bengaluru l sunday l february 09, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION as rupee’s fall continues, RBI guv says No level for currency in mind focus is on long-term value, says Malhotra “There is no change in RBI’s approach. It does not look at any price level or band,” Sanjay Malhotra said, adding the central bank focuses on the value of the rupee in the medium to long term and not on its daily movement. His comment comes a day after the rupee recovered 9 paise from its all-time low level to close at 87.50 against the US dollar Market forces decide the value of rupee and the central bank is not worried about day-to-day movement of the currency value, he said ‘Depreciation due to global uncertainties’ ■ ■ About 5% depreciation impacts inflation to the extent of 30-35 bps, Malhotra said, adding the RBI weighed the current rupee-dollar rate while working out the growth and inflation projections for the next FY He said most of the depreciation in the Indian currency is driven by the global uncertainties caused by Donald Trump’s trade wars  P12 613th meet of the central board of directors of the RBI was held on Saturday 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 focus shifts to BJP’s CM pick How the electoral map of the National capital territory of Delhi changed in 10 years from 2015 to 2025 Swing Factor 2020 2025 2015 PARTY SEATS VOTES% PARTY SEATS VOTES% PARTY SEATS VOTES% AAP 22 43.57 AAP 62 53.8 AAP 67 53.3 +2.08% BJP 48 45.56 BJP 8 38.7 BJP 3 32.3 Cong Cong 0 6.34 Cong 0 4.26 Cong 0 9.65 NOTA 0 0.57 NOTA 0 0.5 NOTA 0 0.5 +7.05% BJP AAP -10% AAP BJP AAP AAP BJP(NDA) A n u p v e r m a @ New Delhi We humbly accept the mandate. Heartfelt thanks to all the Congress workers and voters for their dedication. Our fight for the progress of Delhi and the rights of its people will continue BJP(NDA) DELHI AAM AADMI TURNS TO BJP Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader With modi’s guarantees rivalling kejriwal’s handouts, bjp wrests power after 27 years; graft, poor governance, pollution, going solo hurt aap Express News Service @ New Delhi The BJP wrested power in Delhi after 27 years, delivering a decisive blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 70-member assembly, with Saturday’s results establishing its dominance in the national capital and giving the divided opposition enough points to ponder over. The BJP’s massive victory saw Arvind Kejriwal and most of his party’s biggies, including Manish Sisodia, lose, while the Congress was decimated, failing to open its account for the third consecutive time. Prime Minist e r N a re n d r a Modi hailed the party’s performance, calling it a triumph of “development, vision, and trust”. He said that the BJP would make Yamuna river as the identity of the capital. During the last leg of the campaign, Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP-led Haryana government had been poisoning the Yamuna, adding had the Delhi Jal Board not stopped its water from coming into the city, it would have triggered genocide. It fueled a major uproar with the Election Commission getting into the act, issuing a notice to Kejriwal. Home to over 3.3 crore people, power in Delhi’s assembly eluded the BJP for over 25 years despite its meteoric rise under Modi since 2014. However, the party’s persistence finally paid off. Its strategy focused on addressing critical issues impacting daily life, especially corruption charges against AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, along with Yamuna and air pollution, and the excise policy scam. The BJP gained from RSS’s efforts, which organised more than 1,000 meetings. The income tax relief in the Union Budget drew the middle class away from the AAP. As for AAP, allegations of corruption, lack of civic amenities and development, and the absence of fresh ideas to captivate the public imagination proved to be a major setback, resulting in its worst performance since its electoral debut in 2013. BJP’s Parvesh Verma defeated Kejriwal by 4,089 votes from the New Delhi seat while Sisodia was defeated by BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by 675 votes in Jangpura. The result gave the INDIA bloc a lesson or two in unity, as the Congress and AAP went it alone. At least in 11 seats, AAP lost due to a split in opposition votes. For example, Kejriwal lost by 4,089 votes while Sandeep Dikshit (Cong) stood third with 4,568 votes from the same seat. Had AAP and the Congress fought together, Kejriwal could have squeaked through. We accept the mandate of the people with great humility. I congratulate the BJP for this victory and I hope they will fulfil all the promises for which people have voted for them There is relief of liberating Delhi from ‘AAP-da’. I thank all Delhiites for putting their faith in ‘Modi ki guarantee’ Arvind Kejriwal, AAP convenor - Narendra Modi, PM Will clean up Yamuna: Modi R A J ESH T H A K UR @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said people of Delhi have rejected the politics of appeasement and put their faith in Modi ka guarantee. Addressing party workers after the BJP’s victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, Modi stated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) ‘politics of shortcuts’ had been short-circuited. “This is a historic win, not a usual victory, as the people of Delhi have shown the door to ‘AAP-da’. Delhi has become Aapda-mukt,” he said, adding the BJP’s double-engine government would now ensure Delhi’s development at double speed. During his address, Modi promised to clean up the Yamuna and accused the AAP government of neglecting the river. “I had pledged during the election campaign that we will make Yamunaji the identity of Delhi. No matter how much time is spent or how much energy is used, we will make every effort to serve the Yamuna,” Modi said. He also promised that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which revealed a revenue loss of `2,026 crore due to the Delhi government’s excise policy, would be tabled in the first sitting of the Delhi Assembly a f t e r t h e B J P fo r m s t h e government. “The AAP left no stone unturned to create various conspiracies every day to win