THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P9 SENSEX 80,182.20q502.25 WEATHER Mostly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28°C and 16°C respectively. NIFTY ‘ISRAELI TROOPS TO OCCUPY INDIA, AUSTRALIA BUFFER ZONE INSIDE SYRIA SHARE HONOURS IN FOR FORESEEABLE FUTURE’ BRISBANE TEST KTR CHALLENGES REVANTH TO DEBATE ON FORMULA E WILL XI PLAY BALL WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE? P6 24,198.85q137.15 P10 ` vs $ 84.94 GOLD 78,970.00 SILVER 1,00,000 Shah’s Ambedkar remarks spark huge political storm Opposition demands Shah’s resignation; HM accuses Cong of distorting his statement Max. 75% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max: 28.5˚C SUN RISES 06:10 hrs MOON RISES 20:52 hrs Min. 65% NEW DELHI, 18 DECEMBER Min: 16.1˚C SUN SETS 16:56 hrs MOON SETS 09:33 hrs U New Moon on 31 December THUMBNAILS Police personnel mounted on US-origin Warmblood horses and England-origin thoroughbred horses, along with horses of Indian, breed patrol ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj on Wednesday. n ANI PM to visit Kuwait: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on 21-22 December at the invitation of Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, it was officially announced on Wednesday. This will be the first visit of an Indian PM to the Gulf country in 43 years. During the visit, the PM will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. He will also interact with the Indian community in Kuwait. nion Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha turned into a major controversy on Wednesday with the Congress-led Opposition raising a storm in Parliament, causing both Houses to be adjourned without transacting any business. Mr Shah also came under attack from Opposition leaders across the spectrum, while the ruling party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mounted a fierce defence. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, among others, demanded Mr Shah’s resignation, in response to which the Union Home Minister accused the grand old party of distorting his statement for vested political interests. At a press conference, Mr Kharge referred to the Home Minister's remark in the Upper House that it had become a fashion to name ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar’ for furthering one's political interests. This, he said, amounted to insulting the architect of the Constitution. Hitting back, the Home Minister accused the Congress of being "anti-BR Ambedkar, anti-reservation and anti-Constitution." He said the main opposition party has been presenting facts about his speech in the Upper House in a distorted manner. Mr Kharge said: "Our demand is that Amit Shah should apologise. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi has even a little respect for Babasaheb, then he should dismiss Shah from his cabinet immediately." Attacking the BJP and RSS, the Congress President said: “BJP-RSS and their political ancestors have never respected the Constitution. Their political ancestors never accepted the Constitution, burnt its copies. These people did not even adopt the tricolor. If BJP and its leaders have respect for Ambedkar ji then they would never have said such things.” During his speech in the Rajya Sabha in reply to the debate on the Constitution, Mr Shah had said: "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak India, China discuss resumption of Kailash Yatra, border peace AGENCIES BEIJING, 18 DECEMBER India and China on Wednesday decided to give "positive directions" for cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade, during the visit of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to Beijing. This was announced following the 23d meeting of the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China which was attended by NSA Doval and Wang Yi, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Wednesday's meeting in Beijing was the first between the Special Representatives since frictions had emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in 2020. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the SRs reiterated the importance ‘This will be my last day’: Ashwin drops retirement bombshell after Gabba draw TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 18 DECEMBER Moments after the rainmarred Brisbane Test ended in a draw, India’s star offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday shocked the cricketing world by announcing his immediate retirement from international cricket, midway through the Border-Gavaskar series. The 38-year-old fronted the post-match press conference at the Gabba with captain Rohit Sharma where he revealed it would be his "last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level”. “I do feel there's a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to express that and probably showcase that in club-level cricket.” “I've had a lot of fun; I've created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates, even though I have lost some of them [from the India team] over the last few years. We’re the last bunch of OGs, if we can say that, left out in the dressing room, and I will be marking this as my date of having played at this level. “Obviously there are a lot of people to thank, but I would BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.31p0.46 Anti-Dalit mindset: CM Mamata attacks HM Shah over Ambedkar remarks AGENCIES RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE P16 be failing in my duties if I didn't thank the BCCI and the fellow team-mates. Several of them. I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been part of the journey. Most importantly, Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], [Cheteshwar] Pujara, who have taken those splendid catches around the bat to give me the number of wickets I've managed to get over the years,” he continued. “Also a big thank you to the Australian cricket team, who have been very fierce competitors. I have enjoyed my time playing against them.” “It's truly a very emotional moment … it's a game that's given me everything,” he added. The Tamil Nadu tweaker took 1-53 in India’s defeat in the second Test in Adelaide after being left out of the series opener in Perth, and then was again overlooked for Ravindra Jadeja in Brisbane. of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question, and resolved to inject more vitality into this process. “Both SRs underlined the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas... They emphasised the need to ensure peaceful conditions on the ground so that issues on the border do not hold back the normal development of bilateral relations,” said the MEA statement. “The SRs exchanged views on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. They provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade. They agreed on the salience of stable, predictable and amicable IndiaChina relations for regional and global peace and prosperity," the statement added. Mr Doval invited Mr Wang to visit India at a mutually convenient date for the next round of the SR talks. swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to chant Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven)." Countering the Congress during a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Mr Shah said: “Since yesterday, Congress has been presenting the facts in a distorted way and I condemn it... Congress is anti-BR Ambedkar, it is against reservation and the Constitution. Congress also insulted Veer Savarkar. By imposing Emergency, they violated all Constitutional values.” “My statement in the Rajya Sabha was distorted and misrepresented to the public. The Congress party has a tendency to distort statements and create unnecessary uproar. They previously edited a statement made by PM Modi and made it public. During the elections, my statement was also edited using AI technology and broadcast across the country,” he said. (More on Page 5) Cong can’t hide their insults of Ambedkar: PM NEW DELHI, 18 DECEMBER Stung by the Opposition's protest against Home Minister Amit Shah's speech in the Rajya Sabha while replying to the debate on the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Congress and its ecosystem are gravely mistaken if they think their “malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards the architect of the Indian Constitution”. “The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities,” he said in a series of posts on social media platform 'X'. SNS KOLKATA, 18 DECEMBER West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack against BJP over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, claiming that this is a “display of BJP’s casteist and anti-Dalit mindset”. In a statement on Facebook, the Chief Minister claimed that as the Indian Parliament reflected on 75 glorious years of the Constitution, the Union home minister chose to tarnish this occasion with derogatory remarks against Ambedkar and that “too in the temple of Democracy”. “This is a display of BJP’s CASTEIST and ANTI-DALIT mindset. If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would’ve inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realised. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr Ambedkar’s contributions,” Miss Banerjee's statement read. According to her, the Union Home Minister’s remarks were an insult to the millions who look up to Ambedkar for guidance and inspiration. “But what else can you expect from a party that has internalised hate and Bigotry?” the Chief Minister questioned. Describing Ambedkar as the “Father of the Indian Constitution,” the Chief Minister said that the “outrageous” remark is not only an outright attack on him but all members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, which symbolised India’s unity in diversity with members from all castes, creeds, ethnicities, and religions. Meanwhile, the Trinamul Congress’ Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien on Wednesday submitted a privilege notice against Mr Shah over the Union home minister’s remarks on BR Ambedkar, news agencies reported quoting unnamed sources, as the Opposition targeted the BJP leader over his speech on Tuesday. 13 dead as Navy boat slams into ferry off Mumbai AGENCIES MUMBAI, 18 DECEMBER At least 13 persons drowned, including three Indian Navy sailors, while another 99 were rescued from the Arabian Sea when a naval speedboat conducting engine trials abruptly rammed into a crowded passenger ferry near the Raigad Coast off the Gateway of India here on Wednesday evening. The passenger boat, reported to be a private catamaran named Neelkamal, was ferrying around 110 tourists plus five crew members to the Elephanta Islands The disaster occurred around 5.15 p.m, according to BMC Disaster Control. Official sources said that a rigid inflatable boat belonging to the Navy that was undergoing engine trials went out of control and crashed into the Neelkamal at high speed, overturning it and throwing most of the tourists into the Arabian Sea near Uran, Karanja, on the Raigad coast, around 10 km from the Gateway of India. Videos of the tragedy, taken by aghast passengers from other ferries in the vicinity, showed people screaming for help, flailing their arms and legs to remain afloat or trying to hold on to their near and dear ones. A massive rescue operation was launched, involving four Indian Navy helicopters and 15 other vessels including those of the Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, along with local fishers and other ferry boats, to save the victims. By 9 p.m, the authorities confirmed 13 deaths, including three Indian Navy sailors and 10 civilians, several people ‘critical’ in different hospitals, and over 100 other tourists whose condition is reported to be ‘stable’ in various hospitals, while the search continues for another five still missing as darkness fell.