tirupati l tuesday l march 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Prachanda snaps alliance, leads new coalition in Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda ended the 15-month partnership with Nepali Congress and formed an alliance with Communist Party of Nepal (UML) Nepal nitished, 3 new ministers take oath Rift over national assembly chief post It was like what Nitish Kumar did in Bihar — ending an allinace and joining another in the space of a few hours while staying at the helm. Prachanda’s Communist Party (Maoist Centre) snapped ties with Deuba’s Nepali Congress. The PM then signed a deal with critic and former premier K P Sharma Oli’s UML. Three ministers then took the oath of office on Monday ■ ■ Differences between the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre grew over budget allocation to certain projects The other issue was the post of Chairman of the National Assembly. Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House with 89 seats, wanted the post for itself while Prachanda wanted it for his party 32 seats alone held by Prachanda in the 275-member Nepal house 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 Bribed lawmakers lose judicial shield Seven-judge bench overturns SC’s 1998 verdict in the JMM bribery case that protected Soren from CBI prosecution S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Cops conduct searches at P Narayana’s house in connection with a plaint against his son-in-law and managing director of Nspira Management Services | Express Raids on houses of TDP’s Narayana & his close associates E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Nellore Police and other agencies carried out searches at the houses of TDP leader Ponguru Narayana and his followers in Nellore city on Monday in connection with a complaint against his sonin-law and managing director of Nspira Management Services Private Limited Puneeth for allegedly flouting the norms of APGST Act. It may be pointed out that Narayana is TDP’s candidate for the Nellore city Assembly constituency . Scores of police personnel conducted searches at the residences of TDP leaders Kota Gurubrahmam and Ramana Reddy, former ZPTC member Muppalla Vijetha, accountants of Narayana Educational Institutions Suresh and Srinivasulu. It has been learnt that the TDP leaders are close aides of Narayana and have been actively involved in his party programmes in Nellore city constituency . Explaining the issue, Nellore superintendent of police Dr K Tirumaleswara Reddy said Puneeth was found to have raised GST invoices under the name of Nspira Management Services, allegedly evading taxes on 84 vehicles. Despite owing the government `10.32 crore, only `22 lakh GST was paid. During searches conducted at the residences of Narayana’s close relatives, authorities seized `1.82 crore, the SP added. A case was registered against Puneeth for tax evasion. Nspira Society affiliated with Naraya, na Education Society is under scrutiny for its , alleged involvement in fraudulent activities, P5 Reddy said.  ‘Fraudulent GST activity’ Nellore SP said searches were carried out on instructions of Commissioner of Transport Department. It was found that Nspira Management Services had allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities related to GST TDP leader cries foul Accusing the ruling YSRC of indulging in vendetta politics, Vijetha said, “Police entered my house without any valid warrant. They found only `22,000 cash in the house” memorial The seven-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices A S Bopanna, M M Sundresh, Manoj Misra, P S Narasimha, J B Pardiwala and Sanjay Kumar that that nixed the immunity from prosecution for lawmakers | PTI Monday’s verdict authored by CJI D Y Chandrachud said, “Taking bribe is an independent offence and has no connection with what is said and done, by a MP or MLA inside House. Hence immunity granted by Constitution to them for fearless deliberation and debate of issues inside the House cannot shield them from prosecution.” The court said corruption and bribery by legislators destroy the functioning of parliamentary democracy. “Bribery is not rendered immune M u k e s h R a n ja n / p r av een k u m a r @ New Delhi/Bengaluru The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the recent bomb blast at Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe. It registered an FIR based on a direction from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said on Monday . They said the case has been handed over to NIA by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs after a team from the agency visited the blast site last week. It came a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that his government might consider handing over the probe to NIA, if necessary . Suspect was wearing mask, glasses, cap A man wearing a cap, mask and glasses is the suspect in the case and he is still untraceable. The explosion is suspected to be carried out through an improvised explosive device The blast took place at the cafe in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area and several people were injured. Initially the Ben, galuru police registered a case under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Explosives Substances Act. The DG & IGP of Karnataka, Alok Mohan, told reporters in After an innings defeat at the hands of Mumbai, Tamil Nadu coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni, blamed the captain’s inner voice for the defeat. A look... The match E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chittoor Sai Kishore, TN captain under Article 105 or 194 because a member indulging in bribery indulges in a criminal act which is not essential for the function of casting a vote or giving a speech in the legislature,” the bench ruled. If the JMM bribery case verdict protected JMM chief Shibu Soren from prosecution, Monday’s ruling put his MLA daughter-in-law Sita Soren in On a surface with some spice for the pacers, TN captain Sai Kishore won the toss. But he went conventional wisdom — and the dressing room — in deciding to bat first. The visitors were blown away for 146. They couldn’t recover from that setback as they went down by an innings and 70 runs on Monday We lost the match at 9.00 AM on Day One. I can take the horse to water but the horse has to drink. We should have bowled but the captain has a different instinct. Ultimately he’s the boss and I can only give suggestions —Sulakshan Kulkarni, TN coach Vidarbha in command In the other semifinal, Vidarbha assumed total command. They lead Madhya Pradesh by 261 runs with four wickets remaining “Corruption and bribery of members of the legislature erode the foundation of Parliamentary democracy. It... creates a polity which deprives citizens of a responsible, responsive and representative democracy,” the bench said Bengaluru that the case will be handed over to NIA for further investigation. The eight teams of the Central Crime Branch that were formed to probe the case will assist NIA officials. “Procedures are being followed to hand over the case to NIA,” Mohan said. A team of NIA officials met the state police chief and Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda at the state police headquarters on Monday afternoon. After NIA officially takes over the case, all case properties, including material evidence, CCTV footage and related files, will be handed over to it. The city police will also share all information they have gathered with NIA officials. express read Jagan to unveil ‘Vision Visakha’ document Visakhapatnam: IT & Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath on Monday reviewed arrangements for ‘Development Dialogue Unveiling of Vision Visakha’, scheduled to be held in Vizag on Tuesday. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy will release the ‘Vision Visakha’ document at the meeting | P5 Ensure a gap of 4 weeks between TET & TRT: HC Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday asked the State government to ensure that there is a gap of at least four weeks between the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and Teacher Recruitment Test-District Selection Committee (TRT-DSC) | P5 State’s 1st AI lab set up at Cheepurupalli ZP school E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam The first-of-its-kind Artificial Intelligence Skills Lab, set up at the Zilla Parishad High School at Cheepurupalli in Vizianagaram district, was inaugurated by Vizianagaram MP Bellana Chandrasekhar. The State’s first AI Skills Lab has been established by the Andhra Pradesh Education Department and Intel India. As many as 500 students from grades VII to X of the ZP High School in Cheepurupalli are being trained under the Intel AI for Youth programme. Teach- ers also underwent training under the ‘AI for All’ programme. The lab will help prepare students and teachers for an AI-ready generation. It has been designed with an aim to demystify Artificial Intelligence for youth and equip them with a relevant mindset, skill sets and tool sets required for AI-readiness. The lab has been envisaged as a dedicated space for handson learning and is equipped with technologies which are open source and flexible in na- the soup. It was Sita who had filed the appeal that was decided by the seven-judge bench against her. She was accused of taking bribe to vote for a particular candidate in the 2012 Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand. She, however, did not vote for the candidate. When the CBI went after her, Sita moved the Jharkhand High Court citing the 1998 rul- Erodes foundation of democracy After home ministry’s direction, NIA takes over Bengaluru cafe blast case After loss, coach blames TN captain’s ‘instinct’ YSRC MLC pays homage to Veerappan A video of MLC KRJ Bharath unveiling the memorial stupa of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan at Kakarlavanka in Santhipuram mandal in Chittoor district on Sunday went viral , on social media platforms on Monday sparking widespread , discussion. Despite Veerappan’s infamous reputation for his activities in Tamil Nadu, the villagers worship him as a deity In this view, a stupa was . constructed in his memory . Vanniyakula Kshatriyas, who hold traditional authority in Kakarlavanka under Abakaloddi Panchayat, paid homage to Veerappan by unveiling their flag, showcasing his enduring influence in the region’s cultural landscape. A YSRC leader from Chittoor division said, “It is not about supporting Veerappan. As residents of Kakarlavanka