DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 MAHA KUMBH IS KUMBH OF UNITY: MODI BUSINESS AS USUAL Those of slave mentality mock our religion, often with foreign support: PM BY UNNY Warns against bid to ‘weaken’ nation, faith, ‘divide society’ ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, FEBRUARY 23 ‘What happened to us in 2019 can’t be the yardstick to approach relations between J&K and the Union govt’ OMAR ABDULLAH Virat Kohli and Axar Patel with Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq after India won their Champions Trophy league match by six wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. AP RELATEDREPORTS,PAGES15,16 Virat Kohli’s day in Dubai night His 51st ODI hundred powers him to fastest 14,000 — and a win over Pakistan J&K CHIEF MINISTER, EXPRESSAT CHAMPIONS TROPHY PAGE 9 WEST BENGAL ALL PARTIES MUST BACK NRC TO WEED OUT INFILTRATORS: BJP PAGE 4 VENKATA KRISHNA B DUBAI, FEBRUARY 23 THESEAREnightsmadeforVirat Kohli. The gaze of the cricketing world fixed on Dubai, the most feverishcricketingrivalryplaying out in front of packed stands, live streams buffering to manage the viewership load, a million hands foldedinprayer,heartsbeatingin wildanxiety—themythandlegend of Kohli comes alive and branches out into an altogether differentworld.It’sonnightslike these that Kohli leaves his stamp onmindandmemories,blurring allegiances and differences. In the end, it was a routine cruise for India, overhauling the 244-run target Pakistan had set in 42.3 overs with six wickets in handandeffectivelyprogressing totheknockouts.Therewerecoarchitects in this victory, most notably Kuldeep Yadav and HardikPandya.ButonlyKohli,as it is on nights when he hits the high gears of batting, mattered. Anticipation brimmed much before the match started. For a 1 pm start on what was Dubai’s warmest day of the season, several thousand fans had begun to queue up as early as 10 am. On the 2-km stretch to the stadium, where the blue jerseys clearly outnumbered the green, it was hard to spot one without “Virat” or “Kohli” on the back. The most famousNo.18inthegame.From the moment he stepped out in training gear half an hour before the toss — with the team bus CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED Post-pandemic rail: Fadnavis Govt flags procurement 3rd AC gains speed, ‘payoffs’, MSP under ex-CM Shinde brings over a third of Forms new policy panel, lists ‘irregularities’ under previous govt Rift in passenger revenues sight VALLABH OZARKAR MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 23 Number of AC 3-tier passengers up from 11 crore to 26 crore in 5 years THE GOLDEN TIER Year Passengers Revenue (cr) (`cr) FY20 11.34 12,370 FY21 3.24 4,750 FY22 10.31 12,225 FY23 18.03 21,345 FY24 21.10 25,015 FY25* 25.97 30,089 FY26# 31.06 37,115 *Revised Estimate; #Budget Estimate; Source: Budget papers DHEERAJ MISHRA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 23 IN THE FIVE years since Covid19, where Indian Railways gets its passenger revenues from, has seenafundamentaltransformation. The number of passengers travelling AC 3-tier is just 26 crore, or 3.5 per cent of the total 727 crore passengers (including suburban), but generates Rs 30,089croreor38percentof the Rs 80,000 crore total passenger revenues estimated in 2024-25. ThehighrevenuesfromAC3tierreflectsinsomesense‘upward mobility’—morepeopleaspiring to travel well. Besides Railways’ betterpricingpower,the19.5per centcompoundedannualgrowth rate (CAGR) in AC 3-tier revenues over five years can be attributed largelytoanincreaseinthenumberofpassengerswillingtospend more money. From 11 crore AC 3-tier passengers in 2019-20 (1.4 per cent CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TOMORROW WHAT HAPPENED IN 2ND CLASS? SIGNALLING A widening rift within the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, the BJP-led state government has targeted another decision taken by the previous regime headed by its key ally and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’sShivSena.Inanorderissued February 17, the Devendra Fadnavisgovernmentunderlined “irregularities” in Minimum Support Price (MSP) schemes and selection of nodal agencies forcropprocurement,andsetup a panel to formulate a “comprehensive policy” in this regard. CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde The decision taken by the state’sMarketingMinistryunder CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHINDE: FOR ME, UBT SENA’S TIRASKAR IS PURASKAR PAGE 3 E TARGETINGTHEOppositionparties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a section of leaderswith“slavementality”are engagedinmockingreligionand dividing people, often with the “support of foreign powers”, to weaken the nation and its faith. Modi made the comments afterlayingthefoundationstone of theBageshwarDhamMedical andScienceResearchInstitutein Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district on Sunday. His remarks come amid criticism from the Oppositionoverthestampedeat the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj last month. “Aajkal hum dekhte hai ki netao ka ek warg aisa hai, jo dharm ka makhaul udata hai, upahaas udata hai, logon ko todne mein juta hai. Bahut baar, videshi taakatebhiinlogonkasaathdekar desh aur dharm ko kamzor karne ki koshish karti dikhiti hai (Nowadays, we see that there is asectionof leaderswhomockreligion,ridiculeit,andareengaged in dividing people. Many times, foreign powers are also seen to be supporting these individuals CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GOVT & POLITICS ● THE BJP-LED Maharashtra government's order against procurement agencies is the latest in a series of decisions that point to a widening rift with ally Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. Shinde, on his part, has skipped several key official meetings and set up parallel relief cells as Deputy Chief Minister. THEMOODisgloomyatthetunnel workers’ colony in Domalapenta in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district. “Like us, they chose this job despite knowing it is dangerous work because the income helps their families survive. We have often talked about minor water seepage incidents. Par majboori Rescue ops at the site in Nagarkurnool district. Sreenivas Janyala ‘We love our nations... fight against Wokeism, stand for common sense’ SHUBHAJIT ROY People don’t believe Left’s lies: Italy PM NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 23 BRACKETING PRIME Minister NarendraModiwithUSPresident Donald Trump, Argentina PresidentJavierMileiandherself, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed the Left for what she called their “hysteria” andhypocrisyoverpaintingspectres about the global rise of conservative leaders. Addressing the Conservative PoliticalActionConferenceinthe US via video link Meloni said: “When Bill Clinton and Tony Blaircreatedthegloballeftistliberal network in the 90s, they were called statesmen.