FRIDAY 29 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 VARUN GANDHI’S EMOTIONAL NOTE TO PILIBHIT THE PESKY STONE IN PAKISTAN’S SHOE P7 SENSEX 73,635.48639.16 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY.VERY LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS AT A FEW PLACES. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 36 AND 21 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 75 % P5 GOLD 67,310380 ` vs $ 83.37 Min: 21.2 °C (+3) SUN SETS 18:37 hrs MOON SETS 08:54 hrs THUMBNAILS The first aircraft, LA5033, of the Tejas Mk1A Aircraft series, took to the skies from the HAL facility, in Bengaluru on Thursday. It was a successful sortie, with a flying time of 18 min(P4) utes.  ANI Nothing new in Canada PM Trudeau's statement on Nijjar's murder, says MEA: India on Thursday said there is nothing new in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement that he is looking to constructively work with New Delhi to get to the bottom of the killing of 'Khalistan' supporter and India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. At a media briefing in New Delhi , MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is ready to investigate the killing but is yet to receive any specific and concrete information regarding it from Canada. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued the notification for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held on 26 April. The filing of nominations for the second phase of voting began with the issuing of the notification. In the notification, the poll panel said 4 April will be the last date for filing nominations for constituencies going to the polls in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Election Commission’s notification, 5 April is fixed for scrutiny of nominations for Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and 6 April for Jammu and Kashmir. SILVER 77,500300 Says PM on 500 lawyers’ letter to CJI on attempts to undermine judiciary’s integrity P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday commented on 500 prominent lawyers’ letter to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity and said the Congress Party had five decades ago called for a “committed judiciary.” In a post on X, the Prime Minister said: “To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a "committed judiciary" they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them." Prominent lawyers, including Mr Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India expressing concern over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity. The letter stated: "As people who work to uphold the law, we think it's time to stand up for our courts. We need to come together and speak out against the underhanded attacks, making sure our courts stay as pillars of our democracy, untouched by these calculated attacks." The letter said: “We, the undersigned, are a group of lawyers who are writing to you expressing our deepest concern on the manner in which a vested interest group is trying to pressure the judiciary, influence judicial process and defame our courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas.” “Their antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterizes the functioning of the judiciary. Their tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric,” the letter said. It said “this heated interest group operates in various ways. They create false narratives of a supposed better past and golden period of the courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present. These are nothing but intentional statements, made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the courts for certain political gains.” “It’s troubling to see some lawyers defend politicians by the day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Implying that the courts in the past were easier to influence shakes the public’s trust in them,” the letter said. “They have also concocted an entire theory of bench fixing -- which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous – it’s an attack on the honour and dignity of our courts. At times, it also leads to slanderous attacks and insinuations on respective judges,” the lawyers said. “They have also stooped to the level of comparing our courts to those countries where there is no rule of law and accusing our judicial institutions with unfair practices. These aren’t just criticisms, they are direct attacks meant to damage the public’s trust in our judiciary and threaten the fair application of our laws,” the letter said. “There is a clear My way or the highway approach at work – any decision they agree with is hailed but any decision they disagree with is trashed, smeared and disregarded. This cherry picking has been visible in very recent judgments too,” the letter said. The lawyers said they hoped the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court will guide them “through these issues and keep our courts strong”. The lawyers’ letter said “We are all in support of the judiciary, ready to do what’s needed to keep the respect and honesty in our legal system.” ECI issues notification Ukraine Foreign Minister Kuleba for 2nd phase of LS polls in Delhi amidst conflict with Russia STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH P12 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 86.481.07 ‘Cong always wanted Ready to face probe, Delhi CM Kejriwal tells court committed judiciary’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH Min. 37 % TEMPERATURE Max: 37.0 °C+4) SUN RISES 6:13 hrs MOON RISES 22:27 hrs P10 NIFTY 22,326.90203.25 RCB, KKR EYE 2ND WIN TO ADD MOMENTUM IN CAMPAIGN ‘GOVT OPEN TO TWEAKING AGNIVEER SCHEME IF NEEDED’ The last date for withdrawal of candidatures for Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir is 8 April. As per the poll panel, the voting in 88 parliamentary constituencies spread across these States/ Union Territories along with one part of the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency in Manipur will take place on 26 April. Altogether 88 Lok Sabha seats - 20 in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, five seats each in Bihar and Assam, three in Chhattisgarh, seven in Madhya Pradesh, three in West Bengal , one each in Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir - will go to the polls in the second phase. The general elections will be held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June. Counting will take place on 4 June. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in New Delhi on Thursday on a two-day visit to brief the Indian leadership on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the 'Peace Summit' proposed to be hosted by Switzerland. Mr Kuleba (Photo)was received by senior Indian officials at the airport on his first-ever visit to India. This is the first high-level visit from Ukraine to India since the hostilities erupted in Europe in February 2022. “I began my visit to New Delhi upon @DrSJaishankar's invitation. Ukrainian-Indian cooperation is important and we will be reinvigorating ties," the visiting minister said in a social media post on X. “Building on the dialogue between @ZelenskyyUa and @NarendraModi, we will pay specific attention to the Peace Formula,” he added. During the visit, he is slat- ed to meet External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri to discuss matters pertaining to the bilateral partnership and cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest. The visit comes days after Prime Minister Modi spoke to Ukraine President Voldimyr Zelenskyy on the phone and reiterated that diplomacy and dialogue be given a chance to resolve the conflict. Modi assured the Ukrainian leader that India would continue to send humanitarian assistance to the embattled nation. At his weekly media brief- ing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “The visit of the Ukrainian foreign minister is happening on the invitation of EAM. He will be here on a two-day visit. He will have a bilateral engagement with EAM where they will review the intergovernmental commission that was held earlier. They will also discuss global and regional issues of common concern and several other engagements are lined up for the Ukrainian foreign minister.” He said India continues to encourage peaceful conflict resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. Addressing an online briefing ahead of the visit on Wednesday, Mr Kuleba said: "I have already announced I would be visiting New Delhi on the invitation of my New Delhi counterpart, S Jaishankar. This would be my first visit to India and the first visit by a Ukrainian Foreign Minister to the country in seven years. The aim is to strengthen India-Ukraine relationship." STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was produced before a Delhi court on Thursday by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in a PMLA case relating to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, made his submissions on his own and said that he was arrested despite there being no charges against him, and there is no case against him. Mr Kejriwal also said that he was ready to face remand and did not oppose it and requested the court to be allowed to present some facts about the matter. The court later extended Mr Kejriwal's custody with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till 1 April. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj while addressing a Press conference disclosed that Mr Kejriwal in his submission to the court said that the case was going for two years, and he has now been arrested, despite no court declaring him guilty of anything, no case being argued against him and no charges proved against him. Neither was there any evidence against him. Mr Kejriwal pointed out that out of everything presented before the court by the ED and the CBI, only four statements mentioned his Remarks on Delhi CM’s arrest, freezing of Congress account: India hits back at US STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH name. This includes the statementofManishSisodia's PA, C Arvind, who said a document was given by him in hispresence,MrKejriwalsaid, adding that a lot of people cometomeethimattheCM’s residence, and questioned whether this was sufficient to arrest him. On the statement of Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, the Delhi CM said that he had met him with regard to establishing his family trust in Delhi. Mr Kejriwal said that Mr Reddy’s son was arrested, and after five months when he broke down and changed statements, the son got bail. On the statement of approver Sarath Chandra Reddy, Mr Kejriwal told the court that searches took place at his place and he was later arrested and at that time he did not say anything against him. He was behind bars for six months and India & China fail to resolve border issues STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH India and China failed to make headway in resolving their protracted military stand-off at eastern Ladakh at the 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held in Beijing on Wednesday. The Indian team was led by the Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs while the Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed the Chinese delegation. “The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on how to achieve complete disengagement and resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. In the interim, both sides agreed to maintain regular Reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable part of India”, an MEA spokesperson said China may repeat its "baseless claims"on the state as many times as they want but that will not change the position. contact through diplomatic and military channels and on the need to uphold peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols. India and China have held umpteen rounds of talks both at the diplomatic and military levels but the border stalemate, which started in April-May 2020, has not ended. The border row has resulted in the bilateral relationship between the two countries plummeting to a new low. On the issue of the Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh, an MEA spokesperson reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable part of India”. India on Thursday rejected the latest remarks by the United States on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and the freezing of the bank accounts of the Congress, saying this country is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions and is committed to protecting them from any form of undue external influences. “Mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations, and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. finally broke down and said that he had gone to meet Mr Kejriwal with one Vijay Nair, the Delhi CM said. “Are four statements enough to arrest a sitting CM? A smokescreen of the Aam Aadmi Party being corrupt has been created in front of the nation,” Mr Bharadwaj quoted Mr Kejriwal as saying. See more on page 2 MHA extends AFSPA in parts of Arunachal & Nagaland for 6 more months NEW DELHI, 28 MARCH The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in certain districts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months with effect from 1 April, officials said on Thursday. A Nagaland government official, quoting the MHA notification, said that the AFSPA was extended in 8 districts ~ Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren ~ and 21 police station areas in five other districts of Nagaland, which has 16 districts. Another MHA notification said that the AFSPA has been extended for another six months in Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts in Arunachal Pradesh as well as areas under the jurisdiction of Namsai, Mahadevpur, and Chowkham police stations in Namsai district, bordering AGENCIES Assam. Swami Smaranananda a pioneer of India’s spiritual consciousness NARENDRA MODI Amidst the hustle and bustle of the grand festival of Lok Sabha elections, the news of the demise of Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj brought my mind to a standstill for a few moments. Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj was a pioneer of India's spiritual consciousness and his demise is like a personal loss. A few years ago, the demise of Swami Atmasthananda Ji and now the departure of Swami Smaranananda Ji on his eternal journey has left many people bereaved. My heart, like that of crores of devotees, saints and followers of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, is deeply saddened. During my visit to Kolkata earlier this month, I had gone to the hospital to enquire about Swami Smaranananda Ji's health. Just like Swami Atmasthananda Ji, Swami Smaranananda Ji too dedicated his entire life for spreading the ideas of Acharya Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Mata Sharada Devi and Swami Vivekananda across the world. While writing this article, the memories of meetings and conversations with him are getting refreshed in my mind. In January 2020, during my stay at Belur Math, I meditated in the room of Swami Vivekananda. During that visit, I had a long conversation about Swami Atmasthananda Ji with Swami Smaranananda Ji. It is widely known that I had a close relationship with Ramakrishna Mission and Belur Math. As a seeker of spirituality, I have met different saints and mahatmas and been to many places over the period of more than five decades. Even in Ramakrishna Math, I got to know about the saints who dedicated their lives to spirituality, among whom personalities like Swami Atmasthananda Ji and Swami Smaranananda Ji were promi- nent. Their sacred thoughts and knowledge provided contentment to my mind. In the most important period of my life, such saints taught me the true principle of Jan Seva hi Prabhu Seva. The lives of Swami Atmasthananda Ji and Swami Smaranananda Ji are an indelible example of the motto of Ramakrishna Mission 'Atmano Mokshaartham Jagaddhitaaya Cha'. We all are inspired by the work being done by Ramakrishna Mission for the promotion of education and rural development. Ramakrishna Mission is working on India's spiritual enlightenment, educational empowerment and humanitarian service. In 1978, when the disastrous flood struck Bengal, Ramakrishna Mission won the hearts of everyone with its selfless service. I remember, when an earthquake ravaged Kutch in 2001, Swami Atmasthananda Ji was among the first people to call me and offer all possible assistance for disaster management on behalf of the Ramakrishna Mission. Under his direction, Ramakrishna Mission helped many people who were affected by the earthquake. Over the past years, while holding various positions, Swami Atmasthananda Ji and Swami Smaranananda Ji laid great emphasis on social empowerment. Those who know the lives of these great personalities will definitely remember how serious these saints were towards modern education, skilling and women empowerment. Among his many inspiring traits, one thing that impressed me the most was Swami Atmasthananda Ji's love and respect for every culture and every tradition. The reason for this was that he used to travel continuously and had spent a long time in different parts of India. He learned to speak Gujarati while living in Gujarat. He used to even speak with me in the language and I loved listening to his Gujarati! At different points in India's development journey, our motherland has been blessed by many saints and seers like Swami Atmasthananda Ji, Swami Smaranananda Ji who have ignited the spark of societal change. They have motivated us to work with a collective spirit and address all the challenges our society faces. These principles are eternal and will act as our source of strength as we embark on developing a Viksit Bharat during the Amrit Kaal. Once again, on behalf of the entire nation, I pay homage to such saintly souls. I am confident that all the people associated with the Ramakrishna Mission will further move ahead on the path shown by them. Om Shanti.