SATURDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘RAHUL TO PLAY KEY INDIA ROLE’ KERALA OPP CALLS FOR VIJAYAN’S RESIGNATION P7 P4 SENSEX 72,085.63440.34 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky with fog/mist in the morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 26 °C and 18 °C respectively. P5 ` vs $ 83.202 PAISE GOLD 63,600160 CM begins 2-day sit-in over MGNREGA dues STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max. 94 % Min. 83 % Max: 24.1°C (-3) SUN RISES 06:16 hrs MOON RISES 23:48 hrs Min: 19.9°C (+4) SUN SETS 17:25 hrs MOON SETS 10:30 hrs KOLKATA, 2 FEBRUARY New Moon on 10 February THUMBNAILS A view of the snow-covered Atal Tunnel after the area witnesses fresh snowfall, at Rohtang in Manali on Friday.  ANI Former President Kovind chairs 5th meet of ‘One Nation One Election’: The fifth meeting of the high-level committee on ‘One Nation One Election’ (ONOE) was held here on Friday under the chairmanship of former president Ram Nath Kovind. The panel was constituted by the Centre to examine the issue relating to holding of simultaneous elections in the country and make recommendations thereon. During the meeting, a delegation by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee made a presentation before the committee in which views of the industry on ONOE and its impact were highlighted, after which they presented a formal memorandum, according to a statement by the law ministry. oming down heavily on the BJP-run Central government for withholding funds meant for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) job scheme, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said those responsible should be put behind the bars as it is a Constitutional obligation to pay the money on time. She was addressing a gathering on Red Road on Friday afternoon at the venue where she began a two-day sit-in protest against the withholding of the state’s dues by the Union government.Without naming the Prime Minister, she said: “I have never seen such a vindictive, arrogant person in my life. I wrote to him, met him. Nothing has been done so far. For the past two years the money has not been cleared.” Referring to a CAG report that the BJP claims indicates financial mismanagement and potential scams in the state, Miss Banerjee said: “The CAG figures have been manipulated. They speak lies and lies only.” She said she had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard. The chief minister said her government has submitted utilisation certificates regarding the usage of central funds since 2011, when the TMC assumed power in the state for the first C Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with Trinamul Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha during the dharna at Red Road on Friday.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL  time. “Why should we take responsibility for what happened before we came to power, during the Left rule?" she asked. She said the money meant for construction of houses for the poor and funds for development of rural roads have been withheld. “ This has been deliberately done to inconvenience Bengal. They want to kill us by not giving food. They often forget that we produce rice and no one can take away food from us,” she said. She regretted that the “development that is taking part in Bengal is deliberately not shown on television and media that are controlled by the BJPThey have money and . on social media lies are circulated to malign Bengal.” Apparently referring to a particular news outlet, which she did not name, Miss Banerjee said: “Do impartial reporting. When farmers commit suicide, that incident is not given coverage.” Referring to the BJP she , said: “ Saffron coloured attire is being worn by the monks who have renounced everything. Now some goondas, liars, thieves are wearing saffron. They are not Yogis.” Calling the Union budget a big farce she said: “They are planning for 25 years hence instead of addressing the burning issues. Miss Banerjee reiterated that the BJP is trying to demolish the federal structure of the country.“The institutions have become their party offices. Now, they talk about one nation, one language, one food and one JAISWAL STANDS TALL AGAINST ENGLAND’S AGGRESSION P12 SILVER 76,500200 dress. I often wonder what will happen to India in future,” she said, adding “the BJP does not believe in development. The condition of Indian railway is become worse everyday, but selfie zones have been created in railway stations.” She alleged that defence deals have been made outside India but no body is allowed to ask them questions. “Mahua (Moitra) had asked questions so she was expelled from Parliament.” Coming down heavily on the Congress party, she said: “ We as a part of INDIA alliance said Congress should get 300 seats and the remaining 245 seats will be taken by the regional parties. The Congress did not say anything. I had agreed to give two seats to Congress (in Bengal) which they refused.” Miss Banerjee said she was not informed about the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra of Rahul Gandhi. “I was not informed about the Bharat Nyaya Yatra. I got the information from the administration. It is anyaya( wrong) yatra. Photo sessions are being held with people,” she said, adding:“Go to Allahabad or Varanasi and in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to do the yatra.” She said: “The BJP has come to fan the Hindu sentiment while the CPI-M and Congress have come to fan the Muslim sentiment. We believe in development and work for the development of all the communities.” BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 78.050.060 Champai Soren new J’khand CM; 39 MLAs land in Hy’bad ‘Those responsible for withholding dues should be put behind bars: Mamata RAINFALL: 6.2mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE NIFTY 21,853.80156.35 ‘GOVT SHYING AWAY FROM CASTE CENSUS AS IT WILL BRING OUT TRUTH’ JMM leader Champai Soren takes oath as the State Chief Minister. ANI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE RANCHI/HYDERABAD, 2 FEBRUARY Champai Soren, leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislative party, took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Friday at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. He replaces JMM leader Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday night in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Alongside Champai Soren, Congress' Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta also took the oath as a ministers in the Jharkhand cabinet. After the swearing in, several legislators left for Hyderabad ahead of the floor test in the Assembly as the ruling alliance sought to protect its flock. In the 81 member Jharkhand Assembly Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has 29, its ally the Congress has 17 seats while the RJD and the CPI (ML) have 1 seat each. With the support of 43 MLAs the INDIA bloc has the numbers to sail through a floor test. On the Opposition side, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 26 seats, AJSU 3 while Independents and others have 3 MLAs. 1 seat in the assembly is vacant. On Thursday, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited Champai Soren to form the government in the state. Champai Soren, a loyalist of JMM leader Hemant Soren, has been asked to demonstrate his majority in a floor test, which will be held within the next 10 days. Around 39 MLAs belonging to the ruling JMM-led alliance arrived in Hyderabad on Friday and have been shifted to a luxury resort in Shamirpet on the city's outskirts. The MLAs were sent to Congress-ruled Telangana to thwart any attempt by the Opposition in Jharkhand at poaching them before the floor test. Senior PCC leader and advisor to the government Harkara Venugopal was present at the airport to oversee the transportation of the Jharkhand MLAs to the resort. A large number of policemen were deployed at the Begumpet Airport before the arrival of the charter planes. The MLAs boarded the two buses waiting to ferry them to the resort since yesterday. The MLAs could not fly to the city by private chartered flights yesterday due to fog-induced poor visibility at Ranchi airport. (With inputs from agencies) Soren sent to five-day ED custody AGENCIES RANCHI, 2 FEBRUARY JMM leader and former chief minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, has been sent to five-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate by the High Court in connection with an alleged land scam case. He was arrested by the ED after several summons in the alleged land scam case and several hours of questioning onWednesday night. Earlier, Mr Soren was sent to one-day judicial custody by a special PMLA court in Ranchi. The former chief minister on Friday moved the Supreme Court against his arrest, but the court refused to entertain his plea, challenging his arrest by the ED in the land deal case and asking him to approach the concerned High Court with his petition. A Bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M. Trivedi said that they are not inclined to entertain the petition, but left it open to the petitioner to approach the jurisdictional High Court. The top court also said that it is open for the petitioner to urge the high court to expeditiously decide the case," the court stated. Cong demands statement from Shah on ‘India will be third-largest economy during our shepherds-Chinese army confrontation 3rd term, mobility sector will play a huge role’ STATESMAN NEW SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 2 FEBRUARY: The Congress on Friday demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement over the purported video of a confrontation between Indian shepherds and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Kakjung area of Ladakh.(Photo) Posing a volley of questions to the home minister, the party asked if any effort is being taken to protect the Indian shepherds from the Chinese “harassment’’. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said: “The Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) weak response to the recent video showing PLA troops harassing and blocking shep- herds' access to grazing areas in the Chushul sector is par for the course for the Modi government. The MEA spokesperson reportedly stated that both countries are well aware of their respective traditional grazing zones. Any spat, controversy, or dispute is dealt with the established mechanism.” Mr Ramesh, who is also the Congress’ MP in Rajya Sabha said: “Regarding established mechanisms, we have seen how the Narendra Modi government has failed to prevent the Chinese from denying our troops and graziers access to 2,000 square kilometres of territory in eastern Ladakh for the past four years, despite 18 rounds of military talks.” Asserting that the MEA and the defence ministry are not the only authorities involved in the matter, the par- liamentarian said: “Border management comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is the responsibility of the home ministry to ensure that Indian graziers are able to exercise their rights as citizens inside the Indian territory.” “How many instances have there been since May 2020 of our graziers being harassed or pushed back by Chinese border guards within our perception of the LAC? Have our graziers suffered any injuries or material losses in these encounters? Has there been any effort to protect them from Chinese harassment or are they forced to defend themselves with no support from the ITBP as it appeared in the video? We demand answers to these questions by Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said. NEW DELHI, 2 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the country would emerge as the third-largest economy in the world during the BJP’s third straight term in government at the Centre. Addressing the Bharat Mobility Global Expo at Bharat Mandapam here, he said, “It is certain that India will become the world's thirdlargest economy during our third term. During the past 10 years, around 25 crore people have come out of poverty due to the efforts of the government.” “Today's India is moving forward with the goal of making the country 'developed' by 2047. The mobility sector will play a huge role in the achievement of this goal," the prime minister added. "I have always said that this is the right time. This mantra sits well with the mobility sector. India is on the moon and is moving fast. This is the beginning of the golden era for the mobility sector. Today, the economy of the country is expanding rapidly," he said. he prime minister said the National Electric Mobility Mission is pushing the manufacturing of Electric U’khand set to become first state to legalise live-in relationship PR SINGH DEHRADUN, 2 FEBRUARY Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in India to ban Halala and Iddat and legalise live-in relationship and grant women rights on par with men irrespective of their religion. These, along with several other significant recommendations, are integral part of the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) presented to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami by the expert committee constituted for the purpose in Dehradun on Friday. Although the committee members did not disclose the content of the draft, those in the know of its workings said that declaration of live-in relationship would be mandatory in future. Such self-dec- UCC Committee Chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai along with the drafting committee members hand over the UCC draft report to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a programme organised at Mukhya Sevak Sadan, in Dehradun on Friday.  ANI laration by couples who are in a live-in relationship will have a statutory format. Apart from this, registration of marriages will be compulsory under the UCC. Ben- efits of government schemes and programmes can be availed of only through registration of marriage. The process of the registration will be simplified with the reg- istration facility to be made available at village levels. The draft UCC equates property inheritance rights for girls and women of all faiths and castes on par with men. It also advocates complete ban on polygamy, halala and iddat in the Muslim community. The draft provides for equal rights to both husband and wife in the matter of divorce. It says the causes and methods of divorce allowed for the husband will also be applicable to the wife. This will benefit mainly Muslim women as under the personal laws, husband and wife can take divorce on different grounds. It also advocates sharing of compensation paid to the wife on the death of an employed man with the parents as well. If a widow remar- ries, the parents of the deceased husband will still have a share in the compensation received for their maintenance. The committee recommended equal rights for men and women on adoption of a child as well. Here, Muslim women would also have adoption right. However, in case of a dispute over their custody, minor children will go to the grandparents. The five-member expert panel was constituted by the Pushkar Singh Dhami Government in May 2022 to draft the UCC under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Former chief justice of Sikkim High Court Pramod Kohli, former chief secretary of Uttarakhand Shatrughan CMYK Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal and social worker Manu Gaur are the other members of in the committee. The panel held 43 public discussions and consultation programmes to prepare a nearly 800-page draft in around 19 months. It received around 2.33 lakh suggestions from the public which is equal to nearly 10 per cent of the families in the state. As many as 72 meetings of the committee were held to interact with about 10,000 people and study all the suggestions received. Speaking on the occasion, CM Dhami thanked the committee members and hoped the draft would be a boon for Uttarakhand and prove a milestone for the nation. Vehicles. The government has invested Rs 10,000 crore to create demand for electric vehicles. FAME scheme has led to electric buses in the capital as well as in many other cities, he said. The country has seen the emergence of a 'new middle class' with its own aspirations and hopes, he said. “The income and threshold of the middle class have been expanded. These factors will ensure new heights in the mobility sector. Before 2014, there were 12 crore cars sold in India. Since 2014, there has been a sale of over 21 crore cars,” he added. “Before 2014, there were 2,000 crore electric cars being sold annually. Now, there are around 12 lakh electric cars being sold on an annual basis. India has witnessed a 60 per cent rise in the number of pas- senger car sales. The sale of two-wheelers has also seen a 70 per cent rise in the number,” the prime minister said. Mr Modi said: “There has been an unprecedented change in the mobility sector. Today's India is relying on new policies, keeping in mind the future scenario. This vision is also reflected in the interim budget. However, we will present the full budget after the formation of a new government.” He said that today’s India is making new policies keeping in mind the needs of the future. Referring to the Union Budget presented on Tuesday, he said that in 2014 India's capital expenditure was less than Rs 2 lakh crore and has risen to more than Rs 11 lakh crore today. This has brought many opportunities for India’s Mobility sector, he said. Govt discusses immigration processing changes at airports STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 2 FEBRUARY Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Friday chaired an advisory committee group meeting with airport operators, CISF and Bureau of Immigration officials to discuss possible changes in airport interior design as well as new technologies to expedite immigration and security check processes for international travellers. This is being seen as a major step in building international aviation hubs in India. The meeting delved into solutions derived from studying international airport models such as those of Singapore and Canada. Among various issues, the meeting considered: --Cross-Utilization of XBIS Machines: Exploring the possibility of cross-utilizing domestic and international XBIS machines at Delhi airport to ensure greater availability of machines, and hence, lesser wait time; --Deployment of New Technologies: proof of concept trials for use of e-gates and ebiometrics for immigration are already underway. --Increasing Manpower: a thorough analysis has been undertaken with regard to manpower requirements of CISF and Immigration officers. This analysis takes into account the planned expansion of existing, as well as new airports to come across the country, including those in Jewar, Navi Mumbai, and others.