THURSDAY 01 FEBRUARY 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, light rain is very likely to occur . Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25 °C and 16 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY ‘TMC will not give up a single seat to Cong’ Min. 59 % Max: 26.9°C (+1) SUN RISES 06:16 hrs MOON RISES 22:5 hrs Min: 20.2°C (+5) SUN SETS 17:24 hrs MOON SETS 09:28 hrs New Moon on 10 February THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SILIGURI, 31 JANUARY A view of the blooming flowers at the Amrit Udyan that will be open for the general public from 2 February (except on Mondays) at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.  SUBRATA DUTTA Govt appoints four members of 16th Finance Commission : The government appointed four members of the newly-constituted 16th Finance Commission on Wednesday. The Commission, chaired by former Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya, will have 4 members, who will be assisted by Secretary Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey. Retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew and Artha Global Executive Director Niranjan Rajadhyaksha have been appointed as full-time members. Soumya Kanti Ghosh will be a parttime member, the Finance Ministry said. Everything OK, says Maldives envoy on ties with India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY “Everything is good,” Maldives Envoy to India Ibrahim Shaheeb remarked on Wednesday when asked about ties between India and the island nation in the wake of controversial remarks made by three now-suspended Maldivian ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep. The Maldives envoy was approached by reporters when he was alighting from his car at the Parliament House where he was invited to attend President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget Session. This came a day after Maldives Opposition leader Qasim Ibrahim asked President Mohammed Muizzu to formally apologise to PM Modi and the people of India for certain remarks made by Mr Muizzu as part of his government's 'India Out' campaign during his recent China trip. A huge diplomatic row erupted between India and the Maldives earlier this month after three junior ministers made unsavoury references to PM Modi after he wrote about Lakshadweep in a social media post. The Maldives government distanced itself from the remarks and suspended the three ministers. Meanwhile in the Maldives, the main opposition MDP~ which holds a majority in Parliament - has gathered enough signatures to submit a motion to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu but is yet to submit it. The Maldives has been passing through a tumultuous time ever since the Muizzu government, which is considered ‘pro-China’, assumed office in the island. Murmu opens Budget session of Parliament Let Congress fight in association with CPI-M to help BJP: Mamata Max. 89 % TEMPERATURE Hemant Soren quits; Champai Soren set to be next J’khand CM hief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Trinamul Congress chairperson, on Wednesday again made it clear there will be no seatsharing with the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal. Addressing a programme at English Bazaar in Malda, Miss Banerjee said: “We will not give up a single seat to the Congress. Let the Congress fight in association with the CPI-M to help the BJP “I had agreed to give .” two seats, Maldah Uttar and Maldah Dakshin in the Lok Sabha polls. Congress C refused though they do not have any MLA. As they have refused to accept my proposal, we will not give up a single seat to the Congress. Only the TMC can take on the BJP in Bengal,” Miss Banerjee said. “Let the Congress fight elections with the CPIM, that CPI-M which had attempted to kill me and murdered many even in Malda,” she added. Miss Banerjee said: “Congress candidates were elected from Malda and both North and South Malda Lok Sabha constituencies for long. I do not have any objections if they nominate family members of the late ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury in both the seats. But my question is what they have done for Malda. Barkat da had built a guest house named Gour Bhawan. Now it is in an almost broken state.” The TMC chief said: “Bengal will show the way to the country. Those who cannot show the direction, talk more and spread slander.We do our job seriously. We keep our words. We talk less, work more. We are with the people throughout 365 days. People support those who work.” Miss Banerjee also came down heavily on the Centre on various issues, including non-disbursement of Central funds for various schemes including the MGNREGA and housing schemes. Miss Banerjee also also announced that she would stage a dharna in front of Baba Ambedkar’s statue on Red Road in Kolkata demanding disbursement of Central funds from 2 February, if the Centre does not release the funds on 1 February. She also urged the deprived beneficiaries to join her dharna and asked people’s representatives belonging to her party to ferry them to Kolkata from all districts. She asked the Home Secretary to inform the District Magistrates to ready the list of beneficiaries in different schemes who have been deprived due to the noncooperation of the Central government. On the issue of the Border Security Force’s alleged atrocities, Miss Banerjee asked villagers along IndoBangladesh border to lodge complaints with the respective police station to take necessary actions. The CM also said that the state government was working to set up a Religious Tourist Circuit based on three districts of Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia. ‘CPM is the biggest agent of BJP’: Page 3 Varanasi court allows Hindus to worship inside Vyas Ka Tehkhana in Gyanvapi complex cellar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE VARANASI, 31 JANUARY In a significant verdict, the Varanasi district court has allowed Hindus to worship at the basement within the Gyanvapi complex called the 'Vyas Ka Tehkhana', declaring that Hindus have the right to worship there. Adjudicating an application in this regard, District Judge Dr Ajay Krishna Vishwesh gave the verdict on Wednesday allowing worship in the sealed basement in the Gyanvapi complex. The arguments from both sides were completed in the court on Tuesday. The Hindu side's lawyer Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi said the right to worship in the basement has been granted and the court has ordered the district officer to comply with the order within a week’s time. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, also representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, said: "The Hindu side has been allowed to worship in the 'Vyas Ka Tahkhana'. The district administration will have to make arrangements within seven days." He said the puja would start within seven days and everyone would have the right to perform the puja. In their reaction to the verdict, lawyers of the Anju- man Intejamia Masjid Committee said they would move the high court against the district court’s verdict. On the other hand, Mr Jain said: "We will file a caveat in the Allahabad High Court. If the court hears the the plea of the Muslim side, we will be ready there." According to the plaintiff's lawyers, the basement has been handed over to the district magistrate. On the advocates' request, the court has IMF raises India’s growth projection for FY25 to 6.5 pc STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised India’s growth projection for the Financial Year 2025 by 20 basis points (bps) to 6.5 per cent in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) update. The data cited the buoyant domestic spending and improved global growth prospects. For FY24, the IMF raised India’s growth estimate by 40 bps to 6.7 per cent compared to its October report, which is still lower than the 7.3 per cent growth projected by the National Statistical Office earlier this month. “Growth in India is projected to remain strong at 6.5 per cent in both 2024 (FY25) and 2025 (FY26), with an upgrade from October of 0.2 per cent point for both years, reflecting resilience in domestic demand,” the IMF said in its report. The estimate, however, falls below the 7 per cent growth projection by the Ministry of Finance. The Union Finance Ministry has released a report titled ‘Indian Economy -- A Review’ saying the Indian economy is expected to grow at a rate above 7 per cent in coming years. It said the growth will be riding on the strength of its financial sector and other recent and future structural reforms and can aspire to become a USD 7 trillion economy by 2030. For the global economic projection, the IMF raised it for 2024 by 20 bps to 3.1 per cent , compared to its October report, citing greater-than-expected resilience in the United States and several large emerging market and developing economies, as well as fiscal support in China. This is still below the historical average global growth of 3.8 per cent , with elevated central bank policy rates to fight inflation, withdrawal of fiscal support amid high debt weighing on economic activity, and low underlying productivity growth. For China, the IMF increased its growth forecast for 2024 by 40 bps to 4.6 per cent. given permission to open the barricades in front of the Nandi statue. In such a situation, people will now be allowed to come and go for worship in the basement as done before 1993, they said. On Tuesday, in the court, advocates Mumtaz Ahmed and Ikhlaq Ahmed, on behalf of the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid Committee, said the basement is a part of the mosque. Worship cannot be allowed there. This is prohibited by the Places of Worship Act. The basement is the property of the Waqf Board and therefore, worship should not be allowed there. The case was filed by Shailendra Pathak, grandson of the late priest Somnath Vyas, demanding the handing over of the basement of Vyasji located in Gyanvapi to the district magistrate and to allow him to perform puja in it. Land dispute: Court rules in favour of Amartya Sen STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BIRBHUM, 31 JANUARY In a win for Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, a district court has cancelled the notification issued by the Visva Bharati University asking him to vacate 13 decimals of land that the university authorities claimed had been illegally occupied. Exactly a year ago, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has handed over the papers at his house in Shantiniketan. Prof Sen’s counsel said that the Suri district court has cancelled the eviction notification issued by the Visva Bharati University earlier in a judgment today. (PG3) CMYK STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY The developments came as the ED, which was questioning him in a money laundering case, informed him that it was arresting him as it was not satisfied with his answers AGENCIES RANCHI, 31 JANUARY Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday resigned from his post as the ED arrested him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam and has moved the HC against the agency's action. Champai Soren, the state transport minister and a loyalist of Hemant Soren, will step into his role as chief minister. “Hemant Soren has resigned from the post of CM. We have the support of 47 MLAs and have proposed to form a new government. Champai Soren will be our new chief minister. We have not been given time for swearing in,” Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam said while speaking to media. The ED, which was questioning Hemant Soren at his residence since the afternoon, informed him that it was arresting him as it was not satisfied with his answers to their queries. Subsequently, it was announced that Hemant Soren had challenged the ED probe and his arrest in a writ petition in Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday but the matter was not heard and is likely to be mentioned on Thursday for hearing. Champai Soren is a seven-time MLA and represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand. In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance, which includes Congress and RJD, has 47 MLAs, including 29 of JMM, 17 of Congress, and 1 of RJD. The BJP has 25 members and the AJSU has three MLAs. The NCP and CPI (ML)-L have one member each, apart from 3 Independents. Hemant Soren met Governor CP Radhakrishnan at at the Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation. The CM, who was reportedly "missing", resurfaced in Ranchi late Tuesday, reaching his Kanke Road residence at around 1:50 p.m. (Earlier report on Page 5) President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday opened the Budget session of Parliament, the last of the 17th Lok Sabha, with an address to a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The President, who covered a wide variety of topics in her address, said the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was a matter of aspirations and faith for crores of people of the country and the resolution of this has been accomplished in a harmonious manner. “For centuries, there was an aspiration to construct the Ram Mandir. Today it is a reality... After waiting for centuries, Ram Lalla has now been enshrined in his grand temple in Ayodhya,” she added. She said 2023 was a historic year for the country when it maintained the tag of being the fastest-growing major economy. “The year 2023 was a historic year for India, when it grew the fastest among major economies despite global crisis. India grew about 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters,” she told Parliament. Speaking about her government, she said, "The achievements that we see today are the extension of the practices of the last 10 years. We heard the slogan of 'Gareebi Hatao' since our childhood. Today, for the first time in our lives, we see poverty being alleviated on a large scale."