BELAGAVI MONDAY MARCH 18, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 LATE CITY EDITION NO SURPRISES IN RUSSIAN POLLS AS PUTIN IS ALL SET TO RETAIN POWER Three days of voting came to an end on Sunday. Three candidates, who are Kremlin-friendly, were Putin’s rivals in the Presidential elections OPPOSITION ASKS VOTERS TO COME LATE Notably, rival candidates have not criticised Putin’s 24-year rule or his invasion of Ukraine two years ago. His fiercest opponent Alexei Navalny died in Arctic prison last month. Before his death, Navalny had endorsed an opposition call asking those who are unhappy with Putin to come to polling station at noon on Sunday. It is not clear if this call was a success ■ 2036 PROTESTERS THROW INK IN BALLOT BOXES ■ Multiple cases of vandalism were reported at polling stations. A woman threw a firebomb at a polling station entrance and many across the country were detained for throwing ink into ballot boxes Western leaders have called the Russian election a travesty of democracy. And, there are no international observers for polls | P9 RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION ALLOWS PUTIN TO STAY IN OFFICE FOR 12 MORE YEARS 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 Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra comes to end in Mumbai S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai CONGRESS leader Rahul Gandhi entered the next phase of his Lok Sabha election campaign by addressing the closing rally of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Sunday in Mumbai. He alleged that Narendra Modi wins elections because of EVMs. Rahul said that his people went to the election commission and asked them to show how it operates. “But the election commission refuses to do that. Why? Voters should know whether their vote is really going to the person to whom they voted for,” he said. Rahul’s yatra closing rally was attended by INDIA bloc allies. Rahul along with Priyanka, Tushar Gandhi (in green), great-grandson of Mahatma, at a padayatra in Mumbai on Sunday | PTI During the yatra, he travelled 4,000 km and understood people’s problems, he said. Chiding the media for not doing its job and work- ing for the establishment, Rahul said, “Who will listen to the people’s issues. Media is diverting attention. We are fighting against Int’l students of Guj varsity attacked WELCOME DROPS Relief from heat, expect rain next two to three days D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad A S H W I N I M S R I PA D @ Bengaluru HERE is some good news. Karnataka, which is facing intense heat and an acute shortage of water due to severe drought, is expected to get light to moderate showers in south-interior and Malnad regions in the next two to three days. Bidar and Kalaburagi witnessed some rain on Sunday . Former director of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) Srinivas Reddy explained that there is a cloud formation in south-interior Karnataka and Malnad regions. Also, a trough is seen near Tamil Nadu which will also have some impact on Karnataka. “From March 20 or 21, there will be shower for two to three days,” he said. Reddy, however, said this will not help fill up dams or increase groundwater levels. “But any rain will help as it will bring down temperature for some time. People should harvest this water. Any amount of rain harvesting will help as it will reduce the burden on drinking water. One has to learn lessons from the present water crisis,” he said. Officials said 36 mm to 40 mm of rainfall is expected in April and 86 mm in May. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a good monsoon this year. “We are hoping for good rain from July Reddy said. ,” According to KSNDMC data, temperature is 1 to 3 degrees Celsius above normal in some parts of the state. The state government has already declared 223 taluks drought-prone, as the southwest and northeast monsoons did not bring expected rain last year. Meanwhile, major reservoirs in the state continue to see a dip in their water levels. Of the total capacity of 895.62 tmcft of water in 123 major reservoirs, the present level is 284 tmcft, as against 386 tmcft last year during the same period. STUDENTS hailing from different foreign countries were allegedly assaulted by a mob in the Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad for offering namaz in the facility’s building, police said on Sunday A student from Sri . Lanka and another from Tajikistan had to be hospitalised. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said an FIR was registered against 20-25 people and they will be arrested soon. According to police sources, the incident was reported at around 10.50 pm on March 16 when two dozen people barged into the hostel and objected to students offering namaz in the facility where they stayed. The students pointed out that there is no mosque on the Ahmedabad-based campus. So, they had assembled inside the hostel to perform taraweeh, a nightly prayer during Ramadan. A student from Afghanistan said that a mob came to the hostel and shouted slogans, questioning their right to pray in the hostel. “They assaulted us EE SALA CUP NAMDU! within our rooms, destroying laptops, phones, and vandalizing bikes,” he said. The student mentioned among the five injured individuals, there is one from Afghanistan, one from Sri Lanka, one from Turkmenistan, and two from African nations. Sources said the hostel’s security guards tried to intervene but the assailants continued to assault the students. There are around 300 international students enrolled at the Gujarat University MEA spokesper. son Randhir Jaiswal said the state government is taking decisive action against those responsible. SOPHIE MOLINUEX’S PERFECT OVER Delhi Capitals once again fell short in the final as Royal Challengers Bangalore were crowned the champions of the second season of the WPL in New Delhi... With Delhi Capitals flying at 9.14 runs per over, Molinuex broke open the game with an over with three wickets in an over. It started with the wicket of Verma off the first ball. Verma tried to hit the Australian over the ropes only to find the fielder. Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey followed. DC never recovered and were bowled out for 113 FOUR FOR SHREYANKA Shreyanka Patil (second from right) was the star of the match for Royal Challangers Bangalore, taking four wickets for 12 runs on Sunday | PTI SHAFALI VERMA PACKS A PUNCH IN POWERPLAY On a surface where every batter found it hard to get a start, Shafali Verma breezed through the powerplay with 42 runs off just 21 balls, which included two fours and three sixes. Over her hitting spree, she smashed 19 runs off Renuka Singh Thakur’s second over EXPRESS READ ED summons Kejriwal in case linked to DJB New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board, with the Aam Aadmi Party terming it a “backup” plan to stop him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections | P8 2nd batch of troops to leave Maldives New Delhi: India and the Maldives on Sunday reviewed the process of pulling out Indian military personnel from the island nation with Male saying the second group will leave by April 10. The two sides held the third meeting of the core group in Male, days after India withdrew the first group. FIR against Baghel filed in app case E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur THE Chhattisgarh police on Sunday filed a FIR against former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in the online Mahadev App betting scam case. Though the FIR was filed on March 4, it was announced on Sunday a day after the Lok Sabha polling dates were announced. Baghel is the Congress candidate for the Rajnandgaon constituency where the election will be held on April 26. “It is a political FIR and my name has been deliberately inserted into it along with others under pressure,” Baghel said. “If the case was registered in the big Shakti–a mysterious power who controls. Modi is like a mask that keeps hanging like a Bollywood star who plays different roles in every film. If Modi is asked to go under water, he will go and do the same and even fly the plane as per instructions,” he said. BJP is misusing the central agencies to poach the Opposition leaders and elected representatives, he alleged. One of the senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra recently left the Congress and before leaving, he called Sonia Gandhi, he said. The leader was crying and saying that if he does not join the BJP, then he will be put in jail, he added. Raipur on March 4, why then the FIR copy was released and published from Delhi on March 17 Sunday Usually EOW or po. lice station uploads FIR the same day on website. The maximum action against Mahadev App has been taken in Chhat- tisgarh (during Congress regime),” he said, adding that it is for the Centre to get the key accused extradited to India. The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicated the alleged involvement of senior politicians and bureaucrats in facilitating the Mahadev App illegal betting in reciprocity for “protection money”. In the App betting scam, presumed to be over Rs 6,000 crore, the name of Baghel was conspicuously cited in the supplementary chargesheet of the ED filed early this year before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Raipur. Shreyanka Patil, who missed out on a few matches in the tournament, came back in style to take four wickets in the final to dismantle DC’s hopes. With 13 wickets in the season, she became the highest wicket-taker of the season taking over the likes of Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen | P11 Akkai says no to Sahitya Academy post, seeks MLC or MP position E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru A day after her appointment as a member of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy by the state government, well-known transgender activist Akkai Padmashali has requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to drop her name from the academy . Instead, transgender community members should be given representation in the Upper Houses of Karnataka legislature and Parliament, requested Akkai, who is also a Congress member. In her letter, written to the two leaders, she thanked the state government for the honour, but said, “I am known for my fight against social stigma in society for trans community members. My fight will continue against this. I request you (Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar) to drop me from the academy .” She appealed to them to instead nominate her to any of the Upper Houses to let her be part of the process of making laws to fight the stigma against the community . “The state is now witnessing Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota, where people from all communities are treated equally Hence. forth, transgender community members should be included in the House” she added. Latest EB data show parties love to hide than disclose Only DMK, AIADMK, JD(S) and NC revealed names of donors BOND-ED PARTIES DMK JDS K509 crore from Future Gaming and Hotel Services K89.75 crore (J50 crore from Megha Engineering and rest from Aditya Birla Group, Infosys, JSW and Embassy Group) K105 crore from Megha Engineering K10 crore from India Cements K10 crore from Sun TV AIADMK K6.05 crore (Most of it from India Cements) National Conference K50 Lakh from Bharti Group BJP TMC Congress BRS BJD DMK YSR Congress TDP JD(S) AAP Shiv Sena RJD NCP Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Samajwadi party Akali Dal AIADMK National Conference Sikkim Democratic Party M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday uploaded the remaining data on the purchase and redemption of electoral bonds that political parties had shared with it and which was submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover. The ECI published the details after it got the sealed cover back from the apex court. Political parties had filed data on electoral bonds in sealed cover as directed by the apex court’s interim order of April 12, 2019. The fresh disclosure by the ECI shows that only a few parties — DMK, AIADMK, JD(S), and National Conference — have revealed the name of their donors. The poll panel’s latest disclosure is part of the data dump pertaining to a total of 523 recognised and non-recognised political parties made public on the Supreme Court’s orders. According to reports, the latest data pertain to the period before April 12, 2019. This is the second set of data that the poll panel has published. Electoral bond details after this date was made pub- `6,986.5 cr `1,397 cr `1,334 cr `1,322 cr `944.5 cr `656.5 cr `442.8 cr `181.35 cr `89.75 cr `69 cr `60.4 cr `56 cr `50.51 cr `15.5 cr `14.05 cr `7.26 cr `6.05 cr `50 Lakh `50 lakh ZERO BOND PARTIES BSP CPI-M CPI All-India Forward Bloc CPI-ML Maharashtra Navnirman Sena AIMIM AIUDF Zoram People’s Movement Asom Gana Parishad Bodoland People’s Front Kerala Congress (Mani) lic by the poll panel last week. “Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the SC’s order of March 15, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission has uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website,” EC said. The fresh disclosure by the ECI is part of the data dump pertaining to a total of 523 recognised and non-recognised political parties made public following a direction by the Supreme Court. This was followed by another dataset published by the ECI last week following the SBI shared with it. The SBI was sole bank authorised to sell and redeem now defunct electoral bonds. The data show that BJP has got the highest funds through these bonds at `6,986.50 crore, followed by the TMC at `1,397 crore, and the Congress `1,334 crore.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.