DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ARREST BYCBI ONLY TO FRUSTRATE THE WORLD bail to CM in ED case: Justice Bhuyan PAGE 14 Port Blair is now Sri Vijaya Puram, Shah says removing slavery symbol VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 THE CENTRE on Friday renamed PortBlair,thecapitalofAndaman and Nicobar Islands, as Sri Vijaya Puram. Making the announcement,UnionHomeMinisterAmit Shah said the decision was taken as part of Prime Minister NarendraModi’svisionto“ridthe countryofallsymbolsofslavery”. AndamanandNicobarIslands had an “unparalleled place” in India’s freedom struggle, Shah said. He recalled that V D Savarkar hadspentyearsintheCellularJail intheAndamans,andthatNetaji SubhasChandraBosehadhoisted the Tricolour on the island. “Inspired by the resolve of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji to rid the country of all symbols of slavery, today the Home Ministry has decided to rename Port Blair as ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’. The name ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’ reflects our struggle for freedom and the contribution of Andaman and Nicobar in it,” Shah said in a post on X. “This island has a unique placeinourcountry’sindependence and history. This island, which played the role of a naval baseintheCholaEmpire,istoday readytoacceleratethecountry’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BAILCONDITIONREIMPOSED: Can’t visit CM office, sign file only if needed Kejriwal is free after Supreme Court grants bail, judge puts CBI in the dock Trial unlikely to end in immediate future: Top court After refusing talks with CM, jr doctors seek PM, President’s intervention ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 ENDING DELHI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s nearly sixmonthstintincustodyfollowing hisarrestfirstbytheEDandlater by the CBI for his alleged role in the Delhi excise policy case, the Supreme Court granted him bail Friday in the CBI case, observing that “completion of the trial is unlikely to occur in the immediate future” and that he “satisfies therequisitetripleconditionsfor the grant of bail”. Kejriwal, who had been granted interim bail in the ED case on July 12, emerged from the Tihar Jail Friday evening and was welcomed by AAP leaders and supporters. He was arrested by the ED on March 21 and by the CBI on June 26. In separate but concurring orders, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan extended the bail conditions imposedintheEDmattertotheCBI case as well. This means that Kejriwal will not be able to visit the office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat or sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Justice Bhuyan, who made strong observations against the CBI including remarks that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE CALLING OUT THE PARROT Justice Bhuyan’s criticism of CBI strikes many a chord — should be heard by those who pull its strings PAGE12 SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 13 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal outside Tihar Jail in Delhi after his release on bail Friday. Abhinav Saha PAGE16 Caesar’s wife to caged Six months later, why parrot: Justice Bhuyan he walks out more a politician than a CM questions CBI role ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 EVEN AS he agreed with Justice Surya Kant on the question of granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, in a separate judgment, differed on the question of the AAP leader’s arrest by the CBI saying it “raises more questions than it seeks to answer” and that “it is in public interest that CBI must not only be above board but must also be seem to be so”. BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY MALLICA JOSHI & JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 NEARLYSIXmonthsafterhewas arrested by the ED, and later by the CBI in the Delhi excise policy case,DelhiChief MinisterArvind Kejriwalwalkedoutof jailFriday — with legal shackles. With bail conditions thatdonotgivehimcomplete freedom to perform his duties as Chief Minister, including the one that states he cannot visit the Secretariat or the CM Office or sign any files other than those that have to be cleared by the Lieutenant Governor, officials said the AAP government may havesomeproblemsinensuring Kejriwal is able to discharge his duties as CM. The differing judges Justice Surya Kant, in his judgment, cited the “terms and conditions imposed by a coordinate bench of this Court… are ● imposed mutatis mutandis in the present case” – mutatis mutandis means that a E CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED, PAGE 16 ‘BY ANY OTHER MEANS’ IS KEY IN UAPA CASE PM IN ADJOINING DODA TODAY Umar Khalid begins 5th year in jail amid debate on what’s terror Two soldiers killed, 2 injured in Kishtwar; polls there in 4 days APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 UMAR KHALID, a “veteran of sedition,” as a Delhi Police chargesheet in March 2020 described him, entered his fifth year in jail this week on terror charges. “A veteran of sedition, the investigationof thiscasehasestablished how far accused Umar Khalid has travelled from 2016…,”the40-pagechargesheet begins against the 37-year-old former JNU student. At the heart of the case against Khalid is what constitutes a “terrorist act” and who determines that. In the last five years, courts — twicebythetrialcourt(inMarch 2022,May2024)andoncebythe Delhi High Court (July 2024) — have indicated that courts have to accept the state’s version PAGE 1 ANCHOR ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, SEPTEMBER 13 Umar Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020. Express without going into the merits, however unsubstantiated it might seem, at least while hearing bail pleas. The three bail decisions have cited the Supreme Court’s 2019 Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali ruling to hold that courts cannot analyse the crux of allegations Junior doctors during the dharna outside Swasthya Bhavan, the health department headquarters, Friday. Partha Paul RG KAR HOSPITAL RAPE-MURDER EXPLAINED TRUMP RULES OUT ANOTHER DEBATE AGAINST HARRIS RUSSIA EXPELS SIX UK DIPLOMATS AHEAD OF TALKS `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 while considering bail in a UAPA case. The trial is yet to begin against Khalid. Under the stringent Unlawful Activities(Prevention)Act(UAPA), an offence, under Section 15 that definesaterroristact,criminalises CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TWO ARMY personnel were killed and two others injured in a gunbattle Friday between security forces and terrorists in theChatrooareaof Kishtwardistrict in Jammu and Kashmir. The Nagrota-based White KnightCorpssaidfourArmypersonnel had been injured in the firefight. Sources said that two personnelsuccumbedtoinjuries whilebeingtakentotheChatroo hospital. The gunbattle in Kishtwar — it will vote in the first phase of the Assembly elections in the UnionTerritoryonSeptember18 — took place a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to adjoining Doda. He is FIREFIGHT SITE Doda Srinagar J&K Kishtwar CHATROO Jammu scheduled to address a public meeting in Doda Saturday. Giving details of its ‘Op Shahpurshal’, the White Knight Corps, in a post on X, said a joint operation with J&K Police was launched in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar following intelligence inputs. It said contact was established with terrorists at 3.30 pm. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 J&K: SHOW-CAUSE NOTICES AS CONG LEADERS FILE PAPERS IN NC SEATS PAGE 5 A DAY after the protesting junior doctors refused to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with their demands, they have written to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice PresidentJagdeepDhankhar,and Union Health Minister JP Nadda, seeking their intervention. The junior doctors of staterun medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal have been on strike since August 9 when a 31year-old trainee doctor was found raped and murdered at Kolkata’s R G Kar hospital. The Supreme Court, which is seizedoftherape-murdercase,on Monday appealed to the doctors toresumedutybyTuesday5pm. CM: COMPENSATION TO THOSE WHO DIED IN DOCTORS’ STRIKE Claimingthat29peoplelost lives due to the month-long strike by protesting junior doctorsinthestate-runhospitals, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced a “token” compensationof Rs2lakhtothe family members of each of the deceased patients. P3 Despite the Supreme Court’s appeal,thejuniordoctors,underthe banner of West Bengal Junior Doctors'Front,didn’tjointheduty andrejectedmultipleinvitesfrom thestategovernmentforthetalks. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DAYS AFTER EXPRESS REPORT Will withdraw Goa land use application if ‘illegalities’ found: Union Minister Naik PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA PANAJI, SEPTEMBER 13 DAYS AFTER The Indian Express investigation reported that two state ministers, politicians cutting across party lines and severalrealestatecompaniesinGoa areallegedbeneficiariesof acontentious change in land use law, Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shripad Naik, one of the beneficiaries named, said Friday heis“readytowithdraw”hisapplication if “any kind of illegalities are found.” Or, if the provision under the contentious section 17 (2) of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act “is found illegal or if any discrepancy is found in the procedure”. The Indian Express report published on Sept 9; (left) Shripad Naik As reported by The Indian Express on September 9, the TCP department approved change in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Manipur town looks to the skies in fear — for improvised rockets SUKRITA BARUAH MOIRANG, SEPTEMBER 13 CLOSE TO midnight on August 10, residents of Pansang village nearMoirangtowninManipur’s Bishnupur district woke up to a booming sound that rattled the windows of their homes. “Most people were sleeping; they rushed out in panic. It was like an explosion. Some people who were awake said they saw a light just before the sound,” P Basanta Singh (53), a farmer and a resident of the village, told CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Moirang town, the house of former CM M Koireng Singh that was hit by a rocket a week ago. Sukrita Baruah GST ‘row’ around FM, restaurant chain makes TN BJP eat its words ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 13 A MATTER involving buns and cream and a famous Coimbatore restaurantchainhaslefttheTamil Nadu BJP with egg on its face. It started with D Srinivasan, the Managing Director of Coimbatore’s Annapoorna Hotels, cracking a joke about the “absurdity” of GST rates at an industry meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala SitharamanhereonWednesday. After that was picked up by BJP critics, Srinivasan had a separate meeting with Sitharaman Thursday to “clear the air”. This time, BJP leaders eagerly put out the video on social media as Srinivasan issuing an “apology”, not anticipating the backlash thatwouldcometheirwaygiven theiconicstatureof Annapoorna that grew into a chain from a humble tea shop. Finally, BJP president K Annamalai, who is on a threemonth sabbatical in the UK for an academic programme, had to step in to douse the fires and chide his overeager partymen. At the meeting with Sitharaman on September 11, Srinivasan who was part of the industry delegation — he is also the honorary president of the Tamil Nadu Hotels Association – had the room in splits when he commented: “The problem is that GST is applied differently to each item. For example, there is noGSTonabun.If youputcream in it, the GST becomes 18%. Because of this, customers now say they want the bun and the cream separately so that they can apply the cream themselves to save money.” Srinivasan evoked more laughter, and some understanding nods, when he added: “In Tamil Nadu, we eat sweets and namkeen and drink coffee together. Please charge a uniform From the clip that shows Annapoorna Hotels MD D Srinivasan ‘apologising’ to Nirmala Sitharaman GST for these. The computer itself is getting stuck because of this GST confusion.” Sitharamandidn’tcontesthis observations at the meeting, while adding that the Modi government has been continuously reviewing GST-related grievances. “Even at the recent GST meeting,Ipromisedthatagroup of ministers is reviewing all grievances. Just because someone asked the question in an impressive manner, it will make people who are staunch opponentsof GSTfeelvindicated.Ican only say that we are taking steps toreducetheburdenonpeople,” she said. However, as the video went viral, with many praising Srinivasan for his “candour”, it was denounced by BJP sympathisersasan“attack”ontheUnion government’s taxation policies. The next day, key leaders of the state BJP’s digital wing put outavideoof aseparatemeeting SrinavasanhadwithSitharaman, along with BJP Coimbatore MLA Vanathi Srinivasan. In the exchange,Srinivasanisseentalking toSitharaman,andbrieflygetting up with folded hands to say something to her. Tamil Nadu BJP convenor Balaji M S posted on X that Srinivasan had “apologised” to the Finance Minister for his “indecent” speech, and that the video had been released to clear the air on the industrialist’s GST remarks. Butthevideowasobjectedto by many in the state, who took offenceatthis“treatment”of the respected industrialist, who belongs to the influential Naidu community. This led to the ruling DMK and Congress getting into the act, accusing the BJP of “coercing” Srinivasan into an “apology”. DMK MP Kanimozhi accused theBJPof“humiliating”Srinivasan by making the video public, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata