NEW DELHI 4 FEBRUARY 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24 facebook/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in Bad Air Days I, VICTIM: THE DARK SIDE OF NARCISSISM PLUS: 12 PAGES A Laugh Riot MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Anand Neelakantan Ravi Shankar Dinesh Singh S Vaidhyasubramaniam HERE I AM BHARAT RATNA FOR LK ADVANI BJP stalwart challenged dynastic politics, fought to get democracy out of one party’s grasp, says Prime Minister EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi/Sambalpur FREE EDITION VIKSIT BHARAT special issue with this edition EXPRESS READ Punjab guv quits, says ‘personal reason & other commitments’ Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday, citing personal reasons. “Due to my personal reasons and certain other commitments, I tender my resignation from the post of governor of Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh. Please accept the same and oblige,” Purohit (84) wrote in his resignation letter. P8 ACB says 65K tests at Mohalla Clinics were found fake The Anti-Corruption Bureau’s probe into fake tests on ghost patients at Mohalla Clinics has revealed a deep nexus between government officials and laboratories. Between February and December last year, as many as 65,000 diagnostic tests were found to be fake, the ACB said. About 63% of patients registered with the labs admitted that they have neither got any tests done nor visited a Mohalla Clinic. P3 LESS than two weeks after the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the conferring of the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani. Now 96, Advani was central to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as his Somnath to Ayodhya rath yatra in 1990 amplified the temple pitch and enhanced the BJP’s electoral appeal. He later rose to become the deputy prime minister in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Announcing the government’s decision, Modi said the honour to the stalwart is in recognition of his invaluable contribution in the service of the nation. Accepting the gesture, an apparently emotional Advani described it as an honour to the ideals and principles with which he worked throughout his life for nation. Addressing a public meeting in Sambalpur, Modi said this honour is for all those who believe in the ideology of ‘nation first’. “Advani continuously fought to get democracy out of one party’s grasp and guided everyone. He challenged dynasty politics and connected India’s democracy to all-inclusive and nationalist ideologies,” he said. Recalling the time when the BJP was treated as untouchable, Modi said Vajpayee and Advani dedicated their lives to defeat this propaganda and establish the party as a major force. File photo of Narendra Modi with L K Advani Advani thanked both President Draupadi Murmu and Modi in a statement. “With utmost humility and gratitude, I accept the Bharat Ratna that has been conferred on me today... Ever since I joined the RSS as its volunteer at the age of 14, I have sought reward in only thing — in dedicated and selfless service of my beloved country in whatever task life assigned to me. What inspired my life is the motto, Idam na Mam — This life is not mine. My life is for my Nation.” Advani is the seventh eminent personality to have been conferred the Bharat Ratna in the last 10 years of the BJP rule. The others are Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Madan Mohan Malviya, Pranab Mukharjee, Bhupen Hazarika, Nanaji Deshmukh and Karpoori Thakur. P7 Advani ji’s decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity... The conferring of the Bharat Ratna on him is a very emotional moment for me. I got countless opportunities to learn from him — Narendra Modi, PM Preeti Shenoy Prabhu Chawla Kapil Sibal Anuradha Goyal The Shapes of Idiosyncrasy SPICE, AND ALL THINGS NICE SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS War and Peace Art of Self-encouragement Unable to serve summons to CM, ED goes to court JAISON WILSON @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached a Delhi court against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not complying with the summons issued to him in the excise policy case after the latter skipped the Central agency summons for the fifth time. The complaint was filed before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra, who put up the matter for further hearing on February 7. “Fresh complaint case for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50, PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) received by way of assignment,” the judge noted. She heard the part arguments and adjourned the matter. As per the court proceeding’s order accessed by this newspaper, the fresh complaint was filed under Section 190 (1)(a) CrPC along with various other sections “for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50, PMLA.” Kejriwal received the fifth summons on Wednesday issued by the federal agency over the past four Matter to months. He was called on January 18, Janu- come up on ary 3, December 21, and November 2 February 7 in 2023. He has called these notices “illegal”. By issuing the fresh notice, The ED filed the ED has again rejected Kejriwal’s the complaint contention that the summons were before Additional “not in consonance with the law.” Objecting to the summons, Kejri- Chief wal and the AAP have stated that it Metropolitan was unclear if the CM was asked to Magistrate Divya Malhotra, appear as a witness or a suspect. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and who put up the Sanjay Singh, apart from communi- matter for cations in-charge of the party Vijay further hearing Nair and some businessmen have on February 7 been arrested by the ED in the case. The agency claimed in its chargesheet that the AAP used “proceeds of crime” to the tune of about `45 crore in its Goa election campaign. It is also expected to file a fresh supplementary chargesheet in the case and name the AAP as a “beneficiary” of the alleged kickbacks that were generated through the excise policy The policy was subsequently . scrapped, and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA. Jailed Sanjay Singh allowed to take oath as RS MP on Feb 5 JAISON WILSON @ New Delhi THE Rouse Avenue court on Saturday allowed AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who was arrested in the alleged excise policy-money laundering case, to take his oath as Rajya Sabha member on February 5, while in custody . Special Judge MK Nagpal has directed the jail superintendent to ensure Singh to be taken to Parliament on Monday by 10 m under adequate security and to be brought back to the jail after the oath. On Thursday the AAP leader had approached the court , seeking seven-day bail to take his oath as parliamentarian and also to attend the ongoing House session from February 5-9. ED filed its reply on this plea on Saturday . However, Singh’s counsel submitted that they are not pressing the interim bail plea as the accused has to go to Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, for a court hearing. He made an oral prayer that Singh be directed to be taken in judicial custody to Parliament for taking oath as RS MP on February 5. As the ED didn’t oppose, the court directed the jail authorities to proceed with his request. “During this visit, the accused shall not be permitted to use any mobile phone and talk with any other accused, suspect or witness of this case, as well as of the connected case of CBI, and he shall also not be permitted to address the press or hold any public meeting,” the court ordered. Buzz on Rajya Sabha ticket to Sonia, Raghuram P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi WITH the deadline for filing nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections approaching, speculation is rife on for mer Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan entering the fray . Congress sources hinted that Sonia may take the Upper House route to continue in Parliament if she doesn’t contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Her pres- Raghuram Rajan Sonia Gandhi ence in Parliament is crucial for the beleaguered party, which is looking to increase its tally against the BJP-led NDA in 2024 elections. However, there is no clarity on whether she will con- test from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, the constituency she currently represents. The RS elections for 56 seats across 15 states will be held on February 27 and nominations have to be filed by February 15. The Congress state units in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana have offered seats to Sonia. In Rajasthan, the party is eying one seat for the Upper House out of the three, which have fallen vacant. Early this week, Himachal Pradesh Congress’ chief Pratibha Singh said that the seat should go to either Sonia or party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. In Maharashtra, Congress and Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) may field former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan as its candidate from the state. Early this week, Rajan met Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray at his residence, sparking speculation. JA-SPIRIT OF BUMRAH Jasprit Bumrah produced a reverse swing masterclass for the ages, taking a six-fer to put India in command in the second Test against England on Day 2 | AFP CBI not fully exempt under RTI, need Lost & recovered: Jewel Thief & many classics to give info on graft charges, says HC GOOD NEWS PARVEZ SULTAN @ New Delhi JEWEL Thief was almost lost; the reels of the 1967 suspense thriller starring Dev Anand lost the colours. The restoration was seemingly impossible. The original camera negatives of 1970 Bengali drama, Pratidwandi, directed by legendary Satyajit Ray were in possession of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI). It had some scenes missing as emulsion on the reels peeled off. Good news is that a team of experts set up under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) meticulously worked on the available ‘elements’ to bring these films back to life. “Given the damage Jewel Thief was almost unrecoverable. The print was subjected to lots of testing to get the best results because it is very difficult to work with the colour-faded films. The team worked hard to get the original colours when the film was released in 1967,” Of the restored films, some date back to the early 1900s said an official of National Film Development Corporation of India-National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) associated with the mission. The recovery of the damaged version of Pratidwandi was also a challenge. The original camera negative of the movie available was not of a “decent quality.” The team had to travel to Kolkata to convince the producer to get hold of the negatives. But the print also had issues: some scenes were missing. “There were frames where emulsion had peeled off and images were gone. The frames also had sub-titles embossed, so they were not usable for restoration. Luckily, we found another print at West Bengal State Film Ar- chive. We took missing portions from that print then completed the film. That’s how it was restored,” said another official. Nearly 2,500 films of different languages have been restored under the mission that was launched in 2022 for the restoration and conservation of rare and old films. A committee identified about 5,100 such films based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The list of other classics restored works includes a biopic in Bengali Vidyapati (1937) directed by Debaki Bose, Patala Bhairavi (Telugu/1951), Shyamchi Aai (Marathi/1953), Bees Saal Baad (Hindi/1962), Haqeeqat (Hindi/1964), Anand’s Guide released (Hind/1965) and Chorus (Bengali/1974). Joint secretary (films), I&B ministry, Prithul Kumar, said, “Of the restored films, some date back to the early 1900s. This is one of the largest film restoration projects in the world.” JAISON WILSON @ New Delhi THE Delhi High court has said that the CBI is not completely exempted to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and it has to give information related to corruption and human rights violations, except in probes, which are sensitive in nature. As per Section 24 of the RTI Act, intelligence and security organisations, including the CBI, have some exemptions. H o w e v e r, i t m a n d a t e s such agencies to disclose the information pertaini n g t o a l l e g at i o n s of corruption and human rights violations held by it. Justice Subramonium Prasad said a perusal of Section 24 of the RTI Act shows that even though the name of the organisation finds mention in the Second Schedule to the RTI Info on human rights violations As per Section 24 of the RTI Act, intelligence and security organisations, including the CBI, have some exemptions. However, it mandates such agencies to disclose the information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations held by it. Act, it does not mean that the entire act is not applicable to such organisations. “The proviso to Section 24 permits information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violation to be made available to the applicant and the same c a n n o t b e i n cl u d e d in the exception provided to organisations mentioned in the Second Schedule of t h e RT I A c t , ” t h e h i g h court stated. The observation came while the court was dealing the CBI’s challenge to a November 2019 decision of the Central Infor mation Commission (CIC) directing the central agency to provide certain information to IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi had sought information about alleged corruption in the purchase of disinfectant and fogging solution for the medical store of AIIMS Trauma Centre. The CBI argued that it was exempted from the provisions of the RTI Act as its name figured in the second schedule. “This is also not a case where information is so sensitive that it cannot be shared with the public at large. The very purpose of the proviso is to permit information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations to be provided to the applicant,” the high court pointed out.
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