​PM MODI'S POLITICAL DIG AT TRAIN LAUNCH CALLED OUT BY ASHOK GEHLOT

As Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented “the fact that an important and basic need of the citizens like railways was turned into an arena of politics.” India “inherited a fairly big railway network at the time of Independence but political interest dominated the need for modernisation in the years after Independence. Politics was evident in the selection of railway minister, announcement of trains and even in recruitment. Land acquisition was done under the false pretence of railway jobs, many unmanned crossings continued for a very long time, and cleanliness and safety took a back seat,” he said.

Hours later, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted a statement in Hindi, in which he countered Modi. “I am sorry that today, in my presence, you have termed the decisions of railway ministers prior to 2014… as motivated by corruption and political selfishness,” he said.

“In an attempt to reduce the importance of railways, you have abolished the separate railway budget during your tenure. If the modern train is able to run today, it is because Dr Manmohan Singhji, as the Finance Minister, carried out economic liberalisation in 1991 and gave new technology an opportunity to develop in India. Technological advancements have taken place all over the world over time, due to which new technology has also come to India, and there have been improvements in the railways. It is not fair to say that development work in railways has happened only after 2014,” he said. “Today, your speech was completely aimed at the 2023-24 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, and it was like the BJP’s poll agenda,” he said.

At the event, Modi also took a swipe at Gehlot, as he alluded to the ongoing friction with his former deputy, Sachin Pilot. “Despite going through political crises and several troubles, he took out time and came for the developmental works of railways. I welcome him and thank him for that,” he said.

‘WILL FIGHT TOGETHER’: NITISH KUMAR MEETS RAHUL GANDHI

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav yesterday met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. They decided to bring as many Opposition parties as possible on a single platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP.

Soon after coming out of the meeting, the leaders held a joint press conference where Kharge announced that only a united Opposition would protect the Constitution and democracy, and together it would give a new direction to the country.

Noting that all like-minded parties were fighting the ongoing ideological battle, Rahul said the Opposition would together develop its vision for the country and present the same before the people ahead of the 2024 elections.

With this being the first formal effort on the part of the Congress to forge Opposition unity, the leaders said Kharge would meet top leaders of various Opposition parties in the coming days. “We held a historic meeting here. A lot of issues were discussed and we decided that we will unite all parties opposed to the BJP and fight the upcoming elections in a united manner. We have made this decision and all of us will work for this,” Rahul told reporters. He lauded the efforts of Nitish, Tejashwi and a few others, who were sitting along with him and Kharge.

Later Rahul, in a tweet, said, “In this battle of ideology, a historic step has been taken today towards the unity of the Opposition. Standing together, will fight together for India.” He also posted his picture with other leaders.

The JDU, in a tweet in Hindi, said, “Nitish ji will prove to be the architect of Opposition unity in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”

SEPARATISTS MISUSING ASYLUM STATUS, UK TOLD

India conveyed its concerns on the misuse of UK’s asylum status by the Pro-Khalistan elements to aid and abet terrorist activities in India and requested better cooperation with UK.

It also requested for increased monitoring of UK based pro-Khalistan extremists and to take appropriate proactive action.

The 5th India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue (HAD) was held in New Delhi on Wednesday. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the ongoing cooperation and identified further steps that can be taken to explore opportunities and synergies in advancing cooperation in counter-terrorism, cyber security and global supply chains, drug trafficking, migration, extradition, anti-India activities in UK, including Pro-Khalistan extremism among other issues.

The meeting concluded with both sides expressing satisfaction with the ongoing partnership and agreeing to deepen bilateral engagement and maintain the momentum for enhanced security cooperation between the two countries.

DAILY COVID CASES CROSS 7K-MARK, BUT NO INCREASE IN THE SEVERITY

Over 90% of the total isolation, oxygen and ICU beds available in 36,592 health facilities across the country are ready for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry after a two-day mock drill conducted on Monday and Tuesday.

The data shows that at present, there are 2.18 lakh isolation beds, 3.04 lakh oxygen beds and 54,040 ICU beds with ventilators that are available.

Covid-19 cases have been increasing across the country, with the daily tally crossing the 7,000-mark on Wednesday.

Fewer than 1,000 cases were being reported in a week till mid-February when the numbers started increasing slowly, reaching over 3,000 cases a week by mid-March.

The increase in the number of cases comes alongside the spread of a new recombinant sub-variant XBB.1.16.share increasing from 21.6% in February to 35.8% in March among the samples sequenced.

However, no increase in the severity of the infection, hospitalisation or deaths has been seen with the new variant.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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MYANMAR CONFIRMS DEADLY ATTACK AS INT’L OUTCRY RISES

Myanmar’s ruling junta confirmed on Wednesday that it carried out an air strike on a village in which dozens of people were reported killed, drawing condemnation from the UN and Western powers. The official death toll from the Tuesday morning strike on the remote Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region remains unclear, with at least 100 fatalities reported by BBC, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia.

