WEDNESDAY OPEN TO ALL SUGGESTIONS, SAYS GOVT AMID OUTCRY OVER DRAFT IT RULES 08 APRIL, 2026 When MeitY proposed draft amendments to the 2021 IT Rules epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard May extend feedback deadline X.com/TheMornStandard SARKOZY CHALLENGES HIS CONVICTION Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy maintained his innocence, telling a hearing that not a single cent from Libya helped fund his ’07 campaign. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00 Civilisational wipeout threat Trump warns he will bomb Iran back to the Stone Age if it does not make a deal; Tehran defiant; Hormuz resolution in UNSC shot down A G E N C I E S @ Washington/ Tehran IN an unprecedented escalation of his war of words, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Tehran doesn’t make a deal with the US by the latest deadline set by him – Tuesday 8 pm EDT (Wednesday 3.30 am Tehran time). Iran rejected the threat, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying millions of Iranians, including himself, are ready to sacrifice their lives in the war. The Islamic Republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other targets. Trump’s major demands are reopening the Strait of Hormuz and handing over the uranium stockpile. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen... We will find out tonight!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. `39 cr assets of Al-Falah chief frozen in money laundering case S U M I T K U M A R S I N G H @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over `39 crore in a money laundering probe against Al Falah Group chairman Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, sources said on Tuesday A provisional attachment . order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to freeze these properties. The attached assets include a house in Jamia Nagar in Delhi, agricultural land in Faridabad’s Dhauj and funds held in bank accounts and fixed deposits. Sources said the total value of these assets is `39.45 crore. Siddiqui, 61, is currently lodged in jail. The latest action is part of a money laundering case linked to the alleged cheating of students of his educational institutions by misrepresenting their accreditation and recognition. The case is also linked to a larger probe into a “white-collar” terror module connected to the November 10, 2025, suicide bombing near Red Fort, in which 15 people were killed. The bomber, Dr Umar Nabi, was a faculty member at Al-Falah University . Investigations revealed that other doctors linked to the university, including Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie and Shaheen Shahid Ansari, were also part of the terror module. Strong Indian advisory in Iran J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will Donald Trump, US president DAY 39 In an equally threatening tone, US Vice President J D Vance said: “We’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use. The President of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct.” Vance’s comment, made during a press meet in Budapest, led to speculation about use of nuclear weapons. However, the White House later clarified that Vance did not mean a nuclear strike against Tehran. The developments come a day when a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz was shot down after Russia and China vetoed it. Even before the deadline, USIsrael airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, as well as the infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production. On Monday, Trump had threatened to blow up “every bridge and power plant” in Iran, an action the UN considers a war crime. “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime,” UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said. THE Indian Embassy in Iran on Tuesday issued a safety advisory for its nationals, urging them to stay indoors and avoid military installations or upper floors of multi-storey buildings for the next 48 hours amid escalating US-Israel attacks. “In continuation of previous advisories, Indian nationals who are still in Iran must stay where they are for the next 48 hours, avoiding all electric, military installations and upper floors of multi-storey buildings, remaining indoors, and coordinating any highway movement strictly with the Embassy the advisory said. It ,” also urged hotel residents to be contact with embassy teams. “In view of the rapidly evolving situation in Iran, Indian nationals who are currently in Iran are advised to stay put where they are, shelter in place and avoid further movements,” MEA said. Any movement toward border crossings must be coordinated with the embassy . Emergency helplines have been provided: +98 912 810 9115, +98 912 810 9102, +98 912 810 9109, P9 +98 993 217 9359.  PAGES 12 @ New Delhi WITH hearing commencing on a batch of review petitions challenging the 2018 Sabarimala verdict, the Centre on Tuesday supported traditional restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into the temple, telling the Supreme Court that the issue falls squarely within the domain of religious faith and denomina- CALL FOR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSAL ■ Krishnan said the feedback received ranged from requests for more time to demands for outright withdrawal of the draft amendments ■ The backlash comes in the wake of proposed amendments that significantly widen the ambit to include “news and current affairs content” posted by non-publisher users such as influencers | P10 91L names out, TMC’s minority base may take hit Earlier, on February 28, the ECI had published a list A whopping 91 lakh names of 63.66 lakh deleted voters, have been deleted from the including 58.25 lakh classiWest Bengal electoral rolls fied as absent, shifted, dead, following the special inten- or duplicate (ASDD). sive revision, which could Following the latest reviimpact the minority sion, the number of vote base of the ruling valid voters stands at Trinamool Congress 6,77,20,728, includin the state. ing the 32.68 lakh Late on Monday newly confirmed elnight, the Election igible voters. Commission of InWe s t B e n g a l 68% cut in dia (ECI) released a Chief Minister list categorising eli- Murshidabad and TMC supremo gible and ineligible Mamata Banerjee Murshidabad, voters from the 60.06 said her party will a district with lakh electors previfight for the 27 lakh over 70% Muslim ously marked ‘unvoters whose population, is the der adjudication.’ names have been worst hit. Out of Of this, 27,16,393 11,01,145 adjudicated d e l e t e d a f t e r voters have been de- voters, 4,55,137 are adjudication. clared ineligible to ineligible. In total, She alleged that vote in the upcom- 7,48,959 names have Muslims, Matuas, been deleted from and Rajbongshis ing Assembly polls, taking the total the district’s rolls – have been targeted 68% of the total number of deletions for deletion. to 91 lakh. On Monday, the Over 32.68 lakh voters Supreme Court had rejected have been marked as eligible the state’s demand for interin the final rolls. With this, im relief for certain excludthe number of valid voters ed voters, stating the matter stands at 6,77,20,728. should not be rushed. S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata Property ownership norms in unauthorised colonies eased 1 PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi IN a major relief to lakhs of property owners in 1,511 unauthorised colonies in the national capital, the Centre on Tuesday announced a revised “as is where is” based policy to simplify and speed up the regularisation process. This includes easier issuance of conveyance deeds and authorisation slips for properties under the Pradhan Mantri–Unauthorised Colony in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY). Under the updated framework, the requirement of an approved layout plan has been removed. This condition was MAJOR CHANGES 2 Land use of Lack of plots/ buildings approved in 1,511 colonies layout to be treated as plans, no residential barrier previously seen as a major obstacle to regularising property in these colonies. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said the revised norms will help residents secure ownership rights more easily. He also said that new construction in these colonies 3 4 Layout plans will be Revenue dept to prepared by an inter- issue conveyance agency cell (DDA, deeds or MCD, Delhi govt) using authorisation satellite imagery slips will now be allowed as per the prescribed building bylaws. Convenience shops up to 20 square metres will be regularised if they have access to a right of way of six metres. For shops up to 10 square metres, the required right of way can be less than six metres. In a key administrative change, responsibility for regularisation has been shifted from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to the revenue department. The DDA had been handling the process since the launch of PM-UDAY in October 2019. So far, ownership rights have been granted to about 40,000 properties, reflecting a slow response to the scheme. The scheme allows property owners to grant ownership, transfer, or mortgage rights to property holders based on documents like a General Power of Attorney an Agreement to Sell, , proof of payment, and possession papers. Conveyance deeds ‘Accused came to city to find missing nephew’ Delhi Police has suspended two officials in connection with the security breach at the Assembly and said the accused came to the city in search of his nephew. P3 P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati NSA Doval hosts B’desh FM for dinner meet NSA Ajit Doval hosted Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman for a dinner meet on Tuesday. It is the 1st high-level visit to India after new government formation. ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2 WOMEN WALK IN, ASSAM POLLS SIT UP I P8 tional autonomy, adding it is beyond the scope of judicial review. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a nine-judge bench that if there is something unscientific, the remedy is with the legislature. Wondering why advocates for women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple invoke “patriarchy”, Mehta argued that the concept is not rooted in India’s societal framework. India has always placed are issued for built-up properties on government land, while authorisation slips are issued for properties on private land. At a joint press conference with CM Rekha Gupta, Lal said, “We have decided to regularise properties on an ‘as is where is’ basis. From today onwards, any new construction or redevelopment in unauthorised colonies will be allowed only with the permission of MCD, in accordance with its norms. We have shared satellite and drone maps with the municipal body and it , has also set up an encroachment cell to monitor encroachments. The MCD will conduct a survey every two months.” P3 & P4 Assam police raid Congress spokeperson Pawan Khera’s house | SAYANTAN GHOSH ‘Incriminating material found’: Assam cops at Khera’s house P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Assam Police on Tuesday claimed about recovering “incriminating” material from the New Delhi residence of Congress leader Pawan Khera. An Assam Police team, accompanied by their Delhi counterpart, went to Khera’s residence in connection with a case registered with the Crime Branch in Guwahati but didn’t find him. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma had lodged an FIR against the Congress leader following his claims that she possesses passports of three countries, owns luxury properties in Dubai and has investments worth several lakh crore rupees in the US. Guwahati DCP Debojit Nath, who led the Assam Police team, told reporters outside Khera’s residence that the Congress leader was wanted in the case. “A case has been registered with the Crime Branch police station in Guwahati and we wanted Mr Pawan Khera. We searched his house and found some incriminating material which I cannot disclose right now. We don’t know where he is but we’ll trace him,” Nath said. The Assam CM claimed that Khera had fled to Hyderabad. “Pawan Khera fled in a 6 am flight on Monday. He reached Hyderabad,” Sarma said. MoS for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita on Tuesday dismissed as “fake and fabricated” Khera’s claims that the CM’s wife has passports of three nations. 2 kids among 4 killed in sudden Manipur flare-up EXPRESS READ LIGHT OF GUIDANCE People light earthen lamps at the illuminated Golden Temple on the birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur in Amritsar | PTI Entry into Sabarimala part of denominational autonomy: Govt S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y IT Secretary S Krishnan said the govt is “openminded”, adding it may extend the April 14 deadline for feedback on the draft Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Tuesday met intermediaries and civil society groups to hear their concerns over the proposed amendments Limits of bodily freedom Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said not everything is related to dignity or bodily freedom. “If I go to a mazar or a gurdwara and if I have to cover my head, I can’t say my dignity, right or choice is taken away,” he added women on a higher pedestal, he argued. “In Indian society, we worship ladies… we bow down before our women deities.... So let us not introduce those con- cepts of patriarchy and gender stereotypes,” he said. Mehta said he had strong objection to an observation in the 2018 judgment that the exclu- sion of women from the temple was a form of ‘untouchability’, violating Article 17 of the Constitution. Justice Nagarathna interjected, saying a woman cannot be treated as ‘untouchable’ for three days in a month and then cease to be considered untouchable on the fourth day But Me. hta said he was not on the issue of menstruation. He added that the temple bar was not about menstruation but age group. TENSIONS flared in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Tuesday after four persons, including two children, were killed in a bomb attack and a firing incident. The incidents sparked widespread protests, prompting the state’s BJP-led government to suspend internet services for three days in f ive I m p h a l Va l l e y districts. A five-year-old boy and a six-month-old infant girl were killed and their mother was injured in a bomb attack at around 1 am in the Moirang Tronglaobi area of Meitei-majority Bishnupur district, which shares a border with Kuki-majority Churachandpur district. When news about the incident spread, locals vented their ire by set- ting fire to two oil tankers and a truck. Soon after, a mob stormed the camp of a central force, setting several vehicles parked inside on fire. The personnel opened fire to control the situation and five protesters sustained bullet wounds. Two of them later succumbed to injuries. Some other protesters sustained minor injuries. Protests later erupted in different parts of the Imphal Valley demand, ing action against those involved in the bomb attack as well as the security personnel who had opened fire. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the state government decided to hand over the case of the bomb attack to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). People block a road after two kids were killed in Bishnupur district of Manipur | PTI