YK MYK WEATHER TODAY MAX 29 C MIN 17 C RSS CHIEF HAS GIVEN CLEAR SIGNAL ON BUILDING HINDU RASHTRA OPINION Sky will be partly cloudy. ALLAHABAD HC TO MONITOR CBI PROBE INTO HATHRAS CASE, SAYS SC NATION Morning India Rs. 3 KOLKATA WEDNESDAY, 28 OCT, 2020 PG-12, YEAR—7, ISSUE—162 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) Govt paves way for all Indians to buy land in J&K AT A GLANCE COAL SCAM: DELHI HC ADMITS RAY’S APPEAL, SUSPENDS SENTENCE NEW DELHI:The Delhi High Court on Tuesday admitted an appeal filed by former Union Minister Dilip Ray against his conviction by a trial court in a coal block allocation case and suspended his sentence. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait admitted Ray’s appeal and posted the matter for further hearing on November 25. Advocates Chandra Prakash, Bharat Sharma and Akash Chaterjee appeared for Ray, who was a Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was represented by advocate Mridul Jain. A Special CBI court on Monday sentenced Ray to three-year imprisonment in a coal block case in which 105.153 hectares of nonnationalised and abandoned coal mining area in Jharkhand’s Giridih district was allocated in favour of Castron Technologies Limited by 14th Screening Committee of the Ministry of Coal in 1999. THE POOR NOW LINKED TO BANKING SYSTEM: PM MODI LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has acknowledged the honesty and hard work of street vendors by offering them loans that were inaccessible to the poor in the past. “Those doing politics in the name of the poor had created an atmosphere that if a loan is given to them it would not be returned. Those who had themselves been involved in scams had always put the blame for all dishonest things on the poor,” he said. PG7 CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 7,947,222 TOTAL DEATH: 119,551 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 43,884,197 TOTAL DEATH: 1,166,240 Devotees immerse Idol of Goddess Durga at River of Ganga at Babughat in Kolkata on Tuesday. Prabir Bhattacharya Women play with sindur on the occasion of Bijoya Dasami during Durga puja festival in Kolkata on Monday. Prabir Bhattacharya Tarun drowned in Hooghly river Residents association of Kolkata West International City this year arranged Durga puja like earlier years. Parwez Alam VIGILANCE PLEDGE ON VIGILANCE AWARENESS WEEK IN CLW CHITTARANJAN: Vigilance Awareness Week 2020 is being observed in Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) from 27th Oct' to 2nd Nov., 2020. Shri Praveen Kumar Mishra, General Manager administered the Vigilance Pledge in the Administrative Office foyer on 27th October 2020. On this occasion, Shri R.Yadav, Chief Vigilance Officer & Sr.DyGM, Shri M. K. Chatterjee, Dy. Chief Vigilance Officer along with other Head of departments, Sr. Officers, Staff Council members and Staff of CLW were present on the occasion, adhering to the safety norms of COVID-19 such as wearing face mask, maintaining social distancing etc. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, DyHODs administered the Vigilance Pledge to the supervisors & staff from their respective offices. It is mentioned here that Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed in CLW every year so that Officers & employees are encouraged to eradicate corruption. KOLKATA: There was an incident of drowning on Monday at Hoogly river within North Port Ps area in the noon at about 12.30 pm. Tarun Nandi, 45 years resident of Bidhan Sarani, somehow drowned in the river Hoogly near Nather Bagan Ghat while taking a bath. After thorough search KPDMG team fished out the body from the vicinity of Ahiritola Ghat. A house collapsed in Anandapur on Tuesday at about 12.40 pm. A wall of the first floor of the two storied house collapsed. This house was situated in Martin Para Road, within KMC boro 112, ward 108. Sujoy Mondal, a 15 years resident of that house was injured in the incident. There was a fire incident in Haridevpur PS area on Monday night at about 1.10 am. Fire bursts out in a road side tea stall on Santosh Roy Road. One fire tender reached the spot Fire was extinguished at about 2.30 am. A road accident occurred in the Entally PS area at about 12.25 am. On Lime Street and Beliaghata Road crossing a scooter somehow lost its control and skidded off the road. The scooter rider Md Tanjim, 25 years resident of Narkeldanga Main Road, got head injury. He was admitted to NRS Hospital and undergoing treatment there. On the other hand, number of arrest for deliberate violation of Safety Restrictionson 27.10.2020:Total arrest- 38, people booked for not using face mask - 293, people booked for spitting in public place - 11 NEW DELHI: In a significant move, the Centre has notified the new Land Laws for Jammu & Kashmir. In a gazette notification, the union home ministry has notified this on Monday. It paved way for any Indian to buy land in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir. The MHA notified what it calls UT of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020. The order comes into force with immediate effect. “With immediate effect, the Acts mentioned in the Schedule to this Order shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or “With immediate other competent effect, the Acts authority, have mentioned in the effect, subject to Schedule to this the adaptations Order shall, until and modificarepealed or amendtions directed by ed by a competent the said Legislature or other Schedule, or if it competent authority, is so directed, have effect, subject shall stand to the adaptations repealed,” read and modifications the order. The directed by the said General Clauses Schedule, or if it is Act, 1897 applies so directed, shall for the interprestand repealed,” tation of this read the order. current Order since it applies for interpretation of laws in force in India, said the order. Meanwhile 12 state laws have been repealed as a whole. Meanwhile those legislations which are being repealed as whole include the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation Of Land Act (V of Samvat 1995), the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act (XVII Samvat 2007), The Jammu and Kashmir Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1956, the Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation Of Holdings Act, 1962, among others. ‘J&K UP FOR SALE’: OMAR ABDULLAH SLAMS NEW LAND LAW NATION India, US jointly challenge China on South China Sea India, US need to jointly confront China’s threats to security: Pompeo in New Delhi NEW DELHI: India and the US on Tuesday reiterated their commitment to maintain a free and open IndoPacific region, in a direct challenge to China’s expansionist moves in the South China Sea. The commitment was made in a joint statement issued by the two countries in their third annual IndiaUS 2+2 ministerial dialogue held in New Delhi. The US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper attended the meeting with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. “The ministers reiterated their commitment to main- taining a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific built on a rules-based international order, underpinned by ASEAN centrality, rule of law, sustainable and transparent infrastructure investment, freedom of navigation and overflight, mutual respect for sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes,” the joint statement said. Highlighting the importance of securing the economic and security interests of all the stakeholders having a legitimate interest in the region, the two sides welcomed the growing understanding on the Indo-Pacific among the like-minded countries. They reaffirmed that US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo called on PM Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on Tuesday. ANI closer India-US cooperation will support shared interests in promoting security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The two sides also said, “The code of conduct in the South China Sea should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of any nation in accordance with international law.” Building on a strong record of peacekeeping cooperation, the ministers decided to expand joint capacity building efforts with partner countries in the Indo-Pacific and to participate in multilateral peacekeeping training exercises. They expressed their support for sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday in the national capital said that India and the US need to jointly confront China’s threats to security in the Indian subcontinent and the Indo-Pacific. Speaking at the third India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue in New Delhi, amidst the ongoing face-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Pompeo discussed several issues from “cooperating on defeating the pandemic that originated in Wuhan, to confronting the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to security and freedom, to promoting peace and stability throughout the region”. As per an official statement of the US government, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar at the meeting raised the issue of security threat India is facing from China. “In the area of defence we are challenged by reckless aggression on our northern borders,” he said at the bilateral dialogue. The meeting assumes significance because the US secretaries of the Trump administration travelled to New Delhi amidst Coronavirus pandemic even as an intense ongoing campaigning for the Presidential elections due on November 3 was underway in the US. “Our friendship and commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific was clearly, clearly highly on display when we were in Tokyo this past week and a half for the Quad meeting that Minister Jaishankar and I had with our Australian and Japanese friends earlier this month,” Pompeo told his counterpart. MORE ON PG 7 BIHAR ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS First phase to decide fate of 8 ministers, ex-CM in Bihar PATNA: In Bihar, campaigning for the first phase of polling in 71 assembly constituencies stopped on Monday, but the candidates are still trying to leave no stone unturned to woo voters for constituencies that will go to polls on Wednesday. The first phase of elections will decide the fate of a number of political heavyweights. These include, apart from former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, eight ministers: Prem Kumar, Krishnandan Verma, Shailesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Jai Kumar Singh, Ramnarayan Mandal, Santosh Kumar Nirala and Brij Kishore Bind. Supporters of minister Prem Kumar, who is in the fray for election from the Gaya assembly constituency, were busy speaking with workers at the polling booth level. Supporters of BJP candidate Deepak Sharma were also seen reaching out to the people in Arwal. Sharma says the BJP-led NDA workers are looking at the preparations up to the polling booth level. He claimed victory from Arwal and said that he has got the support of voters from all castes. The Congress candidate of Sultanganj and former state president of the Youth Congress, Lalan Kumar, also met people and sought the blessings of the youth and elderly. The LJP candidate from Amarpur, Mrinal Shekhar, is also trying to connect with voters in Security personnel carrying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on the eve of the first phase of Bihar Assembly Elections, at Paliganj in Patna district on Tuesday. ANI the final hours before the election. It may be noted that out of 243 assembly seats in the state, 71 seats are to be voted on Wednesday. The fate of 1,066 candidates is to be decided in the first phase. More than 2 crore 14 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in the first phase. 31,371 polling booths have been set up for this phase. In Bihar, elections are being held in three phases for 243 assembly seats. The first phase will be held on October 28 for 71 seats. The second and third phases are on November 3 and November 7 respectively. Counting of votes will be held on November 10. Meanwhile, after a man was killed and many hurt in firing during Durga idol immersion in Bihar’s Munger where the police’s role has come under criticism, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called the lathi charge by police as “barbaric”, demanding suspension of guilty officers immediately. The VHP has also smelled a “conspiracy” by the police and administration. “The unprovoked, unnecessary and barbaric lathi charge on peaceful and unarmed devotees going for the immersion of Devi Durga idols is condemnable in the strongest terms. It is unfortunate that one devotee has died and six others seriously injured by the brutal lathi charge,” said VHP’s working President Alok Kumar. Munger police claimed ‘elements’ within the crowd who fired, which led to the death of a young man. But Alok Kumar claimed that the incident can be a “conspiracy of the local administration and police” to affect the Bihar Assembly election. In a 4-part demand, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad asked for immediate suspension of the guilty police and administrative officers and enquiry against them. The VHP has also demanded that those personnel who may be found guilty in the enquiry shall be prosecuted “including under Section 302 IPC in a fast track court and punished”. IPC 302 pertains to cases relating to murder.