FREE PRESS - VOL. 12 NO. 108 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 | PAGES 18 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE Gehlot says SORRY to Sonia; opts out of race WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN EDIT FOR 24X7 UPDATES CONGRESS PRESIDENTIAL POLL DEMOCRACY, NOT PFI, MUSLIMS’ STRENGTH SONIA GANDHI to decide Raj CM issue in two days; Cong warns CM loyalists DIGGY THROWS HIS HAT IN THE RING enior leader Digvijaya will Sfile nomination for theSinghelection post of Congress president for which NEW DELHI After over an hour-long meeting with Sonia Gandhi at her residence here, Ashok Gehlot said that he will not contest the Congress presidential poll and the issue of Rajasthan chief ministership will be decided by her. Gehlot said, "In this environment I don't want to contest and the issue of chief ministership will be decided by the party high command. Whether I remain the CM will be decided by Madam (Sonia Gandhi)... I am a loyal soldier of the Congress from Indiraji's time. I have expressed regret and sadness over whatever happened in Jaipur." Earlier, while entering Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath, Gehlot was seen carrying a set of papers. On one of the papers, it was written -- "Whatever has happened is sad and I am also hurt." "I have always acted as a loyal soldier of the party The incident that . happened on the day of the legislature party meeting has left everyone shaken. It gave a message as if I wanted to continue as the Chief Minister, so I apologised to her," Gehlot said after the meeting. The meeting came a day ahead of the last date of nomination for the Congress presidential poll. Ahead of Thursday's meeting, Sonia Gandhi's emissary Mukul Wasnik had met Gehlot. is scheduled to be held on October 17. Sources close to Singh said that the decision to contest the polls was his personal one, and none from the Gandhi family asked him to do so. Singh told reporters outside the AICC headquarters “Today I have come here to collect the nomination form and will possibly file it tomorrow." On being asked whether his entering the race for the top Congress post will be a face-off against Shashi Tharoor, Singh asked to wait and see till October 8, the last date of withdrawal of nominations. Ours is a 'friendly contest and not battle between rivals' After Ashok Gehlot fiasco, Congress considering G-23 leader Mukul Wasnik: Sources Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is likely to file his nomination for the Congress president's post on Friday, met Shashi Tharoor, who said they agreed that theirs is "not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest" among colleagues. "Received a visit from Digvijaya Singh this afternoon. I welcome his candidacy for the Presidency of our Party," Tharoor said in a tweet."We both agreed that ours is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest among colleagues. All we both want is that whoever prevails, @incIndia will win!" he said. Raj Cong leader calls Pilot loyalist 'traitor' Leaders asked to stop making statements against each other Rajasthan Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore, who has been sent a notice for 'indiscipline' by party leadership, has accused Sachin Pilot loyalist Ved Prakash Solanki of being a "traitor", producing a video that purportedly proves this. "I will provide proof on who is a traitor and who is loyal. It will come before everyone. Solanki had met BJP president Satish Poonia at a hotel during zila parishad election," Rathore, who is the RTDC chairman, said at a press conference. He showed a video of Solanki and Poonia purportedly entering a hotel and exiting a hotel room one after the other. Congress has asked its Rajasthan leaders to refrain from making statements against each other or disciplinary action will be taken. In a letter, party general secretary K C Venugopal said, "we are noticing statements of Congress leaders in Rajasthan regarding the party's internal matters and against other leaders. It is advised that all Congress leaders at any level should refrain from making public statements against other leaders or about the party's internal matters." "Strict disciplinary action will be initiated under the provisions of the constitution of the Indian National Congress if any violation of this advisory is made," it said. Owing to dynastic rule even if Digvijaya Singh wins election for party president poll, he will be remoted controlled by Rahul Gandhi just like former prime minister. SUMITRA VALMIKI RAJYA SABHA MEMBER CBI probe into recognition for 33 nursing colleges AUTHORITIES ACTED in slipshod manner: Bench OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in News Brief 59 fall ill after ammonia leak Fifty nine workers fell ill after an accidental leakage of ammonia gas at a meat processing plant on the outskirts of Aligarh city on Thursday morning, a senior official said. Six people including owner of the meat plant at Taklaspur area have been arrested. 6 hurt in ordnance factory fire Six workers were injured after a fire broke out at Ordnance Factory Khamaria near Jabalpur early on Thursday morning, a senior official said. The fire, which started in a building inside the factory during the melting of explosives around 2.30 am has been extinguished, OFK joint general manager and spokesperson Dinesh Kumar said. Another blast in bus in Udhampur Suspected terrorists triggered a blast in a parked bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur early Thursday, nine hours after a similar explosion took place in the city but there was no casualty, police said. ADGP Jammu region Mukesh Singh said high explosives might have been used in carrying out the blasts which were of the same pattern. Ordering a CBI inquiry into irregularities committed in grant of recognition to as many as 35 nursing colleges in Gwaliorhigh region Chambal court Gwalior bench said on Thursday authorities acted in slipshod manner and similar irregularities couldn’t be ruled out in other parts of the state. The