MONDAY 22 JULY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘HUNDREDS DEAD, PEOPLE WILL TEACH LESSON’ CHINA PLENUM P6 Generally cloudy sky. Rain / thundershower very likely to occur. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 32 °C and 27 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 14.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE P4 P10 HARMANPREET, RICHA GUIDE INDIA TO WIN OVER UAE P12 Govt at Centre can collapse any day: CM WEATHER Max. 92 % U.P ID-DISPLAY DIRECTIVE . NOT A WELL-THOUGHT-OUT DECISION: RLD CHIEF Min. 70 % Max: 31.9 °C (-0.1) Min: 27.8°C (+1.3) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:4 hrs 18:23 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 18:38 hrs 04:32 hrs New Moon on 04 August THUMBNAILS Devotees take out a procession from the Muthumariamman Temple on the occasion of Aadi festival (Tamil month), at Korattur in Chennai on Sunday. ANI 3 dead due to landslide on Kedarnath Yatra route in U’khand: Three people are dead and eight were injured in a landslide in the Chidwasa region of Rudraprayad district of Uttarakhand on Sunday. The incident occurred on the Kedarnath Yatra route this morning when the devotees were on their way to Kedarnath Dham from Gaurikund on foot. The District Control Room in Rudraprayag informed the State Disaster Response Force team that some people have been trapped under debris due to a landslide in that region on the Kedarnath Yatra route. No space for power- or muscle-flexing in the TMC, says party chief at a mammoth rally organised on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 21 JULY he Central government came to power because of the arbitrary decisions of the Election Commission, highhandedness of the Central investigative agencies; it is not a stable one and may collapse any day, said Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday. Miss Banerjee was addressing a mammoth rally organised to observe the Martyrs’ Day at Esplanade in Kolkata this afternoon. Holding high the hand of Samajwadi Party president and MP AkhileshYadav, Miss Banerjee said the Trinamul Congress fully supports the SP in Utter Pradesh and the two parties will work together to oust the BJP government and strengthen the INDIA bloc. Echoing Miss Banerjee, the Samajwadi Party president said the BJP government at the Centre can topple at any moment. Coming down heavily on the BJP he said: , “The party has lost the confidence of the people. They are some how managing to stay at the Centre by the strength of the (Central investigative) agencies.” On 21 July 1993, 13 sup- T I do not want rich workers, my workers should be sincere and ready to sacrifice their lives for service to the people. Those who have not voted for us, we should try to bring them to our fold. Money will come and go but service to people remains...Do not be greedy and fall into the trap of the BJP. So long as you work TMC CHAIRPERSON MAMATA BANERJEE for the people, no one can dislodge you.. porters of the Youth Congress who had assembled in different parts of the central business district to demand that voter ID cards should be made mandatory in elections, were killed in police firing. “Thirteen of my colleagues had laid down their lives on 21 July, 1993 and the movement had finally led to making voters’ ID card mandatory for election,” Miss Banerjee recalled on Sunday. Miss Banerjee said there no space for power- or muscle-flexing in the Trinamul Congress. “I do not want rich workers, my workers should be sincere and ready to sacrifice their lives for service to the people. Those who have not voted for us, we should try to bring them to our fold. Money will come and go but service to people remains,” she said, adding: “Do not be greedy and fall into the trap of the BJP. So long as you work for the people, no one can dislodge you.” Lakhs of Trinamul Congress supporters braved torrential rain to give her a patient hearing. “ We could not do well in North Bengal. I ask the leaders to go to the people and apologise to them as they failed to understand them and voted against the party. In Malda, we lost two seats. People Battle lines drawn, stormy Budget Session on the cards DEEPAK RAZDAN NEW DELHI, 21 JULY The Narendra Modi government’s first Budget in Mr Modi’s third term as Prime Minister will be presented in the Parliament session beginning on Monday, and indications are that in spite of a strong Opposition, the government will not respond to any issue raised without procedural clearances. The government held an all-party meeting on Sunday to seek cooperation of political parties for smooth conduct of proceedings in the two Houses of Parliament. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Opposition leaders that disruption of the Prime Minister’s speeches in the last session was against democratic norms. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition has been told running of Parliament is as much responsibility of the government, as of the Oppo- Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal arrive at Parliament House to attend the all-party meeting, in New Delhi on Sunday.  SUBRATA DUTTA sition. The Opposition has been impatient to raise several issues during the session, and told the government that the post of the Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha by convention belonged to the Opposition and should be filled up by a candidate from the Opposition. The Opposition has many troubling questions to ask from the government, but there can be an early storm over the Uttar Pradesh government’s order for shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners. The Opposition parties said they want the Centre to intervene as the order is targeted against the Muslims. The Opposition parties are planning to seek answers on the revival of terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir, the Manipur imbroglio, the alarming state of higher education, spiralling prices, the unemployment situation getting out of hand and recurring railway accidents due to human failures. The Prime Minister spoke on the Manipur situation in the Rajya Sabha in its last session, but the Lok Sabha with a much stronger Opposition will see demands again to discuss the ground reality in the state and how the government was responding to it. After a comparative lull of peace, Jammu and Kashmir is reporting shocking incidents of terrorist attacks in Jammu districts, which has led to heavy deployment of the Army. The Opposition is planning to demand answers what failures were behind the situation. The state of higher education, along with the NEET examination paper leaks, has caused nationwide concern requiring Central attention. The issue will be raised again forcefully. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has broken off from the ruling BJP will take , up the issue of special status for Odisha, along with other Opposition parties demanding special status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, with the objective of getting additional economic packages for the States. As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, after the Economic Survey on Monday, the focus of the session will be on economic issues, like spiralling prices, and the state of non-agricultural employment in the country. Opposition parties said despite government reports and claims, there is no clarity on employment of the educated and skilled manpower, with frequent events showing too many youth chasing too few openings of regular employment. voted for Congress and BJP . Will they ever work for the development of the people?” she asked, and vowed that the Trinamul will do well in the 2026 Assembly election in the district. She thanked the people for giving their support to Trinamul Congress in the recently held general election which has helped the party to bag 29 out of 42 seats. “I thank the people of Baranagar, Bhagabangola, Ranaghat South, Mancktala, Bagda, Raigunj (where byelections were held recently). We fought against the BJP CPI-M and Congress. , We have 10 lakh jobs ready but they are trying to thwart our move by filing Public Interest Litigation before the court. Sometimes they are demanding to remove people from jobs and other times they are ready to take away rights of the OBCs. I assure you no one will lose their jobs and to establish the rights of the OBCs we are fighting in the Supreme Court,” she remarked. She made it clear that the party was not going to spare any one against whom complaints are lodged.“Work sincerely for the people. Trinamul Congress is a platform to serve the people,” she said. Miss Banerjee advised her party workers to work for the development of the minorities, OBC, SCs and STs. She said the state government has spent Rs 7,000 crore on Lakshmir Bhandar and other schemes. For Swasthya Sathi, the state government is spending Rs 10,000 crore. She said the beneficiaries of Aawas Plus scheme will get their first instalment by 31 December to set up their houses. She urged party leaders to fight against the communal forces. “ We will not compromise on the issues of corruption and communalism. We will root them out. The CPI-M had beaten me several times but could not stop me from raising their voice against injustice. I can still work more than most of my colleagues and continue to fight against corruption and communalism till I die,” she said. On the ongoing unrest in neighbouring Bangladesh, Miss Banerjee said that the state government would not hesitate to give shelter to those coming from there and seeking refuge in West Bengal. “I will not talk about what is going on in Bangladesh. It is the Central government’s job to talk about the issue. But if anyone knocks on our door for shelter, we will not hesitate to give them refuge,” Miss Banerjee said. Writer Abul Basar, painter Suvaprasanna, singer Nachiketa and film director Haranath Chakraborty were present on the podium. Trinamul Congress leaders garlanded the martyrs’ column before the meeting started. (PHOTO:BISWAJIT GHOSHAL) Opp raises Kanwar Yatra issue, NDA allies seek special status for Bihar at all-party meet AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 21 JULY The Centre on Sunday in the all-party meeting urged the parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament even as the Opposition raised the Kanwar Yatra row and two NDA allies made demands for special status for Bihar. The meeting, chaired by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was held a day ahead of Parliament's Budget Session. During the meeting, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies ~ Sanjay Jha from Janata Dal(United) and Union Minister Chirag Paswan from Lok Janshakti Party (RamVilas) demanded special state status for Bihar. JD(U) stated that if there are difficulties in granting special state status, then Bihar should be given a special package. Additionally, the special status demand for Bihar was The Congress raised the issue of the appointment of a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha and said this post should be given to the Opposition. also raised by the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The issue of recurring floods in Bihar was also raised by the JD(U), urging the Centre to take steps and discuss the issue with Nepal. TheYSR Congress raised the issue of law and order in Andhra Pradesh, demanding presidential rule in the state. The party also sought a special state status for the state. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha also demanded a special status for the state in the all-party meeting, along with discussing the issue of law and order in the Lok Sabha. In the meeting, Congress raised the issue of the appointment of a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha and said that this post should be given to the Opposition. Congress also demanded a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue in the Lower House. Gaurav Gogoi from Congress, Sanjay Singh from AAP , Ram Gopal Yadav from SP , Asaduddin Owaisi from AIMIM, leaders from Left parties and several other political parties raised the issue of theYogi government's decision requiring food establishments along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners. After coming out of the all-party meeting, NCP MP Praful Patel spoke to the media, demanding theYogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh to withdraw the decision regarding the display of names. The Centre aimed to use this all-party meeting to brief all political parties in the House about its agenda and the Bills to be discussed during the session. India pledges $1 mn for B’desh’s SC scales back jobs quota that sparked deadly protests Unesco heritage centre AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 JULY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared his government's commitment to promoting global cooperation and engaging local communities in efforts towards heritage conservation. Speaking at the inauguration of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi today, Mr Modi announced that India will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to provide support for heritage conservation in countries, especially of the Global South. Mr Modi said that India considers the preservation of global heritage as its responsibility, and hence, is providing support for heritage conservation not only in India but also in countries of the Global South. “India is assisting in the conservation of many heritages like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Cham Temples in Vietnam,  With the top court’s rul- DHAKA, 21 JULY Prime Minister Modi said the $1 million grant will be used for capacity building, technical assistance and the conservation of world heritage. and Bagan Stupa in Myanmar. In this direction, I am making an announcement. India will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This grant will be used for capacity building, technical assistance, and the conservation of world heritage sites," PM Modi said. Referring to India’s own heritage, Mr Modi said: “We have seen that there are different centres of heritage in the world. But India is so ancient that every point of the present tells us the story of some glorious past.” He also asserted that India's vision is both development and heritage. “In the past 10 years, India has touched new dimensions of modern development and has also pledged to take pride in its heritage,” he said. Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has scrapped most of the quotas in recruitment to government jobs that had sparked countrywide protests and clashes between police and university students that have claimed over a hundred lives. With the top court’s ruling, just 5 per cent of civil service jobs would be reserved for the relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30 per cent. The Supreme Court also ruled that the majority of government jobs, 93 per cent, will now be allocated based on merit, while the remaining 2 per cent will be earmarked for members of ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and the disabled. The verdict, delivered on Sunday, comes after weeks of demonstrations led predominantly by students. Tensions reached a peak when clashes erupted between protesters and groups alleged- ing, just 5 per cent of civil service jobs would be reserved for the relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30 per cent. The SC also ruled that the majority of government jobs, 93 per cent, will now be allocated based on merit, while 2 per cent will be earmarked for members of ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and the disabled. ly linked to the Awami League, resulting in accusations of excessive force by the police against demonstrators. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government had previously attempted to abolish the quota system in 2018, but a High Court reinstated it last month, reigniting public outrage and prompting renewed protests. Throughout the unrest, the government imposed stringent measures, including a curfew, the deployment of mil- itary forces, and a communication blackout that isolated Bangladesh from the outside world. The protests have posed the most serious challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition groups. Universities have been closed, the internet has been shut off and the government has ordered people to stay at CMYK home. With most communications offline, it was unclear whether the verdict has satisfied protesting students. Law Minister Anisul Haq welcomed the court’s decision and said it “well thought of.” The protests turned deadly on Tuesday, a day after students at Dhaka University began clashing with police. Violence continued to escalate as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters. Bangladeshi authorities haven’t shared any official numbers of those killed and injured, but at least four local newspapers on Sunday reported that over 100 people have been killed. Ahead of the SC hearing, soldiers patrolled cities across the country. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the stay-at-home order will be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for people to run essential errands. Meanwhile, the government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays, with only emergency services allowed to operate. Protesters argue the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, saying it should be replaced with a meritbased system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war against Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation. Representatives from both sides met late Friday in an attempt to reach a resolution and Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was open to discussing their demands. In addition to quota reform, the demands included the reopening of university dormitories and for some university officials to step down after failing to protect campuses. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has backed the protests, vowing to organise its own demonstrations as many of its supporters have joined the student-led protests. However, BNP said in a statement its followers were not responsible for the violence and denied the ruling party’s accusations of using the protests for political gains. The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of fueling political chaos and violence, most recently ahead of the country’s national election, which was marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures.