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 | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL Cost of stability Page 6 Friday, 09 October 2026 Canadian poet Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in literature T20I: Samson’s lean run in focus as India eye 2-0 lead PERSPECTIVE Drunken driving rules must be data-driven Page 10 Page 12 Page 7 Attacks on ECI not reasoned, can harm democracy: Ex-judges GST reforms: Arrest powers of tax officers scrapped DEEPAK RAZDAN New Delhi, 8 October New Delhi, 8 October Forty-two former judges have attacked the Opposition’s current campaign against the Election Commission as not “reasoned,” and with little regard “for the potentially devastating consequences of destabilising the world’s largest democracy.” In an open letter addressed to the people of India, the former judges stated: “Criticism of institutions is a democratic right. Denigration is not. Constitutional authorities are now branded thieves, puppets and compromised from public platforms.” “Officers who conduct our elections are named, shamed and openly warned of reprisal once power changes hands. No court of law has found any of these charges proven,” they said. The signatories include former judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices of high courts, and others. Former Supreme Court Judges Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Pankaj Mittal are among those who signed. The judges said their concern is grave. “India’s constitutional bodies are under sustained attack. The ECI stands at the centre of this assault. Even the higher judiciary which we hold in high esteem, and statutory agencies have not been spared.” The calculated campaign appears driven by “vested political interests,” they said. “Allegations of vote theft are made at press conferences, not before courts. When the commission seeks a sworn declaration, none is filed. Electronic voting machines are blamed only after defeat. Victories won on the same machines go unquestioned. A party that governed this nation for over five decades now claims that the very system which elected it is rigged,” the open letter said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE T he 57th GST Council meeting has approved a wide-ranging set of process and compliance reforms aimed at making the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime easier for businesses and taxpayers, while reducing physical interaction with tax officials. The reforms come a year after the government introduced the two-rate GST structure. The Council has now shifted its attention from tax rates to the functioning of the GST system, covering registration, refunds, input tax credit, litigation, enforcement and e-commerce. Among the key decisions, the GST Council has recommended scrapping the power of arrest for tax officers under GST laws, raising the criminal prosecution threshold from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore, removing the minimum Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a media briefing after the 57th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in New Delhi on Thursday. IANS mandatory punishment and reducing the general penalty from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000. Another key decision relates to the GST refund mechanism. The time available for tax authorities to acknowledge a refund application has been reduced from 15 days to 10 days. Also, under the proposed system, the GST portal will sanction 90 per cent of the At Raj Ghat, INDIA bloc steps up ECI protest, Opposition delegation to meet President STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 October Leaders and MPs of the opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday took their escalating campaign against the Election Commission of India (ECI) to Raj Ghat, paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before staging a peaceful sit-in to press their demand for the resignation and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and protest against alleged large-scale irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among the prominent opposition leaders who gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial along with MPs and senior representatives of several INDIA bloc parties, including the Trinamul Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party. The Raj Ghat protest marked the third consecutive day of the Opposition's intensified street campaign against the poll panel and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest came two days after INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the ECI, where several Opposition leaders were detained after police stopped them near Akashvani Bhawan. On Wednesday, the opposition staged another demonstration near Jantar Mantar. The atmosphere at Raj Ghat SC seeks dedicated funding framework for costly treatment of SMA patients PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 8 October The Supreme Court on Thursday called for a permanent financial support mechanism for patients suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder, observing that access to prohibitively expensive treatment should not be left to occasional charity or ad hoc government assistance. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana asked senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparajita Singh to prepare a comprehensive proposal for creation of a dedicated corpus that could receive regular contributions and provide sustained assistance to patients in need. The bench emphasised that what was required was not a one-time arrangement but a continuing and dependable system capable of responding to the recurring financial burden faced by families of SMA patients. The proposed framework is expected to examine possible contributions from Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, institutional donors and the Central government. The court also indicated that the fund should operate strictly on a non-profit basis, with the available resources channelled in a manner that maximises benefit to patients. was markedly different from the confrontations witnessed earlier in the week. The Delhi Police permitted the gathering, and the protest passed off peacefully without the detentions and face-offs that had characterised the earlier demonstrations. Security, however, remained heavy, with Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel deployed in strength around the memorial and along the routes leading to the protest site. Traffic diversions were also put in place in parts of central Delhi. Before travelling together by buses to Raj Ghat, INDIA bloc MPs held lunch meetings in Connaught Place to coordinate their strategy and discuss the next phase of their campaign. Opposition leaders made it clear that Thursday’s satyagraha was intended as another step in a continuing political movement rather than its conclusion. Meanwhile, an INDIA bloc delegation is set to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, 9 October, to formally raise its concerns over the functioning of the ECI, and press its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Rashtrapati Bhavan agreed to meet a delegation from the Opposition alliance on Friday after the INDIA bloc sought an appointment between 7 and 9 October. The President’s Secretariat asked the Opposition to restrict the size of its proposed delegation to 10 members instead of the 15-member delegation initially sought by the alliance, a condition that the INDIA bloc has agreed to. The delegation is expected to include Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee, among other senior leaders. refund amount based on risk assessment, reducing the need for officer intervention. Once a claim is acknowledged, the refund order will have to be issued within three working days, compared with seven days currently. Refunds of excess money lying in the electronic cash ledger will also be made fully automatic. The changes could provide a significant working-capital benefit to exporters and businesses operating under an inverted duty structure. Around 65 per cent of GST refund claims are linked to exports or inverted rates, while another 19 per cent relate to excess cash ledger balances. The Council has also proposed changes to simplify GST registration. Currently, low-risk applicants can obtain registration through an automated process within three working days. This route accounts for around 61 per cent of registrations. The registration application will be redesigned so that taxpayers see only the fields relevant to their business, along with explanations about why particular documents are required. Several routine amendments, including changes involving trade names, directors or partners and additional places of business, will also be processed automatically. India condemns Houthi attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia PM opens India Mobile Congress 2026, calls for self-reliant digital future STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 October STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 October India on Thursday condemned the attacks targeting Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh over the past few days, which resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, saying the targeting of civilian infrastructure is “completely unacceptable.” In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said: “India condemns the attacks over the past few days targeting Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries. The targeting of civilian infrastructure is completely unacceptable.” “We express our deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones. We wish speedy recovery for those injured,” it added. India also expressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its people and government. The statement came after Saudi-led coalition forces claimed that they destroyed 82 military targets belonging to the Houthi militia in Yemen after “attacks” on civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport. Prime Minister Narendra Mo di on Thursday inaugurated the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, calling for greater self-reliance in telecommunications, stronger digital security and a global framework to address emerging challenges such as deepfakes. The four-day event, being held from 7 to 10 October under the theme “Scale Without Boundaries”, brings together global technology companies, telecom operators, star t-ups, investors, policymakers and researchers to showcase developments across next-generation digital technologies. Addressing the gathering, Mr Mo di said it was encouraging to see India’s telecom sector “steadily moving towards greater self-reliance”, while underlining the transformation of the mobile phone from a communication device into an important instrument of governance, economic activity and digital empowerment. “Over the past 10-12 years, the mobile phone has emerged not only as a modern means of communication but also as an important tool of good governance,” he said, stressing that mobile connectivity had remained at the core of the government’s Digital India vision. Recalling the situation a decade ago, the Prime Minister said the digital divide had been a major challenge, with modern technology increasingly becoming a privilege available mainly to those with the means to access it. “Digital India was an effort to change this situation, and we brought the mobile phone to its centre,” he said, describing the approach as a major effort towards the democratisation of technology. Mr Modi said hundreds of government services were now available through mobile phones and government assistance was being transferred directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Nana Patekar, the voice of raw India, dies at 75 in Goa STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 8 October Veteran actor, filmmaker and theatre artist Nana Patekar, whose fierce intensity, unforgettable voice and deeply human performances gave Indian cinema some of its most enduring characters, died in Goa on Thursday. He was 75. Patekar suffered a severe cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula and was rushed to Manipal Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him for nearly 45 minutes. He was declared dead at 5:20 a.m. His son, Malhar Patekar, confirmed the news. The sudden demise sent a wave of grief through Indian cinema. Patekar was an actor who seemed to inhabit the emotional landscape of ordinary Indians ~ angry, wounded, defiant, vulnerable and occasionally absurdly funny. His performances carried a rawness that resisted the polished conventions of mainstream cinema, while his distinctive dialogue delivery made even the simplest words sound charged with consequence. Born Vishwanath Patekar on 1 January 1951, in MurudJanjira in Maharashtra's Raigad district, he rose from a difficult childhood to become one of the most respected actors of his generation. He entered Hindi cinema with Gaman in 1978 and gradually established himself through a succession of challenging roles in both Hindi and Marathi films. His breakthrough came with films that demanded not glamour but presence. In Parinda (1989), his portrayal of the ruthless Anna won him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He followed it with a string of performances that demonstrated an extraordinary range, from the military drama Prahaar: The Final Attack, which he also directed, to Angaar, Tirangaa, Agni Sakshi and Khamoshi: The Musical. His performance in Krantiveer (1994) earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor, with the National Film Awards citation praising his portrayal of a man who could awaken the “deep, hidden resource of strength” within the common person. Patekar could move effortlessly from the grim world of Ab Tak Chhappan and Apaharan to the irreverent comedy of Welcome, where his portrayal of the blustering gangster Uday Shetty introduced his talent to a new generation of viewers. In Marathi cinema, his performance as the ageing and emotionally shattered stage actor in Natsamrat became another landmark, reaffirming his ability to combine theatrical power with profound vulnerability. Patekar’s career earned him three National Film Awards, several Filmfare honours and, in 2013, the Padma Shri for his contribution to cinema and the arts.