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Editorial: Climate, what? SC seeks EC’s response on plea for release of voter turnout data within 48 hours of LS polls Cong has accepted its defeat: Saini
We are trying
to unite people,
Opposition trying to
divide, says Nadda
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) does not
foresee anti-incumbency
derailing its bid to return
to power with a resounding
majority as people have
faith in Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi’s development
agenda, party president JP
Nadda said in an interview
with Smriti Kak Ramachan-
dran on Friday, rejecting the
Opposition’s charge that
the government was relying
on polarisation to meet its
electoral target. Edited ex-
cerpts:
The BJP is chasing what
seems to be a difficult tar-
get. How confident are you
of bagging 400-plus seats?
We will cross 370 seats
on our own and 400 with
our allies. We will retain
the seats that we current-
ly have, and in addition to
that, we will win the ma-
jority of the seats in West
Bengal, there will be a land-
slide win in Odisha, and in
Andhra Pradesh (where,
like Odisha, assembly polls
are also being held) we will
form the government with
our alliance partner. In Tel-
angana, we will double the
seats we have. In Tamil
Nadu and Kerala, we will
open our account.
What about states such
as Maharashtra, Bihar and
Karnataka where reports
indicate a loss in tally?
Even in these states, we
will win. There are some
seats where there is a tight
fight, but we do not foresee
any losses.
The BJP has been in pow-
er for 10 years. Why are you
Within 6 months PoK will
become part of India in PM Modi's
third term, says Yogi Adityanath
OUR CORRESPONDENT
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh
chief minister Yogi Aditya-
nath on Saturday said that
Pakistan-occupied Kash-
mir would become a part
of India within six months
after Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi secures his third
term in office. Adityanath
made the bold remarks
while addressing a public
rally in Maharashtra's Pal-
ghar.
"We will not worship our
enemy. If someone kills
our people we will not wor-
ship them but give them an
answer that they deserve.
It has become difficult
for Pakistan to save Paki-
stan-occupied Kashmir.
Let PM Modi become the
Prime Minister for the third
time and within six months
PoK will become part of In-
dia...," said Yogi Adityanath
as quoted by news agency
ANI.
Yogi Adityanath said
that for such a move, cour-
age is required. During his
speech, he also took a dig
ucknow news
VOL. 18 | ISSUE NO: 257 | Sunday, 19 May 2024 | DAILY MORNING | Page 4 | Price Rs 1.00
certain that there will be no
anti-incumbency against
the party?
This government has
been proactive, responsive
and accountable. Because
of this, the people of the
country have accepted the
leadership of Prime Min-
ister Modi. Look at G-20
Summit, even an ordinary
rickshaw puller now knows
what it is because Modiji
linked it to the people of
this country. Look at the
war in Ukraine, a vegetable
seller also knows how Modi
put India’s stand up front.
A common man agrees
that Modiji saved the lives
of 140 crore people during
Covid (pandemic). And they
also know what the role of
the Opposition in all these
three events was. There is
pro-incumbency and peo-
ple want national security.
Earlier, our MiG21 pilots
crashed during test flights,
today we have the Rafale.
We didn’t have bullet-proof
jackets. We couldn’t make
our own fighter aircraft.
We couldn’t make our he-
licopters ...today we do all
of that.People can see how
the surgical strikes and [the
Balakot] air strikes were
conducted and what has
been the trajectory of our
relations with Pakistan.
They have realised that
Modi is the best choice.
Your rivals say that the
evacuation of Indians from
Ukraine has been politi-
cised by the BJP.
It [the evacuation] was
never done before. When
did PM Indira Gandhi inter-
vene? She was such a pow-
erful woman.
at the Congress party and
the INDIA bloc leaders, say-
ing "They used to say we
can't do anything about ter-
rorism from Pakistan".
On Saturday, Adityanath
also addressed a poll rally
in Mumbai where he cam-
paigned for BJP candidate
Ujjwal Nikam from Mumbai
North Central Lok Sabha
constituency. At the rally,
Adityanath said the on-
going elections are about
choosing between “Ram
bhakts” and “Ram drohis”.
“Ram bhakt is a ‘rashtra
bhakt’ who will serve the
people of India and work
for the country's progress.
A Ram bhakt who paved
the way for the construction
of Ram temple can ensure
respect for the people and
the country as well as safe-
ty and security,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the Con-
gress over the issue of Ram
Temple in Ayodhya, Aditya-
nath said that Lord Ram
wouldn't allow the Con-
gress to come to power af-
ter the Lok Sabha election
2024.
Narendra Modi govt not afraid of Pakistan's
atom bombs, will take PoK back: Amit Shah
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Union home
minister Amit Shah on Sat-
urday claimed that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is on
course to secure a third term
in office.
“In the last four phases,
Modiji has acquired 270
seats and is heading towards
the third century,” Amit Shah
said at an election rally in
Jhansi. “On the other hand,
the INDI Alliance of Rahul
Gandhi has been wiped out.
Modi ji is going to be the
prime minister of India for
the third term,” he added.
Highlighting Modi’s hum-
ble beginnings, Shah said,
“On one hand, there is Ra-
hul Baba born with a silver
Rahul Gandhi claims he can
influence Narendra Modi's speeches
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Saturday claimed he can
influence Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's speech-
es, suggesting that the BJP
leader adopts his phrases
and talking points.
Speaking at an election
rally in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi
said, “Tell me whatever you
want Narendra Modi to say,
I will make him say that in
his speeches.”
“I told him, 'Narendra
Modi, you don't mention
the names of Adani-Amba-
ni. You should mention their
names.' 2-3 days later, Nar-
endra Modi said ‘Adani-Am-
bani, Adani-Ambani’,”
Gandhi said, referring to
the prime minister's recent
speech in Telangana where
he accused the Congress of
having a "deal" with billion-
aire industrialists Mukesh
Ambani and Gautam Adani.
The Congress leader re-
iterated his promise to the
IMD alert: Severe heat wave in northwest
India till May 22; heavy rainfall in these states
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The ongoing
heat wave to severe heat
wave conditions are ex-
pected to continue over the
plains of Northwest India for
the next five days, the India
Meteorological Department
(IMD) said on Saturday. This
intense heat is expected to
continue in East and Central
India for the next three days,
according to IMD.
The Met department said
Rajasthan, Punjab, Hary-
ana, Chandigarh, and Delhi
will experience severe heat
wave conditions in numer-
ous pockets from May 18
to 22. West Uttar Pradesh is
also expected to be affected
by severe heat wave condi-
tions on May 18 and 19.
In East Uttar Pradesh, heat
wave conditions are pre-
spoon in his mouth and on
the other hand, there is Modi
ji born to the family of a poor
tea seller belonging to the
backward class. Modi ji has
not taken a leave for the last
23 years and spends Diwali
with soldiers on the border.”
He also hit out at the oppo-
sition parties for their stance
on the Ram Temple issue.
Shah accused the Sama-
jwadi Party and Congress of
obstructing the Ram Temple
construction for decades
and applauded Modi for ful-
filling the promise.
“For seventy years, the
Congress, the Samajwadi
Party, and the Bahujan Sam-
aj Party obstructed the build-
ing of the Ram Temple. But
Modi Ji won the case, laid the
underprivileged women of
India, wherein the INDIA
bloc would prepare a list of
impoverished families and
deposit 1 lakh per annum
into the accounts of select-
ed women from these fam-
ilies.
" 8000 per month thaka
thak, thaka thak, thaka
thak," Rahul Gandhi said.
Sharing another instance
where he felt the prime
minister had mimicked
his rhetoric, he added, “I
used 'thaka thak' in my
speech. Narendra Modi has
now started using 'thaka
thak, phata phat' in all his
dicted to persist from May
18 to 22, while West Uttar
Pradesh will face these con-
ditions from May 20 to 22.
Isolated pockets in Uttara-
khand, Gujarat, and Madhya
Pradesh will also experience
heat wave conditions during
this period. Bihar and Gan-
getic West Bengal will see
heat waves from May 18 to
20, Jharkhand on May 19
and 20, and Odisha from
foundation, and consecrated
the Ram Temple.”
The home minister raked
up the Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir issue and said,
“Their (Congress) greed
for the vote bank has bur-
geoned to the extent that
Mani Shankar Aiyar, one of
their leaders has asked us
not to talk about the PoK.
He is saying that Pakistan
has atom bombs and we
should not demand our
rights over the PoK. I want to
tell you that this is the Nar-
endra Modi government and
we are not afraid of atom
bombs. PoK belongs to In-
dia and we will take it back,”
he said.
Shah also took jabs at po-
litical dynasties, saying lead-
speeches. Tell me whatever
you want him to say, I will
make him say it.”
Gandhi urged workers of
the Congress party and of
the Aam Aadmi Party to
work together and ensure
victory for their alliance on
all seven Lok Sabha seats
in the national capital.
"It's interesting that I'll
vote for AAP and Arvind Ke-
jriwal will vote for Congress
in these elections," he said.
Continuing his attack
on the prime minister, the
Congress leader said, "PM
Modi is giving non-stop in-
terviews to his favourite
May 20 to 22.
The IMD has also indi-
cated that hot and humid
weather is very likely to pre-
vail over Konkan and Goa
from May 18 to 20, and
Sub-Himalayan West Ben-
gal on May 18 and 19.
Rain forecast South India
The weather forecasting
agency said the Southwest
Monsoon is expected to
advance into the South An-
ers like Lalu Prasad Yadav,
Uddhav Thackeray, and Sha-
rad Pawar are more interest-
ed in promoting their family
journalists but he will not
have a debate with me be-
cause he knows he cannot
answer my questions."
"PM Modi talks about
the Congress getting
tempo-loads of money
from Adani-Ambani, but
he doesn't dare to get it
probed," he said.
"I'm ready to debate with
PM Modi whenever and
wherever he wants, but I'm
sure he won't come. The
first question I would ask
PM Modi is what is his re-
lationship with Adani, next I
want to ask him about elec-
toral bonds," the former
Congress chief said.
Gandhi also hit out at the
media, alleging they were
"friends of 2-3 industrial-
ists" as they would either
show Ambani weddings,
Bollywood stars or Nar-
endra Modi on their chan-
nels round the clock. "Still,
stringers and cameramen
working for these media
houses will vote for Con-
gress only," he said.
daman Sea, parts of South-
east Bay of Bengal, and the
Nicobar Islands within the
next 48 hours.
Under the influence of
a cyclonic circulation over
south interior Tamil Nadu
and its surrounding areas,
along with various troughs
extending across the south-
ern and central parts of
India, fairly widespread to
widespread light to moder-
ate rainfall, accompanied
by thunderstorms, lightning,
and gusty winds (40-50
km/h), is likely over Tamil
Nadu, Puducherry, Karai-
kal, Kerala, Mahe, Lakshad-
weep, and south Karnataka.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, and Rayalasee-
ma are also likely to experi-
ence similar weather condi-
tions with slightly lower wind
speeds (30-40 km/h).
R.N.I. Reg. No.
members.
“The people who are into
politics for the benefit of their
sons and daughters cannot
Bibhav Kumar's father
on Swati Maliwal case
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: After Delhi
chief minister Arvind Kejriw-
al's aide Bibhav Kumar was
arrested by the Delhi Police
on Saturday on charges of
assaulting Rajya Sabha MP
Swati Maliwal, Bibhav's fa-
ther told news agency ANI
that the BJP only wanted
Bibhav to leave Kejriwal. He
said he spoke to his son in
the wake of the controversy
and got to know that Bibhav
was having his breakfast
when the incident with Swa-
ti Maliwal took place.
"You can ask anyone
about Bibhav's nature and
he was never violent. He
said she (Swati Maliwal)
came to do something big.
But he did not even touch
her and she was removed
by the security guards," Ma-
heshwar Rai said.
Bibhav was taken into
custody on Saturday, five
days after the incident took
place. As Bibhav's lawyer
moved for an anticipatory
bail, Delhi Police arrested
him making his anticipatory
bail infructuous in the court.
Anticipatory bail is only valid
before an arrest.
Kejriwal mentioned
Bibhav's arrest as he an-
nounced that he along with
all other AAP leaders would
Rahul Gandhi displaying red Chinese
constitution, ours blue: Himanta Biswa Sarma
OUR CORRESPONDENT
LUCKNOW: Assam chief
minister Himanta Biswa
Sarma stirred a controversy
by claiming that the Consti-
tution book that Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi has of-
ten been seen displaying at
his rallies was not the Indian
Constitution. Himanta said
the Indian Constitution has
a blue cover and it needed
to be verified whether Ra-
hul Gandhi was carrying a
Chinese constitution. The
Assam chief minister made
his first post on this issue
on Friday. On Saturday, he
said he was sure that Rahul
benefit the youth. Only Nar-
endra Modi Ji can brighten
the future of the youth of this
nation.”
go to the BJP headquar-
ters on Sunday at 12 noon
so that the BJP can arrest
whoever they want instead
of arresting them one by
one. Kejriwal said he got to
know that Raghav Chadha
who returned from London
after an eye operation, Ati-
shi, Saurabh Bharadwaj are
all on the list to get arrested
eventually.
In her FIR, Swati Maliw-
al said she was slapped,
kicked and beaten up by
Bibhav on May 13 when she
called the police from Kejri-
wal's residence. Though the
party initially admitted the
incident and promised ac-
tion against the culprit, now
AAP stood by Bibhav and
said Swati Maliwal was sent
by the BJP. The party also
claimed that in the videos
that came to the surface,
Swati Maliwal did not look
injured. Rather, she was
seen shouting at Bibhav Ku-
mar in a video which Maliw-
al termed 'out of context'.
Gandhi was carrying a Chi-
nese constitution. "Our con-
stitution, in blue, includes a
chapter called the Directive
Principles of State Policy,
which makes it a sacred duty
to enact a Uniform Civil Code
in our country; Rahul is now
opposing this," the Assam
CM posted drawing flak from
many political leaders who
mentioned that the red book
was the coat pocket edition of
the Constitution of India pub-
lished by Eastern Book Com-
pany. Assam Congress leader
Bhupen Kumar Borah called
Himanta colour-blind and in-
tellect-deficit and explained
that unlike Indian passport.
2 Lucknow, Sunday, 19 May 2024 Lucknow News (English Daily)

Bracing Inflation
EDITORIAL
Climate, what?
There are refugees that live among us. They haven’t lost
homes due to violence or strife; they haven’t slipped in from
across the porous borders seeking a better life, but rather,
these are our own, who have lost their homes due to the in-
exorable force of climate change. Over half a million people IN THE LIGHT OF PREVAILING ‘INCOME’ AND ‘ECONOMIC’ INEQUALITIES IN INDIA, POLICYMAKERS, APART FROM
were displaced in India in 2023 due to floods, earthquakes,
storms, and other disasters. In 2022, the number was an RESORTING TO CONTRACTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST INFLATION, SHOULD CONSIDER PROVIDING DIRECT RELIEF TO PEOPLE
alarming 2.5 million. As per the NSO’s data re-
Global warming and climate change is triggering several leased on May 10, the retail
of these extreme climate episodes. As we inch closer to yet inflation eased from 4.85
another Environment Day and offer lip service to the noble per cent in last March to
green cause, know that no government that comes to pow- 4.83 per cent — a marginal
er or retains it, has an action plan in place. Political parties decline (0.01 per cent).
put forward elaborate plans sans specifics, however, the However, food inflation in-
follow-on action is hardly as zealous in the field of climate creased to 8.7 per cent from
change as in other areas. 8.52 per cent in March, while
The BJP manifesto speaks of India gaining energy indepen- vegetable inflation stood at
dence by 2047, a Green Credit programme, touching 500 27.80 per cent year-on-year
GW target of renewable energy installed capacity in the next down from 28.30 per cent in
6 years, and a new commitment of launching the National March.
Atmospheric Mission titled Food inflation, which was
‘Mausam’ to make the na- Over half a million people less than 1 per cent in Oc-
tion “weather ready” and “cli- were displaced in India tober 2021, shot up to 5.4
mate smart”. The Congress in 2023 due to floods, per cent overall and 5.9 per
manifesto meanwhile has earthquakes, storms, and cent in urban areas by Janu-
accepted many climate com- other disasters; Election ary 2022. Currently, inflation
mitments of the current dis- season is underway in rates for cereals and pulses
pensation, with the inclusion scorching temperatures but — the staple diet of Indians
of an “independent” Environ- in spite of repeated — are recorded at 8.63 per
ment Protection and Climate extreme climate scenes, cent and 16.84 per cent, re-
Change Authority, to track voters still don’t demand spectively.
and impose environmental climate accountability The RBI suspects that
standards, as well as put in though the headline infla-
place national and state level climate change action plans. tion eased from its peak in
Barely any other political party has offered any importance December 2023, the errat-
to climate change. ic movement of food prices
As voters, we haven’t demanded it. In the height of the may cause uncertainties
election season (many states were and are experiencing a for future. Inflation always
scorching heat wave), it’s ironic that as voters, we don’t de- hits the working classes
mand commitments on climate change. As an electorate, and low-income groups the
we have moved on from roti, kapda, and makaan, not that most because of their limit-
we don’t need it, we are more enticed by shiny, distracting ed earnings and maximum
objects such as community-wise fertility rates, glossy celebs’ spending on food provisions
fake political endorsements, and propagation of cancel cul- for the families.
ture of brands that don’t seem bharatiya (Indian) enough. The case of unemployed
We are missing out on the biggest crisis facing the nation people could be even worse. The erratic movement of food prices may cause uncertainties in the future
— climate change. Consider this — as per a report by Austra- If not addressed effectively, the pandemic. performance is not really ture have little impact. ny announced subsidies for
Food Inflation is a heads-
lia’s Monash University, in the last three decades, over a fifth inflation can severely desta- The unorganised sector, reflective of a possible eco- According to the World low-income groups and also
up for the economy, for
of all deaths caused by heat waves around the world took bilise the economy in the which employs about 85 per nomic crisis in the future Bank’s Global Financial In- slashed down taxes on petrol
it may lead to structural
place in India. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Del- future, though not necessar- cent of the workforce in the since sentiment influences clusion Database 2017, and diesel. Other measures
inflation engulfing almost
hi, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have all reported climate-related ily on a scale as it did to the country, was the worst hit the money markets more though 80 per cent of Indian included a one-time grant of
all sectors, leading to rise
displacements. economies like Zimbabwe since the wages were nev- than fundamentals do. Sim- adults have Bank Accounts, 300 Euros per person, pub-
in prices of household
As per the report by Geneva-based Internal Displace- and Sri Lanka in the recent er adjusted for inflation. For ilarly, the official statistics India’s share of inoperative lic transport discounts and
consumer goods, fuel,
ment Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the displacement has past. example, while the wages may not truly reflect ground accounts in the world is the child welfare grants etc.
power etc.
been dipped primarily due to the El Nino effect, howev- Theoretically, the most of construction workers and realities concerning the poor largest at 48 per cent while Italy declared fuel subsi-
er, floods and storms ousted people often in the same common causes of infla- agricultural workers have and vulnerable sections who the average of the develop- dies worth 14 billion Euros opportunities due to factors
regions. In true Indian style, we live for today, do jugaad tion are: rise in disposable increased by only 10.5 per struggle to make ends meet ing countries is 25 per cent. and also raised taxes on such as gender, religion,
when going gets tough, and then praise our resilience as incomes and increase in cent and 12 per cent, re- amid shooting prices of es- According to the Chief power companies who ben- caste, region etc.
a nation. Climate emergencies will not tolerate a winging purchasing power known as spectively, between 2021 sential goods. Economist of UBS, Paul efitted by rising energy pric- People suffering from eco-
it attitude. If the Indian satraps don’t work with climate demand pull inflation, higher and 2023, the prices of cere- According to the UNDP, Donovan (author of ‘The es. Spain has allowed 300 nomic inequalities are more
foresight, our region will be brutally punished. fuel costs (crude oil) impact- als have gone up by 22 per even in developed countries, Truth About Inflation’), gov- km free train travel for three vulnerable to the adverse

Needs to Ramp ing the prices of goods and

services termed as cost push
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the inflation (which is mostly
country needs to ramp up its manufacturing sector to in- true in Indian context), wage
crease its share in the global value chain and become ‘At- hikes and consequent high-
manirbhar’. er pricing of goods by man-
Addressing the captains of the Indian industry at a CII ufacturers (built-in inflation),
Annual Business Summit, the minister also underlined and supply chain disruptions
the need of achieving greater sophistication in product due to sudden wars, natural
manufacturing and policy support. “I also want to under- calamities and disasters.
line much against the advice given by some economists However, both local and
that India should no longer be looking at manufacturing or global factors play a signif-
ramping up manufacturing,” she said. I like to highlight the icant role in pushing up in-
fact that manufacturing must increase. flation. According to Anirban
India must also increase with the help of policies its Bhattacharya and Pranay
(manufacturing) share in the global value chain,” she Raj from Centre for Finan-
added. Some of the economists including former Re- cial Accountability (www.
serve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan have thewire.in 29 September
expressed the opinion that India should rather focus on 2023), when the Russian in-
the services sector rather than manufacturing as it has vasion of Ukraine and supply
missed that opportunity. China’s model of manufactur- cuts by OPEC nations led to
ing-led growth cannot be replicated any more. sharp increase in food price
However, Sitharaman said, expanding manufacturing inflation all over the world, in
will help India become self-reliant. She also expressed India, the additional factors
hope that India still has an opportunity to ramp up its man- that worsened inflation were
cent.
The arguments seem to be
corroborated by a recent sur-
vey by Motilal Oswal, which
revealed that household
debt levels have touched an
all-time high of 40 per cent
of GDP in December 2023
while the net savings have
dropped to lowest level of 5
per cent.
However, it is said that the
current rate of inflation at
4.83 per cent is within the
RBI’s ‘tolerance range’ of
2-6 per cent.
Food Inflation is a head-
sup for the economy, for it
may lead to structural infla-
tion engulfing almost all sec-
tors, leading to rise in prices
of household consumer
goods, fuel, power, trans-
port, healthcare, and other
essential services.
as revealed by an Ipsos poll
for the World Economic Fo-
rum, 25 per cent of people
are struggling financially.
In the UK, one in seven
adults said that they cannot
afford to eat every day. Gov-
ernments all over the world
necessarily intervene to con-
trol inflation, but there is no
single proven method to rely
upon. Conventionally, cen-
tral banks resort to contrac-
tionary monetary policies to
discourage borrowings and
encourage savings.
The RBI maintained the
repo rate at 6.5 per cent
for the seventh consecutive
time, as announced by the
Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) on April 5. However, in
developing countries where
financial inclusion is a major
challenge, the macroeco-
ernments cannot really do
much since the prices of
oil or foodgrains cannot be
changed suddenly any more
than they can influence the
impact of the Ukraine war on
food and fuel prices.
However, he suggests that
governments can either look
at benefits that are being
paid to try and help people
for higher prices, or where
something is being taxed.
Some countries have initiat-
ed steps to directly support
people in addition to con-
tractionary monetary poli-
cies.
France spent 13 billion
Euros to dole out a one-time
grant of 84 Euros to each
beneficiary of economically
disadvantaged classes, to
reduce taxes on power and
to restrict the rise in energy
months while Germany in-
troduced USD 9 monthly
public transport pass.
In Scotland, rents were fro-
zen to help citizens cope up
with rising cost of living. The
UK is giving 8 million low-in-
come households a direct
payment of USD 780 and an
energy grant of USD 480 .
In India, too, apart from
contractionary monetary
policies, we may well con-
template on providing direct
benefits to people, emulat-
ing the experiments of Euro-
pean countries.
While initiating steps for
direct support to people, it
is also essential to keep in
mind Amartya Sen’s distinc-
tion between ‘income in-
equalities’ and ‘economic in-
equalities’; while the former
refers to wage disparities,
impact of inflation.
Cash handouts, discounts
on public transport, commu-
nications, streamlining PDS,
special schemes for migrant
labourers and vulnerable
classes can help the people
to brace against inflation.
Good governance by revit-
alising delivery mechanisms
is equally important to check
hoarding and profiteering
practices.
The ongoing employ-
ment-generation schemes
like MGNREGA need to be
monitored regularly to en-
sure incomes to the rural
population.
Finally, the agriculture sec-
tor and the issues of farmers
need immediate attention
as the monsoons are round
the corner. A bumper har-
vest will be a blessing in dif-

Russia wants a buffer zone in Kharkiv

ufacturing capability as the world is looking at China plus demonetisation, GST and A bullish stock market nomic measures of this na- bills to 4 per cent. Germa- the latter means unequal ficult times.
one strategy post-COVID-19.
Quoting a Capgemini Research Institute report released
in May, she said, India figures at the top of the list of in-
vestment destinations for senior executives in Europe and
in the US, who are looking to reduce their dependence on
China and shift part of their manufacturing capacity to Russian President Vlad- storage at an airbase. In fighting Friday to halt Rus- meters” (about 45 miles), in said that prospective peace Security Service and Military
emerging markets. Sixty-five per cent of nearly 760 exec- imir Putin said on Friday southern Russia, Russian sian advances in Kharkiv an effort to force Ukraine to talks could be based on a Intelligence conducted a
utives surveyed has said that they plan to increase invest- that Moscow’s offensive authorities said the attack region that began late last spread its forces and use re- draft deal that was negoti- joint operation to strike Rus-
ments significantly in India. Presently, the telecom sec- in Ukraine’s northeastern also set a refinery ablaze. week. serve troops, Ukraine’s mil- ated by Russia and Ukraine sia’s military infrastructure
tor’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has helped Kharkiv region aims to cre- Moscow launched attacks The town of Vovchansk, itary chief, Col. Gen. Olek- during their Istanbul talks in sites in Novorossiysk, on the
India to become a better Atmanirbhar as 60 per cent im- ate a buffer zone but has in the Kharkiv region in re- located 5 kilometers (3 sandr Syrskyi, said Friday. 2022. Black Sea coast, and occu-
port substitution has been achieved in the telecom sector. no plans to capture the city. sponse to Ukrainian shelling miles) from the Russian bor- Separately, in his strongest Meanwhile, the drone pied Sevastopol.
This itself gives quite a big scope for our Indian indus- Putin’s comments on a trip of Russia’s Belgorod region, der, has been a hot spot in remarks yet on Ukraine’s up- raids on Crimea marked Ky- The official spoke on con-
try, she said, adding, that the Production Linked Incen- to China were his first on Putin told reporters Friday the fighting in recent days. coming peace conferences iv’s attempt to strike back dition of anonymity, because
tive scheme is also transforming the mobile and elec- the offensive launched on on a visit to Harbin, China. Ukrainian authorities have slated for next month, Putin during Moscow’s offensive they weren’t authorised to
tronics sectors. From 78 per cent import to dependence May 10, which opened a “I have said publicly that evacuated around 8,000 ci- said it was a vain attempt to in northeastern Ukraine, comment publicly. The op-
in 2014, she said, today 99 per cent of all mobiles sold in new front in the war and dis- if it continues, we will be vilians from the town. enforce terms of a peaceful which has added to the eration targeted ships and
India are made in India. Value addition in electronics and placed thousands of Ukrai- forced to create a security The Russian army’s usual settlement on Russia. pressure on outnumbered vessels of the Russian Black
smartphone manufacturing too have grown significant- nians within few days. zone, a sanitary zone,” he tactic is to reduce towns and Putin emphasized that and outgunned Ukrainian Sea Fleet and was conduct-
ly and crossed 20 per cent from the negligible level of It came hours after a mas- said. “That’s what we are villages to ruins with aerial Russia wasn’t invited to the forces, which are waiting for ed by aerial drones built in
2014-15, she said. Citing an example, she said, India has sive Ukrainian drone attack doing.” Putin said that Rus- strikes before its units move Swiss-hosted meeting. He delayed deliveries of crucial Ukraine, the official said. At
become Apple’s second largest manufacturing hub for on the Russia-occupied sian troops were “advanc- in. said that Russia was ready weapons and ammunition least three fighter jets were
iPhones outside of China with exports to $1.1 billion last Crimean Peninsula early Fri- ing daily according to plan” By starting the new of- for talks but shrugged off from Western partners. destroyed, according to sat-
year. Speaking about the service sector, Sitharaman said day caused power cutoffs in and said that there were no fensive, Russian troops “ex- Ukrainian President Volody- A Ukrainian intelligence of- ellite imagery of the airbase
India commands over 50 per cent of the world’s Global the city of Sevastopol while plans to capture Kharkiv, for panded the zone of active myr Zelenskyy’s peace for- ficial confirmed to The Asso- provided by Maxar Technolo-
Capability. damaging aircraft and fuel now. Ukrainian troops were hostilities by almost 70 kilo- mula as wishful thinking. He ciated Press that Ukraine’s gies.
