NEW DELHI 14 APRIL 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 26 facebook/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard DOG IN THE FIGHT https://epaper.morningstandard.in LITTLE WORKOUTS, MAX GAINS PLUS: 12 PAGES Beating the Clock Starts With You MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Anand Neelakantan Ravi Shankar Ajai Sahni Sunaina Anand THE GOD OF NEW WORLDS Shampa Dhar-Kamath Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Namrata Joshi A RUINOUS GOOD TIME A Place to Get in Touch with The Self SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Melange of Murder Living Life with Purpose CBI books BJP’s Cong manifesto axed CAA in last hour top donor MEIL in bribery case P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi FIR says Hyderabad-based firm paid `78 lakh to officials to get bills worth `174 crore cleared M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi EC seizes over 87 kg gold in K’taka in 24 hrs B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru ELECTIONS officials on Saturday announced that they had seized 87.78 kgs gold in 24 hours. This, according to the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (CEO), is the highest quantity gold seized in the state so far, worth `32,58,68,623. On April 4, the largest seizure was in Nanjangud, where 23,160 litres of liquor, worth `98.52 crore, from 6.03 lakh boxes, was seized. The official pointed that the seizures reported are recorded from 9am of April 12 to 9am of April 13. Along with the gold, the CEO office also reported a seizure of 3 5 . 5 9 k g s i l ve r, wo r t h `27,82,000, seized in the same time frame. Total gold and silver seized till April 13 is worth `101.65 crore. The FST team had seized 22.96 kg of silver bars worth `10,06,985 in Bangalore Central constituency The team . also seized 28.5 kg gold worth `19,02,61,638 and 28 kg silver worth `21,84,000 in Hejjala check-post in Ramanagara district under Bangalore Rural constituency . The commercial taxes department seized 30 kg gold worth `9,35,00,000 and 7.59 kg silver worth `5,98,000 in Ajjampura, Birur Road in Chikkamagaluru district under UdupiChikkamagaluru constituency. They also seized 6.23 kg gold worth `4,11,00,000 in Hejjala checkpost in Ramanagara district under Bengaluru Rural constituency . THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL), which was the biggest donor of electoral bonds to the BJP at `586 crore, in an alleged bribery case. In the FIR, seen by TNIE, the CBI has also named eight officials of the NISP and NMDC and two officials of MECON. The FIR alleges the officials received bribes of `78 lakh for clearing MEIL’s bills worth `174 crore in connection with works related to Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur integrated steel plant. According to the electoral bonds data released by the Election Commission following a Supreme Court ruling, MEIl was the second biggest buyer of electoral bonds at `966 crore. Apart from contributing to the BJP, the firm also donated `195 crore to the BRS, `85 crore to DMK, and `37 crore to YSRCP. The TDP got about `25 crore from the company, while the Congress got `17 crore. The JD-S, Jana Sena Party and the JD-U got smaller sums ranging from `5 crore to `10 crore. In the FIR, the CBI has said it had registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) on August 10, 2023 regarding the alleged bribery in `315 crore project related to works of intake well and pump house and cross-country pipeline at the integrated steel plant of the NMDC in Jagdalpur, which was awarded to the company . “Based on the findings of the PE, a recommendation was made on March 18 to register a regular case into the alleged bribery which was filed on March 31,” the CBI FIR read. The CBI has named eight officials of NISP and NMDC Ltd — retired executive director Prashant Dash; director (production) D K Mohanty; deputy general manager P K Bhuyan; D M Naresh Babu; senior manager Subro Banerjee; retired CGM (finance) L Krishna Mohan; general manager (finance) K Rajshekhar; and manager (finance) Somnath Ghosh, who allegedly received `73.85 lakh in bribe. Preliminary probe filed in Aug 2023 According to the FIR made public on Saturday, CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry on August 10, 2023 about alleged bribery in `315 crore project related to works at the integrated steel plant Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh FIR names MECON officials CBI also named two MECON officials — AGM Sanjeev Sahay and DGM K Illavarsu, who allegedly got `5.01 lakh against the payment of `174.41 crore by NMDC to MEIL via 73 invoices AFTER mounting fierce attacks against the Modi government on implementing the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Congress appears to have developed cold feet on the law in its recent election manifesto. T hough ‘re pealing and amending of CAA’ figured in the original draft of the manifesto, the top leadership of the party decided to drop it just before releasing the document, said sources. Instead, the party made an omnibus promise in the manifesto that it would repeal all anti-people laws passed by the NDA if the INDIA bloc came to power. “The original draft of the manifesto said that the draconian CAA would be repealed and amended. However, at the last minute, they decided not to list any laws and dropped the mention of CAA,” said a leader privy to the developments. However, when asked about nixing the CAA, a member of the manifesto committee told this paper that under a section called ‘reversing the damage’, the party had promised to repeal various anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate. However, in this section, the party talked about reviewing ON March 20, Tamilisai Soundararajan entered the state headquarters of the BJP, Kamalalayam, after a gap of nearly five years, to rejoin the party After col. lecting her membership card, she said in her booming voice, “Tamizhagathil Thamarai Malarum, Malarndhe Theerum” (Lotus will bloom in Tamil Nadu, it will inevitably bloom), revitalising a catchphrase she popularised when she was the party’s state president from 2014 to 2019. However, the bloom is yet to happen. Tamil Nadu has eluded the BJP so far with the party winning only eight MP seats out of the 105 Lok Sabha contests since 1984. Seven of these victories were Under the CAA, citizenship will be given to persecuted non-Muslim minorities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian — who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till Dec 31, 2014 and amending laws relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment & forests, and digital data protection. The section has no mention of repealing CAA. After the Union government notified the CAA on January 10, Congress MP Shashi Tha- Iran seizes Israel-linked cargo vessel with 17 Indians on board Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi A day after India issued an advisory asking its citizens not to travel to Iran and Israel in view of heightened tensions in West Asia, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday seized a Portugal-flagged cargo ship near the Gulf of Oman near Strait of Hormuz with 17 Indians on board. A video of the capture showed two soldiers sliding down from a helicopter through ropes on the deck of the ship in the Gulf of Oman. “We are aware that a cargo ship ‘MSC Aries’ (Mediterranean Shipping Company) has been taken control by Iran. We are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and Delhi, to ensure the safety wel, fare and early released of Indi- Iranian commandos raiding the ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday | AP an nationals,’’ an official said. Sources said Iran’s military seized the ship carrying a total of 25 crew members as it was suspected to have an Israeli connection. The vessel is associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. Iran generally doesn’t target cargo vessels though they have targeted oil tankers in the past. On Saturday the forces were on , the lookout for ships linked to Israel travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, which led to this seizure. The MSC is one of the world’s biggest cargo shipping lines. The seizure follows Iran’s threats to respond to a suspected Israeli air strike on April 1 on Iran’s consular building in Damascus, Syria, which killed seven personnel, including two senior commanders. P9 ‘Even a civilian in India can dream to go to space soon’ P U R A N C H O U D H A RY @ Bengaluru JAGAN INJURED Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s bus yatra entering NTR district at Varadhi in Vijayawada on Saturday; and (inset) Jagan injured in stone pelting by miscreants | EXPRESS | P4 thanks to its alliance with either the AIADMK or the DMK. Two days before she rejoined the party, Tamilisai resigned as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry a move that surprised many , and signalled the BJP’s intentions to field its heavyweights in key constituencies to tur n the tide in this Lok Sabha election. Despite losing the AIADMK from its alliance, the BJP is hopeful of significantly increasing its vote share, owing to the growth the party believes it has achieved in the Dravidian land in recent years. The saffron party is banking on Tamilisai’s relative popularity and down-to-earth personality besides a significant presence of Brahmins and an upwardly-mobile population to shake up Chennai South, which has predominantly favoured the DMK. Her primary battle is against ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR roor said that the opposition would challenge the law in the Supreme Court, and dubbed it as unconstitutional. Tharoor also asserted that in the Congress manifesto, they will promise the repeal of the CAA, if the INDIA alliance comes to power. The silence of the party on the CAA in its manifesto has become a bone of contention between the Congress and the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been consistently attacking the Congress that the silence on the issue reflects its fear of speaking about the contentious Act. Vijayan accused that Congress consciously skipped the CAA. Vikramaditya vs Kangana in Mandi, Manish Tewary gets Chandigarh P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Tamil vs Thamizh in spirited south Chennai fight S U B A S H I N I V I J AYA K U M A R @ Chennai Citizenship rights DMK’s incumbent MP and poet Thamizhachi Thangapandian. If Tamilisai translates to Tamil music, Thamizhachi means Tamil woman. Prior to kick-starting a fierce battle on the ground, Tamilisai and Thamizhachi shared a moment of camaraderie when they hugged each other after filing nomination papers around the same time on the same day The . campaign has since heated up. The DMK is making full use of its organisational strength to canvas votes. Tamilisai is compensating for the lack of an equivalent organisational capacity through an enthusiastic door-to-door campaign and personal interactions with the voters in a bid to endear herself as their Akka (sister). Her campaign’s tagline is Akka vanthachu (sister has come). CONTINUED ON P4 GOPICHAND Thotakura, the second Indian who will travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, wants to inspire every Indian child to dream bigger. Gopi will script history after 40 years as one of the first space tourists from the country and will be accompanied by a six-member crew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 (NS-25) Mission, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. In an interview with this newspaper, Gopi, a commercial pilot and cofounder of Preserve Life Corp — a holistic wellness centre in Atlanta, US — said that he cannot express how exhilarated he is to do this as an Indian and the weight this task holds as he “takes the spirit of India” and the “people of India” along with him. The 30-year-old said that he wants to leave a legacy for the next generation of Indians who are not from military backgrounds, stating, “Even a civilian in India can dream to go to space.” With the tricolour placed next to his workstation, Gopi has always had an adventurous spirit. In addition to flying jets commercially he pilots bush, , aerobatic, seaplanes, gliders, and hot air balloons. He has also served as an international medical jet pilot. With specialisation in aeronautical engineering, Gopi has built world’s only dual engine, a three-seater tandem, open cockpit, experimental aircraft that he flies everyday . A graduate of Embry-Riddle, his recent escapade was climbing the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The seventh human flight of the New Shepard will go beyond the Karman line — the boundary that separates Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. Pilot to script history Gopichand Thotakura is second Indian who will travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. The commercial pilot will script history after 40 years as one of the first space tourists from the country and will be accompanied by 6-member crew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 Mission, founded by Jeff Bezos. Gopi pursued his primary and secondary education at Sarala Birla Academy in Bengaluru. IN the high-stakes battle in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi constituency, PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh in the Congress-ruled state will contest against BJP’s actor-turnedpolitician Kangana Ranaut. The Congress has also decided to field Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari from Chandigarh. The Congress candidates were announced after a meeting of its Central Election Committee on Saturday. The party announced 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, including nine for Odisha and four for Gujarat. The party is yet to announce candidates for Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana seats. Earlier in the day, Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh said a young leader should be fielded against Ranaut and a consensus has been reached on his son’s candidature. The Mandi seat is currently held by Pratibha Singh, the wife of late CM Virbhadra Singh. The constituency is considered a stronghold of the family The move to field Vikra. maditya from Mandi is also seen to placate the young minister who staged a resignation drama in February this year. Even before the announcement of Vikramaditya’s name, a war of words broke out between him and Ranaut over her “Chhota Pappu” remark. Vikramaditya said Kangana was trying to divert the people’s attention. In Chandigarh, Tewari will challenge BJP’s Sanjay Tandon who replaced Kirron Kher. The announcement for this seat was delayed due to the party’s internal bickering. Last month, supporters of two camps belonging to Pawan Kumar Bansal and Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky fought. MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 6, 7, 9 & 10 SYDNEY 6 STABBED TO DEATH IN SHOPPING CENTRE Six people were killed and several others injured, when a knife-wielding attacker rampaged through a busy Sydney shopping centre on Saturday. The unidentified assailant, who was tracked down and shot dead by a policewoman | P11
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