22 SEPTEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com A FASHION PARADE PAGE 18 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 WINDOW TO THE WORLD GILL ON HIGH AFTER TON AGAINST BANGLADESH PAGE 15 PAGE 14 PAGE 4 PAGE 12 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 PAGES 18 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘Quad working for peace in Indo-Pacific’ PM to attend Quad summit, to hold bilateral talks with US President Biden STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 SEPTEMBER P rime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United States on Saturday on a threeday visit, saying he looks forward to participating in the Quad Summit being hosted by President Joe Biden in his hometown Wilmington and addressing 'The Summit of the Future' at the UN General Assembly in New York. “PM@narendramodi arrives in the historic city of Philadelphia. An action-packed day with engagements in bilateral and Quad formats in Wilmington, Delaware lies ahead,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on social media platform X. In a statement before his departure, Mr Modi said he is keen to join “my colleagues” President Biden, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan for the Quad Summit. The forum, he noted, has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The PM said his meeting with President Biden will allow the two leaders to review and identify new pathways to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for the benefit of their people and the global good. “I am eagerly looking forward to engaging with the Indian diaspora and important American business leaders, who are the key stakeholders and provide vibrancy to the unique partnership between the largest and the oldest democracies of the world,” he said. Mr Modi said 'The Summit of the Future' is an opportunity for the global community to chart the road ahead for the betterment of humanity. “I will share views of one-sixth of humanity as their stakes in a peaceful and secure future are among the highest in the world,'' he added. The four-nation Quad Summit will take place late tonight. On the margins of the summit, Mr Modi will hold bilateral meetings with President Biden and the PMs of Australia and Japan. Mr Modi will hold wideranging talks with President Biden on bilateral issues as well as global developments, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the meet- ing between the two leaders gives the PM an opportunity to thank President Biden for his pioneering role in strengthening the India-US relationship and for several new initiatives such as the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies. This is likely to be Mr Modi’s final official meeting with Mr Biden, who has announced that he won't be running for re-election. Agreements related to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the India-US Drug Framework will also be exchanged between the two countries during Mr Modi’s visit. Asked if a meeting between the Prime Minister and former US President Donald Trump was also scheduled, Mr Misri said: “There are many meetings which we are trying to fix. Right now, I will not be able to tell you about any specific meeting.” Mr Trump, who is in the running for the US presidency as the Republican Party candidate, had earlier announced that he would be meeting Mr Modi during the latter’s visit to America. Atishi takes oath as Delhi’s 3rd woman CM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 SEPTEMBER Senior AAP leader Atishi on Saturday took oath as the new Chief Minister of Delhi, in a ceremony held at the Raj Niwas here. Other than the CM, five Cabinet ministers were also sworn in alongside her, as Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena administered their oath. The members of the Cabinet include familiar faces, such as Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, and Imran Hussain, while Mukesh Ahlawat is a new entrant. The oath-taking ceremony was a relatively low-key affair, given the circumstances of outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal's resignation, who had announced his decision to step down, stating he would return to the post only after receiving a "certificate of honesty" from the people of Delhi in the upcoming assembly polls due early next year. He had proposed Atishi's name and the same was approved by AAP legislators in its party meeting, where she was chosen as the leader. Minister of State, Corporate Affairs and Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi Harsh Malhotra, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, AAP leader Manish Sisodia, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The third woman CM of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj and SheilaDikshit,Atishi'sleadership will be keenly watched. She has previously handled over 10 portfolios in the Kejriwal government, including Education, Higher Education, and Public Works Department. She had earlier said that she was not happy as her leader, Mr Kejriwal, had to resign from the post, and had Junior docs return to work after 42-day strike over RG Kar incident STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 21 SEPTEMBER Junior doctors on Saturday partially resumed work in 26 government medical colleges and hospitals after a prolonged 42-day cease-work strike demanding justice in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of a 31 year-old woman post graduate trainee (PGT) doctor inside her workplace at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August. Amid outrage and massive protests over the incident, the junior doctors had been refraining from work in these teaching hospitals, while raising a five-point charter of demands. These demands include justice for the incident with arrests of all culprits involved in the case, the removal of Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal, as well as the principal secretary in charge of the health department Narayan Swaroop Nigam, director of medical education (DME) Prof Kaustav Nayak and director of health services (DHS) Dr Debashis Halder, ensuring safety and security inside college premises and formation of a task force in every teaching hospital. A breakthrough came after asked people not to congratulate her. She had also said that she would not let anyone hamper the works of Delhi, and also work towards getting Arvind Kejriwal back as CM. It was last week that Mr Kejriwal had said he would resign from the post of CM and undergo trial by fire (agni pariksha), to get the certificate of honesty from the public after allegations of corruption were levelled against him in the Delhi excise policy. Mr Kejriwal had made this announcement after being released on bail in the Delhi excise policy case and has said that now he would go before the people and only become CM when people vote him to power. Atishi becomes the second serving woman chief minister in the country at present, alongside Bengal's Mamata Banerjee. She is also the 17th woman chief minister of a state in Independent India. Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh is next IAF chief STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 SEPTEMBER their meeting earlier this week with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, where most of their demands were accepted, though the government has refused to remove the principal secretary. Today, a day after ending their sit-in protest in front of Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters, the junior doctors, includings PGTs, house staff and interns in state-run medical colleges joined work in the emergency departments but not in the OPDs (Out-Patient Departments). “We have started rejoining duties today. Our colleagues have started returning to their respective departments since this morning only in essential and emergency services, but not in the OPDs. Please do not forget that this is only a partial resumption of duties," Aniket Mahato, one of the agitating doctors, said. He said some of his colleagues have already left for flood-hit districts of the state where they would start ‘Abhaya clinics’ (medical camps), to demonstrate their commitment to public health even amid ongoing protests. The agitating doctors said that they would wait another seven days for the administration to fulfil their demands for justice for the deceased doctor and the removal of the state health secretary. Thereafter they would start another round of cease-work strike. Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff, has been appointed as the next Chief of the Air Staff. His appointment will take effect from 30 September when the present Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, demits office, an official announcement said. Born on 27 October 1964, Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984. A Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience on a variety of aircraft, during his long and distinguished career, he has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre and was tasked with flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas.