DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Guarantee G Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat Modern farming, Prosperous farmers 3.5 fold increase in fertilizer subsidy in last 10 years; Increase from ₹ 71 thousand crore in 2014 to over ₹ 2.5 lakh crore now RIGHTTOINFORMATIONABOUTCANDIDATE applicable to political parties: 5-judge bench Government of India cbc 22201/13/0272/2324 M Modi Sarkar ki Scan for more information COURTSAYSPERMITTINGUNLIMITED SCHEME‘NOTLEASTRESTRICTIVE’ contributions violates free and fair polls means to achieve goal of curbing black money SupremeCourtletsthesunlightin Upholding citizen’s right to know, court strikes down electoral bonds scheme, secret funding of polls SC orders SBI to give details of bonds to EC, sets March 13 deadline NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 INAhistoricverdictbarelyweeks beforetheLokSabhapollsareset tobenotified,theSupremeCourt struck down Thursday the Narendra Modi government’s 2018 electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding. Highlighting that “the information about funding to a political party is essential for a voter to exercise their freedom to vote in an effective manner”, a fivejudge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, said that changes made in the laws to implement the scheme were unconstitutional. Holding the scheme “violative” of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression and right to information,thecourtdidnotagreewith the Centre’s contention that it was meant to bring about transparency and curb black money in political funding. In its two separate but unanimous verdicts spanning 232 pages,thecourtalsodirectedthe SC draws new red line: burden is on state to be ‘least restrictive’ BUSINESS AS USUAL NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 The five-judge bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud (centre), including (from left) Justices J B Pardiwala, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai and Manoj Misra, on Thursday. ANI INSIDE SBI, the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit by March 6 the details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to the Election Commission which will publishtheinformationonitsofficial website by March 13. “SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties which shall include the date of encashment and the denomination of the electoral bond,” the bench said. On April 12, 2019, the SC, in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 PAGES 6, 14 Respect the court, says BJP, aim of the scheme was transparency NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 REACTINGtotheSupremeCourt orderstrikingdowntheelectoral bonds scheme, the BJP said the Centre was only attempting to move towards greater transparency in political funding. “This decision was under- taken with the laudable objective of transparency in electoral fundingandreducingcashinfluence...Thosewhogivedonations say it is good if some secrecy is maintained. This isn’t unnatural. If another government comes, it could go after them. So, if someone is honestly doing business, we thought let them do so,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, addressing a press conference at All eyes on SBI and EC as wait begins for names of electoral bond donors RITIKA CHOPRA ‘PERFECT HAS BECOME THE ENEMY OF GOOD’ LIZ MATHEW & VIKAS PATHAK THE EDITORIAL PAGE APURVA VISHWANATH BY UNNY the party headquarters. Off the record, party leaders said that while the Supreme Court order scrapping the electoral bonds scheme was a setback, particularly “a moral one”, the BJP did not expect it to have muchofanimpactontheground. The Opposition may use the revelations of donors and recipients which will come out now CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WILL THE names of electoral bond donors be known within a month from today? Officials in the Election Commission are confident that, following the specific order of the Supreme Court, that will be very much possible by March 13. “We haven't yet had the op- 6,566 portunitytoreadtheorderindetailbutit'sabundantlycleartous that SBI will have to share the names of those who purchased electoral bonds. So there's no doubt about it,” said an EC official who requested anonymity. What remains uncertain at thismomentiswhetherthedata shared by SBI will be presented inaformatthathelpsoneimmediately match the bond buyer to the political party that received TOTAL VALUE OF ELECTORAL BONDS SOLD FROM 2017-18 TO 2022-23 Total Amount `11,450 cr BJPgot 57%funds the same bond. “Irrespective of whether the format is readerfriendly or not, finding out the identity of the donor and recipientwillnotbeimpossible.Itmay just mean a lot of work for people interested in finding out the same,” the above-quoted official added. In its order on Thursday, the apex court directed the State Bank of India to share details of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 1,123 1,095 94 64 24 BJP Cong TMC BJD DMK AAP NCP JD(U) Others Others: BRS: 384, YSRCP: 382, TDP: 147, Shiv Sena: 101, JD(S): 49, SP: 14, SAD: 7, AIADMK: 6, RJD: 3, JMM: 1, MGP: 1, SDF: 1 Source: Supreme Court BY S Y QURAISHI A VITAL VERDICT A landmark moment, affirms people’s right to know PAGE 10 Thecourtalsodisagreedwith thegovernment’sargumentthat a voter’s right to know could be extinguishedbytheelectoral bonds scheme to ensure“donorprivacy,”a fundamental right that ● protects“politicalself expression.” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that political affiliation forms the “inner core of a person’s private life” which the state is protecting through poll bonds. The ruling also does not defer to the state entirely on what is a legitimate state interest. The ruling makes an attempt to infer E CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Opp welcomes verdict, hopes to flag ‘quid pro quo’ as poll point MANOJ C G 774 617 DEMOCRACY’S GUARDIANANGEL ‘JUDGMENT HAS RESTORED LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL PARTIES’ Allfiguresin`crore 1,093 STRIKING down the electoral bonds scheme, the Supreme Court has raised the bar for the state to justify its encroachment of a fundamental right even when its action is perceived to furtheracompetingright.Itheld that the state has to prove that its measure is the “least restrictive” and that there are no other “equally effective” methods to achieve its stated goal. So this ruling sets a precedent: the court has struck down a set of legislative amendments on thegroundsthatthestate could have used a method “less restrictive” of fundamental rights. Essentially, the court did not buythegovernment’sargument that the electoral bonds scheme, which allows complete anonymity in donations, is the only way to curb black money. It cited Electoral Trusts as an example of a less restrictive alternative to electoral bonds. EXPLAINED ANANTHAKRISHNAN G BALANCING COMPETING RIGHTS NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 THE SUPREME Court decision striking down the contentious electoralbondschemeofthegovernment as unconstitutional has giventhebeleagueredopposition INDIAbloc—rivenbyinternaldissension — an unexpected and much-needed political talking point, and an opportunity to aggressivelyaddcorruptiontoitsarmoury in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. TheSupremeCourtorderhas askedtheStateBankofIndia(SBI), the only one authorised to issue electoralbonds,tosubmitthedetails of bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, to the Election Commissionwithinthreeweeks. The poll watchdog has to make public the information by March 13, which is when the campaign fortheLokSabhaelectionswould be gathering pace. The timing, therefore, is crucial for the Opposition parties, whichhopetoframetheissueas one of corruption — on which they find themselves at the receiving end, even while struggling to pin their Adani-Ambani CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Union ministers hold third round of Actor Mimi Chakraborty resigns as MP talks with farmers, CM Mann roped in after meeting Mamata: ‘Politics not for me’ KANCHAN VASDEV CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 15 AS PUNJAB’S protesting farmers continued to camp at the state’s border with Haryana for the third day on Thursday, three Union ministers held the third round of talks with farmer lead- PM Narendra Modi with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha on Thursday. ANI PM thanks Qatar Emir for release of 8 ex-Navy men SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 15 IN HIS first meeting with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thaniafterthereleaseof eight Indian nationals earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday “expressed deep appreciation” and thanked him for his support. Modi, who was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the AmiriPalaceinDoha,heldwideranging talks with the Emir including on “economic cooperation, investments, energy partnership,spacecollaboration, urban infrastructure, cultural bonds and people-to-people CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR ers in Chandigarh. The meeting, whichbeganat8.15pm,wasstill on at midnight when this report was filed. Before meeting the farmers, the Central ministers — Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda,CommerceandIndustry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai — held a closed-door meeting with PunjabChief MinisterBhagwant Mann at a hotel in Chandigarh. Following this meeting, Mann, accompanied by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema,arrivedattheMahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 15 AHEAD OF the Lok Sabha elections, Bengali actor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mimi Chakraborty on Thursday announced her decision to resign as the Jadavpur Mimi Chakraborty won from Jadavpur seat in 2019 MP. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chakraborty said she believed that “politics wasn't meant for her” as she “doesn't understand it”. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ED SUMMONS DEV PAGE 5 ‘Burden off my shoulders’: Sarfaraz sizzles on Test debut DEVENDRA PANDEY MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 15 SARFARAZ KHAN could not hold back his tears when the legendaryAnilKumblehandedhim his maiden Test cap, just before the start of the third Test between India and England in Rajkot on Thursday. Beside him was his wife, who too was overcome with emotions. He ran towards his father Naushad, the most influential figure of his life, and hugged him. “I will cry the whole day when I play for my country,” he had once told The Indian Express. As the day progressed, Sarfaraz pushed some of the English bowlers to the verge of tears too, as his robust 62 off 66 balls, brutally cut short by a run out, played a big role in helping India post 326 for 5. Throughout his knock, the 26-year-old showed daring, Sarfaraz Khan with his father Naushad after receiving his Test debut cap in Rajkot on Thursday. ANI composure and will, virtues that showed he belongs to the Test level. The England bowlers tested him with everything they could — pace and seam bowling, spin of various hues and funky field placings — but he had an answer to every question they posed. Like he had an answer to everyhurdlethathehadtoovercome to reach this far. Sarfaraz is a fascinating tale of passion and persistence. For nearly 15 years, he would wake up every day at 5 am so that he could reach Cross Maidan for practice at 6.30 am. He would spend hours honing his batting skills on the dusty pitches. On days he could not go, he and his brother Musheer, who was India’s second-highest run-getterintherecentU-19WorldCup, wouldpracticeonaspecialcricketing pitch Naushad had prepared right outside his home. Naushad would spend hours CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata