FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | SPORTS WORLD NATION Talaq-e-Hasan: SC signals possible strike-down BRIEFLY PM Modi to attend G20 Summit: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa from 21 to 23 November to attend the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. The Summit is being hosted by the Republic of South Africa. “This will be the fourth consecutive G20 Summit held in the Global South,” the MEA said in a statement. At the Summit, PM Modi will put forth India’s perspectives on the G20 agenda. 125 Indian nationals repatriated from Thailand via IAF flights: New Delhi: At least 125 Indian nationals were repatriated from Thailand's Mae Sot to India on Wednesday aboard a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight. According to the Indian Embassy in Bangkok, this brings the total number of Indians released from scam centres in Myanmar's Myawaddy and repatriated through Thailand since March - to 1500. Afghan Minister in India: New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Industry and Commerce Minister Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi is on an official visit to India to discuss the advancement of bilateral ties. The Afghan minister will be in India for five days. According to reports, Azizi is scheduled to meet Indian officials, particularly those dealing with trade and commerce. US Congress passes Bill to force release of Epstein files New Delhi, 19 November Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet was on Wednesday awarded the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament, and Development 2024. The award, presented by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, How India will handle the Hasina imbroglio Page 7 Nitish Kumar set to take oath for record 10th term IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 19 November J D(U) chief Nitish Kumar on Wednesday met Bihar Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and formally staked claim to form the next government, setting the stage for a record 10th term as Chief Minister. He was accompanied by senior leaders of the NDA. Earlier in the day, Mr Kumar was unanimously elected the leader of the NDA legislative party. Mr Kumar led the NDA to a historic victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections steering the alliance to a sweeping win with 202 seats in the 243-member House. In a meeting of the newly-elected MLAs held in the Central Hall of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, BJP legislative party leader Samrat Choudhary proposed Mr Kumar’s name as the NDA leader, which was seconded by Vijay Kumar Sinha, deputy Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar leaves after the NDA’s legislators meeting, in Patna on Wednesday. AGENCIES leader of the BJP legislative party. Mr Kumar is scheduled to take oath as Chief Minister along with his council of ministers at 11 a.m. on Thursday at a ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and several Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states will be present. Earlier, separate legislative party meetings of the JD(U) and BJP were held. In the BJP meeting, Samrat Choudhary was elected leader and Vijay Kumar Sinha deputy leader. Meanwhile, the shape of the new cabinet is being finalised. It has already been decided that Mr Choudhary and Mr Sinha will continue as Deputy Chief Ministers. The BJP is likely to retain many of its former ministers. From the JD(U), Mr Kumar’s CM condoles BLO’s death by suicide, urges ECI to halt ‘unplanned’ exercise 272 eminent citizens condemn Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on ECI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 19 November Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condoled the death of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in north Bengal who was engaged for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and urged the ECI to immediately halt the ‘unplanned’ SIR exercise before more lives are lost. Shantimoni Ekka (48), a resident of Rangamati Panchayat, apparently took her own life in the early hours today, with her family finding the body in the courtyard of her home in Malbazar. The family has alleged that it was due to the pressure of her Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work. Miss Banerjee, posting on social media, wrote: “Today again we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal Jalpaiguri. An anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR Michelle Bachelet gets Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2024 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PERSPECTIVE Page 9 Page 4 recognizes Bachelet's outstanding contributions to human rights, peace, and equality. "The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2024 is awarded to Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet for the example and inspiration that she is to women and men around the world of steadfastly striving for peace, gender equality, human rights, democracy and development in difficult circumstances and her contributions to India's relations with Chile," the jury statement read. Bachelet, who served as Chile's first female President from 2006-2010 and 2014-2018. Thursday, 20 November 2025 work.” She urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) “to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost.” Miss Banerjee further said 28 people have lost their lives because of unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took three years is now being forced into two months on the eve of elections to please its political masters, putting inhuman pressure on the BLOs, Miss Banerjee said. Ekka had recently been assigned SIR duties as a BLO and had been going from house to house distributing and collecting forms. Her family alleges that she had been under tremendous pressure and had become mentally distressed, stating that she was the only BLO for her booth. • More reports: Page 3 7th meeting of NSAs of Colombo security conclave to be held in Delhi today STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 19 November The 7th Meeting of the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) will be held in New Delhi on Thursday. "NSA Ajit Doval will host his counterpar ts from member states, including the Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. Seychelles will be participating as an Observer State, and Malaysia has been invited as a Guest. The 6th Meeting of the NSAs of CSC was held in December 2023 in Mauritius. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 19 November A coalition of 272 distinguished public figures ~ i n c l u d i n g 16 f o r m e r judges, 123 retired b u r e a u c r a t s w i t h 14 ex-ambassadors among them, and 133 retired armed forces officers ~ has issued a strong open letter c o n d e m n i n g C o n g re s s leader Rahul Gandhi and t h e p a r t y ’s r e l e n t l e s s attempts to undermine the c r e d i b i l i t y o f I n d i a’s Election Commission of India (ECI). The letter, titled ‘Assault on National Constitutional Authorities,’ expresses grave concern over what the signatories describe as a growing campaign of venomous rhetoric aimed at the foundational institutions of Indian democracy. close aides Vijay Choudhary, Ashok Choudhary, and Bijendra Prasad Yadav are certain to become ministers. Shravan Kumar, Lesi Singh, Madan Sahni and Shyam Rajak are also being discussed. JD(U)’s Zama Khan is the only Muslim MLA elected on an NDA ticket, making it almost certain that he will again become the Minority Affairs Minister. Apart from Mr Choudhary and Mr Sinha, the BJP ministers expected to take oath on Thursday are Mangal Pandey, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Nitin Navin, Prem Kumar, Ram Kripal Yadav, Jibesh Kumar Mishra and Neeraj Kumar Singh. From Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas), Raju Tiwari and Sanjay Paswan are being considered for ministerial positions. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman from Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s wife Snehlata Kushwaha from RLM are expected to join the cabinet. FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Scotland seal spot after 26 years Page 12 Nearly 100 crore Indians covered under social security framework: PM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hyderabad, 19 November Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that India’s social security framework, bolstered by numerous welfare schemes, currently covers nearly 100 crore people as opposed to only 24 crores in 2014. He particularly cited the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a deposit scheme with a high interest rate of 8.2 per cent, aimed at ensuring the education of the girl child and securing their future. Currently, four crore accounts have been opened with more than Rs 3.25 lakh crore deposited in the scheme. Speaking at the birth centenary programme of the spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, the Prime Minister said that the country’s welfare and social security schemes were being discussed internationally. Visiting the holy shrine and Mahasamadhi of Sri Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of his birth centenary, the Prime Minister released a Commemorative Coin and a set of stamps to mark the occasion. Later, addressing a gathering, he said that seva or service was the central value of Indian civilisation and had sustained the nation through centuries of change and challenge. “Spirituality and service are not separate but different aspects of the same truth,” said the Prime Minister. Hailing Sathya Sai Baba’s life as a living embodiment of universal love, he said the spiritual leader’s birth centenary year was a major source of inspiration for the active participation of citizens when the nation was moving forward towards development with the spirit of Kartavya Kaal (the era of duty). He said that though the spiritual leader was no longer physically present, his legacy of service continues to guide his followers. He recalled that after the Gujarat earthquake, Sai Baba’s Seva Dal members were at the forefront of relief efforts, reaching out to affected families, providing essential commodities and offering psychological support. Apart from the PM, Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu, Dy-CM Pawan Kalyan were present at the centenary programme. Two new Indian Consulates opened in Russia; will help in increasing bilateral trade, says EAM NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 19 November External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the opening of the two new Consulates General of India in Kazan and Yekaterinburg in Russia will boost trade, tourism, economic, scientific, technological, academic and cultural ties between India and Russia. "The opening of these consulates will not only enhance our diplomatic presence in Russia but will act as a catalyst to further boost trade, to increase tourism, economic, scientific, technology, even academic and cultural ties between o u r two c o u n t r i e s. T h e Consulates will contribute to our joint efforts in increasing our bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030, as envisaged by the leaders," the EAM said. The event was attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar, representatives from the governor's office in Kazan and Yekaterinburg, off icials of the Russian government, and several memb ers of the Indian community. In a post on X after the inauguration of the two new Consulates General of India in Russia, Mr Jaishankar said: "Delighted to inaugurate Consulates General of India in Yekaterinburg and Kazan, a l o n g s i d e D FM A n d re y Rudenko, Amb Vinay Kumar and representatives from Sverdlovsk and Tatarstan." “C o n f i d e n t t h a t t h e establishment of the new Consulates will boost trade, tourism, economic, scientific, technological, academic and cultural ties between India and Russia," the External Affairs Minister added. Earlier, speaking at the inauguration event, the EAM said: "This is an important day for us when we are adding two more Consulates General in this country. I want to say that over the last months, consistent work h a s b e e n u n d e r way t o establish these Consulates a s yo u h e a rd f ro m t h e Ambassador at the earliest possible time." " S o l e t m e b e g i n by recognizing the support that we received from the Russian Government ~ so Mr Rudenko, really very special thank yo u, and also from the regional Governments of the Republic of Tatarstan and Sverdlovsk Region in this regard," the EAM said. He said Yekaterinburg is often called the third capital of Russia due to its industrial importance and is the gateway to Siberia. SC strikes down Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 provisions relating to appointment & tenure of tribunal members PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 19 November Taking strong exception to the Union government for reenacting the tribunal law with only marginal alterations of the provisions earlier invalidated by it, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down key provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 concerning the appointment and tenure of tribunal members, observing that the Centre had effectively brought back what had already been quashed in previous rulings. Striking down the provisions relating to the appointment of the tribunal members and their tenure, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, heading the bench also comprising Justice K. Vinod Chandran, pronouncing the judgment, said: “...the provisions of the Impugned Act cannot be sustained. They violate the constitutional principles of separation of powers and judicial independence, which are firmly embedded in the text, structure, and spirit of the Constitution.” The judgment said that the “principles of separation of powers and judicial independence are not vague, free-floating ideals. They are structural pillars of our constitutional order and integral components of constitutionalism worldwide.” Justice Vinod Chandran, in a separate observation, said: “I respectfully concur with the reasoning and directions. The Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 is a replica of the struck down Ordinance; old wine in a new bottle, the wine whets not the judicial palette, but the bottle merely dazzles.” Stating that the doctrine of separation of powers is not merely philosophical, the judgment reads: “It underwrites the very distribution of authority among the three branches of government. It is reflected in Articles 32, 136, 141, 226, and 227 of the Constitution, which vest the judiciary with the power to interpret the law, enforce fundamental rights, and supervise subordinate courts and tribunals.” “Instead of curing the defects identified by this Court, the Impugned Act merely reproduces, in slightly altered form, the very provisions earlier struck down,” said Chief Justice Gavai. Protecting the appointment and tenure of the existing chairpersons and the members of the tribunals, the judgment noted that in the earlier Madras Bar Association IV & V matters, the Attorney General for India had expressly assured the court that the appointments of Members and Chairpersons made prior to the enactment of the impugned framework would stand protected and no such assurance has been offered in the present proceedings, the judgment. Granting the Centre four months to establish the body, the Court directed that the proposed commission must strictly follow the principles previously laid down, including independence from executive influence, incorporation of professional expertise, transparent appointment and administrative processes, and robust oversight mechanisms capable of restoring public confidence in the tribunal system.