THURSDAY 16 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 ‘INDIA BLOC IN STRONG POSITION AFTER FOUR PHASES’ RAHUL GANDHI URGES PEOPLE TO SAVE CONSTITUTION P5 SENSEX 72,987.03117.58 WEATHER Genrally clear with cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 38 °C and 30°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY EC SUMMONS AP CS AND DGP OVER POST-POLL VIOLENCE P10 NIFTY 22,200.5517.30 ` vs $ 83.50 P4 SUNRISERS LOOK TO SEAL PLAYOFFS SPOT AGAINST TITANS P12 SILVER 87,600 GOLD 75,205.00 Mamata slams EC, says it’s acting like Modi’s puppet BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.340.04 Modi govt gave fitting reply to Pak-sponsored terrorism: Amit Shah STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max. 76% Min. 58% The Chief Minister calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi the master of fake promises KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR, 15 MAY Max: 38.2°C (+0.4) SUN RISES 04:55 hrs MOON RISES 12:58 hrs Min: 30.1°C (+1.1) SUN SETS 18:10 hrs MOON SETS 01:07 hrs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HOOGHLY, 15 MAY Taking a dig at the Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the country witnessed bomb blasts at regular intervals under earlier regimes, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi put an end to terrorism and Left Wing Extremism in the last 10 years. Addressing a poll meeting at Aska parliamentary constituency in southern Odisha, he said Mr Modi has always given a fitting reply to Pakistansponsored terrorists by way of surgical strikes or air strikes. “Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were affected by outlawed Left Wing Extremism (LWE). But the situation has been reversed due to prompt intervention by the Modi government since 2014,” he said. Earlier, speaking at a rally in Serampore Lok Sabha constituency in Bengal, Mr Shah said that despite opposition from a section of political parties in the country, the possibility of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) becoming an integral part of India is now becoming a reality. “Rahul Gandhi might oppose it. Mamata Banerjee might oppose it. But now it TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 23 May THUMBNAILS The National Disaster Response Force personnel carry out a rescue operation after seven members of a family drowned while swimming in the Narmada River, at Poicha in Vadodara. ANI Slovakia's PM wounded in shooting: Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot on Wednesday as he interacted with the public after a government meeting, and his condition is "life-threatening", reports said. The incident occurred in Handlova town, around 180 km northeast of Bratislava. Fico was shot "multiple times” and his condition is “life-threatening," the Prime Minister's office announced on Facebook. A suspect has been detained, local media (Page 9) reports said. hief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lashed out at the Election Commission of India for its ‘biased’ approach, contending that it was acting as a puppet of the Narendra Modi government. Miss Banerjee, campaigning in Chinsurah for the Trinamul Congress’ Hooghly Lok Sabha candidate Rachna Banerjee, said: “(Prime Minister Narendra Modi) knows nothing except self-propaganda. He is violating the Model Code of Conduct by making promises. And the Election Commission is sitting like a puppet, acting at the behest of the ruling party.” She also attacked the poll panel over the multiphase elections in the state, maintaining that there is no justification to extend the election process for more than two months. “The officials are sitting in air-condi- C tioned rooms. How will they feel the sufferings of the common people due to the extended polling in the middle of this scorching summer?” she asked the gathering. Miss Banerjee warned: “If the BJP returns to power, I will cease to exist. You will cease to exist. The common people will cease to exist. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will cease to exist. The farmers and workers will cease to exist. That is why defeating the BJP in every single seat is important for us.” SC orders release of NewsClick editor PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 15 MAY The Supreme Court onWednesday ordered the release of NewsClick Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, holding that his arrest by Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the subsequent remand was illegal because Mr Purkayastha was not furnished in writing the grounds of his arrest. A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta noted that the copy of the application for seeking Mr Purka- yastha’s remand was not provided either to him or his lawyer before the passing of the remand order and the grounds of arrest were not communicated to him in writing. Mr Purkayastha is in cus- tody since 3 October 2023, in a case of allegedly receiving Chinese funds to propagate anti-national propaganda. Justice Mehra noted that any person arrested for offences under the provisions of UAPA or any other offence(s) has a fundamental and a statutory right to be informed about the grounds of arrest in writing at the earliest. In the wake of the Supreme Court order, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur later directed Mr. Purkayastha’s release on furnishing bail bonds worth Rs 1 lakh. Govt issues first set of citizenship certificates to 14 people under CAA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 MAY The Centre on Wednesday issued the first set of citizenship certificates to 14 applicants under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The Union government had notified the CAA rules for implementation on 11 March. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, seeking to give Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from neigh- bouring nations including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was passed by Parliament in 2019. “The first set of citizenship certificates after notification of Citizenship (Amend- ment) Rules, 2024 were issued today. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates to some applicants in the national capital,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. Mr Bhalla congratulated the applicants and highlighted salient features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Secretary Posts, Director (IB), Registrar General of India and senior officers were also present during the interactive session. Miss Banerjee also called Narendra Modi the master of fake promises. “Till today the amount of 15 thousand that Modiji promised have not been credited in a single account. Of the promise of 2 crores of jobs a year for unemployed, not a single unemployed youth has received an appointment letter,” she said. Free ration, free water, free electricity are fake promises to distract the attention of the people, Miss Banerjee said. Touching on the Sandeshkhali unrest, Miss ‘Arrangements to repatriate ex-army officer’s body killed in Gaza underway’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 MAY Confirming the death of a retired Indian Army Colonel in war-torn Gaza on Monday, India on Wednesday said its permanent mission to the UN in New York and the missions in Tel Aviv and Ramallah are extending all possible assistance in the repatriation of his body. ''We are deeply saddened by the death of Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale (Retd), Security Coordination Officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) in Gaza on 13 May 2024. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and dear ones,'' the Ministry of External Affairs said. It said: ''Our Permanent Mission to the UN in New York and our Missions in Tel Aviv and Ramallah are extending all assistance in the repatriation of mortal remains to India and continue to be in touch with relevant authorities regarding the investigation into the incident.” Kale, who had joined the UN barely a month ago, was headed for the European Hospital in Rafah when his vehicle came under fire. New Zealand probes possible contamination in MDH, Everest STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 MAY More trouble may be in store for Indian spice products manufacturers MDH and Everest, as New Zealand's food safety regulator on Wednesday said it is investigating possible contamination in their products. The two popular brands are facing scrutiny in other countries as the United States and Australia have also been looking into the possibility of contamination. Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends of MDH and one of Everest, saying they contained high levels of a cancer-caus- ing pesticide, ethylene oxide. Singapore ordered a recall of a Everest spice mix. The Centre For Food Safety of Hong Kong said that routine surveillance programme had uncovered the presence of ethylene oxide in three spice mixes from MDH Group - Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder. Notably, regulators in India have also inspected MDH and Everest plants and sent samples for testing after the global scrutiny, though the results have not yet been made public. The Indian government had ordered food commissioners to collect samples of spices from all the manufacturing units of the companies in the country. There is a ban on using ethylene oxide in food items in India. In India, the Spices Board defines ethylene oxide as a flammable, colourless gas at temperatures above 10.7 Celsius. It serves as a disinfectant, fumigant, sterilising agent and insecticide. It is mainly used to sterilise medical equipment and to reduce microbial contamination in spices. Besides being produced from natural sources, it can also be generated from waterlogged soil, manure, and sewage sludge. CMYK Banerjee said a dirty conspiracy was hatched by the BJP to defame the Trinamul Congress but the conspiracy has backfired. The insulted women of Sandeshkhali are all set to teach a lesson to the BJP leaders and party workers, she said. The CM added that the beneficiary schemes launched by the state government are far better than some of the Central government schemes. The Swastha Sathi card is a free cashless health card applicable everywhere for every kind of medical treatment. But the Ayushman health card of the central government can only be obtained if the laid down criteria are satisfied. It is natural that people will go for more beneficial state government-launched beneficiary schemes, she said. Both non-Bengalis and Bengalis are residing in Bengal as an united family in an atmosphere of brotherhood and communal harmony, but the BJP is attempting to break this by trying to ignite religious sentiments and emotions, she said. Miss Banerjee went on to say that the BJP, caught in the trap laid for others now can forsee its own fall. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government faced an unexpected defeat in 2004. History is going to repeat itself, she said. The Trinamul Congress will never lose in Bengal and an INDIA coalition government is going to come to power, Miss Banerjee told the crowd. is a reality that PoK will be a part of India,” Mr Shah said. He said it is to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “azadi (freedom)” slogans are now raised in PoK instead of Jammu & Kashmir. “Previously ‘azadi’ slogans were raised in Jammu & Kashmir. Now those slogans are being raised in PoK. Previously stone-pelting incidents took place in Jammu & Kashmir, those things are now happening in PoK. So, however, the Opposition parties might oppose it, no power can stop PoK from becoming a part of India,” he said. In a swipe at the Mamata Banerjee-led government, Mr Shah said that had film-maker Satyajit Ray been alive now, he would surely have directed a movie titled Hirak Ranir Deshe. He was referring to Ray’s film Hirak Rajar Deshe(In the land of diamond king), which depicted the rise and fall of an autocratic ruler. (See Pg 3)
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.