SATURDAY 27 MAY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR 'KAMAL NATH IS CHOICE FOR MP' ‘WHY DOES CONG HATE INDIAN TRADITIONS SO MUCH’ P5 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. VERY LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS AT ONE OR TWO PLACES. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 37 AND 22 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 84% Max: 34.9°C (-5) SUN RISES 05:25 hrs MOON RISES 11:51 hrs P7 Min: 20.5°C (-6) SUN SETS 19:12 hrs MOON SETS 01:14 hrs THUMBNAILS A hungry Squirrel in search of food, in the Capital on Friday. SUBRATA DUTTA The Narendra Modi-led BJP government at Centre will complete 9 years on 30 May 2023 he Narendra Modi government took some landmark initiatives and launched a number of schemes in key sectors to benefit the poor and the lower strata of society during nine years of its governance. The Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre will complete its 9 years on 30 May 2023. It first came to power by winning a massive mandate in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. Pradhan Mantri T Ujjwala Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Railway Electrification, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Bharatmala Pariyojana are among the key achievements of the Union government during the last nine years. The ruling dispensation proposes to take some more major initiatives during the next one year before the Lok Sabha elections. The country has achieved significant growth in LPG consumers in the past nine years. Nearly 17 crore LPG Delhi court allows Rahul's plea for fresh passport in National Herald case: A Delhi court on Friday pronounced order in favour of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi allowing his plea seeking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the issuance of an "ordinary" passport. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta of Rouse Avenue Court, however, directed that the NOC in respect of the passport will be valid for only three years after Gandhi having prayed that the same be granted for 10 years. `2k note withdrawal currency management exercise: RBI SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 26 MAY The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday told the Delhi High Court that its decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation is only a “currency management exercise and not demonetisation”. The central bank defended its decision on a PIL filed by petitioner lawyer Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta challenging RBI's decision. The PIL argued that it lacks the independent authority, as per the RBI Act, to make such a decision. Appearing for the bank, Senior Advocate Parag P. Tripathi urged before the court that the matter be heard on a later date as the Bench has already reserved its judgment in a similar PIL by petitioner lawyer Ashwini Upadhya. “This is a currency management exercise and not demon- Satyendar Jain gets interim bail for six weeks STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 MAY The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for six weeks on medical grounds to former Delhi government minister Satyendar Jain, which was fiercely opposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging the that medical papers being relied upon for bail issued by the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash and the G.B. Pant Hospitals could have been fudged. Brushing aside the ED’s objections to the veracity of the medical papers produced by Satyendar Jain and insisting that he be sent for independent examination by AIIMS or R.M.L. Hospital, a vacation bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha directed that Mr Jain will take treatment from a private hospital of his choice and place before the court all the medical papers relating to his treatment during the period of interim bail. P4 PM Modi’s govt undertook landmark initiatives in 9 yrs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 MAY Min. 43% TEMPERATURE FRENCH OPEN: SWIATEK CHASES THIRD TITLE K’TAKA CABINET EXPANSION TODAY etisation. The bench has earlier reserved judgment in a matter. I am suggesting that let that order come and we can have it after that. Most of what is being contented would have been dealt with it there. It is the pure nature of economic policy," Mr Tripathi said. The petitioner has contended that the withdrawal of the banknotes after 4-5 years, with a specific deadline, is deemed "unjust, arbitrary, and contrary to public policy". "This is beyond the jurisdiction of the RBI. There is no provision in the RBI Act saying that RBI can take such a decision independently. I would have understood if the central government had taken the decision," the petitioner said. After hearing the parties, the court posted the matter for next hearing on 29 May. consumers have been added during this period. As per Ministry data, the active domestic LPG consumers in the country has increased from 14.52 crore in April 2014 to 31.36 crore as of March 2023.This significant increase can be attributed to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) which has led to an increase in LPG coverage from just 62 per cent in 2016 to a whopping 104.1 per cent in the year 2022. The government also undertook many steps in the last nine years to increase the capacity of National Highways infrastructure in the country. India has about 63.73 lakh kilometres of the road network, which is the second largest network in the world. The National Highways play a crucial role in enabling efficient movement of goods and vehicles, connecting people and has contributed a lot to the eco- nomic and social development of the country.Through a corridorbased National Highways development approach, the speed of construction continuously increased