WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR SHIVAKUMAR DODGES QUERIES ON POWER SHARING FADING LIGHT P6 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS ACCOMPANIED WITH GUSTY WINDS (SPEED 35-45)TOWARDS AFTERNOON/EVENING AT MOST PLACES. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 38 AND 28 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 53% TEMPERATURE Max: 43.5°C (+3) SUN RISES 05:26 hrs MOON RISES 10:00 hrs Min. 31% Min: 29.8°C (+3) SUN SETS 19:10 hrs MOON SETS 23:32 hrs THUMBNAILS Turtles eating food on the occasion of World Turtle Day at the Zoological Garden, Alipore, in Kolkata on Tuesday.  SNS Female cheetah cub dies at Kuno National Park, fourth death in two months: One of the four cheetah cubs born to Namibian feline Siyaya akka Jwala has died at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP), officials said on Tuesday. A senior forest official said, "Our team is trying to ascertain the exact reason behind the two-month old female cub's death." Earlier, two cheetahs named Sasha and Uday~ brought to India from South Africa ~ had died in March and April, respectively, while the third cheetah named Daksha died on (P 5) 9 May. RAHUL HITCHES RIDE ON TRUCK WHILE HEADING TO SHIMLA P4 P5 P12 ‘Diaspora is real power Bengal CM assures Kejriwal of full support behind India-Aus ties’ over Centre’s ordinance The Indian PM was welcomed at the venue with chants of Modi, Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 MAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 23 MAY P Making common cause with her Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today assured the Aam Aadmi Party convenor of the full support of the Trinamul Congress in the Rajya Sabha against the Union government's ordinance to negate the Supreme Court's order handing over control of administrative services in the national capital to the elected government there. Mr Kejriwal, who is meeting leaders of non-BJP parties to muster support against the Centre’s ordinance that gives back control of the bureaucracy in National Capital Territory of Delhi to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, today called on the chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat at Nabanna. He was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi education minister Atishi and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha. “If all the opposition parties unite against the BJP on this ordinance issue, the saffron party can be surely defeated. If that happens, it will be a moral defeat for the BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. And rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed a massive gathering of the Indian diaspora in Sydney, and said IndiaAustralia relations have grown not just through diplomatic efforts; the real power between the two countries’ mutual trust and respect was the diaspora itself. At one time, he said, the India-Australia relationship was defined by 3Cs ~ Commonwealth, Cricket and Curry. “Then it was said that our relationship is defined by 'Democracy, Diaspora and Dosti,” Mr Modi said. Some people also said that the relationship was based on Energy, Economy and Education, he said. “But I believe that the relation between IndiaAustralia is beyond this and much larger, and the basis of this is mutual trust and mutual respect,” Mr Modi said at a packed gathering at Sydney Olympic Park. This mutual trust and mutual respect have not developed only due to the diplomatic relations of India-Australia, the Prime Minister said. “The real reason, the real power is all of you Indians who live in ‘All 7 Gyanvapi cases to be heard together’ Australia, and the over 2.50 crore citizens of the country," he said. “Our lifestyles may be different but now Yoga is connecting us. We have been connected due to cricket for a long. Tennis and films are also connecting us now. We might prepare food in different manners, but Masterchef is connecting us now,” Mr Modi said. Mr Modi said the countries had different festivals, but were connected by the lights of Diwali and Baisakhi celebration also, and despite different languages, the two were getting closer with Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi and the schools teaching languages. “People of Australia are (so) large hearted that they accept India’s diversity with an open heart,” he said. In his remarks, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who accompanied Modi to the event, referred to the warm welcome accorded to PM Modi by the diaspora and people in Australia. He said: “The last time I saw Bruce Springsteen on this stage, he didn’t get the kind of reception that Prime Minister Modi got. PM Modi is the boss.” The Indian Prime Minister was welcomed at the venue with chants of Modi, Modi. He greeted the audience with “Nameste Australia,” and called out the names of prominent Australian personalities to greet them. The last time I saw Bruce Springsteen on this stage, he didn’t get the kind of reception that Prime Minister Modi got. PM Modi is the Boss ANTHONY ALBANESE AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER The Prime Minister said the strategic partnership between India and Australia is deepening now. An agreement on economic cooperation and trade has been signed with Australia to double trade in five years. The two countries are now working on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, and building resilient and reliable supply chains, he said. VARANASI, 23 MAY SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 23 MAY vapi mosque premises. In April 2022, a senior division court ordered a survey on the mosque premises. The survey was completed in May 2022. During that time, a ‘Shivling’ was allegedly found in the mosque, which the Muslim side claimed was a fountain. The Supreme Court on 19 May told the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to not conduct carbon dating of the purported 'Shivling' inside the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath corridor, till the next hearing on the matter. The next hearing in the matter in the Supreme Court is scheduled for 7 August. Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann address a joint press conference at Nabanna, Howrah. Also present on the occasion were Delhi education minister Atishi, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha. ANI if any miracle happens, the fate of the current Union government will be uncertain,” Miss Banerjee said after the hour-long meeting. Mr Kejriwal, on his part, alleged that after any Assembly election, if the BJP does not get the requisite majority, it first tries to capture power through the back door by twisting or pressurising the opposition MLAs. “Even if that tactic is not successful, it tries to take control over the state administration through Governors. This practice of using Governors against any nonBJP ruled state government has become rampant in West Bengal, Punjab and Telangana,” Mr Kejriwal said. He also said that the Union government clev- PM, LS Speaker to inaugurate new Parl building on 28 May HOVERING THREAT SNS & AGENCIES The Varanasi District Court on Tuesday ordered that all the seven cases related to the Gyanvapi mosque issue will be heard together. Allowing the consolidation of seven suits related to the matter, the Varanasi district court fixed 7 July as the next date of hearing in all the cases. On Monday, the Muslim side submitted its written objections before the Varanasi District Court against the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducting a survey of the entire Gyanvapi mosque premises. The district Judge had reserved the verdict after the hearing. In August 2021, five women filed a petition in the local court seeking the right to perform regular worship at the Shringar Gauri site located in the Gyan- CHESS ICONS JOIN GLOBAL CHESS LEAGUE Amid the Opposition objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the new Parliament building on 28 May, the official invitation put out by the Lok Sabha Secretariat shows that the ceremony will be performed by PM Modi in the presence of the Speaker of the Lower House, Om Birla. The invitation has been sent to various dignitaries including members of Parliament by the Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh. The event will begin at 12 pm (noon) on 28 May. This comes at a time when the Opposition led by the Congress party has questioned the Dark clouds loom over Kolkata on Tuesday.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL government over the Prime Minister inaugurating the new Parliament building and accused it of insulting the top constitutional post of the country by not asking President of India Droupadi Murmu or Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to conduct the inauguration. Leading the attack against the Congress party, Union Minister for Urban Development (MoUD), Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted: “Congress has a habit of raking controversies where none exist. While President is the Head of State, PM is the Head of Govt and leads the Parliament on behalf of the Govt, whose Policies are effected in form of Laws. The President is not a Member of either House, whereas PM is..” Women bag top four places Drones make Punjab border most preferred route for smuggling from Pak in UPSC Civil Service Exam RANJEET JAMWAL CHANDIGARH, 23 MAY The interception of a fifth drone on the Punjab border in just four days has yet again highlighted the preference of Pakistanbased smugglers for the state when it comes to pushing drugs and arms into India. The drone intercepted by the Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday night at a border village in Amritsar was carrying 2.1 kilogram of suspected narcotics in two packets. This is the fifth interception of a drone from Pakistan along the Punjab border since 19 May. A Border Security Force (BSF) officer said with the help of their local networks in the border districts, including Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Pathankot, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have made it easy for the Pakistan based cartels to smuggle drugs and arms into India, especial- The drone intercepted by the BSF on Monday night at a border village in Amritsar was carrying 2.1 kg of suspected narcotics in two packets. This is the fifth interception of a drone from Pakistan along the Punjab border since 19 May ly at night. He said these low-flying UAVs avoid detection and ensure undetected supply of drugs and arms in remote areas along the border at night. These consignments sent by Pakistanbased smugglers are then picked up by their accomplices in the border areas of the state. It is no surprise that a nearly four-fold increase was reg- istered in drone activity on the Punjab border in 2022, with the number of drone movements from across the border going up from 67 in 2021 to 256 in 2022. Only 22 drones coming from Pakistan were shot down by the BSF last year, and the manifold rise in the cross-border drone movements has compelled Punjab Police to involve locals in detection of such activities. The Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, has declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone for providing information of drone movement leading to recovery of weapons or narcotics. During coordination cum review meeting with senior officials of BSF and Punjab Police to further strengthen the security at the border to prevent the cross border smuggling on 17 May, the Special DGP, Arpit Shukla, proposed to activate Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in the border areas to counter the nexus between smugglers and criminals in these areas. “These committees will work as eyes and ears of the police and supplement the efforts of Punjab Police to wipe out drugs, terrorists and gangsters from the border state,” said Mr Shukla. Giving a call for greater synergy and teamwork between BSF and Punjab Police, the Special DGP said it was high time that both the forces work in tandem and with better coordination to counter the drone operations at Punjab borders, which have emerged as a new threat. He also stressed on the need to carry out evidence-based and proactive policing to prevent the smuggling of narcotics and weapons into Punjab from across the border. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras will be installed at strategic locations and hotspots in border villages to keep an eye on Indian nationals involved in the cross-border smuggling. SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 23 MAY For the second consecutive year, women have topped the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil service examinations, securing four out of the first five ranks in the results announced on Tuesday. Ishita Kishore (photo), Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra have secured the top four ranks, respectively in the UPSC 2022 results announced today. Mayur Hazarika from Assam secured the All India rank 5. The other rank holders are Gahna Navya James (sixth), Waseemm Ahmed Bhatt (seventh), Aniruddh Yadav (eighth), Kanika Goyal (ninth) and Rahul Shrivastava (tenth). Congratulating the rank holders, Union Minister Jitendra Singh took to Twitter, and said: "Women power at Ishita Kishore (photo), Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra have secured the top four ranks, respectively, in the UPSC 2022 results its best! Congratulations Ishita Kishore, Garima Lohia and Uma Hariti N, the first 3 toppers in #UPSC #CivilServicesExamination 2022 Final. A day of celebration also for all the others who have made it. #DoPT." A total number of 933 candidates ~ 613 men and 320 women ~ were recommended by the Commission for appointment to various services, as per the official release issued by the department. Of these, 183 are recommended for appointment in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Ishita Kishore is a graduate in economics from Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce. Garima Lohia is a Commerce graduate from Kirorimal College, DU. Uma Harathi N is a B.Tech. graduate in Civil Engineering from IIT, Hyderabad and the fourth topper Smriti Mishra is a BSc. graduate from Miranda House College, Delhi University. Last year, Shruti Sharma had secured All India Rank 1 in the UPSC CSE 2021 exam. All the top three positions were secured by women~ Ankita Agarwal had secured AIR 2 and Gamini Singla from Chandigarh got rank 3. erly brought the ordinance on the day the Supreme Court was going on vacation. “They were aware that had the Supreme Court been in session, the matter would have stayed on the very next day,” he said. Expressing gratitude towards Miss Banerjee for extending support on the ordinance issue, Mr Mann said that he is aware as to how the Governor is being used in West Bengal to disturb the functioning of the elected state government. Mr Mann was also vocal about the use of central investigating agencies against the leaders of the opposition parties. “I congratulate Mamata Banerjee for the manner in which she is fighting against the pressure of the central agencies," the Punjab Chief Minister said. INS Mormugao successfully intercepts supersonic target NEW DELHI, 23 MAY Indian Navy's latest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao successfully carried out an engagement of sea-skimming supersonic target. The Navy said, “The missile accurately hit its target. The missile is capable of hitting its target up to a distance of 300 km." Sea-skimming refers to a missile that flies as close as possible to the sea surface. It stays at a height of less than 10 feet. INS Mormugao measures 163 metres in length and 17 metres in breadth. It is a warship constructed in India with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes.INS Mormugao is equipped with missiles such as BrahMos and Barak-8. This modern Indian-made warship is equipped with Israel's MF-STAR radar, which can detect long-range air targets. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had dedicated Mormugao to the Indian Navy in December last year. On 14 May, INS Mormugao successfully hit the target during its maiden Brahmos Supersonic cruise missile firing. Mormugao has been designed by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau. It is the world's most advanced missile carrier armed with weapons. The warship can hit targets from a distance of 300 km. INS Mormugao was named after the historic port city of Goa. The warship undertook its first sea sortie on 19 December 2021, when Goa celebrated 60 years of liberation from Portuguese rule.