chennai l monday l april 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Knights Ride on their momentum to post comprehensive victory Kolkata Knight Riders outplay Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets while Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians on Sunday... salt peppers Super Giants at eden gardens Gaikwad comes to the fore for chennai While Sunil Narine has been taking the limelight so far, Phil Salt stepped up on Sunday with an unbeaten 89 from 47 balls as Kolkata overpowered Lucknow. Batting first, LSG had posted 161/7, thanks to Nicholas Pooran’s late blitz (45 off 32), but in the end, it was not enough. Mitchell Starc, with figures of 3/28 in four overs, was the standout bowler for KKR ■ ■ Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front with a 69 from 40 balls to set the tone. Later, Shivam Dube (66 n.o), who along with MS Dhoni (20 n.o from 4), took CSK to 206/4 Despite Rohit Sharma’s century (105 n.o from 63 balls), Mumbai fell short by 20 runs. Matheesha Pathirana took 4/28 for CSK | P13 160.98 Kolkata has the highest batting SR in powerplay this season SO FAR 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 BJP manifesto pitches for Viksit Bharat 2047 Promises UCC, one nation one poll, extended free ration scheme Cong says no warranty for Modi’s words E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi PM Narendra Modi giving a copy of the BJP’s manifesto to a worker | Express R a j e s h K u m ar t h ak u r @ New Delhi With just a few days left before the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls to begin, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday unveiled its manifesto titled ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ focusing on One Nation One Election, Common Electoral Roll, Uniformed Civil Code and pitching for a stable and strong government as an imperative for the realisation of goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) by 2047. And to achieve that, the party will focus on youth, equality of women, farmers’ welfare and economical empowerment of poor, says the manifesto. Releasing the manifesto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for electing a strong and stable government, saying with votes for the next five years he can shape the country’s destiny for the next 1,000 years. Modi said the UCC and One Nation One Election are in the interest of the country. The one on the run UP man held for firing at medico near Chennai GH E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai A doctor pursuing his postgraduate degree at the Madras Medical College (MMC) escaped a murder bid on Saturday night after two men tried to shoot him with a country-made pistol outside the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital at Chennai. Flower Bazaar police arrested one of the assailants identified as 20-year-old Rithik Kumar, a college student from Uttar Pradesh, and are searching for his cousin Amit Kumar, a graduate from UP, who fled the scene after the shot missed its target. On Saturday night, 26-year-old Rohan of Vellore was near a tea stall outside the hospital when one of two men following him fired at him. When they missed, they attempted to flee, police said. “Members of the public nabbed one of them and handed him over to the police. The other person is absconding,” a police official said. According to preliminary investigation, Amit’s former girlfriend is a PG student at MMC. She recently ended their relationship and Amit suspected her friendship with Rohan was the reason. He then plotted to eliminate Rohan, police said. P5 BJP also mentioned its resolve to remove AFSPA from North East in a phase-wise manner. Targeting voters in Tamil Nadu, the manifesto promises to establish Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centres across the world. “As the world’s oldest language, Tamil fills us with immense pride, and the BJP is dedicated to elevating its global stature through concerted efforts,” said Modi, who has spent considerable time campaigning in Tamil Nadu, which goes to polls in the first phase. Highlighting his government’s work in the past 10 years, the PM pointed out that 25 crore people have moved out of poverty. The free ration scheme will continue for five more years to support them so that they do not slip back into poverty he added. , Among others, the manifesto promises to include all senior citizens above the age of 70 years in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which offers free treatment of up to `5 lakh per year to eligible persons. P9 The Congress on Sunday ter med the BJP manifesto ‘rhetoric’ and Modi’s guarantee a ‘warranty of jumlas’ saying he has failed to fulfil the promises he made in the past. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said India’s youth are struggling for jobs and food prices have skyrocketed, but the BJP manifesto has no mention of these issues. “No accountability for old guarantees, just empty jugglery of words,” he wrote in a social media post. Congress leader and Telangana CM Revanth Redy said the BJP’s manifesto is a ‘post-date cheque drawn on a failing bank’ and equated Viksit Bharat to BJP’s 2004 election slogan India Shining, which failed. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said, “Have they fulfilled what they had promised earlier? Did they give `15 lakh? Did they generate 2 crore jobs? Did they double farmer’s income?” The BJP-led government has never fulfilled any promises and they will not fulfill in the future, too, he added. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in a tweet said, “The BJP is perilously intent on dismantling the Constitution. With a voracious appetite for re g ression, they plot to thrust our nation back by two centuries.” How Israel thwarted 300 drones from Iran Dome: 1 The Arrow: 2 David’sIt is 3 Patriot: is 4 Irondown short- 5 Iron Beam: Designed to Sling: American-made Specialist in Israel is intercept long-range designed to intercept air defence system shooting developing a new missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran launched on Saturday night medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon @ Chennai/Tirunelveli The Tambaram police on Sunday issued summons to the BJP’s Tirunelveli candidate Nainar Nagendran in the case related to the Flying Squad Teams’ (FST) recovery of `3.98 crore in cash from three people on a train bound for Tirunelveli last week. Police said inquiries had revealed that the cash was to be distributed to voters in the constituency on the candidate’s instructions. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Tirunelveli earlier in the day Nagendran said the , FST officials were singling him out for scrutiny “The DMK has . been distributing money to voters. In spite of this, FST officials are targeting only me and checking my vehicles three times a day. Even the hotel I was staying at and the houses of my friends were raided. I am unable to campaign properly because of this,” he said. “In the summons, we have asked Nagendran to appear for the oldest member of Israel’s missile-defence system. Used to shoot down aircraft range rockets, the type fired by Hamas. Israel says it has a success rate of 90% more efficient system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology Global alarm as Iran launches its first-ever direct attack on Israel Agencies IRAN launched its first direct attack on Israel on Saturday night, firing over 300 drones and ballistic missiles, ad damaging an army base and injuring 12 people. The unprecedented action by Tehran, which used to target Tel Aviv via its proxies such Hezbollah in Lebonon and Syria, and Houthis in Yemen, worsened the already precarious situation in West Asia and sparked fears of a broader conflict in the region and beyond. Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 99% of the launches were intercepted, declaring that “the Iranian attack was INSIDE Israel Tel-Aviv Tehran iran foiled”. While 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were shot down before reaching Israel, a few of the 110 ballistic missiles did get through, the Israeli army said. Iran’s proxies and allies also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions, it added. Iran’s overnight barrage came in retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in the Syrian capital by Israel. The Iranian ar my No counterattack, biden tells bibi Tambaram police issue summons to BJP’s Tirunelveli candidate over `4 cr cash seizure E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e Missile interceptors fired by Israel’s Iron Dome seen over central Israel on Sunday | AP an inquiry on a date convenient to him. We have also issued a summons to Govardhan (state president of the BJP Industry Cell) as his name came up during the inquiry and we suspect that he has links to the case,” a police source said. On April 6, the FST at Tambaram railway station seized `3.98 crore from three men who were travelling on an express train from Egmore to Tirunelveli. Police sources said the trio allegedly informed them, during investigations, that the cash was being taken for distribution to voters in Tirunelveli on the instructions Nagendran, who is the sitting MLA for Tirunelveli. P5 express read FIR filed in firing outside Salman Khan’s house Mumbai: The police registered an FIR after two motorbike-borne unidentified persons opened fire outside actor Salman Khan’s house here on Sunday morning. The police recovered a twowheeler, a kilometre away from the actor’s house, suspected to have been used by the duo ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre count is 434’ Chandigarh: Researchers have found that the total number of people masssacred in Jallianwala Bagh stands at 434 versus 379 now. Researchers at Guru Nanak Dev Univesity said after two years of research they were able to reconcile three lists of the dead claimed its attack was “completed successfully”, hinting that it won’t launch further attacks unless Israel retaliates. The development drew widespread condemnation and world leaders urged restraint amid fears that Israel will retaliate in kind, further escalating tensions. Israel’s top ally the US cautioned against an escalation. “We don’t want to see this escalate. We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC. US President Joe Biden said Washington will not support Israel in case it decides to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran. jAISHANKAR DIALS iRANIAN MINISTER New Delhi: A day after Iran seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship with 17 Indians on board near the Gulf of Oman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to ensure their safety and early release. “I spoke with Iranian FM and took up the release of 17 Indians in MSC Aires. We discussed the situation in the region and stressed on importance of avoiding escalation, exercising restraint and returning to diplomacy,” said Dr Jaishankar, adding that he would remain in touch with FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Iranians torn between fear & pride I P11 TN got `5.5L cr from GoI, BJP blatantly lying: Stalin EX P R ESS NEWS SE R VICE @ Chennai CHIEF Minister MK Stalin on Sunday described as a blatant lie the BJP’s claim that the union government allocated `10.76 lakh crore to Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years. Rather, TN has been given `5.5 lakh crore in contrast to `18.5 lakh crore allocated to Uttar Pradesh in the same period, Stalin claimed. Referring to election advertisements issued by the BJP in Sunday’s newspapers in which the national party claimed its union government had “generously” allocated `10.76 lakh crore to the state, the DMK chief, in a post on X, said that even within its “false claim”, the BJP had further reeled out “fraudulent accounts” under a few heads like the AIIMS hospital (`1,960 crore) in Madurai, Chennai Metro Rail project (`63,246 crore) and Sagarmala project (`2 lakh crore). The AIIMS hospital is yet to be built, and the CMRL and Sagarmala projects have not received a rupee, he said. P5 Battleground of royal lineage vs commoner at Mysuru-Kodagu K A R T HI K K K @ Mysuru A high-voltage contest between royal lineage and grassroots appeal is on in the Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency While . Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has staked his reputation on his home turf, the BJP is eyeing a third consecutive win here. Eighteen candidates are vying for attention but the spotlight is on the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, contesting on a BJP ticket. His main challenger is the gen- eral secretary of the state Congress unit, M Lakshmana, a first-timer in the arena. The saffron party’s surprise nomination of Yaduveer, dropping its incumbent MP Pratap Simha, was hailed as a ‘masterstroke’. But it gave the CM the opportunity to play the Vokkaliga card. Internal dissent within the BJP after Simha’s axing was swiftly resolved with the intervention of top leaders. But since Simha is a Vokkaliga, there is some disquiet with the community. So, the Congress strategically fielded Lakshmana, a fellow Vokkaliga, to mine the disenchantment. In fact, Lakshmana is the first Vokkaliga fielded from the constituency by Congress for over 40 years. The clash, therefore, transcends party lines. The Congress turned the narrative into a dynasty versus commoner duel, emblematic of Karnataka’s intricate political tapestry . The BJP hopes to harness the party’s electoral might and the JD(S) MLAs to secure a lead of at least 1 lakh votes for Yaduveer, Illustration: Mandar Pardikar while the Congress is banking on Lakshmana’s Vokkaliga roots while consolidating its traditional vote bank. However, the Congress faces the daunting task of dismantling Yaduveer’s royal aura, which is deeply ingrained in parts of Mysuru. The resurgence of the Wadiyar family in politics after two decades adds to the nostalgia factor. Yaduveer’s campaign emphasises industrial growth intertwined with heritage preservation, engaging with students and youth. In contrast, Lakshmana outlines a comprehensive vision for Mysuru and Kodagu’s development and showcases the result of the Congress’ guarantee programmes. With Vokkaligas constituting a pivotal demographic, the Congress hopes to tap into it while defending its traditional strongholds. Siddaramaiah’s personal investment in Lakshmana’s candidacy shows the battle’s prestige, framing it as a referendum on his leadership. Would the BJP’s royal gambit outshine the Congress’ grassroots appeal? Or, can the Congress nibble into the BJP’s Vokkaliga support base? Watch this space.
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