FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 94 | INDORE | THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports DIGVIJAY DIWAS From fanboy to frontline Samay’s proudest pitch awaits P.16 FP News Service MUMBAI fp Briefs NEW DELHI Singh honoured posthumously Late former Prime Minister and renowned economist Dr Manmohan Singh has been posthumously conferred the P V Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for Economics for his contributions to India's economic transformation. NEW DELHI Fitch ups ’26 GDP forecast to 6.9% Fitch Ratings on Wednesday raised India's GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent for current fiscal year, from 6.5 per cent earlier, citing strong June quarter growth and domestic consumption-led demand. Donald Trump US President cessful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. Prime Minister Modi re- INDORE sponded swiftly with a public statement of his own on X. “India and the US are close friends and natural partners. I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership. Our teams are working to conclude these discussions at the earliest. I am also looking forward to speaking with President Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people.” 4Continued on | P8 UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Troll comeuppance for the Maharaja of Meltdowns Navarro Ketan Narottam Tanna Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s resident trade hawk and parttime Twitter philosopher, has discovered the hard way that Indians don’t just export IT services — they also export world-class clapbacks. On Wednesday, Navarro unleashed yet another online tirade, accusing India of “hijacking” X’s Community Notes to “bury the facts” about tariffs and Russian oil. Then he called Indians “keyboard minions.” Bad move. Within hours, the so-called minions-in hundreds, had turned his mentions section into a bonfire of sarcasm. Kaushik Rajan (@Kaushik_Invests) went straight for the jugular: “There’s gonna be an India–US trade deal… it’s gonna happen without you in the loop. You may go back to selling autographed books and pictures with your wife, OR worse yet you may go to jail, while Sergio spends time with your wife.” Navarro wanted an argument, he got acid dripping replies OSINT Updates (@OsintUp- Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro discovers India’s real export — savage comebacks dates) dropped a desi oneliner that needed no translation: “Phir aa gaya bhokne” (He’s back barking). @naannomad reminded Navarro that even Trump had moved on: “Oh, Peter, looks like your boss has kept you out of the loop for a reason. Ever wonder why Trump is posting about successful negotiations with his 'very good friend' Modi, but you're stuck yelling at 'keyboard minions'?” 4Continued on | P8 FP News Service 4 Chhatarpur families trapped in Nepal The proposal is expected to be placed before the Nepal Army, which assumed control of security operations late Tuesday after violent protests left large parts of Kathmandu in flames. Fourteen members, including women and children of four families from Chhatarpur in MP, are caught in Nepal, which is in political turmoil. They appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help them leave the country. The incidents of arson, looting and killings sparked fear among the Indians living in Nepal. A trader from the grain market under the Chhatarpur Kotwali, Pappu Matole, and transporters Nirdesh Agarwal, Guddu Agarwal and the members of the Kushwaha family are caught in Nepal. Nirdesh Agarwal, who is caught in a hotel, is sending videos of the violence on the 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Beijing on Wednesday urged Nepal to resolve its political crisis swiftly and restore peace.“We hope all sections of Nepali society will properly handle domestic issues and quickly restore social order and national stability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing, according to Reuters. NEPAL REPLAY IN FRANCE? Congressman condemns attack 250 held as protesters clash with police over demonstrations against Macron, budget cuts AP PARIS Rainbow Lorikeet in Indore zoo this Diwali Arsh Rafik Visaal INDORE Australia’s Rainbow Lorikeet will make Kamla Nehru Prani Sanghralaya its home next month. Two pairs of Bisons also known as Wild Buffalos too would arrive at the zoo before Diwali. Zoo education officer Nihar Parulekar on Wednesday described Rainbow Lorikeet as exotic bits. See page 2 Protesters blocked roads, lit blazes and were met with volleys of tear gas on Wednesday in Paris and elsewhere in France, heaping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron by attempting to give his new prime minister a baptism of fire. The government's interior ministry announced 250 arrests in the first hours of what was a planned day of nationwide demonstrations against Macron, budget cuts and other complaints. See World Protesters march during a rally of the ‘Block Everything’ movement in Marseille, south of France 65-yr-old woman fights jackal for 30-min FP News Service A 65-year-old woman fought a jackal for 30 minutes, using her sari to strangle the animal before fainting from exhaustion and injuries. The woman named Surajiya Bai Jatav from Barkhadi village was cutting grass for her cattle when a jackal suddenly attacked her from a nearby culvert around 5 pm on September 8 (Monday). The animal knocked The jackal is seen strangled by woman’s saree her down and began biting her legs and hands while she screamed for help in the isolated field. ‘Death started appearing in front of my eyes. I understood that now death is certain if I don't fight back,’ Surajiya said from her hospital bed. ‘I gathered courage Madhya Pradesh received investment proposals worth Rs 14,600 crores during an interactive session in Kolkata on Wednesday. The event aimed to explore investment opportunities for the upcoming PM Mitra Park in Dhar, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate on September 17. CM Mohan Yadav engaged with investors, saying that PM Mitra Park will give a new boost to state’s textile sector. He held one-to-one discussions with investors, highlighting Madhya Pradesh’s investor-friendly environment, strategic location and supportive policies. He urged industries to take part in India’s development journey and said the park will play a key role in making the country self-reliant. The CM stressed and held the jackal's jaw tightly with both hands.’ The brave woman sat on the jackal and pulled its jaws in different directions until it started bleeding. When the animal weakened after 20 minutes of fighting, she quickly removed her sari and made a noose around its neck. ‘Before it could attack again, I sat on top of it and removed the sari. I made a noose and put it around its neck,’ she explained. Her grandson Devendra Jatav found her unconscious with the dead jackal nearby, her sari noose still around its neck. Surajiya had suffered 18 bite wounds across her body. She was rushed to Badarwas Health Centre and then referred to the district hospital in a critical condition. After regaining consciousness six hours later, doctors confirmed that she suffered serious injuries but is on way to recovery. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav along with investors during the Interactive Session on Investment Opportunities in MP held in Kolkata on Wednesday Company Sector Investment proposal Estimated job creation Ruia Group Multi Rs 4200 cr 5000 Vikram Solar Renewable energy Rs 10, 150 cr 9000 Essenn Bio Greens pvt ltd Food processing Rs 150 cr 400 Ajanta Shoes Foot wear Total that the state offers worldclass infrastructure and a con- ‘Guv not postman, withholding assent means Bill falls through Rs 100 cr 2500 Rs 14600 cr 16900 ducive atmosphere for industries to thrive. EC to take call on pan-India SIR rollout soon; likely to be held by year-end FP News Service PTI NEW DELHI NEW DELHI Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the argument that Governors are mere “postman.” He maintained before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that Governors occupy a high constitutional office and are part of the legislative process, with implied discretion in exceptional cases. He stressed that while most Bills are assented to quickly 90% within a month Governors cannot be reduced to “ornamental” figures. He argued that withholding assent means a Bill “falls through,” borrowing terminology from Constituent Assembly debates, and warned against courts amending the Constitution by judicial interpretation. His arguments came as the Supreme Court continued hearing the Presidential reference on whether timelines can be fixed for Governors and the President to act on Bills passed by State legislatures. Bar & Bench and Live Law report that the Supreme Court Bench engaged with the arguments, with Justice P S Narasimha raising questions on balancing federalism and democracy when Governors act on Bills. The Solicitor General also defended the Governor’s role as a constitutional head who must preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution under oath, and not as an agent of political parties or the Union government. Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy, appearing for Telangana, argued that Article 200 does not give Governors general discretion, except in narrow cases like the second proviso where a Bill affecting the powers of the High Court must be reserved for the President. He said the very presence of such a proviso shows that Governors otherwise have no discretion and must act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. The Election Commission will soon decide on the date to rollout special intensive revision on a pan-India basis and the exercise to clean up the voter list across states may take place before the end of the year, officials said Wednesday. After a day-long meeting of EC's state chief electoral officers here, officials said with as many as five assembly polls due next year, the all-India SIR could take place in the coming months in 2025. While senior EC officials made a presentation on the SIR policy of the Commission, the chief electoral officer of Bihar shared the state's experience in implementing the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The CEOs were told to keep the electoral rolls of their states, published after the last SIR, ready. Some state CEOs have already put the voter list published after their last SIR on their websites. The Commission has said that after Bihar, SIR will be carried out in the entire country. Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026. The primary aim of the intensive revision is to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of birth. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Parl panel for mandatory fact-checking system fearless SHIVPURI Our Staff Reporter MUMBAI China calls for calm board MD, Kul Man Ghising. Her neutrality and distance from party politics made her the unanimous choice, Reuters said, quoting Karna “When they approached me, I agreed,” Karki told CNN-News18. Representatives of the Gen Z movement later told reporters that they had also met with army officials and put forward Karki’s name to lead an interim government. Karki, 73, is Nepal’s first and only female Chief Justice and is widely respected for her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense judge who presided over several landmark anti-corruption cases. `14,600cr investment proposals in Kolkata BHOPAL CHHATARPUR Nepal’s political crisis took a dramatic turn on Wednesday as the country’s Gen-Z protest movement formally proposed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to serve as the interim PM The announcement came after a marathon virtual meeting that lasted nearly four hours, where youth leaders agreed that no individual with links to political parties should be involved in transition talks. The protesters have proposed Karki as interim PM, said Raman Kumar Karna, secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who was consulted by the demonstrators. Also doing the rounds of interim prime minister were Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah and former electricity E-paper Cinema ‘Stop taking Mumbaikars for granted’ P.14 MUMBAI FP News Service MUMBAI Edit Test of neutrality for the new V-P P.6 Nepal’s Gen Z picks three names to lead WASHINGTON Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam has denounced a spate of recent attacks on Hindu temples across the United States, calling them “hateful” acts that reflect a broader rise in violence against places of worship. EDITIONS: WORLD TRUMP YO-YO TARIFF TANGO I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks iii QUALITY @ VALUE This is our revolution. It’s our turn now: Gen Z MIXED SIGNALS | US prez says he will talk to Modi soon and as PM responds, Trump urges EU to slap 100% tariffs against India & China President Donald Trump sent mixed signals as he attempted to dial down the rhetoric against India on tariffs. He announced that a telephone conversation was going to happen between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to work out the next steps in taking the trade negotiations forward. Prime Minister Modi gave a measured positive response to this following which the American President urged European allies to impose a 100 per cent tariff against India. “I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a suc- ESTD-1983 PTI Succour from Constitution e are proud of our Constitution. Look what is happening in neighbouring states, like what happened in Nepal yesterday,,” remarked Chief Justice BR Gavai referring to the anti-corruption protests in Nepal that erupted just two days ago, leaving 30 dead and forcing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign. “W Rebel route to rare earth in Myanmar? Agencies NEW DELHI NEW DELHI A parliamentary committee has called fake news a "serious threat" to public order and democratic process, and recommended amending penal provisions, increasing fine and fixing accountability to deal with the issue. In its draft report adopted on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has also called for mandatory presence of factchecking mechanism and internal ombudsman in all print, digital and electronic media organisations. Sources said the committee has made a raft of suggestions, including a collaborative 4Continued on | P8 India is working to secure rareearth samples from Myanmar with the help of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a powerful rebel group, as it looks for alternatives to supplies tightly controlled by China, according to four people familiar with the matter. Reuters reported that the Ministry of Mines has asked state-owned and private firms to explore collecting and transporting samples from mines in northeastern Myanmar that fall under the KIA’s control. State-owned India Rare Earths Limited (IREL)1 and private firm Midwest Advanced Materials, which received government funding last year for commercial manufacturing of rare-earth magnets, were part of the discussions. India plans to test the samples in domestic labs to check if they have sufficient levels of heavy rare earths for processing into magnets used in electric vehicles and other advanced equipment. The ministry requested an online meeting in July attended by IREL, Midwest, and at least one other company. The KIA has already begun gathering samples for India’s analysis and has agreed to assess the possibility of bulk exports, according to a KIA official. Details of this engagement, reported for the first time, mark a rare instance of Delhi interacting with a nonstate actor. Rare earths are abundant globally, but China dominates the technology to process them into magnets. 4Continued on | P8