TODAY NEWS ON March 22, 2024

News Headlines

Delhi Excise policy case | ED arrests Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday evening, on charges of corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped. Mr. Kejriwal will be produced before a special court on Friday. The AAP said that it has moved the Supreme Court for quashing the arrest, and has asked for an urgent hearing.

INDIA bloc stands united behind Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the second Chief Minister from the INDIA bloc to be arrested in the recent months, has united the anti-BJP coalition which has been struggling to set aside their differences over seat sharing arrangements for the Lok Sabha polls. The opposition leaders questioned the timing, with the Model Code of Conduct in place and the coincidence of it coming on the same day as Election Commission publishing the entire data on electoral bonds. 

Electoral bonds full data | Companies under ED, I-T scanner donated poll bonds to BJP, BRS, Congress

Many companies that faced regulatory action in the past five years have all donated electoral bonds to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in some measure, data released by the Election Commission (EC) to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court show. The Hindu previously reported that Divi’s Labs, Micro Labs, Kalpataru Projects International, and other companies purchased bonds worth considerable sums of money between 2019 and 2023. These companies were also under the scanner of the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over alleged bad business practices or quality control, as the case may be.

Electoral bonds full data | MEIL’s ₹584 crore to BJP is top donation to any party

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, Ltd. (MEIL) donated ₹584 crore to the BJP (60% of its donations) – the most by a donor for any single party. The MEIL also donated ₹195 crore to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (20% of its donations), and ₹85 crore to the DMK (8.8%). Its subsidiary Western UP Power Transmission Company, Ltd. donated ₹110 crore to the Indian National Congress (INC), followed by ₹80 crore to the BJP, data released by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday revealed.

Electoral bonds full data | Vedanta is biggest donor for Congress, Essel Mining for BJD

Vedanta Ltd. was the biggest donor of electoral bonds for the Congress, while Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. (MEIL) was the biggest donor for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The Congress was the the third largest beneficiary of the electoral bonds scheme, followed by the BRS. The Congress encashed ₹1,422 crore in total, of which Vedanta Limited contributed ₹125 crore, followed by ₹110 crore that came from Western UP Power Transmission Company limited, a subsidiary of MEIL, and ₹91.6 crore from MKJ Enterprises.

2G case | Delhi High Court to rule today on CBI’s plea against acquittal of A. Raja, others

The Delhi High Court will announce on March 22 its decision on whether to admit the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal challenging the acquittal of former Telecom Minister and current Lok Sabha MP A. Raja, and others, in the 2G spectrum allocation case. The High Court reserved its decision on the matter on March 14. The case is currently at the stage of ‘leave to appeal’, which is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court.

Zomato drops ‘pure’ from its vegetarian-only feature

Zomato on March 21 said it has dropped the word “pure” from the name of its new mode, which is meant to cater to the dietary preferences of ‘100% vegetarians’. This mode will now be called “Veg-only Mode”. Amid fears that this mode, which will have a “dedicated” delivery fleet, will allow users to select delivery partners of a particular community or dietary preference, the company clarified that there will be no such option.

Not yet fascist, but they are getting there: Kamal Haasan on BJP and Modi

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was “not yet fascist, but they are getting there” and reiterated the need “to ring the alarm bells”. During an interaction with the board members and senior journalists of The Hindu in Chennai, Mr. Haasan said the path that the BJP government is on currently was not new and “it is the same script”.

Rahul Gandhi says Congress is fighting ‘hate-filled asuri shakti’

The week-long war of words over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s use of the word “shakti” got a new twist on March 21, with the Wayanad MP saying that his party was fighting a “hate-filled asuri shakti (demonic power)“, a jibe at his political rivals, the BJP. “Humari ‘asuri shakti’ se ladaai ho rahi hai, nafrat bhari ‘asuri shakti’ (We are fighting a demonic power, hate-filled demonic power),” Mr. Gandhi said, while leaving the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi after addressing a press conference.

Congress’s third list has Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress chief’s son-in-law

The Congress on Thursday released its third list of 56 candidates for the Lok Sabha election across seven States and the Union Territory of Puducherry while leaving one seat for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Rajasthan. So far, the party has announced 138 candidates in three lists.

Centre warns influencers against endorsing offshore online gambling platforms

The Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry on Thursday cautioned social media influencers against endorsing offshore online betting and gambling platforms, stating that failure to comply with the advisory might lead to removal of social media posts and accounts.

CBI, Europol sign Working Arrangement for cooperative relations

The Working Arrangement was signed by Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle and CBI Director Praveen Sood during a virtual event, in the presence of senior CBI and Europol officials. “This arrangement promotes direct cooperation between both organisations to build on their respective mandates, strategies and to explore the potential for synergies,” said the agency. During the signing ceremony, the CBI chief said: “This working arrangement is an outcome of years of negotiation between the CBI and Europol to reach this common ground. This moment marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to combat crime and enhance cooperation between our agencies.”

Budaun double murder: Sajid was mentally ill, says co-accused Javed

The Uttar Pradesh police on March 21 arrested Javed, the co-accused in the double murder in which his brother Sajid had allegedly killed two minor boys in Budaun a couple of days back. The police said that Javed claimed to have no involvement in the crime and informed that Sajid had mental illness since childhood, which gradually developed into anger issues. Soon after the deaths came to light, Sajid was gunned down in a police encounter.

Arrested ISIS India head a brainwashing expert: Assam police

Haris Farooqi, the arrested India head of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an expert in indoctrinating and brainwashing people for subversive activities, the Assam police said on March 21. Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi and his associate Anurag Singh alias Rehan were caught by the State police’s Special Task Force (STF) early morning on March 19 after they crossed over into western Assam’s Dhubri district from Bangladesh.

India displayed ‘steadfast dedication’ to Palestine cause: Arab League ambassador

India has displayed “steadfast dedication” to the cause of Palestine by extending humanitarian assistance and by supporting a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestine crisis, the Ambassador of the Arab League has said on Thursday. In a statement to mark the anniversary of the formation of the Arab League on 22 March, Ambassador Yusuf Mohamed Abdulla Jameel supported Indian position and called out Israel for its military campaign in Gaza Strip.

U.S. urges ‘immediate’ ceasefire at UN as Gaza war grinds on

The United States has circulated for the first time a draft UN resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as warnings grow of famine in besieged Gaza. Washington had blocked previous Security Council texts using the word “immediate” but U.S. top diplomat Antony Blinken confirmed the shift in position on Wednesday.

Russia fires 31 missiles at Kyiv in the first attack in 44 days, and 13 people are hurt

Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling wreckage, they said. Residents of Kyiv were woken up by loud explosions around 5 a.m. as the missiles arrived at roughly the same time from different directions, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.

Russia formalises Putin election win, dismissing criticism

Russia formalised Thursday President Vladimir Putin‘s victory in last week’s presidential election, dismissing scathing criticism by the West and independent Russian observers that it was the most corrupt vote in post-Soviet history. The three-day vote last weekend saw Mr. Putin cruise to an easy victory for a fifth Kremlin term, unchallenged by any meaningful opposition.

Indonesia opposition candidate calls for new vote after election loss

Failed Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan challenged Prabowo Subianto‘s decisive victory at the Constitutional Court on March 21, alleging rules were unfairly changed to allow the outgoing leader’s son to run as his vice president. Anies’ call for a new vote comes a day after Defence Minister Prabowo, 72, was confirmed as the next leader of the world’s third-biggest democracy, beating former Jakarta governor Anies and a third rival with 58.6 percent of the vote.

Venezuela opposition leader denounces arrest of aides

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado condemned on Wednesday the arrest of two of her staffers and accused the government of attacking her party for fear of losing July’s presidential election. Her comments came after the country’s top prosecutor earlier in the day announced the arrest of two senior officials from Ms. Machado’s Vente Venezuela party over an alleged anti-government conspiracy.

IPL-17 | Chennai Super Kings starts favourite as RCB looks to break Chepauk jinx

The opening game of the tournament is vital to set the tone, and it can’t get bigger than the Southern Derby between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru to kickstart the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League here at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium on March 22. Even as the city’s faithful hoped to see their beloved ‘Thala’ M.S. Dhoni lead his men onto the park, they must now accept the new reality when Ruturaj Gaikwad steps into the hot seat.

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