DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BY UNNY MP AND 2024 CANDIDATE PRAJWAL REVANNA LINKED TO ‘2,976 SEX CLIPS’ Sex abuse case snowballs, JD(S) set to suspend Deve Gowda’s grandson Congress says Centre let JD(S) MP escape from India; his father claims he hasn’t fled, ready to join questioning ‘DOCTORED’ VIDEO OF AMIT SHAH Delhi Police summons Telangana CM, Cong worker held in Assam Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge at a rally in Yadgir district, Monday. PTI 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 Pradesh, the video being circulated was allegedly doctored using deepfake technology to make it seem like Shah was saying all reservations, including of SCs and STs, would be scrapped. The BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, accusing the Congress of circulating the “deepfake and morphed” video. Telangana Congress leader T Jayaprakash Reddy said Delhi Police officers visited the Congress headquarters in Hyderabad and“interacted with the legal team of our social media cell”. The officers also served CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 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 CITES NATIONAL, PUBLIC INTEREST Delhi HC on Kejriwal: CM shouldn’t be absent for ‘uncertain period’ 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 HighCourt 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- DECISION 2024 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 thegovernmentwas at a “standstill” due to the CM's absence. “Achief minister’spostinany state, leave alone a buzzing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 ● Modi popularity props up BJP in Telangana, Cong rides high on Assembly win JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA, BJP GUNA CANDIDATE AND UNION MINISTER ● Opp to move EC over Rajbhar ‘threat to public', SBSP calls it malicious bid ● PM not saying 400 paar now: Rahul PAGES 3, 8, 9 Earliest public reference One of the earliest public references to the videos was made by Prajwal himself in an original suitthathemovedinaBengaluru CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DEEPTIMAN TIWARY MURHO (MADHEPURA), APRIL 29 ABOUT 10 km away from Madhepura town, as one turns right from the Purnia-Saharsa highway andcrossesthe railway 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 Party 2014 2019 concrete structures in nationwide caste census 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 shade of bamboo trees elections,theirwordsfind BJP 24.4 — hardly an echo here -- it appears adjoining his hut, Musahar’s development has clearly by- grandson Jivachh Rishidev says: Note: JD(U) and BJP “The social justice movement passed Mandal's village. were allies in 2019 Akeytorchbearerofthecoun- was frittered away by Lalu and Source: Election Commission CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 try's social justice politics, VOTESHARE(%) HOLDS SHOW OF STRENGTH Rajnath files nomination from Lucknow LUCKNOW, APRIL 29 INTERVIEW of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Thereareseveralkeypersons from Hassan, including friendsturned-foes and political rivals of Prajwal, who are likely to be investigated as part of the process to establish that the videosare genuineandnot morphed, as is being claimed by the MP and his close associates. At Mandal Ground Zero, plea for jobs, education, ‘real social justice’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THE EXPRESS PAGE 1 ANCHOR JD(S) MP and Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna 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 issue has surfaced in Karnataka…the person who shared the stage with him…for whom Modiji sought votes… he hassexuallyassaultedthousands of women. I want to ask Modiji Gag order to warning letter to pen drives — how the case unfolded DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh on Monday filed his nomination from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency seeking third consecutive term from the seat amid a show of strength in the state's capital city. With Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath and Pushkar Singh Dhami by his side, the Defence Minister held a 2-kmlongroadshowinaspeciallyprepared rath (chariot) starting from the BJP headquarters. The rath showcasing “devel- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in Lucknow, Monday. PTI opment projects” undertaken in the parliamentary constituency suchasthenewairportterminal, flyovers and road projects was welcomedbydifferentorganisations and communities. The BJP had made elaborate arrangements with the road leading from the party office to the collectorate decorated with flags, bannersandbuntings,givingthe city a festive look. Astheprocessionmoved,the party supporters chanted the slogansof “abkibaar5lakhpaar” and “abki baar 400 paar”, referring to the targets of Singh winning by a margin of 5 lakh and the BJP-led NDA crossing the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya with Congress candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam (seated behind him). PTI 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 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 E E X P L A I NE D BUSINESS AS USUAL `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 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 police car but told no key, left to the mob 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, the signageson thebig buildings 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 technological talentto whatwas 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 Lucknow