www.thestatesman.com | FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | @TheStatesmanLtd Pages 12 | @thestatesmanltd ` 5.00 Editorial | KOLKATA People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR Perspective | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | 06 September 2026 S P O RT S When Centurions sent Pattons totheir graves We’re ruling the world: Raina backs BCCI’s overseas league policy Page 7 Shared peril Page 12 Page 6 BRIEFLY Car-lorry collision in Keralam kills 8 engineering students: Thiruvananthapuram: Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed late Friday night when their car rammed into a stationary lorry on National Highway 66 near Kaipamangalam in Keralam’s Thrissur district. The collision took place at around 11.40 p.m. on Friday at Panambikkunnu Centre along the NH-66 corridor. The victims, all aged 20, were travelling from Guruvayur toward Kodungallur in a car when it crashed into the rear of a goods lorry that was illegally parked on the right side of the highway. The highway stretch was undergoing widening work, with traffic routed through a diversion. Police said that the car was travelling at a high speed, and the driver appeared to miss the diversion barricade before slamming into the parked heavy vehicle. ‘Policy paralysis has now become policy dynamism’ Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to police custody in Jantar Mantar assault case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Swatantra Bhardwaj, described as a right-wing social media influencer, was remanded to one day’s police custody on Saturday after being produced before a judge at the Karkardooma Court complex in New Delhi. Delhi Police arrested the 21-year-old on Friday from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, over a month after he was allegedly involved in an assault on 38-year-old Sanjay Kumar, the father of a student activist, Nishu Azad, during the NEET exam paper leak protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in July. The case drew widespread attention after a purported video surfaced in which Mr Bhardwaj appeared to boast of severely injuring Mr Kumar, claiming that he had “cracked the skull” of the 38-year-old during the demonstration and had avoided jail because of political connections. He later New Delhi, 5 September P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday used the centenary celebrations of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in Delhi to draw a sharp contrast between the India he described in his 2013 address at the institution and the country’s current economic and strategic position, saying that India had moved from “policy paralysis” to “policy dynamism” and was now advancing at a new pace. Addressing students, faculty and guests at SRCC on Teachers’ Day, Modi recalled his visit to the college in February 2013, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and said the circumstances confronting the country at that time were vastly different from those prevailing today. In 2013, Mr Modi said, the country was facing serious economic difficulties, policy paralysis, scams and security challenges. “There was a state of hopelessness,” he said, adding that terrorists were operating without a break and Pakistan was “out of control”. He said the situation had changed substantially over the years, claiming that those responsible for terrorism were now facing a very different reality. “Those spreading terrorism are hunted down now. If Pakistan indulges in a nefarious act, the Indian Army enters its home and strikes,” he added. The “backbone” of Maoist and Naxal violence has also been broken, he added. Turning to the economy, Mr Modi said the country had travelled from what he described as an era of “policy paralysis” to one of “policy dynamism”. CM Adhikari promises overhaul of Bengal education system, rules out religion-based discrimination STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 5 September West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said the state’s new BJP government would restructure the entire education system and ensure that there was no discrimination among students on the basis of religion. Speaking at a Teachers’ Day programme, Mr Adhikari said scholarships would no longer be restricted to students belonging to any particular community. “Can you think that from Class V to Class VIII, some students used to get scholarships only because they belonged to a particular community? I have stopped that. I have said if there is a scholarship, then every student will get it, else no one will,” he said. Coming down heavily on the previous Trinamul Congress government, Mr Adhikari accused it of damaging Bengal's education system and said the state faced a long road to recovery. “So far as education is concerned, Bengal ranks 31 among the states (as also Union territories) and our Education Minister said it will take at least three years to change the situation. We have made a lot of mistakes, but there should be an end,” he said. Referring to a recent snakebite incident at a government school in Kolkata, the Chief Minister said: “Can you believe this? But this has happened only because the schools did not get composite grants for the last three years. There was money for fairs and games. There was money to give grants to the Imams and Muazzins, but no money for schools,” he said. In a major announcement aimed at improving the quality of education in the state, Mr Adhikari said two educational institutions would initially be established in each district on the lines of Central Schools. “The CM-SHRI Institutes will be in line with the central model schools where students will get admitted on the basis of merit. There will be good teachers and the latest facilities,” he said. Laying out his government’s roadmap for the education sector, Mr Adhikari said the first priority would be to improve school infrastructure before undertaking large-scale teacher recruitment. He said around 19,000 schools in the state lacked basic infrastructure, with some functioning without electricity, toilets and purified drinking water. “All the schools should have this basic infrastructure. We should also focus on physical activities like Bratachari and bring back NCC. We did not pay attention to sports. We have caused a lot of damage,” he said. “We want to create a proper educational environment for teachers, students and schools and restore the traditions that have existed for a long time,” he said. The Prime Minister pointed to India’s reported 7.8 per cent GDP growth during the first quarter of this financial year amid global uncertainty and the ongoing conflict in West Asia and said the performance demonstrated the economy's strength and resilience despite external challenges. “India’s 7.8 per cent growth amid global uncertainty reflects its economic strength,” Modi said, adding that India was moving forward at a “new pace”. Taking a swipe at his political opponents, the Prime Minister said those who had earlier viewed India’s economic prospects pessimistically continued to look at the country through the same lens. “For the people for whom the glass was half empty in 2013 hold the same mindset even today. For them the glass will always remain half empty,” he said. Mumbai, 5 September Tata Steel CEO & MD T V Narendran (photo, right), Tata Sons Executive Director and Group CFO Saurabh Agrawal (photo, middle), along with NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan (photo, far right), have emerged as candidates in the race to succeed present Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekharan, according to sources. Other names being discussed at Bombay House include Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata himself, Tata Sons’ Group Chief Digital Officer Aarthi Subramanian; Tata Motors CEO Shailesh Chandra and Tata Power CEO Praveer Sinha. Mr Narendran’s name is being mentioned the most and remains the strongest internal operating candidate. Mr Narendran has been a Tata Steel veteran since 1988 and has steered Tata Steel’s difficult European operations, spending more than three decades with the Tata Group. Tata Sons Executive Director and Group CFO Saurabh Agrawal, whose name is also being mentioned, was Head of Strategy at Aditya Birla Group, Head of Corporate Finance for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, as well as Head of Investment Banking at DSP Merrill Lynch. He joined Tata Sons in June 2017 and at this time looks after major Tata Group companies like Tata Steel, Tata Capital and Tata Digital. However, it is the unlikely candidature of NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan which has come as a surprise. Mr Chauhan was among the executives who helped establish the NSE in the New Delhi, 5 September denied attacking Mr Kumar, claiming he acted in self-defence after being surrounded by protesters. Police, however, said medical reports from doctors at RML Hospital described Mr Kumar’s head injury as “simple”. Officials said the medico-legal records did not support the claim that his skull had been cracked. According to police, the injury was caused during a scuffle involving a heavy metal bangle, or kada, worn by the accused, rather than a conventional weapon. Following Mr Kumar’s statement, police registered an FIR at the Parliament Street police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Mr Bhardwaj and 24-year-old Suraj Kumar were subsequently interrogated after being served legal notices. Police said a chargesheet in the case would be filed before the competent court shortly. The CJP intensified its demand for Mr Bhardwaj’s arrest after the video circulated widely. Its leaders, joined by Lok Sabha MPs Chandra Shekhar and Pappu Yadav, staged a sit-in outside the Parliament Street police station earlier this week. Police have also registered a fresh FIR against Mr Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint of an offence involving a minor, officials said. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has also been added to the earlier FIR. The matter has also triggered a political response. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) on Friday accused Mr Bhardwaj of falsely invoking the name of Union Minister and party president Chirag Paswan to claim political protection. CBI books Subhash Chandra over `1,322 crore LICHF loan fraud Putin orders a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AGENCIES New Delhi, 5 September The CBI has registered an FIR against businessman Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and seven others for allegedly inflating his net worth to avail loans from Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL), that led to a loss of over Rs 1,322 crore, an official said on Saturday. The FIR, under provisions for criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct, was registered on 31 August on the complaint of LICHF General Manager Neeta Menghani in Mumbai. The complaint is related to alleged fraud in two loan accounts that were secured by the personal guarantee of Subhash Chandra. LICHFL has alleged wrongful loss of over Rs 1,322 crore, plus interest and charges, after the borrowers defaulted on the loans. Tata Sons Chairman race narrows down to Narendran, Agrawal and Ashish Chauhan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 1990s and later served as MD and CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange before returning to NSE as its chief in 2022. Mr Chauhan has handled senior positions at the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd and IDBI Bank. Right now, he is in the process of steering a Rs 30,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) of the NSE. Mr Chauhan’s candidature could offer the Tata Group a candidate from outside the Tata Group along with his experience in the financial world, especially since he understands capital markets, corporate management, finance and technology, besides India’s regulatory and policy environment. The others named in the FIR include Vasant Sagar Properties, Churchgate, Mumbai; Pankaj Suroliya, Director of Vasant Sagar Properties; Pan India Infrastructure, Lower Parel, Mumbai; Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services, Lower Parel, Mumbai; Amish Pandya, Director of Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services; Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures, Mumbai; and Rajeev Dholakia, Director of Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures, Mumbai. One of the loans involved a Rs 500 crore facility to Vasant Sagar Properties and Pan India Infraprojects, while the other pertained to a loan facility of Rs 480 crore to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services and Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures. The LICHF said that the Vasant Sagar loan facility was granted on the basis of the net worth certificate submitted by Subhash Chandra dated 28 March 2018, issued by DJM & Co, certifying that his net worth was $6,197.62 million (Rs 59,113.21 crores) as on 31 March 2017. The other loan facility was granted on the basis of the net worth certificate submitted by Subhash Chandra, issued by MPJ &Co., Chartered Accountants on 6 July 2018, certifying that his net worth was Rs 40,562 crore. The complaint further alleges that during subsequent proceedings relating to Mr Chandra’s personal insolvency resolution, he denied having the net worth reflected in the certificates submitted to LIC Housing Finance. Washington, 5 September Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, the Kremlin said Saturday, as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow to try to revive a stalled push to end the war in Ukraine. “Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Tass news agency. He said the decision was tied to preparations for Witkoff and Kushner’s planned visit to the Ukrainian capital, expected to take place on Sunday. The move also comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Mr Putin at their meeting at the SCO summit in Bishkek that India supports peace and urged him to move towards the end of the war. • Details on Page 9 115-year -old mosque demolished in UP’s Saharanpur on court order amid tight security STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Saharanpur/Lucknow, 5 September Amid resistance from opposition parties, Saharanpur district authorities demolished a 115-year-old mosque in the collectorate complex on Saturday based on a court order. The mosque was reportedly built in 1911 on a government land in the Saharanpur Collectorate complex. Six bulldozers were used to demolish the mosque built on 3,300 square feet area. The two-storey mosque had five rooms, including two large halls. The ground floor had a large hall and two rooms. The first floor had a large room and a hall. The mosque also houses a post office. The demolition commenced at 4 a.m. on Saturday in the presence of five companies of the PAC, the RAF, and 200 police personnel. Police did not allow anyone to approach the mosque. Tensions had been soaring since Friday night over the government action. At 11 p.m. on Friday, as news spread that the administration was going to demolish the mosque, a large crowd gathered at the site. The administration team arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd. City Magistrate Kuldeep Singh said that the administration was acting according to the law relating to illegal occupation and misuse of government land. “Action is being taken as per rules over illegal occupation and misuse of government land,” Mr Singh said, adding that security had been tightened across the Collectorate premises and administrative officials were closely monitoring the situation. Officials said any attempt to disturb law and order would be dealt with strictly. Given the sensitivity of the issue, the police and administration also kept a close watch on political activity and the possibility of protests in the district. Saharanpur Division DIG Abhishek Singh said: “The City Magistrate’s Court had deemed the mosque built in the Collectorate as illegal construction on government land. The mosque side appealed this order, but their appeal was rejected, and the City Magistrate's order was upheld.”