eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE FOUR-PAGE PULL OUT 24 things to watch out for From theatre fests to a retrospective of India’s finest modern artists, from sleep tourism to Sriracha, 2024 holds a promise of new experiences JAIPUR,LATECITY JANUARY14,2024 10+4PAGES,`6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Serving the poor and marginalised Scan for more information Hamara sankalp Viksit Bharat 13.5 crore people lifted from poverty in last 5 years UK envoy to Pak visits PoK; India protests, calls it unacceptable DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JANUARY 13 THEINDIANgovernmenthasregisteredaprotestwiththeUKover a recent visit by the British High Commissioner in Islamabad to Pakistan-occupiedKashmir(PoK), calling the act “unacceptable”. In a statement issued Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the visit was an infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra has lodged a protest with the British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis. The British envoy to Pakistan, JaneMarriott,Wednesdayvisited Mirpur city in PoK along with an official of the UK Foreign Office. Marriottlaterwroteonsocialmedia site X that 70 per cent of British-Pakistanipeoplehavetheir roots in Mirpur. She also posted photographs from the visit. In response, the MEA Saturday said India has taken CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Among Sensex firms, 83% sexual harassment cases from IT, banking in FY23 AGGAM WALIA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 13 THE11Sensex-listedinformation technology(IT)andbankingcompanies accounted for 83 per cent of allsexualharassmentcasesreported at firms on the 30-share indexinfinancialyear(FY)202223.Accordingtodatacompiledby TheIndianExpressfromannualreports,theSensexcompaniessaw an overall uptick in such cases compared to the pre-pandemic figure — from 627 in FY20 to 711 in FY23, a 13 per cent increase. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MEETING OF INDIA LEADERS KhargenamedOpposition blocchairperson,Nitish convenorbuthedeclines Pradip Das ATAL SETU, MUMBAI, IS NOW OPEN TMC, Sena (UBT), SP absent at meet; Cong invites allies to Rahul’s yatra The 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, India’s longest sea bridge, was opened to the public at 8 am Saturday. Officials said around 8,000 vehicles used it over12 hours on Day 1. We’re small, that is not licence to bully us: Muizzu PRESS TRUST OF INDIA BEIJING, MALE, JANUARY 13 BACK IN Male after a high-profile state visit to China, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu Saturdaysaidhiscountrymaybe small but that does not give anyone “the licence to bully” it. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Assault of sadhus is latest BJP-TMC flashpoint in West Bengal, 12 arrested EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, JANUARY 13 TWELVE PEOPLE were arrested in Purulia in West Bengal after theyallegedlybeatupthreesadhus, heading to the Gangasagar Mela, near Kashipur. The inci- dent — a video clip of which has been doing the rounds online — is fast becoming the latest flashpoint between the Opposition BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state. According to sources, the threesadhus,residentsofBareilly CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Behind Nitish’s no: Delayed offer, no consensus, wants a more weighty role SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JANUARY 13 AICC Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi meet Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP’s Raghav Chadha in New Delhi. LALMANI VERMA & MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JANUARY 13 IN A meeting not attended by Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackeray, leaders of major IN- Jaipur DIAblocpartiesSaturdayagreed to appoint Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as chairperson of the alliance and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAHUL YATRA KICKS OFF TODAY PAGE 5 FOR THE past fortnight, Janata Dal (United) leaders had been pushing for Bihar Chief Minister and party supremo Nitish Kumar as national convenor of the INDIA bloc. Yet, when the ● offer came from the Congress Saturday, Nitish’s no was not much of a surprise. There are four key reasons behind his decision: E EXPLAINED CBC 22201/13/0142/2324 Government of India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2