DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES NITISH TAKES OATH AS CM FOR 9TH TIME, BJP PICKS 2 DEPUTY CMs Patna powershift again Things were not going well... no question of going back now: Nitish ‘GAME’S JUST BEGUN’ Nitish tired, had problems with us getting credit: Tejashwi SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JANUARY 28 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Freedom of speech to social justice, SC has strengthened democracy: PM EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 28 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Supreme Court’s continuous efforts to protect the principles of freedom, equality and justice, saying this has strengthened India’s democracy and given a “new direction to its socio-political environment”. Delivering the inaugural addressattheDiamondJubileecelebrations of the Supreme Court, Modi said the makers of the Indian Constitution dreamt of a free India based on freedom, equality and justice, and the SupremeCourthascontinuously CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JANUARY 28 Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha during the swearing-in ceremony in Patna, Sunday. PTI REPORTS,P6 Nitish exit undermines Opp’s 2024 caste pitch, sharpens anti-Cong plank VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 28 FOR THE BJP, Nitish Kumar’s reentry into the NDA fold couldn’t have been better timed. The architect of the Bihar caste survey, he was the one who providedthebasictemplate fortheOpposition’scastecensus call and social justice pitch against the BJP in 2024. Nitish wasalsotheonewhochairedthe first meet of the Opposition (INDIA) bloc in Patna in June 2023. His crossing over, therefore, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, has both symbolic and substantive impact beyond just the possible bump-up in the NDA tally from Bihar. Itputsaquestionmarkonthe Opposition’s bid to counter Hindutva with socialjustice—astrategy thathasbeenitspolitical commonsense since the ● early 1990s, when an allianceof MulayamSingh Yadav and Mayawati prevented the BJP from coming to power in 1993 in UP. Thatthecrossingcomessoon after Karpoori Thakur was awarded the Bharat Ratna dials down the critique of the BJP on the caste pitch. BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CALLING Nitish Kumar a “respectable” but “tired” leader who has “problems” with him and his party RJD getting credit for the work done so far, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Sunday said that the JD(U) would be “finished” in the coming Lok Sabha polls. "Nitish Kumar seems to have a problem with me getting the credit for many achievements of our government. It should ring alarm bells for the BJP," quipped Yadav, adding that he had “made”NitishworktowardsfulfillingtheRJD's10lakhjobselection promise. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED SWITCHING SIDES for the fifth time in just over a decade, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA on Sunday, less than 18 months after he left the alliance, and took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time. BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, named as Deputy Chief Ministers, were among the ministers sworn in. Six other ministers, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman, Independent Sumit Kumar Singh, BJP's Prem Kumar, and JD(U)'s Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Shravan Kumar, also took oath. Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Kumar said: “I have come back where I was earlier. Now, there is no question of going back.” Earlier in the day, citing the reason for his decision, which is seen as a big setback for the Opposition INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, he said “things were not going well”. “I have resigned and put an endto(Mahagathbandhan)government...Thingswerenotgoing well. Everyone was in favour of `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘BHARAT JODO NYAY YATRA’ IN SILIGURI Responsibility of all in Bengal to stand united against hatred: Rahul ATRI MITRA JALPAIGURI, SILIGURI, JAN 28 BENGAL MUST show the way for Indiatostandunitedlyagainsthatred, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday in West Bengal’sSiliguriastheBharatJodo Nyay Yatra resumed following a two-day break. “It is the responsibility of everyone in Bengal to stand united against hatred. Everyone should stand united, and Bengal must show the way,” Rahul told the assembled crowd after the yatra reached Siliguri from Jalpaiguri. Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Chowdhury in Jalpaiguri, Sunday. Partha Paul He delivered his speech from his vehicle after the local administration did not give per- mission for the public meeting that the Congress had scheduled in Siliguri. In his address, Rahul did not mention Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) earlierinthedaylefttheOpposition INDIA bloc and joined the BJPled NDA, or West Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. There was a different tone to the Jalpaiguri-Siliguri portion of the yatra. In Cooch Behar, where the West Bengal leg of the yatra began on January 25, participants faced protests in several places, with many protesters holding pro-TMC placards. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 England give the world formula to solve the good old India spin puzzle SANDIP G HYDERABAD, JANUARY 28 ENGLAND’S DARING brand of cricketbrokeIndia’sstaggeringly successful streak at home on Sunday. The 28-run win in the first game of the five-Test series at Hyderabad was a triumph of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes's unflinching faith in their brave system that has no place for the fear of failure. Sunday’s defeat was only India’s fourth Test loss at home since 2013, but its scars will linger long. It was the first time India lost a Test at home despite securing a 100-plus lead, and its second defeat ever, anywhere, after leading by 190 runs. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nitish’smovetotheNDAalso reinforces the “Hindutva plus CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India's Top Potential Training Institute for IAS INTERVIEW GUIDANCE PROGRAMME CSE - 2023 : Offline/Online Meet to Former Chairman of UPSC through ‘‘ Mentorship Program ’’ ( One-to-one Session : 18 Feb. 2024 ) with Prof. D.P. Agarwal Former Chairman, UPSC Book your slot : www.vajiraoinstitute.com Honourable Board Members of UPSC Mock-Interview Programme Shri M.C. Gupta IAS (Retd.) Shri O.P. 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