tirupati l saturday l march 30, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l anantapur EDITION India-Ukraine agree to restore pre-conflict cooperation level peace formula for ukraine discussed Kuleba, who is in India on a two-day official visit, wrote on X, “We paid specific attention to the Peace Formula and next steps on the path of its implementation.” The peace formula was first mooted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 is a set of principles aimed at ensuring a just and lasting peace for his country Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had comprehensive talks with India about the situation in ‘our regions’, global security Both nations to meet again this year ■ ■ Both the countries agreed to work towards holding the 7th InterGovernmental Commission meeting on trade, economic, scientific, technical, industrial and cultural cooperation later this year India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar wrote on X, “Our immediate goal is to get trade back to earlier levels” | P11 99 drones, missiles were launched in Ukraine on Friday by Russia 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 TDP releases final list for nine Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada The TDP on Friday released the fourth and final list of its candidates for nine Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats. The TDP is contesting 144 Assembly constituencies and announced candidates for all of them in four spells. Similarly, the TDP also announced candidates for all the 17 Parliamentary seats it is contesting as part of the tripartite alliance. After announcing candidates for 13 Lok Sabha seats in the first list, the TDP now released the second list of candidates for the remaining four constituencies. The long-wait of former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao came to an end as he got the ticket to contest from Bheemili Assembly constituency, his choice. Similarly party senior , and another former minister Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao has also been fielded in from Cheepurupalli. Though Venkata Rao aspired to contest from Etcherla constituency in Srikakulam district, he could not get the nomination for the seat as it was allotted to the BJP as part of the alliance. Former minister Gummanur Jayaram, who recently joined the TDP from the YSRC got ticket to contest from Guntakal Assembly constituency . IN THE POLL RACE Assembly segment Candidate Cheepurupalle Kala Venkata Rao Bhimili Ganta Srinivasa Rao Paderu (ST) Killu Venkata Rama Naidu Darsi Dr Gottipati Lakshmi Rajampet Sugavasi Subramanyam Alur Veerabhadra Goud Guntakal Gummanur Jayaram Anantapur (U) Daggubati Venkateswara Prasad Kadiri Kandikunta Venkata Prasad LS seat Candidate Vizianagaram Kalisetti Appalanaidu Ongole Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy Anantapur Ambica Lakshminarayana Kadapa Chidipiralla Bhupesh Reddy The other candidates are: K Ve n k a t a R a m e s h N a i d u (Paderu), G Lakshmi (Darsi), S Subramanyam (Rajampet), Veerabhadra Goud (Alur), Daggupati Venkateshwar Prasad (Anantapur Urban) and K Venkata Prasad (Kadiri). In fact, the Kadiri seat was first announced to Venkata Prasad’s wife but she was later replaced with Venkata P4 Prasad. Miffed, TDP Cheepurapalli in-charge resigns Unhappy with the TDP for nominating his paternal uncle K Kala Venkata Rao for the Cheepurapalli seat, party in-charge for the Assembly segment Kimidi Nagarjuna resigned. In Anantapur & Guntakal, TDP cadre burnt campaign material at the TDP offices Tax terror, says Congress as it gets notice for over L1,800 cr Govt weaponised income tax dept to harass the principal opposition party, claims Kharge PAR V E Z S U LTAN @ New Delhi Reactions The Congress on Friday said it got a fresh income tax notice asking it to pay `1,823 crore, triggering angry reactions from party leaders who described it as ‘tax terrorism’ aimed at financially crippling the main opposition party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. They said the party will hold massive protests across states on Saturday against the “egregious attack on democracy and imposition of tax terrorism”. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi said such assault on democracy is unpardonable and ‘exemplary action’ will be taken against those responsible when the government changes. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the BJP-led government is misusing all federal agencies to subvert democracy and belittle the Constitution. The government has weaponised the I-T department to harass the principal opposition party he charged. , Accusing the Narendra Modi government of selectively targeting opposition parties, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said if the I-T department applies the same principle to all parties, then it should demand `4,600 crore from the BJP because it is a bigger violator. “We have analysed all the submissions of the BJP to the Election Commission. The party has faltered every year,” Maken claimed. “I-T department has so far forcibly taken `135 crore from our bank accounts against an alleged violation of `14 lakh. This amount was recovered by freezing over `270 crore in our bank accounts… If the same principles are applied on violations by the BJP, the I-T department should raise a demand of `4,600 for the party and act swiftly like it had done in the case of Congress,” he added. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP’s attempts to weaken the Opposition won’t work as the party’s morale is high. “We will continue contesting elections passionately he said at a press conference. Rebutting the ,” charges, the BJP said the Congress is not above the laws of the land. “A certain family of the Congress believes that they should be exempted from rules and that special laws should apply to them. It is not feasible in modern India,” BJP national spokesperson Zafar Islam said. FINMIN defends it, says based on 2019 seizures Mo n i k a Ya d a v @ New Delhi When the govt changes, action will be taken against those who have disrobed democracy. Such exemplary action will be taken that no one will dare to do all this again Rahul Gandhi `4,600 Cr penalty overlooked for BJP’s `42 Cr unaccounted deposit, while `135 Cr penalty is demanded for `14 lakh cash deposit by Cong MLAs & MPs! Mallikarjun Kharge Justifying the income tax notices issued to the Congress, finance ministry sources said the tax department had reopened assessments of the party for seven years (from AY 201415 to AY 2020-21) on the basis of incriminating material seized during search operations conducted in April 2019. Two Delhi High Court orders, dated 22 March and 28 March 2024, allowed the reassessment. “Notices under Section 153C of Income Tax Act were issued in March 2023. The assessment proceedings for these seven years were getting timebarred on 31 March 2024 as per law,” said a senior official. T h e C o n g re s s h a d ap proached the HC for quashing of reassessment under Section 153C for all the seven years but it dismissed the