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[00:00:00] Hello, this is your Daily Dose of News from Onmanorama.
[00:00:13] I am your host Vishnu and these are the major news stories of Thursday, April 25th, 2024.
[00:00:22] The enforcement directorate on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the Ahmadini Party
[00:00:26] was a major beneficiary of the proceeds of the crime generated in the excise policy scam.
[00:00:33] Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stepped up his attack on the Congress and said he was
[00:00:38] standing as a wall between the people and the grand old party's plans to loot them.
[00:00:45] Taking cognizance for the first time of a model court violation allegation against the prime
[00:00:49] minister, the election commission on Thursday asked the BJP to respond to complaints filed by
[00:00:54] opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his divisive and defamatory
[00:00:58] speech in Pakistan's Banswara. India on Thursday described a U.S. State Department report citing
[00:01:06] alleged incidents of human rights violations including in Manipur as deeply biased and said
[00:01:11] it reflects a poor understanding of India and it attaches no value to it.
[00:01:17] A total of 194 contestants in 20 Lok Sabha seats will fight for voter support as
[00:01:22] Kerala goes to the polls on Friday. Let's get into the details.
[00:01:29] The Ahmadini Party is the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the alleged
[00:01:33] Delhi excise policy scam and has committed the offence of money laundering through its
[00:01:37] national convener Adwin Kajriwal. The enforcement directorate has told the Supreme Court.
[00:01:43] The ED has claimed the investigation done so far has revealed a part of the proceeds of crime,
[00:01:48] cash totaling around Rs. 45 crore was utilized in the Ahmadini Party's 2022 Goa Assembly poll campaign.
[00:01:55] Reacting to the ED's affidavit filed in the apex court, the Ahmadini Party alleged the
[00:02:00] probe agency has become a machine for telling lies. The ED claimed that Kajriwal was and is
[00:02:05] not only the brain behind the Ahmadini Party but also controls its major activities. He was
[00:02:10] also involved in deciding the excise policy as is evident from the statements of the witnesses,
[00:02:14] it said. The ED arrested Kajriwal on March 21st hours after the Delhi Icote refused to grant him
[00:02:20] protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency. He is currently
[00:02:25] lodged in the Tihar jail under judicial custody. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stepped
[00:02:33] up his attack on the Congress and said he was standing as a wall between the people and
[00:02:36] the grand old party's plans to loot them. Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's
[00:02:41] Murena city, Modi said former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had abolished the inheritance tax
[00:02:46] after his mother Dindra Gandhi's death to save her wealth from going to the government.
[00:02:51] After benefiting from it, the Congress now wants to impose it again on the people of the country,
[00:02:55] he said. If the Congress comes to power, it will snatch more than half of the earnings
[00:02:59] of the people through inheritance tax, he said. A day after Rahul Gandhi's remark that those
[00:03:04] who call themselves Deshpukth are scared of the X-ray of caste censors, Modi said the
[00:03:09] Congress wants to confiscate people's jewelry and small savings by conducting an X-ray of their
[00:03:13] properties and valuables. Taking cognizance for the first time of a modal code violation
[00:03:20] allegation against the Prime Minister, the election commissioner on Thursday asked the
[00:03:24] BJP to respond to complaints filed by opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi
[00:03:29] but his divisive and defamatory speech in Rajasthan, Banswara. The poll panel also asked
[00:03:34] the Congress to respond to complaints filed by the BJP against the main opposition
[00:03:37] party's president Malagar Junkhar Ghee and its senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their
[00:03:42] respective remarks. Addressing a rally on April 21st, Modi said the Congress plans to give people's
[00:03:47] hard-earned money and valuables to infiltrators and those who have more children. He also said
[00:03:53] that the opposition party will not even spare the Mangal Sutra of women.
[00:03:57] Commission officials said it was the first time that the panel has taken cognizance
[00:04:00] of a complaint against any Prime Minister. The poll panel has invoked provisions of
[00:04:04] the representation of the People Act to hold party presidents as the first step to reign in star
[00:04:09] campaigners. India on Friday described a U.S. State Department report citing alleged incidents
[00:04:16] of human rights violations including in Manipur as deeply biased and said it reflects a poor
[00:04:21] understanding of India and it attaches no value to it. The annual report of the State Department
[00:04:26] highlighted instances of human rights abuses in Manipur following the outbreak of ethnic
[00:04:30] conflict. The India section of the report said local human rights organizations, minority political
[00:04:36] parties and affected communities criticized the country's government for the delayed action to
[00:04:40] stop violence and provide humanitarian assistance in Manipur. According to the report, there were
[00:04:45] a number of press and civil society reports of representatives of political parties using
[00:04:49] disinformation tactics against civil society organizations, religious minorities such as
[00:04:54] Sikhs and Muslims and the political opposition sometimes depicting them as security threats.
[00:05:00] Referring to the tax rates on BBC offices, the report said although tax authorities describe
[00:05:04] the searches as motivated by irregularities in the BBC's tax payments and ownership structure,
[00:05:09] officials also searched and seized the equipment from journalists who were not involved in the
[00:05:12] organization's financial processes. A total of 194 condistances and 20 Lok Sabha seats are
[00:05:21] vying for voter support as Kerala goes to the polls on Friday after over a month-long
[00:05:26] fierce campaign by the CPM-led ruling LDF, Congress-headed UDF and the BJP-led NDA.
[00:05:32] The election commission said there are over 2.75 crore voters in Kerala where polling will come
[00:05:37] in at 7 am on Friday. Chief electoral officer Sanjay Kalt said 63,100 bottles of ink are used
[00:05:43] to prevent fraudulent voting and ensure flawless and transparent elections. This time there
[00:05:48] are 2 crore 77 lakh 49,159 voters in the state out of which more than 5 lakh are first-time
[00:05:54] voters. COTM constituency boasts the highest number of candidates at 14 while Arletor has
[00:06:00] the fewest at 5. Of the total 194 candidates, 169 are men and 25 are women. The Varegada constituency
[00:06:07] stands out with the highest number of female candidates at 4. When the polling for 20
[00:06:11] constituencies in the state begins at 7 am on Friday, more than 5 lakh first-time voters will
[00:06:16] go to the polling booth. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF won 19 of the 20 seats while
[00:06:21] the LDF had to settle for just a single seat.
[00:06:27] That brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening to Daily News Tows,
[00:06:30] hosted and produced by me Vishnu Murretharan with technical support from IW Studios.
[00:06:35] Follow www.onmonotomotom.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.