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Congress' Supriya Shrinate, BJP's Dilip Ghosh Get Election Commission Notice

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New Delhi:

The Election Commission has issued show-cause notices to Congress leader Supriya Shrinate and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dilip Ghosh over “derogatory” remarks against actor Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP’s candidate for Haryana’s Mandi Lok Sabha, and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“… on careful examination, the comment(s) have been found to be ‘undignified and in bad taste’, and to be prima facie violative of provisions of the Model Code of Conduct…” the poll panel said.

Ms Shrinate and Mr Ghosh have been given till 5 pm Friday to explain why action should not be taken against them. “In the event of no response… it will be presumed you have nothing to say…”

Supriya Shrinate-Kangana Ranaut Row

Controversy erupted after a crude and sexist post appeared on Ms Shrinate’s Instagram account.

The Congress leader issued a video clarification on her X handle, in which she said she had deleted the inappropriate post. Ms Shrinate said the post had been made without her knowledge.

“Many people have access to my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Someone from them made an extremely inappropriate post today. As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. Everyone who knows me knows I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman,” she said.

She also blamed a parody account bearing her name for the post.

“Someone copied it from there and posted it on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I am trying to know who has done this… I have also reported this parody account to Twitter,” she said.

However, by then the post and the photograph had kicked up a storm, including a letter from the National Commission of Women to the Election Commission calling for action against Ms Shrinate.

NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma also called on Sonia Gandhi to take “stringent action” against Supriya Shrinate and another Congress leader, HS Ahir, for similarly distasteful comments.

Ms Ranaut – who makes her political debut in this Lok Sabha election – responded sharply.

“We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices, we must rise above the curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain from using sex workers’ challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur… every woman deserves her dignity,” she said.

An under-fire Congress has since responded. The party said that such coarse language has no place in public discourse, and also that the matter should end now with Ms Shrinate’s explanation.

Dilip Ghosh’s Comment On Mamata Banerjee

The other show-cause notice issued today was for Mr Ghosh’s comment about the Bengal Chief Minister. “Didi goes to Goa and says, ‘I am Goa’s daughter’… goes to Tripura and says, ‘Am Tripura’s daughter’. Decide who your father is. It is not good to be just anybody’s daughter,” he had said.

Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has ripped into Mr Ghosh over his crude remark.

Unfortunately for the BJP, Mr Ghosh’s comment also left the party on the back-foot even as it was trying to corner the Congress over the post on Ms Shrinate’s account against Ms Ranaut.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad: 30-minute delay in Metro services on Uppal-Raidurg route leaves passengers stranded in peak hours

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A metro rail user U Jagadish complained that there was no update from the authorities despite a delay that lasted for nearly 30 minutes.

Updated On – 27 March 2024, 04:22 PM


Hyderabad: 30-minute delay in Metro services on Uppal-Raidurg route leaves passengers stranded in peak hours

Representational Image

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail services at the busy Uppal-Raidurg section were delayed for nearly 30 minutes, during the peak traffic hour from 10.40 am to 11.10 am on Wednesday. The metro coaches came to a grinding halt and did not proceed from the Nagole station for 30-minutes, even as passengers complained and took to social media platforms to post about the developments.

A metro rail user U Jagadish complained that there was no update from the authorities despite a delay that lasted for nearly 30 minutes. “Hyderabad metro coach along the Nagole-Raidurg did not move at all for the past thirty minutes. There is no announcement or acknowledgement about the delay on the public address system,” he said.

The delay of metro-rail along with Uppal-Raidurg section had a domino effect on passengers who were waiting for the metro rail at the central Ameerpet metro station to travel to Hitec city and Kukatpally.

“Trains at Ameerpet were late today, which led to huge crowd at the station,” a metro traveler tweeted on X (formerly Twitter)”.

The Hyderabad metro receives a lot of traffic between the peak hours of 8 am and 11 am and from 6 pm and 8 pm on a daily basis along the Nagole-Ameerpet-Hitec city section.

Middle East

Gaza death toll rises to 32,490

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Israeli attacks on Gaza have also wounded at least 74,889 people since October 7.

The latest figures include 76 people killed and 102 wounded over the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel waged its US-backed war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas Resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Israel is intentionally starving the people in Gaza by blocking their access to food, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute.

MP/PR

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How Abhishek Singhvi Tore Into Probe Agency Over Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

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How Abhishek Singhvi Tore Into Probe Agency Over Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED last week in Delhi liquor policy case

New Delhi:

Appearing in Delhi High Court for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi today tore into the Enforcement Directorate’s case in the liquor policy case, in which three top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are currently in jail.

Here’s a rundown of arguments and counter arguments

On Timing Of Arrest: A sitting Chief Minister, Mr Singhvi said, is arrested on the cusp of election. “The heart of democracy is a level-playing field. It means free and fair elections. If you do anything to make the level-playing field uneven, then you are impinging on basic structure. This arrest on the cusp of election is intended to disable the person from campaigning and give a body blow to the party, and third, you end up scoring some points before even the first vote is cast,” he said, adding, “Of course, Chief Ministers can be arrested, but the question is timing.”

On ED’s petition for 3 weeks’ time: Mr Singhvi said the request is completely mala fide. “Even one day incarceration is an issue of fundamental right. What reply can ED file? It can’t be different from grounds of arrest.”

On Prevention Of Money Laundering Act: Mr Singhvi said there are three phrases in Section 19: “material in possession”, “reasons to believe” and “guilty”. “These are vital conditions for arrest. Prior to any arrest, these conditions must be satisfied on the files and on the papers. This threshold has been put deliberately high because of the corresponding provisions under Section 45 of PMLA, which puts the threshold for bail very high. So, there is counterbalancing,” he said.

These phrases, he said, go towards the basic point of clear demonstration of the necessity to arrest. “You have the power to arrest, but it must be conditioned and satisfied by the high conditions under Section 19,” he said. “The question is what was the necessity to arrest me today.”

On ED’s No-Cooperation Point: “They say I have not cooperated. Non-cooperation is one of the most abused phrases since the ED has become active,” Mr Singhvi said. “Can you say I will arrest you because I am exercising my right against self-incrimination? This will hit Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution on the head. Suppose I say I don’t know or that I have very poor memory. Which law says I am arresting you because you are not incriminating yourself”

ED’s custodial interrogation plea, he said, was based on non-cooperation. “They say he is to be interrogated with regard to his role. I say, if you want to investigate me for my role two months before the election, is it not directly against the necessity to arrest?”

On Statements And Co-Accused: Mr Singhvi said the ED is following a step-by-step process. “I record the statement. There is nothing against me in that step. Frequently there are few more statements recorded. In (the case of) Sanjay Singh, nine statements were recorded and there was nothing against me.”

“The next step is to arrest the person. He suffers in jail and is then made to apply for bail. Next step, the ASG tells the court I have no opposition to bail. The reason cited is he has back pain. The next step is that he comes out and makes a statement against me. Next he turns approver and is granted pardon,” Mr Singhvi said.

“This has happened in every case in the liquor policy case. It is blowing to smithereens the constitutional safeguards,” he said, adding that these statements are no corroborated.

On Approvers: Mr Singhvi said it is easy to extract statements out of co-accused. “He is concerned about himself, that’s why little weight should be given to statements of co-accused,” he said.

“This species called approver. In our history, whether for good motives or bad motives, the courts have dealt with phrases like Jaichand and Trojan Horses. The history looks very harshly at these Jaichands and Trojan horses. They gave daga (betrayal).” The reference was to Jaichand, a king in the 12th century. According to Prithviraj Raso, Jaichand refused to help Prithviraj Chauhan and joined forces with the invading king Muhammad of Ghori. The Prithviraj Raso is disputed by historians, but the name Jaichand has become synonymous with the word “traitor”.

An approver, Mr Singhvi said, is the “most untrustworthy friend”.

Stressing that “there is absolutely no reason to ask for time”. “This is a matter where democracy itself is involved. Basic structure is involved. Level playing field is involved. A day is too long if arrest is illegal. Day by day, ED is achieving its objective by seeking time,” he said.

What the Centre Said

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought three weeks’ time to file a reply in the main matter and also said he wanted to reply to Mr Kejriwal’s petition for interim relief.

He also objected to multiple lawyers appearing for Mr Kejriwal. “Even ED will request that five people be heard for ED. You want a level-playing field, I am saying, let there be a level-playing field here as well.”

In important matters such as this, he said, “people often play to the gallery, so the break has to be out”.

When the court said that it will issue a notice in the main matter, Mr Raju replied, “On interim relief also, I have the right to file a reply. If I am not entitled to file a reply, then there is no need to hear me. I can’t be deprived of my right to file a reply.”

He also said he got a copy of Mr Kejriwal’s petition only yesterday.

Appearing for the AAP leader, Advocate Shadan Farasat said the petition was moved on Saturday. “We cleared the objections and then shared the plea with the ED. We served them and they had enough time. A Delay very severely prejudices us in this case,” he said.

To this, Mr Raju replied, “We wrote emails to them asking for a copy on March 25 and 26. They deliberately did not supply the petition to us. They could have supplied the copy to us with objections. The reason they did not supply is because they did not want us to prepare,” he said.

The court has said it will upload its order by 4 pm today. 

Hyderabad

Class 10 student dies of snake bite in Bhongir

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The family members, who noticed froth from his mouth, rushed him to Bhongir government hospital, but he died on the way.

Published Date – 27 March 2024, 04:16 PM


Class 10 student dies of snake bite in Bhongir


Yadadri Bhuvanagiri: A class 10 student died of a snake bite at his residence in Dattappagudem village of Motkuru mandal of the district in the wee hours of Wednesday. The child was identified as Umesh.

According to reports, Umesh was bitten by a snake which entered the house in the wee hours. The family members, who noticed froth from his mouth, rushed him to Bhongir government hospital, but he died on the way.The police have registered a case and investigation is on.

Top News

How Abhishek Singhvi Tore Into Probe Agency Over Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

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How Abhishek Singhvi Tore Into Probe Agency Over Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED last week in Delhi liquor policy case

New Delhi:

Appearing in Delhi High Court for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi today tore into the Enforcement Directorate’s case in the liquor policy case, in which three top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are currently in jail.

Here’s a rundown of arguments and counter arguments

On Timing Of Arrest: A sitting Chief Minister, Mr Singhvi said, is arrested on the cusp of election. “The heart of democracy is a level-playing field. It means free and fair elections. If you do anything to make the level-playing field uneven, then you are impinging on basic structure. This arrest on the cusp of election is intended to disable the person from campaigning and give a body blow to the party, and third, you end up scoring some points before even the first vote is cast,” he said, adding, “Of course, Chief Ministers can be arrested, but the question is timing.”

On ED’s petition for 3 weeks’ time: Mr Singhvi said the request is completely mala fide. “Even one day incarceration is an issue of fundamental right. What reply can ED file? It can’t be different from grounds of arrest.”

On Prevention Of Money Laundering Act: Mr Singhvi said there are three phrases in Section 19: “material in possession”, “reasons to believe” and “guilty”. “These are vital conditions for arrest. Prior to any arrest, these conditions must be satisfied on the files and on the papers. This threshold has been put deliberately high because of the corresponding provisions under Section 45 of PMLA, which puts the threshold for bail very high. So, there is counterbalancing,” he said.

These phrases, he said, go towards the basic point of clear demonstration of the necessity to arrest. “You have the power to arrest, but it must be conditioned and satisfied by the high conditions under Section 19,” he said. “The question is what was the necessity to arrest me today.”

On ED’s No-Cooperation Point: “They say I have not cooperated. Non-cooperation is one of the most abused phrases since the ED has become active,” Mr Singhvi said. “Can you say I will arrest you because I am exercising my right against self-incrimination? This will hit Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution on the head. Suppose I say I don’t know or that I have very poor memory. Which law says I am arresting you because you are not incriminating yourself”

ED’s custodial interrogation plea, he said, was based on non-cooperation. “They say he is to be interrogated with regard to his role. I say, if you want to investigate me for my role two months before the election, is it not directly against the necessity to arrest?”

On Statements And Co-Accused: Mr Singhvi said the ED is following a step-by-step process. “I record the statement. There is nothing against me in that step. Frequently there are few more statements recorded. In (the case of) Sanjay Singh, nine statements were recorded and there was nothing against me.”

“The next step is to arrest the person. He suffers in jail and is then made to apply for bail. Next step, the ASG tells the court I have no opposition to bail. The reason cited is he has back pain. The next step is that he comes out and makes a statement against me. Next he turns approver and is granted pardon,” Mr Singhvi said.

“This has happened in every case in the liquor policy case. It is blowing to smithereens the constitutional safeguards,” he said, adding that these statements are no corroborated.

On Approvers: Mr Singhvi said it is easy to extract statements out of co-accused. “He is concerned about himself, that’s why little weight should be given to statements of co-accused,” he said.

“This species called approver. In our history, whether for good motives or bad motives, the courts have dealt with phrases like Jaichand and Trojan Horses. The history looks very harshly at these Jaichands and Trojan horses. They gave daga (betrayal).” The reference was to Jaichand, a king in the 12th century. According to Prithviraj Raso, Jaichand refused to help Prithviraj Chauhan and joined forces with the invading king Muhammad of Ghori. The Prithviraj Raso is disputed by historians, but the name Jaichand has become synonymous with the word “traitor”.

An approver, Mr Singhvi said, is the “most untrustworthy friend”.

Stressing that “there is absolutely no reason to ask for time”. “This is a matter where democracy itself is involved. Basic structure is involved. Level playing field is involved. A day is too long if arrest is illegal. Day by day, ED is achieving its objective by seeking time,” he said.

What the Centre Said

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought three weeks’ time to file a reply in the main matter and also said he wanted to reply to Mr Kejriwal’s petition for interim relief.

He also objected to multiple lawyers appearing for Mr Kejriwal. “Even ED will request that five people be heard for ED. You want a level-playing field, I am saying, let there be a level-playing field here as well.”

In important matters such as this, he said, “people often play to the gallery, so the break has to be out”.

When the court said that it will issue a notice in the main matter, Mr Raju replied, “On interim relief also, I have the right to file a reply. If I am not entitled to file a reply, then there is no need to hear me. I can’t be deprived of my right to file a reply.”

He also said he got a copy of Mr Kejriwal’s petition only yesterday.

Appearing for the AAP leader, Advocate Shadan Farasat said the petition was moved on Saturday. “We cleared the objections and then shared the plea with the ED. We served them and they had enough time. A Delay very severely prejudices us in this case,” he said.

To this, Mr Raju replied, “We wrote emails to them asking for a copy on March 25 and 26. They deliberately did not supply the petition to us. They could have supplied the copy to us with objections. The reason they did not supply is because they did not want us to prepare,” he said.

The court has said it will upload its order by 4 pm today. 

World

Iranian short film shines at Italian film festival

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Directed by Mahdiyeh Mohammadi, the short film “The Last Whinny of a Horse that Had Dreamt of Becoming a Butterfly,” is about Yalda who yearns to witness wild horses in their natural habitat before her time runs out. 

Mahdokht Molaei and Nima Naderi are the cast of Mohammadi’s short film.

Sguardi Altrove International Women’s Film Festival has as its main purpose the reflection on contemporary themes, in particular, related to the world and to the artistic creativity of women, although always in a perspective of comparison with the male universe.

