The ideas Page: The delimitation debate is a fight over the wrong number 9 SAtURDAY, JUlY 18, 2026 JournaliSm of CouraGe mumbAI, lATe cITy, 20 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 TEAM Of DOCTORS fROM RML, SAfDARjUNG TO vISIT ACTIvIST TODAy Ram temple probe widens: After 8 held, Day 20 of hunger strike: Wangchuk vows to 30 more under lens ‘stay alive’, march to Parliament on Monday Probe finds ad hoc hiring: ‘Sensitive work’ entrusted through recommendations Deeptiman Tiwary New Delhi, July 17 WiTh eighT people arrested so far over the theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the investigation has now widened to scrutinise around 30 more employees engaged in counting cash offerings — many of them allegedly hiredontherecommendations offunctionariesoftheShriRam Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust or their associates, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources linked to the police investigation told this news- 122 150 187 99 SIRdeadline extendedin Maharashtra Express News Service Mumbai, July 17 The elecTion commission of india (eci) has extended the deadline for the ongoing Special intensive Revision (SiR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra, allowing Booth level officers (Blos) to continue house-to-house voter verification till August 8 instead of the earlier deadline of July 29. The extension comes after the Maharashtra chief electoral officer (ceo) sought additional time, citing disruption caused by heavy rainfall across the state during the first phase of the exercise. Undertherevisedschedule, claims and objections can now be filed from August 17 to September 16, replacing the earlier deadlineofSeptember4.hearings and disposal of claims and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY a few senior functionaries of the Ram temple trust are also under scrutiny. fIle paper that nearly 50 people were engaged in counting currency notes donated by devotees at the temple. of these, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Tabshir Shams, Pragynesh & Anonna Dutt New Delhi, July 17 onDAy20ofhishungerstrike, activist Sonam Wangchuk said that he remained “very strong” from the inside, and would “stay alive at any cost” until Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session, when the protesters intend to march to Parliament. Among those who visited the protest site on Friday were ncP (Sharad Pawar) MP SupriyaSule,congressMPPawan Khera, and former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar. “iamweakfromtheoutside butverystronginside.iamsure allofyouarestrongfromtheinside, and outside too. We need this energy for July 20, when Sonam Wangchuk, wife gitanjali J angmo at Jantar Mantar, Friday. AmIT mehrA HoW WaNgCHuk’S FatHeR bRoke HIS 1984 FaSt, P 10 we will take out a peaceful marchtoParliament.Wewillgo together and present our plea in the temple of democracy,” Wangchuk told supporters in the morning. “iwillstayaliveuntilJuly20 atanycost.ifyoudon’tcome[for the march] and July 20 is not successful, i will come back as a ghost,” he said in a lighter vein. Wangchuk’s personal physician Dr Satish lamba told reporters that he continued to lose weight and show “signs of mild dehydration” but was mentally alert and his parameters were normal. “We are worried about his health. This is an apathetic government that does not understand the language of democratic protest. And if we are protesting against such a government,ourprotesttechniques should also evolve,” Khera said. onThursday,congressgeneral secretary (organisation) K c Venugopal had said the party shared “the anguish and outrage” that Wangchuk felt, and appealed to him to end his fast. Wangchuk’s “concerns are »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Karnataka SIR: Cong is stealing the march, BJP playing catch-up johnson T A Bengaluru, July 17 While The BJP has been attacking the Karnataka governmentoveritsmovetointroduce aPermanentResidencecertificate (PRc) coinciding with the SpecialintensiveRevision(SiR) ofelectoralrollsinthestate,the ruling congress has taken several measures to turn the contentious exercise to its benefit. Weeks after assuming charge as chief Minister, D K Shivakumarhadreferredtothe deletionoflakhsofvoternames during the SiR in other states andtoldacongressconvention on June 21: “The SiR that will take place in our state is both a danger and an opportunity for us.Therefore,youmustprotect the right to vote.” KPcc president B K hariprasad, also newly appointed, has described the exercise as a “second independence movement”,toensurethatnoeligible voter loses the franchise. The congress appears to haveheededthemessage.over the last month, as the SiR exercise rolled out in Karnataka, it CM D k Shivakumar has used the SiR exercise as an opportunity for party building and strengthening, even as the opposition BJP and JD(S) have lagged on this front. Throughthecreationofpreviouslynon-existentgrassroots partyinfrastructureintheform of over 54,000 Booth level Agents(BlAs)tomobilisevoter enrolment,holdingofmassenrolment drives and with innovations like issuance of PRc by the state government — on the lines of domicile certificates issued for admissions to professionaleducationinstitutionsin Karnataka — the congress has tried to sustain its vote base in the state. The party has also consist»CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the first hydrogen-powered train, between Jind and Sonipat, at Jind railway station in Haryana, Friday. PTI RelateD RePoRt, Page 12 AAP corrupt, internal turmoil in Cong and SAD: PM in Punjab Flags off India’s first hydrogen-powered train, inaugurates rail and road projects Anju Agnihotri Chaba Jalandhar, July 17 STePPing UP the BJP’s outreachinPunjabaheadoftheAssembly elections next year, Prime Minister narendra Modi on Friday said his government ‘Some are trying to end Parth Pawar’s political career’: Internal NCP letter Alok Deshpande Mumbai, July 17 The nATionAliST congress Party(ncP)’sinternaldivisions spilled into the open on Friday after a senior office-bearer wrote to Deputy chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, accusing leaders within the party of trying to “systematically” end Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar’s political career and urging that he be considered for a berth in the next Union cabinet expansion. The letter, written by ncP vice-president Udaykumar NCP’s RS MP Parth Pawar Aher on July 13, became public hours after Parth met chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the latest in a series of interactions between ncP leaders and the chief minister amid growing signs of churn within the ruling party. in the letter, Aher alleged that Parth had been deliberately sidelined after the 2019 lok Sabha election. “certain people are systematicallytryingtoensuretheend of Parth Dada’s political career and this is an open secret. Therefore,weshouldgiveParth Dada an opportunity in the Union cabinet to prove his capability,providingabefitting reply to those making allegations and spreading misconceptions,” the letter states. Aher also claimed that the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 remained committed to the development of the state, regardlessofwhichpartywasinpower. “Modihardum,harpalPunjab ke logon ke saath hai (Modi standswiththepeopleofPunjab at all times),” he said, as he launched a sharp attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), tookswipesatthecongressand the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and asserted that only the BJP couldbringrealchangeanddevelopment in the state. Saying that the AAP was “kattar beimaan” (blatantly dishonest), he alleged that “an open game of loot” was underway in Punjab, turning it into a state “run on advertisements” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 fORMAL AND UNORGANISED SECTOR EPFO reform: Govt works on new pension plan for all E. Plan with 2 options: EXPlainEd annuity, systematic Flexibility based on withdrawal age, pension goal Ravi Dutta Mishra & Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, July 17 The goVeRnMenT is working on a new contributory pension scheme for unorganised and formal sector workers that would accumulate contributionsovertime,andbeinvested in long-term governmentbacked securities, with annual crediting of interest. At the age of 60 years, the scheme may allow the proposed “Target Retirement Sum (TRS)” to be converted into pension, based on prevailingannuityandinterest rates,aseniorgovernmentofficial told The Indian Express. The scheme, part of the 3.0 reformsphaseoftheretirement fund body employees’ ProvidentFundorganisation(ePFo), The scheme will cover existing members and those excluded from the employees’ Pension Scheme (ePS). A Target Retirement Sum will be dynamically fixed based on the member’s chosen pension goal and expected retirement age. willcoverexistingmembersand those excluded from the employees’PensionScheme(ePS). it is likely to adopt a defined contribution framework and allow contributions from multiple sources: workers themselves,employers,government co-contributions for workers in the lower wage segment,aggregatorsinthecaseof gig and platform workers, and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Japan ex-minister claims ‘recklessness’ on bullet train project, India rejects Dheeraj Mishra New Delhi, July 17 hoURS AFTeR a former Japanese minister alleged on social media that india had displayed “sheerrecklessness”initsbullet trainprojectthatstalleditsprogress,theMinistryofexternalAffairs(MeA)rejectedtheclaimas a“personalopinion...atvariance withfacts”andsaiddiscussions between both countries were progressing well. TakingtoXontheMumbaiAhmedabad high Speed Rail (MAhSR)project,hidekiMaki- hara, former justice minister and a leader of Japan's ruling liberal Democratic Party, wrote:“TheShinkansenproject in india is something i was involved with myself, but what stood out in international meetings and negotiations was thesheerrecklessnessoftheindian side, repeated over and over. They just don't keep promises, no matter what. even if they make a promise, they flip it right away. They keep pushing their own self-interest right up to the very end.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS special BJP bats for NCP merger to boost numbers ahead of delimitation push Sunetra camp wants finance portfolio as well as NCP national president post; party old guard for inclusive power-sharing Liz Mathew New Delhi, July 17 WiTh BJP stepping up its efforts to muster up the numbers inParliamentforthepassageof the legislative package on delimitationandtherolloutofthe Women’s Reservation Act, the party has informed the ncP and the Sharad Pawar-led ncP (SP) that only a unified ncP Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar in Mumbai. PTI fIle part of the nDA is acceptable to it and that it is not in favour of either group merging with it. highly placed sources said BJP leadership had offered two Unioncabinetberthstobalance the power equations between theSunetraPawar-ledncPand ncP(SP)ifbothagreetomerge. Sources said the BJP’s top leadership was keen on retaining the ncP as a separate entity »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l WeSt INDIeS gReat WaS NaMeD oNe oF FIve ‘CRICketeRS oF tHe CeNtuRy’ by WISDeN IN 2000 legendary all-rounder with many firsts: ‘He didn’t know how special he was’ Sriram veera ‘iwillgeta150,Kanhai,yougive me a 100, charlie, you give me a 75’. That was it. That was the SiR gARFielD Sobers, better plan. no self-doubt,” he said. known as garry Sobers, who The plan usually worked, died on Friday, 11 days short of though only one man could his 90th birthday, never quite ever keep his end of it. grasped his greatness. A few years before his death charlie Davis, who batted in2023,SalimDurani,theflamwith him for the boyant indian allPagE 1 Westindies,onceexrounder who shared plainedtheproblem. the field with Sobers “he was too modest. through the 1960s he didn’t know how special he and 1970s, told The Indian Exwas. he expected us to bat like press: “What a player he was. him. And catch like him. he And itna simple aadmi (such a thoughtallofuswerelikehim,” simple man).” herecalledinanearlierconverSoberswasborninJuly1936 sationwithTheIndianExpress. inasmallwoodenhouseonWal“he would come in and say, cott Avenue in Barbados's capiMumbai, July 17 anchor tal Bridgetown, with an extra finger on each hand. his father, amerchantseaman,wentdown withhistorpedoedshipinJanuary 1942. Sobers was five then. At 14, he was running errandsinafurniturefactory.nobody ever coached him; he learnedeverythinginthestreet games of St Michael. At 21, his maiden Test hundred against Pakistan did notenduntil365,pastlenhutton’sworldrecord;itstoodfor36 yearsuntilBrianlaracrossedit. Sobers bowled fastmedium, orthodox spin, wristspin, whatever the moment needed. At Swansea in 1968, he hit Malcolm nash for six sixes { Sir Garfield SoberS • 1936-2026 } in an over, the first man to do it infirst-classcricket.in93Tests, he made 8,032 runs at 57.78 and took 235 wickets. But the numbers hardly tell the full story. There was a phase in his career when he made three centuries in a home series against england. The motivation was a friend and teammate whose death he felt responsible for. inSeptember1959,atquarter to five in the morning, driving through the night to a london charity match, Sobers came around a bend into the headlights of a 10-ton cattle truck. Fast bowler Tom Dewdney was in the passenger seat and collie Smith, his closest friend, lay asleep across the back seat. Smith’s spine was broken. “Don't worry about me,” he told Sobers. “look after the big fellow;” he meant the burly Dewdney. Smith died three days later. he was 26. Sobers was fined 10 pounds for careless driving and began drinking, before deciding that disappearing into the bottle would be a second betrayal. he resolved to bat for two men from then on, garfield Sobers and collie Smith. Davis, who played under Sobers and watched him from 22 yards for years, once said: "he is not normal. he is definitely not normal.” he never stopped being astonished by him. “garry could catchablur,youknow.heused tobecloseatlegslip,attheback pocket of the batsman, and catch blurs.” At Melbourne in 1971-72, when he was playing for the World Xi, Sobers was bounced outbyayoungDennislilleefor a duck. That evening, Sobers found ian chappell in the Australian dressing room. “you’ve got a boy here called lillee. Tell him i can bowl quick too.” hebouncedlilleeback,and chappell later told him lillee had smashed his bat against the wall, swearing he hadn't really bowled quick at him yet. “he'sgottheball,i'vegotthe bat," Sobers said. “i’ve never met the one who can scare me, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2