COIMBATORE l saturday l april 05, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION Supreme Court rejects Petition to seize Electoral Bond Funds Supreme Court has rejected a review of its fiat rejecting petitions for confiscating money received by parties under electoral bond scheme no roving inquiry into electoral bonds No alternative mechanism yet, says govt A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed the review plea filed by Khem Singh Bhati against the court’s decision of August 2, 2024, when the Supreme Court had rejected several pleas, including one filed by Bhati, for a court-monitored probe into electoral bonds and observed it couldn’t order a roving inquiry ■ ■ A five-judge Constitution bench led by former CJI D Y Chandrachud on February 15 last year scrapped the electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding introduced by the BJP government The govt on Friday said there is no proposal under consideration to have an alternative mechanism to the electoral bond scheme `16,518 cr amount that the plea sought to be confiscated from political parties 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 Congress MP, AIMIM president file petitions Fight against the Waqf bill goes to Supreme Court mentary Committee (JPC) that scrutinised the bill. Hours after the Waqf (AmendWhile the Lok Sabha cleared ment) Bill 2025 received Parlia- the bill 288:232; in the Rajya ment’s approval, the Congress Sabha its was 128:95. Both and the All India Majlis-e-Itte- Houses witnessed 12-hour marhadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) athon debates. The bill will now moved the Supreme Court on go to the President for assent Friday challenging its validity , , before becoming law. arguing that it violates constiEarlier in the day AICC gen, tutional provisions. eral secretary Jairam The development Ramesh said his parAIMPLB came a day after ty will soon challenge knocks Tamil Nadu Chief the constitutionality prez door Minister M K Stalin of the Waqf (Amendannounced in the ment) Bill, 2024, in The All India state assembly that the Supreme Court. Muslim the Dravida MunneChallenging the Personal Law tra Kazhagam (DMK) bill in the top court, Board sought will move the SC to AIMIM president an urgent challenge the bill. Asaduddin Owaisi in appointment In his plea, Conhis plea argued that with President gress MP Mohamit removes various Droupadi mad Jawed held that protections that were Murmu to the bill imposes arbipreviously accorded express their trary restrictions on to waqfs as well as to concern before waqf properties and Hindu, Jain, and her assent to their management, Sikh religious and the Waqf Bill undermining the recharitable endowligious autonomy of ments. “This diminthe Muslim community The pe- ishing of the protection given . tition claimed that the pro- to Waqfs while retaining them p o s e d law disc r im inates for religious and charitable enagainst Muslims by imposing dowments of other religions restrictions that are not present constitutes hostile discriminain the governance of other reli- tion against Muslims and is gious endowments. violative of Articles 14 and 15 Jawed, a Lok Sabha MP from of the Constitution, which proBihar’s Kishanganj, was also a hibit discrimination on the member of the Joint Parlia- grounds of religion.” Rajya Sabha approves legislation 128:95 P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi end to rumours Not in race for BJP prez post: Annamalai E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Coimbatore In a move to end speculation about his position, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Friday declared that he is not in the race to be the next BJP state president. Speaking to reporters at the Coimbatore Airport on Friday, Annamalai said he would continue to work for the party as a cadre and there is no compromise against corruption. On K Annamalai the reported view that the AIADMK leadership was for easing him out of office of state unit president to forge an alliance with the BJP for the 2026 Assembly election, Annamalai said he was not inclined to make any comment. “As far as I am concer ned, the BJP should do well for all times to come. We will talk at the time of election of new president,” he said, and added it could happen soon. P5 all-party meet Prez refuses nod for TN’s anti-NEET legislation T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai Policemen detain a protester against the Waqf bill in Ahmedabad on Friday | PTI Protesters hit the streets demanding its withdrawal D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Protests erupted in parts of the country hours after Parliament passed the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the wee hours of Friday . In Ahmedabad, protesters poured into the streets, denouncing the bill saying it is an assault on minority rights and religious autonomy They held . placards that read “Withdraw Waqf Bill” and “Reject UCC” and sported black armbands. Police intervened and detained at least 50 protesters. Protests were also reported in pockets of Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Manipur and Jharkhand. Heavy police presence is sensitive localities of UP ensured the state was peaceful. In Delhi, students of the Jamia Millia Islamia staged a protest in front of the university. They condemned the bill as “unconstitutional and communal” and criticised the university administration for attempting to suppress dissent. In Kolkata, hundreds of Muslims took to the streets to express their opposition to the contentious legislation, with several minority organisations joining the agitation. There were reports of protests in parts of Imphal Valley . They raised concerns about the autonomy and administration of Waqf properties. President Droupadi Murmu has withheld assent to the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, which seeks exemption for Tamil Nadu from a common and uniform National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admissions to undergraduate medical education courses. Informing the Tamil Nadu Assembly on the development on Friday CM M K , Stalin said the state would continue its struggle to abolish the test and said a meeting of the legislature party leaders has been convened on April 9 to discuss the issue. He said the state would also consult legal experts on the next course of action. The bill was originally adopted by the state Assembly on September 13, 2021, and was returned by Governor R N Ravi on certain grounds. The Assembly re-adopted the bill on February 