N18.23 tax collection The net direct tax collection increased 23.5% to over `8.65 lakh crore till mid-September on higher advance tax mop-up from corporates 9.75% higher than D16.61 lakh crore mopped up last year CHENNAI l tuesday l september 19, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l VELLORE EDITION Net direct tax collection rises 23.5% to over `8.65 lakh crore lakh crore Direct tax collection pegged in the 2023-24 budget, collections reach 47% of budget estimate Advance tax till mid-sept jumps 21% The net collections have reached 47.45% of the full-year budget estimates of `18.23 lakh crore, the finance ministry said. The steady growth in tax collection was helped by a 21% growth in advance tax mop-up. Net direct tax collection includes corporate income tax at `4,16,217 crore and personal income tax, including securities transaction tax at `4,47,291 crore ■ ■ The advance tax collection stood at `3.55 lakh crore till midSeptember, a 21% growth against `2.94 lakh crore a year ago The advance tax collection of `3.55 lakh crore as of September 16 comprises corporate income tax at `2.80 lakh crore and personal income tax of `74,858 crore. Refund of `1.22 lakh crore given `16.61 lakh crore was the direct tax collection in 2022-2023 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI New tEMPLE FOR THE LARGEST DEMOCRACY AIADMK calls off BJP alliance, blames TN chief T M uru g anan d ham @ Chennai SIX ENTRY POINTS FOR NEW PARLIAMENT hanging pENDULUM new attraction Celebration to begin from Old bldg before heading to new Government has named the six entrants after animals and birds to represent intellect, wealth, wisdom, power, dharma, speed and strength Foucault’s Pendulum hangs from skylight at Constitution Hall to signify the ‘integration of the idea of India with the idea of the cosmos’ Members of both Houses will meet at 11 am at Central Hall for one-and-a-half hours before heading to the new building. Maneka Gandhi may get the opportunity to make the first speech in the new House followed by Shibu Soren New Parliament to take up old issue of women’s quota R ajesh K umar T hakur an d P reetha N air @ New Delhi With both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha adjourning to meet past noon on Tuesday at the new Parliament building, it was curtains for the magnificent pre-Independence circular structure built by architectural maestros Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which served as the Constituent Assembly and subsequently Parliament for decades. A formal griha paravesh (housewarming) is expected on Tuesday which is the auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi day before , , the official business begins. If the buzz in Parliament is anything to go by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would enter the , new Parliament bearing a pot with holy waters of the Ganges and other rivers from its Makar Dwar — one of its six gates — and participate in a havan (ritual offerings to fire) amid chanting of Vedic mantras. The Sengol (holy sceptre) that symbolised the transfer of power from the British Raj, was installed in the new Parliament when it was inaugurated on May 28. In his last address at the old Parliament’s Lok Sabha, Modi recounted the contributions of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his successors Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Initiating a discussion on ‘Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha — Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings’, Modi said it was in this Parliament that Nehru delivered his ‘tryst with destiny’ speech at the stroke of midnight hour, which continues to inspire. “In the same House, Atalji’s words about governments may come and go; parties may be formed or disbanded; but this nation has to live on, continues to echo,” he said. He also recalled episodes like the cash-for-vote scam during the Manmohan Singh government. “As we leave this building our mind is filled with many emotions and memories. There were clashes here as well as celebrations. This is our shared pride,” he added. The PM said the biggest achievement in the past 75 years was that the common person’s trust in Parliament continues to grow. “The decision to construct it was indeed taken by foreign rulers but the hard work and money that went into its building was of my countrymen.” Modi dedicated the last day to the over 7,500 parliamentarians who served since Independence. RS witnesses a battle of wits R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE first day of the five-day special Parliament session saw members resorting to poetry and humour to target the other side. Taking a swipe at the Narendra Modi-led government, Congress president and the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wondered what’s the point in changing names when nothing else changes. “Badalna hai to halat badlo, aise naam badalne se kya hota hai? Dena hein to yuva ko rozgar do, sab ko berozgar karke kya hota hai?” (If you want to change something, change the situation, what will be accomplished by changing names? If you want to give something, give employment to youngsters, what will be accomplished by making everyone unemployed?), he said opening his speech with a poem in Hindi. Kharge said earlier prime ministers including Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given their statements in the House many times but Modi seldom does it. Addressing Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Kharge said: “The problem is that the prime minister does not even