TIRUNELVELI l tuesday l march 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Prachanda snaps alliance, leads new coalition in Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda ended the 15-month partnership with Nepali Congress and formed an alliance with Communist Party of Nepal (UML) Nepal nitished, 3 new ministers take oath Rift over national assembly chief post It was like what Nitish Kumar did in Bihar — ending an allinace and joining another in the space of a few hours while staying at the helm. Prachanda’s Communist Party (Maoist Centre) snapped ties with Deuba’s Nepali Congress. The PM then signed a deal with critic and former premier K P Sharma Oli’s UML. Three ministers then took the oath of office on Monday ■ ■ Differences between the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre grew over budget allocation to certain projects The other issue was the post of Chairman of the National Assembly. Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House with 89 seats, wanted the post for itself while Prachanda wanted it for his party 32 seats alone held by Prachanda in the 275-member Nepal house 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 Bribed lawmakers lose judicial shield Seven-judge bench overturns SC’s 1998 verdict in the JMM bribery case that protected Soren from CBI prosecution S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at the crowd at the BJP meeting held at the YMCA Ground in Chennai on Monday | P Jawahar PM: Dynasts work for their families, I work for everyone EX P RESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the opposition INDIA bloc’s “new formula” to abuse him is to say he does not have a family but the people have rejected it by chanting in one voice that they belong to Modi’s family. “Dynasty parties only think about their future but I work for everyone’s future,” the PM said. “While the motto of the DMK and the Congress is ‘family first’, for me it is ‘nation first,’ he said. “Does having a family give them the licence to engage in corruption? Does having a family mean having a licence to seize power for their family? Modi asked the crowd at a BJP public meeting held in Chennai on Monday . Modi said his government’s favourite task was Swachhata Bharat Abhiyan (Clean Bharat Mission) and he wanted to clean everything including corruption. Without naming Udhayanidhi Stalin, Modi said the Supreme Court had posed some “tough questions” to a DMK minister. “Insulting the faith of crores of people is an Modi witnesses core loading of reactor The PM witnessed the initiation of core loading at the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in Kalpakkam. The reactor can produce more fuel than it consumes, and can help India achieve self-reliance in nuclear fuel for future reactors | P4 identity of the dynasts,” he said in a veiled reference to Udhayanidhi’s Sanatan Dharma comments. Referring to the Supreme Court verdict on Monday which held that legislators who take bribe to vote or speak in parliament or legislative assemblies won’t get any immunity from criminal prosecution, Modi said, “After the decision of the Supreme Court, there is mourning in the INDIA alliance. Because, besides corruption and bribery, the alliance does not know anything.” “The people of India are my family The youth of the coun. try are my family. I work day and night to brighten their future. The sisters and daughters are my family, and I work to give them more and more opportunities,” the PM said.  P7 ‘moral lesson’ Monday’s verdict authored by CJI D Y Chandrachud said, “Taking bribe is an independent offence and has no connection with what is said and done, by a MP or MLA inside House. Hence immunity granted by Constitution to them for fearless deliberation and debate of issues inside the House cannot shield them from prosecution.” The court said corruption and bribery by legislators destroy the functioning of parliamentary democracy. “Bribery is not rendered immune M u k e s h R a n ja n / p r av e e n k u m a r @ New Delhi/Bengaluru The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the recent bomb blast at Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe. It registered an FIR based on a direction from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said on Monday . They said the case has been handed over to NIA by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs after a team from the agency visited the blast site last week. It came a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that his government might consider handing over the probe to NIA, if necessary . The match Sai Kishore, TN captain under Article 105 or 194 because a member indulging in bribery indulges in a criminal act which is not essential for the function of casting a vote or giving a speech in the legislature,” the bench ruled. If the JMM bribery case verdict protected JMM chief Shibu Soren from prosecution, Monday’s ruling put his MLA daughter-in-law Sita Soren in Suspect was wearing mask, glasses, cap A man wearing a cap, mask and glasses is the suspect in the case and he is still untraceable. The explosion is suspected to be carried out through an improvised explosive device The blast took place at the cafe in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area and several people were injured. Initially the Ben, galuru police registered a case under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Explosives Substances Act. The DG & IGP of Karnataka, Alok Mohan, told reporters in On a surface with some spice for the pacers, TN captain Sai Kishore won the toss. But he went conventional wisdom — and the dressing room — in deciding to bat first. The visitors were blown away for 146. They couldn’t recover from that setback as they went down by an innings and 70 runs on Monday We lost the match at 9.00 AM on Day One. I can take the horse to water but the horse has to drink. We should have bowled but the captain has a different instinct. Ultimately he’s the boss and I can only give suggestions —Sulakshan Kulkarni, TN coach Vidarbha in command In the other semifinal, Vidarbha assumed total command. They lead Madhya Pradesh by 261 runs with four wickets remaining “Corruption and bribery of members of the legislature erode the foundation of Parliamentary democracy. It... creates a polity which deprives citizens of a responsible, responsive and representative democracy,” the bench said Bengaluru that the case will be handed over to NIA for further investigation. The eight teams of the Central Crime Branch that were formed to probe the case will assist NIA officials. “Procedures are being followed to hand over the case to NIA,” Mohan said. A team of NIA officials met the state police chief and Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda at the state police headquarters on Monday afternoon. After NIA officially takes over the case, all case properties, including material evidence, CCTV footage and related files, will be handed over to it. The city police will also share all information they have gathered with NIA officials. express read Robert Caldwell’s book is fake, says TN governor Chennai: Governor RN Ravi on Monday said Robert Caldwell and GU Pope were school dropouts who engaged in proselytization. ‘A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages’ written by Robert Caldwell is a “fake book” as he was not a linguist, he said | P4 ED denies vengeance charge in Balaji case Chennai: Denying former minister V Senthil Balaji’s allegation that he was being prosecuted to wreak vengeance, the ED on Monday said it was proved through evidence that the accused exploited his position as minister and engaged in corruption | P2 SC faults Udhaya for Sanatana Dharma comments S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday rebuked Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin over his “eradicate Sanatana Dharma” remark and asked why he has moved the court with his plea for clubbing the FIRs filed against him after abusing his right to freedom of speech and expression. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Stalin that being a minis- ter he should have been careful with his statements and mindful of their possible consequences. “You abuse your right under Article 19(1) (a) (right to freedom of speech and expression of the Constitution). You abuse your right under Article 25 (freedom of conscience, the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion).” “Now you are exercising your right under Article 32 (to file plea in the Supreme Court directly)? Do you not know the consequences of what you said? You are not a layman. You are a minister. You should know the consequences,” the bench said and adjourned the hearing to March 15. Udhayanidhi Stalin had moved the apex court seeking clubbing of FIRs re gistered against him in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Ma- the soup. It was Sita who had filed the appeal that was decided by the seven-judge bench against her. She was accused of taking bribe to vote for a particular candidate in the 2012 Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand. She, however, did not vote for the candidate. When the CBI went after her, Sita moved the Jharkhand High Court citing the 1998 rul- Erodes foundation of democracy After home ministry’s direction, NIA takes over Bengaluru cafe blast case After an innings defeat at the hands of Mumbai, Tamil Nadu coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni, blamed the captain’s inner voice for the defeat. A look... EX P RESS NEWS SERVICE @ Erode continued on p7 The seven-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices A S Bopanna, M M Sundresh, Manoj Misra, P S Narasimha, J B Pardiwala and Sanjay Kumar that that nixed the immunity from prosecution for lawmakers | PTI After loss, coach blames TN captain’s ‘instinct’ Girl beaten up by pastor, burnt with cigarettes A seven-year-old girl was allegedly beaten up and burnt with cigarettes by a pastor and forced to do domestic chores by her parents for over a year under the guise of being imparted moral lessons at a village near Bhavani in Erode district. The incident came to light two weeks ago after Childline lodged a police complaint. Police registered a case against the pastor, his wife, and the girl’s parents. All the accused are on the run. The suspects were identified as pastor Gunasekaran, his wife Varsha Mahath Athithi Raja Matha, and the victim’s parents, all residents of Urachikottai. According to police, on February 19, Childline received information from locals that the girl was being harassed by her parents. R Priyadarshini, supervisor of Childline held an inquiry and lodged a complaint at the Bhavani All Women Police Station. Police registered a case against the four on March 1. Erode Superintendent of Police G Jawahar said, “A team has been formed to nab the accused. We are actively looking for them. They will soon be arrested.”  In a landmark ruling, a sevenjudge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously said an MP or MLA cannot claim immunity from prosecution on a charge of bribery in connection with the vote or speech in the legislature. The ruling overturned a fivejudge bench’s 3:2 verdict in 1998 in the JMM bribery case to save P V Narasimha Rao’s minority government. The CBI had accused JMM chief Shibu Soren of taking a bribe to defeat a noconfidence motion against the government in 1991. The 1998 ruling said lawmakers had immunity from prosecution if they cast their vote in the House or spoke on a subject after taking bribe. That verdict created a peculiar situation as a lawmaker who took bribe but did not vote in favour of the bribe giver became liable for prosecution. harashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, and Karnataka over his alleged remarks. Appearing for the Stalin scion, senior lawyer Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “I’m not justifying or criticising. Let the merits of the case not affect the plea for clubbing of the FIRs,” Singhvi said. After the bench told Singhvi to move the respective HCs, Singhvi said, “I have to move six HCs. I will constantly be tied up in this. This is persecution before the prosecution.”  P7 ing to seek protection from prosecution. But the HC rejected it on the ground that she had not cast her vote in favour of the alleged bribe giver and was thus not entitled to the protection under Article 194(2). Commenting on the 1998 verdict, the seven-judge bench said, it resulted in a paradoxical outcome as it rewarded a lawmaker who accepted bribe and voted on agreed terms with immunity but prosecuted those who accepted illegal gratification but voted independently. The minority judgment highlighted the prima facie absurdity in the paradox, it added. The bench said a member engaging in bribery commits a crime. “This action may bring indignity to the House of Parliament or Legislature and may also attract prosecution. What it does not attract is the immunity given to the essential and necessary functions of a member of Parliament or Legislature,” it said. b u y i n g ti m e Extend electoral bond data sharing deadline to June 30: SBI to SC ers had a right to know which party is getting money from whom and how much before The State Bank of India on they excercise their franMonday sought to buy time chise. Polling is expected to from the Supreme Court for be over by June 30. submitting to the Election In its application, the SBI Commission of India full contended that retrieval of data on electoral bonds en- information stored in each cashed by political silo and the proceparties. dure of matching With the SC’s the information of deadline for the one silo with the SBI set to end on Chronology samjhiye: other is a time-conMarch 6 (Wednes- first elections, then suming exercise. day), the bank re- disclosure of electoral The data related quested time till bonds. What makes to the issuance of the ruling party so June 30 to complete the bond and the nervous about the task. data on their rerevealing the source In its landmark demption was kept of its bottomless verdict last month recorded in two difcampaign finance striking down the ferent silos. No coffers? electoral bonds central database Jairam Ramesh, scheme for politiwas maintained. Cong gen secy cal funding, the This was done to court had ordered ensure that donors’ the SBI to furnish the data to anonymity the SBI said. , the poll panel by March 6. “It is submitted that donor The ECI was directed to pub- details were kept in a sealed lish the information on its cover at the designatwebsite by March 13. ed branches and all The court such sealed covers had the upwere deposited in coming Lok the Main Branch Sabha elecof the Applicant tions in mind bank, which is when it set the located in Mumtimelines bebai,” the plea cause it said votsaid. Express News Service @ New Delhi Ready to appear before the ED virtually, says Kejriwal a n u p v e r m a @ New Delhi DELHI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) eighth summons in connection with the excise policy case. Again terming the summons ‘illegal’, Kejriwal said he can appear before the agency virtually after March 12. Kejriwal is scheduled to appear before a city court on March 16 for repeatedly skipping ED’s summonses for questioning in the excise policy case. The AAP said that the motive behind summons is not to question the party chief, but to arrest him before the Lok Sabha elections. It said that the BJP has been completely exposed, hence it is playing vendetta politics. The party argued that when the CM is ready to respond virtually, why was the ED not questioning him. It stated that the central agencies can question him through video conference and the whole process should be telecast live. Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana said, “Kejriwal can do that even today if he wants to appear virtually Right now .” he is doing a mockery of the summonses, he added.