Thursday, June 19, 2025 | 28 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. 220 | 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 India prepared to meet any security challenges, defence officials tell Parliament committee Cinema CBFC asks makers of Amir’s film to insert PM Modi’s quote? England batter Joe Root feels India have all bases covered despite Rohit, Kohli retirements Edit Trump in no mood for talks now, debates attack on Iran MODI'S STRAIGHT TALK | PM sets the record straight with US Prez Trump who has repeatedly claimed credit for ceasefire post Operation Sindoor ‘There never was mediation, there will be no mediation’ PTI KANANASKIS Thirteen times after US President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed credit for ending hostilities between India and Pakistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the record straight with Donald Trump. He told the American President in no uncertain terms that India had paused the Operation Sindoor strikes on Pakistan following a 'request' from Islamabad. It was definitely not a result of mediation or offer of a trade deal by the US. In the call which lasted 35minutes on Tuesday, Modi categorically told the US President India has has never Briefs Compartments for Sr citizens Western Railway will introduce of a dedicated compartment for senior citizens in its suburban trains. Currently, local trains reserve only 14 seats per train for senior citizens, usually in the third and twelfth coaches from the Churchgate end. WR will convert one luggage compartment in each train into a dedicated senior citizen compartment. The plan covers all 105 non-AC local train rakes of WR, including 90 twelve-coach and 15 fifteencoach trains. There will be a seating capacity for 13 passengers and standing space for 91. This development follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay HC. The conversion project — transforming a luggage compartment into a reserved compartment for senior citizens — is estimated to cost around ₹5.4 crore and will be completed within a year. This dedicated compartment will be located in the seventh coach from the Churchgate end. Voter I-cards in 15 days now Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station has been postponed to June 22 to allow NASA to evaluate the operations on the orbital lab after the recent repairs in the Russian section, Axiom Space announced on Wednesday. Chitampally passes away Maruti Chitampally, writer, conservationist, ornithologist, wildlife researcher who received a Padma Shri this year, has passed away at the age of 93. While serving in the Forest Department, Chitampalli wrote many books on birds, animals and forest resources. accepted any third-party mediation and would never accept it in the future. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Modi and Trump were scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting, but the US president left early to attend to the IsraelIran situation. He said Trump insisted on having a conversation with Modi, after which the call was set up. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified that no topics related to trade were discussed in connection with Operation Sindoor. He asserted that India has never accepted third-party mediation and will not accept such mediation,” Misri said in a statement. This was the first conversation between Trump and Modi after the launch of Operation Sindoor last month. The two leaders had spoken after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack when Trump had expressed his condolences and supported India in the fight against terrorism. 4Contd on | nation ‘I stopped the war’ Hours after holding a 35-minute phone conversation US President Donald Trump repeated his claim- for the fourteenth time- that he stopped a war between India and Pakistan. In comments to reporters, Trump described Modi as "a fantastic man" and asserted that the two countries will have a trade deal. "Well, I stopped the war.. I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. 4Contd on | nation Vikrant Jha MUMBAI Amid growing confusion and backlash over its earlier decision, the Maharashtra government has issued a fresh resolution clarifying that Hindi will not be a compulsory subject from Class 1 in state board schools. Instead, it will be treated as a “general” third language in Marathi and English medium schools, according to the government FPJ News Service MUMBAI India and Canada have agreed to appoint new high commissioners and restore full diplomatic services, marking a significant step toward mending strained relations after a year of tensions. The breakthrough came during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Alberta on Wednesday. Modi is visiting Canada for the first time since 2015, at Carney’s invitation to attend the G7 Summit. PM Modi said he was confident that under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership, India and Canada could work together “in a positive way” and take bilateral relations forward. Speaking ahead of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Modi emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation across a range of sectors. Canada flags India ‘threat’ As PM Modi attended the final day of the G7 summit, Canada’s spy agency warned that India remains a persistent foreign interference threat. In its annual report to Parliament, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) also identified China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan as perpetrators of foreign interference, The Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday. The report was tabled in Parliament on Friday but CSIS posted it online on Wednesday, the day after the summit ended. US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday. “The President has lunch with the Chief of Army Staff of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” a White House advisory said. It was unknown what transpired in the meeting between Trump and Munir. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that the American president agreed to host Munir for lunch after he called for Trump to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. She claimed it was for preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. India has strongly denied US’s role in ceasere with Pakistan. third language in state board schools. guage in place of Hindi, they will be permitted to do so.” To opt for an alternative Indian language, the GR mandates that at least 20 students in a class must express interest. “If 20 or more students opt for a language other than Hindi, a teacher will be made available. Otherwise, the language shall be taught online,” it adds. This provision has irked several educators, who argue that in nearly 80% of rural schools, even finding 20 students in a class can be difficult, if not impossible. “This is imposing Hindi through the backdoor,” one educator said. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | city FASTag pass unveiled Private car owners to get annual pass at ₹3,000 for 200 trips from August 15, says Gadkari FPJ News Service MUMBAI Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways , Nitin Gadkari, on Wednesday announced the launch of a FASTag-based annual pass for private vehicles, priced at ₹3,000, effective from August 15. The move is aimed at ensuring hassle-free and affordable highway travel across India. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation resolution (GR) issued late Tuesday. The latest directive, released by the Department of School Education and Sports, modifies the language policy announced in April this year. It states: “In schools following the Marathi and English medium, Hindi shall generally be the third language from Class 1 to 5 as per the State Curriculum Framework 2024. However, if students wish to study another Indian lan- In a post on X, Gadkari said the pass will be valid for one year from the date of activation or up to 200 trips—whichever comes first. It will be available exclusively for private noncommercial vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans. The annual pass will enable seamless travel on National Highways and National Expressways across the country. A dedicated link for activation and renewal will soon be made available on the Rajmarg Yatra app and on the official websites of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Gadkari also stated that the average toll cost per trip will come down to ₹15 from August 15, 2025. The initiative, he said, addresses long-standing public concerns about toll plazas located within a 60 km range and aims to simplify toll payments via a single, affordable transaction. 4Contd on | nation Agencies President Trump said Wednesday that he had not yet decided whether the US military should join Israel's ongoing attacks on Iran, and he didn't believe it was too late to reach a deal with the Islamic Republic on its nuclear program, though he warned it was "very late to be talking." "I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do," . Trump told reporters when he was asked about the U.S. taking part in the strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities, CBS News reported.  Asked if he believed it was too late to negotiate a new deal to curb Iran's nuclear program — which he has made clear he wants the Iranian government to abandon com- pletely — Trump said: "Nothing's too late." He added that the Iranians had sought talks, and said they had even suggested sending a delegation for discussions at the White House. "I said, 'it's really late. You know?' I said, 'it's very late to be talking,'" the president said, adding: "There's a big difference between now and a week ago," before Israel FPJ News Service British businessman Vishwas Ramesh, the only survivor of the Air India crash, attends his brother’s funeral in Diu after being discharged from hospital MUMBAI Diu. Vishwas was seated in 11A, near an emergency exit, which he believes helped him escape. “Luckily, the portion of the aircraft I was in crashed onto the ground floor of the hostel building,” he told reporters earlier. “When I saw the door had broken off, I told myself to try getting out. And I did.” Shortly after his discharge, a video surfaced showing Vishwas carrying Ajay’s mortal remains on his shoulders 4Continued on | P17 Bombay HC junks BCCI’s pleas against Kochi Tuskers Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay High Court has dismissed two petitions filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) challenging arbitration awards worth over ₹538 crore in favour of the now-defunct Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The dispute dates back to 2011, when the BCCI terminated the Kochi franchise, alleging a breach of the franchise agreement. The franchise— backed by a consortium led by Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) and operated by Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL)—had participated in only one IPL season that year. Aggrieved by what they termed a “wrongful” termination, both KCPL and RSW initiated arbitration proceedings. The court upholds `538 cr arbitration awards to defunct IPL franchise started hammering Iran with airstrikes. American strikes could involve using superior weaponry to hit an underground nuclear site at Fordo, according to five sources who spoke to the BBC's US partner CBS News. The president met with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss next steps. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation US edging closer to join Israeli attacks on Iran WASHINGTON The US’s invite to Munir is being projected by officials in Islamabad as a diplomatic win, as per the Dawn newspaper. Field Marshal Munir, who was elevated to Pakistan’s rare 5-star rank last month in the first such promotion since Ayub Khan in 1959, during his US trip urged India to engage with Pakistan “as a civilised nation”, rather than “attempting to impose regional hegemony”, it reported. On June 22, 2015, an arbitral tribunal awarded ₹384.83 crore to KCPL and ₹153.34 crore to RSW, along with interest and legal costs. The BCCI challenged both awards under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Justice Riyaz Chagla upheld the awards and rejected the BCCI’s claims. “The jurisdiction of this Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act is very limited,” Justice Chagla noted, adding that the BCCI’s challenge essentially sought a re-examination of facts and evidence, which was beyond the court’s remit. Sole AI 171 survivor cremates brother Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash that claimed 270 lives, was discharged from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Tuesday and travelled to Diu on Wednesday to cremate his brother, Ajay, who died in the same tragedy. The 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester was flying back to London with his brother after visiting family in their native town of PTI WASHINGTON Full diplomatic HINDI OPTIONAL 3RD LANGUAGE New GR clarifies ties with Canada Hindi is optional as The EC on Wednesday said voter identity cards will now be delivered to electors within 15 days. Till now, it took a little over a month for the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to be delivered to the voters, officials said. The new system will ensure real-time tracking of each stage, from the EPIC generation by the Electoral Registration Officer till the delivery of the card to the elector through the postal department. Axiom launch on June 22 Prime Minister declines invitation to stop over to meet the American President on his way back from G-7 summit Trump’s lunch an embrace for Pak Army chief during the funeral procession in Diu. Local officials confirmed the cremation took place Wednesday morning, with Vishwas and his family from the UK in attendance. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Superintendent Dr. Rakesh Joshi confirmed that Ajay's remains were handed over to the family following DNA identification. “Vishwas was discharged at 7.30 pm Tuesday after recovery,” Joshi said. 4Contd on | nation Falcon 2000 biz jet to roll out by 2028 Dhairya Gajara MUMBAI India will join the elite club of nations producing executive business jets as Dassault Aviation and Reliance Group announced the manufacturing of Falcon 2000 business jets in Maharashtra’s Nagpur. This will mark the first time that these high-end aircraft will be manufactured out of France by the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL). At the Paris Air Show 2025, French military aircraft and business jets manufacturer Dassault Aviation joined hands with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Aerostructure Limited (RAL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, to manufacture Falcon 2000 LXS business executive jets in India for the global market. Countries manufacturing next-generation business jets include the United States, France, Canada and Brazil Falcon 2000 LXS will be made in Nagpur under a JV agreement between Dassault Aviation and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Aerostructure Limited (RAL). The joint venture of both the companies, DRAL, expects the first flight of the ‘Made in India’ Falcon 2000 from its facility at MIHAN in Nagpur by 2028. 4Contd on | nation