FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW Xi, Putin sign joint declaration on ‘multipolar world’ PERSPECTIVE A Japanese lesson India must learn Page 11 Viral frontiers Page 8 BRIEFLY Marco Rubio to visit India from 23 May, to hold key talks: Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India from 23-26 May, visiting Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, as Washington and New Delhi prepare for talks expected to focus on the Quad partnership, energy security, trade and defence cooperation amid geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East. Apart from bilateral meetings with Indian leaders in New Delhi, Mr Rubio is also expected to attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting involving India, the United States, Japan and Australia. Before arriving in India, Mr Rubio will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on 22 May, where he is expected to discuss “the need for increased defense investment and greater burden sharing in the Alliance”, the US State Department said in a statement. Thursday, 21 May 2026 Gujarat Titans eye top-two finish as Chennai Super Kings fight for survival Page 16 India, Italy elevate ties; Modi, Meloni deepen cooperation across sectors SHAHID K ABBAS PM Modi conferred FAO’s highest honour, Agricola Medal, in Rome: New Delhi, 20 May I ndia and Italy on Wednesday elevated their bilateral relationship to the level of a “Special Strategic Partnership” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held talks in Rome focused on expanding cooperation in trade, defence manufacturing, technology, clean energy, and global security. Addressing a joint Press briefing after the talks, PM Modi said the growing frequency of engagement between the two leaders reflected the deepening trust and strategic alignment between New Delhi and Rome. “Over the past nearly three-and-a-half years, I have had several opportunities to meet Prime Minister Meloni. This reflects the close cooperation and harmony between India and Italy,” Mr Modi said, adding: “Under her leadership, our relations have gained new New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the prestigious Agricola Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organization during a special ceremony held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome on Wednesday, marking a significant international recognition of India’s efforts in agricultural transformation, food security, and sustainable farming. Mr Modi said the recognition belonged to India’s farmers and agricultural workers. “This honour is dedicated to the hardworking farmers of India whose resilience and dedication have strengthened the nation’s food systems and contributed to global food security,” he said during the ceremony. momentum, new direction, and renewed confidence. I am pleased that we are announcing a Special Strategic Partnership as we upgrade our ties”. The announcement marks a significant step in India’s expanding engagement with Europe at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and growing emphasis on resilient supply chains, strategic manufacturing and trusted technology partnerships. Mr Modi said the two coun- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 20 May tries would combine Italy’s strength in design and precision engineering with India’s scale and innovation capabilities to jointly serve global markets. The talks covered a wide range of sectors, including defence cooperation, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy, logistics, shipping and infrastructure development. Mr Modi said the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap had opened avenues for co- frontier and said that the administration would extend all necessary support to the Central forces. Mr Adhikari accused the former Trinamul Congress government of withholding land required for fencing work due to “appeasement politics”. According to him, the BSF had long sought land from the state government to complete fencing along vulnerable stretches of the international border, but the requests were not acted upon. “India shares a 4,000 km border with Bangladesh, of which nearly 2,200 km fall in West Bengal. Around 1,600 km have already been fenced, while fencing work remains incomplete in nearly 600 km,” the Chief Minister said. He said the earlier government could have transferred nearly 555 kilometres of land required for the project but failed to do so. Mr Adhikari also announced that the state would implement the Centre’s “pushback” protocol with immediate effect. He claimed that the Centre had written to the state in 2025 seeking implementation of the policy, but the then state administration did not comply. Now, state police will identify and detain “illegal infiltrators” and subsequently hand them over to the BSF. The BSF will coordinate with Bangladesh border authorities for deportation procedures. Mr Adhikari clarified that the measures would not apply to individuals eligible for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act. • Govt enforces 7 pc quota, retains 66 communities: Page 3 Ganges water talks in focus as B’desh ratchets up demands, sends tech team to Farakka JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY Kolkata, 20 May A Bangladeshi delegation flew into the city Wednesday for a meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission and a visit to the Farakka barrage where the flow of the Ganges is measured as it bifurcates into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly to meander towards Kolkata. The meeting, just months ahead of the expiry of the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty in December this year, assumes significance as the political discourse in Dhaka over water sharing with India has taken a stormy turn. Earlier this week, the ruling BNP’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir warned that the future of India-Bangladesh relations would depend significantly on the outcome of the Ganges negotiations, reflecting his party’s “expectations and needs”. | Page 9 Bengal government begins border land transfer, announces ‘detect, delete, deport’ policy on infiltration The BJP government in Bengal on Wednesday unveiled a series of measures aimed at curbing illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announcing the immediate implementation of a “detect, delete and deport” policy and the transfer of additional land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for border fencing work. Addressing a joint Press conference with BSF officials at Nabanna, the Chief Minister said the state had formally handed over land covering a 27-kilometre stretch along the Indo-Bangladesh border to facilitate construction of border fencing. He described the move as the “beginning of a larger exercise” to secure the SILIGURI SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL | “India and Bangladesh usually jointly measure water flows at the outset of the dry season. It's an ongoing process. However, what is worrying is this tendency of Bangladeshi leaders to take strong pre-decided stands even before real talks begin on renewing the treaty. It defeats the purpose of negotiations if you start taking rigid postures,” said Veena Sikri, former High Commissioner to Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi delegation is being led by Joint Rivers Commission member Md Anwar Kadir and includes senior representatives from Bangladesh’s Water Resources Ministry, Foreign Ministry and hydrological agencies, underlining the importance Dhaka attaches to the upcoming discussions. While officially the meetings are routine technical consultations, they come at a strategically delicate moment. Officials on both sides have already begun preliminary discussions on renewal. However, analysts suggest that a comprehensive renegotiation may prove difficult under current political circumstances, making a temporary extension a more likely short-term outcome. Ms Sikri pointed out that the Ganges water treaty “could not be viewed in isolation” and a host of treaties and relations including connectivity and trade needed to be considered in tandem. Indian officials also believe that the Ganges treaty which shared the flow at Farakka headwaters on a 50:50 basis, needs an overhaul as the glacial melt which gives the Ganges its waters has reduced even as downstream demand for water has shot up with • Turn to Page 6 development and co-production in the defence sector. The two leaders also discussed major international developments, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, while reaffirming their support for dialogue and diplomacy. “We have remained in constant contact regarding Ukraine, West Asia, and other tensions. India’s position is clear that all problems should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,” Mr Modi said. PM Modi arrived in Rome on Tuesday night on the final leg of his five-nation tour. The Italian Prime Minister hosted Mr Modi for dinner shortly after his arrival and accompanied him on a visit to the Colosseum, underscoring the warm personal rapport between the two leaders. • PM Modi’s Rome visit blends candy diplomacy with cultural charm: Page 5 Kerala UDF government scraps LDF era K-Rail Silver Line project: Thiruvananthapuram: The newly elected United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala, led by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, has officially scrapped the controversial ₹63,941-crore K-Rail (SilverLine) semi-high-speed railway project connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod, which was launched by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. A meeting of the state Cabinet held on Wednesday decided to cancel the flagship project initiated by the earlier LDF administration. Page 6