DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUDGET PRESENTATION TODAY Imperative to wipe out trust deficit, onus on govt agencies: Survey BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ‘Business as usual’ approach carries a high risk of stagnation in growth, says CEA NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 ACTING ON a complaint which accused police of assaulting five menandforcingthemtosingthe National Anthem during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court has called the police action a “hate crime” and ordered an FIR against the SHO of the local police station. Avideoof theincidentshows police personnel assaulting the fivemen,including complainant Mohd Wasim, and forcing them to sing the National Anthem and Vande Mataram. In his January 18 order, Judicial Magistrate First Class Udbhav Kumar Jain of KarkardoomaCourtdirectedpolice to file an FIR under IPC sections295A(deliberateandmalicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insultingitsreligion),323(voluntarilycausinghurt),342(wrongfulconfinement)and506(criminal intimidation) against the officer who held the SHO post at Jyoti Nagar police station in February-March 2020. “The current SHO is directed to depute a responsible officer, not below the rank of Inspector, to conduct investigation in the present matter, and role of other unknownpoliceofficialsinvolved in the commission of alleged offences can be ascertained during investigation,” the order said. Police have to submit a compliance report by February 11. SeniorofficerssaidFridaytheFIR has not been registered yet and legal options are being explored. On the SHO’s role, the order said, “Clearly, the SHO PS Jyoti Nagar,MrTomar(completename not provided) and other unknown police officials engaged themselvesinhatecrimesagainst thecomplainant/victimandthey cannot be protected under the garb of sanction as alleged President Droupadi Murmu addresses the joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session on Friday. Seated next to her are Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. PTI BUDGET SESSION STARTS WITH ADDRESS TO JOINT SITTING OF HOUSES Sonia calls President Govt worked to lift economy out of policy ‘poor thing’, PM says insulting; Rashtrapati paralysis: President ‘Saturation approach to ensure no one Bhavan: In poor taste is left behind in Viksit Bharat journey’ LIZ MATHEW & VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 PRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu said Friday that the government has “worked with strong determination to lift the economy out of a state of policy paralysis” — a term used by the BJP-led NDA government to refer to 10 years of UPArule—giving“highestpriority” to “the poor, middle class, the youth, women and farmers” in the implementation of decisions and policies. In her address to a joint sit- ting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session — the President’s address outlines the government’spolicyagendaand stand on issues — Murmu said, “Mygovernmentisinfusingnew energy through unprecedented achievements in this Amrit Kaal of India’s development journey. The pace of work has tripled in thisthird term. Today, the nation is witnessing major decisions andpolicies being implemented at an extraordinary speed, with the highest priority given to the poor, middle class, the youth, women and farmers.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 CONGRESS PARLIAMENTARY Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi found herself in a political soup Friday for calling President Droupadi Murmu a “poor thing” and saying she appeared to be “very tired” by the end of her customary address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session. Both the Rashtrapati Bhavan andtheBJP,ledbyPrimeMinister NarendraModi,slammedSonia’s remarks. Modi said the Congress’s “royal family” had in- APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 List of dead soon, verifying reports of second incident: Kumbh DIG MANISH SAHU PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 31 PAGE 17 PAGE 1 ANCHOR ASKING GOVERNMENT agencies to set the agenda for building trust, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said for a Viksit Bharat by 2047, it is imperative to wipe out the “trust deficit” in the country. In his seven-page preface to the Economic Survey 2024-25, the CEA, who is the force behind the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Division, chose “deregulation” as his central theme because “getting out of the way” is not easy for societies like India’s. “But, ‘get out of the way’ and trust people, we must, for we have no other choice,” the CEA said. Once the trust deficit is addressed, it is a good bet the Indian public will overcome the challenges and turn them into opportunities, he said. Nageswaran recommended rolling back regulations “significantly”, stopping micromanagement of economic activity, and embracing risk-based regulations. The Economic Survey underscored that deregulation is more essential for growth of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister and BJP chief J P Nadda during the joint sitting of Parliament. PTI India to grow 6.3-6.8% in FY26, wants focus on domestic levers AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 THE ECONOMIC survey projected a growth rate of 6.3-6.8 per cent for 2025-26 on the back of a “strong external account, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption”, and said domestic growth levers will be more important than external ones in the comingyearsfortheIndianeconomy. Prescribing “deregulation and reforms at the grassroots level”, it said for structural reforms to succeed, there should be reliance on internal engines focusing on a central element — “the economic freedom ofindividualsandorganisationstopur- E For growth, timetolook ● within FOR VIKSIT Bharat, India has to grow 8% for at least 10 years. Right now, the Survey is of the view given what’s happening to global trade growth, India doesn’t have many prospects to take a leap. Instead, it wants India to focus on domestic levers, of which deregulation is a big part. sue legitimate economic activity”.The Survey, tabled in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC judge retires, says he ‘politely declined’ offers from the Govt The stampede probe team at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj on Friday. Vishal Srivastav CLUES FROM U.S. CRASH POINT TO SERIES OF FAILURES HAMAS TO RELEASE 3 HOSTAGES TODAY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 Not equipped to deal with judge’s misbehaviour, all options we have are soft options: Justice Roy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD sulted the tribals and the poor. Interacting with the media after the President’s address ended,Soniasaid:“Poorlady,the President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.” Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who flanked Sonia, along with sister and Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, chipped in, calling the speech “boring”. The President’s Office issued astatementinresponse.Without naming Sonia, it said the commentswerein“poortaste,unfortunate and entirely avoidable”, AGGAM WALIA & SUKALP SHARMA E X P L A I NE D 2020 DELHI RIOTS Hate crime, book SHO: Delhi court on forced singing of anthem `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 TWO DAYS after a pre-dawn stampede near the Sangam left 30 people dead and 60 injured, police said Friday that they have decidedtoinquireintoreportsof another incident that day in the Jhusi area of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, nearly 2 km from the site of the stampede. Vaibhav Krishna, DIG Kumbh, said, “Footage of the incident will be thoroughly examined, including recordings from cameras installed at the site.” The police decision follows reportsof apanicsituationinthe Jhusi area soon after the stampede at the Sangam Nose, the strip of land at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Police had earlier denied claims by some shopkeepers of a stampede-like situationandlossof livesinJhusi. Asked about the count of stampede victims, DIG Krishna maintained that 30 people had died. He said a list of the dead was likely to be released Saturday. The UP government has announced an ex gratia of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ACKNOWLEDGINGTHATthejudiciary is “not equipped” to deal withinstancesof allegedjudicial misbehaviour,JusticeHrishikesh Roy,judgeof the SupremeCourt, GUJARAT BULLET TRAIN CONSTRUCTION OVER MAINLINE TO START IN VADODARA TRIBAL WOMAN DISROBED OVER SUSPECTED AFFAIR PAGES 3, 4 said that all the options before the top court including transferring a judge or initiating an inhouse inquiry are “soft options and not very effective.” “Iamnotsure(whattheinstitutional response must be). I think all our options are soft options and not very effective. We are not equipped to deal with such situations. You see, the Constitution has several safeguards for judges, which are required for us to do our job, free from any external pressures. Thesesafeguardsarerequiredbut theyarealsocominginthewayof P 10 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW JUSTICE HRISHIKESH ROY SUPREME COURT JUDGE institutional responses,” said. Justice Roy, who retired after sixyearsintheapexcourtFriday, spoketoTheIndianExpressonjudicial discipline and the institutional response to the incident where Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Yadav made remarks targeting Muslims at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event. “ButImustaddthatthisisjust one or two judges in over 1,000 judges of constitutional courts. Perhaps we made a mistake in choosing a person but it’s not as if everything is bad,” he said. The Indian Express had reported on January9thattheChief Justiceof IndiaSanjivKhannahadinitiated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Canada allows Dalla, India’s most wanted, to remove ankle tracker MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 A MONTH after he was released on bail by a Canadian court in a firearms case, Canada-based Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), designated a terrorist by India, has been allowed to remove his ankle bracelet tracker Arsh Dalla, designated a terrorist in 2023 put on him as a bail condition, The Indian Express has learnt. According to sources, Indian investigation agencies, which approached the Royal Canadian MountedPolicetodiscussDalla’s arrest, have found that his ankle bracelet,putonhimafter he was granted bail in December, was removed after he deposited a fine of 30,000 Canadian dollars. It comes at a time when ties betweenthetwocountries,frosty sinceSeptember2023whenthen Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeauraisedallegationsabout Indian government’s “potential” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Dig, discover and experience a 2,500-yr-old civilisation in a Gujarat museum The museum opens to public on February 1 RITU SHARMA VADNAGAR, JANUARY 31 WALK OVER an archaeological site, feel the earth and dig out piecesfrom“history”—iswhata tour of the Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum in Gujarat’s Vadnagar promises visitors. The museum, which will open tothepublic on February1, was formally inaugurated by UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah on January 16. Online bookings areexpectedtocommencesoon, museum authorities said. Built at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore, it was developed by the Union culture ministry and various departments under the Gujarat government. The museum conjoins an actual excavated site, where one can see the remains of a 2,500year-old ancient town. To keep visitors engaged from the museum’s ticketing and waiting lounge itself, a sensor-based floor map keeps projecting a self-guided virtual tour of this Mehsana district town, also the birthplace of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of the museum’s 13,500 square metres, an area of 3,400 sq m comprises actual excavation sites: visitors can see the remains of an actual fort wall and theactualarchaeologicalsite,located next door. In the museum, visitors can walk on a glass floor installed over a replica of the site next door. This replica includes a section of the street showing how the town and its activities evolved. The museum also contains a Wooden doors and windows on display at the Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum. Bhupendra Rana recreated brahman sheri (a narrow lane) at Ghaskol, a small Buddhist monastery that was excavated recently. To recreate the sheri in the museum, two layers of terracotta bricks have been stacked in the manner as they were found during the excavation. For the experiential part of the tour, a medium-sized excavation pit has been created inside the museum. Here, visitors are encouraged to use the available archaeological tools “to excavate real objects”, besides trying their hands on the mortar and pestle, and the miniature stone grinder. Besides replicas of marker coins recovered from the excavated site, which can be traced on paper with pencils, visitors can also use clay and moulds to make their own terracotta pots and watch them bake digitally. The museum also has activities for children. At a wall section, they can create paintings using watercolours and fill line drawings; in the shell gallery section, they can solve a jigsaw puzzle; they can also design their own bangles on a digital screen and feel them “digitally” on their hand;andtheycanalsouselarge replicas of beads made of stone, glass and terracotta to make their own necklaces, among other activities. “Integrated with an experiential walkway over the in situ excavation site, this is the firstof-its-kindmuseuminIndia.The thought behind it was to make someone visiting Vadnagar understand the history and importance of this town, which is over 2,500 years old,” Pankaj Sharma, director, Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Gujarat, tells The Indian Express. To recreate the history of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad