FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 49 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | AUGUST 3, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports MESSI MANIA 2.0 P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Trump: Take control of Fed Reserve from Powell UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema B’wood’s real-life friendship... P.14 MODI BETS ON SWADESHI AMID GLOBAL TURMOIL PM hails Op Sindoor VARANASI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on citizens to adopt the spirit of "swadeshi" and support locally-made products, stressing that true service to the nation lies in promoting indigenous goods, especially amid "global economic uncertainties". Addressing a public meeting in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Modi said, "As we talk about economic progress, I want to draw your attention to the current global scenario. "The world economy is facing instability and uncertainty. In such times, countries are focusing solely on their own interests. India, too, is on the path to becoming the world's third-largest economy and must remain alert to its own economic priorities." The prime minister's renewed push for 'swadeshi' (indigenous) comes amid the US announcing tariffs on exports from about 70 nations, including India. According to the White House order, India now faces tariffs of 25 per cent for its exports to the US. Emphasising that farmers, fp Briefs DURG Two Kerala nuns get bail PM Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Congress over its criticism of ‘Operation Sindoor’. Addressing a public gathering, PM Modi declared that “those who strike India won’t be spared, even if they hide in the netherworld.” NEW DELHI Court issues notice to Vadra A Delhi court on Saturday issued a notice to businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in connection with the Shikohpur land deal case. The Rouse Avenue Court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the ED in the high-profile money laundering case and issued notices to a total of 11 individuals, including Vadra.Vadra's argument will be presented on August 28, which is also the date set for the next hearing in the matter. BHUBANESWAR Set ablaze, Puri teen dies A 15-year-old girl from Odisha's Puri district, who was allegedly set ablaze by three unidentified men, succumbed to her injuries at AIIMS Delhi, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi confirmed on Saturday. Chief Minister Majhi expressed deep sorrow over the girl's death. NEW DELHI After US President Donald Trump claimed that India has stopped purchasing Russian oil, government sources on Saturday clarified there is no such pause on the oil imports from Russia. According to government sources, "India's energy purchases are driven by national interests and market forces. We do not have any reports of Indian oil firms halting Russian imports". There was, however, no official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Trump's statement. "I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard, I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens," Trump told reporters in Washington, DC. Trump has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on countries that small industries, and employment for youth are the topmost priorities for the government, Modi said, "The government is doing everything possible in this direction. But as citizens, we too have responsibilities." Calling for a national movement to support local products, the prime minister said, "This is not just about Modi saying it, every Indian should say this -- if we want India to become the third-largest economy, every political party and every leader, keeping aside their hesitations, must work in the nation's interest and awaken the spirit of swadeshi among the people." He also urged people to be conscious consumers, saying, "Whatever we buy, we should ask ourselves -- has an Indian toiled to make this? If it has been made by the sweat of our people, with their skills, that product is swadeshi for us. We must adopt the mantra of 'Vocal for Local'." Making a special appeal to traders and shopkeepers, the prime minister said, "At a time when the world is going through uncertainty, let us take a pledge to sell only swadeshi goods from our shops and markets. Promoting made in India goods will be the truest service to the country." With the festival and wedding seasons approaching, the prime minister encouraged people to ensure that all new purchases are made in India. Three terrorists killed in J&K’s Kulgam district, operation still on Tejashwi says name not in draft electoral rolls; EC junks claim IANS SRINAGAR Two nuns from Kerala and another person, accused of human trafficking and forced conversion, were released from Durg Central Jail in Chhattisgarh on Saturday after a court granted them bail holding that the case was based on "mere suspicion". Leaders of the Congress and ruling LDF in Kerala welcomed the news, and accused the BJP of ignoring the atrocities against minorities. No pause on Russian oil imports: Govt sources over Trump’s claim IANS 4Continued on | P8 PTI NEW DELHI Three terrorists were killed in a gunfight between the security forces and the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. The official said that after intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the Akhal forest area of Kulgam district, joint forces, including the Army, the Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir Police, started a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) on Friday. "Exchange of fire between the joint forces and the hiding terrorists took place, and one terrorist was killed overnight while two were killed today. The operation is still going on to sanitise the area and find out if more terrorists are present in the area," the officials said. "The identity and other details of the slain terrorists are being ascertained, but at least two of them appear to be locals," officials said. Security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against the terrorists in the hinterland, while the Army has been on maximum alert guarding the line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The elimination of three hardcore Pakistani terrorists responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people were killed, is part of the aggressive operations being carried out by the joint forces. The Election Commission on Saturday dubbed as "baseless" claims of RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls of Bihar. Officials said that in the relevant portion of the draft roll, his name appears at serial number 416. Yadav on Saturday claimed his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published by the EC as part of the special intensive revision in Bihar, ahead of the assembly polls. At a press conference, Yadav, a former deputy chief minister, connected his phone to a big screen and tried to search his own EPIC number, which threw up the result 'no records found'. The RJD leader claimed he was not provided with any receipt by the boothlevel officer who came to his house with an enumeration form. Hitting back, the poll authority said pure electoral rolls are the foundation of any democracy. Under the special intensive revision, the period of claims and objections is for full one month - from August 1 to September 1. 4Continued on | P8 buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that "You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation. We are not aware of any specifics". Some reports have suggested that Indian refiners (Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd) have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week. India is the biggest buyer of Russian crude. According to sources, "the four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply - mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi's Murban crude and West African oil". 4Continued on | P8 Amarnath Yatra suspended SRINAGAR: Authorities have suspended this year's annual Amarnath Yatra, just a week before its scheduled conclusion, due to the need for maintenance on the tracks damaged by recent heavy rainfall, officials said on Saturday. The yatra, which began on July 3, was scheduled to conclude on August 9. SC expresses unhappiness at slow progress of HSRP work in MP Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Facilities through Vahan Portal will be available if a ve- Anurag Jain is retiring this month Out of six, four ex-chief secys get extension in past few years Nitendra Sharma Out of six former chief secretaries in the state, four were given an extension in past few years. They were: R Parshuram, BP Singh, Iqbal Singh Bains and Veera Rana. Anthony de Sa was, however, not given any extension. S R Mohanty and M Gopal Reddy, who were the chief secretaries during the Congress rule, had been removed before they completed their tenure. Chief Secretary Anurag Jain is retiring on August 31, and the state bureaucracy is abuzz with discussions over the extension of the tenure of his service. The Central Government recently extended the tenure of services of the chief secre- taries of Haryana and Chhattisgarh. Nevertheless, the chief secretary of UP was not given an extension of service.  A decision has to be taken on the extension of the chief secretaries of MP, Maharashtra, and Bihar. Chief Secretary of Haryana Anurag Rastogi, ED makes first arrest in Anil Ambani-linked loan fraud probe PTI NEW DELHI The Enforcement Directorate has arrested the managing director of an Odisha-based company that allegedly ran a "fake" bank guarantee issuance racket for business groups, including providing an alleged Rs 68 crore assurance for a Reliance Group company, official sources on Saturday said. The federal probe agency had launched searches in this money laundering case against a company named Biswal Tradelink located in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Biswal Tradelink Managing Director Partha Sarathi Biswal was taken into custody from Bhubaneswar on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. A court has sent him to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till August 6, they said. 4Continued on | P8 Significantly advancing India’s future human space exploration, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the country’s first analogue mission in Ladakh. The analogue station -the Human Outer Planet Exploration (HOPE) station -- formally inaugurated by Dr. V. Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO, has isolated aerospace engineer Rahul Mogalapalli and astrobiologist Yaman Akot. “This analogue mission is more than a simulation; rather, it is a rehearsal for the future,” said Narayanan during the inauguration. The duo will spend the next 10 days at the ana- logue site in Ladakh’s Tso Kar. It will test their physical and psychological en- PTI NEW DELHI Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that former finance minister Arun Jaitley had threatened him to not speak against the farm laws else he would face action, a charge rubbished by the BJP as "fake news" and asked him to stick to facts instead. Rohan Jaitley, son of the former union minister, also slammed Gandhi over his remarks, asking the Congress leader to "let the departed Rest in Peace". Addressing Congress' annual legal conclave at the Vigyan Bhawan, Gandhi said, "I remember when I was fighting the farm laws -- he's not here anymore, so I really shouldn't say it, but I will -Arun Jaitley ji was sent to me to threaten me." He went on to add: "He said to me, 'If you carry on down this path, op- Tragedy strikes Narsinghpur FP News Service NARSINGHPUR Three school students died after falling into the Hathi Nala waterfall in Narsinghpur on Friday. The Hathi Nala waterfall is nearly 10 km away from the district headquarters and located in a forest. According to reports, three students went out for a picnic after school, but as they did not return home, their parents who retired on June 30, was given a one-year extension on June 30. On the other hand, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh Amitabh Jain, who also retired on June 30, was given an extension of three months. 4Continued on | P8 hicle has the high security registration plate (HSRP). The transport department has directed the regional transport officer to launch a drive for three months for HSRP. In the absence of HSRP, duplicate registration papers, change of address in RC Book, change of ownership, WhatsApp bans over 98L accounts MUMBAI: WhatsApp banned more than 98 lakh accounts in India during June, as part of its efforts to curb abuse and harmful activity on the platform, according to WhatsApp’s latest India Monthly Report. Of these, nearly 19.79 lakh accounts were banned proactively, before any user complaints were received, the report stated.In addition to banning accounts, WhatsApp also acted on grievances received from users in India.During the month, the platform received 23,596 complaints through its grievance mechanisms, out of which action was taken against 1,001 accounts. ISRO launches analogue mission in Ladakh IANS Fake news, says BJP Dead don’t threaten: Son Rohan Jaitley, son of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and DDCA chief, on Saturday strongly refuted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claim that his father threatened him over the farm laws. According to Rohan Jaitley, the farm laws were introduced in 2020, 13 months after Arun Jaitley's death in August 2019, making it impossible for his father to have been involved in any discussions about the laws. posing the government and fighting us on the farm laws, we will have to take action against you.' 4Continued on | P8 3 students die after falling into Hathi Nala waterfall HOPE NEW DELHI Rahul alleges Arun Jaitley threatened him on farm laws Tanmay Sharma Ashwin Jat began to search for them. The family members found their bikes and clothes near Hathi Nala and informed the police about it. The police and a team of the State Disaster Response Force found their bodies late Friday night. After a postmortem, the police handed over their bodies to the family members on Saturday. The students were identified as Tanmay Sharma, a resident of Sanskar City Narsinghpur; Ashwin Jat, a resident of Dhuvghat; and Akshat Sooni, a resident of Gokul Nagar. Tanmay was a student of class 12 of Chavra Vidyapeeth, and Ashwini and Akshat were students of class 12 of Excellence School. Additional Superintendent of Police Sandeep Bhuuria said the death of three children was sad. 4Continued on | P8 HSRP must for Vahan Portal facilities CSs of two states get extension, UP out, now, it is time for MP BHOPAL E-paper Nation When a major workforce... P.7 VOCAL FOR LOCAL | India is on path to becoming world’s third-largest economy and must remain alert to its own economic priorities, says PM PTI MUMBAI durance in interplanetary conditions. “The mission is sched- uled to be conducted from 1st to 10th August 2025 at Tso Kar, Ladakh (elevation: 4,530 metres),” ISRO shared in a post on the social media platform X. The mission comes as India plans to launch astronauts to space by 2027 and to the Moon by the year 2040 as its space programme soars. to connect and shift hypothecation, issuance of permit, depositing road tax, cancellation of registration, issuance fitness certificate and other facilities will be stopped. There will be changes in the portal, too. The Supreme Court has expressed unhappiness at the slow pace of work of HSRP. The apex court has asked the government to submit a report again. The dealers, putting HSRP from April 1, 2019, have been also advised to feed its data. The progress of putting HSRP on vehicles is slow. 4Continued on | P8 Deve Gowda’s grandson Revanna gets life sentence in rape case PTI BENGALURU Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life by a Special Court here on Saturday, a day after he was convicted in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases against him. Ahead of the sentencing, the 34-year-old grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda wept soundly and appealed to the court for a lesser punishment, stating that he is a BE Mechanical graduate who has always passed on merit and has not committed any wrongdoing. The Special Court for MPs/MLAs Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat also imposed a total fine of Rs 11.50 lakh on the accused, and said Rs 11.25 lakh from this fine amount will be paid to the victim. The court had on Friday convicted Revanna of raping a 48-year-old woman who was working as a househelp at the family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan dis- trict's Holenarasipura. She was allegedly raped twice -at Hassan farm house and Bengaluru residence-- in 2021, and the act was recorded by the accused on his mobile phone. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak speaking to reporters said, considering that the rape incidents had happened when the convict was a Member of Parliament, the court, taking into account the seriousness of the offence, has given a maximum punishment "The court has sentenced life imprisonment for Prajwal Revanna, and as per law, he should be in prison for the full life. The prosecution had invoked various sections, and for all sections, the court has sentenced separate punishments and fines.