eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE MALABAR RAP JAIPUR,LATECITY NOVEMBER3,2024 After taking over Kerala, Malayalam rap is now going global 12+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA THE WORLD TRUMP AND HARRIS HEAD TO N CAROLINA IN FINAL WEEKEND OF POLL CAMPAIGN KHAMENEI WARNS OF ‘CRUSHING RESPONSE’ PAGE 10 All in family: From MVA to Mahayuti, parties ride on key first-timers WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SUMMONS OTTAWA DIPLOMAT, LODGES PROTEST IndiaslamsCanadachargeagainstShah, warnsof‘seriousconsequences’forties Ourconsularofficialsundersurveillance,theircommunicationsintercepted...facingharassment:MEA SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2 DAYS AFTER senior members of the Trudeau administration alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was behind a campaign to target Khalistan separatistsbasedinCanada,Indiahas lodgedaprotest“inthestrongest terms” through diplomatic channels, calling the allegations “absurd and baseless”. And in remarks suggesting further strain in relations, New Delhi has warned Ottawa that “such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties”. Responding to questions at a media briefing Saturday, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “We had summoned the representative of the CanadianHighCommissionyesterday. A Diplomatic Note was handed over in reference to the proceedings of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in Ottawa on October 29, 2024.” “It was conveyed in the Note that the Government of India protestsinthestrongesttermsto Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at a Diwali event in Ontario. PTI the absurd and baseless references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Deputy Minister David Morrison,” he said. “In fact, the revelation that high Canadian officials deliberately leak unfounded insinuations to the international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view the Government of India has long held about the current Canadian Government’s political agenda and behavioural pattern. Such irresponsible actions CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 13-MTH LOW IN OCT, SET TO PICK UP IN NOV Crude imports fall amid refinery shutdowns and West Asia tension Former NCP minister Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana, MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit among those in fray VALLABH OZARKAR & ALOK DESHPANDE SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2 MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 During a gunfight between security forces and militants in Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar on Saturday. Shuaib Masoodi Foreign militant was involved in killing of inspector in 2023 NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 2 A LASHKAR-E-TAIBA commander, who the police have identified as Usman Lashkari, was killed in an encounter that broke out in Srinagar’s Khanyar area early Friday morning. Inspector General, J&K Police (Kashmir Zone), V K Birdi said that four security personnel — PAGE 7 twoeachfromtheJ&KPoliceand the CRPF — were injured in the day-long encounter. They were admitted to Army's 92 Base Hospital and are stable, officials said. According to the police, the foreign militant killed in the encounter, Usman,had been active in Srinagar for the last few months.TheIGPsaidthathewas involved in the killing of inspector Masroor Wani, who was shot in the Eidgah area of Srinagar while playing cricket onOctober 29 last year. He died at AIIMS, Delhi in December. In a statement earlier in the day,theJammuandKashmirpolice said that “a cordon and search operation in Khanyar has resulted in an exchange of fire”, and that “police and security forces are on the job”. In a separate encounter, two CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 OVER 250 HIRED FROM EXTERNAL AGENCIES INCLUDING THE BIG 4 Rural Development Dept keen to rationalise pay for its consultants NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2 ● Cong-BJP direct fights in 76 seats hold key to next Maharashtra govt CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lashkar commander among 3 killed in Srinagar, Anantnag gunbattles SHYAMLAL YADAV ● Rebel woes: BJP worst hit, parties rush to pacify leaders INDIA’S CRUDE oil imports in October declined to a 13-month low amid maintenance-related shutdowns at some refineries and the geopolitical crisis in West Asia which led to fears of highvolatilityininternationaloil prices.Consequently,importvol- FOUR CRPF, POLICE PERSONNEL INJURED THE DEPARTMENT of Rural Development, which has taken over 250 consultants on contract, has set up a committee to suggest “measures for rationalisation” of emoluments being paid to them. The committee, chaired by Additional Secretary T K Anil Kumar is expected to submit its report in November, sources told The Indian Express. It will “examine the present emoluments being paid to consultants in different program divisionsandsuggestmeasuresfor rationalisation of such emoluments for the department”, the sources said. The committee was set up following a report submitted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration(IIPA)lastyearto the Department of Rural Development. An academician involved in the IIPA said, “We havesuggestedfollowingcertain SOPs (Standard Operating CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED DYNASTS DOMINATE the candidate lists of every major party in contention for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections, with both the incumbent Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalitions fielding many nomineesbelonging to influential political families across the DECISION state. While Ma2024 hayuti comMAHARASHTRA prises the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath ShindeheadedShivSenaandAjitPawarled NCP, the MVA consists of the Congress,UddhavThackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). In the Mahayuti camp, of the state’s 288 Assembly seats, BJP has fielded 152 candidates, Shinde Sena 78 and Ajit NCP 52. From MVA, Congress has put up 104 candidates, Uddhav Sena 96 and Pawar Sena 87. There are many debutants in the fray who belong to various influential political families in the state. WhileBJP,Congress,andNCP (SP) have each fielded at least 9 first-timer dynasts,Shinde Sena, umes from the top five suppliers — Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States — declined sequentially, according to ship tracking data. InOctober,Indianrefinerscumulativelyimported4.35million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, down 7.6 per cent month-onmonth, according to provisional Govteye onpay, ● capacity THE GOVT wants to be sure rules are followed while paying top salaries to consultants from external agencies. At another level, the government is also keen to build human resource capacities within. Private, not Govt, is primary school for children in Haryana, Manipur, Telangana PAGE 1 ANCHOR BUCKING THE ENROLMENT TREND ■ Govt schools ■ Pvt schools ■ Pvt-aided schools ■ Others ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2 WHILE GOVERNMENT schools continue to enrol the majority of school-going children nationwide, the most recent data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on primary school enrolment reveals that three 66.7% Haryana 23.4% National Average Manipur 8.7% Telangana 1.2% Source: MoSPI’s Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey 2022-23 Puducherry 45.6% 40.2% 73.5% 21% 57.5% 30.5% 63% 26.7% statescontinuetobuckthistrend. In Classes 1 to 5, Haryana, Manipur, Telangana, and Puducherry (Union Territory) have more children studying in private schools than in government ones, according to the ComprehensiveAnnualModular Survey (CAMS) 2022-23, released last month. This survey, the first of its kind, confirms findings of the 2021-22 UDISE survey (Unified District Information System for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT ALONG LAC IN EASTERN LADAKH Govt: Patrolling has commenced on agreed terms in Depsang, Demchok Dialogue mechanisms will be used to stabilise, rebuild ties, says MEA THE DEPSANG PATROLLING POINTS 11 Limitof PP10 Raki Nala Roadto DBO Burtse Daulat Beg Oldie Depsang Plains Ladakh Hot Springs Galwan Patrolling 11A 12 Dharti Leh Darbuk 13 Chushul Demchok JivanNala Bottleneck (Y-junction) Pangong Tso LineofActualControl(LAC) SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2 THE GOVERNMENT Saturday confirmed “verification patrolling has commenced on mutually agreed terms in Demchok and Depsang” along the Line of ActualControlineasternLadakh aspartof anagreementbetween India and China to reduce tensions in the region while they look to repair bilateral ties. The agreement restores Indian access to its patrolling points in the Depsang Plains not farfromDaulatBegOldie,India’s northern outpost near the Karakoram Pass, and Demchok in the southeast of Ladakh. The announcement on re- INSIDE NEPAL PM PICKS CHINA FOR FIRST BILATERAL VISIT P 5 sumption of patrolling in the Depsang Plains came a day after Indian Army sources confirmed that “coordinated patrolling” had begun in the Demchok area where the Chinese had been squatting at Charding Nullah. In the Depsang Plains, the PLA had cut off Indian access to five patrolling points — PP 10, 11, 11A, 12, 13. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External CONTINUED ON PAGE 2