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CITY EDITION
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08
26 Pages ₹ 15.00 RNI No. UPENG/1986/49939
Vol. 14 앫 No. 18

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CRISIS IN KUTTANAD

Avian flu Winning over voters Centre lifts export

ban on onion, but
poses threat
to duck in ‘boycott capital’ conditions apply
farming In Srinagar, the EC pulls out all stops — selfie points, street plays, musical
shows, and awareness campaigns — to bring voters to the booths Vikas Dhoot
NEW DELHI
STATES » PAGE 5
Peerzada Ashiq
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
The Centre on Saturday
SRINAGAR lifted the prohibition on
onion exports imposed
rfan Ahmad, 45, a banker, came out nearly six months ago, but

I to experience Jashn-e-Jugalbandhi,
a musical show, at the decked-up
pedestrians-only market, Polo View,
in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, on Thursday. “I
have never seen election-related shows in
restrained the free flow of
outbound shipments by
stipulating a minimum ex-
port price of $550 a tonne
as well as a 40% export
Srinagar in my lifetime. It is a spectacle duty. The onion-growing belts of
Amethi and Rae Bareli: the twin this year,” Mr. Ahmad, who has never vot- The change in stance on Gujarat and Maharashtra will
ed, said. He’s still unsure if he’ll vote in the exports of the critical vote this month.
political power centres Lok Sabha elections this year but he’s cer- kitchen staple, which were
PROFILES » PAGE 13 tainly considering it. A man poses at an EC selfie booth set up inside banned in early December changed by the Centre’s ex-
The Election Commission (EC), through the Tulip Garden in Srinagar. NISSAR AHMAD 2023 citing high food infla- tended curbs on exports.
the Systematic Voters’ Education and Elec- tion and supply worries, Global onion prices had
toral Participation (SVEEP) programme, is Polo View market was a success. Our in- comes days ahead of the surged in recent months af-
making an unprecedented attempt to tention is that ballots and not bullets Lok Sabha election in the ter major suppliers, includ-
reach out to voters in the three constituen- should decide the elections. One more onion-farming belts of Guj- ing India, Pakistan, and
cies — including the Srinagar seat — of the musical event, where popular singer Kabul arat and Maharashtra. Egypt, banned exports. Re-
Kashmir valley that will go to the polls on Bukhari will perform, is slated for May 7. An April 25 decision to porting a 300% uptick in
May 13. All the three constituencies in We are buoyed by people’s response,” No- allow 2,000 tonnes of production, Egypt lifted
Kashmir remain low-voter-turnout seats. dal Officer Sapna Kotwal said. At the mar- white onion exports from those curbs last month,
In 2019, Srinagar recorded less than 14% ket, people swayed to the tunes of Sufi Gujarat had prompted a while Pakistan has also re-
polling, Anantnag 13.61%, and Baramulla songs like Sanson ki Mala, Chhaap Tilak sharp reaction from Oppo- moved export restrictions
Royal Challengers
38.9%. It was in Srinagar that separatists Sab and Dum Gutkoon. sition leaders, who alleged recently.
coast past Titans called for a boycott that caused many peo- that Maharashtra farmers
SPORT » PAGE 15 ple to skip the ballot last time. CONTINUED ON who mainly grow red CONTINUED ON
“The late-evening musical event at the » PAGE 7 onions had been short- » PAGE 7

IN BRIEF
쑽
Parched earth Rohith Vemula’s mother meets
Revanth, gets assurance of justice
The Hindu Bureau
HYDERABAD

A day after the Telangana

Arvinder Singh
Lovely joins
the BJP again
NEW DELHI
Arvinder Singh Lovely on
Saturday joined the BJP, less
than a week after he quit as
the Delhi Congress president
citing the lack of a free hand
to run the party affairs. This
will be Mr. Lovely’s second
stint in the BJP after he
left the party to rejoin the
Congress in 2018. » Page 2
CLASSIFIEDS PAGE 6 » Not a drop left: One of the largest freshwater lakes in the country, the Kolleru Lake in Eluru district of Vijayawada lies dry and barren in the
MAGAZINE 8 PAGES »
police filed a closure report
in the Rohith Vemula sui-
cide case, his mother Rad-
hika Vemula and students
from the University of Hyd-
erabad (UoH) on Saturday
met Chief Minister A. Re-
vanth Reddy, who assured
justice to the family.
According to the closure
report of the Cyberabad
Police Commissionerate,
Rohith, who was a re-
search scholar at the UoH,
had multiple issues worry-
ing him and those would
have driven him to end his
life. The report also said no
evidence was found to es-
middle of a particularly intense summer. G.N. RAO tablish that the actions of
Radhika Vemula and students from the University of Hyderabad with
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
the accused persons drove fice of the Director-General
him to the extreme step. of Police said a fresh inves-
The university students tigation will be conducted.
had held a protest march at Rohith Vemula ended
the main gate of the cam- his life in a hostel room on
pus demanding justice on January 17, 2016.
Friday. They said that they (Those in distress may
now have the option of ap- contact Sanjivini, Society
proaching the lower courts for Mental Health suicide
with a protest petition. prevention helpline: 011-
On Friday night, the of- 40769002.)

H.D. Revanna arrested in abduction Modi brings up Godhra train burning at

case, woman rescued from Mysuru Bihar poll rally, targets Lalu over incident
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Former Karnataka Minister
and Janata Dal (Secular) le-
gislator H.D. Revanna was
arrested by the Special In-
vestigation Team (SIT) in
an abduction case from the
house of his father and
former Prime Minister
H.D. Deve Gowda in Benga-
luru on Saturday.
The case was registered
against Mr. H.D. Revanna
and his confidant Sathish
Babu in Mysuru on Thurs-
day night for allegedly ab-
ducting a woman. The case
was registered based on a
complaint filed by the wo-
man’s son, who alleged
that his mother was sexual-
ly abused by Mr. H.D. Re-
vanna’s son and JD(S) MP,
Prajwal Revanna.
CM
YK
The abduction case was
registered against Mr. H.D.
Revanna in Mysuru district
on May 2. The JD(S) lead-
er’s former house help was
allegedly abducted on
April 29 to prevent her
from testifying against Mr.
Prajwal Revanna.
Sexual assault case
Officials of the SIT con-
ducted a mahazar at Mr.
In trouble: H.D. Revanna being brought to the SIT office in H.D. Revanna’s residence
Bengaluru on Saturday in an abduction case. SUDHAKARA JAIN at Holenarsipur and Mr.
Prajwal Revanna’s quarters
The arrest came after captive at the farmhouse of in Hassan on Saturday.
the legislator’s anticipatory one Rajagopal, a close as- They reached Mr. H.D.
bail petition was rejected sociate of Mr. H.D. Revan- Revanna’s house by 11.45
by a Bengaluru court in the na, in Mysuru district. The a.m. with the woman, who
abduction case. aide has also been de- filed the complaint with
Hours before Mr. H.D. tained. The woman’s state- the Holenarsipur Town
Revanna’s arrest, the ab- ment is likely to lead to Police alleging that he and
ducted woman was res- another rape case being re- his son sexually abused her
cued from captivity by the gistered against Mr. Praj- when she was working at
SIT. She was allegedly held wal Revanna. their house.
Amit Bhelari
PATNA
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, for the first time,
raised the Godhra issue
during the Lok Sabha elec-
tion campaign at a rally in
Bihar on Saturday. Target-
ing Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) chief Lalu Prasad,
Mr. Modi blamed him for
protecting those who were
responsible for the Godhra
train burning in 2002.
Without mentioning the
name of Mr. Prasad, who
was the Railway Minister in
the United Progressive Al-
liance (UPA) government
from 2004, Mr. Modi said,
“He had tried to shield
those who were responsi-
ble for the Godhra train
burning in which more
than 60 kar sevaks were
burnt alive. Was it not dur-
Poll frenzy: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister
Ashwini Choubey during a public meeting in Darbhanga. ANI
ing the reign of Sonia
[Gandhi] madam?”
Mr. Modi was then the
Chief Minister of Gujarat.
‘Bogus report’
At a rally in support of BJP
candidate Gopal Ji Thakur
in Darbhanga, Mr. Modi re-
called the Banerjee Com-
mission, headed by a re-
tired judge of the Supreme
Court, that was tasked with
conducting a probe into
the train burning.
Mr. Modi said under
pressure, the commission
submitted a “bogus re-
port” to set free those res-
ponsible for the carnage
and put the blame on kar
sevaks. However, the court
did not go with the report
and people responsible for
the carnage were pun-
ished, he said.
In Jharkhand, the Prime
Minister made an attack on
the Congress and its lead-
ers while addressing public
meetings in Palamu and
Gumla. “There was a time
when the cowardly Con-
gress government used to
go around the world and
cry after a terrorist attack.
However, today Pakistan is
crying all over the world.
The Pakistani leaders are
praying to make shehzada
[prince] of the Congress
the Prime Minister of In-
dia. A strong India wants a
strong government and for
a strong government, we
need a Modi government,”
the Prime Minister said.
The rallies were held in
support of BJP candidates
V.D. Raman and Sameer
Oraon from the Palamu
and Lohardaga Lok Sabha
seats, respectively.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
2 Sunday, May 5, 2024

City Delhi

PMLA case transferred

to different judge after
accused flags remark
Ishita Mishra
NEW DELHI
A Delhi court has trans-
ferred the proceedings of
seen to be done, and given
that the applicant has ex-
pressed apprehension duly
supported by the affidavit
of his wife, it cannot be
Lovely jumps ship again, joins BJP; Cong.
says no place for ‘cheaters, opportunists’
Three ex-MLAs who quit Congress over tie-up with AAP also join BJP; Lovely says supporters urged him not to ‘sit at home’ and go with stronger party
Satvika Mahajan the Aam Aadmi Party party “when they felt lost”. He accused AAP of brand-
NEW DELHI (AAP) and Lok Sabha tick- He asserted that Mr. Mo- ing the Congress as cor-
ets to “outsiders” like Udit di is set to retain power in rupt, only to join hands

the Bhushan Steel money
laundering case to a diffe-
rent judge after the ac-
cused in the case raised an
objection regarding the
first judge.
The court of Principal
District and Sessions judge
Anju Bajaj Chandna trans-
ferred the case proceed-
ings from the court of Spe-
cial Judge (PC Act) Jagdish
Kumar to Special Judge (PC
Act) Mukesh Kumar on
May 1, after Justice Jagdish
Kumar allegedly remarked,
“Lene do datein, ED [Enfor-
cement Directorate] mat-
ters mein kaunsi bail hoti
hai (Let them keep taking
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
said to be misconceived or
misplaced,” the court said,
adding that fairness was a
“hallmark” of the criminal
justice system.
The court added that
because the matter was at
its initial stage, no prejud-
ice would be caused to the
answering respondent if
the case was heard by any
other court of competent
jurisdiction.
In the transfer plea filed
by the accused, Ajay S. Mit-
tal , the applicant said that
the judge’s comments,
made on April 25 after
hearing his bail plea,
“came as a shock to him”.
A
rvinder Singh Love- Raj, a BJP turncoat, from the Lok Sabha poll and ex- with them later, as Delhi’s
ly on Saturday North West Delhi and Kan- pressed confidence that ruling party is itself now
joined the BJP, less haiya Kumar from North the BJP will sweep all seven “mired in corruption”.
than a week after he quit as East Delhi. Lok Sabha seats in the Cap-
the Delhi Congress chief Speaking to the media, ital. He also pledged con- ‘Don’t care about him’
citing the lack of a free Mr. Lovely said his suppor- tinuous contributions to Meanwhile, the Delhi Con-
hand to run the party ters urged him to join the nation-building and the gress interim chief, Deven-
affairs. BJP as they wanted him to fight against corruption in der Yadav, criticised Mr.
Along with him, three play an active role in the Delhi. Lovely for quitting the Con-
former Congress MLAs — Capital’s politics. gress and called him an
Raj Kumar Chauhan, Na- “Everyone knows the ‘Will strengthen BJP’ “opportunist”. “The Con-
seeb Singh, and Neeraj Ba- conditions under which I Welcoming the Congress gress does not care about
soya — and former Youth left the Congress. I had re- leaders into the party fold, such people. It was strong
Congress leader Amit Ma- Former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely with city BJP signed and decided to sit at BJP leader and Union Mi- before and will remain
lik also joined the BJP. president Virendra Sachdeva in New Delhi on Saturday. ANI home. Many of my suppor- nister Hardeep Singh Puri strong in future too,” he
The Congress slammed ters whom I met urged me said their induction will said.
its former Delhi chief for Mr. Lovely, a former Del- He had resigned as the not to sit at home and join strengthen his party in Del- “This is not the first time
the move, calling him an hi Minister, had been at the Delhi Congress chief on a stronger party to fight for hi and bolster its prospects that he [Lovely] has tried
“opportunist” and a helm of the party’s city un- April 28 and had earlier Delhi,” he said. in the May 25 Lok Sabha to sabotage the Congress.
“cheater”. it since August last year. He junked the claims about Mr. Lovely hailed the poll in the city. Whenever there is a

dates, after all, who gets
bail in ED cases)”.
“Justice should not only
be done, but it should be
“The applicant does not
expect a fair and proper
opportunity to represent
his case,” his plea had said.
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
This will be Mr. Lovely’s was instrumental in inject- him joining the BJP. leadership of Prime Minis- Mr. Basoya said there chance, he has tried to
second stint in the BJP after ing life back into the Con- He, however, had ex- ter Narendra Modi for giv- was “no real connect” bet- cheat, and there is no place
he left it to rejoin the Con- gress by uniting its old pressed reservations about ing him and his colleagues ween INDIA bloc partners for cheaters in the party,”
gress in 2018. guard, sources said. the seat-sharing pact with the opportunity to join the — AAP and the Congress. Mr. Yadav added.

‘Opposition should find issues against us that actually stick’
The Enforcement Directorate has shared the facts of the Delhi excise policy case, voters are mature enough to decide for themselves, says Union Minister and senior BJP leader
INTERVIEW
Hardeep Singh
Puri
Nistula Hebbar
Satvika Mahajan
The Prime Minister and
the RSS chief have affirmed
their support for reserva-
tions, says Hardeep Singh
Puri, adding that the BJP-
led NDA has done more for
the SCs, STs, and OBCs
than the previous govern-
ments. It is for the first
time that a tribal person
has become the country’s
First Citizen, he tells The
Hindu. Edited excerpts:
Opposition parties have
accused the BJP of using
probe agencies to
Hardeep Singh Puri. SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
intimidate them, citing
the arrest of Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind
Kejriwal.
In Delhi, we had an IIT
graduate and a former re-
venue service officer who
decided to join an anti-cor-
ruption crusade with Anna
Hazare. He swore never to
Over ₹2 crore
seized from
luxury car,
pened. Alcohol vendors developed these consti- has always supported re- them. It is for the first time
two detained
themselves have said that tuencies. But there is a servations, and this has that a tribal person has be-
the commission shot up worrying streak in Indian been reaffirmed by Prime come the country’s First The Hindu Bureau
from 2% to 12%. Moreover, politics — some leaders be- Minister Narendra Modi Citizen. NEW DELHI
the agency [ED] tried to lieve that it is better to keep and RSS chief Mohan
contact him eight times. people poor so that they Bhagwat. The Opposition has The police on Saturday re-
On the ninth occasion, it become more beholden to accused the BJP of covered over ₹2 crore in
used its powers to arrest you. Such ideas are embed- What is your focusing on divisive cash from a luxury car in
him. I leave it to your read- ded in the Congress, which assessment of the caste issues rather than south-east Delhi’s Okhla In-
ers to judge whether the has made its leaders politi- census issue? working on poverty, dustrial Estate and de-
agency was acting at some- cally irrelevant. unemployment, and tained two persons.
one’s behest or only doing The protracted confu- We should remember that health care. A police officer said the
its work. The agency has sion and dissimulation ov- the Congress-led UPA had cash was confiscated by a
made its facts available. er fighting from Rae Bareli conducted a caste census I continue to be amused by flying squad formed by the
Our voters are mature and or Amethi do not bode well in 2011 but their govern- the Opposition’s state- Election Commission of In-
discerning enough to de- for the Congress party. ment sat on it for three ments. I want to remind dia. “The car for stopped
join politics but eventually cide for themselves. I have a theory, though. years. In the garb of caste them that the BJP has been for checking and cash kept
joined it. He also promised Despite whatever Priyan- census, the Congress successful in moving mil- in two cartons was reco-
to remain an aam aadmi What is your take on kaji has done, she is not be- wants to snatch reserva- lions out of multidimen- vered,” he said.
but made a sheesh mahal Rahul Gandhi’s decision ing allowed to enter the tions of one section of the sional poverty in the last 10 The two persons were
for himself. to fight from Rae Bareli? mainstream. community and give them years. Over 80 crore peo- detained after they failed
There is no doubt that to another section. ple are getting free rations. to provide details about
the excise scam [in con- Amethi and Rae Bareli Why has reservation The Modi government is We have kept food and fuel the source of the money,
nection with which Mr. have been the Gandhi fa- become such a big poll fully committed to reserva- prices down during our te- the officer said, adding that
Kejriwal was arrested by mily’s pocket boroughs for issue? tions for the SCs, STs and nure. The Opposition the Income Tax depart-
the Enforcement Directo- many decades. Ideally, you OBCs. This government should find issues against ment and the SDM were in-
rate on March 21] hap- should have nurtured and It is a non-issue. The BJP has done the most for us that actually stick. formed about the recovery.

Fake video of INDIA bloc nominees

Shah: police
add criminal file nominations for
conspiracy four Lok Sabha seats
charge to FIR
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI

The police on Saturday ad-

ded the charge of criminal
conspiracy to the FIR
lodged in connection with
a doctored video of Union
Home Minister Amit Shah’s
April 25 speech in Telanga-
na regarding reservation.
0 “We have added Section
DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries to satisfy themselves about the veracity of an advertisement before responding to
any published in this newspaper. THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not vouch for the authenticity of any advertise-
120-B (criminal conspira-
ment or advertiser or for any of the advertiser’s products and/or services. In no event can the Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this
newspaper/company be held responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for any claims and/or damages for advertisements in this newspaper. cy) of the IPC in the FIR as
investigation has indicated
a larger conspiracy,” a pol-
ice officer said.
DEATH
In the video, the Union
Minister is purportedly
heard saying that the BJP
intends to end reservation
DEATH altogether.
Instead, Mr. Shah had
said in the original video,
“If the BJP forms the go-
vernment, it will withdraw
unconstitutional reserva-
tion for Muslims in Telan-
gana and give the STs, SCs,
and OBCs their rights.”
Meanwhile, Arun Red-
dy, a Congress worker who
was arrested in connection
with the case, was on Fri-
day produced before a lo-
cal court, which sent him
to three-day police custo-
dy. Mr. Reddy, who han-
dles the “Spirit of Con-
gress” X account, is
accused of being among
those who uploaded the
doctored video on social
media and shared it with
other party members.
CM
YK
AAP’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar (centre) during a
roadshow on Saturday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
A total of 165 candidates,
including four Indian Na-
tional Developmental, In-
clusive Alliance (INDIA)
bloc nominees filed their
nomination papers on Sa-
turday, the sixth day of the
nomination process.
Three Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) candidates — Kul-
deep Kumar (East Delhi),
Somnath Bharti (New Del-
hi), and Mahabal Mishra
(West Delhi) — and Con-
gress’s Jai Prakash Agarwal
(Chandni Chowk) were
among those who filed
their papers. Among the
INDIA bloc candidates,
Congress’s Kanhaiya Ku-
mar (North East Delhi) is
yet to file nomination.
Voting in Delhi is sche-
duled for May 25, in the
sixth phase of the general
election.
All nominees of AAP,
which is fighting on four
Lok Sabha seats of Delhi as
part of its 4-3 seat-sharing
arrangement with the Con-
gress, held separate road-
shows before submitting
their nominations.
Mr. Kuldeep Kumar
sought the blessings of his
parents and the wife of
jailed party leader Manish
Sisodia and paid tribute to
B.R. Ambedkar before fil-
ing his papers.
AAP’s West Delhi candi-
date offered prayers at a
temple in Raghubir Nagar
before leading his
roadshow.
Mr. Bharti was flanked
by his wife and children on
the way to the office of the
returning officer.
INDIA bloc’s Chandni
Chowk candidate ex-
pressed gratitude towards
the Congress leadership
for giving him the ticket.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Sunday, May 5, 2024 3
Delhi
States

‘LS polls crucial for saving HC asks Centre,

Delhi govt. to
ED files money laundering case
against Elvish Yadav, others
Constitution, democracy’ respond to plea
on inadequate Press Trust of India use of illicid funds for orga-
SP chief says INDIA bloc government will give priority to rights of underprivileged if voted to judicial housing LUCKNOW nising parties is under the
ED’s scanner.
power; claims this election will be deciding factor ‘not just for us, but for generations to come’ The Enforcement Directo- Mr. Yadav and others
The Hindu Bureau rate has filed a money laun- will be questioned as part
The Hindu Bureau prove employment NEW DELHI dering case against You- of the investigation, sourc-
LUCKNOW opportunities. Tuber Siddharth Yadav es said.
“Remove the BJP, and The Delhi High Court has alias Elvish Yadav and On March 17, the 26-
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
amajwadi Party (SP) the Constitution will be issued a notice to the some others for the sus- year-old Youtuber, who

S president Akhilesh
Yadav on Saturday
said that the upcoming Lok
Sabha election was “for
saving” India’s democracy
and Constitution.
Speaking at a rally in Fi-
rozabad, the former Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister said
that if the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) returned to
power at the Centre, they
may bring a law that will
“take away” the rights of
farmers and marginalised
communities.
“On June 4 [the day re-
sults will be declared], the
government of socialists
will be formed. From the
very first day of the new go-
vernment, permanent jobs
and recruitment will be
done. We will ensure that
everybody is given rights
as per reservation,” he
said, adding that the up-
coming election was not
only “their election, but an
Akhilesh Yadav addressing a public meeting in Budaun ahead of the
third phase of polling. ANI
election for generations to
come”.
Mr. Yadav, while cam-
paigning for Firozabad Lok
Sabha seat’s SP candidate,
Akshay Yadav, claimed that
the latter would win the
poll with record votes.
“The enthusiasm that I
can see here will make
Akshay Yadav win record
votes. Even in the first and
second phases [of the elec-
tion], BJP will be left far be-
hind,” the SP chief said. Fi-
rozabad, which goes to
polls in the third phase on
May 7, will see a three-cor-
nered contest with Mr. Ya-
dav against BJP’s Vishwa-
deep Singh and
Chowdhary Basheer of the
Bahujan Samaj Party.
‘Will waive farm loans’
Mr. Yadav added that un-
seating the BJP from power
would help the country im-
saved. Jobs will also be
saved and employment op-
portunities will increase.
In this government, loans
taken by big industrialists
worth ₹16 lakh crore were
waived off, but they did not
make a similar rule for
farmers’ loans. We are as-
suring our farmer brothers
that if the SP and the INDIA
[Indian National Develop-
mental, Inclusive Alliance]
government is formed in
Delhi, farmers’ loans will
be waived off,” he said.
Mr. Yadav also spoke
about the work done by
the SP government bet-
ween 2012 and 2017 while
accusing the BJP of stalling
development initiatives.
“While the SP focuses
on developing infrastruc-
ture, the Prime Minister
talks about graveyards and
crematoriums during his
rallies. This is the diffe-
rence in vision,” he said.
Centre and Delhi govern-
ment on a plea seeking to
expedite the availability of
pected use of snake venom
as a recreational drug in
parties he hosted, official Elvish Yadav
shot to national fame after
winning reality show Bigg
Boss OTT 2, was arrested
appropriate residential ac- sources said Saturday. on March 17 by the Noida
commodation for judicial The agency has pressed Nagar district police in Ut- Police in connection with
officers serving in the na- charges under the Preven- tar Pradesh last month its probe into the suspect-
tional capital. tion of Money Laundering against him and others, ed use of snake venom as a
The plea, filed on April Act after taking cognisance said sources, adding that recreational drug in parties
18 by the Judicial Service of an FIR and chargesheet the alleged generation of that were allegedly hosted
Association, Delhi — a re- filed by the Gautam Buddh the proceeds of crime and by him.
presentative body of judi-
cial officers in the Capital —
stated that the total work-
ing strength of judicial of-
ficers in Delhi stands at
823, while there are only
347 units of residential ac-
commodation available in
the Judicial Pool.
While hearing the plea
on May 2, a Division Bench
of Acting Chief Justice Man-
mohan and Justice Man-
meet Pritam Singh Arora
sought a response from the
authorities concerned
within four weeks, and list-
ed the matter for further
hearing on July 16.

Nithari killings:
SC to hear plea
challenging
Koli’s acquittal
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court has

agreed to hear a plea chal-
lenging the Allahabad High
Court’s order acquitting Su-
rendra Koli in the 2006
Nithari serial killings case.
The court issued the not-
ice on an appeal filed by
one Pappu Lal, the father of
one of the victims, and
sought Mr. Koli’s response
to the plea. It also called for
records from the trial and
high court.
Mr. Lal’s counsel had
submitted that the high
court had “erred” in its Oc-
tober 16 order, in which it
had acquitted Mr. Koli and
Moninder Singh Pandher,
the other accused in the
case, after holding that the
prosecution had failed to
prove guilt “beyond reason-
able doubt”.

Timings
DELHI
SUNDAY, MAY. 05
RISE 05:38 SET 18:59
RISE 03:36 SET 16:04
MONDAY, MAY. 06
RISE 05:37 SET 19:00
RISE 04:09 SET 17:11
TUESDAY, MAY. 07
RISE 05:36 SET 19:01
RISE 04:45 SET 18:19

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
4 Sunday, May 5, 2024

States Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽
TMC highlights video, Charred body of
Cong. leader found
says Sandeshkhali BJP at his farm in T.N.
plot to defame Bengal The Hindu Bureau
TIRUNELVELI
Jayakumar had
reportedly
The charred body of Con- complained to a top
Party, CM cite purported video, which shows person naming Suvendu Adhikari as being ‘behind gress party’s Tirunelveli police officer,
Cong. approaches EC over the whole conspiracy’, to attack principal Oppn. party; man in video says voice tampered East district unit president accusing eight
K.P.K. Jayakumar Dhanas- persons of issuing
Kangana’s Motilal remarks ingh, 60, was retrieved death threat to him
The Hindu Bureau employee’s allegation of from his farm at Karaisu-
BJP’s Mandi LS seat candidate Kangana Ranaut KOLKATA sexual molestation by Go- trupudhur, near Thisai-
on Saturday attacked the Congress, saying former vernor C.V. Ananda Bose, a yanvilai, in the district on chosen the victim’s pre-
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s father Motilal fresh row has senior officer said on Saturday. mises for disposing the bo-
Nehru was the “Ambani” of his time, “but no one
knew where his wealth came from”. Reacting to
her remarks, the Congress filed a complaint with
A erupted after the
Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) released a vi-
Saturday.
The team, as part of its
investigation, will speak to
After Jayakumar went
missing from his house on
May 2 around 7 p.m., his
dy. They would not have
attempted to burn it in the
farm adjacent to the vic-
the Election Commission, alleging that she made deo on social media claim- witnesses over the next son Karuthaiah Jefrin filed tim’s house. Instead, they
“derogatory and insulting” comments against ing that the alleged few days and has request- a complaint on Friday with would have destroyed the
senior party leaders and tried to compare incidents of sexual assault ed Raj Bhavan to share the the Uvari police, who re- body in some other place
“freedom fighter Motilal Nehru with one of the at Sandeshkhali were a CCTV footage, the officer trieved the fully burnt bo- as they would be aware of
top businessmen of the country”. “Motilal “conspiracy” by the Bhara- said. dy from his 10-acre farm, the repercussions for mur-
Nehru... was Ambani of his time... He was close tiya Janata Party to defame West Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee with Rajya Sabha Under Article 361 of the adjacent to his house in his dering the office-bearer of
to the British, and from where he got the wealth West Bengal ahead of the MP Mamata Bala Thakur and party candidate Mukut Mani Adhikari Constitution, no criminal native place of Karaisutru- a political party. So, we are
is still a secret,” she said at a rally in Himachal Lok Sabha polls. at Birnagar in Nadia district on Saturday. PTI proceedings can be insti- pudhur on Saturday. also probing the suicide
Pradesh’s Sarkaghat assembly segment. PTI The video, highlighted tuted against a Governor The body was sent to Ti- angle,” the police sources
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
by the Trinamool leader- campaigning on Saturday. Sandeshkhali has been during his term in office. runelveli Medical College said.
ship on Saturday, shows a “Today, the curtains at the centre of the cam- “We have to investigate Hospital for post-mortem. Jayakumar, on April 30,
person, Gangadhar Koyal – have been pulled back, re- paign of the Opposition any complaint lodged by Police sources said the had reportedly sent a com-
BSP fields Punjab unit chief whom the State’s ruling
party claims is a BJP local
vealing BJP’s sinister plot
to smear Bengal’s image
parties in Bengal, especial-
ly the BJP, with Prime Mi-
anybody. This is a regular
practice and we are just fol-
body was found in the gar-
bage yard by a farm work-
plaint, which he termed as
his ‘dying declaration’, to a
Garhi from Anandpur Sahib unit president in San- with their fabricated tales nister Narendra Modi lowing that. And if needed, er. Since his hands and top police officer, accusing
deshkhali – saying “Suven- on Sandeshkhali. In their blaming the Trinamool on we may visit the spot (Raj legs had been tied with eight persons of issuing
The BSP on Saturday fielded its Punjab unit chief du Adhikari [Leader of the pursuit of power, they’ve several occasions for the Bhavan),” the officer said. electric cables, it is sus- death threat to him follow-
Jasvir Singh Garhi as its candidate from the Opposition in the Assemb- sold off the dignity of our reports of sexual assault. Raj Bhavan has already pected that Jayakumar ing financial disputes.
Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency. The ly] is behind the whole mothers and sisters! Rest Later in the day, Mr. Ad- issued a statement saying might have been mur- He had mentioned the
announcement was made by BSP’s in-charge of conspiracy”. assured, Bangla-birodhi hikari posted a video that Mr. Bose has ordered a dered and burnt. names of a sitting MLA
Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Randhir Singh “History will witness BJP’s treachery will be met where Mr. Koyal said his ban on the entry of cops The police are also from Tirunelveli district,
Beniwal. With this, the party has now announced how Bengal will rise in rage with the full force of the voice was tampered with “in the guise of conducting probing the possible ‘sui- former Tamil Nadu Con-
its candidates for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in against Delhi’s conspirato- people’s wrath,” Trina- in the video. unauthorised, illegitimate, cide angle’ even as the vic- gress Committee president
Punjab, said Mr. Beniwal. The seat is currently rial regime and ensure mool posted on X from its sham and motivated inves- tim’s family believes that it and a Congress youth wing
represented by Congress MP Manish Tewari, who their bishorjon [immer- official handle. Party gen- Raj Bhavan case tigations to placate politi- was a pre-planned murder. office-bearer, who is also
has now been fielded from the Chandigarh seat. sion],” said Chief Minister eral secretary Abhishek Ba- Meanwhile, Kolkata Police cal bosses during the “If the murderers want- the son of late disqualified
Mr. Garhi will face AAP’s Malvinder Kang, Mamata Banerjee, high- nerjee also held a press has constituted an inquiry election”. ed to orchestrate their Congress MLA from Tiru-
Congress’s Vijay Inder Singla and Shiromani Akali lighting the video during conference on the issue. team to probe a woman (With inputs from PTI) plan, they would not have nelveli district.
Dal’s Prem Singh Chandumajra. The BJP is yet to
name its nominee. PTI

19-yr.-old beaten to death over

SC stays HC
order on
Sonia has launched Rahul’s juggling act between
‘sacrilege’ charge in Ferozepur removing ‘Rahul yaan’, but it Wayanad, Rae Bareli leaves
A 19-year-old youth was beaten to death
following an alleged sacrilege incident that took
place at a gurdwara in Ferozepur on Saturday,
protesters will fail again: Shah Cong. in Kerala in a quandary
police said. Bakshish Singh allegedly tore some Press Trust of India
pages of the Guru Granth Sahib after entering the NEW DELHI Press Trust of India Biju Govind
premises of the gurdwara in Bandala village, they BODELI/VANSDA (GUJARAT) KOZHIKODE
said. His father said Bakshish was mentally The Supreme Court has
challenged and undergoing treatment. The police stayed an order of the Union Home Minister Amit The problem is with you, Congress leader Rahul
have filed an FIR against the youth. Bakshish's Punjab and Haryana HC Shah on Saturday took a not with the seats. You Gandhi’s move to also con-
father called on the police to register a case asking authorities to clear jibe at Rahul Gandhi over test from Rae Bareli, be-
will lose from Rae Bareli
against those who killed his son. PTI the Chandigarh-Mohali his nomination from Rae sides Wayanad, may be
also
road blocked by a group of Bareli Lok Sabha consti- seen as a move to chal-
AMIT SHAH
protesters. tuency instead of Amethi, Union Home Minister lenge the BJP in the Hindi
A Bench of Justices B.R. saying the “Rahul yaan will heartland, but a win in
Gavai, Satish Chandra fail again for the 21st time”. both seats may put the par- Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during a roadshow in
Sharma and Sandeep Addressing poll rallies in Rathva, the BJP candidate ty in a predicament in Wayanad in Kerala in the run-up to elections. FILE PHOTO
Mehta issued notice on a Gujarat, Mr. Shah said Mr. for Chhota Udaipur (ST) Kerala.
plea by the Punjab govern- Gandhi is contesting from constituency. If Mr. Gandhi relinquish- in for the party leadership. tuency he won thrice con-
ment and sought the res- Rae Bareli after realising Mr. Shah said the Maoist es Wayanad, many Con- secutively (2004, 2009,
ponse of an NGO, the that he will lose from menace would raise its gress leaders believe it will Left’s criticism and 2014) to BJP’s Smriti
Centre and the Chandi- Wayanad in Kerala. head in the region if the impact the party’s pros- While Congress function- Irani in 2019.
garh administration. Solic- Mr. Shah addressed two Opposition candidate won pects in the Kerala As- aries attempt to justify the A face-off once again
itor General Tushar Meh- rallies in tribal-dominated from the Valsad Lok Sabha sembly elections in 2026. move, stating that Mr. with Ms. Irani at Amethi,
ta, appearing for the Bodeli in Chhota Udaipur seat. AAP is fighting the Besides, the Indian Un- Gandhi’s candidature from many Congress leaders
5, including a woman, killed in Centre, said it is support-
ing the stand of the Punjab
and Vansda in Valsad in
Gujarat, and another in the
Gujarat polls in alliance
with the Congress and has
ion Muslim League (IUML)
could intensify its demand
Rae Bareli was to streng-
then the INDIA bloc and
feel, would have made for
better optics instead of Mr.
car accident in Mussoorie government. Union Territory of Daman fielded its Vansda (ST) MLA for a third seat in the event that his presence was re- Gandhi choosing a safe
Punjab Advocate Gen- and Diu. Anant Patel from the Val- of a by-election in Waya- quired in north India, the seat in Uttar Pradesh. Oth-
Five people, including a woman, were killed and eral Gurminder Singh said He also targeted the sad LS constituency. nad, as the party has been Opposition has said this as ers believe Priyanka Gand-
another was injured on Saturday early morning the HC order should be Aam Aadmi Party, calling it Speaking at a rally in maintaining that Mr. Gand- a “betrayal” of the people. hi Vadra would have been
when their car fell off the road in Uttarakhand’s stayed. an “urban Naxal party”. support of BJP candidate hi’s core supporters are The BJP’s Central lea- a more suitable candidate
Mussoorie. The car fell about 60 metres down on In its April 9 order, the “Rahul Baba, take my Dhaval Patel in Vansda, Mr. from the IUML in this con- dership — from Prime Mi- for Rae Bareli.
another road near Jharipani in Mussoorie, an High Court had said des- advice. The problem is Shah said, “The Congress stituency spread over nister Narendra Modi to Despite the Congress’s
official said. Four men died on the spot while one pite repeated opportuni- with you, not with the and the urban Naxal party three Assembly segments Kerala’s State president K. historical success in Rae
of the two women seriously injured in the ties given, neither Punjab seats. You will lose from AAP have come together to in Wayanad district, three Surendran, who is the Bareli, it cannot be consi-
accident succumbed to her injuries at a nearby nor Chandigarh has been Rae Bareli also, by a huge disturb the peace of this re- in Malappuram, and one in NDA’s candidate from dered a safe seat for Mr.
hospital. The other woman is still under able to give any redressal margin. Even if you run gion. Do you want extor- Kozhikode. The looming Wayanad — have said that Gandhi, as none of the five
treatment, Fire official Dhiraj Singh Tariyal said. to the commuters of Chan- away, people will find tion to start in Valsad? Will vacancy of a winnable Ra- Mr. Gandhi’s decision Assembly segments in the
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed digarh and SAS Nagar you,” Mr. Shah said while you allow Naxalism to raise jya Sabha seat in July will stemmed from “fear”, hav- constituency is held by the
grief at the loss of lives in the accident. PTI Mohali. campaigning for Jashubhai its head?” he said. also be something to factor ing lost Amethi, a consti- party.

Two descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji gear up for electoral battle in third phase
Ateeq Shaikh against NCP (SP) candidate and castes live together. it’s reverse migration... I
SATARA/KOLHAPUR Shashikant Shinde. Both believe in only one reli-
seats go to polls in the third ‘CAA biased law’ gion, which is humanity.
Two descendants of Ma- phase on May 7. On the question of the Citi- So, I mean, everyone is
ratha warrior king Shivaji — Mr. Bhosale, who is cur- zenship (Amendment) Act most welcome to come
Shahu Chhatrapati and rently a Rajya Sabha MP, (CAA), the Congress candi- and settle down here.”
Udayanraje Bhosale — are had won the Satara seat in date is of the opinion that The selection of Mr.
contesting the Lok Sabha 2019 as a candidate of the the law is biased in its cur- Bhosale and Mr. Chhatra-
election from separate undivided NCP, but re- rent form as “it was passed pati is also being seen as a
seats in western Maharash- signed within a few with hardly any strategic choice by the BJP
tra representing rival polit- months and joined the BJP. discussion”. and the Congress given the
ical fronts, the Maha Vikas However, in the subse- Mr. Bhosale, on the oth- reverence of the electorate
Aghadi and the Mahayuti, quent byelection, he lost to er hand, feels that the law towards the members of
respectively. the NCP’s Shriniwas Patil. should not be looked at in the Maratha royal family.
While Mr. Chhatrapati is a negative light. “Do we The two candidates
making his electoral debut ‘Respect for all religions’ BJP Rajya Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhosale had won the Satara seat in Shahu Chhatrapati is making his electoral debut on a Congress really require this? As it is, have also been fielded with
on a Congress ticket from The BJP candidate says he the 2019 poll as a candidate of the undivided NCP. EMMANUAL YOGINI ticket from the Kolhapur Lok Sabha constituency. EMMANUAL YOGINI our population is so big. an eye on cashing in on the
Kolhapur and will take on believes in ‘Sarva Dharma People now want to come agitation for Maratha reser-
the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sambhava (Equal respect now have become more cessary misunderstanding to be stopped,” he said. with the aim of providing here because they see In- vation, which was strongly
Sena’s sitting MP Sanjay for all religions)’ and is crit- self-centred. They devise and use caste as a weapon. According to Mr. Chha- liberty to people and build- dia as an upcoming power. backed by Mr. Bhosale and
Mandlik, Mr. Bhosale is ical of those who use the ways to fill their own coff- This is totally wrong. It is trapati, his ancestors al- ing a broad-based kingdom Earlier, people who used Mr. Chhatrapati — both res-
contesting from Satara on Hindutva ideology in polit- ers or further their selfish creating a rift between so ways inspired him to prac- where people of different to go abroad used to take pected by quota activist
a BJP ticket and pitted ics. “In politics, people motives. They create unne- many religions, which has tise the Hindutva ideology backgrounds, religions, up citizenship there. Now, Manoj Jarange-Patil.
Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by Praveen Someshwar at HT Media Ltd. Plot No.8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P.201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT. LTD. Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRP Act).
ISSN 0971 - 751X

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Sunday, May 5, 2024 5
Delhi
States

INBRIEF
쑽 T.N.’s economy expected to grow at
8.08% to 10.69% in 2024-25, says study
T.N.’s growth rate varied from 8.08% to 9.44% in 2023-24, and being a ‘better-performing State', its growth is likely to be faster than India’s,: report

T. Ramakrishnan growth between 2005-06 shocks”– the COVID-19,

CHENNAI and 2022-23, the two eco- the Russia-Ukraine con-
nomists said that the State flict, and the hike in inter-
KSEB to collect fuel surcharge amil Nadu’s econo- “registered a strong real est rates by advanced na-
on power bills in May also
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will
T my may grow at a
rate of 8.08% to
10.69% in 2024-25. Provid-
growth” of 10.3% from
2005-06 to 2011-12 (2004-
05 series), while the all-In-
tions to curb inflation.
Though it “appears to
have recovered almost ful-
continue the collection of 19 paise per unit as fuel ing these real growth rate dia growth stood at 8.23%. ly” from the impact of the
surcharge on electricity bills in May. Of the 19 figures (as opposed to no- However, its average pandemic, the trend hint-
paise to be collected in May, 10 paise is meant for minal rates that include growth rate declined to ed that “Tamil Nadu’s
recouping the additional expense on power the factor of inflation), a 6.21% during 2012-13 to growth is more suscepti-
purchases made in March this year. The study on the State econo- 2022-23 (2011-12 series), ble to global fluctuations
remaining nine paise per unit accounts for my, conducted by C. Ran- compared with the all-In- than India’s growth
additional expenditure on power purchases garajan and K.R. Shanmu- dia figure of 5.73%. pattern”.
incurred in the second and third quarter of gam, chairperson and Acknowledging that The study also called
2022-23. The KSEB is planning to recover ₹38.99 director of the Madras there was a “downward for controlling the growth
crore through the fuel surcharge. School Economics respec- shift” in the growth path of public debt, the current
tively, has estimated that of the country and Tamil level of which “is not sup-
in the recently concluded Nadu, the authors said this portive to growth,” the
financial year of 2023-24, was “also true” for other study pointed out that “al-
Death of newborn: unwed the State’s growth rate va- major States. most all the major States
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
ried from 8.08% to 9.44%. “One main reason have a similar problem.”.
mother shifted to ICU The study has taken in- could be the change in the Tamil Nadu should re-
to account four scenarios methodology of comput- present to the 16th Finance
The 23-year-old unwed woman, accused of (only two of which are gi- ing the Gross Domestic Commission for debt con-
smothering her newborn baby and hurling the ven in the table), apart Product and the Gross solidation and relief
body wrapped in a plastic cover on the road from from the findings that State Domestic Product schemes or schemes to
her apartment in Kochi, was shifted from General have been arrived at by us- Commissioned by the economic growth rate for would, in all probability, from 2011-12,” the authors write off debt, as the 12th
Hospital (GH), Ernakulam, to the ICU of a private ing a statistical analysis State Finance Depart- 2023-24 was 7.3%. Being a be faster than that of the said. Finance Commission had
hospital in the city on Friday after her health model — autoregressive in- ment, the study said that “better-performing State,” country’s. The State’s economy recommended such mea-
deteriorated. She was kept under medical tegrated moving average. the country’s expected Tamil Nadu’s growth Covering the economic was hit by three “external sures, the study noted.
observation at GH overnight considering her
fragile health after having delivered the baby only
in the morning. However, she reportedly
developed complications around midnight and
was shifted to a private hospital. Congress looks for replacement TDP will scrap land titling Act
Double-digit vote share for in Puri after party candidate if it comes to power: Naidu
BJP in Kerala: Suresh Gopi
Malayalam actor and politician Suresh Gopi, who
withdraws over lack of funds V. Raghavendra
VIJAYAWADA
the benefit of land grabbers, he
said.
is a BJP candidate from Thrissur seat in Kerala, There would be no pattadar
said that there is a perceived shift in people’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. passbooks and Adangals, curbs
mindset in Kerala due to the “discontent” with Satyasundar Barik she takes the election seriously. Chandrababu Naidu said on Satur- would be imposed on selling lands
the State government. Speaking in Hyderabad on BHUBANESWAR We knew this would happen. day that the Andhra Pradesh Land and registrations could be done
Saturday, he exuded confidence about the BJP’s We had placed a request for Titling Act, 2023 (APLTA) would only with permissions from the tit-
performance in the election, anticipating a Sucharita Mohanty, Congress change of candidate on Thurs- be scrapped after the TDP-BJP-Ja- le registration officers, he alleged.
double-digit vote share for the party. He urged candidate for the prestigious day. The name will be an- na Sena Party ( JSP) alliance comes As far as the outcome of the
voters to support Union Minister G. Kishan Puri Lok Sabha constituency in nounced soon,” said Ajoy Ku- to power, by insisting that it was election was concerned, he said,
Reddy, Malkajgiri candidate Eatala Rajender, and Odisha, has withdrawn her can- mar, the AICC in-charge for detrimental to the people’s right the alliance would undoubtedly
other BJP candidates, hinting at their potential didature citing the party’s in- Odisha Congress. to their properties. come to power and implement
ministerial roles in the next Union government. ability to fund her campaign However, Ms. Mohanty, a Data pertaining to the land re- the welfare schemes on a much
coupled with her own lack of fi- former journalist and daughter cords was handed over to a priv- larger scale than what the YSR
nancial resources to compete of former Union Minister late ate company purportedly for stor- Congress Party (YSRCP) claimed
against her formidable oppo- Brajamohan Mohanty, did not ing and it could be tampered to to have done in the last five years.
Duck farming stares nents from the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata
Sucharita Mohanty blame the Congress. “Its financ-
es have been crippled by the

at death amid Dal (BJD).

“I have withdrawn my candi-
dature for Puri Lok Sabha seat
outbreaks of avian flu as I am unable to mobilise re-
sources to fund my campaign
for the ongoing elections. The
Congress refused to fund my
election campaign. Besides,
there has been no funding for
seven candidates contesting As-
sembly segments under the Pu-
ri Lok Sabha seat,” she said after
bowing out of the race on
Friday.
Request for change
With the Puri seat going to poll
on May 25, and May 6 the last
date for filing nominations, the
Congress is preparing to an-
nounce a replacement. “Su-
charita Mohanty had herself ap-
proached us for the ticket. The
party funds a candidate if he or
Narendra Modi government.
The BJP wants to win the poll by
paralysing the Congress, the
main Opposition party,” she
said. “I tried everything to mo-
bilise funds through crowd-
funding, but failed to get
enough response.”
She was also not happy with
the selection of candidates for
four out of the seven Assembly
constituencies in Puri.

Future tense: A flock of ducks guided by ‘masters’ at Kainakary in

Kuttanad. SURESH ALLEPPEY

Sam Paul A. With Kuttanad reporting

ALAPPUZHA
Recurring bird flu out-
breaks have put duck farm-
ing, a consistent source of
income for several families
in Kuttanad, Kerala, at a
crossroads. The latest bout
of avian influenza (H5N1)
has resulted in the death/
culling of over 65,000
birds, mostly ducks, at six
hotspots — five in Alappuz-
ha and one in Kottayam dis-
tricts, causing a sense of un-
certainty and apprehension
among stakeholders.
Abraham Ouseph, a
duck farmer from Edathua
grama panchayat in Alap-
puzha, lost his entire flock
of 7,500 ducks to the out-
break two weeks ago.
“After ducks started to
drop dead, I informed the
Animal Husbandry depart-
ment (AHD). Tests con-
firmed bird flu. The rest of
the ducks were culled by ra-
pid response teams.
Though the region has wit-
nessed several bird flu out-
breaks, my flock was affect-
ed for the first time. I have
been raising ducks after tak-
ing a loan. I suffered losses
to the tune of lakhs. I am
not thinking about a return
to duck farming any time
soon,” says Mr. Ouseph, ad-
ding that the promised go-
vernment compensation
was too little.
CM
YK
six avian flu outbreaks in
the past 10 years, the num-
ber of big duck farmers in
the region has dwindled
from thousands to hun-
dreds. More big and small
duck farmers are consider-
ing abandoning the busi-
ness entirely.
It casts doubt over the
sustainability of traditional
duck farming practices in
the region. Though the out-
break has directly impacted
only a small number of
farmers, it put almost all
stakeholders in trouble with
the authorities regulating
the trade of meat and eggs
of ducks along with chicken
and quail. According to
farmers’ associations, bet-
ween 10 lakh and 15 lakh
ducks are reared in the re-
gion annually. The produc-
tion is certain to fall further
if bird flu continues to
wreak havoc, they say. Un-
like the poultry farming
method of rearing birds in-
doors, farmers in Kuttanad
rear ducks (Chara and
Chembally — two local
breeds) in the open. The
place is frequented by mi-
gratory birds. Experts say
that being a threat to hu-
man health and affecting
tourism, avian influenza
outbreaks should be han-
dled with due importance,
but the government must
provide support to farmers.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU Sunday, May 5, 2024
6 Delhi

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NAIDU 27/165, Fair, Beautiful,MBBS, 28 YEARS employed in public sector, HINDU NADAR 32/173cm, BE, 300000
MD, Gem Hospital, 900000. 172cm, Rs.80K, seeking fair, good per month, well settled. Seeks Balija Naidu 30yrs M.Tech,Working in MARRIAGE BUREAU
PA,Afflunet Family,CNB, 9363986547, looking graduate girl, age b/w 23− Suitable Bride. KA Raman Nadar Medtronic Hyderabad, 16.5L PA seeks
9363767415 26 yrs. Caste no bar. 9380791999 Educated, Gd looking Bride from same US UK Australia All Caste Religion
CT:9488371116. caste, age 24-27yrs. Ct: 98405 65046 1st Marriage Remarriage. 8248757840
URDU YADAVA, 41 First Marriage,Pvt Ltd
KARKATHA VELLALAR 41 MBA Chennai, National Head 18Lac PA
TAMIL TELUGU URDU MUSLIM, Divorced No child, Govt. 16LPA Divorcee well settled Seeks Bride CNB/Divorcee ok
RICH MUDALIYAR 25yrs MBBS Pursuing RICH NAIDU, 27yrs, CA, Own Firm, Age 27, B.Com, MBA, working at Seeks Graduate Bride Caste No Bar :8610014920
MD Own Transport Finance Textiles& Elite Business family. Seeks Suit- MNC, Seeking Groom. Ph: 9444265786 92455 57150
Industrial background.Seeks Groom able Groom. Ct: 9710093999/ TAMIL IYER boy, 26/185, handsome,
DOCTOR Business Family 9710093999/ 9710091999 URDU MUSLIM, 25 / 5.5’, Fair, Engi- MUDALIAR, DIVORCEE, PhD, Profes- Brahacharnam, Bharadwaja Gothram,
9710091999 neer, Working in Sydney seeks suit- sor, Pvt Eng.College, age 50,Maga- B.Tech & MS from top US University,
NADAR GIRL : Fair, 25y, MBBS, able Educated groom,26−29 yrs/Aus- ram, Seeks educated unmarried/wid- with clean habits, 50 LPA, B'lore based
AFFLUENT KAMMA 40 good looking tralia, Ct 9840242887, 9840281047. ow/ Divorcee without child from FC/ MNC IT company, with mild eye vision
Seeks Doctor Alliance. Any Suit- SEEKING ELITE family employed bride M.Sc Psychology seeks well
abe. Chennai /Any Dist .Contact: bridegroom less than 36yrs for Hin- OBC (40−45yrs) No expectation loss seeks suitable alliance. Ct:
du SC employed 32yrs Divorced, edu- settled handsome qualified groom. URDU MUSLIM,35 /5.5’, IT Engineer Ct:9150799959 mailboxmarriagealliance@gmail.com
9363570731
cated fair & homely bride from Subsect no bar. 9444410207/ in Bank. Abu Dhabi seeks bride- COACHING CLASSES
tvm1945@gmail.com groom 35−40 years, Educated, will- NELLAI SAIVA Pillai, 33yrs, Kettai,
PILLAI / Mudaliyar : GIRL, Fair. elite family. Cast No bar. Contact IYER VADAMA, Srivatsa Gothram, Bha-
25 MBBS. (DGO) Seeks Groom Doctor 7303518877 ing to move to Abu Dhabi.Ct− Completed schooling in abroad, rani 29/169 B.E.,M.S(USA) Very
or Any suitable, Chennai or Any KAMMA 25/170 Pretty Smart affluent 7845777583. working in IT, MNC - 33L PA seeks Bri-
Fair, Handsome, clean habits, work-
Place:7824023030 TAMIL YADAVA, 28yrs, B.Tech, MBA, Girl. Grooms from Elite business de from good family. Ct: 8870800415 ing in Bangalore, seeks good look-
Elite family background.Seeks Suit- or rich IT professionals from Chen- Muslim Girl 21/162cm BE(CSE) Very ing, slim, educated Iyer girl from
HINDU REDDY 33 Y, 165cms Doctor able Groom Ct: 9710093999/ nai/ Bangalore/Hyderabad Fair Selected in MNC Chennai Well to ARCHITECT, AGE 40, Height 5’6", good family. Send BHP to:
MBBS, MS. Suitable Never Married 9710091999 Ct:7305010105 do Family in Chennai. 9445556810 Hindu (Reddy), Anusham−3, Chennai 9884714437
Groom From Chennai CNB Call: 89256 VISHWAKARMA, 32YRS, BE, Business / Bangalore. Seeking Bride Age 31
40111 to 38 Cast No Bar, Ct: +91 DIVORCEE REVATHY 38/186 B.E. M.B.A
Family in Chennai. Seeks Suitable 7708062990 Sr. Manager Fair Iyer Boy seeks
BRAHMIN DOCTOR Girl /athreya / 29/ Groom. Contact: 9047192999/ Graduate Brahmin / Veg Girl
154 ; M.S; DNB ( O&G) Seeks Veg, 8939691888 HINDU , BE / SWE/ 32/ 5.7/Sc − Set- 9176090042
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Teetotaler PG Doctor Groom. Par- PILLAI 30 MBBS MS doing Mch Barani tled in Bangalore.Belongs to edu-
ents Intercaste Marriage 9840014588 Chennai seeks Pg Dr Chennai cated and affluent family.Seeking Required Brahmin Girl for a Brahmin
BUSINESS HINDI Bride from same/other community , Groom. Age 42 Divorcee Decent job
Geetham 9884858014 from educated and well settled Decent salary. Contact: 9841381417
AGE 37 Handsome, Well Settled 1985/175CM, 50 Lakhs PA, Never Mar- family.Contact no:9845401461.
CHETTIAR 29YRS IT Professional Groom seeks VIP Girl and first Mar- ried, Bangalore. WhatsApp: 96290
Seeking Well Settled Affulent riage, Remarriage, Divorce. Ct 12248 BRAHMIN BOY, 38, BNYS DOCTOR, OWN
Groom, Caste No Bar. 9677214361 / 9597834451 ARCOT MUDALIAR MBA IIM 170/Sep 88 Clinic, Gemini, Punarpusha seeks
9840142562 Thiruvathirai (Clean Horoscope) Un- any vegetarian girl. M:9384448388
MALAYALAM married Chennai Handsome Fair Tee-
Mudaliar,27/5'6, Fair, BTECH wkg in Singapore Citizen & OCI Aged 58 Di- MUSLIM YOUNG Engg M.tech
totaler, 52 Lks. Seeks suitable BRAHMIN, N BALAJI 38, MBA, HR Man-
MNC. Seeks suitable Groom, preferab- vorced seeks affluent Life / Investment match. Caste NB. 99404 34055, ager, 1 Lac PM, Electrosteel pvt
(31/175) working in reputed MNC see- 97420 10729
ly Govt/ MNC/ CA/ Banking professio- partner. SHAN1965@GMAIL.COM king alliance from girls 25yrs and
Ltd, Kalahasthi, Seeking alliance
nal from Hyderabad Cont: 9704890626 above. Contact : 7598103537
employed or not working, and have
VELLALAR/PILLAI, 29/170CM, BA.BL privilege of bringing her depen-
TIRUNELVELI HINDU NADAR girl COSMOPOLITAN (HONS), Advocate, seeks Bride (sub dent Parents. Contact:
26yrs, 5ft 6 inch , M.Arch, work- CHRISTIAN HINDU parents’ son PhD caste no bar) TN. CT:89398 45694 balajimnm2011@gmail.com, Ph:
SAMBAVAR, MBBS, 25/176cm, Fair ing in US seeks a well qualified 37 years fair groom, Manager in MNC, Engineering Sweden employed 36/ 9962148742, 8056256105
Bride seeks Teetotaler PG Doctor groom 98401 00836 London seeks tall fair suitable girl. 165. Church Caste no bar. HINDU SAIVAPILLAI Thanusu Uthi-
Groom from good family background. CNB. Contact: 9440156473, 9847711756 radam 30,174cm BE MBA SoftwareMNC
Contact: 94423 86315. HINDU NADAR Widow 43, IT Job Own 9951542753 10L/PA Bangalore Seeks Same Caste
House (grownup Son), Chennai. MALAYALI EZHAVA boy 40/182 Anusham working Graduate Bride. 9487995548
Seeks alliance Caste No Bar Ct: IT professional Settled in Chen-
ENGLISH 9600103393 DOCTOR 58/177 seeks Tall Slim Well nai, looking for an educated under- MUDALIYAR, KETTAI,38/165, M.
MUMBAI BASED Nair Girl, 32/173, settled Bride − Widow Divorcee be- standing partner from Kerala/ Tech.,(Ph.D),HOD, Pvt.Engg.
working in USA. Invite suitable propo- AGAMUDI MUDALIAR 32/165 Mirugasim low 45 yrs− Civil marriage Tamilnadu. Contact: 9940122336/ College, Pondy. Seeks bride 29 to
sals from parents of well settled, pro- Raghu in Lagnam PG(HR MNC) Seeks 9442264610 9884120895 36yrs 9442557578
fessionally qualified grooms. Contact IIM/PG, Pillai Groom Also.
97020 73860 9176780777
TAMIL BEAUTIFUL Girl 1996 Born /
GOVT / QUASI GOVT 5ft 4inch/ MS In engineering /
Working in USA family resident in
HINDU DEVENDRAKULA Vellalar girl, Bangalore is looking for a suit- COACHING CLASSES
28 yrs, 5Ft 4inch, 65 KG, B. able match (080−69141343)
Tech(IT), Preparing for TNPSC,
Uthradam, Magaram. Father as GM in TAMIL BEAUTIFUL Girl 1987 born /
IOC, Madurai, Mother−Home maker, 5ft 7inch/ Entrepreneur / Resident
Brother B.Tech (mech) appearing of Bangalore (Rajaji Nagar) from a
for UPSC, seeks grooms with quali- Affluent family is looking for
fied, clean habits− with Govt (cen- suitable Match (CNB) (080−69141343)
tral/state) jobs or decent jobs in
PVT companies .caste−No bar. Con- VANIYA CHETTIAR, M.Sc, 43/157,
tact: 7550307487/ 6379936273 Karthigai, Govt.Scntf. Officer seeks
equally Qualified Employed Groom.
Contact: 94452 07116 Tamil / Hindu / CNB / 180cm / 41 /
KANNADA BE, MS US / Divorced /No issues /
HINDU VOKKALIGA Gowda 29, BE from HINDU GIRL Production Engineer in American Citizen / teetotaller / seeks
Coimbatore seeks Suitable Groom. Germany BE MS NUS (mechanical) suitable bride from US / Ind 37 or less
Contact: 97917 68175. fair soft gentle pleasing manners old. Contact: 9444608449.
26/156 cms intercaste parents seek
Engineer/ Doctor/ Professional HINDU PARKAVAKULAM Uthiradam
MALAYALAM groom 9363631558 Magaram,officer- Indian Navy Widower
37yrs with Girl Child-3yrs seeks Fair,
RE-MARRIAGE CHRISTIAN Chera- RICH MUDALIYAR 28yrs MBBS MD Elite Graduate Bride, Unmarried / Divorcee
mar CSI girl 35/160, no liability, doing business family in Chennai.Seeks without Child. CNB. Ct: 99625 11987
Ph.D seeks alliance from professional- Suitable Groom 9710093999/
ly employed grooms from any Christian 9710091999 SC Hindu 1986 Revathi Meenam
9895657200 / 9447882519 Manager Bank. Contact: 9385842167
MUKULATHOR Kallar 30Yrs/161cm
NAIR GIRL 37/162 Palakkad; poo- Psychatrist, Natchathiram - Pooram, Gavara Naidu, 28, M.E. Chennai,
radam one dhosham; Associate Pro- Rasi -Simman, seeks suitable Groom. Own Business, Own House, Subsect
fessor (Ayurvedic) working in Ahmeda- Caste no bar. CT:99949-16611. No Bar. Ph: 9841097110
bad.only daughter of retired parents Hindu / Devendrakula Velalar
(Father Army & Mother Teacher). MAY 94/167 fair SC/PL BE , TCS (Pallan) 28M / 175CM / B.E, PGDM /
seeks alliance from professionally em- Chennai, Parents Hindu/CSI. Seeks Working in Bangalore / 11L PA
ployed grooms. 9447408294. Groom Dr/Er, Govt Employee. seeks Employed Tamil Bride Phone
8056143638 : 9444450238 / 9840356343
EZHAVA GIRL MBBS MD,doing fel-
lowship DOB 8/7/1993,3.30pm seeks ADIDRAVIDAR, AGE 27 BE, Govt 65, VANNIYA KULA Kshatriya, Aswini / 30
alliance from well educated ezhava 000/− Fair, Well settled. Wants /169, BE / SWE / B‘lore, Fair, Settled in PSIR Optional By expert (JNU/DU
professionals 9447191776 Ernakulam. Suitable Groom. 08122289871 / Chennai seeks well educated bride UPSC/BPSC Mains -Online/Offline
9444139323. from same sect. Ct : 94442 06369. Classes - 7838024192
KERALA HINDU SC girl Revathy NAIDU, 33/170, Fair girl, MBBS COSMOPOLITAN TAMIL TAMIL
32/147 B.Tech MACL software Engi- prep PG, Seeks Doctor/Business BRAHMIN AGE 55 Widower, Seeks Brah- VACANCIES
neer MNC, Hyderabad seeks suitable groom Rich Family. BC/MBC. Ph: DUBAI BASED Nair boy 35. Business "RC Tamil, 1992 born, 6'1", well sett- HINDU NADAR, 34/170, BE, Own Busi- min Bride below 54yrs old, Unmar-
alliance. 9446467799. led in USA, MS(Engg) from Michigan ness, 5L p/m, Divorcee, Elite fami- ried, Widow, Divorcee ok. − 93845
99442 53292. Well settled (Divorcee) Seeking Ed- University, USA, Manager position in a ly. Seeks Suitable Bride 86456
ucated beautiful girl CNB. US company based in California, USA, Ct:9047192999
TAMIL MUDALIAR:21/ V.FAIR & Beautiful, 8072582030 TELUGU
Under graduate, Having own Eng. Green card in process - looking for a
ROMAN Catholic Mudaliar 23yrs/5feet College & Textile, Chennai, Elite suitable Bride who is ready to relocate HINDU NADAR 29/175cm, B.Tech, 1,75,
Pursuing PG in Canada seeks Abroad/ Family, Seeks groom Industrialist KARKATHAR PILLAI 36, 5ft 7inch, to USA"- Call 98490 79688. 000p/m Seeks Suitable Bride Con- RICH NAIDU, 27yrs, BS(US),Well Edu-
Bangalore, Financially Well settled / Business −9962530015 fair and handsome, BE (Telecom), tact: 9380791999 cated family background. Seeks FINANCE
Officer Indian Army IT Branch, 30 Suitable Bride Ct:9962791888/
Groom. Ct: 9894230003 / 9994400003 CSI CHRISTIAN NADAR Tamil, US Citi-
lacs PA, never married, son of zen 27/175/B.E.,M.S/Fair, Rich Fam- AGAMUDAYA MUDALIYAR, 42 Mirugasiri- 7094991999 ALL TYPE Of Obtainable Loan from
MUDALIAR (CNB): 28/Fair, B.E, MBA retd army officer looking for affa- dam PhD TN Govt Job Rs 1.35 Lakh P/
RC 39/PHD /Scientist in USA seeks (USA), Data Analyst, MNC comp, USA, ily, Clean Habits, God Fearing 3CR & Above @ ROI .Against Proper-
Christian groom working in USA. 200000 USD PA, Elite Family, seeks ble and well educated girl. Equal seeks USA/UK/Australia/India Edu- M. "No Broker’ Divorced : 24 MANI Chettiyar, Star Kettai, ty, Business, Projects Amendable
7904550883 44/ MBA, 1st Marriage, 40000/PM,
contact gladia@gmail.com, groom Abroad / Business − and sub caste no bar. 9448307862. cated God Fearing Girl. Contact : Seeking Good family Bride.
Tenure , Rapid Process.
9840715492 8925019776 9003152133 Ct:9345996003
HINDU 45, BBA handsome well set- WANTED PILLAI / Mudaliar bride age Ct:9383002003
34 to 37 for groom age 42. BE Com- IMMDT FINANCE Against Properties,
CSI NADAR 26/173 Fair B.com work- VANNIYAKULA KSHATRIYAR bride tled−Coimbatore 1st marriage, di- CSI CHRISTIAN Nadar, 27, MS, USA
BENGALI ing in Hyderabad reputed firm 36 years Tall, Fair, ME PhD Assistant vorcee/widow, CNB seeks bride. seeks fair bride from same communi-
puter Systems, UK. Never married BRIDE WANTED Rich Kamma Naidu, Projects, Business,Cheque.
before. Affluent. Managing family 31yrs,CA,Own firm in Chennai ,Well 8148663346
seeks qualified city based groom Professor, only Daughter with strong 8903712843. ty, willing to relocate to USA.
UK bsd Doctor MD Psych MRCP working in Bangalore/Hyderabad/CNB family background seeks suitable Ct: 9382266099
business. Ct: 95000 85565 Educated family. 9710093999/
Bengali Girl Dec 91/5'8" Wkg NHS UK 9710091999 WANTED: INVESTOR/ Business Partner
Father Doctor, seeks Prof. Qual
9841439800 Decent, Employed or Business Groom. DIVORCEE ✔ BE MS (CS), 28yrs, 180cm Smart, For Gold Jewel Business. Anna Na-
Contact: 99443-14575. TAMIL MUSLIM 28/172 MS Gen sur- gar, Chennai − 40: 7358611172
groom, Caste no bar. Ph: 9052282385, TAMIL GOD fearing spinster 1970/ gery seeks prof qualified bride Ct: good looking, A Product Architect− NAIDU 32 B.Tech IT PGDM HR Chennai
ywsdrdiy@gmail.com 165 M.Com, M.Phil Ex−Lecturer HINDU NADAR sisters, August 1994 / HINDU, 38 years, 5’ 10, divorcee, 82200 42091 mdullahsafi@gmail.com IT/Successful Entrepreneur & Seeks Naidu(Any) Bride Well educat-
Founder of leading FinTech based ed & employed Cell: 9444753417 LOAN AGAINST Property / Business /
seeks suitable Tamil Christian god- 167 cms / 63 kg, ME, Thiruvathirai, B.E, M.S (London) working as gener- Projects. Contact : +918754809650
COSMOPOLITAN ly bachelor/widower. Email: annvex@ Mithunam. December 1998 / 166 cms / al manager for a Japanese company RC CHRISTIAN, 41yrs/170, B.E Soft- in Chennai earning 70 lacs+/yr.
yahoo.com 60 kg, BE, MNC job Chennai, Poosam, with yearly salary of Rs. 20 lakhs ware engineer, never married, work- From an educated HINDU THEVAR fami- BALIJA NAIDU 31/172 Star Aswini
Kadagam. Seeks suitable grooms. looking for a lovely girl. Caste ly, seeking a bride with similar B.Tech Working with MNC Good Look-
✔ SC,32/156CM,BROWN,MBA,12L/PA, ing for mnc, Chennai, CT−
values from a good family back- ing Smart Boy Good Family Seeks
SEEKS well educated groom earning TAMIL MUSLIM Bride, 30/159cm, AVP Ct: 96265 15511 no bar. Contact : 9444333140 9500188067
in MNC at Bengaluru seeks qualified ground +91 7845821205 Beautiful fair Qualified Chennai
12L/PA or more. No Dowry. Based Girl from Decent Telugu fami-
9561343825 Tamil Muslim Groom working at TAMIL MUSLIM −May 1994/5’9" Hand-
Hyderabad/Bengaluru.Ct: 9080501299 ADIDRAVIDAR DIVORCE −Seeking Child- some MS (USA) Senior SW Engr.USA. Hindu SC, 29 yrs, 187 cm, BE, ly Horoscope must subsect no bar
less Widow/Divorcee/Spinster, sim- Seeks Bride (Tamil) Fair, Tall 33 lakh pa, Non-IT, Chennai, well - Ct:9790705800 SELLING
CHENNAI, TAMIL Jain, Doctor 27 yrs
TAMIL/ RC/SC/AD,26YR,BE,MBA(UK) ple educated bride, aged between (5’4"− 5’9") Age (24−27yrs)− Engr. settled family seeks suitable bride
/ 160 cm, good looking, fair, pur-
girl wkg in London seeks Tamil/RC 35 to 40 years for a legally di- background− working/ Studying in Ph: 9840401929 / 9840607125 NAIDU 30/12, Very Handsome,MBBS,MD, RESIDENTIAL LAND
suing MD 1st year, seeks affluent vorced, well educated (B.E) ,45 DM,SSIMS Hospital, 1800000PA,
groom working in London of age 27− USA or willing to move to USA. Ct: AGE 46, 2nd Marriage, Working in Elite Family, CNB. 9363986547,
well settled MD/MS or Post Grd. yrs groom working as Project Manag- 9444149649 (Whatsapp) with Profile
Engg. Groom of affluent South Ind. 31 Ct−7305762009/asp26498@gmail.com Hospital at Qatar. Suitable Bride 9363767415 100000SFT CLOSE to Porur Chennai
er in MNC. Religion no bar. Con- & Photos. suitable MSB 9894898735/6382570234
veg. family 9444190856/9444979350 ELITE TAMIL Muslim B.E., 23, Seeks tact : 8122589004 who willing to come Qatar. Ct:
qualified, Suitable Groom Contact : KARKATHAR PILLAI,VEG, Chithirai−4, +97433840227 / 9498328263
NAIR GIRL Aug 1974 US citizen 90807 90001 28 years, B.E, Software Engineer
unit manager Chicago caste/lang no PILLAI/SOZHIYA Vellalar, 29Yrs,
in MNC, Banglore, 20 lakhs per an- 155cm, B.Tech, MBA, Working as
bar seeks groom from US residents CSI NADAR, 24/168cm, BE, Elite Fam- DOCTOR num, fair looking boy seeks suit-
only. cont 9895824803 Senior HR Executive in a reputed
ily. Seeks Suitable Groom. Con- HINDU SC AD 27 Rohini able working girl. Con− 9489808838 Company. Father College Prof (Rtd),
tact: 9380791999 B.Tech working chennai seeks Nair Doctor 31, 183 cm seeks Allian-
DOCTOR Bridegrooms working business ce from Doctors with PG Contact: GAVARA NAIDU, 39/180, Uthiradam, Mother Agri Officer, Only son. Seeks
CHRISTIAN GROOM age 33 to 36 Well Caste Nobar. Ph: 8667278947 9544050952 Maharam,B.E., M.S(Engg), Chief Engr. suitable Bride. Subsect no bar. Cont:
MS (OG) FRM Chennai − Hindu, BC , qualified from well to do family, HINDU NADAR, 44 yrs female. The MNC Chennai, 15L PA, First marriage 94426-29455, 94889-60455.
Telugu,1995, fair, Elite, Well set- for a well qualified Nadar Chris- groom is required to stay with the Remarriage,Tamil doctor 35 yrs /180 seeks Naidu Bride. Ct: 9487272897 HINDU KALLAR, 33yrs, PG Er. (Civil)
tled, working in Corporate Hospi- tian girl, from well to do family, house.Caste No bar. Brokers Excuse. cm, Assistant professor in Chandigarh seeks Engineering Bride from Sou-
tal Seeks Dr/IAS/ Group I/ Indus- working in a reputed international Contact: 94429 98248 seeks Bride. Contact: 8056157373. PILLAI/ SOZHIYA Vellalar 37yrs / thern District. Same caste only. Ct:
trialist/Business Whats app BHP : institution in Chennai as Senior 173cm, BE, IT / Chennai, Sal: 9123581088
7845039243 Manager. Parents Contact. Hindu SC/AD. 36Yrs, BE, Sr. Software 60000/Pm, Ayilyam Star, Kadagam
9790787919. Engineer, TCS Chennai. never married
ENGINEER Rasi, Seeks Unmarried / Widow / Di- TAMIL IYER, Bharatwajam, Pooram,
PG DOCTOR (Peadiatrics), 27yrs, Fair Seeks suitable Groom Ct: 9952147216 vorcee Bride, Relocation Possible, age 42, CA, CWA, CS, CMA, CPA,
HASTHAM, FAIR 36, MCA Well Settled MUDALIAR GROOM, First Marriage, Caste No Bar, No Expectations. Ct: working in Canada, Sr. Mgr. Fin.,
Bride from a reputed family seeks PG in Chennai Seeks Mudaliar/Pillai. PILLAI / MUDALIAR, 34, MD, Well 45, 5ft 7inch, Engineer, Banga-
Doctor Groom. Contact: 94439 69969/ Profly 9444664627 drawing CAD 11,000/−pm, first mar-
Qualf working Groom Settled family seeks Groom aged lore. 9886493369. Hindu Brides riage, looking for suitable gradu-
s.veeranan@gmail.com 8220757159 34-36 yrs, Engineer/ Business/ Doctor. wanted MUDALIAR 29, BE/MBA 178cm Smart ate girl below 32, willing to set-
Contact: 9345855735 Look 25Lacs PA, well Settled Fami- tle in CANADA, send email with
FAIR BEAUTIFUL 26/155 Vanniyku- VANIYA CHETTIYAR, 32, BE., IT JOB, Muslim Girl 21/162cm BE(CSE) Very ly Seeks Bride CNB 8778514465/ horoscope and photo to braman1951@
lashathriya Girl Chennai Dr. [DNB] Second Marriage, No Children. Fair Selected in MNC Chennai Well to 7200866346
Surgery seeks PG Doctor. Groom Pref. Any Chettiyar Community.Govt do Family in Chennai. 9445556810 ENGLISH yahoo.co.in/ 9940025365
from Same Caste Ct: 9841982227 / or Private Job Ct: 9677079708 THULUVA VELLALA Mudaliar Anusham VANNIYAKULASHATRIYAR 26/170/MS
9841141583 South Indian Brahmin, Mar1988, 27/173 CA (Final) 30 Lacs/Pa seeks Canada/Thulam/Visaham/ in 2nd Ragu&
SAIVA PILLAI/TELUGU Chetty Girl TELUGU 5’11” MSc Engg (UK), never married, CA(studying)/ Bank Professional/ Kethu,Employed in Banking Sector @
DOCTOR GIRL 30/156 MBBS MD Ge- (27 yrs) Working in Canada, Candi- ELITE KAMMA Naidu, 25yrs, BE, Own working in Vancouver, Canada, seeks others from respectable family. Toronto/ Seeks Educationally Quali-
neral Medicine, seeks Doctors/ suita- an PR. Tall well placed groom from Industries in Chennai, Seeks Groom professionally qualified bride, willing to Pillai, Agamudaiyar also ok. fied Bride from Decent Fami-
ble grooms 9447493034, 9497168001. Pillai, mudaliar and Chettiar. Con- in Chennai. 9710093999/ 9710091999 relocate. Contact WhatsApp Ct:9444451113 ly:9840087405
tact: 9840613929, 9940172363 9967531921.
HINDU TELUGU Naidu Born Aug 1990/ VELLALA MUDALIAR 37/168 Swathi BE, BALIJA NAIDU, DCE, Age 50, Di-
SC AD, 30 yrs, MBBS, Doctor, work- HINDU NADAR, 24yrs, CA, 15 Lakhs 165 cm Ph.D Scholar smart medium Coaching Centre 60Kp/m Income. vorced, Own House in Ashok Nagar,
ing in NHS, UK, Hastham, Kanni P.A,Working in PWC. Seeks Suitable complexion from a Reputed family HINDI Seeks any graduate Bride CNB Income−20000/− Call : 9444705068
seeks groom preferably in UK. Groom Contact: 9380791999/ seeks well educated and settled 8939170330
9003017072 9047192999 groom in India born after 1987. AGARWAL BOY MBA Never Married 1982 OFFICER 50, Govt Dept Separated
Ct:9790908109 / 168cm H’some well settled high AGAMUDAYAR /40 divorce no child, Looking for Independent, Broad
HINDU TAMIL BC PG 26, 5’9" Fair ELITE MUDALIYAR, 32yrs, MBA, Di- status nuclear IT Biz family seeks teetottler Seeks bride age between Minded, Well Settled Woman, 45 +
Modest Seeks Tall Handsome BC PG vorce, Well Educated Family.,Seek BALIJA NAIDU, 28/152cm, Fair, PG, B’ful slim fair edu 86−90 Agarwal 35 to 37.unmarried/divorce with With or Without Issues as a Compan-
Doctors with Good Habits, Clinical suitable Groom 9710093999/ MNC Chennai Ct: 6380984534/saanvigk / Sindhi / M’wari / Jain − out child. horoscope must Ct: ion Genuine Person. Contact :
/ Non Clinical. Ct: 7200365364 9710091999 lr@gmail.com 9880839555 9444261735 9585245551
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Sunday, May 5, 2024 7
Delhi
News

From Page One One soldier killed, four Logistics agreement

with India ‘a real
Winning over voters
in ‘boycott capital’
injured in terror attack game changer’: U.K.
A place that had been seething with anger for
three decades over the political situation of the
State, the campus of Kashmir University is now
on IAF convoy in Poonch Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI
between our armed forces.
The vital logistics partner-
ship supports longer de-
bustling with campaigns to draw first-time voters The militant strike comes at a time when the Rajouri-Poonch belt is preparing for the Lok Sabha The U.K. is leveraging a lo- ployments of our capabili-
to polling booths. The School of Law, this week, election; region has seen a spurt in violence after the Centre scrapped J&K’s special status in 2019 gistics support agreement ties in the region and is
organised expert-driven lectures under the title signed with India to ex- clear evidence of the U.K.-
‘Your Vote, Your Voice: Empowering Democracy’. pand military-to-military Indo-Pacific tilt in action,
“India is a young country as the majority of its Peerzada Ashiq the district headquarters. engagements, especially in in sync with India.”
population comprises youth who play a crucial SRINAGAR The Army’s Rashtriya Rifles the maritime domain, as it India has signed a series
role in nation building. Young men and women evacuated the injured from also looks to augment its of agreements that have
should participate in the electoral process. This is soldier was killed the area, official sources capability and deploy- significantly expanded the
an opportunity to lead the nation towards achiev-
ing its goals of development and healthy gover-
nance,” Prof. Mohammad Hussain, Dean and
A and four were in-
jured when mili-
tants ambushed a convoy of
said.
The Poonch-Rajouri
belt, which shares 220 km
ments in the Indo-Pacific.
A U.K. warship under-
went essential mainte-
logistics support for the In-
dian military, especially
the Indian Navy which has
Head of the Law department, told the the Indian Air Force (IAF) in of the Line of Control with nance for the first time in expanded its operational
participants. Poonch on Saturday. The Pakistan-occupied Kash- April at Larsen & Toubro’s turnaround across the In-
Ms. Kotwal said the EC has lined up similar pro- IAF said the Air Warriors mir, has seen a spurt in mil- (L&T) shipyard at Kattupal- dian Ocean Region.
grammes in 16 major colleges of Srinagar “to raise fought back by returning itant violence after the li as a Royal Navy Littoral The LRG-S is a multi-
awareness about elections”. Henna art competi- fire. Centre scrapped J&K’s spe- Response Group-South functional amphibious
tions were held among female — mostly first-time “In the process, five IAF cial status in 2019. This is (LRG-S) visited India. task force equipped to un-
— voters, in volatile pockets of Srinagar. personnel received bullet the third militant attack this “The logistics-sharing dertake a wide spectrum of
injuries and were evacuat- Security personnel stand guard after the militant attack on IAF year in Rajouri-Poonch. agreement allows for the activity in the littoral envi-
Expanded reach ed to the nearest military vehicles in Poonch district on Saturday. PTI Last month, militants killed provision of logistic sup- ronment, according to
The EC’s exercise is not limited to the Srinagar hospital for immediate the brother of an Army ja- port, supplies and services Brig. Sawyer and consists
seat. It also plans a street show in Teetwal in the medical attention. One Air gion, which was once was attacked by militants in wan and a Village Defence between the U.K. and In- of the ships RFA Argus and
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e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Baramulla constituency, a point near the Line of Warrior succumbed to his cleared of terrorism and re- Poonch district of J&K, near Group member in separate dian armed forces, for joint RFA Lyme Bay, with em-
Control, where the residents of Pakistan Occupied injuries later,” the IAF said. mained peaceful between Shahsitar. Cordon-and- attacks. training, joint exercises, barked forces centred on a
Kashmir can easily watch the show. Earlier, a sel- The injured were flown to 2003 and 2021. search operations are un- Saturday’s attack came authorised port visits and Royal Marines strike force.
fie point was set up on the slopes of Affarwat in the Army hospital in Ud- Reinforcements from the der way presently in the at a time when the Rajouri- Humanitarian Assistance “In recent deployments,
Gulmarg, just 11 km away from the LoC. “A selfie hampur by a helicopter. Army and the police have area by local military units. Poonch belt of the Pir Pan- and Disaster Relief (HADR) Royal Navy ships have re-
point and a mock polling booth inside an igloo on The border district of been rushed to the area and The convoy has been se- jal valley is preparing for operations,” Brigadier Nick ceived spare parts manu-
the Afarwat slopes were meant to raise awareness Poonch, along with adjoin- a massive cordon-and- cured, and further investi- the Lok Sabha election. The Sawyer, Defence Advisor in factured by Indian shi-
among locals as well as tourists,” Ms. Kotwal said. ing Rajouri, has witnessed search operation was gation is under progress,” belt is going to the polls in the U.K. High Commission pyards within a short
“We organised rafting on the Lidder river in Pa- some of the major terrorist launched to track down an IAF spokesperson said. the Anantnag-Rajouri par- in India, said on X. “This notice period, showcasing
halgam. All participants were carrying placards attacks over the past two and neutralise the terro- The spot where the mili- liamentary constituency on agreement has been a real the growing interoperabili-
asking people to come out and vote. In the famous years, signalling the return rists, they said. tants opened fire from a May 25. game changer. It has led to ty between our navies,” he
Betab Valley, pony-wallas were roped in to raise of terror activities to the re- “An IAF vehicle convoy close range is far away from (With PTI inputs) increased engagements added.
awareness. People are eagerly waiting to cast their
vote,” Ms. Kotwal said.

Centre lifts onion export

Nijjar killing probe India is awaiting details of arrests
ban, but conditions apply not yet over: Canada made by Canadian Police: Jaishankar
Asserting that the government will “continue to
safeguard the interests of domestic consumers as Satyasundar Barik One of our Some people have died in
well as farmers”, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nid- BHUBANESWAR concerns is that unusual circumstances.
hi Khare said the ban was reviewed after visits to they [Canada] have That is something they
key onion market hubs to assess the current situa- India is waiting for details need to investigate.”
allowed organised crime
tion. “The mandi prices of onion in Lasalgoan of the arrest of three In- “In fact, first they have
Mandi [the country’s largest onion wholesale mar- dians linked to the murder from India, specifically to answer as to why there
ket in Maharashtra] has remained stable around of a Sikh separatist leader from Punjab, to operate have been so many terro-
₹15 per kg since April. As a perishable crop, onion in Canada, External Affairs there rists in Pakistan. You have
has to be consumed within five to six months so Minister S. Jaishankar said S. JAISHANKAR many terrorists and they
Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh. REUTERS on Saturday. are not nice people. They
holding stocks beyond shelf life will only increase External Affairs Minister
storage losses,” said the top Consumer Affairs Mi- “I came across news are doing things to each
nistry official. Press Trust of India commit murder. yesterday night that three other,” Mr. Jaishankar
With a 40% duty levied on top of the minimum OTTAWA/NEW YORK The Royal Canadian people have been arrest- them, ‘If you have someth- many Khalistanis in Cana- remarked.
export price of $550 per tonne, effectively, Indian Mounted Police on Friday ed, apparently Indians of ing, please give it to us.’ da, but they have chosen Referring to the possi-
onion exports would now be feasible if global The Canadian authorities said they are investigating some kind of gang back- Yes, some people have not to do anything about bility of further threats
buyers are willing to pay at least $770 a tonne. who arrested three Indian if the Indian government ground. We have to wait been arrested. One of our it. We have many extradi- from Pakistan, Mr. Jaishan-
“The ban had been imposed to boost domestic nationals in connection was involved in the killing for police to tell us more,” concerns is that they have tion requests pending with kar said, “There is history
supply when there was an estimated 20% decline with the killing of Khalistan of Nijjar. The three are be- he said. allowed organised crime them. From our side, we of cross-border terrorism.
in kharif and late kharif production, and has separatist Hardeep Singh lieved to be members of an Mr. Jaishankar empha- from India, specifically are very clear about our Till Modi sarkar came, we
helped stabilise prices till the arrival of the rabi Nijjar in Canada have said alleged hit squad tasked by sised that New Delhi has al- from Punjab, to operate stand,” the External Affairs were tolerating it and we
2024 crop, which is estimated at 191 lakh tonnes,” that their investigation has the Government of India. ways sought more details there. I think you may Minister said, during his were turning the other
Ms. Khare explained. not concluded and “oth- “We are aware that there and evidence to support have seen something like two-day visit to Odisha. cheek. After Modiji came,
With India’s monthly domestic consumption of ers” who played a role in are others out there that Ottawa’s accusations of the that. We have to wait for Commenting on many things have changed. You
onions at about 17 lakh tonnes, the rabi supplies the homicide would also played a role in this homi- murder of Hardeep Singh police to tell us,” he said. terrorists getting killed on saw Uri and you saw Bala-
are expected to be reasonably comfortable till the be arrested. cide and we remain dedi- Nijjar. Pakistani soil, he said, kot. We have made it very
arrival of the kharif 2024-25 crop, whose pros- Karan Brar, 22, Kamal- cated to identifying and ar- “We have never been gi- Khalistani issue “There is no shortage of clear today that any threat
pects are good owing to the above-normal mon- preet Singh, 22, and Karan- resting each one of them,” ven anything by Canada “We have taken up Khalis- terrorists and people in- of cross-border terrorism
soon forecast for this year. preet Singh, 28 have been Superintendent Mandeep which involves the Go- tani issue with Canada in volved in crime in Pakis- which comes from Pakis-
The new conditional exports regime kicks in charged with first-degree Mooker, Officer in Charge, vernment of India. In fact, great detail. They have a tan. Some people have a tan will get appropriate
immediately and will stay till further orders. murder and conspiracy to said. we have repeatedly told lot of knowledge about background of terrorism. response from India.”

ED seizes Bitcoins worth In mission to trigger review of State OBC lists,

₹130 crore; one arrested
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) has seized Bit-
coins worth ₹130.48 crore
following the arrest of one
Parvinder Singh in connec-
tion with an international
criminal syndicate named
“Singh DTO (Drug Traffick-
ing Organisation)”.
“The brothers Banmeet
Singh and Parvinder Singh
were operating an interna-
tional drug trafficking
group named Singh DTO.
They used vendor market-
ing sites on the dark
web, numerous free adver-
tisements on clear web
websites, and a network of
narcotics and controlled-
substance distributors and
distribution cells to sell
drugs in the U.S., the U.K.
and other European coun-
tries,” the ED said.
The syndicate received
drug proceeds through
sale on dark web markets,
then laundered the funds
via cryptocurrency tran-
sactions. “Both the broth-
ers used monikers ‘Liston’
CM
YK
on a variety of dark web
markets, including Silk
Road 1, Alpha Bay and Han-
sa,” it said, adding that
searches were also carried
out in the case at four loca-
tions on April 26.
In January, the U.S. De-
partment of Justice had
said that Banmeet Singh
had pleaded guilty to dis-
tributing narcotics and for-
feited about $150 million in
cryptocurrency. It was al-
leged that he created ven-
dor marketing sites on
dark web marketplaces to
sell controlled substances,
including fentanyl, LSD,
ecstasy, Xanax, Ketamine,
and Tramadol.
“Customers ordered
controlled substances
from Singh using the ven-
dor sites and by paying
with cryptocurrency.
Singh then personally
shipped or arranged the
shipment of controlled
substances from Europe to
the U.S. through U.S. mail
or other shipping servic-
es,” it had alleged.
“From mid-2012
through July 2017, Singh
controlled at least eight
distribution cells within
the United States including
cells located in Ohio, Flori-
da, North Carolina, Mary-
land, New York, North Da-
kota, and Washington,
among other locations. In-
dividuals in those distribu-
tion cells received drug
shipments from overseas
and then re-packaged and
re-shipped the drugs to lo-
cations in all 50 States in
the U.S., Canada, England,
Ireland, Jamaica, Scotland,
and the U.S. Virgin Is-
lands,” said the Depart-
ment of Justice.
“Banmeet Singh operat-
ed a global dark web enter-
prise to send fentanyl and
other deadly and danger-
ous drugs to communities
across America — in all 50
States — as well as Canada,
Europe, and the Carib-
bean,” Administrator Anne
Milgram of the Drug Enfor-
cement Administration
had added.
In April 2019, he was ar-
rested in London, and the
U.S. secured his extradi-
tion in 2023.
NCBC hits a wall of absent socio-economic data
Abhinay Lakshman
NEW DELHI
For the past year or so, the
National Commission for
Backward Classes (NCBC),
under the chairmanship of
former Union Minister
Hansraj Gangaram Ahir,
has been focused on trig-
gering a pruning of State
OBC lists in a bid to re-eval-
uate the continued inclu-
sion of communities that
might have progressed
from years of accruing
benefits.
This exercise has led the
commission to now ques-
tion the “abundance” of
Muslim communities on
the OBC lists of States such
as Karnataka and West
Bengal and in the latter’s
case, it has also stalled re-
quests to include around
80 castes/communities on
the Central OBC list, ques-
tioning the validity of the
reports relied upon by the
State government.
It is soon planning for si-
milar State reviews of Kera-
la, Odisha, Bihar, Maha-
rashtra and other States,
where it also intends to en-
The NCBC has asked States to produce survey reports to justify
continued inclusions in their OBC lists. FILE PHOTO
sure that the maximum
available OBC reservation
within the 50% limit is
granted.
‘Evaluating progress’
As the NCBC starts invok-
ing powers granted to it
under the 102nd Constitu-
tion Amendment brought
in by the Modi govern-
ment, to “evaluate pro-
gress of OBCs in States”, its
efforts are being cited by
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in his attacks on the
Congress’s social justice
platform. And while the
NCBC repeatedly asks the
States to justify continued
inclusions on their OBC
lists, it faces a singular hur-
dle — that of absent data on
current socio-economic
conditions of OBCs — and is
pressing on States such as
West Bengal and Karnata-
ka to produce this
information.
The Congress’s key so-
cial justice plank for the
ongoing elections has been
the promise of a nation-
wide socio-economic caste
census.
Mr. Ahir took charge of
the NCBC in December
2022 and within three
months started the State
review of West Bengal. “In
a State where Muslims are
in the minority, 118 of the
180 OBC communities in
the State were Muslim.
This is not possible,” Mr.
Ahir told The Hindu.
The NCBC has been in
touch with the West Bengal
government multiple times
since then, repeatedly
seeking survey reports that
justify the present-day
backwardness of the com-
munities that are in its OBC
list.
He said this is why the
NCBC had also returned a
proposal for including
around 80 of the State’s
communities in the Central
OBC list for the time being.
But senior State govern-
ment officials in West Ben-
gal maintained that they
could only give data on the
communities’ condition
when the decision to in-
clude them in the State list
was taken and not after.
A senior NCBC official,
however, noted that the
2015 judgment in Ram
Singh vs Union of India
mandated OBC communi-
ties to be identified based
on their “contemporane-
ous” conditions. “The
NCBC is maintaining that it
needs to look into the sur-
veys and evaluate them to
ensure they meet Mandal
Commission criteria of ca-
tegorising OBCs,” the offi-
cial said.
The official further
pointed to a provision in
State laws that mandated a
decadal review of OBC
communities to study the
progress of communities
due to accruing benefits
and duly exclude them if
required. These are the
same arguments behind
the NCBC’s State review in
Karnataka, where it is now
questioning the basis on
which Muslims in the State
continue to be considered
backward under Category
II-B.
Mr. Ahir said, “Eventual-
ly, these communities in
the State lists will want to
be included in the Central
list and so we must look in-
to their current status.” But
in the absence of this, what
the Commission is noting
is representation in State
services, making a case
that this would be enough
to inform if a community
has progressed.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
8 Sunday, May 5, 2024

ELECTIONS 2024 Delhi

Priyanka flays electoral bonds and alleged

Modi govt. over
COVID vaccine
쑽 government of indulging in
Congress leader Priyanka
Gandhi-Vadra attacked the
Narendra Modi government
on the issue of COVID vaccine,
and said many healthy
youngsters, who had taken
the jab, are getting heart
attacks. At a rally in
Davangere, she drew a link
between the vaccines and the
that they were manufactured
by a company which gave the
BJP a donation of ₹52 crore.
Accusing the Central
corruption, she said, “The
truth is that whether it is
through vaccines, or getting
donations by raiding some
one or booking a case against
someone and later
withdrawing it... this
government is corrupt. They
brought out a electoral bond
scheme, took donations from
everyone...."
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at a
rally in Davangere, Karnataka,
on Saturday. PRIYANKA GANDHI
VADRA-X
IPS officer’s
nomination
rejected
쑽 쑽
Candidacy of Abdur Rahman,
Indian Police Service officer
from Maharashtra who had
stepped down from service in
2019 protesting the
Citizenship (Amendment) Act,
has been rejected on the
grounds of ‘office of profit’ as
his resignation has not been
accepted by the government.
“Today, the authorities
have informed me that the
nomination I had filed to
contest from Dhule stands
rejected on the grounds of
‘office of profit’,” he said.
Two other contestants are
the BJP’s Subhash Bhamre
and the Congress’s Shobha
Bachhav. “I presented my side
that I am not receiving any
salary, no house or vehicle, I
don’t hold them any more.
Still the officials did not agree
to change their stand. I think
there is a conspiracy behind
it,” he said.
You have two
options. On one
side, you have Rahul who
was born with a silver
spoon. On the other, you
have Modi who was born
to a family of a chaiwala
AMIT SHAH
Union Minister
RLD leader quits
over ticket to Brij
Bhushan’s son
Rohit Jakhar, spokesperson of Our manifesto
the BJP’s ally Rashtriya Lok
is a strong
Dal, resigned from the party
document with a vision
to protest the BJP giving
ticket to Karan Bhushan for future. PM is making
Singh, son of incumbent MP up imaginary ideas that
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. are not in our manifesto
Mr. Brij is facing criminal and attacking us
charges for allegedly sexually
SHASHI THAROOR
harassing wrestlers. PTI Congress leader

A tiny Union Local dynamics play a major Sajad Lone

seeks apology
Territory has a
big contest going part in Chhattisgarh election from Omar
over BJP tag
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In third phase, seven constituencies in the State go to the polls with BJP and Congress as main players; while ruling party
on this time banks on Ram Temple, hyperlocal issues, Opposition party seeks to improve its record using schemes, social justice plank
The Hindu Bureau
SRINAGAR

J&K Peoples Conference

Mahesh Langa OVERVIEW tions due to her limited ( JKPC) chief Sajad Lone on
AHMEDABAD visits to the constituency, Saturday sought an apolo-
say sources on the ground. gy from rival National Con-
ith the Congress accusing the Shubhomoy Sikdar Major urban pockets ference (NC) vice-presi-

W Union Territory Administrator of

high-handedness and BJP
candidate Lalubhai Patel of smuggling liquor
RAIPUR

hhattisgarh will see

to Gujarat, Daman and Diu and Dadra and
Nagar Haveli are seeing a high-pitched
campaign for the two Lok Sabha seats on May
C its seven remaining
seats out of the total
11 go to the polls in the
7. The two enclaves were separate Union third phase of the Lok Sab-
Territories till Parliament passed legislation in ha election on May 7. In
December 2019 and merged them. these constituencies, na-
While Dadra and Nagar Haveli, a seat tionalism as a narrative has
reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, has nearly been dominant, but both
2.5 lakh voters, Daman and Diu, the smallest the key players — the Bha-
Lok Sabha constituency after Lakshwadeep, ratiya Janata Party (BJP)
has fewer than 90,000. The territory has four and the Congress — have
geographical entities: Dadra, Nagar Haveli, attempted to add more is-
Daman and the island of Diu. sues in the mix.
The Union Territory’s capital, Daman, is While the BJP has tried
adjacent to the industrial town of Vapi in to focus on topics such as
south Gujarat, while Silvassa is the largest the Ram Temple, abroga-
city. Diu is a scenic island along the tion of Article 370 and In-
Saurashtra coast. dia’s “relative rise” globally
The Dadra and Nagar Haveli seat had with hyper-local issues
mostly remained under the control of the late such as corruption allega-
Mohan Delkar, the MP who ended his life in tions against the previous
February 2021 in a Mumbai hotel. In a note, Congress government and
he had accused the Administrator of the the purported success of
Union Territory, Praful Khoda Patel, a its schemes such as the
political appointee who had earlier served as Mahtari Vandan Yojana,
junior Home Minister of Gujarat between the Congress hopes to im-
2010 and 2012, of harassment. In the prove its patchy electoral
byelection that followed, Mohan Delkar’s record in the Lok Sabha
wife, Kalaben Delkar, won on Shiv Sena polls with schemes such as
ticket. This time, she is contesting as a BJP providing ₹1 lakh annually
candidate. Mr. Delkar won the seat from 1989 for eligible families and a
to 2004 representing the Congress and the social justice plank that the
BJP, as an Independent and as a regional party is attempting elsewh-
party candidate. In 2019, he won as an ere in the country.
Independent. Seats such as Bilaspur,
Daman and Diu is dominated by the Koli Durg, Surguja and Raigarh
community. The BJP’s sitting MP, Lalubhai have been with the BJP for
Patel, has been winning here since 2009. The the past couple of decades.
Congress has fielded Ketan Patel whose Raigarh, a constituency
father, the late Dahyabhai Patel, had been an reserved for tribal people,
MP from here twice, between 1999 and 2009. is where the BJP’s Radesh-
Mr. Ketan lost to Mr. Lalubhai in 2014 and
2019. The other candidate is Umesh Patel, an
Independent who had secured more than
19,000 votes in the 2019 election.
On April 28, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
addressed a rally in Daman in which he
Delimitation sets up interesting contests in Dhubri, Barpeta
lambasted the Administrator, and said the
Congress would remove him to save the Sandeep Phukan
people from harassment and high-handed DHUBRI/ BARPETA
administrative actions. “After we form the
government in Delhi, we will kick out Praful “Joi Aai Axom! (Victory to
Patel from here and we will tighten the noose Mother Assam).” This is
around him for his corrupt activities,” Mr. how Abu Hanif, a leader of
Gandhi said. the students’ wing of the
After Mr. Gandhi’s visit, the Congress All India United Democrat-
intensified its campaign in Daman, and ic Front (AIUDF), ended
accused Mr. Lalubhai of liquor smuggling. his speech at Bilasipara’s
Mr. Lalubhai has dismissed all charges as Idgah grounds while seek-
“politically motivated”. ing a fourth term for AI-
UDF supremo Badruddin
Ajmal from Dhubri.
The slogan was leitmotif
CARTOONSCAPE | SOUMYADIP SINHA
of the six-year-long Assam
Agitation (1979-1985)
against illegal immigration
from Bangladesh into areas
such as Dhubri and Barpe-
ta. Three Ds — detect, de-
lete from electoral rolls
and deport — became a de-
fining statement as the pol-
itics of miya, a term that is
used to refer to Bengali
Muslims, versus khilonjia,
indigenous community,
took centre stage in Assam.
Mr. Ajmal’s foray into
politics is also closely
linked to the issue. In
2005, after the Supreme
Court scrapped the Illegal
Migrants (Determination
by Tribunals), or IMDT Act
— a law meant to protect
the Bengali-speaking peo-
ple from any harassment in
the process of detecting fo-
CM
YK
yam Rathia is taking on Me-
naka Devi Singh of the
Congress. Ms. Singh comes
from the Sarangarh royal
family and her father Na-
reshchandra Singh was a
noted figure in undivided
Madhya Pradesh, even
serving as the Chief
Minister.
This election, however,
is drawing attention for
reasons beyond the candi-
dates themselves. First,
Raigarh has been repre-
sented four times by cur-
rent Chief Minister Vishnu
Deo Sai of the BJP.
CM’s constituency
Apart from its billing as the
“Chief Minister’s consti-
tuency”, O.P. Choudhary, a
powerful Minister in the
Sai Cabinet, also hails from
Raigarh as does Devendra
Pratap Singh, a member of
the erstwhile Raigarh State
royal family and who was
recently elected to the Ra-
Tale of two seats: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigning for Asom Gana Parishad candidate Phani Bhusan Choudhury in
Barpeta (left); Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi at a rally for Dhubri Congress candidate Rakbiul Hussain in Balapara. RITU RAJ KONWAR
reigners — he floated his
own outfit.
In 2009, the AIUDF
chief won the Lok Sabha
election from Dhubri, until
then a Congress bastion.
Since then, both Mr. Ajmal
and his party’s political
clout have steadily grown
while the Congress lost its
ground among Bengali
Muslims.
At Bilasipara’s Idgah
ground, AIUDF suppor-
ters, wearing gamusas, tra-
ditional scarf, make a clear
statement about assertion
and assimilation of cul-
tures and identities.
Speeches are being deli-
vered both in Assamese
and Bangla.
“Our issues are not just
about the NRC [National
jya Sabha as BJP nominee.
The party is also confident
about Raigarh and Surguja
(another reserved consti-
tuency for STs) due to its
performance in last year’s
Assembly polls where it
swept the Surguja region,
winning all 14 seats.
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi held a public
meeting in Surguja last
month in which he reiterat-
ed his government’s “com-
mitment to tribal welfare”.
From an electoral re-
cord point of view, Janjgir-
Champa, a constituency
reserved for the Scheduled
Castes, is on another ex-
treme. Here, the Congress
won all the Assembly seg-
ments in last year’s State
elections and has now
fielded former Minister
Shiv Kumar Dahariya
against the BJP’s Kamlesh
Jangde. Though the BJP
has been consistently win-
ning this seat since 2004,
Register of Citizens] or the
CAA [Citizenship Amend-
ment Act]. We are also fo-
cussing on education,
health and connectivity,”
Mr. Hanif said.
AIUDF’s scheme
As the crowd waits for Mr.
Ajmal’s helicopter to land,
his party’s student wing
leader tells us how ‘Ajmal
Super 40’ is a huge suc-
cess. Under the scheme,
the Ajmal Foundation
identifies and provides
academic and financial
support to students to pre-
pare for medical, engineer-
ing and civil services exam.
“His foundation also
runs 73 schools across the
State where children of all
faiths get equal opportuni-
Nationalism as a
narrative has been
dominant here, but
both parties have
tried to add more
issues to the mix
the Congress feels that its
social justice plank might
provide it an opening here.
In neighbouring Korba,
sitting MP Jyotsna Mahant
has been renominated by
the Congress. Observers,
however, believe that by
fielding Saroj Pandey, a se-
nior State leader from the
BJP, the party has given it-
self a better chance than
what it had in the previous
election.
And while Korba is the
pocket borough of Charan
Das Mahant, Ms. Mahant’s
husband and the Leader of
Opposition in the Chhattis-
garh Assembly, the MP her-
self is facing some ques-
ty. No other politician can
match his record,” said Mr.
Hanif in an apparent refe-
rence to the challenger
from the Congress.
In the past 15 years, this
is the first time the Con-
gress has posed a serious
challenge to Mr. Ajmal by
fielding Rakibul Hussain,
the party’s deputy leader
in the Assam Assembly,
from this seat.
Dhubri is now the only
Lok Sabha seat in Assam
where Muslims make up a
majority. After the 2023
delimitation, the consti-
tuency is estimated to have
26 lakh voters, with 70%
Bengali-speaking Muslims,
Mr. Ajmal’s core
supporters.
“The BJP and the AIUDF
such as capital Raipur, Bi-
laspur and Durg, where
the BJP has traditionally
done well and almost
swept the Assembly polls,
are also going to the polls
in this phase. It is in Raipur
that Brijmohan Agrawal,
State Minister and a vete-
ran with around three de-
cades of experience in the
Assembly, is contesting a
Lok Sabha election for the
first time and is up against
Vikas Upadhyay, a former
one-time MLA.
Former Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel — who was
focusing on Rajnandgaon
where he is the candidate
and where polling was
held in the second phase —
has now been more active
in other seats. Despite his
contesting a different seat,
his shadow looms large in
his home turf of Durg
where the BJP has fielded
sitting MP Vijay Baghel —
who lost to his relative,
former CM Mr. Baghel
from Patan Assembly seg-
ment last November — and
is said to be ahead of Ra-
jendra Sahu, his opponent
from the Congress.
In Bilaspur, the BJP has
nominated Tokhan Sahu as
its candidate, while Deven-
dra Yadav is the candidate
from the Congress, but the
former is reliant on the
face of Mr. Modi to main-
tain its winning record.
have taken local politics to
a different direction. Both
parties have a secret un-
derstanding. Assam Chief
Minister, in an interview,
said that Badruddin want-
ed him to be the CM from
his heart,” declared Priyan-
ka Gandhi Vadra to an en-
thusiastic crowd at Dhu-
bri’s Balajan.
Swaying to ‘Khela
Hobe’, originally the Trina-
mool Congress’s election
anthem during the 2021
Bengal Assembly election,
supporters of the Congress
jostled to get a glimpse of
Ms. Vadra.
Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma, who had ear-
lier declared that the BJP
does not need miya votes,
also campaigned for his al-
dent Omar Abdullah for
“lying about Mr. Lone’s
poll speech” and alleging
that Mr. Lone had said “I
am BJP”.
“If Omar Abdullah is
true in his assertions that I
have publicly declared I’m
BJP, let him show the clip,
mention the date, time and
venue. I am ready to ten-
der a public apology. And if
this is false, then he should
tender an apology,” Mr.
Lone, who is contesting
the Baramulla Lok Sabha
seat, said.
Mr. Abdullah’s party is
the main rival of Mr. Lone
in Baramulla. In a state-
ment, Mr. Abdullah ac-
cused Mr. Lone of publicly
accepting that “I am BJP”.
The NC has made the BJP
the main poll narrative in
north Kashmir and stated
he was contesting against
“Delhi’s might” in
Baramulla.
However, Mr. Lone has
taken umbrage at Mr. Ab-
dullah’s remarks, “wrongly
quoting” Mr. Lone.
“He (Mr. Abdullah) has
crossed the limit. I am
mulling writing to the Elec-
tion Commission (EC). The
highly protected father-son
duo is endangering the
lives of my workers on the
ground. Mr. Abdullah’s re-
marks are either delusion-
al or he is rattled,” Mr.
Lone said.
ly, Asom Gana Parishad’s
(AGP) candidate Zabed Is-
lam. “They [people of Dhu-
bri] have always elected
the Congress or the AIUDF.
I am not calculating this
seat,” Mr. Sarma had told
The Hindu.
Triangular contest
But he is certainly calculat-
ing the neighbouring Bar-
peta constituency, a seat
that elected the Congress’s
Abdul Khaleque in 2019
and Mr. Ajmal’s brother, Si-
rajuddin Ajmal, of the AI-
UDF in 2014.
However, post delimita-
tion, Muslims no longer
make majority of the vo-
ters. While the BJP’s ally,
AGP has fielded veteran
MLA Phani Bhushan
Choudhury, the Congress
replaced Mr. Khaleque
with Deep Bayan in Barpe-
ta. CPI(M), part of United
Opposition Forum Assam,
made it a triangular con-
test by fielding its MLA
Manorajan Talukdar.
“This time, the contest
is between the CPI(M)’s Ta-
lukdar and the elephant,”
Kamala Das, a vegetable
vendor in Barpeta, said re-
ferring to the election sym-
bol of the AGP.
M ND-NDE

Sunday, May 5, 2024
Delhi
INBRIEF
쑽 Jyotiraditya banks on
royalty, family to regain
Guna this time for BJP
Amid changing party loyalties and caste equations, the former Congress leader is leveraging his
family’s ‘royal’ connections as well as the Prime Minister’s development-plus-nationalism formula
BJP has cheated youth in the
last 10 years: Anand Sharma
Mehul Malpani
The Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate from ASHOK NAGAR/GUNA
Kangra, Anand Sharma, on Saturday highlighted
his 52-year career in public service and asserted Scindia, oh Scindia dil
his deep-rooted connection with Himachal
Pradesh, besides talking about his efforts for the
development of Kangra and Chamba districts.
“ se; sochna ab kya hai,
chunein Modi phir se.”
Roughly translated, the lyr-
Hitting out at the BJP at the Centre, the former ics mean, “Scindia, from
Union Minister alleged that it has “cheated” the the heart; what’s there to
country’s youngsters for the last 10 years. think about, let’s choose
Highlighting his Himachali origin and education Prime Minister Narendra
in Shimla, the 71-year-old Congress leader said Modi once again.” Union
while Delhi was his “karma bhoomi” during his Minister Jyotiraditya Scin-
ministerial years, Himachal Pradesh has always dia and his supporters
remained in his heart ever since he entered dance to the song after he
politics. PTI finishes his address at Athai
Kheda village in Madhya
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Pradesh’s Guna Lok Sabha
constituency.
Nagaland BJP’s plan to clean More than four years af-
ter he made the switch
church compounds slammed from the Congress, Mr.
Scindia is contesting his
The Catholic Association of Nagaland (CAN) has first Lok Sabha election as a
criticised the BJP’s plan to clean church Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
compounds across the State on May 11. CAN said candidate and hopes to re-
it doubted the party’s intentions, as five of the claim his family’s lost bas-
seven phases of the Lok Sabha election are yet to tion of Guna.
take place. The last four of the 25 parliamentary Mr. Scindia’s grandmoth-
constituencies in the Northeast are scheduled to er Vijayaraje Scindia first
go to the polls on May 7. In a statement, the won the Guna seat in 1957
Catholic body said that “any unusual proposal by on Congress ticket. She la-
a political party would be viewed as an election ter joined the Bharatiya Jan
gimmick”. It also pointed out that any plan by a Sangh and eventually, the
group involving another group’s property BJP. She went on to repre-
without taking its consent amounted to a lack of sent the constituency for
due respect and disregard for the right to five more terms.
property, recognised by the Supreme Court as a Her son and Mr. Scin-
human right. dia’s father, Madhavrao
13-year-old Dalit girl burnt to
death in a field in U.P. village Sibling rivalry to the fore in Pulivendula
A 13-year-old Dalit girl who was out to relieve
herself was burnt to death in a village in Uttar
Sumit Bhattacharjee
KADAPA
Pradesh under the Haraiya Police Station
jurisdiction, an officer said on Saturday. The For the past 46 years, the
police are still to figure out how and why she was Yeduguru Sandinti, or YS
set on fire. Additional Superintendent of Police family, has held sway over
Yogesh Kumar said the girl had gone to a field the Pulivendula Assembly
near her village on Friday evening to relieve constituency, and its grip
herself. The family started searching for her has not loosened yet; the
when she did not return even after an hour. constituency continues to
Some villagers told them that a nearby field had be considered synony-
caught fire. When they reached the field they mous with its first family.
found the girl there, dead, the ASP said. PTI The opposing Telugu
Desam Party, however, is
hoping that this year’s As-
sembly election, to be held
Afghan Consul-General on May 13, will be different.
Taking the fight right to the
in Mumbai resigns YS family’s doorstep, TDP
chief Chandrababu Naidu
Afghanistan Consul-General in Mumbai Zakia has coined the slogan,
Wardak has resigned from her post on Saturday. ‘Why not Pulivendula?’,
Her move comes within 10 days after being which appears to have
reportedly intercepted by the Directorate of caught the attention of the
Revenue Intelligence at the Chhatrapati Shivaji electorate.
Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai on the Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan
charge of smuggling 25 kg of gold. “Over the past Mohan Reddy is seeking re-
year, I have encountered numerous attacks and election from Pulivendula
defamation. These attacks have demonstrated for the third time. Howev-
the challenges faced by women in Afghan society er, he is not just pitched
who strive to bring positive change amidst against the TDP’s Mareddy
ongoing propaganda campaigns,” Ms. Wardak Ravindranath Reddy (also
said in a post on X . known as ‘B.Tech’ Ravi),
SUDOKU
쑽 Going to police should be the last
resort in matrimonial disputes: SC
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court has in
a judgment advised cau-
tion to families facing mar-
ital trouble, stating that go-
ing to the police should be
the “last resort”.
“Police machinery
should be resorted to as a
measure of last resort and
that too in a very genuine
case of cruelty and harass-
ment. The police machin-
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku ery cannot be utilised for
the purpose of holding the
husband at ransom so that
he could be squeezed by
the wife at the instigation
of her parents or relatives,”
a Bench of Justices J.B. Par-
diwala and Manoj Misra
observed on Friday.
Justice Pardiwala, who
authored the judgment,
said invocation of Section
CM
YK
THE HINDU
News
Strong battle: BJP candidate from Guna Lok Sabha constituency
Jyotiraditya Scindia at Athai Kheda village. A.M. FARUQUI
Scindia, first won from here
in 1971 with the Bharatiya
Jan Sangh but later joined
the Congress. He also re-
presented Guna for four
terms. Mr. Scindia himself
was a Congress MP from
Guna for four terms.
Though their parties
kept changing, and mother
and son remained political
rivals, the constituency re-
mained in the family since
1989 until the BJP defeated
Mr. Scindia in 2019. Field-
ing a former Scindia family
loyalist K.P. Yadav, the BJP
leveraged its social engi-
neering.
The Guna Lok Sabha
Andhra Pradesh Congress president Y.S. Sharmila is seen waving at
the crowd during a meeting in Pulivendula. FILE PHOTO
but is also embroiled in a
family war: his sister Y.S.
Sharmila, who is contest-
ing the Kadapa Lok Sabha
seat as the Congress candi-
date, is taking every oppor-
tunity to hit her brother on
all fronts and increase the
anti-incumbency factor
against him by effectively
marshalling the Congress’s
MLA candidates.
The warring siblings’
father, the late Y.S. Raja-
sekhara Reddy, known as
YSR, won the Pulivendula
Assembly seat three times,
Top court requests
Parliament to change
Sections 85 and 86 of
the Bhartiya Nyaya
Sanhita, 2023
498A of the Indian Penal
Code (domestic cruelty)
should not be mechanical
in every case in which “a
wife complains of harass-
ment or ill-treatment”.
“Every matrimonial
conduct, which may cause
annoyance to the other,
may not amount to cruelty.
Mere trivial irritations,
quarrels between spouses,
which happen in day-to-
day married life, may also
not amount to cruelty,” the
court noted. Moreover, in
cases of domestic abuse,
an FIR is “not complete”
without criminal intimida-
constituency, which will
vote in the third phase on
May 7, consists of eight As-
sembly seats spread across
three districts — Guna, Ash-
ok Nagar, and Shivpuri. The
BJP had won six of them in
the 2023 Assembly elec-
tion, with Mr. Scindia run-
ning an extensive campaign
for the party.
This time, the BJP
dropped its sitting MP Mr.
K.P. Yadav and fielded Mr.
Scindia, who joined the
party in March 2020. The
Congress, in a replication of
the BJP’s 2019 strategy, has
fielded Rao Yadvendra
Singh Yadav, hoping to con-
in 1978, 1983, and 1985. His
brother Y.S. Vivekananda
Reddy won the seat in 1989
and 1994.
YSR again won the seat
in 1999, 2004, and 2009,
keeping his grip on the
constituency till his un-
timely death in a helicop-
ter crash just six months af-
ter being sworn in for his
second consecutive term
as the Chief Minister of un-
divided Andhra Pradesh in
2009. In the byelections
held in 2010 and 2011,
YSR’s wife, Y.S. Vijayamma,
tion to cause death or se-
rious harm (Section 506(2)
IPC) and causing hurt (Sec-
tion 323 IPC).
The court requested
Parliament to make chang-
es in Sections 85 (husband
or his relative subjecting
his wife to cruelty) and 86
(definition of cruelty) of
the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhi-
ta, 2023, which corres-
pond with Section 498A
IPC, after considering the
pragmatic realities men-
tioned in the judgment, es-
pecially since the accused
is looking at a jail of up to
three years and fine. It said
the provisions were only a
verbatim reproduction of
Section 498A. The court di-
rected its Registry to send a
copy of the judgment to
the Law and Home Secre-
taries and their respective
Union Ministries.
solidate the influential Ya-
dav community against Mr.
Scindia.
Interestingly, Mr. Yadav’s
father, Rao Deshraj Singh
Yadav, has also unsuccess-
fully contested the Lok Sab-
ha polls from Guna, once
losing to Madhavrao Scin-
dia in 1999 and then again
losing to the younger Mr.
Scindia in 2002. However,
the political affiliations of
the two families were re-
versed back then.
Riding on the back of the
BJP and Mr. Modi’s popular-
ity, the Scindia family does
not want to leave anything
to chance this time.
While keeping the local
issues and his family’s per-
sonal connect at the centre
of his outreach, a signifi-
cant part of Mr. Scindia’s
speeches also focus on the
Modi-led Union govern-
ment’s flagship schemes for
free ration and rural hous-
ing, as well as the BJP’s core
issues such as the Ayodhya
Ram Temple and
nationalism.
Guna will also decide Mr.
Scindia’s political stature in
the BJP and who will hold
sway over the crucial Gwa-
lior-Chambal region of the
State.
sailed through comforta-
bly, first on Congress ticket
and then as the candidate
of the newly floated YSR
Congress Party. Continu-
ing the family’s winning
streak, their son Y.S. Jagan
Mohan Reddy, the current
CM and the founder of the
YSRCP, romped home in
2014 and 2019. He is con-
testing once again in their
home turf in 2024, aiming
at a ‘hat-trick’.
‘Shoo-in for elections’
For a long time, YSR had
been a household name in
Pulivendula, and a shoo-in
for elections, with people
becoming accustomed to
knocking on his door for
any kind of support.
YSR’s demise came as a
shock not only for his fami-
ly, but also for his consti-
tuents. It was then that Vi-
veka stepped into his
brother’s shoes to set
things right, both on the
political as well as family
fronts. However, his brutal
murder in 2019, nearly 10
The judgment said, ma-
ny times, the parents of the
wife make “a mountain out
of a mole”. Instead of sal-
vaging the situation and
making all possible endea-
vours to save the marriage,
their action either due to
ignorance or on account of
sheer hatred towards the
husband and his family
members, brings about
complete destruction of
marriage on trivial issues,
the court said.
“The first thing that
comes in the mind of the
wife, her parents and her
relatives is the police, as if
the police is the panacea of
all evil. No sooner the mat-
ter reaches the police than,
even if there are fair chanc-
es of reconciliation bet-
ween the spouses, they
would get destroyed,” Jus-
tice Pardiwala noted.
‘Political Agniveers
Shinde, Ajit Pawar
will be jobless soon’
Abhinay Deshpande
PUNE
Maharashtra Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde, and his de-
puty, Ajit Pawar, are the
“political Agniveers” who
will be laid off in three
months, Congress leader
and AICC Maharashtra in-
charge Ramesh Chennitha-
la says.
“Both Mr. Shinde and
Mr. Ajit Pawar, who back-
stabbed their mentors –
Uddhav Thackeray and
Sharad Pawar – are the
‘political Agniveers’, as
their tenure is short-lived
without job security akin
to the Agniveers recruited
[to the armed forces] by
the current government.
Both leaders will be laid off
in the next three months,
not by any specific leader
or party but by the electo-
rate of Maharashtra,” he
said in an interview with
The Hindu.
The 67-year-old former
Kerala Home Minister said
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s remark, referring to
NCP supremo Sharad Pa-
war as a “wandering soul”,
did not sit well with the pe-
ople of Maharashtra, espe-
cially the Maratha com-
munity. “He [Mr. Modi]
should refrain from such
derogatory language, re-
gardless of political diffe-
rences. Mr. Sharad Pawar
is still alive and labelling
him a ‘wandering soul’ is
disrespectful, especially
years after YSR’s death, led
to the undoing of all his ef-
forts to keep the family to-
gether, further widening
the rifts.
The TDP, which has
failed to make significant
inroads into YSR’s citadel
over the past four decades,
believes it has the support
of 30,000 votes intact.
TDP candidate S.V. Satish
Kumar Reddy contested
against YSR in 2004 and
2009 and tasted defeat.
This time, Mr. Ravindra-
nath Reddy is determined
to breach what is being
dubbed as the YSR family
fort. Having been named
as the TDP candidate more
than a year ago, he has
been actively campaigning
in every nook and corner
of the constituency.
To counter Mr. Ravi’s
emergence as a strong con-
tender, the CM has strateg-
ically brought his prede-
cessor Satish Kumar Reddy
into the YSRCP fold, in an
apparent bid to loosen the
TDP’s growing propsects.
Focus should be on
what drives children
to commit crime: CJI
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Chief Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud termed it
crucial to shift the focus
from debating whether ju-
veniles should be tried as
adults to understanding
the circumstances that
drive children to commit
crimes in the first place.
“While children may
make wrong decisions dur-
ing their developmental
journey, they do not merit
the same treatment as fully
grown adults,” Chief Jus-
tice Chandrachud said in
his address at the National
Symposium on Juvenile
Justice in Nepal on
Saturday.
He highlighted the reali-
ty of systemic neglect per-
petuating the marginalisa-
9
Ramesh Chennithala
considering the PM’s pre-
vious acknowledgment of
him as a political guru. It
appears that Mr. Modi is
becoming increasingly agi-
tated, possibly due to the
realisation that his return
to power is uncertain, and
is hence making such re-
marks,” he said.
According to Mr. Chen-
nithala, the political situa-
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
tion in Maharashtra heavi-
ly favours the Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA), the coali-
tion comprising the Udd-
hav Thackeray-led Shiv Se-
na (UBT), Sharad Pawar’s
NCP faction, and the Con-
gress. People are waiting
for an opportunity to res-
pond to the BJP. Despite
the effective governance of
the constitutionally elected
MVA government under
Uddhav Thackeray, the go-
vernment was toppled by
engineering a split in the
Shiv Sena founded by the
late Balasaheb Thackeray,
by using Central agencies,
he said.
(For full interview visit:
thlink.in/Chennithala)
Congress will
‘support cow
killing’, says
Adityanath
The Hindu Bureau
BHOPAL
The Congress wants to
“implement Aurangzeb’s
jizya tax” and also “sup-
port cow killing” as the
party has become “direc-
tionless”, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister and BJP
leader Yogi Adityanath al-
leged on Saturday in Mad-
hya Pradesh.
“They have said that if a
Congress-led INDIA go-
vernment is formed, they
will give freedom of food as
per the interest of minori-
ties. Are the food interests
of minorities different
from those of the majority
community? The regular
food choices are same but
the majority community
refrains from cow meat,”
Mr. Adityanath said at a ral-
ly in Madhya Pradesh’s
Ashok Nagar.
tion and
disenfranchisement of
youth in impoverished
settings.
The CJI referred to a stu-
dy titled “Rights of chil-
dren: a case study of child
beggars at public places in
India”, which said that ap-
proximately 44,000 chil-
dren were ensnared by cri-
minal gangs in India every
year.
The CJI drew attention
to the 2020 report of the
United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime on the ex-
ploitation of visually chal-
lenged children in India.
Chief Justice Chandra-
chud said that a swift reso-
lution of cases involving ju-
veniles should be
prioritised, to minimise
trauma and ensure justice
and rehabilitation.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
10 Sunday, May 5, 2024

Business Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Kotak Mahindra Bank Q4 net NCLT logs 43% rise
rises 18% on interest income in debt resolution
The private sector lender’s FY24 standalone net profit grew 26% to ₹13,782 crore; net interest
cases, says IBBI
income rose 21% to ₹25,993 crore; bank plans to raise technology spending following RBI directive
Press Trust of India ventions have been made
KOLKATA in the IBBI within a single
The Hindu Bureau FY24 NII rose to ₹25,993 year. This portrays that we
MUMBAI crore, from ₹21,552 crore Amid several bottlenecks, are responding to market
India’s DMart posts Q4 profit in FY23, up 21% YoY. the Insolvency Bankruptcy requirements to bridge the

K
otak Mahindra
increase on strong demand Bank (KMB) Q4
net profit rose
Avenue Supermarts, which operates the DMart 18% ₹4,133 crore, from
chain of retail stores, reported a 22.4% rise in ₹3,496 crore in the year
fourth-quarter profit helped by rising footfalls in earlier period backed by
its stores that sell groceries and apparel below 13% Year-on-Year (YoY)
the maximum retail price. The retailer, known growth in Net Interest In-
for discounts on everything from food to clothes, come (NII) to ₹6,909 crore
reported a consolidated net profit of ₹5.63 billion during the quarter ended
for the quarter ended March 31, up from ₹4.60 March 31, 2024.
billion a year earlier. Consolidated revenue rose Recoveries and up-
to ₹127.27 billion (₹105.94 billion). REUTERS grades during Q4 was ₹772
crore and the bank wrote
off retail unsecured loans
of ₹1,455 crore. Its total
TPREL signs 460 MW
renewables PPA with SJVN
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
The Board has recom-
mended dividend of ₹2 per
equity share having a face
value of ₹5, for FY24.
KMB in a filing said op-
erating costs rose to
₹16,679 crore in FY24
(₹13,787 crore in FY23).
Technology expenses
Rewarding investors: The Board has recommended dividend of ₹2 were 10% of operating cost
per equity share having a face value of ₹5, for FY24. REUTERS in FY24 and KMB has plans
to invest more following
provisions towards ad- For FY24 KMB’s standa- RBI’s April 24 directive to
vances stood at ₹5,903 lone net profit grew 26% stop onboarding new cus-
crore. The bank said in an to ₹13,782 crore over the tomers for online and mo-
investors’ presentation. previous year. bile-banking channels.
Board of India (IBBI) de-
clared 2023-24 as a land-
mark year, with the Nation-
al Company Law Tribunal
achieving a significant 43%
increase in resolutions,
jumping from 189 cases in
2022-23 to 270 last year.
The IBBI is expected to
submit a report to the go-
vernment over the next
two to three months for in-
cluding “mediation” in the
Insolvency and Bankrupt-
cy Code (IBC), which is cur-
rently under discussion
and scrutiny. The regulator
is also working on prepack-
gaps,” he said.
He added that a sectoral
approach had been adopt-
ed to address unique pro-
blems for a speedy resolu-
tion, like in real estate.
“We are trying to follow
the sandbox approach.
The recent amendments
were made on real estate
where project-wise resolu-
tion was made, keeping
the allotted houses from li-
quidation was a big step
forward in a sectoral ap-
proach,” Mr. Shukla said.
‘Prepacks key’

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
aged insolvency for large He said prepacks for large

Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. (TPREL), a

subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Ltd. has
IDBI Bank Q4 net J&K Bank logs ‘highest
signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with
SJVN Ltd. (SJVN), a public sector undertaking, to
set up a 460 MW Firm and Dispatchable
rises 44% to ₹1,628 cr. ever’ annual net profit
Renewable Energy (FDRE) project. The plant will
integrate solar, wind, and battery storage Press Trust of India
technologies to ensure efficient energy dispatch NEW DELHI
during peak hours, thereby stabilising the grid,
the company said in a statement. Private sector lender IDBI
Bank on Saturday reported
a 44% jump in net profit to
₹1,628 crore in the March-
ended quarter of FY24.
Cabin baggage allowance cut Total income rose
to 15 kg for lowest-fare class: AI to₹7,887 crore during the
period under review from
Loss-making Air India (AI) has cut free cabin ₹7,014 crore in the January-
baggage allowance to 15 kg from 20 kg for the March period of FY23.
lowest economy-fare segment on local flights. For 2023-24 fiscal, net
The changes were made in the menu-based profit grew 55% to an all-
pricing model fare families introduced by the time high of ₹5,634 crore.
Tata-owned AI last August, with the airline saying Total income for fiscal
one-size-fits-all approach was no longer ideal. year 2023-24 was at
There are three fare families — Comfort, Comfort ₹30,037 crore, up from
Plus and Flex — with different levels of benefits ₹24,942 crore in financial
and fare curbs at various price points. PTI year 2022-23.
Net interest income im-
proved by 12% in the March
quarter to ₹3,688 crore.
Net non-performing asset
(NPA) ratio improved to
0.34% as on March 31,
2024 against 0.92% as on
March 31, 2023.
The board has proposed
a dividend of 15%.
Press Trust of India
SRINAGAR
Jammu and Kashmir Bank
reported highest-ever an-
nual profit at ₹1,767 crore
for 2023-24.
MD and CEO Baldev Pra-
kash said the net profit
surged 48% compared
with the previous fiscal.
“Beating its own high-
est-ever record of profits
achieved only last year, the
net profit surged in fiscal
2023-24 by 48% to achieve
record profit figure of
₹1,767 crore,” he told PTI
He said the bank will be
sharing the historic profits
with its shareholders by
making the highest divi-
dend payment of about
₹236.75 crore this year.
The bank witnessed a
10% increase in total in-
come to ₹6,029.17 crore.
He said asset quality has
improved by bringing
GNPA to a decadal low of
4.08% and NNPA to 0.79%.
corporate cases, which is
only allowed in MSME cas-
es as of now.
For the first time in a
year, the number of out-
puts had increased from
the number of inputs, re-
ducing the pendency, Sud-
haker Shukla, an IBBI
whole-time member, said
at the CII-organised 7th In-
solvency and Bankruptcy
Code conclave.
Mr. Shukla said that des-
pite bottlenecks in the last
seven years, resolution of
₹3.5 lakh crore was
achieved, and 27,000 ap-
plications worth ₹10 lakh
crore were withdrawn,
making the IBC a powerful
tool for debt resolution.
He said the law had
evolved over time and the
interventions to improve it
had been remarkable.
“In 2023-24, around 12
amendments and 86 inter-
accounts were also under
consideration as they aim
for speedy resolution. Pre-
packaged insolvency in-
volves agreeing on a reso-
lution plan between the
debtor and its creditors be-
fore going into formal
bankruptcy.
P. Santhosh, MD of
NARCL, the government-
backed bad bank, asserted
that a delay in resolution
would erode the quality of
the asset, making revival
difficult.
“There are multiple fac-
tors contributing to this de-
lay, and to avoid it, coordi-
nation with financial
creditors is crucial. The
concept of prepack insol-
vency is yet to be adopted.
However, many practition-
ers have discussed that this
is one of the tools that can
be extended to larger cor-
porate disputes,” he said.

Central banks
bet big on
gold on global
uncertainty
Suresh P. Iyengar
MUMBAI
Central banks across the
world continued gold buy-
ing this year, adding 290
tonne in the March quarter
even as record high prices
hit consumer demand.
In fact, central banks ac-
counted for 23% of the ov-
erall gold demand at 1,238
tonne in March quarter.
Indian jewellery con-
sumption rose 4% y-o-y in
March quarter to 92 tonne.
Rattled by geo-political
developments and slowing
global economy, the banks
have been hedging risk by
raising the gold compo-
nent of forex reserves des-
pite record-high prices.
(The writer is with The
Hindu businessline)
Centre removes import duty
on chana as prices stay high
Vishwanath Kulkarni
BENGALURU
As price of pulses show no
sign of cooling, the Centre
has removed import duty
on chana (Bengal gram)
and extended the import
window for yellow peas till
October 31. Chana, or
chickpea, attracted an im-
port duty of 66%.
An extraordinary ga-
zette notification on Friday
night announced duty-free
import of chana that
comes into effect Saturday.
The Centre also extended
duty-free mport of yellow
pea, often used as a substi-
tute for chana till, end Oc-
tober. This follows the go-
vernment’s early April
extension of duty-free im-
port of yellow peas by two
months to June 30. Antici-
pating a shortfall in chana
output, the government
had in December allowed
duty-free imports till
March 31, and subsequent-
ly extended it till April 30.
Chana prices have been
higher than the minimum
support price (MSP) of
₹5,440 per quintal by 10-
15% across key producing
regions in Central India,
mainly on account of lower
production due to a dip in
acreage. As per second ad-
vance estimates, the chana
crop size for 2023-24 is at
121.61 lakh tonnes (lt), mar-
ginally lower than the pre-
vious year’s 122.67 lt.
The bullish trend in cha-
na prices made it harder
for government agencies to
procure pulses at MSP for
the buffer stock. As per the
procurement data on the
Nafed portal, chana pur-
chases stood at 765 tonnes
in the current season.
India Pulses and Grains
Association’s Bimal Kotha-
ri criticised duty-free im-
ports as benefiting pulse
growers in other countries.
“This will hurt interest of
Indian farmers and future
crop prospects,” he said.
(The writer is with The
Hindu businessline)

Sincere Developers plans to develop

three ‘uber luxury’ hotels in three years
Lalatendu Mishra
MUMBAI
Sincere Developers Private
Ltd., owner of the Taj Hotel
& Convention Centre pro-
perty in the tourist town of
Agra, has announced plans
to set up at least 3 super
luxury hotels under the In-
dian Hotels Company Limi-
ted’s Taj brand name in the
near future.
“We are going to set up
three hotels in the next
three years and the tie up
will be with Taj,” said Pari-
tosh Ladhani, JMD, Sincere
Developers. “These will be
very luxurious hotels com-
manding room rent of up
to ₹40,000 per night,” he
added in an interview.
The properties are ex-
CM
YK
Luxury demand: Sincere aims to tap into growing aspirational
demand for luxury hotels, says Ladhani. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
pected to come up in pil-
grim towns and tourist des-
tinations including
Rishikesh, Dharamshala
and Jim Corbett Park.
Across these properties,
the company is looking at
building about 450 rooms
(150 rooms each) with a to-
tal investment of about
₹1,000 crore.
“These hotels are going
to be very high class, very
ultra-luxury, one can call
these uber luxuries, com-
manding a rate of at least
₹35,000 to ₹40,000 per
night,” Mr. Ladhani said.
He added that the de-
mand for super luxury ho-
tels had gone up sharply
among domestic travellers,
in line with a demand for
luxury homes.
“Even the people from
upper middle class in India
have become very aspira-
tional. So those people
whose salary is at ₹5 lakh
per month, they are willing
to take a vacation only
once a year with the kids
but stay in the best hotel,”
he added.
He said the company
would eventually have at
least 7 to 8 super luxury
hotels in 7 to 8 years.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Sunday, May 5, 2024 11
SCIENCE
Delhi

Leprosy spread between red squirrels and people: study SNAPSHOTS

쑽

The Hindu Bureau
Evidence from archaeolog-
ical sites in the medieval
English city of Winchester
shows that English red
squirrels once served as an
important host for Myco-
bacterium leprae strains
that caused leprosy in peo-
ple according to a study
published in the jour-
nal Current Biology.
Leprosy is one of the ol-
dest recorded diseases in
human history and is still
prevalent to this day in
Asia, Africa, and South
America. “For thousands
of years, humans were
thought to be the only nat-
ural host of M. leprae until
the discovery of M. le-
prae in several wild ani-
mals in recent decades,
such as armadillos and,
more recently, red squir-
rels and chimpanzees,” the
authors write. While scien-
tists have traced the evolu-
tionary history of the my-
cobacterium that causes it,
how it may have spread to
people from animals in the
past was not known
beyond some hints that red
squirrels in England may
have served as a host.
In the new study, the re-
searchers studied 25 hu-
man and 12 squirrel sam-
ples to look for M. leprae at
two archaeological sites in
Winchester. The city was
well known for its leprosa-
rium and connections to
the fur trade. In the Middle
Ages, squirrel fur was used
to trim and line garments.
Many people also raised
them as pets.
The researchers se-
quenced and reconstruct-
ed four genomes repre-
senting medieval strains
of M. leprae, including one
from a red squirrel. An
analysis to understand
their relationships found
that all of them belonged to
a single branch on the M.
leprae family tree. They al-
so showed a close relation-
ship between the squirrel
strain and a newly con-
structed one isolated from
the remains of a medieval
person, says a release. The
study found that the me-
dieval squirrel strain is
more closely related to hu-
man strains from medieval
Winchester than to mod-
ern squirrel strains from
England, indicating that
the infection was circulat-
ing between people and
animals in the Middle Ages
in a way that hadn’t been
detected before.
“These findings on the
natural reservoir of M. le-
prae indicated that M. la-
prae circulates in more
wild animals than we sus-
pected, and zoonotic infec-
tion may contribute to the
epidemic of leprosy. The-
refore, it is inevitable that
leprosy epidemics can per-
sist for a long time in the
future, and we should re-
main vigilant against the
spread of M. leprae bet-
ween humans and wil-
Genetically corrected stem
dlife,” they write. cells mitigates deformities
A treatment protocol that combines autologous
stem cell transplants with gene therapy shows

Can the new organelle help

signs of correcting skeletal deformities in eight
children with Hurler syndrome, a rare disease
that stunts skeletal system growth. Promising
results from a phase 1 trial suggest that similar

engineer plants to fix nitrogen?

strategies may counteract one of the debilitating
complications of this rare disorder, which has no
cure. Patients who received autologous stem cells
containing the corrected gene displayed
close-to-normal skeletal growth patterns.
The endosymbiotic theory states that organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts, the sites of cellular respiration and
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
photosynthesis, were once free-living bacteria that were later ingested by the recipient cells

Binay Panda tions, nearly half of the ni-

troplasts’ proteins are from
s proposed by the host cell. Although the

A Charles Darwin
in the nine-
teenth century,
natural selection, the en-
gine that drives evolution,
is how species adapt to
their environments. Unlike
the Neo-Darwinist consen-
sus, the American evolu-
tionary biologist Lynn Mar-
gulis did not believe that
random genetic mutations
were the sole cause of in-
herited variation. She
came up with a new theory
called symbiogenesis. The
endosymbiotic theory
states that organelles like
mitochondria and chloro-
plasts, the sites of cellular
respiration and photosyn-
thesis, were once free-liv-
ing bacteria that were later
ingested by the recipient
cells. The theory of sym-
biogenesis was fiercely
challenged, including Mar-
gulis’s manuscript, which
was rejected by 15 academ-
ic journals before finally
being published in The
Journal of Theoretical Bio-
logy in 1967. It was not until
many years later that mito-
chondria and chloroplasts
were accepted as once be-
ing free-living bacteria be-
fore becoming endosym-
bionts inside eukaryotic
cells.
Two papers published
recently, one in the jour-
nal Science and another in
the Cell, have generated
new interest in the endo-
symbiotic theory. The dis-
covery concerns nitrogen
fixation. Nitrogen is a key
component in proteins and
DNA of all living organ-
isms. Although nitrogen
gas makes up about 78% of
the Earth’s atmosphere by
volume, plants and ani-
mals lack a system that can
utilise atmospheric nitro-
gen. Bacteria and archaea
help convert atmospheric
nitrogen gas to ammonia
by nitrogen fixation to
make nitrogen usable for
plants. Unlike many free-
living nitrogen-fixing bac-
teria, legumes, a class of
plants in the family Faba-
ceae, bear the nitrogen-fix-
ing bacteria in their root
nodules. Ammonia is con-
verted to nitrites and ni-
trates and then back into
atmospheric nitrogen with
the help of bacteria to com-
plete the cycle. In marine
environments, like on
Earth, bacteria and ar-
chaea are also involved in
ammonification, nitrifica-
tion, and denitrification.
Beyond mitochondria and
chloroplasts, the current
discovery extends the ear-
lier reports of a nitrogen-
fixing cyanobacterium in
marine algae and establish-
es it as a new organelle.
The new organelle that the
authors call nitroplast co-
evolved with its host cell.
In 1998, Jonathan Zehr,
at the University of Califor-
nia, Santa Cruz, U.S. disco-
vered a cyanobacterium
Candidatus Atelocyanobac-
terium thalassa or UCYN-A
in the water of the Pacific
Ocean capable of fixing ni-
trogen. Later, Kyoko Hagi-
no at Kochi University, Ja-
pan, found the marine
algae Braarudosphaera bi-
gelowii as the host for
UCYN-A and could success-
fully culture the host cells.
Both teams had esta-
blished UCYN-A as a sym-
biotic cyanobacterium for
marine single-cell euka-
ryotic algae.
Bonafide organelles
need to satisfy several cri-
teria. First, the organelle
must be integrated into the
function and overall archi-
tecture of the host cell. Se-
cond, proteins must be im-
ported to the organelle
from the host cell to carry
out some of its functions.
Third, organelles must be
in sync with the host cell’s
growth. Last, organelles
must be inherited in the
newly dividing cells during
host cell division. All these
above criteria were satis-
fied by nitroplast, as pre-
sented by several lines of
evidence by the authors.
During a symbiont’s trans-
formation into an orga-
nelle within a eukaryotic
cell, its genome becomes
frugal, encoding fewer pro-
teins and utilizing the host
cell’s proteins to perform
some of its essential func-
tions. In line with expecta-
reports present evidence
of establishing nitroplasts
as organelles, the loss of
some of nitroplasts’ genet-
ic material and migration
to the host cell nucleus still
needs to be established.
Unlike mitochondria and
chloroplast endosymbio-
sis, which happened near-
MRI-guided atlas probes
ly two billion years back, the roots of wakefulness
nitroplast’s evolution as an
organelle is relatively re- Using MRI, scientists have constructed an atlas of
cent (about 100 million networks deep within the brain that sustain
years). wakefulness. The insights could facilitate
The discovery has revo- research into therapies for disorders that affect
lutionary implications, es- human consciousness. MRI scans on three
pecially in agriculture. postmortem human brain specimens were done.
Agriculture was trans- Several distinct nodes in the dAAN in the
formed in the last century brainstem, hypothalamus, and basal forebrain
by the discovery of a meth- were found; the dAAN, in turn, connects to
od for synthesising ammo- another network called the default mode
nia from nitrogen and hy- network (DMN).
drogen in the laboratory.
The current discovery has
the potential to play a vital
role in getting rid of the
harmful side effects of in-
dustrial ammonia produc-
tion. Several novel bio-
technological applications
may use the result of the
current discovery of nitro-
plasts as independent ni-
trogen-fixing organelles.
They are engineering host
cells and their nitroplasts
with minimal genomes suf-
ficient to grow efficiently
and fix nitrogen, making
plant cells fix nitrogen by Flu vaccine candidate has a
engineering them to in-
clude nitroplasts and orga-
mix to offer protection
nelle transformation in A new vaccine candidate for influenza based on a
plant cells to introduce ni- mix of recombinant antigens can induce immune
troplast and its host genes responses against areas of the virus less likely to
to fix nitrogen. Although mutate over time and can protect mice and
promising and futuristic, ferrets more. The vaccination strategy takes an
all these are highly chal- important step which could offer superior
lenging and far from protection against seasonal flu. To boost the
reality. breadth of flu vaccines, researchers engineered a
(Binay Panda is a Professor vaccine that contains a cocktail of more than
at JNU, New Delhi) 10,000 individual, recombinant HA proteins.

H5N1 outbreak: route of transmission unclear

Bani Jolly
Vinod Scaria
What started as a mystery
disease in one cattle herd
in Texas in March and
quickly confirmed as Avian
Influenza A H5N1 has now
quickly grown to 36 herds
across nine states in the
U.S. With wider testing of
cattle herds ongoing, this
number is likely to go up
significantly.
Two avian Influenza
H5N1 lineages have been
spreading across the
world. The Influenza A
H5N1 lineage 2.3.4.4.b that
emerged in 2022 spread
across all continents ex-
cept Australia, affecting
and decimating several
avian species. The out-
break has pushed many
avian species to the verge
of extinction and has
spilled over to over a
hundred mammalian spe-
cies to date.
It is important to note
that the recent outbreak in
CM
YK
the U.S. is not solely affect-
ing cattle; farm cats have
also been significantly im-
pacted. A total of seven
cats have been document-
ed to be infected in the cat-
tle farms. While there’s
one documented case of a
human with mild symp-
toms who had close con-
tact with infected animals,
the risk appears low. A sur-
vey in affected regions in
the U.S. found traces of the
genetic material of the vi-
rus in nearly 20% of groc-
ery milk samples using
PCR testing, although
further studies also con-
firmed the absence of live
virus in the samples. Ho-
wever, this survey also sug-
gests that the outbreak
might be more widespread
than reported cases. Des-
pite this finding, pasteuri-
sation, a standard milk
treatment effectively des-
troys live viruses thus the
public health risk is
minimal.
Despite the controversy
Silent spread: The H5N1 virus had a single point of introduction in
late 2023 and spread undetected among cattle in the U.S. AP
surrounding limited meta- sistent with the wider
data, the U.S. Department spread in cattle. The data
of Agriculture (USDA) has also hints at the possibility
provided a large tranche of of reverse spillover
genomic data for the virus events — transmission from
following the outbreak cattle back to
which has offered valuable poultry — which differs
insights into the outbreak. from previous avian-to-
Most significantly, the data mammalian transmissions.
suggests that the virus had There are several ques-
a single point of introduc- tions about the outbreak
tion in late 2023, and a po- that remain unanswered.
tential undetected spread Firstly, the route of mam-
among cattle. A number of malian transmission
mammalian adaptation among cattle herds is un-
mutations have been iden- clear, while speculations
tified in the genomes, con- for this include contami-
nated feed, milking equip-
ment, or even airborne
transmission. Secondly,
the question of how the vi-
rus evaded detection
among cattle populations
remains open. Finally, the
potential of reverse spillov-
er events from cattle to
poultry, as suggested by
the genomic data, necessi-
tates further research to as-
sess the risk of transmis-
sion to humans and
develop appropriate miti-
gation strategies.
India has seen avian in-
fluenza outbreaks in poul-
try this year across four
States, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, and more re-
cently Kerala and Jhark-
hand. These outbreaks
have largely been limited
to poultry. However, the
genome sequences from
these outbreaks are not yet
available in the public do-
main and therefore the li-
neages of the affecting vi-
rus are not known.
Given the fact that the
genetic alterations current-
ly occurring in the virus
are not adequate to enable
human-to-human trans-
mission, the immediate
risk of an outbreak in hu-
mans remains low. Howev-
er, close contact with in-
fected birds or animals
significantly increases this
risk. The transcontinental
spread of avian Influenza
reiterates the need for ac-
tive surveillance and a
much wider collaboration
among countries and or-
ganisations sharing data
and resources for under-
standing the virus and its
transmission dynamics. As
the world slowly crawls out
of the SARS-CoV-2 pan-
demic, there has never
been a better setting for
the global pandemic
treaty.
(Bani Jolly is a senior scien-
tist at Karkinos Healthcare
and Vinod Scaria is a se-
nior consultant at Vishwa-
nath Cancer Care Founda-
tion)
Question Corner
Rapid evolution
Does evolution of
adaptation always take
hundreds of years?
Evolution is often thought
to take over hundreds or
thousands of years. But a
recent study has found a
species of frog which has
evolved over within about
25 years. The adaptation
was spurred by salt.
Researchers collected
wood frog eggs from nine
populations and allowed
them to hatch into
tadpoles. Whether
populations of tadpoles
from more salt-polluted
waters had evolved higher
salt tolerance was studied.
Tadpoles collected from
the saltiest wetland
experienced a notably
longer time until death
when exposed to salt than
the eight other
populations collected from
other areas with varying
levels of salt, suggesting an
evolved tolerance. Frog
populations collected from
ponds with low and
intermediate salt
concentrations exhibited
similar tolerance curves
over a 96-hour exposure.
The results provide further
evidence that some species
of freshwater organisms
can evolve tolerance to
increasing salinisation,
although it may only occur
under relatively high
concentrations.
Readers may send their questions /
answers to
questioncorner@thehindu.co.in
M ND-NDE

12
How is Kejriwal
functioning from
Tihar Jail?
With the Delhi Chief Minister in jail,
how is the administration carrying out
its tasks?
Jaideep Deo Bhanj
Rocky Soibam Singh
The story so far:
elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has
D been lodged in Tihar Jail since April 1
after being arrested by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) on charges of corruption and
money laundering in the execution of the Delhi
government’s now scrapped excise policy for
2021-22. On Friday, the Supreme Court
forewarned the ED that it may “consider”
granting interim bail to Mr. Kejriwal due to the
Lok Sabha election. Delhi votes on May 25.
What is the Aam Aadmi Party’s strategy?
Foreseeing his arrest, the Aam Aadmi Party in
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
December, 2023 ran a “Main Bhhi Kejriwal” (I
am also Kejriwal) campaign that asked the
people of Delhi if Mr. Kejriwal should continue
as the Chief Minister of Delhi from jail if
arrested. After his arrest, in an unprecedented
decision, AAP decided that Mr. Kejriwal would
remain the Chief Minister and that he would run
the government from behind bars proclaiming it
as the “will of the people of Delhi”.
Mr. Kejriwal’s decision has led to a peculiar
situation in the capital where various
administrative decisions have been stalled. For
instance, the election to appoint the Mayor and
Deputy Mayor of the
Arvind Kejriwal Municipal Corporation of
does not have any Delhi (MCD) scheduled
portfolios under to be held on April 26
him and there was postponed after
have been no Lieutenant-Governor
Vinai Kumar Saxena
cabinet meetings
refused to appoint a
since his arrest presiding officer to
conduct the election
saying he “did not deem it appropriate to
exercise his power as Administrator to appoint
the Presiding Officer in [the] absence of inputs
from the Chief Minister.”
Is the Chief Minister meeting his Ministers?
When Mr. Kejriwal was in the custody of the ED
from March 21 to April 1, he was sending written
instructions to his Ministers on ensuring
uninterrupted water supply and medicine as
well as messages to the public to be read out by
by his wife Sunita Kejriwal.
However, since being lodged in Tihar Jail,
communication has been reduced to media bites
from those going to visit him. The Tihar Jail
Manual says that every interview with a prisoner
shall take place in the presence of a prison
officer, who shall be positioned at a place from
where he can see and hear what passes between
the prisoner and his interviewer and he shall
prevent any article being passed between the
two parties. Since April 1, apart from his family
and lawyers, Mr. Kejriwal has met AAP general
secretary Sandeep Pathak and Cabinet Ministers
Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj once and his
Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann on two
occasions. Mr. Pathak said Mr. Kejriwal would
meet two Cabinet Ministers every week for 30
minutes each.
How is the government being run?
Mr. Kejriwal does not have any portfolios under
him and there have been no cabinet meetings
since his arrest. There has also not been a
session of the Delhi Assembly since then.
Individual ministers have been looking after
their own departments. The party is currently
focused on its election campaign. While
deferring the MCD elections, the LG said that the
circumstances were “peculiar” and
“unprecedented” where the serving Chief
Minister “cannot discharge his constitutionally
obligated functions.”
The Constitution is silent about whether a
person can continue as Chief Minister as remand
prisoner. Section 8(3) of the Representation of
People Act of 1951, states that an MLA or MP can
be disqualified when convicted and sentenced to
at least two years in prison. Mr. Kejriwal has not
yet been convicted in the case.
When can President’s Rule be imposed?
President’s Rule can be imposed in Delhi under
Article 239AB of the Constitution. Delhi’s power
structure is characterised by a delicate balance
between the elected government and the
Central government-appointed LG. If Mr.
Kejriwal continues to remain in prison, stalling
various administrative work, the LG can
recommend to the President who can invoke
Article 239AB citing “failure of constitutional
machinery”. President’s rule under Article
239AB was invoked in Delhi only once, in 2014,
subsequent to Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation 49 days
into his first tenure as Chief Minister.
What are the challenges going forward?
In a recent order, the High Court censured the
AAP government over non-supply of educational
material and other statutory benefits to eight
lakh students in the MCD-run schools. While
noting that it is Mr. Kejriwal’s prerogative
whether to continue as the Chief Minister or
resign, the High Court said national and public
interest demands that no person who holds this
post is incommunicado or absent for a long
stretch of time or for an uncertain period time.
CM
YK
THE HINDU
FAQ
Will R&AW’s overseas operations affect ties?
Why have the U.S., Canada, Australia and Pakistan brought up allegations that the agency has
spearheaded targeted killings and surveillance of separatists on their soil? What is the Indian
government’s stand? Do these operations follow certain norms, especially if it’s a friendly country?
Suhasini Haidar
The story so far:
ndia’s external intelligence agency R&AW
I (Research and Analysis Wing) was in the
spotlight this week, as reports came in
from the U.S., Canada, Australia and
Pakistan of the alleged targeting and killing of
Indian-origin Khalistani separatist operatives
around the world, spearheaded by the agency.
What are the charges?
The charges, that are yet to be proven in court,
pertain to a number of investigations in different
countries. This week, the U.S.-based Washington
Post claimed that American officials believe that
the R&AW’s previous chief Samant Goel had
approved an assassination operation, that was
foiled last year, against Gurpatwant Singh
Pannun, a Khalistani activist lawyer of U.S. and
Canadian nationality on India’s most-wanted
UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) terror
list. It also revealed the name of a security
official, Vikram Yadav, believed to have been at
R&AW at the time, and said U.S. officials had
discussed whether to indict him for ordering
Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta to hire a
hitman for the job. In the indictment filed by the
U.S. New York Southern District Attorney’s office
last November, message transcripts indicated
Mr. Gupta had also enquired about ordering a
“hit” on a Khalistani activist in Canada, just days
before the killing of Canadian Hardeep Singh
Nijjar outside Toronto in June 2023.
On Friday, the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police arrested and charged three Indian
nationals, all in their twenties, for conspiring in
the Nijjar killing, and said they are investigating
links to Indian government officials. Canadian
Murky waters: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York in 2023. AP
Why is Boeing crewed space test significant?
When was the project announced? What delayed the mission? By how much has the budget been
overshot? How many missions has competitor SpaceX flown to the International Space Station?
Why is the crewed space flight important for Boeing?
Vasudevan Mukunth
The story so far:
t 8.04 am IST on May 7, an Atlas V
A
rocket is set to lift off with a team of
two veteran astronauts — Barry
Wilmore and Sunita Williams — sitting
inside a spacecraft called Starliner, built by
Boeing, on the capsule’s third test flight and the
first with astronauts on board. The astronauts
will be set for the International Space Station
(ISS) in low-earth orbit. If the mission succeeds,
the U.S. will for the first time in its history have
two spacecraft to launch astronauts to space.
What is the Boeing Starliner?
Starliner is a spacecraft that transports
astronauts in space, after being launched there
by a rocket. It consists of a crew capsule and a
service module. The crew capsule houses the
astronauts; like others of its kind, it will be able
to survive reentry and return to the ground. The
service module consists of the equipment and
systems the astronauts need to survive in space,
including air and temperature control, water
supply, sanitation, etc., plus the engines and fuel
required to manoeuvre the spacecraft. The
service module won’t be reusable.
Starliner is more than 4 metres wide and can
Ready for launch: A Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is rolled out at the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 16. AFP
The U.S. and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement
indicating a link to Indian agencies, as well as his
Israel have
decision to expel India’s intelligence station
cited the UN
chief at its High Commission in Ottawa, had
charter on
self-defence
when
carrying out
extra-
sparked a major clash with New Delhi, leading to
a number of diplomatic measures and
expulsions of Canadian diplomats as well.
On Tuesday, Australia’s public broadcaster
ABC also reported that R&AW operatives had
been expelled in 2020 after Australian Security
territorial
killings
Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) concluded that
they ran a “nest of spies” that carried out
espionage activities and surveillance of
Khalistani separatists in the country. Meanwhile,
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, which has
consistently accused R&AW agents of
orchestrating a number of extra-judicial killings
on its soil, also doubled down on its allegations
against India this week. The latest charges have
also revived allegations in the U.K. that Indian
intelligence agents had trailed and threatened a
Khalistani separatist leader Avtar Singh Khanda,
who also died in June last year, and was being
treated for leukaemia.
How has New Delhi reacted?
The Ministry of External Affairs has consistently
held that extra-judicial killings are not
“government policy”, and called the Washington
Post article “unwarranted and unsubstantiated”.
However, two issues cast a cloud over New
Delhi’s statements. One, the variance in the
government’s responses on U.S., Canada,
Australia and Pakistan: silence on Australia;
angry denials and punitive measures against
Canada; the setting up of a “high level inquiry”
into the U.S.’s indictment; and an unabashed
acceptance by top leaders that the government
has killed terrorists inside Pakistan. “Today,
India doesn’t send dossiers. Aaj Bharat ghar
mein ghus ke marta hai (Today India kills
terrorists in their own homes),” Mr. Modi said at
an election rally in Gujarat this week, ostensibly
referring to strikes in 2016 and 2019 on Pakistan,
but possibly to other operations as well.
Secondly, Indian operations against Khalistani
sympathisers have a long history. In 2019, A
German court handed prison sentences to an
Indian couple charged with spying on Khalistani
and Kashmiri activists in the country and
sending information to a R&AW official.
Indian officials have questioned why the U.S.,
Canada, the U.K. and Australia don’t take action
against vocal Khalistani activists like Pannun and
Nijjar themselves, who are accused of inciting
attacks on diplomatic missions and threatening
Indian diplomats in those countries. They cite a
similar refusal by the Canadian government in
the 1980s, to act against Khalistani activist
Since 2014, house up to seven astronauts. It can be fitted
a dark atop an Atlas V rocket, operated by United
cloud has Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing
and Lockheed Martin.
hung above
Boeing over When was Starliner commissioned?
issues with On September 16, 2014, NASA announced it had
its awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing to fly
commercial astronauts to the ISS. The “maximum potential
airliners values” of the fixed price contracts, based on
U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulations, were $4.2
billion for Boeing and $2.6 billion for SpaceX.
Boeing was expected to conduct Starliner’s
first crewed launch in 2017. A slew of delays
followed, however, and its first uncrewed orbital
test flight happened only in December 2019,
when the capsule was launched and expected to
dock with the ISS. But a software error left it in
the wrong orbit and it returned safely to ground
the next day without docking. In May 2022,
Boeing repeated the test flight, this time as a full
success — docking with the ISS, undocking after
four days, and returning to the ground. The May
7 test will repeat this procedure but with
astronauts onboard.
Even if the launch happens on time, it will
ultimately have been delayed by seven years and
with Boeing having overshot its budget by $1.4
billion. Boeing identified many technical
problems even after the 2022 flight, and then
there was the pandemic.
What is Starliner’s purpose?
Since being awarded the NASA contracts,
SpaceX has flown 13 missions to the ISS onboard
its Dragon crew capsule (which can also house
seven astronauts). Assuming Starliner’s crewed
test flight is successful, SpaceX and Boeing will
take turns launching astronauts to the ISS — each
crew’s expedition lasts up to six months — until
the ISS is decommissioned next decade. After
NASA shut its Space Shuttle programme in 2011
and before SpaceX’s Dragon capsule got ready in
2020, only Russia’s Soyuz rocket and capsule
could ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
What is at stake for Boeing?
Since 2014, a dark cloud has hung above Boeing
over issues with its commercial airliners.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Delhi
Talwinder Singh Parmar, which allowed him to
orchestrate the bombing of an Air India plane
‘Kanishka’ in 1985, one of the worst such terror
attacks in which 329 were killed. Parmar was
killed during a visit back to India in 1992 in a
gunfight with Punjab police.
Will there be a diplomatic fallout?
With the exception of Pakistan, and now
Canada, India’s ties with the countries where
such operations have allegedly been carried out
remain strong. Ties with Canada had seen a brief
détente in the past decade but historically, no
Indian Prime Minister has made a bilateral visit
there since 1973, mainly due to tensions over the
Khalistan issue. The issue of Pakistan’s support
to cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir
and Punjab has led to a nearly-irreversible break
in bilateral ties.
However, it is clear that countries like the
U.S., the U.K. and Australia are keen to keep ties
on an even keel, while they complete
investigations and urge India to do the same. As
a result, leaders in those countries have barely
referred to the cases publicly, unlike Mr.
Trudeau. On a number of occasions, including
this week, the U.S. White House and State
department have issued statements on the
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Pannun case. “We continue to expect
accountability from the Government of India
based on the results of the Indian inquiry
committee’s work, and we are regularly working
with them and enquiring for additional
updates,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson for
the State Department, Vedant Patel, said in
response to a question about the Washington
Post’s article this week.
According to sources, more has been said
behind the scenes. U.S. officials who have visited
New Delhi since the Pannun case hit the
headlines are understood to have conveyed the
U.S.’s 3-step demand: that New Delhi thoroughly
investigate the Pannun case and accept any
wrongdoing publicly, that it resolve not to repeat
such operations, and thirdly, that it must ensure
“legal accountability” in Indian courts for those
responsible. Much will also depend in the next
few months on the trial process in both the U.S.’s
Pannun case and the Canadian Nijjar case, and
how many new credible leads are provided to
prove Indian involvement in them. At present,
Mr. Gupta is in the Czech Republic, pending an
appeal against his extradition, but his testimony
is expected to be crucial in the investigations.
India is certainly not the only country to be
accused of carrying out extra-judicial,
extra-territorial attacks, and the U.S., Israel etc.
cite the UN charter on self-defence when
carrying out killings of those wanted within their
country. In the shadowy world of intelligence
agencies, however, more informal rules apply:
that such operations must not be executed in
friendly countries, that there should be no links
between the operatives and diplomatic
missions, and finally, that they don’t get caught.
Boeing’s 737 Max 8 airline entered into use in
2017, competing with European rival Airbus’s
A320neo. In October 2018, a Max 8 operated by
Lion Air crashed 13 minutes after take off, killing
all 189 people on board. In March 2019, a Max 8
Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes into
its flight, killing the 157 onboard. These incidents
were the result of troubles with the Max 8’s
Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation
System (MCAS).
The 737 Max 8 succeeded the 737 Next
Generation vehicle with some design changes.
Since pilots had already received simulator
training to operate the Next Generation, Boeing
designed the MCAS to compensate for these
changes and installed it on the Max 8, saying
pilots wouldn’t need to be trained anew for the
latter. But a glitch with MCAS prevented its
normal function. And because pilots hadn’t
been trained for the Max 8, pilot error allowed
the glitch to persist in a way that led to crashes.
The legal disputes, compensatory payments,
and order cancellations that followed are
expected to have cost Boeing more than $60
billion. A September 2020 U.S. Congressional
report also concluded Boeing had cut corners to
operationalise its Max 8 aeroplanes, including
hiding critical safety information from pilots.
Commercial airlines and spacecraft are
different sectors, but in 2015, Boeing
consolidated their development together with
some other divisions, creating a company called
BDS Development. The stated aims included
lowering Starliner’s development costs. The May
7 test is happening against this extended
backdrop, and whose success will give both
Boeing and NASA confidence — but whose
failure, should that come to pass, will add to the
company’s many woes.
What is the flight test profile?
Starliner’s first crew flight test will be piloted by
two veteran astronauts, Mr. Wilmore and Ms.
Williams. After being launched by an Atlas V
rocket, Starliner will carry them to the ISS,
where the duo will stay for eight days. The
capsule will return and descend to the ground,
probably at a location in New Mexico.
In March, Mr. Wilmore told Ars Technica
Boeing’s aeroplane division and the Starliner
programme “don’t cross”. He also asked people
to step back from expectations that the test will
be flawless, that it was being conducted so
Boeing could fix any final issues in preparation
for commercial operations.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Sunday, May 5, 2024 13
PROFILES
Delhi

Twin power centres

Amethi and Rae Bareli
With Rahul Gandhi, who lost to Smriti Irani in 2019, contesting from Rae Bareli, a Gandhi family pocket borough, and the BJP’s redoubled efforts to win both seats, the
constituencies remain at the centrestage of the election battle in Uttar Pradesh
ILLUSTRATION: R. RAJESH
Sobhana K. Nair “bastions” are used casually for the THE GIST
two seats even though the ground has 쑽

T
here are no major been shifting for a long time. The Two of the country’s Prime
distinctions — geographical, Congress’s grasp on Uttar Pradesh has Ministers — Indira Gandhi from
religious or caste-based — been steadily slipping for the last four Rae Bareli and Rajiv Gandhi
that distinguish Amethi and decades. Since 1989, the Congress has from Amethi — made their
Rae Bareli from any of the other 541 not been in power in the State. Their electoral debut from these
Lok Sabha seats. They suffer from the tally has been reducing and in 2022, it seats
usual deprivation that the nation too hit its lowest ebb with the party
suffers from, with voters complaining winning only two seats in the 쑽
about creaking infrastructure and 403-member Assembly. Rae Bareli and The Gandhi family’s
delayed projects. And yet, no other Amethi are not untouched by this relationship with the region
two Lok Sabha constituencies have downslide. began with Feroze Gandhi,
occupied the political centrestage for Indira Gandhi’s husband who
so long in Independent India. Declining support fought from Rae Bareli in the
Two of the country’s Prime In 2022, the Samajwadi Party won six first general elections
Ministers — Indira Gandhi from Rae out of the 10 seats in Rae Bareli and
Bareli and Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi — Amethi Lok Sabha constituencies. The 쑽
made their electoral debut from here. BJP won four. The Congress failed to In 2014, Rae Bareli and Amethi
So did two former Congress presidents open its score. were the only seats that the
— Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, In terms of absolute votes polled, Congress won. But in 2019, BJP
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

both from Amethi. And since Gandhis
continued to contest from these seats,
they also became a theatre for
gladiatorial contests for those wanting
to challenge them. It has also been the
stage on which family dramas publicly
played out.
The Gandhi family’s association
with the region began with Feroze
Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s husband who
fought from Rae Bareli in the first
general elections.
In his book, Feroze: The Forgotten
Gandhi, author Bertil Falk details how
Feroze came to contest from Rae
Bareli. Falk writes that Feroze, who
was from Allahabad, found it
impossible to contest from his home
seat with many renowned contenders.
“The Congress tickets for the
constituencies in Allahabad were
earmarked for Jawaharlal Nehru and
Masuriya Din.” Feroze had to seek out
another constituency. His friend and
mentor Rafi Ahmad Kidwai stepped in
to look for an alternative. Together,
they zeroed in on Rae Bareli. Feroze
won this seat twice — in 1952 and 1957.
Seven years after his death, in the 1967
general elections, Indira Gandhi, then
Prime Minister, made her Lok Sabha
debut from Rae Bareli.
Never before had an incumbent
Prime Minister lost their own seat. But
in 1977, Rae Bareli was witness to it
when Raj Narain defeated Indira
Gandhi in the post-emergency polls by
a margin of 55,200 votes. The seeds of
her defeat were sown in the 1971
contest between the two. Narain lost
the polls by 1,11,810 votes but he was
not ready to concede just yet. He
appealed against the electoral verdict,
alleging that Indira Gandhi had used
bribery, government machinery and
resources to gain an unfair advantage
in the election. He specifically charged
her of using government employees as
election agents and of organising
campaign activities in the constituency
while still on the payroll of the
government. On June 12, 1975, Justice
Jagmohanlal Sinha found Indira
Gandhi guilty and declared the
election in Rae Bareli “null and void”.
Within weeks, Indira Gandhi declared
Emergency.
Family feud
It is not only politically seismic events
that shaped these two constituencies.
They have also been the venue of
messy family dramas. In 1977, Indira
Gandhi’s younger son and her political
heir Sanjay Gandhi made his electoral
debut from Amethi. But neither the
country nor Amethi could forget his
role in the Emergency months. He lost
the polls by over 75,000 votes.
But in 1980, after a short and
chaotic reign of the Janata party, both
Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi
comfortably won their respective
seats. Sanjay, though, did not have
time to relish his victory. Five months
into his first Lok Sabha term, he died
in an airplane crash. His widow
Maneka, who was not yet 25, the
minimum age to contest elections in
India, was keen to take on his mantle.
But Indira Gandhi wanted her elder
son Rajiv to fill in the vacuum left
behind by Sanjay.
In his book 24 Akbar Road: A Short
History of The People Behind The Fall
And Rise of The Congress, political
commentator Rasheed Kidwai notes
that after Rajiv Gandhi filed
nominations for the Amethi bypoll in
1981, Ms. Maneka “tried hard to edge
him out”. Mr. Kidwai mentions
Mohammed Yunus, a former diplomat
who was close to the Gandhis, said
that since Ms. Maneka was not even 25
at that time, “she wanted Indira
Gandhi to amend the Constitution to
let her in but the Prime Minister
refused”. A year after Rajiv Gandhi’s
bypoll victory in Amethi, Ms. Maneka
Gandhi visited the constituency,
declaring it her “rightful political
home” and resolving to fight her
brother-in-law tooth and nail.
She founded the Rashtriya Sanjay
Manch along with Akbar Ahmed, and
fought the general elections from
Amethi against Rajiv Gandhi in 1984.
Ms. Maneka argued that if Indira
Gandhi could opt to contest from Rae
Bareli, a constituency that her
husband represented, then she should
have inherited Amethi, which Sanjay
won in 1980. However, the tide was in
favour of Rajiv Gandhi as he led the
Congress to a landslide victory,
winning 404 seats out of 514. In
Amethi, he defeated Ms. Maneka by
over 3.14 lakh votes. Ms. Maneka never
contested from Amethi again.
Kishori Lal Sharma, who the
Congress has fielded from Amethi for
the 2024 polls, entered the scene
around this time. To purge Amethi of
Sanjay’s loyalists who were now
working for Ms. Maneka, Rajiv Gandhi
brought his own team, Mr. Sharma
being one of them.
The phrases “pocket borough” and
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
the Congress is in a pitiable condition. leader and Union Minister
The combined votes polled for the Smriti Irani defeated Rahul
Congress in five Assembly segments of Gandhi by a margin of 55,000
Rae Bareli was only 1.4 lakh, while the votes.
SP got 4.02 lakh and the BJP 3.81 lakh.
In Amethi too, the Congress
performed equally badly. Here, while
the BJP received 4.18 lakh votes and
the SP 3.52 lakh votes, the Congress
stood a distant third with 1.42 lakh
votes.
The Gandhis have been dependent
on the benevolence of the party in
power in the State for long but this
changed in 2017 when the BJP’s Yogi
Adityanath government came to power
with absolute majority. The courtesies
that were so far extended were
withdrawn. In 2014, Rae Bareli and
Amethi were the only seats that
Congress won. But in 2019, BJP leader
and Union Minister Smriti Irani
defeated Rahul Gandhi by a margin of
55,000 votes.The political equations
have drastically changed since then.
To fortify their presence in the two
seats, the BJP has gone out of their
way, to bring lawmakers from the
Congress and the SP on to their side.
This manifested in the recent Rajya
Sabha elections.
Out of the six SP MLAs who
cross-voted in favour of the BJP or
abstained, three were from Amethi
and Rae Bareli. Now, with Rahul
Gandhi seeking mandate from Rae
Bareli and the BJP’s renewed focus on
the seat, the battle lines are drawn.

Rise and fall The third runner

Prajwal Revanna Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The NDA’s candidate in Hassan, grandson of former PM Deve Gowda, is accused of sexual assault The independent candidate, known for his anti-vaccine stand and conspiracy theories, wants to
on several women and faces arrest when he returns to the country ‘break’ America’s two-party system
ILLUSTRATION: R. RAJESH ILLUSTRATION: SREEJITH R. KUMAR
Sharath S. Srivatsa continues to talk like this.” Saumya Kalia National Committee has
Sathish G.T. In the run-up to the set up a war room to deal

T
2024 elections, the former wo years into the with “third-party threats”

F
rom being the sole
MP from Janata Dal
(Secular) in the Lok
Sabha in 2019 to being sus-
pended by the party in
2024 and facing an investi-
gation by a Special Investi-
gation Team (SIT) for al-
leged sexual assault on
women, Prajwal Revanna’s
fall has been quick and dra-
matic. Believed to be in
Germany, the Hassan MP
and grandson of former
Prime Minister H.D. Deve
Gowda skipped the sum-
mons from the SIT, which
has now got a lookout cir-
cular issued at all entry
points to the country. He is
charged with rape.
Prajwal’s 2024 election
campaign from Hassan has
been marred by the now
infamous ‘pen drives’ that
has changed the course of
the election narrative in
Karnataka. Prajwal, as the
NDA candidate, is facing
the Congress’s Shreyas Pa-
tel.
The pen drive floating
around Hassan has 2,976
files, the bulk of which are
screenshots of chats, video
calls with several women
and nearly 100 videos.
The 2019 parliamentary
elections saw the rise of
Prajwal. The first member
of the third generation in
the Gowda family to taste
election success, the 28-
year old was among the
young Parliamentarians in
CM
YK
the country in 2019. The
rest of the family, however,
was not as lucky. Mr. Deve
Gowda, who had vacated
his home turf Hassan for
his grandson and moved to
neighbouring Tumakuru,
tasted defeat while another
grandson Nikhil Kumaras-
wamy lost from Mandya.
Though publicly Prajwal
was seen as “an arrogant
young man with a feudal
mindset”, long-time obser-
vers of the Gowda family
say his public actions were
mostly aimed at cementing
his place politically in the
district and challenging
the power of his uncle and
former Chief Minister H.D.
Kumaraswamy within the
party. Though there were
murmurs in Hassan about
sex tapes after he sought
injunction from the court
in June 2023, to prevent
airing or publishing any ex-
plicit content, the magni-
tude of the scandal has
sent shock waves among
the public.
His father H.D. Revan-
na, a former Minister and
elder brother of Mr. Kuma-
raswamy, has run the party
affairs in Hassan with an
iron grip. Prajwal and his
elder brother Sooraj Re-
vanna, an MLC, have been
part of the electioneering
process of their father. He
was a toddler when his
grandfather became the
Prime Minister and his
father became a Cabinet
Minister, and a teenager
when his uncle became the
Chief Minister of Karnataka
in 2006.
An engineering grad-
uate, Prajwal has always
been interested in politics.
He has often courted con-
troversies, too, many of
which were aimed at his
uncle. When he was de-
nied ticket to contest from
Hunsur in the 2018 As-
sembly elections, his re-
mark that “hardworking
people get to sit in the back
but those with suitcases get
front seats”, aimed at Mr.
Kumaraswamy, rattled the
party leadership. Not hesi-
tating to express his dis-
pleasure, Mr. Deve Gowda
had said, “The boy’s future
does not seem bright if he
Prime Minister’s family
was divided over giving
ticket to Prajwal as allega-
tions of sexual misconduct
had come out in the open.
Mr. Kumaraswamy is
learnt to have opposed his
candidature, but the Re-
vanna family’s wish pre-
vailed. During the cam-
paign, Prajwal often
referred to the ‘mistakes’
that he had committed and
apologised. However, he
did not disclose what those
‘mistakes’ were.
The family had also anti-
cipated trouble since G.
Devaraje Gowda, the BJP
candidate who lost to Mr.
Revanna in the 2023 as-
sembly polls from Holena-
rasipura, had told the me-
dia about the presence of a
large number of videos.
In a tight election that
has become hard to pred-
ict, the issue has also given
ammunition to the Con-
gress to attack the BJP, and
PM Narendra Modi has
been questioned for shar-
ing dais with a rape ac-
cused and allowing him to
escape from the country.
BJP leaders, including
Home Minister Amit Shah,
have tried to turn the ta-
bles by accusing the Con-
gress of allowing him to
flee. As the blame game
rages with another round
of elections on May 7, Praj-
wal’s return to the country
to face a probe is awaited.
COVID-19 pandem-
ic, Robert F. Ken-
nedy Jr. authored ‘A Letter
to Liberals’. He feared the
“pharma cartel” was ma-
nipulating COVID-19 man-
agement, and the govern-
ments were bullies whose
hallmark became “cancel
culture”. The 120-page
booklet was a lament. The
Democratic Party should
return to its roots, the sto-
ried FDR/JFK liberalism,
which “prided itself on its
open-minded tolerance of
contrary opinion... and its
fearless love for contention
and disputation”.
RFK Jr., as he is widely
known, wants to lead by
example. When the Kenne-
dy clan decided to endorse
incumbent Joe Biden in the
November elections, there
was little resentment. “I
am pleased they are politi-
cally active — it’s a family
tradition,” RFK Jr., who is
standing in the presiden-
tial election as an indepen-
dent, wrote on X. The 70-
year-old might be a name-
sake to Robert F. Kennedy,
the former U.S. Attorney
General, but “he does not
share the same values, vi-
sion or judgment”, accord-
ing to his siblings. But this
does not dishearten RFK Jr.
“We are divided in our opi-
nions but united in our
love for each other”, and
this “healing” is possible
for America too.
The Kennedy campaign
of 2024 is built on similar
contentions and contradic-
tions. He is a Democrat and
an environmentalist,
spouting anti-vaccine senti-
ments to a rousing Republi-
can voter base. Fear grows
this “spoiler” may peel
away votes from Mr. Biden
and the Republican nomi-
nee Donald Trump. Anyth-
ing goes, he says, to “break
the two-party system”.
A puzzling pitch
RFK Jr. is a political enig-
ma. He wants to “reclaim”
the Democratic Party
while sustaining links with
far-right figures. The Great
American Evils are corpo-
rate “elites”, says RFK Jr., a
millionaire hailing from
the Great American Fami-
ly. He identifies himself as
“pro-choice”, but abortion
is a “tragedy”. He refutes
the anti-vaccine label, be-
fore spewing misinformed,
debunked ideas that vac-
cines can cause autism.
RFK Jr. insists his “popu-
list movement defies left-
right division”; the anger
and aggression are a dis-
tant echo of Mr. Trump’s
rabble-rousing politics.
The media is a “mercen-
ary” operation, “here to
fortify all of the corporate
orthodoxies from their ad-
vertisers”; the “corporate
capture” of the govern-
ment is the root of Ameri-
can despair. On immigra-
tion, he thinks Mr. Biden
has failed to manage the il-
legal immigration at the
U.S.-Mexico border. He has
also opposed Mr. Trump’s
plan to build a wall, while
vowing to “close the bor-
der” if elected.
His policies include cut-
ting military expenses, fix-
ing economic inequality,
reducing student debt, and
freeing the American peo-
ple from the clutches of
Wall Street.
History is not kind to
third-party candidates, but
the Kennedy candidacy
could become a “spoiler”
in the decidedly close race
between Mr. Biden and Mr.
Trump. To Mr. Trump,
RFK Jr. is a “Democrat
‘Plant’”. The Democratic
such as Mr. Kennedy.
The potential spoiler
faces pushback from the
Kennedy family. A Kenne-
dy name on the ballot, the
siblings fear, would make
Democrats feel “torn” bet-
ween the nephew of form-
er President JFK and the in-
cumbent Mr. Biden. The
family is thus bolstering
Mr. Biden’s re-election bid.
RFK Jr.'s “misguided
stands on issues, his poor
judgement, and tenuous
relationship with the
truth” make him unfit for
the presidency, his cousin
Stephen Kennedy Smith
said. The family line is
clear: RFK Jr.’s bid is
“dangerous to the coun-
try”. He is “trading in on
Camelot celebrity conspi-
racy theories and conflict
for personal gain and
fame,” wrote JFK’s grand-
son Jack Schlossberg (King
Arthur’s castle Camelot
has become a metaphor
for the Kennedy dynasty in
his rallies). “Let’s not be
distracted again by some-
body’s vanity project."
Distraction is RFK Jr.’s
design. To the victor be-
long the spoils, the saying
goes, but the third candi-
date is happy to set alight
the treasures. He wants to
“spoil [the race] for both of
them [Mr. Trump and Mr.
Biden]” and take the rav-
aged Americans “over the
castle walls together”.
M ND-NDE

14
COLOMBO
Japan seeks Sri Lanka’s economic
recovery for regional stability
X X
Strategically placed Sri Lanka’s economic recovery was essential for
stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko
Kamikawa said on Saturday. Ms. Kamikawa called on President
Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed the island’s reforms to
overcome its worst economic crisis, the two sides said. AFP
One dead,
six injured in
Paris suburb
shooting
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Agence France-Presse
BOBIGNY
One person was killed and
six injured overnight in a
gritty northern Paris sub-
urb in a shooting likely
linked to drug trafficking,
prosecutors and the mayor
said Saturday.
The attack in a parking
lot near a cultural centre at
Sevran, which lies between
central Paris and the city’s
main airport Charles de
Gaulle, took place around
11:45 p.m. on Friday.
Sevran mayor Stephane
Blanchet told AFP “it was
clearly a settling of scores
linked to drug trafficking.”
“There is a need to esta-
blish order and eradicate
trafficking,” he said.
Students at Ireland’s
Trinity College protest
over Israel’s Gaza war
Agence France-Presse
DUBLIN
Students at Ireland’s presti-
gious Trinity College Du-
blin university manned an
on-campus protest on Sa-
turday against Israel’s ac-
tions in Gaza, after barri-
cading the main entrance.
Student activists de-
scribed the protest, which
began on Friday, as a “soli-
darity encampment with
Palestine”, echoing similar
protests on U.S. campuses.
Dozens of students
pitched tents on one of the
main squares at the univer-
South Brazil braces for the worst as
floods, landslips push death toll to 39
Agence France-Presse
SÃO SEBASTIÃO DO CAÍ
The death toll from floods
and mudslides triggered by
torrential storms in south-
ern Brazil climbed to 39 on
Friday, officials said, as
they warned of worse to
come.
As the rain kept beating
down, rescuers in boats
and planes searched for
scores of people reported
missing among the ruins of
collapsed homes, bridges
and roads.
Rising water levels in
the state of Rio Grande do
Sul were straining dams
and threatening the metro-
polis of Porto Alegre with
“unprecedented” flooding,
authorities warned.
“Forget everything you
have seen, it’s going to be
much worse in the metro-
politan region,” Governor
Eduardo Leite said on Fri-
day as the streets of the
state capital, with a popu-
lation of some 1.5 million,
started flooding after days
CM
YK
AFP
‘Progress’ reported as ceasefire talks
begin; Israel awaits Hamas response
Officials from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. sit down with a Hamas delegation to hear the militant group’s response to a proposal
that would halt fighting for 40 days; Egyptian state media say mediators have reached a ‘formula’ on contentious issues
Agence France-Presse
GAZA STRIP
alks resumed in
T Egypt on Saturday
aimed at halting
months of war in Gaza bet-
ween Hamas militants and
Israel that have triggered
protests around the world.
Mediators from Qatar,
Egypt and the United
States sat down with a Ha-
mas delegation to hear the
militant group’s response
to a proposal that would
halt fighting for 40 days
and exchange hostages for
Palestinian prisoners, ac-
cording to details released
by Britain.
sity, which is a Dublin tou-
rist attraction, and piled
benches in front of a li-
brary which contains the
famous Book of Kells me-
dieval manuscript.
Laszlo Molnarfi, presi-
dent of the student union,
said that the students de-
mand the university sever
any relationships it has
with Israel.
Earlier in the week the
union was fined €214,000
by the university for loss of
tourist revenue after dis-
ruptive protests this year
over student fees, rent and
the war in Gaza.
Muddled lot: The vehicles in Encantado in Brazil’s in Rio Grande do
Sul State that were affected by the floods on Friday. REUTERS
of heavy downpours in the
region.
The state’s civil defence
department said at least
265 municipalities had suf-
fered storm damage in Rio
Grande do Sul since Mon-
day, injuring 74 people and
displacing more than
24,000.
At least 68 people were
missing, and more than
3,50,000 have expe-
rienced some form of pro-
perty damage.
MADRID
Spain rejects Argentina’s claim that
PM Sanchez is ruining the country
Spain on Saturday denounced comments by Argentina’s presidency
which had accused the Spanish government of bringing “poverty
and death” to its own people. The office of Argentinian President
Javier Milei had published a statement, accusing Prime Minister
Pedro Sanchez of damaging Spain’s economy and stability. AFP
Slow progress: A Palestinian man pushes his bicycle in Beit Lahya
in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday. AFP
Israel has yet to send a
delegation to Cairo, with a
top official telling AFP that
it would do so only if there
Saving best friend
A volunteer carries a wounded dog as they bring back animals from the foot of Mount Ruang volcano on Indonesia’s Tagulandang Island on
Sunday. Mount Ruang erupted three times on Tuesday, forcing officials to evacuate 12,000 locals. AFP
And there was no end in
sight, with officials report-
ing an “emergency situa-
tion, presenting a risk of
collapse” at four dams in
the state.
‘Disastrous cocktail’
The level of the State’s
main Guiaba river, mean-
while, was estimated to
have risen 4.2 - 4.6m, but
could not be measured as
the gauges have washed
away, the Mayor of Porto
THE HINDU
World
AFP
was “positive movement”
on the proposed
framework.
“Tough and long nego-
Alegre said.
Porto Alegre’s worst re-
corded flood was in 1941,
when the river reached a
level of 4.71 m.
Elsewhere in the State,
several cities and towns
have been completely cut
off from the world in what
Governor Leite described
as “the worst disaster in
the history” of Rio Grande
do Sul.
Many communities have
been left without access to
drinking water, telephone
or Internet services. Tens
of thousands have no
electricity.
President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva visited the re-
gion on Thursday, vowing
“there will be no lack of hu-
man or material resourc-
es” in responding to the
disaster, which he blamed
on climate change.
Climatologist Francisco
Eliseu Aquino said the de-
vastating storms were the
result of a “disastrous cock-
tail” of global warming and
the El Nino phenomenon.
HANOI
Vietnam temperature records
tumble as heatwave scorches
X X
More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April,
according to official data, as a deadly heatwave scorches South and
Southeast Asia. Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in
April, with the mercury peaking at 44°C in two towns earlier this
week. In all, 102 weather stations saw record highs in April. AFP
tiations are expected for an
actual deal,” the Israeli offi-
cial cautioned.
Previous negotiations
stalled in part on Hamas’s
demand for a lasting cease-
fire and Israeli Prime Mi-
nister Benjamin Netanya-
hu’s repeated vows to
crush the group’s remain-
ing fighters in the southern
city of Rafah, which is
flooded with displaced
civilians.
The prospect of an as-
sault on Rafah has sparked
deepening international
concern.
The war broke out after
Hamas’s unprecedented
October 7 attack on Israel
AFP
resulted in the deaths of
more than 1,170 people,
mostly civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory offen-
sive against Hamas has
killed at least 34,654 peo-
ple in Gaza, mostly women
and children, according to
the Hamas-run territory’s
Health Ministry.
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News,
which is linked to the intel-
ligence services, quoted an
unidentified high-ranking
source as saying “there is
significant progress in the
negotiations” and that the
mediators have “reached
an agreed-upon formula
on most points of
contention”.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Delhi
TULKAREM
Israel Army says five Palestinians
killed in raid of West Bank
AFP
The Israeli Army said troops killed five Palestinian “terrorists”
barricaded in a building during a 12-hour siege in the occupied West
Bank on Saturday. The incident happened in the village of Deir
al-Ghusun, near Tulkarem. At least 496 Palestinians have been killed
in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers. AFP
Sadiq Khan wins a
historic third term
as London Mayor
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Victor’s stand: Sadiq Khan speaks after being re-elected Mayor of
London at City Hall in London on Saturday. AP
Sriram Lakshman paigned to fight crime by
LONDON increasing the number of
police and moving to more
The Labour Party’s Sadiq localised policies. She had
Khan won a record third also promised to end Mr.
term as London’s Mayor Khan’s signature expanded
despite predictions that a Ultra Low Emission Zone
low voter turnout of 40.5% (ULEZ) for automobiles.
in the May 2 election would Mr. Khan’s pledges includ-
harm him. With the last ed continuing free meals in
mayoral constituency de-
claring results late after-
noon on Saturday, Mr.
primary schools, promises
to freeze certain public
transport fares, and more
Khan easily won, with a
43.8% vote share com-
police personnel.
pared to his main oppo- Bad news for Tories
nent, the Conservative Par-
ty’s Susan Hall, who came
The results in London and
across local bodies in En-
in with 32.7% of the vote. gland and Wales spelt con-
Mr. Khan had won nine of tinuing bad news for the
14 constituencies and with Tories, who have on aver-
a vote margin of more than age, been polling behind
2,76,000 votes. Labour by some 20 points.
Reports of an internal re-
Patterns observed bellion against Conserva-
In some instances, Conser- tive Prime Minister Rishi
vatives did not see a vote Sunak emerged after May 2
swing towards them in but had quietened down
their stronghold boroughs by Saturday morning. The
(Bexley and Bromley for Tories had one bit of good
example) while they lost news in Tees Valley, where
others to Labour (West Ben Houchen was re-elect-
Central). On the other ed Mayor. As of this writ-
hand, in the inner borough ing, results from the West
of Southwark and Lam- Midlands were awaited,
beth, there was a vote with Tories hoping Conser-
swing towards Labour. vative Andy Street would
Ms. Hall had cam- stay on as Mayor.
M ND-NDE

Sunday, May 5, 2024
Delhi
PUSHING THROUGH
Was really ill and felt I won’t be
able to play against GT: RCB’s Siraj
X X
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Mohammed Siraj said he was down
with illness before the contest against Gujarat Titans. “I was really ill
for the last few days. Thought I might not be able to play but I really
wanted to compete so it was great that I was able to,” Siraj said after
the match.
Skipper du Plessis and pacers do it
for Royal Challengers against Titans
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
The South African’s quickfire 64 helps the home side chase down GT’s 147 with four wickets to spare; Siraj, Dayal, and Vyshak shine with the ball
IPL-17
Ashwin Achal
BENGALURU
n authoritative
A
Royal Challengers
Bengaluru shut
down Gujarat Titans by
four wickets at the M. Chin-
naswamy Stadium here on
Saturday.
A third win in a row
pushed RCB to seventh on
the points table, providing
impetus to its playoff
hopes.
The home team out-
played GT in all depart-
ments. A disciplined bow-
ling performance
restricted GT to 147, before
a belligerent knock from
Faf du Plessis (64, 23b,
10x4, 3x6) left GT with
nowhere to hide.
Power play
With an eye on improving
the net run-rate, du Plessis
and opening partner Virat
Kohli put on a whopping
92 runs in 5.5 overs. The
electric start helped RCB
reach the target with 6.2
overs to spare.
Kohli (42, 27b, 2x4, 4x6)
went past Chennai Super
Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad to
regain his place as the tour-
nament’s highest
run-scorer.
RCB experienced minor
jitters when it fell to 117 for
six, but the experienced
Fresh from a break, Super Giants
host an in-form Knight Riders
Pranay Rajiv
LUCKNOW
Lucknow Super Giants’
quest for a third consecu-
tive IPL playoff berth conti-
nues as it hosts fellow top-
four contender Kolkata
Knight Riders at the Ekana
Cricket Stadium here on
Sunday.
Third-placed LSG will be
the fresher of the two
teams, having had a five-
day break since its home
win against Mumbai In-
dians. The turnaround is
much sharper for KKR,
which ground out a rare
away win against MI on Fri-
day to move to second in
the standings.
Sunday’s match-up bet-
ween LSG and KKR will be
a clash of contrasting ap-
proaches to T20 cricket.
While the away side has
adopted the high-risk,
high-reward aggressive
batting strategy, the home
team has stuck to its rela-
tively conservative tem-
plate.
Super Giants’ relative
languidness with the bat
though has been enabled
by its miserly bowling unit.
CM
YK
K. MURALI KUMAR
Belligerent knock: Du Plessis left the GT bowlers with nowhere to hide. K. MURALI KUMAR
Dinesh Karthik (21 n.o.) en-
sured a job well done.
RCB’s memorable night
out was set up by a brilliant
display with the ball.
The fast bowlers — Mo-
hammed Siraj, V. Vyshak,
Yash Dayal, and Cameron
Green — were destructive
How will it behave? LSG skipper Rahul, inspecting the pitch, wonders what’s in store. SANDEEP SAXENA
Super Giants will be
without pacer Mayank Ya-
dav, who is likely to miss
the rest of the season due
to an injury, as confirmed
by head coach Justin Lan-
ger. LSG’s frugality with
the ball though has been
helmed by its spin attack
led by left-arm spinner
Krunal Pandya and leggie
Ravi Bishnoi.
KKR’s Sunil Narine has
relished an incredible sea-
son with the bat and ball.
Alongside Phil Salt at the
top of the order, Narine
has also strung together a
FINGERS CROSSED
Dhawan will hopefully be back for
the last two games: PBKS’ Joshi
Shikhar Dhawan will miss out on PBKS’ home game against CSK,
but bowling coach Sunil Joshi is optimistic about him returning for
the last two group league fixtures. “Shikhar is undergoing rehab, he
is doing well. He won’t be available for the game (against CSK).
Hopefully, he should be back for the last two games,” Joshi said.
on a pitch which offered
extra carry.
GT did itself no favours
by moving at a snail’s pace
with the bat.
The perplexing trend
was started by openers
Wriddhiman Saha and
Shubman Gill, who
prolific partnership. Hav-
ing already stumbled to
KKR earlier in the season
THE HINDU
Sport
R.V. MOORTHY
scratched about to get two
runs in the first two overs.
The first boundary of
the essay came in the
fourth over, when an in-
side edge gave Shahrukh
Khan some respite.
GT crawled to 23 for
three in six overs— the low-
LSG will look out to avoid
an encore, with a top-two
finish well within its reach.
MENTOR
Dhoni is playing father’s role in my
cricket life, says CSK’s Pathirana
X X
CSK pacer Matheesha Pathirana said that M.S. Dhoni plays a father’s
role in his cricket life. “After my father, in my cricket life, mostly
Dhoni is playing my father’s role because he is always taking care of
me. He tells just small things, but it makes a lot of difference,”
Pathirana said in the Lions Upclose show.
SCOREBOARD
쑽
GUJARAT TITANS
Wriddhiman Saha c Karthik b
Siraj 1 (7b), Shubman Gill c
Vyshak b Siraj 2 (7b), Sai
Sudharsan c Kohli b Green 6
(14b), Shahrukh Khan (run out)
37 (24b, 5x4, 1x6), David Miller c
Maxwell b Karn 30 (20b, 3x4, 2x6),
Rahul Tewatia c Vyshak b Dayal
35 (21b, 5x4, 1x6), Rashid Khan b
Dayal 18 (14b, 2x4, 1x6), Vijay
Shankar (Impact Player in
place of Sai Sudharsan) c Siraj
b Vyshak 10 (7b, 2x4), Manav
Suthar c Swapnil b Vyshak 1 (2b),
Mohit Sharma (run out) 0 (1b),
Noor Ahmad (not out) 0 (0b);
Extras (b-2, lb-1, w-4): 7; Total (in
19.3 overs): 147.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-1 (Saha, 1.3 overs), 2-10 (Gill,
3.5), 3-19 (Sai Sudharsan, 5.3),
4-80 (Miller, 11.4), 5-87
(Shahrukh, 12.4), 6-131 (Rashid,
17.3), 7-136 (Tewatia, 17.6), 8-147
(Suthar, 19.1), 9-147 (Mohit, 19.2).
RCB BOWLING
Swapnil 1-0-1-0, Siraj 4-0-29-2,
Dayal 4-0-21-2, Green 4-0-28-1,
Vyshak 3.3-0-23-2, Karn 3-0-42-1.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS
Virat Kohli c Saha b Noor 42 (27b,
2x4, 4x6), Faf du Plessis c
est PowerPlay score thus
far in IPL 2024.
The tedious repair work
was left to David Miller and
Shahrukh.
Miller received a life on
23, when Karn Sharma
dropped a straightforward
chance at deep square-leg.
It did not prove to be cost-
ly, as Karn deceived Miller
with a flighted delivery a
short while later.
Decision on Chahar to Girona win hands
be taken by medical Real the LaLiga title
team, says Simons
Shayan Acharya
DHARAMSHALA
Chennai Super Kings’ bow-
ling consultant Eric Simons
said that a decision on Dee-
pak Chahar’s availability
for the remainder of the In-
dian Premier League sea-
son will be taken by the
medical team soon.
“Deepak pulled up with
an injury in the last game
and the decision on his
availability for the rest of
the season will be made by
the medical staff.
“He hasn’t travelled to
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Shahrukh b Little 64 (23b, 10x4,
3x6), Will Jacks c Shahrukh b
Noor 1 (3b), Rajat Patidar
(Impact Player in place of
Dayal) c Miller b Little 2 (3b),
Glenn Maxwell c Miller b Little 4
(3b, 1x4), Cameron Green c
Shahrukh b Little 1 (2b), Dinesh
Karthik (not out) 21 (12b, 3x4),
Swapnil Singh (not out) 15 (9b,
2x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-1, w-1): 2;
Total (for six wkts. in 13.4 overs):
152.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-92 (du Plessis, 5.5), 2-99 (Jacks,
6.5), 3-103 (Patidar, 7.3), 4-107
(Maxwell, 7.6), 5-111 (Green, 9.5),
6-117 (Kohli, 10.4).
TITANS BOWLING
Mohit 2-0-32-0, Little 4-0-45-4,
Suthar 2-0-26-0, Noor 4-0-23-2,
Rashid 1.4-0-25-0.
Toss: RCB.
PoM: Siraj.
RCB won by four wickets with 38
balls to spare.
An athletic piece of
fielding from Kohli got rid
of the dangerous Shahrukh
(37).
Kohli swooped in,
picked up the ball and
threw down the stumps at
the non-strikers’ end to
leave Shahrukh short of
the crease.
GT’s hopes of recording
a substantial total vanished
with Shahrukh’s dismissal.
Dharamshala with us.
That’s not really great news
for us,” Simons said on Sa-
turday.
With Chahar ruled out
and no clarity on Sri Lan-
kan recruits Maheesh
Theekshana and Math-
eesha Pathirana, the Super
Kings coaching staff has
had individual conversa-
tions with the bowling
group.
“Deepak won’t play.
Mustafizur is gone. There
is going be some changes.
We’ve got to find a new
way,” Simons added.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Not forming partnerships cost us
the game, feels MI skipper Hardik
MI captain Hardik Pandya said not forming partnerships against
KKR cost the team the match. “We couldn’t form partnerships. In
T20s, if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you. There are a lot
of questions that will take some time to answer but for now, not
much to say,” Hardik said.
Injury-hit CSK faces
confident PBKS in
a crucial contest
Ready: Rachin, left, will be eager to have another go. R.V. MOORTHY
Shayan Acharya
DHARAMSHALA
These are crucial times in
the Indian Premier
League, and Chennai Sup-
er Kings seems to have lost
the momentum having suf-
fered three defeats in its
last four outings.
The reigning champion
will be hoping to address
its injury concerns and re-
turn to winning ways in
the reverse clash against
Punjab Kings at the HPCA
Stadium on Sunday.
Despite Shikhar Dha-
wan’s absence, Kings
earned a well-deserved se-
ven-wicket win against the
same opponent earlier this
week, and they will hope
to ride on that momen-
tum. Bowling coach Sunil
Joshi said that PBKS plans
to field an unchanged ele-
ven, while changes are
likely for CSK as injured
Deepak Chahar is ruled
out and concerns remain
over the availability of Ma-
heesh Theekshana.
EURO LEAGUES
Agence France-Presse
MADRID
Real Madrid won a record
36th LaLiga title on Satur-
day after beating Cadiz 3-0
before Girona defeated last
year’s champion Barcelona
4-2 to seal Los Blancos’
triumph.
Girona’s dramatic victo-
ry saw the Catalan min-
nows qualify for the Cham-
pions League for the first
time in their history.
Erling Haaland scored
four as Manchester City
closed to within three
games of an unprecedent-
ed fourth consecutive Pre-
mier League title by
thrashing Wolves 5-1.
Arsenal had earlier won
3-0 over Bournemouth.
The results: Premier League:
Arsenal 3 (Saka 45-pen, Trossard
70, Rice 90+7) bt Bournemouth 0;
Brentford 0 drew with Fulham 0;
Burnley 1 (O’Shea 86) lost to
Newcastle 4 (Wilson 19, Longstaff
35, Guimaraes 40, Isak 55);
Sheffield United 1 (Brereton Diaz
17-pen) lost to Nottingham
Forest 3 (Hudson-Odoi 27, 65,
Yates 51); Manchester City 5
15
EMMANUAL YOGINI
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
However, CSK bowling
consultant Eric Simons
clarified that Tushar Desh-
pande, who was down
with flu, has recovered and
will be back in action.
An inconsistent middle-
order has troubled CSK.
The batting has so far re-
volved mostly around cap-
tain Ruturaj Gaikwad and
the in-form Shivam Dube.
However, as the race for
the playoffs intensifies, ex-
pectations will be high
from M.S. Dhoni, while the
seasoned Ajinkya Rahane
and Ravindra Jadeja need
to step up. On a surface
that might help the seam-
ers, Kagiso Rabada will
look to bowl a tight spell
with the new ball alongside
Arshdeep Singh. The host’s
batting looks steady with
Prabhsimran Singh back
among runs and Jonny
Bairstow in good form.
However, at crucial
junctures, Shashank Singh
and Ashustosh Sharma
need to keep the middle-
order going.
Girona’s Portu celebrates.
REUTERS
(Haaland 12-pen, 35, 45+3-pen,
54, Alvarez 85) bt Wolves 1
(Hwang 53).
LaLiga: Real Madrid 3 (Diaz 51,
Bellingham 68, Joselu 90+3) bt
Cadiz 0; Girona 4 (Dovbyk 4, Portu
65, 74, Gutierrez 67) bt Barcelona
2 (Christensen 3, Lewandowski
45+1 pen).
Bundesliga: Stuttgart 3 (Stergiou
29, Jeong 83, Silas 90+3) bt
Bayern Munich 1 (Kane 37-pen);
Borussia Dortmund 5 (Moukoko
4, 30, Malen 20, Reus 34, 64) bt
Augsburg 1 (Vargas 32).
On Friday: Premier League:
Luton 1 (Adebayo 31) drew with
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 24-pen).
Serie A: Torino 0 drew with
Bologna 0. Bundesliga:
Hoffenheim 1 (Kramaric 90) drew
with RB Leipzig 1 (Sesko 38).
M ND-NDE

Sunday, May 5, 2024
Delhi
X X
All aboard: A family on the way to the Koothandavar temple in Villupuram to attend the
Koovagam festival.
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
X
Steeped in rituals: Transgender women get ready for the ritual wedding on a full moon night during the Koothandavar temple festival at Koovagam, in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Vicissitudes
of a wedding
Koothandavar festival at Koovagam in Tamil Nadu plays out a tale of marriage and
widowhood, all in a day; the annual event has significance for transgender groups
K
oovagam, a tiny village 30 km from
Villupuram, is a popular destination
for transgender celebrations, drawing
spectators from all over India. In the
Tamil month of Chithirai (mid-April to mid-May),
the 18-day Koothandavar festival takes place, with
evocative ceremonies on the last two days.
Akhila Easwaran Approximately 50,000 people congregate for the
akhila.e@thehindu.co.in celebration, a time when local enterprises
flourish. Residents of the village who work in big
cities come back to run small businesses such as
flower shops, bangle shops, boutiques, and food
stalls. Some engage in making the thaali (sacred
yellow thread) as it is the major part of the
festival.
In a Tamil version of the Mahabharata, a
character called Aravan offered himself as
sacrifice for the Pandavas’ triumph in war. It is
said he had a boon of marriage before his
sacrifice but no woman wanted to marry him as it
would mean widowhood. Eventually, it is said
Lord Krishna married Aravan after taking the
CM
YK
THE HINDU
I
News in Frames
X
Divine fashion: Transgender women dressed up as goddesses for the ‘Miss Koovagam Cultural bridge: Transgender women from the U.S. participating in rituals. Visitors come
fashion show’ conucted as part of the festival. from all over the country and abroad.
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
form of Mohini. Lore has it that Lord Krishna
grieved for Aravan as a widow. In Koovagam, the
rituals trace the legend. Transgender women
dress as brides on the 17th day, and the priests of
Koothandavar temple tie thaali for them.
On the last day, parts of the Koothandavar idol
is brought from various parts of Tamil Nadu and
assembled before being taken on a chariot.
Transgender women gather and perform the
kummi dance as the chariot moves. The crowds
then travel a couple of kilometres the Natham,
where the priests break the transgender women’s
bangles and cut the thaali. Lord Koothandavar,
their spouse, has passed away, and they weep in
sorrow. The transgender women rub off the
kungumam (red turmeric marks on the forehead)
and dress in a white sari.
One transgender woman compared her
personal life to the annual event in Koovagam.
“Our lives are safe and cheerful one day, and then
they turn disastrous the next. It is hanging by a
thread,” she said. X
In style: Jewellery, flowers and other bridal finery become a part of the costume for the symbolic marriage
to Lord Koothandavar during the festival.
S ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
II Sunday, May 5, 2024

News in Frames Delhi

X X
Joyous occasion: The temple priest ties the thaali on a transgender woman, symbolising her marriage to Lord Koothandavar. Wedding party: Transgender women perform the kummi dance after the symbolic marriage during the festival.
e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce

X e6fcf1ba-47bb-4e5e-a12b-0876de505fce
Difficult end: A transgender
woman cries as the priest
breaks her bangles and cuts
the thaali, symbolising her
entering widowhood.

X
In mourning: A
transgender woman
drapes a white sari,
marking her ceremonial
widowhood during the
final day of the festival.
CM S ND-NDE
YK