Vol. 67 No. 109 | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2024 | 32 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Modi Sark ki kar Government of India cbc 22201/13/0249/2324 c Scan for more information Ham Sankalp mara Viksit Bh t i ik it Bharat THE FP BULLETIN PLANS FOR ZERO POWER BILL P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the government is working to bring the electricity bills of the households to zero. While unveiling several key projects in Assam, Modi said, “We have run programs to install electricity connections in every household in the country. Now we have plans to make the electricity bills zero.” He said that setting up roof top solar power plants for 1 crore households in the country will pave the way towards achieving zero power bills. “In the budget, we have announced plans to put roof top solar panels in 1 crore houses. This will not only bring down the electricity bills to zero, the people can have their own electricity generation system in homes. They can even sell the electricity generated through solar power roof top system to earn money,” Modi said in a massive public rally here. 36 PRISONERS IN UP JAIL HIV+ T hirty-six prisoners lodged in Lucknow District Jail have tested positive for HIV infection, pushing the total caseload of viral infection in the prison to 47. All HIVinfected patients are receiving treatment at a hospital in Lucknow. Before the fresh 36 cases, 11 prisoners had tested positive for HIV. INDIA’S FIRST WOMAN ROBOT Guaran ntee SNAKES & LADDERS JMM CM Champai Soren faces key trust vote session starting today; his MLAs emerge from a resort in Hyderabad and reach Ranchi DHEERAJ KUMAR / RANCHI N ewly appointed Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren will face a crucial floor test in a 2day special session of the assembly beginning on Monday . Around 40 MLAs of the ruling JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand, who were camping in a private resort outside Hyderabad amid poaching fears, had returned to the State on Sunday night. The legislators were hustled to the private resort in Shamirpet after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren took over as the chief minister following Hemant Soren’s arrest. After a night’s stay at the Circuit House in Ranchi, they would be brought to the assembly on Monday morning by bus, sources added. The Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government claims that it enjoys the sup- port of 47 MLAs. The ruling coalition of JMM, Congress and RJD has 29, 17 and one MLA, respectively Ahead of . the trust vote, Chief Minister Soren exuded confidence that the Mahagathbandhan government would survive the floor test and would also complete its full term. CONTD. ON NATION Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too faces floor test later in the week; Congress camp in a tizzy, fearing attempts to wean away its MLAs DHEERAJ KUMAR / PATNA T he resort politics was playing itself out in Bihar too amid speculation that JD (U) was trying to engineer a split in the Congress before the NDA government faces a floor test in the assembly . Hate speech in Junagadh: Preacher held AISHWARYA IYER / MUMBAI Islamic cleric Mufti Salman Azhari, who was booked by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for reportedly delivering a hate speech in Junagadh, Gujarat, last Wednesday was detained by , police on Sunday afternoon from his Ghatkopar residence. A team from Gujarat ATS arrived in Mumbai on Sun- day morning, after tracking down Azhari’s residence in Chirag Nagar, Ghatkopar. According to local police, around 15-20 uniformed policemen working with teams from the Gujarat and Mumbai ATS gathered around Azhari’s residence and by noon, they broke inside his house to detain him. After a series of discussions with Azhari, he was taken into custody for questioning. Police sources have confirmed that the process of transfer – from Mumbai to Gujarat – for questioning is underway Azhari was being . questioned at the Ghatkopar police station. Meanwhile, on Sunday his followers started , to gather outside the Ghatkopar police station in a show of support, demanding his immediate release and bringing traffic to a standstill in the area. Additional forces had to be deployed outside the police station to avoid any untoward incident. The speech was delivered at an event held on an open ground near the ‘B’ division police station in Junagadh on the night of January 31, said a police officer. Though the incident occurred last Wednesday a , video began to be circulated on social media platforms from Saturday . CONTD. ON NATION Uttarakhand ready to roll out uniform code I ndia’s woman robot astronaut– Vyommitra– will fly into space ahead of ISRO’s ambitious ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday, a News18 report said. According to the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, the non-crew Vyommitra Mission is scheduled for the third quarter of this year, while the manned mission Gaganyaan—- the country’s first manned space flight carrying Indian astronauts– is scheduled to be launched in 2025. The name of “Vyommitra” — the Indian Space Research Organisation’s half humanoid– is derived from two Sanskrit words namely, “Vyoma” (meaning Space) and “Mitra” (meaning Friend). This female robot astronaut, the Minister said, is equipped with the capability to monitor module parameters, issue alerts and execute life support operations. “It can perform tasks such as operating six panels and responding to the queries,” he explained. To keep its flock together, the Congress party high command had also shifted its 16 MLAs from Bihar to Hyderabad. From here, they were shifted to Congressruled Telangana. The newly formed NDA government, headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, will seek trust vote on February 12, when the assembly`s budget session commences. Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh and his predecessor Madan Mohan Jha accompanied the party MLAs to Hyderabad. Singh told newspersons, “A new government has been formed. We are here (Hyderabad) to congratulate them. We will meet the CM and congratulate him.” Sources said that the Congress MLAs are expected to return to Bihar on the day of floor test only . CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE DEHRADUN GILL’S RESPONSE TO DETRACTORS Shubman Gill’s third Test hundred came at the most opportune time for India as they set England a tough but not impossible chase of 399 for victory at the end of day three in Visakhapatnam. Although Gill’s 104 was the highlight of the Indian batting, the rest of the batsmen failed to convert starts. With that (104 off 147 deliveries), Gill has also given a fitting response to his detractors. It was a badly needed ton as Gill has struggled in Test cricket lately and according to a newspaper report, he even received an ultimatum from the team man- agement at the beginning of the test match. England are due to begin the fourth day with just 332 of their 399 victory target needed and just one wicket down. Jimmy Anderson, who bowled 35 immaculate overs in the match as England's only seamer while taking five wickets, insists it's 'very clear' that England will attack India in bid to chase down the record total. The evergreen Anderson, who had a disappointing Ashes in taking five wickets in four matches, was delighted with his own return to form, reports a British tabloid. The Uttarakhand Cabinet has approved the final draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), paving the way for it to be tabled in a special fourday session of the Assembly convened especially to pass the legislation. The Cabinet passed the 740-page UCC draft at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his official residence on Sunday . The four-volume draft was submitted to Dhami on Friday by a five-member panel headed by retired judge of the Supreme Court Ranjana Prakash Desai. Once implemented, Uttarakhand will become the state to adopt the UCC, which proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state. CONTD. ON NATION WITH 6 MEDALS, HE IS WORLD’S NO.1 PARA SWIMMER Dharavi man makes a splash at Reykjavik MEGHA KUCHIK / MUMBAI A 37-year-old swimmer from Dharavi, Shams Aalam Shaikh, made a champion splash at the Reykjavik International Games 2024, in Laugardalslaug, Iceland, bringing glory to India by clinching six medals. Notably Shams se, cured the World No.1 ranking in the men’s 100m butterfly (S5) and 50m breaststroke (SB4) categories, according to the latest World Para Swimming rankings. Shams set new national records in the fiercely contested 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke S5 categories at the games, held from January 26 to 28, 2024, in which 22 countries participated, with India sending backstroke S5 in 2.14.42 seconds, he bagged another bronze and set another national record. Shams surpassed Herojit Singh’s record of 2.34.34 in the 100m butterfly and Shreekant Desai’s record in the 100m backstroke. Further embellishing his performance, Shams claimed a gold in the 200m medley event, two silver medals in the 100m and 50m breaststroke events and another bronze in the 50m backstroke event, showcasing his versatility in multiple disciplines. As a result, he has earned rankings in 400 athletes to the event. eight events. In the 100m butterfly race, Shams Originally a Karateka, he faced a finished in 2.14.25 seconds, securing a life-altering event at the age of 21, bronze medal and setting a new na- when a tumour was discovered in his CONTD. ON NATION tional record. By completing the 100m backbone. CAUSING RIPPLES n Shams Aalam Shaikh won 6 medals at Reykjavik International Games 2024 n Bronze in 100m butterfly and a national record n Bronze in 100m backstroke and a national record n Gold in 200m individual medley n Silver in 100m breaststroke n Silver in 50m breaststroke n Bronze in 50m backstroke NATIONAL PRIMROSE DAY Incr reasing opportu unities for youth Most number of gov vernment jobs y j for youth in last 10 years t y LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON The US and the UK have conducted joint strikes on 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen, in another wave of assaults intended to degrade the capabilities of the Iran-backed militia that has targeted international shipping vessels in the Red Sea in response to the IsraelHamas war. The Pentagon said the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand were involved in Saturday's strikes against Houthi targets. The latest strikes, executed with fighter jets and ships, come CONTD. ON NATION after the US strikes Yemen, Iran’s will at test Pak spy working in Man with 40 replicas Indian embassy held of Army uniform held FPJ NEWS SERVICE / LUCKNOW ASHISH SINGH / MUMBAI In a significant breakthrough, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (UP ATS) has apprehended a Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent, identified as Satyendra Siwal, who was stationed at the Indian Embassy in Moscow. Siwal, a native of Hapur, had been serving as a Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) at the Ministry of External Affairs since 2021. The arrest came after the Anti-Terrorism Squad acted on a credible tip-off received from undisclosed sources regarding the presence of a spy operating within the Indian Embassy in Moscow. CONTD. ON NATION In a significant joint operation by Military Intelligence and Maharashtra Police, a suspect was arrested in Ahmednagar district on February 2, and around 40 replicas of the newlyintroduced combat uniform of the Indian Army were seized from him. The suspect is understood to have connections in Rajasthan and New Delhi. According to a statement by the Maharashtra police, the South Command Military Intelligence received information that a suspect traveling in an Innova had reached the CSD Canteen on Jamkhed Road, Ahmednagar, with replicas of combat uniforms used by the Indian Army This information is considered . sensitive and the districts of Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Pune are very sensitive places for the Army with Pune being the home of , several military institutions. CONTD. ON NATION 3 DIE OF GAS LEAK IN VASAI FPJ NEWS SERVICE / VASAI Three persons perished in a gas leak in a house that was locked from inside in Manikpur of Vasai area on Sunday afternoon. The bodies were discovered after residents smelt gas emanating from the house in the two-sto- ried Asha Sadan in Vasai West and informed the police. Manikpur police broke open the door of the house and found the bodies of the three youth. Two of them were in the hall, while one was found in the kitchen. One of the deceased has been identified as Moham- mad Azam, who is a fruit trader. All the deceased were between 30 and 35 years of age. The gas was found turned on, the police said. The three youth may have died after inhaling the toxic gas, according to Senior Police Inspector of Manikpur Police Station Raju Mane. CONTD. ON NATION