SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR NCP DENIES BJP’S CLAIM THAT SHARAD WILL GO WITH BJP AFTER POLL RESULTS ICC ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU, GALLANT P9 SENSEX 79,117.11p1,961.32 WEATHER Generally clear. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 29°C and 18°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 72% Min. 54% TEMPERATURE Max: 29.5˚C SUN RISES 05:54 hrs MOON RISES 23:04 hrs Min: 18.3˚C SUN SETS 16:51 hrs MOON SETS 11:39 hrs New Moon on 1 December THUMBNAILS People buy vegetables at a market after curfew relaxation, in Imphal on Friday.n ANI US Embassy in London locked down after Âloud bangÊ as armed police swoop on suspect package: Police have detonated a suspicious package found near the US Embassy in central London in a controlled explosion that caused a “loud bang”. Armed officers from Metropolitan Police arrived at the building in Nine Elms after reports of a suspicious package on Friday morning, before 10am. ‘SHIFTING CAPITAL NO SOLUTION’ PERTH TEST: BUMRAH SPEARHEADS INDIA’S FIGHTBACK P8 NIFTY 23,907.25p557.35 ` vs $ 84.50 P7 GOLD 80,190.00 P12 SILVER 1,01,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 73.76q0.47 Counting of votes for Maha, J’khand today Canada denies linking PM Modi, Jaishankar, Doval with Nijjar killing Delhi pollution: SC orders govt, police to set up 113 checkposts The counting across all the centres in both the states will begin at 8 am STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 22 NOVEMBER NEW DELHI, 22 NOVEMBER 38 seats on 20th November. The first phase recorded a voter turnout of 66.65 per cent and the second phase 68.45 per cent. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, former chief minister and state BJP chief Babulal Marandi, Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly Amar Kumar Bauri, and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) president Sudesh Mahto are prominent candidates whose fate will be decided in the election. Kalpana Soren exuded confidence in the JMMCongress-led alliance's victory in the mineralrich state and said that the people of Jharkhand had chosen the path of development. Notably, exit polls telecast by different private TV channels on Wednesday evening predicted a win for the BJPled NDA. In the 2019 Assembly polls, the JMM won 30 seats, Congress 16, and BJP 25 constituencies. Canada has denied media reports suggesting that it sought to link Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs MInister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with the killing of 'Khalistan' supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The denial came after India strongly objected to a report quoting unnamed officials in the Canadabased Globe and Mail newspaper that attempted to draw a connect between Nijjar's killing last year to PM Modi and his top aides. In a statement, the Privy Council of Canada said, "On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India". It added, "The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval Expressing dissatisfaction with the steps taken to control and combat toxic air pollution in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Delhi government and police to immediately set up checkpoints at all 113 entry points to the city to monitor the entry of trucks carrying only essential supplies. Stating, “So far as compliance is concerned, we are not satisfied. The government has not clearly stated how many officers are stationed at entry points to enforce the measures of GRAP IV,” a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih said that personnel deployed at the entry points must be clearly informed about the items approved for transportation in trucks carrying essential commodities. Expressing dissatisfaction with the compliance of GRAP IV measures, the bench said that despite orders passed by the top court and the CAQM, the Delhi government and police have failed to comply with the clauses under GRAP stage IV. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 NOVEMBER C ounting of votes for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections will begin early Saturday morning amid tight security. Counting across all the centres in Maharashtra and Jharkhand will begin at 8 am, an Election Commission official said. The counting of postal ballots will begin first, he added. Elections to the 288member Maharashtra Assembly, which witnessed a direct contest between the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP Mahayuti alliance and the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, were held in a single phase on 20th November. The state recorded a voter turnout of 65.02 per cent. Bigwigs whose fate will be decided include Polling officials carrying EVMs and other election material leave for their respective polling stations on the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Nagpur on Tuesday. n ANI Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, former state minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, and NCP leader Nawab Malik. It may be mentioned that exit polls for the Maharashtra Assembly elections predicted a victory for the Mahayuti alliance. Earlier, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the Mahayuti would retain power with a huge majority. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, the NCP 54, and the Congress 44 constituencies. In Jharkhand, the Assembly elections witnessed a direct contest between the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)Congress alliance and the BJP-led NDA. The first phase of voting in 43 Assembly seats was held on 13th November and the second phase in to the serious criminal activity within Canada. "Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate". On November 20, India had strongly refuted the media report, saying it should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. The Ministry of External Affairs had emphasised that "smear campaigns" like this will only further damage the already strained ties between the two nations. "We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a C an ad i an g o v e r n m e n t source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiwal.