THURSDAY 21 MARCH 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 ‘CASTE CENSUS EVERY 5 YRS IF INDIA BLOC VOTED TO POWER’ RUSSOPHOBIA MAY EXPLAIN SUPPORT FOR PUTIN P4 P7 SENSEX 72,101.6989.64 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with rain or thundershower accompanied with gusty wind(30-40 kmph) very likely. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 23 °C and 19 °C respectively. NIFTY 21,839.1021.65 ` vs $ 82.89 HIMACHAL CONGRESS CHIEF DECLINES TO CONTEST L.S. POLLS P5 GOLD 66,330 EC issues notification for first phase of polls RAINFALL: 13.0mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY In the 1st phase, polling will be held in 102 LS seats spread across 21 states & UTs Max. 96 % STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 MARCH TEMPERATURE Max: 30.4°C (-4) SUN RISES 05:41 hrs MOON RISES 13:42 hrs Min. 46 % Min: 18.7°C (-5) SUN SETS 17:48 hrs MOON SETS 02:46 hrs Full Moon on 25 March THUMBNAILS On a rainy day in Kolkata on Wednesday.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL Pakistan’s Gwadar Port complex attacked, seven attackers killed: Seven armed assailants were shot dead by police and security forces on Wednesday after they forcibly entered the Gwadar Port Authority Complex at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan and began firing, according to officials. Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani told news agencies that multiple blasts were also reported in the incident. The Balochistan Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for the attack. (Pg 9) ISIS ‘India unit head’ caught by Assam police he Election Commission onWednesday issued notification for the first phase of voting in the 18th Lok Sabha election, kicking off the world’s largest electoral exercise. In the first phase, polling will be held in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories. According to the notification, 28 March is the last date for filing nominations for Bihar and 27 March for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. The scrutiny of nominations will take place in Bihar on 30 March, and other states and Union territories on 28 March. GO FOR PHASE-1 T  According to the notification, 28 March is the last date for filing nominations for Bihar and 27 March for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. The scrutiny of nominations will take place in Bihar on 30 March, and for other states and Union territories on 28 March.  The notification said the last date for withdrawal of candidature is 30 March for other states and for Bihar, it is 2 April. The notification said the last date for withdrawal of candidature is 30 March for other states and for Bihar, it is 2 April. The 102 Lok Sabha seats in 21 states/Union territo- PM speaks to Putin, Zelenkskyy, calls for early end to Russia-Ukraine conflict STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE GUWAHATI, 20 MARCH Assam police on Wednesday apprehended two high-ranking ISIS leaders in the Dharmasala area of Dhubri. The individuals, identified as Harish Farooqui alias Harish Ajmal Farooqui and Anurag Singh alias Rehan, were captured by a Special Task Force (STF) team. Assam police claimed Harish Farooqui, is the head of the ISIS India unit. He and his accomplice Anurag Singh were taken into custody following a operation by law enforcement agencies. According to sources, numerous pending cases link both Harish Farooqui and Anurag Singh to various terrorist activities. Harish, whose residence is in Dehradun, and Anurag, hailing from Panipat, are believed to have been involved in orchestrating and facilitating acts of terror across the country. Following their apprehension, both individuals have been transferred to the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for further interrogation and legal proceedings. ries going to the polls in the first phase include 39 parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu, 12 in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh and six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 MARCH In a significant diplomatic initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone and conveyed India's consistent support for all efforts for peace and for bringing to an early end the ongoing conflict between their two nations. News agencies also reported, quoting sources, that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders both invited Mr Modi to visit their countries. During the conversation with Mr Putin, Mr Modi congratulated him on his reelection as the Russian President and conveyed his best wishes for peace, progress and prosperity for the people of Russia. “The two leaders agreed to make concerted efforts towards further strengthening the Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the years to come,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the PM reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch,” the MEA added. The Kremlin said the two leaders expressed satisfaction with the consistent and dynamic development of mutually beneficial ties in trade, economy, investment, ener- gy and transport. Hours later, the PM spoke to the Mr Zelenskyy and told him that India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. “Had a good conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa on strengthening the IndiaUkraine partnership. Conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance guided by our people-centric approach,” Mr Modi wrote on X later. Mr Zelenskyy posted on X: “I spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express gratitude for India's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, humanitarian aid, and active participation in Peace Formula meetings. It will be important for us to see India attend the inaugural Peace Summit, which is currently being prepared in Switzerland. We discussed the development of our bilateral relations, which should include a meeting of our teams and a session of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation in New Delhi in the nearest future.” Independence of EC cannot be assured by having CJI on selection panel, says Centre STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 MARCH The Central government on Wednesday defended the recent appointment of two Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu - saying there was an attempt to create a controversy over the appointments, and asserted that the independence of the Election Commission of India cannot be assured by the presence of the Chief Justice of India in the Selection Committee. Stating that a political controversy is being created on the basis of “unsupported and pernicious statements”, the Centre sought to dispel any notion of bias or ulterior motives behind the appointment of Election Commissioners. It said that there are no allegations against the Election Commissioners. “A political controversy is sought to be created only on the basis of bare, unsupported and pernicious statements about certain vague and unspecified motives behind the appointment,” the Centre said in an affidavit filed in response to a batch of petitions seeking the presence of the Chief Justice of India in the selection panel to select the ECs and a stay on the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023. On the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee the Centre has said: “… the independence of the Election Commission, or any other organisation or authority, does not arise from and is not attributable to the presence of a judicial member in the Selection Committee.” A five-judge constitution bench by a unanimous judgment on 2 March 2023 had directed that the Chief Election Commission and the Election Commissioners would be appointed on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of opposition or leader of the largest party in opposition and the Chief Justice of India. However, the Centre brought in a law - The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023 that excluded the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel. The CJI was replaced by a Central Minister to be nominated by the PM thereby giving the government a clear edge in the selection of the CEC and two Election Commissioners. CMYK Uttarakhand, Assam and Maharashtra, four seats of Bihar, three seats of West Bengal, two seats each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, J&K, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. The polling is scheduled to take place on 19 April. Polling in Manipur’s Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency will take place in two phases, on 19 and 26 April. The general election will be held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June, with the results to be declared on 4 June. In three big states ~ Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal ~ the polling will be spread over the seven phases. A total of 96.8 crore voters will be eligible to cast their vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. There will be 10.5 lakh polling stations and 1.5 crore polling officials and security staff will be deployed to conduct the election. BUMRAH NEEDS BREAK TO AVOID INJURIES: MCGRATH P12 SILVER 77,000300 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 85.950.67 Supreme Court to hear pleas against poll freebies today PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 20 MARCH The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on Thursday, a public interest plea against the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections. “This is important. We will keep this on board tomorrow,” said Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra after a mentioning by the PIL petitioner’s lawyer for an early hearing of the matter. The PIL states that there should be a total ban on the promise of populist measures to influence the voters and gain votes as such promises violate the Constitution, and the Election Commission should take suitable deterrent measures to curb such practices. The top court already has before it a batch of pleas against freebies promised by political parties. The court had earlier said that the issue of freebies promised by the political parties during election campaigns requires extensive The PIL states that there should be a total ban on the promise of populist measures to influence the voters and gain votes as such promises violate the Constitution, and the Election Commission should take suitable deterrent measures to curb such practices. One of the pleas filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay sought direction to Election Commission of India to seize election symbols and deregister political parties that promised to distribute irrational freebies from public funds. debate, and referred the case to a three-judge bench. One of the pleas filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay sought direction to Election Commission of India to seize election symbols and deregister political parties that promised to distribute irrational freebies from public funds. The plea had claimed that political parties arbitrarily promise irrational freebies for wrongful gain and to lure voters in their favour which is analogous to bribery and undue influ- ences. The PIL petitioner has said that promise or distribution of irrational freebies from public funds before elections could unduly influence the voters, shake the roots of a free and fair election, and disturb the level playing field, besides vitiating the purity of the election process. “This unethical practice is just like giving bribes to the electorate at the cost of the exchequer to stay in power and must be avoided to preserve democratic principles and practices,” it said.