vijayawada l monday l April 01, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l 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 pension disbursal Sajjala blames Naidu for ECI bar on using volunteers E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada 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 EE T HA N AI 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 express read ‘South will help PM reach 370-seat target’ New Delhi: Expressing confidence in PM Modi’s vision of securing 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari predicted that the party will augment its current 288-seat strength with gains in southern India. “We have worked hard in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra & Karnataka,” he said | P9 ‘Red Line’ should never be crossed: US envoy New Delhi: Eric Garcetti, the US Ambassador to India, has emphasised the collaborative effort between India and the US in investigating the alleged assassination plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He stressed the importance of not crossing a ‘red line’ in bilateral relations | P9 France to give armoured vehicles to Ukraine Paris: French Defence Minister S’bastien Lecornu said France is to deliver ‘hundreds’ of armoured vehicles by the beginning of next year to Ukraine. In an interview with the French newspaper, Lecornu said ‘to hold such an extensive front line, the Ukrainian army needs our armoured personnel carriers’ | P11 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 AMI TA B AJPAI @ 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. A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) barred the State from engaging volunteers in disbursing social welfare pensions, Advisor to Government (Public Affairs) and YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy squarely blamed the TDP for the election panel fiat. He said the government would disburse pension on April 3 and the beneficiaries can collect it at their nearest secretariat as volunteers would not come to their doorstep. He alleged that the Citizens for Democracy based on whose complaint the ECI , took the decision, had the support of the TDP and the credentials of its leaders like for mer CEO Nimmagadda Ramesh was known to all. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Sajjala alleged that Naidu to cover up his ‘misdeed’ wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary urging that the State government should utilise the services of the village/ward employees at the gram/ward secretariats to ensure timely disbursement of pension to the beneficiaries. Sajjala further said the TDP chief fearing wrath of the people for his stand against the volunteer system, used his BTeam, the Citizens For Democracy, to lodge a complaint with the ECI. BJP targets Cong for giving away island Rajesh kumar THakur @ New Delhi SERP CEO issues guidelines for distribution of pension SERP CEO issued orders on guidelines to distribute pension to beneficiaries at the village & ward secretariat offices. Subsequently, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu wrote to the Chief Secretary and the Chief Electoral Officer, seeking immediate alternative arrangements for pension disbursal & other cash benefits “Citizens for Democracy was formed in September last year and, after 15 days, it approached the Supreme Court against the volunteer system. The forum maintained that the volunteers were collecting sensitive data and providing the same to the ruling party he said. ,’’ Sajjala said there were allegations that Ramesh acted at the behest of the TDP during the elections to local bodies. “We have even seen him meeting TDP agents in the BJP. Ramesh functioned as an agent of the TDP and the other key persons in the forum also have a similar mindset,” he P4 alleged. If CM Jagan wanted to utilise volunteers for politics, he wouldn’t have focused on welfare. Volunteers’ success is because of strengthening of govt delivery mechanism S Ramakrishna, YSRC gen secy Prime 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 social media platform X. Sharping his attack, Modi said, “Weakening India’s unity , integrity and interest has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting.” Dismissing Modi’s charges, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it’s typical of the BJP to rake up issues settled long back during elections. “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,” Kharge wrote on X. The island was given to Sri Lanka as part of a friendly agreement in 1974, Kharge said. He also reminded Modi that his own government had undertaken a similar gesture towards Bangladesh by transferring 111 enclaves to the country, while 55 enclaves came to India.
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