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHIFTING VERSIONS Trump’s latest: ‘$18 mn to India for polls… they take advantage of us’ PAGE 8 8 trapped, others recall narrow escape: ‘Were told there is leakage, happened several times’ DOMALAPENTA, HYDERABAD, FEBRUARY 23 Meloni slams Left: When Trump, Modi, I talk, we’re called threat to democracy IRAN EX-SPEAKER: WANT IMPROVED TRADE TIES WITH ALL, INCLUDING INDIA J&K: JAMAAT FACTION THAT FOUGHT POLLS TO LAUNCH OUTFIT DAY AFTER TELANGANA TUNNEL COLLAPSE, RESCUE OPS STILL ON SREENIVAS JANYALA & NIKHILA HENRY PM Narendra Modi with MP CM Mohan Yadav (right) and Bageshwar Dham chief priest Dhirendra Shastri, Sunday. PTI hai, kaam toh karna padta hai (but we have to work, there’s no avoiding it),” said Sanjay Sah, a welder, about the eight people trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel after a part of it collapsed Saturday. Sah was among 50 people who went into the tunnel at 7 am on Saturday. Sometime later, aportionof thetunnel’sroof collapsed 13.5 km inside. Sah and 41 others ran to safety, but it was only after they exited the tunnel that they realised eight had not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House on Saturday evening. AP SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 23 IN his fifth public statement in a week on the issue, US President Donald Trump claimed Saturday that the Biden administration allocated $18 million in funding to India to help with its elections. His remarks came at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after he has attacked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for what his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) listed as $21 million in funding to India for “voter turnout” channelled via theConsortiumforElectionsand Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), a group based in Washington, DC. On February 20, The Indian Express had reported that USAID neverfundedCEPPSforanyprojectinIndiaandthata$21million USAID-CEPPS grant was sanctioned for a voter program in Bangladesh.Of this,$13.4million was disbursed, ostensibly for “politicalandcivicengagement” among Bangladesh students in the run-up to the January 2024 elections and projects that put a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Barbed wires, armoured tractors: Punjab fortifies border police stations PAGE 1 ANCHOR MANAMANSINGHCHHINA, KAMALDEEP SINGH BRAR & RAAKHI JAGGA DERA BABA NANAK, AMRITSAR, FEBRUARY 23 CORRUGATED METAL sheets, barbed wires, nets along the boundary walls, armoured tractors, new sentry posts and checkposts — police stations along Punjab’s two border districts are leaving nothing to chance in the face of multiple grenade attacks by suspected militants since December 2024. With most attacks having taken place after sunset in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts, entry gates to most police stations and checkposts here are closed by 10 pm now, while approach roads at some others have been barricaded, affecting public access and movement. Since December 20 last year, 12grenadeshavebeenthrownat police stations, police posts and even the residence of a man related to a police officer in these twodistricts.Althoughnoinjuries havebeenreportedsofar,operatives of two banned outfits — the BabbarKhalsaInternational(BKI) and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) — have claimed responsibility for these attacks. To a question on the police intelligencewing’sfailuretopreempt these attacks, DGP Gaurav Yadav said at a recent press conference in Chandigarh, “Pakistan’s nefarious designs in Punjab have to be defeated resolutely.Wearesittingontheborder with a neighbouring country(Pakistan)whoseintelligence agency (ISI) considers Punjab a fertile ground (for terror activities).TheywanttobleedIndiaby a thousand cuts.” Claiming that these grenade A police station fortified with blue corrugated metal sheets in Gurdaspur district. Man Aman Singh Chhina attackswerebeingcarriedoutto “spreadthenarrativethatPunjab was unsafe”, the DGP said, “We aredeterminedtocrushthisnarrative and want to emphasise that Punjab is safe.” Stating that those behind the grenade attacks have been “traced in a very scientific manner using CCTV footage and mobile tower call detail dumps”, Yadav said, “I don’t want to give the masterminds any importancebytakingtheirnamespublicly. The masterminds sitting abroad and managing these activities belong to these two (border) districts. The foot soldiers used to carry out these attacks mostly live within a 25-km radius of the spots targeted.” The first attack was reported around 9.30 pm on December 20,2024,whenunidentifiedpersons lobbed a grenade at the Wadala Bangar police post in Gurdaspur district. On February 3 this year, unidentified persons threwagrenadeattheFatehgarh Churian police post in Amritsar district, marking the 10th such attack on police facilities in the state in 70 days. However, these attacks were not limited to just police posts. On February 17, police received information about a low-intensityexplosion at the residenceof Sukhdev Singh in Dera Baba Nanak’s Raimal village, located around 7 km from the border. Police believe the intended target was Sukhdev’s relative Jatinder, a policeman stationed at Ramdas police station. In Dera Baba Nanak, a small towninGurdaspurdistrict,anarmouredtractorora“bunkertractor”standsguardoutsidethepolice station. Locals say it has revived memories of the late 1980s,whenKPSGilltookcharge as the DGP when militancy was at its peak in the border state. Visible behind the “bunker tractor”isatalllayerof redbricks CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata