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 | SPORTS INDIA Ukraine drones blitz Moscow B’desh had prepared India talks brief before Rahman visit cancelled Page 9 Page 5 WORLD BRIEFLY Calcutta HC says Ritabrata’s LoP status is temporary: Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday refused to directly interfere with the West Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision recognising Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition, but ruled that Mr Banerjee’s continuation in the post is entirely temporary and will depend entirely on the verdict of the single bench. A Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Ajay Kumar Gupta, however, directed the single bench hearing the case to dispose of the matter finally within two months. Sobhandev Chattopadhyay, who had originally recommended by the Trinamul Congress leadership for the role of Leader of the Opposition, had approached the High Court questioning how Mr Banerjee could be recognised as Leader of the Opposition after being expelled from the party. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August A day after unveiling his new team of national office-bearers, BJP president Nitin Nabin on Tuesday announced election in- charges for the three election-bound states ~ Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat. BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Vinod Tawde (photo) has been given the charge for UP, putting him at the helm of affairs for the mother of all assembly polls in 2027. The party has also Who is a ‘dimaagi Naxal’? Page 12 Page 7 PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 18 August T Saffron party deploys Tawde to poll-bound UP, Chug to Gujarat, Poonia to Punjab named national secretary Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel as the co-in-charge for the key state. In Punjab, national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Satish Poonia is the state in-charge, while in Gujarat, Rajya Sabha MP and newly appointed national headquarters in-charge Tarun Chugh has been given the responsibility. Mr Poonia is regarded as one of the key strategists behind the saffron party’s hat-trick victory in the last Assembly elections in Haryana. Observers say that the choice of political heavyweights such as Vinod Tawde, Satish Poonia and Tarun Chugh for key responsibilities signals that the BJP is putting experienced managers at the forefront of the key elections scheduled next year. (HPC). The Chief Justice said the Court would pass its order on Wednesday. CJI Kant said he had identified a former State Director General of Police and a former CBI Director, both having outstanding credentials, for inclusion in the committee. He, however, refrained from disclosing their names at this stage to avoid causing them any possible “embarrassment”. The Court indicated that material relating to the 20 July police action, including video footage and CCTV recordings of the incidents, would be placed before the HPC for examination. The committee would also look into complaints and allegations made by women protesters regarding the police action during the protest march in Delhi and elsewhere. The ACB arrests six, including former minister Satyendar Jain, in Jal Board tender case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August The Anti-Corruption Branch has arrested six accused, including former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Kumar Jain and former Delhi Jal Board CEO Udit Prakash Rai, in connection with alleged irregularities and manipulation in the tendering process for augmentation and upgradation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). According to the ACB, the accused have been arrested in connection with an FIR registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC. The other accused arrested in the case have been identified as Ankit Srivastava, former contractual consultant with the Delhi Jal Board; Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of M/s AN Enterprises; Raja Kumar Kurra, owner of M/s Euroteck Environment Pvt. Ltd.; and Pankaj Verma, proprietor of M/s Srijanhar. The case was registered on a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance, GNCTD, following allegations of largescale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the DJB tendering process. During the investigation, the ACB allegedly found that restrictive technical specifications and conditions were introduced in the tender in a manner that favoured a particular technology provider, M/s Euroteck Environment Pvt. Ltd, thereby restricting competition and providing undue advantage to the private entity. Donald Trump cites India’s electoral system in push for SAVE America Act STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August US President Donald Trump cited India’s electoral system as an example while renewing his call for stricter voter identification requirements in the United States, pointing to the large voter turnout in India’s recent general election and the low proportion of ballots cast by mail. In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said around 646 million people participated in India’s last general election and claimed that less than one per cent of voters used postal ballots. He also highlighted the requirement for voters to India firmly in command against Sri Lanka in Galle PERSPECTIVE CJP protest: SC panel to probe excesses, violence he Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would constitute a high-powered committee comprising retired judges, a former Director General of Police and a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation to inquire into allegations of police excesses during the 20 July crackdown on students protesting at Jantar Mantar over the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak who had attempted to march towards Parliament. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana permitted the parties to submit by 4 p.m. on Tuesday (today) their notes identifying the issues that should be examined by the proposed high-powered committee Wednesday, 19 August 2026 possess valid photo identification. Mr Trump said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar raised the issue of voter identification during discussions with officials from his administration earlier this month. “Earlier this month, India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, asked our Administration – How can you have Elections in the US without a valid Photo ID,” Mr Trump said. "India's last Election had 646,000,000 Voters! Less than one per cent voted by mail, and every single Voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document. We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now," he said. The legislation, formally known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, has emerged as a key part of Mr Trump’s campaign for tighter voting rules. The US President argued that the proposed measures would strengthen election integrity and prevent what he describes as electoral fraud. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor also backed Trump’s position, saying voter identification should not be viewed as a partisan issue. He pointed to India’s voter identification requirements and the comparatively small share of votes cast by mail as examples of practices that, in his view, the United States could consider. “President Donald J. Trump is absolutely correct,” Mr Gor said in a post on social media platform X. The comments came days after Mr Kumar met Mr Gor at Nirvachan Sadan on 12 August. government will also present its version of the incident to the committee, including injuries suffered by police and security personnel. During the hearing, the bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to furnish details of the FIRs in which students had been implicated and indicated that it could consider exercising its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash appropriate cases. Mr Mehta, however, urged the Court to distinguish between students participating in the protest and alleged anti-social elements who, according to him, had infiltrated the agitation and indulged in unlawful activities. He submitted that the police had identified more than 2,800 such persons, allegedly having involvement in serious offences in the past, in connection with the 20 July violence. J’khand students end hunger strike after govt cancels exams STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ranchi, 18 August Four students, including student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, ended their hunger strike on Tuesday after the Jharkhand government announced the cancellation of all examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) and TDPL. However, the JPSC-JSSC Reform Forum has announced that its agitation will continue over its demand for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. The four, Devendra Nath Mahto (photo), Umm-e-Habiba, Prem Nayak and Kush Mahto, ended their hunger strike at around 1.15 a.m. at Ranchi Sadar Hospital after the state government’s decision. Ministers Deepika Pandey Singh and Irfan Ansari offered them juice to formally end the fast. Speaking after ending his hunger strike, Devendra Mahto said: “Today, on the 16th day of our hunger strike, we ended our fast in a dignified manner. With the joint initiative of Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari, Minister Deepika Pandey and our MLA Jairam Mahto, we decided to suspend our hunger strike. All the demands for which we had been protesting constitutionally and peacefully have been fulfilled...” The decision to cancel all examinations conducted by JSSC-CGL and TDPL was taken at a special Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday. The announcement triggered celebrations among students protesting at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. Despite heavy rain, protesters embraced each other, distributed sweets, raised slogans and celebrated with colours and fireworks. They described the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination as a major victory after 24 days of agitation. On the other hand, some employees appointed through the examination staged a protested outside the state secretariat since Monday night, fearing for their jobs.