The Editorial Page: The good news is lower-income states are catching up 8 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2025 JOURNALISM of COURAGE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 ROUSING WELCOME AS KHALEDA SON RETURNS TO DHAKA Tarique back: I have a plan... an inclusive and safe Bangladesh Time for all of us to build the country together, says BNP leader Maiden Arrival A ceremonial water cannon salute is accorded to the first flight that landed at the Navi Mumbai International Airport from Bengaluru on Thursday, when commercial operations began at the airport. The aviation tradition marks the first commercial touchdown and departure. NARENDRA VASKAR REPORT, PagE 3 Happening today lTHE DELHI HIGH COURT will hear a PIL seeking a GST cut on air purifiers by classifying them as ‘medical devices’ in view of the Capital’s worsening air quality. lTHE fIfTH NATIONAL conference of chief secretaries begins. The conference, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will conclude on December 28. BJP is proud our govt tore down wall of Art 370: PM Attacks Cong over ‘one family’, says his govt has ensured respect for Babasaheb, Rao, Pranab Maulshree Seth Lucknow, December 25 116 144 179 95 PAYING TRIBUTE to the dreams and principles of the founding fathers of the Jan Sangh-BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said “the BJP is proud that our governmentgottheopportunityto tear down the wall of Article 370” in Jammu and Kashmir where “the Constitution of India is in full force” now. SpeakinginLucknowwhere he inaugurated the Rashtra Bajrang Dal and VHP activists vandalise school in Assam over Christmas celebration Latest in series of disruptions in states, including MP and Chhattisgarh Sukrita Baruah Guwahati, December 25 A GROUP of Bajrang Dal and VishvaHinduParishadactivists stormed a diocese school in Assam’s Nalbari town on Wednesday, Christmas Eve, and destroyed Christmas decorations there. The same group had also destroyedChristmasornaments beingsoldinashopinthetown. The incident at Nalbari was the latestinaseriesofChristmasdisruptionsreportedfromdifferent parts of the country, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattis- EDITOrIAl PAGE gOONS caN’T hIjack MERRy chRISTMaS PagE 8 garh, over the past week. Nalbari Senior SuperintendentofPolice,Bibekananda Das, said that they have received a complaint from the authoritiesofSt.Mary’sEnglish School, Panigaon, in connection with the incident. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi early on Thursday. ANI PAGE 10 Prerna Sthal and its giant statues of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the former Prime Minister’s birth anniversary, Modi also took a swipe at the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family when he said that while these statues will infuse Mumbai, December 25 THE GROSS Domestic Product (GDP)growthprojectionislikely to moderate with inflation expectedtograduallymovecloser to the target in the coming quarters, and this is in line with the forecasts of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) resolution, said Saugata Bhattacharya,oneofthethreeexternal membersoftheReserveBankof India’s rate-setting panel. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation is projected at 2 per cent for FY26. For 2026-27, CPI inflation is expected at 3.9 per cent in Q1 and 4 per cent in Q2. Under the flexible inflation tar- ExPrEss interview Ritu Sarin New Delhi, December 25 ■ EIGHTEEN MONTHS ago, GautamChauhan(28),amason from Azamgarh, pawned his sister’sgoldjewelleryandmortgaged his family’s half-acre land to put together Rs 68,800 for his journey to Israel to work as a labourer. He is yet to get on that flight. ■ Chhedi Lal (45), a foreman from Fatehpur, pawned his Receipts of money paid by the petitioners for booking air tickets to Israel. These have been attached with the petition. ABHINAV SAHA wife’s jewellery for the same amount, and reason. “Several other workers from my district, who cleared the interview and tests after me, left in 2024-end. I still have not got my work Anisur Rahman BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman at the Dhaka airport after returning from London, Thursday. AP ANOTHER LYNCHING, P 14 E. ExPlAINED Frontrunner for PM post in Feb polls Tarique Rahman’s return is politically significant ahead of the February 12 elections — widely seen as crucial to restoring political stability after nearly two years of turmoil. With the Awami League being barred from contesting the elections, the BNP is the frontrunner, and Rahman has emerged as a leading contender for prime ministership. “It is time for us all to build the country together. We want to build a safe Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, no matter who a woman, man, or child is, they should be able to leave their homes safely and return safely,” he said. The homecoming of the BNPheirapparentcomesamid a fresh wave of unrest and political instability gripping Bangladesh following the killing of youth leader Sharif OsmanHadi,whowasaprominentfaceinlastyear’smassprotests that forced the collapse of theSheikhHasinagovernment. Invoking Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TOP MAOIST leader Paka Hanumanthu, alias Ganesh alias Chamru,andfiveotherMaoists were killed in an encounter in Odisha in the early hours of Thursday, a development the Centre hailed as a significant breakthrough. Ganesh, 67, from Telangana’s Nalgonda district, was a Central Committee member of theoutlawedCommunistParty of India (Maoist), a member of the Central Regional Bureau, and the only member of the Southern Regional Bureau. He carried a reward of Rs 1 crore and went by several aliases, including Rupa, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru, Pakka Hanumantu, Ganeshanna and Somar. Those killed alongside him are yet to be identified. In a statement, the Union HomeMinistrycalledthedevelopmenta“significantmilestone towards Naxal-free Bharat”. “Withthismajorbreakthrough, Odisha stands at the threshold »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Begin with Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). SAUGATA BHATTACHARYA MEMBER OF RBI’S MPC PagE 13 getingregime,RBIismandated to keep inflation at 4 per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent. “Now that inflation is forecast to gradually normalise »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Workers left out of Israel jobs flight take legal route: ‘Mortgaged land, jewellery’ anchor Hyderabad, December 25 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l DISCRIMINATION, SAYS PETITION IN ALLAHABAD HC AGAINST NATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PAGE 1 Sreenivas Janyala newenergy,oneshouldnotforget that after Independence, every good work in the country was linked to just one family. Be it books, government schemes, institutions, roads and lanes, everything carried the name and glory of only one family, he said. The Congress GDP growth likely to moderate with inflation nearing 4%: RBI panel member Hitesh Vyas & George Mathew Paka Hanumanthu alias Ganesh, 67, was a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist) Dhaka, December 25 BANGLADESHNATIONALIST Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka to a rousing welcome by thousands of his supporters on Thursday after over 17 years in self-exile—ahomecomingthat is expected to energise the party ahead of the February 12 parliamentary elections. Shortly after landing at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Rahman, the leading contender to be the country’s next prime minister, stood barefoot on Bangladeshi soil in a symbolic gesture to mark his return to the country’s politics. Addressing his supporters at the July 36 Expressway in Dhaka hours later, the 60-yearold son of ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia gave a clarion call to maintain peace andstabilityinthecountryand presented a broad plan to build an “inclusive Bangladesh”. TopMaoistwith Rs1-crbounty amongsix killedinOdisha visa,” he says. ChauhanandLalareamong the over 2,700 candidates selectedfromUP,whoweredrawn byadvertisementsissuedbythe National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) over the past two years, for a showpiece Government scheme to send skilled labourers to Israel. Today, the two are among 376 candidates who were allegedlyoverlookeddespitehaving paid money for the air tickets while others, selected in subsequent batches, were sent to Tel Aviv. Chauhan and Lal are also »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The key to harnessing the power of compounding is to remain invested for a longer tenure, allowing the Investment to compound. 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