DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PIL ALLEGES CORRUPTION IN ELECTIONS EVMs blamed only when you lose: SC rejects plea for return of ballot papers Asks why shouldn’t India be different from rest of the world when petitioner says most democracies use paper BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 THE SUPREME Court Tuesday dismissedaPILwhichsoughtreintroduction of ballot papers in place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) remarking that the machines are blamed only when one loses an election. “What happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose elec- tions,EVMsaretampered(with). When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered. Now, this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered,” said Justice Vikram Nath presiding over a two-judge bench while dismissing the PIL by evangelist K A Paul. The comments came as Paul, arguing in person, cited tweets by Naidu from 2018 and some recent posts on X by Reddy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kharge calls for ballot paper, Sharad Pawar too throws weight behind it LALMANI VERMA, ALOK DESHPANDE & MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, NOV 26 GRAPPLINGTOmakesenseofthe MVA’s rout in the Maharashtra Assembly elections and its own disastrous performance in Haryanalastmonth,theCongress Tuesday revived its demand for returntopaperballotsonceagain raising questions on the sanctity of the electoral process itself. Its ally in Maharashtra, Pawar has asked party candidates to collect ‘evidence’ NCP(SP), decided to set up a legal team for a judicial campaign on allegations against EVMs. Party president Sharad Pawar has directed party candidates to collect documentary evidence regarding objections. Many of Congress’s INDIA bloc allies, however, signalled that, at least for now, they were not on the same page as the Congress on scrapping EVMs. Addressing a Constitution Day event organised by the Congress in the capital Tuesday, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said: “I will say one thing… and our Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi will also agree. Hamarasab…jitnibishaktilagage keSC,ST,OBC,gareebtapkekelog, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trump excludes India from initial tariff plans, targets China and Mexico CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, has announced plans to impose tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada. India is absent from his initial tariff plans. Theannouncementindicates his administration intends to continue using tariffs as a strategy to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and leverage this in trade negotiations. Inasocialmediapost,Trump saidimmediatelyaftertakingoffice, he would sign an executive orderimposinga25percenttariff on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, and 10 per centtariff ontopof existingtariffs ● NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 RELIGIOUSCONVERSIONmerely to avail quota benefits without “actualbelief”intheotherreligion would defeat the social ethos of the policy of reservation, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday as itupheldaMadrasHighCourtorderdenyingScheduledCastecertificate to a born Chrisitian woman who claimed to be a Hindu while seeking the certificate for an Upper Division Clerk job in Puducherry. A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan said that “in the instant case, the ev- Trunp is set to take office on Jan 20 Tariff asa leverage TRUMP CLEARLY intends to leverage tariffs in negotiations with other countries. In his first round plan, he has sought to impose a 10% extra tariff on top of existing tariffs on Chinese goods, unless Beijing curbs smuggling of synthetic opioid fentanyl. Moody’s downgrades Adani firms’ ratings outlook to ‘negative’ HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 26 FOLLOWINGTHEUSindictment of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others in an alleged bribery scam, global rating agency Moody’s Tuesday revised the outlookon sevenfirms of theconglomerateto‘negative’ from‘stable’,butaffirmeditsratings on all seven firms. In the indictment, US prosecutors had alleged that Gautam Adani and seven others offered INSIDE ADANI POWER PACTS DURING JAGAN GOVT UNDER SCANNER, SAY MINISTERS P 6 or promised to offer Rs 2,029 crore (US $265 million) in bribes toIndiangovernmentofficialsfor securing “lucrative solar energy supplycontracts”withstateelectricity distribution companies. According to Moody’s, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD 5 KILLED IN VIOLENCE DURING PRO-IMRAN RALLY IN PAKISTAN CAPITAL, CURFEW IMPOSED PAGE 16 Conversion only for reservation, without ‘actual belief’, a fraud on Constitution: SC ANANTHAKRISHNAN G RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 UPHOLDS HC ORDER DENYING SC CERTIFICATE President Droupadi Murmu with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Speaker Om Birla, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Union ministers J P Nadda and Kiren Rijiju at the Constitution Day function at Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi, Tuesday. PTI PAGE5 PM: Constitution guide to present, future... lived up to our every need ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 CALLING THE Constitution of India a guide to the present and the future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he has tried to work within the limits set by it. Addressingagatheringatthe Supreme Court on the occasion of ConstitutionDaycelebrations, the Prime Minister said, “I have tried to remain within the limits of theworkthattheConstitution entrustedtome.Ihavenotmade any attempt to encroach. I did the work that the Constitution asked me to do and I have expressed my views while maintaining my limits…” Also present on the stage were Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal, Supreme Court judges Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, Attorney General R Venkataramani, Supreme Court Bar Association president Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Bar Council of India president Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra. With a smile, the PM added, “Only hints are needed here and one need not say much…” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Monk arrest: India flags safety of Hindus, Dhaka says it is deeply ‘hurt’ SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 JUDICIARY NOT ABOVE CRITICISM, SAYS CJI KHANNA RAHUL CALLS FOR CASTE CENSUS, TARGETS PM PAGE 5 idencepresentedclearlydemonstrates that the appellant professes Christianity and actively practises the faith by attending church regularly”. “Despitethesame,sheclaims to be a Hindu and seeks for ScheduledCastecommunitycertificate for the purpose of employment. Such a dual claim madebyherisuntenableandshe cannot continue to identify herself asaHinduafterbaptism,”the bench said. “Therefore, the confermentof ScheduledCastecommunal status to the appellant, whoisaChristianbyreligion,but claims to be still embracing Hinduismonlyforthepurposeof A DAY after Bangladesh police arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari on sedition charges and a court on Tuesday denied him bail, India expressed “deep concern” and urged authorities “to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities” in the neighbouring country. Hourslater, Dhaka reacted to New Delhi’s statement, calling the issue “internal affairs of Bangladesh”. It said that “such unfounded statements not only misrepresent facts, but also stand contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries”. This is the latest instance of New Delhi raising the issue of safety of Hindus in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has previously raised the issue in public statements and in phone conversation with Chief Adviser oftheBangladeshinterimgovernment, Prof Muhammad Yunus. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP firm on Fadnavis as CM: Bihar In run-up to elections, Delhi knocks model doesn’t apply in Maharashtra at Centre’s door for `10,000-cr loan SHUBHANGI KHAPRE & VALLABH OZARKAR AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 26 IN A clear indication of the state of play Tuesday in Maharashtra over who will head the new Mahayutigovernment,senioralliance partner BJP ruled out a Bihar model in the state as suggestedbyafewShivSenaleaders whohavebeenpushingfortheir leaderEknathShindetoreturnto the helm as Chief Minister. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Eknath Shinde meets Governor C P Radhakrishnan along with Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to submit his resignation as CM, in Mumbai on Tuesday. Express WITH JUST a few months likely before Delhi heads for Assembly elections, the state government has sought to borrow Rs 10,000 crore from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) to meet its expenditure for the current financial year, 2024-25. The proposal, being sent to the Union Ministry of Finance has been signed by Chief MinisterAtishidespiteobjections Delhi Chief Minister Atishi by the state’s finance department, which expected lower expenditureduetotheModelCode of Conduct (MCC). In fact, it said Delhi should quit from the NSSF. Besides Delhi, only three other states — Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh — borrow from NSSF, whichcomprisescollectionsunder small saving schemes, net of withdrawals. Most states have decided to stay out of NSSF since these loans are more expensive than market borrowings. InaSeptember2note,Delhi’s Principal Secretary (Finance) Ashish Chandra Verma is learnt to have objected to the option of taking loans from the NSSF this fiscal. “In view of the hugely expanded interest liability, and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Man with a limp, shirt left behind: How police tracked ‘killer on trains’ PAGE 1 ANCHOR KAMAAL SAIYED SURAT, NOVEMBER 26 THEMURDERsceneprovidedthe first clue. A black-and-white sweatshirt and a backpack lay nearthebodyofa19-year-oldgirl, metres away from a railway station in Valsad district of Gujarat, on November 14. As police rummaged through the backpack, its contents — more than one set of clothes,amobilecharger,among other things — led them to con- clude that the suspect was a visitortothetownandhadprobably taken the train to get here. Over the next five days, Gujarat Police scoured footage fromatleast5,000CCTVcameras atrailwaystationsinMaharashtra and Gujarat, before finally zeroing in on their man: Rahul Karamveer Jat, 30, alias Bholu, who, police say, has confessed to five murders in OctoberNovember — four of these on moving trains, in coaches reserved for the differently abled, andone,ofthe19-year-oldValsad victim, near the railway station. According to police, Rahul, who is originally from Rohtak in Haryana,usedtoworkasawaiter at a hotel 10 km from the railway station. That day, he had arrived fromMumbaitothetowntocollect his pending salary from the hotel and was on his way back whenhespottedthegirlnearthe railway station. She was heading homefromhertuitioncentreand the station fell on the way. Police say he stalked the girl for up to 100 metres from the station and, as they reached a desolate spot, dragged her to a mango orchard nearby, raped and killed her. Police say that in his confessions to them, he said that after raping the girl a couple of times and strangling her, he went back CCTV footage of accused Rahul Karamveer Jat at Vapi station to the railway station, bought himself a bottle of a fruit drink andabagof milk,drankbothand allegedlyagainwentbacktorape the girl. But by then, her family members,alertedbyherabsence and who had been tracking her entire path from the tuition centre to her home, had arrived at themurderspot.PolicesayRahul left in ahurry, leavingbehind his sweatshirtandthebackpack.He thenallegedlytookthelocaltrain to the next station, from where he was to travel to Mumbai. Valsad district police chief Karanraj Vaghela said that after they discovered Rahul’s backpack and his black-and-white sweatshirt, they began retracing his footsteps. “The bag had three jerseys and two half pants. We suspected that the accused may have come from the railway station,” he said. Since the railway station is without CCTV cameras, the police looked at footage from the cameras at the next station. That’s when they spotted a man wearing the same black-andwhite sweatshirt, a scarf around his neck, and carrying the same blackbag.Hewalkedwithalimp and was seen boarding a train headed to Bandra in Mumbai. Police then set up 10 teams headed by inspectors who coor- dinated with the police chiefs in four districts. “On checking the CCTV footage, we got to know that he had come to Vapi station inValsadonatrainfromMumbai. We checked footage from every station between Vapi and MumbaiCentralandfinallyspottedhimontheCCTVatDadarstation (in Mumbai),” Vaghela said. Meanwhile, police teams in Gujarat's Navsari and Surat districts mapped his photograph with jail records, but found no prisoner matching his description. They then checked the national database of prisoners and finally struck a match — Rahul, a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2