SP PATRIARCH MULAYAM SINGH YADAV DEAD, LAST RITES TODAY

Samajwadi Party founder and three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who spawned the state's most prominent political clan and played a key role on the national stage, died Monday after prolonged illness. He was 82.

Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum and Uttar Pradesh's BJP government announced a three-day mourning.

Hours later, the body arrived in Saifai, Yadav's native village near Etawah in UP, and was kept in a pandal for people who thronged there for a darshan.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and some other UP BJP leaders arrived to pay their respects.

The funeral will take place with full state honours this afternoon.

In her message, President Droupadi Murmu said Yadav's achievements were extraordinary. 'Dharti Putra Mulayam ji was a veteran leader and was connected with the land. He was respected by people from all parties,' she tweeted in Hindi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Yadav served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan and Lohia.

WEST DID NOT SUPPLY WEAPONS TO INDIA FOR DECADES…..JAISHANKAR

During a joint press meet with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India and Russia have a long-standing relationship that has certainly served India's interests well.

“We have a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons. And that inventory actually grew for a variety of reasons. You know, the merits of the weapons systems themselves, but also because for multiple decades, Western countries did not supply weapons to India, and in fact, saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner,” Jaishankar said in a blunt response to a question.

He was apparently referring to Pakistan, which was a close ally of the US-led West during the Cold War

“We all in international politics deal with what we have, we make judgments, judgments which are reflective of both our future interests as well as our current situation. And my sense is, in terms of this current conflict, like every military conflict, there are learnings from it, and I am sure my very professional colleagues in the military would be studying it very carefully,” Jaishankar said.

He was asked by an Australian reporter whether India should reduce its reliance on Russian weapons systems and rethink its relationship with Russia, given what is going on in Ukraine.

Asked whether South Block was concerned about anti-India separatist activities spreading internationally, he said: “From time to time, we have engaged the Canadian Government. I have myself engaged my counterpart on this issue...It’s important for countries to understand today really how democracies should function not only at home, but also the responsibilities the democracies have to other democracies abroad,"

GUJARAT: MODI WARNS TRIBAL COMMUNITY AGAINST URBAN NAXALS, BJP AGAINST BEING COMPLACENT OVER CONGRESS

Warning the tribal community against “falling for urban Naxals who have arrived in disguise”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an apparent reference to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said in the tribal-dominated Bharuch district on Monday that “they are bringing foreign powers to ruin your life”.

Later, addressing a party meeting at Vallabh Vidyanagar in Anand district, Modi warned partymen at a Jan Vishwas Sammelan of the BJP, against assuming that the Congress was “finished” and asked them not to be under the “illusion” that they were not doing anything.

Addressing a gathering in Amod, where he inaugurated development projects, the PM said, “I remember the days when some (opposition) people obstructed development of industrialisation in Bharuch… These people, who have Naxal mindset, obstructed the construction of the Narmada dam that was meant to provide clean drinking water and irrigation water to Bharuch… Now, urban Naxals have arrived in disguise…”

Modi also laid the foundation for several projects and inaugurated several others totally worth Rs 8,200 crore.

The PM also indulged in a veiled Attack on former PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel resolved issues of merger of other princely states, but "one person" could not resolve the Kashmir issue, he said. "As I am following in the footsteps of Sardar saheb, I have values of the land of Sardar and that was the reason I resolved the problem of Kashmir and paid true tributes to Sardar Patel," PM Modi said.

CURRENT SC COLLEGIUM RESOLVES NOT TO UNDERTAKE FURTHER DELIBERATIONS ON APPOINTMENTS OF JUDGES

The Supreme Court Collegium has resolved to not undertake any further deliberations on 10 names identified for consideration as apex court judges as the Law Ministry has already sent its request to Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit to nominate his successor.

Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and S. Abdul Nazeer had objected to the CJI’s proposal to recommend names for appointment as Supreme Court judges through circulation. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph had concurred with the Chief Justice’s proposal, the collegium resolution said.

A collegium resolution, dated October 9 but published on Monday, October 10, narrated the exact turn of events and circumstances which compelled it to leave its work of recommending new judges for the Supreme Court “unfinished”.

A Law Ministry’s letter on October 7 seeking Chief Justice’s nomination of his successor, who, as per seniority norm, should be Justice Chandrachud, had intervened.

Chief Justice Lalit is scheduled to retire on November 8. The new and 50th Chief Justice of India has to assume office from November 9. Convention dictates that an outgoing CJI cannot hold collegium meetings when the appointment process of his successor has already begun.

“In the circumstances, no further steps need be taken and the unfinished work in the meeting called for on September 30, 2022 is closed without there being any further deliberation.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / Oct 9=10

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday 2,412

Active Cases 28,079 (-514)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,28,814 (3)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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RUSSIA LAUNCHES BIGGEST AIR STRIKES SINCE START OF UKRAINE WAR

Russia launched its most widespread air strikes since the start of the Ukraine war on Monday, raining cruise missiles on busy cities during rush hour and knocking out power and heat, in what President Vladimir Putin called revenge for a blown up bridge.

Missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the centre of the capital Kyiv.

Explosions were reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed and scores injured, and swathes of the country left without power.

Thousands of residents raced to bomb shelters as air raid sirens rang out through the day. The barrage of dozens of cruise missiles fired from air, land and sea was the biggest wave of air strikes to hit locations away from the front line, at least since the initial volleys on the war’s first day, Feb. 24.

“The Kyiv regime, with its actions, has put itself on the same level as international terrorist organisations. With the most odious groups. To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible,” Putin said in a televised address. The Russian leader said he had ordered “massive” long range strikes and he threatened more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attacks were deliberately timed to kill people, as well as to knock out Ukraine’s power grid. His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in eight regions, leaving swaths of the country with no electricity, water or heat. “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” Zelenskiy said.

The Kremlin was humiliated two days ago when a blast damaged Europe’s longest bridge, which it had built after it seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. Ukraine, which views the bridge as a military target sustaining Russia’s war effort, celebrated the blast without officially claiming responsibility.

With troops suffering weeks of setbacks on the battlefield, Russian authorities have been facing the first sustained public criticism at home of the war, with commentators on state television demanding ever tougher measures.

Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. army forces in Europe, said the scale of the strikes suggested Russia’s plan to escalate may have been drawn up before the bridge was attacked.

THE REST

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EC ALLOTS NEW NAMES TO RIVAL SENA FACTIONS, TORCH SYMBOL FOR UDDHAV

The two rival Shiv Sena factions got new names from the Election Commission on Monday: ‘ShivSena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ for the Uddhav faction, and ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena) as the name for the Eknath Shinde camp.

While the Shinde camp has been asked to submit a fresh list of probable symbols by today, the Uddhav faction has been allotted a symbol – a ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal).

The factions had asked for the trident (trishul) and the mace (gada), which were rejected citing religious connotations. Both factions had also wanted the ‘rising sun’, which the EC pointed out was the DMK’s election symbol.

The Election Commission had frozen the Sena’s bow and arrow symbol on October 8, ahead of the November 3 by-election in the Andheri East Assembly seat, for use by both bickering Sena factions.

On Monday, the Thackeray-led faction approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the order.

GUJARAT AAP CHIEF GOPAL ITALIA UNDER FIRE FOR INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

Reacting to the BJP’s attack on him over a purported old video in which he allegedly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “neech” and used “misogynist” language, Gujarat Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Gopal Italia has said he was being attacked because he was a Patidar. Italia claimed the Patidar community was “angry with BJP” and supporting the AAP. “So in one way or the other, they (the BJP) want to trouble Gopal Italia,” he said.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognisance of the video based on a Twitter post by BJP Yuva Morcha national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and summoned the AAP leader for a hearing on October 13.

Asked about the authenticity of the video Italia said, “The video is not even the issue. The issues are inflation, unemployment, roads, lattha kand..(Botad hooch tragedy), paper leaks, education and so on....“This video has become the issue of such a big election? If my language is inappropriate, shoot me. I am not smart like those in the BJP, and speak like them, I am a boy from a village. These people are the children of ‘Kans’....They think that they can ask for votes based on a fake video from four or five years ago. They are running away from the issues, they are scared and fear that the AAP will win elections this time,” said Italia.

INDIA GETS 4TH SET OF SWISS BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

India has received the fourth set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organisations as part of an annual information exchange, under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 34 lakh financial accounts with 101 countries.

This is the fourth tranche of information that India has received from Switzerland since the two countries entered into an Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI) agreement in January 2018. The first such exchange with India took place in 2019.

The Federal Tax Administration has informed that the nature of the financial information includes the name, address, country of residence, tax identification number, information concerning the reporting financial institution, and account balance and capital information, giving an insight into the exact nature of the transmitted data.

The guidelines and parameters for the AEOI are set by the Paris-based international body, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The annual exercise of AEOI exchange, such as the current Swiss bonanza of banking details, is strictly meant for “tax only” purposes and in India, kept in the custody of and for action by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

HATE SPEECHES NEED TO BE STOPPED, YES, BUT BRING SPECIFIC INSTANCES TO US: SC

Amid growing concern over hate speeches by politicians and religious leaders, the Supreme Court on Monday said such speeches needed to be stopped as they vitiated the country’s atmosphere.

“You are correct that the entire atmosphere is getting sullied by these hate speeches… it needs to be stopped,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit told petitioner Harpreet Mansukhani after she alleged that a hate speech was delivered on making India a Hindu ‘rashtra’ before the next Lok Sabha poll.

“Hate speech has been turned into a profitable business. A party funded ‘Kashmir Files’... I have proof of how it was funded and then made tax-free,” Mansukhani told the Bench. The CJI said normal criminal proceedings had to be undertaken in these cases. “For a court to take cognizance, we need to have a factual background… We need some samples of cases. Otherwise it’s a random petition,” the Bench said.

The Bench asked the petitioner to file an affidavit about specific instances of hate speech and if cases were registered in such cases. It posted the matter for further hearing on October 31.

ECONOMICS NOBEL ANNOUNCED: THE WINNERS’ WORK IN HOW BANKS FUNCTION

The last of the Nobel Prize announcements for this year, the Economics Prize has gone to the three individuals for their role in research related to how banks function. “Modern banking research clarifies why we have banks, how to make them less vulnerable in crises and how bank collapses exacerbate financial crises. The foundations of this research were laid by Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig (all three American economists) in the early 1980s. Their analyses have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in its press release.

According to the press release, the research laid the foundation of some crucial questions on banks: “If banking collapses can cause so much damage, could we manage without banks? Must banks be so unstable and, if so, why?....However, there is a conflict here: savers want instant access to their money in case of unexpected outlays, while businesses and homeowners need to know they will not be forced to repay their loans prematurely.”

SURROGACY IN SPOTLIGHT AS NAYANTHARA-VIGNESH SHIVAN ANNOUNCE BIRTH OF TWINS

Tamil film industry’s power couple Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan on Sunday announced that they have become parents to twin boys. Amid the good wishes flowing in, the couple’s announcement is snowballing into a controversy. While the duo has not made an official statement, reports say that the babies were conceived through surrogacy. Questions are being raised over whether procedures stipulated by the Indian surrogacy laws were followed by the couple. Nayanthara and Vignesh got married four months ago.

During a press conference on Monday, the questions were posed to Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian who has said that an inquiry will be conducted.

While commercial surrogacy is banned in India, the criterion is that the surrogate should be at least married once and should have her own child. As per the latest surrogacy regulation bill, in effect from January 25, 2022, the primary idea is the prohibition of commercial surrogacy and there will only be altruistic surrogacy, wherein except for the medical expenses and the insurance cover of the surrogate, no other charges or expenses are covered by the intending parents.

KAPIL GETS FLAK FOR MAKING LIGHT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

A short clip doing the rounds on social media, which surfaced on Twitter on the eve of World Mental Health Day, the legendary Kapil Dev downplays the adverse impact of pressure on mental well-being, be it on the cricket field or the examination hall.

In the viral video, he says: “I think I had a passion to play… I will change the subject slightly. Today, on TV I hear a lot about players talking about facing so much pressure when playing the IPL. I want to tell them one thing. Don’t play then.”

“What is pressure? If a player has passion, there should not be pressure… this American word ‘pressure’, ‘depression’, I don’t understand these things. I am a farmer and I played to enjoy and in enjoyment, there can’t be pressure”.

He then waded into academics. “I went to this school and the children in Class XI and Class XII said we face a lot of pressure. I said ok, even you face pressure? They study in air-conditioned schools, parents pay their fees, teachers can’t hit them but they feel the pressure. In my time, what was pressure… teacher used to first hit and then used to ask. Can teachers even touch a student today? I tell them (students) to change this pressure to fun, pressure is a very wrong word.”

In this day and age when mental health is discussed in dressing rooms, locker rooms and in school staff rooms, many have found Kapil's words jarring. Many argue that by asking modern players to wear passion as an armour day in and day out and telling students to get on with it, Kapil is discouraging them from seeking professional help.

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Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,669 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,193 / 4,760, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 64,800

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. - Neale Donald Walsch

OFF TRACK

"Mr. Goldblatt," announced little Joey, "there's something I can't figure out."

"What's that, Joey?` asked Goldblatt.

"Well, according to the Bible, the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, right?"

"Right."

"And the Children of Israel beat up the Phillistines, right?"

"Er, right."

"And the Children of Israel built the Temple, right?"

"Again you're right."

"And the Children of Israel fought the Egyptians, and the Children of Israel fought the Romans, and the Children of Israel were always doing something important, right?"

"All that is right, too," agreed Goldblatt. "So what's your question?"

"What were all the grown-ups doing?"