MONDAY 04 MARCH 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 RLD JOINS NDA AHEAD OF LS POLLS TRUMP WINS CAUCUSES IN MISSOURI AND IDAHO P9 WEATHER Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 33 °C and 23°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 81% Max: 23.3°C SUN RISES 05:54 hrs MOON RISES 00:32 hrs P5 P10 Opposition leaders gather at RJD’s Maharally in Patna Top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, were present at the rally Min. 61% Min: 23.5°C SUN SETS 17:41 hrs MOON SETS 11:16 hrs TEMPERATURE AGENCIES PATNA, 3 MARCH day after the ruling BJP announced its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc gathered at the Rashtriya Janata Dal’ Jan Vishwas Maharally in Patna. Top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party were present at the mammoth rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to set the tone for the Opposition alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. Mr Gandhi, who had flown down from Madhya Pradesh, where he is on his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', spoke briefly, during which he charged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre with "working for only two-three super-rich people and neglecting Dalits and backward classes who comprise 73 per cent of the population". Mr Kharge lambasted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his recent volteface. Lauding RJD leader A New Moon on 10 March THUMBNAILS Tourists enjoy the Shikara ride on the Dal Lake against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains, in Srinagar on Sunday.  ANI Indian Navy to commission multi-role helir copter on Wednesday: The Indian Navy will commission the newly-inducted MH 60R Seahawk (a maritime variant of the Blackhawk helicopter) multi-role helicopter on Wednesday at INS Garuda, Kochi marking a pivotal moment in India’s defence modernisation journey. The Seahawks squadron will be commissioned in the Indian Navy as INAS 334. The helicopters are a part of the 24-aircraft FMS contract signed with the US government in Feb 2020. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav for ensuring that jobs were created on a large scale during the 17-monthperiod the latter occupied the deputy CM's post, Mr Kharge said: “Your chacha (referring to Nitish Kumar) has done a flip-flop. He may do so again. But do not accept him henceforth." Mr Kumar, who heads the JD(U), had allied with RJD-Congress and Left combine in 2022, snapping ties with the BJP which he accused of trying to engineer a split in his own party, before he switched sides yet again. Lalu Prasad Yadav, speaking at the rally, asked the crowd to "be prepared for the upcoming elections. I will be there to boost your morale as you vote to drive out Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power at the Centre". Recalling Mr Kumar's first volte face in 2017, the RJD president said: “I had not hurled any abuses at Nitish Kumar back then, only called him 'palturam' (turncoat). The label has stuck to his persona by virtue of his own deeds. I can see funny videos about him on social media and wonder whether these do not drive him to shame." Attacking PM Narendra Modi, the RJD supremo said: "What can we do if Narendra Modi does not have a family of his own? He keeps bragging about the Ram temple. He is not even a true Hindu. In Hindu tradition, a son must get his head and beard shaved upon the demise of his parent. Modi did not do so when his mother died." Also present at the rally was M V Shreyams Kumar, former Rajya Sabha member and RJD's Kerala unit chief, who had flown down from the southern state. Those who addressed the rally included Sama- PM holds meeting of Council of Ministers on Viksit Bharat agenda Harsh Vardhan quits politics STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Chandini Chowk MP and veteran BJP leader Harsh Vardhan on Sunday announced his decision to quit active politics and concentrate on his medical practice. The development comes after he was denied a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Delhi BJP had on Saturday announced candidates for five constituencies, including Praveen Khandelwal in Chandni Chowk, on Saturday. Dr Vardhan, a five-time MLA and two-time MP from the constituency, has served as Union minister of health and as Union environment minister. In the announcement he also hinted at returning to his career as an ENT surgeon and resuming duties NEW DELHI, 3 MARCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held the last meeting of the Union Council of Ministers before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections and discussed with ministers their action plans in the next five years to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047. The Council of Ministers held a brainstorming session on a vision document forViksit Bharat 2047 and a detailed action plan for the next five years. According to government sources, “A 100-day agenda for immediate steps was also worked upon for quick implementation after formation of the new Government in May 2024.” The roadmap for Viksit Bharat has been finalised after more than two years of intensive preparations. It involved a “Whole of Government” approach involving all Ministries and wide-ranging consultations with State Governments, academia, industry bodies, civil society, and scientific organisations and mobilization of youth for seeking their ideas, suggestions, and inputs. More than 2,700 meetings, workshops, and seminars were held at various levels. Suggestions of more than 20 lakh youth were also received. The roadmap for Viksit Bharat has a comprehensive blueprint with a clearly articulated national vision, aspirations, goals, and action points. The goals include areas like economic growth, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ease of living, ease of doing business, infrastructure, social welfare, etc. Mr Modi has presented before the nation his vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 at several public meetings and conferences. He has set before the Government the target ofViksit Bharat (developed India) to be achieved by the year when India celebrates the 100th year of its Independence. The government’s numerous welfare schemes envisage ease of living and elimination of poverty by 2027. Over 25 crore people have already come out of poverty. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 MARCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar from Monday to Wednesday and launch multiple development projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, while dedicating some projects in other states. Beginning his tour, Mr Modi will address a public programme in Adilabad, Telangana on Monday, and launch developmental projects related to power, rail and road sectors worth more than Rs 56,000 crore. The major focus of the projects will be the power sector. In Kolkata on Wednesday, the Prime Minister will inaugurate Kolkata Metro's Howrah Maidan-Esplanade Metro section on the EastWest line, Kavi SubhashHemanta Mukhopadhyay Metro section on the NorthSouth line and TaratalaMajerhat Metro section, which is part of the JokaEsplanade line. The Howrah MaidanEsplanade Metro section of Kolkata Metro is located under river Hooghly and passes through the first transportation tunnel under any major river in India. The Howrah Metro Station is also the deepest metro station in India. Also, the Majerhat Metro Station (on the TaratalaMajerhat Metro section being inaugurated) is a unique elevated Metro station across railway lines, platforms and a canal. In Adilabad, the Prime Minister will dedicate NTPC’s 800 MW Unit-2 of Telan- gana Super Thermal Power Project in Peddapalli, Telangana. Based on Ultra-Supercritical Technology, the project will supply 85 per cent power to Telangana and have the highest power generation efficiency of approximately 42 per cent among all power stations of NTPC in India. The foundation stone of the project was also laid by the Prime Minister. Mr Modi will dedicate a 660 MW unit (Unit-2) of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project in Chatra, Jharkhand. This is the country's first Supercritical Thermal Power Project conceived with Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) of such large magnitude which reduces water consumption to 1/3rd in comparison to conventional Water-Cooled Condensers. He will also dedicate the Fly Ash Based LightWeight Aggregate Plant at Sipat, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh; and STP Water to Green Hydrogen Plant at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Modi will lay the foundation stone of Singrauli Super Thermal Power Project, StageIII (2x800 MW) in Sonbhadra, jwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who shared a picture, on X, of himself seated with Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi captioned "great thrones are shaken when enthusiastic youngsters come together (jab joshile naujawan mil jaate hain, bade bade takht hil jaate hain)". In his speech, Mr Yadav said: "UP and Bihar together have 120 seats. If we ensure the BJP's rout in these two states, the party will not be able to form the government at the Centre." Left leaders like Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Dipankar Bhattacharya denounced the Narendra Modi government's policies, alleging these were only benefiting big businesses, even as they praised Tejashwi Yadav's emphasis on job creation. Tejashwi Yadav, whose just concluded state-wide 'Jan Vishwas Yatra' saw its culmination in the rally, broke into a Bollywood number to taunt Nitish Kumar who "sometimes goes here, sometimes there and slips (idhar chala kabhi udhar chala... phisal gaya)". at his clinic in East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar. Announcing his decision in a long series of posts on X, Dr Vardhan said he is returning to his ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar. "After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and centre I finally bow out to return to my roots," he said. Uttar Pradesh and other projects in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Prime Minister will inaugurate seven projects and also lay the foundation stone of one project of the Power Grid Corporation of India. These projects will play a crucial role in strengthening the National Grid. He will inaugurate National Hydroelectric Power Corporation’s (NHPC’s) 380 MW Solar Project at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Around 792 million units of green power will be generated each year from the project. In Sangareddy, Telangana, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of development projects worth more than Rs. 6,800 crores. From Kolkata, the Prime Minister will inaugurate Pune Metro's Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi stretch; Kochi Metro Rail Phase I Extension project (Phase IB) from SN Junction Metro station to Tripunithura Metro station; Agra Metro's stretch from Taj East Gate to Mankameshwar; and Duhai-Modinagar (North) section of DelhiMeerut RRTS Corridor. CMYK P12 Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan PM for second time, rakes up Kashmir issue DAWN/ANN KARACHI, 3 MARCH After being elected as the 24th premier of Pakistan on Sunday, PM-elect Shehbaz Sharif vowed to steer the country “back to shore” with the help of allied parties in his second tenure in the top office. Mr Sharif won the prime minister’s election today after clinching 201 votes against his PTI-backed opponent from the Sunni Ittehdad Council (SIC) Omar Ayub Khan, who managed to secure 92 votes. Following the announcement by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Mr Sharif hugged his elder brother and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who was widely expected to become the prime minister following the 8 February elections but stepped aside for reasons unknown in favour of his sibling. In his first speech on the floor of the newly elected house as the PM-elect, Shehbaz said that big challenges lay ahead in Pakistan’s path but they could be overcome “if we come together and decide to change the country’s fate” by taking it to its rightful position. As he thanked his brother and allied parties for posing their trust in him by electing him as the leader of the house again, PTI-backed lawmakers from the SIC chanted slogans from the opposition benches, calling the siblings “thieves” ~ likely a reference to their claim that the PML-N stole the mandate given to them by the public. Shehbaz promised that his government would put an end to terrorism and its roots once and for all. He said his aim was to take the National Action Plan forward. He added that his government would set a goal for Pakistan to become a member of G20 countries by 2030. The PM-elect called out the international community for its silence and inaction on the situation in Gaza and Kashmir. “Let’s all come together […] and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” he stressed. Defence Ministry to hold a brainstorming session on ‘Atmanirbharat Bharat’ on 4-5 March STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 MARCH PM to launch Howrah Maidan-Esplanade Metro link on 6th STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 MARCH CCI SNOOKER CLASSIC: ADVANI TAMES CHAWLA TO RETAIN TITLE STRONG BUZZ ABOUT BJP-BJD ALLIANCE AHEAD OF PM’S VISIT Taking the spirit of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative forward, the Department of Military Affairs is conducting an intensive ''Brainstorming'' on March 4-5 between the Service Headquarters and important stakeholders from the Department of Defence Production, Defence Industry representatives and other relevant partners. The implementable way forward derived from consultative and participative processes through high-level deliberations to provide impetus to indigenisation and also devise ways and means to Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan will chair the sessions, while Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane will deliver the keynote address. enhance participation of private industry in defence R&D and manufacturing ecosystem will be the key takeaways, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Sunday. Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan will chair the sessions, while Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane will deliver the keynote address. The event covers a wide canvas rang- ing from identification of challenges and evolving a way ahead to provide impetus to indigenisation efforts of armed forces, address sustenancerelated issues, invigorate private sector participation in defence R&D and manufacturing ecosystem and most importantly create and enhance Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul facilities for the Armed Forces. The event will see the participation of key representatives from MoD, Services, and Industry under one roof to further strengthen the indigenisation efforts. This will pave the way to formulate a time-bound action plan to give impetus for indigenisation in the defence sector.