NEW DELHI 18 JANUARY 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in From FOMO to FOPO PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE The Gaps in the Dravidian Story Devdutt Pattanaik Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shankkar Aiyar Anu Aggarwal Geetha Ravichandran Preeti Shenoy The Nation that took a Shot EXCLUSIVE VOICES THE NEW RICHIE RICH The Accidental Goatherd Shinde tends his BMC flock, seeks full power parity Proposes equal share in position of mayor; some of his corporators reach out to Uddhav S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai EXPRESS READ Rape-death of NEET aspirant stokes uproar The opposition has upped its ante against Nitish Kumar-led government following the suspected rape-death of a NEET aspirant at her hostel in Patna recently. As per the autopsy report, she resisted her assaulters for nearly oneand-a-half to two hours. No reels, only rituals in Badrinath shrine Authorities have imposed a strict ban on carrying or using mobile phones beyond the entrance gate at Badrinath Dham. The order has been issued by the Garhwal admin after a meeting for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra season in Rishikesh. IN the afterglow of winning the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections by a slim margin, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde sees a threat and an opportunity . First, the threat. Shinde was forced to shift his 29 newly elected Shiv Sena corporators to a luxury five-star hotel in the suburbs as some of them had opened a line of communication with the Uddhav Sena for possible defection. As for the opportunity Shinde proposed , to the BJP leadership that the Mumbai’s Mayor post should be shared equally between the two allies, adding his corporators should also get proper representation in various committees as well. The BMC election mandate was in favour of the BJP-Shinde Sena alliance, which together won 118 seats, just four ahead of the halfway mark of 114 in the 227-member House. Highly placed sources said Shinde first shepherded his 29 corporators to Taj Land Sand, telling them that unless he snaps his alliance with the BJP, they must stay put at the hotel and not succumb to any pressure. He also informed them that he wanted to continue unfurling the flag of the Shiv Sena at the 150-year-old BMC building so as to continue the legacy of the late Balasaheb Thackeray . Shinde then cancelled all meetings for the day, citing illness and began his wait for a call from the BJP’s top leadership to thrash out a deal. However, a few Shinde Sena corporators are learnt to be in touch with Uddhav Thackeray . “It is true that some Shinde’s corporators phoned a person close to Uddhav ji and told him that they had no animosity against him and Aditya Thackeray ji. Since Uddhav’s party won a respectable 65 BMC seats, it could try to cobble together a new alliance. If that works out, Shinde’s corporators could consider switching sides,” said a source who requested anonymity . Later in the day, Uddhav issued a cryptic message: “God willing, the next mayor of Mumbai will be from the Shiv Sena (UBT).” Apparantly aware of the pulls and pressures, CM Devendra Fadnavis simply said the next mayor will be from the Mahayuti alliance. P8 Cong high command to take call on Tamil Nadu alliance strategy P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AMID mounting tensions over power-sharing demands with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Congress on Saturday asserted that the party high command will take the final call on alliance strategy at an appropriate time, and directed its Tamil Nadu leaders to maintain discipline, speak in one voice, and refrain from making public statements on the issue. The directive followed a marathon meeting between the Congress top leadership and senior Tamil Nadu leaders at the party’s Indira Bhawan headquarters in New Delhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the meeting, which was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee CHAKRAVARTHY PULLED UP According to sources, the leadership reprimanded Praveen Chakravarthy for his criticism of the DMK government, which had caused strain between the allies. Chakravarthy wrote on X that Tamil Nadu “has higher outstanding debt than UP.” The leaders asked Chakravarthy to fall in line and avoid statements that could embarrass the allies (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai, MPs P Chidambaram, Manickam Tagore, Karti Chidambaram, Jyothimani, V Vasanth, and Professionals’ Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty among others. , The deliberations, which stretched over four hours, included one-on-one meetings be- tween 39 state leaders and the senior leadership, including Kharge, Rahul and Venugopal. Briefing the media after the meeting, Venugopal said the leaders had unanimously entrusted Kharge and Rahul Gandhi with decisions on election strategy and related matters. “The discussions were constructive and focused on strengthening the Congress and its future in Tamil Nadu. The leadership patiently listened to all opinions, and leaders were given the opportunity to freely express their views,” he said. He added that the high command would take appropriate decisions in due course, keeping in mind the party’s ideology and the interests of the people of the state. Venugopal also said a clear directive had been issued to all leaders to avoid speculation and refrain from commenting on the matter on social media or in the press. What Lies Beneath in Bucharest `20.4 crore for regulatory non-compliance THE Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday slapped a penalty of `22.20 crore on Indigo for last month’s massive flight disruptions. Additionally the regula, tor directed the airline to furnish `50 crore bank guarantee to ensure compliance with its directives and long-term systemic correction. The aviation watchdog also released the findings of a fourmember committee constituted to investigate the disruptions that occurred between December 3 and 5. The committee The `22.2 crore penalty includes a one-time systemic charge of `1.8 crore, along with additional `20.4 crore for continued noncompliance with regulatory requirements from Dec 5 to Feb 10. The DGCA praised the airline for quick restoration of normalcy identified four key reasons: over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, and deficiencies in system software support and shortcomings in both the management structure and opera- tional control by the airline. The committee observed that the airline’s management failed to adequately identify planning deficiencies, maintain sufficient operational buffer and effectively implement the revised AMMA SPEAKS Live in Love to Truly Live AIIMS subways last refuge for patients and kin I F R A H M U F T I A N D A D I T I R AY C H O W D H U R Y @ New Delhi TWO days after the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognisance of patients and attendants sleeping by the roadsides and footpaths near All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in peak winter, a ground survey by this newspaper shows that subways and temporary shelters have emerged the last-resort refuge for hapless people. The subway connecting the AIIMS Metro station, long used by patients’ attendants at night, has now formally been converted into a temporary winter shelter. Until recently security , Battling cancer by day, sleeping in subways at night Subways connecting AIIMS with Safdarjung Hospital and to the Metro station house patients suffering from cancer and other severe diseases. They are living in the temporary shelters, waiting for their turns to consult doctors or get admitted for surgeries. Most of these patients come from remote areas of the country | P3 officials would clear names in the subway the subway of people on the intervening by as early as 5 am afnight of January 16 ter letting them use it and January 17 said GROUND ZERO this was the first time for the night. However, following the court’s such an exercise had intervention, the government, been undertaken. “We have in collaboration with NGO been asked to register everyone SPYM, has begun registering present here who needs a shelthose sleeping there to ensure ter. They will not be displaced access to basic necessities. now. For the next two months, An SPYM official registering those who fail to find space elsewhere can stay here. They will be asked to leave only in March. This is what we have been told,” the official said. At the same time, authorities have intensified efforts to move people sleeping in the open to designated shelters. Anyone found resting on footpaths or roads around AIIMS is being shifted to Vishram Sadan, the 30-bedded rest house at Safdarjung Hospital’s trauma centre, or to newly established pagoda tents. Each pagoda shelter has 30 beds, but the official said it can accommodate up to 45 people. Three new pagoda shelters have been added to the existing 32, increasing their capacity from 320 to 350 beds. Air turns most foul, GRAP IV imposed in city I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi Narendra Modi interacts with students during flagging off the country’s first Vande Bharat sleeper train in Malda | PTI TMC aiding infiltrators, PM vows ‘big action’ if BJP wins S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata IN a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in pollbound West Bengal on Saturday accused the Mamata Ban, erjee-led party of turning infiltrators into voters and said big action will be taken if the BJP captures power. “Infiltrations in Bengal are rampant because of the support of the Trinamool Congress. Big actions will be taken to push back the infiltrators after the BJP comes to power in Bengal,” Modi said, addressing a ‘Paribartan Sankalp Sabha’ in Malda, a West Bengal district that borders Bangladesh. “Syndicates of the party have been allowing infiltrators in Bengal for years and making them voters. Infiltrators get involved in crimes and take away the jobs of local youth,” he said. Modi called infiltration a big challenge for the state. “They are grabbing your land and making an imbalance in the population map of the country,” he told the voters, adding that only the BJP can take strong action against the infiltrators. His remarks come weeks after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the state government of abetting infiltration for electoral gains. AJAY BANGA IN BOARD OF PEACE FOR GAZA Indian-American President of the World Bank is named to the ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza redevelopment under President Trump’s plan to end the conflict | P9 IndiGo slapped with `22-cr penalty for last month’s chaos S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi Stepping into Her Own Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) provisions. These lapses resulted in widespread flight delays and large-scale cancellations, causing inconvenience to passengers. Recommending longterm reform measures to prevent such incidents, the committee, in its report, said, “The findings underscore the need for balanced operational planning, robust regulatory preparedness and effective management oversight to ensure sustainable operations and passenger safety and convenience.” The report further noted that the airline’s overriding focus was on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which significantly reduced roster buffer margins. The DGCA has ordered the airline to relieve the Senior Vice President for operations control centre of current operational responsibilities. It warned Interglobe Aviation’s chief executive office Pieter Elbers for inadequate oversight over flight operations and crisis management. Without taking reference of the two-day-long violence in Beldanga in the Murshidabad district, Modi lashed out at the TMC saying, “It’s unfortunate how TMC hooligans have behaved indecently with a woman journalist yesterday. Girls in schools and colleges are not also safe.” Eyeing the Matua vote bank, Modi said, people who have come to India due to religious persecution need not worry “We have given social se. curity to the refugees through the CAA. Matua and Namasudra refugees will be brought under development activities after the BJP forms government,” he said. DELHI-NCR witnessed a sharp deterioration in air quality on Saturday, prompting authorities to enforce Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the first time this month. The move came a day after Stage III curbs had been imposed. Most areas in the city recorded “severe plus” levels on Saturday with AQI readings above , 450 at several monitoring stations. Of the 39 active stations in the region, 22 recorded the AQI reading above 400. The worst-affected areas included Anand Vihar at 488, Dwarka at 478, Mundka at 477, and Dhyan Chand National Stadium at 407. T he 24hour average AQI was 354 in the “very poor” category in the morning and climbed to 431 by 7 pm. This spike has come amid dense fog and winter chill. Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 4.40 Celsius, 3.20 below the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department. Weather forecasters have predicted a gradual rise in minimum temperatures from January 17 to 20, with light rainfall likely fol, lowed by another cold spell between January 23 and 26. IMD says Delhi’s average AQI may remain in the severe category in the coming days as well. Loads of red flags in SIR voter deletions in TN deleted is closer to or even exceeded 100%, strongly indicatAS the Special Intensive Revi- ing the deletion of several eligision (SIR) of electoral rolls con- ble voters in the SIR exercise. tinues in nine states and three To place this in context, the Union territories despite con- sum of percentage of those votcerns being raised by many, a ed and percentage of those got data-driven deep dive into the deleted is around 85% at the deletion of 97.4 lakh state-level. voters during the enuSimilarly, the 10% meration phase of the increase in the number exercise in Tamil Nadu of polling stations in In the unlikely has shown several the middle of SIR has case of some alarming trends. confused not only voteligible voters Tamil Nadu’s elec- getting omitted, ers but political party torate of 6.41 crore agents as details like subsequent shrunk by roughly the changes to booth inclusions are possible as 15% to 5.44 crore in the numbers and whether draft SIR rolls pub- updating rolls is a a booth has been dividcontinuous lished on December 19, ed into two or more process while its polling booths have not been made went up by about 10% Archana Patnaik, TN public to easily check from 68,437 to 75,035 Chief Electoral Officer deletion lists or where due to booth rationalito submit forms for sation. An analysis of inclusion. a sample of 1,500 polling booths, Analysis showed the ineffiwhose geographical limits have ciency of ECI’s software to deremained the same since 2024 duplicate voter lists and lack of till SIR commenced in 2025, clear instructions to officials on showed that the sum of per- deletions, which led to removing centage of those who voted and lakhs of electors claiming they the percentage of those who got had shifted or were absent. P O N V A S A N T H B A @ Chennai