Vol. 67 No. 129 | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 28, 2024 | 26 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper cbc 22201/13/0311/2324 Government of India Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee e Empowering Divyangjans Distribution of assistive equipment and devices to 27 lakh Divyangjans in social empowerment camps Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat SIT heat on Jarange now The aim is to discover the truth behind the pro-reservation stir. The assumption is that Jarange-Patil is being used by some forces for their agenda KALPESH MHAMUNKAR / MUMBAI The Eknath Shinde government has increased the heat on Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil by announcing the appointment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to find out the truth behind the pro-reservation agitation spearheaded by him. The assumption is that he is being used by some forces in furtherance of their agenda. The crores of rupees spent on the march from Jalna to Navi Mumbai was unprecedented. On Monday the government had filed two FIRs against him for allegedly instigating violence. The immediate provocation for the constitution of the SIT is Jarange-Patil’s allegation that deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP was planning to have him murdered. He also levelled casteist allegations against Mr Fadnavis and also targeted Mr Shinde. In the legislative assembly QUOTA IS NOW LAW T he governor of Maharashtra has signed the Maratha reservation bill into law. The order has also been published in the official gazette. The 10 percent reservation is thus applied for the Maratha community in the state. Apart from that the state government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court where a petition is pending on the matter. on Tuesday Mr Shinde, Mr Fadnavis and Speaker Rahul Narwekar took serious note of the derogatory language employed by Jarange-Patil and the violence which marked the agitation started by him. on the Maratha reservation issue. BJP MLA Ashish Shelar raised the demand for SIT in the assembly and it was ac- cepted by Speaker Rahul Narwekar. Mr Narwekar said “ There is no scope for violence and violent speeches in a democracy . Keeping law and order in the state is the responsibility of the state government. Keeping in mind the gravity of the situation the government should constitute an SIT and investigate the matter” Initiating a discussion, Mr Shelar said “I request the Speaker to constitute an SIT to probe the acerbic speeches of Jarange Patil and large scale which marked his agitation. Jarange Patil was talking about destroying Maharashtra in his press meet.Who provided stones to the agitators? In whose factory were pre- agitation meetings conducted? Who decided the future course of action on Maratha reservation? Who arranged JCBs and water tankers for the agitators? All the facts should be brought CONTD. ON NATION out." SENA VS SENA: FIGHT OVER BANK ACCOUNTS VISHAL SINGH / MUMBAI The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) lodged a written complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police against the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction, alleging financial misconduct. The EOW has initiated preliminary investigation into these claims. BUZZ ON LS ROUTE FOR SITHARAMAN, JAISHANKAR AGENCIES / HUBBALI There is a buzz that Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar may take the Lok Sabha route to the Parliament. “It is appearing in the media. More or less it is final that they [Nirmala Sitharaman and Jaishankar] will contest the Lok Sabha elections. It has not been decided yet from where they will fight, whether it is in Karnataka or some other state,” Pralhad Joshi, who holds the Coal and Mines portfolio, told reporters in Hubbali on Feb 26. The Minister said however, it has not been decided yet as to where they will contest from. Asked whether it will be Bengaluru, Joshi said, “How can I answer when nothing has been finalised?” Union Finance Minister Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar are Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka and Gujarat respectively . Responding to the minister’s remark, ANI quoting an unnamed “top government source” reported that the call on whether whether Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections or not was still on the table. The decision remained untaken at the moment, ANI also quoted Joshi as walking back from quotes at Hubbali attributed to him and reported by PTI. ANI, without saying where and in which forum Joshi had provided the subsequent clarification, quoted him as saying, “No. I have only said anybody can contest I have not said specifically It is . the national party national , leadership will decide.” Following a decision by the Election Commission in February 2023, which recognized Eknath Shinde’s faction as the official Shiv Sena, the Shinde faction argues that the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction no longer has the authority to withdraw funds from the party’s accounts. On January 30, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena treasurer Balaji Kinikar met Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and filed a written complaint of fraud and forgery against Uddhav UBT officials, claiming that the UBT faction were misusing PAN and TAN details and fraudulently filing TDS and income tax returns of Shiv Sena. CONTD. ON NATION Scan for fo more info formation Fast food giants on FDA radar SWAPNIL MISHRA / MUMBAI F ast food giants across the state are on the radar of the Maharashtra Food And Drug Administration. They will be inspecting all the global fast food outlets to check if they use cheese alternatives in products wrongly promoted as containing real cheese. This comes after the FDA heavy crackdown on McDonald ’s outlets in Ahmednagar district leading to suspension of licence which was later revoked after all compliance was done and the word cheese was removed from their menu.  Abhimanyu Kale, Commissioner, FDA said that they have already begun with the inspection drive and all major outlets or brands will be inspected to check for similar violations of display and labelling rules.  It is a continuing “It is a continuing inspecinspection drive tion drive across the state across the state and if and if any violations are any violations are found found we will take approwe will take appropriate priate action on other wellaction on other wellknown and frequently visitknown and frequently ed global fast-food chain visited global fast-food outlets," he said.  chain outlets According to sources – Abhimanyu Kale, food inspectors are likely to Commissioner, FDA visit Indian franchisee outlets of brands such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King and KFC.  MacDonald has since reassured many consumers online who voiced concerns about its cheese offerings, saying on social network X that it uses “globally approved gold-standard suppliers". “Our cheese is made from real milk only and we do not use any substitutes or cheese analogues," it said on Monday . Authorities have the power to suspend licences of restaurants found misleading consumers regarding food and safety standards. Despite the potential implications for these chains, Westlife Foodworld expressed confidence in its adherence to high standards and welcomed the inspections. CONTD. ON NATION 14 bank holidays in March FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI March 2024 will see banks across the country closed for 14 days, according to the Reserve Bank of India holiday list. These include all Sundays, the second and fourth Saturdays, public holidays, and a few regional holidays. If you are in Maharashtra then your bank is closed on March 8 as well for Mahashivaratri, March 25, Monday for Holi second day , , and March 29, Friday . The banks are closed on the occasion of Chapchar Kut, /Sivarathri, Bihar Divas, Holi (Second Day) - Dhuleti/Dol Jatra/Dhulandi, Yaosang 2nd Day/Holi, Holi, Good Friday in March 2024. Depending on which state you are from here is the holiday list: March 1/Friday: Chapchar Kut (Mizoram), March 8 (Friday) , Mahashivratri/- Banks are closed in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chandigarh, Uttara Khand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu & Srinagar, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh. CONTD. ON NATION