FREE PRESS - VOL. 12 NO. 8 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022 | PAGES 16 TURMOIL IN MVA AS SENA LEADER REBELS WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN Kamboj is Permanent Representative to UN Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj was on Tuesday appointed India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Kamboj, a 1987-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as India's envoy to Bhutan. She will succeed T S Tirumurti as the Indian ambassador to the UN. Bengal cops file FIR against CBI official West Bengal Police on Tuesday filed an FIR against several Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers including the one who is heading the central probe agency's ongoing probe in the coal smuggling case in the state. The name of the officer is Umesh Kumar. Tremor near Statue of Unity A tremor of 3.1 magnitude was recorded near Kevadia village in Gujarat's Narmada district, but there was no report of any casualty or property damage, officials said on Tuesday.The 182meter tall Statue of Unity is located near the Kevadia village. There was no damage to the Statue of Unity. ‘Prophet row hit India’s reputation’ The controversy around the remarks made by the BJP’s Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal on Prophet Mohammed has damaged India’s reputation internationally as they have projected the country in a manner that is far from the truth, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval said Tuesday. Attack on Yoga event in Maldives Police in the Maldives used tear gas and pepper spray to control a crowd of people who disrupted a yoga event organised by the Indian High Commission, or embassy, in the capital Male on Tuesday morning, an organiser said.The crowd stormed a stadium where more than 150 people, including diplomats and government officers, were taking part in an event celebrating International Day of Yoga, attacking participants and vandalising the property. In US, Covid vax for infants The US is expected to start Covid vaccination this week for children as young as six months old. The plan came after the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on the shots for an additional 19 million children across the US. This was the last age group in the US without access to a Covid-19 vaccine. EDIT ACTED IN HASTE, NOW REPENT AT LEISURE AIMING FOR A HAT-TRICK Pg-16 MAHA CRISIS IN RULING ALLIANCE as Eknath Shinde lands in Surat with MLAs MUMBAI/SURAT Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and Shiv Sena strongman Shinde Eknath plunged the ruling alliance in the state into a political crisis on Tuesday as he rebelled against his party and landed in a Surat hotel along with some Sena MLAs, putting a huge question mark on the stability of the two-and-a-halfyears old MVA dispensation. The dramatic turn of events came hours after results of polls to the state Legislative Council on Monday night, which saw the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) losing one of the 6 seats it contested, to the opposition BJP which got all its five nominees elected to the Upper House, possibly on the back of cross-voting in its favour from the ruling bloc besides support from Independents and MLAs from smaller parties. Sena MP Sanjay Raut said 14 to 15 party MLAs are with Shinde in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat. He also alleged that two of them, including Nitin Deshmukh, have been beaten up and he has suffered a heart attack. CONTD. ON P6 RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE FOR 24X7 UPDATES News Brief Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; Thackeray-Shinde talk for 10 minutes Police outside hotel in Surat where Maharashtra MPs, MLAs are staying Sena's internal matter: Pawar NCP leader Sharad Pawar said, "We will find a way out of this situation". The former Union Minister said he would meet with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tonight."We are fully confident that Uddhav Thackeray will resolve this," the NCP veteran told reporters, emphasizing that he considered the crisis an "internal matter of the Shiv Sena", which had nothing to do with other coalition partners. Maha Cong says all 44 MLAs in touch The Congress, a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, on Tuesday said all its 44 MLAs were in touch with Legislature Party leader and state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat. The statement from the Congress came in the wake of reports of that some of its MLAs were "unreachable" after Monday's Maharashtra Legislative Council polls in which a candidate of the party, Chandrakant Handore, lost. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had a 10minute phone conversation with rebel minister Eknath Shinde, at the centre of the new political crisis in the state. Sources said there was no breakthrough. Uddhav Thackeray had asked him to reconsider and return to the fold, sources said. Shinde needs 37 MLAs to claim a twothird majority to split the Shiv Sena and avoid any action under the anti-defection law. Sources close to him claim he is just short of the number. Will never cheat for power: Shinde Sena rebel Eknath Shinde tweeted that he would never cheat for power."Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva. We have never and will never cheat for power regarding Balasaheb's thoughts and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb's teachings," he said. Nearly an hour after his tweet, he dropped Shiv Sena off his Twitter account. FEARING POACHING, BJP FLYING ITS MAHA MLAS TO GUJARAT The BJP is all set to fly its 106 Maharashtra MLAs to Gujarat on a chartered flight, as the party fears poaching by the Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, in the evening another seven Shiv Sena MLAs landed in Surat. They were flown from Delhi to Surat. Party sources say that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda will be flying to Ahmedabad. NAGALAND KILLINGS: Army won't hand over troops for civil trial AGENCIES Kolkata The Army will try the Special Forces (SF) personnel allegedly involved in the killing of 13 villagers in Nagaland's Mon district on December 4, 2021 as per the report of its own Court of Inquiry (CoI), a source revealed. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the Nagaland government, has already indicted 30 personnel, including an officer, of the 21 Para SF for the encounter that went wrong. Based on the SIT report, chargesheets have already been filed against the paratroopers under Sections 302, 307, 326, 120B and others of the IPC. While Section 302 deals with murder, Section 307 relates to attempt to murder. Section 326 involves 'causing grievous hurt by danand weapons gerous means', Section 120B relates to criminal conspira. cy "If one were to go by the it chargesheet, SIT's would seem like a group of renegade soldiers went to the spot with the intention to kill innocent villagers. This is far from the truth. All the accused are highly-trained personnel of the Indian Army who were on a mission to neutralise a group of militants, including some of the top leadership of the NSCN (K-YA). FP BUREAU NEW DELHI Several major opposition parties, including the Conthe gress, NCP and the on TMC, Tuesday picked former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as their candidate for the July 18 presidential polls. Opposition leaders gathered at the Parliament Annexe for a meeting convened by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and unanimously agreed on Sinha’s name. Almost immediately after, Sinha said he will “step aside” from the TMC to work for the larger national cause of opposition uni. ty He will file his nomination papers on June 27. Taking to Twitter, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “I would like Shri congratulate to @YashwantSinha on becoming the consensus candidate, supported by all progressive opposition parties, for the upcoming Presidential Election. A man of great honour and acumen, who would surely uphold the values that represent our great nation!” In a joint statement, read by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, the opposition Draupadi Murmu, tribal leader from Odisha, is NDA candidate for Prez The BJP parliamentary board on Tuesday named Draupadi Murmu, a tribal leader of the party from Odisha, as the ruling NDA's candidate for the presidential election. BJP president J P Nadda announced her name at a press conference following a meeting of the party top brass. Murmu (64), a former Jharkhand governor, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post if she is elected, a strong possibility as numbers are stacked in the favour of the BJP-led NDA. Opposition had earlier announced Yashwant Sinha as its joint candidate for the post. The poll is slated for July 18. said, “We regret Modi government made no serious effort to have consensus on a presidential candidate. Ramesh noted that the initiative to have a consensus candidate for the highest office of the Republic should have been taken by the government. CONTD. ON P6 CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan performs yoga on International Yoga Day in Bhopal on Tuesday Minister Narendra Modi's address on the theme of 'Yoga for Humanity' from Mysore Palace, Karnataka was also telecast. Addressing the gathering at the CM House Chouhan said, "Yoga training would be imparted in the schools of the state to make yoga an integral part of life for Afghan assassin tasked to target Imran: Report PESHAWAR Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has warned of an assassination threat against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a media report said on Tues. day The threat alert issued by CTD's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wing stated that "terrorists are planning to assassinate Imran Khan, for which they have sought assistance from an assassin in Afghanistan", Geo News quoted the Daily Jang report as saying. According to Daily Jang, the text of the threat alert has been shared with various forums, according to which an Afghan assassin has been given the responsibility to target the former premier. However, the said assassin handed over the responsibility to others. which Yoga teachers will also be recruited. Necessary arrangements will also be made so that people can practice simple yoga regularly at home." He said cooperation of yoga seekers will be taken from organizations like International Yoga Institute, Patanjali Yoga Sansthan, Hong Kong's iconic floating jumbo restaurant sinks in South China Sea A floating restaurant in Hong Kong that was an iconic landmark for nearly 50 years has sunk into the South China Sea. According to the BBC, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant capsized almost a week after processes to tow it away to an undisclosed location began. The parent company, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, said that it was “very saddened by the incident” but added that no crew members were injured. The restaurant owners informed that the vessel began to tip on Saturday when it encountered “adverse conditions,” as per the Independent. Water reportedly began to enter the vessel when it was passing the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Nobel sold for Ukrainian kids shatters record at $103.5mn NEW YORK The Nobel Peace Prize auctioned off by Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees sold Monday night for $103.5 million, shattering the old record for a Nobel. A spokesperson for Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale, could not confirm the identity of the buyer but said the win. ning bid was made by proxy The $103.5 million sale translates to $100 million Swiss francs, hinting that the buyer is from overseas. "I was hoping that there was going to be an enormous amount of , solidarity but I was not expecting this to be such a huge amount," Muratov said in an interview after bidding in the nearly 3-week auction ended on World Refugee . Day Previously, the most ever paid for a Nobel Prize medal was $4.76 million in 2014, when James Watson, whose co-discovery of the structure of DNA earned him a Nobel Prize in 1962, sold his. Three years later, the family of his co-recipient, Francis Crick, received $2.27 million in bidding also run by Heritage Auctions. Muratov, who was awarded the gold medal in October 2021, helped found the