FRIDAY 03 JANUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘ARTICLE 370 THE REASON BEHIND TERRORISM IN KASHMIR VALLEY’ ‘MY GOVT NOT FACING PRESSURE FROM PM OR HOME MINISTER’ P5 SENSEX 79,943.71p1,436.30 WEATHER Generally clear. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 24°C and 14°C respectively. NIFTY P8 24,188.65p445.75 ` vs $ 85.75 Max. 77% KOLKATA, 2 JANUARY Min. 65% TEMPERATURE C Min: 14.1˚C SUN SETS 17:05 hrs MOON SETS 20:29 hrs Full Moon on 14 January THUMBNAILS Cold and hazy weather blanketed New Delhi on Thursday. n SUBRATA DUTTA Never directed to end DallewalÊs hunger strike, says SC: The Supreme Court said that it has never directed to end the hunger strike of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast-unto-death, but is only concerned with his health. A Division Bench of the court said that shifting Dallewal to the hospital should not mean that he will not continue his fast but that the medical facilities are available which will ensure that no harm is caused to his life. (P8) hief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday trained her guns on the Border Security Force (BSF) again, accusing it of facilitating infiltration in the state, allowing killers to sneak in, and also pulled up the state police and district administrations for being silent on the issue. In the same vein, Miss Banerjee said that it was nothing but a design of the Centre to tarnish the image of the state. Miss Banerjee, while condemning the murder of a Trinamul Congress councillor, Dulal Sarkar, in Malda today, pulled up the state police for its negligence, even as she slammed the Border Security Force for allowing infiltration into the state, while the state police, DMs, SPs remained silent spectators. In a blistering attack to the BSF, she said: “The BSF on the border is allowing infiltrators and killers to sneak in the state to resort to killings, while the DMs, SPs, BDO s remain mute spectators. They have no information. These acts of the BSF are nothing but a design of the Centre to vilify the state. What are the Prime Minister, Union Home minister doing? I will write to the Home minister on the issue yet again.” She remarked that the BSF, which is responsible for guarding the borders, was allowing individuals to cross into India from regions such as Islampur, Sitai, and Chopra and questioned the motives behind this and attributed it to a "blueprint" from the central government. She emphasised that the Centre amends prison rules across states to address caste-based discrimination STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE situation would not have been possible without the central government's involvement. Miss Banerjee, while addressing an administrative review meeting at the Nabanna Sabhaghar today, dwelt on a wide range of shortcomings plaguing the administration, from encroachments of government vested lands to alleged infiltration in cahoots with the BSF. She spoke tough on the alleged laxity of the officials concerned of various departments, particularly the police, who she alleged were “inert” as far as purging of encroachments from government vested lands is concerned. Working Group set up for base revision of WPI AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 2 JANUARY NEW DELHI, 2 JANUARY officials concerned of the states and UTs, also instructed to implement the said amendments, ensuring strict compliance as per the directions of the SC. It is a step which marks a significant effort to uphold prisoners' dignity and eliminate social biases within the country's correctional framework. The top court had highlighted caste-based discrimination and unconstitutional practices within prison systems, directing the Centre and the state governments to act promptly with regard to the same. All references and definitions of "habitual offenders" in the impugned prison manuals and rules have been declared unconstitutional by the court. As per the ministry communication, a habitual offender will now mean a person who, during any continuous period of five years, has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for more than two times for offences committed on different occasions “and not constituting parts of the same transaction”, with the sentence not having been reversed. The government on Thursday announced the constitution of a Working Group headed by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand for revising the base of the current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2011-12 to 2022-23. The Working Group has been asked to submit its final report to the Office of the Economic Adviser within 18 months. The members of the group include representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, the Finance Ministry's Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Statistics, Department of Consumer Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. SBI Chief Economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh has also been appointed a member. BGT 2024-25: Struggling Rohit doubtful starter for Sydney Test TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 2 JANUARY Amid rumours of Rohit Sharma mulling at Test retirement after the completion of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday refused to clear the uncertainty over the out-ofform skipper’s participation for the fifth and final Test, starting Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Having missed the tour opener in Perth that India won by 295 runs under Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit has since struggled with the bat, managing only 31 runs in the next three Tests at an average of just 6.20, and his side desperately needing a win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and keep their slim hopes of ICC World Test Championships Final qualification alive. As a result, Rohit could struggle to find a place in P12 SILVER 99,000 GOLD 79,350.00 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 75.51p0.87 Manu Bhaker, Gukesh D among four athletes to be awarded Khel Ratna TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 2 JANUARY Chief minister condemns the murder of Trinamul councillor Dulal Sarkar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE In a step towards discouraging caste-based discrimination and addressing the issue with regard to prisoners, the Ministry of Home Affairs has amended the prison manual rules across the states and union territories. It has also redefined the 'Habitual Offender' term in accordance with the principles of the Constitution, as per the amendments in the prison manual. The MHA had sent a communication to the Chief Secretaries, Directors General/ Inspectors General of the prisons of all the states and the UTs regarding the amendments in the “Model Prison Manual, 2016” and the “Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023” in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court on 3 October 2024. The Home Ministry in a written communication on 30 December 2024, to the P10 Mamata accuses BSF of facilitating infiltration RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 24.7˚C SUN RISES 06:17 hrs MOON RISES 09:00 hrs FM MEETS FINANCIAL AUS TO REPLACE MITCH SECTOR, CAPITAL WITH BEAU WEBSTER MARKETS STAKEHOLDERS FOR FIFTH TEST the Playing XI for the final Test, and the speculations gained momentum when Gambhir fronted the prematch press conference on match eve instead of the customary practice of the captain addressing the media. With his side trailing 1-2 in the series and the opportunity of extending their hold on the BGT Trophy to a full decade still in the offing if they win in Sydney, the 43year-old Gambhir remained coy of Rohit’s participation at Thursday's presser. “Everything is fine with Rohit. I don't think it's anything traditional (that a captain must speak to the media the day before a Test). If the coach is there, that should be fine, that should be good enough. We will have a look at the wicket and finalise it tomorrow (Friday),” said Gambhir. When quizzed again on whether Rohit would play at the SCG, Gambhir continued, “I just said that we’re going to have a look at the wicket and announce a playing XI tomorrow (Friday). The answer remains the same.” The chances of Rohit’s axing from the final Test increased after the veteran opener wasn’t a part of the main group of batters in the practice nets even as India completed their slips catching practice without him, and Virat Kohli moved to the first slip for the drills, KL Rahul to second, Nitish Kumar Reddy to third. The only time the 37-year-old put on his pads at India’s only training session between the fourth and fifth Tests, was when he batted for around 15 minutes and only faced throwdowns. In case Rohit misses the final Test, Shubman Gill, axed in Melbourne, could return to action. The head coach did reveal seamer Akash Deep would miss the final Test with a back issue. She said that a panel of experts would be formed under the state home secretary Nandini Chakraborty which would go into the details of alleged land grabs by encroachers and report it to the chief secretary, Manoj Pant, who in turn would report to her. Coming down heavily on the police and issuing a warning to the alleged encroachers that they are running the risk of their property being attached, the chief minister said: “ Police are doing nothing as far as removal of encroachers from the vested lands are concerned as government lands are falling into the hands of the encroachers every passing day when the police remain inactive. They are thinking that they will be transferred to somewhere else after three years, why they would shoulder such responsibilities?” Miss Banerjee said: “If any body in the police force is found to be shirking their responsibilities, even if they get transferred to somewhere else he or she would be taken to task.” (See also Page 3) Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker and chess world champion D Gukesh are among the four athletes finalised for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, the Sports Ministry announced on Thursday. Indian men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold medal winner Praveen Kumar will be the other two recipients of the prestigious award that will be conferred upon them by President Droupadi Murmu, at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital on 17 January. The Khel Ratna is the highest sporting honour for sportspersons in India. The sports ministry also named 32 athletes, including 17 para-athletes, for the Arjuna awards. The announcement came as a relief for shooter Manu Bhaker, whose name was initially missing from the list of nominees for the Khel Ratna award. Manu’s father Ram Kishan and coach Jaspal Rana were furious over the snub. Later, Manu acknowledged a potential oversight in the nomination process, and clarified that she was not concerned with awards and remained focused on winning more lau- rels for the country. “With regards to the ongoing issue for my nomination for the most prestigious Khel Ratna award - I would like to state that as an athlete my role is to play and perform for my country. Awards and recognition keeps me motivated but are not my goal. I believe there has been a lapse, maybe on my part while filing for the nomination which is being corrected. Irrespective of the award I shall remain motivated to win more medals for my country. It is a request to everyone, please do not speculate on this matter,” Manu had posted on social media. The 22-year-old Bhaker became Independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronzewinning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August. In the same Games, Har- manpreet Singh led the Indian men’s hockey team to a second consecutive bronze medal, which helped them match the feats of the sides of the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich editions of the Summer Games. On the other hand, para high-jumper Praveen found himself as one of the recipients after being crowned the T64 champion in the Paris Paralympics. The T64 classification is for athletes who have one or both legs missing below the knee and rely on a prosthetic leg for running. Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Gukesh D recently became the youngest ever World champion while also helping the Indian team win a historic gold in the Chess Olympiad last year. “The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025 (Friday) at 1100 hours,” the sports ministry said in a release.