FREE PRESS - VOL. XXXIX NO. 181 | INDORE | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 6, 2022 | PAGES 16 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; EXIT POLLS SAY BJP WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN RNI No. 38281/83 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE EDIT VICTORY FOR PROTESTORS AS IRAN REGIME BENDS FOR 24X7 UPDATES SHUBMAN STRONG CONTENDER TO OPEN FOR INDIA IN 2023 ODI WORLD CUP Pg-15 News Brief Gyanvapi case: Next hearing on Jan 23 VARANASI: A Varanasi court on Monday fixed January 23, 2023 as the next date of hearing in a Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri case pertaining to the Hindu side's demand for a survey of two underground places (tahkhanas) on the mosque premises. SC to organise first 'hackathon' NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it will organise its first 'hackathon' event to identify innovative ideas and explore practical propositions for refining and bringing in efficiency in the existing process from 'filing to listing' of judicial matters. A statement from the top court said a notification would be published very soon. Lapierre dies aged 91 LONDON: Dominique Lapierre, the bestselling French author well-known in India for his ode to the city of Kolkata titled ‘The City of Joy', has died aged 91, his wife has said. Lapierre founded a humanitarian association with his wife entitled the City of Joy Foundation rescuing children suffering from leprosy from the slums of Kolkata. Dating back to 1981, it was supported by the royalties from his many literary successes. Nirmala exhorts DRI to cast net wider, nab ‘big fish’ NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked enforcement agencies to go after the ‘big fish’ and nab global mafiosi who send ‘mountains’ of illegal drugs into the country. The minister asked officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to engage more with their international counterparts to book ‘big handlers’ working behind the scenes, and ensure that smugglers do not outsmart them. Covid was man-made virus: Scientist who worked at Wuhan lab NEW DELHI In what appears to be an astonishing revelation, a US-based scientist, who worked at a controversial research lab in China's Wuhan, has said that COVID-19 was a "man-made virus" that leaked from the . facility COVID was leaked from Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a state-run and funded research facility, two years ago, the New York Post reported, quoting US-based researcher Andrew Huff's statement in the British newspaper The Sun. In his latest book, "The Truth About Wuhan," epidemiologist Huff claims that the pandemic was caused by the US government's funding of coronaviruses in China. Excerpts of Huff's book have been out in the UK-based tabloid The Sun. According to the New York Post report, Huff is the former vice president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit organisation based in New York that studies infectious diseases. CONTD. ON P8 Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding dozens of rallies and Home Minister Amit Shah camping in Gujarat for a month, the drop in turnout in the final round of polling for 93 seats in their home state on Monday worsened from the first phase with only 58.4% voters coming out as against 70.25% in the 2017 elections in the same constituencies. Modi addressed almost 30 public rallies and held two back-to-back road shows of 25 to 30 km each after the polls were notified on Nov 3, 2022. Mr Shah was almost camping in Gujarat for nearly two months at a stretch. On television, however, exit polls by more than half a dozen agencies not only predicted a seventh consecutive win for the ruling party but also gave it be- Q FIGURES SHOW MORE PEOPLE TOOK TO DRINKING IN STATE Q BHARTI'S CAMPAIGNS TO BAN SALE OF WINE FAIL was so wide that at least a few of them would prove to be correct, if not all. The results will be declared on Dec 8. Away from the exit polls, all three political parties in Gujarat are a worried lot over the low turnout in both rounds on Dec 1 and Dec 5. The voting percentage of 63.31 in the first phase of 89 seats was lower by 5% than in 2017, while that in the second phase dropped by an alarming 10%. Heeraben Modi, PM Modi’s mother, Such a drastic drop in arrives to cast her vote at a polling booth overall polling percentage during the second and final phase of is being seen as a clear indiGujarat elections, in Gandhinagar cator of fatigue among vottween 117 and 150 seats out of ers, which has been described the total 182, giving only be- by the Election Commission of tween 30 and 51 to the Congress India as “urban apathy”. This and between 3 and 13 to AAP. apathy is most alarming for the The winning mark is 92. , BJP though there is nothing enSome political analysts in the couraging there for AAP while state found it amusing that the it is a mixed bag for the Conrange of most of the exit polls gress. CONTD. ON P8 NITENDRA SHARMA Bhopal After the construction of Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, the number of tourists as well as the sale of liquor has increased in that holy city in November this year in comparison to the same period last year. In comparison to the last year, the consumption of country-made liquor in Ujjain has shot up by 42%, of foreign-made liquor by 94%, and of beer by 77%. Therefore, former chief minister Uma Bharti's campaigns against ban on sale of liquor have fizzled out. Despite Bharti's appeal and in spite of state government's drug de-addiction drives, the people of Madhya Pradesh are consuming liquor more than they used The state govt to do. launched a drug de-addiction campaign on Oct 2 when CM Chouhan and Uma Bharti were present on the state. Both of them administered oath to the people of the state to shun liquor and drugs. Nevertheless, the statistics of drinkers received in November indicated that the appeals of Chouhan and those Uma have barely had any impact on the people. Instead of de- Clear win for AAP in MCD polls NEW DELHI: Three exit polls on Monday predicted a clear win for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls and an end to the BJP's 15-year rule at the . civic body The results for the MCD polls will be declared after counting of votes on December 7. Over 50 per cent of the total 1.45 crore eligible votes were polled in the elections for the total . 250 MCD wards on Sunday The Aaj Tak-Axis My India survey showed the AAP was going to bag 149-171 municipal wards, while the BJP will win 69-91 wards. The survey gave 3-7 wards to the Congress and 5-9 to others. The AAP is predicted to win 146-156 wards in the Times Now-ETG survey which gave 84-94 wards to the BJP and, 6-10 to the Congress and up to four to others. The News X exit poll gave the Aam Aadmi Party 150-175 wards and the BJP 70-92, while the Congress may win 4-7 municipal wards. The BJP that has been ruling the civic bodies since 2007 had won 181 of the total 270 municipal wards in the 2017 civic body polls, trouncing the AAP and the Congress. The AAP won 48 wards and the Congress 30. Earlier this year, the three municipal corporations in Delhi were unified by the Centre into MCD having 250 wards. The total number of wards was 272 under the three corporations. Both the AAP and the BJP have fielded 250 candidates, while the Congress has 247 in the . fray The number of independents is 382. JAISHANKAR TO GERMAN FM 'India can't hold talks with Pak till it continues supporting terrorism' NEW DELHI: India cannot have talks with Pakistan till it continues supporting cross-border terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday in presence of his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and noted that Berlin has an understanding of it. Addressing a joint media after holding briefing wide-ranging talks with Baerbock here, Jaishankar said there were fairly extensive discussions both on Afghanistan and Pakistan. "Regarding Pakistan, I spent some time with the minister outlining the nature of our ties and the challenge of cross-border terrorism, and essentially India and Germany ink mobility pact, discuss key global challenges inked a mobility partnership on ndia on key global and held comprehensive Ipact and Germany the Mondaydiscussionsthe situation in Ukraine conflict, challenges including Afghanistan and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Jaishankar said the mobility pact will make it easier for people to study, do research and work in each other's country and is a strong signal for a more contemporary bilateral partnership. Jaishankar also strongly defended India's import of crude oil from Russia and noted that it is largely driven by market forces. the fact that we engage Pakistan bilaterally on whatever outstanding issues. The main challenge today is the fact that we cannot have talks while there is terrorism," Jaishankar said. He said there was an understanding from the German side in this regard. Bommai assures action against those behind Join CFI graffiti BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday termed "Join CFI (Campus Front of India)" graffiti found in different locations at Shiralakoppa in Shivamogga district as a "desperate act," after a ban on the organisation, and has assured prompt action against those behind it. Such writings on the walls were . noticed in different locations of the town recently "Police have already taken action, these kinds of writing on the walls is a desperate act. After banning all these organisations, they have become desperate and want to create confu, sion in society which I condemn," Bommai said in response to a question. Speaking to reporters here, he said the government would take prompt action against them. Police no, ticed the graffiti recently and based on the information suo motu case was filed under the Karnataka Open Places (Pre. vention of Disfigurement) Act and for disturbing harmony PFI, eight front organisations, including Campus Front of India, were banned for five years by the Union government in September. During a joint press conference with her Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Germany in October, Baerbock had talked about a possible role by the UN to resolve the Kashmir issue, evoking a sharp reaction from New Delhi. CONTD. ON P8 Lalu's kidney transplant successful:Tejashwi The state government spent a whopping Rs 11,87,33,509 on the dedication of Shri Mahakal Lok on October 11. This amount does not include expenditures on live streaming of the proceedings on various media platforms, branding of the event along with stay and transportation of VVIPs. Singer Kailash Kher, a staunch self-proclaimed devotee of Lord Shiva, was paid Rs 49,04,988 for a few hours’ performance. In all, Rs 6,37,94,809 were spent on cultural programmes that coincided with the dedica. tion ceremony Likewise, Rs 8,47,94,809 were spent for the over-all event. If transportation and food arrangements are included in expenditures Rs whopping a then 11,87,33,509 was spent on the dedication event. Prime Minister Narendra PATNA: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Monday underwent a successful kidney transplant surgery in Singapore, his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said. Yadav, who has been by his ailing father's side for the past few days, expressed delight that both Prasad and Rohini Acharya, his elder sister who has donated one of her kidneys to the 74-year-old, were fine after . the surgery "After a successful kidney transplant operation, Papa has been shifted from the operation theatre to the ICU. Donor elder sister Rohini Acharya and our national president are fine. Gratitudes to all those who prayed for them and wished them well," he tweeted, sharing a video of his father at the hospital. CONTD. ON P8 Sunrise : 06.51 Sunset : 05.41 Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said soon 50,000 teachers will be recruited in the Education Department and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department. They will be given reremuneration spectable and other facilities also. In next 3 years, CM Rise Schools will beat other schools, the CM added. The CM attended the closing day ceremony of 'Anugoonj' organized by the School Education Department here at Government Subhash Excellent School, on Monday . Chouhan said that new education system has been implemented in the state. We will create a new history in the field of education. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh was at 17th position in the country in the field of education, now it has come at 5th position. Children of government schools in the state are performing excellently in every field. The day will come when people will take children out of private schools and send them to government schools. The CM said that apart from providing laptops to the students who have "The consumption of countrymade liquor has increased in Rajgarh, Guna, Katni and Ashoknagar. "The consumption of foreign-made liquor has gone up in Satna Vidisha, Ujjain, Shajapur, Dhar, Jhabua, Burhanpur, Bhind, Ashoknagar and Alirajpur. "On the other hand, the number of people drinking beer has increased in Agar Malwa, Ashoknagar, Bhind, Guna, Gwalior, Katni, Morena, Narsinghpur, Khandwa, Khargon, Sagar, Shajapur, Shivpuri, Singrauli and Ujjain. clining, the number of drinkers has shot up. In November this year, the consumption of countrymade liquor was 21.5%, of foreign-made liquor 33.1 %, and that of beer was 12.4%, which is higher than the figures pertaining to November last year. In November last year, 1.3 crore proof litres of country-made liquor were consumed. Nevertheless, 1.25 crore proof litres of country-made liquor were consumed in November this year. Similarly, the consumption of foreign-made liquor increased from 50 lakh proof litres to 66 lakh proof litres. In the same way, the consumption of beer has gone up from 87 lakh bulk litres to 97 lakh bulk litres this year. As Uma Bharati was in meditation, she did not give any reaction. Mordic SKIPPERS IN ACTION: Kane celebrates after scoring a goal in England's 3-0 win over Senegal in the FIFA World Cup 2022. In another last 16 match, Croatia defetaed Japan via shootout 3-1. hakaleshwar Temple Expansion and Beautification Project. A public meeting was also arranged on the Kartik Mela Ground during which cultural programmes were held. A whopping Rs 6,37,94,809 were spent on the dedication , day including Rs 5,88,89,821 on cultural presentations and technical arrangements at ‘Shri Mahakal Lok’ premises and Rs 49,04,988 on programme of Kailash Kher . and party CONTD. ON P8 scored more than 75 percent marks in class 12th in the state, the government is also paying the fees for higher education of such students on admission to various professional courses. CM told the parents that they should not only ask their children to study but , also motivate them in the field of sports and arts according to their interest. CONTD. ON P8 New report says India in denial of Pandit genocide IANS / NEW DELHI cost of Rs 350 crore under the first phase of Ma- Districts where liquor consumption increased OUR STAFF REPORTER City.bhopal@fpj.co.in THREE LIONS, CROATIA ENTER QUARTERFINALS Modi had dedicated Shri Mahakal Lok, developed at a 26.20c. 13.60c Soon,50K teachers will be recruited: CM Rs 11.87-cr spent on dedication of Shri Mahakal Lok NIRUKT BHARGAVA Ujjain WEATHER After Mahakal Lok setup, number of tourists & liquor sale increase in Ujjain All parties worried as voting percentage drops further in second and final phase despite strenuous campaigning by the Prime Minister himself DARSHAN DESAI / AHMEDABAD `3 QUALITY AT VALUE India is in denial of the continuing genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu & Kashmir and the community continues to be sacrificial lambs on the altar of Kashmiryat and secularism. This is the conclusion of a fact-finding report titled ‘Unabated Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits’. The report is based on the life of the Hindu minority in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and after targeted killings since the start of 2020. A threemember fact-finding delegation comprising Rahul Kaul, Amit Raina and Vithal Chowdhary was nominated by frontline Kashmiri Pandit organisations like Panun Kashmir, Roots in Kashmir and Youth 4 Panun Kashmir. The committee’s brief was to visit the camps of PM Package employees in the valley, employees serving and families living in the valley and PM Package , employees protesting in Jammu. The report says in- ternally displaced Hindus of Kashmir are caught between the forces that continue to perpetrate genocide on them and the forces of denial of the genocide. It says the PM Package, primarily an economic and survival package, has been tweaked to make it look like a rehabilitation package. The package, with its draconian conditions akin to bonded labour, exploits the vulnerabilities of a community facing genocide, it says. “Political parties, including the leaders responsible for ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ being enacted in the Valley, continue to enjoy the state’s patronage, the prime example being the facilities and security provided to political leaders like Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Sajjad Lone, Altaf Bukhari, among many others,” it says. The reluctance of the judiciary and executive to punish the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes further emboldens jihadi elements.