tuesdAY 10 november, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard trump wants to make strong iran deal The US President cast doubt on renewed fighting with Iran, telling CNN it was “highly unlikely,” ahead of a meeting with Qatar’s PM on Monday. Page 9 first gm to come from Madhya Pradesh A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 12 UCC should be pan-India, no reason to restrict its rollout: Law minister Shah: NDA-ruled states to implement it by 2029 @ New Delhi Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has said the government is committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the country and asserted that its “constitutional basis” makes it difficult to justify restricting the legislation to a few states. Asked whether the Uniform Civil Code would remain confined to BJP-ruled states or eventually be implemented across the country, Meghwal said: “The Uniform Civil Code was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, and the makers of the Constitution incorporat- Hosp fined for not arranging ambulance for stroke patient U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Metro Hospital & Heart Institute to pay `15 lakh in compensation for failing to arrange a life-support ambulance and medical supervision for a patient who had suffered a stroke, saying that it is a hospital’s duty to ensure the safe transfer of critically ill patients to other medical facilities. A bench presided over by Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal and comprising Judicial Member Pinki observed that patients and their families cannot be expected to independently arrange essential medical infra. According to the complaint, Suresh Kumar, who underwent a dual heart valve replacement procedure at AIIMS in 2008, developed severe breathing difficulties on November 13, 2013, and was admitted to Metro Hospital. Doctors diagnosed an obstruction in his artificial aortic valve and administered a medication used to dissolve blood clots. He later suffered a stroke that affected his movement. The hospital advised that Kumar be shifted to another medical facility but failed to provide an appropriately equipped ambulance or an accompanying doctor. As a result, five hours were lost, his family alleged. The bench observed hospitals, “particularly those charging substantial fees”, can’t treat emergency facilities, including an appropriately equipped ambulance and qualified medical personnel for patient transfer, as an optional service. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier described a common civil law for every citizen as a commitment of the BJP “since its inception”. He has also expressed confidence that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 BJP- and NDA-ruled states before 2029 ed a provision for it under Article 44. The Supreme Court has also made observations on the subject on several occasions. It is encouraging that some states have come forward to implement the UCC. Goa has had a common civil code for a long time, even when the BJP was not in power there,” he said in an exclusive interview with this newspaper. He added: “We believe that the UCC should be implemented across the country, and our government is committed to this objective. It has a constitutional basis, and there is no reason why its implementation should remain restricted to a few states. The issue is also increasingly finding a place in the election manifestos of political parties.” Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC law in February 2024 and remains the only state to have fully implemented the legislation. Gujarat subsequently passed it while Assam became the first northeastern state to pass such legislation in May 2026. Madhya Pradesh has also moved towards adopting the code, approving it unanimously at a special Cabinet meeting in Bhopal in August. The UCC remains one of the BJP’s longstanding ideological objectives, alongside the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, both of which have been achieved. Q&A: P7 Samajwadi Party surveys Gandhi family fiefdom amid seat wrangling N a m i ta B a j pai @ Lucknow AMID seat-sharing talks between INDIA bloc partners, Samajwadi Party and Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s party has commissioned surveys in constitutiencies traditionally associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family. Informed sources said the SP is trying to gauge voter sentiment and assess Congress strength in these seats, including in Amethi and Rae Bareli, before finalising seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Despite assertions by both parties that they are committed to fighting the ruling BJP together, there has been little progress in talks. SP insiders indicated the party is seeking micro feedback from voters in Congress bastions, particular- File pic ly, in the Rae Bareli-Amethi belt and adjoining constituencies, including those in Sultanpur. Notably Akhilesh launched , his ‘PDA Rath Yatra’ from Rahul Gandhi’s Rae Bareli seat in September. The objective of the surveys is two-fold — first, to estimate the Congress’s ability to independently garner votes, and second, to deter mine whether conceding a large number of seats to the grand old party would be beneficial for the alliance. “This exercise is intended to provide empirical backing to SP’s negotiating position,” said Prof A K Mishra, a political scientist. The Congress state leadership has also indicated it is seeking a much larger share of seats than in the past. In 2017, SP spared it just 105 seats when they contested the Assembly polls together. UP Congress incharge Rajendra Pal Gautam has said the party should contest 180 to 200 seats this time. “We have given an initial list of 175 seats to the SP he said. The ,” demand reflects the Congress’s renewed confidence following the recent Rahul-led protests and the party’s relatively improved performance in some segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the party raised its tally from one MP to six. 15 grandmasters India have produced since 2025 Dhaka junks request Hasina stirs the pot, seeks fresh B’desh passport Arjun Ram Meghwal says it has a constitutional basis, cites SC observations on the matter R a j esh K u m ar Thakur Anuj Shrivatri, who had earned the title of an International Master just before the Covid pandemic, has taken a circuitous route to becoming chess grandmaster. A self-taught player, he had opportunities to go abroad for work but had eschewed that in favour of completing his GM norms. On Sunday, he achieved that while also becoming the first from Madhya Pradesh to do so | P11 Jayan t h j acob @ New Delhi In an apparent bid to corner the Bangladesh government amid its continued insistence on her extradition, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has sought a fresh passport and national identity card (NID) from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Hasina, 79, has been living in India since her government was ousted in a student-led uprising in August 2024. Her legal representatives at London-based Matrix Chambers have approached the Bangladeshi mission seeking fresh documents. “Our request is made on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality in accordance with any obligations arising under the laws of Bangladesh as well as any applicable obligations arising under international human ‘Political stunt’ rights instruments,” her lawyers Sheikh Hasina’s wrote to Preeti Rahman, acting request for a passport High Commissioner at the Bangla- was a “political desh mission. posturing” and she has The request, confirmed by Hasi- no genuine intention of na’s Awami League party, was swift- returning to the ly rejected by Dhaka. Bangladesh country, Dhaka’s Chief Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Prosecutor Md Aminul Humayun Kobir said: “Bangladesh Islam said does not issue passports to terrorists. We have asked for them (terrorists) to be handed over,” Kobir told journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “She is a fugitive criminal. We have an active extradition treaty with India. We want her handed over,” he said. The Awami League said a fresh passport and national identity card are crucial towards fulfilling Hasina’s stated intention of returning to Bangladesh in December. E x p r e s s Re a d Mamata MLA held from Kolkata airport over rape Trinamool Congress MLA Paresh Ram Das was on Monday arrested from the Kolkata airport in connection with multiple cases relating to rape and extortion, police said. The Canning Paschim MLA had been absconding for some time. He will be produced before court on Tuesday. More than half of city’s repairable buildings in Old Delhi zone: MCD dials Zelensky, says india ready to aid end war PM Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reiterated India’s commitment to contributing towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The conversation came on a day when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. A di t i R ay C ho w dhury @ New Delhi sky is the canvas Fireworks light up the sky above the St Lourdes Matha Shrine in Madurai as part of Deepavali celebrations on Sunday | k k sundar Cyber hires wreak havoc on political clients in Keralam CONGRESS leaders in Keralam were bewildered last month when its state unit’s official X account criticised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. Red-faced party bosses immediately ordered removal of the inflammatory comment. The KPCC leadership tendered an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court, which initiated contempt proceedings against the party, and sacked the social media in-charge. Finally, amid allegations of interference and manipulation, the Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs) election was over with current Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha losing. The result would have been shocking but after the last date of withdrawals, there were enough hints that pointed at change. This means that she will no longer be the president, at least, as of now. On Saturday, as reported by this daily, four male candidates were elected unopposed—Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh along with former TT champion Kamlesh Mehta. However, in the female category, despite hectic parley, Usha finished fifth behind Saina Nehwal who polled 43 against Usha’s 40. Anju Bobby George managed to secure the highest number of 53 followed by Rani Rampal, Dola Banerjee and Nehwal. There were concerns about Saina and it is understood that a lot of negotiations were on to secure her victory . With the way things panned out since Saturday, there were enough indications of her not making it. Yet, as an IOA president, her team was expecting to finish in the top four. With this, the focus would be on Gagan, who shifted his base from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad recently Gagan is considered to be a . front-runner in the IOA election to be held on December 5. Usha is technically out but can be proposed by NSFs. Delhi witnessed another severe pollution episode overnight, with air quality levels crossing the 400-mark between 11:30 pm on November 8 and 6:30 am on November 9. And a significant number of hourly PM2.5 observations went missing from government monitoring stations. P3 modi It was just one of several incidents where overzealous cyber troopers of Keralam have become an embarrassment for their organisations. These cyber warriors are the selfless members who fiercely defend their parties and shut down their rivals through online channels. Most political parties have such cyber armies. And the nature of online warfare is such that it places the parties at risk of occasional reckless interventions. Senior CPM leaders, includ- I ndranee l das @ Chennai Data from govt monitoring stations go missing T r o ll A r m y M P P R A S H A N T H @ Kozhikode Usha loses key polls in IOA prez race, faces major setback ILLUSTRATION: Sourav roy ing former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary M V Govindan, were forced to step in to rein in party sym- pathisers who targeted actor Mammootty . On October 28, leaders of the party’s youth fronts called on the actor and released the photos. However, this triggered pro-CPM cyber handles opposed to the actor for ‘insulting’ the party’s Wayanad district secretary K Rafeeq during a function. The cyber attacks subsided only after the CPM leader himself clarified that the issue with Mammootty had been resolved. On Sunday the actor was tar, geted again after he visited BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan in connection with the marriage of the latter’s daughter. CPM leader T M Thomas Isaac expressed the party’s disagreement over the repeated attacks on Mammootty . Not just political parties, religious organisations also face the ‘threat’ of digital soldiers. Jamaat-e-Islami’s Kerala amir P Mujeeb Rehman was recently forced to urge cadres to maintain decorum in social-media interventions. Just days after a building collapse near Chawri Bazaar metro station in Old Delhi claimed seven lives, the latest Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) survey has revealed a stark concentration of repairable properties in the area, with the City SP zone accounting for nearly 54% of all such buildings identified across the Capital. The finding is significant because the zone accounted for just 2.9% of the houses surveyed, according to the October 12 report. The MCD identified 553 repairable properties across the city, of which 298 were in the City SP zone, covering large parts of Old Delhi. Every year, the civic body conducts pre- and post-monsoon structural safety surveys across its 12 zones under Sections 348 and 349 of the DMC Act to identify dangerous and repairable buildings. Of the 30,66,188 houses surveyed across the Capital, only 90,214 were in the City SP zone. The concentration of repairable properties in the area comes into sharp focus against the backdrop of the November 5 collapse of a three-storey building in the narrow lanes of Gali Sheesh Mahal near Chawri Bazaar metro station. On April HC: Repair of dangerous buildings during GRAP The Delhi High Court has directed the MCD commissioner to set up a high-powered committee, in consultation with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, within a week for repair, sealing, or demolition of dangerous and dilapidated buildings during GRAP-related anti-pollution restrictions. P3 28, the MCD had issued an advisory to the building’s owner warning him about its deteriorated condition. Within the City SP zone, 48 repairable properties were recorded under the Maintenance-I division and 250 under Maintenance-II. The building and maintenance departments monitor the zone’s properties, with the latter further divided into two divisions. The report records only 10 properties as repaired—nine under Maintenance-I and one under Maintenance-II. It also states that advisories were issued for all 250 repairable properties under Maintenance-II. However, it does not specify the current status of the remaining properties or how many owners carried out repairs following the notices. The City SP zone had 12 properties classified as dangerous.