madurai l saturday l march 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION Water storage in key reservoirs at just 38% ahead of summer The live storage in India’s 150 primary reservoirs stands at 38% of their total capacity, according to data from the Central Water Commission Shortage more severe in the south East faring better than the rest The total live storage capacity of the 150 reservoirs is 178.7 billion cubic metres (BCM). The live storage in these reservoirs is 67.5 BCM, about 16% less than the level observed during the corresponding period last year. In the 42 reservoirs of the southern region, total live storage stands at just 23% of the designed capacity or 42% less than last year’s level ■ ■ It is only in the eastern region, comprising Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Bihar and Assam that the live storage (9.97 BCM) is more than last year’s level (8.81 BCM) The report comes as Bengaluru, where there is a shortfall of around 500 million litres of water per day, is grappling with a crisis 257.8 billion cubic metres is the nation’s total live storage capacity 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 ED claims he is ultimate in-charge of AAP, was part of framing excise policy ED gets custody of Delhi CM for 6 days in money laundering case S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got no relief from a local court here on Friday as it remanded him for six days in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody, till March 28 in the Delhi excise policy scam. Three other leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh — are already under ED arrest in the same case. “The accused, Arvind Kejriwal, be remanded to six day ED custody till March 28,” Spe, cial Judge PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Kaveri Baweja, said, in her order. Kejriwal was produced in the Rouse Avenue court around 2 pm amid heavy security The . ED sought his custody for 10 days, claiming he had to be interrogated in a “detailed and sustained manner” in the excise case. The court’s order is a big blow for Kejriwal as he was preparing to hit the campaign trail in the general elections to increase his party’s footprint. Earlier in the day, he withdrew a plea from the Supreme Court he had filed the previous day challenging his arrest. , Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said he was withdrawing his plea from the SC and would argue the case in the lower court where he would be produced by the ED. As for the ED, it alleged in the Rouse Avenue court that Kejriwal is the kingpin of the Delhi liquor scam. “The CM demands kickbacks from South Group. It is a serious crime,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju told the court. The probe agency, said that huge cash amounts were handed over to various people. The proceeds of crime in the case were used in the Goa polls, he added. Vehemently opposing the arguments, Singhvi said the power of arrest was not equal to the need to arrest. “If the ED has proof, then why custody? No necessity of his arrest. The ED has to show the necessity of his arrest. Why did you need custodial interrogation?” he questioned. SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi v o i ce s I vehemently condemn the arrest. It’s outrageous that elected opposition CMs are being deliberately targeted Mamata Banerjee, TMC Where is democracy in this country? In Russia, (Vladimir) Putin got 88 per cent votes. They (BJP) are following Putin’s path Bhagwant Mann, AAP He got arrested due to his deeds... I had asked him to stay away from this (excise policy) issue. He didn’t Anna Hazare, activist Minister Atishi with AAP workers being detained during a protest at ITO against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in New Delhi on Friday | Parveen Negi Kejriwal kingpin of excise scam, says ED UJ W AL JALALI @ New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate on Friday told the Rouse Avenue court here that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was intrinsically involved in the entire conspiracy to frame Delhi’s new excise policy in such a way that certain private persons were favoured in a quid pro quo to get kickbacks. The ED alleged that the proceeds of the crime — as much as `45 crore — were used in the election campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for Goa. Explaining Kejriwal’s role in the case, the ED said he is the ultimate in-charge of AAP and was directly involved in the formulation of the excise policy . “This policy was being drafted considering the favours to be granted to the South Group and was formed in collusion with Vijay Nair, Manish Sisodia and members-representatives of the South Group,” the ED said in its remand application. The ED said Kejriwal’s role in the formulation of the policy was evident from the statement of two persons — C Arvind, the then Secretary of former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and Buchi Babu, CA of K Kavitha. Arvind revealed that he was handed over the draft Group of Ministers (GoM) report by Sisodia at Kejriwal’s residence where former minister Satyendar Jain was also present. The document mentioned that wholesale licence should be given to private players and profit margin was fixed at 12%. As per ED, these points were never discussed in GoM meetings. Arvind prepared a draft and handed it over to Sisodia. Later it was submitted before the cabinet. As for Buchi Babu, Whatsapp messages from his phone revealed certain provisions of the excise policy two days before it was finalised by the council of ministers. HC junks Cong’s plea against tax reassessment S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi In a blow to the Congress, the Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed its plea challenging the tax reassessment proceedings initiated against it by the Income Tax Department. The court said the party had challenged the assessment proceedings—due to be completed by March 31—at a late stage and the tax authority has collated “substantial and concrete” evidence warranting further scrutiny and examination. “The writ petitioner has thus chosen to approach this court only a few days before the time for completion of assessment would expire and at the proverbial fag end of the proceedings. We consequently find no justification to interdict the assessment proceedings at this belated stage,” the court said. The Congress had challenged the initiation of proceedings by the I-T department under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act for assessment pertaining to assessment years 2014-15 to 201617. The party said tax reassessment proceedings are barred by limitation and the I-T department could have gone back to a maximum of six assessment years. I-T department, however, said there was no violation of statutory provisions and that as per documents recovered during searches on four individuals in 2019, the “escaped” income of the party is over `520 crore. HC admits CBI plea against clean chit to Raja in 2G scam grand opening Music director AR Rahman (right), peforming alongside singers before the first match of 2024 IPL on Friday | ashwin prasath Rawat, DK take RCB to 173/6: Mustafizur takes four before RCB bounce back to get to 173/6 against csk... Mustafizur makes a mark Return of Rishabh In his first game for the franchise, Rahman (4/29) did not Almost a year-and-a-half since suffering a car accident, take long to make an impact as he instantly ran through the Rishabh Pant is all set to make a comeback in competitive RCB top-order. Dinesh Karthik (38 n.o) and Anuj Rawat’s cricket on Saturday. Declared fit as a keeper-batter, Pant will (48) late boundaries took RCB to a respectable total lead DC in their first game against Punjab Kings on Saturday The Delhi High Court on Friday admitted the appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) six years ago against the acquittal of all the 17 accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case, including former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja, DMK leader K Kanimozhi, and 15 other highprofile politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen including Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra. Granting the CBI ‘leave to appeal’ (permission to appeal), Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said the ‘contradictions’ in the trial court’s judgment require a ‘deeper examination’. “The court on the basis of material on record, and after going through the sworn testi- ‘Contradictions in trial court order’ While admitting the CBI’s plea, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said there were some contradictions in the trial court order. Refusing leave to appeal may mean such ambiguity remains buried, he said, adding it’s the court’s duty to ensure that justice is not denied to anyone including the state over technicalities monies, material on record, impugned judgment and the submissions made at bar by both the parties has reached on an objective satisfaction that there is a prima facie case which requires deeper examination and re-appreciation/re-appraisal of entire evidence,” Justice Sharma said in the order. On December 21, 2017, special CBI judge O P Saini had acquitted all the accused saying the prosecution failed to produce ‘legally admissible evidence’ against the accused. The CBI then approached the Delhi HC on March 20, 2018 challenging the judgment. The HC’s order on the CBI’s plea was reserved on March 14, 2024, six years and 125 listings after it was first heard. The matter was heard by seven different judges before it finally came to Justice Sharma. According to the CBI, there were ‘glaring illegalities’ in the trial court order acquitting all the accused in the case. The appeal will now be heard in detail on May 20. DMK campaign Centre using guvs to silence oppn: Stalin P e a r s o n l e n e k a r SR @ Tiruchy K Ponmudy greets Governor RN Ravi after being sworn in as minister in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Raj Bhavan on Friday | Express Ponmudy gets back his ministerial berth; CM thanks apex court E X PRESS NE W S SERVICE @ Chennai Following the censure of the Supreme Court, Governor RN Ravi on Friday administered DMK leader K Ponmudy the oath of office as minister at a simple function held at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin and a few of his cabinet colleagues. The SC, on Thursday gave , 24 hours to the governor to decide on the issue. Soon after the ceremony, Chief Minister MK Stalin thanked the Supreme Court on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu for its timely intervention and for “upholding the spirit of the constitution and saving democracy”. In a message on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the CM said, “Over the last decade, the people of #INDIA witnessed the dithering of democracy withering of , federalism and misadventures to put spikes before the functioning of sovereign governments elected by the people and giving age-old traditions a go-by”. Terming the 2024 election as crucial for saving democracy the CM said, “Let us strive , hard to prevent the brazen abuse of power by fascist forces threatening to ruin our glorious nation”. Earlier in the day, Attorney General R Venkataramani told a CJI bench that the governor “has the least intent to disregard the court”. The governor also told the court that he took the decision based on certain judgments of the apex court and in an apologetic tone submitted that he has no intention to go against the orders of court. P Wilson, senior lawyer for Tamil Nadu, told the bench, “Parliamentary democracy survives because of your lordships”. COntinued on p5 “Governor R N Ravi wished me ‘best of luck’ when I conveyed to him that DMK is starting its poll campaign after the swearing-in ceremony of minister Ponmudy Chief Minister M K ,” Stalin sarcastically said in Tiruchy on Friday while attacking the BJP government for allegedly using governors and central agencies to silence the opposition. The DMK president kickstarted the campaign for general elections in Tiruchy on Friday by seeking votes for Tiruchy and Perambalur constituency candidates MDMK’s Durai Vaiko and DMK’s K N Arun Nehru, respectively. Thousands of party cadres took part in the event. The CM said the ‘secrets’ behind PM Cares Fund will get exposed after INDIA bloc captures power at the centre. Stalin said BJP’s fear of defeat in polls was the only reason for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. PM Modi has lost sleep as the tenure of his regime is set to end and his ‘fear of defeat’ is reflected well in his eyes and face, the CM claimed. Similar to electoral bonds, “they (referring to BJP and the Centre) have collected in another way, which was named PM Cares Fund. All secrets about the fund will get exposed in June this year after INDIA bloc captures power at the centre,” he said. The DMK president said irregularities to the tune of about `seven lakh crore was outlined in a CAG report, in initiatives including the Ayushman Bharat. p5 dravidian stock express read Identical manifestos: Rivals DMK & AIADMK on same page Radikaa Sarathkumar is BJP’s Virudhunagar pick T M u r g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai The two warring Dravidian majors of Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK, seem to be on the same page on several issues as the AIADMK manifesto mirrored the position of the ruling party on a host of issues. On devolution of funds from the centre, sharing of cess revenue with states, removing the borrowing limit of states, making Tamil the official language of the Madras High Court, establishment of a bench of the Supreme Court in Chennai, and increasing the number of working days under MGNREGA from 100 to 150, the parties have made identical promises. The AIADMK manifesto released by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday has 133 promises. Though the document does not mention the present confrontation between the governors and governments in several states, including Tamil Nadu, the party said appointing a governor without consulting the CMs will lead to confrontations, resonating with the position of its archrival DMK. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and party leaders release the manifesto for the Lok Sabha poll on Friday | P Jawahar “Though the governor post is titular, as long as this constitutional post exists, the governors should be appointed only in consultation with the CMs and with their consent. This has been reiterated by late leader J Jayalalithaa and the AIAD- MK will take all steps to ensure that the central government implements this,” the AIADMK manifesto said. One striking feature, however, is that while the DMK manifesto vociferously attacked the BJP, the AIADMK has been circumspect in its criticism. The AIADMK manifesto has been drafted carefully to avoid any direct attack on the saffron party . The AIADMK also said the sharing of funds for centrally sponsored schemes being implemented in the states should be increased from the present 60:40 to 75:25. COntinued on p5 Chennai: The BJP released its final list of candidates fielding a total of 20 candidates in TN, including actor Radikaa Sarathkumar from Virudhunagar seat. Four alliance candidates too will contest on ‘Lotus’ symbol | P4 Sowmiya Anbumani is D’puri PMK candidate Chennai: The PMK on Friday released its list of candidates for nine of 10 constituencies it is contesting in the BJP alliance. Sowmiya Anbumani, wife of party president Anbumani Ramadoss, will contest from Dharmapuri | P4
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