SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 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 SPECULATION RIFE ON YECHURY’S SUCCESSOR AS CPM GENERAL SECY ASSAM CM BLAMES CONG FOR VIOLENCE DURING EVICTION DRIVE P4 SENSEX 82,890.94q71.77 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY.LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 32 AND 21 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 029.6 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 100 % TEMPERATURE P10 25,356.50q32.40 P7 ` vs $ 83.88 GOLD 75,255.00 ‘CBI must dispel notion of being a caged parrot’ SC grants bail to Arvind Kejriwal, says arrest to frustrate bail in ED case NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER Min: 21.4 °C (-4) SUN SETS 18:27 hrs MOON SETS 02:36 hrs THUMBNAILS A view of one arm of the bow-string arch bridge connecting the Mumbai Coastal Road to the Bandra Worli Sea Link, which will enable commuters to travel from Marine Drive to Bandra in 10 minutes, in Mumbai on Thursday. n ANI Four Army soldiers injured in gunfight with terrorists in Kishtwar: Four Army soldiers were injured on Friday evening in a gunfight with terrorists in the forest area in the Kishtwar district of Jammu. Two to three terrorists are believed trapped in the cordon by security forces. The White Knight Corps of the Indian Army said "Based on the intelligence inputs, a joint operation with J&K Police was launched in the area of the Chatroo at Kishtwar. P12 SILVER 95,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 72.26q0.83 Modi to attend Quad Summit being hosted by Biden next week STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Min. 86 % Max: 27.6 °C (-6) SUN RISES 06:06 hrs MOON RISES 16:04 hrs NIFTY ‘INDIA WILL WIN BOTH MEN’S, WOMEN’S TITLES AT CHESS OLYMPIAD’ ‘HAR GHAR JAL WELL ON COURSE’ A s the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the now scrapped 202122 Delhi excise policy case, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan in an stern message to the Central Bureau of Investigation said that it should not be perceived as having made the arrest in a highhanded manner and must dispel the impression that it is a ‘caged parrot’. Telling the CBI to change its perception in public mind, Justice Bhuyan said: “In a functional democracy governed by rule of law, perception matters. Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency should be above board. Not so long ago, this court had castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispel the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot.” Describing as “suspect”, the timing of the Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal waves to the party workers after being released from Tihar Jail as the Supreme Court granted him bail in a corruption case registered by the CBI in the alleged excise policy scam, at the party office, in New Delhi on Friday. n ANI (Report on Pg 2) CBI in arresting Mr Kejriwal when he was on the verge of being released in the ED case, Justice Bhuyan said: “When the CBI did not feel the necessity to arrest the appellant (Mr Kejriwal) for 22 long months, I fail to understand the great hurry and urgency on the part of the CBI to arrest the appellant when he was on the cusp of release in the ED case… (the) timing of the arrest of the appellant by the CBI is quite sus- ‘Discovered that my father was on hijacked flight in 1984’: Jaishankar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE pect.” “Every effort must be made to remove any perception that investigation was not carried out fairly and that the arrest was made in a high-handed and biased manner,” Justice Bhuyan said. While holding that Mr Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI was legal, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted him bail with conditions that include that he will not go to the Chief SEBI chief, husband deny allegations levelled by Congress Minister’s office, nor go to Delhi secretariat nor sign official files. Mr Kejriwal was asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs. 10,00,000 with two sureties of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the trial courts. The court also directed that he shall not make any public comments on the case, shall remain present before the trial court on each and every date of hearing, unless granted exemption, and shall fully cooperate with the trial court for expeditious conclusion of the trial proceedings. Mr Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on 21 March 2024 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. On 26 June, Mr Kejriwal was arrested by CBI while he was in judicial custody in the ED case. The two judges differed on two points ~ the legality of Mr Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI and on the question of his not attending the Chief Minister’s office after being granted bail. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER US President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on 21 September which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, the White House has announced. “This will be President Biden’s first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president - a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries,'' a press statement said. The Biden-Harris Administration has made elevating and institutionalising the Quad a top priority, from the first-ever Quad Leaders Summit at the White House in 2021 to annual Summits since then. In recent years, Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, and Quad governments continue to meet and coordinate at all levels. The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering In recent years, Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, and Quad governments continue to meet and coordinate at all levels. the strategic convergence among the four member countries, advancing their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas. These include health security, natural disaster response, maritime security, high-quality infrastructure, critical and emerging technology, climate and clean energy, and cybersecurity. India will host the next Quad Summit. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER: NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday revealed that he was a very young officer who was part of the team that handled the crisis during the hijacking of an passenger aircraft in 1984, adding that his father was a passenger on that flight. Mr Jaishankar's remarks came while he was interacting with the Indian community in Geneva. Speaking about the 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' Netflix web series, the External Affairs Minister said, "I haven't seen the film, so I don't want to comment. But I tell you something interesting which you may remember. In 1984, there was a hijack... I was a very young officer. I was part of the team that was dealing with it. After 34 hours of the hijacking, I rang up my mother to tell SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, on Friday, issued a detailed statement denying a host of allegations recently levelled by the Congress Party against them. The Buchs called the allegations “false, incorrect, malicious and motivated” and lacking any merit. The couple said all information have been fully disclosed and taxes have been duly paid. Noting that the allegations themselves were based on their Income Tax Returns, the Buchs said in a joint statement: “Our income tax returns clearly have been obtained by adopting fraudulent means and illegally. This is a clear breach of not only our right to privacy (which is a fundamental right) but also a violation of the Income Tax Act." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told India’s Paris Paralympic Games champions that they had lived up to the expectations of their countrymen who had wished them all success when they left for the Games. In an interaction with the champions, he told them they knew the country wanted them to perform and therefore they gave their best in the games. The champions shared with the Prime Minister how they were trained and competed to win the medals. Mr Modi said they must have faced difficulties in their personal lives as they had some or the other physical shortcoming. But God had endowed them with some qualities to overcome the difficulties. He said the sportspersons must have themselves found ways to overcome the short- her that I can't come, there's a hijacking. I discovered that my father was on that flight. The flight ended up in Dubai. Fortunately, nobody got killed but it could have ended up wrongly." He further called the incident "interesting," and said that on the one hand, he was part of the official team working to resolve the crisis, while on the other hand, he was also part of the affected families who were pressing the government for action. "It was interesting because on one hand, I was part of that team which was working on the hijacking and on the other hand, I was part of the family members who were pressing the government on hijacking...," the External Affairs Minister said. Rationalising GST: Popular hotelier’s apology puts FM, BJP in the dock MC RAJAN CHENNAI, 13 SEPTEMBER A video, in which a popular hotelier of Tamil Nadu apologises to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for raising the issue of rationalising Goods and Services Tax (GST) with her at a business forum in Coimbatore, had created a political storm with parties across the spectrum castigating the BJP and the Finance Minister. Leading the charge against Mrs Sitharaman after the video was leaked on social media is Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who slammed her for humiliating the hotelier. Others have followed suit, with DMK MP Ms Kanimozhi, demanding an apology from Mrs Sitharaman. “When the owner of a small business like Annapoorna Restaurant in Coimbatore, asks our public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with arrogance and disrespect. Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the law, or acquire national assets, Modi Ji rolls out the red carpet,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on microblogging site ‘X’. The last thing that small business owners need is further humiliation, the Congress scion said adding: “When the fragile egos of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is exactly what they will deliver…If this arrogant government would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would solve the problems of lakhs of business.” At the business forum presided over by Mrs Sitharaman on Wednesday, hotelier D Srinivasan, pleading for rationalising the GST, said: “Bun and bread have no GST, but there is 18 per cent on the cream. Customers tell us to give bun and jam separately. In Tamil Nadu, it is Sweet, Karam (hot snacks) and Coffee. While sweets and food have 5 per cent, it is 12 per cent for hot snacks. When a family comes, even the computer gets confused to bill the different rates. Even your party legislator Vanathi Srinivasan is a customer and she too has questioned it. If you increase the GST, let it be uniform across all things. It has become very difficult to run the business madam so please rationalise the GST.”< His request, made in his inimitable Coimbatore accent, has set the internet on fire. He is the chairman of the famed Annapoorna chain of hotels, which has become a part of the identity of the textile city. But, his apologising to the finance minister in the presence of Vanathi Srinivasan, in the leaked video had put the saffron party in a corner. “I do not belong to any political party. My speech STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The Union Government on Friday decided to rename the capital of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Port Blair as "Sri Vijaya Puram”. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah announced this decision. In a post on ‘X’, Shah said, "Inspired by the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, to free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as "Sri Vijaya Puram." The Union Home Minister said while the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands' unique role in the same. He added that Andaman & Nicobar Islands have an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history. The island territory that once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is today poised to be the critical base for our strategic and development aspirations. Mr Shah said it is also the place that hosted the first unfurling of our Tiranga by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ji. You lived up to country’s hopes: PM Modi to Paris para-champions NEW DELHI, 13 SEPTEMBER External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar poses for a group picture as he dedicates a new building that houses India's Permanent Missions to UN, WTO and CD, as well as hosts its Consulate in Geneva, on Friday. n ANI Centre decides to rename Port Blair as ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’ had been misunderstood. Please pardon me,” the hotelier is heard saying. Clarifying about it, Vanathi Srinivasan, also BJP Mahila Morcha national president, said: “It was Srinivasan who had sought an appointment. Apologising, he said that his family has roots in the RSS. While she maintained that the video was not taken by the BJP, the party’s state president K Annamalai has apologised for the leak, accepting the blame. “On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, I sincerely apologise for the actions of our functionaries who shared a private conversation between a respected business owner and our Hon. FM,” he said on ‘X’. Disclosing that he had spoken with Mr Srinivasan, he hailed him as a pillar of Tamil Nadu’s business community and who had contributed significantly to the economic growth of the state and the country. comings. They must have heard some people making light of their physical shortcomings also. The Prime Minister said the sportspersons had developed a resilient character and defeat or victory did not trouble them much. “I see that victory or defeat in sports has no effect on your mind, this is a very big thing,” Mr Modi said. Often, a person who loses in a game, and does not get a medal, he feels he has lost something for ever. “None of you feels that burden, this is a very big achievement of life and this gives you the strength to move forward. And that is why I want more people to come to sports, more medals will come, that is a good thing, it should happen,” the Prime Minister said. Seeing their achievements, Mr Modi said, he wanted people in the country to change their attitude towards persons with disabilities. They should not look at them with pity but with respect. “We do not want pity, look at them with respect. We are not less than you in any way, we want respect,” the Prime Minister said. This is the culture that should prevail in the country, the Prime Minister said. “I have to create this spirit in my Divyang brothers and sisters as well. Whether they play or not is a different matter, they should not feel disappointed in any manner,” he said. Mr Modi said that for him, the efforts and achievements of players with some disabilities is more praiseworthy. “Your labour will not go waste, I assure you,” he said. He said a new environment now prevails in the society for all Divyangs (persons with disabilities). Systems are also developing. Everyone wants to help them. People say, “they are standing, I should stand up and make them sit.” Mr Modi said the championsportspersons’ achievements contributed to the change in public attitudes. DRDO and Indian Navy successfully flight-test surface-to-air missile STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BALASORE, 13 SEPTEMBER The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy jointly conducted back-toback successful flight tests of the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VLSRSAM). The second consecutive test was conducted on Friday from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur. The missile intercepted a high-speed aerial target, flying at a very low altitude and simulating a sea-skimming threat, which showcased its precision and capability to neutralize targets. This follows the earlier test yesterday (Thursday) , when the VLSRSAM missile effectively engaged another low-altitude target. These consecutive tests not only demonstrated the weapon system’s reliability but also validated the recent upgrades made to various components of the system, DRDO said . Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded DRDO, the Indian Navy and all associated teams for the successful flight tests and stated that this missile equipped with modern technologies will give further technological boost to the Armed Forces. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and Chairman DRDO, Dr. Samir V Kamat also congratulated the teams involved in the flight tests of the VLSRSAM system. Notably, for the tests, around 3000 residents of the villages around 2 km radius of the test range, LC-III, were evacuated and lodged in the three earmarked temporary shelters, Multipurpose Cyclone centres. The eligible evacuees were provided monetary compensation through bank transfer to their accounts. Fifteen sections of police and around 100 people were engaged for seamless evacuation of residents prior to the trails .