DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SC asks Bengal govt: Why is state protecting interest of pvt individuals? EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 29 WHILE HEARING the West Bengal government’s special leave petition challenging the CalcuttaHighCourtorderdirectingaCBIprobeintoallegationsof landgrabbingandsexualassaults in Sandeshkhali, the Supreme Court Monday asked why the stateshould“comeasapetitioner for protecting the interests of some private individual”. Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been suspended from TMC, was arrested on February 29, in connection with the attack on an ED team on January 5. Several womeninSandeshkhalihavealso accusedSheikhandhisassociates of sexual assault. Justice BR Gavai, presiding over a two-judge bench, posed the question to Senior AdvocateJaideepGupta,whowas appearing for the West Bengal government. Gupta said, “There are comments about the state government. And that’s unfair because the state government has taken full action.” On April 1, the HC ordered a court-monitored CBI probe into allegedincidentsofsexualassault and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali,sayingthat“animpartialinquiry”wasnecessary“in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORT PAGE 3 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY TOP COURT REFUSES TO STAY APRIL 22 HC ORDER Bengal teacher recruitment scam: SC stays CBI probe into govt officials’ role OMR sheet completely destroyed, mirror images not there... this is a complete fraud: CJI EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 29 THESUPREMECourtonMonday refused to stay the April 22 Calcutta High Court order cancelling the illegal recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff by the School Service Commission (SSC) but put on holdthedirectionforaCBIprobe against government officials in connection with the matter. Turningdowntherequestfor an interim stay on the cancellation of appointments at this Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud stage, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachudexclaimed“lookat how it's done...OMR sheet com- pletelydestroyed,mirrorimages not there, people not in the panel are recruited...this is a complete fraud”. The CJI sought to know if the tainted appointments could be segregated from the untainted ones. “Please demonstrate whether on the basis of material available it is possible to segregate valid and invalid appointments and who are the beneficiaries of the fraud. 25,000 is a big number. We see that 25,000 jobs taken away is a serious thing. Unless we see that the entire thing is fraught with fraud…,” he said. The bench also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra posted the matter for hearing again on May 6. Questioning the HC order, Senior Advocate Rajesh Dwivedi wondered how it could have cancelled all the appointments when even the CBI which probed the case had found discrepancies only in 8,000. He pointed out that the instant case was one of supernumerary posts. The CJI, however, said “but why create these posts when the whole appointment was illegal”. Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave said that the first writ was in 2021 and was taken up by Justice Abhijit Bandopadhyay, and said “that is the foundation of the case”. Justice Gangopadhyay later quit his job and joined the BJP. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, who appeared for the SchoolServiceCommission,said CONTINUEDONPAGE2 RELATED REPORT PAGE 3 Sex abuse case snowballs, JD(S) set Gag order to warning to suspend Deve Gowda’s grandson letter to pen drives — KIRAN PARASHAR & VIKAS PATHAK BENGALURU, NEW DELHI, APRIL 29 FORCED ON the backfoot after allegations of sexual abuse emergedagainstJD(S)MPandits Lok Sabha candidate from Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, the party Monday said he would be suspended, while his father and JD(S) MLA H D Revanna insisted Prajwal had not fled the country and was ready to face the law. This,evenasaBJPleaderfrom Karnatakaclaimedhehadalerted the state BJP president as well as the central leadership about the allegations on December 8 last JD(S) MP and Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna year — before the JD(S) and BJP entered into an alliance. Speaking to reporters in Shivamogga, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy said Prajwal, the grandson of former PrimeMinisterHDDeveGowda, would be suspended following the party’s core committee meeting on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, he had said, “We are not shielding anyone and an SIT has been formed to probe the matter. Let the truth come out.” The party has been at the receiving end of criticism, both from the Opposition and its own members. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence and said he should not dare talk about the “mangalsutra” of women till Prajwal is brought back to India. AddressingarallyinGulbarga in Karnataka, she said, “A major how the case unfolded JOHNSON TA BENGALURU, APRIL 29 THE STORY of how hundreds of sexvideosallegedlyshotbyJD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna (33) on his cellphone came to light is steeped in intrigue, alleged blackmail and conspiracy. Finding the technical origin of the videos — the phone from which these were shot and sources of copies — is crucial to the Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team’s probe against the MP, who is also the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Hassan and the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Thereareseveralkeypersons from Hassan, including friends- After Surat, another jolt to Cong: Indore candidate opts out of race, to join BJP Cong says he was being pressured by ruling party; BJP says inspired by PM MP AND 2024 CANDIDATE PRAJWAL REVANNA LINKED TO ‘2,976 SEX CLIPS’ Congress says Centre let JD(S) MP escape from India; his father claims he hasn’t fled, ready to join questioning BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya with Congress candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam (seated behind him). PTI turned-foes and political rivals of Prajwal, who are likely to be investigated as part of the process to establish that the videos are genuine and not morphed, as is being claimed by the MP and his close associates. Earliest public reference One of the earliest public references to the videos was made by Prajwal himself in an original suitthathemovedinaBengaluru civilcourtonJune1,2023against 86 media outlets and three private persons. The suit against the media sought a gag order (which was granted on June 2, 2023) on the grounds that “there is a threat of broadcasting, publishing and ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, APRIL 29 THE CONGRESS in Madhya Pradesh suffered a setback on Monday with its Lok Sabha candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrawing his nomination. He was expected to join the BJP. State Cabinet minister and BJPleaderKailashVijayvargiyain a post on X said: “Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam ji, is welcomed into the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national president Shri J P Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state presidentVDSharma.”However, the party was yet to make an official announcement. The Congress alleged that Bam withdrew his nomination EXPLAINED SANDESHKHALI `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 E Relief for Cong ● unlikely WITH THE last day for withdrawal of nomination having passed, Congress will go unrepresented in the election in Indore. Since the candidate’s withdrawal was in line with EC rules, the party is unlikely to get any relief. The sole option for the party is to back another opposition candidate. under pressure and that he had been “intimidated, threatened and tortured in various ways”. District Collector Ashish Singh said Monday was the last CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Manipur chargesheet: Women made it to CITES NATIONAL, PUBLIC INTEREST At Mandal Ground Zero, plea for police car but told no Delhi HC on Kejriwal: jobs, education, ‘real social justice’ key, left to the mob CM shouldn’t be absent for ‘uncertain period’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DEEPTIMAN TIWARY ‘DOCTORED’ VIDEO OF AMIT SHAH Delhi Police summons Telangana CM, Cong worker held in Assam EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, NEW DELHI, GUWAHATI, APRIL 29 COMPLAINTSBYtheBJPoverthe circulation of an allegedly doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking about reservation has led to the DelhiPoliceonMondayissuinga summons to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the Assam Police arresting a Congress worker, and an FIR being filed in Rajasthan. While Shah has previously said the BJP would remove the 4 percentreservationforMuslims in Telangana and Andhra CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR MURHO (MADHEPURA), APRIL 29 MCD students yet to get benefits, court says rights cannot be ‘trampled upon’ MALAVIKA PRASAD NEW DELHI, APRIL 29 WHILE AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s move to continue as the Delhi Chief Minister was his “personal decision”, the fundamental rights of students at Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools should not be “trampled upon” due to his unavailability, the Delhi High Court said on Monday. Citing national and public interest, it also said that no chief minister should remain absent for long or for “an uncertain period” of time. This comes days after the court,whilehearingaPILrelated to denial of “statutory benefits” like uniforms, writing material, text-books, stationery items, school bags and scholarships to over 2 lakh students of MCD schools, told the Delhi government counsel on Friday: “You have placed your political inter- Delhi CM Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 est above the interest of school children”. Hearing the same matter on Monday, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said there is a “ring of truth” in the statement made by Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj(duringthehearingon April 26) that any increase in the MCD Commissioner’s financial power would require the CM’s approval, adding that this amounted to an admission that the government was at a “standstill” due to the CM's absence. “Achief minister’spostinany state, leave alone a buzzing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ABOUT 10 km away from Madhepura town, as one turns right from the Purnia-Saharsa highwayandcrossestherailway line,arowof kutchahouseswith tin roofs greet you. At the end of the village, Murho, stands a memorial of former Bihar Chief Minister Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal renowned for the Mandal Commission report. Umesh Rishidev, grandson of Bhagalpur region’s first MP Barely 100 m off the Mandal Kirai Musahar. Deeptiman Tiwary memorial, in a corner of the Musahar tola, lies a mud hut, where the grandsons of the first Mandal's vision spawned a slew Member of Parliament from the of socialist leaders, including SamajwadiParty(SP)founderlate region, Kirai