WEDNESDAY 24 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 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky with Fog/Mist in the morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 22 °C and 14 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Words of Netaji inspire people of India every day: Mamata Banerjee STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 23 JANUARY Max. 94 % Min. 58 % Max: 19.8°C (-6) SUN RISES 06:18 hrs MOON RISES 15:4 hrs Min: 11.8°C (-2) SUN SETS 17:18 hrs MOON SETS 04:23 hrs TEMPERATURE ‘Shame Netaji’s b’day is Maldives allows Chinese not a national holiday’ ‘spy ship’ to dock at Male Full Moon on 25 January THUMBNAILS A glimpse of the Rajasthan Tableau during the rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path on Tuesday. ANI Bharat Ratna announced for 'Jan Nayak' Karpoori Thakur posthumously: The Centre on Tuesday announced Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur posthumously. The announcement came a day before his birth anniversary. An official statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said, "The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Shri Karpoori Thakur (posthumously)." oming down heavily on the BJP , chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the party had renamed Kolkata Port which was earlier in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s name and regretted that Netaji’s birthday has not been declared a national holiday. She was addressing a gathering after paying tribute to Netaji on his 127th birth anniversary(Photo). Miss Banerjee said: “I feel ashamed that a port and dock which were in Netaji’s name have been changed and despite my fight for the past two decades to declare Netaji’s birthday as national holiday, it has not achieved anything.” “In India holidays are declared for political reasons but not on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great soul. It is a matter of shame,” she said. She said the words of Netaji inspire the people of India every day. After becoming the head of Indian National Army, Netaji fixed its motto which was faith, unity and equality. He C also talked about dedication and determination, she said. Lambasting the BJPled Central government, she said: “Netaji’s dream of a Planning Commission has been shattered when the Centre replaced it by Niti Aayog. The only principle (niti) they follow is to spread hatred.” She also attacked the BJP for not taking the initiative to solve the mystery behind Netaji’s disappearance. “Before coming to power at the Centre, the current ruling party promised to make efforts to solve the mystery. But after coming to power they did not take the matter further.Whereas, after coming to power in West Bengal in 2011, we declassified 64 files related to Netaji that were preserved in our state archives,” she said. Miss Banerjee later wrote on her X handle: “As we celebrate the 127th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, my heart swells with deep admiration for a true hero, who for me has been a personal source of inspiration. His courage, vision and love for the motherland has stirred profound emotions Scuffle after Guwahati entry bar for BJNY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE GUWAHATI, 23 JANUARY Congress workers scuffled with police on the outskirts of Guwahati on Tuesday afternoon after the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi was stopped from entering the city. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma subsequently accused the Congress of using ‘Naxalite’ tactics and directed Assam Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh to initiate a criminal case against Mr Gandhi in connection with the incident in the Khanapara area of the city. Earlier, the Assam government declined permission for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Yatra to pass through key roads in Guwahati as it reentered Assam on Tuesday following its journey through Meghalaya. The decision follows a tense exchange between the Assam Chief Minister and Congress leaders, who accused him of impeding the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The state administration argued that since it is a working day in Guwahati, allowing the yatra on major city roads could result in traffic congestion. Consequently, the rally was directed to take the national highway route as it progresses towards lower Assam, specifically the National Highway 27 encircling the city.This development follows a dramatic incident near the shrine of 15th-century social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva in Assam. Mr Gandhi had planned to visit the birthplace of the Vaishnav saint near Guwahati yesterday. However, Chief Minister Sarma urged him not to visit the shrine before the Ram Mandir 'pran pratistha' ceremony in Ayodhya. The shrine's managing committee also declared that Mr Gandhi would not be allowed to enter before 3 pm. Mr Gandhi and his associates were halted on their way to the shrine, leading to a sit-in protest at the roadblock site. However, party MP Gaurav Gogoi and Batadrava MLA Sibamoni Bora proceeded to the shrine and offered prayers. Later, speaking to the media, Mr Gandhi expressed his belief in Sankardeva's philosophy and emphasised the importance of bringing people together without spreading hatred. He lamented the denial of entry to the shrine and mentioned the selective restriction, stating,"Gaurav Gogoi and all can go, but only Rahul Gandhi cannot go. I don't know, there may be some reason, but I will go to Batadrava when I get an opportunity." On Tuesday afternoon, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra convoy met with a barricaded road at Khanapara area, when they were trying to enter Guwahati. The blockade triggered protests amongst the workers who removed some of the barricades, that led to the scuffle between police and workers. Addressing a gathering in the wake of the incident, Mr Gandhi said his party workers would never break the rules and disrupt law and order; however, “this doesn't mean that we are weak”. with me. Netaji’s spirit transcends time and continues to live on in each heartbeat of free India. Today, let us connect with the essence of his journey and feel the pulse of his sacrifices. As we stand on the shoulder of this giant, let us pledge to carry forward his vision and legacy.” Amit Mitra, economic advisor to the Chief Minister, ministers Indranil Sen and Bratya Basu attended the ceremony with Professor Sugata Bose and Chandra Bose. Some members of Netaji’s family were also present. The 127th birth anniversary of Netaji was observed in the city with great enthusiasm.The national flag was hoisted at Dakshin Kolkata Sevasram of which Netaji was the first secretary and CR Das was its president. It was observed with due solemnity at Molonga Lane near the house of Anukul Chandra Mukhopadhyay, one of those who had looted Rhoda rifles. Anukul