PM MODI PAYS TRIBUTE TO SARDAR PATEL, SAYS ENEMIES TRYING TO BREAK INDIA

On Sardar Patel’s Birthday, being celebrated as Ekta Divas’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said the value of unity is “ingrained in the nature” of India.

“Ekta Divas is not just a date but a mega festival of India’s culture and unity… For India, unity has never been an obligation but it has been India’s speciality. The value of Unity is so ingrained in our nature,” he said at the Rashtriya Ekta Divas event in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia.

“Enemies of India envy our unity. Since the times of colonial slavery, our unity has always pinched the enemies… we have to be very alert… There are (enemy) forces that still want to break us like in the past… They make narratives to make us fight over castes, regions and languages… But we have to give them an answer like the children of Bharat Maa, like Hindustanis. We have to remain united and one. We have to reply to the poison of division with the amrut of unity,” he said.

Stating that his govt at the Centre had been following the “teachings of Sardar Patel” to have equal opportunities and benefits for all classes of the society, Modi said, “We are working for all people and ensuring that policies reach everyone… If AIIMS is in Delhi, it is also in other parts. If TN is getting a defence corridor, it is also coming up in Uttar Pradesh… we have to reach the last standing person and bring the person into the stream of development. For decades, people have waited for the most basic needs… Today, there is housing for all, digital connectivity for all, and clean cooking for all…”

Referring to an advertisement published in Gujarati newspapers Monday on behalf of the Congress govt in Rajasthan that had “neither the name nor the photo of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary”, the Prime Minister asked if the grand old party was failing to connect itself with the leader.

Modi termed it “an insult to Sardar Patel”. “It is an insult to the country. He was not from BJP, he was from Congress. But he lived for the country and departed while giving something to the country. We feel satisfied by making the world’s tallest statue (of Sardar Patel). We (BJP) feel proud. And they (Congress) are not ready to even take his name. Gujarat never forgives such things. And the country also does not forgive it,” he said in East Ahmedabad.

A-G HINTS ‘SOMETHING MAY HAPPEN’ ON SEDITION LAW SOON, SC DEFERS HEARING

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing petitions challenging the sedition law, with Attorney General R Venkataramani stating that the govt is seized of the matter and something may happen in the upcoming Parliament session. “The thinking on the subject, I suppose, (is) some of the provisions may undergo a change…so hopefully before Parliament session, something may happen…”, Venkataramani said, as a bench presided by Chief Justice of India U U Lalit asked what his instructions were in the matter.

Seeking time, the A-G said all concerns had already been taken care of by SC’s May 11 interim order, which had put on hold trial in all sedition cases pending before courts across the country until the govt completes the exercise “to re-examine and re-consider the provisions of IPC Section 124A” dealing with the offence.

Taking note, the bench deferred the hearing until the second week of January 2023. The May 11 interim order will continue in the meanwhile.

The Centre had earlier placed before the court a “directive”, which it said it intended to issue to state govts and Union Territories to prevent any misuse of Section 124A and the court had allowed this.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR PLEAS CHALLENGING CAA ON DECEMBER 6

The Supreme Court Monday said that it will hear a batch of petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, on December 6, while appointing two nodal counsels for the compilation of all relevant documents pertaining to the case.

The apex court also asked state govts of Assam and Tripura to file a response within two weeks in matters specifically concerning them.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi, was hearing the petitions by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and others challenging the validity of the CAA.

GRANT CITIZENSHIP TO AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH MINORITIES: MHA

The Home Ministry on Monday issued a notification, allowing the collectors of Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat to grant citizenship certificates to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) bears significance.

The CAA also provides for granting Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but as the rules under the Act have not been framed yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship under it.

The MHA also asked the authorities to follow all the conditions, including the application for registration as citizen of India. In August, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi had handed over Indian citizenship certificates to 40 Pakistani Hindus at the Ahmedabad collectorate. Since 2017, 1,032 Pakistanis have been given citizenship by the district.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / Oct 31

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday 1,321

Active Cases 17.912 (-405)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,29,024 (3)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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'INEVITABLE' BRITONS WILL PAY MORE TAX FOR STABILITY, SAY SUNAK, HUNT

Rishi Sunak’s govt said it’s inevitable that all Britons, especially the richest, will have to pay more tax to restore stability to the public finances.

Sunak met with Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on Monday to discuss tax and spending plans ahead of an economic statement planned for Nov. 17. They discussed the “eye-watering” gap in Britain’s public finances, and agreed “tough decisions” are needed on tax rises and on spending, according to a Treasury readout.

“They agreed on the principle that those with the broadest shoulders should be asked to bear the greatest burden,” the Treasury said. “However, given the enormity of the challenge, it is inevitable that everybody would need to contribute more in tax in the years ahead.”

The measures are necessary to bring calm to financial markets that dumped UK govt bonds and the pound after Liz Truss’s tumultuous 44 days as prime minister.

GRAIN SHIPS SAIL DESPITE RUSSIA PULLOUT FROM DEAL

Ships brought grain from Ukrainian ports on Monday, suggesting Moscow had stopped short of reimposing a blockade that might have caused world hunger. International officials had feared that Moscow would reimpose a blockade on Ukrainian grain, after Russia announced on Saturday that it was suspending its role in the UN-backed programme that escorts cargo ships through the Black Sea.

“Civilian cargo ships can never be a military target or held hostage. The food must flow,” tweeted Amir Abdullah, the UN official who coordinates the programme. Shortly afterwards, Ukraine confirmed that 12 ships had set sail. The 3,54,500 tonnes of grain they carried was the most in a day since the programme began, suggesting a backlog was being cleared after exports were

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AJANTA WALLCLOCK MAKER BAGGED THE MORBI BRIDGE MAINTENANCE DEAL

The Oreva group, which is under the scanner following the collapse of the suspension bridge at Morbi in Gujarat that killed about 140 people, specialises in CFL bulbs, wall clocks and e-bikes, and it is not known how it managed to get the contract to maintain an over 100-year-old bridge.

Founded by Odhavji Raghavji Patel nearly five decades back, the firm manufactures wall clocks under the popular Ajanta and Orpat brands.

With a turnover of nearly Rs 800 crore, the Ajanta group now manufactures home and electrical appliances, electric lamps, calculators, ceramic products and e-bikes.

The suspension bridge, popularly called the 'jhoolta pul', over the Machchhu river was closed seven months ago for repairs and reopened on Gujarati New Year's Day on October 26. In March this year, the Oreva group was awarded the contract to maintain and manage the bridge by the Morbi municipality. It is alleged that the bridge was opened without a fitness certificate.

While the company management was unreachable for comments, a group spokesperson soon after the accident had reportedly stated that the bridge collapsed as "too many people in the mid-section of the bridge were trying to sway it from one side to the other."

Meanwhile, nine persons have been arrested on charges of culpable homicide (not amounting to murder).

The Army has sent in nearly 800 troops, including infantry, the engineer task force and doctors, for relief operations at Morbi.

​OPPN REMINDS PM OF HIS 2016 "ACT OF FRAUD" TAUNT

In the aftermath of the bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi, an old video of the Prime Minister while campaigning for the BJP in 2016 where he is targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has gone viral with Opposition parties asking him to hold his own party's govt in Gujarat accountable to the same standards.

In 2016, after the Vivekananda Road flyover had collapsed right before the Bengal Assembly elections, the PM had targeted Mamata Banerjee, calling it an "act of fraud".

"Such a huge bridge came crashing down, and what did these people say? They say it's an act of God. Didi, this is not an act of God, this is an act of fraud. This is the result of the act of fraud. It's definitely an act of God to the extent that it came down during elections and people got to know what kind of govt you have been running. It is a message from God to the people that today the bridge has come down and tomorrow Bengal will be finished," the PM had said.

DELHI POLICE SEARCH HOMES OF WIRE'S EDITORS ON BJP LEADER'S COMPLAINT

The Delhi police on Monday searched the houses of The Wire's founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan and deputy editor M K Venu in connection with a now retracted story related to the BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya, officials said.

A senior police officer said electronic devices belonging to the two senior editors of the news portal will be examined.

No arrests have been made yet in the case, the officer said.

The police had on Saturday filed an FIR against the news portal and its editors on a complaint by Malviya accusing the media outlet of "cheating and forgery" and "tarnishing" his reputation.     

Malviya had on Friday said he would pursue criminal and civil proceedings against the portal over stories, since retracted, that insinuated that the BJP leader enjoyed the privilege on Meta platforms of having any post taken down which he believed was against the BJP's interests. Malviya's complaint was filed with the Delhi police's special commissioner (crime) against The Wire, its founding editors Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia and M K Venu, deputy editor and executive news producer Jahnavi Sen, the Foundation for Independent Journalism and other unknown people.

The Wire has also filed a police complaint against its former consultant Devesh Kumar in connection with the story related to Malviya.

OPPN MAKING THE MOST OF CLAMOUR FOR BRINGING BACK THE OLD PENSION SCHEME

The promise of restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is one of the planks upon which the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are contesting elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

Inaugurating the party’s campaign in Himachal at a rally earlier this month, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party would restore the OPS if voted to power. In a tweet in Hindi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Congress would promise “fixed jobs for contractual workers, bringing back the old pension scheme and timely promotions” in Gujarat.

AAP had also promised a return to the OPS during the Punjab poll campaign in February this year, vowing to restore the OPS within a month of coming to power. As protests against the delay threatened to embarrass the party amidst the Himachal poll campaign, on October 22, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced it would fulfill the promise.

As per the OPS – discontinued on April 1, 2004 – pension constituted 50 per cent of the last drawn salary of an employee. This entire amount was paid by the govt. The govt replaced this system with the national pension scheme (NPS) or contributory pension scheme for employees who joined on or after April 1, 2004.

Under the new pension scheme, every govt employee has to mandatorily contribute 10% of pay to the pension fund, which is matched by the govt. This money can then be invested by fund managers. After the latest amendment, in 2019, the govt share of the contribution has been raised to 14% from 10%.

SC WARNS STATES ON 2-FINGER TEST TO CONFIRM RAPE

The Supreme Court yesterday deprecated the “regressive” and “invasive” practice of the ‘two-finger test’ on rape survivors and said it had no scientific basis and instead re-victimised women who might have been sexually assaulted, and was an affront to their dignity.

The top court issued a slew of directions to the Centre and state govts that any person who conducted the two-finger test or per vaginum examination (while examining a person alleged to have been subjected to a sexual assault) in contravention of the directions of the court shall be guilty of misconduct.

The two-finger test is conducted on victims of sexual assault and rape to determine whether they are habituated to sexual intercourse. The top court said it was “patriarchal” and “sexist” to suggest that a woman could not be believed when she stated that she was raped, merely for the reason that she was sexually active.

REGISTRATION OF ELECTRIC PASSENGER, MOTOR VEHICLES DOUBLES THIS YEAR

Electric passenger and motor vehicles (light, medium and heavy) which includes motor cars and buses have seen their registrations more than double in the calendar year 2022 till October 31 with another two months still to go.

They have hit registrations of 31,281 vehicles compared to 13,884 for the full year of 2021 a growth of over 125 per cent according to data from VAHAN.

Clearly the big jump has been on account of just one auto giant, the Tatas, whose registrations have gone up by two and half times in 2022 to 25,795 in 2022 till October 31st, compared to only 10,200 in calendar year 2021.

The electric fever is infecting others too. Hyundai Motors plans to invest $512 million to launch six electric vehicles in the country by 2028 which would also include a small car. The company launched the electric Kona but demand has been limited owing to the steep price.

BAPPI LAHIRI’S ‘JIMMY, JIMMY’ IS CHINA LOCKDOWN PROTESTERS’ SONG

Millions of Chinese suffering the dreaded lockdowns have turned to Hindi cinema legend Bappi Lahiri’s hit song “Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja” from 1982 film “Disco Dancer” to express their anger over the country’s stringent zero-Covid policy. In the TikTok clips, the song composed by Lahiri, is sung in Mandarin “Jie mi, jie mi” by people with empty vessels in their hands to show how they are deprived of essential items during the lockdowns. “Jie mi, jie mi” translates into “Give me rice, give me rice” The videos have so far managed to escape Chinese censors’ notice. China has been bogged down with the zero-Covid policy under which dozens of cities were under lockdown for weeks with people confined to their homes.

KOHLI, ANUSHKA APPALLED AT INTRUSION IN THEIR PERTH HOTEL

Former India captain Virat Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma have reacted strongly to a fan allegedly breaching their hotel privacy in Perth and taking a video of their room while India’s match against South Africa was being played on Sunday.

The former India captain said he was appalled by the actions of the “fans” and called for his privacy to be respected. Kohli posted a video on social media, which was originally posted on another social media app by an unidentified user with a caption, ‘King Kohli’s hotel room’. The short video scans through the room where Kohli was staying, showing his clothes and belongings.

“It’s appalling and has made me feel very paranoid about my privacy… Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment,” saidVirat Kohli

The cricketer questioned if he could not have privacy in his own hotel room, then where could he really expect any personal space? The Indian team was staying in ‘Crown Resorts’ and the hotel later fired the individuals involved in the incident and also issued an apology.

Anushka too lashed out at people who disrespected people’s privacy. “Have experienced few incidents where fans have shown no compassion or grace in the past but this really is the worst thing,” she fumed in her Instagram story.

T20 WC: CLINICAL AUSTRALIA DOWN IRELAND TO KEEP SEMIS HOPES ALIVE

Skipper Aaron Finch returned to form with an aggressive half-century as defending champions Australia revived their T20 World Cup campaign with a 42-run win over Ireland, in Brisbane on Monday.

Finch, who struggled with a hamstring issue, revived Australia's innings with a 44-ball 63 as the hosts overcame a slow start to post a competitive 179 for five after being sent into bat.

Chasing the imposing total, Ireland, who knocked out two-time champions West Indies and shocked England, were dismissed for 137 in 18.1 overs.

By virtue of this win, Australia, with five points from four games, jumped to second spot in Group 1 ahead of England to be in the reckoning for a semi-final spot. New Zealand are leading the group.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. - Louis Pasteur

OFF TRACK

A Delhi man gets married to into a Lucknow family. On his first visit there, his mother in law asked him:

"Ji aaj Baingan Sharif bana loon ya aap Alu Mohtaram pasand karenge?"

The man thought for a while, and said: "Itni takleef kisliye karti hain aap. Main in sab cheezon ke kaabil kahan, bas koi be-gairat sa murga kaat lijiye."