DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES The Communist, pragmatist — and a Comrade to all CPI(M) gen secy spanned politics — a leading face of anti-Cong front to key Opposition coalition-builder `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PROTESTS OVER RAPE-AND-MURDER OF JUNIOR DOCTOR NSA AJIT DOVAL MEETS CHINA’S WANG YI Junior doctors refuse to join talks: Livestream it, if SC can, why can't state govt China sorted out IapologisetopeopleofBengal, Jaishankar: 75% of disengagement readytoquitforthem:Mamata problems with RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 12 1952 - 2024 MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 THE DIVIDE between pragmatism versus dogmatism, realonmanyoccasions,imaginedandsometimesexaggerated,perhapscapturesthelast two decades of the CPI(M)’s journey.AndSitaramYechury, the affable, soft-spoken and popular Communist leader who passed away Thursday afterbriefhospitalisation,rep- BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY resentedonevitalpoleinthat battle. He was 72. He is survived by his wife Seema Chishti, editor of The Wire; his daughter Akhila and son Daanish. A Marxist theoretician, Yechurywasabelieverwhen it came to the Communist ideologybutshowedtherare willingnesstotestthelimitations of its hard boundaries for the imperatives of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THEBESTOFBOTHSIDES CJI-PM MEETING Personal, not political by Bhupender Yadav ... Against their oaths by Indira Jaising THEIDEASPAGE 13 fielded one more candidate by afternoon. The constituency of Bhiwani was allocated to the NEW DELHI, CHANDIGARH, CPI(M). SEPTEMBER 12 Congress insiders said the reasonforthisdelayin finalising AS THE nomination window for the party’s line-up for the the Haryana Assembly elections AssemblypollswasformerChief drew to a close on Thursday, the Minister and Leader of the Congress rushed to field candi- Opposition Bhupinder Singh dates for the nine seats Hooda’slast-minuteobthat were undecided till jections to the choice of the night before, giving candidates — he is said one constituency to the to have claimed they CPI(M). Several party were greenhorns — in leaders who lost out on about half-a-dozen ticketsenteredthefrayas DECISION seats that were viewed 2024 Independent candidates. asconstituencieswhere HARYANA Sirsa MP Kumari Selja The Congress released the names of four wields influence. This candidates around 2 am, about took the party’s central leadera couple of hours after it an- ship by surprise. nouncedcandidatesfor40seats; Sources said Congress presinamed the nominees for two dent Mallikarjun Kharge, who seats later in the morning; and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Behind rare Shimla communal flare-up, local incident that pushed city to edge Traders called a bandh in Shimla on Thursday to protest against the police action. ANI PAGE 1 ANCHOR SAURABH PARASHAR SHIMLA, SEPTEMBER 12 BEHIND THE communal tensions that have gripped Shimla — the first such flareup in the state capital in recenthistory—isasquabbleat a barber shop, a mosque built in 1960, apprehensions of “outsiders” pouring into the state, and some political wrangling inside the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Amid calls to demolish Governor slams CM: Lady Macbeth of Bengal, I will socially boycott her SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 12 STATING THAT the state government has “failed in its duty” and not understood “the sentiments of the people and society”, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda BosesaidThursdaythathewould State govt failed in its duty: Bose “socially boycott” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who he even called“Lady Macbethof Bengal”. Healsosaid“manythingsarerotten in the State of Bengal”. In a statement, Bose said he was committed to the people protestingtheincidentatRGKar Hospital in Kolkata where a junior doctor was raped and murdered on August 9. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 TWO WEEKS after Indian and Chinese diplomats signalled some progressin negotiations to resolve the military standoff betweenIndianandChinesetroops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, External AffairsMinisterSJaishankar said Thursday that about 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China have been “sorted out” but the “bigger issue” has been the increasing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E ● Series of meetings JAISHANKAR’S REMARKS came the day NSA Doval was meeting China’s Wang Yi. Civil Aviation Minister Naidu also discussed early resumption of direct flights with his Chinese counterpart. PM Modi and President Xi are likely to meet at the BRICS Summit next month. As Hooda curveball 3 HELD FOR ATTACK ON ARMY OFFICERS, FRIENDS NEAR MHOW Naidu: Discussed early ‘Shoot accused or shoot me’: Rape delays Congress list, victim in shock, no statement yet resumption of direct rebels enter poll fray flights with the Chinese MANOJ C G & VARINDER BHATIA DIS/AGREE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CM Mamata Banerjee said she waited to hold talks for ‘over two hours’ on Thursday. PTI External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visits the replica of the East Gate of Sanchi Stupa in Berlin. PTI E X P L A I NE D SITARAM YECHURY THE OVER a month-long standoff between junior doctors and the West Bengal government worsened on Thursday as the protesters refused to join talks, following which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that they wanted her “chair” not justice as she offered to resign “for the sake of the people”. “Ora chair chaite esheche, justicena.Amimanushersharthepadatyag korte raji achi. Ami mukkhomantritto chaina (They are here for the chair, not justice. For the sake of the people, I am ready to resign. I don’t want the chief ministership),” Banerjee said at a press conference. “I apologisetothepeopleof Bengal who expected that the issue would be resolved today,” she said. Banerjee made the remarks after a delegation of protesting junior doctors reached Nabanna (state secretariat) but refused to join talks, insisting on their demand for live-streaming of the four-storey mosque in Sanjauli district, a Muslim welfare committee that runs the religious structure Thursday submitted a memorandum to Shimla’s municipal corporation commissioner, urging him to seal unauthorised portions. But it was an incident that tookplacearound8kilometres away,inthevillageofMalyana, that first set things in motion. On August 31, local shopkeeper Vikram Singh had an altercationwithabarbershop owner, Gulnawaz. Police eventually picked up six persons,includingGulnawazand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANAND MOHAN J INDORE, SEPTEMBER 12 THE MEN who allegedly assaultedtwoyoungArmy officers and raped one of their two women friends near Mhow in Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday would roam the area on motorcycles looking for people they could rob, officers investigating the casehavetoldTheIndianExpress. The men had also threatened to killthevictimsif theydidnotpay them Rs 10 lakh, investigators said. Police said they are facing a conundrum as the woman who was allegedly raped has refused to record her statement. The FIR has been filed based on a complaint by one of the Army officers, who stated, “They misbehaved with the woman, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 With Madras HC judge in home loan dispute, SBI wants hearing outside TN ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 THE STATE Bank of India (SBI) has approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) seeking transfer outside Tamil Nadu of a consumer complaint filed against it by Madras High Court judge Justice J Nisha Banu over a home loan repayment dispute. Records reviewed by The Indian Express show that the SBI fears it may not receive a proper hearing before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) in Madurai because it “is under the jurisdiction of the... (Madras) High Court…” The judge’s home in Madurai was partially constructed and demolished allegedlyduetopoorconstruction, records show. Thebank hasalleged thatthe judge was yet to fully repay the outstanding amount despite reminders and was linking it to a policy claim on her home that was rejected by The New India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 RESUMPTION OF direct passenger flights between India and Chinawasdiscussedinameeting between Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and Song Zhiyong,AdministratoroftheCivil AviationAdministrationofChina. This was disclosed by Naidu Thursday morning in a post on X which was deleted later. “As theChairmanfor the 2nd Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation, I have been utilising the platform to engage in sideline meetings with foreign delegations. This morning, alongside Secretary ShriVumlunmangVualnamand other senior officials from my ministry, I had courtesy meeting with Chinese delegation led by GOVT & POLITICS DOVAL IN RUSSIA, PUTIN PROPOSES BILATERAL WITH PM DURINGBRICS PAGE 7 Mr Song Zhiyong to exchange views regarding further strengthening civil aviation cooperation between the two countries, especially promoting early resumption of scheduled passenger flights between us,” Naidu said in the post. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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