SUNDAY www.thestatesman.com 31 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 A PRESIDENT WHO HAS PROVED HERSELF KIM’S BLUSTER P6 WEATHER One or two spells of rain/ thundershower likely to occur in some areas. Temperature will be in the range of 3528 degrees Celsius. P11 Min: 27.6°C (+1) SUN SETS 18:19 hrs MOON SETS 19:40 hrs August THUMBNAILS Ace weightlifter Mirabai Chanu clinched India's first gold medal at this year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday. Chanu won the gold in the 49kg clean and jerk event. Chanu lifted a total of 201kg to give India their third medal. The gold came after weightlifter Sanket Sargar bagged India's first medal with a silver in the 55kg men's final and Gururaja Poojary won bronze in the men's 61kg category. ANI MUMBAI, 30 JULY Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari again landed in a hot soup - this time after his perceived “anti-Marathi” remarks, but after a major political row, he made a tactical retreat, here on Saturday. The stinging salvos were fired in Mumbai on Friday when he lauded the contributions of the Gujarati and Rajasthani communities to the progress and development of Maharashtra, at a ceremony.“If you remove Gujaratis and Rajasthanis from the state, especially Mumbai and Thane, then nothing will be left. Mumbai will lose its tag of the country's commercial capital without them,” Koshyari declared. The utterances sparked into a political inferno with all major political parties - the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Congress, the ruling chief minister Eknath Shinde faction and his ally BJP and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena flaying Koshyari, thoughVanchit Bahujan Aghadi's Dr Prakash Ambedkar patted the governor. Chief minister Shinde termed it as the governor's “personal views” which he did not support and said that the contributions of the Marathis to the state and Mumbai can never be denigrated.“Mumbai has progressed and got fame as the financial capital because of the hard work of Marathis. The Governor must ensure that the Maharashtrian’s pride and image are not hurt by his utterances,” said Shinde.BJP's Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis categorically said: “We don't support the Governor's views” and was supported by ex-minister Ashish Shelar, though MLA Nitesh Rane took an opposing viewpoint.Former chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said Koshyari has “insulted” the people of the state and now rime Minister Narendra Modi today came down heavily on some states for not paying their electricity dues to power generation companies, wondering why these states have arrears again and again when the countrymen were paying their electricity bills honestly. He was launching the power sector's revamped distribution scheme and participating in the grand finale marking the culmination of the‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ programme. He also laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC worth over Rs 5200 crores.In a hard-hitting speech without naming any state, the PM said the people would be surprised to know that different states have outstanding dues of more than Rs 1 lakh crores. Power distribution companies were to receive P STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY PM Narendra Modi speaking at the Grand Finale marking the culmination of the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya ~ Power @2047’ programme, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on Saturday.  ANI more than Rs 60000 crores from many government departments and local bodies, he said.The PM said these companies were not able to get even the money that has been committed for subsidy on electricity in different states on time and in full. This arrear was also more than Rs 75,000 crores. Arrears amounting to about Rs 2.5 lakh crores of those responsible for activities ranging from the generation of electricity to its door-to-door delivery were trapped, he noted. The PM requested the states whose dues were pending, to clear them as soon as possible, saying this was not a matter of‘Rajniti’ (politics) but pertained to 'Rashtra Niti’ (nationbuilding).Recollecting the poor state of power scenario before 2014, he said that eight years ago, the government took the initiative to transform every part of the country's power sector. The focus was on improving the power system - Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Connection. “One Nation One Power Grid” has become the strength of the country today. About 1,70,000 circuit km transmission lines have been laid to connect the entire country,” he added. He observed that with the passage of time, a serious disorder has come into the country's politics. “In politics, peo- NSA Ajit Doval being felicitated by Syed Naseeruddin Chis- hty, Chairman, All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council at Constitution Club of India. SUBRATA DUTTA from it.” The event was part of Modi government's outreach programme to ensure religious harmony in the country. Apart from religious leaders of different religions, Sufi saints also participated in the event. The meeting took place at a time when the country is witnessing communal tension in the country in the wake of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks and the extreme reactions from a section of a particular community. However, protests broke out in different parts of the country with reports of violence in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bengal. The meeting unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a ban on such fronts, which have been indulging in anti-national activities and creating discord amongst the people. “At the same time, we strongly recommend that any person or organisation found guilty with evidence of spreading hatred among the communities through any means must be acted upon as per the provisions of law,'' the resolution said. ASIAN NEWS INTERNATIONAL AHMEDABAD, 30 JULY The sessions court in Ahmedabad on Saturday rejected the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad and former Director General of Police RB Sreekumar in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.Earlier, the court had reserved its order on the bail applications of both Setalvad and Sreekumar. Notably, the government had submitted an affidavit opposing the bail application.Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order. he Gujarat Police Crime Branch on June 26 had arrested Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case against her NGO which gave baseless ‘Humiliated’ by minister, BFUHS V-C steps down TATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 30 JULY In a major embarrassment to the Bhagwant Mann government, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) Faridkot, Dr Raj Bahadur has resigned from the post citing ‘humiliation’ after he was forced by the Punjab health minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra to lie on a dirty mattress at the hospital. While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said defended the minister saying he was “distressed to find the dilapidated condition of beds and ple should have the courage, to tell the truth, but we see that some states try to avoid it. This strategy may sound like good politics in the short term. But it is like postponing today's truth, today's challenges, for tomorrow, for our children, and for our future generations. This thinking of avoiding solutions to today's problems and leaving them for the future is not good for the country,” he said. The PM said that along with increasing the production of electricity, the emphasis of the government was also on saving electricity. “Saving electricity means enriching the future. PM Kusum Yojana is a great example of this. We are providing solar pump facility to farmers, helping to install solar panels on the side of the fields”, he said. He noted that losses in the distribution sector were in double digits while they were in a single digit in developed countries. lack of cleanliness at the BFUHS”, the Opposition demanded the dismissal of the minister and the medical fraternity also sought an apology from Jouramajra for his “unruly” behavior. In the video of minister’s visit to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot on Friday, Jouramajra can be seen forcibly asking the VC to lie on the bed in the dermatology department. A visibly angry Jouramajra can be heard speaking rudely with the VC over the lack of cleanliness in the medical college despite explanation by Bahadur, who was on his third extension as the VC and is a specialist in spinal surgery and joint replacement and a former director-principal of Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh. In protest against the misbehavior with theVC, Bahadur’s secretary OP Chaudhary has also resigned from the post. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring demanded the minister’s resignation over Joura- majra’s humiliating behaviour with Dr Bahadur. The AAP , however, took on the Opposition for “shedding crocodile tears” over the incident. AAP's chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said no one from the Opposition speaks when a poor man dies due to deplorable health conditions and cavalier attitude of government staff. “The health minister has been visiting government hospitals for a month now to transform the system. He did not want to disrespect anyone but the AAP government will not tolerate any laxity in the system,” he said. information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police. The SIT had filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court. An SIT report, earlier this month, revealed that Teesta, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government. The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with RB Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery. FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,39,79,730 ACTIVE CASES 1,43,988 NEW CASES 20,409 NEW RECOVERIES 22,697 TOTAL DEATHS 5,26,258 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGUR ES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SATURDAY 30 JULY 2022 Bengal recorded 1,113 cases and seven deaths Need to flag issues that hinder judiciary’s functioning: CJI INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana said the judiciary needs to flag issues which hinder its functioning and there is no meaning in camouflaging or hiding the problems, and also if matters of pressing concern are not addressed, then the system will cripple. The CJI made the remarks while speaking at the All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet, which had Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest. “Wherever I go, I always attempt to project the achievements of the Indian P12 INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE ‘We must act against radical Ahmedabad court rejects orgs affecting entire nation’ bail plea of Teesta, ex-DGP National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval today underlined the need to rein in and ban radical organisations if there was evidence against them. “Some elements are trying to create an atmosphere that is vitiating the progress of India. They are creating acrimony and conflict in the name of religion and ideology...it’s affecting the entire country while spilling over outside the country too,”he said at an inter-faith dialogue here. Doval observed that there was an atmosphere of conflict in the world and it was all the more necessary to maintain the unity of the country. “The way India was progressing, people of all religions will benefit SARGAR BAGS INDIA'S FIRST MEDAL IN CWG 2022 Modi slams states for Maha governor sparks row with ‘anti-Marathi’ remark pending power dues STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY Min. 56% TEMPERATURE Max: 34.7°C (+2) SUN RISES 05:07 hrs MOON RISES 06:14 hrs Full moon on 12 P7 He was launching the power sector's revamped distribution scheme RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.91% AL-SADR SUPPORTERS BREACH PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN BAGHDAD PM asks judiciary to expedite release of undertrials:PM Narendra Modi today renewed his appeal for showing sensitivity towards undertrial prisoners and asked the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) to take up the responsibility of providing legal aid to such prisoners. (See Pg5) judiciary in winning the trust and faith of the people. But if we intend to serve the people better, we need to flag the issues which hinder our functioning. There is no meaning in camouflaging or hiding the problems," he said. “If we don't discuss these issues, if matters of pressing concern are not addressed, then the system will cripple. I fear, we may be unable to fulfil our constitutional mandate of social justice. I urge you therefore, to discuss, debate and decide! This is the principle I have been following all through". The Chief Justice said the reality is that, today, only a small percentage of the population can approach the jus- tice delivery system, when in need and majority of the people suffer in silence, lacking awareness and necessary means. “Modern India was built around the goal of removing the disparities in society. Project democracy is about providing a space for participation of all. Participation will not be possible without social emancipation. Access to Justice is a tool for social emancipation." CJI Ramana pointed out that the district judiciary is the backbone of the justice delivery system in the world's largest democracy and public opinion about the judiciary is primarily based on their experiences with the district judiciary. "This casts a great responsibility on your shoulders. You must undertake multifaceted tasks and roles. You are best placed to understand people's problems and social issues..Strengthening the district judiciary is the need of the hour.” He added that the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was enacted with the objective of reaching the persons at the bottom of the pyramid.The fact that it is aimed at offering free legal aid to 70 per cent of our population, makes National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) the largest legal aid provider in the world, he said. NCP supporters holding placards stage a protest over Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's remarks in Mumbai on Saturday.  ANI deserves to be shown “Kolhapuri chappals (footwear)”. “He regularly keeps making such controversial statements and does not maintain the dignity of the august office he occupies. He is trying to divide communities and even the Hindus by naming Mumbai and Thane where civic polls will be held shortly. Now it's time to consider whether this parcel named Koshyari should be packed off from here or put behind bars,” said an agitated Thackeray. In a sharp attack, Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said the governor habitually demeans and defames Maharashtra and its people, and “those who have sent him here should take him back”. NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Koshyari has forgotten that“it were the Marathis who gave their lands and labour” to make the industries and businesses of the migrant communities profitable. Castigating the Governor, Sena's Raut said that Koshyari has apparently not read the contributions of stalwarts like Jagannath Shankarsheth who had worked to make Bombay a financial powerhouse from the mid-1850s. Terming it“Koshyari's hoshyari” (Koshyari’s oversmartness) MNS President RajThackeray asked the Governor not to keep blabbering if he doesn't know the state's history as his comments have pained the If you remove Gujaratis and Rajasthanis from the state, especially Mumbai and Thane, then nothing will be left. Mumbai will lose its tag of the country's commercial capital without them BHAGAT SINGH KOSHYARI MAHARASHTRA GOVERNOR people here.Other leaders like NCPMPSupriyaSule,ClydeCrasto, Congress' Balasaheb Thorat, Atul Londhe, Sena's Kishori Pednekar and many more snubbed the governor for his remarks, terming them as in bad taste, not behoving the high office he holds, and recalled how Mumbai was saved by the martyrdom of 105 people during the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. However,VBA's Dr Ambedkar hailed the Governor and said that he has actually taken a swipe at the character of the Congress, NCP Shiv Sena and BJP , for ruling for many years without doing anything to give Marathis any business, which is still controlled by the GujaratisRajasthanis.Taken aback by the furious backlash, Koshyari hurriedly clarified that his words were misconstrued as usual and reaffirmed the contributions of Marathis to Mumbai which is the pride of Maharashtra and also the country's commercial capital. “I had no intentions to underestimate the Marathis... they have built Maharashtra by sheer hard work and there are many leading Marathi industrialists here, and are famous not only in the state but all over India and the world. Praising one community does not amount to insulting others,” he said.