DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `17 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM NEW LOW IN BILATERAL TIES AFTER BRAMPTON ATTACK Freespeechhypocrisy,Canadablocked AussiebroadcastofJaishankar:Delhi DIVYA A NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 EXPLAINED SOLAR ALLIANCE STOCKTAKE PAGE 14 BILATERAL TIES between New Delhi and Ottawa plunged to a newlowafterCanadablockedan Australian news outlet which aired a press conference by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra where he made some strong remarks on the IndiaCanada standoff. Stating it was “surprised” over the “strange” Canadian move, the Ministry of External Affairs said the action “yet again highlights the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech”. Incidentally, Canada and Australiaarepartof theFiveEyes intelligencesharingalliancethat also includes the US, UK and New Zealand. The MEA also announced cancellation of some scheduled consular camps in Canada, say- EXPLAINED Indian consular camps cancelled after Canadian authorities say can’t provide security E Crisis derails ● ties THE CANADIAN move to block Jaishankar’s remarks is the latest in the row between the two countries that has seen diplomats being recalled and some serious charges being traded. ing Canadian authorities had conveyed their inability to provide security to the organisers. Hours after Australia Today aired Jaishankar’s joint press conference with Wong in Canberra, where he voiced concern over the political space beinggrantedtoKhalistanextremists in Canada and noted that India had raised the matter with Australia,severalusersinCanada complained of the news outlet being blocked and questioned the timing. ED searches 19 sites linked to Amazon, Flipkart vendors EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 MULTIPLE TEAMS of the Enforcement Directorate Thursday conducted searches at 19 premises of vendors selling their products on e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart. The raids were conducted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Panchkula. An official said ED decided to initiate its investigation under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) based on complaints that the e-commerce platforms are violating India’s FDI (foreign direct investment) rules by directly or indirectly influencing the sale price of goods or services and not providing a level playing field to vendors. “On the basis of their complaints,EDmademultipleteams and decided to conduct raids after coordinating on Thursday morning,” an official said. A source said the ED examined documents seized during the searches at premises linked to eight vendors, who have not WORLD WON’T CONCEDE THE FIGHT THAT FUELED CAMPAIGN: HARRIS AFTER TRUMP WIN PRESSURE MOUNTS ON SCHOLZ TO HOLD ELECTIONS PAGE 12 GOVT & POLITICS DINANATH BATRA, WHO FOUGHT CASE AGAINST DONIGER BOOK, DIES PAGE 5 been named so far. Whencontacted,anAmazon spokesperson declined to comment, while Flipkart did not respond to requests for a comment. Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT)welcomedtheED action. “The CAIT, along with several other trade bodies, has been raising these issues for the past few years,” CAIT secretary general and BJP MP from Delhi Praveen Khandelwal said in a statement. He claimed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had also issued penalty notices to the e-commerce platforms and their “preferred” sellers for engaging in anti-competitive practices that have adversely affected small traders and kirana stores. The CAIT and mainline mobile retailers' association AIMRA hadalsopetitionedtheCCIinthe past,seekingimmediatesuspension of operations of the platforms, alleging that the companies were engaged in predatory pricing and burning cash to offer heavy discounts on products. InNewDelhi,respondingtoa question on the blocking of Australia Today, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson fortheMinistryof ExternalAffairs,said,“Weunderstand that the social media handles and pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diasporaoutlet,havebeenblocked and are not available for viewers inCanada.Thishappenedjustan hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Two village defence guards killed in J&K, militant outfit claims credit In 2036 Olympics bid, India underlines religious diversity, silk and spice routes Says want to send message of peace to world when it is needed the most ARUN SHARMA MIHIR VASAVDA TWO VILLAGE Defence Guards (VDGs) were killed by militants in Chatroo area of Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said. The victims have been identified as Kuldeep Kumar and Nazir Ahmad, both residents of Kuntwara. In a post on social media, the KashmirTigers,anoffshootof the Jaish-e-Mohammad which mainly operates in the Kashmir Valley,claimedresponsibilityfor thekillings.Italsopostedwhatit saidwerephotographsof thevictimswiththeireyesblindfolded. The Kishtwar police control room confirmed the killings. Securityforceshavebeenrushed to the area. According to district officials, the victims were reported missing earlier in the day. Sources said the victims had gone to the forests in Chatroo’s Kuntwara area to graze their sheep in the FROM THE country’s religious diversitytosendingamessageof peace to the world “at a time when it is needed the most”, India's “strategic position along theancientsilkandspiceroutes” to its “continued rise on the global stage” — all these form part of the Indian Olympic Association's pitch for the 2036 Olympic Games, The Indian Express has learnt. The IOA's letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent last month, declaring its “intent to hosttheOlympicandParalympic Games in Bharat (India)”, was drafted in consultation with the government. It marks an important step in India's bid for the 2036 Games. Other countries in the race include Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Confirming the contents of the letter, two officials involved in India's 2036 bid said it has dipped into the country's “vast JAMMU, NOVEMBER 7 ON THE FLOOR , IN J&K HOUSE A scuffle broke out in the J&K Assembly on Thursday following protests and counter-protests over restoring special status. Some BJP MLAs were marshalled out. Shuaib Masoodi PAGE6 Doctors’ protection: Task Force says no need for separate law, suggests measures EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE INSIDE NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 SET UP by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of the rape and murderofadoctoratKolkata’sRG KarMedicalCollege,theNational TaskForcehasreiteratedthegovernment’s stance that there is no needforaseparateCentrallawfor SC REJECTS PLEA TO TRANSFER RG KAR RAPE-MURDER TRIAL OUT OF BENGAL: ‘IT WILL CAST DOUBT’ PAGE 3 protection of doctors. “A separate Central law to deal with offences against healthcare professionals is, therefore, not required… It is notedthat24stateshavealready enactedlawstoaddressviolence against healthcare professionals…Mostof thestatelawscover minor offences and prescribe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 cultural diversity, shaped by thousands of years of history”. “Our society is a mosaic of religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism, each contributing to our rich cultural heritage and society,” the letter is learnt to say. “Theentirenationisunitedin this dream by the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ — a Sanskrit phrase that means ‘the worldisonefamily’—andto seek peace, friendship and collective progressamongallnations.Thisis India’s and our Olympic bid’s message to the world at a time when it is needed most,” it says, according to sources. The “desire to host the Olympics is a national priority” and “enjoys incredible support at all levels of government, our population, and our commercial sector... Our strategic position along the ancient Silk and Spice Routes made India an intersection for travellers from regions asvariedasPersia,China,Central Asia,theMiddleEastandEurope. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The Shaina effect: Congress candidate makes a show of ‘respect for women’ SADAF MODAK & SIDDHANT KONDUSKAR MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 ON WEDNESDAY afternoon, during his roadshow in GrantRoadareain the Mumbadevi DECISION constituency in 2024 South Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA the Congress's sitting MLA Amin Patel waves to local residents from an open vehicle. He is flankedbywomenactivistsofthe UddhavThackeray-ledShivSena (UBT). Most of his supporters thronging the rally are also Amin Patel campaigns in Mumbadevi. X women, some leading the roadshow,sometrailingit,allof them shouting slogans in his favour. In the course of his campaign overthelastseveraldays,Patel,61, has been asserting that he “re- spects women”, going on later to highlight his “accomplishments” as the MLA of this seat for three consecutive terms since 2009. Patel has resorted to this “firefighting” in the face of a backlash over the alleged derogatoryremarksmadebyhis ally Uddhav Sena's South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant against his rival Shaina N C, the fashion designer and former BJP national spokesperson contesting the Mumbadevi seat on a ticket of the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Sawant faces an FIR registered by the Mumbai police on Shaina's complaint, following CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On your marks, get set, tsunami: Ocean institute executes mega drill along coast PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANJALI MARAR & SUJIT BISOYI HYDERABAD, PURI, NOV 7 IT IS 8:44 am and 15-odd oceanographers and scientists are chattering away, preparing for a long day. In 45 minutes, their phones and monitors will be buzzing incessantly, sending out tsunami warnings and advisories through SMS, fax, and emails to 250 offices — ranging from state disaster managers and district administrations to the India Navy, Coast Guard, ports and harbours. The scene played out at the Synergistic Ocean Observation OperationsServices(SYNOPS)at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on November 5, when the centre, which issues tsunami warnings in India, simulated an earthquake measuring 9.3 — enough to trigger massive tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean — with its epicentre in Indonesia’s northern Sumatra. The mock drill, incidentally held on World Tsunami Awarenessday,lastedfourhours and saw participation from 25 coastal villages in Andhra Pradesh (6), Andaman and Nicobar (4), Gujarat (2), Goa (2), Kerala (4), Odisha (1), Puducherry (2), Tamil Nadu (2) Disaster management teams during the tsunami mock drill on Tuesday. INCOIS and West Bengal (2). “These exercises will provide a great opportunity for all stakeholders to test their tsunami warningprocedures,standardoperatingprocedures,enhancepublic awareness and preparedness. It will help us identify and fix any gaps in the warning chains and eventually be fully prepared for future events,” TM Balakrishnan Nair, director (in charge), INCOIS, told The Indian Express. December26thisyearmarks 20 years since the monstrous Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which had been generated by a massive earthquake near Sumatra measuring 9.3 in magnitude — the second strongest everrecorded.Tsunamiwavesas tallas100feettallwerereported. The disaster killed over 2.3 lakh peopleandaffected14countries, including India. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata