SATURDAY 23 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 ‘ED HAS BECOME A WEAPON OF GOVERNMENT’ ‘BENGAL SAFER FOR WOMEN’ P7 SENSEX 72,831.94190.75 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 20-30 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. TOMORROW’S MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 34 AND 18 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Min. 41 % Max: 32.6 °C(+1) SUN RISES 6:20 hrs MOON RISES 17:01 hrs Min: 18.0 °C (+1) SUN SETS 18:34 hrs MOON SETS 05:53 hrs THUMBNAILS Chennai Super Kings' skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru's skipper Faf du Plessis exchange greetings at the toss ahead of their match in the IPL 2024, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Friday.  ANI ISRO conducts ‘Pushpak‘ Reusable Landing Vehicle landing experiment: The Indian Space Resea- rch Organisation has successfully conducted the Pushpak Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV) LEX 02 landing experiment at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga in Karnataka on Friday. The RLV LEX 02 landing experiment is the second of the series of experiments conducted by the space agency. NIFTY 22,096.7584.80 BHUBANESWAR, 22 MARCH Putting an end to the monthlong speculation and negotiations on an alliance with the BJD, the BJP state president Manmohan Samal on Friday announced that the party will go it alone and contest all the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in the state. The BJD had left a Rajya Sabha seat for the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently and this had sparked the talk of an alliance between the two parties. Subsequently, PM Narendra Modi visited Odisha twice and refrained to utter a word against the BJD government. He addressed the CM as his ‘friend’ and as a ‘popular CM’. Leaders of both the ` vs $ 83.4835 PAISA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH GOLD 66,930490 P12 SILVER 76,5002,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 85.430.93 INDIA bloc leaders meet EC, allege misuse of central agencies by govt Paying for his deeds, says Anna Hazare A Delhi court on Friday remanded AAP convener and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the custody of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) till 28 March. The ED had produced the AAP leader before a Delhi court during the day and sought 10 days of his remand. Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Vikram Chaudhari, and Ramesh Gupta appeared for the AAP chief and Delhi CM Kejriwal. The Delhi CM was arrested on Thursday night in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, after being quizzed by the federal probe agency for about two hours at his residence. Mr Kejriwal was later taken to the ED headquarters on Thursday night. During the submissions, the agency alleged that the Delhi CM is the key conspirator and kingpin in demanding kickbacks from businessmen, and also parties here were kept waiting for almost a month, as several rounds of talks to try and work out ‘seat sharing’ and ‘power sharing’ continued among a few top leaders of the two sides. The state unit of the BJP was vehemently opposed to an electoral tie-up with the BJD. A handful of leaders at the central level were exploring the possibility as per their ‘the Nation First’ priority . BJD leader V Kartik Pandian had reportedly held talks with central BJP leaders. The BJD organisation secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das had also accompanied him in one of the many trips to Delhi. Though nobody is sure as to why the talks failed, two things ~ numbers ( sharing of seats) and power sharing ( ministerial quota) ~ were the bone of contention. At one stage it was hoped that given the excellent relationship between the PM and the CM, the two would take the final call. But even that possibility has ended. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH ED officials produce Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal before Rouse Avenue court on Friday.  ANI claimed that he was also involved directly in the formation of the liquor policy. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is appearing for Mr Kejriwal, opposed the remand plea by the ED and submitted that the probe agency needs to show the necessity to arrest. He also said that this is the first time a sitting CM is arrested. Mr Kejriwal, while he was brought to the Rouse Avenuecourt,toldmediapersons that his life is dedicated to the nation whether he is inside jail or outside jail. Meanwhile, AAP leaders, party workers and supporters staged protests in the city at the ITO, but were detained and stopped from moving towards the BJP office. AAP ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and others were detained by the police from near the ITO.Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai has said that representatives of the INDIA bloc met the Election Commission and have requested for an action on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. He also informed in a Press conference that the AAP will be staging a protest march towards the Prime Minister’s residence on 26 March, and on Saturday all the AAP MLAs, ministers and leaders will gather at the Shaheedi Park at ITO and take a pledge to save the country. The party has sus- ‘India stands out amid sluggish global growth’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH With the uptick in private investment and inflation trending down, the Finance Ministry on Friday said that India's outlook for the next fiscal looks positive. The country’s strong economic performance, borne out by recent data releases, stands out amid sluggish global growth, it said. It highlighted that there are headwinds like indications of hardening crude oil prices and global supply chain bottlenecks to trade. Nonetheless, India, on the whole, looks forward to a bright outlook for FY25. In its Monthly Economic Review, the ministry also said that the inclusion of Indian bonds in the Bloomberg bond index from January 2025 should bolster inflows. Building on the momentum from the previous two quarters, India's economic growth surged to a six-quarter high in the third quarter of FY24, exceeding 8per cent for the third consecutive time. The higher second advance estimate for economic growth in FY24, released after about eight weeks from the first estimate incorporating more updated information on the recent economic dynamics, has bolstered the optimism about the economy. It said that many non-governmental expert agencies have also upped their growth projections. While consumption remained steady, robust investment activity is driving growth. The continued focus on public investment seems to have crowded in private investment. Strong aggregate demand has stirred manufacturing and construction activities and accompanying professional, financial and real estate services. "The ascent of manufacturing sector employment is expected to be marked by upscaling of enterprises and sunrise sectors emerging as catalysts for generating quality employment," it added. Bhutan King confers highest civilian honour on PM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday became the first foreign Head of Government to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian honour, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, conferred upon him by King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in person. Since its institution, the award has been conferred upon only four eminent personalities and Mr Modi is the first foreign Head of Government to receive it. He was presented the award in a public ceremony at the Tendrelthang, Thimphu. Receiving the award, the Prime Minister said: “This is not my personal achievement. The award honours India and 140 crore Indians, and I thank the government and people of Bhutan for this.” “The 140 crore Indians P4 Court remands Kejriwal in ED custody till 28 March No BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha Lok Sabha, Assembly elections STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P5 ‘LAST YEAR ITSELF, DHONI HINTED ABOUT CAPTAINCY CHANGE' Enforcement Directorate alleges Delhi chief minister is the 'liquor scam kingpin' Max. 90 % TEMPERATURE SC REJECTS KAVITHA’S BAIL PLEA IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE know that people of Bhutan are members of their family; and the Bhutanese also know that India is part of their family. Our relations, friendship, togetherness and our trust are unbreakable,” he said. Bhutan and India are part of a shared heritage, he said. India is the land of Buddha, a place where he got enlightenment; Bhutan assimilated His teachings and nurtured them. “Bhutan displays an amazing coordination between materialism and spirituality; and its capacity to balance happiness, prosperity and traditions can be an example before the world,” he said. The Prime Minister said when the world is fighting the challenge of climate change, Bhutan’s carbon-neutral progress will show a way to the world. He said aspirations of the Indian and Bhutan youth are similar; India wants to be developed by 2047 and Bhutan wants to be a high income country by 2034. India will stand by Bhutan in this, he said. In the next five years, “our relations will reach new heights and India will work on new possibilities in connectivity, infrastructure, trade and energy sectors for Bhutan.” The Prime Minister said India will support Bhutan’s 13th five-year Plan, and in the next five years, the Indian government will support Bhutan with Rs 10,000 crores. Relations between the two countries will improve at the government and people to people level. The Bhutanese students in India will also guarantee closer people to people relations. The Order of the Druk Gyalpo was instituted as decoration for lifetime achievement and is the pinnacle of the honour system in Bhutan, taking precedence over all orders, decorations and medals. (Another report on Page 5) Anna Hazare said on Friday that he was ''deeply pained'' by the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, “who is now paying for his deeds”. The social activist, who once spearheaded a campaign against corruption along with Mr Kejriwal, nevertheless added that he was pained by the development. Interacting with the media at his native village Ralegan-Siddhi in Maharashtra this morning, the one-time mentor of Mr Kejriwal said: “I remember he was working with me and we both had raised our voices against liquor… But now, he’s trying to accord legal sanction to liquor.'' The 86-year-old selfavowed Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader expressed his deep anguish saying nothing can be done (at this juncture) as his one-time protege has been arrested for his own deeds. “If he had not done such things (adoption of the new liquor policy in Delhi), this (arrest) would not have happened. Now, the law will take its course," he said. pended Holi celebrations, he added. Breaking her silence on Mr Kejriwal's arrest, his wife Sunita Kejriwal on Fri- day hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged it was arrogance of being in power. (More on Page 2) STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH A delegation of the INDIA bloc on Friday met the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum alleging misuse of central agencies by the BJP-led government, in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate. The delegation, including senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and senior party leader KC Venugopal, TMC MP Derek O'Brien, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak, NCPSCP leader Jitendra Awadh, urged the commission to “issue a circular ensuring that any further raids, investigations and arrests are first vetted and approved by it or a committee set up under it.” It also requested the ECI “to ensure the constitutional mandate of a level playing field and to prevent political parties in power from misusing the state machinery against the leaders and political parties contesting." Talking to reporters after meeting the top officials of the ECI, Mr Singhvi, who is also fighting Mr Kejriwal’s legal battle in the court, “We pointed out to the EC that this is not a normal complaint. It’s a larger issue of affecting, impairing, undermining and sabotaging the basic structure of the Indian constitution.” Referring to Mr Kejriwal’s arrest, he said: “We pointed out that in the history of 75 years of independent India, the first time a sitting Chief Minister has been arrested.”