18 children among 22 killed in israeli strikes on Rafah Two separate overnight attacks on the southern Gaza city came even as the US approved billions of dollars of additional military aid to Israel thrissur l monday l april 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION Jailed Oppn leaders take centre stage at INDIA bloc mega rally Messages of Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren read out at Ulgulan Nyay Rally M U K ESH R ANJAN @ Ranchi THE leaders of the Opposition-led INDIA bloc on Sunday said that democracy in India is in danger and that the BJP should be thrown out of power to save the country Holding a . mega rally in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi in a show of strength ahead of the remaining phases of Lok Sabha polls, the leaders lashed out at BJP for “converting ED and CBI its extended department” and oppressing opposition leaders. Leaders from 28 parties took part in the ‘Ulgulan Nyay Rally’ but Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not attend the event due to ill health. In his speech, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Modi keeps saying that his government made a tribal the President of the country. “You have done this not for the welfare of the tribals, but for the vote bank. You did not give jobs to the poor. You had talked about providing jobs to the youth, but this did not hap- Leaders of Opposition INDIA bloc hold hands during ‘Ulgulan Nyay Rally’ in Ranchi on Sunday | PTI pen…. there was talk of doubling the income of farmers, but it also did not happen,” said Kharge. Notably, two empty chairs were kept on the stage for two jailed leaders – Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party and Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Their spouses read out their messages. Reading out Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s message, his wife Sunita Kejriwal said INDIA bloc is seeking votes to make the country better. “Arvind ji is a very brave. He is like a lion. The only thing he has in his mind is how to make lives of this country better,” she said. She also listed out the six guarantees including free electricity to the poor, government schools in every village to provide free education, multispecialty hospitals in every district, and fair prices for farmers. “If you give a chance to INDI Alliance, then we will make this country better and stronger,” she added. Modi: Congress selling lies on Will repeal CAA if voted Constitution to scare voters to power: Chidambaram R a j e s h A s n a n i @ Jaipur Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday tore into the Congress party saying it is trying to instill fear among the Dalits, tribals and minorities by spreading lies about the future of India’s democracy the con, stitution and reservation. “The Congress sells fear, hunger and corruption in its shop,” Modi said addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara. “But the country is no longer in the grip of fear. That is why their lies are no longer working,” Modi said. He went on to say that if the Opposition won the election, it would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims and cited former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country’s resources. “This urban-naxal mindset, my mothers and sisters, they will not even leave your Mangalsutra. They can go to that level,” Modi said. C y n t h i a C h a n d r a n / P r e e t h a N a i r @ T’Puram/New Delhi A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attacked it for being silent on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in its manifesto, the Congress switched to damage-control mode on Sunday, with senior leader P Chidambaram asserting that the controversial law will be repealed if INDIA bloc is voted to power. Clarifying the party’s stand, Chidambaram said, “I have a list with me, of a large number of laws, in which we have mentioned that five laws would be repealed. One of the five laws is CAA. Why we dropped the list in the manifesto is because it was already too long. I am the chairman of the manifesto committee, take it from me. ● More on P5 CAA will be repealed.’’ Pooram fiasco: Govt orders transfer of Thrissur police commissioner, ACP E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram/Thrissur Amid mounting criticism of the police’s “high-handedness” during the Thrissur Pooram, the state government on Sunday cracked the whip, ordering the transfer of Thrissur Police Commissioner Ankit Asokan and Assistant Commissioner (ACP) K Sudersan. The transfers will be effected after getting the consent of the Election Commission owing to the model code of conduct, a statement said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is in-charge of the home portfolio, also directed the state police chief to conduct a departmental probe into the complaints and submit a report within a week. The order came after the restrictions imposed by the police during the pooram invited severe criticism and gave ammunition for the UDF and the BJP to ramp up the attack against the Left front and the state government during the last phase of the Lok Sabha election campaign. Protesting the police restrictions, the Thiruvambady devaswom had stopped the ceremonies abruptly late on Friday Subsequently the fire. , works display was delayed by over three hours. The devaswom authorities had alleged that police used barricades wherever possible and restricted free movement of people. Meanwhile, a video has surfaced on social media that showed the police commissioner blocking the committee members and volunteers who were heading to feed elephants and taking parasols for Kudamattam in● More on P2 side the temple. EXPRESS READ Modi spreading lies about Kerala: CM Kasaragod: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to hide the state’s achievements through lies. He said both the PM and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi use the same tone while speaking against Kerala. Pinarayi also exuded confidence of winning big in the elections, saying the feedback from party leaders and workers from various constituencies suggested that poll outcome will be diametrically opposite to 2019 elections results. P6 Buzz over Rahul contesting in Amethi New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday announced 11 more candidates for the Lok Saha polls amid intense speculation that former party president Rahul Gandhi will file a nomination to contest the LS polls from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi after the second phase of elections. It was also speculated that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the party’s UP stronghold of Rae Bareli. attacks continue amid calls for restraint Despite international calls for restraint, Israel is continuing its near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. A man, his wife and their 3-year-old child was killed in one of the strikes overnight on Saturday. Another attack killed 17 children and two women as per hospital records 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 ■ ■
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.