DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2024, LUCKNOW LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 M Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Nation Scan for more information TAX DEMAND Rs 210 CRORE Main Putin critic Navalny, who survived poisoning bid in 2020, dies Citingtaxdues, I-TfreezesCong accounts,party callsitvendetta Was serving a 19-year jail sentence in Arctic prison AGENCIES MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 16 ALEXEI NAVALNY, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable opponent, died on Friday after a walk at the Arctic penalcolonywherehewasserving a 19-year jail term, Russian authorities said. He was 47. Navalny was jailed in 2021 whenhereturnedtoMoscowafter recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Western leaders paid tribute to Navalny. Some, without citing evidence, accused the Kremlin of murder. “Russia is responsible for this,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. RELATED REPORTS PAGES 13, 14 Security personnel fire teargas shells at protesting farmers at Shambhu, Punjab-Haryana border Friday, a day after farm leaders announced ‘ceasefire’ following talks with the Centre. Talks will resume Sunday. Harmeet Sodhi PAGE13 Govt unlikely to contest SC verdict on poll bonds, door open for PIL Releasing names breach of Govt promise, bank laws: official LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 16 RELEASING THE names of those who purchased electoral bonds would be a “breach of promise” made by the government and in MAULSHREE SETH KAIMUR, BIHAR, FEB 16 violation of bank confidentiality norms but the Centre is unlikely to contest Thursday’s landmark SupremeCourtverdictthatstruck down the scheme as “unconstitutional,” government sources have told The Indian Express. The view in the establish- Congressleader Rahul Gandhiwithformer Bihar DeputyCM TejashwiYadav in Buxardistrict onFriday. PTI after the recent exit of Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the INDIA bloc. Both targeted the Bihar Chief Minister as they addressed a joint rally in Dhaneychha area of Durgawati block in Kaimur district of Bihar, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONG YATRA IN U.P. PAGE 3 Recce aircraft to anti-tank mines: Green light to big-ticket purchases NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 16 THE DEFENCE Acquisition Council (DAC) Friday cleared a series of big-ticket procurements worth Rs 84,560 crore for the armed forces including 15 maritime reconnaissance and multi-mission maritime aircraft fortheNavyandtheCoastGuard as well as six flight refueller aircraft for the IAF and new generation anti-tank mines for the Army. The DAC, headed by Defence MinisterRajnathSingh,isamong the top bodies for clearing major capital acquisitions for defence. E E X P L A I NE D AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA Assault on democracy, say Kharge, Rahul; partial relief from I-T tribunal THE MORNING AFTER TALKS Tejashwi joins Rahul’s Yatra in Bihar, calls Nitish a ‘tired CM’ RASHTRIYA JANATA Dal (RJD) LEADER Tejashwi Yadav joined RahulGandhi’sBharatJodoNaya YatrainBiharonFriday,standing next to the Congress leader in a red-coloured vehicle and even driving it for a stretch. This is the first timethatboth theseleaderswereseentogether Viksit Bharat cbc 22201/13/0274/2324 • 1,389 mandis and 1.8 crore farmers connected with e-NAM • Farmers getting better prices for agricultural products through 'Beej se Bazar tak' initiative Government of India Hamara Sankalp ● Boosting home tech THE DAC, while clearing proposals to boost the capabilities of the armed forces and Coast Guard, laid special emphasis on procurement of equipment from Indian vendors. Amendments to the DAP 2020 were also cleared to promote procurement of advanced technologies from startups and MSMEs. The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) is the first step in the long Defence procurement process. The grant of AoN does not always lead to a final order. Sources said these 15 maritimereconnaissanceaircraftwill be the marine versions of the C295 medium lift tactical aircraft inducted by the IAF last year. Of the 15, nine will be for the Navy and six for the Coast Guard. Aseniorofficialsaidthatonce inducted, the aircraft will be a major addition to the existing P8I maritime surveillance aircraft used by the forces for surveillance patrols and interdiction, and will significantly augment CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ment is that the fraught issue of poll funding in the wake of the apex court’s order should be left to the next government which may “consider”alternative ways to “better the election funding system”, sources said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY P8 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 16 A POLITICAL row erupted Friday with the Congress announcing that its bank accounts had been frozenbytheIncomeTaxdepartment in connection with a disputeoverataxdemandof Rs210 crore, and that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) later allowedittopartlyoperateitsaccounts until next Wednesday when it would hear the matter. Targeting the Modi government,theCongress,itspresident Mallikarjun Kharge and leader Rahul Gandhi expressed outrage, and called the I-T action a “vendetta” and “a deep assault on India’s democracy” in the THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW ‘I-T Dept imposed disproportionate penalty of Rs 135 cr on Cong… What have we done?’ VIVEK TANKHA CONGRESS MP, RAJYA SABHA countdown to the Lok Sabha elections. While there was no official CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM Narendra Modi being presented a memento at an event in Rewari Friday. PTI Everyone is leaving Cong, only one family at top, says PM VIKAS PATHAK REWARI, NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 16 DESCRIBING THE “blessings of people” as “my biggest capital”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress, saying it has “only one agenda: antiModi, strong anti-Modi” and “everyone is abandoning the Congress, leaving only one family at its helm”. Unveiling a string of projects dedicated to Rajasthan and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Qureshi was 93 Imtiaz Qureshi, known for reviving ‘dum pukht’ style of cooking, dies HEENA KHANDELWAL MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 16 CULINARY DOYEN Imtiaz Qureshi, the man known for reviving the ‘dum pukht’ cooking style – a traditional slow-cooking technique — and establishing iconic restaurants like BukharaandDumPukht,passed away on Friday morning in Mumbai. He was 93. Qureshi is survived by five sonsandtwodaughters—Aisha, Ishtiyaque, Ashfaque, Irfan, Yasmin, Imran and Muhammad Ahsan Ali, who are all in the culinaryprofessionandhaverestaurants in India and abroad. “He was admitted in Lilavati forthelasttwoweeksduetooldage issues,” shared chef Ishtiyaque Qureshi, his eldest son, adding that there were issues with his vital organs. “He was a strong man with stronger willpower. Even in his CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘He used to wheeze... His mother’s idea that he switch to spin was turning point’ squad, effective immediately due to a family emergency”. Earlier in the day, Ashwin’s father RAVICHANDRAN recalled his son’s journey from tennis ball cricket on the streets of West Mambalam in Chennai: Ravichandran Hours after his 500th Test wicket, R Ashwin said Friday, at the end of the second day’s play against England in the third Test at Rajkot, “It’s been quite a long journey. Firstly I’d like to dedicate this feat to my father.” Late at night, the BCCI in a statement said Ashwin had “withdrawn from the Test Ashwin celebrates after claiming England’s Zak Crawley, his 500th Test wicket. Later, the BCCI said Ashwin had pulled out of the Test squad due to a family emergency. PTI THE 500-WICKET milestone is an unforgettable moment for me. I’ve been dreaming about it for a long time and this wicket willkeepplayinginmyminduntil my last breath. My memory jogsbacktothedayswhenItook him on my scooter to school and for coaching. For a father to have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow