SATURDAY 11 MAY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR CORNERED, PM SEEKING HELP FROM ADANI-AMBANI: RAHUL ‘HYDERABAD TO BE UNION TERRITORY IF BJP WINS’ P7 SENSEX 72,664.47260.30 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Rain/Thundershower likely to occur towards Evening/ Night. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 32 °C and 24 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 5.3mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 98 % TEMPERATURE Max: 30.4°C (-5.3) SUN RISES 04:59 hrs MOON RISES 06:28 hrs P5 NIFTY 22,055.2097.70 Min: 21.9°C (-4.9) SUN SETS 18:7 hrs MOON SETS 20:41 hrs Full Moon on 23 May THUMBNAILS Customers at a jewellery shop at Karol Bagh on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya, in the Capital on Friday. SNS Inter-Services Organisations Act notified S through gazette notification: The Ministry of Defence on Friday said that the InterServices Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act has been notified through a gazette notification, to be enforced with effect from 10 May. “The act will ensure better coordination between the three services (army, navy, airforce) and will also bolster the integrated structure. It will prove to be a milestone in the path to India's military reforms,” the ministry said. GOLD 73,090930 ` vs $ 83.14 n a big relief, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of Delhi Chief Minister and the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal for 21 days - till 1 June, to allow him to participate in the ongoing general elections to the Lok Sabha. Granting interim bail to Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcements on 21 March, a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta ordered that he will not attend his office or go to the Delhi government secretariat during this period. The court ordered that Mr Kejriwal would surrender to jail authorities on 2 June 2024. Mr Kejriwal, the court said in its order pronounced by Justice Khanna “shall furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent” and “he shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat.” The order further stated that Mr Kejriwal “shall be bound by the statement made on his I Need to save country from dictatorship, says Kejriwal after walking out of Tihar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 MAY Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after walking out from Tihar Jail following his release on interim bail, said that everyone must come together and "fight dictatorship", as AAP supporters burst crackers and beat drums in celebration. Addressing the large gathering standing on the sunroof of a vehicle, Mr Kejriwal said that he felt very good about being among them. He said that Lord Hanu- man’s blessings he is here and thanked everyone for their support and blessings. In an appeal to people, he requested everyone to come forward to save the country. Mr Kejriwal further invited people to come and join him in large numbers at the historic Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place at 11 a.m. on Saturday to offer prayers and darshan. Large number of party workers, supporters surrounded Mr Kejriwal's convoy as it drove off from Tihar Jail. behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.” The court stipulated that Mr Kejriwal that he will not New Chinese envoy Xu arrives in Delhi AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 MAY However, the court discharged Mr Singh from the allegations made by the sixth wrestler. The court also framed charges against the second accused Vinod Tomar under section 506 (part 1) of the IPC on the allegation of one woman and discharged him in connection with the remaining allegations made against him. The court has now listed the matter for official framing of charges on 21 May. The Delhi Police chargesheet filed against Mr Singh and Vinod Tomar stated that based on the investigation so far, Brij Bhushan Singh was "liable to be prosecuted and punished for offences" of sexual harassment, molestation and stalking. A 1599-page chargesheet in the case, having statements of 44 witnesses and six statements was recorded under CrPC 164. Delhi police had filed the chargesheet against Mr Singh and Mr Tomar on 15 June last year.This case was lodged on a complaint lodged by women wrestlers. In the wrestlers' matter, two FIRs were registered against Brij Bhushan Singh based on the wrestlers' complaints. One was registered under the POCSO Act and a cancellation report has been filed in the case of a minor wrestler. The second FIR was filed on the complaint of several wrestlers. NEW DELHI, 10 MAY Amid tension between India and China over the protracted military stand-off in eastern Ladakh, newlyappointed Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong arrived here on Friday to assume office. “Arrived at dawn in Delhi today. Thanks for the warm greetings from MEA official, Dean of Diplomatic Corps H.E. Ambassador Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam of Eritrea to India, and my colleagues from the Embassy. Look forward to working hard with all for China-India relations,”Mr Xu wrote on 'X' soon after his arrival. Mr Xu is the 17th Chinese Ambassador to India. The last Chinese Ambassador to India was Sun Weidong, who left in October 2022, after serving three years in Delhi. BCCI looking for new head coach; Dravid can re-apply TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 10 MAY BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Friday said that Rahul Dravid, the incumbent men’s team head coach can re-apply for the post as the national cricket board is set to invite applications to hire a new head coach before the team heads to the US and the West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup, starting 1 June. Mr Dravid, whose twoyear contract was originally set to end after last year’s ICC ODI World Cup, was convinced to take an extension till the T20 World Cup as the BCCI invited applications for the head coach only after the incumbent coach’s tenure had ended.However, this time around, applications will be invited even before the team leaves for the T20 World Cup. “We will call for applications in the next few days. Rahul Mr Dravid, whose two-year contract was originally set to end after last year’s ICC ODI World Cup, was convinced to take an extension till the T20 World Cup as the BCCI invited applications for the head coach only after the incumbent coach’s tenure had ended. Dravid’s tenure is coming to an end in June. If he wants to re-apply, he can,” Mr Shah said during a media interaction at the BCCI headquarters. The board secretary also confirmed that the new coach will be offered a three-year contract, lasting till the 2027 ODI World Cup, and did not rule out the possibility of hiring a foreign coach depending on the decision of the Cricket Advisory Committee. “We are looking for a long-term coach for three years. Ultimately, it will be the Cricket Advisory Committee's (CAC) call. If the CAC selects a foreign coach, I can’t interfere. I have to implement what they decide,” he said. While the rest of the support staff, including the batting and bowling coaches, will be appointed in consultation with the new head coach, Mr Shah, however ruled out the possibility of appointing multi-format coaches. “There is no precedent of different coaches for different formats in Indian cricket. Besides, we have a number of all-format players,” he said. The CAC will also decide on a new national selector for which the BCCI had already advertised in January this year. The new selector is likely to replace Salil Ankola, who is the second member of the selection committee from the west zone, along with chairman Ajit Agarkar. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 83.670.21 EC pulls up Kharge after he alleges discrepancies in LS poll voting data STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 MAY Kejriwal prohibited from attending office, going to Delhi secretariat NEW DELHI, 10 MAY P12 SILVER 87,7002,500 SC allows Kejriwal interim bail till 1 Jun Delhi court orders framing of charges against ex-WFI chief A Delhi court on Friday ordered the framing of charges against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by several women wrestlers. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot, while passing the order, said there is sufficient material against Mr Singh to proceed with charges of sexual harassment of five women wrestlers and with the offence of outraging the modesty of women. The court found sufficient material to proceed against Mr Singh under sections 354 and 354 A (IPC). Charges have also been framed against him under section 506 (part 1) of the IPC on the allegations of two women. P4 PARMOD KUMAR Min. 71 % KKR LOOK TO SEAL PLAY-OFFS BERTH AGAINST MUMBAI PUNE COURT SENTENCES TWO TO LIFE TERMS FOR DABHOLKAR’S MURDER make any comment with regard to his role in the present Delhi excise policy case and that he will not interact with any of the witnesses and have access to any official files connected with the case. The court clarified that the grant of interim bail to Mr Kejriwal will not be treated as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case arising from his challenge to his arrest and the subsequent remand that is pending before the bench. The court brushed aside the Directorate of Enforcement’s opposition to the grant of interim bail to Mr Kejriwal on the grounds that no separate category of ‘politicians’ could be created for the grant of interim bail and to participate in electioneering is a “luxury” and he should approach the trial court for interim bail. Observing that at this stage, it is not possible for it to either conclude the arguments or finally pronounce the judgment, the court in its order said, “However, there is an intervening factor which has prompted us to consider and pass the present order, namely, 18th LS General Elections, which are in progress.” (PHOTO: SUBRATA DUTTA) The Election Commission of India on Friday pulled up Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and rejected his allegation of discrepancies in voting data released for the first and second phase of Lok Sabha polls. The poll panel also advised him to exercise caution and refrain from making any such statements. On Tuesday, Mr Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, wrote a letter to the leaders of INDIA parties, alleging discrepancies in the voting data released by ECI and non-publishing of registered voters. In a strongly-worded letter to the Congress president, the ECI said: “The very premise that voter turnout data was released late is devoid of facts as it has always been available on the Voter turnout app. The Commission outrightly rejects the allegation of the so-called glaring mismanagement. The allegations made by you are unwarranted and reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion on credibility of the electoral steps as they unfold in the conduct of elections.” “As a senior parliamentarian, a very seasoned politician, with experience Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge being welcomed by Telangana CM Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad on Friday.  ANI of 52 years in electoral politics and electoral processes, and as the head of a prominent national political party, you must be aware that ECI follows the most transparent process of preparation of electoral roll and well designed and well tested participation of the political parties/candidates at every stage of the process, and thus the fact that all political parties know number of electors at every stage repeat at every stage of the election process,” it said. The poll panel pointed out that utterances from the president of a national political party “attacking the very credibility of the electoral steps and processes can have a negative impact on voter participation and can be seen as a means to deter an elector from exercising their franchise and/or demoralising the huge number of election staff and machinery which is mainly drawn from the respective state governments.” The ECI said it has found Mr Kharge’s communication placed in public domain in the middle of the ongoing election process “highly undesirable and one that appears designed to create confusion / misdirection to the conduct of smooth, free and fair elections.” Reacting to the ECI's letter, Congress general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: “The response of the ECI to the issues raised by the Congress president in his letter to the INDIA parties is simply beyond description. "The EC is a Constitutional body entrusted with the responsibility of being an impartial body that ensures, and is seen to ensure, a level-playing field to all political parties. Both the content and intent of the letter will be a permanent blot on the reputation of an institution that can boast of luminaries like Sukumar Sen, TN Seshan, JM Lyngdoh and others. “The Congress president had raised perfectly legitimate issues, on which there have been widespread concern and comment. The approach of the EC to addressing these issues is deeply regrettable,” he said. ‘Cong agenda anti-development & anti-national’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, 10 MAY Stepping up his attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged that its agenda was antidevelopment and anti-nation and recalled the serial blasts of Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad to accuse the Opposition party of opting for a soft attitude towards terrorism during its tenure. Mr Modi addressed two consecutive rallies today, first in Mahabubnagar, followed by Hyderabad in the last leg of his campaign in Telangana where polling will be held on 13May for 17 Lok Sabha seats. Accusing the Congress government in Telangana of lining their own pockets with central funds, Mr Modi said it has become a photocopy of the BRS and a manufacturing hub of fake videos. He then urged voters not to waste their vote on the BRS since it would only help the Congress, particularly as the latter would not be able to form Security forces kill 12 Maoists in Chhattisgarh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE RAIPUR, 10 MAY government at the Centre. His speech in Mahabubnagar was liberally peppered with allegations that the “Congress was out to make Hindus second class citizens in their own country” and that the Opposition party “hates Hindus”. Attacking Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Before elections the “Shahzada” of Congress had come up with his ‘Mohabbat ke dukan'(shop of love). But once elections arrived, he is got busy mixing poison in society.” Taking a jibe at Sam Pitroda, he said the Congress feels Ram Mandir should not have been built and the temple and observing the festival of Ram Navami were against the very idea of India. Speaking on the reservations for Muslim under the OBC quota, the prime minister alleged: “Congress knows this will increase illegal conversion but is still not backing out because the party does not care either for the Hindus or for the country.” “Between Congress’ antidevelopment and anti-national agenda there is only one rock which is standing and that is Modi,” he declared. In Hyderabad, the prime minister spoke a few lines of the local dialect, Dakhni, as he said: “Telangana is saying Congress nakko (no) BRS Cong leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s Pakistan remarks stir controversy STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 MAY Security forces in Chhattisgarh killed at least twelve Maoist insurgents in a fierce encounter in the dense jungles of Pidiya in the Gangalur area, located in southern Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, on Friday. Following the operation, the bodies of the insurgents were recovered. Two security personnel from DRG (District Reserve Guards) and STF (Special Task Force) sustained injuries and have been airlifted to Raipur for further treatment. Joint operations were launched by forces in Dantewada, Bijapur, and Sukma districts after reports indicated the presence of several high-ranking Maoist leaders. CMYK nakko, MIM nakko BJP koinch jitayenge (We will ensure BJP’s victory),” much to the delight of the massive crowd that had gathered to listen to his speech. Displaying his customary oratory skills, he went on to say that on 4 June, the country would win, and the Opposition would lose and so would all those who had opposed the CAA, the Uniform Civil Code and spoke of vote jihad, and supported Article 370, Triple Talaq, corruption and appeasement. He said BRS and the Congress had let loose the AIMIM in the Old City area. The prime minister advised the older generation to share with first generation voters about the situation of the country during Congress rule. Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who was also in Telangana, slammed the prime minister and his party for skirting around the key issues and choosing to only abuse the Congress. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has caused another embarassment for his party after an old interview of his, in which he had stated, “India should give respect to Pakistan as it has an atom bomb”, was widely circulated on social media. The Congress has distanced itself from Mr Aiyar’s remarks and said the party totally disagrees with what he had said. The latest controversy came days after Sam Pitroda created a storm with remarks in an interview to The Statesman that were attacked as racist, following which he resigned from the post of Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. Notably, in December 2017, Mr Aiyar was suspended from the party for his “neech aadmi” remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His suspension was revoked later. In a post on X, Congress’ Chairman of Media and Publicity Department Pawan Khera said: “Indian National Congress dissociates itself completely from and disagrees totally with some remarks made by Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar few months back which have been revived today by the BJP in its attempt to deflect attention from Prime Minister Modi’s daily goof ups. Mr Aiyer does not speak for the party in any capacity whatsoever.” “The Indian National Congress and indeed the entire nation recalls with pride that in December 1971 Pakistan was broken and an independent Bangladesh emerged thanks to Indira Gandhi's decisive and determined leadership and the valour of our armed forces," he stated in a series of posts. Mr Khera further said: "Almost exactly 50 years ago on May 18, 1974 under the leadership of Indiraji, India's nuclear capability was announced to the world. The Indian National Congress has always believed that our decision making should be guided by supreme national interest.”