FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | How technology became India’s social equaliser Delayed recognition Page 7 WORLD Birthright citizenship: US top court rules against Trump Page 6 BRIEFLY General Dhiraj Seth takes over as India’s 31st Chief of the Army Staff: Wednesday, 01 July 2026 Germany knocked out as Paraguay prevail 4-3 on penalties to reach last-16 Page 12 Page 9 TMC’s atrocities surpassed British oppression: Adhikari STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Bankura, 30 June C New Delhi: General Dhiraj Seth took over as India’s 31st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi, who retired from service on Tuesday. The change of command was marked with a ceremony at South Block Lawns in New Delhi, where General Upendra Dwivedi was given a special send-off. “General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, took over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, who superannuated after more than four decades of distinguished service to the nation on 30 June 2026,” the Ministry of Defence said. | SPORTS PERSPECTIVE EDITORIAL SILIGURI hief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday pledged comprehensive development and welfare for tribal communities, including food security, education, healthcare, and livelihood support, at the Hul festival in Mukutmonipur, the heart of Junglemahal. The festival commemorates the sacrifice of tribal rebels who rose against British oppression in 1855. Mr Adhikari inaugurated statues of Sidho Murmu and Kanho Murmu, martyrs of the Santal rebellion. Earlier, in 2020, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had unveiled a statue of Birsa Munda in Bankura. Tribal leaders honoured Mr Adhikari with a traditional Santali turban on the dais. Mr Adhikari, during his speech, made a scathing attack on the previous Mamata Banerjee government, alleging neglect of basic needs. “The degree of Trinamul Congress’s atrocities sometimes surpassed British oppression,” he said. He criticised the allocation of only Rs 6 crore for Junglemahal’s 75 blocks in 2025-26, contrasting it with his government’s current Rs 1,200 crore budget. He also issued a stern warning against those involved in distributing forged Scheduled Tribe certificates. “None will be spared ~ neither facilitators nor beneficiaries. Prosecution is certain,” he said, noting that tribal communities had suffered for nearly a decade due to fake certificates. Reiterating BJP’s commitment to tribal welfare, Mr Adhikari recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s recognition of the Olchiki script through the 92nd Constitutional Amendment in 2003, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government elevating Droupadi Murmu as India’s first tribal President. “The TMC dishonoured this achievement,” he alleged. Mr Adhikari pointed out that the BJP now has 17 tribal MLAs, despite only 16 reserved seats, and promised genuine welfare for communities long marginalised. The Chief Minister announced several new measures, including: 8Alternative food security schemes for Lodga, Birhore, and Sabar communities from August. 8An increase of Rs 500 to the Jai Johar pension, raising it to Rs 1,500 per month. 8 Monthly Rs 3,000 support under Annapurna Yojana for 1.2 crore women, including five lakh tribal women. 8Enhanced food allowance of Rs 3,300 for tribal students. 8Plans for a development corridor linking Jharkhand and Durgapur through Junglemahal. 8A state-of-the-art hospital in the region. Haldia naptha pipeline inferno leaves 20 injured: Midnapore: A predawn inferno along a naphtha pipeline at Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd tore through a residential pocket on the industrial town’s fringes on Tuesday, leaving more than 20 people injured. Investigators are probing whether an alleged fuel theft attempt triggered one of the region’s most serious industrial accidents in recent years. The fire broke out around 2.45 a.m. along a naphtha-carrying pipeline of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) in East Midnapore district before rapidly spreading to Chiranjibpur under Ward 13 of Haldia Municipality. Twelve fire tenders were rushed to the spot and battled the blaze for several hours. More than 20 people, including local residents and two HPL security personnel, sustained burn injuries. Five of them are reported to be in critical condition. PM Modi chairs high-level review with top bureaucrats STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 30 June Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting of secretaries from all Central ministries, with discussions centred on policy reforms, administrative efficiency, ease of doing business and the government’s long-term vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting, attended by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P K Mishra, Principal Secretary Shaktikanta Das, the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, and secretaries of key ministries and departments, marked one of the Prime Minister’s first full-secretarylevel interactions in the current financial year. According to sources, the meeting was aimed at aligning the country’s top bureaucracy with the government’s policy priorities for the second half of 2026 while reviewing progress on major governance initiatives and accelerating administrative execution. A key focus of the deliberations was improving the Ease of Doing Business by identifying administrative bottlenecks, reducing bureaucratic red tape, simplifying regulatory compliance and enhancing India’s economic competitiveness.