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 | Linking frontiers with the nation Page 7 BRIEFLY Passenger tries to open emergency exit of flight at airport: Page 6 Page 10 New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Central government on a public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a nationwide prohibition of online gambling and betting platforms that allegedly operate under the cover of e-sports and social gaming applications. A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan directed that the plea be clubbed with the batch of petitions already pending before the Court challenging the Online Gaming Act – the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. The government’s counsel informed the Bench that the issues raised in the PIL are substantially covered under the provisions of the new online gaming legislation, which is yet to be implemented. Page 8 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE A SIR official scans a form during the house-to-house verification process to update voter list, the exercise to verify and update India’s voter lists, on Tuesday. AGENCIES on 7;February 2026. The SIR 2.0 exercise includes changes from the earlier exercise in Bihar, such as not collecting documents from electors during the enumeration phase and adding Aadhaar as an indicative document. The ECI has clarified that voters whose names appeared in the 2003 voter list need not submit extra documents. The 12 states and UTs where the second round of SIR will be conducted are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. While Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026, in Assam, which is also slated for elections next year, the ECI has not announced the SIR, stating that it will be conducted separately as a Supreme Court-monitored citizenship verification exercise India, Israel reaffirm zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms Campaigning ends for first phase of Bihar Assembly polls NIKHIL VYAS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 4 November External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Tuesday reaffirmed both nations' zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In his opening remarks during the meeting with the Israeli minister in New Delhi, Mr Jaishankar said: “India and Israel have a strategic partnership, and particularly in our case, the term has a real meaning. We have stood together in testing times, and we have create d a relationship with a very high degree of trust and of reliability. "Our two nations face a particular challenge from terrorism. It is essential that we work towards ensuring a global approach of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said. Reiterating New Delhi’s support for the Gaza peace plan, the external affairs minister expressed hope that it would pave the way for a lasting and durable solution in the region. In a post on X after his meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Jaishankar said: "An excellent meeting with FM @gidonsaar of Israel today in New Delhi. Productive discussions on strengthening our Strategic Partnership across various domains. Reaffirmed our zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Pak propaganda targets Tri-Services exercise Trishul with doctored videos PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 4 November A day after Exercise Trishul, the first and largest Tri-Services exercise undertaken by India since Operation Sindoor, commenced along the Gujarat coast and western Rajasthan, the exercise has become the target of a coordinated disinformation campaign. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Pakistan’s propaganda machinery has launched a wave of fake narratives and digitally manipulated content aimed at undermining the exercise. Doctored videos featuring Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and Colonel Sofia Qureshi have been widely circulated on social media platforms linked to Islamabad. The Press Information Page 12 Electoral roll revision kicks off in 12 states/UTs T SC notice to Centre on PIL seeking nationwide ban on online gambling: 3 Indians included in Women’s WC Team of the Tournament EDITORIAL PAGE New Delhi, 4 November Mumbai: Panic spread at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport on Monday evening when a passenger aboard an Akasa Air flight allegedly tried to open the aircraft’s emergency exit before its takeoff. The passenger was detained and handed over to the police for interrogation. The incident occurred as the Mumbai-bound flight was taxiing from the apron towards the runway, officials said on Tuesday. Bureau’s fact check team has stated that Pakistani propaganda accounts are circulating a digitally altered video of both the officers making claims that the Trishul exercise is nothing but political theatre before the Bihar elections. In the digitally altered video of the COAS, he is heard stating, among other things, that saffronisation is a poison breaking India’s unity and shaking the pillars of India’s armed strength. In the video, the COAS purportedly admits heavy losses in Operation Sindoor, and stating that he Wednesday, 05 November 2025 Fracture in Ties Mamdani and Cuomo face off as NYC chooses new mayor he Election C ommission on Tuesday launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories, covering approximately 51 crore voters. The do or-to - do or enumeration process, carried out by block level officers (BLOs), began on Tuesday and will continue until 4 December. This nationwide exercise aims to ensure accurate, transparent, and legitimate voter databases ahead of upcoming elections in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry. The ECI will publish draft electoral rolls on 9 December, followed by claims and objections until 8 January 2026. Hearings and verifications will be completed by 31 January 2026, with final electoral rolls to be published | SPORTS WORLD PERSPECTIVE BHUBANESWAR was told to stay silent when he took this to the Prime Minister. “The so-called Trishul exercise is nothing but political theatre before the Bihar elections. If we wish to build a stronger Hindustan, we must free our army from politics and reclaim our honour,” he purportedly says. The PIB team shared the original clip, which was posted on 1 November, in which the COAS made no such claims and rather spoke about the reason for choosing the name for the strikes carried out jointly by the Indian armed forces after the Pahalgam attack. The fact check team has also debunked another doctored video of Colonel Sofia Qureshi that has surfaced online, falsely portraying her as calling the exercise a “farce” linked to the upcoming elections in Bihar. Patna, 4 November Campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Tuesday. Voting for this phase will be held on 6 November in 121 assembly constituencies spread across 18 districts, with 1,314 candidates in the fray. The remaining 122 constituencies will go to the polls on 11 November, with 1,302 candidates contesting. The results will be announced on 14 November. Star campaigners of various political parties put in their full strength, holding rallies, public meetings, and roadshows to ensure the victory of their respective candidates. is already underway. The state also falls under a distinct provision of the Citizenship Act. After Bihar, this is the second round of SIR. The state's final voter list with nearly 7.42 crore names wa s p u b l i s h e d o n 3 0 September. The ruling parties and alliances in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal are opposed to the SIR and have either approached or are planning to approach the courts against the ECI’s planned SIR in their respective states. The DMK, ruling in Tamil Nadu, in its plea before the Supreme Court against the SIR, has dubbed it a "de facto NRC" and has challenged its constitutional validity. The ruling party in Tamil Nadu has sought the quashing of the EC's notification on SIR dated 27 October 2025. The ongoing SIR is the ninth such exercise since independence, with the last one conducted in 2002-04. 10 dead, several injured as passenger train collides with goods train in Chhattisgarh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Bilaspur/Raipur, 4 November A devastating train collision in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening has left at least ten passengers dead and dozens injured. The accident occurred when the Korba Passenger train rammed into a stationary goods train near Lal Khadan station on the busy Bilaspur-Katni rail line. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos as the impact derailed multiple coaches, trapping passengers inside the mangled compartments. Rescue teams from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and local administration reached the site within minutes and began pulling out victims amid twisted metal and debris. As of late evening, rescue teams had retrieved two more bodies from the wreckage, taking the toll to ten. Dozens of injured passengers were rushed to Bilaspur Railway Hospital and Sims Medical College, where several remain in critical condition. Officials said the collision caused severe damage to overhead electric lines and signalling systems, bringing train operations to a standstill. Several trains on the BilaspurKorba route have been cancelled, diverted, or rescheduled. A special medical relief train and heavy cranes were dispatched from Bilaspur and Korba for rescue operations, which continued late into the night. Senior railway officials, including the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), camped at the site to oversee the operation. A high-level inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the collision. Preliminary reports suggest a possible signal failure or coordination lapse between control cabins, though technical experts will confirm the exact sequence of events. The South East Central Railway (SECR) has set up passenger helplines at Champa, Raigarh, and near the accident site to assist affected families. Union Minister of State for Railways Tokhan Sahu visited the Bilaspur Railway Hospital to meet the injured and assess rescue operations. “This is a deeply painful incident. The Railway Minister is personally monitoring the situation, and strict action will be taken against those found responsible,” he told reporters. Mamata Banerjee threatens to topple BJP govt if genuine voters deleted in SIR STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 4 November Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Trinamul Congress supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday warned that if even a single eligible voter’s name was struck off in Bengal, she would “bring down the BJP government at the Centre.” Speaking at a rally that began at Red Road and culminated in Jorasanko, Miss Banerjee accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to erase around two crore names from Bengal’s voter list in a bid to capture power. “They have calculated that they have 39 per cent of the vote and we have 40 per cent. So they think if they delete two crore names, they can win. But this time, their plan will backfire ~ even their own voters will turn against them because people can see through this plot to snatch away their rights and homes,” she said. Taking direct aim at the Election Commission of India, the chief minister alleged that the Commission was acting under the influence of the BJP’s top leadership. “To please Modibabu and Shahbabu, Kursibabu (the Election Commission official) is trying to create history. But the history you are writing will become patihas (a blot),” she said, adding, “BJP leaders are calling citizens ‘Bangladeshi’ just because they speak Bengali. Speaking Bengali doesn’t make one Bangladeshi, just as speaking Hindi or Urdu do esn’t make one Pakistani.” Ridiculing the BJP as “Feku Babus,” Miss Banerjee said: “Now we have to prove we are citizens of India! Where was the BJP during the freedom struggle? They didn’t even exist then. They are the biggest looters of public money.” Drawing parallels between the SIR exercise and previous central policies, she said: “During demonetisation, they promised to bring back black money from abroad. Instead, they turned their own black money white, while innocent people died standing in queues. Now they are selling off LIC and every national asset.” Wealth of India’s richest 1 pc spikes by 62 pc between 2000 & 2023: G20 Report STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 4 November Between 2000 and 2023, India’s richest 1 per cent have grown their wealth by 62 per cent, said the World Inequality Database in a new report commissioned by the South African Presidency of the G20. In China, the rich population’s wealth increased by 54 per cent in China while in the United States, a sharp rise occurred after 1980, with the top 1 per cent expanding their share of wealth by a total of 5 per cent since then. The study led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz warned that global inequality has reached “emergency levels”, putting democracy, economic stability, and climate progress at risk. The G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, which prepared the report, includes economists Jayati Ghosh, Winnie Byanyima, and Imraan Valodia. The report highlighted that the richest 1 per cent of people in the world captured 41 per cent of all new wealth created between 2000 and 2024, while the bottom half of the global population received only 1 per cent. Inequality in some countries narrowed marginally because incomes have risen in large countries like China and India, reducing the overall share of high-income nations in global GDP, the report said. However, within most countries, inequality has increased sharply. Between 2000 and 2023, the richest 1 per cent expanded their share of total wealth in more than half of all nations, covering 74 per cent of the global population. The G20 report mentioned that extreme inequality is a choice, not a necessity, and can be reduced through political action and global cooperation. The G20, it said, has a vital role in leading this effort. The G20 report suggested creating a new body, such as an International Panel on Inequality (IPI), which is similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel would track inequality trends worldwide and give governments clear, reliable data to guide policies. The proposed panel, to be launched under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, would offer authoritative and accessible information on the causes and impact of inequality.