eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE P. S. I love you 12+4PAGES,`7.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Pained, ashamed, says Dhankhar as Opp questions RLD chief’s speech on Bharat Ratna DEEPTIMAN TIWARY & AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 RAJYASABHAChairmanJagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said he was “pained” and “ashamed”, and even felt like resigning, after members of Congress and other oppositionpartiesquestionedhis decisiontoallowRLDchiefJayant ChaudharytospeakontheBharat Ratna conferred on his grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. Dhankhar also accused Leaderof OppositionMallikarjun Khargeof insultingCharanSingh and his legacy. As soon as Rajya Sabha proceedings began in the morning, Chaudharywasallowedtospeak by the Chair. In his short speech, he praised the BJP government foritsdecisiontohonourCharan Singh, and rued that it is being seen through a political prism and is being linked to elections Kejriwal: AAP will contest all seats in Punjab KANCHAN VASDEV CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 10 DEALING A blow to the Opposition INDIA alliance, Aam AadmiParty(AAP)supremoand Delhi Chief Minister Arvind KejriwalannouncedonSaturday that his party will contest all 13 parliamentary constituencies in PunjabaswellastheChandigarh seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on its own steam. Kejriwal's assertion closed the door for any further seatsharing negotiations between the AAP and the Congress in Punjab.Bothpartiesarekeyconstituents of the INDIA bloc. Kejriwal made the announcement while addressing an event at Khanna in Punjab, where he inaugurated the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government's “Ghar Ghar (homedelivery) ration scheme” to provide wheat or flour at the doorstep of the beneficiaries. “Two years ago, you gave us (AAP) a huge blessing of 92 seats out of 117 (in the Punjab Assemblypolls).Youcreatedhistory,” Kejriwal said. “I have come to you with folded hands today to seek another blessing. In two months, there will be Lok Sabha CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday. ANI and political alliances. “I admit I was with the Opposition for 10 years. I started sitting here (treasury benches) just a while ago. I have seen glimpsesof CharanSingh'sideals in the working of this government in the last 10 years,” he said. “Only a government which is rooted in ground realities, understands the voices from the ground and strengthens them canhonour'Dhartiputra'Charan Singh with Bharat Ratna.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM RAM TEMPLE DISCUSSION IN LAST SITTING OF 17TH LOK SABHA Modi played unparalleled role in uniting nation: House chairs Cong plays safe, extols Ram’s values to slam govt The resolution will give constitutional powers to future generations to take pride in their heritage: Modi MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 THE CHAIRS of both Houses of Parliament Saturday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi forplayingan“unparalleledrole” in uniting the entire nation on the “auspicious occasion” of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Addressing the Lok Sabha after a discussion on Ram temple in which 26 members including HomeMinisterAmitShahspoke, Speaker Om Birla said, “January Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha on Saturday. PTI 22, 2024, has filled every corner of the country with amazing joy and enthusiasm... It has become a national festival, about which our generations will continue to be enthralled for ages... Our Honourable Prime Minister has played an unparalleled role in uniting the entire nation on this auspicious occasion associated with Lord Ram... We all are very proud to pass this resolution relatedtothegrandtempleof Lord Shri Ram, which has become a symbol of the sentiment of the people in Ayodhya.” The same address was read out in Rajya Sabha by its ex-officioChairmanJagdeepDhankhar CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FORCED TO join a debate in Parliamentontheopeningof the Ram Temple, the Congress and a handful of other opposition parties — many from the INDIA bloc did not participate in the discussions in both Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha—accusedtheBJPof spreading hatred and animosity inthenameof Ramandusingreligion to secure power but skirted the issue of thinning of the line that demarcates religion and state. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Declarations of love are not just for Valentine’s Day. From WhatsApp chats to notes on the fridge, from calls to emails, love letters are part of our everyday lives FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT EPFO recommends 8.25% for 2023-24, highest in 3 years AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 THE CENTRAL Board of Trustees oftheEmployees’ProvidentFund Organisation (EPFO) Saturday recommended a higher interest rate of 8.25 per cent for financial year2023-24foritsover29crore total subscribers. This will be the highest rate of interest for EPF subscribersinthelastthreeyears and comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. After maintaining the interest rate at 8.5 per cent in 201920 and 2020-21, the EPFO had cut it in 2021-22 to 8.1 per cent, the lowest in four decades. It hiked it marginally to 8.15 per cent in 2022-23, and further to 8.25 per cent for the current financial year. The Ministry of Labour and Employment will now send the interestraterecommendationof 8.25 per cent for 2023-24 to the Ministry of Finance for ratification.Aftertheministry'sconsent, theEPFOwouldcredittherateof EXPLAINED KOLKATA,LATECITY FEBRUARY11,2024 E Record income, ● higher surplus THE HIGHER 8.25% interest rate for this year is mainly because EPFO expects to retain a higher surplus. This could probably be because of record high incomes due to lower-than-expected claims. interest for this fiscal to the EPF subscribers. With the 8.25 per cent payout to subscribers, the EPFO is expectedtoretainasurplusof Rs 278 crore in FY24 (2023-24), a source said. “These are provisional estimates as the financial yearisyettoend.Butthesurplus is seen higher than last year,” EPFO’s Central Provident Fund Commissioner Neelam Shami Rao said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Sandeshkhali, protests end but anger simmers over TMC ‘terror’ Section 144 imposed, internet services suspended: Police SANTANU CHOWDHURY SANDESHKHALI, FEBRUARY 10 DAYS AFTER villagers hit the streets in Sandeshkhali seeking thearrestof TrinamoolCongress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his two aides over allegations of land grabbing and attacks on workers, a restive calm persists in the village as locals claim that their anger had been simmering for a long time. The violent protests prompted the government to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and suspend internet services in large parts of the village in North 24 Parganas district on Saturday. The action comes after three days of violent protests by local villagers,includingwomen,who accused Sheikh and his aides Uttam Sardar and Shibo Prasad Hazra of alleged land grabbing and forcing men to work for them without pay. The protests started Wednesday as two processions led by TMC and the BJP ended in clashes. Over the next twodays,localwomengheraoed Sandeshkhali police station to press for their demand, while angry villagers vandalised Shops shut following prohibitory orders in Sandeshkhali village of North 24 Parganas district on Saturday. Partha Paul houses in the area and also set ablaze three poultry farms owned by Hazra. Police said 15 persons have been arrested in connection with the protests in Sandeshkhali so far. On Saturday, the ruling TMC announced that it had suspendedSardarforsixyears.Both Sheikh and Sardar are zilla parishad members in North 24 Parganas district and are currently absconding. For the villagers, the protests were a culmination of their resentment stemming from “policeapathy”.TalkingtoTheIndian Express on Saturday, a woman TMC booth president said, “Villagers have finally found the guts to speak up against the local leaders who had been terrorising them under the patronage of Shahjahan Sheikh.” “In Sandeshkhali, Sardar and Hazra have a final say in everything. They grabbed land from villagers, did not pay people despite forcing them into manual labour and even beat them up when they asked for their wages,” she alleged. She also alleged that local women were particularly affected.“Sheikh,SardarandHazra often used to ask the women to attend party meetings at the drop of a hat and even at night. Manywomenwereaskedtostay CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 In U-19 cricketers’ journey to WC final, meet those who laid the ground for them PAGE 1 ANCHOR PRATYUSH RAJ NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 THE FLIGHT from Mumbai to SouthAfricaforIndia’sUnder-19 cricketers was long and tiring. The trek to the final, where they will meet Australia on Sunday in a repeat of the senior men’s World Cup final, was tough as well. Their real journey, though, was several years in the making. Many of these young cricketers left the comforts of their hometown, and the warmth of their relativesandfriends,sothatthey could realise their cricketing dreams. Uday Saharan, the captain, was only 12 when he shifted from his home in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district to Punjab’s Fazilka district, 80 km away, so that he could get better training facilities. Vice captain Saumy Pandey and his parents moved from Bharatpur in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district to a rentedaccommodationinRewa, 40kmaway,sothatSaumycould stay close to his cricketing acad- A 7-year-old Sachin Dhas with his father Sanjay emy. Arshin Kulkarni made the 250-kmjourneyfromSolapurto Pune. Pacer Raj Limbani undertook a 550-km journey from Dayapar, a village near the PakistanborderinRannof Kutch, to Baroda. Behindallof themhasbeena supportive family or a cricket tragic father, nursing their own shattered cricketing dreams. Saharan’s father, Sanjeev, was called the Gavaskar of Sri Ganganagar. Unable to forge a cricketing career, he cleared BCCI’s Level 1 coaching and startedhisacademy.Evenbefore CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata