FRIDAY RUTURAJ TAKES OVER FROM DHONI AS CSK CAPTAIN 22 MARCH, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard BRUSSELS SUMMIT N-POWER TOUTED AS CLIMATE TOOL First UN atomic energy agency meet promotes nuclear as clean & reliable source of energy PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 CHENNAI: In his 15th year with Chennai Super Kings, M S Dhoni (left) will feature just as a player in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, which begins at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday. Ruturaj Gaikwad (right), who has been with the franchise since 2019, will take over the mantle from Dhoni as CSK skipper | ASHWIN PRASATH | P11 PAGES 12 KEJRIWAL ARRESTED IN LIQUORGATE ED closes in after HC refuses to grant him immunity from coercive action ED will produce CM before court THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday night and took him to the agency’s headquarters, officials said. The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency The arrest also came ahead . of the Lok Sabha polls and is seen as a setback to the opposition INDIA bloc. The AAP has an alliance with the Congress for Delhi Lok Sabha polls where it will contest four of the seven parliamentary seats. The AAP moved Supreme Court late evening after the arrest. However, no special Supreme Court bench was set up at night to hear Kejriwal’s plea, sources said. The plea was likely to be heard on Friday . The ED will produce Kejriwal before a court on Friday and seek his custody . The arrest was made around 9 pm, hours after the HC denied him interim protection against “coercive action” by the ED. A 10-member ED team, led by an additional director, reached his official residence on Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines in the national capital soon after the HC order and carried out searches. He was arrested more than two hours after the ED team arrived at his residence, officials said. WHAT IS EXCISE POLICY Cops removing an AAP worker protesting against the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal; (Inset) Kejriwal being taken away from his residence after he was arrested by ED in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday. This is the 16th arrest in the case by the ED. After his arrest, the CM was brought to the office of the ED in central Delhi around 11.25 pm in an SUV The . CM was seen sitting in the rear seat of the vehicle. He was escorted by three ED officers. The AAP leaders, angry over their party chief ’s arrest, termed the action a part of “BJP’s vindictive politics which is murdering democracy .” Ministers and AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj along with others reached the BLOW AHEAD OF POLLS S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y CM’s residence but they were stopped from entering the house, said AAP leaders. The ED has filed six chargesheets in the case and attached assets worth over Rs 128 crore. The ED and the CBI YOU READ IT HERE FIRST ON JUNE 22, 2022 Kejriwal’s arrest came at a time when his party is already grappling with the absence of its top leadership such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh from action. The AAP is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc and has tied up with the Congress to contest the Delhi Lok Sabha polls. The party is also contesting polls in Haryana and Gujarat. Kejriwal is the party’s star campaigner. His arrest is likely to create leadership crisis ahead of polls. SC stays PIB fact-check unit notification, sends it to HC THE SCAM CM from jail? Buzz PRAVEEN NEGI U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi have alleged that the Delhi government’s policy to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge refuted by the AAP . The policy was subsequently scrapped and L-G VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the irregularities. As the ED officials carried out their action, additional Delhi Police personnel and Rapid Action Force and CRPF teams were deployed around the CM’s residence. MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 3 Atishi, Education minister Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi BJP chief THE DMK appeared to be the biggest beneficiary of the electoral bonds from lottery king Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming & Hotel Services as it received `509 crore, followed by the TMC `402 crore, YSR Congress `154 crore and the ruling BJP `104 crore, initial analysis of the data suggested. At `1,368 crore, Martin was the largest donor of electoral bonds to political parties. The full details of the donations were uploaded by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the evening after it received them from the State Bank of India. Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, considered to be linked with Reliance Group, donated over `350 crore to the BJP while Hyderabad-based infrastructure firm Megha Engineering donated nearly `450 crore to the party Western Power, a subsidiary of . Megha Engineering, also donated `80 crore to the BJP Kolkata-based Keventer Food Park Infra and its . associated companies Madanlal Ltd and MKJ Enterprise gave BJP bonds totalling `383 crore. Qwik Supply also donated `35 crore to the Shiv Sena and the NCP . The fresh data includes alphanumeric numbers that can help match the purchasers of the bonds with the parties that redeemed them. The ECI in a statement said, “In compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions, SBI has provided data pertaining to electoral bonds to ECI today i.e. March 21, 2024. The ECI has uploaded it on its website as received from SBI on an ‘as is where is basis’.” Two sets of data — 552 pages of details of redemption by political parties and 386 pages of details of donors — cover electoral bonds purchased and redeemed from April 2019 until January 2024. The SC had directed SBI to disclose all electoral bond details, including the identification code. In his affidavit in the SC, the SBI chairman said that the “prefix and the bond number is in fact the alphanumeric number”. Bharti Airtel donated to BJP, RJD, SAD, Cong, JD(U) Muthoot donated to BJP, NCP Bajaj group donations went to BJP, AAP Apollo Tyres bonds went to Cong Keventers gave bonds to BJP and Cong Lakshmi Niwas Mittal donated to BJP Kiran Mazumdar Shaw donated to BJP, TMC, Cong Rungta Sons Pvt Ltd donated to Cong, BJP, TMC, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Torrent pharma donated to BJP, AAP, Cong Natco Pharma gave bonds to BJP, TDP, TMC and BRS AFTER Arvind Kejriwal who? That’s the debating point within the AAP and outside. The Chief Minister’s arrest by the ED on Thursday came after he failed to appear on 9th summons in the excise police scam case. The ED has already arrested two AAP heavyweights, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, in the case. The buzz is that several leaders are in the race for Kejriwal’s successor. The ruling AAP was quick to assert that Kejriwal “will continue as the CM from jail and If need be, he will run the government from jail.” Analysts, however, have speculated about Kejriwal’s wife Sunita donning the mantle, but the ground situation appears otherwise. AAP watchers say that Kejriwal may not like to be targeted for playing dynastic politics because he and his party have always advocated a clean public image where there is no room for such politics. Among AAP senior leaders, Gopal Rai, a cabinet minister, could emerge a frontrunner. Rai is not only senior but also enjoys closeness to the AAP national convener. Rai, 48, was associated with the India Against Corruption movement in 2011. His ministerial performance is seen as above average. Soft-spoken, he has avoided creating any controversy . Some analysts give Atishi an edge. She has risen rapidly since Sisodia’s arrest and is currently holding 14 portfolios, the highest in the AAP dispensation. Then comes Saurabh Bhardwaj, who holds key portfolios in the cabinet. Both Atishi and Bhardwaj became ministers after vacancies caused by the incarceration of Satyendar Jain and Siosdia. Bhardwaj is a close aide of Kejriwal. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress THE Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Centre’s notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau, saying its impact on freedom of speech and expression needs to be analysed. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud set aside the March 11 Bombay High Court order refusing an interim stay on setting up of the factchecking unit under the amended IT Rules to identify fake news targeting the Centre. The bench said the stay shall operate till the Bombay High Court decides the challenge to the IT Amendment Rules, 2023. “The challenge to the validity of 3(1)(b)(5) (of IT Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021) involves serious constitutional questions and the impact of the rule on free speech and expression would need to be analysed by the high court,” the bench said. The SC was hearing a special leave petition by comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editor’s Guild of India seeking a stay on setting up of fact-checking unit. Under the amended rules, if the fact check unit comes across any posts that are “fake”, “false” or contain “misleading” facts pertaining to the business of the government, it will flag it to social media intermediaries. Vedanta gave donations to BJP, Congress, BJD and TMC A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi The administration of loot and lies run by Arvind Kejriwal has finally come to an end. Since 2020-21, connections were being established between him and the Delhi Liquor scam. I feel that the truth had to win in the end E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi From Qwik Supply, BJP got `395 cr; Shiv Sena `25 cr over successor swirls in city power circles This entire episode shows how scared PM Narendra Modi is of Kejriwal. He has hatched a conspiracy to send him to jail before the Lok Sabha election... We have moved the SC for quashing the arrest of Delhi CM @ New Delhi From Future Gaming, DMK got `509 cr; TMC `402 cr; YSR Cong about `154 cr; BJP `104 cr The Delhi-NCR govt implemented a new excise policy effective Nov 15, 2021. The government withdrew from liquor business, pushing the state’s liquor trade into the hands of private players. Charges were levelled that the policy favoured select wholesalers who joined hands with manufacturers to reap windfall gains at the cost of the state exchequer. In Aug 2022, CBI registered a case against Manish Sisodia and 14 others. Sisodia, as minister for finance and excise, was involved in the drafting and implementation of the new policy. CBI and ED claim to have found that the policy favoured liquor traders who paid kickbacks to govt representatives Nov 17, 2021: AAP govt implements new liquor policy April 20, 2022: Chief secy Naresh Kumar examines policy and finds irregularities; sends a report to L-G VK Saxena AUGUST 17: CBI registers a case against Manish Sisodia, who was in charge of finance and excise dept AUGUST 19: CBI raids Sisodia’s office in Delhi-NCR AUGUST 22: ED files a case AUGUST 30: CBI searches bank lockers of Sisodia NOVEMBER 16: Sisodia’s aide Dinesh Arora turns approver NOVEMBER 30: ED arrests Sisodia’s close aide, Amit Arora; ED names K Kavitha FEBRUARY 19: CBI calls Sisodia for questioning, but he seeks to defer citing he’s occupied with Budget September 17: CBI nabs AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair; ED arrests alcohol bizman Sameer Mahendru JANUARY 6, 2023: ED in its chargesheet says Kejriwal has asked Sameer Mahendru to trust Nair over a video call FEBRUARY 20: CBI summons and calls him on Feb 26 FEBRUARY 26, 2023: CBI arrests Sisodia March 9: ED arrests Sisodia October 4: Sanjay Singh held March 21, 2024: Kejriwal skips 9th ED summons; ED team reaches his residence and arrests him Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this manner due to elections is completely wrong and unconstitutional. Lowering the level of politics in this manner suits neither the PM nor his government BJP FUNDS CAME VIA QWIK, FUTURE & BIG CORPORATES BIG DONATIONS SC likely to hear AAP plea against arrest today Annamalai, Tamilisai among 9 in BJP 1st list of TN candidates Direct fight in 19 seats The AIADMK on Thursday released its final list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, setting a direct contest with the ruling DMK in 19 constituencies across TN. The party will contest in 32 segments and it has allotted 7 constituencies to allies, the DMDK (5), Puthiya Tamizhagam (1) and SDPI (1) T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai THE BJP fielded its Tamil Nadu unit president K Annamalai in Coimbatore constituency in the party’s first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections released on Thursday Former Telangana . governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will take on DMK’s Thamizhachi Thangapandian in the South Chennai seat. Union Minister L Murugan has been pitted against DMK leader A Raja in Nilgiris. Interestingly, Murugan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh only last month. Ex-union minis- ter Pon Radhakrishnan will be the party candidate from Kanniyakumari, a seat he represented in 2014. Just minutes after BJP’s legislature party leader Nainar Nagenthran was named as the party candidate from Thoothukudi, a revised list said he would be contesting from Tirunelveli. The BJP is contesting in 20 seats. Since four of the allies will also contest in the BJP symbol, the number of candidates contesting on ‘lotus’ will be 24. The allies and the number of seats allotted to them are: PMK (10); TMC (3); AMMK (2) and others. SC blasts TN guv, gives 24 hrs to reinduct DMK’s Ponmudy S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi “Mr Attorney General, we are seriously concerned about the conduct of the governor. We did not want to say it out loud in court but he is defying the Supreme Court of India. SC Bench VOICING “serious concern” over the conduct of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for his refusal to reinduct DMK leader K Ponmudy as minister into the state cabinet, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the governor to decide on the issue within 24 hours. The governor had refused to reinduct Ponmudy whose convic, tion and three-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case were stayed by the court on March 11, saying his conviction and sentence have been suspended and not set aside by the court. “When a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court stays the conviction and sentence of Ponmudy, the governor has no business to say he would not administer oath to him as minister,” a three-judge bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud said. “How can the governor say his perception of alleged taint of Ponmudy overrides the SC order staying his conviction and sentence,” asked the bench. CASH-FOR-QUERY A day after Lokpal nod, FIR lodged against Mahua M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday registered an FIR against former TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query case on the directions of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal. Notably the Lokpal had asked , the agency to register a case against Moitra and probe the matter after receiving findings of the agency’s preliminary inquiry into allegations made by B J P L o k S ab h a m e m b e r Nishikant Dubey against her. The anti-corruption body had directed the CBI to submit its findings in six months after probing all aspects of the complaints. The CBI should file monthly reports regarding the status of the probe, it added. Moitra was disqualified from Lok Sabha in December last year for “unethical conduct”. The former MP has challenged her expulsion in the Supreme Court and will again contest as the TMC candidate from West Bengal’s Krishnanagar seat. Dubey has alleged that Moitra asked questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to mount an attack on industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a charge denied by Moitra.
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