FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR CHOUHAN URGES STATE GOVTS TO ENSURE NO PURCHASE BELOW MSP P8 SENSEX 77,606.43p317.93 WEATHER Generally clear. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 39°C and 26°C respectively. NIFTY P6 23,591.95p105.10 ` vs $ 85.77 NIKHIL VYAS Min. 41% NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH Min: 26.7˚C SUN SETS 17:50 hrs MOON SETS 16:46 hrs sserting that India is not a 'Dharamshala', Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that those who pose a threat to national security will not be allowed to enter the country. Replying to a debate on The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, he said whether it is Rohingya or Bangladeshis, if they come to India to create unrest, strict action will be taken against them. In this context, the home minister said that the country is not a ‘Dharamshala’ (public resthouse) where anyone can stay as they wish. “If you are here to help the country prosper, you are welcome, but security threats will not be tolerated,” he said. “Until now, black lists by agencies were not legally enforced, but now the blacklist will be statutory. If a foreigner wants to enter, it must be through a notified route; otherwise, TEMPERATURE A New Moon on 29 March THUMBNAILS Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inspects construction work of the Polavaram Project, at Polavaram in Eluru on Thursday. n ANI Court rejects Kannada actor Ranya Rao's bail plea in gold smuggling case: A Sessions Court in Bengaluru on Thursday rejected the bail application of Kannada actress Ranya Rao in connection with the gold smuggling case. Her bail petition is rejected for the third time. Earlier, the Special Court for Economic Offences and the Magistrate Court had rejected her bail petition. “ Those who pose a threat to the national security will not be allowed to enter the nation. The nation is not a 'Dharamshala'(rest house)...If someone comes to the nation to give its contribute to the development of the nation, they are always welcome. it will be considered illegal,” Mr Shah said. “Those who pose a threat to national security will not be allowed to enter the nation,” he said. The Bill was later passed by the House. Earlier, replying to the debate in the House on the Bill, Mr Shah also attacked the Bengal government over the issue of infiltration. “When Bangladeshis or Rohingya infiltrate, who gives them Aadhaar cards? Most of the Bangladeshis, who have been caught with Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards of 24 Parganas,” he asked. Mr Shah said once a BJP RS chairman Dhankhar rejects privilege motion against Amit Shah STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH was made during the Congress regime, and during this government's tenure, the PM Cares fund was started. During the Congress regime, only one family had control, and the Congress president was a member of this. The Congress president is a part of the government fund, what reply will they give to the people of this country? Doesn't anyone read or see this?" Mr Dhankhar said when Mr Shah made the comment it had been objected to, some MPs took exception, and the home minister said that he would authenticate his statement. He said there was no transgression and absolute adherence to truth as vindicated by the document authenticated by Home Minister Shah. Hence, the Rajya Sabha chairman said the breach of privilege was invoked in haste to get traction in the media. ''This has found wide traction in the media. If a communication is sent to the Chair, as has been indicated in the bulletin, and is a long-standing practice, it should not get publicity. Ultimately, the Chairman or the House has to take a call, but the traction has been very widespread,'' he said. The Chairman also informed the House that he has taken note of the authentication. He read out the authentication submitted by Mr Shah, which quoted an instance from 1948. Opposition members objected to the statement, saying “this is 2025”. government is formed in Bengal in 2026, infiltration will come to an end. “This won't last long - Bengal will bloom in 2026 and infiltration will stop completely,” he added. Mr Shah said: “In the last ten years, India has become the fifth-largest economy. The country has emerged as a bright spot among the world's largest economies. The nation has become a hub of manufacturing and it is natural for people from all over the world to come to India... The number of people taking refuge in India for personal gain and making the country Justice Varma row: Leaders of six HC bar assns meet CJI PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH The leaders of six Bar Associations belonging to five High Courts – Allahabad, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur), Karnataka, and Kerala - met the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and other members of the top court collegium seeking the withdrawal of the collegium’s recommendation for transferring Justice Yashwant Varma - who is in the eye of a storm after the purported discovery of a huge amount of unaccounted cash at his home ~ from Delhi High Court to Allahabad High Court. In addition to the withdrawal of judicial work from Justice Varma, the six Bar Associations also sought the withdrawal of all administrative work as well from Justice Varma, and to set the criminal law in motion as is applicable to any government servant. India ranks 3rd in number of billionaires STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH Mukesh Ambani remains the richest person in Asia, with a fortune of Rs 8.6 trillion, despite a Rs 1 trillion drop from last year ahead of Gautam Adani, whose wealth rose by 13 per cent to Rs 8.4 trillion, said Hurun Global Rich List 2025. It further highlighted that India now ranks third in the world in the number of billionaires, with 284 on the list. The combined wealth of Indian billionaires stands at Rs 98 trillion—about onethird of India’s GDP and more than Saudi Arabia’s entire GDP. Of these 284 individuals, 175 saw their wealth rise, while 109 saw it decline or remain flat. India added 13 new billionaires this year, bringing the total to 284, it said. The rank-wise list was Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries – Rs 8.6 trillion; P12 SILVER 1,11,000 GOLD 91,100.00 Lok Sabha passes Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 Max. 67% Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected Congress lawmaker Jairam Ramesh’s privilege notice against Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, stating that it was invoked in haste to get traction in the media. Mr Ramesh, the Congress Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha, moved the Privilege notice against the Union home minister "for casting aspersions on Sonia Gandhi, Member of Rajya Sabha and Chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party". He submitted the notice on Wednesday under Rule 188 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States to Chairman Dhankhar. Quoting Mr Shah's speech during his reply to the debate on Disaster Management Bill 2024 on March 25, the Congress leader claimed that he had said, "The PM relief fund P4 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 72.96q0.10 This country is not a Putin set to visit India soon, Dharamshala: Shah says Russian FM Lavrov RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 39.5˚C SUN RISES 05:33 hrs MOON RISES 04:37 hrs IPL 2025: RCB TO BATTLE SPIN-HEAVY CSK ‘POLITICAL BLACK COMEDY AT ITS DARKEST’ DHAKA’S FOCUS The wealthy list y ₹ 8.6 trillion ₹ 8. trillion ₹ 3.5 trilli .4 ion Gauta Adani, am Adani Group i Roshni Nadar, HCL ₹ 2.5 trillion ₹ 2.2 trillion ₹ 2 trillion ₹ 2 trillion ₹ 1.6 trilli ion ₹ 1.4 trillion ₹ 1.4 trillion Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Kumar Mangalam Bi la Adit a Bi la Cyrus Poonawalla, s Se m Instit te Gautam Adani, Adani Group – Rs 8.4 trillion; Roshni Nadar, HCL – Rs 3.5 trillion; Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma – Rs 2.5 trillion; Azim Premji, Wipro – Rs 2.2 trillion; Kumar Mangalam Birla, Aditya Birla Group – Rs 2 trillion; Cyrus Niraj Bajaj, Baja aj A to Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma Ravi Jaipuria, RJ Corp Poonawalla, Serum Institute – Rs 2 trillion; Niraj Bajaj, Bajaj Auto – Rs 1.6 trillion; Ravi Jaipuria, RJ Corp – Rs 1.4 trillion; and Radhakishan Damani, Avenue Supermarts – Rs 1.4 trillion. Five of the top 10 are based in Mumbai, Azim Premji, Wipro Radhakishan Damani, Avenue Supermarts New Delhi contributes two names, while Bengaluru, Pune, and Ahmedabad have one each. Overall, Mumbai remains India’s billionaire hub with 90 names, although it lost its title as Asia’s billionaire capital to Shanghai. unsafe has also increased... Be it Rohingya or Bangladeshis, if they come to India to create unrest, strict action will be taken against them,” he said. “Immigration is not a separate issue. Many issues of the country are linked to it... From the point of view of national security, it is very important to know who enters the nation's border... We will also keep a close watch on those who endanger the security of the country,” he added. Mr Shah also slammed the West Bengal government over the delay in India-Bangladesh border fencing. He said India's border with Bangladesh is 2,216 km long, out of which fencing work has been completed on 1,653 km. "Out of the remaining 563 km, fencing is not possible on 112 km due to geographical conditions. Fencing of the remaining 450 km is pending, because the West Bengal government is not providing land. Seven meetings have already been held on this," he said. Addressing the "Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda" conference, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated India's commitment to nurturing its ''deeprooted'' friendship with Russia. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. ''It is symbolic that Prime Minister Modi made his first bilateral foreign visit after his re-election last year to Russia. Now it is our turn. Russian President Putin accepted the invitation of the head of the Indian government. The visit of the head of the Russian state to the Republic of India is being prepared,'' he said, addressing the "Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda" conference in Moscow via video conferencing. He also expressed gratitude to PM Modi for consistently taking a ''balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis and Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the dinner hosted for BRICS leaders, in Kazan on 23 October, 2024. n ANI advocating its resolution through dialogue and the elimination of the root causes of this conflict''. Addressing the conference, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated India's commitment to nurturing its ''deep-rooted'' friendship with Russia. Mr Jaishankar said India is looking forward to exploring new frontiers for cooperation with Russia. ''India and Russia have set an ambitious target of increasing bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030. Investments by the two sides in each other's economy continue to grow,'' he said. The Indian minister noted that energy, defence and civil nuclear cooperation have traditionally dominated the economic engagement between the two countries. Trade, technology, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and digital economy are emerging as new areas of bilateral cooperation, he said. Mr Jaishankar said that through every shift in realignment, the two countries have demonstrated an exceptional ability to adapt and find new opportunities for mutual benefit and to contribute to regional and global stability and prosperity. The relationship between the two nations continues to expand and deepen in the backdrop of a dynamic world order, he added. Chile President to visit India next week STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 MARCH The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric Font, will pay a state visit to India from 1-5 April at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, Members of Parliament, senior officials, business associations, media and prominent Chileans involved in the India-Chile cultural connect. This will be President Boric’s first visit to India in his capacity as President. He will visit Agra, Mumbai, and Bengaluru before returning to Chile on 5 April. During the visit, President Boric will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi on 1 April, covering the entire gamut of India-Chile relations. The PM will host a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary. During his visit, President Boric will hold discussions with President Draupadi Murmu, who will host a banquet in his honour. In Mumbai and Bengaluru, President Boric will meet the political leadership, business and industry representatives, start-ups, innovators and tech leaders.