WEDNESDAY 14 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 with fog/mist in the morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28 °C and 19°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 88 % TEMPERATURE Max: 28.5°C (0) SUN RISES 06:10 hrs MOON RISES 08:35 hrs Farmers face tear gas, water cannons Law on MSP cannot be brought in a hurry: Union agriculture minister Min. 44 % Min: 18.6°C (+1) SUN SETS 17:32 hrs MOON SETS 21:13 hrs Full Moon on 24 February THUMBNAILS IAF trainer jet crashes in Bengal, both pilots eject safely: An AJT Hawk aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) met with an accident soon after take-off from the Air Force Station at Kalaikunda in West Bengal on Tuesday afternoon, forcing both pilots to bail out. Before leaving the aircraft though, the pilots ensured that it crashed into an uninhabited site, causing no damage to life or property on the ground. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause (PG3) of the mishap. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 FEBRUARY he Centre on Tuesday tightened security at Delhi’s borders as protesting farmers from the agrarian states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan marched towards the national capital to press for their demand for Minimum Support Price for their produce. Amidst the protest, Union agriculture minister Arjun Munda said a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue. He also cautioned the protesting farmers to be T "aware and alert" about some elements which could defame their protest for political benefits. The government had held talks with Samyuka Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to resolve the farmers' concerns, but in vain. However, as the talks remained inconclusive, farmers' groups started their 'Delhi Chalo' march. There was chaos at the Shambhu border as the police tried to stop the protesters from entering the national capital. The farmers were seen attempting to break the multi-layered barricades using their tractors and hand weapons. Haryana police detained several protesting farmers as they marched towards Delhi. The farmers were seen running towards nearby farmland on the sides of the road as police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters. Lending support to the agitataion, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said demands for law on MSP, implementation of Swaminathan Committee report and debt waiver concern all farmers. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised to provide MSP if his government is voted to power. "This is the first guarantee of Congress on the path of justice. The move will change the lives of 15 crore farmer families by ensuring their well being," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X. Mr Gandhi, who was on the Chhattisgarh leg of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, abruptly flew back to Delhi by a special flight from Ambikapur, which some sections interpreted as linked to the farmers’ protest. ‘How can country progress when farmers are attacked with tear gas shells,’ asks CM AGENCIES KOLKATA, 13 FEBRUARY As police fired tear gas shells at farmers at the Shambhu border between Haryana and Punjab while they marched towards Delhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned how the country could progress if farmers fighting for their basic rights are being attacked. “How can our country progress when the farmers are attacked with tear gas shells for fighting for their basic rights? I strongly condemn the brutal assault on our farmers by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party),” Miss Banerjee said in a post on microblogging site X. Condemning the central government, the Trinamul Congress chairperson said that the BJP's failure to support farmers and labourers exposes their illu- Remember, it’s these farmers who sustain us all, including the high and mighty. Let's stand in solidarity with our farmers against the government's brutality MAMATA BANERJEE WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER sion of 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India). “The Central Govt.'s failure to support farmers and labourers, coupled with futile PR stunts, exposes the illusion of 'Viksit Bharat.' Instead of suppressing their protest, BJP must focus on humbling their inflated egos, power-hungry ambitions, and inadequate governance that has harmed our nation,” Miss Banerjee wrote. Expressing solidarity for the farmers' cause, Miss Banerjee said that farmers sustain even the high and mighty. “Remember, it’s these farmers who sustain us all, including the high and mighty. Let's stand in solidarity with our farmers against the government's brutality,” she said. Pawar moves SC against ECI order favouring Ajit Pawar faction It is a new innings for me: Ashok Chavan joins BJP PARMOD KUMAR AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 13 FEBRUARY The Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging 6 February, 2024, Election Commission of India (ECI) decision recognizing the breakaway faction of the party led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the ‘real’ Nationalist Congress Party. The poll panel had recognised the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the real NCP based on the majority of the lawmakers backing him in the state legislature. The Election Commission noted that out of 81 MLAs belonging to NCP in Maharashtra Assembly, 57 were with him (Ajit Pawar) and only 28 with Sharad Pawar. As a consequence, the poll panel permitted the Ajit Pawar faction to use NCP’s 'clock' symbol. “The faction led by petitioner Ajit Anantrao Pawar is the Nationalist Congress Party and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol ‘clock’ for the purposes of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment), Order 1968,” the Commission had said while recognising Ajit Pawar faction as real Nationalist Congress Party. A day after being recognised as the real Nationalist Congress Party, the Ajit Pawar faction filed a caveat in the Supreme Court in anticipation of the Sharad Pawar faction knocking on the top court’s doors challenging the Election Commission’s order recognising the Ajit Pawar faction as a real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and allotting it the party symbol. NEW DELHI, 13 FEBRUARY Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Tuesday joined the BJP a day , after he parted ways with the Congress. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed him to the party. "Chavan told me that he wanted to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work of development for the people. He said he did not want any plum post," he said. Talking Modi in Abu Dhabi; push for India-Middle East Eco Corridor STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday on an official visit to the UAE. He was received at the airport by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and accorded a ceremonial welcome. The two leaders shook hands and hugged each other. Prime Minister Modi also received a guard of honour. He posted on X: “Immensely grateful to my brother, HH @MohamedBinZayed, for taking the time to receive me at Abu Dhabi airport. I look forward to a productive visit which will further strength the friendship between India and UAE.” The two leaders held oneon-one and delegation level talks. They reviewed the bilateral partnership and discussed new areas of cooperation. Among the agreements the two countries signed is an Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on the IndiaMiddle East Economic Corridor. This would build on previous understandings and cooperation on this matter and foster India and the UAE cooperation furthering regional connectivity. The two leaders welcomed the deepening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across sectors, including trade and investment, digital infrastructure, fintech, energy, infrastructure, culture and people-to-people ties. Their discussions covered regional and global issues also. In his remarks during his meeting with Mohamed binZayed, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for an enthusiastic and warm welcome to him and his team. “Whenever I am with you, I feel that I am among my family members,” he said. “Our deep relations are evident from the fact that in the last seven months we have met five times, and I came here seven times,” he said. “This shows our close relations. In every field, we have moved ahead. India and the UAE are together in several fields. Even today, we are going to arrive at many important agreements,” he said. PM Modi is also to address the Indian diaspora at the “Ahlan Modi” event later in the day, which over 65,000 Indian expatriates living in the UAE have registered to attend. Mr Modi will also inaugurate the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. "The BAPS temple will be an enduring tribute to the values of harmony, peace and tolerance, which both India and the UAE share," the PM said before his departure from New Delhi. CMYK to the waiting media, Chavan (65) said, “I have joined the BJP with the wish to contribute to the development work of the central government led by Narendra Modi. It is an unconditional move without asking for any post. It is a new innings for me after serving in politics for 38 years." "It was my personal decision to join the saffron party. I believe a new beginning has to be made. I see a future in the party," he added. He, however, maintained that he has not contacted any Congress worker or his supporters to join him during his induction into the BJP . Asked about the Congress' prospects, he said, "No com- ments." -Chavan is the third big exit from the Maharashtra Congress after former South Mumbai MP Milind Deora and MLA Baba Siddique left the party. The leader belongs to an influential political family based in Nanded district of Maharashtra. He is the son of former chief minister Shankarrao Chavan. He represented the sNanded Lok Sabha constituency in 1987 and 2014, but lost the election in 2019 when he was defeated by BJP's Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar.