The Editorial Page: PK’s holier-than-thou politics has a challenge — and an opportunity 8 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2025 JOURNALISM of COURAgE KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today SAYS INDIA HAS LARGELY STOPPED BUYING RUSSIAN OIL Trump hints at India visit next year, Quad summit has to wait l PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU begins a six-day state visit to Angola and Botswana, with the aim to further India’s partnership in areas including defence, trade and energy security. This will be the firstever state visit by an Indian Head of State to both countries. lCAPTAIN SURYAKUMAR Calls Modi great man and friend: Wants me to visit, I’ll go YADAV takes on the Aussies in the final of the T20 cricket series with an eye on keeping his captaincy slate clean. Since becoming T20 captain in July 2024, he has a 100% win record. Leading 2-1 in the series, India is favourite to beat the Aussies. Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, November 7 business as Usual By EP UNNY CRPF personnel guard a strong room in Patna on Friday, a day after the first phase of polling in Bihar. The second and final phase of voting in the Assembly elections is scheduled to be held on November 11. PTI On Rahul’s yatra route, few takers for ‘vote chori’ pitch: ‘Those raising it must explain’ Even among minorities who are at centre of disenfranchisement fears Deeptiman Tiwary THE wOrLD PAGE 10 ChINA’S ThIRD AND moST ADvANCED CARRIER ENTERS mILITARY SERvICE Champaran, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Siwan, November 7 AGAINSTTHEbackdropofthe SpecialIntensiveRevision(SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi set offonhis“VoterAdhikarYatra” Remove stray dogs from public places, shift to shelters: SC Flags public safety, country’s image Ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, November 7 NOTING THAT “incidents of dog-bite attacks continue to be reported with alarming frequency”,theSupremeCourtdirected Friday that stray dogs be removed “forthwith” from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations to “a designated shelter, after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the animal birth control rules”. Stating that its directions be l “implemented uniformly acrossIndia”with “statuscompliance certificates within a period of eight weeks”, a threejudgebenchofJusticesVikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said “the stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back to the same location from which they were picked up”. “We have consciously directed the non-release of such stray dogs to the same location from which they were picked up as permitting the same would frustrate the very effect of the directions issued to The stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back to the same location from which they were picked up l 2025 BIHAR REP0RTS, PAGE 3 The yatra drew huge crowds and, buoyed by the turnout, the Congress demanded a greater share of seats within the Mahagathbandhan,oneofthereasons »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nodal officer to be designated for upkeep and cleanliness of the premises and for ensuring stray dogs do not enter or inhabit the premises All cattle and other stray animals to be removed from State Highways, National Highways and National Expressways US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. REUTERS E. ExPLAINED Trade deal talks key All eyes are now on the ongoing talks for a trade deal between India and the US. It will also resolve the issue of US penalty tariffs over India’s of Russian oil. If a deal is sealed later this year or early next year, then the scheduling of Trump’s visit to India can be planned. later in the year. But ties dived after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent overitspurchaseofRussianoil, and bilateral talks for a trade deal were also derailed. Now, the trade negotiations have revived and teams are working overtime to bridge the gap. New Delhi feels that the trade deal will be key to resolving the issue of tariffs since Indiahasalsobeenreducingoil imports from Russia. New Delhi believes that this »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM targets Cong on Botanical garden to IT park to sale: Land Vande Mataram: Key linked to Ajit Pawar son was govt property stanzas dropped, still face divisive mindset FADNAVIS SAYS NO ONE WILL BE SPARED, PAWAR SAYS DEAL CANCELLED Power of attorney holder cannot sell land at any cost: Registration IG Alok Deshpande Mumbai, November 7 RAJENDRA MUTHE, Maharashtra’s Joint Inspector General of Registration, said Friday that the 40-acre land in Pune, at the centre of a probe into allegedirregularitiesinvolvingits sale, belonged to the state government and could not be sold at any cost. Muthe, who is responsible for registration of property documents and collection of stamp duty, is assisting an inquiry committee, announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, probe the sale of the land by Pune resident and power of attorney holder Sheetal Tejwani to a limited liability partnership owned by Parth Pawar, son of stateDeputyChiefMinisterAjit Pawar, and Digvijay Patil. “The 7/12 document (land ownership document) showed Mumbai Sarkar (erstwhile Bombay government) as the owner. The property card issued after 2018 showed the same. The person holding power of attorney cannot sell thelandatanycost.Weareprobing everything and will submit the report in seven days to the state government,” Muthe told The Indian Express. The chronology of how the 40-acre land changed hands showsthatinlessthanamonth after the Pawar-Patil partnership Amadea Enterprises LLP secured a Letter of Intent from Pune’s District Industries Centre on April 24, it entered intoaRs300-croresaledeedon »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL REPORT ON WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PM Narendra Modi with Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Delhi L-G V K Saxena at an exhibition on Vande Mataram. ANI »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Schools,hospitalstobusstands Stray dogs to be moved from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands/depots and railway stations to shelters after sterilisation, vaccination from Sasaram on August 17. In a whirlwind campaign covering 1,300 km across 20 districts and culminating in a massive rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on September 1, Gandhi, often joined by RJD chief and Mahagathbandhan’s CM face Tejashwi Yadav, accused the ruling party of “vote chori (theft)”. DECISION that delayed the alliance’s seatsharing deal. Yet, on the ground innorthBihar,partsofwhichthe yatra passed through in its last week, “vote chori” appears to have failed to strike a chord. In fact,fewtalkaboutitunlessspecifically asked, even as Gandhi andotherCongressleaderscontinuetoraiseitintheircampaign stops across the state. In East Champaran’s Chiraiya constituency, mechanic Mahesh Yadav and ration IN THE first confirmation of the Quad leaders’ summit, whichwastobehostedbyIndia this year, being pushed to 2026, US President Donald Trump has said he could travel to the country next year. Responding to questions at the Oval Office, Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “wants” him to visit. He called Modi a “great man” and a friend. “He’s a friend of mine, and we speak... He wants me to go there. We’ll figure that out. I’ll go. I will have a great trip there with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a great man. And I’ll be going,” Trump said. Asked if he is planning to go to India next year, he said, “It could be, yes.” InNewDelhi,respondingto questions on Trump’s visit to India,RandhirJaiswal,spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “I do not have anything on this to share. IwillletyouknowwhenIhave.” After Modi’s visit to the White House this February, the twosideshadagreedtoholdthe Quad leaders’ summit in India No delay: HC orders Centre to resume 100-day MGNREGA work in Bengal Tanusree Bose Kolkata, November 7 IN A major relief for the West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Centre to immediately resume the 100-day work scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state. The scheme has remained suspended in Bengal for nearly three years. The state government has repeatedly alleged that the Centre withheld funds for the project, leading to its halt. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, while hearing the matter, observed that MGNREGA work shouldstartinthestatewithout delay. The bench said, “As accepted by all the parties that there exists no impediment for implementing MGNREGA with prospective effect, we deem it proper to implement »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Divya A NATION PAGE 4 ‘YoU ShoULD NoT CARRY bURDEN’: SC To fAThER of PILoT IN AI CRASh New Delhi, November 7 TARGETING THE Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that “important stanzas” of the national song Vande Mataram were dropped in 1937 which “sowed the seeds of Partition”, and that “divisive mindset” is still a challenge for the country. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram was composed in 1875 and publishedaspartofhisnovelAnandamath in 1882. In October 1937, the Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song. SpeakingintheCapitalatan event to kick off the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram, marking its 150 years, Modi said, “Azadi ki ladai mei Vande Mataram ki bhavna ne poorerashtrakoprakashitkiya thha. Lekin durbhagya se, 1937 mei, Vande Mataram ke mahatvapoorn padon ko, uski aatma ke ek hisse ko alag kar diya gaya thha. Vande Mataramkotoddiyagayathha,uske »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 REWARDS POUR IN FOR WOMEN’S CRICKET TEAM For World Cup stars, cash, brands, jobs — and promise to lift a father’s suspension Nihal Koshie & Nitin Sharma New Delhi, Chandigarh November 7 CASH AWARDS, cars, land, government jobs, endorsements and a million new followers. These are the rewards that have come the way of India's World Cup-winning women's teamafterliftingthetrophylast Sunday. But there’s more — in a first, the Madhya Pradesh government has promised the team’s new-ball bowler, Kranti Gaud, that it is revoking her father's decade-and-a-half-old suspensionfromthepostofpolice constable. Some of the others in the MP Sports Minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang told TheIndian team, too, have been taken by Express: “Kranti has spoken surprise with the response of about the need for a cricket sta- their achievement. In a smart move two days dium in Chhatarpur (her home district) and we will develop after batter Harleen Deol asked one with the best facilities. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi forKranti’sfather’ssuspension, about his skincare routine there will be an official appeal when the team called on him, a cosmetic company signed her to reinstate him.” Overwhelmed by the ges- as brand ambassador. Hours after landture,Kranti'sbrother PAGE 1 ing in Chandigarh Mayank said: “My airport, Harleen was sister has not only at a photo shoot. made the country proudbuthasrestoredthehon- “She has a brand endorsement our of our family.” In 2011, shoot today. We are glad that Karnti's father had faced an in- her passion for cricket has got quiry on charges of negligence her endorsements,” Dr Manjot ofduty,anallegationhedenied. Singh, Harleen's brother, said. anchor Sree Charani (left), a member of the Indian World Cup-winning cricket team, with Andhra CM N Chandrababu Naidu, former cricketer Mithali Raj and state minister Nara Lokesh. X/@NCBN But then, it’s not only Harleen whose brand value is set to gothroughtheroof.Divyanshu Singh, the CEO of JSW Sports, the firm that manages Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma, the star performers in the semifinal and final, has the numbers. “The Women’s World Cup didn’tjustcreatechampionson the field, it created India’s next generation of sporting icons. JemimahandShafalihaveseen theirbrandvalueandinfluence grow exponentially, making thempowerfulcommercialfigures,” Singh said. “Jemimah’s Instagram following has more than doubled Kolkata from 1.5 million to 3.3 million, while Shafali’s has grown by over50percent.Theirendorsementvalueshavealsosurged— Jemimah from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1.5crore,andShafalifromRs40 lakh to over Rs 1 crore in under a year. Jemimah today represents Nike, Red Bull, and Hyundai, and her Surf Excel moment marketing campaign post the World Cup became a cultural touchpoint — celebratingeffort,resilience,andauthenticity,” he said. The detergent brand was quick on the ball. Tapping into their “Daag acche hai (Stains are good)” punchline, they urgedJemimahnottowashbut frame the mud-soaked jersey from the World Cup semifinals against Australia — a match in which she scored an unbeaten century. Singh sees women’s cricketers as “true anchors of change”. “Beyond numbers, these athletes are expanding the paradigm of influence; showing how sport can drive societal change. Whether it’s Jemimah speaking openly about mental health and anxiety, or the broader inspiration they offer to young girls, theyrepresentamoreinclusive and empowered generation,” he said. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2