TUESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR MODI GOVT HAS ROBBED PEOPLE BY TAXING FUEL: KHARGE ‘TERRORISTS WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RISE AGAIN’ P5 SENSEX 82,988.78 Generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain/thundershower very likely to occur. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 28˚C and 26˚C respectively. TEMPERATURE GOLD 75,680.00 Min. 95% Min: 25.1˚C (-1.3) SUN SETS 17:39 hrs MOON SETS 03:09 hrs Full Moon on 18 September THUMBNAILS Shepherds return with their cattle after herding them from the forest, in Handwara on Monday. n ANI Three fishing trawlers with 49 fishermen missing, search operations on: Three fishing trawlers, with 49 fishermen on board, have gone missing in the sea off West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, and authorities have mounted a search to locate them and rescue the stranded men. According to the family members of the missing fishermen, several fishing trawlers left for deep–sea fishing from the Sultanpur fishing harbour in the Diamond Harbour area in South 24 Parganas district on September 10, and were supposed to return on September 15. However, on Sunday, while the other fishing trawlers returned to the harbour, the three, with 49 fishermen, did not. Search operations to track the three missing trawlers are already on. Besides search operations through rescue trawlers on the sea, helicopters are also being used for aerial searches. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 16 SEPTEMBER A fter two unsuccessful attempts at rapprochement, the meeting between chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF), finally took place at chief minister’s residence at Kalighat today. It started around 7.10 p.m. The meeting lasted two hours. The doctors’ demand to allow their own stenographer had been heeded by the government. Sources said that the meeting, which was slated for 5 p.m., had started smoothly after the two professional stenographers accompanying the 30-member delegation to record the minutes of the meeting on behalf of the protesting junior doctors were allowed entry to the meeting venue. Besides the chief minister and the delegates, chief secretary Manoj Pant and the state home secretary Nandini Chakraborty were also there at the meeting. Before the meeting began, Banerjee told media persons that she was hopeful of the out- come of the meeting. The bus carrying the junior doctors reached the venue at 6.15 p.m., an hour and 15 minutes late from the scheduled meeting time. However, the doctors had also made it clear that as regards their ongoing cease-work and protests, no decision will be conveyed at the meeting. "We will come back after attending the meeting, discuss the outcome of the meeting with all concerned, and then announce our decision. There will be no compromise on our five-point agenda of demands," India best bet for 21st century: PM Modi ASHOK TUTEJA NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said India's diversity, scale, capacity, potential and performance are all unique and the whole world believes that this country is the best bet for the 21st century. ''India is preparing a base not only for today but for the next thousand years,” he remarked, underscoring that the country's aim is not just to reach the top, but to prepare itself to sustain this rank. The PM was inaugurating the fourth Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The three-day summit honours the important contributors to India's remarkable achievement of over 200 GW of installed non-fossil fuel capacity. Noting that the people of P12 SILVER 93,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 71.60 Apex court to continue hearing RG Kar incident suo moto case today Before the meeting began, CM told media persons that she was hopeful of a positive outcome RAINFALL: 38.9 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 26.2˚C (-6.6) SUN RISES 05:24 hrs MOON RISES 16:23 hrs ` vs $ 83.87 P9 Meeting between CM, docs concludes after two hours WEATHER Max. 98% P10 NIFTY 25,383.75 INDIA STORM INTO ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY FINAL FBI INVESTIGATING ‘ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT’ ON TRUMP India elected the same government for a record third time after 60 years, he said, “Aspirations of India is the reason behind the re-election of the government for the third term.'' He highlighted the trust and confidence of the 140 crore citizens, the youth and women who believe that their aspirations will take a new flight in this third term. The PM underlined that the poor, dalits and the deprived believe that the government's third term will become a guarantee for a dignified life. He said that 140 crore citizens of India are working with the resolve of making India the third-largest economy in the world. Noting that today’s event is not an isolated one but a part of the bigger vision, mission and action plan to make India a developed nation by 2047, he highlighted the decisions taken by the government in the first 100 days in office. “The government’s work in the first 100 days highlights its priorities and gives a reflection of the speed and scale,'' he remarked, underlining that all sectors necessary for India’s fast-paced development have been accorded priority. In these 100 days, the PM said multiple decisions have been taken to expand the physical and social infrastructure of the nation. He informed that India is on the path of constructing seven crore houses, which is more than the population of many countries, while four crore houses have been handed over to the people in the last two terms of his government. He also spoke about the decision to create twelve new industrial cities, approval for eight high-speed road corridor projects, launch of more than 15 semi-high speed 'Vande Bharat' trains, the inception of a research fund worth Rs one trillion to promote research, the announcement of various initiatives to drive e-mobility, promotion of high-performance biomanufacturing and the approval to Bio E3 policy. Throwing light on the developments in the green energy sector in the last 100 days, the PM mentioned the initiation of a viability gap funding scheme for offshore wind energy projects worth more than Rs 7000 crore. He said that India is working towards producing 31,000 megawatts of hydropower in the coming times with an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore. He said India is very well aware of its energy needs and requirements to make it a developed nation by 2047. India has decided to build its future on the basis of renewables like Solar Power, Wind Power, Nuclear and Hydro Power, as there was dearth of reserves of oil-gas. Mr Modi outlined the nation’s goals to achieve the target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and said the government has turned the green transition into a people’s movement. a protesting junior doctor said. Earlier, before leaving for the chief minister’s residence after accepting the fresh invitation, the WBJDF told the chief secretary that the government should accept any one of their three conditions - either "videography of the meeting by a separate videographer by both the parties" or the "entire video file of the meeting to be handed over to WBJDF representatives immediately after the meeting", or "minutes with full transcript of the meeting be recorded and formulated by both the parties (WBJDF will bring their own minutes and transcript takers in the meeting) and duly signed by the attendees and handed over at the end of the meeting as stated by CM previously". The WBJDF emphasised that these three alternative suggestions have become important considering the arrests of former R G Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala police station Abhijit Mondal by the CBI in the rape and murder case after the last scheduled meeting at the same venue on Saturday, which failed to fructify due to their videography demand. In his response to the WBJDF, the chief secretary said that it has already been clarified in the previous mail sent by him to the forum earlier in the day that representatives of both parties will sign the minutes at the end of the meeting and copies will be shared with each party to ensure clarity and agreement on the discussions. AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER The Supreme Court is slated to continue hearing on Tuesday the matter where it has taken suo moto cognisance of the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the staterun R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month. A three-judge bench, headed by CJI D. Y. Chandrachud, will consider the fresh status report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI on Saturday arrested Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of the Tala Police Station, under the jurisdiction of which R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital comes, in connection with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the staterun hospital premises. Mondal was in charge of the police station when the body of the junior doctor was recovered from the seminar hall within the hospital premises on the morning of August 9. Sandip Ghosh, the former Principal of R.G. Kar Hospital, who was earlier arrested by the CBI in the case of financial irregularities at the institution, and is currently in judicial custody, has also been shown as "arrested" in the rape and murder case. In the hearing, senior advocate Indira Jaising will be representing the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Forum (WBJDF), the umbrella organisation of junior doctors in the state protesting against the “horrific” incident. On the other hand, the Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal, an association of senior doctors in the state who are extending support to the ongoing protest movement by the junior doctors in the rape and murder case, will be represented by senior counsels Karuna Nandi and Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay. In an earlier hearing, the SC told the CBI to file a fresh status report by September 17 and took on record the status report filed by the Central agency in terms of its previous order. "We have now seen the further line of the ongoing investigation. We do not want to comment on anything in the open court. We will give you a week’s time to tell us what further leads have emerged in the course of the investigation," said the Bench, also comprising Justices J. B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Taking suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder case of the trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital, the Supreme Court had termed the incident "horrific," which raises the "systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country". Kejriwal to meet Delhi LG today, likely to resign from CM post STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought time to meet Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, a day ahead he is scheduled to tender his resignation, party sources said on Monday. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Monday met Kejri- wal, a day before AAP chief plans to resign from the post of CM, and the two also likely discussed who is going to be the new CM of Delhi. This is Kejriwal's first meeting with Sisodia after he made the announcement regarding resignation on Sunday. Meanwhile, AAP's Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC) is to meet on Monday evening at CM's residence. Kejriwal on Sunday had announced to resign on Tuesday from the post, and had said that he will now wait for the people to give him a certificate of honesty in the Delhi Assembly polls, which are not far. The AAP supremo had said that he would become the CM, if people elect him once again, and had cited corruption charges against him as the reason for his decision to resign. Kejriwal had also stated that allegations of corruption have been made against both him and AAP leader Manish Sisodia, and had demanded that the Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February, be advanced to November to coincide with the Maharashtra elections. Income gaps are at the root of world’s problems STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 16 SEPTEMBER Speakers at the panel discussion, ‘Income gaps are at the root of the world's problems’ stressed that it is urgently required to address this major issue without political considerations. The panel discussion was held at Kalakunj, this evening. The panellists included Sheshadri Chari, former editor of Organiser, Krishnan Srinivasan, former foreign secretary, Krishna Prasad, former editor of Outlook and Jawahar Sircar, former CEO of Prasar Bharti. The moderator was Monidipa Banerjee, a wellknown journalist. Taking part in the panel discussion Mr Sircar said income gaps are an important issue in India. He referred to how world situations like the Russia-Ukraine war have been used to benefit some industrialists in India. He said seven airports have been given to a person whose only experience in aviation is only travelling by air. He said bank frauds have been allowed to go on. He said the tribal people of Odisha can very well live in the villages peacefully till some miners are engaged to start excavation and that is a political decision. Mr Prasad said the income inequality in India has been mapped by satellites. Referring to the Karnataka Assembly election and the Lok Sabha election in 2024, the urban literate people, who enjoy different kinds of benefits, had voted for the BJP while the rural populace had voted for the opposition resulting in the defeat of the BJP in the Karnataka Assembly election and the seats of BJP fell from its tall claim of 400 seats to 240 seats. He said in the global hunger index, India's position is 111 out of 125 countries against 55 in 2014. Everybody believes that Gujarat is the most developed state in the country where the BJP has been in power since 1995. But the real picture is far from what has been projected. Sheshadri Chari said the time has come when we should think of an answer that can resolve the major issue. He said by bank nationalisation Indira Gandhi could not remove the income dis- parity. He said people should ask whether technology can solve the problem as some have suggested that instead of automation, more stress should be given to employing more people in industries. He pointed out that instead of blaming some industrial group or the other, the focus should be on how to address the issue without having political consideration. Mr Srinivasan said income gaps are not the only problem in the world. There are burning issues like hunger and, the removal of illiteracy among others. He said the time has come to think about how AI can shrink the job market. He said the happier the population, the lesser the income gap. He said the income gap is man-made. Referring to history he said how income gaps had been there since time immemorial. He said the burning issue can be addressed by making proper policy. Earlier The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting 2023 were handed to the awardees. Ms Aparna Kartikeyan of People's Archive for Rural India got the first prize in The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting while Jyoti Yadav of The Print, Patna, got the second prize and Vignesh Ayyasamy, an independent journalist (now with BBC) got the third prize. Uzmi Athar, chief correspondent, Press Trust of India got the Cushrow Irani Prize for Environmental Reporting. Addressing the gathering Ravindra Kumar, Editor and Managing Director of The Statesman said the decision to give a rural reporting award was taken to encourage journalists who work in the rural belt and highlight important issues which are overlooked by the reports that are made on urban India. He said this is the first time a web journalist has got the award.