DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 POLL PANEL ORDER TO PARTIES, THEIR STAR CAMPAIGNERS No communal speeches, no alarm on Constitution: Poll panel to BJP, Cong Noexplicitdenialinresponsestonotice:ECtoNadda,Kharge DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, MAY 22 THE WORLD SUNAK CALLS SNAP POLLS ON JULY 4 P 12 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ALMOST A month after issuing noticestoBJPpresidentJPNadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct by their star campaigners, the Election Commission Wednesday ordered BJP star campaigners to “refrain fromutterances along religious/com- PM on Cong, AAP: They communal, not I… will get X-ray of their assets CEC Rajiv Kumar munal lines” and Congress star campaigners to not spread the “false impression that the Constitution may be abolished”. The EC had broken from norm when it issued notices to the two party presidents on April 25 on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Opposition and against Rahul Gandhi and Kharge by the BJP, instead of the leaders themselves. While the EC did not name Modi, Rahul or Kharge, it asked the party presidents for their “comments” on the alleged MCC violations by their “star campaigners”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 No legal mandate to upload Form 17C, EC informs SC DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, MAY 22 RESPONDING TO a plea for uploading voter turnout data, polling station-wise, on its websiteatthecloseof pollingday,the Election Commission told the SupremeCourt Wednesday that it cannot upload Form 17C, which is the record of votes polled at a polling station, because there is no legal mandate to give it to anyone other than candidates and their agents. On May 17, the top court had asked the EC to submit a response to a petition by Association for Democratic Reforms, which asked for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pannun case: Czech top court clears decks for extradition of Gupta to US RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, MAY 22 Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Dwarka, Delhi, on Wednesday. Tashi Tobgyal EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 22 CALLING THEM “ghor sampradayik,ghorjaativadiaurghorparivarvadi” (deeply communal, casteist and dynastic) and “kattarbhrashtachari”(verycorrupt), Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted a sharp attack WednesdayontheCongressand AAP, contesting as partners in DelhiandHaryana,andthelarger Opposition INDIA umbrella. Addressing an election rally in Dwarka, his second poll rally in Delhi, Modi accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of crossing “all limits of communalism, appeasement and vote bank politics” and asked “Muslim brothers” to identify CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 System aligned against lower castes, have seen it since birth: Rahul ‘Two CMs arrested, one who is Adivasi still in jail... two different sets of rules’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, PANCHKULA, MAY 22 SAYING THAT 90 per cent of the population representing “Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities” are unrepresented across different fields and there are “two different sets of rules” although the Constitution is a “document of equality”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the “system is aligned against lower castes”. MentioningformerCongress Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, he said he “understands the system from inside” as he’s been “sitting inside the system since birth”. Speaking at a panel discussion in Panchkula, Gandhi said: “I have been sitting inside the ALMOST A year after he was arrested by Czech authorities in Prague at the request of the US government,thehighestcourtof the country has cleared the decks for Nikhil Gupta’s extradition to the US to be tried for allegedly plotting to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun at the behest of an Indian government official. In a statement issued Wednesday evening, the ConstitutionalCourtof theCzech RepublicdismissedGupta’schallenge to the decisions of the MunicipalCourt in Praguedated November 23, 2023, and the High Court in Prague dated January 8, 2024, both of which had ruled positively on the admissibility of the US request for his extradition. Gupta had approached the top court arguing that the two lower courts had not examined thepoliticalnatureof theactthat he was accused of. TheConstitutionalCourt“disagreed” with the argument of Gupta’slawyer,sayingthecourts had not only thoroughly examined all extradition documents provided by the US government but also the additional information provided by the US in response to Gupta’s objections. Wednesday’s development has paved the way for Gupta’s extradition as the final call now restswiththeMinistryof Justice. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CongressleaderRahulGandhi in Panchkula. Jasbir Malhi system since birth. I understand the system from inside. You cannot hide the system from me. How it works, who it favours, how it favours, who it protects, who it attacks, I know everything, I can see it as I have come from inside it. At the Prime Minister's house, when my grandmother (Indira Gandhi) was the PM, Papa (Rajiv Gandhi) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar pays tribute to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others who died in a helicopter crash, in Tehran on Wednesday. X/ @VPIndia REPORT,PAGE12 NIKHILA HENRY NEW DELHI, MAY 22 THEKARNATAKAPolice’sSpecial Investigation Team (SIT) probing theallegationsof rapeandsexual harassment against Prajwal Revanna has so far heard details from“20to30”people,bothmen and women, that back its case againsttheJD(S)MPfromHassan, The Indian Express has learnt. These people include those livingnearthelocationwherethe alleged crimes took place and those who turned in documents Prajwal Revanna left the country last month to support the claims of the four women who have so far accused theMPofrapeandsexualassault, itislearnt.Theyhavemainlyprovided “circumstantial evidence”, telling investigators that “they wereawareofsexualassaulthappening behind closed doors”, a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HC cancels OBC certificates issued in Bengal since 2010, CM protests SANTANU CHOWDHURY I do not accept the order: CM Mamata Banerjee KOLKATA, MAY 22 THE CALCUTTA High Court Wednesday cancelled all Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued by the West Bengal government since 2010. Hours later, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she will not accept the order, and OBC reservation will continue in the state. The court washearing a pub- lic interest litigation challenging provisions of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than ScheduledCastesandScheduled Tribes)(Reservationof Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012. Settingasidetheclassification of 37 communities as OBC, the Benchsaid,“Westrikedownsection 16 of the Act of 2012 since it empowerstheStateExecutiveto amendanyscheduleof theActof 2012. Consequently, the 37 classes included under exercise of section 16 are struck out of schedule 1 of the Act of 2012.” The number of persons enlistedunderOBCinthestateafter 2010islikelytobeabovefivelakh, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On painkillers, with a belt strapped on, Tejashwi carries the weight of INDIA’s Bihar campaign SANTOSH SINGH DECISION IT HAS been a back-breaking election for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav — literally. DECISION For nearly a 2024 month now, the man on whom the INDIA campaign almost entirely rests in Bihar, has been on the road rallying support for the coalition, popping painkillers, wearing a lumbo sacral belt for back relief, and using a wheel- ● Shahabuddin’s wife tries luck in Siwan again PATNA, MAY 22 2024 ● CM Naveen Patnaik’s core support base of women is BJP target EXPRESSINTERVIEW ‘ItisfarmersvsBJP...They don’tletuscampaign’ Advised bed rest due to spinal issues, he has held 183 public meetings so far. X/ RJD leader Alok Kumar Mehta PRENEETKAUR,BJP’S PATIALACANDIDATE PAGES 6, 7 chair when he can. It’sacrucialfightforTejashwi who,havingprovedthestomach for it in the 2020 Assembly polls, now needs to show he can continue irrespective of repeated setbacks andloss of power courtesy a vacillating Nitish Kumar. How 34-year-old Tejashwi performs could also determine INDIA’s fortunes at the Centre, with a crucial 40 seats at stake in Bihar, of which the BJP-led NDA had won 39 in 2019. Elections in the state are stretched out across the entire seven phases of the Lok Sabha CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Army conducts own survey on scheme for Agniveers, may recommend tweaks Seeks responses from Agniveers, staff at regimental centres, unit commanders AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, MAY 22 THE ARMY is conducting an internal survey on the Agnipath scheme to assess its impact on its recruitment process so far, based on which it is likely to draw up recommendations for the incoming government on possible changes to the scheme, The Indian Express has learnt. Rolled out in June 2022, the Agnipath scheme is recruiting Agniveers—soldiers,airmenand sailors—intheArmedForcesfor a period of four years. At the end of thefour-yeartenure,upto25% of them can apply voluntarily to join the services on a regular basis, subject to merit and organisational requirements. Ever since its launch, it has generated much debate, espe- E Agniveer status ● update In the Army, two batches of 40,000 Agniveers have completed training and are under posting. The third batch of 20,000 began training in November 2023. In the Navy, three batches of 7,385 Agniveers have completed training. In the IAF, 4,955 Agniveer Vayu trainees have completed training. cially in political circles. The Opposition Congress has pledged to end the scheme and return to the earlier military CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RBI’s record dividend of Rs 2.1 lakh cr to govt can help trim deficit INDIA AT RAISI FUNERAL Sexual assault charges against Prajwal: Over 20 speak to cops, back case TWO YEARS AFTER AGNIPATH ROLLOUT E X P L A I NE D JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES EXPRESS NETWORK SOREN WITHDRAWS BAIL PLEA AFTER SC RAP PAGE8 HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, MAY 22 THE CENTRAL Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday approvedahighestever surplus transfer, or dividend, of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to the Central government for the accounting year 2023-24. This amount is much higher than both the budgeted (Rs 1.02 lakh crore announced in the Interim Budget for FY2025, including dividends from banks and financial institutions) and market expectation of Rs 1-1.1 lakh crore surplus, and would come as an unexpected boost to thegovernment’sfiscal position. SURPLUS TRANSFERRED Year 2023-24 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 2018-19 Amount 2,10,874 87,416 30,307 99,122 57,128 1,76,051 Source: RBI; in Rs crore Thebumperdividendpayout is likely to help ease FY25 fiscal deficit by around 0.2 per cent of the GDP, analysts said. In the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2