28 JANUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 20 |` 5.00|LC 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 23 °C and 13°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 95 % TEMPERATURE Max: 23.0°C (-2) SUN RISES 06:18 hrs MOON RISES 18:47 hrs Min. 40 % Min: 13.5°C (-1) SUN SETS 17:21 hrs MOON SETS 07:25 hrs New Moon on 10 February THUMBNAILS National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets perform during the annual NCC PM rally at Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi on Saturday.  ANI INS Vishakhapatnam responds to distress call from merchant vessel in Gulf of Aden: Indian Navy's guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam deployed in the Gulf of Aden responded to a distress call from MV Merlin Luanda on Friday night. The cargo vessel has 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew onboard, according to the Indian Navy. Based on the request from the MV Merlin Luanda, INS Visakhapatnam has deployed the ship's NBCD team along with firefighting equipment to provide assistance to the crew towards augmenting firefighting efforts onboard the distressed vessel, according to the Indian Navy. 10.5 l new beneficiaries Aus Open: Bopanna wins men’s entitled for Kanyashree doubles title; oldest Slam winner AGENCIES Rupashree scheme to cover 84.67 thousand new beneficiaries STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BURDWAN, 27 JANUARY hief Minister Mamata Banerjee has cleared the inclusion of 10.5 lakh new names of girls studying in schools, colleges and universities from across Bengal as Kanyashree beneficiaries, which came into effect just ahead of the country's 75th Republic Day. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her administrative review meeting in Burdwan this week, had said: “Kanyashree is now not only the pride of Bengal, the entire world takes pride of the scheme.” Besides, 84.67 thousand new Rupashree beneficiaries have been included, taking the total number of beneficiaries under the scheme to 17.04 lakh today. Rupashree is a scheme aimed to provide financial assistance to the economically stressed families to help them meet the expenses of their daughter's marriage. The state provides Rs 25,000 to the family to fund wedding function. The Kanyashree scheme got 2.78 crore applications till 25 January evening, of which 2.76 crore have been sanctioned. The scheme seeks to improve the status of girls C Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee greets the people during the Republic Day parade at Red Road.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL in schools, colleges and universities intending to delay their marriage at least till the age of 18 years of age. Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Indian families are not allowed to marry off their daughters below the age of 18 years, incidentally. This is the flagship scheme of the Bengal government floated by Miss Mamata Banerjee that has earned international recognition by the United Nations Department of International Development and UNICEF in 2017. The The Bengal government has added 1.04 lakh new beneficiaries for its widow pension scheme and additional 9 lakh for old age pension from across the state, senior district administration officials said on Thursday morning. scheme was floated by the state on 14 August, 2013. The Bengal government has added 1.04 lakh new beneficiaries for its widow pension scheme Bihar in a churn: Stakeholders meet as rumours swirl of CM Nitish Kumar’s return to NDA fold AGENCIES PATNA/NEW DELHI, 27 JANUARY Amidst hectic political activity, rumours were rife on Saturday evening that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar would resign soon from his post, possibly on Sunday, ahead of another political volte-face less than 18 months after he abandoned the NDA to form a Grand Alliance government in the state with the RJD and the Congress. Top leaders of the JD(U) also gathered at the party president’s residence amidst strong indications that the chief minister may put in his papers and stake claim to form the government with the BJP’s support. RJD leaders, too, held deliberations over the course of action to be followed in case Mr Kumar calls off the alliance and returns to the BJP-led NDA. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar being felicitated after offering prayers at the Brahmeshwarnath Temple in Buxar on Saturday.  ANI Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United)'s political adviser and spokesperson K CTyagi told reporters in Delhi that the Grand Alliance government in Bihar is on the verge of collapse, and accused a section of the Congress leadership of repeatedly “insulting” Mr Kumar. “The INDIA bloc is on the verge of collapse. The alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, Bengal and Bihar,” he said. “INDIA alliance is on the verge of breaking due to the irresponsible and obstinate attitude of Congress.” State BJP leaders held a meeting in Patna but stopped short of making any formal announcement of support to Mr Kumar in the event of his pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan. Mr Kumar himself has maintained silence over the turmoil, ignoring pleas from allies RJD, Congress and the Left to clear the air. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday that party president Mallikarjun Kharge tried to talk to Mr Kumar but the latter was “busy”. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is reported to have decided not to withdraw support from the Nitish Kumar government. The decision was taken in a meeting held at the official residence of deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Patna where all MLAs unanimously decided not to withdraw support from Mr Kumar. Single Bench vs Division Bench: Supreme Court intervenes in Calcutta HC wrangle STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 JANUARY Intervening in a wrangle in Calcutta High Court that has pitted a single judge Bench of the court against a Division Bench, the Supreme Court on Saturday stayed all proceedings in the high court in a case involving fake caste certificates in admission for medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal, including the directions for a CBI probe issued by a singlejudge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay. Staying the operation of the order passed by the single- judge of the High Court, a fivejudge bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrtachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Aniruddha Bose posted the matter for hearing on Monday, 29 January 2024. The Supreme Court took the unprecedented step in the wake of conflicting backto-back orders passed by the single judge and the division bench of the Calcutta High Court in the case. The order passed by the five-judge Bench after a special hearing taking suo motu cognisance of the developments in Calcutta High Court said that pending further orders, there shall be a stay of all proceedings before the Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court and before the division Bench and the implementation of the directions issued by the Single Judge on 24 and 25 January 2024 shall, in consequence, remain stayed. In an order passed on Thursday, a single-judge bench of Justice Gangopadhyay ignored a decision passed by the division bench of the High Court and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to "immediately" start investigation of the matter. The Division Bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar had earlier the same day stayed an order passed by the single-judge bench on Wednesday calling for a CBI probe in the matter. Justice Gangopadhyay even accused one of the two judges of the division bench of "acting clearly for some political party". and additional 9 lakh for old age pension from across the state, senior district administration officials said on Thursday morning. Kejriwal accuses BJP of trying to buy AAP MLAs, topple Delhi govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 JANUARY In a fresh attack on the central dispensation, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring to topple his government by offering money to the tune of crores to AAP MLAs. Taking to microblogging site X, he claimed seven legislators of his party were contacted and told that he would be arrested shortly and the AAP government would fall. They were also told that the entire plan has been discussed with 21 other MLAs, while others are being approached. He said the seven MLAs were offered a sum of Rs 25 crore each along with a chance to fight the election on a BJP ticket. The AAP chief further alleged during the past nine years, the BJP has conspired several times to overturn the AAP government, but did not succeed. He said his party has done a lot for the people of Delhi, and it was difficult for the BJP to defeat AAP in the elections, adding that they wanted to get all the AAP leaders behind the bars with the help of the ‘doctored’ liquor policy scam. MELBOURNE, 27 JANUARY India's Rohan Bopanna made history on Saturday, becoming the oldest man in the Open Era to win a major men’s doubles title on Saturday, teaming up with Australian Matthew Ebden to win the Australian Open. (Photo) The 43-year-old Bopanna and Ebden overcame Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(0), 7-5 to clinch the crown at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Bopanna, who was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government for becoming the oldest first-time World No.1 in men's doubles recently, completed his mission to win his first Grand Slam men's doubles title. Bopanna and Ebden were dominant on serve throughout the onehour, 40-minute clash, winning 80 per cent (40/50) of points behind their first delivery and not facing a break point to cap a dream week. Bopanna, who had won his first Grand Slam title, the mixed doubles title alongside Gabriela Dabrowski at the French Open in 2017, and Ebden produced their best tennis at the crucial stages. They found great depth on return in the first-set tie-break to storm ahead before they gained the crucial break of the second set in the 11th game. The second seeds Bopanna and Ebden won all seven tiebreaks they played at the hard-court major. The Indian-Australian team bumped chests following match point, a celebration associated with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi and also American greats Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan before they sunk to the ground. Bopanna and Ebden then returned to their feet to soak in the roars from the crowd. It is the first time Bopanna has won a major men's doubles title, having lost in finals at the US Open in 2010 and 2023. The 43-year-old is the third Indian man in the Open Era to win a major men’s doubles title, joining Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. He will also become the oldest No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday. Ebden, 36, has now won two major men’s doubles titles, having won Wimbledon in 2022 with Max Purcell. He is the 28th Australian man to win the Australian Open men’s doubles crown. Bopanna is overall the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam title after Paes, Bhupathi and Mirza and is now on the list of the star tennis players who have also been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award on Thursday. Born on 4 March 1980, in Bangalore, Karnataka, Bopanna started playing tennis at the age of 11 because his father wanted him to pursue the sport. Though he also enjoyed sports like hockey and football, by the age of 19, tennis became young Rohan's calling as won his first ITF Junior singles title in 1997 at the age of 17. After gaining experience in both singles and doubles at the junior and senior ITF levels, Bopanna turned professional in 2003.