DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES DECISION 2024 ● Out of Indore contest, Cong pushes for NOTA vote in constituency Kejriwal can campaign INTERIM BAIL UNTIL JUNE 1: SC SAYS POLLS A LIFELINE, HE IS NOT A THREAT Lordships made themselves part of campaign: BJP’s Vinay Sahasrabuddhe ● Cong wants to make Hindus second-class citizens, claims Modi PAGES 7, 8 & 9 12 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh encounter, second in weeks VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, MAY 10 Maharashtra Raipur Kanker Chhattisgarh GANGALOOR Bijapur Sukma JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU RAIPUR, MAY 10 BARELY THREE weeks after 29 Maoists were killed in a gunbattle in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh,another12Maoists were shot dead in an encounter withsecurityforcesinthestate’s Bijapur district early Friday. A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was injured in an IED explosion when the team was heading back after the operation. Thenumberof Maoistskilled this year in Chhattisgarh is now 103 — the highest since 2019. Until April-end, 91 Maoists had been killed by security forces. The Friday incident took place in the Gangaloor area under the jurisdiction of the Pidiya police station in Bijapur district, considered a Maoist stronghold CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters outside Tihar Jail after he got interim bail on Friday. Renuka Puri Bail conditions: Can’t visit His first remarks: ‘140 CMO, Sectt; can’t sign any crore people have to unite file unless it needs L-G nod against dictatorship’ ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, MAY 10 REFERRING TO a ruling that described elections as “the barometer and lifeline of a parliamentary system and its setup” and underliningthatArvindKejriwal is “the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties” who “does not have any criminal antecedents” and is “not a threat to society”, the Supreme Court Friday granted him interim bail until June 1, the seventh and last phase of voting in the ongoing LokSabhaelections,withcertain conditions. Arrested in the Delhi excise BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY policy case on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate and subsequently placed in judicial CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GAYATHRI MANI NEW DELHI, MAY 10 AMID THE sound of firecrackers, surrounded by hundreds of supporters, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail Friday, with a declaration that “humein sabko milke desh ko taanashahi se bachaana hai (all of us have to unite to save the country from dictatorship)”. “Main tann, mann, dhan se lad raha hoon, sangharsh kar raha hoon, taanashahi ke khilaaf. Lekin 140 crore logon ko taanashahi se ladna padega (I’m fighting against dictatorship with all my might, but 140 crore people will have to do that INSIDE KEJRIWAL OUT ON BAIL, AAP TO TWEAK POLL STRATEGY RULING COULD SET PRECEDENT FOR POLITICAL DETAINEES PAGE 4 & 7 too),” he said. Kejriwal, arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhiexcisepolicycase,hasbeen granted interim bail until June 1 by the Supreme Court. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SOON AFTER the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal until June 1, the last day of polling, senior BJP leader and party national executive member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe put a question mark on the court’s motives. “By picking a side right in the middle of elections, the lordships that be have made themselves a part of the campaign. When the billion ballots speak, they may not like it!” When contacted, Sahasrabuddhe told The Indian Express: “The Supreme Court order sets a precedent… so people who are charged will, in future, start filing election nominations. There is also a risk that Kejriwal may tamper with the evidence.” Sahsasrabuddhe, former Rajya Sabha MP and former president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), said this was his “personal view.” Meanwhile, BJP leaders across the country continued their attacks on Kejriwal, saying that he remained an accused and would be back in jail soon. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “He has been granted bail for the election campaign till June 1 but what after that? Getting interim bail does not mean that you have been proven innocent... Criminals also come out on parole and then return. Kejriwal campaigned in 2014 and 2019 too. Being inside or campaigning outside makes no difference to polls. It will not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Should all of Parliament security PM tells Pawar better to join us; he be with CISF? Panel will examine says no, flags remarks on Muslims NEW DELHI, MAY 10 SECURITY AT the Parliament complex could witness a radical overhaul with the Union Home Ministry constituting a panel to assess whether personnel of the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) should take charge of the entireprocess—rightfrommanaging security arrangements to issuing passes to regulating PAGE 1 ANCHOR E EXPLAINED LIZ MATHEW ● Home vs Secretariat PARLIAMENT SECURITY service works under the Watch and Ward committee umder the LS Secretariat. Ex-Secy General P D T Achary says any change should be under the direction of the Speaker, not MHA. movement of MPs, VIPs, officials and the media, The Indian Express has learnt. These responsibilities are currently entrusted with the Parliament Security Service, which functions under the almost century-old Watch and Ward committee. Last month, the CISF was brought in to replace 150 personnel of the Delhi Police, who used to be deployed alongside CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 MANOJ MORE PUNE, MAY 10 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi Friday mocked NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar’s recent statement that smaller regional parties may come closer to or merge with the Congress in the comingyears.Withoutmentioning his name, Modi called Pawar's party the “nakli (fake) NCP” and said it would be better We admire NehruGandhi ideology: NCP (SP) chief if it joined the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra “with pride” than merge with the Congress and “die in four days”. Pawar responded to the Prime Minister’s jibe, saying he would never ditch the NehruGandhi ideology and join hands with those who adopt an antiMuslim stand. Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district,Modisaid:“For40-50years, onetallleaderfromMaharashtra has been in politics. These days, he is making wild statements. After the Baramati election, he is frustrated and disappointed. After discussing with a lot of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Narendra Dabholkar’s son Hamid and daughter Mukta outside the Pune court after the verdict Friday. Pavan Khengre Dabholkar murder: 2 get life in prison, alleged mastermind among 3 acquitted Court flags suspicion, but gives clean chit to three citing lack of evidence CHANDAN HAYGUNDE & SUSHANT KULKARNI Was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013 PUNE, MAY 10 NEARLY 11 years after rationalist DrNarendraDabholkarwasshot dead in Pune, a special court Friday convicted his assailants, Sachin Prakashrao Andure and Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskar, and sentencedthemtolifeimprisonment for murder. It acquitted threeothersincludingthealleged mastermind Dr Virendrasinh Sharadchandra Tawade. Citing lack of evidence, Special judge P P Jadhav acquitted Tawade, lawyer Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar and activist VikramVinayBhave,alllinkedto the Sanatan Sanstha. Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on the V R Shinde bridge in Pune on the morning of August 20 in 2013. WhileacquittingTawade,the judge said there was a “lot of scopeforsuspicion”againsthim, but “the prosecution has failed to provide evidence for it”. He also said “there is definitely suspicion” on Bhave and Punalekar, “but due to lack of evidence they CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ORDERS FRAMING OF CHARGES Sufficient material on sexual harassment by Brij Bhushan: Court NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, MAY 10 A DELHI court Friday ordered framingofchargesagainstBJPMP andformerWrestlingFederation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan SharanSinghinthecaseinwhich sixwomenwrestlershadlevelled allegationsof sexualharassment against him. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot said there was sufficient material to frame charges against Bhushan in the offences of outraging the modesty of a woman and sexual harassment (sections 354 and 354A of the IPC) of five women. It said for all allegations levelled againstBhushan byvictimnum- BJP MPand formerWFI chief Brij Bhushan SharanSingh ber 6, he has been discharged. Her charges dated back to 2012. The court noted that it has found sufficient materialagainst Bhushan for offences under section 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) in the allegations of two victims — number 1 and 5. Bhushan has not been charged with the offence of stalking (354D of the IPC). ForVinodTomar,formerWFI assistant secretary and the secondaccusedinthecase,thecourt CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JD(U) sheen off, for Bihar’s NDA voters, it’s Modi in 2024, not Nitish DEEPTIMAN TIWARY BHAGALPUR, MUNGER, CHAMPARAN, MAY 10 FOR THE large part of Nitish Kumar’s19-yearruleinBihar,his leadership has been identified with an efficient administration that restored law and order in the state, built road infrastructure, empowered girls, women and disadvantaged sections of society with schemes, carefully designed. Credited with identifying women as a separate constituency in the country — long before it became the flavour of many a party — Nitish also enforced prohibition in the state in 2016. That, too, was a hit with many women at the receiving end of abuse and distress because of their spouses’ alcoholism. However, a stagnating growth,lackof jobopportunities at home, administrative corruption,poorlyimplementedprohibition, crumbling cities beyond the capital, and his own ideological flip-flops are dimming the haloaroundBihar’sVikasPurush. This was visible in the 2020 Assembly polls, when Nitish’s JD(U) was reduced from over 70 seats in the Assembly to just 43 and now in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it’s dimmed further. While voters, cutting across caste lines, flag his “good work,” they report a sense of fatigue with his long reign, frustration with his flip-flops, and impatience with his inability to spur Bihartothenextlevel.Acrossthe 16 seats JD(U) is contesting, those voting for the NDA are clear: they are voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not for Nitish or his candidate. PROHIBITION Among voters, there is special criticism reserved for prohibition,speciallyfromOBCs,EBCs Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at a rally in Barh on Monday. PTI and Dalits, the caste groups that just more expensive. The police constitute Nitish’s core base. are merely cracking down on “Look, I am a poldaar (daily consumers. The jails are full of wagerswholiftweight).If Idon’t poor people. Police does not go get a drink after the day’s after bootleggers and work, I will not be able to smugglers as they pay sleep in the night. But we them regular bribes,” he aretheonesfacingtheposays. lice crackdown, the rich Kumhar adds that this get away with bribes,” DECISION time he is voting for 2024 says Raju Mandal, a Nitish’s candidate in Kurmi, at Dhankaul Sitamarhi because of Bazaar in Sheohar. Mandal has Modi, but in 2025, he will vote been arrested thrice for being for change. found drunk. InMachchharganwavillageof Vijay Kumhar (EBC), a daily Valmikinagarconstituency,Lallan wager from Sitamarhi, says pro- YadavandRamakant,aMusahar, hibitionshouldnotjustbeonpa- discusshowbootleggershavefatper. “Liquor is freely available, tened on illegal payoffs. Even women do not seem to be as positive about prohibition as they were earlier. Says Rita Devi, a Kurmi teastall owner in Bettiah in West Champaran:“Prohibitionisgood. A few members of my family died of alcohol. But it should be total. The only good thing is people are not roaming on the roads drunk.” Kavita Devi (name changed) from in Jhanjharpur is less complimentary. “If prohibition was really implemented,Iwouldcompliment Nitish Kumar. But men are still drinking and coming home and fighting with their wives. My CONTINUED ON PAGE 2