TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘WE NEED VIKSIT BHARAT AMBASSADORS TO COUNTER NAYSAYERS’ ISRAEL MUST DO MORE TO BOOST HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA P4 P9 SENSEX 74,671.28 NIFTY 22,643.40 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 25-35 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. TOMORROW'S MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 37 AND 22 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. P10 GOLD 74,520.00 P12 SILVER 84,000 ‘Cong thinks it can fight BJP only by religion-based quota’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max.72 % Min. 23 % NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL TEMPERATURE Min: 22.8 °C (-1) SUN SETS 18:56 hrs MOON SETS 10:30 hrs THUMBNAILS A view of India Gate during a hot summer afternoon, in New Delhi on Monday. ANI Delhi Police summons Telangana CM: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was summoned by the special cell of Delhi Police to appear before it on 1 May in connection with the case of a doctored video on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over scrapping of SC, ST and OBC reservation. Reddy, who is also the PCC president, was away in Karnataka today campaigning for the third phase of elections with Congress president Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi. (P4) P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Congress wants to give reservation on religion basis to Muslims because it knows the BJP already has the largest number of SC, ST and OBC MPs in Parliament, and can be challenged only with the support of its “vote bank” of Muslims. Addressing a BJP election meeting in Bagalkot, Karnataka, he said the Congress thinks it can strengthen its vote bank by transferring to it a share of the OBCs’ reservation benefit. “Will you accept this,” he said. The Prime Minister said “I want to assure my Dalit, Adivasi and OBC brothers, and I give guarantee that I will not allow any such plans of the Congress to succeed, and to protect your rights and reservation, Modi will go to any length.” He said the 2024 poll will decide the future of India. Mr Modi asked people that the Congress which has focused only on looting the country during its governments, “will you trust it taking care of such a large country. Can a party which has a history of looting the country, can it be trusted again,” he said. The party only deprived the poor and marginalized sections of basic amenities in its 60 years of rule. To continue its loot, the party is now treating Karnataka as its ATM, he said. In a short time of its government in the State, the party has emptied the treasury; legislators are not getting timely allocations from legislators’ development funds; and the Centre has information about the State government’s economic condition, the day is not far, when the Karnataka government will not be able to pay salaries to its employees, he said. There is hardly any welfare scheme which has not been tar- geted for corruption by the Congress, the Prime Minister said. That is why all people with experience say, the return of Congress can only mean disaster. He said the Congress is not running a government in Karnataka, but an extortion gang. The whole government is busy planning where to target money. The moment money comes into the Treasury, they plan how to loot it. Bengaluru and Karnataka are known as Tech Hubs, but the Congress state government has converted the Tech Hub into a Tanker Hub. For water, tanker mafias are charging whatever they like, ED has no material necessitating my arrest, Delhi CM Kejriwal tells SC PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday told the Supreme Court that his nonappearance before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in pursuance to the repeated summons and his alleged noncooperation cannot be a ground necessitating his arrest by the central agency on March 21, 2024, and the central agency has no material to take away his liberty. Appearing for the arrested Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta that “You (ED) have to demonstrate the necessity of arrest based on material available with the investigating agency.” Singhvi told the bench that from August 2022 till July 2023, in none of the material including the statements of the accused questioned by the ED and the charge-sheets VIRAT KOHLI HITS OUT AT CRITICS BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 89.83 Supreme Court halts probe against Bengal officers after 26,000 teachers lose jobs PM Modi also said that the 2024 election will decide the future of India RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 38.3 °C(-1) SUN RISES 5:41 hrs MOON RISES 01:06 hrs ` vs $ 83.47 RAJNATH FILES NOMINATION AFTER ROAD SHOW including supplementary charge-sheets, Kejriwal’s name figures. “Maximum you (ED) have Sarath Reddy statement...If I don't go for Section 50 statement, that does not give reason to believe that I am guilty,” Singhvi told the bench. Justice Khanna too said that this might not be in itself a ground to hold guilty. At the outset of the hearing Justice Khanna asked Singhvi, just for curiosity, why you did not apply for bail. You have challenged the arrest and the subsequent remand. The senior advocate said that we have challenged the legality of the arrest and that subsequent remand. As Justice Khanna asked that the ED had sent notices to Kejriwal to appear before it and he avoided it, Singhvi said: “I went when the CBI called. I replied to the ED notices in detail. I said I was not going to come. But today, you can't arrest by saying you didn't come; so we arrested you.” To a question by the bench whether Kejriwal has been named in the charge-sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Singhvi said that in none of the three chargesheets and supplementary charge-sheets, the Chief Minister has been named as an accused. Singhvi said that Kejriwal is being sought to be nailed on the basis of the much later statements of the accused turned approvers - one of them joins the ruling party, ither’s father joins the ruling alliance and the third persons gave Rs 55 crore to the ruling party through electoral bonds. Since it remained inconclusive, Singhvi will continue his submissions tomorrow. Kejriwal has approached the top court challenging the Delhi High Court’s April 9, 2024, order rejecting his plea against his arrest by the ED and the subsequent remand. The top court had asked the Enforcement Directorate to respond to Kejriwal’s plea. Kejriwal in his plea against the High Court order has contended that his arrest after announcement of the General Elections is “motivated by extraneous considerations.” Describing his arrest as “motivated”, Kejriwal has contended that a sitting Chief Minister has been arrested in the middle of election cycle and especially after the announcement of the schedule of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The petition by Kejriwal against the High Court order says that the statements and material relied upon by the ED against him was in its possession for the last niner months but why it acted when general elections were on. and the Congress is getting its commissions. The Congress is not satisfied with just this. It is dreaming of a scam of lakhs of crores of Rupees like 2G. “Do these people looting Karnataka deserve punishment on the 7 May or not,” he asked. Mr Modi said he wanted to alert people that the Congress government in the State has started a campaign to change the Constitution and deprive the SCs and STs of their reservation rights. The Karnataka government has already given a share of the OBC quota to the Muslims, he said. The party has been mentioning in its manifestoes making a law to give reservation on religion basis and even in its latest manifesto, the party has given similar signals, he said. The Prime Minister said some people in frustration are misusing technology in the current elections. He is among the toppers in the use of social media, but he has made a positive use of this and to share feelings of people. “But these people who have lost elections and lost ground, are using technology, making fake videos, using artificial intelligence, and putting on the social media obnoxious videos in my voice, thereby posing a big threat,” he said. AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL The Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI to probe into the role of West Bengal government officials in an alleged teacher recruitment scam was stayed by the Supreme Court on Monday, in a huge relief to the Mamata Banerjee-led government. The top court was hearing a petition by the state government against a high court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and nonteaching staff made by the School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and stateaided schools. "We will stay the direction which says the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government," said a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra. India summons Canadian diplomat, lodges strong protest over 'Khalistan' slogans at event attended by Trudeau STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL India on Monday summoned the Canadian deputy high commissioner, lodging a strong protest over the raising of separatist slogans on 'Khalistan' at an event in Toronto which was being personally addressed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Government of India’s deep concern and strong protest was conveyed at such disturbing actions being allowed to continue unchecked at the event, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "This illustrates once again the political space that has been given in Canada to separatism, extremism and violence. Their continued expressions not only impact IndiaCanada relations but also encourage a climate of violence and criminality in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens," the statement added. Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an event organized on the occasion of Khalsa Day celebrations in Toronto on Sunday. The latest sloganeering comes amid strained diplomatic relations between India and Canada. The slogans were heard in the presence of Trudeau as well as opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. Slogans of “Khalistan Zindabad” were heard at the event in which NDP (New Democratic Party) leader Jagmeet Singh and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow were also present. EC issues notification for sixth For every rupee lost to fraud, organisations phase of Lok Sabha elections incur average cost of four rupees: Report STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL The Election Commission on Monday issued the notification for the sixth phase of voting in the Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to be held on May 25. The filing of the nominations started with the issu- ing of the notification by the poll panel. In the sixth phase, the polling will be held in 57 parliamentary constituencies across seven states and Union territories-- Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi. According to the notifi- cation issued by the ECI, of the 57 Lok Sabha seats include 14 from Uttar Pradesh, 10 from Haryana, eight each from Bihar and West Bengal, seven from Delhi, six from Odisha and four from Jharkhand. The last date of filing of nominations is 6th May and the scrutiny of nominations will take place on 7th May, as per the notification. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is 9th May. Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases. The first and the second phase of elections were held on 19th April and 26th April. More than 62 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase, while in the second phase, it was around 61 per cent. The results will be declared on 4th June. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL For every rupee lost to fraud by individuals, organisations incur an average cost of Rs 4 (Rs 3.07 for retailers and Rs 4.64 for financial institutions), a survey said on Monday. Also, 54 per cent of companies have reported an increase in frauds in 2023. The annual report, LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study – Asia Pacific, compiled by Forrester Consulting, indicates that businesses in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) now face a cost of fraud that is nearly four times the actual amount lost in fraudulent transactions. For instance, a fraudulent transaction worth Rs 1,000 costs businesses an average of Rs 4,000 to address the losses incurred, which cover external expenses, interest, fees, and the costs of replacing or redistributing lost or stolen items. These costs include not only the direct financial losses from fraud but also internal labour expenses, external costs, legal fees, recovery charges, and the costs related to replacing or redistributing lost or stolen merchandise, it said. A LexisNexis survey reveals that 77 per cent of respondents reported that fraud negatively impacts customer satisfaction while 78 per cent observed a detrimental effect on customer conversion rates, both figures exceeding the APAC average. It said that the fraud has increased for 54 per cent of Indian organisations yearon-year. In APAC, digital channels account for more fraud losses than physical channels. Four in five Indian organisations say fraud is affecting their customer conversion rates. The report highlighted that as businesses and consumers increasingly engage online, cybercriminals find ample opportunities to exploit these digital, cross-border transactions. The anonymity provided by digital platforms facilitates fast and often untraceable fraudulent activities. Moreover, the advent of technologies such as artificial intelligence enhances the capabilities of cybercriminals, broadening their scope to exploit both consumers and businesses effectively. Across the region, digital channels account for 51 per cent of overall fraud losses. The report also said that the criminals were continually innovating, which means that fraud and its associated costs represent evolving threats that cannot be easily mitigated. Challenging the order, the state government, in its appeal filed before the top court, said the high court cancelled the appointments "arbitrarily". "The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill," read the petition by the Bengal government. The Calcutta High Court had said the CBI would undertake further investigations concerning the persons involved in the state government approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments. The high court further added that, if needed, the CBI will undertake custodial interrogation of such persons involved. ATM withdrawals spike to `1.43 crore in FY24 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 29 APRIL A recent report has highlighted that the monthly average ATM cash withdrawals in the last year have spiked by 5.51 per cent. According to the latest CMS Consumption Report, the withdrawals have risen from Rs 1.35 crore in FY23 to Rs 1.43 crore in FY24. On a monthly basis, the average ATM cash withdrawals in FY24 were higher compared to FY23 with withdrawals in 10 out of 12 months exceeding the FY23 monthly average of 7.23 per cent. The figures indicate that people are likely to spend more cash, which could be a sign of increased overall consumption. The report highlighted that in FY24, average cash withdrawal increased by 10.37 per cent in the metros, followed by a 3.94 per cent increase in semi-urban and rural (SURU), and a 3.73 per cent increase in semi-metros. Further, the consumption hotspots in ATM withdrawal in India were led by two Northern states: Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; and two Southern states: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and one Eastern state: West Bengal. It said that 49 per cent of the ATMs of public sector banks are located in metropolitan and urban areas while around 51 per cent of the ATMs are located in SURU. In the case of private sector banks, around 64 per cent of the ATMs are located in metropolitan and urban areas while 36 per cent of the ATMs are located in SURU to enable consumption spending. Karnataka saw the highest annual average withdrawal of Rs 1.83 crore during FY24, followed by Delhi and West Bengal at Rs 1.82 crore and Rs 1.62 crore, respectively, the report said.
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