thursdAY New textbooks for classes 3 & 6 to be out in April, May: NCERT 04 april, 2024 For other classes, textbooks will only be updated and revised this year epaper.morningstandard.in No gap in learning facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard pa k i s ta n white-powder letters to judges Three judges of Lahore HC on Wednesday got threatening white-powder letters Page 11 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 14 S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi people killed 70 coal miners trapped in Two quarries in Taiwan One of the buildings damaged by an earthquake that shook Taiwan’s Hualien County on Wednesday morning | AP | P11 Wary Rahul at Wayanad roadshow Thousands attend rally; Congress ally Muslim League’s ‘green’ flags conspicuously absent EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Kalpetta Treading cautiously, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi abandoned party flags of all allies as he took out a massive roadshow to the Wayanad district collectorate on Wednesday to submit his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. The extensive use of key ally Muslim League’s green flags during his 2019 roadshow was played up by the BJP at the national level, with senior leaders including Amit Shah wondering whether Rahul was seeking votes in Pakistan, crushing the hopes of the grand old party in north India. This time, tricoloured balloons and hats along with placards were part of the roadshow instead of flags. Rahul’s sister and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, Muslim League leader Panakkad Sayyid Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal, other local leaders, and thousands of supporters accompanied him. The absence of flags has left many tongues wagging. Even Rahul’s 2019 loss in Amethi was attributed to the presence of Muslim League flags in his roadshow then. The Congress was in no mood to take any chances this time. Since it would have been counterproductive to avoid only the League flag, it was decided to abandon the use of flags altogether, including that of the Congress. “Flags are not important in elections. Rahul Gandhi and the hand symbol are our icons,” Kalpetta MLA T Siddique said. But Congress and the Muslim League will have to sweat it out to explain the action. There will be questions as to how the party will raise the issues of Muslims, when it finds even the presence of the League flag embarrassing. Speaking at the conclusion of the roadshow, Rahul said he will be with the people of Wayanad in their fight to resolve three major issues — humanwildlife conflict, night travel ban, and lack of a medical college in the hilly district. ‘Cheated’ man slits his own throat in front of K’taka HC chief justice E xpress N ews S ervice @ Bengaluru Security lapse A 51-year-old litigant attempted suicide by slitting his throat with a surgical knife in front of a division bench of the Karnataka High Court, comprising Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice Dr H B Prabhakara Sastry on Wednesday . Chinnam Srinivas from Vijayanagar in Mysuru slit his throat in the court hall at around 1.10 pm just before the division bench rose for the day for a function in honour of Justice Sastry who retired the same , day Soon after the incident, the . access to live streaming of the court proceedings was cut. The judges immediately summoned policemen attached to the high court security division and directed them to shift Srinivas to a hospital. Srinivas had filed a complaint alleging that he was cheated of `93 lakh by his partners in an apartment project. He had filed gaza bodies of 6 aid workers leave 26 cr students enrolled in 14.86 lakh schools in India HC reserves verdict on CM plea challenging ED arrest Taiwan shakes @ 7.4 9 NCERT said a 15-day foundation course for students of class 3 and a month-long bridge programme for those from class 6 have been prepared. The announcement comes days after the CBSE told affiliated schools to adopt new syllabi for classes 3 and 6 from the upcoming academic year p7 Karnataka Chief Justice expressed concern about the security lapse on the HC premises and asked those in charge of security as to how the man managed to bring a sharp object inside the court hall the complaint against three persons, including a woman from Hyderabad. Srinivas had filed a writ petition after an FIR lodged in Mysuru was quashed by a single-judge bench. On Wednesday, he came to the court along with his wife and it is suspected that he had planned his suicide attempt to draw the court’s attention to his complaint. Police said he carried a file to directly place it before the chief justice without following the due procedure. He entered the court hall, went near the podium where the judges were seated and handed over the file to the staff. When the staff sought details of the file, he slit his throat. The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes began the journey back to their home countries on Wednesday as they were transported out of the Gaza strip | P11 Claiming innocence in the excise policy scam, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that his arrest right after enforcing the Model Code of Conduct for the general elections, was meant to humiliate, insult and disable him and his party . “This case reeks of timing issues. The timing issue ensures that I (Kejriwal) am unable to participate in a democratic activity and also to disintegrate and demolish my party before the first vote is cast,” Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior advocate for Kejriwal, charged. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved the verdict, which is expected by next week. Opposing Singhvi, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, said: “suppose a political person commits murder two days before the elections, does it mean he could not be arrested? Aam aadmi has to go behind bars if he has committed a crime but because you are a CM you can’t be arrested?” On how statements by four individuals were sufficient to arrest a CM, Raju said, “Whether a statement is to be believed or not is a matter of trial.” He added that Kejriwal was arrested because of twin factors — his individual role; and in his capacity as chief of AAP, which was the beneficiary of the scam. Sharp exchanges Rahul Gandhi during his roadshow in Wayanad on Wednesday | E Gokul On one side are the forces who want to destroy democracy and the Constitution of this country and on the other, there is a force that is protecting the Constitution and democratic nature of our country Rahul Gandhi, Cong’s Wayanad nominee E x p re s s rea d 12 MPs take oath as Rajya Sabha members Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday swore in 12 newly elected members of the Rajya Sabha in the presence of deputy chairman Harivansh. Dharmshila Gupta, Manoj Kumar Jha, Sanjay Yadav, Govindbhai Laljibhai Dholakia, Subhash Chander, Harsh Mahajan, GC Chandrashekhar, L Murugan, Ashok Singh, Chandrakant Handore, Medha Vishram Kulkarni and Sadhna Singh were sworn in. P9 Key accused in UP paper leak case held Around a-month-and-a-half after the alleged paper leak scam in UP police constable recruitment exam, the Special Task Force of UP police has apprehended prime accused Rajeev Nayan Mishra from Noida on Wednesday. The UP STF traced Mishra after probe revealed he was involved in unlocking the box with question papers at a Ahmedabad warehouse. P3 MoD says reports on Sainik Schools wrong The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday said that news reports on approvals for new Sainik Schools are unfounded. Some news reports had earlier suggested that the government has handed over 62 per cent of the new Sainik Schools to people associated with Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies. “Such insinuations are unfounded,” the defence ministry said in a statement late Wednesday. People are coming to me and saying that they never voted for that symbol (Congress party’s) before the last election but they were told that he would become the prime minister. So they voted for him. But what happened? Annie Raja, CPI candidate in Wayanad The court saw sharp exchanges, with Kejriwal’s side doubting the timing of his arrest. “The arrest is done without any inquiry. There is no material to show proceeds of crime,” Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, said. ASG SV Raju then said, “If a political person commits murder two days before the polls, does this mean he could not be arrested?” Atishi warns of risk to CM’s health, Tihar says he is OK An u p V erm a & U j w a l J a l a l i @ New Delhi AAP has alleged deterioration in Arvind Kejriwal’s health since his arrest by the ED, with Atishi alleging a “serious threat” to the CM’s health following “weight loss and fluctuations in the blood sugar levels.” “When he was in ED custody , his sugar level dropped thrice, once down to 46, which could be life-threatening. He has lost 4.5 kg weight in 12 days. Being a diabetic, losing so much weight so soon can lead to severe complications,” Atishi said. Atishi warned the BJP, saying the entire country was watching the government. “If anything happens to him in custody, the country will not forgive you; even God will not forgive you,” she said. However, officials in Tihar jail, where the CM is lodged, asserted that his vitals were normal and that his weight has been constant at 65 kg since he arrived in jail on April 1 when two doctors examined him. “He is provided home-cooked food,” said a senior prison official. Kejriwal has been lodged in Tihar Jail no-2. Kejriwal has access to TV, with 20 channels, except during scheduled prison activities, officials added. Sanjay Singh addresses AAP supporters after his release on Wednesday | pti ‘Jail ke taale tutenge’: Singh raises pitch after his release UJ W AL JALAL I @ New Delhi AAP leader Sanjay Singh walked out of Tihar jail on Wednesday after six months of incarceration in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy “Ye jail ke taale tutenge hamare . sare neta chhutenge (the locks of jail will break and all our leaders will come out),” shouted the leader as AAP workers thronged the ground outside the jail. With party workers showering rose petals on him, Singh said: “It is not the time to celebrate but struggle.” There was a heavy security presence outside the jail. Singh climbed atop his vehicle as supporters jostled to greet him. After his release, Singh left for CM Kejriwal’s residence to meet his wife. Soon after Singh was released, AAP in a post in Hindi said, “The lion broke the chains of the dictator and came out.” The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to the Rajya Sabha MP after noting that the ED has no objection to his release on bail. P3 2 yrs after SC order, 3 Rajiv case convicts back in Lanka E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Three former convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case returned to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, nearly two years after being freed by the Supreme Court in the case. Agency reports quoting police sources said Murugan, Robert Payas, and Jayakumar reached the Colombo International Airport around 11 am (local time) on Wednesday on a flight from Chennai. The Colombo police crime investigation department recorded their statements for over five hours at its office, reports said. An official of Sri Lankan High Commission said the three will have to face probe in the island nation as they’ve fled the country illegally . Murugan had earlier moved Madras High Court seeking a direction to the authorities to provide him a photo ID card for getting a Sri Lankan passport. Earlier, Murugan’s wife Nalini had also moved court, seeking a direction to the authorities to permit her husband to appear before the Sri Lankan High Commission with an escort to get an “all country passport”. The couple wanted to join their daughter who is residing in the UK. On Wednes- day, Nalini joined Murugan and others at the airport, ahead of their journey back home. The three were among the seven convicted for their role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in a suicide bomb attack near Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991.Capital punishment awarded to them was later commuted to life. They were freed by the Supreme Court in November 2022. Vote check: SC says will list pleas on VVPAT before LS elections begin Express News Service @ New Delhi Direction to EC T HE S u p re m e C o u r t o n Wednesday said it will take up a batch of pleas related to EVM data cross-checking against voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) records the week after next. The petitions were supposed to come up on Wednesday but could not be listed because Justice Khanna was heading a special bench. The pleas seek a direction to the Election Commission to count all VVPAT slips as against the current practice of verifying only five randomly selected EVMs in each assembly segment. On Wednesday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before the special bench of Justices Khanna, MM Sun- The peitions seek a direction to the Election Commission to count all VVPAT slips as against the current practice of verifying only five randomly selected EVMs in each assembly segment. dresh and Bela M Trivedi, requesting that the pleas may be heard next Tuesday Senior ad. vocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also appearing in the matter, submitted before the bench that the elections are about to start and the pleas would become infructuous if the case is not heard urgently . Justice Khanna said the court wants to speed up the hearing. However, the matter can’t be listed next week due to roster issues. It will be listed the week after, he added. On Monday, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta had issued notice to the ECI and the Centre on another petition filed by activist Arun Kumar Agrawal seeking 100% verification of VVPAT slips. The nor m of five random EVMs to undergo VVPAT physical verification was set in April 2019, following an SC direction. Before that, only one EVM underwent the process. On July 17, last year, the top court had sought the response of the EC on a plea filed by Association for Democratic Reforms. In the petition, ADR sought direction to the poll panel and the Centre to ensure the voters can verify through VVPAT that their vote has been “counted as recorded.” athletics federation of india chief speaks AFI chief Adille Sumariwalla says India will do better than Tokyo at the Paris Olympics. In an interaction, he talks about AFI’s plan and reveals about its new project for 4x400m women | P13
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