeans,” Macron said.
Europe “must show that
it is never a vassal of the
United States and that it
also knows how to talk to
all the other regions of
the world”, he said.
TAIWAN’S PREZ-ELECT APPOINTS
NEW FOREIGN, DEFENCE MINISTERS
Taipei, April 25: Taiwan’s
president-elect has ap-
pointed new foreign and
defence ministers to join
his incoming administra-
tion as the island faces co-
ntinuing military threats
and diplomatic isolation
from China.
firmed the importance of
ties between the people of
the United States and
(China), including the
expansion of exchanges
between students, schol-
ars, and business,” it said.
China’s multibillion-dol-
lar trade surplus with the
US along with accusations
NY court overturns
Harvey conviction
New York, April 25:
Harvey Weinstein’s 2020
conviction for sexual ass-
ault and rape was overt-
urned by New York’s hig-
hest court, reopening the
landmark case that launc-
hed the #MeToo moveme-
nt and highlighting the
challenges of holding po-
werful men accountable.
In a bitterly divided 4-3
decision on Thursday, the
state Court of Appeals
said the trial judge made
a critical mistake by let-
ting women testify that
Weinstein assaulted
pg 6
There is a risk our
Europe could die. We
— EMMANUEL MACRON
French President
the line.
The 46-year-old’s team
mates included Eden Haz-
ard and Dider Drogba, as
well as France coach Did-
ier Deschamps, with the
team claiming a 5-3 victo-
ry over a side featuring
former Arsenal manager
Arsene Wenger and
Samuel Eto’o.
The match, played in
Paris, was held to raise
money to benefit children
in hospital. — Reuters
Macron has long called
for European “strategic
autonomy” involving less
reliance on the US, a
stance that has gained
greater resonance in the
face of Donald Trump’s
renewed bid for the White
House. Trump has often
accused Europe of free
loading on defence at the
US’ expense. — Reuters
— AP
Lai Ching-te, who assu-
mes the presidency on
May 20, announced that
current presidential sec-
retary general Lin Chia-
lung will take over as for-
eign minister while Welli-
ngton Koo will head the
defence ministry. — AP
of intellectual property
theft and other practices
seen as discriminating
against US businesses in
China have long been a
source of friction in rela-
tions. China, for its part,
has objected strongly to
US accusations of human
rights abuses. — AP
them, even though their
accusations were not part
of the charges he faced.
The court said the trial
judge compounded the
error by letting Weinstein
be cross-examined on a
broad range of “loath-
some” conduct, including
bullying and fits of anger
toward associates, that
portrayed him in a “high-
ly prejudicial” light.
“It is an abuse of judi-
cial discretion to permit
untested allegations of
nothing more than bad
behaviour.” — Reuters
 LONDON | FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024
quick
BITES
INDICATORS
Sensex 74,339.44
Nifty 50 22,570.35
S&P 500* 5,004.05
Dollar (`) 83.32
Pound Sterling (`) 104.27
Euro (`) 89.38
Gold (10gm)* (`) 71,089▲39
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 87.59
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.204
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.710
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Happiest Minds
to acquire
PureSoftware
IT company Happiest Minds
Technologies will acquire
PureSoftware Technologies for
a total consideration of $94.5
million (`779 crores). It has
signed agreements to acquire
100 per cent of the equity
share capital of PureSoftware
Technologies. The total pur-
chase consideration comprises
upfront payment of `635 crore
on closing and deferred pay-
ment of up to `144 crore
payable at the end of 2024-25.
Divi’s to spend
`700 crore on
capacity addition
Drug firm Divi’s Laboratories
said it is looking to invest
around `700 crore to expand
production capacity to cater to
the requirement of a customer.
The company is in the process
of entering into a long-term
supply agreement with a cus-
tomer and is planning for capa-
city addition at its manufactur-
ing facility with an estimated
investment between `650 cr to
`700 cr, to be funded from
internal accruals, it said.
Nabard eyes
quick processing
of farm loans
The national bank for agricul-
ture and rural Development
(Nabard) on Thursday said it
has partnered with Reserve
Bank’s arm RBIH to put in
place a system which will
enable faster processing of
agricultural loans. Nabard said
it will integrate its e-KCC loan
origination system portal with
the public tech platform for
frictionless credit (PTPFC) of
Reserve Bank Innovation Hub
(RBIH).
Swiggy secures
shareholders’ nod
to raise `10,414 cr
Food and grocery delivery
major Swiggy has received
shareholders’ approval for an
initial public offering to raise
`10,414 crore fund through
issue of fresh equity shares and
an offer for sale, according to
sources. According to sources,
the Bengaluru-based company
plans to raise up to `3,750
crore funds through fresh equi-
ty shares, in addition to an
offer-for-sale component of up
to `6,664 crore.
Airports' revenues
to jump 30% on
rising air traffic
% Mumbai, April 25: Private
airports in the country
0.66 are likely to see a 30 per
0.75 cent jump in the topline
this fiscal on the back of
-1.33
rising traffic, a report said
0.01 on Thursday.
0.69 As passenger volume
rises, airports will see an
-0.39 increase in aeronautical
0.05 and non-aeronautical rev-
enues.
-0.49 Aeronautical sources
0.018 include fees collected
1.25 from passengers, airlines
and cargo operators for
the use of infrastructure.
Non-aeronautical sources
include advertising, reta-
il, lounge and duty-free
shops, credit rating agen-
cy Crisil said in its report.
About two-thirds of the
increase in the revenue of
airports is expected to
come from aeronautical
sources, a 45 per cent gro-
wth year-on-year, it added.
This is because almost
half the airports in the
Crisil Ratings study will
clock a pre-determined
increase in their aeronau-
tical tariffs by 25 per cent
on average.
“An expected increase of
around 10 per cent in pas-
senger traffic on the high
base of the previous fis-
cal, coupled with capital
expenditure-linked tariff
hikes and rising non-aero-
nautical revenue per pas-
senger, will help grow
their revenue of leading
private airport operators
by around 30 per cent this
fiscal,” the agency said.
The report is based on a
study of 10 private air-
ports that accounted for
an estimated 60 per cent of
overall passenger traffic
in FY24, it added.
The rising revenue will
restore the cushion for
Service exports up 11% , hit $345 bn
New Delhi, April 25:
India’s services exports
jumped 11.4 per cent to
$345 billion in 2023 despite
global economic uncer-
tainties, while China’s
shipments from the sector
contracted by 10.1 per cent
to $381 billion, according
to a UNCTAD report.
Sectors that contribute
to India’s services export
growth include travel, tra-
nsport, medical and hospi-
tality.
With an 8.9 per cent ann-
RBI SOUNDS ALERT
ON DEALING WITH
PAYMENT APPS
FC BANKING BUREAU
MUMBAI, APRIL 25
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on Thursday
urged members of the
public to exercise utmost
caution before dealing
with any website or pay-
ment apps and verify that
they are authorised pay-
ment system providers or
authorised payment sys-
tem operators.
The central bank gave
the instance
TalkCharge Technologies
of
whom it has directed to
refund the prepaid
amount lying in the wal-
lets of its customers after
observing that the compa-
ny is issuing wallets with-
out its permission.
The RBI said it has come
to the notice of the RBI
that TalkCharge Technol-
ogies is issuing Prepaid
Payment Instruments
(Wallets) through its web-
site and app ‘TalkCharge’
without obtaining requi-
red authorisation from
RBI under the provisions
of Payment and Settle-
ment Systems Act, 2007.
The RBI further said it
has noticed that Talkcha-
rge has issued a legal
notice to its customers
demanding the return of
cashback, failing which
the matter will be report-
ed to the RBI.
● CONTINUING ECO-
NOMIC growth, open-
ing of more airports
and improving regional
connectivity are pro-
viding the tailwinds
necessary for domestic
traffic growth.
debt servicing to around
1.4 times, taking it back to
the level last seen before
the Covid pandemic. Airp-
orts had dipped into their
cash reserves to service
debt during this period.
“Taking off from the
strong base of last fiscal,
passenger traffic growth
will continue its momen-
tum in fiscal 2025 and rise
more than 10 per cent to
over 415 million,” said
Ankit Hakhu, director,
Crisil Ratings.
Continuing economic
growth, opening of more
airports and improving
regional connectivity are
providing the tailwinds
necessary for domestic
traffic growth, he noted.
On the international
side, growing business
travel and easing visa
requirements for coun-
tries like Malaysia and
Vietnam, reducing wait
times for visa applications
to Western Europe and
improving connectivity to
Western and Southeast
Asia are significant posi-
tives, he added. — PTI
ual rise in current dollar
value terms, the world ser-
vices exports surpassed
$7.9 trillion in 2023, a
quarterly bulletin of
United Nations confer-
ence on trade and develop-
ment (UNCTAD) said.
The leading exporters
among developing econo-
mies include India, China,
Singapore, Turkiye,
Thailand, Mexico, and
Saudi Arabia, it added.
India’s services imports,
however, dipped marginal-
Stock markets rise, BSE m-cap
hits high of `404.1 lakh crore
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, APRIL 25
Market rose for the fifth
consecutive session as
bulls kept their grip on
future and options expiry
day amid mixed global
cues. The Sensex gained
486.5 points to close at
74,339.44 while Nifty-50
index gained 167.95 points
to close at 22,570.35. BSE’s
market capitalisation hit a
new high of over Rs 404.18
lakh crore or $4.85 trillion
at market close.
The bank stocks were in
focus as RBI’s regulatory
action on Kotak Mahindra
Bank led to over 10 per
cent decline in the stock
price, hitting a new 52
TECH | POWER
For Qualcomm, India is the place to be: President
New Delhi, April 25: India,
with its growth engines
roaring, is the “place to
be”, Qualcomm India
president Savi Soin has
said, adding that the coun-
try has a “remarkable
opportunity” with hybrid
Artificial Intelligence
(AI).
The San Diego-based
chip designer is working
with OEMs as well as
operators in India to help
bring entry-level 5G
smartphones that would
push new frontiers in
affordability.
“India is the place to be...
look at every sector, there
is growth in every sector
MODERN SUPPLY
CHAINS WILL
ADDRESS SPIKES
IN PRICES: GOYAL
New Delhi, April 25:
The problem of high
food inflation will be
less severe in India
going ahead, as modern
supply chains with
diversified sources can
help quickly address
sudden spikes in prices
of specific food items,
RBI Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) mem-
ber Ashima Goyal said
on Thursday.
Stressing that the
share of food in the
household budget is
high in India, she said
policy needs to focus on
increasing agricultural
productivity, since sta-
ble agricultural prices
are important for non-
inflationary growth.
“As India develops,
this problem (high food
inflation) will get less
severe, for a number of
reasons. Modern supply
chains with diversified
sources respond quick-
ly to large spikes in spe-
cific items,” Goyal said.
She pointed out that
one does not hear of
tomato or onion prices
spiking in advanced
economies. “We natu-
rally have diverse geo-
graphic regions, better
integrated markets sou-
rcing from different
regions can help miti-
gate climate change
induced food price
spikes,” she said.
As the weight of food
in consumption falls
and food consumption
itself becomes diversi-
fied, the impact and size
of future food price sho-
cks falls, Goyal noted.
She stressed that und-
er flexible inflation tar-
geting, expectations get
better anchored. — PTI
● THE EXPORT of IT
and IT-enabled servic-
es and travel is going
strong. Diversification
of export destinations
by exporters can help
cut dependence on tra-
ditional markets.
ly by 0.4 per cent to $248
billion last year.
“The main driver of the
YoY (year-on-year) rise of
week low of `1,602 on NSE
and closed at `1,645 down
by 10.73 per cent. RBI on
Wednesday ordered Kotak
Bank to cease and desist,
with immediate effect
from onboarding new cus-
tomers through the
Bank’s online and mobile
banking channels.
“We believe such restric-
tions should impact busi-
Chip designer sees India as crucial hub for talent and an opportunity to do more
in India and that is just to
serve the Indian consum-
ers... you can imagine
what is happening in pho-
nes with what OEMs are
doing here... not just build
for India market but also
for exports,” Soin said.
The India growth story
is compelling, and the
country with its strength
and scale has a “remark-
able opportunity” with
hybrid AI.
Hybrid AI is device and
cloud working together,
splitting AI computation
as needed, to offer
enhanced experiences and
optimum use of resources.
“I wouldn’t want to be in
Easing of food prices
on anvil, says FinMin
India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
The finance ministry on
Thursday said that
resilient growth, price sta-
bility and steady external
sector outlook continue to
support India’s promising
economic performance
amid uncertain global
conditions.
Overall, India continues
to be the fastest-growing
major economy, with posi-
tive assessments of the
growth outlook for the
current financial year for
India by international
organisations and the
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), according to the
monthly economic review
for March.
The finance ministry
said in its monthly review
that further easing of food
prices is on the anvil as
IMD has predicted above-
normal rainfall during the
monsoon season, which is
Traceability of cargo key to logistics, says CII
FC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, APRIL 25
Industry body CII on
Thursday said that steps
such as increasing invest-
ments in the latest tech-
nologies for tracking and
handling cargo, training
workforce, and timely
completion of critical
infrastructure projects
would help enhance the
competitiveness of India’s
exports. Besides, it also
said that there is a need
for digital transformation
services exports in Q4
2023 was the ample growth
of international travel
receipts,” it said.
Commenting on India’s
services exports, an indus-
try expert said that the
export of IT and IT-
enabled services and trav-
el is going strong. “Diver-
sification of expo-rt desti-
nations by expor-ters can
help cut dependence on
traditional markets and
open up new opportuniti-
es,” the expert said. — PTI
ness growth, including
Kotak Mahindra Bank's
already dwindling CASA
ratio. The regulatory over-
hang would delay any
hope of a re-rating post
the recent management
change,” said Emkay
Global Financial Services.
On the other hand, SBI
gained 5.03 per cent and
its market capitalisation
crossed `7.25 lakh crore,
making it the sixth largest
Indian company in terms
of market capitalisation.
“Domestic broader mar-
ket was buoyed by the PMI
data, with an improve-
ment in discretionary
spending,” said Vinod
Nair, head of research,
Geojit Financial Services.
● THE COMPANY’S
Bangalore Development
Centre is host to a 5G
Innovation lab, which
has supported several
Indian customers and
start-ups on 5G solu-
tions and product devel-
opment journeys.
any place else but India in
terms of growth story at
this time. India has an
amazing opportunity.
“India has a remarkable
opportunity with hybrid
AI to be able to do on-
device AI and show the
world possible use cases
● TO CHECK PRICES, the
government has strength-
ened buffers of key food
items and made periodic
open market releases,
easing imports of essen-
tial food items, preventing
hoarding through revision
of stock limits.
likely to lead to higher
production, assuming
good spatial and temporal
distribution of the rain-
fall.
For instance, the IMF, in
its April 2024 World
Economic Outlook (WEO),
has revised upwards its
estimate of India’s real
GDP growth for FY24 to
7.8 per cent from 6.7 per
cent in its January 2024
update and 6.3 per cent in
its October 2023 WEO.
“The global economic
growth landscape is see-
ing a gradual resurgence,
of India's logistics net-
works as well.
Speaking at CII’s confer-
ence on Resilient Export
Logistics for Trade and
connectivity here, chair-
man of the CII national
committee on EXIM
Sanjay Budhia said that
the digital transformation
of India's logistics net-
works is a necessity.
“Leveraging technologies
for end-to-end supply
chain visibility and track-
ing and tracing the cargo
can dramatically stream-
BMW LAUNCHES
i5 ELECTRIC SEDAN
AT `1.2 CRORE
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, APRIL 25
BMW, the German luxury
car maker, on Thursday
introduced the BMW i5
electric sedan priced at
`1.20 crore.
The top-end variant
BMW i5 M60 xDrive is
based on the eighth gener-
ation of the 5 Series.
“With the first-ever
BMW i5 M60 xDrive, you
can expect nothing short
of a completely electrify-
ing experience,” said
Vikram Pawah, president,
BMW Group India.
■ HIGH DEMAND
NESTLE INDIA NET
UP 27% TO `934 CR
F MCG major Nestle
India reported a 27
per cent increase in net
profit at `934 crore for
the fourth quarter ended
March 31, on account of
strong growth momen-
tum across its portfolio.
It had reported a net
profit of `737 crore in
the Jan.-March quarter
of 2022-23 fiscal. Reve-
nue from operations
rose to `5,267 crore for
the period under review,
as against `4,830 crore
in same quarter of FY23.
on these devices, PCs,
phones, cars, or two-
wheelers,” he said.
Qualcomm sees India as
a “crucial” hub for talent,
but also an opportunity
“to do more”.
The company’s
Bangalore Development
marked by fading fears of
recession and rebounding
growth in major
economies,” the monthly
review said.
“Geopolitical tensions
remain a concern, but
notwithstanding recent
developments, risk per-
ceptions have softened,
offering a potential upside
for growth. While the lead-
ing indicators signal
increased economic activ-
ity and geopolitical ten-
sions have eased slightly,
recent conflicts continue
to pose risks. Despite the
● LOGISTICS FORMS
the cornerstone of
India’s international
tra-de, playing a vital
role in diversifying
both country’s exports
and products manufac-
tured within it.
line domestic processes
and increase transparen-
cy and trust among global
trade partners,” he said.
Budhia, who is also man-
aging director of Patton
Group, said that logistics
Cold storages to curb price
volatility of vegetables
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, APRIL 25
Being the volatile compo-
nent, vegetable prices in
FY24 did not follow a sea-
sonal pattern of surging
in summers and witheri-
ng in winters when stocks
arrived in the market.
Technologies such as
cold storage that can pro-
long the shelf life of veg-
etables are needed to curb
the volatility.
This March, vegetable
inflation printed at 28.3
per cent, down from 30.2
per cent in Feb. but way
VEDANTA Q4 NET
DOWN 27%
nil Agarwal-led
A Vedanta Thursday
reported a 27.2 per cent
decline in consolidated
net profit to `1,369 cr for
the March quarter. It
had posted consolidated
net profit of `1,881 cr in
the year-ago period. The
consolidated income fell
to `36,093 crore from
`38,635 crore last year.
Centre is host to a 5G
Innovation lab, which has
supported several Indian
customers and start-ups
on 5G solutions and prod-
uct development journeys.
“We are working with all
the two-wheeler OEMs in
India and have been able
to provide them with digi-
tal transformation. The
experience they are look-
ing for, in terms of con-
nected platforms on two-
wheelers and doing the
similar thing for digital
cockpit in four-wheelers.
“We are also looking at
what we can do in terms of
consumer devices, be it PC
or phones. We are excited
pg 7
global challenges, India
stands out with its strong
economic performance,
highlighting broad-based
growth across sectors and
asserting its pivotal role
in supporting the global
growth trajectory,” the
report said.
As for price movement,
India’s food inflation
declined from 8.7 percent
in February to 8.5 percent
in March. “Vegetables and
pulses have been a key
challenge to controlling
inflation, which continues
to remain above the RBI’s
target of four percent. To
check prices, the govern-
ment has strengthened
buffers of key food items
and made periodic open
market releases, easing
imports of essential food
items, preventing hoard-
ing through revision of
stock limits, and chan-
nelling supplies through
designated retail outlets,”
it said.
forms the cornerstone of
India’s international tra-
de, playing a vital role in
diversifying both coun-
try’s exports and products
manufactured within it.
“The growth of e-commer-
ce has further emphasised
the critical role of logis-
tics in driving economic
development,” he said.
Budhia said that the gov-
ernment has actively
worked to facilitate trade,
lower logistics costs, and
bolster global competitive-
ness for businesses.
higher than the 8.4 per
cent deflation seen a year
earlier.
FY24 saw huge volatility,
from a low of -7.9 per cent
in May 2023 to a high of
37.4 per cent in July 2023.
Vegetables were respon-
sible for about 30 per cent
of food inflation in FY24,
much higher than their
15.5 per cent share in the
food index. Surging prices
of tomatoes and onions
made headlines in FY24.
Garlic and ginger saw
triple-digit inflation of
117.8 per cent and 110 per
cent, according to Crisil.
■ TECH SERVICES
TECH MAHINDRA Q4
NET DOWN 41%
T services company
IThursday
Tech Mahindra on
reported
about 41 per cent year-
on-year fall in its consol-
idated net profit to `661
crore for the quarter
ended March 2024. The
net profit in the year-ago
period was `1,117.7
crore. For Q4FY24, the
Tech Mahindra’s rev-
enue dropped by 6.2 per
cent to `12,871 crore.
During the full fiscal
FY24, the consolidated
net profit tanked 51.2 per
cent Y-oY to `2,358 crore.
about what India has to
offer,” Soin said.
The company is lining
up a new chipset that
would enable the launch of
a 5G smartphone, in the
price point of sub-$100.
Soin said the company is
working not just with one
but multiple partners to
ensure its success, and
reach.
“We are enabling all
OEMs that we work with
to bring these devices into
India. We will be working
with all the operators in
India and channel part-
ners to bring these devices
at affordable prices,” he
said. — PTI

SEASON-17
ORANGE
Virat Kohli,
RCB 430
Ruturaj
Gaikwad, CSK 349
Rishabh
Pant, DC 342
PURPLE
Jasprit
Bumrah, MI 13
Yuzvendra
Chahal, RR 13
Harshal Patel,
PBKS 13
short takes
Dhawan likely to
return against CSK
P unjab Kings skipper Shikhar
Dhawan, who is nursing a
shoulder injury, was ruled out of
their Friday’s match against
KKR and the team is hoping for
his return against Chennai
Super Kings on May 1.
The 38-year-old last played
against SRH on April 9 and
since then he missed three
matches with Sam Curran step-
ping in as the captain.
PBKS spin bowling coach
Sunil Joshi said Dhawan is on a
recovery course and the left-
hander could possibly make a
return in their next game in
Chennai. “He was in form and
we really missed his batting
services. We saw him batting
yesterday, going through the
nets and everything,” Joshi
said.
Delhi pacer Salam
Dar reprimanded
D elhi Capitals pacer Rasikh
Salam Dar has been repri-
manded for going overboard
with his celebration after taking
a wicket during their match
against Gujarat Titans. In the
game at the Arun Jaitley
Stadium on Wednesday, the 24-
year-old committed a Level 1
offence under Article 2.5 of the
IPL’s Code of Conduct, which
deals with “using language,
actions or gestures which dis-
parage or which could provoke
an aggressive reaction from
another player”.
“Dar committed a Level 1
offence under Article 2.5 of the
IPL’s Code of Conduct. He
admitted to the offence and
accepted the Match Referee’s
sanction. For Level 1 breaches
of the Code of Conduct, the
Match Referee’s decision is final
and binding,” the IPL said.
Toffees leave bad taste
in Liverpool’s mouth
London, April 25: Liverpool’s
Premier League title bid suf-
fered a devastating blow in a
2-0 defeat at Merseyside
rivals Everton, while
Manchester United spared
Erik ten Hag’s blushes with a
4-2 victory against lowly
Sheffield United on
Wednesday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were
beaten at Goodison Park for
the first time in 14 years in a
brutal setback to their hopes
of catching leaders Arsenal.
Jarrad Branthwaite put
Everton ahead in the 27th
minute as the defender prod-
ded the ball under Liverpool
keeper Alisson Becker via the
post after the Reds made a
hash of clearing a free-kick.
With Liverpool’s Mohamed
Salah once again struggling
to convert chances to
equalise, Everton striker
Dominic Calvert-Lewin deliv-
ered the knockout punch with
a 58th-minute header.
Second-placed Liverpool
remain three points behind
Arsenal, who have a vastly
superior goal difference, with
both sides having four games
left.
Third-placed Manchester
City, who visit Brighton on
Saturday, will be crowned
English champions for an
unprecedented fourth succes-
sive season if they win their
last six matches.
Liverpool have reportedly
opened talks with
Feyenoord’s Arne Slot to take
BLITZCRICK
Sun goes down
Royal Challengers register a rare win against SRH
MOSES KONDETY
HYDERABAD, APRIL 25
The Sun has been shining
bright so far in the tourna-
ment. On Thursday, it
sank without a trace as
Royal Challengers Benga-
luru got back up on their
feet to stay in the IPL race.
Bottom placed RCB dug
deep to defend a total their
rivals have been regularly
cracking this season. On
the night, 206 was just too
much for the Sunrisers
Hyderabad, who replied
with 171 for 8 to hand the
visitors a much cherished
35-run victory.
SRH’s batting big guns
fell silent. Heinrich
Klaasen, Travis Head and
Aiden Markram could not
get into double digits. No.
6 Shahbaz Ahmed (40 —
37b, 1x4, 1x6), opener
Abhishek Sharma (31 —
13b, 3x4, 2x6) and captain
Pat Cummins (31 — 15b,
1x4, 3x6) made decent con-
tributions but could not
lift the gloom at the Rajiv
Gandhi International
Cricket Stadium.
Earlier, RCB put up a
robust total, built on half-
centuries from Virat Kohli
(51 — 43b, 4x4, 1x6) and
Rajat Patidar (50 — 20b,
2x4, 5x6); a useful 37 not
out by Cameron Green
and a rapid 25 from cap-
tain Faf du Plessis, who
tongue-in-cheek pre-empt-
ed pre-match talk of SRH
looking to breach the 300-
run mark by choosing to
bat first after winning the
toss.
Faf came out guns blaz-
ing in Kohli’s company to
set early pace. Cummins
introduced himself in the
third over and was
promptly taken for 19 runs
which included two boom-
ing boundaries from Kohli
and an audacious scooped
six by du Plessis.
The Challengers posted a
decent 61 for the loss of
Faf in Power Play which,
given the high standards
set by SRH who thumped a
record 125 in the first six
overs in their last game
against Delhi Capitals,
looked a little too power-
less at that stage.
It seemed too far fetched
at the end though.
Sun used five bowlers in
the first five overs and the
last one, sent down by
Shahbaz, was successful
as the left-arm spinner
conceded just two runs.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (left) and Darwin Nunez react
after losing their English Premier League match against
Everton in Liverpool on Wednesday. Everton won 2-0.
over from Klopp, whose long knocked out of the FA Cup
goodbye looks set to end with quarterfinals by Manchester
a whimper. United and losing to Atalanta
It hardly the scenario Klopp at the same stage of the
envisioned when Liverpool Europa League as their title
beat Chelsea in the League challenge evaporates.
Cup final in February. “Arsenal and Manchester
Back then, his team were in City must have a very bad
contention for a quadruple moment,” Klopp said when
that would have capped his asked if Liverpool can win
final season in spectacular the title.
fashion. “I don’t know. I can only
Instead, the end of Klopp’s apologise for today to the peo-
nine-year reign is becoming a ple. We should have done bet-
damp squib, with Liverpool ter but we didn’t.”
FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | THE ASIAN AGE | LONDON
Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Rajat Patidar celebrates his half-century against
Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Next change Mayank
Markande did one better,
gave away four runs
before rattling the stumps
of Will Jacks with the last
ball of the seventh over —
RCB 65 for 2.
The visitors cruised to 94
for 2 at the halfway stage
and immediately shifted
gears. Rajat Patidar
pounded Markande for
four towering sixes in the
11th over which yielded 27
runs. The No. 4 batsman
soon got to his half-centu-
ry, quicker than opener
Kohli — in 19 balls. He was
— AP
— AFP
out on the next ball
though, skying a catch to
Abdul Samad stationed on
the square leg boundary
off Unadkat, who also
accounted for Kohli in his
next over, 15th of the
innings. The former India
captain perished rather
tamely by hitting one
straight to Samad at deep
square leg to end his 43-
ball innings that con-
tained four fours and a six.
All of Kohli’s boundary
hits came in the Power
Play period.
Swapnil Singh walked in
RECURVE MEN
IN FINAL OF
ARCHERY WC
Shanghai, April 25: The
Indian trio of
Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj
Bommadevara and
Pravin Jadhav set up a
gold medal clash with
Olympic champions
Korea after storming
into the men’s team
recurve final of the
Archery World Cup
Stage 1 here on
Thursday.
It came a day after
India were assured of at
least two medals in the
compound competition
after both the men’s and
women’s teams made the
finals.
The Indian recurve
team, which qualified
behind reigning world
and Olympic champions
South Korea, sailed past
Italy 5-1 (55-54, 55-55, 56-
55) in the last-four stage.
India will be up
against the South
Korea’s Tokyo Olympics
gold medal-winning trio
of Kim Woojin, Lee Woo
Seok and Kim Je Deok in
the final slated for
Sunday.
In the compound event,
former world youth
champion Priyansh and
reigning Asian Games
gold-medallist Jyothi
Surekha Vennam
advanced to their respec-
tive individual semifi-
nals to also remain in
the hunt for a medal.
— PTI
— P. SURENDRA
at No. 8 as Impact Player
in place of Patidar in the
19th over and scored 12 off
six balls. He was thick into
action with the ball too,
returning figures of 2 for
40 that included the wick-
ets of Sunrisers danger-
men Klaasen and
Markram.
Comparatively, SRH’s
Impact Player Head took
to the field in the second
half of the match fresh as
an opener but made no
headway, falling first after
making just 1 run in three
balls to start Sun’s slide.
Gukesh home to rousing welcome
Chennai, April 25:
History-making
Indian Grandmaster D.
Gukesh was swamped by
teen
fans as he returned to an
enthusiastic reception
here on Thursday after
becoming the youngest
challenger to the world
title following his triumph
at the prestigious
Candidates Chess
Tournament in Toronto.
Hundreds of students
from the Velammal
Vidyalaya, the school
where Gukesh studies,
lined up at the airport at
least one hour before his
flight landed to greet the
17-year-old chess prodigy.
A sizeable general crowd
also built up as his arrival
time drew closer and the
area around the exit gate
was jam-packed in no
time.
The youngster walked
out at around 3am and he
was immediately flanked
by the jubilant mass. Soon
after, he had garlands
around his neck even as
the police jostled to escort
him out safely.
“I feel very happy for
this homecoming, this is a
special achievement. I was
in a good space since the
beginning of the tourna-
ment, I had full confidence
that I will emerge top in
this tournament and luck
was on my side as well,”
Gukesh said while talking
to the media at the air-
port.
“It’s good to see so many
people enjoy chess... I
thank the Tamil Nadu gov-
SCOREBOARD
Royal Challengers
Bengaluru: Virat Kohli c
Abdul Samad b Unadkat 51,
Faf du Plessis c Markram b
Natarajan 25, Will Jacks b
Markande 6, Rajat Patidar c
Abdul Samad b Unadkat 50,
Cameron Green not out 37,
Mahipal Lomror c Cummins
b Unadkat 7, Dinesh Karthik
c Abdul Samad b Cummins
11, Swapnil Singh c Abhishek
Sharma b Natarajan 12.
Extras (lb-2, w-5) 7. Total
(for 7 wickets in 20 overs)
206.
Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-65,
3-130, 4-140, 5-161, 6-193, 7-
206.
Bowling: Abhishek Sharma
1-0-10-0, Bhuvneshwar
Kumar
Cummins
1-0-14-0,
4-0-55-1,
Pat
T
Natarajan 4-0-39-2,
Shahbaz Ahmed 3-0-14-0,
Mayank Markande 3-0-42-1,
Jaydev Unadkat 4-0-30-3.
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Abhishek Sharma c Karthik
b Yash Dayal 31, Travis Head
c Sharma b Jacks 1, Aiden
Markram lbw b Swapnil
Singh 7, Nitish Kumar Reddy
b Sharma 13, Heinrich
Klaasen c Green b Swapnil
Singh 7, Shahbaz Ahmed
not out 40, Abdul Samad c
& b Sharma 10, Pat
Cummins c Mohammed Siraj
b Green 31, Bhuvneshwar
Kumar c Mohammed Siraj b
Green 13, Jaydev Unadkat
not out 8. Extras (lb-1, nb-1,
w-8) 10. Total (for 8 wickets
in 20 overs) 171.
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-37, 3-
41, 4-56, 5-69, 6-85, 7-124,
8-141.
Bowling: Will Jacks 2-0-23-
1, Mohammed Siraj 4-0-20-
0, Yash Dayal 3-0-18-1,
Swapnil Singh 3-0-40-2,
Karn Sharma 4-0-29-2,
Lockie Ferguson 2-0-28-0,
Cameron Green 2-0-12-2.
PANT LOOKS HUNGRY, IN VERY GOOD
FORM, SAYS DELHI’S BATTING COACH
New Delhi, April 25: The
swashbuckling Rishabh
Pant has showed with his
scintillating knock
against Gujarat Titans
that he is ready to roar in
the upcoming T20 World
Cup, feels Delhi Capitals’
batting coach Pravin
Amre.
A month after returning
to competitive cricket
after recovering from the
multiple injuries sus-
tained during a horrific
car accident in December
Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh is being welcomed on his arrival at the Chennai
Airport on Thursday. He become the youngest challenger to the world title following
his triumph at the prestigious Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto.
ernment. I thank my
Appa, Amma, coach,
friends, family, sponsor
and my school for being
alongside me and playing
an amazing role in helping
me win this tournament,”
he added.
His mother Padma, who
is a microbiologist, was
there to receive him along
with some other members
of the family and the
young champion had a
huge smile on his face the
moment he spotted her in
the crowd. They
exchanged a hug after
● Chennai Super Kings
● Delhi Capitals
● Gujarat Titans
● Kolkata Knight Riders
● Lucknow Super Giants
● Mumbai Indians
● Punjab Kings
● Rajasthan Royals
● Royal Challengers Bengaluru
● Sunrisers Hyderabad
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W L N/R
RR 8 7 1 0
KKR 7 5 2 0
SRH 8 5 3 0
LSG 8 5 3 0
CSK
DC
8
9
4
4
4
5
GT
MI
9
8
4
3
5
5
PBKS 8 2 6 0
RCB 9 2 7 0
Spotlight on KKR
bowlers vs Punjab
Kolkata, April 25:
Mitchell Starc will be des-
perate to justify his $3
million price tag as
Kolkata Knight Riders
bowling unit try to find
ways to be less profligate
when it is pitted against a
perennially under-achiev-
ing Punjab Kings in an
IPL match here on
Saturday.
KKR is currently second
in the 10-team table with
10 points, four behind
table toppers Rajasthan
Royals (14 points) and the
team’s success is largely
due to the batting efforts
from the top-order.
In Punjab Kings, they
meet a side that has been
inconsistent and despite
two good finds in
Shashank Singh and
Ashutosh Sharma, they
haven’t exactly done well
during key moments and
like every other year, they
are all but out of play-off
contention.
Sunil Narine (286
@176.54 SR) and Phil Salt
(249 @169.38 SR) have
been phenomenal at the
top, Andre Russell (155
@184.52), skipper Shreyas
Iyer (190 @126.66) have all
been among the runs.
Even Rinku Singh, who
2022, Pant virtually sealed
his spot as India’s first
choice wicketkeeper for
the T20 World Cup with an
unbeaten 88 off 43 balls in
DC’s four-run win over GT
here on Wednesday.
“He (pant) started with a
two-week camp in Vizag,
he came there, he pre-
pared himself very well. I
remember when he came
for the Vizag camp, he
came straight to the
ground from the airport.
“He was hungry and
greeting each other.
Gukesh’s father
Rajinikanth, who is an
ENT surgeon but quit his
practice to support him,
had travelled with the teen
to Toronto for the tourna-
ment.
“It is a very proud
moment for us. We need
some time to realise the
importance of the
achievements because it is
very hectic till now,”
Rajinikanth said on
arrival.
On Monday, Gukesh
became the first Indian
PAGE
8
Points Net RR
14 +0.698
10 +1.209
10 +0.577
10 +0.148
0
0
8
8
+0.415
-0.386
0
0
8
6
-0.974
-0.227
4 -0.292
4 -0.721
ACTION TODAY
KKR VS PBKS
FROM 7.30 PM,
LIVE ON STAR SPORTS
has just faced 67 balls in 7
games has a strike-rate of
close to 160.
Save captain Iyer, all the
specialist batters have
scored at a strike-rate
northwards of 150 and
that has been instrumen-
tal in the KKR team post-
ing four 200-plus totals in
their seven games so far.
Only Venkatesh Iyer’s
poor form has stuck out
like a sore thumb and
Nitish Rana’s finger frac-
ture has not only robbed
KKR of a master player of
spinners but also a very
handy off-break bowler.
However the same can’t
be said about the bowling
unit where Narine with
his immaculate line and
length is the only person,
who has been able to
maintain an economy
rate of just above 7.10.
— PTI
made sure everyday he is
going to utilise. It is all
about his hard work,
which is paying him,”
Amre said.
“A couple of good
knocks gave him the confi-
dence and today we saw a
special knock. Finishing
was important, and we
saw how Rishabh single-
handedly got 31 runs
against an experienced
bowler (Mohit Sharma),
and that really says that
he is in good form.” — PTI
— PTI
after the great
Viswanathan Anand to
win the Candidates
Tournament, which is
held specifically to decide
the challenger for the
reigning world champion.
“It feels great.
Viswanathan Anand is an
inspiration to everyone.
He has played a huge role
in my career. I am really
glad,” Gukesh said, refer-
ring to the guidance pro-
vided by Anand in his
formative years and also
ahead of the Candidates.
— PTI