Tuesday, December 16, 2025 | Vol. 69 No. 61 | 29 Pages THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION Nitish removes hijab of newly appointed doctor at govt event, stirs controversy Cinema Divyenndu:‘People assume I’m sitting on a high horse’ Cameron Green is set to be the most in-demand seam bowling all-rounder during the IPL mini-auction Edit ...And yet another surprise move by the BJP top brass A MONTH AWAY | SEC details steps. Model code in play. Counting on January 16 ourism isn’t just beaches and selfies. Our next season of featuring tourism change-makers is here, meet those who have made travel coincide with community, conservation and kindness, whose work gives your travel purpose and joy. Turn to Page 27 to meet the Angels of Tourism. T Central Park @Mahalaxmi W ith the Model Code of Conduct set to come into force following the announcement of civic elections, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced the development of a Grand Central Park spread over 125 acres at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Addressing the media barely an hour before the SEC declared the election schedule for 29 municipal corporations, Shinde said a world-class Central Park would be developed at the iconic racecourse. He also announced plans for an international-standard amusement park for residents of Thane. A presentation of the proposed park was made by noted architect Hafeez Contractor. 4See also | City GOA INFERNO Bombay HC turns suit into PIL PTI PANAJI/BANGKOK The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), observing that “someone has to be held accountable” for the fiery tragedy in which 25 people lost their lives. A Division Bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan, sitting at the Goa bench of the High Court, observed while hearing the matter arising from the December 6 fire. 4Contd on | nation BMC, 28 civic polls on Jan 15 Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI The State Election Commission (SEC) of Maharashtra on Monday announced the longawaited election schedule for 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the highprofile Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as Thane and Navi Mumbai. Polling for all 29 civic bodies will be held on January 15, 2026, with counting scheduled for January 16, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said at a press conference in Mumbai. With the announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in all the concerned municipal areas. Addressing the media at the Sahyadri Guest House, Waghmare said around 3.48 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in these elections, which span most major urban centres of Maharashtra. A total of 2,869 seats are at stake, including 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation alone. The elections assume significance as many of these civic bodies have re- mained under administrative rule for prolonged periods — ranging from five to over seven years — largely due to delays arising from the OBC reservation issue. Except for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, elections in the remaining 28 municipal corporations will be conducted under the multimember ward system. In Mumbai, each ward elects a single councillor, allowing each voter to cast only one vote. In contrast, voters in other corporations will cast between three and five votes, depending on the number of seats allotted to their wards The election process was initiated following directions from the Supreme Court, which last month allowed the State Election Commission to proceed with municipal corporation elections, including in two corporations where reservations have crossed the 50 per cent ceiling. Chandrapur and Nagpur municipal corporations fall in this category. Waghmare clarified that while elections will be conducted in these two corporations, the results will remain subject to the final outcome of petitions pending before the apex court. The Supreme Court’s clearance paved the way for the resumption of local body elections in the state after a prolonged hiatus. Scan & Watch 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation 6 weapons used in the shootings? Agencies REDEVELOPMENT MOVE State to monitor 56 MHADA colonies Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI In a significant policy shift aimed at fast-tracking the redevelopment of ageing housing stock, the Maharashtra Housing Department on Monday said it will directly monitor the redevelopment of 56 MHADA colonies across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The decision, notified through a Government Resolution (GR), coincided with the announcement of civic polls and removes the requirement for individual consent letters from residents. The Housing Department, headed by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, said redevelopment of MHADA colonies spread over 20 acres or more will be under- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar SYDNEY NEW DELHI Australian authorities say the terror attack that unfolded at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was allegedly carried out by a father and son who used legally owned firearms to open fire on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah. Police believe six guns were used in the shootings. Police have identified the alleged attackers as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-yearold son Naveed Akram. Sajid was shot dead by police at the scene during a confrontation, while Naveed was arrested and remains in a critical condition in hospital under police guard. The origin of the two shooters is still unclear, but the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa. According to police, the attackers used “long arms” to fire into the crowd. Sajid Akram was a licensed firearms holder and legally owned six guns, all of which investigators believe were used in the attack. The use of licensed weapons has intensified scrutiny of Australia’s gun licensing and monitoring Scan & Watch systems. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world Sydney attack echoes Mumbai scars FPJ News Service MUMBAI ‘It was a matter of conscience’ undergone his first surgery successfully and is expected to have two or three more, depending on his condition, his family said. The terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has struck a painful chord in India, reviving memories of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, after it emerged that one of the victims was a rabbi who had recently organised a memorial for those killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, a British-born member of the Jewish community in Sydney, was among the 15 people killed in the attack during the ‘Hanukkah by the Sea’ celebration marking the first day of Hanukkah. Twelve of the victims were from the Jewish community. Schlanger had helped organise the seaside gathering on Sunday evening, aimed at spreading light and joy. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation BONDI BEACH SAVIOUR Agencies SYDNEY When gunfire shattered the Sunday evening near Bondi Beach, Ahmed al-Ahmed did not run away. Instead, the 43-year-old father of two ran towards danger, tackling one of the alleged gunmen and wrenching a rifle from his hands, an act that probably saved lives and left him critically injured.  Less than a day after the attack, al-Ahmed remains in a critical but stable condition at St George Hospital in Sydney, where he is undergoing multiple surgeries after being shot four to five times in the shoulder. Several bullets are still lodged in his body, his parents said.   Al-Ahmed has since As the Centre on Monday listed the introduction of a Bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new law for rural employment — Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 — Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the rationale behind the move to remove the name of the Father of the Nation from the scheme. Talking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Gandhi asked, “Whenever the name of a scheme is changed there are so many changes that have to be made in offices, stationery… for which money is spent. So, what is the benefit, why it is being done? Why is Mahatma Gandhi’s name being removed.” The Congress leader also insisted that Mahatma Gandhi is a globally recognised person and is “considered the tallest leader not just in the country but in the world”. Therefore, she said, she does not really understand “what is the objective and what is their intention behind removing his name”. Earlier, the Centre had made it known that it would be introducing the Bill in Parlia- Pahalgam chargesheet BJP seeks apology from Cong SC flags concern over names LeT, proxy TRF ‘KABR KHUDEGI’ Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI M Saleem Pandit The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a detailed chargesheet in the Pahalgam terror attack case, naming Pakistan’s banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), and holding them responsible for planning 4Contd on | nation MGNREGA renamed, now it’s VB-G RAM G BANKEY BIHARI TEMPLE SRINAGAR taken through a competitive bidding process to appoint a Construction and Development Agency. As these large-scale projects are entitled to the maximum permissible carpet area under MHADA Development Control Regulations (DCR) 33(5) and 33(9), individual consent from residents will not be mandatory. However, a formal consent resolution from the respective housing societies will still be required. The GR further clarifies that buildings which are less than 30 years old but have become dilapidated, as well as those that will complete 30 years during the redevelopment period, will be eligible for redevelopment. and executing the deadly attack that killed 25 tourists and one local civilian. In a statement, the NIA said the 1,597-page chargesheet lays out Pakistan’s direct role in the conspiracy behind the attack, details the roles of the accused, and presents supporting evidence. 4Contd on | nation BJP MPs in both Houses of Parliament on Monday protested against offensive slogans allegedly raised against PM Narendra Modi at the Congress’s “Vote Chori” rally held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday, and demanded an apology from the Congress leadership. The protests by BJP members led to adjournments SLOGANS AGAINST PM in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP president and Leader of the House JP Nadda raised the issue, referring to videos circulating on social media in which slogans such as “Modi, teri kabr khudegi, aaj nahi toh kal khudegi” (Modi, your grave will be dug, if not today, then tomorrow) were allegedly raised at the rally. Nadda said the slogans reflected the “thinking and mentality of the Congress party” and described the remarks as highly condemnable. He said harbouring such thoughts against the Prime Minister and desiring his death was unacceptable. 4Contd on | nation Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, wife murdered Agencies LOS ANGELES Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death at their Brentwood home in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, triggering an apparent homicide investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Reiner, 78, was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors, known for classics such as The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me and A Few Good Men. Michele Singer Reiner, 68, was a film producer. The couple had been The couple’s son Nick is a person of interest. Rob Reiner made such classics as A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally married since 1989 and shared three children — Jake, 34, Nick, 32, and Romy, 28. People magazine said the bodies were discovered inside the home by their daughter Romy. Police officers responded to the residence at around 3:30 pm on Sunday after Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics alerted authorities during what was initially termed as an “ambulance death investigation.” Paramedics found both victims with fatal stab wounds. In a statement, the couple’s family said they were “heartbroken by this sudden loss.” The LAPD said it is probing the case as an apparent homicide. No arrests have been announced so far. As per New York Post sources, the couple’s second child, Nick Reiner, has emerged as a person of interest in the deaths. Nick, a screenwriter, has previously spoken publicly about his struggles with drug addiction and homelessness. 4Contd on | nation exploitation of deity FPJ News Service So, what is the benefit, why it is being done? Why is Mahatma Gandhi’s name being removed? Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Congress Leader ment. A copy of the Bill had stated that it would be introduced as the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, in Parliament and repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005. The new Bill seeks to raise the guarantee of wage employment to rural households to 125 days from 100 now in a fiScan & Watch nancial year. 4Contd on | nation Fog-smoke chaos grounds Delhi flights Dhairya Gajara MUMBAI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the HighPowered Temple Management Committee and the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea objecting to the darshan timings and temple practices followed at the Bankey Bihari Ji Temple in Vrindavan. It examined concerns about recent changes introduced by the court-appointed panel overseeing the temple’s functioning. A Bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi prima facie observed that the present system appeared to amount to exploitation of the deity. The remarks came while hearing a petition filed by the Management Committee of Thakur Shree Bankey Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple, Live Law and Bar & Bench report. During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant took strong objection to practices allegedly followed after the temple closes to the general public at noon. “After closing the temple at 12 noon, they do not allow the deity to rest even for a minute. They exploit the deity the most at this time,” he observed. The CJI remarked that affluent devotees who could afford to pay large sums were being permitted to perform special pujas during this period. “All affluent people who can pay the most hefty amounts are allowed to do special pujas,” the CJI said, expressing concern over the propriety of such practices. The plea challenged certain decisions taken by the committee that was constituted by the Supreme Court in August 2025 to oversee the temple’s day-to-day functioning. The onset of winter triggered widespread aviation disruption across North India on Monday as a toxic mix of dense fog and hazardous air pollution brought flight operations to a near standstill, with ripple effects felt at airports across the country. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, the nation’s busiest aviation hub, emerged as the epicentre of the crisis, witnessing over 200 flight cancellations and more than 300 delays through the day. A thick blanket of smogfog engulfing the National Capital Region (NCR) was cited as the primary cause behind the disruptions. Although IGI Airport had been operating under low-visibility procedures for the past two days, conditions worsened dramatically in the early hours of Monday when visibility plunged to nearzero levels. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation