DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BUDGET PRESENTATION TODAY Imperative to wipe out trust deficit, onus on govt agencies: Survey 01/02/2025 78 106 129 72 ‘Business as usual’ approach carries a high risk of stagnation in growth, says CEA BY UNNY 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 Canada allows Dalla, India’s most wanted, to remove ankle tracker Arsh Dalla, designated a terrorist in 2023 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 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 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, putonhimafterhewas 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 Trudeauraised allegationsabout Indian government’s “potential” involvement in the killing of Canada-based Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, took a turn for the worse after the country’s Foreign Interference Commission identified India as the“secondmostactivecountry” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK 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- PAGES 13, 14 PAGE 1 ANCHOR 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- NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 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 of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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. RELATED REPORTS PAGES 15, 17 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Not equipped to deal with judge’s misbehaviour, all options we have are soft options: Justice Roy SC judge retires, says he ‘politely declined’ offers from the Govt APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 The stampede probe team at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj on Friday. Vishal Srivastav ACKNOWLEDGINGTHATthejudiciary is “not equipped” to deal withinstancesof allegedjudicial misbehaviour,JusticeHrishikesh Roy,judgeof the SupremeCourt, 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 P8 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 ATTACK ON SAIF ALI KHAN List of dead soon, verifying reports Facial recognition report confirms arrested of second incident: Kumbh DIG accused was attacker, say Mumbai police MANISH SAHU WORKING ON EARLY EXTRADITION OF TAHAWWUR: MEA 11 KILLED, 15 INJURED IN PUNJAB ACCIDENT 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.” 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 BUSINESS AS USUAL PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 31 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 VIJAY KUMAR YADAV (Far left) Caught on CCTV footage; (left) in police custody. MUMBAI, JANUARY 31 A FACIAL recognition test report has confirmed that Mohammed Shariful Islam, the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan inside his residence two weeks ago, is the same man captured by CCTV cameras on the day of theincident,aMumbaipoliceofficer told The Indian Express on Friday. The police had decided to conduct a facial recognition test on Islam amid allegations that his appearance did not match thatof theintruder seen in CCTV footage from the building Satguru Sharan, where Khan lives. The police received the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report on Friday, which confirmed that the arrested CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Kejriwal citadel, buzz of unease: ‘Not all promises fulfilled’ NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 PUSHPA SHARMA (44), a housewife from a slum cluster, says she “was a staunch supporter” of Arvind Kejriwal “but he is giving us the same old promises now”. JAIKESH MISHRA (41) says some promises that Kejriwal made to auto drivers like him “have not been fulfilled” and “some have changed their opinions (about the ex-CM)”. SUSHIL ARORA (42), a tour operator,saysAAP’soffersare“very tempting” but “Delhi’s financial situation is worsening so how can we be sure they will fulfill their promises”. IN THE last three Assembly elections spanning nearly 12 years, themajorityof votersintheNew Delhi constituency spoke in one voice, echoing the name of Arvind Kejriwal — and that showed in the results: 53.46% in 2013,64.14%in2015and 61.1%in 2020. This time, as voting looms onFebruary5,thosevoicesdon’t have the same echo. Overthepastweek,TheIndian Express crisscrossed this highprofileblockof 1.09lakhvotersin the heart of Delhi, where slum clusters jostle with upscale hotspots, and found that while many are willing to give the AAP founder another chance, there is also a sense of disillusionment. “He is giving us the same old promises. He is himself living in a villa, and only visits us from election to election. When it rainshere,theroadsbecomewaterlogged,” says Pushpa Verma, who stays in the Sangam Mess JJ cluster near Mandi House. “We were all staunch supportersofKejriwalji,”saysJaikesh Mishra,theautodriver.Buttoday, mostof theWhatsAppgroupson his phone have a BJP tilt. “There are no parking spaces for us... the Unlike previous three Assembly elections, it is not an open and shut case for Kejriwal in New Delhi constituency. File middlemanasksusRs1,000fora permitsometimes,”Mishraadds while listing his grievances. “Kejriwal has helped poor peoplealot,butnoweveryother partyisfollowinghispolicy.They are all promising the same freebies,” says Chattar Singh (50), who clicks photos for a living at India Gate, amid a busy afternoon.“TheBJPhasalsopromised free electricity and water this time, and they improve the infrastructure too. People want change sometimes,” he says. Pointing to arrangements made at Kartavya Path for RepublicDay,Singh,wholivesin a JJ cluster nearby, adds, “The BJP hasdoneallthis.Theycanchange thestateof Delhi’sroadsaswell.” In 2015 and 2020, Kejriwal pushed the BJP to a distant second, with Nupur Sharma managing just 28.73% of votes and Sunil Kumar Yadav 32.75% five years later. Meanwhile, the AAP consolidated its hold across the National Capital with close to 15% of Delhi’s total budget dedicated to subsidies,includingfree busrides,freeelectricityandwater. The AAP government also spent close to 40% of its budget on health and education, among the highest for any state. And yet, it’s not an open and shut case this time in Kejriwal’s fort. One reason, of course, is that among the 22 other candidates in the fray here are the sons of two former Delhi CMs: BJP’s Parvesh Verma, son of Sahib Singh Verma, and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit, son of Sheila Dikshit. In fact, it was here in 2013 that Kejriwal himself dethroned Sheila Dikshit, ending her 15-year rule. “All the parties are offering the same things... Even if 15% vote for the Congress in New Delhi, BJP could win,” says Mishra, the auto driver, adding that “if Congress was not there, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2