DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA 2024 ● LS loss, rebel threat see BJP retain 80 MLAs in first Maharashtra list ● No resentment in Rajasthan BJP over ticket distribution: Rathore PAGES 3, 6 Plea hearing in HC today, SC asks UP govt to stay demolition in Bahraich EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 THEUTTARPradeshgovernment onTuesdayassuredtheSupreme Court that it would not act against alleged encroachments in Bahraich — where demolition notices were issued days after onepersonwaskilledincommunal clashes — until Wednesday. Theassurancecameafterthe bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan told Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, who appeared for the state government, to “stay your action till tomorrow”. The Allahabad High Court is scheduled to hear a plea filed against the demolition notices on Wednesday. The SC bench was hearing a pleafiledbysomeresidents,challengingthedemolitionnoticesissued last week. The counsel for the petitioners said the demolition notices were issued on October 18, and they were asked to respond within three days. He said the notices were a clear violation of the SC’s interim order, which directed that no demolitionsshouldbecarriedoutwithout its permission. Responding to a question POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES DECISION ● `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 MEETING TO TAKE PLACE ON SIDELINES OF BRICS SUMMIT IN KAZAN Modi-Xi bilateral today, first in 5 years, after China confirms LAC agreement Army chief: Need to first restore trust, assure each other on buffer zones Reached a solution, will work with India to implement plan: Beijing EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 IN FIRST remarks on the agreement between New Delhi and Beijing over restoration of patrolling rights along the Line of Actual Control, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has underlined the need for the Indian Army and the Chinese PLAtofirst“restoretrust”ineach other by “not creeping” into the buffer zones, “go back to the status quo of April 2020” — before the Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh led to the military standoff — and then look at “disengagement,de-escalation,nor- Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan Tuesday. Reuters SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 HOURS AFTER China, without mentioningthepatrollingagreement along the Line of Actual Control, confirmed it had “reached a solution” and would “work with India” to “effectively implement” the plan, India announced Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping would hold a bilateral meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of theBRICSSummitinKazan,capital of Tatarstan in Russia. This will be the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders in five years — they met for an informal summit in Mahabalipuram in October 2019,monthsbeforetheChinese incursionsineasternLadakhthat triggered a military standoff along the LAC. They did have pull-aside meetings in Bali PAGES 5 & 7 mal management” of the LAC. Speaking on the sidelines of the Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture organised by the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi, General Dwivedi said: “We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter, we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation, normal management of the Line CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Govt looks at options as business mounts pressure for China dealings again SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA BUSINESS AS USUAL NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan on Tuesday. PTI BY UNNY WHILE THERE has been a gradual reconciliation in India and China’stradetiessincetheblockade triggered by 2020 border clashes, pressure from New Delhi’s business community for goods and specialised manpower from across the border, and its ambitions of becoming a manufacturing hub have played a big roleinthe progressive shift. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chairs a security review meeting in Ganderbal on Tuesday. ANI After tunnel attack, J&K cracks down on Lashkar module ‘recruiting’ locals BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 22 TWO DAYS after seven persons were killed in a terror attack at a key tunnel construction site in Gagangir, the Counter IntelligenceKashmir(CIK),aunit of the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, Tuesday said it has busted a militant recruitment moduleintheValleywiththedetention of eight youths. The youths, police said, were part of a newly floated militant outfit called the Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim, which officials claim is an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Senior Superintendent of Police, CIK, Tahir Ashraf Bhatti confirmed the detentions. Policesaidtheyconductedsi- multaneous raids at different locations in seven districts of the Valley after inputs about the recruitmentmodule,saidtoberun byaPakistan-basedLashkarcommander named Baba Hamas. “On the basis of information and inputs/evidence developed bytheCIK,itwasfoundthatBaba Hamas,aterroristhandlerof LeT, is going to float a new terrorist organisation by the name of Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim, an offshoot of LeT, in conspiracy with OGWs (overground workers), supporters, facilitators, sympathisers of terrorist organisations operating in Kashmir valley with the active support of Pakistani agencies with the intention to further terrorist activities,” an official statement said. “Itwasfurtherfoundthatterrorist handler Gazi Hamas is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD BLINKEN IN ISRAEL AS U.S. LOOKS TO PUSH CEASEFIRE DHAKA PROTESTERS DEMAND PRESIDENT OUSTER PAGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jyotiraditya Scindia, TMC MP Kalyan smashes bottle at House DAYS AFTER JAISHANKAR VISIT TO PAK Union Minister, guest committee meeting on waqf Bill, suspended Kartarpur Corridor: India, Pak renew pact at Express Adda today Chairperson Jagdambika Pal for another five years says bottle was NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 FROM OVERSEEING spectrum auction to pushing connectivity in India’s Northeast, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia has had an impactful four months in the third term of the NDA government. ScindiawillbethefirstUnion Minister to be the Express Adda guest after Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed his Cabinet in June this year for the NDA third term. With India aiming to become the third largest economy, he has his task cut out given the critical role that telecom plays as a growth enabler. thrown at him ASAD REHMAN Communications & DoNER Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 TRINAMOOL CONGRESS (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended for a day from the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Kalyan Banerjee (left) and Jagdambika Pal AAP MP Sanjay Singh. Banerjee andGangopadhyay are learnt to have had an ugly spat during a discussion on the In a first, more farm fires in UP than Haryana in a month; Punjab still at top MALLICA JOSHI NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FOR THE first time since 2020, when farm fires began to be tracked centrally, Uttar Pradesh has seen more paddy stubble burningincidentsthanHaryana. AccordingtotheICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) data, between September 15andOctober21thisyear,Uttar Pradesh recorded 723 farm fires as compared to 655 in Haryana. Punjabremainedatthetopof the list with 1,510 cases. Overthelastfewyears,thefocusonimplementingguidelines tocurbfarmfires—includingimposing fines, using specialised machineryandincentivisingthe saleof paddystubble—hasbeen on Punjab and Haryana due to their high numbers during the paddy harvest season. The area under paddy cultivation, however, is higher in UttarPradeshthaninPunjaband Haryana together. According to experts, the peak stubble burning season is expected to start by the end of next week, and will coincide with Diwali. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 registration of Waqf properties. Afterexchangingbarbs,Banerjee is learnt to have smashed a glass bottle on the table. Speaking to reporters later, Pal alleged that Banerjee aimed the bottle at him. “During the meetingtoday,aviolentincident happened. A bottle was broken and an attempt was made to hit the Chair... the way he threw it. Because of God’s kindness, I was saved. He then abused me, and spoke against me outside. I repeat that this kind of behaviour CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Waqf (Amendment) Bill after he smashed a glass bottle during a heated discussion with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who chairs the panel, later alleged that Banerjee tried “to hit the Chair” with the bottle. Banerjeeislearnttohavesufferedcutsonhisthumbandafingerwhilesmashingthebottle.He was provided first-aid, and was laterseenbeingescortedbackto the meeting room by AIMIM presidentAsaduddinOwaisiand The effect it hason ● Capital air STUBBLE BURNING is a key source of Delhi’s air pollution in the October-early December period, typically accounting for 2025 per cent of the pollution, and at times going up to 40 per cent, as per government data. SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 LESSTHANaweekafterExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visitedIslamabadandmetPakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister MohammadIshaqDar,Indiaand Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to renew their pact on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for another five years. The pact was due to lapse on October 24. “It has been agreed between India and Pakistan through diplomatic channels to extend the validity of the agreement on SriKartarpurSahibCorridorfora further period of five years... The agreement, signed on October 24, 2019 to facilitate the visit of pilgrimsfrom IndiatoGurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, was valid for a period of five years,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. The Kartarpur Corridor pact was due to lapse on Oct 24 It said the “extension of the validity of this agreement will ensure uninterrupted operation of the Corridor for use by the pilgrims from India to visit the holy gurdwara in Pakistan”. In view of the continued requests of pilgrims regarding the removalof US$20servicecharge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee on the pilgrims, it said. The 4 km-long Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Hockey to wrestling, CWG drops 9 sports, dents India’s medal hopes PAGE 1 ANCHOR MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, OCTOBER 22 SIX OF the 12 disciplines in which India won a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games — contributing 37 out of the total 61 medals— have been dropped fromthe2026edition,it wasannounced Tuesday. For the 2026 CWG, which will be held in Glasgow, badminton, cricket, hockey, squash, table tennis and wrestling have been omitted. This comes after shooting and archery — the two sports Indians have dominated historically at the Commonwealth level — faced the axe from the 2022 edition held in Birmingham. The 2026 edition, featuring only10sportsandroughly3,000 athletes,willtakeplacefromJuly 23 to August 2. Glasgow will be CWG‘lite’sincethepreviousedition in Birmingham had 19 sportsandalmost5,000athletes. In a statement, the Glasgow CWG organisers said the sports programme will include athletics and para-athletics, boxing, bowls and para-bowls, swim- mingandpara-swimming,artistic gymnastics, track cycling and para-track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para-powerlifting, judo, 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball. The decision was met with fiercebacklashfromIndia’ssporting administrators. Former CWG medallist and Indian Olympic Association executive council member Gagan Narang said the move was “disheartening”. “I can imagine the disappointment for (the) shooters who were preparing for this event. I am also disappointed that (a) few more disciplines which are medal prospects for The closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. India won 61 medals in this edition. File/Reuters India don’t figure in the list of disciplines for CWG 2026,” Narang said. Badminton legend and national coach Pullela Gopichand saidhewas“deeplyappalledand disappointed by the decision”. “It is crucial that we raise our voices and bring this issue to the appropriate authorities to ensure badminton continues to thrive and inspire future generations. We cannot allow such shortsighteddecisionstoundermine the progress we have tirelessly achieved,” he said. While badminton has been played in every edition of the CWG since 1966, squash and Jaipur hockey have been a part of the programme since 1998. Table tennis has featured at every Games since 2002. The decision also marks a rare occurrence of no racquet sport being included in a multi-discipline event. Incidentally,shootingwasincluded in the initial programme announced by Victoria, before they surrendered their hosting rightsduetohighcosts.Glasgow stepped in as a last-minute replacement and dropped a number of events to keep the Games within budget. Originally, the Australian state was scheduled to host the 2026 edition before it pulled out citing huge costs. With Glasgow operating on an extremely tight budget, the organisers chose to restrict the Games to just four venues. In a way, the Glasgow CWG will also set a new trend, wherein the sports programme has been finalised based on the venues available rather than choosing the sports first and then building a venue. The organisers said they will usefourvenueswithinan8-mile radius in Glasgow to save on transport and security, among other things. Athletes and supportstaff willbehousedinhotels instead of a dedicated Games Village to further save costs.