THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 67 No. 257 | Monday, July 29, 2024 | 24 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Leader in E-paper circulation www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN GAMES NATION Ballot-wary PK set to march with 1 crore members on Gandhi Jayanti P.11 E-paper Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Cinema Guneet Singh Sodhi opens up about Bad Newz P.23 Sri Lanka lift their maiden Women’s Asia Cup title beating India in the final P.19 Edit Agnipath a victim of government arrogance P.13 LADIES IN ARMS lManu Bhaker becomes first Indian markswoman to win shooting medal at the Olympics; quotes Bhagavad Gita after historic bronze What an Evening in Paris INDIA’S SHOOTING STAR Joe Williams MUMBAI rishya Screwvala enables those who wish to volunteer to make a meaningful impact on the lives of lesser privileged children. Turn to Mumbai page to find out how she does that. T After a disappointing outing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Manu Bhaker has rewritten history, becoming the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal. At the Paris Games on Sunday, the 22-year-old clinched a bronze in the 10m air pistol event, ending a 12year drought for Indian shooting at the Olympics. This was Manu’s second Olympic appearance. Her first outing in Tokyo ended in failure because of a malfunctioning pistol in the qualifying round. The last time India bagged shooting medals was at the 2012 London Olympics when Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang won bronzes. Since then, Indian shooters have fallen BJP in kiss and make up mode Nine new governors include 4 RSS men, including CP Radhakrishnan in Maharashtra Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI After having riled the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and having paid a heavy price for doing so in the Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party appears to be in a kiss and make up mode. Just a few days after lifting the 44-year-old ban on government employees from associating with the RSS, the BJP has now included in the list of nine Governors announced on Saturday night, four leaders with RSS links. The four Governors with RSS links are Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde, Om Prakash Mathur, Lakshman Prasad Acharya and C.P. Radhakrishnan who will take over the gubernatorial post in Maharashtra. A communiqué from the Rashtrapati Bhawan said the appointments of these Governors will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices. The President also accepted the resignation of Banwarilal Purohit as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. In the run up to the elections, the BJP-RSS relations had ebbed with the saffron party ignoring the RSS in selection of candidates. Party chief Nadda, in an interview, had even declared that that earlier the BJP was dependent on RSS because it was “aksham” or incapable, but now that it was “saksham” or capable, it could run its own affairs. He had also described the  RSS  as BJP’s “ideological front”. 4Continued on | P12 You lost silver by 0.1 points. Prime Minister Narender Modi short of the mark, going without a podium finish in the next two Olympics, but Manu’s remarkable perform- ance, with a score of 221.7, has broken that streak.  “It is a great moment for me and the entire country,” Manu said, reflecting on her achievement after narrowly missing silver by 0.1 points. Korean shooter Kim Yeji PUNE The sensational allegations by the former home minister of Maharashtra against his current incumbent have created ripples not just in the state but also in New Delhi. The latest salvo by former Home Minister Anil Desh- 4Continued on | P12 Basement was a death trap FPJ News Service NEW DELHI Opposition parties in the national Capital on Sunday described as "murder" the death of three civil services aspirants due to flooding of a building's basement, even as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi dubbed it as a corollary of ‘collective and systemic failure.’ The police, in a knee-jerk response, arrested the owner and the coordinator of the Rau's IAS Study Circle and booked them for culpable homicide and under other charges. Earlier this week, a 26-yearold civil services aspirant was electrocuted after he touched an iron gate following heavy rain in central Delhi’s Patel Nagar area. The basement of Coaching centre owner, coordinator booked for death of three IAS aspirants owing to flooding of ‘illegal’ library in basement which had no drainage the coaching centre, eight feet below ground level, was being used as a makeshift library by the students. More than 18 students were present on the premises when water gushed in following heavy rain. It was a veritable death trap given that the basement does not have a drainage system. The closing time of the library in the basement was 7 pm on Saturdays and by 6.50 pm the premises would usually be vacant. The flooding happened between 6.30 pm and 6.45 pm; had it been delayed by a few minutes, the three deceased would have been saved, said their classmates. Last month, too, the library had flooded, they said. The police were looking at the CCTV footage to reconstruct the incident. Preliminary investigation suggests the gate of the basement was closed, but could not withstand the high pressure as water gushed in. The area outside was waterlogged with the parking area in knee-deep water. 4Continued on | P12 HC summons to Surat MP fpBriefs PTI AHMEDABAD The Gujarat High Court has issued summons to the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency, Mukesh Dalal, on two petitions challenging his uncon- tested victory. The court of Justice JC Doshi issued summons to Dalal, directing him to respond by August 9, after the matter came up for hearing on July 25, the lawyer for petitioners PS Champaneri said on Sunday. Dalal was declared the winner on April 22, the last date for withdrawal of nomination, after Congress pick Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected and other candidates withdrew from the race. 4Continued on | P12 Deshmukh, Fadnavis play blind man’s bluff FPJ Political Bureau took the silver, with a total of 241.3, while fellow Korean Jin Ye Oh secured the gold, setting a Games record score of 243.2. “This medal is not mine but for us Indians,” Manu declared.  “After Tokyo, I was very disappointed and it took me a long time to overcome that. I can’t fully explain how good I am feeling today,” Manu said, her face lighting up with a wide smile. She attributed her success to reading the Bhagavad Gita and focussing on her performance while leaving the rest to fate. Manu’s father Ramkishan said her hard work had paid off. “We are extremely happy and all our friends are congratulating us. Her hard work has paid off, and Manu has finally done it,” he said. mukh, revealing the identity of the person who acted as emissary during events that unfolded three years ago, has given rise to speculation about whether the current Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also bring out the audio or video in his possession, as he had earlier told the media. If both these leaders con- tinue to produce evidence that they earlier claimed to have in their possession, this could become a big political issue in the coming weeks, ahead of the assembly election session.   Some days ago, Anil Deshmukh told the media in Maharashtra that when he was the home minister, around three years ago, he was approached by a person who claimed to be an emissary of Fadnavis and had told Deshmukh to prepare three affidavits against four leaders of the Maha VIkas Aghadi (MVA) government, CM Uddhav Thackeray, Ministers Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab. 4Continued on | P12 CUET results The NTA on Sunday announced the results for the CUET-UG, paving the way for undergraduate admission process which has been delayed this year. A retest was conducted for candidates with grievances. Nosebleed Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy suffered a nosebleed while addressing the media; he was rushed to hospital and later discharged. Details of his treatment and doctor’s assessment are awaited. Footage from the spot showed his shirt smeared with blood. Mulund erupts over shifting of PAPs to suburb 7,439 tenements planned to house all city project-affected people Rucha Kanolkar MUMBAI In a massive demonstration, thousands of residents of Mulund east took to the streets on Sunday to protest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plan to shift Project-Affected People (PAP) to their suburb. Sporting caps with slogans like ‘Dismiss PAP project’, ‘Save Mulund’, and ‘No-PAP - No Dharavi’, residents marched through the streets, voicing their concerns and anger. The protesters are vehemently opposing the construction of 7,439 tenements near the V G Vaze College of Arts, Science and Commerce, to house all other project-affected people across Mumbai.  The protesters, led by Advocate Sagar Devre, the convener of the movement, claim that the project will put immense pressure on the basic facilities in Mulund East, which already faces huge traffic problems. Devre said, “This project will place immense pressure on the basic facilities of Mulund, which are already stretched thin. The project was passed without any exchange of views with the local community or urban planning experts. For the last ten months, Mulund residents have been protesting this decision in various ways, yet the government has deliberately chosen to ignore their concerns. We have organised multiple protests, petitions, and community meetings over the past 10 months, all aimed at getting the government to suspend and reconsider this project. Residents are not against rehabilitation per se, but the sheer scale of this project and its concentration in one suburb is unsustainable and unjust. 4Continued on | P12 Ayodhya’s Milkipur bypoll critical for BJP Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW The upcoming by-election in Ayodhya's Milkipur, part of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, has become a significant contest for both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). This by-election was triggered by SP national general secretary Awadhesh Prasad's recent election to Parliament. Following their defeat in Faizabad, the BJP is eager to reclaim this critical seat, while the SP, having previously held the seat, is under substantial pressure to maintain its dominance. For the BJP, the Milkipur by-election represents a crucial battle for prestige. Despite the advantages of the ModiYogi factor and the double-engine government, at both the state and national levels, the party's performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections was disappointing. The BJP sees this bypoll as a chance to reverse its fortunes, regain lost ground, and reinforce its influence in the region. The Opposition has strategically given Awadhesh Prasad a pre-eminent role in all its meetings, hoping to needle the BJP, which had made the Ram Mandir a central issue in the Lok Sabha campaign. Notably, the BJP lost the election in the constituency where the temple is located. Both the BJP and SP are meticulously strategizing to capture this pivotal seat. For the BJP, reclaiming Milkipur is not just about numbers but also about regaining momentum after recent electoral losses. The SP, on the other hand, is determined to defend its stronghold and prove its resilience amidst growing pressures. The organizational apparatus of both parties is actively evaluating potential candidates, weighing their chances of victory, and devising plans to galvanize voter support. As the by-election approaches, the political landscape in Milkipur is set to witness intense campaigning and strategic maneuvering from both sides. 4Continued on | P12 offgrid Trump vows to make US world’s crypto capital Lalit K Jha WASHINGTON Israel stokes fears of broader war rocket strike on Saturday on a football pitch in Golan Heights killed at least 12 children, in the deadliest strike on an Israeli target since the fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began. It has raised fears of a broader regional war even as Hezbollah rushed to deny any role. As an entire town went into mourning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far". A Former President Donald Trump has promised to make the US a “Bitcoin superpower" if he returns to the White House and said that he will appoint an advisory council to put in place a transparent regulatory system for the benefit of the entire industry. But Trump, the Republican nominee, stopped short of proposing a formal digital currency. Crypto is the political battleground for Repub- licans, with Trump claiming the Democratic Party and Vice-President Kamala Harris were “against crypto”. “I'm laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world,” Trump, 78, said. Bitcoin allows for secure and seamless peer-to-peer transactions on the internet. He also warned that Bitcoin investors in the audience will be “crushed” if Kamala Harris is elected as president. During remarks at a Bitcoin convention, Trump also promised to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair. Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy is a key advisor to Trump on cryptocurrency. “Those who say that Bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have the story backwards. Bitcoin is not threatening the dollar. The behaviour of the current US government is really threatening the dollar,” Trump said. “The danger to our financial future does not come from crypto. It comes from trillions of dollars in waste, rampant inflation and open borders while giving welfare and free healthcare to all of the illegal aliens that are pouring into our country by the millions and millions and millions. It comes from printing hundreds of billions of dollars to fund endless wars overseas while our cities are like combat zones here at home,” he alleged. America under him will become the world's undisputed Bitcoin mining powerhouse.