SATURDAY 12 JULY 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR MAHA CM DEFENDS PUBLIC SECURITY BILL SENIOR CONG LEADER ASKS THAROOR TO CHOOSE HIS PATH P6 SENSEX 82,500.47 q689.81 WEATHER Generally Cloudy sky with one or two spells of light rain/ thundershower very likely to occur. RAINFALL: 03.9 mm P5 NIFTY 25,149.85 q205.40 P9 ` vs $ 85.87 GOLD `1,00,415 Op Sindoor: NSA debunks claims in foreign media Show me one photo of any damage in India, said NSA Ajit Doval ‘ RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97% MC RAJAN Min. 78% CHENNAI, 11 JULY TEMPERATURE Max: 30.8˚C (-2.0) Min: 26.1˚C (-0.8) SUN RISES 04:59 hrs MOON RISES 19:06 hrs SUN SETS 18:25 hrs MOON SETS 05:04 hrs New Moon on 25 July THUMBNAILS A gaggle of white geese swim in a pond to beat the heat as the temperature rises, at Jor-Pukhuri in Guwahati on Friday. nANI Tennis player's murder: Deepak Yadav, who allegedly shot his daughter, tennis player Radhika Yadav, dead in Gurugram, Haryana, has been sent by a court to a day's police remand for questioning. Yadav was produced before a Gurugram court on Friday afternoon, where the cops sought a twoday remand. However, the judge allowed only a day for his interrogation. Union Home secretary's tenure extended: The Central Government has extended the tenure of Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan until 22 August next year. An order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in services of Mr Mohan as Union Home Secretary. Govind Mohan was scheduled to retire on 30 September. He took over the responsibility in August 2024. D ebunking the claims in international media, especially The New York Times, in their the reportage on Operation Sindoor, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday dared them to provide one single image to prove that India suffered damages in the conflict with Pakistan. “Foreign press has written that Pakistan had done this and that. You show me one image or photograph on damage on the Indian side, even a glass pane having been broken,” he said, while addressing the 62nd convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. “Would they carry the images of the 13 airbases of Pakistan before and after May 10, whether it was Sargoda, Rahim Yar Khan or Chaklala at Rawalpindi. These days these imageries are from satellites all over the world. Has any image shown damage on the Indian side? We hit their 13 airbases, including the one in Bholari where they have their AWACS control systems.” Mr Doval said, adding: “We have hit their 13 important airbases and (nothing) except that. It was precise and pointed.” Describing the execution of Operation Sindoor as short and swift, which he claimed as unprecedented in the last 40 years, the NSA explained: “The entire operation started at five minutes past one and was over at 28 minutes past one - 23 minutes. We are capable of doing that.” “We identified nine ter- KOLKATA, 11 JULY A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, directed the Union Home Ministry to submit to the court a report on allegations that some migrant workers from West Bengal residing in New Delhi have been deported to Bangladesh. The Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobrata Kumar Mitra also directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to contact his counterpart in the Delhi government and get a report on the same matter from it, which will rorist targets across Pakistan, deep inside that country and not in the border areas. It was a criss-cross pattern but with surgical precision, we hit them without missing any one of them. We knew exactly where everyone was and no unintended site was attacked. It was a wellcoordinated successful operation. And, satellite images tell the real story of what had happened,” he said, countering the scepticism in the international media about the efficacy of Operation Sindoor. According to him Oper- Would they carry the images of the 13 airbases of Pakistan before and after May 10, whether it was Sargoda, Rahim Yar Khan or Chaklala at Rawalpindi. These days these imageries are from satellites all over the world. Has any image shown damage on the Indian side? We hit their 13 airbases, including the one in Bholari where they have their AWACS control sys- AJIT DOVAL tems. ation Sindoor marked a milestone in the deployment of indigenously developed military hardware and weapons. And in a push for self-reliance in the domain of technology, he said the country would completely indigenise its communication systems as it is essential to safeguard national security and for data protection. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 JULY The Special Intensive Revision drive of electoral rolls in Bihar has made significant progress, with over 74 per cent of the state's nearly 7.90 crore electors having submitted their Enumeration Forms, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said Friday. As of 11 July, a total of 5,87,49,463 forms have been collected, it said. The ECI said the SIR process, which began on 24 June, has seen tireless efforts from 77,895 Booth Level Officers and 20,603 newly appointed BLOs, along with other election officials and over 4 lakh volunteers. The BLOs have been visiting „There are over 1.5 crore migrant workers in Bengal who are earning their livelihood with dignity. We cannot say the same for the BJP-ruled states, where Bengali-speaking people are being branded as infiltrators,‰ CM Banerjee said. also have to be submitted to the court. The next hearing on the matter will be on 16 July. The Division Bench gave this direction on Friday acting on a petition by an advocate at the same court that some migrant workers from West Bengal who were in Delhi for their livelihood had recently been branded as Bangladeshi infiltrators and subsequently deported to Bangladesh. The advocate informed the court that those who have been deported to Bangladesh included an eight-year-old child, who was staying in Delhi with her parents. Recently, another case was filed at the Calcutta High Court accusing the Odisha government of unnecessarily detaining a group of migrant workers from West Bengal after branding them as illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators. households to assist electors and collect filled Enumeration Forms. To ensure the smooth progress of the SIR exercise, the ECI has implemented a new module in ECINet for the verification of uploaded forms by Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and Electoral Registration Officers. So far, 3.73 crore Enumeration Forms have been digi- tised and uploaded through the BLO App/ECINet. With 14 days left before the deadline, the SIR exercise is being closely supervised by field-level functionaries, including District Election Officers, EROs, and AEROs. “We urge all eligible electors to submit their forms before the deadline of July 25, 2025,” the poll panel said. India now leads world in fast digital payments: IMF STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 JULY India now leads the world in fast digital payments, powered by the rapid growth of the UPI, according to the latest fintech note released by the IMF. The report, “Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability” noted that UPI has become the largest retail fast payment system globally by volume. “India now makes faster payments than any other country,” the IMF note said. It said the system’s success is underpinned by its interoperability, which allows seamless transactions across different payment providers and banks. It also pointed out a decline in the use of other payment instruments, including debit and credit cards, as more consumers and businesses shift to UPI. “UPI provides a strong example of how interoperable systems can promote widespread adoption of digital payments and financial inclusion,” itsaid,encouragingothercountries to explore similar openloopinfrastructuretoaccelerate digital economies. India’s digital payment success, particularly through UPI, has already drawn interest from several countries exploring similar platforms or collaborations, further positioning India as a global fintech leader. One Nation, One Election Bill does not hamper basic structure, need to address grey areas, former CJIs tell parliamentary panel AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 11 JULY Former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and JS Khehar Friday told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the One Nation, One Election Bill that while the proposal doesn't violate the Constitution's basic structure, it requires significant refinement. The two former CJIs today appeared before the JPC to give their views on the proposed legislation. According to sources, former CJI Chandrachud expressed concerns over the bill's provisions granting broad powers to the Election Commission of India, par- ticularly in postponing elections or modifying constitutional provisions. Justice Chandrachud suggested that the ECI’s authority to delay elections should be restricted to situations involving national security or public order. Any such decision should be ratified by both Houses of Parliament, and postponements should be allowed only for a fixed period. Justice Chandrachud highlighted two significant gaps in the bill. Firstly, it doesn’t clarify how the synchronised election cycle would be affected during a National Emergency, which allows Parliament and state assembly tenures to be extended by one year. Sec- ondly, the bill lacks clarity on handling premature dissolutions of state assemblies. Justice Chandrachud also emphasised the need to maintain constitutional balance by ensuring that the Election Commission’s powers are clearly defined and limited, citing Article 356(5) as a comparative framework. The former CJI said that any change in the tenure of the assembly to implement the provisions of the bill should be decided by Parliament, not by the ECI. What needs to be deferred can be done with the sanction of Parliament. The JPC, chaired by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, is examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes simultaneous elections, aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Former CJI JS Khehar, who also appeared before the panel to give his views elaborated that the bill, in principle, does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, but as regards the powers of the Election Commission, there is a need for more consultations on the issue. Both the former CJIs underscored the need for precise legislative language and checks on the ECI's powers to prevent potential misuse. An Opposition MP later said that the two former CJIs conveyed that the bill may not be against the basic structure doctrine, but is unlikely to stand legal and constitutional scrutiny in its present form. Another Opposition MP later said that the bill cannot be a substitute for electoral reforms. Many opposition parties are opposed to the provisions of the bill. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 69.67 Rahul slams BJP, calls caste census a weapon against corporate-backed exploitation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 11 JULY Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and termed the caste census as a powerful weapon that would unmask the party’s alleged exploitation of the poor, Dalits, tribals, and OBCs for the benefit of a few billionaire friends of PM Modi. Addressing a ‘Save Constitution’ rally in Bhubaneswar, Mr Gandhi said the Congress is committed to protecting the rights of marginalised communities and ensuring their rights to land, forests, and water. He said that the caste census would lead to an equitable distribution of resources and a fair share in development, citing the example of Telangana where such a census has been conducted. Criticising the Modi-led model of development, Mr Gandhi accused the Centre of looting public wealth and handing it over to a few corporates. He cited the PM Fasal Bima Yojana as an example, alleging that while funds are collected from farmers and governments, insurance claims are denied during natural calamities. The money goes to a few corporate houses, he said. He claimed the BJD, and now the BJP-led state government, have perpetuated the same exploitative policies in Odisha. Mr Gandhi alleged that laws like the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), me- ant to safeguard the rights of tribals and Scheduled Castes, remain unimplemented in Odisha. He accused the state government of being controlled by a handful of industrialists friends of the PM who, he said, were displacing the poor, grabbing land, and exploiting the state's mineral wealth. Healsoraisedserious concerns about women's safety in the state, citing over 40,000 cases of missing womenandchildrenandalleging that 15 rapes occur daily. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also launched a strong critique of the Prime Minister, stating that while former US President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed credit for a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor, PM Modi remained silent. Mr Kharge accused the PM of seeking global recognition and globe trotting while not finding time to visit strife-torn Manipur. Congress takes dig at PM Modi, RSS chief Bhagwat over birthday remarks NEW DELHI, 11 JULY 74.39 pc of enumeration forms collected in Bihar: ECI P16 SILVER `1,11,750 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Calcutta HC seeks report from Union Home Ministry on charges of migrant workers from Bengal being deported to Bangladesh AGENCIES IT’S NOT A HOLIDAY: GAMBHIR BACKS BCCI’S FAMILY RULE ‘SAMAJWADI PARTY’S PDA SLOGAN A FARCE’ Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks that one should step aside after attaining the age of 75 have prompted sharp comments from the Opposition on Friday, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh taking a jibe at both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Bhagwat. “Poor award-winning Prime Minister! What a homecoming - reminded by the RSS chief upon return that he will turn 75 on September 17, 2025…But the Prime Minister could also tell the RSS chief that - he too will turn 75 on September 11, 2025! One arrow, two targets,” Mr Ramesh quipped. Speaking at a book launch event on Wednesday, Mr Bhagwat had said: “When you turn 75, it means you should stop now and make way for others.” The remarks have sparked speculation across the political fraternity with Opposition leaders interpreting it as a subtle hint to PM Modi regarding his age. The proximity of their birthdays has added fuel to the debate, as Opposition leaders questioned whether PM Modi will also follow the same rule he applied to other leaders. The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut has said: “PM Modi forced leaders like LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Jaswant Singh to retire after they turned 75. Let's see if he applies the same rule to himself now.”