www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 stocks attract $22 bILLIon, IndIa top eM Mart In 2020 Pg 9 Let bjp-ruLed states IMpLeMent farM reforMs Pg 8 IndrajIt Lankesh taLks about sandaLwood drug case and hIs sIster, sLaIn journaLIst gaurI Pg 16 310c. 210c. Sunrise: 07:10 am Sunset: 06:09 pm Vol. 64 No. 205 | MONDAY | DECEMBER 28, 2020 | 18 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper When we struggle in our lives, it may seem painful to someone who is watching. But those very struggles actually make us strong and powerful. His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj Tukde, Tukde Raut: Aa dekhen zara warning to BJP EDIT ED summons Varsha Raut for questioning in PMC Bank scam kisme kitna hai dum... SANJAY JOG & PRATIK SALUNKE Mumbai A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent summons to Nationalist Congress Party leader Eknath Khadse in connection with a Pune land deal, the Central investigating agency has summoned the wife of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Varsha, on December 29 for questioning in connection with the PMC Bank scam. This is the third summons issued to Varsha Raut after she skipped the earlier two on health grounds. She has been asked to appear before the agency on December 29, a senior ED officer confirmed to The Free Press Journal on Sunday Under the scanner . of the agency are alleged transactions of Varsha Raut with the wife of an accused linked with the scam. "There are several transactions. The total amount is yet to be ascertained," said a highranking officer privy to the investigation. Another officer said the summons for questioning has been issued to her under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED wants to question Varsha Raut with regard to the "receipt" of some funds that were allegedly siphoned from the bank. Raut, in a tweet, cited two lines of a famous song, “Aa dekhen zara kisme kitna hai dum. Jamke rakhna kadam mere saathiya (Come, let's see who has more courage. Put your foot forward, firmly , my companion).” On Saturday after ED summons to , Khadse, Raut had slammed the BJP for “targeting political opponents through Central probe agencies”. The ED had initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on October 3, 2019, against Housing Development Infrastructures Ltd. (HDIL) Directors Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang CONTD. ON P6 Mystifying tweaking of RR rates SANJAY JOG Mumbai Timely ton... Stand-in skipper, Ajinkya Rahane (left) celebrates after scoring a century as teammate Ravindra Jadeja looks on day two of the second Test against Australia. Rahane went about building partnerships of 52 and 57 alongside Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant, respectively. He retired for the day with an unbeaten 104 runs with Jadeja, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Sunday UK VACCINE IS A WINNER LONDON Oxford University and AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine will protect "95 per cent of patients" who get it, the CEO of British-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca has said. It has partnered with the University of Oxford and Pune-based SII for the rollout of their Covid-19 vaccine. It is likely to be the first vaccine to be cleared by the Drug Controller General of India. With its vaccine reporting an efficacy rate of over 94 per cent, Pfizer is yet to publish the data pertaining to its late stage clinical trials. Similarly Bharat Biotech is , still in the process of completing its Phase III clinical trials. The vaccine maker told on online portal that their researchers have worked out a 'winning formula' to boost the jab's efficacy The au. thorities in Britain are hoping to target 15million people, so that they can end the cycle of lockdowns by February . EU JABBING BEGINS : The European Union nations on Sunday officially kicked off a coordinated effort to give COVID-19 vaccinations to adults among their 450 million citizens, marking a moment of hope in the continent's battle against the worst crisis. The Department of Registration and Stamps has substantially reduced or increased the ready reckoner (RR) rates in certain zones in Mumbai a few months after it came into effect from September 12. This has been done following clearance by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR). The department decision has been attacked by the opposition while some realty players ad- More noise & theatrics now FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing the nation in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the protesting farmers took a leaf from his Covid optics and tried to drown his message by beating 'thalis' (clanging the plates) and clapping their hands. Haryana state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Gurnam Singh Chaduni appealed to the Prime Minister to listen to their "Mann ki Baat." ‘‘You speak your mind but do not listen to other people's voices," he was told. But the plea went unheeded and it was apparent that the Centre is not succumbing to such theatrics. The agitation entered its 32nd day on Sunday Since . November 26, the protesting farmers have been camping at the periphery of the national capital. Several rounds of negotiations have been held to resolve the dead- FARMERS’ STIR lock but have failed to throw up a consensus, constraining the farmers to remark that the government was trying to burn them out. The next round of talks between the two sides is slated for December 29. Meanwhile, the agitation, which has thus far steered clear of hooliganism or violence in the NCR region, seems to be trying the pa- tience of the farmers in Punjab. Despite appeals by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, more than 1,338 telecom towers have been damaged, disrupting telecom services. No less than 700 towers were down by 4 p.m. on Friday when the chief minister put out an appeal in a bid to soothe frayed tempers. The towers that are down include those run by Indus Towers, the self-owned, selfoperated towers of Jio, BSNL-owned towers and Jio's AG-II towers. SUICIDE: A lawyer from Punjab allegedly committed suicide on Sunday a few kilo, metres from the site of a farmers' protest on the outskirts of Delhi. CONTD. ON P6 BETWEEN THE LINES PAWAR ‘NO’ TO UPA CHIEF POST N Is Ganguly Shah's trump card? LAST WORD Dada's meeting with West Bengal Governor has the grapevine abuzz OUR CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA Whatever BCCI president Sourav Ganguly does grabs eyeballs. Even more so, if he happens to land, out of the blue, at the doorstep of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. The meeting was described as a ‘courtesy call,’ but only the politically naïve would regard it as one. While there is little documented evidence of what commonality of interest binds the two diverse personalities together, the meeting, for inexplicable reasons, lasted for one hour and fifty mitted it would largely benefit their competitors. RR rates are the fare rates of immovable property on , the basis of which market value is calculated. As per the notification issued in the first week of December in Kanjurmarg, currently hogging the headlines over the Metro 3 carshed controversy RR for resi, dences has been reduced to Rs 1,24,320 per sq mt from Rs 1,52,350, for offices Rs 1,30,700 from Rs 1,60,450 per sq mt, for industry Rs 1,18 400 from minutes. Then, came the pièce de résistance: the Governor tweeted that he would be visiting Eden Gardens next week. “Had interaction with ‘Dada’ @SGanguly99 President @BCCI at Raj Bhawan today at 4.30 PM on varied issues. Accepted his offer for a visit to Eden Gardens, oldest cricket ground in the coun- try established in 1864.” Very few political observers subscribe to the view that Ganguly's meeting with the Governor was intended to discuss the finer points of the game. Dada’s proximity to Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary is well known. , Incidentally Jay’s father , and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited Bengal a few days ago, had boasted that the BJP was coming to power with more than 200 seats and that a Bhumiputra (son of the soil) will be the Chief Minister. Ganguly himself has refused to be drawn into CONTD. ON P6 CP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he doesn’t have any interest in becoming the UPA chairperson, scotching the buzz that he may take over from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Pawar was cited as saying so a day before he was scheduled to travel to Delhi to meet opposition leaders on the ongoing farmers’ agitation. “I don't have the time or inclination to be UPA chairperson. There is no question of any such proposal,” Pawar told the TV channel. ASHOK CHAVAN DRAWS RED LINE S enior Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Sunday said that the Shiv Sena was not part of the United Progressive Alliance and the tie-up between the two parties is limited to Maharashtra, a day after Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the Congress-led UPA needs to expand to take on the "dictatorial" Union government. "T here were some people in the party who were like asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. We tracked their activities. We are happy to get rid of such viruses’’ _ Abhishek Banerjee (Mamata’s nephew) Rs 1,44,510 per sq mt. The revision in RR rates was also done in Borivli, Kurla, Chembur and Andheri. In Gorai, Borivli taluka, the RR has been in- FPJ EXCLUSIVE creased to Rs 24,860 from Rs 17,730 per sq mt. In Majas zone, which falls in Andheri taluka, the RR has been revised to Rs 62,120 from Rs 31,600 per sq mt. In Marol zone, which also is a part of Andheri taluka, the RR has been reduced to Rs 69,410 from Rs 90,610 per sq mt. Further, the RR in Ghatkopar, which falls in Kurla taluka, has been cut to Rs 48,730 from Rs 78,640 per sq mt while in Bhandup, it has been reduced to Rs 47,900 from Rs 55,780 per sq mt and in Chembur, RR has been reduced drastically to Rs 25,850 , from Rs 1,14,570 per sq mt. ‘‘Once the RR is published, IGR does not have powers to modify the rates as CONTD. ON P6 India will break apart like Russia, warns Sena mouthpiece SANJAY JOG Mumbai Sharply attacking the BJPled government at the Centre for destabilising the governments of non-BJP ruled states, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut warned that India would break up like Russia. “If those who are in power at the Centre don't realise that they are doing the people of the country a disservice by indulging in politicking, states will break away just as Russia had disintegrated,” said Raut in his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’, which appears in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana. “What if our Prime Minister is taking a special interest in destabilising state governments? The Prime Minister is of the entire country . Mumbai Metro was blocked for political arrogance. If the Central government does not realise that we are harming people for political gains, then it will not be long before India breaks apart, as Russia did,” he said. “There is still instability in the Kashmir Valley China . has entered Ladakh. Regressive tactics are being applied against Punjab farmers who launched protests against farm laws. The Central Government stepped in to save Kangana Ranaut and Arnab Goswami. If this continues and if the Centre will not realise that its moves are harming citizens, it will not take much time for India to break up like Russia,’’ noted Raut. ‘‘There is still instability in the Valley. China has entered Ladakh. Regressive tactics are being applied against Punjab farmers. The Centre stepped in to save Kangana Ranaut and Arnab Goswami. If this continues, it will not take much time for India to break up like Russia.’’ The Sena MP said 2020 should be summed up as the year raising a question mark over the Central Government’s credibility and ability “Centre-State rela. tions, especially with nonBJP ruled states, are deteriorating. The fact that states that have non-BJP governments belong to the CONTD. ON P6