FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Tuesday, 23 September 2025 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS Piyush Goyal in Washington for India-US trade talks Page 10 BRIEFLY Israel evacuates Gaza hospital amid UN summit NATION PM changed speech timing so that BJP members could watch cricket Page 9 Page 5 Kolkata, 22 September New Delhi: The combined Index of Eight Core Industries rose by 6.3% in August on a year-on-year basis, according to government data. The production of steel, coal, cement, fertilizers, electricity, and petroleum refinery products recorded positive growth. Coal production registered strong growth of 11.4% in August 2025 compared to August 2024. Two Maoists neutralised in Chhattisgarh: Raipur: Security personnel have neutralised two Maoists, so far, in an ongoing encounter in Abujhmad region in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, near the Maharashtra border, on Monday, officials said. The identities of the Maoists are yet to be confirmed, and intelligence teams are working to determine their ranks and affiliations. Security forces have intensified anti-Maoist operations in the dense forests of Abujhmad, located along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Narayanpur. Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding Maoist presence, a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Border Security Force (BSF) launched a search operation early this morning, leading to a fierce encounter. Superintendent of Police Robinson Guria said that two Maoists were neutralised in the exchange of fire. Page 12 Bengal to lose around `20k crore after GST reset, says CM Mamata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Eight core industries register 6.3 pc growth in August: Suryakumar analyses Abhishek, Gill’s fiery partnership T h e p e o p l e h ave benefitted due to the revised GST tariff but the Bengal government will l o s e r e ve n u e wo r t h R s 20,000 crore, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said today. She said: “All the states will be affected but as the Centre does not give dues to Bengal, it will be the worst hit. The Centre will give money indirectly to the double-engine governments to cover up the losses. Bengal government has reached a staggering Rs 1.92 lakh crore and ano ther Rs 20,000 crore will be added to our wo e s. I a m h a p py t h a t people have been benefitted,” she said adding, “The Centre is taking credit for restructuring the GST tariff and the godi media, including the AIR and Doordarshan are giving all credit to the centre. We will advertise in newspapers to give the real picture and the loss West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee inaugurates the Alipore Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, in Kolkata on Monday. SNS we will be facing. The media will never show how Bengal has been deprived,” she said. Miss Banerjee inaugurated the 25 Pally Durga Puja in K i d d e r p o r e . S h e wa s accompanied by Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim. Miss Banerjee said: “The Durga Puja is organised by people from all communities, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian. This is our culture and legacy. The Kidderp ore area is mini-India. People from different religions a n d c o m m u n i t i e s h ave lived here will peace and Defence minister: PoK belongs to India, day of reunification close STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 22 September In a strongly-worded message to Islamabad, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that India will take back the control of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) as the demands for the same are being raised by the people from the region. The defence minister was speaking with the Indian diaspora in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday. “PoK will be ours on its own. Demands have started being made in PoK, you must have heard sloganeering,” he said. Speaking about his statement from five years ago, the defence minister said, “I was addressing the Indian Army at a program in Kashmir Valley five years ago, I had then said that we will not need to attack and capture PoK, it is anyway ours; PoK itself will say, ‘Main bhi Bharat Hoon’. That day will come.” Stating that Operation Sindoor was still ongoing, the defence minister said it was undertaken by the country’s armed forces to execute the terrorists and terror hubs behind the brutal killings in Pahalgam. “India does not discriminate against people from different communities, and it acted to teach a lesson to those who spread terror. While the terrorists killed people in Pahalgam after asking their religion, we did not see someone’s religion, but their actions,” he added. harmony for generations. We will have to uphold our long cherished tradition of communal peace and harmony.” Quoting S wa m i Vivekananda , she said: “Unity is strength and weakness is death. We all should live happily and peacefully. Religion is personal but festival is for all.” Miss Banerjee said: “We love every language but should be proud to speak in our mother tongue. It is most unfortunate that our workers have been attacked and humiliated in other states for speaking in Bengali.” Miss Banerjee urged the P uja organisers to play Bengali songs. She has composed 16 songs for the Puja and the songs have been sung by well-known singers like Sri Radha Banerjee, Nachiketa, Raghab, Monomoy, Rupankar, Babul Supriyo, Indranil Sen among others. She was welcomed by s c h o o l g o i n g g i r l s. S h e urged them to listen to the song composed by her on Kanyashree. Miss Banerjee recollected her long association with Kidderpore. “I used to come to the house of Amal Mukherjee, who was the treasurer of south Kolkata district Congress. H e i s n o m o re b u t t h e memory is there.” PM unveils projects worth `5,100 cr in NE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Itanagar/Agartala, 22 september Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a series of initiatives in Ar unachal Pradesh and Tripura, marking the first day of Navratri with development and devotion. In Itanagar, Modi accused the Congress of neglecting Arunachal and the Northeast because of its limited electoral weight, while asserting that the BJP had placed the region firmly at the centre of India’s growth story. Calling Arunachal Pradesh the “land of peace and patriotism,” he unveiled projects worth over Rs 5,100 crore, including foundation stones for two major hydropower projects—the 240 MW Heo and 186 MW Tato-I plants in Shi Yomi district worth over Rs 3,700 crore. He also announced the Tawang Convention Centre, besides projects on connectivity, health care, fire safety, and women’s hostels. Later in the day, Modi inaugurated the redeveloped Mata Tripura Sundari Temple Complex at Udaipur in Gomati district of Tripura. One of the 51 revered Shakti Peethas, the centuries-old shrine—built in 1501 CE by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya—has been given a Rs 52-crore facelift under the Centre’s PRASAD scheme, with an additional Rs 7 crore from the state government. GST 2.0 to benefit poor, middle class, says FM; slams Congress for spreading ‘negativity’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 22 September Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the GST reforms will benefit the poor, the middle class, the new middle class, the youth, farmers, women, shopkeepers, and 'udhyami' (entrepreneurs). The minister said the rate rationalisation at 5 per cent and 18 per cent will not only support local manufacturing but also bring cooperative federalism. “We should all work to accelerate growth, make it easy for businesses to function, and be attractive for investment. Such a big tax reform became possible by taking all states together since 2017,” said the Finance Minister. “PM Modi’s address to the nation had several messages. Unfortunate that despite a positive and direction-setting address, our opposition party and its SM (social media) ecosystem spread negativity and baseless criticism,” she noted in a post on X. The minister also slammed the opposition for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the GST reforms. She said Congress and its ecosystem only spread "negativity and baseless criticism." Sitharaman wrote about the benefits of the reforms and stated that India should be 'Atmanirbhar', emphasizing the need for local manufacturing, and also highlighted the need to become equal partners in the country's growth. “1. GST reform benefits the poor, the middle class, new middle class, yuva, kisan,women, shopkeepers and udhyami 2. Nagrik Devo Bhava is a strong focus 3. India should be #AtmanirbharBharat 4. We should be proud of swadeshi--"Garv se kaho, ye swadeshi hai" 5. Support local manufacturing 6. Emphasises on cooperative federalism 7. Calls on states to become equal partners in growth 8. We should all work to accelerate growth, make it easy for businesses to function, and be attractive for investment 9. Such a big tax reform became possible by taking all states together since 2017," the post further said. The minister said the GST reforms coming into effect from September 22 have reduced the tax burden on people. EAM to meet US Secretary of State Time has come to decriminalise defamation law, says SC Rubio in NY, discuss India-US ties PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 22 September STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 22 September As part of a continuing effort to strengthen India-US ties, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session. According to officials, the discussion in the meeting between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio will serve as a continuation of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and bridge the differences that have emerged between the two nations in recent months. The meeting holds significance as it will be the first face-to-face interaction between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio since relations between New Delhi and Washington came under strain over the 50 per cent tariff imposed by the US on Indian imports for purchasing Russian oil. The new US tariff came into effect on August 27. The meeting also coincides with a visit by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is leading a delegation to hold trade negotiations with Washington. There are also confusion and concern among Indians in the US on H-1B visas after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing USD 100,000 fee on visas for skilled tech workers. The White House later clarified that the fee only applies to new applicants and not to current visa holders. Jaishankar's meeting with his American counterpart is expected to be crucial, particularly in the backdrop of the Trump administration's latest decision to hike the H-1B visa fee. The proclamation signed by US President Donald Tr ump has raised the application fee for H-1B visas to $100,000, triggering chaos across the tech industry and creating uncertainty among employees who rely on the visa programme. The Supreme Court on Monday said that the time has come to consider doing away with the criminality attached to defamation, signalling a rethink on its 2016 ruling that had upheld the law’s constitutional validity. Justice M.M. Sundresh, heading a bench with Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, made the remark while hearing a plea filed by the news portal The Wire against summons issued by a magistrate on a complaint by Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Amita Singh over a 2016 article published by the news portal. “I think time has come to decriminalise all this…,” Justice Sundresh remarked, with senior advocate Kapil Sibal agreeing to it. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, was appearing in the case representing the Foundation for Independent Journalism that runs The Wire. The dispute stems from a report that said Prof. Singh led a group of JNU teachers who had prepared a 200-page dossier allegedly portraying the university as a hub of a “sex racket” and “secessionism.” The dossier, the article claimed, was submitted to the administration accusing some teachers of fostering a culture that legitimised separatist politics. Based on this, Prof. Singh lodged a criminal defamation case against the portal and its reporter. A magistrate first issued summons in 2017. The Supreme Court set aside that summons in 2024 and asked the magistrate to reconsider the issuance of the summons after examining the article. Fresh summons were again issued this January to the portal and its political affairs editor, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta. The Delhi High Court upheld them in May, leading to the current appeal before the apex court. During the hearing, the Court questioned the long pendency of the case. “How long will you go on dragging this?” the Bench asked. To this, Sibal said, “Similar matter is being considered. Rahul Gandhi’s case.” Following this, the court issued notice in the matter. The court’s latest remark gains significance as, in May 2016, a bench led by Justice Dipak Misra had upheld the validity of the offence of criminal defamation under the old Penal Code. Then, the court had stressed that reputation was part of the right to life under Article 21, and rejected arguments that criminal defamation had a chilling effect on free speech. The top court by its May 13, 2016, judgment had said, “Once we have held that reputation of an individual is a basic element of Article 21 of the Constitution and balancing of fundamental rights is a constitutional necessity and further the legislature in its wisdom has kept the penal provision alive, it is extremely difficult to subscribe to the view that criminal defamation has a chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expression.”