FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER 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 PURSUING PM’S VISION OF SECURE BHARAT: SHAH ‘INDIA NEW ENGINE OF GLOBAL GROWTH WITH YOUNG DEMOGRAPHIC’ P8 SENSEX 64,832.20143.41 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. MIST/ SHALLOW FOG IN THE MORNING. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 29 AND 16 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE NIFTY 19,395.3048.20 ` vs $ 83.291 PAISE P THUMBNAILS Border Security Force personnel perform during the passing-out parade of the new recruits of the BSF on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday.  ANI Winter session of Parl to be held from 4 to 22 December: The winter session of Parliament will be held next month from 4 to 22 December. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a post on X that the session will have 15 sittings spread over 19 days. The session will be held a day after the declaration of results of Assembly polls in five states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government has built Ram temple and 4 crore pucca houses for the country's poor with the same integrity and respect. Speaking from pollgoing Madhya Pradesh, he told people their votes will serve as “trishakti”~ ensure BJP's victory in the state, help Modi to stay in power in Delhi, and the 'corrupt' Congress will be thrown out. “We built the Ram temple and 4 crore pucca houses for the country's poor with the same integrity. The same ethos go with the construction of the new Parliament building and 30,000 panchayat structures in the country,” he said. Addressing back-toback election rallies at Satna and Chhattarpur in the state, the prime minister also accused the Congress of ridiculing the poor and displaying their poverty to its foreign friends as a means of tourism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, in Chhatarpur on Thursday. ANI photo opportunity. “We exposed the fake beneficiary scam of the Congress which included more than 10 crore names of beneficiaries who were never even born. All the money of welfare schemes was distributed amongst the Congress middlemen and cronies,” he claimed. “But the Congress ran out of luck when you chose me, your 'chowkidaar' (watchman), and sent me to Delhi. Modi has saved Rs 2.45 lakh crore of the poor and returned it to them,” he asserted. Modi also lauded his government for sending the money of welfare schemes directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. “In the past 10 years, we have sent Rs 33 lakh crore directly into your bank accounts. Not even a single penny of it has gone missing,” he claimed. “That is why the Congress always abuses me. They also want to hurt you (people) and trouble you because I am helping you,” he told the gathering. The prime minister went ‘India, US to discuss topical issues, regional developments at 2+2 talks’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI , 9 NOVEMBER NEW DELHI, 9 NOVEMBER Six members of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee supported the report on the 'cash-forquery' charges against Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra, including suspended Congress MP Preneet Kaur, while four members opposed it, panel chairman Vinod Sonkar said on Thursday. The meeting of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee was held on Thursday. He further said that the panel will submit a 'detailed report' to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday. "The recommendation report by the Parliament Ethics Committee has been adopted by the Committee with a 6:4 majority. Congress MP Preneet Kaur is one of the six MPs who supported the draft.” “A detailed report is being submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker tomorrow...The action, whatever it is, will be taken by the Speaker,” Sonkar (Pg5) said. AGENCIES India and the United States will discuss various bilateral issues as well as regional developments at the fifth ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue between the two countries here on Friday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. At a media briefing, Mr Bagchi said on Thursday that he could not prejudge specific issues that would be taken up by the two sides at the dialogue. However, it is understood that the IsraelHamas conflict and the war in Ukraine will figure prominently during the dialogue. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation while Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin will head the American side at the dialogue. The US defence secretary has already arrived for the meeting while Mr Blinken Defence minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation while Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin will head the American side at the dialogue The two sides will utilise the opportunity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by PM Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and Sept this year will reach the Indian capital tonight. The 2+2 will enable a high-level review of progress being made in cross-cutting aspects of defence and security cooperation, technology value chain collaborations and people-to-people ties, the MEA spokesperson said. The two sides will utilise the opportunity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year. Both sides will also take stock of contemporary regional issues and exchange views about shared priorities for augmenting cooperation in multilateral platforms, and through frameworks such as Quad. Mr Singh and Mr Jaishankar are also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with their respective US counterparts, which will mark a continuity of the ministerial dialogue and reaffirm the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership. The last '2+2' dialogue between the two countries was held in April 2022. India has a ‘2+2’ format dialogue mechanism on strategic and security issues only with four countries. They are Russia, Australia, the US and Japan. SC issues directions for speedy disposal of criminal cases against MPs, MLAs 3 new judges take oath, SC back to full strength NEW DELHI, 9 NOVEMBER PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 9 NOVEMBER The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a slew of directions for the speedy disposal of criminal cases against members of Parliament and state legislatures. A Bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra also asked high courts across the country to register suo motu cases for effective monitoring and speedy disposal of such cases. Stating that it was difficult for it to frame a uniform guideline for the trial courts across the country for the speedy disposal of cases against MP/MLAs, the bench suggested that the suo motu cases may be heard by special benches headed by the Chief Justice or a bench assigned by P9 GOLD 60,760440 P12 SILVER 73,200300 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 80.140.82 Your votes will serve ‘Engaged with Qatar on Navy vets on death row’ as trishakti : PM in MP STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHOPAL, 9 NOVEMBER Min: 15.5°C (0) SUN SETS 17:30 hrs MOON SETS 15:30 hrs LS Ethics panel adopts draft report against Mahua by 6:4 majority P10 Says BJP built Ram temple & 4 cr pucca houses for poor with same integrity Max.97% Min. 43% Max: 29.5°C (-1) SUN RISES 06:40 hrs MOON RISES 04:05 hrs KIWIS BOLSTER BLINKEN URGES SINGLE CHANCES OF CLAIMING FUTURE PALESTINIAN GOVT FOR GAZA, W. BANK SEMI-FINAL SPOT him/her. “The special bench of the High Court to be headed by the Chief Justice or a bench assigned by him may list the matter at regular intervals as may be felt necessary and could take the assistance of the Advocate General or prosecutor," the court said. It also directed that cases against MP/MLAs which are punishable with death sentence should be prioritised over other cases that are punishable with imprisonment for five years or more. The trial in the cases, the court directed, shall not be adjourned except for rare and compelling reasons. The top court’s direction came on a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay. In the course of the hearing, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had informed the court that there are 51 members of Parliament (MPs) and 71 members of the state legislatures (MLAs)~ both sitting and former ~ facing charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The CBI too stated that 121 cases are pending trial against sitting and former MPs and MLAs. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who was assisting the court in the matter as amicus curiae, had highlighted “glaring case of inordinate delay” in the trial against lawmakers, pointing out that the cases are pending for over five years. Justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta were sworn in as Supreme Court judges on Thursday. The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, administered the oath of office to them. The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the names of the new judges for the appointment of apex court judges. The Centre reportedly cleared the recommendation on Wednesday. Delhi High Court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Augustine George Masih and Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta were recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court by the AGENCIES Collegium. on to say that he made pucca houses for 4 crore Indians, but does not possess one of his own. Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said the opposition party has no vision or roadmap for the development of Madhya Pradesh. "It is a guarantee that the Congress party will ruin the state and make it BIMARU again. He added that the only concern for two senior Congress leaders of the state is whose son would take over the reins of the party after they lose to the BJP in the assembly polls, in an apparent reference to Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh. “If the Congress comes to power, it will stop all welfare schemes, including the Laadli Behna and Laadli Laxmi schemes,” he cautioned. "All of you, especially the first-time voters, must ensure that you stop the corrupt Congress vehicle,” he added. The voting on 230 seats in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections will take place on 17 November and results will be out on 3 December. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 9 NOVEMBER India has filed an appeal in the matter of the eight Navy veterans who were sentenced to death by a Qatar court in October, the ministry of external affairs confirmed on Thursday. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the government would remain engaged with the Qatari authorities in the matter. An appeal has been filed in the case and India also got a second consular access to the eight Indians on 7 November, Mr Bagchi said. The judgment in the case, he said, was confidential and has only been shared with the legal team. They (legal team) are now pursuing further legal steps, he said. “We are in touch with their families...we will continue to provide them legal and consular support,” the spokesperson added. He noted that external affairs minister S Jaishankar had recently met the famili es of the eight Indians and assured them that India would do everything to sec ure their release. The court sentenced the The eight were employees of Doha-based Dahra Global, a private defence services provider, and were arrested in August 2022 for espionage India condemns threat to blow up flights by SFJ terrorist STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 9 NOVEMBER India on Thursday strongly condemned the threat issued by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, founder of the banned Canada-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), asking people to avoid taking Air India originating from and terminating in Canada after 19 November as their 'lives may be in danger' and asserted that Indian security agencies were doing everything to ensure the safety of passengers. At a media briefing here, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, without naming any specific country, said India has been cautioning foreign governments against the activities of radical and terrorist elements like Pannun. eight Navy veterans on 26 October on charges that are yet to be made public officially. All eight were employe es of Doha-based Dahra Glo bal, a private defence serv ic es provider, and were ar rested in August 2022 for esp io nage. India called the ruling deeply shocking and has opened all diplomatic channels with Qatar in the case. (Representational image)