DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 IN 4-3 RULING, COURT SETS NEW TEST FOR MINORITY INSTITUTIONS SCaffirmsminorityrights,setsaside itsverdictthatrejectedAMU’sstatus Court leaves it to regular bench to apply the test, determine AMU’s minority status THE WORLD NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 Rajasthan to file case if photos of NREG worker numbers not same in records HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 IN NEW directions under the MahatmaGandhiNationalRural EmploymentGuaranteeScheme, the Rajasthan government has askeditsdistrictcollectorstoregistercriminalcasesagainstmates (orworksitesupervisors)if there isadifferencebetweenthenumber of workers shown in photographs uploaded by them in an official app and the number shown as present on the muster roll on a particular day. A mate is defined as “a worksite supervisor” by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. Though not a government servant, the ministry requires the presence of at least one mate or supervisorforevery100workers. The “Guidelines for effective implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Scheme” circulated on October 25 this year askedthecollectorstofindoutthe actual reasons for the discrepancy. “…action should be taken to blacklist the mate and register a criminal case against the mate. Action should be taken as per rulesagainsttheresponsiblepersonnelof theGramPanchayatfor negligence in supervision,” said thedirectionsissuedbythestate’s Rural Development Secretary Ashutosh A.T. Pednekar. AnemailtoPednekarseeking response on the new guidelines did not elicit a response. When contacted,anofficialintheUnion Ministry of Rural Development said, “The National Mobile Monitoring System app is used to record attendance of MGNREGAworkersandisaimedatincreasing transparency and proper monitoring of the scheme. It enables capturing of attendance of workers along with geo-tagged photographs twice a day.” The official further saidthatSection23(3)of theAct mentions that a state government may, by rules, determine thearrangementstobemadefor proper execution of the scheme to ensure transparency and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR E CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E X P L A I NE D PUTIN PRAISES TRUMP: ‘RUSSIA OPEN TO RESTORING TIES’ ISRAELI FOOTBALL FANS ATTACKED IN AMSTERDAM; 62 HELD PAGE 17 THE SC’S TEST FOR ● STATUS ■ What’s the institu- ion’s origin? Purpose? Is there minority role in its setting up? ■ Does its administra- tion affirm minority character and serve minority interests? Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud gets emotional at a farewell ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in New Delhi on Friday. Looking on is Attorney General of India R Venkataramani. ANI 3 dissent: 1 rejects minority In AMU, welcome relief: status, 2 other judges join ‘Easier now to prove it’s him in questioning process a minority institution’ AJOY SINHA KARPURAM NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 OF THE three dissenting judges in the case to decide the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University, Justice Dipankar Datta was the only one who categorically said that AMU is not a minorityeducationalinstitution. However,allthreedissenting judges — Justices Surya Kant, DipankarDattaandSCSharma– were of the view that the 1981 order by a two-judge bench referringS.AzeezBashav.Unionof India (1967) was incorrect and, according to Justice Kant, sufferedfrom“multipleillegalities”. THE EDITORIAL PAGE A SPECIAL RIGHT AMU verdict is a pushback against political projects that impose uniformity PAGE8 RELATEDREPORT P 11 In the case of Anjuman-eRahmaniav. DistrictInspectorof Schools (1981), a two-judge bench dealing with the minority status of VMHS Rahmania Inter College,doubtedthecorrectness of the Supreme Court’s decision in S. Azeez Basha — where the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND ALIGARH, NOVEMBER 8 A WAVE of relief swept the Aligarh Muslim University campus the moment Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, reading out the 4-3 majority verdict Friday morning, overruled the Supreme Court’s 1967 ruling which had held that AMU was not a minority institution. For students, teachers and staff tracking the court proceedings,thiswasa welcomeverdict. Many were cautiously optimistic,pointingoutthatthelong waitforthemattertoberesolved had been prolonged again since No greater feeling than to serve the needy: CJI on last day in office ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 THERE IS no greater feeling for a judge than to be able to serve those in need, outgoing Chief Justiceof IndiaD Y Chandrachud said Friday as he bid goodbye to lawyers in Court Hall 1 of the Supreme Court on his last day in office. He will be retiring on GUJARAT SURAT DEATHS: OWNERS OF SPA, GYM ARRESTED HC REJECTS BAIL PLEA OF GODHRA CASE CONVICT P3 India won’t travel to Pak for Champions Trophy, wants its games in Dubai: BCCI SANDEEP DWIVEDI ANANTHAKRISHNAN G UNDERLINING THAT that the determination of the “minority character”of aninstitutionisnot a rigid concept, the Supreme Court, in a narrow 4-3 majority verdict,overruled its1967ruling which had held that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was not a minority institution. “The view taken in Azeez Basha... that an educational institution is not established by a minority if it derives its legal character through a statute, is overruled,” the majority verdict, authoredbyChief Justiceof India D Y Chandrachud stated. Along with the CJI, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra formed the majority while Justices Dipankar Dutta, Surya Kant and Satish Chandra Sharma wrote separate dissenting opinions. Friday was CJI’s last day in office. The SC laid down the law SECURITY CITED AS KEY CONCERN November 10. Later in the day, at a farewell event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association(SCBA), CJI Chandrachud said, “I am probably one of the most trolled individuals and judges across the system... In a lighter vein, I am just wondering what will happen from Monday because all those who trolled me will be rendered unemployed.” Thereweremomentsofemotion as colleagues and lawyers heaped praises on him through theday.Afterthepronouncement of a judgment earlier in the day, the CJI wiped his moist eyes as JusticePSNarasimhasharedhow “extraordinary” had been their association. Recalling his days with CJI Chandrachud on the bench, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘It’s the diversity of the nation which protects the basic structure of the Constitution’ D Y CHANDRACHUD CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA PAGES 12, 13 China okays $1.4-trillion stimulus, may affect FPI inflows into India SHUBHAJIT ROY, RAVI DUTTA MISHRA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE BEIJING, NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8 THE CHINESE government Friday approved a 10-trillion yuan or US $1.4 trillion (1 US$ = 7.17 Chinese yuan) package aimedatgivingaboosttoaslowing domestic economy and bailing out local governments. The stimuluscomesjusttwodaysafter Donald Trump won the US Presidency following a campaign where he proposed tariffs as high as 60 per cent on goods imports from China. A Xinhuareport saidChinese lawmakers have approved the StateCouncilbilltoraisetheceiling on local government debt by 6 trillion yuan (about US$ 840 billion) to replace existing “hidden debts”, according to Xu Hongcai, deputy head of the financial and economic affairs committee of the National People's Congress(NPC),China's top legislature. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Police security at the Aligarh Muslim University entrance on Friday. Abhinav Saha itwouldnowhavetowaitforthe verdict of a regular bench. Professor Aftab Alam, Chairman and Professor, Department of Strategic and SecurityStudies, INDIAWILLnottraveltoPakistan for next year's Champions Trophy cricket tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in a recent communication to the Pakistan Cricket Board, has cited security concernsbehinditsdecisionandexpressedadesiretoplaythatIndia play all their games in Dubai. “Thishasbeenourstanceand thereisnoreasontochangethat. We have written to them and asked them toshift ourgamesto Dubai,” a source told The Indian Express. The top eight teams of the world are to take part in the February 19 to March 9 50-over ICCeventthathasKarachi,Lahore and Rawalpindi as host cities. Sources said the BCCI has reiterated its stand over Pakistan “in consultation with the government”. Last year before the Asia Cup, India, despite pressure from hosts Pakistan, was able to shift its matches to Sri Lanka. This comes after hopes were raisedaboutcricketnormalcyreturning to the region following last month's meeting between External Affairs Minister S JaishankarandPakistan'sDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar The lastIndia-Pakmatchwas heldin NewYorkonJune 9 duringthe T20WorldCup. ICC on the sidelines of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisationmeeting at Islamabad. This was the first direct conversation between the two nations at this level since 2015. In the aftermath of this cordialmeeting,thawseemedtobe on cards and resumption of cricket ties was talked about. Even the PCB was bending backwards to convince India to make the trip across the border. The Pakistan board had given BCCI the option of the Indian team returningtoIndiaaftereverygame. However,sincetheJaishankar visit on October 16, there have been a string of terror incidents inJammuandKashmirkilling16 people including two soldiers. The last time India toured Pakistan was in 2006 when the Rahul Dravid team won an ODI series 4-1. Of late, Pakistan has hostedEnglandandBangladesh. PM targets Cong, tells OBCs & Dalits to stay united: ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Goa complains to police against X user who said foreign tourists staying away PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA PANAJI, NOVEMBER 8 THE GOA government’s tourism department has filed a police complaint against an entrepreneur, whose post on X about the state of tourism in Goa had promptedseveralothertravellers to chime in with their own negative experiences from the state. In a complaint to the Superintendent of Police of the cyber crime police station in Panaji, tourism deputy director Rajesh Kale stated that he was “writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding an incident of public mischief that occurred on November 5, at approximately 3:52 pm”. According to Kale, the entrepreneur“disseminatedfalsedata through his social media X handles, thereby causing significant annoyance to local businesses and inducing fear or alarm CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during a public meeting in Nashik, Friday. PTI of special status and constitutional guarantees”, saying “no NASHIK, NOVEMBER 8 power in the world” would be able to restore Article 370. TARGETING THE Congress for “If STs(ScheduledTribes),SCs “pitting one caste against an- (Scheduled Castes), and OBCs other”, Prime Minister Narendra stay united, the politics of ModionFridaylaunchedtheBJP’s Congress will be over. The state Assembly election Congress has become campaign from north parasitic and is survivMaharashtra. ing on crutches. It can Atpublicmeetingsin contest polls only with Dhule and Nashik, the the support of other ModiappealedtoDalits, parties, it cannot stand tribals, and Other DECISION on its own. Hence, to Backward Classes survive, it has resorted 2024 (OBCs) to stay united, to its oldest tactic of diMAHARASHTRA telling them “Ek hai toh viding SCs, STs, and safehai(Together,weare OBCs by sowing seeds safe)”. He also targeted the of discord among them to Opposition over a Jammu and weaken their unity,” he said. Kashmir Assembly resolution “Since Nehru’s time, the seeking dialogue for “restoration CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VALLABH OZARKAR Sabarmati Ashram project: Key stretch now off-limits for commuters PARIMAL DABHI AHMEDABAD, NOVEMBER 8 COME SATURDAY and you would no longer be able to use the road between Subhash Bridge Circle and Cargo Motors Three Roads near Vadaj Smashangruh(crematorium)on the key Ashram Road in Ahmedabad. In a significant development related to redevelopment of Sabarmati Ashram precinct, the Ahmedabad police commissioner has ordered permanent closure of the road between the two points for vehicular traffic. Issuing a notification in this regard, Incharge Ahmedabad PoliceCommissionerAjaykumar Chaudhary ordered the closure of the around 800-metre stretch of the Ashram Road from Saturday midnight (00:00 hours). The order also details the alternate road to be used for vehicular traffic following the closure of the stretch. The development comes as a landmark change in the vehicular traffic of Ahmedabad city on the key Ashram Road, which connects the two ashrams founded by Mahatma Gandhi — Kochrab Ashram in 1915 and Sabarmati Ashram in 1917 — spanningover10kilometres.The Ashram Road remained a Central Business District till the redevelopment of Chimanlal GirdharlalroadorCGRoadinthe early 1990s. The notification read, “It has been decided to restore and redevelop Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram with collaboration between Government of India and Government of Gujarat. And for that, Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Trust has been created. For this trust, a consultant has been appointed. The project consultant has made a plan by combining the Ashram which is Work underway on the busy Ashram Road in Ahmedabad on Friday. Bhupendra Rana (currently)dividedintwoparts.” It further stated: “As part of theprojectplan,thearound800metre road between Batrisi Bhavan and Cargo Motors Three Roads, which is part of road betweenSubhashBridgeCircleand Vadaj Smashangruh, has to be permanently closed for vehicular traffic.” The use of this 800-metre stretch for vehicular movement hasbeenprohibitedandnotified as an offence under the provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Gujarat Police Act. Police officials from the rank of Special/Joint/Additional Commissioner to police consta- ble have been empowered to lodge a complaint in this regard under the notification. With permanent closure of the stretch, the city police have also notified that for movement between Vadaj Smashangruh and Subhash Bridge Circle, vehicles can take the road between Subhash Bridge Circle, Prabodh Raval Circle, Ranip Bus Stop T point towards Cargo Motors. The notification has, however, made one exception: People living around the Sabarmati Ashram and visitors toSabarmatiAshramwillbeable to commute from Subhash Bridge Circle to Sabarmati Ashram. A senior government official connected with the project termed the closure of the road stretch as a “major development” in implementing the redevelopment plan of the ashram. “The road from the two ends will be closed from midnight. We have already developed two big parking plots at thetwo ends from where visitors can come to the Ashram while parking their vehicles.Oneparkingplot,measuring5,000squaremetre,isnear gaushala and the other, measuring 3,000 square metre, is near CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad