DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Vinesh defeats unbeaten world champion Govt brings back on way to historic wrestling final today indexation benefit ROLLBACK AFTER VOICING OF CONCERN EXPRESSAT OLYMPICS MIHIR VASAVDA PARIS, AUGUST 6 THE WORLD AFTER DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION, HARRIS PICKS TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE ISRAELI SONIC BOOMS RATTLE BEIRUT AFTER HEZBOLLAH STRIKES PAGE 12 SC to hear today pleas seeking review of its 2022 PMLA order 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. InNovember2017,abenchof Justices Rohinton Nariman and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, in Nikesh Tarachand Shah vs Union of India,haddeclaredthe‘twintest’ of bail under PMLA as unconstitutional since it was “manifestly arbitrary”. “We must not forget that Section 45 is a drastic provision which turns on its head the presumption of innocence which is fundamentaltoapersonaccused of anyoffence.Beforeapplication of a section which makes drastic inroads into the fundamental right of personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitutionof India,wemustbe doubly sure that such provision furthersacompellingStateinterest for tackling serious crime. Absent any such compelling Stateinterest,theindiscriminate CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED ECONOMICS GSTONHEALTH INSURANCE PAGE 15 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 VINESHPHOGATstartedtheday byslayingagiantandendeditby breaking a barrier. By making it toWednesday’sfinalinthe50kg category,sherosetoaheightthat no Indian woman wrestler has ever reached. After overcoming the defendingchampion,theso-farunbeatable Japan’s Yui Susaki, in the first round, Phogat outclassed Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semifinal to be a win away from an Olympic gold. From the middle of thefirst round, when she got a pointduetoheropponent'spassivity, Phogat was the more dominant wrestler in the bout, and settled the matter with 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. for property sale before Budget New 12.5% tax on LTCG will apply to all property sales after July 23 AANCHAL MAGAZINE & SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 16, 17, 18 Vinesh Phogat after winning the match against Yui Susaki of Japan. PTI UNDER UK RULE, SHE CAN’T APPLY FOR ASYLUM FROM OVERSEAS Question mark over her London plans, Delhi prepares to host ousted Hasina Dhaka dissolves House, frees Khaleda, Yunus ready to head interim govt She wants to seek asylum/ refuge as she fears political persecution if sent back home SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 ANISUR RAHMAN 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. New Delhi is drawing up plans to host her in the country for “as long as it takes”, sources said. Hasinawasplanningtotravel to London as her sister Sheikh Rehana’sdaughterTulipSiddiqis a member of the British Parliament.TulipiseconomicsecretarytotheTreasuryandLabour MPforHampsteadandHighgate. The “technical” challenge emanates from the UK’s Immigration rules which have no provision for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to BANGLADESH PRESIDENT Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, pavingthewayforfreshelections, and an interim government was taking shape, a day after Sheikh Hasina abruptly resigned as PrimeMinisterandfledthecountry following weeks of violent anti-government protests. As the Army took charge on Mondayandthe death toll inthe violence in which temples were also attacked rose to 440, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement that spearheaded the massive protests said 84year-old Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus has agreed toheadtheinterimgovernment. Meanwhile, Bangladesh NationalistParty(BNP)chief and ex-premier Khaleda Zia was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 THE EDITORIAL PAGE AFIGHTINGCHANCE BY PRATAP BHANU MEHTA PAGE 10 THE WORLD BANGLADESHDEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO440, ARMY TRIESTO CONTROLSITUATION PAGE 12 India advised restraint, dialogue: Jaishankar on Bangladesh protests LIZ MATHEW & DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 SAYINGTHATtherewasgrowing tension and polarisation in Bangladesh politics since the Januaryelections,ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar told ParliamentonTuesdaythatIndia “repeatedlycounselledrestraint” and dialogue, but “various decisionsandactionstakenthereafter only exacerbated the situation”. Reading out a statement in both Houses a day after Sheikh CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sweeping terms in draft Govt spent 14% of funds under broadcast Bill raise red Ayushman on those over 70 yrs flags on free speech Among larger TOP 5 STATES, FOR THE ELDERLY 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 prescribingstandardsforcontent evaluation, the latest draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation)Bill,2024,raisesseveralquestions on the freedom of speech and expression and the government’s powers to regulate it. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED BY UNNY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● ● Widening theambit THELATESTdraftseekstoincludeindividualcreatorsof contentonsocialmediaincludingthoseoutsideIndia, coveringallkindsof speech. Italsoseekstovalidatethe Codeof Ethicsprescribed undertheInformation Technology(Intermediary GuidelinesandDigital MediaEthicsCode)Rules, 2021,whichhasbeenstayed bytwoHighCourts. states, more elderly take to scheme in Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 BENEFICIARIES AGED 70 years and more made up over 12 per cent of all admissions under the government’sflagshipAyushman Bharathealthinsurancescheme, with their treatment costs accountingfornearly14%of theto- State Maharashtra Kerala Haryana Bihar Himachal Pradesh Admissions Proportion Hospitalisation Proportion in70-plus oftotal costin70-plus oftotal agegroup admissions agegroup cost 2.5lakh 10.2lakh 1.9lakh 1.3lakh 0.38lakh 20.49% 18.75% 18.13% 16.6% 16.4% tal expenditure till January , according to data presented in ParliamentbytheUnionMinistry of Health and Family Welfare. The data shows that of the nearly 6.2 crore approved hospital admissions till January 2024, as many as 57.5 lakh were senior 844.8cr 1101.1cr 291.9cr 138cr 48.6cr 27.49% 19.9% 19.8% 16.8% 16.98% citizens aged 70 years and more. The government’s expenditure fortreatmentsunderthescheme reached a staggering Rs 79,200 crore over the last six years till January2024,ofwhichRs9,878.5 crorewasallocatedto treatthose CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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. Theseamendmentsarebeing 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 that the removalof indexationwasmore than made up for by the lower tax rate of 12.5 per cent in a vast majorityof transactions,theproposalshadledtoabacklashwith calls for relief coming from varioussections,includingrealestate investors and property owners. The amendment, however, makes it clear that for purchases of property after the cut-off date of July 23, 2024, only the new regime with LTCG tax at the rate of 12.5 per cent without indexation will be applicable. Indexation is the process of adjusting the original purchase priceof anassetorinvestment;it allows a taxpayer to neutralise the impact of inflation while paying tax on capital gains. It involvesrevisingupwardsthecost CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 EC TEAM ARRIVES TOMORROW On J&K street: Talk of polls with some fingers crossed L-G says action against Jamaat to continue despite feelers from Delhi At Lal Chowk in Srinagar on the fifth anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 on Monday. PTI BASHAARAT MASOOD, NAVEED IQBAL & ARUN SHARMA SRINAGAR, JAMMU, AUGUST 6 THESUPREMECourthasdirected the government to conduct Assembly elections in Jammu & KashmirbySeptemberandexpeditetheprocessofrestoringstatehood. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has said there shouldbenodoubtelectionswill beheld. Andindeed,the Election CommissionofIndiacommences its three-day visit to the Union Territory to review the preparations for elections on August 8. But amid talks about imminent polls and an elected government, there are some fingers crossed in Jammu and Kashmir as well. The Indian Express spoke CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TOMORROW Laying down hard line 5 YEARS SINCE AUG 5 AN EXPRESS SERIES PART-3 POLITICS P9 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW OMAR ABDULLAH VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONFERENCE Forefathers made Wayanad their home, now dreams lie buried here PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHAJU PHILIP CHOORALMALA, AUGUST 6 ASHRAFHASN’Tknownalifebeyond the hills of Wayanad. He first came to Mundakkai village as a four-year-old, accompanying his parents who had moved from Nilambur in Malappuram district to work on the tea plantations. Like his parents before him,hefoundajobontheteaestateswhenheturned22.Butunlike them, he allowed himself to dream of a better life for himself and his four children. “I have alwayslivedin theestatequarters—firstwithmyparents and later, my wife and children. But I always dreamt of owningapieceof land.Irecently bought 10 cents (around 4,355 sq ft), 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. Ashraf hadbeenstayingwith a relative in Kalpetta town for a week since the landslides. On Tuesday, he returned to Mundakkai and saw the quarters he used to live in reduced to rubble. Almost everyone in Mundakkai, Chooralmala and other parts of the landslide-hit At Chooralmala, one of the villages in Wayanad district worst hit by the July 30 landslides. Shaju Philip Wayanad hills trace their ancestry to people who were brought by the British from various parts of South India to work on the plantations. They talk proudly of how their fathers or grandfathers toiled on the land, turning the hills into verdant tea and coffee plantations. Though they stayed instuffyquarters,theydreamtof a better future for their children. The second and third generations from among these plantation workers went on to own houses and vehicles and sent Jaipur theirchildrentoschoolsandcolleges in Kerala and beyond. Many of them also went abroad to work, especially to the Gulf, andtheirremittancesbroughtin a new affluence to the region. In the lower belts of the hillocks, they built new, fancier homes with courtyards and porches for their new cars. It’s this — the newer structuresbuiltthroughsheergritand toil — that the gushing waters washed away, while most of the dilapidatedworkerquartersand the old-fashioned estate bunga- lows on the upper areas of the hillocks, where their forefathers lived, remained untouched by the landslide. As the water receded, it left behindmangledremainsof cars, jeeps, two-wheelers and house appliances. At the relief camp, K Annayyan and his wife Shakunthala are unsure of what lies ahead.Annayyansayshisparents cametoChooralmalafromUdupi inKarnatakaasplantationworkers. “I don’t remember the year CONTINUED ON PAGE 2