writs. The HC in its order observed that there was an evasion of `520 crore income. “In its order, the HC held that the tax department CPI gets tax notice for `11 crore dues The CPI has received a notice from the income tax department demanding ` 11 cr ‘dues’ for using an old PAN card while filing tax returns during the last few years. The amount includes penalties and interest due to “discrepancies” in the use of an old PAN card. Earlier, the I-T department had withdrawn the tax exemption of the CPI(M) for 2016-17 and taxed it `15.59 crore for not declaring a bank account. Besides, TMC’s Saket Gokhale claimed he got 11 I-T notices in the last 72 hours Buzz on elevation of Kejriwal’s wife as Delhi CM A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi Having held three press conferences in a week following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), his proactive wife Sunita is being seen as a possible candidate for elevation as the CM. Though the AAP insists that Kejriwal will run the government from jail, its dismissal based on Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s recommendation cannot be ruled out. Saxena has already said he would not allow the state government to be run from jail. It was read as an advice to Kejriwal to in- United Nations weighs in A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global body hoped people’s “political and civil rights” are protected and everyone is able to vote in a free and fair atmosphere, in the wake Kejriwal’s arrest stall a new person at the helm; else the Centre could invoke Article 239AB of the Constitution to impose President’s Rule. This Article was incorporated specifically for the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It is File picture of Sunita Kejriwal similar to Article 356. Article 239AB allows the L-G to recommend Central rule by suspending the House. Sunita on Friday initiated a ‘Kejriwal ko Aashirwad’ campaign, sharing two WhatsApp numbers for his supporters to send their messages irrespective of gender, age, financial status and party affiliation. Analysts saw in her press meets an indication of her possible bigger role. That she sat on the chair Kejriwal used to occupy at home during his public interactions did not go unnoticed. Sunita is a former IRS officer with 22 years of experience in service. The BJP, however, mocked it, with Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri comparing Sunita with former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, saying she is perhaps preparing to hold the post of her husband. Girl ends life over ‘sexual harassment’ by professor E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam the final journey Christian devotees enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to mark Good Friday in Vijayawada | Prasant Madugula A girl student reportedly died by suicide on Friday by jumping from a college building following alleged sexual harassment.The death of the student created a flutter in the city However, the police . said though it was a suicide they were yet to establish the reason. The girl was studying diploma first year in the college. The CCTV footage revealed that she climbed the stairs several times. Police believe she might have come under mental conflict before taking the extreme step. They said they have registered a case and investigation is in progress. “After a thorough probe, the Suicide Helpline has substantial and concrete evidence warranting further scrutiny under the IT Act. The HC further observed that the satisfaction note details the unaccounted transactions with reference to various elections,” the source said. Another official told TNIE that sufficient time was given to the party to reply especially , on various observations of the HC. “After considering all the replies, the department has now completed the assessment of seven years.” In an issue pertaining to AY 2018-19, the Congress faced the withdrawal of exemption under Section 13A of the IT Act due to violations of mandatory conditions. Despite multiple communications and rejection of stay applications, the party failed to comply with the tax demand. As per sources, recovery proceedings were initiated, resulting in the recovery of around `135 crore. The I-T Appellate Tribunal and the Delhi HC upheld the decision. facts will come out,” police said. Meanwhile, in a WhatsApp message she purportedly sent to her parents and sister before taking the extreme step, she said she was forced to take the decision as one of the faculty members was harassing her sexually He reportedly . even threatened to post her nude photos on social media if she informed the police, she said. She said she had no alternative except to resort to extreme step. PM Palem police have registered a case and are investigating. The police sent the body to KGH for post-mortem. Sakala Janula Sangham leaders blamed the college management and demanded stringent action against those responsible. OneLife: 78930-78930; Roshni, Hyderabad- based NGO: 040-66202000 Abdul Taahaa, Mussavir Hussain Shazib New pics out, NIA announces `10 lakh bounty MUKE S H RAN J AN @ New Delhi The anti-terror National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday announced a reward of `10 lakh each for sharing information leading to the arrest of two key accused in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru. Releasing the photographs of the two accused on its official ‘X’ handle, the agency requested the general public for information on Mussavir Hussain Shazib alias Shazeb and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa alias Abdul Matheen Taha wanted in the case. Both of them are already wanted in a 2020 terrorism case. The NIA said Shazib had been using the name Mohammed Juned Sayed to conceal his identity Similarly Taahaa . , was using a forged Aadhaar card with the name Vignesh. The agency assured that the identity of the informer will be kept secret. In a major breakthrough, the NIA had on Wednesday arrested Muzammil Shareef, a key conspirator in the blast case. Officials said the NIA in its investigations has found that Muzammil Shareef had extended logistic support to the two wanted accused in the blast case. On March 1, an IED explosion at the cafe located at ITPL Road in Brookefield, Bengaluru, had left several people injured there. Express read Pawan to kick off ‘Varahi Vijaya Bheri’ yatra today Vijayawada: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan is set to kick off his ‘Varahi Vijaya Bheri’ yatra from Pithapuram, the Assembly constituency he is contesting, on Saturday. During the first phase of the campaign that will continue till April 12, he will stay in Pithapuram for three days and later head to Tenali on April 3 | P4 Jaishankar, Ukraine FM talk peace formula, global security New Delhi: With a focus on the ongoing conflict in Russia and Ukraine and its ramifications, a peace formula and its implementation were discussed in the bilateral meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday | P9
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