DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA bail to CM in ED case: Justice Bhuyan 146 72 Eye on farmers before polls, govt moves to boost onion, Basmati exports HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 THE UNION government Friday lifted the export curbs on onions and Basmati rice in what is being seen as an attempt woo farmers ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Campaigning is on for the October 5 elections in Haryana, amajorproducerof basmatirice, while Maharashtra, the top onion producing state, is set to go to the polls in the coming months. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in an orderFriday,removedthe$550per metric ton (MT) minimum export price (MEP) for onions “withimmediateeffect”.Andthe Commerce Ministry removed the condition of $950/ton MEP for issuing registration-cum-allocation certificates (RCAC) for Basmati rice.Laterintheday,the Centre also reduced the onion exportdutyfrom40%to20%.The 40% duty was imposed earlier this year. These moves are expectedtoboostfarmers'income. The twin decisions on onion exportscomeatatimewhenthe average retailprices of thestaple arealreadyover50%higherfrom last year. Wholesale prices have risen even more sharply. Thegovernmenthadbanned onion exports on December 8, 2023. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it lifted the export ban on May 4, but imposed the MEP of $550/MT. Maharashtra is the country’s leading onion producer, 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 NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 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 PAGE8 Will withdraw Goa land use application if ‘illegalities’ found: Union Minister Naik PANAJI, SEPTEMBER 13 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G 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 DAYS AFTER EXPRESS REPORT PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal outside Tihar Jail in Delhi after his release on bail Friday. Abhinav Saha Caesar’s wife to caged Six months later, why parrot: Justice Bhuyan he walks out more a questions CBI role politician than a CM 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. 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”. As reported by The Indian Express on September 9, the TCP department approved change in land use for at least 20 lakh sq m of land over the past 18 months, converting “green zones” into “settlements” — allowing construction activity for both residential and commercial purposes, pushing up the land’s value manifold. The changes were allowed after a March 2023 amendment, Section 17 (2), to the Goa TCP Act 1974, which allows conversion of plots without public consultation if the owner approaches the department with a request to “correct inadvertent errors” or “rectify inconsistent/incoherent zoning” in Goa’s Regional Plan 2021. As reported by The Indian The differing judges CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Umar Khalid begins 5th year in jail amid debate on what’s terror NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 PAGE 1 ANCHOR CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Over 500% increase in Manipur town looks to the skies expenditure on digging in fear — for improvised rockets wells in Maharashtra SUKRITA BARUAH grabs Centre’s attention MOIRANG, SEPTEMBER 13 APURVA VISHWANATH 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 Express, on July 25, 2023, an application from the six-time BJP MP from North Goa was received for rezoning of 14,225 sq m of orchard and natural cover to settlement in Panelim village in Tiswadi taluka. The application was corrected and notified in the Official Gazette on February 15, 2024. In a press statement, Naik said on Friday, “Upon the advice of my family, friends, well-wishers and respecting the sentiments of my Goan brothers and sistersandinthelargerpublicinterest, I have decided to withdrawmyapplicationandsurrender the approval granted to me for my property for change of zone to settlement, if any kind of illegalitiesarefoundandbrought to my notice. I am ready to withdrawmyapplicationevenif provision under 17(2) of TCP Act, which was passed by the state TRUMP RULES OUT ANOTHER DEBATE AGAINST HARRIS RUSSIA EXPELS SIX UK DIPLOMATS AHEAD OF STARMER, BIDEN TALKS PAGE 14 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ‘BY ANY OTHER MEANS’ IS KEY IN UAPA CASE The Indian Express report published on Sept 9; (left) Shripad Naik THE WORLD 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 EXPLAINED 119 `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ARREST BYCBI ONLY TO FRUSTRATE 91 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES 14/09/2024 ● ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, 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 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 MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT’S550percentjumpinexpenditure on digging irrigation wells from Rs 163.04 crore in 2023-24 to around Rs 1,056.41 crore in the ongoing fiscal under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has drawn the attention of the central government. While suggesting a ‘serious review at state level,’ the Centre remarked that instead of a bottom-up approach, the state has taken a top-down approach to‘generatehighpersondaysand high expenditure.’ Data available with The Indian Express shows that two districtsinMarathwada,namely Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Beed,havebeenthebiggestbeneficiaries of this work related to ‘digging wells’ as they have been allotted 28,381 (596 completed and 27,785 ongoing) and 26,904 (283 completed and 26,621 ongoing) irrigation wells, respectively. By comparison, the two districts registered less than 5 per cent digging of wells in the previous fiscal with only 1,391 and 425 wells. Theexpenditureinthesetwo districts too has skyrocketed. In 2023-24, the money spent on digging wells in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Beed was Rs 31.08croreandRs11.09crore,respectively, which has increased manifold to Rs 215.45 crore and Rs 107.07 crore, respectively. Maharashtra’s former EGS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CLOSE TO midnight on August 10, residents of Pansang village near Moirang towninManipur’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 The Indian Express. The police were called and, along with the local residents, they started looking for the source of the sound. “It took us an hour to find it. It looked like a big pipe in the middle of the paddy fields,” Basanta said. The paddy fields of Pansang start just beyond the part of the village where the houses are located. There is now a crater, In Moirang town, the house of former CM M Koireng Singh that was hit by a rocket a week ago. Sukrita Baruah devoid of paddy stalks, where the “pipe” had landed. This was the first “improvised rocket” that landed close to Moirang. According to the records at Moirang police station, the rocket weighed 23.8 kg, was nine feet in length, and had a diameter of 14.2 cm. An FIR was registered, but as it caused no injuries and minimal damage, it did not make the news. It did, however, strike panic among residents of Moirang and adjoining villages, who till then had believed their homes were too far away from the “fringe” or “vulnerable” area for a deadly weapon to land at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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