WEDNESDAY 15 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 ‘BJP LEVELLING FALSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OPPOSITION’ PUTIN TO MAKE A STATE VISIT TO CHINA THIS WEEK P9 SENSEX 73,104.61328.48 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 42 AND 25 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 77 % Min. 21 % Max: 40.6 °C (+1) SUN RISES 05:30 hrs MOON RISES 11:52 hrs Min: 23.9 °C (-1) SUN SETS 19:05 hrs MOON SETS 01:30 hrs TEMPERATURE P10 NIFTY 22,217.85113.80 A monkey drinks water on a hot summer day, in New Delhi on Tuesday.  ANI WPI inflation for April shoots to 1.26 per cent at 13-month-high: For the month of m h April, the annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is 1.26 per cent (Provisional) over April, 2023, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Tuesday. Positive rate of inflation in April 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food items, electricity, crude petroleum and natural gas, manufacture of food products, other manufactur(Page 8) ing etc. ` vs $ 83.51 Top NDA leaders were present for the event in ruling alliance’s show of strength STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE VARANASI/ NEW DELHI, 14 MAY rime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat for the third time on Tuesday. Before filing his nomination, the Prime Minister offered prayers to Maa Ganga and Kashi Kotwal Kaal Bhairav. Mr Modi filed his nomination in the District Electoral Officer's office at the Collectorate during ‘Pushya Nakshatra’ at around 11.45 a.m. PM Modi was accompanied by Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri, one of his proposers, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the DM's office during the nomination process. Along with Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri, the other proposers for Mr Modi were Jan Sangh worker Baijnath Patel, BJP worker Lalchand Kushwaha and Varanasi BJP district general secretary Sanjay Sonkar. In a show of strength, Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan as he filed his nomination papers for the Lok ANI Sabha elections, in Varanasi on Tuesday. top leaders of the BJP-led NDA, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, and LJP's Chirag Paswan, gathered outside the Varanasi Collectorate as Mr Modi filed his nomination papers. He was accompanied by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and other NDA leaders. On the auspicious day STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 MAY complaints, excluding canvassing related or clarificatory complaints have been filed by various political parties and candidates at the level of ECI and CEOs. Of these, action has been taken (or matter disposed of) in 400 cases. Approximately 170, 95 and 160 complaints were filed by Congress, BJP and others respectively. Most of these complaints have been acted upon,” it said. The ECI said a few com- plaints of the Congress and BJP against each other are pending alleging violation of MCC broadly in the genre of divisive statements by top star campaigners on communal, caste, regional language divide, or on sanctity of the Constitution of India. In one of the complaints filed by Telangana Congress, Bharat Rashta Samithi (BRS) president and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was barred for 48 hours from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, shows and interviews and public utterances in media for making statements violating MCC during a press meet, it said. The poll panel said that a total of 4,22,432 complaints have been filed on C-Vigil App/Commission’s portal on violations for citizens as on 14 May. Of these, action has been taken in 4,22,079 cases. of Ganga Saptami, the Prime Minister first performed Ganga puja at Dashashwamedh Ghat in the morning at around 09.30. The Prime Minister also went on a cruise from Dashashwamedh Ghat to Adi Keshav Ghat and then disembarked at Namo Ghat. From Namo Ghat, the Prime Minister went to Kashi's Kotwal Kaal Bhairav for darshan, puja, and aarti. Subsequently, he proceeded to the Col- lectorate. At the temple gate, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented the PM with an 'angavastra' (shoulder cloth or stole) while the public showered flower petals on him. The entire temple and surrounding area echoed with the chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev." Today is the last day for filing of nominations for the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha polls where polling is scheduled on 1 June. The PM is contesting against Congress' Ajai Rai and Bahujan Samajwadi Party's Athar Ali Lari. In the 2019 elections Mr Modi won the seat by nearly 4.8 lakh votes, a big jump from his 3.72 lakh winning margin in 2014. "Our strength is our unity. Today, the entire NDA participated in the nomination process of PM Modi. This unity will help us achieve our target of winning more than 400 seats," Mr Paswan said. Jan Sena chief Pawan Kalyan said he was fortunate to be an NDA partner. "I've STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 14 MAY In the heat of West Bengal's political battleground, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday intensified his rhetoric, taking aim at state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Mr Shah, while addressing a gathering in Bongaon, a bastion of the Matua community, accused Miss Banerjee of misleading the public regarding the CAA. He contended that those eligible will receive citizenship without any hindrance. “Mamata Banerjee is misleading the people by saying that applying for CAA will attract trouble. I want to assure all of you that no one will be in trouble. You will get citizenship and stay in the country with dignity. No power in the world can stop Hindu, Sikh, and Jain refugees from becoming citizens of the country." “I want to remind Mamata Banerjee that grating citizenship is within the authority of the Union government and the state government,” he said. Mr Shah addressed two public rallies in his visit to the state, the first being in the Matua stronghold of Bongaon in support of BJP MP candidate Shantanu Thakur. Mr Shah didn't mince words, alleging corruption and malpractice within Miss Banerjee’s administration. He questioned Miss Banerjee’s governance, highlighting instances of alleged financial irregularities involving her ministers. "Have any of you ever seen Rs 50 crore together in your lifetime? One of their ministers has amassed Rs 50 crore. Mamata Didi, what about this Rs 50 crore? Shouldn't that minister be jailed?" Mr Shah asked, challenging Miss Banerjee to respond. The verbal jousting intensified as Mr Shah questioned Miss Banerjee motives behind her allegations against the Election Commission of India and her handling of various issues, including the Narada scam and coal smuggling. He accused Miss Banerjee of patronising syndicates and criminal elements while obstructing development projects, blaming Congress, Trinamul Congress (TMC), and Left parties for hindering progress in the state. PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 14 MAY PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 14 MAY In a big relief to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted him bail, lifting its stay on the December 2023 Bombay High Court order that had granted bail to the activist. A bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice S V N Bhatti lifted the stay on the Bombay High Court order that had granted bail to Navlakha, noting that he has already undergone incarceration for four years and the charges in the case have not been framed and it would take years for the trial to conclude. The bench in its order said: “Prima facie we are of the view that there is no need for extending the interim order (Details on P5) of stay. JAMMU, 14 MAY old and highly strategic 200 Km stretch which connects South Kashmir and Jammu region to the West of Jammu & Kashmir. It connects important border districts of Akhnoor, Rajouri and Poonch. There are four major tunnels in this stretch viz Kandi Tunnel, Sungal Tunnel, Naushera Tunnel and Bhimber Gali Tunnel. This year on 28 January, Amit Shah challenges Mamata over CAA CJI to take call on listing of plea seeking SIT probe into electoral bond scandal STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE ny, which signifies a major breakthrough in construction activity of the tunnel. The breakthrough underscores the importance of this project signifying a major step forward in enhancing regional connectivity and facilitating smoother transportation along the National Highway. Akhnoor-Poonch, “The Golden Arc Road” is a very been fortunate to be an NDA partner. I adore and respect Modi ji. Andhra Pradesh is a clean sweep for the NDA," Mr Kalyan said. Maharashtra CM Shinde called Mr Modi's nomination filing from Varanasi a "historic day" and exuded confidence in the NDA breaking the record of the 2014 and 2019 general elections. "Today is a historic day. PM Modi filed his nomination today. People are excited to vote for PM Modi. All records of 2014, and 2019 will be broken this time and Modi will become the PM for the third time...Our mission (of winning 45 seats) in Maharashtra will be successful," Mr Shinde said. BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP State President Bhupendra Chaudhary and BJP's national media chief and Garhwal candidate Anil Baluni were present outside the collectorate. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.900.46 SC grants bail to Gautam Navlakha in 2018 Bhima Koregaon case The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud will take a call on the listing of a petition by NGOs Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking direction for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct an independent and courtmonitored probe into the alleged instances of quid pro quo involving the funding of several political parties through electoral bonds by different corporate entities, including shell and lossmaking companies, and the alleged consequential gains accruing to them. Both the NGOs have said that the alleged scam amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees through electoral bonds can be unravelled only through an inde- BRO achieves tunnel breakthrough on strategic Akhnoor-Poonch border highway The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on Tuesday achieved breakthrough for the 2.79 km-long Sungal Tunnel on the strategic Akhnoor (Jammu district) Poonch highway that links the militarily sensitive areas along the Line of Control (LoC) with the Pakistanoccupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK). A defence spokesman said that the construction of the pivotal infrastructure project National Highway 144A connecting Akhnoor to Poonch reached a significant milestone as the breakthrough ceremony for the Sungal Tunnel took place. The tunnel spanning an impressive 2,790 meters is a crucial link connecting Akhnoor and Poonch. Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt General Raghu Srinivasan reviewed the breakthrough ceremo- P12 SILVER 87,200 GOLD 74,520.00 Modi files nomination from Varanasi LS seat 90 pc complaints disposed of, says EC; some cases involving star campaigners pending The Election Commission on Tuesday said it disposed of 90 per cent of complaints filed by political parties over alleged violations of the model code of conduct, which came into effect following the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls on 16 March. Providing an update on the status of action taken under the model code of conduct (MCC), it said: “So far, 25 delegations from 16 political parties have met the Commission to lodge their grievances/complaints on alleged violations of Model code. Apart from this, many delegations have met at the level of Chief Electoral Officer in the States. All political parties have been promptly allocated time even at short notice and their grievances patiently heard.” “Approximately 425 major P4 P THUMBNAILS NEERAJ IN A DOMESTIC TOURNAMENT FIRST TIME SINCE 2021 HD REVANNA WALKS OUT OF JAIL breakthrough of Naushera Tunnel was achieved signifying the efforts of BRO towards providing connectivity across the areas of Rajouri and Poonch. The progress of National Highway has taken pace and the project is expected to be completed by 2026. During his address, DGBR Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan mentioned that BRO was spearheading crucial road projects to connect remote areas with major centres in the Jammu-Poonch region. The Jammu-Poonch link, advancing rapidly, is on track for completion in the next few years. On being asked about defence infrastructure along LoC, the DGBR mentioned that development of Defence Infrastructure is a continuous process and Border Roads Organisation is committed towards strengthening it by building and upgrading strategic roads all along the international border, LoC and Line of Actual Control (LAC). BRO and Project Sampark is steadfast in its commitment to "Create, Connect, Care" and save lives of the citizens of its area of responsibility. It believes in the adage “Roads Build Nation” and rededicated itself to the construction of border roads infrastructures to spur socioeconomic progress. pendent probe by the SIT under the supervision of the Supreme Court. “Don't worry, that matter is with the CJI, Secretariat, they will be fixing a date,” said Justice Sanjiv Khanna heading a bench before which advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the plea for an early hearing.The plea by the NGOs - Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation - had sought direction to the authorities to investigate the source of funding of the shell and loss-making companies that made donations to various political parties, as has emerged from the data of the electoral bonds. The NGOs have sought the recovery of the amount donated to the political parties by the corporates as a part of the give-and-take arrangement where the donations are found to be the proceeds of crime. The petition says that the data which has come into the public domain after it was disclosed to the Election Commission of India by the State Bank of India in pursuance of the top court's direction reveals that the bulk of the bonds appears to have been purchased and given by certain corporates to different political parties by way of an alleged quid pro quo arrangements either to secure government contracts or licences, or to secure protection from investigations by the CBI, Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate; and as consideration for favourable policy changes. It further says that the data shows that various loss-making and shell companies were donating huge sums to political parties and these shell companies were used as conduits to launder illicit money through electoral bonds. MHA warns against blackmail, ‘digital arrest’ by cyber criminals posing as govt agency officers STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 MAY The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday alerted citizens against extortion and ‘Digital Arrest’ by cyber fraudsters posing as officials of State/Union Territory Police, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other law enforcement agencies. The MHA said a large number of complaints have been reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Across the country, several victims have lost large amounts of money to the fraudsters. This is an organised online economic crime and is learnt to be operated by cross-border crime syndicates, the MHA said. The fraudsters typically The MHA said a large number of complaints have been reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Across the country, several victims have lost large amounts of money to the fraudsters. call a potential victim, “informing” that the victim has sent, or is the intended recipient of a parcel, which contains illegal goods, drugs, fake passports or any other contraband item. Sometimes, they also claim that a near or dear one of the victim has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody. Thereafter, a demand for money is made to compromise the “case”. In cer- tain instances, unsuspecting victims are made to undergo “Digital Arrest” and remain visually available over Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met. The fraudsters are known to use studios modeled on Police Stations and government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates activities related to combating cybercrime in the country. The MHA is closely working with other Ministries and their agencies, RBI and other organisations to counter these frauds. I4C is also providing inputs and technical support to police authorities of States/UTs for identifying and investigating the cases.