21 JANUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TIGHTROPE WALK DEPLETION IN THE RANKS OF RAHUL SUPPORTERS P7 SENSEX 71,423.65236.79 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. SHALLOW TO MODERATE FOG IN THE MORNING. COLD DAY CONDITIONS AT ISOLATED PLACES. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 18 AND 09 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 95 % TEMPERATURE Max: 17.7 °C (-2) SUN RISES 7:14 hrs MOON RISES 13:51 hrs P6 NIFTY 21,571.80109.55 ` vs $ 83.06 PM begins 2-day visit to various TN temples STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 JANUARY Min: 08.5 °C (1) SUN SETS 17:51 hrs MOON SETS 04:27 hrs THUMBNAILS Artists from Thailand perform during the 7th India International Ramayana Mela 2024 in New Delhi on Saturday.  ANI Delhi Police arrests man behind BOllywood actress deepfake video case: Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police has arrested a man behind the deepfake video of a popular actress, police said on Saturday. The IFSO has arrested the person who created the video and has posted the same on social media, a police official said. The accused was arrested from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district who has been identified as Emani Naveen, a (PG5) 24 year old B.Tech graduate. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his two-day tour of Tamil Nadu, visiting major temples, beginning with prayers at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli.(photo) He chose to wear a traditional outfit for his visit to what is one of the most important temples for worshipping Lord Vishnu. During the visit, the Prime Minister was blessed by an elephant named Andal in the temple premises who also played a mouth organ. Mr Modi listened to verses from 'Kambaramayanam', the 12th century epic written by Tamil poet Kambar at the temple. The Prime Minister was presented with a gift by the priests to be taken to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The 'Kambaramayanam' is one of the very old versions of Ramayan. It is said that the poet Kambar had first publiclypresentedhisRamayana at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and won the hearts of the people. Even today, there is a platform/Mantapa in the temple called 'Kamba Ramayana Mantapam' to commemorate that occasion. PM sat in that very place where Kamba first sang the Tamil Ramayana, reinforcing the deep connection between Tamil, Tamil Nadu and Sri Ram. The PM's visits to the Sri Ran- Simultaneous polls: `10K cr required for new EVMs after every 15 yrs, says EC 53rd Statesman Vintage and Classic Car rally to be held in Kolkata today AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE If Lok Sabha and assembly elections are held simultaneously, the Election Commission (EC) will need around Rs 10,000 crore after every 15 years to buy new Electronic Voting Machines, the poll body said. The EC has informed the government that life of any single Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) goes upto 15 years. Accoding to this life span, one EVM can be in use for three term of elections. ECI has estimated that around 11.80 lakh polling stations are required to be set up for Lok Sabha elections. If assembly elections also happen simultaneously in that case more EVMs would be required, ECI sources said. The sources added that at least two sets of EVMs are required at each polling station, one for the Lok Sabha and second for the assembly. Increased number of Con- trol Units (CUs), Ballot Units (BU)s, and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will also be required, the Commission said in a letter to the Union Law Ministry, last year in February.Responding to a question, the Election Commission told the Law Ministry that in 2023, the tentative cost of EVM was Rs 7,900 per BU, Rs 9,800 per CU, and Rs 16,000 per unit of VVPAT. Central Government has constituted a High Level Committee on One Nation, One Election led by former president Ram Nath Kovind. As per the Terms of Reference, the Committee is required to make recommendations for creation of an appropriate legal and administrative framework for holding simultaneous elections on a permanent basis, identification of necessary amendments to the Constitution and related election laws, preparation of common electoral rolls, logistics such as EVMs/VVPATs, etc. KOLKATA, 20 JANUARY The 53rd edition of The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally will be held at the Eastern Command Sports Stadium on Sunday. The cars will assembled at 10 a.m. and will be flagged off at 11 a.m. The Statesman is the pioneer in holding vintage car rallies in the country. The rally in Delhi started in 1964 followed by the Kolkata edition in 1968. The rally in 1968 was a grand success, so much so that vintage car owners took special interest in their cars, maintained them and anxiously waited for the notice in The Statesman announcing the date of the rally. Over the years the city lost some of the finest restorers of vintage and classic cars. These included Shashi Kanoria, Sanjay Ghosh, Prat- ap Chowdhury, Gautam Mukherjee and Bampu Sarkar. These stalwarts used to bring their vehicles and their august presence always awed visitors. The 2024 rally has created great enthusiasm among young people. The invitation cards have already been exhausted and still people queued up at Statesman House to get a card at the 11th hour. Vintage and Classic Cars are parts of history. Thousands of people stand on the road to cheer the old cars. There are three cars of special note taking part in Sunday’s rally, including a 1906make Renault Freres owned by late Shashi Kanoria and to be driven by his son Shrivardhan, a well known restorer and collector in the country. There is a 1913 Gebruder Stoewer, a rare German vehicle and one of the last of its kind in the world. Pran Pratishtha: I&B Ministry issues SOPs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 JANUARY The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Saturday issued an advisory to all news and social media platforms in view of the 22 January Ram Temple ceremony, asking them to refrain from publishing or telecasting any content that may be false or manipulated or has the potential to disturb communal harmony or public order in the country. In an announcement, the Ministry said the advisory was being issued in the context of upcoming nationwide celebrations of Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya as it was observed that certain unverified, provocative and fake messages are being spread, especially on social media, which can disturb communal harmony and public order. The Ministry’s advisory covers newspapers, televi- P10 GOLD 63,050100 During the visit, the Prime Minister was blessed by an elephant named Andal Min. 58 % NEW DELHI, 20 JANUARY INDIA’S TRUST, FAITH AND PRIDE ARE BEING RE-ESTABLISHED: YOGI The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple is illuminated ahead of its 'Pran Pratisththa' ceremony, in Ayodhya on Saturday.  ANI sion channels, digital news publishers and social media platforms. As part of their due diligence obligations, the social media platforms have been advised to make reasonable efforts to not host, display or publish information prohibited by the advisory. The advisory invites attention to the provisions of the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995, and Norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978, a reference to which has also been made in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The Norms of Journalistic Conduct provide “Accuracy and Fairness: The Press shall eschew publication of inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading or distorted material.” On Caste, Religion or Community References, the Norms provide “It is the duty of the newspaper to ensure that the tone, spirit and language of a write up is not objectionable, provocative, against the unity and integrity of the country, spirit of the constitution, seditious and inflammatory in nature or designed to promote communal disharmony.” On Paramount National Interest, the Norms provide that “Newspapers shall, as a matter of self-regulation, exercise due restraint and caution in presenting any news, comment or information which is likely to jeopardise, endanger or harm the paramount interests of the State and society, or the rights of individuals with respect to which reasonable restrictions may be imposed by law on the right to freedom of speech and expression under clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.” ganatha Swamy temple at Srirangam have been seen as very special. This temple, one of the of the most ancient temple complexes in the country has a deep connection with Lord Ram. The deity worshipped at Srirangam is Sri Ranganatha Swamy, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu. According to legend, the idol at Srirangam temple was originally worshipped by Lord Ram and his ancestors. It was given by Brahma to Lord Rama's ancestors. They used to have this idol along with them in Ayodhya and ensure daily worship. The PM held a roadshow in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and was welcomed by people with showering of petals. He reached Rameswaram to perform darshan and pooja in Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple.Thousands of residents and BJP workers were present on both sides of the road to welcome the Prime Minister. Some of them were also carrying BJP flags. PM Modi waved back to people reciprocating their gesture. TATA SECURES IPL SPONSORSHIP RIGHTS TILL 2028 P12 SILVER 75,500200 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 78.03 Indo-Myanmar border to be fenced to curb influx of illegal migrants, insurgents: Amit Shah in Guwahati AGENCIES GUWAHATI, 20 JANUARY Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Indo-Myanmar border will be fenced like the IndoBangladesh border to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents. Addressing the passing out parade ceremony of Assam Police Commandos, Mr Shah said: “The Indo-Myanmar border is to be fenced like the Indo-Bangladesh border. The Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to fence the Indo-Myanmar border to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents." "We are also thinking of ending the free-movement facility with Myanmar," Mr Shah added. Mr Shah applauded the Assam Police for fighting against different issues including infiltration and drug smuggling. “Assam has always been affected by infiltration issues that have been going on for 10 decades, Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, drug smuggling, etc., but Assam Police has a glorious history of fighting and winning against these issues," he said. The 1,643-km-long Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma at the passing out parade of Assam Police Commandos, at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.  ANI India-Myanmar border, spanning Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, currently operates under the Free Movement Regime (FMR), permits individuals living near the IndiaMyanmar border to travel 16 km into each other's territories without a visa. Initiated in 2018, the FMR policy was a component of India's Act East policy. As per FMR policy, those belonging to the hill tribes, being citizens of either India or Myanmar and residing within a 16 km radius on either side of the border, can cross with a border pass valid for one year, allowing a stay of up to two weeks per visit. Allegations claim that following the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, a considerable number of Myanmar's tribal population crossed into India, particularly Manipur and Mizoram, and remained illegally. It's alleged that these individuals sought refuge on Indian territory and subsequently engaged in unlawful activities, notably drug smuggling.