Following a coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian govt in 2021, the military’s crackdown on dissent and armed groups opposed to their rule has left over 3,200 people dead, as per a local monitoring group. UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “horrified” by the deadly air strike, whose victims he said included schoolchildren.

TRUMP SAYS WON’T DROP PREZ BID EVEN IF HE’S CONVICTED

Former US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would continue campaigning for the White House even if convicted of a crime. “I’d never drop out, it’s not my thing,” Trump said when asked on Fox News about a potential conviction.

During the hour-long interview, Trump said that Democratic leaders were a bigger threat to the nation than foreign dictators. He referred to President Vladimir Putin of Russia as “very smart,” said Saudi Arabia’s leaders were “great people” and called President Xi Jinping of China a “brilliant man”. He added that “the biggest problem” for the US wasn’t foreign actors but “these sick, radical people from within” the country.

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FOUR JAWANS SHOT DEAD IN BATHINDA CANTT, SHOOTERS YET TO BE NABBED

Four Indian Army jawans were shot dead early Wednesday morning while they were sleeping in their barracks at the Bathinda military station. The killers have not been identified so far even as several theories around the killing are being ascertained.

A stolen INSAS automatic rifle that is suspected to have been used in the gruesome killing was recovered in the evening from the military station. The weapon and the 19 empty shells of INSAS which were recovered from the spot of killing have been sent for a forensic examination. The rifle along with a magazine of 28 bullets had been stolen from the station armoury on April 9.

The shooting was carried out inside the barrack behind the officers’ mess of the Regiment around 4.30 am. The Bathinda military station spread over 55 sq km has multiple regiments, and each regiment has its own guard room, sentry post and is walled. The police officer heading the Punjab police probe team, said: “Two persons in civvies were believed to be behind this shooting.”

The FIR lodged at the Bathinda Cantt police station mentions that the two accused were wearing white kurta-pyjama and their faces were covered with a cloth. After killing four jawans, the duo escaped into the forest area.

KARNATAKA ELECTIONS: BJP FACES BACKLASH AS REBELS EMERGE BEFORE POLLS

The BJP is facing backlash in Karnataka after releasing its first list of 189 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls. The party, which is seeking a second consecutive term in the state, has dropped nine incumbent MLAs and given tickets to 52 new candidates, sidelining veterans.

This move has led to criticism and protests from some party members, with former deputy chief Laxman Savadi quitting the BJP after being dropped from the list of candidates.

The situation may worsen for the BJP as April 20, the last date for making nominations for the polls, is expected to reveal the actual number of rebels within the party.

ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST PILOT, SAYS CONGRESS'S RAJASTHAN INCHARGE

With all eyes on the Congress's next step in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot's fast in Jaipur on Tuesday, AICC in-charge of state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday said he agrees with the issue of corruption taken up by Pilot but the manner in which it was raised was not right.

Referring to past instances of indiscipline in the party's state unit, Randhawa said the action was not taken many times earlier as well when it should have been done but this time "action will be taken". He, however, did not specify what kind of action would be taken on the matter.

Randhawa also said he would study the chain of events related to Pilot's fast as well as his remarks and then submit a report on it.

Sachin Pilot reached Delhi yesterday but did not meet any senior party leaders.

KUNAL KAMRA CHALLENGES AMENDED IT RULES IN BOMBAY HC

Comedian Kunal Kamra has termed the central govt’s recent amendments to the Information Technology rules as “obstructing natural justice, contradicting the right to freedom of speech and expression”, and possibly “compelling political satirists to self-censor fearing action”, in his petition to the Bombay High Court challenging the changes.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, notified on 6 April, restrain social media “intermediaries” from publishing content about the govt which its own fact-check unit has identified as fake. The govt is in the process of setting up such a unit to flag false or misleading information.

The Bombay High Court Tuesday asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to respond to Kamra’s petition.

The petition states that as a political satirist, Kamra relies on social media platforms to share his content and the new rules can potentially lead to content posted by him to be arbitrarily blocked, taken down, or his social media accounts suspended or deactivated, harming him professionally.

The amendments notified last week, which several Opposition leaders have slammed as “draconian,” make it obligatory for “intermediaries” to not publish or share any “false information” about “any business of the central govt”.

‘HABITUAL OFFENDER’ — PURNESH MODI OPPOSES RAHUL GANDHI’S PLEA

Referring to Rahul Gandhi as a “habitual offender”, Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi has opposed the Congress leader’s plea to suspend his conviction in a 2019 defamation case. Gandhi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on 23 March, and was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP the next day.

Modi, who was the complainant in the defamation case, even took objection to the way Gandhi was present with Congress leaders before the magistrate when he read out the judgment last month, as well as for allegedly pressuring the court by attending it along with his party members the day (3 April) he filed his appeal.

In his response filed before a sessions court in Gujarat’s Surat Tuesday, which is seized of Gandhi’s appeal against his conviction, Modi said that with “more than 10 criminal defamation cases pending” against him, Gandhi “is in the habit of making such irresponsible and defamatory statements which would either defame others or hurt someone’s sentiments, in the name of freedom of speech and political criticism and dissent”. Hence, no leniency should be shown to him, Modi argued.

EVACUATED FROM UKRAINE, MEDICAL STUDENTS ALLOWED TO APPEAR FOR EXAMS IN INDIA

Ukraine has decided to allow foreign medical students, who were studying there before the Russian invasion, to appear for the Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) in their respective countries. This was informed by Ukraine Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Emine Dzhaparova during her visit to India earlier this week. The move will benefit over 20,000 Indian medical students who were evacuated from Ukraine after the February 24, 2022 invasion.

Meanwhile, following bilateral talks with Dzhaparova, India said it would regularly hold the next round of foreign office consultations.

During the talks, Ukraine asked for more medicines and medical equipment and asked Indian companies to bid for rebuilding the destroyed parts in its western part, said an MEA release. Her visit will be followed by the arrival of Russian Deputy PM Denis Manturov.

INFLATION DROPS TO 15-MONTH LOW OF 5.66%

Retail inflation eased to a 15-month low of 5.66 percent in March, slipping below the upper threshold of the RBI’s medium-term 4+/- 2 percent target, largely due to base effect and lower food prices including cereals and milk, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Wednesday showed.

Separately released data by the NSO showed factory output grew 5.6 percent in February as against 1.2 percent a year ago and 5.5 percent a month ago, with manufacturing recording a growth of 5.3 percent aided by a low base of 0.2 percent.

Headline retail inflation has now returned to the RBI’s tolerance range after a gap of two months, with even core inflation — non-food, non-fuel component — easing to an 18-month low. Inflation is likely to remain below 6 percent in the coming months, helped by a high base, which may prompt the RBI to maintain pause in the next monetary policy review in June, experts said. However, some experts cautioned that RBI’s next policy action would also be data dependent, linked to the trajectory of the monsoon and crude oil prices, which still pose a risk to inflation.

INDIAN-ORIGIN START-UP EXECUTIVES CONVICTED ON CORPORATE FRAUD CHARGES

Two Indian-origin executives of a Chicago-based start-up have been convicted by a federal jury in the US of running a USD 1 billion corporate fraud scheme that targeted the company’s clients, lenders and investors.

Following a 10-week-long trial, jurors on Tuesday found health technology company Outcome Health co-founder and former CEO Rishi Shah guilty on 19 of 22 counts, co-founder and former president Shradha Agarwal guilty on 15 of 17 counts and former chief operating officer Brad Purdy guilty on 13 of 15 counts.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

A statement issued by the Justice Department said on Tuesday that the company installed television screens and tablets in doctors’ offices around the US and then sold advertising space on those devices to clients, most of whom were pharmaceutical companies.

According to evidence presented at the trial, Shah, Agarwal, and Purdy sold advertising inventory the company did not have to Outcome’s clients, then under-delivered on its advertising campaigns.

Despite these under-deliveries, the company still invoiced its clients as if it had delivered in full.

Purdy and others at the company also inflated metrics that purported to show how frequently patients engaged with the company’s tablets installed in doctors’ offices.

IPL MATCH 17: SANDEEP HOLDS NERVE AS RR EDGE CSK IN THRILLER

Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned back the clock with his humongous hits but Rajasthan Royals seamer Sandeep Sharma nailed a couple of perfect block-hole deliveries to earn Rajasthan Royals a three-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in a close encounter, in Chennai yesterday.

Chasing a target of 176, Dhoni (32 off 17 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 15 balls), veterans of tantalising finishes were on course as 21 was needed off the last over. CSK's final score was 172 for 6 as Dhoni didn't end his 200th game for CSK in a manner he would have liked with 30,000 plus spectators rooting for him.

Punjab seamer Sandeep, who played a couple of games for India eight years back, seemed to lose his nerve as he bowled a couple of wides and then Dhoni whipped him over square leg and mid-wicket for a couple of sixes.

Needing 6 off last two deliveries, the medium pacer got a wide yorker to Jadeja and then a perfect block-hole ball to Dhoni as these fetched just a couple of singles.

Wins so far: CSK 2 wins in 4 matches; RR 3 in 4.

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Dollar Index 101.16 Brent Crude 87.21 BDI 1,507.00

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso

OFF TRACK

At a church meeting, a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his faith.

"I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember that turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and I had to either give it all to God's work or give nothing at all. So at that moment, I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today."

When he finished and moved toward his seat, there was an awed silence.

As he sat down, a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him, "I dare you to do it again."