BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l october 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Israel logs high voter turnout as Netanyahu faces tough fight 74.3% voters cast their ballots by 8 pm (11.30 pm IST) in Israel’s general elections on Tuesday, up from 66.3% in 2022. Polling ends at 10 pm bibi falls back to tested playbook of 2015 Surveys predicted a tight race between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. The poll panel rejected Bibi’s plea to extend voting hours. Locked in a tight race, Netanyahu made a desperate plea to right-wing voters to “wake up” and vote for Likud party to avoid a ‘government of Arab parties’, in a repeat of his playbook of 2015 ■ Nov 4 several parties allege irregularities ■ Several parties, including Eisenkot’s Yashar and Bennett’s B’Yachad, alleged irregularities, including missing or defaced ballot slips and suspected attempts to interfere with voting | P9 Arab citizens, who make up about 21 per cent of Israel’s population, could play a significant role in the post-election arithmetic is when the results will be announced CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI CEC mock impeachment at Kharge’s house on Fri Decision after police deny nod to hold it at two different locations P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi as the confrontation between the INDIA bloc and the government escalated on Tuesday over denial of venues for the mock ‘public impeachment’ of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Congress said the programme will be held at the official residence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday . The decision came after the Congress claimed the Delhi Police denied permission for the event at two venues. The party said permission was first denied for government-owned Hotel Ashok, where the event was originally planned, and subsequently for Ramlila Maidan. In a letter to INDIA bloc leaders, Kharge said, “I request you to kindly assemble on 30 October 2026 at 3.30 pm at 10 Rajaj Marg, in connection with the public impeachment of the CEC. Kindly make it convenient to attend.” The proposed event comes ahead of the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan Kerala Cong against alleged ‘vote theft’ apologises and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee of electoral rolls. (KPCC) has tendered Earlier, Congress genan unconditional eral secretary (organisaapology to Chief tion) K C Venugopal said Justice of India the bloc had sought to hold Surya Kant for a the event at Ramlila Maiddisrespectful post on an after permission was its official X account. denied for Hotel Ashok. KPCC said it was However, police stopped posted without preparations at the ground authorisation despite the organisers havand the person ing the requisite permisresponsible sions, he alleged. “INDIA for the post bloc had booked Ramlila has been Maidan from October 25 to removed November 3. So there is no reason to deny us permission to hold our event there on October 30.” Asserting that the Opposition would continue its campaign for Kumar’s removal, Venugopal said: “If they stop us here, we will go to Amit Shah’s house, PM Modi’s house, and stage a massive dharna there.” Police sources told the media that the Congress had not submitted a separate request for permission to hold the ‘public impeachment’ on Friday adding that the party had sought per, mission only for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan. They said the permission for Ashoka Hotel rests with the hotel as the premises are privately owned. Also, the permission for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan has not been withdrawn, sources added. We know everything, will examine all SIR allegations, says SC SUCHITRA K A LYA N M O HA N TY @ New Delhi THE Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that all its decisions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were unanimously approved by the full poll panel, rejecting allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ignored the opinions of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. In its joint affidavit filed by the CEC and the two ECs, the poll panel rejected allegations that Form 6 had been amended. It said the declaration reFresh plea on quired under SIR is a sepaBihar SIR rate document. Senior advocate Vikas The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought Singh, appearing for lead response of the petitioner Rakesh Kumar Election Commission Singh, urged SC to issue on a fresh plea directions to preserve by TMC’s Rajya ECI’s file notings to ascerSabha MP Dola tain whether decisions Sen alleging that were taken unanimously . changes were made The CJI said the court is to Form 6 during the cognizant of the issues Special Intensive raised and would consider Revision (SIR) all aspects. “We know eveof electoral r y t h i n g . We w i l l rolls in Bihar examine.” without the The petitioners, includtop court’s ing opposition parties, alapproval leged SIR was being carried out in a hurried manner, risking mass deletion of voters. They sought the court’s direction to put on hold the exercise and to frame guidelines. The bench asked the petitioners to file a rejoinder within 10 days and listed the matter on November 17. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders, and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for TMC MP Dola Sen, raised concerns regarding Form 6. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the ECI, refuted the allegations and maintained that the submissions were rhetoric. The ECI, however, admitted that the way the declaration was displayed on its online platform may have been confusing. Cyclone Arnab: Odisha evacuates 18,000 from 8 districts, 48K identified for shifting E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar With Cyclone Arnab set to make landfall along Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday the Odisha government has , started the process of evacuating people from vulnerable areas in eight districts to cyclone shelters and other safer places. As many as 18,000 people have so far been evacuated with around 48,010 identified for shifting from the areas lying along the cyclone’s path. According to an official assessment, Nabarangpur has the highest number of vulnerable pockets with a population of 11,270, followed by Gajapati 11,000 and Malkangiri 9,850. Ganjam has identified 6,500 people for shifting, Koraput 5,000, Kalahandi 2,415, Nuapada 1,675 and Rayagada 300. A total of 466 shelters have been readied in these districts to accommodate them. Special relief commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said evacuation process is on in low-lying and landslide-prone pockets and will continue as per the developing situation. To People buy polythene sheets as heavy rain is forecast for capital | Shamim Qureshy strengthen preparedness on the ground, the state government has released `19 crore as special assistance to the districts likely to be affected. Ganjam has received `5 crore, while Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have been allocated `2 crore each for relief and preparedness operations, he said. Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari reviewed the state’s preparedness at a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar. Pujari said the eight southern districts are likely to witness heavy rainfall and stormy conditions. Roundthe-clock control rooms have been activated at state and district levels to provide emergency assistance and monitor IMD bulletins continuously . A massive deployment of rescue forces has been made. In Ganjam, nine ODRAF teams, two NDRF teams and 24 Fire Service teams have been deployed while in Gajapati six ODRAF teams, one NDRF team and eight Fire Service teams have been stationed. While Rayagada has three ODRAF, one NDRF and 11 Fire Service teams, in Koraput three ODRAF teams, one NDRF team and 14 Fire Service teams have been deployed. In Malkangiri, three ODRAF, one NDRF and nine Fire Service teams have also been deployed. Similarly, ODRAF, NDRF and Fire Service teams have also been stationed in Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi districts, he said. The minister said district administrations have been directed to ensure that all cyclone shelters are fully-equipped and ready for use, with advance stocking of dry food, drinking water, medicines and lighting. Anganwadi centres will remain closed as a precautionary measure. The Health department has been asked to ensure readiness of medical relief centres, mobile health teams, emergency medicines, power backup and emergency obstetric services to safeguard pregnant women and newborns, he added. Nodal officers have been assigned responsibility for floodprone areas. A WhatsApp group has been formed to facilitate real-time coordination among officials and field-level functionaries, he said. east coast gears up for ‘arnab’ Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have stepped up preparations as “very severe” cyclonic storm Arnab hurtles towards the east coast and is expected to make landfall early Wednesday near the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam Maximum wind speeds of 125-135 kmph are likely, IMD said Gusty winds & rough sea conditions witnessed in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday | G Satyanarayana Majhi asks Naveen not to politicise Kotia dispute, Pakistan invited to first civilisational seeks ‘constructive, legally tenable’ suggestions dialogue of SCO from Nov 20 in Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday charged Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik with politicising the l o n g - s t a n d i n g i n t e r- s t at e boundary dispute over the Kotia group of villages in Koraput district rather than advancing constructive and legally tenable solutions. Replying to Naveen’s October 19 letter accusing the state government of failing to protect Odisha’s territorial integrity after Andhra Pradesh announced plans to hold panchayat elections in the Kotia group of villages, Majhi asserted that the villages have been an inte- gral part of Odisha since its formation as a separate state in 1936. “The state government remains firmly committed to safeguarding the territorial integrity and legitimate interests of Odisha. The government had consistently upheld the state’s territorial claims through legal and constitutional means,” the chief minister said. He said priority has been ac- corded to Kotia and adjoining areas to ensure inclusive growth, improve public service delivery and enhance the wellbeing of local residents. “A committee headed by the Revenue and Disaster Management minister and comprising senior officials has been constituted to oversee the integrated development of the Kotia gram panchayat areas. The minister and other ministers and senior officials have also been visiting the region to review development needs and coordinate action,” he added. Calling for restraint and responsibility in dealing with the sensitive inter-state dispute, Majhi said all concerned must respect the judicial process. “The contents of your letter appear to approach this sensitive issue from a political standpoint rather than advance constructive and legally tenable solutions for its resolution,” he told Naveen. The chief minister said his government will continue to defend Odisha’s territorial integrity before appropriate legal and constitutional forums while ensuring the socio-economic advancement of Kotia’s residents. The chief minister also invited the BJD president to submit constructive suggestions for resolving the long-pending dispute, assuring him that the government would consider them. j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) first Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi between November 20 and November 22, with Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, among those invited to attend, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday . Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the forum, which will bring together representatives from more than 25 countries at Purana Quila, a 16th-century fort in the national capital. The Ministry of Culture will partner with the Ministry of External Affairs in organising the event. The initiative was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin in 2025 and subsequently adopted by the grouping. Culture ministers from all 10 member states, including Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Belarus, have been invited, along with representatives from observer and dialogue partner countries, sources said. Pakistan is yet to confirm who will attend the event from its side. If Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India since the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa in 2023 which was attended by Bilawal Bhutto. Despite strained bilateral relations, India has continued to participate in SCO engagements involving Pakistan. In September 2026, India sent SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri to Islamabad for a meeting ahead of Pakistan’s presidency of the grouping. SC notice to govt as digital publishers argue data law will force newsrooms to close down SUCHITRA K A LYA N M O HA N TY @New Delhi Newsrooms will shut down if journalists are forced to seek permission before reporting on a person, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday while challenging the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and DPDP Rules. The court, which refused to stay the Act, issued notice to the Centre on the plea that contends the law infringes on press freedom and right to information. Senior advocate Madhavi Divan, appearing for DNPA, informed the SC that this was the first comprehensive challenge of the law by ‘legacy’ media. The DNPA comprises 21 media outlets, including NDTV Net, work 18 and TNIE. “If I am left to the mercy of the data principal on whether he or she will give consent, the You are experts, suggest how to ensure no misuse: CJI During the hearing, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the petitioners — digital news publishers — were in the best position to suggest safeguards to the government. “You are the domain experts. You are the best person to suggest to the Union and us how you will ensure there’s no misuse,” he said. Before issuing notice the Centre, the CJI clarified that there had to be balance in how to ensure that the rights of people are not abused. concept of news will be gone... News has to be new. What’s the point if I have to ask for permission and consent? Please stay the impugned provisions... how can we ask for your permission before reporting on you. We are regulated. The pro- visions will shut down the newsroom,” Divan contended. “We will never pass an exparte order without hearing the other side. You have to tell us how you will be regulating yourself,” said a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. “If there’s something inaccurate, we must face consequences... We are regulated by Press Council etc,” Divan submitted. The DNPA has also challenged the amendment, via the DPDP Act, of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act by creating an exemption for “personal information”. The SC issued notice to the Union law and electronics and information technology ministries and listed the matter for November 17. The petition contends that the law trampled on investigative work of journalists and endangered sources. Earlier drafts of the law carved out an exemption for journalism but the final legislation has not exempted media outlets.