DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ARRESTED DELHI CM IN ED CUSTODY UNTIL MARCH 28 EDgetsKejriwalcustody,tellscourtheis scamkingpin;hesaysthere’sno‘material’ Case based on few approvers, you have a verdict before first vote is cast, says CM’s lawyer Singhvi ED refers to AAP as PMLA accused, party could face action as well NIRBHAY THAKUR APURVA VISHWANATH DELHI CHIEF Minister Arvind Kejriwal was Friday remanded in Enforcement Directorate custody until March 28, hours after theagencytoldaDelhicourtthat hewasthe“kingpinandkeyconspiratorof theDelhiexcisescam” under investigation. TheEDalsoallegedthatkickbacks received following changesintheexcisepolicywere used to fund AAP’s Assembly poll campaign in Goa. The agency, which produced Kejriwal before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue Court in the afternoon, soughthisremandfor10days.In the evening, the judge granted his custody until March 28. The court directed that his “interrogation be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Hon’bleSupremeCourt”andthe footage be preserved. WhileinEDcustody,Kejriwal can meet his advocates Mohd. IrshadandVivekJainforhalf-anhour daily between 6 pm and 7 pm. His wife, Sunita Kejriwal, and aide Bibhav Kumar can also meet him for the same duration during that time period daily. Takingnoteof hishealthcondition, the court allowed “medicallyrecommendeddiet”andin THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED),ininvoking“vicariousliability”ofDelhiChiefMinisterArvind KejriwalFridayforhisarrestinthe excisescam,putsaquestionmark on whether the Aam Admi Party (AAP)itself willbe,subsequently, named an accused. Under vicarious liability, an individual is liable in law for the acts of others. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared for the ED, told a Delhi Court during Kejriwal’s remand hearing that the Chief Minister has been arrested because “of both individual and vicarious liability.” For the first time in court, in the remand application, the ED NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 REPORTS,PAGES9&18 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal leaves the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on Friday. ANI ED: ‘Bribes’ from South In his constituency, the Group went to AAP for chorus: ‘galat hai’, in jail Goa polls, helped by CM or out, should stay CM PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA & NIRBHAY THAKUR PANAJI, NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 “BRIBES” RECEIVED from the SouthGroupwerefunnelledinto the Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa Assemblypollcampaignthrough awebof hawalatransactions,the Enforcement Directorate has alleged in its remand application, while claiming that Chief MinisterArvindKejriwalwas“intrinsically involved in the acts of (excise)policyformulation,kickback scheme and the final use of the proceeds of crime”. Theremandapplication,filed THE EDITORIAL PAGE KEJRIWALIN CUSTODY His arrest is a moment of deep disquiet. Framed by rivalry between Delhi government and Centre, it will test due processes PAGE 14 by the ED in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, details how the South Group — which involved politicians, businessmen and middlemen — paid money to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MALLICA JOSHI NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 MOSTINhisconstituency donot remember the last time Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited them. But they do not resent his absence, and in fact, the message from his New Delhi Assembly constituency is clear — fight and continue to lead the government. Unlike the rest of the city, the New Delhi constituency is planned around wide tree-lined roads, Lutyen’s bungalows, and high rises housing the government officials of the national BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Delhi minister Atishi after being detained during a party protest at ITO. ANI capital, with only a few jhuggi clusters in narrow lanes. A 50-year-old employee of the New Delhi Municipal Council who lives in Valmiki CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ENERGY TO RAIL TO SPACE, PACTS SIGNED Top Bhutan honour for PM: ‘transforming ancient civilisation to dynamic tech centre’ SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 DESCRIBING PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as “extraordinary and exemplary”, Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar NamgyelWangchucksaidFriday that with Modi at the helm, India’s future is bright and “a successful India means a bright future for Bhutan”. Conferring the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, Bhutan’s highest civilian decoration, on Prime Minister Modi — the first foreign leader to be felicitated with this award — at Tendrelthang, Thimphu,theKingsaid,“Nations need a great leader to progress andprosper,butsuchleadersare rare.Agreatleadermustbecompassionate, must care deeply for the country, and be willing to give everything in the service of the nation and people. Additionally, a great leader must be visionary and immensely capable and competent. A great leader must be powerful, not for the sake of power, but to effect real change with the wholehearted support of the people.” “In my view, Prime Minister Modi embodies all these qualities. He shoulders the responsibility to lead 1.4 billion people, 18% of the world’s population. And his leadership has been extraordinaryandexemplary.With him at the helm, India’s future is bright.AndasIsaidbefore,asuccessful India means a bright future for Bhutan,” the King said. Modi, who arrived in Paro airport where an exceptional welcome was accorded to him with people greeting him all along the journey from Paro to Thimphu, met the Bhutan King, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HIGHEST NUMBER FOR A GROUP TMC complains to poll No alliance for BJD, BJP in Odisha; Energy firm Greenko panel against Governor: talks hit Assembly seats hurdle used its web of 44 ‘interfering with election, SUJIT BISOYI entities to buy bonds running EC parallel office’ & LIZ MATHEW The ● disagreement RUSSIA, CHINA BLOCK US-BACKED UNSC RESOLUTION FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE KATE, PRINCESS OF WALES, SAYS SHE HAS CANCER PAGE 16 HEALTH GUIDE A RED initiative appears in today’s edition of The Indian Express. The magazine is an initiative of the marketing solutions team of The Indian Express Group and contains content paid for by advertisers. The magazine should be read as an advertisement Cites Raj Bhavan’s ‘Log Sabha’ portal to hear ‘people’s grievances’ during polls EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, MARCH 22 POINTING TO the launch of the “Log Sabha” portal by the Raj Bhavan to connect with the people during the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal on Friday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India accusing Governor C V Ananda Bose of “illegally interfering” and “attempting to run a parallel office akin to that of the Election Commission of India”. “...there are existing efficacious remedies for grievance redressalduringthepoll,whenthe stateadministrationiseffectively under the control of the Election Commission. The addition of an extra mechanism such as “Log Sabha” not only undermines the powers of the EC and takes away Governor CV Ananda Bose in Dinhata earlier this week. File the EC’s set-up to address grievances, but further leads to unnecessary confusion amongst themasses,”theTMC’sMarch22 –dated letter to the EC stated. The subject line of the letter read “Complaint against Mr C V Ananda Bose, the Hon'ble Governor of the State of West Bengal, for illegally interfering with the ensuing General Elections to the Lok Sabha and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BHUBANESWAR, NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 AFTERMUCHdeliberations,held across Bhubaneswar and Delhi, theBJDandBJPhavedecidednot to form an alliance, with Odisha BJPpresident Manmohan Samal declaring Friday that the party would fight all the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies and 147 Assembly seats alone in the coming simultaneous polls. E E X P L A I NE D THE WORLD PAGE 1 ANCHOR NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 PrimeMinister NarendraModi beingconferred withtheOrder of the DrukGyalpo,Bhutan’shighestcivilianaward,byKing JigmeKhesar NamgyelWangchuckin Thimphu,Friday. ANI THE BJD did not want to contest on anything less than 100 of the 147 Assembly seats, in the only state where it has a presence. But the BJP insisted on around 57 seats. The two also could not agree on a post-poll pact. In his statement, Samal thanked the Naveen Patnaik-led BJDforitssupporttotheBJPgovernment at the Centre at key moments, but said the BJP did not agree with the BJD government on many issues pertaining to “the interests of Odia people”, like “Odia asmita (pride)”, and “Odia glory”. BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das said the party was confident about contesting alone. “With the blessings of Lord Jagannatha and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HC strikes down UP madrasa law, says put students in regular schools ASAD REHMAN LUCKNOW, MARCH 22 THE ALLAHABAD High Court Friday declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, “unconstitutional”, maintaining that it violates “the principle of secularism” as well as fundamental rights provided under Article 14 of the Constitution. Hearing a petition filed by a lawyer challenging the Act, a bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi also directed the state governmentto“takestepsforthwith for accommodating the madrasa students in regular schools recognised under the Primary Education Board and schools recognised under the High School and Intermediate Education Board of the state of Uttar Pradesh”. “Thestategovernmentforthe said purpose shall ensure that as perrequirementsufficientnumberof additionalseatsarecreated andfurtherif required,sufficient CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 for YSRCP, BRS, BJP Of its Rs 117 cr purchase, Rs 55 cr to YSRCP, Rs 49 cr to BRS, Rs 13 cr to BJP SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 THE ELECTORAL bonds data made public by the Election Commission of India (ECI) may suggest that renewable energy majorGreenkopurchasedbonds worth Rs 35 crore through 11 group companies, all of which have“Greenko”intheirregistered names.Butascrutinyof thedatabase and matching with bond purchase details with corporate filingsshowthattheHyderabadheadquartered green energy player bought electoral bonds through at least 44 companies, the highest for any group. Inall, Greenkogroupcompanies cumulatively shelled out Rs 117 crore on electoral bond purchases. While corporates do use group and associate firms to buy electoral bonds, Greenko’s footprint in terms of the number of companies involved far outweighs entities and related parties used by other major corporatesthathavepurchasedbonds. In addition to the 44 companies that are part of the Greenko group, three of four directors of another company — Ace Urban Developers—arealsoassociated withanumberof Greenkogroup firms. Ace Urban bought electoral bonds worth Rs 10 crore. Of the Rs 117 crore worth of bonds bought by Greenko, Rs 55 crore worth were redeemed by the YSR Congress; Rs 49 crore by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi; and Rs 13 crore by the Bharatiya Janata Party. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trials on for seven weight-loss drugs knocking on Indian doors ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 WITHSTUDIESnowprovingthat the new category of weight-loss injectables can reduce your weight by up to20% — comparabletolife-savingbariatricsurgeries — these are now expected to be available in India in the next couple of years. Regulatory data analysed by TheIndianExpressshowsthatadvanced-stage trials for at least sevennewdrugsinthiscategory have been listed with India’s clinical trial registry. Currently, there are 31 trials in place. Two of thesemedications are already approved for use among diabetics and those struggling with obesity in the US. Six of the seven therapies currently under trial have been developed by Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, and Eli Lilly, a US drug manufacturer. These drugs are expected to be marketed in India once trials show positive results among the population. Novo Nordisk sells Semaglutide (antidiabetic and weight-loss medication) as Ozempic, a low-dose injectable fordiabetes,andWegovy,ahighdose injectable for weight loss. Eli Lilly has rolled out Mounjaro for managing diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. The Indian Express analysed two important data sets: clinical trial registry data and recommendations of the drug regulator’s subject expert committee. These show that several phase 3 global trials of the popular compound Semaglutide are under way in India to study the impact on diabetes management, weight loss, obesity-related heart diseases and chronic kidney disease. LISTED WITH CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NOVEL DRUG MAKERS ■ Novo Nordisk ■ Eli Lilly ■ Boehringer Ingelheim GENERIC DRUG MAKERS ■ Torrent ■ Dr Reddy’s While one study is looking at the effect of the drug onchildren andadolescents,afewothersare studying its impact on diabetes- related complications like peripheral arterial disease (blockage of blood flow to the extremities) and diabetic retinopathy (damagetotheretina).Aphase2 studyisunderwaytoseetheimpact of the medicine on patients withnon-alcoholicliverdamage. “While Wegovy is about to enterIndiaandhasshownabout 10% weight loss in participants, Indiaisalsoparticipatingintrials of more potent compounds. Semaglutide essentially mimics a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1), which stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin. This in turn lowers blood sugar, reducing craving and slowing digestion. All these mechanisms keep you from overeating,ultimately leadingto weight loss. Tirzepatide, which acts on two targets (GLP-1 and GIP) is more powerful and leads to about 15% weight loss. Retatrutide, an upcoming drug, acts on three targets (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon), tackling obesity more effectively at 24%,” says Dr V Mohan, chairman,Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai. Determined to stay ahead of thecurve,NovoNordiskrecently announced early results for another weight-loss medicine called Amycretin, which, like CagriSema, targets GLP-1 and a hormone called amylin. Early phase 1 results, which are yet to be published, demonstrated a 13%weight-lossatjust12weeks. Novo Nordisk is also conducting trials of Semaglutide with insulin Icodec and weightloss compound Cagrilintide, with Indian participants. While CagriSema is being studied for use by both diabetics and the obese, IcoSema is being studied only for its efficacy among diabetics since it contains insulin. IcoSema addresses the problem of weight gain in diabetics who need insulin shots to control their sugar levels, according to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata