Vol. 65 No. 309 | MONDAY | MAY 2, 2022 | 14 Pages | BIZ RADAR ‘Booster’ jibe from Fadnavis LSG BEAT DELHI: HOODA AND SKIPPER RAHUL TAKE THEM TOWARDS PLAY-OFFS GST BOOTY HIGHEST EVER GST collection in April at highest ever level of Rs 1.68 lakh cr It is up 20% compared to that in the year-ago period This is on account of improved compliance and uptick in business activity SANJAY JOG MUMBAI In April last year, the mopup from GST was about Rs 1.40 lakh crore. The leader of the opposition, Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), taunted the Shiv Sena on Sunday, saying that people who were scared of removing loudspeakers from mosques were saying that they had demolished Babri Masjid. At the ‘booster dose’ rally organised by the BJP in Mumbai on Sunday, Fadnavis targeted the Shiv Sena on the ongoing Azaan-Hanuman Chalisa row. “People who’re scared of removing loud- Since GST collections are on a high, discussions are on to rationalise the taxation rates. LPG, ATF PRICE UP he price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder has been increased by Rs 102.50; it will now cost Rs 2,355.50, as against Rs 2,253 earlier. Earlier, on April 1, the price of an LPG commercial cylinder was hiked by Rs 250. In eight months, the price of a commercial LPG has increased by Rs 618.50. Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury lashed out at the Centre and termed the LPG hike as an "attack on the working class and the poor" on Labour Day. However, the price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder is unchanged. In what could be seen as a harmonious augury or the completion of an earlier speech that was truncated, on Maharashtra Day Governor B S Koshyari , V ladimir  Putin’s top military commander has been flown out of the war zone with shrapnel wounds after being sent to Ukraine by the Russian president to secure victory, a former Russian internal affairs minister has claimed. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian army, was on Sunday wounded in Izyum in Ukraine's Kharviv region, which has been at the centre of intense fighting since Russia’s invasion. The chief of staff's injury came just one day after Russian Major General Andrei Simonov, 55, was killed in Kharkiv, according to an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr  Zelensky. FPJ NEWS SERVICE AURANGABAD speakers atop mosques. "Eid is on May 3. I don't want to spoil the festivities. But we will not listen after May 4. We will play Hanuman Chalisa at twice the volume if our demands are not met. If you don't understand our request, we will deal with it our way. I am not going to keep quiet from May 4. If loudspeakers are not removed by then, let me show you the strength of Maharashtra." Loudspeaker volume is not a religious issue but a social one, he said. "All loudspeakers (atop mosques) are illegal. Is it a concert that so many loudspeakers are being used?" he said. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE showered praise on the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi, saying that by combating the three waves of corona in a wellplanned manner, the state had set an example before the entire nation. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday said he was firm on the May 3 deadline for removal of loudspeakers atop mosques, which he termed as a nuisance. Addressing a public rally here late in the evening, Thackeray said, "I won't be responsible for what all happens after the expiry of the May 3 deadline." The MNS chief further said that from May 4, all Hindus should play recordings of Hanuman Chalisa at double the decibel level of loud- “Do you people still need a reduction in fares?” After reviewing the progress of the Central and Western Railways, the chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, V K Tripathi, was addressing mediapersons on Sunday at Mumbai Central. Tripathi had held a meeting with CR and WR officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Saturday, where issues pertaining to AC locals were discussed. The railway authorities are also looking at publicizing weekly and fortnightly season passes issued solely for AC local trains. Sources said that of the 10 AC rakes, the CR and WR have both set one aside as a back-up rake. “We expect two more AC rakes to come this year, of which one is expected to arrive before monsoon. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE POINT-TO-POINT REVISED FARES FOR SELECT CR, WR STATIONS AC LOCAL TRAINS CSMT-Dadar: Rs 35 CSMT-Kurla/Ghatkopar: Rs 70 CSMT-Thane: Rs 95 CSMT-Diva: Rs 100 CSMT-Dombivli/Kalyan: Rs 105 CSMT-Titwala: Rs 115 CSMT-Badlapur: Rs 120 ChurchgateMumbai Central: Rs 35 ChurchgateDadar/Bandra: Rs 50 Churchgate-Andheri: Rs 70 Churchgate-Borivli: Rs 95 Churchgate-Bhayandar: Rs 100 Churchgate-Vasai Road: Rs 105 ChurchgateNalasopara/Virar: Rs 115 NON-AC FIRST CLASS CSMT-Dadar: Rs 25 CSMT-Kurla/ Ghatkopar: Rs 60 CSMT-Thane: Rs 85 CSMT-Diva: Rs 90 CSMT-Dombivli: Rs 95 CSMT-Kalyan: Rs 100 CSMT-Titwala: Rs 105 CSMT-Badlapur: Rs 105 ChurchgateMumbai Central: Rs 25 ChurchgateDadar/Bandra: Rs 40 Churchgate-Andheri: Rs 60 Churchgate-Borivli: Rs 85 Churchgate-Bhayandar: 90 ChurchgateVasai Road/ Virar: Rs 100 Single journey fares (card tickets) applicable from May 5, 2022 Justices R D Dhanuka and S M Modak on April 29, observed: “CIDCO being a public undertaking and being an implementing agency, is bound to comply with its obligation under the Government Resolution. The refusal to comply with its obligations frustrates the crystallized claims of the petition- Bengaluru hails the hailstorm SHANKAR RAJ BENGALURU Parts of Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, were caught off guard on Sunday as heavy rain lashed the state. The rains have come a day after the IT city recorded its hottest day of the year -– at least by Bengaluru standards -- with maximum temperature touching 35.2 degrees Celsius. Rain inundated many parts of the capital city, including commercial areas like Shivajinagar and Frazer Town. Vehicles were stranded on roads and the weekend crowd had a tough time. A few areas in the city also witnessed minor hailstorms as twitterati went hyper posting pictures 'hailing the hailstorm'. The heavy rains have come on the eve of Ramzan, upsetting shopping in Muslim dominated areas. The civic body deployed its personnel in some areas as water entered a few houses. The weather office said the sudden spell was due to a western disturbance and is likely to persist for the next two days. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has indicated there may be respite from heat wave in Delhi and adjoining parts of northwest and central India from Monday. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Row over ‘Sanskrit’ oath by medicos Amidst a row over students of the Madurai Medical College, a State Government institution taking the “Maharishi Charak Shapath” instead of the well-known “Hippocratic Oath” during their white coat ceremony, the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department on Sunday relieved the institution’s Dean A. Rathinavel. He was placed on the out of the purview of the state government. “The conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra is not completely over even today. They want to reduce the national and international importance of Mumbai and then make it a Union Territory... Devendra Fadnavis and his BJP in Maharashtra are fully aware of this,” the editorial read. Referring to the arrest of Navneet and Ravi Rana for their call to recite the Hanuman Chalisa in front of Thackeray’s CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Criticising the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) for acquiring and using agricultural lands for the development of New Bombay (now Navi Mumbai) township and not compensating the farmers concerned for more than 25 years, the Bombay high court has directed the development corporation to deposit the amount with the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) within four weeks. Terming Cidco’s stand as “totally unreasonable and arbitrary”, a division bench of URVI MAHAJANI MUMBAI TAMIL NADU MEDICAL COLLEGE DEAN SHIFTED N CHITHRA CHENNAI navis of hatching a conspiracy to make Mumbai a Union Territory. In a scathing editorial the party in mouthpiece Saamna published in its Maharashtra Day edition, the Sena alleged that Fadnavis had presented a plan to the Union home ministry to make Mumbai a Territory, Union which would take it The corporation acquired land for developing Navi Mumbai, but is refusing to pay farmers; told to deposit amount in four weeks KAMAL MISHRA & SHASHANK RAO MUMBAI PUTIN’S TOP GEN INJURED speakers from mosques are saying that they demolished the Babri Masjid. Devendra Fadnavis was a part of the Babri Masjid’s demolition. There was no Shiv Sena leader then. I didn’t consider it a mosque, it was just a he structure,” said.  He went on to ask the Shiv Sena, “Are you on the side of Ram or Ravana?” The Shiv Sena shot back by accusing Fad- wait list. The students had taken the English version of the Sanskrit oath on Saturday in the presence of some State Ministers and others. The Health Department said it was highly condemnable that the Hippocratic Oath, which was being administered for long to students joining the medical course and doctors stepping into practice, had been replaced by the “Maharishi Charak Shapath”. The Dean had earlier claimed the students’ representatives had taken the oath by themselves. Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, however, instructed the Director of Medical Education R. Narayanababu to initiate a departmental enquiry into the incident. The “Maharishi Charak Shapath” was recommended by the National Medical Commission in its circular dated March 31 this year. The NMC had recommended replacing the Hippocratic Oath with the “Maharishi Charak Shapath” and also provided a loosely translated English version of the same. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE 330c. 270c. Sunrise: 06:10 am Sunset : 07:01 pm BETWEEN THE LINES COUNTERPOINT: Plan to make Mumbai a Union Territory, which would take it out of the purview of the state government, says Sena in Saamna Raj reiterates threat to remove loudspeakers et fuel prices on Sunday were also hiked by 3.22 per cent — the ninth straight increase this year — to an all-time high of Rs 1,16,851.46 per kilolitre. Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 25th consecutive day. Jet fuel, which makes up for almost 40% of the running cost of an airline, has this year surged to new highs. ATF prices have increased every fortnight since the start of 2022. In the nine hikes beginning January 1, ATF prices have increased over 50%. IT IS NOT THE SEASON FOR SEASON TICKET RATE CUTS If you are among those awaiting a reduction in the price of season tickets for air-conditioned local trains, then you are likely to be upset. At present, the railways is in no mood to do so. Days after the Union minister of state for railways, Raosaheb Danve, announced a reduction in single-journey fares (card tickets) for AC locals and first-class (on nonAC trains), on Sunday, the top boss of Railways asked, CELEBRATING A TRULY RETROGRADE DECISION EVERY MOVIE OR A SHOW I WORK ON, THERE’S SOMETHING FOR ME TO LEARN: MADHURI DIXIT NENE HC ultimatum to CIDCO J Governor U-turn on MVA SANJAY JOG / MUMBAI EDIT POINT: People scared of removing loudspeakers from mosques are saying they demolished Babri Masjid, Devendra Fadnavis taunts Sena The number of e-way bills generated in March 2022 was 7.7 crore, which is 13 per cent higher than that in February 2022; this reflects the recovery of business activity at a faster pace T EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper ers for compensation whose lands are acquired 25 years ago.” The HC was hearing a petition filed by nine villagers from Roadpali Village in Navi Mumbai, which was acquired by the CIDCO for developing Navi Mumbai. The petition sought that the government and the CIDCO be directed to compensate them as decided by the HC in 2007. Between 1965 and 1970, the state government decided to establish a new town to reduce pressure on Mumbai by exercising powers under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTPA). CONTD. ON NATION PAGE An official of the Byculla Zoo celebrates the first birthday of the ‘Humboldt’ penguin ‘Oreo’ on Sunday PIC: BHUSHAN KOYANDE SPICEJET: BAGS RAIN ON FLYERS At least 40 passengers were injured after cabin luggage fell on flyers mid-air as a plane got caught up in a storm. The SpiceJet plane was attempting a landing at Kazi Nazrul Islam airport in West Bengal's Durgapur. A least 10 passengers have sustained serious injuries, reports India Today’s news portal. A probe is underway to ascertain how the plane got caught in the storm. INDIAN OFFICER LANDS CIA POST Nand Mulchandani, an Indianorigin man who studied at a Delhi school, has been appointed the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) first-ever Chief Technology Officer. The announcement was made by Director William J Burns in a blog post and also shared on social media. There is no page in today's edition. It will be published in edition dated May 5 (Thursday)