EMPOWERING DREAMS 15 DECEMBER 2024 CLIMATE TRIGGERS OF 2024 INCESSANT RAIN RUINS OPENING DAY OF BRISBANE TEST www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 PAGE 16 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 PAGES 20 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR PM targets Cong in fiery tirade WEATHER Generally clear. Likely to be hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25°C and 14°C respectively. Modi was replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 14 DECEMBER RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 77% P Min. 53% TEMPERATURE Max: 25.5˚C SUN RISES 06:08 hrs MOON RISES 16:45 hrs Min: 14.8˚C SUN SETS 16:54 hrs MOON SETS 05:58 hrs Full Moon on 15 December THUMBNAILS Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in conversation with State Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil while enjoying a meal during 'Sarkar Gaon Ke Dwar' initiative in Kupvi area, in Shimla on Friday. n ANI Cine star Allu Arjun released from jail: Actor Allu Arjun was released in the early hours on Saturday from Chanchalguda jail after spending the night there even though he had secured interim bail from the Telangana High Court. He later denied that he had caused the stampede but refrained from making any further comments since the case was still sub judice. (Page 6) rime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday charged the Congress with misusing the provisions of the Constitution when it was in power, while asserting that his government has also amended the Constitution but only for the sake of the country's unity. “Misusing the Constitution and destroying its spirit has been a part of the Congress DNA. For us, the Constitution, its purity, and its integrity are of the greatest importance,” Mr Modi said during his nearly two hours marathon reply to a twoday special debate on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India. “We have also made constitutional amendments... but for the unity of the country, for the integrity of the country, for the bright future of the country and with full dedication to the spirit of the Constitution,” Mr Modi asserted. He said that when the NDA got a chance to form the government in 2014, democracy and the Constitution got strengthened. Mr Modi also placed 11 resolutions before the House which included that "the Constitution should be Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Constitution in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament in New Delhi on Saturday. n ANI respected, the Constitution should not be made a weapon for political selfishness, Keeping in mind the spirit of the Constitution, those who are getting reservation should not (have them) snatched away and every attempt at reservation on the basis of religion should be stopped, India should become an example for the world in women-led development." Other key resolutions placed by the PM also included that the country's politics should be freed from nepotism, there should be freedom from the mentality of slavery, there should be pride in the heritage of the country and there should be zero tolerance towards corruption and no social acceptance of the corrupt. Attacking the Congress, Mr Modi said: “One family of Congress left no stone unturned in hurling a blow to the Constitution." “When the country was witnessing 25 years of Constitution, at the same time the Constitution in our country was razed. Emergency was imposed, democratic systems were finished, the country was turned into a prison, citizens' rights were looted, and press freedom was curtailed,” he said. “This sin on the forehead of Congress can never be Kerala protests against Centre’s demand to pay for Wayanad airlifting costs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 14 DECEMBER The Kerala government has strongly protested the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) renewed demand that Kerala recompense the outstanding Rs.132 crore airway bill incurred by the Ministry of Defense during disaster-related humanitarian operations since 2019, including during the Wayanad landslide. In a letter to the Kerala Chief Secretary, a joint secretary in the rank of Air Vice Marshal in the Ministry of Defence’s Department of Military Affairs had raised the demand for settlement of outstanding airlift charges since 2019. Speaking to media persons in Thrissur, Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan took strong exception to the communique that stipulated that Kerala urgently remit the operational costs sustained by the IAF for search, rescue and relief oper- ations during natural disasters, calling it the latest example of the Centre’s discrimination towards Kerala. MPs from Kerala, including Priyanka Gandhi, also staged a demonstration outside Parliament on Saturday over the issue, raising the slogan: “Kerala is a part of India”. South Korean National Assembly votes to impeach President Yoon AGENCIES SEOUL, 14 DECEMBER The South Korea's National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law. Mr Yoon will be suspended from his duties as soon as the impeachment resolution is delivered to his office, while Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president, reports Yonhap news agency. An impeachment motion against Mr Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, with all 300 lawmakers casting their ballots. Mr Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) decided shortly before the proceeding to take part in the vote but opposed impeachment. The result showed 12 PPP lawmakers broke from their party line to vote in favour of impeachment. A two-thirds majority was required to approve the motion, with the opposition bloc accounting for 192 of the 300 members of Parliament. The first attempt to impeach Mr Yoon last Saturday failed after nearly all PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote. (More on Page 10) erased," he said, referring to the Emergency imposed in June 1975 by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. Hitting out at the Congress’ frequent ‘jumla’ jibes at the BJP, Mr Modi said the biggest jumla in India was ‘Garibi Hatao’. “Congress is very fond of one word. I want to use that word today. Their favourite word, without which they cannot live, is 'jumla'... The country knows that if there was any biggest jumla in India and it was used by four generations, that jumla was ‘Garibi Hatao’. This was such a jumla which helped them in their politics but did not improve the condition of the poor," he said. He said his government has made sincere efforts to bring the poor out of poverty. Mr Modi went on to say: “Congress tasted the blood of amending the Constitution, it started hunting for the Constitution from time to time... It kept bloodying the spirit of the Constitution. In almost six decades, the Constitution was amended 75 times. The poison that was sowed by the first PM of the country was nurtured by another Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Congress has constantly disrespected the Constitution, and reduced the importance of the Constitution.” Two Bills related to ‘One Nation, One Election’ listed for introduction in LS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Cong’s Rahul Gandhi draws ‘Constitution vs Manusmriti’ parallel in Parliament STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 DECEMBER Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday took potshots at the BJP and its “supreme leader” Savarkar as completely critical of the Constitution. He said Savarkar had said that there was "nothing Indian about our Constitution." The LoP cornered the BJP and said that when it talks about protecting the Constitution of the country, it is "ridiculing Savarkar." “The worst thing about the Constitution of India is that there is nothing Indian about it. Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worshippable after Vedas for our Hindu nation and from which our ancient times have become the basis for our culture, customs, thought and practice. This book, for centuries, has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Today, Manusmiriti is law. These are the words of Savarkar,” he said. “I want to ask you (ruling side), do you stand by your leader's words? Do you support your leader's words? Because when you speak in Parliament about protecting the Constitution, you are ridiculing Savarkar, you are abusing Savarkar, you are defaming Savarkar,” he added. The Rae Bareli MP said when one looks at the Constitution and we open the Constitution we hear the voices and ideas of Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr Gandhi also cited the story of Eklavya and said that just like Dronacharya took Eklavya’s thumb, the saffron party has taken the thumbs of farmers, the backward classes and the youth of the country. NEW DELHI, 14 DECEMBER Four days after getting a nod from the Union Cabinet, two Bills related to "One Nation, One Election" are listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha on 16 December. As per the list of business, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The first amendment Bill relates to simultaneous elections of Lok Sabha and State assemblies; the other Bill seeks to align elections for assemblies in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is intended to appropriately amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. On 12 December, the 'One Nation One Election' Bills were approved by the Union Cabinet, paving the way for their introduction in Parliament.