DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PM, AMIR HOLD TALKS SP SEES MAJOR GAINS, CONGRESS SETBACK BJP sweeps local bodies’ polls in state; AAP gets toehold EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, FEBRUARY 18 Rahul: Midnight decision on CEC selection disrespectful, discourteous One of three in selection panel, Rahul Gandhi filed dissent note ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 18 A DAY after the government notified the appointment of the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday said the “midnight decision” was “disrespectfulanddiscourteous”, pointing out that the Supreme Court was set to hear petitions challenging the new selection process “in less than 48 hours”. The notification of the appointment of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC, and Haryana Chief Secretary Dr Vivek Joshi as ElectionCommissionercamelate onMondaynight,hoursafterthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THEBJPsweptthelocalself-government body elections, winning a majority of the over 2,000 seats – 213 of which it won uncontested – that went to polls last week. As the results came in, the state's ruling party had won 1,600 seats of the total 2,165 that went to polls across municipal corporations,municipalitiesand panchayats, which saw regular elections, by-elections and midterm elections. The Congress won around 300seats.Boththemajorparties saw a few upsets with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was contesting municipalities and panchayatsforthefirsttime,getting a toehold, winning 30 seats, mostly in Saurashtra. The Samajwadi Party (SP) also made major gains and can form boards in the Kutiyana and Ranavav municipalities in US, RUSSIA AT THE TABLE IN RIYADH BJP state President C R Paatil and CM Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar, Tuesday. Bhupendra Rana Porbandar,upsettingtheBJPthat was in power there. The SP had put up 84 candidates while 670 from the AAP contested the polls. The All-India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won a seat in the Upleta municipality. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 4 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left) and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (extreme right) in Riyadh on Tuesday for talks to end the Ukraine war. Reuters REPORT,P 19 Flagging trial delay, SC grants bail to VVIP chopper case accused Michel EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 18 POINTING TO the delay in trial, the Supreme Court Tuesday granted bail to Christian Michel James, one of the alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case who was extradited from the UAE in 2018, in a corruption case registered by the CBI in 2013. Michel’s bail plea in a related case registered by the EnforcementDirectorateislikely to be heard by the Delhi High Court Wednesday. TheED,whichallegedMichel received 30 million euros (approximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland, had argued against grant of bail saying he was a flight risk. In the Supreme Court, the benchofJusticesVikramNathand Sandeep Mehta, which granted bail to Michel, said that given the paceatwhichthecaseisproceeding, the trial may not be completed even in the next 25 years. “...you will not be able to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Stage set in Karachi today, India waits Pervert mind, no shows in Dubai wings: ‘Public will miss out’ till order: SC on Allahbadia EXPRESS AT as it grants interim relief CHAMPIONS TROPHY VENKATA KRISHNA B DUBAI, FEBRUARY 18 INDUBAI,thecityof endlesspossibilities, home to expatriates, cricket teams of India and Pakistan will kick-start a new arrangement with the Champions Trophy. India will be holed up here while Pakistan play at their home. If India hosts an ICC tournament next, India will be playing at home, while Pakistan will find itself in Dubai. Up until 2027, both teams with storied history — which can’t avoid facing each other in globaleventsbecauseof the revenue they generate — will play each other only at neutral ven- India and Qatar elevate ties in trade, energy and investment ues. The first of such fixtures is scheduled for Sunday, with thousands expected to fly down from world over for the cricketing El Clasico. “It’squitesadthatithascome to this,” Mudassar Nazar, a Pakistan veteranof manybattles against India at home, away, and in neutral Sharjah, laments. “More than the players, it is the public who will miss out on the biggest fixture in cricket,” he CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bench flags ‘vacuum’ in regulating online content, asks Govt to act ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 18 WHILE IT granted interim protection from arrest in the FIRs registered against podcaster- influencer Ranveer Allahbadia for his comments on a YouTube show, the Supreme Court on Tuesday barred him from airing “any show” till further orders. It said his conduct showed “lack of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi receive Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Tuesday. Renuka Puri Strategic partnership, doubling of bilateral trade in 5 years announced SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 18 AS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks in New Delhi Tuesday, India and Qatardecidedtoelevatetheirties toa“strategicpartnership”,doublethetargetof bilateraltradeto USD 28 billion in the next five years, and bring Qatari investment of USD 10 billion to India. Modi, in a post on X, said, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why Qatar matters QATAR IS a key player and mediator in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Delhi buys a massive amount of natural gas from Qatar and has a large Indian community there. It also wants Doha to invest in India’s infrastructure. A bright future needs better options. 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