WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 14 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR 100 Days of Modi 3.0 3 Crore Additional Houses to be Constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana WEATHER Partly cloudy. Hazy in the afternoon. Storms could contain frequent lightning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 34 °C and 27 °C respectively. of Families through Pucca House F SC rejects plea seeking ouster of Mamata , pulls up lawyer CJI Chandrachud admonishes lawyer stating that the court is not for political arguments RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY PARMOD KUMAR Max. 88% Min. 73% NEW DELHI, 17 SEPTEMBER Min: 27.3˚C SUN SETS 17:36 hrs MOON SETS 05:20 hrs T The court was also informed that though junior doctors have signed the agreement they still have some issues that need to be sorted. TEMPERATURE Max: 34.4˚C SUN RISES 05:24 hrs MOON RISES 17:52 hrs Full Moon on 18 September THUMBNAILS Devotees carry an idol of Lord Ganesha as they take part in the immersion procession of Lord Ganesha on the last day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, in Mumbai on Tuesday. n ANI Govt advises Edible Oil Associations to maintain MRP till availability of stocks: Centre has advised the leading Edible Oil Associations advised to ensure that the MRP of each oil is maintained till the availability of edible oil stocks imported at 0 per cent & 12.5 per cent Basic Customs Duty (BCD) and take up the issue with their members immediately. (P10) he Supreme Court on Tuesday took strong exception and rejected a plea seeking the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the wake of the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 and warned the lawyer appearing that he would be removed from the court if he continued to treat the court as a political forum. Rebuking the lawyer for using the court as a political forum, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said, “This is not a political forum alright. You are a member of the bar. We do not require your affirmation of what we say. What you say has to abide by the rules of legal discipline. We are not here to see what you feel about a political functionary. Your interim application is not our remit. Look I am sorry else I will have you removed from this court.” In the hearing lasting over two hours, the court was informed about the settlement that has been reached between the State government and the agitating junior doctors, sanction of work for the infrastructure upgradation in the 28 government medical colleges and hospitals that includes additional duty rooms, restrooms, washroom, installation of CCTV cameras, deployment of security personnel hired from the security agencies for one year, training of PM takes swipe at Cong over taking part in Ganesh Pooja at CJI’s residence STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 17 SEPTEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cautioned people against the Congress and its ‘ecosystem’ saying they get agitated with him for performing Ganesh puja and in Karnataka they seize a Ganesh idol . Spreading hatred and poison in the society is dangerous for the country, he stated. The PM took a dig at Congress while addressing a public meeting in Bhubaneswar to launch the flagship women empowerment scheme of Odisha, ‘Subhadra Yojana’ and lay foundation stones for infrastructure programmes in the State. Implicitly referring to the criticism by the opposition parties for participating in Ganesh Puja rituals at the residence of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said “Ganesh Utsav festival is not only a festival of faith for our country, but also it played a vital role in the freedom movement. Dwelling on the rich historical legacy of Ganesh festival, PM said “the British who used to hate the Ganesh Utsav adhered to divide and rule policy. Even now, the power-hungry people who are busy dividing and breaking society are having problems with Ganesh Puja. You must have seen that the people of Congress and its ecosystem are angry because I participated in Ganesh Puja," he added. Modi in his first visit to Odisha on his 74th birthday after taking oath as the prime minister for the third term launched the Odisha Government’s flagship womencentric Subhadra Yojana programme which BJP had promised in 2024 poll campaign. Eligible women between the age of 21-60 years would receive Rs 50,000 over a period of five years between 2024-25 and 2028-29. An amount of Rs 10,000 per annum would be credited in two installments directly to their accounts. The initiative is expected to cover more than 1 crore women. PM Modi initiated the first phase of fund transfer into the bank accounts of more than 25 lakh women beneficiaries at a function here today. CM Mohan Charan Majhi and Deputy CM Pravati Parida also addressed the gathering. Governor Raghubar Das, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and others were present . over 900 women police personnel at State police academy for deployment in medical colleges and the hospitals. The hearing saw the West Bengal government reiterating its earlier assurance that it would not take any adverse or punitive action against the agitating junior doctors for their absence if they resumed their duties. At the beginning of the hearing, the court was informed that a settlement had been reached between the State government and the agitating junior doctors in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The court was also informed that PM to visit US this week to attend Quad Summit though junior doctors have signed the agreement they still have some issues that need to be sorted. Perusing the status report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on its investigation into the alleged rape and murder of the post-graduate trainee doctor and the related issues, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that the investigating agency is working on different leads including addressing concerns expressed in the course of the earlier hearings of the matter including by Justice Pardiwala and me (Chief Justice Chandrachud). CJI said that the disclosure of the report in the public domain would jeopardise the investigation. NEW DELHI, 17 SEPTEMBER After being designated as the next Chief Minister of Delhi, senior AAP leader Atishi on Tuesday said she is sad that Arvind Kejriwal is resigning from the post, and added that the party and the AAP chief have given her a huge responsibility. In her remarks after being elected as the leader of AAP's legislative party, Atishi said she will work under the guidance of the party supremo and not let anyone hinder the works of the people of Delhi. "My leader has to leave this post, it is sad, please do not congratulate me, don't put garlands," she said. The AAP leader while addressing the media said, "False corruption allegations were leveled against Arvind ji. He chose the path of agni pariksha (trial by fire)." She added that the path chosen by the AAP chief is an example not just for the country, but the entire world. She further said that along with the people of the city she takes a pledge that until Kejriwal returns as CM, she will not let any alleged conspiracy of the saffron party succeed. She alleged that the BJP PARMOD KUMAR STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 SEPTEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States of America from 2123 September to take part in the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, being hosted by President Joe Biden on 21 September, it was officially announced on Tuesday. Following the request of the US side to host the Quad