DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Viksit Bharat Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Country For the first time since independence, at least 50% return on cost price guaranteed by increasing MSP of 22 crops Scan for more information UAE HAS WRITTEN GOLDEN CHAPTER IN HISTORY: MODI ‘Called for meetings late night... they kept list of women who didn’t attend’: Sandeshkhali women speak of ‘harassment by TMC men’ Abu Dhabi enhances Ayodhya joy, says PM, opens UAE temple ‘Don’t see hatred in diversity... In this temple, will see glimpse of diverse faiths’ RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA SANDESHKHALI, FEBRUARY 14 AS A political war wages betweentherulingTMCandoppositionBJPinWestBengaloverallegations of women being sexually harassed by Trinamool strongmen in Sandeshkhali, at least five women The Indian Express spoke to claimed they had faced incidents of molestation but kept silent out of fear. This comes at a time when theCalcuttaHighCourthastaken cognizance of the allegations, which have been amplified by Governor C V Ananda Bose and Union Minister Smriti Irani. The women claimed they gathered courage to speak only now since TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan—whowieldedsignificant power in the area and who has been absconding ever since the Enforcement Directorate raided his home last month — is no longer a threat. The women claimedSheikh’saides,including party leader Uttam Sardar, were amongtheaccused.Theyalleged the TMC men called them to re- Will file nomination papers on Thursday With BJD help, Vaishnaw set for second RS term SUJIT BISOYI BHUBANESWAR, FEB 14 RAILWAY MINISTER Ashwini Vaishnaw’s renomination to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha for the second consecutive time is almost certain despite the BJP not having the required numbers, withtheBJDannouncingitssupport for his candidature. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 sorts, party offices or school buildings under the garb of latenight meetings. The five are among a handful of women who submitted their statementstothestatewomen’s commission and briefed the Governor when he visited on February12.Askedwhytheydid not approach the police earlier, thewomensaidthecopsarepart CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 MORE REPORTS NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 14 PM Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the BAPS temple in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. PTI fortunethatIhavebeenawitness to the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya first, and then to this temple in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Just last month, the age-old dream of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya was fulfilled. Ram Lalla is seated in his bhavan. The whole of India and every Indian is still immersed in that feeling of love,” Modi said, adding that this was not only India’s “Amrit Kaal”, but also the “Amrit Kaal” of thecountry'sfaithandculture. Talking about the Ram Temple,hesaid:“Acenturies-old dream was fulfilled. All of India and every Indian is still cherishing that feeling. It was said that CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 RELATED REPORT PAGE 8 CHINESE NATIONALS have started occupying several of their model “Xiaokang” border defence villages across India’s north-easternborderswhichthe country has been building along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since2019,TheIndianExpresshas learnt. Senior officials familiar with themattersaidtheChinese,inthe lastfewmonths,havestartedoccupyingacoupleof thesevillages built on its side of the LAC across fromLohitValleyandtheTawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. China has been constructing 628such“well-off villages”along India’s borders with the Tibet Autonomous Region, including along Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh for over five years now. While the exact nature of ACROSS FROM LOHIT, TAWANG BHUTAN CHINA TN House resolutions oppose delimitation, one nation, one poll ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 14 DAYS AFTER Prime Minister NarendraModiclaimedattempts to divide the country along “North-South lines”, the Tamil Nadu government brought in two resolutions in the Assembly opposing the scheduled delimitation of poll constituencies in 2026 and the Centre’s measures for ‘One Nation, One Election’. The resolutions, which said thetwomoveswent“againstthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 TN taps into South fears THE DELIMITATION issue holds resonance across southern states, which are also protesting against being “discriminated” against in distribution of funds. In his first remarks on the issue, PM Narendra Modi told a rally in pollbound Telangana in October that the South “stands to lose 100 seats”. KANCHAN VASDEV & SUKHBIR SIWACH SHAMBHU, DATTA SINGHWALA-KHANAURI BORDER, FEBRUARY 14 Jagjit Singh Dallewal addresses protesters at the Shambhu border on Wednesday. Harmeet Sodhi ters Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda andNityananadRaionThursday. Sarvan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), said they asked the protesters at the Shambhu border whether they should press on towards Delhi or return to the table for talks. “Our people told us that we should explore a solution (TIBET) Arunachal Pradesh INDIA Assam these villages is unclear, the dwellings are understood to be “dual-use infrastructure” — for bothcivilandmilitarypurposes— andseenasaChineseassertionof itsterritorialclaimsalongtheLAC. They have thus remained a concern for the military. Sofar,thedouble-storey,large CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Brij Bhushan’s son, aide back at helm, wrestlers threaten protest NIHAL KOSHIE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 14 INDIA’S TOP wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik have threatenedtorestarttheirprotest following the election of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s son Karan Bhushan Singh as the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. The wrestlers, both Olympic medalists, are also unhappy that SanjaySingh—acloseaideof Brij Bhushan, the BJP MP from Kaiserganj — will return as WFI CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 ‘Hero-style, hates to lose’: Meet 17-year-old shuttler who clinched a rare win over China PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 14 ANMOLKHARBlovesagoodoneliner,anddoesn’tparticularlycare about traditional festivals if they come in the way of her badminton practice. On Diwali, she demanded to know from coach Kusum Singh why she couldn’t pack in a morning training sessionwhenalltherevelryandfire- Anmol Kharb beat Wu Luo Yu to clinch the decider for India at Badminton Asia Team Championships. File/special arrangement Lohit Valley Tawang PAGE 3 Farmer leaders to hold talks with Centre today, protesters still at Delhi border DAY 2 of the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march by Punjab’s farmers, under the umbrella of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha,endedonanoteof hope on Wednesday, with the farmer leadersacceptinganotherinvitation for talks with Union minis- AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 14 INAUGURATING THE first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for “writing a golden chapter in human history”. With the inauguration of the BAPS(BochasanwasiShriAkshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) Mandir in Abu Dhabi coming weeks after the consecration ceremony of the Ram templeinAyodhya,Modisaidthe joy was further amplified. “Our immense pleasure in Ayodhya has been further enhanced by the wave of happiness received in Abu Dhabi today. It is my good China moves its nationals into its vacant ‘defence villages’ along LAC Villages a concern for Army; unclear whether residents civilian or military DIVYA A Riot gear of police personnel stacked in Sandeshkhali on Wednesday. Ravik Bhattacharya Government of India cbc 22201/13/0270/2324 Hamara Sankalp `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 works happen in the evening. And on Rakshabandhan, she coolly declared, “I’ll protect myself. I don’t need rakhi.” At Shah Alam in Malaysia on Wednesday, though, the 17year-old playing India’s fifth match and third singles gave her teammates and coaches plenty of reasons to break into noisy celebrations. Tied at 2-2, Anmol kept an icy cool temperament andhitconsistentwinnerstodefeat Chinese Wu Luo Yu 22-20, 14-21, 21-18 and nick a rare 3-2 teamvictoryagainstChinaatthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Kolkata