TUESDAY BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER, SAYS CHARGES POLITICALLY MOTIVATED 03 Outgoing US President Joe Biden has issued ‘a full and unconditional pardon’ saying Hunter Biden is being targeted only because he is his son DECEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard HUNTER FACED GUN, TAX EVASION CHARGES X.com/TheMornStandard Hunter Biden was convicted early this year on federal gun and tax charges and was set to appear soon in Delon, California, where he faced the potential of lengthy prison sentences. Prosecutors said Biden, 54, lied about his drug use on a federal form when he bought a handgun. He had pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in Los Angeles in September | P9 GUINEA STAMPEDE AT STADIUM, 56 DEAD At least 56 people, including kids, have died after fans at a soccer game in Guinea allegedly clashed over a disputed call by the referee, police said. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 HIS CRIMINAL RECORDS TO BE WIPED CLEAN The federal tax evasion case is about nonpayment of $1.4 mn in income tax from 2016-19. He is charged with showing $5 mn spent on drugs, escorts, luxury hotels, cars, and clothing as business expenses ■ The tax charges carried up to 17 years and gun charges 25 years jail term. The pardon means he won’t go to jail or have a criminal record ■ U-TURN JOE BIDEN HAD REPEATEDLY RULED OUT PRESIDENTIAL PARDON TO SAVE HIS SON Deadlock ends as Farmers march, Monday mayhem on road Oppn & govt find SC asks farmer leaders common ground on protest not to cause HARROWING TIME FOR THE COMMUTERS MASSIVE SECURITY DEPLOYMENT ON DELHI-NOIDA BORDERS Anti-riot equipment S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi Consensus emerges to hold discussions on Constitution in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Houses have lost almost all @ New Delhi working hours due to protests by opposition parties demandTHE government and opposi- ing discussions on various istion parties on Monday agreed sues. The Congress has been to break the week-long Parlia- particularly vocal about the inment deadlock by holding a dis- dictment of Adani Group chaircussion on the Constitution to person Gautam Adani and othcommemorate the 75th anni- er company officials on charges versary of its adoption. of bribery and fraud by The breakthrough was US prosecutors. In adachieved in a meeting dition, intense opposiof floor leaders of varition protests over isous parties with the sues such as the Lok Sabha Speaker, Sambhal violence and where consensus the unrest in Manipur emerged to let both have led to repeated adCongress, Houses function journments in both the TMC differ smoothly from Tuesday Lok Sabha and the RaWhile the onwards. It was also dejya Sabha. Congress is cided to hold debates However, certain opkeen to push on the Constitution in position parties, notathe Adani row bly the Trinamool Conboth Houses. Parliamentary Af- in Parliament, gress, have prioritised the TMC feel fairs Minister Kiren Riother issues over the price rise and jiju later told reporters Adani controversy. that the Lok Sabha unemployment They have called for deare the more would hold discussions bates on unemployon the Constitution on pressing issues ment, price rises, and December 13 and 14, that should be the Centre’s alleged while the Rajya Sabha raised by Oppn bias against opposiwould conduct the detion-ruled states in bates on December 16 and 17. fund allocation. “The government has agreed Meanwhile, the BJP has acto this,” Rijiju said, adding that cused the Congress of violating he expected parliamentary pro- constitutional norms during ceedings to resume smoothly. its time in power. The BJP has Several opposition leaders who emphasised that the Narendra attended the meeting expressed Modi government has upheld similar optimism. and strengthened constitutionSince the winter session al principles during its tenure started on November 25, both of over 10 years. P7 RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR EXPRESS READ Teen shooter shoots self over `40K ‘theft’ in MP Waqf case: ED moves HC against MLA’s release Hurt by accusations of `40,000 theft by fellow trainees and seniors, a 17-year-old shotgun shooter shot himself to death in the MP State Shooting Academy premises in Bhopal, police said. P8 ED on Monday moved Delhi High Court against a trial court order refusing to take cognisance of a chargesheet filed against AAP’s Amanatullah Khan and releasing him in Waqf Board case. P3 PHOTO: DINESH S CYCLONE FENGAL Over 20 vehicles were washed away by heavy rain due to cyclone Fengal on Monday in Uthangarai, Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu | EXPRESS | P5 A massive security deployment at Delhi-Noida borders was put in place on Monday as farmers, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), began their protest march towards the national capital, demanding better compensation for land acquisition. Delhi and Noida police implemented stringent measures, erecting multiple layers of barricades, deploying drones and hydra cranes to maintain order. After hours of standoff, the police removed the barricades and allowed traffic to resume on the Yamuna Expressway and Noida-Delhi border. This followed a breakthrough in talks between farmers and officials in Greater Noida, where BKP leader Sukhbir Khalifa agreed to give the government a week’s time to address the demands, including a law on MSP Farmers tempo. rarily shifted their protest to Ambedkar Park, but warned they would resume their march if their concerns were not addressed. The protest, which involved farmers from 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh such as Agra, Aligarh, and Bulandshahr, began around 11.30 am at the Mahamaya flyover on the Dadri-Noida link road in Gautam Budh Nagar. Carrying flags and banners from various farmer groups, the protesters marched towards Delhi. The farmers were stopped at Dalit Prerna Sthal near the Noida Link road, about 1 km from Chilla border, which serves as a key entry point to Delhi. Despite heavy security, the protesters sat on the barricades and blocked one side of the highway dis, rupting traffic between Noida and Delhi. The Noida-Greater Noida road was closed. Over 4,000 cops were deployed at strategic locations, according to Shivhari Meena, Additional CP (Law and Order), Noida. SC says strict curbs to continue till air quality improves S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday refused to relax the emergency measures under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the national capital unless a consistent downward trend was noticed in the AQI level. Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih directed chief secretaries of NCR states to appear before it through video-conferencing on December 5 to inform whether any subsistence allowance was paid to construction workers who went without work owing to the curbs. The bench highlighted the “complete lack of coordination” among stakeholders, including the Delhi government, Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and pollution control committee in implementing the restrictions. “What we propose is, we will look into your suggestions, but today we will not permit relaxations unless you show us a clear downward trend. On Thursday (December 5), we will examine the AQI levels and find out whether there is any downward trend,” the bench said. The Delhi government, represented by senior advocate Shadan Farasat, said it would look into charges of non-compliance of the GRAP curbs. The bench during the hearing noted the revelation of “very shocking things” from the reports filed by advocates appointed as court commissioners to conduct inspection at entry points. The reports indicated that the court commissioners risked their lives to discharge their duties. The CAQM was directed to depute a team of officers to take up the issue of non-compliance with the authorities for immediate action. Delhi Police has escalated security at key border points, including Kalindi Kunj and Chilla, with anti-riot equipment being in place to control situation Acquisition of land and comp The farmers from UP marched to Delhi to press demands for land allocation and increased compensation for their lands acquired by the government Farmers break through police barricades near Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida | PARVEEN NEGI people inconvenience S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y & P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday asked Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border, to persuade the protesting farmers not to obstruct highways and cause inconvenience to people. A two-judge bench, led by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Dallewal, who was removed from the Khanauri protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border on November 26. Meanwhile, traffic woes plagued commuters at the Delhi-Noida border as the police intensified security measures to stop farmers marching towards the national capital. Multiple barricades were erected, causing long delays and prompting many to seek alternative travel options. Additional Commissioner of Police (East) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, “We have made adequate arrangements in East Delhi borders and taken all precautionary measures,” he said. JCP (southern range) SK Jain said, “Since Parliament is in session, protests without permission are strictly prohibited. To manage this, we have increased security at borders.” Many commuters thronged to the metro in order to avoid traffic jams. The traffic returned to normal by mid-afternoon after police removed barricades following talks with the protestors. CPI INDEX Food items to weigh less with new base year IMPACT ON RBI’S INFLATION TARGETING As inflation remains high, there was a suggestion to keep food inflation out of RBI’s inflation targeting framework to keep retail inflation at 4% (plus minus 2%) PROSPECTS FOR RATE CUT COULD BRIGHTEN Due to high food inflation, RBI has been deferring interest rate cut since Feb 2023, which has become a point of tiff between the central government and RBI D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi WITH the debate raging over weightage of food inflation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), government sources said the weightage of food in the index would come down automatically once the new base year is adopted. The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is working on a new base year, which could be 2022-23 or 2023-24. Sources said the new base year could kick in by late 2025 or early 2026. Currently, the government uses 2011-12 as the base year for inflation and GDP calculation. “T he debate over the weightage of food items in CPI basket would be over once the new base year is adopted. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey report of 2023-24 would be released in a few weeks. After that, we will decide on the base year,” said a senior official. According to the 2022-23 survey, the share of food in household consumption has fallen from 52.90% in 2011-12 to 46.4% in rural areas and from 46.62% to 39.17% in urban areas. The share of cereals from the consumption basket has fallen from 10.69% in 2011-12 to 4.89% in 2022-23 in rural areas and from 6.61% to 3.62% in urban. The 2023-24 survey could see further fall in the share of food items in the consumption basket. Cur rently, food has a weightage of 44.6% in the combined Consumer Price Index, which tracks the retail inflation. Cereals have a weightage of 10%. In October, the retail inflation crossed 6% after14 months. On the question of why the real inflation for the common man feels much more than the official numbers released, a senior official said the government’s number is arrived at by taking price samples from over 2,500 urban and rural markets across all states, but the general perception of inflation is based on the experience of 4-5 metro cities. ONE-WORD RESPONSE ALLOWED TO CHARGES Takht tells SAD to accept Sukhbir’s resignation, prescribes punishment H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh SHIROMANI Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was on Monday directed by the five high priests of the Akal Takht to perform as sewadar (guard) at the Golden Temple, wash utensils at the community kitchen and polish shoes of devotees there, as religious punishment for the ‘sins’ committed during his watch as party president between 2007 and 2017. His father Parkash Singh Badal was chief minister of a SAD-BJP coalition government during that period. The SAD was directed to accept Sukhbir’s resignation from presidentship of the party in three days and form a committee to hold fresh elections for SAD’s leadership within six months. The Takht set up a separate panel to oversee the whole process. Whether or not Monday’s orders would translate into Sukhbir’s political sunset remains to be seen. Also, the Fakhr-e-Quom — the highest Takht honour — conferred on Parkash Singh Badal was withdrawn. Former Sikh ministers in the SAD-BJP government and the party’s core committee members, too, were found guilty of religious misconduct during those 10 years. And the rebel group of the Akali Dal led by Sukhdev Singh History has been unkind to those who awarded punishment by the Akal Takht. Only time can tell how Sukhbir Singh Badal would negotiate his political future after serving the punishment Prof Kuldip Singh, political analyst Dhindsa was ordered to merge with the parent party . Akal Takht Jathedar (high priest) Giani Raghbir Singh directed all the accused to wear boards around their necks listing their guilt. They were asked to give a one-word response — ‘yes’ or ‘no’ — to the charges brought against them. Since Sukhbir has a hairline fracture in a leg, he was directed to serve for an hour each for two days at the entrance of the Golden Temple wearing a guard’s uniform while on a wheelchair. Dhindsa was awarded identical punishment A board hangs from the neck of Sukhbir listing his ‘sins’ | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT in view of his advanced age and health issues. Besides at the Golden Temple, all accused were ordered to perform the same services at four other gurdwaras for two days each. The quantum of punishment was announced three months after Sukhbir was declared a tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Takht. The jathedar asked Sukhbir to admit his role in facilitating the pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015, who faced charges of blasphemy P4 . Sitharaman, Rupani to oversee Maha ‘CM election’ S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai SETTING the ball rolling to name its chief ministerial candidate, the BJP’s central parliamentary board on Monday appointed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman and former chief minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani as observers for the first legislative party meeting of the BJP in Maharashtra. The meeting expected on Wednesday would elect its leader, who would possibly take the oath of office as the new chief minister at a ceremony on Thursday at Azad Maidan here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources in the Shiv Sena said caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis would get into a huddle in Mumbai on Monday and later fly to Delhi to finalise the powersharing arrangement of the Mahayuti alliance with the BJP’s top Nirmala leadership. How- Sitharaman ever, no such meet- and Vijay Rupani ing took place. Shinde, who had returned to Thane after a bout of infection from his native village, Daregaon, in Satara district, once again fell sick and reportedly did not meet even his party leaders on Monday . “If the BJP is not able to give the CM’s post to the Shiv Sena because it has emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, then it should at least concede key portfolios like finance and home to the Sena. While Ajit Pawar with 41 MLAs has been promised finance, the BJP is reluctant to give home to Sena that has 57. This is completely unfair,” said a Sena leader requesting anonymity . He accused the BJP of taking unilateral decisions ever since the assembly election results were announced.