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 | SILIGURI | Monday, 28 September 2026 SPORTS PERSPECTIVE Committed to nation-building WORLD NATION Backlash forces Vijay govt to revoke RTI exemption Russia rejects German calls to ease ‘dangerous’ escalation Page 7 Page 4 Page 9 PM marks surgical strikes anniversary, urges zero tolerance for terrorism STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Over the past decade ~ from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor ~ India has repeatedly sent a clear message: if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response. New Delhi, 27 September P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation through the 138th edition of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, highlighting the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 2016 surgical strikes, India’s response to terrorism, the ongoing Census, and a range of initiatives involving environmental conservation, nutrition, rural livelihoods, sports and cultural heritage. As he noted that a decade has passed since the surgical strikes on 28-29 September 2016, Mr Modi described the military operation as a defining moment in India’s counter-terrorism response. “Ten years ago, on 28-29 September 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan,” Mr Modi said. “The surgical strike boldly demonstrated to the entire NARENDRA MODI PRIME MINISTER world a new example of India’s counter-terrorism policy,” he said, adding that the operation was a decisive response to the suffering caused by terrorist attacks. Referring to subsequent military operations, including the 2019 Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor, Mr Modi said India had repeatedly conveyed that terrorism would not go unanswered. “Over the past decade ~ from the Balakot airstrike to Operation Sindoor ~ India has repeatedly sent a clear message: if terrorists dare to cast an evil eye on India, they will be met with a befitting response,” he said. The PM said India had suffered for decades because of terrorist attacks, recalling the 13 September 2008, serial blasts in Delhi and the 26 November 2008, terror attacks in Mumbai. He said that in the past, demands for action against Pakistan following terror attacks often went unheeded, with authorities waiting for time to pass. “Today, India pursues a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and we are witnessing the results of that,” he said. Mr Modi also recalled the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, which completed 25 years this month. Expressing condolences to the families of those killed, he said Indians were among the largest groups of foreign victims of the attacks on the World Trade Centre. Mr Modi said that after becoming Prime Minister in 2014, he had visited New York to pay tribute to the victims. Turning to the Census, Mr Modi said the first phase of the exercise was nearing completion across states and Union Territories, with information relating to more than 32 crore families already recorded. He said census work was continuing in remote and snow-covered areas, including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. “The Census is a national responsibility for all of us,” Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister also paid tribute to former Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Ashok Singhal on his birth centenary, which falls on 27 September. Asian Games Day 8: Ancy, Sarvesh lead 7-medal haul as India reach 37 Page 12 CM Adhikari accuses TMC, Left of spreading misinformation on SIR after poll defeat STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 27 September West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, strongly defending the legality and authenticity of the SIR process, accused the Trinamul Congress and the Left Front of launching “false propaganda” out of frustration following their defeat in the Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference on Sunday the chief minister alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamul Congress was now politically aligned with the CPI-M. Alleging that Trinamul Congress has joined hands with the CPI-M, the party against which it was originally formed, the chief minister said: “The Opposition is deliberately creatingconfusionandcontroversy over a recent newspaper report.” Mr Adhikari recalled that Mamata Banerjee had formed the Trinamul Congress after breaking away from the Congress with the stated objective of ending 34 years of Left Front rule in West Bengal. He alleged that the CPI-M led government had been responsible for several atrocities including at Sainbari, Nandigram, Dhantala and Tiljala, besides the closure of thousands of factories in the state. “Trinamul was formed to end the atrocities and injustice of 34 years of CPI-M rule. The same CPI-M has now become their friend,” Mr Adhikari said, adding that the political understanding between the two sides reflected what he described as their “political bankruptcy”. Citing a recent Assembly vote on a university-related Bill, the chief minister claimed that Miss Banerjee’s Trinamul legislators and the lone CPI-M MLA had voted against the legislation. He said this was an indication of the two sides formally joining hands. Mr Adhikari also targeted the Congress over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the party had taken different positions in different states. He claimed that the Congress had no objection to the SIR process in Keralam because it had won the election there, while opposing it in West Bengal. Rejecting allegations against the SIR process in West Bengal, Mr Adhikari said the exercise hadbeenconductedinaccordance with the legal process. He recalled that Miss Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court over the issue and claimed that the court had subsequently entrusted judges with deciding cases involving discrepancies in electoral data.