DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Government of India 22201/13/0313/2324 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Freedom from colonial mindset Scan for more information Rajpath now becomes Kartavyapath, Mughal Garden becomes Amrit Udyan, new epaulettes of Indian Navy to be based on the naval ensign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj WITH TODAY’S ISSUE IE 100 2024 THE LIST OF MOST POWERFUL INDIANS BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY DAY AFTER RS POLLS: BJP MLAs SUSPENDED, BUDGET PASSED Congress firefights in Himachal, rebellion against CM out in open Vikramaditya quits as minister, talks to observers; Sukhu says govt will last full term MANOJ C G & NAVJEEVAN GOPAL NEW DELHI, CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 28 Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with AICC observers Bhupesh Baghel, D K Shivakumar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rajeev Shukla in Shimla on Wednesday. PTI (Left) Vikramaditya Singh after quitting as minister. ANI Vikramaditya Singh announced his resignation from the Cabinet in the morning, the central leadershipmanagedtopacifyhimby the end of the day. After a meet- ing with AICC observers D K Shivakumar, Bhupesh Baghel andBhupinder SinghHoodalate in the evening, Vikramaditya CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FROM MAKING express provisionsforsimultaneouspolls,prescribing a common electoral roll to formation of a unity government in case a government falls before the end of its five-year tenure, the Law Commission of Indiahasworkedoutthreemajor Constitutionalamendmentstoset theballrollingforthe‘OneNation, OneElection’projectin2029,The Indian Express has learnt. The 22nd Law Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is set to recommend the addition of a new chapter on simultaneous polls in the Constitution, sources said. Currently, Part XV of the Constitutiondealswithelections. It prescribes the role of the Election Commission and for electionstobebasedonadultsuf- IN CONVERSATION WITH THE FM Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and P Vaidyanathan Iyer, Executive Editor, The Indian Express, at the Express Adda in Bengaluru on Wednesday. NAVEED IQBAL & LIZ MATHEW SRINAGAR, NEW DELHI, FEB 28 PAGE 1 ANCHOR Interim unity govt, common voter list: Law panel readies report on simultaneous polls A BJP promise NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 In first visit to Valley since Art 370 move, PM to address Srinagar rally CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Viksit Bharat APURVA VISHWANATH A DAY after its official candidate suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress central leadership on Wednesday scrambled to avert acrisisandsavethestategovernmentevenassixpartyMLAsand three Independents, who crossvoted for the BJP nominee, remained out of the party's reach. While young minister IN WHAT would mark his first visit to Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a public rally in Srinagar on March 7. The Prime Minister has been onawhirlwindtourof thecountry ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, with his speeches focusing on how his government’s schemes have touchedthelivesof beneficiaries. InSrinagar,too,heisexpected to address beneficiaries of the Centre’s schemes, sources said. “There is a demand for a public rally by the Prime Minister — it is going to be held at Sher-eKashmirInternationalConference Center. The final details are being worked out,” said a source. “He may address beneficiaries from far-flung areas virtually.” Modi,whovisitedJammulast weekandinauguratedaseriesof development initiatives totaling overRs32,000crore,hasnotvisited the Valley during his second term as Prime Minister. During his Jammu visit, he had termed Article 370 the “biggest impediment” to development in J&K. The last time he visited was in February 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, as part of his tour to all three regions of the former state — Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. He had also Hamara sankalp Sankhadeep Banerjee The Law Commission has made a presentation to the Kovind committee. File frage among other aspects. The Commission is likely to recommendinsertionof anewchapter, Part XVA, that would make provisions for simultaneous polls. While the law panel has not submitted its report to the government, it has made detailed presentationsof itslikelyrecommendationsbeforethehigh-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to THE IDEA of simultaneous polls, for long a BJP promise, has been amplified in recent years by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In its 2019 poll manifesto, the BJP said simultaneous polls were needed to reduce expenditure, ensure efficient utilisation of government resources and security forces and for effective policy planning. It said a common voter list will ensure every citizen gets the right to exercise his/her franchise for all public bodies. “examineandmakerecommendationsforholdingsimultaneous CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DDA razes house of man who led team that rescued 41 from Uttarakhand tunnel Hasansaysonlyhishousedemolished; removedencroachment,saysDDA ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 INSIDE In Kamal Nath bastion of Chhindwara, BJP on prowl, Congress tries to herd its leaders ANAND MOHAN J CHHINDWARA, FEBRUARY 28 CBI SUMMONS AKHILESH IN 2019 MINING CASE RELIANCE, DISNEY SIGN MEGA DEAL TO CREATE MEDIA GIANT 3,300 KG NARCOTICS SEIZED OFF GUJARAT COAST PAGES 6, 11 &15 A TEAM of senior Congress leaders, including former general secretaries,youthpresidentsand councillors, have taken a break from politics and are enjoying a game of cricket at the Indira Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, where posters of Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath dominate the landscape. AshishTripathi,akeyelection strategist for the Congress and a The Congress office in Chhindwara. Over 1,500 party workers here switched to the BJP this month. Anand Mohan J Kamal Nath loyalist, is watching the game from the stands but, he admits,hismindisonthecoming Lok Sabha elections. “Everyone asksmewhenKamalNathisjoining the BJP. I repeat what Kamal Nathsayswhenaskedthis–‘Aapki kya raye hai (What is your opinion)?’,” says Tripathi. Adding that it is wrong to proclaim the Congress's demise, he says: “The BJP has its eyes set on Chhindwara... They can try to break us, but the Chhindwara Congress shines when our backs are against the wall.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THREE MONTHS ago, Vaqeel Hasan sported a proud smile as he returned home after his team of “rat-hole” miners played a starringroleinrescuing41workers who had been trapped for 17 days in the collapsed SilkyaraBarkot tunnel in Uttarakhand. On Wednesday, he came home to find that it was being demolished as part of an antiencroachmentdrivebytheDelhi Development Authority (DDA) at Sri Ram Colony in Northeast Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area. “They (the authorities) came for demolition today morning; my wife and I were not at home, only my children were there. I rushed back, tried telling them not to go ahead, but they didn’t listen,”Hasan,45,whoalsoowns Rockwell Enterprises, the company that employed the “rathole” miners, said. In an official statement, the DDA said, "On 28.02.2024, a demolitiondrivewasconducted to remove encroachment from acquired land in village Khajuri Khas. The land was part of planned development land." Hasanclaimedhishousewas the only one targeted in the lo- Vaqeel Hasan and his house that was razed in Khajuri Khas cality. “There are other houses in the same line, it’s a colony. They said it is DDA land. In the area, only my house was demolished. Theregistryisfrom1987,andwe havebeenlivingheresince2012. It is an 80 gaj plot,” he said. Recalling the rescue mission in November, Hasan, the father of three minor children, said, “We didn’t think about our lives and got the work done. We are not asking for money, all I ask for is that I have the house I was living in. Where do we go with the children? Kiraya dena humare CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NSG’s Labradors set to make way for the more versatile Belgian Malinois DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 WITH THE Belgian Malinois becoming the preferred canine companionofspecialforcesinthe United States, Europe and Israel, India’s elite counter-terrorism unit,theNationalSecurityGuard (NSG), hopes to soon deploy the ferocious four-legged fighting force in its future operations in place of the adorable Labrador. During the ongoing IsraelPalestine conflict, the Belgian Malinois — a canine breed especially trained by the Israeli forces to not just sniff out Hamas mili- tants in their underground tunnelsinGaza,butalsotrackandattack them — was among Israel’s most valued fighting units. The NSG’s Labrador squad will gradually make way for the highly intelligent Belgian Malinois. While earlier, Labradors were used for sniffing and tracking, and German Shepherdsforattacking,theNSG is now training its Malinois dogs to carry out all three tasks. Sources said the Malinois squad will help NSG’s Black Cat commandos with their anti-terror operations. “The operational squads will become leaner. Else, wewouldhavetotaketwosetsof dogsalongwiththeirtrainersand otherlogistics.Itimpactsmobility and stealth,” NSG Director General M A Ganapathy said. Lieutenant Colonel R B Sharma, in charge of NSG’s K9 canine unit, said training for the new inductees started in August 2023. “At present, the squad has Labradors, cocker spaniels and Belgian Malinois. We have 20 Labradors and are not acquiring more Labradors since we plan to retirethemgradually.Astheirreplacement, we have acquired 14 Belgian Malinois and they are now our lead dog squad. Belgian Malinois is the preferred breed of the best forces in the world. A Belgian Malinois with the NSG’s K9 unit during an anti-terror drill. Gajendra Yadav The US forces that hunted down (al-Qaeda chief) Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan had Malinois dogs in tow,” Lt Col Sharma said. In 2019, a Belgian Malinois playedanimportantroleinamilitarystrike bytheUSthatresulted inthedeathofIslamicStateleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Lt Col Sharma said unlike Labradors, who have great olfactory senses but are docile, the Malinois’ssniffingcapabilitiesare onlyslightlylower.However,they are more alert, besides possessingtheabilitytoattackandparalyse terrorists, giving security forces “golden moments” before their intervention. “Labradors get tired easily and can get playful during operations. These are not issues we facewiththeMalinois.Labradors are constantly looking for affection and are eager to please their masters. They also want treats constantly. Malinois are more professional that way,” he adds. NSG second-in-command MajorRishi,themaindogtrainer, said, “The Malinois can also be trained to follow laser beams. So a bag can be pointed out with a laser beam at a distance, and the dog can reach it without the involvementof itshandler,thusreducing the risk to the soldier.” TheNSGhasalsoacquiredthe CanineRewardDeliverySystems (CRDS),designed for dog squads, for remote operations and realtime feedback. CRDS allows a dogtowearacamera-fittedvisor and a radio set is attached to its collar. The trainer can stay far from the operation site and send in the dog alone, passing on instructions through the radio set. Thecamera-fittedvisorrelayslive visuals to the handler. Major Rishi said, “CRDS has a range of 1 km and is one-of-akind in India.Thesedogshavealreadybeentrainedtosniffoutexplosives and attack terrorists based on directions given remotely via CRDS.”