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01 MAY 2024
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T20 WC squad: Pant Admiral Tripathi

PM targets Pawar and Samson included, takes charge
as Naval chief
on farmers’ plight
Says time has come to punish ‘tall Maharashtra leader’ for not keeping his promise
KL Rahul misses out STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi

assumed command of the
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE since the Nineties. “We Indian Navy on Tuesday as the
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL requested him for waiving 26th Chief of the Naval Staff.
of income tax for sugar He succeeds Admiral R

P
rime Minister mills, I was Chief Minister Hari Kumar who retires upon
Narendra Modi on and wrote to him but he superannuation, after an
WEATHER Tuesday launched failed to do anything,” he illustrious career in the Indi-
MAINLY CLEAR SKY. STRONG SURFACE a blistering attack said. an Navy.
WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH) DURING THE against NCP (SP) leader When Mr Modi took Admi Tripathi is an alum-
DAY. TOMORROW'S MAXIMUM AND
Sharad Pawar and said over as PM in 2014, he TRIDIB BAPARNASH ing. nus of Sainik School Rewa
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE
time has come to punish settled the income tax NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL While Pant could well be and National Defence Acad-
the “tall Maharashtra demand of the mills. His India’s first-choice keeping emy, Khadakwasla. He was
AROUND 35 AND 21 DEGREE CELSIUS
leader” for not keeping government provided Rs Rishabh Pant and Sanju option, Samson’s per- commissioned on 1 July 1985
RESPECTIVELY.
his promise to take water 10,000 crore relief to coop- Samson were eventually formances in the ongoing into the Executive Branch of
RAINFALL: nill to the drought-affected erative sugar mills. From entrusted with the wicket- IPL made him an auto- the Indian Navy. A Commu-
RELATIVE HUMIDITY Madha region of the State. March, 2023, a loan of Rs keeping duties as the BCCI matic choice for the back- nication and Electronic War-
Max. 57 % Min. 18 % Addressing a BJP elec- home and farm was a big the agriculture minister 10,000 crores was also pro- on Tuesday unveiled the 15- up keeper’s slot. fare specialist, he has served
TEMPERATURE tion meeting at Madha, the mission of his life. After tak- no efforts were made to vided to the sugar mills so member squad for the ICC This is the first time the on frontline warships of the
Max: 36.5 °C-3) Min: 22.2 °C (-2) Prime Minister said the ing over as PM, he devot- increase the FRP which was that farmers did not have T20 World Cup, starting Kerala stumper has made Navy as Signal Communica-
SUN RISES SUN SETS Maharashtra leader had ed his whole energy on the at that time Rs 200 per quin- to wait for any payments. June 1 in the US and the it to the World Cup squad, tion Officer and Electronic
5:40 hrs 18:57 hrs
made the promise 15 years pending schemes and 63 tal, while the NDA gov- When the “tall” Maha- West Indies. As expected, after missing out to Dinesh Warfare Officer and later as the
MOON RISES MOON SETS
back and Madha, along of them have been com- ernment increased it to rashtra leader was in the the squad will be led by Karthik in 2022. Like Pant, Executive Officer and Princi-
with Vidarbha and Marath- pleted. To mark the 75 about Rs 350 per quin- Union government, the Rohit Sharma, and has Samson has been in pro- pal Warfare Officer of the
01:49 hrs 11:38 hrs
wada regions continue to years of Independence, tal,” he said. government made pro- Hardik Pandya as vice- lific form as captain of Guided Missile Destroyer INS
suffer water scarcity. With- his government could have When Mr Pawar was curements from farmers captain. table-toppers Rajasthan Mumbai.
THUMBNAILS out naming him, Mr Modi undertaken any project Agriculture Minister, the worth Rs 7.50 lakh crores This will also mark the Royals. Adm Tripathi's Sea Com-
said the Maharashtra leader to celebrate it. The gov- Prime Minister said, farm- in 10 years. In comparison, return of Pant to interna- He has led the franchise mands include INS Vinash,
10 Maoists killed in has not dared to come to ernment however initiat- ers used to run to cane com- his government in its 10 tional cricket for the first from the front, scoring 385 INS Kirch and INS Trishul.
encounter in Madha to contest elec- ed a proramme of Amrit missioners’ offices for pay- years made procurements time since a near-fatal acci- runs in nine innings at a During his career spanning
Chhattisgarh: Ten tion again. Sarovar ponds, one each ment of arrears. The situ- worth Rs 20 lakh crores, the dent in December 2022 strike rate of 161.08. nearly 40 years, he has held
Maoists were killed The Prime Minister said in every district of the ation is different today. Prime Minister said. that kept him on the side- Meanwhile, leg-spinner various important opera-
in a fierce the whole world changed, country. These ponds Now there are no arrears, The PM said the BJP was lines for more than a year. Yuzvendra Chahal has also tional and staff appointments,
encounter with the but the Congress, even in would serve village com- he said. In 2014, the NDA receiving support from The southpaw has used found his way back into the which include Fleet Opera-
District Reserve 60 years of its rule could not munities for generations. government paid Rs 57,000 people for its achieve- the ongoing IPL 2024 as a squad on the basis of his tions Officer of the Western
Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) provide water for irrigation. The Prime Minister said crores as arrears and this ments, but Congress Prince perfect platform to prove impressive form in the ongo- Fleet at Mumbai, Director
personnel on Tuesday morning in the When he took over as the “tall” Maharashtra year Rs 1.14 lakh crore (Rahul Gandhi) is talking his fitness, and has so far ing Indian Premier League. of Naval Operations, Princi-
Abhujmarh area of the Narayanpur district Prime Minister in 2014, leader was Agriculture have been paid to clear of an x-ray machine to amassed 398 runs in 11 Chahal, who wasn’t a pal Director Network Centric
near the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border. there were 100 pending irri- Minister in the Union Gov- arrears, including Rs 32,000 raid homes of people to innings for the Delhi Cap- part of India’s recent T20 Operations and Principal
Among the deceased are three female gation projects, including ernment but he made no crores received by sugar- assess how much money, itals at a strike rate of 158.56. international squads for Director Naval Plans at New
Maoist insurgents whose bodies have been 26 in Maharashtra. The efforts to ensure Fair and cane farmers in Maha- jewellery is kept in the Over the course of the sea- the series in South Africa Delhi. He was the Vice Chief
recovered from the scene along with a State was cheated in a big Remunerative Price (FRP) rashtra. Mr Modi said the house, and then it will be son, he has also allayed and at home against of Naval Staff, prior taking over
cache of arms and ammunition including way, he said. Mr Modi said to sugarcane farmers. sugarcane mills were wor- distributed among party any doubts there may have Afghanistan, the helm as Chief of the Naval
an AK-47 and explosives. (Pg 5) providing water to every “During his tenure as ried about income tax favourites. been over his wicketkeep- (Turn to Pg12) Staff on 30 April 2024.

India rejects The SC questions ED on timing of CM’s arrest
Washington Postreport
on plot to kill Pannun
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
India, on Tuesday, rejected
a report in The Washington
Post about alleged plots by
Indian officials to assassi-
nate pro-Khalistan activists
in the US and Canada, say-
ing it makes unwarranted
and unsubstantiated impu-
tations on a serious matter.
“There is an ongoing inves-
tigation of the High-Level
Committee set up by the
Government of India to look
into the security concerns
shared by the US govern-
ment on networks of organ-
ised criminals, terrorists, and
others. Speculative and irre-
sponsible comments on it
are not helpful, Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA)
spokesperson Randhir Jaisw-
al said in response to ques-
tions.
The news report had
referred to an alleged plot to
assassinate Sikhs for Justice
(SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Pan-
nun on American soil and the
killing of pro-Khalistan activist
Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Cana-
da in June last year.
The news report claimed
that an RAW official, identi-
fied as Vikram Yadav, was
involved in the plot to kill Pan-
nun in the US and the move
was approved by the then Indi-
an spy agency chief Samant
Goel. The Indian govern-
ment has declared Pannun a
terrorist.
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Stating that liberty is exceed-
ingly important and cannot
be denied, the Supreme Court
on Tuesday questioned the
Directorate of Enforcement
on the timing of arresting
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal just before the gen-
eral election.
“Liberty is very exceed-
ingly important; you can't
deny that. The last question
is with regard to the timing of
the arrest, which they (Kejri-
wal’s counsel) have pointed
out, the timing of the arrest,
soon before the general elec-
tions”, the top court asked the
Directorate of Enforcement
to respond to during its sub-
missions on Friday – May 3,
2024.
The top court’s question
to ED on the timing of the arrest
of the Chief Minister Kejriw-
al is one of the five questions
that a bench of Justice San-
jiv Khanna and Justice
Dipankar Datta framed for the
ED to answer after the two-
hour long hearing in which
senior advocate Abhishek
Manu Singhvi appealing for
Kejriwal took the bench
through various statements
including that of accused-
turned-approver Sarath Chan-
dra Reddy and the provisions
of the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act and the Code
of Criminal Procedure to
highlight the flaws in the
entire action of the central
agency.
The bench asked the Addi-
tional Solicitor General S.V.
Raju, appearing for the ED, to
respond to these questions in
the course of his submission
on Friday – May 3, 2024, when
he would be replying to the
arguments advanced by the
senior advocate Abhishek
Manu Singhvi for Kejriwal.
The other questions that
the bench asked the ASG Raju
to answer in the course of his
submissions on Friday, includ-
ed the question - whether there
being any adjudicatory pro-
ceedings, can you have crim-
inal proceedings being initi-
ated? In terms of what has been
held in (an earlier) Vijay
Madanlal case or otherwise.
In this case, there has been no
proceeding for attachment.
Justice Khanna said that
first there should be attach-
ment - then offense - then find-
ing in the offense.
Attachment is followed
by prosecution. Criminal pro-
ceedings cannot be stand-
alone, unless there is confis-
cation, attachment and.
Singhvi referred to the several
statements by the different
accused including earlier
statements by the ‘accused-
turned-approver’ not naming
Kejriwal before the ED dur-
ing questioning, ASG Raju
said that they are not relevant
as we (ED) have not relied upon
them.
Singhvi said that this state-
ment made before the som-
ersault by an accused may not
be relevant for the ED but they
are relevant for us. These state-
ments cannot be expunged
from the record merely
because they are not being
relied on by the ED.
Recounting the sequence
of v events leading to accused-
turned-approver being grant-
ed bail without any opposi-
tion from the ED, Singhvi
cited the instance of an accused
in the case whose plea for inter-
im bail on the grounds of his
wife suffering from cancer
was stoutly resisted by the ED.
As Singhvi’s arguments
remained inconclusive, he will
continue them on Friday, fol-
lowed by ASG Raju presenting
the ED case opposing Kejri-
wal’s plea against his arrest and
the subsequent remand. Kejri-
wal has approached the top
court challenging the Delhi High
Court’s 9 April, 2024, order
rejecting his plea against his
arrest by the ED and the sub-
sequent remand.
Doctored video case: Over 7
leaders summoned across 4
states, including other persons
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Over seven political leaders
across four states and other
persons have been sum-
moned, including Telangana
chief minister Revanth Reddy
in connection with the case
pertaining to doctored video
on the Union home minister
over SC, ST and OBC reser-
vation, the sources said.
The FIR was filed on Sun-
day by Delhi Police's Special
Cell in this connection, the
sources said.
Police notice has also
sought information about
the video and also asked
them to submit the same
that was uploaded from their
respective X handle.
In addition, the police
have asked to bring in the elec-
tronic device that was used
to upload the said video as well
as the one used to record the
video would have to be sub-
mitted as well.
The FIR was filed over a
complaint from the the Home
Ministry which alleged that
some doctored videos are
being circulated by users of
social media platforms, and
the video seems to be doctored
and spreading misleading
information with intention to
create disharmony among
communities which is likely
to affect the public.
It also stated that a report
was attached with the com-
plaint which includes details
about the links and the social
media handles from which the
doctored videos of the home
minister are being shared.
On Monday, two police
officials from Delhi had
reached Gandhi Bhavan, the
headquarters of Congress in
Hyderabad to serve the notice.
They were asked to meet
the investigating officer in
Delhi with regard to the mat-
ter.

ECI finally releases voting percentage in 1st two phases of LS polls
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The Election Commission of
India (ECI) on Tuesday issued
the final figures of voting in the
first two phases of Lok Sabha
elections, amid criticism from
Opposition parties over the
delay in declaring the final fig-
ure.
In the first phase of Lok
Sabha elections, the voter
turnout was recorded at 66.14
percent and 66.71 percent in
the second phase, as per the
final figure released by the poll
panel. Voting for the first
phase was held on 19th April
and second phase on 26th April.
“In the ongoing General
Elections, voter turnout of
66.14 percent has been record-
ed in phase 1 for 102 PCs
(Parliamentary Constituen-
cies) and 66.71 percent in
phase 2 for 88 PCs that went
for polls in the two phases,”
the ECI said in a statement.
Earlier, Congress general
secretary in-charge of Com-
munications Jairam Ramesh
in a post on X wrote, “For the
first time, even 11 days after
the first phase of the polls and
four days after the second
phase, the final voter turnout
has not been published by the
ECI.
In the past, ECI used to pub-
lish the final voter turnout
immediately after voting or
within 24 hours.
Only approximate polling
figures are available on ECI's
website. What accounts for this
delay?.” “Additionally, the
number of registered voters
in each Lok Sabha constituency
and the assembly con-
stituencies included in that Lok
Sabha constituency is also
not available on the Com-
mission's website. It only
shows the total number of vot-
ers in a state and the number
of voters in each booth. It is
essential for the Election Com-
mission of India to be as time-
ly and transparent about all
election-related data,” he said.
Echoing similar senti-
ments, Trinamul Congress
(TMC) MP Derek O’brien in
a post on X wrote, “Modi got
the law changed in Parliament
to get his own umpire and
destroy the Election Com-
mission. Now, after two phas-
es, the EC yet to disclose final
polling data. Why the delay
? The first two phases didn’t
go well, did they! And EC, why
no press conference after
every phase?.”
ECI reviews preparedness
for third phase of LS polls
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The Election Commission of
India (ECI) on Tuesday
reviewed the preparedness
for the third phase of Lok
Sabha (LS) elections, sched-
uled to be held on 7th May.
Chief Election Commis-
sioner Rajiv Kumar along
with Election Commission-
ers-- Gyanesh Kumar and
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu held
a meeting with 265 Observers.
“The Election Commis-
sion today reviewed pre-
paredness for Phase 3 of
General Elections 2024 with
the 265 Observers deployed
for monitoring the Phase. This
includes Special, General,
Police and Expenditure
Observers,” the ECI wrote in
a post on X. In the third
phase, polling will be held in
94parliamentary con-
stituencies spread across 12
States and Union Territories
(UTs).
The States and Union
Territories included in the
third phase are Assam, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Daman and
Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and
Kashmir, Karnataka, Maha-
rashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, and West
Bengal.
Voting for the first phase
was held on 19 April and sec-
ond phase on 26 April.
In the first phase of Lok
Sabha elections, the voter
turnout was recorded at
66.14 percent and 66.71 per-
cent in the second phase.
Sales of luxury homes at and
above `4 crore grow 10pc YoY
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
In the quarter that ended 31
March, sales of luxury homes,
priced at Rs 4 crore and above,
grew 10 per cent compared
to the year before, said a real
estate consultancy firm.
As per CBRE's ‘India Mar-
ket Monitor Q1 2024’ report,
4,140 luxury homes were sold
between January and March
2024. As many as 3,780 were
sold during the same period
last year.
The report highlighted
that such sales have grown for
at least the last two years. In
2023, the sales jumped 75per
cent at 12,935 units. Luxury
homes’ share in total sales dou-
bled to 4 per cent from 2 per
cent the year before. At the end
of March 2024, their share had
As per CBRE's ‘India
Market Monitor Q1
2024’ report, 4,140 lux-
ury homes were sold
between January and
March 2024. As many
as 3,780 were sold dur-
ing the same period
last year.
risen to 5per cent. Residen-
tial property sales across cat-
egories reached 85,000 units
in January-March, growing
8per cent year-on-year.
It highlighted that the
largest sales were in the mid-
end segment homes, priced
between Rs 45 lakh to 1 crore,
which comprised 47per cent
share in total sales. It was fol-
lowed by high-end, Rs 1-2
crore, and affordable projects,
up to Rs 45 lakh. Luxury home
sales ranked fifth. Further,
Mumbai led in the March
quarter by selling 1,330 lux-
ury homes, 15 per cent high-
er than 1,150 units sold last
year. It was followed by Delhi
National Capital Region (NCR)
at 1,150 units and Hyder-
abad at 800 units.
Hyderabad saw a two-
fold jump in luxury home
sales, demand for such prop-
erties in Delhi NCR fell from
1,880 units in the same quar-
ter last year. Pune, Mumbai,
and Bangalore cumulatively
accounted for about 65 per
cent of the total sales.
The report said the demand
has also led developers to focus
on luxury homes. In the
March quarter, there was a 64
per cent increase in new
launches of luxury segment
units.
02 NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024
THUMBNAILS
30 nominations filed till
30th Apr for 7 LS seats:
A total of 30 nomina-
tions have been filed till
Tuesday for the seven
Lok Sabha (LS) seats in
Delhi. The filing of the
nominations for the
seven parliamentary
seats started on Monday
following the issue of
notification for the sixth
phase of voting in the
general elections. “Thirty
nominations received by
30th April for all the par-
liamentary constituen-
cies (PCs) of NCT of
Delhi,” the Office of the
Chief Electoral Officer of
Delhi said. According to
the data issued by the
poll panel, 15 nomina-
tions each were received
on Monday and Tuesday.
The total number of can-
didates are 26. The last
date of filing of nomina-
tions is 6th May and the
scrutiny of nominations
will take place on 7th
May, as per the notifica-
tion. The last date of
withdrawal of candida-
ture is 9th May. Voting
for the seven parliamen-
tary seats in Delhi are
scheduled to take place
on 25th May.
Devender Yadav appointed interim Nursing student commits suicide at AIIMS hostel
president of Delhi Congress
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The Congress on Tuesday
announced the name of
Devender Yadav as interim
president of Delhi Pradesh
Congress Committee (DPCC).
The latest development
came days after Arvinder
Singh Lovely announced his
resignation from the post of
party’s Delhi unit chief through
a letter to Congress Presi-
dent Mallikarjun Kharge.
“Congress president
(Mallikarjun Kharge) has
appointed Devender Yadav as
the interim president of the
Delhi Pradesh Congress
Committee with immediate
effect,” read a communiqué
issued by Congress general
secretary in-charge of the
organisation KC Venugopal
on Tuesday.
Yadav will continue in his
role as party’s in-charge for
Bansuri Swaraj files nomination from New Delhi LS seat, says
will work to implement schemes like Ayushman Bharat, if elected
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Bharatiya Janata Party's Loka
Sabha election candidate
from the New Delhi con-
stituency Bansuri Swaraj on
Tuesday expressed that the
party is loaded with self- con-
fidence as Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has done a lot
of work.
She further said that, If peo-
ple make her win the polls, she
is going to ensure that the peo-
ple welfare scheme of PM
Modi like Ayushman Bharat
will be implemented in the
national capital as well.
"If need be I will move
Court and ensure imple-
mentation of Ayushman
Bharat Yojna for public health
in Delhi," she said.
"I am overwhelmed to see
the support among people and
am determined towards our
goal of Viksit Bharat and com-
Modi hell-bent on diluting reservation; vote to save India: Udit Raj
SURYA PILLAI
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
"Hath se badlenge haalaat,udit
se hoga uday" (Congress will
improve circumstances, Udit
will show the way) is how the
party's North West Delhi Lok
Sabha candidate Udit Raj is
wooing voters this election.
The 66-year-old Dalit leader
is up against BJP's Yogendra
Chandolia in the national
capital which will go to polls
on May 25 in the penultimate
phase of the seven-phase
general election.
"I am seeking votes for
the development and pros-
perity of my people. This
election is crucial because it
is the battle to safeguard our
constitution and democracy.
It is the battle to choose right
over wrong," he said in an
EC silent over objectionable NDMC deploys eight anti-smog
hoardings, says Bharadwaj guns to combat air pollution
Bharadwaj alleged that the poll panel is not ready to take action against such complaints
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
T
he senior Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) leader
and Delhi Minister
Saurabh Bharadwaj
on Tuesday alleged that the
Election Commission of India
(ECI) was non-committal on
their complaint the party had
made against the objection-
able hoarding installed by
the BJP.
Bhardwaj said AAP lead-
ers had gone to the ECI to
inquire about the status of their
complaint. But the officials of
the poll panel replied they were
not bound to answer the
queries or inform as to what
action has been taken in this
regard.
Bharadwaj, while speaking
to reporters later, rued that
almost a month after filing the
complaint, no action has been
taken so far.
He also alleged that the poll
panel is reluctant to take
action against such com-
plaints.
Replying to a question
Punjab, it added.
On Sunday, Lovely resigned
from the post of DPPC pres-
ident citing issues such as
alliance with the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) and differences
over selection of party can-
didates for North West Delhi
and North East Delhi parlia-
mentary seats as reasons for
his move.
He, however, has not
resigned from the party per
mitted towards taking every
Guarantee of Modi ji to each
and every household," she
said. Swaraj on Tuesday filed
her nomination papers for the
general elections for the New
Delhi LS seat at the Jamna-
gar House in presence of BJP
leader and Union Minister
Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi BJP
presdient Virendra Sachde-
va, while her father Swaraj
interview to The Statesman.
So what is in the mind of
an average voter of the nation-
al capital?
"Voters, especially our
youth, need jobs, basic ameni-
ties, and good infrastructure.
They are not thinking about
religion or the Hindi-Muslim
conflict that the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) wants you
to believe," he shot back.
Raj was a Member of Par-
liament between 2014 and
2019 in Lok Sabha, repre-
senting North West Delhi as
a member of BJP, but left the
party after its first term. He
was a civil servant and is cur-
rently the national chairman
of the All India Confederation
of SC/ST Organizations.
Asked about his roadmap
for the constituency, he said,
"The Congress has a detailed
Bhardwaj said AAP leaders had gone to the ECI
to inquire about the status of their complaint.
But the officials of the poll panel replied they
were not bound to answer the queries or
inform as to what action has been taken in
this regard.
over AAP's campaign song that it feels there is no such
issue, Bharadwaj said the problem with the lyrics in
party has told the poll panel the theme song and has
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
se. Notably, the Congress and A second-year student of
the AAP have formed a pre- Bachelors of Science at the
poll alliance in Delhi and All India Institute of Medical
other states for the Lok Sabha Sciences here allegedly com-
elections. As per a seat-shar- mitted suicide in her hostel
ing arrangement between room on Tuesday, police
them, the Congress is con- said. The police got a call from
testing in three and AAP in four the institution at 11.30 am,
out of the seven parliamen- and a team was rushed to the
tary seats in Delhi. spot where they found the 21-
“The Delhi Congress unit year-old woman hanging
was against an alliance with from the ceiling fan with a
a party which was formed 'dupatta'.
on the sole basis of levelling It has been found that
false, fabricated and malafide she was a resident of Sheikh-
corruption charges against the pura in Bihar.
Congress and in turn, whose According to police, the
half of the cabinet ministers crime investigation team
are presently in jail on cor- inspected the place, and fur-
ruption charges. Despite that, ther legal proceedings were
the party made a decision to initiated in the matter.
ally with the AAP in Delhi," A suicide note was found
Lovely said in his resignation in which the girl expressed that
letter. she was in depression due to
Voting in seven parlia- her nursing studies and prepa-
mentary seats in Delhi is ration for the BPSC exam, the
scheduled to be held on 25th police said.
May. As per prima facie, so far,
Before heading to file her
nomination, Ms Swaraj with
the senior party leaders, work-
ers and supporters took out
a rally, and before that offered
prayers , and performed
Havan.
According to Delhi BJP, the
rally began from outside 8
Tughlak Lane in New Delhi,
while BJP leaders like Hard-
eep Singh Puri, Veerendra
Sachdeva and others were
also present on the occasion
PHOTO BY~ SUBRATA DUTTA in support of their party's
candidate.
Kaushal also accompanied On Wednesday, the BJP's
her. North East Delhi candidate
Speaking to a news agency, Manoj Tiwari's nomination
she said that with the amount will be taking place likely in
of work done by PM Modi, the the presence of senior BJP
BJP is going among people leader and Union Defence
with their performance report Minister Rajnath Singh, Delhi
card. Bansuri alleged that Lok Sabha election In- charge
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Om Prakash Dhankar, Delhi
did not let the scheme like BJP president Virendra
Ayushman Bharat imple- Sachdeva and other party
mented in Delhi. leaders, workers.
plan for north west Delhi. completed if the party comes
My priority will be the Bawana- to power. Sewer and sanita-
Narela metro corridor. The rail- tion issues, and the absence
way overbridges sanctioned of basic amenities in slums will
during my tenure will be be addressed."
accordingly given its expla-
nation to the commission.
Bharadwaj was accompa-
nied by AAP leader Atishi and
others.
AAP leaders, including
Pankaj Gupta, Atishi, and
others, visited the poll panel's
office on April 5 and gave a writ-
ten complaint to the Delhi CEO
(chief electoral officer).
no foul play is suspected in
the matter, the police added.
The authorities have
informed the deceased stu-
dent's parents about the
BJP's East Delhi LS can-
didate Harsh Malhotra's nom-
ination rally will also take
place on Wednesday begin-
ning from Priyadarshini Vihar,
in presence of Uttarakhand
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami,
Delhi BJP LS polls co- in-
charge Dr Alka Gurjar and
Delhi BJP president Virendra
Sachdeva. On Monday, BJP
candidate Yogendra Chan-
dolia filed his nomination
from the North-West Lok
Sabha constituency at the
DM Office, Kanjhawala.
Rajasthan's Deputy CM
Dr Premchand Bairwa, Delhi
BJP President Virendra
Sachdeva were among the
dignitaries who joined thou-
sands of party workers in the
nomination procession.
The leaders praised the
enthusiasm of the workers and
urged them to take a pledge
to ensure the final voter
turnout on election day.
"During my tenure, I had
installed 200 gyms and sanc-
tioned 12 railway overbridges
in 2018. But the BJP MP, who
came after me, did not act on
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) informed on
Tuesday that it has deployed
eight anti-smog guns in the
area under its jurisdiction in
the city to reduce air pollu-
tion.
“To mitigate air pollution
in the New Delhi area, the
NDMC has now deployed a
fleet of eight anti-smog guns
on all its avenue roads on a hir-
ing basis. This initiative will help
to strengthen anti-pollution
efforts of NDMC and make the
environment more livable in
the heart of the city,” a state-
ment of the civic body read.
The smog guns to be oper-
ational on the main roads of
the New Delhi area from 8 am
unfortunate incident.
The AIIMS has also
released an incident report
regarding the incident where
the institution said, " It is with
Korean Culture Centre
announces K-pop contest 2024
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The Korean Culture Centre
India on Tuesday announced
‘All India K-pop Contest 2024’.
It is an annual competition
which aims to bring out K-Pop
talents in India.
This competition will be
round-wise, beginning with
the online round, which will
begin on May 17th and end
on June 21st. Applicants will
have to submit their respec-
these projects," he said.
What, according to the
Congress, is the answer to
unemployment and inflation
in the country?
"Our party manifesto has
clear-cut answers to all the
problems plaguing our coun-
try. The 'Nyay Patra' talks
about filling 30 lakh job vacan-
cies in the government sec-
tor. We will provide Rs 1 lakh
per annum to women of poor
families, as well as Rs 1 lakh
per annum to the educated
unemployed," he said.
"Rahul Gandhi's propos-
al of a caste census and eco-
nomic survey are all in this
direction," he said.
The Dalit activist also
talked extensively about how
members of his community
and other backward classes
have been denied their rights
to 5 pm are GPS-enabled.
“The newly-deployed eight
anti-smog guns are based
on hydraulic operation and
mounted on CNG-operated
trucks having a water capac-
ity tank of 7,000 litres. The
water consumption of these
anti-smog guns is 1,500 litres
per hour of each,” the civic
body said.
It further said, “The anti-
smog guns are also display-
ing the environment-related
message for public awareness.
The cost of hiring these anti-
smog guns will be Rs 2.87 crore
for the period of two years.”
The NDMC further said
that it had earlier already
deployed anti-smog guns
mounted on the 28-ton CNG
truck chassis of Tata with
the largest water tank capac-
a heavy heart we are inform-
ing you of the untimely death
of one of our students. She
was pursuing BSc. (Nurs-
ing). The incident occurred
tive dance videos, which will
be judged based on their
skills, expressions, pronun-
ciation and stage presence.
Last year, Prachi Mishra of
Delhi clinched first place in
Vocal category, while the
dance category was won by
the Group ‘The Nine’ from
Itanagar at All India K-Pop
Contest 2023 held at the Thya-
graj Sports Complex, Delhi.
The team selected in the
online preliminaries will par-
ticipate in regional rounds
by successive regimes.
"The Narendra Modi gov-
ernment is hell-bent on dilut-
ing reservation. Dalits and
members of other backward
classes have been at the receiv-
ing end of mainstream soci-
ety since time immemorial.
Today, the Dalits cannot
afford quality education, their
employment is being taken
away, but most importantly,
they are being robbed of their
dignity," he said.
What do you have to say
on the protests against him
by his own party workers
regarding his candidature?
Many called him an "out-
sider", while Delhi Congress
chief Arvinder Singh Lovely
recently resigned over the
candidature of Raj and Kan-
haiya Kumar.
"These are all theatrics by
ity of 17,000 litre for mitigat-
ing air pollution. Due to its
large water tank capacity,
this anti-smog gun has a con-
tinuous runtime of three
hours of non-stop water sup-
ply for spray reducing dead
mileage.
Besides, another anti-
smog gun/mist spray machine
was procured and being used
at Pt Pant Marg in the NDMC
area, it said.
Four mechanical road
sweepers (MRS) are already
working in two shifts for the
deep cleaning of road chan-
nels on the avenue roads in
the New Delhi area and they
are covering approximately
350 km of road length on a per
day basis, it added.
The NDMC also informed
that in the special cleanliness
drive, Swachhta teams are not
only sweeping the pavement
and roads by brooms but
also washing water to wash
the dust or other air pollution
elements daily.
Meanwhile, the civic body
has urged the visitors and peo-
ple of the New Delhi area to
play an important role in
controlling air pollution at an
individual level.
on 30th April, 2024. The Delhi
Police has been informed
and is investigating the case."
Meanwhile, it was on April
24, that a man's body was
found hanging from an under
construction flyover in Rohi-
ni's Aman Vihar, the police
had said.
Based on the initial find-
ings and inquiry the police said
it was suspected that it could
be a case of suicide, howev-
er the exact situation will be
ascertained after the probe
into the matter.
The deceased was iden-
tified as 35-year-old Harpreet,
who was found hanging from
the under construction UER-
II flyover.
A police team had reached
the spot soon after the infor-
mation was received and the
Fire Department was also
called, and later the body
was rescued and shifted to
Sanjay Gandhi Hospital,
where the man was declared
brought dead by the
doctors.
from 11 cities: Bengaluru,
Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai,
Mumbai, Bhopal, Lucknow,
Kohima, Itanagar, Ahmed-
abad and Delhi.
The winning team will
earn a ticket to the semifinals,
which will be held in Mum-
bai on 13th July. The finals of
the All-India K-pop Contest
2024 will be held at India
International Convention
Center, Delhi.
The Korean Culture Cen-
ter India (KCCI) also empha-
sized opening more schools
in India to teach Taekwondo
and Korean language.
Korea Creative Content
Agency (KOCCA), a non-prof-
it organization under the
Republic of Korea’s Ministry
of Culture, Sports, and
Tourism, has been the main
bridge to promote K-pop,
drama films, K-beauty, and
food in Korea and through-
out other countries.
agitated local leaders who
failed to get party tickets.
What do you have to say on
the BJP fielding Punjabi singer
Hans Raj Hans from the con-
stituency last time? No one
raised a finger in that party.
Unfortunately, there is indis-
cipline in the Congress which
needs to be addressed," he said.
Finally, what are his com-
ments on the party's tie-up with
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ?
Raj said the opposition
INDIA bloc is the answer to
fascist forces of the NDA gov-
ernment.
"We need to understand
that this tie-up is to save
democracy. There cannot be
a 100 per cent agreement on
everything, but we need to put
our best efforts to defeat the
divisive elements of the BJP,"
he added.
 NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, 01 MAY 2024 03
95.83 metric J&K BJP chief Raina formulates
tonnes of wheat
procured in
‘Law & order situation in Bengal is strategy to defeat NC,
Punjab: Chief Secy exactly what it was in UP before’ PDP on 3 LS seats in Kashmir
Our strong stand against the rioters has made Uttar Pradesh totally riot-free, said Yogi
AGENCIES
KOLKATA, 30 APRIL ‘When in Uttar
Pradesh the common

AGENCIES
CHANDIGARH, 30 APRIL
Out of 100.58 lakh metric tons
of wheat that arrived in grain
markets in Punjab, 95.83
lakh metric tons, or more than
95 per cent, has been pro-
cured, Chief Secretary Anurag
Verma said on Tuesday.
He said farmers have been
paid for the wheat with Rs
17,340.40 crore deposited
in their bank accounts.
At a meeting to review
the procurement process,
the Chief Secretary directed
that it must be ensured that
no farmer faces any kind of
issues in selling the produce.
A total of 132 lakh metric
tons of wheat is expected to
arrive in the mandis. For
lifting wheat out of the state,
27 special trains were plied.
T
he law & order situ-
ation in West Bengal
now is exactly what
it was in Uttar
Pradesh earlier, UP Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath
said on Tuesday.
“Uttar Pradesh was known
for regular riots and curfews
before. But for the last seven
years, there has been not
even a single event of curfew
or riot there. Everyone in
Uttar Pradesh, including
common people and busi-
nessmen is safe in Uttar
Pradesh. But what is hap-
pening in Bengal now which
has gifted the country with
the national song and nation-
al anthem? The law & order
situation in West Bengal now
is exactly what it was in Uttar
Pradesh before,” Adityanath
said while addressing a rally
at Baharampur in Murshid-
abad district of West Bengal.
He launched a scathing
attack on the Mamata Baner-
jee-led government for
allegedly not taking action
against those responsible
for triggering riots in the
state.
“Had this been in Uttar
Pradesh, I would have dealt
with the rioters in such a man-
ner that their next generation
would have forgotten the
definition of riots. Our strong
people are happy
enjoying the benefits
of the Centrally-
sponsored schemes,
the people here in
West Bengal are
being deprived of
these benefits.’
stand against the rioters has
made Uttar Pradesh totally
riot-free,” the UP Chief Min-
ister said.
He also said that the funds
sent by Prime Minister Naren- SP SHARMA Gayour, former MLC Moham-
dra Modi for different Cen- JAMMU, 30 APRIL mad Rafiq Shah and BJP dis-
trally-sponsored projects in trict presidents were among
the state are not reaching the The BJP is not contesting any those present in the meeting.
common people because of Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir, but Raina said that ''The NC,
the rampant corruption in the its J&K president Ravinder Congress and PDP demonised
state. Raina is in Srinagar formulating Kashmir and demeaned the
“When in Uttar Pradesh the strategy with friendly par- Kashmiris. They pushed the
the common people are ties to stop the National Con- Kashmiri youth to blood bath
happy enjoying the benefits ference (NC) and Peoples and darkened their future by
of the Centrally- sponsored Democratic Party (PDP) from giving stones and grenades in
schemes, the people here winning any of the three seats their hands. Kashmiri culture
in West Bengal are being of the valley and ''show the is known for one of the best
deprived of these benefits,” world that the people of Kash- hospitality gestures in the
CM Adityanath said. mir have chosen Modi’s devel- entire world, but these polit-
opment model and rejected ical parties created fear among
the hatred model of dynastic people outside the valley for

Uttarakhand Char-Dham Yatra: NDMA conducts
tabletop exercise to review preparations
AGENCIES
DEHRADUN, 30 APRIL
The National Disaster Man-
agement Authority (NDMA)
conducted a tabletop exercise
at the Secretariat auditorium
in Dehradun on Tuesday to
review the ongoing prepara-
tions for the upcoming Char-
Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand
on May 10.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami
held a meeting on Friday to
review preparations for Char
Dham Yatra 2024. During the
meeting, CM Dhami directed
officials to ensure proper
arrangements for electricity,
drinking water, and roads on
the travel routes during the Yatra.
He also emphasized that
security personnel deployed
on Yatra duty should be on alert
mode and to ensure that they
are given rest every six hours.
Arrangements for the stay of
drivers participating in the
Yatra were also discussed
during the meeting.
In addition, the Chief Min-
ister highlighted the impor-
tance of utilizing social media
to provide updates related
to Char Dham Yatra to pas-
sengers coming from out-
side and directed that direc-
tories related to the Yatra be
made available in different lan-
guages in hotels, guest hous-
es, and homestays.
The Char Dham Yatra, a pil-
grimage to four holy sites--
Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedar-
nath, and Badrinath--is a sig-
nificant journey for devotees.
The pilgrimage starts from
Yamunotri, proceeds towards
Gangotri, onto Kedarnath,
and finally ends at Badrinath,
following a clockwise direc-
tion. The high-altitude shrines
remain shut for around six
months every year, opening
in summer (April or May)
and closing with the onset of
winter (October or November).
Pilgrims can complete the
journey by road or by air,
with helicopter services avail-
able. Some devotees even
undertake a Do Dham Yatra,
visiting two shrines--Kedar-
nath and Badrinath--as per the
Uttarakhand tourism official
website.
Earlier, CM Dhami assured
the pilgrims on Friday that all
preparations had been made
for the Char Dham Yatra,
with around 16 lakh people
registered for the Yatra.
"We have assessed and
analyzed all the arrange-
ments. And whatever prepa-
rations were necessary, all
have been done. Wherever
there was a need for improve-
ment--roads, transport sys-
tem, parking, hotels, dhabas,
restaurants, and police traf-
fic system--all has been dis-
cussed. The number of pil-
grims in the Yatra is increas-
ing every year, so there should
be a good Yatra... till now
around 16 lakh people have
registered for the Yatra," he
said.
J&K: Heavy rain triggers landslides
in Poonch, several houses damaged
AGENCIES
POONCH, 30 APRIL
As the Kashmir valley has
been grappling with heavy rain
for the last couple of days, sev-
eral houses were damaged due
to landslides atBedar village
in the Mandi area of Poonch
on Tuesday.
There have been several
incidents of landslides in the
valley in recent days.
On Monday, torrential
rains triggered flash floods in
parts of Poonch and north-
ern Kashmir causing damages
to 8 to 10 buildings and roads.
Meanwhile, all schools
across Kashmir remained
closed on Tuesday in the
wake of incessant rains, flash
floods and landslides in sev-
eral areas.
The Kashmir University has
postponed exams that were
scheduled for Tuesday.
Natural calamities com-
pelled authorities to carry
out rescue operations in
affected areas.
Non-stop rains and snow-
fall have triggered landslides
and flash floods in several of
Jammu and Kashmir causing
damage to public infra-
structure and private prop-
erty. The Srinagar-Jammu
national highway was closed
on Monday due to landslides
at multiple places along the
highway. A large number of
vehicles are stranded along
the Highway.
Meanwhile, Kupwara dis-
trict in north Kashmir was cut
off from the rest of the Val-
ley due to flood waters inun-
dating roads and several vil-
lages have also been affect-
ed by floods.
parties''.
There are reports that the
BJP and its friendly parties are
supporting the Apni Party
candidates, Zafar Iqbal Man-
has and Mohammad Ashraf
Mir in the Anantnag-Rajouri
and Srinagar parliamentary
constituencies respectively.
They are also helping the Peo-
ples Conference (PC) chief
Sajad Lone in his campaign in
the Baramulla Lok Sabha con-
stituency.
NC vice-president Omar
Abdullah and PDP chief
Mehbooba Mufti are con-
testing the election from Bara-
mulla and Anantnag respec-
tively. Congress is supporting
the NC candidates in the elec-
tion.
A BJP spokesman said that
Ravinder Raina on Monday dis-
cussed the election strategy
with BJP activists in Kashmir
for the Anantnag-Rajouri, Sri-
nagar and Baramulla Lok
Sabha seats.
Sunil Sharma, former min-
ister and general secretary
and the BJP’s valley leaders
Rafiq Wani, Sofi Yusif, GM Mir,
Altaf Thakur, Dr Ali Mohd
Mir, Dr Farida Khan, Showket
their own selfish interests.''
He stressed that it was nec-
essary to stop these parties
from coming to power by
exposing the misdeeds of
these selfish organisations.
He asked the party leaders
and cadres from Kashmir to
work in these Parliamen-
tary elections to strengthen
democracy and ask the peo-
ple to vote to rule out the
dynastic politics and show
these parties that ''Kashmir
people have chosen the
development model of Modi
government, rejecting the
hatred model of NC, Con-
gress, and PDP''.
Raina said the BJP under
the leadership of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi has trans-
formed the lives of Kashmiri
youth. He said that the Modi
government has given pace to
the much anticipated and
desired development by the
locals. He said that now, the
big business houses are com-
ing to Kashmir, infrastruc-
ture is being developed and
peace is being established
thus putting the development
wheel on the track again in the
valley.

Punjab: Gold worth `63 L seized in
Jalandhar during search drive
AGENCIES
JALANDHAR, 30 APRIL
Jalandhar police seized gold
worth 60 lakhs during a search
drive under the Phillor police
station area, police said on
Tuesday.
According to the police, as
the Model Code of Conduct
is under effect following the
Lok Sabha polls, Jalandhar
police held a checking drive
and stopped a vehicle when
they recovered gold weigh-
ing around 1 kg.
Subsequently, the police
informed the GST depart-
ment after which Excise and
Taxation Officer (ETO) D S
Cheema took possession of
the gold and examined the
documents. Since the docu-
ments were not found to be
authentic, the gold was
deposited in the government
treasury.
Detailing about the inci-
dent D S Cheema said that
they are keeping an eye on tax
evaders and every anti-social
activity related to tax evasion.
He said, "Earlier also a
huge amount of gold worth
crores had been seized by
Mobile Wing Jalandhar and
even today gold worth lakhs
has been seized. Police of
Phillor police station stopped
a suspicious vehicle during
a checking drive. From which
they recovered gold. The per-
son sitting in the vehicle did
not have solid documents
related to the gold and the
police informed the GST
Mobile Wing, Jalandhar."
Further DS Cheema said,
"I reached the spot and took
possession of the vehicle and
gold and checked the docu-
ments which were not found
authentic and so the gold
was sealed and deposited in
the government treasury.
Value of the recovered gold
is around Rs 63 lakh. The Elec-
tion Commissioner and
Income Tax Department have
been informed in this regard."
During the preliminary
investigation, the driver of the
vehicle said that he had come
to Jalandhar to collect gold
from Delhi by showing the
designs of gold articles to
the traders and take orders.
But he did not have complete
documents related to the
gold, he said.
Himachal Pradesh: Atal Tunnel
opened to traffic after snow
clearance ops by BRO
AGENCIES
SPITI, 30 APRIL
The Border Roads Organisa-
tion (BRO) rescued stranded
tourists and their vehicles
and cleared the routes for
vehicular traffic near the Atal
Tunnel following snow clear-
ance operations, said an offi-
cial on Tuesday. "Due to
heavy snowfall along the Atal
tunnel yesterday the vehi-
cles and tourists got stuck.
However, BRO swung into
action clearing the route of
snow and rescuing the strand-
ed tourists. The road has
since been cleared and the
tunnel is open for traffic,"
posted Ministry of Defence
Principal Spokesperson Bharat
Bhushan Babu on X. Earlier
on Monday, Kullu district
police rescued more than
3500 tourists who were strand-
ed near the Atal tunnel at
Dhundhi in Kullu district
after heavy snowfall.
According to the Kullu Dis-
trict Police, more than 1,000
vehicles were stuck near the
South Portal due to the heavy
snowfall in the region.
"Today, due to fresh snow-
fall in the Dhundhi area, more
than 1,000 vehicles (6,000 peo-
ple and tourists) got stuck near
the South Portal of ATR, out of
which 600 vehicles (3,500
tourists) have been safely res-
cued," the Kullu police said. The
Machil sector of the Kupwara
district and the Bandipora dis-
tricts of Jammu and Kashmir
received a fresh bout of snow-
fall on Monday. Visuals in the
area showed snow-covered
trees and wires, displaying an
ethereal winter landscape,
while the region turned into a
winter wonderland with heavy
snow-covered vehicles, roads,
and streets.
‘CM Kejriwal is fine, getting insulin regularly’
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Punjab Chief Minister Bhag-
want Mann met his coun-
terpart Arvind Kejriwal in
Tihar jail on Tuesday, a prison
official said.
He arrived at Tihar at 12.30
p.m. and left the premises
around 1.10 p.m.
After meeting the incar-
cerated Delhi Chief Minister,
CM Mann, while talking to
reporters said that CM Kejri-
wal asked about the latest
developments in the health
and education spheres in
Punjab.
“He also enquired about
the board results in Punjab.
He has assured Delhiites that
he is fine and getting insulin
and medical check-ups reg-
ularly,” said CM Mann.
The Punjab Chief Minis-
ter said that CM Kejriwal has
urged everyone to go and
vote.
The meeting comes a day
after Sunita Kejriwal and
Delhi Minister Atishi met
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal in Tihar jail on Monday,
said a prison official.
CM Kejriwal, who was
arrested on March 21 by the
Enforcement Directorate (ED)
in the alleged excise scam, is
lodged in Tihar’s Jail No-2.
The jailed Delhi CM has
provided a list of six individ-
uals with whom he wants to
meet in prison.
The ED has termed CM
Kejriwal the "kingpin and
the key conspirator" of the
alleged excise scam in collu-
sion with other ministers of
the Delhi government, AAP
leaders, and other persons.

‘This is the result of your hard work and dedication’: Uttarakhand
CM Dhami congratulates students on successful Board results
AGENCIES
DEHRADUN, 30 APRIL
Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami con-
gratulated class 10, and 12 stu-
dents of the UK Board after
the announcement of results
on Tuesday.
Students will bring glory to
the state and the country in
the future, CM Dhami said.
In a post on X, Chief Min-
ister Dhami wrote, "Hearty
congratulations to all the stu-
dents who passed the High
School and Intermediate
examinations of Uttarakhand
Board of School Education
(UBSE). This is the result of
your hard work and dedica-
tion. I have full faith that you
will bring glory to the state and
the country in the times to
come."
The Chief Minister also
encouraged the students who
could not clear the exams, say-
ing that the exams are not the
final criterion for success in
life and that they could suc-
ceed again through hard work
A total of 2,10,354
candidates registered
for the Uttarakhand
Class 10th and 12th
exams in 2024, com-
prising 1,15,606 stu-
dents enrolled for
Class 10 and 94,748
for Class 12.
and dedication.
"Students who failed in
the exam should not be dis-
appointed, their parents are
requested not to put pressure
on the children but to support
them. This is not the final cri-
terion for success in life. All
of you can achieve success by
trying with full dedication
and hard work. Dear stu-
dents, best wishes to you for
a bright future!" read the post.
The Uttarakhand Board
of School Education (UBSE)
announced the Class 10 and
12 results on Tuesday, April
30 at 11:30 am.
The overall pass percent-
age was registered at 89.14 per
cent for UBSE Class 10 exam
2024, while the overall pass per-
centage in Class 12 stood at
82.63 per cent this year.
The UBSE 10th and 12th
board exams were conduct-
ed from February 27 to March
16, 2024, in offline mode in a
single shift from 10 am to 1 pm.
A total of 2,10,354 candi-
dates registered for the Uttarak-
hand Class 10th and 12th
exams in 2024, comprising
1,15,606 students enrolled
for Class 10 and 94,748 for Class
12.
SC dismisses plea filed by former IPS officer
Debasish Dhar challenging rejection of nomination
AGENCIES ed to give a walkover to the candidate of the
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL ruling Trinamool Congress.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashutosh
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed, Kumar Sharma said that “non-allowance to sub-
as withdrawn, the plea filed by former IPS offi- mit the nomination application and rejecting
cer Debasish Dhar, who was fielded by the BJP the same is arbitrary, whimsical and depicts a
from West Bengal's Birbhum Lok Sabha con- perfect example of high handedness of the return-
stituency, challenging the rejection of his ing officer, which is required to be put under
nomination papers. strict sanction".
Observing that the returning officer did
not act in any malafide manner, a bench
of Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan
said that entertaining a writ petition filed
directly before the apex court would stall
the election process.
Sensing the disinclination of the Bench
to entertain the plea, senior advocate Nid-
hesh Gupta, appearing for Dhar, sought
permission to withdraw the matter with
liberty to approach the Election Commission
of India (ECI).
In his petition filed under Article 32 of
the Constitution, Dhar, who has recent-
ly resigned from service to join politics,
contended that his nomination was reject-
04 NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024

Girls outshine boys in T’gana Class 10 board exam: Girls once again outshined boys in the Class 10 examinations in Telan-
gana, the results of which were declared on Tuesday. Out of 4,94,207 regular students, who appeared in the Secondary
School Certificate (SSC) public examinations held in March-April, 91.31 per cent cleared the exam. Principal Secretary (Edu-
‘Anyone toying with women's
cation) Burra Venkatesham said girls had secured a 3.81 higher pass percentage than boys. The pass percentage among
girls was 93.23 while it was 89.42 per cent among boys. A total of 5,05,813 students appeared in the exams held from
March 18 to April 2 at 2,676 exam centres across the state. The students included 11,606 private candidates. Venkate-
honour should not be spared’
sham said the pass percentage increased from 86.60 in 2023 to 91.31 in 2024. Among 33 districts, Nirmal topped the list
with 99.09 pass percentage. Siddipet stood second with 98.65 per cent and Sircilla third with 98.27 per cent. Vikarabad
PM Modi also promised to do more on women safety in his third term in office
district was the last with a 65.10 pass percentage. Hyderabad was at 30th place. A total of 8,883 students scored 10/10
GPA. Among different categories of schools, Gurukul schools topped with a 98.71 pass percentage. Zilla parishad govern- ANINDITA CHOWDHURY itics; third is encouraging
ment schools had a pass percentage of 91.31. As many as 3,927 schools scored cent per cent results. Six schools got zero HYDERABAD, 30 APRIL mafia and criminals, fourth
family oriented politics and

A
pass percentage and all six are private schools. The advanced supplementary exams will be held from June 3 to 13.
head of the second
phase of elections in
Karnataka, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday said those
who toy with the honour of
be resold after the issue of a women, notwithstanding their
LEGAL NOTICES fresh notification of sale.
6. For reasons recorded, it status, should not be spared.
shall be in the discretion of Addressing a rally at Zaheer-
the officer conducting the
sale to adjourn it subject abad in Telangana which is
always to the provisions of adjacent to Karnataka, he did
Rule 69 of Order XXI.
Given under my hand and
not mention JD(S) MP can-
the seal of the Court, in terms didate Prajwal Revanna, but
of orders dated 22-02-2024 & took the high moral ground
10-04-2024.
ASSISTANT REGISTRAR (O) claiming that while Congress
for REGISTRAR GENERAL prioritizes their vote bank
GM
over women’s safety, BJP puts
it above all.
PUBLIC He also promised to do
NOTIFICATIONS more on women safety in his
My name is recorded as third term in office.“Any per-
Navrattan in my service book son, whoever he is, how big
record, which is wrong. My
correct name is Norton Singh. he is, if he plays with the hon-
In future know me as Norton our of women he should not
Singh S/o Rish Pal Singh. be spared,” said the Prime Min-
ister. Then taking a dig at the
Congress government in Kar-
nataka he added “Under Con-
gress rule, not only are
women’s rights endangered
but so is their safety. When it
comes to choosing between
women’s safety and the vote
bank Congress prioritizes the
latter. In contrast BJP priori-
tizes women’s safety and
respect above all else.”
The Prime Minister
launched a stringent attack on
the Congress, particularly on
including Muslims in reser-
vation for OBCs. Accusing the
Opposition party of strength-
ening their vote bank (read
Muslims) he said the Congress
stole the rights of SC, ST and
OBC through the backdoor. He
said though Lingayats and
Marathas were among the 26
castes that aspired to be includ-
ed in OBC list they were ignored
but the Muslims were made
OBCs overnight.
“But I want them to know,
till the time I am alive, I will
not let them give the reser-
vation meant for Dalits, SCs,
Sts and OBCs to the Muslims
in the name of religion,” thun-
dered the Prime Minister.
The Congress not only insult-
ed the country’s Constitu-
tion it even dumped its party
constitution in the dustbin, cit-
ing how its own party presi-
dent Sitaram Kesri was
dumped by the party.
Attacking the Congress
further he said, “ Whenever
Congress is in power its pol-
itics has five symbols. First –
fake slogans and fake prom-
ises, second is vote bank pol-
fifth is corruption. Congress
hand (electoral symbol) is
made of these five fingers. Now
in Telangana are also feeling
the palm of Congress,” he
said in a dig at the government
in Telangana.
The Prime Minister also
accused the Revanth Reddy led
government of extorting
money from the people of
Telangana and sending the
black money over to Delhi, call-
ing it a “RR” (Revanth Reddy-
Rahul Gandhi) tax.
He also said Congress and
BRS were part of the same “cor-
ruption racket” since the BRS
was found to be connected
with the Delhi Liquor Scam and
without naming AAP he indi-
cated that the party with
which it was linked was now
in alliance with the Congress.
He also said the Ram temple
was the testament to the
power of a strong, decisive and
patriotic government.
He accused Congress of
hampering the Ramnavami
procession in Hyderabad so
that its vote bank does not get
annoyed and also putting
roadblocks on the central
government’s projects.

Spat between KCR and Revanth over

(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Neha Chand, Civil Judge
(Junior Division), Gurugram
CNR No. :
HRGR02-001509-2024
Next Date : 05-07-2024
ANGURI DEVI
Vs
GENERAL PUBLIC
PUBLICATION ISSUED TO :
GENERAL PUBLIC :
GURUGRAM
In above titled case, the
defendant(s)/respondent(s)
could not be served. It is
ordered that defendant(s) /
respondent(s) should appear
in person or through counsel
on 05-07-2024 at 10:00 a.m.
For details logon to
https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?t
rs=district_notice&dis-
trict=Gurugram
Civil Judge (Junior Divi-
sion), Gurugram
Dated, this day of 23-04-2024
Seal of the Court
(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
IN THE COURT OF
Dr. Gagan Geet Kaur,
Principal Judge
(Family Court), Gurugram
CNR No. :
HRGR01-012654-2022
Next Date : 31-05-2024
LALMUNI KUMARI KAUSHIK
Vs
ASHWANI KUMAR KAUSHIK
PETITION U/S 13(1)(IA)(IB)
OF HINDU MARRIAGE ACT
PUBLICATION ISSUED TO :
Ashwani Kumar Kaushik
S/o Sh. Har Swaroop Kaushik,
R/o H. No. 447, Chirag Delhi,
Malviya Nagar, Malviya Nagar
South, Delhi-110017
In above titled case, the
defendant(s)/respondent(s)
could not be served. It is
ordered that defendant(s) /
respondent(s) should appear
in person or through counsel
on 31-05-2024 at 10:00 a.m.
For details logon to
https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?t
rs=district_notice&dis-
trict=Gurugram
Principal Judge (Family
Court), Gurugram
Dated, this day of 26-04-2024
Seal of the Court
(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
(Succession Case)
IN THE COURT OF
Meenakshi Gupta,
Additional Civil Judge
(Senior Division), Phillaur
CNR No. :
PBJLB0-000210-2024
Next Date : 28-05-2024
SIRJIT SINGH SANDHU S/O
BHAJAN SINGH AND ORS
Vs
GENERAL PUBLIC
NOTICE TO : GENERAL PUB-
LIC
In above titled case, the
defendant(s)/respondent(s)
could not be served. It is
ordered that defendant(s) /
respondent(s) should appear
in person or through counsel
on 28-05-2024 at 10:00 a.m.
For details logon to
https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?t
rs=district_notice&dis-
trict=Jalandhar
Additional Civil Judge
(Senior Division), Phillaur
Dated, this day of 20-04-2024
Seal of the Court
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Rajesh Kumar Singh,
District Judge (Commercial
Court)-06, Room No. 23,
Block-I, South-East District,
Saket Court Complex,
New Delhi
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
CPC.)
CS (COMM) NO. : 935/2023
BANK OF INDIA
-Plaintiff
Vs
MR. MOHD. IMRAN & ORS.
-Defendants
TO,
D-1 MR. MOHD. IMRAN
S/O SH. MOHD. YASEEN
R/O H. NO. 8-B, APNA HOS-
PITAL, MOLARBAND EXTN.
BADARPUR, NEW DELHI-
110044.
D-2 SH. MOHD. YASEEN, R/O
FLAT NO. 401-B, C-310/311,
LOTUS APARTMENT, SHAHEEN
BAGH, NEW DELHI-110025.
D-3 SH. SHAH FAISAL, R/O
FLAT NO. 401-B, C-310/311,
LOTUS APARTMENT, SHAHEEN
BAGH, NEW DELHI-110025.
Whereas Plaintiff has insti-
tuted that above Suit FOR
RECOVERY against the defen-
dants. You are hereby sum-
moned to appear in this Court
in person or by a pleader on
the 17th day of MAY 2024, at
10:00 O' clock, to answer the
same, failing which the Suit
will be disposed of ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the court, this
25th April, 2024.
NOTE : Defendant is
informed to file WS within a
period of 30 days from the
date of receipt of summons
with advance copy to the
plaintiff and filling of WS in
commercial suit in 120 days
period is mandatory and no
extension can be granted.
District Judge (Commer-
cial Court)-06, Block-I,
South-East District, Saket
Court Complex, New Delhi
Seal of the Court
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Medha Arya,
Administration Civil Judge-
cum-Additional Rent
Controller (Central),
Room No. 113, 1st Floor,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi
RC ARC / 788/2023
PANCHAYAT VAISH AGGAR-
WAL
CHHATTA MADAN GOPAL.
DELHI (REGD)
Vs
HEM CHAND & ORS.
To,
Sh. Sanjay Kumar S/o Late
Jamuna Prasad, R/o 1139,
Chata Madan Gopal Mali-
wara, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-
110006
-Respondent
WHEREAS the Petitoner has
filed an application for your
eviction from MUNICIPAL No-
One Shop on the Ground Floor
in part of premises No. 1139,
Chhatta Madan Gopal, Mali-
wara, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-
110006 here insert the par-
ticulars of the premises on the
ground specified in clause
(e) of the proviso to sub-sec-
tion (1) of section14.
You are hereby summoned
to appear before the Con-
troller within fifteen days of
the service thereof and to
obtain the leave of the Con-
troller to contest the appli-
cation for eviction on the
ground aforesaid in default
whereof, the applicant will
be entitled at any time after
the expiry of the said period
of fifteen days to obtain an
order for your evicion form the
said premises.
Leave to appear and contest
the application may be
obtained on an application
to the controller supported by
an affidavit as refeered to in
sub-section (5) of section
25(3).
Given under my hand and
the seal of the Court on day
29-04-2024.
Administration Civil
Judge-cum-Additional Rent
Controller (Central),
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi
Seal of the Court
A-6269
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
DELHI AT NEW DELHI
PROCLAMATION OF SALE
Execution Petition No.
37 of 2023
(Arising out of Judgment /
Decree dated 11-10-2022
passed in CS (OS) No.
60/2021)
AMIT JAIN
-Decree Holder
Vs
JINESH JAIN & ORS.
-Judgment Debtors
To,
The General Public
Whereas the above noted
execution petition has been
filed by the aforesaid Decree
Holder in terms of the Decree
dated 11-10-2022 passed in
CS(OS) 60/2021 and where-
as this Court has ordered to
sell the property bearing No.
Plot No. 56, land area meas-
uring 300 sq. yds., Block B-2,
Ashok Vihar, Phase-II, Wazir-
pur, New Delhi-110052 by Pub-
lic Auction on 03-07-2024 from
12:30 PM to 04:30 PM of the
aforesaid property by Court
Auctioneer/Local Commis-
sioner, namely, Mr. Sanjeev
Mahajan, (Email : san-
jeevmahajan11@gmail.com)
(M : 9811156437) on 03-07-
2024 from 12:30 PM to 04:30
PM. Interested participants
of the auction of suit proper-
ty can contact to the Local
Commissioner. The Detail of
the property mentioned below
for realization of the amount
shown herein above are as
under : -
shortage of water and electricity
SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY
The property bearing No. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE inghisbesttospreadwronginfor-
Plot No. 56, Land Area Mea-
suring 300 sq. yds., Block B-2, HYDERABAD, 30 APRIL mation about Osmania Uni-
Ashok Vihar, Phase- II, Wazir- versity. Even in May 2023 when
pur, New Delhi-110052. Telangana Chief Minister A KCR was the chief minister,
DATE OF AUCTION
03-07-2024 from 12:30 PM Revanth Reddy and his pred- the chief warden of the university
to 04:30 PM ecessor and BRS supremo K issued a similar notice regard-
RESERVE PRICE
Rs. 19 Crore Chandrasekhar Rao were caught ing the closure of hotels and
Date & time of inspection of in a row over the closure of hos- messes for a month (12.05.2023
the suit property by the
prospective buyers.
tels at Osmania University due to 5.06.2023) in connection
27-05-2024, 28-05-2024 & to shortage of water and elec- with summer vacations. It also
29-05-2024 between 10:00 AM tricity. mentioned about the short-
to 05:00 PM
Date of return of publication While the former chief min- drought like conditions during of Osmania University chief age of electricity and power,”
20-05-2024 ister cited a notice of the war- this particularly scorching sum- warden confirms that all their said Reddy in a post on ‘X’. Reddy
CONDITIONS OF SALE
The sale of property shall be den of the Osmania university mer. Rao took to his new ‘X’ han- claims were farce.'' also slammed the BRS supre-
subject to usual terms and announcing the closure of hos- dle to accuse the Congress gov- An angry Revanth Reddy mo saying this was the height
conditions mentioned in rel-
evant rules of Order XXI,
tels and mess due to power and ernment of misleading the peo- lashed out at KCR accusing of KCR’s depravity, for spread-
water scarcity in order to accuse ple about the water and power him of spreading misinforma- ing canards that the universi-
including Rule 82 to 96 and
including but not limited to Reddy of misleading people crisis apart from raising the tion while citing a similar notice ty was closed as soon as Con-
the following: -
1. The sale of the property about the crisis, the incum- issue during electioneering. issued by the warden of the gress came. A few days back KCR
will be in one lot. The property bent chief minister retaliated He wrote,''Telangana chief Osmania University in the pre- had written that there were
is being sold on "as is where
is" basis. The amount by
pointing out that similar notices minister and deputy chief min- vious year. frequent power cuts when he
which the biddings are to be wereissuedlastyearaswellwhen ister were misleading the peo- “If you see KCR, it will seem had gone to the residence of BRS
increased shall be determined KCR was still the chief minis- ple on power, irrigation and that Goebbels has been born candidate of Mahabubnagar
by the officer conducting the
same. In the event of any dis- ter. drinking water supply inthestate again ...Yesterday in Suryapet which was denied by the power
pute arising as to the amount Telangana is reeling under for the past four months. Notice and Mahbubnagar, he was try- supply company TSSPDCL.
bid, or as to bidder, the plot
shall at once again be put to
auction.
2. The highest bidder shall
be declared to be the pur-
chaser of the scheduled prop-
erty, provided always that
JD(S) suspends ex-PM Deve Gowda’s
grandson Prajwal Revanna
he is legally qualified to bid,
and provided that it shall be
in the discretion of the Court
or officer holding the sale to
decline acceptance of the
highest bid when the price AGENCIES ident H.D. Deve Gowda and the sex videos of hundreds of
offered appears so clearly HUBBALLI, 30 APRIL he has also been requested to women allegedly involving
inadequate as to make it
advisable to do so. take a call on expelling Prajwal Prajwal Revanna came into cir-
3. The person declared to be The JD(S) on Tuesday sus- Revanna," he said. culation three days before the
purchaser shall deposit 15%
of the highest auction price pended Prajwal Revanna, the Kumaraswamy lashed out first phase of polling on April
through Demand Draft / NDA candidate from the Has- at the state government for 26. Following the complaint
Cheque in the name of the san Lok Sabha constituency in dragging Prime Minister to the State Women’s Com-
Registrar General, Delhi High
Court. The balance amount of Karnataka and former Prime Narendra Modi’s name into the mission in this regard, the
the purchase-money shall be Minister Deve Gowda’s grand- matter. “Why is the Congress state government formed an
deposited by the purchaser
with the Registrar General, son, over his alleged involve- government taking Prime Min- SIT to probe the matter.
Delhi High Court within ment in a sex scandal. ister Modi’s name here? Let Meanwhile, Prajwal Revan-
fifteen days.
4. In default of payment of
Speaking to reporters here, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah na has left the country and is
former Chief Minister and The decision was taken in be reminded about the tragedy in an undisclosed location. His
the balance of purchase-
money within the period JD(S) state President H.D. the core committee meeting his family suffered. Prime father JD(S) MLA H.D. Revan-
allowed, the deposit, after
defraying the expenses, of Kumaraswamy said that if he of the JD(S) held in Hubballi Minister Modi had protected na has said that "no matter
the sale, may, if the court is proven guilty in the probe city. The Core Committee the respect of his family then. where he is, if the SIT summons
thinks fit, be forfeited and
the defaulting purchaser shall
being conducted by the Spe- Chairperson, JD(S) MLA G.T. This is the gift he is giving to him, he will attend the probe".
forfeit all claims to the prop- cial Investigation Team (SIT) Deve Gowda stated that the sus- Prime Minister Modi for pro- The matter has taken a polit-
erty or to any part of the sum
for which it may be subse-
set up by the state government, pension of Prajwal Revanna was tecting the honour of his fam- ical turn ahead of the second
Prajwal Revanna would be made as per the decision of the ily,” Kumaraswamy stated phase of polling in Karnata-
quently sold.
5. In default of payment of expelled permanently from party. "The decision has been without giving details. ka scheduled on May 7 for 14
the balance of purchase-
money within the period the party. conveyed to the National Pres- The pen drive containing Lok Sabha seats.
allowed, the property shall

CHANGE OF
NAME Maoists and security forces TENDER
I, Mahendra Kumar Kumai,
S/o. Late Ram Kanta Shar-
exchange gunfire in Wayanad
KOLKATA statesmanbbsr@gmail.com 560025. ma, R/o. Chandmari, P.O. /
P.S.: Kurseong, do hereby STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Statesman House, Delhistatesman@gmailcom Tel. : 9212192123 affirm that I am known as
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 30
4, Chowringhee Square SILIGURI Email: Mahendra Kumar Kumai in
delhistatesman@gmail.com my service record and I am APRIL
Kolkata-700 001 Spencer Plaza, 18/19, 1st known as Ganesh Sharma in
bangalore@thestatesmangroup.com my locality and my wards
M- 7980388433, 9830045650 Floor The Thunderbolt comman-
MUMBAI have also adopted this name
Email: Burdwan Road in their educational testimo- dos of the Kerala police and
Delhistatesman@gmailcom Above Vishal Mega Mart 5, Kasturi Buildings, Jamshedji nials. Thus Mahendra Kumar
Maoists exchanged gunfire in
Tata Road, Mumbai-400 020 Kumai and Ganesh Sharma
statesmandisplay@gmail.com Siliguri-734005, West Bengal are the name of same and the interiors of a forest area at emphasised that decades of
thestatesmanclassified@gmail.com Ph.: 9832082429 M-9212192123 one identical person vide Kambamala near Thalappuzha democracy had failed to bring
sil_statesman@yahoo.co.in Tel : (022) 35775450, affidavit sworn before the
DELHI Executive Magistrate at in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tues- about significant changes in
Delhistatesman@gmailcom Email:
Statesman House, delhistatesman@gmail.com
Kurseong dated 10-09-2010. day morning. people's lives and advocated
148, Barakhamba Road, HYDERABAD Labourers working in the armed uprisings as the only
mumbai@thestatesmangroup.com
New Delhi-110 001 The Statesman Limited, nearby tea estates reported viable solution. Following this,
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https://epaper.thestatesman.com

Tel: (011) 2331 5911, 43043793
Delhistatesman@gmailcom
Hiten Rathore
LUCKNOW
2nd Floor, UNI Building, hearing nine rounds of gunshots the Thunderbolt squad was
2/2, Butler Palace (Near Jopling from the forest, where the deployed in the area to carry
A.C. Guards, Hyderabad-500004,
Road), Lucknow-226 001, Thunderbolt commandos had out search operations. These
Mob: 9866323009, 9212192123
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hiten.statesman@gmail.com Email: delhistatesman@gmail.com operations for the last few encounter with the Maoists.
Mob: 9212192123 delhistatesman@gmail.com RANCHI days. Police sources said that In September last year, a
BHUBANESWAR hyderabad@thestatesmangroup.com 11/C, Road#1, Ashoknagar, the Maoists first opened fire on gang of Maoists forcefully
Plot 3A, Zone B, Sector A, Ranchi - 834 002
BANGALORE the Thunderbolt search squad, entered the office of the Man-
Mancheswar Industrial Estate, M-9212192123 Email:
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A day ahead of the Lok er of the forest development
M- 09438838880
Sabha elections last week, a corporation at Kambanmala.
AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1 group of four Maoists, led by The five-member armed gang
All other stations in India - Re. 1 CP Moideen, arrived at Kam- ransacked the office in a show
banmala and urged the peo- of solidarity with the workers
ple to boycott the polls. They before leaving.

THUMBNAILS
Four killed, 35 hurt in
bus-truck collision: At least
4 passengers were killed
and 35 others injured,
including 9 critically, when
a state transport bus they
were travelling collided
with a truck on the Mum-
bai-Agra Highway in Maha-
rashtra's Nashik on Tues-
day morning, officials said.
Among the dead are 2
men, a woman and a 14-
year-old boy who were
killed instantly in the acci-
dent that occurred on the
outskirts of Chandwad
town around 9.45 a.m. The
Maharashtra State Road
Transport Corporation
(MSRTC) bus was en route
from Bhusawal in Jalgaon
district to Nashik town
and the crash is said to
have occurred when it
tried to overtake a goods
truck on the highway. So
severe was the crash that
more than half of the left
front portion of the ST
bus was crushed and
ripped apart by the
impact, trapping many of
the victims sitting there,
said the official. The local
police and fire brigade
were summoned for help
and rushed the injured
passengers to the Chand-
wad government hospital.
Congress ploy to manipulate public opinion:
CM Sai on doctored video on Amit Shah
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
RAIPUR, 30 APRIL
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister
Vishnu Deo Sai vehemently
denounced a distorted video
circulating on social media
allegedly attributing inflam-
matory remarks to BJP stal-
wart Amit Shah.
The video purportedly fea-
tures Union Home Minister
Shah advocating the abolition
of reservations. CM Sai called
the video a deliberate attempt
by the Congress party to
manipulate public opinion.
In a statement shared on
his official social media chan-
nels, Sai expressed his dismay
at what he termed as a con-
certed effort by the Congress
party to tarnish the image of
its political adversaries.
He attributed the doc-
tored video to a desperate ploy
to gain political advantage.
Ten Maoists killed in
encounter in Chhattisgarh
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
RAIPUR, 30 APRIL
Ten Maoists were killed in a
fierce encounter with the
District Reserve Guard (DRG)
and Special Task Force (STF)
personnel on Tuesday morn-
ing in the Abhujmarh area of
the Narayanpur district near
the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra
border.
Among the deceased are
three female Maoist insurgents
whose bodies have been
recovered from the scene
along with a cache of arms and
Congress a 'sinking ship', no power can save it: Rajnath Singh in Madhya Pradesh
AGENCIES
KHANDWA, 30 APRIL
Congress is a "sinking ship"
with a hole in the bottom, and
no power in the world can
stop it from sinking, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh said
on Tuesday.
He was addressing pub-
lic meetings in Khandwa and
Badwani district of Madhya
Pradesh.
In a veiled dig at the Gand-
hi family, the Defence Min-
ister said, "After independ-
ence, Mahatma Gandhi said
as democracy has been estab-
lished in the country, it is the
time to dissolve Congress, but
the leaders of Congress
ignored Mahatma Gandhi's
Modi to BJP candidates: Expose
Cong's appeasement politics
The PM said that the BJP govt brought about many positive changes in every section of society
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
C
alling the ongoing
Lok Sabha elections
a significant
moment to get rid of
the hardships endured dur-
ing the decades-long Congress
rule, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi has personally writ-
ten a letter to the BJP candi-
dates ahead of the third
phase, urging them and the
party workers to spread
awareness about Congress'
"politics of division and
appeasement" during their
election campaigns.
"I urge you to sensitise vot-
ers against the divisive and
discriminatory intentions of
the Congress party and its Indi
Alliance. They intend to give
reservation to their vote bank
by snatching it away from the
SC, ST and OBC communi-
ties, even though reservation
based on religion is uncon-
stitutional," PM Modi wrote
in his letter.
"They are bent on snatch-
ing away people's hard-
Emphasising the gravity of
such an action, CM Sai said
the divisive tactics aimed at
marginalised communities
would not be tolerated under
his administration.
Drawing attention to the
alleged manipulation of the
Union home minister's
speech, he accused the Con-
gress party of resorting to
unethical editing to sow dis-
cord and mislead the public.
He cautioned against
ammunition including an
AK-47 and explosives.
The police received intel-
ligence about the presence of
a large number of Maoist
insurgents in the Tekameta
area of Abhujmarh. Acting on
this tipoff, security forces
conducted a search operation
late on Monday night. On
reaching the area on Tuesday
morning, they came under
heavy fire from the Maoists.
In the ensuing exchange of fire,
ten Maoists were neutralised.
Efforts are on to identify
the slain Maoists believed to
request."
"I think the people of this
country have made up their
mind to fulfil what Mahatma
Gandhi said about Congress,
and they (people) will wipe
out Congress from the coun-
try," he said.
He also praised the BJP
government for bringing "25
crore" people out of pover-
ty in the last 10 years.
"Jawaharlal Nehru, Indi-
ra Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and
Manmohan Singh, all of them
committed to ending pover-
ty, but all of them failed. But
the Modi government was
able to bring 25 crore peo-
ple out of poverty," he added.
On the allegations lev-
elled by Opposition of
earned money and giving it
to their vote bank. Congress
has also made it clear that they
will support dangerous ideas
like 'inheritance tax'. The
country will have to unite to
stop them," he added.
PM Modi mentioned that
derogatory remarks targeting
tribal, backward, and Dalit
communities, underscoring
the need for responsible and
respectful discourse.
Sai also criticised the Con-
gress party's historical stance
against reservations, partic-
ularly concerning margin-
alised groups. He condemned
what he perceived as hypocrisy
within the grand old party,
highlighting its support to
reservations for certain com-
be high-ranking cadres of
the Maoist organisation.
Along with the bodies, a cache
of weapons including AK-47
rifles, INSAS rifles, and a sig-
nificant amount of ammu-
nition and explosives were
seized from the Maoist camp.
It's worth noting that this
encounter comes just weeks
after a similar clash in Kanker
district on April 16, where
security forces engaged in a
five-hour-long encounter
with Maoists, resulting in the
elimination of 29 insurgents.
Chhattisgarh's Home Min-
ister, Vijay Sharma, com-
mended the efforts of the
DRG and STF personnel
involved in the encounter. He
appealed to the Maoists to
abandon violence and return
to the mainstream with a
promise of a peaceful rein-
tegration process for those
who choose to surrender.
'Democracy under threat'
amid the developments in
Surat and Indore, the Defence
Minister pointed out that
the Congress candidate was
his government has, during
the last 10 years, brought
about many positive changes
in every section of society.
"Every vote that BJP gets
is a vote to accelerate its
efforts to form a strong gov-
ernment and make India
munities while neglecting
others.
He called for accountability
for the action and appealed
for widespread condemnation
of such actions.
The video has sparked
intense debate amid the ongo-
ing Lok Sabha elections. In
conversation with The States-
man, Chhattisgarh journal-
ist Suman Pandey said the
controversy highlights the
importance of safeguarding
the rights of all marginalised
communities and uphold-
ing principles of social justice.
He said it serves as a stark
reminder of the influence of
social media in shaping pub-
lic opinion, underscoring the
responsibility that comes
with it. As the debate con-
tinues, political leaders need
to engage in constructive
dialogue and refrain from
divisive tactics.
Rahul Gandhi lambasts BJP government in MP
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHOPAL, 30 APRIL
With a copy of the Constitu-
tion in his hand, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi said on
Tuesday that whatever the
poor and downtrodden of
the country have received
after independence is thanks
to this book, and alleged that
'' the BJP is planning to tear
off the country’s Constitution
if Narendra Modi becomes the
Prime Minister again''.
Addressing a huge election
rally at Bhind in Madhya
Pradesh, Gandhi assured that
if the Congress and INDI
Alliance form the govern-
ment in these Lok Sabha
polls they would make one
woman from each poor fam-
ily a ‘lakhpati’, provide MSP
to farmers, give apprentice-
ship to youths, permanent jobs
and pension even in the pri-
vate sector and fill up 30 lakh
vacant posts in the govern-
elected unopposed 20 times
in the past.
Earlier on Monday, Akshay
Kanti Bam, the Congress
candidate from the Indore
developed by the year 2047.
The encouraging trends of the
first two phases of elections
show that the people of India
are moving forward in this
election with a strong inten-
tion of supporting our vision,"
he said.
Omar suspends his election campaign,
visits flood-hit areas of Handwara
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, 30 APRIL
National Conference (NC)
vice-president Omar Abdul-
lah on Tuesday suspended his
election campaign and visit-
ed the flood-hit area of north
Kashmir's Handwara in the
Kupwara district to take stock
of the situation.
The flood affected areas of
Kupwara are part of the Bara-
mulla Lok Sabha constituency
where Omar is the NC can-
didate.
According to official
reports, five villages in Hand-
wara were fully inundated, sev-
eral bridges and other infra-
structure projects damaged
due to flash floods triggered
due to incessant rain on Mon-
day. Fifty one other villages
are partly inundated.
More than 336 families
from the flood-affected areas
ment jobs.
He said the Congress would
launch the ‘Mahalaxmi
Yojana’ through which women
would get Rs 8,500 per month.
He said the Congress gov-
ernment would be the first in
the world to guarantee one
year’s job to each graduate
through its paid apprentice-
ship scheme.
Gandhi accused PM Modi
parliamentary seat withdrew
his nomination.
Before this, Mukesh Dalal
won the election "unop-
posed" a day after the nom-
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024
Writing to the BJP candi-
dates, including several Cab-
inet ministers, the PM high-
lighted their journey in pol-
itics and the work that they
have done over the past few
years.
"At a very young age, you
became the leader of
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Mor-
cha and have worked for the
organisation in various posi-
tions. Coming from a middle-
class farmer family, you have
been connected with your vot-
ers," he wrote in his letter to
Health and Family Welfare
Minister Mansukh Man-
daviya.
PM Modi also asked the
party workers to encourage
people to come out in large
numbers and vote.
"Concentrate on winning
the booth. To win in the par-
liamentary constituency, it is
necessary that we ensure
victory at every booth. Also,
amidst all this, I request my
fellow party workers to take
care of their own health and
the health of the people
around them," he stated.
have been evacuated to safe
places, the report said.
Atleast five people, includ-
ing three children, were killed
due to landslides and light-
ening at various places across
J&K on Monday.
Abdullah said; “Due to
non-stop rainfall in the last
few days, in many areas, del-
uge has arrived. There are
reports that water has entered
several residences causing
loss to people. Seeing the
worsening situation in many
regions, I halted my cam-
paign, spoke to my partners
of faulty decisions like GST,
demonetization and Agniveer
scheme. He said the Agniveer
scheme is a humiliation for
those who join the armed
forces because the govern-
ment does not recognize
them as martyrs and does not
provide pension or any other
facilities.
He said the PM only works
to benefit a handful of bil-
ination of the party's Surat
Lok Sabha candidate was
rejected on Sunday over
alleged discrepancies in the
signature of the proposers.
"The Surat Lok Sabha BJP
candidate has been elected
unopposed. The Congress
candidate from Indore has
resigned from Congress and
is supporting the BJP. This is
the affection of people
towards the BJP. But Congress
says the BJP is a threat to
democracy. Congress can-
didates have been elected
unopposed 20 times, then
there was no threat to democ-
racy?" Rajnath asserted.
Singh, during his address,
compared Prime Minister
Narendra Modi with Ahilyabai
Jaishankar discusses
global situation
with UAE minister
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
India and the UAE on Tues-
day exchanged perspectives
on the regional and global sit-
uation against the backdrop
of the ongoing conflict in
West Asia.
Visiting UAE Minister of
State for International Coop-
eration Reem Al Hashimy
met External Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar as the two min-
isters discussed further steps
in the bilateral comprehen-
sive strategic partnership.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary
and decided to arrive here to
take stock of the situation. A
comprehensive flood man-
agement programme is
required to be prepared for
this region. It won't happen
overnight, but it needs to be
done and will do so.”
He visited Cello Sopore,
Chogal Handwara, Kulangam
and Kupwara where he met
the flood hit victims and told
them that they were not alone
in this adversity.
Abdullah called for a com-
prehensive flood manage-
ment programme and said the
losses suffered during the
2014 floods in Kashmir seem
to have been forgotten.
Peoples Conference (PC)
chief and party’s candidate for
Baramulla, Sajad Lone also vis-
ited the flood hit Bungam-Lan-
gate area to firsthand assess
the damage caused by the dev-
astating floods.
lionaires and 90 per cent of
the country’s wealth today is
in the hands of such people.
He charged that Modi waived
off Rs 16 lakh crore worth loans
of such rich people but did
not waive off a single penny
from the farmers’ loans.
Gandhi alleged that the BJP
was totally against reservation
and all its schemes and works
were a clear indication towards
Holkar, who took the reigns
of the Holkar dynasty after
her husband's demise and
played an important role in
the protection of cultural
heritage in Malwa.
"Modi ji is also doing the
same what Ahilyabai Holkar
had done. He ensured the
construction of Ujjain
Mahakaal Corridor, Kashi
Vishwanath Corridor, and
Ram Mandir in Ayodhya," he
added.
Asserting for 'One Nation
One Election', he said assem-
bly elections were held around
four months back and now
within a short duration, again
the general elections are
happening.
"I want to say there should
05
Vinay Kwatra met the UAE
minister and reviewed the
entire gamut of multifaceted
bilateral ties.
In a post on X, Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA) official
spokesperson Randhir Jaisw-
al stated, "Foreign Secretary
Vinay Kwatra met MoS (Inter-
national Cooperation)
@mofauae Reem Al Hashimy
in New Delhi today. They
reviewed the entire gamut of
our multi-faceted bilateral
relations, and discussed
avenues to further deepen the
India-UAE Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership."
Earlier this month, Foreign
Minister Jaishankar said that
in the last 10 years, the per-
ception of India has changed
to quite an extent in the Gulf
country.
Speaking at the South
Gujarat Chamber of Com-
merce -- Corporate Summit
2024 in Surat on Monday, he
said, "In the last 10 years, the
perception about India has
changed in the UAE. They
signed a free trade agree-
ment with us and today the
trade with the UAE has reached
about 80 billion dollars."
Lone emphasised the
urgent need for immediate
relief efforts to support the
affected communities. He
also met with flood-affected
families, expressing solidar-
ity and support.
He also visited Lokipora
and Malbagh areas in Qazi-
abad Langate witnessing the
aftermath of the floods. He
urged the administration to
extend all possible help and
support to the affected com-
munities in this area.
During his visit to Kul-
toora, Lone said that urgent
assistance was crucial to
ensure their safety and well-
being. He impressed on party
cadres to stand together with
affected families and sup-
port those in need.
He also visited Gund
Chogul where families are
grappling with the devasta-
tion caused by the floods.
that fact.
He said that at the Ram
Temple consecration cere-
mony in Ayodhya, there were
actors, players, rich people and
politicians but there was no
farmer or adivasi and even the
tribal President of the coun-
try was neither invited to the
event nor to the inauguration
of the new Parliament build-
ing. The Congress leader
asserted that these Lok Sabha
polls are being contested
between two ideologies. He
said the Congress and INDI
alliance want to safeguard the
country’s Constitution while
PM Modi and the BJP want
to destroy it.
Congress candidate from
Bhind is Phool Singh Baraiya,
who is also the sitting MLA
from the assembly seat. He
is up against BJP’s Sandhya
Rai. Bhind is a constituency
reserved for the Scheduled
Caste and would go to polls
in the third phase on 7 May.
be a single election every
five years. And I assure you
that next time both the elec-
tions will happen together and
we will do whatever we can
do for it," he added.
Lok Sabha polls in Mad-
hya Pradesh are being con-
ducted in four phases. The
first two phases concluded
on April 19 and April 26. The
counting of votes will be
held on June 4.
Madhya Pradesh has a
total of 29 Lok Sabha con-
stituencies, making it the
sixth-largest state in terms of
parliamentary representa-
tion.
In 2019, BJP won 28 out
of 29 seats while Congress
could only win one seat.
06 NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024 Vol. CXXXXXVIII 103

Incorporating and directly descended

Desert Storm A MEMBER
OF THE

from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818
Order and politics
A s Uttar Pradesh braces for yet another phase in
ASIAN VOICES
Given that the ancient desert land has seen countless wars, valiant heroes, and bloody
Hope for lower
battles since antiquity, the romantic template of a ‘David versus Goliath‘ equation
food prices
has its natural resonances – Ravindra Singh Bhatti is tapping into his ‘Independent‘

the election cycle, the dynamics of law and
order loom large over the political landscape,
with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the
Samajwadi Party (SP) vying for electoral advantage.
The narratives emerging from the heartland state
paint a complex picture of governance and its impli-
cations on the electoral calculus. There is a palpable
sense of relief among many voters who believe that
stringent law enforcement measures by the state’s BJP
government have ushered in an era of stability and
security. For them, the crackdown on crime repre-
sents a tangible improvement in their daily lives,
where they can go about their work or business with-
out the looming spectre of lawlessness. However, it is
essential to tread carefully when analysing the narra-
tive surrounding law and order. While the purported
reduction in crime is undoubtedly a welcome devel-
opment, questions arise regarding the impartiality
and inclusivity of these measures. The perception that
certain communities are disproportionately targeted
or marginalised under the guise of maintaining law
and order raises concerns about the nature of gover-
nance and justice. In the realm of electoral politics, the
issue of law and order becomes a double-edged sword
for political parties vying for power.
On one hand, the BJP, which champions a tough-
A
status and twisting it to his advantage. For once the hunted (common citizen) has s expected, President Marcos’
latest decision to relax the
become the hunter, and his game is the full-time politicians who are exposed and rules on the importation of
shamed for their excesses, easy promises, and divisive agenda agricultural products is being
opposed by traders and middlemen
who have been unduly enriching
themselves by buying low from farm-
ers and fishermen and selling high to
consumers. The President has directed
the Department of Agriculture (DA) to
simplify its policies and procedures on
the importation of farm products and
remove other nontariff barriers that
restrict or delay their entry to the coun-
try. These include quotas, import
licensing schemes and bureaucratic
regulations that have the net effect of
increasing the cost of imports. Their
removal or easing will therefore boost
supply in local markets and ultimately
bring down prices of essential farm
products. It should be noted that this
will not come at a loss to the govern-
ment in terms of foregone revenues.
Under Administrative Order No.
20, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas
Bersamin on April 18, the DA was
directed to coordinate with the Depart-

S
on-crime stance, may attract voters who prioritise
ummers are particularly
security and stability above all else. The promise of a severe in the Thar desert
safer society resonates strongly with segments of the with temperatures shoot-
electorate who have borne the brunt of rampant crime ing up to 50 degrees Cel-
in the past. On the other hand, the SP may seek to sius. Dust raising winds can
highlight issues of justice and equity, emphasising the morph into full blown storms in
need for fair and impartial law enforcement meas- the unforgiving swathes of the
ures. In a diverse and pluralistic society like Uttar arid region with rolling sand
Pradesh, where communal tensions often simmer hills. But this year, there is a dif-
beneath the surface, the need for impartial gover- ferent type of storm sweeping
the undulating topography ~ a
nance becomes paramount.
political one that has gripped
As the election unfolds, it is imperative for politi- the imagination of the simple,
cal leaders from both parties to strike a delicate bal- hardy, and deeply traditional
ance between maintaining law and order and uphold- folks of the clustered Jaisalmer-
ing the principles of justice and inclusivity. Parties Barmer-Balotra districts.
that can navigate these complexities with nuance and The reverberations of this
sensitivity are likely to resonate more strongly with desert storm are being felt
voters who value both security and equity. Ultimately, across the vast and ancient land
the electoral fortunes of parties will hinge not only on of Rajputana or Rajasthan, and
their ability to tout achievements in law enforcement it has clear auguries for the
but also on their commitment to fostering a society future political possibilities of
the entire nation.
where every citizen feels safe, valued, and empow- As the nation finds itself
ered. In the quest for power, let us not forget the fun- mired in the regressive clutches
damental principles of justice and fairness that of the past with its electoral pas-
underpin a thriving democracy. In this electoral con- sions veering around polarising
text, it is crucial for voters to critically assess the rhet- narratives of Hindus and Mus-
oric and actions of political parties regarding law and lims, caste census, mangalsutras
order. Beyond the surface-level promises of security, et al, with the real issues of emp-
citizens must evaluate the long-term implications of loyment, agrarian crisis, infla-
policies on communal harmony and social cohesion. tion etc., taking a back seat ~
comes the refreshing campaign
By engaging in informed discourse and holding
of a 26-year-old youth pitching
leaders accountable for their governance, voters on securing water for his parch-
can contribute to a more robust and inclusive demo- ed constituency, job opportuni-
cratic process. ties for the desperate youth, so-
cio-economic development of
his backward constituency,
Philippine Dynasts basically everything that ought
to be consuming the politicians,
ment of Trade and Industry and the
he does not have to sing hosan- minations who live cheek-by- Aadmi Party (the last new ‘idea’ Department of Finance to streamline
nas about any party leadership jowl in relative peace, harmony in the Indian political main- procedures and requirements in the
and their purported infallibili- and convivial amity (as did other stream), there are no heavy licensing of importers, minimize the
ties or superhuman capabilities; regions, till the ‘politicians’ of weights of society to hold sup- processing time of applications for
he only talks about his own abil- divide or appeasement arrived portive dharnas, no affluent importation, and exempt licensed
ities and not any single, double on the scene). backers, and not even any nudg- traders from the submission of regis-
or triple engines. Ravindra is only revisionist ing political rival, for he threat- tration requirements.
His tone is patriotic, and in approach when it comes to ens the entirety of the ‘system’ The DA was also ordered to
not jingoistic or exclusivist. And invoking the civilisational social and not just any one party streamline procedures and require-
yet, without any partisan brand fiber of the land, otherwise he (unlike the successful birth of ments for the issuance of sanitary and
to assure him of any en bloc only talks of development and AAP which was focused against phytosanitary import clearance, which
vote, he seems to be defying socio-economic issues, and so the-then ruling party). needs to be released within 15 days,
logic by cavalierly attempting to the full-time politicians are in- The template of Ravindra
defeat both the national parties advertently made to look awk- Singh Bhatti must also succeed
i.e., the BJP and the Congress. ward, small, and outdated. for what it potentially suggests
No amount of rallies by the The wholesomeness of the ~ the power of an average ‘Inde- otherwise, applications with complet-
biggest political names in the situation is magnified when you pendent’ individual to change ed documents will be deemed approv-
country can match his jugger- see participants of the two the much-needed conversa- ed. The Sugar Regulatory Administra-
naut. While big-talking, big- major national parties not try- tions, debate, and narrative. tion was also told to simplify the
offending, and big-promising ing to out-shame each other but Single-minded determina- importation of sugar by allowing direct
partisan politicians are doing strive to keep pace with the tion, dash and pluck saw him purchases by the agency’s accredited
what they do best relentless ‘hope’ win as the University President, importers and accepting more traders
i.e., polarise local ignited by the irre- then as an MLA, and now he is to participate.
communities and pressible Ravindra eyeing a MP seat (all as an Inde- The DA was tasked to similarly
promise the moon, Singh Bhatti. pendent) ~ if this isn’t an ‘Indian review and revise guidelines on the
Ravindra is ‘their His example is Dream’, what is? importation of frozen fish and other
boy’ who reaches a glorious rebuttal There is also a certain wel- marine products while the Bureau of
out generously, to those who lazily come ‘normalcy’ and simplicity Customs, where many complaints of
humanely, and complain about about a teacher and homemak- delayed releases are raised by the pri-
sincerely. He drew TINA (There Is No er’s son who studies and does vate sector, was ordered to prioritize
mammoth crowds Alternative) factor his law (without posturing any the unloading and release of imported
that shamed the for the depressing ‘martyr-syndrome’ or pretend- agricultural products.
supposed star- state of politics in ed piety) and then proudly By addressing the delays that lead
power and organi- BHOPINDER the country. Seem- espouses real issues in local to additional costs for importers, the
sation of cash-rich SINGH ingly, the low turn- dialect with aplomb, stands tall entry and availability of imported agri-
political parties. The writer is Lt Gen PVSM, out of national and talks firm, but with a much cultural products will hopefully be
There is some- AVSM (Retd), and former
Lt Governor of polling data indi- needed measure of decency. timely and cover the supply shortages
thing raw, organic, Andaman & Nicobar Islands cates fatigue, frus- After a long time, a natural of farm products. However, the suc-
and Puducherry
and even hero-like tration, and disin- student leader has succeeded in cess of this order will depend in large
about his persona
and the smart political newbie crowds in Jaisalmer are on to
terest ~ but the capturing the political imagina-
tion after the likes of Vajpayee,
part on the surveillance team created
under AO 20. Made up of representa-

I n the archipelago of the Philippines, where history but isn’t.
intertwines with the present, a modern-day Shake- As we remain gripped by
spearean drama unfolds. The ongoing feud meaningless guarantees of indi-
vidual cults, dynastic appeals,
between the Marcos and Duterte clans, reminiscent
partisan purity or even region-
of the Montagues and Capulets, serves as a cautionary al/castiest/religious promises,
tale of the perils of dynastic politics and personal the fact that India faces hard
vendettas overshadowing the greater good of the issues that afflict all and not just
nation. At the heart of this feud lie two powerful fami- select groups, is seemingly lost
lies, each with its own legacy of controversy and cor- on career politicians.
ruption. On one side stands the Marcos dynasty, epit- But in a situation that soun-
omised by the shadow of a brutal dictator whose reign ds counterintuitive (given the
was marked by oppression and plunder. Opposing presumed backwardness of the
them is the Duterte clan, led by a President whose region), the popular appeal of a
Ravindra Singh Bhatti (proudly
tenure was characterised by a ruthless war on drugs ‘Independent’) from Jaisalmer-
and a penchant for inflammatory rhetoric. Their ani- Barmer-Balotra Lok Sabha con-
mosity is not merely a matter of personal disdain. It stituency talking inclusively for
has real consequences for the Filipino people and their the 36 Biraadari cutting across
future. As the two families engage in a battle for all possible religious, castiest,
supremacy, governance is compromised, and the and socio-economic divides, is
nation's progress is hindered. The recent skirmishes a rare breath of fresh air.
over confidential funds and constitutional revisions Since he is ‘Independent’,
highlight the extent to which personal ambitions over-
shadow public service. Moreover, the unpredictable LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
nature of this feud leaves foreign policy in flux, with
alliances shifting as quickly as the winds of political
fortune. From cosying up to China to pivoting back Die with dignity
towards America, the Philippines finds itself caught in
a geopolitical tug-of-war, with little clarity on its long- SIR, I refer to your editorial, “End
term strategic direction. But perhaps most concern- of Life”. There are moral, legal,
ing is the impact of this feud on the democratic process ethical, religious, and scientific
itself. As the Marcos and Duterte camps gear up for dimensions to end of life deci-
the next election cycle, the spectre of dirty politics sions ~ Euthanasia. There may be
good clinical medicine but there
looms large. With both families facing potential legal is also the reality of financial
repercussions for past misdeeds, the campaign is like- costs. We cannot disregard the
ly to be marred by mudslinging and character assassi- economic reality of modern med-
nation, further eroding trust in the political establish- ical care ~ whether it is in a State-
ment. run hospital or insurance covered
Yet, amid this turmoil, there remains hope for a health care.
brighter future. The Filipino people have shown This practice is generally ille-
resilience in the face of adversity, rallying behind causes gal, but there is a movement
such as education reform and anti-corruption efforts. worldwide toward greater social
and legal acceptance. Attempting
Grassroots movements and civil society organisations or assisting death is a criminal
continue to push for accountability and transparency, offence in many countries. How-
challenging the entrenched power structures that per- ever, in India, in a pioneering jud-
petuate dynastic rule. Their efforts serve as a beacon of gment, the Supreme Court lega-
light in the darkness, reminding us that change is possi- lised passive euthanasia, stating
ble when the people unite behind a common cause that it was a matter of a ‘living
In the end, the Philippines stands at a crossroads. will’. Doubtless, death is a loss,
Will it succumb to the petty squabbles of feuding fam- and the notion of assisted dying is
ilies, or will it rise above the fray and forge a path very odd. Perhaps we should
speak of assisting patients on the
towards true democracy and prosperity? The answer
verge of death by providing lov-
lies not in the hands of politicians or dynasts, but in ing, compassionate care. Laws
the collective will of the Filipino people to demand with ample safeguards should be
better and strive for a brighter tomorrow. For only by enacted to allow certain patients
transcending the legacy of the past can the Philip- who are terminally ill to die with
pines truly fulfil its immense potential and claim its dignity. Like the many laws we
rightful place on the global stage. have from the time of British rule,
the proposed British legislation
plays the son-of-the-soil card something special, and some- Chandrashekar, Jaitley, Tharoor tives from several departments and law
with immense pride, dignity, thing big that could shake the etc., who could conflate educa- enforcement agencies, it is hoped that
and decency. status quo of the country. tion, youthfulness, idealism, and the body will be able to pinpoint snags
Given that the ancient de- His example could seed nativism without resorting to and other potential roadblocks early
sert land has seen countless ‘Ravindra Singh Bhattis’ from bigotry or hate. on and immediately find solutions to
wars, valiant heroes, and bloody Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir While Jaisalmer-Barmer- them. The team can also focus on
battles since antiquity, the or Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Balotra is just one seat out of 543 unscrupulous middlemen who have
romantic template of a ‘David and that could change the ensu- and Ravindra may or may not often been blamed for the high prices
versus Goliath’ equation has its ing amorality of our politics. win, he has already done the of farm produce ~ even during times
natural resonances ~ Ravindra His success is important impossible of shaking up the of abundant supply.
is tapping into his ‘Independent’ from the perspective of much ‘system’ and offering ‘hope’ ~ Perhaps the President already had
status and twisting it to his needed ‘hope’ against the pre- therefore, even it is too good a this in mind when he included the
advantage. For once the hunted vailing ‘system’ (to which all dream to come true, one must police and other law enforcement bod-
(common citizen) has become national and regional parties pray for his success for the bet- ies in the surveillance team to go after
the hunter, and his game is the have contributed since inde- terment and dignity of con- these scalawags.
full-time politicians who are pendence). stituency, his state, and his AO 20 is indeed a very timely
exposed and shamed for their It will force navel-gazing for country, towards which he pro- measure that, if implemented correct-
excesses, easy promises, and existing politicians and set the fesses equal love and reverence. ly, could really help lower the prices of
divisive agenda. agenda for the future. Divisive India in these dark times has agricultural products. However, the
Unbeknownst to many, this politics of hate or appeasement seen a flicker of change, hope, implementation of AO 20 should go
harsh desert land is typical of must stop, and real issues must and now waits for 6 June to see if hand in hand with the timely imple-
‘Mini India’ with its myriad take over. indeed it is a case of a major mentation of the DA’s three-year plan
diversities of all possible deno- Unlike the birth of an Aam Desert Storm! for the country’s agricultural sector.
editor@thestatesman.com
can “lead by example and set a
new standard for compassionate
ficult to achieve and may even
lead to tyrannical behaviour of NOTA OPTION
end-of-life care in the modern overzealous election officials out
world” for other nations. to achieve a 100 per cent voter SIR, Voters of some areas have decided to void their votes for
Yours, etc., H N Ramakrishna, turnout. A cent percent voter some reason which is not at all a good sign for democracy. Rather
Bengaluru, 28 April. turnout will not by itself bring ab- than deciding to nullify the vote, the last and best weapon is to opt
out governance that is account- for ‘NOTA’ (none of the above), which will surely have far-reaching
able and transparent. On the con- effects. Elections are a right time for voters to test their represen-
DISAGREE trary, the attendance of our elect- tatives and representatives should also know the voters’ choices.
SIR, This is apropos of M A Mad- ed representatives in parliament All political parties and representatives should be aware of it and
husudan’s letter “Compulsory and state legislatures and the analyze it seriously.
voting” published today. I write quality of debates ought to be of Yours, etc., Nabnit Panigrahi, Rayagada, 28 April.
to submit a diametrically oppo- more concern than the voter
site view. Compulsory voting will turnout.
only improve the stats on voting ~ Yours, etc., Avinash Godboley, tions has always been perceived sion in many other countries
the “pratishat” (percentage) tally Dewas, 30 April. as interference in domestic including China and Russia. Even
that the media keeps reporting affairs. Even Indira Gandhi was EAM S Jaishankar, who has been
down to the last two decimal targeted by the American media cultivating American media his
places. BIAS OF WESTERN MEDIA when she refused to buckle under entire career, found faults. He has
Considering our demogra- SIR, This refers to Harsha Kakar’s their negative projection. When said the foreign media attacks
phy, even if the voting in per- article, “Western perceptions and India conducted nuclear tests India “not because they lack infor-
centage terms is low, it affords a Indian realities” (30 April). Gen- during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s mation, but because they think
wide sample base in terms of eral Kakar has rightly stated that tenure, Western news organisa- they are also political players in
numbers because approximately Prime Minister Narendra Modi tions painted India as the villain our elections”. While it ignores the
15 lakh eligible voters belong to a has had the best of relations with of the peace. It blamed India for vicious attacks on the Jewish com-
single constituency. In the specif- Western leaders in his twin terms spending on nuclear weapons munity in the West, it indulges in
ic instance of low turnout (per- so far. Not so with the Western rather than the far more urgent Modi-bashing while reporting
centage wise) in the first phase of media, who have an assortment need to alleviate poverty. from India. As PM, Mr Modi has
polling this year, heat wave con- of descriptors for him ranging Barring a few exceptions, self- kept both the Indian and the for-
ditions, netas switching sides/ from strongman to autocrat. proclaimed foreign clairvoyants eign press at an arm’s length. He
parties at the drop of a hat, voters’ This was demonstrated yet have been predicting doom for has become the first PM not to
nonchalance and the sentiment again when Rahul Gandhi's Indi- India in spite of its record GDP address a single press conference
that voting does not bring about a an-American advisor, Sam Pitro- growth. While they may have in a decade. Dissemination of irre-
change in governance are factors da, weaponized recent Western some justification for their critical sponsible and inaccurate news
that have been at play. media headlines in an attack on reporting, the same Western news makes his or her job much easier.
Moreover, at the ground le- Modi. Excessive interest from the conglomerates have been ignor- Yours, etc., S S Paul,
vel, compulsory voting will be dif- Western media in Indian elec- ing attacks on freedom of expres- Nadia, 30 April.

Balance needed with
dynamic injunctions
SUNITA TRIPATHY AND
REVA MAKHIJA
T
he issue of dynamic injunc-
tions is a complex one. On the
one hand, the court is con-
fronted with judicially engi-
neering newer ways to present effec-
tive remedies to the intellectual prop-
erty right-holders and shield them
from repeated infringement. On the
other, these dynamic injunctions do
run the risk of going over-board in
their application and possibly trans-
gressing into the territory of judicial
overreach.
Having said this, it is important
to be cognizant that the issuance of
dynamic injunctions need not neces-
sarily be excessive at every instance.
One of the foremost criticisms of this
class of injunctions is that it is usually
accompanied by website-blocking
orders, decisions that are predicated
on the assumption that the entirety of
the website hosts illicit, infringing
content. In fact, the Bombay High
Court recognised this danger in Bala-
ji Motion Pictures, wherein Justice G.S.
Patel highlighted the need for scrutiny
and reflection on the use of John Doe
orders, which are similar in operation
to dynamic injunctions.
Overarchingly though, it is agreed
that this special class of injunctions
are an attempt, or at the very least a
thoughtful start, intending to prevent
and limit the problem of free-riding
that often obscures the incentive to
grant intellectual property protection.
India is a party to both the WIPO
Performers and Phonograms Treaty,
1996 (WPPT) and the WIPO Copyright
Treaty, 1996 (WCT) and has thus
reoriented her approach to balance
the rights of the intellectual property
owner, while simultaneously provid-
ing sufficient economic incentives to
stimulate the creative industries oper-
ating in the digital space. The Delhi
High Court has come to acquire noto-
riety for its jurisprudence on intellec-
tual property matters, and its creative
application of granting dynamic+
injunctions is no exception. The court
Is the Global South now obsolete?
BINA SHAH
W
hen I was a teenager, the
world was divided
between the First World
and Third World, terms
first defined by the French anthro-
pologist Alfred Sauvy in 1952. The
First World was the affluent devel-
oped world, the industrialised
nations of North America, Europe
and Australia: stable and democratic,
life held infinite satisfaction for its
citizens.
On the other hand, the Third
World, where I lived, was charac-
terised as poor, illiterate, underdevel-
oped, violent and insecure. The Sec-
ond World was made up of the Soviet
Union and the countries aligned with
it, but it was more familiarly known
either as ‘the enemy’ or ‘those Com-
munists’. We paid little attention to it
even when the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan, bringing the Second
World right to the doorstep of the
Third.
We were told that the First/
Third World had more to do with
economics than politics, but the two
seemed inseparable when it came to
the power the First World wielded
over the Third. First World countries
used a lot of influence and money to
keep them away from the clutches of
the Soviet Union. Building on the
foundations that colonialism and
imperialism had laid for them in the
previous two centuries, the First
World gained free access to the Third
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4 5 6
8 9
10 11
12 13 14 15
17 18 19
21 22
25 26 27 28
30 31
in April 2019, in UTV v 1337x. intro-
duced the concept of dynamic injunc-
tions by virtue of its power under Sec-
tion 151 of the Civil Procedure Code,
1908 to immunise the copyright-hold-
ers from ‘mirror/redirect/alphanu-
meric’ websites. The rationale behind
legally transplanting the concept of
dynamic injunctions, whose facets are
resplendent in Singaporean law on to
a domestic context was to combat the
irreparable losses caused by ubiqui-
tous “hydra-headed” websites or, “fla-
grantly infringing online locations”.
Usually, issuance of dynamic
injunctions is restricted to protecting
the existing works of the right-holders.
In August 2023, the Delhi High Court
in the Universal City Studios order,
carved out an exceptional model of
dynamic injunctions, one which
would also operate prospectively, and
protect the future works of the right-
holder. The primary concern with this
expansion of the injunction is that it
fails to account for the possibility of a
dispute of ownership of the copyright.
The natural presumption of owner-
ship of the copyright in favour of the
plaintiff discounts the very real poten-
tial of there being a third-party claim
over the work, which may well add to
the cumbersome nature of the court
World’s economic markets, influence
on their education systems and a cul-
tural dominance that warped young
people’s self-esteem and pride in
their own identity.
The First World rewarded those
Third World countries for their loyalty
with generous foreign aid, favourable
trade deals, and unending support for
their governments, no matter how
corrupt or undemocratic. Indeed, the
First World coined the term ‘banana
republic’ to describe some of these
Third World countries, even as they
propped up their autocrats and
encouraged them to function as the
polar opposite of Western liberalism
for half a century.
By the 1990s, the world had bene-
fited from 20 to 30 years of decolonial
studies and Marxist economics,
7 ACROSS
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION
P D C M A P M
C I RCU L A T E F R E
U E E S T I R R
R I V A L T H A T CH I
16
S A L D I A
E C L I P S E A DOP T
20
E O T N R E
NON S L I P A D AMA
E C Y R D D
MA E S T RO F L OWE
23 24
A H G A U A
T OP S E CR E T S Y N
29
O E I E C H I L
DR EGS S T A T U T O
E R M S T T N
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
process, proving counterintuitive to
the aim of the remedy of dynamic
injunctions.
Circling back to the larger point
on proportionality, and whether Indi-
an courts by issuing dynamic injunc-
tions which are most often coupled
with website-blocking orders are jus-
tified in their approach, our consid-
ered opinion is that in light of the fact
that the jurisprudence on dynamic
injunctions is still evolving, it does not
seem prudent to completely write off
the utility of dynamic injunctions as
a legitimate remedy to combat ‘mir-
ror/redirect/alphanumeric’ websites.
That said, there are legitimate con-
cerns of disregarding user rights, non-
commercial use of digital content, and
chilling effect on free speech that do
require to be addressed with as much
clarity as possible.
Justice Pratibha Singh in the Star
India Pvt. Ltd. case, recently allowed
the blocked websites, which were not
“primarily infringing” in nature to
approach the court with an undertak-
ing guaranteeing that there would be
no illegal dissemination of the plain-
tiffs’ content on their part, post which
there would be a consideration as
regards modifying the injunction.
Some would argue that it is too little,
Edward Said’s powerful work on Ori-
entalism and Gayatri Spivak’s on sub-
alternity, the liberation theologies of
South America and the anti-apartheid
movement of South Africa. The term
‘Third World’ began to give way to the
‘Global South’, somewhat due to
political correctness but mostly out of
their own loathing for an appellation
that symbolised dysfunction and
underdevelopment.
The Global South is made up of
Latin America, Africa and Asia. Yet
some countries in it began to achieve
economic industrialisation: India,
China, Brazil. Today, the inclusion of
very rich countries like the UAE and
Saudi Arabia as well as tiny Costa
Rica and prosperous Malaysia raises
the question of whether the ‘Global
South’ term is now stretched beyond
8 Partly swapped permanently
bleating female, we hear –
well done!
D A
(4,3,3)
NG 9 Mount, in turn, but a little
awkwardly (4)
10 Let out to catch bug
E R
(6)
11 Flipping idiots! Man U player’s
N T unexplained marks on body
R S
(8)
12 One’s book a little bit of
poetry (4)
OD 14 They hate spending money
abroad – this grates
R Y
(5-5)
17 Old horny creature rolling
round floor (4)
too late - and perhaps that stand has
merit when justifying the economic
incentive for a copyright system.
However, we must acknowledge that
times have changed drastically since
the 1990s and creators are often found
collaborating with users to allow for
greater reach and develop new trans-
formative use of their content. Hence
it is an important opportunity to strike
a fine balance. As put forth in the UTV
judgement, while expanding upon the
quantity v. quality test, the court held
that website-blocking orders “should
not create barriers to legitimate
trade”, and thus a dynamic injunction
that would suspend any infringing
platform’s website in its entirety -
instead of blocking the specific con-
tent - is one of the few, but major defi-
ciencies of this remedy.
Therefore, when remedying
infringement, courts must understand
the full ramifications of how much
control must the owner be allowed
while denying or allowing use of con-
tent for any public or non-commer-
cial purpose.
Ever since the WCT & WPPT,
India has been desirous of signalling
clearly that she respects the need to
balance rights, so the regulatory aim
is to prevent an excessiveness or
usefulness, too racialised, or even
simply obsolete?
Not so, according to political
researchers Nour Dados and Raewyn
Connell. In their eyes, “the use of the
phrase Global South marks a shift
from a central focus on development
or cultural difference toward an
emphasis on geopolitical relations of
power”. Former colonies aligned as
countries whose interests clashed with
industrialised powers in the West and
the Communist bloc, thus ignoring
Cold War divisions of the ’50s and ’60s.
Today, the Global South is more
than just “a metaphor for underdevel-
opment”. Instead, it references “an
entire history of colonialism, neoim-
perialism, and differential economic
and social change through which
large inequalities in living standards,
19 Michael gutted to stop doing Down
jobs round the house? Clearly 1 Cycling home, finally stopping
not (5) where they sell wine
20 Start to dredge North (6)
Yorkshire river – you may 2 A time to seal off copper
have to work at it (4) mine entrance
21 Dross! Oscar unlikely for (4)
creaking old British drama 3 No change in Washington –
(10) rarely guilty
23 Soldiers going round at speed (6)
(4) 4 Colours ultimately faded of
25 Accompanied earl ordered course (4)
guards around (8) 5 Ian still occasionally appearing
28 Doris’s daughter dressed in in dock, curiously
red cuddling sweetheart (8)
(6) 6 Runs into old PM around
30 Confuse extremists in Teesside town
Delaware (4) (4)
31 Fair happening shortly – he’s 7 Stoke are playing – the
outside with dodgems at first epitome of Englishness?
(4-6) (3,5)
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 1 MAY 2024
abuse of the system. However, she
fully endorses the economic incen-
tive to provide a limited monopoly
for creative industries, and denying
an equitable remedy such as a
dynamic injunction in light of pri-
mary facie evidence would make that
social contract meaningless. So it
cannot be asserted enough that the
intellectual property owner's inter-
est must be protected through deci-
sions that envisage reasoned orders
laying out the lack of abuse of the
system and thus provide a sound
basis to enforce the remedy as a
mechanism of preventing free-riding.
To make a case for having a judi-
cial temper for dynamic injunctions,
we can refer to the Bombay High
Court’s decision this January in UTI
Infrastructure Technology and Services
Limited v. Extra Tech World and Ors.,
wherein the bench resorted to the use
of a dynamic injunction to protect
public interest relating to preventing
the infringement of sensitive personal
data such as PAN records. In instances
such as these, the issuance of a
dynamic injunction is almost auto-
matically necessitated. It is difficult to
expect that the plaintiffs, who are serv-
ice providers of the Income Tax
Department, entrusted with process-
ing PAN Applications and other PAN-
related information, approach the
court on several instances to restrain
other anonymous, unnamed
infringers thereby compromising
national security.
Therefore, there are certainly
valid, conflicting opinions as to the
utility and overbroad nature of
dynamic injunctions, but in our con-
sidered view the first step is to iron
out the inconsistencies in the court’s
understanding of when and how to
invoke these injunctions. That would
require an understanding and appli-
cation of uniform standard of propor-
tionality wherein the issuance for a
dynamic injunction is required to
strike the fine balance.
(The writers are, respectively, Professor of Law,
and a student at the Jindal Global Law School,
O.P Jindal Global University, Haryana.)
life expectancy and access to
resources are maintained”.
But as we transition from a
unipolar to a multipolar world, politi-
cal scientist John Ikenberry envisions
a Global North, a Global South, and a
Global East, led by China and Russia.
The Global South, in this scenario, is
more passive and lacks leadership,
and both the Global North and Global
East compete for its loyalty and coop-
eration.
Still, when South Africa took Israel
to the International Court of Justice on
charges of genocide in Gaza, many
Global South countries rallied behind
the cause of ending the conflict in Gaza
and getting Israel to face international
law for its alleged war crimes. South
Africa’s historic defeat of apartheid
gave the accusers’ case moral as well as
legal weight. Instead of just backing
Palestine in places like the ICJ and the
UN, the Global South was now taking
direct action against Israel in those
very forums.
This marks a powerful change in
the way these countries align and
negotiate global conflicts. In politics,
sometimes language reflects these
changes and sometimes it is a precur-
sor or even an instigator of change.
Like the movement of tectonic plates
that creates earthquakes on the higher
ends of the Richter scale, the deliber-
ate use of the term ‘Global South’ will
instigate a major shift towards a world
where global justice must prevail.
Dawn/ANN.
NO-292767
13 Violently assaults in Chelsea
store?
(5)
15 School getting parent’s letter
(5)
16 Attacker not a motorcyclist?
(5)
18 Tots are busy with a balloon,
perhaps (8)
19 Party rubbish? He gets a
woman (8)
22 Mess in dish – language!
(6)
24 What can I earn in Bangkok?
Say, that’s capital (6)
26 Have to defend English poet
(4)
27 Attracted Prince – one
extradited? (4)
29 Tough outside but somewhat
easier indoors (4)
07
100 YEARS AGO
OCCASIONAL NOTE
“WITH a minimum of discussion”
the House of Common rejected Mr, Lans-
bury's amendment to the Army Bill, pro-
posing that a soldier on recruitment
should have the power of deciding
whether he would carry out orders which
had to do with a trade dispute. A more
mischievous attempt to weaken authority
cannot bo imagined. Government is
responsible for internal order, as for
defence against external enemies: in the
last resort it must call upon the Army to
put down attacks upon life and property.
No doubt, the soldier in such cases is in a
difficult position. If under military orders
he fires on a mob and kills, he may be
amenable to the civil law; if he disobeys
his superior, he is punished for disobedi-
ence. But the civil law of the land is sel-
dom put into operation against the sol-
dier who has acted under orders, and it is
accepted as a practice if not a rule that
the remedy for the improper use of mili-
tary force in riots and similar disturbances
lies in action against the authorities
responsible. In any ease, the use of sol-
diers in civil disturbance is to be depre-
cated, Employment in such work tends to
demoralise them, or at least to sap their
professional pride.
NEWS ITEMS
RESCUE WORK IN
TUNNEL NEAR
EUSTON
AN electric train crashed into the
rear of a special standing in the tunnel, a
mile outslde Euston Station. The latter
was crowded with excursionists for the
Cup final.
It is officially announced that the
number of injured is not definitely
known, but probably amounts to twen-
ty. It is stated that two have keen killed. |
The special had come from Birmingham
and elsewhere, and was crowded with
Aston Villa supporters. It had stopped
near the terminus when the majority of
passengers were standing up getting
their wraps and overcoats, and the elec-
tric train crashed into the rear, where
most of the casualties occurred.
Rescue work was carried out in the
semi-darkness of the tunnel. Many of
the injuries inflicted on the passengers
were of a serious nature. A few women
were aboard the train.
LIBERALS' ATTITUDE
DEPUTATION LEAVES
FOR ENGLAND
THE Right Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sas-
tri and Mrs. Besant addressed a special
meeting which was called to give them a
send-off on their departure to England
in connection with the deputation
recently appointed by the National Con-
vention at Allahabad.
Mr. Sastri condemned the action of
the Central Provinces Swarajists in the
Legislative Council, characterising it as a
great blunder. In his opinion the Swara-
jists ought to have advanced the coun-
try's cause by using the constitution
with a view to disclosing what he called
"its impossible 'safeguards. " Referring
to the deputation, Mr. Sastri said that
their work would mainly consist in put-
ting India's case before the British public
and Parliament. He thought that a Royal
Com-mission was inevitable in view of
the present political deadlock in the
Assembly and in some of the provincial
legislatures.
Mrs. Besant said that a National
Convention was the only effective
method of representing a united nation-
al demand for Home Rule.
Lady Emily Lutyens’ counselled
patience and trust in the Labour Gov-
ernment. Mr. Sastri. Mrs. Besant and
Lady Lutyens leave for England by the
stearner Maccdonia.
ANTI-RACIAL
CAMPAIGN IN
UNIVERSITY
THE secret society known as the Ku
KIux Klan, whose activities had begun
to diminish especially in the eastern part
of the United States, has intensified its
anti-racial campaign particularly in the
metropolitan area of New York.
Large numbers of flaming crosses
are crected at night and robed klansmen
hold meetings in secluded spots. One
suburban community has been
torn with bitter dissension, the Klan hav-
ing requested the resignation of a priest
who is a member of the board of direc-
tors of a bank. The KIan's activities have
extended to Columbia University, where
southern students signed a protest
requesting the ousting of a negro resi-
dent from the dormitory.The authorities
decided that the negro was within his
rights. In the meantime the Klan invaded
the Campus of the University and erected
its flaming cross and bombarded the
negro with threatening letters.
The students are divided, many
supporting the negro. A squad of detec-
tives is guarding the dormitory against
violence. The incident has aroused great
public interest.
08 NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, 01 MAY 2024
THUMBNAILS
Lifestyle expands its
retail footprint:
Lifestyle announced the
launch of its new store
at Vega Circle Mall,
Sevoke Road, Siliguri.
Spanning across 22,797
sqft, the store marks
Lifestyle’s second ven-
ture in Siliguri, an evolv-
ing and promising mar-
ket for fashion retail.
The store provides con-
sumers with facilities
such as self-checkout
kiosks.
MPID court declares 16
broking firms as finan-
cial establishments: Not-
ing that NSEL brokers
have accepted money
from investors and
failed to repay them as
promised by the bro-
kers, the Maharashtra
Protection of Investors'
Deposits (MPID) court
has declared 16 broking
firms as financial estab-
lishments in the 5,600
crore National Spot
Exchange Ltd (NSEL)
case. Interestingly, for
the first time, the bro-
kers and the brokerage
firms have been
declared as financial
establishments by the
MPID court. The money
and brokers respectively
fall under the definition
of Sec. 2 (c) and 2(d)
MPID Act., i.e. Deposit
Taking and Financial
Establishment. There-
fore, these brokers are
deemed financial estab-
lishments as per the
MPID Act. These brokers
are Motilal Oswal Com-
modities Brokers, Philip
Commodities India Pvt
Ltd, Nirmal Bang Com-
modities Pvt Ltd, Suresh
Rathi Commodities Pvt.
Ltd, JM Financial Comm-
trade Ltd, Systematix
Commodities Services
Pvt. Ltd, Arihant Futures
& Commodities Ltd, Ven-
tura Commodities Pvt.
Ltd, Latin Manharlal
Commodities Pvt. Ltd, K.
R. Choksey Commodity
Brokers Pvt. Ltd,
Almondz Commodities
Pvt. Ltd, R.K. Global Com-
modity Broking Ltd,
Roongta Comtrade Pvt.
Ltd, CD Commosearch
Pvt. Ltd, Alpha Commod-
ity Pvt. Ltd, and Vibrant
Commodities Trading
Pvt. Ltd.
9 out of 10 internet users’ lives touched by AI
RITWIK MUKHERJEE
KOLKATA, 30 APRIL
Consider these facts first. In
2023, as high as 88 per cent
consumers in India used AI
based algorithms which
analysed their preferences,
behaviours, and interests to
create personalized recom-
mendations for tailored expe-
riences. This segment grew
at 6 per cent YoY. Nearly 88
per cent consumers also auto-
mated various tasks and
streamlined routines to
enhance efficiency and pro-
ductivity in their daily lives
using AI. This segment grew
at 6 per cent YoY. As high as
86 per cent used ‘image
enhancement filters’ so that
the resulting image is
improved in terms of sharp-
ness, contrast, brightness or
with other features. This seg-
ment grew at 5 per cent YoY.
At 21 per cent, ‘smart home
automation’ is a smaller seg-
ment but growing at 25 per
cent YoY. Close to 15 per cent
consumers enhanced their
‘user experience through vir-
tual assistants’. This segment
Indian Oil posts 52 pc dip in Q4 net
profit amid sharp rise in crude oil cost completing 2000 MW
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Indian Oil Corporation Lim-
ited (IOCL) on Tuesday report-
ed a 52 per cent decline in con-
solidated net profit at Rs 4,837
crore for the January-March
quarter. The public sector oil
giant registered a net profit of
Rs 10,059 crore in the same peri-
od last year. However, crude
oil prices during the fourth quar-
ter of 2023-24 rose by as much
as 16 per cent which resulted
in a sharp increase in input costs
that were not passed on to con-
sumers. The company's rev-
enue was more or less flat at
Rs 2.23 lakh crore in Q4, com-
pared to Rs 2.30 lakh crore in
Benchmark indices erase all intraday gains;
selling hits IT, metal, media, oil & gas sectors
Sensex closed 189 points, or 0.25pc, lower at 74,482.78 while the Nifty 50 closed the day at 22,604.85, down 39 points, or 0.17pc
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30APRIL:
S
tock market on Tues-
day erased all the intra-
day gains amid the
highly volatile session
with selling seen in the IT,
metal, media, oil & gas names.
Initially, the benchmarks
opened higher and traded in
the green till the final hour of
the session when profit book-
ing engulfed the market, caus-
ing key indices to enter the red
zone.
Sensex closed 189 points,
or 0.25%, lower at 74,482.78
while the Nifty 50 closed the
day at 22,604.85, down 39
points, or 0.17%. In the month
of April, the BSE Sensex and
Nifty50 indices rose 1% each.
Losses in the benchmark
indices were led by select
banking and IT heavyweights,
including HDFC Bank, ICICI
Bank, Infosys and TCS.
In a sectoral analysis, the
Nifty Auto index hit an all-time
high of 22,634.05, led by gains
in M&M and Bajaj Auto. Nifty
Eight core sectors grow at 5.2pc in March: Govt data
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30APRIL
Eight core sectors in India
grew at 5.2% in March on an
annual basis compared to
the Index in March, 2023,
the Ministry of Commerce &
Industry said on Tuesday.
Further, the index had
grown by 7.1% in February
2024 and 4.1% in January
2024, and stood at 4.2% in
March 2023.
The ministry further said
that the production of Cement,
Coal, Electricity, Natural Gas,
Steel and Crude Oil record-
ed positive growth in March
2024.
The cumulative growth
rate of ICI during 2023-24 was
reported at 7.5% (provision-
al) as compared to the cor-
responding period of last
year.
Amongst these eight core
industries, cement produc-
tion registered the highest
increase by 10.6% in March,
2024 over March, 2023. Its
cumulative index increased
is the fastest growing at 27 per
cent YoY.
At this outset, there is no
doubt whatsoever that inter-
net in India has already been
democratized and is being
widely used. And now, at a
time when India, along with
many other countries in the
world, sits on the cusp of an
AI revolution, lives of nine out
of every 10 internet users in
the country, are being touched
by artificial intelligence (AI)
in one way or the other. And
this can be attributed to the
enormous computing capa-
bilities on their phones, con-
Texmaco inches closer to
The public sector oil giant registered a net
profit of Rs 10,059 crore in the same period
last year. However, crude oil prices during the
fourth quarter of 2023-24 rose by as much as
16 per cent which resulted in a sharp increase
in input costs that were not passed on to con-
sumers
the same period last year.
Indian Oil declared a divi-
dend of Rs 7 per equity share.
The oil major's average
gross refining margin (GRM)
for FY24 was $12.05 per bar-
rel, as against $19.52 during the
corresponding period last year,
the company said in a stock
exchange filing.
IOCL's refinery throughput
Realty index was up over 2%
as well.
Nifty IT, Metal, and PSU
Bank indices were top sectoral
laggards, slipping up to 0.5%.
On the Nifty index, M&M,
Power Grid Corporation, Shri-
ram Finance, Hero Moto-
Corp and Bajaj Auto were
among the top gainers, while
losers were Tech Mahindra,
BPCL, JSW Steel, HCL Tech-
nologies and Sun Pharma.
Further, the mid and small-
cap indices continued their
upward march with the BSE
Midcap index hit its fresh all-
time high of 42,396.21 during
the session before closing
0.49% higher at 42,121.40.
The BSE Smallcap index ended
0.10% higher at 47,315.93.
Shares of Manappuram
Finance surged about 5% to
Rs 207 apiece after its sub-
sidiary Asirwad Microfinance
received SEBI's go-ahead to
launch an initial public offer-
ing (IPO).
A delightful day was marked
by the Jana Small Finance
Bank as its shares hit 20%
by 9.1% during 2023-24 over
corresponding period of the
previous year.
Coal production increased
by 8.7% yoy in March with its
cumulative index increased
by 11.7% during 2023-24 over
corresponding period of the
previous year.
Further, the electricity
generation spiked by 8% and
cumulative index increased
by 7% during 2023-24.
Natural Gas production
and steel production increased
by 6.3% and 5.5% in March
with their cumulative index
increased by 6.1% and 12.3%
during 2023-24 yoy.
nectivity and cloud infra-
structure. Interestingly, the
current AI user base of the
country stands at 724 million
and poised to grow YoY at 6
per cent. These are users
who have used any of the AI
features like image filters,
personalized recommenda-
tions, smart devices, etc till
now, if a recent study by
Kantar, the world’s leading
marketing data and analyt-
ics business, is anything to go
by.
Kantar ICUBE data clear-
ly suggests that ‘fitness’ and
‘social media’ apps are driv-
was 18.282 million metric
tonnes (MMT) during the
quarter, compared to 19.177
MMT last year. Meanwhile,
pipeline throughput came in
at 24.593 MMT in Q4. On the
marketing front, IOCL achieved
domestic product sales of
23.737 MMT during January-
March 2024 while export sales
of 1.542 MMT in Q4.
upper circuit at Rs 600.35 as
investors rejoiced the lender's
In March, the Crude Oil
production increased by 2%
in March while its cumulative
index increased by 0.6%.
Fertilizer production
declined by 1.3% in March
with its cumulative index
increased by 3.7% during
2023-24.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum
Refinery production declined
by 0.3% in March, 2024. Its
cumulative index increased
by 3.4% during 2023-24 yoy.
Notably, the Ministry of
Commerce & Industry also
said that the final growth
rate of Index of Eight Core
Industries for December 2023
is revised to 5%.
The ICI measures the com-
bined and individual per-
formance of production of
eight core industries viz.
Cement, Coal, Crude Oil,
Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural
Gas, Refinery Products and
Steel.
The Eight Core Industries
comprise 40.27% of the weight
of items included in the Index
of Industrial Production (IIP).
ing AI adoption in the coun-
try with an average of 2.3 AI-
led features embedded in
these applications. ‘Enter-
tainment’ apps are a close sec-
ond, standing at 2.0 AI fea-
tures on average. AI is also
touching ‘digital commerce’
and ‘pharmacy apps’ at an
average of 1.8 AI features
each. It is anticipated that
many more digital commerce
and entertainment apps will
adopt AI features to enhance
quality of customer experi-
ence and stay in line with the
emerging trends. Instances
of adoption, however, are
slower in the ‘BFSI’, ‘job
search’ and ‘short video’ apps
segments, at an average of 1.2
features each. While AI tech-
nologies are touching most
internet users of India today,
their usage is expectedly
higher among the youth
(19–24-year-olds) at 92 per
cent and interestingly, at a high
81 per cent for the older (45+
year old) age bracket as well.
All these will have to be
seen in light of the fact that
Generative AI is set to become
a $1.3T market by 2034 with
Subansiri HE project in NE
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, 30 APRIL
Texmaco Rail & Engineering
Ltd (TEXMACO), an eight
decade-old leading engi-
neering and infrastructure
sector player, has now suc-
cessfully completed Spill-
way Radial Gate Nos. 7, 8 &
9, along with sealing arrange-
ments in the 2000 MW Sub-
ansiri Lower HE Project, well
ahead of schedule despite
challenging working condi-
tions in the mountainous
terrains of Arunachal Pradesh
and Assam.
The Subansiri Lower HE
plans to apply for a universal
bank license by May-June
Maharatna REC Ltd records highest-ever annual net profit
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30APRIL
State-owned REC Ltd on Tues-
day declared its quarterly
results for Q4FY24 saying it
posted a 33% rise in its con-
solidated net profit to Rs
4,079.09 crore on account of
higher income.
A Maharatna Central Pub-
lic Sector Enterprise and lead-
ing NBFC under the Ministry
of Power, in a regulatory fil-
ing said that it clocked a net
profit of Rs 3,065.37 crore
during the January-March
quarter preceding FY 2022-23.
It's total income during the
fourth quarter rose to Rs
12,706.66 crore from Rs
10,254.63 crore in the year-ago
period with the total expens-
es were Rs 7,477.18 crore as
against Rs 6,353.40 crore.
Notably, for the entire
FY24, the company's net prof-
it was Rs 14,145.46 crore, up
from Rs 11,166.98 crore in FY23.
Company’s revenue from
operations surged by 25% at
Rs 12,613 crores against Rs
a possible 42 per cent CAGR
growth over the next 10 years.
We are sitting at a point of
inflection where the next few
years will enable a compet-
itive edge between businesses
who adopt early and others.
As the usage of AI grows rap-
idly, it is critical for mar-
keters to not use AI in isola-
tion and as a gimmicky fad,
but weave in consumer behav-
ioral data into it to remove
biases, continue to focus on
building equity and not just
to run activations. Mind you
that AI is inevitable. Histor-
ically, technology adoption
has always been a dominant
determinant of a brand’s tra-
jectory. It is important to
help marketers humanize AI
to innovate successfully, help
activate AI to predict future
performance, maximize ROI
and use AI strategies to build
competitive advantage for
sustainable growth. AI revo-
lution, in order to be mean-
ingful, should assist brand
builders to strengthen creative
testing, innovation using var-
ious AI based solutions. That’s
the bottomline.
Project, owned by NHPC
Ltd., stands as India's largest
hydroelectric project till date.
Situated in the picturesque
landscapes of Arunachal
Pradesh and Assam, this
project underscores Tex-
maco's commitment to excel-
lence in infrastructure devel-
opment and sustainable
energy solutions.
On completion, the Sub-
ansiri Lower Hydroelectric
Project is poised to generate
approximately 7,500 million
kilowatt(KW)-hours of power
annually, contributing sig-
nificantly to the nation's
renewable energy goals.
2025.
Also, the Nifty concluded
10,113 crores. The average
cost of funds reduced by 3 basis
points to 7.14% against 7.17%.
The Net Interest Margin
shoots by 31 basis points at
3.60% against 3.29% while
the return on net worth was
24.06% against 21.34%, up
13%.
For the Financial Year
2024, the company sanctions
Rs 3,58,816 crores against Rs
2,68,461 crores in the Finan-
cial Year 2023 registering 34%
spike in sanctions.
Notably, the Maharatna
CPSE registered 533% spike
in the sanctions to renewable
sector at Rs 1,36,516 crores
against Rs 21,554 crores.
Owing to the improving
asset quality and effective
‘India’s bill for net
import of oil
likely to widen to
$101-104 bn in
current fiscal’
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30APRIL
The bill for the net import
of oil for India could widen
to USD 101-104 billion in
the current fiscal from USD
96.1 billion in 2023-24, ICRA
said in a report on Tuesday.
Further, escalation in
the Iran-Israel conflict could
impart upward pressure
on the value of imports, it
added.
Based on its analysis,
ICRA said the lower value
of Russian oil imports is esti-
mated to have led to savings
of USD 7.9 billion in 11
months (April-February)
of 2023-24, up from USD 5.1
billion in 2022-23.
Forex analysts believed that the domestic cur-
rency initially faced resistance from a strong
greenback and upward momentum in the
crude oil prices but recovered the lost ground
during the session on the back of a sharp rally
in equities in the late afternoon trade
the April F&O series with AG, Mercedes-Benz Group
steady gains of over a per AG and Stellantis NV retreat-
cent, indicating a stable mar- ed.
ket environment, offering Traders believed that
limited gains for arbitrageurs. notwithstanding the FOMC
The rupee recovered 4 meeting outcome likely on
paise to 83.41 (provisional) May 1, the trade set up is
against the US dollar, track- supportive of a further surge
ing foreign capital inflows in Nifty and NiftyBank. Cur-
and a strengthening greenback rently, markets are factoring
against major crosses overseal. in no change in Fed rate in the
Forex analysts believed current meeting.
that the domestic currency ini- Oil held its biggest drop in
tially faced resistance from a almost two weeks as discus-
strong greenback and upward sions on a possible cease-
momentum in the crude oil fire in the Middle East reduced
prices but recovered the lost the risk premium for crude.
ground during the session Further, gold is set to gain
on the back of a sharp rally in for a third straight month
equities in the late afternoon ahead of this week’s Fed meet-
trade. Europe’s benchmark ing. The market will remain
Stoxx 600 posted small moves shut on May 1 on account of
as car makers Volkswagen Maharashtra Day.
The loan book has main-
tained its growth trajectory and
has increased by 17% to Rs 5.09
lakh crores as against Rs 4.35
lakh crores as at 31st March,
2023. Signifying improving
asset quality, the net credit-
impaired assets as at 31st
March, 2024 have reduced to
0.86% from 1.01% as at 31st
resolution of stressed assets, March 2023 with Provision
and resetting of the lending Coverage Ratio of 68.45% on
rates and effective manage- NPA assets, as at 31st March,
ment of finance cost, REC 2024. Indicating the ample
has been able to record its high- opportunity to support the
est ever annual profit after tax future growth, Capital Ade-
of Rs 14,019 crores. quacy Ratio (CRAR) of the com-
As a result, the Earnings Per pany stands at a comfortable
Share (EPS) for the year ended 25.82% as at 31st March, 2024.
31st March 2024 accelerated Continuing with the tra-
by 27% to Rs 53.11 per share dition to reward its share-
as against Rs 41.85 per share holders, the Board of Direc-
as at 31st March 2023. tors of the Company has
Aided by growth in prof- declared the final dividend of
its, the Net Worth has grown Rs 5 per equity share (on face
to Rs 68,783 crores as on 31st value of Rs 10/- each) and the
March 2024, registering an total dividend for FY 2023-24
increase of 19% YoY. is Rs 16 per equity share.
TENDER
 It's true that women and girls pay the highest price in terms of human cost when it
comes to the way that they are affected, the way that they can be used as weapons of war
BRITAIN'S DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH SOPHIE
DURING HER VISIT TO UKRAINE
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024
09
Judge fines Trump $9,000
WEATHER
CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)
Israeli PM Netanyahu vows to for contempt in hush
launch an offensive in Rafah
SINGAPORE 32 24 H
HONG KONG
TOKYO
31
21
27 H
10 CL money trial, threatens jail
LONDON 20 08 S
DUBAI 33 22 S AGENCIES
SAN FRANCISCO 15 06 R Israel and Hamas are negotiating a ceasefire agreement meant to free hostages NEW YORK, 30 APRIL
NEW YORK 14 06 H
MOSCOW 12 05 H ASSOCIATED PRESS countries — the United States, The judge overseeing Don-
S= sunny, CL= clear, H=hazy, JERUSALEM, 30 APRIL Austria and Britain — have not US rejects ICC's ald Trump's criminal hush
resumed funding, he said. The money trial fined the former

I
R= rainy...
sraeli Prime Minister United States, its biggest fun- probe into Israel's U.S. president $9,000 for

THUMBNAILS
Death toll in Kenya flash
floods rises to 16: The death
toll due to heavy rains pound-
ing several parts of Kenya
and devastating flash floods
has mounted to 169 people,
a government official said.
Government Spokesman
Isaac Mwaura confirmed the
death toll on Monday
evening, saying a dam that
burst on Monday morning in
the western Kenyan town of
Mai Mahiu has killed 48 peo-
ple and affected scores of
others. IANS
Gunman kills six worshippers
in Afghanistan mosque: At
least six civilians were killed
and one injured in a shoot-
ing attack on a mosque in
Afghanistan's western
province of Herat, officials
confirmed. According to a
statement by Interior Min-
istry spokesman Abdul
Mateen Qani, an unknown
gunman opened fire on
worshippers inside the
mosque located in the
Guzara district on Monday
evening. IANS
Benjamin Netanyahu
vowed Tuesday to launch
an offensive in Rafah in
southern Gaza despite calls
for restraint. He said Israel will
destroy Hamas’ battalions
there “with or without a deal”
currently being discussed in
talks in Cairo.
Israel and Hamas are nego-
tiating a cease-fire agreement
meant to free hostages and bring
some relief to the Palestinians
in the besieged enclave.
“The idea that we will stop
the war before achieving all of
its goals is out of the questions.
We will enter Rafah and we will
eliminate Hamas’ battalions
there — with or without a
deal, to achieve the total vic-
tory,” Netanyahu said in a
meeting with families of
hostages held by militants in
Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken is expected to
visit Israel on his latest trip to
the region, which began Mon-
day in Saudi Arabia. He said
Israel needs to do more to
allow aid to enter Gaza, but that
the best way to alleviate the
humanitarian crisis is for the
two sides to agree to a cease-
fire.
The Israel-Hamas war was
sparked by the unprecedent-
ed Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel
in which militants killed around
1,200 people, mostly civilians,
and abducted around 250
hostages. Israel says the mili-
tants are still holding around
100 hostages and the remains
of more than 30 others.
The war in Gaza has killed
more than 34,000 Palestinians,
according to local health offi-
cials. The war has driven around
80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3
million from their homes,
caused vast destruction in sev-
eral towns and cities, and
pushed northern Gaza to the
brink of famine.
The head of the U.N. agency
for Palestinians said Tuesday
that it has raised over $115 mil-
lion in private donations since
the war between Israel and
Hamas erupted more than six
months ago, praising a welcome
infusion after a string of well-
heeled Western governments
suspended their funding.
Philippe Lazzarini, the com-
missioner-general of UNRWA,
made the comments after a
closed-door briefing with
diplomats from U.N. member
states in Geneva. He said that
most donor countries who
paused their contributions in
the wake of allegations from
Israel that some staffers were
connected to the militant
group Hamas had since restart-
ed their aid outlays. Three
der, has “clearly indicated that
it will keep the freeze until March
2025,” while Austria and Britain
haven’t yet decided, Lazzari-
ni said. He said $267 million
that had previously commit-
ted was still on hold, “the bulk
of it” from the United States.
On Friday, the U.N. said its
investigators are looking into
allegations against 14 of the
19 UNRWA staffers who Israel
claims were involved in the Oct.
7 attack by Hamas militants
that spurred the latest war in
Gaza.
In January, the world body
was informed of Israeli alle-
gations that 12 employees of
the agency known as UNRWA
had taken part in the Oct. 7
attack on southern Israel, when
Hamas and other Palestinian
militants killed about 1,200
people and seized some 250 as
hostages. Seven other cases have
since emerged.
Israel’s allegations led to the
suspension of contributions to
UNRWA by the U.S. and more
than a dozen other countries,
leading to a pause of funding
worth about $450 million,
according to a U.N.-commis-
sioned report released last
week.
action in Gaza
WASHINGTON, 30 APRIL
The White House said it
opposes the International
Criminal Court's (ICC) inves-
tigation into Israel's actions
in the Gaza Strip.
The White House spokes-
woman Karine Jean-Pierre on
Monday said Washington
did "not support" the inves-
tigations and "we don't believe
that they have the jurisdic-
tion." Jean-Pierre was asked
whether potential arrest war-
rants for Israeli Prime Min-
ister Benjamin Netanyahu and
other officials could torpedo
the negotiations on a cease-
fire in the Gaza Strip.
Asked several times, the
spokeswoman stuck to her
short answer and said: "I'll
leave it at that." Israeli media
had previously reported that
Netanyahu feared that Chief
Prosecutor Karim Khan could
issue international arrest
warrants for him, Defence
Minister Yoav Gallant and
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi
this week.
contempt of court on Tues-
day and said he would con-
sider jailing him if he con-
tinued to violate a gag order.
In a written order, Justice
Juan Merchan said the fine
may not be enough to serve
as a deterrent for the wealthy
businessman-turned-politi-
cian and lamented he did not
have the authority to impose
a higher penalty.
"Defendant is hereby
warned that the Court will
not tolerate willful viola-
tions of its lawful orders and
that if necessary and appro-
priate under the circum-
stances, it will impose an
incarceratory punishment,"
Merchan wrote.
Merchan had imposed
the gag order to prevent
Trump from criticizing wit-
nesses and others involved
in the case.
The fine -- $1,000 for each
of nine online statements that
Merchan said violated the
order -- was just short of the
$10,000 penalty that prose-
cutors had requested for
posts that insulted likely
witnesses and questioned the
impartiality of the jury.
Merchan will consider
whether to impose further
fines for other statements at
a hearing on Thursday.
The judge also ordered
Trump to remove the state-
ments from his Truth Social
account and his campaign
website by 2:15 p.m. EDT
(1815 GMT).
Merchan's order came
as the trial in New York
resumed with testimony
from a banker familiar with
accounts involved in Trump's
alleged scheme to influence
the 2016 election by cover-
ing up a sex scandal.
The Republican candi-
date in the 2024 presidential
election is charged with fal-
sifying business records to
conceal a $130,000 payment
to porn star Stormy Daniels
in exchange for her silence
about a sexual encounter
she said she had with Trump
in 2006. Trump has plead-
ed not guilty and denied
having sex with Daniels,
whose real name is Stephanie
Clifford.

Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, Two dead, eight injured after
S Korea, Australia agree to bolster defence industry
ties: The defence chiefs of South Korea and Australia

killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring 4 others held talks in Melbourne on Tuesday and discussed ways

ASSOCIATED PRESS showed a man in a yellow

LONDON, 30APRIL
A man wielding a sword
attacked members of the pub-
lic and police officers in a
east London suburb early
Tuesday, killing a 13-year-old
boy and injuring four others,
authorities said.
A 36-year-old man was
arrested in a residential area
near Hainault underground
station, police said. The inci-
dent is not being treated as
terror-related or a “targeted
attack.”
Two police officers were
in hospital being treated for
stab wounds. Two other peo-
ple were also injured.
Chief Supt. Stuart Bell
described the incident as
“truly horrific.”
“I cannot even begin to
imagine how those affected
must be feeling,” he said out-
side the homes in east Lon-
don where the crime hap-
pened.
The Metropolitan Police
said they were called early
Tuesday to reports of a vehi-
cle being driven into a house
in a residential street and
people being stabbed close
to the Hainault underground
station.
No other details were
immediately available.
Video on British media
hoodie holding a long sword
or knife walking near hous-
es in the area.
Witnesses say they heard
police shouting to the suspect
urging him to put down the
weapon as they chased after
him.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
said the incident was “shock-
ing,” adding: “Such violence
has no place on our streets.”
Deputy Assistant Com-
missioner Ade Adelekan said
police do not believe there is
a threat to the wider com-
munity.
“We are not looking for
more suspects,’' he said.
”This incident does not appear
to be terror-related.”
Transport for London said
Hainault underground sta-
tion was closed due to a police
investigation in the area.
Russian air strikes on Ukraine
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
KYIV, 30 APRIL
At least two people have been
killed by Russian missile
attacks in the southern
Ukrainian port city of Odesa,
while a further eight were
injured, the Governor of the
region, Oleh Kiper, said on
Telegram.
Civilian infrastructure,
including several residential
buildings, was damaged.
Previously, the Ukrain-
ian city of Kharkiv, which is
just over 30 kilometres from
the Russian border, had been
attacked with glide bombs,
according to the authorities.
Two civilians were injured in
that attack. A multi-storey res-
idential building was dam-
aged.
Ukraine has been fending
off a Russian invasion for
over two years. The Russian
army fires missiles and drones
at the major cities of Kharkiv
and Odesa on an almost daily
basis.
Earlier Monday, NATO
Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg said that when
NATO allies fail to deliver
to step up cooperation for regional security and the
defence industry. Defence Minister Shin Won-sik met
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
weapons and ammunition to Defence Richard Marles during his visit to Australia for
Ukraine on time, "Ukraini- "two plus two" talks among the countries' foreign and
ans are paying the price." defence ministers, slated for Wednesday, Yonhap news
"The lack of ammunition agency reported.
has enabled the Russians to
push forward along the front
line," Stoltenberg said in
Kyiv, singling out the Unit-
ed States for Washington's
protracted process to send
more military aid. "Euro-
pean allies have not delivered
the amount of ammunition
they promised," Stoltenberg
added, referring to the Euro-
pean Union's failure to deliv-
er one million artillery shells
to Ukraine in a year.
Secretary General
Stoltenberg was speaking at
a press conference along-
side Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky on an
unannounced visit when he
voiced his criticism.

Indonesia's Mount Ruang erupts again, King Charles III returns to public
forces airport closure and evacuations duties after cancer treatment
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
JAKARTA, 30 APRIL
Indonesia's Mount Ruang vol-
cano erupted on Tuesday,
prompting authorities to raise
the alert level to the highest level
and order immediate evacu-
ations within a six-kilometre
radius.
The eruption at Mount
Ruang, located in North
Sulawesi province, sent a col-
umn of ash and smoke 2,000
metres into the sky, according
to Indonesia's geological
agency.
The agency urged residents
in the affected areas to follow
evacuation orders and wear
masks to protect against ash.
This latest eruption fol-
lows heightened volcanic activ-
ity that began in mid-April.
Indonesian authorities had
previously issued a tsunami
warning and raised the alert
level for the volcano after it had
multiple large eruptions, spew-
ing ash columns up to 3,000
metres high. Those eruptions
prompted aviation authorities
to close Sam Ratulangi Airport
in Manado, located about 100
kilometres from the volcano,
to protect flights from dan-
gerous volcanic ash.
The 725-metre-high volcano
is one of Indonesia's most
active. Mount Ruang's last
major eruption occurred in
2002, generating pyroclastic
flows that caused damage to
the surrounding area.
Indonesia, situated on the
Pacific "Ring of Fire," experi-
ences frequent seismic and vol-
canic activity.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON, 30 APRIL
King Charles III is set to return
to public duties after the pos-
itive effect of his cancer treat-
ment.
King Charles has been
receiving care as an outpatient
since early February, and
sources have said that despite
the welcome news the king still
has cancer and will continue
to be treated for the undisclosed
form of the disease.
Charles and Queen Con-
sort Camilla will visit a cancer
treatment centre on Tuesday
to meet medical specialists and
patients.
The event aims to raise
awareness of the importance
of early diagnosis and to high-
light innovative research, sup-
ported by Cancer Research UK,
taking place at the hospital.
King Charles's diary of
events will not be a full sum-
mer programme, and atten-
dance will be announced
nearer the time and "subject
to doctors' advice," with "adap-
tations made where necessary
to minimise risk" to his recov-
ery.
It is understood the warmer
weather would allow events
to be staged outside and lessen
the risk posed by other peo-
ple that many cancer patients
face.
In January, King Charles
spent three nights in hospital
for a procedure on an enlarged
prostate, during which his
cancer - not prostate cancer
- was discovered.
After his diagnosis was
announced on February 6,
he postponed all public engage-
ments but continued with his
duties as head of state behind
palace walls, conducting audi-
ences and Privy Council meet-
ings.
Meanwhile, William, the
prince of Wales, is to carry out
engagements in the North
East on Tuesday, visiting an
Earthshot Prize finalist firm that
makes low-carbon construc-
tion materials in Seaham, and
opening James's Place - a
centre offering free, life-sav-
ing treatment to suicidal men
in Newcastle.

Takeaways from the global negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution

ASSOCIATED PRESS
OTTAWA, 30 APRIL
The world’s nations finished a
round of negotiations early
Tuesday on a treaty to end
plastic pollution and made
more progress than they have
in three prior meetings.
Coming into Ottawa, many
feared the effort would stall to
craft the first legally binding treaty
on plastics pollution, including
in the oceans. The last meet-
ing was marred by disagree-
ments and there was much
left to do.
But instead, there has been
a “monumental change in the
tone and in the energy,” said
Julie Dabrusin, a Canadian
parliamentary secretary.
It was the fourth Intergov-
ernmental Negotiating Com-
mittee on Plastic Pollution ses-
sion. For the first time, the
nations began negotiating over
the text of what is supposed to
become a global treaty. They
agreed to keep working between
now and the next and final
committee meeting this fall in
South Korea. “We are working
toward a world where we won’t
have plastic litter everywhere
in our ecosystems,” Jyoti Math-
ur-Filipp, the executive secre-
tary of the committee, said in
an interview. “The energy is
there, the will is there and I know
we will get an instrument by the
end of the year.”
Here are some of the biggest
takeaways from the meeting:
NATIONS ARE NEGOTIATING
The talk shifted in Ottawa
from sharing ideas to negoti-
ating treaty language. Finally,
saidSantosVirgílio,Angola’schief
negotiator. Time was wasted in
previous meetings, Virgílio said,
but this time many arguments
had been exhausted and it was
time to find solutions.
“It’s big, because we have
been going round and round
during these sessions without
showing direction,” he said in
an interview. “But at least now,
people are showing, OK, they
have goodwill.”
LIMITING HOW MUCH PLAS-
TIC IS MADE IS ONTHETABLE
Most contentious is the idea
of limiting how much plastic is
manufactured globally. Cur-
rently, that remains in the text
over the strong objections of plas-
tic-producing countries and
companies and oil and gas
exporters. Most plastic is made
from fossil fuels and chemi-
cals.Graham Forbes, head of the
Greenpeace delegation in the fall. Without this prepara-
Ottawa, said massively reduc- tion work between meetings,
ing plastic production is the most it would’ve been daunting to
important thing the treaty can complete the negotiations this
do because it’s impossible to year.
end plastic pollution other-
wise.Plastic production con-
tinues to ramp up globally and
is projected to double or triple
by 2050 if nothing changes. Plas-
tic producers and chemical
companies want a treaty that
focuses on recycling plastic
and reuse, sometimes referred
to as “circularity.”
TREATY WORK WILL CON-
TINUE UNTIL NEXT MEET
The negotiators agreed to
keep working on the treaty in
the coming months. Expert
working groups will collect
information and expertise to
inform the negotiations at the
final meeting in South Korea in
10
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024
‘People will foil INDIA bloc's bid to
subvert quota in the name of religion’
He remarked that the history of the Cong, SP, and their associates within the INDIA is well-known to all
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
GORAKHPUR, 30 APRIL
U
ttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi
Adityanath declared
on Tuesday that the
people of the nation would not
accept the Congress, SP, and
INDIA bloc's agenda to grant
reservation to a specific reli-
gious group, thereby jeop-
ardizing the constitutional
framework and encroaching
upon the reservation meant for
backward and scheduled castes.
Interacting with the media
at the Gorakhnath temple
complex, the Chief Minister
underscored, "The Bharatiya
Janata Party staunchly oppos-
es any form of reservation
based on religion because the
common people have suf-
fered the brunt of partition of
India on the basis of religion.
Afzal Ansari’s daughter likely to enter politics
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
GHAZIPUR, 30 APRIL
Nusrat Ansari, daughter of
Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari,
will be the very first woman
to enter politics from the
Ansari family of Ghazipur,
according to reports here.
Recently a photo of Nus-
rat went viral on the social
media where she is seen cam-
paigning for her father and
offering water and perform-
ing kirtin in a Shiva temple in
Ghazipur district of Uttar
Pradesh.
The daughter of SP candi-
date Afzal Ansari was seen
along with the SP women's
wing, appealing to women to
vote in favour of her father.
Whereas in the temples, she
was seen doing kirtan.
Reports also say that Nus-
rat is preparing to file nomi-
UP sugarcane farmers received ` 2.5 lakh crores in 7 yrs
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, 30 APRIL
Aiming to boost the income
of farmers, the Uttar Pradesh
government has made sug-
arcane payments totalling Rs
2,50,137 crore to farmers since
2017 till now.
Notably, this amount is Rs
36,618 crore more than the total
payments made from 1995 to
March 2017 (22 years).
According to official data
here onTuesday, within the past
24 hours, sugarcane farmers
in UP were paid Rs 163.29
crore by various sugar mills.
According to the Sugar
Industry and Cane Develop-
ment Department, farmers
were paid Rs 52,131 crore
between 2007 and 2012, Rs
95,215 crore from 2012 to
The BJP firmly supports reser-
vation benefits for SC-ST and
OBC communities."
He remarked that the his-
tory of the Congress, Samajwadi
Party, and their associates
within the I.N.D.I alliance is well-
known to all. "The Congress
has a track record of under-
mining Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim-
rao Ambedkar's Constitution.
Since its adoption in 1950,
nation in this election from her
father's seat. Her entry into pol-
itics was making headlines
in the media as she would be
the first woman from the fam-
ily to enter politics.
After the death of gangster-
turned-politician Mukhtar
Ansari, SP chief AkhileshYadav,
who reached his house for
'Matampursi', met every mem-
ber of the Ansari family includ-
2017, Rs 1,66,424 crore from
2017 to 2022, and Rs 83,713
crore from 2022 till now. So, in
the last seven years, from 2017
till now, Rs 2,50, 137 crore was
paid to the farmers.
As per the department,
sugarcane price of Rs 29,053
crore has been paid so far in
the current session 2023-24,
which is 82.55 per cent of the
total payable. Currently, a total
of 121 operating sugar mills (8.40
lakh TCD crushing capacity)
have so far crushed 975.73
lakh tonnes of sugarcane and
produced 103.28 lakh tonnes
of sugar.
In the crushing season of
2022-23, out of the total 118
operational sugar mills in the
state, except for the sugar-
cane payment of one private
sector sugar mill amounting
Hearty congratulations to all the students who passed the High School and Inter-
mediate examinations of Uttarakhand Board of School Education (UBSE). This is
the result of your hard work and dedication.
the Congress persistently
attempted to manipulate the
constitution for its own ends,
often disregarding funda-
mental freedoms such as free-
dom of expression. Gover-
nance is meant for the people,
and public sentiments ought
to be honored, a principle the
Congress failed to grasp."
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath highlighted that the
ing Nusrat. It is also said that
on the initiative of Akhilesh
Yadav, Nusrat has agreed to take
over her father's political lega-
cy.
Even though the voting for
Lok Sabha elections is in the
final phase, candidates of
political parties are engaged
in public relations campaigns
with full vigour.
The SP has given ticket to
Afzal Ansari , who is present-
ly BSP MP from Ghazipur
seat.
Voting in Ghazipur will be
held in the seventh phase on
June 1. Nomination for this will
take place from May 7 to May
14. More than 20 lakh voters
will get a chance to vote at 2,936
booths. In this seat, SP has field-
ed Afzal Ansari, Paras Nath Rai
is the BJP candidate and Dr
Umesh Singh will contest for
the BSP.
to Rs 213 crore, the remaining
Rs 37,838 crore (99.44 per
cent) has been fully paid.
During the crushing season
of 2022-23, the 118 opera-
tional sugar mills processed
1098.82 lakh tonnes of sugar-
cane, yielding 104.82 lakh
tonnes of sugar.
Since March 2017, three new
populace hasn't forgotten the
Emergency period, likening the
incident to 'strangulating the
Constitution of the country'.
“Along with this, the people of
the country also remember the
sins that Congress committed
during the UPA government.
Samajwadi Party and Bahujan
Samaj Party were allies of Con-
gress in the UPA government
at that time,” he added.
CM Yogi asserted that the
Congress had endeavored to
deprive the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes, and Other
Backward Classes of their
rights through initiatives like
the Justice Ranganath Mishra
Committee and Sachar Com-
mittee, engaging in actions con-
trary to the constitution across
the nation. Subsequently, the
Congress maliciously attempt-
ed to introduce reservations
based on religion.
PM likely to hold roadshow
in Ayodhya on 5 May
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
AYODHYA, 30 APRIL
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
is expected to hold a big road-
show in Ayodhya on May 5
after darshan of Ram Lalla,
in support of BJP candidate
from Faizabad Lok Sabha
constituency Lallu Singh.
Voting in Ayodhya will be
held in the fifth phase on May
20.
The BJP candidate and
party functionaries have
started preparations for PM
Modi's road show. Infor-
mation about PM Modi's
arrival in Ayodhya for the Lok
Sabha election campaign
reached party officials on
Monday evening. The elec-
tion core committee meet-
ing took up the work for
sugar mills have been estab-
lished in the state. Addition-
ally, a total of 1,10,600 TCD
(tonnes crushed per day) has
been generated owing to the
reopening of 6 sugar mills and
expansion of capacity of 38
sugar mills. This has resulted
in generating direct, or indi-
rect employment opportuni-
CMYK
UTTARAKHAND CHIEF MINISTER PUSHKAR SINGH DHAMI
CONGRATULATING STUDENTS ON SUCCESSFUL BOARD RESULTS
He continued, “The ulterior
motive of the then Congress
government was to cut 6 per-
cent of the 27 percent reser-
vation meant for OBC and
give it to a community as part
of its appeasement politics. Sim-
ilarly, through the Sachar Com-
mittee, efforts were made to
include certain Muslim castes
by encroaching upon the reser-
vations allocated for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”
The Chief Minister empha-
sized that the strong opposi-
tion from the Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party thwarted the intentions
of the then Congress govern-
ment. Otherwise, within the
same UPA government, Con-
gress would have endeavored
to undermine OBC and SC-ST
reservations by introducing reli-
gion-based reservations nation-
wide, he pointed out.
the outline of the programme
and a blueprint is being
drawn for the same.
The PM may have dar-
shan of Ram Lalla before the
roadshow.
The Prime Minister last
visited Ayodhya on January
22 for the consecration of
Ram temple.
PM Modi had visited Ayo-
dhya five times in the past
five years. For the first time,
he came to Maya Bazaar on
May 1 to hold a rally during
the Lok Sabha elections in
2019.
After this, on August 5 in
2020, he participated in the
Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of
Ram temple.
He was the chief guest of
Deepotsav on October 23,
2022.
ties for approximately 1,21,660
people.
With the establishment of
285 new Khandsari units in the
state, the total crushing capac-
ity has reached 73,700TCD, pro-
viding direct or indirect employ-
ment to approximately 41,800
people. Consequently, an addi-
tional crushing capacity of
1,84,300 TCD has been gen-
erated in both sugar mills and
Khandsari units.
A total of 3,208 women
self-help groups with 60,093
registered members are active
in the state under the Sugar
Department.
These groups have pro-
duced 48 crore sugarcane
seedlings so far.They get Rs 1.30
on seedling production from
a single bud and Rs 1.30 on
seedling production from bud
Will implement UCC across country
after coming back to power: Shah
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
GUWAHATI, 30 APRIL
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah on Tuesday emphasised
the BJP's commitment to
implement Uniform Civil
Code nationwide once it
secures power.
Shah, speaking to the
media, dismissed the notion
of accommodating person-
al laws such as the Muslim
Personal Law Board, assert-
ing the necessity of usher-
ing in the Uniform Civil
Code.
In a scathing critique of
the Congress, Shah rebuked
its reservation policies,
denouncing any allocation
based on religion.
He accused the Congress
of reallocating reservations
from OBCs to Muslims, cit-
ing a swift implementation
of a 4 per cent job reservation
for Muslims in Karnataka post
their ascension to power. Shah
Cong member arrested in Guwahati for
circulating manipulated video of Shah
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
GUWAHATI, 30 APRIL
A member of the Congress has
been apprehended in Guwa-
hati in connection with a
manipulated video of Union
Home Minister Amit Shah that
was being circulated on social
media platforms.
Identified as Reetom Singh,
the individual was arrested
by Assam Police from Guwa-
hati's Khanapara area, accord-
ing to sources familiar with
the matter.
The arrest was confirmed
by Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who
made the announcement on
X, a social media platform.
Sarma stated, "Assam police
have arrested an individual
chip. The subsidy is being
given at the rate of Rs 1.50 per
seedling.
Reports say in UP that the
total ethanol production was
42.07 crore litres in 2016-17,
which increased to 153.71
crore litres in 2022-23. By
March 31, 2023-24, a total of
175.11 crore litres of ethanol
had been produced.
To increase sugarcane pro-
ductivity, reduce farming costs,
and enhance farmers' income,
the first phase commenced with
a one-day specialised training
for 2.25 lakh interested sug-
arcane farmers whose land-
holding is more than 5 acres.
These training sessions were
initiated at the Council of
Sugarcane Research Cen-
tres in Muzaffarnagar, Shah-
jahanpur, and Seorahi.
clarified that the BJP unequiv-
ocally supports reservations
for SCs, STs, and OBCs, debunk-
ing any misconceptions spread
by the Congress.
Regarding the sexual harass-
ment case involving JD(S)
leader Prajwal Revanna, Shah
reiterated the BJP's unwaver-
ing support for women empow-
erment. He demanded strin-
gent action against the per-
petrator, blaming the Con-
gress-led Karnataka govern-
ment for its inaction.
Expressing confidence in
Identified as Reetom
Singh, the individual
was arrested by
Assam Police from
Guwahati's Khanapara
area, according to
sources familiar with
the matter.
named Sri Reetom Singh in
connection with the fake
video involving Honorable
Home Minister Shri Amit
Shah."
The arrest took place
around 4 pm.
Reetam Singh, aged 31, is
reported to be a Congress
party member.
Responding to the arrest,
Congress demanded the
Tripura: 27 state govt employees
suspended for violation of MCC
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
AGARTALA, 30 APRIL
After the Lok Sabha elections
in Tripura concluded in
Tripura, 27 employees across
various state departments
found themselves sus-
pended over alleged viola-
tion of the model code of
conduct (MCC).
According to the office of
the Chief Electoral Officer
Puneet Agarwal, the action
w as t ak en a ga in st t he
employees for their negli-
gence of election-related
duties.
In a letter directed to
the higher authorities of
the respective departments,
Chief Electoral Officer
Puneet Agarwal stressed
the BJP's electoral prospects,
Shah projected an over-
whelming victory with over 400
seats. He cited extensive sup-
port from the people across
states, from Andhra Pradesh
to Arunachal Pradesh, as
indicative of the BJP's wide-
spread appeal.
Shah dismissed Congress's
attempts to propagate a false
narrative, particularly con-
cerning alleged changes to
the Constitution under a BJP-
led government, labeling such
claims baseless fear-mon-
gering.
He underscored the deci-
sive mandates given to the BJP
in 2014 and 2019, enabling sig-
nificant legislative reforms
such as the abrogation of Arti-
cle 370 and the outlawing of
triple talaq.
Shah's also held a road
show in Guwahati on Monday
to garner support for the party
candidate for Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
immediate release of Reetom
Singh.
The manipulated video
allegedly altered a segment
of Amit Shah's speech where
he addressed reservation
policies in Telangana, creat-
ing a false impression that the
Home Minister was advo-
cating the cessation of reser-
vations for backward class-
es, particularly Muslims.
Following the circulation
of the fake video, several BJP-
governed states initiated first
information reports.
The BJP filed a complaint
with the Election Commission,
accusing the Congress of dis-
seminating a "deep fake and
morphed" video of Shah with
the intention of disrupting the
electoral process.
the importance of taking dis-
ciplinary action against the
suspended employees with-
in their departments.
The letter highlighted
the significance of main-
taining electoral integrity
and adhering to prescribed
protocols during the elec-
toral process.
Moreover, Chief Elec-
toral Officer Puneet Agarwal
specified that any depart-
ment seeking to lift the tem-
porary suspension of its
employees must first obtain
consent of the Election
Commission of India (ECI),
as per reports.
This process requires
coordination through the
Chief Election Officer's
office in the state.

What does the future Indian Ocean look like?
A
study led by Roxy Mathew Koll
of the Indian Institute of Trop-
ical Meteorology (IITM), Pune,
delves into the evolving cli-
mate of the Indian Ocean and its future
projections. Understanding these
changes is crucial for climate mitiga-
tion and adaptation efforts, essential
for safeguarding our collective future.
Bordered by 40 countries, and home
to a third of the global population,
changes to climate in this area of the
world has major societal and econom-
ic impacts. Currently, the Indian Ocean
and its surrounding countries stand
out globally as the region with the
highest risk of natural hazards, with
coastal communities vulnerable to
weather and climate extremes.
Ocean is warming at a rapid
pace
While the Indian Ocean warmed
at a rate of 1.2°C per century during
1950–2020, climate models predict
accelerated warming, at a rate of
1.7°C–3.8°C per century during
2020–2100. Though the warming is
basin-wide, maximum warming is in
the northwestern Indian Ocean includ-
ing the Arabian Sea, and reduced
warming off the Sumatra and Java
coasts in the southeast Indian Ocean.
Seasonal cycle and weather
patterns have shifted
The seasonal cycle of surface tem-
peratures is projected to shift, which
may have implications of extreme
weather events over the Indo-Pacific
region. While the maximum basin-
average temperatures in the Indian
Ocean during 1980–2020 remained
below 28°C (26°C–28°C) throughout
the year, the minimum temperatures
by the end of the 21st century will be
above 28°C (28.5°C–30.7°C) year
around, under high emission scenario.
Sea surface temperatures above 28°C
are generally conducive for deep con-
vection and cyclogenesis. Heavy rain-
fall events and extremely severe
cyclones have already increased since
the 1950s and are projected to increase
further with increasing ocean temper-
atures
Warming is not just at the
surface
The rapid warming in the Indian
Ocean is not limited to the surface. The
heat content of the Indian Ocean, from
surface to 2,000 metres deep, is cur-
rently increasing at the rate of 4.5
zetta-joules per decade, and is predict-
ed to increase at a rate of 16–22 zetta-
joules per decade in the future.
Roxy Mathew Koll says, “The
future increase in heat content is com-
parable to adding the energy equiva-
lent of one Hiroshima atomic bomb
detonation every second, all day, every
day, for a decade.”
and can raise the sea level
Increase in the ocean heat content
contributes to sea level rise also. Ther-
mal expansion of water contributes to
more than half of the sea level rise in
the Indian Ocean, which is larger than
the contribution from glacier and sea-
ice melting.
Indian Ocean Dipole is getting
extreme
The Indian Ocean Dipole, a phe-
nomenon that affects the monsoon
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024 11
maintain their shells—are sensitive to Thomas Frölicher adds, “The Indi-
the change in ocean acidity. The an Ocean, a climate change hotspot,
change may be easier to fathom when faces rapid and strong increases in
we realize that a 0.1 fall in human marine heatwave frequency and inten-
blood pH can result in rather profound sity unless global CO2 emissions are
health consequences and multiple- substantially cut.”
organ failure.”
Way forward
Marine productivity is going
down Addressing the impending chal-
lenges in the Indian Ocean demands a
The surface chlorophyll and net multifaceted approach. By reducing
primary productivity is predicted to global carbon emissions and investing
decline, with the strongest decrease of in resilient infrastructure, we can miti-
about 8–10 per cent in the western Ara- gate the impacts of climate change on
bian Sea. coastal communities. Concurrently,
and cyclone formation, is also predict- destruction, and loss of kelp forests, conserving marine ecosystems
ed to change. The frequency of affecting the fisheries sector adversely. Oxygen concentrations could through sustainable practices and
extreme dipole events are predicted to They also lead to rapid intensification also be declining enhancing forecasting capabilities can
increase by 66 per cent of cyclones, where a bolster the region's resilience to
whereas the frequen- cyclone could There is growing observational extreme weather events. Moreover,
cy of moderate intensify from a evidence that oxygen concentrations promoting adaptive agriculture and
events are to depression to a are declining in the tropical Indian fostering international collaboration
decrease by 52 per severe category in a Ocean. However, models do not agree are vital for ensuring food security and
cent by the end of few hours. on
the 21st century.
Ocean acidi-
Indian Ocean fication is inten-
is moving to a sifying
near-permanent
marine heatwave Ocean acidifi-
state cation is predicted
to intensify, with
Marine heat- surface pH decreas-
waves, periods of ing from a pH
extremely high tem- above 8.1 to below
peratures in the 7.7 by the end of
ocean, are expected the century.
to increase from 20 Roxy Mathew
days per year to Koll adds, “The pro-
220–250 days per jected changes in
year. This will push pH may be detri- the future evolution of oxygen concen- preserving biodiversity. Taking decisive
the tropical Indian mental to the trations, calling for an improvement in action now is imperative to safeguard
Ocean into a near- marine ecosystem the representation of biogeochemical the Indian Ocean's ecosystems and
permanent heatwave state. Marine since many marine organisms—par- processes in these models. livelihoods for future generations.
heatwaves cause habitat destruction ticularly corals and organisms that
due to coral bleaching, seagrass depend on calcification to build and Act now Details of the Study
Title: Future projections for the
According to Roxy Mathew Koll, “It tropical Indian Ocean.
is crucial to recognize that the impacts
of these changes are not distant con- Authors: Roxy Mathew Koll,
cerns for our grandchildren and future Saranya J. S., Aditi Modi, Anusree
generations alone. As the current gen- Ashok from the Indian Institute of
eration, we are already witnessing the Tropical Meteorology, Pune; Wenju Cai
repercussions firsthand. Monsoon from CSIRO, Australia; Laure Resp-
floods, droughts, cyclones, and heat- landy from Princeton University, USA;
waves over both land and ocean are Jerome Vialard from Sorbonne Univer-
increasingly affecting us. These sités, France; and Thomas Frölicher
extreme weather events will amplify in from University of Bern, Switzerland.
intensity and frequency before we
reach the twilight of our time—unless Link to the study:
decisive action to adapt and mitigate https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-
climate change is taken now.” 12-822698-8.00004-4

The will to live: 65-year-old

The buzz about bees: woman patient undergoes
Guardians of our ecosystem bone marrow transplant
JAIPUR ONCOLOGIST BREAKS MYTH OF AGE LIMIT IN BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
VIDHI CHURIWALA

T
cance of creating nesting sites for Urban beekeeping is accessible mote bee-friendly practices, such as here is always a big question: What is The patient was treated with salvage
bees and birds in cities cannot be and low-maintenance. Regular planting bee-friendly flowers, avoid- the upper age limit for a bone mar- chemotherapy with 4 cycles in August last

A
lbert Einstein once
remarked, “If the bee disap-
peared off the surface of the
globe, then man would have
only four years of life left." This
statement encapsulates the vital role
that bees play in our world, from
pollinating plants to sustaining
ecosystems. Humanity's relation-
ship with insects is ancient and
complex. While they can spread dis-
ease and wipe out crops, they are
also vital to our survival on Planet
Earth as pollinators and recyclers.
In the case of bees, public opinion
has changed in recent years, espe-
cially regarding their importance in
food production.
“The bee is more honored than
other animals, not because she
labors, but because she labors for
others.” – St. John Chrysostom
Bees, as pollinators, are indis-
pensable for the growth of many
crops. Concerns have been raised
about the widespread use of poisons
and pesticides, which can harm bee
populations and disrupt ecosys-
tems. To address this, initiatives
like Bee Bricks have emerged,
offering nesting places
for solitary bees
within
overstated. Solitary bees, unlike
their hive-dwelling counterparts,
establish nests in spring or summer,
ensuring the next generation's sur-
vival. Bee Bricks exemplify how sim-
ple interventions can support bio-
diversity and ecosystem health.
Honeybees, in particular, are
renowned for their contributions to
agriculture and the environment.
They play a pivotal role in pollinat-
ing plants, including many of the
fruits and vegetables we consume
daily. Without honeybees, a signifi-
cant portion of our food supply
would be at risk, highlighting the
interconnectedness of ecosystems
on a global scale.
Interest in urban beekeeping
has increased, especially since the
Covid-19 pandemic. Apoorva B V
from HoneyDay Bee Farms notes a
rise in people's interest in preserv-
ing the environment
through beekeep-
ing.
checks and basic precautions can
ensure hive health. Training pro-
grams, like those offered by Under
The Mango Tree, provide valuable
knowledge for aspiring beekeepers.
Apiculture is gaining impor-
tance in Indian cities to save hon-
eybees due to urbanization's habitat
loss, declining bee populations
threatening food security, economic
opportunities in beekeeping, and its
role in raising awareness about bee
conservation and environmental
stewardship among urban residents.
Beyond pollination, honeybees
produce honey and beeswax,
adding value to agricultural systems
and supporting local economies.
Their complex social structures,
with worker bees, a queen, and
drones, showcase nature's intricate
balance and cooperation within
colonies.
Despite their importance, hon-
eybee populations have faced chal-
lenges, such as colony collapse
disorder, leading to concerns
about their long-term
survival. Efforts to
protect bees
and pro-
ing pesticides, and supporting local
beekeepers, are crucial steps
towards safeguarding these essen-
tial pollinators.
In conclusion, bees are not just
insects; they are guardians of our
ecosystems, sustaining life through
pollination and contributing to bio-
diversity. Recognizing and support-
ing their role is key to ensuring a
sustainable future for our planet and
generations to come.
The writer is an environment enthusiast
and an animal welfare activist, and is the
Founder of Kaloms Ideas Welfare
Foundation. She is also a chartered
accountant.
row transplant in a blood cancer
patient? Is it below 60 years or up to
70 years?
Jaipur's cancer specialist at the Apex
Hospital's comprehensive oncology care
cured a 65-year-old woman suffering from
multiple myeloma (blood cancer) in 2020 by
transplanting her own cells of bone marrow
early this month.
A bone marrow transplant is a proce-
dure that infuses healthy blood-forming
stem cells into your body to replace bone
marrow that's not producing enough
healthy blood cells. A bone marrow trans-
plant is also called a stem cell transplant.
The female patient from Bhilwara suf-
fered 'Relapse Multiple Myeloma' (blood
cancer) and had a pathological fracture, and
her haematology parameters like haemo-
globin, RBC, WBC, and platelets were on the
lower side; Dr Ashish Verma, consultant
Hemato-Oncologist told The Statesman.
She had symptoms of weakness, body
pain, and poor appetite, though she was
healthy enough to bear the oncology proce-
dures since August last year, Dr Verma said.
year, and then she underwent 'Autologous
Bone Marrow Transplant', Dr Verma, who
led his team, said.
According to Dr Verma, the patient's
upper stem cells were normal and were used
in a procedure called conditioning regime
chemotherapy. He claims that with this
treatment, her disease will be in remission
for a long time. She has been prescribed
multivitamins and other normal drugs and
will recover in the next three months.
When asked how much was the cost of
the treatment? Dr Verma replied that the
privileges of the Rajasthan government's
Chiranjivi health insurance card were given
to the patient.
Why was this procedure a preference
for such an aged patient? He replied, "There
is no age limit basis for a bone marrow
transplant; the biggest factor that deter-
mines whether or not someone would be
eligible for this treatment is their health. She
was found fit after the salvage chemothera-
py in four cycles". SNS

urban
set-
tings.
These
bricks,
with their
irregular
holes, pro-
vide safe
havens for
bees to lay
eggs and
continue
their life cycles.
Pic courtesy:
The signifi-
Dr ASHISH VERMA

CMYK

For more updates
IPL: KKR pacer
Harshit Rana gets
one-match ban for
breaching code
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Kolkata Knight Riders pacer
Harshit Rana has been docked
100 percent of his match fee
and suspended for a game, for
breaching the IPL Code of Con-
duct during his team’s match
against Delhi Capitals.
Rana will now miss KKR’s
game against Mumbai Indi-
ans at the Wankhede Stadium,
on May 3. Though the IPL
release did not specify the
reason, he could’ve been
penalised for the animated cel-
ebrations after dismissing DC
batter Abishek Porel. After
dismissing Porel in the seventh
over of DC's innings, Rana was
spotted giving the batter a
bit of a send-off as he walked
back. He eventually picked up
two wickets for KKR in their
seven-wicket win against the
Capitals. Rana was subse-
quently charged with a Level
1 breach under Article 2.5 of
the IPL code of conduct which
deals with 'Using language,
actions or gestures which dis-
parage or which could provoke
an aggressive reaction from
another player in the Match'.
This was Rana’s second
offence of the season, having
also been penalised last month
during the game against Sun-
risers Hyderabad. During that
match, Rana gave SRH bat-
ter Mayank Agarwal a sharp
stare after dismissing him, and
was fined 60 percent of his
match fee.
Uber Cup: India go down to China
0-5, but finish second in Group A
HARPAL SINGH BEDI
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Having secured their quar-
terfinal berth in the Uber Cup
Badminton,the young Indian
women put up good fight
against game's power house
and host China before
going down 0-5 in their last
Group A encounter in Cheng-
du on Tuesday
The Indian women side
with an average age of of
below 25 was always going to
be the underdogs against an
T20 WC-bound England players set to miss IPL 2024 playoffs & final
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
The England Cricket Board
(ECB) on Tuesday announced
that the T20 World Cup-
bound England players will
miss the Indian Premier
League (IPL) 2024 playoffs and
final due to their four-match
T20I series against Pakistan,
starting May 22.
This means that Rajasthan
Royals will be without the serv-
ices of Jos Buttler, while
Kolkata Knight Riders and
Chennai Super Kings won’t
have Phil Salt and Moeen
Ali, respectively in their ranks.
Buttler and Salt have been
crucial in Rajasthan and
Kolkata’s run this season.
While Salt is currently KKR’s
leading run scorer, amassing
392 runs in nine games, and
has formed a destructive
Printed and published by VINEET GUPTA for THE STATESMAN LTD, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi ��Editor: RAVINDRA KUMAR ��Managing Editor: ARYA RUDRA ��Printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd, D-160 B, Sector 7, NOIDA 201301 (UP). ��The Statesman Ltd. RNB REG. No. M-8905,RNI No. 507/57
WE WON'T HIDE BEHIND ANY EXCUSES
After Delhi Capitals (DC) went down by seven wickets in their away match against
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, following their back-to-back wins
at home, bowling coach James Hopes said that Monday's game was a missed
opportunity and the team won't hide behind any excuses for the loss. Kuldeep
Yadav's resilient unbeaten 35 off 26 helped Delhi Capitals to post 153/9
in 20 overs. However, the home side KKR chased down the target in 16.3
overs, courtesy Phil Salt's 68 off 33.
www.thestatesman.com
CSK look to cement top-4 stay
against inconsistent PBKS
With 10 points from nine matches so far, the Yellow Brigade share similar figures with LSG
TRIDIB BAPARNASH
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
D
efending champi-
ons Chennai Super
Kings will look to
sustain their new-
found momentum heading
into the business end of the
Indian Premier League 2024
when they take on an unpre-
dictable Punjab Kings at the
MA Chidambaram Stadium in
Chennai on Wednesday.
With 10 points from nine
matches so far, the Yellow
Brigade share similar figures
with Lucknow Super Giants,
Sunrisers Hyderabad and
Delhi Capitals, and as such will
be desperately looking to
break away from the logjam
However, the Ruturaj Gaik-
wad-led outfit will be wary of
the threat posed by the 8th
ranked Punjab Kings, fresh
from recording the biggest
chase in the history of T20 crick-
et when they hunted down a
mammoth 262 against Kolkata
Knight Riders in their previ-
ous game.
But considering the unpre-
dictable dew factor at Chep-
auk, it won’t take long for the
momentum to swing either
way. The last time CSK turned
out at the venue, it resulted in
a brilliant 78-run win over
Sunrisers Hyderabad as there
was no dew in Chennai on that
outfit which had all the world
top-10 ranked players.
And though they lost 0-5
and finished second in the
group, they would take a lot
of positives ahead of their
quarterfinals.
In the opening singles,
Isharani Baruah took on
Olympic champion Chen
Yufei and even opened up a
6-4 lead before the Chinese
took control of the match
and won 21-12, 21-10.
“This was the first time I was
playing such a top player.
opening pair with Sunil Nar-
ine, Buttler has scored 319
runs, including back-to-back
centuries for table-toppers
Royals. Moeen too is an inte-
gral part of the CSK squad.
The first IPL qualifier
between the top teams of the
league will be played on May
21. The Eliminator match
between the teams placed
at third and fourth will be
played on May 22. The win-
ner of Eliminator will take on
the losing team of Qualifier
1 on May 24 in the second
Qualifier. The final will be
played on May 26 at the MA
Chidambaram Stadium in
Chennai.
Archer returns for Eng-
land’s title defence
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer, the
menacing pacer has been
included in England’s squad for
the World Cup 2024, marking
night and the CSK bowlers got
considerable assistance to
demolish SRH’s potent batting
unit with their accuracy and
variations after their batters
put on board a 200-plus total.
Against Punjab Kings, the
CSK management would hope
for an encore, and all eyes will
once again be on in-form
skipper Gaikwad getting his
side to another mammoth
score. Gaikwad has registered
scores of 108 and 98 in his last
two innings and New Zealand’s
Daryl Mitchell also seemed to
have returned to form with a
32-ball 52 against Hyderabad.
The middle order will be
manned by Shivam Dube,
who will be eager to justify his
The speed of the match was
quite high but I am not happy
with the number of mistakes
I made. Whenever I could
play long rallies, I had a chance
of winning points,” said Isha-
rani after the match.
National champions Priya
Konjengbam and Shruti
Mishra then lost 13-21, 12 -21
against world no. 1 combi-
nation of Chen Qing Chen and
Jia Yi Fan before Anmol Kharb
had to retire hurt in the sec-
ond game against Han Yue in
the second singles.
With the tie already decid-
ed, the second doubles com-
bination of Simran Singhi
and Ritika Thaker and Tanvi
Sharma tried their best but
could not find that elusive win.
Fifteen-year-old Tanvi
Sharma, making her debut in
the competition, took the
fight to Asian champion Wang
Zhi Yi in the second game but
lost 21-7, 21-16.
Results..:
India lose to China 0-5 (Isha-
rani Baruah lost to Chen Yu Fei
12-21, 10-21; Priya Konjeng-
bam/Shruti Mishra lost to
Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan 13-
21, 12-21; Anmol Kharb lost to
Han Yue 9-21, 1-4 retd.; Sim-
ran Singhi/Ritika Thaker lost
to Liu Sheng Shu/Tang Ning
9-21, 10-21; Tanvi Sharma
lost to Wang Zhi 21 -7,21-16
his return to international
cricket for the first time in a year.
Archer’s last appearance
for England dates back to
March 2023, and since then,
he has been on the road to
recovery from an elbow injury
that sidelined him for near-
T20 World Cup selection with
his batting pyrotechnics. It
would be interesting to see if
the franchise retains him as
an Impact Sub or also allows
him to roll his arms with his
seam-bowling, something
that the Indian team man-
agement will be keeping a
close eye on ahead of the
World Cup in June.
With the bat, Dube so far
has made 350 runs, second
highest for CSK behind Gaik-
wad’s 447, and those runs
came at a strike-rate of 172.41,
second only to MS Dhoni’s
259.45.
CSK will, however, hope for
an improved show from the vet-
eran Ajinkya Rahane, whose last
Bengal Inc laps up Bengal Pro
T20 League, new cricketing
jamboree on 22 yards
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, 30 APRIL
Come June 11 and the ambi-
tious Bengal Pro T20 League,
that promises to be a game
changer for cricket in Bengal,
will get off the ground. The
initiative organised by the CAB
and exclusively managed by
Arivaa Sports, aims at over-
all development at the grass-
roots across the Districts of
Bengal, unearthing new tal-
ent as well as boosting the
cricket economy which thrives
in India. The tournament
will also come with the first
ever women’s version in any
state run premier leagues
across India. The cricketing
jamboree on 22-yards will start
immediately after the IPL
2024.
Each Franchise of the
Bengal Pro T20 League will
be fielding both men’s and
women’s team. While all
men’s matches shall take
place at the historic Eden Gar-
dens, women’s matches will
be played at the Jadavpur Uni-
versity, Salt Lake Campus
Ground.
In the past, several state
associations had organised
their own men’s T20 tour-
naments, the most prominent
ones being the Tamil Nadu
ly 12 months. Ever since 2021,
his journey hasn’t been an easy
one as he has encountered
multiple obstacles, including
stress fractures, persistent
elbow problems and even
surgery due to a freak fish tank
accident.
four outings as opener produced
scores of 5, 36, 1, 9, and those
numbers don’t reflect his expe-
rience or skill-level. However,
it seems that the team man-
agement is ready to back him.
On the bowling front, CSK
will once again pin their hopes
on Tushar Deshpande, whose
four-wicket burst broke the
backbone of the SRH line-up,
and the pair of Matheesha
Pathirana and Deepak Cha-
har. Ravindra Jadeja and
Moeen Ali are their spin-
bowling options.
The Punjab Kings, on the
other hand, will be desperately
looking to ride on the momen-
tum received at the Eden Gar-
dens. For that, the batters will
Premier League, the Mahara-
ja Trophy by the Karnataka
State Cricket Association
(KSCA) and the Uttar Pradesh
T20 League.
The new tournament will
take place over a 21-day win-
dow in June, with ten teams
in both the men’s and
women’s events. Every day is
a double-header day: women’s
matches will be held in the
morning and the afternoon;
men’s matches will be held
in the afternoon and the
evening. The tournament
will be held in a league-and-
knockout format with a total
of 31 games for each men’s
and women’s team.
Apart from this, to ensure
fair play, all tournament rules
will be modelled after the IPL,
including those related to
anti-corruption measures.
Eight franchises named
after the cities and districts
of West Bengal will lock horns
in the maiden season. Men’s
teams will have 17 players, and
women’s teams will have 16
players, and all the players as
well as the coaches have to
be from Bengal. The men’s
matches will be telecast live
on one of the top sports
channels. Meanwhile, the
women’s games will be live-
streamed on an OTT platform.
The defending champi-
ons also picked experienced
all-rounder Chris Jordan in the
squad, despite his recent
absence from the English
set-up, and his last interna-
tional appearance dating
back to September 2023.
once again be expected to
fire in unison and the onus is
on Jonny Bairstow, who made
a hundred against KKR,
Shashank Singh and Prabh-
simran Singh.
They will also expect
their bowling unit, com-
prising the likes of Kagiso
Rabada, Arshdeep Singh,
Sam Curran and Harshal
Patel to stick as a unit, and
compliment each other
both at the start and the
death overs. Harpreet Brar
and Rahul Chahar have also
been under-par this season
with the spin twins account-
ing for mere seven wickets
between them in this sea-
son so far.
Pant, Samson preferred as WK options,
Chahal, Dube make it to T20 WC squad
(Continued from Page 1)
has been among the top three
wicket-takers so far in the IPL
with 13 scalps for the
Rajasthan Royals.
Chahal will be one of the
four spin options, along with
left-arm wrist-spinner
Kuldeep Yadav, and left-arm
spin allrounders Ravindra
Jadeja and Axar Patel in the
T20 World Cup team.
Seam bowling all-round-
er Shivam Dube’s red-hot
IPL form made it difficult
for him to be left out as he kept
his place in the squad after
featuring in the recent T20I
series against Afghanistan. The
30-year-old has been in scin-
tillating form for the Chen-
nai Super Kings, amassing 350
runs in nine matches at an
impressive strike rate of
172.41.
Dube, whose bowling is
however, yet to be tested in
the IPL so far, will be expect-
ed to roll his arm during the
showpiece event in the US and
the Caribbean as India’s pace
attack comprises only three
frontline quicks in Jasprit
Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
and Arshdeep Singh. Vice-cap-
tain Hardik Pandya, whose
bowling fitness is still a work-
in-progress, will add up as the
additional seam-bowling
option in the squad.
Buttler will lead England’s
title defence and the batting
department that includes
the likes of Will Jacks, Phil Salt
and Jonny Bairstow among
the top-order contenders.
Ben Duckett will lend some
left-handed diversity to the
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY 01 MAY 2024
Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2022/-23-24
Two uncapped players picked
in South Africa’s T20 WC squad
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 APRIL
Aiden Markram will lead
South Africa’s charge for the
first time in an ICC event
after being named the T20I
skipper for the ICC T20 World
Cup 2024 in the USA and
West Indies.
Among the notable inclu-
sions are Anrich Nortje and
Quinton de Kock, who were
recently excluded from Crick-
et South Africa’s central con-
tract list. Nortje has been
sidelined from international
action since September 2023
due to a back injury, while De
Kock announced his retire-
ment from ODIs after the
2023 Cricket World Cup, hav-
ing already bid farewell to
Test cricket in 2022.
Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel
Baartman are the two
uncapped faces in the squad
and have been selected on the
basis of their notable per-
formance in the recent SA20
tournament. Rickelton was the
leading run-scorer in the tour-
nament with 530 runs at an
average of 58.88 and strike rate
of 173.77 for MI Cape Town
There were no surprises
in the selection of the batters
with the left-handed Yashasvi
Jaiswal being preferred as
Rohit’s opening partner,
while Virat Kohli and Suryaku-
mar Yadav fill up the top
four positions. Both Rohit and
Virat Kohli did not play any
T20 internationals after the
2022 T20 World Cup in Aus-
tralia, where India lost in the
semi-finals to England, up
until January 2024, when
they were selected for the three
T20Is at home against
Afghanistan.
The left-handed Pant’s
return to the squad also adds
balance in the batting order,
and is set to be the No.5 fol-
lowed by either of Dube or
Pandya at No.6. Ravindra
Jadeja could be India’s pre-
ferred No.7 although India will
have the luxury of a like-for-
like Axar Patel for the same
spot followed by the tail.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill
has found himself as a reserve
player along with lower-order
batter Rinku Singh, and fast
bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and
Harry Brook, Liam Liv-
ingstone and Sam Cur-
ran will provide the
lower-order firepower
to the team while Adil
Rashid will lead the
spin attack flanked
by Tom Hartley
squad along with veteran
all-rounder Moeen Ali.
Harry Brook, Liam Liv-
ingstone and Sam Curran
will provide the lower-order
firepower to the team while
Adil Rashid will lead the spin
attack flanked by Tom Hart-
ley.
The same squad has been
selected for the four-match
T20I series against Pakistan,
which will commence on 22
May. All the players who are
currently part of the Indian
12
while Baartman took 18 wick-
ets in eight matches for defend-
ing champions Sunrisers East-
ern Cape.
The Proteas have a strong
batting core in Markram, De
Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Hein-
rich Klaasen, David Miller
and the promising Tristan
Stubbs while the pace battery
will be led by Kagiso Rabada
and Nortje with the support
of Marco Jansen and Gerald
Coetzee. Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav
Maharaj and Tabraiz Sham-
si will be the frontline spinners.
On Monday, New Zealand
became the first team to
announce their squad. The rest
of the participating coun-
tries are expected to announce
their squads shortly before the
May 1 deadline.
South Africa squad: Aiden
Markram (c), Ottniel Baart-
man, Gerald Coetzee, Quin-
ton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin,
Reeza Hendricks, Marco
Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen,
Keshav Maharaj, David Miller,
Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Raba-
da, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz
Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Travelling reserves: Nan-
dre Burger and Lungi Ngidi
Avesh Khan.
A big name missing from
India’s list is that of KL Rahul,
who was part of India’s last
two T20 World Cup cam-
paigns (2021 and 2022).
India are placed in Group
A of the tournament along-
side arch-rivals Pakistan, Ire-
land, Canada and co-hosts
USA. The Rohit Sharma-led
side’s campaign begins on
June 5 against Ireland at the
newly-constructed Nassau
County International Crick-
et Stadium in New York before
they take on Pakistan in one
of the most awaited match-
es of the upcoming T20 World
Cup on June 9.
On June 12, India will take
on hosts USA at the Nassau
County Stadium in New York
before facing Canada at the
Central Broward Park &
Broward County Stadium,
Lauderhill on June 15.
India squad: Rohit Shar-
ma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc),
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli,
Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh
Pant (wk), Sanju Samson
(wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra
Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep
Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal,
Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bum-
rah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill,
Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed
and Avesh Khan.
Premier League (IPL) will
return in time for the T20I
series against Babar Azam’s
men. All teams are allowed
to make changes to their
squad until May 25, after
which any alteration will
require approval from ICC’s
Event Technical Commit-
tee. England will fly to the
Caribbean on May 31 ahead
of their first game against
Scotland in Barbados on
June 4. They are drawn in
Group B at the T20 World Cup
alongside Australia, Namib-
ia, Scotland and Oman.
England squad: Jos But-
tler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra
Archer, Jonathan Bairstow,
Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben
Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will
Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam
Livingstone, Adil Rashid,
Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark
Wood