FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 20 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW SILIGURI | Friday, 03 April 2026 SPORTS WORLD Shah says Bhawanipore seat decisive battleground for political change in Bengal Iran fires at Israel and Gulf neighbours as Trump talks of winding down West Asia war Page 3 Page 9 LOCAL | PERSPECTIVE War without mandate places world in peril Page 11 IPL 2026: CSK seek turnaround in Chennai against in-form PBKS Page 20 Malda incident ‘calculated & motivated,’ says apex court, pulls up Bengal govt PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 2 April T erming West Bengal as the “most polarised state”, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to deploy Central forces for the protection of judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, after seven judicial officers, including three women judges, engaged in the special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state were gheraoed for several hours in Malda district on Wednesday evening by people protesting against the deletion of their names from the voter list. Pulling up the Bengal government and the district authorities, including the district magistrate and the superintendent of police, for not responding to the situation promptly, the court termed the incident at Malda as “calculated and motivated”. It also directed the ECI to order a probe by either the CBI or NIA into the incident. A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M Pancholi, taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, said at an urgent hearing that it was a “brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers” but also “a challenge to the authority of the apex court”. It termed it an abdication of duty by the Bengal government and its officers. The court noted that the gherao of the office of the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Officer (BDO) where the judicial officers were working started around 3:30 p.m. and continued till midnight. It also noted that despite repeated calls from the Calcutta High Court, no action was taken till late evening. It noted that senior district officials failed to respond promptly to the situation, and even after the rescue of the judicial officers, there were reports of attacks on their vehicles. CM Mamata blames Cong for judges’ confinement: Siliguri: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday blamed a section of Congress leaders for a recent incident in which seven judges involved in adjudication of voter names as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process were allegedly confined till late at night, describing it as a “planned provocation” aimed at maligning Bengal. Campaigning for Trinamul Congress candidate Chandana Sarkar at Baishnabnagar in Malda, Miss Banerjee said the episode had caused serious embarrassment to the state and damaged its image. “I am deeply hurt. Because of this one incident, Bengal has been insulted,” she said. Even as she criticised the incident, the Chief Minister acknowledged public resentment over the exclusion of names from electoral rolls, terming such anger “natural.” She, however, urged restraint and appealed to people to seek legal remedies instead of resorting to agitation. “The Supreme Court has made it clear that names can be restored through proper application. Do not attack judges or take the law into your own hands,” she said, advising those affected to approach tribunals for redress. Miss Banerjee sought to underline her government’s role in addressing the issue, claiming that nearly 2.2 million names had been restored following her movement and subsequent legal intervention. “I was on the streets for five days and then moved the Supreme Court. That is why these names have been restored,” she said. Turning to the Congress, the Trinamul Congress chairperson alleged that its leaders remained inactive throughout the year and “resorted to provocation only during elections.” She accused the party of indulging in vote division and attempting to influence voters through money power. “They divide votes and even try to buy them,” she said, while questioning whether the Congress would stand by those allegedly involved in the judges’ incident if central agencies initiated action. • Related reports: Pgs 2,3 Govt reviews West Asia impact, announces customs duty exemption on critical petrochemical products STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 April Amid continued uncertainty in West Asia, the government on Thursday undertook a comprehensive review of India’s preparedness and response strategy at a high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. The meeting, the second of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) constituted to monitor the evolving situation, brought together key members of the Union Cabinet to assess recent geopolitical developments and their potential implications for India. Among those present were Finance Minister Nirmala Foreign Secy represents India at UK-led Hormuz talks STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 April Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri represented India on Thursday at a key meeting hosted by the United Kingdom on the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in West Asia, at which he underlined that the way out of the crisis consisted of deescalation and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. Mr Misri participated in the meeting through virtual mode. “Foreign Secretary represented India at a meeting convened by the UK Foreign Secretary (Yvette Cooper) on the situation in West Asia. More than 60 countries participated in the meeting,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. In his remarks, Mr Misri noted the importance of the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded transit through international waterways. He emphasised the impact of the crisis on India’s energy security and the fact that India is the only nation to have lost mariners in attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf. THE GOVERNMENT ON THURSDAY ANNOUNCED A FULL CUSTOMS DUTY EXEMPTION ON A WIDE RANGE OF CRITICAL PETROCHEMICAL PRODUCTS TILL 30 JUNE AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC INDUSTRY AMID SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS LINKED TO THE WEST ASIA CONFLICT. THE EXEMPTION IS EXPECTED TO BENEFIT A WIDE RANGE OF SECTORS DEPENDENT ON PETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCK AND INTERMEDIATES, INCLUDING PLASTICS, PACKAGING, TEXTILES, PHARMACEUTICALS, CHEMICALS, AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS AND OTHER MANUFACTURING SEGMENTS. Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Chemicals Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, along with other senior ministers. The review comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions in a region critical to India’s energy security, trade routes and diaspora presence. The first IGoM meeting on 28 March had laid the groundwork for coordinated action, directing officials to maintain close inter-ministerial coordination and ensure swift decision-making. At Thursday’s deliberations, seven empowered groups of secretaries briefed ministers on sector-specific measures. Among other measures, the Finance Ministry outlined steps to cushion the economy from global trade disruptions, including a temporary customs duty exemption on 40 key petrochemical products until 30 June 2026, and a one-time relief allowing certain Special Economic Zone units to sell goods in the domestic market at concessional duty rates. Officials said these measures would ease cost pressures on industries such as textiles, packaging and pharmaceuticals while helping stabilise supply chains and investor sentiment. No discussion on Iran attack during PM Modi’s Israel visit, says govt: New Delhi: The government on Thursday stated in the Rajya Sabha that no discussions took place during PM Narendra Modi’s State visit to Israel in February regarding the subsequent military attack on Iran. In a written reply to an unstarred question by MP Abdul Wahab, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said PM Modi visited Israel on 25–26 February at the invitation of his Israeli counter-part, where both sides held comprehensive discussions covering the full spectrum of bilateral ties and several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were signed. There was no discussion on the military strike on Iran a day after the PM’s visit, the statement said.