Chandra was a close associate of Netaji. Hundreds of people visited Netaji Bhavan on Elgin Road, the house from where he had left for Gomo in the course of his great escape from the country. Myanmar military aircraft overshoots runway at Aizawl airport, 8 hurt AIZAWL, 23 JANUARY At least eight crew members of a Myanmar Air Force aircraft were injured after the plane skidded off the tabletop runway of the Lengpui airport in here on Tuesday, officials said. The aircraft had come to Lengpui airport to take back the remaining 92 Myanmar soldiers to their country. Officials said that out of the 14 people who were on board the medium size aircraft along with the pilot, eight were injured. The injured were immediately rushed to Lengpui hospital and subsequently they were discharged. Due to the faulty landing and the overshoot from the runway, the plane was partially damaged. Mizoram disaster management officials, along with the district administration and police officials, rushed to the Lengpui airport, 30 km from Aizawl, and rescued the injured crew. AGENCIES Mad rush of devotees at Ram temple a day after consecration STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AYODHYA, 23 JANUARY A day after the temple consecration ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, lakhs of Rambhakts thronged the Ram temple early Tuesday. With a sea of people keen to have a darshan of Ram Lalla, the authorities were caught napping. The Uttar Pradesh government had rushed more security personnel and all vehicles reaching Ayodhya were stopped to control the crowd. All government buses going to Ayodhya have been diverted. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached Ayodhya in the afternoon along with officials to inspect the situation. The CM also made a helicopter survey of the crowd management near the Ram temple. Devotees throng Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on the first day after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on Tuesday. ANI Later, Mr Adityanath reached the sanctum sanctorum of the temple along with officials to monitor the crowd. The CM assured all the devotees that they will have darshan of Ram Lalla. As today was the first Tues- day after the consecration ceremony, devotees rushed to pray at the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi after taking a dip in the holy Saryu river since early morning. The Ram temple was slated to open at 7 a.m. after clean- ing, but a large crowd of over one lakh reached the temple by 3 a.m. in the morning which forced the authorities to open the temple early. There was a mad rush among the devotees to have the darshan of Ram Lalla which led to a stampede-like situation. But due to sincere efforts of the security personnel, a disaster was avoided. Earlier, Chief Minister Adityanath took stock of the situation and rushed Principal Secretary Home Sanjay Prasad and Special DG ( Law and Order) Prashant Kumar here who took control of the crowd near the sanctum sanctorum. The Special DG said today two and a half to three lakh devotees had darshan of Ram Lalla till 3 p.m. and the same number of devotees were standing in the queues. “All arrangements are under control. More than 8,000 security personnel have been deployed in the temple to control the crowd,” he added. Lucknow Zone ADG Piyush Mordia said: “People are requested not to lose patience. The number of devotees is very large and people will have to wait for the darshan. Everyone will have darshan. Heavy vehicles have been diverted so that people do not face problems.” In view of the huge crowd at the Ayodhya Ram temple, all the buses of UP Roadways going to the temple city have been stopped. Transport Corporation General Manager, Operation Manoj Pundir said the operation of buses on all routes going to Ayodhya has been stopped. The order will be reviewed when the crowd reduces, he added. CMYK STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 JANUARY In a development that is bound to raise the hackles of the Indian establishment, the Maldives on Wednesday confirmed that it has permitted a Chinese ship to make a port call in Male but claimed that the vessel would not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters. “Concerning the media reports regarding the port call of the Chinese Research Vessel XIANG YANG HONG 3 at Male’, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to inform that a diplomatic request was made by the Government of China to the Government of Maldives, for the necessary clearances to make a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment. The vessel would not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters,'' a statement from the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said. The Chinese vessel, which Beijing claims is an ocean research vessel, but is widely seen to be a spy ship mapping the Indian Ocean floor for military purposes, is expected to arrive in Male in early February. The statement said the Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for vessels of friendly countries, and continues to host both civilian and military vessels making port calls for peaceful purposes. “Such port calls not only enhance bilateral ties between the Maldives and its partner countries, but also demonstrate the centuries old tradition of the Maldivian people welcoming vessels from friendly countries,” it added. New Delhi is closely tracking the Chinese vessel that is believed to be equipped with advanced surveillance equipment. “There have been no instances of the ship undertaking any type of research activities within the Indian EEZ. Indian Navy is aware of the presence of the ship and is monitoring it's movement," defence sources were quoted as saying by a news portal. The development comes at a time when ties between India and the Maldives are far from normal with Maldives pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu asking India to withdraw its nearly 90 troops from the island by 15 March. At UPR, India urges China to commit to human rights, gender equality AGENCIES GENEVA , 23 JANUARY India has called on China to steadfastly uphold its commitment to human rights and gender equality, while asking it to play a constructive role in the realisation of aspirations of developing countries. The recommendations were given by Indian diplomat Gaurav Kumar Thakur during the 45th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations. India gave China three recommendations during the UPR which included, "Continue taking steps to ensure fullest enjoyment of basic human rights by its people through inclusive and sustainable development." Secondly, India told China to "continue taking measures to promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls." Lastly, India urged China to "continue to play a constructive role in the realisation of aspirations of developing countries including through reform of mulitateral institutions."