MONDAY 20 MAY 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 ‘INDIA BLOC AGENDA TO ELIMINATE NUKE TO PLEASE PAKISTAN’ PUTIN-XI MEET P6 WEATHER Thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 36 °C and 28°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 82% Max: 36.3°C SUN RISES 04:54 hrs MOON RISES 15:25 hrs P10 P11 Min: 28.5°C SUN SETS 18:11 hrs MOON SETS 02:35 hrs ‘BJP launched 'Operation Jhaadu' to crush AAP’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 19 MAY aunching a fresh attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the saffron party has launched "Operation Jhaadu" to crush his party as the ruling dispensation at Centre looks at it as the biggest challenge. Mr Kejriwal alleged as part of the ‘Operation Jhaadu’, AAP leaders would be arrested and the party's bank accounts would also be seized while the party office would be vacated bringing the party on to streets. The chief minister, however, asserted that no one would be able to break the party even if all the leaders are sent to jail as AAP is the party of the country's 140 crore people's dreams. "Put us in jail, and see whether it will destroy or develop the party," Mr Kejriwal said. Recounting the 50 days he spent in jail, he said he read the Holy Gita twice L Full Moon on 23 May THUMBNAILS To make people aware about the environment, Greenpeace India depicted global warming through an Ice Sculpture at a mall in Saket, New Delhi on Sunday.  ANI Labourer from Jharkhand shot dead, two others injured in Manipur attack: A labourer from Jharkhand was killed and two others injured in an attack by unidentified assailants in Manipur's Imphal West district, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred in the Naoremthong area on Saturday night. A police official said that the assailants pulled out the three labourers of a construction company from their rented accommodation and shot them on the spot. One of them, identified as Shree Ram Hangsada, 41, subsequently succumbed to his injuries. and the Ramayana once, utilising the time in a positive way. "The kind of challenges that came our way could have finished had Lord Bajrang Bali's blessings not been with us," the AAP chief said. Conceding that AAP leaders could be arrested, he asked how they would be able to arrest the (their) thoughts. The national convenor of the AAP also claimed that every AAP leader has come up after going through the toughest challenges and passing rigorous trials, yet if any of them is found doing something wrong, the party itself would show them the door. In his address to party workers and leaders ahead of the AAP's proposed protest march to the BJP headquarters, Kejriwal said that bigger challenges are ahead and all must be prepared to take them on. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is worried about the rise of the AAP The . party indeed has risen too fast. They (the BJP) have started 'Operation Jhaadu' to crush the party. In the coming times, our bank accounts will be frozen and we will be brought on the road since our office will also be taken away," he said. Meanwhile, the AAP said the leaders and workers of the party, led by its chief, were stopped by the police on their way to the BJP office by installing barricading on the roads. They continued their protest on the road ignoring a half-an-hour ultimatum issued to them by the police to disperse. However, the police did not detain the party leaders. During the protest, the party workers raised slogans like “Aam Aadmi Party Zindabad” and “Jail Ka jawab Vote Se”. Mr Kejriwal is presently out on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court till June 1 in connection with the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. Among the conditions uner which the bail was granted to the CM, he cannot attend his office and cannot talk about the liquor policy case, etc. The AAP chief has been holding road shows, and campaigning for INDIA bloc candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, security has been stepped up outside the BJP HQ in Delhi in view of the protest call given by the AAP. Modi slams Mamata over Mamata Banerjee takes out road show in Purulia comments about monks STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PURULIA/ONDA/KHARAGPUR, 19 MAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PURULIA, 19 MAY Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took part in a road show from the SP Office More to Dak Bungalow More in Purulia today, campaigning in favour of former state minister and Purulia TMC candidate Shantiram Mahato in the afternoon. Barely three hours after PM Narendra Modi addressed an election meeting today about 8 kilometres away from her venue, the Chief Minister walked with thousands of local people along the road amid the high temperature. Law, judiciary, Labour minister Moloy Ghatak was also present during the road show. The famed Chau dancers of Purulia were the star attractions in the road show. All the top TMC leadership of Purulia were also present during her road show. The TMC chairperson is trying her level best to win the Lok Sabha seats from the Junglemahal areas of Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram. She has announced several projects on water, roads, infrastructure and stressed about new jobs in her dream Jungle Sundari Karmo Nagori Project in Raghunathpur of Purulia, which she feels is going to be a game changer in the economy of the district in the days to come. The CM has already campaigned for the TMC candidates in the district in her election rally earlier. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing three election rallies in Bengal, launched a scathing attack on the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and accused her of appeasing her party’s vote bank at the cost of insulting the faith of Hindus and allowing infiltrators to disrupt the demographic balance of the state. Addressing election rallies in Purulia, Onta in Bankura and Kharagpur inWest Midnapore, PM Modi alleged that the ongoing infiltration in West Bengal is rapidly altering the state's demographic profile.He claimed that the TMC’s appeasement policies have endangered the safety and demographic stability of Hindus in many areas. “In Bengal, TMC is synonymous with terrorism, corruption, appeasement, and nepotism. To appease its vote bank, the TMC is insulting the faith of Hindus. The entire country is angry due to the recent derogatory statement made by the CM of West Bengal,” Mr Modi stated.PM Modi's remarks were in response to Miss Banerjee’s recent comments about the Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha. Addressing a poll rally in Goghat under the Arambagh Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday, Miss Banerjee had said a section of monks of the Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha were working under the influence of BJP leaders in Delhi. She had also said that one monk, Kartik Maharaj of Behrampore, and one in Asansol were getting involved in politics directly. PM Modi condemned these remarks, asserting that TMC's actions against these respected socio-religious organisations were a ploy to appease their vote bank. (Details on Pg 2) Rohit Sharma accuses IPL broadcaster of recording his private conversations SC to hear PIL against 3 new criminal laws STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AGENCIES Sharma took to X, saying that the lives of cricketers has become intrusive because of cameras recording each and every step and conversation, putting the player's privacy at risk. MUMBAI, 19 MAY Mumbai Indians (MI) batter and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday called out the broadcasters of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for allegedly recording his private conversations and playing them on air violating right to privacy. Sharma took to X, saying that the lives of cricketers has become intrusive because of cameras recording each and every step and conversation, putting the player's privacy at risk. He also said that content creation focused on views and engagement will "break the trust" between fans, cricketers and cricket. It is, though, not clear which conversation of Rohit’s was played on air. “The lives of cricketers have become so intrusive that cameras are now recording P12 AAP chief claimed his party leaders would be sent behind bars , the party’s bank accounts seized Min. 63% TEMPERATURE THAILAND OPEN BADMINTON: CHIRAGSATWIK CLINCH TITLE AN ODE TO MS SWAMINATHAN every step and conversation we are having in privacy with our friends and colleagues, at training or on match days. Despite asking Star Sports to not record my conversation, it was and was also then played on air, which is a breach of privacy. The need to get exclusive content and focused only on views and engagement will one day break the trust between the fans, cricketers and cricket. Let better sense prevail," tweeted Sharma. Notably, Rohit's team Mumbai Indians (MI) had a disappointing Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign under the leadership of new captain Hardik Pandya, who had made his return to the Blue and Gold side follow- ing a great stint with Gujarat Titans (GT) from 2022-23, which also involved winning the title in the franchise's debut season. MI finished at the bottom of the points table with four wins, 10 losses and eight points. Rohit Shar ma had a decent season with the bat, scoring 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150. He scored a century and a fifty, with a best score of 105 not out. NEW DELHI, 19 MAY The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a public interest litigation (PIL) against the three criminal laws replacing the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act. As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal will hear the matter on 20 May. The plea said that Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita suffer from “many defects and discrepancies”. “All three criminal laws were passed and enacted without any parliamentary debate as unfortunately most of the members were under suspension during the period,” said the plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari. CMYK Police seize CCTV DVRs from Kejriwal's residence AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 19 MAY The Delhi Police seized the CCTV DVR from the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday in connection with the alleged assault case of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. A team of about a dozen policemen from Delhi Police reached the CM's residence today. According to Delhi Police sources, police did not receive proper CCTV footage to analyse the sequence of crime, due to which the DVR has been confiscated. After confiscating the DVR, a seizure memo was also handed over to the CM residence. Delhi Police will now retrieve the footage of the DVR with the help of technical experts. Voting for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls today Iran President’s chopper makes ‘hard landing’ AGENCIES TEHRAN, 19 MAY Rescue teams have reached the city of Jolfa in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan and trying to locate the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter which made a ‘hard landing’, Press TV reported. Iran's Interior Minister AhmadVahidi has confirmed that a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi makes a hard landing in Jolfa, Press TV reported. Drone units are being used to assist in the emergency operation, according to reports. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 19 MAY Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 49 constituencies spread across eight states and Union territories (UTs) will be held on Monday. The polling is scheduled to commence at 7 a.m. in 94,732 polling stations, manned by 9.47 lakh polling officials amid tight security, and conclude at 6 p.m. Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the fifth phase, 14 are in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Maharashtra, seven inWest Bengal, five each in Bihar and Odisha, three in Jharkhand, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Some 8.95 crore voters will decide the fates of the 695 candidates who are in the fray. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has urged voters to turn out in large numbers at polling stations and exercise their franchise.