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 | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI PM hails Pashinyan victory, backs stronger Armenia ties Israel, Iran trade strikes, threatening to drag the region back into full-scale war Page 5 Page 10 BRIEFLY Vizag Steel Plant tragedy leaves several feared dead: Visakhapatnam: Several workers are feared dead and many others injured after a large quantity of molten metal fell on them at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), or Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, in Andhra Pradesh on Monday evening. Rescue and assessment operations were under way till late evening, while authorities said a detailed inquiry would be conducted to determine the cause of the accident and whether there were any safety lapses involved. The incident has triggered concern among employees and their families over workplace safety at the plant. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the tragedy, spoke to steel plant authorities to seek details, and directed district officials to immediately reach the site and oversee rescue efforts. BUSINESS ‘Capital markets core avenue for household savings’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 June T Confirming the development, Dastidar said, “Nearly 20 TMC MPs, including me, have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about our decision to support the NDA.” “We have sent a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker and stated that we want to support the NDA,” she stated, adding, “We have accepted the people's verdict and believe that our future political course should be aligned with the NDA.” The letter triggered intense political speculation in national and state political circles, particularly because the TMC has traditionally functioned under a highly-centralised leadership structure where Banerjee exercises firm control over both the organisation and its parliamentary wing. Although the communication's contents haven't been made public, the act of nearly 20 MPs collectively approaching the Speaker signals significant discontent within the party. The latest development follows a dramatic day of political turbulence for the TMC. Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from both the party and the Upper House, delivering a scathing assessment of the TMC's governance record and leadership. In his resignation letter addressed to Banerjee, Roy argued that the people of West Bengal had rejected the party after 15 years in power because of what he described as corruption, crimes against women and failures in governance. “The people of West Bengal have rejected the Trinamul Congress after 15 years in power because of alleged corruption, crimes against women, and failures in governance, including education, healthcare, industry, employment, and law and order,” Roy wrote. Lamine Yamal carries the responsibility of leading Spain at the World Cup Page 12 Page 11 TMC faces major revolt as around 20 MPs back NDA he Trinamul Congress (TMC) plunged deeper into an unprecedented internal crisis on Monday after around 20 of its Members of Parliament submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their intention to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), signalling what could be one of the most serious challenges yet to the authority of party supremo Mamata Banerjee. The move, led by TMC Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (photo), came at a politically sensitive moment when Banerjee was attending a meeting of opposition parties under the INDIA bloc banner in New Delhi, where leaders sought to present a united front against the ruling BJP ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Tuesday, 09 June 2026 SPORTS WORLD NATION | INDIA bloc adopts five-point plan, seeks CJI’s intervention on poll issues STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 June Twenty-five Opposition parties of the INDIA bloc on Monday adopted a five-point action plan that includes writing to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) over alleged electoral irregularities, demanding the Union Education Minister's resignation, and pressing the Centre to convene an all-party meeting on the country’s economic challenges. Alliance leaders sought to project unity ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of alliance partners at the Constitution Club here, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the parties reached a consensus on five key issues that would shape their coordinated political and parliamentary strategy in the coming months. “We agreed on five points today, and we will work on these issues. The first point is that we agreed to send a letter to the Chief Subrata Dutta Justice of India regarding FIRs, vote theft, and the stealing of elections. The letter will be delivered to the CJI very soon,” Kharge said. He said the second decision was a unanimous demand for the immediate resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. “It was unanimously agreed to demand the immediate resignation of the Education Minister because he presided over the betrayal of lakhs of youth who appeared for the NEET and CBSE examinations,” Kharge said. The alliance also called on the Union government to immediately convene an all- party meeting to discuss what it described as a worsening economic situation. The proposed meeting will focus on unemployment, rising prices, farmers’ concerns and other issues affecting ordinary citizens. As part of efforts to institutionalise coordination, the INDIA bloc decided that its constituent parties would meet every two months. The next meeting will be held in Hyderabad on a date yet to be finalised. The fifth decision concerned parliamentary strategy, with the alliance agreeing to continue close coordination during the upcoming Monsoon Session. Garib Kalyan at heart of governance, Bengal joins Ayushman Bharat says PM Modi as NDA marks 12 years STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 8 June STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 June Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the welfare of the poor has remained the central focus of his government's policies over the past 12 years, asserting that efforts rooted in the principle of Antyodaya have helped bring development benefits to millions who were previously excluded from the mainstream. In a post on social media platform X, Modi reflected on what he described as the transformative changes witnessed across the country during the last 12 years, emphasising that the government's initiatives have been guided by a commitment to uplift the poor and marginalised sections of society. “Over the last 12 years, India has witnessed many transformations and at the core Govt issues advisories for Indian nationals in Israel, Iran amid renewed hostilities in West Asia of these changes is the welfare of the poor and downtrodden. We have always been inspired by Antyodaya and our effort New Delhi, 8 June As hostilities escalated sharply in West Asia, the government on Monday issued fresh travel advisories for Indian nationals both in Israel and Iran. In a travel advisory issued in Tel Aviv, the Indian Embassy in Israel said that in view of the prevailing situation in the region, all Indian nationals should exercise utmost caution and remain vigilant at all times. “Indian nationals are strongly advised to strictly adhere to the safety guidelines and instructions may be accessed at oref.org.il.eng. All Indian nationals should remain in close proximity to designated shelters and familiarise themselves with the nearest protected space in their area of residence or work,” the advisory said. It said the Indian nationals should also avoid all nonessential and unnecessary travel within Israel until further notice. The Indian Embassy in Tehran advised the Indian nationals to avoid any travel to Iran. It also advised those Indians who are presently in Iran to exit the country by available means of transport. hospitalisation. The scheme allows beneficiaries to access treatment at empanelled public and private hospitals across the country. The signing ceremony was attended by Health Minister J.P. Nadda, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union Ministers of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav and Anupriya Patel, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava; and senior officials from the Centre and the West Bengal government. West Bengal had remained outside the Ayushman Bharat programme since its launch in 2018, opting instead to run its own health insurance WB ex-excise chief says 2021 tweaks in WBSBCL led to graft MANAS R. BANNERJEE, SIDDHARTHA RAI, NITISH KAPOOR Kolkata/New Delhi, 8 June STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE has always been to ensure that the benefits of development reach those who were left behind for decades,” the PM said. West Bengal on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), becoming the 36th state or Union Territory to join the national health insurance programme. The agreement was signed between the National Health Authority (NHA) and the West Bengal government's Department of Health and Family Welfare at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. With the move, eligible beneficiaries in West Bengal will be covered under AB PM-JAY, which provides health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary scheme. The state's decision to join PM-JAY brings all states and Union Territories under the ambit of the Centre's flagship health assurance programme. According to the NHA, PM-JAY aims to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure and improve access to hospital care for economically vulnerable families. The scheme offers cashless treatment and portability of benefits, allowing beneficiaries to seek care outside their home state. Officials said the rollout in West Bengal is expected to extend financial protection against major health expenses to millions of eligible residents and expand access to healthcare services through the scheme’s network of empanelled hospitals. Former West Bengal Excise Commissioner Randhir Kumar, during whose tenure the West Bengal State Beverages Corporation Limited (WBSBCL) was established in 2017, has corroborated The Statesman’s news report of a possible liquor scam in the state, suggesting that things were going fine till certain changes were introduced in 2021. The WBSBCL was established during the tenure of the then finance minister Amit Mitra with the stated objective of streamlining the liquor supply chain, plugging revenue leakages and curbing the circulation of illicit liquor following a series of hooch tragedies in the state. “ Yes, WBSBCL was established during my tenure and under my leadership so that the government could exercise control over the entire system. In effect, WBSBCL functioned as a wholesaler. It was never intended to serve as a mechanism for collecting money for any political leader or political party,” Mr Kumar told The Statesman. “Before I joined the excise department, revenue earnings stood at around Rs 3,800 crore in 2016. By 2019, the figure had increased to Rs 11,874 crore. Nothing improper occurred during my tenure,” he said. “As far as I know, certain changes took place in 2021,” Kumar added. Meanwhile, the BJP once again trained guns on the TMC. “EMC – extortion manipulation commission seems to be the guiding principle of all the changes that were made in liquor policy thereby resulting in windfall gain for first family of TMC. It seems to be a pattern whether it be DMK in TN, AAP in Punjab or Congress in Chhattisgarh. All these things were done as if the policy was made for the corrupt, by the corrupt and only and only of corrupt people,” said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla. A 21-page report titled: “Analysis on Supply Chain Management of Liquor Trade in West Bengal”, dated 13 August, 2021, seen by The Statesman, bore the signatures of five excise officials. They included then Special Commissioner (Revenue) Goutam Ghosh; Special Commissioner (HR) Kunal Biswas; Additional Commissioner (Revenue) Rajarshi Chakraborty; Senior Joint Commissioner (Revenue) Santanu Acharya and Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Sanchayan Ganguly. One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “As far as I can recall, the finance department had instructed that a committee be constituted at the time. I may have been a member of that committee. The committee examined the matter and submitted its recommendations to the state government.” Meanwhile, a senior officer, on condition of anonymity, told The Statesman: “A few years back during a meeting of Country Spirit Bottlers at Salt Lake in Kolkata a henchman of Abhishek Banerjee barged in forcibly with four armed men. Bottlers finally had to accept the proposal for paying Rs 2.5 per bottle. It was just the beginning of the nefarious collection from liquor business.” The officer added that the share of consumption of country spirit (CS) was around 30 per cent, while country-made foreign liquor (FL) accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the market. According to this officer, this disparity led to the formulation of a new mechanism for collecting illicit funds. The officer further alleged that around 75 per cent of the total collection was earmarked for Camac Street, Abhishek Banerjee’s office. Records examined by The Statesman indicate that 18 distributors were appointed during the period in question, of whom 13 were foreign liquor distributors and five were country spirit distributors. Sources further alleged that after the transfer of Goutam Ghosh, who was later promoted to the IAS cadre and posted to the finance department, operational control passed to other officials within the corporation. Ghosh did not respond to repeated telephone calls seeking comment. Sources also alleged that Sudeshna Chakraborty, Special Commissioner of Excise (Revenue III) and General Manager (Operations), WBSBCL, subsequently played a key operational role in the corporation since 2024. The sources further claimed that payment cycles of certain bottlers were used as leverage to coerce them. When contacted, Chakraborty denied all allegations. She said no such transactions had taken place and maintained that no evidence of such activities existed in the audit reports of WBSBCL. Meanwhile, industry sources said resentment is growing among bottlers of country spirit and foreign liquor manufacturers following recent disclosures. According to them, the issue could develop into a larger controversy in the coming days. State Cabinet minister Tapas Roy said on the developments: “Wherever you look, there is corruption. Trinamul Congress ministers, MLAs and MPs are all involved in these corrupt practices. For the past 15 years, they have done nothing except serve their own interests. Funds meant for the people and for the development of West Bengal have been misappropriated to enhance their own wealth and influence. “Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee are linked to every major scam. There is hardly any scandal in which they are not involved. No scam has taken place against Mamata Banerjee’s wishes, and there is hardly any controversy in which Abhishek Banerjee’s name does not feature.” On the question of intervention by Central agencies, Roy said that it goes without saying that such intervention is necessary and should take place.