SATURDAY 09 AUGUST 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR GEHLOT DEFENDS RAHUL ON ‘VOTE CHORI’ ALLEGATION MOS BANDI SANJAY DEMANDS CBI INQUIRY IN PHONE TAPPING CASE P5 P4 SENSEX 79,857.79 q765.47 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with a few spells of Light to moderate rain/ thundershower very likely to occur. RAINFALL: 000.8 mm NIFTY 24,363.30 q232.85 ` vs $ 87.61 ISRAEL PLANS TO RETAKE GAZA CITY IN NEW WAR ESCALATION PARTHIV PATEL LAUDS GILL P9 GOLD `1,04,075 P12 SILVER `1,15,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 66.78 PM speaks to Putin, reaffirms commitment to deepen ties President Putin also briefed PM Modi on the latest developments concerning Ukraine RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 95% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Min. 85% In a social media post on 'X' later, the PM said, ''Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. NEW DELHI, 8 AUGUST TEMPERATURE Max: 29.2 ˚C (-2.8) Min: 25.7 ˚C (-0.8) SUN RISES 05:11 hrs MOON RISES 17:45 hrs SUN SETS 18:14 hrs MOON SETS 03:51 hrs Full Moon on 9 August THUMBNAILS German Member of Parliament Jurgen Hardt visits Lal Chowk during his visit to India, in Srinagar on Friday. nANI Delhi court rejects Christian Michel's plea for release: A Delhi court has rejected the plea of Christian Michel James, a British national and the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, who sought release on the grounds that he has already served the maximum punishment of seven years for the offences he was extradited for. D uring a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India's consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Europe, and invited him to India later this year for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. An official statement here said President Putin briefed PM Modi on the latest developments concerning Ukraine. "The two leaders also reviewed progress in the bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," it said. In a social media post on 'X' later, the PM said, ''Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year." The phone conversation came amid the ongoing trade tensions between India and the United States over India's oil purchases from Russia. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met President Putin in Moscow on Thursday. US President Donald Trump recently increased tariffs imposed on Indian goods to 50 per cent, in what is seen as a sign of his frustration over failing to stop the RussiaUkraine war. PM Modi has already made it clear that his government is committed to prioritising farmers' welfare and will never compromise on their interests by opening up certain sectors of the Indian economy for American businesses even if he has to personally pay a political price for it. In recent days, President Trump has been quite vocal in his criticism of BRICS, a grouping which brings together India, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and some other countries. Apart from India, he has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil. Yesterday, the PM received a telephone call from Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Government withdraws Income Tax Bill 2025 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 AUGUST ThegovernmentonFridaywithdrew the Income-Tax Bill, 2025, which was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha to replace the Income-TaxAct,1961.Thedecision was taken on Friday as there is a need to bring in a Provide electronic voter list & videos of 10-years, or you’re hiding a crime: LoP to EC AGENCIES BENGALURU, 8 AUGUST The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) provide the electronic voters’ list for the past 10 years along with video recordings. He warned that failure to do so would amount to the ECI concealing electoral fraud and a crime. Addressing a massive gathering during the 'Our Vote, Our Right, Our Fight' rally against alleged election fraud, LoP Gandhi said that if the ECI is withholding data, it indicates collusion with the BJP in committing electoral fraud. “The Election Commission must understand that it took six months to expose fraud in just one Lok Sabha seat. If you don’t provide the data, we can still uncover irregularities in 15 to 20 Lok Sabha seats. We already have the information. You can’t hide and escape. One day, you will have to face the Opposition. Each officer and the Commission must be aware of this,” LoP Gandhi warned. He charged, “The result of one Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka was stolen. This is a criminal act against the people of the state. The state government must investigate and take action. The ECI officials who enrolled 1,000 to 15,000 fake voters on the rolls must be held accountable. The truth regarding the Mahadevapura Assembly segment must come out.” revised version of the legislation incorporating voluminous recommendations from the Parliament Select Committee. The report, of the Select CommitteeofLokSabha,chaired by Baijayant Panda, tabled in the Lok Sabha on July 21, observed that the Bill mainly seeks to simplify the language, and does not aim to bring any substantive changes. It noted several drafting issues and recommended addressing them. The Income Tax Bill 2025, aims to simplify tax compliance and reduce the complexity of current tax laws by up to 60 percent.Thelegislationintroduced various restrictions on cash transactions to promote digital payments and curb tax evasion. Some key provisions included that no person shall receive an amount of two lakh rupees or more in a single transaction, in aggregate from a person in a day,orinrespectoftransactions relatingtooneeventoroccasion from a person. Silva and discussed the tariffs issue in detail and how their two countries could enhance economic partnership. The PM recalled his visit to Brazil last month during which the two leaders agreed on a framework to strengthen cooperation in trade, technology, energy, defence, agriculture, health and people-to-people ties. Building on these discussions, they reiterated their commitment to take India-Brazil Strategic Partnership to new heights. The two leaders exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest. False and fabricated: Defence Ministry denies reports of India pausing US arms talks PARWINDER SANDHU NEW DELHI, 8 AUGUST Issuing a strong rebuttal regarding news reports claiming that India has temporarily halted talks related to the defence deals with the US, the Ministry of Defence dubbed them as false and fabricated. A news report on Friday claimed that India has paused plans to purchase weapons and aircraft following US President Donald Trump's announcement of an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods. The report also claimed that India had intended to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the near future to announce certain defence procurements, but the visit was ultimately called off.