Probability forecast of Maximum Temperature for April to June 2024 Above normal normal Below normal 35 45 55 65 75 White colour over land area indicates climatological probability Enhanced rainfall likely to continue over Northeast India till April 7 NAGAPATTINAM l tuesday l april 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION extreme heat predicted across the country from April to June IMD expects Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, west MP, AP & north Karnataka to be worst affected by the heat wave from April to June Wheat crops not to face brunt of heat Heat wave coinciding with LS elections Harvest-ready wheat crop may not be impacted by the heat wave. There is no warning for wheat producing states, except Madhya Pradesh, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. About 90% of wheat harvest is over in Madhya Pradesh. This year, wheat production is expected to be around 114 million tonnes, according to government data ■ ■ Union minister for Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju said all stakeholders, including state governments, are preparing in advance for the Lok Sabha polls to go smoothly taking into account the heat wave El Nino conditions are weakening and La Nina conditions are likely to set in by second half of monsoon season, Mohapatra said 150 big reservoirs have seen storage drop below 10-year average this yr 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 Relief for Cong, Poll round the corner, annual toll fee hike put off in TN govt puts off tax recovery till July B ANBUSELVAN @ Chennai I-T dept tells SC that it won’t take coercive action against the party till LS polls are over matter is heard after the election, we will not take any action for recovery of `1,700 IN a major relief to the Con- crore,” he said. The SC bench recorded the gress, the income tax department on Monday informed the SG’s undertaking and posted Supreme Court that it would the matter to the second week not take any coercive action of July for further hearing. According to the Congress, it against the cash-strapped party has received multiple with regard to tax denotices from the tax aumands till the Lok Sab‘Levelthorities for a total deha elections are over. playing mand of `3,567 crore Solicitor General field’ (including penalties Tushar Mehta, appearCongress and interest) for dising for the tax departleader Vivek crepancies in income ment, made the undertaking before a bench Tankha, who is tax returns for previalso fighting ous years. It also acof Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine the case for the cused the BJP governparty before ment of resorting to George Masih, which was hearing an appeal the income tax ‘tax terrorism’ to finanby the Congress against authorities and cially cripple the prina 2016 judgment of the the Delhi High cipal opposition party Delhi High Court. In Court, said the ahead of the crucial the appeal, the party party can now Lok Sabha polls. The unexpected statehad moved an interim expect a levelplaying field ment by the SG took application seeking a Congress’ counsel senstay of the recent demand notices by the tax ior advocate A M Singhvi by surprise, who acknowledged department. Mehta told the SC that the re- the gesture as ‘gracious’. “You (Congress) should not cent tax demand for `1,700 perceive negative about somecrore is based on the 2016 one all the time,” Justice Najudgement, which is garathna orally under challenge. remarked. “Since the election “I am rendered is going on, we speechless and would not like any very few times I problem to arise am,” Singhvi for any party and responded. therefore, till the SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi Notice on full VVPAT slip count SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission of India on a plea seeking a complete count of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in polls as opposed to the current practice of verification of only five randomly selected EVMs through VVPAT paper slips. The petition filed by activist Arun Kumar Agrawal challenged the EC’s guideline that mandates that VVPAT verification be done sequentially , causing undue delay. The plea contended that if simultaneous verification is done, then complete VVPAT verification can be done in a matter of 5-6 hours. VVPAT is an independent vote verification system which permits an elector to see whether his vote was cast correctly The VVPAT generates a paper slip, which can . be viewed by the voter and the paper slip is kept in a sealed cover and can be opened in case of a dispute. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has instructed toll operators to halt the proposed annual hike of user fee at 34 toll plazas on national highways in Tamil Nadu from April 1. The fee revision was suspended late on Sunday following orders from the NHAI chairman’s New Delhi office, sources said. Similarly the annual fee hike , of eight state highway toll plazas, including those on ECR, Minjur-Vandalur Outer Ring New Delhi Minister S Jaishankar addresses a press conference in New Delhi | PTI Congress poser The MEA under the watch of the then foreign secretary, S Jaishankar, said in 2015 in response to a RTI query on Katchatheevu, “This (Agreement) did not involve either acquiring or ceding of territory belonging to India since the area in question had never been demarcated. Under the Agreements, the Island of Katchatheevu lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line.” Is he disowning the 2015 RTI response now, asks Congress leader Jairam Ramesh THE BJP on Monday continued to keep the pressure on the Congress and the DMK over the ceding of Katchatheevu in the palk Straits. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar accused Congress prime ministers Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi of being indifferent towards Tamil Nadu fishermen’s rights and giving it away to Sri Lanka. At a media interaction in the BJP headquarters here, Jaishankar said, “For Pandit Nehru, Katchatheevu was a ‘little island of no importance’. That’s why he considered the Katchatheevu issue a “nuisance’ and never wanted the issue being raised on the floor of Parliament again and again.” Jaishankar quoted Nehru as having said, “I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I don’t like matters like this pending indefinitely and being Fee hike for 42 toll booths put on hold Photo: Martin Louis ORR and Madurai bypass, res p e c t i v e l y, t i l l f u r t h e r instructions. Incidentally, despite strong demand from truckers and political parties during the Cov- The annual hike of user fee at 34 toll plazas on NHs from April 1 has been been put on hold following orders from the NHAI chairman’s New Delhi office late on Sunday. Fee revision for eight toll plazas on state highways too is on hold id-19 lockdown, NHAI had declined to postpone the yearly hike saying that there is legal provision to halt the fee revision as per the “concessionaire agreement”. But with general CM says excise scam accused Vijay nair had limited interaction with him Kejriwal evasive, claims ED; sent to Tihar by court UJWAL JALALI @ New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a city court in New Delhi on Monday | PTI Lodged in Jail 2, access to visitors twice a WK UJWAL JALALI @ New Delhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday lodged at Tihar’s Jail No. 2 where 90% of the inmates are convicted criminals. Of the 650odd inmates in Jail No. 2, nearly 600 have been convicted, well placed sources said. There are around 650 CCTV cameras in the central jail where Kejriwal has been lodged. He can watch television — except during designated prison activities — about 18 to 20 channels covering news, entertainment and sports. There will be no specialised services for the CM. He will have to sleep in his barrack either on the floor or a cemented platform. Technically, Kejriwal is not barred from functioning as CM. But how he would be able to do so remains to be seen as he can have visitors only twice a week. A former Tihar official said it would be extremely challenging for Kejriwal to run the government from jail. “There needs to be a dedicated support system for the CM. Currently, none of the 16 jails has the necessary infrastructure to accommodate a chief minister’s office,” he said. It’s Jaishankar’s turn to blame it on Nehru, Indira, Karunanidhi rajesh kumar thakur @ Road, and Madurai bypass, has also been put on hold. Although an order was earlier issued by the state government to postpone the fee revision of Uthayandi toll plaza on ECR until June, no official communication was issued to defer the fee revision on the other two state highways. Sources said the state had orally instructed toll operators of Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) and Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC) not to implement the fee revision on Prison routine Kejriwal will have to follow the prison routine of breakfast at 7 am for which the menu is tea, biscuit, daliya (porridge) and bread. Lunch around 11 am. From 12 pm to 3 pm, the ward remains closed. Dinner around 6.30 pm usually comprises a dal and one vegetable, roti or rice Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday placed under judicial custody for 15 days by a city court and lodged in Tihar jail. The order came after the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody ended. It did not seek further remand but pressed for Kejriwal’s judicial custody in its application. Describing him as a highly influential person, the ED said there is every likelihood that he would influence the witnesses and tamper with evidence if he is released. Speaking to reporters before entering the court, the chief minister said, “Whatever the prime minister is doing (referring to his arrest) is not good for the country .” The ED’s lawyer S V Raju claimed that Kejriwal was not cooperating and was giving evasive replies. “Kejriwal did not also give the passwords of digital devices,” Raju said. In its application for judicial custody the probe agency , cited Kejriwal’s claim on Vijay Nair, ex-communications in-charge of the party, to assert that he was evasive and giving misleading replies. Kejriwal claimed he had “limited interaction” with Nair, Requests special diet, medicines, books Kejriwal’s counsel moved applications seeking permission for the CM to have a special diet, medicines, books and a religious the locket while at Tihar. He sought three books — Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana, and How Prime Ministers Decide by senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury adding the latter used to report to AAP leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and not to him. But the ED said Nair stayed in a Cabinet minister’s bungalow and worked from the Camp Office of the CM. “It was also put to the arrestee to explain why would someone who reported to other leaders of the AAP, work from his Camp Office, which anyways is meant for the work of the CM of Delhi and not for the party the ED said. But Kejri,” wal claimed he was unaware of who all work at the CM’s Camp Office. During the ED’s custody, the CM was confronted with different WhatsApp chats showing the involvement of Nair in the excise policy scam. But Kejriwal questioned the authenticity of the digital evidence shown to him. elections around the corner, NHAI, operating under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has decided to postpone the fee revision. The instructions received by NHAI project directors in Villupuram, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Karaikudi, and other units do not explain the reason for the deferment. “We were told the fee revision has not been implemented as technical upgrades are being made to the FASTag system. We are still awaiting a detailed directive,” an official said. p5 Sanatana row Udhayanidhi can’t be treated on a par with media entities, says SC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday told Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin that he cannot compare himself with media personnel to seek immunity and relief like them regarding the clubbing of multiple FIRs filed against him in six states for his alleged “eradicate Sanatana Dharma” remark. “You (Stalin) have made the said statements voluntarily and you cannot claim immunity like them,” a twojudge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said on Monday . The top court made the observations after hearing a petition filed by the Stalin scion seeking the court’s direction to club the FIRs registered against him. He sought the relief by relying on various judgments rendered by the Supreme Court in cases involving journalists such as Arnab Goswami, Amish Devgan, and Mohammad Zubair, and others. The bench listed the matter in the week commencing on May 6 giving the minister time to amend his plea in view of “legal issues”. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Stalin, cited several cases including that of journalists and politicians like Nupur Sharma. p5 K a t c h a t h ee v u raised again and again in Parliament.” As for Indira Gandhi, the island was a little ‘rock’, Jaishankar said. Responding to opposition barbs on the Tamil Nadu timing of the controversy Jaishankar , Katchatheevu Delft said it is an ongoing issue. The ceding of Sri Lanka Ram Setu Katchatheevu has resulted in more than 6,000 Indian fishermen Rameswaram being detained and 1,175 fishing vessels being seized by Lanka in the last 20 years. Taking an aim at the DMK, AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa the minister said the Congress moved the Supreme Court in had kept the regional party in her personal capacity for the the loop over giving the island island’s retrieval away to Lanka. “The available records exist of the then forLater, the state government eign secretary keeping the then headed by her impleaded Tamil Nadu chief minister M itself in the case Karunanidhi fully informed of the talks between the two counJaishankar says tries. Ironically, the same peoJawaharlal Nehru and Indira ple who connived at all this are Gandhi dubbed today standing up and trying to Katchatheevu as a “little pretend to be champions of island” and “little rock” fishermen,” he charged. In 2008 File picture of people thronging the Katchatheevu to worship at the Saint Anthony’s shrine there | Express CM questions BJP on ‘sudden love’ for TN fishers, seeks PM’s response on three issues EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai Amid the BJP’s broadside against the DMK and the Congress on the Katchatheevu issue, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning the BJP’s “sudden love” for fishermen ahead of the elections. Stalin also sought the PM’s reply to three issues, including `37,000 crore flood relief package sought by the Tamil Nadu government. Responding to Modi’s criticism through a post on ‘X’, Sta- lin, without naming Katchatheevu, said the PM is adopting a “diversionary” tactic. “The people of Tamil Nadu want to put forth only three questions to those, who, after being in a Kumbakarna slumber for 10 years, are displaying a sudden love for the fishermen for elections. Why does the Union government return just 29 paise out of `1 paid by TN as tax? Why has not a single penny been given to Tamil Nadu as flood relief despite the state having faced two natural disasters (the floods in Chennai and Thoothukudi in December 2023)? Has even one special scheme been implemented for Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years of BJP rule at the centre?” “Instead of involving in diversions, please respond to all these, Prime Minister,” the CM said with the hashtag in Tamil “bathil sollunga Modi,” seeking answers from the PM. Continued on p5
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