mangaluru l monday l november 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION GST mop-up surges to `2.31 l- cr in October on festive demand Collections from DOMESTIC SALES up 16% GST collections jumped 23 per cent year-on-year. Gross GST collections from domestic sales rose 16 per cent to over `1.59 lakh crore, and revenues from imports climbed 42 per cent to `72,246 crore. The `2.31 lakh crore collection includes Central GST mop-up of `42,935 crore, State GST of `51,340 crore and Integrated GST of over `1.37 lakh crore, data showed October is the second consecutive month when monthly gross GST crossed `2 lakh crore, and 2nd only to the record `2.43 lakh cr mop-up in April Performance across key economic hubs ■ ■ Manoj Mishra from Grant Thornton Bharat said October collections capture the festive demand cycle, which brings higher consumer spending, retail activity and movement of goods across sectors Performance across key states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, UP and MP points to continued strength in GST collections 6.5% YoY is the increase in gst refunds, which is `27,934 crore in October 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 Sting op phone handed over at HDK’s Delhi house: Top cop E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @Bengaluru INDIA bloc leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi on Sunday | Sayantan ghosh CEC Gyanesh has to go: Oppn INDIA bloc’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan brings together all parties Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji, understand this—after Gyanesh Kumar, we will stand against you p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi IN a show of strength at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan, a united Opposition on Sunday vowed to remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and hold the Narendra Modi government accountable for alleged “vote theft”, as a massive crowd rallied behind the INDIA bloc’s call to defend democracy and the Constitution. The congregation saw a striking show of unity as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other alliance leaders rode together in an open canter from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan, where they addressed the gathering. Launching a diatribe against the government, Gandhi said removing Gyanesh Kumar would be the first step towards putting the country back on track, while asserting that “the CEC would face imprisonment for alleged ‘treason’ and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would face legal action.” Calling the 2024 Lok Sabha elections “illegal”, he alleged that the Election Commission removed 15 percent of voters from the rolls, while the voteshare gap between NDA and INDIA bloc in the last general election was three percentage points. “Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji, understand this—after Gyanesh Kumar, we will stand against you...,” he said. Invoking the Constitution, Gandhi said the gathering represented the voice of young people, farmers and workers determined to defend democracy . Addressing the gathering, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of alleged deletions from electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh and accused authorities of manipulating votes through SIR ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. “We, in the INDIA alliance, will not stop,” he said. Calling upon people across communities and political affiliations to unite against the BJP TMC , chief Banerjee said, “ We will fight this democratically We will fight with our lives.” ... Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby CPI general secretary D Raja , and CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya were among the senior leaders present. Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Over 4K cops keep a watch The INDIA bloc rally marching towards Ramlila Maidan | Sayantan ghosh The rally in central Delhi concluded peacefully on Sunday, police said. Over 4,000 police personnel were deployed, apart from drones, bodyworn cameras, anti-riot vehicles and personnel from CAPF. ‘Foolish drama’ on anniv of 1984 anti-Sikh riots: BJP RA J E S H K U M AR THA K U R & Harpreet Bajwa @New Delhi/Chandigarh The ruling BJP on Sunday sought to dismiss the INDIA bloc’s rally as a “foolish drama”, accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of hurting sentiments on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a gathering in Chandigarh months ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, trained his ire on Rahul, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and alleged the rally could only “rub salt in the wounds of the victims’”. “If you want to become PM, stay in mock parliament your entire life. Your turn won’t come. Telling lies, spreading anarchy not letting Parliament , function, this is your true na- ture,” he charged. Shah said when the Modi government came to power in 2014, riot cases were reopened and relief was given to the kin of victims. “India has never witnessed, nor will it ever witness, riots of this kind, incited by a political party he claimed. ,” In Haryana, BJP national president Nitin Nabin led a counter march to ‘Save democracy, eradicate anarchy’. Calling for Congress to apologise for the riots, he accused the party of blaming constitutional institutions after failing to secure a mandate. In Delhi, Union Minister JP Nadda told media the rally was a “foolish drama of the defeated”. He claimed traders had suffered losses of nearly `3,000 crore due to protests and alleged Sunday’s rally could result in additional losses exceeding `10,000 crore in the crucial festival period. India’s first indigenous bullet train on track, undergoes ‘squeeze test’ RA J E S H K U M AR THA K U R @ New Delhi Chief Minister DK Shivakumar greets Yakshagana artistes during the 71st Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations in Bengaluru on Sunday | EXPRESS Yellow and red flag will get official status: CM E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru The Karnataka government is planning to accord official state flag status to the yellowand-red Kannada flag and facilitate its hoisting alongside the national flag on government buildings, announced Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday . Speaking at the 71st Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations at Kanteerava Stadium, he said it will be discussed at the upcoming winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi. He said the government is examining legal aspects of granting official recognition to the flag and will take another Cabinet decision before introducing legislation. The government is considering making it mandatory for institutions receiving government support to display the flag, he said.P4 Min: State moots 5% job quota for Kannadigas in MNCs Chitradurga: The state govt is considering 5% quota in jobs for Kannadigas in MNCs, Minister T Raghumurthy said on Sunday. He said MNCs are using state’s resources and labour of Kannadigas to expand their business, but are reluctant to provide jobs to locals. INDIA’s first indigenous bullet train, called B28, is taking shape at BEML’s ‘ ditya’ facility in BenA galuru. Sharing the details on Sunday, the railway ministry said: “India is taking a major step towards indigenous high-speed rail technology with the Bharat-made bullet train. It is being manufactured for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor.” Sources said the bullet train will be cheaper than the Japanese Shinkansen trains. “India was supposed to buy E5 Shinkansen sets. Howev- B’luru-Pune er, after high quotes and corridor next potential delays, the gov- Union Railway ernment decided to go At- Minister Ashwini manirbhar. Japan will Vaishnaw on Sunday still give two Shinkansen hinted that the sets (E5 and E3) free for proposed testing,” said an official. Bengaluru-Pune Railway minister Ash- bullet train corridor wini Vaishnaw inspected could be among the the BEML plant on Sun- next set of highday and witnessed the speed rail projects ‘squeeze test’ — a critical safety assessment which includes applying controlled compressive/tensile forces on the traincar body to assess its structural strength, rigidity and dimensional stability . The B28 will have a maximum speed of 280 km/h. It is expected to roll out by the end of this year or early next year. The inaugural run is tentatively fixed for August 15, 2027 on the 97-km Surat–Vapi section. The entire Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor is scheduled for completion around 2029–30. The mobile phone that was allegedly used in the sting operation targeting former chief minister Siddaramaiah was handed over to an accused at the official residence of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy in New Delhi, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said on Sunday . “The accused, Ritesh Pandey who had been ar, rested, disclosed during interrogation that he and another accused, Vinod Sharma, purchased a mobile phone from a shop in Karol Bagh, Delhi, on the instructions of Prajwal Prasad. They later took it to Kumaraswamy’s official residence on Kushak Road in New Delhi and handed it over to Prasad, who was present in the house,” the commissioner told the media. He said these details were given by Pandey and the claims are being verified as part of the ongoing investigation. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) Cyber Crime Police arrested Pandey in Delhi on October 24 in connection with the case registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, based on the complaint filed by Siddaramaiah. Pandey is now out on bail. “Notices have been issued to Vinod Sharma and Prajwal Prasad, but both have not responded and are absconding. We have learnt that they have filed anticipatory bail applications. Further investigation will only be possible after we interrogate Vinod and Prajwal once they are arrested. Their interrogation is expected to help establish the sequence of events and identify others involved in the alleged operation. We have gathered technical evidence, including CCTV footage and other digital records, besides detecting suspicious financial transactions between Pandey and Prasad,” the officer said.  P4 HDK accuses officer of ‘leaking’ info Bengaluru: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday slammed Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh for “leaking” confidential information related to the investigation into the sting operation. He said he was aware of the direction in which the investigation was progressing and what was happening within the police department | P4 express read HM: Another suspect identified in Delhi Kalaburagi : The probe into the sting operation is in progress and several significant details have come to light, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Sunday. Following the arrest of an individual, another person has been identified in Delhi. CCTV footage related to this is available, he said | P4 Litigants rush to SC for HC matters, says CJI Kochi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday called for introspection on whether there is room to improve the responsiveness of judicial process over growing tendency of litigants to move the Supreme Court for urgent listing or early hearing of matters pending before High Courts | P8