SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘ED HAS BECOME A WEAPON OF GOVERNMENT’ ‘BENGAL SAFER FOR WOMEN’ P7 SENSEX 72,831.94190.75 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 34 °C and 28 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97 % TEMPERATURE Max: 28.8°C (-6) SUN RISES 05:39 hrs MOON RISES 15:28 hrs P5 NIFTY 22,096.7584.80 Min: 20.0°C (-4) SUN SETS 17:48 hrs MOON SETS 04:2 hrs Full Moon on 25 March THUMBNAILS Chennai Super Kings' skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru's skipper Faf du Plessis exchanged greetings at the toss ahead of their match in the IPL 2024, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Friday. ANI ISRO nails ‘Pushpak‘ Reusable Landing Vehicle landing experiment: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the Pushpak Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV) LEX 02 landing experiment at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga in Karnataka on Friday. The RLV LEX 02 landing experiment is the second of the series of experiments conducted by the space agency. The test was conducted at 7.10 am today, according to a statement by ISRO. ` vs $ 83.4835 PAISA GOLD 66,930490 P12 SILVER 76,5002,000 Court sends Kejriwal to ED custody till 28 March STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH Delhi court on Friday remanded AAP convener and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the custody of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) till 28 March. The ED had produced the AAP leader before a Delhi court during the day and sought 10 days of his remand. Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Vikram Chaudhari, and Ramesh Gupta appeared for the AAP chief and Delhi CM Kejriwal. The Delhi CM was arrested on Thursday night in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, after being quizzed by the federal probe agency for about two hours at his residence. Mr Kejriwal was later taken to the ED headquarters on Thursday night. During the submissions, the agency alleged that the Delhi CM is the key conspirator and kingpin in demanding kickbacks from businessmen, and also claimed that he was also involved directly in the formation of the liquor policy. Abhishek Manu BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 85.430.93 Attack on democracy: Mamata slams arrest of Delhi CM Kejriwal Paying for his deeds, says Anna Hazare A STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH Enforcement Directorate officials produce Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal before Rouse Avenue court following his arrest in the alleged Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, in New Delhi on Friday. ANI Singhvi, who is appearing for Mr Kejriwal, opposed the remand plea by the ED and submitted that the probe agency needs to show the necessity to arrest. He also said that this is the first time a sitting CM is arrested. Mr Kejriwal, while he was brought to the Rouse Avenue court, told media persons that his life is dedicated to the nation whether he is inside jail or outside jail. Meanwhile, AAP leaders, party workers and supporters staged protests in the city at the ITO, but were detained and stopped from moving towards the No BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha Lok Sabha, Assembly elections STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 22 MARCH almost a month, as several rounds of talks to try and work out ‘seat sharing’ and ‘power sharing’ continued among a few top leaders of the two sides. The state unit of the BJP was vehemently opposed to an electoral tie-up with the BJD. A handful of leaders at the central level were exploring the possibility as per their ‘the Nation First’ priority . BJD leader V Kartik Pandian had reportedly held talks with central BJP leaders. The BJD organisation secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das had also accompanied him in one of the many trips to Delhi. Though nobody is sure as to why the talks failed, two things ~ numbers ( sharing of seats) and power sharing (ministerial quota) ~ were the bone of contention. At one stage it was hoped that given the excellent relationship between the PM and the CM, the two would take the final call. But even that possibility has ended. Responding promptly, the BJD organising secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das today declared that the party will contest all 147 Assembly and 21 LS seats and win more than three fourth majority under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik. Empowered Odisha will be our goal and we are on track to achieve this, he said. BJP office. AAP ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and others were detained by the police from near the ITO.Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai has said that representatives of the INDIA bloc met the Election Commission and have requested for an action on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. He also informed in a Press conference that the AAP will be staging a protest march towards the Prime Minister’s residence on 26 March, and on Saturday all the AAP MLAs, ministers and leaders will gather at the Shaheedi Park at ITO STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH erness and our trust are unbreakable,” he said. Bhutan and India are part of a shared heritage, he said. India is the land of Buddha, a place where he got enlightenment; Bhutan assimilated His teachings and nurtured them. “Bhutan displays an amazing coordination between materialism and spirituality; and its capacity to balance happiness, prosperity and traditions can be an example before the world,” he said. The Prime Minister said when the world is fighting the challenge of climate change, Bhutan’s carbon-neutral progress will show a way to the world. He said aspirations of the Indian and Bhutan youth are similar; India wants to be developed by 2047 and Bhutan wants to be a high income country by 2034. India will stand by Bhutan in this, he said. In the next five years, “our relations will reach new heights and India will work on new possibilities in connectivity, infrastructure, trade and energy sectors for Bhutan.” The Prime Minister said India will support Bhutan’s 13th five-year Plan, and in the next Anna Hazare said on Friday that he was ''deeply pained'' by the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, “who is now paying for his deeds”. The social activist, who once spearheaded a campaign against corruption along with Kejriwal, nevertheless added that he was pained by the development. Interacting with the media at his native village Ralegan-Siddhi in Maharashtra this morning, the one-time mentor of Mr Kejriwal said: “I remember he was working with me and we both had raised our voices against liquor… But now, he’s trying to accord legal sanction to liquor.'' The 86-year-old selfavowed Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader expressed his deep anguish saying nothing can be done (at this juncture) as his one-time protege has been arrested for his own deeds. “If he had not done such things (adoption of the new liquor policy in Delhi), this (arrest) would not have happened. Now, the law will take its course," he said. and take a pledge to save the country. The party has suspended Holi celebrations, he added. Breaking her silence on Mr Kejriwal's arrest, his wife Sunita Kejriwal on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged it was arrogance of being in power. (More on Page 5) STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 22 MARCH Trinamul Congress chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), terming it a blatant attack on democracy. She also spoke to Mrs Sunita Kejriwal and assured unwavering solidarity. In a message on microblogging site X, Miss Banerjee also said Trinamul representatives will join INDIA bloc partners in meeting the Election Commission to express strong objections to the government targeting the Opposition leaders particularly during the Model Code of Conduct period. Miss Banerjee wrote on her X handle: “I vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the sitting elected Chief Minister of Delhi, elected by the people. I have personally reached out to Smt Sunita Kejriwal to extend my unwavering support and solidarity. It’s outrageous that while elected Opposition CMs are being deliberately targeted and arrested while individuals accused under ED/CBI investigations are allowed to continue their malpractices with impunity, especially after aligning with the BJP This is . blatant attack of democracy. “Today, our INDIA alliance will meet the EC to express our strong objection to the deliberate targeting and arrests of opposition leaders, particularly during the MCC period.” “To this end, I have designated @derekobrienmp and @Mdnadimulhaqe to represent @AITC in this crucial meeting with the Election Commission.” India stands out amid sluggish global growth: Finance Ministry STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH With the uptick in private investment and inflation trending down, the Finance Ministry on Friday said that India's outlook for the next fiscal looks positive. The country’s strong economic performance, borne out by recent data releases, stands out amid sluggish global growth, it said. It highlighted that there are headwinds like indications of hardening crude oil prices and global supply chain bottlenecks to trade. Nonetheless, India, on the whole, looks forward to a bright outlook for FY25. In its Monthly Economic Review, the ministry also said that the inclusion of Indian bonds in the Bloomberg bond index from January 2025 should bolster inflows. Building on the momentum from the previous two quarters, India's economic growth surged to a six-quarter high in the third quarter of Bhutan King confers highest civilian honour on PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday became the first foreign Head of Government to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian honour, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, conferred upon him by King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in person. Since its institution, the award has been conferred upon only four eminent personalities and Mr Modi is the first foreign Head of Government to receive it. He was presented the award in a public ceremony at theTendrelthang, Thimphu. Receiving the award, the Prime Minister said: “This is not my personal achievement. The award honours India and 140 crore Indians, and I thank the government and people of Bhutan for this.” “The 140 crore Indians know that people of Bhutan are members of their family; and the Bhutanese also know that India is part of their family. Our relations, friendship, togeth- P4 Enforcement Directorate alleges Delhi chief minister is the 'liquor scam kingpin' Min. 59 % Putting an end to the monthlong speculation and negotiations on an alliance with the BJD, the BJP state president Manmohan Samal on Friday announced that the party will go it alone and contest all the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in the state. The BJD had left a Rajya Sabha seat for the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently and this had sparked the talk of an alliance between the two parties. Subsequently, PM Narendra Modi visited Odisha twice and refrained to utter a word against the BJD government. He addressed the CM as his ‘friend’ and as a ‘popular CM’. Leaders of both the parties here were kept waiting for ‘LAST YEAR ITSELF, DHONI HINTED ABOUT CAPTAINCY CHANGE' SC REJECTS KAVITHA’S BAIL PLEA IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE five years, the Indian government will support Bhutan with Rs 10,000 crores. Relations between the two countries will improve at the government and people to people level. The Bhutanese students in India will also guarantee closer people to people relations. The Order of the Druk Gyalpo was instituted as decoration for lifetime achievement and is the pinnacle of the honour system in Bhutan, taking precedence over all orders, decorations and medals. The citation of the Order for Mr Modi stated that the award was conferred upon him on 17 December 2021. It said “Mr Narendra Modi is an outstanding embodiment of national, regional, and global leadership. Under him, India has become the fastest growing economy in the world and will be the third largest economy by 2030.” “Prime Minister Modi has emerged as a figure of destiny, transforming the ancient civilization of India into a dynamic centre of technology and innovation, the citation said. FY24, exceeding 8per cent for the third consecutive time. The higher second advance estimate for economic growth in FY24, released after about eight weeks from the first estimate incorporating more updated information on the recent economic dynamics, has bolstered the optimism about the economy. It said that many non-governmental expert agencies have also upped their growth projections. While consumption remained steady, robust IAF has derived significant air power lessons from ongoing wars: Air chief investment activity is driving growth. The continued focus on public investment seems to have crowded in private investment. Strong aggregate demand has stirred manufacturing and construction activities and accompanying professional, financial and real estate services. "The ascent of manufacturing sector employment is expected to be marked by upscaling of enterprises and sunrise sectors emerging as catalysts for generating quality employment," it added. It said strong growth accompanied by stable inflation and external account and progressive employment outlook will help the Indian economy close the current financial year on a positive note. The report highlighted that the services exports remain strong, resulting in an increase in net services receipts. Supported by India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, foreign portfolio investors have turned net buyers in February while foreign direct investment inflows are still awaiting momentum. The number of new project announcements remained stable, keeping India among the top 5 destinations for global greenfield projects. Retail inflation remained stable and within the target range for the sixth consecutive month. Driven by strong domestic growth and benign global commodity prices, core infla- tion is declining continuously.Timely and multi-frontal supply-side measures by the government have also helped the cause of price stability, the Finance Ministry said in its report. Highlighting the data showcasing positive numbers for India, the report said the latest results of the Periodic Labour Force Survey indicate a decline in the unemployment rate coupled with rising labour force participation in 2023. RBI's KLEMS database updated up to 2021-22 points to a revival of the structural transformation of the Indian labour market, with the buoyant non-farm sector being able to absorb the labour force freed from farm operations. In the organised manufacturing sector, the results of Annual Survey of Industries for FY21 and FY22 showcased the Indian manufacturing sector's resilience and its turnaround in employment post the pandemic. RIOT OF COLOURS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MARCH Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Friday highlighted the significant air power lessons derived by his force from existing conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine War and IsraelHamas conflicts. He was addressing student officers from the Indian armed forces and friendly foreign countries undergoing the 79th Staff Course and the permanent staff of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC),Wellington. ACM Chaudhari also spoke about the challenges confronting the IAF its capa, bility development plan and jointmanship. He also spelt out the transition of IAF into a contemporary and future ready Aerospace Force. CMYK Girls celebrate with colours ahead of the Holi festival, in Bhopal on Friday. ANI
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