The Ideas Page: Long delays, burdened courts — we need a national mission for negotiated justice 13 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2026 Journalism of Courage KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 No clarity on SIR voter deletions yet, Mamata slams EC: ‘Why afraid?’ DEcISION INsIDE 2026 BENgAL Atri Mitra Kolkata, March 24 EVEN 24 hours after the publication of the first supplementarylistofvotersofWestBengal who were put “under adjudication” by the Election Commission (EC) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), there was no clarity on how many names were removed from the electoral roll. According to the EC, so far 29 lakh cases have been adjudicated by judicial officers, de- INTERESTS, OBJEcTIVES cONVERgE ON MOST fUNDAMENTAL ISSUES: cOLBY PAgES 3, 8 Shubhajit Roy 73 ros jUSt dAyS AhEAd of votINg Ariba Shahid, Rami Ayyub & Alexander cornwell New Delhi, March 24 puted by the Supreme Court, out of over 60 lakh pending cases.LateMondaynight,Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 DEcISION 2026 ASSAM Sukrita Baruah Dibrugarh, March 24 »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 UStodeploy eliteairborne troops,PakPM saysreadyto hostIrantalks India supports de-escalation, restoration of peace at the MAMAtA SLAMS earliest: PM EC for rEMovINg In Assam’s tea belts, BJP sits pretty amid outreach to workers KUTHARTI BHUMIJ keeps his “digitallandpatta”,alargecardboard certificate, in a cupboard inhisbrother’shouse.Thepatta was recently handed over to Trump dials Modi, both say keeping Hormuz open vital A DAY after he paused for five days his threat of striking Iran’s energy sites and announced initiation of talks behind the scenes with Tehran, US President Donald Trump called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday and discussed the situation in West Asia “including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open”. This was their first phone conversation since the start of the war on February 28 when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Modi, in a post on X, said, “Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchangeofviewsonthesituation inWestAsia.Indiasupportsdeescalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touchregardingeffortstowards »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Workers at Sealkotee Tea Estate in Dibrugarh. SuKRITA BARuAH MorE rEPortS, P 7, 11, 14 Islamabad, Jerusalem, March 24 An Indian Navy warship escorts two Indian-flagged LPG vessels, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, which transited through the Strait of Hormuz. PTI War hits rice bowl: MP’s basmati exports to West Asia are stalled Anand Mohan J Bhopal, March 24 WHEN THERE was no war, the rice mills of Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district would hum through the night in March. The Pusa basmati, longgrained, fragrant, destined for thedinnertablesofTehranand Riyadh, would tumble through milling machines in the industrialclustersofMandideep,Satlapur and Obedullaganj, getting sorted into cream and Business as Usual By EP UNNY »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 PAKISTAN’S PRIME Minister said Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war in the Gulf, a day after President DonaldTrumppostponedthreatsto bomb Iranian power plants, sayingtherehadbeen“productive” talks. However, the US was expected to deploy thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with themattertoldReutersTuesday, adding to the massive military buildup in the region and fuellingfearsofaprolongedconflict. »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Happening today lThe Government has called an all-party meet on the West Asia crisis. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to chair it. Harish Rana, first in country to get passive euthanasia nod, dies Vidheesha Kuntamalla & Ankita Upadhyay New Delhi, March 24 HARISH RANA, the first person in India to be granted permission for passive euthanasia by the Supreme Court, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi Tuesday. “Mr Harish Rana passed away at 4.10 pm on 24th March 2026 at AIIMS, New Delhi. He was under the care of a dedicated team of doctors and was admitted to the Palliative Oncology Unit (IRCH) led by Dr (Prof) Seema Mishra, HoD, Onco-Anaesthesia. AIIMS extends its heartfelt condolences Harish Rana had been in coma since 2013. He was 31. 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