FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 218 | INDORE | SUNDAY | JANUARY 14, 2024 | PAGES 18 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `4 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - HOLKAR’S STRIP EAGER TO SEE INDIA’S WIN Pg-18 READER'S CORNER RAM IS THE UNIVERAL GOD TO OPPOSE A SUICIDAL SLAVE MENTALITY Kharge to lead the charge Mamata, Akhilesh, Uddhav give virtual meet a miss WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 27.80c. 16.20c Sunrise : 07.10 Sunset : 06.01 ‘Those who turned down Ayodhya invite should reconsider’ OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI NEWS BRIEF India protests UK envoy's PoK visit NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday raised strong objections to the visit of the British High Commissioner in Islamabad Jane Marriott, to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Bharat Jodo Yatra to start today IMPHAL The Congress will begin the Rahul Gandhiled Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the violence-hit Manipur on Sunday, in what is being seen as the party's bid to set the narrative in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. Priyanka may contest LS from 2 places BENGALURU: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is likely to contest on two seats from Karnataka and Telangana during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sources said that AICC has already conducted surveys in Karnataka and Telangana. In a major forward movement, a key meeting of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc agreed on Saturday on the name of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as chairman of the opposition alliance with the name of Bihar chief minister and JDU chief Nitish Kumar proposed as convener. Sources said the appointment of Kharge and Nitish would be announced together as and when consensus on the Bihar Chief Minister’s name as convener evolves. The decision was taken at the virtual meeting. Decision to appoint Kharge as chairman and Nitish Kumar as convener was taken as members felt that while seat sharing negotiations is a tough process as the alliance would need to reconcile many intractable issues before reaching final conclu- WHEN RAM WILL MEET RAM Pg-16 10TH MP STATE JUDICIAL OFFICERS CONFERENCE 80% OF pending cases relate to crime in state: Justice Khanna Disposal rate of district courts is 10 time more than HC; over 18% of pendency is bail matter OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Virtual meeting, virtual chairman: Kharge with Venugopal sion, progress in other areas like joint manifesto, joint vision document and joint meetings could be made. CPI general secretary D Raja, who attended the virtual meeting of the bloc, told media that the proposal to name Kharge as alliance chairman which was made at the last meeting by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee –ANI and seconded by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, was accepted at the meeting.Raja said though Nitish Kumar's name as convener of the bloc was also proposed, it would be announced after Kharge consults TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who were not present at the meeting. CONTD. ON P8 OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has appealed to the Congress and other parties to reconsider their decision to keep away from the Ramlala idol consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22. At a public meeting held in Shahdol on Saturday Yadav , said the party had made a mistake by saying unrelated things about the temple, and, now, they are committing an error by turning down the invitation to the ceremony . CONTD. ON P8 Expressing concerned on high pendency of cases, Supreme Court judge justice Sanjeev Khanna said that the pendency ratio of civil to criminal cases is 1:4 in the district and taluka courts of Madhya Pradesh. The national pendency ratio of civil to criminal cases is 1:3. He was addressing inaugural session of 10th Biennial Madhya Pradesh State Judicial officers Conference as chief guest at Ravindra Bhavan on Saturday . Justice Khanna further said that the total pendency in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh is 4,47,119 out of which 39.3% are criminal cases while 60.4% are civil cases. About 18.5% of the criminal pendency comprises bail applications. Out of the total cases pending adjudication, 28.3% of the cases are pending adjudication for 5-10 years, and are closely followed by those aged 10- 20 years, comprising about 25.7% of the total pendency , he added. In the district and taluka courts of Madhya Pradesh, 20,07,578 cases are pending, of which, 19.7% are civil cases while a staggering 80.3% are criminal cases. Thus, the pendency ratio of civil to criminal cases is 1:4 in the district and taluka courts of Madhya Pradesh. The national pendency ratio of civil to criminal cases is 1:3. On the subject of arrests in the span of a year, the NCRB Crime in India Report, 2022 shows that 2,53,954 arrests were made in Madhya Pradesh, with 61.5% of such arrests made for offences under IPC and 38.5% for offences under special or local laws. CONTD. ON P8 Nitish jockeys for better bargain ‘NO ONE HAS RIGHT TO BULLY US’ DHEERAJ KUMAR / PATNA Bihar chief minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar on Saturday declined to accept the Congress`s offer to become opposition INDIA alliance’s convener. Sources said that Congress put forward the name of Nitish as INDIA convener after it was suggested by Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK chief M K Stalin but the JD (U) supremo declined the offer. Nitish known for his polite demeanour but capable of tough political decisions contended that he was not aspiring for any post and suggested that somebody from Congress should take the responsibility Sources said that . Nitish in the virtual meeting said that instead of appointing him as convener of INDIA, a coordination committee headed by a senior Congress leader should be constituted. He said that in the coordination committee, leaders from alliance partners should be members of the committee. Sources claimed that after Nitish declined the offer, he proposed the name of Lalu as INDIA convener. “If it is so, Lalu should be made INDIA convener,” Nitish remarked as some other leaders also supported the idea. CONTD. ON P8 “We aren’t in anyone’s backyard. We are a sovereign state,” says Maldives President FP NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI Following the conclusion of his five-day visit to China, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said on January 13 that no country has the right to "bully" the island nation. During a press conference, Muizzu said, "We may be small but this doesn't give them the license to bully us." The Maldivian news entity Sun reported that President Muizzu made the remark while speaking to the press at the Velana International Airport. President Muizzu said that the Indian Newfound friends: Mohamed Muizzu and Xi Jinping Ocean does not belong to a specific country . “Though we have small islands in this ocean, we have a vast exclusive economic zone of 900,000 square kilometers. Maldives is one of the countries with the biggest share of this ocean,” he said. “This ocean does not belong to a specific country This ocean also . belongs to all countries situated in it.” CONTD. ON P8