Summit this year, India has agreed to host the next summit in 2025. At the Quad Summit, the leaders will review the progress achieved by the Quad over the last one year and set the agenda for the year ahead to assist the countries of the IndoPacific region in meeting their development goals and aspirations, the Ministry of External Affairs said. KOLKATA, 17 SEPTEMBER The opposition had criticized the state government that the cycles would soon become inoperative. They were soon proved wrong. The cycles are supplied by Hero and Avon. More than 4,500 trucks from across the Manoj Kumar Verma, a 1998-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been named as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police. He replaces Vineet Kumar Goyal, who has been transferred to the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police as the Additional Director General (ADG). On Monday night, CM Mamata promised the junior doctors, protesting over the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital last month, that she will replace Goyal. Verma held the post of Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) and Jawed Shamim will now be occupying (SEE PAGE 3) that chair. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 SEPTEMBER TARUN GOSWAMI Amit Mitra had announced the scheme during his budget speech in 2015. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee distributed the cycles among the students of Class IX at Gopiballavpur, then under West Midnapore district and now in Jhargram. KOLKATA, 17 SEPTEMBER AAP designates Atishi as Kejriwal's successor country brought the cycles kept in boxes and the fitters later assembled them. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation oversee the distribution of the cycles among the students. The corporation has AAP leader and Delhi CM-designate Atishi stakes claim to form the new government before Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, at LG Secretariat in New Delhi on Tuesday. n ANI and LG want to stop Delhi's free electricity, good government schools, mohalla clinics, and free bus travel for women, and that the saffron party has governments in 22 states, but has not provided services like in Delhi's in any of the states governed by it. The senior AAP leader also said that this could only happen under AAP's leadership and Kejriwal's guidance, where a firsttime politician is made CM. According to the party, Kejriwal proposed her name as his successor in the AAP legislative party meeting, and all the legislators unanimously agreed to his proposal. SC flags glorification and grandstanding over bulldozer action, pauses demolitions across country The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that no demolition of property – residential and commercial - should occur anywhere in the country without prior permission of the court till October 1, while making clear that this direction would not apply to the unauthorised constructions on public roads, footpaths, and similar areas. A bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan ordered a halt to the practice of bulldozer justice till October 1 – the next date of hearing - while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the practice of bulldozing properties of the people allegedly involved in a criminal case. However, the court said that if unauthorised constructions, whether temples, mosques, or other religious structures, exist on public roads, footpaths, or nearby railway lines, the stay on dem- Sabooj Sathi cycles for Class IX girls shortly The state government will start distributing bicycles to the students of state-run, sponsored schools and madrasas, who are now studying in Class IX shortly, under the Sabooj Sathi scheme. The administrative work to distribute cycles in the 10th phase will start shortly and once the process is completed, the cycles will be distributed among the students. The state government has so far spent more than Rs 4,000 crore for its flagship project that has benefitted 1.27 crore students. The cycles are given free-of-cost to the students of classes IX, X, XI and XII. The state government introduced the scheme in 2015. The then state finance minister Manoj Verma becomes new Kolkata Police chief Paving the Path to Viksit Bharat CB 22201/13/0014/2425 BC Government of India names of each and every student, who received the cycles along with the date as to when they had received it. The names of their parents or guardians, the names of the schools they are studying in and the make of the cycles. Each cycle contains a logo of Sabooj Sathi which has been sketched by Mamata Banerjee. The Sabooj Sathi scheme has received global recognition. The scheme has very successfully brought down the rate of dropouts and stopped early marriage of girls. The cycles are being used by all the members of the family. To maintain the cycles, SC and ST Development Corporation has given training to SC and ST youths and given them tools to maintain them. This will help them earn their livelihood. olitions will not apply. The bench also said that it would, first, lay down guidelines, similar to those that the top court had laid down in 1997 in the Vishaka case, before considering individual cases. In 1997 the top court had laid down guidelines for protecting women from sexual harassment at the workplace. These guidelines came to be known as Vishaka guidelines. The guidelines were based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). These guidelines, 16 years later, were superseded by the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Supreme Court was moved by several petitioners against the bulldozing of houses belonging to individuals allegedly accused in various cases. Appearing for one of the petitioners, senior advocate C.U. Singh told the court that the demolitions were taking place daily. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, countered this by citing an example from Madhya Pradesh, where many shops belonging to Hindus were demolished by legal procedures. In the last hearing of the matter on September 2, the top court had come down heavily on the bulldozer justice - demolishing the houses of the accused persons – and had said that the properties of the accused can't be demolished even if he is convicted. Questioning the practice of demolishing the houses of the accused persons using bulldozers, which has come to be described as ‘bulldozer justice’, the court had said that they would frame guidelines that would be applicable across the country and asked the parties to the case give their suggestions. The top court was hearing a batch of petitions questioning the illegal demolition of residential and commercial properties using bulldozers. Wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria kills at least eight, including members of Hezbollah AGENCIES BEIRUT, 17 SEPTEMBER Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack that wounded more than 2,700 people at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border. The Israeli military declined to comment. A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others. Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded — 200 of them critically. Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said that the country’s ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was superficially wounded by an exploding pager and was being treated at a hospital. Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes. Lebanon’s Health Ministry called on all hospitals to be on alert to take in emergency patients and for people who own pagers to get away from them. It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.