The Ideas Page: american Declaration will remain universal, revolutionary; america may not 11 SATURDAy, JULy 4, 2026 JournalIsm of CouraGe KolKATA, lATE cITy, 18 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 Happening today lIran wIll begIn the public funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. The processions will proceed to other areas before reaching Mashhad, where the final burial is scheduled for July 9. lbJP chIef nItIn nabIn will visit UP to review preparations for the Assembly polls. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as Usual By EP UNNy Sangh callS fOr ‘cOrrectIVe MeaSUreS’ by teMPle trUSt, State S.I.t. RSS breaks silence on Ayodhya row: Theft condemnable, Trust must act Punish the guilty, Trust must ensure faith of devotees is not shaken, says RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale Deeptiman tiwary Probe shows pilferage surged as footfall rose during Maha Kumbh Maulshree Seth New Delhi, July 3 nation BREAKING ITS silence on the allegedtheftofdonatedmoney at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said Friday it was natural for the Hindu society, including the RSS, to expect that the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will treat the episode as an “extraordinary matter” and take effective steps so that the faith of crores of devotees remains unbroken. In a statement, RSS Sarkaryavah dattatreya Hosabale BAdrinAth temple to proBe donAtion theft clAims pAge 8 said the “highly condemnable” incident had deeply hurt the sentiments of Ram devotees and asserted that the prevailing “confusion and uncertainty” surrounding the episode must end through corrective measures by the »cOntInUeD On Page 2 New Delhi, July 3 The UP special Investigation Team probing the alleged theft arrives at the ram temple in ayodhya, Friday. ANI atthetempleisbetween84,000 and 1 lakh. during the 45-day festivalin2025,whichbeganon January 13 and ended on Feb- ‘Don’t think polarisation needed in Assam, I controlled the menace’ Manipur conflict can only be settled by communities involved: Assam CM Rebel faction takes over state TMC office, team Mamata lodges police complaint atri Mitra Kolkata, July 3 AdAyaftertherebelTrinamool Congress(TMC)factionmetthe Election Commission of India (ECI)inNewdelhi,thebloc,led by Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly RitabrataBanerjee,tookpossession of the state party office in Kolkata,claimingtheyarethe“real Trinamool”.Theyalsochanged the locks and hung a banner in front of the office mentioning ArupRoyasthepartychairman instead of Mamata Banerjee. The building has served as the party office since 2022, when the TMC shifted there after its original office adjacent to the EM Bypass was taken up for reconstruction. By moving into the premises,thedissidentssoughttoreinforce their claim to organisational legitimacy amid an escalating battle with the Mamata Banerjee-led faction. Accompanied by senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Akhruzzaman, Ritabratavisitedtheofficeandheld a meeting there. Atthetime,Mamata-ledfactionleaderandformerminister Chandrima Bhattacharya was there but after Ritabrata and others entered the premises, she left. »cOntInUeD On Page 2 the Big pictUre A 22-yeAr-old who crossed the loc for love, And A tAle of longing, wAiting p 14 »cOntInUeD On Page 2 1991 Act doesn’t bar takeover of worship place for public use: Allahabad HC assam cm himanta biswa sarma at Idea exchange, Friday. rENUKA PUrI of pushing the main opposition partyfromitstraditional “centrist” politics towards a Left-influenced, caste-focused line “borrowed” from JNU. Asked whether a moderate face of Sarma would be seen in the next five years after his reelectioninMay,hesaid:“Idonot thinkpolarisationisrequiredin Assam. I have controlledthatmenace. Now nobody can putafingeronAssamese people. No one has the guts to encroachonthelandoftemples, nobodyhasthegutstopickupa girl without her consent. Now people have been streamlined, people have become law abiding. Once everyone abides by »cOntInUeD On Page 2 THE PLACES of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 does not bar the government from acquiring places of worshipforpublicpurposes,theAllahabadHighCourtsaidThursday while dismissing a writ challenging the acquisition of six mosques in Varanasi’s dalmandi Street for expansion of the Kashi Vishwanath dham Corridor. AbenchofJusticeJJMunir and Justice Arun Kumar said, “The Act of 1991 does not prohibit the Government from acquiringreligiouslandforlarger public purposes. Under the Act of 2013, the Government has the sovereign power to acquire any property, including religious property, for public »cOntInUeD On Page 2 Revising Ladakh talks record, Centre gives elected leaders control over UT bureaucracy Deeptiman tiwary & Srirupa goswami New Delhi, July 3 dAySAFTERLadakhobserved a shutdown over what its leaders alleged were omissions in the official record of their talks with the Centre, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), moving to address concerns overthegovernment’scommitment to its assurances, has incorporated key provisions in the final minutes of the May 22 meeting that resulted in a breakthrough after months of protests and negotiations. »cOntInUeD On Page 2 apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, July 3 ASSAM NEEdEd a “polarising figure” in order to restore the confidence of the state's indigenous population and, now that “people feel that there is a governmentwhichwillnottake care of just one community”, thereisnoneedforpolarisation, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Respondingtoquestionson awiderangeofissuesatTheIndian Express Idea Exchange Friday, Sarma also spoke about the conflict in Manipur, saying it could only be settled by the communities involved. Speaking about the Congress,heaccusedRahulGandhi ruary 26, it had increased up to 10 to 12 lakh on peak days. Sourcessaidextrastaffwere THE FINANCE Ministry has allowed four Chinese power equipment manufacturing companies with factories in India to participate in government tenders for critical power projects. The four firms — TBEA Energy, Nanjing Electric India, New Northeast Electric India and Taikai Electric (India) — have been exempted from the provisions of the public procurement rules. These rules require entities from countries sharing a land border with India to register with the relevantIndianauthoritytobeeligible to bid in the procurement of goods, services, or works. TheJune24order,issuedby the expenditure department in the Ministry of Finance, however, clarified this exemption would be valid for two years from the date of issuance and “may not be considered as a precedent”. The Ministry of Power had in January this year sought the exemption for certain entities with manufacturing units in India for critical power projects from participating in government procurement. Queries sent to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Power did not elicit a response. The exemption was given after deliberation by the committee of secretaries (CoS) and wasbasedonrecommendation of the ‘registration committee’ constituted under the departmentforPromotionofIndustry andInternalTrade(dPIIT)that vets and clears the registration process for applications after restrictionswereplacedonChinese entities. Theserestrictionswereintroduced in 2020 in the aftermath New Delhi, July 3 liz Mathew state Tmc office in kolkata on Friday. ExPrEss Finance says exemption should not be treated as precedent for other companies Pratyush Deep Ayodhya, July 3 THE ONGOING investigation intotheallegedtheftofdonated money at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has revealed that while small instances of pilferagewereoverlookedearlier,the operation became more organised during the Maha Kumbh last year when footfall and donationssurgedandmorehands were added to the cash-counting process, highly placed sources in the temple administration and police have told The Indian Express. Sources said that on any given day, the average footfall Four Chinese firms with factories in India cleared to bid for power projects Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai kumar saxena inaugurates an indoor sports facility at chuchot Gongma, Friday. PTI The revised minutes, endorsed at a follow-up meeting in Leh Friday, include a clause stating that the proposed elected executive body for Ladakh will exercise “control and supervision, including Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR)” over civil servants handling subjects under the jurisdiction of the proposed Union Territory-level elected body — one of the principal demands raised by the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and Kargil democratic Alliance (KdA). The inclusion marks a »cOntInUeD On Page 2 e-rickshaws outside a metro station in new delhi, Friday. PrAvEEN KhANNA Disable 7 apps, Govt tells Apple, Google after e-rickshaw shutdown videos Soumyarendra barik New Delhi, July 3 THE GOVERNMENT Friday directed Apple and Google to take down seven apps following reports that these were being misused to remotely switch off some e-rickshaws, triggeringcybersecurity concernsandpassenger safety risks. Themovefollowsthe circulationofvideoclips onsocialmediashowing individuals connecting to nearby e-rickshaws through Bluetooth and disabling their battery management systems or BMS while the vehicles were in motion. The apps that have been directed to be blocked include BAT-BMS, Lossigy, Epoch Liion, and Smart BMS, among others.Atleastacoupleofthem are of Chinese-origin. A battery management system essentially tracks the state ofabattery,withtheprimaryaimofeliminating variations in performance of individual battery cells to allow them toworkuniformlyinside a battery pack. This system is incorporated in an EV powered with a large-capacity lithium ion battery, and E. »cOntInUeD On Page 2 l U.s. oFFIcIaLs Feared any assassInaTIon by IsraeL woULd deraIL Peace TaLks wITh Iran, asked reGIonaL ParTners To warn Tehran Plane carrying Ghalibaf made emergency landing after alert on Israel plot to kill Julian e barnes & farnaz fassihi ister, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Parliament — spiked during delicate Washington, July 3 ceasefire negotiations that US OFFICIALS believed that Is- began in April. Fearful that an raelmighthavebeenplottingto Israeli assassination effort kill Iran’s top negotiators while would doom the negotiations, Washington was engaged with theUS,accordingtosomeofthe Tehran in delicate talks this officials, went so far as to ask spring to reach an interim other countries in the region to peace deal, according to cur- warn Iran about the possibility Israel could target rent and former US the two officials. officials. page 1 during the neKillingseniorIragotiations, Iran has nian leaders had taken precautions been part of Israel’s strategy from the start of the aimed at making it more diffiwar. But America’s concerns cult for Israel to strike at senior about the targeting of two par- officials. In April, Ghalibaf was set to ticularIranianofficials—Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Min- traveltoIslamabadtomeetwith anchor US Vice President J d Vance. But Iranian security officials were concerned that Israel would use the opportunity to assassinate Ghalibaf or Araghchi to derail the talks, the officialssaid.Iranianssoughtguarantees from the US, through PakistaniandQatariintermediaries,thatIsraelwouldnotcarry out any covert operations targeting the Iranian delegation, the officials said. Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian airplanes carrying a delegation of more than 70 Iranians from the borderofIrantoIslamabadand back again when the session was over. But on the way back to Iran Parliament speaker mohammad bagher Ghalibaf (centre) with Foreign minister abbas araghchi in Islamabad in april. x/@IrANAMbPAK Tehran, an Israeli security threat emerged. Iran’s security forces noti- fiedtheplanecarryingGhalibaf back to Tehran that they had picked up intelligence that Is- raelplannedtoattacktheplane and that two Israeli fighter jets had entered Iran’s airspace from its western border near Iraq, the two officials said. Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser for Ghalibaf, who accompanied him to Islamabad, confirmed this account on his social media page. The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Mashhad, Iran’s closest airport to the Pakistani border, and the Iranian delegation travelled some eight hours bylandbacktoTehran,Mohammadi and the two officials said. The war began February 28 with an Israeli strike that killed the supreme leader, Ayatollah AliKhamenei,andothertopof- Kolkata ficials, based in part on US intelligence. While US strikes focused on Iran’s navy and missile forces, Israel prioritized targeting the leadership in the earlyphaseofthewar,intenton killing as many high-ranking officials as it could. Thatincludedkillingpotentially more pragmatic leaders that the Trump administration had hoped to negotiate with, such as Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official, and KamalKharazi,aformerIranian foreignminister.Bothmenwere involved in the negotiations with the US when they were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The Trump administration’s suspicions about the possible Israeli plot to kill the two top negotiators show how the US and Israeli war aims, whichwerecloseattheverybeginning of the war, quickly diverged radically. And while the US wanted a peace agreement, Israel has been skeptical from the initial cessation of hostilities in April. AraghchiandGhalibafhave been the key officials negotiating with various countries in the region to reach a ceasefire and then a more lasting peace with the US. In June, the US and Iran reached a framework agreement that sought to open theStraitofHormuzandsetthe outline for follow-on talks on »cOntInUeD On Page 2