chennai l Sunday l April 04, 2021 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION Frontliner window closed Centre on Saturday said no fresh registration of frontliners will be allowed to prevent the misuse of provisions by ineligible people to jump the queue Sharp Spike 89,129 cases recorded on Saturday 714 fatalities, the highest in over six months 47,913 cases reported from Maharashtra, followed by Karnataka (4,991) and Chhattisgarh (4,174) The last time such a high spike was reported was on September 20, 2020, when 92,605 infections were recorded in 24 hours ipl under covid scare 50% cases in 10 dists 6,58,909 active cases on Saturday (5.32% of total infections) 10 Districts: Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Bengaluru Urban, Aurangabad, Delhi, Ahmednagar and Nanded (50% of the total active caseload in the country) Problem states Maharashtra has shown a nine-fold jump in the number of active cases in the past two months In percentage terms, Punjab has reported the maximum increase in active cases Five states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, K’taka and Chhattisgarh — together account for 77.3% of the total active cases A raft of Covid-19 positives dampened the build-up to the next edition of the IPL, scheduled to begin on April 9. Here's a look at developments ■ ■ ■ ■ Axar Patel (DC) becomes second IPL player after Nitish Rana (KKR) to test positive. Rana started training again on Saturday More than 15 others, including six event management officials, also test positive Organisers bringing in different set of groundstaff to tend to Wankhede Stadium after they also test positive Reports suggest Hyderabad kept as a back-up option to shift games but Mumbai to remain venue as of now | P10, 13 24,69,59,192 Samples tested for Covid-19 up to April 2 Eight states Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh account for 81.42% of single-day infections CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI announcement The cover price of The New Sunday Express has been revised to `12 with effect from April 04, 2021. — Editor 3,446 New Covid cases in Tamil Nadu Of them, 1,290 were reported in Chennai. As the number of active cases reached 20,204 on Saturday, Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan said more restrictions would be imposed in the State if needed | P6 WITH THIS ISSUE The Spirit is Willing PLUS 12 PAGES In conversation with Express, CM Palaniswami denies anti-incumbency wave, says his government maintained balance between welfare and development ‘Only the AIADMK can protect common man’ E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday expressed confidence that the AIADMK would return to power with the alliance winning more than 200 seats in the State. He also stoutly denied the existence of any anti-incumbency wave against his government, saying it delivered on its promises by implementing historic schemes and developmental projects. In an interview with The New Indian Express, Palaniswami answered questions on various issues, including allocation of seats for aspirants, the 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community, criticism regarding the alliance with the BJP, and his relationship with Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, among other things. Asked about the possibility of Tamil Nadu becoming the State with the highest debt burden due to poll promises, such as `1,500 per month for women family heads, six gas cylinders per year, and washing ma- chines for family card holders, Palaniswami recalled how the noon meal scheme of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran faced criticism from several quarters, includi n g t h e D M K , wh e n i t w a s introduced. “Now, the whole world considers it as a model scheme. In the last 10 years, we have been balancing between welfare and development. Welfare measures are a direct intervention to improve the economic well-being of people. In a democracy , political will to implement such welfare-oriented programmes is needed,” Palaniswami reasoned, adding that funds for such schemes would be sourced without compromising development and fiscal discipline. On the notion that there is an antiincumbency wave, the Chief Minister said, “That is a politically-motivated propaganda by the Opposition. I see very positive responses to our campaign from the people. I have been Chief Minister for just four years, but implemented a number of historic schemes and projects. How hathras plot charge-sheet filed against 8 PFI members N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow can there be a mood of anti-incumbency when our government has delivered the goods?” Palaniswami said that as a firsttime Chief Minister, he received much warmth from the public. “For the development of the State to continue — which the people want — I must continue as Chief Minister. I am sure the people trust me,” he added. As for why people should vote for the AIADMK and reject the DMK-led alliance, he said this is necessary for the development of Tamil Nadu. “The DMK must be rejected primarily for its dynastic politics and undemocratic and arrogant attitude of its leaders. The common man will be protected only if the AIADMK comes to power.” Full interview: P2 The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday filed a 5,000-page charge-sheet against eight members of Popular Front of India (PFI) in the Mathura additional district judge and sessions court on Saturday The court has posted the matter for next . hearing on May 1. Those named in the charge-sheet include journalist Siddique Kappan, Atiqur Rehman, Rauf Sharif, Mohammad Danish, Alam, Masood Ahmad, Feroz Khan and Asad Badruddin. All the accused were charged with receiving `80 lakh from financial institutions in Muscat and Doha for fomenting unrest in UP The STF . had arrested five PFI members, including Kappan, in Mathura on October 5, 2020, while they were on the way to Hathras allegedly to meet the family of a Dalit girl who was gangraped. The FIR against them said they were going to Hathras with an intention “to breach the peace” as part of a “conspiracy”.  Continued on: P10 express read Jailed prof Saibaba sacked from DU college New Delhi: Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College has terminated the service of assistant professor G N Saibaba, who is serving life term in Nagpur Central Prison for alleged Maoist links. According to a memorandum received by Saibaba’s wife Vasantha on Thursday, his services were terminated from the afternoon of March 31. Terming the development a “witch hunt”, Saibaba’s wife alleged that it was a “violation of employee’s rights” and she would take the matter to court Maoists kill five jawans in ambush E xpress N ews S ervice @ Raipur A fierce gun battle between ambushed security forces and Maoists left at least five personnel and two rebels dead in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday. Around a dozen personnel were reported injured. Reinforcements were rushed to the site, but the forces were yet to return from the operation, Director General of Police D M Awasthi said. On Friday night, several parties of the security forces fanned out across the Bijapur-Sukma border on anti-Maoist operations based on intel inputs. The ultras ambushed one of the parties near Tarrem on Saturday noon, resulting in a nearly three hour exchange of fire. Two choppers and nine ambulances were rushed to Bijapur to aid the forces, officials said, adding bodies of two rebels had been recovered from the site.