ISRAEL AGREES TO TEMP TRUCE, BALL IN HAMAS’ COURT, U.S. SAYS KALABURAGI MONDAY MARCH 04, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION Israelis have more or less accepted a proposal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza and release of vulnerable hostages by Hamas, US official said 5,75,000 PEOPLE ARE ONE STEP AWAY FROM FAMINE IN GAZA, UN SAYS PRISONER SWAP RATIO IS KEY ISSUE The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hamas’ response is expected late Sunday or Monday. The issue is the identity of hostages who will be released and how many Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange, Haaretz said. Talks were held in Doha on Saturday and Cairo on Sunday. US, Qatar, Egypt are involved in talks | P9 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 SURE OF THIRD TERM, PM & MINISTERS PLAN FOR NEXT INNINGS Meet discusses action plan for 100 days RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi CONFIDENT of retaining power for the third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a daylong meeting of his Council of Ministers to discuss the immediate steps to be taken by the next government within the first 100 days. The meeting, probably the last such gathering before the Lok Sabha polls, also discussed the action plan for the next five years, and a blue print to make India a developed country by 2047. Sources said PM Modi kicked off the 8-hour discussion by sharing his thoughts on the comprehensive ViksitBharat- 2047 vision document and spoke for an hour about the various long-term strategies for India’s progress. This was followed by presentations by the ministers on their respective ministries’ roadmap for 25 years with special focus on the next five years and 100 days. It was decided that steps will be taken to ensure the Central schemes reach every intended beneficiary. Sources said the deliberations included steps to ensure zero poverty and impart skills to the youth. The vision document includes goals and action points for economic growth, ease of living and ease of doing business, social welfare, and Sustainable Development Goals. “Creating a sustainable economy to push the country to become the third-largest economy , placing equal emphasise on empowerment of women and poor with the spirit of atamnirbhar (self reliance) has been one of the primary bases of the vision document,” said a source, adding that the details and outcome of more than 2,700 meetings held across the ministries have been added in the roadmap for 2047. TNIE has learnt that Modi suggested that a separate budget of `1 lakh crore be earmarked for development of technologies to accelerate the pace of progresses. It was also advised that every ministry in future should frequently organise seminars with experts and try to implement good suggestions through suitable policies. “The objective of the discussions was to ensure saturation of the government’s welfare schemes, planning of peoplecentric policies, and schemes for time-bound elimination of poverty”, said a source. CM: Blast case will be handed over to NIA, if needed EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chikkamagaluru/Bengaluru CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that the Bengaluru cafe blast case will be h a n d e d ove r t o N I A , i f necessary . Disclosing this to reporters in Chikkamagaluru, he said that his government has taken the case very seriously and all efforts will be made to bring those behind it to book. Vital clues Meanwhile, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said in Bengaluru that the investigating officers have gathered important clues and the accused in the cafe blast case will be arrested soon. He said the cafe blast and Mangaluru cooker explosion cases have similarities. The NIA might have an idea of which terrorist outfit might be involved in the cafe blast. Reacting to Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil’s remark that the cafe blast is a “silly incident”, Siddaramaiah said it is definitely not silly and people’s safety is his government’s top priority . Criticising Leader of Opposition R Ashoka for his statement that the image of Bengaluru has changed from “Brand Bengaluru” to “Bomb Bengaluru”, the CM said four blasts, includ- ing the one near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru, took place during the saffron party’s rule in 2008. “Is it not a failure on the part of agencies such as RAW and NIA, which are under the NDA government at the Centre. I strongly condemn such incidents. The BJP should not politicise the cafe blast case. Ashoka should think twice before making such comments,” CONTINUED ON: P5 he said. INDIA bloc leaders sound poll bugle at Patna rally R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna PRASHANTTIME IN ANDHRA’ KISHOR ‘JAGAN MAY LOSE BIG Ace political strategist Prashant Kishor, who played a key role in YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s massive victory in 2019, has predicted that the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is going to lose big in the ensuing assembly elections. Prashant was speaking at the Hyderabad Dialogues – an initiative of TNIE – here Sunday | P5 EXPRESS READ Controversial Calcutta HC judge to resign Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who is in the crosshairs of the ruling TMC, said he will resign on Tuesday. P7 Denied ticket, Harsh Vardhan quits politics New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday announced that he was quitting politics, a day after the BJP denied him a Lok Sabha ticket. P7 FORMER Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Modi government at the centre was ignoring 73% of the country’s population. Addressing a rally in Patna, Rahul said that farmers, youth and others are meted out injustice. “The central government is neglecting the plight of the country’s population that belongs to marginalised sections of the society he said. ,” Launching a scathing attack on the government at the centre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the prime minister of failing to deliver on his promises. He questioned the veracity of Modi’s assurances regarding job creation, black money retrieval and pucca houses for all. He also accused BJP of betraying the trust of people and engaging in manipulative tactics devoid of factual basis. Taking a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the Congress chief advised RJD not to ally with him if ‘chacha comes again’. Taking a dig at Nitish, Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said the Bihar government should get its insurance done as it runs the risk of JD(U) president taking repeated U-turns. “They (BJP) say ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’, but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar?” he asked. Referring to Modi’s remarks on ‘parivarwad’ (nepotism), Tejashwi said, “They (BJP) call us nepotism, but they have Samrat Choudhary deputy CM, , Pashupati Kumar Paras, brother of late Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi whose son has been made a minister in Nitish cabinet. It does not look like nepotism to them?” Shehbaz Sharif makes a statement in Pakistan Parliament after securing enough votes to become PM | AFP New Pakistan PM mentions Kashmir in victory speech Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi SHEHBAZ Sharif becomes the new prime minister of Pakistan after securing 201 votes out of 336 in Pakistan’s Parliament in a vote of confidence held on Sunday amidst protests from supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. He takes oath of office on Monday . Speaking in Parliament after the vote, Shehbaz, 72 years old, brought up Kashmir in his speech and said the Parliament should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris. Also in his speech, he said he would eradicate terrorism and would maintain cordial relations with neighbours based on the principles of equality . Shehbaz, who was the prime minister till the parliament was dissolved in August 2023, takes charge at a time when Pakistan is deep in debt and where even the expenses of running the Parliament are paid through borrowed money he said. ,
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