visakhapatnam 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 no roving inquiry into electoral bonds 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 Supreme Court has rejected a review of its fiat rejecting petitions for confiscating money received by parties under electoral bond scheme No alternative mechanism yet, says govt ■ ■ 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 Rajya Sabha approves legislation 128:95 Fight against the Waqf bill goes to Supreme Court P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 received Parliament’s approval, the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) moved the Supreme Court on Friday challenging its validity , , arguing that it violates constitutional provisions. The development came a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced in the state assembly that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will move the SC to challenge the bill. In his plea, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed held that the bill imposes arbitrary restrictions on waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community The pe. tition claimed that the prop o s e d law disc r im inate s against Muslims by imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments. Jawed, a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Kishanganj, was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that scrutinised the bill. While the Lok Sabha cleared the bill 288:232; in the Rajya Sabha its was 128:95. Both Houses witnessed 12-hour marathon debates. The bill will now go to the President for assent before becoming law. Earlier in the day AICC gen, eral secretary Jairam Ramesh said his party will soon challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Supreme Court. Challenging the bill in the top court, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi in his plea argued that it removes various protections that were previously accorded to waqfs as well as to Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments. “This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims.” 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 secu- 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. 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. 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 rity of minorities in Bangladesh, including 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 people-centric approach to the relationship, Prime Minister highlighted 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.” India has got a China problem from US tariffs Tariffs trigger shrimp price slump, Andhra farmers hit D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi American President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have hit Andhra Pradesh’s aqua sector badly as exporters have stopped purchasing shrimp from farmers. Following imposition of tariffs, the prices of shrimp have declined. Before the announcement of the tariffs, the Vannamei shrimp, which is widely cultivated across the State, was priced at `460 for 30 count, and it declined to `410 by Friday morning. a boom in the State now as more and The number of shrimp per kg de- more farmers have switched to termines the count. The prices of all shrimp cultivation from agriculture the counts of shrimp ranging from to reap better profits. 20 to 100 have been hit. It needs an investment of `6 lakh Shrimp farmers are a depressed per acre on an average to raise Vanlot with the declining prices as it is namei (whiteleg shrimp). On an avthe harvesting time. Andhra erage, the yield per acre is three Pradesh is one of the matonnes (25-30 count), and jor exporters, and a leadfarmers derive an inPrice decline ing producer of aqua come of `12 lakh if the Price after products, accounting for market prices are good. Count before tariffs 41% of the total output. If the count is 100, the reAccording to the offiturns are low. 30 I460 I410 cial data, over 4 lakh Farmers have felt that 50 I350 I300 acres in the State are unthe 34.26% tariffs, includder aquaculture. The ing the reciprocal tariff 90 I240 I210 aqua acreage is 1.11 lakh of 26% have affected the 100 I230 I200 in Krishna, and over 1 aqua sector severely . lakh each in East GodaMadan Mohan, a (per kg) vari and West Godavari shrimp far mer of districts. Around 8 lakh farmers are Akividu in West Godavari, said the directly and indirectly dependent price decline of over `50 per kg folon aqua sector. lowing the imposition of US tariffs In fact, aquaculture is witnessing has come as a big blow to them.  P4 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 backchannel expor ts through Vietnam and Bangladesh may not work this time, as they too have been tariffed. China’s top exports to the US are electrical and electronics items, machinery , toys, apparel, etc. India imports electrical & electronics items, heavy machinery and iron & steel from China. , According to the Indian Steel Association, as the US shuts its doors to global steel, surplus steel from China could be redirected to India, leading to market distortions. “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. CM proposes hosps under PPP model E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Want positive, constructive ties with Bangladesh: PM to Yunus j aya n t h j a c ob @ New Delhi healthcare Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to evolve an action plan to establish multispeciality hospitals with a bed strength of 100 to 300 in every Assembly constituency of the State. Holding a review meeting on the Health Department at the State Secretariat on Friday he said out of the total , 175 constituencies, 70 have already got the multispeciality hospitals with a bed strength of over 100. Hence, steps should be initiated to set up multispeciality hospitals in the remaining 105 constitue n c i e s, t h e C h i e f Minister said. Proposing the establishment of the hospitals under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, Naidu suggested that a policy be formulated to offer subsidies, similar to those provided to industries, to organisations willing to build and manage these hospitals. Underlining the need for expansion of healthcare services in the State, Naidu proposed the establishment of a Mega Global MediCity in Amaravati, envisioned as an international-standard facility to attract patients from P4 across the globe.  express read Govt unveils three industrial policies Vijayawada: The State government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, launched three new industrial policies on Friday, aimed at attracting investments, generating employment and driving sustainable growth. They incldue AP Industrial Development Policy 4.0 (AP IDP 4.0), AP MSME & Entrepreneur Development Policy 4.0 (AP MEDP 4.0) and AP Food Processing Policy 4.0 (AP FPP 4.0) | P4 Kandukuri Awards’ presentation on April 16 Vijayawada: The State government will present the Kandukuri Awards on April 16, marking the 177th birth anniversary of social reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam and Telugu Theatre Day. Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh announced the revival of the prestigious awards, which were neglected by the previous YSRCP regime. The award ceremony will be held at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram in Vijayawada | P4