eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT When the Wallflower Blooms AHMEDABAD,LATECITY MAY12,2024 16+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA NEET FRAUD 16 among 26 students travelled over 1,000 km to Godhra centre, court told ADITI RAJA VADODARA, MAY 11 AT LEAST 16 students belonging to far-off states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Karnataka are suspected of have agreed to pay Rs 10 lakh each to clear the National Eligibility-cumEntranceTest(NEET)andchosen Jai Jalaram School in Parvadi village of Panchmahal's Godhra taluka as their exam centre, the prosecution informed a Godhra court on Saturday while seeking a 14-day remand of the accused Parshuram Roy. ThecourtremandedRoy,one of the three arrested in the case, to police remand until May 20 after considering the 22-point remand application filed by the Godhra taluka police station. Roy, the owner of Vadodarabased immigration agency Roy Overseas, also "expressed willingness to become a witness" to help the prosecution's case. Amongthegroundsforseeking remand, the police informed the court that 16 of at least 26 students who allegedly "approached the accused", hailed from Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka but had chosen Godhra's Jai Jalaram School as their preferred centre for the exam. Thenamesof the26students had been found in two lists recovered from prime accused Tushar Bhatt — a geography teacher at the school and a superintendent of the NEET centre — during the raid by the district education department at the centre on May 5. Panchmahal District Government Pleader Rakesh Thakur said, "The magistrate considered our argument that it was unusual for 16 students CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM As a new season of Bridgerton arrives, a look at the perks of being a wallflower DAY AFTER RELEASE ON INTERIM BAIL, CITES PM ‘RULE’ OF RETIREMENT AT 75 If you vote for BJP, you are voting for Amit Shah (as PM), not Modi: Kejriwal NIRMALA, NADDA, YOGI ALSO HIT BACK ‘PM on 1-nation, 1-leader mission, Opp leaders will be held, those in BJP sidelined’ BJP top brass counters: Modi to complete 3rd Cong spreading fear term, remain leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Saturday. PTI MALLICA JOSHI NEW DELHI, MAY 11 OPENING A new front in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday “warned” that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi turning 75 next September, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann thosevotingfortheBJPwouldbe in Mehrauli on Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal. voting for Amit Shah (as PM). Kejriwal also launched an all-out attack on Modi, acparty headquartershere,a Minister?... Modi ji is turning 75 cusing him of carrying out day after his release on in- on September 17 next year. He a “one-nation, one-leader” terim bail, the AAP na- made a rule in 2014 that people mission at “two-levels” — DECISION tional convenor said: in the BJP must retire at 75 2024 by arresting Opposition “These people ask the IN- years... So, I want to ask the BJP leaders, and sidelining DIA bloc who will be your who is your Prime Ministerial those within the BJP. Prime Minister? I ask the BJP candidate?” Addressingagatheringatthe who will be your Prime CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAHARASHTRA Farmer pain, few jobs, Maratha quota are issues, but Modi rises above these SANDEEP SINGH & P VAIDYANATHAN IYER MAVAL, SHIRUR, AHMEDNAGAR, AURANGABAD, MAY 11 IN THE HEART of Ahmednagar, 250 km east of Mumbai, businessmanMachhindraDarkunde, 42,who produces edibleoils,acknowledges that farmers are in pain and the Maratha community is upset over reservation. Machhindra Darkunde, a small businessman in Ahmednagar district “My people are angry that Modiji didn’t refer at all to reservation during his rally here four days ago,” he says and then promptlyrisestoexplain.“Butthe peoplehavetounderstandthatif he makes a promise here, he will have to promise in other states too. How can he do that?” says Darkunde, a Maratha himself. In Maharashtra, the most industrialised state in India, which accounts for almost 10 per cent CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As Patnaik, his schemes put BJD on course, BJP banks on promise of change to close Odisha gap LIZ MATHEW & SUJIT BISOYI SAMBALPUR, HINJILI, MAY 11 BJD’s VK Pandian campaigns in Odisha’s Hinjili. Sujit Bisoyi “WE HAVE good schemes for women, elderly people and youngsters. Naveen (Patnaik) babu has taken care of us very well,”saidSharatKanar,aresident of KadligarhvillageinSambalpur