TUESDAY 17 JANUARY 2023 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR GERMANY’S DEFENSE MINISTER RESIGNS AMID UKRAINE CRITICISM ‘I BELONG TO MIDDLE CLASS, AWARE OF ISSUES’ KCR'S MEGA BRS RALLY ON 18 JANUARY P4 P8 P10 Generally clear. Likely windy during evening. Temperature will be in the range of 26-17 degrees Celsius. BJP's two-day national executive meet began in the capital where the party will firm up its poll strategy for upcoming polls RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE P12 After road show, PM, BJP leaders brainstorm WEATHER Max. 80% NADAL OUTLASTS JACK DRAPER Min. 65% Max: 26°C Min: 17°C SUN RISES SUN SETS 06:18 hrs 17:14 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 01:23 hrs 12:40 hrs New moon on 22 January STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THUMBNAILS NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY PMO team visits Joshimath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government have been monitoring the situation in Joshimath. After the Ministry of Home Affairs, a team from the PM's Office visited the holy city to inspect the land subsidence affected areas. The cracks have increased slightly. The team, headed by Mangesh Ghildiyal, Deputy Secretary PMO, visited the city on Sunday and will submit its report soon, said sources. The purpose of the visit was to separately inspect the condition of the areas with visible cracks and deteriorating water quality. rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attended the two-day National Executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the NDMC Convention Centre in Delhi. BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States and P other senior party leaders also participated at the key meeting. Earlier in the day the PM held a grand roadshow in Delhi on Monday. Starting from Patel Chowk, the roadshow headed towards Parliament Street in the national capital. The mega roadshow was held against the backdrop of the two-day national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being held at NDMC Convention Centre that began Rijiju writes to CJI seeking govt representative in SC collegium SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud suggesting to include the government representatives on the collegium, which decides on judges' appointment. The Law Minister, in a letter, said having government representatives will infuse transparency and public accountability. The letter has come against the backdrop of the ongoing row between the Centre and judiciary over the appointment of judges. The Law Minister's letter is the latest in the series of criticism of the collegium system by constitutional authorities, which included the Vice President and the Lok Sabha Speaker. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a tweet, said "This is extremely dangerous. There should be absolutely no government interference in judicial appointments." Responding to Delhi CM's tweet, Rijiju tweeted: "I hope you honour court's direction! This is precise follow-up action of the direction of Supreme Court Constitution Bench while striking down the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) Act. The SC Constitution Bench had directed to restructure the MoP of the collegium system." In another tweet, the Law Minister said, "The contents in the letter to hon'ble CJI are exactly in conformity with the observations and directions of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench. Convenient politics is not advisable, especially in the name of Judicia- ry. Constitution of India is supreme and nobody is above it." Last year Rijiju, at a media event, had said that judges only recommend the appointment or elevation of those they know and not always the fittest person for the job. Later the Law Minister, in December last year, had said that there is no such proposal to reintroduce the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) with suitable modifications. He said it while responding to the several questions raised by politicians, Mallikarjun Kharge and Dr John Bittas in Parliament. Rijiju said the appointment of the judges of the constitutional courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary. On November 28, last year, the Supreme Court took strong exception to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's recent comment on the collegium system of appointing judges, saying it should not have happened. here today. People and BJP workers thronged both sides of the roads to greet PM Modi. People showered flower petals on Prime Minister's cavalcade. The PM received a grand welcome from BJP workers at NDMC Convention Centre after the roadshow. The roadshow was previously planned for Tuesday. However, it was held today with a change in the party's schedule. Vehicular traffic movement was affected in parts of Delhi and special traffic arrangements were put in place to allow a smooth flow of traffic, the Delhi Police said. This is the first significant meeting of the party after the landslide victory in Gujarat. Earlier, in his home state of Gujarat, PM Modi organized a mega road show covering a distance of more than 50 kilometres for more than five hours. Before the national executive, a meeting of the CM blames central govt for state’s woes STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SAGARDIGHI, 16 JANUARY Chief minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP-led Union government here today, blaming it for the fund crisis in the state. She launched many people’s welfare programmes today. She also held an administrative meeting in presence of the chief secretary, Harikrishna Dwivedi at tribal-dominated Dhumar Pahar area, under Sagardighi Assembly constituency where Saha was the sitting MLA. The CM admitted that funds crunch stands in the way of development. The central government has not cleared funds for 100 days’ works, housing scheme, rural road projects etc, she alleged. “Earlier, we used to collect taxes. Now, people pay GST to the central government which is supposed to pay back the states’ share in time. It’s the taxpayers’ money which the Centre did not pay,” the CM said. She accused the BJP of conspiracy against the people of Bengal. If BJP thinks that it (govt. funds) is BJP’s own funds or landed property and keeps depriving Bengal, it will not be able to carry on like this any longer, she said. “Today you are in power but tomorrow, if removed from power, you will be a big zero”, (SEE PAGE 2) the CM stated. Prime Minister addresses the first batch of Agniveers party's national office bearers, state unit presidents and various organisational secretaries was held at the BJP headquarters. BJP national president JP Nadda presided over the key meeting. In the discussions that followed, the BJP president received feedback on the roles and responsibilities given to central ministers in 160 Lok Sabha seats where the party is not on a firm footing. Former Union Minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that BJP chief JP Nadda has said in the national executive meeting that 2023 is very important. We have to contest and win nine state elections this year. The BJP leader further, said, there are Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Before that, the 2023 election (Assembly) is very important for us. He said they would not lose even a single assembly election. He said that PM Modi has given a mandate that we identify weak booths and strengthen them and increase the reach. He said that the BJP chief also discussed the recently concluded elections and said that Gujarat's victory was historic and unprecedented. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed the first batch of Agniveers of the three Services who have commenced their basic training, via video conferencing. The Prime Minster congratulated the Agniveers on being the pioneers of the path-breaking Agnipath Scheme. He said this transformative policy will be a game changer in strengthening the Armed Forces and making them future ready for the challenges ahead. Mr Modi affirmed that the young Agniveers will make the Armed Forces more youthful and tech savvy. Hailing the potential of Agniveers, he said that their spirit is reflective of the bravery of the armed forces which have always kept the flag of the nation flying high. The experience they will acquire through this opportunity will be a source of pride for life. Discussing the new fronts of contactless warfare and challenges of cyber warfare, he said technologically-advanced soldiers will play a key role in the armed forces. He said the current generation of youth have this potential, and so the Agniveers will play a leading role in the armed forces in the times to come. NORTH INDIA SHIVERS Pedestrians covered in warm clothes commute amid dense fog on a cold winter day, at Heritage Street near the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. ANI Nepal air tragedy: Co-pilot lost her pilot husband in another crash 17 years ago AGENCIES KATHMANDU, 16 JANUARY A woman who was killed in the Yeti Airlines plane crash in Nepal had lost her pilot husband also in a tragic plane crash 17 years ago. The victim, Manju Khatiwada, 44, was the co-pilot of the ill-fated plane that crashed on Sunday in the western city of Pokhara. He husband, Dipak Pokharel died in 2006 during a plane crash in the Jumla district. According to the Kantipur national daily, after the death of her pilot husband, her father, Govinda was planning to send her to India for nursing study but she denied it and went to the US to undertake a pilot course. She was supposed to be promoted to the rank of pilot after undertaking a few more flights. In order to become a pilot, one needs at least 100 hours of flying experience. Manju had successfully landed in almost all of Nepal's airports earlier. After one more successful landing, she was about to get a chief pilot's license on Sunday. She is survived by her daughter. Dipak Pokharel had died when a 9N AEQ aircraft of Yeti Airlines en route from Nepalgunj to Jumla via Surkhet crashed, killing six passengers and four crew members. The plane that crashed on Sunday was piloted by Senior Captain Kamal KC. She died while fulfilling the dream of her first husband, Santosh Timilsina, manju's second husband, told the media in Biratnagar, an eastern town of Nepal where she was born and brought up. Everyone who knew her are grieving, he added. The ill-fated ATR-72 plane took off from Kathmandu for Pokhara at 10.30 on Sunday morning and it lost contact with the air traffic control at 10.50 a.m. There were 68 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight, among them 15 foreigners, including five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans and one each from Australia, Ireland, Argentina and France. A total of 68 bodies out of the 72 were recovered as of Monday morning while rest four bodies mainly of minors, are yet to be found, according to District Police Office. Black box of crashed plane in Nepal found AGENCIES KATHMANDU, 16 JANUARY The black box of the Yeti Airlines plane that crashed in Nepal's Pokhara has been found, a top official said here on Monday. A spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Premnath Thakur said that the black box was found on Monday morning at the crash site, as per reports. The black box is considered crucial in determining the cause of the crash. It contains 'Flight Radar Record' and 'Cockpit View Record'. According to a spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Jagannath Niraula, the black box has been handed over to the Nepali Army. The authority says that the black box will be brought to Kathmandu on Monday and The black box is located in the back of the aircraft. It is actually bright orange to make it easy to find A black box is a flight data recorder that must be in every air vehicle. All flight information is recorded into the black box with a specific algorithm. This makes the recorded flight data accessible to authorities when needed. The boxes themselves are made of stainless steel or titanium and made to withstand high impact velocity or a crash impact of 3,400 Gs and temperatures up to 2000 degrees F (1,100 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes. The recorders inside are wrapped in a thin layer of aluminum and a layer of high-temperature insulation. submitted to the Incident Investigation Commission which was formed by the government on Sunday.