CMYK FRIDAY www.thestatesman.com 22 JULY 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR LANKA’S TEMPLATE KEJRIWAL SAYS ‘WILL GO AHEAD’ WITH S’PORE VISIT P5 One or two spells of rain/thundershower very likely. Temperature likely to be in the range of 33-27 degrees Celsius. P10 P12 BJP will be washed away in 2024: Mamata SOMA MOOKHERJEE KOLKATA, 21 JULY RAINFALL: 6.8 MM RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE P6 WHILE ADDRESSING MARTYRS’ RALLY CM SAYS THE PEOPLE OF OUR STATE HAVE SHOWN THAT SPIRIT OF ‘21’ NEVER GOES AWAY” WEATHER Max.89% SINGHRAJ GETS 2 GOLD MEDALS IN PARA-SHOOTING WORLD CUP SRI LANKA PRESIDENT VOWS TO CRACK DOWN ON PROTESTERS Min. 59% Max: 34.3°C (+2) Min: 28.2°C (+2) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:04 hrs 18:22 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 23:55 hrs 12:19 hrs New moon on 28 July THUMBNAILS A bright red and orange sky is seen after sunset in Ajmer on Thursday. SNS Zubair walks out of jail as SC grants bail: Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair on Wednesday evening walked out of Tihar jail after SC granted him interim bail in all the FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh.His lawyer, said, "Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair is released from Tihar and is now out of jail." Mohammed Zubair was arrested on June 27 by Delhi Police. The apex court also disbanded the SIT constituted by the UP Police to probe the cases against Zubair. DGCA grounds AI plane as it reports pressure loss: In yet another incident of technical malfunctioning on a passenger airplane, an Air India Dubai-Cochin flight on Thursday was diverted to Mumbai after its captain reported pressure loss, and landed safely. According to aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), two officials have been assigned the task to carry out a preliminary investigation on the Boeing 787 flight AI 934. A senior DGCA official said that the flight has been grounded and the regulator is off rostering the flight crew. rinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today give a clarion call to her party workers asking them to take the BJP head-on in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Even as it rained during the Trinamul Congress’s Martyrs’ Day rally held in the heart of the city on Thursday, Miss Banerjee said: “Our workers are so dedicated that they did not even move an inch in this heavy downpour and it signifies that in 2024 BJP will be washed out by an overwhelming people's mandate. “BJP lacks a fighting spirit.We have a spine, while BJP’s spine is built by CBI, Enforcement Directorate, IncomeTax and GST. We are people from the land of Rabindranath Tagore, who had stated, ‘Where the mind is without fear, and head held high’,” she said. “BJP is toppling state governments across the country. This is what they do, they tried T similar tactics to defeat us in 2021, but could not do so. The people of our state have shown that the spirit of “21” never goes away,” she said. “People in Bengal get free ration and pension, they are availing Lakshmir Bhandar, Kanyashree, Swasthya Sathi, Krishak Bandhu, Aikyashree and Sabooj Sathi. When I was young in politics, getting a bed in a hospital was very tough. Today, however, we have facilitated free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh insurance via Swasthya Sathi. Colleges, universities, ITIs, industries ~ we have created abundant opportunities in Bengal. “I have said this before, and I will repeat it again. I won’t be using force to grab lands. But BJP leaders should remember that the work for Deucha Pachami has already begun and over 1 lakh people will get jobs, including the tribal youth “As Tajpur Port is coming up, Rs 12,000 crore will be further invested. SiliconValley will create 50,000 IT jobs. Jungal Mahal Sundari will BJP lacks a fighting spirit. We have a spine, while BJP’s spine is built by CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax and GST. We are people from the land of Rabindranath Tagore, who had stated, ‘Where the mind is without fear, and head held high Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata.ANI Today, I see passion, vigour and hope in your eyes. It has been raining cats and dogs today, but not one person has left the venue. Our upcoming fight is not just for Panchayat Elections in Bengal, our fight is to save democracy in Delhi ABHISHEK BANERJEE NATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARY also create employment for the people of Bengal,” she said, while noting that a total of 500 industrial parks are coming up in Bengal and leather industries from across the country have moved to the state.“During recruitment drive, I don’t want to know what your identity is ~ which party you belong to or what religion you practice. Peo- ple will get jobs on their merit,” she said.“During the Left Front regime, multiple posts were sold for Rs 10-15 lakh per post. There is a Left Front mouthpiece, the wives of the reporters working there got teaching jobs. Did these people get jobs on the basis of quality, credibility or marks?” she asked. CPI-M leader Bikash Ran- KOLKATA, 21 JULY Trinamul Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday said that the party will abstain from voting in the upcoming Vice Presidential poll. “TMC will abstain in the upcoming VP polls as it was decided in the meeting. TMC will not support NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankar for the Vice President election nor will it support Opposition candidate Margaret Alva in the election," he said. “We know how Jagdeep Dhankhar was when he was the West Bengal governor. He attacked the people of Bengal and the CM in different ways. Hence we will not go with the NDA candidate at any STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 JULY NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was today elected as the 15th President of India after she trounced joint Opposition candidate and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, thus becoming the first-ever leader from the tribal community to hold the highest constitutional post in the country. Murmu will take oaths of office and secrecy on 25 July with the tenure of out- going president Ram Nath Kovind ending on 24 July.Out of 736 electors comprising 727 MPs and nine MLAs permitted by the Election Commission to vote at the Parliament house, 728 (719 MPs and nine MLAs) cast their votes in the presidential election held on 18 July. The total turnout at the Parliament House was 98.91 per cent. Celebrations erupted across the country as soon as Murmu's victory in the presidential election was announced by the Rajya Droupadi Murmu is the 15th President of India after she trounced joint Opp candidate Yashwant Sinha She will take oaths of office and secrecy on 25 July PM Narendra Modi congratulates Droupadi Murmu on being elected as the new President of the country, in New Delhi on Thursday. ANI Sabha Secretary General. The 64-year-old Murmu hails from India’s poorest but the resource-rich state of Odisha. She spent her childhood in Mayurbhanj district and used to work as a teacher. She earlier served as the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to Dhankhar will face Opp candidate veteran Cong leader Margaret Alva in the 6 Aug Vice Presidential election cost,” he said. According to the TMC MP , the Opposition without consulting the TMC decided to go with Margaret Alva as the Vice Presidential candidate. “The candidates were announced by the Opposition without consulting TMC which has 35 MPs,” he added. “We had proposed some names and those were in consultation. But the name was decided without our consultation. However, the Opposition unity does not depend on the yardstick of elections of President or Vice President. Alva has a very good equation with Mamata Banerjee but the personal equation does not matter,” added the TMC general secretary. Meanwhile, just before Dhankhar was declared V-P candidate, Mamata Banerjee had a three-hour meeting with him at the Darjeeling Governor's House along with Assam CM Hemanta Biswa Sarma.Dhankhar will face Opposition candidate veteran Congress leader Margaret Alva in the 6 August Vice Presidential election. Sharad Pawar said their candidate is being supported by 17 Opposition parties and they have also reached out to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for supporting Alva. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 JULY Reacting to reports that China was making inroads close to the Doklam plateau, India today asserted that it kept a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on the country's security and took all necessary steps to safeguard the same. “We will take all possible steps for the security of the nation,'' Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing. New satellite images have indicated that a Chinese hamlet that was constructed 9 km east of the Doklam plateau, the place Indian and Chinese forces clashed in 2017, is now fully populated, with cars parked at virtually every residence. The village, which Beijing refers to as Pangda, is notable for being fully inside Bhutanese territory.On the military-level talks held between India and China held on Saturday, the spokesperson pointed out that the two sides have already issued a joint statement.India, he said, would like disengagement of troops, followed by disengagement, which would help in normalisation of ties between the two countries. The IndiaChina joint statement on the 16th round of the Corps Commander level meeting stated that the two sides reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in the restoration of peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector and enable progress in bilateral relations. ED quizzes Sonia for 2 hrs, Cong holds protests across nation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 JULY Several senior Congress leaders and workers were detained as they staged demonstrations in different parts of the country today to express solidarity with party chief Sonia Gandhi who appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case.She was questioned by ED officials in connection with the National Herald case for about two hours. Accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sonia reached the ED office in the national capital a little after noon accompanied by her security guards. the national capital. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also arrived at the ED office. Her questioning began around 12:30 pm after the tax and coal taxes. All public sector undertakings are closed, including Railways, Air India, Coal India, Civil Aviation. Lakhs of jobs have been abolished. And what have the people got? Agnipath scheme. I want to say that we should stop walking on that path. They should not mess with Armed Forces. I ask the Centre to recruit people in the Army and to not deprive them of their future. This won’t work and we will not allow it.” BJP has stopped giving funds to Bengal. They have stopped funds for Awas Yojana and PM Grameen Sadak Yojana. Why this economic blockade for Bengal? People can lose or win in politics. But does this mean that you will not give people food or money? That is the people’s right” she said. “If we don’t get our share of funds, we will travel in trains and lorry to Delhi and gherao them till they give us our due,” she said.“It is not easy to shut down Bengal. You can’t lock us up. We won’t bow down in front of you. We only bow Droupadi Murmu~ India get its first tribal President Trinamul to abstain from vice India: Lens on Chinese presidential election: Abhishek activity near Doklam SNS & AGENCIES jan Bhattacharya is going to the court calling for cancellation of recruitment. Ask him if I should I take out your file, and see how many birth certificates were issued under him? Should I show these files?” she asked. BJP meanwhile, has lost , its mind. They have imposed GST on moori (puffed rice). They have imposed GST on sweets, lassi, neem leaves, and batasha – what will people eat?” she asked. “BJP has imposed GST on everything, including hospital beds.I want to ask how much GST will BJP charge for death? How much GST will be charged for funeral carts?” Miss Banerjee asked. The value of Indian Rupee is at its lowest. Diesel, petrol and LPG cylinder prices are soaring high. BJP is busy dismantling state governments and shutting down banks. Where is the Provident Fund money going? Gas, diesel and petrolbadhanor sorkar, aar nei dorkar,” she said. The situation is such that they take a majority of tax from Bengal – cess tax, tea Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi leaves her residence for the ED office in New Delhi.  ANI completion of some formalities like verification of summons and signatures on the attendance sheet. The ED recorded Sonia’s statement for two hours and ended the session for the day on her request as she is recovering from Covid, officials said. Carrying placards in support of Sonia, the Congress workers shouted slogans against the Modi regime alleging that the ruling dispensa- Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah, Congress State chief DK Shivakumar and other leaders protest over the ED probe against Sonia Gandhi in Bengaluru on Thursday.  ANI tion was indulging in political vendetta against its adversaries and misusing government agencies. Party leaders and activists started converging at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi early in the morning to hold protest demonstrations. The Delhi Police had a tough time controlling the protestors at several places and had to divert traffic on major routes. Among those who were detained while demonstrating were Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and P Chidambaram, Ajay Maken, Manickam Tagore, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, Harish Rawat. “All Congress MPs and CWC Members have courted mass arrest outside our Party HQs in a show of collective solidarity with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, a target of Vishguru’s political vendetta. We are being taken away to a police station in Old Delhi evidently,”said party communication incharge Jairam Ramesh. The Opposition parties, meanwhile, released a joint statement condemning the BJP for “misusing” central agencies. “The Modi government has unleashed a relentless vendetta against political opponents through misuse of investigative agencies by targeting prominent leaders of various parties. We will intensify our fight against the antipeople Modi Sarkar,” said the statement signed by over a dozen parties. Apart from New Delhi, the Congress workers staged demonstrations in various state capitals and other major cities like Patna, Jaipur, Nagpur and Jammu. Congress MPs also held protests in Parliament . The Congress MPs marched from Gate No 2 to the Gandhi Statue in the Parliament House. The protest was organised soon after the Upper House was adjourned till 12 amid Opposition ruckus. (See Pg 5) CMYK 2021. She was the longestserving governor of the mineral-rich state, which came into existence in 2000.Murmu has a tragic personal life. She lost both her sons and husband. She has a daughter. Her elevation to the top post is being perceived as the triumph of tribal empowerment and the community’s political aspirations, which have long been neglected. Meanwhile, Yashwant Singh, the Joint Opposition candidate, today congrat- ulated his rival Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the presidential election, saying he hoped like every Indian that she would function as the “Custodian of Constitution” without fear or favour on becoming the 15th President of India. “I join fellow countrymen in extending best wishes to her,” he said and thanked the leaders of Opposition political parties for choosing him as their consensus candidate in the election. our heads in front of the words of our citizens and their love. Don’t threaten us with ED and CBI and by withholding our funds. I fight with courage and will continue to do so.” she said. Meanwhile, the party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, said the day was a momentous one for the TMC. “I believe that thr crowd that we have seen today; we have shattered all records of previous 21 July celebrations. I am amazed with the dedication that I have seen among Trinamul workers, who have flocked today,” he said. He went on to say that there are no corrupt leaders in Trinamul, all of them have been kicked out.Today’s TMC is like an iron, the more the BJP tries to hit it, the stronger it becomes, he said.We need to win the Panchayat elections, and after that the Lok Sabha polls. And Trinamul will not just win in Bengal, we will also emerge victorious in other states like Goa,Tripura and Meghalaya, he said. (See Pg3) FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,38,25,185 ACTIVE CASES 1,48,881 NEW CASES 21,566 NEW RECOVERIES 18,294 TOTAL DEATHS 5,25,870 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. THURSDAY 21 JULY2022 Bengal recorded 2,486 cases and six deaths