DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Guarantee Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat Scan for more information THREERJDMLAscrossedoverto the NDA while five absent JD(U) MLAs turned up with just a few minutes to go for voting, helping Chief MinisterNitishKumarwin the trust vote easily on Monday with 129 votes in its favour. There was no voteagainst, as the Opposition walked out before the voting. The NDA's tally stood at 130, if the Deputy Speaker's vote was BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 Police station to come up at site of Haldwani violence, accused told to pay Rs 2.44 cr HALDWANI, FEBRUARY 12 UTTARAKHAND CHIEF Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Mondayannouncedthatapolice stationwouldbebuiltatthespot in Nainital’s Haldwani city where the demolition of a mosque and a madrasa, which authorities said were built on governmentland,ledtoviolence in which five people were killed and several injured. Themainaccusedinthecase, AbdulMalik,wasservedanotice by the Haldwani Municipal Corporation asking him to deposit Rs2.44croretocoverdamagecausedto government property during the violence. Speaking at an event in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Families got news once men had boarded flight home, ‘grateful to PM’ 7 have returned, appreciate Emir’s decision to enable release: Govt SHUBHAJIT ROY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AVANEESH MISHRA Qatar frees 8 former Indian Navy men, PM to go to Doha tomorrow MORE THAN three months after they were sentenced to death, eight former Indian Navy personnel have been released from custody in Qatar and seven have returned to India. This was announced by the Ministryof ExternalAffairsinthe early hours of Monday. Hours later, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said Prime Some of the ex-Indian Navy personnel after their arrival in New Delhi Monday. PTI Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatar on February 14 and meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, after completing his visit to the UAE that starts Tuesday. Relieved families hailed the efforts of the government and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RITIKA CHOPRA & SHAJU PHILIP NEW DELHI, KOCHI, FEB 12 FAMILY MEMBERS of the eight former Indian Navy personnel, in Qatari custody since August 2022, were informed of their release by the Indian government late Sunday after they had boarded flights to return home. Oftheeight,onlyCommander CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A IN E D PATNA, FEBRUARY 12 ● Theroad via Doha WHILE THE release of the eight men and the PM’s decision to travel to Doha underline the behind-thescenes effort, it charts the course for a new chapter in India-Qatar ties, more so as Doha is a key player in the Middle East. At 5.1% in Jan, retail inflation at 3-month low; factory output up AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 RETAIL INFLATION slipped to a three-month low of 5.1 per cent inJanuaryprimarilyduetolower food prices after having risen to भारत सरकार nts India accounts for 46% of global digital payments Easy win for Nitish as 3 RJD IN CUSTODY SINCE AUGUST 2022 MLAs, ‘missing’ JD(U) MLAs surface on his side SANTOSH SINGH Government of india a four-month high in December, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday showed. Separately released data by the NSO showed that the factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose to 3.8 per cent in December from 2.4 per cent in the previous month, but was lower than 5.1 per cent in the year-ago period. Theretailinflationrate,based on Consumer Price Index (Combined), slowed in January after having risen for the previ- cbc 22201/13/0266/2324 Modi Sarkar ki Digital India strengthening the economy ous two months. While it marked the 52nd month of retail inflation staying above the 4 per cent mark in the 4+/- 2 per cent band of medium-term inflation target set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the core CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur Ashok Chavan quits Congress, says no call yet on joining BJP ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 12 IN ANOTHER setback to the CongressinMaharashtra,former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan quitthepartyonMondayandresigned as MLA too. Amid speculation that he would join the BJP, Chavan said he had not taken any decision yet. This is the third big exit from the state Congress unit in less than a month. Last month, formerUnionministerMilindDeora quit the party to join the Shiv Chavan after resigning from Congress, in Mumbai on Monday. Sankhadeep Banerjee SenaledbyChiefMinisterEknath Shinde. Last week, former CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RLD confirms: Will join NDA, faced injustice in INDIA bloc, pride at stake LALMANI VERMA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 ENDING SPECULATION, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary on Monday confirmed that his party would join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters at the partyofficehere,afterpayingtributetohisfatherandpartyfounder Ajit Singh on his birth anniversary, Chaudhary said: “I have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2