Vol. 67 No. 185 | SATURDAY | MAY 4, 2024 | 35 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 REVIEWS THIS WEEK Check out our verdict on films and OTT releases EDIT RAHUL IN RAEBARELI – A MASTERSTROKE? MKTS CRASH: INVESTORS’ LOSE RS 2.25L CRORE Rumors regarding potential tax changes in upcoming Budget added to negative sentiment 0 0 32 c. 29 c. Sunrise : 06:10 am Sunset : 07:02 pm KARMAYOGI OR BHAGODA – TAKE YOUR PICK BISWAJEET BANERJEE LUCKNOW, NEW DELHI It may be a little late in the day but former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has finally found his ‘karmabhoomi’. It is Rae Bareli and not Amethi as he had led us to believe. Explaining the aboutturn, Rahul said his mother Sonia Gandhi, who was the custodian of the seat for 20 years, had entrusted him with the responsibility of her family's 'karmabhoomi.' Insisting that Amethi and Raebareli were not different for him, given their historical association with the family , SC may give interim bail to Kejriwal GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday said it “would like to consider grant of interim bail” to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case because of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. While hearing the petition by Kejriwal against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the case, the Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked the ED counsel, Additional Solicitor General S.V . Raju, to prepare interim bail conditions for the Delhi CM, if he is granted relief for the elections. CONTD. ON NATION Rahul formally filed his nomination papers for the Raebareli parliamentary seat on Friday He was accompa. nied by his mother, sister and a clutch of senior party members, including Mallikarjun Kharge. Following the early morning announcement, predictably the BJP christened him as 'Bhagoda' for not contesting from Amethi, where he lost to Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections. It is understood that Rahul had harboured reservations about contesting from the state, fearing it might be emit a message of retreat from Wayanad. CONTD. ON NATION 8-yr-old case is Darna Mana Hai shut on poll eve One wrong move means checkmate ARITRA SINGHA / BISWAJEET BANERJEE / KOLKATA, LUCKNOW Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost no time in latching onto Rahul Gandhi’s aboutface on Amethi and proclaimed to the world, “ Arre daro mat, bhago mat.” With that, it seems “Bhagoda' will be the new tagline for Rahul – a change of narrative for the BJP midstream. PM Modi had good reason to pat himself on the back. “I had said that ‘Shehzada’ (Rahul) will lose the election in Wayanad. Sensing imminent defeat, he made a beeline for Amethi. Then, he got cold feet again and scooted to Raebareli. So, I have every reason to tell him, ‘‘ rre daro mat, A Arre Bhago mat,’’ said Modi. He further predicted that Congress would win less than 50 seats in the Lok Sabha. With Rahul Gandhi's tectonic decision to shift his electoral battleground and the Congress CONTD. ON NATION Day 5: Commuters In Kalyan, candidate flip-flop forced to grin & bear RAJA MANE/ MUMBAI KAMAL MISHRA / MUMBAI   It was yet another harrowing day for commuters on Harbour line, following three derailments at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus earlier this week. Services did not return to normalcy on Friday as had been promised , by the Central Railway (CR) on Thursday Once again, . during the morning rush hour on Friday suburban , services on Harbour line were delayed, with trains running behind schedule by 20 to 30 minutes. Adding to the frustration, 19 trains were cancelled, exacerbating the commute. It was the same scenario in the evening.   Despite assurances from railway authorities, commuters remain skeptical The election scene in the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency has taken a new turn, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) asking former mayor Ramesh Jadhav to file his nomination. This move comes after the party At Goregaon about the timely resolution of the ongoing disruptions.  Smita Jain, a regular commuter from Vashi, expressed dismay over the lack of adequate announcements on the trains, which leaves passengers clueless about delays and prevents them from setting up other travel options. Similarly Kedar Jadhav from Be, lapur suggested that issuing advisories about potential delays would have enabled them to adjust their travel plans accordingly . CONTD. ON NATION CANADA NABS NIJJAR HIT MAN C anadian police on Friday arrested members of an alleged hit squad linked to the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday, reports Reuters. Sources said investigators had identified the suspects in Canada some months ago CONTD. ON NATION NEWSBREAK: 40 pc export duty on onions effective May 4 had already declared Vaishali Darekar, a relatively weak candidate, as its nominee and pitted her against Dr Shrikant Shinde, the son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Dr Shinde was elected from this seat in 2014 and 2019, with comfortable margins. Darekar had started her campaign in earnest and has even filed her nomination, after a show of strength. However, at the eleventh hour, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has asked Jadhav to file his papers. According to sources, CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD Eight years after massive protests over Rohith Vemula’s death on campus, allegedly by suicide, the Telangana Police has filed a closure report in the case. In the report, the police have not only said that the University of Hyderabad student was not from the Scheduled Castes, it has also claimed that his SC certificate was forged and that he committed suicide because he feared that he would be exposed. Not just that, all the accused, including the then University of Hyderabad vice-chancellor Appa Rao and BJP’s erstwhile Secun- derabad MP and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, MLC N Ramchender Rao, and Union Minister Smriti Irani, who held the education portfolio at the time, have been absolved of all charges in the case. The closure report was filed on March 21 but has come to light just 10 days before all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana vote in the fourth phase on May 13. CONTD. ON NATION R ohith Vemula was not a Dalit, claims police. Clean chit to all accused, including then VC of Hyderabad varsity; BJP’s erstwhile Secunderabad MP; Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya; and Union Minister Smriti Irani, who held the education portfolio at the time. Modi’s special guarantee for Uddhav S BALAKRISHNAN/ MUMBAI Of late, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conciliatory approach towards Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has resulted in intense speculation about possible post-poll overtures by the BJP , if they fail to get the targeted LS seats in Maharashtra – an outcome which could also alter the political matrix in the State Assembly . A dead-give away of the new variables that lie ahead was perhaps an interview Modi gave to TV9, wherein an emotional prime minister started eulogising the late Bal Thackeray the founder of the , Shiv Sena.  Modi claimed he had close ties with the Thackerays, and had ‘‘profound admiration’’ for them. Significantly he said , it was because Balasaheb loved him that he let Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena become the chief minister, though the BJP had a majority of MLAs. It may be recalled that Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP had assumed that he would be made the CM after the downfall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. However, in a surprise twist in the tale, the BJP’s central leadership nominated Shinde the CM. CONTD. ON NATION