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 ■ ■ HYDERABAD THURSDAY MAY 02, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 18 LATE CITY EDITION SC REGISTRY REJECTS GOVT’S REQUEST TO CLARIFY 2G VERDICT ECI bars KCR from campaigning for 48 hrs Clip not posted from CM’s personal handle: Legal team E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday issued orders barring BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections for 48 hours over the violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) during a press conference in Sircilla on April 5. ECI principal secretary Malay Mallick, in the order, said, “The Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, bars K Chandrasekhar Rao from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, shows and interviews, public utterances in media (electronic, print, social media, etc.) in connection with the ongoing elections for 48 hours from 8 pm on May 1 (Wednesday).” After the ECI issued orders, KCR cancelled his proposed roadshow in Jammikunta on Thursday and left for his farmhouse in Erravalli. Reacting to the poll body’s decision, the former chief minis- The complaint was made by the Congress by picking some sentences from the presser. The English translation of the sentences is not correct and it’s twisted out of context K Chandrasekhar Rao, BRS president ter, at a roadshow in Mahabubabad, stated that the ECI did not send any notices to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy who , used derogatory language like “pegulu medalo vesukuntaa” (will wear a garland out of intestines). “If the ECI barred me from the election campaign for 48 hours, then BRS activists will work extra hard for 96 hours,” he declared. The ECI took cognisance of the complaint lodged by senior Congress leader G Ranjan, who had said that KCR made derogatory comments against the Congress during a press conference in the Rajanna-Sircilla district on April 5. He claimed that the BRS supremo had referred to Congress leaders as ‘sons of dogs, ‘lathkhors’ and ‘chavata daddammalu’, among other things. Based on this, the poll body issued a notice seeking clarification from KCR. In his reply, the former chief minister said, “The officers in charge of elections in Telangana and Sircilla are not Telugu people. They hardly understand the local dialect of Telugu. The complaint was made by the Congress by picking some sentences from the press conference. The English translation of the sentences is not correct and twisted out of context.” CONTINUED ON P4 SEAL SYMBOL LOADING UNITS AS PER SC ORDER: EC | P9 E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad THE advocate representing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy before the officials of Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO), Special Cell, New Delhi, in connection with a case regarding a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, said the video was not posted from the personal account of the TPCC chief. Revanth’s legal team also requested four weeks to provide additional responses. In a short reply to the IFSO, Union Home Minister Amit Shah takes part in a roadshow to campaign for BJP Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha in Hyderabad on Wednesday | VINAY MADAPU ‘Liberate Hyd from hands of Razakars’ Addressing the gathering, Shah urged the voters to liberate Hyderabad from Razakars by electing Latha | P5 @ New Delhi IN a significant verdict on the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), the Supreme Court has ruled that the registration of a union will be null and void if a valid ceremony and rituals like the Saptapati, are not performed. A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih described the Hindu marriage as a samskara and a sacrament which has to be accorded its status as an institution of great value in the society . “A marriage is not an event for ‘song and dance’ and ‘wining and dining’ or an occasion to demand and exchange dowry and gifts by undue pressure leading to possible initiation of criminal proceedings thereafter. A marriage is not a commercial transaction. It is a solemn foundational event celebrated so as to establish a relationship between a man and a woman who acquire the status of a husband and wife for an evolving family in future which is a basic unit of Indian society the bench said. ,” The court made these observations after hearing a petition filed by a woman seeking transfer of her divorce case from Muzaffarpur in Bihar to Ranchi in Jharkhand. The couple had registered their marriage in UP without the valid ceremonial wedding under the HMA. The bench, after perusing the marriage certificate in the case — both are trained commercial pilots — said that since it was issued in the absence of ceremonial requirements under Section 7 of HMA, it was invalid. It also quashed the divorce petition filed by the man and the maintenance case instituted by the woman. CM’s advocate, Soumya Guptha, said the notice assumed that the chief minister’s account was used, which she clarified was untrue. “Everyone knows what the personal account and what the official ac- count is,” she said. At a press conference in Hyderabad, Revanth wondered, “How is the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing notices to a politician?” He also alleged that the police officials behaved Maharashtra led the mop-up chart followed by Karnataka, Gujarat M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi No Saptapati? No Hindu marriage, rules SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y Responding to the summons, Revanth asked, “Will cases be filed against me for advocating reservations for SC, ST and OBCs? The Delhi police want me to come to the station. How can I halt my election campaign and comply? What injustice is this, Amit Shah? ... Both [PM] Narendra Modi and Shah hold a grudge against me and have filed a case in Delhi over reservations.” | P5 Record L2.10 lakh crore GST collection in April THE monthly gross GST collection crossed the `2 lakh crore milestone for the first time in April, giving the government bragging rights over the health of the economy The record jump . came from a 12.4% rise as compared to April last year’s figures of `1.87 lakh crore. The surge was mainly driven by a strong 13.4% growth in domestic transactions and an 8.3% increase in imports, the finance ministry said. “ After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at `1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5% growth compared to the same period last year,” the statement said. When the GST system was rolled out in 2017-18, the monthly mop-up used to be in the range of `80,000-90,000 crore. It crossed DRUMMING UP SUPPORT Modi, Shah hold a grudge against me: Revanth CM A Revanth Reddy addresses the media in Hyderabad on Wednesday The bench disapproved the increasing practice of couples getting their ‘marriages’ registered for “practical purposes” like applying for a visa and solemnising the union later. Young men and women must “think deeply about the institution of marriage even before they enter upon it and as to how sacred the said institution is, in Indian society the bench said. ,” Describing marriage as sacred as it provides a lifelong, dignityaffirming, equal, consensual and healthy union of two individuals, the bench said a Hindu marriage facilitates procreation, consolidates the unit of family and solidifies the spirit of fraternity within various communities. 