FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | LC | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL PAGE A misplaced zeal for development Page 6 BRIEFLY Naveen Patnaik in hospital: Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Naveen Patnaik was admitted to SUM Ultimate Medicare, Bhubaneswar at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday due to dehydration. His condition is stable and he is responding well to treatment, according to a medical bulletin issued by the private healthcare facility in Bhubaneswar. Reliable sources said the 79 year old Patnaik fell ill and was rushed to the multi-specialty private hospital at around 5.15 pm. A team of doctors had also reportedly visited Naveen Niwas to check on him. It is learnt that on Friday night he had vomited and doctors had attended to him at his residence. He has lost appetite since his return from surgery in Mumbai. Wang Yi arriving today for 2-day visit: New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will reach New Delhi on Monday for a two-day official visit to India. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Wang Yi on Monday evening. The Chinese Foreign Minister will hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives’ (SR) Talks on the India-China boundary question with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday, the MEA said on Sunday. Trump aims for trilateral summit as early as 22 August NATION Governor outdoing Oppn in maligning govt: Stalin Page 9 Page 4 CP Radhakrishnan is NDA’s VP candidate THE BJP’S CHOICE OF RADHAKRISHNAN, A SEASONED POLITICIAN WITH LONG-STANDING TIES TO THE RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH (RSS), UNDERSCORES THE PARTY’S EFFORT TO POSITION A TAMIL FACE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL AHEAD OF THE 2026 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN TAMIL NADU. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 17 August T he National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday named Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the 9 September Vice Presidential election. The NDA, which holds a majority in the electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament, is expected to have a decisive say in the outcome of the election. The announcement of Radhakrishnan as the NDA's candidate for the upcoming vice presidential election was made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda during a press conference held here after the party's Parliamentary Board meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Nadda said the BJP had held discussions with allies and several Opposition parties over the past week. "At the parliamentary board meeting, we all unanimously Monday, 18 August 2025 Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this photo after the NDA announced Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the Vice-Presidential election, on Sunday. ANI decided on the VP candidate, Mr CP Radhakrishna," the BJP President said. “We hope the Vice President’s election will take place through consensus. We have spoken to many parties, and while the Opposition said they would decide after our announcement, we are hopeful of wider support," he told mediapersons. Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan is currently serving as the 24th Governor of Maharashtra, a post he assumed on 31 July 2024. He previously served as the governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024. He also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry between March and July 2024. The decision to field Radhakrishnan, a seasoned politician with long-standing ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Fresh cloudburst in J&K’s Kathua kills seven, including five children STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Sangh (RSS), is being viewed as a strategic outreach to Tamil Nadu, where Assembly elections are due next year. Born on 20 October 1957 in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur, Mr Radhakrishnan was drawn to the RSS during his teenage years, becoming an active member early in his life. He rose through the ranks of the BJP, serving as the party’s Tamil Nadu state president from 2004 to 2007, a period marked by attempts to expand the BJP’s footprint in the Dravidian heartland. The post of the vice-president fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on 21 July, citing health reasons. Jannik Sinner to face Alcaraz in Cincinnati final Page 12 CEC calls out Oppn for bid to ‘mislead’ voters SHAHID K ABBAS Are you calling my voters liars? EC will not stay shut. He will have to apologise if, within 7 days, I don't get the oath. It means he is a liar, and he blamed my voters as liars New Delhi, 17 August C hief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the questions raised by the Opposition parties on the credibility of the poll body, asserting that the Election Commission treats all parties equally and remains committed to its constitutional duty. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Mr Kumar said: "For the Election Commission, all parties are equal. No matter who belongs to any political party, the Election Commission will not step back from its constitutional duty." The Opposition has accused the Election Commission of India of "vote chori," which the ECI has firmly denied. The CEC also highlighted the transparency of the electoral process. “At the ground level, all the voters, all the political parties, and all the booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner, verifying, signing, and also GYANESH KUMAR giving video testimonials," he said. He questioned how vote chori could occur with over one crore employees, 10 lakh booth-level agents, and 20 lakh polling agents involved in the process. Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "industrial-scale rigging" in the Maharashtra elections, Mr Kumar reiterated that the ECI has a robust system in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter rolls. He said that Mr Gandhi's allegations were baseless and that he had not provided any evidence to support his claims. The ECI had issued a notice to Mr ‘Won’t let vote chori happen in Bihar’: INDIA kicks off ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ IMRAN MOJIB Jammu, 17 August Patna, 17 August Days after the cloudburst in Kishtwar that has so far claimed 65 lives, another catastrophe hit Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday when seven people, including five children, were killed and several others injured after a cloudburst in the Kathua district led to severe flash floods amidst continuous heavy rains. The cloudburst near Janglote around midnight also claimed lives in the nearby Jodh village. Those killed in Kathua have been identified as Renu Devi (39) and her 9-year-old daughter Radhika, of the Janglote area. Surmu Din (30), Fanu (6), Shedu (5), Tahu (2), and Zulfan (15), all belonging to two families in Jodh, were also killed. Many houses were buried under the debris that flowed with the flash flood. Columns of the Rising Star Corps of the Indian Army were immediately deployed for the rescue operations and also provided medical aid to the injured. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that Army helicopters have been pressed into service for shifting the injured to the hospitals for treatment. Six injured have been airlifted for hospitalisation in Mamoon, Pathankot, which was found to be a relatively nearer destination. Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced ex gratia assistance of Rs 2 lakh from the CM’s Relief Fund, in addition to SDRF support to the kin of each of the seven killed. Gandhi, asking him to provide documents under oath to substantiate his allegations. "Are you calling my voters liars???? EC will not stay shut. He will have to apologise if, within 7 days, I don't get the oath. It means he is a liar, and he blamed my voters as liars," Mr Kumar said. “Unsuccessful efforts to mislead the voters” amounted to “nothing less than an insult to the Constitution,” the CEC said. He added that pointing out mistakes in the election process and electoral rolls after the prescribed time can only be considered a political statement. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday alleged that the BJP has been stealing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections across the country with the help of the Election Commission as the Opposition alliance launched its ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Sasaram, Bihar. Addressing a rally before the launch of the Yatra, Mr Gandhi said: “Their last conspiracy is to delete and add voters through Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar to steal the upcoming Assembly elections. We will not let them repeat it in Bihar.” The Yatra, flagged off by RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, will cover 1,300 km across 25 districts in 16 days and will conclude with a massive public rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on 1 September. Mr Gandhi will be accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and other top leaders of the INDIA bloc. The Congress leader said: “We have exposed how the Election Commission has been stealing votes. We won’t allow them to do it anymore ~ be it Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam or West Bengal. Wherever they will do it, we will expose them.” He also spoke about voter manipulation in Maharashtra that he contended swung the Assembly polls results, alleging that one crore names were added to electoral rolls. In his address, Lalu Yadav said: “‘Choro ko hataiye, BJP ko bhagaiye, aur hume jitaiye’. Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Mallikarjun Kharge, and all of you unite, uproot them and throw them away. Save democracy.” Tejashwi Yadav said: ‘Vote ka raaj matalab chhot ka raaj’ (rule through votes means rule for the marginalised). From Lohia to Lalu Yadav, they have fought for this very idea. But today, the BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission, is snatching away people’s right to vote... Bihar is the cradle of democracy. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Election Commission ~ listen carefully: democracy will not be allowed to perish.” Shubhanshu Shukla comes PM inaugurates `11,000 cr highway projects home to rousing welcome NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 17 August STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 17 August Astronaut Group Captain (IAF) Shubhanshu Shukla was accorded a rousing welcome at Indira Gandhi International Airport during the early hours of Sunday in the national capital upon his return to his homeland after becoming only the second Indian to travel into space. Citizens carrying the tricolour, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, along with others received Group Shukla at the airport, celebrating his return after the historic journey from space. Minister Singh, taking to social media, said: “A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. India’s Space Glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, Shubhanshu Shukla lands at Delhi in the early hours of morning today." People welcomed Group Captain Shukla with drums, flowers and hailed his achievement as a proud moment for the nation. Group Captain Shukla, after concluding his historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS), returned to Earth in July. Criticising the previous dispensations for the poor pace of development in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the current BJP government will strive to restore the pride and development of the national capital. Inaugurating two major National Highway projects worth a combined cost of nearly Rs 11,000 crore at Rohini, PM Modi said: “Although it is an arduous task to uplift Delhi from the mess of previous governments, the current Government will strive and restore the pride and development of Delhi.” Without directly naming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with workers involved in the construction of Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway and the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) ANI accused the AAP of "creating hostilities" between the people of Haryana and Delhi during their government's tenure. PM Modi said: “Certain political parties are still unable to accept the public’s mandate. These parties have distanced themselves from both public trust and ground realities.” Stating that a few months ago, conspiracies were hatched to put the people of Delhi and Haryana against each other, the Prime Minister said that false claims were made alleging that Haryana residents were poisoning Delhi’s water supply. He asserted that Delhi and the entire NCR have now been “freed from such negative politics”, reaffirming the government’s resolve to transform the NCR and expressing confidence that this vision will be successfully realised. “Good governance is the hallmark of our governments and in our administrations, the people are paramount,” Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister said the consistent effort of the BJP is to make citizens’ lives easier. He noted that this commitment is reflected in the party’s policies and decisions. Referring to past governments in Haryana, Mr Modi observed that there was a time when even a single appointment was difficult without influence or recommendation. He highlighted that under their government in Haryana, lakhs of youth have received government jobs through a fully transparent process. He commended Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini for continuing this initiative with dedication. “To empower India, we must draw inspiration from Chakradhari Mohan. To make India self-reliant, we must follow the path of Charkhadhari Mohan”, said the Prime Minister, urging that “Vocal for Local” should become a life mantra for every citizen.