and other surrounding villages have been worshipping Veerappan, the YSRC will always respect their belief.” At a programme in Kuppam, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had said that Bharath would contest against TDP supremo and seven-time MLA from the segment N Chandrababu Naidu. In a landmark ruling, a sevenjudge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously said an MP or MLA cannot claim immunity from prosecution on a charge of bribery in connection with the vote or speech in the legislature. The ruling overturned a fivejudge bench’s 3:2 verdict in 1998 in the JMM bribery case to save P V Narasimha Rao’s minority government. The CBI had accused JMM chief Shibu Soren of taking a bribe to defeat a noconfidence motion against the government in 1991. The 1998 ruling said lawmakers had immunity from prosecution if they cast their vote in the House or spoke on a subject after taking bribe. That verdict created a peculiar situation as a lawmaker who took bribe but did not vote in favour of the bribe giver became liable for prosecution. ture. Officials said the lab will help empower and enable youth to create meaningful social impact projects based on the Intel AI for Youth programme. The AI Skills Lab has three corners: Learning Corner, Development Corner and Inferencing Cor ner. While the Learning Corner is meant to help students understand AI concepts, the Development Corner is to train them in using AI models so they can develop AI-enabled social imP5 pact solutions.  ing to seek protection from prosecution. But the HC rejected it on the ground that she had not cast her vote in favour of the alleged bribe giver and was thus not entitled to the protection under Article 194(2). Commenting on the 1998 verdict, the seven-judge bench said, it resulted in a paradoxical outcome as it rewarded a lawmaker who accepted bribe and voted on agreed terms with immunity but prosecuted those who accepted illegal gratification but voted independently. The minority judgment highlighted the prima facie absurdity in the paradox, it added. The bench said a member engaging in bribery commits a crime. “This action may bring indignity to the House of Parliament or Legislature and may also attract prosecution. What it does not attract is the immunity given to the essential and necessary functions of a member of Parliament or Legislature,” it said. b u y i n g ti m e Extend electoral bond data sharing deadline to June 30: SBI to SC ers had a right to know which party is getting money from whom and how much before The State Bank of India on they excercise their franMonday sought to buy time chise. Polling is expected to from the Supreme Court for be over by June 30. In its application, the SBI submitting to the Election Commission of India full contended that retrieval of data on electoral bonds en- information stored in each silo and the procecashed by political dure of matching parties. the information of With the SC’s one silo with the deadline for the SBI set to end on Chronology samjhiye: other is a time-conMarch 6 (Wednes- first elections, then suming exercise. The data related day), the bank re- disclosure of electoral quested time till bonds. What makes to the issuance of the ruling party so the bond and the June 30 to complete nervous about data on their rethe task. revealing the source demption was kept In its landmark of its bottomless recorded in two difverdict last month campaign finance ferent silos. No striking down the coffers? central database electoral bonds Jairam Ramesh, was maintained. scheme for politiCong gen secy This was done to cal funding, the ensure that donors’ court had ordered , the SBI to furnish the data to anonymity the SBI said. “It is submitted that donor the poll panel by March 6. The ECI was directed to pub- details were kept in a sealed cover at the designatlish the information on its ed branches and all website by March 13. The court such sealed covers had the upwere deposited in coming Lok the Main Branch Sabha elecof the Applicant tions in mind bank, which is when it set the located in Mumtimelines bebai,” the plea cause it said votsaid. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Ready to appear before the ED virtually, says Kejriwal a n u p v e r m a @ New Delhi DELHI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) eighth summons in connection with the excise policy case. Again terming the summons ‘illegal’, Kejriwal said he can appear before the agency virtually after March 12. Kejriwal is scheduled to appear before a city court on March 16 for repeatedly skipping ED’s summonses for questioning in the excise policy case. The AAP said that the motive behind summons is not to question the party chief, but to arrest him before the Lok Sabha elections. It said that the BJP has been completely exposed, hence it is playing vendetta politics. The party argued that when the CM is ready to respond virtually, why was the ED not questioning him. It stated that the central agencies can question him through video conference and the whole process should be telecast live. Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana said, “Kejriwal can do that even today if he wants to appear virtually Right now he .” is doing a mockery of the summonses, he added.