FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR DCNS urges cooperation against Indian Ocean threats Page 2 BRIEFLY AI flight lands in Mongolia over suspected technical issue: New Delhi: Air India on Monday said that its flight from San Francisco to Delhi, via Kolkata, made a precautionary landing in Mongolia, after the flight crew suspected a technical issue. The airline said that the incident occurred when flight AI174, on November 2, operating from San Francisco to Delhi via Kolkata, "made a precautionary landing at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, after the flight crew suspected a technical issue en route". 13 people crushed to death by dumper in Rajasthan: Jaipur: As many as 13 people were killed and 10 others were injured when an uncontrolled dumper ploughed through pedestrians and two-wheelers, hitting on the way many other vehicles, in Harmada area of Rajasthan on Monday. According to police, the overloaded dumper running on high speed approached the Harmada area from the Loha Mandi on the Sikar Jaipur Highway, ploughed through a number of passers-by, 3-4 scooties/ bikes and as many 4-wheelers and then overturned after hitting truck trailer and the road divider. Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar confirmed the number of dead people at 13, and the number of injured at 10. However, hospital sources said one person died at a nearby private hospital along the Sikar Road. India, New Zealand kick off 4th FTA talks I’ll take those 45 sleepless nights any day for winning the WC: Mandhana Page 10 Trump says Russia, China, Pak among nations testing N-weapons Page 12 BUSINESS Page 9 PM Modi urges Bihar voters to re-elect NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets during the public rally organised for the Bihar assembly elections, in Katihar on Monday. AGENCIES IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 3 November P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the people of Bihar to re - elect the NDA in the upcoming assembly elections to sustain the state’s momentum of progress. Addressing election rallies in Saharsa and Katihar, he said in the Bihar Assembly elections, one side represents the NDA, which is committed to building a developed Bihar, while on the other side are those associated with ‘jungle raj’ (lawless rule). “In the past few years, Bihar has picked up the pace of development. Now, together, we must make this pace even faster. Every single vote of yours is extremely precious to keep Bihar’s momentum of progress going. Therefore, the RJD and Congress must be defeated in such a way that they never even think of harming Bihar again,” Modi EAM reiterates support for Gaza peace plan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 November External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reiterated India's support for the Gaza peace plan, which, he hoped, would lead to a lasting and durable solution. He was co - chairing a meeting of the fifth India-Bahrain High Joint Commission with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani in New Delhi. Tuesday, 04 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD CAPITAL | Noting that India and Bahrain share centuries-old ties of friendship underpinned by trade linkages and strong people-to-people ties, Mr Jaishankar said the two countries believe in a common goal and commitment to promo t ing p e ace and prosperity for their people and for the common region. He said the two countries have made significant progress bilaterally in defence, security, trade & commerce, health, culture, and people-to-people ties. ''But there are new areas such as space, fintech, and te chnology that hold considerable promise for our par t ner ship, '' he added. The minister noted that the two countries have also seen a steady growth of bilateral trade and investments. said. Addressing young voters, he expressed confidence that the state’s ancient glory in education would be restored. “It is our resolve that Bihar’s youth should work in Bihar and make Bihar proud. This will be made possible by the one vote you give to the NDA,” he said. “In this election, there are many sons and daughters of mine who will be voting for the first time. Your first vote should be one that helps form the government. Your vote will strengthen the NDA government,” he added. Highlighting the NDA government’s efforts toward women’s empowerment, Modi said daughters in Bihar and across the country are achieving new milestones in every field. He noted that Bihar’s Jeevika Didi campaign has become a topic of discussion nationwide. “Our efforts for women’s empowerment have also been greatly strengthened by the Mukhyamantri Rozgar Yojana in Bihar. There is tremendous enthusiasm among our sisters regarding this scheme. About 1.40 crore women in Bihar have already received Rs 10,000 each in their accounts,” he said. The Prime Minister added that the NDA has announced plans to expand the scheme after returning to power. “But I also want to tell every sister and daughter in Bihar — stay alert. These jungle raj people want to stop all the assistance that is being provided to you,” he cautioned. ECI crackdown: `108 crore seized ahead of Bihar elections STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 November The Election Commission has intensified its efforts to ensure a free and fair election process in Bihar, with seizures of illicit inducements surpassing Rs 108 crore as of Monday. The Commission has deployed 824 flying squads across the state to address complaints within 100 minutes, utilizing the C-VIGIL app. According to the press note issued by the poll panel, the seized items include Rs 9.62 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 42.14 crore (9.6 lakh litres), drugs worth Rs 24.61 crore, precious metals worth Rs 5.8 crore, and other freebies worth over Rs 26 crore. The ECI has directed enforcement authorities to strictly monitor and combat the movement of cash, drugs, liquor, and other inducements during the elections. It said citizens can report Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations using the C-Vigil App on ECINET or call the 24X7 Call Centre number 1950. Trump praises ‘historic nine months’ in 60-min interview STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 november Marking the most successful nine months of any presidency in history, President Donald J. Trump used his powerful interview on ‘60 Minutes’ to highlight record stock market gains, global p eace achievements, and his steadfast commitment to law and order. Emphasizing these accomplishments, President Trump called on Democrats to reopen the government and work with him to continue America’s path toward greater prosperity and security. On ending the Democrat Shutdown, he said,“We keep vo t i n g . I m e a n , t h e Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it — and the Democrats keep voting against ending it… They’ve lost their way.” Death toll in Telangana bus-truck collision rises to 19 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hyderabad, 3 November In a heart-wrenching tragedy, 19 p e ople were kille d, including a ten-month-old infant, when a gravel-carrying tipper collided head-on with a Hyderabad-bound state-run bus (RTC) from Tandur on the Hyderabad-Bijap ur National Highway today morning. The majority of the victims were women, including college students. Although a busy road, this was a narrow stretch, and the lo cal MLA blame d environmental activists for stalling the road-widening project due to a row of more than 100-year-old banyan tre es. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 Lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the dead while the state government has announced Rs 7 lakhs. The accident took place at 6:15 am near Indirareddy Nagar, and the tipp er, overloaded with gravel, was going from Shadnagar to Vikarabad’s Chittampalli Gate. The bus carried around 70 passengers. According to eyewitnesses, “the tipper was travelling at a high speed, overtaking several vehicles, and suddenly steered to the right, colliding head-on with the RTC bus coming from the opposite direction.” Both drivers were killed in the collision along with 17 passengers. The bus was carrying 72 passengers at the time of the accident. Some of the passengers were trapped under the gravel and had to be rescued. Both drivers are among the deceased. The conductor, Radha, said at the last moment, bus driver Dastagiri veered the steering wheel and it saved her life along with those sitting on the opposite side of the driver’s seat. Three college-going sisters died in the accident, while two children who survived the accident lost their parents. Ordering an inquiry transport minister Ponnam. Prabhakar said, “Even though vehicles had valid fitness certificates, the narrow road, lack of a divider led to the mishap.” He also advocated the use of speed locks in vehicles. Local MLA Kale Yadaiah blamed the narrow road for the accident, pointing out that the environmental activists had stalled the road-widening project over the long row of banyan trees. They had approached the National Green Tribunal. Yadaiah also faced protests over the lack of development and road safety. Others pointed out that the road was also in a poor condition and turned into a virtual death trap due to a lack of maintenance. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy spoke to the chief secretary and DGP after the horrifying accident and directed them to make all possible efforts to save the injured, deploying ambulances, medical staff and providing other emergency medical assistance. He also expressed deep sorrow over the bus accident at Chevella mandal. SC issues notice on plea to mandate political parties to publish memorandum, rules on websites After five World Cups, countless scars, Harmanpreet’s wait finally ends in glory AGENCIES TRIDIB BAPARNASH New Delhi, 3 November The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice on a plea seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that every registered political party publishes its Memorandum, Rules, and Regulations on the home page of its official website. The application was filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the poll body to frame and enforce rules for the registration and regulation of political parties, aimed at promoting "secularism, transparency, democracy, and political justice". "Political parties are important instrumentalities of democratic governance and function like public authorities," the petition stated, adding that they "hold constitutional status and wield constitutional powers" under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The application submitted that political parties are "substantially financed by the State in multiple ways" — through tax exemptions, free airtime on public broadcasters like Doordarshan and All India Radio, and the allotment of government accommodation at concessional rates — but remain "unregulated in their functioning". "Entire governance system revolves around the political parties. They are continuously engaged in the performance of public duty, and it is, therefore, important that they become accountable to the public," the plea said. It stressed the need for transparency and accountability in the functioning of political parties, since the same is essential in the public interest, as they perform a public function. New Delhi, 3 November Having made her international debut back in 2009, Harmanpreet Kaur had waited 15 long years before finally laying her hands on an ICC World Cup silverware. On Sunday night in Navi Mumbai, that wait, filled with heartbreaks, near-misses and unfinished stories, came to an end. The India skipper, featuring in her fifth Women’s World Cup campaign, stood centre-stage at the DY Patil Stadium, overwhelmed and almost unable to process the magnitude of what she had achieved. She was one of only five players at this edition to feature in a fifth World Cup, having first worn India colours at the 2009 tournament in Australia, a debut that came in a 10-wicket win against Pakistan. Since then, every campaign has carried hope, and every exit has deepened the hurt. The painful memory of the 2017 final loss at Lord’s still lingers in Indian cricket’s collective consciousness, so it was fitting that when the final wicket fell in Navi Mumbai, sealing India’s 52-run win over South Africa, Harmanpreet’s first reaction was not joy, but disbelief. “I'm just trying to express what I'm feeling. I'm numb, I'm not able to understand,” Harmanpreet said. “It's just that there were ups and downs, but the team had self-belief. I've been saying this since day one. We weren't looking to the left or right. We were only looking at our main end goal.” The triumph belonged to the players on the field, but it resonated just as deeply with the icons who paved the way. Soon after the final, a host of India greats, including Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra and Jhulan Goswami walked onto the turf to embrace the newly crowned world champions, turning the outfield into a meeting point of eras. The celebrations unfolded before a roaring crowd of nearly 40,000, a sight unimaginable two decades ago for the women’s game. There was also a deeply personal moment shared by Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, two of the most defining faces of modern Indian cricket, who have lived through repeated heartbreaks together. The turnaround, Harmanpreet revealed, began with a venue change, something the team viewed not as a logistical shift, but a sign. Towards the end, Harmanpreet also said that this win was special in many ways as it marked the start of a new journey, filled with a lot of belief. She insisted that once her team broke the jinx, the next goal is to remain consistent and make winning a habit.