district,afirst-timevoterinthesimultaneous Odisha Assembly (147 seats) and Lok Sabha (21 seats)electionsbeginningMay13. “It’s true that more needs to bedonetoprovidejobstoyouths because many of us have to migratefromOdisha.So we have to give one more chance to Modi at the Centre, but Naveen babu is just fine for Odisha,” he said, making his choices clear. At Charichhak in Boudh district,DuryodhanSahu,whoruns CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 No age bar, no confusion, says Shah; Opp in panic, aim to mislead: Nadda VIKAS PATHAK & SREENIVAS JANYALA over Pak, tally will fall below 50: Modi NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, MAY 11 SUJIT BISOYI THE TOP brass of the BJP rushed inSaturdaytorallyaroundPrime Minister Narendra Modi after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s claim that the purported age-bar of 75 in the BJP would mean that Modi, 73, could, if he got a third term, step down in September 2025, mak- PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi onSaturdaysaid“thecountryhas decided that the Congress will notevenbetheOppositionparty as its numbers will fall to below 50”, pointing out that the party needsatleastone-tenthofthetotalLokSabhaseatstobethemain Opposition party. Addressingarally atOdisha’s Phulbani under Kandhamal Lok Sabhaconstituency,Modireiter- Complaint on turnout ‘our EVM moment’, had to respond, says EC official BHUBANESWAR, MAY 11 Home Minister Amit Shah in Hyderabad Saturday. PTI ingwayforAmitShahtobecome Prime Minister. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 PAGES 8, 9, 10 ● YSRCP, TDP and Jana Sena are BJP’s ‘B’ team in Andhra Pradesh: Rahul Gandhi ated that the NDA would cross the 400-mark while the BJP wouldbreakitspastrecord.“You takemywordonrecord,”hesaid. Modi also accused the Congressof spreadingfearbyrepeatedly stating that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Speaking on the anniversary of the Pokhrantests26yearsago,Modi hailed former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that “Indians across the entire world had taken pride in it”. “That was the time when CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ● 65.68% voting in third phase, 57% seats saw a decline in turnout ● NDA needs 400-plus seats for UCC, Mathura temple: Himanta ASAD REHMAN & RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, MAY 11 RESPONDING TO the scathing rejoinder from the Election Commission (EC) regarding his allegations about voter turnout data, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote back to the poll watchdog Saturday, stating that although he has “misgivings”aboutthelanguage usedin the EC’s letter, he will not dwell on that issue as he understands “the pressures” EC is “working under”. However, a senior officer of the Commission told The Sunday Express that Kharge’s accusations were akin to the EC’s “EVM moment of 2019”, one where the fundamental integrity of the process was being questioned without any evidence. And so the institution had to put its foot down to unequivocally make its case . On Friday, in a response uncharacteristic of the poll CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 ‘Today we can stand without fear, look Brij Bhushan in the eye, and tell him: We are not going anywhere’ Vinesh Phogat SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS RIGHT FROM the morning of Friday, May 10, my fellow wrestlers and I were waiting to know what happens in court. We had logged in online but the connection had snapped for a while. Later in the afternoon, it was someone from our team of lawyers who informed Sakshi (Malik) that charges have been framed. I was at training when I got the news. The framing of charges (sexual harassment and outraging modesty of women) against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a win for us but our battle will continue in court. Today we can standwithoutfear,ourheadheld high, look him in the eye, the man we were afraid of for so manyyears.BrijBhushanhasgot the message that we are not go- Most sportspeople must have thought we were mad to protest like we did.... I hope with the framing of charges, their thought process has changed” Vinesh Phogat after beating Kyrgyzstan’s Laura Ganikyzy last month at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek to win a Paris Olympics quota. United World Wrestling/Kadir Caliskan ing anywhere until women wrestlers get justice. The framing of charges also sends a strong message that womencantakeonpowerfulmen and they don’t have to be afraid. Protesting against someone so CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Ahmedabad