MONDAY 08 APRIL 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR CM: BJP, Modi using NIA to frighten TMC leaders Mamata urges poll panel to look into NIA’s sudden spurt of activity on old cases DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY FIR lodged against NIA HURA ( PURULIA), 7 APRIL hief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday stepped up her attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP accusing them of using the , NIA to intimidate Trinamul Congress leaders. Addressing an election rally in Hura in Purulia district, Miss Banerjee said: “The BJP is sending NIA at night to disturb our party supporters, create fear amongst the women and arrest our block leaders before polls. I salute the Election Commission and hope that EC will definitely look into the NIA’s sudden activity about old cases in West Bengal.” Miss Banerjee also advised the TMC candidate of Purulia Lok Sabha seat, Shantiram Mahato today to hold a peace rally on the day of Ram Navami. “Remain alert otherwise if a firecracker is burst during Ram Navami, then the BJP will send the NIA to investigate. I have been told that in Purulia the NIA is asking hotel owners who are staying in the rooms. Is it your job NIA? NIA, ED and Income Tax department have virtually turned into BJP’s vote box,” she said. Miss Banerjee urged the people to shun the BJP as they will implement CAA in the country. “We have fought C STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MIDNAPORE, 7 APRIL Mamata Banerjee at Hura, Purulia on Sunday ahead of LS elections. SNS against the BJP You have cho. sen BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls, what development works have you seen so far? My photographs have been removed throughout the state but the rice bags supplied by the Centre have the image of PM Narendra Modi. Never before has such a thing happened in India where the picture of the PM was used on food packets,” Miss Banerjee alleged. She said that the TMC leaders don’t stay in government accommodations during polls and also do not use any offi- WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Rain or thundershower accompanied with gusty wind very likely. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 30 °C and 24 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.5mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 87 % TEMPERATURE Min. 61 % Max: 30.0°C (-5) Min: 27.6°C (+2) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:24 hrs 17:54 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 04:18 hrs 16:31 hrs New Moon on 08 April THUMBNAILS A view of Howrah Bridge on a cloudy day in Kolkata on Sunday. MOUL MONDAL cial chopper, attacking PM Narendra Modi without naming him. Over two crore five lakh women have received funds from Lakshmi Bhandar, nine crores people received government social benefits. Providing jobs under the 100 days jobs scheme is the guarantee of the TMC government, Miss Banerjee said. There is still much work to be done in Purulia, though today Purulia is one of the top most tourism destinations of the state. Homestays have been set up and peace has been Hours after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team conducting an investigation into the 2022 blast case faced a violent assault at Bhupatinagar in East Midnapore, the district police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the NIA team, accusing them of molestation, adding a new layer of controversy to the already volatile situation. According to reports, the East Midnapore police registered an FIR against the NIA team and CRPF officials based on a complaint from a woman who alleged assault and outrage to her modesty by the officers. (PG3) restored, she said. The weather was inclement, resulting in Miss Banerjee travelling by road from Durgapur to Hura for over three hours instead of by helicopter, but despite her late arrival, CM set the tone of her attack upon the BJP and PM Narendra Modi in a louder pitch, and, indicating towards the sky, said that the winds of change are blowing . ‘India will hunt down its enemies within and outside its borders’ AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 7 APRIL Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in no uncertain terms, stated the country’s position on those engaging in terror activities on Sunday. He said that the ‘new Bharat’ will not take terror incidents lying down and will hunt down its enemies within and outside the country. Rajnath Singh said that during earlier regimes, many states including Jammu and Kashmir grappled with terrorism insurgency but that is no longer the case in ‘New India’. “We will kill the nation’s enemies on this side of the border, and if required, we will go and kill them on the other side of the border. This is the strength of new India,” Mr Singh said at an election rally in Rajasthan’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Pilani, in Jhunjhunu on Sunday.ANI Jhunjhunu on Sunday. He also targeted Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks on Article 370 and pulled up the Congress for questioning the Indian Army’s valour. “We had said the day we get a full majority in both houses of Parliament, no one will be able Modi in Jalpaiguri, condemns attack on NIA in Bhupatinagar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE to stop us from abolishing Article 370. We did it and today Jammu and Kashmir has the same status as any other state. Congress President asks how Article 370 will affect Rajasthan, how will these people run the country?” Mr Singh asked. On Friday, Mr Singh, during an interview with a television news channel, had said that if terrorists try to disturb peace in India and flee to Pakistan, India would enter the neighbouring country to kill them. He was responding to a question on a report in UK newspaper The Guardian that claimed Indian intelligence agencies had carried out assassinations of terrorists in Pakistan. Pakistan on Saturday described Mr Singh’s statement as provocative, and a clear admission of culpability. Vistara scaling back operations by 25 to 30 flights per day AGENCIES SILIGURI, 7 APRIL NEW DELHI, 7 APRIL Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condemned the attack on the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a raid on Saturday at Bhupatinagar in East Midnapore. Addressing an election rally at Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri, Narendra Modi slammed the Trinamul Congress (TMC) on many issues and said: “TMC wants its extortionists and corrupt leaders to ensure a free license for terrorism.” “When NIA officials conducted a raid, TMC attacked them . TMC is a party that disobeys the law and the constitution,” Mr Modi said, adding, “The whole country has come to know about the Sandeshkhali horror where women have been harassed and tortured. TMC’s ‘syndicate raj’ continues here unabated. The situation is such that people here have to bear the torture. The court had to finally intervene to ensure justice.” “Should the culprits of Sandeshkhali be punished,” Mr Modi asked the crowd. “Should they be sentenced for life imprisonment? Should the TMC leaders involved in ration and teachers’ recruitment Prime Minister Narendra Modi being garlanded by Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar and others during a public rally for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, in Jalpaiguri on Sunday. ANI scam be punished?” he asked. Mr Modi also said:“Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already attached properties amounting to Rs 3,000 to 4,000 crore belonging to the TMC leaders, who collected money from people in the name of employment in school and government offices. I am planning to return money to the people who gave money to them. I am consulting with legal advisors on the matter. It is Modi’s guarantee.” “The Congress, Left and TMC are same. They have formed the INDIA bloc to save corruption and corrupt leaders. It is my guarantee after 4 June 2024 more action will be taken against corruption,” he said. Mr Modi also expressed his sympathies for the storm-hit people of Maynaguri, and loss of life and properties earlier in the week. The PM claimed that the state government obstructed the implementation of the welfare schemes of the Central government meant for poor people. “A total of Rs 30,000 crore was allocated for the housing scheme. The state government demanded that the funds should come to its account as we decided to disburse it to the accounts of beneficiaries directly. Why should the Centre allow TMC to loot the funds?” Mr Modi asked. Amidst repeated disruptions, Vistara has announced it is scaling back its operations by 25-30 flights per day, which is expected to provide resilience in crew rosters and bring stability. An airline spokesperson said that after scaling back operations, the airline will reach the same level of flight operations that it had in February. “We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25-30 flights per day, i.e. roughly 10 per cent of the capacity we were operating. This will take us back to the same level of flight operations as at the end of February 2024, and provide the much-needed resilience and buffer in the rosters," the spokesperson told ANI. He said the cancellations are mostly confined to the domestic network, and that affected passengers have been accommodated in other flights. He said the improvement in the situation has been seen for the last few days and the airline is hopeful of reaching stable operations for the rest of April and beyond. CMYK Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.
