THURSDAY 15 AUGUST 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 16 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SPAPER SINCE 1818 PA IN N KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ARREST BY CBI WAS INSURANCE ARREST, SAYS KEJRIWAL RAHUL DEMANDS JUSTICE IN DOCTOR'S RAPE-MURDER CASE P5 SENSEX 79,105.88 p149.85 Today, Independence Day, being a holiday in the offices of The Statesman, there will be no issue of this edition dated 16 August 2024 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Light to moderate rain / thundershower very likely to occur. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 31˚C and 27˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.2 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 94 % Min. 73% Max: 32.4˚C (+0.5) SUN RISES 05:13 hrs MOON RISES 13:29 hrs Min: 27.8˚C (+1.3) SUN SETS 18:9 hrs MOON SETS ——— hrs TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 19 August THUMBNAILS CAS dismisses Vinesh Phogat's appeal for shared silver: The Ad-Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the petition filed by Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat against her disqualification from women's 50kg final of the Paris Olympic Games. The Indian Olympic Association President Dr. PT Usha has expressed her shock and disappointment at the decision of the Sole Arbitrator of CAS to dismiss Phogat’s application against the United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee. NIFTY 24,143.75 p4.75 P8 ` vs $ 83.94 ‘INDIA HAVE EVERY CHANCE OF MAKING IT A HAT-TRICK’ THE TIPPING POINT P6 GOLD 71,510q110 P13 SILVER 83,000q500 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 79.64 p0.30 CM appeals to striking jr India cohesive nation with Murmu doctors to resume work diversity & plurality:PM to lead 78th We have no problem with HC handing over probe to CBI, says Mamata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 14 AUGUST C hief Minister Mamata Banerjee today urged junior doctors who are currently on cease-work throughout the state in protest against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical college and Hospital to withdraw their strike and return to their duties as common patients are bearing the brunt for no fault of theirs. Speaking at an Independence Day eve programme at Behala, the Chief Minister said: “My appeal to the junior doctors on cease-work is to return to their duties and resume healthcare services without delay as common people are bearing the brunt for no fault of theirs. Three people have already died due to lack of treatment. Five days have gone by since the incident, you have resorted to ceasework in protest... I’m touching your feet urging you to resume service. Please do not extend your cease- work. This is my appeal to you... I express my gratitude to the senior doctors, who continue to render service uninterrupted.” Miss Banerjee added: “You can say anything to me but do not show any disrespect to mothers of Bengal. When the incident happened, I was at Jhargram. I could not sleep the whole night and kept in constant touch with the Commissioner of Police. What is the government’s fault? We have arrested the key accused in 12 hours. How could we arrest someone without any proof? Have you forgotten the name of Dhananjoy? We have to see that the guilty is punished but that innocents should not suffer for no wrong of theirs. I fixed a Sunday deadline for police but Calcutta High Court has ordered a CBI probe, about which I have no problem.” She went on to say that police would render all cooperation to the CBI. Police have already questioned 34 persons in connection with the case and many more were to be quizzed but before that the probe was handed over to the CBI by the High Court. Miss Banerjee today also announced a series of programmes to counter what she called a ‘BJPCPM joint venture’ to implicate the state government and the Trinamul Congress in the crime. She said that Trinamul Congress would take to the streets from 17 August, when the party would stage meetings and demonstrations at all blocks and all wards from 2 p.m to 4 p.m to counter the CPM-BJP ‘conspiracy’. On 18th demonstrations would be held in all blocks. She added that the programme for 20 August would be declared later. Miss Banerjee’s comments came even as protesting junior doctors and medical students threatened to intensify their ongoing cease-work in government medical colleges and hospitals across the state, while teams from the CBI and the Forensic Science Laboratory reached the city and visited RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday to begin their investigation into the incident. A massive midnight protest, dubbed “Women, reclaim the night” is also being planned on the streets ofKolkataandotherlocations for midnight tonight (14 August). Organised primarily through social media, thousandsofwomenareexpected to join the protest, with similarprotestsalsoexpected to take place in other cities. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 AUGUST President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that in a vast country like India, tendencies that stoke discord based upon “perceived social hierarchies” have to be rejected and affirmative action must be strengthened as an instrument of inclusion. Addressing the nation on the eve of the 78th Independence Day, she said the steady progress of India’s political democracy testifies to the country’s progress towards consolidation of social democracy. “The spirit of inclusion pervades every aspect of our social life. We move together as a cohesive nation with our diversity and plurality,” the President said. Greeting the nation on the Independence Day, Mrs Murmu said India’s remarkable progress in several fields will make the country a developed nation in near future. With the adoption of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita from July this year, “we have removed one more relic of the colonial era,” she said. The new criminal justice I-Day celebrations at Red Fort STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 AUGUST laws are “oriented towards ensuring justice for the victims of crime instead of focusing on punishment alone. I see this change as a tribute to the freedom fighters.” She said from 2021 to 2024, India has been among the fastest growing major economies, with an average growth rate of eight per cent annually. This has not only put more money in the hands of people, it has also drastically reduced the number of people living below the poverty line. As for those who continue to suffer from poverty, all efforts are being made not only to provide a helping hand to them, but also to bring them out of it, the President said. The President said India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, and “we are also poised to become one of the top three economies soon.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in celebrating the 78th Independence Day from the historic Red Fort on Thursday. He will unfurl the National Flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument. The theme of this year’s Independence Day is ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’. The celebrations will serve as a platform to provide a renewed push to the government’s efforts towards transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047. To increase “Jan Bhagidari” (public participation) in this festival of national fervour, around 6,000 special guests have been invited to witness the celebrations at Red Fort this year. These people from different walks of life, categorised as youth, tribal community, farmers, women and other special guests, have excelled in various fields with the help of various government schemes and initiatives.