DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `4.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Modi, Putin discuss HELDBYMAHARASHTRAPOLICEAFTERSENAFIRs Afghanistan; India UnionMinisterRane flags terrorconcern heldoverremarkson at BRICS,UNHRC Uddhav,grantedbail SHUBHAJITROY THE WORLD NEWDELHI,AUGUST24 Says would have “slapped” CM; clashes between BJPand AWEEK intothe evacuation of morethan800 people from Sena workers;BJP calls arrest againstconstitutional norms Afghanistan—mostlyIndiansand some Afghans —New Delhi on Tuesday stepped up diplomatic JAYPRAKASHSNAIDU engagement withkey countries &VISHWASWAGHMODE withstakesinthe region. BIDEN TO STICK TO MUMBAI,AUGUST24 Underlining concernsabout AUG 31 DEADLINE Pakistan-based terroristgroups, UNION MINISTER and BJP Rajya India extended itshand to deal CIA DIRECTORMET Sabha member NarayanRane withthe humanitariansituation BARADAR: REPORT wasarrestedTuesdayby in Afghanistan, and also called Maharashtra Policefor threaten- upon the Taliban —without DANISH LEFT BEHIND ing to “slap”Chief Minister mentioningorcriticising them ‘IN CHAOS’,KILLED UddhavThackeray.Hewas re- —toensureaninclusive gover- PAGE 13 leasedonbail in Mahad in nance structureinthe country. Raigad,nearly nine hours after Aday afterhediscussedthe his arrest,but district officials situation in Afghanistanwith ior officials to remain in touch, said therewerefour other FIRs Policetry to control aclashbetween Sena, BJPsupporters German Chancellor Angela the MEA said. againsthim in the state. over the case againstRane, in Mumbai Tuesday. ANI Merkel, Prime Minister Later in the day, National The BJP ralliedbehind Rane, NarendraModi spoketoRussia’s Security Advisor Ajit Doval claiming that while it did not President VladimirPutin on chairedameeting of the NSAs agree with his remarks,his ar- Tuesday. Thetwo leaders of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia- rest wasinviolation of constitu- Battle lines sharpen “agreedtoform apermanent bi- India-China-SouthAfrica) tional procedures. lateral channel forconsultations” countries, whereIndia “raised Speaking to reporters ahead of key civic body on this issue,the Russian govern- the issue of cross-border terror- Mondayevening in Mahad in ment said in astatement. ism and activitiesofgroups Kawsar Qazizada (left) with her elder sisterDewaatMinneapolis airport, US, Monday.The Raigad,Ranehad said: “It is “They expressed intentionto suchasthe Lashkar-e-Toiba and familyapart from Kawsar had gone to Afghanistanamonthago,and got stuckthere. AP shameful that the Chief Minister polls early next year enhance cooperation on coun- Jaish-e-Mohammedwhich en- doesnot knowthe year of tering the dissemination of the joyState supportand threaten Independence. He leanedbackto Corporation. terroristideologyand the drug peaceand security”. enquireabout the countofyears VISHWASWAGHMODE TheRane-Sena showdown threatemanating from the terri- The meeting of the “High In hiding overseas, head of Afghanistan’s of independence during his &SHUBHANGIKHAPRE and his arrest Tuesdayhave tory of Afghanistan,” the Russian RepresentativesResponsible for speech.Had Ibeen there, Iwould MUMBAI,AUGUST24 raisedthe stakes, withthe Sena statement said. National Security” —attendedby poll panelrues:20years of progress lost have given(him) atightslap.” claiming that Rane’s utterances Thetwo sides notedthe “im- Russia’s General Nikolai Rane’s remarks ledtoaspate WHEN THE BJP asked Union againstChief MinisterUddhav portance of coordinated efforts” Patrushevand China’s Yang In Beirutfor role in conducting elections in of protests across Maharashtra. MinisterNarayan Rane to tour Thackeray have galvanisedits forthe establishment of peace Jiechi amongothers —“reviewed RITIKACHOPRA ameetsince the country, alleight Election In Mumbai, the Yuva Sena, the Mumbai, itssatellite cadres, and the BJP and stability in Afghanistan, en- the regional and global political NEWDELHI,AUGUST24 Aug8, Commissioners changed their Sena’s youth wing ledbyAaditya cities and areas of the maintainingthat Sena suring security in the region as a and security scenariowithpar- Nooristani travel plans and flewtoanother Thackeray,was at the forefront of Konkan region, it was vandalism on the streets whole,itsaid. ticular reference to current de- WHEN HAWA Alam Nooristani waswarned countryinstead. protests.AmeyGhole, ShivSena the start of amission to is onlygoing to work to The MinistryofExternal velopmentsinAfghanistan”, (56) leftKabul on August8toat- nottoreturn Among these officials now corporatorand Yuva Sena treas- preparethe ground for itsadvantage. EXPLAINED E● Affairs said the leaders discussed amongother issues. tend aconferenceinBeirut, she strandedabroad is Nooristani, urer,put up banners in Dadar civicbody electionsdue While the street bat- the “unfoldingsituation in Theyalso discussedIran, had no inkling of what layahead. the firstwoman to headthe area with Rane’s photograph ti- next Februaryand to take the tles across the stateshowedthat Afghanistanand itsimplications West Asia, and the Gulf,and Aweek later,onAugust15, as Taliban’s rapid advance on IndependentElection Comm- tled“Kombdi Chor” (a derogatory battle to ShivSena strongholds, the Sena could still mobilise, it forthe region and the world”. emerging threatstonational se- Nooristani and her colleagues Afghanistan’s capital. Returning ission (IEC) of Afghanistan, and reference to the poultrybusiness including the Sena-controlled wasclearthatthe party heading Theyagreeditwas important for curity,suchascyber security. waited in transit at Dubai airport home wasnolongersafe, she who signedoff on Ashraf Ghani’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Brihanmumbai Municipal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 the strategic partners to work to- Otheritems on the agenda were to boardthe flight backtoKabul, wastold. victoryinthe presidential gether,and instructedtheirsen- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 her familyinformedher of the Fearing retribution fortheir CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MF-liketrusts key financing tool BUSINESSASUSUAL Night curfew relaxed in mega asset monetisation push BY UNNY for Janmashtamiand including ports,airports,ship- Ganesh puja in Gujarat SUNNYVERMA ping, telecom, warehousing, NEWDELHI,AUGUST24 mining, and gas&petroleum productpipelines. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT “The firsttranche of NHAI AHMEDABAD,AUGUST24 Trusts (InvIT) will be akey fi- InvIT transaction is expected to nancing mechanism as the gov- be completedbyQ2/Q3 of At theBJP event to mark the birth anniversaryofSikandar THE GUJARATgovernment on ernment kick-starts itsambi- FY2022 subject to market condi- BakhtinGandhinagar on Tuesday. Express Tuesdaynight announcedrelax- tious plan to monetise tions and stabilisation of toll rev- ation in night curfew foreight brownfield assets,with a enuesinwakeofCovid,” says the metropolitan cities of the state Rs 5,000 croreNational NITI Aayog’s National Mone- SIKANDARBAKHT’SBIRTHANNIVERSARY on August30and from HighwaysAuthority of India tisation Pipeline (NMP) FY’22- THE EDITORIAL PAGE September 9to19inviewofthe (NHAI) InvIT issue expected to 25. “(This) issue is envisaged to BJP calls for ‘maximum upcomingJanmashtami and setthe ball rolling. be privately placed, withindica- MANAGING Ganesh Chaturthi festivals. InvITsfor railways andpower tive value fund raise at about Rs Accordingtoarelease by the sectorassets arebeing planned CROWNJEWELS ARE 5,000 crore.” THEPLAN organisation’ of minorities state government, amaximum as well —evenasaPublic Private BEING SOLDTOA The firsttranche of the NHAI SUCCESSOFMONETISATION of 200people areallowedinside Partnership (PPP)-basedtem- SELECT FEW:RAHUL InvIT is expected to include 586 TODEPENDONCAPACITY, within partyinGujarat temple premises during the cel- platehas also been prepared to PAGE 11 km of road assets in Rajasthan, MONITORING PAGE8 ebrations, in accordance with monetise assets across sectors CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP) is anew trend. We want to Covid guidelines.Atpresent, PARIMALDABHI showthat therehavebeen mi- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, GANDHINAGAR,AUGUST24 norities on boardwith the party Gandhinagar, Rajkot,Jamnagar, Banners at Tarsali area of ever since the beginning.” Bhavnagar and Junagadh areun- Vadodarathreaten boycott ‘Raped’ by BSP MP, woman who set herself CELEBRATINGTHE birth an- Describing Bakht as “oneof der curfew from 11 pm to 6am. of next elections if Ganesh niversaryofformer governor of the party’s tallestminority lead- The statement by the infor- Chaturthi and Navratri Kerala and former Union minis- ers”, De Souza, aRomanCatholic mation department stated, festivities arenot allowed. “If on fire dies; familysays was beingharassed ter, Sikandar Bakht, on Tuesday, from Goa, calledupon minority “Under the leadership of Chief yatras seeking blessings Gujarat BJP calledfor “maximum morchaworkers of the party to MinisterVijay Rupani, the core (BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra) are man, a27-year-old Delhi againstBSP MP Atul Rai, and al- severe burninjuriesand treat- organisation of minorities” getasmanypeople with the committee meeting has taken allowed, thenprocessions for JIGNASASINHA University graduate, had died leged that senior IPS officers and ment wasdifficult. Theysuffered within the party in the state. party as possible. He said, “I can certain decisions to ensurethat Ganesh,whose blessings are &MANISHSAHU during treatment on Saturday. ajudgefromUttar Pradesh were organfailure.” Responding to aquestion on saythat Gujarat is BJP’s, (Prime people can