Saturday, May 31, 2025 | 40 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 204 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) GAMES NATION Congress targets government over Russia-Pakistan steel deal Cinema Check out our verdict on OTT and film releases AB de Villiers backs ‘ultimate team man’ Virat Kohli to play a big hand in the IPL final Edit Gainers and losers in the 100-hour India-Pak conflict Musk says only TRIUMPHAL RETURN | Pran jaye par vachan na jaaye, says PM Modi as he goes the beginning; back to Bihar after fulfilling a promise made after the Pahalgam terror attack Trump praises tech billionaire Washington: US President Trump on Friday praised Elon Musk, as the Tesla CEO concluded his government service after 4 turbulent months leading the Department of Government Efficiency. During a press conference with Musk beside him, Trump hinted at the Tesla CEO’s potential return to the DOGE role but expressed gratitude for his time as a special government employee. The president began his remarks by thanking Musk for what he called “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations”. “Today is about Elon. He is a great man and one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his great talents into the service of our nation, and we appreciate it, as he has worked tirelessly. DOGE is all about being smart,” said Trump, adding, “I have a feeling, Elon is not really leaving. I think he will be back. DOGE is his baby. I want to thank him for his time as a special government employee.” “This is not the end of DOGE, only a beginning. My time has come to an end but DOGE will become stronger over time,” Musk said. ‘Will force snake of terrorism out of its hole and crush it’ Dheeraj Kumar & Biswajeet Banerjee PATNA / KANPUR Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that he returned to Bihar only after fulfilling his promise made in Bihar of punishing conspirators of Pahalgam terror attack beyond their imagination. Addressing a public meeting at Bikramganj in Rohtas district, Modi, by invoking the values of Lord Ram, said “Sasaram (the district headquarters of Rohtas) has the word ‘Ram’ in it. Ram followed the values of ‘pran jaye par vachan na jaaye’ (Promises must be kept even if life is sacrificed). Ram’s riti (the values of Ram) are now India’s niti (policy)," he commented. During his last visit to Bihar, Modi had said in Madhubani on April 24 (two days after the Pahalgam terror attack) in English,“Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers.” “I had promised to the na- Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister tion, and vowed from the land of Bihar that hideouts of the masters of terrorists would be completely destroyed. I had said from the soil of Bihar that conspirators of the Pahalgam terror attack would be pun- ished beyond their imagination. Now, I am visiting Bihar only after keeping my promise,” he declared. “Atankbad ka fan agar phir se uthega, Bharat use bil se khinch kar kuchalne ke ‘Indian Navy kept Pak confined’ On board INS Vikrant, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says if the Navy firepower had opened up, Pakistan would have been split into four 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world Shah says BSF destroyed over 118 Pak posts PTI POONCH They could not even muster the courage to come into the open sea. showing their might," he said. He added that the force projection of the Carrier Battle Group effectively indicated India's intent and capability. The tremendous power of the Indian Navy, its military acumen and destructive capabilities have broken the enemy's morale. The Border Security Force destroyed more than 118 Pakistani forward posts and their surveillance system during Operation Sindoor, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday. "They dismantled the enemy's entire surveillance system piece by piece -- a system that will take them four to five years to rebuild." Shah said that according to information he received from the BSF director general, Pakistan had suffered the biggest blow to its communication systems and surveillance equipment, rendering them "incapable of waging a fullfledged information-based war for quite some time". Concluding his two-day tour of the Jammu region to review the security situation, preparation for the Amarnath Yatra and to interact with victims of shelling, 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Briefs GDP growth slows to 7.4% India’s GDP growth slowed to 7.4% in Q4 from 8.4% a year ago. The real GDP for FY25 indicated a slower growth of 6.5% as compared to 9.2% FY24. Nominal GDP has witnessed a growth rate of 9.8% in FY25. In Q4, Nominal GDP has been estimated to grow by 10.8%. Construction sector is estimated to record a 9.4% growth rate in FY25, followed by 8.9% growth in public administration, defence and other services sectors, and 7.2% growth in the financial, real estate and fin. services sector. SEE P11 kaam karega (India will “force the snake of terrorism out of its hole and crush it),” he remarked,  while warning Pakistan of masterminding any terrorist attack in the country. “Our armed forces have turned hideouts of those who wiped sindoor from our sisters into ruins. What is the power of our sisters' sindoor, Pakistan, and the entire world saw. Agencies PANAJI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asserted that had the Indian Navy been fully deployed during 'Operation Sindoor', Pakistan could have been split into four parts. He also said while IAF destroyed terror bases on Pakistani soil, Indian Navy's deployment in Arabian Sea confined Pak Navy to its own shores. Addressing Navy personnel aboard aircraft carrier INS Vikrant Rajnath also said that “within 96 hours, our Western Fleet executed multiple successful firings of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes from both eastern and western coasts. It demonstrated the combat readiness of our platforms, systems & crew and our intent & readiness, forcing the enemy to come into a defensive posture." "Within a very short span of time, we destroyed Pakistan's terrorist base and its intentions. Our response was so strong that Pakistan pleaded to stop. We stopped our military actions on our own terms. Our forces had not even started With terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack still not accounted for, an inter-agency coordination committee has been set up by central agencies for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, reports Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar. The panel has been set up on the directions of the Union home ministry to ensure proper security for the annual pilgrimage scheduled from July 3 to August 9. S Balakrishnan Agencies OTTAWA After her recent telephonic talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, his Canadaian counterpart Anita Anand on Thursday said the Mark Carney government was looking forward to rebuilding its strained relations with India and its government. And, Ottawa was taking a “one step at a time” in the direction, a media report said. The Canadian foreign min- ister also acknowledged that the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing continued to cast a shadow on bilateral relations. “At the same time, we are looking forward to continuing to build this partnership, and we are looking forward to that as a government – it is not just me,” Anand told, Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper. 4Contd on | nation The tourism industry of Jammu & Kashmir, which suffered a body blow following the gunning down of 26 tourists on April 22 in Baisaran in Pahalgam tehsil of Anantnag district, is on ventilator. Hoteliers, restaurateurs, shikara operators, taximen et al have been brought down on their knees by the four terrorists of the Pakistanbacked The Resistance Front. Said Mukhtar Bhat, a tourist taxi driver: “These four persons have damaged the tourism industry like never before. We have been virtually jobless since Pune, Ahmedabad and other cities. J&K tourism ministry is thinking of using Bollywood personalities to be brand ambassadors. The help of the Modi government too has been sought. April 22.” Faisal, staffer at a prominent hotel, said “Our occupancy has never been so low as it is now. Our rooms are empty.” “If the situation continues like this for a few more weeks, then turbulent times Air Force One not a gift outright to Trump Deeksha Pandey Doha is insisting on a memorandum of understanding to make it clear that the plane’s handover was initiated by the Trump administration MUMBAI Trump’s future Air Force One has run into rough weather even before it can take off. The Washington Post reports that “Trump’s Air Force One deal with Qatar is not final, despite US claims”. The transfer of luxury Boeing 7478 jetliner that President Donald Trump portrayed as a gift has run into legal hiccups. As per The Washington Post report Qatar now wants a Memorandum of Understand- MMRDA scraps tender, to cut cost by `3,000 crore Sweety Bhagwat MUMBAI The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to retender the proposed Ghodbunder–Bhayandar twin tunnel and elevated Rd infrastructure project. As per the MMRDA’s official statement issued on Friday it informed the Supreme Court regarding re tendering process to be initiated. At the same time, the MMRDA is also considering lowering the base cost by nearly ₹3,000 crore. One of the bidders — Larsen & Toubro (L&T) had challenged the tendering process by filing petitions in the Bombay High Court and later challenged in ing specifying that the aircraft’s transfer, was initiated by the Trump administration and that Qatar is not responsible for any future transfers of this plane’s ownership. Qatar doesn’t want any legal troubles in the future. This caveat throws a huge shadow over claims that the plane was a major ‘gift’ from his recent trip to West Asia.-“[I] got a beauti- ful big magnificent free airplane for the United States Air Force,” Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office. “Very proud of that.” Trump had claimed that it was Qatar that reached out and offered him, this luxurious plane, valued at roughly $180 million, free of cost. But, in reality, it was the Trump government that, first reached out to Qatar about acquiring the plane through a ‘sale’, officials said. Discussions about the sale eventually transformed into Qatar agreeing to provide the plane as a `gift', a development reported previously by the New York Times. 4Contd on | nation the hotel industry will have to shut shutters rendering thousands of people jobless.”  Omar Abdullah, the dapper 55 year old chief minister, is deeply worried about the Vikrant Jha MUMBAI The Supreme Court on Friday directed the National Board of Examinations (NBE) not to hold the NEET-PG 2025 exam in multiple shifts, citing concerns over inconsistency and varying difficulty levels. The court has directed the NBE to make necessary arrangements to conduct the exam in a single session, rejecting the NBE’s argument that logistical constraints necessitated multiple shifts. The bench, which included Justices Sanjay Kumar and N V Anjaria, stated that conducting the examin- alarming situation. Sources close to him noted that the terror attack was deliberately executed at the start of the tourist season. ``The main intention of the terrorists' mastermind was to disrupt the tourist season. For now that goal appears to have been achieved."  Tourism which constitutes 30 percent of the GDP of Jammu & Kashmir has taken a severe beating. The biggest challenge for the Omar Abdullah government is how to attract tourists from Maharashtra and Gujarat which send the maximum number of visitors to Kashmir. 4Contd on | nation Cut ties with Turkiye in 3 months, IndiGo told Agencies NEW DELHI In a strong signal after Turkiye supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, the Centre has asked IndiGo to end its aircraft lease agreement with Turkish Airlines within three months. Though IndiGo had requested for an extension of six months, Aviation regulator DGCA granted a three-month extension on damp leasing of two the Supreme Court. The ambitious tunnel and elevated Rd project between Ghodbunder in Thane and Bhayander, span a 5-km tunnel of 14.6-metre diameter, connecting Gaimukh near the mouth of Vasai Creek in MiraBhayandar to the Fountain Hotel junction at Shilphata in Thane. This project cost is estimated at Rs 8,000 crore. The second project comprises a 9.8-km elevated creek road bridge, which will connect Bhayandar with Ghodbunder Road in Thane. The cost of this project is estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. This project will vastly improve connectivity between the eastern and western suburbs. 4Contd on | nation SC prescribes 1-shift NEET-PG 2025 exam Canada-India ties: J&K tourism on ventilator support The CM has reached out to ‘One step at a time’ tour operators in Mumbai, SRINAGAR Amarnath Yatra panel GHODBUNDER–BHAYANDAR PROJECT Boeing 777 planes from Turkish Airlines to avoid sudden flight disruptions that will cause inconvenience to passengers. The lease was to expire on May 31. On May 15, aviation security watchdog BCAS revoked the security clearance for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd in the "interest of national security". Some online travel portals and associations had also issued advisories asking people not to visit Turkiye. ation in two shifts introduces “unfairness and inconsistency”. In its observation, the top court stated, “We are not ready to accept that in the entire country and considering the technological advancements in this country, the examining body could not find enough centres to hold the examination in one shift.” This rebuttal directly addresses the NBE’s claim of insufficient infrastructure, emphasising that technological progress should enable a fairer single-shift examination process. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | city NDA’s first co-ed batch passes out FPJ News Service MUMBAI History was made when the first batch of 17 female cadets graduated on Friday from the National Defence Academy, apart from more than 300 male counterparts. It is the first co-ed batch to pass out of the Pune-based NDA, which trains cadets for the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. As many as 338 cadets of the 148th course took part in the passing out parade on Friday as they marched past the ‘Antim Pag’ at the Khetrpal Parade Ground of the tri-service training academy in Khadakwasla, hailed as the “cradle of leadership”. Former Army chief and current Mizoram governor Gen VK Singh was the reviewing officer of the passing out parade. “Today is also a uniquely significant day in the history of the academy as the first batch of female cadets pass out of the NDA. This marks a historic milestone in our collective journey towards greater inclusivity and empowerment,” Gen Singh said. 4Contd on | nation