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 | Saturday, 20 December 2025 SPORTS WORLD Trump suspends green card lottery programme EDITORIAL SATURDAY INTERVIEW ‘Mining can’t be only strategy’ Rationing a Right BRIEFLY In poll-bound TN, close to 1 cr voters removed in Draft Electoral Roll: Chennai: Close to one crore names have been deleted from the electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Tamil Nadu with Chennai witnessing the biggest drop with the removal of 14.25 lakh voters. During the SIR exercise, a total of over 97 lakh voters have been removed from the existing voter list, bringing down the strength of the electorate in TN from 6,41,14, 587 to 5,43,76,755. Despite the huge amount of deletion, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik, told the media in Chennai that this reflected the overwhelming participation in the first phase of the SIR. As per the data released by the CEO, the removals included 26,94,672 listed as deceased, 66,44,881 reported as shifted and 3,39,278 found to be enrolled at multiple places. Page 4 Page 7 Page 9 Page 6 Winter Session wraps up with passage of major bills STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 19 December T he Winter Session of Parliament came to a close on Friday as both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die after a productive run marked by the passage of several crucial legislations. The session witnessed the approval of eight key government bills, including the historic repeal and replacement of the 20 -year- old MGNREGA scheme with the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, and the opening up of the civil nuclear sector for private participation through the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, presiding over the final sitting, highlighted the session’s productivity, noting: “We have now come to the end of the 18th Lok Sabha. In this session, 15 sittings took place. The House saw productivity of 111 per cent during the session.” The Lok Sabha held a total of 92 hours and 25 minutes of sittings, during which 10 government bills were introduced and 8 passed. The legislative package also included reforms in insurance laws, raising foreign direct investment in the sector to 100 per cent through the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025. Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, who chaired his first session since taking office, described the 269th Rajya Sabha session as “highly productive” and expressed hope for continued fruitful debates. He emphasised the increased engagement of members, noting a 31 per cent rise in Zero Hour notices and a nearly 50 per cent increase in matters raised during Zero PM to inaugurate multi-crore infrastructure projects in poll-bound Bengal, Assam STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 19 December Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit poll-bound West Bengal and Assam over the weekend, where he will lay foundation stones, inaugurate multi-crore infrastructure projects, and address public rallies. While in Assam he will also visit Swahid Smarak Kshetra to pay homage to the martyrs of the Assam Movement ~ a six-year-long people’s movement that embodied the collective resolve for a foreignerfree Assam and the protection of the state’s identity. In Bengal on Saturday, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of two National Highway projects worth around Rs 3,200 crore highway projects at Ranaghat in Nadia district along with road projects that will serve as vital connecting links between Kolkata and Siliguri. The projects are expected to reduce travel time by approximately two hours, ensure faster and smoother vehicular movement, reduce vehicle operating costs, and enable unhindered traffic flow. They will improve connectivity between Kolkata and its neighbouring districts, as well as with neighbouring countries, according to an official statement, adding that the projects will also boost regional economic growth and provide impetus to tourism. In Assam, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 15,600 crore and inaugurate the new terminal building of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati. Spread over nearly 1.4 lakh square metres and supported by major upgrades to the runway, airfield systems, aprons, and taxiways, the newly completed integrated new terminal building is designed to handle up to 1.3 crore passengers annually. The nature-themed airport terminal draws inspiration from Assam’s biodiversity and cultural heritage under the theme “Bamboo Orchids.” The terminal makes pioneering use of about 140 metric tonnes of locally sourced Northeast bamboo, complemented by Kaziranga-inspired green landscapes, japi motifs, the iconic rhino symbol, and 57 orchid-inspired columns reflecting the Kopou flower. A unique “Sky Forest,” featuring nearly one lakh plants of indigenous species, offers arriving passengers an immersive, forest-like experience, according to the official statement. Karnataka CM row: Siddaramaiah reiterates there was no power-sharing agreement VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 19 December Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday rejected claims of any power-sharing arrangement with his deputy DK Shivakumar, reiterating that he was picked for the full five-year term and that the Congress High Command wanted him to continue in the post. “Ours is a high command party. We will abide by what the party high command decides. Right now, I am the CM, and going ahead also, I will be the CM,” Mr Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying during a debate in the State Legislative Assembly amid speculation that Mr Shivakumar was gearing up to step up efforts to become the CM after the legislature session. “For the next two and a half years also, I will be the CM,” Mr Siddaramaiah reportedly said as the Opposition BJP suggested that he did not appear confident of remaining in the post. “We are in power now, will remain in power for five years, and we will return in 2028,” he also added. Notably, this is the second time in the past couple of days that the CM publicly asserted his intention to remain in office, maintaining that any decision on a leadership change was with the Congress high command. The latest remarks follow a dinner meeting hosted by senior minister Satish Jarkiholi, attended by Mr Siddaramaiah and several ministers considered close to him, including Home Minister G Parameshwara. Apparently, Mr Shivakumar was not invited to the dinner. Earlier, the buzz was that Mr Siddaramaiah had proposed completing his term and backing Mr Shivakumar as the party’s CM face in the 2028 elections. However, recently another angle was added after a group of seers from various maths pitched for Mr Parameshwara for the top post. Hour compared to previous sessions. “This winter session saw high-quality discussions on historic and democratic issues, including the 150th anniversary of the National Song, Vande Mataram, and a detailed three-day debate on election reforms,” Radhakrishnan said. The passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which guarantees 125 days of wage employment annually, was met with strong Opposition protests, culminating in a 12-hour overnight dharna by Opposition leaders on 18 December. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defended the legislation, stating: “This bill is necessary to address the shortcomings of the old scheme and ensure better employment guarantees for rural India.” The SHANTI Bill’s approval marks a significant shift in India’s nuclear energy policy by allowing private sector participation in a sector traditionally dominated by the government. Ashes 2025: Head’s 4th Adelaide century puts Australia in control Page 12 Violence grips B’desh; media houses torched, Indian Missions targeted UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Delhi/Dhaka, 19 December Bangladesh witnessed a night of widespread violence from late Thursday onwards that continued into Friday morning, as coordinated mobs went on a rampage across Dhaka and several other cities following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key leader of the Inqilab Mancha movement. The violence erupted soon after news broke of Hadi’s death in a Singapore hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment since 12 December after being shot in the head during an election campaign event in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. Hadi,the convener of Inqilab Mancha and known for his anti-India and anti–Sheikh Hasina rhetoric, was a prominent face of the youth-led movement that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As news of his death spread, his supporters, radicalised students, took to the streets, unleashing a wave of arson, vandalism, and targeted attacks that continued throughout the night. Mobs attempted to storm Indian Assistant High Commissions in Khulna and Chattogram. In Chattogram, protesters marched toward the mission building, broke through police barricades on Zakir Hossain Road, and staged a sit-in outside the premises. Slogans such as “Boycott India,” “Burn Awami League dens,” and “Hadi’s blood will not go in vain” echoed through the streets. In Dhaka, protesters brought bulldozers to demolish what remained of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic residence at Dhanmondi 32, a site of immense national significance. Several offices and homes of Awami League leaders were also attacked or set ablaze, including the residence of former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel in Chashma Hill. The house belonging to the brother of former Dhaka-18 Awami League lawmaker Habib Hasan was set on fire in Uttara. The country’s leading media houses were among the targets. Protesters ransacked and set fire to the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area. Hundreds of demonstrators vandalised multiple floors of the Prothom Alo building, throwing furniture, documents, and equipment onto the streets before setting them ablaze. FM likely to present Union Budget 2026-27 on 1 Feb, a Sunday STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 19 December Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the Union Budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year on 1 February 2026, despite the date falling on a Sunday, according to high-level sources. Since 2017, 1 February has become a fixed date in the Indian parliamentary calendar for the budget presentation. However, the final decision rests with the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), which is scheduled to meet soon to finalise the official timetable, including whether the Parliament will convene on a weekend for this high-profile event. While Sunday budget presentations are rare, they are not unprecedented. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha notably presented the budget on a Sunday, 28 February 1999, in a historic session that also shifted the presentation time from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m., ending a long-standing British colonial-era tradition. Weekend budget presentations have occurred more frequently on Saturdays, such as in 2001, 2004, 2015, and 2016. The Indian Parliament has a history of holding Sunday sessions for important milestones or urgent legislative business. For example, on 13 May 2012, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha convened to mark the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament. During the September 2020 Monsoon Session, Parliament met on both Saturdays and Sundays to make up for lost time due to the COVID-19 pandemic — a rare instance of routine weekend sittings. Additionally, in 1977 and 1991, the Rajya Sabha held special Sunday sessions to decide on the extension of President’s Rule in certain states while the Lok Sabha was dissolved.