PM CRIES LIKE A CHILD ON HIS PROBLEMS, SAYS PRIYANKA 12 MAY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd Facebook.com/thestatesman ‘KEPT IN DARK ABOUT KERALA CM VIJAYAN’S FOREIGN TOUR’ PAGE 5 CAPITALS JOLTED BY PANT’S ONE-MATCH BAN AHEAD OF VIRTUAL KNOCKOUT TIE AGAINST RCB PAGE 4 PAGE 12 India’s National Newspaper since 1818 PAGES 12 | `5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. VERY LIGHT RAIN/ THUNDERSTORM ACCOMPANIED WITH GUSTY WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH). THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 38 AND 25 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 76 % TEMPERATURE Max: 38.7 °C (-1) SUN RISES 5:32 hrs MOON RISES 09:55 hrs ‘Congress constantly ‘Modi will retire at 75, is seeking votes for Shah’ insulting the nation’ PM condemns remarks by Congress leaders about Pak possessing N-weapons NEW DELHI, 11 MAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 11 MAY Min. 34 % Min: 24.9 °C (-1) SUN SETS 19:03 hrs MOON SETS 23:36 hrs THUMBNAILS Nurses hold a candlelight vigil to renew their pledge in front of the picture of Florence Nightingale, at Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in Chennai on Saturday. ANI Two dead, 23 injured as Delhi witnesses dust storm, strong winds: Two people were killed, while a total of 23 people got injured after a dust storm and strong winds swept through the national capital overnight. According to the police, at least 2 people were killed due to uprooting of trees, while six people were injured in similar incidents across the city. At least 17 people were injured due to incidents of building damage when the areas of the national capital witnessed gusty winds of speeds up to 50 kmph late Friday night. (P2) P rime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress on Saturday, accusing it of consistently demeaning and insulting the nation. He condemned recent remarks by Congress leaders about Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons and the purification of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, describing them as reflective of its character. “After the third phase of elections, I can say with responsibility that the Congress will be reduced to less than 50 seats in parliament or even less than the age of its ‘Shehzada’,” he said, referring to Rahul Gandhi. The picture is very clear that the NDA will secure a record number of seats, he said. During campaign meetings in Kandhamal, Bolangir, and Bargarh parliamentary constituencies, Mr Modi accused the Congress of insulting the nation, tribals, and women by advocating for the purification of the Ram Mandir, linking it to the President Droupadi Murmu's visit to the temple. He stated that such a party should not exist in the political landscape of India. PM Modi criticised the Congress for its alleged failure to act against terrorists, citing instances such as the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and meetings with terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir. They did not act fearing it would adversely affect their vote bank, he charged. He mocked the party's remarks about Pakistan's nuclear capabilities, stating that Pakistan cannot effectively use it and is attempting to sell it without success. Accusing the Congress of attempting to change the Constitution to the detri- ment of ST/SC/OBC communities and safeguard its vote bank, Mr Modi pledged to protect the rights of marginalised sections and uphold the Constitution. The Congress party showed the poverty of India to the world. Modi has reduced poverty and put India among the top five economies of the world, stated the PM. The PM reserved the sharpest weapons in his arsenal to hit out at the BJD and CM Naveen Patnaik. The nation will be shocked to know that the keys to the treasure house (ratna bhandar) of Lord Jagannath, Puri, are missing since six years, he said. The BJD government failed to safeguard the invalu- able jewellery of the Lord. Still worse it came up with ‘duplicate keys’ and when there were protests, it set up a Commission. But it did not reveal the report of the Commission. Who made the duplicate keys, were people opening it at night?” he questioned. Mr Modi went on to challenge CM Naveen Patnaik to name all the 30 districts of the state and their respective headquarters without referring to written notes. “Let him (the CM), after being in power for 25 years, stand up and name each district. The CM has outsourced the government, elected representatives do not run the state, it is an outsider who calls the shots,” he said. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking votes in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls for Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the top post because Mr Modi will retire next year after he attains the age of 75. He also claimed if the BJP is voted to power this time after the Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party will change Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath within two months and all Opposition leaders will be put behind the bars. Mr Kejriwal, while addressing a Press conference at the party headquarters here after he got interim bail from Supreme Court in the excise policy case till 1 June, said: “These people ask the INDIA alliance who will be their Prime Minister. I ask the BJP who will be their Prime Minister? PM Modi is turning 75 next year on 17 September. He made a rule that leaders in the BJP would retire after 75 years. LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan, and Yashwant Sinha were retired and now PM Modi is going to retire on 17 Sep- PHOTO BY~ SUBRATA DUTTA tember." “PM Modi is seeking votes to make Amit Shah the Prime Minister. Will Amit Shah fulfil Modi's guarantee?” the AAP chief asked. “If their (BJP) government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls, they will remove Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath from the post in two months,” Mr Kejriwal claimed. He noted that the BJP has ended the political careers of its veteran leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. "Politics of LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former BJP Chief Ministers, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhara Raje, ML Khattar, and Raman Singh have been finished. The next is Yogi Adityanath. If they win this election, they will change the CM of Uttar Pradesh within two months," he said. The Delhi CM also claimed that all the Opposition leaders, including Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, would be sent to jail if the BJP-led NDA wins the Lok Sabha elections. “If they (BJP-led NDA) win, they will send all Opposition leaders to jail. The AAP's former Delhi Cabinet ministers, Hemant Soren (former Jharkhand CM), ministers of Mamata Banerjee's party (Trinamul Congress) are in jail...If they (BJP) win again, then Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Uddhav Thackeray (UBT Chief) and other Opposition leaders will all be in jail," Mr Kejriwal said. He further said that PM Modi would be better advised to take lessons from him to fight corruption. "I want to say to PM Modi that if you want to fight corruption then learn from Kejriwal... After the formation of the government in Delhi, I dismissed one of my ministers and sent him to jail. In Punjab, we sent a minister to jail," he said. Alliance. They should not be happy that Modiji is completing 75 years. There is nothing of this sort (of retirement at 75) in BJP’s constitution. Modiji will complete his term and he will continue to lead the country. There is no confusion in BJP about this,” Mr Shah said. Mr Shah also slammed the Opposition for spreading “lies” over reservation for SC, ST and OBC. “They are so desperate that they are spreading lies. They are saying if Modiji gets 400 seats then he will scrap reservation. I want to tell everybody, particularly people of Telangana that for the past ten years BJP had full majority. Yet BJP has never touched the reservation. We have used it to abrogate Article 370 and to bring in Uniform Civil Code, scrap triple talaq and for the Ramjanmabhoomi Temple,” he added. He also condemned the rival alliance for their comment on Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Kharge writes to ECI, says Cong on side of poll panel’s Shah: No provision of retiring strength & independence at 75, PM will continue to lead RAINY DAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 MAY Women walk on a street amid rain in Srinagar. EAM: Nuke tests by NDA regime in 1998 ensured India’s national security STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 MAY External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday recollected how India conducted nuclear tests on this day in 1998 and ensured its national security. “This day in 1998, an NDA Government finally exercised India’s nuclear weapon option. That momentous decision has since ensured our National Security,” he wrote on X. The minister said the current NDA Government has built on that foundation, robustly countering terror and building border infrastructure. “The country must know who stands where when it comes to National Security issues. Our political choices are eventually choices about the future of Bharat,” NIKHIL VYAS AND AGRAJ PRATAP SINGH he wrote. The minister's remarks come on the anniversary of the Pokhran tests conducted under the leadership of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On 11 and 13 May 1998, India conducted five nuclear detonations at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan's desert. Following these tests, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) released detailed findings in 2009, confirming the success and expected yields of the nuclear devices based on comprehensive evaluations and simulations. ANI ‘76 Indian military personnel in Maldives replaced by civilians’ A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) pulled him up for alleging discrepancies in voting data released for the first and second phase of Lok Sabha polls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday categorically said his party is on the side of the Election Commission and stands for its strength and independence. He, however, accused the poll panel of ignoring several complaints lodged with it by the party. In his letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, Mr Kharge while referring to his recent letter to the leaders of INDIA parties, said: “The letter even though an open letter is clearly addressed to our alliance partners and not to the Commission. It is surprising that the ECI wanted to respond to this letter while ‘ignoring’ several other complaints given directly to it. I have certain misgivings about the language of the letter, but I will not press on that issue as I understand the ‘pressures’ they are working under.” Citing the poll panel’s letter to him, the Congress chief said: “The letter on one hand says Commission respects citizens' right to ask questions and on the other hand threatens citizens in the form of an advice to exercise caution. “I am happy that the Commission understands that it has the mandate to conduct smooth, free and fair elections under the constitution. However, the lack of urgency shown by the Commission in taking action against blatantly communal and casteist statements being made by the leaders of the ruling party (BJP) that vitiates the electoral process seems puzzling,” he said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, 11 MAY Dismissing the claims of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah today clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue in his post in the next term since the constitution of the BJP does not have any provision of retirement at the age of 75. The clarification came after Mr Kejriwal claimed that Mr Modi will retire once he attains the age of 75 and Mr Shah will become his successor. Mr Shah, who was speaking at a media conference in Hyderabad, also claimed that BJP will be the largest party in the five Southern states in this election after results get declared. “I want to tell Arvind Kejriwal and the INDI High-octane campaign for 4th phase of LS polls ends STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE ECI releases final data of phase three NEW DELHI, 11 MAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MALE , 11 MAY The high-octane campaigning for the fourth phase of voting in the Lok Sabha polls ended Maldivian Minister of Foreign on Saturday evening. Affairs Moosa Zameer on SatOn the last day of camurday said 76 Indian military personnel were replaced by paigning, Prime Minister civilian personnel sent by Narendra Modi held rallies in Hindustan Aeronautics LimOdisha, while Congress presited, which manufactured ident Mallikarjun Kharge camthe helicopter donated by paigned in Bihar and former the Indian government, Malparty president Rahul Ganddives-based Sun Online hi in Andhra Pradesh. reported. In the fourth phase, polling While addressing a press will be held in 96 parliamenconference on Saturday, tary constituencies spread Moosa Zameer said that Indiacross 10 states and union an soldiers were deployed in territories (UTs) on 13 May. Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo The 96 Lok Sabha seats, and Gan. include 25 in Andhra Pradesh, He announced that 26 sol- 17 in Telangana, 13 in Uttar diers withdrew from Gan Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, between 7-9 March, while eight each in Madhya Pradesh another 25 soldiers withdrew and West Bengal, five in Bihar, from Hanimaadhoo between four each in Jharkhand and Odisha and one in Jammu April 7-9 and 12 withdrew from and Kashmir. A total of 1,717 Kadhdhoo on 7 May, Sun AGENCIES candidates are in the fray for Online reported. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday issued the final figures of voting in the third phase of Lok Sabha polls. The overall voter turnout was recorded at 65.68 per cent. “In continuation of the ECI's two press notes dated 7th May and 8th May (on voting percentage), voter turnout of 65.68 per cent has been recorded in phase three for 93 PCs (Parliamentary Constituencies) in the ongoing general elections,” the poll panel said in a communiqué. According to the final figures of voting in the third phase, turnout of male vot- ers was recorded at 66.89 per cent, while female at 64.41 per cent and third gender at 25.2 per cent. Assam recorded the highest turnout at 85.45 per cent, followed by West Bengal at 77.53 per cent and Goa at 76.06 per cent, as per the data. Uttar Pradesh recorded 57.55 per cent voter turnout. Of the 93 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase, for which voting took place on 7th May, 25 were in Gujarat, 14 in Karnataka, 11 in Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, nine in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, four each in West Bengal and Assam, two each in Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. tions are being held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June. The first phase of polling was held on 19 April, second phase on 26 April and third phase on 7 May. NEW DELHI, 11 MAY Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during a public meeting in support of the party's candidate from Kadapa seat, YS Sharmila, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, in Kadapa on Saturday. ANI the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls. Prominent among the candidates from the BJP are Union ministers Girijaj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar) and G Kishan Reddy (Secunderabad, Telangana), and Madhavi Latha (Hyderabad, Telangana), while from Congress, its Leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is on the ballot in Baharampur, West Bengal and the party Andhra Pradesh chief YS Sharmila in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. Other key candidates are Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj), AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad) and Trinamul Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra (Krishnanagar, West Bengal). The LS elec-
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