FP FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 280 | BHOPAL | SATURDAY | MARCH 23, 2024 | PAGES 16 `3 - r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 Kejriwal in ED custody till Mar 28 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE EDIT STARC V/S CUMMINS SHOWDOWN NEW DELHI NEWS BRIEF Govinda likely to join Shiv Sena MUMBAI: Bollywood actor and former MP Govinda is likely to join the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena. Sources said that the Bollywood actor would be fielded from the Mumbai North West constituency against Shiv Sena-UBT's Amol Kirtikar, who is the son of sitting MP from Shinde camp Gajanan Kirtikar. Govinda's entry is expected to take place soon in the presence of Shinde. CBSE disaffiliates 20 schools NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has disaffiliated 20 schools, including five in Delhi, for enrolling dummy students and ineligible candidates, its secretary Himanshu Gupta said on Friday. The board has also downgraded the affiliation of three schools. "Pursuant to a surprise inspection conducted in CBSE schools across the country to check whether the schools are running according to the provisions and norms contained in the affiliation and examination bye-laws, it was found that some schools were committing various malpractices. Heavy snowfall in Sandakphu DARJEELING: Around 40 tourists, who got stranded following heavy snowfall in West Bengal's highest Himalayan destination Sandakphu, were evacuated to safer places, a Darjeeling district official said on Friday. The arterial road connecting Sandakphu with Manebhanjan on the way to Darjeeling town was under about a foot of snow at some places, disrupting traffic movement. The hamlet, which offers a stunning view of the Kanchenjunga, the Everest and some other peaks in the Himalayas, is a favourite spot among tourists. I am inside Whetherorlife is outside, my dedicated to the country -DELHI CM KEJRIWAL from the 'South group' for contesting the Punjab elections, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared for the agency, told the court. The law officer said the money trail showed that Rs 45 crore "kickback" used in the Goa elections came from four hawala routes. He said the statements of the accused and witnesses have been corroborated through Call Detail Records (CDR). The AAP chief was produced before the court around 2 pm amid tight security on and around the court premises. "We have given an application for 10 days' re- corded to him, with people greeting him all along the journey from Paro to Thimphu," India's Ministry of External Affairs said here in a statement. The two leaders held discussions on various aspects of the multi-faceted bilateral relations and "forged an understanding to further enhance cooper- SC notice to CM, CS on Lokayukta appointment But the apex court refuses to stay the appointment OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL The Supreme Court has refused to stay the appointment of Lokayukta. The Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar filed a petition in the apex court against the appointment. SC, however, issued a notice to the Chief Min- ister and the Chief Secretary seeking a reply and the files related to the appointment within a week. The court also directed them to set up guidelines for holding discussions on the appointment of Lokayukta. Before the appointment, there should a discussion between the Chief Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice. There should be directives for discussions. In the petition, Sing- har said that the government had not consulted him before appointing the Lokayukta. He said that the apex court had issued a notice to the CM and CS on his petition. The Lokyukta was appointed against the rules and provisions, the petition said. The Governor appointed Satyendra Kumar Singh as Lokayukta on March 9, and he was administered oath the next day . CONTD. ON P8 SLOW BURNER The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was a "key conspirator" in the excise policy scam case along with other ministers and AAP leaders, as it sought his 10-day custody from a court here. ED said kickbacks was taken from the 'South group' for formulating and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 202122.He demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from the 'South group' for contesting the Punjab elections, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who is appearing for the agency, told the court. The law officer said the money trail showed that Rs 45 crore "kickback" used in the Goa elections came from four hawala routes. Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is worried about the security of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in ED custody. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Addressing a press conference here, Atishi said this is for the first time in India's democratic history that a national party's chief has been arrested before the Lok Sabha polls. "ED has not been able to produce a single evidence. This shows how fearful the BJP is of Arvind Kejriwal," she charged. KEJRIWAL SHOULD HAVE RESIGNED: YADAV BHOPAL: Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Friday that Arvind Kejriwal should have resigned and his going to jail while being on post of Chief minister was very unfortunate. "...It is unfortunate that, as a CM, he is going to jail. So much greed for the post doesn't suit Arvind Kejriwal. He should have resigned from the CM post...", ," said Yadav while reacting to the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi excise policy case on Thursday night. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had issued nine summons to Kejriwal, and he failed to get relief from the High Court. In such circumstances, he should have resigned on moral grounds to face the charges, said Yadav. He should have regained reins of the government after being acquitted of the charges,such attachment to the post does not suit Kejriwal, he added. "Our history is testimony that anyone who has been accused has offered his resignation and does not resume duty unless cleared of all charges, said the chief minister. "In the history of our country, anyone who has been accused has offered his resignation and does not resume duty unless cleared of all charges. From Lal Bahadur Shastri to Lal Krishna Adani...When Adani ji's name falsely came up in a dairy, he immediately resigned from all of his posts, even from Parliament and faced the court." mand," ASG Raju told the court. He said the AAP is not an individual but a company, and every person responsi- 'Order of the Druk Gyalpo' for Modi THIMPHU 32.60c. 19.00c Sunrise : 06.30 Sunset : 06.37 ED CHARGES ‘AAP worried about CM Kejriwal's security’ INDIA, BHUTAN ink strategic pacts, to start rail links soon India and Bhutan today exchanged several strategic MoUs and signed agreements in the fields of energy, trade, digital connectivity, space and agriculture, and finalised the MoU on the establishment of rail links between the two nations. The MoUs were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay during the ongoing two-day State visit of PM Modi. Prime Minister Modi met his Bhutanese counterpart in Thimphu "over a working lunch hosted in his honour". He thanked Prime Minister Tobgay for the "exceptional public welcome ac- WEATHER KEEPING THE OPPN ON A LEASH SPORTS A court here on Friday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till March 28, a day after his arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court said Kejriwal will be produced before the court on March 28 at 2 pm. The court passed the order on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) application seeking a 10-day custody in the case. During the hearing for remand, the ED said that Kejriwal -- the AAP's national convener -- was a "key conspirator" in the excise policy scam case along with other ministers and party leaders. Kejriwal was produced in the trial court shortly after he withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea against his arrest by the agency . The ED told Judge Baweja that Kejriwal received several crores of rupees as kickbacks from the 'South group' for formulating and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. He demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received Bhutan's highest civilian award, the 'Order of the Druk Gyalpo,' making him the first foreign Head of the Government to receive the honour. The award recognizes Prime Minister Modi's contribution to ation in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, youth exchange, environment and forestry, and tourism," it said. India and Bhutan enjoy long-standing and exceptional ties characterised by utmost trust, goodwill, and mutual understanding at all levels, the MEA said. CONTD. ON P8 AI FINED Rs 80 lakh by DGCA NEW DELHI The Aviation watchdog has fined Air India Rs 80 lakh for violation of norms related to flight duty time limitations and fatigue management system of flight crew. The violations came to surface after the watchdog, Directorate general of Civil Aviation (DGCA), conducted spot audit of Air India in the month of January . A show cause notice was sent to Air India by the watchdog on March 1. ble for the conduct of the company will be held responsible. Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who was 'UP Madarsa Education Act unconstitutional' LUCKNOW The Allahabad High Court Friday declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate current students in the formal schooling system. A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow bench of the court declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by a person named Anshuman Singh Rathore. In his reaction to the order, UP Madrasa Education Board Chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said the board will study the decision and decide the further course of action. CONTD. ON P8 representing Kejriwal, said this is the first time in the history of India that a sitting chief minister has been arrested. CONTD. ON P8 CINEMA ASI team begins survey amid tight security BHOJSHALA SURVEY SURVEY WORK started at 6 am & ended at 12 noon FP NEWS SERVICE / Dhar The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) commenced their survey at Dhar's historic Bhojshala complex from 6:00 am amidst tight security cover by local police. The five-member team, accompanied by senior local police and district administration officials along with Ashish Goyal and Gopal Sharma from the Hindu community, conducted a thorough inspection inside the sacred complex. While ASI officials present at the site refrained from making any comments and left around 12:00 pm ahead of Friday prayer, both Goyal and Sharma emphasized that the signs and evidence found inside Bhojshala are indicative of its status as a Hindu temple. SP Manoj Kumar Singh assured that stringent security arrangements have No Cong ticket to minority community leader in 15 yrs NITENDRA SHARMA BHOPAL The Congress has not given a ticket to any Muslim candidate for the past 15 years in the Lok Sabha election, but the party always shows that it is a well-wisher of the minority community . The state has 6.57% of Muslim population, but none of its members has been sent to the Lok Sabha in the past 33 years. The tickets, given to the candidates for 29 seats by the BJP and the Congress this time, do not indicate that there will be any MP Aslam Sher Khan from the state to represent the minority community in the Lok Sabha. After Aslam Sher Khan, who won the Lok Sabha election from Betul constituency in 1991, none of the Muslim candidate won a parliamentary seat from the state. In 2009, Congress gave a ticket to Khan from Sagar. After his defeat, the party has not fielded any Muslim Apex court denies bail to BRS leader Kavitha in Delhi excise policy case NEW DELHI In a setback to BRS leader K Kavitha, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant her bail in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The development came a day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the same case. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi asked Kavitha to approach the trial court, saying it is a practice which this court is following and ISRO on Friday said it has achieved a major milestone in the area of reusable launch vehicle technology through the RLV LEX-02 landing experiment. This is the second of the series conducted at Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, in Karnataka at 7.10 am. After the RLV-LEX-01 mission was accomplished last year, RLV-LEX-02 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of reusable launch vehicle (RLV) from off-nominal initial conditions at release from helicopter, the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said in a statement. "The RLV was made to undertake more difficult maneuvers with dispersions, correct both cross-range and downrange and land on the runway in a fully autonomous mode," it said. The winged vehicle, called Pushpak, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter and was released from 4.5 km altitude. After release at a distance of 4 km from the runway, Pushpak autonomously approached the runway along with cross-range corrections. It landed precisely on the runway and came to a halt using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes and nose wheel steering system, ISRO said. It added that this mission successfully simulated the approach and highspeed landing conditions of RLV returning from space. "With this second mission, ISRO has re-validated the indigenously developed technologies in the areas of navi- ASI team comes out of Bhojshala complex in Dhar after completing first day’s survey work on Friday. FP PICTURE been made as per the High Court's instructions. The police will provide all necessary security support to the ASI, ensuring no shortages in security measures. Earlier, a team from ASI including additional director general Alok Tripathi, Manoj Kurmi, and Dr Mohan Vikram, conducted a survey at the site. CONTD. ON P8 No Muslim MP elected to LS from state in 33 years cannot bypass the protocol. "Issue notice. Counter affidavit shall be filed in six weeks. Rejoinder, if any, in six weeks. It will be open to the petitioner to move the trial court or invoke any other remedy for grant of bail," the bench said, adding all pleas and contentions available to the petitioner are left open. It clarified that the court has not made any comments on merits of the case. The bench said as far as Kavitha's plea challenging the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is concerned, the court is issuing notice to the ED and seeking its response. "The petition challenging the provisions (of PMLA) will come up with the pending matters," the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Kavitha. CONTD. ON P8 India's new-age Pushpak 'Viman' launched successfully BENGALURU QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in gation, control systems, landing gear and deceleration systems essential for performing a high-speed autonomous landing of a space-returning vehicle," the space agency said. The winged body and all flight systems used in RLV-LEX-01 were reused in the RLV-LEX-02 mission after due certification/ clearances. Hence, reuse capability of flight hardware and flight systems is also demonstrated in this mission, ISRO said. Based on the observation from RLVLEX-01, the airframe structure and landing gear were strengthened to tolerate higher landing loads, it said. The mission was accomplished by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) along with the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU). ISRO chairman S Somanath congratulated the team for the flawless execution of this complex mission. On the success of the landing experiment, VSSC Director Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair said through this repeated success, ISRO could master the terminal phase maneuvering, landing and energy management in a fully autonomous mode, which is a critical step towards the future. candidate. In 1998, Arif Baig was given a ticket from Bhopal, and, in 2004, Sajid Ali contested from the state capital. After the defeat of both the candidates, the Congress could not take the risk of fielding Muslim candidates from the state capital. Arif Baig became an MP from Betul constituency on the BJP ticket in 1989, after which the party did not give a ticket to any Muslim candidate. There was always a Muslim MP from the state before 1991. Candidates belonging to the minority community won LS election from Satna and Betul constituencies. Gulsher Ahmad and Aziz Qureshi went to the Lok Sabha from Satna. CONTD. ON P8 Case against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya AGENCIES Bengaluru An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over an alleged hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said today . The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post allegedly targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities. He also made a similar post on March 19 on 'X' and YouTube which got one million views, 587 comments, 5400 retweets and 13 likes. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., CONTD. ON P8