DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEW LOW IN BILATERAL TIES AFTER BRAMPTON ATTACK Freespeechhypocrisy,Canadablocked AussiebroadcastofJaishankar:Delhi Indian consular camps cancelled after Canadian authorities say can’t provide security NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 EXPLAINED SOLARALLIANCE STOCKTAKE PAGE 9 Is AMU a minority institution? 7-judge bench to rule today EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 A SEVEN-JUDGE Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will rule Friday on whether the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) can be considered a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution. The bench, headed by Chief Justiceof IndiaD Y Chandrachud (Friday is his last working day in office),willdecideonareference that arose from a 2006 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which held that the AMU, established through an imperial legislation in 1920, was not a minority institution. Without minority status, AMU will have to begin implementing reservation policies for both teachers and students in a similar manner as other public universities. If this status is granted, the university can provide up to 50% reservation for Muslim students. Currently, AMU does not follow any reservation policies of the state. However, it does have an internal reservation policy, where CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 intelligence sharing alliance that also includes the US, UK and New Zealand. The MEA also announced cancellation of some scheduled consular camps in Canada, say- 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 beinggranted toKhalistanextremists in Canada and noted that India had raised the matter with Australia,severalusersinCanada complained of the news outlet being blocked and questioned the timing. InNewDelhi,respondingtoa question on the blocking of Australia Today, Randhir Jaiswal, spokespersonforthe Ministry of 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 In 2036 Olympics bid, India underlines religious diversity, silk and spice routes MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 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 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. “The entire nation is united in this dream by the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ — a Sanskrit phrase that means ‘the world is one family’ — and to seek peace, friendship and collective progress among all nations. This is 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 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SADAF MODAK & SIDDHANT KONDUSKAR MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 Amin Patel campaigns in Mumbadevi. X Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). Most of his supporters thronging the rally are also women, some leading the roadshow, some trailing it, all of them CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ED searches 19 sites linked to Amazon, Flipkart vendors EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 Says want to send message of peace to world when it is needed the most ‘I respect women’: Singed by ally’s remarks, Cong nominee firefights IN THE course of his roadshow in Grant Road area in t h e Mumbadevi DECISION constituency 2024 in South MAHARASHTRA Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, the Congress's sitting MLA Amin Patel waves to local residents from an open vehicle. He is flanked by women party workers from the Uddhav E E X P L A I NE D DIVYA A 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 PAGE4 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 com- plaints,EDmademultiple teams 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 been named so far. When contacted, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment, while Flipkart did not respondtorequestsforacomment. Meanwhile, the ConfederationofAllIndiaTraders (CAIT) welcomed the ED action. “The CAIT, along with several othertradebodies,hasbeenraising these issues for the past few years,”CAITsecretarygeneraland BJP MP from Delhi Praveen Khandelwal said in a statement. He claimed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had also issued CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Akhara Parishad wants no shop of non-Hindus at Kumbh Mela, official cites bidding process MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, NOVEMBER 7 THE AKHIL Bhartiya Akhara Parishad’s demand to not allot shops to “non-Hindus” in the Mahakumbh Mela area in Prayagraj has put the authorities in a fix as the allotment is done through “competitive bidding”. Vijay Kiran Anand, Mela Adhikari, toldThe Indian Express: “The shops (in the Kumbh are being allotted through a competitive bidding process. Whosoeverqualifiesthebidding criteriagetstheallocation.There is no question of anything else.” However, the sadhus of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad have been steadfast in their demands. “A trend has been seen across India to corrupt the Sanatani people — Hindus, sadhus and their castes, be it BrahminsorThakurs.Somehardliners want to corrupt our religion.Therefore,toensurethatour religion is not corrupted, we are tryingtoensurethatthereareno shops of non-Hindus in the mela CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On your marks, get set, tsunami: An ocean institute executes mega drill 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, Disaster management teams during the tsunami mock drill on Tuesday. INCOIS 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 coastalvillagesinAndhraPradesh (6), Andaman and Nicobar (4), Gujarat (2), Goa (2), Kerala (4), Odisha(1),Puducherry(2),Tamil Nadu (2) and West Bengal (2). “These exercises will provide a great opportunity for all stakeholders to test their tsunami warningprocedures,standardoperating procedures, enhance Mob.: +91-8795835563 | marketing.manager@srmstar.in | www.srmstar.mercedes-benz.co.in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow