DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SEPTEMBER 26 SLOT FOR PM ADDRESS Modi likely to be in US next month for UNGA meet, bilateral talks with Trump Delhilookstoironouttradeissueswith Washington,reachcommonground SHUBHAJIT ROY ‘FAKE’ VOTERS No FIR against five officials, EC summons Bengal chief secy to Delhi Chief Secy Manoj Pant met CM Mamata Banerjee Tuesday ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, AUGUST 12 THE ELECTION Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday summoned West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to appear before it in New Delhi by Wednesday evening to explain why an FIR was not registered against the five officials accused of preparing lists comprising fake voters, despite the Commission’s directive to do so. The Commission had also directedtheChief Secretarytosuspend the five officials in connection with alleged fraudulent registration of 127 voters using forged documents in the Baruipur Purba and Moyna Assembly constituencies. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee on Tuesday reiterated that her government will stand by the employees involved in the voter listrevisionwork,anofficialsaid. Upon receiving the order, Pant on Tuesday met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and it was decided that he will leave forthenationalCapitaltoappear before the ECI, sources said. OnMonday,Panthadsubmitted a compliance report to the ECI, stating, “As a first step, the services of Shri Sudipta Das, PAAO, Tamluk Block and AERO (Assistant Electoral Registration Officer), 206-Moyna AC and Shri Surojit Halder, the Data Entry Operator, 137 Baruipur Purba AC have been withdrawn from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE HOLD FRESH POLLS: ABHISHEK TO EC OVER VOTER ROLL PAGE 3 35 YRS LATER, J&K PROBES SARLA BHAT KILLING PAGE 10 CABINET CLEARS 4 CHIP PLANTS WORTH `4,594 CR PAGE 15 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 TRUMP’S 50% TARIFF NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 PREPARATIONS ARE underway to schedule a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the USinthelastweekof September, The Indian Express has learnt. Theostensiblereasonistoattend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, but a key objective will be to meet US President Donald Trump, iron outtheissuesontradeandarrive at a common ground on tariffs. Thiswillalsogiveanopportunity for the two leaders to announce a trade deal. However, for this to fructify, a lot of moving parts have to fall in place. Therehastobemovementon two fronts — the Russia-Ukraine war and the Indo-US trade deal. Negotiations are underway TENSION ON THE GROUND PART-4: LEATHER Plans for PM visit underway on both fronts, and the stakes for Delhi are high since it has been slapped with 50 per cent tariffs by the US — 25 per cent for its high tariffs and 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil. On the Russia-Ukraine war front, Delhi is closely following the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 to discuss a resolution to the war in Ukraine. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE TRADE VOLUME ■ In the past five years, India’s leather exports to the US went from $645 million to over $1 billion ■ In the same period, total leather exports to the world went from $3.7 billion to $4.8billion ■ US is largest consumer base for leather shoes, accounting for 24% of global consumption despite just 4% of the population Beginning to get foothold in US market, Agra’s leather belt takes a hit SAMAN HUSAIN AGRA, AUGUST 12 INAsprawlingshoemanufacturing unit in Agra, men in sweatsoaked vests move along the assembly lines in a choreography honed over the years — working in perfect rhythm, their hands following the machine’s pace. Aseachshoetravelsdownthe conveyor belt, it pauses briefly at each station dedicated to a specifictask,suchasremovingwrinkles,cottonbrushing,seatlasting, soleheatactivation—adisplayof how a hundred small acts turn therawleatherintoproductsdestined for sale in international markets, including the US. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At a shoe factory near Agra, one of India’s largest footwear manufacturing hubs. Tashi Tobgyal SC backs EC stand of Aadhaar, voter ID not being conclusive proof of citizenship Yogendra Yadav brings to court two persons declared dead, left out of draft ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 THESUPREMECourtonMonday said inclusion of a citizen or exclusion of a non-citizen from the voters’ list was well within the Election Commission’s powers. The court also agreed with the EC'sviewthatAadhaarandvoter card can’t be conclusive proof of citizenship in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and would need further verification. Hearing petitions challenging the SIR, Justice Surya Kant, presiding over a two-Judge bench, said the litigation “largely” seemed to be “a case of trust deficiency”. The bench, whichincludedJusticeJoymalya Bagchi,alsosaidthattheprevailing norm of prospective electors merely having to furnish a declarationthattheyarecitizens,for THE IDEAS PAGE A BETRAYAL IN BIHAR By TEJASHWI PRASAD YADAV PAGE 13 inclusion in the list, may lead to legal complications, and the EC could verify their authenticity. “Law regarding conferment of citizenship or taking away of citizenship will have to be enacted by the Parliament. No debateisrequiredonthat.Butonce that law has been made and, in terms of that, if somebody has been acknowledged or recognised as citizen, inclusion of that person in the voters' list, and a person who has not been recognised as citizen and who is not a citizen, exclusion of that person, CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Impeachment of Justice Varma: Speaker sets ball Mahadevapura and Rahul’s ‘vote chori’ charge: Behind the rolling, appoints three-member probe committee numbers in floating migrant hub HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 3 sites Cong leader said had ‘bulk voters at single address’ are a PG, row of rooms for rent, brewery & shopping plaza HOUSE NO 791 - MARATHAHALLI HOUSE NO 153 - VINAYAKA NAGAR HOUSE NO 35 - MUNIREDDY GARDEN BOOTH 366 46 VOTERS BOOTH 243 68 VOTERS LOKSABHASpeakerOmBirlaannounced Tuesday that he has acceptedaresolutionsignedby146 MPsacrosspartiesseekingtheremovalofJusticeYashwantVarma of the Allahabad High Court — who is facing allegations of “corruption”followingtherecoveryof half-burntwadsofcurrencynotes at his official residence — and set upathree-membercommitteeto probe the charges against him. The committee comprises Supreme Court’s Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Justice Yashwant Varma Shrivastava and Karnataka High Court senior advocate B V Acharya. Birla said the commit- SCAMS AND LADDERS teewillpresentitsreportassoon as possible. The report will form the basis of debate and voting in Parliament on Justice Varma's impeachment. As soon as the House reassembled at noon, Birla announced that he has received notice of the resolution dated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Fell prey to unsound scams BOOTH 470 80 VOTERS Followed sound practices Photos: Johnson T A JOHNSON T A MAHADEVAPURA (BENGALURU), AUGUST 12 BENGALURU’SMAHADEVAPURA Assembly constituency — thrust into the spotlight by Congress leaderRahulGandhi’sallegations of “theft” of 1,00,250 votes there by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls—exemplifiestheexplosive growth witnessed by the city in the past two decades in its transformation into the information technology capital of India. Once an amalgamation of sleepy villages such as Bellandur, Varthur and Marathahalli, the easternfringeofBengaluruisnow amixoftraffic,endlesstechparks with glass facades, and large swathes of apartment blocks. But, in the narrow alleys and roads behind the main streets, still lie the remnants of the vil- lages — now holding a mass of lodging facilities, from pucca houses to tin sheds, housing the hundreds of migrant workers employedinservicesalliedtothe techsector.Theyincludefooddelivery agents, hotel staff, housekeeping personnel, domestic workers, waste disposal agents and construction workers. According to Gandhi, over 1 lakh entries in the electoral ! Joining platforms that claim to be ‘tied up with FPI and provide institutional access.’ Installing apps that say ‘Earn ₹10,000 a day with trading.’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EC challenge: Use of notional house numbers, no standard addresses DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 CITING THE findings of the Congress’sinternalinvestigation, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of OppositionintheLokSabha,had alleged last week that over one lakh votes were “stolen” in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly segment — part of the BangaloreCentralLokSabhaseat — during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Of these, he said, nearly half involved irregularities in electors’ addresses. While the Election Commission (EC) is yet to respond to the charge, the claim spotlights along-standingchallengeforthe poll body — the absence of stan- dardised addresses for many voters, and the continued practice of assigning “notional” house numbers. Gandhi said the Congress analysed the Mahadevapura electoral rolls over six months and found that of 1,00,250 alleged bogus voters, 40,009 had “fake and invalid addresses” and ! ! Chasing ‘hot tips’ from so-called advisers on social media. ! Applying for courses that promise ‘doubling your money’ overnight. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘8+ jump, I miss dad’: Young long jumper’s tribute to father, and a promise for India PAGE 1 ANCHOR PRITISH RAJ NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 ON THE most important day of his budding career, 18-year-old long jumper Shahnavaz Khan tookamomenttorememberhis late father Naseemudin. Before stepping onto the runway at the KalingaStadiuminBhubaneswar forthefinaloftheWorldAthletics BronzeLevelContinentalTouron Sunday, he wrote a message on ICMR Shahnavaz Khan recorded a personal best of 8.04m in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. Jatin Dhaunchak/AFI the back of his bib. It read: “8+ jump, I miss dad.” Youngest of the 12 jumpers in the final comprising some of India’s best, the teenager stunned the field with 8.04 metres — his personal best — in the fourth round to go into the lead before Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medalist Murali Sreeshankar fought back to clinch gold with 8.13 metres. Posing for photographers after the contest, an emotional Shahnavazheldupthebibacross his chest. Entering the 8-metre club,rewritinghisownUnder-18 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Always deal with SEBI registered intermediaries and authorised trading platforms. Scan to visit SEBI website #SEBIvsSCAM An investor awareness initiative by SEBI and BSE. Kolkata