DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 POLL RALLIES IN ODISHA PM sees plot in Naveen health, Odisha CM says you probe the rumours Modisayspaneltoprobe;Naveensayshe’sinperfecthealth CONG TOO COMPLAINS Can meditate but that can’t be televised: Mamata on PM’s TN trip EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, NEW DELHI, MAY 29 A DAY after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announced to meditate at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari from May30toJune1,theCongresson Wednesday submitted a complainttotheElectionCommission of India, demanding that it (the trip) should either be postponed oritsbroadcastbebannedinview oftherulesundertheModelCode of Conduct for elections. Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said that her party would file a complaint to the poll panel, saying the Prime Minister “cannot campaign like this”. “He can meditate but that cannot be telecast on television. That’s a violation of the model code of conduct, and we will complain to the EC,” the TMC chief said at a rally in Baruipur, whichwillvoteonJune1–thefinalphaseof theseven-phaseLok Sabha elections. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUJIT BISOYI BHUBANESWAR, MAY 29 WITH THE BJP locked in a tough electoral battle with the BJD in Odisha,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi Wednesday raised questionsaboutthe“failinghealth”of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, andaskedwhetherthereisaconspiracy behind it by a power “lobby”.HesaidthatoncetheBJP forms government in the state, a “specialcommittee”willbeinstituted to probe the matter as the people of Odisha have a right to know about it. HoursafterthePrimeMinister made the claims at an election rally, Patnaik, who is seeking a sixth consecutive term in office, toldreportersthatheisinperfect health. “If he (PM) has to form a committee, I suggest he form a Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Balasore district of Odisha on Wednesday. PTI Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik at a press meet in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. ANI committeetolookintothepeople whoarespreadingsuchrumours about my health,” he said. Addressing a poll rally in Baripada under Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha segment, which votes in the final phase on June 1, Prime MinisterModisaidthereisaneed for a detailed probe to “uncover the mystery” about the “sudden deterioration”inthehealthofthe Odisha Chief Minister. “Every well-wisher of Naveen Babu is now concerned and worried about how Naveen Babu’shealthhasdeterioratedin the past one year. People who were close to Naveen Babu for years,whentheymeetme,often CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Let Muslims shift Kashi & Mathura mosques, things will change: Sarma P9 LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, MAY 29 BJP LEADER and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Wednesday that Islamophobia is “real” for many Hindus in the country and the “so-called secular intellectuals” will not be able to counter it. He said it can only be con- THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW HIMANTA BISWA SARMA ASSAM CHIEF MINISTER tained if the Muslims agree to shiftMathura’sShahiEidgahand Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque to other places through “mutual consultations”and“constructive deliberations between the two communities”. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sarma said, “If you continue to have Shahi Eidgah there in Mathura, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP raises corruption Ahead of LS results, issue in TMC Kolkata S&P revises India bastions, CPM banks outlook to positive on mix of old and new Retains rating, says continuity in reforms, AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, MAY 29 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a roadshow in Kolkata on Wednesday. Express ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, MAY 29 AS THE bitterly fought Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, stretched over DECISION seven phases, finally draw to a 2024 close on June 1, the contest will end fittingly with state capital Kolkata. Four of the nine constituencies which vote on Saturday fall within its geographical boundaries — Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar — all held by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The TMC has repeated three of its sitting MPs, only replacing actor-turned-politician Mimi Chakraborty (who announced her retirement from politics) in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 S&P GLOBAL Ratings on Wednesday revised up the outlook for India to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’, retained ‘BBB-’ longterm and ‘A-3’ short-term unsolicitedforeignandlocalcurrency sovereigncreditratings,andsaid continued policy stability, deepening economic reforms and high infrastructure investment will sustain long-term growth prospects for India. S&P had last revised up the outlook to stable from negative in September 2014, and had raised the rating to BBB- from BB+ in January 2007. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the revision reflects “India's solid growth performance and a promising economic outlook for the coming years”. “It has been possible due to the series of macroeconomic reforms undertaken since 2014, EXPLAINED policies expected regardless of outcome E The path ● ahead IF GROWTH remains robust, monetary policy ensures low inflation and the government commits itself to fiscal consolidation i.e., lowers its deficit as a percentage of GDP continuously, it is likely the S&P would revise up India’s rating too. along with substantial outlay for capex, fiscal discipline, and decisive & visionary leadership. As envisioned by Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi, India is well on tracktobecomethethird-largest economy in the third term of the government and become a #ViksitBharat by 2047,” she said in a post on X. While results of the Lok CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After a wedding kiss in Hapur, a full-blown brawl and a runaway bride PAGE 1 ANCHOR VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA HAPUR, MAY 29 EVERYTHINGWASgoingtoplan. The baraat had arrived to the cacophony of the wedding band. Minutes later, the couple — the bride in a deep-red lehenga and the groom in an ivory-coloured bandgala and matching turban — exchanged garlands. Then came the twist: the groom A video grab of Deepanshu and Savita at their wedding lunged forward and kissed the bride – “on the forehead”. NobodyhadtoldDeepanshu, who accompanies his father to play the dhol at weddings and other functions, that he could kiss his bride. Now that he had done so, all hell broke loose. Someone in the bride’s family loudly objected to the kiss and soon,theweddingvenueturned into a battlefield — plastic chairs wereflungaround,platesof food and juice lay spilled on the carpet, punches flew freely, some of the relatives were hauled off to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata