Vol. 67 No. 217 | TUESDAY | JUNE 11, 2024 | 26 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 SONAKSHI SINHA’S WEDDING Actress to tie knot with her rumoured beau Zaheer Iqbal? EDIT COALITION CHECKS FOR MODI 3.0 BJP HOLDS ON TO CORE PORTFOLIOS Scindia is the only minister to have lost as Civil Aviation goes to TDP’s Kinjarapu GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI Almost all the senior BJP ministers of the Modi 2.0 dispensation have retained their portfolios in the new BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government which was sworn in under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday . A total of 71 ministers had taken oath apart from Modi and of these 30 were Cabinet ministers, five were Ministers of State with independent charge and 36 were MoS. Among the Cabinet ministers, 25 are from the BJP and five from its ally parties in the National Democratic Alliance. The allies have also been given six other ministerial berths. The Prime Minister has retained his control over the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic THE FP BULLETIN 3 CRORE HOUSES FOR POOR: The NDA government has decided to provide assistance to construct 3 crore rural and urban houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). A statement issued by the Centre following the meeting said, the government has been implementing the scheme since 2015-16. Under the PMAY, the construction of 4.21 crore houses has been completed for eligible poor families over the past 10 years. 1 3 ASSEMBLY BYPOLLS ON JULY 13: The Election Commission on Monday announced the Assembly byelections for 13 seats in seven states on July 10 and the counting on July 13. Most of these by-elections have been caused by the resignations of the sitting MLAs and some due to deaths. The states where the by-elections are being held are Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Four by-elections are to be held in West Bengal, followed by three in Himachal Pradesh and two in Uttarakhand. I NDIAN KILLED IN CANADA: A 28-year-old Indian-origin man was shot dead in a suspected "targeted killing" in Canada’s British Columbia province, according to the police, who have arrested and charged four people with first-degree murder in connection with the case. The victim, identified as Yuvraj Goyal, was found dead by the police when they were responding to the call of a shooting in Surrey on Friday morning. He was known to have no criminal record, and the motive for his murder remains under investigation,  Yuvraj arrived in Canada in 2019 on a student visa and had recently received his Canadian Permanent Resident (PR) status. He worked as a sales executive.  Energy and the Department of Space. A message of continuity In a clear message that the policies and plans of the previous Modi 2.0 government would by and large continue, 12 senior ministers from the BJP have retained their main portfolios. So, Amit Shah has retained Home and Cooperation; Rajnath Singh has been given Defence; Nitin Gadkari gets to keep Road Transport and Highways, Nirmala Sitharaman keeps her Finance portfolio and S. Jaishankar will remain the Minister for External Affairs. (Gadkari has also been gifted two juniors -- Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra – who will work under him). Apart from them, Piyush Goyal will keep the Commerce and Industry portfolio, Hardeep Singh Puri retains Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Ash- STOCK MARKET CLOSES IN RED AFTER TOUCHING ALL-TIME HIGH CONTINUITY THE MANTRA: Status quo for Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar 6 CMs GET PLUMS: Shivraj Singh Chauhan – Agriculture; M L Khattar  Power and Urban Affairs; Jitan Ram Manjhi – – Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises; Sarbananda Sonowal – Ports, Shipping, and Waterways; HD Kumaraswamy – Heavy Industries and Steel JP NADDA: Health and Family Welfare; Piyush Goyal – Commerce and Industry BIG GAINER: Ashwini Vaishnaw – Railways, I&B and Electronics and Information Technology NITISH TAKEAWAY: Lallan Singh of JDU gets Panchayati Raj. Ram Nath Thakur will be junior minister for Agriculture wini Vaishnaw has got Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology along with Railways, despite several NDA ally partners pressing for it. The other leaders who have got their erstwhile portfolios are Dharmendra Pradhan, who will still remain the Education Minister; C.R. Patil has again been given Jal Shakti (water resources); Bhupender Yadav , who retains Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Virendra Kumar Khatik who has again got Social Justice and Empowerment. BJP president, former CMs accommodated BJP president J.P Nadda, . whose extended term is coming to an end later this month, was also inducted as a Cabinet minister on Sunday He has . again been given Health, which he held in the first Modi government. CONTD. ON NATION Shinde & Ajit sulk on the sidelines ROHIT CHANDAVARKAR / MUMBAI The decision of the BJP leadership to give cabinet berths to parties like the JDS, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM has caused heartburn in its ally the Shiv , Sena in Maharashtra. The Eknath Shinde Sena feels that despite having done relatively well by winning seven seats in the state, it has not been given proportionate representation in the Union government. A similar feeling exists within the other Mahayuti ally Ajit Pawar’s Na, tionalist Congress Party , which officially announced on Sunday that it refused to be part of the Union government as it was only being offered a junior position. For now, however, both these parties are likely to take the cur- Eknath Shinde Sena feels despite having done relatively well by winning seven seats, it has not been given proportionate representation in the Union government rent situation in their stride and hold their peace.  Shinde group MP Shrirang Barne (winner from Maval) expressed concern while speaking to the media on Monday , saying the Shiv Sena should have been given two cabinet and one minister of state (junior minister) positions and his party was very disappointed with the announcement of the new cabinet. However, Shinde maintained a pointed silence on the issue. Buldhana MP Prataprao Jadhav has been included in the cabinet but it was believed that Barne was a shoo-in. Sources in the Sena say Shinde had included Barne’s name in the list that he had sent to the BJP leadership but it came as a minor shock to the party when it became evident Shinde’s wishes were not acceded to. Top BJP leaders, speaking to the FPJ about this, said the impression of the BJP central leadership after looking at the overall Maharashtra results was that BJP did not benefit from the alliance as much as Shinde and his Shiv Sena did. The Mahayuti alliance had allocated four seats to Ajit Pawar, of which he could win only the Raigad  seat. CONTD. ON NATION MCA CHIEF AMOL KALE DIES IN NY SOUTH TO NORTH T he north-bound arm of the Mumbai Coastal Road -- from Marine Drive to Haji Ali – will reduce the travel time to only eight minutes, as against 40 to 50 minutes earlier. CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, rode a vintage Rolls Royce to mark the formal inauguration of the road on Monday. – ANI FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI Modi 3.0 Day 1, File 1: Kisan Nidhi GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on Sunday sworn in as the premier for the third consecutive term, began his new innings by first signing a filed pertaining to the release of the 17th instalment of the PM Kisan Nidhi, a program which is meant to support the farmers. This instalment is expected to benefit around 9.3 crore farmers through disbursal of Rs 20,000 crore among them. After signing the file, Modi also posted on ‘X’: “Our government is committed to making the lives of our farmer brothers and sisters across the country easier. It is a matter of good fortune for me that after assuming office as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time, I have got the opportunity to do my first work for them.” He added that, “Under this, I signed the file related to the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, which will benefit more than 9 crore of my farmers of the country In the coming . times, we will continue to work for the welfare of farmers and the upliftment of the agriculture sector.” That the PM’s first official work on resuming office was related to farmers also had a lot of symbolic value. CONTD. ON NATION Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) President Amol Kale died due to a cardiac arrest in the US. He was present at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium watching the match between India and Pakistan along with MCA secretary Ajinkya Naik and Apex Council member Suraj Samat. Kale was a close aide of Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. The 47year-old had become the MCA President in October 2022 after defeating 1983 World Cup winner and former India batsman Sandip Patil in the elections. Kale’s tenure saw many important decisions taken for the well-being of the players such as increasing the match fees of Mumbai redball players CONTD. ON NATION After breaching the 77,000-mark, BSE Sensex came under selling pressure Sunrise : 06:01 am Sunset : 07:16 pm FPJ DESK / JAMMU A massive cordon and search operation is on to track down terrorists responsible for the attack on a passenger bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district; the attack left nine people dead and 41 injured; at least ten the injured sustained bullet wounds. Five of the deceased had gunshot wounds. The National Investigation Agency the State In, vestigation Agency and the Forensic department teams have reached the spot and initiated a probe. On Sunday, terrorists opened fire at the 53-seater bus carrying pilgrims when it was en route from Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra near Teryath village in the Poni area. The bus plunged into the deep gorge following the gunfire. “As per information, two terrorists were involved in the attack", Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, Mohita Sharma said. NDTV however, reported , that three foreign terrorists were involved in the attack. The channel claimed that the terrorists used M4 carbines -- American-made assault rifles developed in the 80s and used extensively by militaries worldwide, including a variant reportedly in service with Pakistani special forces and the Special Security Unit of the Sindh Police. CONTD. ON NATION Actor, 31, dies by suicide in city flat MEGHA KUCHIK / MUMBAI An actor and former air hostess with Qatar Airways, Noor Malabika Das, 31, currently seen with actor Kajol in the web series, The Trial, allegedly died by suicide at her flat in Lokhandwala Complex on June 4. She reportedly hanged herself from the fan in her bedroom. On June 8, following complaints by her neighbours of a foul smell coming from her flat, the Oshiwara police reached the spot, broke open the door and found her body in a decomposed state. There was a table and rope at the scene. Prima facie, the reason for the suicide was that she suffered from depression and was on medication, police said. Noor may have taken the drastic step on June 4, police said. Her body was sent to Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon west. Senior Police Inspector Mohan Patil, Oshiwara police station, said, “We did not find any letter, but we found medicines, which doctors confirmed were for depression. CONTD. ON NATION RSS CHIEF’S NUDGE TO PM ON MANIPUR FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NAGPUR Even as the portfolios of the Modi 3.0 dispensation were being announced with the charge of development of the North East Region being entrusted to Jyotiraditya Scindia, there comes a tutorial from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, to the effect that it was time to get over the election rhetoric and address the situation in Manipur with priority . Bhagwat's advice also came hours after suspected militants ambushed the advance security convoy of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in Kangpokpi district, leaving one person injured. Pointing out that peace had been eluding Manipur even one year after violence erupted in May the RSS chief, who , seldom gives unsolicited advice to the BJP in public, shared his concern at a gathering of RSS trainees. GET OVER POLL RHETORIC, ADDRESS THE CONFLICT IN MANIPUR Bhagwat’s message was loud and clear – that BJP needs to resolve the conflict in Manipur with certain urgency He underscored the . need to bring a certain gravitas to the matter. "Manipur is waiting for peace for the last one year. There was peace in Manipur 10 years ago. It felt like gun culture had finished there. But the state has sud- denly seen violence," he said. Manipur saw schisms and violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May last year. Since then some 200 people have been killed, while thousands have been displaced following large scale arson that has gutted homes and government buildings. "We have made strides in many fields like economy de, fence strategy sports, culture, , technology etc... That does not mean that we have overcome all the challenges," Bhagwat added, NDTV reported him as saying. He also had advice for the new government, indicating that its approach to both election and governance needs to be tweaked. "Election is a process of building consensus. Parliament has two sides, so that both aspects of any question can be considered,” Bhagwat said. CONTD. ON NATION MUMBAI GOT 99.11mm rainfall on Sunday night n Waterlogged areas: Byculla, Sion, Dadar, Mazgaon, Kurla, Vikhroli and Andheri. n KILLED: 38-year-old man and 10-year-old boy died after a portion of a slab and parapet of a five-storey under-construction building collapsed at Kailas Business Park, Vikhroli. n ‘Orange alert’ for Thane and Sabotage, cry out BJP candidates who lost Over a dozen BJP candidates, who lost in the recent Lok Sabha elections, have submitted reports to the party high command, alleging sabotage and betrayal by party leaders and workers in their constituencies. According to a senior party leader, these candidates have identified internal betrayal as the primary reason for their defeat, pointing fingers at colleagues and local leaders for the party’s poor performance. 0 Terrorists used M-4 carbines LAST WORD BISWAJEET BANERJEE LUCKNOW 0 31 c. 28 c. The party leadership has responded by asking candidates to identify and address the causes of their loss. Sources indicate that the BJP high command has been overwhelmed with reports of infighting and sabotage. Consequently, a comprehensive review process has been initiated. Before the upcoming NDA meeting, a closed-door session was held to discuss these complaints. The high command has tasked the state organization with identifying the saboteurs and has requested detailed reports Candidates have identified internal betrayal as the primary reason for their defeat, pointing fingers at colleagues and local leaders for the party’s poor performance from every booth in the state. Sakshi Maharaj, who won in Unnao for the third consecutive time, attributed his reduced victory margin to internal traitors. Former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who lost in Fatehpur, cited sabotage within the party as the reason for her defeat. Anupriya Patel’s supporters, celebrating her third win in Mirzapur, claimed that BJP workers covertly opposed her campaign. Kaushal Kishore, defeated in Mohanlalganj, accused party workers of undermining his efforts, a sentiment echoed by other candidates across various constituencies. Many candidates have accused local MLAs and party officials of failing to support the party candidates ade- quately Specific seats, in. cluding Shravasti, Lalganj, and Ghaziabad, witnessed severe allegations of internal sabotage. Dissatisfaction with the ticket distribution process has also been cited as a reason for the defeat. “There was dissatisfaction over ticket distribution. Many MPs were nominated despite local opposition, which resulted in disengaged and disillusioned party workers who chose not to support the candidates actively a party ,” leader said. CONTD. ON NATION Raigad for next two-three days, heavy rainfall & thunderstorm forecast. PIC: SALMAN ANSARI TAILPIECE MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER AT OATH FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI A  video of a mysterious, unidentified creature slithering under the arches at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony has gone viral. The footage was recorded when BJP MP Durga Das Uikey was greeting President Droupadi Murmu after completing the oath ceremony The feline-like . creature initially fuelled rumour of a leopard stalking the premises. Others were more reasonable and specu- lated that it could be a Great Dane or some other fawncoloured breed with a hunch which made it look more like a big cat than a canine. According to News18 sources, authorities in the vicinity had confirmed the presence of a cat. It seems the shadow and interplay of light had created an illusion of a much larger size, leading to the persistent buzz about an ‘intruder’ in the hallowed portals.