FRIDAY www.thestatesman.com 26 MARCH 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘ECONOMIC REVIVAL TO CONTINUE UNABATED’ SC QUASHES FIR AGAINST MUKHIM OVER FB POST P4 WEATHER Mainly clear sky. Strong surface winds during the day. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 32 and 18 degrees Celsius respectively. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 79% P9 Campaigning ends in WB for 1st phase SNS & PTI TEMPERATURE Max: 29.6°C (-1) SUN RISES 06:17 hrs MOON RISES 16:04 hrs P8 Stage set for high-octane battle as 30 seats go to polls tomorrow Min: 35% Artistes perform during 'Lathmar Holi' celebration, at Sri Krishna Janmasthan temple AGENCIES in Mathura on Thursday. Lok Sabha adjourned sine die: Ringing curtains over about two-month long Budget session of Parliament, the Lok Sabha on Thursday was adjourned sine die. The Speaker Om Birla did not come to Parliament as he has been diagnosed with Covid-19. BJD leader of the House Bhartruhari Mehtab, who was in the Speaker's chair, adjourned the House sine die. The Lok Sabha session had started on 29 January amidst an unprecedented Covid -19. Earlier, Opposition leaders had urged for early conclusion of the Budget session in view of the P5 ensuing Assembly polls in five states. Domestic violence complaints spiked in 2020: The number of complaints of domestic violence received by the National Commission for Women rose sharply from 2,960 in 2019 to 5,297 in 2020, the year of the lockdown when most people were confined to their homes due to Covid-19. The trend continues this year as well. The NCW received a total of 19,730 complaints of crimes against women in 2019 as compared to 23,722 in 2020. urtains came down at 5 p.m. on Thursday on the high decibel campaign in 30 Assembly seats in West Bengal where polls are scheduled in the first phase on 27 March. The 30 seats are spread across tribal-dominated Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur (Part 1) and Paschim Medinipur (Part 1) districts which were once considered the citadel of the Left in the state. The campaign for the seats saw high profile leaders of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which has emerged as the main Opposition to the ruling Trinamul Congress, addressing poll rallies in Purulia, Jhargram and Bankura districts promising ‘ashol poriborton’ (actual change) to build ‘Sonar Bangla’ (prosperous Bengal). The star BJP campaigners for the seats going to poll in the first phase were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The other star campaigners of the saffron party were Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, top brass leader Smriti Irani who repeatedly harped on the various “scams”. They attacked Mamata Banerjee’s party for the multi-crore rupees Saradha scam, the Narada tapes scandal to the more recent alleged siphoning of money meant for cyclone Amphan Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during a public meeting, in Midnapore. FILE PHOTO (right) Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses an election campaign in support of BJP candidates at Mecheda in East Midnapore district on Thursday. AGENCIES The 30 seats are spread across tribal-dominated Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur (Part 1) and Paschim Medi-nipur (Part 1) districts which were once considered the citadel of the Left in the state relief and the TMC government’s dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The saffron party leaders furiously attacked the Mamata Banerjee government for not allowing the implementation of Central schemes like the Ayushman Bharat, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and 80 other schemes aimed at helping the poor, Dalits, tribals and people from the marginalised sections. The BJP leaders claimed that corruption and anarchy are prevalent in TMCruled West Bengal and that the party will put an end to the menace after coming to power in the state. The saffron party leaders, including Modi, targeted TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee alleging that he was involved in cross-border cattle smuggling and the coal scam. In almost all of their rallies, the BJP also targeted the TMC-government for The 30 constituencies had overwhelmingly voted for TMC in the last two state elections but BJP had swept them in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. its “cut money” culture and patronising “syndicate raj” in the state. Bollywood veteran Mithun Chakraborty who joined the saffron party only recently, campaigned for BJP candidates at Jangalmahal and Bankura. His road shows became a huge hit as people from all walks of life gathered to hear him, throwing all caution for Covid-19 protocol to the winds. On the other hand, West Bengal chief minister held poll rallies in each of the 30 constituencies, her injured leg notwithstanding. The TMC supremo in her campaign described the Modi government as “antipeople”.She also blamed him for not allowing the state government to give free Coronavirus vaccine jabs to the people. She alleged that “harmads” (goons) of CPI-M who had joined BJP had scripted the attack on her at Nandigram, from where she is contesting this time, to stop her from campaigning. Banerjee, who is among the most vociferous critics of the Prime Minister, had said that the Centre is selling off government concerns and that only Modi’s “factory of lies will remain”. She urged people not to vote for “goons from outside” (the state) and often threw the challenge at BJP by uttering her party’s popular “khela hobe” (game will take place) slogan. She charged BJP with bringing in outsiders to the state for the Assembly polls and attacked the Modi government for the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, another star campaigner for the party, urged the people to vote for “Banglar nijer meye” (Bengal’s own daughter) Mamata Banerjee to live in peace in the state. India records 53,476 new Covid cases, highest in 5 months STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MARCH India recorded 53,476 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, 81 percent of which are mainly from six states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. This is the highest single-day spike reported since October 2020 taking the total tally to 1,17,87,534 on Thursday. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra and Punjab are turning out to be a major cause of worry as cases there have been increasing over the last two weeks. The six states together account for 80.63 per cent of the new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 31,855 (59.57 per cent). Maharashtra alone accounts for 62.91 per cent of the total active cases in the country. B’luru: RT-PCR -ve must for visitors BENGALURU, 25 MARCH Travellers from other states to the IT capital will now be required to produce an RT-PCR negative report, according to state health minister, K Sudhakar. The rule comes into effect from 1 April . Earlier, the requirement was limited to passengers from Maharashtra, Kerala,Punjab and Chandigarh. “Now it will be applicable to passenThe western region is followed by Punjab with 2,613 new cases while Kerala reported 2,456 cases. Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane and Nashik are the worrisome districts in Maharashtra, while Jalandhar, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Hoshiarpur are showing mas- gers from all states.” Briefing newspersons here today immediately after a meeting to review the containment measures for Covid -19 in the IT capital, the minister said about 1,400 cases were reported in the city ,the highest in the last four months. The daily spike could also be attributed to the inflow of passengers from other states, accounting for 60 per cent of SNS the cases. sive surge in Punjab. On 22 October last year, India recorded a single-day spike of 54,366 infections. With death of 251 people in the last 24 hours, the toll has reached 1,60,692 in India. The active caseload in the country has mounted to 3,95,192. A total of 1,12,31,650 persons This TN candidate ridicules politicians for trying to lure voters with freebies HARASANKARAN T N CHENNAI, 25 MARCH A helicopter, iPhone, threestorey house with swimming pool, a sum of Rs 1 crore to every household, a robot to do housework, 100 sovereigns of gold for women when they’re getting married, Rs 1 crore to youth who wish to start businesses, Rs 10 lakh per month for people with disabilities, canals with a boat for every household, a 100-day trip to the moon, a 300-feet artificial iceberg to keep the constituency cool and also a rocket launchpad...of course these are poll promises of an independent candidate in Tamil Nadu Assembly election. And to be honest he promises these utopian freebies to make people aware of the hollowness of the promises political parties put forward to them. And sarcastically. The independent candidate from South Madurai ,Thulam Saravanan is a serious contender. And his poll promises have gone viral. When you know that the aspiring politi- SC allows women SSC officers’ pleas; says ACR evaluation flawed NEW DELHI, 25 MARCH C THUMBNAILS P12 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA KOLKATA, 25 MARCH Min: 17.5°C (0) SUN SETS 18:36 hrs MOON SETS 05:30 hrs SURYAKUMAR IS READY FOR BATTLE OF PUNE N.KOREA TEST-FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILES IN MESSAGE TO USA cian’s symbol is the dustbin, you may get the taste of sarcasm more. His posters in the constituency say, “Nermayin chinnam kuppaithotti” , which could be translated as “the symbol of honesty is the dustbin.” According to the 33-yearold’s affidavit, he has Rs 10,000 cash in hand and Rs 2,000 in the bank. This is also astonishing when you know that most of the 4,000 odd candidates in the fray are crorepatis. Saravanan, a reporter with a local daily, wanted to create awareness among voters about the false promises political parties making. Particularly to aware youths about it. 1,515 cases, 5 deaths in Delhi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MARCH 1,17,87,534 Delhi has continued to witness a spike in fresh coronavirus infections every day now. It today reported 1,515 Covid cases, highest in more than three months, while 5 more people succumbed to the pathogen, according to the health bulletin issued by the Delhi government. (SEE P4) 3,95,192 53,476 have been discharged so far. The national recovery rate is 95.28 per cent. So far, 5.31 crore doses of the Corona vaccine have been administered in the country. Now, those over 45 years of age will also get Covid-19 vaccine from 1 April, irrespective of the co-morbidities, the Central Government has said. 26,490 1,60,692 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. THURSDAY 25 MARCH 2021 The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the pleas of several women SSC officers seeking grant of permanent commission in the Army, while holding that the ACR evaluation process was flawed and discriminatory in nature. The bench also noted that the structure of our society is created by males for males where talk of equality is a farce and since Independence, efforts have been made to bridge the gap and grant equal opportunity to men and women. Delivering its verdict on a batch of pleas filed by several women officers who had sought compliance of its February last year directions to the Centre for grant of permanent commission, promotions and consequential benefits, the court said the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) evaluation criteria for “The structure of our society is created by males for males where talk of equality is a farce and since Independence, efforts have been made to bridge the gap and grant equal opportunity to men and women” THE SUPREME COURT grant of permanent commission to women officers ignored achievements and laurels brought by them to the Indian Army. A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said the process by which women officers were evaluated did not address the gender discrimination concern raised in the verdict delivered by the apex court last year. In its landmark judgement delivered on 17 February last year, the top court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission, rejecting the Param Bir moves HC seeking CBI probe against Deshmukh The top court was delivering its verdict on a batch of pleas filed by several women officers who had sought compliance of its February last year directions to the Centre for grant of permanent commission in Army Centre’s stand of their physiological limitations as being based on “sex stereotypes” and “gender discrimination against women”. It had directed that within three months, all serving short service commission (SSC) women officers have to be considered for permanent commission irrespective of them having crossed 14 years or, as the case may be, 20 years of service. In its judgement passed on Thursday, the apex court said that ACR evaluation criteria for SSC women officers in Army created systematic discrimination. Sri Lankan Navy nabs 54 Indian fishermen, seizes 5 trawlers COLOMBO, 25 MARCH SNS & PTI MUMBAI, 25 MARCH Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on Thursday filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who he claimed asked police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants. The PIL also raised the issue of alleged corruption in police transfers and postings in the state. The IPS officer had earlier this week approached the Supreme Court, which on Wednesday termed the matter as quite serious but asked him to approach the High Court. The criminal Public Interest Litigation reiterated the allegations Singh had made earlier and sought an “immediate, unbiased, impartial” probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Deshmukh, an NCP leader. Singh sought an HC direction to the CBI to secure CCTV footage from Deshmukh’s residence from earlier this year before it was “destroyed,” and to the state government to produce all records of communication NIA custody of Waze till 3 April MUMBAI, 25 MARCH A special court here on Thursday extended the NIA custody of suspended police officer Sachin Waze, arrested in connection with the recovery of explosives- laden vehicle near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house, till 3 April. He had nothing to do with the crime and had been made a scapegoat, he told the special NIA court.PTI received from IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in March 2020. In February last year, Shukla had levelled allegations of malpractises in police postings and transfers against Deshmukh and also informed her superiors about it, but soon afterwards she was transferred, alleged the PIL. The court should pass directions to ensure that in future police officials are not transferred on account of “pecuniary benefits to any politician”, it said. The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested at least 54 Indian fishermen and seized five trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country’s territorial waters, an official statement said here on Thursday. The Navy arrested the fishermen on Wednesday off the coast of northern and northeastern areas. Having considered the impact of foreign fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters on the local fishing community and the sustainability of fishery resources of Sri Lanka, the Navy is conducting regular patrols to curb illegal fishing activities in Sri Lankan waters, the Navy said in the statement. The Navy nabbed a large Indian fishing vessel with 14 personnel on board, about 3 nautical miles off the coast of Kovilan in Jaffna. Two more Indian fishing vessels with 20 personnel for engaging in trawling were arrested about 7 nautical miles off Pesalai, Mannar and 5 nautical miles off the Iranativu Island, the statement said. Two more Indian fishing vessels with 20 personnel were arrested about 7.5 and 8.5 nautical miles off Mullaitivu. The two vessels had trespassed into Lankan waters about 62 nautical miles, crossing the International Boundary Line (IMBL) when the apprehension was made, PTI the Navy said. Modi hails B’desh’s achievements on eve of Dhaka visit STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MARCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his two-day state visit to Bangladesh from tomorrow would be an occasion to convey to Dhaka India’s appreciation of the remarkable economic and developmental strides made by the neighbouring country under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In a statement on the eve of his departure, he said he would also convey to the Bangladesh leadership India’s abiding support for the achievements made by the country and express New Delhi’s support and solidarity for Bangladesh’s fight DHAKA VISIT Modi said he was happy that his first foreign visit after the onset of the pandemic would be to a friendly neighbouring country, with which India shares deep cultural, linguistic and people-topeople ties. against Covid-19. Modi said he was happy that his first foreign visit after the onset of the pandemic would be to a friendly neighbouring country, with which India shares deep cultural, linguistic and peopleto-people ties. “I look forward to my participation at the National Day celebrations tomorrow, which will also commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Modi said he also looked forward to his meeting with Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, and interactions with other Bangladeshi dignitaries Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu was one of the tallest leaders of the last Century, whose life and ideals continue to inspire millions. I look forward to visiting Bangabandhu’s Samadhi in Tungipara to pay my respects to his memory,” he said. He said he also looked forward to offering prayers to Goddess Kali at the ancient Jashoreshwari Kali Temple, one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in the Puranic tradition. “I am particularly looking forward to my interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri SriHarichandra Thakur ji disseminated his pious message,” the Prime Minister said. He said he would have substantive discussions with Sheikh Hasina following their very productive virtual summit in December last year. He said he also looked forward to his meeting with Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, and interactions with other Bangladeshi dignitaries. Modi’s visit to Bangladesh starts a day before the first phase of voting in the Assembly elections in West Bengal where the BJP is involved in virtually a straight contest with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress. A number of agreements will be signed and new announcements for intensifying cooperation in key areas will be made during the Prime Minister’s visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the media. The areas in which pacts are likely to be signed include disaster management, trade and oceanography. New announcements of cooperation will be made in areas like culture, health, preservation of spirit of 1971, railways, education, border development, power cooperation and start-ups.