The Evening Wrap: PM Modi criticises INDIA leaders who shared videos of non-veg food during Navratri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi focussed a spotlight on the promise to restore Statehood and hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir at a rally for the upcoming Lok Sabha election on April 12, though he did not offer any concrete timeline for the restoration of Statehood. Instead, he extolled the positive impact of the abrogation of Article 370 and targeted the Opposition INDIA bloc’s leaders for their “Mughal mindset”. “The time is not far for the Assembly elections and restoration of Statehood to J&K. People will soon have their Ministers and legislators. It’s through them that people will fulfil their desires and dreams and walk on a new path of development,” he said at an election rally in the Udhampur-Doda constituency in Jammu. This is the first time after August 2019 that he has referred to the restoration of Statehood. His statement comes at a time when Jammu voters, especially in Hindu-majority areas, have started growing resentful of the downgrading of J&K into a Union Territory and the failure to hold Assembly elections. Congress leader Chaudhary Lal Singh has already started tapping into this growing anger in a bid to defeat the BJP’s Jitendra Singh, who is canvassing for re-election from the seat. In an indirect reference to the viral video of Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav eating meat, Modi said: “I don’t have a problem with whatever one eats, but I oppose those who instigate beliefs. They eat non-vegetarian food during Navratri and tease people by showing the video. By showing videos of non-vegetarian food during Navratri, by hurting the sentiments of people, who are they trying to please?” Opposition parties have “a Mughal mindset”, he alleged. Challenging the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, to announce the restoration of provisions of Article 370, the Prime Minister said: “Terrorism, separatism and stone throwing are no more election issues in J&K. The people of the country will not look towards the Congress if they talk of bringing back Article 370.” Without naming the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Modi accused J&K’s regional parties of “creating a barrier of Article 370 between J&K and the rest of the country”. “Political parties here want to take J&K back to the old days when politics and elections for them meant ‘of the party, by the party, and for the party’. But the Modi government has demolished this barrier,” he said. Challenging the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, to announce the restoration of provisions of Article 370, the Prime Minister said: “Terrorism, separatism and stone throwing are no more election issues in J&K. The people of the country will not look towards the Congress if they talk of bringing back Article 370.” Without naming the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Modi accused J&K’s regional parties of “creating a barrier of Article 370 between J&K and the rest of the country”. “Political parties here want to take J&K back to the old days when politics and elections for them meant ‘of the party, by the party, and for the party’. But the Modi government has demolished this barrier,” he said. Extolling the positive impacts of the abrogation of Article 370, the PM underlined that women, Dalits, and Valmikis now have their rights ensured in the Constitution. He said his government had also “tightened the noose around terrorists and separatists”. He added: “Conducting the Vaishno Devi and Amarnath yatra peacefully used to be a big task. But not now.” Modi promised to take J&K to new heights of development. “J&K, in the last 10 years, just witnessed a trailer. Real development will take place in the coming years,” the PM added. He vowed that J&K would soon be known for both startup companies and the tourism industry. “This election is to form a strong government in the country. When the government is strong, it shows its performance by challenging the challenges on the ground even amidst challenges,” he added. Rameshwaram Cafe blast suspects held in Kolkata In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the alleged bomber and chief conspirator of Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe blast. The duo were arrested near Kolkata, West Bengal on April 12, according to the NIA. The arrested persons are Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, 30, the alleged chief conspirator, and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, 30, the alleged bomber. The restaurant in Brookfield, Bengaluru was targeted on March 1, causing injuries to nine persons. NIA had recently announced a reward of ₹10 Lakh for information leading to their arrest. Mussavir Hussain Shazib is suspected of placing the IED in the café. Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa is suspected of planning the execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law, according to the NIA. NIA said the duo were traced to their hideout near Kolkata where they were staying under false identities, in the early hours of April 12. “This pursuit was successfully accomplished by NIA with support and co-operation between NIA, Central intelligence agencies and State Police of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala,” according to a statement by the NIA. Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib hail from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. They have been under the radar of security agencies since 2020. Security agencies believe that they had put together a terror module, referred to as the ‘Thirthahalli Module’, while being on the run. The duo first came to the notice of the agencies in the Al Hind IS module case in 2020 in Bengaluru. Mehboob Pasha, who ran the Al Hind Trust in Suddaguntepalya in Bengaluru and Khaja Moideen of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu had put together an Islamic State inspired terror module, and were in advanced stages of setting up camps in the forests of south India from where they wanted to launch a IS-style insurgency. Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib evaded arrest and went underground. Youths from Thirthahalli, allegedly radicalised by them, were involved in three terror cases — pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru in October 2020, a trial blast of an Improvised Explosive Device on the banks of river Tunga in Shivamogga in September 2022, and cooker bomb blast in Mangaluru in November 2022. Four youths from Thirthahalli have been arrested in these cases. Taahaa and Hussain were named as accused in all the three cases. “With the arrest of these two kingpins, all those we know of being members of this module have been arrested. We hope that this will neutralise this module. However, the duo have been travelling around India for the past four years. We have seen their footprints in Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Nellore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Assam and now West Bengal. They are highly motivated people, and there is a chance that they may have radicalised and recruited more people in other places. That will be part of the investigation,” said a senior police official from Karnataka, who has probed multiple cases involving the module. The official added that Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib had used their recruits to carry out terror incidents earlier. But, Hussain planting the IED at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1 indicated that they may have run out of expendable recruits. “This raises hopes that there aren’t any left in the module, and with the arrest of the duo, the module has been neutralised,” he said. India asks its citizens not to travel to Israel, Iran India on April 12 asked its citizens not to travel to Iran or Israel amid escalating tensions between the two countries following a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. “All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” the MEA said. “They are also requested to observe utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum,” it added. This comes a day after a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office that more than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country’s construction sector meet a labour shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Inflation drops to 10-month low in March, but no relief on food bills yet India’s retail inflation moderated to a ten-month low of 4.85% in March from 5.1% in February, but food inflation remained sticky at 8.52%, little changed from the 8.66% recorded in the previous month as price rise accelerated in cereals and meat, while vegetables, pulses, spices and eggs remained in double-digit inflation. While inflation for urban consumers cooled significantly from 4.8% in February to 4.14% in March, rural consumers had it harder as they experienced a slightly higher inflation of 5.45% in March compared with 5.34% in the previous month. This trend was visible in the extent of food price rise as well, as it accelerated from 8.3% in February to 8.6% in March for rural India, while the food inflation for urban consumers dropped from 9.2% in February to 8.35% last month. On a month-on-month basis, there was no change in the Consumer Price Index but the food price index inched up about 0.2% and economists reckoned that the ongoing heat wave could spike food inflation in coming months. Even as crude oil prices are firming up and an inflation spike in the US may delay hopes of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, sticky food inflation at home could further dampen prospects of rate cuts from India’s central bank. Poll roundup National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Friday announced the names of Omar Abdullah and Shia cleric Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi as the party’s candidates from Baramulla and Srinagar constituencies for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Omar Abdullah, while speaking on his nomination, sought to project the upcoming election as a fight between the BJP’s proxies and the NC in the Kashmir Valley. “This time, our fight is not against any individual. My fight is with those powers which are behind the candidates in the Kashmir Valley. It has been decided that I will be contesting from north Kashmir (Baramulla) because the BJP is focusing a lot on it. I want these powers to be defeated there,” Omar Abdullah said, in what was a veiled attack against the J&K Apni Party (JKAP) and the J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC). Kashmiri migrants from Jammu and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir would no longer be required to fill up ‘Form M’ to vote in the Lok Sabha polls as the Election Commission has ordered changes to the existing voting scheme for the displaced people, fulfilling a long-standing demand. Earlier, the filing of the form was mandatory for displaced voters from the Valley ahead of every parliamentary and Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir. Hereon, they shall be mapped with the special polling stations falling in the zones they are registered or residing in, the poll panel said. In addition, the commission also eased the process of filing Form M by the migrants staying in Delhi and other places in the country, by allowing self-attestation instead of the earlier required certification by Gazetted officers. In Brief India relocates Myanmar consulate staff in view of fighting India has temporarily moved staff from its consulate in Sittwe to Yangon in view of the fighting in Rakhine state of Myanmar, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on April 12, further adding, that the Indian consulate in Mandalay remained fully functional. “The security situation in Myanmar remains precarious and deteriorating. You heard about the fighting that is going on, specifically in Rakhine state and other areas. Some time back, we issued an advisory for our nationals so that they could take due care. Regarding the Indians who are travelling to Myanmar, they should observe proper safety protocols and take care of themselves while the embassy is there to take care of them. We’ve also relocated our staff from the Sittwe consulate to Yangon...,” said the MEA spokesperson. Kavitha sent to 3-day CBI custody The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has sent BRS leader K. Kavitha to three-day CBI custody in the Delhi excise policy case, on April 12 Kavitha is currently lodged in Tihar jail. Earlier on April 11, the CBI arrested Kavitha in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad on money-laundering charge on March 15. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 12 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]( PM slams ‘Mughal mindset’ of INDIA bloc leaders who shared videos of non-vegetarian food during Navratri Prime Minister Narendra Modi [focussed a spotlight on the promise to restore Statehood and hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir]( at a rally for the upcoming Lok Sabha election on April 12, though he did not offer any concrete timeline for the restoration of Statehood. Instead, he extolled the positive impact of the abrogation of Article 370 and targeted the Opposition INDIA bloc’s leaders for their “Mughal mindset”. “The time is not far for the Assembly elections and restoration of Statehood to J&K. People will soon have their Ministers and legislators. It’s through them that people will fulfil their desires and dreams and walk on a new path of development,” he said at an election rally in the Udhampur-Doda constituency in Jammu. This is the first time after August 2019 that he has referred to the restoration of Statehood. His statement comes at a time when Jammu voters, especially in Hindu-majority areas, have started growing resentful of the downgrading of J&K into a Union Territory and the failure to hold Assembly elections. Congress leader Chaudhary Lal Singh has already started tapping into this growing anger in a bid to defeat the BJP’s Jitendra Singh, who is canvassing for re-election from the seat. In an indirect reference to the viral video of Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav eating meat, Modi said: “I don’t have a problem with whatever one eats, but I oppose those who instigate beliefs. They eat non-vegetarian food during Navratri and tease people by showing the video. By showing videos of non-vegetarian food during Navratri, by hurting the sentiments of people, who are they trying to please?” Opposition parties have “a Mughal mindset”, he alleged. Challenging the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, to announce the restoration of provisions of Article 370, the Prime Minister said: “Terrorism, separatism and stone throwing are no more election issues in J&K. The people of the country will not look towards the Congress if they talk of bringing back Article 370.” Without naming the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Modi accused J&K’s regional parties of “creating a barrier of Article 370 between J&K and the rest of the country”. “Political parties here want to take J&K back to the old days when politics and elections for them meant ‘of the party, by the party, and for the party’. But the Modi government has demolished this barrier,” he said. Challenging the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, to announce the restoration of provisions of Article 370, the Prime Minister said: “Terrorism, separatism and stone throwing are no more election issues in J&K. The people of the country will not look towards the Congress if they talk of bringing back Article 370.” Without naming the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Modi accused J&K’s regional parties of “creating a barrier of Article 370 between J&K and the rest of the country”. “Political parties here want to take J&K back to the old days when politics and elections for them meant ‘of the party, by the party, and for the party’. But the Modi government has demolished this barrier,” he said. Extolling the positive impacts of the abrogation of Article 370, the PM underlined that women, Dalits, and Valmikis now have their rights ensured in the Constitution. He said his government had also “tightened the noose around terrorists and separatists”. He added: “Conducting the Vaishno Devi and Amarnath yatra peacefully used to be a big task. But not now.” Modi promised to take J&K to new heights of development. “J&K, in the last 10 years, just witnessed a trailer. Real development will take place in the coming years,” the PM added. He vowed that J&K would soon be known for both startup companies and the tourism industry. “This election is to form a strong government in the country. When the government is strong, it shows its performance by challenging the challenges on the ground even amidst challenges,” he added. Rameshwaram Cafe blast suspects held in Kolkata In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has [arrested the alleged bomber and chief conspirator of Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe blas](. The duo were arrested near Kolkata, West Bengal on April 12, according to the NIA. The arrested persons are Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, 30, the alleged chief conspirator, and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, 30, the alleged bomber. The restaurant in Brookfield, Bengaluru was targeted on March 1, causing injuries to nine persons. NIA had recently announced a reward of ₹10 Lakh for information leading to their arrest. Mussavir Hussain Shazib is suspected of placing the IED in the café. Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa is suspected of planning the execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law, according to the NIA. NIA said the duo were traced to their hideout near Kolkata where they were staying under false identities, in the early hours of April 12. “This pursuit was successfully accomplished by NIA with support and co-operation between NIA, Central intelligence agencies and State Police of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala,” according to a statement by the NIA. Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib hail from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. They have been under the radar of security agencies since 2020. Security agencies believe that they had put together a terror module, referred to as the ‘Thirthahalli Module’, while being on the run. The duo first came to the notice of the agencies in the Al Hind IS module case in 2020 in Bengaluru. Mehboob Pasha, who ran the Al Hind Trust in Suddaguntepalya in Bengaluru and Khaja Moideen of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu had put together an Islamic State inspired terror module, and were in advanced stages of setting up camps in the forests of south India from where they wanted to launch a IS-style insurgency. Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib evaded arrest and went underground. Youths from Thirthahalli, allegedly radicalised by them, were involved in three terror cases — pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru in October 2020, a trial blast of an Improvised Explosive Device on the banks of river Tunga in Shivamogga in September 2022, and cooker bomb blast in Mangaluru in November 2022. Four youths from Thirthahalli have been arrested in these cases. Taahaa and Hussain were named as accused in all the three cases. “With the arrest of these two kingpins, all those we know of being members of this module have been arrested. We hope that this will neutralise this module. However, the duo have been travelling around India for the past four years. We have seen their footprints in Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Nellore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Assam and now West Bengal. They are highly motivated people, and there is a chance that they may have radicalised and recruited more people in other places. That will be part of the investigation,” said a senior police official from Karnataka, who has probed multiple cases involving the module. The official added that Abdul Matheen Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib had used their recruits to carry out terror incidents earlier. But, Hussain planting the IED at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1 indicated that they may have run out of expendable recruits. “This raises hopes that there aren’t any left in the module, and with the arrest of the duo, the module has been neutralised,” he said. India asks its citizens not to travel to Israel, Iran India on April 12 [asked its citizens not to travel to Iran or Israel]( amid escalating tensions between the two countries following a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. “All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” the MEA said. “They are also requested to observe utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum,” it added. This comes a day after a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office that more than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country’s construction sector meet a labour shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Inflation drops to 10-month low in March, but no relief on food bills yet India’s [retail inflation moderated to a ten-month low of 4.85% in March from 5.1% in Februar]( but food inflation remained sticky at 8.52%, little changed from the 8.66% recorded in the previous month as price rise accelerated in cereals and meat, while vegetables, pulses, spices and eggs remained in double-digit inflation. While inflation for urban consumers cooled significantly from 4.8% in February to 4.14% in March, rural consumers had it harder as they experienced a slightly higher inflation of 5.45% in March compared with 5.34% in the previous month. This trend was visible in the extent of food price rise as well, as it accelerated from 8.3% in February to 8.6% in March for rural India, while the food inflation for urban consumers dropped from 9.2% in February to 8.35% last month. On a month-on-month basis, there was no change in the Consumer Price Index but the food price index inched up about 0.2% and economists reckoned that the ongoing heat wave could spike food inflation in coming months. Even as crude oil prices are firming up and an inflation spike in the US may delay hopes of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, sticky food inflation at home could further dampen prospects of rate cuts from India’s central bank. Poll roundup - National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Friday [announced the names of Omar Abdullah and Shia cleric Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi]( as the party’s candidates from Baramulla and Srinagar constituencies for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Omar Abdullah, while speaking on his nomination, sought to project the upcoming election as a fight between the BJP’s proxies and the NC in the Kashmir Valley. “This time, our fight is not against any individual. My fight is with those powers which are behind the candidates in the Kashmir Valley. It has been decided that I will be contesting from north Kashmir (Baramulla) because the BJP is focusing a lot on it. I want these powers to be defeated there,” Omar Abdullah said, in what was a veiled attack against the J&K Apni Party (JKAP) and the J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC). - Kashmiri migrants from Jammu and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir [would no longer be required to fill up ‘Form M’ to vote in the Lok Sabha polls]( as the Election Commission has ordered changes to the existing voting scheme for the displaced people, fulfilling a long-standing demand. Earlier, the filing of the form was mandatory for displaced voters from the Valley ahead of every parliamentary and Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir. Hereon, they shall be mapped with the special polling stations falling in the zones they are registered or residing in, the poll panel said. In addition, the commission also eased the process of filing Form M by the migrants staying in Delhi and other places in the country, by allowing self-attestation instead of the earlier required certification by Gazetted officers. In Brief India relocates Myanmar consulate staff in view of fighting India has temporarily [moved staff from its consulate in Sittwe to Yangon]( in view of the fighting in Rakhine state of Myanmar, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on April 12, further adding, that the Indian consulate in Mandalay remained fully functional. “The security situation in Myanmar remains precarious and deteriorating. You heard about the fighting that is going on, specifically in Rakhine state and other areas. Some time back, we issued an advisory for our nationals so that they could take due care. Regarding the Indians who are travelling to Myanmar, they should observe proper safety protocols and take care of themselves while the embassy is there to take care of them. We’ve also relocated our staff from the Sittwe consulate to Yangon...,” said the MEA spokesperson. Kavitha sent to 3-day CBI custody The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has [sent BRS leader K. Kavitha to three-day CBI custody]( in the Delhi excise policy case, on April 12 Kavitha is currently lodged in Tihar jail. Earlier on April 11, the CBI arrested Kavitha in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad on money-laundering charge on March 15. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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