KOL 1 FINAL_PAGE 01 - Copy.qxd 12/13/2024 12:21 AM Page 1 FRIDAY 13 DECEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 16 |` 5.00 |LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR 'OPERATION LOTUS' SHADOW GETS BIGGER, MVA MPS MEET PM, SHAH YOON DEFENDS MARTIAL LAW, VOWS TO ‘FIGHT TO THE END’ P10 SENSEX 81,289.96q236.18 WEATHER Partly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25°C and 13°C respectively. P5 24,548.70q93.10 ` vs $ 84.88 Max. 69% Min. 51% Max: 25.2˚C SUN RISES 06:07 hrs MOON RISES 14:53 hrs Min: 13.3˚C SUN SETS 16:54 hrs MOON SETS 03:42 hrs GOLD 80,610.00 D Gukesh crowned World Chess Champ AGENCIES SINGAPORE, 12 DECEMBER I Full Moon on 15 December THUMBNAILS Vehicles ply on a snow-covered road at Tangmarg as the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir receive fresh snowfall, at Gulmarg, in Baramulla on Thursday. n ANI CCS clears Rs 20,000 cr deals for Su-30 fighter jets, K-9 howitzers: The Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday cleared the purchase of 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets for the Indian Air Force and 100 K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzers for the Indian Army at a total cost of around Rs 20,000 crore. The Su-30-MKIs would be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at its Nashik facility while the howitzers will be made by Larsen & Toubro at Hazira, Gujarat. ndian chess sensation D Gukesh on Thursday dethroned reigning Chinese champion Ding Liren to be crowned the International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Champion, becoming, at age 18, the youngest ever world champion, and the second Indian to wear the crown. Gukesh capitalised on a blunder by Ding in the winner-takes-all 14th and final game of their FIDE World Championship tie to dethrone the champion, winning the match 7.5 to 6.5. The Chennai native is the 18th World Champion in the over century-long history of chess and the youngest, beating Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 21. Gukesh is the second Indian to win the World Chess Championship title, claiming the title just over a decade after five-time Champion Viswanathan Anand had lost the title to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in Chennai in 2013. Carlsen has abdicated the crown in 2023, paving the way for Ding to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi. With the scores levelled at 6.5-6.5 each heading into their final game, Gukesh on Thursday managed to deliver his best when it was needed the most. Having battled it out for 13 games over three weeks, Ding was looking forward to the rapid and blitz tiebreakers as he had effectively countered the aggressive tactics of the young Indian challenger to steer the game towards HAZLEWOOD AIMING FOR BRISBANE COMEBACK P6 At 18, Gukesh is the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, beating out Garry Kasparov, and 2nd Indian to win the title after Viswanathan Anand RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE NIFTY FARMER HANDCUFFED IN TELANGANA, CM ORDERS PROBE a drawish position. But the 32-year-old champion made a sensational blunder when he moved his rook, causing it to be trapped and him to lose the game as Gukesh had an extra pawn in the king pawn ending. Gukesh nearly leapt out of his chair, took a pause, settled his nerves, claimed the rook and sealed the victory. "I have been dreaming of this for the last 10-12 years since I started playing chess and the only way to explain this is that I am living my dream. Firstly, thankfully to God as I am living a miracle and it could be possible only because of God," said Gukesh, who praised Ding Liren for the fight he put up in this match despite not being in great physical condition. The 18-year-old Indian had created history in April as he won the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, to become the youngest-ever challenger to the world title held by Liren. P16 SILVER 1,04,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.50q-02 Places of Worship Act: SC halts new suits, court orders on religious sites PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 12 DECEMBER In a long-awaited succour, the Supreme Court on Thursday restrained all courts across the country from passing any effective interim or final order including that of surveys in pending suits staking a claim over existing religious structures. Asking the Central government to file its response to the petitions before the court on the matter, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K V Viswanathan also ordered that no fresh suits can be registered making claims over other religious places while the court is hearing cross-petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Section 3 and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and others seeking “effective and proper” enforcement of the 1991 law. “As the matter is subjudice before this court, we deem it fit to direct that while suits may be filed, no suits would be registered and proceedings undertaken till further orders of this court. In the pending suits, courts would not pass any effective interim order or final orders, including orders of survey,” the top court directed. The court gave the Central government four weeks’ time to file its response to the petitions challenging certain provisions of the 1991 law. The Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991, prohibit the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on 15 August 1947. The bench was told that at present 18 suits are pending in the country relating to 10 mosques or shrines, including Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, Ajmer Sharif Dargah and the Sambhal mosque. Stating that the hearing will be focused on the questions framed in the matter on 10 October 2022, the court kept it open to the parties to suggest any other question, for its consideration, that they like to be adjudicated. The petitioners, questioning the constitutionality of Sections 3 and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991, have stated that the 1991 law is void and unconstitutional as it has taken away the right to approach the court and deprives Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs to take back their places of worship and pilgrimage connected with their cultural heritage (Article 29) and it also restricts them from restoring the possession of their places of worship. The 1991 law, the petitions challenging it say, violates the principles of secularism and rule of law, which is an integral part of the Preamble and basic structure of the Constitution. Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of places of worship. It states: "No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof." Section 4 bars filing of any suit or initiating any other legal proceeding for a conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, as existing on 15 August 1947. FM lashes out at Rahul Gandhi over ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill gets Cabinet's nod his remarks on Public Sector Banks CM Mamata lambasts One NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 12 DECEMBER STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 DECEMBER Lashing out at the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, over his remarks on the staterun banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said he has a penchant for making baseless statements. Mr Gandhi had accused the government of misusing state-run banks and their wealth. Reacting to this in a series of posts on social media platform ‘X’, the Finance Minister said: “Rahul Gandhi has a penchant for making baseless statements and the fact is that high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of public sector banks.” Mr Gandhi had alleged that the PSBs had been turned into “private financiers” for the rich and powerful corporations and were being forced Assam govt makes NRC application mandatory for Aadhaar, sparks furore STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE GUWAHATI, 12 DECEMBER In a move that has sparked controversy and a strong political backlash, the Assam government has announced that Aadhaar applications will be rejected if the applicant or their family members have not applied for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). This decision has drawn fierce criticism from Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Trinamul Congress (TMC), which accuse the government of undermining democratic norms. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration have defended the policy as a necessary measure to address illegal immigration concerns, particularly from neighbouring Bangladesh. Mr Sarma said that linking Aadhaar with the NRC would ensure proper identification and prevent misuse of welfare schemes. Gaurav Gogoi, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, criticised the decision, labelling it a political ploy and pointing to alleged financial mismanagement in Assam. Mr Gogoi cited government data alleging widespread corruption in welfare schemes like the PM Kisan initiative. “Significant amounts of public funds have been funnelled into the hands of BJP affiliates while residents continue to bear the burden of GST and other taxes,” he claimed on social media. Sushmita Dev, TMC Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, raised legal objections, emphasising that the Registrar General of India (RGI) has not officially notified the NRC. Ms Dev accused the Sarma government of turning Assam into a “banana republic” and called the decision legally and morally untenable. to prioritise profit over people and unable to serve the public effectively. Mr Gandhi, who had met a delegation of banking officers, wrote on ‘X’ that with staff shortages and “toxic work environment”, PSBs are expected to reach unachievable targets without being provided a level playing field. In response, the FM posted: “Rahul Gandhi's misrepresentation of facts is an insult to the hardworking PSB employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system. It's high time the INCIndia up-skills the LOP's understanding of governance.” The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, aimed to mandate the holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, which is likely to be introduced in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament, sources said. The Bill, once cleared by both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, will become a law. To ensure broad support, the Union government plans to build consensus on the Bill, possibly referring it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed discussions. This exercise will pave the way for including opinions from all political parties which will be sending their representatives. Moreover, this will also facilitate other stakeholders, including state Assembly Speakers to share their views. Opinions of the public may also be sought. Earlier on Wednesday, for- mer President Ram Nath Kovind said the Union government must build a consensus on the 'One Nation, One Election' initiative, emphasising that the issue transcends political interests and serves the nation as a whole. Talking to the media, Mr Kovind, who chairs the committee set up to look into the issue, said: "The Central government will have to build consensus. This issue is not in the interest of any party but the nation. It (One Nation, One Election) will be a gamechanger~ it's not my opinion but that of economists, who believe that after its implementation, the country's GDP will rise by 1-1.5 per cent." Nation One Election move STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 12 DECEMBER Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today lambasted the Centre over the proposed One Nation One Election Bill which has received clearance from the Union Cabinet. “The Union cabinet has bulldozed their way through with the unconstitutional and anti-federal One Nation Election Bill, ignoring every legitimate concern raised by the experts and opposition leaders,” Miss Banerjee wrote on ‘X’. “This is not a carefully considered reform...Our MPs will oppose the draconian legislation tooth and nail in Parliament,” she further wrote.