Holiday The offices and press of The New Indian Express will remain closed on the occasion of International Labour Day on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. There will be no edition of the paper on Thursday, May 2, 2024 BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l may 01, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l JEYPORE EDITION DGCA suspends Vistara vice-prez for lapses in training of pilots Vikram Mohan Dayal, vice-president (training), suspended for violating rules while providing training for pilots to switch from A320 to B787 Airline ordered to appoint new trainer The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s move is after a detailed inquiry into alleged lapses in conversion training for pilots. Conversion training is extremely critical as it equips pilots who fly the narrow-body A320 aircraft to efficiently and safely operate the wide-body B787 plane. The regulator has asked Vistara to replace Dayal with another individual, reports said ■ `10 lakh Pilots flunked third stage: dgca PROBE ■ DGCA probe found that 12 ‘trained’ pilots did not clear the third stage Conversion training involves four stages. In the first stage, pilots train on a simulator, followed by skills testing in the second stage. The third stage involves actual takeoff and landing on a B787 plane. The fourth stage involves flying a plane full of passengers under supervision Fine on Vistara in June 2022 for letting an untrained pilot land plane at Indore 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 For Pandian, by Pandian, against Pandian is the story of 2024 Odisha polls S i b a M o h a n t y @ Bhubaneswar Ever since he exited the Indian Administrative Service and officially took the plunge last year, the big question hanging over VK Pandian’s political ascendancy was not when; it was rather how soon. The soon has become the moment. The 2024 Odisha elections have become all about Pandian. He has virtually become the face of the BJD after Chief Minister Naven Patnaik Dube, Samson in; KL, Rinku overlooked for T20 World Cup S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai THE Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) erred on the side of caution as they named the 15-member squad tasked with ending a 11-year ICC title drought. Both Rohit Sharma (as captain) and Virat Kohli, two of the ever-presents in the last five T20 World Cups since 2012, kept their place for the upcoming event in the US and West Indies. Interestingly, the squad is a mix of people who have performed admirably at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) and a few who have been below par. KL Rahul was expected to be in the reckoning as a back-up opener and keeper but Sanju Samson has been preferred instead. Samson, who bats in that critical No. 3 position for Rajasthan, will probably be asked to finish games if he’s selected on match day. All said, the top seven could be a carbon copy of the line-up that featured at the World Cup in the UAE in 2021, with the only change being Yashasvi Jaiswal for KL Rahul. That being the case, one wonders how they will make room for the likes of Shivam Dube and Samson in the line-up. Rishabh Pant, who last played for India in December 2022, is expected to be the starting keeper while Hardik Pandya, the vice-captain, and Ravindra Jadeja will be the two starting all-rounders. Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj may be expected to start but on spinning surfaces, one of Arshdeep or Siraj could make way for Yuzvendra Chahal. Rinku Singh, Kolkata’s designated finisher and somebody who was groomed in that role by the national selectors, P13 didn’t make the cut. and the biggest campaigner of the regional party while the Opposition BJP and Congress have made him their prime target. Pandian is the singular poll issue this summer in Odisha. The BJD’s development juggernaut and BJP’s ‘vikash’ narrative have slowly receded into the background. Pandian is not complaining though. In fact, he is basking in the attention as he hops on to the chopper from one packed public meeting to another. The 49-year-old is not only fronting the party but has also taken it upon himself to cover maximum number of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies for the BJD. Pandian has already established a complete command over the BJD with every political action and decision of the party bearing his nod and the ministers, MPs and MLAs accepting him as the leader after Naveen but now he is positioning himself before the people as the CM’s political heir. And here lies the catch. The Tamil Nadu-born bureaucratturned-politician holding the centrestage of a regional party and addressing people in faltering Odia has drawn in the outsider factor and the BJP and Congress have sensed an opportunity to take the game on to the BJD. From the much-repeated double-engine government slogan, the BJP has already changed track to make ‘Odia Asmita’ (Odia identity) as its main poll issue. The obvious target is Pandian. The BJP has zeroed in on the right hand man of Naveen as a weak link, who carries the baggage of being an outsider. It has begun to Will expel if found guilty, says hdk; bjp asks why cong govt ‘delayed’ probe Political slugfest as JDS suspends Prajwal Revanna E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hubballi AS the alleged acts of sexual exploitation of women by Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna threatened to become a major poll issue ahead of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 