listen to you. Whenever the opposition looks up to the chair, your look at the BJP leaders.” To this, Dhankhar said: “Main majboor nahin, majboot hoon (I am not helpless, I am strong). Responding to Kharge’s charges, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said the Congress members walk out whenever the prime minister is in the House. CA B I N e t m e e t in g Women’s Reservation Bill may be introduced today or tomorrow Security personnel at the new Parliament building’s Makar Dwar, one of its six gates, a day before it would start functioning, in New Delhi on Monday | PTI express read CWMA insists K’taka give TN 5k cusecs water Chennai: Cauvery Water Management Authority in an emergency meeting on Monday upheld the decision of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee and directed Karnataka to give 5,000 cusecs to TN for 15 days. TN MPs will meet Union Jal Shakti minister in Delhi on Tuesday | P4 SC upholds ban on sale of POP Vinayakar idols New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the ban imposed by the Madras HC on sale of Vinayakar idols in Tamil Nadu made with Plaster of Paris. “You can manufacture anything out of natural clay,” a bench of CJI said as it dismissed a plea challenging the HC order passed on Sunday | P5 The Union Cabinet at its meeting on Monday is learnt to have cleared the much-sought after the Women’s Reservation Bill. The meeting went on for one-and-a-half hours bit there was no official word on its decisions. Sources said the government may introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill on Tuesday or Wednesday. The bill seeks to reserve 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies P7 though there are demands to raise it to 50%.  Namakkal girl dies after eating shawarma, 43 more in hospital E x press N e ws S er v i c e @ Namakkal A 14-year-old girl died of suspected food poisoning on Monday, hours after consuming food at a restaurant near Paramathi Velur in Namakkal district on Saturday Her body was later sent to Na. makkal medical college hospital for postmortem. Collector Dr S Uma said more than 43 people who ate at the restaurant on Friday and Saturday includ, ing the girl’s family members, have also been hospitalised. Following the incident, sale of shawarma and grilled and tandoori chicken dishes in hotels across Namakkal district has been temporarily banned. According to revenue officials, “T Kalaiarasi (14), a student of Namakkal Municipality Higher Secondary School, had visited the hotel along with her parents Thavakumar (42) and T Sujatha (38), brother T Boopathi, and relatives Chin- Collector Dr S Uma visited the patients admitted at Namakkal medical college hospital | Express raj (56) and Kavitha (50) on Saturday. They had consumed fried rice, shawarma and marinated meat dishes. After they got back to their home at A S Pettai, Kalaiarasi started vomiting. She also had fever, dizziness and diarrhoea. On Sunday she was taken to a private hos, pital where she was treated as an outpatient. On Monday Kalaiarasi’s relatives , P5 found her dead on bed at home. At a time when the BJP is trying to bring more parties under its fold, the AIADMK, a key partner, has called off the alliance with the party in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK’s organising secretary D Jayakumar on Monday cited continued attacks by BJP state president K Annamalai as the reason for the party’s decision to end the alliance. The decision came just days after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami had a lengthy discussion with BJP’s election strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. A controversial remark made by BJP state president K Annamalai about Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai had invited strong rebuke from AIADMK leaders over the last few days. “BJP is not in the AIADMK-led alliance now. AIADMK alliance will be decided after the elections are announced. If Annamalai continues to criticise our leaders, we will retaliate strongly Jayakumar said. ,” Jayakumar asserted that the decision to call off the alliance was his party’s call and not his own. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, however, has not spoken on the issue yet. BJP sources said Annamalai went into a huddle with party leaders soon after the announcement. Meanwhile, BJP’s second-rung leaders strongly criticised Jayakumar and AIADMK on social media. BJP vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy said, “Annamalai just quoted history but AIADMK functionaries are making a mountain out of a molehill.” Later in the day he tweeted claiming the alliance be, tween BJP and AIAMDK is “intact rock solid”.  P5 CPM not to be part of the grand Oppn alliance K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram IN a setback to the Opposition INDIA bloc, the CPM has decided not to be part of the grand alliance. The party Politburo, in a two-day meeting, has also decided not to go for seat sharing with other parties, as part of the alliance. “The CPM does not enter into any political alliance unless there is a basic understanding,” senior PB member Prakash Karat told TNIE. “We cannot form an alliance with the Congress, Trinamool Congress or Shiv Sena. The CPM will go for seat adjustments in each state according to the political situation prevailing in that particular state,” he said. The CPM will, however, share broader platforms like public meetings and protests in and out of parliament with the INDIA constituents. It will also work out seat adjustments with regional parties in states.