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 kannur 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 E S H R A N J A N @ 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 happen…. there was talk of doubling the income of farmers, but it also did not happen,” said Kharge. Leaders of Opposition INDIA bloc hold hands during ‘Ulgulan Nyay Rally’ in Ranchi on Sunday | PTI 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. Reading out Heman Soren’s message, Kalpana Soren alleged central agencies such as the ED and CBI are being misused to suppress the opposition’s voice. Modi: Congress selling lies on Will repeal CAA if Constitution to scare voters voted to power, says Chidambaram R ajesh A snani @ 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 constitution 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 sis- C y nthia C han d ran / P reetha N air @ T’Puram/New Delhi Narendra Modi addresses a public event in Jalore, Rajasthan on Sunday | PTI ters, they will not even leave your Mangalsutra. They can go to that level,” Modi said. Earlier, speaking at Jalore, Modi charged that Congress leaders exploited the country and they cannot be entrusted with leading the nation once again. The prime minister said the grand old party can only blame itself for its current predicament. “Their legacy of nepotism and corruption has weakened the nation, and they are now facing the consequences,” he said. 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, the former Union minister 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. This manifesto is 46 pages and it is a long list of 40 to 50 laws. I am the chairman of the manifesto committee, take it from me. CAA will be repealed.’’ “We will repeal, amend, and review the following sets of laws- CAA 2019 is at the top of the list,” Chidambaram told at a press conference in ● More on P5 Thiruvananthapuram. Pooram fiasco: Govt orders transfer of Thrissur police commissioner, ACP E x press N e w s S er v ice @T’Puram/Thrissur ‘Many cops were not briefed’ 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 According to an internal report of the special branch, only superior officers were briefed about the pooram duty beforehand, while the other personnel were unware of the rituals and timings. probe into the complaints and submit a report within a week. The government’s 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 its attack against the Left front and the state government during the last phase of the 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. Amid complaints that the police went overboard in its security arrangements, 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. Gehlot Jr strives for a win to shed born identity R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur Among the most keenly watched Lok Sabha contests in Rajasthan is the one at Jalore-Sirohi, since former chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav is in the fray against Lumbaram Chaudhary of the BJP . Vaibhav had lost the 2019 general elections from Jodhpur to BJP’s Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The legacy of threetime Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who has never lost an election, looms large over Vaibhav’s campaign. The younger Gehlot is striving to carve out his own identity, emphasising his contributions to the Youth Congress and his active involvement in Jodhpur’s political landscape. However, Vaibhav’s journey has not been without controversies. He has been under the Enforcement Directorate’s scrutiny over alIllustration: leged foreign Mandar Pardikar exchange violations related to Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd and Vardha Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which surfaced just before the 2023 As- sembly elections. His opponent Lumbaram Chaudhary represents the BJP’s grassroots strength in the JaloreSirohi region. With a history of active participation in party activities, Chaudhary earned his stripes through hard work and dedication. His tenure as the pradhan of the Sirohi Panchayat Samiti and his leadership roles in the Sirohi BJP unit strengthened his local appeal. Despite being overlooked in the previous assembly elections, his commitment finally paid off with the Lok Sabha ticket after the BJP dropped its sitting MP Devji Patel. ContINUEd on:P9 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.