Always present in the places symbol of the culture and art of Milan, “Sguardi Altrove International Women’s Film Festival” offers the public quality films often in national or world premiere, and flanks works of different languages.

The 2024 edition of the event was held from 15 – 23 March.

MP/6062771

Business

Pakistan says Irans gas project ‘need of the hour’, pushes for US sanctions waiver

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Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik has underlined his country’s urgent demand for a US sanctions waiver regarding the gas pipeline from Iran, saying Islamabad’s position on the gas transfer project with the Islamic Republic is not merely an expression of desire but “the need of the hour.”

Malik pointed to the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, known as the Peace Pipeline, a long-term project between Tehran and Islamabad that has faced delays and funding challenges due to US sanctions for several years.

“We are earnestly striving to advance this project and we have numerously conveyed this commitment to our Iranian brothers,” the oil minister told local broadcaster Geo News television channel.

Touching on the US acts of obstructionism in the implementation of the joint gas project with Iran, Malik said, “Pakistan will definitely continue its contacts with the American side regarding Iran’s sanctions waiver.”

Pakistan’s petroleum minister stressed that since Iraq, Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan are able to benefit from the sanctions exemption by the US administration, Pakistan should also benefit for the implementation of the Tehran-Islamabad gas pipeline project.

“We will definitely try to receive exemptions from sanctions by the United States and at the same time we assure our brother country Iran that Pakistan is committed to the gas project and favors investment in it,” Malik said.


“Islamabad’s position is clear and we do not just express our desire for the gas transfer from the Islamic Republic of Iran, but rather we need this project.”

Speaking to congressmen during a congressional hearing in Washington last Wednesday, the US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia vividly stated that the United States opposes the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and is exerting maximum efforts to prevent its construction.

Warning of potential sanctions for Islamabad for doing business with Tehran, Donald Lu claimed that the project was not in the interest of Pakistan as international companies would not invest in it.

Earlier this month, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch underlined that since the pipeline is being constructed inside the country’s territory, “We do not believe there is room for any objections by any third party.”

Back in February, Pakistan gave the green light for advancing much-delayed work on the joint gas pipelines project with Iran within its territory in a significant step towards enhancing energy cooperation between the two countries.

Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) granted its approval to start construction on the 80-kilometer pipeline from the Pak-Iran border to Gwadar.

The project, launched in 2013, had initially required Pakistan to finish the construction of the pipeline on its territory by the end of 2014.

However, the project faced prolonged delays due to the potential challenges it posed for Pakistan amid international sanctions targeting Iran, which has already completed the laying of a 900-kilometer pipeline.

Iran has already invested $2 billion in the pipeline on its side of the border.

Pakistan is likely to face an $18-billion fine if it terminates the gas pipeline agreement.

Iran and Pakistan signed a five-year trade plan in August 2023 and set a bilateral trade target at $5 billion.

Top News

Siddharth and Aditi Rao Hydari tie the knot in Wanaparthy temple

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Just like their secret relationship, their wedding at the Sri Ranganayakaswamy temple in Srirangapuram of the district was also a hush-hush affair.

Published Date – 27 March 2024, 03:28 PM


Siddharth and Aditi Rao Hydari tie the knot in Wanaparthy temple


Hyderabad: Actors Siddharth and Aditi Rao Hydari, rumoured to be in a relationship for a long time now, and spotted together on multiple occasions, have reportedly tied the knot in a secret wedding at a temple in Wanaparthy on Wednesday.

However, neither Siddharth nor Aditi have shared any photographs of the intimate ceremony. Just like their secret relationship, their wedding at the Sri Ranganayakaswamy temple in Srirangapuram of the district was also a hush-hush affair.

According to reports, the couple is expected to announce their wedding this evening. Meanwhile, fans and friends of both the actors have been sending in their wishes on social media.

The two actors worked together in the film ‘Maha Samudram’, which also starred Sharwanand. They have been seen attending events together since the release of the bi-lingual film in 2021.