www.thestatesman.com | FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 @TheStatesmanLtd | Pages 12 @thestatesmanltd | ₹5.00 Perspective | People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI Mumbai: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India expects to conclude a robust trade agreement “quite soon” with the United States, with negotiations continuing in parallel to its recently concluded pact with the European Union. In an interview with a television channel, Goyal said that India remains regularly in touch with US counterparts and is confident of reaching a deal, while rejecting suggestions that the FTA with Europe could delay talks with Washington. “We are having very good discussions with the United States of America,” Mr Goyal said, adding, “I think we'll have an equally robust, equally good deal with the US quite soon.” Page 12 Mumbai, 31 January L husband's Ajit Pawar's tragic demise in an air crash on Wednesday morning, sources said. At present the NCP's tally in the Maharashtra Assembly has come down to 40, after Ajit Pawar's demise. Sources said that Praful Patel will be made the national president of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, though a large section of party leaders feel that Sunetra Pawar must be appointed as the party's national president instead. According to sources, there are also reservations about the way Praful Patel and Union Minister Amit Shah have allegedly been “directing” political events in Maharashtra, in a fait accompli style. According to sources, it has been decided that the crucial finance portfolio which was held by the late Ajit Pawar will go to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “temporarily” since the Maharashtra Budget session is scheduled for March, when Fadnavis will present the Maharashtra state Budget. After the Budget session, the STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PM Modi reiterates New Delhi’s support for Palestinians: Addressing the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) here, External Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday made it clear to Pakistan, without naming the neighbouring country, that it will have to bear the consequences of any terror attack on Indian territory. Highlighting the threat posed to humankind by terrorism, he said cross-border terrorism is particularly unacceptable as it violates the basic principle of international relations and diplomacy. ‘’States targeted by terrorism have the right to defend themselves and will understandably exercise it,’’ he asserted. Mr Jaishankar said it is essential for the global community to strengthen cooperation to combat the scourge of terrorism. “Zerotolerance for terrorism must be an uncompromising universal External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Oman Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, in New Delhi on Saturday. ANI New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated India’s support for the people of Palestine and welcomed ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan. The PM was talking to a visiting delegation of Foreign Ministers of Arab countries, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Heads of Arab delegations, who are in India for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Mr Modi highlighted the deep and historic people-to-people ties between India and the Arab world which have continued to inspire and strengthen our relations over the years. He conveyed his appreciation for the important role played by the Arab League in supporting efforts towards peace. norm,’’ he added. The minister said the meeting between India and the Arab nations is taking place at a time when the global order is undergoing transformation for a variety of reasons. The landscape of West Asia has undergone a dramatic change in the last year. This obviously impacts all Arab nations as well as India, which is in the proximate region. Mr Jaishankar said India has strong partnership with Arab nations. With some of the Arab nations, it enjoys strategic partnership. Much of the relationship is rooted in history when the two sides exchanged goods, people and ideas. He said that in the contemporary world, the collaboration has taken a different form. Some of the countries in the region have large Indian expatriate communities, he noted, adding the region remains a key source of energy for India. New Delhi, he said, looks forward to a more contemporary dimension to the partnership in areas like digital, space and start-ups etc. The minister also expressed concern over the situation in Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria. The (IAFMM) meeting is happening after a gap of ten years. The first such meeting was held in 2016 in Bahrain. India’s next Budget: Reform burst or signals for the long term? New Delhi, 31 January When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rises in Parliament on Sunday to present India’s Budget for 2026–27, her speech will arrive at a crucial juncture. In the face of global headwinds, she will need to come up with a ‘smart’ reforms spurt to push India’s growth story, but rising public debt will mean Mrs Sitharaman will also have to signal intent to consolidate the country’s ever-increasing spending. Politically, this is perhaps the best time to push the reforms agenda. It's been two years since the NDA government has come back to power through a Parliamentary election, and despite the needs to play to the gallery ahead of elections to two states which the BJP’s electoral Juggernaut has not been able to conquer, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, it is also the best time to take risks with reforms, as the next general election is three years away. That reform burst is of course also a must, if North 01 February 2026 Page 9 States targeted by terrorism have right to defend themselves: EAM Jaishankar JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY | SILIGURI | Rybakina wins Australian Open by beating No. 1 Sabalenka for her 2nd Grand Slam title STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 31 January LUCKNOW S P O RT S Sunetra sworn in as Maharashtra Dy CM ate Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's widow and NCP Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday evening, hours after she was elected by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP as its legislative party leader at the Vidhan Bhavan. After she was elected as the NCP's legislative party leader, Sunetra Pawar resigned as the NCP's Rajya Sabha MP. Maharashtra Governor Devvrat thereafter administered the oath of office to her at 5 p.m. at the Raj Bhavan, As Deputy CM, she will hold the portfolios of sports and state excise. Sunetra Pawar will also contest the bypolls to the Baramati Assembly constituency in Pune district, which has now fallen vacant after her | MUMBAI | Epstein documents cache includes email exchanges with the powerful Page 7 Robust IndiaUS trade deal could happen quite soon, says Piyush Goyal: BHUBANESWAR World All that glitters is gold BRIEFLY | Bloc’s Mandarins wish to push the country’s GDP to grow by the projected 6.8 and 7.2 per cent, despite the fact that the larger global economy remains buffeted by protectionist tariffs, and geopolitical friction. India’s exports in both goods and services, which account for over a fifth of the GDP, will remain at risk regardless of the number of FTAs it signs. To raise finances for that growth story, India needs to interest investors and global rating agencies, who are looking at the longer term. Which means after increasing its spending way beyond the Indian state’s capacity through the Covid years, it now needs to reinforce ‘baby steps’ towards a much-needed era of fiscal consolidation to check a slowly but steadily expanding public debt, which now stands at nearly 56 per cent of India’s GDP. At the heart of the spending spree has been capital expenditure on India’s roads, railways, ports and airports. In the last dozen years, the Centre’s budget has relied heavily on expanding capital spending, raising it from just 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2014-15 to 3.1 per cent of GDP in the 2025-26 budget. Will India then roll back its capital spending? Unlikely. ‘Sarak, Bijli, Pani’ (roads, electricity and water) have always been vote getters and the push for expanding and improving them will remain, but with riders and perhaps with more private participation so as not to stretch the Centre’s finances beyond a point. • Turn to Page 8 finance portfolio will be given to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, sources said, though it is not yet clear whether the crucial finance portfolio will be given to Sunetra Pawar or some other NCP leader. Meanwhile, the elder son of the late Ajit Pawar has been pitched for the post of NCP's Rajya Sabha MP, in the place of his mother Sunetra. Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader and Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Idris Naikwadi said: “Sunetra Pawar will be the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar should also be given a chance in a statutory position. I will suggest his name for the Rajya Sabha”. Sources have confirmed that the Ajit Pawar-led NCP leadership has agreed to push for Parth Pawar to be made the party’s Rajya Sabha MP. • Related reports: Page 5 Mamata writes to CEC on ‘illegal role’ of micro-observers in SIR UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Kolkata, 31 January Days ahead of Mamata Banerjee’s expected meeting with Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Minister on Saturday raised objections to the deployment and role of micro-observers in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, alleging that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has overstepped its legal mandate and created a parallel decision-making structure without statutory backing. Miss Banerjee is scheduled to meet Mr Kumar at the ECI headquarters in New Delhi on Monday. Two days before the meeting, the Chief Minister escalated her attack on the poll panel by releasing yet another letter on Saturday evening, sharply criticising the conduct of the SIR process in Bengal. In the letter, her sixth since the SIR process began, Miss Banerjee accused the ECI of violating provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the rules framed under it. She alleged that the methodology and outlook adopted during the voter list revision had “crossed the limits prescribed by law” and was causing “immense suffering, fear and uncertainty among ordinary citizens”. Miss Banerjee pointed out that nearly 8,100 micro-observers have been deployed during the SIR, calling it a first in India’s electoral history. According to her, these micro-observers are inadequately trained and “in no way qualified to handle such a sensitive and legally complex process.” She alleged that despite this, they have been unilaterally sent into the field, raising serious questions about the neutrality and fairness of the entire exercise. “The Representation of the People Act, 1950 or 1960 does not envisage any such role or decision-making authority for micro-observers,” Miss Banerjee wrote. “According to law, the powers to maintain electoral rolls, conduct hearings on claims and objections, verify documents, and take final decisions on inclusion or deletion of names rest solely with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs),” she said. Any active intervention by micro-observers, she argued, is therefore “not legally tenable.”