TUESDAY 18 JUNE 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR NETANYAHU DISSOLVES WAR CABINET THAT WAS STEERING WAR IN GAZA FM TO MEET INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES ON 20 JUNE P8 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT MOST PLACES WITH SEVERE HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT MANY PLACES & WARM NIGHT CONDITIONS AT A FEW PLACES. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH) OCCASIONALLY IN GUSTY DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 45 AND 34 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY P9 9 killed as goods train rams Kanchenjungha Express Max: 45.2 °C (+6) SUN RISES 05:24 hrs MOON RISES 15:59 hrs Min: 33.0 °C (+5) SUN SETS 19:22 hrs MOON SETS 02:49 hrs THUMBNAILS Children in a jubilant mood after offering prayers (namaz) on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha at Jama Masjid in New Delhi on SUBRATA DUTTA Monday. Congress deletes post mocking PM-Pope P meeting: The Congress Kerala unit on Monday put an apology on its ‘X handle, a day after it posted a sarcastic post on PM meeting Pope Francis at the G7 summit. The post drew flak and ignited outrage from the BJP. Congress said they have no qualms over mocking the PM. The apology came after BJP objected to the post and accused the grand old party of insulting the Christian (See PG4) community. P12 BJP keen to retain Lok Sabha Speaker’s post The Central government has announced `10 lakh ex gratia for kin of deceased SILIGURI, 17 JUNE Min. 24 % PANGHAL HOPES TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS P10 MANAS R BANNERJEE Max. 48 % TEMPERATURE SHAH REVIEWS MANIPUR SECURITY SITUATION A collision between a goods train and the Sealdahbound Kanchenjungha Express near Rangapani railway station resulted in the death of nine passengers and injuries to over 40 others. The collision occurred at 8:55 am near New Jalpaiguri railway station in Siliguri, between Rangapani and Chaterhaat stations, at least 10 km from New Jalpaiguri railway station in Siliguri, said Sabyasachi De, chief public relations officer for Northeast Frontier Railway. Anil Kumar, a resident of Patna and the loco pilot of the goods train, died on the spot. Ashish De, who was a resident of Siliguri and the guard of Kanchenjunga Express also succumbed to his injuries in the train compartment shortly after the incident. Due to the incident, four coaches at the rear of the Kanchanjunga Express and five containers on the goods train were derailed, causing a blockage on both the Up and Down lines. “Approximately nine individuals lost their lives and around 25 were wounded. Adequate medical assistance is being provided to all the injured. The unaffected part of the Kanchanjunga Express has departed from the location and resumed its journey. The passengers on board the Kanchanjunga Express were given food packets and water bottles. The Indian Railways has declared compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for those with serious injuries, and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries,” said chief public relations officer, Northeast Frontier Railway Sabyasachi De. At least 50 individuals were reported to have sustained injuries, as stated by sources from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Among them, eight individuals were declared dead upon arrival. Around 37 individuals were admitted to the surgical department, including five who were in critical condition. Additionally, four individuals were admitted to the orthopaedic department, with one being in a critical state. The rescue team also retrieved body parts from the spot. Later, four more persons were admitted to the emergency ward. Caleb Subba, a resident of Gorubathan in Kalimpong, who was working as the officer in-charge of the excise department in Malda, passed away in the train accident. He was travelling from Siliguri to Malda on the SLR Coach when the incident occurred. The department's officials, headed by commissioner excise Sujit Das from North Bengal, received his body this afternoon after a post-mortem. Family members were overwhelmed with grief upon seeing his body. Subba is survived by his wife and young son. Anil Kumar, a train driver, lived in a leased house in Dakshin Deshbandhu Para in Siliguri. When his wife received the news of her husband's death, she and their two sons were left speechless. Family mem- bers received his body and left for Patna. Five of the deceased out of eight have been identified by the Police, including Shankar Mohan Das and Vishal Sharma. Das was employed at the Railway Mail Service. The process of identifying three additional individuals who have passed away is currently underway. Following the incident, the administration promptly provided assistance for the rescue operation along with Railway officials. They also enlisted the help of NGOs and other non-profit organizations. Political figures, including MPs, MLAs, and leaders from Trinamul Congress and BJP, showed support by establishing help desks. Numerous individuals contributed their blood to rescue the lives of wounded travellers. Following his visit to the location, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista reached out to Delhi and was informed that railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw would be visiting the site of the accident. Around 4 pm today, Mr Vaishnaw arrived at the spot and arrived at the Medical College and hospital accompanied by Mr Bista. Mr Vaishnaw expressed his sincere condolences to the family members of the deceased after his visit to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and meeting with the injured passengers. However, the accident has been attributed to the Railway authorities by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE The BJP proposes to keep the post of Speaker in the new Lok Sabha with itself and is unlikely to give it to any of its NDA partners like the Telugu Desam Party, it is learnt. Sources said Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is holding talks with key NDA leaders on the alliance's choice for the Speaker's post. He has already held at least one round of formal talks yesterday. Informal talks have been continuing to finalise the name, sources added. The ruling party may offer the post of Deputy Speaker to one of its allies. The BJP has received a strong backing from the Janata Dal (United) in choosing its own member for the cov- Rahul Gandhi to retain Rae Bareli, India and US review bilateral issues including critical emerging technology Priyanka to contest from Wayanad STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE India and the US on Monday reviewed a range of bilateral issues as well as global developments at the annual meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) between the two countries. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan co-chaired the delegationlevel talks between the two countries in the national capital. This is the second iCET meeting between the two countries and is spread over two days--17-18 June. The first meeting was held in the US in January last year. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the US-India iCET (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand the bilateral strategic tech- nology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries. The two countries also said they are committed to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem "based on mutual trust and confidence that will reinforce our democratic values and democratic institutions". Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Mr Sullivan. ''Delighted to welcome US NSA @JakeSullivan46 in New Delhi today morning. A comprehensive discussion on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues,'' Dr Jaishankar wrote on 'X' after the meeting. Mr Sullivan is the first top senior American official to visit India after the assumption of office by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third term. Mr Sullivan was scheduled to visit India earlier in February but due to other pressing commitments in the US, the annual review meeting was rescheduled for June 17-18. Mr Sullivan's visit comes days after PM Modi met US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy and said India and the US will keep "working together to further global good." JD(U) rejects Opposition’s doubts over voting machines STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE The Janata Dal (United), a key constituent of the NDA government, on Monday hit out at the INDIA bloc over “needless controversy” on electronic voting machines, and accused the opposition alliance of ‘conspiring’ to cast a shadow over the recent Lok Sabha polls. Senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said that despite repeated clarifications over the sanctity of EVMs by concerned departments, the Opposition has deliberately been raising the issue after Mr Elon Musk’s ''wild allegations''. “The Election Commission has time and again clarified that the EVMs can’t be manipulated. After its response through a press conference yesterday, this debate (on EVM) should end. The former IT minister also explained how the EVMs are custom designed and disconnected from the internet, not allowing any room for hacking,” Mr Tyagi said. His remarks came in the wake of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi describing the EVMs as ‘black boxes’ and claiming that there are concerns over transparency in the electoral process. "EVMs in India are a black box, and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability," Mr Gandhi said in a post on X on Sunday. Mr Tyagi dismissed charges of EVM manipulation and said that Mr Musk’s statement was no gospel truth and that everyone has to fall for it. The nation, he said, witnessed free and fair polls and nobody raised an accusing finger but after Mr Musk’s statement, deliberate efforts are being made to stir controversy around the polls. PM reaffirms commitment to Indo-US partnership NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE PM Modi on Monday reaffirmed his government's commitment to continuing to strengthen the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the United States for the global good and take it to greater heights in his new term. He was talking to Jake Sullivan who called on the Indian leader this evening. Sullivan briefed the PM on the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) such as semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence, telecom, defence, critical minerals, space, SNS among others. NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday announced that former party chief Rahul Gandhi will keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and vacate the Wayanad constituency. He also announced that Congress general secretary and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which will be necessitated following his resignation. Rahul won from both the parliamentary seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. The Congress president made the announcement after holding a meeting with Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party’s general secretary in-charge of Organisation K C Venugopal at his residence here in this regard. Addressing the media, Kharge said, “Rahul Gandhi was elected from two seats. As per the law, he has to vacate one seat and on one seat, he can continue as an MP. We have decided that Rahul Gandhi should keep the Rae Bareli seat because Rae Bareli has a very strong connection with the Gandhi family. We have decided that Priyanka Gandhi should contest from Wayanad. I want to thank both of them as they have agreed.” Rahul said, “I have an emotional relationship with both Rae Bareli and the people of Wayanad. In the last five years as the MP of Wayanad has been a very enjoyable experience. The people of Wayanad stood with me. The people of Wayanad gave me love and affection, every single person regardless of party, they gave me energy to fight in a very difficult time. So, I will never forget that.” Rahul also exuded confidence that Priyanka will win the election and she will be a very good representative for the people of Wayand. “I am very happy to contest from Wayanad. I won’t let them feel his absence. I will work hard and try my best to make everybody happy and to be a good representative,” Priyanka said. In response to a question about her entry into electoral politics, she said, “I am not nervous at all.” PM to visit UP, Bihar to unveil slew of projects STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on 18-19 June. On Tuesday, he will participate in PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in the PM's Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi. He will witness Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and also perform pooja and darshan at Kashi Vishwanath Temple. After being sworn in as PM for the third time, Mr Modi signed his first file authorising release of the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi reflecting the commitment of the government towards farmer welfare. In continuation of this commitment, he will release the 17th instalment amounting to more than Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.26 crore beneficiary farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through Direct Benefit Transfer. So far, more than 11 crore eligible farmer families have received benefits of more than Rs. 3.04 lakh crore under PM-KISAN. During the event, he will also grant Certificates to more than 30,000 women from Self Help Groups (SHGs) as Krishi Sakhis. Krishi Sakhi Convergence Program (KSCP) aims to transform rural India through the empowerment of rural women as Krishi Sakhi, by imparting training and certification of Krishi Sakhis as Para-extension Workers. This certification course also aligns with the objectives of the “Lakhpati Didi” Program. In Bihar on Wednesday, the PM will inaugurate the new campus of Nalanda University at Rajgir. The University is conceived as a joint collaboration between India and East Asia Summit(EAS) countries. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by several eminent people including the Head of Missions of 17 Countries. The Campus has two Academic Blocks with 40 classrooms having a total seating capacity of around 1900. It has two auditoriums having a capacity of 300 seats each. It has a student hostel with a capacity of around 550 students. It also has various other facilities including International Centre, Amphitheatre that can accommodate up to 2000 individuals, Faculty Club and Sports Complex among others. The Campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus. It is selfsustainable with a solar plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plant, water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and many other environment friendly facilities. The University has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, established around 1600 years ago, is considered to be amongst the first residential universities of the world. In 2016, the ruins of Nalanda was declared as a UN Heritage Site. eted post. Senior party leader K C Tyagi reiterated that the JD(U) will support the BJP's candidate for the post. A special eight-day session of the Lok Sabha is scheduled to commence on June 24 and the election for the post of Speaker is likely to be held on June 26. The post of the Speaker becomes much more important in a House where no party enjoys an absolute majority since the occupant of the position has several powers, including the ability to disqualify or suspend members, decide when a question can be asked, expunge unparliamentary remarks of MPs and clear Bills based on voice votes. Sources denied reports that the TDP had demanded the Speaker’s post. J&K bus attack: Investigation handed over to NIA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE The investigation into the recent terror attack on a bus in Jammu region's Reasi has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency(NIA), official sources said. The development comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high level meeting at the North Block to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, with a special focus on Jammu region and preparedness for upcoming Amarnath Yatra. In the high level meeting, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau chief, Army officials including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pandey and COAS (Designate) Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, Director General of Central Armed Police Forces, Chief Secretary and the DGP of the J&K were present among other senior officers. The HM had directed security agencies to implement zero-terror plans in the Jammu division like they did in Kashmir to achieve success in curbing terror incidents. Meanwhile, at least nine people were killed, while 42 were injured after a bus with pilgrims on board had plunged into a gorge in J&K's Reasi on June 9, after militants opened fire on them. The SSP Reasi had told a news agency that the terrorists had opened fire, causing the bus driver to lose control and the vehicle plunged into the gorge.