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 | BHUBANESWAR | MUMBAI | WORLD SATURDAY INTERVIEW Good start to talks with US side in Oman: Iran’s Araghchi EDITORIAL LUCKNOW ‘Deals make India competitive’ Page 7 Feisty Fighter Page 9 Page 6 BRIEFLY After a week of pandemonium in Lok Sabha, all eyes on Monday New Delhi: Proceedings in the Lok Sabha continued to be stalled on Friday with Opposition MPs continuing their protests during the commencement of discussions on the Union Budget 2026–27. Despite repeated reprimands from Speaker Om Birla, noting that 19 hours and 13 minutes had already been lost during the Budget Session due to disruptions, sloganeering persisted. Budget discussions are scheduled to continue from Monday, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expected to reply on 11 February. Sources suggest the Opposition, led by the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, may continue protests issues such as the recent India–US trade agreement, claims related to the China standoff mentioned in former Army Chief M.M. Naravane’s memoir, and the suspension of eight Opposition MPs. Page 5 Lucknow, 6 February The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh by a month. As over 3.26 crore voters would receive notices regarding their inclusion in the voter list, the ECI has extended the time for claims and objections from February to 6 March. Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa told media persons here on Friday that the final voter list for UP will be published on 10 April after the special revision campaign. He stated that a comprehensive process of claims, objections, and mapping is underway to ensure the voter list is accurate, updated, and error-free. Saturday, 07 February, 2026 SPORTS India launch T20 World Cup defence against USA amid Harshit Rana blow Page 12 TRIDIB BAPARNASH New Delhi, 6 February T he T20 World Cup begins on Saturday across venues in India and Sri Lanka, but for a tournament that has expanded to 20 teams and promises scale like never before, the build-up has been a n y thing but cricket-centric. Instead of conversations around contenders, match-ups or players to watch, the spotlight has firmly remained on an extraordinary intersection of politics and sport. India, the defending champions led by Suryakumar Yadav, enter the tournament as overwhelming favourites. Yet, even before a ball has been bowled, the event has been overshadowed by diplomatic tension and controversy. Bangladesh have been ousted from the competition after refusing to travel to India citing security The CEO informed that a total of 82,684 applications have been received under Form-7, while 37,80,414 applications have been received under Form-6. He clarified that the number of Form-6 applications is continuously increasing as a large number of citizens whose names were not previously included in the voter list are now applying to have their names added. Eligible Indian citizens residing abroad can register their names in the voter list through Form-6A. Providing information on the mapping process, he said that approximately 1.04 crore voters were found to have logical discrepancies. Due to these discrepancies, they have not been included in the voter list yet, and notices are being sent to all of them. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s historic 175 powers India to record sixth U-19 World Cup title: New Delhi: Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced one of the greatest knocks in Under-19 World Cup history, smashing a breathtaking 175 off just 80 balls to power India to a record-extending sixth ICC U-19 World Cup title with a commanding 100-run win over England at the Harare Sports Club on Friday. Sooryavanshi’s blistering innings propelled India to a mammoth 411 for 9, a total that proved far beyond England despite a spirited chase. The 15-year-old rewrote multiple records with his exhibition of fearless power-hitting on the biggest stage. concerns, while Pakistan have announced a boycott of their scheduled 15 February clash against India in what they described as a show of solidarity with Bangladesh. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan have publicly pointed fingers at India for the chain of events, which began when Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman DAWN/ANN Islamabad, 6 February travelled to and from Afghanistan. The collusion between India and Afghanistan is being revealed.” The defence minister said that security guards at the site of the incident had “challenged” the attacker, and in response, he opened fire. “He then blew himself up, standing in the last row of worshippers.” Mr Asif said that the state would respond to this “cruelty was released from an IPL contract following instructions from the BCCI. Rahman’s exit was seen in Bangladesh as a slight to national pride, and it ultimately became a trigger for their refusal to play matches on Indian soil. The fallout has been dramatic, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) replacing Bangladesh with Scotland, who are set to face the West Indies in Kolkata on Saturday. The situation escalated further when Pakistan chose to wade into the controversy, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif defending the decision to boycott the India match, calling it “appropriate” under the circumstances. The ramifications are significant. The ICC and its broadcast partners are staring at potential financial losses, while Pakistan now risk sanctions that could have long-term consequences for their international cricketing engagements. India-Pakistan clashes, regardless of form or context, or the lop-sided results in favour of India in recent times, remain among the biggest revenue drivers in global cricket. Lost amid all this drama is cricket itself, and on that front, India appear well clear of the chasing pack. Despite the expanded field, it is difficult to identify many teams capable of seriously challenging India’s dominance in this format. If the much-anticipated India–Pakistan clash does eventually take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, it could pose a different kind of test for India’s young batters on a slightly tricky surface. RBI MPC holds repo rate at 5.25 pc, maintains neutral stance STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 6 February The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the At least 31 killed, 169 injured after explosion rips through Islamabad mosque At least 31 people were killed and another 169 injured in a suicide bombing at an imambargah during Friday prayers in Islamabad, according to authorities. The explosion occurred at Imambargah Khadijah-tulKubra in the Tarlai area of the federal capital. Images from the site showed bloodied bodies lying on the carpeted floor surrounded by shards of glass, debris, and panicked worshippers. Dozens more wounded were lying in the garden outside the imambargah as people called for help. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested India’s and Afghanistan’s involvement in the attack, stating in a post on social media platform X that “it has been proved the terrorist involved in the attack | All eyes on India as a politically-charged T20 World Cup gets underway today UP SIR drive extended by a month, notices being issued to 3.26 crore voters STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE | SILIGURI with full force”. “After a humiliating defeat, India is fighting a war through its proxies. It doesn’t have the courage to fight directly now,” he added. Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry later said while speaking to the media in Islamabad that while the attacker was not an Afghan, the authorities had been able to determine through forensic tests the number of times he had travelled to Afghanistan. Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that “India is behind” the incident. He charged that India was involved in “terrorism activities in Balochistan, Fata and in the incident that took place in Islamabad today”. The minister said injured and the dead had been taken to Pims and Polyclinic Hospital, and emergencies had been declared in hospitals across Islamabad. policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 5.25 per cent while continuing its neutral stance. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 5 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate remain at 5.50 per cent. “The MPC noted that since the last policy meeting, external headwinds have intensified, though the successful completion of trade deals augurs well for the economic outlook. Overall, the near-term domestic inflation and growth outlook remain positive,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday. On the domestic front, real gross domestic product (GDP), as per the First Advance Estimates (FAE), is estimated to grow at 7.4 per cent (y-o-y) in 2025-26. The revised outlook for CPI inflation in Q1:2026-27 and Q2 at 4 per cent and 4.2 pee cent, respectively, continues to be benign and near the inflation target. The slight upward revision in the inflation outlook is primarily due to an increase in the prices of precious metals, which contribute about 60-70 basis points. The underlying inflation continues to be low, the Governor said. CPI inflation for 2025-26 is now projected at 2.1 per cent with Q4's projected at 3.2 per cent. CPI inflation for Q1:2026-27 and Q2 are projected at 4 per cent and 4.2 pee cent, respectively, he added. Governor Malhotra also said that for customer protection, the RBI will issue three draft guidelines ~ one, relating to mis-selling; two, regarding recovery of loans and engagement of recovery agents; and three, on limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions. It is also proposed to introduce a framework to compensate customers up to an amount of Rs 25000 for loss incurred in small-value fraudulent transactions. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled for 6 to 8 April 2026. SC declines to entertain Jan Suraaj Party’s plea on cash inducements in Bihar polls PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 6 February The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by the Jan Suraaj Party, founded by political strategist Prashant Kishor, alleging that the Bihar government used a cash-transfer welfare scheme to influence voters during the recently concluded 2025 Assembly elections. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the bona fide of the petitioner party, observing that a political party which had suffered a complete electoral defeat could not invoke the Court’s jurisdiction to seek post-election relief. Jan Suraaj had contested 242 out of the 243 Assembly constituencies but failed to win a single seat. “How many votes did you get? Once people reject you, you use the judicial forum to get relief! Somebody should have challenged the scheme itself then. That is not the prayer before us. You just want the election to be declared null and void,” the Court remarked. The Bench further indicated that issues relating to election conduct within a single State are ordinarily, in the first instance, to be examined by the High Court concerned. “Since it deals with only one State, please go to that High Court. In some cases, there is a serious issue of freebies which we will seriously examine,” the Court said. Senior Advocate C.U. Singh, appearing for the petitioner party, argued that the welfare scheme in question was announced just before the elections and implemented when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force. “But when a State has a grave fiscal deficit, and it is a dole in the sense that Rs. 10,000 will be paid immediately, and over 35 lakhs people enrolled in this scheme just after the model code of conduct was announced,” Singh submitted. The Chief Justice said, “The direct transfer scheme is different. This is about women self-help groups.” While acknowledging that the broader issue of freebies in elections warrants judicial scrutiny, the Court made it clear that it could not examine the issue at the instance of a party that had just lost the election. “ We will consider the freebies issue. But we have to see the bona fide also. We cannot look at that at the behest of a party which has just lost. When you come to power, you will do the exact thing,” Chief Justice Surya Kant observed. ‘Marks are not ultimate goal, complete development of life is’ NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 6 February Ahead of the commencement of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 and 12 board exams, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed that education is not only for exams but for life, and exams are meant to examine oneself. “Marks are not the ultimate goal, complete development of life is,” PM Modi said while interacting with students during the 9th edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha. The board exams are scheduled to commence from 17 February. PM Modi, who had an informal interaction with 'Exam Warriors', at his residence in Delhi, stressed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be a tool to enhance strength and wisdom, not just entertainment. He also advised parents to allow children to blossom according to their capacity, ability, and interest. The Prime Minister highlighted the vast opportunities available to the current generation, particularly in technology, and remarked that while his era lacked such opportunities, today’s youth must use Artificial Intelligence wisely. He explained that using AI merely to summarise biographies adds little value, but asking AI to recommend biographies based on age and interests, then reading those books, leads to genuine development. "AI should be a tool to enhance strength and wisdom, not just entertainment," PM Modi said. Students expressed appreciation for his guidance on AI usage, noting its relevance to their own technological pursuits. During the interaction, a student raised a question about pursuing a future in gaming despite societal pressure to focus only on studies. The Prime Minister explained that parents often discourage initially, but once success is achieved, they take pride and celebrate it. He encouraged the student to channel interest in gaming productively by creating games based on India’s rich stories such as Panchatantra or mythological events, and to share them on social media platforms to gain recognition. PM Modi highlighted that gaming is a skill requiring speed and alertness, which contributes to self-development, and advised focusing on building expertise in high-quality games. He cautioned against gambling in gaming, noting that laws have been enacted to prevent such practices, and stressed that gaming should be pursued as a constructive skill. Students expressed excitement at visiting the Prime Minister’s residence, noting his friendly manner, genuine interest in their questions, and the thoughtful answers he provided. In response to a question on balancing study pressures, especially during pre-boards, the Prime Minister remarked that this is a common concern. He emphasised that education should not be seen as compulsion or burden but requires total involvement. Without full engagement, incomplete education cannot lead to success.