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 vijayawada l tuesday l april 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late 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 the second half of monsoon season | P9 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 In relief for Cong, Ward, village secretariat staff may disburse pension govt puts off tax recovery till July E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada I-T dept tells SC that it won’t take coercive action against the party till LS polls are over department over the demand of 3500 crores approximately till the next date of hearing,” IN a major relief to the Con- Mehta said. gress, the income tax departThe SC bench recorded the ment 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. against the cash-strapped party According to the Congress, it with regard to tax dehas received multiple mands till the Lok Sabnotices from the tax au‘Levelha elections are over. thorities for a total deplaying Solicitor General mand of `3,567 crore field’ Tushar Mehta, appear(including penalties Congress ing for the tax departand interest) for disleader Vivek ment, made the undercrepancies in income taking before a bench Tankha, who is tax returns for previalso fighting of Justices B V Nagarous years. It also acathna and Augustine the case for the cused the BJP governparty before George Masih, which ment of resorting to 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. had moved an interim expect a levelThe unexpected stateplaying field application seeking a ment by the SG took stay of the recent deCongress’ counsel senmand notices by the tax ior advocate A M Singhvi by department. surprise, who acknowledged “Issues which arise in these the gesture as ‘gracious’. appeals are yet to be adju- di“You (Congress) should not cated upon. But having perceive negative about someregard to the prevailone all the time,” Justice Naing situation, the garathna orally department does remarked. not wish to precip“I am rendered itate matter inasspeechless and much as no coervery few times I cive steps shall am,” Singhvi be taken by the responded. SUCHITRA KALYA N MOHA N TY @ New Delhi Notice on full VVPAT slip count SUCHITRA KALYA N MOHA N TY @ 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 . Rivals trying to attack me and my security personnel: Pawan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e TDP’s sole intention behind lodging a complaint against volunteers is to deny 66 lakh poor beneficiaries of their pensions. The TDP’s actions have resulted in the poor people having to suffer for the next three months. Botcha Satyanarayana, YSRC leader knows each and every household. Similarly, the government has brought administration closer to the people by setting up ward and village sec- 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. Prison routine Kejriwal will have to follow the prison routine of breakfast at 7 am for which the menu is tea, biscuit, daliya 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 ED cited Kejriw, al’s claim on Vijay Nair, excommunications in-charge of the party to assert that he was , evasive and giving misleading replies. Kejriwal claimed he had “limited interaction” ment.” As for Indira Gandhi, the island was a little ‘rock’, Jaishankar THE BJP on Monday continued to said. keep the pressure on the Congress Responding to opposition barbs on and the DMK over the ceding of Kat- the timing of the controversy, Jaischatheevu in the Palk Bay in 1974. hankar said it is an ongoing issue. External Affairs Minister S Jais- The ceding of Katchatheevu has rehankar accused Congress prime min- sulted in more than 6,000 Indian fishisters Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and ermen being detained and 1,175 fishIndira Gandhi of being indiffering vessels being seized by ent towards Tamil Nadu Lanka in the last 20 years. fishermen’s rights and Taking an aim at the giving it away to Sri DMK, the minister said Srilanka Lanka. the Congress had kept Tamilnadu At a media interacthe regional party in tion in the BJP headthe loop over giving Katchatheevu quarters here, Jaisthe island away to Delft hankar said, “For Lanka. “The available Pandit Nehru, Katrecords show the then Ram Setu chatheevu was a “little foreign secretary keepisland of no imporing the then Tamil Nadu Rameswaram tance”. That’s why he chief minister considered the KatchatheeM Karunanidhi fully invu issue a “nuisance” and never formed of the talks between the wanted it raised on the floor of Par- two countries. Ironically, the same liament again. Jaishankar quoted people who connived at all this are Nehru’s file noting in May 1961 as today standing up and trying to prehaving said, “I attach no importance tend to be champions of fishermen,” at all to this little island and I would he charged. have no hesitation in giving up our Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK claim to it. I don’t like matters like Stalin questioned the BJP’s “sudden this pending indefinitely and being love” for fishermen ahead of the raised again and again in Parlia- polls. r a j e s h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi 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 | P9 N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief retariats with nearly 10-15 employees. All the basic needs like issuance of certificates have been done at these secretariats and the staff have developed Kejriwal evasive, claims ED; sent to Tihar by court It’s Jaishankar’s turn to blame it on Nehru, Indira, Karunanidhi Minister S Jaishankar addresses a press conference in New Delhi | PTI Jagan is resorting to false propaganda by alleging that the TDP is creating hurdles for pension distribution. The TDP has not made any request to anyone, including the ECI to bar volunteers from pension distribution CM says excise scam accused Vijay nair had limited interaction with him Katchatheevu @ Vijayawada Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan on Monday claimed that hired thugs armed with sharp blades in the guise of his fans and supporters were trying to attack him and his security personnel in Pithapuram. Addressing the gathering after inducting several people, including MPTC members, sarpanches, noted doctors, lawyers and others into his party he al, leged that his opponents (YSRC) were creating security problems and thwarting his plans to meet his admirers. “We should be wary of such intimidatory tactics,” he cautioned. Maintaining that he too desires to take photos with those who come to meet him, the actor-politician said given the circumstances, it would be better for him to limit the people he meets daily to 200. Asserting that the tripartite alliance will form the government in the State, he called upon people to vote for the alliance candidates to ensure a bright future for the P6 State and its people. The State government is likely to rope in employees of ward and village secretariat to disburse social security pensions to the beneficiaries at their doorstep. Following the Election Commission of India’s decision barring the village/ward volunteers from disbursing pensions, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy on Monday held a meeting with the district col- lectors on identifying alternative ways. The collectors reportedly opined that the disbursal process can be completed in a week. They reportedly expressed their view that the secretariat staff can pay pensions at the doorstep of the beneficiaries in rural areas in a week. However, in cities and towns, the door-todoor disbursement might be a little difficult, they reportedly told the Chief Secretary . A volunteer covers 50 houses under his jurisdiction and 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 with Nair, 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 confront, ed with different WhatsApp chats showing the involvement of Nair in the scam. But Kejriwal questioned the authenticity of the digital evidence shown to him. rapport with the people under their jurisdiction and know the beneficiaries of various schemes. As the employees are aware of the beneficiaries, the government might use their services to disburse the pensions. The collectors also reportedly said that if the government decides to disburse pensions at the secretariats, arrangements like erecting of tents and drinking water should be made in view of the heat wave conditions. nandikotkur TDP leader dodges TG police bid to arrest him in land-grab case E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kurnool Former IPS officer and TDP leader Mandra Shivananda Reddy gave the slip to Telangana police who reportedly came to his Nandikotkur residence to arrest him in a land-grab case on Monday . Mild tension prevailed at Allur village in Nandikotkur Assembly constituency in Nandyal district when the Telangana police reached the TDP leader’s house in the morning. However, Shivananda’s followers prevented the Hyderabad CCS police f ro m t a k i n g their leader into custody In . the melee, he disappeared from his house. A number of TDP supporters gathered at his residence as well as his office and entered into a heated argument with the police when the latter tried to take him into custody without serving any notice in the land-grab case registered in 2012 at Hyderabad. Shivananda reportedly asked the police to serve notices on him before taking him into custody While the police were pre. paring the notice, he left in his car. He later released a video explaining that he had not committed any crime and the police had no right to arrest him withP4, 5 out issuing notice.
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