DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Kejriwal sent to Tihar till April 15: ED says he’s uncooperative, evasive, misleading ED: Kejriwal said accused reported to Atishi, Bharadwaj; AAP: old statement NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 PRESSING NEED FOR PROBE AGENCIES TO STRIKE BALANCE: CJI PAGE 7 DELHI CHIEF Minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to Tihar Jail on Monday afternoon, hours after a city court granted judicial custody till April 15. TheEnforcementDirectorate (ED), which arrested Kejriwal on March21inconnectionwiththe now-scrapped Delhi excise pol- icy case, sought 15 days judicial custody, saying that he was “totally uncooperative”, “evasive”, gave “misleading replies” and “concealed information” during his questioning. Speaking to reporters before enteringthecourtroom,Kejriwal said: “Jo PM kar rahe hain woh desh ke liye achha nahi hai (whatever the PM is doing is not good for the country).” AAP ministers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at court on Monday. PTI PM to RBI: On Day 1 after swearing-in, lot of work coming your way HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, APRIL 1 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi Monday told the Reserve Bank of India to think of ways to support new emerging sectors such as space, green energy, dig- ital technology and tourism in the coming days, because a lot of work will come its way once the new government takes oath. “Abhi 100 din mai chunav mein busy hoon. Aap ke paas bharpoor samay hai. Aap soch ke rakhiye, kyonki shapath lene ke CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INDIA HAS not sent any official communication yet on the Katchatheevuislandissue,asenior Sri Lanka minister told The Indian Express on Monday even as the BJP scaled up its attack on theCongress,accusingitandthe DMK of giving away the island, E EXPLAINED CHENNAI, APRIL 1 ● Emotive issue in Tamil Nadu FOR THE BJP, the focus on Katchatheevu appeals to Tamil sentiments in a state where regional pride carries resonance, and has been an obstacle in its efforts to make inroads. and the party's Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai claiming that the Centre is taking all possible measurestoreclaimtheterritory. “As far as Sri Lanka is concerned,Katchatheevuislandfalls within the Sri Lankan line of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS PAGES 5, 7 TELANGANA SNOOPING ROW BRS opponents’ cars intercepted, cash seized, supporters not spared: Probe SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD APRIL 1 INTERCEPTING VEHICLES of opposition candidates and seizing cash, conspiring to ensure a BRS victory for the third time in AfterCongsaid‘taxterror’, I-Ttellscourt:Nocoercive actionuntilelectionsover ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 Lanka minister says no word from India on island; Centre working on it: TN BJP ARUN JANARDHANAN NOTICES TO RECOVER `3,567 CR FROM PARTY Congress lawyer Singhvi calls it ‘gracious’ gesture KATCHATHEEVU: JAISHANKAR ADDS HIS WEIGHT PM Narendra Modi with (from left) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, CM Eknath Shinde on Monday. PTI `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Telangana,runningasurveillance network that covered not just criticsbutalsosupporters—startlingallegationshaveemergedin theallegedsnoopingscandalthat hasrockedTelanganaandputthe state’s Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) under scanner. The allegations figure in a remand report filed by officers investigatingthecase,seekingcustody of former Deputy Commissioner of Police (Task Force, Hyderabad City) P Radhakishan Rao, who was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE INCOME Tax Department assured the Supreme Court Monday that it will not take any “coercive steps” to recover approximately Rs 3,500 crore demanded from the Indian National Congress before the end of Lok Sabha elections 2024. “Please record my statement that till the matter is heard next...whenever,wewillnottake any coercive steps...We will not take any coercive steps till the elections are over”, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearingfortheI-TDepartment,tolda benchof JusticesBVNagarathna and Augustine George Masih. ThiscomesadayaftertheINDIA bloc flagged the I-T action as a bid by the ruling party and establishmenttochokeOpposition parties in the run-up to polls. The apex court was hearing appeals filed by the Congress challenging the demands made by the I-T Department. The bench recorded the I-T Department's assurance and posted the matter for next hearing on July 24. On Mehta’s request, the bench also clarified in its order that “it is needless to observe that the concession made by the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At the Congress’s central election committee meeting for the Lok Sabha elections in New Delhi on Monday. PTI LEVEL PLAYING FIELD DEMAND Unease within, poll panel deliberates over response to Opp alarm RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 THERE IS a sense of “unease” in the Election Commission (EC) over how to respond — if at all — to the Opposition alliance’s demand that the poll panel “stop coerciveaction”byCentralagencies to ensure a level-playing field in the Lok Sabha elections, The Indian Express has learned. Sources said meetings have been held to explore ways to address the string of concerns — in a five-point charter — raised SundayattheRamlilaMaidanby Opposition parties regarding fairness of the poll process. One option, they said, is to issue an advisory to investigative agencies, calling for “neutrality and impartiality” — an echo of what the EC had done in 2019 when it had told the ED to act neutrally after Opposition parties had accused the party in power of using agencies against them. The Commission, it is learned, is also deliberating whether there is room to “go beyond” what was stated in its 2019 advisory. At the same time, there is a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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