HYDERABAD THURSDAY MAY 16, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE CITY EDITION FIRST SET OF 14 PEOPLE GRANTED INDIAN CITIZENSHIP UNDER CAA Citizenship certificates were handed over to 14 people by Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla at a special function held in Delhi CERTIFICATES SENT TO A FEW HUNDRED OTHERS GREAT TO BE INDIAN, SAYS EX-REFUGEE FROM PAK Digitally signed certificates are also being sent to a few hundred other applicants through email, sources said. It comes nearly two months after the rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were notified. Union Home Minister Amit Shah called it a “historic day” and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled a promise made at the time of independence | P7 ■ ■ The CAA was enacted to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted nonMuslim migrants from three countries — Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — who had arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014 Bharat Kumar who was among the 14 and had come from Pakistan said, “It is a great feeling to be an Indian. It has given me a new life” Dec 2019 WHEN THE CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT WAS ENACTED CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI U.P. DIARIES A TRYST WITH DESTINY THAT WASN’T TO BE has shifted to adjoining Rae Bareli, he looms large even in his absence. Mostly beSANTWANA BHATTACHARYA cause his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is quite visiEDITOR bly there. Even though the Congress has appointed Rampur MLA Aradhana AMETHI: Amethi is wait- Mishra ‘Mona’ as the party ing for Godot. Or for a Gan- poll in-charge for Amethi, dhi. Not just for a 53-year- Priyanka is managing the old with that name, but electioneering here along something inclusive of that with Rae Bareli, like a safe— and more than that. A keeper of the legacy vote. Nehru-Gandhi did not get All around the constituinto a direct contest here, ency the pockmarked narra, but had long-time aide K L tive of Indian democracy reSharma stand in. Those veals itself. Amethi moves within and outside through its village dirtwho had betted big on tracks and peri-urban a re-run of 2019 are roadways at a groandisappointed. The ing pace, as if caught gladiatorial fight in a time zone of that was to be is now struggle all its own. substantially downBut also representaTHIRD OF A scaled. But a fight is FOUR-PART SERIES tive, at once, of the on, albeit by proxy, cracks in the India and reduced to a scrimmage story. Despite its seeming of competitive accusations. mundaneness, the Amethi Even while abandoning Ra- electorate stands witness to hul in 2019, it’s as if Amethi history Its creation, in 1967, . kept up its love for high-pro- was coeval with the unfoldfile contests, as if to keep ing of the crucial post-Nehru itself in the reckoning by phase in modern Indian polidefault, its own little tryst tics. Since then, it has in a with destiny . way reflected the mood of They are getting one, even the nation at all the cusp moif in an abridged version. ments. Electing a Congress Smriti Irani, Union minis- candidate, Vidya Dhar Bater and the BJP’s prime jpai, as its first MP, going commentator-critic on all with the Janata Party candithings Nehru-Gandhi, has date in 1977 and a BJP candistayed put to defend her date in 1998 and 2019. CONTINUED ON: P7 turf. Though Rahul Gandhi ‘MCC heist’: Plotter ends life, 2 cops suspended CHIEF SECRETARY OF AP SUMMONED BY ECI | P5 7.65L acres of TG forest encroached Govt tells NGT in interim report that 11.48% of Telangana’s forest area ‘taken over’ illegally M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY TG’S PROMISE TO NGT @ Hyderabad LAKHS of acres of forest land in Telangana, worth hundreds of crores, have been encroached, the state government says. According to an interim report submitted by the state government to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which is hearing a case on encroachment of forests in the country approxi, mately 7.65 lakh acres of forest land in Telangana have been encroached. As per the interim report, the total geographical area of the state is 2.77 crore acres. Of this, the area covered by forests is 66.54 lakh acres. Out of this, 7.65 lakh acres of forest land have been encroached, the report said. The encroached for- CABINET TO MEET ON SATURDAY The chief minister has decided to hold a Cabinet meeting on May 18 where pending bifurcation issues will be discussed. Apart from this, farm loan waiver, procurement of grain and next kharif crop will be discussed. Chief minister reiterates commitment of his government to waive farm loans up to `2 lakh by August 15, directs officials to make necessary arrangements for that purpose Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has been asked to prepare a detailed evidencebased encroachment identification and transparent reporting system The matter of encroachments would be taken up in the District Forest Protection Committee meetings for suitable action est area is 11.48% of the total area, it added. It may be mentioned here that the state government informed the NGT that it is taking steps to curb encroachments in forest areas. The state government also informed the Revanth directs officials to prepare to take over buildings allotted to AP EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad WITH the state set to celebrate 10 years of its formation on June 2, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday directed officials to prepare a comprehensive report on pending issues related to distribution of assets and debts between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Revanth also directed the authorities to prepare for taking over buildings like the Lakeview Guesthouse that was allocated to AP since Hyderabad will no longer be the common capital after June 2, as per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. The officials were asked to include details of all matters over which the two states have reached consensus. With the Lok Sabha election process ending in the state, Revanth turned his focus on governance. On Wednesday the , chief minister, along with ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy held a , meeting with officials of various de par tments. Enquiring from the officials about the grain procurement process, Revanth directed them to take steps to ensure farmers do not face any trouble. During the discussion on pending issues between the two states, officials informed the CM that division of organisa- tions and corporations mentioned in Schedules 9 and 10 of AP Reorganisation Act has not yet been completed. He was told that there was no consensus between the two states on many issues. The dues of the power companies remain uncleared, officials said. Responding to this, Revanth asked the officials about the efforts made so far to build consensus on pending issues. The action plan to be adopted to do so was discussed. The CM also directed officials to focus on issues like transfers of employees that can be resolved amicably He told them . to protect the interests of Telangana in all pending matters. Will give outside support to INDIA bloc, says Mamata S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata WEST Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed she will provide outside support to the Opposition’s INDIA bloc if it comes to power at the Centre, but redefined the contours of the alliance to exclude the CPM and the Bengal chapter of the Congress from it. Addressing a rally at Hooghly Mamata said, “We will pro, vide leadership to the INDIA alliance, and help them in every way from outside. We will form a government so that in Bengal our mothers and sisters never face a problem and those who work in the 100-daysjob scheme do not f ace problems.” Her antipathy for the CPM and the state Congress led by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is well known. According to political analyst Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Mamata seems to be trying to keep the triangular contest between the TMC, the BJP and the Left-Congress alliance alive so that the anti-TMC votes do not polarise in favour of the BJP . She doesn’t want the BJP’s charge that the TMC, Congress and the Left are together, to find any credence, Snigdhendu said. NewsClick editor gets bail at last S W E T H A V I M A L A M @ Hyderabad A youth who meticulously planned a heist of `25 lakh, with the help of his friends in police during the election period, ended his life, cops said. Ranjith, who came to know that his cousin was arranging transportation of money, informed his relative Krishna, a head constable and Srikanth, a constable. The trio then hatched a plan to intercept the vehicle carrying the cash while the election code was in force and split the money among themselves. As per the plan, they seized the cash on May 11. However, they neither reported the seizure nor informed their seniors. To their misfortune, an eyewitness alerted the police the same day “A civilian alerted . me that some cops in my police station were involved in the case and had misused their positions,” Keesara inspector A Venkataiah told TNIE. “When Ranjith learnt that his cousin was illegally transporting money through two persons, he told the two cops,” the inspector said. Following an investigation, the police seized the cash from the trio. “We deposited the cash in the grievance cell and alerted the Income Tax department,” a senior official said. The inquiry report was submitted to Rachakonda Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi who then issued suspension orders to the two cops. Meanwhile, Ranjith allegedly died by suicide on May 12. His mother lodged a complaint with the Medipally police. The police said that though Ranjith held a degree, he was unable to secure a proper job. “He was worried that if he was exposed, the bar where he was working would fire him,” the police said. NGT that apart from regular patrolling by forest beat officers, regular inspections are being carried out to stop felling of trees and check encroachments. Also, the forest department has set up 174 base camps and 64 checkposts, the NGT was informed. In addition, there are nine flying squad parties at the regional level as well as two vigilance parties and one antipoaching squad at the state level exclusively for forest protection, the government said. It also brought to the notice of the NGT that it has established a crime control cell and a toll-free number at the state headquarters for registering calls pertaining to forest offence cases, poaching activities, smuggling of forest produce, encroachment and complaints against the staff. Meanwhile, activists say that despite putting in so much effort, it seems that the state government is unable to protect forest land. S U C H I T R A M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi ON THE MARK Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra unleashes his javelin prowess during the Men’s javelin throw event at the 27th National Federation Senior Athletics Competition 2024, held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar | SHIBA PRASAD SAHU NEWSCLICK founder and chief editor Prabir Purkayastha was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday after the Supreme Court invalidated his arrest and subsequent remand in the UAPA case. Purkayastha was arrested in October last year under antiterror UAPA for allegedly receiving money to spread proChina propaganda in India. Observing that the right to life and personal liberty was the most sacrosanct fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution, the court said any person arrested under UAPA or other offences has a fundamental and a statutory right to be informed about the grounds of arrest in writing. “There is no hesitation in the mind of the court to reach a con- DELHI COURT ISSUES GAG ORDER A Delhi court while issuing bail to NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha directed him not to comment on the merits of the case or tamper with the evidence. He must not contact any witnesses or approver in the case clusion that the copy of the remand application in the purported exercise of communication of the grounds of arrest in writing was not provided to the accused appellant (Purkayastha) or his counsel before passing of the order of remand dated October 4, 2023 which vitiates the arrest and subsequent remand of the appellant,” a two-judge bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said. “Any other interpretation would tantamount to diluting the sanctity of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India,” it said. The bench said the right to be informed about the grounds of arrest flows from Article 22(1) of the Constitution. Soon after the verdict, a Delhi court issued the release order for Purkayastha. According to the FIR against him, the news portal he runs allegedly received huge amounts of money from China to “disrupt the sovereignty of India” and cause disaffection against the country . BLANK SCREEN Patronage dwindling, single-screen theatres in Telangana to shut for 10 days ABHILASHA CHERUKURI @ Hyderabad THE Telangana Theatres Association (TTA) announced on Wednesday that single-screen halls across the state will be shut for the next 10 days. Starting May 17, the 450-odd single-screen theatres in the state will remain closed till May 26. Rapidly diminishing footfall has been cited as the key reason behind this move. Vijayender Reddy, the president of the State Film Exhibitors Association, was quoted by PTI as saying that the daily expense incurred by an average single screen ranges from `10,000 to `12,000 in small towns and between `15,000 to `18,000 in Hyderabad. However, the theatres are not even able to earn even `4,000 per day. This number drops further for smaller films. In such a situation, added with the lack of notable releases in the recent past or the foreseeable future, the association has decided to take the drastic step of shutting theatres for some time. However, theatre owners would be willing to screen films provided any producer comes forward and pays the theatre management directly to screen their films. At the time of filing this report, Krishnamma, Prathinidhi 2, Aa Okkati Adakku, Prasanna Vadanam and Aarambham were the Telugu films currently running in theatres in Hyderabad, mostly multiplexes. Raju Yadav, a film starring Jabardasth-fame actor Getup Srinu, is scheduled to release on May 17. Sources informed TNIE that the film will be ‘mostly postponing their release’, in light of the statewide theatre shutdown. It may be noted that the two other noteworthy releases on May 17, File picture of Sandhya theatre in Hyderabad namely Baahubali: Crown of Blood, a Disney + Hotstar original animated series based on Rajamouli’s epic Baahubali duology and Vidya Vasula Aham, an AHA original romantic drama starring Shivani Rajashekar and Rahul Vijay, are OTT releases. A vacuum in theatrical releases is expected to persist till May 31, which is when four films, including the Vishwak Sen-starrer Gangs of Godavari and Satyabhama, a police drama headlined by Kajal Aggarwal, are scheduled to hit the screens. The plight of the single screens has been worsened by shorter theatrical windows, where films are streaming on OTT platforms in less than a month of its digital release, irrespective of the film’s scale or success at the box office. This issue has been disincentivising theatre owners and the entire theatrical ecosystem for a while now, which includes distributors and exhibitors.
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