7, the regional party on Tuesday swung into damage control mode by suspending him from the party . The decision to suspend the young MP the , grandson of ex-PM and JDS national president HD Deve Gowda and the JDSBJP candidate from Hassan, was taken at the party meeting in Hubballi on Tuesday with the approval of Deve Gowda. Former Karnataka CM and JDS state president H D Kumaraswamy said Prajwal stands suspended till the Special Investigation Team sub- mits its report. If found guilty , he would be expelled from the party and prosecuted as per law, Kumaraswamy added. Union home minister Amit Shah said the BJP doesn’t tolerate harassment of women. He, however, sought to turn the tables on the Congress accusing the ruling party in Karnataka of failing to act on time and delaying investigation. “The Congress is trying to put the blame on us. But I want to ask whose government is it in Karnataka? The fake video must have come to your notice because it was released on time. Why has the Congress not taken action so far? Law and order is a state subject,” he said while speaking to reporters in Guwahati. Slamming Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi for questioning BJP, he said the Congress gover nment in Kar nataka NSUI members protesting at Maharani College in Bengaluru | Shashidhar Byrappa Our stand in this case is clear and we will not tolerate women’s harassment. If the Congress leaders knew about it before, why didn’t they take action earlier? — Amit Shah, Union home minister should have taken action earlier. “Why didn’t Priyanka question the Congress government (in Karnataka)?” he asked. Karnataka deputy CM D K Shivakumar said neither the state government nor any Congress leader have any prior information about this alleged sex scandal “If we had prior information, we would have acted immediately he said. ,” The JDS and its alliance partner BJP had come under persistent attack from the Congress, which targeted the BJP’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for sharing dais with Prajwal. All three seats contested by the JDS went to the polls on April 26, and in the remaining 14 seats in the state there will be a direct contest between the BJP and Congress. The stakes are higher for BJP as the issue could impact its prospects in Karnataka as well other states where voting is pending. Police had on Sunday booked Prajwal and his father H D Revanna on charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Berhampur Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday filed his nomination papers from the Hinjili Assembly constituency, from where he will be seeking victory for the sixth consecutive time. Voting in the constituency that comes under the Aska Lok Sabha seat is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the second phase polls for Odisha. The chief minister is also fighting election from Kantabanji seat in Bolangir which will also go to polls on May 20. The date of his filing nomination from the second seat is yet to be announced. Naveen accompanied by his trusted lieutenant VK Pandian visited the Maa Tara Tarini temple and took the blessings of the Goddess before filing his nomination papers. Thousands of party workers and general public had gathered in front of the sub-collector’s office at Chhatrapur to welcome Naveen before he filed his nomination. BJD’s Lok Sabha candidates for Berhampur and Aska seats Bhrugu Baxipatra and Ranjita Sahu respectively all the Assembly candidates , of Ganjam district, state Finance minister Bikram Keshari Arukha, chairman of the BJD manifesto committee and former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu were present with the chief minister. Naveen had won from the Hinjili seat for the first time in 2000 with a margin of over 29,800 Continued on P5 votes. Battle of a different kind in saffron citadel Vidisha A N U RAA G SI N G H @ Bhopal Illustration: Mandar Pardikar IN Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, nobody bothers to debate who will win this time. All discussions are about the victory margin of the BJP candidate, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Vidisha has been a saffron citadel right from its formation, electing Pandit Shiv Sharma of the erstwhile Jan Sangh in its first election in 1967. Since then, the constituency has always chosen rightwing candidates, except in 1980 and 1984 when Congress’ Pratap Bhanu Sharma triumphed. The Congress warhorse is now back in the race to challenge Chou- han, who has won five times from Vidisha. The contest is keenly watched because Sharma, now 77 years, is the only Congress leader to have won the seat in the past 57 years. “Ask anyone from any of the eight assembly segments of the Vidisha constituency , the one liner reply will be Chouhan’s win is a foregone conclusion. The only thing to be seen is how big will Chouhan’s margin be,” says Vidisha-based political analyst Ajay Jain. For BJP workers, the primary goal is to increase voter turnout and give Chouhan a resounding win. “We’re trying to get 80-90% turnout in the constituency, which houses 19.38 lakh voters. Out target margin is 8-9 lakh votes, which will be a record in the country,” says Atul Verma, a BJP worker. BJP supporters in Vidisha believe a record margin will give new wings to Chouhan to begin his stint in national politics. Adding to their hope is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise at a recent poll rally about ‘the big role’ awaiting Chouhan in Delhi. As for the Congress, party insiders concede that Chouhan has a clear edge. So, the strategy is to reduce his margin. Chouhan’s margin was 2.6 lakh votes in 2004, the last time he contested from Vidisha. Eyeing a massive win this time, Chouhan has been campaigning aggressively . Sharma is also travelling extensively braving his advanced , age and rising mercury . Sitting MP Ramakant Bhargava had won by 5 lakh votes in 2019. Ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s margin was 1.04 lakh votes in 1991, while former Union minister Sushma Swaraj won Vidisha by 3.89 lakh votes in 2009. The New Indian Express founder Ramnath Goenka had won the seat as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh candidate in 1971 by 32,000 votes. took potshots at Pandian. Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier last week pointed out that Naveen’s decision to contest from the second seat in Balangir’s Kantabanji was a clever strategy to elect his political heir. And now that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also raised the issue of Odia identity and language as a major poll plank of BJP, the archlight is firmly settled on Pandian. The BJD leader is also not backing Continued on P5 away . 3 women among 10 Maoists killed in C’garh encounter E J AZ KAIS E R @ Raipur Naveen files nomination papers for Hinjili Assly seat CM Naveen Patnaik files his nomination papers for Hinjili Assembly constituency on Tuesday | EXPRESS aggressively drive the message that Pandian will become the chief minister after Naveen. Not only in Odisha but the top national leadership of the saffron party are no longer hesitating from raking up the issue. Party national president JP Nadda in his public meeting at Berhampur very recently warned that an outsider is being imposed and groomed to take over the mantle of the chief minister of the state. The same day, Rahul Gandhi too The banned CPI (Maoist) on Tuesday suffered fresh reverses, with the elimination of 10 fighters, including three women, in yet another encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh. The gunfight was on when last reports came in. The encounter happened at the Tekmeta-Kakur forested terrain along the borders of the Narayanpur and Kanker districts in south Chhattisgarh. This was the second major blow to the Maoists within 15 days. On April 16, as many as 29 of them were killed. In all, 58 were eliminated this month alone in the state (see box). As many as 91 Maoists have been killed this year in the Bastar region so far. “It was an intelligence-based operation strategically carried out by security personnel. The gun battle ensued in Abujhmad area where a joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on a anti-Maoist operation around 6 am. Ten bodies, including those of three women cadre of the banned outfit, have so far been recovered besides automatic weapons and ammunition,” Prabhat Kumar, Narayanpur district police chief, told 58 killed in Bastar this year April 1 1 killed in Sukma district Apr 2 13 killed in Bijapur district Apr 6 3 killed along C’garhTelangana border Apr 16 29 Maoists killed in Kanker Apr 21 1 killed in Bijapur district Apr 29 1 killed in Sukma district Apr 30 10 killed in Narayanpur this newspaper. The bodies are yet to be identified. The operation was carried out around 45 km away from the district headquarter of Narayanpur. The DRG took control of the core area of the exercise while the fringe locations close to Kanker border were under the command of STF from different directions. State home minister Vijay Sharma said the forces also recovered a cache of arms, explosives and ammunition, including one AK-47 assault rifle. No jawan was injured. In recent months, security forces have carried out aggressive anti-Maoist operations, targeting them in areas considered to be the latter’s strongholds in the Bastar zone. Guj Crackdown on peddling deepfake Amit Shah video The Gujarat Police have arrested Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani’s aide Satish Vansola and an AAP worker for sharing a deepfake video of Union home minister Amit Shah on quota for SCs, STs and OBCs | P9 BJP lodges FIR against Majhi, Pandian over Amit Shah video E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The BJP on Tuesday lodged an FIR against BJD candidate from Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat Pradip Majhi and 5T chairman VK Pandian accusing them of inciting violence in the state by exhibiting a doctored video of Union Minister Amit Shah’s speech on reservaThe video tion issue at election rallies. shown in Registering the complaint in the Cyber police station of the city, the BJP demanded that the two Nabarangpur by Majhi has been BJD leaders be booked under relevant section of proved to be IPC and IT Act for allegedly vitiating the election fake and cases atmosphere and promoting enmity among relihave already gious groups. This is a deliberate attempt to enbeen filed courage tribals to resort to violence, they said. against the Telangana CM Senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty who led a delegation of the party to the Cyber police station, Dharmendra alleged former MP Majhi has circulated the fake Pradhan video at election rallies with instruction from Pandian. Mohanty said, fearing a defeat at the hands of BJP in the upcoming polls, the BJD and Congress are now sailing in the same boat. This is their last ditch attempt to win the election by targeting Amit Shah, one of the most popular leaders Continued on P5 in the country, he added.
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.