DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES 2024 ● ‘Forget friends, BJP today will eat its own... It does not need anyone’ THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW AADITYA THACKERAY, RAJ BHAVAN STAFFER ALLEGES HE CALLED HER TO OFFICE, TOUCHED HER Bengal Governor accused of sexual harassment, he says false ‘narrative’ TMC leaders flag woman’s allegations, Governor Bose says won’t be cowed down, bars entry of police into Raj Bhavan RAVIK BHATTACHARYA SHIV SENA (UBT) LEADER KOLKATA, MAY 2 ● With BJP eye on south, data shows rise in Modi visits to five states THE PROTRACTED stand-off between the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and Governor C V Ananda Bose deepened Thursday after the TMC flagged the case of a woman contractualstaffer at Raj Bhavan who alleged that the Governor had “molested” her. Bose hit back saying “truth would triumph,” and he would not be “cowed down by engineered narratives.” PAGES 10, 11 THE EDITORIAL PAGE THE VISHWA BANDHU BY S JAISHANKAR PAGE 12 ‘Cannot stop my fight against corruption in Bengal’ Bose’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed the womanwastakentoapolicestation where she filed her complaint. When contacted, Bose told The Indian Express: “If anybodywantssomeelectionbenefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal.” Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Raj Bhavan Thursday where he will stay overnight. On Friday, he is scheduled to address three election rallies in Krishnanagar, Bolpur and Birbhum Lok Sabha constituencies. In her complaint lodged at Hare Street police station, the womanislearnttohavereferred to two meetings, one on April 24 and another on Thursday. In her police complaint, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Art 361: Immunity shield until Governor in office APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, MAY 2 EVEN AS a complaint alleging sexual harassment has been filed in Kolkata against WestBengalGovernorCV Ananda Bose, Constitutional immunity bars the police from naming the Governor as an accused or even investigating the case. Article361oftheConstitution that deals with immunity to the President and the Governors states that they “shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powersanddutiesof hisofficeor for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties…” The provision also has ● two crucial sub-clauses: (1) that no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be initiated or continued against the President, or the Governor of a State, in any court during the E EXPLAINED DECISION `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Congress a disciple Manipur marks one year of conflict: of Pak, Islamabad Counting the cost — amid tears rooting for Rahul as PM, says Modi ADITI RAJA ANAND, MAY 2 RATCHETINGUPhisattackonthe Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called it a “disciple (mureed)” of Pakistan, and said its “partnership” with the neighbouring countryhadnowbeen“exposed”. A day after former Pakistan minister Chaudhry Fawad HussainpraisedCongressleader Rahul Gandhi in a post on social media, Modi, while addressing a rally here, said Islamabad was rooting for Rahul as PM because it wanted a weak government in India. “Bharat mein Congress kamzor ho rahi hai, sukshmadarshi yantra lekar bhi Congress ko dhoondhna mushkil ho raha hai... Yahan Congress mar rahi hai, aur Prime Minister Modi in Jamnagar on Thursday. PTI wahan Pakistan ro raha hai. AapkopatachalahogakiCongress ke liye Pakistani neta dua kar rahe hain.Shehzadekopradhanmantri banane ke liye Pakistan utaavala hai... Aur hum toh jaante hi hain ki Congress Pakistan ka mureed hi hai. Pakistan aur Congress ki yeh partnership ab poori tarah expose ho gayi hai. Desh ke dushmano ko CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pawar: No other PM spoke like this... they won’t cross 230-240 SUNANDA MEHTA SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, MAY 2 A CALL to observe May 3 as ‘Kuki-Zo Awakening Day’, a ‘condolence service’ in Churachandpur, a meeting on ‘365 days of Chin-Kuki Narco Terrorist Aggression’ in Imphal — different groups in Manipur will mark one year of ethnic conflict in the state in different ways Friday, a reminder of just how deep the faultlines still remain. On May 3 last year, longstanding tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur spiralled into violence, whichclaimedatleast52livesin three days. Over the course of a year, this toll continued to grow — at least 226 lives have been lost to the conflict in the past year. Of the dead, 20 have been identifiedaswomen,whileeight are children. Morethan1,500peoplehave been injured, around 60,000 people displaced within the state itself, and at least 13,247 structures have been gutted or destroyed. At least 28 people continue to be missing or presumed kidnapped or murdered. Within the first week of the conflict,afterwidescaleviolence and arson, a mass “exchange of population” was carried out by security forces. Meiteis living in Kuki-Zomi majority areas such HUMAN COST* Total deaths in state Security personnel killed 226 16 Missing: 28 Displaced: 60,000+ Last major incident of violence: April 30 *Approximates as Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh were transported to theMeitei-majorityvalley.KukiZomis in Imphal and other Meitei-majority areas were taken to Churachandpur and Kangpokpi,whilemanyalsofled the state to neighbouring Mizoram or elsewhere in the country. However, in the early days, some still remained — for instance,24Kuki-Zomiscontinued toliveinNewLambulane,guarding their homes amidst security deployment, and around 400 Meiteis from the border town Moreh sought shelter in neighbouring Myanmar. These “people who stayed back” have since beenmovedtoareaswheretheir community is in majority. This social and demographic divide has continued to fester, and the predominant sites CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RJD base secure, faces Modi voter challenge: ‘Not just thinking of Bihar but of country’ BARAMATI, MAY 2 HITTINGBACKatPrimeMinister Narendra Modi, who referred to him as a “bhatakti aatma (wandering soul)” earlier this week, NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he (Modi) must have “lost his balance”, adding thatnootherPrimeMinisterhad spoken in this manner. Pawar also said that the BJP-led NDA was unlikely to get more than 230-240seatsintheongoingLok Sabha elections. Pawar was speaking to The Indian Express athishometurf of Baramati during a brief stopover on Thursday afternoon, after a rally in Sangli. Asked if he felt hurt about Modi's remarks, he said: “I am not hurt. But I think he has lost his balance. I have Family members of missing Meiteis at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. Tashi Tobgyal; (Right) A Kuki woman who meets her children once a month in Mizoram as they live with her Meitei husband in Imphal. PTI Pawar: Why five phases in Maharashtra. Pavan Khengre never heard any Prime Minister speaklikethisduringanelection campaign. Ithink hehasrealised that he will be defeated this time.” “They have angered states like Punjab and Haryana with theiractionagainsttheDelhiCM, and won’t get the southern states or West Bengal or the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VANDITA MISHRA PATNA, VAISHALI, MUZAFFARPUR, DARBHANGA, ARARIA, MAY 2 THIS ELECTION in Bihar is being fought on a very untidy field. Here, the Opposition’s grand allianceorMahagathbandhanthat was put together with much flamboyanceandfanfarein2015 to take on the Narendra ModiBJP,hasbeendramaticallyreconstituted, most leaders and candidates on both sides of the political fence have changed sides since, many more than once, and Nitish Kumar most prominently. InBihar,unlikeinmanyother states like Maharashtra, Madhya PradeshandGujarat,politicalactors zig-zag between all parties, there is no pattern here of a onewayflowtowardsadominantBJP. Not just the Mahagathbandhan story, the Bihar story itself hasseenasteadywaning—from the widespread hope once sparked by Nitish Kumar’s attempt to build on the radical gains made by Lalu Yadav in a stateof largeinequalities,bytak- MUMBAI TO MURSHIDABAD AN EXPRESS SERIES PART-4, BIHAR ing the caste-centric slogan of "samajik nyay" or social justice and joining it with the plank of “vikas” or development. There was visible progress on the basics of sadak-bijli-paani but the Nitish model stalled before tak- ing the next step to higher education-udyog-naukri (jobs and industry) and meandered into the dead-end of prohibition or sharab-bandi. The 2010 Assembly election was an unusual election, remembers Abhayanand, who served as DGP in the Nitish government that was seen to make a difference, visible improvements in law and order its centrepiece. Because, “in it the ruling party was brought back not for making promises, but because of their fulfilment”. “After CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 Karan Bhushan Singh celebrates in Gonda on Thursday. PTI ‘Parivarvad’: Brij Bhushan doesn’t get BJP ticket, but his son does Power remains with father who faces sexual abuse charges, say wrestlers NIHAL KOSHIE BUSINESS AS USUAL NEW DELHI, MAY 2 THE BJP Thursday named Karan Bhushan Singh as its candidate from the Kaiserganj seat in Uttar Pradesh,replacinghisfatherand sitting MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers. Kaiserganj votes on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the key faces of the protests againstBrijBhushan,saidthedecision to give the Kaiserganj ticket to Karan Bhushan shows that the “BJP does not care about the safety of women” and that “parivarvad” or dynastic politics is prevalent in the ruling party. Karan is the Uttar Pradesh wrestling federation’s president – Brij Bhushan was president of theWrestlingFederationof India when women wrestlers levelled BY UNNY charges against him. Bajrang Punia, who led the protests demanding Brij Bhushan’s arrest, told The Indian Express: “I don’t know why the government is so scared of Brij Bhushan. His son getting the ticketalsoshowsthe‘parivarvad’ intheBJP.TheBJPcriticisesother partiessaying‘parivarvad’exists, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Down to the wire: Cong keeps Amethi, Rae Bareli open for today, the last day DECISION 2024 MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, MAY 2 THECONFUSIONintheCongress over its candidates for the traditional Gandhi family seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar PradeshpersistedThursdaywith the party not announcing its nominees. The last day for filing of nominations is Friday. While Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is said to be not willing to contest, sources said Rahul Gandhiisbeingpersuadedtoenter the fray from one of the seats. RahulissaidtohavehadadiscussionwithCongresspresident Mallikarjun Kharge. They were togetherinKarnatakatoaddress a campaign rally. While some leadersclaimedRahulhasagreed tocontestandmayenterthefray from Rae Bareli, the seat represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi since 2004, the fact that thepartycouldnotannouncethe FATHER INHERITED MARTYRDOM, NOT WEALTH: PRIYANKA PAGE 11 namessuggestthatitisyettofind the right mix of candidates or Rahul is still apprehensive. Rahul,whoisalsoseekingreelection from Wayanad in Kerala, is said to be wary of the seat in the event of him winning fromeitherAmethiorRaeBareli. AstheCongressdithered,the BJP announced the candidature CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Owaisi still ahead in Hyderabad, BJP’s new face emerges as its best bet PAGE 1 ANCHOR RAHUL V PISHARODY HYDERABAD, MAY 2 THE NARROW bylanes of Hyderabad's Old City are witnessing a spirited campaign this Lok Sabha election. As sitting Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) crisscrosses the streets of Yakutpura, hestopsforphotographsandexchanges quick conversations. All the while, he underlines his a request for an interview. Barely 2 km away, in the byparty’s message. "Hyderabad ke aman ko maz- lanes of Gowlipura dotted with boot kariye, yeh aapke buzurgon saffron flags, Owaisi's opponent, ki qurbaniyon ka nateeja hai. the BJP’s Kompella Madhavi Patang ke nishan par vote daaliye, Latha, can be heard speaking from an open-top vehicle. ek ek vote ka istamaal kariye Accusing the AIMIM (Strengthen the peace in and Owaisi of working Hyderabad, which is the for only “one commufruit of the sacrifices of nity”, she says that “four your ancestors. Vote for decades is too long a pethe AIMIM's kite symbol. Use every vote).” DECISION riod for having allowed 2024 them to rule”. Owaisi repeats this as The Owaisi family he goes from door to door. A large group of support- hashadaneartotalholdoverthe ers, besides his security guards, Hyderabad Lok Sabha contry to keep pace. “A lot of work is stituency, with the AIMIM winleft,” Owaisi says, turning down ning the seat since 1984, when VOTE SHARE (%) Hyderabad LS seat AIMIM BJP 52.90 32.06 2014 AIMIM BJP 58.95 AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, BJP’s K Madhavi Latha on the campaign trail. Rahul V Pisharody 26.80 2019 Owaisi’s father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi became an MP from here for the first time, going on to repeat the feat five moretimes.In2004,Owaisitook overandisnowaimingforafifth straight term as MP. Owaisi'svoteshareshavenot dipped either; in 2019, he won against the BJP's Bhagavanthrao Pawar by 2.82 lakh votes. Of the seven Assembly segmentsintheseat,theAIMIMhas been winning six in the past three Assembly elections. In last year's Assembly polls too, it won all, barring Goshamahal, which is with the BJP. Owaisi’s brother CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata