DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Ministries flagged MSP concerns: Low returns to rising oil imports BY UNNY YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION Govt declares Canada-based Goldy Brar a terrorist Gangster wanted in Moosewala murder case MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 GANGSTER GOLDY Brar, the allegedmastermindinthemurder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, was on Monday declared a designated terrorist by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Anativeof FaridkotinPunjab, Brar, whose real name is Satinderjit Singh, is currently based in Canada, where he had gone on a student visa in 2017. He is wanted in India in multiple murder cases. A key member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang,Brar had claimed responsibility for the murder of Moosewala. The popular singer was shot in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29, 2022. In a gazetted notification issued Monday, Additional SecretaryPraveenVashistasaidBraris currently residing in Brampton, Canada and is associated with DHEERAJ MISHRA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 ISRO’s PSLV-C58 carrying the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite lifts off from Sriharikota on Monday. PTI SECOND SUCH MISSION IN THE WORLD AFTER NASA’S IXPE ISRO launches‘Gaganyaanyear’with XPoSat,India’seyeindeepspace PSLV-C58 places satellite in desired orbit, will track X-rays and celestial objects ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 THE INDIAN Space Research Organisation (ISRO) began the new year with the successful launchofitsfirstX-rayPolarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), which will study X-ray polarisation and its cosmicsourcessuchasblackholes and neutron stars. Lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Monday morning, ISRO’s popular launch vehicle PSLV-C58 put the XPoSat in a precise circular orbit of 650 km after a 21-minute flight. TheXPoSatisonlytheworld’s second such mission after the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launched by NASA in 2021. It comprises two payloads, includingIndian X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing (XSPECT). These have been built byRamanResearchInstituteand UR Rao Satellite Centre, both in Bengaluru. “On 1st January 2024 yet another successful mission of the PSLV has been accomplished. PSLVC58hasplacedtheprimary satelliteXPoSatinthedesiredorbit,” said ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “The deviation from the targetedorbitishardly3kmandinclination is 0.001 degree which is one of the excellent orbital conditions.Thesolarpanelof the satellite has also been deployed successfully.” “This year hasjust begun and we are going to have many more launches. And, 2024 is going to be the year of Gaganyaan,” he said referring to India’s first humanspaceflightprogramme.“As you all know, the TV-D1 mission happened last year and this year we are expecting two more such testflightsof theTestVehiclefollowed by the unmanned mission of Gaganyaan programme.” Somanath said there will be PSLV, GSLV, as well as its new CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE WHY THISHELPS USUNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE BY BIMAN NATH PAGE 8 EXPLAINED SCIENCE WHATISXPoSat MISSION PAGE 7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As Kejriwal sets tone, Mann softens stand on AAP-Cong alliance AAP cites need to ‘save country’ for new openness in Punjab and Delhi KANCHAN VASDEV & MALLICA JOSHI CHANDIGARH, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 WEEKS AFTER dismissing the question of an alliance with the principalOppositionCongressin Punjab for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann on Monday seemed to have softened his stand. Both the Congress and AAP are constituents of the OppositionINDIAblocformedto take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Responding to a question on the possibility of AAP's tie-up with the Congress, Mann said: “We will know at the next INDIA blocmeeting.Wewillknowafter discussions at that meeting. The meeting will be held soon.” “We are fighting for the country. If the Constitution is PAGE 1 ANCHOR Will know at next INDIA bloc meeting: Mann saved, the country will be saved. If the Constitution is saved, the parties will be protected,” he added. OnthePunjabCongress'sopposition to an alliance with the AAP on the ground that it will damage its prospects, the CM said: “Otherwise, what state is the Congress in.” Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said, “In Delhi and Punjab, mothers would be able to tell the shortest story to their children. That would be — ‘Ek thi Congress’.” Though Mann took potshots at the Congress, his posturing was seen as a “softening” of stance on the alliance issue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD IIT-BHU assault: Cong flags photos posted by accused with BJP leaders EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, JANUARY 1 7.6 QUAKE HITS JAPAN, BUILDINGS FLATTENED ISRAEL SHIFTS TACTICS, PULLS SOME TROOPS FROM GAZA PAGE 10 THEARRESTof threemenforthe alleged sexual assault of an IITBHU student on campus premises was at the centre of a political firestorm on Monday as the Congresssharedpurportedphotosof theaccusedwiththePrime Minister and BJP leaders. The BJP, meanwhile, dis- tanced itself from the men — whosesocialmediaprofilessuggest they are part of the party’s IT cell in Varanasi — and said the police response to this case is in stark contrast to what would happen under previous governments. Varanasi police had on Saturday arrested Kunal Pandey (28), Saksham Patel (20) and Abhishek Chauhan (22) for the incident,whichtookplaceonthe night of November 1. According to police, Chauhan was booked in 2022 too on charges of physical assault, threatening and rioting in Varanasi. On their Facebook profiles, Pandey and Patel state that they areassociatedwiththeBJP—the former as the party’s Varanasi (Mahanagar) IT cell coordinator and the latter as co-coordinator. The two have posted several CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A HIGH minimum support price (MSP)forsomecropsandnotfor others is hindering crop diversification and benefiting a select few states, various Union ministries have said in response to the proposal to fix MSP for rabi crops for marketing season 2024-25, an RTI filed by The Indian Express shows. On October 18, 2023, the Cabinet approved the proposal to increase MSP of rabi crops such as wheat, barley, gram, lentil, rapeseed and mustard, andsafflower,formarketingseason 2024-25. The maximum increase over the previous year was 7.08% for lentil and 7.06% for wheat. Documents accessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information Act 2005 show that several departments wrote to E E X P L A I NE D BUSINESS AS USUAL ● Beyond MSP hikes MINIMUM SUPPORT Prices can influence farmers’ decision on choice of crops. Higher MSP, for example, for wheat has skewed procurement, and lower returns on seeds for edible oil, have necessitated imports. The Agriculture Ministry has said while it has a separate mission for crop diversification, it also has proposed a higher MSP for lentils. the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, flagging concerns. Concern 1: Import dependence The Department of Food & Public Distribution said the MSP foroilseedshasnotdeliveredthe desired result in terms of an increase in domestic production, and India is still dependent on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Manipur: 3 killed in valley district, curfew imposed JIMMY LEIVON IMPHAL, JANUARY 1 THE MANIPUR government on Monday re-imposed curfew across the state’s valley districts after three persons were shot deadbyarmedmeninThoubal’s Lilong area. “Due to developing law and orderconditioninthedistrictand to prevent any untoward incidents and loss of life and property,andfurtherasaprecautionary measure, the curfew relaxationorderdatedDecember 31 stands cancelled and full curfew is imposed in all areas of ImphalWestdistrictwithimmediateeffect,”saidanorderissued by the district magistrate. Similarly, curfew was re-imposed in Thoubal, Imphal East, Kakching and Bishnupur districts. While details about the inci- dent were sparse, Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in a video statement, assured that the culprits would be tracked down. “We do not take this incident lightly. Manipurpolicehavebeenpressed intoactiontonabtheculprits.Iappeal to the people, particularly fromLilong,torefrainfromresorting to any form of violence. I assureyouwewilltakestringentactionagainsttheculpritsasperthe law. Please cooperate with the government,” he said. PTI quoted officials as saying that the gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived wearing camouflage clothes and opened fire, targeting locals. Five people were also injured and are hospitalised. After the attack, enraged locals set some vehicles on fire. On Saturday night, three commandos of Manipur Police were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TMC old vs new at foundation day: PRIME MINISTERS’ MUSEUM Abhishek camp hits out at state chief Modi gallery set to open next week: Ram Temple to Art 370 to Ujjwala ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, JANUARY 1 THE BREWING tension between the old guard and the new in the Trinamool Congress spilled into the open on its foundation day Monday, with the usually recalcitrant state president Subrata Bakshiweighinginandbeingattacked by the other side. Afterotherleadersjoinedthe debate, in favour of either TMC CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 TMC leaders at party programme in Kolkata, Monday. Express AHEAD OF the inauguration of theRamTempleinAyodhyalater this month, the ‘Narendra Modi gallery’ at the Prime Ministers’ Museum will be opened to visitors in the second week of January, The Indian Express has learnt. Located on the ground floor EXPRESS NETWORK BSY:KARNATAKA SCULPTOR’S IDOL SELECTED FOR RAM TEMPLE PAGE 5 of the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, right after the gallery dedicated to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Modi gallery will showcase his major achievements over the last nine years. These include the construction of the Ram Temple and rejuvenation of other temples as part of a section called “Sanskriti”, his focus on science and technology, foreign policy, digital payment infrastructure, abrogation of Article 370, securing India’s borders, defence CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Country’s first all-girls sainik school inaugurated in Vrindavan EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW JANUARY 1 DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh on Monday inaugurated the country's first all-girls sainik school at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district and termed it as a “golden moment in the history of women empowerment” since the institution would become a beacon of lightforfemalestudentswhoaspired to join the armed forces to serve the motherland. Witha strengthof nearly870 students, Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School has been es- tablished under the initiative of opening 100 new sainik schools in partnership mode with NGOs/private/state government schools in all states/union territories, of which 42 have already come up, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. Training at the CBSE-affiliated school will be given by exservicemen,officialssaid,adding that the institution will have 120 seats. Speakingontheoccasion,the Defence Minister said, “Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has given womentheirrightfulplaceinthe Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Vrindavan on Monday. PTI armed forces, which was neglected for years. They have the right to protect the nation just like their male counterparts. It wasagoldenmomentinthehistory of women's empowerment when we approved the admission of girls to sainik schools. Today, our women are not only flying fighter jets, they are also securing the borders.” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who also attended the inauguration ceremony, spoke at length about the “importance of empowering women, their dignity and selfreliance. “A strong society is not possible without women's em- powerment. For this, we all will have to work together. The society will have to be brought out of its conservative mindset,” he said. The CM talked about his initiative to start enrolling girl students at Sainik School, Lucknow, in 2018. The Defence Minister in 2019 approved the admission of girl children to sainik schools from the 2021-22 academic sessioninaphasedmanner.Thedecision was taken following the success of the pilot project started by the Defence Ministry inSainikSchool,Chhingchhip,in Mizoram. The objective behind setting up 100 new sainik schools is to provide quality education to the students in tune with the National Education Policy (NEP) and give them better career opportunities. Meanwhile, Rajnath highlightedwhathetermedasa“significant contribution” of Hindu nationalist ideologue Sadhvi Ritambhara to the Ram Temple movement. Adityanath said "those hesitant in going to Ayodhya are now complaining about not receiving an invitation to attend the pran pratishtha (consecration ceremony) at the Ram Temple.” “Wehavealwaysknownthat the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Templemovementwasgoingon in Ayodhya and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) provided it with the leadership under the RSS's guidance. At that time we all used to say that the people of India themselves would resolve the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi issue. The day every follower of Sanatan Dharma will shout Jai Shri Ram in unison, the path to Shri Ram's birthplace will automatically be paved,” he said. Citing the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi toAyodhya,the CMsaid, “Earlier, the roads were in a poor CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow