SATURDAY 18 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 RAIN THREAT LOOMS OVER RCB-CSK CLASH ‘I AM HANDING OVER MY RAHUL TO YOU’ ‘SOUTHERN STATES WILL BOOST BJP TALLY’ ‘THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY’ RETURNS TO HAUNT ON NETFLIX P10 P7 P11 SENSEX 73,917.03253.31 WEATHER Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 38 °C and 30°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 72% Min. 54% Max: 38.3°C SUN RISES 04:55 hrs MOON RISES 13:46 hrs Min: 30.5°C SUN SETS 18:11 hrs MOON SETS 01:36 hrs TEMPERATURE NIFTY 22,466.1062.25 ` vs $ 83.33 GOLD 75,485.00 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 80.850.05 Maliwal case: BJP’s bid to frame Delhi CM, says AAP NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 17 MAY he Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday was embroiled in a major controversy over the alleged assault on the party's sitting Rajya Sabha Member Swati Maliwal on 13 May by a close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with Ms Maliwal lodging a complaint with police, In her complaint, Ms Maliwal accuses Bibhav Kumar, Mr Kejriwal’s aide, of slapping, dragging and hitting her in the chest, stomach and the pelvic area On Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) went on the attack against its own MP claiming that the alle, gations levelled by Ms Maliwal are “false and baseless”. The party also accused Ms Maliwal of working at the behest of the BJP to target the Chief Minister. The latest statement of the AAP on the matter came days after senior party leader Sanjay Singh said what happened with her was highly condemnable Maliwal has alleged that Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar slapped her “at least seven to eight times” and "brutally dragged" her while kicking her in her "chest, stomach and pelvis area." T THUMBNAILS Artistes perform during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's roadshow supporting BJP candidate Sanjay Seth ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, in Ranchi on Friday.  ANI No relief for Hemant Soren from Supreme Court: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to immediately consider the plea filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking interim release to enable him to campaign during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. However, the Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, asked the federal anti-money laundering agency to file its reply, including (P5) the interim relief, by 20 May. and that Mr Kejriwal has taken cognizance of the matter and would take strict action in this regard. On Friday evening, Bibhav Kumar filed a countercomplaint with the Civil Lines police, accusing Ms Maliwal of having forced her way into the CM’s residence and creating a ruckus there, and assaulting him. Earlier in the day, Delhi's Tis Hazari court recorded the statement of Ms Maliwal, who is a former head of the Delhi Commission for Women, in the assault case. An FIR has been lodged against Mr Kumar and other persons on her complaint. Metropolitan Magistrate Katyayni Shar- ma Kandwal recorded Ms Maliwal's statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. According to the FIR, Ms Maliwal, in her complaint, has alleged that Mr Kejriwal's personal secretary, Bibhav Kumar, “slapped” her “at least seven to eight times” while she “continued screaming" and "brutally dragged" her while "kicking" her in her "chest, stomach and pelvis area." Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, AAP minister Atishi said: “Ever since Arvind Kejriwal ji came out of jail, BJP has been rattled. In this sequence, BJP hatched a conspiracy and Swati Maliwal ji was made the face of it. She reached the Chief Minister’s residence without any appointment and she wanted to accuse the Chief Minister, but the Chief Minister was not there at that time so he was saved. After that allegations were levelled against Bibhav Kumar.” Referring to a purported video of the alleged incident of 13 May that surfaced on social media, she said: “A video surfaced today has exposed the truth of Swati Maliwal ji's allegations. In the FIR to Delhi Police, Swati ji has claimed that she was brutally beaten. Her head was hit and clothes were torn. But nothing like There will be consequences of cross-border terrorism: EAM tells Pak ECI releases final data of fourth phase STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 MAY NEW DELHI, 17 MAY people of India made it very clear in 2014 that they are not going to accept cross-border terrorism. ]Tolerance for cross-border terrorism is very low and that is why. India's surgical strikes in 2016 and aerial strikes in 2019 on terror camps in Pakistan crossborder strikes were a clear message to Pakistan, he added. “It's clear that there will be consequences both across LoC and IB if something like this happens. Now, the ball is in their (Pakistan) court. If they wind down this industry they have created, then people will treat them as a normal neighbour. If they make this their core competence that will define their image. We have been straight with them,” he said. On China, Mr Jaishankar said there are at least three aspects to the issues with Beijing. The fundamental aspect is, if peace and tranquility in border areas are disturbed, ''there can't be normal business with someone who has just barged into your drawing room and is trying to make a mess of your house fencing.'' He said another issue between the two countries over the last 20 years is the trade imbalance. “In the long run, we will have to see how we encourage domestic sourcing and manufacturing,” he said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE More than 69 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the fourth phase of voting in Lok Sabha elections, as per the final figures issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday. A voter turnout of 69.16 per cent was recorded in the fourth phase for 96 Parliamentary constituencies in the ongoing elections, the ECI said in a statement. Male turnout was recorded at 69.58 per cent, female at 68.73 per cent and third gender at 34.23 per cent, it said. Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest turnout at 80.66 per cent, followed by West Bengal at 80.22 per cent and Odisha 754.68 per cent. Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats in the fourth phase, for which voting took place on 13 May, 25 were in Andhra Pradesh, 17 in Telangana, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, eight each in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five in Bihar, four each in Jharkhand and Odisha and one in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June. The first phase of polling was held on 19 April, second on 26 April and third phase on 7 May. The first phase recorded 66.14 per cent voter turnout, second 66.71 per cent and third 65.68 per cent. The fifth phase of elections is scheduled on 20 May. SC notice to ECI The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the ECI on a plea by an NGO seeking direction to immediately upload details of votes polled, recorded at all the polling stations after the close of polling of each phase in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha election. The ECI was asked to respond within a week’s time. Modi will change Constitution, take away SC, ST, OBC rights: Mamata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Miss Banerjee urged people not to get swayed by the ‘lies’ uttered by Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. KOLKATA, 17 MAY Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Friday urged people not to vote for Narendra Modi, who she said will change the Indian Constitution and take away the rights of SC, ST and OBC people. “Those who did not take part in the Indian freedom movement are now talking about nationalism. The BJP has sold the country, sold our religion and now they are attempting to take away our rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution framed by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” she said while addressing a gathering at Ghatal in West Midnapore. Trinamul’s nominee in Ghatal is Dipak Adhikari alias Dev, actor-turnedpolitician who is the sitting MP from the constituency. The BJP has fielded Hiranmay Chattopadhyay against Dev. SILVER 89,100 Party Rajya Sabha MP’s allegations against Arvind Kejriwal’s aide false and baseless: Atishi Full Moon on 23 May External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that there will be consequences if it continues to indulge in cross-border terrorism and underlined that the people of India will treat Pakistan as a 'normal neighbour' if it closes down the terrorist industry functioning in that country. "We have struggled continuously with the fact that they (Pakistan) have unrelentingly practised terrorism. The attitude in our country used to be to put up with terrorism as an eccentricity of a neighbour...that's the way they are and we have to live with it (has changed). Now, the tolerance for any type of cross-border terrorism in our country is very low,'' he said at the CII annual summit. Mr Jaishankar said the P12 Miss Banerjee had earlier addressed a gathering at Gopiballavpur which falls under Jhargram Lok Sabha seat. Trinamul’s nominee from here is Kalipada Soren. Miss Banerjee also took part in a road show from Kharagpur College Ground to BNR Ground, which falls under Medinipur Lok Sabha seat. Trinamul’s nominee is June Malliah. BJP has fielded Agnimitra Paul against her. At Ghatal, Miss Banerjee urged people to elect Dev for the second time as he works for the people of his constituency. “During the Covid pandemic, Dev sent food to the people. He has spoken about Ghatal masterplan over and again and I assure him that it would be implemented in four years,” she said. Miss Banerjee urged people not to get swayed by the ‘lies’ uttered by Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. “Modi will come here and speak lies. We have kept all our promises like Lakshmir Bhandar, free ration, financial assistance to farmers worth Rs 10,000 annually and student credit card among others. But Modi has not kept his promises. Rs 15 lakh has not been deposited in your bank account and 2 crore youths did not get jobs annually. His guarantee means falsehood. Don’t trust him,” she said. At Gopiballavpur, Miss Banerjee again attacked the Prime Minister, saying: “In 2019 he came and made false assurance which people had believed. They have understood now that they have been deceived. Vote for us for uninterrupted development.” She said a university, super specialty hospital, stadium and bridges have come up in Jhargram. It has become a tourist hotspot now, she added. Miss Banerjee recollected that she was first brought to the area by Chatradhar Mahato in 2008. “I had been to Lalgarh and people did not dare to cross Pirakata forest. Later, I came to the area a number of times and won the confidence of people. After we won in 2011, the first meeting was held at Nayagram,” she said. She said people of Jhargram over the years have realised their mistake of electing a BJP candidate. She urged people to “vote to defeat Modi to save the country and our Constitution”. The BJP had won Jhargram Lok Sabha seat in 2019. CMYK this is visible in the video.” “The video shows the opposite. She is sitting comfortably on the sofa and threatening the police officials and Bibhav Kumar ji in a loud voice. Using abusive words. The video has made it clear today that all the allegations made by Swati Maliwal ji are false and baseless,” she said. Hitting back, Ms Maliwal in a post on X said: “The leaders who joined the party yesterday declared a 20-year worker as a BJP agent.Two days ago the party had accepted the truth and today it has taken a U-turn This goon is threatening the party, if I get arrested I will reveal all the secrets. That is why he is roaming around in Lucknow and everywhere seeking shelter." "Today, under his pressure, the party gave in and to save a goon, my character was questioned by the entire party. No problem, I have been fighting alone for the women of the entire country, I will fight for myself too. The truth will come out when the time comes," Ms Maliwal wrote. NIA charges one more in Indian Navy spying case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 MAY The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against one more person in the Indian Navy spying case involving Pakistani intelligence operatives. Amaan Salim Shaikh is a key accused in the case, involving a conspiracy by Pakistani agents to honey-trap Indian Navy personnel to gather information regarding the defence establishments.The anti-terror agency has charged Amaan, a resident of Mumbai, under various sections of IPC and UA(P) Act. Excise policy case: ED files charge sheet against Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 17 MAY The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday filed a supplementary charge sheet (prosecution complaint) in connection with a moneylaundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case, naming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as accused. ED officials, along with Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Naveen Kumar Matta, filed the charge sheet at the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate, during the hearing of Manish Sisodia's bail in the Delhi High Court, informed that the Aam Aadmi Party will also be made accused in the case in a supplementary charge sheet. The Special Judge, Kaveri Baweja, is to take up the matter tomorrow (Saturday). Meanwhile, the Supreme Court reserved its order on Mr Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the ED and subsequent remand in Delhi Excise policy case. The ED had yesterday told the Supreme Court that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be made co-accused in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise pol- icy case. Appearing before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, for the ED, said a complaint against AAP is in the pipeline and there is direct evidence of its national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding Rs 100 crore as kickbacks in the case. Mr Raju said there is evidence that Mr Kejriwal demanded a bribe of Rs 100 crore, which went to the AAP for Goa election expenses. The ASG further contended that, apart from vicarious liability as the head of the AAP, Mr Kejriwal is also directly liable as the person who played a key role in formulating the excise policy. He said there was evidence to show that Kejriwal's stay in a seven-star hotel in Goa was partly funded by an accused.