WEDNESDAY 16 APRIL 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00| LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TROUBLE IS NOT YET OVER FOR SIDDARAMAIAH P8 SENSEX 76,734.89 p1,577.63 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY SKY TOWARDS EVENING. SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS(SPEED 10-20 KMPH). THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 39 AND 24 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 66 % TEMPERATURE NIFTY 23,328.55 p500.00 P6 ` vs $ 85.76 DC EYE HOME VICTORY AGAINST RAJASTHAN P9 GOLD `95,955.00 P12 SILVER `99,800 Sonia, Rahul named in ED charge sheet BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 64.39 PM discusses expansion of Green Strategic Partnership with Danish counterpart Sam Pitroda is also named in the ED charge sheet in National Herald case Min. 30 % Max: 37.9 °C (+1.8) (+3.0) SUN RISES 05:54 hrs MOON RISES 22:01 hrs TRUMP FREEZES $2.2 BN IN GRANTS TO HARVARD UNYIELDING RESOLVE Min: 24.0 °C SUN SETS 18:48 hrs MOON SETS 08:12 hrs THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 APRIL People perform 'Nati' folk dance on the occasion of the 78th Himachal Day at Dhalpur Ground in Kullu on Tuesday. nANI West Bengal Governor sends report to Centre on Waqf Act unrest: Amid the unrest in Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has sent an official report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the current situation in Murshidabad, Raj Bhavan sources said. A detailed report regarding the law and order situation in Murshidabad by the Governor’s core team — including information passed on by the state administration — has been prepared and sent to the Ministry. I n fresh trouble for the NehruGandhi family, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi and their close confidant Sam Pitroda in the Associated Journals Limited (National Herald) case and also questioned businessman Robert Vadra in a Haryana land deal linked money-laundering case. A Special Court has fixed 25 April for hearing arguments on taking cognisance of the prosecution complaint. The prosecution complaint has been filed under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for the offence of money laundering, as defined under Section 3, read with Section 70, and punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002. Special Judge Vishal Gogne stated that as per the submission of the counsel representing the ED, the predicate offence ~ recorded under complaint case No. 18/2019~ includes charges under Sections 403, 406, and 420, read with Section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and is currently under trial at the Rouse Avenue Courts in New Delhi. The court observed that under Section 44(1)(c) of the PMLA, the predicate offence must be tried in the same court that has taken cognisance of the money laundering offence under Section 3 of the PMLA. The court further noted that both offences ~ the predicate offence and the PMLA offence ~ must be adjudicated in the same jurisdiction. The complaint in the National Herald case was filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, their associated companies, and other individuals. The move came days after the probe agency had begun to take possession of the tainted properties of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in compliance with Section 8, 2002 and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Taking Possession of Attached or Frozen Properties Confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013. Moreover, the ED also questioned Robert Vadra, husband of Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a money- laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Shikohpur. The probe is about a land deal of February 2008 where a company linked to Vadra ~ Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd ~ purchased a piece of 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur in Gurugram from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.5 crore. It is alleged that the mutation of this land was done within hours. The Haryana Police had filed a case in this deal in 2018. Congress slams move, says it will not be silenced STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 APRIL The Congress slammed the BJP-led NDA government after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case, calling it vendetta politics and intimidation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The party also said it will not be silenced. Congress general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh asserted that seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law. Attacking the Prime Minister and Home Minister, he wrote on X: “Filing chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister gone completely berserk.” STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 APRIL Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday discussed various aspects of bilateral relations as well as global developments during a telephonic conversation. “Glad to speak with PM Mette Frederiksen today. Reaffirmed our strong support for the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and enhancing cooperation across sectors for the benefit of our people. We also discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest,” PM Modi said in a post on X after the phone call. Recalling high-level exchanges between both countries ever since the launch of the Green Strategic Partnership in 2020, the leaders noted the expansion of the Green Strategic Partnership in various fields which have created favourable conditions for Danish investments in India to contribute to green transition. The leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest. PM Modi said he was looking forward to the 3rd India-Nordic Summit scheduled to be held later this year in Norway, and his meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen at that time. Denmark is also the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. Both leaders had cochaired a Virtual Summit between India and Denmark in September 2020 and launched a Green Strategic Partnership between the two countries that envisioned co-operation in the field of environment/water and circular economy and sustainable urban development including Smart Cities. Ms Frederiksen has in the past hailed Prime Minister Modi as "an inspiration for the rest of the world" for having set some very ambitious targets when it comes to providing clean water and renewable energy to millions of households. PM Modi has also spotlighted the role that Danish expertise and Danish technology can play in the scale and speed at which India wants to move forward.