DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BY UNNY YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION Govt declares Canada-based Goldy Brar a terrorist Gangster wanted in Moosewala murder case MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 GANGSTER GOLDY Brar, the allegedmastermindinthemurder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, was on Monday declared a designated terrorist by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Anativeof FaridkotinPunjab, Brar, whose real name is Satinderjit Singh, is currently based in Canada, where he had gone on a student visa in 2017. He is wanted in India in multiple murder cases. A key member of the LawrenceBishnoigang,Brarhad claimed responsibility for the murder of Moosewala. The popular singer was shot in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29, 2022. In a gazetted notification issued Monday, Additional SecretaryPraveenVashistasaidBraris currently residing in Brampton, Canada and is associated with DHEERAJ MISHRA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 ISRO’s PSLV-C58 carrying the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite lifts off from Sriharikota on Monday. PTI SECOND SUCH MISSION IN THE WORLD AFTER NASA’S IXPE ISRO launches‘Gaganyaanyear’with XPoSat,India’seyeindeepspace PSLV-C58 places satellite in desired orbit, will track X-rays and celestial objects ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 THE INDIAN Space Research Organisation (ISRO) began the new year with the successful launchofitsfirstX-rayPolarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), which will study X-ray polarisation and its cosmicsourcessuchasblackholes and neutron stars. Lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Monday morning, ISRO’s popular launch vehicle PSLV-C58 put the XPoSat in a precise circular orbit of 650 km after a 21-minute flight. TheXPoSatisonlytheworld’s second such mission after the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launched by NASA in 2021. It comprises two payloads, including Indian X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing (XSPECT). These have been built byRamanResearchInstituteand UR Rao Satellite Centre, both in Bengaluru. “On 1st January 2024 yet another successful mission of the PSLV has been accomplished. PSLVC58hasplacedtheprimary satelliteXPoSatinthedesiredorbit,” said ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “The deviation from the targetedorbitishardly3kmandinclination is 0.001 degree which is one of the excellent orbital conditions.Thesolarpanelof the satellite has also been deployed successfully.” “Thisyearhasjustbegunand we are going to have many more launches. And, 2024 is going to be the year of Gaganyaan,” he said referring to India’s first humanspaceflightprogramme.“As you all know, the TV-D1 mission happened last year and this year we are expecting two more such testflightsof theTestVehiclefollowed by the unmanned mission of Gaganyaan programme.” Somanath said there will be PSLV, GSLV, as well as its new CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE WHY THIS HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE BY BIMAN NATH PAGE 8 EXPLAINED SCIENCE WHAT IS XPoSat MISSION PAGE 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As Kejriwal sets tone, Mann softens stand on AAP-Cong alliance AAP cites need to ‘save country’ for new openness in Punjab and Delhi KANCHAN VASDEV & MALLICA JOSHI CHANDIGARH, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 WEEKS AFTER dismissing the question of an alliance with the principalOppositionCongressin Punjab for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann on Monday seemed to have softened his stand. Both the Congress and AAP are constituents of the OppositionINDIAblocformedto take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Responding to a question on the possibility of AAP's tie-up with the Congress, Mann said: “We will know at the next INDIA blocmeeting.Wewillknowafter discussions at that meeting. The meeting will be held soon.” “We are fighting for the country. If the Constitution is saved, the country will be saved. If the Constitution is saved, the parties will be protected,” he added. OnthePunjabCongress'sopposition to an alliance with the AAP on the ground that it will damage its prospects, the CM said: “Otherwise, what state is the Congress in.” Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said, “In Delhi and Punjab, mothers would be able to tell the shortest story to their children. That would be — ‘Ek thi Congress’.” Though Mann took potshots at the Congress, his posturing was seen as a “softening” of stance on the alliance issue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IIT-BHU assault: Cong flags photos posted by accused with BJP leaders EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, JANUARY 1 7.6 QUAKE HITS JAPAN, BUILDINGS FLATTENED ISRAEL SHIFTS TACTICS, PULLS SOME TROOPS FROM GAZA PAGE 10 THEARRESTof threemenforthe alleged sexual assault of an IITBHU student on campus premises was at the centre of a political firestorm on Monday as the Congresssharedpurportedphotosof theaccusedwiththePrime Minister and BJP leaders. The BJP, meanwhile, dis- tanced itself from the men — whosesocialmediaprofilessuggest they are part of the party’s IT cell in Varanasi — and said the police response to this case is in stark contrast to what would happen under previous governments. Varanasi police had on Saturday arrested Kunal Pandey (28), Saksham Patel (20) and Abhishek Chauhan (22) for the incident,whichtookplaceonthe night of November 1. According to police, Chauhan was booked in 2022 too on charges of physical assault, threatening and rioting in Varanasi. On their Facebook profiles, Pandey and Patel state that they areassociatedwiththeBJP—the former as the party’s Varanasi (Mahanagar) IT cell coordinator and the latter as co-coordinator. The two have posted several CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E ● Beyond MSP hikes MINIMUM SUPPORT Prices can influence farmers’ decision on choice of crops. Higher MSP, for example, for wheat has skewed procurement, and lower returns on seeds for edible oil, have necessitated imports. The Agriculture Ministry has said while it has a separate mission for crop diversification, it also has proposed a higher MSP for lentils. the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, flagging concerns. Concern 1: Import dependence The Department of Food & Public Distribution said the MSP foroilseedshasnotdeliveredthe desired result in terms of an increase in domestic production, and India is still dependent on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Manipur: 3 killed in valley district, curfew imposed JIMMY LEIVON IMPHAL, JANUARY 1 THE MANIPUR government on Monday re-imposed curfew across the state’s valley districts after three persons were shot deadbyarmedmeninThoubal’s Lilong area. “Due to developing law and orderconditioninthedistrictand to prevent any untoward incidents and loss of life and property,andfurtherasaprecautionary measure, the curfew relaxationorderdatedDecember 31 stands cancelled and full curfew is imposed in all areas of ImphalWestdistrictwithimmediateeffect,”saidanorderissued by the district magistrate. Similarly, curfew was re-imposed in Thoubal, Imphal East, Kakching and Bishnupur districts. While details about the inci- dent were sparse, Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in a video statement, assured that the culprits would be tracked down. “We do not take this incident lightly. Manipurpolicehavebeenpressed intoactiontonabtheculprits.Iappeal to the people, particularly fromLilong,torefrainfromresorting to any form of violence. I assureyouwewilltakestringentactionagainsttheculpritsasperthe law. Please cooperate with the government,” he said. PTI quoted officials as saying that the gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived wearing camouflage clothes and opened fire, targeting locals. Five people were also injured and are hospitalised. After the attack, enraged locals set some vehicles on fire. On Saturday night, three commandos of Manipur Police were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TMC old vs new at foundation day: PRIME MINISTERS’ MUSEUM Abhishek camp hits out at state chief Modi gallery set to open next week: Ram Temple to Art 370 to Ujjwala ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, JANUARY 1 THE BREWING tension between the old guard and the new in the Trinamool Congress spilled into the open on its foundation day Monday, with the usually recalcitrant state president Subrata Bakshiweighinginandbeingattacked by the other side. Afterotherleadersjoinedthe debate, in favour of either TMC CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 TMC leaders at party programme in Kolkata, Monday. Express AHEAD OF the inauguration of theRamTempleinAyodhyalater this month, the ‘Narendra Modi gallery’ at the Prime Ministers’ Museum will be opened to visitors in the second week of January, The Indian Express has learnt. Located on the ground floor EXPRESS NETWORK BSY: KARNATAKA SCULPTOR’S IDOL SELECTED FOR RAM TEMPLE PAGE 5 of the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, right after the gallery dedicated to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Modi gallery will showcase his major achievements over the last nine years. These include the construction of the Ram Temple and rejuvenation of other temples as part of a section called “Sanskriti”, his focus on science and technology, foreign policy, digital payment infrastructure, abrogation of Article 370, securing India’s borders, defence CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 From actors to accused: Contributing to a Mumbai Police fund BOLLYWOOD ACTORS, corporate houses, banks, lawyers and, insomecases,eventhoseagainst whom Mumbai Police filed chargesheets are in the list of people who contributed to the Mumbai Police Foundation (MPF) between May 2018 and March 2023, according to records obtained by The Indian Express under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. According to the RTI response, a total of Rs 25.49 crore wasreceivedincontributiondur- Mumbai Police registered an FIR against the firm for allegedly preparing electronic poll propaganda material for the BJP — an allegationmadebytheCongress. TheFIRregisteredonApril16, 2019atKharPoliceStation,NorthWest Mumbai, following a complaint by the Election Commission, named Raju Shroff, one of the UPL's directors, as accused. At this point, the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by DevendraFadnaviswasrulingthe state. When the UPL contributed to the MPF, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power. An officer said the police eventually filed the chargesheet in the case. FUND FLOW DURING AND AFTER PANDEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS IN LAST 3 YRS (In ` crore; approximate) TOP CONTRIBUTORS HDFC Bank: `4 cr (Nov 25 & Dec 31, 2020) Warburg Pincus India: `2.5 cr (Apr 28, 2020 & Apr 23, 2021) Akshay Kumar: `2 cr (Apr 27, 2020) AMONG OTHERS ■ Producer Rohit Shetty: `50 lakh (2022) ■ Shapoorji Pallonji Finance Pvt Ltd: `70 lakh (2020) ■ Serum Institute of India: `50 lakh (2020) ■ Inox Air Products Pvt Ltd: `50 lakh (2020) ■ SD Corporation: `25 lakh (2020) 0.52 MUMBAI, JANUARY 1 ing this period, mostly after the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. While the celebrity contributors included Akshay Kumar, Rohit Shetty, Virat Kohli and AnushkaSharma,thereisanother set of contributors that raises questionsastheMPFfundguidelinesclearlystatethatthereshould be no conflict of interest or “perception” of conflict of interest while accepting money for the Foundation. This set of contributors included agrochemical manufacturer United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL), which contributed Rs 1 crore to the MPF in April 2020. This came a year after the 9.08 MOHAMED THAVER 15.87 PAGE 1 ANCHOR Will know at next INDIA bloc meeting: Mann THE WORLD A HIGH minimum support price (MSP)forsomecropsandnotfor others is hindering crop diversification and benefiting a select few states, various Union ministries have said in response to the proposal to fix MSP for rabi crops for marketing season 2024-25, an RTI filed by The Indian Express shows. On October 18, 2023, the Cabinet approved the proposal to increase MSP of rabi crops such as wheat, barley, gram, lentil, rapeseed and mustard, andsafflower,formarketingseason 2024-25. The maximum increase over the previous year was 7.08% for lentil and 7.06% for wheat. Documents accessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information Act 2005 show that several departments wrote to EXPLAINED Ministries flagged MSP concerns: Low returns to rising oil imports BUSINESS AS USUAL 2020 2021 United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL): `1 cr (Apr 29, 2020) 2022 Tata Sons: `1 cr (May 27, 2020) ■ Godrej Seeds Genetics: `25 lakh (2020) State Bank of India: `1 cr (Mar 15, 2021) ■ KamalaRaheja Foundation:`25 lakh (2020) Total:`25.49cr Similarly, the MPF also receivedacontributionofRs10lakh from India Infoline in April 2020. In2015,theMumbaiPolice,while probing the NSEL scam case, had arrested three top executives of prominent brokerage firms, including Chintan Modi, the then vice president of India Infoline CommoditiesLimited(IICL).Modi wassubsequentlychargesheeted bytheeconomicoffenceswingof Mumbai Police in 2018. When asked about possible conflict of interest, a senior police officer, who oversees the MPF fund, said, “In these cases, we had already chargesheeted these people and hence the probe was no longer in our hands for any contributions to have impact on an ongoing probe. We ensure that we do enquiry about a person's background before we accept donations from them in order to ensure that no one with a dubious background tries to take advantage of this.” While the MPF did not receive any contribution in the 22 months since its formation in May2018,itwitnessedasudden spurt of flow beginning March 2020, coinciding with the onslaught of Covid-19 which started spreading across the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata