The Editorial Page: Trump is succeeding because of leaders who want to be little Trumps 10 FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026 Journalism of Courage LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Delhi court acquits Kejriwal in two ED cases over summons U.S. ANNOUNCES ‘NEW GAZA’ PLAN As Trump unveils his Board of Peace, Delhi waits, watches Not intentional disobedience, says judge; Satyameva Jayate: AAP chief Sohini Ghosh & Nirbhay Thakur New Delhi, January 22 A DELHI court Thursday acquittedformerDelhiChiefMinister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal of the charge of disobeyingapublicservant’sorder forskippingsixsummonsfrom theEnforcementDirectoratein connection with its probe into the Delhi excise policy case. The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal ruled that mere non-appearance following the summons was not “intentional disobedience”. happening today lPRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will flag off four new train services in poll-bound Kerala. He will also address a rally in Madurathakam, Tamil Nadu. NATION TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm TopMaoistwith Rs1-crbounty among15killed inJharkhand Shubham Tigga Ranchi, January 22 A TOP leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), carrying a Rs 1-crore bountyonhishead,wasamong 15MaoistskilledThursdayinan encounter with security forces inSarandaforestnearChaibasa in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, officials said. The exchange of fire began near Kumbhdih village under theChotanagrapolicestationlimits. Residents of surrounding villages reported hearing continuous gunfire from the early morning hours of Thursday. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India, China, Russia, much of Europe skip event, Pak there Rs 10-LAKH HEALTH COvER FOR ALL: AAP gOvT IN PUNjAB AAP leaders hailed the verdict and Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, “Satyameva Jayate”. The ED had filed two criminal cases against Kejriwal – these were registered in February and March 2024 – under IPC Section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 22 Ahead of EU leaders’ visit External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with ambassadors from European Union countries in New Delhi on Thursday. “Spoke to them about the current state of the world with volatility and instability as the new normal,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. ANI REPORT, PAGE 7 INTERNATIONAL SHUTTLERS WRITE TO OLYMPICS BODY ON DELHI’S AIR Sports alarm bells: Toxic outdoors, no weather-proof indoors, IOC takes note ExPrEss l SHIV SENA (UBT) chief Udd- hav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray will together address their party workers in Mumbai to mark Bal Thackeray's 100th birth anniversary. P AgE 9 exclusive Nihal Koshie & Mihir Vasavda New Delhi, Mumbai, January 22 At the India Open last week, international badminton stars questioned Delhi’s place on the global calendar, citing health concerns from the toxic air. Some of them even complained to the International OlympicCommittee(IOC).“We can confirm that the IOC Athletes’Commissionhasreceived ■ sPOrTINGExODUs INDIA-SOUTH AfRICA Test moved to Kolkata last year. coach Deepali Deshpande said smog has reduced visibility. ASIAN GAMES medallist Tejaswin Shankar shifted base to South Africa, US. “I was in Delhi for 10 days to spend time with my family. Then I moved to South Africa, and then the US. The idea was to try and avoid time in Delhi during those months.” WHEN THE heat peaks, many wrestlers migrate to hill towns like Shilaroo, Shimla or Nainital. But Railways coach Kripa Shankar Patel said: “You can’t run long training cycles there... The oxygen is lower because of altitude.” SHOOTERS TRAINING at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi are travelling to Bhopal. Beyond health concerns, national IN 2023, the Cycling Federation of India moved the national camp for road and endurance cyclists from Delhi to Guwahati. In 2024, it was shifted to Patiala. the information and is in touch,”theIOCtoldTheIndian Express. ■ Dronacharya Award-winning hockey coach Pritam Siwach is worried. At the Sports Authority of India’s Sonepat centre, dust and toxic air have left her players coughing and allergic. “They fall sick, recover and fall sick again. It doesn’t end,” she said. The doctors are blunt: the air and water are unfit. ■ DecathleteTejaswinShankarsaidwintertraininginDelhi is no longer about grit, but pollution.Shankar,whohailsfrom Delhi, left in November to train »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Opp backs Swami Saraswati, Yogi says be vigilant against ‘conspiracy to weaken Sanatan Dharma’ Maulshree Seth Lucknow, January 22 INsIDE ASTHEOppositionSamajwadi Party and Congress intensified their attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the alleged ill-treatment of Swami AvimukteshwaranadSaraswati of Jyotishpeeth Badrinath in the ongoing Magh Mela in Prayagraj, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday urged ROW ESCALATES FURTHER, SWAMI SARASWATI gETS EvICTION NOTICE PAgE 5 people to be vigilant against those “conspiring to weaken Sanatan Dharma”. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Sonepat in Haryana, Thursday. ASUSPresidentDonaldTrump unveiledhisBoardofPeaceand son-in-law Jared Kushner announced plans for a ‘New Gaza’ rebuilt from the ruins of the Israel-Hamas war, India stayed away from the ceremony in DavosThursday,optingtowalk the diplomatic tightrope for now by neither declining nor acceptingTrump’sinvitationto Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the board. Sources said India has strong reasons for not joining Bangladeshfirm onWorldCup: ‘Willingtoplay, notinIndia’ Express News Service Kolkata, January 22 A DAY after the International Cricket Council (ICC) asked the BangladeshCricketBoard(BCB) to confirm whether their team wouldplaytheT20WorldCupin India next month as scheduled, theBangladeshgovernmentresponded on Thursday, reiterating that its players are keen to participate but not in India. The decision sets the stage for the ICC to replace the team »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY ThE wOrlD EvERYONE WANTS TO BE A PART: TRUMP AT DAvOS ThE IDEAs PAGE SHOULD INDIA jOIN THE BOARD? BEST OF BOTH SIDES PAgE 11 the board immediately, and will prefer to wait and watch. It’s weighing a range of factors – from the cast of countries on the board, its legitimacy and longevity, challenge to the UN framework and multilateral- E. ExPlAINED Why the dilemma India’s dilemma over the Board of Peace has much to do with balancing its longstanding foreign policy principles, especially on multilateralism and the issue of Palestine, against the strategic benefits of joining an elite global platform, and potential diplomatic fallout with the US if it were to decline the invitation. ism, the board’s scope and mandate, India’s own stand of anegotiatedtwo-Statesolution totheIsrael-Palestinequestion, andconsequencesfromTrump if it does not join or vacillates. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Meitei man married to Kuki-Zo woman shot in Manipur, video captures killing — and a message Sukrita Baruah Guwahati, January 22 A MAN from the Meitei community was shot dead in Manipur’s Churachandpur on Wednesdayevening—akilling that was recorded on video and circulated,interruptingmonths of relative peace in the state. The man had been living with his wife, who is from the Kuki-Zo community, for the pastmonthinavillageinChurachandpur. Inthevideo,whichsurfaced late Wednesday night, the man can be seen sitting on the ground outdoors in the dark. The 1-minute, 12-second video carries the text “No peace, no popular government”, a reference to attempts to restore a popular government in the state.Whileitdoesnothaveany audio, the man can be seen pleading with folded hands to somepeoplewhoarenotvisible in the video, until two shots are fired at him. Then, he is shown motionless on the ground. Churachandpur Superintendent of Police Gaurav Dogra NATION PAgE 6 ROLE OF KUKI gROUP NOT IN PACT SUSPECTED confirmed that the incident capturedinthevideotookplace around 7-7.30 pm on Wednesday, and identified the man as Mayanglambam Rishikanta, who originally hailed from KakchingKhunouinManipur’s Meitei-majority valley. The SP saidthattheincidenttookplace at a village called Natjang, located a few kilometres away from Tuibong, where the deceased had been living with his wife, Chingnu Haokip. The placeofoccurrenceisa30-minute drive from Churachandpur town,wheretheKuki-Zosarein the majority. “We got in touch with his wifeandfoundthathehadbeen stayingatthevillageforthepast month. The locals, including the village authorities, were aware. He does not normally »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow