On Tuesday, the Delhi government stated that CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case will not in any way affect public services, social welfare schemes, and subsidies.

Secretary of the Planning Department stated, “All public services, social welfare schemes, and subsidies currently given by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi shall continue uninterrupted,”

“People should not be misled by any fear-mongering and malicious disinformation in this regard,” Niharika Rai stated, and further added “”rumor mongers, who would try to take advantage of the situation arising from the CM’s arrest.

The statement comes after BPJ raised questions about the legitimacy of an order purportedly issued by Kejriwal from the lockup to address water and sewage issues in the city.
BJP national secretary Manjinder Singh Sira, in his letter to LG VK Saxena, stated that the APP claimed to be a directive by the Delhi CM did not have CM Kejriwal’s signature, indicating that it was completely ‘forged.’

The letter read, “The said purported Office Order shockingly does not even carry the Officer Order Number, date of issue and even the signature of Arvind Kejriwal is not there and hence it is clear that Ms. Atishi has unauthorizedly and illegally mis-used and abused her official capacity…,”

He further added that Kejriwal can’t add issue any order without seeking prior permission from the court by seeking a change in the terms and conditions of the “remand order”, which so far not granted him any such permission.

He added “This order is illegal and unconstitutional; we demand an inquiry as to who is misusing CMO and for what personal gains!”

The AAP supremo on 26th March 2024 issued the order from jail for the health department, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said sharing the details of the order. He said “”Delhi CM is worried about the health care of the state. He is worried that because he is jailed, the people of Delhi should not suffer because of it… The CM has received information that people are facing difficulties in the tests carried out at the Mohalla clinics,”

On 21 March 2024, the Election Commission of India directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to immediately stop the delivery of Viksit Bharat messaging over WhatsApp. The Election Commission also sought a compliance report on the matter immediately.

The Election Commission said, “The Commission has received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones,” and further added, “Since the MCC is now in force, you are hereby directed to ensure forthwith that no further delivery of WhatsApp messages takes place during MCC period. A complaince report in this regard may be sent immediately,”

MeitY had earlier informed the Election Commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could’ve been possibly delivered to the recipients with a delay due to systematic and network limitations. The Congress and Trinamool Congress raised objections to the message and demanded the Election Commission to act against the “blatant violation” of the Model Code of Conduct.

The WhatsApp message by “Vikshit Bharat Sampark” with Prime Minister Modi’s letter has been received by millions of Indians. The opposition has called out Modi’s Viksit Bharat Sampark letter a violation of the model code of conduct. The WhatsApp messages have sought feedback and suggestions from citizens related to government policies and schemes. The PDF file attached mentions government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and looks at suggestions from the citizens over government schemes and initiatives. The WhatsApp messages were also received by non-Indians from UAE, Pakistan, and Britain.

The Congress has called the PDF file attached with the message from PM “political propaganda.”

Following the successful mission of the Indian warship INS Kolkata, which led to the surrender of 35 pirates aboard the pirate ship MV Ruen, PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday stated that India is “committed” to safeguarding the freedom of navigation and combating terrorism and piracy in the Indian Ocean region.

PM Modi responded to a post by President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria Rumen Radev. In a post on X, Radev said “”My sincere gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for the brave action of Indian Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship “Ruen” and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens.”
Reposting the post, PM Modi said “Appreciate your message President PresidentOfBg. We are happy that 7 Bulgarian nationals are safe and will be returning home soon. India is committed to protecting freedom of navigation and combating piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean region.”

On Saturday, the Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft did a precise airborne drop of two boats, accompanied by Indian Navy MARCOS, in the Arabian Sea to help in the ongoing anti-piracy mission called “Operation Sankalp.”
Earlier, responding to Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel for thanking the Indian Navy for saving seven Bulgarian nationals in an anti-piracy operation in the Arabian Sea. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that it is what exactly friends are for. In a post on X, the minister said, “That’s what friends are for,”

On X, the Bulgarian Foreign minister stated, “I express my gratitude to the Indian navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen &its crew members, including 7 BG nationals. Thank you for support &great effort. We continue to work together to protect lives of the crew.”

The Indian Navy stated in an official statement that the Indian warship INS Kolkata successfully cornered and coerced all 35 pirates to surrender on Saturday, ensuring the safety of all 17 crew members from the pirate vessel without any injuries. The rescue operation lasted for 40 hours, and INS Kolkata intercepted the under-pirate ship “Ruen,” sailing almost 26000 km from the shores of the Indian Coast, and forced the ship to stop through efforts.

The Supreme Court’s Constitution bench hearing the electoral bonds case on Monday has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to reveal the unique alphanumeric code on the bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The bench, which was presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, also asked the Chairman and Managing Director of SBI to file an affidavit on or before 5 pm on March 21, 2024, stating that the bank has disclosed all details of the bonds to ECI.

The court bench, which also included justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB PardiWali, and Manoj Misra, also referred to its earlier order on the matter and stated that the operative directions required the SBI to submit details of the electoral bonds purchased since the interim order dated April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission of India.

“Such details, the court has indicated ‘shall include the date of purchase of each electoral bond, the name of the purchaser of the bond and the denomination of the electoral bond purchased’,” stated the bench, referring to a previous order.

It added, “In the second part of the operative direction…SBI was required to submit ‘the details of political parties which have received contributions through electoral bonds’ since the interim order dated April 12, 2019, till date to the ECI,”

“SBI was required to disclose details of each electrical bond encashed by political parties, inclusive of the date of encashment and the denomination of the electoral bond,” the court said, adding, “the above narration and a plain reading of paragraph 219 of the judgment of February 15, 2024 (striking down the electoral bonds scheme) indicates that SBI was required to submit all details both in terms of the purchase and in terms of receipt of contributions.”

Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the RBI, stated that there’s no reservation on the part of the bank in revealing all the details that are in its possession and custody.

Recording his statement, the court stated: “In order to fully effectuate the order and to obviate any controversy in the future, we direct that the chairman and managing director of SBI shall file an affidavit on or before 5 pm on Thursday, indicating that SBI has disclosed all details of the electoral bonds which were in its possession and custody and that no details have been withheld from disclosure in terms of the directions contained in paragraph 221 of the judgment.”