DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES SINCE 1932 BUDGET PRESENTATION TODAY BUSINESS AS USUAL Imperative to wipe out trust deficit, onus on govt agencies: Survey BY UNNY ‘Business as usual’ approach carries a high risk of stagnation in growth, says CEA NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 ACTING ON a complaint which accused police of assaulting five menandforcingthemtosingthe National Anthem during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court has called the police action a “hate crime” and ordered an FIR against the SHO of the local police station. Avideoof theincidentshows police personnel assaulting the fivemen,includingcomplainant Mohd Wasim, and forcing them to sing the National Anthem and Vande Mataram. In his January 18 order, Judicial Magistrate First Class Udbhav Kumar Jain of KarkardoomaCourtdirectedpolice to file an FIR under IPC sections295A(deliberateandmalicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insultingitsreligion),323(voluntarilycausinghurt),342(wrongfulconfinement) and506(criminalintimidation)againstthethe officer who held the SHO post at Jyoti Nagar police station in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 President Droupadi Murmu addresses the joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session on Friday. Seated next to her are Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. PTI BUDGET SESSION STARTS WITH ADDRESS TO JOINT SITTING OF HOUSES Govt worked to lift Sonia calls President economy out of policy ‘poor thing’, PM says paralysis: President insulting; Rashtrapati ‘Saturation approach to ensure no one Bhavan: In poor taste is left behind in Viksit Bharat journey’ LIZ MATHEW & VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 PRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu said Friday that the government has “worked with strong determination to lift the economy out of a state of policy paralysis” — a term used by the BJP-led NDA government to refer to 10 years of UPArule—giving“highestpriority” to “the poor, middle class, the youth, women and farmers” in the implementation of decisions and policies. In her address to a joint sit- ting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session — the President’s address outlines the government’spolicyagendaand stand on issues — Murmu said, “Mygovernmentisinfusingnew energy through unprecedented achievements in this Amrit Kaal of India’s development journey. The pace of work has tripled in thisthirdterm.Today,thenation is witnessing major decisions and policies being implemented at an extraordinary speed, with the highest priority given to the poor, middle class, the youth, women and farmers.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 CONGRESS PARLIAMENTARY Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi found herself in a political soup Friday for calling President Droupadi Murmu a “poor thing” and saying she appeared to be “very tired” by the end of her customary address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session. Both the Rashtrapati Bhavan andtheBJP,ledbyPrimeMinister NarendraModi,slammedSonia’s remarks. Modi said the Congress’s “royal family” had in- Bengal toll rises to 6; kin of 2 victims claim yet to get death certificates KOLKATA, JANUARY 31 PAGE 1 ANCHOR ASKING GOVERNMENT agencies to set the agenda for building trust, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said for a Viksit Bharat by 2047, it is imperative to wipe out the “trust deficit” in the country. In his seven-page preface to the Economic Survey 2024-25, the CEA, who is the force behind the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Division, chose “deregulation” as his central theme because “getting out of the way” is not easy for societies like India’s. “But, ‘get out of the way’ and trust people, we must, for we have no other choice,” the CEA said. Once the trust deficit is addressed, it is a good bet the Indian public will overcome the challenges and turn them into opportunities, he said. Nageswaran recommended rolling back regulations “significantly”, stopping micromanagement of economic activity, and embracing risk-based regulations. The Economic Survey underscored that deregulation is more essential for growth of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister and BJP chief J P Nadda during the joint sitting of Parliament. PTI India to grow 6.3-6.8% in FY26, wants focus on domestic levers AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 THE ECONOMIC survey projected a growth rate of 6.3-6.8 per cent for 2025-26 on the back of a “strong external account, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption”, and said domestic growth levers will be more important than external ones in the comingyearsfortheIndianeconomy. Prescribing “deregulation and reforms at the grassroots level”, it said for structural reforms to succeed, there should be reliance on internal engines focusing on a central element — “the economic freedom of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E For growth, time to look ● within FOR VIKSIT Bharat, India has to grow 8% for at least 10 years. Right now, the Survey is of the view given what’s happening to global trade growth, India doesn’t have many prospects to take a leap. Instead, it wants India to focus on domestic levers, of which deregulation is a big part. RELATED REPORTS PAGES 17, 18 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC judge retires, says he ‘politely declined’ offers from the Govt ATRI MITRA CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 Not equipped to deal with judge’s misbehaviour, all options we have are soft options: Justice Roy KUMBHSTAMPEDE THE NUMBER of those from West Bengal who were killed in the Maha Kumbh stampede in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj has now increased to six, official sources said on Friday. After the families of some of the deceased from West Bengal alleged that they are yet to get death certificates, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday asked Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to reach out to the Uttar Pradesh government on the matter. Sources in the state administration said that Pant spoke to the officials concerned in the Uttar Pradesh administration and also directed the resident commissioner of Bengal, posted in New Delhi, to reach out to the Uttar Pradesh government. At least eight more people hailingfromWestBengalarestill missing. Officials identified the six whodiedasBasantiPoddar(65), a resident of Golf Green, Kolkata, Amal Poddar (54), a resident of sulted the tribals and the poor. Interacting with the media after the President’s address ended,Soniasaid:“Poorlady,the President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.” Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who flanked Sonia, along with sister and Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, chipped in, calling the speech “boring”. The President’s Office issued astatementinresponse.Without naming Sonia, it said the commentswerein“poortaste,unfortunate and entirely avoidable”, AGGAM WALIA & SUKALP SHARMA EXPLAINED 2020 DELHI RIOTS Hate crime, book SHO: Delhi court on forced singing of anthem `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 The stampede probe team at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj on Friday. Vishal Srivastav List of dead soon, verifying reports of second incident: Kumbh DIG MANISH SAHU PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 31 TWO DAYS after a pre-dawn stampede near the Sangam left 30 people dead and 60 injured, police said Friday that they have decidedtoinquireintoreportsof another incident that day in the Jhusi area of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, nearly 2 km from the site of the stampede. Vaibhav Krishna, DIG Kumbh, said, “Footage of the incident will be thoroughly examined, including recordings from cameras installed at the site.” The police decision follows reportsof apanicsituationinthe Jhusi area soon after the stampede at the Sangam Nose, the strip of land at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Police had earlier denied claims by some shopkeepers of a stampede-like situationandlossof livesinJhusi. Asked about the count of stampede victims, DIG Krishna maintained that 30 people had died. He said a list of the dead was likely to be released Saturday. The UP government has announced an ex gratia of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ACKNOWLEDGINGTHATthejudiciary is “not equipped” to deal withinstancesof allegedjudicial misbehaviour,JusticeHrishikesh Roy,judgeof theSupremeCourt, EXPRESS NETWORK said that all the options before the top court including transferring a judge or initiating an inhouse inquiry are “soft options and not very effective.” “Iamnotsure(whattheinstitutional response must be). I think all our options are soft options and not very effective. We are not equipped to deal with such situations. You see, the Constitution has several safeguards for judges, which are required for us to do our job, free from any external pressures. Thesesafeguardsarerequiredbut theyarealsocominginthewayof PAGES 10, 3 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW JUSTICE HRISHIKESH ROY SUPREME COURT JUDGE institutional responses,” said. Justice Roy, who retired after sixyearsintheapexcourtFriday, spoketoTheIndianExpressonjudicial discipline and the institutional response to the incident where Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Yadav made remarks targeting Muslims at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event. “ButImustaddthatthisisjust one or two judges in over 1,000 judges of constitutional courts. Perhaps we made a mistake in choosing a person but it’s not as if everything is bad,” he said. The Indian Express had reported on January9thattheChief Justiceof IndiaSanjivKhannahadinitiated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Canada allows Dalla, India’s most wanted, to remove ankle tracker MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL WORKING ON EARLY EXTRADITION OF TAHAWWUR: MEA 11 KILLED, 15 INJURED IN PUNJAB ACCIDENT P3 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 A MONTH after he was released on bail by a Canadian court in a firearms case, Canada-based Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), designated a terrorist by India, has been allowed to remove his ankle bracelet tracker Arsh Dalla, designated a terrorist in 2023 put on him as a bail condition, The Indian Express has learnt. According to sources, Indian investigation agencies, which approached the Royal Canadian MountedPolicetodiscussDalla’s arrest, have found that his ankle bracelet,putonhimafterhewas granted bail in December, was removed after he deposited a fine of 30,000 Canadian dollars. It comes at a time when ties betweenthetwocountries,frosty sinceSeptember2023whenthen Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeauraisedallegationsabout Indian government’s “potential” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Kejriwal citadel, buzz of unease: ‘Not all promises fulfilled’ NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 situation is worsening so how can we be sure they will fulfill their promises”. PUSHPA SHARMA (44), a housewife from a slum cluster, says she “was a staunch supporter” of Arvind Kejriwal “but he is giving us the same old promises now”. JAIKESH MISHRA (41) says some promises that Kejriwal made to auto drivers like him “have not been fulfilled” and “some have changed their opinions (about the ex-CM)”. SUSHIL ARORA (42), a tour operator,saysAAP’soffersare“very tempting” but “Delhi’s financial IN THE last three Assembly elections spanning nearly 12 years, themajorityof votersintheNew Delhi constituency spoke in one voice, echoing the name of Arvind Kejriwal — and that showed in the results: 53.46% in 2013,64.14%in2015and61.1%in 2020. This time, as voting looms onFebruary5,thosevoicesdon’t have the same echo. Overthepastweek,TheIndian Express crisscrossed this highprofileblockof 1.09lakhvotersin the heart of Delhi, where slum clusters jostle with upscale hotspots, and found that while many are willing to give the AAP founder another chance, there is also a sense of disillusionment. “He is giving us the same old promises. He is himself living in a villa, and only visits us from election to election. When it rainshere,theroadsbecomewaterlogged,” says Pushpa Verma, who stays in the Sangam Mess JJ cluster near Mandi House. “We were all staunch supportersofKejriwalji,”saysJaikesh Mishra,theautodriver.Buttoday, mostof theWhatsAppgroupson his phone have a BJP tilt. “There are no parking spaces for us... the DECISION 2025 DELHI ● Ready for illegal punishment, says Kejriwal after responding to EC ● Denied tickets, Unlike previous three Assembly elections, it is not an open and shut case for Kejriwal in New Delhi constituency. File seven MLAs quit AAP, cite ‘corruption’ in party PAGE 11 middlemanasksusRs1,000fora permitsometimes,”Mishraadds while listing his grievances. “Kejriwal has helped poor peoplealot,butnoweveryother partyisfollowinghispolicy.They are all promising the same freebies,” says Chattar Singh (50), who clicks photos for a living at India Gate, amid a busy afternoon.“TheBJPhasalsopromised free electricity and water this time, and they improve the infrastructure too. People want change sometimes,” he says. Pointing to arrangements made at Kartavya Path for RepublicDay,Singh,wholivesin a JJ cluster nearby, adds, “The BJP hasdoneallthis.Theycanchange thestateof Delhi’sroadsaswell.” In 2015 and 2020, Kejriwal pushed the BJP to a distant second, with Nupur Sharma managing just 28.73% of votes and Sunil Kumar Yadav 32.75% five years later. Meanwhile, the AAP consolidated its hold across the National Capital with close to 15% of Delhi’s total budget dedicatedtosubsidies,includingfree busrides,freeelectricityandwater. The AAP government also spent close to 40% of its budget on health and education, among the highest for any state. And yet, it’s not an open and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata