TUESDAY 13 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 RAJNATH UNVEILS STATUE OF LATE GEN RAWAT BIDEN WELCOMES ABDULLAH P9 SENSEX 71,072.49523.00 WEATHER Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 29 °C and 19 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 72% Max: 25.5°C SUN RISES 06:09 hrs MOON RISES 08:34 hrs P10 ` vs $ 837 PAISE GOLD 64,265.00 Vacancies in govt but opp scuttling our efforts: CM She said there are five lakh vacant posts in various departments HEMANT JACOB Min. 56% Min: 14.4°C SUN SETS 17:31 hrs MOON SETS 21:13 hrs TEMPERATURE P4 NIFTY 21,616.05166.45 HOOGHLY, 12 FEBRUARY hief minister Mamata Banerjee today in her public meeting at Kalipur in Arambagh threw a challenge to other states, asking them to compare their growth with that of Bengal, without central assistance. She said what Bengal has achieved in terms of developmental work in a short time is commendable, especially without any central funds. She spoke about the various beneficiary schemes which have touched the people from every section of the society, even in the remotest villages of the state. The chief minister, highly concerned about educated youths, said, “There are five lakh vacant posts in various departments of the state government, both in permanent and temporary categories. The posts would be filled in a quick time. In a number of cases we took steps to recruit candidates but the opposition, the BJP CPM , and the Congress rushed to the courts to stop the C New Moon on 24 February THUMBNAILS A view of a snow-clad region near Gulmarg Ski resort after the snowfall in Baramulla on Monday. ANI Section 144 in Delhi ahead of farmers march: The Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on Monday announced prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) across the city with immediate effect. The order that came a day ahead of the protest march to Delhi announced by the farmers associations will remain in force for 30 days unless withdrawn earlier, according to a notice issued by the Delhi Police. entire process of recruitment. I urge the opposition to be humane in this regard. They should keep up a sympathetic approach in this regard.” The chief minister alleged that corruption has crept in the recruitment process of railways and even defence. “We never made a hue and cry over the issue since we want that more and more jobless youths should find work. A decision has been taken to upgrade the nurses work- ing with the doctor for years as assistant doctors, the civic police, village police and green police grades will be uplifted to that of police constables. Of course, prior to that they have to go through training and interview process before the upgrade,” she said. The chief minister added there are a lot of vacancies in educational institutions, in hospitals, in public related essential services, to run the school smoothly imparting qual- ity education. “We need to fulfil the vacancies. To render better treatment in hospitals, more nurses and doctors are required but every positive step taken by the state government receives a setback with the opposition parties putting up legal obstacles. I once again urge the opposition parties that politics should not be misused in such a manner that thousands of jobless youths eligible for jobs be deprived of their constitutional rights.” Big blow to Congress, Ashok Chavan quits party STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 FEBRUARY In a major setback for the Congress in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan resigned from the party on Monday. The senior leader of the Congress, through a letter to the party’s Maharashtra unit chief Nana Patole, announced his resignation from the party’s primary membership. Besides this, Chavan also resigned as MLA from the Maharashtra Assembly. The former chief minister’s resignation from the Con- gress comes ahead of the upcoming elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra. The last date of filing nominations is February 15. The elections are scheduled to take place on February 27. “I met the Speaker and resigned from the Assembly’s KL RAHUL RULED OUT OF RAJKOT TEST YOGI OVERSEES PREPARATIONS AT SHRI KALKI DHAM membership as I was elected as an MLA from the Congress party. I have also resigned from the Congress Working Committee and party’s primary membership,” Chavan told reporters in Mumbai. He categorically said he has not taken any decision to join any party. Nitish wins floor test with support from 129 MLAs AGENCIES PATNA , 12 FEBRUARY The NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday won the Bihar floor test after it secured the support of 129 MLAs who voted in favour of the NDA alliance. The vote of confidence took place amid a walk out staged by the Opposition as cross voting happened when three Rashtriya Janata Dal MLAs also voted in support of Nitish Kumar. The coalition government won the floor test with a 129 majority. The Deputy Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Maheshwar Hazari asked the members of the House who were in favour of the motion to stand at their places. "(A total of) 129 votes have been received in favour of the motion.There were zero votes against the motion. Thus, this House passes the trust vote," the Speaker said on Monday. Three Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLAs -Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi, and Prahlad Yadav went and joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the State Assembly. On three RJD MLAs moving to the NDA side, RJD leader Bhai Virendra said that the public will not make them MLAs again. While addressing the Assembly, Nitish Kumar took a swipe at his former Mahagathbandhan ally Rashtriya Janata Dal and said that the latter indulged in "corrupt practices" during its rule in the eastern state. CMYK SILVER 75,500 P12 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 80.380.73 Eight Indians sentenced to death in Qatar on espionage charges walk free STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PM to visit Qatar after concluding trip to UAE NEW DELHI, 12 FEBRUARY In a diplomatic triumph for India, eight Indians sentenced to death in Qatar over charges of espionage have been released, with all but one returning to India. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs, said the Centre welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar. "Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals," it said. The Navy veterans were given death sentences by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26 last year. The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December 28 last commuted the capital punishment and sentenced them to jail terms for varying durations. The Indian nationals, who worked with the private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August 2022 in the alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public. Addressing a press conference, For- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 FEBRUARY eign Secretary Vinay Kwatra underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to free the Indians. "India is grateful for the release of its citizens. We greatly appreciate their return, and we will continue to work with Qatar to see how quickly the eight Indians return home. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been constantly and personally supervising the entire case. He never shied away from taking any initiative that would ensure the return of the Indian nationals. "This is a reflection of Modi's strong leadership and bond of friendship between the two countries," he said. The charges against the Indians were filed against the eight Indian Navy veterans on March 25 last year and they were tried under Qatari law. After the Court of Appeal commuted the death sentence, the Indian nationals were given 60 days to appeal Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatar after concluding his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates beginning on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday. The announcement came hours after Qatar released eight former Indian Navy personnel who had been imprisoned in the Gulf nation since August 2022, apparently on charges of espionage. "After completing his UAE visit, the PM will travel to Doha Qatar on 14 February afternoon. During the visit, he will hold bilateral talks with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, the Emir of Qatar and high dignitaries in Qatar. This will be the prime minister's second visit to Qatar,'' Kwatra said. against the order of their jail terms. In May last year, AlDhara Global closed its operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home.
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.
