MONDAY 04 SEPTEMBER 2023 www.thestatesman.com twitter.com/thestatesman facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘NO ANTI-INCUMBENCY AGAINST MY GOVT’ PUTIN’S GAMBIT P6 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky with rain /thundershower very likely. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 32 °C and 27 °C respectively. TEMPERATURE P5 Min. 65 % Max: 34.3 °C (+2) Min: 27.0 °C (+1) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:20 hrs 17:53 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 20:19 hrs 08:27 hrs New Moon on 15 September THUMBNAILS Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this picture congratulating Indian Men's Hockey Team on their victory in the Men's Hockey 5s Asia Cup 2023, in Salalah on Saturday. India won 2-0 in a penalty shootout against Pakistan.  ANI Aditya-L1 sun mission: Aditya-L1 spacecraft L which was lifted successfully to study the Sun made its first earth-bound manoeuvre on Sunday. ISRO in its latest update said the satellite is “healthy and operating nominally” and the next manoeuvre is scheduled (Pg 5) for Tuesday 0300 hrs IST. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI/JAIPUR, 3 SEPTEMBER emarks by Udhayanidhi Stalin,Tamil Nadu minister and son of chief minister MK Stalin, to the effect that ‘Sanatana Dharma’ is against the idea of social justice and must be“eradicated” have sparked off a huge row, with the BJP calling it “parasitic” behaviour and shameful. Mr Stalin, who made the comments at a meeting in Chennai on Saturday, had compared Sanatan Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria, inviting sharp criticism from BJP leaders as well as a massive backlash on social media, with many calling for a case to be filed against the Tamil Nadu minister. Leading the attack on Mr Stalin and by extension the Opposition INDIA alliance, Union home minister Amit Shah, who was in Rajasthan to flag off the second leg of the BJP’s Parivartan Yatra, said the INDIA bloc's talk about ending Sanatan Dharma would lead to their doom. R Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin with son Udhayanidhi Stalin As the UPA government went bankrupt, now they have changed it into the INDIA alliance (Ghamandiya). For the past two days, I have been seeing that these people are insulting the country's culture and Santan Dharma by saying that Santan Dharma should be abolished AMIT SHAH UNION HOME MINISTER Terming the INDIA alliance as 'Ghamandiya', Mr Shah said their leaders were insulting and trying to abolish the country's culture and Santan Dharma for the sake of vote bank and appeasement politics. "As the UPA government went bankrupt, now they have changed it into the INDIA alliance (Ghamandiya). For the past two days, I have been seeing that these people are insulting the country's culture and Santan Dharma by saying that Santan Dharma should be abolished", Mr Shah said. “Congress is insulting Sanatan Dharma, and the more they speak, the less they will become. In 2014 and 2019 LS polls their (Congress) numbers fell, and in the next 2024 polls, they will not be visible even using binoculars,” he said. Echoing Mr Shah, BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who was in Madhya Pradesh to launch a ‘Varsity officials not to take orders from govt’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 3 SEPTEMBER NEW DELHI, 3 SEPTEMBER upon the course to be steered in the ensuing months. Defence minister Rajnath Singh will address the Naval Commanders during the conference and interact with them. The Chief of the Defence Staff will also be present. The conference also provides an opportunity for institutionalised interaction of Naval Commanders with senior Government officials to take ahead several inter-ministerial initiatives towards the development of a safe and secure maritime environment essential for the holistic economic growth of the country. The conference and the embedded interactions with the National Security Adviser, Chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force would also be utilised to analyse the operational environment. The last six months have seen an intense operational tempo as the Indian Navy’s operations spanned from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Indian Naval ships were first responders for the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan as part of ‘Op Cauvery’ and HADR in Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha as part of ‘Op Karuna’. In keeping with the expectations of IN being the preferred security partner and first responder to any crisis in the region, the forum will undertake a detailed review of the operational readiness of the Navy, with a particular focus on the performance of weapons/ sensors of the Naval platforms. Setting up another tussle with the state government, the Kolkata Raj Bhavan on Sunday said that all officials of state universities will not take orders directly from the government or execute those without the Vice-Chancellor’s consent. “According to the West Bengal State Universities Acts, the Vice Chancellor shall be the principal executive officer of the university and all the other authorities of the universities shall act in accordance with the directions of the respectiveVCs,” a circular iss ued by the governor's secretariat said.“The officials of the university are to execute the orders issued by the VC and they are not mandated to take orders directly from the government or to execute those without the knowledge and consent of the VC," the circular said. SNS & AGENCIES India World Cup Squad: KL Rahul included, Samson, Chahal likely to miss out TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 3 SEPTEMBER Cleared by the BCCI’s medical team, KL Rahul (right) is set to be included in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming 2023 ICCWorld Cup even as the axe is likely to fall on Sanju Samson (far right), who was tipped as the backup wicket keeper if the former failed to make a comeback on time. Rahul had undergone surgery on his right thigh and has been out of the game for the past three and half months. He is likely to feature in a few games of the Asia Cup and the subsequent three-match ODI series against the Australians just before the start of the World Cup. According to sources in the cricket board, Samson who is currently with the Indian team as a stand-by for the Asia Cup, and two other members of the current Asia Cup team (Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna) have been left out P12 Udhayanidhi’s comment on Sanatan Dharma sparks row Maritime preparedness to be discussed at Naval Commanders’ Conference from today Issues like Tri-Service synergy and the readiness of the maritime forces will figure prominently at the second edition of Naval Commanders' Conference 2023, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 46 September. The conference is the apex-level biannual event facilitating interaction between the Naval Commanders for deliberation and formulation of important policy decisions. During the three-day conference, being conducted in a ‘Hybrid’ format, the senior leadership of the Indian Navy, under the Chairmanship of the Chief of the Naval Staff, will review major operational, materiel, logistics, HR, training, and administrative activities undertaken during the previous six months. The conference will also deliberate P4 MOHUN BAGAN TAKE REVENGE AND TROPHY Insulting Sanatan Dharma will lead to INDIA bloc's fall in 2024: Amit Shah RAINFALL: 22.2 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97 % DESPITE STIFF CHALLENGE, UDF HAS UPPER HAND IN PUTHUPPALLY of the World Cup squad. The BCCI insider revealed that chief selector Ajit Agarkar met with skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid in Pallekele on Saturday after India’s match against Pakistan was washed out after the first innings. Barring the exclusion of the trio, the team is on expected lines with Rohit Sharma leading the outfit, comprising the likes of Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan handling the top order batting responsibilities. Suryakumar Yadav, who has blown hot and cold in the 50-over format has also been picked to add more firepower in the middle order. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace battery in the company of Md Shami and Md Siraj, while all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur have been included to add depth in the lower order batting as well. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is expected to lead the spin attack with fellow left-arm all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, however, could not find a place in the squad as the selectors decided to go in with Jadeja and Patel’s batting abil- ities. The BCCI had a deadline of 5 September to submit its final World Cup squad to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and once Rahul was cleared by the medical committee on Saturday, the selectors decided to advance the meeting by a day. While announcing the Asia Cup team in New Delhi last month, Agarkar had already indicated that the World Cup squad will be more on the lines of the current team in Sri Lanka, and as expected there are no surprise selections for the showpiece event starting 5 October. India’s tentative World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya ( Vice-Captain), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL’ Rahul (WK), Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah. CMYK similar Yatra, charged that the Opposition’s strategy is to abolish the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ and the INDIA alliance is actually a ‘Ghamandiya alliance’ (Arrogant Alliance). Addressing a Press conference at the party’s New Delhi headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said: “The topic addressed by the DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin was the 'Eradication of Sanatana Dharma'. He read the statement from a paper. It is highly shameful. It is a case of the hate speech." Taking a swipe at the Opposition bloc INDIA, the spokesperson said," Within just 24 hours of the conclusion of the Mumbai meeting of the 'Ghamandiya Gathbandhan', this 'bomb' exploded. " In a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his "mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love against hatred) claims, the spokesperson said, "Udhayanidhi's statement has clearly unveiled the true face of the 'mohabbat ki dukaan'.Notably, this is not a statement given in iso- lation, this is completely consequential." Union Minister Anurag Thakur wrote on X, "It is not surprising that DMK or any other party of 'ghamandia' alliance nourishes so much hate against Hindus and Sanatan Dharma to the extent of equating it with ‘dengue’ and ‘malaria’ and provoking others to eradicate Sanatan Dharma." Mr Stalin, meanwhile, has defended himself on his comments, and said he won't be cowed down by saffron threats and was ready to face any legal challenge. The DMK leader posted on X: “Bring it on, I am ready to face any legal challenge .We will not be cowed down by such usual saffron threats. We the followers of Periyar, Anna and Kalaignar, would fight forever to uphold social justice and establish an egalitarian society under the able guidance of our honourable CM.” Udhayanidhi also tagged his father , and further said, “I will say it today, tomorrow and forever. Our resolve to stop Sanatana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit.” (See Pg5) Kharge calls meeting of floor leaders of INDIA bloc on 5 Sept SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 3 SEPTEMBER Floor leaders of the Opposition bloc — ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)’ — will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in the national capital on 5 September, according to sources. The meeting of the floor leaders is being seen as a step towards chalking out a strategy for the upcoming elections in five states as well as the Lok Sabha elections next year, sources added. The next key meeting of the Opposition INDIA alliance will be held in the National capital, Nation- alist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule said after the conclusion of the third meet in Mumbai. Earlier, the opposition parties, united under the banner of the INDIA, concluded their third meeting in Maharashtra and adopted resolutions to collectively contest the upcoming 2024 LS elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible through a spirit of give-and-take.