NEW DELHI 20 september 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE The Republic of the Plate The IV League The Rebel on Air The Secret Pulse of Plants Devdutt Pattanaik Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shampa Dhar-Kamath Gopalkrishna Gandhi Shankkar Aiyar Anand Neelakantan The Elegant Wit of Understatement Exclusive Voices ‘The  More I Shut Up, the More I Learn’ Immersive Indulgence Swami Sukhabodhananda speaks The Wisdom of Transience Independent candidate springs surprise, ABVP wins 3 posts & NSUI draws blank I f r a h M u f t i @ New Delhi Victorious candidates celebrate at Arts Faculty, DU | sayantan ghosh 1 The Congress-backed NSUI has faced major setback yet again, drawing a blank on all the central panel posts 2 NOTA has emerged as a voice of discontent among students, with many saying that muscle and money power is not everything The ABVP secured three of the four central panel posts in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls, while independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen won the post of vice president. Like in 2023, the NSUI failed to win any seat, though Shokeen is an NSUI rebel. Last year too, the ABVP had won three posts, while the NSUI had cornered the vicepresident’s position. ABVP candidates won the posts of president, secretary and joint secretary, reinforcing its dominance in campus politics. ABVP’s Yash Dabas polled 24,576 votes, defeating NSUI’s Vijai Shankar Meena by 2,053 votes. The joint Left candidate got 5,377 votes and 4,310 students chose NOTA. Shokeen emerged as a surprise winner in the vice-president contest, polling 30,615 votes, the first candidate to win so many votes in the DUSU polls. He was denied an NSUI ticket at the last moment. He defeated ABVP’s Ishu Maurya, who polled 16,910 votes. For the secretary’s post, ABVP candidate Riya Chhawdi secured 21,650 votes, defeating NSUI’s Namrata Chaudhary who polled , 14,869 votes, a margin of 6,781 votes. In the joint secretary race, the ABVP candidate Lakshay Raj Singh won by 837 votes, securing 16,615 votes against 15,778 votes polled by the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha candidate Vishesh Yadav. While the SP and the Left together polled 21,615 votes, the Left alone secured 5,837 votes. Dabas said the results were a reflection of grassroots work. “It is a clean sweep for us.” P3 Double whammy as Trump extends Gupta cleared, H-1B fee, signs Russia sanctions Act Kejriwal put on Legislation authorises US prez to slap up to 100% tariff on India, others over Russian crude buy D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi No salary for 3 months, Spicejet staff delay 4 flights S L A L I THA @ New Delhi SpiceJet, already struggling with operational and financial issues, encountered a fresh issue on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport with the staff not turning up for duty allegedly due to unpaid salaries for the past three months. Multiple sources confirmed this development, which resulted in four SpiceJet flights delayed by hours. Three flights from Delhi to Leh and another to Jammu could not take off as scheduled, impacting over 400 flyers. The flights subsequently departed hours later after senior executives of the airline as well as airport authorities convinced them to report for duty . A source told this newspaper, “The issue occurred at Terminal 1 around 2 am when flyers realised that the SpiceJet counters didn’t have any staff. Others who did not have baggage passed the security checks and reached the boarding gates only to find staff missing there also.” “Frantic calls made by the senior management to the staff to report for duty as well as talks held by IGIA authorities made the employees oblige. They reported for duty at 5 am,” the source said. In a statement, a Spicejet spokesperson said, “On September 19, SpiceJet flights SG121, SG127 operating from Delhi to Leh and SG2160 operating from Delhi to Jammu were delayed due to operational reasons. The flights have departed and landed at their destinations.” US President Donald Trump late Friday (US time) signed the controversial ‘Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’, authorising US to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five largest foreign buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, putting India and China at direct risk of penalties. The Act provides for property-blocking sanctions on foreign vessels that knowingly transport certain Russianorigin products, including crude oil, uranium and coal. The US Senate passed the Bill on August 7, while the House of Representatives approved it on September 16. The law will take effect within 30 days. During this period, the US Trade Representative will identify countries to be targeted and recommend tariff rates. The law provides a chance to countries to reduce Russian energy purchases within 180 days and negotiate with US for a lower tariff. Apart from China and India, Turkiye, EU and Myanmar are other three top importers of Russian crude. India, which sourced around 30% of its crude oil imports from Russia in FY2026 — $40.8 billion out of total crude imports of $134.7 billion — now faces the risk of tariffs of up to 100% on its exports to the US. India has maintained it will take necessary measures to protect its economic interests. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier said the law could have affect bilateral ties and international energy market. “This issue has been discussed at high levels in recent months with various US interlocutors. Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side. The Indian side has made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” the MEA said. India, negotiating a trade deal with the US, faces 10% additional tariff over MFN rates under Section 301. Dr Manoranjan Sharma, Chief Economist, Infomerics Ratings, said the signing of the Bill by the US President does not automatically trigger an across-the-board levy on India, but the threat of higher tariffs has become a potent instrument of economic, geopolitical pressure. Trade and geopolitical analysts said India should negotiate with US to limit the law’s impact. “New Delhi should seek product-specific exclusions, tariff-rate quotas, transition periods, a phased reduction in Russian crude purchases and a clear ceiling below the 100% maximum. The waiver provision in the US law creates diplomatic space; India should use it,” an analyst said. China, US to hold talks Top US and Chinese negotiators will hold final preparatory talks in Washington from Saturday, including on tariffs, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the United States for a summit with his counterpart Donald Trump, the commerce ministry in Beijing said. An extension of the 2025 Proclamation will continue to protect the economic and national security interests of the United States Donald Trump $100K H-1B visa fee blocked by federal court, faces appeal J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump has extended the measure requiring a $100,000 fee on employers for new H-1B visa applications by another year, the White House said. Trump, who has intensified his immigration crackdown, has repeatedly attacked the H-1B programme and pushed to make the $100,000 fee permanent, up from the existing $2,000–$5,000 range. The move, however, has also been caught in legal tangles. “The restrictions enacted by the 2025 Proclamation have proven to be highly effective but the underlying conditions necessitating the restrictions persist. It is therefore in the interests of US to extend the 2025 Proclamation for an additional 12 months, until 12.00 am eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027. Under the renewed measure, employers sponsoring certain H-1B workers who are outside US must make the $100,000 payment before filing the relevant petition,” the proclamation said. The policy is particularly consequential for Indian professionals. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services data shows 71% of approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2024 involved beneficiaries born in India, compared with 11.7% born in China.The H-1B programme, created by Congress in 1990, enables US employers to temporarily employ foreign professionals in specialised occupations. It is heavily used by technology companies and has become an important mode for recruiting workers from India and China. The extension comes amid legal challenges. A federal judge blocked the $100,000 requirement in June 2026 and ruled that the administration lacked authority to impose the payment, according to Reuters. The government is appealing that decision. Business groups have argued H-1Bs help companies fill specialised roles where they cannot readily find qualified US workers. Critics, including the Trump administration, contend some employers use the programme to suppress wages or displace American workers. SIR roll notice A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was among the mapped voters in Delhi whose details were initially found to have discrepancies in the draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) list. She was served notices to submit more documents. At the same time, former CM Arvind Kejriwal’s family members have figured in the list of unmapped voters. These details emerged after the Delhi Election Commission published online a list of name discrepancies and dates of birth of residents in the draft SIR list on Saturday It is sending notices to the persons named to present . documents, chief electoral officer Ashok Kumar said. Sources confirmed that Gupta’s name was in the list released on Saturday because the difference between her age and that of her parents is less than 15 years. The Election Commission issued a notice to her, followed by field verification conducted by the area BLO. After the verification, her name has been parked for inclusion in the final electoral roll, which will be published on November 4. Kejriwal and four members of his family have been served notices un- Kapil Sibal der the “Unmapped with Last SIR” issued notice category, according to information available on the exercise. Kejriwal, Former Union law his wife Sunita Kejriwal, his father minister Kapil Sibal Gobind Ram Kejriwal and his moth- has also been issued er Gita Devi have been served notic- notices for es. His son Pulkit Kejriwal has also “discrepancies” in the details of his received a similar notice. AAP spokesperson Anurag Dhanda enumeration form. said: “What kind of process is it to Reportedly, former remove the votes of three-time Delhi Delhi BJP president Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal ji Virendra Sachdeva and his family from Delhi’s voter list has got a notice too. @ECISVEEP?” Under the “Unmapped with Last SIR” category electors , whose details could not be matched with records from the previous SIR are required to undergo verification as part of the roll revision process. Delhi’s chief electoral officer said, “Currently our hearings on the claims and objection , process are underway so notices are being sent to the pub, lic. There are two types of notices: one for unmapped voters and one for mapped voters, where there are small discrepancies in their names or dates of birth, etc.” ‘System’ suppressing students, does not want them to ask questions: Rahul P r e e t h a n a i r @ Indore indians march on The Indian contingent, led by double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker (centre right) and Asiad gold medallist Kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat (centre left), march on during the Opening Ceremony of the 20th Asian Games at Mizoho Sports Park in Nagoya, Japan on Saturday. India’s medal hunt begins on Sunday in teqball | pti Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the ‘system’ is suppressing students and does not want them to raise questions about unemployment and examination irregularities. Addressing a huge gathering of students at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Rahul said the very institutions created to support students and protect universities and colleges are now working against them. “The system has captured the entire country It does not want . students to raise questions,” he said. “Students are asking questions about the system, including about certain industrialists, but the andhbhakts (blind followers) oppose them. Only stu- Rahul Gandhi interacts with a student upon his arrival at Indore airport | PTI dents can wipe out violence and hatred from the country, not andhbhakts.” He said nearly 10 lakh teaching posts were vacant across the country and this reflected the government’s failure to protect the future of the youth. “The students are the foundation of the country Students make the . country. And as I said earlier, education is not a luxury, not a favour. It is the right of every student in India,” he said. He charged that the system does not want the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the Election Commission and other institutions to function independently. He claimed that the six people who run the system are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and two industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. “The country is completely under their grip,” he alleged. Rahul also offered to join an ongoing protest by candidates awaiting teacher jobs in Madhya Pradesh.