FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 310 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | APRIL 22, 2024 | PAGES 14 `3 - INSULIN WAR RAGES ON B/W TIHAR & AAP ABHAY SHARMA SET TO BE APPOINTED UGANDA HEAD COACH SPORTS NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today shared a letter written by the Director General of Prisons requesting a senior AIIMS doctor for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, countering the prison authorities claim of adequate medical facilities in Tihar jail. AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj hit out at the jail administration - alleging a flip-flop - and reiterated the party's claim that a conspiracy was being hatched for Arvind Kejriwal's ‘slow death’ in the prison. In a letter to AIIMS, Sanjay Baniwal, director general of prisons, yesterday requested the hospital to arrange a senior diabetologist for Kejriwal. Soon after the AAP Ministers's flip-flop charge, the jail administration said that a senior doctor from AIIMS was consulted via video conferencing following a request by the Chief Minister's wife Sunita Kejriwal. ‘After a detailed consultation, Arvind Kejriwal was assured that there was no serious concern and was advised to continue with the prescribed medicines, which will be evaluated Delhi Minister Atishi along with AAP supporters carries insulin during a protest over Tihar adminisatrations alleged failure in providing insulin to jailed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, outside the Tihar jail, in New Delhi, Sunday 'KEJRIWAL KO INSULIN DO' NEW DELHI: Carrying insulin, the workers and leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party protested outside the Tihar jail in west Delhi on Sunday and demanded that insulin be given to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is suffering from diabetes. Delhi cabinet minister Atishi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sanjeev Jha were present at the protest site. Scores of party workers carrying placards saying 'Kejriwal ko insulin do' sang 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' outside the jail. "This is not a protest. The people of Delhi are worried about the health of Chief Minister Kejriwal who is diabetic. They have sent insulin for him," she said. Atishi alleged there is a "conspiracy" to harm Kejriwal. "The Tihar administration had said they have specialist doctors but yesterday they wrote to AIIMS for a diabetologist. Kejriwal has been in judicial custody for nearly 20 days but they are asking for a diabetologist now. "After a 40-minute detailed consultation, Kejriwal was assured that there was no serious concern and was advised to continue with the prescribed medicines, which will be evaluated and reviewed regularly," a jail official said. and reviewed on a regular basis," the administration said in a statement. Bharadwaj and Delhi Minister Atishi had yesterday claimed that Kejriwal r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE EDIT KEEP FAITH IN VOTING MACHINES is being pushed towards "slow death" by being denied insulin and consultations with his doctors. Atishi said that Kejriwal used to take 50 units of insulin daily before he was sent to jail. "At the behest of the BJP, a conspiracy is underway to kill Kejriwal in jail. The chief minister has been taking insulin for 12 years, what is the problem for the Tihar administration to give insulin to him?," she asked. The Tihar administration maintains that there is adequate availability of insulin in the jail dispensary and it can be administered to Kejriwal "as and when required. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government's nowscrapped excise policy . According to the medical records from RML Hospital, Kejriwal was "neither advised any insulin nor any requirement of any insulin was indicated", the Tihar report said and added that the chief minister's health was reviewed by a medicine specialist on April 10 and April 15. CONTD. ON P7 WEATHER FP 38.40c. 24.50c Sunrise : 06.01 Sunset : 06.50 PM road show in Bhopal on Wednesday OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving in Bhopal for a road show on Wednesday evening. The road show will take place between Minto Hall and New Market. Tight security arrangements have been made by the police for the road show. Speaking to the Free Press, Commissioner of Police Harinarayanchari Mishra said that force of 2000 cops, 25 IPS officers and cops in civil dress will be deployed. There will be three tier security arrangement. Barricades have already been placed from Minto hall till New Market road. Before arriving to Bhopal, PM will go to Sagar and Harda to address the public meeting. The Wednesday's tour will be the fifth visit to Madhya Pradesh during the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Earlier he had visited Jabalpur, Balaghat, Pipariya, Damoh. The PM's visit is going to charge the political atmosphere further in the state. PM'S RAJYA SABHA SWIPE AT SONIA GANDHI ‘Those who can't win elections...’ NEWS BRIEF Fire in BJP office in south Mumbai MUMBAI: A fire broke out in the Bharatiya Janata Party office located in south Mumbai's Nariman Point on Sunday, though no one was injured in the incident, a civic official said. The blaze, which started at 4:35 pm, was doused 10 minutes later, the Fire Brigade official said. 10 CRPF jawans injured CHHATTISGARH: Ten Madhya Pradesh police personnel sustained injuries after the bus they were traveling in during poll duty overturned in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. IG Bastar P Sundarraj said that Madhya Pradesh second battalion were headed towards election duty for the second phase of the general elections after completing duty in the first phase when the mishap took place near Dilmili (Bastar district). Forest fires in Odisha tiger reserve ODISHA: The Odisha government has engaged disaster rapid action force personnel to douse the ongoing forest fires that broke out inside the Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district, officials said on Sunday. Fires were noticed around 31 spots in the STR on Sunday, and the officials with adequate firefighting equipment have been engaged to douse the flames, an official said. Forest officials have been spotting the fires for the last few days. Around 13 fires were spotted on Saturday, and the number increased to 31 on Sunday, the official said. JAIPUR: In an apparent swipe at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said "those who cannot win elections have deserted the field" and become Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan. This comes months after Mrs Gandhi was elected a member of the Upper House of Parliament, unopposed. Before her Rajya Sabha stint, Sonia Gandhi has represented Congress stronghold Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha for two decades. She has also represented Amethi for five years. The Prime Minister was in Rajasthan's Jalore to campaign for BJP's Lumbaram Choudhary, who is taking on Congress's Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The Jalore constituency is a BJP stronghold, with the party winning it consistently for two decades. In today's rally, the Prime Minister questioned if Congress MPs representing Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha raised the state's issues. "The Congress sent a South leader to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Has he never spoken about Rajasthan? No. You also sent former Prime Minister UDDHAV’S DARE TO ECI NOTICE Manmohan Singh to Rajya Sabha. He was unwell, but did you see him in Rajasthan? And now, you have saved another leader. Those who cannot fight elections, win elections have deserted the field and come to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan," he said, without naming Mrs Gandhi. Currently, six Congress MPs represent Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha -- Sonia Gandhi, Neeraj Dangi, Randeep Singh Surjewala, KC Venugopal, Pramod Tiwari and Mukul Wasnik; only Dangi is actually from Rajasthan. The Prime Minister said the people of Rajasthan had "punished" Congress in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan. Twelve out of 25 seats in the state had voted in the first phase last Friday CONTD. ON P7 . MAHAVIR JAYANTI Won’t drop ‘Hindu’, ‘Jai Bhavani’ from party anthem MUMBAI Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he has received a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to remove the words "Jai Bhavani" and "Hindu" from his party's new anthem, but he won't abide by it. Addressing a press conference here, Thackeray said asking for the removal of "Jai Bhavani" from the anthem was an insult to Maharashtra. Thackeray said his party has come up with an anthem to popularise its new poll symbol, "mashal" (flaming torch), and the ECI has asked for the removal of the words "Hindu" and "Jai Bhavani" from it. "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj founded Hindavi Swaraj with the blessings of goddess Tulja Bhavani. We are not asking for votes in the name of the goddess or Hindu religion. This is an insult and will not be tolerated," Thackeray said. The Sena UBT chief said he will continue the practice of saying "Jai Bhavani" and "Jai Shivaji" in his public meetings. CONTD. ON P7 r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 A PAT ON THE BUTT-CHIQUE FOR INCLUSIVITY! BRAND SUTRA ‘If Modi-Shah sarkar returns to power, democracy will end’ OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union home minister Amit Shah, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said that democracy will end in the country if the 'Modi-Shah sarkar' returns to power. He was addressing a public meeting in Satna on Sunday . He alleged that if BJP led NDA returns to power they will scrap the Constitution. "They will scrap the Constitution scripted by Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar. If you want to keep it alive, the right to vote for women, labourers and farmers, then vote for the Congress and its 'panja' (hand) symbol," he appealed to the voters. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to address the rally in Satna in support of Congress candidate Siddharth Kushwaha, but his visit was cancelled as he Designate Naval chief visits his home in Satna OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, the designate chief of the Indian Navy, made a private visit to his home situated in district Satna, said sources on Sunday. Tripathi will succeed Admiral R Hari Kumar, the current chief, who retires on April 30. Hailing from a small village in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol, Tripathi has had an illustrious 40-year career in the Navy, overseeing ships like Veer, Kirch, and Trishul. He's also held vital management and staff roles, including deputy chief of Naval staff (Policy and Plans) and flag officer commanding Eastern Fleet. Tripathi, who hails from Mahudar village in Ramapur, began his education in a village in Satna. was taken ill, a party leader said, adding that Kharge would fill in for him. The Satna Lok Sabha seat will go to polls in the second phase on April 26. Accusing PM Modi of telling lies, Kharge said the PM keeps talking about 'Modi ki guarantee' without taking his party's name. "He had said that if he became the prime minister, Rs 15 lakh would be given to every person by bringing back the black money stashed abroad. Did you get it?" he asked. Modi had also promised the young people of this country that 2 crore jobs would be generated every year, said Kharge continuing his criticism of the PM. "These are Modi's acche din (good days). This man always says I will bring acche din. He tells so many lies. That's why I call him 'jhoothon ka sardar'," Kharge said. Kharge also slammed PM Modi and Union minister Shah for taking those into the BJP fold who were 'corrupt' till they were in other parties. It seems Shah has a 'big laundry with a washing machine to wash those who are corrupt' before inducting them into the BJP, the Congress leader claimed. Besides Satna, Rewa, Tikamgarh, Khajuraho, Damoh and Hoshangabad seats will vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 26. Litmus test for Prez Muizzu as Maldives goes to polls MALE Maldivians on Sunday cast their ballots in a crucial parliamentary election, seen as a litmus test for President Mohamed Muizzu, whose policies are being closely monitored by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics. According to information released by the Elections Commission (EC), 181,406 people cast their ballots as of 4:00 pm local time, making for a voter turnout of 63.73 per cent. This includes 88,230 women and 93,176 men. About 284,000 people were eligible to vote. A total of 602 ballot boxes have been set up in the Maldives and three other countries for the parliamentary election. Polling stations are also open in 34 resorts, prisons, and other industrial islands. The countries in which ballot boxes are placed for voting are Thiruvananthapuram in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, psmnews.mv reported. Parliamentarians will be elected to a total of 93 constituencies, with 368 candidates contesting from six parties, including Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) and the main opposition the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and as independents. CONTD. ON P7 INDIA bloc to enforce ’bail is rule’ principle: Chidambaram THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Jain devotees distribute Laddoo on Mahavir Jayanti in Surat on Sunday QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said today that if the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, it would enact a special law to bring into effect the legal principle established by the Supreme Court that "bail is the rule, and jail is the exception". "We are also promising to bring a special law that would say, 'Bail is the rule, jail is the exception'. it was a great son of Kerala, Justice Krishna who emphasised this law," Mr Chidambaram said at a press conference here. "This rule is rarely fol- lowed in the lower judiciary , magistrates, and district judges, ultimately not every, body can go to the Supreme Court to get bail. 65 per cent of the prisoners are under trial; they are not convicts, so why are they in jail? 90 per cent of the undertrials are OBCs, SC and STs; therefore, we would bring a special law: 'Bail is the rule, jail is the exception' -- everybody after the first 15 days of interrogation by police or the CBI must be granted bail," he added Mr Chidambaram also said that if the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, it will repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the three criminal laws brought by the BJP government. "We will repeal, amend and review the following sets of laws - CAA 2019 is at the top of the list. The Farmers Produce, Trade and Commerce Promotion of Facilitation Act 2020, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita that is equivalent to the IPC, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita that is the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Act that is the Evidence Act," Mr Chidambaram said while responding to a question by ANI at a press conference here. CONTD. ON P7 Gujarat man sells donkey milk online for Rs 5,000 per litre AHMEDABAD For centuries, they have been used as a metaphor for drudgery without recognition. The donkey is, however, "having the last bray", with its milk selling at 70 times the price of milk produced by its bovine rivals. Gujarat's Dhiren Solanki has set up a donkey farm with 42 donkeys at his vil- lage in Patan district and is earning Rs 2-3 lakh a month by supplying donkey milk to clients in southern states. On how his journey began, Solanki says he had been looking for a government job. "I found some private jobs, but the pay would barely cover my family expenses. Around this time, I came to know about donkey rearing in south India. I met some people and set up this farm in my village about 8 months back," he said, adding that he started with 20 donkeys and an investment of Rs 22 lakh. The beginning was tough. There is hardly any demand for donkey milk in Gujarat, and Solanki earned nothing in the first five months. He then started reaching out to compa- nies in south India, where there is a demand for donkey milk. He now supplies to Karnataka and Kerala, and among his clients are cosmetic companies that use donkey milk in their products. Asked about the rate, Solanki says it ranges between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 -compare this to cow milk sold at Rs 65 a litre. The milk is stored in freezers to ensure it stays fresh. The milk is dried and sold in powdered form too, with prices going up to about a lakh for kg. Solanki now has 42 donkeys in his farm and has invested about 38 lakh rupees so far. He says he has not taken any help from the state government so far, but wants it to focus on this sector too. CONTD. ON P7