FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR India-US ties steady, trade talks on track: Goyal Page 12 Transparency on Trial Germany, Netherlands punch FIFA 2026 WC tickets Page 8 UN approves Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza Page 16 EDITORIAL Page 11 Bihar: After poll victory, tough negotiations on among NDA partners for posts, portfolios Maoist commander Hidma, with `1 crore bounty, killed ANINDITA CHOWDHURY/ SHISHIR ROY Hyderabad/Raipur, 18 November VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 18 November After the ruling NDA's clean sweep in the Bihar Assembly elections, tough negotiations are now ongoing among the alliance's partners for posts and portfolios. The buzz is that along with key Cabinet posts, LJP’s Chirag Pawan is also negotiating for one deputy chief ministership. In the outgoing Council of Ministers, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were BJP's two deputies to JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar. Parleys are also on regarding the number and nature of the ministry ~ Cabinet portfolios, deputy chief minister posts, and allocations for allies like LJP, RLP and HAM. A point to consider also is whether the BJP will let go of one deputy CM position to accommodate the LJP or whether an additional post will be created, taking the number of deputy CMs to three. Sources say PM Modi has held a meeting with the BJP's senior leadership to discuss the issues related to government formation in Bihar. Some of the names that are doing the rounds for the post of deputy CM from the BJP are Mangal Pandey. Ramkripal Yadav, Rajnish Kumar and Nitin Naveen, sources say. Intense deliberations are also going on over the post of Assembly Speaker. A name doing the rounds for the post is that of former Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha but both BJP and JD(U) want the position which is pivotal in determining the balance of power among the coalition partners. Wednesday, 19 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS | I n a signif icant breakthrough in India’s long running campaign against Left Wing Extremism, security forces are believed to have killed the country’s most wanted Maoist commander, Madvi Hidma, during an intense exchange of f ire in the Maredumilli Mandal region along the Andhra Pradesh–Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday. The security forces gunned down Hidma and five others, including his wife, at Maredumilli while they were trying to enter the state through Alluri Sitharam Raju (ASR) district in Andhra Pradesh. Senior officials confirmed six Maoists were neutralised in the gun battle, and that preliminary indicators strongly suggest Hidma is among them. Combing operations continued through the day to secure the area and verify Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P speaks to the media in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, regarding the killing of Maoist Madvi Hidma, his wife Raje Madvi, and four others in a gunbattle with security forces in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. AGENCIES identities. The Andhra Pradesh police had been maintaining a steady surveillance on the borders after receiving credible information that the Maoists were trying to shift their base from Chhattisgarh, since the security forces have been keeping up the heat on the insurgents. Hidma’s death comes as a serious setback to the Maoist movement in recent times after the killing of Basavaraj, the top leader of the CPI (Maoist). Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set 30 November as the deadline for nabbing the dreaded leader. According to police, at around 6 a.m, there was an exchange of fire between the Maoists and p olice at Maredumilli mandal, which saw Madvi Hidma, member of the Maoist C entral C ommittee and the commander of the South Bastar First Battalion, eliminated along with his wife and armed guards. A few Maoists ran away during the exchange of fire and the security forces launched a combing operation to nab them. Among these, nine were bodyguards of central committee member Devji while the rest were members of battalions under the South Bastar Zonal Committee. They were trying to take shelter in Andhra Pradesh to regroup and revive Maoist activities in the state. Hidma was responsible for over two dozen deadly attacks, including the Dantewada massacre of 2010, in which 76 paramilitary personnel were killed and the Jhiram Ghati massacre, which saw the top state leadership of Congress wiped out. He carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore. A tribal himself who hailed from Sukma, Hidma enjoyed a God-like status among the tribals of Chhattisgarh, AP and Telangana. Bastar Range Inspector General Sundarraj P described the day’s events as “a moment of historic significance,” adding that the indications from the field strongly suggest a major dent in the Maoists’ command structure. ‘We have right to defend our people against terrorism’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Cloudflare outage hits several digital platforms globally: New Delhi: Thousands of users of X, the Elon Muskowned microblogging platform, faced service disruption across India and globally on Tuesday, along with other websites which rely on Cloudflare’s internet infrastructure to stay online. Around 5:20 p.m, over ten thousand users reported the outage, demonstrating the extent of the disruption, according to Down Detector, which monitors downtime on well-known platforms. Users were facing issues related to feed, website, log in and server connection issues account for the majority of the issues. ED arrests Al Falah chairman in money laundering case involving fake university accreditations STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 November The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Al Falah Group, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The arrest was made on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, following a detailed investigation and analysis of the evidence gathered during searches of premises linked to the group. The ED initiated its investigation based on two FIRs registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. The FIRs alleged that Al-Falah University in Faridabad made fraudulent claims of NAAC accreditation and UGC recognition under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act to deceive students, parents, and stakeholders for wrongful gain. The UGC has clarified that the university is only recognized under Section 2(f) as a State Private University, has never applied for 12(B) status, and is not eligible for grants. The Al-Falah Charitable Trust, established in 1995, names Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui as founding and managing trustee. The trust ultimately owns and controls all the group's educational institutions. While the group has seen a meteoric rise since the 1990s, this growth is not supported by adequate financial records. As part of the probe, the ED conducted search operations at 19 locations in Delhi today, including the university premises and residences of key individuals. The investigation has revealed that large amounts of proceeds of crime were generated. Evidence indicates that crores of rupees were diverted by the trust to entities owned by Siddiqui's family, with construction and catering contracts awarded to firms owned by his wife and children. During the searches, over ₹48 lakh in cash, multiple digital devices, and documentary evidence were seized. The ED has identified multiple shell companies within the group and detected numerous violations under other Acts. Exhaustive evidence, including the cash recovery, diversion of funds, and layering of finances, clearly establishes the pattern of generating and concealing proceeds of crime, implicating Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui as the effective controller of the trust and its activities. After establishing his culpability, Siddiqui was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA and has been produced before the court for ED remand. In video, Umar justifies suicide bombing: New Delhi: The UNI news agency has obtained a previously recorded video featuring terrorist and ideologue Dr Umar Nabi, in which he is heard directly justifying suicide bombing as an act of martyrdom. In the footage, Nabi explicitly states: "Suicide bomber is misunderstood; it is martyrdom," before launching into a theological argument to support his claim. His comments aim to recast the violent tactic as a religiously sanctioned act. New Delhi, 18 November External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, asserting that India has the right to defend its people against terrorism and exercise it, called on the world to show zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. "It is imperative that the world display zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification, no looking away and no whitewashing. As India has demonstrated, we have the right to defend our people against terrorism and will exercise it,"Mr Jaishankar said while addressing the Sh angh ai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. "We must never forget that the SCO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed," he added. Speaking on trade and economic issues, the External Affairs Minister said: "We assess the global economic situation to be particularly u n c e r t a i n a n d vol a t i l e currently." He said supply side risks have been aggravated by demand-side complexities. "There is consequently an urgent requirement to derisk and diversify. This is best done by as many of us forging the widest possible economic links. For that to happen, it is essential that this process be fair, transparent and equitable. India's endeavours to conclude free trade arrangements with many of you here are relevant," Mr Jaishankar said. He said as a civilisational state, India strongly believes that p e ople -to -p e ople exchanges lie at the core of any genuine relationship. "Facilitating greater interaction between our intellectuals, artists, sports people, and cultural icons will pave the way for deeper understanding across the SCO," the external affairs minister added. Looking forward to hosting President Putin next month: PM Modi Emissions down by 36 pc, India to declare revised NDCs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE India’s emission intensity has declined by over 36 per cent since 2005 and non-fossil sources now account for more than half of its total electric power installed capacity ~ a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target achieved five years ahead of the 2030 goal, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said. Delivering India’s National Statement at the High-Level Segment of CoP 30 at Belém, Mr Yadav said India would be declaring its revised NDCs till 2035 and urged developed nations to demonstrate greater climate ambition and honour their commitments. Climate technology must be free from restrictive intellectual New Delhi, 18 November Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Nikolai Patrushev, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is looking forward to hosting the Russian President in India in December. Mr Modi conveyed his "warm greetings" to President Putin as Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and Chairman of the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation, called on him in the national capital. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), “The Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Putin and said that he looked forward to hosting him in India next month." Mr Patrushev called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, the PMO said in a statement. “They exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in the maritime domain, including new opportunities for collaboration in connectivity, skill development, shipbuilding and blue economy,” the statement said. "Pleased to receive Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, Aide to the President and Chairman of the Maritime Board of Russia. We had productive discussions on cooperation in the maritime domain, including new opportunities for collaboration in connectivity, skill development, shipbuilding and blue economy," PM Modi posted on the X platform after the meeting. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Belem, 18 November property barriers, the Environment Minister also said, adding that COP 30 should be remembered as a ‘COP of Implementation’ and a ‘CoP of Delivery on Promises' India has demonstrated successfully that development and environmental stewardship can advance in tandem, he added. Highlighting that India’s emission intensity has declined by over 36 per cent since 2005, and non-fossil sources now account for more than half of our total electric power installed capacity (currently around 256 GW) ~ an NDC target achieved five years ahead of our 2030 goal ~ Mr Yadav said India would also give the first Biennial Transparency Report on time. “Developed nations must “reach net zero far earlier than current target dates and deliver new, additional, and concessional climate finance at a scale of trillions, not billions,” he said, stressing on affordable, accessible climate technology. India’s global leadership is demonstrated through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and Global Biofuel Alliance, he said, underscoring the momentum created by the Nuclear Mission and Green Hydrogen Mission in advancing India’s path to Net Zero by 2070. “In line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement regarding conservation and development of carbon sinks and reservoirs, over 2 billion plants were planted under the community led initiative in just sixteen months. It is indeed a testament to the power of collective climate actions, he added. India also announced it will host the Global Big Cats Summit at New Delhi in 2026 and invited all countries to share their experiences and strategies to save big cats and their habitats. “We must collaborate, not compete. We must find strength not in isolation, but in solidarity… .Protecting big cats is protecting our shared planet. Protecting big cats is protecting our future,” he said, addressing the High-Level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) “Where big cats thrive, forests are healthier, grasslands regenerate, water systems function, and carbon is stored efficiently in living landscapes”. He also highlighted that declines in big cat populations lead to destabilised ecosystems, weakened resilience to climate change, and loss of natural carbon sinks,” he said. India’s role as home to five of the world’s seven big cat species, has “doubled its tiger population ahead of the target timeline and our Asiatic lion population continues to grow well”, the Minister stated. He noted that India has built one of the world’s most comprehensive wildlife databases through nationwide population assessments of tigers, lions, leopards and snow leopards, while expanding protected areas, securing corridors, and partnering with local communities for conservation and eco-based livelihoods.