DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024, PUNE, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES Modi Sarkar ki Government of India 22201/13/0314/2324 Guarantee Scan for more information Hamara sankalp Viksit Bharat WITH TODAY’S ISSUE Interim unity govt, common voter list: Law panel readies report on simultaneous polls A BJP promise APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 IE 100 2024 THE LIST OF MOST POWERFUL INDIANS BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY FROM MAKING express provisionsforsimultaneouspolls,prescribing a common electoral roll to formation of a unity government in case a government falls before the end of its five-year tenure, the Law Commission of Indiahasworkedoutthreemajor Constitutionalamendmentstoset theballrollingforthe‘OneNation, OneElection’projectin2029,The Indian Express has learnt. The 22nd Law Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is set to recommend the addition of a new chapter on simultaneous polls in the Constitution, sources said. Currently, Part XV of the Constitutiondealswithelections. It prescribes the role of the Election Commission and for electionstobebasedonadultsuf- The Law Commission has made a presentation to the Kovind committee. File frage among other aspects. The Commission is likely to recommendinsertionof anewchapter, Part XVA, that would make provisions for simultaneous polls. While the law panel has not submitted its report to the government, it has made detailed presentationsof itslikelyrecommendationsbeforethehigh-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to THE IDEA of simultaneous polls, for long a BJP promise, has been amplified in recent years by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In its 2019 poll manifesto, the BJP said simultaneous polls were needed to reduce expenditure, ensure efficient utilisation of government resources and security forces and for effective policy planning. It said a common voter list will ensure every citizen gets the right to exercise his/her franchise for all public bodies. “examineandmakerecommendationsforholdingsimultaneous CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Kamal Nath bastion, BJP on the prowl, Cong tries to herd its leaders 113 ANAND MOHAN J CHHINDWARA, FEBRUARY 28 141 175 73 In first visit to Valley since Art 370 move, PM to address Srinagar rally A TEAM of seniorCongress leaders, including former general secretaries,youthpresidentsand councillors, have taken a break from politics and are enjoying a game of cricket at the Indira Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, where posters of Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath dominate the landscape. AshishTripathi,akeyelection strategist for the Congress and a Kamal Nath loyalist, is watching the game from the stands but, he admits,hismindisonthecoming Lok Sabha elections. “Everyone asksmewhenKamalNathisjoining the BJP. I repeat what Kamal Nathsayswhenaskedthis–‘Aapki kya raye hai (What is your opinion)?’,” says Tripathi. Adding that it is wrong to proclaim the Congress's demise, he says: “The BJP has its eyes set on Chhindwara... They can try to break us, but the Chhindwara Congress shines when our backs are against the wall.” Right now, that wall seems pretty shaky. In recent days, the BJP claims to have weaned away 2,000 Congress workers from acrossthestatetoitsside,including district presidents, mayors, sarpanchs – 1,500 of them in Chhindwara alone, which CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NAVEED IQBAL & LIZ MATHEW SRINAGAR, NEW DELHI, FEB 28 IN WHAT would mark his first visit to Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a public rally in Srinagar on March 7. The Prime Minister has been onawhirlwindtourof thecountry ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, with his speeches focusing on how his government’s schemes have touchedthelivesof beneficiaries. InSrinagar,too,heisexpected to address beneficiaries of the Centre’s schemes, sources said. “There is a demand for a public rally by the Prime Minister — it is going to be held at Sher-eKashmirInternationalConference Center. The final details are being worked out,” said a source. “He may address beneficiaries from far-flung areas virtually.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN CONVERSATION WITH SITHARAMAN Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and P Vaidyanathan Iyer, Executive Editor, The Indian Express, at the Express Adda in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Sankhadeep Banerjee NSG’s Labradors set to make way for the more versatile Belgian Malinois PAGE 1 ANCHOR DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 WITH THE Belgian Malinois becoming the preferred canine companionofspecialforcesinthe United States, Europe and Israel, India’s elite counter-terrorism unit,theNationalSecurityGuard (NSG), hopes to soon deploy the `6.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 A Belgian Malinois with the NSG’s K9 unit during an anti-terror drill. Gajendra Yadav ferocious four-legged fighting force in its future operations in place of the adorable Labrador. During the ongoing IsraelPalestine conflict, the Belgian Malinois — a canine breed especially trained by the Israeli forces to not just sniff out Hamas militants in their underground tunnelsinGaza,butalsotrackandattack them — was among Israel’s most valued fighting units. The NSG’s Labrador squad will gradually make way for the CONTINUEDONPAGE2 High speed internet connectivity ty in every corner of the country y 5G network expansion in India is fastest in the world DAY AFTER RS POLLS: BJP MLAs SUSPENDED, BUDGET PASSED Congress firefights in Himachal, rebellion against CM out in open Vikramaditya quits as minister, talks to observers; Sukhu says govt will last full term MANOJ C G & NAVJEEVAN GOPAL Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with AICC observers Bhupesh Baghel, D K Shivakumar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rajeev Shukla in Shimla on Wednesday. PTI (Left) Vikramaditya Singh after quitting as minister. ANI NEW DELHI, CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 28 A DAY after its official candidate suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress central leadership on DDA razes house of man who led team that rescued 41 from Uttarakhand tunnel ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28 THREE MONTHS ago, Vaqeel Hasan sported a proud smile as he returned home after his team of “rat-hole” miners played a starringroleinrescuing41workers who had been trapped for 17 days in the collapsed SilkyaraBarkot tunnel in Uttarakhand. On Wednesday, he came home to find that it was being demolished as part of an antiencroachmentdrivebytheDelhi Development Authority (DDA) at Sri Ram Colony in Northeast Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area. “They (the authorities) came CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Wednesday scrambled to avert acrisisandsavethestategovernmentevenassixpartyMLAsand three Independents, who crossvoted for the BJP nominee, remained out of the party's reach. While young minister Vikramaditya Singh announced his resignation from the Cabinet in the morning, the central leadershipmanagedtopacifyhimby the end of the day. After a meeting with AICC observers D K Shivakumar, Bhupesh Baghel andBhupinder SinghHooda late in the evening, Vikramaditya Singh said he was not pressing for his resignation. Vikramaditya Singh and his mother, PCC chief Pratibha CONTINUEDONPAGE2 EXPRESS NETWORK CBI SUMMONS AKHILESH IN 2019 MINING CASE PAGE 8