source: x DHARMAPURI l Tuesday l march 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Tensions high as Pak airstrikes in Afghan territory kills eight The Pakistan Army said eight terrorists were killed in ‘anti-terror operations’ in the border regions inside Afghanistan on Monday a response to attack on army outpost: Pak strike killed civilians, says Taliban The airstrikes come amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours over a series of terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which Islamabad has blamed on groups based in Afghanistan. Pakistan said Monday’s airstrikes, which were in response to a recent attack on one of its army outposts, targeted a group allied with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan ■ ■ Afghan Taliban said Pakistan targeted civilian homes and claimed five women and three children were killed in the pre-dawn strike Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan rose after the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan said it had repeatedly urged the group to act against terror outfits operating in Afghanistan 6,000 Pak Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, says Pakistan official 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 SC raps SBI for Double NDA deal in Bihar, Tamil Nadu selective data share on bonds Governor RN Ravi K Ponmudy Minister post for Ponmudy: DMK goes to SC, slams guv E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi/ Chennai The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a plea of the Tamil Nadu government against the refusal of Governor RN Ravi to appoint senior DMK leader K Ponmudy as a minister in the state cabinet. The DMK said the governor’s own interpretation of the SC order stating that the conviction has only been suspended and not set aside is an absurd interpretation and is an affront to the SC order. “President Draupadi Murmu must recall him immediately as he is an insult to the office of the governor,” the DMK said. The governor, in a letter to Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday refused to re-induct the , senior DMK leader into the cabinet, saying it would be against constitutional morality. Ponmudy was reinstated as a legislator after the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in a disproportionate assets case. A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Monday took note of the submissions of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and P Wilson, appearing for the state government, that the matter should be urgently listed for hearing. ‘Please send an email. I will look into it,’ the CJI said. “Governor of Tamil Nadu is breaching the constitutional mandate to follow the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in discharge of his official functions. He also disregards and delays granting of assent to the bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly the state said ,” in its petition. P5 18 direct the Chief Election Commissioner to file a detailed compliance affidavit by March 21 to The Supreme Court on Monday ensure no further complicadirected the State Bank of India tions arise over the matter. (SBI) to disclose all details reThe details sought are relatlated to the electoral bonds in its ed to electoral bonds purchased possession by March 21, includ- and redeemed after April 12, ing the unique alphanumeric 2019. The court, however, rejectnumbers that can link donors to ed a plea urging it to order the political parties. SBI to disclose details related to Rapping the public sector electoral bonds purchased and lender over selective disclo- redeemed prior to this date. sure, the Supreme Court said it “With effect from April 12, had in its February 15 2019, we had directed verdict sought comthe collection of dePlea against plete disclosure of all tails. Everyone was disclosure data related to elecput to notice at that toral bonds in the The Supreme Court time. This is why we on Monday refused did not ask for disclobank’s possession. The bench noted to entertain pleas sure of bonds sold by Associated the submission of prior to the interim Chambers of senior advocate Harorder. This was a conCommerce & ish Salve, who apscious choice by the Industry of India peared for the SBI, Constitution bench,” and Confederation the bench said. that there is no reserof Indian Industry vation on the part of Solicitor General seeking to delay the bank in disclosTushar Mehta said the disclosure of ing all the details of after the March 11 orelectoral bonds electoral bonds in its der (on SBI’s plea for numbers possession. time till June 30 to “We had asked all fur nish details of details to be disclosed by the electoral bonds to the EC), SBI which includes electoral those before the court started bond numbers as well. Let SBI giving press interviews delibnot be selective in disclosure,” erately embar rassing the the five-judge Constitution bench. But the court said its Bench of the Supreme Court shoulders were “broad enough” headed by Chief Justice D Y to face the broadside. Chandrachud said. Chief Justice Chandrachud The bank’s chairperson was said once the court delivers a also directed to file an affidavit judgment, it becomes the naby 5 pm on March 21 stating tion’s property and is open for that all details have been dis- debate. He went on to say that closed to the Election Commis- court was only concer ned sion (EC). The court went on to about enforcing its directions. S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a nt y Chennai: The Madras HC on Monday barred former CM O Panneerselvam from using the AIADMK flag, symbol, and letterhead. “Merely because the suits challenging the validity of the resolution (that ousted him) are pending, OPS cannot contend that he is still a primary member of the party,” the court said | P2 9 dead, 15 injured after building collapse Kolkata: At least nine persons died and 15 other were seriously injured after an under construction building collapsed here on Monday. Police arrested building promoter Mohammad Waser on charges of murder. The BJP demanded the arrest of local TMC councillor Shams Iqbal for his involvement in the project | P8 32 33 34 35 37 5 16 19 20 @ New Delhi 31 15 21 23 22 30 36 38 7 6 29 14 24 25 8 9 13 12 40 11 26 28 39 10 27 RA J E SH KU M AR T HAKUR @ New Delhi The BJP on Monday ironed out its seatsharing deal with National Democratic Alliance partners in Bihar, pocketing 17 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It emerged as the undisputed big brother in the alliance, as the JD(U) will contest from 16, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 5 and the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) one each. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP , JD(U) and the undivided LJP were part of the NDA, which won 39 of the 40 seats. Both the BJP and JD(U) had contested from 17 seats each at that point in time. The big headline maker this time was Chirag Paswan, son of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan. His faction, LJP (RV), got five constituencies, including the prestigious Hajipur, the seat held by his late dad. Chirag later said he will vacate his Jamui seat and contest from Hajipur. Chirag’s gain was Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras’s loss. Paras, the brother of Ram Vilas, is the sitting MP from Hajipur. His breakaway faction of the LJP has five seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Paras is expected to tap the RJD-led grand alliance in Bihar in a day or two. BJP sources said they were trying to mollify Paras with possibly a governor’s berth while accommodating his son and others from his faction in the assembly elections. However, his party could go it alone or forge a tie-up with the opposition. The NDA deal was announced by Vinod Tawde, BJP in-charge of Bihar unit of the party . For the full break-up of NDA seats, see the accompanying graphic. BJP Paschim Champaran (2), Purvi Champaran (3), Aurangabad (37), Madhubani (6), Araria (9), Darbhanga (14), Muzaffarpur (15), Maharajganj (19), Saran (20), Ujiyarpur (22), Begusarai (24), Nawada (39), Patna Sahib (30), Patliputra (31), Arrah (32), Buxar (33) and Sasaram (34) JD(U) Valmikinagar (1), Sitamarhi (5), Jhanjharpur (7), Supaul (8), Kishanganj (10), Katihar (11), Purnia (12), Madhepura (13), Gopalganj (17), Siwan (18), Bhagalpur (26), Banka (27), Munger (28), Nalanda (29), Jehanabad (36) and Sheohar (4) LJP (Ram Vilas) Vaishali (16), Hajipur (21), Samastipur (23), Khagaria (25) and Jamui (40) HAM Gaya (38) RLM Karakat (35) PMK general secretary Vadivel Ravanan made the announcement after executive committee meeting on Monday | Express PMK joins BJP team, shuns AIADMK’s call T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai Ending days of speculation about whether the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) will join hands with the AIADMK or BJP the party on , Monday announced that it has decided to go with the saffron party in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The party would firm up ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and a formal announcement on the number of Lok Sabha constituencies and the candidates to be fielded would be made by PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss soon, party general secretary Vadivel Ravanan said. The party announced its decision late on Monday after a key executive committee meeting held at Thailapuram in Villupuram district in which the party’s district secretaries and presidents and key office-bearers took part. Asked whether forging an alliance with the BJP would be a setback for the PMK, Ravanan said, “We don’t think so. Having an alliance with the BJP will be useful for the PMK and would augur well for the future of the party .” The PMK allied with the AIADMK and the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2021 Assembly elections, too, the alliance continued. However, in September 2021, the PMK walked out of the AIADMK-led alliance, ahead of the local body polls. There have been many rounds of informal talks between the AIADMK and PMK. Senior AIADMK leader CVe Shanmugam too met the PMK founder S Ramadoss a few times. However, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, a few days ago, said AIADMK is not holding talks with the PMK and talks are on only with the DMDK, hinting that the alliance may not fructify P5 . New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Monday ordered the transfers of the West Bengal DGP and home secretaries in six states — Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It also mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new Bengal police chief | P7 Names of Cong seats in TN announced Chennai: Days after allotting nine Lok Sabha seats to the Congress in TN and the lone seat in Puducherry, the DMK on Monday announced the names of constituencies given to the grand old party. Sivaganga, Cuddalore, Krishnagiri, Kanniyakumari, Tiruvallur (reserved), Mayiladuthurai, Tirunelveli, Karur, and Virudhunagar are the nine seats given to the Congress. K Selvaperunthagai, TNCC chief, said the names of candidates would be announced in two days | P4 Tamilisai quits guv, L-G posts to ‘work for people’ E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Telangana Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry has decided to step down , from both the posts and has submitted her resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. She has expressed her interest to reenter active politics and “ d i r e c t l y wo rk f o r t h e people”. Speaking to reporters in Chennai on Monday, she re- Modi holds his first-ever roadshow in Tamil Nadu OPS cannot use AIADMK name, party flag: Judge 4 3 17 express read Coimbatore: PM Modi on Monday conducted his first roadshow in TN. At the end of the 2.5km roadshow from Saibaba Colony to RS Puram in Coimbatore, the PM paid homage to the victims of the 1998 serial blast. This is PM’s first political engagement in TN after the announcement of LS election schedule by the ECI | P4 BJP JD(U) LJP (RV) HAM RLM 2 Directs bank to disclose all details, including alphanumeric numbers, to the poll panel Poll panel transfers West Bengal DGP Who got what 1 power centre CISF and Tamil Nadu police personnel during a flag march held in Nungambakkam on Monday in connection with upcoming Lok Sabha elections | P Jawahar ARMY FORMS ELITE UNIT TO RESEARCh future tech fused to confirm if she was planning to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “I will share my plans after my resignation is accepted,” she said. However, sources in the BJP said she is likely to contest the election from the Chennai South constituency . She said the PM and the top leadership of the BJP knew her true desire and it was after informing them that she had sent her resignation to the President. She said working directly for the people has al- The unit will do research on artificial intelligence, machine learning, 5G, 6G, quantum computing for military uses and its applications | P7 The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday dissolved the ad-hoc committee formed on December 27, 2023 to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The decision paved the way for the federation led by Sanjay Kumar Singh, considered a close associate of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, to take administrative control of the sport. “The decision to dissolve the Ad-hoc Committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban on the Wrestling Federation of In- dia (WFI) by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Ad-hoc Committee appointed by the IOA as per the directives of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi,” said the IOA order. Interestingly, the spor ts ministry — which on December 24, 2023 directed the IOA to form the ad-hoc committee three days after the Sanjay Singh-led panel won 13 out of 15 posts in the election — has not issued any order this time. The IOA also instructed WFI to appoint a “Safeguarding Com- Satyendar Jain back in jail after SC cancels bail SUCHI T RA KALYA N M OHA N T Y @ New Delhi Ad-hoc panel dissolved, WFI requests nat’l camp F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai ways been her desire and she was a “people’s Governor” of Telangana and Puducherry. “No, there was no pressure (to quit). I resigned of my own volition as my desire is to serve mittee” to address concerns of sexual harassment apart from conducting elections of the Athletes’ Commission. Soon after the order, Sanjay Singh wrote to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) requesting it to facilitate the hosting of national camps for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Games Qualifier scheduled next month. “The top-four (gold, silver and two bronze medallists) of the trials are eligible for the camp,” Sanjay Singh told this daily . This means Vinesh, who par- ticipated in two weight categories — 50kg and 53kg winning the first and finishing with bronze in the second — will be named as a camper. Bajrang Punia, who lost the 65kg semifinal before skipping the bronze medal bout, may miss out. Sources, however, believe he can still make it if SAI wants. “If the SAI wants to add names including of Bajrang, it can do that,” said a WFI source. Notably Bajrang and Vinesh, , along with Sakshi Malik, spearheaded the protest against Brij Bhushan last year accusing the UP strongman of sexual harassment. the public directly I want to in. volve myself in intense public service,” the former BJP Tamil Nadu president said. She pointed out that she had managed the affairs of Puducherry during a threemonth ‘President’s Rule’, and recalled that she has “worked with four chief ministers” during her stint as Governor and LG. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Soundararajan contested in Thoothukudi and lost to DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi. AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Monday returned to Tihar jail after the Supreme Court cancelled his regular bail plea and asked him to surrender immediately He was out on interim . bail on health grounds in the Delhi excise policy scam case since May 26 last year. The bail was extended multiple times on various grounds, primarily citing his health. A two-judge bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal declined Jain’s plea to grant him at least a week to surrender, though he claimed that he continued to be unwell. “Jain arrived at Tihar jail in the evening. He was taken to jail number 7 after the formalities of lodging him in the prison were completed,” a jail offi- Kejri skips ED summons New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the ED’s summons in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) case. AAP said the summons is illegal and has been served at the behest of BJP cial said. On December 14, 2023, the court had extended his interim bail till January 8. On January 17, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Jain, had requested regular bail claiming that the health of his client was deteriorating. The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case against Jain, based on a CBI complaint that he had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons for which he did not give satisfactory answers.
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