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 LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | Australia’s Dy PM to visit India for key defence dialogue with Rajnath Singh Layered narrative WORLD US strikes Iranian drone site, IRGC hits back Page 8 Page 6 BRIEFLY CBI arrests Giribala Singh in Twisha Sharma death case: Bhopal: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday took Giribala Singh into custody in connection with the alleged suicide of her daughter-in-law, Twisha Sharma. The CBI action followed the cancellation of her anticipatory bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. A CBI team reached former district judge Giribala Singh’s residence at around 10.30 a.m. and questioned her for over five hours before formally arresting her. The arrest came a day after the court cancelled her anticipatory bail. Twisha Sharma was found dead at her matrimonial home on 12 May, five months after her marriage to Singh’s son, Samarth Singh, on 9 December 2025. Following her unnatural death, her family levelled serious allegations against her in-laws, claiming she had been subjected to persistent mental torture and harassment linked to dowry demands. Page 5 | Friday, 29 May 2026 SPORTS NATION EDITORIAL SILIGURI Page 9 Spotlight on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as Royals face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 Page 12 Siddaramaiah resigns as K’taka CM, paving way for Shivakumar Bengal govt hands over 142.79 acres to BSF for border security infrastructure SHAHID K ABBAS Kolkata, 28 May Bengaluru/New Delhi, 28 May V eteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday resigned as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, bringing to an end a politically significant second stint in office and triggering a carefully choreographed leadership transition that will see Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar take over the state’s top post. The 78-year-old Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru, where Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s Special Secretary, Prabhu Shankar, received the letter in the Governor’s absence. Mr Gehlot is currently in his native place, Indore, for personal reasons and is expected to return to Bengaluru later in the evening. Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior Cabinet colleagues, Mr Siddaramaiah arrived at Lok Bhavan shortly after an emotional breakfast meeting at his official residence, “Kaveri,” where he informed ministers of his decision to step down in accordance with the Congress high command’s direction. Speaking to reporters after tendering his resignation, Mr Siddaramaiah thanked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge for entrusting him with the responsibility of leading Karnataka twice. “I am grateful to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka as Chief Minister for two terms,” Mr Siddaramaiah said. “I have always honoured the decisions of the party high command.” The outgoing Chief Minister said he had submitted his resignation to the Governor’s private secretary because the Governor was away from Bengaluru. He reiterated that his decision was in keeping with a commitment made within the Congress leadership over a rotational power-sharing arrangement following the party’s emphatic victory in the 2023 Assembly elections. The transition marks the culmination of months of speculation and intense political negotiations within the Karnataka Congress, where competing factions led by Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar have long vied for influence. At Thursday morning’s cabinet breakfast meeting, Mr Siddaramaiah reportedly informed ministers that Mr Shivakumar had been chosen as his successor by the Congress leadership. Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar later in the day both left for Delhi. However, the special flight carrying Mr Siddaramaiah, his son Yathindra and party national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala was reported to have been diverted to Jaipur after heavy rain hit the national capital. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE In a major push to strengthen security along the international border, the West Bengal government has handed over 142.79 acres of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for the construction of border outposts and barbed-wire fencing across multiple districts in the state. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari shared details of the land transfer through a post on X, saying that the initiative was aimed at enhancing surveillance and tightening security arrangements in vulnerable border areas. According to the Chief Minister, the land has been provided across nine districts in north and south Bengal to facilitate faster construction of BSF infrastructure and improve operational preparedness along the border. Officials believe the move will help the central force intensify efforts to curb infiltration, cross-border crimes and smuggling activities in sensitive stretches adjoining Bangladesh. As per the details released by the Chief Minister, the state government has handed over 22.925 acres of land in Cooch Behar followed by 35.165 acres in Jalpaiguri. Apart from that 8.815 acres in Darjeeling, 2.84 acres in North Dinajpur and 20.1701 acres in South Dinajpur. In south Bengal, 10.90 acres were transferred in Malda, 38.805 acres in Murshidabad, 0.55 acres in Nadia and 2.6 acres in North 24-Parganas to the BSF. Officials said the land would primarily be used for the construction of new border outposts and expansion of barbed-wire fencing in areas considered vulnerable from the security perspective. The strengthened infrastructure is expected to improve coordination between district administrations and the BSF while enabling round-the-clock surveillance along the border. For several years, fencing and infrastructure projects in various border districts had faced delays because of disputes related to land acquisition. India, China satisfied over progress in maintaining peace in border areas Pradhan owns up to CBSE OSM glitches, promises strict action STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 28 May As part of the normalisation process, India and China held the 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on IndiaChina Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing on Wednesday. The Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Chinese delegation was led by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Affairs Department in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The discussions were constructive and forward looking. The two sides reviewed the situation in the IndiaChina border areas. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made in maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas, which has enabled progress toward gradual normalisation of bilateral relations,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday. The two sides discussed issues pertaining to delimitation, border management, mechanism building and cross-border cooperation. The Indian side stressed an early meeting of the next Expert Level Mechanism on Trans- border Rivers. They agreed to maintain regular exchanges and contacts at the diplomatic and military levels through mechanisms including those agreed upon as part of the outcomes of the 24th Special Representatives (SR) Talks. The two sides agreed to work together to make substantive preparations for the next meeting of the SRs to be held in China. During the visit, the Indian delegation leader also met Liu Jinsong, DG of the Department of Asian Affairs in the Chinese Foreign Ministry and made a courtesy call on Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei. New Delhi, 28 May Prayer Congregation Devotees offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha (Bakri Id) at Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata on Thursday. BISWAJIT GHOSHAL Delhi plans mega network of expressways, tunnels & elevated corridors to ease congestion PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 28 May The Delhi government and the Centre are jointly working on an ambitious series of road infrastructure and connectivity projects, including new expressways, tunnels, elevated corridors and service roads, aimed at transforming mobility and reducing traffic congestion across the National Capital Region (NCR), Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Thursday. The announcement follows a recent meeting between Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, during which several major infrastructure proposals for Delhi-NCR were reviewed. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the projects are being undertaken under the Centre-State “doubleengine government” framework with the objective of creating a modern, futureready and congestion-free transport network. One of the key proposals includes a 17-km-long, six-lane corridor under the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) Extension DelhiDehradun Expressway Link Project. The corridor, estimated to cost around Rs 3,500 crore, will connect the DelhiDehradun Expressway near Tronica City with UER-II. The project is expected to reduce traffic pressure on critical stretches including IGI Airport routes, Barapullah corridor, Mukarba Chowk, Singhu Border and the Ashram-Badarpur section. It will also provide direct access to the Dehradun Expressway from Dwarka, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh and Gurugram. Officials said the alignment is currently being finalised and construction is expected to commence by December 2026. Another major proposal involves a 65-km-long, six-lane Noida-Faridabad Connectivity Corridor linked to the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. The project is estimated to cost Rs 7,500 crore. The corridor will connect the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, DND, Faridabad and the Yamuna Expressway, improving regional connectivity for Loni, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad. The project is also expected to decongest Kalindi Kunj, Sarai Kale Khan and the Outer Ring Road while providing an alternative route for freight and inter-city traffic. Construction is targeted to begin by December 2026. The government has also proposed a 17-km, six-lane connectivity corridor linking the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway with UER-II at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore. Under the plan, vehicles travelling on the Delhi-Katra corridor will get direct connectivity to Delhi, Gurugram and IGI Airport through UER-II and the Dwarka Expressway. The project is expected to improve freight movement and facilitate diversion of heavy traffic away from congested urban stretches. Construction is proposed to begin by March 2027. To strengthen connectivity in outer Delhi, the government also plans to develop secondary service roads along the existing UER-II corridor. The project, estimated to cost Rs 6,500 crore, will span around 26 km and include service roads on both sides of the corridor. Approval has already been granted for a 19-km, two-lane secondary service road project costing Rs 121 crore. According to the government, the development will improve local access for residents and businesses, reduce congestion on the main carriageway and support industrial and logistics activity in areas such as Mundka. Additionally, the proposed Shiv Murti-Nelson Mandela Marg Tunnel Project is expected to become a major urban mobility upgrade for Delhi. The underground tunnel, planned at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore, will be around 8 km long and six lanes wide. It aims to provide signal-free connectivity between the Dwarka Expressway and Vasant Kunj. Officials said the project has received approval from the Centre’s Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) and will proceed after Cabinet clearance. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday accepted responsibility for the concerns surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation system and assured students that all complaints linked to discrepancies in marks verification and re-evaluation would be addressed promptly. Mr Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting at the CBSE headquarters with senior board officials to examine the technical glitches and payment-related difficulties faced by students during the re-evaluation process for Class 12 examinations. Addressing the media after the meeting, the minister said the scale of the examination process was enormous and highlighted the challenges involved in implementing the digital evaluation system for the first time. “This is the first time CBSE adopted the On-Screen Marking system and some discrepancies have been noticed. I take full responsibility for the issues and assure students that corrective measures are being taken. No grievance will go unheard,” the minister said.