THURSDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR GEN CHAUHAN LAUNCHES KEY INFRA INITIATIVES TRUMP PROPOSES U.S.A. TAKING OVER THE GAZA STRIP P10 SENSEX 78,271.28q312.53 WEATHER Partly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 30°C and 18°C respectively. T’GANA GOVT FACES OBJECTION OVER QUOTA FOR MADIGAS P5 NIFTY 23,696.30q42.95 ` vs $ 87.46 Max. 63% Min. 60% KOLKATA, 5 FEBRUARY SILVER 1,07,000 GOLD 87,290.00 Min: 18.3˚C SUN SETS 17:28 hrs MOON SETS 00:29 hrs T The state government will begin mining at the worldÊs second largest coal block at Deucha-Pachami in Birbhum district from Thursday TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 12 February THUMBNAILS Art College students celebrate as they take the idol of Goddess Saraswati for immersion marking the end of the occasion of Saraswati Puja, in Patna. n ANI Bangladesh resumes visa and consular services in Agartala after 2-month suspension: The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala has announced the resumption of visa and consular services from 5 February, ending a two-month suspension imposed after a security breach at the mission. The services were halted on 3 December, a day after a group of protesters stormed the mission premises in response to the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka. (Page 13) he Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group, which has invested more than Rs 50,000 crore in West Bengal over the last 8 years, will double his group’s investment figures in “Mamata Didi’s Bengal” within this decade. Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Group will invest Rs 16,000 crore at Shalboni in Midnapore to put up 2x800 MW power plant and subsequently invest another Rs 16,000 crore to double its power capacity there. JSW will also invest in Durgapur (Andal’s) Aerotropolis project to make the airport larger and set up JSW Industrial Park over 2,000 acres. Harshavardhan Neotia-owned Ambuja Neotia Group will shell out Rs 15,000 crore to put up five star category hotels, seven five-star hotels and one Golf-themes Township across West Bengal. Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG group, on its part, will invest more than Rs 10,000 crore in energy, healthcare and education sector in the state. The diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd, on its parts, is also in the process of investing large sum in manufacturing facilities, IT, and hotels, besides putting up their global centre of excellence for AI in Kolkata. All these were announced at the 8th Bengal Global Business Centre (BGBS) here on Wednesday, much to the pleasure of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Meanwhile, the state government will begin mining at the world’s second largest coal block at Cong’s Rahul Gandhi reiterates nationwide caste census call IMRAN MOJIB PATNA, 5 FEBRUARY why, according to him. the BJP and the RSS wanted to change it. Invoking Rohit Vemula, a student activist who committed suicide in January 2015, he said that all RSS leaders did bow to Ambedkar, but they didn’t respect what he fought for. “They will do it in a subtle way to deceive you,” he said. Mr Gandhi said the new political establishment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has further diminished the representation of Dalits, tribals and backward classes of the society. However, he promised that it wouldn’t continue anymore and asserted that Dalits and the backwards would get a share in power as per their population. In order to achieve these goals, Mr Gandhi stressed the need to conduct a caste survey across the country, making policies based on the collected data and implementing them with full determination. He also cited the example of Telangana in this regard. “The Caste Census will tell us the actual number of Dalits, backward classes, minorities, and the poor from the general category. Based on this, we will analyse their representation in the judiciary, media, institutions, and bureaucracy to uncover the reality,” he said. Mr Gandhi said that not a single Dalit, OBC, or tribal holds a leadership position in India's top 200 companies. Deucha-Pachami in Birbhum district from Thursday itself. Initially, Mining Development And Operator will start work for removing the soil layers, the Chief Minister said. She hoped that this project entailing an investment of Rs 35,000 crore, will be a gamechanger not only for Birbhum but for the industrial scenario of the entire state. That’s not all. Miss Banerjee is hopeful that responding positively to her request to N Chandrasekhar, chairman Tata Sons, the group, which now owns Air India, may also start direct flights US C-17 military aircraft lands in Amritsar with illegal immigrants STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 5 FEBRUARY As many as 104 illegal Indian immigrants deported from the United States landed on Wednesday at Sri Guru Ramdasji International Airport in Amritsar in a US military aircraft. Thirty of them are from Punjab, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, while three each are said to be from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two are from Chandigarh, sources said. Initially, there were reports that the US C-17 Globemaster aircraft was carrying 205 illegal Indian immigrants but the authorities were not disclosing any specific details in this regard. Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal Tuesday said that many people from the country entered the USA on work visas which later expired, making them illegal immigrants. Mahakumbh: PM takes holy dip at Triveni Sangam STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MAHAKUMBH NAGAR, 5 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sacred dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati during the Prayagraj Mahakumbh here on Wednesday. He immersed himself in the Triveni Sangam amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns. Before his ritual bath, PM Modi offered prayers to Lord Surya, chanted on Rudraksha (dried seeds used for prayers by Hindus and Buddhists) beads, and performed rituals, honouring the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati, followed by Ganga Puja and Aarti. Adhering to traditions, Prime Minister Modi first touched the holy waters in reverence before offering tarpan (offering made to divine entities) and prayers to the Sun. Clad in a black kurta, saffron sash, and a P16 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 75.43q0.79 BJP comeback in Delhi after 27 years, big setback for AAP, predict exit polls NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY Reliance Group to invest Rs 50,000 cr more in Bengal within a decade RITWIK MUKHERJEE The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, reiterated his call for a nationwide caste census as he underlined the paradox of representation without power for the country’s Dalits, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and tribals. Speaking at a programme pertaining to the birth anniversary of the Dalit icon Jaglal Chaudhary in Patna, Mr Gandhi, observing that India’s backward classes do have political representation, but that has not translated into real power in their hands. “Dalits have been given representation, but due to lack of actual participation in the power structure, it means nothing,” Mr Gandhi said. He also repeated his call to save the Constitution of India, contending that only the Constitution could give the backward classes true representation, and that is P6 BGBS bags multiple investment pledges RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 30.2˚C SUN RISES 06:13 hrs MOON RISES 11:32 hrs ABHISHEK SHARMA JUMPS TO NO.2 IN ICC T20I BATTERS’ LIST Himachali cap, he offered akshat (raw unbroken rice sprinkled with water), naivedya (offering to deity or nature), flowers, fruits, and a red chunari (cloth used to cover the top of a dress) to the divine confluence, amid Vedic hymns reverberating in the air. Following the dip, he performed Aarti of the three sacred rivers. The Tirtha Purohit present at the site honoured him with a tilak. After the puja, PM Modi and CM Adityanath shared a boat ride back to the helipad. After his Sangam dip, PM Modi wrote on social media: “Blessed to be at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. The Snan at the Sangam is a moment of divine connection, and like the crores of others who have taken part in it, I was also filled with a spirit of devotion.” “May Maa Ganga bless all with peace, wisdom, good health and harmony,” he added. Prime Minister Modi arrived at Prayagraj Airport in the morning and proceeded to the DPS helipad aboard an MI-17 helicopter, where Chief Minister Adityanath received him. From there, he travelled to Arail Ghat and boarded a boat to head toward the Triveni Sangam. Accompanied by CM Adityanath, the Prime Minister discussed the arrangements made for the Mahakumbh and the facilities provided for devotees. During the boat ride, he also acknowledged the greetings of the devotees gathered at the Sangam and waved to them. Upon reaching the Triveni Sangam, PM Modi joined thousands of common devotees already performing their ritual baths. Notably, despite the VVIP movement, there was no restriction on public participation, allowing devotees to continue their sacred dips alongside the Prime Minister. from Kolkata to some European destinations. The chief minister said that over the last seven seasons of the Bengal Global Business Summit, the state has received investments worth Rs 19,50,000 crore, out of which projects entailing investments of Rs 12,00,000 crore are already in different stages of implementations. She said that as many as six economic corridors besides different highways will also fuel economic and industrial growth of the state. Industrialists present on the occasion attributed the state's success in attracting fresh inflows to the state to transparency, efficiency, ease of doing in business and Miss Banerjee's leadership. (More reports on Pg 4) Exit polls telecast by different private TV channels, on Wednesday evening, predicted comfortable victory for the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections. Voting for the 70-seat Delhi Assembly ended at 6 p.m. with the turnout hovering around 60 per cent. Voter turnout stood at 57.70 till 5 p.m, with the highest registered at Mustafabad constituency at 66.68 per cent. The 11-hour voting remained largely peaceful except for some sporadic complaints of bogus voting and model code violation If the exit polls prove correct, the saffron party will return to power in the national capital after a gap of 27 years. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), according to the exit polls, could finish with 25 to 30 seats in the 70 member Delhi Assembly while Congress may end up with one seat. Most of the exit polls have predicted a big win for the BJP as the saffron party is projected to get over 40 seats out of 70 assembly seats in Delhi while only two exit polls have predicted the victory of the AAP. The Delhi Assembly polls saw a triangular contest between the ruling AAP and Opposition parties BJP and Congress. According to the Peoples Pulse poll survey, the BJP and its allies may get 5160 seats out of 70 seats, AAP may win up to 10-19 seats and Congress zero seats. As per P-MARQ, the BJP and its allies may get 39-49 seats while the AAP is poised to win 21-31 seats. It has predicted 0-1 seats for the grand old party. According to the WeePreside exit poll, the AAP may get 46-52 seats while the BJP may win up to 18-23 seats. It has also predicted 0-1 seats for the grand old party. Poll Diary has predicted 42-50 seats for the BJP and its allies and 18-25 for the AAP. Meanwhile, JVC has pre- dicted 39-45 seats for the saffron party and its allies in Delhi while the AAP is poised to win 22-31 seats. Matrize exit poll has predicted a close contest between the BJP and AAP. It said the the saffron party is likely to win 35-40 seats and the AAP 32-37 seats. It has predicted one seat for the Congress. According to People's Insight exit poll, the BJP is likely to emerge victorious in 40-44 seats and AAP 25-29 seats. The Congress, it said, can win a 0-1 seat. Meanwhile, Chanakya Strategies has predicted 3944 seats for the BJP, 25-28 seats for the AAP and 2-3 seats for Congress.