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JUST SPAMMING | What’s that that will get parties the votes?

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JUST SPAMMING | What’s that that will get parties the votes?



A single conundrum that all political parties will like to crack is: What will get the people’s votes. The need to know the answer becomes more acute when the next election nears and most parties loaded with money seek out self-styled strategists who at times ‘deliver,’ as the media and politicians believe, when the party they work for, of course for a gargantuan compensation, wins. But seldom do strategists repeat their success because at the end of the day an election outcome depends on the people’s mood.

Yet with all parties believing that they could woo the voters – otherwise they will not be in politics at all – and swing their preferences, they come out with statements, proclamations and posturing, illuminating the road to the polls with interesting and at times bewildering or comical anecdotes and vignettes. Not knowing exactly what the people expect from them, the politicians try out different tricks. So we find a leader indulging in self-flagellation using, what his detractors described as, a soft whip, while some claim to have had close kinship with deceased leaders, say like LTTE leader V Prabhakaran.

But those were the old happenings. What is now brewing in Tamil Nadu is different. Dramatic allegations by the opposition parties and quick rebuttals by the ruling party is becoming the norm now. One of the charges that the ruling party now faces is a spurt in murders. Every death is closely scrutinized and every foul play is played up as a failure of the government. True, criminals can have a free run only if there is no fear of the law catching up with them and it is the government’s duty to ensure that the long arm of the law does not spare anyone.

However, when the leader of the opposition in the Assembly raises in the floor of the House to point out the rise in murders in the State, hoping to win brownie points with the voters and also get their support in due course, he is countered with statistics that point to more murders happening in his regime. So the former Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, says that crime rates cannot be compared in that fashion, as we do with figures relating to the economy. What he was indirectly saying was that don’t talk about the past, look at the present and you will see gore all over and take responsibility for it.

Without going into the correctness of such a stand, what one would like to know is if a regime is judged by the crimes particularly the murders that happened during its tenure and does it influence voters’ choice during the elections. True, crimes, particularly gory ones, leave a lasting impression on the people but do the people hold the entire government responsible for murders that happen for various reasons and vote them out when their time comes. This is the piquant question that political parties find intriguing or have not found the answer at all.

Otherwise, why do the opposition parties want to vociferously accuse the government of not reigning in individual killers on the prowl and hope to gain political capital out of it? When the government retorts by recalling murders that the people view as institutionalized murders like the shooting down of protestors who took out a procession against a mighty multi-national company, they find themselves lost. Though every life is precious, murder committed by policemen inside a police station is seen by the people as more gruesome than a revenge killing happening on a highway. So when the opposition talks about the killing of a criminal on parole, the government reminds them of a father and son duo who was beaten to death in a police station.

No one can deny the fact that the people want a society without criminals and crimes and they also expect the government to usher in such an amiable environment. But when a party, in whose regime protestors were shot down by sharpshooters, asks why a criminal was hacked to death in broad daylight, it is only a case of the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. At least the common people will look at it that way. Yet if the opposition parties feel that they can paint the ruling party black by pointing to the spurt in crimes, they seem to be running out of ideas to project themselves as an alternative.

Even the nitpicking indulged in by the national party – the BJP that has avowed to capture power in the State – are, to put it mildly, ludicrous. The local leaders of the party promoting the cause of Hindi or its euphemistic version of three language policy were only shooting themselves in their own foot. For, as those leaders themselves know, Hindi is seen as an anathema (whether it is right or wrong is not the question here) by the people and supporting the learning of Hindi will not make them popular among the voters.

Yet they all did it for obvious reasons. So, this trend of opposition parties raising trivial and mundane issues with a view to winning the next election is an indicator to an unhealthy political system coming to roost, chasing away the possibilities for issue based debates and people-oriented policies from its purview. All because the parties seem to believe that people will vote for the one who looted less and killed fewer people.



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Pahalgam attack LIVE: India informs Pakistan of its decision to keep Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance’

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Pahalgam attack LIVE: India informs Pakistan of its decision to keep Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance’



Panun Kashmir urges Centre to issue travel advisory for Kashmir, says situation ‘far from normal’



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From The Hindu, April 25, 1975: Israel’s independence — Soviet offer

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From The Hindu, April 25, 1975: Israel’s independence — Soviet offer


Moscow, April 24: The Soviet Union yesterday offered its backing for the “strictest guarantees of Israel’s existence and independence” — if it was prepared to withdraw from occupied Arab territories. The pledge, made by the Foreign Minister, Mr. Andrel Gromyko, at a Kremlin dinner in honour of the visiting Syrian Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdel-Khalim Khaddam, was seen as the strongest Soviet promise yet to preserve the Jewish State.

Mr. Gromyko also re-affirmed his Government’s support for a reconvened Geneva peace conference, but urged thorough preparation so that the forum should not become as empty “fanfaronade.”

If Israel’s leaders wanted to ensure the peaceful development of their country, they simply had to abandon plans to annex other people’s territories, the Foreign Minister declared.

“Israel may get, if it wishes so, the strictest guarantees with the participation — under an appropriate agreement — of the Soviet Union,” he said. “These guarantees would ensure peaceful conditions for the existence and development of all States in the Middle East,” Mr. Gromyko said.



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Telangana Crime Briefs | Woman, Lover Held for Husband’s Murder in Shadnagar

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Telangana Crime Briefs | Woman, Lover Held for Husband’s Murder in Shadnagar



Hyderabad: The Shadnagar police have cracked a murder case with the arrest of a woman and her lover, who allegedly killed her husband and attempted to destroy evidence. Police have seized an auto-rickshaw, a butcher’s knife and two mobile phones from the accused.

According to officials, Mounika, a 26-year-old resident of Chinna Chilkamarthi village in Farooqnagar mandal, had lodged a missing person complaint on February 24. She claimed that her husband, Yadayya, had left home on February 19 to deliver milk but never returned. A case was registered, and an investigation was launched.

During the probe, police uncovered that Mounika was in a relationship with Ashok, a 31-year-old auto driver from Kandivanam village. Investigators found that Yadayya frequently consumed alcohol and had frequent altercations with Mounika, causing a breakdown in their marriage. Seeing him as an obstacle to their relationship, Mounika and Ashok allegedly plotted to kill him.

On the evening of February 18, Ashok took Mounika and Yadayya in his auto-rickshaw to a secluded area near Pedagattu Tanda, under the pretext of attending a feast at his uncle’s village. There, they made Yadayya consume alcohol. Once he was heavily intoxicated, Ashok allegedly slit his throat with a knife. The two then dumped the body in a pit, poured petrol over it and set it ablaze.

After the crime, the couple returned to Shadnagar and began living together in a rented room in Ayyappa Colony. However, locals grew suspicious and alerted the police. On April 23, both were taken in for questioning and confessed to the murder.

Cyberabad cop, 5 others booked for Rs 23L dacoity

Hyderabad: An armed reserve (AR) constable posted with the Cyberabad police commissioner’s escort vehicle and five others have been booked for dacoity by Moinabad police after allegedly looting Rs 23 lakh from a scrap dealer.

According to G. Pavan Kumar Reddy, SHO, Moinabad police station, the accused G. Shekhar, an AR constable from the city armed reserve (CAR) deployed on rotation duty with the Cyberabad escort team, conspired with his associates to rob a scrap businessman named Mohammed Imran.

On Wednesday afternoon, Shekhar and his associates — identified as Ajay, Mubin, Qutub and others — lured Imran by claiming that a farmhouse owner was selling a large quantity of scrap at a low price. They told him to bring Rs 23 lakh in cash to close the deal.

Imran, who was familiar with Ajay, trusted the offer and arrived at the farmhouse with his friends, carrying the money in a backpack, police said. Once they confirmed the cash was with Imran, the accused reportedly assaulted him and his associates, threatened them not to report the incident and fled the spot with the money.

However, Imran later lodged a complaint with Moinabad police, who registered a case under Sections 310 (dacoity causing hurt) and 115 of the BNS. The suspects have reportedly been detained, though police are yet to announce the arrests officially.

ED raids Hawala operators

Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Thursday raided hawala operators related to cigarette smuggling in Hyderabad. Officials said several pieces of evidence were found against the hawala operators.

The raids were conducted in more than 10 locations following a tip-off. Several teams were pressed into service. Suspicion on the hawala operators arose because of inter-state transactions. The unaccounted cash was seized from the premises belonging to the hawala operators.

Sources said Hyderabad is fast becoming a hub for cigarette smuggling.

The agency suspects the operators’ role in hawala transactions in other parts of India and even internationally. While the operators were questioned on Thursday on previous cash transactions, they were also asked to appear before ED officials for further questioning. The investigators are trying to piece together the entire network and find the kingpin.

Sources said evidence against the operators include the unaccounted foreign currency (running into several crores of rupees), receipts of hawala transactions, proof of smuggling and unaccounted sale and purchase of pan masala.

Action against the hawala operators would be taken based on further inputs, ED officials said.

Hawala transactions are illegal in India as they violate the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and can help in tax evasion. Hawala transactions have earlier had links with terror financing, smuggling, trafficking and money laundering.

During the searches, ED officials have found unaccounted foreign currency, evidence related to hawala transactions, cigarette smuggling and unaccounted sale and purchase of pan masala. Following the inputs, they would initiate action against the hawala operators.

Notices issued to HMRL

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) and the state government following hearing of a public interest litigation that alleged the Metro system was promoting illegal offshore betting apps — 1xBET, Fairplay and Myjackpot777.

Standing counsel for HMRL Tejaswini Mereddy refuted the contentions. The court said HMRL must file a counter affidavit with relevant documents to show that no betting application advertisement is being permitted. The matter was adjourned to 29 April.

Underage biker dies in road accident

Hyderabad: A 16-year-old boy died in a road accident in Habeebnagar on Wednesday night. As many as four major traffic violations were seen in the incident.

The deceased B. Bhagyawanth, a class IX student, was riding a bike with three of his friends as pillion riders when the accident occurred near Hameed Café. A bike coming from the wrong side (opposite direction), driven by one Pradeep Kumar hit Bhagyawanth’s bike.

As Bhagyawanth fell, a private bus ran him over and he died on the spot, police said.

Bhagyawanth’s three friends suffered minor injuries.

Police have seized the bus and Pradeep’s bike. A case of rash and negligent driving was filed against the bus driver and Pradeep.

Bhagyawanth was a resident of Sitarambagh. He and his friends were going from Bhoiguda to Asifnagar. Bhagyawanth’s body was handed over to his family after post-mortem at OGH on Thursday.



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