THURSDAY 23 MAY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT A FEW PLACES. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 25-35 KMPH) OCCASIONALLY IN GUSTY DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 44 AND 32 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. Corrupt will be made accountable, says PM RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY PM lashes out at AAP over liquor scam & Cong over the National Herald scandal Max. 62 % NIKHIL VYAS TEMPERATURE Max: 43.4 °C (+3) SUN RISES 05:26 hrs MOON RISES 19:12 hrs Min. 37 % Min: 30.9 °C (+4) SUN SETS 19:10 hrs MOON SETS 05:35 hrs THUMBNAILS Fire tenders reach North Block after the Police Control Room received a bomb threat, in New Delhi on Wednesday. ANI (P 2) Missing Bangladeshi MP killed in Kolkata: A Member of Parliament (MP) from Bangladesh's ruling party Anwarul Azim, who allegedly went missing on 18 May, was found dead in Kolkata on Wednesday. Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan in a news conference in Dhaka said that the MP was killed in Kolkata. He said that Bangladesh Police have arrested three persons in this connection, reported Bangladesh newspaper Daily Star. NEW DELHI, 22 MAY P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the liquor scam and Congress over the National Herald scandal, saying that the corrupt will be made accountable for their deeds. Addressing a public meeting in Dwarka, West Delhi, the Prime Minister said: "Be it the earnings of liquor scam or National Herald's scam… every penny will be recovered from the corrupt. The one who has looted will have to return it." Mr Modi also announced that he will do an X-ray of corrupt people's wealth after voted to power after the elections, adding that those "looting" people will go to jail. The Prime Minister hit out at the Opposition INDIA bloc over the issue of OBC certificates issued in West Bengal. "Today, Calcutta High Court has given a tight slap to the INDI Alliance. The court has cancelled all the OBC certificates issued after 2010 in Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting in support of BJP candidates for Lok Sabha polls, at SUBRATA DUTTA Dwarka in the Capital on Wednesday. It has been done because the West Bengal issued an OBC certificate to the Muslims. Their politics and obsession of vote bank and appeasement have crossed all limits...," Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister said for 60 years, the Jamia Millia Islamia University was running like a regular education institutions and the Dalits, STs and OBCs used to get reservations. Hitting out at the Congress, Mr Modi said, "To win the elections of 2014, the Congress government, in 2011, declared the Jamia Millia Islamia University a minority institution. Due to this, 50 per cent reservation SC: Hemant Soren withdraws plea against arrest by ED PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 22 MAY In a huge setback, incarcerated JMM chief Hemant Soren on Wednesday withdrew his plea challenging his arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement in a money laundering case as the Supreme Court took serious exception to his not disclosing in his petition that the Special PMLA court has already taken cognizance of the case and rejected his plea for bail. Taking exception to the non-disclosure, Justice Dipankar Datta heading a vacation bench also comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, said that Hemant Soren has not approached the top court with clean hands. Justice Datta told senior advocate Kapil Sibal that first he will have to cross the hurdle of not disclosing the Special PMLA court proceed- ings in the petition challenging Jharkhand High Court’s order refusing to quash Hemant Soren’s arrest under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It is only after they are satisfied on the first count, that they will hear him on the question whether, after the trial court has taken cognizance based in prima facie satisfaction of the material available, Hemant Soren’s plea challenging his arrest by ED invoking Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act can be entertained. was implemented for the Muslims." "Only two words can help you make a decision as to whom you should vote for! We believe in 'Nation First'. Congress believes in 'Family First'," the Prime Minister said. Further slamming the Opposition INDIA bloc, Mr Modi said: “INDI alliance, today, is a symbol of every evil that exists in the country. All the constituents of the INDI Alliance have three things in common: They are hardcore sectarians, they are extremely casteist and they are hardcore dynasts.” Mr Modi accused the Opposition INDIA bloc of being indulging in corrup- tion. “INDI bloc is hardcore corrupt. They are being caught red-handed with stacks of notes. Their corruption has been exposed in Jharkhand and West Bengal. These people have grabbed every opportunity to loot the people of Delhi. The courts are shocked by the loot of the hardcore corrupt.Thepeoplewhoentered politics to change politics have betrayed the people of Delhi," the Prime Minister said. Mr Modi also hit out at the Congress over the issue of development. "Congress government could only build 12 km of highways every day. However, Modi government is building 30 km of highways every day. In 60 years, the Congress government could only manage to build 70 airports. However, the Modi government built 70 new airports in a decade. In 60 years, Congress could only build 380 medical colleges. However, the Modi government built more than 325 medical colleges. During the Congress, the country had only 7 AIIMS. However, today the country has more than 22 AIIMS," the Prime Minister said. SETTING THE STAGE Yoga is performed during an event organised by All India Institute of Ayurveda to commemorate 30 days countdown to International Day of Yoga 2024 with the theme “Yoga for Women Empowerment”, in New Delhi on Wednesday.  ANI Want fair probe in Swati Maliwal assault case: Kejriwal AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 22 MAY Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he expects a fair investigation into the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal by one of his close aides at his official residence, and that justice should be served. Ms Maliwal has alleged she was physically assaulted by Mr Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar when she went to meet the chief minister on 13 May. Police have arrested Mr Kumar in this connection. In his first comments on the incident, Mr Kejriwal told a news agency in an interview that the matter is currently "sub-judice" and his comment might affect the proceedings. “But I expect there Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal holds a mace while addressing the 'Nukkad Sabhas' in support of AAP candidate from New Delhi, Somnath Bharti on Wednesday. ANI will be a fair investigation. Justice should be served. There are two versions of the event. Police should investigate both versions fairly and justice should be done,” Mr Kejriw- al was reported as saying. Ms Maliwal posted a withering response to Mr Kejriwal’s comments on microblogging site X. “After unleashing the entire army of leaders and volunteers at me, calling me a BJP agent, assassinating my character, leaking edited videos, victim shaming me, roaming around with the accused, letting him re-enter the crime scene and tamper evidences and protesting in favour of the accused, the Chief Minister, in whose drawing-room I was beaten up, has finally said that he wants free and fair investigation in the matter," Ms Maliwal posted. “Irony died a thousand deaths. I don't buy this one bit,” she added. Earlier, Ms Maliwal claimed that she received a call from a senior leader of the party and he revealed there is "a lot of pressure to speak dirty things." Posting on X, Ms Maliwal further claimed that the party is pressuring its members to leak her photos. "Yesterday, I got a call from a senior leader of the party. He told me how there is a lot of pressure on everyone, they have to speak dirty things against Swati, and they have to break her by leaking her personal photos. It is being said that whoever supports her will be expelled from the party.” “Someone has been given the duty of doing PC and someone else has been given the duty of tweeting. Someone's duty is to call volunteers sitting in America and get something out against me. Some beat reporters close to the accused have the duty of preparing some fake sting operations," Ms Maliwal said in a post on Wednesday. Ms Maliwal also criticised Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi without naming her and called it "sad" that the latter is "smilingly maligning the character" of an "old female colleague." "You may raise an army of thousands, I will face it alone because the truth is with me. I am not angry with them, the accused is a very powerful man. Even the biggest leaders are afraid of him. No one has the courage to take a stand against him. I don't even expect anything from anyone. I feel sad that the woman minister of Delhi is smilingly maligning the character of an old female colleague of the party," the former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief said. ECI asks BJP, Cong star campaigners to be careful in their public utterances STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 204 candidates in the fray for 57 LS seats in 7th phase polls NEW DELHI, 22 MAY Taking note of the plummeting quality of the election campaign by their star campaigners in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI), on Wednesday, issued a set of directions to BJP National President JP Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in this regard. The poll panel last month had directed both the presidents of the major parties to set high standards of political discourse for all their star campaigners and observe the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit. The direction was issued in the wake of complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. In separate orders to the BJP president and the Congress chief, the ECI directed them to advise their star campaigners to be careful in their campaign utterances. “It is expected of you to use the strength of your office and intra-party consultations to advise/ counsel/oblige the listed star campaigners of your party to be careful in their campaign utterances and correct their discourses,” the poll panel told the chiefs of both the parties. The ECI asked them to direct their star campaigner to refrain from making any statement that may create “hatred” between communities. “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MAY Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra dances with women upon her arrival to address a public meeting in Ranchi on Wednesday. ANI and communities, religious or linguistic.” it stated. The ECI asked Mr Nadda to convey to all star campaigners of the BJP “to not make speeches and statements, which may divide the society.” It also said they should refrain from any campaigning “methods/ utterances along religious/communal lines”. The poll panel also asked Mr Kharge to convey to all star campaigners of his party that they do not make statements that give a “false impression such as that the Constitution of India may be abolished or sold”. The ECI also directed to ensure full compliance with its advisory of 19 March 2019, which requires that "their campaigners/candidates should desist as part of the election campaigning from indulging in any political propaganda involving activities of the Defence forces and not to make potentially divisive statements regarding the socioeconomic composition of Defence forces.” The Lok The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Wednesday that 904 candidates would contest elections in 57 parliamentary constituencies spread across eight states and Union territories (UTs) in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to be held on 1 June. “A total of 2,105 nominations were filed for 57 PCs (parliamentary constituencies across eight States/UTs going for polls in the seventh phase. After the scrutiny of all nominations filed, 954 nominations were found to be valid,” it said. The states/UTs in the seventh phase polls included Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal and Chandigarh. Of the 57 parliamentary seats, 13 each are in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and one in Chandigarh. The ECI said for the seventh phase, Punjab had a maximum of 598 nomination forms from 13 parliamentary seats, followed by UP. Sabha elections are being held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June.