FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms CAA NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond within three weeks to applications seeking a stay on implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 till the apex court disposes of the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The apex court, however, refused to stay the operation of the Rules that would give effect to the CAA, as sought by a battery of senior advocates representing the petitioners. The Centre, on its part, told the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that the CAA does not take away the citizenship of any person. The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notice to the Centre on the VOL. XXXX NO. 283 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 20, 2024 | PAGES 16 MESSI TO MISS ARGENTINA FRIENDLIES `3 - EDIT SBI TO BLAME FOR ITS OWN TROUBLES NO STAY, SAYS SC HEARING ON PETITIONS ASKS Centre to respond in three weeks Matua community's initial jubilation over the implementation of CAA has been dampened as its key organisation advised its members not to apply for citizenship under the new law for now as many of them do not have documents required to prove their previous residential address in Bangladesh. 20 applications seeking a stay on the implementation of the Rules returnable within three weeks. "We are not expressing any prima facie view. We have to hear the petitioners, we have to hear the other side," the bench observed and posted the matter for hearing on April 9. The Centre had on March 11 paved the way for the implementation of the Citizen- Congress ally IUML pleads against CAA Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty on Tuesday questioned the 'need' to implement Citizenship Amendment Rules and said that citizenship should be given to everybody, not to certain sections. "See, ours is the lead petition in the SC...Why should the government, days before or hours before the notification, issue such rules," he said. ship (Amendment) Act, 2019, with the notification of the relevant rules, four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament to fast-track Indian citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. During the hearing on Tuesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said there are over 230 petitions in the matter, and after the rules came into force, 20 application seeking stay have been filed. "Just to satisfy your lordships' conscience that there is no prejudice to the petitioners because none of the petitioners as such are affected parties, not that I am challenging the locus, it (CAA) does not take away citizenship of anyone. The law which they are seeking stay of, does not take away citizenship of any person," Mehta said, while seeking four weeks to respond to the applications. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioners, said the Centre should make a statement that pending the hearing, no one will be given citizenship. CONTD. ON P8 Shivpuri girl ‘kidnapped’ in Kota, `30L ransom demanded A PHOTO of the girl with hands and feet tied went viral on social media OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Nomination process for 1st phase of LS polls begins today OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Nomination process for first phase of Lok Sabha elections will begin in state on Wednesday. The last date of filing papers is March 27. Scrutiny of papers will be done on March 28 and candidates can withdraw till March 30. FIRST PHASE Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara will vote in the first phase on April 19. Earlier, Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan met all recognized political parties on Tuesday and informed that a candidate can file maximum four forms. The candidate has to submit an affidavit that would be displayed on the website of election commission within 24 hours. The candidate needs to give information of their criminal cases. He further said that expenditure limit of a candidate was Rs 95 lakh. Candidates would have to open a separate bank account and details of expenditure had to be maintained in the expenditure register received from returning officer. He added that while filing nomination, candidates would be allowed use of three vehicles. Only five people would be allowed to accompany them for nomination. During canvassing, it is necessary to paste permission letter on vehicle’s windscreen. A NEET exam aspirant from Shivpuri was allegedly kidnapped in Kota, Rajasthan, on Monday, said police on Tuesday . Father of the 21-year-old aspirant claimed that he had received ransom call of Rs 30 lakh. In a picture that went viral on social media, the aspirant was seen with her hands and feet tied with a rope. She was also seen bleeding in the picture. SP Shivpuri Aman Singh Rathore said that Kota po- Want our daughter back soon: Scindia Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held discussions with Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and stressed on urgency of the situation by stating "We want our daughter back soon." He also reassured victim's father of his personal involvement in the matter and promised to keep him updated. lice registered a case and were in contact with their Kota counterparts. Hemant’s sis-in-law Sita Soren joins BJP AS ONE SOREN TAKES POLITICAL CENTRESTAGE NEW DELHI/RANCHI JMM legislator Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, joined the BJP on Tuesday, saying she is becoming a part of "Modi's Parivaar" to save the state and ensure justice for its people. She quit the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) hours before joining the BJP, claiming that she was being neglected and isolated in the state's ruling party. The three-term MLA's decision to join the BJP is a shot in the arm for the party's efforts to boost its connect with the Scheduled Tribes, a community which has been the main vote base of the JMM. Soren, the wife of Durga Soren, joined the BJP in the presence of its national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Jharkhand poll in-charge Laxmikant Bajpai at its headquarters here. CONTD. ON P8 The police said that in his complaint, the aspirant’s father said that he took his daughter to Kota in August last year for coaching. She was living in a hostel under Vigyan Nagar police station. He claimed to have received a ransom demand of Rs 30 lakh and also pictures of his daughter with her hands and feet tied. Based on the complaint, the police lodged a case of abduction under the IPC on Monday night and started an investigation. CONTD. ON P8 Pashupati Paras quits Union cabinet, accuses BJP of injustice NEW DELHI: Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras resigned on Tuesday as he accused the BJP of doing "injustice" with his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal with allies for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. Paras's announcement came at a press conference a day after the BJP-led NDA announced its seatsharing pact and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas), ignoring his faction's claims. Paras made brief remarks at the press conference about his resignation and did not elaborate about his future plans. INDI alliance deliberately insults Hinduism: PM NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu's Salem on Tuesday, hit out at the INDIA bloc allies including Congress and DMK and accused them of deliberately insulting Hinduism and the followers of Hindu faith. "Leaders of INDIA alliance are intentionally insulting Hinduism and their statements are also wellplanned and thought of. Congress and DMK, in par- ticular don't hesitate in denigrating Hinduism with their profane remarks, as they are not so generous for other beliefs and religions," said PM Modi at the rally, attended by thousands of supporters. PM Modi further lashed out at the INDIA bloc for their opposition and condemnation of 'Shakti', while describing the latter as 'women power and mother power'. CONTD. ON P8 expressed, shedding light on the familial connection between the two. His admission of a familial tie between their children underscores the depth of their relationship, a connection that has largely remained concealed from the public eye until now. Furthermore, Miandad went on to praise Dawood, suggesting that the reputed gangster had contributed significantly to the Muslim community. "The things Dawood has done for the Muslim community will be written in golden words," Miandad said, indicating a sense of admiration and respect for the controversial figure. CONTD. ON P8 PM Narendra Modi greets Pattali Makkal Katchi party founder Dr S Ramadoss Miandad acknowledges family ties with Dawood NEW DELHI: Former Pakistani cricketing legend Javed Miandad has openly accepted his association with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, citing it as an honour. The unexpected disclosure came to light during an interview in Pakistan where Miandad confessed to having known Dawood for a signifi- cant period and talked about his first meeting in Dubai. "It's an honour for me that his daughter is married to my son," Miandad r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE SPORTS Don’t apply under CAA: Matua body r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; WEATHER FP 32.60c. 19.00c Sunrise : 06.30 Sunset : 06.37 Advancing absurd claims: MEA responds to China on Arunachal NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday lashed out at China for "advancing absurd claims" over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh and reiterated that the northeastern state will always remain its "integral and inalienable part" of India. The response from the Ministry came after Beijing said that it "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India." "We have noted the comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement. "Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects," Jaiswal added. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang -- Chinese name for Tibet -- is an inherent part of its territory, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh to inaugurate the strategically important Sela tunnel. QUALITY TIME CINEMA EOW finds only one accused in ` 877cr scam BIGGEST ALLEGATION against Nath govt comes to a naught NITENDRA SHARMA BHOPAL The officials of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have found only one accused in connection with the alleged biggest scam in the 15-month rule of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath. EOW found the then engineer-in-chief (E-in-C) of the water resources department Rajiv Suklikar in the advance payment scam made for seven irrigation projects worth Rs 877 crore. EOW has sought permission from the state government to prosecute Suklikar. EOW could not prove any charge against two other officials - the then chief engineer Shirish Mishra and superintending engineer Sharad Shrivastava whose names were mentioned in an FIR filed in connection with the case. Despite the FIR, Mishra has been given the charge of E-in-C. Allegations were also made against the then additional chief secretary WRD M Gopal Reddy, the then minister of WRD THE ISSUE In 2018-19, companies that got the tenders for seven irrigation projects worth Rs 877 crore Hanota dam, Banda dam, Gaund dam, Nirgud dam, Ghoghri, Bardha dam and Sitanagar dam - were given advance payment by changing the conditions of the tenders. After the initial inquiry, EOW registered an FIR, but the probe agency found the then engineer-in-chief Rajiv Suklikar the only accused in the case. Hukum Singh Karada and former chief minister Kamal Nath. The probe agency, however, could not prove charges against any one. In his statement toEOW, Suklikar said advance payment for seven irrigation projects worth Rs 877 crore had been made after receiving oral orders from the then additional chief secretary of the Water Resources Department M Gopal Reddy by changing the conditions of the tenders. On the grounds of Suklikar's statement, a statement of Reddy was also taken. In his statement, Reddy, however, denied issuing any oral orders to Suklikar. CONTD. ON P8 ECI replaces Bengal DGP again within 24 hours KOLKATA The Election Commission of India (ECI) has replaced the Director General Police in West Bengal on Tuesday within just 24 hours since Vivek Sahay was designated for the chair replacing his predecessor Rajeev Kumar. On Tuesday, a fresh notification was issued ordering the replacement of Sahay with Sanjoy Mukherjee, a 1989-batch IPS officer who is currently the Director General of Fire and Emergency Services Department. On Monday, after the ECI ordered the removal of Rajeev Kumar, it sought three alternative names from the state government as replacement. Accordingly, the state government recommended Vivek Sahay (1988 batch), Sanjoy Mukherjee (1989 batch) and Rajesh Kumar (1990) batch. On the basis of seniority, the commission nominated Sahay. However, before he could even complete 24 hours in the new chair, he was replaced by Mukherjee. Sources aware of the development said that Sahay is scheduled to retire from active services in May this year when all seven phases of polls in West Bengal will be completed. CONTD. ON P8