WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Mostly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28°C and 17°C respectively. Simultaneous polls: Bills to be sent to JPC Oppn says Bills target basic structure of Constitution, federal structure RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max. 74% Min. 55% NEW DELHI, 17 DECEMBER Min: 17.3˚C SUN SETS 16:56 hrs MOON SETS 08:51 hrs mid an Opposition uproar, the Union government on Tuesday introduced two Bills related to “One Nation, One Election” in the Lok Sabha after a division of votes and they were sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed discussions. The Constitution (One Hundred and TwentyNinth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha after members voted on it. The first Bill aims to amend the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and the second seeks to align the elections for Assemblies in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry. However, the Bills TEMPERATURE Max: 28.2˚C SUN RISES 06:10 hrs MOON RISES 19:53 hrs A New Moon on 31 December THUMBNAILS Commuters wear face masks as air quality deteriorates due to smog in New Delhi. n ANI Earthquake of magnitude 7.3 jolts Vanuatu Islands: A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.3 jolted Vanuatu Islands in the early hours of Tuesday, the National Centre of Seismology (NCS) reported. The earthquake occurred at 7:17 AM Indian Standard Time (IST), the NCS noted. The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 10 km at Latitude 17.68 S and Longitude 168.03 E. evoked sharp criticism from the Opposition, who say that not only do they target the basic structure of the Constitution but also pose a threat to the country's federal structure and aim to centralise power. The Opposition had sought a division of votes over the introduction of the bills. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the result of the vote on the introduction of the Bills. The vote showed 269 members in favour (Ayes) and 196 against (Noes). This followed Mr Meghwal's formal introduction of the Constitution (129th Amend- ment) Bill, 2024, on ‘One Nation, One Election’ and his agreement to send the bill to a JPC in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Mr Shah said: “When the One Nation, One Election Bill was taken up in the Cabinet for approval, PM Modi had said that it should be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion. If the Law Minister is willing to send the bill to JPC, the discussion on its introduction can end.” Mr Meghwal also introduced a Bill to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the BJP will not allow reservations on the basis of religion: Shah STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 17 DECEMBER Union Home Minister on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress over its stand on reservations on Tuesday night, alleging that the grand old party does not want the welfare of OBCs but they want to give quota to Muslims by increasing the limit by 50 per cent. Mr Shah asserted that the BJP will not allow reservation in the country on the basis of religion. “I want to tell the people of the country that reservation on the basis of religion exists in two states of the country... which is unconstitutional. It has been made clear in the Constitution that there will be no reservation on the basis of religion. But when Congress was in power in both the states, reservation was given on the basis of religion," Mr Shah said during his marathon reply to a twoday special debate on the 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India in the Rajya Sabha. “They (Congress) do not ‘National Testing Agency restructuring begins; it will conduct only entrance exams’ AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 17 DECEMBER The National Testing Agency (NTA) will exclusively conduct entrance exams for higher education institutions from 2025 and not recruitment exams, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced, emphasising the government's shift towards computer-adaptive, technology-driven "zero-error" examinations. Addressing reporters at his residence, Mr Pradhan announced the restructuring of NTA to enhance efficiency and credibility of its operations. “We have started the process of restructuring the NTA by creating new posts and appointing new officers. This will bring fresh energy into the organisation,” he said. The restructuring is based on recommendations from a high-level committee chaired by former ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan. The committee, constituted in June following a NEET-undergraduate exam paper leak, submitted its report to the Ministry of Education on 21 October. The committee, which was constituted on 22 June 2024, held around 30 meetings and proposed 101 recommendations to ensure the "smooth and fair" conduct of exams. Key recommendations include focussing the NTA solely on entrance exams for higher education. “The NTA will no longer conduct recruitment exams; these will now be handled by respective state, district, and central departments,” Mr Pradhan stated. He added: “We are working towards technology-driven entrance exams that ensure zero error and minimize irregularities.” The 165-page report accessed by ANI gives detailed recommendations on the operation of NTA, conduct of examinations and Standard Operating Procedures to be followed during the examinations. want any welfare of OBCs, they want to give reservation to Muslims by increasing the limit by 50 per cent... But today I once again say with responsibility in this House that as long as there is even a single BJP MP, we will not allow reservation on the basis of religion,” Mr Shah said. Speaking on constitutional amendments, Mr Shah said: “In our Constitution, the Constitution has never been considered immutable... Article 368 has a provision to amend the Constitution... The 54year-old leader who calls himself 'yuva', keeps roaming around with the Constitution claiming that we would change the Constitution. I want to say that the provision to amend the Constitution is within the Constitution... BJP has ruled for 16 years and we made 22 changes to the Constitution... Congress ruled for 55 years and made 77 changes," Mr Shah said. He attacked Congress over some amendments made when Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were Prime Ministers, charging that these curtailed the freedom of speech and other fundamental rights, all of which were done to safeguard one family’s interest and serve their personal agendas. The amendments brought about by the BJP government on the other hand, were all brought for people’s welfare, Mr Shah said. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, as per the day's schedule. These amendments aim to align Assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry with the proposed simultaneous elections. Opposing the Bills, Congress MP Manish Tewari said: “Beyond the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution is the basic structure doctrine, which spells out that there are certain features of the Constitution beyond the amending power of the House. The essential features are federalism and the structure of our democracy. Therefore, the Bills moved by the Minister of Law and Justice are an absolute assault on the basic structure of the Constitution and are beyond the legislative competence of the House.” Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav accused the BJP of pushing the country toward centralised control. CM Mamata Banerjee launches Banglar Bari housing scheme STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 17 DECEMBER Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched the state government’s Banglar Bari (Rural) housing scheme, announcing the release of the first instalment of Rs 60,000 to 12 lakh eligible families. Miss Banerjee, speaking at an administrative meeting at Nabanna Sabhaghar, said the state government would provide 28 lakh families funds for building pucca houses under the Banglar Bari scheme. This would be done in two phases starting today and the process would be completed before 2026. The chief minister had earlier declared that the state would launch its independent housing programme without the Centre’s support, accusing the Narendra Modi government of withholding its share of the PM-Awas Yojana funds for West Bengal for the past three years. Addressing the meeting attended physically or virtually by senior state government officials, as well as the district magistrates of all districts Miss Banerjee said the state government would provide Rs 1.20 lakh each to 28 lakh families of the state in two installments of Rs 60,000. In the first phase, which got underway today, the government will provide Rs 60,000 to 12 lakh people from 21 districts under the Banglar Bari project. The remaining 16 lakh would receive the funds in two phases. Eight lakh families will get the first installment by May-June and the process would be completed by December 2025 with the remaining 8 lakh families getting their funds. The money would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. This would cost the state exchequer Rs 14,774 crore, Miss Banerjee said. Miss Banerjee criticised the Centre for withholding West Bengal's rightful share, pointing out that in addition to the PM-Awas Yojana, the central government has stalled funds for other schemes, including MGNREGA, OBC scholarships, and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the chief minister said, adding that these unpaid dues have accumulated to over 1.7 lakh crore rupees. “The state is also being deprived of the share of money accrued from the cess imposed in states by the Centre,” Miss Banerjee said. Nadda hails media for refusing to bow during Emergency STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE “There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about the term ‘Godi Media‘. However, people often forget the true dedication of the media. If you look at the editorials from Indian Express and The Statesman from 1975, you will find them completely blank during the Emergency.” NEW DELHI, 17 DECEMBER Union Home Minister and Leader of the Rajya Sabha J P Nada Tuesday accused the Congress of throwing the country into darkness when it imposed an Emergency in 1975, and hailed a section of the media, especially Indian Express and The Statesman, for refusing to bow to the diktats of the then Indira Gandhi regime. Charging the Congress with the imposition of censorship on the media during the Emergency, he said, “There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about the term ‘Godi Media’. However, people often forget the true dedication of the media. If you look at the editorials from Indian Express and The Statesman from 1975, you will find them completely blank during the Emergency. Raising the Jammu and Kashmir issue during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha, the Union minister pointed out that the Centre, led by the BJP, ended the ‘one nation - two Constitutions’ policy in the Union territory. “We ended the ‘one nation, two constitutions’ policy in J&K. The 106 laws passed by Parliament were not applicable there,” he stressed. Questioning the Congress on the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 under the Congress regime led by late prime minister Indira Gandhi, he asked what the need was for resorting to such a draconian move. “...Why was Emergency imposed? Was the country in danger? No, the country was not in danger. The chair was in danger. It was only about the chair. Due to this, the whole country was thrown into darkness...” he added.