Lucknow News (English Daily) Lucknow, Sunday, 19 May 2024 3

Nearly 294 million people in Southeast Asia

InBrief
PHOENIXX ARTISTS: YOUR CELESTIAL GATEWAY
TO ENTERTAINMENT SUCCESS

region living with hypertension, says WHO

LUCKNOW: Phoenixx Artists, a subscription-based plat-
form, represents a paradigm shift, offering a celestial
pathway for both budding talents and seasoned virtuo-
sos to manifest their aspirations within the entertainment
cosmos. From the realms of acting to the symphony of
songwriting, from the canvas of cinematography and di-
rection to the tapestry of modelling, designing, and sing-
HIGH SALT INTAKE, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, PHYSICAL INACTIVITY, STRESS, & AIR POLLUTION ARE KEY RISK FACTORS
ing Phoenixx Artists beckons, promising to be the launch OUR CORRESPONDENT of every nation’s journey to- to heart attacks, strokes, the South-East Asia Region.
pad to success wards Universal Health Cov- kidney failure, and early This can be considered the
and stardom. NEW DELHI: Hypertension is erage. death.” “Limited access to world’s largest expansion
Whether your am- a driving force in the global This year, the theme is a affordable healthcare ser- of cardiovascular disease
bitions lie in the vi- epidemic of Non-Communi- call to ‘Measure Your Blood vices for hypertension is one prevention and control in pri-
brant landscapes cable Diseases (NCDs) and Pressure Accurately, Control of the prime reasons for the mary health care.
of Bollywood or the leading risk factor for It, Live Longer.’ High intake low Universal Service Cover- The “Dhaka Call to Ac-
the glimmering death and disability globally, of salt, tobacco and alcohol, age Index for most countries tion” which accelerates the
avenues of Holly- said WHO Regional Director unhealthy diets, physical in- in our region and impacts control of cardiovascular
wood, Phoenixx for SouthEast Asia, Saima activity, stress, and air pollu- access to quality health ser- diseases in a quarter of the
Artists stands as Wazed on Friday. tion are key risk factors for vices,” she said. world’s population, guides
the gateway to your journey towards success and star- It is estimated that more the rising prevalence of hy- The South-East Asia Re- how to achieve the SEA-
dom. With seamless accessibility through its web portal than 294 million people are pertension, she stated. gion has identified the HEARTS milestone of plac-
and mobile app, it beckons you to embark on your odys- living with hypertension in “Early detection and con- prevention and control of ing 100 million people with
sey into the realms of entertainment. One can enquire the Southeast Asia Region, trol are crucial. Among hypertension as one of the hypertension and diabetes trends indicate a decline in supply chains while two
about their choice of artist on the application itself with- Wazed said. On World Hy- adults with hypertension, priorities. on protocol-based manage- tobacco use and exposure countries have implement-
out going through the hassle of a third party. Phoenixx pertension Day, Wazed said half of them are unaware The Seventy-sixth Re- ment by 2025. to household air pollution, ed standards for labelling
Artists" serve as a beacon of financial empowerment, ad- that efforts to prevent and that they have it. Nearly one gional Committee in 2022 Countries across the re- she said. and marketing to provide
dressing the common obstacle that often impedes one's control hypertension need person in six does not have endorsed the initiative, gion are implementing Notably, four countries consumers with the infor-
career trajectory. Within the application's embrace, every to be strengthened to meet their blood pressure under SEAHEARTS: Accelerating evidencebased strategies have initiated measures to mation needed to make
participant becomes an integral member of the Phoenixx global and national targets. control. Prevention and Control of to mitigate the associated eliminate trans-fatty acids healthier dietary choices,
family—protected, nurtured, and equipped with the re- It should be an integral part If uncontrolled, it can lead Cardiovascular Diseases in risk factors. Encouragingly, from their national food Wazed said.

Precious forests should be Amazon Bedrock expands to Mumbai

sources needed to thrive.
XIAOMI LAUNCHES INDIA-EXCLUSIVE REDMI NOTE
13 PRO+ 5G WORLD CHAMPIONS EDITION
region, boosting low latency AI solutions
saved from hazards of fire: SC
LUCKNOW: Xiaomi, the most trusted and loved smart-
phone brand, recorded a remarkable milestone of ex-
ceeding 15 million Redmi Note 13 Series units sold OUR CORRESPONDENT ers across the country, in- to production in an efficient
worldwide. Celebrating the massive success, Xiaomi OUR CORRESPONDENT cluding public sector organ- and secure way. Our cus-
announced a big price drop on the series and an India BENGALURU: Amazon Web isations and companies in tomers value choice; some
exclusive Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G World Champions Edi- NEW DELHI: Precious forests Services (AWS), an Amazon. regulated industries, to inno- prefer to build from scratch,
tion, in collaboration with the Argentine Football Asso- should be saved from the com company, announced vate with generative AI and while others prefer mod-
ciation (AFA). Xiaomi announced the never seen before hazards of forest fires, the at AWS Summit Bengaluru to have further choices on els tailored for specific use
prices on the entire lineup. Now, with the Redmi Note 13 Supreme Court said on Fri- that Amazon Bedrock, which where they can run and store cases. We want to provide
Series 5G starting at a net effective price of INR 15,499. day and termed the litigation offers customers the easiest, generative AI applications. organisations in India with
Xiaomi aims to empower even more customers to ex- concerning recent blazes in fastest, and most secure way Deploying generative AI the performant, cost-effec-
perience the best-in-class technology that the Note se- Uttarakhand as not “adver- to build and scale generative workloads closer to end us- tive infrastructure they need
ries has to offer. Ahead of celebrating its momentous sarial”. A bench of justices B artificial intelligence (AI) ap- ers will also help customers to build with generative AI,”
10th anniversary in India, Xiaomi launched the Redmi R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta plications and experiences, with low latency needs. Low said Shalini Kapoor, Chief
Note 13 Pro+ 5G World Champions Edition, an India-ex- observed that everybody was is generally available in the latency is especially import- Technologist–APJ Public
clusive creation in collaboration with the Argentine interested only in “protecting AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) ant for generative AI applica- Sector, Director–AWS India
Football Association (AFA). It is inspired by the vibrant the forests”. Region. tions in delivering faster pro- and South Asia. “The avail-
blue and white stripes, and comes in a specially craft- Solicitor General Tushar bench said. Mehta said, “I hearing, Uttarakhand Chief To help customers globally cessing and response times, ability of Amazon Bedrock
ed collectible gift box with customized AFA edition 120 Mehta, appearing for the Ut- am not undermining what- Secretary Radha Raturi was take advantage of this new which are essential for AI in India will further spur
HyperCharge, USB Type-C cable, and a football-inspired tarakhand government, in- ever is printed in the media, also present in the court. technology, Amazon Bed- tasks like on-the-fly content innovation that large enter-
sim ejector pin. Packed with top-of-the-line features, in- formed the apex court about but sometimes it may be a Deputy advocate general rock became generally avail- generation, interactive user prises, startups, indepen-
cluding IP68 protection for dust and water resistance, a various aspects, including little hazardous to complete- Jatinder Kumar Sethi also able to all customers world- experiences, and real-time dent software vendors, and
true 200 Megapixel camera, and a 3D Curved AMOLED utilisation of funds for pre- ly go by them.” He said some appeared for the state along wide through select regions conversational insights. public sector organisations
display protected by Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus®, venting and controlling for- of the photographs shown with the solicitor general. in 2023. The general avail- “AWS is committed to are building in India, and
the smartphone is available at a price of INR 34,999/-. est fires, filing up vacancies in the reports were of forest The top court was hearing ability of Amazon Bedrock in helping customers acceler- complement their efforts to
RYAN REYNOLDS' 'IF': A MAGICAL TALE OF in forest department and fires in California. “There an application filed by senior AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) ate their generative AI jour- upskill their talent in gener-
IMAGINARY FRIENDS AND RESILIENCE providing necessary equip- has to be a system whereby advocate Rajiv Dutta, who is Region will support custom- ney from experimentation ative AI.”

Patna school set on fire by mob

LUCKNOW: We have all, growing up, created a world ments for fire fighting. these equipment have to be assisted by advocate Neha
in which everything — from the places we loved and When Mehta told the distributed in advance. Singh, on raging forest fires
even the people we called our friends — was only real bench about equipment be- If they are just lying in in Uttarakhand. The bench
inside of our minds. The friends in our minds were
fiercely loyal, unrivaled in their adoration and ultimate-
ing provided for fire fighting,
the bench observed, “While
stocks, what is the use then,”
the bench observed. Mehta
noted the solicitor general
has placed on record a re-
after 4-year-old found dead on campus
ly, some of the most genu- statistics are filed, there are said 40,184 different equip- port prepared by the chief OUR CORRESPONDENT school campus as his family said, adding that the CCTV
ine friendships. IF is about a images and interviews of ment have been provided secretary on behalf of the frantically searched for him footage of the school was
girl who discovers that she your forest guards. to the field crew teams of state. “As has been stated PATNA: A school was set everywhere. being analysed. “A case has
can see everyone’s imagi- They are dousing the fire by 1,429 crew stations in the earlier, the present litigation on fire by a mob in Patna’s “Angry family members been registered and an in-
nary friends — and what she using banana leaves. It is a state. He also apprised the is not an adversarial litiga- Digha area on Friday after and locals gathered outside vestigation is underway.
does with that superpow- fact which no one can deny.” bench about a scheme tion. The only concern is that a four-yearold student was the school on Friday morn- All evidence collected
er — as she embarks on a “We are asking questions where villages, were no for- the precious forest should be found dead on the campus, ing and set the building on from the spot is being fo-
magical adventure to recon- from what we have read in est fire are reported, gets saved from the hazards of police said. fire. They also tried to block rensically examined,” Senior
nect forgotten IFs with their the reports with images,” the some incentive. During the forest fires,” it said. The boy did not return the traffic by burning tyres Superintendent of Police
kids. While Ryan Reynolds home from school on on the road,” said a police Rajeev Mishra said. District
prepares for the release of his upcoming animation AIR INDIA FLIGHT Thursday. When the family officer. Magistrate Shirsat Kapil
film IF that explores stories of kids’ Imaginary Friends ABORTS TAKE-OFF approached the school to “The fire was immediate- Ashok said, “The district ed-
(IFs), he tells us why he thinks these friends exist, he AFTER HITTING know if he was there, the ly brought under control,” ucation officer has sought
says make-believe is a form of resilience. He said, “The LUGGAGE TRACTOR AT authorities denied it, they he said. Three people were a detailed report about the
concept of imaginary friends is provocative and inter- PUNE AIRPORT said. In the night, the body detained in connection with incident from the officials
esting. IFs are usually created out of necessity. It’s an PUNE: A Delhi-bound Air of the boy was found on the the death of the child, police concerned in the area.”
adaptive coping mechanism for kids who realize that India flight had to abort its
they can’t rely exclusively on their parents for a sense take-off and was later can- CONG HAS ACCEPTED
of well-being. They have to find other ways to manage. celled after it hit a luggage ITS DEFEAT: SAINI
They seek it by creating their own imaginary friends.” tractor trolley while taxiing CHANDIGARH: In a new
ŠKODA AUTO INDIA IMPLEMENTS NEW for departure at the Pune move, Haryana Chief Minis-
CORPORATE IDENTITY AS PART OF ITS NEW ERA airport, airline sources ter Nayan Singh Saini while
New Delhi- While Škoda Auto India has announced its said on Friday. campaigning in Karnal said
all-new compact SUV and has a string of product ac- The incident occurred convincingly that Congress
tions in its pipeline, the company continues focussing on around 4 pm on Thurs- has accepted its defeat,
strengthening its network and customers as part of its day, they said. There were however, it is trying to hin-
New Era in India. After enhancing its digitalisation strat- around 200 passengers der BJP’s mission 400.
egy, the brand has now announced the implementation on board the flight and fol- Haryana Chief Minister,
of its New Corporate lowing the incident, they Nayab Singh Saini cam-
Identity in its physical got stranded at the airport paigned at various places
assets like dealerships, for around six hours, the in Karnal today.
service centres and LUCKNOW: Rapido Rally flagged off by- Shri Hanuman sources said. The chief minister urged
other customer touch- Prasad Maurya - ADM Lucknow along with Shantanu Air India said passengers the voters to cast their
points. Speaking on the Sharma, Manager Public Policy & Corporate Affairs, Rapido. were refunded their full vote. Saini said in different
announcement, Petr fares and offered com- programmes that Rahul
Janeba, Brand Director, CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS 85% IND, SAYS SURVEY plimentary rescheduling. Gandhi is working to de-
Škoda Auto India, said: NEW DELHI: Eighty-five per cent of people surveyed in Those with onward inter- fame India by telling lies
“Together with making India say they are already experiencing the effects of national connections were not only in the country but
world-class cars, our climate change, and more than a third of them have accommodated on flights also abroad.
efforts have always either already moved or considered moving because of operated by other carriers, He said that Prime Minis-
focused on offering a extreme weather events such as severe heat, droughts it said. ter Narendra Modi is fulfill-
wholesome, all-encompassing and enriching experience and floods. Ninety-one per cent of 2,178 adults sur- The airline also said that ing the dream that Atal Bi-
to our customers, our families and our fans. Digitalisation veyed between September 5 and November 1 last year an investigation into the hari Vajpayee had laid the
is of course, one of the many ways we reach out to cus- by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communica- incident has been initiat- foundation of -- for India’s
tomers. Just as crucial is our consistency with our mes- tion and CVoter are “worried about global warming”. ed. Shahab Jafri, a pas- development. “By abolish-
saging, our design language, our identity and the face we Thirty-eight per cent had to go without enough clean senger on board the air- ing the archaic British laws,
present to our customers and all other stakeholders. We drinking water for at least one day in the past year and craft, said that the flight PM Modi has introduced
have been steadily and consciously implementing our 72 per cent experience electricity disruptions on a typ- was scheduled to depart a suitable law. PM Modi is
brand’s New Corporate Identity in our communications ical day. Thirty-four per cent of the respondents said at around 4 pm. “While fulfilling the dreams of the
and our marketing across 2023. Now, we are ready to take they have either already moved or considered moving taxiing towards the run- revolutionaries who sac-
it to the next phase, which will include our dealerships and because of extreme weather events such as severe way for a takeoff, the rificed their lives for the
various customer touchpoints.” heat, droughts, floods or others. plane hit a tractor trolley. country in 1947.”
4 Lucknow, Sunday, 19 May 2024
AAP blasts Maliwal, claims she is ‘face’ No exception made in granting
of BJP conspiracy to discredit Kejriwal
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: In a dramat-
ic turn of events and amid
trading of bitter barbs in the
Swati Maliwal assault case
at the residence of Delhi
chief minister Arvind Kejri-
wal, the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) alleged on Friday that
the case is a BJP conspir-
acy to frame Kejriwal and
the party’s Rajya Sabha MP
Swati Maliwal is the “face”
behind it.
Breaking its silence for the
first time, the AAP termed
allegations levelled by Swa-
ti Maliwal, MP and former
chairperson of Delhi Com-
mission for Women (DCW)
against Kejriwal’s aide as
“baseless”.
AAP leader and minister
Atishi, at a press confer-
ence, accused Maliwal of
colluding with the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) to dis-
credit the AAP during the
ongoing general election.
Maliwal responded shortly
afterwards on X, directing
her anger at her alleged as-
saulter, Bibhav Kumar, and
slamming him as a “goon”
who had pressured the par-
ty into attacking her.
Atishi claimed the BJP is in
cahoots with Maliwal, whom
she labelled the “face and
pawn of this conspiracy”
- and that the “rattled” saf-
fron party had been forced
SC seeks EC’s response on plea for release of
voter turnout data within 48 hours of LS polls
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Holding an ur-
gent hearing at 6:30 on Fri-
day evening, the Supreme
Court sought a response
within a week from the
Election Commission on a
plea by an NGO seeking a
direction to upload polling
station-wise voter turnout
data on its website within
48 hours of conclusion of
polling for each phase of the
Lok Sabha elections.
The top court, which was
urged earlier in the day by
lawyer Prashant Bhushan
that the plea be heard today
itself, assembled in the eve-
ning after the conclusion of
an SCBA function to bid fare-
well to Justice AS Bopanna.
Chief Justice D Y Chand-
rachud termed the request
of the poll panel seeking
time to respond to the plea
as “fair”. The bench said the
EC should be given some
reasonable time to respond
to the plea and listed it for
hearing before an appropri-
ate bench during the sum-
In matters of citizens’ liberty, every day counts: SC
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Every single
day counts in matters con-
cerning the liberty of citi-
zens, the Supreme Court
said on Friday while asking
the Delhi High Court to de-
cide on the regular bail plea
of a businessman in a cor-
ruption case related to the
now scrapped Delhi excise
policy.
The petitioner’s regular
bail application has been
heard by the high court
on 40 occasions and now
the matter has been ad-
journed to July 8, a bench
of Justices B R Gavai and
Sandeep Mehta was told by
senior advocate Kapil Sibal,
interim bail to Kejriwal, says SC
into this move because of
the growing popularity of the
Delhi Chief Minister and his
status in the national politi-
cal landscape.
“Ever since Arvind Kejri-
wal got bail the BJP has
been rattled. Due to this,
BJP hatched a conspiracy,
under which Swati Maliwal
was sent to Arvind Kejriw-
al’s house on the morning
of May 13. They intended to
accuse the Chief Minister...
but he was not there then,
so he was saved,” she said.
The remarks of the AAP
come a day after the Del-
hi Police registered an FIR
against Bibhav Kumar, the
personal assistant of Kejri-
wal, for allegedly assaulting
Maliwal at the chief minis-
ter’s official residence.
Maliwal had reached the
CM’s residence without an
appointment and her inten-
tion was to level allegations
against Kejriwal, senior AAP
THE COURT FIXED THE MATTER FOR CONSIDERATION ON MAY 24
mer vacation on May 24, a
day before the sixth phase
of the seven-phase Lok
Sabha polls.
During brief hearing, se-
nior advocate Maninder
Singh, appearing for the poll
panel, said NGO Association
for Democratic Reforms
(ADR) has levelled “abso-
lutely false allegations” in
the plea and, moreover, a
recent judgment of anoth-
er bench of the apex court
headed by Justice Sanjiv
Khanna has dealt with the
issues which are also part of
the present case.
On April 26, the Justice
appearing for businessman
Amandeep Singh Dhall.
“This cannot be that af-
ter 40 hearings, you don’t
decide the regular bail,” he
said. The bench noted it
has been informed that his
regular bail plea was filed in
leader and minister Atishi al-
leged at a press conference.
“Today a video has sur-
faced that has exposed the
lie of Maliwal. In her FIR, she
has said she was brutally as-
saulted and she was in pain,
and buttons of her shirt
were torn. A video that has
surfaced shows an entirely
different reality,” Atishi said.
According to the FIR,
Maliwal was “kicked and
slapped seven to eight
times” allegedly by Kumar.
The FIR also stated that Ku-
mar “did not relent” despite
her asking him to stop.
Maliwal has also claimed
that Kumar hit her with “full
force again and again” but
no one came to her rescue.
She also alleged that de-
spite telling Kumar that she
was menstruating and in
pain, he did not budge.
Atishi said the video
shows Maliwal “comfort-
ably sitting in the drawing
Khanna-led bench reject-
ed the pleas for reviving
paper ballots and also 100
per cent cross-verification
of votes cast on electronic
voting machines with voter
verifiable paper audit trail
(VVPAT). Bhushan, on the
other hand, opposed the
submission, saying that the
issue relating to voter turn-
out data was not part of the
earlier petition.
The CJI, earlier in the day,
asked the counsel appear-
ing for the Election Commis-
sion to take instructions and
said it will hear the matter at
the end of the board.
July last year.
“In matters concerning
the liberty of citizens, every
single day counts. Keeping
the matter of regular bail
pending after almost 11
months deprives the pe-
titioner of his liberty,” the
room” and “threatening the
security staff”, and that “her
clothes were not torn”. “The
video shows her threatening
Kumar. The charges levelled
by Maliwal are baseless.
Maliwal insisted on meet-
ing Kejriwal. She is Rajya
Sabha MP and she should
know that the CM has a
busy schedule. Kumar told
her that the chief minister
is busy and unable to meet
her. She shouted at him,
pushed him and tried to en-
ter the residential portion of
the CM House,” she claimed.
“The whole incident
proves that it was a BJP con-
spiracy and Swati Maliwal
was made its face to frame
Kejriwal,” she alleged. Atishi
said Kumar has also given a
complaint to police against
Maliwal. On Tuesday, senior
AAP leader Sanjay Singh
had said that the incident
with Maliwal was “highly
condemnable” and had
claimed that Kumar had
“misbehaved” with her.
When Atishi was asked
about Singh accepting mis-
behaviour with Maliwal, Ati-
shi said, “AAP MP Sanjay
Singh met Maliwal and he
had only her version. But
now this video has brought
out the truth.”
In another related devel-
opment, the Delhi Police
personnel, accompanied by
a Forensic Science Labora-
The ADR had last week
filed an interim application
in its 2019 PIL seeking di-
rections to the poll panel
that “scanned legible copies
of Form 17C Part-I (Account
of Votes Recorded)” of all
polling stations be upload-
ed immediately after the
polls. “Direct the Election
Commission to provide tab-
ulated polling station-wise
data in absolute figures of
the number of votes polled
as recorded in Form 17C
Part-I after each phase of
polling in the ongoing 2024
Lok Sabha elections and
also a tabulation of constit-
uency-wise figures of voter
turnout in absolute num-
bers in the ongoing 2024
Lok Sabha elections,” the
NGO said. It said the plea
was filed to ensure that the
democratic process is not
subverted by electoral irreg-
ularities. “The voter turnout
data for the first two phases
of the ongoing 2024 Lok
Sabha elections published
by ECI on April 30 has been
published after 11 days of
bench said.
“We request the high
court to decide the bail ap-
plication prior to the closure
for summer vacations,” it
said. Summer vacations in
the high court start from
June 3.
May 31 will be the last
working day. Dhall is an
accused in separate cases
linked to the excise policy
which are being probed by
the Central Bureau of Inves-
tigation (CBI) and the En-
forcement Directorate (ED).
The ED’s money launder-
ing case stems from a CBI
FIR. A trial court had earlier
dismissed his regular bail
plea in a corruption case
lodged by the CBI. Accord-
tory team, visited Kejriwal’s
residence. Sources said the
police plans to recreate the
crime scene and gather rel-
evant CCTV footage to aid in
the investigation.
Maliwal recorded her
statement at the Tis Hazari
court on Friday, providing de-
tailed accounts of the inci-
dent. The FIR lodged earlier
reveals chilling allegations
against Bibhav Kumar, ac-
cusing him of kicking Mali-
wal in the chest, stomach,
and pelvic area.
In a related development,
the National Commission
for Women (NCW) took ac-
tion by attempting to serve
a notice to Kumar at his res-
idence.
However, his family mem-
bers refused to accept the
notice, prompting the NCW
team, along with Delhi Po-
lice officers, to paste the
notice on the gate of his
home. Maliwal has reacted
strongly to a 52-second mo-
bile phone video shared on
Friday.
The video captures a heat-
ed exchange between Maliw-
al and security officials ask-
ing her to leave the premises.
