Trinamool manifesto promises several welfare measures, repeal of CAA
The Trinamool on April 17 released its Lok Sabha poll manifesto promising several social welfare measures and repeal of the CAA if the opposition INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre. Releasing the manifesto at the party headquarters in Kolkata, Trinamool Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O’ Brien said, “These are the promises which we will fulfill as part of INDIA bloc, when it forms the next government.” Senior party leader Amit Mitra said, “We promise to control petrol and diesel prices through the formulation of a price stabilisation fund. We also promise to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and stop the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the country.”
Modi government will eliminate Naxals in very short period of time: Amit Shah
“The Narendra Modi government will eliminate Naxals from the country in a very short period of time,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on April 17. “The Central government has been conducting incessant operations against terrorism and Naxals,” he said in a statement, a day after security forces gunned down 29 Maoists in Chhattisgarh. “I can say with conviction that operations against Naxals will continue in the times to come, and under the leadership of Modi, we will uproot Naxalism from our nation in a very short period of time,” Mr. Shah said.
In an effort to thwart the Bharatiya Janata Party’s aspirations to replicate its 2019 triumph in the Lok Sabha election in western Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal on April 17 announced to field Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from Kantabanji Assembly constituency in Balangir district. Mr. Patnaik will now be contesting upcoming Assembly elections from two seats — Hinjili, his long-held seat in his home district of Ganjam and now Kantabanji.
ED searches, assets attachment, convictions rose exponentially during BJP rule compared to UPA era
Searches conducted by the ED under the anti-money laundering law rose by 86 times while arrests and attachment of assets jumped by around 25 times in the ten years since 2014 compared to the preceding nine-year period, according to official data. An analysis of the data by PTI for the last ten years, between April 2014 and March 2024, against the nine years from July 2005 to March 2014 presents a picture of the federal agency’s “intensified” action under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the electoral bond issue and dubbed it as an extortion racket. The MP addressed an election rally in the Cauvery heartland of Mandya on April 17, along with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar. Mr. Gandhi referred to Mr. Modi’s interview to ANI recently in which the Prime Minister tried to project the electoral bonds as something that would help cleanse the political system. But Mr. Gandhi described he electoral bonds as the world’s biggest scam, and said it was akin to an extortion racket operated by ‘petty, goonda elements’.
Congress adopted ‘loot’ east policy, BJP turned it into ‘Act East’ policy: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress on April 17, saying the party had adopted the ‘loot’ east policy while the BJP had turned it into the ‘Act East’ policy. Addressing a rally in Agartala, the Prime Minister said Tripura has witnessed pioneering transformations under the BJP government. Mr. Modi said his government has decided to construct three crore new houses in India for the poor. “Tripura’s people are going to benefit a great deal from it,” he added.
BJP turned Congress-created problems into possibilities in northeast: PM Modi
The Bharatiya Janata Party has turned problems — created by the Congress in the northeast — into possibilities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in western Assam’s Nalbari on April 17. Mr. Modi claimed that he and his party had embraced the region, while the Congress fanned the fires of separatism. “Congress only gave problems to the northeast but the BJP made it a region of possibilities. Congress encouraged separatism, but I embraced the northeast,” he said, claiming that his government has tried to ensure peace and security, which the Congress failed to do over a span of 60 years.
Out of a total of 50 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls on 5 seats in the second phase in Bihar, the Congress candidate from Bhagalpur Ajit Sharma is the wealthiest. In contrast, the Independent candidate from the Purnea seat Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has a maximum number of 41 criminal cases lodged against him. According to the latest Association for Democratic Reforms report, out of a total of 50 candidates, 24% (12) have declared criminal cases against them with the Independent candidate from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav topping the list with 41 cases. The heavyweight Pappu Yadav was also accused in the murder of CPIM leader and four-time MLA from Purnea Ajit Sarkar. Mr. Sarkar was murdered in broad daylight in June 1998 allegedly by Pappu Yadav and his gang members.
Ilaiyaraaja is not above everybody else: Madras High Court judge
The musical trinity, Muthuswami Deekshitar, Tyagarajar and Syama Sastri can claim to be above everybody but you (music composer R. Ilaiyaraaja) cannot be heard to say so,” said Justice R. Mahadevan, the senior-most judge of the Madras High Court on April 17. Presiding over the second Division Bench along with Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, the senior judge recalled senior counsel Satish Parasaran, representing Mr. Ilaiyaraaja, to have retorted, during the April 10, 2024 hearing, that his client was below only to God and above everyone else.
‘5,000 lives in one shell’: Gaza’s IVF embryos destroyed by Israeli strike
When an Israeli shell struck Gaza’s largest fertility clinic in December, the explosion blasted the lids off five liquid nitrogen tanks stored in a corner of the embryology unit. As the ultra-cold liquid evaporated, the temperature inside the tanks rose, destroying more than 4,000 embryos plus 1,000 more specimens of sperm and unfertilized eggs stored at Gaza City’s Al Basma IVF centre. The impact of that single explosion was far-reaching -- an example of the unseen toll Israel’s six-and-a-half-month-old assault has had on the 2.3 million people of Gaza.
Russian missiles slam into a Ukraine city and kill 11 people as the war approaches a critical stage
Three Russian missiles slammed into a downtown area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on April 17, hitting an eight-floor apartment building and killing at least 11 people, authorities said. At least 22 people were wounded in the morning attack, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. Chernihiv lies about 150km north of the capital, Kyiv, near the border with Russia and Belarus, and has a population of around 2,50,000 people.
U.K. PM Rishi Sunak tells Israel’s Netanyahu to exercise restraint in wake of Iran’s missile attacks
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint and let “calm heads” prevail in the wake of Iran’s missile attacks as his Foreign Secretary David Cameron landed in Tel Aviv for talks on April 17. In a phone call, Mr. Sunak reiterated the U.K.’s “steadfast support” for regional stability and told the Israeli leader that Iran had miscalculated its move, being isolated on the global stage as a result.
Pakistan High Court orders government to restore X in one week: lawyer
Coming down heavily on the continuous suspension of social media platform X in Pakistan since February, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on April 17 directed the Ministry of Interior to revoke its decision on the suspension within one week, according to a media report. SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, while hearing multiple petitions on the suspension of the social media platform previously called Twitter, said, “What are you (Interior Ministry) achieving via shutting down trivial things… The world must laugh at us,” Geo News reported. The Elon Musk-owned X has been suspended since February owing to the government’s decision to curb access to the social media platform citing national security threats.
Adani infuses ₹8,339 crore more in Ambuja Cements, raises stake to 70.3%
Billionaire Gautam Adani’s family infused an additional ₹8,339 crore in Ambuja Cements, raising its stake in the company to 70.3%, to help the cement maker’s manufacturing capacity. The Adani family previously invested ₹5,000 crore in the company on October 18, 2022, and ₹6,661 crore on March 28, 2024. With the latest investment, it has completed ₹20,000 crore planned infusion, the company said in a statement. “The promoters of the company - Adani family - has fully subscribed to the warrants program in the company by further infusing ₹8,339 crore, thereby infusing a total amount of ₹20,000 crore,” it said.
