FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 251 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 23, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in To lay stone of cancer hosp at Bageshwar Dham Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving on a twoday visit to MP on Sunday. On the first day, he will visit Bageshwar Dham in Chhatarpur to lay the foundation stone of cancer hospital. On Monday morning, he will inaugurate the two-day Global Investors Summit. It is for the first time that PM is going to stay in the state for two days. On Sunday noon, the PM will lay the foundation stone of Medical Science and Research Institute in Gada (Rajnagar) village. 4Continued on | P8 Former RBI guv appointed top aide to PM PTI NEW DELHI Former Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das was on Saturday appointed the second Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. P K Mishra, a retired IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as the Principal Secretary to the prime minister. A c c o rd ing to an official order, the tenure of Das, a retired IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, will be "co-terminus" with the term of the prime minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier. This is the first time that two persons will simultaneously serve as principal secretaries to the prime minister. Both Mishra and Das are from Odisha. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Shaktikanta Das, IAS (Retired), as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister with effect from the date he assumes the office. 4Continued on | P8 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Sports UJJAIN PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK PTI Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya has instructed his lawyers in the UK to pursue an annulment application against his bankruptcy order, with his legal team set to argue that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement in Parliament in December last year gives the order an "unreal quality". It comes after Justice Anthony Mann reserved judgment, to be handed down at a later date, after hearings of three interlinked appeals related to Mallya's bankruptcy order concluded at the High Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL There are talks about the Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) being held in the capital of MP, Bhopal. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is preparing for the GIS and for the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to Yadav, industrialists come INTERVIEW with great enthusiasm and expectations, but because of lack of enough government response, they feel disappointed. Nevertheless, he will never let this happen, Yadav said. Despite his busy schedule, he spoke to Free Press about the GIS. Here are the excerpts of the interview: Q. Every state is organising GIS. Why should industrialists invest in MP? A. MP’s topography is different from other states. Raw material can be easily transferred from south Asian countries to any place in India from the state. There is hardly any land in UP, Delhi and Haryana. We have surplus land and extra power. We are getting the benefits of it. Q. The figure of investment proposals is very high at GIS. But the actual investment is lesser than the proposed figures. How will you fulfill this gap? A. Industrialists come with a lot of enthusiasm. They come up with investment plans. But afterwards, they don’t get enough response. They do not get the benefits of their policies. So, they give up. But this time, the government is paying special attention to stop it. Earlier, 38 types of permission were required to set up an industry, but my government reduced the number to ten. Officers are directly interacting with the representatives of industries. The government is sparing no effort to bring in investments. Q. Some old industrial units, like garment factories in Malwa, Bidi factories in Sagar and cement factories in Vindhya, which had been operating before independence, were been shut. Now, the government is talking about setting up new industries. Why is it so? A. The successive Congress governments harmed the state in many ways. Most of the old factories were shut because of the Congress government’s wrong policies. During the Congress rule, industrial growth rate declined to-25 percent. The Congress government hardly USAID ROW | BJP alleges money was used to ‘sustain deep state assets’ in India ‘who work to defend and deflect such revelations’ BJP seeks deep state probe as Trump raises vote fund Online Report ED on trail NEW DELHI The BJP has sought an investigation into alleged US funding of $21 million for voter turnout in India and "kickbacks". The BJP's call for a probe came after US President Donald Trump first raised the issue of the alleged funding, after he took over from former President Joe Biden. The BJP alleged the money was used to sustain "deep state assets" in India. Trump on Thursday repeated his questioning of the US government's allocation of $21 million for voter turnout in India, calling it a "kickback scheme". He also spoke about $21 million for strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh and $19 million for biodiversity in Nepal. "And $21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we caring about India's turnout? We got enough problems. We want our own turnout, don't we? Can you imagine all that money going to India? I he Directorate of Enforcement, along with other security and financial agencies, has initiated preliminary steps to identify Indian entities and individuals who served as conduits for receiving the nowscrapped USAID’s $21 million to influence voter turnout in the country, official sources said on Saturday T Why are we caring about India's turnout? We got enough problems Donald Trump US President wonder what they think when they get it," Trump said at the Republican Governors Association meeting. "Now, it's a kickback scheme. You know, it's not like they get it and they spend; they kick it back to the people that send it. I would say in many cases, many of these cases, anytime you have no idea what we're talking about, that means there's a kickback because nobody has any idea Cong seeks info on beneficiaries Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI what's going on there. $29 million to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh. Nobody knows what they mean by political landscape. What does that mean?" he said. "$20 million for fiscal federalism and $19 million for biodiversity in Nepal, $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia. What the hell do I care about? We got a lot. The Congress on Saturday latched on to US President Donald Trump third statement on USAID’s now-cancelled $21 million funding in India, in which he claimed that the money went to “my friend Prime Minister Modi for voter turnout”, by demanding to know if he indeed took the money and seeking a white paper on the issue. Earlier too on Thursday, the Congress had sought a white paper on the issue of this payment after Trump had said that the funds meant for improving voter turnout in India may have been used “to get somebody else elected”. In his third statement on the issue in three days, Trump said, “USD 21 million going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Court in London this week. T h e j u d g e heard a set of complicated arguments involving a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking repayment of an estimated judgment debt of around GBP 1.05 billion owed by the 69year-old businessman's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya is wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges. 4Continued on | P8 IANS SHIMLA After months of controversy over samosas meant for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu that were served to his security staff during an event at CID headquarters here, the local police have registered a first information report (FIR) against unknown for theft, forgery, public mischief and criminal conspiracy for leaking information and documents from the CID Department. 4Continued on | P8 Civil Aviation Minister orders probe, Air India tenders apology Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken the Tata management to task over a broken chair given to him on an Air India flight from Bhopal to Delhi. Chouhan left for Delhi on an Air India flight AI 436 on Saturday. Chouhan was allotted seat number 8C which was broken and stuck inside. It was difficult for him to sit properly. According to Chouhan, taking money from passengers and offering such seats is against the law. It is a sort of cheating on passengers. He wrote, “After Tata Group took over Air India, I thought its services would improve, but I was under wrong impression.” The Air India management will take proper steps to mitigate the sufferings of passengers or take the advantage of their helplessness. 4Continued on | P8 Our Nat’l Anthem played at Eng-Aus CT match in Lahore PTI A major embarrassment unfolded at the start of the Australia-England Champions Trophy clash at the Gaddafi Stadium, as the Indian national anthem was mistakenly played for a brief moment. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reacted strongly, demanding an explanation from the International Cricket Council P.16 Many units were shut in Congress rule, industrial growth rate was -25%: CM Pak’s faux pas LAHORE E-paper Cinema Celebrating the luminosity... Mallya challenges UK Samosa scandal: Shivraj slams AI after FIR registered bankruptcy order against unknown broken chair fiasco LONDON MUMBAI readers’ corner Shivaji: A Legacy of... P.6 Hamas releases 6 Israeli hostages Semifinal spot vs Survival P.14 PM in MP on two-day visit from today ESTD-1983 PCB demands explanation from ICC after Indian Anthem gaffe (ICC) for the "fiasco."   The incident occurred as the two teams lined up for their respective national anthems, leaving spectators stunned. A source close to the ICC confirmed that the PCB has formally lodged a complaint with the governing body, seeking a detailed account of the incident.   "The PCB has made it clear that the ICC needs to offer some explanation as their people are responsible for the (national anthem) playlist of teams in the Champions Trophy," the source stated. The PCB's letter emphasizes the fact that India is not playing any matches in Pakistan, raising serious questions about how the Indian anthem ended up in the playlist. This is not the first time the PCB has raised concerns with the ICC during the tournament. They previously protested the omission of their name and logo from television screens during India's match against Bangladesh in Dubai. The ICC acknowledged this as an error and assured the PCB that the correct logo, featuring Pakistan's name, would be used for subsequent matches in Dubai.   The anthem mishap adds another layer of tension to the already high-stakes tournament, particularly with the crucial India-Pakistan match scheduled for Sunday in Dubai. A loss in that game could eliminate Pakistan from the tournament. The PCB's assertive response underscores the sensitivity surrounding such incidents, especially in the context of the strained cricketing relations between India and Pakistan. paid attention to industrialisation from the inception of the state to 2003. So, the party should be ashamed of talking about industries. The policy of the present government is to set up new industries and revive the old ones. Q. How will you differentiate between the serious investors and phony investors? A. We have done our homework. We have worked on what kind of investors are coming to our state. The government is acquainted with the serious investors. Now, cotton is sent from the state to Coimbatore. Because of our efforts, factories from Coimbatore are coming to the state. We have to go ahead in this way. Q. Is there any hope for foreign investment? A. It will be more than expectations. Wait for two days. And everything will be clear. (see also PG-3) Bat coronavirus with human transmission risk found in China PTI BEIJING 4Continued on | P8 Process underway to find genuine industrialists Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Though the registration process for Global Investors Summit (GIS) closed, Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation kept receiving applications. Such was the situation that over 5,000 applications were received after closure of the registration. Following this, the MPIDC officials were filtering genuine industrialists among the latecomers. After validation only, passes will be issued to them. Sources in MPIDC said around 30,000 registrations have been received so far. For 20 months, Punjab min held non-existent dept Rajesh Moudgil A Chinese team of virologists have found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission because it uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19, a media report said. The study was led by Shi Zhengli, Chinese virologist from the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the COVID-19 was alleged to have emanated from. Shi, who is known as the Bat Woman for her research on viruses from the Bats, as well as the Chinese government deny that the virus was leaked from the Wuhan lab. MPIDC gets 5K applications after closure of registration CHANDIGARH The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Saturday drew severe flak from the opposition after its Cabinet minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal was found heading a “non-existent’’ department for 20 months. This opposition attack came after a gazette notification dated February 21, issued by the chief secretary stated: “In partial modification of the Punjab government notification dated September 23, 2024, regarding allocation of portfolios amongst the ministers, the Department of Administrative Reforms earlier allotted to Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Cabinet minister, is not in existence as on date. Therefore, on the advice of the CM of Punjab, the Governor of Punjab is pleased to make the following amendment: With effect from February 7, 2025, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal will hold the charge of NRI Affairs Minister.’’ It may be recalled that Dhaliwal, who earlier held the charge of the agriculture and farmers welfare portfolio, was relieved of it during a cabinet reshuffle in May 2023. He retained the NRI affairs department and was also assigned the administrative reforms department. In another reshuffle in September 2024, he retained both the portfolios, though it has now come to light that the administrative reforms department did not exist. 4Continued on | P8