FRIDAY 26 JULY 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 BIDEN DELIVERS SOLEMN CALL TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY COALITION BUDGET P6 SENSEX 80,039.80109.09 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain / thundershower. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 33 °C and 26 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 4.5 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Min. 80 % Max: 31.4 °C (-1.2) SUN RISES 05:5 hrs MOON RISES 21:26 hrs Min: 28.5°C (+1.8) SUN SETS 18:21 hrs MOON SETS 08:52 hrs New Moon on 08 August THUMBNAILS Artists making clay and straw sculptures for the upcoming Durga Puja festival in Kumartuli on Thursday.  DEBROOP BANERJEE US puts Manipur, Meghalaya on ‘high risk’ list in latest travel advisory: The United States State Department has updated its travel advisory for India, placing particular emphasis on the north-eastern states of Manipur and Meghalaya. These regions are now under a "Do Not Travel" status, warning American citizens of heightened risks (Page 10) due to crime and terrorism. CM delays Delhi trip STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 25 JULY Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday afternoon cancelled her trip to New Delhi, but it is as yet not clear whether her three-day trip to the national capital has been cancelled entirely or whether she will be travelling tomorrow. No official reason has been assigned for the sudden change in plans, though state secretariat sources said that the Chief Minister might go to Delhi on Friday and attend the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday, besides her scheduled meeting with the Trinamul Congress’ Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members. “However, there is nothing final about that as yet,” a member of the state cabinet, who declined to be named, said. There is also uncertainty over whether Miss Banerjee will attend the NITI Aayog meeting at all, given that chief ministers of Congressruled states and Tamil Nadu’s M K Stalin have decided to boycott the meet in protest against alleged discrimination against Opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget. P4 GOLD 69,8201,014 ` vs $ 83.72 P12 SILVER 84,5003,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 78.391.12 States have right to levy tax on mineral resources, rules SC In 8-1 judgment, top court rules that royalty is not tax; Justice Nagarathna dissents PARMOD KUMAR Max. 92 % TEMPERATURE P9 NIFTY 24,406.107.40 IPL FRANCHISES TO DISCUSS MEGA AUCTIONS, PAY CAP JAGAN’S TENURE: ANDHRA CM DRAWS ESCOBAR PARALLEL NEW DELHI, 25 JULY n a significant ruling that will augment the fiscal capabilities of States having rich mines and mineral resources, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court by a majority of 8:1 on Thursday held that states have the competence and power to levy tax on mineral-bearing lands. The majority judgment ~ authored by the Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud ~ said that the payments made to the government cannot be deemed to be a tax merely because a statute provides for its recovery in arrears. “Royalty is not in the nature of tax. We conclude that the observation in India Cements' judgment stating that royalty is tax is incorrect. Payments made to the government cannot be deemed to be a tax merely because a statute provides for its I Royalty is not in the nature of tax. We conclude that the observation in India Cements' judgment stating that royalty is tax is incorrect. Payments made to the government cannot be deemed to be a tax merely because a statute provides for its recovery in arrears… Ruled that royalty on extracted minerals is not a tax MAJORITY JUDGMENT recovery in arrears... Ruled that royalty on extracted minerals is not a tax," said the majority judgment. Besides Chief Justice Chandrachud, the other judges concurring in the majority judgment were Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice J B Pardiwala, Justice Manoj Misra, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Augustine George Masih. Justice BV Nagarathna in her dissenting judgment said: “I hold royalty is in the nature of the tax. States have no legislative competence to impose any tax or fee on mineral rights. Entry 49 is not related to mineral-bearing lands. I hold India Cement decision was correctly decided.” “The legislative power to tax mineral rights lies with the State legislature and the Parliament does not have the legislative competence to tax mineral rights," the top court said in the majority ruling. The top court also made it clear that Parliament could not use its residuary power regarding this subject matter. As such, the state legislature has the legislative competence under Article 246 of the Constitution read with Entry 49 of List 2 to tax mineral bearing lands. After the pronouncement of the verdict, the Union of India and many petitioners requested the top court to make levy of tax on mines and minerals by the states, arising from its judgment, prospective. The Chief Justice said that they would clarify on this aspect on 29 July, whether its judgment will operate retrospectively, which would mean huge arrears of tax accruing to the states, or prospectively. The states want today's ruling to operate retro- spectively, while the Centre wants it prospectively. The Supreme Court on 14 March 2024 had reserved its verdict on the controversial issue of whether the royalty payable on minerals is a tax under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and if only the Centre is vested with the power to levy such exaction or states also have the authority to impose levies on mineral bearing land in their territory. The nine-judge bench of the top court heard the matter for eight days, while dealing with a batch of 86 appeals filed by different state governments, mining companies and public sector undertakings. During the hearing, the top court had said the Constitution vests the power to impose tax on mineral rights not in Parliament alone but also the states and underlined that such authority should not be diluted. Revenue secretary: Govt Budget debate: Economy in working on comprehensive deep crisis, says Opposition review of Direct Tax Code STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 JULY NEW DELHI, 25 JULY Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra on Thursday said the Central government is working on a comprehensive review of the Direct Tax Code, which will be prepared by an internal committee and then shared for stakeholder consultation within the next six months. (Photo) While speaking at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), he said: “We will have a consultation process, and how it will happen, we will decide. We would like to have a collaborative approach for implementation.” The efforts of the Centre would be to provide a “hassle-free, simple,” and collaborative approach towards the implementation of taxes, he said. Mr Malhotra said that the exercise is not linked to bringing a new Direct Tax Code, but a comprehensive review of the income tax law. “Our approach towards taxation has always been and will continue to be in the mode of collaboration and not confrontation.” “The purpose of our proposals, both on the policy side as well as on the implementation side, is to collect taxes from wherever they are due but do it in a manner that gives respect and trust to the taxpayers and collects them in a smooth and hassle-free manner,” he said. He also said that the whole effort of the Budget was to make tax processes simpler. It is to be highlighted that in her Budget speech, the Finance Minister announced that the Centre would undertake a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Former Union minister Kapil Sibal (Independent) said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that India’s economy is in deep crisis and the Union Budget has given no roadmap how the government planned to tackle unemployment which was acquiring vast proportions. Participating in a general discussion on the 2024-25 Budget, the former Minister quoted an ILO “India Employment Paper, 2024” report which said 83 per cent of India’s youth is unemployed. India’s unemployment was 35.2 per cent in 2000, it rose to 65.7 per cent in 2022 and is today 83 per cent, he said. He said the major cause of this was that the economy was stagnant. Unless factors like education, skill development, industrial production, GDP growth were taken care of, unemployment cannot be reduced. The CMEI data says 111 crore out of the 140 crore population is in the working age-groups, of which 83 per cent are unemployed. “This is the crisis. Unfortunately, the Budget has given no roadmap, which would have meant seven to eight million jobs every year for the next 30 years,” he said. Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha, participating in the debate, said that citizens of the nation have to pay taxes like England to get facilities like Somalia. Asserting that upto Rs 7-8 of every Rs 10 that a common man earns goes into the coffers of the government, Mr Chadha asked: “What does the common man gain? What do they do from these taxes? Are they providing worldclass infrastructure, health care, transport, or education services? We, in India, pay taxes like England to get serv- ices like Somalia.” Ruckus in Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu. Participating in a debate on the Union Budget, Mr Channi referred to the assassination of Mr Bittu's grandfather, former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Mr Bittu, a former Congress leader, countered by making certain personal remarks against Channi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, triggering an uproar. MEA raps Kerala govt over appointment of IAS officer as ‘foreign secy’ AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 25 JULY Reacting strongly to the Kerala government's recent order to appoint a senior IAS officer as a 'foreign secretary', the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday made it clear that the Indian Constitution clearly states that ‘Foreign Affairs’ are not ‘Concurrent’, “ and definitely not a State subject". In an order dated 15 July, the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave K. Vasuki, secretary in the labour and skills department, additional charge of “matters connected with external cooperation”. “Let's be very clear, the Constitution of India under the Seventh Schedule, List I, which is a Union List, clearly specifies that foreign affairs and all matters which bring the Union into the relation with any foreign country are the sole prerogative of the Union government. "Foreign affairs is not a concurrent subject and definitely not a State subject. So, our position is that state governments should not intrude into matters that are beyond their constitutional jurisdiction,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday. Mr Jaishwal also confirmed that Bangladesh has officially objected to the recent comments made by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the ongoing civil unrest in the neighbouring country. “I can confirm that we have received a diplomatic note from the Bangladeshi side, protesting against the In an order dated 15 July, the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave K. Vasuki, secretary in the labour and skills department, additional charge of “matters connected with external cooperation” comments made by the Chief Minister of West Bengal,” Mr Jaiswal said. Addressing the Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata on 21 July, Miss Banerjee commented on the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, saying that she would not hesitate to provide shelter to the “helpless people” coming from the neighbouring country and seeking refuge in West Bengal. The MEA termed the ongoing protests in Bangladesh an “internal matter” of the country and thanked the Bangladesh government for its “excellent cooperation” that has helped in the safe return of over 6,700 Indian students till now. “We are aware of the situation in the country. We have been closely following the developments there. India considers the ongoing situation in the country to be an internal matter of Bangladesh. With the support and cooperation of the Bangladesh government, we were able to arrange for the safe return of our students which we deeply appreciate. We share warm and close ties and are hoping that the situation there will turn normal soon,” the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Maha ex-minister Anil Deshmukh says Fadnavis Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Durbar coerced him to frame MVA leaders; BJP hits back and Ashok Halls renamed STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 25 JULY Former Maharashtra home minister and NCP(SCP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Thursday made explosive allegations against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of orchestrating a plot to topple the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government through false accusations. “Three years ago Devendra Fadnavis sent a man to me and asked me to write four affidavits. I was asked to make written allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab,” he alleged, claiming pressure to fabricate charges against key leaders of the MVA alliance. “I did not bow down and that is why the ED and CBI were sent after me,” he asserted, referring to his subsequent arrest. Mr Deshmukh further STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE alleged that he was coerced to concoct a particularly egregious falsehood and frame Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's son in a rape and murder case. “I was asked to give a false affidavit that Aaditya Thackeray raped Disha Salian and threw her from the balcony,” he alleged. Reacting to the accusations, Mr Fadnavis said he never indulges in this kind of politics, and claimed to have video clips of Mr Deshmukh badmouthing Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. “I never do such politics. I do not trouble anyone unnecessarily. I want to tell Deshmukh that his party leaders have given me video clips, where he was seen using foul language against Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Sachin Waze. If anyone is making false allegations against me, I will not keep quiet and make those clips viral.I never speak without evidence,” the Maharashtra deputy CM said. Speaking to a news agency about his accusations, Mr Deshmukh hit back and said he too has video recordings to prove his allegations against Mr Fadnavis. “I have video recordings to prove it. If someone challenges me, I will reveal everything. Yesterday Devendra Fadnavis said that he has some video clippings of me where I was speaking about Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. He should make those video clippings public." Mr Deshmukh said. Reacting to the former Maharashtra home minister's startling accusations against Mr Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut asserted that he believed in Mr Deshmukh and that the BJP can do this. “Anil Deshmukh ji was sent to jail as part of a conspiracy... There was pressure put on him to implicate Uddhav Thack- eray ji, Sharad Pawar ji and Aaditya,” Mr Raut said, adding that “there is truth in what Anil Deshmukh ji has said.” Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole echoed Mr Raut’s sentiments, casting doubt on the integrity of investigative agencies under the Modi government. “What Anil Deshmukh is saying must be true... Innocent people have been jailed. Those who favour them (the BJP) have been spared and ED cases against them have been taken back,” he said. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule vehemently denied Mr Deshmukh's claims, questioning why the former home minister did not take immediate action if he felt pressured. “These are all lies... A narrative is being created to confuse people,” Mr Bawankule asserted, dismissing the allegations as part of a broader conspiracy against BJP leaders. CMYK The President has renamed two of the iconic halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan ~ the Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall ~ as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Mandap’, respectively. NEW DELHI, 25 JULY President Droupadi Murmu has renamed two of the most well-known halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan ~ the Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall ~ as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Mandap’, respectively. “Rashtrapati Bhavan, the office and the residence of the President of India, is a symbol of the nation, and an invaluable heritage of the people. Continuous efforts are being made to make it more accessible to people. There has been a consistent endeavour to make the ambience of the Rashtrapati Bhavan reflective of the Indian cultural values and ethos,” an official statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. “Accordingly, President Droupadi Murmu is pleased to rename two of the important halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan – namely, ‘Durbar Hall’ and ‘Ashok Hall’~ as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Mandap’, respectively,” the statement said. The Durbar Hall is the venue of important ceremonies and celebrations such as the presentation of national awards. The term 'Durbar' refers to courts and assemblies of Indian rulers and the British. It lost relevance after India became a Republic, that is, ‘Ganatantra’, the Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said. It added that the concept of ‘Ganatantra’ is deeply rooted in Indian society since ancient times, making ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ an apt name for the venue. On the ‘Ashok Hall’, which was originally a ballroom and now used for special events, the statement said the word ‘Ashok’ connotes someone who is “free from all sufferings” or is “bereft of any sorrow”. Also, ‘Ashoka’ refers to Emperor Ashok, a symbol of unity and peaceful co-existence. “The word also refers to the Ashok tree which has deep significance in Indian religious traditions as well as arts and culture. Renaming ‘Ashok Hall’ as ‘Ashok Mandap’ brings uniformity in language and removes the traces of anglicisation while upholding the key values associated with the word ‘Ashok’,” it said.