Terror epicentres not immune to ‘justifiable punishment’: Rajnath wednesdAY 29 Targeting Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor demonstrated statebacked ‘terror epicentres’ are no longer safe havens april, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard trump rolls out pomp & praise for UK ties ‘End double standards in terror fight’ The President said on Tuesday that the US has “no closer friends” than the British, as he welcomed King Charles III to the White House on a state visit. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek in the presence of Pak Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Singh called on the influential regional grouping to not lose sight of “state-sponsored” cross-border terrorism, stressing that there is no place for any “double standards” or ambiguity in combatting the global menace | P7 PAGES 12 Aviation industry SOS Decisive poll phase in West Bengal today as jet fuel prices zoom Operations unsustainable, warn Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet UAE exits oil cartel, Don cold to Iran proposal A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi a G ENCIES @ Dubai/Washington Alarmed by the steep rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have warned of shutting down operations unless the government intervenes to save the aviation sector, which is already bleeding due to the frequent airspace closures amid the war in West Asia. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents the three airlines, have written to the civil aviation ministry seeking its urgent intervention to set the same fuel pricing mechanism unifor mly across both domestic and interday national operations. The letter pointed out that this was done in 2022 through the establishment of the ‘crack band’ mechCrack anism (pricing framework band linked to fair refining margins, FIA has called or ‘crack spread’, between for a pricing crude oil and ATF). This was framework set at $12–22/barrel in 2022. based on the As global jet ATF prices more ‘crack band than doubled to $180-190/barrel mechanism’ since the war broke out in West ($12–22/bbl), Asia on February 28, the Indian which was government last month limited implemented in the hike to `15 per litre for doOctober 2022, mestic operations. However, for claiming this international operations, the leaves room for price rose by `73 per litre. a reasonable ATF prices account for and fair margin 30-40% of an airline’s overall for oil marketing operating cost. Following the companies April hike, this percentage band increased to 55-60%. The letter said the ‘irrational increase’ in ATF prices will result in ‘insurmountable losses’ for airlines, grounding of aircraft and cancellation of flights. “In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation,” said the letter dated April 26. The airlines are also seeking a temporary suspension of excise duty (currently set at 11%) on ATF and VAT rates in key states. THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced its exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ alliance. A longtime member of OPEC, the UAE’s membership ends on May 1 and will not be renewed. The announcement came on a day when oil prices climbed again as the prospects of reopening the Strait of Hormuz appeared dim with the Trump administration not showing interest in Iran’s latest offer to reopen Hormuz after the US blockade is lifted. The UAE said the decision follows careful consideration of its national interest and its stature in the global energy market. OPEC and “This reflects the UAE’s longterm strategic and economic OPEC+ vision and evolving energy OPEC was profile... and reinforces its comformed in 1960 mitment to a responsible, reliby Iran, Iraq, able role in global energy marKuwait, Saudi kets,” it stated. Arabia, and The move comes amid the Venezuela to Emirates’ frosty relations with break the cartel neighbour and OPEC heavyled by Western oil firms. OPEC+ weight Saudi Arabia. UAE has been trying to leverage its own is a broader alliance formed foreign policy amid pushback from Saudi Arabia under an asin 2016 to sertive Crown Prince Mohaminclude nonmembers to set med bin Salman. The UAE is one of the world’s oil production top oil producers and its exit policies from Vienna-based OPEC could weaken the oil cartel which controls global oil prices through production cuts. However, the withdrawal won’t necessarily have any immediate effects in markets as oil supplies are already constrained by the Iran war. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Tehran “has just” informed Washington that it is in a “state of collapse”. “They (Iran) want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” Trump posted on social media. P9 60 Singham vs Pushpa side show Amid fears of widespread violence, a side show played out with the EC’s police observer Ajay Pal Sharma warning potential troublemakers of “appropriate treatment”. The TMC called out the Prayagraj ACP, who earned the moniker Singham for his crackdown on criminals, for voter ‘intimidation’. TMC’s Jahangir Khan retorted, “If he is Singham, I am Pushpa,” alluding to the award-winning Telugu action film by the same name where the protagonist’s popular dialogue is “Pushpa will not bow, damn it.” P8 SU B HENDU MAITI @ Kolkata After weeks of rhetoric, roadshows, and a political temperature that rose in tandem with the summer heat, it’s time for the real thing. As West Bengal goes to polls for the second and final phase on Wednesday , appellate tribunals upheld the appeals of just 1,468 of the over 20 lakh voters who were removed from the supplementary list following the controversial special intensive revision of poll rolls. The final phase, covering 142 assembly constituencies, is widely seen as the decisive one. It is here, in the traditional stronghold of the Trinamool Congress in south Bengal, that the party’s decade-long dominance faces its sternest test. At the centre of attention is Bhabanipur, where the contest has Polling officials check election crystallised into the materials for voting in the most closely watched second phase in Kolkata | PTI face-off of the phase: Mamata Banerjee versus Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari— once an insider in her political circle, now her most prominent challenger. Their battle is as much personal as it is political, emblematic of the broader struggle playing out across the state. Around them, an array of senior leaders and emerging figures are in the fray—ministers such as Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Sobhandeb Chatterjee, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sashi Panja; BJP’s Swapan Dasgupta; Left leaders including Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya; and younger candidates like Meenakshi Mukherjee and Dipsita Dhar. E x p r e s s Re a d SC sets norms for death penalty reforms In a death reference case, the Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the convict and laid down significant directives to reform the sentencing guidelines for capital punishment cases. A three-judge bench headed by Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi, while staying the death sentence of a convict, Aman Singh, till final adjudication of his appeals, called for records from the trial court and high court, along with translated copies for effective consideration. P7 BJP likely to win in MCD mayoral poll today A day before the MCD mayoral polls, BJP MPs, including Swati Maliwal, met party’s city chief Virendra Sachdeva on Tuesday. The electoral college prepares to elect the next mayor, deputy mayor and three vacant seats in the standing committee. The BJP has fielded Pravesh Wahi, a three-term councillor from Rohini-East, as its mayoral candidate. While AAP opted out of the contest, the Congress nominated Haji Zarif. P3 Relocation notice for spotted tenants of Hauz Khas s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi New Delhi woke up to a curious Supreme Court decree on Tuesday: Some residents must pack their bags, or rather, their hooves. Ruling on the bustling herd at A N Jha Deer Park in Hauz Khas, the SC said that only 38 deer may remain there. The rest are to be politely escorted to greener addresses in neighbouring states. The SC demanded scientific protocols, and a respectable male-to-female ratio of 15 to 23 for those staying behind. Officials, armed with clipboards and, one hopes, persuasive carrots, must now conduct a time-bound relocation exercise. The Central Empowered Committee has vouched that the park’s ecological patience has been tested, citing crowding, nibbling pressure, and the general chaos that ensues when deer outnumber benches. The case began when an environmental group challenged the plan to relocate hundreds of deer from the park. They ar- gued that instead of moving the animals out, authorities should expand and improve the park’s habitat. The matter first went to the Delhi High Court. There, the Delhi Development Authority assured the court that only a small number of deer would remain in the park and the rest would be relocated. Accepting these assurances, the HC disposed of the case. Unhappy with that outcome, the petitioner approached the SC. They remained concerned Jail term for 2 CBI officers in 26-yr-old case Blast on rail tracks in Patiala, accused dies in detonation bid; K-ring busted H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh A low-intensity blast on a railway track near Bothonia village between Shambu and Rajpura in Punjab’s Patiala district damaged a section of the line late Monday night, killing the alleged bomber as the device exploded during planting. Police said the case was solved within hours and a pro-Khalistan module backed by Pakistan’s ISI was busted. Four suspects were arrested and a cache of arms, ammunition was seized. The blast occurred on a freight line, where wires, debris, two motorcycles, and a Deceased had backed MP Amritpal Singh The deceased was identified as 35-year-old Jagroop Singh of Tarn Taran who had supported MP Amritpal Singh and adopted Nihang practices recently. Police detained his brother. damaged phone were found. The deceased was identified as 35-year-old Jagroop Singh of Tarn Taran. He had supported MP Amritpal Singh and adopted Nihang practices. Police detained his brother Satnam. Officials said the accused planned further attacks on public infrastructure. “Four accused have been arrested, and the module was coordinating with handlers abroad,” said DIG (Patiala Range) Kuldeep Chahal. A case has been registered under relevant sections of BNS, Explosive Act, Arms Act and UAPA. Forensic teams examined the site as repairs began and some trains were diverted. Multiple agencies continue to investigate the sequence of events and possible links to earlier incidents in the region, raising fresh concerns about security and law and order in Punjab today . u d aya n k i s h o r e @ New Delhi AI hub in the making Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in conversation with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Google Cloud India AI Hub, in Visakhapatnam, on Tuesday | PTI | P5 South panchayats outperform North on multiple parameters: Govt data J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi A new study has revealed that the South outperformed northern states in rural local governance across various parameters, including health, education, poverty alleviation, water and sanitation, and developments focused on women and children. West Bengal did not participate in the study . Most of the panchayats in the ‘Achiever’ category are from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. In the Northeast, Tripura leads the charts. On the flip side, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are at the lower end of the ranking table. The report, titled the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 for 2023–24, documents rural and social development based on 112 indicators aimed about the relocation process and its impact on the deer. The SC, which had earlier paused a similar relocation on grounds of negligence, examined the issue again. This time, it relied on the Central Empowered Committee’s findings that the park lacked the capacity to sustain the current numbers. Based on this, the SC upheld relocation and asked to ensure the process is carried out properly For good measure, the SC . said that the deer park’s status as a protected forest is permanent and can’t be changed under any circumstances. at strengthening grassroots governance. Released by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the report covers a total of 3,313 panchayats that fall under the ‘ chiever’ category for poverty A reduction and livelihood gen- Record participation in the evaluation PAI 2.0 saw record nationwide participation, from 27 states and 6 on 8 UTs. Works out to 97.30%, compared to 80.79% of the 2.67 lakh panchayats in PAI 1.0. All panchayats were told to display their scorecards outside their offices for transparency and accountability eration. Additionally 1,015 pan, chayats are recognised for exemplary achievements in promoting healthy living. The report offers a detailed analysis of more than 250,000 panchayats across the country . Each one is assessed based on over 150 parameters. However, the previous report, PAI (1.0) for 2022-23, was based on a much larger set of 516 parameters, making a direct comparison difficult. “We considered 112 parameters. While data for seven parameters was questioned, and the rest overlapped with other indicators,” said Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary at the ministry. This report is claimed to be the first nationwide framework for measuring rural development progress using verifiable indicators. It has also been presented to the UN as part of efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced two CBI officers to three months in jail for assaulting an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and trespassing into his residence during a raid more than two decades ago. Judicial Magistrate Shashank Nandan Bhatt awarded the sentence to Ramneesh, now a joint director in the CBI, and V K Pandey, a retired ACP of Delhi Police. Both were also fined `50,000 each. The court had convicted the two on April 18, rejecting their claim that their actions were part of official duties. It held that the search and arrest of Ashok Kumar Aggarwal, a 1985batch IRS officer, were carried out on October 19, 2000, with mala fide intent and constituted an abuse of power beyond their authority . Aggarwal had alleged the raid was retaliatory, linked to disputes with senior officials. He claimed it was meant to undermine a Central Administrative Tribunal order directing a review of his suspension. The judge found that the officers forcibly entered Aggarwal’s house by breaking open the door without sufficient justification. Their actions, conducted in a mala fide manner, bore no reasonable nexus with lawful discharge of duty .