bhubaneswar l monday l october 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Resumption of war will not change Iran’s stance: Araghchi Comes after Don Hints at renewed attacks His statement came after President Donald Trump indicated that he could resume attacks on Iran after the midterm elections in the US. Speaking at a televised event in Tehran, Araghchi said, “They have already done so twice and have seen the results. If they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that a resumption of war with the US and Israel would not change his country’s position Iran seeks removal of foreign forces ■ ■ Araghchi said to achieve peace and stability, “our region must move towards the complete absence of foreign forces” Trump said on Friday the US “may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the military campaign that began in February. The US has moved thousands of additional troops to the region in recent weeks Nov 3 when the u.s. will hold midterm elections 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 Cong banked the powerful, EC hiding software info to we banked the poor: Modi bury manipulation: Congress RBI data centre will strengthen financial infrastructure, says PM Sudarsan Maharana/Bijoy P r a d h a n @ Bhubaneswar inter-state op Int’l drug cartel, `100 cr hawala trail busted m u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi COORDINATED raids by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and state police forces helped dismantle a trans-national narcotics cartel operating across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday. He said raids were carried out at 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur leading to 18 arrests, freezing of 1,424 bank accounts and uncovering of hawala transactions worth `100 crore. The operation, conducted on October 23 and codenamed ‘Operation Trident’, resulted in attachment of properties worth `17.82 crore, seizure of 500 detonators and the recovery of `12 lakh in cash. Announcing the operation on X, Shah said, “Central agencies and police forces in three northeastern states carried out simultaneous operations to dismantle the international drug trafficking network and expose its financial links.” The cartel allegedly used the corridor connecting India, Myanmar and Bangladesh to move narcotics across borders, which Shah described as ‘Death Triangle Corridor’. The crackdown aligns with the government’s zero-tolerance policy on drugs and the Vision Document on Narcotics Control for 2026-2029, which prioritises a systematic dismantling of organised drug networks. Investigations by NCB, Mizoram Police and ED uncovered a wider network of facilitators, shell entities and money mules supporting the cartel. The probe identified the kingpin as Myanmar-based Thangcintuang, alias Chintuang or Tluanga, who was wanted in more than 10 cases under NDPS Act. He was arrested in Delhi.Other key operatives arrested earlier included Vungkhanthawna, a facilitator responsible for coordinating the movement and delivery of Myanmar-origin consignments, and Lalrampari, a principal hawala operator, officials said. Lalrampari’s arrest by NCB on August 8, 2024, helped investigators uncover nearly `100 crore in illicit transactions and prompted joint financial action with the ED, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying, before 2014, a different kind of phone banking system was operating in the country, which was available only to a handful of people, either from the party or well connected with the powerful. Inaugurating the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Infovalley-II in Jatni, Modi said, bank loans worth thousands of crores of rupees were given through phone banking to certain Congress leaders and people with whom they had connections. “The poor and middle class families needed a guarantor to open a bank account. But in the phone banking scheme of the Congress, thousands of crores of rupees were available for the rich at any time. As a result of this mismanagement, India’s banking system was hit by NPAs. The banking system was on the verge of collapse,” he said. He said banks were nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s in the name of helping the poor. Yet, until 2014, more than half of the country’s population remained outside the banking ecosystem. Products such as bank loans were a distant dream even for the middle class. Poor people, small farmers and landless women could not even imagine accessing them, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the RBI Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Jatni, on outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Sunday | PIB Referring to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s observation that only 15 paise of every rupee sent from Delhi reached beneficiaries, Modi said direct benefit transfers had enabled the intended amounts to reach beneficiaries directly More than 59 crore Jan . Dhan accounts have enabled direct transfers of government benefits to beneficiaries, eliminating leakages in welfare delivery. Schemes such as MUDRA, PM SVANidhi and PM Vishwakarma have extended formal credit to small entrepreneurs, street vendors and traditional artisans. Today, digital banking in India has connected everyone with 24-hour banking services, he said. “The NDA government has adopted a model of pro-people, proactive and good governance. For us, development means balanced development of India, ensuring that villages and smaller cities also have the opportunities. Our goal is to pro- vide better connectivity to remote areas and ensure that poor families have access to facilities which allow them to live with dignity. Our sincere and constant efforts reassure every citizen that they will not be left behind in the journey of development,” Modi said. The prime minister said in the recent years, the systems India has established and the new ecosystem developed through Digital India have taken banking services to every citizen of the country “India’s . banking sector has become one of the strongest in the world,” he added. The PM said with the blessings of Mahaprabhu, Bhubaneswar is now giving a new institution to New India. He described the RBI Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute as a major step towards strengthening the country’s financial infrastructure and bolstering its defences against rising cyber CONTINUED ON P5 threats. M u k e s h R a n j a n & R a m a s h a n k a r @ New Delhi / Patna THE Congress on Sunday escalated its campaign against the Election Commission, accusing the poll body of suppressing crucial information about the ECINET software, while party chief Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) be halted immediately, assembly polls held in the past two years annulled, and future elections be held through ballot papers. The opposition party cited media reports about the poll body refusing to disclose the technical details of the ECINET software sought through RTI and alleged it was done to hide the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls. “The ECI is repeatedly refusing to provide this information because it will reveal the reality of the massive, centralised manipulation that has taken place,” said Congress general secretary incharge of communications Jairam Ramesh, adding the poll panel must clarify whether it is using artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, speaking at an event in Patna on Sunday, Kharge called for return to ballot papers to preserve the sanctity of election process and demanded the assembly polls held in the past two years should be annulled. Interestingly he named only the BJP-ruled West Bengal, Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra; Congress won in Kerala and is sharing power with the TVK in Tamil Nadu, where elections were held in 2026. Launching a fierce attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Congress chief alleged there were large-scale irregularities during the SIR process that influenced election results, accusing the CEC of enabling ‘vote theft’ under the garb of SIR. Kharge described the anti-SIR stir as a “second war of independence” and urged people to participate in INDIA bloc’s November 1 protest rally in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. “The protest by Opposition INDIA bloc in New Delhi is aimed at ousting of CEC Gyanesh Kumar,” the Congress president added, while speaking at an event to mark the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister Shri Krishna Singh. Majhi deputes dy CMs, mins to 8 dists as South Odisha braces for cyclone E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar With the impending cyclone expected to trigger extremely heavy rains and gusty winds in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has deputed the two deputy chief ministers and ministers to eight vulnerable districts, where they will remain s t a t i o n e d f r o m T u e s d ay t o Thursday . The system is likely to cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as a very severe cyclone on Wednesday . Deputy chief ministers KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida have been assigned Koraput and Rayagada districts respectively, while minister Rabi Naik has been deployed in Kandhamal, Bibhuti Jena (Ganjam), Krushna Chandra Patra (Nabarangpur), Nityananda Gond (Malkangiri), Mukesh Mahaling (Kalahandi) and Suryabanshi Suraj (Gajapati). These districts are expected to bear the maximum brunt of the storm. Officials said as part of the government’s zero casualty target, cy- clone shelters with all essential amenities have been set up in vulnerable areas. Restrictions have been imposed near sea/tourist destinations, and fishing activities completely suspended. “People staying in kutcha houses, thatched huts and low-lying areas are being identified and shifted to safe cyclone shelters. Pregnant women are also being relocated in advance to nearby community health centres, primary health centres and hospitals. Special arrangements have been put in place for senior citizens, children and persons with disabilities (PwDs) too,” they added. The Agriculture department has advised farmers to harvest and safely store crops (paddy, maize, ragi and others) which have achieved 80 per cent to 85 pc maturity Dedicated ag. ricultural helpline numbers have also been opened to provide assistance to farmers. Authorities concerned are stockpiling essential medicines (snake anti-venom/chlorine tablets) in hospitals, taking measures for water chlorination and pre-positioning equipment to ensure quick restoration of power and telecom lines in case they get damaged. Officials said comprehensive measures have been taken to handle any exigency Leaves of all dis. trict-level officials and staff have been cancelled. They have been directed to remain stationed at their respective headquarters until the a dve r s e we a t h e r c o n d i t i o n CONTINUED ON P5 improves. Sustainable farming Ladakh becomes India’s first fully organic UT F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar Ladakh was declared India’s first fully organic Union Territory on Sunday, in a nod to its sustained efforts to promote chemical-free farming. “This is a moment of immense pride for Ladakh and the entire nation. Our farmers have demonstrated that environmentally responsible agriculture can flourish even in the most challenging geographical conditions,” Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena said. It follows a phased, multi-year initiative aimed at eliminating syn- thetic fertilisers, chemical pesticides and toxic soil additives from agricultural practices across the Union Territory . The big push came in July, when the LG ordered a complete prohibition on the procurement, distribution, sale, marketing, and use of chemical and synthetic fertilisers for agricultural prac- tices across Ladakh. In March, the administration had flagged off distribution of organic fertiliser among farmers across villages to ensure timely availability before the sowing season. The move to organic farming is expected to improve soil fertility, protect water resources, preserve biodiversity and promote healthier food production. Besides, it is expected to create new opportunities for La- This is a moment of immense pride for Ladakh and the entire nation. Our farmers have demonstrated that environmentally responsible agriculture can flourish even in the most challenging geographical conditions — LG V K Saxena dakh’s farmers by improving the value of locally grown organic produce, including apricots, sea buckthorn, buckwheat, barley and vegetables. “Organic certification, better post-harvest management, value addition, branding and stronger market linkages can help farmers access consumers who increasingly seek authentic, traceable and organically produced food,” an official said. Saxena said the goal is to ensure that the organic status brings real value to Ladakh’s farmers through better market access, improved price realisation and sustainable livelihoods. Elections should be held using ballots to ensure transparency and restore public confidence. Democracy must be protected, and every vote must count Mallikarjun Kharge Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in Patna on Sunday| PTI Row over remark Kharge’s impromptu remarks during the Patna event triggered a political row. When a person in the audience said, “Modi won’t go anywhere or lose power”, Kharge retorted, “Even Modi’s father will go,” prompting a commotion at the venue | P2, 7 BJP meets to mull how to ‘expose’ Oppn protests, rally RAJ E SH KUMAR T HAKUR @New Delhi Strategies to counter the Opposition’s protests against the Chief Election Commissioner and its November 1 rally were discussed at a top-level BJP meeting on Sunday, as the party strategised on “exposing” the Congress-backed efforts in its national ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign. The meeting, chaired by party chief Nitin Nabin and attended by senior leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, discussed how the party could push back on the Opposition’s charges against the Special Intensive Revision of poll rolls, sources said. Plans for the BJP’s poll campaign in 2027 Assembly elections in UP, Punjab and three other states were also on the agenda. Sources said the leaders discussed a series of nationwide activities aimed at questioning the Opposition’s role in upholding democracy and highlighting achievements of the Modi government. “The meeting may have discussed spreading how the Congress and its allies want the inclusion of dead and fake voters in the voters’ lists under the pretext of protesting and demoralising a constitutional body like the Election Commission,” claimed a source.