DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NAME SPELLS COURAGE: JANTAR MANTAR TO PARIS PODIUM Vinesh Phogat Defeats unbeaten Yui Susaki of Japan on way to historic final today EXPRESSAT OLYMPICS MIHIR VASAVDA PARIS, AUGUST 6 VINESHPHOGATstartedtheday byslayingagiantandendeditby breaking a barrier. By making it to Wednesday's final in the 50kg category, assured of at least a silver,sherosetoaheightthatno Indian woman wrestler has ever reached. Afterovercomingthedefendingchampion,theso-farunbeatableJapan’sYuiSusaki,inthefirst round,Phogat outclassed Cuba’s Vinesh Phogat after defeating Japan’s Yui Susaki at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Tuesday. PTI Rollback after criticism: Indexation benefit on sale of property before Budget brought back New 12.5 per cent tax on LTCG will apply to all property sales after July 23 AANCHAL MAGAZINE & SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 FOLLOWINGOUTRAGEandconcerns from certain quarters over the Budget proposal to remove indexation benefits on longterm capital gains (LTCG), the government Tuesday decided to offertaxpayersachoicetopay20 per cent LTCG tax with indexation benefit on sale of property acquired before July 23, 2024. The other option introduced in the Budget to pay the tax on LTCGatareducedrateof 12.5per centwithoutindexationwillalso be available to taxpayers, as per the list of amendments moved bythegovernmentintheFinance Bill. Taxpayers can pay the lower tax amount of the two options. These amendments are being seen as a major rollback of the LTCG-related announcements pertaining to the real estate sector in the Budget. While the government had defended the new LTCG tax regime saying CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sweeping terms in draft broadcast Bill raise red flags on free speech APURVA VISHWANATH & SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 EXPANDING ITS remit from OTT content and digital news to include social media accounts and online video creators; defining a “digital news broadcaster” in sweeping terms; requiring prior registration with government to prescribing standards for content evaluation, the latest draft of the Broadcasting Services CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK GOVTSPENT 14% OFFUNDSUNDER AYUSHMANON THOSE OVER70YRS PAGE 14 EXPLAINED GSTON HEALTH INSURANCE PAGE 17 Widening the ambit THE LATEST draft seeks to include individual creators of content on social media including those outside India, covering all kinds of speech. It also seeks to validate the Code of Ethics prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, which has been stayed by two High Courts. Vinesh Phogat being dragged away by Delhi Police which detained her at Jantar Mantar on May 28, 2023. She became the face of the protests by wrestlers against the then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they accused of sexual harassment. ANI file UNDER UK RULE, SHE CAN’T SEEK ASYLUM FROM OVERSEAS QuestionmarkoverherLondon plans,DelhireadytohostHasina Dhaka dissolves House, frees Khaleda, Yunus appointed head of interim govt Ousted Bangla PM wants refuge because she fears persecution if sent back home SHUBHAJIT ROY ANISUR RAHMAN NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 OUSTED BANGLADESH Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who landed in India Monday evening after fleeing Dhaka, is expected to remain here for “a while” because her plans to travel to the UK face a “technical roadblock,” The Indian Express has learnt. NewDelhiisdrawingupplans to host her in the country for “as long as it takes”, sources said. Hasinawasplanningtotravel to London as her sister Sheikh Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq is a member of the British Parliament. Tulip is economic secretary to the Treasury and Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate. The “technical” challenge emanates from the UK’s Immigration rules which have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE AFIGHTINGCHANCE BY PRATAP BHANU MEHTA PAGE 10 DHAKA, AUGUST 6 Official vehicles seen entering the Hindon air base near Delhi where ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina landed on Monday after fleeing her country. PTI REPORTS,P4,12,18 India advised restraint, dialogue: Jaishankar on Bangladesh protests LIZ MATHEW & DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SAYING THAT there was growing tension and polarisation in Bangladesh politics since the January elections, External Affairs MinisterS Jaishankar told ParliamentonTuesdaythatIndia “repeatedly counselled restraint” and dialogue, but “various decisions and actions taken thereafter only exacerbated the situation”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BANGLADESH PRESIDENT Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for fresh elections, and an interim government was taking shape, a day after Sheikh Hasina abruptly resigned as Prime Minister and fledthecountryfollowingweeks of violent anti-government protests. As the Army took charge on Mondayand the death toll in the violence in which temples were also attacked rose to 440, the President appointed Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, 84, as the head of the interim government. The decision was taken at a meeting of Shahabuddin with chiefs of the three services and a 13-member delegation of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at Bangabhaban, President's Press Secretary Md. Joynal Abedin said. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief and ex-premierKhaledaZiawasfreed from house arrest, according to Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semifinal to be a win away from an Olympic gold. From the middle of the first round, when she got a point due to her opponent's passivity, Phogat was the more dominant wrestler in the bout,andsettledthematterwith two separate takedowns in the second period. Itwas,however,Phogat'swin over Susaki, one of the biggest upsets of these Games, that made the entire Olympic universestandupandacknowledge her.Anoutcomethathasshaken the wrestling world. There isn't a direct parallel that captures Susaki’s perceived invincibility on the wrestling mat.Theclosest,perhaps,would CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EC TEAM ARRIVES TOMORROW On J&K street: Talk of elections with some fingers crossed BASHAARAT MASOOD, NAVEED IQBAL & ARUN SHARMA SRINAGAR, JAMMU, AUGUST 6 THE SUPREME Court has directed the government to conduct Assembly elections in Jammu&KashmirbySeptember and expedite the process of restoring statehood. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinhahassaidthereshouldbeno doubtelectionswillbeheld.And indeed,theElectionCommission ofIndiacommencesitsthree-day visit to the Union Territory on August 8 to review the preparations for elections. But amid talks about imminent polls and an elected government, there are some fingers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TOMORROW Laying down hard line 5 YEARS SINCE AUG 5 AN EXPRESS SERIES PART-3 POLITICS P16 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW OMAR ABDULLAH VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONFERENCE THE WORLD AFTER DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION, HARRIS PICKS TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE HEZBOLLAH SENDS ATTACK DRONES, ISRAEL WARJETS FLY OVER BEIRUT PAGE 18 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC to hear today pleas seeking HC pulls up Godhra civic body for alloting review of its 2022 PMLA order sub-judice graveyard land to build fire station EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 ATHREE-JUDGEspecialbenchof the Supreme Court will Wednesday hear petitions seeking a review of its July 27, 2022 ruling upholding the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, as amended from time to time including provisions dealing with the powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding arrest, search, attachment and seizure in money laundering offences. The petitions have been listed before a bench of Justices Surya Kant, C T Ravikumar and Ujjal Bhuyan. In November 2017, a bench of Justices Rohinton Nariman and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, in Nikesh TarachandShahvsUnionofIndia, haddeclaredthe‘twintest’ofbail under PMLA as unconstitutional sinceitwas“manifestlyarbitrary”. “We must not forget that Section 45 is a drastic provision which turns on its head the presumption of innocence which is fundamental to a person accused of any offence. Before application of a section which makes drastic inroadsintothefundamentalright of personallibertyguaranteedby CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 ADITIRAJA VADODARA,AUGUST6 CALLING ITS actions an "overreach" and "disregard" for legal proceedings, the Gujarat High Court Tuesday admonished the Godhra Municipality in Panchmahalforissuingaworkorder toconstruct afire station on a contentious graveyard regarding whichawritpetitionissub-judice. It directed the civic body's Chief Officer to be present before the courtonAugust13toshowcause astowhytheHCshouldnotissue asuomotucontemptnoticeinthe matter. The matter pertains to City Survey Number 477 of Godhra, whichis'primafacie'alandbeing used as a graveyard (qabrastan) fromtheearly1990s.TheHChad, initsorderdatedMarch20,2023, directed a survey by the District Inspector of Land Records (DILR) to file a report along with the measurement map of the land. In its report, the DILR had stated that several graves had beenfoundonthelandduringthe measurements undertaken, the court observed. However, on March3,2024,theChiefOfficerof theGodhraMunicipalityissueda workordertoconstructafirestation on the contentious land. Objecting to the decision, the court of Justice Nikhil S Kariel rebuked the Godhra Municipality for"showingdisregard"and"considering itself higher than the court". The court also questioned the Godhra Municipality counsel on why the "officer of the state" had disregarded the sub-judice status of the case. "Tothiscourt,itwouldappear thattherespondent(ChiefOfficer) has not given any due regard to CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Forefathers made Wayanad their home, now dreams lie buried PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHAJU PHILIP CHOORALMALA, AUGUST 6 ASHRAFHASN'Tknownalifebeyond the hills of Wayanad. He was four when he first came to Mundakkai village, accompanying his parents who had moved from Nilambur in Malappuram district to work on the tea plantations. Like his parents before him,hefoundajobontheteaestates when he turned 22. It was in Mundakkai that he married, where he four children grew up, andwhereheallowedhimself to dream of a better life. “I have always lived in the estate quarters – first with my parents and later, my wife and children. But I always dreamt of owningapieceof land.I recently bought 10 cents, hoping I will some day build my own house,” he says. But the landslide of July 30, which tore through the hills of Wayanad, has washed away his dreams,ravagingMundakkaiand Chooralmala, two of the worstaffectedvillages.“Nowit'sallover. The landslide has rendered my land useless. That plot will have to be abandoned. Nobody will buy it either,” he says. Metres away from where Ashraf sat at the relief camp that has been set up for the landslide survivorsatMeppadipanchayat, sit K Annayyan and his wife Shakunthala. Annayyan says his parents came to Chooralmala from Udupi in Karnataka as A school in Mundakkai, Ground Zero of the landslides. Express plantation workers. “I was born here,” says Annayyan, 67. “Chooralmala is the only place I know... I don't remember the year my parents came to Wayanad.” After years of toil on the plantations, Annayyan bought two acres in the coffee plantation. “My house as well as theentirecoffeeplantationwere lost in the landslide. My son and daughter, both engineers, are married off and settled outside Kerala. But this is my home... Where else can I go? How can I dependonmychildren,’’hesays. Almost everyone in Mundakkai, Chooralmala and other parts of the landslide-hit Wayanad hills trace their ancestry to people who came to work from other districts in the state and elsewhere in the South during thecolonial period.They talk proudly of how their fathers or grandfathers toiled on the land, turning it into tea and coffee plantations. As they stayed in stuffy quarters, they dreamt of a better future for their children. Thesecondand third generation from among these plantation workers went on to own houses and vehicles and sent their children to schools and colleges in Kerala and outside. Many of them also went abroad to work, especially to the Gulf, and their remittances brought a new affluence to the region. In the lower belts of the hillocks, they built new homes with car porches and sit-outs. While most of the dilapidated worker quarters and the oldfashioned estate bungalows on the upper areas of the hillocks CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Ahmedabad