DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEW SLOGAN: ‘CONG KI LOOT, ZINDAGI KE SAATH BHI, ZINDAGI KE BAAD BHI’ SeizingonPitroda’staxremarks,Modi saysCongthreatensfamilyinheritance Under fire, Rahul digs heels in, says ‘X-ray’, survey will find way forward MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 RBI PUTS CURBS ON KOTAK: NO ONLINE ONBOARDING OF CUSTOMERS, NEW CREDIT CARDS TRIGGERING A political storm in thesecondphaseof theelections withhisremarkslinkinganationwide caste census to an institutional survey, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reaffirmed Wednesdaythathisparty,ifvoted topower,wouldtakeupthe“revolutionary” task of a “national X-ray”—hisdescriptionofacaste census—alongwithaneconomic andinstitutionalsurveytodetermine “in which direction the country should move forward.” 2020 CONG CRISIS Congress distances itself from Pitroda remarks: No link to policy, manifesto Gehlot behind phone tap of Pilot & rebels, claims ex-aide of former CM Ashok Gehlot’s former OSD Lokesh Sharma in Jaipur, Wednesday. Rohit Jain Paras HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, APRIL 24 IN WHAT could spell trouble for former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, his former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Lokesh SharmaallegedWednesdaythat duringthe2020partycrisisinthe state, the phones of party rebels, including Sachin Pilot, and their movements were tracked at Gehlot's behest. He also alleged thatitwasGehlotwhopassedon recordings of phone calls and asked him to “circulate them in the media”. Until late Wednesday night, there was no response from Gehlot to Sharma's allegations. Responding to Sharma’s accusations, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “He is not a member of the organisation and he is in touch withBJPleaders.Hence,he’sacting on their instructions.” Incidentally, Sharma is also an accused in an FIR, lodged in connection with these audio clips, in Delhi in March 2021 on CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 THE WORLD BLINKEN BEGINS CHINA VISIT AMID TENSION OVER NEW U.S. FOREIGN AID BILL AFTER RAISI’S PAK VISIT, U.S. WARNS OF SANCTIONS OVER BUSINESS WITH IRAN PAGE 12 JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU, VIKAS PATHAK & ANAND MOHAN RAIPUR, NEW DELHI, BHOPAL, APRIL 24 AS CAMPAIGNING for Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections drew to a close Wednesday in 89 constituencies of 13 states and UTs that will vote Friday, the gloves were off in the BJP-Congress standoff, with economics taking centrestage. Widening his attack on the Congress, days after accusing it of working to give Muslims the first right to the nation’s resources and wealth redistribution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that the party now had its eyes on the wealth of all Indians. Referring to Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda’s remark that the inher- EXPLAINED POLITICS UNDERSTANDING INHERITANCE TAX PAGE 14 itance tax in the US was an idea that could be debated and discussed in India too, Modi, addressing a rally in Surguja in Chhattisgarh, targeted the Gandhi family and the Congress. “Theadvisortotheroyalfamily prince, and advisor to the father of the prince, has said more taxes should be imposed on the middle class. Now these people have gone a step further. The Congressnowsaysitwillimpose an inheritance tax. That it will impose tax on the inheritance receivedfromparents.Theproperty you have accumulated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Poll panel likely to argue this is mere listing of work done, no enmity stoked EXPRESS NETWORK NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Samajik Nyay Sammelan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Anil Sharma Census to kranti: How Rahul framed quotas as wealth re-distribution tool THE EDITORIAL PAGE MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 ALMOST a year ago, on April 16, 2023, Rahul Gandhi first spoke aboutjitniabadi,utnahaqorproportional representation in Kolar, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. Even after a win in the state, the Congress Working Committee, which met in October last year, refrained from spelling out this line. It passed a resolution merely saying a “nationwide caste census will reveal an accurate picture of RETROGRADE Congress’s ideas on survey and inheritance are bad economics and bad politics PAGE10 E EXPLAINED Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. PTI PM mention of Ram temple, appeal to Sikhs, no violation of MCC, EC set to say RITIKA CHOPRA ECONOMY PAGE 13 COMPLAINT REGARDING APRIL 9 RALLY the socio-economic position of communities across the country and provide a sound, data● driven basis for policies to strengthen the foundations of social justice and ensure inclusive development.” This carefully worded state- ment is now effectively out of the window as Rahul has steadily ratcheted up the rhetoric, framing the caste census not just as a means but as an end — conflating the three critical issuesof inequality,concentration of wealth,andcastecensus,leaving gaping holes for interpretation, to the dismay of a section of his colleagues. Over the course of the year, he has talked about an “X-ray”, a financialsurveywhichwillmake everything clear — doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani — about who owns what and earns how much, and krantikari policies to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi'sreferencetotheconstruction of the Ram Temple in an election rally is not an appeal to vote in the name of religion. Mentioning the development of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, a route for Sikh pilgrimage, along with the government's action of bringing back copies of the Guru Granth Sahib — the Sikh holy book — from Afghanistan in a constituencywithasizeableSikh population, does not violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). This is the decision that the Election Commission (EC) is likely to communicate in its first disposal of a complaint against the Prime Minister alleging Model Code violations, The Indian Express has learned. The decision is based on a complaintfiledbySupremeCourt lawyer Anand S Jondale, who allegedthatModiviolatedtheMCC by seeking votes for "his party in PETITIONS ON VVPAT SLIPS: SC SAYS CAN’T CONTROL ELECTIONS PAGE 6 the name of Hindu deities and Hindu places of worship as well as Sikh deities and Sikh places of worship" during his address at a public rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit on April 9. The all-clear from EC is expected to come even as the Commission is seized of a Congress complaint against the Prime Minister for his remarks atarallyinRajasthan'sBanswara onApril21,wherehementioned Muslims and said that the Congress, if voted to power, could distribute the nation’s wealth among "infiltrators" and "thosewhohavemorechildren". The poll panel has not given a decision in this matter yet. Sources said the EC is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 ● ‘Vote Vimanam’ brings expatriates back to Kerala ahead of polls ● EC extends voting hours in four Bihar seats GROUNDREPORT ●SamajwadiPartychanges mind,Akhileshtocontest fromKannauj CAA buzz missing in Silchar, but BJP races ahead on work, hopes PAGES 5, 7,8 AN EXPRESS SERIES - PART 2 : GUJARAT BJP dominance squeezes Opp, Days before elections, on Gujarat street, refrain once Maharashtra Govt again is for ‘jaisa chal raha hai’ gave guarantee for loans to 21 sugar mills It is the women who bear the brunt of fetching water in parched Bundelkhand. Anand Mohan J Water a trickle, now diamonds are rust in dry Bundelkhand I will do something else,” Kumar ANAND MOHAN J says, worried it might involve PANNA, TIKAMGARH, APRIL 24 moving out as “there are no jobs in Panna”. DIAMONDS MAY be forever, but Panna is one of the six not in Madhya Pradesh's Panna MadhyaPradeshdistricts—apart district, whose famed from Datia, Tikamgarh, mines are running dry. Chhatarpur, Damoh and Standing atop a Sagar — all falling in the mound of excavated semi-arid, backward reearth in Sarkoha village, gion of Bundelkhand, supervising four workers whichvoteinthesecond chipping away to reach DECISION phase on April 26. 2024 the kimberlite, which Agriculture may be the may or may not contain backbone of Madhya diamond deposits, mine opera- Pradesh'seconomy,buthereitis tor Vijendra Kumar, 39, says he a constant battle against unceris done. "We are not getting the tainty,withirrigationsystemsinsame volume of diamonds and adequate, fuelling migration. it is costly to run this operation... CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 15 managed by ruling leaders, 9 of whom had switched over in last 2 yrs MUMBAI TO MURSHIDABAD PARTHA SARATHI BISWAS PUNE, APRIL 24 VANDITA MISHRA, LEENA MISRA & KAMAAL SAIYED VYARA, SURAT, BHARUCH, VADODARA, APRIL 24 COME TO Prime Minister NarendraModi’sstate,whichthe BJP swept in the last two Lok Sabha elections, winning 26 out of 26 seats, and in which a BJP government has ruled uninterrupted since 1998, to get a glimpse of what total dominance looks like, even and especially when it is fraying at the edges.Winningall26seatsagain is not the BJP’s stated goal this time—thepartyisstrikingabigger and bolder posture in its Gujarat showcase. It says it will win every seat here — the state goes to polls in Phase 3 on May 7 — by a margin of 5 lakh votes. CometoSuratinthiselection, wheretheBJPcandidateMukesh Dalal has just got elected unop- Congress Bardoli candidate Siddharth Chaudhary with father Amarsinh Chaudhary, a former MP, MLA, in Vyara. Kamaal Saiyed posed—afterthenominationpapers of the Congress candidate werecancelledbecauseofalleged discrepanciesinproposers’signatures,andamidallegationsofkidnapping, the rest of the candidates stood down subsequently — to see the “Opposition-mukt" polityoftheBJP’snationaldream. Surat part of a larger story Surat may not be an incidental setting for the contest that turned into a no-contest. It is the bastion of BJP president C R Paatil, a third-term MP from the adjoining constituency of Navsari, known not to conduct a campaign as it is defined conventionally. Paatil makes a point of not asking voters for their vote, takes pride in not addressing election sabhasormeetings.Nohoardings or posters are put up in his name — because, it is said, he presides overawell-honedsystemofelection “micro-management”, in which the public outreach is micro-data-driven, below the surface, silent and systematic. The story goes that in 1992, CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 DAYS BEFORE THE model code of conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha elections kicked in on March 16, the Maharashtra government had in the first week of March agreed to be the guarantorfor21cooperativesugarmills and recommended their names for loans from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Of the 21 mills, 15 are managed by leaders from the ruling alliance or those who recently jumped ship. Two are managed by leaders who had sided with Eknath Shinde when the latter split the Shiv Sena in 2022, five with Ajit Pawar when he parted ways with Sharad Pawar, and one by a Congress leader who switched to the BJP ahead of elections. Yet another mill in Solapurismanagedbythesonof late Bharat Bhalke, who was an MLA representing NCP (undi- WHO GOT STATE GUARANTEE Of the 21 mills, 15 managed by ruling alliance leaders or those who recently jumped ship: ■ 2 with Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) ■2 with NCP (Ajit Pawar) ■ 1 with Cong leader who switched to BJP before elections ■ 1 with the son of NCP (undivided) MLA who joined BRS ■ Remaining 9 mills support BJP vided). He had joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) after his defeat in the bypoll. Of the six mills not managed by leaders of the ruling alliance, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In this Bengal constituency, TMC has a three buried bodies problem PAGE 1 ANCHOR RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA RAIGANJ (UTTAR DINAJPUR), APRIL 24 ON FRIDAY, 64-year-old Rabindranath Burman will walk to his polling booth near his village Chandgaon to cast his vote to elect the next Raiganj MP. Friday also happens to be the deathanniversaryof his30-year- old son Mrityunjay. A year ago, on April 26, Mrityunjay was killedoutsidehishomeallegedly by police following a crackdown onamobthatsetfiretoKaliaganj police station in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal in the wake of a girl’s death. “That night dozens of policemen came and searched houses in our neighbourhood for a BJP leader. The commotion woke up thevillageandmysonwentoutside to see what was happening. Momentslater,whenIcameout, I saw my son’s body lying near the door,” says Rabindranath as VOTE SHARE (%) IN RAIGANJ Party 2014 BJP 18.33 40.06 2019 TMC 17.39 35.32 CPI(M) 28.65 14.25 Cong 28.5 6.55 Source: Election Commission Rabindranath Burman at the spot where his son has been buried, at Chandgaon village in Kaliaganj. (Right) The families of Rajesh Sarkar and Tapas Burman at Daribhit. Partha Paul his daughter-in-law and her sixyear-old son look on, seated in front of their mud house. Rabindranath did not cremate his son. Instead, he buried him nearby. “I have no faith in the CID (state police) investigation. We want a CBI inquiry. We have already filed a case in the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI probe. But justice eludes us. I have kept the body buried hoping that one daycentralagencieswillexhume it for another round of postmortem," says Rabindranath. His wife Jyotsna intervenes. “The culprit who killed my son is roaming freely like Sheikh Shahjahandid.ThisTMCgovern- ment never gives justice,” she says, referring to the TMC leader, who was arrested months after people in Sandeshkhali in south Bengal accused him and his aides of sexual harassment and grabbing land. TheBurmanssupporttheBJP and say that its candidate Kartik Paul helped them a lot when Mrityunjay was killed. “SuvenduAdhikari(Leaderof OppositionintheAssembly)also came here and assured me that he will go to any extent to give me justice,” says Rabindranath. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata
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