Vol. 33 No. 53 | SUNDAY | MAY 8, 2022 | 15 Pages | ` 5 A cartoon says more than words BETWEEN THE LINES 25 DEAD IN CUBA HOTEL BLAST R escuers in Cuba's capital searched on Saturday for survivors of an explosion that killed at least 25 people and devastated a luxury hotel that once hosted dignitaries and celebrities, including Beyonce and Jay-Z. A natural gas leak was the apparent cause of Friday's blast at Havana's 96room Hotel Saratoga. The 19th-century structure did not have any guests at the time because it was undergoing renovations ahead of a planned Tuesday reopening after being closed. XIAOMI CHARGE IS BASELESS: ED T he Enforcement Directorate on Saturday rejected as "baseless" the allegations that the statements of Xiaomi India officials, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese mobile manufacturing company Xiaomi, were recorded "under coercion", saying the charges were an afterthought. The federal agency was responding to certain news reports that said Xiaomi alleged in a recent filing before the Karnataka High Court that its top executives were threatened with "physical violence and coercion" during their questioning by ED investigators in Bengaluru. AAJ THEME KYA HAI? A n unverified video featuring Rahul Gandhi (where he is seen asking fellow leaders, what is the theme, before a rally) and tweeted by BJP's Amit Malviya on Saturday morning is the latest spat between the two rivals. The video was tweeted ahead of the Congress leader's rally in Telangana. In the 17-second video clip, which NDTV said it cannot verify independently, the Congress leader, sitting alongside other party members, is seen asking, "What is the main theme today? Kya theme hai, exactly kya bolna hai (What is to be said)." "Yeh off kariye, please (Please shut this thing)," Gandhi is heard telling off a person as the video ends. GYANVAPI SHRINE: SURVEY BLOCKED A court commissioner’s team visited the GyanvapiShringar Gauri temple complex in Varanasi and stayed there for over two hours but failed to conduct a videographic survey of the mosque due to a protest by Muslims. The issue dates back to 1991 when a slew of petitions arrived before the Varanasi court, with local priests seeking permission to worship in the Gyanvapi Masjid area. The petitioners claimed that the Gyanvapi Masjid was built on orders of Mughal king Aurangzeb in the 17th century by removing a portion of the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, reports News 18. BAGGA AFFAIR This was bound to happen someday. Punjab, Delhi and Haryana police confrontation is an example of what lies in store in the future. Police serving their respective political masters will lead to the ultimate breakdown of federalism that is already in peril – P C Chidambaram Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper On the occasion of the recently celebrated National Cartoonist Day, we commemorate works of RK Laxman and Bal Thackeray Ahead of National Technology Day on May 11, a look at how Artificial Intelligence has made an impact on our lives The AI Invasion Misuse no plea SUBSIDISED to seek relook PUBLIC LOOT? at sedition law MUMBAI : RS 999.50 The Central government has told the Supreme Court that the 1962 verdict of the top court in Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar upholding validity of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on sedition is binding on a 3judge bench, reports Bar and Bench. The Kedar Nath Singh judgment, which upheld the validity of Section 124A, was rendered by a 5-judge Consti- Centre defends sedition law, says past judgement binding on 3-judge Bench tution bench. Therefore, a 3- judge bench cannot hear a legal challenge to Constitutionality of Section 124A, a written note filed before the top court by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said. The note further states that the Kedar Nath judgement has stood the test of time and applied till date in tune with modern constitutional principles and only a bench of coequal strength of Kedar Nath Singh can pose any doubts on the verdict. Thus, for reconsideration of Kedar Nath Singh, the matter will have to be referred to a bench of 5-judges or more, it was contended. Pertinently, the government submitted that individual instances of misuse of provision cannot be a ground for reconsideration of Kedar Nath Singh. Instances of the abuse of provision would never be a justification to reconsider a binding judgment of the Constitution bench, it was submitCONTD. ON NATION PAGE ted. 7 YEARS RI FOR ISIS LINK PARBHANI CASE STAFF REPORTER MUMBAI A terror accused in the Parbhani ISIS case was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 by the NIA Special Court in Mumbai. The NIA special judge convicted accused Naserbin Abubakar Yafai of Gadiwan Mohalla, Parbhani, Maharashtra, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act, for using online resources to contact members of the Islamic State/ ISIL/ ISIS to sup- RAJESH MOUDGIL CHANDIGARH BJP MP Tejasvi Surya with BJP leader Tajinder Bagga. of the plea, which was taken up just before midnight at the residence of Justice Anoop Chitkara. Close to midnight, electronic media reports said the court has ordered that no coercive action be taken against Bagga till the next hearing. This gives him relief from execution of the fresh NBW The next hearing will be . on May 10. In his application, Bagga had said that the only intent of the MIDC fire: 2 bodies found, cooling operations still on AMIT SRIVASTAVA NAVI MUMBAI While cooling operations are still underway at the Khairane MIDC fire site in Navi Mumbai, the bodies of two workers were recovered on Saturday morning, one of which was found on the terrace and the other on the second floor of the industrial unit. The MIDC’s fire department port jihad activities in India. A Parbhani-based ISIS module was busted by Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad in August 2016, and there were officials informed that firefighting was complete but the cooling process will continue at least through Saturday night. The bodies recovered from the fire site were identified as those of Sukumaran Nair, 65, and Nikhil Pasilkar, 25. The deceased were workers at the industrial unit. While Nair died of suffocation on the terrace of the ground plus three- storey building, the charred body of Pasilkar was found on the second floor. Around 12 persons were rescued soon after the fire broke out, by the Koparkhairane fire unit. MIDC fire department officer R B Patil said that the fire broke out first at the West Coast Polychem Private limited, a chemical factory located at Plot No. 775 in the TTC Industrial Area in Khairane MIDC and it spread to three other adjoining units, including Hind Elastomers Private Limited. Both West Coast and Hind Elastomers were involved in rubber processing. Patil said that this made the task of firefighting challenging, as the fire spread even after dousing due to the presence of large quantities of rubber on the premises. A total of 20 fire engines from the MIDC, CIDCO, NMMC, Thane, Badlapur, and Kalyan were pressed into service. It was Saturday morning by the time the fire was brought CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Mahal is an old Shiva Temple which was known as Tejo Mahalaya and this is supported by many historians as well. These claims, the petition said, has led to a situation where Hindus and Muslims are fighting with each other and therefore the controversy needs to be put to rest. “It is said that Taj Mahal was named after the name of Shah Jahan’s Wife Mumtaz Mahal; however, in many books the name of the wife of Shahjahan was described as Mumtaz-ulZamani not Mumtaj Mahal; also the fact that the construction of a mausoleum takes 22 years for completion is beyond the realm of reality and totally A petition has been filed before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court seeking a direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open doors of over 20 rooms inside the Taj Mahal premises so that the alleged controversy related to the “history of Taj Mahal” can be put to rest, reports Bar and Bench. The petition has been filed by one Dr Rajneesh Singh who chat with him through various messenger apps, after which Chaus brought in others and formed a module to carry out attacks in Maharashtra. The case was initially registered with the ATS of the Maharashtra police in August 2018 and later, was taken over by the NIA, which filed a charge sheet against four accused. The trial of the remaining three accused in the case continues. The Shiv Sena had, in the 2016 state assembly raised the , issue of 100 youth from Parbhani being missing and in touch with the ISIS. PUTIN ALL SET FOR V-DAY N uclear missiles rolled through Moscow's Red Square in a chilling warning to the West as Vladimir  Putin prepares for his annual Victory Day parade on Monday. Putin was hoping to to celebrate a triumph in Ukraine at the annual celebration,  which marks  Russia’s victory over Nazi  Germany  World War in Two,  raising fears of increased attacks on the war-torn country. Mumbai boy Yashasvi Jaiswal made a dream comeback with a career-best 68 as Rajasthan Royals well and truly remained in the hunt for a play-off berth, beating Punjab Kings by six wickets on Saturday PIC: IPL, BCCI acting to the hike, dubbing it as the ‘Great Indian Loot’. “The Union government must immediately stop tormenting the people of India! By repeatedly increasing prices of LPG, fuel and essential commodities, BJP is actually conducting a Great Indian Loot. PEOPLE ARE BEING FOOLED. Sad to see the Media SILENT & BLIND, wrote Mamata on Twitter. Since the Assembly elections in five states, the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG (both domestic and commercial) and jet fuel have been going up at irregular intervals. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Abducted tot is united with mom in 8 hrs KAMAL MISHRA MUMBAI The case of the kidnapping of an eight-month-old baby girl from Boisar railway station was cracked within eight hours on Friday with the arrest of the , accused, Kishore Gotya of Kelve, on the same day by the Palghar Government Railway Police and the baby was safely reunited with her mother. “The child was kidnapped while her mother was working near the Boisar railway station premises on Friday noon,” said Senior Inspector Naresh Randhir of the Palghar railway police station. According to the GRP Varsha , Kanhaiya Damore, a contract labourer (working for a railway contractor), had gone to work on the railway tracks with her husband after her eight-monthold daughter fell asleep at the Boisar railway station (under Palghar GRP jurisdiction) on Friday morning. “She made a cradle with bedsheets under the foot overbridge and put her sleeping baby into the makeshift arrangement on Friday morning. Taking advantage of this opportunity , the accused snatched the baby from the cradle and fled,” said a police officer. “ Around 11.35am, a coworker of Varsha noticed that the ‘cradle’ was empty and she immediately informed Varsha, who then embarked on a search of places nearby but without any success. A distraught Varsha burst into tears; in the meanwhile, her coworkers informed the on-duty staff,” the officer added. Palghar GRP immediately filed a case of abduction of a child. “ After we were alerted, all units in the vicinity were asked to keep vigil. We checked CCTV footage as well. A Home Guard jawan who saw a man carrying a baby found something amiss and alerted police, after which the man was held and the child rescued, all within eight hours,” SI Naresh Randhir told The Free Press Journal on Saturday . Taliban burqa diktat for women In case of breach, the male guardian could be jailed for three days ASSOCIATED PRESS KABUL Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Saturday ordered all Afghan women to wear the head-to-toe burqa in public, a sharp hardline stance that confirms the worst fears of rights activists and is bound to further complicate Taliban dealings with an already distrustful international community . Many women in Afghanistan already wear the burqa but some -- particularly in urban Is Taj Mahal actually Tejo Mahalaya, asks PIL claimed to be the media incharge of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Ayodhya unit. The plea sought a direction to the government to constitute a fact finding committee and to “look for important historical evidence” like idols and inscriptions that are believed to be hidden inside Taj Mahal on the orders of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The plea, filed through advocate Rudra Vikram Singh, argued that many Hindu Groups have been claiming that Taj four youths were from Parbhani and Hingoli - Mohammad Raisuddin Mohammad Siddique, Iqbal Ahmed Kabir Ahmed, Nasir Chaus and Shaheed Khan involved. Farooque, alias Shafi Armar, who is an erstwhile member of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) is still absconding. An IED was also recovered from Shaheed’s maternal home, which was meant for use in attacks. The Maharashtra ATS had claimed the ISIS module was planning to carry out an attack on the Aurangabad ATS unit and Farooque had allegedly instructed Chaus to prosecution is to arrest him and prejudice his liberties and to satisfy its political masters. The Mohali judge had said he was issuing the NBW keeping in view the fact that sufficient opportunities had already been granted to the accused to join the investigation. The development came a day after the Punjab Police operation to arrest Bagga floundered, as the due process had not been allegedly followed while picking up the BJP leader from his residence. Later, the high-handed action got embroiled in an ugly face-off with Delhi and Haryana Police. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE PETITION SEEKS SETTING UP OF A FACT-FINDING TEAM TO OPEN 20 ROOMS INSIDE THE MONUMENT ONLINE REPORT NEW DELHI The inevitable has happened: the price of domestic LPG has been increased by Rs 50 in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other cities. Result: In Kolkata, Chennai and Lucknow, it has crossed the Rs 1,000 threshold and will cost Rs 1,026, Rs 1,015.50 and Rs 1,037.50 in the three cities, respectively However, Mumbai . and New Delhi have been saved the blushes and a 14.2-kg non-subsidized LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 999.50. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wasted no time in re- CHENNAI : RS 1,015.50 Midnight relief for Bagga Having failed to secure the custody of Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Bagga in a case of provocative remarks — following a daylong slugfest on Friday — the Punjab police on Saturday obtained a fresh non-bailable warrant against Bagga from a Mohali court. A resolute Bagga — refusing to go on the backfoot — immediately moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the arrest warrant issued by the Mohali court. The High Court, too, acted with alacrity and ordered an urgent hearing Many women have preferred to be pet moms than having a child. On Mother’s Day, FPJ salutes these moms FPJ NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI KOLKATA: RS 1,026 NEW DELHI : RS 999.50 ONLINE REPORT NEW DELHI Redefining Motherhood an absurdity the plea stated. ,” It added, “It is there in many history books that in 1212 AD, Raja Paramardi Dev had built Tejo Mahalaya temple palace (presently Taj Mahal). The temple was later inherited by Raja Maan Singh, the then Maharaja of Jaipur. After him, the property was held and managed by Raja Jai Singh but was annexed by Shah Jahan (in 1632) and later it was converted into memorial for the wife of ShahJahan.” CONTD. ON NATION PAGE pockets – just wear a simple covering over their hair. Taliban officials described the decree as “advice” but laid out a specific set of escalating steps for anyone not complying, reports the BBC. In the first instance their home would be visited and their husband, brother or father would be talked to; in the second, their male guardian would be summoned to the ministry; and, in the third, the male guardian would be taken to court and could be jailed for three days, the BBC added, giv- ing details of the diktat. The decree added if women had no important work outside it is better for them to stay at home. “Islamic principles and Islamic ideology are more important to us than anything else,” said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Taliban's vice and virtue ministry. The decree is a throwback to similar restrictions on women during the Taliban's previous hard-line rule between 1996 and 2001. “We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety ex,” plained Hanafi. The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade 6, reneging on an earlier CONTD. ON NATION PAGE As a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, she leads investments for the firm's bio and health fund across therapeutics, life sciences tools/diagnostics, and digital health, with a focus on companies leveraging unique datasets to improve drug development and patient care delivery . Andreessen Horowitz is also one of the biggest backers of Facebook (now Meta). Prior to joining a16z, Vineeta held many different roles in the healthcare space. Vineeta holds a Bachelor of Science in biophysics from Stanford University and MD and PhD degrees , from Harvard Medical School/MIT. Meanwhile, there are doubts over Parag's future once Musk takes over, as the Tesla CEO himself can become a temporary CEO of the platform. According to reports, Musk may have also lined up a new Twitter CEO. – IANS Vineeta Agarwal’s link to Musk’s Twitter takeover raises eyebrows NEW DELHI: Vineeta Agarwal, the wife of Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, is now making headlines amid Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover deal. Her role as general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) -- a top US Venture Capital firm which has agreed to pay $400 million as part of Musk's new $7.1 billion financing commitments – is set to create a conflict of interest. TAILPIECE