THURSDAY 29 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 Generally clear. Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 31 °C and 19°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 59% Max: 31.5°C SUN RISES 05:58 hrs MOON RISES 21:41 hrs Min: 19.3°C SUN SETS 17:39 hrs MOON SETS 08:30 hrs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KHATRA, 28 FEBRUARY emember Singur is Singur, Nandigram is Nandigram, Khatra is Khatra, and Bishnupur is Bishnupur. Each place has its own characteristics. Do not compare one with the other,” Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday, in a warning to the Opposition that has sought to draw parallels between the land movements in Nandigram and Singur and the ongoing trouble in Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas. Miss Banerjee, who addressed a public meeting after distribution of facilities to people at Kharbon football ground here this afternoon, did not mention Sandeshkhali by name, but said: “Do not make the mistake of inciting violence. I do not want any bloodshed and any incident of torture anywhere. I do not sup- R New Moon on 10 March THUMBNAILS In a coordinated operation, the Indian Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) apprehended a vessel carrying almost 3300 Kgs of contraband on the high seas, according to a ministry of defence statement.  SNS Train mishap at Jamtara: At least two persons died after being hit by a train in Jamtara in Jharkhand on Wednesday evening. Eastern Railway, in a statement, said the victims were walking on the tracks when they were hit. Denying initial reports that the dead were passengers of the Anga Express, ER said the incident occurred 2 km away from where the Anga Express was halted. It also clarified that there was no fire on the Anga Express. port any wrongdoing and I won’t do that ever in my life. Even if some wrong was unknowingly committed somewhere, I do not support that as well.” The chief minister lambasted the Opposition, saying: "Some people are talking big. Do you want me to open my box? Then you will be able to understand which one is correct. I have several things stored there. If I open up, they'll land in trouble.” Miss Banerjee also spoke about the welfare measures her government has taken for all sections of society. She said: "For Bankura, we've introduced a number of water projects, including Rs 164 crore worth of projects for three municipal areas of Bankura, Bishnupur and Sonamukhi.” Bankura suffers from drought due to scanty rainfall. The average rainfall in 100 years ranges Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan axed from BCCI’s annual contracts TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 28 FEBRUARY The impact of BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s warning to players that they will face “severe implications” for skipping international and domestic red ball games to keep themselves fit for the Indian Premier League (IPL) was felt when the board released a list of 30 players included in the BCCI’s annual central contracts, with the axe falling on Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. The development came a couple of days after India skipper Rohit Sharma issued another stern reminder, suggesting that players showing “hunger” for red-ball cricket will be given preference for Test selection. The top tier remained unchanged in the BCCI’s latest annual central contracts list, with Rohit Sharma,Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja included in the A+ category. In all, 30 senior men's cricketers have been included in the contracts' list, up from 26 in 2023. The notable omissions from last year’s list were Iyer and Kishan. Both Iyer and Kishan have been the central figures in the BCCI’s recent shake-up, in which the national cricket board asked the players not to skip domestic cricket in favour of IPL preparation. According to a BCCI statement on Wednesday, Iyer and Kishan “were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations” along with a reiteration of its recent stance that “all ath- letes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.” The second tier of the central contracts (Grade A) has Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya. Grade B has a new entrant in 23-year old Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was given his first BCCI central contract, recognising his work in Test cricket since debuting in July 2023. He had struck backto-back double-centuries in the ongoing series against England. Along with Jaiswal, the other members of Grade B are Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. DMK enjoyed power at Centre, did nothing for TN’s progress: PM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi onWednesday launched projects worth Rs 17,300 crore in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and said the state’s ruling DMK enjoyed power in the UPA government in Delhi for years but only talked about the state and did nothing for its development. Addressing a massive gathering, he said the truth is bitter but had to be shared with great regret. Coming down heavily on the UPA government, he said that the projects he is privileged to launch now are the longstanding demands of the Tamil people. Despite holding big portfolios in the UPA government, the DMK lacked the courage to push for their acceptance. “This servant of yours has come to the land of Tamil Nadu today to write a new chapter in the state's history.”Two years ago, he said, he had promised to make the Chidambaranar Port a major hub for shipping by starting projects to raise its cargo capacity. That guarantee had been fulfilled on Wednesday, he said. CMYK from 1200 mm to 1400 mm, but it's highly erratic, and due to the substantial surface run-off and shortage of adequate water storages, Bankura is classified as a waterstressed district. The chief minister said: "About 4 lakh households in the district have already started receiving drinking water under our 'Jolswapno' scheme and another 7.41 lakh are in the pipeline." Speaking about the Congress rushes observers to Himachal, Sukhu says not quitting STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Singur and Nandigram have no parallels, says chief minister in Khatra Min. 48% TEMPERATURE Mamata warns Opp against attempts to incite violence SHIMLA, 28 FEBRUARY victims of elephant attacks, the chief minister noted that the government is providing jobs for the deceased's dependants. “We've already offered jobs to 750 such families in our state, besides Rs 5 Lakh as immediate compensation.” She added: "Such persons are deployed as forest volunteers and paid Rs 12,000 as monthly honorarium." In view of the gradual fall in the average rural livelihood index due to suspension of MGNREGA works in recent years, the chief minister urged women to join Self Help Groups. She also said: "My government has doubled the monthly Lakshmir Bhandar grant, which has now recorded 13 lakh new enrolments. This will never be withdrawn. Even if a beneficiary attains more than 60 years of age, her scheme will be converted to old-age pension automatically." As the political crisis deepened in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh after cross-voting by several party MLAs in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election, and the resignation of works minister Vikramaditya Singh onWednesday, the party leadership on Wednesday rushed observers to Shimla in a bid to save the government. Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivkumar and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reached Shimla onWednesday and held discussions with Mr Sukhu and several party leaders and MLAs. After rounds of meetings between the observers and Mr Sukhu, Congress president Pratibha Singh and cabinet ministers and other MLAs, Himachal Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajeev Shukla told mediapersons that Vikramaditya Singh will not press his resignation. Mr Singh has withdrawn his resignation after it was refused by the Chief Minister. “For the larger interest of the party and for the unity of the party, I will not press my res- ignation. My objective is to strengthen the party and to serve the people of the state,” said Mr Singh, adding that there was no danger to the government. Meanwhile, the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted are said to have claimed that some legislators are disenchanted with the functioning of Mr Sukhu and wanted his removal from the post of chief minister. The observers sent to Shimla were expected to talk to the disgruntled rebels; however, the six Congress MLAs and three Independent MLAs who backed the BJP candidate in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election have been shifted to some location in Panchkula. Mr Sukhu has been accusing the BJP of having kidnapped the nine MLAs. Speculation was rife during the day of Mr Sukhu having resigned. However it was put to rest when he spoke to the media and dismissed the rumours. “I want to make it clear that I have not resigned. I am a fighter. I hail from a humble family,” he said, claiming that his government will complete five years. (Earlier reports on Pg 5)