WEDNESDAY 06 AUGUST 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR AMIT SHAH BECOMES LONGEST-SERVING UNION HOME MINISTER REVANTH TO LEAD DELHI DHARNA FOR 42 PER CENT BC RESERVATION P5 SENSEX 80,710.25 q308.47 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Light to moderate rain/ thundershower very likely to occur. RAINFALL: 044.5 mm ` vs $ 87.81 P11 P16 SILVER `1,15,000 GOLD `1,02,945 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 68.08 Many feared dead, 50 missing in Uttarakhand flash flood Cloudburst triggers flash flood, mudslide that swept through a village in Uttarkashi RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 98% P6 NIFTY 24,649.55 q73.20 ‘WE CAN DOMINATE TEST CRICKET’ HASINA DEFIANT ON OUSTER ANNIVERSARY Min. 81% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE DEHRADUN, 5 AUGUST TEMPERATURE Max: 31.6 ˚C (-0.4) Min: 25.2 ˚C (-1.3) SUN RISES 05:10 hrs MOON RISES 15:15 hrs SUN SETS 18:16 hrs MOON SETS 01:00 hrs Full Moon on 9 August THUMBNAILS An artist gives the finishing touches to an idol of lord Ganesha ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, in Akola on Monday. nANI Bangladesh polls in February, announces Yunus: Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday announced that the next parliamentary election will be held in February next year. Yunus made the comments during a televised address to the nation on the first anniversary of last year's student-led protest movement that toppled longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina. M any people are feared dead, with around 50 persons reported missing, as the Dharali market area in Uttarkashi, in Uttarakhand, was hit by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on the hilltop above the market on Tuesday afternoon. The Dharali market was engulfed by a thick mass of water and muck as a flash flood swept away hotels and houses, as well as infrastructure at the Harsil army camp, located nearby at around 1.30 p.m. Uttarkashi district disaster management officials said four people have been confirmed killed but many more are feared dead. Rescue and search operations were going, they said. The district administration said that the cloudburst that occurred on the Khirgad stream above Dharali market was triggered by continuous heavy rainfall in the hill areas for more than 24 hours. Although the scale of losses is yet to be known, officials said that the figures may be much higher as many structures were swept away in the flash flood. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) ITBP, ‘Oppn shot itself in the foot with call for Op Sindoor discussion’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the Opposition political parties’ demand for a debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor was a strategic misstep that backfired on them. Addressing the NDA parliamentary party meeting held at the Parliament Library Building here, PM Modi said: “Where else will you find an Opposition that hits its own foot with a stone?” According to sources, the Prime Minister also highlighted the recent criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Supreme Court over his allegations of China grabbing India’s land. “There can be no greater reprimand than the one delivered by the Supreme Court yesterday,” PM Modi was quoted as saying. “What more can we say, when the Supreme Court itself has spoken. This isn't just stepping on a stone — this is inviting the bull to charge,” SC to hear on 8 August plea for restoration of statehood to J-K NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST The Supreme Court will hear on 8 August an application seeking directions to the Union government for the timebound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state was stripped of its statehood following the abrogation six years ago today of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the region, and subsequently bifurcated into two Union Territories. Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Tuesday assured senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who had brought up the issue, that the matter ~ already listed for 8 August ~ would not be deleted from the cause list. SNS the Prime Minister said during the meeting. PM Modi, the sources said, also suggested that Opposition-led debates work in favour of the NDA. “The opposition should hold such debates every day. This is our turf, this is my domain, and God is with me here. By demanding such discussions, the Opposition ended up shooting itself in the foot,” he stated. The NDA meeting also saw unanimous support for resolutions praising the success of Operation Sindoor and the recent Operation Mahadev, in which security forces killed three terrorists who were identified as having carried out the the Pahalgam massacre. The meet also reiterated the key points of India's policy towards Pakistan after Pahalgam attack ~ a befitting reply would be given in case there is a terrorist attack on India and that India would not tolerate any nuclear blackmail and will strike at terrorist hideouts across the border. CM Mamata warns of action if SIR drops even one genuine name Indian Army, State Disaster management department, local police were engaged in rescue and search operations since late afternoon. Officials said that the extent of the disaster was such that army camp located 3-4 kilometres away near Harsil was badly hit by the flash flood and rising level of the Ganga flowing close to it. At least 8 to 10 Indian Army personnel were reported missing . Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the state Emer- gency Operations Centre in Dehradun and took stock of the situation in the state. Rescue and relief efforts are being carried out on a war footing, according to the state government. The Indian Air Force has also confirmed that Chinook Mi-17 V5, Cheetah and ALH helicopters are on active standby at the Chandigarh air base to aid in relief operations. The choppers will take off as soon as weather clears in the affected area, IAF officials said. India, Philippines govts elevate ties to strategic partnership NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST Amid aggressive posturing by China in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for enhancing defence and maritime cooperation between India and the Philippines as the two countries decided to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and signed over 10 accords, including those on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and transfer of sentenced persons. “It is a matter of happiness that today we have decided to give our relations the status of a Strategic Partnership. A comprehensive Action Plan has also been prepared to convert the potential of this partnership into results,” the PM said at a joint media interaction with visiting Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr after official talks between them. “India and the Philippines are friends by choice, and part- ners by destiny. From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values. Ours is not just a friendship of the past, it is a promise to the future,” the PM said. India and the Philippines have territorial disputes with China. Emphasising that the Philippines is a significant partner in India's “Act East Policy” and the “Mahasagar” vision, the Indian leader said the two countries are committed to peace, security, growth and rule-based order in the IndoPacific region. “In our Act East Policy and Mahasagar vision, the Philippines is an important partner. We are committed to peace, security, prosperity and rulebased order in the Indo-Pacific Region. We support freedom of navigation as per international laws,” PM Modi said. Making the joint press statement with PM Modi following their bilateral talks at the Hyder- abad House in New Delhi, the Philippines President said: “We agreed to continue levelling up our collaboration in defence and security. We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines' ongoing defence modernisation and the expanding capabilities and footprint of India's indigenous defence industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our Brahmos project.” “We concurred that we should be accompanied by intensified dialogue and exchanges between our defence establishments. So, we have agreed to establish mechanisms for service-to-service talks for information sharing and training exchanges amongst our militaries,” he said. PM Modi also expressed gratitude to the Philippines President and his government for strongly condemning the 22 April Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives and injured several others. He welcomed Manila's decision to give visafree entry to Indian tourists. (Another report on Pg 6) STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA/GHATAL, 5 AUGUST Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned that her party would launch a massive movement if the name of even a single genuine voter is dropped in the name of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal. “This is a conspiracy against Bengal. They have called Bengali language as Bangladeshi and, in the name of Special Intensive Revision, BJP is trying to delete the names of genuine voters. I urge everyone to check and ensure that his or her name is not deleted. They have said Aaadhar, Voter Card or ration Card will not be considered as proof of identity. Do not get swayed by what they say. I will not allow any mischief to be done in the name of voter list revision," she said. Addressing a gathering after visiting flood-hit areas in Hooghly district, she added that MPs of the INDIA bloc would gherao the office of the Election Commission of India in Delhi on 8 August. Raising serious concerns over the ambiguity surrounding the documents required for SIR, Miss Banerjee echoed the anxiety of thousands of citizens who now fear that their longestablished identity proofs ~ such as Aadhaar, EPIC (voter ID), and ration cards ~ might be rendered invalid in the verification process. “Which documents will be considered valid then?” Miss Banerjee demanded, addressing the Press in Ghatal. “These cards ~ Aadhaar, EPIC, ration card ~ were issued by the Central government and the Election Commission of India. Billions of rupees have been spent to issue them. Why should they be rejected now?” She criticised the Election Commission for allegedly distancing itself from Aadhaar as a valid identity proof in the ongoing Supreme Court proceedings related to SIR. “If Aadhaar, issued by the Government of India, and EPIC, issued by the Election Commission, are not valid, what is left?” Miss Banerjee asked. (Another report on Pg. 3) Will raise tariffs on India substantially in next 24 hours: Donald Trump AGENCIES WASHINGTON, 5 AUGUST US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is going to further raise tariffs on India in the next 24 hours, after announcing 25 per cent tariffs from 7 August. In an interview with CNBC, Mr Trump said he will raise tariffs on India, revising the earlier settled rate of 25 per cent. "India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don't do business with them. So we settled on 25 per cent (tariff), but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil," the US President was quoted as saying. He claimed that India is buying Russian oil and fuelling the Russian war machine. This comes a day after the US President stated that he will "substantially" raise US tariffs on India, accusing it of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits. New Delhi has called the threat of additional tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable.” Russia also responded strongly on Tuesday, labelling such US pressure tactics as “illegitimate”. It backed India and, while criticising Trump over his threats to increase tariffs on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow, contended that "sovereign nations must have the right to choose their trading partners". “Russia notes US threats against India but does not consider such statements to be legitimate. Sovereign countries must have and have the right to choose their own trading partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation, and to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular country," the Russian President's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, was quoted as saying by Russia's state-owned news agency TASS. After Mr Trump threatened to impose hefty tariffs on New Delhi, the Indian government on Monday said that the targeting of the country by the USA over Russian oil purchases is unjustified and unreasonable. A statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said that like any major economy, "India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its Indian parts found in Russian attack drones, says Ukraine AGENCIES KYIV, 5 AUGUST national interests and economic security". According to the government, India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. “In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets' stability," it emphasised. Ukraine has detected Indianmade components in Russian Shahed-type attack drones, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday. Kyiv has raised the matter with both India and the European Union. Presidential Office chief of staff Andriy Yermak in a post on social media platform ‘X’, said: “Unfortunately, we are detecting Indian-made components in Russian attack drones ~ including the Shahed/Geran models.” He added that Moscow must be denied access to supplies that "enable the killing of Ukrainians." The news comes as Trump's administration accused India of helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine by importing Russian oil. Trump imposed a 25 pc tariff on India starting on 1 August shortly after lambasting New Delhi over purchasing Russian energy and weapons. Mr Yermak said that the drones obtained from Iran were used to attack the front lines and civilians. Ukraine has formally raised the concerns with the Indian government & the European Union over the electronic components found in the drones. The country also said that it has sent at least two diplomatic notes to India’s external affairs ministry since last year.