FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 14 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI Ukraine drones blitz Moscow Page 9 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. Page 3 Dhaka had prepared India talks brief before Rahman visit was cancelled 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. New Delhi, 18 August Former Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Kumar Jain and former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Udit Prakash Rai, an IAS officer, were among six people arrested by the AntiCorruption Branch (ACB) of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi on Tuesday in connection with an alleged corruption and tendermanipulation case involving the augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the national capital. The other four arrested in the case are Ankit Srivastava, a former contractual consultant with the DJB; Nagendra Yadav, Page 14 Page 7 PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 18 August T The party has also 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 BJP’s hat-trick victory in the last Assembly elections in Haryana. Observers say that the choice of political heavyweights such as Mr Tawde, Mr Poonia and Mr Chugh for key responsibilities signals that the BJP is putting experienced managers at the forefront of the key elections scheduled next year. AAP’s Satyendar Jain, 5 more arrested in DJB tender case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Who is a ‘dimaagi Naxal’? CJP protests: SC panel to probe excesses, violence BJP deploys Vinod Tawde to poll-bound UP, Chug to Gujarat, Poonia to Punjab proprietor of M/s AN Enterprises; Raja Kumar Kurra, owner of M/s Euroteck Environment Private Limited; and Pankaj Verma, owner of M/s Srijanhar. The arrests were made in connection with an FIR, registered on 11 May 2024 at the ACB police station on a vigilance complaint. According to the ACB, the case concerns alleged large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process for DJB's STP projects. During the investigation, the ACB allegedly found that the tendering process contained restrictive technical specifications and conditions favouring a particular technology provider, Euroteck Environment. India firmly in command against Lanka in Galle Test PERSPECTIVE Page 5 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 their notes identifying the issues that should be examined by the proposed high-powered committee (HPC). The Chief Justice said Wednesday, 19 August 2026 SPORTS INDIA WORLD | 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 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, 11 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 protesters, Devendra Nath Mahto (photo), Umm-eHabiba, 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 to reporters, 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. CM Adhikari admits ‘lapses’, promises corrective action STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 18 August West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday admitted that his 100-day-old BJP government may have committed “lapses” and promised corrective action. His remarks came as the ruling party faces an organisational challenge over allegations of extortion and intimidation and unease over the induction of former Trinamul Congress (TMC) leaders. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has on several occasions warned party leaders against extortion, intimidation, interference in local affairs and attempts to occupy shops, houses or offices. He has said the party must not behave in a manner that makes it indistinguishable from the preceding TMC regime. . The state BJP has suspended 22 functionaries after more than 250 leaders and workers were issued show-cause notices over allegations including extortion, attempts to occupy TMC offices and anti-party activities. The induction and accommodation of former TMC leaders has further unsettled sections of the BJP cadre. The party expanded rapidly by welcoming defections before the 2021 Assembly election, but the subsequent return of several defectors to the TMC exposed the difficulties of integrating newcomers. The BJP now faces the challenge of expanding its organisation without allowing the political practices it had opposed under the TMC to take root within its own ranks. “It is just a three-month-old government. There may have been some lapses in the huge undertaking,” Mr Adhikari said at a programme in north Kolkata. “We will take corrective measures wherever necessary.” He also highlighted what he described as prompt and strict action in the alleged gang-rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl and the reopening of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case, including arrests made in connection with it. Mr Adhikari was addressing women beneficiaries of the Annapurna Yojana, under which eligible women receive Rs 3,000 a month. He said the government had received 1.80 crore forms for verification by 31 July. It provided the benefit to 28 lakh women in June and 1.21 crore in July. In north Kolkata alone, 76,817 women are receiving the assistance. The scheme covers women aged 25 to 60 whose families have no member in permanent government employment and whose annual income is below Rs 12 lakh. Mr Adhikari assured that no eligible woman would be deprived of the benefit.