The Evening Wrap: Delhi High Court reserves verdict in Kejriwal's plea against arrest

The Delhi High Court on April 3 reserved its verdict on a petition by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged Excise policy scam. “I am going to reserve judgement,” said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma after hearing the senior counsel appearing for the AAP leader as well as the agency. “The first of the points is, please keep in mind the importance of the case in terms of level playing field. It has three components -- free and fair elections which is in turn part of democracy which is in turn part of the basic structure. This case reeks of timing issues which ensures that Kejriwal is unable to participate in democratic activity and to try to disintegrate the AAP before the first vote is cast,” senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said in the court on April 3. Earlier, senior AAP leader Atishi claimed Kejriwal has been rapidly losing weight since his arrest on March 21 and accused the BJP of putting his health at risk by keeping him in jail. She said the Aam Aadmi Party will seek legal help over the Chief Minister’s health condition. However, the administration of Tihar jail, where Kejriwal is lodged till April 15, has denied the claims over his health. A senior Tihar jail official said Kejriwal’s vitals are normal. Later, at a press conference, the Delhi Minister said, “Today, the Delhi High Court will hear a plea challenging his arrest by ED. After the court decides on it, we will seek legal help over his health situation.” Alleging that Kejriwal has been put behind bars in a “false case”, Atishi said they are closely monitoring his health condition. Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court for time-bound release of ₹38,000 crore relief for cyclone, flood damage The State of Tamil Nadu on April 03 filed a suit against the Union government in the Supreme Court for the release of ₹19,692.69 crore as financial assistance for the damage caused by Cyclone Michaung in December 2023 within a specified time. The State, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson and advocate D. Kumanan, said it had written to the Home Ministry on December 14, 2023 to release the funds. The State wants the apex court to fix a specified time frame for the Centre to consider its representation for the release of financial aid. The State said it had also written to the Centre on December 26 for the release of funds to the tune of ₹18,214.52 crore to tide over the damage caused by the unprecedented extremely heavy rainfall in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu on December 17-18, 2023. Tamil Nadu has also sought the apex court to pass an ex parte order of interim relief and direct the Union to consider representations made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the State’s Chief Secretary on December 19, 2023 and January 10, 2024 to release ₹2,000 crore as immediate assistance to carry out relief operations and temporary restoration works. The original suit filed by the State under Article 131 of the Constitution follows Stalin’s response on the lack of adequate flood relief from the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented, ahead of the General Election, that the Congress had “callously given away” the strategic Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, and Stalin’s party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had done “nothing” to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. Vistara CEO extends ‘apology’ for taxing schedules during townhall with pilots Battling massive flight cancellations following unrest among pilots ahead of its merger with Air India, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan attempted a rapprochment by holding a townhall with them during which he extended an “apology” to the them for taxing schedules as well as sought their “support” in resolving concerns. Mr. Kannan sought to address a big chunk of the problem pertaining to roster mismanagement resulting in high number of working hours for pilots, and stressful combination of flights, and assured them that the airline will take measures to ensure better work-life balance even if the airline had to take a hit commercially. “We will take steps to make roster less taxing in a much more rigorous fashion,” Mr. Kannan said during a 25-minute townhall during which he also fielded questions directly from pilots. He said that since March 31 the airline had seen 150 flight cancellations and 200 flight delays of over two hours but said that proactive cancellation of flights on April 3 and 4 was expected to bring back normalcy. He said these cancellations would continue till the end of the month to create a pilot buffer. He dismissed that a section of pilots reported sick to protest against the new pay structure announced in mid-February and said that “it was not the case”. Instead he sought to blame ATC delays, groundings due to bird hits and engine failure, and hectic roster where pilots had exceeded their maximum limit of permissible flight hours as well as a lack of a pilot buffer, which he said “snowballed” into a large number of cancellations. Instances of pilots calling in sick were common at the airline during the end of the financial year as crew want to utilise unused leaves, which he said was “the final straw that broke the camel’s back” in an attempt to downplay the impact of the protest. On the contentious issue of the new salary structure, he accepted that while some pilots were unhappy, he said that it was in the interest of the “wider community”, and that it would continue to be in vogue. He however invited pilots to write to him with their concerns on the pay structure and offered to revert. There were many questions fielded to him on the issue of seniority list of Vistara pilots in the merged Air India on which he assured that the formula already devised and shared with the pilots according to which they have been assigned an upgrade turn would be implemented even if there was a delay in the merger. He “assured” pilots that the Vistara management would continue to work with Air India to ensure this list was implemented. Sanjay Singh’s bail bond accepted, court asks him to share itinerary if he leaves NCR The Rouse Avenue court on April 3 accepted the bail bond and imposed certain conditions on Sanjay Singh, including that he furnish his itinerary through email and keep his Google location on if he leaves Delhi, NCR. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Special CBI Judge Kaveri Baweja was directed to furnish a bail bond of ₹2 lakh and one surety bond in the same amount. His wife, Anita Singh, furnished the surety bond. Initially, the court wanted to impose a condition that Sanjay Singh wouldn’t leave the Delhi NCR region. However, the court, after hearing the submissions of advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, counsel for Sanjay Singh, directed that Singh share his itinerary. Additionally, he will share his location with the investigation officer. Advocate Bhardwaj submitted that Singh is an MP and a political leader. It would be difficult for him to move the court for taking permission at this election time as the campaign schedule was made available at the last hour. His counsel also said that he is an MP and there is no flight risk. On the other hand, advocate Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel for ED, said that there is a condition by the Supreme Court that Sanjay Singh will not speak to the media regarding his role in this case. His counsel said that Singh would comply with the direction of the Supreme Court. “He will furnish his itinerary and location to the IO before leaving Delhi, NCR,” the court said. The court has also imposed conditions, including that he will surrender his passport, not leave the country, provide his mobile number to the IO and cooperate in the investigation. Sanjay Singh was arrested in October last year by the ED in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case. Recently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also arrested and sent to judicial custody until April 15. Manish Sisodia is also in judicial custody in this case. NCP ‘clock’ symbol | Supreme Court questions Ajit Pawar on publication of advertisement with disclaimer about ongoing dispute The Supreme Court on April 3 asked the Ajit Pawar group, now declared the “real Nationalist Congress Party”, if they have complied with its March 19 order to publish advertisements in the media with a disclaimer that a legal dispute with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s faction over the allocation of the party symbol ‘clock’ is still underway in the Supreme Court. In an oral mentioning before a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the elder Pawar, who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), informed that the group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was yet to comply with the court order. “We are in the middle of the election season,” Singhvi pointed out. He said an application filed by the Ajit Pawar faction to relax the March 19 order was actually an attempt to review the court direction. “It is nothing but a blatant review. It is a reasoned order,” Singhvi submitted. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi urged the court to modify the “last line” of the order. In the March 19 order, the Supreme Court directed the NCP to “issue a public notice in the newspapers with Marathi, Hindi and English editions, notifying that the allocation of the “clock” symbol is sub-judice before the Supreme Court and the respondents (Ajit Pawar group) have been permitted to use the same subject to the final outcome of these proceedings. Such a declaration shall be incorporated in every pamphlet, advertisement, audio, or video clips to be issued on behalf of the respondents”. Justice Kant, however, voiced the firm view of the Bench that there was no ambiguity in the order which required clarification. The language of the order was both simple, clear and direct, Justice Kant noted. “There is only one meaning and no question of double interpretation,” Justice Kant said. The court said nobody had a right to deliberately misconstrue a court order. The Bench listed the case on Thursday. The Supreme Court had passed the March 19 order on a plea by the Sharad Pawar group to restrain his nephew, who broke away with a clutch of MLAs to join the BJP-Eknath Shinde government, from using the ‘clock’ symbol, the original symbol of the undivided NCP. The court had not stopped Ajit Pawar from continuing to use the symbol, but had told him to be transparent about the ongoing legal dispute over it with his uncle. Sharad Pawar had alleged that his face and the clock symbol were both misused by his nephew’s faction to misguide voters. He had argued that this was against the very principle of free and fair elections, tilting the playing field in favour of Ajit Pawar a few days ahead of the General Elections. The March 19 order of the Supreme Court had recognised Sharad Pawar’s plea to contest the polls under the ‘trumpet’ party symbol and the title ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’. The court had directed the Election Commission to not allot the ‘trumpet’ symbol to any other party or independent candidate. Ugandan court rejects bid to nullify anti-gay law that provides for the death penalty in some cases Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld an anti-gay law that allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill into law in May last year. The law is supported by many in the East African country but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. Activists had contested the law in court, but the judges declined to overturn it in their ruling, saying it was legally passed by parliament and does not violate the constitution. “We decline to nullify the Anti Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety; neither would we grant a permanent injunction against enforcement,” Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera said. The court, however, ruled that members of the gay community should not be discriminated against when seeking medication. “They should be medically and culturally accepted,” Buteera said. The petitioners, led by lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, had given 14 grounds for its dismissal. One of the petitioners, Andrew Mwenda, said they would appeal to the Supreme Court. “What we have witnessed in court is what I would call a temporary reversal in an overall strategic battle or a strategic war against cultural bigotry and prejudice, so we are going to appeal to the Supreme Court not for striking down the different components of this law but for overturning this law into its entirety,” he said. The law defines “aggravated homosexuality” as cases of homosexual relations involving a minor and other categories of vulnerable people, or when the perpetrator is infected with HIV. A suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, and the offense of “attempted homosexuality” is punishable by up to 10 years. Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalising sexual activity “against the order of nature.” The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment. The United Nations expressed deep concern when the new law was passed, with the U.N. Human Rights Office calling it ”a recipe for systematic violations of the rights” of LGBTQ+ people and others. U.S. President Joe Biden called the law “a tragic violation of universal human rights — one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country.” The World Bank halted new loans to Uganda, saying additional measures were necessary to ensure projects align with the bank’s environmental and social standards. Homosexuality is criminalised in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. Some Africans see it as behaviour imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation. Poll roundup Vijender Singh, India’s first Olympic medallist in boxing who took a plunge in politics in April 2019 by joining the Congress, switched to the BJP on April 3. Singh fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency on a Congress ticket. His name was doing the rounds for the last few days as the party’s nominee from Mathura, from where actor and incumbent MP Hema Malini has been fielded again by the BJP. He comes from the Jat community, which has political influence in a large number of seats in Haryana, the State he comes from, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Burying the hatchet with his party rival Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said he will campaign for his senior colleague’s son Vaibhav who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Jalore. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency’s headquarters in New Delhi, the Congress general secretary said a redux of the 2004 election when the party won the polls despite the India Shining campaign of the NDA is very much on the cards. “A repeat of 2004 is very much possible given the circumstances, given the unrest among most people. What you don’t see in the media is the real sentiment on the ground. This politics of jumlas and overconfidence [by the BJP] has its limits,” Pilot said earlier this week. In Brief The Union Home Ministry has cancelled the registration of at least five NGOs for alleged violation of various provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, sources said on April 3. The NGOs whose registrations have been cancelled are CNI Synodical Board of Social Service, Voluntary Health Association of India, Indo-Global Social Service Society, Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action, and Evangelical Fellowship of India, they said. With the cancellation of their Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, these NGOs will no longer be able to receive foreign contributions nor utilise the existing available funds. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 April 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Excise policy case | Delhi High Court reserves verdict on Kejriwal’s plea challenging arrest The [Delhi High Court on April 3 reserved its verdict]( on a petition by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged Excise policy scam. “I am going to reserve judgement,” said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma after hearing the senior counsel appearing for the AAP leader as well as the agency. “The first of the points is, please keep in mind the importance of the case in terms of level playing field. It has three components -- free and fair elections which is in turn part of democracy which is in turn part of the basic structure. This case reeks of timing issues which ensures that Kejriwal is unable to participate in democratic activity and to try to disintegrate the AAP before the first vote is cast,” senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said in the court on April 3. Earlier, senior AAP leader Atishi claimed Kejriwal has been rapidly losing weight since his arrest on March 21 and accused the BJP of putting his health at risk by keeping him in jail. She said the Aam Aadmi Party will seek legal help over the Chief Minister’s health condition. However, the administration of Tihar jail, where Kejriwal is lodged till April 15, has denied the claims over his health. A senior Tihar jail official said Kejriwal’s vitals are normal. Later, at a press conference, the Delhi Minister said, “Today, the Delhi High Court will hear a plea challenging his arrest by ED. After the court decides on it, we will seek legal help over his health situation.” Alleging that Kejriwal has been put behind bars in a “false case”, Atishi said they are closely monitoring his health condition. Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court for time-bound release of ₹38,000 crore relief for cyclone, flood damage The [State of Tamil Nadu on April 03 filed a suit against the Union government in the Supreme Court]( for the release of ₹19,692.69 crore as financial assistance for the damage caused by Cyclone Michaung in December 2023 within a specified time. The State, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson and advocate D. Kumanan, said it had written to the Home Ministry on December 14, 2023 to release the funds. The State wants the apex court to fix a specified time frame for the Centre to consider its representation for the release of financial aid. The State said it had also written to the Centre on December 26 for the release of funds to the tune of ₹18,214.52 crore to tide over the damage caused by the unprecedented extremely heavy rainfall in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu on December 17-18, 2023. Tamil Nadu has also sought the apex court to pass an ex parte order of interim relief and direct the Union to consider representations made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the State’s Chief Secretary on December 19, 2023 and January 10, 2024 to release ₹2,000 crore as immediate assistance to carry out relief operations and temporary restoration works. The original suit filed by the State under Article 131 of the Constitution follows Stalin’s response on the lack of adequate flood relief from the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented, ahead of the General Election, that the Congress had “callously given away” the strategic Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, and Stalin’s party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had done “nothing” to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. Vistara CEO extends ‘apology’ for taxing schedules during townhall with pilots Battling massive flight cancellations following unrest among pilots ahead of its merger with Air India, [Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan attempted a rapprochment by holding a townhall]( with them during which he extended an “apology” to the them for taxing schedules as well as sought their “support” in resolving concerns. Mr. Kannan sought to address a big chunk of the problem pertaining to roster mismanagement resulting in high number of working hours for pilots, and stressful combination of flights, and assured them that the airline will take measures to ensure better work-life balance even if the airline had to take a hit commercially. “We will take steps to make roster less taxing in a much more rigorous fashion,” Mr. Kannan said during a 25-minute townhall during which he also fielded questions directly from pilots. He said that since March 31 the airline had seen 150 flight cancellations and 200 flight delays of over two hours but said that proactive cancellation of flights on April 3 and 4 was expected to bring back normalcy. He said these cancellations would continue till the end of the month to create a pilot buffer. He dismissed that a section of pilots reported sick to protest against the new pay structure announced in mid-February and said that “it was not the case”. Instead he sought to blame ATC delays, groundings due to bird hits and engine failure, and hectic roster where pilots had exceeded their maximum limit of permissible flight hours as well as a lack of a pilot buffer, which he said “snowballed” into a large number of cancellations. Instances of pilots calling in sick were common at the airline during the end of the financial year as crew want to utilise unused leaves, which he said was “the final straw that broke the camel’s back” in an attempt to downplay the impact of the protest. On the contentious issue of the new salary structure, he accepted that while some pilots were unhappy, he said that it was in the interest of the “wider community”, and that it would continue to be in vogue. He however invited pilots to write to him with their concerns on the pay structure and offered to revert. There were many questions fielded to him on the issue of seniority list of Vistara pilots in the merged Air India on which he assured that the formula already devised and shared with the pilots according to which they have been assigned an upgrade turn would be implemented even if there was a delay in the merger. He “assured” pilots that the Vistara management would continue to work with Air India to ensure this list was implemented. Sanjay Singh’s bail bond accepted, court asks him to share itinerary if he leaves NCR [The Rouse Avenue court on April 3 accepted the bail bond and imposed certain conditions on Sanjay Singh]( including that he furnish his itinerary through email and keep his Google location on if he leaves Delhi, NCR. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Special CBI Judge Kaveri Baweja was directed to furnish a bail bond of ₹2 lakh and one surety bond in the same amount. His wife, Anita Singh, furnished the surety bond. Initially, the court wanted to impose a condition that Sanjay Singh wouldn’t leave the Delhi NCR region. However, the court, after hearing the submissions of advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, counsel for Sanjay Singh, directed that Singh share his itinerary. Additionally, he will share his location with the investigation officer. Advocate Bhardwaj submitted that Singh is an MP and a political leader. It would be difficult for him to move the court for taking permission at this election time as the campaign schedule was made available at the last hour. His counsel also said that he is an MP and there is no flight risk. On the other hand, advocate Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel for ED, said that there is a condition by the Supreme Court that Sanjay Singh will not speak to the media regarding his role in this case. His counsel said that Singh would comply with the direction of the Supreme Court. “He will furnish his itinerary and location to the IO before leaving Delhi, NCR,” the court said. The court has also imposed conditions, including that he will surrender his passport, not leave the country, provide his mobile number to the IO and cooperate in the investigation. Sanjay Singh was arrested in October last year by the ED in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case. Recently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also arrested and sent to judicial custody until April 15. Manish Sisodia is also in judicial custody in this case. NCP ‘clock’ symbol | Supreme Court questions Ajit Pawar on publication of advertisement with disclaimer about ongoing dispute The [Supreme Court on April 3 asked the Ajit Pawar group, now declared the “real Nationalist Congress Party”, if they have complied with its March 19 order]( to publish advertisements in the media with a disclaimer that a legal dispute with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s faction over the allocation of the party symbol ‘clock’ is still underway in the Supreme Court. In an oral mentioning before a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the elder Pawar, who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), informed that the group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was yet to comply with the court order. “We are in the middle of the election season,” Singhvi pointed out. He said an application filed by the Ajit Pawar faction to relax the March 19 order was actually an attempt to review the court direction. “It is nothing but a blatant review. It is a reasoned order,” Singhvi submitted. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi urged the court to modify the “last line” of the order. In the March 19 order, the Supreme Court directed the NCP to “issue a public notice in the newspapers with Marathi, Hindi and English editions, notifying that the allocation of the “clock” symbol is sub-judice before the Supreme Court and the respondents (Ajit Pawar group) have been permitted to use the same subject to the final outcome of these proceedings. Such a declaration shall be incorporated in every pamphlet, advertisement, audio, or video clips to be issued on behalf of the respondents”. Justice Kant, however, voiced the firm view of the Bench that there was no ambiguity in the order which required clarification. The language of the order was both simple, clear and direct, Justice Kant noted. “There is only one meaning and no question of double interpretation,” Justice Kant said. The court said nobody had a right to deliberately misconstrue a court order. The Bench listed the case on Thursday. The Supreme Court had passed the March 19 order on a plea by the Sharad Pawar group to restrain his nephew, who broke away with a clutch of MLAs to join the BJP-Eknath Shinde government, from using the ‘clock’ symbol, the original symbol of the undivided NCP. The court had not stopped Ajit Pawar from continuing to use the symbol, but had told him to be transparent about the ongoing legal dispute over it with his uncle. Sharad Pawar had alleged that his face and the clock symbol were both misused by his nephew’s faction to misguide voters. He had argued that this was against the very principle of free and fair elections, tilting the playing field in favour of Ajit Pawar a few days ahead of the General Elections. The March 19 order of the Supreme Court had recognised Sharad Pawar’s plea to contest the polls under the ‘trumpet’ party symbol and the title ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’. The court had directed the Election Commission to not allot the ‘trumpet’ symbol to any other party or independent candidate. Ugandan court rejects bid to nullify anti-gay law that provides for the death penalty in some cases [Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld an anti-gay law]( that allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill into law in May last year. The law is supported by many in the East African country but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. Activists had contested the law in court, but the judges declined to overturn it in their ruling, saying it was legally passed by parliament and does not violate the constitution. “We decline to nullify the Anti Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety; neither would we grant a permanent injunction against enforcement,” Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera said. The court, however, ruled that members of the gay community should not be discriminated against when seeking medication. “They should be medically and culturally accepted,” Buteera said. The petitioners, led by lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, had given 14 grounds for its dismissal. One of the petitioners, Andrew Mwenda, said they would appeal to the Supreme Court. “What we have witnessed in court is what I would call a temporary reversal in an overall strategic battle or a strategic war against cultural bigotry and prejudice, so we are going to appeal to the Supreme Court not for striking down the different components of this law but for overturning this law into its entirety,” he said. The law defines “aggravated homosexuality” as cases of homosexual relations involving a minor and other categories of vulnerable people, or when the perpetrator is infected with HIV. A suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, and the offense of “attempted homosexuality” is punishable by up to 10 years. Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalising sexual activity “against the order of nature.” The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment. The United Nations expressed deep concern when the new law was passed, with the U.N. Human Rights Office calling it ”a recipe for systematic violations of the rights” of LGBTQ+ people and others. U.S. President Joe Biden called the law “a tragic violation of universal human rights — one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country.” The World Bank halted new loans to Uganda, saying additional measures were necessary to ensure projects align with the bank’s environmental and social standards. Homosexuality is criminalised in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. Some Africans see it as behaviour imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation. Poll roundup - [Vijender Singh, India’s first Olympic medallist in boxing who took a plunge in politics in April 2019 by joining the Congress, switched to the BJP]( on April 3. Singh fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency on a Congress ticket. His name was doing the rounds for the last few days as the party’s nominee from Mathura, from where actor and incumbent MP Hema Malini has been fielded again by the BJP. He comes from the Jat community, which has political influence in a large number of seats in Haryana, the State he comes from, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. - Burying the hatchet with his party rival Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader [Sachin Pilot has said he will campaign for his senior colleague’s son Vaibhav]( who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Jalore. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency’s headquarters in New Delhi, the Congress general secretary said a redux of the 2004 election when the party won the polls despite the India Shining campaign of the NDA is very much on the cards. “A repeat of 2004 is very much possible given the circumstances, given the unrest among most people. What you don’t see in the media is the real sentiment on the ground. This politics of jumlas and overconfidence [by the BJP] has its limits,” Pilot said earlier this week. In Brief The [Union Home Ministry has cancelled the registration of at least five NGOs]( for alleged violation of various provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, sources said on April 3. The NGOs whose registrations have been cancelled are CNI Synodical Board of Social Service, Voluntary Health Association of India, Indo-Global Social Service Society, Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action, and Evangelical Fellowship of India, they said. With the cancellation of their Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, these NGOs will no longer be able to receive foreign contributions nor utilise the existing available funds. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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