CMYK FRIDAY www.thestatesman.com 26 NOVEMBER 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR SIDHU THREATENS TO GO ON HUNGER STRIKE V-P EMPHASISES NEED FOR REFORMS IN THE UNSC P4 WEATHER Mainly clear sky.. Temperature likely to be in the range of 36-24 degrees Celsius. P5 P10 Modi lays foundation stone of Noida airport RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Indrastructure is part of Rashtra Niti, not Rajniti for us: Prime Minister Max.90% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 NOVEMBER TEMPERATURE Max:30.0 °C(+1) SUN RISES 05:55 hrs MOON RISES 21:44 hrs New moon on 04 Min. 40% Min: 19.7 °C(+2) SUN SETS 16:51 hrs MOON SETS 10:41 hrs December THUMBNAILS Chief of Naval Staff Karambir Singh unveils the INS Vela name plaque at its commissioning ceremony, at the Naval Dockyard, in Mumbai on Thursday. ANI IAF gets Mirage 2000 fighters from France : Amid tensions on the border, the Indian Air Force has received a boost to its fighter jet fleet as two-second hand Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft have arrived from France at its Gwalior airbase. "The Indian Air Force has received two Mirage 2000 trainer version aircraft from France. The two aircraft were flying with their Air Force and arrived at the Gwalior airbase recently," government sources told ANI. rime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, saying it would become the logistics gateway of northern India. This airport would make the entire region a powerful symbol of the “National Gatishakti Masterplan”, he said addressing a gathering on the occasion. Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gen V K Singh, Sanjiv Baliyan, S P Singh Baghel and B L Varma were among those present on the occasion. He said the new India of the 21st century was building one of the best modern infrastructure today. “Better roads, better rail network, better airports are not just infrastructure projects but they transform the entire region, transforming peo- P Param Bir reaches Mumbai, joins probe: ExPolice Commissioner of Mumbai, Param Bir Singh, recently declared a 'Proclaimed Offender' by a Magistrate court, reached the city on Thursday and joined the police investigation into an alleged extortion case registered against him.Singh went to the Crime Branch Unit 11 at Kandivali Police Station to join the probe as directed by the Supreme Court. In an indirect dig at both China and Pakistan, India today said that any serious connectivity initiative must be consultative, transparent and participatory. A connectivity initiative must conform to the most basic principle of international law – respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said addressing the 20th meeting of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Heads of Government meeting in Kaza- EAM to chair RIC meet: External affairs minister S Jaishankar will chair the 18th meeting of the foreign ministers of RIC (Russia, India and China) to be held in the virtual format tomorrow.The meeting is important against the backdrop of the ongoing military standoff between India and China.The foreign ministers are expected to discuss further strengthening of RIC trilateral cooperation, including exchange of views on various regional and international issues of importance, a statement from the MEA said.The meeting will be attended by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. SNS khstan.Jaishankar’s comments were apparently aimed against China and Pakistan. India has opposed Beijing's ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor since it runs through Indian territory illegally Centre to SC: Will review EWS `8L income criteria for NEET-PG ASIAN NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEW DELHI, 25 NOVEMBER The Central government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has taken a considered decision to revisit the limit of Rs 8 lakh annual income fixed for determining the EconomicallyWeaker Sections (EWS) category for reservation in NEET admissions for postgraduate medical courses. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre sought four weeks time 3,45,44,882 1,09,940 9,119 10,264 4,66,980 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2021 Bengal Covid cases: West Bengal registered 758 fresh Covid cases and 11 deaths on Thursday, with Kolkata recording 215 cases and 2 deaths within a 24 hour period. what it has always deserved. With the efforts of the double engine government, Uttar Pradesh was turning into the most connected region of the country. He said NOIDA International Airport would play a major role in the growing aviation sector of India and would be a key center of maintenance, repair and operations of aircraft. He informed that the maintenance, repair and overhaul MRO facility was coming up in 40 acre, giving employment to hundreds of young people. Today India was spending thousands of crore rupees for getting these services from abroad.” Commenting on the integrated multi-modal cargo hub that is coming up, he said that in a landlocked state like UP airport would be very useful. This hub would serve industrial centres like Aligarh, Mathura, Meerut, Agra, Bijnor, Moradabad and Bareilly. He said Khurja artisans, Meerut Sports Industry, Saharanpur furniture, brass industry of Moradabad, Agra footwear and Petha industry would get a huge support from the upcoming infrastructure. Modi said “infrastructure is not part of politics for us but part of national policy (Rashtra Niti). We are making sure that the projects do not get stuck, do not hang in limbo or do not go astray”. The Prime Minister commented that some political parties in the country have always kept their selfinterest paramount. P12 Kolkata civic polls on 19 Dec; counting likely on 21 Dec STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 25 NOVEMBER The State Election Commission (SEC) today announced that elections to all 144 wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will take place next month, on 19 December. Nomination filing starts from today (25 November) and would continue till 1 December. Addressing a Press conference, the state election commissioner, Sourav Das, said the election Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect from today onwards. There will be a total of 4742 main polling booths and 385 auxiliary booths. Election will take place in a total of 1707 polling premises. The total number of voters, according to the SEC, is 40,48,352. Mr Das further notified that nomination filing starts today and will continue till the first of December. The time for nomination filing is from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. This will be followed by a process of scrutiny that will take place on 2 December. The last date for with- Bengal Election Commissioner Sourav Das addresses a press conference to announce the date of the KMC elections, in Kolkata on Thursday. ANI drawal of nominations is 4 December. The election commissioner said that repolling, if any, will be held on 20 December. “The election will be completed on 22 December. The date of counting will be soon confirmed,” he said. It was informed that the tentative counting date is on 21 December. The polling hours on 19 December will be from 7a.m. to 5 p.m.He also said that the electoral rolls that are to be used in the KMC election are updated up to 1 December 2021 while its qualifying date is 1 January 2021. He said that EVMs will be used in the polls. Commenting on the security plan and the number of state or central forces that are required to be deployed at polling booths, Mr Das said that the commission has asked for a report from the DG and chief secretary of the state which is yet to be submitted. “Once we receive that we will announce the decision regarding security,” he said. In view of Covid protocols, no campaigns can be executed from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. This period will be the “silence zone”. During nomination filing, only two persons can accompany the candidate. For door to door campaigns, a maximum of five persons are allowed. Also, the SEC said that talks are on with state health department to see if Covid vaccination can be done for voters who are still waiting for their first dose. Additionally, he announced that a grievance management system has been launched, named “EGMS”. It is a web-based facility where anyone can lodge their complaints related to the election. India takes veiled dig at China, Pak at SCO meet Tripura polls: SC directs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 NOVEMBER Death threat e-mails received by Gambhir m traced to Pak: Two e-mails threatening to kill former Indian cricketer and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir were sent from Pakistan, Delhi Police sources said on Thursday.According to the sources, the account handler has been identified as Sahid Hamid. The BJP MP had said that he had received two death threats via e-mails within 24 hours from “ISIS Kashmir". Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and other leaders at Jewar on Thursday. SUBRATA DUTTA ple's lives completely”, he said. Commenting on the economic fallout of infrastructure development, he said employment opportunities were created during airport construction. The airport also required thousands of people to run smoothly. Therefore “this airport will also give new employment to thousands of people of western UP”. The Prime Minister remarked that after seven decades of independence, for the first time, Uttar Pradesh has started getting INDONESIA OPEN: PV SINDHU REACHES QUARTER-FINALS 3 MEN CHARGED IN ARBERY’S DEATH CONVICTED OF MURDER from a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, saying a committee will be constituted to determine the criteria for EWS. Mehta told the Bench that National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG counselling shall remain postponed until the determination. The Bench recorded the submission of the Solicitor General and posted the matter for hearing on January 6, 2022. Earlier, the apex court had asked the Centre to put on hold the counselling for NEET-PG until it decides the validity of the Centre's decision to introduce OBC and EWS reservation in All India Quota. It had said that NEET-PG counselling will not start without its approval as the court is examining a plea against the Centre's decision for medical admission. The Central government had also assured the apex court that the counselling process will not commence till the Bench decides the matter. Constitution Day: President to lead nation in celebrations STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 NOVEMBER In a unique celebration of the Constitution Day tomorrow, the entire nation will be invited to join President Ram Nath Kovind in reading the Preamble to the Constitution. The celebrations of the Day will begin with a speech by the President. After that, the whole nation can join him in reading the Preamble. The ceremony will be attended by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Ministers, MPs and other dignitaries. The function will be live streamed on television and online portals. The President will also inaugurate an ‘Online Quiz on Constitutional Democracy’ -(mpa.gov.in/constitution-day). Anyone can participate in this quiz and get participation certificate with simple registration in his name giving his/her name, telephone number, age group. The celebrations will have added significance because of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative of the Government to celebrate and commemorate the 75 years of India’s Independence. There will be a separate portal for reading of the Preamble in 23 languages. Padma Shree awardee Jai Prakash Lakhiwal has designed the frame for the Preamble in this portal in such a way that it has elements of arts from all States and UTs of India. occupied by Pakistan. The minister said India has been taking steps to operationalise the Chabahar port in Iran to provide a secure and commercially viable access to the sea for Central Asian coun- tries. “We have also proposed to include the Chabahar port in the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). I would like to reaffirm India’s commitment to cooperate, plan, invest and build physical and digital connectivity in the SCO region,” he added. He also called for immediate reforms in multilateral institutions, saying the socio-political impact of Covid has exposed the weakness of these institutions. ''This is the time to bring in much-needed reforms to our global institutions, including the WHO, and rework our development strategies to face a postCovid world,” he added. Jaishankar said the world needed a reformed and reinvigorated multilateralism that reflected today's realities, which gave voice to all stakeholders, addressed contemporary challenges and put human beings at the centre of the global community's thought and policies. India, he said, believed that greater connectivity was an economic forcemultiplier which has acquired greater salience in the post-Covid era. REMEMBERING HEROES Students paint in tribute to the victims of the 26/11 attacks, in Mumbai on Thursday. ANI Centre to deploy extra paramilitary forces STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHII, 25 NOVEMBER The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to deploy two additional companies of central paramilitary forces in Tripura as expeditiously as possible for the municipal elections held on Thursday. The top court said it should be ensured that every polling booth is manned by paramilitary forces to ensure free and fair elections. The directive came amidst reports of violence marring the civic body elections in Tripura. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath noted that since there is absence of CCTV cameras, it is important for the print and electronic media to have full access to report on the municipal elections. Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the Tripura government, submitted that in addition to 78 sections, 15 additional sections have been deployed pursuant to the directions by the Tripura director general of police and the state’s home secretary. The Bench was informed that 2 companies of BSF have been deployed by the Centre. The court directed the DGP and home secretary of A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath noted that since there is absence of CCTV cameras, it is important for the print and electronic media to have full access to report on the municipal elections Tripura to ensure that all polling booths are properly manned by security forces to ensure free and fair elections. The court noted that the DGP and home secretary will assess the situation and consider if more companies were to be deployed. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the Trinamul Congress, mentioned that as the polling is in progress, several incidents of violence have been recorded and sought hearing post lunch to show the court those videos. The Bench was hearing a contempt petition filed by the Trinamul Congress and its Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev alleging non-compliance by Tripura authorities of the apex court order passed on 11 November to ensure a free and safe atmosphere for political campaigning for the local body elections scheduled on 25 November. More on Page 3 Protests to mark one year of farmers’ agitation today INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 NOVEMBER Massive protests on Friday in Delhi, and other places, will mark one year of what the farmers called as “historic struggle” to demand repeal of the three contentious farm laws. The farmers' movement had begun with a call of 'Dilli Chalo' on 26-27 November last year not just protesting the three farm laws but also putting forth several other demands. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a consortium of 40odd farmers' organisations, said in a release: “The fact that such a long struggle has to be waged is a clear reflection on the insensitivity and arrogance of India's Government towards its toiling citizens.” “Over the course of twelve months of one PROTEST BID  The farmers' movement had begun with a call of 'Dilli Chalo' on 26-27 November last year not just protesting the three farm laws but also putting forth several other demands.  A massive Kisan-Mazdoor Mahapanchayat is scheduled to be held in Mumbai's Azad Maidan on November 28. BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait with others during a 'Maha Dharna' to mark one year of farmers' protest, in Hyderabad on Thursday. ANI of the largest and longest protest movements across the world and in history, crores of people took part in the movement which spread to every state, every district and every village of India," SKM said. A meeting of Samyukta Kisan Morcha will be held on 27 November at Singhu Morcha. In the meeting, the farm unions will take a decision regarding the further course of action, the release said. After an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Friday to repeal the three farm laws, the cabinet had on Wednesday approved its repeal and also said the formality in the Parliament will be done at the earliest. CMYK Stating that apart from the Government's decision and Cabinet ratification of repeal of the three anti-farmer laws, the movement achieved several victories for the farmers, common citizens and the nation at large, the SKM statement said: "The movement created a sense of unified identity for the farmers, cutting across regional, religious or caste divisions, farmers are discovering a newfound sense of dignity and pride in their identity as farmers, and their assertion as citizens. It has deepened the roots of democracy and secularism in India." The SKM expressed its deep appreciation to all the participants and supporters of the movement, and reiterated once again that the repeal of the three anti-farmer laws is only the first major victory of the movement. The still-pending demands of the 'Kisan Andolan' include legal right for MSP on all agricultural produce, withdrawal of Electricity Amendments Bill, keeping farmers out of penal provisions of legal regulation related to Delhi air quality, withdrawal of cases against thousands of protesting farmers and arrest of Ajay Mishra Teni. A massive Kisan-Mazdoor Mahapanchayat is scheduled to be held in Mumbai's Azad Maidan on November 28. Thousands of farmers have started arriving at the various morchas in Delhi. In states which are far away from Delhi, preparations are underway to mark the event with rallies, dharnas and other programmes.