MONDAY 29 MAY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR PAK GOVT TURNS DOWN IMRAN KHAN’S TALKS OFFER ‘INDIA HAS BEEN CENTRE OF EDUCATION SINCE ANCIENT TIMES’ P2 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS ACCOMPANIED WITH GUSTY WINDS TOWARDS EVENING/NIGHT AT A FEW PLACES. RAINFALL: 001.8 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 91% TEMPERATURE Max: 35.7°C (-5) SUN RISES 05:25 hrs MOON RISES 13:39 hrs P9 NEW DELHI, 28 MAY Min: 23.6°C (-3) SUN SETS 19:13 hrs MOON SETS 02:10 hrs THUMBNAILS EAM S Jaishankar pays tribute to Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary, in New Delhi. ANI Mamata to visit Patna: TMC chairperson is likely to attend a meeting of the opposition leaders which is scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12. It was learnt that Miss Banerjee is likely to leave Kolkata on June 11. Earlier, it was decided that on her way back home after attending the programme of Niti Ayog in New Delhi, she would visit Patna and remain present at the meeting of the leaders of the opposition parties. But the meeting was temporarily suspended as 11 Chief Ministers including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not attend the Niti Ayog programme. The opposition leaders remained tight lipped as to who would attend the meeting of June 12. P10 P12 New Parliament is a reflection of aspirations of 140 crore Indians: PM DEEPAK RAZDAN Min. 55% PSG CLINCH LIGUE 1 TITLE BIDEN, GOP REACH DEBTCEILING DEAL; AWAITS CONGRESS APPROVAL rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated to the nation a state-of-the-art new building for the Indian Parliament, describing it as a reflection of the aspirations and dreams of 140 crore people of the country. Addressing a large gathering of MPs and distinguished guests in the peacock-shaped new chamber of the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister said the new building sends a message of India’s strong power of determination to the world while being a temple of for its democracy. The Prime Minister said every brick, every wall and every part of this building is dedicated to the poor. The laws which are enacted in this building in the next 25 years will make India a developed nation. They will help India to come out of poverty, and offer new opportunities for youth and women of this country. “I am confident, this new building of Parliament will act as the foundation to create a New India ~ a prosperous, empowered and Viksit Bharat (developed India), and a nation which follows reason, justice, truth, standards and a path of duty,” the Prime Minister said. Mr Modi said the new Parliament building will provide new energy and strength to the world’s largest democracy. The workers have built a mag- P nificent structure with their sweat and labour. It is now the responsibility of all Members of Parliament to prove its greatness by their dedication to work, he said. The determination of 140 crore people of the country will imbue this Parliament with a life force, he said. Every decision that is taken in this Parliament will improve the lot of generations of people to come. Mr Modi entered the greendominated chamber with folded hands, amidst chants of “Modi, Modi” and a strong thumping of desks, accompanied by clapping. He was accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh welcomed the Prime Minister and other guests. Mr Modi’s sense of achievement on the completion of the new building in less than two and a half years was writ on his face, while he was full of eagerness to explain its new features, and how it would help MPs per- form their work efficiently. As he finished his half-hour speech, he received a standing ovation from a packed House, which included some chief ministers, former President Ram Nath Kovind, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and former Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, with galleries filled with diplomats and other visitors. Most of the Opposition parties had boycotted the ceremony as per their declaration, and Opposition benches had, therefore, some vacant spaces. He began his speech by saying there are some moments in the life of nations which are immortalised forever. Today, the 28th of May 2023 is one such occasion. The nation is celebrating the Amrit Kaal of 75 years of its Independence, and on this occasion, citizens of the country have gifted this new Parlia- ment House to its republic. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister installed a sacred “Sengol” with Nandi close to the seat of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha chamber after a small havan and all-religion prayers. The Sengol was on his right side while he gave his speech. The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman read out messages of greetings and good wishes on the occasion from President Droupadi Murmu and Vice- President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. He pointed out that the interiors of Lok Sabha are themed on the national bird peacock and Rajya Sabha on the national flower lotus. The Parliament premises have the national tree Banyan. Every part of the country has provided some material for the new building, he said. There was granite from Rajasthan, timber from Maharashtra and carpet by Bhadohi artisans. Mann Ki Baat: PM speaks about ‘Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’ ‘Around 30 ‘terrorists’ killed STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MAY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke about the slogan 'Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan', through which reformation was brought by a Maharashtra-based organisation being run by a former serviceman. During the 1965 war, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had given the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and later, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee added Jai Vigyan to it, Modi said during the 101st episode of his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast over All India Radio. "A few years ago, while talking to the scientists of the country, I talked about Jai Anusandhan. Today's reference is about Shivaji Shamrao Dole from Maharashtra and his organisation, which is a reflection of all these four, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan," Modi said. Dole hails from a small village in Nashik district. He comes from a poor tribal farmer family and is also an ex-serviceman. While in the army, he dedicated his life to the country. "After retirement, he decided to learn something new and did a Diploma in Agriculture, that is, he moved towards Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Dole formed a small team of 20 people and added some ex-servicemen to it. After this, his team took over the management of a cooperative organisation named Venkateshwara CoOperative Power & Agro Processing Limited. This cooperative organisation was lying dormant, which he took up the challenge of reviving," Modi said. He further said that Venkateshwara Co-Operative had expanded to many districts in no time and they were working in Maharashtra and Karnataka. He revealed that about 18,000 people are associated with it, in which a large number are ex-servicemen. "The members of this team are doing Agro Farming on more than 500 acres of land in Malegaon, Nashik. This team is also engaged in building many ponds for water conservation. The special thing is that they have also started Organic Farming and Dairy. Now grapes grown there are being exported to Europe as well. The two great features of this team, which attracted my attention, are these - Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan," said the PM. Modi said, "Its members are making maximum use of technology and Modern Agro Practices. The second feature is that they are also focusing on various certifications required for exports. I appreciate this team working with the spirit of 'prosperity through cooperation'." "This effort has not only empowered many people but has also created many means of livelihood. I hope this effort inspires every listener of 'Mann Ki Baat," Modi said. Protesting wrestlers detained, Police remove tents at Jantar Mantar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MAY All the protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat were detained by Delhi Police here at Jantar Mantar on Sunday after they along with their supporters tried to march towards the newly constructed Parliament building. Police have also removed the tents from the protest site. A senior police official said that the protesting wrestlers were detained following the violation of law and order. “Legal action will be initiated as per law,” the official added. Earlier, the protesting wrestlers along with their supporters jumped over the police barricades and tried to march towards the newly constructed Parliament building. However, they were stopped by police, who were deployed in large numbers. The wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, also clashed with police personnel when they were stopped while marching towards Parliament. Ahead of the protesting wrestlers’ planned march towards the newly constructed Parliament building, security was beefed up in Delhi. On Saturday, the wrestlers had said that they have decided to hold a women's Maha Panchayat in front of the new Parliament building today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday morning. Multi-layer barricades were installed from Jantar Mantar to the newly constructed Parliament building. Thousands of police personnel were deployed on Delhi’s borders, including Tikri, Ghazipur, Singhu and Badarpur borders and police were conducting thorough vehicle inspections of those entering from the borders. After the protesting wrestlers were detained on Sunday and the site was cleared at Jantar Mantar, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal took to Twitter and condemned the police action. “This is Sakshi Malik. Olympics medallist, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee. This is how she was dragged on the streets of Delhi today," Maliwal tweeted while shar- ing the picture of Sakshi Malik being forcefully taken into police custody. “This is @BajrangPunia. He is also an Olympics medallist and PadmaShri, Khel Ratna awardee. He has put his entire career on risk to fight for justice for women wrestlers. He too has been dragged and detained by Delhi Police!," she wrote in another tweet while sharing the picture of Punia being detained. “They are the champions of the country, not terrorists! Embarrassing," she said in a series of tweets. Earlier in the day, Bajrang Punia, who along with other grapplers are protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for more than a month now, asserted that the Mahapanchayat will take place on Sunday while emphasising the fight for self-respect. Punia accused the government of murdering democracy in the country and appealed to the authorities to release individuals who have been detained by the police. “Mahapanchayat will certainly be held today. We're fighting for our self-respect. They're inaugurating the new Parliament building today, but murdering democracy in the country. We appeal to the administration to release our people detained by police," Bajrang told reporters. Since 23 April, prominent Indian wrestlers such as Punia, Malik, and Vinesh Phogat have been staging a protest at the Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The protesting wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing seven women grapplers. so far by security forces’ SNS & AGENCIES IMPHAL, 28 MAY Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said that around 30 "terrorists" have been killed so far by security forces during their operations to check violent incidents and attacks on civilians and restoring 'peace' in the state. Earlier in the day, Army Chief General Manoj Pande met Singh and discussed the current security situation in Manipur and the steps taken by the Army to restore peace. "In retaliatory and defensive operations against these terrorist groups who are using sophisticated arms against the civilian population, around 30 of these terrorists have been killed in different areas. A few have also been arrested by the security forces," the CM said while addressing the media at the Darbar Hall of the Chief Minister's Secretariat. He further said the spurt in violent attacks on civilian houses in the peripheral areas of the Valley in the past one or two days which seemed "wellplanned and simultaneous" to show their capacity, is strongly condemnable, especially when Minister of State Nityanand Rai is in the State and group peace missions are being formed as part of efforts to bring back peace in the state. "According to our information, firing has been reported from Sugnu in Kakching, Kangvi in Churachandpur, Kangchup in Imphal West, Sagolmang in Imphal East, Nungoipokpi in Bishenpur, Khurkhul in Imphal West and YKPI in Kangpokpi," said an official earlier in the day. The house of BJP MLA Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh at Uripok in Imphal West was allegedly vandalised and his two vehicles were set on fire. Asserting that those trying to break the State and disrupt peaceful coexistence in the state are enemies of all the 34 communities residing together, Singh said that the government will continue to face every such challenge. "The gunfight is between the armed terrorists and the security forces and not between the communities. So I urge common people to maintain peace and stay united," CM said. He also said the government will not allow the disintegration of Manipur, protect the state's integrity and uproot these armed terrorists from the state. Further, he also reassured that the government will face every challenge against the territorial integrity of the state and attacks on the life and property of the people. Appealing to the people to support and pray for the commandos, and security forces and to encourage them, the Chief Minister also said, "The State force is directly under the State Home department and there is no restriction on them from anyone."