Vol. 68 No. 149 | Friday, March 28, 2025 | 30 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to June 2024) NATION Amid Kathua encounter, two more rebel groups sever Hurriyat ties GAMES Cinema Delnaaz Irani opens up about her divorce RCB bank on experienced batters to break 17-year Chennai jinx against CSK Edit Unfortunately, the joke is on Shiv Sena, Shinde and Mumbai Auto stocks hit by Trump’s 25% tariff RELIGIOUS INTERFERENCE | CM M K Stalin steers resolution saying the bill will adversely affect the minority community PTI CHENNAI The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution against the Centre's proposed Waqf amendment Bill 2024 and insisted that the Union Government recall it since it would badly affect the minority Muslims. Chief Minister M K Stalin charged the provisions in the amendment bill amount to interference in religious affairs. The resolution was passed amidst a protest and walkout by the BJP members and found support from all other parties including the principal opposition AIADMK and BJP's ally, the PMK. BJP charged the resolution was ruling DMK "usual divisive politics." Piloting the resolution, Stalin said the attempt to amend Waqf Act would hinder the Waqf Board's powers. "This is against the freedom of religion. This is hurting Muslim sentiments," Stalin said and claimed it was an assault on the constitutional rights of minorities and their institutions. "We will continue to op- This is against the freedom of religion. This is hurting Muslim sentiments… We will continue to oppose this. – M K Stalin pose this," he asserted. Listing the consequences of the Bill, the chief minister said the Central government wanted to amend the Bill leading to government control over the Waqf Board and properties. "This will affect the autonomy of the Waqf Boards, transfer the rights to survey the lands to district collectors from the survey department commissioner, remove the board's powers in deciding on its lands, and include two nonMuslims as members in the board. This amounts to interference in the religious affairs," he claimed. Muslims fear that a provision in the Bill mandating the collectors to verify the lands before the registration, would pave the way for the government to acquire their lands, thus violating religious freedom, he said. "Further, the repeal of Section 40 of the Waqf Act is a constitutional violation of religious freedom under Article 26. It is necessary to register our protest against this deceptive law," he said opposing the Bill. 4Contd on | Nation Desai threatens ‘third degree’ for Kamra Megha Kuchik & Prajakta Pol MUMBAI Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai has issued a stern warning, suggesting that stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra will face severe repercussions, in- Dhankhar no to privilege notice against Shah Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday rejected a privilege motion moved by the Congress against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly “casting aspersions” on Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi while speaking about the PM Relief Fund during his reply on a Bill on Tuesday. The notice for the motion was moved by Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh who charged that Shah had cast aspersions on Gandhi in the House during a debate on the Disaster Management Bill 2024. Shah had stated during the discussion that, “The PM National Relief Fund was created during Congress rule … During Congress rule, one family used to have control. In this, the Congress president used to be the member. The Congress president was in the government fund. What answer will you give to the people?” He had also asked, “How was the fund used? The PM Rahat Kosh funds were given to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Who runs it? The Congress and its then president and her family run it.” Contrasting this with how things are run under BJP rule, Shah had also charged that several public sector undertakings and even organisations involved in conversion used to fund Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. 4Contd on | Nation cluding third-degree treatment, and be placed inside a tire. Desai claimed that Shiv Sena workers have refrained from taking action only because Eknath Shinde instructed them to stay silent. Regarding the Kunal Kamra controversy, Desai stated, "Kunal Kamra does such things deliberately. He disrespected Dy CM Eknath Shinde, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, PM Modi, and even the Supreme Court. Now it's time for Shiv Sena to respond. We are ministers, but first, we are Shiv Sena members, and we hold the power to act accordingly. If Kamra has the courage, he should make public statements instead of hiding behind his remarks. We will ask the Dy CM to instruct the police to find him and take appropriate action." 4Contd on | Nation FPJ News Service MUMBAI X/CMOTAMILNADU TN assembly wants Waqf bill withdrawn Finally, the much-awaited Damocles' sword of tariffs has become a reality as US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a sweeping new import duty of 25 per cent on imported passenger vehicles, light trucks and components. The new tariffs come into effect from April 2, with charges on businesses importing vehicles starting on April 3, and taxes on parts effective from May. Sending shock waves to the global automotive The tariff on auto imports throws uncertainty over India’s $7 billion of exports to America, which exporters worry could squeeze margins markets, including India, pivotal auto stocks slumped in morning trade, with Tata Motors losing over six per cent to Rs 661.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Ashok Leyland lost 4.60 per cent, M & M 1.70 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.48 per cent and Apollo Tyres 1.41 per cent, and the BSE auto index quoted lower at 48,286.47. 4Contd on | Nation TELANGANA RESOLUTION ‘Population not sole basis for delimitation’ FPJ News Service HYDERABAD The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution asserting that population should not be the sole yardstick for the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who moved the resolution, claimed that there is a possibility of the representation of southern states in Lok Sabha seats falling from 24 per cent to 19 per cent, if delimitation is carried out on the basis of population. Without naming the BJP, he alleged that the party in power at the Centre is trying to create a situation of making southern states irrelevant in formation of the government at the Centre by reducing their representation in the Lok Sabha seats. He appealed to the parties in Telangana to jointly speak to the Centre to safeguard the state's interests. "If the Centre is on the same page (as our cause) fine, otherwise, we need to build a struggle," he said. Revanth Reddy appealed to the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka to attend the meeting of political parties and people's organisations to be or- Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy speaking in Assembly on Thursday ganised by his government soon on delimitation. The participants should join forces to resolve the issues with the Centre, he said. The comments of some union ministers that the Centre has not taken up the delimitation issue is only half true, he said. Though the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 spoke about increasing the number of constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Centre had said it would take up the delimitation of constituencies only after the 2026 Census, he said. The Centre, however, carried out delimitation of constituencies in Jammu and Kash- mir as well as Sikkim based on population, the CM said. He alleged that Telangana and other southern states are not getting funds from the Centre proportionate to the taxes paid by them, while states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh get more than what they do. The resolution said that the states which have effectively implemented the population control programme pushed by the Centre, and consequently whose population share has come down, should not be penalised. Therefore, population should not be the sole yardstick for delimitation, it said. 4Contd on | Nation