8, 2022, without any modifications, which the governor forwarded to the Union Home Ministry in the first week of May 2022 for Presidential assent. After 35 months, the Union Home Ministry has now conveyed to the state government that the President has withheld assent to the Bill. Stalin on Friday said, “The TN government had promptly provided all explanations sought by various union ministries, including health, AYUSH, home and higher education.” P5 Want positive, constructive ties with B’desh: PM to Yunus j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi IN his first meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus after tensions following Sheikh Hasina’s government exit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised India’s desire to build a positive, constructive ties with Bangladesh based on pragmatism and highlighted New Delhi’s people-centric approach to the relationship. During the 45 minutes meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Thailand, Modi underscored India’s concerns on safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh, in- Hasina issue Yunus discussed extradition of ousted PM Hasina. “Bangladesh has made a formal request... Saying anything more will not be correct right now,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said cluding Hindus, and expressed an expectation that the Bangladeshi government would ensure their protection, particularly by investigating incidents of atrocities against them, while urging that rhetoric that vitiates the environment should be avoided. “Enunciating India’s peoplecentric approach to the relationship, Prime Minister high- e x p r e ss r e a d State wants SC to move Tasmac case outside TN New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider listing a plea of the Tamil Nadu government seeking transfer of its petition against the recent Enforcement Directorate raids on the state-run Tasmac from the Madras High Court to some other HC outside the state. The HC bench had posted the matter for a final hearing on April 8 | P5 Housing plot scam: HC bins case against minister Chennai: The Madras High Court has quashed the case, pending with the additional special court for MP/MLA cases, against TN Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy in connection with the alleged irregularities in allotting housing plots to three persons, including retired DGP MS Jaffar Sait and his wife M Parvin, during the regime of the DMK in 2006-11 | P4 lighted that cooperation between the two countries has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries. He underlined India’s desire to forge a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on pragmatism,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said after the meeting. In the context of comments including Yunus’ statement about Bangladesh remaining the ‘guardian of the ocean’ for India’s north eastern states, Modi urged Yunus that “rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided.” Modi also stressed on the need for a strict enforcement of the law and prevention of illegal border crossings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Muhammad Yunus in Thailand | PTI DIPA K MONDAL @ New Delhi AS US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime takes off, Indian businesses are facing a dragon-sized threat. India has a $100-billion trade deficit with China. With the US imposing a 54% tariff on Chinese imports, India could become a dumping ground for surplus Chinese goods. In 2024, China exported goods worth $440 billion and maintained a trade surplus of $295 billion with the US. With the additional tariff, Chinese goods will become uncompetitive in the US market. China’s usual back-channel exports through Vietnam and Bangladesh may not work this time, as they too have been tariffed. China’s top exports to the US are electrical China hits back with and electronics items, 34% tariff on US machinery toys, appar, el, etc. India imports Beijing: In a tit-for-tat response, electrical & electronics China on Friday slapped a 34% items, heavy machin- additional tariff on all imports ery, and iron & steel from the US, effective April 10. from China. Beijing also announced export According to the In- controls on certain rare earth dian Steel Association, metals, aiming to hit American as the US shuts its doors defence, computer, and to global steel, surplus smartphone industries | P9 steel from China— the world’s largest steel producer—could be redirected to India, leading to market distortions. Electronics, apparel and footwear sectors may also be hit similarly . “In 2024, Directorate General of Trade Remedies registered 43 anti-dumping cases against China. Chinese manufacturers may now escalate dumping,” said Debopam Chaudhuri, chief economist, Piramal Enterprises. “While we negotiate with the US, we must also guard against China’s reaction,” said Madhavi Puri, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services. MARKETS IN TURMOIL Incendiary comments made by Sheikh Hasina in India was raised during the meeting with Modi Shafiqul Alam, Yunus’ press secy India has got a China problem from US tariffs FTSE DAX CAC -4.95% -4.95% -4.26% Nasdaq -4.52% S&P 500 -4.40% Dow Jones -4.11% Nikkei -2.75% Hang Seng -1.52% BSE Sensex -1.22% (Early trade figures for U.S./European markets) Empuraan producer faces heat as ED raids properties E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi/ Chennai The Enforcement Directorate’s Kochi zonal unit on Friday searched multiple establishments of the Gokulam Group headed by businessman Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of recently-released L2: Empuraan, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as part of an ongoing investigation into the al- leged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). CRPF personnel provided security cover to the officers. The searches were conducted at Gopalan’s residence at Neelankarai, and Sree Gokulam Towers in Kodambakkam — the corporate office of Sree Gokulam Chits and Finance Co Ltd — in Chennai, and Gokulam Grand Hotel in Kozhikode. Vehicles of ED officials parked inside Sree Gokulam Towers in Kodambakkam, Chennai, on Friday | p ravikumar Sources said Gopalan was at his Kozhikode office when the ED officials reached there for the search. According to official sources, the ED conducted the searches as part of a probe into alleged `1,000 crore foreign exchange violations. The ED is also verifying cheating and forgery cases registered against the company under the PMLA in a separate case. P5