In a post on X, Maliwal allud-
ed to a “political hitman,” a
term many interpret as refer-
ring to Kejriwal, accusing him
of orchestrating the release
of the video to protect him-
self and the party.
the first phase of polling...
on April 19 and four days
after second phase of poll-
ing... on April 26. “The data,
as published by the ECI in
its press release dated April
30, 2024 shows a sharp
increase (by about 5-6 per
cent) as compared to the ini-
tial percentages announced
by ECI as of 7 pm on the day
of polling,” the plea said.
The petition said the “inor-
dinate” delay in the release
of the final voter turnout
data, coupled with the un-
usually high revision of over
five per cent in the poll pan-
el’s press note of April 30,
2024 has raised concerns
and public suspicion regard-
ing the correctness of the
said data.
The non-release of the
absolute number of votes
polled coupled with the
“unreasonable delay” in the
release of votes polled data
has led to apprehensions in
the mind of the electorate
about the sharp increase be-
tween initial data and data
released on April 30, it said.
ing to the probe agencies,
Dhall allegedly conspired
with other accused and was
“actively” involved in the
formulation of the liquor
policy and facilitating kick-
backs to the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) and its recoup-
ment by the “South Group”
through various means.
According to the CBI and
the ED, irregularities were
committed while modifying
the excise policy and undue
favours extended to licence
holders.
The Delhi government
implemented the policy on
November 17, 2021 and
scrapped it at the end of
September 2022 amid alle-
gations of corruption.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court, on Thursday, dis-
tanced itself from the polit-
ical discourse surrounding
the interim bail granted to
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal for his Lok Sabha
poll campaign, stating that
“critical analysis of the judge-
ment is welcome”.
The bench, comprising
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and
Dipankar Datta, declined to
entertain arguments and
counterarguments by law-
yers representing the En-
forcement Directorate (ED)
and Kejriwal regarding state-
ments associated with the
interim bail granted to the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) na-
tional convenor.
“We have not made any
exception for anybody. We
said in our order what we
felt was justified,” the bench
Cong, SP will bulldoze Ram temple
if voted to power, says PM Modi
OUR CORRESPONDENT
BARABANKI: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on Friday
claimed that the Congress
and Samajwadi Party (SP)
would “run a bulldozer” over
the Ram temple if elected
to power and suggested
Opposition leaders to take
“tuition” from Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Aditya-
nath on where to use bull-
dozers appropriately.
Speaking at a rally, in
Barabanki, Modi stated that
the INDIA bloc aims to cre-
ate instability in the country
and is collapsing “like a pack
of cards” as elections prog-
ress. He asserted that his
government is set to achieve
a hat-trick and that he seeks
the blessings of the people
of Barabanki and Mohanlal-
ganj for upcoming decisions
benefiting the poor, youth,
women, and farmers. “June
4 is not far.
Today, the whole country
and the world know that the
Modi government is going
to score a hat-trick,” Modi
declared. He contrasted the
BJP-NDA alliance’s dedica-
tion to national interest with
the INDIA bloc’s alleged in-
tent to destabilise the coun-
try.
Modi emphasised the
need for MPs who will focus
on development rather than
criticizing him. “For rapid
development, only a strong
government can provide it...
Only the BJP government
can give it,” he asserted.
Raising the Ram temple is-
sue, Modi attacked the SP
EC show-causes BJP’s Abhijit Ganguly
for his ‘injudicious remarks’ against CM
OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA: Following the
submission of a complaint
by Trinamool Congress, the
Election Commission (EC) on
Friday issued a show-cause
notice to BJP Lok Sabha can-
didate Abhijit Gangopadhyay
for his “improper, injudicious
and undignified” remarks
against West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The election body is learnt
to have sought a response
from Gangopadhyay by 5
pm on May 20. The action
comes in the wake of his
speech where he allegedly
insulted Banerjee.
The EC in its notice noted
that Gangopadhyay’s com-
ment has been found to be
“improper, injudicious, be-
yond dignity in every sense
of term, in bad taste” and
prima facie violative of the
Lucknow News (English Daily)
clarified. Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta, representing
the ED, raised objections to
Kejriwal’s poll rally speech-
es, where he suggested that
if people voted for AAP, he
wouldn’t have to return to jail
on June 2.
“It is his assumption, we
cannot say anything,” the
bench responded to Mehta,
adding: “Our order is very
clear about when he has to
surrender. It is the order of
the Supreme Court. The rule
of law shall be governed by
this order.” Mehta accused
Kejriwal of violating the bail
and Congress. “A senior SP
leader said on Ram Navami
that the Ram temple is use-
less.
Meanwhile, Congress is
preparing to overturn the
Supreme Court’s decision
on the Ram temple. If the
SP-Congress come to pow-
er, they will send Ram Lalla
back to the tent and bulldoze
the temple,” he claimed.
Modi also criticised SP
leader Ram Gopal Yadav for
his controversial remarks
on the Ram temple, high-
lighting the INDIA bloc’s
priorities. “Nothing is bigger
than the vote bank for the
SP-Congress,” he said, ac-
cusing them of surrendering
to appeasement politics.
He praised the BJP for its
law on triple talaq, which he
said has garnered blessings
from women.
Taking a dig at SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav, Modi said,
“The socialist prince has
now taken shelter with a
new aunt in Bengal,” appar-
ently referring to West Ben-
gal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee.
Modi also alluded to the
conflict between INDIA bloc
partners AAP and Congress
provisions of the Model
Code of Conduct (MCC) and
its advisory to political par-
ties. It has been highlighted
that if the BJP candidate
does not respond to the
notice within the stipulated
time, it will assume that he
has nothing to say on the
matter and will proceed to
act against him for violat-
ing the MCC based on that
assumption. The complaint
against Gangopadhyay was
supported by a viral video
clip from a public meeting
held on May 15, 2024.
condition with his assertion.
“What is he trying to imply?
It is like a slap on the insti-
tution,” the Solicitor General
remarked.
Justice Khanna reiterated
that the court’s order clearly
states that Kejriwal has to
surrender on June 2. “We
have not said anything in the
order that he cannot speak
about the case,” the bench
added. Senior advocate
Abhishek Singhvi, represent-
ing Kejriwal, referred to an
interview by an unnamed
Home Minister, where it was
suggested that many believe
the court gave “special treat-
ment” to the AAP leader.
The bench informed Singhvi
that it would not delve into
that matter. Singhvi denied
that Kejriwal made any state-
ment about returning to jail
if people did not vote for his
party, offering to swear an af-
fidavit to that effect.
in Punjab and mocked for-
mer Chhattisgarh Chief Min-
ister Bhupesh Baghel for his
remarks about Rae Bareli
electing the prime minister.
Criticizing RJD leader
Lalu Prasad Yadav, Modi
said, “The champion of the
fodder scam from Bihar is
now saying that the entire
reservation should be given
to Muslims, depriving Dal-
its, tribals, and backward
classes.” He accused the
Congress of attempting to
give reservations based on
religion and claimed they
had done so in Karnataka
by classifying all Muslims
as OBC overnight, thereby
taking away a significant
portion of OBC reservations.
“The Congress insults the
constitution. Dr. Ambedkar
opposed giving reservation
based on religion but Con-
gress is giving reservation
based on religion. Congress
has turned Karnataka into
a laboratory of appease-
ment,” Modi said.
Invoking Lord Ram, Modi
said, “Beyond Ram’s work,
now it is time for national
work (‘rashtra kaaj’). I am
asking you for 400 ‘paar’ to
protect your rights.”
FOUR WOMEN KILLED,
13 INJURED IN ROAD
ACCIDENT
JAIPUR: Four wom-
en were killed and 13
others were injured in
Rajasthan’s Bharatpur
when a UP Roadways
bus rammed into a trailer
truck running ahead on
Friday, police said.
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