1.87 2.10 GST COLLECTION (in `lakh crore) 2023-24 2024-25 1.65 1.59 1.62 1.72 1.67 1.64 1.74 1.68 1.78 1.57 1.61 APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP `1 lakh crore mark for the first time in October 2018. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed the record to “the strong momentum in the economy and efficient tax collections”. Pratik Jain, Partner, PwC India said: “The collections for April ’24 have crossed a milestone of 2 lakh crore. It is encouraging to see that growth is largely led by domestic consumption. With a wave of GST reforms expected after the formation of the new Government, the growth may further accelerate.” He added that it may also en- OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR able the government to take bolder decisions such as rate rationalisation or bringing products such as natural gas under the GST ambit. Abhishek Jain, Partner & National Head, Indirect Tax, KPMG, attributed this surge to the deadline for GST audits and notices issued during this year. 11% growth in Telangana Telangana’s GST collections touched a record `6,236 crore in April 2024. There was 11% growth in the state’s GST collections in April this year when compared with the collections of April 2023. rudely with Guptha. In the notice, the police had also asked the TPCC chief about the source of the doctored video, which was posted by the Telangana Congress X account, but later deleted. CONTINUED ON P5 EXPRESS READ Accused in Salman firing dies by suicide Mumbai: One of the four men arrested in connection with the shooting incident outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra house died by suicide on Wednesday at the crime branch lock-up at Mumbai police commissioner’s office, the cops said. Anuj Thapan, accused of supplying weapons to the shooters, was found hanging in the toilet of the lock-up. He was declared dead at a nearby hospital, the police said | P9 BRS social media convener held Hyderabad: BRS social media convener Krishank Manne was arrested on Wednesday on forgery charges after a complaint was lodged by the Osmania University chief warden for allegedly circulating fake news regarding the closure of messes and hostels. Sources said Krishank along with his team was heading towards the city when he was taken into custody | P3 Relief to cops in Disha ‘encounter’ case as TG HC stays Sirpurkar panel report T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad THE Telangana High Court on Wednesday stayed the Justice VS Sirpurkar Commission’s report, which had recommended criminal action against the accused officials, in the Disha ‘encounter’ case. Justice B Vijaysen Reddy directed the state government to refrain from taking any coercive measures using the report of the Commission of Inquiry led by Justice VS Sirpurkar, dated January 28, 2022, against police officers involved in an exchange of fire on the outskirts of Chatanpally village in Farooqnagar mandal on the city outskirts. It may be recalled that a 26year-old veterinary doctor ‘Disha’ was raped and murdered under Chatanpally bridge in Shadnagar on November 28, 2019. Subsequently, the police arrested four suspects in the case. When the accused were taken out to reconstruct the crime scene, they reportedly started attacking the police personnel, who fired back at them in self-defence, killing them in the process. Later, the Supreme Court constituted the Justice Sirpurkar Commission to investigate the allegations of extrajudicial killings by the police. The commission had recommended criminal action against the officials. However, seven police officers involved in the alleged encounter filed individual writ petitions challenging the report. The high court on Wednesday directed the state government to refrain from taking any action until the next hearing in July after examining arguments presented by senior counsels H Venugopal, N Hemendranadh Reddy and B Rachana Reddy . CONTINUED ON P3 ‘Old tiger’ roars as Congress seeks to remove the scent of Ajmal in Dhubri @ Guwahati IT will be a battle for survival for Assam’s most visible Muslim face nationally, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, when Dhubri goes to parliamentary elections on May 7. The 68-year-old, who is the threetime sitting MP and chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), is facing a challenge from Rakibul Hussain, a former Congress minister. Zabed Islam of the Asom Gana Parishad is t h e N D A’ s c o n s e n s u s candidate. Dhubri is considered the heartland of Bengali-speaking migrant Muslims. It shares a border with Bangladesh. The outcome of the polls will decide not only the future of Ajmal but also his party . Over the past few years, a section of AIUDF supporters migrated to other parties, disillusioned that he is allegedly running it as a business enterprise. Ajmal is a perfume baron with business interests in India and some Gulf countries. The AIUDF also contested Nagaon and Karimganj, both Muslim-majority seats which went to polls on April 26. Critics say the party set up candidates in these seats primarily to aid the ruling BJP The BJP . and the Congress were the two main players in Nagaon and Karimganj. The Congress is trying to send across a message that Ajmal is an “old tiger” and that the AIUDF is the “B Team” of the BJP It is telling voters that . they have to stop Ajmal first if ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R they want to evict the BJP from power in the state. But Ajmal has many advantages. He is rich and known widely as a philanthropist. A virtual messiah of the migrant Muslims, he has been at the forefront every time the community faced any hardships, including during the time when the 1951 National Register of Citizens or NRC was updated in the state. He had comfortably won the past three elections in the absence of strong opponents. But Hussain is expected to give the AIUDF chief a run for his money this time around. For Hussain, who holds sway in parts of central Assam, it is his maiden parliamentary election. Since decades, the Congress had been influential in Dhubri and the adjoining Goalpara and Barpeta districts. Then, it slowly lost the space to the AIUDF. If Hussain wins, it could well be the first step for the Congress towards regaining the lost ground. “Badruddin Ajmal is an old tiger. He woos people through magical healing but it will not keep him in a good stead this election,” Hussain claimed. But Ajmal dismissed the old tiger barb by saying that a tiger is a tiger, whether young or old. “I am young enough to marry again,” he said. He predicted that Hussain’s defeat is “100% certain”. “Nobody can defeat Ajmal in Dhubri. I will win by 5 to 6 lakh votes,” he said confidently .
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