DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Government of India Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Bilkis case: SC dismisses convicts’ plea seeking more time to surrender EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19 JAPAN SPACECRAFT LANDS ON MOON PAGE 12 DISMISSING THE applications filed by the 11 convicts in the BilkisBanocase,whohadsought more time to surrender, the SupremeCourtonFridaysaidthe reasons cited “have no merit”. Quashing the remission granted by the Gujarat government, the Supreme Court, on January8,hadaskedtheconvicts to surrender to the jail authoritieswithintwoweeks.Thedeadline expires on January 21. The convicts had moved the Supreme Court seeking more timetosurrender,citingdifferent personalreasons—failinghealth, impending surgery, son's marriage and harvesting of crops. Dismissing their pleas, a benchof JusticesBVNagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said on Friday: “We have heard learned senior CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 DAY AFTER 12 CHILDREN DIED IN VADODARA BOAT CAPSIZE Families grieve: Daughter who packed extra clothes, son who insisted on trip SOHINI GHOSH VADODARA, JANUARY 19 ANINCONSOLABLEmother,afather too far, a child in the dark. A dayafter12younglivesperished when an overloaded boat capsized at Harni Lake in Vadodara, the families are grappling to come to terms with the loss. At the Kishanwadi neighbourhood,MazbinaFarukSheikh (32),wholostherseven-year-old CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Economic welfare of 2.8 crore fishermen and fish farmers secured under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana A day after the incident, the picnic announcement remains on a board at New Sunrise School. Sohini Ghosh ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION An illuminated Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Friday night. ANI RELATEDREPORTS,PAGE7 On short break, workers eager to return home — with tales to tell BIG PICTURE MAULSHREE SETH AYODHYA, JANUARY 19 BEFORE NEARLY 8,000 VIP guests descend on Ayodhya for the January 22 consecration ceremony,2,000workerswhohave been toiling in two shifts of 12 hours each for months to get the temple ready for the “grand opening” were given a “short break” on Friday evening. Construction at the temple wastemporarilyhaltedonFriday evening and will resume after the ceremony. Anofficialresponsibleforthe construction told The Indian Express, “Around 2,000 workers PAGE 16 RAM MANDIR AYODHYA THE INAUGURATION The Officer Architect Nripendra Misra’s journey to January 22 NAGARA STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE 2 DAYS TO GO PAGE 14 are engaged here at present. The workhasbeenhaltedtillJanuary 22. Slab laying work is nearly complete for the first floor. Though we requested the workers to stay put, many are keen on making a quick trip home. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Joint elections undemocratic, consultations eyewash: Cong Dissolve Kovind panel, says Kharge; TMC, Left too opposed idea earlier MANOJ CG NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19 PUTTING ITS objection on record, the Congress on Friday told the high-level committee headedbyformerPresidentRam Nath Kovind that ‘one nation, one election’ was an “undemocratic” idea which goes against the basic structure of the Constitution and the guarantees of federalism enshrined in it. Inafour-pageletteraddressed to Dr Nitin Chandra, secretary of the committee, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the proposal must be “abandoned” and the committee dissolved for the “sake of maintaining a thriving and a robust democracy”. KhargealsoaskedKovindnot EXPLAINED CBC 22201/13/0181/2324 Empowerment of fish farmers E Opp unity to face ● test WITH MOST Opposition parties opposing it, the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal lacks bipartisan support. However, what remains to be seen is whether the INDIA bloc manages to speak in one voice. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, for instance, was earlier a votary of simultaneous elections. toallowhis“persona”andtheoffice of the former President to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Fostering aerospace innovation in India As part of our commitment to India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision, we are dedicated to driving aerospace innovation in India and the world. The new Boeing Sukanya Program will invest in the further growth of female pilots and advancement of women in aviation. Join us at boeing.com/indiacareers Kolkata