Vol. 67 No. 168 | MONDAY | APRIL 15, 2024 | 23 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper PARINEETI CHOPRA’S AMAR SINGH CHAMKILA ‘I am glad that I was able to make an impact with my work in the film’ EDIT J&K BACK IN MAINSTREAM INFAMOUS SARABJIT’S KILLER SHOT IN PAK FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI W hen Sarika Kulkarni brought water security to villages, she also made women financially independent. To read more about how she did this, turn to Mumbai page. THE FP BULLETIN JADUGAR, JADUGAR The Congress shehzada (prince) has announced that he will eradicate poverty in one stroke. It is laughable. Where was this royal magician missing for so many years? His grandmother (former Prime Miniser Indira Gandhi) had given the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’ 50 years ago. Now they have found a magic potion to remove poverty. Such statements have made them a laughing stock. It is a joke on the poor...’’ India is a land where mothers dream about sending their children to armed forces in the service of the nation. On the other hand, there is a Congress party which is going around professing to be the Sultan of ‘tukde tukde’ gang. The dangerous intention of the Congress is to divide, break and weaken the country.” – PM Modi in Mysore HAVE ANOTHER PEG, SAYS BJP K arnataka BJP leader Sanjay Patil has ignited a controversy by suggesting that Congress leader and state Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar take "one extra peg" to sleep well at night. Having a swipe at Hebbalkar, former BJP MLA Sanjay Patil said that the rise of BJP in Karnataka would make her worry a lot and suggested she take "a sleeping pill or an extra peg to get a good night's sleep". Hebbalkar's son Mrinal is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Belagavi seat, where he is taking on BJP candidate and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar. Hebbalkar, in a video statement, condemned the comments. She questioned whether Patil's comment were an example of the kind of respect the BJP has for women. "This shows the respect BJP has towards women. This is the hidden agenda of BJP It's not enough . if you chant Ram, pachao, beti beti padhao; you must respect women," Hebbalkar shot back. PAID HOLIDAY ON VOTING DAY T he Chief Electoral Office of Delhi has announced a paid holiday in the national capital on the day of Lok Sabha polls on May 25. Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan Sarabjit Singh, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Sunday according to officials. , Tamba, a Pakistani underworld don, was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants in the Islampura area of Lahore; he was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the officials said. Tamba, who was born in Lahore in 1979 and was a close associate of Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Sayeed, and fellow inmate Mudasir Munir were accused of assaulting Singh in April 2013. Singh, 49, died of cardiac arrest in Jinnah Hospital Lahore on May 2, 2013, after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by inmates, including AUTOMOBILE EXPORTS FROM INDIA DECLINE 5.5% IN FY24 The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled the BJP’s ‘sankalp patra’ (manifesto) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by promising to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Uniform Civil Code and the One Nation, One Election pledge. He also declared that the party would continue to focus on the “Viksit Bharat” roadmap to make India a developed nation by improving the infrastructure, especially close to the borders, and turning it into a manufacturing hub. He further talked about India’s Olympics bid in 2036 and three new 'bullet' trains, which is expected to fire the imagination of the middle class voters. The PM released the manifesto, which has been christened “Modi ki Guarantee 2024,” along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP presi- Sarabjit Singh Tamba, inside the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail. A group of Pakistani prisoners had attacked Singh with bricks and iron rods. Tamba was killed six years after he and Mudassar were acquitted by a Pakistani court due to “lack of evidence”, after all the witnesses had turned hostile. However, Singh's daughter Swapandeep alleged a conspiracy behind the death of her father's killer and the family wanted a trial to be conducted to find out why he was killed and who was behind it. Singh was a resident of Bhikhiwind, located along the Indo-Pakistani border in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab. In 1990, he was arrested by Pakistani border guards from the IndoPak border in an inebriated state. CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE TEL AVIV/TEHRAN INDIA CALLS FOR RESTRAINT I Air India on Sunday temporarily suspended flights to Tel Aviv. It operates four weekly flights between the national capital and Tel Aviv. multi-layered defence system, inflicting minimal damage. The Israeli Army reported that 170 drones were also shot down. In his first response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win.’’ But it was apparent that the US had come to Israel’s assistance and, by its own admission, shot down dozens of missiles and drones. Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, too, has confirmed that RAF pilots based in Iraq and Syria had been deployed to come to Israel’s assistance. CONTD. ON NATION I-T dept tries to ground Banerjee ARITRA SINGHA / KOLKATA “The ZAMINDARS can exert all their might but Bengal's SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE will never waver.” This was Trinamool Congress national secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s on X on Sunday . The provocation for the remarks came when an Income Tax department search party swooped down on a chopper that was to ferry Abhishek, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, to Haldia on Monday The TMC . lost no time in slamming the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on this score, pointing out that after all the hullabaloo, the Income Tax sleuths had drawn blank. ndia has said it is seriously concerned about the escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel and has advised both nations to exercise restraint. The tension must be resolved through "dialogue & diplomacy", the foreign ministry has said, doing a tightrope balancing act. It has further called for return to the path of diplomacy The . MEA said India is closely monitoring the evolving situation and its embassies in the region are in close touch with Indian community On Saturday the Iran. , ian military seized a cargo ship with Israeli antecedents near the Strait of Hormuz. CONTD. ON NATION Indian student shot dead in Vancouver PTI / OTTAWA A 24-year-old Indian man who went to Canada in 2022 to pursue higher education was shot dead in his car in Vancouver city , police said on Sunday . The Vancouver Police Department in a press release said officers were called to the scene around 11 pm on April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area, police said. No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing, it said. The incident happened within a block of the route for Saturday’s Vaisakhi parade and festival, police said. The body was found in a vehicle in the area around 11 pm Friday according to police , spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin, CBC News reported. Visintin did not say if the killing was connected to gang activity . CONTD. ON NATION Sunrise : 06:39 am Sunset : 06:04 pm dent J.P Nadda at the party headquar. ters. It was prepared by a 27-member Election Manifesto Committee, headed by Rajnath Singh, with union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal as coordinator and co-coordinator, repectively . Before the release of the document, Singh mentioned that all the commitments made to the nation in the 2014 and 2019 manifestos had been honoured. In this context, he cited the abolition of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the construction of a grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, and launch of development and welfare schemes for the poor, such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, under which free ration is provided to over 80 crore people. Singh said for preparation of the new manifesto, 4 lakh suggestions were received through the Namo app, while about 10 lakh suggestions came through video submissions. CONTD. ON NATION 2 open fire outside Salman’s house DHARMESH THAKKAR / MUMBAI Two unidentified bike-borne men opened fire outside Salman Khan’s home at Galaxy Apartments, Bandra, on Sunday morning at around 5 am. The two assailants fired a total of five rounds and fled. Last year, a Canada-based fugitive gangster, Goldy Brar, had declared that the actor was on his gang’s hit list. Salman Khan had been provided Y+ security following threatening calls made to him last April and a look-out circular (LOC) was issued against an Indian student in the United Kingdom, for allegedly sending a threatening email to the actor. He has been on the radar of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and has been threatened several times. The jailed Bishnoi’s younger brother, Anmol Bishnoi, who is based in the US, has claimed responsibility for the firing, in a post on social media. “ bullet hit the first floor of A Galaxy Apartments, where the Khan family resides. A foreign pistol was used in the firing. A special Crime Branch team is probing the firing, to track the assailants. CCTV footage is being analysed to identify the culprits,” confirmed a senior Crime Branch officer. The motorcycle used by the unknown assailants was later found abandoned by the Mumbai Police near Mount Mary Church. Salman Khan resides in the apartment with his father, scriptwriter Salim Khan, and his mother. CONTD. ON NATION Hardik gifts Dhoni 3 sixes and a double FLYING FREAK FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI “Instead of removing the Director General of NIA (National Investigation Agency) and NIA SP the Election Commis, sion and the BJP have chosen to deploy minions from Income Tax to search and raid my chopper…” Banerjee said, referring to the party’s charge that BJP was misusing the central agency . The TMC leader alleged that the I-T officials also threatened to detain his chopper, when his security personnel asked why the raid was being conducted. The sleuths opened each and every bag, searched every nook and corner of the chopper, the TMC MP from Diamond Harbour charged. CONTD. ON NATION 0 3 new bullet trains GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR / NEW DELHI Amir Sarfaraz Tamba 0 34 c. 23 c. BJP on the fast track: OUT OF THE SHADOWS, NEXT BLOW AWAITED Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said that the country will "exact a price from Iran" when the "time is right". The war cabinet went into a huddle after Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles – 300 by one account -- in its first direct attack on Israel from its own territory after years of shadow fighting through proxies. Iran had been warning that it would retaliate after an Israeli strike killed Iranian military commanders in Damascus. Footage released by Iranian state TV showed huge clouds of smoke and blinding flashes as hundreds of missiles were fired in an attempt to 'overwhelm' Israeli defences with various weapons from different directions. Israeli sources said a miniscule seven of the 131 ballistic missiles sneaked through the Overall exports stood at 45,00,492 units in the last fiscal compared to 47,61,299 units in FY23 Former Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma dives to catch a ball during their match against Chennai Super Kings, at the Wankhede, on Sunday – AFP WEDDING SEASON ADDS TO THE LOGISTIC CHALLENGE FOR THE RAILWAYS MI captain Hardik Pandya was hit for 3 mighty sixes and a double by CSK Captain MS Dhoni in the final four balls of the game on Sunday . An exasperated commentator Sunil Gavaskar, while speaking on Star Sports, lashed out at Hardik for bowling tepid balls to Dhoni, almost suggesting that the former had done so intentionally . "Probably the worst kind of bowling that I've seen for a long, long time. One 6 is fine. But the next one again is a full length ball, the kind that the batter is just waiting for. The third ball, again, is a full toss on the leg side and Dhoni, who needs little coaxing, hits it for a 6. Absolutely or- dinary bowling, ordinary captaincy," Gavaskar slammed Hardik in the mid-innings break. Dhoni's fiery 20 runs helped CSK pile on an impressive total of 206 for four, setting the stage for an electrifying match. Needless to say Hardik had , made his India debut under the leadership of Dhoni. He also shared a warm handshake with his beloved senior as they reunited ahead of the epic clash. This was the second time in IPL 2024 that Dhoni produced a trademark blazing finish after he launched an electrifying assault on the Delhi Capitals bowlers in Vizag in a lost cause on March 31. That day Dhoni , had hammered a 16-ball 37 studded with four boundaries and three sixes. TAILPIECE VIJAY GOHIL Migrant summer exodus to upset poll matrix KANHAIYA V/S MANOJ TIWARI KAMAL MISHRA / MUMBAI It’s summer vacation time in Mumbai again and the ritual annual exodus of around 50,000 migrant passengers daily is underway all bound , for their native villages/ towns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, this time, it is also election time, with voting in Mumbai scheduled for May 20. This significant movement of people is poised to leave its stamp on both the political landscape of these northern states and the electoral equation in Mumbai. ‘‘In Mumbai, where voting is scheduled for May 20, the convergence of north Indian Hindus and Muslims holds pivotal importance in the political arena. With over 20 lakh north Indian Hindu voters and approximately 18 lakh Muslim voters, this demographic is a crucial vote bank. Both the ruling and opposition alliances have been actively vying for their support, organising rallies by prominent leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,’’ said a political analyst. However, the ritual annual migration of these voters is set to disrupt the voting equation in Mumbai. The departure of a significant portion of this electorate just a few weeks before the election date may potentially sway the outcome, impacting the strategies and calculations of political parties. Apart from this, the wedding season is about to start in UP-Bihar from April 18. The first round of election is also scheduled to begin from the following day April 19, in , Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Given this situation, confirmed train tickets are hard to come by CONTD. ON NATION . OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Former JNU president Kanhaiya Kumar (37) is the Congress candidate from Delhi North East, the constituency which was once won by Jai Parkash Aggarwal (79). He has been pitted against BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, which makes it a prickly contest. Aggarwal, in turn, has been declared the party candidate from Chandni Chowk. The BJP which had , dropped six of its sitting MPs in Delhi, had only re-nominated the charismatic Tiwari. With a tacit poll understanding between the AAP and the Congress, the electoral battle could be significant with Kanhaiya entering the fray Delhi North East is . of the most vulnerable areas communally and is home to an approximate 21 per cent Muslim population. It also happens to be the most backward. Additionally , it shares a border with Uttar Pradesh and its residents consist of migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana. Scheduled Caste group leader Udit Raj has been named the Congress candidate from Delhi North West while the party also announced six candidates from Punjab and Ujjwal Rewati Raman Singh from Allahabad. The six Punjab candidates are: Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar SC seat, Dr Dharamvir Gandhi, who defected from AAP early this week, from Patiala, Gurjeet Singh Aujia from Amritsar, Amra Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu from Bhatinda, and Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Sangrur.