CMYK FRIDAY www.thestatesman.com 06 NOVEMBER 2020 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC* KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR POPE TAKES ACTION AFTER VATICAN FINANCIAL SCANDAL KOSOVO PREZ QUITS TO FACE WAR CRIME CHARGES P9 WEATHER Mainly cloudy Sky. Maximum and minimum temperature most likely to be around 32 °C and 19°C respectively. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.89% TEMPERATURE THUMBNAILS A thick layer of smog reduces visibility at the India Gate as the air quality remains ‘very poor’ in the Capital on Thursday. SUBRATA DUTTA Arnab moves HC, challenging his arrest: Republic TV Editor-in Chief Arnab Goswami has petitioned the Bombay High Court challenging his “illegal arrest” in a 2018 case of abetment of suicide of an interior designer, and sought quashing of the FIR lodged against him by Alibaug police in Maharashtra. Goswami was arrested on Wednesday from his residence at Lower Parel in Mumbai for allegedly abetting the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik and was taken to the Alibaug police station in P5 neighbouring Raigad district. Domestic flights' cap would be increased: The cap on the number of domestic flights that Indian airlines are permitted to operate would be increased to 70-75 per cent of their preCovid levels as the passenger traffic surges, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) said on Thursday. The Ministry had said last week that the Indian airlines can operate maximum 60 per cent of their pre-Covid domestic passenger flights till 24 February next year due to the prevailing coronavirus situation. India today denounced Pakistan for its decision to transfer the management of the historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara from a Sikh body to a separate trust, saying the action ran against the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. In a statement, The Ministry of External Affairs said India had received representations from the Sikh community, expressing concern over the decision to transfer the management of the gurudwara from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body. It said, “This unilateral decision by Pakistan is highly condemnable and runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as also the religious sentiments of the Sikhs,” it said. The MEA said the Sikh community, in its representations to India, expressed grave concern over the decision by Pakistan “targeting the rights” of the minority Sikh community in the country. “Such actions only expose the reality of the Pakistani government and its leadership’s tall claims of preserving and protecting the rights and welfare of the religious minorities,” it said. “Pakistan is called upon to reverse its arbitrary decision to deprive the Sikh minority community its right to manage affairs of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib,” it said. SNS P5 Biden inches closer to 270, one state away from win ASSOCIATED PRESS Max: 32.1°C (+1) Min: 20.3°C (-2) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:44 hrs 16:56 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 20:30 hrs 09:24 hrs Moon third quarter on 08 November NEW DELHI, 5 NOVEMBER P9 Trump faces tougher hurdle; needs to claim all 4 remaining battlegrounds to defeat Biden Min. 30% India slams Pak move to transfer management of Kartarpur Sahib ‘READY TO SACRIFICE TO PROTECT INDIA’S SOVEREIGNTY’ WASHINGTON, 05 NOVEMBER emocrat Joe Biden was pushing closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to carry the White House, securing victories in the “blue wall” battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan and narrowing President Donald Trump’s path. With just a handful of states still up for grabs, Trump tried to press his case in court in some key swing states. It was unclear if any of his campaign’s legal maneuvering over balloting would succeed in shifting the race in his favor. Two days after Election Day, neither candidate had amassed the votes needed to win the White House. But Biden’s victories in the Great Lakes states left him at 264, meaning he was one battleground state away~ any would do~ from becoming president-elect. Trump, with 214 electoral votes, faced a much higher hurdle. To reach 270, he needed to claim all four remaining battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada. With millions of votes yet to be tabulated, Biden already had received more than 71 million votes, the most in history. At an afternoon news conference on Wednesday, the former vice president said he expected to win the presidency but stopped short of outright declaring victory. “I will govern as an American president,” Biden said. D Two days after Election Day, neither candidate had amassed the votes needed to win the White House. But Biden’s victories in the Great Lakes states left him at 264. With millions of votes yet to be tabulated, Biden already had received more than 71 million votes, the most in history STATES STILL IN PLAY GEORGIA NORTH CAROLINA PENNSYLVANIA NEVADA ARIZONA 264 Donald Trump is ahead in Georgia and Pennsylvania, Joe Biden in Nevada and Arizona 214 ELECTION 2020 “There will be no red states and blue states when we win. Just the United States of America.”It was a stark contrast to the approach of Trump, who early Wednesday morning falsely claimed that he had won the election. Trump’s campaign engaged in a flurry of legal activity to try to improve the Republican president’s chances and cast doubt on the election results, requesting a recount in Wisconsin and filing lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. Statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes; Biden led by more than 20,000 ballots out of nearly 3.3 million counted. For four years, Democrats have been haunted by the crumbling of the blue wall, the trio of Great Lakes states~Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania~ that their candidates had been able to count on every four years. But Trump’s populist appeal struck a chord with white working-class voters and he captured all three in 2016 by a combined total of just 77,000 votes. The candidates waged a fierce fight for the states this year, with Biden’s everyman political persona resonating in blue-collar towns while his campaign also pushed to increase turnout among Black voters in cities like Detroit and Milwaukee. It was unclear when a national winner would be determined after a long, bitter campaign dominated by the coronavirus and its effects on Americans and the national economy. But even as Biden’s prospects improved, the U.S. on Wednesday set another record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases as several states posted all-time highs. The pandemic has killed more than 2,33,000 people in the United States. Trump spent much of Wednesday in the White House residence, huddling with advisers and fuming at media coverage showing his Democratic rival picking up battlegrounds. Trump used his Twitter feed to falsely claim victory in several key states and amplify unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about Democratic gains as absentee and early votes were tabulated. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the president would formally request a Wisconsin recount, citing “irregularities” in several counties. And the campaign said it was filing suit in Michigan and Pennsylvania to halt ballot counting on grounds that it was- n’t given proper access to observe. Still more legal action was launched in Georgia. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of votes were still to be counted in Pennsylvania, and Trump’s campaign said it was moving to intervene in existing Supreme Court litigation over counting mail-in ballots there. The campaign also argued that outstanding votes still could flip the outcome in Arizona, which went for Biden, showcasing an inconsistency in its arguments over prolonged tabulation. In other closely watched races, Trump picked up Florida, the largest of the swing states, and held onto Texas and Ohio while Biden kept New Hampshire and Minnesota. Beyond the presidency, Democrats had hoped the election would allow the party to reclaim the Senate and pad its majority in the House. But while the voting scrambled seats in the House and Senate, it ultimately left Congress much like it began~ deeply divided. The candidates spent months pressing dramatically different visions for the nation’s future, including on racial justice, and voters responded in huge numbers, with more than 100 million casting votes ahead of Election Day. Trump, in an extraordinary move from theWhite House, issued premature claims of victory and said he would take the election to the Supreme Court to stop the counting. Addln reports on Page 10 WADA LICKED TO A SPLINTER IN SAKHO BATTLE P12 Suburban train services to resume from 11 November STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 5 NOVEMBER In a major relief to the regular commuters hailing from suburban areas, local train services will resume next week after a hiatus of more than seven months. State government officials and representatives of Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway today agreed to restart suburban train services from 11 November. The decision was taken after a high level meeting at the state secretariat today. While the date of resumption of services has been decided, another meeting to discuss and finalise the Covid-19 specific operating procedures is likely to take place on 9 November. According to sources in the Railways, a total of 362 local train services will be operated on the first day. In Sealdah Division, 114 pairs of local trains will be run while in Howrah Division, 50 pairs of trains will be operated in the suburban lines by the Eastern Railway. South Eastern Railway will run 17 pairs of trains from Howrah. The number will be increased in a graded manner as and when desirable. The trains will be run according to the existing time table and there will be no new galloping locals in any of the zonal railways. “In line with the Covid protocols, masks and face cover will be mandatory for passengers before boarding a local train. The state government and the railway police will together handle the crowd,” informed a source in the Railways. A second meeting between state govt officials and Railway representatives to discuss and finalise the Covid-19 specific operating procedures likely to take place on 9 Nov The railway authorities will also make tickets available at the station counters with physical distancing norms. The existing system of mobile ticketing will also be functional for passengers. Regular travellers expressed happiness over the planned resumption of local train services. “I have been staying at a rented house since the past few months leaving my family behind in Murshidabad,” said an artisan working at a jewellery showroom in Bowbazar. “I was able to see them only once in a month as the fare from Kolkata to Murshidabad in a bus was too high. I am glad I will be able to see my ailing mother more often after local train services resume,” he added. Swapan Das, hailing from Hooghly district and working at a flower shop near Lake Market echoed, “I have not been able to go home for the last one and a half months. My earnings have reduced after a pay cut. I have heard my ninemonth-old daughter is keeping unwell but was not able to go, thinking of the fare. The news of restarting local trains has come as a blessing to me and I will rush to my family in the next week.” HC bans firecrackers on Kali Puja Over 50K new Covid cases in a day push STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 5 NOVEMBER A Division Bench of Calcutta High Court today banned the bursting of all kinds of fireworks this year and forbade their sale as well. In addition to ban on bursting of fireworks during the Kali puja, Diwali and Chhat puja all over the state, it was further directed that a no-entry sign is to be placed five metres away from every pandal measuring less than 300 square metres for the puja scheduled on 15 November. This is part of a slew of directives given by the Division Bench of Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee of this court during the hearing of two Public Interest Petitions (PILs) seeking restrictions on the bursting of fireworks and crowd control in the lines of Durga puja, in the backdrop of Covid-19 A no-entry sign is to be placed five metres away from every puja pandal measuring less than 300 square metres for the puja scheduled on 15 Nov pandemic. As for pandals measuring more than 300 square metres, 45 persons can be inside it at a time, according to the court’s direction. But only 15 persons can be inside a pandal measuring less than 300 square metres, it was directed. The bench said the police have done a good job during the Durga pujas, regarding crowd control and that the court has faith in them. It directed that the police will decide where the no entry boards are to be placed in case of big pandals. The dhakis (drummers) can come with- tally past 83.6L; recovery rate at 92% in a distance of five metres of a pandal, it was further directed. Masks and sanitisers are a must for the crowd, it was directed. The directions on Kali puja will continue during the celebration of Jagadhatri and Kartik puja, it was directed. The Bench further directed that crowd control measures be implemented at the temples at Kalighat, Dakshineshwar, Tarapeeth and Kalyaneshwari in Asansol, all of which draw large crowds. It is up to the police to decide on the mode of crowd control and the number of persons who can together step into the temple at a time, the Bench said. There will no procession during the immersion of the idols. Social distancing norms will be in place. There will be minimum arrangements for immersion, without music and lights, it was directed. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 NOVEMBER With a fresh spike of 50,210 coronavirus infections and 704 deaths in 24 hours, India’s tally on Wednesday rose to 83,64,086, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Delhi recorded a single day spike of 6,842 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest so far, taking the total Delhi tally to 4,09,938. Out of the total Covid-19 cases in the country, 5,27,962 are currently active, 77,11,809 have been discharged, and 1,24,315 people have succumbed to the infection. While the recovery rate stands at 92.09 per cent, the fatality rate is 1.49 per cent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed. Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with a total of 16,98,198 cases, including 44,548 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted 12,09,425 sample tests in a single day on Wednesday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 11,42,08,384. West Bengal recorded 3,948 fresh Covid cases and 54 deaths due to the infection. Till now, 3,93,524 people have been detected Covid positive in the state, 7,122 died and 3,50,449 recovered, of which 4,187 patients were discharged from hospitals in a single day taking the discharge rate to 89.05 per cent. Currently, there are 35,953 active Covid cases in the state while the positivity rate is 8.23 per cent and samples of 45,467 people were tested for the virus today. Kolkata registered 855 cases and 15 deaths and neighbouring district of North 24-Parganas recorded 836 cases and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has mooted doing away with the practice of affixing posters outside residences of Covid-19 patients, and sought the response of the Central government to a PIL seeking national guidelines in this respect. Globally, the number of coronavirus cases was nearing the 48 million mark, while deaths have surged to more than 12,23,450, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday morning, the total caseload and death toll stood at 4,79,97,816 and 12,23,456, respectively. 83,64,086 5,27,962 50,210 55,331 1,24,315 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. THURSDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2020 In Bihar poll pitch, Nitish stuns with ‘this is my last election’ remark MANOJ CHAURASIA PATNA, 5 NOVEMBER In a last-ditch attempt to woo voters amidst a strong anti-incumbency wave sweeping across the state, chief minister Nitish Kumar today declared that this was his “last election”. Today was the last date of poll campaigning for the third and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, with voting in the remaining 78 Assembly segments due to take place on 7 November. “Today is the last day of the poll campaign and this is also my last election. All is well that ends well,” the chief minister told an election rally at Dhamdaha block in Pur- nia district today. Making emotional appeals to voters for his party, JD-U, the chief minister asked, “Bataiye vote dijiyega na!” This is for the first time that the socialist warhorse, who has ruled the state for close to a decade and half has made any indication about quitting electoral politics. Kumar’s “last election” appeal is seen as a sign of desperation, particularly in view of people greeting the chief minister with angry protests at many of his election rallies. That started back in 19 October when at his election rally in Aurangabad, an elderly villager carrying a placard began shouting slogans against him. The same day, people hurled stones at another Kumar rally in Gaya, and then it became a routine. People greeted the chief minister with protests in Saran, Muzaffarpur, Begusarai and as recently as in Madhubani where potatoes and onions were thrown at him by the crowd who were angry at the rise in the prices of staples. What has made things further difficult for him was the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) headed by Chirag Paswan, son of Dalit politician late Ram Vilas Paswan, fielding candidates against all the JD-U candidates in this election. Although the LJP decided to go it alone this time, it has fielded candidates primarily against the JD-U candidates. The move, observers say, is sure to harm JD-U’s poll prospects as it is likely to split the NDA votes. The LJP , moreover, has given tickets to mostly BJP rebels in 136 out of the total 243 seats it is contesting this time, and this CMYK is also likely to split BJP votes. The JD-U leadership is also wondering at the way how Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at none of the 12 election rallies he addressed in Bihar, sought to clear the confusion from the minds of the voters about the LJPBJP relationship. He remained mysteriously silent over it. The Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav’s promise to give 10 lakh jobs to the youths, observers believe, has further taken the winds out of JDU’s sails. While the chief minister mocked that poll promise, ironically, he remained silent when the BJP announced 19 lakh jobs to counter Tejashwi’s 10 lakh job offer. Modi: I need Nitish govt to ensure Bihar’s uninterrupted development PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI, 5 NOVEMBER Asserting that reforms are impossible in an environment of mismanagement and anarchy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he needs the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to ensure that there is no paucity in the state's development and welfare schemes continue uninterrupted. In an open letter to the people of Bihar ahead of the final phase of voting on Sat- urday, Modi said people have full faith that only an NDA government can work for the state's development. “I am confident about the development of Bihar. I need the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to ensure that there is no paucity in Bihar’s development and the welfare schemes continue there uninterrupted,” he said. “I have full faith that the power of ‘double engine’ will take Bihar to new heights of development in this decade,” Modi said.