WEDNESDAY 07 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 INFLATION WITHIN TOLERANCE BAND: FM TRUMP’S RETURN? P6 SENSEX 72,186.09454.67 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky with mist/fog in the morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28 °C and 20 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 92 % TEMPERATURE Max: 28.6°C (0) SUN RISES 06:14 hrs MOON RISES 02:47 hrs New Moon on 10 February THUMBNAILS LS passes Bill to check use of unfair means in recruitment and entrance exams: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed 'the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which seeks to deal sternly with malpractices and irregularities in government recruitment examinations and competitive entrance tests.The Bill covers exams conducted by the UPSC, Staff Selection Commission and entrance tests such as NEET and JEE. Bonafide candidates and students as defined in the Bill shall not be liable for action within the purview of the Bill.The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh. ‘One Nation, One Election’ has a hidden agenda: TMC Opp leaders meet with Kovind, reject concept of simultaneous polls eaders of several political parties, including the Trinamul Congress, made clear their opposition to the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections in meetings with the High-Level Committee (HLC) on One Nation One Election led by former President, Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday. Trinamul Congress leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee represented their party at the meeting. Speaking to media persons after calling on the committee's chairman, TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee said, "Today we appeared before the committee headed by our former President. We opposed the idea of 'One Nation, One Election'. We are of the view that there is a hid- L At least a dozen people were killed and about 60 injured after a massive fire triggered several blasts in a firecracker factory in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh. Panic struck the entire Harda town due to the blasts and the black smoke billowing from the huge fire. According to officials, the incident occurred in the Bairagarh locality situated on the outskirts of Harda town on Magardha road, about 150 km away from the state capital. The blaze broke out at 11:30 am at the factory operated illegally on Magardha Road in Bairagarh. The explosions shattered windowpanes of houses and shops located in the vicinity as the entire area was engulfed in black smoke. Local residents said that it felt as if an earthquake had hit Harda. Residents of dozens of homes located near the factory were evacuated to ensure their safety. Burn units in hospitals in Indore, Bhopal and AIIMS-Bhopal were directed to make necessary arrangements for any emergency. More than 50 ambulances and several fire fighter vehicles were rushed from Indore and Bhopal to tackle the inferno. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav called an emergency meeting over the incident. den agenda to replace the time-honoured parliamentary democracy in India towards a dictatorship or a presidential form of government in future. Our constitutional provisions cannot and should not be interfered with." Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to the high-level committee on 'One Nation, One Election', saying that she did not agree with the idea of holding simultaneous elections as the Constitution does not provide for the same. "Does the Indian Constitution follow the concept of 'One Nation, One Government? I am afraid it does not. Our Constitution conceives of the Indian nation in a federal manner. Therefore, the Indian nation has been given a Union government and several State governments. If the framers of the Indian Constitution did not mention the concept of 'One Nation, One Government, how have you arrived at the concept of 'One Nation, One Elec- tion'?" the TMC chairperson stated in her letter to the panel. The panel chief also met Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary general Sitaram Yechury and former Rajya Sabha MP Nilotpal Basu and others as part of consultations with political parties. After meeting with the High-Level Committee, Mr Yechury told reporters: “We totally disagree with terms of reference of this committee because it is presumed that 'One Nation, One Election' is possible and all that remains to be decided is how to implement it. In our opinion this presumption itself is wrong. 'One Nation, One Election' runs contrary to the spirit of our Constitution. It is anti-democratic and anti-federalism. When a govt loses its majority on the floor of the House, then its continuation is completely undemocratic." STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The Enforcement Directorate termed as "baseless" and "malicious" claims of AAP leader Atishi that the federal agency deleted audio recordings of an accused interrogated by it in the Delhi liquor scam, sources said on Tuesday. The agency is also mulling to take legal action against the AAP leader, they said. The sources claimed the CCTV systems at the ED office were only modernized in October last year which enabled audio recordings of interrogations and since then, questioning of all accused has been done with audio-video recording, including that of AAP leader Sanjay Singh. They said the CCTV system did not have audio recording facility when the said accused in the liquor scam was interrogated. Earlier, Atishi, while addressing a press conference, claimed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had erased all audio files of the investigation done by it in the past one-and-a-half years. She further alleged that the accused, in the liquor scam, had filed an application in court seeking the CCTV footage of his interrogation. She said the accused claimed that the statement submitted by the ED in court was different from what had transpired in the interrogation room. “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has information from trusted sources that all the audio files of the footage of investigations done by the ED in the past one-and-a-half years have been deleted by the agency," she added. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 FEBRUARY Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee was very much part of the INDIA bloc. Mr Gandhi also said as there were negotiations going on seat-sharing between the parties of the INDIA alliance, so there is “posturing” and that is normal. “If you look at Mamata ji’s statement, she is very much part of the INDIA alliance and most of the other members who are part of the INDIA alliance are still members of it,” he said in response to a question on the West Bengal Chief Minister’s stance, at a Press conference in Jharkhand’s Gumla district. Last month, Miss Baner- je had said the Congress was influenced by the CPI(M) and that she will never forgive those who support the Left party in the state. Referring to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who recently severed ties with the INDIA alliance and joined the BJP-led NDA, the for- BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 77.760.28 EC decides NCP symbol goes to Ajit Pawar faction NEW DELHI, 6 FEBRUARY In a big setback to the faction led by Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission on Tuesday settled the dispute in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in favour of the faction led by the petitioner Ajit Pawar. The poll panel has given the Nationalist Congress Party name and symbol to the faction led by Ajit Pawar in a significant decision that has a bearing on the forthcoming general elections. The Commission has provided the Sharad Pawar faction with a one-time option to claim a name to its new political formation and provide three preferences to the Commission. The concession is to be utilised by 3 pm on 7 FebAGENCIES ruary 2024. (Pg 5) of INDIA bloc, says Rahul The agency is also mulling to take legal action against the AAP leader, Atishi P12 SILVER 74,500700 ED rejects AAP’s claims of Mamata very much part deleting audio recordings NEW DELHI, 6 FEBRUARY BHOPAL, 6 FEBRUARY GOLD 63,000220 ` vs $ 83.05 NEW DELHI, 6 FEBRUARY Min: 21.8°C (+5) SUN SETS 17:27 hrs MOON SETS 13:30 hrs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P4 AGENCIES Min. 46 % At least 12 dead in MP factory fire P10 NIFTY 21,929.40157.70 ENGLAND OFF TO ABU DHABI TO REGROUP KCR SLAMS CONGRESS ON WATER RIGHTS mer Congress president said: “Of course, Mr Nitish Kumar has left the INDIA alliance and he has gone to the BJP. You can guess as to what the reasons are for him leaving.” “That's fine. We will fight in Bihar as the INDIA alliance. So I don't agree that lots of our partners are not part of the alliance," he added. Asked about the viral video of him feeding a dog during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', the parliamentarian said: "I called the dog, and the owner came.” “The dog was nervous, shivering and when I gave the biscuit it got scared. So I gave biscuits to the owner of the dog. The dog ate the biscuits from his hand. So, what's the issue with it?" Hitting back at the BJP for criticising him, Mr Gandhi said: “I don’t understand BJP’s obsession with dogs.” Mamata holds meet with Abhishek after his return from Delhi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 6 FEBRUARY A closed-door meeting was held between Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at the former’s residence this morning. Mr Banerjee had been to Delhi and on his return to the city he went to the residence of Miss Banerjee this morning. Party insiders said the meeting lasted for more than two hours. The Rajya Sabha election will be held on 27 February. The nomination will be filed from 9 February. The term of five Trinamul Congress Rajya Sabha MPs will come to an end. They are Dr Shantanu Sen, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Mr Subhashis Chakraborty, Mr Nadimul Haque and Mr Abhishek Manu Singvi. The BJP is expected to get one seat. Party insiders said Miss Banerjee and Mr Banerjee might have spoken about the forthcoming Rajya Sabha election. They said the party might send some new faces to the Rajya Sabha. The names of the candidates are likely to be announced tomorrow. Mr Banerjee had been to Delhi and attended the Parliament session. The Trinamul Congress is continuing the dharna on Red Road to protest against the delay in releasing funds of various schemes. In October last year, Mr Banerjee had staged a protest in New Delhi over the issue and later taken the party’s MPs and some job card holders to the office of the minister of state for Rural Development to press the demand. Later, Miss Banerjee along with the party MPs met Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and urged him to release the funds. Nothing in this regard has happened as yet. Party insiders said they may have discussed this issue. India’s oil demands to double by 2045: PM U’khand UCC Bill: Unregistered live-in, halalamade punishable STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India’s needs will double from the current 19 million barrels by 2045, and announced an elaborate plan to meet the demand. Inaugurating the second edition of the India Energy Week, PM Modi noted that India was the world's third largest energy, oil and LPG consumer. Furthermore, he said India was the fourth largest LNG importer and refiner along with the fourth largest automobile market. He also underlined rising demand of EV in the country. The Prime Minister stressed on the efforts to ensure affordable fuel. He said that despite adverse global factors, India was among the few nations where petrol prices have come down and 100 per cent electricity coverage was achieved by electrifying crores of houses. “India is not just meeting its needs but is also determining the global direction”, the Prime Minister added. Throwing light on the circular economy and concept of reuse being a part of India’s ancient traditions, the Prime Minister noted that the same was applicable for the energy sector. He said that this belief was symbolised by the Global BioFuel Alliance which brings together governments, organisations and industries from across the world on a single platform. Initiated during the G20 Summit held in India, the Prime Minister highlighted the holistic support received by the Alliance and informed about 22 nations and 12 international organisations coming onboard to encourage the use of biofuels in the world, while also creating economic opportunities worth USD 500 billion. Highlighting India’s progress in the biofuel sector, PM Modi informed about India’s rising adoption rate. He said that ethanol blending witnessed a significant rise from 1.5per cent in 2014 to 12 per cent in 2023 leading to a reduction in carbon emissions by about 42 million metric tonnes. “Government has set a target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025,” he said. CMYK STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE DEHRADUN, 6 FEBRUARY The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday tabled the contentious Uniform Civil Code Bill with provisions to make polygamy, halala and unregistered live-in relationships illegal and punishable acts. The Uniform Civil Code, 2024 aims to put in place a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for all citizens irrespective of their religion in the state, excluding the Scheduled Tribes. Among its provisions, the Bill says that a marriage may be solemnised between a man and a woman only if "neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage". With regard to halala, it says: "The right to remarry under sub-section (1) includes the right to remarry the divorced spouse without any condition, such as marrying a third person before such." Nikah halala is a practice in Islam in which a woman, after being divorced by triple talaq, marries another man, consummates the marriage, and gets divorced again in order to be able to remarry her former husband. The Bill also advocates for making live-in relationships legal and punishable on violation of norms. It says submitting statements by partners to a live-in relationship under the given format will be mandatory once the bill is enacted.