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 Next act Page 6 Monday, 17 August 2026 SPORTS NATION EDITORIAL | Tracing a nation’s evolution with PM Modi’s I-Day speeches Padikkal, Jurel keep India ahead as Sri Lanka spinners strike WORLD Qatar rejects Iranian claim that it has held 3 pilots for 6 months Page 5 Page 12 Page 9 Shah, Adhikari target Congress, Sonia for Vande Mataram insult Bengal ex-Dy Speaker found dead, ‘suicide note’ cites intense pressure STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ashis Banerjee, a former state agriculture minister and Assembly Deputy Speaker, was found hanging inside a Trinamul Congress office adjacent to his ancestral residence in Rampurhat’s Hattalapara on Sunday morning. Police recovered a handwritten note that allegedly cited intense political pressure and expressed regret over entering public life. Banerjee (70), a five-time MLA from Rampurhat, was found hanging from the ceiling of the party office by a close aide. Police reached the spot after being alerted and sent the body for post-mortem examination. The office has been sealed and a police picket deployed. Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh said an unnatural death case had been registered and the handwritten note recovered from the spot was being sent for verification. Senior police officers are investigating the circumstances Sonia Ji, 140 crore people are watching the sinful act, they would never forgive you for this sin, one cannot even think of leaving incomplete the singing of the national song. Chittorgarh/Kolkata, 16 August A ccusing the Congress and its senior leader Sonia Gandhi of “disrespecting” the national song Vande Mataram during Independence Day celebrations at the grand old party’s headquarters, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday demanded that the Opposition party apologise to the immortal soul of Bankim Babu, who wrote the national song, and to the people. Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari also attacked Mrs Gandhi, saying her “objection” to singing the full version of Vande Mataram was an “insult” to nationalism and the song’s writer, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Addressing the gathering after unveilling a life-size bronze statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary in Nimbahera town near here AMIT SHAH, UNION HOME MINISTER on Sunday, Mr Shah said: “The Congress has forgotten the national song, Enki nirlajjta dekhiye, unke mukhyalaya par Vande Mataram ka gaan ho raha tha lekin unki netri Sonia Gandhi ne party adhyaksh ko gaan rokne ke liye kaha (See, their shamelessness. Vande Mataram was being sung at the function at their headquarters yesterday,but their leader Sonia Gandhi asked the party president to stop it”). He said: “Sonia Ji, 140 crore people are watching the sinful act, they would never forgive you for this sin, one cannot even think of leaving incomplete the singing of the national song.” It should not be forgotten that raising chants of Vande Mataram in the freedom movement, lakhs of Indians accepted proudly the death penalty, bore the brunt of bullets and batons of the erstwhile British rulers, he said. “If, the Congress leadership have slightest realisation of the mistake (misconduct), they should tender apology with folded hands to the soul of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay”, Mr Shah said, as he eulogised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the singing of Vande Mataram at the rampart of the Red Fort on Independence Day yesterday for the first time. Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at Nabanna on Sunday, Bengal CM Adhikari said: “Insulting Vande Mataram means insulting patriotism, nationalism and its author, literary emperor Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.” He claimed that the episode had been captured on camera and that the Congress could not suppress what had happened. “Whatever attempts Congress leaders may make to protect their leader, the entire country witnessed what happened during the live telecast. The truth cannot be hidden from the cameras,” Mr Adhikari said. The chief minister said the country was currently observing the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, with year-long programmes being organised to honour the song. ONGC gets US sanctions waiver to resume full Venezuela operations, eyes higher oil output STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 16 August The state-owned oil and gas major ONGC is set to step up its operations in Venezuela after securing a licence from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), removing a major hurdle that had restricted the company’s activities in the country. The approval will give ONGC greater flexibility to manage its Venezuelan investments, make fresh investments, enter into new agreements and potentially assume operatorship of some oil projects currently managed by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA. Anupam Agarwal, Director (Finance) at ONGC, said during an investor call following the company's first-quarter earnings that the sanctions-related constraints that had previously limited its operations were no longer a major concern. ONGC’s overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), owns a 40 per cent interest in the San Cristobal oil project, with the balance held by PDVSA. It also has an 11 per cent stake in the Carabobo project, which is currently under development. The OFAC licence is particularly important for ONGC’s finances. The company expects the approval to facilitate financial transactions linked to its Venezuelan assets and help unlock more than $500 million in pending dividends. ONGC is already engaging with Venezuelan authorities and its joint-venture partners regarding the San Cristobal and Carabobo projects. The company expects these discussions to result in new agreements and could also see operatorship of some assets being transferred from PDVSA. The company plans to invest in its Venezuelan assets to increase production. San Cristobal produced about 0.265 million tonnes of oil equivalent in FY26, but ONGC believes the field is operating at only around a tenth of its potential. The easing of sanctions-related restrictions could, therefore, allow the company to accelerate investments and tap into a significantly larger production opportunity. Venezuela remains strategically important for ONGC because of its enormous oil reserves. According to OPEC estimates, the country has around 303 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest in the world. Despite its vast resource base, Venezuela's oil industry has faced years of underinvestment, operational challenges and sanctions, leaving considerable scope to revive and expand production. ONGC also sees an opportunity in recent changes to Venezuela’s petroleum legislation, which Agarwal said provide additional fiscal incentives for developing hydrocarbon resources. This could improve the economics Dhaka seeks ‘conducive atmosphere’ to facilitate Tarique’s India visit UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Dhaka/New Delhi, 16 August Bangladesh on Sunday urged India to act expeditiously on its request for the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and help create a “conducive atmosphere” for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to make a bilateral visit to India. “We have made our position clear on this matter. We are of the view that an appropriate environment needs to be created for this visit,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shahidul Karim (photo) said during a media briefing at the ministry today. “To this end, we have requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on our request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals,” he added. He said officials of Bangladesh and India have been in touch with each other for several weeks on the possibility of a bilateral visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India. However, the spokesperson said, this process was vitiated by the open press interaction in New Delhi on 5 August by Sheikh Hasina who has been convicted by Bangladesh’s so-called International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity. “We have made our position clear on this matter,” he said. Besides the extradition of Sheikh Hasina, who is in self-exile in India since she fled Dhaka on 5 August 2024 in the face of the students’ uprising Bangladesh has also requested India to hand over the accused killers of Sharif Osman Hadi, the spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho, in compliance with the bilateral extradition treaty. “We are awaiting their response,” said Mr Karim. According to reports, Tarique Rahman is likely to visit India between 20 and 25 August. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson reiterated that Dhaka will continue to pursue its “Bangladesh First” policy to promote friendly bilateral relations with other countries, including neighbours, on the basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual benefit, the Daily Sun reported. of future investments and make the country’s oil sector more attractive to foreign investors. For ONGC, the company’s existing experience with shallow, onshore oil fields in western India, including Mehsana and Ahmedabad, could be useful in developing similar assets in Venezuela. With the US licence removing a key sanctions-related constraint, ONGC is now looking to accelerate its Venezuelan strategy. The company remains optimistic about the country's production potential and is pursuing discussions around fresh agreements, as well as possible operatorship of projects currently controlled by PDVSA. The renewed push marks a significant shift for ONGC's Venezuelan business, which had remained constrained for years by restrictions on transactions and operations involving the country’s oil sector. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 16 August surrounding the death. In the purported suicide note, Banerjee defended his political career and denied ever being involved in corruption. “I have been involved in politics since my student days. I have never been involved in any corruption,” he wrote, according to the contents of the note. He stated that he had never taken money in exchange for any work. The note referred to “tremendous political pressure” and contained advice to younger members of his family to stay away from politics. Ashis’ younger brother, Prashanta Banerjee, said the former MLA had shown no signs of distress hours before his death. “We were together until midnight before I went home to sleep. He was completely normal when I left. I cannot comprehend what happened afterward that drove him to take this step. We demand a proper probe,” Prashanta said. Urban development minister Agnimitra Paul questioned whether Banerjee had actually died by suicide and said it must be ascertained whether he was murdered. Banerjee had represented Rampurhat continuously from 2001 until the 2026 Assembly elections. He served as agriculture and school education minister and was Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from 2021 until the 2026 polls. He was renominated by the TMC in the 2026 Assembly elections but lost to BJP’s Dhruba Saha by more than 24,000 votes. He had also faced political scrutiny following the 2022 Bogtui massacre in Rampurhat. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep distress over the former MLA’s death, saying the “immense mental and emotional strain” he appeared to have endured in his final days made the tragedy even more painful. West Bengal launches Ayushman Bharat, CM Health Insurance schemes STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 16 August West Bengal on Sunday formally rolled out the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme along with the state’s Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announcing that nearly 1.43 crore families would benefit from the central scheme while another 80 lakh families would be covered under the state programme. The two schemes were launched at a programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata in the presence of Mr Adhikari, state Health Minister Sharadwata Mukhopadhyay and Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel. Under the two schemes, beneficiaries will be able to avail themselves of cashless treatment for around 1,950 diseases, including knee and hip replacement. Mr Adhikari said the schemes would address several gaps that existed under the previous government’s Swasthya Sathi programme. “Under Swasthya Sathi, many diseases were not covered. Under Ayushman Bharat and the Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme, patients will be able to undergo knee and hip replacement completely free of cost,” Mr Adhikari said. According to the Chief Minister, around six crore people belonging to 1.43 crore families will be covered under Ayushman Bharat. All residents aged above 70 will also be eligible for the central health insurance benefits. Another 80 lakh families who are not covered under Ayushman Bharat will be brought under the state health insurance scheme. The coverage will also be wider geographically. While Swasthya Sathi was largely restricted to West Bengal, beneficiaries under the two newly launched schemes will be able to receive treatment at 38,604 hospitals across the country. In West Bengal, the facilities will be available at 1,240 private hospitals and 627 government hospitals. Mr Adhikari said the number of diseases covered had been increased from 1,700 under the earlier health insurance scheme to 1,950 under the new arrangements. The inclusion of knee replacement is significant as the procedure had earlier been available under Swasthya Sathi but was subsequently discontinued amid allegations of irregularities. It was later restored with conditions. X will make govt content takedown requests more transparent: Musk NTA announces re-test for three UGC-NET June 2026 papers STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi: The National Testing New Delhi, 16 August Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has announced that the platform will make government requests to remove or restrict content more visible to users, as part of a broader effort to increase transparency around content moderation, recommendation algorithms and official intervention in online speech. In a post on the platform, Mr Musk said that any censorship required by governments is now clearly visible, signalling the platform’s intention to provide users with greater insight into actions taken at the request of government authorities. Under the proposed changes, X users will be able to see when governments seek the removal of posts or request restrictions on accounts. The platform also plans to disclose details about the agencies making such requests and, where available, the legal grounds or justification cited for the action. The move is part of Mr Musk’s wider push to make the platform's moderation and content-distribution systems more transparent. Since acquiring X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Musk has repeatedly argued that users should have greater visibility into how online content is moderated and ranked. According to a report by Crypto Briefing, X has complied with between 83 per cent and 98.8 per cent of government takedown requests under Mr Musk’s ownership. Thereportsaidthiscompliance rate exceeds that of the platform’s previous management. X has also been working to provide greater transparency around its recommendation systems. Agency NTA today announced re-test for three papers of the UGC-NET examination, in English, Commerce and Sociology, following com- plaints about several errors in these papers. The NTA said the English paper will be held on 9 September from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in Shift 1, while the Commerce paper will be conducted the same day from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Shift 2. The Sociology paper will be held on 10 September from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in Shift 1. The NTA had conducted the UGC-NET June 2026 examination from 22 to 30 June across 87 subjects for the award of Junior Research Fellowship, eligibility for assistant professor, and admission to PhD programmes. SNS