DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FLOOR LEADERS MEET AMID ROW OVER CASH RECOVERY 26/03/2025 82 110 135 60 ‘Thingswouldhavebeendifferent’:V-P revivesNJACdebateasSCpanelprobes Need to reflect, we are at a crossroads, extraordinarily painful, says Dhankhar Hotel using basement for shows, violating norms: BMC RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, MARCH 25 PRATIP ACHARYA THE BRIHANMUMBAI Municipal Corporation (BMC) Tuesday saidthatThe UniContinental hotel, which houses Habitat studio where Kunal Kamra performed the controversial standup comedy, did not have the permissiontoholdpublicgatherings in the basement. After a video of the show in which Kamra takes a jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was releasedonsocialmedia,ShivSena CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Vice-President and RajyaSabhaChairmanJagdeep Dhankhar meetsfloorleadersof partiesatParliamentHouse,Tuesday. ANI MANOJ C G, SOHINI GHOSH & ANANTHAKRISHNAN G Justice Yashwant Varma NEW DELHI, MARCH 25 AMID THE row over the discovery of wads of currency notes at the New Delhi home of Justice Yashwant Varma who has since been moved out of Delhi High Court, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, referring to the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act passed by Parliamentin2014,saidTuesday that “things would have been different” if the mechanism for judicial appointments had not been struck down by the Supreme Court. Dhankhar also held a meeting with floor leaders of parties to discuss the issue. His remarks came on the day a three-member committee constituted by the Supreme Court began its in- quiry into the conduct of Justice Varma and visited his residence in the afternoon. The committee, comprising Chief Justice of Punjab and HaryanaHighCourtJusticeSheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice G S Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of Karnataka High Court, reached Justice Varma’s Tughlak Crescent bungalow at around 1.30 pm and left after nearly 45 minutes. The committee members also met Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna during the day. On Monday, the Supreme Court Collegium formalised its CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia, who is one of the three inquiry committee members, arrives at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence in Delhi on Tuesday. PTI Took 8 hrs for police HQ to learn of blaze at Justice Varma’s home MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, MARCH 25 FOR ROUGHLY eight hours after a fire at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, the Delhi Police headquarters was in the dark about the incident, several senior officers have told The Indian Express. Narratingwhattranspiredaf- terthefire—whichwasreported by Justice Varma’s personal assistant at 11.30 pm on March 14 and put out by midnight — a highly placed source said, “Once the blaze was extinguished, the judge’s PA asked the five police personnel who had arrived at the spot to leave and return in the morning.” JusticeVarmawasawaywith his wife at the time of the blaze, which broke out in a storeroom attached to his residence. Trump signals easing MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY stance on reciprocal Known to rarely deliver speeches, Anna Bansode set to be Dy Speaker tariffs from April 2; trade talks begin today MANOJ MORE RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, MARCH 25 AS US President Donald Trump hintedatasofteningof stanceon reciprocal tariffs, stating that a “lotof countries”wouldbegiven a break on April 2, officials in the CommerceMinistrybeganbracingforUSdemandsforincreased market access, primarily in automobiles, whisky and some agricultural products. While uncertainty over the WhiteHousetradepolicycontinues—especiallyasTrumpsaidhe wouldimposetariffsonautomobilesbeforetheApril2reciprocal tariffs—thepossibilityof concessions to certain countries lifted market sentiment globally, including in India, Tuesday. Formaltalks,initiallyexpected to begin Tuesday, were deferred to Wednesday, with the Ministry engagedindrafting“termsof reference”(ToR)basedoninputfrom E E X P L A I NE D Autos, whisky, agri to dominate US-India talks, say officials EC proposal: Voters who decline to give Aadhaar need to appear, explain why Discussed at poll panel meeting with Home, Law, IT and UIDAI officials KAMRAREMARKROW MUMBAI, MARCH 25 FORM 6B TO BE TWEAKED Why this raises ● hopes THE US has finally hinted at concessions on reciprocal tariffs, raising investor and industry hopes for a less disruptive US tariff regime. India has also expressed willingness to slash tariffs on a range of US products, but much will depend on how negotiations progress in sensitive sectors like agriculture, which have previously been a stumbling block. all ministries, a government officialtoldTheIndianExpress.Intrade parlance, the ToR is a document thatoutlinesthescope,objectives of the negotiations. “Formal talks will begin Wednesday,focusingonthefirst CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 U.S. TARGETS BUYERS OF VENEZUELA OIL P 14 PUNE, MARCH 25 IN THE early eighties, he used to run a “paan” shop in Chinchwad. Then,hewentontobecomeacorporatorofthePimpri-Chinchwad MunicipalCorporation(PCMC)for three consecutive terms and was also appointed chairman of the civic body’s standing committee on power. Subsequently, he becameanNCPMLAfromPimprireserved constituency. And now, Pimpri MLA Anna Bansode is set to become the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly. The Indian Express contacted Justice Varma’s PA but he was unavailable for comment. Sources said the investigating officer of the case paid a visit to the residence the next morning but was asked to come later. Sources said that at 8 am on March 15, the Additional DCP (New Delhi district) presented the morning diary —a summary of key developments from the area over the last 24 hours — to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD LUCKNOW, KOLKATA, MARCH 25 ALMOST TWO months since a stampede at the Mahakumbh killed at least 30 people, several families say they are yet to get the Rs 25 lakh compensation that the Uttar Pradesh government had promised. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Palaniswami meets Shah; AIADMK, BJP begin formal talks for tie-up before TN polls YEMEN WAR PLANS SHARED ON SIGNAL; TRUMP CALLS IT MINOR ‘GLITCH’ OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR ATTACKED BY ISRAELI SETTLERS PAGE 14 Anna Bansode files his nomination paper for the post of Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. Express EXPLAINED Union Home Minister Amit Shah with AIADMK’s Edappadi K Palaniswami (third from right) and others on Tuesday. PTI GLOBAL Bansode’s elevation means the industrial city of PimpriChinchwad will see a leader oc- cupying such a top post in the state after nearly two decades. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TRUMP &CANADA’S ELECTION PAGE 13 Two months on, families of several Mahakumbh stampede victims await Rs 25-lakh compensation MANISH SAHU & SWEETY KUMARI GOING FORWARD, a voter declining to share their Aadhaar number with the Election Commission (EC) may have to make apersonal appearance before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to show cause for not providing this information. This controversial proposal, The Indian Express has learned, is ostensibly meant to affirm the EC’s stand in court that Aadhaar disclosure is voluntary. An ERO, typically a civil service/revenue officer, is empoweredbySection13Bof theRPAct 1950 to prepare, update and revise electoral rolls (more commonly known as the “voters’ list”) for Assembly constituencies. EROs are designated by the Election Commission in consultation with State Governments. Currently, the EC, up to 2023, had collected Aadhaar details of over 66 crore voters, who had “voluntarily” offered this information. But the two databases for these 66 crore voters haven’t been linked. In other words, so far, Aadhaar hasn’t been used to weedoutduplicateentriesoren- able clean-up of electoral rolls. There are a total estimated 98 crore registered voters. The proposal that every voter who doesn’t provide her 12-digit uniqueidentitynumberneedsto giveanexplanationinpersonbeforeanEROisunderstoodtohave been discussed at a high-level meetinglastweekbetweensenior officers of theECandrepresentatives from the Home Ministry, Law Ministry, IT Ministry, and UIDAI,andislikelytobepartofthe amended Form 6B. With this change, the EC hopes that sharing Aadhaar number will be categorically clarified as a “voluntary” exerciseanditwill,consequently,fulfil its commitment before the SupremeCourt(inGNiranjanVs ElectionCommissionof India)in September 2023. At that time, the poll watchdoghadinformedtheapexcourt that it was looking into issuing “appropriate clarificatory changes in the forms introduced for that purpose” to ensure that voters understand the exercise is voluntary. Currently, Form 6B, which was introduced to collect Aadhaar numbers of voters, When contacted, mela adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand said District Magistrate Prayagraj, Ravindra Kumar Mandar, had transferred thecompensationto the accounts of the deceased's kin and advised contacting him for further details. Mandar,whencontacted,did not share any information and redirected queries to the Mahakumbh authorities. Compounding their woes is Thirty people died in the January 29 stampede. File the fact that an official list of the deceased is still not out. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna had earlier said the list of the dead would be made public soon. The state government maintains the death toll stands at 30, but has not released the names. The Indian Express spoke to severalfamilieswhosaidtheirrelatives had died in the January 29 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ARUN JANARDHANAN & LIZ MATHEW CHENNAI, NEW DELHI, MARCH 25 AIADMK LEADER Edappadi K Palaniswami met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi Tuesday evening, in the first formal talks between the two parties towards reaching an understanding for the 2026 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Sources said that two-three more rounds are expected before a final decision is taken on Palaniswami returning to the NDA — an alliance that the AIADMK general secretary has beenresisting.Theleadersof the AIADMK and BJP have been holdingtalksforweeks,withthe Tamil Nadu party wary of re-as- sociationwiththeBJP—aNorthcentric party that the AIADMK’s main rival DMK has been projecting as symptomatic of a dominant Centre. However, sources said, the compulsions of political survival and pressure from Delhi have caused Palaniswami to change his mind. An AIADMK leader from southern Tamil Nadu, seen as close to Palaniswami, said the partywaseven“readytoplaysecondfiddle”.“Ifthey(theBJP)listen to our concerns and agree, an AIADMK-BJPallianceispossible.” The AIADMK had first aligned with the BJP during its low period following supremo J Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016, and the party’s split. Several decisions taken by the AIADMK CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In search of dark skies: Space missions, star parties fuel stargazing trend PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANJALI MARAR BENGALURU, MARCH 25 IF MILLENNIALS favoured treks and outings to nearby parks or wildlife sanctuaries on weekends, Gen Z prefers reaching for the stars — at star parties. More and more people across India are taking a shine to sleeping under the night sky at remote locationsin order to spot stars and planets, and to capture galaxies with their cameras. Thoughcelestialobjectshave fascinated mankind for ages, stargazingwithsophisticatedtelescopesandcamerashas,of late, becomemorepopularacrossthe country, with multiple astronomyclubsandinstitutesinvolved in the subject research. Then there are star buffs who travel across India and, at times, overseas to get a glimpse of eclipses and rare celestial events. Ladakh and the higher reaches of Uttarakhand possess some of India’s darkest skies (least light polluted), which allow the naked eye to see our own galaxy, the Milky Way, besides a host of planets, double stars, galaxies, nebulae, constellations and meteor showers. Planets like Mercury, Venus, Mars,JupiterandSaturncanalso be seen via telescope at remote locations in Himachal Pradesh’s Chandra Taal, Uttarakhand’s Spiti Valley, Bhandara near Nashik, and Panshet, Tamhini Ghat, Velhe, Mulshi and Naneghat areas in Pune district. Successful space missions by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in recent times, too, have stoked interest in the sky, space and astronomy, says Aniruddh Deshpande, the vice president of Pune-based Jyotirvidya Parisanstha (JVP). Astro Ambassadors at a training session in Ladakh. IIA Bengaluru India’s oldest amateur astronomy organisation that was established in August 1944, JVP has been organising star parties in and around Pune since 1945. He says, “ISRO’s successful launches and missions, like Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan, managed to ignite excitement in children and grown-ups about space exploration and astronomy, and, in particular, about stargazing.Wehaveparticipants who attend multiple star parties near Pune.” DuringJanuaryandFebruary this year, planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus were visible in a line for about10days.Dubbedas‘planet parade’, though not a rare celestial event, many institutions and amateur astronomyclubsacross India seized the opportunity to host multi-day events. Generally, a stargazing session for a number of hours, or at least one overnight session, preferably on a Saturday around the new moon, is organised every month. Some astronomy clubs host multiple sessions in a month with respect to a major celestial citing. StargazingMumbai,adecadeold amateur astronomy club that organisessimilarsessionsatsites outside Mumbai and Maharashtra,wasonesuchgroup. Notingthatthe“hype”around the recent planet parade helped themattractamuchlargernumber of participants than usual, Ritik Shah, the club’s senior science communicator, says, “We usuallygetbetween100-150participantsperastrotour,whichinclude the tent experience and food.Theparticipantsaremostly parents accompanying children agedbetweenfiveand15yearsor younger, and solo participants under the age of 30 years.” At a recent pre-event star party organised at a local park in Mumbai, Shah’s team received CONTINUED ON PAGE 2