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Pass percentage in plus-2

Sobakrithu: Chithirai 24
Tithi: Sathurthasi
Star: Aswini
Rahukalam:
Corrupt people linked to
3 pm to 4.30 pm
Yamagandam:
9 am to 10.30 am
exam records minor rise Cong ‘first family’: Modi
PRAYERS Ra ja ma h en dra va ra m
(Andhra Pradesh), May
Fajar: 5.05 am
Zuhar: 1.00 am
Asar: 4.00 pm
■ 94.56% students pass the exam; Tiruppur dist tops with 97.45% 6:
Narendra
Prime
Modi
Minister
on
Monday said he was tak-
Maghrib: 6.29 pm
Isha: 8.00 pm
N. RAVIKUMAR | DC
CHENNAI, MAY 6 Successline No of schools with 100%
pass: 2,478 GIRLS OUTSHINE ing legal advice on how to
return the money of poor
No of govt schools with people ‘looted’ in corrup-
India, Lanka plan The pass percentage in the
plus-2 public examina-
Total no of
students appeared: 100% pass: 397 BOYS AGAIN IN tion.
Referring to the seizure
power grid link tions in Tamil Nadu has
improved this year with
7,60,606 Students can apply
online or through their
ICSE, ISC EXAMS of “mounds of cash” by the
Enforcement Directorate
Colombo: The passenger 94.56 per cent compared to Total no of schools for retotalling SANJAY KAW | DC (ED) from the domestic
ferry service between 94.03 percent last year. students passed: or revaluation of their NEW DELHI, MAY 6 help allegedly linked to
Nagapattinam and ED officials recover ‘unaccounted’ cash during searches
Kankesanthurai (KKS) suburb
The pass percentage of
girls is higher with 96.44 7,19,196 papers from May 7.
Girls once again outshone
the secretary
Jharkhand minister, Mr
of a
at the premises of a domestic help allegedly linked to the
of Jaffna district in the percent compared to 92.37 boys in the Class 10 and Cla- Modi wondered why such secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in Ranchi
Northern Province of Sri per cent of boys. Pass percentage of girls: 96.44 ss 12 board exams conduct- persons were “close to the on Monday. — PTI
Lanka is set to resume on Director of government Pass percentage of boys: 92.37 ed by the Council for the Congress' first family’.”

ED SEIZES ’20-30 CR FROM

May 13, the Indian High examinations S. Indian School Certificate “They have made the
Commission said on Monday. Sethurama Varma, who A lone transgender also passed. Examinations, the results worker's house a godown

JHARKHAND MIN’S AIDE

The service, which had been
launched in October last year
after nearly 40 years, was
halted a few days later
owing to rough weather.
Among India's future con-
nectivity plans with Sri Lanka
are the electricity grid inter-
connection, two-way multi-
purpose pipeline. ■ P2
Delhi court dismisses
Kavitha bail plea
New Delhi: A court here on
Monday dismissed the bail
applications filed by BRS
leader K. Kavitha in corrup-
tion and money laundering
cases being probed by the
CBI and ED in connection
with the alleged Delhi excise
policy scam. Special Judge
for CBI and ED Kaveri
Baweja dismissed the appli-
cations, saying prima facie
there appeared to be suffi-
cient material against the
accused. “In the light of the
discussion, the material on
record and the seriousness
of allegations against the
accused, this court is not
inclined to admit the appli-
cant on bail at this stage,” it
said.
H.K. Gupta named
AP police chief
Hyderabad: Election
Commission of India (ECI) on
Monday has posted Harish
Kumar Gupta as the new
DGP of Andhra Pradesh. Mr
Gupta, an IPS officer from
1992 batch, will assume his
duties on May 6, the order
said. This comes after ECI's
decision to transfer DGP K.V.
Rajendranath Reddy on
Sunday.
COUNTER POINT
SC POSTPONES HEARING IN
released the results said
the students could apply
online or through their
schools for retotalling or
revaluation of their
papers from May 7. The
provisional mark sheets
will be issued to the stu-
dents from May 9.
A total of 7,60,606 stu-
dents appeared for the
plus-2 public examina-
tions of whom 7,19,196
have passed. The number
of girls who wrote the
examination was 3,93,890
while the number for boys
was 3,25,305. A lone trans-
gender who wrote the
examination also passed
FIVE MEDICOS FROM
TIRUCHY DROWN IN
KANYAKUMARI SEA
M. ARULOLI | DC
KANYAKUMARI, MAY 6
Five students of a private
medical college in
Tiruchy drowned in the
sea off Lemur beach in
Kanyakumari district on
Monday.
The final year students
of SRM Medical College,
Tiruchy, who lost their
lives in the high tide in
the swollen sea have been
identified as P.
Sarvadharshith (23) of
Parakkai, Kanyakumari
district, M. Praveen
Shyam (23) of Ottanch-
athiram, Dindigul dis-
trict, B.Gayathri (25) of
Neyveli, Venkatesh (24) of
Andhra Pradesh, D.
Charukavi (23) of Than-
javur. Three from the
group--S. Neshi (24) of
Karur, R.Preethi Priyan-
ka (24) of Periyakulam,
Theni district and S.
Saranya (24) of Madurai—
were rescued by the fish-
ermen. The condition of
Neshi is said to be criti-
cal. The students’ team
had come to Parakkai to
attend a marriage on
Sunday. The medicos on
Monday visited
Thirparappu falls and
later went to the Lemur
beach
Rajakkamangalam.
near
The medicos, while play-
ing in the calm sea, how-
ever, were washed away
by the sudden swell of the
sea. ■ P4
PROVISIONAL MARK SHEETS TO BE ISSUED FROM MAY 9
the examinations. A total
of 2,478 schools showed 100
per cent passing and 397
among them were govern-
ment schools.
The government schools
showed a result of 91.02
per cent and government
aided schools performed
better with 95.49 per cent
while private schools reg-
istered 98.7 percent suc-
cess. A total of 3.34 lakh
government school stu-
dents wrote the examina-
tions and 3.04 lakh of them
passed out. In the govern-
ment aided schools, 1.81
Poll to 93 seats today; Shah,
Digvijay, Chouhan in fray
DC CORRESPONDENT
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
Union home minister
Amit Shah, civil aviation
minister Jyotiradtiya
Scindia, former Madhya
Pradesh CMs Shivraj
Singh Chouhan and
Digvijaya Singh are
among the prominent can-
didates whose fate will be
sealed in EVMs on
Tuesday when voting for
93 constituencies in 11
states/UTs takes place in
the third phase of the Lok
Sabha elections.
Other prominent names
in the fray include
Samajwadi Party’s Dimple
Yadav and NCP-Sharad
Pawar faction leader
Supriya Sule, locked in a
family fight with her rela-
tive Sunetra Pawar.
Gujarat, Goa, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, and Daman
and Diu will complete
polling in a single phase
on Tuesday. Among the
seats voting in the third
phase are four in Assam,
five in Bihar, seven in
L-G seeks NIA probe against Kejriwal
RAKESH SINGH,
SANJAY KAW | DC
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
In a major blow to Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, Lieutenant-
Governor V.K. Saxena has
recommended an NIA
lakh students took up the
examinations and 1.73 la-
kh of them were successful.
A big gender gap in the su-
ccess rate was apparent in
the government schools
with 86.93 per cent boys
passing the examination
compared to 94.09 per cent
of girls. Tiruppur district
in western Tamil Nadu
took the first position with
a pass percentage of 97.45
in the overall performan-
ce. The district also topped
the list of pass percentage
in government schools
with 95.75 percent. ■ P4
Election officials carry EVMs and other election materi-
als to their respective polling booths through a bamboo
bridge on the eve of 3rd phase of voting for Lok Sabha
elections at Hajo block of Kamrup district in Assam on
Monday.
Chhattisgarh, eight in
Madhya Pradesh, 11 in
Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar
Pradesh and four in West
Bengal. On Tuesday, 280
Lok Sabha seats out of 543
will have completed
polling, marking over 50
per cent.
Over 17.24 crore voters
will be handled by 18.5
lakh polling officials
across 1.85 lakh polling
stations. Polling for
Justice”. The move also
holds significance in view
of the Supreme Court
hearing on Tuesday to
consider interim bail to
him in view of the Lok
Sabha elections.
Reacting to this, AAP
leader and Delhi minister
of which were announced
on Monday. While the pass
percentage for both the cla-
sses recorded an increase,
the council refrained from
disclosing the names of top-
pers, aiming to deter
“unhealthy competition”
among students. This
aligns the CISCE with other
boards like the CBSE and
those of Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh, which also with-
held the identities of board
exam toppers.
“We have discontinued
the practice of issuing
merit lists for board exams
from this year.” ■ P4
— PTI
Anantnag-Rajouri PC in
Jammu and Kashmir has
been rescheduled to the
sixth phase.
To boost voter turnout,
the Election Commission
said it will send SMS and
Whatsapp messages to
convince voters.
Mr Shah is contesting
from Gandhinagar in
Gujarat against Sonal
Ramanbhai Patel of the
Congress. ■ P7
seven seats in Delhi and
are rattled by the fear of
defeat in the Lok Sabha
polls.”
In a letter to the Union
home secretary on May 3,
the L-G’s office said that
Mr Saixena had received a
complaint that the
of corruption. This is not
the first time as a bigger
seizure was made from an
MP (in Jharkhand) earlier
also and it was such a big
cache that even machines
were tired of counting,” he
said.
The Prime Minister was
addressing a rally at
Vemagiri here, which was
attended by TDP leader
Nara Lokesh and Jana
Sena chief Pawan Kalyan.
“Why is that those, from
whom mounds of cash is
recovered, are close to the
Congress' first family?
Was the seized cash meant
for supply somewhere, is
it that Congress' first fami-
ly has created warehouses
of black money? The coun-
try wants to know from
Congress shehzada,” he
said in an apparent jibe at
Rahul Gandhi.
Mr Modi alleged the
Congress and INDIA
RAHUL PROMISES
HIKE IN MGNREGA
WAGES TO `400
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY | DC
BHOPAL, MAY 6
Congress leader Rahul Gan
dhi on Monday pledged to
hike the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employ
ment Guarantee Act (MGN
REGA) wage to `400 if his
party formed the govern-
ment at the Centre after the
Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a poll rally in
Alirajpur, under the Ratlam
(ST) Lok Sabha constituen-
cy in Madhya Pradesh, Mr
Gandhi reiterated that if his
party comes to power, then
a caste and economic survey
will be conducted in the
country to ensure propor-
tionate reser vation to dif-
ferent categories of weaker
sections of people and redis-
tribution of wealth among
them as per their popula-
tions. Full story ■ P7
Devendra Pal Bhullar.
Bhullar, who is in
Amritsar central jail, was
convicted for the killing of
nine people in a bomb
blast in 1993 in the nation-
al capital. He was sen-
tenced to death by a desig-
nated Tada court on
DC CORRESPONDENT
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
NEW DELHI/RANCHI, MAY 6
The Enforcement Director-
ate on Monday reportedly
claimed that it has recov-
ered an estimated Rs 20-30
crores of “unaccounted”
cash during searches at
the premises of a domestic
help allegedly linked to the
secretary of Jharkhand
minister Alamgir Alam.
Nearly Rs 3 crore cash
was separately recovered
by the ED from some other
premises where the
searches have been going
on, sources said.
alliance people 'abuse' him
whenever he 'catches'
their black money.
However, he was worried
not about the abuses, but
No graft charge
against PM: Shah
RAJIB CHOWDHURI | DC
KOLKATA, MAY 6
Union home minister
Amit Shah asserted on
Monday that allegations
of corruption of even 25
paise had never surfaced
against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in his
political career spanning
23 years till date.
The BJP heavyweight
made the remark while
drawing a comparison
between Mr Modi and the
Trinamul Congress lead-
ers in West Bengal and
Congress leaders in neigh-
bouring Jharkhand.
Mr Shah was addressing
a Lok Sabha campaign
rally at Bardhaman-
Durgapur parliamentary
constituency in support of
ED was seen taking out
wads of currency notes
from large bags in a room
located in a building at
Gadikhana Chowk, they
said, adding that some
Central force security per-
sonnel were also deployed.
According to ED, a
domestic help of Mr
Alam’s secretary Sanjiv
Lal is alleged to be residing
at this location.
The central agency
sources said a total of eight
note-counting machines
have been deployed to
count the cash which could
range between Rs 20-30
crore. Full story ■ P7
the poor, “whose money
these corrupt have loot-
ed.” He further said,
“Modi is taking legal
advice”. ■ P4
BJP candidate Dilip Gh-
osh after leading a road-
show at Krishnanagar in
Nadia in the morning.
He said: “Rs 50 crore in
cash were found at the
house of a Bengal minis-
ter. In Jharkhand, Rs 350
crore in cash were recov-
ered from the house of a
Congress MP. Last night,
Rs 30 crore were seized
from a minister's house
there also.”
Mr Shah added:
“Shouldn't those who loot-
ed the money of the poor
in Bengal be put behind
bars? Narendra Modi has
23 years of serving as
chief minister and PM.
But there has been no alle-
gation of corruption of
even 25 paise against
him.” ■ P4

BALAJI BAIL PLEA TO MAY 15 probe against him for

allegedly receiving politi-
cal funding from the
DC CORRESPONDENT banned “Khalistani” ter-
NEW DELHI, MAY 6 MUMBAI RIOTS: SC rorist outfit “Sikhs for
Saurabh Bharadwaj called
it “yet another conspiracy
against Mr Kejriwal at the
behest of the BJP”. He
added: “They are losing all
Kejriwal-led AAP had
allegedly received $16 mil-
lion funding from extrem-
ist Khalistani groups for
facilitating the release of
August 25, 2001 and is
undergoing life imprison-
ment after the Supreme
Court commuted his death Union home minister Amit Shah at a public meeting in
sentence. Ujiarpur in Bihar on Monday. — PTI

The Supreme Court on

Monday posted to May 15 the
ORDERS MAHA TO
hearing on the petition filed
by former Tamil Nadu minis-
ter V. Senthil Balaji chal-
lenging the Madras High
Court order rejecting his bail
in the jobs scam case.
COMPLY WITH FIAT
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6

The Supreme Court on Mon-

Mr Balaji, arrested last
year by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) in a case
under the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act,
sought bail on the ground
that he had been in custody
for about 328 days.
Opposing the petition,
solicitor general Tushar
Mehta said he wanted more
time as it was a case of vic-
tims being won over, and
that he wanted to show the
court certain findings.
The Madras high court,
day directed the Maharas-
htra government to imple-
ment its directions for ensur-
ing disposal of cases, grant of
compensation to the kith and
kin of the missing victims of
the 1992 Mumbai riots and
undertaking police reforms.
Full story ■ P4
while dismissing his bail
petition, had ordered the
trial court to conduct the
trial on a day-to-day basis in
accordance with the guide-
lines given by the top court.
Don’t harass TN collectors, SC directs ED
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The Supreme Court on
Monday asked the
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) not to “unnecessarily
harass” the collectors of
five Tamil Nadu districts
after the state government
complained about the offi-
cials being made to sit at
the Central agency's
offices till 8.30 pm in con-
nection with a money
laundering probe related
to alleged illegal sand min-
ing case.
On April 2, the apex
court had pulled up the
five district collectors for
not appearing physically
before the ED despite
orders and directed them
to present themselves
before the agency person-
ally on April 25.
During the hearing on
Monday, senior advocate
Kapil Sibal, appearing for
the state, told a bench of
Justices Bela M. Trivedi
and Pankaj Mithal that the
district collectors had
appeared before the ED.
The ED's counsel con-
curred with Mr Sibal and
said so far no details or
documents have been sub-
mitted to the agency.
Countering the ED’s
claim, Mr Sibal said
whatever the probe
agency had asked for
◗ THE STATE GOVERNMENT complained to the SC bench told the ED’s coun-
sel, “You can't do this.”
that the officials, who reached the central agency When the lawyer said he
at 11 am on April 26 as per SC order were made to will have to find out
sit there till 8.30 pm. about this, the bench
observed “Don't harass
them unnecessarily.”
through the summons has The bench told the ED's The apex court asked
been furnished. “My counsel to specify the doc- the ED to file a report
instructions are that no uments which have not stating exactly which doc-
details or documents been supplied by the dis- uments it had sought
have been submitted in trict collectors yet. through the summons
furtherance of their (the “They (district collec- that have not been pro-
officials') undertaking,” tors) came at 11 O'clock. duced by these officers.
the ED's counsel said, They made them sit there The bench then posted
adding, “We can file an till 8.30 in the evening,” the matter for further
affidavit to this effect.” Mr Sibal said. To this, the hearing in July.
 CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
Ferry service to
resume between
Jaffna and Nagai
Colombo, May 6: The passen-
ger ferry service between
Nagapattinam in India and
Kankesanthurai (KKS) suburb
of Jaffna district in the
Northern Province of Sri
Lanka is set to resume on May
13, the Indian High
Commission said on
Monday.The service, which
had been launched in October
last year after nearly 40 years,
was halted a few days later
owing to rough weather.
:Strengthening maritime
connectivity between India
and Sri Lanka was a vital com-
ponent of the vision document
for economic partnership
jointly adopted during the
visit of the president of Sri
Lanka to India in July 2023.
The resumption of the ferry
service is an affirmation of
the people-centric policies of
the Government of India," the
high commission said in a
statement.
Among India's future connec-
tivity plans with Sri Lanka are
the electricity grid intercon-
nection, two-way multipur-
pose pipeline, and setting up a
land connectivity economic
corridor, the statement added.
India has also extended a
grant assistance of USD 63.65
million -- the entire project
cost -- to Sri Lanka to rehabili-
tate the Kankesanthurai Port
in the Northern Province.
"This is in keeping with
India's strong commitment to
Sri Lanka's economic recovery,
and its march towards
progress and prosperity, along
with and in close collaboration
with India," the statement
said.
Situated in the northern
region of Sri Lanka, the
Kankesanthurai Port or the
KKS Port, with an area of
approximately 16 acres, is
located at a distance of 104
kilometres (56 nautical miles)
from Karaikal Port in
Pondicherry.
The direct passenger ship
service connecting
Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu
to Kankesanthurai port near
Jaffna covers a distance of 111
kilometres (60 nautical miles)
in approximately three and a
half hours.
The ferry service will be
operated by a private operator,
IndSri Ferry Services, selected
by the Shipping Corporation of
India (SCI) in consultation
with the Government of Sri
Lanka (GOSL).
—PTI
Man who protested
against hooch biz
killed; 4 held
DC CORRESPONDENT
PERAMBALUR, MAY 6
Police arrested four persons,
including a couple and their
teenaged son, for murdering a
52-year-old
village in
man
district on Monday.
due
previous enmity at Padalur
Perambalur
to
Anand Kumar, running a
footwear shop, opposed his
neighbour Suresh, a former
employee of Tasmac, for
running an illegal liquor busi-
ness
which
from
caused
his house,
nuisance.
Kumar lodged a complaint
with the district collector,
police and other officials and
also in the recent grama
sabha meeting. Enraged over
this, Suresh picked a quarrel
with Kumar. Suresh, wife
Geetha, son Kaucik and
their tenant Aravind fatally
attacked Kumar with stones
and iron rods. Padalur police
removed the body for post-
mortem and arrested
Suresh, his wife, their son and
Aravind and are
investigating.
Pet Rottweilers bite 5-year-old girl, owners arrested
Civic body to bear treatment cost
DC CORRESPONDENT
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
CHENNAI, MAY 6
A five-year-old girl was
grievously injured when
two pet Rottweiler dogs fero-
ciously attacked her in a
park here and three persons
including the pet owner
have been detained, police
said on Monday. The owners
kept the main gates of their
house open and the dogs
came out to bite the child
playing in the park opposite
the house.
The arrested were
Pugazhendhi (63), living in
Nungambakkam, his wife
Dhanalakshmi (59) and
their son Venkateswaran
(30). Raghu from
Villupuram district works
as a security and gardener
at the Chennai Corporation
park at Nungambakkam
and he lives in the park
with his wife and the girl
PLUS-2 RESULTS OUT
B.Com cut-off mark set to be
very high this yr, engg may fall
N RAVIKUMAR I DC
CHENNAI, MAY 6
As the number of plus-2
students scoring centum
in commerce is higher
than last year, the cut-off
mark for B.Com in reputed
colleges is expected to be
very high. The engineer-
ing cut-off mark is likely
to fall since the number of
centum scorers in chem-
istry and physics has come
down drastically. However,
the competition for the sci-
ence degree courses is
expected to be very high
since the pass percentage
in physics, chemistry, biol-
ogy, mathematics, botany
and zoology is very
high.
A total of 6,142 students
have scored a centum in
commerce compared to
5,678 students last year.
However, the number of
centum scorers in
accountancy is only 1,647
compared to 6,573 students
last year. Last year, the
cut-off mark in reputed
colleges like Loyola and
Stella Maris was between
99 and 100 and this year
the competition is expect-
ed to be very high.
Students who study in the
maths and science groups
have many options like
engineering, medicine and
science degrees. But, most
of the students who have
scored a centum in com-
merce or studied com-
merce as one of the sub-
jects prefer B.Com while
other subjects like eco-
nomics come as the second
preference.
The number of centum
scorers in economics this
year is 3,299 and the num-
ber of colleges which have
BA (economics) is very
few. As a result only high
scorers in economics are
likely to get seats in BA
economics in reputed col-
leges. Computer science
degrees too will see a rise
in cut-off marks as 6,996
students have scored 100
marks in computer sci-
ence and 2,251 in computer
applications. In mathe-
matics, the number of stu-
dents who have scored 100
ARIYALUR RANKS
THIRD
R. VALAYAPATHY I DC
ARIYALUR, MAY 6
Ariyalur district secured
third place in the state by
recording 97.25 percent
pass in the plus two exami-
nation results on Monday.
As many as 8,218 students
including 4,301 girls of 90
schools wrote the exam in
the district, of which
79,992 students including
4,222 girls passed out. The
district scored 96.88 per
cent and secured 10th place
last year.
Ariyalur collector J.
Anne Mary Swarna con-
gratulated the educational
officers of the district and
draped them with shawls.
Perambalur district
scored 96.44 percent pass
and came sixth in the state,
while Karur recorded 95.90
per cent pass, Tiruchy
95.74 per cent pass,
Pudukkottai 93.79 percent
victory, Tiruvarur 93.08
per cent pass,
Mayiladuthurai 92.38 per
cent pass and
Nagapattinam 91.19 per-
cent pass.
Chennai, May 5: Greater
Chennai Corporation
Commissioner Dr J was ripped for 11 inches
Radhakrishnan, who visited
the girl attacked by dogs at
the hospital, announced
that the civic body would
bear the cost of her treat-
ment.
"Three people, including
the owner of the two
Rottweilers have been
detained by the police for
inquiry. The GCC would
rein in the pet owners who
have either not obtained
licences from the
corporation or sterilised the
dogs," Radhakrishnan The kid is presently
said. undergoing treatment at a
child. playing in the park opposite
On Sunday, at around 7.30 Pugazhendhi’s house. When
pm, Raghu’s daughter was the gate was open, the dogs
Studens celebrating in several schools across the state on Monday. —N. Sampath and K. Manikandan
Chennai lags behind Chengalpet
N RAVIKUMAR & than Chennai which has many government schools
P.A. JEBARAJ / DC 94.48 per cent. Among the including 79 government
CHENNAI, MAY 6 success rate in schools. A total of 25,242
government schools, students appeared for the
Despite Chennai being the Chennai with 87.47 per plus-2 examinations this
capital having all the cent results finished year and 23,907 of them
infrastructure, education among the worst perform- have passed out. The dis-
and internet facilities, it ing districts in Tamil trict has taken the 18th
has come behind even the Nadu. Even the place in the state. Three of
neighbouring Chengalpet government schools in the government schools in
districts in the perform- Thiruvannamalai showed Chengalpet including
ance of plus-2 students a result of 87.81 Adi Dravidar welfare
in the public examina- per cent. school at Thaiyur
tions. Compared to Chennai and Irumbedu have
Chengalpet registered a which has many presti- produced centum
pass percentage of 94.71 gious schools, the neigh- results.
per cent which is higher bouring Chengalpet has Most of the districts in
marks is 2,587 while only The number of centum This is certain to bring
210 students received a scorers in chemistry is down the cut-off
centum in business maths. only 471 compared to 3,909 marks for science degrees
The number of takers for last year which is a reduc- for chemistry and
BSc (maths) is coming tion of 87 percent. In physics.
down even in top colleges physics, the students who Students who got 100
but the marks in mathe- scored 100 marks have marks in biology are 652
matics will be a major cri- reduced to 633 from 812 while only 90 students
teria for engineering last year, which is a received a centum in
courses. decrease of 22 percent. botany and 382 in zoology.
stable but she is undergoing
great pain. Her scalp
and she was bitten in the
legs and other places,"
Radhakrishnan said.
The civic body would treat
the incident as a stray dog
menace and act accordingly
since it was a clear
case of negligence
on the part of the pet
owner.
"Once her condition sta-
bilised, doctors would
decide on taking up
plastic surgery on
her," the Commissioner
private hospital here. added.
"Currently her condition is Earlier speaking to
rano out and bit the girl. bit her too. People, hearing
When the girl’s mother tried the screams, drove the dogs
to drive away the dogs, they and rescued the child. The
western Tamil Nadu
including Tiruppur,
Sivagangai, Erode,
Coimbatore, Namakkal,
Karur and Salem have
recorded better perform-
ance than Chennai.
Usually, Chennai used to
perform better than its
neighbourhood districts
of Chengalpet,
Kanchipuram and
Thiruvallur. This time,
one of the neighbouring
districts with lesser
development has gone
past the capital city.
The marks in biology,
botany and zoology used
to have an impact on
admission to medical
courses but after the intro-
duction of Neet, the sub-
jects are important only
for admissions to the
science degrees in botany
and zoology.
Parandhur govt school
gets centum result
DC CORRESPONDENT
94.27% pass
CHENNAI, MAY 6
The government school at
Parandhur where villagers
in Nilgiris
are incessantly protesting
against the setting up of
the Greenfield airport is
the only
one to record centum
results in Kanchipuram
district.There are 46 gov-
ernment higher secondary
schools in Kanchipuram
district and one of them
Arignar Anna government
higher secondary school is
functioning in Parandhur.
A total of 91 students
attended the plus-2 exami-
nation in the school and all
of them have passed out.
The students have stud-
ied amidst protests in the
villages for 650 days
against the airport and
they too have boycotted the
schools many times.
Despite the conditions of
unrest, the students
have cleared the
examinations.
reporters, he said the
central government had in
March sent a were arrested in connec-
communication to all state
chief secretaries asking
them to ban the import or
sale of 23 breeds of
ferocious dogs including the
Pitbull, Rottweiler,
Terrier, and Mastiffs and
their cross-breeds too.
Such dangerous dog
breeds should be kept on
leashes he said and
warned of stringent
action against the pet
owners if due licences have
not been obtained from
the corporation.
—PTI
injured child and her moth-
er were being treated at a
hospital.
Transgender Nivethitha who studied at Lady Willington
School, praised by headmistress for her good score in
plus-2 exams.
93.46% pass in
Thanjavur
G. SRINIVASAN I DC
THANJAVUR, MAY 6
Thanjavur district reg-
istered 93.46 per cent pass
in the plus-2 examina-
tions, when results were
announced on Monday.
A total of 25,734 stu-
dents wrote plus-2 exami-
nations in the district and
24,052 students passed
out. Of 11,819 boys who
wrote the examinations,
10,710 passed and of
13,915 girls, 13,342 passed
out.
Last year, the pass per-
centage was 95.18. This
year, there is a drop of
1.72 per cent. Thanjavur
district ranks 26th
in the state. Pass percent-
age of 104 government
schools in the district is
89.97. Eight government
schools have scored cen-
tum results. They include
B. RAVICHANDRAN I DC
OOTY, MAY 6
The Nilgiris district reg-
istered 94.27 percent pass
in the plus-two examina-
tions when results
were announced on
Monday.
Out of 2,778 boys who
wrote the examinations
2,536 came out with flying
colours with 91.29 percent
pass. In the girls category,
out of 3,311 who appeared
for the examination 3,204
were successful with 96.77
percent pass. In total, out
of 6,089 students who
took the examinations,
5,740 passed out at 94.27
percent. The pass per-
Chennai police crack
down on chain-snatchers
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, MAY 6
Four persons, including a
man from Maharashtra,
tion with three chain-
snatching incidents in the
city. The Maharashtrian
has several chain-snatch-
ing cases against him in
Telangana, Karnataka,
Kerala and Maharashtra
also.
61-year-old Padmavathi,
residing at Adambakkam,
was walking back to her
home from a medical shop
on April 8. A person who
came in a two-wheeler
snatched her two gold
chains and fled. She
lodged a complaint with
the Adambakkam
police. After investiga-
tions and analysing the
CCTV footage, the police
pg 2
— DC
government schools at
Alakudi, Karisalvayal,
P i n n a i y u r ,
Urantharayankudikadu,
Thekkur, Karukadipatti,
and Thanjavur govern-
ment blind school near
overbridge.
The blind school has
been scoring centum
results for the past eight
years. Thirty students, 25
boys and five girls, who
wrote the examinations
have passed out. J.
Manikkaraj, headmaster,
said that students in the
school learn through the
Braille method of learn-
ing. They write examina-
tions with the help of
teachers. "I am happy that
this year we have also
scored centum results. I
congratulate the 30
students who passed
out,'' said Mr
Manikkaraj.
The district
which ranked
20th in pass
percentage in
2023 dropped
to 22 this
year.
centage is marginally bet-
ter this year compared to
last year's 93.85 percent.
The district which
ranked 20th in pass per-
centage in 2023 dropped to
22 this year. Out of 85
higher secondary schools
in the Nilgiris, 23 schools,
including 8 government
schools and 15 private
schools, recorded cent
percent pass.
arrested Amol (33), belong-
ing to Maharashtra. The
police seized 7 sovereigns
of gold jewels and the
motorcycle used for the
crime.
After questioning Amol,
the police found that he
was staying in a lodge and
was carrying out chain-
snatching at many places
in Chennai. Cases of
chain snatching were
registered against him in
2020 and 2021 also.
In another chain-snatch-
ing incident at Taramani,
Kotturpuram police
arrested Surya (26),
belonging to Villivakkam,
and Sathya (24) of
Perambur following a
complaint from Subatra
(64) whose chain was
snatched on April 29
near Indira Nagar railway
station.
 STATE
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
pg 3

SHORT TAKES
Gauthami briefs
crime branch about
land deal cheating
S.P. LOGANATHAN I DC
RAMESWARAM, MAY 6
Actor Gauthami on Monday
lodged a complaint with the
district crime branch office
against a person who cheated
`3 crore from her to buy land
in Ramanathapuram.
According to Gauthami, Ala-
gappan from Karaikudi rece-
ived `3 crore from her to buy
land at Suvathan near Muduk-
ulathur in Ramanathapuram
district, but he bought land
only for `57 lakh. She said the
land belongs to a private com-
pany and fake documents were
used for the deal. Gauthami
had already lodged a compla-
int with the Ramanathapuram
district police and on Monday
she appeared in person at the
district crime branch office
and briefed them about the
case. The crime branch infor-
med her that appropriate
action will be taken.
No gap in power demand
and supply: Government
G. BABU JAYAKUMAR &
D. SEKAR | DC
CHENNAI, MAY 6
There was no gap between
demand and supply of elec-
tricity in the state despite
the skyrocketing of power
consumption since the on-
set of summer, particularly
the beginning of dog days,
which saw an all-time high
usage of 20,830 MW on May
2, Chief Secretary Shiv Das
Meena said on Monday.
After reviewing the power
supply scenario at M-
inagam, the headquarters
of Tamil Nadu Generation
and Distribution Corporat-
ion (Tangedco), Meena said
that the previous peak con-
sumption of power was on
April, 20, 2023 when 19,387
MW electricity was used.
Though the demand for
power has gone up tremen-
dously this summer, the go-
vernment was doing its be-
st to meet the demands by
providing three-phase elec-
tricity round the clock, be-
sides taking a plethora of
steps to ensure uninterrup-
ted supply by quickly rectif-
ying faults in transformers
and underground cables.
In Chennai suburbs, 60
special squads had been
making the rounds attend-
ing to calls on power dis-
ruption and in the delta dis-
tricts 24x7 three phase
power supply was ensured
for agricultural connectio-
ns, he said adding that whe-
rever there were complain-
ts of disruptions, they were
addressed on a war footing.
The Chief Secretary told
the Tangedco officials to
ensure that power was
given to all without any dis-
ruption in the supply and
all complaints looked into
immediately. At Minagam,
the complaints section
worked round the clock on
three shifts with 65 employ-
ees and two supervisors
attending in every shift.
Since the facility was start-
ed, 23,97,957 complaints had
been received and 99.82 per
cent of them had been
attended to, he said.
Earlier, Leader of the
Opposition in the State
Assembly Edappadi K.
Palaniswami had urged the
government to supply three
phase power to all farmers
round the clock, alleging
that the DMK government
had reduced the time for
supply, which had led to
crops withering.
In a statement, he said
that the low voltage of elec-
tricity was also causing
damage to the pump sets
and since groundwater was
the only source for irriga-
tion during the summer
months, the non-availa-
bility of power round the
clock was causing distress
to the farmers who were
unable to tend to their
crops.
PMK president Anbum-
ani Ramadoss alleged that
the government had cut
down the supply to farmers
with a view to saving 300 to
500 MW power and con-
demned the government
action as it affected the live-
lihood of the agriculturists.
The non-supply of power
round the clock to farmers
went against the norms of
Electricity Regulatory
Commission, he alleged
and threatened to file a case
against in the Madras High
Court, besides moving a
Public Interest Litigation.
Southern Railway: No water
scarcity at Chennai stations
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, MAY 6
Refuting recent media re-
ports about water scarcity
at Chennai railway sta-
tions, the Southern Rai-
lway (SR) has highlighted
its efforts in managing
water requirements effec-
tively during the ongoing
summer season.
In a release, M. Senth-
amil Selvan, chief public
relations officer, SR, stated
that Dr MGR Chennai
Central and Egmore rail-
way stations, vital hubs in
the Chennai area, have
been receiving adequate
water supply, primarily
from the Chennai Metro
Water Supply & Sewerage
Board (CMWSSB) along
with resources within the
railway premises.
At Basin Bridge depot,
which caters to about 45
trains daily, the demand
for 51.72 lakh litres of
water is being met pre-
dominantly by CMWSSB,
with additional supply
through borewells and lor-
ries. Dr MGR Central's
daily water requirement
of 11.63 lakh litres is effi-
ciently managed, with
CMWSSB contributing a
significant portion while
borewell and lorry sup-
plies fulfill the rest.
He said the Chennai Sub-
urban Terminal (MMC)
and Egmore station also
receive substantial water
supplies, ensuring no
shortages as of now. The
combined resources have
successfully met the daily
requirement of 90.56 lakh
litres across these sta-
tions.
The SR has implemented
standby watering arrang-
ements at key stations like
Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Sal-
em, and Erode on the Ch-
ennai – Erode/Bengaluru
route. Similarly, stations
along the Egmore–Tirun-
elveli sector have standby
arrangements to cater to
watering needs efficiently.
Efforts towards sustain-
ability are evident as
trains are cleaned using
recycled water, and coach
watering is integrated
into daily maintenance
routines. Railway officials
are diligently monitoring
water supply and ensur-
ing real-time availability
without any lapses, he
said.
Passengers are encour-
aged to use the Rail Madad
app for lodging complaints
or feedback about services
on trains or stations. This
proactive engagement
aids the SR in improving
services. In line with envi-
ronmental consciousness,
the SR has appealed to pas-
sengers and rail users to
avoid unnecessary water
wastage both at stations
and on board trains.

Tirunelveli district cops summon 30

Thousands of devotees pull the
temple car of Ranganathaswamy
temple at Srirangam on Monday. —DC
people on Congress leader’s death
M. ARULOLI I DC
TIRUNELVELI, MAY 6
The Tirunelveli district
police have intensified
investigation in the suspi-
cious death of Tirunelveli
East district Congress
unit president K.V.K.
Jayakumar Dhanasingh.
The police inquired
some of the Congress mer Union minister R. K.S. Azhagiri visited the
functionary's relatives Dhanushkodi Adithan. family of Dhanasingh and
including his son According to sources, said that he was hopeful
Karuthaiah Jefrin. They the police will summon all that the Tirunelveli police
have also served summons those mentioned in the would soon nab those
to around 30 persons, two letters, said to be writ- involved in the death. Mr
including Nanguneri ten by Dhanasingh to dis- Azhagiri, however,
Congress MLA Ruby trict police superinten- refused to comment on the
Manaoharan, former dent Silambarasan and to allegation of involvement
Congress state president his nephew Jeba. of some top Congress
K.V. Thangabalu and for- Senior Congress leader functionaries in the death.
Music composer Ilayaraja takes part in Ramana Maharishi’s 74th Aradhana in
Tiruvannamalai on Monday. —K. Senthil Nathan

Worker killed as earth caves

in at Wellington cantonment
B. RAVICHANDRAN I DC
OOTY, MAY 6

A construction worker, hail-

ing from Theni district, died
after earth caved in at a
building site at Wellington
Cantonment area near here
on Monday. This is the third
such accident in the Nilgiris
in a span of three months,
bringing to fore official laxi-
ty in monitoring the con-
struction sites in the dis-
trict, which is prone to land-
slides.
According to police, four
workers were erecting a
retaining wall at the con-
struction site. As the hills
received fairly good rains for
the past couple of days the
soil at site was wet. The construction site at Wellington
Suddenly a huge mass of cantonment area wherein the earth caved in. —DC
soil came down with Sakthi,
aged 31, almost buried alive. Coonoor, but he was Though the district adminis-
However, his co-workers and declared dead. tration announced that con-
rescue staffers recovered Six workers were killed at struction sites will be regu-
him from the soil mound. a construction site last larly monitored to assess the
The grievously injured February and another work- stability of slopes, the woes
Sakthi was rushed er in March in Ooty limits at building sites continue in
to the nearby hospital in due to caving in of earth. the Nilgiris.

A three-year successful run for government

G. BABU JAYAKUMAR | DC
CHENNAI, MAY 6
It has been a successful
innings for the DMK govern-
ment that began its tenure,
three years ago, on a sticky
wicket with a pandemic
looming all over and people
living in the grip of fear on
various counts like uncer-
tainties over jobs, lack of
economic activities and loss
of livelihood.
Starting with the announ-
cement of free bus rides for
women in government bu-
ses, the new government ga-
ined the confidence of the
people as the move itself ca-
me as a big relief for many
families, particularly the wo-
men, reeling under the pa-
ndemic-induced deprivation.
As the pandemic persisted
and then started receding
slowly, women found them-
selves liberated from the
clutches of poverty and they
found a new form of freedom
in travelling distances to
find livelihood. Those who
ventured out, making use of
the government’s scheme to
make bus travel free for
women, benefitted which
ushered in a new era of
women’s empowerment.
A plethora of schemes that
followed, too, were aimed at
helping women, particularly
those in the low rungs of the
socio-economic ladder. If the
‘rightful assistance’ of Rs
1000 to women changed the
lives of the beneficiaries in
multiple ways, the impact of
the Rs 1000 assistance to
girls of government schools
pursuing higher education
would be felt in the future.
Agents of some companies
that normally recruit girls
for work once they pass out
of school in some poverty-
stricken localities in the
State by promising a salary
that they could use as
‘dowry’ when they got mar-
ried in due course were in
for a shock after the intro-
duction of the scheme as no
one joined the companies.
Enquiries revealed that the
girls have now set higher
goals for themselves than
slogging in a factory and
then paying that income as
dowry to someone. When
they all could now aspire for
higher education that would
also be rewarding financial-
ly, why go for an exploitative
work. So, the scheme,
through the young girls, is
creating a revolution whose
impact on society would be
felt in the years to come.
Even the free breakfast
scheme for primary school
children in government
schools, later extended to
aided schools, too, was god-
send for women, besides
ensuring that the next gener-
ation of school children
grew up healthy and well
nourished. The scheme itself
was envisaged by Chief
Minister M K Stalin only
after a chat with some pri-
mary students on what they
had for breakfast one morn-
ing at a school.
Aghast at realizing that
many children came to
school without having
breakfast, he introduced it
and who rejoiced the most
were the mothers. Since
most of the mothers left
home early for work – many
of them were domestic helps
or had to travel long dis-
tances for work – they were
unable to provide proper
breakfast or only able to rus-
tle up something that is not
nutritious for the children,
who would leave later to
school – they felt guilty. Now
that a healthy nutritious
meal is served in the school
premises, the mothers are
the first to be happy though
it will on the long run con-
tribute to the collective
nutrition of the State that
would have a healthy popula-
tion and workforce, besides
bringing down the numbers
of adults falling sick.
These schemes, however,
are just the tip of the ice-
berg. For, the State has been
progressing on all fronts in
the last three years. Be it
industrialization, higher ed-
ucation, public health, wom-
en’s safety and overall grow-
th, the State has done remar-
kably in the last three years.
The number of youth from
the state getting selected in
civil services and other big
companies have increased
considerably – the latest civil
services examination results
is just one example – because
the government came up
with the Naan Mudhalvan
scheme to prepare the stu-
dents for higher things in
life. Of course, not just stu-
dents, people of all walks of
life are poised for a better
lifestyle.
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
pg 4

■ BJP wants to play politics over dead body of child: TMC

SHORT TAKES Army steps up hunt, puts up
ICG detains Iranian
ship with 6 Indians
Bomb blast kills teen in WB; `20L bounty on Poonch info
New Delhi: The Indian Coast
Guard (ICG) has detained an
Iranian fishing vessel with six
Indian crew off the coast of
Kerala, the defence ministry
BJP MP demands NIA probe YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, MAY 6

With the induction of

said on Monday. The vessel
was detained on Sunday fol-
lowing a swift “sea-air” coor-
dinated operation by the ICG,
it said. The ministry said the
crew alleged that the “Iranian
sponsor” of the vessel ill-
treated and deprived them of
basic living conditions and
confiscated their passports.
Initial investigation revealed
that the owner of the boat
was an Iranian national who
had contracted the Indian
fishermen from Tamil Nadu, it
said. “The Indian Coast Guard
detained an Iranian fishing
vessel, with six Indian crew,
west of Beypore off the coast
of Kerala late on May 5. Swift
sea-air coordinated operation
involved the ships and aircraft
of the ICG,” ministry said in a
statement. — PTI
Malayalam
filmmaker
Harikumar no more
Thiruvananthapuram, May
6: Renowned Malayalam film-
maker Harikumar, known for
critically acclaimed movies,
died at a private hospital here
on Monday, industry sources
said.
He was 68.
The "Sukritham" director
was battling cancer for some
time and succumbed to the dis-
ease today, they said.
Kolkata, May 6: A
teenage boy was killed
and two others were
injured in a bomb explo-
sion in West Bengal’s
Hooghly district on
Monday, prompting the
local BJP MP Locket
Chatterjee to block the
arterial for over two hours
demanding NIA probe
into the incident.
The incident occurred at
Pandua in Hooghly dis-
trict near a pond where a
group of boys were play-
ing.
Police said the boy suc-
cumbed to his injuries in a
hospital in Pandua while
two other injured persons
were transferred to a
healthcare facility in
Chinsurah for better treat-
ment.
An investigation into the
explosion that occurred at
around 8.30 am has start-
ed, police said.
Dhami uses UCC to attract
T’gana voters, targets Opp.
PRITHVIRAJ SINGH
DEHRADUN, MAY 6
BJP candidate for Lok Sabha polls Locket Chatterjee
consoles the mother of a teenage boy who was killed in
a bomb explosion in Hooghly district on Monday. — PTI
The BJP MP, accompa-
nied by hundreds of party
workers, blocked GT Road
alleging that TMC goons
were involved in the blast
in their bid to create an
air of panic ahead of its
national general secretary
Abhishek Banerjee’s cam-
paign in the area later in
Minister by voting for the
the day.
“Along with the people of
Pandua, I demand justice
for the families of the
innocent boys. The state
police are incapable of
conducting a thorough,
impartial probe into the
incident. We want an NIA
probe,” Ms Chatterjee
said.
Ms Chatterjee had an
altercation with the police
officers who requested her
to lift the blockade.
TMC spokesperson
Trinankur Bhattacharya
said it was an unfortunate
incident having no rela-
tion with politics and
police were conducting
investigations.
“She (Chatterjee) wants
to play politics over the
dead body of a child. The
BJP seeks NIA probe into
each and every bomb blast
incident in West Bengal,”
Mr Bhattacharya said.
10 Guj schools
receive blast
threats by mail
Ahmedabad, May 6:
more troops from the
Army special forces, the
operation to flush out the
militants from the woods
of Jammu and Kashmir’s
frontier district of Poonch
has been intensified.
For the second consecu-
tive day on Monday, the
Army flew its helicopters
over the Shahsitar, Gursai,
Sanai, Sheendara Top and
Jarra Wali Gali, and neigh-
bouring areas in the
Surankote sub-division of
Poonch for aerial monitor-
ing and also pressed snif-
fer dog squads into service
to track down the mili-
tants. The Army and the
J&K police are also using
unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) for surveillance.
A massive joint opera-
tion was launched by the
Army, J&K police and the
Central Armed Police
Forces (CAPFs) in the
region on Saturday night
soon after a group of sus-
SC asks Maha to
execute order on
◗ ARMY FLEW helicopters
over Shahsitar, Gursai,
Sanai, Sheendara Top and
Jarra Wali Gali and neigh-
bouring areas in the
Surankote sub-division of
Poonch for the aerial
monitoring and also
pressed sniffer dog to
track down the militants
pected Lashkar-e-Tayyaba
(LeT) militants ambushed
a convoy of the Indian Air
Force (IAF) at Shahsitar
with AK assault rifles and,
at least, one US made M4
carbine, officials said,
adding that they used steel
bullets to cause maximum
casualties among the men
on board a Stallion 4x4 and
another logistic vehicle.
Five IAF personnel were
injured in the sneak
attack. They were quickly
airlifted to the Army’s
New Command Hospital in
the garrison town of
Udhampur, where one of
them, Corporal Vikky
Pahade, succumbed to his
injuries. The officials had
said that after targeting
the IAF convoy, the terror-
ists fled into the nearby
woods.
On Monday, the security
forces unveiled sketches of
what they said are two
hardcore Pakistani terror-
ists involved in the attack.
They also announced a
reward of `20 lakhs for
any information that helps
in the arrest of the sus-
pected terrorists.
Officials said that two to
three LeT terrorists are
believed to have carried
out the attack. They said
that anyone who will give
“fruitful and reliable infor-
mation” about the where-
abouts of these terrorists
leading to their arrest will
be rewarded and their
identity will be kept
secret. They have also pro-
vided four mobile num-
bers on which people can
contact and share informa-
tion. The police has, mean-
while, detained about two
dozen people for question-
ing, a report from Poonch
said.
SIT to set
up helpline
for victims

Uttarakhand chief minis-

ter Pushkar Singh Dhami
BJP candidate. The UCC in
Uttarakhand has become a
law and will be implement-
ed soon as its rules and
On the eve of elections in
Ahmedabad, nearly 10
schools received an email
on Monday threatening
’92 Mumbai riots of Prajwal
Bengaluru, May 6: The
Harikumar entered the tinsel on Monday tried to woo vot- norms are being prepared bomb blasts, though a DC CORRESPONDENT The state government, Special Investigation
town by directing his debut ers in Telangana by prom- by the government,” Mr police statement said this NEW DELHI, MAY 6 on January 25, 1993, had Team probing the
film titled "Ambal Poovu" in ising them a nationwide Dhami said. The was a hoax as searches set up a commission alleged sexual harass-
1983. The iconic "Sukritham," implementation of the Uttarakhand CM invited failed to unearth any- The Supreme Court on under the Commissions ment of women by
based on the screenplay of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) the people of Telangana thing suspicious. Monday directed the of Inquiry Act headed by Hassan JD(S) MP
Jnanpith laureate M T if the BJP retains power at Pushkar Singh Dhami for the Char Dham pil- After being alerted, Maharashtra govern- Justice Srikrishna, the Prajwal Revanna has
Vasudevan Nair, helped the Centre after the Lok grimage to the Gangotri, police as well as bomb ment to implement its then judge of the come out with a helpline
Harikumar make his mark in Sabha elections. Mr Dhami “The Uttarakhand UCC Yamunotri, Badrinath and detection and disposal directions for ensuring Bombay high court, to number for the victims
the film industry. warned the Opposition of is bound to bring maxi- Kedarnath shrines this squad, dog squad and disposal of cases, grant deal with aspects such as to approach them.
"Swayamvarapandal," spreading alleged false- mum happiness to the season. Crime Branch teams of compensation to the circumstances, events SIT chief and addition-
"Udyanapalakan," "Jalakam," hoods against Prime women of the Muslim com- “Portals of Yamunotri, reached these schools kith and kin of the miss- and immediate causes of al director-general of
and "Autorickshawkkarante Minister Narendra Modi munity, particularly Gangotri and Badrinath and conducted search, a ing victims of the 1992 the Mumbai riots on and police B.K. Singh said in
Bharya" were among the on the reservation issue daughters. This will will open on May 10, while statement by city Crime Mumbai riots and under- after December 6, 1992 a statement the victims
major films directed by and invited Telangana vot- ensure equal rights of people can visit Kedarnath Branch informed. taking police reforms. following the demolition can call 6360938947.
Harikumar. ers to come to Uttarakhand property inheritance. Now, from May 12. I appeal to the “No explosives were The top court directed of the Babri Masjid in Mr Singh said the vic-
in large numbers for the the Modi-led Central gov- people of Telangana to found. Our teams are the Maharashtra police Ayodhya. tims need not have to
5 medicos drown Char Dham pilgrimage.
Addressing a rally in
ernment has not decided to
implement the UCC across
come for the pilgrimage,”
Mr Dhami added.
patrolling and technical
surveillance has also
chief and the secretary
of the state home depart-
The bench, which had
noted that the recom-
visit the SIT office as the
team would personally
in Kanniyakumari Mahabubabad to seek votes
for BJP candidate Ajmeera
the country to homogenise
the many aspects of the liv-
He said the Opposition is
spreading lies against Mr
been initiated about the
sender of the email. This
ment to look into the rec-
ommendations of the
mendations of the com-
mission were accepted
approach them to offer
them relief.
FROM PG 1 Sitaram Naik, Mr Dhami ing cutting across commu- Modi over reservation. threat was a hoax,” the Justice B.N. Srikrishna by the state government The SIT also warned
said that Uttarakhand has nal barriers. After this, no “This is untrue. The PM statement said. Commission and file a in 2022, issued a slew of people at large not to
On hearing the cry of the successfully enacted the one will be able to practice has always favoured reser- “Ignore it and exercise “better compliance” directions in its judg- share the videos show-
medical college students, the UCC to ensure equal rights the ill tenets of personal vation as it is aimed at pro- your voting rights tomor- report by July 19. The ment. ing women being sexual-
local fishermen rushed to and justice to the people, laws. For this, people here viding opportunities to row without any fear,” direction of the top court Among other direc- ly assaulted and molest-
their help and rescued three especially women of all need to strengthen the marginalised sections,” Mr the statement further was irked over the non- tives, the top court, in ed allegedly by Revanna
girl students. who are under- communities in the state. hands of the Prime Dhami said. stated. — PTI compliance of its direc- its judgment, had on social media or per-
going treatment at Nagercoil tions issued in a judg- directed the state gov- sonal messenger appli-
Asasripallam Government ment of November 4, er nment to submit a cations.
medical college hospital.
The authorities had placed a
warning board on the beach
after a seven-year old girl and
her father were washed away
Mamata’s politics ‘dirty’, says Bose 2022.
A bench comprising
Justices Abhay S. Oka
and Ujjal Bhuyan said,
“The state shall file a
report containing
details of 168 people,
who were reported to
have gone missing dur-
ing the 1992-93 commu-
“It is easy to trace peo-
ple sharing these videos
on messenger services,
so action will be taken
against such individu-
at Thengaipattinam beach on
Monday morning. Two
Bengal gov hit out at CM for raking up molestation complaint against him better compliance report
by July 19, 2024.” The
nal riots in Mumbai.
The apex court had
als,” Mr Singh said.
He also noted that
tourists from Chennai were Kolkata, May 6: West Bose said he would not employee of the Raj bench fixed a suo motu observed that a March sharing such videos
washed away by the sudden Bengal governor C.V. allow the “didigiri” (high- Bhavan had on Friday plea on the issue for 2020 affidavit filed before would damage the repu-
wave swelling at Kodimunai Ananda Bose on Monday handedness) of Ms lodged a written complaint hearing on July 26. it by the principal secre- tation and honour of
beach near Colachel in the dis- hit out at chief minister Banerjee on the distin- with the Kolkata police, Dealing with the issue of tary of the home depart- victims.
trict on Saturday. Mamata Banerjee for rak- guished office of governor. alleging molestation by the police reforms, the ment of the state noted Prajwal is seeking re-
Following the IMD warning, ing up the issue of a “Mamata Banerjee’s poli- governor. The governor bench noted that that 900 people died in election from Hassan as
the district administrations of woman employee’s com- tics is dirty. Still, I will had described the allega- presently there are 2.30 riots and 168 persons an JD(S)-BJP alliance
Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and plaint of molestation pray to God to save her, but tion as “absurd drama”, lakh police personnel in were reported missing candidate.
Thoothukudi had warned the against him in poll rallies, this is difficult even for and said that none would the state force and the and compensation has The constituency went
public against going to the and dubbed the CM’s poli- God. I will never accept C.V. Ananda Bose be able to deter him from administration is under been paid to the legal for polls on April 26.
beach advised the on tics as “dirty”. this ‘didigiri’ on the distin- say,” Mr Bose said upon his his “determined efforts to an obligation to con- heirs of these deceased JD(S) joined the BJP-led
“Kallakadal” (swollen sea) in Speaking to reporters at guished office of the gover- return from Kerala. expose corruption and struct dwelling units for and family members of NDA in September last
the region. the Kolkata airport here, nor. That is all I have to A contractual woman curb violence”. — PTI them. 60 missing people. year. — PTI

Pass percentage in plus-2 Corrupt people linked to No graft charge

exam records minor rise
FROM PG 1 Tirunelveli and Perambalur and Chengalpet were the only
Cong ‘first family’: Modi against PM: Shah
FROM PG 1 guarantee,” he added. he said while the former
FROM PG 1

irudhunagar which was in
the first place last year with
97.85 percent slipped to the
sixth spot with 96.64 per cent
Erode and Sivaganga occu-
pied the second position with
a pass percentage of 97.42 per
cent each. Ariyalur, one of
the economically backward
districts in the state, regis-
tered a surprise recording a
pass percentage of 97.25 per
cent. Coimbatore came fifth
with 96.97 per cent while
districts occupied the fifth
position with 96.44 per cent
passing.
Thiruvannamalai district
in the northern region lagged
behind in the last position
with a pass percentage of 90.
47. A total of 26,551 students
appeared for the plus-2 exam-
ination and 24,021 of them
passed. Most of the districts
in the northern region have
lesser pass percentage com-
pared to the southern and
western districts. Chennai
districts which crossed the 94
per cent in the northern
region. The districts of Krish
nagiri, Vellore, Thirupathur,
Ranipet, Thiruvallur and
Kanchipuram recorded a
pass percentage that did not
cross the 93 per cent.
Nagapattinam performed
poorly with 91.19 percent
while the other delta districts
recorded a percentage of over
93 per cent while Tiruchi,
considered an education hub,
registered 95.74 percent.
So far, the ED alone has
attached property worth
Rs 1.25 lakh crore and “if
others” (central agencies)
are included it may be
more. “I am taking legal
advice on how the money
can be returned to those
from whom it has been
looted,” he noted.
Rs 17,000 crore has
already been returned to
the rightful owners. “No
poor person's right will be
affected, this is Modi's
Recalling the legendary
actor-politician from the
state, N.T. Rama Rao, Mr
Modi said the former had
taken Lord Ram to every
household. However, the
Congress, due to appease-
ment, boycotted the
Ayodhya Shri Ram temple
consecration and was
sacking those party lead-
ers from the organisation,
who visited the shrine.
Lashing out at the
Congress and the ruling
YSR Congress in the state,
has accepted defeat ahead
of the polls, the latter has
been rejected by people
totally. Corruption and
land and liquor mafia
reign supreme in the
YSRCP rule, he alleged.
The NDA will not only
create a record in Lok
Sabha polls, but will also
form government in
Andhra Pradesh. He said
the NDA will come to
power in all states where
Assembly elections are
happening.
He then repeated his
attacks on TMC supremo
Mamata Banerjee for her
opposition to the
Citizenship Amendment
Act’s implementation, the
appeasement of “vote
bank of infiltrators” and
violence against women
by her party leaders at
Sandeshkhali in North 24
Parganas in the state.
Mr Shah also accused
the TMC of driving away
industries from the state
and promised to revive
industries. “Bardhaman-
two crore jobs every year,
thus 20 crore jobs in 10
years. But did you give a
single job? Instead, you
are taking away teachers'
jobs,” she told Mr Shah
from a TMC poll cam-
paign rally at Burdwan
West.
The CM continued: “All
the industries will be
reopened, but how? Ask
them. Last time when

GIRLS OUTSHINE BOYS AGAIN IN ICSE, ISC EXAMS Durgapur used to be an

industrial town. But the
Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri
went to the polls, the PM

FROM PG 1
“The move is aimed at
avoiding unhealthy competi-
tion among students,” CISCE
chief executive and secretary
Joseph Emmanuel said.
The CBSE had last year
stopped the practice of
announcing merit lists for
the both these board exams.
During the Covid-19 pandem-
ic, when board exams were
not conducted due to the clo-
sure of schools and students
were marked using alterna-
tive evaluation methods, both
the CBSE and CISCE had not
issued any merit list. The
practice was, however, resum
ed after the schools reopened.
A total of 2,43,617 students,
comprising 53.57 per cent
boys and 46.43 per cent girls,
had appeared in the ICSE
final exam. Despite being in
the minority, girls excelled
with a pass percentage of
99.65 per cent, surpassing the
boys' pass percentage of
99.31. Similarly, in the ISC
final exam, out of 99,901 stu-
dents, 52.82 per cent were
boys and 47.18 per cent were
girls. The girls outshone boys
with a remarkable pass per-
centage of 98.92, compared to
the boys' score of 97.53 per
cent.
In Class 10, the best-per-
forming schools abroad are
from Indonesia, Singapore
and Dubai, with a 100 per cent
pass percentage. In Class 12,
the best-performing schools
are from Singapore and
Dubai.
The ICSE examination
(Class 10) was conducted in 60
written subjects, of which 20
were Indian languages, 13
were foreign languages and
one classical language. The
ICSE exams started on
February 21 and concluded
on March 28. They were con-
ducted over 18 days.
The ISC examination (Class
12) was conducted in 47 writ-
ten subjects, of which 12 were
Indian languages, four for-
eign languages and two clas-
sical languages. For ISC, the
exams began on February 12
and concluded on April 4.
They were conducted over 28
days. A total 2,695 schools pre-
sented candidates for the
Class 10 exams with 82.48 per
cent (2,223) schools attaining
a pass percentage of 100. For
Class 12, a total of 1,366
schools presented candidates
with 66.18 per cent (904)
schools attaining a pass per-
centage of 100.
BJD GOVT'S EXPIRY DATE JUNE 4: MODI
DC CORRESPONDENT
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
NEW DELHI,
BERHAMPUR/NABARANGPU
R (ODISHA), MAY 6
Calling himself the “son
of Lord Jagannath”,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday asserted
that the “expiry date” of
the Naveen Patnaik-led
BJD government in
Odisha is June 4, the day
the Assembly election
results will be announced.
Addressing his first elec-
tion rally in the state,
where the BJP has been
desperately trying to
unseat the ruling BJD, Mr
Modi urged people to give
a chance to the BJP to
make Odisha the number
one state in the country.
The Prime Minister also
said that the BJP has
given the nation’s highest
post to a “daughter of
Odisha” (President
Droupadi Murmu).
In an apparent dig at the
BJD president, chief min-
ister Naveen Patnaik, the
Prime Minister said:
“Odisha needs a CM who
understands the Odia lan-
guage and culture.” In
Odia political circles, it is
assumed that Naveen
Patnaik does not have a
command over the Odia
language.
“The BJP will form a
double-engine govern-
ment here after the ongo-
ing election. The expiry
date of the BJD govern-
ment is June 4, 2024,” Mr
Modi said at the
Berhampur rally. At yet
another rally in
Nabarangpur, the tribal
heartland of Odisha, the
Prime Minister claimed
that his government has
been working for the wel-
fare of indigenous people.
“You have seen the track
record of ten years of
Modi's leadership. Modi
increased the budget for
tribal welfare by five
times than the earlier allo-
cation,” the PM said at the
Nabaragpur rally.
goons of Mamata Didi
destroyed the entrepre-
neurial environment
here,” he said.
The Union home minis-
ter elaborated: “I’m giv-
ing you a ‘Modi
Guarantee’. Elect Dilip
da, BJP will take the ini-
tiative to reopen all the
ventures lying shut at
Bardhaman-Durg apur.
There is a steel plant but
rumours are spread that
it will be shut down. But I
declare that Modiji will
pump in investments into
the steel plant and a urea
plant here and undertake
its expansion.”
Ms Banerjee later hit
back at the Union home
minister. “You are talking
about reopening all
industries. Your govern-
ment promised to give
told the public about
reopening five tea gar-
dens to get votes for the
BJP. Till date, none of
them have been reopened.
Your words never come
true. Your lies are bigger
than the gas balloons.”
On the corruption
charges, she alleged:
“They are spending so
much in advertisements
because they looted so
much earlier.” Ms
Banerjee further trained
her guns at the Election
Commission and ques-
tioned its existence.
“Does anyone know
where it is now? At least I
can't find. Someone told
me that the Model Code of
Conduct has become the
Modi Code of Conduct.
Whatever he will say will
happen.”
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
SHORT TAKES
Remove PM pic from
DU website: AAP body
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi
Party teachers’ body,
AADTA, has written to
Delhi University vice-chan-
cellor Yogesh Singh
requesting to take down
the photographs of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
other political leaders from
the varsity’s website stat-
ing it violates the UGC’s
directives to enforce model
code of conduct in view of
the Lok Sabha elections.
The official websites of
several colleges, including
the Hansraj College and
Non Collegiate Women's
Education Board (NCWEB),
display photographs of
political figures. Asked for
a comment on violation of
the UGC’s directives, chair-
man M. Jagadesh Kumar
said, “Following a letter
received by the ministry of
education from the EC,
emphasising the need to
adhere to electoral guide-
lines, the UGC has written
to all higher education
institutions with a request
to strictly follow the guide-
lines of the EC as issued
from time to time.”
2 Uzbek men held
with `3.16cr gold
New Delhi: Two Uzbek
nationals have been arrested
by the customs officials at
here for allegedly trying to
smuggle into the country
gold valuing `3.16 crore,
according to an official state-
ment issued on Monday. The
accused were intercepted
after their arrival from Dubai
on Sunday. “On personal and
baggage search of the pas-
sengers, five gold bars con-
cealed in a red-colour pouch
collectively weighing 5 kg
were recovered,” said the
statement issued by the cus-
toms department. Tariff value
of the gold, which has been
seized, is `3.16 crore, it said,
adding that the duo were
arrested. In another case, a
Korean man has been arrest-
ed for allegedly smuggling
out foreign currency worth
`2.8 crore. The accused, who
intended to depart to
Bangkok, was intercepted by
the customs officials on
Sunday.
Court denies bail to
BRS leader Kavitha
New Delhi: A Delhi court on
Monday dismissed the bail
applications filed by BRS
leader K. Kavitha in corrup-
tion and money laundering
cases being probed by the
CBI and ED. The special judge
for CBI and ED, Kaveri
Baweja, dismissed the appli-
cations, saying prima facie
there appeared to be suffi-
cient material against the
accused. The application, filed
by advocate Nitesh Rana, had
claimed that the accused was
not required for further inves-
tigation. In the order, the
judge accepted the argu-
ments made by the Central
probe agencies that “the
nature and gravity of the
alleged offences, having ten-
dency to affect the economic
system of the country, public
interest must take precedence
over personal liberty”.
SC LETS TEEN
CONTINUE WITH
HER PREGNANCY
RAKESH K. SINGH
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The Supreme Court has
held that the right to
choose and reproductive
freedom is a fundamental
right under Article 21 of the
Constitution. The ruling
came in the detailed order
of the apex court’s recent
decision to recall its earlier
order allowing a 14-year-old
rape survivor to terminate
her pregnancy. A three-
judge bench headed by
Chief Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud reversed the
order after the teenager's
parents informed the
Supreme Court about
health concerns if they pro-
ceeded with the abortion
and that they wished to
carry the pregnancy to full
term. On April 29, the top
court reversed its April 22
order of immediate medical
termination of the pregnan-
cy of the minor girl, setting
aside a Bombay high court
order which declined abor-
tion. The top court exer-
cised its extraordinary pow-
ers under Article 142 of the
Constitution to do "com-
plete justice" to permit the
medical termination of
pregnancy of the 14-year-
old. It noted that the
teenager was already 30
weeks pregnant and came
to know about her condi-
tion at a very late stage.
■ BJP’s conspiracy: AAP ■ ‘Khalistani funding can’t be ruled out’
AAP & BJP lock horns over
Kejriwal’s NIA probe issue
BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) and the BJP on
Monday locked horns
after Delhi L-G V.K.
Saxena recommended NIA
probe against jailed chief
minister Arvind Kejriwal
for allegedly receiving
political funding from the
banned terrorist organisa-
tion ‘Sikhs for Justice.’
AAP leader and city min-
ister Saurabh Bhardwaj
claimed that it is a political
conspiracy of the BJP to
make frivolous allegations
related to AAP’s funding
before every election.
However, BJP Delhi chief
Virendra Sachdeva, wel-
coming the probe, said,
“Keeping in view Mr
Kejriwal’s soft corner for
Khalistan Liberation
Force (KLF) we cannot
rule out him accepting
financial aid from ‘Sikh
for Justice’ too.”
Mr Sachdeva said that
Mr Kejriwal’s silent sup-
Sanjay Singh
‘400 paar’ is
just a ‘jumla’
of BJP, says
Sanjay Singh
Kurukshetra, May 6:
AAP leader Sanjay Singh
on Monday said the BJP’s
claim of winning more
than 400 seats in the Lok
Sabha elections is just a
“jumla”. The AAP MP
also said the Opposition
INDIA bloc will definite-
ly win 300 seats in the
general elections.
“The claim of winning
400 seats by the BJP is
just a ‘jumla’ (rhetoric),”
he told reporters here.
Mr Singh was cam-
paigning for AAP’s
Haryana unit chief
Sushil Gupta, who has
been fielded by the party
from the Kurukshetra
Lok Sabha seat.
The AAP, a constituent
of the INDIA bloc, is
fighting this seat in
Haryana while the
remaining nine seats are
being contested by the
Congress.
Mr Singh claimed that
the BJP government at
the Centre has nothing to
say about the works done
during the last 10 years of
its rule.
He appealed to the peo-
ple of Kurukshetra to
ensure the the AAP can-
didate’s victory from this
seat.
The AAP leaders here
said that 80 village
sarpanchs under this
constituency on Monday
extended their support to
Gupta. — PTI
`1.5 crore seized from 2 scrap
dealers in Chandi Chowk seat
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
A static surveillance
team in Delhi’s
Chandni Chowk parlia-
mentary seat seized `1.5
crore in cash from two
scrap dealers, officials
said on Monday.
Static surveillance
teams are deployed by
returning officers of
◗ THE BJP said that Delhi
CM’s silent support to
KLF and vice-versa has
become well known
since 2017 when during
the Punjab Assembly
election campaign, he
stayed at the residence
of KLF extremist leader
port to KLF and vice versa
has become well known
since 2017 when during
the Punjab Assembly elec-
tion campaign, he stayed
at the residence of KLF
extremist leader
Gurwinder Singh.
All along his political
career as well as the phase
he operated as an N.G.O.
head. The country has
seen that Mr Kejriwal has
always had a soft corner
for separatist causes. His
support for people like
Yaseen Mallik is also well
known, the BJP leader
added.
Mr Bhardwaj said that
the BJP had made the
same allegations just
Its ‘outsiders vs insiders’, BJP cheated Kanhaiya files papers
voters of E. Delhi, says AAP’s Kuldeep from N-E Delhi seat
AVINASH PRABHAKAR
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
AAP’s East Delhi Lok
Sabha seat candidate
Kuldeep Kumar said this
election is not like the pre-
vious two polls as it is
being conducted at a time
when chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal has been
unlawfully put behind the
bars and there is a lot of
anger among the public.
In an interview with this
newspaper, he said that by
fielding an “outsider” in
East Delhi, the BJP has
insulted the voters of the
constituency.
“The biggest challenge
and issue is to save the
Constitution across the
country. If this govern-
ment comes to power
again, they will snatch
away the rights and will
end democracy in the coun-
try and change the
Constitution,” said the
AAP candidate while talk-
LOVELY AMONG BJP’S 40 STAR CAMPAIGNERS FOR DELHI
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, BJP chief J.P.
Nadda, Union ministers
Rajnath Singh and Amit
Shah, and chief ministers
of party-ruled states will
be its star campaigners
for the Lok Sabha elec-
tions in Delhi.
The name of Arvinder
Singh Lovely, who recent-
ly quit as the Congress’
Delhi chief, is also present
in the list of 40 star cam-
paigners released by
Arun Singh, the BJP’s
national general secre-
tary.
Mr Lovely joined the
BJP on May 4.
Uttar Pradesh chief
the respective parlia- amount of cash,” an
mentary constituen- official said.
cies.
“The two scrap deal- team
ers were moving suspi- income-tax department
ciously with a bag in about the money. The
the Ballimaran area. police teams are also on
They were intercepted the spot,” the official
by the static surveil- added.
lance teams and could
not give a satisfactory they were carriers for
answer about the the cash, the official
source of the huge further said.
before the 2022 Punjab
Assembly elections in
which the Union home
minister had also conduct-
ed an investigation but
nothing was found.
Now once again, the
same allegation has been
made by Ashoo Mongia, a
BJP leader and the gener-
al secretary of an organi-
sation whose president is
the brother of PM
Narendra Modi.
Targeting the L-G, the
AAP leader said, “The L-G
is recommending inquiry
to gain headlines about an
allegation which the high
court has dismissed two
years back as frivolous. L-
G Saheb is an agent of the
BJP and at the BJP’s
behest, a big conspiracy
has been hatched against
CM Kejriwal. It is being
done to tarnish the image
of the AAP supremo.”
The AAP leader alleged
that by making such trite
allegations it is clear that
the BJP is losing all seven
seats in Delhi and the peo-
The biggest challenge and issue
is to save the Constitution
across the country. If BJP
comes to power again, they will
snatch away the rights and will end
democracy in the country and
change the Constitution.
— Kuldeep Kumar,
AAP leader
ing about his priority. He
also said that the all-round
development of East Delhi
will be his top priority.
On being asked about his
BJP rival candidate Harsh
Malhotra, who was also the
mayor of erstwhile East
Delhi Municipal
Corporation (EDMC), Mr
Kumar said, “He has been
the mayor from East Delhi
civic body, but not the coun-
cillor from East Delhi. If a
former mayor has to give
his own introduction while
seeking votes from the pub-
lic then it raises serious
minister Yogi Adityanath,
Madhya Pradesh CM
Mohan Yadav,
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar
Singh Dhami, Rajasthan
CM Bhajan Lal Sharma,
Assam CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma, and
Haryana CM Nayab Singh
Saini are also among the
star campaigners.
The list also features
outgoing MPs who were
denied the party’s ticket
this time—Harsh
Vardhan, Meenakshi
Lekhi, Parvesh Verma,
Ramesh Bidhuri, and
Gautam Gambhir.
The other prominent
star campaigners are
Union ministers Piyush
Goyal, Hardeep Singh
Puri, Smriti Irani, and
“Subsequently, the
informed the
It is suspected that
ple will reply by defeating
the BJP which insults CM
Kejriwal, who has provid-
ed good education, health,
free electricity, and water.
“Whenever the BJP sees
an electoral defeat coming,
it resorts to making such
allegations so that it can
mislead the public. Now
once again they did it and
this time also nothing will
come out in the investiga-
tion and the public will not
be misled by them,” added
the AAP leader.
In a post on his X handle,
Mr Bhardwaj wrote, “L-G
Saheb has earlier asked
for CBI investigation into
a complaint by a person
like Sukesh
Chandrashekhar who is in
jail for duping and cheat-
ing people with crores of
rupees through his decep-
tion & manipulation.
Sukesh had extorted 200
cr+ from a corporate
house in the name of the
office of HM Amit Shah.
What more can be expect-
ed from L-G Saheb?”
questions over his tenure
as the mayor.”
“There is not a single
work to his credit and this
is the reason why the pub-
lic does not recognise him.
Instead of being mayor of
the EDMC, he had been the
mayor of BJP,” he added.
Mr Kumar also raised the
issues of outsiders versus
insiders in the constituen-
cy and asserted that BJP
has cheated the voters of
the constituency.
He said that previously
two times (2014 and 2019)
the BJP gave the tickets to
Arvinder Singh Lovely
Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Incumbent MP Hema
Malini, Maharashtra
deputy chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis,
Rajasthan’s Prem Chand
Bairwa and Diya Kumari,
and Bihar’s Samrat
Chaudhary will also be
the BJP’s star campaign-
ers.
Reports of Neet-UG exam
paper leak baseless: NTA
‘Betrayal’ of students’ dreams, Cong slams BJP
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
Amid the claims of the
NEET-UG exam 2024 ques-
tion paper leak, the
National Testing Agency
(NTA) on Monday clarified
that the reports are “com-
pletely baseless and with-
out any ground.”
Asserting that every
question paper has been
“accounted for,” the testing
agency said that purported
images of the question
paper circulating on social
media have no relation
with the actual paper.
“It has been ascertained
from NTA’s security proto-
cols and standard operat-
ing procedures that the
social media posts pointing
towards any paper leak are
completely baseless and
without any ground. To
put rumours to rest, it is
also stated that every sin-
gle question paper has
been accounted for,” said
Sadhana Parashar, senior
director, NTA.
Ms Parashar said that no
external person or agency
outsiders from this seat.
“In 2019, BJP fielded
celebrity Gautam Gambhir
from here who was never
seen among the public dur-
ing the last five years. Now
the party has picked a can-
didate from Northeast and
dropped in East Delhi as its
candidate. It is an insult to
the party workers of this
seat,” he said about the
BJP candidate from the
East Delhi seat.
On being asked about the
impact of the arrest of the
chief minister, Mr Kumar
said this election is not BJP
versus AAP, but BJP ver-
sus the people of Delhi.
“Today large-scale anger
is prevailing among the
public as their chief minis-
ter has been arrested in a
fake case. He has deliber-
ately been kept in jail to
prevent him from cam-
paigning for the election.
The BJP has insulted 2
crore citizens of the city,”
he said.
Senior leaders Arun
Singh, Tarun Chugh, Anil
Baluni, Manjinder Singh
Sirsa, Manoj Tiwari,
Vijender Gupta, Satish
Upadhyay, Delhi BJP
chief Virendra Sachdeva,
and party Tamil Nadu
unit chief K. Annamalai
will also campaign in
Delhi.
The BJP is contesting all
seven Lok Sabha seats
and is pitted against the
AAP-Congress combine
in Delhi.
AAP is contesting from
East Delhi, South Delhi,
New Delhi, and West
Delhi seats while the
Congress has fielded can-
didates in Northeast
Delhi, Northwest Delhi,
and Chandni Chowk.
3 from Raj held
for posing as
Neet candidates
New Delhi: Three indi-
viduals, all hailing from
Rajasthan, were arrested
from two schools in south
Delhi for allegedly imper-
sonating as Neet candidat-
ed on Sunday, a police offi-
cial said on Monday.
The accused were identi-
fied as Abhishek (24), a
resident of Jodhpur dis-
trict, Gajraj Singh (21), a
resident of Dausa, and
Rakesh (21), a resident of
Barmer district.
can access the centres once
the examination starts.
She said that after the
gates of the examination
centres are closed, no one
from outside is permitted
access inside the halls,
which are under CCTV
surveillance.
“All other photographs of
question papers circulat-
ing in social media have no
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
Congress candidate
Kanhaiya Kumar, the for-
mer JNU student leader,
on Monday filed his nomi-
nation from the North
East Delhi constituency at
the district magistrate’s
office in Nand Nagri.
He led a spirited march,
with supporters chanting
“hathi Ghodha paalki, jai
kanhaiya lal ki”.
The atmosphere at his
roadshow was electric as
supporters from various
political factions, includ-
ing AAP, Congress, and
CPIM, gathered in droves
to show their unwavering
support for Mr Kumar’s
candidacy.
So far, 141 candidates
have filed their nomina-
tion papers in the national
capital. From the North
pg 5
relation to the actual exam-
ination question paper
which has been adminis-
tered,” she added.
The NTA had on Sunday
claimed that the distribu-
tion of wrong question
papers at an exam centre
in Rajasthan led to some
candidates walking out
with the papers. The
agency had denied any
leak of the question paper.
“The integrity of the
examination process was
not compromised. The
exam was later reconduct-
ed for the 120 affected can-
didates at the centre,” she
had said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, slamming
the BJP, the Congress on
Monday said this trend has
been going on for the last
10 years and that is why
unemployment and cor-
ruption in jobs are the
biggest issues of this elec-
tion. Former Congress
president Rahul Gandhi
said the news of NEET
exam paper leak is a
“betrayal” of the dreams of
more than 23 lakh students
and their families.
Kanhaiya Kumar
East Delhi constituency, 24
people have filed papers,
the highest in the city so
far. He was accompanied
by Delhi Congress presi-
dent Devender Yadav, for-
mer president and chair-
man of the election man-
agement committee and
co-ordination committee
Subhash Chopra, former
DPCC president Anil
Chaudhary, AAP leader
and Delhi minister Gopal
Rai, MLA Sandeep Jha,
and others.
 EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
pg 6

Subhani

7 MAY 2024

India’s growth story on a

surge, but address jobs
I
n a massive vote of confidence for the Indian economy, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) recently stated that India’s economy would grow by 6.8
per cent in the current fiscal year, but driven primarily by public investment.
Its previous growth projection for the Indian economy was 6.3 per cent.
With the latest growth projection, IMF appears to be more circumspect about the
Indian economy than the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
which believes that the economy will grow by 7 per cent. Another body, the India-
Ratings, forecast the economic growth in India this current year to be around 7.1
per cent.
The upward revision in economic growth figure is in tune with other macro-eco-
nomic indicators, such as manufacturing growth, tax receipts and the expansion of
the services sector.
The services sector continues to be one of the strongest in the last 14 years,
though it slightly softened to 60.8 in April. The April figure, as compiled by S&P
Global in the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index, declined from 61.2
in March and was lower than the flash estimates of 61.7, mainly due to a modera-
tion in new export orders.
The improved outlook for the economic growth is supported by several factors,
including a sustained government capital expenditure, deleveraging of corporate
and banking sector balance sheets and the emerging private corporate capital
expenditure cycle.
Campuses erupt in US: Can LETTERS
CHECK DIPLOMATS
FOR GOLD
Ind-Ra expects the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) to grow by
seven per cent year-on-year in FY25, marking a three-year high. However, current
consumption demand remains skewed, driven largely by goods and services con-
sumed by higher-income households.
Rural consumption has been weak, but Ind-Ra anticipates support from above-
normal monsoon rainfall predicted by the India Meteorological Department and
India, world learn lessons? The goings-on in is protecting and promoting
SMUGGLING
This refers to the resigna-
tion of Ms Zakia Wardak,
increased procurement targets set by the Food Corporation of India. this systematic clampdown the Counsel General of
America should
Industrial growth is projected at 7.0 per cent year-on-year, driven mainly by con- on dissent. One news show the Islamic Republic of
struction and electricity/utility sectors. The agricultural sector is expected to ben- Shashidhar trigger thought and a
sensible dialogue
targeted the US for its
stance favouring farmers
Afghanistan in Mumbai,
Nanjundaiah
efit from above-normal monsoon rainfall, with growth forecasted at 3.6 per cent
year-on-year. back home on how during the year-long 2020- following the report of
While the economy will continue to be driven by the massive public expenditure we can facilitate, not 2021 protests, when the her having been caught,
bankrolled by the central government, economists point out that efforts should be Delhi police barricaded the
made to kick start private consumption. curb, speech. capital and treated farmers trying to smuggle gold
Annual growth in real private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) and real with brutal force. These self- worth Rs 18 crores into
gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) for 2024-25 are expected at 6.1 per cent and 8.1 congratulatory retorts,
India from Dubai. The

C
per cent, respectively. olumbia Unive-
In order to further boost the private consumption , the government should ensure rsity in New York
that people have enough purchasing power by creating jobs for different skill sets. is in the news in
Instead of investing primarily in physical infrastructure, the government should, India after the
therefore, invest more in enchanting skills of its main resources: the people. university’s presi-
All these are factors based on strong foundations but the Indian political estab- dent ordered police raids on
lishment must read the numbers more carefully, and also look for clues for where the campus in mid-April,
there are signs of distress or lack of confidence. The growth might also be possible and it cannot augur well for
without a proportional growth in direct jobs is well established in today’s global campuses in other coun-
economy, with features like robotic and automated manufacturing to Artificial tries, including India. The
Intelligence enabling small high value startups or corporations to generate extra- incident triggered student
ordinary value, without deploying too much of human effort. protests across 50 American
The growth story also hides the inequalities in the society, and therefore, while campuses over the Israeli
we cheer the shining skies, the patches of gloomy clouds must also draw out atten- aggression against Palestin-
tion, and action. ians, in particular residents
of the Gaza Strip, and to
J&K attack: Call polls swiftly spotlight an ineffective pro-
Palestine movement called
Boycott, Divestment, Sanc-
schools. The headline
referred to Nixon’s speech a
few days before, where he
had called protesters “bums
blowing up the campuses”
and US college students “the
luckiest people in the
world”.
The parallel between 1970
and 2024 should not entirely
be surprising: First, both
protests are fights for spaces
in physical and figurative
senses. Second, student
voices were discredited in
similar ways. Third, and the
broadest in its significance,
the current protests are the
biggest since 1970, and the
the campus governance lies
in the hands of the universi-
ty. Moreover, US campuses
pride themselves on being
safe spaces for speech and
expression, and they have
remained that way without
fear of violence or preven-
tion. However, violence is
treated as a law-and-order
problem. Unlike in the US,
where intervention of the
law enforcement agencies is
disruptive, dramatic, rare
and highly evocative, in
India, the insinuation has
been silent and efficient
with a chilling effect. In the-
ory, this principle of free
apparently made as repre-
sentatives of the govern-
ment, are now common.
However, what has become
a routine exercise in majori-
tarian nationalism here
appears to find parallels in
the world media in toeing a
government line that is ide-
ological rather than ratio-
nal.
All this is not exactly a
banner headline in India.
Even the academic com-
mentariat has largely skirt-
ed it. Silencing academic
voices is reminiscent of the
pre-modern hierarchical
societies of oppression. The
report stated that she
was not arrested owing to
her 'enjoying' diplomatic
immunity. The incident
throws light on how the
'services' of the diplomats
of foreign missions are
being used to smuggle
gold into India capitalis-
ing their immunity, of
course, on a quid pro quo.
In view of the active par-
ticipation of foreign

T
he ambush of an Indian Air Force convoy in the Surankote area of Jammu & tions (BDS). More than 1,000 government is going after debate and fostering of criti- US action vindicates the diplomats in smuggling
Kashmir’s Poonch district is just another cruel reminder that the threat of people, including profes- protesters in an election cal thinking is also valid camp that laments that
terrorism is always present. The tragic event in which one IAF personnel sors, have been detained or year. A recent survey among Indian universities. there is “too much free- gold, the Indian authori-
died, and others injured, as terrorists opened heavy fire with assault rifles high- arrested; St. Louis-based showed that the proportion Indeed, critical thinking dom”. There is nothing ties should write to all
lights the security challenge in the Valley. Washington University, a of Americans who support appears prominently in the excessive in free expression
Statistics of terror attacks and the fatalities suffered in them including the gun- private university like the Israeli aggression is far guiding principles of the on university campuses: foreign missions in India
ning down of militants who cross over with the blessings of Pakistan’s ISI in the Columbia, has banned six of more than those who oppose new documents of higher Disagreement with a gov- that their diplomats
last five years, may indicate an improvement of sorts in terms of declining num- its professors; on May 1, the it. Populism surfaces the education such as the new ernment’s stand cannot be should subject them-
ber of incidents. But they cannot comfort the families of those martyrs who give up police entered a Columbia most when definable and National Education Policy equated with something ille-
their lives for no reason other than terror exported by a prickly neighbour to med- campus building that the tangible objectives are — although it has liberal gal. Even if it is in forms selves for a check to steer
dle in Indian affairs. Gaza protesters had occu- immediate and existential. education principles that that are rough at the edges, clear of their roles in the
It is preposterous that partisan politics should dictate that anyone, least of all a pied. Regardless of which ideolo- emphasise skills-based edu- it is essential to the growth
former CM of Punjab, cast aspersions on the incident being a staged one. An exten- The protesters at gy governs a nation, such cation and critical thinking and sustenance of dialecti- smuggling racket.
sive hunt for two Pakistanis who may have carried out the operation is proof Columbia and elsewhere events expose the populism together, somewhat self- cal societies, the hallmark of V S Jayaraman,
enough that the major source of terror in the Valley still lies across the border and are reported to have told the that lurks behind moralistic contradictorily. modernity. Chennai
the life of a serviceman is the price India must unfortunately pay for its vigil news media that these rhetoric. Once populism can In practice, many of these Majoritarian populism is
against the evil designs of motivated terrorism. demonstrations should be effectively cloaked in “safe spaces” are not truly the method of pragmatism
As the Valley slips into election season and Poonch goes to the polls on May 25, it
was always on the cards that forces across the border would try to sow discord by
remind us of the disastrous
stand-off in 1970 between
imperativeness — such as
that of war or other moral
free. In July 2021, a Central
university in Madhya
that is defining the two
countries’ approaches.
ALL CITIZENS ARE
triggering an event like this. And yet the democratic process must go on, despite
the threats that may abound.
students and the US
National Guard, which shot
conflict — it lends an emo-
tive, nationalistic purpose
Pradesh organised a confer-
ence in association with a
Report after global report
evidences a decline in the
EQUAL
In fact, the successful conduct of the Lok Sabha poll would be a precursor to the and killed four students on to the voter. For all Nixon’s US university. The theme, democratic operations of All citizens of India, irrespective of any
state elections that must be held in Jammu and Kashmir to restore democratic the Kent State University impending downfall, people “Cultural and Linguistic one; the cracks are more vis- other consideration like wealth, social
rule, notwithstanding the success of a heightened security awareness under Delhi campus in Ohio. Students, were supportive of his hard Hurdles in the Achievement ible than ever in the other. and political status and caste, are equal
rule, which has reportedly brought down the incidence of terror in the Valley. protesting the US occupa- stance against the student of Scientific Temper”, Whether the US is learning before law. If that is true and scrupu-
Regardless of who comes to power after the 2024 polls, the restoration of democ- tion of Cambodia at the tail protests. touched a raw nerve among from nations like Turkey, lously enforced, I wonder why the
ratic rule in J&K must be a priority and preferably met by the top court’s deadline end of the long-drawn Predictably, the indigna- many, and two of the speak- Hungary, Israel and India is Supreme Court has raised the question
of September 30. No one’s commitment to this principle should waver because of Vietnam war, had occupied tion game has begun: The ers were known liberal unclear, but the slide away of the timing of the arrest of Delhi CM
security concerns. common and open spaces on pro-establishment media in intellectuals. After the from President Joe Biden’s before the elections. It should not be
campuses, considered safe India has seized the oppor- right-wing ABVP objected, avowal to save democracy unknown to the wisdom of the SC that
DECCAN CHRONICLE spaces for voice and speech. tunity to call out the Biden the police asked the authori- in 2021 is surfacing in quite law enforcers cannot wait for auspi-
Anxious to quell the dissent, administration, questioning ties to halt the event as it an ironic fashion. The cious time or for a time that suits the
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR President Richard Nixon how the US “lectured” India might “disturb communal goings-on in America convenience of the person to be arrest-
Editor Printer & Publisher should trigger thought and
R. MOHAN sent the Guard to campuses. on free speech. The com- harmony”. As most of us ed if they have unassailable evidence
Resident Editor The shooting shocked the mentaries are right to point recognise, this is hardly a a sensible dialogue back against him about his acts of misde-
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: world after it snowballed out the diplomatic hypo- lone case. The police in home on how we can facili- meanour. They cannot also forewarn
Chennai: SP 3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Phones: (044) 22254750, into a media event. crisy. They are misleading India do not intervene only tate, not curb, speech. any person intended to be arrested to
22254751
Coimbatore: No. 2/22 Sengalipalayam Road, N.G.G.O. Colony Post, Kurudampalayam Village, Newspapers and magazines because the First Amend- when protests get violent; give him or her to destroy evidence or
Coimbatore-641022. Phone: (0422) 2231255, 2231256 amplified it, using shocking ment, the US equivalent of they often prevent or inter- The writer is professor to escape from their dragnet. Surprise
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003. Phone: (040) 27803930-4. Fax: (040) photographs of students our Article 19, applies to rupt even peaceful protests, and dean of Hyderabad- and swiftness are the cardinal princi-
27805256. lying on the ground dead. public spaces alone. The US triggering a chilling effect. based Mahindra ples with which police and other law
Visakhapatnam: Survey No. 1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony, University’s School of
Visakhapatnam - 530 017. Phones: (0891) 2552333/2552334, Fax (0891) 2755285 An iconic image in the Daily statements on the farmers’ It is in fact private universi- enforcers act against culprits, thugs,
Vijayawada: No. C 3 & 4, Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.). Phones: (0866) Mirror, a British tabloid, protest is a particularly ties in India that have the Media, and the author of offenders and violators of law.
2555284/ 2555287, Fax (0866) 2555234 accompanied by a scathing- false equivalence for our best chance to stay the News Aesthetics and Myth: Marudamalaiyan, Coimbatore
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry 533125. Phones: (0883) 2417208, 2417618 ly caustic headline, “Death media to draw. Many of the course of rationality and The Making of Media
Anantapur: Thapovan Colony, Bangalore Bye-Pass Road, Anantapur 515004. Phones: (08554) 276903, Illiteracy in India, which
Fax: 08554-276904 of a Bum”, followed by the campuses are indeed public permit eclectic voices, tho-
Nellore: Survey No. 527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemudugunta Panchayat, Nellore. sub-heading “Four Killed in universities; however, ughts and ideas to flourish. will be published soon. Mail your letters to
Phone: (0861) 2348581/ 82, Telefax (0861) 2348580 New Demo on Cambodia”, Columbia, Harvard and In targeting the US gov- The views expressed are chennaidesk@deccanmail.com
Karimnagar: H .No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karim Nagar - 505186 is a case study across media many others are not. There, ernment, the Indian media personal.
Phone : 9121181123

T
he primary function of Parliament is to
legislate. When we elect people to the Lok
Sabha, we are choosing who will write and
pass our laws. In India, laws are now
passed without debate, both at the Union and the
state levels. This means that parties which have a
Aakar Patel majority and an ideology can legislate what they
want without pushback.
As we elect MPs for the next five years, let us
look at many of the laws and amendments that we
have been given in the previous decade:
■Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019
This amendment gives the Union the powers to set
the salaries and service conditions of information
commissioners at the Union as well as state levels.
heads by Muslims was prohibited because
“clothes which disturb equality, integrity and
public law and order should not be worn”. Sikhs
were excluded from the order.
■Maharashtra Animal Preservation
(Amendment) Act, 2015
After the Prime Minister’s speeches against what
he called the “pink revolution”, states began to
criminalise the possession of beef. This began a
series of violent attacks the media called “beef lyn-
chings”. Someone accused of having a beef sand-
wich can be jailed five years. This first law began
a series of copycat laws in other BJP-ruled states.
■The Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and
Gausamvardhan Act, 2015
■Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018
This is the first of seven state laws introduced and
legislated by the BJP after the conspiracy theory
of “love jihad” began to be circulated. It crimi-
nalises marriages between Hindus and Muslims if
conversion is involved. However, “if any person
comes back to his ancestral religion”, then this
shall not be deemed conversion. Those who
change their faith without applying to the govern-
ment “in the prescribed pro-forma” and without
the consent of the government after the police
inquiry face jail.
■Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act,
2019
Similar to Uttarakhand’s law, under this law the
Internet services. India is the world’s leader in
Internet shutdowns. Of 213 total global shutdowns
in 2019, India accounted for 56 per cent (12 times
more than the next nation, Venezuela). Of 155 glob-
al shutdowns in 2020, India accounted for 70 per
cent.
■Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of
Immovable Property and Provision for
Protection of Tenants from Eviction from
Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 2019
Amendment
This law bans Hindus and Muslims from buying
or renting properties from each other without the
government’s permission. The government will
determine if the sale of a property would lead to

What kind of laws Instead of fixed terms, commissioners can be

appointed on arbitrary conditions and salaries.
India fell from second place in global RTI ratings
Possession of beef is punishable by up to five years
in jail. The burden of proof is on the accused.
■The Gujarat Animal Preservation
punishment for propagation (a fundamental right
under Article 25) is seven years in jail.
■Uttar Pradesh Vidhi Viruddh Dharma
the likelihood of “polarisation” or “improper clus-
tering” of people from a particular religion. It also
gives the government the power to undo transac-

will our new MPs in 2014 to ninth place.

■The Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Amendment Act, 2019
Before this amendment, UAPA only allowed
(Amendment) Act, 2017
This law extended the punishment for cow
slaughter to life in prison. No other economic
crime attracts life. Minister of state for home
Samparivartan Pratishedh Adhyadesh, 2020
Similar to the previous laws, this one prohibits
conversion except with government permission
and 60 days’ notice. Similar laws were passed by
tions, even if the buyer and seller make no appeal.
In effect, even foreigners can lease and buy prop-
erty in those parts of Gujarat’s cities where Indian
Muslims cannot. It should be noted that some of

enact? Take a look organisations to be categorised as “terrorist”. The

State can now categorise any individual as a “ter-
rorist”. These individuals need not even have any
Pradipsinh Jadeja said the logic was to equal cow
slaughter with murder.
■Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public
BJP governments in MP (Madhya Pradesh
Freedom of Religion Act, 2021), Gujarat (Gujarat
Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021),
these laws have remained even after the party that
has legislated them in a state has been unseated.
These laws have a long-term effect and have con-

over last 10 years affiliation with any of the 36 terrorist organisa-

tions mentioned in the law to be classified as ter-
rorists and then jailed.
■The Karnataka Education Act (1983) Order
2022
In 2022, Karnataka banned Muslim women and
girls from covering their heads in schools and col-
leges that had uniforms. Even in colleges which
did not have a prescribed uniform, the covering of
and Private Property Act, 2020
Enacted after the UP Police shot dead 21 people
protesting against the CAA, this law gives the gov-
ernment the power to set up tribunals to decide
damage to any public or private property due to
riots, hartals, bandhs, protests or public proces-
sions. All orders passed by the tribunals will be
final and cannot be appealed before any court,
under the law’s Section 22.
Karnataka (Karnataka Protection of Right to
Freedom of Religion Act, 2022) and Haryana
(Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of
Religious Act, 2022).
■Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services
(Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules,
2017
This gives the Union and state governments the
power to suspend, for any reason, mobile and
ditioned the police and bureaucrats and the judi-
ciary to think of our society in a particular way.
They are a reflection of the sort of nation India
has become and give us a glimpse into what more
we can expect in the years to come after this elec-
tion ends.
The writer is the chair of Amnesty International
India. Twitter: @aakar__patel
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
SHORT TAKES
Soren moves SC
over denial of bail
New Delhi: Former
Jharkhand chief minister
Hemant Soren moved the
Supreme Court on Monday
against the high court order,
dismissing his plea challeng-
ing his arrest by the
Enforcement Directorate in a
money laundering case
linked to a land “scam”.
Appearing for Mr Soren, sen-
ior advocate Kapil Sibal
mentioned the matter before
a three-judge bench, headed
by Chief Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud, seeking
urgent listing of his plea. Mr
Sibal said polling in
Jharkhand for the Lok Sabha
elections will commence on
May 13 and Mr Soren should
be allowed to campaign for
his party JMM. “Hemant
Soren was arrested on
January 31. We moved the
high court on February 4.
The HC reserved the judg-
ment on February 28 but did
not deliver the judgment,”
Mr Sibal said.
UP: BSP replaces
Jaunpur candidate
Jaunpur, UP: The BSP on
Monday replaced its Jaunpur
Lok Sabha seat candidate
Shrikala Reddy with incum-
bent MP Shyam Singh Yadav.
Shrikala Reddy, the wife of
former MP Dhananjay Singh,
was announced as the
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
candidate from Jaunpur on
April 16. Reacting to the
move, Mr Singh said that “by
doing this, my wife is feeling
hurt”. He also said the move
was a conspiracy to humili-
ate him. “Talk about my wife
returning the ticket is base-
less,” he added. Shyam
Singh Yadav said he was
called by the BSP chief
Mayawati and asked to con-
test from Jaunpur. An MP-
MLA court in Jaunpur on
March 6 sentenced Mr Singh
and his associate Santosh
Vikram to seven years’ rigor-
ous imprisonment in a 2020
case of kidnapping and
extortion of a Namami
Gange project
manager. —PTI
BJP leader booked
over farmer’s death
Rajpura, Patiala: Police here
have booked BJP leader
Harwinder Singh Harpalpur
for culpable homicide not
amounting to murder in con-
nection with the death of a
farmer during a protest
against a BJP candidate on
May 4. Sixty-year-old
Surinder Pal Singh died after
he fell on the ground during
the protest against Patiala
Lok Sabha seat candidate
Preneet Kaur. According to a
complaint lodged by
Surinder Pal’s nephew
Resham Singh, Pal was
among a group of farmers
who were trying to confront
Ms Kaur to question her dur-
ing their protest. But
Harpalpur and others
allegedly started pushing
them and in the melee, his
uncle fell down. — PTI
SC GRANTS BAIL
TO ANSARI’S SON
IN 2022 CASE
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The Supreme Court on
Monday granted anticipatory
bail to Umar Ansari, son of
deceased gangster-politician
Mukhtar Ansari, in a case of
alleged violation of the
model code of conduct dur-
ing the 2022 Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections. A bench
of Justices
Hrishikesh Roy and
P.K. Mishra asked
Mr Umar to appear
before the trial
court, which will
enlarge him on bail. Umar
During the hearing, Ansari
senior advocate
Garima Prashad, represent-
ing the Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment, said Mr Umar has
not been appearing before
the trial court in the case. It
is a case of inciting people
in a congregation and the
co-accused, who appeared
before the trial court, have
got regular bail, the senior
counsel said. “Please direct
him to appear before the
trial court and seek regular
bail instead of anticipatory
bail,” Ms Prashad urged the
court. Senior advocate Kapil
Sibal, appearing for Umar,
contested Ms Prashad’s
claim and said he had
appeared before the trial
court and furnished bonds.
“He was on the stage but
did not utter a word with
regard to the offending
statement,” Mr Sibal
submitted.
■ Gujarat, Goa to complete polling in single phase today
NC’s Kargil unit
Ph-3 today; Shah, Scindia and resigns en masse
Diggy among top netas in fray
FROM PG 1
In Maharashtra, 258 can-
didates are in the fray in
the third phase though all
eyes are on the Baramati
seat, where Sharad
Pawar's daughter Supriya
Sule is pitted against
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the
veteran leader's estranged
nephew and Maharashtra
deputy CM Ajit Pawar as
polling for 11 seats in
Maharashtra is scheduled
for May 7.
Voting in Madhya
Pradesh will take place for
nine seats, where Union
minister Jyotiraditya
Scindia and former state
chief ministers Shivraj
Singh Chouhan and
Digvijaya Singh are in the
fray among a total 127 can-
didates contesting from
Morena, Bhind, Gwalior,
Guna, Sagar, Vidisha,
Bhopal, Rajgarh and
Betul. At stake is the polit-
Slugfest over Modi’s
CM claim; Patnaik
says BJP ‘dreaming’
AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 6
Hours after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
on Monday asserted that
the BJP will have its gov-
ernment in Odisha on
June 10, indicating that
the Naveen Patnaik-led
regional Biju Janata Dal
(BJD) will be voted out of
power, BJD’s key strate-
gist V. Karthikeyan
Pandian countered his
statement and said,
“Naveen Patnaik will be
sworn-in as CM of the
state for a record sixth
term on June 9.”
CM Patnaik also tried to
make fun of Mr Modi’s
claim, saying, “BJP dina-
re swapna dekhuchi (BJP
is day-dreaming).”
The rare slugfest
between Mr Modi and Mr
Pandian created flutters
in political circles.
Curious people began dis-
cussing among them-
selves as to whose asser-
tion was stronger.
While many maintained
that Mr Modi cannot
make such a big assertion
without having a clear
understanding of the
ground situation as it
would cost him his repu-
tation, others, who have
been keeping a close
watch on the bureaucrat-
turned-politician,
vouched that the latter
cannot go wrong as all his
`20-30cr cash recovered from
help ‘linked’ to minister’s secy
DC CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/RANCHI, MAY 6
The Enforcement Direct-
orate on Monday report-
edly claimed that it has
recovered an estimated
`20-30 crores of “unac-
counted” cash during
searches at the premises
of a domestic help
allegedly linked to the
secretary of Jharkhand
minister Alamgir Alam.
Nearly `3 crore cash
was separately recovered
by EDfrom some other
premises where the
searches have been going
on, sources said.
ED was seen taking out
wads of currency notes
from large bags in a room
located in a building at
Nota hijacks BJP, Cong campaigns in Indore
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, MAY 6
Madhya Pradesh’s Indore
is perhaps the only Lok
Sabha constituency in the
country where Nota
(none of the above) has
become the key theme of
campaigns of rival par-
ties — the BJP and the
Congress — for the May
13 polls.
The Nota option has
suddenly come into
prominence after Indore
Congress candidate
Akshay Kanti Bam with-
drew his nomination at
the last moment, denying
the grand old party to
field an alternative nomi-
Election officials carry EVMs and other materials on a
tractor to polling booths on the eve of 3rd phase Lok
Sabha elections in Assam’s Kamrup district.
ical future of Mr Scindia,
seeking to reclaim the
home turf of Guna, which
he lost in 2019 when he
was in the Congress.
Naveen Patnaik
◗ THE RARE slugfest
between Modi and
Pandian created flutters
in political circles.
Curious people began dis-
cussing among them-
selves as to whose asser-
tion was stronger.
previous articulations
have proved right.
“Naveen Patnaik will
take oath as the chief
minister of Odisha for
the sixth consecutive
time between 11.30 am to
1.30 pm on June 9," Mr
Pandian said on Monday
afternoon.
At two separate meet-
ings in Odisha’s
Berhampur and
Nabarangpur, the PM on
Monday said, “On June 4,
the Bharatiya Janata
Party will emerge victori-
ous in the Odisha
Assembly polls. On June
6, we will name our chief
minister candidate and
on June 10, our CM will
take oath of office.”
Gadikhana Chowk, they
said, adding that some
Central force security
personnel were also
deployed.
According to ED, a
domestic help of Mr
Alam’s secretary Sanjiv
Lal is alleged to be resid-
ing at this location.
The Central agency
sources said a total of
eight note-counting
machines have been
deployed to count the
cash which could range
between `20-30 crores.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi referred
to the seizures in his poll
rallies in Odisha and
AndhraPradesh. He said
“mounds of cash” were
seized by the ED in
Jharkhand.
nee in the seat. Mr Bam
later quit the Congress
and joined the BJP.
State Congress presi-
dent Jitu Patwari has
accused the BJP of
resorting to coercive
measures to make Mr
Bam withdraw his nomi-
nation.
However, Mr Bam later
blamed Mr Patwari for
the “unpleasant” deci-
sion, saying that he was
“asked” to spend money
in the elections, which
was beyond his means.
Besides Mr Bam, 10
Independent candidates
also withdrew their nomi-
nations, leaving BJP
nominee Shankar
Lalwani, the incumbent
— PTI
BJP veteran and former
CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan is contesting
from the Vidisha con-
stituency, a saffron
EC warns
poll picks of
misuse of
social media
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
Taking cognizance of
the certain violations of
Model Code of Conduct
(MCC), the Election
Commission has direct-
ed political parties and
their candidates to make
“responsible and ethical
use” of social media
platforms, and remove
“fake” content within
three hours of coming to
their notice.
The poll body has
warned parties against
misuse of AI-based tools
to create deep fakes,
pressing to uphold the
integrity of the electoral
process.
The directive comes
days after the Delhi
police arrested a and redistribution of
Congress member in
connection with a deep
fake and a morphed
video case involving
Union home minister
Amit Shah.
The Election
Commission said it has
been repeatedly direct-
ing the political parties
and their leaders and
candidates to maintain
decorum and utmost
restraint in public cam-
paigning.
Ex-Cong neta claims she was Supriya writes to EC,
abused, forced to drink liquor seeks more forces
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
RAIPUR, MAY 6
Former
spokesman
AICC
Radhika
Khare on Monday
alleged that a Congress
leader in Raipur abused
her on April 30 and all
her pleadings to senior
party leaders for action
in the matter went
unheeded.
Talking to reporters,
Ms Khare, who resigned
from the Congress on
Sunday over the issue,
alleged that she was
abused by Chhattisgarh
Congress media chair-
man Sushil Anand
Shukla in the party
office on April 30 when
she went to him to talk
about the pending visit
of party spokesman
Poll officials collect election material at a distribution
centre on the eve of the third phase of Lok Sabha
elections in Bhopal on Monday.
MP, along with 13 other raised the prospect of
Independent candidates BJP candidate Lalwani
to remain in the contest getting a walkover in the
in the seat. polls.
The development has
fortress, which he had rep-
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, MAY 6
All the functionaries of
National Conference (NC)
resented multiple times in in Kargil on Monday
the Lok Sabha in the past, announced en masse res-
after almost 17 years. He is ignation from the party
pitted against Congress over the choice of candi-
candidate Pratap Bhanu date for the lone Ladakh
Sharma. Lok Sabha seat.
In Rajgarh, Congress vet- It accused the party
eran and former CM high command of “pres-
Digvijaya Singh seeks to surizing” it to accept
reclaim the lost legacy, Tsering Namgyal — NC wrote on microblog-
marking his return to the leader of opposition in
Lok Sabha electoral con- Ladakh Autonomous Hill
test after more than 30 Development Council
years. His challenger is (LAHDC) in Leh — as the
two-time BJP MP Rodmal consensus candidate of
Nagar. INDIA bloc.
The third phase of Lok The NC and the
Sabha elections in West Congress had in the first
Bengal will see four week of April announced
Muslim-majority con- pre-poll seat sharing
stituencies going to the arrangement in J&K and
polls on Tuesday, with the Ladakh, excluding the
division of minority votes J&K Peoples Democratic
among the Left-Congress Party (PDP), another con-
combine and the TMC and stituent of the INDIA
the narrative on the bloc. As per this arrange-
Citizenship Amendment
Act potentially shaping
ment, the NC is set to con-
test polls on the three
the outcome. seats in Kashmir Valley,
Rahul: MGNREGA wage hike,
caste survey if voted to power
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, MAY 6
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday
pledged to hike the
Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural
Employment Guarantee
Act (MGNREGA) wage to
`400 if his party formed
the government at the
Centre after the Lok
Sabha elections.
Addressing a poll rally
in Alirajpur, under the
Ratlam (ST) Lok Sabha
constituency in Madhya
Pradesh, Mr Gandhi reit- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi offers prayer at the
erated that if his party Devishri Lalbai Phoolbai temple in Khargone on
comes to power, then a Monday.
caste and economic sur-
vey will be conducted in ment scheme, pledged in
the country to ensure pro-
portionate reservation to
the party’s manifesto, to
ensure jobs for one year to
different categories of
weaker sections of people
the unemployed youth in
the country.
Mr Gandhi warned of an
wealth among them as per agenda by the BJP and
their populations. Rashtriya Swayamsevak
The Congress leader Sangh (RSS) to change the
said that the 50 per cent Constitution to remove
cap on the reservation reservation if Prime
will be removed for the Minister Narendra Modi
purpose. gets a third term as the
Mr Gandhi said that the PM and said that the gen-
Congress will also waive eral election is fought to
crop loans of the farmers save the Constitution and
in the country if the party reservation and the “jal,
gets mandate to form gov- jungle, jameen (water, for-
ernment at the Centre. est and land)” of the tribal
He also highlighted the people.
Congress’ new employ- Mr Gandhi said that the
for Baramati election She alleged that she
had taken up the matter
with senior party lead-
ers such as Sachin Pilot
and Mr Khera, but she
did not get any response.
Mr Pilot’s PA told her
to keep silent and not to
tell anyone about the
incident since it was
election time, she
claimed.
Radhika Khare Ms Khera said that she
had even informed for-
Pawan Khera to Raipur mer chief minister
the next day. Bhupesh Baghel about
“I screamed and shout- the incident and said
ed at Mr Shukla and oth- that she wanted to quit
ers in the room to go politics.
down and called for help. But, Mr Baghel asked
But, no one responded. her to leave
The room was locked Chhattisgarh, she
and I was abused,” she alleged.
alleged. Ms Khera was AICC’s
Ms Khera also alleged communication and
that Mr Shukla had media coordinator for
offered her alcohol. Chhattisgarh.
explored the option of
extending support to one
of the 13 Independent
candidates who are in the
fray to take on the BJP.
But, the party later
dropped the idea after
sensing that it will be a
futile exercise and hence,
decided to launch a cam-
paign, appealing to voters
to opt for Nota to ensure
that the option gets the
highest number of votes
among the candidates.
“We have decided not to
— PTI extend our support to any
of the Independent candi-
dates who are in the fray
in the seat,” K.K. Mishra,
media advisor to Mr
Patwari told this newspa-
The Congress has per on Monday.
◗ IT ACCUSED the party
high command of “pres-
surising” it to accept
Tsering Namgyal as the
consensus candidate of
INDIA bloc
whereas the two seats in
Jammu region and the
lone seat in Ladakh were
left for the Congress to
contest on.
Earlier on Monday, the
ging site ‘X’, “NC presi-
dent Dr Farooq Abdullah
has directed the Kargil
unit of the party to sup-
port the INDIA bloc can-
didate — T. Namgyal — in
the Lok Sabha election for
the Ladakh seat. He has
told his colleagues that
failure to follow this
directive will be seen as a
serious breach of party
discipline.”
Mr Namgyal filed his
nomination papers before
the returning officer in
Leh last week, following
which the fissures within
the bloc came in open.
— PTI
BJP claimed to secure
more than 400 seats in the
Lok Sabha elections, but it
would not even cross the
150 mark.
He said that if the BJP
returns to power, then the
country will be ruled by
hardly 22-25 wealthy peo-
ple.
Mr Gandhi later
addressed another poll
rally in Seagaon, under
the Khargone (ST) Lok
Sabha constituency.
Ratlam and Khargone
are going to polls in the
fourth and final phases in
Madhya Pradesh along
with seven other seats on
May 13.
BHAGWAN PARAB
MUMBAI, MAY 6
With all eyes on the
Baramati seat battle, NCP
(SP) candidate Supriya Sule
has expressed the probabili-
ty of a foul play on the
polling day on
Tuesday.
Ms Sule on Monday wrote
to the Election Commission
seeking additional security
deployment in the
Baramati Lok Sabha con-
stituency on the polling day.
She said 157 out of 300
polling stations in the con-
stituency are 'sensitive' and
there could be attempts of
foul play.
In the letter, Ms Sule has
said that polling stations in
Baramati City, Baramati
Rural, Daund, Purandar
and Khadakwasla are sen-
sitive and they should be
given special attention.
Saying that there may be
malpractices at these
polling stations, she has
asked the Election
Commission to take precau-
tionary measures there.
If anything goes wrong at
this sensitive booths, the
responsibility will be on the
BJP fearing defeat, giving LS
polls communal colour: Cong
DC CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI, MAY 6
The Congress has alleged
that the BJP, fearing defeat,
is giving communal colour
to the Lok Sabha polls by
raising issues like Hindu-
Muslim and Pakistan. Modi
and the BJP have realised
pg 7
Baghel, Gehlot
observers for
Rae Bareli &
Amethi seats
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The Congress on
Monday appointed for-
mer chief ministers
Bhupesh Baghel and
Ashok Gehlot as All
India Congress
Committee (AICC) sen-
ior observers for the Rae
Bareli and Amethi con-
stituencies respectively.
Congress leader
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
is set to spearhead the
campaign in Rae Bareli
and Amethi, and camp
in these constituencies
in Uttar Pradesh from
Monday to ensure the
party’s victory in the
two high-profile seats.
Ms Vadra has already
taken command of the
campaign and will
remain in Rae Bareli
and Amethi till the end
of the polls. She will
hold hundreds
“nukkad sabhas”, meet-
of
ings and door-to-door
programmes, sources
said. She will be based at
a guesthouse in Rae
Bareli. “From booth
management to out-
reach, everything would
be handled by her,”
sources added.
She will also handle
the planning and sched-
uling of visits by top
leaders like Congress
president Mallikarjun
Kharge, Mr Baghel and
former Rajasthan
deputy chief minister
Sachin Pilot. She will
cover about 250-300 vil-
lages and give equal
time to both the con-
s t i t u e n c i e s ,
sources said.
Pawar falls ill
day ahead of
Baramati poll
DC CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI, MAY 6
A day before the
Baramati Lok Sabha
constituency goes to
poll, the NCP (SP) said
it’s chief Sharad Pawar
has taken ill and has
been advised rest. All his
events scheduled for
Monday were canceled.
Mr Pawar was sup-
posed to attend a few ral-
lies in Marathwada on
Monday.
In a statement, the
NCP said that the 84-
year-old has been exten-
sively campaigning for
the Lok Sabha elections
across Maharashtra.
administra-
tion,
added.
she
In Bara-
mati, Ms
Sule, who is
NCP founder
S h a r a d
P a w a r ’ s
daughter, is
Supriya Sule taking on
S u n e t r a
Pawar, wife of Maha-rash-
tra deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Baramati is a stronghold
of the NCP, which has held
the seat since 1999. Sharad
Pawar held the seat from
1999 to 2009, and since then
his daughter Supriya Sule,
has represented the seat in
the Lok Sabha.
Voting for 11 seats in
Maharashtra will be held
on Tuesday. The seats
where voting will take place
in the third phase on May 7
are Baramati, Raigad,
Osmanabad, Latur, Solapur,
Madha, Sangli, Satara,
Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg,
Kolhapur and
Hatkanangale.
Polling will begin at 7 am
and end at 6 pm at the 23,036
polling centres, set up for
the third phase.
that the people’s verdict is
against them, said senior
Congress leader Ramesh
Chennithala on Monday.
“Fearing defeat, Narendra
Modi is trying to incite reli-
gious tension in his speech-
es. However, people want
change in the country,” said
Chennithala in Mumbai.
 WORLD
DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024
SHORT
CONFRONTATION
TAKES
IN THE AIR: OZ
CRITICISES CHINA
Sydney, May 6: A Chinese
fighter jet endangered those
aboard an Australian military
helicopter during an “unsafe”
and “unacceptable” confrontat-
ion over the Yellow Sea last
week, Australia said on
Monday.
The incident occurred on
Saturday, when a Chinese air
force J-10 jet dropped flares
above and several hundred
metres ahead of an Australian
MH60R Seahawk helicopter
which was on a routine flight
in the Yellow Sea as part of an
operation to enforce sanctions
against North Korea.
PAK SC SUSPENDS
HC VERDICT ON
RESERVED SEATS
Islamabad, May 6: In a relief
to jailed ex-PM Imran Khan’s
party, Supreme Court on Mond-
ay suspended a high court ver-
dict denying the Sunni Ittehad
Council (SIC) reserved seats for
women, minorities in the nati-
onal and provincial assemblies.
The Peshawar HC had reject-
ed a petition of the SIC, which
came to the fore after Khan’s
PTI-backed independently elec-
ted lawmakers joined it for cl-
aim on reserved seats. PTI took
SIC cover as reserved seats are
allotted to parties with mem-
bers in the national and provin-
cial assemblies.
4 TEENS PROBED
OVER ATTACK ON
GERMAN MEP
Berlin, May 6: Four teenagers
are being investigated over an
attack on a German member of
the European Parliament that
left him needing surgery, police
said on Monday.
Matthias Ecke, 41, was kicked
and beaten as he put up posters
for the Social Democrats (SPD)
— the centre-left party of Ger-
man Chancellor Olaf Scholz —
on Friday evening in Dresden.
Leaders across Germany and
the EU condemned the assault,
and other attacks on politicians
that have doubled in Germany
since the 2019 European
Parliament elections.
REBELS CAPTURE
HUNDREDS OF
MYANMAR JUNTA
Bangkok, May 6: A Myanmar
ethnic armed group said on
Monday it had captured a mili-
tary command and taken hund-
reds of junta personnel prison-
er in western Rakhine state,
the latest blow to the military.
Clashes have rocked Rakhine
since the Arakan Army (AA)
attacked security forces in Nov-
ember, ending a ceasefire that
had largely held since the
junta's 2021 coup.
The military still holds the
state capital Sittwe but AA
fighters have seized territory
in surrounding districts, inclu-
ding bases on the border with
India and Bangladesh.
TURKIYE OPENS
ANOTHER FORMER
BYZANTINE
CHURCH AS
MOSQUE
Ankara, May 6: Turkish
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan formally opened a for-
mer Byzantine church in
Istanbul as a mosque on
Monday, four years after his
government had designated it a
Muslim house of prayer,
despite criticism from neigh-
bouring Greece.
Turkiye formally converted
The Church of St. Saviour in
Chora, known as Kariye in
Turkish, into a mosque in 2020,
soon after it similarly turned
Istanbul's landmark Haghia
Sophia into a Muslim house of
prayer.
Both conversions drew praise
from Muslim faithful but criti-
cism from Greece and other
countries who had urged
Turkey to protect the impor-
tant Byzantine-era monu-
ments. Both are listed as UN
World Heritage Sites.
Like Haghia Sophia, which
was a church for centuries and
then a mosque for centuries
more, the Chora had operated
as a museum for decades before
it was ordered turned into a
mosque. The Chora's formal
launch as a mosque, however,
was delayed as the structure
then underwent restoration.
Erdogan on Monday remotely
presided over a ceremony
marking the opening of the
Chora '' as well as other recent-
ly-restored structures from a
conference hall at his palace
complex in Ankara.
Israel pummels Rafah Toefl scores valid for
as 1 lakh told to leave all Oz visas, says ETS
Hamas said it accepts ceasefire proposal of Egypt, Qatar
Rafah, May 6: Israel’s mi-
litary carried out airstr-
ikes in Rafah on Monday,
residents said, hours after
Israel told Palestinians to
evacuate parts of the sou-
thern Gaza city where
more than a million peop-
le uprooted by the war
have been sheltering.
Hamas said on Monday
that it had accepted a Gaza
ceasefire proposal from
Egypt and Qatar even as
US President Joe Biden
pressed Israeli Prime Mi-
nister Benjamin Netany-
ahu not to go ahead with a
large-scale Israeli military
offensive in the southern
Gaza city of Rafah on
Monday, hours after Israel
told Palestinians to evacu-
ate parts of the area.
The Islamist faction said
in a statement that its
chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had
informed Qatar’s prime
minister and Egypt’s intel-
ligence chief of its accept-
ance of their proposal.
There were no immedi-
ate details of the deal or
comment from Israel.
The Israeli Army order-
ed some 1,00,000 Palestin-
ians on Monday to begin
evacuating from Rafah,
signalling that a long-pr-
omised ground invasion
there could be imminent
and further complicating
efforts to broker a cease-
fire in Gaza. However, the
United Nations agency se-
rving Palestinian refugees
said it would not comply
with the evacuation order.
Fears are growing of a
full-blown assault in Raf-
ah against holdouts of the
Palestinian militant gro-
up Hamas. Hamas official
Izzat al-Rashiq said any
Israeli operation in Rafah
would put the truce talks
in jeopardy. — Reuters
FBI COUNTERS
DISSIDENT HUNT
BY CHINA, IRAN
Washington, May 6:
After a student leader of
the historic Tiananmen
Square protests entered
a 2022 congressional
race in New York, a Chi-
nese intelligence opera-
tive wasted little time
enlisting a private inves-
tigator to hunt for any
mistresses or tax proble-
ms that could upend the
candidate’s bid, prosecu-
tors say.
In the end, the opera-
tive ominously told his
contact, violence would
be fine too.
As an Iranian journal-
ist and activist living in
exile in the United Stat-
es aired criticism of Ira-
n’s human rights abuses,
Tehran was listening
too. Members of an Eas-
tern European organis-
ed crime gang scouted
her Brooklyn home and
plotted to kill her in a
murder-for-hire scheme
directed from Iran, acco-
rding to the justice dep-
artment, which foiled
the plan and brought
criminal charges.
The episodes reflect
the extreme measures
taken by countries like
China and Iran to intim-
idate, harass and someti-
mes plot attacks against
political opponents and
activists who live in the
US. They show the frigh-
tening consequences
that geopolitical tensio-
ns can have for ordinary
citizens as governments
intolerant of dissent
inside their own borders
are increasingly keeping
a threatening watch on
those who speak out
thousands of miles away.
“We’re not living in
fear, we’re not living in
paranoia, but the reality
is very clear — that the
Islamic Republic wants
us dead, and we have to
look over our shoulder
every day,” Iranian jour-
nalist Masih Alinejad
said in an interview.
The issue has grabbed
the justice department’s
attention. So, it has, in
the past five years, cha-
rged dozens of suspects
with acts of transnatio-
nal repression. — AP
● THE EPISODES reflect
the extreme measures
taken by countries like
China and Iran to intimi-
date, harass and some-
times plot attacks
against political oppo-
nents and activists who
live in the US.
Displaced Palestinians who left with their belongings from Gaza Strip’s Rafah
after Israeli Army’s evacuation order, reach Khan Yunis, on Monday.
HEZBOLLAH STIKE KILLS MANY
HEZBOLLAH SAYS
ITS DRONE HITS
ISRAELI TOWN
Hezbollah said on
Monday it carried out a
drone attack on an
Israeli military position
near the northern
Israeli town of Metula
that left several dead
and injured. Israel’s
military said it could
not yet confirm the
injuries or casualties.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CANCELS COMMENCEMENT EVENT
New York, May 6: Colu-
mbia University on Mon-
day canceled its main, uni-
versity-wide commencem-
ent ceremony scheduled
for May 15 in favour of
smaller, school-based eve-
Indian student stabbed
to death in Australia
Melbourne, Chandiga-
rh, May 6: A 22-year-old
MTech student from India
was stabbed to death in
Australia during a fight
between some Indian stu-
dents and police are sear-
ching for two Indian-orig-
in brothers in connection
with the murder.
Navjeet Sandhu was fat-
ally attacked with a knife
by another student when
he tried to intervene in a
dispute between a few
Indian students over some
rent issue, according to
the deceased victim’s
uncle Yashvir in Karnal,
Haryana.
“Navjeet's friend (anoth-
er Indian student) had
asked him to accompany
him to his house to pick
up his belongings as he
had a car. While his friend
went inside, Navjeet
heard some shouts and
WON'T TOLERATE FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN PAK, IMRAN TELLS US ENVOY
Islamabad, May 6: Jailed
former prime minister
Imran Khan's Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf party on
Monday claimed to have
told the US ambassador in
Pakistan that they would
not tolerate foreign inter-
ference in the country's
internal affairs, according
to a media report on
Monday. PTI secretary
general Omar Ayub Khan
headed a four-member del-
egation, also comprising
party chairman Gohar Ali
Khan, Asad Qaiser and
Raoof Hasan, that met
SHADOW | ARMY
Interpreters building bridges in EU
Brussels, May 6: It’s a
back-to-back voting sessi-
on in the European Parlia-
ment and hands shoot up
in rapid-fire succession as
the roll call sounds in Ge-
rman: “Dafuer!”, “Dageg-
en!” — For or Against.
Overlooking the packed
hemicycle in Brussels, in
booths half-obscured by
tinted glass, a brigade of
interpreters feed precious
audio streams of the pro-
ceedings to lawmakers
from 27 nations.
Humming with different
languages like a modern-
day Tower of Babel, the
BIDEN MEETS JORDAN’S KING
THE NUM-
BER OF
ISRAELI soldiers
AS GAZA CEASEFIRE HOPES DIM
President Joe Biden will meet
Middle East ally, Jordan’s King
Abdullah II, at the White House
killed in a rocket
attack launched
with prospects for a Gaza cease-
fire appearing slim and Hamas
from the besieged and Israeli officials blaming each
Gaza Strip towards
the Kerem Shalom
other for the impasse.
The duo last met at the
border crossing has
risen to four, the
White House in Februa-
ry when the two long-
military announced
time allies had discus-
on Monday, updat- sed a daunting list of
ing an earlier challenges.
figure.
nts after weeks of pro-
Palestinian protests.
“We have decided to
make the centerpiece of
our commencement activ-
ities our Class Days and
school-level ceremonies,
Navjeet's friend (anoth-
er Indian student) had
asked him to accompany
him to his house to pick up
his belongings as he had a
car. While his friend went
inside, Navjeet heard some
shouts and saw there was a
scuffle. When Navjeet tried
to intervene asking them not
to fight, he was fatally stabb-
ed in the chest with a knife.”
— YASHVIR
Deceased victim’s uncle
saw there was a scuffle.
When Navjeet tried to
intervene asking them not
to fight, he was fatally
stabbed in the chest with a
knife,” Yashvir, who’ll
retire from the Army in
July, said.
He added that like Nav-
jeet, the alleged accused
with US envoy Donald
Blome in Islamabad on
Monday, Geo News report-
ed.
The PTI leader said the
US ambassador, through
the Foreign Office,
requested for the meeting.
PTI Secretary General
Khan said they told the
US ambassador that the
party would not tolerate
foreign interference in
Pakistan's
affairs.
internal
The statement assumes
significance as PTI
founder Imran Khan, who
People talk a lot about football, quips 55-yr-old Lithuanian
EU’s institutions are the
world’s largest employer
of interpreters — a verita-
ble shadow Army present
at every summit, web-
streamed hearing and
press briefing.
Prep work means poring
over intricate files — but
also keeping up to speed
on everything from politi-
cs to sports in whatever
nation you are dealing
with, explains Zivile Stas-
iuniene. “People talk abo-
ut football a lot,” quips the
55-year-old, who interprets
into her native Lithuani-
an, from English, French,
— AFP
where students are hono-
ured individually alongsi-
de their peers, rather than
the university-wide cere-
mony that is scheduled for
May 15,” Columbia said in
a statement. — Reuters
also hails from Karnal.
Yashvir said the family
got the information about
the incident early on
Sunday morning.
Navjeet’s friend, whom
he was accompanying,
also sustained injuries in
the incident, the uncle of
the deceased said.
Yashvir said the family
is in a state of shock.
“Navjeet was a brilliant
student and was to join
his family in July for
vacations,” he said.
According to Yashvir,
Navjeet had moved to
Australia on a study visa
one-and-a-half years ago
and his father, a farmer,
had sold one-and-half
acres of their land to fund
his education.
“We urge the Governm-
ent of India to help us to
bring the body as soon as
possible,” he said. — PTI
is lodged in Rawalpindi's
Adiala Jail after his con-
viction in various cases,
had earlier blamed
Washington for over-
throwing his government
in April 2022.
The 71-year-old cricketer-
turned-politician was
ousted from power after
losing a no-confidence
vote which he alleged was
engineered by the US by
colluding with the then-
opposition parties.
The cipher controversy
first emerged on March 27,
2022, when Khan --- less
Spanish and Russian.
Ultimately, she says, it is
about building bridges be-
tween cultures — convey-
ing context and emotion
along with the message.
A memorable moment?
President Volodymyr Zele-
nskyy’s first visit to the
European Parliament fol-
lowing the 2022 Russian
invasion.
“Interpreting for presid-
ent Zelenskyy, when he st-
arted speaking of the hor-
rors of war — our collea-
gue was weeping, we could
hear the tears in his voi-
ce,” she recalled. — AFP
New Delhi, May 6: Scor-
es for English language
test TOEFL will now be
considered valid for all
Australian visa purposes,
the Educational Testing
Service (ETS) announced
on Monday.
The Test of English as a
Foreign Language (TOE-
FL) was put under review
by the Australian Depart-
ment of Home Affairs
(DHA) last July and the
scores were no longer bei-
ng accepted. ETS, the Pri-
nceton-based agency, whi-
ch conducts the crucial
test said the scores for ex-
ams taken on or after May
5, 2024, will be considered
valid for the purpose.
“Australia remains the
preferred choice for Indi-
an students and working
professionals, with over
Russia plans nuke drills
after threat from West
Moscow, Berlin, May 6:
Russia said on Monday it
would practice the deploy-
ment of tactical nuclear
weapons as part of a mili-
tary exercise after what
the Moscow said were thr-
eats from France, Britain
and the United States.
Germany has recalled
its ambassador to Russia
after Berlin accused Mos-
cow of launching cyberat-
tacks on its defence and
aerospace firms and rul-
ing party, a spokesperson
for the foreign ministry
said on Monday.
“The foreign minister
has recalled Ambassador
(Otto) Graf Lambsdorff to
Berlin for consultations”
after Berlin attributed a
cyberespionage campaign
to APT 28, a group linked
to Moscow's GRU military
intelligence agency, the
spokesperson said.
Since Russia invaded
Ukraine in 2022, Russia
has repeatedly warned of
rising nuclear risks — wa-
rnings which the United
States says it has to take
seriously though US offi-
cials say they have seen
no change in Russia’s
nuclear posture.
Russia says the United
States and its European
allies are pushing the
Can hit UK Army targets: Russia
Moscow, May 6: Russia
warned Britain on Mond-
ay that if British weapons
were used by Ukraine to
strike Russian territory
then Moscow could hit
back at British military
installations and equipm-
ent both inside Ukraine
and elsewhere.
British Ambassador Ni-
gel Casey was summoned
to the foreign ministry for
a formal protest after for-
eign secretary David
than a month before his
ouster in April 2022 ---
while addressing a public
rally waved a letter before
the crowd, claiming that it
was a cipher (secret diplo-
matic message) from a for-
eign nation that had con-
spired with his political
rivals to topple the PTI
government.
Khan had alleged that
Assistant Secretary of
State for South and
Central Asia Affairs
Donald Lu had sought his
removal in a meeting with
the then Pakistan ambas-
A brigade of interpreters feed precious audio streams of
the proceedings to lawmakers from 27 nations at the
European Union, in Brussels.
1.2 lakh Indian students
studying in Australia last
year. Further, with nine
Australian universities
amongst the top 100 global
universities as per the lat-
est QS World University
Rankings, Australia offers
world-class higher educa-
tion and post-study work
opportunities,” said Sach-
in Jain, Country Manager,
ETS India and South Asia.
“This affirmation for
TOEFL follows a standard
review process by the
DHA, following changes
made to TOEFL iBT last
year. Having successfully
passed this comprehen-
sive review, the enhanced
TOEFL is set to continue
its role as a trusted meas-
ure of English proficiency
for diverse visa appli-
cants,” Jain said.
Vladimir Putin
world to the brink of con-
frontation between nucle-
ar powers by supporting
Ukraine with tens of billi-
ons of dollars of weapons,
some of which are being
used against Russian ter-
ritory.
Russia’s defence minis-
try said it would hold mil-
itary drills, including pra-
ctice for the preparation
and deployment for use of
non-strategic nuclear we-
apons. It said the exercis-
es were ordered by Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin.
“During the exercise, a
set of measures will be ca-
rried out to practise the is-
sues of preparation and
use of non-strategic nuke
weapons,” the ministry
said. Missile forces in the
Southern Military Distri-
ct, aviation and the Navy
will take part. — Reuters
Cameron said last week
that Ukraine had the right
to use British weapons to
strike Russia.
Russia’s foreign minist-
ry said the Cameron rem-
arks recognised that UK
was now de facto a part of
the conflict and contradi-
cted an earlier assurance
that long-range weapons
given to Ukraine would
not be used against Rus-
sia. “Casey was warned
that in response to Ukra-
sador to US Asad Majeed,
the report said.
However, Lu rubbished
the PTI founder's cipher
'conspiracy theory' and
called it a 'complete false-
hood'.
After months of allega-
tions, the ousted prime
minister turned his guns
towards former army
chief General (retd)
Qamar Javed Bajwa, hold-
ing him responsible for
the conspiracy which
resulted in his ouster, the
report said.
— PTI
— Agencies
pg 8
TOEFL is a standardised
test to measure the Engl-
ish language ability of
non-native speakers wish-
ing to get enrolled in Eng-
lish-speaking universiti-
es. The test is accepted by
more than 12,500 instituti-
ons in more than 160 coun-
tries and is universally
accepted in popular desti-
nations such as the United
States, Canada, Australia,
and New Zealand, and by
over 98 per cent of univer-
sities in the UK.
Nishidar Borra, preside-
nt of the Association of
Australian Education Re-
presentatives in India and
MD-Atlas Education, said,
“The acceptance of TOE-
FL iBT scores for Austral-
ian visas is an affirmation
of the test’s rigour and
relevance.” — PTI
PRESS RUSSIA ON
UKRAINE: LEYEN,
MACRON TO XI
Paris, May 6: France and
the European Commissi-
on on Monday told Chin-
a’s President Xi Jingping
that they wanted him to
use his influence on Russ-
ia to end its war in Ukr-
aine, while underscoring
that the European Union
would not waver in its
support for Kyiv.
President Emmanuel
Macron is hosting the Ch-
inese leader in his first
visit to Europe in five
years and held talks with
him and Commission
President Ursula von der
Leyen in Paris as they
sought to show a united
front on issues ranging
from trade to Ukraine.
China has strengthened
trade and military ties
with Russia in recent yea-
rs as the US and its allies
imposed sanctions on
both countries, especially
on Moscow since its 2022
invasion of Ukraine.
China-Russian trade hit
a record of $240.1 billion
in 2023, up 26.3% from a
year earlier. — Reuters
inian attacks on Russian
territory with UK weapo-
ns, any British military
facility and equipment on
the territory of Ukraine
and abroad” could be tar-
geted, the ministry said.
The ministry said it con-
sidered Cameron’s remar-
ks a serious escalation.
“The Ambassador was
called upon to reflect on
the catastrophic conse-
quences of such hostile
steps.” — Reuters
Rafael Grossi
IAEA CHIEF IN
IRAN AS NUKE
CONCERNS RISE
Vienna, May 6: UN nu-
clear watchdog chief Ra-
fael Grossi flew to Iran
on Monday hoping to bo-
lster his agency’s overs-
ight of Tehran’s atomic
activities after various
setbacks, but analysts
and diplomats say he
has limited leverage and
must be wary of empty
promises.
Then-US president Do-
nald Trump’s decision
in 2018 to ditch a landm-
ark deal between Iran
and major powers that
exchanged nuclear restr-
ictions for sanctions
relief caused that accord
to unravel. Iran has sin-
ce accelerated its urani-
um enrichment and red-
uced cooperation with
the International Atom-
ic Energy Agency.
“The level of inspecti-
on (in Iran) is not at the
level we should have,”
Grossi said. — Reuters
 SPECIAL
DECCAN CHRONICLE | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | CHENNAI
OTHER STORIES
Hyundai
Foundation
empowers tribal
communities
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI:
Hyundai Motor India
Foundation (HMIF) has
embarked on a transforma-
tive journey, blending social
inclusion, cultural preser-
vation, and economic
empowerment for tribal
communities across India.
One of the endeavours of
HMIF is its afforestation
projects in Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh, where 165
tribal families have been
engaged as custodians. This
initiative not only provides
livelihood opportunities but
also integrates tribal com-
munities into the conserva-
tion efforts, making them
stakeholders in environ-
mental sustainability.
Puneet Anand, AVP &
Vertical Head - Corporate
Affairs, Hyundai Motor
India Limited, emphasized
the impact of these initia-
tives, stating, "Our efforts
towards tribal upliftment
and cultural preservation
align with Hyundai's vision
of ‘Progress for Humanity.’
By integrating tribal com-
munities into afforestation
projects and supporting
endangered art forms, we
aim to empower communi-
ties, preserve cultural her-
itage, and foster sustainable
development."
The Foundation's commit-
ment to cultural conserva-
tion is evident in its efforts
to revitalize endangered art
forms like the Kattaikkuttu
Sangam Theatre of Tamil
Nadu, Sohrai Wall Art of
West Bengal, Ottam Thullal
Dance of Kerala, and
Kawandi making of
Karnataka. These initia-
tives not only preserve cul-
tural diversity but also cre-
ate income avenues for
artists,
safeguarding
thereby
traditional
knowledge for future gener-
ations.
The Foundation's initia-
tives extend to specific trib-
al communities like the
Chenchu Tribe in Kurnool,
Andhra Pradesh, and the
Irula Tribe in
Irungattukottai, Tamil
Nadu. HMIF has undertak-
en projects to enhance farm-
ing skills and livelihood
opportunities for the
Chenchu Tribe, while in
Tamil Nadu, it has trans-
formed barren land into
lush green forests,
benefitting the Irula Tribe
economically and environ-
mentally.
HMIF supports traditional
art forms like Kawandi
making in Karnataka,
Kattaikkuttu Sangam
Theatre in Tamil Nadu,
Sohrai Wall Art in West
Bengal, and Ottam Thullal
Dance in Kerala. These
efforts have provided plat-
forms for artists to show-
case their talent, ensuring
the preservation and propa-
gation of India's rich cultur-
al legacy.
Globe Textiles
explores listing
on BSE for equity
shares
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI:
Globe Textiles India Limited
(GTIL) (NSE: GLOBE), a
leading exporter of fabrics
and garments catering to
global and domestic markets,
has announced it will make
an application to BSE
Limited for the direct listing
of its equity shares.
Bhavin Parikh, CEO at
Globe Textiles (India)
Limited said, “As Globe
Textiles progresses with its
evaluation and potential
application process for a
direct listing on BSE
Limited, the company
remains dedicated to main-
taining open communication
and transparency with its
stakeholders, including
shareholders, employees,
customers, and regulatory
bodies”.
A direct listing on BSE
Limited gives Globe Textiles
large investor access. Direct
listings provide a stream-
lined pathway for companies
to access public markets
without the traditional IPO
process, thereby reducing
costs and administrative
complexities. Such listings
promote liquidity, fostering a
vibrant trading environment
for listed securities.
NY judge threatens Trump with
jail for any gag order violations
New York: The New York
judge presiding over
Donald Trump's historic
criminal trial again found
the former US president in
contempt of a gag order
Monday and threatened to
jail him if there are fur-
ther violations.
Trump, 77, is charged
with falsifying business
records to reimburse his
lawyer, Michael Cohen, for
a $1,30,000 payment to
porn star Stormy Daniels
just days ahead of the 2016
election against Hillary
Clinton.
Judge Juan Merchan
held Trump in contempt of
court and fined him $1,000
for a violation of the gag
order prohibiting him
from publicly attacking
witnesses, jurors or court
staff and their relatives.
But Merchan said the
fines - Trump was also
fined a total of $9,000 last
week - were not serving as
a "deterrent" and he would
have to consider jail time
for further violations. "As
much as I do not want to
impose a jail sanction..., I
want you to understand I
will," Merchan told
Trump, adding that he
understood the "magni-
tude of such a decision."
"At the end if the day I
have a job to do and part of
that job is to maintain the
dignity of the justice sys-
tem," the judge said, call-
ing Trump's defiance a
"direct attack on the rule
of law."
Merchan's ruling came
at the start of the third
week of testimony in the
trial of the Republican
presidential candidate for
covering up hush money
payments to Daniels in a
scheme to avoid potential-
ly disastrous publicity just
Singapore Airlines to buy WITH AI HELP, COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND HAS VOICE BACK
sustainable fuel from Neste
Singapore: Singapore
Airlines said on Monday
it will buy 1,000 tonnes of
sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF) from Neste, the first
purchase of the low-car-
bon jet fuel from the
Finnish firm's refinery in
the city-state.
The leading Asian carri-
er signed an agreement
with Neste to purchase
the SAF to blend with con-
ventional fuel for use by
the airline and its budget
arm Scoot, according to a
joint statement issued by
the three companies.
The Neste refinery's
expansion at Changi was
completed last year and it
now has a production
capacity of a million
tonnes of sustainable avi-
ation fuel a year, making
it the largest such facility
in the world.
Neste will start deliver-
ing SAF to Changi
Airport's fuel hydrant sys-
tem in the second quarter
and then in the fourth
quarter, the statement
said. SAFs are made from
100 percent renewable
waste and residue raw
materials and cut green-
house gas emissions by up
to 80 percent over the
fuel's life cycle, it said.
Menotti, football romantic who led Argentina to first World Cup
Buenos Aires: Cesar Luis
Menotti, who led a dashing
Argentina team to victory
in the 1978 World Cup, has
died aged 85, the country's
football federation
announced on Sunday.
Menotti, who was born
in Rosario, Argentina, in
1938, won 11 caps for
Argentina in the 1960s and
then managed 11 clubs,
some more than once, and
two national teams in a
coaching career that last-
ed 37 years.
He is best remembered
for leading Argentina to
the 1978 World Cup and the
under-20 title the following
year and for his commit-
ment to a romantic ideal of
football at a time when
Argentina had developed a
reputation for a cynical
approach straying into
violence.
In the 1978 World Cup
final hosts Argentina
defeated the Netherlands
3-1 after extra-time with
flamboyant man of the
tournament Mario
Kempes scoring twice
against a Dutch side shorn
of Johan Cruyff, who had
refused to play in the tour-
Former US President Donald Trump at his hush money trial in a New York courthouse.
before election day.
Daniels, whose real
name is Stephanie
Clifford, and Cohen,
Trump's ex-lawyer who
has become a bitter foe of
his former boss, are both
expected to testify at some
point during the trial.
Hope Hicks, a former
close advisor to Trump,
testified on Friday about
the "crisis" that engulfed
his 2016 presidential cam-
paign after a tape emerged
of him bragging about
"This supply of locally
produced SAF to Changi
Airport is a milestone in
our journey of supporting
the aviation industry and
governments in the
region to achieve their
emissions reduction
goals," said Alexander
Kueper, vice president for
renewable aviation at
Neste.
He hoped it would
encourage the "wider
adoption of SAF across
the broader Asia-Pacific
region".
Singapore said in Feb. it
would require airlines
departing from the coun-
try to gradually use low-
carbon jet fuel from 2026
as part of industry plans
to cut emissions.
Airlines will be required
to use a jet fuel mix that is
1.0 percent SAF in 2026,
gradually increasing to
between 3.0 and 5.0 per-
nament.
The triumph was accom-
plished with flair but was
surrounded by controver-
sy. Many felt Argentina's
groping women.
She said she was a "little
stunned" by the now infa-
mous Access Hollywood
tape in which Trump was
heard boasting about grab-
bing women's genitalia.
"There was consensus
among us all that the tape
was damaging, this was a
crisis," she added.
Hicks was a key player in
the final stages of Trump's
successful 2016 presiden-
tial campaign when the
hush money payments to
cent by 2030. SAFs can
comprise up to 50 percent
of jet fuel mixes.
However, SAFs are
between three to five
times more expensive
than conventional jet fuel
and authorities will intro-
duce a levy on tickets to
help cushion costs.
Aviation is responsible
for between two and three
percent of global CO2
emissions but is one of
the most difficult indus-
tries to decarbonise.
SAFs are seen as the
main tool for decarbonis-
ing the aviation sector
but, apart from the
expense, the technology is
also still in its infancy.
The International Civil
Aviation Organization
has set a goal for the
industry to achieve net
zero carbon emissions by
2050.
— AFP
repressive junta made it
an unsuitable host.
Menotti also opted not to
pick 17-year-old phenome-
non Diego Maradona, who
Daniels were allegedly
made.
According to prosecu-
tors, panic over the tape
triggered a Trump cam-
paign effort to silence
Daniels over her claim of
a 2006 sexual encounter
with the married Trump.
Trump denies ever having
sex with Daniels.
The trial has gripped the
legal and political estab-
lishment as Trump seeks
to re-take the White House
from President Joe Biden
New York: With some
help from artificial intelli-
gence, country music star
Randy Travis, celebrated
for his timeless hits like
"Forever and Ever, Amen"
and "I Told You So," has his
voice back.
In July 2013, Travis was
hospitalised with viral
cardiomyopathy, a virus
that attacks the heart, and
later suffered a stroke. The
Country Music Hall of
Famer had to relearn how
to walk, spell and read in
the years that followed. A
condition called aphasia
limits his ability to speak
— it’s why his wife Mary
Travis assists him in inter-
views. It’s also why he has-
n’t released new music in
over a decade, until now.
“Where That Came
From,” which released
Friday, is a rich acoustic
ballad amplified by Travis’
immediately recognizable,
soulful vocal tone.
Cris Lacy, Warner Music
Nashville co-president,
approached Randy and
Mary Travis and asked:
“‘What if we could take
Randy’s voice and recreate
it using AI?,’” Mary Travis
said last week, Randy smil-
ing in agreement right
next to her. “Well, we were
all over that, so we were so
excited.”
“All I ever wanted since
the day of a stroke was to
had made his internation-
al debut the year before. "I
did what I thought I had to
do. To take care of him
more than anything else, I
—AP
in November's election.
In addition to the New
York case, Trump has been
indicted in Washington
and Georgia on charges of
conspiring to overturn the
results of the 2020 election
won by Biden. He also
faces charges of illegally
storing huge quantities of
top-secret documents
taken from the White
House after his
presidency to his home in
Florida.
— AFP
hear that voice again.”
Lacy tapped developers
in London to create a pro-
prietary AI model to begin
the process. The result was
two models: One with 12
vocal stems (or song sam-
ples), and another with 42
stems collected across
Travis’ career — from 1985
to 2013, says Kyle Lehning,
Travis’ longtime producer.
Lacy and Lehning chose
to use “Where That Came
From,” a song written by
Scotty Emerick and John
Scott Sherrill that
Lehning co-produced and
held on to for years. He
believed it could best artic-
ulate the humanity of
Travis’ idiosyncratic vocal
style. “I never even
thought about another
song,” Lehning said.
Once he input the demo
vocal (sung by James
Dupree) into the AI mod-
els, “it took about five min-
utes to analsze,” says
Lehning. “I really wish
somebody had been here
with a camera because I
<<<<<<
Cesar Luis Menotti who
led a dashing Argentina
team to victory in the
1978 World Cup, is no
more.
was infatuated with
Diego," Menotti told El
Grafico. "He was so young,
so small."
In the second group
phase, Argentina kicked
off their last game shortly
after the final whistle in
Brazil's victory over
Poland, knowing they
needed to beat Peru by at
least three goals to reach
the final.
They won 6-0 with
Kempes and Leopoldo
Luque each scoring twice.
Even though Argentina
played well, the victory
has long attracted suspi-
cion.
Menotti, fondly known as
the "Thin One", presented
a memorable figure on the
touchline, smoking and
staring impassively from
under his shaggy mane. "I
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Sunita
Williams and Butch Wilmore exit the Neil A. Armstrong
Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a mission
dress rehearsal in April.
Boeing set to launch
Sunita Williams into
space, again
Cape Canaveral: After
years of delays and stum-
bles, Boeing is finally
poised to launch astro-
nauts to the International
Space Station for NASA.
It’s the first flight of
Boeing’s Starliner cap-
sule with a crew on board,
a pair of NASA pilots
who will check out the
spacecraft during the test
drive and a weeklong stay
at the space station.
NASA turned to US
companies for astronaut
rides after the space shut-
tles were retired. Elon
Musk’s SpaceX has made
nine taxi trips for NASA
since 2020, while Boeing
has managed only a pair
of unoccupied test flights.
Boeing program manag-
er Mark Nappi wishes
Starliner was further
along. “There’s no doubt
about that, but we’re here
now.”
The company’s long-
awaited astronaut demo
is slated for liftoff
Monday night. Provided
was the first person to
hear it. And it was stun-
ning, to me, how good it
was sort of right off the
bat. It’s hard to put an
equation around it, but it
was probably 70, 75% what
you hear now.”
“There were certain
aspects of it that were not
authentic to Randy’s per-
formance,” he said, so he
began to edit and build on
the recording with engi-
neer Casey Wood, who also
worked closely with Travis
over a few decades.
The pair cherrypicked
from the two models, and
made alterations to things
like vibrato speed, or slow-
ing and relaxing phrases.
“Randy is a laid-back
singer,” Lehning says.
“Randy, in my opinion,
had an old soul quality to
his voice. That’s one of the
things that made him
unique, but also, somehow
familiar.” His vocal per-
formance on “Where That
Came From” had to reflect
that fact. “We were able to
just improve on it,”
Lehning says of the AI
recording. “It was emo-
tional, and it’s still emo-
tional.” Mary Travis says
the “human element,” and
“the people that are
involved” in this project,
separate it from more
nefarious uses of AI in
music.
never go to the barber. I
cut my own hair," he said.
Even though his father
died of cancer when
Menotti was 16, he too
became a heavy smoker. It
was "my friend in loneli-
ness," he said. He quit
after a lung operation in
2011.
In 1979, with Maradona
in the squad, Menotti led
Argentina to the under-20
World Cup, beating the
Soviet Union 3-1 in the
final. His reign ended after
the 1982 World Cup in
Spain, which kicked off
just before Argentina sur-
rendered in the Falklands
War. Argentina were elim-
inated by Brazil 3-1 in a
second-round defeat that
ended with Maradona
being sent off.
Menotti won two cups in
two seasons with
Barcelona, the last tro-
phies in a coaching career
that took him to Italy,
Mexico and Uruguay and
back to Argentina. He
maintained a lifelong feud
with coaches in the more
pragmatic Argentine tra-
dition and believed foot-
ball styles are political.
pg 9
—AP
this tryout goes well,
NASA will alternate
between Boeing and
SpaceX to get astronauts
to and from the space sta-
tion.
White with black and
blue trim, Boeing’s
Starliner capsule is about
3 meters tall and 4.5 m in
diameter. It can fit up to
seven people, though
NASA crews typically
will number four. The
company settled on the
name Starliner nearly a
decade ago, a twist on the
name of Boeing’s early
Stratoliner and the cur-
rent Dreamliner.
No one was aboard
Boeing’s two previous
Starliner test flights. The
first, in 2019, was hit with
software trouble so severe
that its empty capsule
couldn’t reach the station
until the second try in
2022. Then last summer,
weak parachutes and
flammable tape cropped
up that needed to be fixed
or removed —AP
“Randy, I remember
watching him when he
first heard the song after it
was completed. It was
beautiful because at first,
he was surprised, and then
he was very pensive, and
he was listening and
studying,” she said. “And
then he put his head down
and his eyes were a little
watery. I think he went
through every emotion
there was, in those three
minutes of just hearing
his voice again.”
Lacy agrees. “The beauty
of this is, you know, we’re
doing it with a voice that
the world knows and has
heard and has been com-
forted by,” she says. “But I
think, just on human
terms, it’s a very real need.
And it’s a big loss when
you lose the voice of some-
one that you were connect-
ed to, and the ability to
have it back is a beautiful
gift.”
They also hope that this
song will work to educate
people on the good that AI
can do — not the fraudu-
lent activities that so fre-
quently make headlines.
“We’re hoping that maybe
we can set a standard,”
Mary Travis says, where
credit is given where cred-
it is due — and artists have
control over their voice
and work.
– AP
"Left-wing football is gen-
erous and committed only
to the public," he told
German magazine Kicker
in 2006. "It is sincere and
does not put the result
above everything."
Menotti, a striker, start-
ed his playing career with
the club he supported,
Rosario Central. He
moved to Boca Juniors,
where he won an
Argentine title, then to the
New York Generals and
from there to Santos in
Brazil where he played
alongside Pele. He became
an assistant coach at
Central's city rivals
Newell's Old Boys.
In 1973, he led Huracan to
their only league title
since 1928. He became
national manager in 1974
and, despite being a mem-
ber of the Communist
Party, stayed on when the
military seized power in
1976.
In 2018, he told El
Grafico, an Argentine
sports magazine, that "it
was better to fight from
the inside than from the
outside".
— AFP
 CHENNAI | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024
quick Services see growth
BITES amid robust demand
INDICATORS % RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
Sensex 73,895.54 0.02
Nifty 50
S&P 500*
22,442.70 -0.15
5,157.60 0.58
Dollar (`)
Pound Sterling (`)
83.49 0.05
105.03 0.22
Euro (`) 89.92 0.33
Gold (10gm)* (`) 71,334▲666 0.94
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 83.62 0.80
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.107 -0.042
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.489 -0.011
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Embassy REIT
plans to invest
`3,800 cr in 4 yrs
Bullish on demand for premi-
um workspace, Embassy Office
Parks REIT will invest about
`3,800 cr over four years to
complete its ongoing office
complexes to expand its rental
portfolio. Embassy REIT, which
is India's first publicly listed
Real Estate Investment Trust
(REIT), currently has 36.5 mil-
lion sq ft feet of completed
office space across Bengaluru,
Mumbai, Pune and Delhi-NCR,
said Aravind Maiya, CEO.
KKR to acquire
Healthium from
Apax Funds
Global investment firm KKR on
Monday said it has acquired
medical device firm Healthium
Medtech from an affiliate of
funds advised by Apax
Partners LLP. The company has
inked definitive agreements
under which funds managed by
KKR will acquire Healthium.
The company, however, did not
disclose financial details.
Healthium develops, manufac-
tures and sells a broad range
of surgical products globally.
Shares of One97
fall 5% as top
executive resigns
Shares of One97 Communica-
tions, Paytm's parent company,
declined 5 per cent on Monday
after its president and chief
operating officer Bhavesh
Gupta resigned from the com-
pany. Gupta was steering the
lending business, online and
offline payments, and compli-
ances, among others, at Paytm.
The fintech firms' stock tanked
4.99 per cent to `351.70 on the
BSE. On the NSE, the stock
dropped 5 per cent to `351.40.
Agritech start-up
Superplum gets
$15 mn funding
Agritech start-up Superplum,
which sells premium fresh
fruits, on Monday said it has
raised $15 mn from investors to
expand its business. Founded
in 2019, the start-up will use
the funds to build infra and
transform produce supply
chains in India. It built a direct-
from-farm produce supply
chain, using proprietary tech-
nology and cold-chain infra to
improve how produce is grown
and brought to market.
Printed & Published by
K Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Limited. Printed &
Published at Deccan Chronicle Presses
situated at SP-3 Developed Plot,
Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI Reg. No.
TNENG/2008/25473 Air surcharge Re 1.
© All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part without written per-
mission of The Editor, Financial
Chronicle ® is prohibited.
Rising input costs squeezed margins for companies
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, MAY 6
The growth in India’s
dominant services sector
moderated slightly in
April, but witnessed
robust due to strong
demand. The sector, how-
ever, witnessed the sec-
ond-fastest rise in interna-
tional orders in series his-
tory, while expansions in
total sales and output
remained sharp and
among the fastest in 14
years amid favourable eco-
nomic conditions, accord-
ing to a private business
survey released on
Monday.
As per the survey, the
seasonally adjusted HSBC
India Services Business
ActivityIndex fell from
61.2 in March to 60.8 in
April, highlighting one of
the strongest growth rates
seen in just 14 years. In
the Purchasing Managers'
Index or PMI parlance, a
Public sector stocks slump on profit booking
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MAY 6
PSU stocks suffered signif-
icant losses as the market
came under selling pres-
sure for a second consecu-
tive session as foreign
portfolio investors contin-
ued selling.
The BSE PSU index fell
2.91 per cent while Nifty
PSU index fell 3.66 per
cent as investors booked
profit in PSU stocks that
had seen sharp rise
recently.
RBI to make digital India offers opportunities, says Buffett
rupee available offline
FALAKNAAZ SYED
MUMBAI, MAY 6
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Governor
Shaktikanta Das on
Monday said the central
bank is considering test-
ing Central Bank Digital
Currency (CBDC) in com-
mercial papers and certifi-
cates of deposits on a pilot
basis. The governor was
speaking during a virtual
interaction at BIS
Innovation Summit 2024,
at Basel, Switzerland.
Das said that the central
bank has been working on
making CBDC transfer-
able offline, introducing
programmability features
and promoting financial
inclusion. “We are work-
ing on making CBDC
transferable in the offline
mode also.”
The RBI is also address-
ing concerns about
CBDC’s potential risk to
bank business models.
Das said that the RBI
wants to increase the pace
of retail transactions
using CBDC similar to
what the UPI has
achieved.
Currently CBDC trans-
actions have reached one
million per day but people
still prefer using instant
mobile payments mode,
Das said. “Going forward,
other instruments like
commercial papers and
Country’s international passenger traffic grew to about 70 mn in 2024
PULL | FACTOR
Indian airlines to up share in global traffic
Mumbai, May 6: As
much as half of the coun-
try's international air pas-
senger traffic is expected
to be catered by Indian air-
lines by financial year
2027-28, credit ratings
agency Crisil said on
Monday.
The share of Indian air-
lines in international pas-
senger traffic, including
originating or terminat-
ing as well as the traffic
transitioning through the
country, is seen surging
700 basis points to around
50 per cent by 2027-28,
from 43 per cent in the pre-
vious fiscal, it said.
The improvement would
print above 50 means
expansion, while a score
below 50 denotes contrac-
tion.
The survey members,
however, attributed the
latest upturn in output to
favourable economic con-
ditions, demand strength
and rising intakes of new
work. Wage pressures and
higher food prices mean-
while led to another
increase in cost burdens,
which firms partially
passed on to their cus-
tomers and charged infla-
tion eased from March’s
near seven-year high,” the
The top losers included
SBI (-2.86 per cent), LIC
(4.63 per cent), PNB (-6.41
per cent), REC (-7.35 per
cent), PFC (-8.93 per cent),
IRCTC (-2.84 per cent),
Coal India (-3.02 per cent)
among others.
NSE's volatility index
India VIX, also known as
fear gauge rose another
13.56 per cent to 16.60.
India VIX has risen 60 per
cent in the past 8 sessions.
The market closed flat
but investors were seen
moving to safer sectors
certificates of deposits
will be tried out in the
pilots along with securi-
ties tokenisation fea-
tures," Das said.
“The key objective of the
pilots has been a change
in consumer behaviour
vis-a-vis bank deposits, we
need many more transac-
tions to understand its
wider economic effects,
especially on monetary
policy and the banking
system,” Das said.
However, by making
CBDCs as “non-remunera-
tive” and “non-interest
bearing,” any potential
risk of bank dis-interme-
diation has been mitigat-
ed, he said during the
panel discussion.
The RBI launched the
wholesale pilot of CBDC
on November 1, 2022, to
settle trades of G-Secs
using the digital rupee
and the retail CBDC pilot
was started on December
1, 2022.
be driven by Indian air-
lines deploying additional
aircraft and adding new
routes in the internation-
al segment, as well as
their inherent advantage
of superior domestic con-
nectivity compared with
foreign carriers, CRISIL
Ratings said in its report.
The report noted that
business profiles of
Indian carriers will
strengthen as a result of
their rising share in inter-
national traffic, which is
more profitable than the
domestic segment.
India's international
passenger traffic grew to
around 70 million in fiscal
● CONFIDENCE
AMONG service
providers for the
year-ahead outlook
improved on resilient
demand. Several
firms indicated that
payroll numbers
were sufficient.
survey noted.
Commenting on the sur-
vey, chief India economist
at HSBC Pranjul Bhandari
said that India’s service
activity rose at a slightly
softer pace in April,
backed by a further rise in
new orders, with a notable
strength in domestic
demand.
“Although new export
orders remained robust,
they showed a slight mod-
eration from March fig-
ures. In response to
increased new orders,
firms expanded their
staffing levels, though the
like pharma, IT, FMCG
and realty, which saw
gains.
The Sensex closed flat at
73,895.54 up 17.39 points
while NSE's Nifty-50
closed at 22,442.70 down by
33.15 points or 0.15 per
cent. The broader market
suffered greater losses as
BSE Mid-cap index fell
0.95 per cent and BSE
Small-cap index fell 1.06
per cent.
FPIs were net sellers of
equities worth `2168 crore
while domestic institu-
Nebraska,
Billionaire
May 6:
investor
Warren Buffett said there
are “loads of opportuni-
ties” in India, but he’s
leaving them to future
management.
At Berkshire Hathaway
Inc.’s annual meeting, the
legendary chairman
noted that his firm could
find “unexplored or unat-
tended” areas to invest in
Power tariffs increase in Jet Airways founder
April as temperature peaks Goyal granted bail
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, MAY 6
The average power tariffs
in the day-ahead market
(DAM) of the Indian
Energy Exchange (IEX)
rose to `5.1 per unit in
April 2024, up from `3.9
per unit in March 2024 as
the demand increased
with the summer heat.
In FY2024, the average
spot power tariffs
remained elevated at `5.2
per unit, although lower
than `6 per unit in FY2023.
The rise in prices can be
attributed to demand
growth which remained
healthy at 9.4 per cent on a
year-on-year basis in
April 2024 as per provi-
sional data from the
Power System Operation
2024, from a low of 10 mil-
lion in pandemic-hit fiscal
2021, and has surpassed
the pre-pandemic level,
according to Crisil.
The share of Indian air-
lines, which was rising
steadily earlier, picked up
pace since the pandemic,
pace of hiring growth
decelerated,” Bhandari
said.
“Input costs continued to
rise sharply, albeit slower
than in March, but result-
ed in squeezed margins
for service firms, as only
part of the price rise was
passed on to clients
through output charges.
Overall confidence among
service providers for the
year-ahead outlook
improved on resilient
demand conditions,” the
economist added.
On the job front, a few
service providers in India
showed an increased
appetite for new hires in
April, amid rising inflows
of new business. “Several
firms indicated that pay-
roll numbers were suffi-
cient for current require-
ments, and the rate of job
creation was marginal
and softer than that seen
at the end of the previous
fiscal year,” it said.
tions were net buyers by
`781.39 crore.
“Indian bourses began
the week on a strong note
but a steep correction in
the PSU stocks put pres-
sure. A vertical fall in the
mid and small-caps dented
the market sentiments
further. However, select
FMCG, IT, and pharma
counters supported the
index to end the day at
22,442.7 with a loss of 33.15
points,” said Aditya
Gaggar, director, Progre-
ssive Shares
the country, which has one
of the fastest growing
economies in the world.
“The question is do we
have any advantage, in
either insights into those
businesses or contacts
that will make possible
some transaction that par-
ties in India would partic-
ularly want us to partici-
pate,” Buffett said.
He further added that
Corporation (POSOCO),
up from 9.2 per cent in
March 2024.
All-India electricity
demand growth has risen
to 9.2 per cent in March
2024 from 7.5 per cent in
February 2024. Further,
demand growth improved
to 9.4 per cent in the first
28 days of April 2024
according to data, with
the onset of summer and a
● A NOTICEABLE
shift in spending pat-
terns has emerged
after the pandemic,
as evident in the
increasing inclination
towards international
leisure travel,
Crisil said.
it said.
“A noticeable shift in
spending patterns has
emerged after the pan-
demic, as evident in the
increasing inclination
towards international
leisure travel”.
“Increasing disposable
NEPHROPLUS
GETS $102 MN
FUNDING FROM
QUADRIA
Bengaluru, May 6 :
Quadria Capital on
Monday said it has
invested $102 million
(about `850 cr) in
India's largest dialysis
chain NephroPlus,
picking up a minority
stake in the compan.
“Our business has
evolved and today we
are one of the fastest
growing providers of
high-quality dialysis to
around 30,000 patients.
We look forward to
expanding in India
while exploring further
opportunities,” Vikram
Vuppala, founder and
chief executive officer
of NephroPlus, said.
“Quadria’s invest-
ment in NephroPlus
underscores our ambi-
tion to invest in region-
al champions of Asian
healthcare. NephroPlus
has demonstrated its
ability to improve
health outcomes for its
patients, while main-
taining growth and
profitabilit,” said Sunil
Thakur, partner and
head of South Asia at
Quadria Capital.
The transaction will
support NephroPlus in
serving the growing
demand for affordable
dialysis services across
India and other markets
in Asia. — Reuters
● BERKSHIRE WAS
previously invested in
India’s One 97
Communications Ltd.,
which owns the pay-
ments company Paytm,
but exited it through a
$164 million block
deal last year.
Berkshire is now known
around the world and that
favourable base.
The full-year demand
growth for FY2024 was
healthy at 7.6 per cent.
According to ICRA, the
demand growth is expect-
ed to moderate to 5.5-6 per
cent in FY2025.
Meanwhile, coal stock
levels declined marginally
in April 2024 at power
plants; though remained
higher compared to April
2023. The coal stock levels
at power plants declined
to 16.9 days as on April 27,
2024, from 17.8 days as on
March 31, 2024. This is led
by the increase in demand
growth with the onset of
summer. While the stock
levels remained below the
normative level, they are
still better compared to a
year ago.
incomes, easing visa
requirements, growing
number of airports and
enhanced air travel con-
nectivity are boosting
international travel,” said
Manish Gupta, senior
director and deputy chief
ratings officer at Crisil.
Focus on making India a
hub for tourism is expect-
ed to provide a fillip to
inbound traffic.
International passenger
traffic is likely to clock a
growth rate of 10-11 per
cent over the next four fis-
cals, against a mere 5 per
cent CAGR in the four
years prior to the pandem-
ic, he added. — PTI
India markets
turn self-reliant
with DII help
MUMBAI, MAY 6
Indian markets are mov-
ing towards self-reliance
with the share of domes-
tic institutional investors
(DIIs) set to overtake that
of foreign institutional
investors (FIIs ) in the
next few quarters, said a
study by Prime Database
Group.
The shareholding of
DIIs as a whole in listed
Indian companies
increased to 16.05 per cent
from 15.96 per cent as on
March 31, 2024 while FIIs
share declined to an 11
year low of 17.68 per cent
as of March end this year,
from 18.19 per cent at
December end.
The share of domestic
mutual funds in compa-
nies listed on NSE rose to
an all-time high of 8.92
per cent as of this March,
from 8.81 per cent in
December.
Life Insurance
Corporation of India,
India’s largest institution-
al investor, too saw its
share across 280 compa-
nies where its holding is
more than 1 per cent,
increasing to 3.75 per cent
in March from 3.64 per
cent in December.
LIC commands a lion’s
share of investments in
equities by insurance
companies (at least 70 per
cent share or Rs 14.29 lakh
crore), the overall share of
insurance companies
went up from 5.37 per cent
to 5.4 per cent during the
quarter.
"For years, FIIs have
been the largest non-pro-
moter shareholder catego-
ry in the Indian market
with their investment
its experience investing in
Japanese markets has
been “fascinating.”
India’s stock market has
consistently delivered
high returns for investors
in recent years. Global pri-
vate equity firms have
also ramped up their
investments in India, as
wealth managers boost
their talent pool.
Berkshire Hathaway was
FC BANKING BUREAU
MUMBAI, MAY 6
The Bombay High Court
on Monday granted inter-
im bail for two months to
Jet Airways founder
Naresh Goyal on medical
grounds.
Goyal had been arrested
by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) in a
money laundering case.
Goyal, 75, had sought
interim bail citing med-
ical and humanitarian
reasons, as both he and
his wife, Anita Goyal, are
battling cancer.
A single bench of
Toyota brings new
variant of Crysta
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, MAY 6
Japanese automaker
Toyota on Monday intro-
duced a new, mid-spec
variant of its highly popu-
lar MPV, the Innova
Crysta.
Called Innova Crysta
GX+, it is priced at about
`21.39 lakh and is posi-
tioned between the GX
and VX variants.
The new GX+ trim is
available in either 7 or 8-
seat configuration priced
at `21.39 lakh and `21.44
lakh, respectively.
The variant comes
equipped with features
like a rear camera, auto-
folding ORVMs, a digital
video recorder, and alloy
wheels.
pg 10
decisions having a huge
bearing on the overall
direction of the market.
Markets would tank when
FIIs would pull out. This
is no longer the case. DIIs
along with retail investors
have now been playing a
strong counter balancing
role," said Pranav Haldea,
managing director, Prime
Database Group.
During January-March
2024 quarter DIIs
increased their allocation
most to energy (from 6.7
per cent of their total
holding at December end
to 7.77 per cent of their
total holding as of March
while they decreased their
allocation most to
Information Technology
(9.25 to 8.41).
FIIs increased their allo-
cation most to consumer
discretionary (15.03 to
16.27) while they
decreased their allocation
most to Financial
Services (30.90 to 28.39).
The share of retail
investors (individuals
with up to Rs 2 lakh share-
holding in a company)
decreased marginally to
7.50 per cent as on March
31, 2024 from 7.58 per cent
of December. The share of
high net worth individu-
als (HNIs) (individuals
with more than Rs 2 lakh
shareholding in a compa-
ny) too decreased slightly
to 2 per cent as of March
from 2.06 percent in
December.
previously invested in
India’s
Communications
One
which owns the payments
97
Ltd.,
company Paytm, but exit-
ed it through a $164 mil-
lion block deal last year.
For future investments
in India, the investor said
that it’s “something that
more energetic manage-
ment at Berkshire could
pursue. — Bloomberg
Justice N J Jamadar
ordered Goyal to pay a
surety of `one lakh and
not leave Mumbai without
prior permission from the
trial court. He has also
been directed to surren-
der his passport.
Goyal was arrested by
the ED in September 2023
on allegations that he had
laundered loans to the
tune of `538.62 crore given
to Jet Airways by Canara
Bank.
His wife was arrested in
Nov. 2023 when the ED
submitted its chargesheet.
She was granted bail the
same day.
It gets safety features
including ABS, airbags,
VSC and hill-start assist
control. It is powered by
the same 2.4-litre diesel
engine that is available
across the Crysta line-up.
It offers eco and power
modes.
It is available in Super
White, Attitude Black
Mica, Avant-Garde Bronze
Metallic, Platinum White
Pearl and Silver Metallic
colours.
 TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024 | DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI

BLITZCRICK
● Chennai Super Kings
● Delhi Capitals
● Gujarat Titans
● Kolkata Knight Riders
● Lucknow Super Giants
● Mumbai Indians
● Punjab Kings
● Rajasthan Royals
● Royal Challengers Bengaluru PAGE

SEASON-17 ● Sunrisers Hyderabad

11

MIGHTY SHOW
ORANGE POINTS TABLE
Teams P W L N/R Points Net RR
KKR 11 8 3 0 16 +1.453
Virat Kohli, RR 10 8 2 0 16 +0.622
RCB 542 CSK 11 6 5 0 12 +0.700
SRH 11 6 5 0 12 +0.065
Ruturaj
Gaikwad, CSK 541 LSG 11 6 5 0 12 +0.072

Sunil Narine,
KKR 461 Suryakumar smashes unbeaten 102 as Mumbai win DC
RCB
PBKS
11
11
11
5
4
4
6
7
7
0
0
0
10
8
8
-0.442
-0.049
-0.187
Mumbai, May 6:
Mumbai Indians beat MI 12 4 8 0 8 -0.212
PURPLE Sunrisers Hyderbad by GT 11 4 7 0 8 -1.320
seven wickets in the IPL
here on Monday.
Suryakumar Kumar
Jasprit
Bumrah, MI
Harshal
18 made a sensational 102
not out off 51 balls to set
up Mumbai’s big win in
17.2 overs.
Uphill task awaits
17
Patel, PBKS
Varun Chakra-
16
SRH had made 173/8
thanks to opener Travis
Head’s 48 off 30 balls and
Pat Cummins’ rear-
Delhi against RR
varthy,KKR guard 35 not out off 17 DEEPIKA DAS
balls. NEW DELHI, MAY 6 ACTION TODAY
Hardik Pandya struck
form before the T20 Like the soaring tempera-
Short takes World Cup while veteran ture in the National
Piyush Chawla also Capital, the Delhi
bagged three wickets as Capitals also need to up
We are losing tosses Mumbai Indians their performance in a DC VS RR
restricted Hyderabad for must-win IPL clash
but winning ties: Iyer a below-par 173/8. against high-flying FROM 7.30 PM,
LIVE ON STAR SPORTS
Pandya found rhythm Rajasthan Royals at the

K olkata Knight Riders have

lost majority of the tosses in
the IPL so far but have still man-
aged to win the games that mat-
ter, said skipper Shreyas Iyer
following Sunday’s victory that
took them to the top of the
points table. Iyer lost his eighth
toss in 11 games.
“The last 6 matches in the
dressing room there has been
havoc, teammates are coming in
and asking skip what’s happen-
ing, we are losing tosses, but we
are winning games that’s what
matters,” said Iyer at the post-
match presentation.
“We had a great start in the
powerplay. A lefty-righty combi-
nation makes thing difficult for
the opposition. It’s all about the
freedom, to go out and express
themselves.”
Dharamasala’s hybrid
pitch,first in country
and momentum
return 4-0-31-3 while
Chawla (4-0-33-3) pro-
to
duced an impactful per-
formance to trouble the
SRH batters.
However, to his credit,
SRH skipper Pat
Cummins chipped in
with a 17-ball 35 (2x4s,
2x6s) late in the innings
to take them past the 150-
run mark.
In complete contrast to
last time these teams
met earlier in this IPL
when SRH hammered
277/3, their usually free-
flowing batters strug-
gled for momentum and
lack of initiative meant
they could never really
trouble the Mumbai
bowlers.
The batters struggled
on a two-paced surface
and and MI were quick
enough to capitalise.
Arun Jaitley Stadium
here on Tuesday.
The Royals are perched
at the second spot on the
points table and can
become one of the first
teams to book a play-off
berth. The Royals have
won eight of their ten
games while Delhi have
just 10 points after win-
ning five of the 11 match-
es they have played.
Out of three matches
played here, Delhi
emerged victorious twice
but with Rajasthan on the
other side this time, an
uphill task awaits
Rishabh Pant & Co. Delhi
were left red-faced in
their last encounter
against Royals at their
backyard and they will
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya (left) hugs Surya Kumar Yadav as Tilak Varma looks as they celebrate their look to change their for-
win overs Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai on Monday. Mumbai Indian won by 7 wickets. — DEBASISH DEY tunes this time with
home support.
Rajasthan are coming
has also been inconsis-
tent this season, hopeful-
ly Tristan Stubbs and
Parithvi Shaw would
click this time for DC.
Delhi Capitals head
coach Ricky Ponting pro-
vided fitness updates on
Ishant Sharma and
Warner. “They both
trained yesterday. In fact,
Ishant trained three of
the last five days. We’re
pretty happy with what
we’ve seen from him over
the last couple of days
with his bowling. As of
now, he’s fit for selec-
tion,” Ponting said.
“Warner had a few days
off. He also did some bat-
ting yesterday in the nets
for about 20 minutes. He’s
still yet to be past fit, but
from what I saw yester-
day, he’s a whole lot better
than he was a few days

IPradesh
ndia’s first-ever ‘hybrid pitch’
was unveiled at the Himachal
Cricket Association
Stadium in Dharamsala on
Monday. The event was attended
by IPL chairman Arun Dhumal
and cricket dignitaries includ-
ing Paul Taylor, a former
England cricketer and SIS’s
international cricket director.
“The introduction of hybrid
pitches is set to revolutionise
cricket in India, following their
success in iconic venues like
Lord’s and The Oval in
England,” said Dhumal, who
hails from Himachal Pradesh.
The hybrid pitch, which com-
bines natural turf with synthet-
ic fibres, promises enhanced
durability and consistent playa-
bility, reducing the strain on
ground staff and maintaining
quality playing conditions.
The powerplay had
yielded 56 runs for the
visitors without any
damage but lack of ini-
tiative and regular fall of
wickets stemmed the
flow of runs.
Coming on to bowl
only in the second half
of the innings, Chawla
made the biggest impact
with key wickets of
Travis Head (48) and
Heinrich Klaasen (2) to
put Mumbai Indians in
complete control.
Head, who rode his
luck throughout his stay
in the middle, could not
make the most of it.
With two inside edges
for boundaries at the
start, SRH’s premier bat-
ter appeared to be strug-
gling for timing and
rhythm. — PTI
SCOREBOARD
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head c Tilak Varma b Chawla
JADEJA’S VERSATILITY MAKES into the match after los-
ing to Sunrisers
Hyderabad by just one
ago,” he added.
With talented young
star Yashasvi Jaiswal at
48, Abhishek Sharma c Ishan Kishan b Bumrah 11, Mayank
Agarwal b Anshul Kamboj 5, Nitish Reddy c Anshul Kamboj
b Hardik Pandya 20, Heinrich Klaasen b Chawla 2, Marco
HIM CLASS ACT, FEELS FINCH run while Delhi got
drubbed at the hands of
table toppers Kolkata
the helm, Royals emerged
winners on four occa-
sions in their last five
Jansen b Hardik Pandya 17, Shahbaz Ahmed c Suryakumar New Delhi, May 6: Former Australia skipper Aaron Knight Riders at the Eden matches. Not only
Yadav b Hardik Pandya 10, Abdul Samad lbw b Chawla 3, Finch has termed India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a Gardens in their last Jaiswal, Royals have a
Pat Cummins not out 35, Sanvir Singh not out 8. Extras (lb- “class player” because of his versatility which brings encounter. plethora of lethal batters
2, w-9, nb-3) 14. Total (For 8 wickets in 20 Overs) 173. in a lot of balance in all the teams that he represents. Resuming their duty — Riyan Prah, skipper
Jadeja scored 40-odd runs and took three wickets in after a six-day break, all Sanju Samson, along with
Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-68, 3-90, 4-92, 5-96, 6-120, 7-124, 8-
Chennai Super Kings’ victory over Punjab Kings on eyes will be on captain finishers Rovman Powell,
136.
Sunday. “Ravindra Jadeja is such a versatile player, Rishabh Pant and Aussie Shimron Hetmyer and
Bowling: Nuwan Thushara 4-0-42-0, Anshul Kamboj 4-0- which makes him so effective. With the ball, he would sensation Jake Fraser Dhruv Jurel among oth-
42-1, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-23-1, Hardik Pandya 4-0-31-3, have loved more wickets,” Finch told Star Sports. McGurk, how they will ers. The Rajasthan bowl-
Piyush Chawla 4-0-33-3. “He’s been economical, going at under eight per over quell the challenge of ing attack has been able
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan c Agarwal b Jansen 9, Rohit throughout the tournament. Leading with three wick- Royals bowlers to maintain a decent
Sharma c Klaasen b Cummins 4, Naman Dhir c Jansen b ets today (Sunday), he showed he is an absolute class Ravichandran Ashwin, economy rate but for
Kumar 0, Suryakumar Yadav not out 102, Tilak Varma not player.” Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Delhi, only Axar Patel
out 37. Extras (b-4, lb-10, w-8) 22. Total (for three wickets Finch was impressed that Jadeja returned with fine Chahal, Avesh Khan. (ER of 7.24) and Kuldeep
in 17.2 overs) 174. figures of 3/20 in his full quota of four overs while Delhi will definitely Yadav (ER 8.45) have man-
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-31, 3-31. defending a not-so-big total of 169. miss the duty of Aussie aged to impress. It is time
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-1-22-1, Marco Jansen 3-0- “Three wickets for just 20 runs when the Punjab Mitchell Marsh, who that Khaleel Ahmed (ER
45-1, Pat Cummins 4-1-35-1, T Natarajan 3.2-0-31-0, Nitish Kings were chasing a total of 170 odd runs is just returned home with 9.47) and Mukesh Kumar
Kumar Reddy 2-0-16-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-11-0. superb. It just shows why he’s one of the best players injury, and adding to their (ER 11.05) also show more
in the world,” the Australian said. — PTI setback David Warner consistency.

QUICK | BYTES

UGANDA’S NSUBUGA IS
OLDEST PLAYER AT WC
Kampala (Uganda), May 6:
Uganda off-spinner Frank
Nsubuga is set to become the old-
est cricketer to play in the upcom-
ing T20 World Cup at the age of 43.
On Monday, the Uganda Cricket
Association announced a 15-mem-
ber squad for the marquee event
set to be held in the Americas from
June 2, the nation’s first-ever
appearance in the main round of
the competition.
Brian Masaba will lead the side,
while Riazat Ali Shah has been
named his deputy.
In the Africa Qualifiers, Uganda
finished second in the Regional
Final, behind Namibia, to seal
their berth. — PTI
FIVE INDIAN YOUTH
BOXERS STRIKE GOLD
Astana (Kazakhstan), May 6:
Five youth Indian boxers Brijesh
Tamta, Aryan Hooda,
Yashwardhan Singh, Laxmi and
Nisha put up impressive perform-
ances to clinch gold medals at the
ASBC Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing
Championships here on Monday.
Brijesh gave India its first gold
medal of the tournament with a 5-
0 win over Tajikistan’s Muminov
Muinkhodzha in the 48kg final.
Aryan (51kg) continued the
momentum with an equally domi-
nant 5-0 victory against
Kyrgyzstan’s Kamilov Zafarbek.
Yashwardhan Singh (63.5kg) had
to work hard against Gafurov
Ruslan of Tajikistan but it was the
Indian who ultimately clinched
the contest with a 4-1 win. — PTI
Terror threat to
T20 World Cup
Port of Spain, May 6:
The T20 World Cup in the
Americas has received a
terror threat, Trinidad’s
Prime Minister Dr Keith
Rowley has revealed even
as the ICC asserted that a
“comprehensive and
robust security plan” is
in place to “mitigate any
risks” to the showpiece
beginning June 1. The
tournament — featuring
20 teams, including India
— is scattered across nine
venues, six of them in the
West Indies.
As of now, the threat,
according to media
reports, is specific to the
West Indies, which aside
from some preliminary
matches, will be hosting
the entire Super 8 stage
along with the semifinals
and the final on June 29.
“Unfortunately, the
threat of terrorism in its
many and varied expres-
sions is an ever-present
danger in the world of the
21st century,” Rowley was
quoted as saying by
Trinidad Daily Express
here.
Rowley did not name
any organisation but
reports here stated that
the Islamic State made
the threat through its
propaganda channel.
The ICC responded to
the development with a
statement assuring pre-
paredness.
“Safety and security of
● As of now, the
threat, according to
media reports, is
specific to the West
Indies, which aside
from some preliminary
matches, will be
hosting the entire
Super 8 stage along
with the semifinals and
the final on June 29.
everyone at the event is
our number one priority
and we have a compre-
hensive and robust secu-
rity plan in place,” a
spokesperson of the glob-
al body said.
“We work closely with
authorities in our host
countries and continually
monitor and evaluate the
global landscape to
ensure appropriate plans
are in place to mitigate
any risks identified to our
event.”
Rowley said “extra
effort in national security
preparations and
response readiness” will
be put in to neutralise the
danger.
The World Cup matches
in the West Indies will be
held in Antigua and
Barbuda, Barbados,
Guyana, Saint Lucia, St
Vincent and the Grenada,
Trinidad and Tobago. The
US leg will feature games
in Florida, New York and
Texas. — PTI
Maiden F1 win for McLaren’s Norris
Miami Gardens, May 6:
McLaren’s Lando Norris
won the first Formula One
race of his career with a
shock victory over world
champion Max
Verstappen in the Miami
Grand Prix on Sunday.
Breathing life into an F1
season that risked becom-
ing a one-man story again,
Norris, in his 110th race
for McLaren, beat
Verstappen by over seven
seconds with Ferrari’s
Charles Leclerc finishing
third.
Verstappen, who began
on pole, had won four of
the opening five races of
the season and leads the
world championship
standings.
It looked like business as
usual with the Dutchman,
who had won the previous
two Miami races, leading
until lap 24 when he pitted
and Norris’s McLaren
team-mate Oscar Piastri
took over the lead.
Australian Piastri him-
self went into the pits four
laps later, allowing Norris
to grab the lead and the
British driver never
looked back.
Crucially, Norris was
able to pit during a safety
car on lap 30, earning him
a valuable time advantage
which he never relin-
quished.
The safety car came after
Kevin Magnussen clipped
Logan Sargeant, sending
the American Williams
driver into the wall, bring-
ing a yellow flag.
McLaren’s Lando Norris celebrates his victory in Miami Grand Prix.
Norris, who had 15 podi-
ums before his first win,
took full advantage of the
safety car and with
Verstappen struggling to
catch up, he secured his
maiden victory.
It was the first time
Verstappen has been beat-
en on track, when he fin-
ished the race, since
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won
in Singapore in September
last year.
Norris was hoisted in the
air by the McLaren
mechanics as his long wait
for a victory in the sport
came to an end.
“About time huh?” said
Norris, “I knew on Friday
that we had the
pace...today we managed
to put it together. We had
the perfect strategy, it all
paid off,” he added.
‘He deserves it’
“I guess a lot of people
doubted me along the way.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes
over the last five years, my
short career, but today we
pulled it all together, so
this is all for the team.
“I stuck with McLaren
because I could believe in
them and I did believe in
them and today proved
exactly that,” he added.
The nearest Norris had
come previously to win-
ning a Grand Prix was in
Sochi, Russia in 2021 when
he led in the latter stages
before failing to make a
tyre change early in rain,
costing him dearly.
Verstappen, who had
complained about lack of
grip in qualification and
during Sunday’s race, said
his Red Bull had been
unable to keep up with
Norris once the McLaren
driver switched to hard
tyres.
“They just had more
pace, Lando was flying. It
was incredibly difficult for
us, but on the bad days P2,
I’ll take it right?
“I’m very happy for
Lando, its been a long time
coming and it’s not going
to be his last one. He defi-
nitely deserves it,” said
the Dutchman.
Leclerc echoed those sen-
timents.
“Very often he ran very
close it but for one reason
or another he didn’t make
it. But today he did an
incredible job and the
whole weekend he has
been on it,” said the
Ferrari driver.
Sainz finished fourth
with Verstappen’s Red
Bull team-mate Sergio
Perez in fifth place but the
pair swapped places after
stewards imposed a post-
race penalty of five sec-
onds on the Spaniard for
his collision with Piastri.
Mercedes pair Lewis
Hamilton and George
Russell finished sixth and
eighth with RB’s Japanese
driver Yuki Tsunoda end-
ing seventh.
As in the first two years
of the Miami Grand Prix,
held around Hard Rock
Stadium, the home of the
NFL’s Miami Dolphins,
the race attracted plenty of
celebrities.
Former France interna-
tional footballer and coach
Zinedine Zidane, singer
Ed Sheeran, Super Bowl
winning quarterback
Patrick Mahomes and for-
mer US President Donald
Trump were among those
spotted at the race. Trump
visited the McLaren
garage before the race.
— AFP
 GAMES
DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | TUESDAY | 7 MAY 2024
pg 12

Relay revelry
SHORT TAKES
Mitchell rallies
Cavs for win over
Orlando Magic
Los Angeles: Donovan
Mitchell and the Cleveland
Cavaliers silenced the young
guns of Orlando, beating the
Magic 106-94 in game seven
of their NBA playoffs first-
round series Sunday to book
India’s 4x400m relay teams qualify for Olympics
Nassau (Bahamas), cramps while running
a meeting with Eastern
Conference top seeds
Boston. It was another mag-
isterial performance from
Mitchell, who scored 39
points two days after pour-
May 6: The Indian men’s
and women’s 4x400m
relay teams qualified for
Paris Olympics after fin-
ishing second in their
respective second-round
the men’s 4x400m first
round heat on Sunday.
Ramesh had run both
the mixed 4x400m and
men’s 4x400m races on
Sunday.
Journeys of
redemption
ing in 50 in the Cavs’ game heats at the World India had featured in
six defeat. This time he had Athletics Relays here on mixed 4x400m relay in the
plenty of scoring support Monday.In the women’s Tokyo Olympics where
from teammates as the Cavs competition, the quartet the event made its debut.
erased an 18-point second- of Rupal Chaudhary, M R The Indian women’s
quarter deficit to clinch a Poovamma, Jyothika Sri 4x400m relay team will be

series in which the home Dandi and Subha
team won every game. Caris Venkatesan clocked 3
LeVert scored 15 points off minutes and 29.35 sec-
the bench and Max Strus onds to finish second
scored 11 of his 13 points in behind Jamaica (3:28.54)
the third quarter, when the in heat number one to
Cavs out-scored the Magic book a Paris Games tick-
33-15 to take charge. et.
Evan Mobley scored 11 Later, the men’s squad
points with 16 rebounds and of Muhammed Anas
five blocked shots and Yahiya, Muhammed
Darius Garland chipped in 12 Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv and
points to help Cleveland Amoj Jacob finished with
withstand a 38-point per- a collective timing of 3
formance from Paolo minutes and 3.23 seconds
Banchero. The Cavs, with to also finish second in
starting center Jarrett Allen their heat, behind USA
sidelined a third straight (2:59.95).
game with bruised ribs, The top two teams in
moved on to the second each of the three heats in
round a year after a stinging the second round were to
first-round loss to the New qualify for the Olympics
York Knicks. “I didn’t want to to be held from July 26 to
go home,” Mitchell said of August 11.
the mindset that saw him It was a sort of a sur-
score 17 points in the third prise that the women’s
quarter as he virtually willed 4x400m team qualified for
Cleveland to the lead. the Olympics as the focus
The Magic delivered a strong was more on the men’s
first punch, Banchero scoring 4x400m team which has
10 points in the first period broken Asian record in
as Orlando grabbed a 24-18. back-to-back global
events — Tokyo Olympics
returning to Olympics
after missing out in
Tokyo Games. The Paris
participation will be the
eighth time for the Indian
women’s 4x400m team,
the first being in 1984
Games.
For the men’s 4x400m,
this will be the fourth
time India will be taking
part in the Olympics, the
first being in the 2000
Sydney Games.
With this, India now
have at least 19 Paris-
bound track and field ath-
letes and the list includes
defending javelin throw
champion Neeraj Chopra
among others.
The athletics events at
the Games will begin on
August 1.
A total of 70 teams have
qualified for relay events
at the Paris Olympics fol-
lowing two days of
thrilling action at the
World Athletics Relays
Bahamas.
Fourteen teams in each
India’s 4x400m women’s relay team who qualified for the Paris Olympics. of the five disciplines
& fulfillment
New Delhi, May 6:
Redemption, fulfilment of a
father’s dream, a big step in
a nascent career and justifi-
cation of choices made
early in life — Olympic
qualification meant differ-
ent things to the different
members of the 4x400m
Indian men’s and women’s
relay teams who booked
their Paris berths on
Monday
A low-down on the eight
runners — four men and
four women — who finished
second in their respective
qualifying heats at the
World Athletics Relay in
Nassau, Bahamas to make
the Olympic cut.
Women’s team
MR Poovamma: For
Olympian Poovamma, it’s a
redemption of sorts after
she faced the ignominy of a
Hailing from a village
near Tiruchirappalli in
Tamil Nadu, athletics
runs in Arokia Rajiv’s
blood as his father
Soundararajan was a
state level sprinter
and long jumper.
Arokia’s father
Soundararajan was a
bus driver while his
mother a daily wager.
before she became part of
the women’s 4x400m relay
team that won a silver in
the 2018 Asian Junior
Championships.
Men’s team
Muhammed Anas: The 29-
year-old Anas is the most
well-known men’s quarter-

CSK’s whistling and 2023 World

Championships — as well
pulled out midway due to
finish second. best.
being contested
Nassau — the women’s
in two-year ban for a doping
offence in 2021 before get-
miler in the country and
the national record holder.

gift to MTC bus

as winning 2023 Asian cramps. Arokia Rajiv It was not about the tim- India had even given a and men’s 4x100m and ting a favourable decision Already a two-time
Games gold. took the place of Ramesh ing but more about mighty scare to formida- 4x400m plus the mixed after the intervention of Olympian, Anas has won

conductors
Chennai: The whistle has
always had a special associ-
ation with Chennai, not just
the Super Kings. While the
fans' whistles have kept
Chennai Super Kings going,
another whistle has kept the
city running for decades -
that of the bus conductor’s.
Through a special partner-
ship with the Metropolitan
Transport Corporation
(Chennai) Limited (MTC),
the Chennai Super Kings will
be providing 8,000 quality
metal whistles to bus con-
ductors around the city,
replacing the existing plastic
whistles.
Chennai Super Kings Cricket
Limited CEO KS
Viswanathan said: "Chennai
Super Kings is pleased to
provide whistles to conduc-
tors of MTC buses. The whis-
tle has always been integral-
ly associated with CSK and
Chennai. It's also a small
step towards reduction in
plastic usage as the metal
whistles last long. Plenty of
fans have already benefitted
from our special partnership
with MTC this season,
wherein fans with match
tickets can travel free on
buses on match days. We're
glad to put smiles on the
faces of public and the bus
conductors."
The Indian women’s
team had finished fifth in
the first-round qualifying
heat on Sunday with a
time of 3 minutes and
29.74 seconds.
The men’s team had
failed to finish in the
first-round qualifying
heat after second leg run-
ner Rajesh Ramesh
India’s 4x400m men’s relay team who qualified for the Paris Olympics.
in the team and he ran
the third leg after Anas
and Ajmal.
The Indian men’s
4x400m team was on third
position when anchor-leg
runner Jacob took the
baton from Arokia but
the Delhi boy ran a fan-
tastic race to overtake his
Mexican opponent and
Olympics qualification
for the Indian men’s team
which ran 3:00.25 at the
Tokyo Olympics for the
then Asian record before
bettering it during the
2023 World
Championships with yet
another Asian record of
2:59.05. Monday’s timing
was well below the team’s
ble USA during the heat
race at the 2023 Budapest
World Championships
before settling for the sec-
ond place.
Meanwhile, India pulled
out of the mixed 4x400m
relay second round heat
races on Monday as
Ramesh was not available
after suffering muscle
4x400m — automatically
qualified for Paris places.
The first 40 qualified
teams — eight each in five
relay events — were con-
firmed on Sunday and the
final 30 on Monday, fol-
lowing a second Olympic
qualifying round for
teams that missed out on
day one. — PTI
Kerala High Court. The 33-
year-old, a multiple medal-
list in the individual 400m
and 4x400m relay race in
the 2014 and 2018 Asian
Games, returned to action
during the Goa National
Games last year after serv-
ing a two-year ban. The
Arjuna Awardee is one of
the most decorated athletes
in the country, having won
a women’s 4x400m relay
gold and 400m individual
silver in the 2013 Asian
Championships.
She went on to win a gold
and a bronze in the
women’s 4x400m relay and
400m individual event. The
Karanataka-born, who mar-
ried another international
athlete from Kerala, also
won a gold each in the
women’s 4x400m and mixed
4x400m relay races in the
2018 Asian Games.
Rupal Chaudhary: She
scripted history by becom-
ing the first Indian athlete
to win two medals -- silver
in women’s 4x400m relay
and bronze in the individ-
ual 400m -- at the World U20
Athletics Championship in
2022 in Colombia.
The 19-year-old hails from
a family of modest means.
Her father is a small farmer
in Shahpur Jainpur village
in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut
district.
As the closest stadium to
her base -- Meerut -- does
not have suitable synthetic
tracks for training, she
would endure a two-hour
journey to Delhi for two
days ever week to train.
She became the second
Indian to win a medal in the
women’s 400m after Hima
Das’ historic gold in the
2018 edition of the champi-
medals at the Asian Games,
Asian Championships and
2016 he became is only the
third Indian quarter-miler
(individual 400m) to partici-
pate at the Olympics after
KM Binu and Milkha Singh.
He was a part of the Indian
men’s 4x400m and mixed
4x400m relays in Tokyo
Olympics.
He was also part of the
men’s 4x400m team that
broke the Asian record in
the World Championships
last year and won the gold
medal at the Asian Games
in Hangzhou.
Anas hails from Nilamel
village in Kerala and his
father Yahiya was a state-
level athlete. Anas has often
stated that he became inter-
ested in running after see-
ing Jamaican legend Usain
Bolt dashing down the
track in the 2008 Olympics.
He was a long jump cham-
pion at his school, but shift-
ed to track on the advice of
coaches.
At the 2016 senior nation-
als, Anas clinched the 400m
silver in his first attempt
and broke the 46-second
barrier at the Indian Grand
Prix and Federation Cups
that year for the first time.
Muhammed Ajmal
Variyathodi: Born in
Palakkad, Kerala,
Muhammed Ajmal was a
football player just like
many youngsters in his
state. He participated at the
U-19 state level football
tournaments until his
coach recommended a shift
to running. He was a 100m
sprinter first and then
began competing in 400m.
Amoj Jacob: Born in
Kerala but brought up in

The Royal Madras Yacht Club

(Ennore), winners of the third
edition of the Unifi Capital
Offshore Regatta.
‘It’s no joke coming back from ban’ onships in Finland.

New Delhi, May 6: “It’s
Jyothika Dandi
Hyderabad-based Jyothika,
who ran the second leg on
Sri:
New Delhi, Jacob’s sporting
journey began during his
time at St. Xavier’s School
in Rohini, when his coach
suggested that he try
capital Nassau. Championships. was looking after the Monday, took to sports to becoming a sprinter. The 25-

RMYC Ennore no joke coming back at 34 “I have achieved every- She went on to win a training which Galina fulfil the dreams of her year-old was initially inter-
and after a two-year thing, I have Asian gold and a bronze in the (Bukharina) coach sent father who wanted his ested in football. His moth-

emerge offshore
ban”, says MR
Poovamma, the senior-
regatta champs
most member of the
Indian women’s 4x400m
relay team that booked a
Chennai: The Royal Madras Paris Olympics berth in
Yacht Club (Ennore), led by Bahamas on Monday, as
Murugan Nadar, emerged she wants to set an exam-
winners of the third edition ple that age does not mat-
of the Unifi Capital Offshore ter if the body is permit-
Regatta. RMYC Chennai and ting.
CRPF were the other final- Poovamma, the senior-
ists. The final race was held most member of the team
between Chennai and which finished second at
Mahabalipuram. The CRPF the second round heat
team captained by Chinna race to qualify for the
Reddy finished runners-up. Paris Games at the World
RMYC Ennore edged CRPF Athletics Relay in
by two minutes. The regatta Bahamas, was banned for
featured J/80 sailboats. two years for a doping
offence in 2021. She made
a return to competition
Regd. No. TNENG/2010/35692 last year.
“I wanted to prove that I
Printed & Published by K. Sudhakar on am still the main mem-
behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ber in the relay team and
and Printed at Deccan Chronicle Presses
situated at SP 3, Developed Plot, I can still do it. Even age
Industrial Estate, does not matter. I wanted
Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
RNI Registration No: TN ENG/2005/14987 to set an example. I had a
Ph Nos: 22254747, 22254748, 22254750, very satisfying comeback
22254751 at this stage and I am
Editor: KAUSHIK MITTER
very happy,” Poovamma
told PTI from Bahamas
Games medals, went to
World Championships
four times and I have
been to Olympics twice. I
missed the Tokyo
Olympics because of the
ban. It slipped out of my
hands.
“So I will have to be in
another Olympics and if
my body is giving me
company why should I
stop the sport. Some for-
eign athletes run till 35 or
37. So I wanted to set an
example for other ath-
letes that age does not
matter. So, I did it,” said
Poovamma, who will
turn 34 next month.
Her return to action
during the Goa National
Games was not without
obstacles as the National
Anti-Doping Agency
(NADA) said her ban
period has not ended.
But the NADA’s anti-
doping appeal panel
(ADAP) reviewed its ear-
lier decision and finally
decided the date of
return in her favour, fol-
M.R. Poovamma
lowing the intervention
of Kerala High Court.
The Arjuna Awardee is
one of the most decorat-
ed athletes in the country,
having won a women’s
4x400m relay gold and
400m individual silver in
the 2013 Asian
women’s 4x400m relay
and 400m individual
event. The Karanataka-
born sportsperson, who
married another interna-
tional athlete from
Kerala, also won a gold
each in the women’s
4x400m and mixed
4x400m relay races in the
2018 Asian Games.
Poovamma is happy
and relieved that she did
not quit when she was
banned, though she was
broken mentally and
cried during practice
during those difficult
times.
“Only I and my family
know what went through
in those two-three years.
Everyone was expecting I
will retire. But I want to
make a comeback. I have
done and achieved every-
thing but after getting
banned, I never kept
retirement as an option.
“I wanted to leave the
sport after doing some-
thing. My husband sup-
ported me so well and he
me. Three years without
any competition and
coming back was not
easy,” she said.
“During the ban, I was
mentally broken com-
pletely but I wanted to
run again, not quit.
Something bad happened
to me and I don’t know
how the incident hap-
pened but the AFI know
what I am.”
She said she will contin-
ue running till her body
permits.
“I can’t take it if some-
body tells me to stop the
sport, I love my sport so
much. I will continue till
my body allows, even
now I have no plans to
quit.
“I feel my body is in the
best shape, even better
than what I used to be in
younger days. So I am
even thinking that I can
run with better timing
than when I was a few
years back. If my body is
allowing, I will not quit.”
— PTI
daughter to feature in the
Olympics.
The 23-year-old is quite
close to it, though the final
selection of the relay team
rests in the hands of the
Athletics Federation of
India.
She was part of the Indian
women’s 4x400m team that
won a bronze in the Asian
Championships last year.
She won a 400m gold in the
National Open
Championships in and a sil-
ver in Goa National Games
last year.
Subha Venkatesan: The
24-year-old from Trichy in
Tamil Nadu is the daughter
of a construction worker
and a homemaker and she
took to sports on the insis-
tence of her maternal
grandfather who works in
the police department.
Trained initially at the
Sports Development
Authority of Tamil Nadu’s
(SDAT) Centre of Chennai,
Subha went on to win
medals in national meets
er is a nurse at a Delhi hos-
pital. He was part of the
gold winning 4x400m relay
team at the 2017 Asian
Championships in
Bhubaneswar, besides win-
ning the Hangzhou Asian
Games gold in the same
event.
Arokia Rajiv: Hailing
from a village near
Tiruchirappalli in Tamil
Nadu, athletics runs in
Arokia’s blood as his father
Y Soundararajan was a
state level sprinter and long
jumper. Arokia’s father
Soundararajan was a bus
driver while his mother a
daily wager.
The 32-year-old Armyman
was part of the gold-win-
ning 4x400m mixed relay
team and he settled for a sil-
ver medal in the men’s
4x400m relay at the 2018
Asian Games held in
Jakarta. He was part of the
Tokyo Olympics 4x400m
relay team that broke the
then Asian record.
— PTI