between 2014-15 and 202122. From construction of 12 km/day in 2014, it had increased to 29 km/day in 2021-22. The Union government has taken significant measures to increase gateways to education for the youth by giving a boost to building Universities, IITs, IIMs, and similar institutions across the country. The number of universities in the country has seen a significant increase in the last 9 years, from 723 in 2014 to 1113 in 2023. In addition, 5,298 colleges have been built in the last nine years (38,498 in 2014 to 43,796 in 2023), thereby increasing student access to education across the country. Nearly 43 per cent of universities and 61.4 per cent of colleges are located in rural areas. In addition, With 7 IITs and 7 IIMs built over the last 9 years, the Modi government has ensured the betterment of opportunities for students. The Union government has laid special Kejriwal to boycott NITI Aayog meeting SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 26 MAY Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced a boycott of the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled here on Saturday, saying if "cooperative federalism becomes a joke, then it is not worth to join the meeting". He made the announcement in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he also urged him to allow the non-BJP government to also work. In his letter, Mr Kejriwal said: “Tomorrow is the meeting of the Niti Aayog. The job of the Niti Aayog us to promote cooperative federalism and prepare the vision for India. However, the way in which democracy has been target- ed and non-BJP governments are being brought down and not allowed to work, then it is not the vision for new India and not in spirit of cooperative federalism.” He claimed that in the last few years, a message is being given that if any state choose to elect a non-BJP government then it would not be "tolerated". Targeting the Centre, Mr Kejriwal said: "Either the nonBJP governments are brought down by buying the MLAs or MLAs of non-BJP governments are threatened by the action of central agencies like the CBI or the ED." He alleged that if the MLAs do not bow, then ordinances is brought for non-BJP governments or through Governors, they are not allowed to work. Citing the 11 May judgement of the Supreme Court, he said: “After a long fight of eight years, the people of Delhi won in Supreme Court and then an ordinance was brought by your government to negate the top court orders." The Chief Minister said that if today any of the officers of the Delhi government does not work, then it cannot take any action against them. He said that there is anger among the people across the country over the ordinance brought by the BJP government. emphasis towards women's empowerment. As a result, a transformative decline has been noticed in the Maternal Mortality ratio. To make sure that quality medicines are affordable to all classes of people, the Modi government has taken several steps leading to a rise in affordability by the poor. Ayushman Bharat Yojana has been one of the pioneer steps in this direction. The Modi government has laid special emphasis towards digitisation, with 'Digital India' being the flag bearer scheme. This has resulted in the number of digital and UPI transactions skyrocketing between 2014 to 2023. It also laid special emphasis on revolutionalising medical education in the country. As a result, a huge rise has been witnessed in the number of medical institutes in the country. The North East region has experienced a road towards peace under the nine years of the Modi government. The insurgency has been eliminated in many areas, and the insurgent groups have been brought to the discussion table leading to the establishment of peace in the region. P12 Cong poses 9 questions to Modi regime as it is due to complete 9 years STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 MAY As the Narendra Modi government completes nine years in office, the Congress today accused it of failure on all fronts and said it wanted to raise nine questions for the Prime Minister on this occasion. “We want the Prime Minister to break his silence on these (nine) questions,” Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said at a Press conference as he released a document titled ‘9 saal 9 sawaal‘ (9 years 9 questions). The nine questions pertain to various issues like the economy, agriculture, corruption, foreign affairs, democracy and federalism and Covid management. On the economy, the Congress wondered why inflation and unemployment were skyrocketing in India. “Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi's friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?” it asked On agriculture, the party asked why the agreements reached with farmers while repealing the three farm laws have not been honoured. “Why has the MSP not been legally guaranteed? Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last 9 years?” it asked. On corruption and cronyism, the grand old party accused Congress leader Jairam Ramesh releases a document on questions '9 saal 9 sawaal' on the completion of 9 years of the Modi government, during a press conference on Friday.  SUBRATA DUTTA the government of putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit the Adani group. “Why are you (PM) letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJPruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer?” it asked. On China and national security, the party wondered why even after the PM gave a “clean chit” to China in 2020, the Chinese “continue to occupy Indian territory”. It charged the PM with deliberately using the politics of hatred for electoral gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society. It also accused the government of methodically destroying the foundations of social justice and maintaining silence on the atrocities against women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities. A MOMENT TO REJOICE Graduates celebrate during the annual convocation of Women's College, in Patna on Friday. ANI New Parliament building will make everyone proud: PM Krishna Janmabhoomi SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 26 MAY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the new Parliament building will make every Indian proud, as he posted a video of the newlyconstructed complex on Twitter and urged people to share it on the social media platform with the hashtag 'MyParliamentMyPride'. Mr Modi also urged people to share the video with their voiceover which he will retweet. The new Parliament building will be inaugurated on Sunday and the ceremony will begin with an early morning havan and a multi-religion prayer followed by a formal opening in the Lok Sabha by Prime Minister Modi. “The new Parliament building will make every Indian proud. This video offers a glimpse of this iconic building. I have a special request -- share this video with your own voice-over, which conveys your thoughts. I will reTweet some of them. Don't forget to use #MyParliament- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tweeted a view of the National Emblem installed atop the new Parliament building.  ANI MyPride," the Prime Minister said on Twitter. The video shared by the Prime Minister gives a virtual tour of the new Parliament building including the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. As many as 25 parties are expected to attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building even as 20 opposition parties have decided to boycott the event. Officials said the havan will be held outside the new building around 7 am and the ceremonial sceptre Sengol will be handed over to PM Modi by the high priests of the Shaivite order. The Sengol will be installed near the chair of the Speaker in the new Parliament building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also launch a Rs 75 commemorative coin to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building. According to the Ministry of Finance, the obverse face of the coin will bear the Lion Capital of 'Ashoka Pillar' in the centre with the national motto 'Satyamev Jayate' (Truth alone triumphs) inscribed below. The Ashoka Pillar will be flanked by the word 'Bharat' in Devanagari script on the left periphery and the word 'INDIA' in English on the right periphery. The reverse face of the coin will bear the image of the Parliament complex. On the upper periphery, the inscription 'Sansi Sankul' will be written in Devnagari script and on the lower periphery, the inscription 'PARLIAMENT COMPLEX' will be written in English. Also, the Year '2023' in International numerals will be written below the image of Parliament Complex, the Ministry added. Parliament: SC dismisses plea seeking inauguration by Prez STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed as withdrawn a public interest plea seeking direction to the central government that the new Parliament building should be inaugurated by the President of India Droupadi Murmu instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi presiding over the inaugural ceremony and inaugurating the new building on 28 May. As PIL petitioner advocate C R Jaya Sukin argued that the President addresses the joint session of parliament at the start of the budget session, the new building too should be inaugurated by the President, a vacation bench of Jus- tice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha while dismissing the PIL by an advocate asked what was the correlation between the two – addressing the joint session of Parliament and the inauguration of the new building. As the court dismissed the PIL as withdrawn, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta expressed the apprehension that the PIL petitioner advocate may now approach the High Court with the same plea and urged the Bench to dismiss it straight away to obviate any fresh attempt to resurrect the plea. The petitioner advocate in response, said that he will not approach any High Court raising the issue again. The shape of the coin will be circular with a 44 mm diameter and it will weigh around 35 grams. The coin having 200 serrations will be composed of 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, 5 per cent nickel and 5 per cent Zinc. NEW DELHI, 26 MAY cases transferred to Allahabad High Court PRAYAGRAJ, 26 MAY Allahabad High Court will now hear all the cases related to the Shahi Idgah and Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute in Mathura. A single Bench of the court, comprising Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra on Friday ordered the transfer of all cases currently being heard in the lower court in Mathura to itself. Alongside, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal has been appointed as amicus curiae to represent the cases. The Bench had on 3 May reserved its judgment on a petition seeking transfer of the case, in which Hindu devotees have claimed right over the land on which the Shahi Masjid Idgah is built, from the Mathura district court to the high court. Senior lawyer of the nominal petitioner, Lord Krish- na Virajman, Hari Shanker Jain, said that the High Court has accepted his plea to hear all the cases pertaining to the Shahi Idgah and Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute. He said that he moved the petition for the first time in the Mathura court on 25 September 2020 but after several ups and down, it was at last accepted. “But we have experienced in the Ayodhya Ramjanmabhoomi case which took 70 years to get resolved, hence we wanted speedy trial by the HC in this issue so we wanted HC to hear the case," he said. “Now HC will hear all the 7 cases and we hope for early decision,” Mr Jain said.