ALL CORRUPT NOW ON ONE PLATFORM … ANTI-INDIA FORCES TRYING TO DEFAME INSTITUTIONS’: PM MODI

Hours after he told his party MPs to brace for “below-the-belt attacks” from an Opposition “worried” over BJP gains as elections approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a fresh salvo Tuesday at party rivals, saying “all corrupt faces are coming together on one platform… because the BJP is waging a war against corruption.”

Addressing party leaders at the BJP headquarters where a new building was inaugurated, Modi called the BJP the only “pan-India party” and slammed the Opposition and “anti-India forces” for targeting and “defaming” Constitutional authorities and institutions.

In a veiled reference to Opposition allegations following the disqualification of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after his conviction by a Surat court in a defamation case, the Prime Minister said, “Our Constitutional institutions are our foundation and, therefore, our very foundation is being targeted and defamed to stop the development of India. Conspiracies are being hatched to end the credibility of our institutions.”

“Today, this foundation is being attacked to stop India. When the agencies take action against those who are involved in corruption, the agencies are attacked. When the court gives a decision, the court is questioned. Some parties together have launched a campaign to save the corrupt,” he said.

At the BJP headquarters, he singled out the Congress for attack. “Congress leaders once used to say they will uproot the Jan Sangh and throw it away. Today’s Congress says ‘Modi, your grave will be dug’. Several attempts were made to destroy Jan Sangh and BJP, but they failed completely,” he said.

“In the last nine years, the BJP ran a campaign against corruption, which has rattled the corrupt. Whenever BJP comes to power, it deals a big blow to corruption,” he said.

According to Modi, the BJP is not a party that is limited to contesting and winning elections but is a system, an idea, an organisation and a movement. “Today, the BJP is not only the largest party of the world, but it is the most futuristic party. We have only one goal: To build a modern and developed India of the future,” he said.

CONGRESS LEADERS, WORKERS DETAINED WHILE TRYING TO MARCH NEAR RED FORT

Several Congress workers and leaders were allegedly detained by Delhi Police as the party tried to stage a protest march from the Red Fort to Town Hall through the busy Chandni Chowk Tuesday evening in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi following his disqualification from Lok Sabha.

Congress leaders accused the government of "murdering democracy" after police stopped them from reaching the Red Fort to start their 'Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March' at 7 pm. Some leaders, however, converged at the Red Fort, which was heavily barricaded by the police. They carried on with the march in small batches and later staged a dharna at Chandni Chowk. Party workers raised slogans against the government and were allegedly roughed up by police.

"The Delhi Police is stopping us from taking out the Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March from Red Fort, and did not allow us to reach the venue. However, this has not deterred us, and we have begun our march from the police barricades itself," Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said on Twitter.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "This is murder of democracy. Our voices are being silenced inside and outside the Parliament. Disqualifying our leader and not allowing us to walk now. What democracy is this?"

Another Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted, "Large numbers of Congress workers had gathered near Red Fort for the Mashal Shanti March. Many hundreds of them were young people." He said the gathering was entirely peaceful and quite enthusiastic and the general public in that crowded locality were very friendly, but the police denied permission and were determined to scatter the assembly.

PM IS LESS EDUCATED AND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THINGS PROPERLY. THIS IS WORRISOME: KEJRIWAL

In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, every speech made by Arvind Kejriwal was a shade shriller than the previous one as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener went all out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then BJP president Amit Shah, saying their return to power would sound the death knell for democracy.

After the verdict, Kejriwal had to recalibrate his approach as the BJP scored an emphatic victory by bagging 303 seats, vanquishing the Opposition, including the AAP, which saw its tally shrink from four to one. Over the following year, the Delhi Chief Minister paired up with poll strategist Prashant Kishor and dialled down his pitch against the PM as part of a political “transformation”.

But now, Kejriwal has embraced the brand of politics he had left behind, one in which Modi is marked as the “enemy” in no uncertain terms.

In the past week alone, Kejriwal has hit out at the PM several times.

Last week, after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, the Delhi CM said the country had yet to see a PM as “insecure, corrupt and uneducated” as Modi.

On Tuesday, Kejriwal attacked Modi over his alleged links to industrialist Gautam Adani and said, “PM is less educated and does not understand things properly. This is worrisome.”

THERE IS NO INTRUSION: BHUTAN PM

Bhutan prime minister Lotay Tshering recenty said that Beijing has an equal say in finding a resolution to the dispute to trijunction boundary. “It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem,” Tshering has said in a recent interview with the Belgian Daily La Libre.

“There are three of us. There is no big or small country. There are three equal countries, each counting for a third. A lot of information is circulating in the media about Chinese facilities in Bhutan. We are not making a deal about them because they are not in Bhutan. We have said it categorically, there is no intrusion as mentioned in the media. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us. We are not experiencing major border problems with China, but some territories have not yet been demarcated. After one or two more meetings, we will probably be able to draw a dividing line,” he said.

India has not reacted to this interview but the statement would not be of comfort for New Delhi. It has strong reservations on China extending its footprint in Doklam since the plateau lies close to the Siliguri corridor. China wants the tri-junction to be shifted south of Batang La. If that were to happen, the entire Doklam plateau would become part of China, a move detrimental to Indian security concerns and resisted by the country.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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RUSSIA HOLDING ZAPORIZHZHIA N-PLANT ‘HOSTAGE’: ZELENSKY

Ukraine’s president said Russian troops were holding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant “hostage” and its safety could not be guaranteed until they left it, while his forces shut off the frontline town of Avdiivka as they planned their next move.

Russian troops have occupied the nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, since the early weeks of the invasion of Ukraine and have shown no inclination to relinquish control.

“Holding a nuclear power station hostage for more than a year — this is surely the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of European or world-wide nuclear power,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. He decried the Russian presence as “radiation blackmail”.

His comments followed a meeting with Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Initiatives on restoring safety and security are “doomed to failure” without a withdrawal of Russian troops fromthe plant, Zelensky said in comments posted on the presidential website.

Zelensky visited the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, the latest stage of atour of frontline regions since a top general said Ukraine’s counterattack could come soon.

Meanwhile, Belarus’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had agreed to host the nuclear weapons in order to protect itself after years of “unprecedented pressure” from the West. It said the move did not contravene international nonproliferation agreements. Ukraine and its Western allies have denounced the plan.

‘US SHOOTER WAS SCHOOL’S EX-STUDENT, SUFFERED FROM EMOTIONAL DISORDER’

Video released on Tuesday showed Nashville police officers storming a private Christian grade school on Monday before confronting and fatally shooting an attacker who killed three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members there.

The six minutes of harrowing footage, edited together from the body-worn cameras of two responding officers.

Police have identified the shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old former student at the Covenant School. Investigators are examining what they called a “manifesto” that Hale left behind, hoping to learn what motivated the shooting.

Police said Hale had been receiving care from a doctor for an “emotional disorder”, according to Hale’s parents, and that Hale had purchased seven weapons legally from five different stores, including two assault weapons and a handgun used in Monday’s assault.

THE REST

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CLOSE TO CATCHING AMRITPAL SINGH, PUNJAB GOVT TELLS HC

The Punjab government on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that they are close to catching radical preacher Amritpal Singh. Amritpal Singh has remained untraceable since a police crackdown against him and members of his ‘Waris Punjab De' began in Punjab on March 18.

The court of Justice N S Shekhawat was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by advocate Imaan Singh Khara, seeking the release of Amritpal Singh from alleged police custody. The habeas corpus plea was recently filed by Khara, claiming Amritpal Singh was in "illegal custody" of police.

During the resumed hearing in the matter, Punjab Advocate General Vinod Ghai told the court that Amritpal Singh has not been arrested yet. Speaking to reporters outside the court building, the petitioner said the AG informed the court that they were close to catching Amritpal Singh. They were coordinating with agencies to nab the radical preacher, the AG told the court.

The court also asked the petitioner to file an affidavit to produce evidence that Amritpal Singh was in alleged police custody.

SUPREME COURT SETBACK FOR JAGAN REDDY GOVT ON ANDHRA CAPITAL CASE

In a setback to the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court has not accepted a request from the state to stay the high court order from March last year that told the YSRCP government to develop Amaravati as the state's capital within six months.

Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagaratna said the court will hear the request along with other petitions linked to the issue on July 11.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had ruled in favour of Amaravati farmers in March 2022, asking for the capital to be built at Amaravati as per the master plan given in the Capital Region Development Authority Act, in six months. The state government went to the Supreme Court.

BHAGWANT MANN SLAMS SIKH BODY CHIEF OVER "PROVOKING" PEOPLE IN PUNJAB

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday hit out at Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh for “provoking” people through an ultimatum to the AAP government in the state.

Mann's reaction came a day after the Jathedar had given a 24-hour ultimatum to the AAP government to release all Sikh youths who were held during the police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides.

Later, the Jathedar in his Facebook post on Tuesday said, "Bhagwant Mann ji as you represent Punjab, I am also a humble representative of my 'qaum' (community)." "I also have the right and my duty to speak about the rights of the innocent youth of my 'qaum'," said the Jathedar.

INDIAN NAVY GETS FIRST-EVER BATCH OF WOMEN SAILORS

The first batch of 2,585 Agniveers, including 273 women, of the Indian Navy passed out from the portals of INS Chilka in Odisha in a first of its kind- ceremonial night passing out parade held on Tuesday under the aegis of Southern Naval Command.

The passing out parade marked the successful culmination of 16 weeks of rigorous naval training.

Admiral R Hari Kumar, chief of the naval staff, who reviewed the passing out parade, said it is “historic for the Indian Navy” as the first ever batch of women sailors passed out on the occasion. “It’s an opportunity to showcase our Nari Shakti to the world. As the nation watches, our women sailors are shipping across INS Chilka. It will provide inspiration for an entire generation of young women in the country,” said the Navy chief.

ATIQ AHMAD, 2 OTHERS GET LIFE SENTENCE IN UMESH PAL KIDNAPPING CASE

An MP-MLA court here on Tuesday sentenced Atiq Ahmad and two others to life sentence after holding them guilty in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case.

Special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandr Shukla held Ahmed; Saulat Hanif, a lawyer; and Dinesh Pasi guilty in the case, government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

Seven others, including Ahmed's brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, were acquitted in the case, he said.

After the killing of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal on January 25, 2005, Umesh Pal, then a zila panchayat member, had told police he was a witness to the murder. Umesh Pal had alleged that when he refused to retract and buckle under pressure from Ahmed, he was kidnapped at gunpoint on February 28, 2006. Umesh Pal was ater gunned down outside his Prayagraj residence

76 PHARMA FIRMS RAIDED, LICENCES OF 18 CANCELLED

In a major crackdown against the manufacture of substandard drugs, central and state regulators conducted joint inspections at 76 pharma companies and cancelled the licences of 18 of them for producing spurious and adulterated drugs, official sources said on Tuesday. The inspections were carried out across 20 states and Union territories in the past 15 days, they said.

A source said that the action has been taken against 76 companies in the first phase of a special drive against the manufacture of substandard drugs.

Recently, questions have been raised over the quality of drugs manufactured by India-based companies. In February, the Tamil Nadu-based Global Pharma Healthcare recalled its entire lot of eye drop allegedly linked to vision loss in the US. Before that, India-made cough syrups were allegedly linked to children deaths in the Gambia and Uzbekistan last year.

MUMBAIKARS STRUGGLE WITH AIR POLLUTION

Hospitals in Mumbai have reported a high uptick in cases related to respiratory issues. This has coincided with an unprecedented worsening of Mumbai's air quality.

Between 2019 and 2022, the average number of days when Mumbai had 'poor' and 'very poor' AQI (Air Quality Index) was 28.

Starting January this year, more than 90 per cent of the days in the city saw the AQI range from poor to severe, a 150 per cent rise from the previous year.

The Swiss air tracking index, IQAir, ranked Mumbai and the Mumbai metropolitan region as the most polluted urban centre in India -- supplanting the NCR of Delhi as India's pollution capital -- and the second most polluted in the world in the week between January 29 and February 8.

Not too long ago, Mumbai would have its pollution washed over the Arabian sea. Not so much anymore. "Due to La Nina, the air transfer between sea and land, which used to happen every two to three days, slowed down to a seven- to 10-day cycle this winter," says Anju Goel, a research fellow at the Earth Science and Climate Change Division, TERI.

ADANI GROUP STOCKS SLIP AGAIN

Adani Group stocks declined on Tuesday, extending their recent losing run as the optimism around US-based investment fund GQG Partners’ stake purchases in the conglomerate's companies earlier this month appears to have subsided.

The group lost nearly ₹49,400 crore in market capitalisation on Tuesday. Shares of the conglomerate’s flagship entity Adani Enterprises declined 7% to close at ₹1,603, while Adani Port declined 5. 2% to close at ₹596. 4. ACC, Ambuja Cements, and NDTV fell 4% each. Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Adani Green, Adani Wilmar, and Adani Total Gas dropped 5% — the lowest tradable limit for the day.

Since March 2, when GQG put money into Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas and Adani Green Energy, most of the conglomerate’s stocks had rebounded, cutting losses triggered by the Hindenburg report which was released on January 25. But in the past week, these stocks have weakened again

The Adani Group has lost a total of over ₹10. 31 lakh crore in market cap since the release of the Hindenburg report alleging the group has engaged in ‘brazen stock manipulation’ and ‘accounting fraud scheme. ’

FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS, SINDHU DROPS OUT OF TOP 10

Having failed to defend her women's singles title at last week's Swiss Open, double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu dropped out of the world's top 10 in the latest BWF rankings issued on Tuesday.               

The 27-year-old, who has been struggling this season since returning to action following a long injury lay-off, slipped two places to the 11th spot with 60,448 points.

A former world champion, Sindhu, who has a career-best ranking of world number 2, has been in the top 10 since November, 2016. She first cracked the elite top 10 in August, 2013.

INDICATORS

Sensex 57,614 (-40), Nifty 16,952 (-34), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 44,162

Nasdaq 11,716 (-53) Dow 32,394 (-38), S&P 3,971 (-6)

(US$-Rs. 82.22 GBP-Rs. 101.31, Euro-Rs. 89.02, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.37, Can$-Rs. 60.30, Aus$- Rs. 55.00

GBP 0.81 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 130.86 /US$, Aus$ 1.49 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 104.97 /US$, Can$ 1.36 /US$, Mal Ring 4.40 /US$,

Pak Re 282.78 /US$, Phil Peso 54.30 /US$, Russian Rouble 76.74 /US$, NZ$ 1.60 /US$, Thai Baht 34.23 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.66 /US$)

Bitcoin - USD 27,285

Dollar Index 102.15 Brent Crude 79.07 BDI 1402

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,970 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,945 / 5,450, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 75,700

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. - George S. Patton

OFF TRACK

A man goes to consult a specialist about his medical problem. After the visit the man asks, "How much do I owe you?"

"My fee is five hundred dollars," replies the physician.

"Five hundred dollars? That's impossible. No one charges that much!"

"In your case," the doctor replies, "I suppose I could adjust my fee to three hundred."

"Three hundred dollars? For one visit? Ridiculous."

"Well, then, could you afford two hundred?"

"Who has that kind of money?"

"Look, replies the doctor," growing irritated, `Just give me fifty bucks and get out."

"I can give you twenty says the man. Take it or leave it."

"I don't understand you," says the doctor. "Why did you come to the most expensive doctor in New York if you have no money?"

"Listen, Doctor," says the patient, "When it comes to my health, nothing is too expensive."