Musahar, live. Madhepura As Bihar CM and Janata Dal Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya (United) supremo Nitish Kumar JanataDal(RJD)chief LaluPrasad Yadav, and Nitish Kumar. rides on the state's caste Mandal’s ancestral house survey released last year BIHAR and the memorial in his and Congress leader name are among the few Rahul Gandhi pledges a concrete structures in nationwide caste census Party 2014 2019 as part of the Congress DECISION Murho village. JD(U) 30.22 54.42 2024 Sitting under the plank in the Lok Sabha RJD 35.65 28.14 elections,theirwordsfind shade of bamboo trees hardly an echo here -- it appears adjoining his hut, Musahar’s BJP 24.4 — development has clearly by- grandson Jivachh Rishidev says: Note: JD(U) and BJP passed Mandal's village. “The social justice movement were allies in 2019 Akeytorchbearerofthecoun- was frittered away by Lalu and Source: Election Commission try's social justice politics, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VOTESHARE(%) Manipur Police and Army personnel during a search and area domination operation. PTI MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, APRIL 29 JUST BEFORE a mob paraded naked two women from the Kuki-Zomi community and assaulted them sexually in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, the two women had “managedtositinsidethepolicegypsy” parked on the roadside, but the police driver told them “there is nokey”astheyrequestthepolice tostartthevehicle,accordingtoa chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Twoothermalevictimswere alsoseatedinthepolicegypsy.All the policemen present then left thespotasalargemobpulledout thevictimsfrominsidethevehicle, the chargesheet said. The CBI investigation revealed that the violent incident happened in Churachandpur on May3.Thechargesheetwasfiled against six people and a juvenile before a special court in Guwahati in October. When contacted, DGP (Manipur) Rajiv Singh told The Indian Express, “Departmental action has been already taken against the police personnel.” When asked about any criminal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Inside a small Taiwan city, a blueprint for India’s chip dreams SOUMYARENDRA BARIK TAIPEI (TAIWAN), APRIL 29 JUST ABOUT four decades ago, it was a town renowned for its tea farmsandinfamousforitssnakes. Today, it is home to global chipmaking excellence. A key driver of Taiwan’s economic turnaround,about80kilometresfrom its capital, is the city of Hsinchu - and its famed Science Park. Hsinchu’sstoryholdskeylessons for India’s promised chip city of Dholera in Gujarat, a region roughly the size of Singapore on which New Delhi has pinned its hopes of creating its own Silicon Valley. At first glance, the scenery belies the notion that Hsinchu is part of what is called Taiwan's “silicon shield”, a strategic city at the heart of keeping the island safe from Chinese aggression. A row of two-wheelers are neatly lined up on the roads, there are round-the-clock convenience stores,multi-cuisinerestaurants, parks,schools,universities,massive residential boroughs, and a lot of trees. But beyond the tree cover, thesignagesonthebigbuildings dotting the city give a sense of what makes Hsinchu one of the mostimportantplacesforglobal economy.Notallthenamesmay be popular, but they are important. And despite not being Taiwan’s diplomatic or financial centre, Hsinchu is perhaps its most global city. Taiwan produces over 90 per cent of the world’s most advancedsemiconductorchips,and Hsinchu is home to the world’s most valuable chip firm, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which accountsforasubstantialpartofthe total production. Mediatek, another Taiwanese firm which designschips,isalsobasedthere.So are the likes of Wistron (which brieflymadeiPhonesinIndiabe- World’s most valuable chip firm TSMC has six fabs within Hsinchu and a research centre. Soumyarendra Barik fore selling its plant to the Tatas) and Taiwan’s first chip company United Microelectronics (UMC). Companies registered in the Hsinchu Science Park account for about 6-8 per cent of Taiwan's total gross domestic product and about 12 per cent of thetrade-reliantisland'sexports. A little over 150,000 people -close to 1 per cent of Taiwan’s population -- work in Hsinchu, which has the island's youngest average age of residents. In the 1980s, when Taiwan was looking to turn around its fledgling economy after losing its seat at the United Nations a decade ago and a major fuel cri- sis a few years later, the special high-tech zone in Hsinchu was established by government officials to woo the world’s best technologicaltalenttowhatwas thenapoortropicalisland.Atthe time, many engineers with Taiwanese connections lived in places like the United States, Japan and Europe. But when the government called on them to return and make Taiwan a tech manufacturing hub, many of them took the plunge. One of them was Morris Chang, who, after a long career in the US chip industry, moved to Taiwan in 1985. Two years later, when Chang was 55, he founded TSMC. The company pioneered the contract manufacturing route to make chips, where it would not have to design any of the chips. Thisprovedtobearevolutionary business model, paving the way for fabless companies including Apple and Nvidia, which are TSMC’sbiggestcustomerstoday. The Taiwanese government playedacrucialrolebeforeTSMC was set up. Aside from the subsidiestosetupfactories,itsetupthe Industrial Technology Research Institute(ITRI)aboutadecadebefore, which secured a technology transfer for chipmaking from the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata