The Editorial Page: In age of AI, Pope returns to older concern: Technology, wealth, inequality 10 WeDneSDAy, June 10, 2026 Journalism of Courage kolkAtA, lAte citY, 18 PAges ₹6.00 (₹12 in north east states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 CElEbrATIONS AT bhArAT MANDAPAM nDA turns 12 today, meets to mark Modi crossing nehru stint Express News Service New Delhi, June 9 leaderSoFNdaconstituents will meet at the bharat MandapaminNewdelhiWednesdayto celebrate the completion of 12 yearsofthebJP-ledgovernment and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaching a personal milestone by becoming the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister, bettering the record of Jawaharlal Nehru. on Wednesday, Modi will complete 4,399 consecutive daysinofficeasPrimeMinister, onemorethanthe4,398daysof Nehru as a directly elected PrimeMinisterwho entered of- editorial page 4,399 dAys, The long Arc of leAdershIp By M VenkAIAh nAIDu p 10 fice on May 13, 1952 and served until his death on May 27, 1964. The 1952 general election was the first since independence when Nehru was chosen Prime Minister. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, bJP president Nitin Nabin said, “These 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modiji’s leadership have been »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP leaders see CJP stir as ‘part of democracy’: ‘Gen Z not anti-establishment’ liz Mathew & Jatin Anand New Delhi, June 9 aS The newly formed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) draws support for its campaign against paper leaks and other exam controversies, the bJP will take an accommodating stand. amid the clamour for education Minister dharmendra Pradhan to resign, senior bJP leaders stressed here Tuesday that youth should not be “defamed for their aggressive NO SIGN Of PrICE DIP, DOMESTIC PrODUCTION bEING rAMPED UP Fertiliser subsidy burden set to double on global supply crunch PSus float tenders for imports, Govt plans to tap Russia to meet demand Siddharth Upasani & Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, June 9 riSiNg global costs of fertilisers amid a supply crunch is likely to result in a subsidy burden of almost rs 3.4 lakh crore, or an almost 100 per cent increase compared with the budget estimate of rs 1.7 lakh crore, according to top government sources. “We are still selling fertiliser at a subsidised price of around »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l Fertilisersubsidy FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27 Figures in Rs crore 81,124 1,27,922 1,53,758 2,51,339 1,88,292 1,70,683 1,86,460 1,70,781 FY26 is Revised estimAte, FY27 Budget estimAte; souRce: Budget documents Congestion at ports, exporters flag carriers’ ‘opportunistic pricing’ ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, June 9 aMid logiSTiCal disruption due to the West asia crisis, indian exporters are grappling with mounting financial burden posed by “opportunistic” pricing practices by foreign shipping lines and “nontransparent” imposition of detention, demurrage charges »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The Big PicTure eXplained E. eXplained The hormuz fallout The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and the US naval blockade has led to congestion at ports on India’s western seaboard and sent freight costs soaring, severely impacting exporters and their margins. A-I crAsh: Two men & A phone cAll pAge 9 cAn cockroAch Be Used As polITIcAl pArTy symBol p 14 stand over issues”. Noting that he had “serious reservations about gen Z being termed as anti-establishment”, atopbJPleadersaid:“Thereare youngsters who are involved in stone-pelting in Jammu and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Breakthrough at Zojila Vehicles pass through the Zojila tunnel after its breakthrough ceremony at Meenamarg in Ladakh, Tuesday. AP reporT, page 7 Business as Usual By eP unny Thefootballworld iscomingto America,butnot everyoneis welcomethistime eXpreSS at World Cup Sandip G New York, June 9 Thebillboardfindsyoubefore you find it. Step out of the subway at Times Square and there it is — three storeys of France’s Kylian Mbappé, his face stretched, jaw set, eyes fixed on something beyond the frame.Nexttohim,isthebrazilian, Vinicius Jr. Football’s global stars are sparkling from the Manhattan skyline. This is New York in the days before the FiFa World Cup 2026, which begins on June 11, and the city is doing what it always does with the world’s attention — absorbing it, amplifying it, making it feel like it »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata ‘SIGNATUrE fOrGEry’ PrObE CID searches offices of TMC and Abhishek Tanusree bose Kolkata, June 9 The WeST bengal Cid on Tuesdayconductedsearchesat the Trinamool Congress’s central party office in Kolkata’s Kalighat and at the office of TMC national general secretary abhishek banerjee on Camac Streetaspartofitsinvestigation into an alleged signature forgery case. The searches came on a day when abhishek banerjee skipped a third summons issued by the Crime investigation department (Cid), citing pending proceedings before »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2