HYDERABAD MONDAY APRIL 01, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 14 LATE CITY EDITION POPE APPEALS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR Pope Francis in his Easter message said his thoughts went particularly to the people in Ukraine and Gaza, and all those facing war SPEECH SYMPATHETIC TO ROHINGYA MUSLIMS POPE SKIPS GOOD FRIDAY, ATTENDS EASTER He called for ‘prompt’ release of prisoners taken from Israel on October 7 so that humanitarian access can reach Palestinians. “Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have grave repercussions on the civil population, by now at the limit of its endurance and above all on the children,” he said. His speech was sympathetic towards Haitians, Rohingya ■ ■ Francis presided over Easter mass on Sunday in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square. Earlier on Saturday night, he participated in the Easter Vigil service delivering a homily and baptising eight persons The Pope has no major foreign trip scheduled for the next several months, giving him time to recover from respiratory problems | P11 30,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE EASTER MASS IN VATICAN 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 HIGH COSTS State govt not to sign PPA with NTPC to cushion consumers E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad Opposition leaders at the Loktantra Bachao (save democracy) joint rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday | PARVEEN NEGI INDIA bloc leaders flex muscles, rally behind Kejriwal and Soren Cong asks Election Commission to ensure level-playing field in Lok Sabha polls P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi IN the first joint rally held nearly a year after its formation in Patna, several prominent leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc came together at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds on Sunday to protest against the arrest of Opposition chief ministers and the BJP government’s targeting of political rivals using central agencies. The show of strength ahead of the Lok Sabha elections saw the presence of Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, along with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, among others. While the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has brought parties such as Trinamool Congress and Congress on the same platform despite seat-sharing hiccups, the leaders said the Loktantra Bachao Rally is a mark of INDIA bloc’s commitment to saving democracy . Addressing the gathering, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said it is time for a change. “We are not here for the election campaign; we are here to protect democracy . BJP ‘washed’ the people who they once called corrupt. How can a party full of corrupt people run government?” he said. In a searing attack on the government, Rahul Gandhi said it is a clarion call for people to help save democracy Ac. cusing the Modi government of KATCHATHEEVU BJP targets Congress over island RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday blamed the Congress for giving away Katchatheevu, an island near India, to Sri Lanka. This ‘callous’ decision by the grand old party “has angered every Indian” and convinced people that Congress is not a party that can be trusted, Modi wrote on X. Sharping his attack further, he said, “Weakening India’s unity integrity and interest , has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting.” In response, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable.” He also reminded Modi that his own government had transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh, while 55 enclaves came to India. Sunita Kejriwal debuts Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita struck an emotional chord by reading out a letter by the CM from jail. In her maiden speech at a political rally, she asked people whether Kejriwal should resign as CM. “BJP is demanding the resignation of CM Kejriwal. Should he resign? Is his arrest justified? He is a lion so they won’t be able to keep him behind bars for long,” she said ‘fixing’ elections, he said: “This is not an ordinary election. This election is to save the country and protect our constitution. If the BJP wins this election and changes the Constitution, it will light the country on fire,” said Rahul. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said there is an “undeclared emergency” in the country . Echoing similar views, Akhilesh said Kejriwal’s arrest has been questioned even by foreign countries. TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghose reaffirmed their party’s support to INDIA bloc and asserted it’s a fight between BJP and democracy . Listing out the demands of the INDIA bloc, Priyanka Gandhi said the ECI should ensure a level-playing field in the Lok Sabha polls and Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal be released with immediate effect. Not intimidated by Oppn barbs, will continue fight against corruption: Modi N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow HOURS after the INDIA bloc leaders held a mega rally in Delhi pledging support to jailed Opposition leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his ‘fight against corruption’ will continue unabated. “Modi will not be stopped. Action will be taken against every corrupt person,” he said while addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on Sunday . Modi said ‘corrupt’ politicians have come on a single platform thinking they can intimidate him. “They thought Modi will be scared. But it only strengthened my resolve to go against the corrupt more than before,” he said. In a veiled reference to Delhi CM and AAP leader Kejriwal, currently under the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for his alleged role in the Delhi excise policy scam, Modi said the corruption charges against some are so serious that they are not even getting bail from courts. Launching a direct attack on the Congress, he said during the grand old party’s regime, thousands of crores of rupees belonging to the poor, small investors, and banks were wrongfully confiscated. In contrast, the BJP government targeted corrupt people and attached their ill-gotten properties worth `17,000 crore, he claimed. He said his government has been relentlessly waging a war on corruption and has removed as many as 10 crore illegal beneficiaries of various government welfare schemes, in the process saving `2.45 lakh crore. He alleged that non-BJP governments in the past were swindling public money using these illegal beneficiaries. THE state government has reportedly decided against signing the power purchase agreement (PPA) for NTPC-Ramagundam Phase-2 (3X800MW), citing projected power costs of `8 to `9 per unit, which could burden the consumers. Instead, the government is planning to develop green energy sources such as solar, hydel and wind, which are expected to offer more cost-effective alternatives to the power from NTPCRamagundam. The Congressled state government has blamed the previous BRS government for not signing the PPA for the second phase of NTPC in the last 10 years, which could lead to a rise in construction costs. Recently, the NTPC wrote to the state government asking it to sign the PPA for NTPC Phase-2 by February 10. Failure to do so may result in the allocation of NTPC Phase-2 power to other southern states, it had said. Government sources, however, have pointed fingers at the previous BRS government for its failure to ink the PPA with NTPC. However, former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in a press conference in Suryapet on Sunday contended that it was , the responsibility of the Congress government to sign the PPA. “We fought with the Union government GREEN FOCUS The government is planning to use solar power from 10 am to 5 pm to reduce spending on power. Solar units would be set up in the government buildings such as schools, colleges and offices. The state government is also planning to construct hydroelectric plants in Himachal Pradesh and divert the power to Telangana. and achieved the Phase-1 of NTPC,” he said. The 4,000 MW NTPC-Ramagundam ther mal power plant was an assurance under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The first phase (2X800MW) of the project was recently dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The state is slated to get 85% of the total 4,000 MW power capacity The government . sources said that due to the BRS government’s discord with the Union government, it neglected NTPC Phase-2. As a result, the Discoms invested heavily in purchasing the power from exchanges, they added. Even if the construction of NTPC Ramagundam Phase-2 commenced now, it would take another five years to complete the project, the sources CONTINUED ON P4 said. PHONE-TAPPING CASE Ex-intel chief may return to city today S W E T H A V I M A L A M @ Hyderabad FORMER chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) T Prabhakar Rao, named accused number 1 in the phone-tapping and extortion case, will arrive in Hyderabad on Monday, said sources. The prime accused in the case, Prabhakar was earlier reported as absconding and the police had issued lookout notices against him. Recently, he is said to have contacted some senior officials to say he was in the US for medical treatment. Additionally, he had informed them that he would be in touch with the investigating officer. When the probe team interrogates Prabhakar, there is a possibility that more details about the case will be revealed. After interrogating him, it is possible that the police might serve notices to BRS leaders, the sources said. Another bizman files plaint Another businessman Sandhya Sridhar Rao lodged a complaint against former Task Force OSD Radha Kishan Rao claiming that the latter had tapped his phone and extorted crores of CONTINUED ON P5 rupees.
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