MONDAY GST MOP-UP SURGES TO `2.31 LAKH CRORE IN OCTOBER ON FESTIVE DEMAND 02 October is the second consecutive month when monthly gross GST crossed `2 lakh crore, and 2nd only to the record `2.43 lakh cr mop-up in April NOVEMBER, 2026 COLLECTIONS FROM DOMESTIC SALES UP 16% epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard GEN Z PROTEST RIOTERS LOOT SHOPS IN GERMANY Scores of masked rioters looted showrooms in Frankfurt in Germany on Saturday, as massive demonstrations turned violent across the country PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 After DGCA order, operators refuse to fly to Char Dham Traders say goods worth `10K cr stuck due to air plan H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh WITH the ban on BS IV vehicles in Delhi, approximately 60,000 commercial vehicles f ro m G u r u g r a m s t a n d barred from entering the national capital, disrupting the movement of goods worth around `10,000 crore across the NCR. Besides, thousands of people who travel between Gurugram and Delhi every day are likely to face hardships under the new rule. According to Gurugram Transport Association, the decision will bring roughly 20% of the region’s commercial vehicles, including taxis, buses and trucks, to a halt. “Transporters have said they will follow the government’s orders and use BS VI vehicles in place of the BS IV ones,’’ it stated. “This rule will have a huge impact on the transport business, as a large number of vehicles in our business were manufactured before 2020 and are in good condition. Also they go through regular inspections. But now, these vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi,” a member of the association siad. He added that the number of trips will reduce, thus impacting the delivery of goods to Delhi. DIWALI AIR GEARS UP TO TEST POLLUTION POLICY SC is not happy with govt agencies for cleaning air efforts and crackers are back in city markets, ready to burn a hole in the air CITYSCAPE @ P4 SEN BACK ON TRACK Lakshya, who won the Australian Open & reached the finals at Hong Kong Open in 2025, came into the contest with a 3-4 record vs Jonatan Christie. He won 21-17, 21-10. “It’s been a couple of months since I have won a tournament or played backto-back matches. I was just really determined to just go out there & win,” he said. 6.5% YoY IS THE INCREASE IN GST REFUNDS, WHICH IS `27,934 CR IN OCTOBER INDIA bloc leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, Sonia Gandhi, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi on Sunday | SAYANTAN GHOSH CEC Gyanesh has to go: Oppn ‘Foolish drama’ on anniversary of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, says BJP INDIA bloc’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan brings together all parties P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi IN a show of strength at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan, a united Opposition on Sunday vowed to remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and hold the Narendra Modi government accountable for alleged “vote theft”, as a massive crowd rallied behind the INDIA bloc’s call to defend democracy and the Constitution. The congregation saw a striking show of unity as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other alliance leaders rode together in an open canter from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan, where they addressed the gathering. Launching a diatribe against the government, Gandhi said removing Gyanesh Kumar would be the first step towards putting the country back on track, while asserting that “the CEC would face imprisonment for alleged ‘treason’ and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would face legal action.” Calling the 2024 Lok Sabha elections “illegal”, he alleged that the Election Commission removed 15 percent of voters from the rolls, while the voteshare gap between NDA and INDIA bloc in the last general election was three percentage points. “Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji, understand this—after Gyanesh Kumar, we will stand against you...,” he said. Invoking the Constitution, Gandhi said the gathering represented the voice of young people, farmers and workers determined to defend democracy . Addressing the gathering, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of alleged deletions from electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh and accused authorities of manipulating votes through SIR ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. “We, in the INDIA alliance, will not stop,” he said. Calling upon people across communities and political affiliations to unite against the BJP TMC , chief Banerjee said, “ We will fight this democratically We will fight with our lives.” ... Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby CPI general secretary D Raja , and CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya were among the senior leaders present. DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR INDIA PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen secured titles at the Hylo Open tournament on Sunday. A look... RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR & HARPREET BAJWA @New Delhi/Chandigarh The INDIA bloc rally marching towards Ramlila Maidan | SAYANTAN GHOSH | P3 Over 4K cops keep a watch Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji, understand this—after Gyanesh Kumar, we will stand against you Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader SINDHU’S DOMINATION Former world champion Sindhu displayed excellent control and precision in her strokeplay to register a commanding 21-12, 21-14 win over Line Højmark Kjærsfeldt of Denmark. With the win, the world No. 8 Sindhu earned 9,200 ranking points to strengthen her bid for a place in the season-ending World Tour Finals. “I know there were days when you’re absolutely low, but still your team is there to pump you up. It’s been an amazing week and I think it’s time to go back and celebrate now. It has been an amazing two weeks,” she said. P11 The rally in central Delhi concluded peacefully on Sunday, police said. Over 4,000 police personnel were deployed, apart from drones, body-worn cameras, anti-riot vehicles and personnel from CAPF THE ruling BJP on Sunday sought to dismiss the INDIA bloc’s rally as a “foolish drama”, accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of hurting sentiments on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a gathering in Chandigarh months ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, trained his ire on Rahul, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and alleged the rally could only “rub salt in the wounds of the victims’”. “If you want to become PM, stay in mock parliament your entire life. Your turn won’t come. Telling lies, spreading anarchy, not letting Parliament function, this is your true nature,” he charged. Shah said when the Modi government came to power in 2014, riot cases were reopened and relief was given to the kin of victims. “India has never witnessed, nor will it ever witness, riots of this kind, incited by a political party he claimed. ,” In Haryana, BJP national president Nitin Nabin led a counter march to ‘Save democracy, eradicate anarchy’. Calling for Congress to apologise for the riots, he accused the party of blaming constitutional institutions after failing to secure a mandate. In Delhi, Union Minister JP Nadda told media the rally was a “foolish drama of the defeated”. He claimed traders had suffered losses of nearly `3,000 crore due to protests and alleged Sunday’s rally could result in additional losses exceeding `10,000 crore in the crucial festival period. HOURS after the DGCA issued an order on Saturday mandating two pilots per aircraft flying in the Char Dham sector, most operators strongly opposed the move and announced suspension of operations from Monday . Eleven of the 13 charter operators sent a letter to the DGCA on October 31. Its copies were sent to the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Uttarakhand administration. A DGCA source told this newspaper that three key regulations will come into effect from Monday which are , binding on all operators. A DGCA order said, “From November 2, all Char Dham charter flights shall be flown in two-pilot configuration and the co-pilot shall also be a hillqualified pilot.” Secondly, all flights must seek positive destination and en route clearance from Control Room Sahastradhara (in Dehradun) prior to takeoff for each leg of Char Dham sec- AFFAIR SUSPICION Man held for neighbour’s murder after 28 years E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi POLICE have solved a murder case dating back over two decades with the arrest of a 62-year-old man in northeast Delhi, who allegedly killed a neighbour over suspicions of affair with his wife. The incident took place in 1998 in Khajuri Khas. Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Aditya Gautam said that on October 20, 1998, Jai Prakash, 24, was found grievously injured and unconscious. Later, he succumbed to the injuries. Investigation revealed that the accused had allegedly struck the deceased on the head with a hammer and then staged the scene as a hit-and-run accident. It emerged that the accused and the deceased were neighbours. The accused allegedly suspected the deceased of having illicit relations with his wife. Police got a tip-off about his presence in Delhi. During surveillance, police noticed an unidentified person secretly and repeatedly meeting the accused’s brothers. He was later identified as Vishwanath Singh and was nabbed on Friday from Shiv Vihar, the DCP Gautam said. Litigants rush to SC for HC matters: CJI E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kochi CHIEF Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday flagged the new trend of litigants approaching the Supreme Court for urgent listing or early hearing of matters already pending before high courts. “This is a new dimension of litigation which is now flooding the SC,” he said at the inaugural function of the celebrations held to mark 70 years of the Kerala High Court. The CJI said the SC has consistently respected the high courts’ autonomy, including their authority to regulate ros- Chief Justice of India Surya Kant speaking in Kochi on Sunday | PTI ter. “However, the frequency of such requests invites us to consider whether there is room to improve the responsiveness of our processes,” he noted. “We must ask: Can urgent matters be identified more ef- fectively? Can listing procedures be made more transparent and predictable? Can technology help prioritise cases where delay may cause irreversible prejudice? And can we ensure a litigant’s access to timely justice does not depend upon their ability to travel to the national capital?” he said. The CJI said constitutional justice in India does not begin and end in New Delhi as its strength lies in a robust network of 25 high courts in the country “Each entrusted with . the duty of protecting rights and upholding the rule of law,” he added. India’s first indigenous bullet train on track, undergoes ‘squeeze test’ @ New Delhi INDIA’s first indigenous bullet train, called B28, is taking shape at BEML’s ‘ ditya’ facilA ity in Bengaluru. Sharing the details on Sunday the railway ministry said: , “India is taking a major step towards indigenous high-speed rail technolo g y with the Bharat-made bullet train. It is being manufactured for the tors. The other regulation states that all crew shall file a Pilot Report (PIREP) after landing at each destination helipad in the Char Dham charters. Expressing strong opposition, a letter from the operators called for an alternative operational framework that adequately addresses safety concerns, while ensuring the commercial viability and sustainability of helicopter operations in the region. The letter charged that the introduction of mandatory twin-pilot operations will make the continuation of operations financially unviable for them. Speaking to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, a leading operator said, “We charge between `2.25 and `2.5 lakh per passenger. A maximum of five passengers are taken along with the pilot. If we take on board another pilot, then one passenger will be reduced. Hence, the cost will be passed on to the passenger only and it could touch up to , `4 lakh per ticket.” S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi PICS: BADMINTON PHOTO RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR GST collections jumped 23 per cent year-on-year. Gross GST collections from domestic sales rose 16 per cent to over `1.59 lakh crore, and revenues from imports climbed 42 per cent to `72,246 crore. The `2.31 lakh crore collection includes Central GST mop-up of `42,935 crore, State GST of `51,340 crore and Integrated GST of over `1.37 lakh crore, data showed. Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor.” Sources said the bullet train will be cheaper than the Japanese Shinkansen trains. “India was supposed to buy E5 Shinkansen sets. However, after high quotes and potential delays, the government decided to go Atmanirbhar. Japan will still give two Shinkansen sets (E5 and E3) free for testing.” Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the BEML B’luru-Pune corridor next Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday hinted that the proposed Bengaluru-Pune bullet train corridor could be among the next set of high-speed rail projects plant on Sunday and witnessed the ‘squeeze test’ — a critical safety assessment which includes applying controlled compressive/tensile forces on Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewing the manufacturing progress of the bullet train | X the train car body to assess its structural strength, rigidity and dimensional stability . The B28 will have a maximum test speed of 280 km/h. It is expected to roll out by the year-end or early next year. The inaugural run is tentatively fixed for August 15, 2027 on the 97-km Surat–Vapi section. The entire Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor is scheduled for completion around 2029–30. EXPRESS READ DigiYatra trial run for int’l passengers DigiYatra, the contactless and paperless initiative which relies on face recognition technology, has been put on trial run for international passengers at seven airports. A full rollout is expected next year | P7 CBI brings Mahadev app kingpin to India CBI has brought Sourabh Chandrakar, promoter and alleged kingpin of the `6,000 crore Mahadev app online betting syndicate, from Oman, an official said on Sunday. He is facing two CBI and an ED case | P7 Bodies of 2 missing Kuki youths found Security forces on Sunday recovered the mutilated bodies of two Kuki youths, who had gone missing from Manipur’s Kangpokpi, from Senapati. Violence broke out when bodies were brought to Kangpokpi | P8