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In a traffic advisory issued by the police, it was stated, “The area of New Delhi district will be treated as a controlled area and only public transport vehicles, civil service aspirants, bonafide residents, labelled and emergency vehicles will be allowed to move in the area.”

Among the other traffic regulations, the police said that Mother Teresa Crescent Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Ashoka Road, Akbar Road and nearby roads will be treated as regulated areas.

The Shinde-led Sena has 13 MPs. At a meeting of the MPs with the chief minister on Wednesday evening, the issue of fund allocation was discussed among other things. “All our 13 MPs were present at the meeting. We discussed various issues. One of the issues was the allocation of funds. We brought to the notice of the chief minister that we were getting less development funds for our constituencies than what the MLAs are getting from the state government,” Sena MP Shrirang Barne told The Indian Express on Friday.

Barne said annually MPs get a development fund of Rs 5 crore from the central government. “We don’t get funds from the state government but we get development works done by the state government. The amount that is spent on the development works of MLAs is much more than that is spent on works suggested by MPs. We wanted the CM to remove this anomaly. He has promised to look into the issue,” the MP said.

Asked if BJP MPs got more development funds, Barne said, “We MPs made no such complaints. It is all a media creation. They want us to quarrel among ourselves.”

On whether the MPs discussed the Sena’s share in Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming election, he said, “We discussed several issues, but I cannot comment about all those.”

Sources said Shinde’s Sena has been angling to contest 22 Lok Sabha seats. However, the Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray has ridiculed this claim. “The Eknath Shinde group will not even get five seats to contest. We don’t consider it a party. It is just a group which will soon disappear into oblivion,” Uddhav Sena’s spokesperson Sanjay Raut told The Indian Express .

Hitting back, Barne said, “Raut has no other work. So he keeps pouring his frustration out. We don’t attach much importance to what he says.”

“I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the ordinance. It looks like the days before Emergency. Modi government is insulting the people of Delhi state and stifling the democratically-elected popular government of Aam Aadmi Party. These kind of ordinances are a danger to democracy, a challenge to democracy,” KCR said at a joint press conference with Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and his other party colleagues, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

Watch Live: Joint Press Conference of Telangana CM Sri KCR, Delhi CM Sri @ArvindKejriwal & Punjab CM Sri @BhagwantMann . https://t.co/saDiST4Iye

— BRS Party (@BRSparty) May 27, 2023

“We will fight against this kind of ordinance in Parliament. People will teach a lesson to the BJP if it does not stop doing these undemocratic things. People have taught a lesson to the BJP in Karnataka. The people of this country are watching,’’ Rao said, adding that the BRS will back the AAP in its fight against the ordinance. He also urged other anti-BJP parties to support it.

Tearing into the BJP dispensation, KCR alleged: “Harassing, stifling, non-cooperation, and using agencies to raid democratically-elected state governments is going on under the Modi government. The AAP government got a good majority not once but three times, but is not being allowed to work. The Modi government has overridden the SC judgment by bringing the Delhi ordinance and it appears that we are heading towards the dark days of Emergency.”

Kejriwal said he was on a countrywide tour to meet the Opposition leaders to mobilise their support against the ordinance. “It is a battle to save democracy, a battle to save the Constitution. The BJP does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha and if all the non-BJP parties unite, we can defeat the ordinance in the RS and it will send a message to the entire nation that BJP can be defeated, Modi can be defeated. The battle to cancel this ordinance will be the semi-final before the 2024 elections and if we defeat this ordinance then we can defeat BJP also. The Modi government does not even honour the SC judgment,’’ he charged.

The Delhi CM also alleged that the Modi government was using the central agencies to “terrorise non-BJP-ruled state governments or purchase MLAs to topple elected governments”. “What is the need for holding Assembly elections when the PM feels that the country can be run with Governors in all the states? The BJP is not allowing any non-BJP government to function smoothly as Governors interfere,’’ he said.

Referring to several non-BJP CMs’ move to skip the meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog in Delhi Saturday, CM Mann said it was because “Centre does not stick to its promises”. “The BJP government at the Centre holds meetings but does what it wants to do. They have not released anything to Punjab after the last meeting,’’ he claimed.

As many as 227 offenders were arrested during this period and investigations were completed in 321 cases, out of which courts took cognisance in 182 cases, the CCB said in a press release. Out of 168 non-bailable warrants issued by courts, 107 were executed or recalled on the basis of CCB investigators’ efforts.

Among 2,732 cases under trial in 10 courts, 120 were disposed of with 37 cases ending in convictions. “Sixteen notorious offenders were detained under the Goondas Act,” the press release said.

In April alone, the CCB booked 84 cases and arrested 46 offenders, 10 of them under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

Among the notable cases, the CCB secured the convictions of Paulinus and Cletus, two Nigerians, in a matrimony scam case. They were sentenced to five-year imprisonment and a Rs 2 lakh fine each.

The CCB also arrested Chandrabose, an MBA graduate who allegedly ran a fake bank called Rural and Agricultural Farmer’s Cooperative Bank. One Abishek from Delhi , who allegedly fabricated a certificate of registration from the Reserve Bank of India, and Appanraj, who allegedly mobilised deposits, were also arrested in the case.

“I have no issues with them (state BJP leadership),” he told the media here. “If there were issues, we wouldn’t have campaigned together for the Erode East bypoll. The media is fabricating these reports to create discord between us.”

Annamalai also was present in Palaniswami’s meeting with Shah on Wednesday.

Stepping up pressure on the DMK-led government, Palaniswami, popularly called EPS, said that during the meeting, he had requested Shah to hold a detailed probe into allegations of corruption by DMK’s “first family”. His demand was in reference to two recently leaked audio clips , purportedly featuring state Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, popularly called PTR, allegedly discussing corruption within the DMK.

Annamalai, who put out the audio clips on social media, had on Sunday led a BJP delegation to meet Governor R N Ravi and had tweeted that they urged Ravi to hold an inquiry “in the audio tape of the State Finance Minister mentioning that the DMK 1st family made Rs 30,000 crores in a year thru corrupt means”.

Calling the clips “fabricated”, PTR said in a statement, “I strongly and specifically deny having said to any individual personally or on the phone at any point of time what is contained in the audio clip being circulated on social media, the source of which nobody accepts ownership for.”

Reports of the AIADMK’s fallout with alliance partner BJP began emerging after Palaniswami’s remarks on April 15, suggesting that Annamalai is an inexperienced leader. The former CM also remarked against Annamalai following the latter’s veiled threat against AIADMK, suggesting that he would expose alleged corruption in the party.

The state BJP chief’s controversial statement that the “DMK files,” which he unveiled as a corruption report against the ruling party, will expose all parties that have been at the helm in the state so far also apparently left the AIADMK leader peeved. Reacting to it, Palaniswami stated that individuals working in political parties should understand the basics. “I am ready to answer, but only when asked about mature politicians,” he had said, noting that he has spent five decades in politics.

On Thursday, EPS said that it is “shocking” that the state Finance Minister allegedly discussed a corruption scandal involving Rs 30,000 crore in the DMK.

Palaniswami said: “He [allegedly] mentioned two names in it — Sabareesan (Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son-in-law) and Udhayanidhi Stalin (state Sports Minister and Stalin’s son). The voice claims both individuals are unsure what to do with that Rs 30,000 crore. This matter needs detailed investigation. Claims are being made that the tapes were forged… but the key point is that Rajan (PTR) only responded to this audio after it was reported by the media. I raised this issue with Shah in our meeting and demanded an investigation.”

On the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s recent indication of alleged misuse of funds across several state departments under the previous AIADMK government, Palaniswami said the CAG did not specifically identify any “irregularities” but merely noted that the funds remained unspent. He attributed the unutilised funds to constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.