FP FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 240 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 12, 2024 | PAGES 14 `3 - r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; Loot aur Phoot are Cong’s oxygen: PM FP NEWS SERVICE Jhabua Donning a smart waistcoat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the tribal Mahakumbh event here at the tribaldominated Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, where he expressed confidence that the BJP will cross the 370-seat mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Modi accused the Congress party of prioritising corruption and divisive politics over the welfare of the tribal communities, saying that “Loot aur phoot Congress ke oxygen hain” (corruption and politics of division are Congress' oxygen). They are anti-tribal and think of villages, farmers, and the poor only during elections, Modi said. “The local leaders of Congress are now discussing their strategy for campaigning against Modi ji, but they are facing a dilemma. No prominent leader is willing to take charge. The Congress party in Madhya Pradesh is in a state of chaos. They are struggling to break free from their past mistakes, but the more they try, the deeper they sink”, Prime Minister said. As they face defeat, Congress and its allies are making desperate attempts to secure their position. Their only strengths lie in their ability to loot while in power and sow division when they are not. Now, they are resorting to creating divisions based on caste, language, and region in order to gain political power. However, the people of the country and the state have rejected these tactics, and Congress will not be allowed to succeed, Modi added. Others abuse me, because I’m working for tribals, poor: Modi The Congress and other opposition leaders abuse him because he is working for the betterment of tribals and the poor, Modi said. "The Congress when it is MONEY Govt panel examining FDI flow from China in Paytm Payments Services PM interacting with tribals HIGHLIGHTS PM MODI inaugurates & lays the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 7,550 crore CONGRESS IS trapped in the quagmire of sins, the more it moves its hands and feet, the more it will sink CONGRESS DID not worry about the development of tribal areas, kept worrying about palaces Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a road show in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua on Sunday. People gathered on both sides of the road showered petals on the PM and chanted slogans as tghe Prime Minister greeted them on his way to the venue of his public rally in Jhabua. The visit assumes significance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections just a few months away. He was accompanied during the roadshow by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. PUNE: Senior politician Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Election Commission's decision to allot the NCP name and symbol to Ajit Pawar-led group was "surprising" as the poll body has "snatched" the party from the hands of its founders and gave it to others. He also said the programme and ideology are important for the people while a symbol is useful for a limited period. Iran shooting kills nine Pakistanis TEHRAN: Nine Pakistani nationals were killed in an armed attack in Sikran, located in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province on Sunday, a provincial security source said, a media report said. The incident happened as three gunmen opened fire toward the Pakistani nationals, according to the province's deputy governor, Alireza Marhamati, Alireza Marhamati, Mehr News reported. CAPFs exam in 13 regional languages NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Constable (General Duty) Examination for recruitment of constables in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be conducted in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. Women gang-raped on pretext of jobs JODHPUR: A case of gang-rape has been filed against the chairperson of the Sirohi Municipal Council in Rajasthan, Mahendra Mevada, and the former municipal council Commissioner, Mahendra Choudhary. They have been accused in the case of gangrape of nearly 20 women under the guise of providing employment in Anganwadi. The incident came to light after a woman from Pali district approached the police, alleging that the accused had lured her and approximately 20 other women with job opportunities. Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir on Saturday for his call for a unity government to pull Pakistan out of its current difficulties. Amidst allegations of vote rigging and inordinate delay in announcing the results, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday published the results of 264 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly. The result of one constituency was withheld by the ECP due to complaints of fraud. Election to one seat was postponed after the death of a candidate. Independent candidates, a vast majority of them backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI), won 101 seats in the National Assembly . They were followed by three-time former Sharif's Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) with 75 seats, which technically is the single largest party in Parliament. CONTD. ON P7 Harda blast: 6th accused held FP NEWS SERVICE / Harda The Harda police on Sunday arrested the sixth accused in connection with the blast that occurred in firecrackers factory in Harda last week. Harda Superintendent of Police Abhinav Chouksey said sixth accused Abhishek Agrawal belonged to Dewas. The blast took place at Rajesh fireworks in old vegetable market in Harda on Tuesday The fac. tory was run by Rajesh Agrawal and Somesh Agrawal. Four accused Rajesh Agrawal, Somesh Agrawal, Rafeeq Khan and Ashish Tamkhane were arrested soon after the incident. On Saturday, fifth accused Aman Tamkhane, a resident of Harda, was arrested. All the accused are being questioned. OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in The Income Tax department has served notices to around 100 Congress leaders and asked them to appear before the Delhi office of the department, the leaders said here on Sunday . The Congress leaders, however, said they are unaware of why they were being called to the Delhi office of the I-T department. MLA Vikrant Bhuria, one of the recipients of the notices, told Free Press that he has received the notice and as per his knowledge, Madhu Bhagat and Devasish Jarariya have also received the notices. "I do not know why notice has been served to me, but I will appear before the I-T officials," he said. "As the Lok Sabha elec- tions are approaching, this may be the tactic to intimidate us, but we are not afraid," Bhuria said. It was stated that the summons were served to assess or witness under section 131 of the Income Tax Act in a case related to the Indian National Congress. They have been asked to give evidence or to personally produce the books of account for other documents specified. Congress leader Devashish Jarariya reached the I-T office on February13. In his video statement he said that he was being harassed for the work which he did not do. He alleged that he belongs to the scheduled caste and his harassment was intentional. He also added that he will file a complaint with the police. NOW EVEN opposition leaders have started accepting that this time, NDA will cross 400 seats DEVELOPMENT AND respect of tribal society is Modi's guarantee CONG WAS humiliated in 23, annihilation is certain in 24 NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH Ahead of a proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march by farmer unions on Tuesday, authorities in Haryana and Delhi fortified borders with neighbouring states at many places by putting up concrete blocks, road spike barriers and barbed wires and deploying thousands of police personnel, besides imposing prohibitory orders. While the Centre has invited farmer unions for another meeting to discuss their demands on February 12, the move to block borders to prevent the protesters from entering the national capital drew flak from opposition parties and farmer groups on Sunday . Authorities, however, defended the restrictions, citing the 2020 agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws that had stretched to over a year. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and several farmer associations, mostly from UP, Haryana and Punjab, have called the protest to press the Centre to accept their AAP TO GO SOLO IN DELHI ALSO Kejriwal says they will win all seven seats CHANDIGARH India U19s Raj Limbani celebrates the wicket of Australia's U19s Ryan Hicks, during the ICC U19 mens Cricket World Cup Final between India and Australia, in Benoni, South Africa on Sunday A day after announcing that the AAP will contest all 13 seats in Punjab, party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that it will also fight and win all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital in the upcoming elections. Kejriwal's announcement on Saturday to fight solo in Punjab came at a time when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was in the state for a meeting to discuss the upcoming poll strategy and concerns about indiscipline within the party . "The BJP is scared that if AAP works so hard, it'll be inevitable for us to win...We will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi...I am sure the people of Punjab will give us a historic mandate by giving us all 13 seats in Punjab," he said, adding "the BJP is scared of only one party, the AAP". Kejriwal was addressing a public rally in Tarn Taran along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann. Meanwhile, Kejriwal and Mann will visit Ram Mandir on Monday. During their visit, families of both the Chief Ministers will also accompany them. Unique Ayodhya bank where only transaction is 'spirituality, inner peace, faith' AYODHYA There is a unique bank here in the land of Lord Ram where money does not matter and the only return its 35,000 accountholders get is peace of mind, faith and spirituality! Catching the attention of the devotees and tourists visiting the newly constructed Ram temple is "International Shree Sitaram Bank". The deposits here are booklets with "Sitaram" scribbled on all pages. The spiritual bank, which was set up in November 1970 by Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the chief of the Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, has over 35,000 account-holders in India and abroad including the US, the UK, Canada, Nepal, Fiji, the UAE and other countries. The bank has a collection of 20,000 crore 'Sitaram' booklets from the devotees of Lord Ram. According to Punit Ram Das Maharaj, the manager of the bank, the number of daily visitors at the bank has increased after the consecration ceremony of the grand temple last month. "The bank provides free booklets and red pens to devotees and keeps track of each account. One has to write 'Sitaram' at least 5 lakh times to get an account opened in the bank and then a passbook is issued. PM’s presence is good fortune for tribals: CM Yadav C hief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, while addressing the conference, said that he welcomes all the brothers and sisters from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and remote areas of Madhya Pradesh to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the soil of Madhya Pradesh. He emphasised the significance of this event as an opportunity for the people to witness the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi firsthand. The arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on stage is a matter of good fortune not only for all of us but for the tribal brothers and sisters of the entire country . Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gifted 22 development projects worth Rs 7,550 crore. These projects will work to change the direction and condition of the state. CONTD. ON P7 Delhi, Haryana fortified ahead of planned march by farmers YET ANOTHER BLOW TO INDIA 100 Cong leaders get I-T notices www.freepressjournal.in ALANA KING AIMING TO MAKE WACA GROUND ‘HER OWN’ SPORTS MODI HOLDS ROAD SHOW ISLAMABAD/LAHORE NEWS BRIEF ‘Snatching' charge on EC by Sharad 26.20c. 13.00c Sunrise : 07.01 Sunset : 06.20 in power, indulges in loot, while out of power engineers divisions (in society) based on language, region, and caste. But the people know the truth about the Congress and will never let it succeed in its motives, the PM said. The Congress has drowned in its own sins, and the more it makes efforts to come up, the further it will slide down, the PM asserted. Attacking the Congress further, the PM said the party never thought of tribal development or respecting them when it was in power for a long time and treated them only as vote banks. CONTD. ON P7 Pak parties intensify efforts to form coalition govt The three main political parties in Pakistan on Sunday intensified their efforts for the formation of a coalition government after it became clear that the coup-prone country faced a hung Parliament after general elections marred by allegations of rigging. The general elections were held on Thursday, but the unusual delay in the announcement of results vitiated the atmosphere as several parties cried foul and some resorted to protests. Former prime minister and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif received the backing of the powerful WEATHER NITISH GOVT PREPARES FOR FLOOR TEST NATION EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE QUALITY AT VALUE r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 "There are 136 branches of the bank across India and even abroad. The account holders also send us the booklets by post and we maintain the ledger here," Puneet Ram Das told PTI. He said the visitors also question the benefits of writing Sitaram and depositing it into bank. "I tell them that the way we visit temples of gods and goddesses for inner peace, faith and virtue, in the same way, writing 'Sitaram' and depositing the same into the bank is a form of a prayer. Don't we say that God has his own account of everyone's good and bad deeds? This is something similar. "The devotees find solace and profound spiritual enrichment in writing, chanting and reminiscing Lord Ram's name," he added. Puneet Ram Das explained that it is believed that by writing the name 84 lakh times, one can attain 'Moksha'. CONTD. ON P7 demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared a video of road spike barriers being placed on state borders and said, "Is laying nailsthorns in the path of farmers 'amritkaal' or 'anyaykaal'?" Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann likened the roads to enter Delhi and Haryana to the IndiaPakistan border. "I urge the Centre to hold talks with farmers and accept their genuine demands. CONTD. ON P7 Call them ‘trial courts’ not ‘lower courts’: SC NEW DELHI, The Supreme Court has asked its registry to stop referring to trial courts as 'lower courts'. The apex court said even the record of trial courts should not be referred to as 'lower court record'. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order while hearing a plea filed by two persons challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict which dismissed their appeal against conviction and life sentence awarded to them in a murder case of 1981. "It will be appropriate if the registry of this court stops referring to the trial courts as 'lower courts'. Even the record of the trial court should not be referred to as lower court record (LCR). Instead, it should be referred as the trial court record (TCR). The registrar (judicial) to take a note of this order," the bench said in its order passed on February 8. The top court asked its registry to call for the soft copy of trial court record of the case concerned and posted the matter for hearing on August 6. The two petitioners have challenged the October 2018 order of the high court which dismissed their appeals and asked them to surrender fore the court concerned to serve the remainder sentence.