the Assembly elections, but I guarantee that the CAG report will be presented in the first Assembly session, and whoever has looted Delhi will have to answer,” he said. Tur ning his attention to the Congress, Modi said the fact that the party had not won a single seat in Delhi in the last three elections indicated that the people had little trust in its leadership. He accused Congress leadership of speaking the language of urban Naxals. Maximum Namma Metro fare up by 50% E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru Namma Metro users will have to pay more for their ride from Sunday While the minimum fare . remains unchanged at Rs 10, the maximum fare has increased by 50%, from Rs 60 to Rs 90. BMRCL, which operates Namma Metro, has revised the fares after nearly eight years based on the recommendations of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC). For distances ranging from 0-2 km, passengers will continue to pay a minimum fare of Rs 10. For 2-4 km, the fare has been increased to Rs 20, and for 4-6 km, it will be Rs 30. For 6-8 km, passen- gers will have to pay Rs 40. Those travelling 8-10 km will have to pay Rs 50. The fare for 10-15 km will be Rs 60, and for 15-20 km, Rs 70. For 20-25 km, the fare will be Rs 80, and for 25-30 km, Rs 90. Even for over 30 km, the fare will be Rs 90. A discount of 5% for smart card users will continue. Offpeak hours will see an additional 5% discount, taking the total discount to 10% for those travelling between noon and 4 pm, and after 9 pm on weekdays. Further, smart card users will enjoy a 10% discount on Sundays and national holidays -January 26, August 15, and Oc- what you’ll pay now tober 2 — throughout the day. However, smar t card users should maintain a minimum balance of Rs 90 (previously Rs 50). The discount is not applicable to those using QR codes. Tourist and group ticket fares have also been revised. The oneday tourist card will now cost Rs 300, while the three-day card will cost Rs 600. The five-day tourist card will cost Rs 800. For group bookings, passengers will get discounts based on the group size. Groups of 25-99 will get a 15% discount and of 100-1,000 will receive 20%. Groups of more than 1,000 will enjoy a discount of 25%.   Distance slab Revised fare 0-2 km D10 2-4 km D20 4-6 km D30 6-8 km D40 8-10 km D50 10-15 km D60 15-20 km D70 20-25 km D80 20-25 km D90 >30 km D90 COMMUTERS FLAY MOVE: P5 NAAC debars ‘corrupt’ review team members, HEI involved for 5 yrs E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru Following the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and arrest of three top officials of Koneru Lakshmaiah Educational Foundation (KLEF) in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, in an alleged bribery case to acquire higher grade accreditation to members of the National Assessment & Accreditation Council’s (NAAC’s) peer review team, the council’s Executive Committee (EC) has de- barred all seven members from assessment or any activities of NAAC “with immediate effect”. NAAC, in a press statement on Saturday, said it has also been decided to review all recent review visits by these seven members to any of the higher education institutions (HEIs), whose accreditation grading results are not declared. NAAC’s EC has also decided to not only summarily cancel KLEF’s accreditation process but also debar it from applying for accreditati9on for five years. The CBI had arrested three top officials of KLEF over allegations that they had offered bribes to NAAC’s peer review team member to secure A++ accreditation rating. NAAC evaluates the quality of education and infrastructure in universities and colleges on a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) from 1.51 to 4.00 and grades them for five years from from ‘ ++’ A to ‘C’. HEIs without accreditation are graded ‘D’. Following the case, NAAC has proposed to launch the Basic (Binary) Accreditation in April/May 2025, followed by Maturity-based Graded Levels (MBGL). Special committees are working on the preparation of framework and methodology for MBGL, the NAAC release said.  NAAC to share new SoPs: P5 I believe this mandate is an unprecedented support for strong leadership, economic growth & national security HD Kumaraswamy, Union Minister The BJP fought the Delhi elections without a chief ministerial face. Now that it has won a two-thirds majority, the big question is: who will head the party’s first government in the capital in 27 years? Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Central leadership will take the CM call. Several names have been doing the rounds in recent days, including Bansuri Swaraj, Virendra Sachdeva, Pravesh Verma, Vijender Gupta, Manoj Tiwari, Satish Upadhyay, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Rekha Gupta. Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj, has a good rapport with the party’s state and central leadership but is a rookie. Her mother was the last BJP chief minister of Delhi. Sachdeva, as the party’s Delhi president, enjoys support of the central leadership. Pravesh Verma could be the choice if the BJP opts for a Jat leader. Manoj Tiwari is a popular figure among Purvanchali voters in Delhi and enjoys significant support due to his career as a Bhojpuri film star. Satish Upadhyay, a former Delhi BJP president, has held various party positions since Rekha Gupta and the 1990s. Virendra Sachdeva Vijender Gupta, a three-time MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly could be con, sidered because of his extensive experience. Manjinder Singh Sirsa is a prominent Punjabi face in Delhi politics. Rekha Gupta has public service experience. She was a councillor in the past. Rekha defeated AAP’s Vandana Kumari at Shalimar Bagh. If the trend set in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan are anything to go by the BJP may con, sider someone from the OBC or Jat communities as CM. rahul FIR against MP for ‘anti-national remark’ Odisha police on Friday registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi on charges of making anti-national statements. This was following a complaint from Jharsuguda district unit of BJP | P5 WITH THIS ISSUE Lost and Found PLUS 12 PAGES