FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Friday, 24 October 2025 SPORTS WORLD NATION Tagore to DMK: Honour Congress or become ex-CM Page 6 BRIEFLY Legendary space scientist Eknath Vasant Chitnis passes away at 100: Lalu forced his allies to back Tejashwi: Samrat Choudhary Page 11 PM Modi to attend 47th ASEAN summit virtually INDIA bloc declares Tejashwi Yadav its chief minister candidate, Mukesh Sahani its Deputy CM face STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Patna, 23 October P rime Minister Narendra Modi will not be travelling to Kuala Lumpur to attend the 47th ASEAN summit. Instead, he will be participating in the summit, as well as the 22nd ASEAN-India Summit on 26 October virtually. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement on Thursday, said: “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the ASEAN leaders will jointly review the progress in ASEAN-India relations and discuss initiatives for strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” Strengthening ASEAN ties remains a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy, aimed at fostering regional peace, economic resilience, and inclusive growth. Following the ASEAN-India Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the 20th East Asia Summit being held in Kuala Lumpur on 27 October. Earlier on Thursday, following a conversation over the telephone with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, PM Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Had a warm conversation with my dear friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Reliance adjusts Russian oil imports ‘under govt guidelines’, Cong slams govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 23 October Reliance Industries has started recalibrating its Russian oil imports in line with the Indian government's guidelines, a company spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. This development comes amid claims by US President Donald Trump that India would stop buying oil from Russia, sparking controversy over the Indian government's stance. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the government over the development, saying: "Modi proposes, Reliance disposes, Trump exposes." Reuters news agency reported that Reliance Industries will stop importing crude under a long-term deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft, which faces fresh sanctions from the Trump administration. Reliance, India’s top private refiner which operates the world’s biggest refinery complex at Jamnagar with 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of processing capacity, has a long-term deal with Rosneft to buy almost 500,000 bpd. Reliance was India’s single biggest buyer of Russian crude, until now. Mr Trump had last week claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia, sparking criticism from the opposition. The government, in response, has maintained that its oil purchases are guided by national interests and market conditions. The Congress has accused the government of being opaque about its dealings with the USA. Mr Ramesh questioned why the PM didn't clarify the matter himself, saying, "What he conceals, Trump reveals." President Trump late on Wednesday reiterated his claim that India will "sharply reduce" its imports of Russian oil by the end of this year, citing what he described as a personal assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Trump said India currently sources nearly 40 per cent of its crude oil from Russia but plans to phase it out in the coming months. “India, as you know, told me that they would stop. It is a process; you can't just stop it. But by the end of the year, they will be down to almost nothing. That's a big thing," the President said. He added that the reduction would be gradual to maintain global market stability. Malaysia. Congratulated him on Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and conveyed best wishes for the success of upcoming Summits.” “I look forward to joining the ASEAN-India Summit virtually, and to further deepening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Mr Modi added. Mr Ibrahim, commenting on the conversation, said on Winter Session of Parliament likely to be held between 24 Nov and 19 December STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 23 October The government is gearing up to convene the Winter Session of Parliament between 24 November and 19 De cemb er, insiders revealed today, promising a packed legislative agenda with a tentative schedule of 20 sittings. The session is expected to wrap up ahead of Christmas Eve, aiming to deliver critical legislative business as the year draws to a close. The final schedule will be confirmed after approval from the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), slated within the next fortnight. However, political circles are already abuzz with discussions on the key bills slated for scrutiny and passage. DAC clears acquisition of ` 79,000 cr worth of military equipment STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 23 October The Defence Acquisition Council, under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved various proposals of the armed forces amounting to a total of about Rs 79,000 crore, during a meeting in South Block, here today. In a statement issued here, the Minister of Defence stated that for the Indian Army, Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was accorded for the procurement of Nag Missile System (Tracked) Mk-II (NAMIS), Ground Based Mobile ELINT System (GBMES) and High Mobility Page 16 NATION New Delhi, 23 October New Delhi: Renowned Indian space scientist Eknath Vasant Chitnis passed away at his home in Pune yesterday due to a heart attack. He was 100 years old. A towering figure in India’s space saga, Chitnis was instrumental in laying the foundations of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which later blossomed into the ISRO. Chitnis is survived by his son, Chetan Chitnis, a distinguished molecular biologist and Padma Shri awardee, along with his daughter-in-law and granddaughters. Page 5 Australia survive late scare to beat India by 2 wkts and seal ODI series Page 5 EU joins USA in heaping more sanctions on Russia Vehicles (HMVs) with Material Handling Crane. The procurement of NAMIS (Tracked) will enhance the Indian Army’s capability of neutralising enemy’s combat vehicles, bunkers and other field fortifications, whereas GBMES will provide round-the-clock Electronic Intelligence of enemy emitters. The induction of HMVs will significantly improve logistic support to the forces in diverse geographical terrains. For the Indian Navy, AoN was granted for the procurement of Landing Platform Docks (LPD), 30 mm Naval Surface Gun (NSG), Advanced Light Weight Torpedoes (ALWT), Electro Optical Infra-Red Search and Track System and Smart Ammunition for 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount. The procurement of LPDs will help the Indian Navy to undertake amphibious operations along with Indian Army and Indian Air Force. The integrated sea capability provided by LPD will also help the Indian Navy to undertake peacekeeping operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief etc. For the Indian Air Force, AoN was accorded for Collaborative Long Range Target Saturation/Destruction System (CLRTS/DS) and other proposals. social media: "We touched on the organization of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month. He informed me that he will attend virtually due to the ongoing Deepavali celebrations in India at that time." The decision not to attend the ASEAN summit put an end to speculation over a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump. In September, Mr Trump had indicated that a meeting with Mr Modi was on the cards in the "coming weeks", expressing optimism that they could finalise a trade deal. It led to speculation that the two leaders may meet at the ASEAN summit. The 47th ASEAN Summit will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, marking the culmination of Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability.” • Related report: Pg. 5 IMRAN MOJIB The INDIA bloc on Thursday declared Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. Announcing this at a press conference attended by all the alliance partners, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that the decision was made with the consent of his party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Mr Gehlot also stated that if the INDIA grouping forms the government, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani will be made one of the Deputy Chief Ministers. He added that another leader from the backward community will also be given the post of Deputy Chief Minister. He also demanded that the NDA announce its chief ministerial candidate. Hitting out at the BJP, Mr Gehlot said: “In Maharashtra, they fought the elections under (Eknath) Shinde’s leadership, and look at what they did later. Similarly, in Bihar too, they will not make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister.” Soon after being nominated as the INDIA bloc’s CM face, Tejashwi Yadav promised a crime- and corruption-free administration, and added that his government would eradicate the poison that divides caste against caste and religion against religion. “Tejashwi will not compromise with corruption or crime. Even if Tejashwi’s own shadow is involved in crime, it will be punished. We will build a new Bihar,” he said. He reiterated his promises of one government job per family, regularisation of Jeevika Didis and contractual workers, Rs 2,500 per month to every woman under the ‘Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana’, and gas cylinders for Rs500, besides other poll promises announced earlier. VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, who has been nominated as Deputy CM face of the alliance, said: “I have been waiting for three and a half years for this moment. The BJP broke our MLAs and pushed the poor Mallah to the streets. We had vowed that until we break the BJP, we will not rest. The INDIA bloc is strong. We will form the government.”