FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 16 |` 5.00| LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR MAHA AGRICULTURE MINISTER SENTENCED TO TWO-YEAR PRISON TERM LOKAYUKTA CLEAN CHIT TO SIDDARAMAIAH TRIGGERS POLITICAL SLUGFEST P6 SENSEX 75,735.96q203.22 WEATHER SMOG/MIST LIKELY IN THE MORNING. PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 27 AND 12 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 96 % TEMPERATURE P10 22,913.15q19.75 ` vs $ 86.65 THUMBNAILS India's captain Rohit Sharma along with teammate KL Rahul discuss for a review during the match against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy, 2025, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Thursday. ANI Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli hostages: Hamas on Thursday released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation’s agony following the 7 October, 2023, attack. The remains were said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. (P11) R ekha Gupta, a firsttime BJP legislator, was on Thursday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi at the head of a seven-member ministry, marking the return of the saffron party to power in the national capital after 27 years. The last BJP government in Delhi was from 1993 to 1998. Ms Gupta is the ninth chief minister of Delhi, and was sworn in at a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. She is also the fourth BJP chief minister in the national capital, after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj. Ms Gupta and her six Cabinet colleagues were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at a grand ceremony at the historic Ram Lila Maidan, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders and NDA chief ministers. The six ministers are: Mr Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh. Ms Gupta, the 50-yearold legislator from Shalimar Bagh, is the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi. Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit (Congress), and Atishi (AAP) are the other women who have led the governments in Delhi. Ms Gupta, who represents the strong Bania community in the national SC stays Lokpal’s order on its power to probe complaints against HC judges STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 FEBRUARY The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the 27 January 2025 order of the Lokpal which ruled that it has jurisdiction to probe complaints against High Court judges. Taking a suo motu cognisance of the Lokpal’s 27 January order holding that the High Court judges were public servants and, thus, came within the ambit of the Lokpal Act, a special bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Abhay S. Oka issued notices to the Central government, the Registrar of the Lokpal anti-corruption ombudsman and the original complainant. Stating that the matter is of great importance concerning the independence of judiciary, Justice Gavai, heading the special bench, termed the reasons given by the Lokpal as “something very disturbing”. The Lokpal order was passed by a bench headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar. Both Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate and the President, Supreme Court Bar Association, Kapil Sibal, criticised the Lokpal’s order. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that the Lokpal's interpretation was wrong and a High Court judge was never intended to be brought under the Lokpal. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also criticised the Lokpal's decision and requested the bench to stay it. The Lokpal’s order, which has now been put on hold, had come on a complaint against a High Court judge accused of allegedly influencing an Additional District judge and another High Court judge to favour a private party in a case. The Lokpal had ruled that a judge of the High Court would qualify as a person in a body established by an Act of Parliament within the sweep of Section 14(1)(f) of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act. “It will be too naive to argue that a judge of a High Court will not come within the ambit of expression “any person” in clause (f) of Section 14(1) of the Act of 2013,” the Lokpal order had stated. Salaried individuals allocate over 33 pc of income towards paying loan EMIs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 FEBRUARY A recent survey has revealed that the salaried individuals across India allocate more than 33 per cent of their monthly income toward paying loan EMIs. The study underlines the growing burden of credit-driven consumption. The report, based on a comprehensive study of over 30 lakh tech-savvy consumers, showed 39 per cent of consumers’ total spending going toward obligatory expenditures, followed by 32 per cent on necessities and 29 per cent on discretionary spending. Perfios, a B2B SaaS Fintech company, along with PwC India, has launched an insightful report titled How India Spends: A Deep Dive into Consumer Spend- P11 GOLD 89,200.00 The last BJP government in Delhi was from 1993 to 1998 NEW DELHI, 20 FEBRUARY Min: 15.0 °C (+3.2) SUN SETS 18:16 hrs MOON SETS 11:36 hrs SHAMI BECOMES FASTEST INDIAN TO CLAIM 200 ODI WICKETS P16 SILVER 1,09,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.54p0.50 NDA leaders vow to put up strong Rekha sworn in as Delhi fight in Bihar, West Bengal polls CM, 6 ministers take oath NIKHIL VYAS Min. 39 % Max: 27.4 °C (+1.9) SUN RISES 06:53 hrs MOON RISES 02:18 hrs NIFTY TRUMP WARNS ZELENSKYY TO QUICKLY NEGOTIATE ing Behavior. The study encompasses a wide range of demographics across India, from Tier 3 cities to metropolitan areas, as well as income groups ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1,00,000 per month. It highlighted 62 per cent of discretionary spending is directed toward lifestyle products, including fashion and personal care items. In terms of the money spent on lifestyle purchases by a person living in a metro, there is a 6.4 per cent increase, by Rs 2,022, compared to that spent by a person residing in a Tier-3 city, where this figure is Rs 1,882 monthly. Of all the lifestyle purchases by consumers, 20 per cent is allocated to fashion. This subcategory includes transactions for purchasing apparel and accessories from designated merchants. capital, was elected from the Shalimar Bagh Constituency in the recently held assembly elections. Her selection to the top post reflects the party leadership’s commitment to women empowerment. It is also seen as another move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spring surprises when it comes to naming party chief ministers. Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, the PM wrote on ‘X’: ”Congratulations to Smt. Rekha BJP trains guns at LoP Rahul over US ‘interference’ in Indian elections STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 FEBRUARY After US President Donald Trump speculatd on possible attempts by former US governments to influence elections in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hit out at the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, claiming that he acted as a "tool for foreign agencies" and aligned with global networks to undermine the country’s interests. The BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared a series of old videos on X, including that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking to corroborate the comments by the new American President on the previous US administration's role in infringing democracies across the world. President Trump in a speech in Miami on Thursday questioned the USAID’s (United States Agency for International Development) funding of $21 million for increasing ‘voter turnout’ in India, under the Biden administration, asking “was it done to elect other government?” Amit Malviya was quick to latch on to Trump’s remarks and shared a series of PM Modi’s statements where he warned of foreign conspiracies to meddle in the country’s electoral process, not once but multiple times during the 2024 poll campaign. The BJP IT cell chief also shared a video of the Congress MP's 2023 interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association in London and wrote, “In March 2023, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi was in London, urging foreign powers — from the US to Europe — to intervene in India’s internal affairs.” “He (Rahul Gandhi) aligned himself with global networks seeking to undermine India’s strategic and geopolitical interests, acting as a tool for foreign agencies,” Malviya claimed. Gupta Ji on taking oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister. She has risen from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration, and now MLA as well as Chief Minister. I am confident she will work for Delhi’s development with full vigour. My best wishes to her for a fruitful tenure.” The Prime Minister also congratulated the six new ministers in another social media post by writing, ”Congratulations to Shri Parvesh Sahib Singh Ji, Shri Ashish Sood Ji, Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa Ji, Shri Ravinder Indraj Singh Ji, Shri Kapil Mishra Ji and Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh Ji on taking oath as Ministers in the Delhi Government. This team beautifully mixes vigour and experience, and will surely ensure good governance for Delhi. Best wishes to them.” Hours after taking the oath as Chief Minister of Delhi, BJP leader Rekha Gupta formally assumed charge of her office in the Secretariat here. “All NDA leaders also decided to fight together strongly in all the upcoming elections, be it in Bihar or West Bengal. They assured the PM that all parties together will fight elections under the banner of the NDA,” Vinod Tawde said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a key meeting of Chief Ministers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states which was held in the National Capital, hours after the grand swearing-in of new Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her Cabinet ministers at the city’s iconic Ramlila Ground. The meeting was attended by the CMs of BJP-ruled states and those ruled by key constituents of the NDA alliance. TDP President and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu attended the meeting. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, however, was not present. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta also attended her first NDA meeting, presided over by PM Modi. After the NDA CMs meet- Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra felicitates newly appointed Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on his arrival for the NDA CMs meeting, at Imperial Hotel in New Delhi on Thursday. BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj and Manoj Tiwari and others also seen. n ANI ing in Delhi, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde said: "All CMs, Deputy CMs and leaders of NDA had come to Delhi for the oath ceremony. After the oath ceremony, there was a meeting of the NDA leaders in which all the NDA leaders congratulated the Prime Minister on the BJP's victory in Maharashtra and Delhi. “All NDA leaders also decided to fight together strongly in all the upcoming elections, be it in Bihar or West Bengal. They assured the PM that all parties togeth- er will fight elections under the banner of the NDA,” Mr Tawde added. After the meeting, Odisha Deputy CM Pravati Parida said: “It is our good fortune that we got a chance to have lunch with the BJP leadership and NDA CMs and Deputy CMs today. Together, we will work as Team Modi to achieve vision Modi. It is a matter of happiness for everyone that a woman is leading the heart of the country who will lead women-led development."