Monday PTI 28 October, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard i s r a e l i at ta c k damage to iran’s military base Facilities at a secretive military base linked to Tehran’s one-time nuclear weapons programme and another base tied to its ballistic missile project hit Page 9 Stampede at Mumbai rlY station, 10 injured A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l At least 10 people were injured, one critically, in a stampede at the Bandra railway station in Mumbai on Sunday. Hundreds of people attempted to board a Gorakhpur (UP)-bound train to head to their native places for the upcoming Diwali and Chhatth festival. Western Railway has imposed restrictions on platform tickets. P8 PAGES 12 Jaishankar hard Flights, Tirupati shrine, many hotels get bomb threats talk on no 26/11 govt retaliation UJWAL JALALI , N a m i ta B a j pa i & D s u r e nd r a k u m a r @ New Delhi/Lucknow/Tirupati Says things have changed and India is now a global leader in fighting incidents of terror MAYA N K SI N G H @ New Delhi “We also have to expose. It is not acceptable that you are doExternal Affairs Minister S ing business during daytime Jaishankar on Sunday did and indulging in terror during some hard talk on India’s reac- the night and I have to pretend tion to the November 26, 2008 that everything is okay .” Mumbai terror attack, saying When India was a member of “there was no response”, but the UN Security Council and that would not be the case if it chairing the counter-terrorism happens now. The strong lan- committee, the counter-terrorguage came just over three ism panel’s meeting was held weeks before Maharin the same hotel that ashtra goes to polls was hit by the 26/11 on November 20. ter ror attack, the Speaking on India’s minister said. response to terrorism Without naming and what changed afChina, he said the ter 2014, Jaishankar disengagement of said Mumbai is a troops at Depsang symbol of counterand Demchok in Laterrorism for India dakh is the first step, and the world. “We adding it is expected should not have a rethat India will return peat of what hapto the pre-2020 patrolIndia won on that pened in Mumbai. ling status. He, howThat there was a ter- day (J&K elections). ever, stressed that the It reflects people’s ror attack and there next step of de-escafaith in the scrapping lation won’t be taken was no response.” of Article 370 and He said things have until India is assured the hold of changed now and Inof reciprocity from separatist politics dia is now a leader in the other side. was broken fighting terror. Speaking on the S Jaishankar, External Jaishankar fielded Manipur strife, JaisAffairs Minister questions on issues hankar said there are ranging from terrorcomplex reasons beism to the India-China stand- hind what is happening, noting off and from investment to poli- that some factors are historical tics at a press conference in and the rest concern the border Mumbai. Reiterating the Modi situation. “Claims like the rest government’s policy that talks of the world would have a proband terror cannot go together, lem with India because of Mahe said, “when we talk of zero nipur are a political agenda tolerance against terror, it is and anti-national agenda. It is clear that when somebody does not right to damage India’s imsomething, there will be a age in the name of Manipur,” response. he said. Express read Punjab cops bust major drug smuggling racket In one of the biggest drug hauls in Punjab, police on Sunday busted a cross-border smuggling racket, arrested two Turkey-based drug smugglers and seized of 105 kg of heroin, 31.93 kg caffeine anhydrous, 17 kg DMR. Six weapons, including 5 foreignmade pistols and one desi katta were also seized during the intelligence-led operation. Police said two big rubber tubes of tyres were recovered, indicating waterroute was used to transport drugs. SC to hear plea against ‘VIP charges’ in temples The Supreme Court’s two-judge bench, led by CJI-designate Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said it will examine the writ petition challenging the imposition of ‘VIP entry charges’ at major temples across India. The PIL said that the practice of charging fees for expedited or preferential darshan of deities discriminates against the economically disadvantaged devotees, violating Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 21 (right to dignity). | P7 Bengal will see peace if infiltration stops: Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that peace will return to West Bengal only when infiltration is stopped and corruption is stamped out, calling for a change of government in the 2026 assembly elections. He said incidents of assault on women in Sandeshkhali and the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital are evidence that women are “not safe” in the state, and a change of government in 2026 will usher in ‘achhe din’. | P8 The hoax bomb threat menace continued for the aviation industry on Sunday as more than 50 flights received calls, keeping security agencies on their toes. The Sri Varadaraja Swamy temple in Tirupati and a couple of hotels there, as also over a dozen prominent hotels in Lucknow received similar threats. Flights which received hoax bomb threats included 18 of IndiGo airlines, 17 of Vistara and toxic effluence, utter neglect choke city’s lifeline Varadaraja Swamy temple. The e-mail threats again mentioned the alleged drug kingpin Jaffer Sadiq and the ISI. us polls immigration hot campaign topic Many immigrants, including from India and other South Asian nations, fear backlash if Republican hopeful Donald Trump wins the election | P9 appointment would allow the org anization to function smoothly and give each leader a clear role,” Mann said. Zonal chiefs can also be appointed, he added. The Chief Minister also highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for various party leaders. Political circles are abuzz with speculation about a senior AAP Hindu leader replacing Mann as the state party chief. “This talk has been doing the rounds. Changes in the state party organizational structure look inevitable,” said a leader. Mann was appointed AAP’s Punjab unit chief in 2017 when he was the MP from Sangrur. He led the party in Punjab during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2022 assembly polls. There are 22 drains polluting river Yamuna. Foaming incidents have become annual. There is no dearth of funds, but the only thing missing is the will to actually clean up the river | P4 The Lucknow police roped in the Cyber Cell to trace the origin of the email, while bomb disposal and dog squads were deployed to begin large-scale evacuations. The hotels mentioned in the threatening email are situated in tony areas of Lucknow, including Gomti Nagar, Hazratganj, Sarojininagar, Alambagh and Krishnanagar. The mail from Adam Lanza Sandyhookchildkilling@outlook.com had ‘Bombs in the HOTEL’ in the subject line. It was sent to the nine hotels at 8.03 am. NDPS, excise cases against KTR kin after midnight raid The iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar on Sunday witnessed the first ever women’s boat race. Around 150 enthusiastic women participated in the unique competition, organised by sports association JKARS. Celebrated Kashmiri water sports athlete Bilquis Mir volunteered as the chief organiser of the event | PTI h a r p r e e t b a j w a @ Chandigarh yamuna Tirupati police conducting searches at a hotel after a bomb threat | Express In Vijayawada, Hotel Taj Vivanta received a bomb threat. Inspector S S S V Nagaraju said extensive searches at the hotel revealed it was a hoax threat. Panic gripped Lucknow after nine prominent hotels received bomb threats demanding a ransom of `50 lakh on Sunday The . email, sent around 8.03 am, claimed that explosive devices had been planted in black bags across all the hotel premises. The sender warned that any attempt to defuse them would lead to mass casualties, prompting an emergency response. Boat Race No ‘remote control’ from Delhi, Mann wants to quit as Punjab AAP convener Will the Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president be changed? Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been the state unit convener of the party for the last seven years. On Sunday, he expressed his willingness for a full-time AAP state unit convener, saying he intended to step down from the post of state unit president. Bypolls to four Assembly seats — Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala — will be held on November 13 and the results declared on November 23. The bypolls were necessitated after the MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Mann’s remarks came on the sidelines of a by-election campaign rally at Chabbewal in Hoshiarpur district. “I’ve been the president of AAP in Punjab for the last seven years. As a CM I have huge responsibilities; I have 13-14 departments, which is a big responsibility I . believe AAP needs a full-time state party chief. I will speak to the party leadership,’’ he said. “Currently we have a working president, but a full-time 15 of Akasa. Most of the threats were issued through social media posts. While this is the first time a bomb threat was sent to a temple in Tirupati, at least half a dozen hotels in the temple city received hoax bomb threats over the past three days. The Alipiri police received a mail regarding the bomb threat at the TTD-run temple. Bomb disposal teams and sniffer dogs were deployed at Hotel Renest and Pai Viceroy, situated near the Kapila Teertham circle, as well as the Sri a j ay t o m a r @ Hyderabad Hurriyat trying to stage a comeback in new Kashmir trying to revive the Hurriyat by meeting other leaders of After remaining dormant the group. for five years, Kashmir’s sepMirwaiz broke the pattern aratist outfit Hurriyat Con- in the run-up to the Assembly ference seems to have got a polls, making his first politilease of life with the victory cal speech from the pulpit of of National Conference early Jamia Masjid, saying electhis month in the first Assem- tions are for sadak, bijli and bly polls since Article 370 was paani (road, electricity, and read down. water) and can’t resolve the Since his release in Sep- Kashmir issue. tember 2023 from five years On October 23, he met othof house arrest, Hurriyat er Hurriyat leaders—his first Conference leader Mirwaiz meeting with them since AuUmar Farooq’s activities have gust 5, 2019 when the Centre been confined to addressing scrapped J&K’s special status weekly Friday sermons at the and bifurcated the erstwhile historic Jamia Masjid in state into two UTs. Srinagar. But now he apIn a notable gesture, pears to have become Mirwaiz strongly convery active, responding demned the killing of to the killing of mimigrant workers at an grant labourers by terunder-construction site rorists in Kashmir, at Gagangir last week. commenting on Prime He also sent a HurMinister Narendra riyat team to Modi’s talks at the residence the BRICS meet of Dr ShahnaMirwaiz Umar Farooq in Russia, and waz, one of F AYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar the seven victims, to express condolences. On October 25, Mirwaiz expressed his readiness to hold dialogue with the Modi government for conflict resolution. He tried to conflate Modi’s message at the Kazan summit that dialogue and diplomacy are the means to settle conflicts and not war, with the Kashmir problem. Mirwaiz’s return to active politics suggests a strategic repositioning. The move appears aimed at consolidating support among local populace and reaffirming Hurriyat’s relevance in a rapidly changing political environment in the Valley . The developments also imply a more inclusive approach by the government. “Allowing meeting of Mirwaiz and his colleagues is an indication of a shift in the political environment in J&K,” said J&K Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari. Cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were registered on Sunday against Raj Pakala, brother-in-law of BRS working president KT Rama Rao, for organising a party in which one of the guests, Vijay Madduri, allegedly tested positive for cocaine. The Cyberabad Special Operations Team and excise officials raided a farmhouse in Janwada after receiving credible information about the consumption of prohibited drugs and foreign liquor at a party on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The farmhouse is owned by Pakala Rajendra Prasad, alias Raj Pakala, owner of ETG software company located at Nanakramguda. Vijay Madduri is the CEO of ETG and owner of Fusion Aix software company . The FIR stated, “Madduri Vijay stated during interrogation, in the presence of a mediator, that he and Raj would occasionally meet for weekend gatherings where they used to consume drugs and gamble using poker chips. Vijay and Raj have had a close relationship for five years. As a result, Raj invited Vijay to a Diwali party at his newly built house. Raj Pakala asked Vijay to consume cocaine, which he had with him. Vijay agreed.” A case was registered under Sections 25, 27, and 29 of the NDPS Act, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Telangana Gaming Act, at Mokila police station against Madduri and Pakala. Additionally, the Excise department’s Task Force filed a case under Section 34-A and Section 34(1) r/w 9 of the Excise Act against Pakala for serving alcohol without obtaining a licence. Delhi air turns toxic, AQI ‘severe’ in many areas u j w a l j a l a l i @ New Delhi The quality of air has worsened in the national Capital in the past 24 hours after a short breather of two days, causing problems to the people who are already reeling with respiratory disorders. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 356 index value, which is marked under the “very poor” category . The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) has predicted that the air quality is likely to be in the “very poor” category from October 28 to October 30. “The air quality may reach a severe category on October 30 in case of additional emissions from firecrackers and stubble fire. The meteorological conditions are unfavourable for effec- WORST AQI NUMBERS ON OCT 27 AQI 301-400 ‘very poor’, AQI 401-500 ‘severe’ Bawana 407 Okhla Phase 2 392 Jahangirpuri 403 Anand Vihar 392 Burari 402 Nehru Nagar 387 tive dispersion of pollutants,” the weather forecasting agency said.Vehicular emission was the biggest contributor to Delhi’s pollution on Sunday, accounting for about 13%, according to the Centre’s Decision Support Sys- tem for Air Quality Management. It predicted that vehicular emissions will remain the top contributor to Delhi’s pollution over the next two days. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe.’ According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the wind speed in the city was calm. As per experts, Delhi’s air quality had improved from “very poor” to “poor” category in the last two days due to favourable winds. Notably, the second stage of GRAP was implemented from October 22 amid worsening air quality and exactly a week after when the CAQM had imposed GRAP-I in the Capital. Under the second stage of the Graded Response Action Plan, the use of coal and firewood, including in tandoors at hotels, restaurants, and open eateries, as well as diesel generator sets (except for emergency and essential services), is completely banned. P3