DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES Government of India Modi Sarkar ki cbc 22201/13/0312/2324 Guarantee Empowering tribal communities PM-JANMAN with total outlay of ₹24 thousand crore to ensure socio-economic welfare of tribal communities CAA rules likely to be notified before poll code, to seek proof of India entry, religion DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 THERULESforimplementationof theCitizenship(Amendment)Act (CAA), which was enacted by ParliamentinDecember2019and spawned protests in parts of the country, are likely to be notified within the next fortnight or so, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Tuesday. “Icannottellyouthedate,but they will be notified before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into force,” an official of the MHA said. The MCC comes into force when the Election Commission announces polls. It is expected thattheLokSabhapolldateswill be announced sometime next month. `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Despite its enactment four years ago, the CAA could not be implemented because the rules were not notified. Sources said the rules will specify the evidence needed for applicantstoprovetheircredentialsandeligibilityforcitizenship under the new law. The CAA allows non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to Scan for more Information Hamara Sankalp RS POLLS: BJP 10, CONG 3, SP 2 apply for Indian citizenship through the naturalisation process — the applicants must belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist communities. The legislationgrantscitizenshiponthe basis of the assumption that these communities faced religious persecution in these three Islamic countries. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP stuns Cong in Himachal, SP in UP as many MLAscross-vote CMSukhuintroubleafterSinghviloses tie-breaker,partyrushingobservers BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 WEST BENGAL CAA BEFORE LS POLLS AIMS TO PUSH BJP’S COMMUNAL AGENDA, SAYS TRINAMOOL NIRMALA SLAMS TMC GOVT OVER WEST BENGAL DUES PAGES 6, 3 Sitharaman will be guest at Adda today Viksit Bharat Prime Minister Narendra Modi with astronauts-designate (from left) Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. PTI Astronaut wings for Gaganyaan’s IAF pilots, PM calls them 4 Shakti EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 SIX YEARS after he announced the decision to send Indians into space, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday presented to the nation the four selected astronauts-designate who have been undergoing training under anonymityforthelastfouryears. The four candidates — Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (47), Angad Pratap (41), Ajit Krishnan (41) and Wing Commander Shubhanshu SENDING A worrying signal to the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, party candidate and Congress Working Committee member Abhishek Manu Singhvi was defeated Tuesday in the election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state after nine MLAs — six from Congress and three Independents — voted against him, resulting in the victory of theBJPnomineeHarshMahajan. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress’s INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party tootookahitafteratleastsevenof its MLAs cross-voted in favour of the BJP, resulting in the defeat of Key test before Lok Sabha polls THE RAJYA Sabha elections for 15 seats in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka were an acid test for the parties in the countdown to the Lok Sabha elections which are likely to be announced next month. This is also the time when alignments are being formed. one of the SP’s three candidates. Inall,theBJPwon10of the15 Rajya Sabha seats in UP, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SANDESHKHALI FALLOUT No one can snatch tribals’ land: Mamata warns party leaders EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 27 WITH HER party leaders facing heat over land grabbing charges in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee on Tuesday said land belonging to tribals would not be taken away in any condition. Speaking at a public programme in Purulia district, the chief minister referred to the lawsenactedbyhergovernment and said, “Nobody can snatch land from the tribals. Their land will not be taken away in any way. The tribal land cannot be also transferred.” In a message to her party leaders, the Trinamool Congress supremo also warned them against depriving people of their rights and said that she would nottolerateanykindof atrocities CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shukla (38), all officers of the Indian Air Force — will follow in the footsteps of Rakesh Sharma, the first and only Indian to have travelled to space, way back in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A STATUS CHECK P 14 As FM, has presented six Budgets in a row ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 UNIONMINISTERof Financeand Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has been in charge of two key portfolios in the NarendraModi-ledgovernment, and as India’s longest serving full-time woman Finance Minister, she has presented six Budgets in a row — equalling the record of Morarji Desai. At a time when the global economy faces a slowdown, economic growth and development of India is being closely watched for being an outlier among emerging economies. Sitharaman has steered the Indian economy through the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata