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 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% Top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, were present at the rally Min. 61% Max: 23.3°C SUN RISES 05:54 hrs MOON RISES 00:32 hrs Min: 23.5°C SUN SETS 17:41 hrs MOON SETS 11:16 hrs TEMPERATURE Opposition leaders gather at RJD’s Patna ‘Maharally’ 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’s Jan Vishwas Maharally in Patna. In addition to RJD leaders Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, top Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, AkhileshYadav of the Samajwadi Party, and senior leaders of the Left parties were present at the mammoth rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to set the tone 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 accused the Narendra Modi government at the Centre of working for a few people in the country and penalising farmers, youths and the poor. A New Moon on 10 March THUMBNAILS Tourists enjoy Shikara rides 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. “They are supporting some special people of the country while the participation of backward castes, extremely backward castes, Dalit, tribals and other deprived sections of society remains minimal,” he said, adding that social and financial injusticehave created an atmosphere of hatred. Mr Kharge lambasted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his recent volteface, telling TejashwiYadav, who was deputy chief minister under Mr Kumar:“Your chacha(Nitish Kumar) has done a flip-flop. He may do so again. But do not accept him henceforth." Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Kharge said that the PM has become a master at spreading lies and no one in the country has benefited from the Centre's policies in the last 10 years. RJD chief Lalu Prasad 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." Targeting PM Modi, the RJD chief 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." Council of Ministers brainstorms on Viksit Bharat vision document 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 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. The much-awaited Metro corridor between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade on the East-West Metro line, is to be opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 March, along with the Kavi SubhashHemanta Mukhopadhyay and Taratala-Majerhat links. MrModi will visitTelangana, 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, the Kavi Subhash- Hemanta 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. Kolkata Metro had created history on 12 April last year when a rake was run on a trial run under the Hooghly. 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. Although the fare chart and the date of commencing commercial services in this section of the East-West Metro is yet to be officially declared, preparations are on in full swing on the three stretches for the inauguration. Commercial services could take some more days to start, according to Kolkata Metro authorities. 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. In Adilabad, the Prime Minister will dedicate NTPC’s 800 MW Unit-2 of Telan- gana Super Thermal Power Project in Peddapalli, Telangana. Mr Modi will dedicate a 660 MW unit (Unit-2) of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project in Chatra, Jharkhand. He will also dedicate the Fly Ash Based Light Weight 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, Uttar Pradesh and other projects in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. He is also scheduled to inaugurate seven projects and also lay the foundation stone of one project of the Power Grid Corporation of India. In Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, marking a milestone in India’s nuclear power programme, the Prime Minister will witness the initiation of core loading of India’s indigenous Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) of 500 MWe capacity. This PFBR has been developed by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited). CMYK 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 PMelect 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/KOLKATA, 3 MARCH His son Tejashwi Yadav took a dig at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that the Bihar government should get its insurance done as it runs the risk of the JD-U chief taking repeated U-turns. "They (BJP) say 'Modi ki Guarantee', but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar?” he asked. “They call us nepotism but they have Samrat Choudhary, brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, Manjhi ji's son has been made minister, it doesn't look like any nepotism to them," Tejashwi added. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh 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 of the CPI-M, D Raja of the CPI and Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI-ML denounced the Narendra Modi government's policies, alleging these were only benefitting big businesses. Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan PM for second time, rakes up Kashmir issue 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.