chennai l THURSday l JANUARY 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION Meta India apologises for Zuck’s remark that NDA lost LS polls Meta India on Wednesday apologised for CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s incorrect claim that the NDA government lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections Inadvertent error, says tech firm’s V-P Company avoids parliamentary summons Meta India’s Vice President Shivnath Thukral took to X on Wednesday to tender an apology on behalf of the company for the “inadvertent error”. “Mark’s observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 holds true for several countries, BUT not India,” Thukral said responding to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s criticism of the remark ■ ■ BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads Parliament’s panel on Communications and Information Technology, said the matter is now closed. He had earlier said the panel will summon Meta India Zuckerberg triggered a row by claiming in a podcast that the NDA government lost the 2024 election due to its weak Covid response 1 billion users for meta APPs—whatsapp, facebook and instagram—in India 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 ED attaches `101cr assets of ex-min Sue mastermind of Express News Service @ Chennai The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Chennai zonal office has provisionally attached two immovable properties worth `100.92 crore, belonging to Orathanadu MLA R Vaithilingam, in a money laundering case, an official release said on Wednesday Vaithilin. gam had served as minister for housing and urban development during the AIADMK regime between 2011 and 2016. The attachment was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2022, on January 9. The properties are in the name of M/s Muthammal Estates Private Limited, owned by Vaithilingam’s family ED said. , The central agency’s investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai, under Section 120B of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Vaithilingam, for alleged corruption in 2016 during his term as minister. It is alleged that he had accepted a bribe of `27.90 crore from Shriram Properties & Infrastructure Private Limited in exchange for granting planning permission for a real estate project. Earlier, ED searches conducted during the probe uncovered a carefully-planned modus operandi involving the use of shell entities to layer and disguise bribe payments as share application money, the agency said. These payments, purportedly made by Shriram Group entities for the purchase of land, were instead routed through multiple shell entities and ultimately parked in M/s Muthammal Estates Private Limited, a company controlled by Vaithilingam’s family members. The illicit funds were utilised to acquire various immovable properties in Tiruchy which have now , been provisionally attached. Further probe is under way ED added. , Vaithilingam was expelled from the AIADMK along with former chief minister O Panneerselvam in 2022. Exports down 1% Trade deficit shrinks as gold imports fall in Dec Sonia Gandhi inaugurates the new All India Congress Committee HQ at 9A, Kotla Road, in New Delhi on Wednesday, as party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi look on | PTI BJP raps Rahul’s claim of fighting Indian state Pa r v e z S u lta n a n d RAJESH KU M AR THAKUR @ New Delhi A rather sharp attack by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday against RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks, drew heavy retaliatory fire from BJP’s biggies. At the inaugural event of the party’s headquarters here, Rahul criticised Bhagwat’s claim that India achieved “true independence” only after the Ram temple was consecrated, saying it amounts to treason. “Bhagwat has the audacity to say what he thinks about the independence movement and the Constitution. What he said yesterday is treason… Because he is stating that the Constitution is invalid and the fight against the British was invalid,” Rahul claimed. Rahul went on to say that the BJP and RSS have captured almost every institution in our country, adding the Congress is now fighting not just both of them but the Indian state itself. The BJP launched a bazooka Democracy is foundation Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Indira Bhawan, the new party HQ, had been built on the foundation of democracy, nationalism, secularism, inclusive development and social justice against Rahul for claiming the Congress was fighting the Indian state. Party president J P Nadda, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, IT cell head Amit Malviya and others castigated Rahul for his ‘objectionable’ remark, adding it and exposed his mindset against India. “I compliment Mr Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what nation knows that he is fighting the Indian state. It is not a secret that Mr Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxal and the deep state who want to defame, demean and discredit India,” Nadda alleged. Sitharaman wondered why Rahul carried a copy of the Constitution when he was using such language. ED gets Centre’s nod to prosecute Kejriwal, Sisodia M u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi taking the bull by the horns A contestant being flung by a bull during the Palamedu jallikattu, in which nearly 930 bulls were released across 10 rounds, in Madurai on Wednesday. On Tuesday, a 22-year-old tamer was gored to death by a bull at the Avaniyapuram jallikattu and 70 others were injured | k k sundar | P4 Truce deal to end Gaza war Recommends expedited legal action against Yadav Yadav sacked by RAW The FBI identified the accused as Vikash Yadav. He was with the Research and Analysis Wing when the alleged plot to bump off Pannun went awry Yadav and his co-conspirator arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash in New York, New York, as an advance payment for the murder E x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi INDIA’s merchandise exports contracted 1% year-on-year even as imports rose 4.9% in December 2024, government data released on Wednesday showed. The trade deficit narrowed to $21.94 in December month-on-month compared to $32 billion in November as gold imports halved to $4.7 billion. In November 2024, gold imports had surged 186% year-on-year to $9.9 billion. In December 2023, the merchandise trade deficit was $18.76 billion. Services exports rose 3.25% yearon-year, while imports grew 12%. Total trade deficit widened to $6.78 billion compared to $2.76 bn a year ago. Merchandise exports during AprilDecember 2024 were $321.71 billion compared to $316.65 billion in the same period in 2023. Merchandise imports were $532.48 billion compared to $506.39 bill i o n . M e rch a n d i s e trade deficit during the nine months widened to $210.77 billion from $189.74 billion a year ago. Total exports during April-December 2024 is estimated at $602.64 billion, registering 6.03% growth. Total imports during the same period is pegged at $682.15 billion, a growth of 6.91%. According to Deepali Agrawal, deputy managing director, India Exim Bank, the trade data highlights India’s sustained growth momentum in non-oil, non-gems and jewellery exports, underpinned by robust contributions from both labour-intensive and technology-intensive manufacturing sectors. She says textiles, agriculture, engineering goods, and electronics have demonstrated strong and consistent growth, underscoring the diversified and resilient nature of India’s export base. Pannun plot: Panel Negotiators on Wednesday night reached a deal for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Under the peace deal, Hamas will swap 33 hostages for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, reports said | P9 WEEKS before the Delhi Assembly elections, the Centre has given its nod to the Enforcement Directorate to initiate prosecution against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy scam. The development is significant as a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi had delayed the framing of charges against Kejriwal after he challenged the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the ED. Kejriwal had argued there is no specific sanction to prosecute him under provisions of the PMLA. The Supreme Court had in November mandated that the ED must obtain prior sanction for prosecution under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in money laundering cases. FBI’s wanted person notice Committee has recommended legal action against an individA high-powered committee set ual, whose earlier criminal up by the government in the links and antecedents also came wake of a botched operation to to notice during the enquiry,” bump off Khalistani radical the ministry said. Gurupatwant Singh Pannun on Yadav was with the Research US soil, recommended legal ac- and Analysis Wing (R&AW) tion against ‘an individual’ when the alleged plot to bump who masterminded the plot. off Pannun went sideways. He While the report did was later sacked. not name the individuThe ministry said the al, the Federal Bureau panel recommended exof Investigation (FBI) peditious legal action identified him as Viagainst him. kash Yadav. “The Enquiry ComIn its lookout notice, mittee conducted its own the FBI said Yadav was investigations and also wanted in a “murderpursued leads provided for-hire case; conspiraVikash Yadav by the US side. It received cy to commit murderfull cooperation from US f o r - h i r e ; a n d m o n e y authorities and the two sides laundering”. The US District also exchanged visits. The ComCourt, Southern District of mittee further examined a New York, issued an arrest number of officials from differwarrant against him on Octo- ent agencies and also scrutiber 10, 2024. nised relevant documents in The home ministry said in a this connection,” the ministry statement that the panel was said. The panel recommended formed in 2023 to probe the in- “functional improvements in dividual’s links with the drug systems and procedures as also mafia and criminal gangs after initiation of steps that could allegations that a plot was strengthen India’s response cahatched to disturb American pability ensure systematic con, security interest in 2023. trols and coordinated action in “After a long enquiry, the dealing with matters like this”. M UKESH RANJAN @ New Delhi express read railway line row ‘No land-related issues from TN’ Chennai: The Southern Railway on Wednesday, in a clarification issued on behalf of Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, stated that “there is no land-related issue from Tamil Nadu government” regarding the 143.5-km-long Madurai-Thoothukudi (via Aruppukottai) railway line project. The statement comes five days after the union minister had said the project has been shelved as per the Tamil Nadu government’s request | P4 olive ridley 350 turtles found dead in 15 days Chennai: A record number of endangered Olive Ridley turtles have been washing ashore dead in Chennai raising alarm. More than 350 carcasses were found on the beaches between Marina and Kovalam in just 15 days. From Marina to Neelankarai, the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network recorded 161 turtle deaths as of January 13. From Neelankarai to Kovalam, Tree Foundation has reported close to 200 turtle deaths | P2