FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 231 | INDORE | SUNDAY | JANUARY 28, 2024 | PAGES 16 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `4 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - TATTERED RAHUL POSTERS IRK CONG, TMC URGED TO ENSURE SMOOTH YATRA NATION BOPANNA CREATES HISTORY BRO VS BRO Lakhsman opens front against Digvijaya OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL India’s Rohan Bopanna (L) and Australia's Matthew Ebden celebrate with the trophy after victory against Italys Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori during their mens doubles final match of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Saturday Former legislator Lakshman Singh has opened a front against his elder brother and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh. At a function in the Kumbhraj area in Guna district, Singh said there were no glitches in EVMs. A few machines may have gone out of order, but it is not correct to say that all EVMs malfunction, Singh said. He also criticized Digvijaya's attempt to demonstrate that EVMs could be hacked. Digvijaya recently held a demonstration where he claimed that there was something wrong with the EVMs. But his brother refuted Digvijaya's claim. CONTD. ON P8 WOMAN KILLED IN TIGER ATTACK BHOPAL: A tigress attacked two women, killing one on the spot, in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning. Sources in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve said that it was around 10 am that two women went inside Chansura chamber number Reserve Forest (RF) 451 in Panpatha beat to gather firewood. All of a sudden, a tigress attacked them. Bhuri Bai, 50, wife of Mijaji Kol was killed in the attack. The injured woman, Tirasi Bai, 35, wife of Rambahor Kol, was admitted at Community Health Centre, Manpur. The forest officials are looking for the big cats with the help of elephants. WORLD ISRAELI ARMY KILLS 174 AMID ICJ RULING WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 24.00c. 10.0c Sunrise : 07.08 Sunset : 06.10 POPE DEFIES INDIA WITH GRITTY TON SPORTS WITH NITISH POISED TO SWITCH, TEJASHWI SAYS KHEL BAKI HAI DHEERAJ KUMAR Patna Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as CM with the support of BJP and its allies on Sunday. He is to be aided by two deputy chief ministers, both from the BJP, sources say. Injecting a last minute note of uncertainty, deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav declared that Bihar mein ab bhi khel hona baki hain . He did not elaborate. Nitish is expected to convene a meeting of JD (U) MLAs on Sunday morning. At the same time, meeting of BJP MLAs will also be held. Later in the day, Nitish is likely to be declared leader in the joint meeting of BJP and its allies. Subsequently, he is expected to meet the governor and stake claim to form a new government. Senior BJP leaders including Union Minister of State for Home Nitiyanand Rai held a meeting with senior party leaders and MLAs on the formation of a NDA government in the state. They, however, did not divulge details. CONTD. ON P8 BIHAR BJP CHIEF MEETS MANJHI RJD supporters gather outside party leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadavs residence amid Bihar political crisis, in Patna, on Saturday EFFORTS ON TO KEEP INDIA BLOC UNITED: KHARGE KALABURAGI: AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that efforts are on to keep the constituents of opposition bloc INDIA united. Talking to reporters at the Kalaburagi airport, Kharge said he had written letters to all in the bloc in this regard including West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. PATNA: Amid political uncertainities in Bihar, state BJP president Samrat Choudhary reached the official residence of Hindustani Awam MorchaSecular (HAM-S) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi in Patna on Saturday afternoon. He was welcomed by Santosh Kumar Manjhi, national president of HAM-S. NITISH WAS BEING ABUSED BY ALLIES: JD-U MLA PATNA: Amidst speculations that Nitish Kumar is likely to exit ruling Mahagathbandhan and return to BJP-led NDA, JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal claimed that the Bihar Chief Minister was being abused and was not respected by his allies.Mandal, however, said that Kumar will be "finished" if he changes the alliance again. "Nitish Kumar is our undisputed leader of the party. I go wherever he goes. I will stay with him," Mandal said. RJD NOT TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FROM GOVT Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Saturday decided not to withdraw support from the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. The decision was taken in a meeting held at the official residence of deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav located at 5 Circular Road in Patna where all MLAs unanimously decided not to withdraw support from Nitish. government. DEKHI ZAMANE KI YARI BICHHADE SABHI BARI-BARI When Rahul Gandhi did his first (Bharat Jodo) yatra, Congress lost in 3 states. Now, he is conducting his yatra from east to west. Their INDI alliance partners- TMC in West Bengal, AAP in Punjab said that they will contest the election alone. Earlier BSP also announced the same in Uttar Pradesh. So I believe that the current situation within the INDI alliance could be termed as, Dekhi zamane ki yari bichhade sabhi bari-bari SUDHANSHU TRIVEDI, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON Navy responds as merchant ship with 22 Indians hit by Houthi missile NEW DELHI A guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy has responded to an SOS call by a merchant ship struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, the navy said in a statement today. There are 22 Indians and a Bangladeshi on board. INS Visakhapatnam took the distress call of the merchant vessel Marlin Launda after it reported a missile hit. The vessel caught fire. The Indian Navy said INS Visakhapatnam is helping with firefighting on the cargo ship. "Indian Navy remains steadfast and committed towards safeguarding merchant vessels and ensuring safety of life at sea," the navy said in the statement. The missile strike comes amid growing concerns over Houthi militants stepping up attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Admiral R Hari Kumar issued instructions to firmly deal with such maritime incidents. On January 18, a merchant vessel with Indian crew members came under attack by drones in the Gulf of Aden. After receiving a distress call, India deployed INS Visakhapatnam, which intercepted the vessel and gave assistance.