NATIONAL 
EXPRESS

Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda wished their Party workers on BJP’s 44th Foundation Day. In a social media post today, Mr Modi thanked them for their hardwork, struggles and sacrifices for building the party over the years. He added that the party is proud to be an integral part of the NDA and cherishes its partnership with its allies. Meanwhile, Mr Shah also thanked the party workers for making BJP the biggest political party in the world. Mr Nadda paid respects to the senior party leaders for expanding the party nationwide.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi party President and Telangana former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao demanded the State government to pay 25,000 rupees per acre to the farmers, whose crop has withered due to drought conditions. Speaking to media at Rajanna Sircilla district this evening, Chandrasekhar Rao also demanded Government to pay 25 lakh rupees compensation to the farmers who committed suicide unable to bear the crop loss. He blamed the Congress government for the water crisis in the State.

The Supreme Court today stayed the Allahabad High Court’s decision that declared UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, unconstitutional and violative of secularism. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud issued notice to Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government on the plea challenging the High Court order. Earlier, center in its plea asserted that the judgment may have inaccurately interpreted the concept of secularism as enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

The commissioning of the EVM and VVPATs machines for the upcoming Lok Sabha Election 2024 has commenced in all districts from today in Manipur. Speaking on the occasion of the launching of Signature Campaign on Electoral Participation in Imphal,  the Chief Electoral Officer of Manipur- Pradeep Kumar Jha said that 64 engineers from Electronics Corporation of India Limited have arrived Manipur and they have been allocated across all districts of the State for commissioning of EVM and VVPATs machines from today. He said that all seven observers appointed by the Election Commission of India have already arrived in the State and they are overseeing the preparation of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. Enforcement agencies have been placing all measures including opening of mobile checking and drive to avoid unfair means during the election process. Shri Jha said that 118 Model Polling Stations will be set up across the State. There will be a total of 806 women managed Polling Stations and four Polling Stations will be exclusively managed by Polling Personnel belonging to the PwD category.

A massive fire broke out on Friday within the subdivision premises of the electricity department in the Ramnagar area of Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. The blaze has rapidly spread across approximately one and a half acres of land. Over ten fire brigade vehicles are currently engaged in combating the fire. Reports said the fire originated from a short circuit within a transformer. Continuous blasts can be heard emanating from the site, indicating the severity of the situation. The premises house a substantial number of transformers, exacerbating the challenge for firefighters. As smoke billows into the city’s skyline, an atmosphere of chaos grips the surrounding area. Senior officials, including Secretary to the Chief Minister P. Dayanand, Collector Dr. Gaurav Dwivedi, and the Superintendent of Police, have arrived at the scene to assess the situation. Despite ongoing efforts, the fire remains uncontained. Authorities are currently coordinating evacuation procedures to ensure the safety of those living near the incident site.

Senior BJP leader and PM Narendra Modi will address an election rally near Pushkar in Ajmer district of Rajasthan today. This rally is being organised in support of the BJP candidates of Ajmer and Pushkar. This is the third public meeting of Mr Modi for the Lok Sabha elections in the State. On the other hand, Congress is holding a big public meeting today in Jaipur regarding its manifesto. Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to address the public meeting. BJP, Congress, other parties and independent candidates have put their might into the election campaign in the State. Top leaders of Congress and BJP have come forward for the election campaign. Besides, State-level leaders are also campaigning for the candidates of their parties. Election rallies and road shows are being held at various places. Meanwhile, the scrutiny of nominations for the second phase has been completed in the State. Nominations of 191 candidates have been found valid for 13 Lok Sabha seats of the State, while nominations of 25 candidates were rejected. Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address public rally this morning at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. In the afternoon, Mr Modi will address a rally at Ajmer in Rajasthan. Later in the evening, Mr Modi is also scheduled to attend a road show at Ghaziabad.

BJP National President J P Nadda will arrive in Kozhikode today to campaign for the NDA contestants in the General Elections. He will stage a roadshow in the city this evening. The roadshow will take place from Ariyidathupalam to Muthalakkulam.

The Reserve Bank of India has said, the Consumer Price Index inflation for 2024- 25 is projected at 4.5 per cent. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while announcing the bi- monthly monetary policy today said, the CPI inflation had peaked at 7.8 per cent in April 2022. He added, that even though Inflation has come down significantly it remains above the 4 per cent target given by the Government. The Governor added real GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 7.0 percent with Quarter 1 at 7.1 percent; Quarter 2 at 6.9 percent; Quarter 3 at 7.0 percent; and Quarter 4 also at 7.0 percent. The apex bank has kept the repo rate unchanged for the seventh time in a row. The Governor informed that, India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves reached an all-time high of 645.6 billion dollars as of March 29th this year.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed the valedictory ceremony of IAS Officer Trainees (2023 batch) at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand on Friday.  Addressing the function, he urged the trainee officers to imbibe excellence, integrity and commitment towards public service which are indispensable in shaping the destiny of the nation. Speaking on the Citizenship Amendment Act, Mr. Dhankhar said that this law does not deprive a person of his citizenship but it provides assistance to the persecuted religious minorities of neighbouring countries. He further stated that this law is not an invitation for influx.

A Delhi Court on Friday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI to interrogate and record the statement of jailed BRS leader K Kavitha in Tihar Jail in money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The order was passed on the plea filed by the CBI seeking the court’s permission to interrogate Kavitha. She was arrested by Enforcement Directorate on the 15th of March in connection with the excise policy case and is presently lodged in Tihar jail

Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that today the entire country is working on the resolution to become a developed nation. In the last 10 years, his government has fulfilled the basic needs of the common man, which were pending for decades. Mr Modi addressed a public meeting in support of BJP candidates in Churu of Shekhawati region of Rajasthan this afternoon. He said that in the last ten years, the foundation of a developed India has been prepared. Today the whole world is surprised as to how India is progressing so fast. He said that 10 years ago the country was immersed in despair. After coming to power, his government worked honestly and today the country is progressing rapidly. Referring to the various schemes of his government, Mr Modi said, he worked to ensure the reach of common facilities like houses, toilets, and drinking water to every household in a mission mode. Even amidst the Corona crisis, the country became the fifth-largest economy in the world. Describing the work done in the last 10 years as a trailer and an appetizer, Mr. Modi said that many big works are yet to be done in the country in the coming times. Criticizing the opposition parties, he said that when the army carried out airstrikes and surgical strikes, the people of the opposition parties were asking for proof.

Aam Aadmi Party today alleged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been put behind bars under the conspiracy. Briefing media in New Delhi, AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that MP Magunta Reddy was pressurised to give a false statement against Mr. Kejriwal and when he refused, his son Raghav Reddy was arrested. He added that after continuous questioning, Raghav Reddy changed his statement against Mr. Kejriwal and became a part of a larger conspiracy to frame AAP leaders. Meanwhile, the BJP has hit back at AAP. Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva accused the AAP leaders of continuously making misleading statements on the alleged liquor scam. He said Mr Singh getting bail in the case, does not mean that the case is closed. Mr. Sachdeva also questioned if the liquor policy was good then why it was changed by the Delhi government.