WEDNESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR DID CONG SINK MVA IN MAHARASHTRA? P8 SENSEX 80,004.06q105.79 WEATHER Partly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28°C and 18°C respectively. ‘CONSTITUTION HELPED IN TRANSFORMATION OF INDIA’ YOGI’S REVIVAL P6 NIFTY 24,194.50q27.40 AUSTRALIA TO RETAIN SAME TEAM FOR ADELAIDE TEST P5 ` vs $ 84.32 P12 SILVER 98,000 GOLD 78,025.00 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.67p0.66 President urges citizens to imbibe Constitutional ideals The President also released commemorative coin, stamp to mark Constitution Day RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY RITA SACHDEVA Max. 73% Min. 56% NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER Max: 28.1˚C SUN RISES 05:57 hrs MOON RISES 02:23 hrs Min: 18.2˚C SUN SETS 16:51 hrs MOON SETS 14:11 hrs P TEMPERATURE New Moon on 1 December THUMBNAILS A view of barely visible buildings amid the smog as air quality continues to deteriorate in Mumbai on Tuesday. n ANI ECI announces bypolls to 6 Rajya Sabha seats in 4 states: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the schedule for by-elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana. The bypolls to six seats in the Upper House in four states were necessitated following the resignation of the members. Among the members who tendered their resignation are Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi, Beedha Masthan Rao Yadav, Ryaga Krishnaiah, Sujeet Kumar, Jawahar Sircar and Krishan Lal Panwar. resident Droupadi Murmu Tuesday urged all citizens to inculcate the Constitutional ideals in their conduct; follow the Fundamental Duties and move forward with dedication towards the national goal of building a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2047. President Murmu, VicePresident Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in celebrating the 'Samvidhan Diwas' to commemorate 75 Years of the adoption of the Constitution of India with the aim to honour the contributions of the Constitution’s makers while reiterating the core values enshrined in it. President Murmu released a commemorative coin and stamp dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India. She also released two books – in Sanskrit and Maithili – related to the Constitution of India on the occasion. Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the 'Hamara Samvidhan, Hamara Swab- Mamata urges people to uphold the Constitution STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER himan' ceremony held at the historic Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan (the old Parliament building), the President said in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better. She said: ''In one sense, the Constitution of India was the outcome of nearly three years of deliberations by some of the greatest minds. But in the true sense, it was the outcome of our long freedom struggle. The ideals of that incomparable national movement came to be enshrined in the Constitution. Those ideals have been captured succinctly in the Preamble of the Constitu- tion. They are justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. These ideals have defined India since the ages.'' President Murmu further said that the ideals highlighted in the Preamble of the Constitution complement each other. Together, they create an environment in which every single citizen finds an opportunity to flourish, and contribute to society, and citizens. "Our Constitution is a living and progressive document. Through our Constitution, we have achieved the goals of social justice and inclusive development...“75 years ago on this very day in this central hall of the Constitution House, the Constituent Assembly did the huge work of drafting the Constitution,'' she noted. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the people of India are united, secular, and together. She urged them to adhere to the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. “On this day 75 years ago, we adopted the Indian Constitution. Unity in diversity is our cardinal principle. We should uphold togetherness, unity, and secularism as propounded by the Indian Constitution," she said before offering puja at the Boro Ma temple in Naihati.Miss Banerjee offered puja at the temple and prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the people. “It is the people for whom I pray,” she said. She announced the establishment of two outpatient departments in Naihati and Bhatpara at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore.“Local MP Partha Bhowmick will allocate the funds from the MP LAD fund. This will benefit the people of the area."She highlighted the positive impact of providing free treatment in state-run healthcare establishments, fair-price medicine shops, and the Swasthya Sathi card. She also mentioned the free treatment for kidney and heart ailments in government hospitals. The state government, she said, has implemented 57 pro-people schemes. Without explicitly naming the BJP, she also alluded to the intimidation faced by the people in the area five years ago. India expresses concern over bail denial to ISKCON leader in B’desh Congress Working Committee meeting to be held on 29 Nov STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hemant Soren invites PM to swearing-in NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER AGENCIES India on Tuesday expressed “deep concern” over the arrest and denial of bail to ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and renewed its appeal to the interim government in Bangladesh to ensure the safety and security of all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. “We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and business establishments, as well as theft and Days after it suffered a major setback in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Congress has called a meeting of its Working Committee, its highest decision-making body, on 29 November in the national capital. The Congress, Shiv SenaUddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance suffered a dismal loss in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, though the Jharkhand Mukti MorchaCongress alliance won in the Jharkhand elections. In Maharashtra, the Congress bagged 16 Assembly seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 and the NCP-SCP 10. The loss in Maharashtra RANCHI, 26 NOVEMBER vandalism and desecration of deities and temples,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The MEA said it is unfortunate that while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings. “We also note with concern the attacks on minorities protesting peacefully against the arrest of Shri Das,” ‘When you win, EVMs are not tampered’: SC rejects plea seeking ballot paper voting it added. Meanwhile, in a post on 'X', ISKCON said Mr Das has been arrested by the Dhaka Police on baseless charges, adding that the organisation has nothing to do with terrorism anywhere in the world. It also urged the Government of India to take immediate steps and speak to the Government of Bangladesh and convey that ISKCON is a “peaceloving Bhakti movement”. (More reports on Pg 3) came on top of the Congress party’s defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, held in October, where it managed to secure just 36 seats out of 90 to fall short against the BJP once again. In the meeting, which would be attended by the top leaders of the Congress, it is likely that they would deliberate on the recent polls outcome, current political situation and the broader political strategy ahead of upcoming Assembly elections, including those in Delhi and Bihar as well as the Gautam Adani issue. People should not presume that judiciary will perform Opposition's role: Former CJI DY Chandrachud AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest plea (PIL) seeking the reintroduction of the paper ballot voting system in elections in India instead of prevailing voting through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Dismissing the plea casting doubts on the integrity of the EVMs, a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale said what happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. The PIL, seeking a return to physical ballot papers, was filed by evangelist Dr. K A Paul. He said even leaders like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned EVM tampering. He said EVMs could be tampered with and suggested that India should follow the practices of countries like the United States which use paper ballots instead of EVMs. “When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they say that EVMs are tampered and when they won, they don't say anything. How can we see this? We are dismissing this. This is not the place where you argue all of this,” said the bench, dismissing the PIL. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday and extended a formal invitation for the swearing-in ceremony of his government, which is scheduled to take place in Ranchi on 28 November. Mr Soren was accompanied by his wife Kalpana Soren, the newly elected MLA from the Gandey constituency. Prime Minister Modi congratulated Hemant and Kalpana Soren on their electoral success and shared pictures of the meeting on X. Earlier, he also met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and the party’s president, Mallikarjun Kharge. Reacting to a recent remark by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi that the Opposition has taken it upon themselves to "do the task of the judiciary," the former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud said that the judiciary is here to "scrutinise laws" and people should not presume that it will fulfil the role of Opposition in Parliament or the state legislatures. In an exclusive interview with ANI, the former CJI noted that there is separate space in a democracy for the political opposition. “Well, I don't want to join issue with the leader of the Opposition because that's not the ambit of what we are here to speak. But what I want to say is this, people should not presume that the judiciary should be performing the role of the opposition in Parliament or the State legislatures. Too often, there's a misconception that the judiciary has to play the role of the Opposition in legislatures, which is not so. We are here to scrutinise laws" he said. "We are entrusted with the duty to scrutinise executive action on whether it is consistent with the law, and whether it is consistent with the Constitution. There's a different space in a democracy for the political opposition. And what people try to do is to use the judiciary and to shoot from the shoulders of the judiciary and to try and convert the Court into a space for the political opposition," the former CJI said. Rahul Gandhi had earlier said: “We are alone working on the behalf of media, investigative agencies and judiciary also. This is the reality of India.” When asked about intense scrutiny on social media on the duration of interactions with the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister, the former CJI said as “human beings”, it is but natural to socialise during certain official meetings. “Well, there are times when you interact with the leader of the Opposition as well. For instance, you know, in many of our statutes require that a selection committee for appointment to a particular post must consist of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition. Now, you know, you discuss what you have to discuss, and you arrive at your conclusions. And after you're done with those conclusions, you are human beings, right? You're going to spend 10 minutes after that having a cup of tea, talking about everything under the sun from cricket to movies to something,” the former Chief Justice said. Responding to the controversy that erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a Ganpati Puja at his residence, the former CJI said, that this was not "unique," and that earlier too Prime Ministers had visited the homes of judges on social occasions. Shinde to head caretaker govt until Mahayuti Cabinet is sworn in BOBBY ANTHONY MUMBAI, 26 NOVEMBER Shortly after Eknath Shinde tendered his resignation as Maharashtra Chief Minister to Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday, 11 am, he was asked by the Governor to head a caretaker government, until a Mahayuti cabinet is sworn in. The swearing-in date of the BJP-dominated Mahayuti government has not been decided, but the word is that it could be Wednesday or even scheduled for 1 or 2 December. Earlier today, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis reached the Governor's office to tender their resignations as well. However, despite Devendra Fadnavis being widely acknowledged to be the frontrunner for the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister, the Mahayuti is yet to officially decide or announce its chief ministerial candidate. Mr Shinde's and Shiv Sena's insistence that a "Bihar model" of power sharing must be implemented in Maharashtra is said to be the main reason behind the delay in the Mahayuti officially announcing its CM candidate. As per the "Bihar model", Nitish Kumar became CM despite other alliance partners like the BJP winning more seats than his Janata Dal (United). Adopting the same model in Maharashtra would mean ceding the CM's post to Eknath Shinde. The BJP leadership is also keen to get the caste arithmetic right, since Eknath Shinde who hails from western Maharashtra's Satara district, belongs to the politically dominant Maratha community which constitutes a good 28 per cent of the state's population. Mr Shinde had provided ten per cent reservation to the Maratha community under the economically and socially backward category and hence Maratha caste sentiments would have to be taken into account, especially since the Mahayuti wishes to win the soon- tobe held local body polls in Maharashtra. Moreover, there is a demand from the Maratha community that the state's CM should be a Maratha. There is also the "Marathi asmita" or Marathi pride factor which the BJP is keen to accommodate, especially since it wants to ensure that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena never gets any opportunity to claim that "Marathi asmita" was insulted by the Mahayuti and then make it a political issue in Maharashtra to strengthen itself. Air India urination case: Modify the guidelines for unruly air passengers, SC tells authorities PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the aviation authorities to consider modifying the existing guidelines to conform with the international norms to deal with unruly air passengers, saying that something creative will have to be done. A bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan asked the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was appearing for the Central government, to instruct the authorities to examine and suitably modify the guidelines on unruly passengers in line with international norms. The top court’s suggestion came in the course of the hearing of a plea by a woman passenger, who was urinated upon in a New YorkDelhi Air India flight on 26 November 2022 by an allegedly inebriated passenger, seeking direction to DGCA and all airlines to frame mandatory SoP and zero tolerance rules to deal with unruly passengers and on-board sufferers. The petitioner Hema Rajaraman has sought direction to the DGCA to include in the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) an explicit zero-tolerance policy with respect to "unruly/disruptive behaviour", which would mandate reporting such incidents to aviation regulator and also to law enforcement agencies, failing which action would be taken against the airlines in all cases.