FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLI No. 163 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 20, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports LET KOHLI COOK, AVOID THE FIRE P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit It’s the day of the voter P.8 India’s RE capacity to touch 250 GW mark by Mar 2026 Cinema Sooraj swung from Salman to Shahid P.14 Biden out of picture as world leaders meet for photo-op Tension in Mauganj as city's stunning bayside, there was a problem -- the 81-yearold Biden was a no-show. Instead of the US president, it was China's Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who joked and chatted in the front row before posing together. Frustrated American officials blamed it on "logistical issues" and said the picture was taken too soon, as Biden was still making his way to the area from talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. G20 SUMMIT Agencies RIO DE JANEIRO If there was any doubt that Joe Biden is no longer in the picture for many world leaders, his final G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro provided a sure sign. Biden has been making a last pitch for global support on issues from Ukraine and Gaza to climate change before Donald Trump returns to the White House. But as his counterparts gathered for an official G20 photo beside the Brazilian fp Briefs NEW DELHI Direct flights to China soon In a big step forward in India-China ties, the two countries have discussed resuming direct flights between the countries as well restarting the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. The Chinese foreign ministry has also said that the India-China relationship is at a "new starting point". The two key issues were discussed when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on Monday. ISLAMABAD No hybrid CT: PCB to ICC PCB has rejected the hybrid model and has sought clarity from the ICC on why India doesn't want to travel to Pakistan. "If India has any concerns about sending their team to Pakistan they must talk to us and we will remove them. I don't think there is any reason for India not to come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy," PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said. According to media reports, Naqvi also said that there is no question of following Hybrid model, something that the BCCI has advocated. 4Continued on | P6 CRISIS: 25 MLAs, including 14 from the BJP, skipped meeting convened by CM; hundreds march with empty coffins BJP-LED MANIPUR GOVT IN TATTERS KHARGE TO PREZ FP news Service MANIPUR A meeting of NDA MLAs called by Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Monday evening exposed the growing fissures within the alliance, as at least 25 MLAs, including 14 from the BJP, played truant. The NDA, which holds 49 of the 60 seats in the Manipur Assembly, suffered a blow on Sunday when the National People's Party (NPP), with seven MLAs, withdrew support, citing the government's "complete failure" to resolve the crisis since May last year. The meeting convened by the CM, which lasted over three hours, followed the NPP’s announcement. Earlier, on Monday, NPP Chief and Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma suggested his party might reconsider its stance if Biren Singh were replaced. 4Continued on | P6 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday sought intervention of President Droupadi Murmu to restore peace, and normalcy and make constitutional machinery functional in Manipur. Kharge claimed that both the Union and the state governments have completely failed in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur during the last 18 months. COFFIN RALLY ‘MARTYRS’ Thousands of men and women on Tuesday took part in a 'coffin rally' in Manipur’s Churachandpur in solidarity with the 10 Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal 'Village Volunteers', who were killed in a reported encounter with CRPF in Jiribam district on November 11. Wearing black attire symbolically carried 10 dummy coffins to pay homage to the 10 slain Village Volunteers. An MLA from Manipur's Churachandpur district has raised a huge controversy over his social media posts calling 10 "militants" who were killed in an encounter on November 11 "martyrs". Churachandpur MLA Lallian Mang Khaute, a retired IPS officer of the 1985-batch, posted videos on Facebook and X showing him paying respects to the 10 men. Putin lowers N-threshold Ukraine fires US made missiles at Russia for first time AP MOSCOW Russia on Tuesday claimed that Ukraine had fired six US-supplied long-range missiles at a military facility in the Bryansk border region, making it the first such attack since Washington authorised such strikes. Moscow has warned that the use of Western weapons to target Russian territory would make the United States a direct participant in the conflict and vowed an “appropriate and palpable response." The Russian defence minis- Decree has come days after President Biden authorized the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia try stated that five of the missiles were intercepted by its air defences, while fragments from a sixth missile fell on an PC BLAMED Manipur CM N Biren Singh blamed "some vested interests" for reigniting a new cycle of violence in the state and criticised Congress leader P Chidambaram as someone who "created present crisis." Singh's attack came hours after PC suggested "Meitei, Kuki-Zo and Naga can live together in one state only if they have genuine regional autonomy", and blamed the CM for crisis. LIC website sparks language row FP News Service MUMBAI unspecified military facility, causing a small fire. Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin condemned the LIC of India on Tuesday for what he termed the “Hindi imposition” on its website. Stalin posted a screenshot of the LIC homepage displaying Hindi, accusing the platform of becoming a “propaganda tool for Hindi” and claiming that even the option to switch to English was shown in Hindi. 4Continued on | P6 4Continued on | P6 offgrid Rahman’s wife separates after 29 yrs FP News Service MUMBAI/CHENNAI Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman’s wife Saira has announced separation from her husband. She issued a statement on Tuesday night confirming that she is separating from the maestro. The couple got married way back in 1995. A statement to India Today said, “After many years of marriage, Mrs Saira has made the difficult decision to separate from her husband Mr AR Rahman. This decision comes after significant emotional strain in their relationship. Despite their deep love for each other, the couple has found that the tensions and difficulties have created an insurmountable gap between them, one that neither party feels able to bridge at this time." “Mrs Saira emphasised that she has taken this decision out of pain and agony. Mrs Saira requests privacy and understanding from the public during this challenging time, as she navigates this difficult chapter in her life," the statement added. Rahman married Saira in 1995. The couple had an arranged marriage. In a chat with Simi Garewal on her chat show “Rendezvous with Simi Garewal”, Rahman revealed that his mother had arranged his marriage. He confessed he did not have the time to find a bride for himself; hence he opted for an arranged marriage. “To be honest, I didn’t have time to go and search for a bride. I was doing all these films and Rangeela in Bombay. But, I knew it was the right time for me to get married. I was 29 and I told my mother. I said, ‘find me a bride’," he said. Rahman added that he asked his mother to find him a “simple” woman “who won’t give me much trouble so I could carry on doing my music and hope she inspires me." The couple has three kids — two daughters, Khatija and Rahima, and son Ameen. Rahman's daughter Khatija Rahman got married in 2022. Rahman had shared a family photo from the wedding ceremony which also had a portrait of his late mother displayed near the seating area of the newly-wed couple. MLA tries to remove encroachment Police in action in Mhouganj Police take MLA to another place to control situation ‘The Sabarmati Report’ tax free in MP, CG houganj collector Ajay Shrivastava told Free Press that section 163 of Baharatiya Nyay Sahita, which was earlier known as section 144, has been imposed in the area. Police have arrested 10 to 12 people from both sides. Law and order situation is under the control. As far as MLA Pradeep Patel is concerned, police removed him from the scene and took him to Rewa. Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter M BHOPAL BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced on Tuesday that ‘The Sabarmati Report’ film would be tax free in state. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Dev Sai also announced that the film would be tax free. CM Yadav will watch the film at Drive in Cinema at Lake View Hotel run by tourism department on Wednesday evening. The screening will be held at 7 pm. Elected representatives will also watch the film, and the tourism department has made the arrangements. The movie is based on burning of coach S6 of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station in Gujarat in 2002 that resulted in deaths of 59 passengers. See Cinema Page A major controversy erupted at Khatkari Chowki of Mauganj when MLA Pradeep Patel joined a mob to remove the encroachment with JCB machine on Tuesday evening. When the JCB driver tried to demolish the structures, the people living on the land resorted to stone pelting, resulting in injuries to at least five persons. Sources said that Devra Mahadevan temple is situated in Khatkari Chowki. On Sunday, local Hindu leader Santosh Tiwari sat on indefinite fast, demanding removal of encroachment made on 9 acre land near the temple. He said 90 percent of land has been encroached by members of the minority community and rest is under the control of Dalits. The matter escalated on Tuesday evening when BJP workers reached the spot along with a JCB and tried to remove the encroachment. On learning about this, MLA Pradeep Patel also rushed to the spot and joined them. He said that now he had no faith on the promises of the administration and hence he himself will remove the encroachment. When minority community members learnt that encroachment is being removed, they too rushed to the spot. 4Continued on | P6 Maha, J’Khand all set for polls today PTI MUMBAI Maharashtra and Jharkhand are all set for Assembly polls on Wednesday. In Maharashtra the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback. Polling will begin in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, campaigning. In Jharkhand, the stage is Bypolls in 15 seats in 4 states Bypolls in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand will be held on Wednesday. Votes will be counted on November 23. The results of the bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies PTI set for the second and final round of electoral battle between the ruling INDIA bloc and the NDA, as Jharkhand gears up for polling in 38 of the total 81 assembly seats on Wednesday. See Page 7 Cash for votes: FIR against BJP candidate Police on Tuesday registered a case against BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and party candidate Rajan Naik in connection with the alleged distribution of cash to voters at a hotel in Palghar, an official said. Hours before the Maharashtra assembly polls, BVA leader Hitendra Thakur accused Tawde of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters, a claim the BJP leader denied. 5 pvt schools told to return Rs 31.51 cr to parents Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL 4Continued on | P6 BENGALURU The country's latest communication satellite, GSAT-N2 was successfully launched by billionaire Elon Musk-founded SpaceX from Cape Canaveral in the US, ISRO's commercial arm NSIL has said. The communication satellite will enhance broadband services and in-flight connectivity across the Indian region, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) said. 4Continued on | P6 27% OBC RESERVATION SC rejects petitions, says HC to decide Our Staff Reporter On Tuesday the Jabalpur administration has again taken action against the arbitrary attitude of private schools in the district. The District-Level Committee, established under the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fees and Related Matters) Act, 2017, has ordered five private schools to return Rs 31.51 crore of 52,480 students. SpaceX launches ISRO's satellite BHOPAL Supreme Court has rejected petitions filed for relief by transferring the case from High Court regarding filling 100 per cent posts in any recruitment, stating that it is up to High Court to decided OBC reservation issue provided there is no stay. Two petitions were filed by Pragya Sharma and Mona Mishra of Sagar, Manu Sirotia of Chhatarpur, Piyush Pathak of Shajapur, Sonam Chatur- vedi of Singrauli, Swati Mishra of Dewas and others. MP Public Service Commission (MPPSC) holds 13 per cent seats in Unreserved and OBC categories each from 2019 to 2023, in all recruitment examination following notification of General Administration Department (GAD) on September 29, 2022, Advocate Rameshwar Thakur, special Government pleader for OBC reservation, said. 4Continued on | P6