WEDNESDAY 06 AUGUST 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR AMIT SHAH BECOMES LONGEST-SERVING UNION HOME MINISTER REVANTH TO LEAD DELHI DHARNA FOR 42 PER CENT BC RESERVATION P5 SENSEX 80,710.25 q308.47 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. POSSIBILITY OF VERY LIGHT RAIN/ THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 33 AND 25 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 000.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 85% TEMPERATURE Max: 32.7°C (-1.5) SUN RISES 05:46 hrs MOON RISES 17:12 hrs Min. 68% Min: 25.8°C (-1.1) SUN SETS 19:08 hrs MOON SETS 03:21 hrs THUMBNAILS An artist gives finishing touches to an idol of lord Ganesha ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Akola on Monday. nANI Bangladesh polls in February, announces Yunus: Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday announced that the next parliamentary election will be held in February next year. Yunus made the comments during a televised address to the nation on the first anniversary of last year's student-led protest movement, dubbed the "July Uprising", that toppled longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina. "On behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the chief election commissioner requesting that the Election Commission hold the national election in February 2026, before the upcoming Ramzan," Yunus said while addressing the nation. The month of Ramzan is set to begin on February 17 or 18 next year. P8 NIFTY 24,649.55 q73.20 ` vs $ 87.81 GOLD `1,02,945 The Supreme Court will hear on August 8 an application seeking directions to the Union government for the timebound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state was stripped of its statehood following the abrogation six years ago today of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which accorded special status to the region, and subsequently bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. During a brief mention before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan sought that the matter ~ already listed for 8 August ~ would not be deleted from the cause list. The CJI assured that the case would not be deleted from that day’s cause list. The application states that despite assurances given by the Centre during the hearing on the abrogation of Article 370, no steps have yet been taken to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Petitioners Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, a college lecturer, and activist Khurshid Ahmad Mali have submitted that continued inaction violates the federal structure ~ which is part of the Constitution’s basic structure ~ and undermines the P12 SILVER `1,15,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 68.08 PM Modi calls for enhancing defence, maritime cooperation between India, Philippines NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST A mid aggressive posturing by China in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for enhancing defence and maritime cooperation between India and the Philippines as the two countries decided to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and signed over 10 accords, including those on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and transfer of sentenced persons. “It is a matter of happiness that today we have decided to give our relations the status of a Strategic Partnership. A comprehensive Action Plan has also been prepared to convert the potential of this partnership into results,” the PM said at a joint media interaction with visiting Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr after official talks between them. “India and the Philippines are friends by choice, and partners by destiny. From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values. Ours is not just a friendship of the past, it is a promise to the future,” the PM said. India and the Philippines have territorial disputes with China. Emphasising that the Philippines is a significant partner in India's ''Act East Policy'' and the ''Mahasagar'' vision, the Indian leader said the two countries are committed to peace, security, growth and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. “In our Act East Policy and Mahasagar vision, the Philippines is an important partner. We are committed to peace, security, prosperity and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific Region. We support freedom of navigation as per international laws,” PM Modi said. Making the joint press statement with PM Modi following their bilateral discussions at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, the Philippines President said: “We agreed to continue levelling up our collaboration in defence and security. We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines' ongoing defence modernisation and the expanding capabilities and footprint of India's indigenous defence industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our Brahmos project.” “We concurred that we should be accompanied by intensified dialogue and exchanges between our defence establishments. So, we have agreed to establish mechanisms for service-to-service talks for information sharing and training exchanges amongst our militaries,” he said. PM Modi also expressed gratitude to the Philippines President and his government for strongly condemning the 22 April Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives and injured several others. He welcomed Manila's decision to give a visafree entry to Indian tourists. “We express gratitude to the Philippines Government and the President for strongly condemning the Pahalgam attack and standing with us in our fight against terrorism,” the Prime Minister said. “The agreements signed today on mutual legal assistance and the transfer of sentenced persons will further strengthen our security partnership. We welcome the Philippines decision to give visafree entry to the Indian tourists. India has also decided to give a free e-visa facility to tourists from the Philippines. This year, we will work to start direct flights between Delhi and Manila," PM Modi said. The defence ties between the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The application has been filed in the already adjudicated matter titled ‘In Re: Article 370’, in which a five-judge Constitution Bench on 11 December 2023, unanimously upheld the Centre’s August 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 and reorganise the state into two Union Territories. While the Court had refrained from deciding whether such reorganisation under Article 3 was constitutionally valid, it did take note of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s statement during the hearings that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir ~ excluding Ladakh. The petitioners now urge the Court to give effect to that assurance, arguing that more than ten months have passed since the judgment and yet no step has been taken to begin the process of restoring full statehood. “The delay in restoring statehood seriously undermines the federal structure and constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the application states. It further contends that holding Legislative Assembly elections in the absence of statehood would amount to establishing a diminished form of democratic self-governance, contrary to the principles of Indian federalism. two nations are also strengthening, with PM Modi highlighting the importance of maritime cooperation. "The ever-strengthening defence ties are the symbol of deepening mutual trust. As maritime nations, maritime cooperation between the two countries is natural and necessary," he said. To demonstrate this cooperation, three ships of the Indian Navy, including a hydrography ship, are participating in a naval exercise in the Philippines for the first time. "Today, when the President is in India, for the first time, three ships of the Indian Navy are participating in a Naval exercise in the Philippines. India's hydrography ship has also joined them," PM Modi said. "Our bilateral trade is increasing continuously and has crossed the figure of three billion dollars. To further strengthen this, it will be our priority to complete the review of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement at the earliest. We have also decided to work towards a Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement," PM Modi said. "Several MoUs were concluded and exchanged during this visit, there were 14 of them, these include mutual legal assistance treaty in criminal matters, a treaty on transfer of sentenced persons, terms of reference on negotiations for India-Philippines Preferential Trade Agreement, terms of reference for service staff talks, Army, Air Force, and Navy, enhanced cooperation between coast guards,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) P Kumaran said during the ministry’s special briefing. Opposition shot itself in the foot with demand for Op Sindoor discussion: PM In its 11 December 2023, judgment upholding the abrogation of Article 370, the SC stated that statehood must be restored „at the earliest and as soon as possible.‰ NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST P9 India & Philippines elevate ties to strategic partnership SC to hear on 8 August plea seeking restoration of statehood to J&K PARMOD KUMAR HASINA COMMENDS PUBLIC ‘WE CAN DOMINATE FOR RESISTING INTERIM TEST CRICKET’ B’DESH GOVT’S ‘INJUSTICE’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the Opposition political parties’ demand for a debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor was a strategic misstep that backfired on them. Addressing the NDA parliamentary party meeting held at the Parliament Library Building here, PM Modi said: “Where else will you find an Opposition that hits its own foot with a stone?” According to sources, the Prime Minister also highlighted the recent criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Supreme Court over his allegations of China grabbing India’s land. “There can be no greater reprimand than the one delivered by the Supreme Court yesterday,” the Prime Minister was quoted as saying. “What more can we say, when the Supreme Court itself has spoken. This isn't just stepping on a stone — this is inviting the bull to charge,” the Prime Minister said during the meeting. PM Modi, the sources said, also suggested that Opposition-led debates work in favour of the NDA. “The opposition should hold such debates every day. This is our turf, this is my domain, and God is with me here. By demanding such discussions, the Opposition ended up shooting itself in the foot,” he stated. The NDA meeting also saw unanimous support for resolutions praising the success of Operation Sindoor and the recent Operation Mahadev, in which security forces killed three terrorists who were identified as having carried out the the Pahalgam massacre. “The NDA Parliamentary Party salutes the unmatched courage and unwavering commitment of our armed forces, who showed heroic valour during Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev. Their courage highlights their unflinching devotion to protecting our nation. We pay our deepest condolences and respects to those who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack,” the resolution passed at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting said. Many feared dead, 50 missing as flash floods engulf Dharali market in Uttarakhand PRITHVIRAJ SINGH DEHRADUN, 5 AUGUST Many people are feared dead, with around 50 people missing as Uttarakhand's Dharali market area in Uttarkashi was hit by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on the hilltop above the market on Tuesday afternoon. The Dharali market was engulfed by a thick mass of water and muck as a flash flood swept away several hotels, houses and infrastructure at the nearby Harsil army camp at around 1.30 p.m. Uttarkashi district disaster management officials said four people have been confirmed killed but many more are feared dead. They said rescue and search operations were going in Dharali market as the entire area and building infrastructure were impacted by the flash flood. The district administration said that the cloudburst that occurred on the Khirgad water stream on the hilltop above Dharali market was triggered by continuous heavy rainfall in the hill areas for more than 24 hours. Although the scale of losses is yet to be known, officials said that the figures may be much higher as many houses were swept away in the flash flood. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) ITBP, Indian Army, State Disaster management department, local police were engaged in rescue and search operations since late afternoon. Officials said that the extent of the disaster was such that army infrastructure located 3-4 kilometres away near Harshil was badly hit by the flash flood and rising level of the Ganga flowing close to it. "Exact figure for human losses is not known yet but preliminary information received from officials on the ground has confirmed four deaths. Exact details of the casualties will be known later as the rescue teams and local officials are engaged in the search and rescue operation" said Prashant Arya, Uttarkashi district magistrate. Will raise tariffs on India substantially in next 24 hours: Trump AGENCIES WASHINGTON, 5 AUGUST US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is going to further raise tariffs on India in the next 24 hours, after announcing 25 per cent tariffs from 7 August. In an interview with CNBC, Mr Trump said he will raise tariffs on India, revising the earlier settled rate of 25 per cent. "India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don't do business with them. So we settled on 25 per cent (tariff), but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil," the US President was quoted as saying. He claimed that India is buying Russian oil and fuelling the Russian war machine. This comes a day after the US President stated that he will "substantially" raise US tariffs on India, accusing it of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits. New Delhi has called the threat of additional tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable.” Russia also responded strongly on Tuesday, labelling such US pressure tactics as “illegitimate”. It backed India and, while criticising Trump over his threats to increase tariffs on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow, contended that "sovereign nations must have the right to choose their trading partners". “Russia notes US threats against India but does not consider such statements to Indian parts found in Russian attack drones, says Ukraine AGENCIES KYIV, 5 AUGUST be legitimate. Sovereign countries must have and have the right to choose their own trading partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation, and to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular country," the Russian President's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, was quoted as saying by Russia's state-owned news agency TASS. After Mr Trump threatened to impose hefty tariffs on New Delhi, the Indian government on Monday said that the targeting of the country by the USA over Russian oil purchases is unjustified and unreasonable. Ukraine has detected Indianmade components in Russian Shahed-type attack drones, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday. Kyiv has raised the matter with both India and the European Union. Presidential Office chief of staff Andriy Yermak in a post on social media platform ‘X’, said: “Unfortunately, we are detecting Indian-made components in Russian attack drones ~ including the Shahed/Geran models.” He added that Moscow must be denied access to supplies that "enable the killing of Ukrainians." The news comes as Trump's administration accused India of helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine by importing Russian oil. Trump imposed a 25 pc tariff on India starting on 1 August shortly after lambasting New Delhi over purchasing Russian energy and weapons. Mr Yermak said that the drones obtained from Iran were used to attack the front lines and civilians. Ukraine has formally raised the concerns with the Indian government & the European Union over the electronic components found in the drones. The country also said that it has sent at least two diplomatic notes to India’s external affairs ministry since last year.