FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. XXXX NO. 257 | INDORE | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | PAGES 16 MESSI GETS AN ASSIST, INTER MIAMI OPENS MLS SEASON WITH 2-0 WIN OVER REAL SALT LAKE SPORTS `3 - r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE EDIT END OF THE TUNNEL FOR CONGRESS? WEATHER FP 31.40c. 16.40c Sunrise : 06.55 Sunset : 06.25 Why name lions Sita & Akbar, asks Cal HC; suggests name change KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government to rename the lion ‘Akbar’ and lioness ‘Sita’, whose names caused a controversy after both animals were placed in the same enclosure at the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri. The court was hearing a petition by the Vishwa X muzzled over farmer protests OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Social media major X (formerly Twitter) has admitted to taking down accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India leading to political outcry of deomcracy being murdered. BBC reported that X took them down following “executive orders” from the Indian Government to that effect. In a statement, X explained, the orders were “subject to potential penalties, including imprisonment”, adding that it “disagreed with these actions” and that “freedom of expression should extend to these posts”. The clarification was shared on their official handle @GlobalAffairs. Several activists had earlier complained about their posts being removed. CONTD. ON P8 Hindu Parishad to change the name of the lioness who was recently transferred to West Bengal from Tripura. The single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, in an oral direction, asked the state to avoid controversy and consider renaming the animals, "Will you name a lion after a Hindu deity, a Muslim prophet or Christian god or freedom fighter or nobel laureate? Generally anyone who is revered or respected by the people of our country?" Justice Bhattacharyya asked. The Additional Advocate General (AAG), representing West Bengal, told the court that the lions were named in Tripura and the Shivraj may be fielded either from Vidisha or Chhindwara Nath has been MP from Chhindwara 9 times. In 2019, his son Nakul Nath won the election BJP top guns to take call; Chouhan has been MP from Vidisha five times OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may be asked to contest the Lok Sabha election after 20 years. As the central leaders have not appointed Chouhan as CM, they are planning to take him to the Centre. The party leadership is mulling over fielding Chouhan either from Vidisha or from Chhindwara. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Ramakant Bhargava was fielded from Vidisha constituency . There are talks in the party that he may be field- ed from Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency which the BJP won for the last time in 1997, when former chief minister Sunderlal Patwa defeated Kamal Nath. There were speculations that Nath would join the BJP. But such conjectures have been laid to rest. According to sources, if Nakul Nath contests the election on a Congress ticket, the BJP will field a strong candidate from Chhindwara. Chouhan is one of those who may be fielded from there. After Chouhan was not made CM, he was asked to hold meetings with party leaders of clusters. He has already toured Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha. A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Chouhan. It indicated that chances of Chouhan contesting the Lok Sabha election are bright. The first list of the BJP candidates for the LS polls may be released in the first fortnight of the next month. The list may contain the name of the candidate to be fielded from Chhindwara. state itself was already considering renaming the lions. The court also questioned the reasoning behind naming an animal after "a god, mythological hero, freedom fighter, or Nobel laureate" and asked why the state did not challenge the names given by Tripura. CONTD. ON P8 Foreign delegations to grace industry conclave in Ujjain NIRUKT BHARGAVA Ujjain Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that looking at the response to the two-day Regional Industry Conclave-24 to be held at Government Engineering College ground, Ujjain on March 1 and 2, similar summits would be organised in Rewa, Jabalpur, Sagar, Tikamgarh and other places. He was in Ujjain on a short visit on Thursday to inspect the ongoing preparations of the conclave. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yadav, during his visit to his home town, told this correspondent that there was unprecedented enthusiasm among the people towards the 40-day Vikramotsav. The two-day industry conclave and Ujjayini Vikram Trade Fair are part of the Vikramotsav. CONTD. ON P8 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in MAHUA’S PLEA ALLEGING MEDIA LEAK: HC TO PASS ORDER ON FRIDAY NATION Does govt know its onions? AMID EXPORT ban, allows shipments to B’desh, Mauritius, Bahrain, Bhutan LAXMI DEVI / NEW DELHI Amid an export ban on onions, India on Thursday made an exception and permitted overseas sale of a fixed quantity of 54,760 tonnes of the key kitchen staple to Bangladesh, Mauritius, Bahrain and Bhutan. “We have allowed export of 50,000 tonnes of onion to Bangladesh, 1,200 tonnes to Mauritius, 3,000 tonnes of Bahrain and 560 tonnes to Bhutan with immediate effect,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. The shipments will be undertaken by private trade till March 31. The modalities are being worked out, he said. Singh said the decision has been taken following a recommendation from the external affairs ministry . Sources said several countries have made a request for the supply of onion from India. The external affairs ministry is evaluating the quantity on a case-to-case basis and a final decision will be taken by the group of ministers. Currently, there is a ban on onion exports till March 31. The ban was imposed on December 8, 2023, in order to boost domestic supply and check price rise. Ahead of general elections, the ban is unlikely to be lifted even after March 31 as rabi (winter) onion production is expected to be lower due to less coverage of area, especially in Maharashtra, sources said. In the 2023 rabi season, onion production was estimated to be at 22.7 million tonnes. Usually, rabi onion is stored for consumption in lean season. Even the government buys rabi onions to maintain the buffer. CONTD. ON P8 India ‘Dosti’ with Male as China vessel looks on NEW DELHI: During the 16th edition of the IndiaMaldives-Sri Lanka trilateral exercise "Dosti" with Bangladesh observing, ICGS Abhinav and ICG Dornier arrived in Male. According to media reports, a Chinese research vessel was anchored near Male port. The Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03 was moored close to Male City this morning. Around noon, the ship was shown to be near Thilafushi," local media reported, quoting the Marine Traffic website that tracks all ocean liners across the globe. The Maldives government granted permission for the research vessel, capable of conducting research and surveys, to dock at Male port on January 23. Authorities said that the vessel's stopover was solely for replenishment purposes and assured that it would not engage in any research activities while in Maldivian waters. CONTD. ON P8 India 3rd largest economy by 2027: Jefferies NEW DELHI: Strong reform measures initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the last ten years have laid the foundation of a solid economic growth in coming decades, Jefferies Equity Research outlook said. It also said that India would become the third largest economy by 2027 and expected to achieve a market capitalization of USD 10 trillion by 2030. "With a consistent history of 10-12 pe cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the last 10 and 20 years, India is now the fifth largest equity market and market cap will likely to touch USD 10 trillion by 2030," the report said. It added that continued reforms should maintain India's status of being the fastest growing large economy . CONTD. ON P8