DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee CBC 22201/13/0112/2324 Government of India Honouring the skills of Vishwakarma brothers and sisters Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat ‘Land-for-jobs’: ED names Rabri, two daughters; RJD calls it political vendetta NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 9 THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate (ED) on Tuesday named former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and her daughters, Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav,initsfirstchargesheetina moneylaunderingcaselinkedto the alleged land-for-jobs racket. The chargesheet has been filed before a special Prevention of MoneyLaunderingAct(PMLA) Court in Delhi, which listed the mattertobeheardonJanuary16. The ED has also named Hridyanand Chaudhary, a former Railways employee, and Amit Katyal, director of A K Infosystemswhowasarrestedin November last year in connection with the case. Two private companies, AK Infosystems and AB Export, have been named. The case pertains to GroupD appointments made in the West Central Railway Zone in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Railways Minister, from 2004 to 2009,allegedlyinreturnforland parcels transferred to his family and associates. The ED has alleged that POLL ROLLS REVISION SOON J&Kpanchayat, Assemblypolls likelyafterLok Sabhaelections 5-yr term of panchayats ends, term of urban local bodies ended last Nov ARUN SHARMA & NAVEED IQBAL JAMMU, SRINAGAR, JAN 9 ELECTIONS TO panchayats, urban local bodies and the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will likely be conducted only after the general elections, set to be held after a few months this year. Aftertownsandcities,therural areas in Jammu and Kashmir will cease to have the traditional grassroots-level elected representatives as the five-year term of 4,892electedvillagepanchayats came to an end Tuesday. A new governance structure — District Development Councils,electeddirectlybypeople — however, continues to be in place since the standalone elections held in 2020. Just about two months ago, the term of urban local bodies, including two municipal corpo- E E X P L A I NE D Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi Collateral-free loan of up to ₹3 lakh under PM Vishwakarma, 18 traditional trades included DDCs only elected ● J&K body MEMBERS OF district development councils, a new layer of elected representatives in J&K, are the only connection between the J&K government and people now. But they cannot replace panchayat members, councillors or MLAs in their functions. rations, 19 municipal councils and 57 municipal committees, ended on November 14, 2023. These were constituted through elections held on party symbols after 13 years. According to sources in the government, elections to urban CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A replica of Ram temple on its way to Ayodhya from Gujarat, in Lucknow Tuesday. Vishal Srivastav Ram temple inauguration day a ‘rashtra utsav’, UP orders school Bloodstains to alert holiday, liquor sale ban on Jan 22 MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, JANUARY 9 REFERRING TO the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, slated for January 22, asa“rashtrautsav”(national festival), Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed all educational institutes across the state to observe a holiday on January 22. He also said that sale of liquor would not be allowed across the state on the day. AdityanathwasinAyodhyaon Tuesday to review the preparations for the consecration ceremony, in which Prime Minister NarendraModialongwithseveral other dignitaries from across the country would be participating. The CM, who offered prayers UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Ayodhya on Tuesday. Express to Ram Lalla and also visited Hanuman Gari temple in Ayodhya, reviewed the progress of development works and held a meeting with sadhus. He also met Nritya Gopal Das, Chairman of theRamJanmabhoomiTeerth Kshetra Trust. “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to declare a holiday in educational institutions across the state on January22,consideringtheemotionalsignificanceattachedtothe eagerlyawaitedconsecrationceremony of the new idol of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya Dham. Terming thisspecialoccasionasa“national festival”, the Chief Minister has saidthatliquorshopsinthestate should remain shut on January 22,” an official spokesperson of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahead of LS polls, IT Withdrawing challenge inconsequential to change in govt... AMU has to be non-minority: Centre to SC minister flags social INSIDE media influence on SC: REGULATION DOESN’T TAKE AWAY ‘democratic processes’ CHARACTER OF ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, JANUARY 9 Calls for stronger legal structure, more accountability of platforms & users ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU BUSINESS AS USUAL NEW DELHI, JANUARY 9 FLAGGINGCONCERNSregarding the “influence” that social media platforms can have on democratic processes, Union Minister of Communications, IT and Railways,AshwiniVaishnaw,said that while India currently has a regulatory framework that can dealwiththeissueto an extent, a “much morecomprehensive legal structure” was needed. Speaking at The Indian Express Idea Exchange event on Tuesday, Vaishnaw also emphasised that the context in whichlegalimmunityfromthird partycontent—or“safeharbour” protection—wasofferedtosocial PAGE 1 ANCHOR AS A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesdaybeganhearingpetitions on the question of the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), the BJP-led BY UNNY government at the Centre told the apex court that its decision to withdrawthe challenge to the judgment of the Allahabad High Court in 2016 was “based upon Constitutional considerations alone”andthechangeof governments was “inconsequential”. In January 2006, the AllahabadHighCourthadstruck down amendments made to the AMUActbywhichtheuniversity was accorded the minority status. The Congress-led UPA governmentat the Centre, as well as the AMU, moved an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order. After the BJP came to power in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MINORITY INSTITUTION PAGE 7 cabbie: How Goa cops nabbed CEO who ‘killed’ son PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA PANAJI, JANUARY 9 STRAINED RELATIONS and a potential custody battle may have led a Bengaluru-based start-up CEO to allegedly murder her four-year-old son at a hotel in Goa, the state police said on Tuesday. According to police, Suchana Seth, 39, was caught from Karnataka’s Chitradurga district while allegedly trying to flee in a cab with her son’s body stuffed in a bag. “Prima facie, during questioning, the woman said she had strained relations with her husband and their divorce proceedings are underway…that there was some court order, because of which she was unhappy. We have not seen the court order. She said she was separated. We have to verify all this… the motive is still notconfirmed,” North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan said. Seth, originally from West Bengal and now settled in Bengaluru, married media platforms has “changed”, and there is a need for these platforms to be subjectedtoincreasedaccountability. Vaishnaw's comments are significant as India heads towards general elections over the next few months. SUKRITA BARUAH CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUWAHATI, JANUARY 9 STUDENT THRASHED, ‘URINATED UPON’ IN KANPUR, COP AMONG 3 ARRESTED PAGE 3 Venkatraman P R, who hails from Kerala, in 2010. The couple had a son in 2019, and separated and filed for divorce soon after. Police sourcestoldThe Indian Expressthatafterallegedlykilling her son, she tried to slash her wrist with a pair of scissors. An officer said that “as per a recent order by a family court in Bengaluru, her husband was supposed to get custody of the child on Sundays, but she had been trying to prevent that from happening”. According to investigators, during questioning, the woman denied killing her son, claiming CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Amid ST row, Manipur Music maestro, ‘assurance for the future’, went beyond classical realm CM hints at panel to SUANSHU KHURANA discuss Kuki status NEW DELHI, JANUARY 9 Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Idea Exchange. Abhinav Saha Suchana Seth was held in Karnataka’s Chitradurga MANIPUR CHIEF Minister N Biren Singh has said that the state government may consider setting up a committee to discuss the Scheduled Tribe status of Kukis in the state. He was responding to questions about a representation made by a Meitei leader seeking that Kukis be removed from the list, while reiterating the long- Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh pending demand of Meiteis for ST status. Asked about the stand of the state government on whether “all Kuki tribes would be listed asST”,SinghsaidTuesday:“They CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EVERY TIME Ustad Rashid Khan sat down to perform anywhere in the world, those present had one demand — “Yaad piya ki aaye,yedukhsahanajaaye,haaye Ram (The memories of my beloved haunt me, alas, I cannot bear this grief)” — the famed thumribyKasur-Patialagharana doyen Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan that remains the leitmotif to his mention. For years, many vocalists attempted to sing the lament that USTAD RASHID KHAN 1968-2024 was created after Bade Ghulam Ali lost his wife. But if anyone managed to enter the vicinity of the pain and yearning in that iconic rendition and then executing it with a sense of ownership, it was perhaps only Ustad Rashid Khan, the torchbearer of Rampur-Sehaswan gharana. Every time, he sang this love song, one felt that he surrendered himself to the intrinsic sorrow of the piece the moment he began to unfurl it; colouring it with his own flourishes often, finding notes that one sometimes didn’t think could even stick, merging gharanas and astounding people with a brilliance that is the stuff of lore. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Common dream: Mumbai twins break into all-India top 10 in CA exam PALLAVISMART MUMBAI,JANUARY9 BOTH SHARE their interests such asKoreandramasandbadminton, havethesamecircleoffriendsand are equally passionate about numbers. Now Mumbai twins Sanskruti and Shruti Atul Parolia shareanachievement—aplacein the top 10 list of all-India rank holdersinthecharteredaccountancy examination. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on Tuesday announced the results for the CharteredAccountants(CA)Final examination held in November lastyear.WhileSanskrutisecured second rank, her twin Shruti was ranked eight. Madhur Jain from Jaipur secured the all-India topper's position. The third rank was shared by Tikendra Kumar Singhal and Rishi Malhotra, both from Jaipur again. With Sanskruti and Shruti passingthefinalexamwithflying colours in their first attempt, the Parolia household in Kandivali’s Thakurvillagehasreasontocelebrate. The family of six now has five chartered accountants — the 22-year-old twins, their father, elder brother and sister-in-law. “Wecandefinitelybecalleda family of CAs now,” said Sanskruti,laughingassheshared Shruti’s result. Nosurprisethatthetwinsdecidedontheircareerchoiceearly, the inspiration being their father. With their brother and sisterin-law also being from the same field,thetwosaidtheyhadagreat guidance system at home to prepare for CA. “Shruti and I would study together which helped us in planningandfocusing.Andwealways had support at home in case of doubts. Apart from guidance in academics, this kind of support system also helps in keeping morale up in tough competitive Sanskruti (right) ranked second; Shruti was eighth examsliketheCA,”saidSanskruti. Their higher education plans, however, do not end here. Both want to pursue MBA. “Weareplanningtoworkfora couple of years before we appear for the Common Admission Test (CAT). Candidates with work experience have better prospects during and after MBA,” said Sanskruti. The two sisters have beenfollowingthesamepathsincechildhood. They went to Mary Immaculate School in Borivali’s I CColonyandgraduatedinB.Com from H R College in 2022. They evenbaggedCAarticleshipinthe same corporate house. “Webothhavethesameinterestsandlikes,”saidShruti,adding howtheirfriends'circleandsocial life is also common. The only time when their paths could have gone separate ways, perhaps, was in school. For a brief period, when they were in class 10, Shruti entertained thoughtsofpursuingmedicinein highereducation.Butshedecided to gowith Sankruti,realisingthat shelovedmathematicsmorethan biology. “Sanskrutiwasalwayssureof pursuing CA even before she couldactuallyunderstandwhatit included.Maybeweinheritedour father’s genes,” said Shruti. Both are aware of various other career options. But, according to Shruti, with their love for numbers, “CA offers more scope and opens up more opportunities”. During their free time, apart from playing badminton and watching Korean dramas, they lovedancing.AccordingtoShruti, they took Bharatnatyam lessons for a few years in childhood but later moved to Bollywood dance sessions.Thetwinsalsolovetogo to movie theatres, like most youngsters their age. The only thing they missed out, the sisters said, was campus fun during the pandemic. Lucknow