TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR RAHUL DENIED ENTRY TO BATADRAVA SHRINE ‘GLORY OF TRETA YUGA DESCENDED IN AYODHYA & VISIBLE EVERYWHERE’ P5 WEATHER Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 22 °C and 15 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 68% Min. 65% Max: 22.5°C SUN RISES 06:18 hrs MOON RISES 15:04 hrs Min: 15.3°C SUN SETS 17:18 hrs MOON SETS 04:22 hrs TEMPERATURE New Moon on 10 February THUMBNAILS A group of youngsters holding Shri Ram flag, chant slogans as they celebrate Ram Lalla's Pran Pratishtha Ceremony, at Marine Drive in Mumbai on Monday.  ANI Modi announces launch of ‘Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana’: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced his government's decision to launch “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana” with the target of installing rooftop solar on one crore houses. He made the announcement through a social media post on X soon after returning from Aydohya after the Pran Pratishtha cer(P10) emony of the Ram Temple. SC issues notice to CM Shinde & his camp over Thackeray groups' plea challenging Maha Speaker's verdict: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 38 MLAs supporting him on a plea by the Shiv Sena (UBT) challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s January 10, 2024, decision rejecting their petitions seeking disqualification of Shinde and 38 MLAs backing him and recognising Shinde group as real (P5) Shiv Sena. P10 P9 Stay together, urges CM at Sanhati rally She urged people from different communities to stay united STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 22 JANUARY ambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party, Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said the temple has been built with the blood of the poor, who laid down their lives, following the Babri mosque demolition. She addressed a gathering after completion of the Sanhati Rally at Park Circus. The rally started from Hazra Park and ended at Park Circus covering a distance of 3.5km. Miss Banerjee said, “Abhishek has rightly pointed out that the temple has been built with the blood of the poor. After the demolition of the mosque there was trouble in the city and I came out on the streets requesting people to maintain communal peace and harmony.” She added, “I feel ashamed that those who have stopped the dues of the poor are spending crores of rupees to construct the temple.” Miss Banerjee said, “I respect Ram but do not like this exhibitionism and shameless display of ego. I attend the Id prayer, Christmas festival and v i s i t t h e Gu rd w a ra because I feel that religion is personal but the festival is for all.” She talked about the audacity of the BJP commenting that eggs are bad L West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee participates in an all-faith rally (Sanhati rally), in Kolkata on Monday.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL for pregnant women. “Who are they to decide who will eat what? They are intervening in the lives of people,” she said, adding, “Are we listening to a person who is speaking about religion just before election.” She cautioned the BJP and said, “If you think that you will only survive and the rest will wither away, you are living in a fool’s paradise as you will be crushed someday and whenever the day comes you will get no place to go.” Miss Banerjee said, “BJP does not respect our freedom fighters. Netaji’s birthday is not declared as a national holiday. The holiday on 25 December to celebrate the birth of Christ has been withdrawn.” Coming down heavily on the vernacular media, she urged people not to see the news as “they are manipulated and telecast deliberately to spread canards. Throughout the day, the functions in Ayodhya are shown while the development news is never highlighted.” She urged people from different communities to stay together as “they will have to decide whether communal harmony will prevail or everything good will be demolished.” Miss Banerjee led Sanhati Rally (harmony march) and called for communal peace and harmony of all religions and sects. Abhishek Banerjee, party’s national general secretary, Shantanu Sen, Javed Khan, Debashis Kumar took part in the rally along with other party leaders and func- tionaries. The rally started with Miss Banerjee offering puja at Kalighat temple. The rally started from Hazra Road and ended at Park Circus Maidan covering a distance of 3.97km. She offered puja at Garcha Road Gurudwara and offered prayers at a church on Syed Amir Ali Avenue. Miss Mamata also visited a mosque in Park C i rc u s a n d o f f e re d prayers. Songs of Tagore on communal peace a n d h a r m o n y we re played during the journey. The leaders of different religions, including Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddist, Jain, Parsi took part in the rally. People from all walks of life and representing different religions took part in the rally. Big blow to India as Kohli withdraws from first two Tests TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 22 JANUARY Star batter Virat Kohli has pulled out of the India squad for the first two Test matches against England citing personal reasons, the BCCI said on Monday, while adding that a replacement for the former skipper would be named soon. "Virat has spoken to captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasised that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention," the board said in a statement. Kohli, who reached Hyderabad, the venue of the first of five Tests, on Sunday, did not attend India's optional training session on Monday. He has reportedly informed the team management about his possible absence for the first two games. Kohli featured in India’s last Test series against South Africa, that resulted in a 1-1 draw and then missed the first T20I at home against Afghanistan for personal reasons before returning for the final two games of the series. During the tour of South Africa, Kohli had missed the preparatory three-day intrasquad match before the twoTest series, due to personal reasons. Pujara, Patidar, Easwaran likely replacements While the BCCI is yet to name a replacement, in all likelihood Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, Rajat Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be the frontrunners for the middle order slot. Mumbai batter and a domestic run- SURYAKUMAR NAMED CAPTAIN OF ICC T20I TEAM OF THE YEAR ISRAELI STRIKE KILLS HEZBOLLAH FIGHTER, CIVILIAN IN LEBANON machine Sarfaraz Khan, who has been waiting for an India call-up for long, could also be in the running. Pujara, whose last appearance in the Indian Test jersey was at theWorld Test Championship last year, has been overlooked by the national selectors for the past eight-nine months for a prolonged slump in form. However, the Saurashtra batting star has started this year's Ranji Trophy season with an unbeaten double-century against Jharkhand before hitting three scores in the 40s and a halfcentury in his next two games, signalling his return to form. Patidar and Sarfaraz were impressive in their recent outings for India A against the England Lions, and are also in the race. While Patidar slammed a couple of centuries in both the tour game and the unofficial Test, Sarfaraz scored half-centuries in both games, including 96 in the tour game. Bengal’s Abhimanyu, the India A skipper, had replaced the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad as India’s reserve opener during the tour of South Africa. As far as the ones in the squad are concerned, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill could fill in the No.4 slot along with KL Rahul, who could be played as a specialist batter, leaving the wicketkeeping duties to KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel. CMYK P12 In 'moment of history', PM performs pran pratishtha at Ram temple DEEPAK RAZDAN AYODHYA, 22 JANUARY In a moment for the ages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday performed 'pran pratishtha' of Ram Lalla idol in the magnificently built Ram temple here amidst Vedic chants, sending joy among devotees across the world. “Our Ram Lalla will no longer stay under a tent, he will now reside in this divine temple,” he said after completing the short rituals in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Addressing a large gathering of special invitees in the temple complex, the prime minister said, “Today, our Ram is back with us, after wait of centuries, an unending patience, and uncounted sacrifices; our Prabhu Ram is back with us.” Beginning with the slogan "Siyavar Ramchandra ki jai", he said January 22 was not just another date, it was the beginning of a new timecycle. Lord Ram had blessed the country, and after the consecration of the temple, the Sun had spread such aura that the nation felt energised and confident, he said. He said people were giving up their mentality of slavery and learning lessons from the past to write fresh history. This moment would be remembered even thousands of years later. People who were witness to today’s events would be thankful to Lord Ram, he said. In the Ramcharitmanas epic of Tulsidas, people had to go through separation from Ram for 14 years but in this age the separation was of hundreds of years, the Prime Minister said, referring to the events which led to the placement of a Ram Lalla idol in a temporary shelter. Despite Lord Ram being present in the original copy of the Constitution, a prolonged legal battle had to be fought after Independence to let the idol shift to a regular temple, he said. The Prime Minister thanked the judiciary for “keeping the dignity of justice intact. Embodiment of justice, Shri Ram’s temple was constructed as per legal sanctity only,” he said. The Prime Minister said “today's occasion is not only a moment of celebration, but also a moment of realization of the maturity of Indian society. For us, this is not only an occasion of victory but also of humility.” From the ocean to the Saryu river near Ayodhya, there is a Ram festival in the country. Explaining the knots of history, the Prime Minister pointed out that the outcome of a nation's struggle with its history is seldom happy. “Still,” he said, “the gravity and sensitivity with which our country has opened this knot of history shows that our future is going to be much more beautiful than our past.” Referring to the doomsayers who thought the tem- ple construction would lead to conflict, the Prime Minister said that such people did not realize the piousness of India’s social ethos. “The construction of this temple of Ram Lalla is a symbol of peace, patience, mutual harmony and coordination of Indian society. We are seeing that this construction is not giving birth to any fire, but to energy,” he said. “The Ram Mandir has brought inspiration to every section of the society to move forward on the path of a bright future,” he said. Modi said, “Ram does not belong only to us but to all, Ram is not just present but is infinite.” The Prime Minister said Ayodhya was asking everyone a question, after construction of the temple, what is to follow? He said this was the time for the country to work for the development of the country. Every citizen should take a vow to convey Ram’s great ideals to everyone so that the nation progresses, he said. The Prime Minister asked the countrymen to expand their consciousness from Dev to Desh, Ram to Rashtra -- from deity to nation. He asked them to learn from Shri Hanuman’s service, devotion and dedication.