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Chennai, April 2 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai on Sunday said that the AIADMK was still part of the BJP-led alliance.

Talking to reporters in Chennai, Annamalai said that his meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was casual and he did not discuss politics.

Annamalai said that he had never said that the AIADMK was never part of the BJP alliance.

However, he said, "Nothing can be said now that the AIADMK- BJP alliance is final and certain. An alliance is like water and nothing is carved on stone, it can change at any time. With months to go for the 2024 elections, it is not possible to write foreword and conclusion about the constituencies right now."

The BJP leader also said that he had spoken with Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2026 assembly elections for more than two hours.

Annamalai said, "We have to prepare till BJP wins in 25 constituencies and it is not right to speak about the number of constituencies to be contested at this moment."

He said that he was speaking about long-term objective for the BJP and added that even if he lose elections, he would speak like this.

The BJP state president said that he doesn't care if there was a setback in promoting clean politics and added that the path taken may not be the same 20 years from now on.

Annamalai said, "If I get a chance to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, you will see clean politics".

He said that the corruption list of DMK government would be published on April 14 and added that there was no benefit of winning elections by paying money.

Annamalai had drawn flak from several quarters even within the BJP about his statement of contesting polls on its own and to snap ties with the AIADMK.

There were reports of the AIADMK scouting other possibilities for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and entering into preliminary talks with political outfits like Naam Tamilar Katchi (NMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) as an alternate option.

--IANS
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Chennai, April 2 (IANS) AIADMK General Secretary K. Palansiwami (EPS) on Sunday said that there is a high possibility that Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, slated for 2026, would be held with the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 and if this happens, his party will come to power in the state.

"Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held next year and there are possibilities of the Assembly elections also being held in 2024 along with the Lok Sabha polls. This is in line with the Centre's One Nation, One Election and the AIADMK will come to power in Tamil Nadu. Our ambition is to serve the people, whether in power or not," he said while addressing a party meeting at Villupuram

The current Assembly's tenure lasts till May 2026.

Palaniswami, who is also the former Chief Minister, said that the traitors who have joined the DMK and are functioning as "its B team" would fail, adding that the AIADMK was "a big banyan tree that the DMK will not be able to uproot".

He said that AIADMK founder leader and former Chief Minister MGR and late leader J. Jayalalithaa considered the party cadres as the true heirs to run the party.

"I have been elected with a massive mandate as General Secretary of the party and have the total support of the party rank and file. I will discharge my duties as per the expectations of my party workers," he added.

He also said that AIADMK would face all the cases foisted by the DMK and emerge the winner.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, April 2 (IANS) A Muslim man was beaten to death by alleged cow vigilantes in Karnataka's Ramanagara district, near Bengaluru.

Idris Pasha, a cattle trader, and his two associates were assaulted by self-styled cow protectors led by one Puneet Kerehalli on Friday night.

The cow vigilantes intercepted a container vehicle in which Idirs and others were transporting cattle. Though the traders told them that they purchased cattle from the market and showed the papers, the gang demanded Rs 2 lakh. When Idris refused to pay, they asked him to go to Pakistan and attacked him and two others.

While some of the attackers chased Idris and Irfan, others assaulted container driver Syed Zaheer. A police constable intervened and took Zaheer and Kerehalli to the nearby police station.

Kerehalli lodged a complaint against Zaheer and others for illegally transporting cows. Zaheer and his associates were then booked under sections of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Transportation of Animals Act, and Motor Vehicles Act.

During the investigation, police found that Idris died after being assaulted by Kerehalli and other cow vigilantes.

On a complaint by Zaheer, police booked a murder case against Kerehalli and his associates. The accused were reported to be absconding.

The killing triggered protests by relatives of Idris and members of the Muslim community in Ramanagara. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

--IANS
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Chennai, March 29 (IANS) Even as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are more than a year away, political parties in Tamil Nadhu have commenced preparations for it.

Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin has urged party workers to win all the 39 seats in the state and to wrest the lone seat in Puducherry from the AIADMK. His party also appointed observers for all 234 Assembly constituencies and is in the process of strengthening booth committees.

In a similar vein, its ally, the Congress has also commenced organisational work at the grass root level to win the seats allocated to it in the next Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress had contested 9 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry in 2019, winning 8 of the 9 seats in Tamil Nadu with the lone loser being veteran leader and former Union Minister, E.V.K.S. Elangovan who lost from Theni constituency to O.P. Raveendranath, son of O. Panneerselvam.

Talking to IANS, state Congress President K.S. Alagiri said: "The Congress is a commendable force in Tamil Nadu and our alliance with the DMK is intact. The people friendly schemes of the DMK government and the relentless struggle by our leader Rahul Gandhi has increased the stakes of the Congress in the state."

He said that the party would strive to win all the seats from Tamil Nadu and the grass root work for the same has begun.

The Congress leadership has chalked out a strategy wherein the party will also appoint full-time observers for each Assembly constituency and will put special care in the assembly constituencies where the AIADMK or the BJP had won. The issue pertaining to the disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha has become a major subject for the party to motivate its grass root cadres and already the party has conducted agitations and protest marches at the booth levels in the state.

The Congress state leadership has also taken up several programmes to highlight the "anti-people" policies of the Central government and is conducting meetings at the grass root level for creating awareness against its policies and programmes that were affecting the public.

A senior Congress leader, who did not want to be named, said that the party is highly rejuvenated in Tamil Nadu and is certain to repeat the victory it had in 2019, winning 8 of the 9 seats. "This time our focus is to win all the 9 seats which is not a big task to do."

--IANS
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Guwahati, March 29 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday criticised the Congress over the issue of disqualification of former INC president Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by a court in a defamation case.

"When the Manmohan Singh government tried to bring an ordinance for giving relief to lawmakers from disqualification after conviction of two or more years of prison term, it was Rahul Gandhi who tore the ordinance in the public and advocated for an immediate disqualification after conviction," Sarma said in the Assam Assembly while questioning the Congress MLAs in the state "if they consider the former Wayanad MP as their leader or not".

"At that time, Rahul Gandhi was in favour of immediate disqualification and also asserted that his party follows the same stand. But now, he is either cursing Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla... however, both of them had no role in Rahul Gandhi's disqualification," Sarma said in the Assembly.

Sarma also spoke of the series of events in 2013 that led to Rahul Gandhi tearing up the cabinet ordinance.

He said: "In the Lily Thomas vs. Union of India case, the Supreme Court ruled Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act is ultra vires to the Constitution. Hence, disqualification on conviction is automatic and immediate. In order to provide relief from immediate disqualification, then Law Minister of UPA government, Kapil Sibal, even moved a review petition."

However, after the review petition was quashed, the UPA government brought the ordinance, "which was discarded publicly by Rahul Gandhi", Sarma added.

"The Congress party's opposition to the immediate disqualification of Rahul is baffling. As it was Rahul Gandhi in 2013 who 'overruled' his own government and said, upon conviction for two years or more, disqualification should be immediate, and no interim relief should be given," he said.

The Assam chief minister further claimed that Rahul Gandhi's remark, which resulted in his conviction, was directed at "the whole community".

"Rahul Gandhi had numerous opportunities to recant and apologise during the court proceeding. The court decided against him because he refused to apologise," the Assam CM said.

Sarma also came down heavily on the state Congress leaders for bringing the motion to discuss Rahul Gandhi's disqualification in the state assembly.

"Court rulings may go in a person's favour or even against him. But will you start a protest and seek an adjournment motion simply because a certain ruling was against you?" Sarma asked the Congress leaders.

He further said: "Would the BJP MLAs wear black garments and demonstrate tomorrow if a court convicts me in a case? No. We may appeal the decision to the Sessions Court, High Court, or Supreme Court, but we will never challenge the legal system."

Sarma said the habit of criticising the judiciary is detrimental to the country's democracy.

--IANS
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Gurugram, March 29 (IANS) A man was beaten to death by two people over suspicion of theft in Gurugram's Ghata village on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, the police said.

The police received an information about the incident on Wednesday morning following which they took custody of the body and sent it for post-mortem.

The complainant, Asruddin Sheikh (30), a resident of West Bengal, told the police that he along with the victim, Rafikuddin, used to collect and sell junk items.

"On Tuesday night, we were going towards Ghata village to collect waste iron parts. When we reached the main road near the village, we saw several vehicles and iron parts at a vacant plot. We parked our cart outside the plot, but when we picked up an iron rod, someone screamed at us. We were scared and left the spot. While we were leaving, two men caught us from behind and beat us mercilessly with sticks," Asruddin told the police.

"The duo put us on the cart, tied our hands and confined us in a hut in the same plot and left. Both of us fell unconscious due to our injuries and excessive bleeding. When I regained consciousness in the morning, I saw that there was no movement in Rafikuddin's body. When I started shouting, two men came and informed me that Rafikuddin is dead and left," he added.

The suspects have been identified as Ankit and Mannu, he told the police.

On the statement of Asruddin, the police registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC, including murder.

"Further legal action will be initiated after receiving the post-mortem report," said Sanjeev Kumar, SHO of Sector 56 police station.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, March 29 (IANS) In a major relief, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed Liquor World to operate the duty-paid liquor shops at the Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CHAIL), renamed after martry Bhagat Singh, till the next date of hearing.

The order came as the court heard two petitions -- one filed by Liquor World Venture Pvt Ltd, which has been awarded contract for five years and extended due to Covid-19 pandemic up to 2027 by CHAIL, and another by CHAIL itself which is joint venture company of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), and the states of Punjab and Haryana.

The petitioner, represented by senior counsel Chetan Mittal and Kunal Mulwani, cited the rules and the Excise Policy 2023-24 wherein under L-2 (Airport), the Punjab State Excise Department did not allowed any retail sale liquor vend at or inside the airport.

The contention of the petitioner was that earlier with the consent of the Punjab Excise Department and particularly in view of the fact that the representative of Punjab is a board member of the CHAIL, an e-auction was done inviting tender for duty paid liquor shops in Chandigarh as well as in the Amritsar airport for allotment for five years.

Accordingly, the Excise Department amended the Rules in 2019 to facilitate this facility.

The petitioner, Liquor World Venture Pvt. Ltd., was declared successful and a letter of award was issued in its favour and subsequently an agreement was also executed in 2020.

Initially the agreement was entered for five years and thereafter the same was extended for two years on account of the pandemic i.e. up to 2027.

It has been pleaded that previously also with the change of government, the Excise Policy for 2022-23 was amended without amending the rules and an attempt was made to oust and stop the ongoing contract of the petitioner by the Excise Department by issuing tenders themselves for the duty paid shops which falls within the jurisdiction of CHAIL.

It was further alleged that the excise policy for 2022-23 was tailor made to suit and restrict the allotment to some particular person.

At that point in time, the petitioner approached the High Court and it granted a stay in favour of the petitioner, which is still continuing and the writ petition is still pending.

Now once again with a view to oust the petitioner and without there being any benefit to Punjab in the Excise Policy for 2023-24, it was been unilaterally decided to do away with liquor vends at or inside the airport, the petitioner said.

The CHAIL, in its writ petition, had stated that they are earning profits to the tune of Rs 3.54 crores approximately through these duty paid shops and moreover the said shops were auctioned with the consent of the state authorities.

Accordingly, such an unilateral attempt will not only result in the revenue loss to the CHAIL but also the state will also not earn any revenue by prohibiting these duty paid shops.

A division bench of Justices Ritu Bahri and Manish Batra, after hearing the parties, directed the Excise Department to first approach the board of the CHAIL and has further ordered that till then, the petitioner be allowed to operate the duty paid shops till April 10.

--IANS
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Panaji, March 29 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday told the state assembly that he has written to the embassies of some foreign countries with a request to popularise and import 'Feni' to their countries.

Feni, a drink commonly and socially consumed by the local residents of the coastal state, was notified as the state heritage drink by the Goa government in 2016.

Cashew feni is also the country's first indigenous liquor to obtain the Geographical Indication tag, a process which was initiated by local manufacturers of the brew in 2009.

"In order to promote the Heritage Drink 'Feni', I have written to the embassies of some foreign countries with a request to popularise and import feni in their countries," Sawant said, while presenting the Budget.

Sawant said that he has also requested other states to recognise 'Goan Feni' as 'Country Liquor' in their State Excise Policies, so that the levy of excise duty in their states is at par with country liquor and not IMFL.

During the Assembly's Monsoon Session, Goa BJP legislator Deviya Rane demanded that the government allow the export of Goan cashew feni, a step which can boost cashew cultivation and bring cashew apples into use.

Rane, an MLA from Poriem constituency in North Goa, has said that it has demand from foreign countries.

"If we get permission to sell it in other states and internationally as well as it has wide scope and demand, it will help to increase the production and thus, new distilleries will come. This will ultimately help the cashew farmers," she said.

"I went abroad recently and when people there came to know I am from Goa, they said you are so lucky, you have beaches and you have Feni... but they also lamented that they do not get it in their country. They also asked me 'why your country doesn't export it'," she said.

--IANS
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Panaji, March 29 (IANS) The Goa government has focused on resumption of mining and tourism for revenue collection in the Budget for 2023-24 presented in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant presented a budget with the gross expenditure at Rs 26,844.40 crore, a rise of 9.71 per cent over estimates of 2022-23.

"Due to discontinuation of GST compensation, the State will see a revenue deficit of approximately Rs 800 crores through grants from the Central government. This void will be majorly filled by revenue collection from the initiatives taken by my government for restarting of mining activities in the state and increase in share of Goa in Central taxes," Sawant said.

With provision of Rs 262 crore in the tourism sector, the government intends to focus on project 'Goa beyond beaches', wherein other areas of coastal state will be explored.

"With proposal of 'Caravan Tours' we wish to explore the culture and heritage of Goa. Also 'Home Stay Policy' will boost tourism," Sawant said.

"I also expect to receive the second installment of a grant of Rs 150 crore of 'Goa @ 60' from the Central government in FY 2023-24. I am pleased to inform you that due to various financial reforms undertaken during my tenure, we have ended with a revenue surplus of Rs 59.39 crore as against projections of Rs 58.46 crore in FY 2021-22 despite the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting the economy. For FY 2023-24, the estimated revenue surplus is Rs 669.46 crore," he said.

He said that for various infrastructure works and other activities for smooth conduct of the G-20 meetings, a total budget of Rs 300 crore has been earmarked across various departments.

--IANS
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New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) With the Election Commission of India announcing on Wednesday that Karnataka will go to the polls on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13, there are indications that it could be a tight contest between incumbent BJP and Congress, if opinion polls are anything to go by.

According to an opinion poll conducted by Zee News-Matrize between March 3 and March 28 among over 56,000 people, out of the 224 Assembly seats in Karnataka, BJP is expected to get 96 to 106 seats, while Congress is likely to win 88 to 98 seats, thus indicating a tough fight. The JD(S) is expected to win only 23 to 33 seats. The majority mark in the state Assembly is 112 seats.

The Zee News-Matrize survey also indicates that Congress is likely to get around 40.4 per cent vote share, followed by 38.3 per cent for BJP and 16.4 per cent for JD(S).

About 30 per cent of respondents though agree that JD(S) under H.D. Kumaraswamy will be the kingmaker after the forthcoming Assembly elections, while 26 per cent of people disagreed.

According to the Zee News-Matrize survey, 31 per cent people believe that Prime minister Narendra Modi will be a game-changer in the Karnataka elections, while 32 per cent of respondents disagreed.

Interestingly though, only 22 per cent of the respondents feel that Congress will benefit from Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', while 41 per cent feel that the foot march will not help the grand old party in Karnataka.

Also, 31 per cent of the respondents feel that the move to replace B.S. Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai as the Chief Minister will help BJP retain power in the state, while 21 per cent do not feel so.

The ABP-CVoter opinion poll had earlier projected a win for Congress in Karnataka, as it predicted the party to bag 115 to 127 seats, followed by 68 to 80 seats for the ruling BJP and only around 23 to 35 seats for the JD(S).

--IANS
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