wednesdAY counterpunch: China announces retaliatory tariff on U.S. imports 05 China countered President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products with levies of its own on multiple US imports as well as a probe on Google february, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in 2018 was when Trump first began the tariff war with ChinA facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard impact on u.s. exports may be limited fat wa rushdie stabbing trial to begin 15% tariff on coal, lng; 10% on crude oil Salman Rushdie may return to New York county to recount his experience during the trial of Hadi Matar, who has pleaded not guilty to the assault charge. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 stage set for battle 70 Total Seats l New Delhi approximately 1.56CR Male Total Electors Female l J8.00 l 83,76,173 72,36,560 China said it would implement a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the US. The tariffs would take effect next Monday. “The US’s unilateral tariff increase violates rules of WTO,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement | P9 PAGES 12 Third Gender Total poll booth 1,267 13,766 Electors 18-19 yrs: 2,39,905 85+ yrs: 1,09,368 100+ yrs: 783 PwD: 79,885 Overseas: 695 Service: 12,736 The impact on US exports may be limited. Though the US is the biggest exporter of LNG globally, it does not export much to China. In 2023, the US exported only 2.3% of its natural gas to China China also placed two US companies on an unreliable entities list: PVH Group, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, & Illumina 210 will be managed by women staff AI-based app to monitor realtime crowd management Colour-coded will help voters locate their designated booth Voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm More on p 3 Delhi decides: 3rd term for AAP or BJP comeback after 27 yrs? AS H IS H SRIVASTAVA @ New Delhi The political battle in Delhi has never been more intense. In this high-stakes three-way contest, the ruling AAP strives to retain power against a resurgent BJP and a Congress eager to reclaim its lost ground. While AAP dominated the last two assembly polls, this time, the odds seem differently stacked. AAP, which came to power foreigners ‘Are you waiting for muhurat?’ SC raps Assam on deportation 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 Tuesday lambasted the Assam government for its failure to deport individuals declared as foreigners, while ordering the state to initiate deportation proceedings against 63 whose nationalities were known. A two-judge bench led by justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, held that once individuals are declared foreigners, they should be deported immediately. “Are you waiting for some muhurat to deport those detained persons who are held to be foreigners?” the court asked the Assam government’s counsel. The bench said it’s for the Centre to decide where the foreigners should go, adding Assam cannot continue to detain them indefinitely . The top court was hearing a case of petitioner Rajubala against the Central government over the issue of deportation of declared foreigners. “Once you declare a person foreigner, then you have to take the next logical step. You cannot detain them till eternity. Article 21 of the Constitution is there. There are many foreigner detention centres in Assam. How many have you deported?” the bench questioned. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he would sit with the Union Ministry of External Affairs officials and find a solution. The court also directed the Assam government to ensure better conditions in detention centres and form a committee to inspect facilities fortnightly. Additionally, the Central government has been given a month’s time to clarify how to handle ‘stateless’ individuals. on governance reforms and welfare schemes, faced antiincumbency corruption charg, es, and a fractured opposition alliance. The Congress-AAP rift, which saw the two parties contest together in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, turned into an open hostility signalling a deep , political divide that could benefit the BJP . The saffron party which has , been out of power for 27 years, as an “AAPda” (disaster). The Congress focused its efforts on 12 constituencies, mainly in minority and Dalitdominated areas like Okhla and Seelampur. Their campaign, the ‘Dilli Nyay Yatra,’ addressed issues like pollution, inflation, unemployment, and waste management. AAP which has successfully , wooed voters with free electricity, water, and bus rides for women, is now offering `2,100 per month for women and free healthcare for the elderly How. ever, both BJP and Congress have countered with their own welfare schemes. To counter Kejriwal, both BJP and Congress have strategically positioned candidates with political legacies. The BJP has nominated Parvesh Verma, son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma, while the Congress has fielded Sandeep Dikshit, son of late Sheila Dikshit, one of Delhi’s longest-serving CMs. The incumbent CM Atishi is once again contesting from Kalkaji, facing Congress’s Rashtriya Mahila Morcha president Alka Lamba and BJP’s former MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who has stirred controversy with remarks against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Continued on Page 3 Don sends first PM tears into Rahul on caste census, Kejriwal over ‘jacuzzi’ deportation Kejriwal booked for remarks on Yamuna, Atishi MCC violation devised a different strategy by fielding strong candidates and focusing on alleged corruption in the AAP government. Like in the past, this election also saw AAP launch several welfare schemes, such as the Mahila Samman Yojana, which promised `2,100 monthly to women, and the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, which offered `18,000 to temple priests and gurdwara granthis. Despite flight to India US military flight with 205 undocumented Indians aboard to land in Amritsar today J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi THE US on Tuesday deported 205 people, mostly from Punjab, on a military plane as it stepped up its efforts to remove illegal migrants. The C-17 military aircraft, which took off from Texas in the wee hours on Tuesday, will make a refuel stop at the Ramstein airbase in Germany before landing in Amritsar on Wednesday . While there was no official word either from Washington or New Delhi about the deportation flight, sources said the deportees were verified before they were put on the plane. A recheck of the passengers’ nationalities will be done once the flight lands in Amritsar. Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said state government officials will receive the deportees and set up counters for them. This is the first time the US is using a military plane to deport people: last October, a chartered flight was used to fly back Indians who were staying in the US illegally . A spokesperson of the US embassy in New Delhi said the crackdown would send a clear message, that illegal migration is not worth the risk. Tough action against illegal immigration was one of the major poll promises of Donald Trump. “All illegal entry will be immediately halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of illegal aliens back to the places from which they came,” he said during his inauguration speech. Following a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, Trump said the Indian PM “will do what’s right” regarding illegal Indian immigrants in the US. India’s stated position is that it does not support illegal migration and will take back its citizens, upon verification, if they are found to be staying in other countries illegally . Indications are that there could be more such repatriation flights. At least 20,407 undocumented ‘Indians’ could be impacted by the crackdown, with 17,940 being paperless individuals with final removal orders, according to the US Department of Homeland Security Another 2,467 individuals . are currently in detention under the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These figures, last updated in 2022, may have increased significantly . Punjab govt to be ‘friendly’ with deportees Chandigarh: Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that the state government would be friendly with the illegal immigrants who land at the Amritsar airport on Wednesday after being deported from the US. “However, criminal antecedents, if any, would be checked and due action taken. We do not know yet about their identity and their cases but we are in touch with central agencies,” he said | P8 these efforts, the party faced anti-incumbency sentiments and corruption allegations. On the other hand, the BJP kicked off its campaign with the ‘Parivartan Yatra,’ emphasizing the alleged corruption within the AAP government. At a rally in Rohini, PM Narendra Modi criticised the current administration for various issues, such as water shortages and pollution, labeling the situation P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi A day after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the grand old party and said his government has helped as many as 25 crore Indians “defeat poverty and come out of it” in the last 10 years. Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Modi said such achievements happen when “we sacrifice our lives for the poor in a planned way”. He reiterated his commitment to the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. Rebutting Rahul’s charges on ‘rising unemployment’ and the ‘Make in India’ programme’s failure to revive production, Modi listed his gover nment achievements in different sectors like education, foreign policy, MSMEs and job creation. While Rahul spoke about data localisation and artificial intelligence, Modi said, “Our focus is on double AI. One AI is artificial intelligence and the other aspirational India.” Rubbishing Rahul’s allegations on Chinese encroach- Constitution rap S H E K H AR SI N G H @ New Delhi Hitting out at Rahul’s Constitution pitch, the PM said, “those who walk with Constitution in their pockets forget Muslim women. We ended triple talaq, gave women their rights. We live by the Constitution.” FIRs were filed against two senior AAP leaders, party chief Arvind Kejriwal and CM Atishi, a day before the elections. Kejriwal, along with few party members, faced criminal charges at the Shahbad Police Station in Haryana over his “poison” in Yamuna water remarks, while Atishi was accused of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The complaint against Kejriwal was lodged by advocate Jagmohan Manchanda, who alleged that the AAP chief was making provocative claims regarding the quality of the Yam u n a r ive r water supplied to Delhi from Haryana. As a result, a criminal case was filed against the former chief minister. The charges have been filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Section 192 (false statements), Section 196(1) (provocation to cause riots), Section 197(1) (public misinformation), Section 248(a) (intent to harm public peace), and Section 299 (outraging religious sentiments). Atishi was booked for violating the MCC. Atishi, the AAP candidate from the Kalkaji constituency, was found with 50-70 supporters and 10 vehicles at Fateh Singh Marg during the mandatory silence period. A case was subsequently registered at Govindpuri Police Station under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act. The son of BJP’s Kalkaji nominee Ramesh Bidhuri was also booked for violating MCC. Urban Naxal lingo Have three members of a SC or ST family served as members of Parliament together at any point in time ever? PM’s broadside against Sonia’s family ment, Modi observed that “some don’t feel mature enough if they do not talk about foreign policy though it might hurt the country .” “If they have an interest in foreign policy, want to understand it, and aim to do something in this field in the future, they should definitely read a book, JFK’s Forgotten Crisis, on the subject,” he said without mentioning its author. Slamming Rahul for his demand for a caste census, the PM said some people had made it fashion to talk about caste. “For the last 30-35 years, MPs In a veiled attack on Rahul, he said, “Some openly speak the language of urban Naxals and attack the Indian state. They don’t understand Constitution or democracy.” from across parties were demanding constitutional status for the OBC Commission. It’s we who gave it constitutional status,” he emphasised. With Delhi going to elections the next day, the PM’s speech mostly revolved around criticism of the Aam Aadmi Party government and the alleged corruption charges against it. Targeting former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, he said, “some people are focused on building jacuzzi and showers”, while the BJP government is working to provide tap water to every home in the country . Express read 2 more cheetah cubs born in Kuno, count 26 Massive search ops in Kulgam, 500 detained Relief to Tharoor in defamation case Two more cheetah cubs have been born in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, which is the first home of African cheetahs in India. Five-year-old Veera gave birth to two healthy cubs on Tuesday, taking the cheetah population at Kuno to 26 — 14 cubs and 12 adults. This comes a day before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is set to release more cheetahs into the forest in Kuno. | P8 The security agencies have launched a massive anti-terror operation in the Valley and detained around 500 people for questioning after the killing of an ex-serviceman near his house in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Monday. The CRPF and the Army are using drones for aerial surveillance, while Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security meeting in New Delhi. | P7 A court on Tuesday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, saying that the case failed to establish “any ingredient of defamation.” Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal refused to summon Tharoor, rejecting Chandrasekhar’s allegations that the MP made false remarks. | P4 art of deception Love, luxe and loot: Luck runs out for interstate thief in Bengaluru up with him when he was arrested by Bengaluru police on January 20 for stealing gold MEET Panchakshari Sangayya and silver ornaments worth Swami, a 37-year-old thief with `12.25 lakh from a house in a taste for the high life. Madiwala. A state-level kickboxSwami’s ar rest reer and black belt in kavealed a staggering crimrate, Swami had a peninal past — over 150 cases chant for gifting lavish of robbery and theft presents to his loved across Telangana, Maones, including a `3 harashtra, Gujarat and crore palatial house to Karnataka. He had been P S Swami his bar dancer girlarrested twice before, in friend and a `22 lakh 2012 and 2016, and had aquarium to a well-known Bol- spent six years in prison. But lywood actress. But law caught despite his notoriety he contin, E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Illustration: Mandar Pardikar ued to evade the law, shifting his base to Bengaluru to avoid detection. His life of crime began in 2003 when he stole a laptop at the age of 15. By 2009, he had turned into a professional, using his ill-gotten gains to fund his lavish lifestyle. When he turned 24, he came in contact with the Bollywood actress. Police believed he would spend up to `15 lakh for every visit to the actress. He gifted her the pricey aquarium on one of her birthday . Besides this, he had also con- structed a palatial building for his girlfriend, a bar dancer in Kolkata. “He had met her at a bar and had fallen in love. He constructed the bungalow costing `3 crore for her using his ill-gotten money police said, adding that ,” Swami was married but his wife deserted him. His latest arrest was made possible by CCTV footage and technical evidence, which led police to recover 181 gm of gold biscuits and 333 gm of silver ornaments, worth `12.25 lakh. He was picked up near the popular Madiwala market. Police said he had melted all stolen gold ornaments and converted them into gold biscuits. Police recovered a fire gun that he used to melt gold. Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said, “He had stolen gold and silver ornaments weighing 410 gm from a locked house in Madiwala. He gained entry by breaking open the door locks. After his release from a jail in Maharashtra in October last year, he committed this theft in Madiwala on January 9.” EVEREST scaling gets dear as nepal hikes fee Nepal has hiked the cost of an Everest climbing permit by a third, arguing it will help tackle pollution and boost safety on the world’s highest mountain. Fees for the spring climbing season will rise from $11,000 to $15,000 for a permit | P9
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