independent Novaya newspaper Russian Gazeta and was the publication's editor-in-chief when it shut down in March amid the Kremlin's clampdown on journalists and public dissent in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was Muratov's idea to auction off his prize, having already announced he was donating the accompanying $500,000 cash award . to charity Muratov has said the proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. Just minended, bidding after utes UNICEF told the auction house it had already received the funds. Online bids had begun June 1 to coincide with the International Children's Day observance. Many bids came by telephone or online. The winning bid, tendered by telephone, catapulted the bidding from the low millions to astronomical levels. CONTD. ON P6 35.40c. 21.60c Sunrise : 05.43 Sunset : 07.15 MPPSC BLACKLISTS PAPER-SETTER, TWO EXAM MODERATORS FREEPRESS IMPACT OUR STAFF REPORTER city.indore@fpj.co.in All states asked not to take trio's services Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) on Tuesday blacklisted a paper setter and two moderators, two days after an objectionable question on Kashmir was asked in the state service preliminary exam. The MPPSC also washed its hands of the question saying it did not agree with the content. The Commission added that it had made the question null and void. The move comes after Free Press published a news story about it in Tuesday's edition. Inviting ire from one and all, MPPSC on Sunday asked the question in general aptitude paper regarding giving away Kashmir to Pakistan. The question carried two arguments followed by four options. The students had to choose one of the options. The question was 'Should India decide giving away Kashmir to Pakistan? Ar- gument I: Yes, this will save a lot of money of India. Argument II: No, such a decision will lead to more similar demands.' The options were (A) Argument I is strong; (B) Argument II is strong; (C) Arguments I and II both are strong; and (D) Arguments I and II both are not strong. Candidates were taken aback when they went through the question and some of them had even lodged their objection on it with the examiners. CONTD. ON P6 Yashwant Sinha to 'Yoga teachers to be hired for training in schools across state' be Oppn candidate for President A Yoga Commission was constituted in the state on Tuesday hours after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made an announcement to the effect on the 8th International , Yoga Day as per a notification from the state government. Earlier, stating his own example as to how Yoga helps him keep fit and work 18 hours a day Chouhan announced constitution of a Yoga commission in the state and training of yoga in schools across state during a programme held at the CM House. On the occasion Prime WEATHER ROW OVER KASHMIR QUESTION IN MPPSC YOGA COMMISSION CONSTITUTED AFTER CM'S ANNOUNCEMENT ON INT’L YOGA DAY OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in `3 QUALITY AT VALUE Isha Yoga Foundation and Art of Living. He said, "Yoga derived from the tradition of Indi, an culture and spirituality is today becoming the basis of global cooperation. This will prove to be a means of keeping the human body healthy International ." Yoga Day is a symbol of human vitality after the whole world has faced such a huge Corona pandemic. In his address Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Yoga is a source of peace for all of us. It is the individual medium of peace, peace for society, peace for nations and peace for the universe. Yoga paves the way for solution to all problems." CONTD. ON P6 MPPSC said that it had not only blacklisted the subject experts involved in preparing the paper but also informed other states about it. Panchbhai said, "Information has been provided to service commissions of all states and UPSC about the blacklisting of the subject experts with a suggestion that their services should not be taken." State Assembly’s Monsoon session from July 25 OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in The state legislative assembly’s monsoon session will be of 5 days beginning July 25, as per an official notifi. cation issued on Tuesday According to the state legislative assembly’s principal secretary (PS) AP Singh, the 5-day monsoon session will be the 12th session of the 15th state legislative as. sembly The PS informed the media that since there is no holiday during the session there will be as many as five sittings of the House during the duration. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Govind Singh demanded in a statement that the duration of the session be extended to three weeks instead of five days. KILLING OF THREE TOP NAXALS IN ENCOUNTER HAWK FORCE ‘LOSES’ WAY BUT NOT THE TARGET MAOISTS under pressure to expand base in MP: Cops RANJAN city.bhopal@fpj.co.in The team of hawk force and police achieved massive success in Balaghat district in eliminating three top Maoists on Monday having once got to a wrong place. It was some further leads and evidence left by Naxal group that led the team to the place where the team members had an encounter with the AK-47 carrying Maoists, as per officials in Balaghat district. As per officials, the position of the team while combing the area also helped avoid any casualty on its side. "The team was on higher position and the Naxals, who started firing on seeing the team, were on the lower side. In the counter attack the three ultras were killed. Had the team been on the lower side the casualty on its side was unavoidable", said one of the officers wanting not to be quoted. Another officer said, "We couldn't believe our luck when the dead bodies were identified and it turned out to be of topmost Maoists in the country- divisional committee member Nagesh who carried a reward of Rs 27 lakh and area commanders Manoj and Rame, both carrying a reward of Rs 14 lakh each. It hardly happens that police get not one but three top Maoists in a single encounter." He said there were many other Maoists along with these three commanders who fled the spot having seen the fate of their leaders. The officer said Nagesh had about 62 cases of crime registered against him in Maharashtra alone. CONTD. ON P6