DID RAHUL GANDHI CROSS THE RED LINE? GOVT HAS KEPT FARMERS’ INTEREST PARAMOUNT: SHAH 15 SEPTEMBER 2024 NEW BOWLING COACH MORKEL ‘BLOWN AWAY’ BY INDIAN PLAYERS’ PROFESSIONALISM www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 PAGE 12 PAGE 7 PAGE 5 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 PAGES 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY.LIGHT RAIN/ THUNDERSTORM. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 33 AND 23 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. Three dynasties vs new leadership: PM in J&K Modi holds first election rally in J&K ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls RAINFALL: 38.0 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY SP SHARMA Max. 97 % Min. 84 % JAMMU, 14 SEPTEMBER Min: 21.2˚C (-4) SUN SETS 18:26 hrs MOON RISES 16:48 hrs H TEMPERATURE Max: 32.2˚C (-2) SUN RISES 06:07 hrs MOON SETS 03:46 hrs THUMBNAILS People travel on a boat along with their belongings as they move to safer places from the flood-affected area following heavy rainfall in Prayagraj on Saturday. ANI Two army soldiers killed in gunfight with terrorists in Jammu region: Hours before the election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Doda on Saturday, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) was among two soldiers killed in a gunfight with terrorists on Friday evening in the Chhatroo area of the neighbouring Kishtwar district of Jammu. Two other soldiers were injured during the encounter. On the other hand, 3 Pakistani terrorists have been killed in an overnight encounter between the security forces and terrorists at Chak Tapper Kreeri in North Kashmir's Baramulla. itting out at what he called as the Congress, Abdullah and Mufti dynasties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are a fight between the three families and the new leadership. Mr Modi, while addressing an election rally in Jammu’s Doda town, said one family belongs to Congress, another to the National Conference and yet another to the PDP who exploited the youth and suppressed their aspirations. This is Mr Modi’s first election rally in J&K held ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls scheduled on 18 September. “What these three families together have done to you people in Jammu and Kashmir is no less than a sin,” he said adding that the three dynasties will be standing against the aspirational youth of Jammu and Kashmir in these elections. “They are responsible for ruining Jammu and Kashmir for decades,” he said. “This time, the election is going to decide the fate of J&K. Since independence, J&K has been targeted by foreign powers. After this, the three dynasties started hollowing out this beautiful region. The political parties you trusted here did not care about your children. Those political parties only promoted their own children,” he contended. He said: “The youth of J&K have been suffering from terrorism, the parties promoting ‘pariwarwad’ were having fun by misleading you. These people have never allowed new leaders to emerge anywhere in J&K. These three families Centre: Retail selling of onion has brought down its price STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 SEPTEMBER The Centre on Saturday claimed that its initiative of retail selling of onion at subsidised rates has started showing tangible results. The retail sale of onion at the subsidised rate of Rs. 35 per kg, was rolled out with the flagging off of mobile vans on 5 September. The retail disposal started through outlets and mobile vans of NCCF and NAFED in major consumption hubs, i.e., Delhi and Mumbai and was subsequently extended to other important locations like Chennai, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati etc. The initiative has brought down the price of onion in major cities. Between the launch date of 5 September and and 13 September, prices in Delhi dropped from Rs 60 to Rs 55, in Mumbai from Rs. 61 to Rs. 56 and in Chennai from Rs. 65 to Rs. 58. In response to growing demand and to further ease the prices of onion, the government decided to enhance the quantity and distribution channels. Besides expanding the retail sale to e-commerce platforms, outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and SAFAL, bulk sales strategies are also being adopted to ensure availability of onions to the consumers at affordable prices. The wholesale disposal has already commenced in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai and will be extended to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata in coming days, and eventually to all state capitals. The wholesale disposal, this time, is happening through both road transport as well as the railway network. This initiative, besides bringing logistical efficiency, will also reduce post-harvest losses. The Department of Consumer Affairs is also working closely with state governments to ensure a targeted and steady supply, based on evolving supply- demand conditions and price trends. ''The ultimate goal of the government is to ensure that every household across the country has access to affordable onions. The government, hence, will remain committed to maintaining vigilant oversight of onion prices and continue taking proactive decisions for onion disposal in high-price centres to protect consumers from any further price escalation,'' a press release said. are responsible for the terrible state that J&K was in for decades. They indulged in corruption and made you struggle for your basic needs, he said. The PM contended that these families laid the foundation for terrorism and extremism in Kashmir by providing a safe haven for the propagation of terrorism for personal gains. “BJP’s resolution and your support can bring peace, prosperity and security to Jammu and Kashmir. BJP wants to make Jammu and Kashmir developed and terror-free,” he added. He urged the people to ensure that the BJP candidates win with a huge mandate and ensure a brighter future for everyone. He warned the people to be vigilant against the “false” promise of restoration of statehood being made by the Congress as only a BJP government would grant statehood to J&K. The agenda of Congress was to send people to jail whereas we are in the government to eradicate corruption and do good to people. Congress is spreading hatred. “The National Conference and Congress have always neglected the Jammu region. They want to bring back Article 370, which will snatch reservation; will you allow them to bring back the old era of fear?” the PM asked the people. He said terrorism is taking its last breath in Jammu and Kashmir where his government projected a new leadership to counter dynastic politics which has "destroyed this beautiful region”. “We and you together will make Jammu and Kashmir a secure and prosperous part of the country,” he said. He said his government has focused on carving out a young leadership soon after “we came to power at the Centre in 2014.” CM Mamata reaches out to junior docs, visits protest site in Kolkata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 14 SEPTEMBER In a bid to end the impasse between the state government and the agitating junior doctors, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday paid an unannounced visit to the site where the doctors are staging their protest in front of the Swasthya Bhawan at Salt Lake and spoke to them. Later in the evening, on the chief minister’s invitation, a delegation of junior doctors came to Miss Banerjee’s residence at Kalighat for talks, but till the time of reporting, talks had still not started due to disagreement over videography of the meeting between the two sides. Earlier today, taking everyone by surprise, Miss Banerjee along with director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, director general (security) and other senior police officials, turned up at the doctors’ protest site at around 1.05 pm. She said she had come as an elder sister, as a Didi, not the chief minister. She urged them again to resume work, ending their 35-day long ceasework programme in OPDs across 26 state government medical colleges demand- ing justice for the horrific rape and murder incident of the 31 year-old woman doctor in her own workplace at the R G Kar Medical College Hospital on 9 August. She also assured the agitating junior doctors that no disciplinary action will be taken against them for continuing cease-work for so many days. “I have complete solidarity with your movement. Hats off to your protest braving night-long rain and I also could not sleep last night thinking of your plight. I came here to meet you despite restrictions in terms of my own safety and security. I will look into your demands with sympathy. This is my last attempt here,” Miss Banerjee said. “I believe many have died due to lack of treatment. Your parents are also worried. Please resume work,” Miss Banerjee told the protesting junior doc- CLASH FOR ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP Modi 3.0: Infra projects worth `3L cr approved in first 100 days AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 14 SEPTEMBER India's Captain Harmanpreet Singh in action during the match against Pakistan in the Men's Asian Champions Trophy, on Saturday. nANI PM names newborn calf at Jaishankar shares India’s perspective his residence as ‘Deepjyoti’ on human rights with top global officials STATSMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 SEPTEMBER STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 SEPTEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday welcomed a new member to his Lok Kalyan Marg residence in the national capital: a newborn calf. Posting a video and photographs on X, PM Modi wrote "It is said in our scriptures - 'Gaav: Sarvasukha Prada:'. There has been an auspicious arrival of a new member into the Prime Minister's Family on Lok Kalyan Marg," The calf, born to a cow living at the premises of the Prime minister's residence bears a unique mark on its forehead, resembling a symbol of light. In recognition of this distinctive feature, Prime Minister Modi chose to name the calf 'Deepjyoti'. "In the Prime Minister's residence, the beloved mother cow has given birth to a new calf, which has a symbol of light on its forehead. Hence, I have named it 'Deepjyoti'," the PM said. tors who have been camping outside Swasthya Bhawan since Wednesday afternoon. “We have started work on improving the healthcare infrastructure and development. All Rogi Kalyan Samity (RKS) in medical colleges and multisuper hospitals hereby stand cancelled in the state. Principals of the medical colleges will head the board now which will have representation from police, junior doctors and nurses,” she said.The agitators started shouting slogans ‘we want justice’ when the chief minister turned up. Miss Banerjee left the spot after finishing her address that lasted for about 15 minutes. “I will not take any action. I am not UP police. They had clamped ESMA [Essential Services Maintenance Act], I will not,” she announced. “Remember, there is a Supreme Court hearing on 17th [Tuesday]. I don’t want any harm to come to you. I am your Didi,” she said. She assured the agitating junior doctors that their demands will be heard with sympathy and she will take a decision after holding talks with the police ADG, chief secretary Manoj Pant and home secretary Nandini Chakravarty. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared with the top leadership of international organisations in Geneva India’s approach to multilateralism, the country's perspectives on the evolution of human rights, current global human rights situation, and ways to address various challenges to the human rights ecosystem. During his just-concluded visit to Switzerland, Mr Jaishankar met United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, Director General of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other top officials. He also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in public health and promote Traditional Medicine systems globally, the Ministry of External Affairs said Saturday. Mr Jaishankar dedicated the newly-built state-of-theart Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, which houses Indian Missions dealing with the UN and other International Organisations, the Conference on Disarmament, the World Trade Organisation, and the Consulate General of India. He also dedicated a statue of Bhimrao Ambekar at the Permanent Mission and named a hall in memory of Mrs Hansa Mehta, who played a key role in promoting gender equality during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He also planted a tree under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative. Subsequently, Mr Jaishankar interacted with a large gathering of the Indian Community and Friends of India at the Permanent Mission. He highlighted rapid strides made by India and India’s vision of engaging with the world. Mr Jaishankar delivered a talk on "Global Tectonics: The Indian View of a World in Churn” at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), which was attended by a cross-section of people in Geneva, including from the diplomatic community, academia, think tanks, student community and the Indian diaspora. In a special gesture, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis hosted Mr Jaishankar in Geneva. The two leaders held wideranging discussions on bilateral ties, with special focus on leveraging the Free Trade Agreement between India and EFTA States (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Principality of Liechtenstein) to boost trade and investments. The leaders also discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest. In a mega push, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has approved infrastructure projects worth Rs 3 lakh crore in the first 100 days of its third term. Overall, the government plans Rs 15 lakh crore in infrastructure investments to boost connectivity, facilitating economic growth and job creation. PM Modi has set out a broad plan for the country to become a developed nation by 2047. Late last month, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the mega Vadhvan Port project worth Rs 76,000 crore and several other development projects in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. Vadhvan Port that will be located near Dahanu town barely 150 km from Mumbai, will be one of the country’s biggest deep-water ports and will give a boost to the Centre’s port-led economy approach, that visualises making mega ports significant contributors to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Once completed, it is expected to generate up to 12 lakh jobs and nearly 1 crore indirect employment opportunities in the country. The Union Budget has allocated a massive Rs 11.11 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector comprising highways, ports, railways and power plants, and plans to continue with this plan for the next five years to accelerate growth and create more jobs. The government has planned a large capex under its ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’ to augment port capacity and infrastructure over the next decade. This could bring about supply-demand mismatches in a few clusters, resulting in increased competition and pricing pressure for ports, said the report. Market analysts expect India’s government to maintain a strong focus on road sector investments through increasing capital outlays.