THURSDAY 09 MAY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR OPP DEFAMING BJP WITH FALSE PROPAGANDA: SHAH FRIENDS, NOW FOES P6 SENSEX 73,466.3945.46 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Rain/Thundershower likely to occur Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 20 °C and 15 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 13.8mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY P5 GOLD 72,270110 ` vs $ 83.14 Pitroda steps down as Overseas Cong chief Pitroda landed in the dock over fresh controversial remarks STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Max. 95 % Min. 64 % Max: 30.4°C (-5.3) SUN RISES 04:60 hrs MOON RISES 04:49 hrs Min: 22.2°C (-4.6) SUN SETS 18:6 hrs MOON SETS 18:30 hrs TEMPERATURE P10 NIFTY 22,302.50 Full Moon on 23 May THUMBNAILS Tollywood actor and TMC candidate from Ghatal constituency Deepak Adhikari holds a roadshow in support of the party candidate for Birbhum, Satabdi Roy for the LS elections in Birbhum on Wednesday. ANI JD(S) MLA HD Revanna sent to judicial custody till 14 May: Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Karnataka MLA, HD Revanna, was on Wednesday sent to judicial custody till May 14 in connection with the kidnapping case linked to the 'obscene video' case.He was arrested by the special investigation team (SIT) on 4 May in connection with an alleged kidnapping case registered against him at KR Nagar police station in Bengaluru.HD Revanna and his son, Prajwal Revanna, are facing a probe by an SIT, constituted by the Kar(Page 4) nataka government. ndian Overseas Congress Chairman Sam Pitroda on Wednesday resigned from his post after he courted another controversy with remarks in an interview to The Statesman that were attacked as racist, particularly by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr Pitroda’s resignation came amidst a barrage of condemnation from the ruling BJP over his remarks, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress on its part had distanced itself from his remarks. Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh, announced the development on microblogging platform X: “Mr Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision.” In a recent interview with The Statesman, Mr Pitroda had said: “We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people on the east look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on the North look like white and maybe people on the South look like Africans… doesn’t matter. We are all brothers and sisters.” “We all respect different languages, religions, different looks, customs and food. That’s the India I believe in where everybody has a place,” he said. The interview, excerpts of which were published in The Statesman’s print edition last week, is available on the newspaper’s Youtube channel. Earlier in the day, the Congress has distanced itself from Mr Pitroda’s remarks and termed it unfortunate and unacceptable. “The analogies drawn by Mr. Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India's diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable,” Mr Ramesh said in a video message. Mr Pitro- da last month had stirred another controversy over his remarks on “inheritance tax” in the USA. “In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 percent to his children, 55 percent is grabbed by the government. That's an interesting law. It says you in your generation made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” Mr Pitroda in an interview to a news agency was quoted as saying. Mr Pitroda had said later his statement on inheritance tax in the USA was “twisted” to divert attention from what “lies” Prime Minister Narendra Modi is spreading about the Congress manifesto. The Congress then had said his views many times did not reflect the position of the party. grounds of Indians. Drawing a parallel between South Indians with Africans and North East Indians with Chinese during an exclusive interview with The Statesman, Mr Pitroda triggered a fresh controversy. He had said, “We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people on the east look like Chinese, people on the West looked like Arab, people on the North look like white and may be people on the South look like Africans.” Taking a cue from Mr Pitroda’s comments on the racial backgrounds of the people of India, Mr Modi said Congress’ opposition to Draupadi Murmu’s candidature for the post of president stemmed from its racist mentality. I STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, 8 MAY Stepping up his attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the party and its leader Rahul Gandhi of resorting to racism, citing the party’s overseas leader Sam Pitroda’s remark on the diverse ethnic back- India likely to attain 8 pc growth rate in FY24: CEA Nageswaran AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE More than 70 international and domestic flights of Air India Express were cancelled or delayed on Wednesday due to senior crew members calling in sick. The situation has raised concerns within the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is closely monitoring the developments. According to sources within the ministry, the cancellations and delays began on Tuesday night and persisted into Wednesday morning, forcing the airline to curtail its scheduled operations. The sudden shortage of crew members led to flights being grounded, affecting both domestic and international routes. The sources said that some senior crew members switched off their mobile phones just before flight operations, citing health issues. With no alternate staff available, the flights had to be cancelled. Air India Express issued a statement addressing the situation and apologizing to affected passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has called for a detailed report from Air India Express. An Air India Express spokesperson said: "A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimize any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result." NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday maintained there is a high possibility of India attaining the 8 per cent growth rate in FY24. He said the IMF has projected a growth rate of 7.8 per cent for FY24. But if you look at the trajectory of growth in the first three quarters, obviously, the possibility that the growth rate touches 8 per cent is quite high, he said. CEA Nageswaran, who was speaking at an event organised by NCAER in New Delhi, said that he would be happy if the gross domestic product (GDP) were to have a 9.5-10 per cent rate like that of China but the context had shifted. “The 6.5-7 per cent growth rate was expected to continue in the coming years and it was important to maintain it,” he added. “The omens are good for us to continue the steady growth rate” of that pace over the next decade, Mr Nageswaran said "If that materialises, of course, it will be the fourth consecutive year after COVID starting from FY22 that the economy will have grown at 7 per cent or more. If the RBI forecasts of 7 per cent for FY25 turn out to be either correct AstraZeneca to withdraw its Covid vaccine worldwide amid concerns over side effects STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Global pharma giant AstraZeneca has decided to withdraw its Covid-19 vaccine worldwide days after the company admitted in court documents that it can have dangerous side effects, according to a report published in a leading British daily. However, the company has insisted that the vaccine is not being withdrawn over the side effects but due to commercial reasons. Due to low demand and having been superseded by updated versions of the Covid19 vaccines to fight new vari- P12 SILVER 85,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.290.86 BJP harmads will bring back rule of terror: CM in Arambagh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HOOGHLY, 8 MAY Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections at Kalipur in Arambagh reminded the people of Arambagh of the reign of terror under the Left Front government, and said it will return if the BJP is allowed to win. “All the CPI-M harmads are now BJP leaders and party workers in Arambagh sub division. If the BJP wins in Arambagh, they will bring back the rule of terror once again,” Miss Banerjee said. The chief minister also addressed a huge gathering at Balagarh. Miss Banerjee recalled the time when, during Left Front rule, she and Ajit Panja were on the way to Chamkaitala for a political meeting. “The CPI-M harmads tried their best to stop our meeting but by the dint of my determination I carried on my meeting. On the way back the armed harmads stopped Ajit Panja on the road and I rushed to his rescue,” she said. “The harmads have killed many innocent people. Their bodies were thrown into a deep pit,” Miss Banerjee said. Asserting that allowing the BJP any political space in Arambagh will lead to the return of terror and bloodshed, the chief minister and TMC chairperson said the BJP must be checked at any cost “The TMC candidate for Arambagh constituency, Mithali Bag belongs to Bagdhi community. I have picked up her as a MP candidate with the aim of women’s empowerment. She is a dedicated and devoted party worker and she will serve the people of Arambagh to the best of her ability,” Miss Banerjee said. The chief minister asked the TMC leaders of Khanakul, Pursura, Arambagh and Goghat to work together forgeting their past differences. Miss Banerjee, while addressing a huge gathering at Balagarh said the area is well know for its agro-industry and cottage industry and asked the voters to vote for Rachna Banerjee for further growth and development and to complete unfinished ongoing projects.(Photo) The CM added that agricultural cultivation is going on in 434 acres of land in Singur. Land-filling work is going on for conversion to agricultural purpose in other areas. The coming up of an industrial park in Singur will create job opportunities for many, she said. Supreme Court order on interim ‘Racism behind Cong opposition to Murmu’ bail to Kejriwal likely on Friday Mass ‘sick leave’: Air India Express cancels 70 flights NEW DELHI, 8 MAY RCB, PBKS FACE OFF IN POTENTIAL SHOOTOUT ‘EVERY POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTED TO ENSURE POK RETURNS TO INDIA’ ants, the company has stopped making or supplying it. AstraZeneca had made an application for withdrawal of the vaccine in Europe on 7 March and it came into effect on 7 May. After the company's decision to withdraw its "marketing authorisation", the vaccine can no longer be used in the European Union. Similar applications will be submitted in the UK and other nations in the coming months that have given a goahead to the vaccine, known as Vaxzevria. The development comes just days after AstraZeneca acknowledged in a document submitted before a UK court that its vaccine can cause rare side effects such as TTS and low blood platelet count. TTS, which stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, has been associated with at least 81 deaths in the UK and hun- dreds of serious injuries. As many as 51 cases have been lodged in the UK High Court against the pharma major with victims seeking damages estimated to be worth up to GBP 100 million. In the class action lawsuits, victims and grieving relatives alleged deaths and severe injuries after taking the vaccine. AstraZeneca and Oxford University had developed the vaccine during the Coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine was produced by India’s Serum Institute of India (SII) and widely administered in the country during the pandemic. or even underestimated, then it would be the fourth consecutive year of 7 or higher growth rate," he said. "There can always be scenarios in geopolitics that can cause inflation to be more than we expect, but at this point the baseline scenario is that inflation gradually converges to the mid-point of the target range." The CEA also said that a lot would depend on how the monsoon shapes up. Although the expectations are that there will be an above-normal monsoon, spatial and temporal distribution will matter. Investment made in supply-side augmentation of both physical and digital infrastructure has placed the economy to pursue noninflationary growth, he said. 695 candidates in fray for fifth phase of polls STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY The Election Commission on Wednesday said 695 candidates are in the fray for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to be held on 20 May . In a statement, the poll panel said: “A total of 695 candidates from eight states/UTs to contest election in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.” According to the EC, a total of 1,586 nominations were filed for the 49 parliamentary constituencies (PCs) across 8 States /UTs going for polls in the fifth phase. CMYK PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 8 MAY The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it might pass an order on Friday (10 May), on interim bail for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an alleged money laundering case registered by Directorate of Enforcement linked to the Delhi excise policy case. As a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna was rising for the day, he told the Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who appears for the Directorate of Enforcement in the Kejriwal matter that it may pass the order on interim relief to Delhi CM on Friday. On 7 May, a bench of Jus- tice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had indicated granting interim bail to Mr Kejriwal to enable him to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. However, the court had said that if interim bail is granted, Mr Kejriwal would not be allowed to discharge any official duties as Chief Minister.
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.