DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES DECISION 2024 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW INTERIM BAIL UNTIL JUNE 1: SC SAYS POLLS A LIFELINE, HE IS NOT A THREAT Kejriwal can campaign Lordships made themselves part of campaign: BJP’s Vinay Sahasrabuddhe ADHIR CHOWDHURY, CONGRESS MP PAGE 3 VIKAS PATHAK 12 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh encounter, second in weeks NEW DELHI, MAY 10 Maharashtra Raipur Kanker Chhattisgarh GANGALOOR Bijapur Sukma JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters outside Tihar Jail after he got interim bail on Friday. Renuka Puri Bail conditions: Can’t visit His first remarks: ‘140 CMO, Sectt; can’t sign any crore people have to unite file unless it needs L-G nod against dictatorship’ RAIPUR, MAY 10 BARELY THREE weeks after 29 Maoists were killed in a gunbattle in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh,another12Maoists were shot dead in an encounter withsecurityforcesinthestate’s Bijapur district early Friday. A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was injured in an IED explosion when the team was heading back after the operation. Thenumberof Maoistskilled this year in Chhattisgarh is now 103 — the highest since 2019. Until April-end, 91 Maoists had been killed by security forces. The Friday incident took place in the Gangaloor area under the jurisdiction of the Pidiya police station in Bijapur district, considered a Maoist stronghold and an area from where many are recruited. This was the second major encounter in Gangaloor within weeks –13 Maoists were killed in the area on April 2. The Friday encounter began at 6 am at different locations in and around the Pidiya forest. `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, MAY 10 REFERRING TO a ruling that described elections as “the barometer and lifeline of a parliamentary system and its setup” and underliningthatArvindKejriwal is “the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties” who “does not have any criminal antecedents” and is “not a threat to society”, the Supreme Court Friday granted him interim bail until June 1, the seventh and last phase of voting in the ongoing LokSabhaelections,withcertain conditions. Arrested in the Delhi excise policy case on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate and subsequently placed in judicial custody, Kejriwal has to surrender on June 2. Rejecting the prosecution’s argument that if politicians can be granted interim bail to campaign for elections, there is no reason why an agriculturalist or BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY abusinessmanshouldbedenied bail to attend to his work, the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta laid down the conditions for interim bail to Kejriwal: ■ he shall furnish bail bonds inthesumof Rs50,000withone surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent; ■ he shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GAYATHRI MANI NEW DELHI, MAY 10 AMID THE sound of firecrackers, surrounded by hundreds of supporters, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail Friday, with a declaration that “humein sabko milke desh ko taanashahi se bachaana hai (all of us have to unite to save the country from dictatorship)”. “Maintann,mann,dhanselad raha hoon, sangharsh kar raha hoon, taanashahi ke khilaaf. Lekin 140 crore logon ko taanashahi se ladnapadega(I’mfightingagainst dictatorship with all my might, but 140 crore people will have to do that too),” he said. Kejriwal, arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhiexcisepolicycase,hasbeen granted interim bail until June 1 by the Supreme Court. “It is a pleasure being back among you all today; didn't I tell you I would be back soon? I am back,”theAAPconvenordeclared INSIDE RULING COULD SET PRECEDENT FOR POLITICAL DETAINEES PAGE 5 from atop his vehicle after being drivenoutof theprisoncomplex, from where he left for his Civil Lines residence. “With the blessings of Hanuman ji, I am back with you again.Iwanttothankallof you… croresof peopleacrossthecountrysenttheirlovemyway.Iwant to thank the Supreme Court judges,” he said. He also invited people to join him in large numbers at the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place on Saturday. “Tomorrow at 11 am, we will all go to the Hanuman Mandir in CP. Afterwards, there will be a press conferenceatthepartyofficeat1 pm.Irequestallof youtocometo the Hanuman Mandir,” he said. SOON AFTER the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal until June 1, the last day of polling, senior BJP leader and party national executive member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe put a question mark on the court’s motives. “By picking a side right in the middle of elections, the lordships that be have made themselves a part of the campaign. When the billion ballots speak, they may not like it!” When contacted, Sahasrabuddhe told The Indian Express: “The Supreme Court order sets a precedent… so people who are charged will, in future, start filing election nominations. There is also a risk that Kejriwal may tamper with the evidence.” Sahsasrabuddhe, former Rajya Sabha MP and former president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), said this was his “personal view.” Meanwhile, BJP leaders across the country continued their attacks on Kejriwal, saying that he remained an accused and would be back in jail soon. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “He has been granted bail for the election campaign till June 1 but what after that? Getting interim bail does not mean that you have been proven innocent... Criminals also come out on parole and then return. Kejriwal campaigned in 2014 and 2019 too. Being inside or campaigning outside makes no difference to polls. It will not affect the elections; BJP will win all seven seats of Delhi..." Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "What bail has he got? It says that you are a thief but you can campaign for one month. No respectable person will accept this bail.Suchapersonwillsay–Ipolitely decline. What kind of bail CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Says ‘Gundo ko ulta latka kar seedha karna jante hain hum’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, MAY 10 WITH HIS party on the backfoot over allegations of “conspiring” the Sandeshkhali incident by allegedly pressuring women to lodge false cases against local TMC leaders, senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday tried to hit back PAGE 1 ANCHOR Union Minister Amit Shah at a BJP rally in Nadia, Friday. PTI INSIDE TMC: NCW ‘COAXED’ SANDESHKHALI WOMEN TO FILE RAPE COMPLAINTS PAGE 3 at the TMC, saying “not a single goon of Sandeshkhali” would be spared and alleged that TMC leaders “tortured hundreds of women” there “based on their religion”. “Sandeshkhali ke gundo ko ulta latka kar seedha karna jante hain hum (We know to straighten the goons of Sandeshkhali by hanging them upside down)... No matter what andwhoeverhascommittedthe atrocities in Sandeshkhali, the BJPwillpunishtheseculprits.No one will be spared,” Shah said while campaigning for the BJP at Majdia in Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency in Nadia district. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, MAY 10 SECURITY AT the Parliament complex could witness a radical overhaul with the Union Home Ministry constituting a panel to assess whether personnel of the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) should take charge of the entire process – right from managing security arrangements to issuing passes to regulating movement of MPs, VIPs, officials and the media, The Indian Express has learnt. These responsibilities are currently entrusted with the EXPLAINED Sandeshkhali culprits were not caught Should all of Parliament security due to appeasement by Mamata: Shah be with CISF? Panel will examine E ● Home vs Secretariat PARLIAMENT SECURITY service works under the Watch and Ward committee umder the LS Secretariat. Ex-Secy General P D T Achary says any change should be under the direction of the Speaker, not MHA. Parliament Security Service, which functions under the almost century-old Watch and Ward committee. Last month, the CISF was brought in to replace 150 personnel of the Delhi Police, who used to be deployed alongside the Parliament Security Service. The change was prompted by the security breach on December 13 last year, during which a few people managed to enter the Parliament Hall and open smoke canisters. Now,deliberationsareunderway to assess whether the CISF can take over the security entirely.“Strengthof theParliament Security Service is anyway thin since, for the last many years, no fresh recruitments have taken CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Narendra Dabholkar’s son Hamid and daughter Mukta outside the Pune court after the verdict Friday. Pavan Khengre Dabholkar murder: 2 get life in prison, alleged mastermind among 3 acquitted Court flags suspicion, but gives clean chit to three citing lack of evidence CHANDAN HAYGUNDE & SUSHANT KULKARNI Was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013 PUNE, MAY 10 NEARLY 11 years after rationalist DrNarendraDabholkarwasshot dead in Pune, a special court Friday convicted his assailants, Sachin Prakashrao Andure and Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskar, and sentencedthemtolifeimprisonment for murder. It acquitted threeothersincludingthealleged mastermind Dr Virendrasinh Sharadchandra Tawade. Citing lack of evidence, Special judge P P Jadhav acquitted Tawade, lawyer Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar and activist VikramVinayBhave,alllinkedto the Sanatan Sanstha. Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on the V R Shinde bridge in Pune on the morning of August 20 in 2013. WhileacquittingTawade,the judge said there was a “lot of scopeforsuspicion”againsthim, but “the prosecution has failed to provide evidence for it”. He also said “there is definitely suspicion” on Bhave and Punalekar, “but due to lack of evidence they are being acquitted”. “There were charges under the UAPA in this case. Due to the negligent approach shown by CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD ISRAELI TANKS ENCIRCLE RAFAH’S EASTERN HALF, A LAKH GAZANS FLEE CITY IN WEEK PAGE 14 ORDERS FRAMING OF CHARGES Sufficient material on sexual harassment by Brij Bhushan: Court NIRBHAY THAKUR BJPMPand formerWFI chief Brij Bhushan SharanSingh NEW DELHI, MAY 10 A DELHI court Friday ordered framingofchargesagainstBJPMP andformerWrestlingFederation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan SharanSinghinthecaseinwhich sixwomenwrestlershadlevelled allegationsof sexualharassment against him. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot said there was sufficient material to frame charges against Bhushan in the offences of outraging the modesty of a woman and sexual harassment (sections 354 and 354A of the IPC) of five women. It said for all allegations levelled againstBhushanbyvictimnumber 6, he has been discharged. Her charges dated back to 2012. The court noted that it has foundsufficientmaterialagainst Bhushan for offences under section 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) in the allegations of two victims — number 1 and 5. Bhushan has not been charged with the offence of stalking (354D of the IPC). ForVinodTomar,formerWFI assistant secretary and the secondaccusedinthecase,thecourt saidtherewassufficientmaterial to frame charges against him for criminalintimidationinrelation to the allegations of one victim. Tomar,however,wasdischarged of the charge of abetment. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JD(U) sheen off, for Bihar’s NDA voters, it’s Modi in 2024, not Nitish DEEPTIMAN TIWARY BHAGALPUR, MUNGER, CHAMPARAN, MAY 10 FOR THE large part of Nitish Kumar’s19-yearruleinBihar,his leadership has been identified with an efficient administration that restored law and order in the state, built road infrastructure, empowered girls, women and disadvantaged sections of the society with schemes, carefully designed. Credited with identifying women as a separate constituency in the country – long before it became the flavour of many a party – Nitish also enforced prohibition in the state in 2016. That, too, was a hit with many women at the receiving end of abuse and distress because of their spouses’ alcoholism. However, a stagnating growth,lackof jobopportunities at home, administrative corruption,poorlyimplementedprohibition, crumbling cities beyond the capital, and his own ideological flip-flops are dimming the haloaroundBihar’sVikasPurush. This was visible in the 2020 Assembly polls, when Nitish’s JD(U) was reduced from over 70 seats in the Assembly to just 43 and now in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it’s dimmed further. While voters, cutting across caste lines, flag his “good work,” they report a sense of fatigue with his long reign, frustration with his flip-flops, and impatience with his inability to spur Bihartothenextlevel.Acrossthe 16 seats JD(U) is contesting, those voting for the NDA are clear: they are voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not for Nitish or his candidate. PROHIBITION Among voters, there is special criticism reserved for prohibition,speciallyfromOBCs,EBCs Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at a rally in Barh on Monday. PTI and Dalits, the caste groups that just more expensive. The police are merely cracking down on constitute Nitish’s core base. “Look, I am a poldaar (daily consumers. The jails are full of wagerswholiftweight).If Idon’t poor people. Police does not go get a drink after the day’s work, after bootleggers and smugglers I will not be able to sleep as they pay them regular in the night. But we are bribes,” he says. the ones facing the police Kumhar adds that this crackdown, the rich get time he is voting for away with bribes,” says Nitish’s candidate in Raju Mandal, a Kurmi, at DECISION Sitamarhi because of 2024 Dhankaul Bazaar in Modi, but in 2025, he will Sheohar.Mandalhasbeen vote for change. arrested thrice for being found InMachchharganwavillageof drunk. Valmikinagarconstituency,Lallan Vijay Kumhar (EBC), a daily YadavandRamakant,aMusahar, wager from Sitamarhi, says pro- discusshowbootleggershavefathibitionshouldnotjustbeonpa- tened on illegal payoffs. per. “Liquor is freely available, Even women do not seem to be as positive about prohibition as they were earlier. Says Rita Devi, a Kurmi teastall owner in Bettiah in West Champaran:“Prohibitionisgood. A few members of my family died of alcohol. But it should be total. The only good thing is people are not roaming on the roads drunk.” Kavita Devi (name changed) from in Jhanjharpur is less complimentary. “If prohibition was really implemented,Iwouldcompliment Nitish Kumar. But men are still drinking and coming home and fighting with their wives. My husband the other day even CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata