FRIDAY INDIGO ORDERS 30 WIDE-BODY JETS TO BOOST ITS OVERSEAS OPERATIONS 26 APRIL, 2024 India’s largest airline said on Thursday it placed orders for 30 Airbus A350900 aircraft which will allow it to expand its international operations epaper.morningstandard.in 2027 facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard when airbus’ deliveries of a 350-900 jets to Indigo is due to start MOVIE MOGHUL WEINSTEIN’S RAPE CONVICTION AXED NY court overturned the 2020 charges, finding judge at the landmark #MeToo trial biased PAGE 11 Board suggests CM to continue insulin twice a day for 5 days EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi A 5-member medical board set up on the direction of a court has suggested the administration of low-dose insulin to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal twice a day for the next five days in Tihar Jail, official sources said on Thursday . They said the board will review the situation after five days. The board constituted by the director of AIIMS consists of an endocrinologist. The first dose of insulin was given to Kejriwal on Monday evening when his sugar level had spiked up to 217. The medical board, fo r m e d t h e next day advised the continua, tion of the dosage for five days, sources said. He is getting a low dose of insulin twice a day, before lunch and dinner daily, they said. “Kejriwal’s health is being monitored and he is being provided home-cooked food and other medicines prescribed by his doctors,” said a Tihar Jail official. AAP has alleged a conspiracy to kill Kejriwal in jail by denying him insulin and other medicines for diabetes. The CM was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy He . has been lodged in Tihar jail since April 1. Meanwhile, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has written to PM Modi and LG VK Saxena, alleging that Kejriwal was put under round-the-clock CCTV camera surveillance. The AAP leader said Tihar jail has been turned into a “torture house” for the CM. TO COMPETE WITH AIR INDIA ON LONG-HAUL ROUTES A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI THE mayoral elections scheduled for April 26 were postponed on Thursday owing to the nonappointment of a presiding officer to oversee the poll, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said following a directive from L-G V K Saxena. The election was “subject to clearance from the Election Commission of India and the nomination of the presiding officer,” the notice read. While the EC conveyed the ‘no objection certificate’ on Wednesday, the nomination of the presiding officer was still pending. “Since the nomination of the presiding Officer is mandatory A day after V K Saxena visited various church heads in Kerala, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan approached the Election Commission seeking action against the Delhi L-G for trying “to garner votes for the BJP”. Satheesan accused Saxena of violation of model code by attempting to lure them to take a stance in favour of the BJP. “It is learnt that the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, requested an audience with the heads of the Syro-Malabar Church, Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and others... The governor is restricted PAGES 14 BJP leaders tried to persuade him to contest against Priyanka but he turned the proposal down S H A H I D F A R I D I @ New Delhi THE BJP’s three-term Member of Parliament, Varun Gandhi, has turned down his party leadership’s request to take on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is likely to be fielded by the Congress from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, Varun was approached by BJP president J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a few other senior leaders of the party with the offer in the last couple of weeks. But he refused to accept the offer. US COLLEGES TO COPS REACH CLEAR PROTESTERS Sources said Varun told his party leadership that it would not be right for him to take on his sister. Varun has been upset with the BJP leadership for denying him a ticket from Pilibhit, a constituency he has represented twice in the Lok Sabha. The BJP top leadership is sure that Gandhi siblings Rahul and Priyanka will contest the current Lok Sabha election from Amethi and Rae Bareli, respectively The par. ty leadership feels that Priyanka’s entry into the Lok Sabha with a big victory margin has a potential to galvanise Congressmen across the country . It has already named Union minister Smriti Irani as its candidate from Amethi. Sources said the party got a survey done for Rae Bareli to find the best candidate against Priyanka. Among the names it asked the voters as its possible candidate were former Union minister and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, founder-president of Bajrang Dal and former MP Vinay Katiyar, Rakesh Pratap Singh of the Sheogarh royal family of Rae Bareli and former chief whip of Samajwadi Party Manoj Pandey, who crossed over to the BJP during the recent Rajya Sabha elections in the state. Pandey is an MLA from Unchahar assembly segment of the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency . The result of the survey showed that none of the names being considered by the party were in a position to defeat Priyanka. To the party’s surprise, Varun Gandhi was mentioned by most respondents as the best BJP candidate against Priyanka. In a first, EC takes cognisance of MCC violations by PM Some universities called in police to break up protests against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests | P11 Issues notice to party head Nadda; parallel notice to Kharge on charges against Rahul ROYAL RECEPTION Candidates champion D Gukesh (centre) arrived in the city in the wee hours of Thursday to a rousing welcome at the Chennai international airport | ASHWIN PRASATH as per Section 77(a) of the DMC Act, 1957 (as amended in 2022). Therefore, it may not be possible to conduct elections of the mayor and deputy mayor as per schedule,” the notice read. The Raj Niwas earlier issued a directive in which Saxena wrote to the chief secretary “These are pe. culiar and unprecedented circumstances,” the letter read. “The serving chief minister is under judicial custody in a corruption case and therefore cannot discharge his functions,” the LG wrote. The letter stated that “there is no scintilla of doubt” that taking such a decision in the absence of inputs from the CM from involving in any political activity However, the Delhi L-G . visiting various church heads in Kerala just ahead of the polls to garner votes for BJP is a blot on democracy,” said Satheesan. The L-G met the heads of various Christian churches on Wednesday. Though there were indications that he would meet church heads on Thursday, it didn’t materialise, said a source. Office of Archbishop of Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram Thomas J Netto on Thursday said they haven’t got any official communication on the visit. “Any such meeting on polleve will send confusing signals to the people,” said a source in the Latin Church. would be grossly inappropriate both in terms of law and propriety “I do not deem it appropri.” ate to exercise my power as administrator to appoint the presiding officer,” the L-G said. AAP has a majority in the MCD. It alleged that it was the L-G’s office that “cancelled” the polls as he was supposed to appoint the presiding officer. “The BJP got the election cancelled despite there being permission from the EC. The L-G office has cancelled the polls saying he works on the advice of the CM. There have been instances where he has not followed the advice of the CM,” AAP’s Durgesh Pathak said. POSSIBLY taking cognisance for the first time of a model code violation complaint against a prime minister, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued a notice to BJP president J P Nadda on the charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a divisive speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara. Parallelly, it issued a notice to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and party leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their offensive remarks. Both Nadda and Kharge were directed to file their replies by 11 am on Monday (April 29). The names of neither Modi nor Rahul or Kharge were mentioned in the notices. But the representations received by the poll panel against them were attached to the letters addressed to the respective party chiefs. The ECI invoked provisions of the Representation of the People Act to hold the party presidents responsible as the first step to rein in their star campaigners. While individual star campaigners would continue to remain responsible for their speeches, the ECI said it will address party chiefs “on a case-to-case basis”, thus adding a layer of responsibility on them. In its notice to Nadda, the poll panel cited complaints by the Congress, CPI, CPI (ML) and civil society groups on Modi’s allegation that the Congress wanted to redistribute the wealth of the country to Muslims, adding the grand old party won’t even spare the mangalsutra of women. The ECI also advised Nadda to bring to the notice of all star campaigners of the party to “set high standards of political discourse and adhere to the norms of the MCC in letter and spirit”, as campaign speeches made by those holding high positions have serious consequences. In its similarly worded notice to Kharge, the BJP’s complaint was attached. It accused Rahul of malafide during a speech in Kottayam, Kerala, where he alleged that the PM was pushing for one nation, one language and one religion. FACTOIDS FACTOIDS You are directed, as President of the National Party to bring to the notice of all your star campaigners to set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of MCC in letter and spirit Election Commission ‘Due to public pressure’ Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday claimed that public pressure forced the EC to issue notice to Nadda on charges against Modi. The EC is “super, super cautious” when it comes to the PM, he said 88 SEATS (General 73; ST 6; SC 9) in 13 states/ UTs OVER 16 LAKH POLLING OFFICIALS DEPLOYED 15.88 CRORE VOTERS 8.08 crore male, 7.8 crore female, 5,929 third gender to exercise franchise across 1.67 lakh polling stations 34.8 LAKH FIRST-TIME VOTERS are registered to cast their votes. There are 3.28 crore voters in the age group of 20-29 yrs M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Kerala Oppn leader moves EC against Saxena for code breach E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram J8.00 Varun rejects Gandhi vs Gandhi duel MCD mayoral polls postponed P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi Wide-body aircraft like the A350-900 typically seat over 300 people and can fly 18,000 km non-stop, making them ideal for overseas operations. IndiGo’s latest order comes at a time when efforts are underway to make India a global aviation hub. With wide-body planes, IndiGo will be directly competing with Air India on long and ultra-long haul routes P12 1,202 3 candidates (1,098 male, 102 female, 2 third gender) are in the fray helicopters, 4 special trains and nearly 80,000 vehicles deployed to ferry polling and security personnel Webcasting to be done in over 50% of the polling stations Polling stations in all states/UTs except Bihar and Kerala have less than 1,000 average electors per polling station. The corresponding figure for Bihar is 1,008; it is 1,102 for Kerala 2nd phase voting for 88 seats today R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday for 88 Lok Sabha seats in 13 states and Union Territories will seal the electoral fate of several heavyweights including Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Choudhary and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, among others. The contest is very tight in several constituencies where candidates are locked in a three-cornered fight. The BJP is confident of retaining its sway in its strongholds and disrupting the Congress-CPM duopoly in Kerala. The party is eyeing Thrissur where actor Suresh Gopi is a strong contender, Thiruvananthapuram where Chandrasekhar is pitted against Tharoor, and Pathanamthitta where veteran Congress leader A K Antony’s son Anil Antony is the BJP candidate. Union minister of Shekhawat is pitted against Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, while Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take on Prahlad Gunjal, who switched over from the BJP to Congress, in Kota. The fate of actor-turned-politician Hema Malini from Mathura LS seat will also be sealed on Friday Mukesh Dhangar of . the Congress is her main rival. In 2019, the BJP had won 53 and its allies 12 of these 88 seats, while INDIA bloc allies had won 23. However, senior BJP leaders admit that the contest is tougher than the first phase of elections held on April 19. The low turnout in the first phase was a matter of concern for the party but sources said they are hopeful the voting percentage will be better in the second phase. MORE REPORTS ON PG 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 PRESSINTAKE AT STAKE POLITICAL CAREERS & LEGACIES I P8 KALPANA TO CONEST ASSEMBLY BYPOLL I P7 Battle of perception with Ram chant in land of revolution N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow “Yeh Arun Govil ji ka election hee nahin raha. Yeh Ram ki pratishtha ka election hai (This isn’t an election for Arun Govil but for the prestige of Lord Ram). We will do everything to get a high voting percentage,” is the common refrain among the BJP cadre in Meerut, the land of revolution, which is poised for a battle of perceptions in the Lok Sabha elections. Remember, the first war of Independence in 1857 began in Meerut. The constituency goes to polls on Friday . While the BJP is riding on the perception of Lord Ram to see Arun Govil, the silver screen ‘Ram’ of 1987 TV serial, sail through, the Opposition INDIA bloc is confident that Sa- majwadi Party candidate Sunita Verma will pose a strong challenge because of her popularity among the Dalits and Muslims and her perception of being a good former Mayor. Muslims and Dalits constitute over 50% of electorate in Meerut, making it a formidable combination. The BSP, too, is a claimant of the same combo, with Mayawati giving the ticket to Devvrat Tyagi. Since all the three main candidates belonging to the majority community, the division of Hindu votes is inevitable. It is expected to put the BJP at a disadvantage. BJP’s experienced MP Rajendra Agarwal had to make way for Govil. In the 2019 elections, Agarwal defeated BSP’s Haji Mohammad Yaqoob with a thin margin of little over 4,700 votes. Govil, though tagged as an outsider by his rivals, is commanding attention and respect from the generation of viewers of the 80s, and also ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR the section that got introduced to him via the telecast of Ramayan during the Covid-19 pandemic period. Leading the campaign in a simple kurta-pyjama, he is striving to shed his outsider tag through his promise of making Meerut, which is his janmabhoomi (birth place), his karmabhoomi (workplace) and permanent abode. But SP’s Sunita, who belongs to the Dalit community dismiss, es Govil as a ‘false Ram’, claiming elections can’t be fought on a p a s t i m a g e r y. “BJP has committed a mistake by fielding Arun Govil, who does not belong to Meerut. Lord Ram is in Ayodhya, not on roads seeking votes. There could have been some fight if the ruling party candidate hailed from the constituency. I see no challenge,” says Sunita, the former BSP mayor of Meerut who switched over to the SP. It was after much flip-flop that Sunita got the ticket. Initially, Bhanu Pratap Singh was the nominee. He was replaced by sitting SP MLA from Sardhana Atul Pradhan who, was seeking the ticket for his wife. Pradhan was finally axed and Sunita chosen instead. However, BJP workers are confident of Govil’s win, hoping the Dalit-Muslim votes would be divided between the SP-Congress and the BSP. It is also depending on the Jat support from the RLD.
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