DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 NDA LEADERS MEET AT NADDA HOUSE Must counter Cong on Ambedkar: BJP to allies; TDP for Opp-like coordination Cong made Shah remark an issue later to draw attention, mislead, says BJP EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Intruder shot on Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan HAMZA KHAN `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 25 MEMBERS OF the ruling NDA met Wednesday at the New Delhi residence of BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda to discuss ways to put up a united front countering the Opposition “narrative” on the issue of the Constitution and Dr B R Ambedkar. The TDP, a key partner of the BJP, underlined the need for better NDA coordination on the lines of what the INDIA bloc has been doing to attack the government and the ruling alliance, especially after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark in Rajya Sabha which the Congress claimed was an “insult” of Ambedkar. Hours after paying tribute to former Prime Minister Atal NDA leaders meet at the residence of BJP president J P Nadda in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Bihari Vajpayee on his 100th birth anniversary, NDA leaders met at Nadda’s house for almost an hour. Sources said the leaders discussed the Opposition onslaught against the BJP over Shah’s remark, caste census and social justice politics. Shah was said to have told theleaders,includingTDPleader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, that the Congress was trying to create “false narratives”. The TDP, sources said, was also of the view that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JAIPUR, DECEMBER 25 THEBORDERSecurityForce(BSF) personnel shot dead an intruder along the India-Pakistan border inRajasthan’sGanganagardistrict late Tuesday, police said. Jitendra Kumar, Station House Officer of Kesrisinghpur police station, said the person was trying to enter illegally through the wired fence on the border when he was spotted by the BSF personnel. “They asked himtogoawaybutwhenhepersisted, he was shot dead by the BSF personnel,” the SHO said. The incident occurred around midnight near 1X village on the border. The SHO said that an identity card, some Pakistani currency and cigarettes, among otherthings,havebeenfoundon the person. “We have lodged an FIR for trespass, and under the PassportsAct,theForeignersAct, etc. The case is being investigated,” he said, adding that the body was sent for autopsy. In August, an intruder identified as Jagsi Kohli had entered about 15 km inside the Indian border in Barmer before being apprehended by the BSF. Locals hadalertedtheagenciesafterthe personinquiredabouthowtogo to Tharparkar, a district in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Before that, in March, another person had tried to enter India through the fence in Ganganagar but was shot dead by the BSF personnel. EXPLAINED As rupee hits new lows, real effective exchange rate at all-time high HARISH DAMODARAN NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 25 38 KILLED IN PLANE CRASH Wreckage of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed near Aktau airport in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Of the 67 people on board, 38 were killed. AP/PTI REPORT,PAGE12 THE RUPEE is hitting fresh lows againsttheUSdollareachday,yet itsexchangeratehasscaledanalltime-highin“realeffective”terms. The real effective exchange rate (REER) index of the rupee touched a record 108.14 in November, strengthening by 4.5 per cent during this calendar year, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. The REER measures the rupee’s value vis-à-vis not only the dollar, but other global currencies as well. In this case, it is a weighted average of the rupee’s Why this hurts exports RUPEE VALUE above 100 as per REER signifies overvaluation and exchange rate not falling enough to offset higher domestic inflation. To that extent, it is overvalued, making imports cheaper but exports less cost competitive. exchangerateagainstabasketof 40 currencies of countries that account for about 88 per cent of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At river-link project site, PM hails role of Ambedkar in water works, slams Cong ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, DECEMBER 25 AS HE laid the foundation stone of theinter-stateKen-Betwariver linking project in Khajuraho on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked Dr B R Ambedkar, accusing the Congress of ignoring his (Ambedkar’s)contributionto the developmentof waterresources. Modi’s remarks come at a time when the government and Opposition have accused each other of insulting Ambedkar. Saying that Ambedkar was among the first to understand theimportanceof riverwaterfor India,Modisaid:“Hisvisiongave birth to major river valley projects and the Central Water Commission. However, the Congress never acknowledged his contributions to water conservation and large dam projects, and they were never serious about these efforts.” Pointing out that inter-state waterdisputeshavepersistedfor decades, Modi said lack of intent and misgovernance of previous dispensations prevented any concrete efforts. “Water security Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an event in Khajuraho, Wednesday. ANI is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century,” he said. The Ken-Betwa project is the country's first river interlinking project under the National Perspective Plan formulated in 1980. It envisages transferring water from the Ken river to the Betwa river, both tributaries of the Yamuna. The project lies in Bundelkhand, which spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, the project will be of immense benefit to the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD RUSSIA LAUNCHES CHRISTMAS DAY ATTACK ON UKRAINE PAK AIRSTRIKES KILL 46 IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN PAGE 12 Delhi govt disowns AAP’s new schemes, Kejriwal targets BJP Fraudulent and unauthorised, say depts; CM Atishi warns of action EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 25 LOOKING AT 2025:LAW KEY QUESTIONS OF RELIGION, SOCIETY, LAW PAGE 14 IN AN unprecedented move, senior officers in the Delhi government released public notices and disowned the registration processstartedbyChief Minister Atishi and her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal, for two schemes announced by the ruling AAP in the national capital. The move once again under- AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia with Delhi CM Atishi at a press conference in New Delhi, Wednesday. ANI linesthetenuousrelationshipbetween the bureaucracy and the elected Delhi government. After an amendment to the GovernmentofNationalCapitalTerritory What lies beneath: BJP hopes to gain ground in new battleground Sambhal MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 25 A HURRIEDLY executed survey of an ancient masjid, protests leading to the death of five, the finding of several “closed” temples since, and an intensified anti-power theft drive around thecontestedmosque,whichresulted in a notice among others to the local Samajwadi Party MP The Sambhal mosque at the centre of the row. File — Sambhal, a town in western Uttar Pradesh, has not been out of the news for the past month. Allthishas,inturn,coincided withtherulingBJP’sfocusonthe town as the site where Kalki, the 10thandfinalincarnationof Lord Vishnu, is supposed to appear. Western UP has long remained out of BJP reach, and the party has been keen to change that, reflected in its tie-up with CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 of Delhi Act, the services departmentcomesunderthecontrolof the Lieutenant Governor. The notices prompted a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WEST BENGAL ROTTERDAM’S X-MAS GIFT FOR DARJEELING: TWO RED PANDAS PAGE 5 M T Vasudevan Nair, doyen of Malayalam literature and films, passes away at 91 PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DECEMBER 25 RENOWNED MALAYALAM writer M T Vasudevan Nair died on Wednesday at a private hospitalinKozhikode,wherehewas admittedfollowingheartfailure. He was 91. One of Kerala’s most celebrated writers, Madath M T VASUDEVAN NAIR 1933 - 2024 Thekkepat Vasudevan Nair — or MT, as he is popularly known — leaves behind an indelible mark in the fields of literature and films, with a career spanning more than seven decades. His works drew inspiration from the agrarian life along the banks of the river Nila, also known as Bharathpuzha, where he spent his childhood in an upper-caste Nair family. His writings echoed the life, language, diction and tumult of thetimesthatsawatransformationof Hindumatrilinealfamilies CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata