FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Tuesday, 19 August 2025 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS Anil Ambani’s lawyer terms SBI action unfair Page 10 BRIEFLY Zelenskyy, EU leaders in Washington for key talks NATION BJP accuses Rahul of creating confusion among voters Page 5 Page 09 Putin apprises PM Modi about Alaska summit NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 18 August Partha gets bail: Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee in a corruption case linked to the alleged multi-crore cash-for-school job scam. No proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI: New Delhi: There is no proposal to impose transaction charges on unified payments interface (UPI) based digital payments, the government reiterated on Monday. “Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007, provides that no bank or system provider shall impose any charge on a payer making payment, or a beneficiary receiving payment, through electronic modes prescribed under section 269SU of the Income-tax Act, 1961," Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. Airtel network outage: New Delhi: Airtel customers across several parts of India faced a major network outage on Monday, with many reporting problems using mobile data, voice calls. According to outage tracking website Downdetector, more than 2,300 complaints were registered suggesting that the disruption was widespread. T hree days after the Alaska Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which he apprised Modi about his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump over the Ukraine conflict. Modi and Putin also touched upon a number of issues of bilateral cooperation with a view to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. In a post on X after the telephonic conversation, Modi reiterated India's consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and New Delhi's support for all efforts in this regard. "Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shares 'insights' on his Alaska meeting with US President Donald Trump. ANI conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come," the Prime Minister said. An official statement here said President Putin shared his assessment of his meeting with Trump in Alaska last week. "While thanking President Putin, the Prime Minister underlined India’s consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue. He reiterated Page 12 Mamata’s Shramashree to rehabilitate migrants STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 18 August The state government has started Shramashree, a new initiative to assist Bengali-speaking migrant workers who will come back to the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said today. Addressing the press at Nabanna this afternoon, she said the state labour department will be the nodal agency and chief secretary Manoj Pant will oversee the work. The matter was placed before the cabinet chaired by Miss Banerjee. She said nearly 10,000 Bengali speaking migrant workers spreading over 2,730 families have returned to Bengal. Miss Banerjee said the decision was taken after many Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been attacked and harassed in BJP-ruled states. “The workers have been arrested, beaten and many of them have been deported to Bangladesh. We have 1.50 crore migrant workers from other states in Bengal but we never attack them,” she said. Miss Banerjee said there are 22.40 lakh Bengali-speaking migrant workers. “The state government will give Rs 5,000 as travelling allowance to the willing migrant workers. They will be given Rs 5,000 per month for one year till they get jobs. The skilled workers will be given training. We have schemes, run by the minority development department and Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe and OBC Development Corporation that give soft loans to those who intend to start business. The children of the migrant workers coming back to the state will be admitted to state run schools. The workers will be given Swasthya Sathi card and Khadya Sathi card,” she said adding, that, “Those who will come back will have to enrol themselves in Shramashree portal.” She said the migrant workers who will come back many get jobs under Karmashree scheme. The state government has distributed 78 lakh job cards and 91 crore man days. Miss Banerjee further alleged that the AIIMS Kalyani is sending people to conduct house-to-house survey to study mental health cases. “This is nothing but collecting data for NRC,” she said. She urged people not to entertain anyone visiting their premises to do survey. “These surveys are illegal. There is mental health department of the state government. If the state government conducts any survey we will inform people beforehand,” she said. Oppn mulling impeachment NDA’s V-P nominee meets PM; Rajnath motion against CEC Kumar? reaches out to Oppn to garner support STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August The INDIA Bloc is exploring the possibility of moving an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following his refusal to entertain Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "vote theft." A senior Congress MP on Monday said that the party is prepared to utilise all democratic means at its disposal, but clarified that no formal discussions about impeachment have taken place yet. "If there is a need, we will use all the weapons of democracy under the rules…….If needed, we can do anything," he said. The development comes a day after CEC Kumar addressed a press conference, dismissing Gandhi's allegations and AS TENSIONS ESCALATE, THE INDIA BLOC'S POTENTIAL IMPEACHMENT MOTION AGAINST CEC KUMAR MAY FURTHER STRAIN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE OPPOSITION AND THE ECI. THE SITUATION REMAINS FLUID, WITH BOTH SIDES DUG IN ON THEIR POSITIONS. asserting that the Election Commission of India maintains neutrality. "Every party is the same for us," Kumar emphasised, adding that neither the ECI nor voters are intimidated by baseless claims. CEC Kumar demanded that Rahul Gandhi provide a signed affidavit supporting his claims within seven days or issue a public apology. "An affidavit will have to be given, or an apology will have to be made to the country. There is no third option. If the affidavit is Only 1.69 pc of `2,000 banknotes worth ` 6,017 cr yet to return to RBI, says Minister AGENCIES New Delhi, 18 August Only 1.69 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes were yet to be returned to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from circulation (as on July 31), the Parliament was informed on Monday. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, has declined to Rs 6,017 crore as on July 31. Before undertaking the exercise of withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes, it was ensured that sufficient buffer stock of cash was available with banks across the country to meet the e xc h a n g e /w i t h d r awa l requirements. that India supports all efforts in this regard," the statement said. Earlier on August 16, India had welcomed the Alaska Summit between Trump and Putin, saying that the world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine. Putin and Trump held talks at the Arctic Warrior Convention Centre in the early hours of Saturday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff also participated in the meeting. Both leaders said that they made progress in the three hour-talk, moving closer to finding an end to the Ukraine War, but did not announce an immediate ceasefire. On August 8, Putin had called PM Modi to brief him about the related developments and upcoming discussions. "In light of the special privileged partnership between Russia and India, Vladimir Putin shared the key outcomes of his meeting with US President's Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, held on August 6 in Moscow. The Prime Minister thanked the President of Russia for the information and confirmed India's unwavering stance in favour of settling the situation surrounding Ukraine via political and diplomatic means. "In addition, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi exchanged views on key bilateral issues, including cooperation in trade, economy, and investment," read a statement issued by the Kremlin after Putin's phone call with PM Modi. Asia Cup: Packed batting order leaves Agarkar & Co with tough calls The same was augmented through regular supply of cash to various banks located across the country, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time, he added. The objective of introducing Rs 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations b ecame available in adequate quantities. About 89 per cent of Rs 2,000 denomination notes were issued prior to March 2017 and are close to the end of their useful life, which spans from 4-5 years. Fur ther, the sto ck of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public, said the minister. "In view of the above, and in pursuance of the ‘Clean Note Policy’ of the Reserve Bank of India, it was decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023," he added. not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless...," Kumar stated. The ECI has consistently denied allegations of voter list manipulation, highlighting the transparency and thoroughness of its electoral roll revision process. "Using words like 'vote chori' to mislead people is a disrespect to the Constitution," Kumar had said, reiterating the commission's commitment to fairness. The controversy began when Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of facilitating "vote theft" in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Gandhi claimed an independent investigation by the Opposition revealed evidence of the ECI's alleged involvement in voter theft. The ECI has refuted these claims, labeling them baseless and without evidence. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August A day after being announced as NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate, Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, even as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to Opposition leaders to garner wider support for Radhakrishnan’s candidacy. In a post on X after the meeting, PM Modi wrote, “Met Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji. Conveyed my best wishes on his being the NDA’s Vice Presidential nominee. His long years of public service and experience across domains will greatly enrich our nation. May he continue to serve the nation with the same dedication and resolve he has always demonstrated. @CPRGuv”. The NDA’s Vice Presidential nominee also posted about the meeting on X, saying, "Blessed and honoured to meet our beloved people’s leader, our most respected Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji today in New Delhi." According to sources, the Vice Presidential election will be held under the supervision of Rajnath Singh on behalf of the NDA on September 9. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has been made the election agent, the sources added. Meanwhile, Rajnath reached out to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin over the phone, seeking the support of the DMK for the National Democratic Alliance candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan in the upcoming Vice-Presidential polls. Rajnath, who has been entrusted by the BJP leadership to coordinate with key opposition leaders, spoke to Stalin as part of the NDA’s efforts to ensure a smooth and broad-based election of Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu. The party sources said the call was cordial, with Rajnath Singh briefing Stalin about Radhakrishnan’s long political career and his contributions as a parliamentarian and Governor. The sources said that to build consensus on NDAs vice president ’ nominee, Rajnath Singh has called several Opposition leaders, including senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik over phone to seek their support for Radhakrishnan. The Defence Minister on Sunday evening also spoke to Congress President Kharge to seek support for the National Democratic Alliance's Vice Presidential candidate, sources said. Basis for positive momentum in India-China ties rests on maintaining peace in border areas: EAM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 August External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday said the basis for any positive momentum in India-China ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas adding that it is also essential that the de-escalation process move forward. In his opening remarks during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here, Jaishankar said, "This occasion provides us an opportunity to meet and review our bilateral ties. It is also an appropriate time to exchange views on the global situation and some issues of mutual interest." The External Affairs Minister further said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Politburo Member and China Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi. ANI India-China have seen a difficult period in ties and now seek to move ahead. "Having seen a difficult period in our relationship, our two nations now seek to move ahead. This requires a candid and constructive approach from both sides. In that endeavour, we must be guided by the three mutuals mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. Differences must not become disputes, nor competition conflict," Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister said the bilateral talks will cover economic and trade issues, pilgrimages, people-to-people contacts, river data sharing, border trade, connectivity and bilateral exchanges. "Today, our talks will cover economic and trade issues, pilgrimages, people-to-people contacts, river data sharing, border trade, connectivity and bilateral exchanges. I would like to follow up on some particular concerns that I had brought up with you, when I visited China in July," Jaishankar said. He said the visiting Chinese leader will be discussing border issues with India's Special Representative, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, tomorrow. It will be the 24th round of Talks between the Special Representatives of India and China. "This is very important because the basis for any positive momentum in our ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. It is also essential that the de-escalation process move forward," he said. "When the world's two largest nations meet, it is natural that the international situation will be discussed. We seek a fair, balanced and multi-polar world order, including a multi-polar Asia. Reformed multilateralism is also the call of the day," he added. The Chinese Foreign Minister arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a two-day official visit to India.