people staying near the power distribution company soon started vacating their homes

India has allowed limited exports of essential commodities, including sugar, wheat, rice, and onions, to the Maldives, the government said on Friday, even as ties between Male and New Delhi remained tense amid rising Chinese influence.

India, a leading exporter of rice, sugar and onions, has imposed various curbs on exports of these food commodities to keep a lid on local prices ahead of the general election.

Shipments of these commodities in the 2024/25 financial year which started on April 1 to Maldives “will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibition on export,” the government said in a notification.

The South Asian country has allowed exports of 124,218 metric tons of rice, 109,162 tons of wheat flour, 64,494 tons of sugar, 21,513 metric tons of potatoes, 35,749 tons of onions, and 427.5 million eggs to the Maldives.

India has also allowed exports of 1 million tons each of stone aggregate and river sand.

The Maldives, which has traditionally had close ties to India, is pivoting towards Beijing since new President Mohamed Muizzu was elected in October on a promise to end the country’s pro-India stance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is the best person to keep the party together in the prevailing circumstances and asserted that her presence has had a “positive effect” on the cadre.

In an interaction with news agency PTI editors at the agency’s headquarters, Mr Bharadwaj, who is also a cabinet minister in the Delhi government, said Sunita Kejriwal has always said that she is the “messenger” of the Delhi Chief Minister who is currently in jail.

Noting that the politics of a party does not just revolve around its manifesto, Mr Bharadwaj said the support base and the emotional connection between the cadre and the top leadership also plays a crucial role in keeping an organisation together.

“Sunita Kejriwal’s presence has had a positive impact,” he adderted.

“She is delivering the messages of Arvind Kejriwal ji. This has had a great impact on our party cadre and among our sympathisers. We want to propagate it. In the present circumstances, she is the best person to keep the party together,” Mr Bharadwaj said.

Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy, is in judicial custody till April 15.

His wife has addressed three digital briefings so far, in which she read out his messages from the Enforcement Directorate custody and Tihar Jail.

In a political debut of sorts, she read out his message at the INDIA bloc ‘maharally’ on March 31.

Asked if Sunita Kejriwal will campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha polls, he said, “We would love if this thing happens… if Sunita ji does take part in campaigning but it is her personal decision.”

On further prodding whether there was some kind of “messaging” in Sunita Kejriwal taking centre stage after her husband’s arrest, the minister replied in the negative.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who too was arrested in the excise policy case and received bail on Wednesday, had met Sunita Kejriwal immediately after getting out of jail and was seen touching her feet.

Talking about it, the minister said if someone’s elder brother is in some difficulty, he is duty-bound to look after his family.

“This is our culture. The BJP was saying that there would be fights among the party members after Kejriwal’s arrest. Sanjay Singh considers Arvind Kejriwal his family, his elder brother. So, he touched her (Sunita Kejriwal) feet. We are working as one unit and one family,” he said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)