Vol. 67 No. 114 | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2024 | 31 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Guara antee Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam gives women the right to 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies Government of India Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat JAIL NO BAR: FOR IMRAN SAJJAD HUSSAIN / ISLAMABAD Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s popularity has not waned from behind bars; he had been barred from contesting, after being ousted from power and is now imprisoned on several counts. But that has not prevented independent candidates loyal to Imran Khan leading in a dramatic turnaround and winning 86 seats out of the 201 results declared thus far, trouncing candidates of the two dynastic parties favoured Why no Ratna for Balasaheb FPJ DESK / MUMBAI The decision to award Bharat Ratna to former prime ministers Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, and agronomist MS Swaminathan, has spurred calls to seek the highest civilian award for Balasaheb Thackeray as well. On Friday Shiv , Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urged the Modi government to confer Balasaheb with the Bharat Ratna. Noting that the rule permits a maximum of three Bharat Ratna awards per year, Raut pointed out that the Modi dispensation had announced five this year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. But they had overlooked the Hindutva icon. "The Modi government, self-proclaimed champions of Hindutva, has once again overlooked the iconic figure of Balasaheb Thackeray Five . leaders have been bestowed this honour in a single month. But conspicuous by absence is recognition for Veer Savarkar and Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray ," Raut said in the post in Marathi. "The question arises: Why overlook Balasaheb Thackeray who , had a pan-India Hindu footprint and played a pivotal role in the resurrection of the Ram Mandir movement?" Taking a cue from Raut, MNS chief Raj Thackeray took to X to demand the prestigious award for the Shiv Sena founder who had "kindled the pride of all Hindus". "Now that the BJP-led government at the Centre has shown political magnanimity by honouring P V . . Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary CONTD. ON NATION most populous province of Punjab, won by PTI in the last election but where the family of former premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N have historically held sway One glaring . upset was Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf backed independent candidate Gustasap Khan winning against the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in NA15 Mansehra. Candidates who run as independents can nominate affiliation to any party within OUR CORRESPONDENT / PUNE Pune following his alleged offensive remarks and had converged outside the assembly venue. They broke the front glass of the car, smeared it in ink, and some activists tried to block the car by lying down on the road. CONTD. ON NATION Bharat Ratna for three more – Charan Singh, Narasimha Rao and M.S. Swaminathan GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI In a deft move in an election year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reached out to various sections by announcing the Bharat Ratna for former Prime Ministers Charan Singh and P . Narasimha Rao, along .V with renowned agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan. While there is no detracting from the contribution of either Charan Singh or Narasimha Rao, the timing of the announcement hints at the poll variables at work while taking a decision to award the nation’s highest civilian honour. For farmer leader Charan Singh, the award comes at a time when the Indian National Lok Dal, which was formed by his son Ajit Singh, and is now headed by his grandson Jayant Chaudhary is in talks with , the BJP for a possible alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. Jayant Chaudhary was quick to respond to the announcement and tweeted on ‘X’: “Dil jeet gaya” (Hearts have been won). Announcing the honour for the fifth PM of India from 1979-80, Modi praised Charan Singh for dedicating his entire life to the rights of farmers and their welfare. In a post on `X’, he wrote: “It is the good fortune of our government that former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh is being honoured with the Bharat Ratna. This honour is being bestowed because of his invaluable contribution to the country Modi further recalled .” how Singh had “dedicated his whole life to the rights and welfare of the farmers”. “Be it as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh or the Home Minister of the country or even a legislator, he always tried to hasten the pace of country’s development. He also stood firmly against the Emergency His . dedication towards our farmer brothers and sisters and his commitment towards democracy during the Emergency inspired the whole nation,” he posted. CONTD. ON NATION Mauris’ guard held, his pistol was used MEGHA KUCHIK / MUMBAI The Abhishek Ghosalkar murder case has been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch, with officers from its Units 11 and 12 being part of the investigation team. They have arrested Amrendra Mishra, the bodyguard of Mauris Noronha, under Arms Act Sections 29B and 30. Mauris reportedly shot Ghosalkar and then turned the weapon on himself.  According to sources, Mauris used a pistol which was registered under the name of Amrendra Mishra. The latter had an all-India licence for the pistol.  Originally from Uttar Pradesh, Mishra was associated with Mauris for the last 3-4 months. The weapon was kept in the locker at Mauris’s office in Dahisar, on the first floor.  Police have confirmed that Mauris did not possess a li- This (Ghosalkar's killing) is a serious incident, but even if a dog were to come under a vehicle, they (opposition) will seek the home minister's resignation. – Devendra Fadnavis censed pistol or revolver.  Sources suggest that the weapon used in the shootings belonged to Mishra, who allegedly had it made in an ordnance factory in Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh. Mauris had requested Mishra to keep the pistol, which could hold 15 bullets, in his office. Of the five rounds fired from the pistol, three bullets hit Ghosalkar. After shooting Ghosalkar, Mauris went to his office and allegedly died after he committed suicide. As per sources, the statement of Mauris’s wife has provided clarity in the case. CONTD. ON NATION LAST WORD Can Preamble be amended without altering date? OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday questioned whether the Preamble of the Constitution could be amended while keeping the date of adoption, November 26, 1949, intact. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta posed the question to former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy and his lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who have sought deletion of the words "Socialist" and "Secular" from the Preamble of the Constitution. "For academic purpose, can a Preamble that has the date mentioned, be changed without altering the date of adoption. Otherwise, yes, the Preamble 72 hours of victory -- a practice that frequently leads to horse-trading and deal-making in Pakistan politics and which could imperil PTI's success.   "But even if PTI is unable to form a government, the elections show there are limits to political engineering," said Bilal Gilani, executive director of polling group Gallup Pakistan. "It shows that the military does not always have its way -- that is the silver lining," he told AFP . CONTD. ON NATION POWER OF FIVE WAGLE GETS TASTE OF BJP’S WRATH The car of senior journalist Nikhil Wagle, who was in Pune for the Nirbhay Bano Sabha, was vandalized by BJP workers on Friday near the Rashtra Seva Dal office in the Dandekar Bridge area. Recently following Prime Minis, ter Modi's announcement of the Bharat Ratna for former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP stalwart LK Advani, the senior journalist took to social media and posted that 'Bharat Ratna to Advani is a compliment given by one rioter to another'. Subsequently a case was regis, tered against Wagle at Vishram Bagh police station for making offensive statements about PM Modi and Advani. Vandals struck just when Wagle was attending a programme on the theme, "Fight for Democracy Freedom , of Expression." Veteran actor Amol Palekar and famous lawyer Asim Sarode were also part of the program. BJP workers had opposed Wagle's visit to by the military . As against the 86 seats secured by independents backed by Imran, Nawaz Sharif ’s party had secured 59 seats and Bilawal Bhutto’s PPP 44. To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 in the National Assembly and Pakistan appeared heading towards a hung assembly . Most of the seats won by PTI-backed candidates were in its stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while results were still coming from the can be amended. There is no problem with that," Justice Datta said. Swamy replied, "That's precisely the question in the matter." Justice Datta further said, "this is perhaps the only Preamble I have seen which comes with a date. We give this Constitution to us on so and so date … originally these two words (Socialist and Secular) were not there." Jain said that the Preamble of Constitution of India comes with a specific date; therefore it cannot be amended without discussion. Swamy intervened and said that the 42nd Amendment Act was passed during the Emergency (1975-77). Justice Khanna at the outset told Swamy that the judges had received the case files early in the morning and due to the paucity in time, they had not gone through them. The bench said that the matter required detailed discussion and posted the hearing on the two petitions to April 29. On September 2, 2022, the top court had tagged Swamy's plea with other pending matter -- filed by one Balram Singh and others -- for hearing. Both Swamy and Singh have sought deletion of words "Socialist" and "Secular" from the Preamble. The words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Constitutional amendment moved by the Indira Gandhi government in 1976. CONTD. ON NATION THE FP BULLETIN PIL SEEKS END OF DY CM POST N EW DELHI: A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court against the appointment of Deputy Chief Ministers in various state governments. The plea states that Deputy Chief Ministers have been appointed by the concerned state governments despite there being no provision for such appointments under the Constitution of India; Article 164 of the Constitution provides for the appointment of only Chief Ministers. The appointment of Deputy Chief Ministers causes confusion by creating imaginary portfolios, as the deputies cannot take any decision independent of the chief minister, though they are projected and shown as equal to Chief Ministers. WHY A WHITE PAPER, NOW? P M Modi has said that bringing the white paper in 2014 would have suited him politically. "'Rajniti' tells me to do that but 'Rashtraneeti' does not allow me to do that and, therefore, I chose 'rashtraneeti' over 'rajneeti'. And when the situation has become robust in 10 years and we can sustain any assault, then I thought I should tell the truth to the people and that is why I released a white paper in Parliament," he said. "When you look at it, you will know where we were and from what situation we have risen and reached here. Now you are seeing the new height of development," PM Modi said. cbc 22201/13/0259/2324 c Modi Sa arkar ki Active participation of women in nation’s development