BHUBANESWAR l friday l april 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Indigo orders 30 wide-body jets to boost its overseas operations India’s largest airline said on Thursday it placed orders for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft which will allow it to expand its international operations to compete with air india on long-haul routes Deal’s size estimated at $9.5 billion Wide-body aircraft like the A350-900 typically seat over 300 people and can fly 18,000 km non-stop, making them ideal for overseas operations. IndiGo’s latest order comes at a time when efforts are underway to make India a global aviation hub. With wide-body planes, IndiGo will be directly competing with Air India on long and ultra-long haul routes | P12 ■ ■ Airbus no longer puts out prices of its planes. As per the 2018 list price of the A350-900 jets, the deal should be worth $9.5 billion The A350-900 planes will be powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine. IndiGo has been facing problems with the Pratt & Whitney engines powering many of its existing Airbus planes 2027 when airbus’ deliveries of a350-900 jets to Indigo are due to start CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI In a first, EC takes Odisha lost 25 yrs under Naveen cognisance of MCC Patnaik government: Amit Shah violations by PM B i j o y P r a d h a n @ Bhubaneswar Issues notice to party head Nadda; parallel notice to Kharge on charges against Rahul M U K E SH RA N JA N @ New Delhi Possibly taking cognisance for the first time of a model code violation complaint against a prime minister, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued a notice to BJP president J P Nadda on the charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a divisive speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara. Parallelly, it issued a notice to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and party leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their offensive remarks. Both Nadda and Kharge were directed to file their replies by 11 am on Monday (April 29). The names of neither Modi nor Rahul or Kharge were mentioned in the notices. But the representations received by the poll panel against them were attached to the letters addressed to the respective party chiefs. The ECI invoked provisions of the Representation of the People Act to hold the party presidents responsible as the first step to rein in their star campaigners. While individual star campaigners would continue to remain responsible for their speeches, the ECI said it will address party chiefs “on a case-to-case basis”, thus adding a layer of responsibility on them. In its notice to Nadda, the poll panel cited complaints by the Congress, CPI, CPI (ML) and civil society groups on Modi’s allegation that the Congress wanted to redistribute the wealth of the country to Muslims, adding the grand old party won’t even spare the mangalsutra of women. The ECI also advised Nadda to bring to the notice of all star campaigners of the party to “set high standards of political discourse and adhere to the norms of the MCC in letter and spirit”, as campaign speeches made by those holding high positions have serious consequences. In its similarly worded notice to Kharge, the BJP’s complaint was attached. It accused Rahul of malafide during a speech in Kottayam, Kerala, where he alleged that the PM was pushing for one nation, one language and one religion. You are directed, as President of the National Party to bring to the notice of all your star campaigners to set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of MCC in letter and spirit Election Commission ‘Due to public pressure’ Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday claimed that public pressure forced the EC to issue notice to Nadda on charges against Modi. The EC is “super, super cautious” when it comes to the PM, he said Varun rejects Gandhi vs Gandhi duel BJP leaders tried to persuade him to contest against Priyanka but he turned the proposal down | P5 express read No respite from heatwave, it’s here to stay, says IMD One of the longest spells of the heatwave which has taken Odisha in its grip is here to stay because there is no respite in sight anytime soon. As per IMD’s extended range forecast, dry and blistering conditions will prevail in Odisha till May 9 and some parts will witness severe heatwave during the period | P2 India rejects US human rights docu, says ‘deeply biased’ India has rejected the US State Department’s Human Rights Report, terming it biased. “This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday | P9 Setting the tone for the BJP’s election campaign pitch, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday tore into the BJD government for keeping Odisha underdeveloped when several backward states have made rapid progress with accelerated growth of four to five times. Addressing an impressive ‘Vijay Sankalp Samabesh’ at Sonepur, the first election rally by any of the top guns of the BJP Shah launched a scathing , attack on the Naveen Patnaik government accusing it of failing to resolve basic problems of the people in 25 years wh i l e P r i m e M i n i s t e r Narendra Modi addressed many critical issues of the country like Article 370, Triple Talaq and Ram Mandir in the last 10 years. “It was lost years for Odisha under Naveen Patnaik government. Time has come for the people to uproot the inefficient and corrupt BJD government and install a double-engine government to take the state into the pinnacle of progress,” Shah thundered. Invoking Lord Jagannath and revered deities of western Odisha, Shah said it is a matter of shame that people from the state are still migrating to places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Factoids Union Home Minister Amit Shah being greeted with a huge garland by BJP workers during the public meeting at Sonepur on Thursday | EXPRESS Delhi, Surat and even Punjab despite abundant natural resources in Odisha. Dubbing the BJD g ove r n m e n t a s ‘nikamma’ (useless), the BJP stalwart said massive corruption is its hallmark and the public suffering has compounded as the government is run by a few bureaucrats. Without mentioning the proposed Choudwar textile park, Shah targeted the misplaced priority of state government as it has no plan for revival of the closed textile industries in the western region including the one at Sonepur. “Instead of setting up textile industries where cotton cultivation is taken up in a massive way, the state government is 88 LS seats (General 73; ST 6; SC 9) in 13 states/ UTs Over 16 lakh polling officials deployed 15.88 crore voters 8.08 crore male, 7.8 crore female, 5,929 third gender to exercise franchise across 1.67 lakh polling stations 34.8 lakh first-time voters are registered to cast their votes. There are 3.28 crore voters in the age group of 20-29 yrs 1,202 3 candidates (1,098 male, 102 female, 2 third gender) are in the fray helicopters, 4 special trains and nearly 80,000 vehicles deployed to ferry polling and security personnel Webcasting to be done in over 50% of the polling stations Polling stations in all states/UTs except Bihar and Kerala have less than 1,000 average electors per polling station. The corresponding figure for Bihar is 1,008; it is 1,102 for Kerala planning it elsewhere. There is no logic as western Odisha disticts are major producers of cotton,” Shah said adding, his party will set up a textile industry a fisheries college, agro in, dustry and an ayurvedic medicinal plant in the region. “You gave 25 years to BJD. Give five years to BJP and see how a double-engine government solves all problems,” he exhorted the people of the state. Recounting the liberal financial assistance given to the state government in the last 10 years, Shah said the Centre released more than `10,000 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission for supply of tap water to all the households. The state has not been able to utilise even `5,000 crore and a large number of households are going without tap Continued on P5 water. “Yeh Arun Govil ji ka election hee nahin raha. Yeh Ram ki pratishtha ka election hai (This isn’t an election for Arun Govil but for the prestige of Lord Ram). We will do everything to get a high voting percentage,” is the common refrain among the BJP cadre in Meerut, the land of revolution, which is poised for a battle of perceptions in the Lok Sabha elections. Remember, the first war of Independence in 1857 began in Meerut. The constituency goes to polls on Friday . While the BJP is riding on the perception of Lord Ram to see Arun Govil, the silver screen ‘Ram’ of 1987 TV serial, sail through, the Opposition INDIA bloc is confident that Samajwadi Party candidate Sunita Verma will pose a strong challenge because of her popularity among the Dalits and Muslims and her perception of being a good former Mayor. Muslims and Dalits constitute over 50% of electorate in Meerut, making it a formidable combination. The BSP, too, is a claimant of the same combo, with Mayawati giving the ticket to Devvrat Tyagi. Since all the three main candidates belonging to the majority community, the division of Hindu votes is inevitable. It is expected to put the BJP at a disadvantage. BJP’s experienced MP Rajendra Agarwal had to make way for Govil. In 2019, Agarwal defeated BSP’s Haji Mohammad Yaqoob with a thin margin of little over 4,700 votes. Govil, though tagged as an outsider by his rivals, is commanding attention and respect from the generation of viewers of the 80s, and also the section that got introduced to him via the telecast of Ramayan Illustration: Mandar Pardikar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Berhampur Ahead of the elections, two Naxals were reportedly gunned down in an exchange of fire with the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Parhel reserve forest within Kantamal police limits in Boudh district on Thursday . The bodies of the two ultras, identified as Sunil and Santu, both from 8th company of CPI (Maoists) were recovered from the spot. “Sunil and Santu are natives of Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur respectively Arms and ammunition, gre. nades and other articles were recovered and combing operation is on,” said ADG (Operations), Dev Datta Singh. The 8th company of the banned CPI (Maoist) comprises members of Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division and other groups. Police had intelligence inputs that a group of around 12 to 14 red ultras were camping in deep forest following which the Continued on P5 operation was launched. 2nd phase voting for 88 seats today RAJ E SH K U MAR THA K U R @ New Delhi the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday for 88 Lok Sabha seats in 13 states and Union Territories will seal the electoral fate of several heavyweights including Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Choudhary and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, among others. The contest is very tight in several constituencies where candidates are locked in a three-cornered fight. The BJP is confident of retaining its sway in its strongholds and disrupting the Congress-CPM du- Battle of perception with Ram chant in the land of revolution N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Two Naxals gunned down in Boudh, security beefed up during the Covid period. Leading the campaign in a simple kurta-pyjama, he is striving to shed his outsider tag through his promise of making Meerut, which is his janmabhoomi (birth place), his karmabhoomi (workplace) and permanent abode. But SP’s Sunita, who belongs to the Dalit community dismisses Gov, il as a ‘false Ram’, claiming elections can’t be fought on a past imagery. “BJP has committed a mistake by fielding Arun Govil, who does not belong to Meerut. Lord Ram is in Ayodhya, not on roads seeking votes. There could have been some fight if the ruling party candidate hailed from the constituency I see no chal. lenge,” says Sunita, the former BSP mayor of Meerut who switched over to the SP. It was after much flip-flop that Sunita got the ticket. Initially, Bhanu Pratap Singh was the nominee. He was replaced by sitting SP MLA from Sardhana Atul Pradhan who, was seeking the ticket for his wife. Pradhan was finally axed and Sunita chosen instead. However, BJP workers are confident of Govil’s win, hoping the DalitMuslim votes would be divided between the SP-Congress and the BSP. It is also depending on the Jat support from the RLD. opoly in Kerala. The party is eyeing Thrissur where actor Suresh Gopi is a strong contender, Thiruvananthapuram where Chandrasekhar is pitted against Tharoor, and Pathanamthitta where veteran Congress leader A K Antony’s son Anil Antony is the BJP candidate. Union minister of Shekhawat is pitted against Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, while Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take on Prahlad Gunjal, who switched over from the BJP to Congress, in Kota. The fate of actor- turned-politician Hema Malini from Mathura LS seat will also be sealed on Friday Mukesh Dhangar . of the Congress is her main rival. In 2019, the BJP had won 53 and its allies 12 of these 88 seats, while the constituents of the INDIA bloc had won 23. However, senior BJP leaders admit that the contest is tougher than the first phase of elections held on April 19. The low turnout in the first phase of polling was a matter of concern for the party but sources said they are hopeful the voting percentage will be better in the second phase.
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