The Editorial Page: Rahul, Priyanka name-calling ECs is a disturbing new low 12 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2025 Journalism of Courage NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , kO L k ATA , LU C k N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today l IPL 2026 MINI AUCTION is scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi at 2.30 pm IST. A total of 350 players — 239 Indians and 111 from overseas — will go under the hammer with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots. TRACK THIS AND mORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm NOW 125 DAYS OF GUARANTEED EMPLOYMENT Govt changes NREG Law says only local official can issue notice to electors; in Bihar, EC sent pre-filled notices terms: States to pay, E. pause for farm work DRAFT ROLLS IN FIVE STATES/UTs TODAY May not have led to deletions but process raises questions of jurisdiction under election law ExPlAINED Process is problem Damini Nath Sydneybeach attackshooters identifiedas fatherandson Reuters Sydney, December 15 THE TWO alleged gunmen whokilled15peopleataJewish celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia began mourning victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. The father, a 50-year-old shopowner, was killed at the scene, taking the number of deadto16,whilehis24-year-old sonwasinacriticalconditionin hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. The father and son were identified as Sajid Akram and NaveedAkram,respectively,by state broadcaster ABC and other local media outlets. Police did not release the shooters’ names, but said the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELAtEd REPORt, P 18 BiharSIRinSeptember,TheIndian Express has learnt, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) acrossthestatefound“pre-filled AS NOTICES begin going out notices” appearing on their inon Tuesday to electors with the dividual log-ins on the Election publication of CommissionofIndraft rolls in five dia’s (ECI) centralExPrEss states and UTs ised portal. These under the Special notices,estimated Intensive Revito be in lakhs but sion (SIR), a procedural redflag no number has been provided from Bihar has set off concern by the EC, were addressed to within the election machinery. Bihar electors who had already Intheclosingfortnightofthe submitted their forms and supPatna, Siwan, New Delhi, December 15 exclusive The notices were sent in the closing fortnight of Bihar SIR porting documents and whose names figured in the draft rolls published in August. Significantly, while the no- The Bihar notices, pre-filled and sent by EC, may not point to substantive wrongdoing. But they flag a procedural question at the heart of electoral integrity: when the law assigns responsibility to a local statutory authority, central interventions can unsettle the chain of accountability. tices bore the names of the EROs,theyhadnotbeengenerated by them. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 States asked to fund 40% of scheme Harikishan Sharma Business as Usual New Delhi, December 15 By EP UNNY INAmajoroverhaulofthetwodecade-old rural job guarantee scheme, the BJP-led NDA government, in its third term, has prepared a Bill that proposes to increasethenumberofdaysfor which work can be demanded by rural households in a year to 125 from 100 now, and for the first time shifts 40 per cent of the financial burden of the scheme to states. Forthelast20years,sincethe rural employment guarantee Manoj CG New Delhi, December 15 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Pahalgam chargesheet, ‘AQI, AQI’ chorus as Delhi NIA points to crucial link: CM arrives for Messi event Ally TDP: Fund sharing Two phones bought in Pak amid spike in air pollution concerning… it will put Naveed Iqbal Pritish Raj a lot of burden on state Srinagar, December 15 TWO ANDROID phones found at the site of the Dachigam encounter in July are clinching evidence that the Pahalgam terrorists were from Pakistan, the National Investigation Agency (NIA)chargesheet filed in connection with the April terror attack states, it is learnt. The chargesheet was filed before the Special NIA Court in Jammu on Monday. Speaking in the Lok Sabha in July, Union Home Minister AmitShahhadannouncedthat threeterroristsgunneddownin theDachigamforestareaonthe outskirts of Srinagar were the same as those involved in the April 22 terror attack. He identifiedthethreeasSuleimanalias Faisal Jatt, Afghan and Jibran, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, December 15 LATE MONDAY evening, just as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta entered the Arun Jaitley Stadiumtoshare thestagewith global football superstar Lionel Messi and be part of the last leg of the GOAT Tour, a new chant echoedaroundthearena.Braving thick smog throughout the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sreenivas Janyala Hyderabad, December 15 Delhi Cm Rekha Gupta with Lionel messi and Luis Suarez, monday. ABHINAV SAHA PAGES 3, 22 WITHTHECentre’sViksitBharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G Ram G Bill, 2025, likely to put a higher financial burden on the States’ exchequer with itsprovisiontosharefundingof the scheme, Andhra Pradesh’s finance minister has said they will “support and implement it”, though the sharing of fundingis“concerning”and“would put a burden on the state”. The BJP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are allies at the Centre and in the state. 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At the time of booking, tour price to be paid in full INR by UPI/NEFT/RTGS/Cheque, in the name of ‘Veena Patil Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.’ No cash transactions at Veena World. Government taxes apply. Any increase in YQ taxes, airport taxes, VISA fees, surcharges (if any) will have to be borne by the travellers. T&C apply. New Delhi »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AMONG THE major changes that the NDA government has proposed to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act architecture is halting the scheme during peak farming seasons and moving it from a Centre-funded model to a costsharing arrangement with states. While the Opposition, including the Congress, has hit outatthegovernment,theseissueswerepointsofdebatesand contention during the UPA government as well. In 2011, Sharad Pawar, as Agriculture Minister in the UPA-II government, had called for halting NREGA works during sowing and harvesting seasons, saying the scheme was adversely affecting the agriculturesectorbydrawingoutfarm labourers from agricultural »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORtS, P 6, 16