high court passed the order for CBI inquiry on Wednesday hearing as many as 33 petitions filed by management of 33 nursing colleges. The written order was, however, uploaded on the high court’s web portal on Thursday. Notably, recently the state government suspended the recognition of more than 90 nursing colleges across the state for failing to fulfill the norms nursing running of courses. Passing strong strictures on the functioning of Indian Nursing Council, Madhya Pradesh Nursing Registration Council and MP Medical Science University, Jabalpur the court observed the rules and regulations were not complied with in granting recognition to the nursing colleges which lacked infrastructure. The division bench of high court comprising Justice Rohit Arya and Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke said, “In nutshell, the INC (Indian Nursing Council) has also acted in a most reprehensible manner while either granting recognition to nursing colleges up to 2017 or suitability certificates after 2017….. As such, the role of Indian Nursing Council has also not been above board and in fact vulnerable in public domain” CONTD. ON P8 Bumrah ruled out of T20 World Cup due to back stress fracture NEW DELHI Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Thursday ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a back stress fracture, dealing a massive blow to team's chances at the ICC flagship event starting next month in Australia. A BCCI official said that Bumrah will be forced out of action for six months . due to the back injury PG-18 Six airbags to be mandatory in passenger cars from Oct next year NEW DELHI Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari approved the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 airbags in passenger cars and said the new rule will come into effect from October 1, 2023. In a series of tweets Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles irrespective of their cost and variants is the . foremost priority RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; "Considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 01st October 2023," tweeted Gadkari. Earlier in order to enhance the safety of occupants of the motor vehicle against lateral impact, it had been decided to enhance safety features by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989. A draft notification had been issued on January 14 2022. Earlier on September 6, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari highlighted the importance of seatbelts in a car and said that it would be mandatory for all the passengers in a car to wear them. CONTD. ON P8 FESTIVE FERVOUR Pg-16 Five sentenced to seven years’ RI in Vyapam scam `3 QUALITY AT VALUE WEATHER 31.60c. 22.50c Sunrise : 06.18 Sunset : 06.16 PM MODI INAUGURATES 36TH NATIONAL GAMES BHOPAL A Special CBI court in Bhopal on Thursday convited five people and sentenced them to seven years rigorous imprisonment in connection with the Vyapam scam. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each, while their two co-accused were acquitted due to lack of solid evidence. Satish Dinkar, Special Public Prosecutor representing CBI in the court, said the the sentenced people were involved in scam in police constable exams held in 2013. The convicted were the part of an "engine-bogie" system wherein seating arrangements were manipulated so that a paid smarter student was seated between two others to copy answers. Of the five sentenced, four identified as Kamal Kishor, Amar Singh, NaSuresh Singh, gendra Singh, had used dummy candidate in exam, while one person had appeared for exams in place of other candidate. "A total of 32 witnesses related with this particular case were cross-examined in the court. On the basis of their testimony and documents of 200 pages related with scam, justice Nitiraj Singh Sisodiya, who is hearing Vyapam case, pronounced the judgement on Thursday," Dinkar told IANS. CONTD. ON P8 Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the opening ceremony of the 36th National Games in Ahmedabad on Thursday SC EXPANDS SCOPE OF MTP ACT Brings unmarried women in ambit, includes marital rape NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Thursday said that unmarried women are also entitled to seek abortion of pregnancy in the term of 20-24 weeks arising out of a consensual relationship. It emphasized that all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion, and the distinction between married, unmarried women is unconstitutional. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said the exclusion of unmarried women, who conceive out of live-in relationship, from the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules is unconstitutional. "All women are en- titled to safe and legal abortion," said the top court. The judgment in the matter will . be uploaded later in the day It added that the rights of autonomy reproductive give an unmarried woman similar rights as a married woman. The top court noted that the 2021 amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, does not make a distinction between married and unmarried women. The top court said the artificial distinction between married and unmarried women cannot be sustained. "Women must have autonomy to have free exercise of rights...," noted the bench. CONTD. ON P8 6 tiger reserves to reopen tomorrow BHOPAL: Six tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh will open from October 1 after remaining shut for three months due to the monsoon, an official said on Thurs.The state is home to six day of the 52 tiger reserves in India, namely Kanha, Banghavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Panna Sanjayand Dubri.Confirming the development, Satpura Tiger Reserve field director L Krishnamurthy said core areas were closed during this three-month period while buffer zones were operational for tourists. The monsoon shutdown is enforced as it is mating season for the big cats, and, moreover, paths inside get unmotorable due to Krishnamurthy rains, added." CONTD. ON P8