WEDNESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR DID CONG SINK MVA IN MAHARASHTRA? P13 SENSEX 80,004.06q105.79 WEATHER Partly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28°C and 18°C respectively. Min: 18.2˚C SUN SETS 16:51 hrs MOON SETS 14:11 hrs TEMPERATURE NIFTY 24,194.50q27.40 ` vs $ 84.32 P16 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.67p0.66 SILVER 98,000 GOLD 78,025.00 Mamata urges people to uphold the Constitution P New Moon on 01 December THUMBNAILS A view of barely visible buildings amid the smog as air quality continues to deteriorate in Mumbai on Tuesday. n ANI Bypolls to 6 Rajya Sabha seats on 20 December: By-elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana will be held on 20 December, the Election Commission of India has announced. The bypolls were necessitated following the resignation of Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi, Beedha Masthan Rao Yadav, Ryaga Krishnaiah, Sujeet Kumar, Jawahar Sircar and Krishan Lal Panwar as members of the Upper House of Parliament. resident Droupadi Murmu Tuesday urged all citizens to inculcate the Constitutional ideals in their conduct; follow the Fundamental Duties and move forward with dedication towards the national goal of building a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2047. President Murmu, VicePresident Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in celebrating the 'Samvidhan Diwas' to commemorate 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution of India with the aim to honour the contributions of the Constitution’s makers while reiterating the core values enshrined in it. President Murmu released a commemorative coin and stamp dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. She also released two books ~ in Sanskrit and Maithili ~ related to the Constitution. Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the ‘Hamara Samvidhan, STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER Hamara Swabhiman’ ceremony held at the Central Hall of the old Parliament building, the President said that in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better. President Murmu said that the ideals of India’s freedom struggle came to be enshrined in the Constitution, and have been captured succinctly in the Preamble. The ideals of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity have defined India since the ages and together, they create an environment in which every citizen finds an opportunity to flourish, and contribute Shinde to head caretaker govt till Mahayuti Cabinet sworn in BOBBY ANTHONY MUMBAI, 26 NOVEMBER Shortly after Eknath Shinde tendered his resignation as Maharashtra Chief Minister to Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday, 11 a.m, he was asked by the Governor to head a caretaker government, until a Mahayuti cabinet is sworn in. The swearing-in date of the BJP-dominated Mahayuti government has not been decided, but the word is that it could be Wednesday or even scheduled for 1 or 2 December. Earlier today, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis reached the Governor's office to tender their resignations as well. However, despite Mr Fadnavis being widely acknowledged to be the frontrunner for the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister, the Mahayuti is yet to officially decide on its chief minister Mr Shinde's and the Shiv P5 President urges citizens to imbibe Constitutional ideals STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER Min. 56% Max: 28.1˚C SUN RISES 05:57 hrs MOON RISES 02:23 hrs P8 AUSTRALIA TO RETAIN SAME TEAM FOR ADELAIDE TEST The President also released commemorative coin, stamp to mark Constitution Day RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 73% ‘CONSTITUTION HELPED IN TRANSFORMATION OF INDIA’ YOGI’S REVIVAL Sena's insistence that a "Bihar model" of power sharing must be implemented in Maharashtra is said to be the main reason behind the delay in the Mahayuti announcing its CM. As per the "Bihar model", Nitish Kumar became CM despite other alliance partners like the BJP winning more seats than his Janata Dal (United). Adopting the same model in Maharashtra would mean ceding the CM's post to Eknath Shinde. The BJP leadership is also keen to get the caste arithmetic right, since Eknath Shinde who hails from western Maharashtra's Satara district, belongs to the politically dominant Maratha community which constitutes a good 28 per cent of the state's population. Mr Shinde had provided ten per cent reservation to the Maratha community under the economically and socially backward category and hence Maratha caste sentiments would have to be taken into account, especially since the Mahayuti wishes to win the soon-to-be-held local body polls in Maharashtra. Moreover, there is a demand from the Maratha community that the state's CM should be a Maratha. There is also the "Marathi asmita" or Marathi pride factor which the BJP is keen to accommodate, especially since it wants to ensure that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena never gets any opportunity to claim that "Marathi asmita" was insulted by the Mahayuti. to society, she said. Prime Minister Modi, speaking at another event commemorating Constitution Day at the Supreme Court, said the Constitution has lived up to the expectations and needs of the country and is a guiding light for people. “It's due to the power of the Constitution that, today, the Constitution of Baba Saheb has been implemented completely in Jammu and Kashmir. For the first time, the Constitution Day was celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir today, India is going through a huge phase of transformation, and the Constitution of India is showing us the path. It has become a guiding light for us,” Mr Modi said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the people of India are united, secular, and together. She urged them to adhere to the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. “On this day 75 years ago, we adopted the Indian Constitution. Unity in diversity is our cardinal principle. We should uphold togetherness, unity, and secularism as propounded by the Indian Constitution," she said before offering puja at the Boro Ma temple in Naihati.Miss Banerjee offered puja at the temple and prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the people. “It is the people for whom I pray,” she said. She announced the establishment of two outpatient departments in Naihati and Bhatpara at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore.“Local MP Partha Bhowmick will allocate the funds from the MP LAD fund. This will benefit the people of the area,” she said. She highlighted the positive impact of providing free treatment in staterun healthcare establishments, fair-price medicine shops, and the Swasthya Sathi card. She also mentioned the free treatment for kidney and heart ailments in government hospitals. The state government, Miss Banerjee said, has implemented 57 propeople schemes. India concerned over arrest of ISKCON leader in B’desh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER India on Tuesday expressed “deep concern” over the arrest of ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh, and renewed its appeal to the interim government there to ensure the safety and security of all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. “We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and business establishments, as well as theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples,”theMinistryofExternal Affairs said in a statement. It said it is unfortunate that while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings. (See Pgs 3,11) Cong to hold CWC meet on 29 Nov STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER Days after it suffered a major setback in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Congress has called a meeting of its Working Committee, its highest decisionmaking body, on 29 November in the national capital. The Congress and its allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a drubbing at the hands of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, which came on top of the party’s defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, held in October. In the meeting, which would be attended by the top leaders of the Congress, it is likely that they would deliberate on the recent polls outcome, current political situation and on its electoral strategy ahead of upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi and Bihar. ‘When you win, EVMs are not tampered’: SC rejects plea seeking ballot paper voting Air India urination case: Modify the guidelines for unruly air passengers, SC tells authorities STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER NEW DELHI, 26 NOVEMBER The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest plea (PIL) seeking the reintroduction of the paper ballot voting system in elections in India instead of prevailing voting through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Dismissing the plea casting doubts on the integrity of the EVMs, a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale said what happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. The PIL, seeking a return to physical ballot papers, was filed by evangelist Dr. K A Paul. He said even leaders like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned EVM tampering. The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the aviation authorities to consider modifying the existing guidelines to conform with the international norms to deal with unruly air passengers, saying that something creative will have to be done. A bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan asked the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was appearing for the Central government, to instruct the authorities to examine and suitably modify the guidelines on unruly passengers in line with international norms. The top court’s suggestion came in the course of the hearing of a plea by a woman passenger, who was urinated upon in a New York-Delhi Air India flight on 26 Novem- He said EVMs could be tampered with and suggested that India should follow the practices of countries like the United States which use paper ballots instead of EVMs. “When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they say that EVMs are tampered and when they won, they don't say anything. How can we see this? We are dismissing this. This is not the place where you argue all of this,” said the bench, dismissing the PIL. ber 2022 by an allegedly inebriated passenger, seeking direction to DGCA and all airlines to frame mandatory SoP and zero tolerance rules to deal with unruly passengers and on-board sufferers. The petitioner Hema Rajaraman has sought direction to the DGCA to include in the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) an explicit zerotolerance policy with respect to "unruly/disruptive behaviour", which would mandate reporting such incidents to aviation regulator and also to law enforcement agencies, failing which action would be taken against the airlines in all cases. SU DAY UNDAY JANUARY 9, JA UARY 19, 2025 KOLKATA KO ATA