WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘NO ADVERSE IMPACT OF VLF STATION ON ECOLOGY’ TWO ARRESTED IN U.P . IN BABA SIDDIQUE MURDER CASE P13 SENSEX 81,820.12q152.93 WEATHER Thunderstorms. Storms could contain frequent lightning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 32°C and 26°C respectively. SITHARAMAN TO EMBARK ON MEXICO, USA VISIT P6 NIFTY 25,057.35q70.60 P12 ` vs $ 84.04 SANTU DAS Min. 76% NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER Min: 26.8˚C SUN SETS 17:10 hrs MOON SETS 04:01 hrs nnouncing the schedule for Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Tuesday that the polling would be held in a single phase in Maharashtra on 20 November and in two phases, on 13 and 20 November, in Jharkhand. The counting of votes in both the states will take place on 23 November. Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said: “The elections for Maharashtra will be held in a single phase. The date for the notification will be 22nd October, the last date for filing nominations will be 29th October and scrutiny of nominations will take place on 30th October.” He said the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is 4 November. Of the total 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra, the CEC said 29 are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (SC) candidates and 25 for SCs. There will be a direct contest between the BJPShiv Sena-Nationalist Con- A Full Moon on 17 October THUMBNAILS A temple partially submerged in flood waters after heavy rainfall, in Chennai on Tuesday.n ANI Air India flight diverted to Canada after bomb threat: An Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was on Tuesday diverted to Canada after receiving a bomb threat which was posted online. “Air India flight, AI 127, en route from New Delhi to Chicago, was forced to divert to Canada’s Iqaluit International Airport after receiving a bomb threat on Tuesday. The threat was sent via social media to the air carrier,” an airline official said. NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER gress Party (NCP) Mahayuti alliance and Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra. For Jharkhand, the CEC said elections for the 81 seats in the state Assembly wouldbeheldintwophases. Polling in 43 Assembly seats would take place on 13 November in the first phase and in the 38 remaining seats on 20 November. The CEC said that the notification for the first phase would be issued on 18 October, the last date for the filing of nominations is 25 October, the scrutiny of nominations would take place on 28 October and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is 30 October. For the second phase, theCECsaid,thenotification wouldbeissuedon22October and the last date for the filing of nominations is 29 October. Scrutiny will take place the next day and the last day for the withdrawal of candidature is 1 November. Of the 81 Assembly seats, 28 are reserved for ST candidates and nine for SCs. In Jharkhand, there will be a direct contest between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance and the BJP in the Assembly polls. Ahead of the announcement of the schedule for Assembly elections for Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Congress party reiterated the claim that electronic voting machines (EVMs) can be hacked, a charge strongly dismissed by the Chief Election Commissioner. Congress leader Rashid Alvi said: “In Maharashtra, the opposition should put pressure on voting by paper ballot and not EVMs. Otherwise, in Maharashtra, BJP government and Election Commission can do anything.” Referring to the wave of pager and walkietalkie explosions in Lebanon last month, he added if a pager can be rigged, so can EVMs. Dismissing the charge, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said: “EVMs are totally reliable. Hundred per cent tamper-proof, which I have repeated many times SNS previously.” ‘No substantial progress’: Supreme Court pulls up NTF set up after RG Kar incident AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee takes part in the Durga Puja Carnival 2024, at Red (Page 3) Road in Kolkata on Tuesday. n BISWAJIT GHOSHAL Waqf Bill JPC: Opposition members protest ‘gross violation’ of procedure and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. There was protest by the MPs that the allegations were unjustified as Mr Kharge occupied a high constitutional position and was not present in the meeting.The opposition MPs stated in the letter that the Members of the Committee were deprived of their fundamental right to voice their concerns and thoughts in a space which is expected to operate with the highest alignment to democratic values. "We believe that it is imperative to inform you of the situation, as it not only involves an insult to the Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, but paves a way for a marked departure from the spirit of bipartisanship and dignity expected from a parliamentary committee," read the letter. AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER FINAL FAREWELL Opposition members of Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 on Tuesday wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla over "gross violation" of parliamentary code of conduct during the committee’s meeting on Monday. The opposition MPs in their letter alleged numerous violations of the parliamentary code of conduct and rules of procedure. They said the invitation extended to Anwar Manippady to depose evidence before the Committee by the Chairperson was not “within the scope and ambit of the Committee.” The opposition MPs said there were politically motivated allegations against leaders of Karnataka Congress Priyanka Gandhi to make election debut from Wayanad Congress cries faulty EVMs, CEC dismisses claims TEMPERATURE NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.91q3.55 Maharashtra to vote on 20 Nov, Jharkhand in 2 phases (13 and 20 Nov) Max. 88% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P16 SILVER 96,900 GOLD 78,290.00 Maharashtra, J’khand poll dates announced RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 32.4˚C SUN RISES 05:33 hrs MOON RISES 16:21 hrs INDIA LOOK TO CONTINUE WTC MARCH AGAINST NEW ZEALAND The Supreme Court on Tuesday stressed that the National Task Force (NTF), set up by the Union government pursuant to the apex court’s order in the aftermath of the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, should complete its task within a reasonable timeframe. A Bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud said that it appears the NTF has not made any "substantial progress" in terms of the order of the top court, noting that no meeting has been held since the first week of September 2024. “After the 9th of September, what has the task force done? Why is there no progress between the 9th of September and today?” asked the Bench. “We are of the view that the Union government must take proactive measures to ensure that the work of the task force is completed within a reasonable period in the future. Accordingly, the meetings of the NTF shall be held at periodic intervals," added the Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Will they, won't they: J&K speculates on Centre’s next move on restoring statehood STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 15 OCTOBER As the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government is set to assume power on Wednesday, the issue of the restoration of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has become a talking point across the Union Territory (UT). People are debating whether after losing the polls and with a National Conference (NC)-led government in place in J&K, the BJP leadership will stick to its commitment to restoring statehood at the earliest. CM-designate Omar Abdullah has said that as the first business, the NC-Congress coalition government would pass a resolution in the Cabinet seeking restoration of statehood. There was no reason to disbelieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who in their poll campaign had said that the BJP government would restore J&K’s statehood at the earliest after an elected government comes into power. “The top Central leaders did not say that the statehood will be restored only if the BJP government was formed in J&K,” he added. He said: “Our immediate priority is to work with the government in Delhi to get statehood back for Jammu and Kashmir. In that respect, I believe that the prime minister is an honourable man. He has promised the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood will be restored.” RSS-BJP strategist Ram Madhav, who was election in-charge of the BJP in J&K, said during a recent interview that the Union government right from the PM and the home minister downwards has repeatedly said that statehood would be granted at an appropriate time. While ordering the holding of the Assembly polls in J&K not later than September 2024, the Supreme Court also directed the Union government to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible. Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded and split into two separate Union Territories in 2019 when Article 370 of the Constitution of India was abrogated by the Centre. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said the first task before the new Jammu and Kashmir government should be to demand the restoration of statehood and the INDIA bloc parties should support it. The Election Commission on Tuesday announced bypolls to Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala and Nanded seat in Maharashtra. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is likely to make her election debut from Wayanad. Wayanad seat was vacated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he was also elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh in the general elections held earlier this year. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced in June that Rahul Gandhi will retain Rae Bareli, and vacate his Wayanad seat where the party will field Priyanka Gandhi. Wayanad will go to the polls on 13 November along with voting for by-elections in 47 Assembly seats across 15 states. The first phase of Assembly polls in Jharkhand will also be held on 13 November. If Priyanka Gandhi wins the Lok Sabha polls, she will be the third MP from the Gandhi family in the current Parliament. Rahul Gandhi is Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Sonia Gandhi is a member of the Rajya Sabha. India rejects Canada PM’s claims on Nijjar assassination STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 OCTOBER India has rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim that Ottawa has given “credible and irrefutable evidence” to New Delhi regarding the involvement of Indian agencies in the killing of ‘Khalistan’ supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Highly placed sources said Canada has all along been only making “vague accusations” and putting the burden of denial on India. On Mr Trudeau's press conference in which he again levelled charges against India, the sources said he has been saying “the same old things for the same old reasons”. While addressing the press conference on Monday, the Canadian PM accused agents of the Indian government of engaging in “clandestine information-gathering tech- niques, coercive behaviour targeting Canadians, and involvement in threatening and violent acts”. In this regard, an Indian source said: "The central assertion from all Canadian officials is that credible evidence has been presented to India. This was also repeated by their Charge d’affaires to the press yesterday. This is simply not true. From the very beginning, the Canadian approach has been to make vague accusations and put the burden of denial on India."