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 ■ ■ SAMBALPUR l sunday l may 19, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l CITY EDITION Corrupt tango in Delhi: Modi PM won’t join debate: Rahul Narendra Modi addressing his first rally in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Rahul Gandhi gestures while addressing a rally in New Delhi | PTI Mocks depletion of the Congress in the capital Seamless alliance with AAP, says Cong leader R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi A s h i s h S r i v a s ta v a @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tore into the Congress-AAP alliance in Delhi, saying the world is watching how one corrupt party is covering for another corrupt party The apparent reference was to the slew of . corruption charges hobbling the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital. In his first rally in Delhi for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, Modi alleged that the Congress would go to any extent to pursue vote bank politics. He pointed out that during the 2014 elecI live for democracy and tions, the Congress government had democracy runs in handed over 123 properties spread my veins. It is across prime locations in Delhi to the Modi’s guarantee Waqf Board for votes. to work 24/7 for Describing the Opposition’s INDIA 2047. Keep this in bloc as opportunistic, he recalled how mind while going they had held Delhi hostage for to vote on May 25 months by blocking roads and triggerNarendra Modi ing riots after Parliament passed the the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Mocking the depletion and degeneration of the Congress, Modi said the party that once ruled the country is no longer in a position contest even in four seats in Delhi. “Almost four generations of the Congress ruled Delhi, but today they don’t have the strength to contest on four seats of Delhi. The Congress is not even able to fight from where they have their courts at 10 Janpath!” Reaching out to the slum-dwellers, who constitute a major vote bank, he said, “We are working to regularise unauthorised colonies and them pucca houses.” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit the campaign trail in the national capital, saying he would press the button for the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal would vote for the Congress in the forthcoming elections. All seven seats of Delhi will go to polls on May 25. In a show of solidarity within the INDIA bloc, Rahul, in his maiden poll rally in Chandni Chowk, sought to remind voters that the AAP is contesting four seats and Congress three as part of the seatModi is giving non- sharing deal. “As Kanhaiya said earlistop interviews to er, ‘Rahul ji will vote for AAP and Kehis favourite jriwal ji will vote for Congress’,” he journalists but he said while welcoming party candidate will not have a Kanhaiya Kumar on the stage. debate with me “We have to come together because because he knows BJP leaders have openly said that they he cannot answer will tear the Constitution,” Rahul almy questions leged, urging people to vote for the canRahul Gandhi didates of the INDIA bloc. Rahul’s vote is in the New Delhi constituency where AAP’s Somnath Bharti is contesting while Kejriwal’s vote is in Chandni Chowk where Congress candidate J P Agarwal is in the fray . Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul said the former would not hold a debate with him, though he is available for it “anytime, anywhere”. He claimed that the PM would not be able to answer his line of questioning. “The first question would be on his relationship with Adani; the second on electoral bonds; the third on farm laws. I don’t think he can answer them.” Campaign ends for Ph-II poll, 102 CAPF units to be deployed E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar express read SC raps BJP govt, Guv on V-C appointments New Delhi: The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and the state government over their skirmishes on appointment of Vice-Chancellors in the state universities | P9 WITH THIS ISSUE Green Evolution PLUS 12 PAGES Clear instructions have been issued to police to act fast and restore normalcy at Curtains came down on the high- the earliest whenever such incidents ocpitched campaign for five Lok Sabha con- cur”, Dhal said. stituencies and 35 Assembly segments He said an additional DGP rank officer that will go to polls in the state’s second has already been appointed to oversee phase on May 20. law and order arrangements in Ganjam, Voting will be held in Aska, Bargarh, especially Aska Parliamentary constituBalangir, Kandhamal and Sundargarh ency in view of pre-poll violence in Parliamentary constituencies and the Khalikote. Assembly seats under them. This round A total of 79.69 lakh voters, including will also seal Chief Minister Naveen 40.33 lakh men and 39.35 lakh women, Patnaik’s fate in two constituencies of will exercise their franchise at 9,162 Hinjili under Aska and Kantabanji polling stations in the second phase to under Balangir Lok Sabha seats. decide the fate of 265 MLA and 40 Keeping in view the pre-poll MP candidates. Around 1,541 violence reported from several will be model polling stations, parts in the last few days, the while 1,041 will be managed by Election Commission of India all-women personnel and 25 by has ordered deployment of 102 differently-abled staff and companies of central armed po- Heightened officials. lice forces (CAPFs) for the The ECI has appointed 10 gensecurity phase. eral observers, 15 expenditure 102 CAPF companies Chief electoral officer Nikunobservers and three police obdeployed ja Bihari Dhal said around 20 servers for the phase. An air amper cent of the 9,162 polling 22 in Naxal-affected bulance will be kept on standby Kandhamal booths in phase two have been at Balangir for emergency . identified as critical while there With IMD predicting rise in 20 specifically for is provision of web-casting in 60 temperature on May 20, the CEO violence-prone per cent of the booths. Accordsaid adequate drinking water, Ganjam ingly, 22 companies of CAPFs ORS and essential medicines 20% of the 9,162 will be deployed in Maoist-afwill be made available at each booths have been fected Kandhamal district, polling station. Besides, paramarked critical while 20 will guard Ganjam. medical staff, ASHA workers, This apart 16 companies will be ambulances and mobile health deployed in Sundargarh, 14 each in Bar- units will also be deployed, he said. garh and Bolangir, five each in JharsugIn 2019, Bargarh Lok Sabha seat had uda and Boudh, four in Sonepur and two recorded 77.87 per cent turnout, followed in Nayagarh,” he said. by Sundargarh at 71.67pc, Balangir at “The pre-election violence in Ganjam 74.75pc, Kandhamal 72.90pc and Aska district is a matter of concern. Police 65.53pc. “This time too we are taking varhave already registered a case and appre- ious steps to ensure maximum voter hended some of the accused, while hunt turnout in these constituencies, the CEO is on to arrest the remaining persons. said. Delhi Police arrest Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav U j w a l ja l a l i @ New Delhi Bibhav Kumar Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar was on Saturday arrested from the chief minister’s residence here in connection with the assault on Swati Maliwal. Kumar is accused of molestation and assault of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP at the CM’s residence on May 13. A medical report from AIIMS said Maliwal has suffered bruises on her left thigh and right cheek. An FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police station. Police reached Kejriwal’s residence in the morning after they got know to that Kumar was present there. He was taken to the Civil Lines police station where he was arrested. Reacting to his aide’s arrest, Kerjiwal, in a televised address, accused the BJP of targeting AAP by arresting its leaders. He announced that he would visit the BJP headquarters on Sunday along with all his MLAs and MPs. “You can put in jail whoever you want…,” Kejriwal said. India and Pakistan issued advisories to their students in Kyrgyzstan urging them to stay indoors amid mob violence against foreign students there | P9
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