● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 POLL PANEL ORDER TO PARTIES, THEIR STAR CAMPAIGNERS 23/05/2024 125 153 191 78 No communal speeches, no alarm on Constitution: Poll panel to BJP, Cong Noexplicitdenialinresponsestonotice:ECtoNadda,Kharge DAMINI NATH BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Pannun case: Czech top court clears decks for extradition of Gupta to US NEW DELHI, MAY 22 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- 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 PM on Cong, AAP: They communal, not I… will get X-ray of their assets RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, MAY 22 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 Municipal Court 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. The Constitutional Court final ruling came almost four months after, in an interim decision on January 30, it had stayed the lower courts’ decisions to permitGupta’sextraditionciting no significant harm to public interest if this action was delayed. Earlierthismonth,inresponse CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD SUNAK CALLS SNAP POLLS ON JULY 4 P 12 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 their attempts. He took on the Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi who he calls the “Congress Shehzada”, 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”. Mentioning formerCongress 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 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 INDIA AT RAISI FUNERAL 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 GHATKOPAR BILLBOARD TRAGEDY Hoarding owner had been fined over 100 times by BMC: Police MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, MAY 22 DIRECTOR OF the advertising agency that put up the hoarding, which collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar, killing 17 people, had been fined by the BMC morethan 100 times for violations related to hoarding rules, according to police. “We have found that he has been fined over 100times bythe BMC for hoarding violations since 1998 when he started his company,” an officer said. Apart from these fines, police found that he has six FIRs registered against the accused, Bhavesh Bhinde, in the past, including a rape case filed earlier this year. Ofthesixcases,fourwereregistered in Mulund and two were registeredattheSantacruzpolice station. He was named as an accusedinthecurrentcaseintheFIR that was registered by the Pant Nagar police after the incident. Bhinde's lawyer had earlier argued that he became director in the company in December 2023 and that the company got permissions for the hoardings prior to that. The police had responded saying they found money was being routed to Bhinde's account through an accountofEgoMediaevenbefore December 2023. This, the police said, established he was linked CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The accident site in Ghatkopar on Wednesday. Deepak Joshi TWO YEARS AFTER AGNIPATH ROLLOUT 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, especially in political circles. The Opposition Congress has pledged to end the scheme and return to the earlier military recruitment process. Just weeks ago, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the government is open to change in the Agnipath scheme if required, and the fu- E E X P L A I NE D DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA 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. ture of youths joining as Agniveers will not be impacted. According to officials, the Army survey has sought comments from all stakeholders including Agniveers, the recruiting and training staff at different regimental centres of the Army and unit and sub-unit commanders under whom the Agniveers operate. Officialssaidtheresponsesto specificquestionsforeachgroup CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Porsche crash: Boy sent to observation home till June 5 SUSHANT KULKARNI PUNE, MAY 22 THE JUVENILEJusticeBoard(JJB) of Pune on Wednesday remandedinanobservationhome the 17-year-old boy accused of driving a Porsche car at high speed in an inebriated state, killing two software engineers on Sunday. He has been remanded to the Observation Home till June 5. The board is expected to rule atalaterdateonthepoliceapplicationtotrytheminorasanadult, after completion of various procedures stipulated under the Juvenile Justice Act. The arguments on this plea did not take place on Wednesday but the ap- plicationwastakenontherecord, officials said. Aneesh Awadhiya andAshwaniKoshtha,engineers working in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area, were killed after the speeding Porsche, with the 17-and-ahalf-year-old son of a Pune realtor at the wheel, knocked down their motorcycle in the Yerwada area early on Sunday. The JJB, which had earlier granted the minor bail, had issued a notice to him to appear before it on Wednesday. The minor came to the premises of the JJB around Wednesday noon accompanied by his family members and a team of lawyers. The defence lawyers and prosecution lawyer presented their arguments after which the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Death toll rises to 17; RBI’s record dividend 10 still in hospitals of Rs 2.1 lakh cr to govt EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, MAY 22 OVER A week after a hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump at Pant Nagar in Mumbai’s Ghatkoparsuburb, thedeathtoll in the incident rose to 17, with a 52-year-old man succumbing to injuries at KEM Hospital. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Raju Sonawane, 52, had been undergoing treatment at the civic-run hospital since his rescue from the accident site. He was de- clared dead at 11 pm on Sunday. Tendayssincetheaccident,10 victims are still receiving treatmentatcivic-runhospitals—eight of thematRajawadiHospitaland two at KEM Hospital. Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official from KEM hospital said that Sonawanehadsustainedinjuries to his lungs. “He had lung injuries and hypertension. Owing to this, he succumbed to lung failure,” Dr Sangeeta Rawat, the dean of KEM hospital told Express, adding that the condition of the two persons who are CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 can help trim deficit 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 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 On painkillers, Tejashwi carries weight of INDIA’s Bihar campaign for it in the 2020 Assembly polls, now needs to show he can conPATNA, MAY 22 tinue irrespective of repeated setbacks and loss of power courIT HAS been a back-breaking tesy a vacillating Nitish Kumar. election for RJD leader Tejashwi How 34-year-old Tejashwi perYadav — literally. For nearly a forms could also determine month now, the man on INDIA’s fortunes at the whom the INDIA camCentre, with a crucial 40 paign almost entirely seats at stake in Bihar, of rests in Bihar, has been which the BJP-led NDA ontheroadrallyingsuphad won 39 in 2019. port for the coalition, Elections in the state DECISION are stretched out across popping painkillers, 2024 wearing a lumbo sacral theentiresevenphasesof belt for back relief, and the Lok Sabha polls, and usinga wheelchair whenhecan. they were just two phases in It’sacrucialfightforTejashwi whenTejashwidevelopedpainin who,havingprovedthestomach his back. On May 3, he was seen SANTOSH SINGH limping and walking with the help of aides while campaigning. Soon after, he was advised “maximumbedrest”anduseofthebelt to help ease pain and stiffness. It has been more than a month since and, as of Tuesday, Tejashwi had alone addressed 183 public meetings in Bihar. He hasalsotravelledtoMumbaiand Delhi to campaign. Of otherINDIAleaders,Rahul Gandhi has been to Bihar just once to hold rallies, in Kishanganj and Bhagalpur. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge has held a couple of meetings. On the NDA side, Prime DECISION 2024 ● Shahabuddin’s wife tries luck in Siwan again ● BJP eyes CM Naveen Patnaik’s core base in Odisha: women 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 7, 10 Minister Narendra Modi has held 13 rallies so far, and Union Minister Amit Shah over half-adozen. Besides, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma have held four public meetings each. JD(U)supremoandBiharCM Nitish Kumar has also campaigned through all the five phases so far, and addressed 50odd public meetings. Recently, Tejashwi’s back pain figured in the political war of words when he said at a rally that he would not rest until PM Modigot“bedrest”.TheRJDlater clarified that Tejashwi meant to say “political bed rest". Soon after,addressingarallyinMotihari, Modi said he did not expect any other words from“thesuccessor of jungle raj”. This attack directed at Tejashwi was not new, with Modi lately talking of “Bihar’s shehzada” (as he calls Tejashwi) more often than his pet target Lalu Prasad. Tejashwihasbeenmoreconsistent, ensuring that his campaign doesn’t stray from his themeofjobs,muchlikethe2020 Assembly polls when he had promised 10 lakh jobs if the Mahagathbandhan formed the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2