TUESDAY 06 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 ‘PM MODI LEFT PEOPLE OF MANIPUR TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES’ TRUMP MAKES DOUBTFUL CLAIMS ABOUT MIDDLE EAST, NIKKI HALEY P9 SENSEX 71,731.42354.21 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. SHALLOW TO MODERATE FOG IN THE MORNING. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 20 AND 09 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. P10 NIFTY 21,771.7082.10 P5 ` vs $ 83.068 PAISE BJP will cross 370 seats, NDA 400: PM Modi in Lok Sabha He was replying to the Lok Sabha debate on the Motion of Thanks to President’s address Max. 98 % DEEPAK RAZDAN Max: 21.0 °C-2) SUN RISES 7:06 hrs MOON RISES 04:53 hrs Min. 61 % Min: 12.4 °C (+3) SUN SETS 18:04 hrs MOON SETS 13:59 hrs THUMBNAILS An aerial view of the Lal Chowk during a fresh snowfall, in Srinagar on Monday.  ANI EC asks parties not to use children in election campaigns: The Election Commission on Monday asked political parties and their candidates to refrain from using children in any election-related activities. The poll panel in its directives advised not to use children in election campaigns in any form whatsoever including distribution of posters or pamphlets or to participate in slogan shouting, campaign rallies and election meetings. Shankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain win Grammy Award 2024: In a big win for India, musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain’s fusion band 'Shakti' has bagged the Grammy Award for their latest release ‘This Moment’. PM Modi congratulated the winners for their exceptional talent. NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said “I can see the mood of the country; in the coming general elections, the NDA will get 400 seats and the BJP 370,” considering the Government’s achievements and breakups in the Opposition. He was replying to the Lok Sabha debate on the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address before a joint sitting of Parliament. The Motion was approved by the House. The Prime Minister said the nation paid a heavy price for Nehru’s mistakes on Kashmir and his Government abrogated Article 370 and brought unseen pace to development in Jammu and Kashmir. The NDA government’s achievements in helping the poor, the youth, women and the farmer community, including fishermen, in the last decade were several times the work done by Congress Governments in their decades of rule, Mr Modi said. “The speed with which India is moving forward, we are sure that in our third term, India will be the world’s third largest economy and this is Modi’s Guarantee,” he said. The Congress is under the control of a family, it never appreciated the nation’s strength and had limited vision of its progress, he said. Despite disturbances from Opposition benches, Mr Modi patiently narrated the nation’s achievements and asked all to join in securing a leadership role for the country in the world for which an unprecedented opportunity has emerged. Considering the state of the Opposition, the Prime Minister said it is definite that it will continue to occupy its present place in the House after the next elections, and later sit in the Visitors’ Gallery of the House. The Opposition has come to this level because of the Congress, he said. “Even leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Khargeji had said the BJP will get past the 400 score in its seats after next Lok Sabha polls,” he said. Mr Modi blasted the Opposition for a separate nation talk. He said attempts are being made to break the nation; “how long will you P12 SILVER 75,200 GOLD 64,455.00 RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE INDIA LEVEL SERIES WITH 106-RUN WIN OVER ENG IN 2ND TEST NO ONE CAN CAST EVIL EYE ON US continue to break the nation,” he asked the Opposition. The Prime Minister said he will not stop his fight against corruption Central agencies are independent, and the work of judgement is of the judiciary. “Those who looted the nation, will have to return the money. Let them make any charges against me, they will have to return the money,” he said. “I can understand the Congress anger, agencies are taking action against corruption; see the words being used,” he said. The Government’s reforms removed 10 crore bogus names from lists of beneficiaries of welfare schemes, added during the Congress rule, he said. Widow pension was being paid to women not even born. Lot of people have stopped getting commissions. The Government has saved Rs 3 lakh crore by ending bogus lists, he said. ED seized Rs 5000 crore during the entire Congress rule; Rs 1 lakh crore seizures have been made during the NDA rule, he said. The Prime Minister said Nehru and Indiraji talked about price-rise helplessly from Red Fort, but his Government had kept inflation under control. Inflation was double-digit during Congress's rule. The Congress never did justice to OBCs, in fact, it insulted their leaders, the Prime Minister said. Karpoori Thakur, who was honoured with the Bharat Ratna award some days ago, was harassed in 1970 when he was Chief Minister of Bihar and attempts were made to destabilise his Government. Later, he was not recognised as leader of the Opposition. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.820.020 This is murder of democracy, we are appalled, says CJI on Chandigarh Mayor Polls PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY The Supreme Court on Monday said it was “appalled” by the conduct of the returning officer in Chandigarh mayoral polls who made a “mockery” of democracy and “murdered” it and needs to be prosecuted. It said it was aghast over the way the officer conducted the election by defacing the ballot paper to ensure the defeat of the AAP-Congress combine candidate Kuldeep Kumar. Giving vent to its outrage after watching the video recording of the conduct of the mayor’s election, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra called for the entire record relating to the conduct of the elections including ballot papers, the video recording and other material, and directed the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh administration to hand over the same to the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for safekeeping and custody by 5 pm on Monday. The video recording of the conduct of the mayor’s election was ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Directing the Returning Officer to remain present in the Supreme Court on February 19 - the next date of hearing - to explain his conduct as it appears in the video, the bench in its order said, “Prima facie, at this stage, we are of the considered view that an appropriate interim order was warranted, which the High Court has failed to pass, to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process.” Having called for the entire record relating to the conduct of the mayor’s election, the Supreme Court also indefinitely deferred the holding of the first meeting of the civic body slated for Wednesday – February 7, 2024. “If our conscience is not satisfied, we will order fresh elections,” the court said while entertaining the petition by Kuldeep Kumar - the AAP -Congress combine candidate in the mayoral election. Telling the returning officer that the Supreme Court is watching him, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that before defacing the ballot papers, the returning officer – a Haryana cadre IAS officer – was looking at the camera. “This is a mockery of democracy. RO is murdering democracy. We are simply appalled by what he is doing. Is this the way elections are conducted by an RO? We will not allow democracy to be murdered this way. The man puts a cross at the top of the ballots, the moment he sees a cross at the bottom (of the ballot paper),” the CJI said. Sitharaman dismisses charge of non-BJP states being deprived of dues Champai Soren-led coalition cedure of how devolution of what the state terms is stepgovt in J’khand wins trust vote KEY TAKEAWAYS taxes to the states is decid- motherly treatment to it by STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY AGENCIES RANCHI, 5 FEBRUARY The newly formed government of Jharkhand, led by Chief Minister Champai Soren, passed the confidence motion in the state Assembly on Monday. The coalition government won the floor test with a 47:29 majority. The Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato asked the members of the House who were in favour and against the motion to stand at their places one by one. "(A total of) 47 votes have been received in favour of the motion. There were 29 votes against the motion. Thus, this House passes the trust vote," the Speaker said before adjourning the House till 11 am on Tuesday. In the 81-member assembly, the half way mark for a majority is 41. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha with 29 seats, and its ally Congress with 17 were confident of easily sailing through the trust vote. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement in the alleged land scam, Hemant Soren was also present in the Assembly to attend the floor test. A special court in Ranchi allowed Soren to participate in the trust-vote. Participating in the debate, Hemant Soren, said that his arrest is just an example of the oppression faced by tribals and Dalits in society in multiple ways. "If you look back at the oppression faced by adivasis, backward, Dalits and minorities, it has been brought forward in multiple ways in different forms. January 31 is an example of this oppression," he said. Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, the former Chief Minister said, "I do not understand why the ruling (central) government has so much hatred towards adivasis and dalits...They don't hesitate to say that we should remain in jungles. If we come out of the jungle their graves will get dirty. They think that we are untouchables." Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren while setting off the debate on the trust motion said that the Centre is misusing the agencies. "The one who is ruling the Central government misused agencies. In 2019, Hemant got the mandate. Such a Chief Minister is arrested in a land scam case," the Chief Minister said supporting his predecessor. Dismissing Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's allegations that the nonBJP states are being deprived of their legitimate tax and GST dues, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Sunday dubbed the charges to be a "politically vitiated narrative" that is being propagated by some vested interest groups. In the Lok sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said there is a general perception across the nation that the non-BJP states are being deprived of their legitimate dues. The latest example, he alleged, is Congress-ruled Karnataka. Responding to the Congress leader's allegations in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, "Adhir ji, please understand I don't have the right to change as per my whims and fancies, that I like a state or another state, it is against my party politics. No  Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused BJP-led government of depriving non-BJP states like Congress-ruled Karnataka of legitimate dues. Sitharaman emphasised that devolution of taxes to states follows Finance Commission recommendations without bias.   Karnataka CM Siddaramiah planned protest against the Union Government, alleging step-motherly treatment towards the state.  He claims Karnataka's share of devolution and grants has been reduced, emphasizing the need to fight before the Finance Commission. way, I have no role I would have to it follow rules 100 per cent, and that's what I have done," Sitharaman responded. She explained the pro- Govt introduces Bill to curb paper leak, other malpractices in Lok Sabha STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY The Centre on Monday introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to curb paper leaks, malpractices as well as organised malpractices in recruitment examinations like UPSC, SSC, etc. and entrance tests such as NEET, JEE, and CUET. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, was introduced in the House by Union Minister of State for Personnel Dr Jitendra Singh. The legislation will cover entrance examinations held by the Union Public Service Commission, the Staff Selection Commission, and the Railways besides banking recruitment examinations and all computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency. The Bill proposes a punishment of a minimum of three to five years of imprisonment to curb cheating and those involved in organised crimes of cheating will face five to 10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore. The Bill is aimed at preventing organised gangs and institutions that are involved in unfair means for monetary gains, but it protects candidates from its provisions. In the last few years, leaks of question papers and organised cheating have affected the interests of lakhs of students due to the cancellation of tests and examinations, said Dr. Singh, elaborating on the need and significance of the Bill. "In the recent past, many states have had to cancel or were unable to declare results of their public examinations due to adverse impact of unfair practices and means adopted by antisocial, criminal elements. These unfair practices if not effectively prevented and deterred will continue to jeopardise the future and careers of millions of aspiring youths in this country. In many instances, it has been observed that organized groups and mafia elements are involved. They deploy solver gangs, and impersonation methods and indulge in paper leaks. The Bill primarily aims to deter such kind of nefarious elements," he said. At present, said the DoPT Minister, there is no specific substantive law at the national level to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by persons, organized groups, or any other agency/organization that adversely impacts the conduct of Public Examinations by the Central Government and its agencies. "Therefore, it is imperative that the elements both within and outside the examination systems, that exploit these vulnerabilities are identified and effectively dealt with by way of a comprehensive Central legislation. There is a need to prevent such criminal elements from playing with the lives and hopes of genuine and sincere youths who appear in these examinations," he said. Dr Singh said the objective is to bring greater transparency, fairness, and credibility to the Public Examination systems and to reassure the youths that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their futures are safe. "The Bill is aimed at effectively and legally deterring persons, organised groups or institutions that indulge in various unfair means and adversely impact the public examination systems for monetary or wrongful gains," he said. The Bill, however, clarified Dr Singh, protects the candidates appearing in the examination from the punitive provisions and they will be governed under the provisions of the existing unfair means policy of the examination conducting authority. "Candidates shall not be liable for action within the purview of the Bill and shall continue to be covered under the extant administrative provisions of the concerned public examination authority," he said. In view of many examinations being conducted online and the increasing role of technology in conduct of public examinations, Dr Singh said, it has also been decided to set up a High level National Technical Committee on Public Examinations which will look into developing protocol for insulating digital platforms, devising ways and means for developing foolproof IT security system, ensuring comprehensive electronic surveillance of the examinations centres and formulating national standards and service levels for both, IT and physical infrastructure, to be deployed for the conduct of such examinations. ed upon by the Finance Commission. "Finance commission gives recommendations which I have to implement, it is done without any fear or favour or anything like that. So this apprehension that some states have been discriminated against is a politically vitiated narrative, which I am sorry to say, vested interests are happy to go about saying it. There is not just a possibility that any finance minister can intervene and say 'I don't like this state, stop payment'," the Union Finance Minister added. Devolution to the states happens in direct tax matters, as per the recommendations given by the finance commission. Meanwhile Karnataka CM Siddaramiah will lead a protest against the Union Government in Delhi on February 7. The protest is against the centre. "It's not the political protest, it's a protest for the step motherhood of the central government even when drought hit state. That's why we have organised this protest on February 7 at Jantar Mantar. We have adopted federal system including union territories after we came to power. That's why we follow it." Siddaramiah said "They are misleading and telling lies to the people of the country and the state. This year's budget size increased though we have been given less than 50 per cent. Our devolution and grants have been cut down. They are increasing cess and surcharge they're increasing every year and they don't give share to people. They keep everything. That's why we will fight it strongly before the Finance Commission" the Karnataka CM added. Sanjay Jaju new I&B secy; Apurva Chandra appointed health secy STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 FEBRUARY Sanjay Jaju assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday. Jaju is a 1992-batch IAS officer from Telangana cadre. Upon his assumption of charge, he was welcomed by outgoing Secretary, Apurva Chandra and other officials of the Ministry and various media units, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said. Chandra has been assigned the charge of Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Jaju has earlier served as Additional Secretary to Government of India from 2018 to 2023 and Director, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited from October 2014 to March 2018. He has served as Secretary to Govt of Andhra Pradesh (Electronics, IT and Communications Department) from May 2011 to October 2014.