DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY WHAT THE POLL PANEL DIDN’T SAY InBihar2003,ECtooklonger,allowed EPIC,checkedcitizenshipselectively InSC,ECdefends2003cut-off butoverlookskeycontrastswithongoingrevision RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21 Sunali Bibi, 29, is 8 months pregnant RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, AUGUST 21 EIGHTMONTHSpregnantSunali Bibiis“stateless”.Weeksaftershe wasdetainedalongwithherhusband and eight-year-old son in Delhi and pushed into Bangladesh on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the 29-year-old woman fromWestBengal’sBirbhumdistrictwasarrestedbyBangladesh Police on Thursday for being “illegal infiltrators”. Bibi, her son, and husband were arrested from Chapainawabganj district, Bangladesh police said, adding that another family from West CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DEFENDING THE ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) not only held up the 2002–03 roll as the benchmark of voter eligibility, but strongly backeditsthree-monthtimeline, and refused to accept the Supreme Court's suggestion to consider the voter ID card as proof of eligibility. However, the Commission’s instructions during that 2002–03intensiverevisionpaint a different picture, according to former ECI officials and Chief Electoral Officers who oversaw the last exercise. Consider the following: ■ In 2002-03, seven states — Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab — had eight months, more than double the time allowed now, to complete the process. ■Noproof of citizenshipwas sought then from existing electors in 2002 rolls. ■The Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) was the backbone of WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR verificationofexistingvotersthen. In effect, with these criteria and not where one of 11 docu- ments are required, the process for those who got on the 2003 list — about 4.96 crore — was, in bothletterandspirit,muchmore inclusive. An email sent to the Election Commissionforitscommentdid not elicit a response. These differences lie at the heartof thepetitionsnowbefore theSupremeCourt.Thepetitionersarguedthatthethree-month window (June 25–September 30, 2025) is unreasonably short in a state headed for polls in October–November, where many voters struggle to procure CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Citing US embassy, Govt GoM backs Centre’s plan confirms: No $21-million for GST rationalisation, USAID poll grant in India states flag revenue loss JAY MAZOOMDAAR AANCHAL MAGAZINE & LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21 CONTRARY TO the claim made by the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and President Donald Trump, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) did not provide funding of $21millionfor“voterturnout” in India, the Ministry of External Affairs told Rajya Sabha Thursday, citing communications with the US embassy. On February 21, The Indian NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21 The Indian Express report on February 21 Express reported that the $21million aid for “voter turnout” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE GROUP of Ministers on Rate Rationalisation gave its inprinciple support Thursday to theCentre’sproposaltooverhaul theGoodsandServicesTax(GST) design, even as member states raised concerns about potential revenue loss on account of the rate rationalisation. Six days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED Pushed across the border, pregnant Bengal woman held by police in Bangladesh `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ● Why the need GST WAS introduced in July 2017. But it is riddled with a multiplicity of rates. According to the Finance Ministry, the end of compensation cess has created fiscal space, providing greater flexibility to rationalise and align tax rates within the GST framework. ‘FAKE VOTER’ ROW: BENGAL SUSPENDS 4 OFFICIALS, NO FIR ■ TheWestBengalgovernmentThursdayissuedanordersuspendingfourofficials againstwhomthepollpanel had sought suspension as wellasregistrationofFIRsfor allegedfakevoters’listintwo Assembly segments of the state.Thegovernment,however, did not register an FIR against the officials. FULL REPORT PAGE 3 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also seen. ANI US told us to stabilise energy market, buy Russia oil: Jaishankar SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21 EXPRESS NETWORK KERALA YOUTH CONG CHIEF RESIGNS OVER ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT PAGE 4 TAKING A swipe at the Trump administration from Moscow, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Thursday he was “very perplexed” by the additional 25 per cent US tariff on India over energy imports from Russia because “it was the Americans” who said “we should do everything to stabilise the world’s energy markets, in- cluding buying oil from Russia”. Seated next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow where he later met President Vladimir Putin, Jaishankar said, “We are not the biggestpurchasersof Russianoil. That is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian LNG, I am not sure, but I think that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022, I think there CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Oppose US tariff on India, silence emboldens the bully: China envoy SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21 REFERRING TO the US as a “bully” which is “using tariffs as a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries”, Xu Feihong, Beijing’s Chinese envoy Xu Feihong on Thursday. Express ambassador to Delhi, said Thursday that China “firmly opposes”theUSdecisiontoimpose 50 per cent tariff on India and “will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata