FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLI No. 350 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | MAY 28, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Didi’s proposal for sacked teachers P.8 PTI NEW DELHI India is likely to receive abovenormal rainfall in June, which is expected to keep maximum temperatures in check in most parts of the country, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. At a press conference, M Ravichandran, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said rainfall across the country during June is likely to be more than 108 per cent of the long-period average of 166.9 mm. "During June, most of the country is expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall. However, some southern parts of peninsular India and parts of northwest and northeast India may receive below-normal rain," he said. IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that due to this expected good rainfall, most parts of the country may experience normal to below-normal maximum temperatures, except for many areas in Northwest and Northeast India. Above-normal minimum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country, except some parts of central India and the adjoining south Peninsula owing to the cloudiness, he said. From June to September, he said, the country is likely to receive 106 per cent of the long-period average rainfall of 87 cm. Briefs NEW DELHI Big order on NGOs funding The Centre has asserted that the NGOs engaged in publication-related activities and receiving foreign contribution, will not be able to publish any newsletter and must get a certificate from the Registrar of the Newspaper for India that it does not circulate any news content. Pg8 NEW DELHI Errol’s Ram Temple visit Errol Musk, the father of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is set to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya during his five-day tour of India in June. NEW DELHI ITR due date extended The last date for filing income tax returns for the assessment year 2025-26 has been extended. The last date originally set to be July 31, 2025, has now been extended to Sept 15, 2025. iii QUALITY @ VALUE INDORE EDITIONS: UJJAIN MONEY Nation STRONG MONSOON COMING? ESTD-1983 PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema Saiyami’s southern step P.13 HISTORIC BLUNDER | PM Modi says if Sardar Patel’s advice had been followed, India would not be facing Pahalgam situation Agencies GANDHINAGAR Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India had decided to remove the thorn or terrorism that had become troublesome. He also said that had Sardar Patel's advice had been heeded way back in 1947, India would not be facing the kind of situation it did in Pahalgam. On the second day of his two-day trip to Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi said, "In 1947, Mother India was torn into pieces. Katni chahiye thi zanjeerein par kaat di gayi bhujayein (The chains should have been cut, but the arms were chopped off.) The country was INDUS WATERS, INDIA'S WATERS divided into three parts, and on the same night, the first terrorist attack took place on the soil of Kashmir," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister said that during Partition, Pakistan had captured a part of India using terrorists, whom he called Mu- jahideen. "If on that day, these Mujahideen had been eliminated and Sardar Patel's wish was that until we get PoK, our armed forces should not stop. But no one listened to him and we have been facing this (terrorism) for the last 75 years. Pa- The Prime Minister dwelt on the Indus Waters Treaty in his speech. He said, "I want to tell the new generation how our country was ruined. If you study the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, you'll be shocked. It was decided that the dams built on the rivers of Jammu and Kashmir would not be cleaned. Desilting would not be done. The bottom gates for clearing sediments were to remain shut. For 60 years, these halgam was also an example of it. When we had wars with Pakistan, we defeated Pakistan thrice..." "...Shareer kitna hi swasth kyu naa ho lekin agar ek kaanta chubhta hai toh poora shareer pareshan rehta hai. Ab humne tay kar liya hai uss kaante ko nikaal ke rahenge...("No matter how strong or healthy the body is, even a single thorn can cause constant pain and we've decided that the thorn must be removed)" said Prime Minister Modi. PM Modi also pointed out Pakistan's inability to defeat India in direct war and its shift to proxy warfare. 4Continued on | P8 gates were never opened. Reservoirs that were supposed to be filled to 100% capacity have now been reduced to only 2% or 3%...Right now, I haven't done anything have only kept the treaty in abeyance and people are sweating there (Pakistan). We have opened small gates for cleaning the dams, and there is already a flood there..." Indian people must receive their rightful access to water, he said. SIT submits report to SC on Vijay Shah, hearing today GREEN LIGHT FOR 5TH GEN FIGHTER PLANE Our Staff Reporter SHAH SKIPS CABINET MEET NEW DELHI BHOPAL Minister Vijay Shah was absent from the cabinet meeting on Tuesday for the second time after his comments on Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The cabinet meeting was earlier held in Indore. Besides, Shah did not participate in any public function in the past two weeks. April 22 this year. She was also suffering from kidney problems. This was the first Covid death reported in the state. After this, the health department swung into action and detected 10 Covid cases. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Kerala has the highest number of active cases (430). Maharashtra has 208 cases, Delhi 104 cases and Gujarat 83 cases. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 did not call Shah for the probe, but there are reports that Shah’s statements were taken through video conferencing. Shah made some nasty comments on Colonel Sofia Qureshi at an event in Mhow. The SIT took the statements of those who were present at the function. The preliminary report was prepared on the Sacked PSU staff to lose retirement benefits: Centre MP among five states with Covid deaths  PTI BHOPAL Our Staff Reporter NEW DELHI The dismissal or removal of an employee of a public sector undertaking (PSU) will lead to forfeiture of the retirement benefits, the Centre has said. However, the decision of such dismissal or removal shall be subject to review by the administrative ministry concerned, it said. Madhya Pradesh has figured among the five states which reported Covid deaths in the country, as per official figures on Tuesday. Eleven Covid patients have died so far in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, nine of them within a week. In Indore, a 47-year-old woman died of corona on PTI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the "execution model" to implement a mega project to indigenously develop a fifth generation deep penetration advanced medium combat aircraft for the Indian Air force India has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop the medium weight deep penetration fighter jet with advanced stealth features to bolster its air power capability. The defence ministry said on Tuesday that Singh has approved the "Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model." "In a significant push towards enhancing India's indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model," it said. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is set to execute the programme through Industry partnership. SIT has submitted a report to the Supreme Court about minister Vijay Shah. The apex court is hearing Vijay Shah’s case on Wednesday. On May 19, the apex court set up an SIT and ordered an inquiry about the case. The court directed the SIT to submit a report by May 28. The investigation team consisted of IG Pramod Verma, Kalyan Chakravarty and Vahini Singh, who investigated the case. According to sources, SIT basis of those statements. Chairman of SIT, IG Pramod Verma, told Free Press that they had prepared the first status report and submitted it to the SC. Verma further said they were waiting for the next order from the apex court. 4Continued on | P8 Car ploughs into parade in Liverpool, 65 hurt A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool Football Club fans during a Premier League victory parade in the city centre on Monday evening, injuring 65 people, including four children. The incident occurred just after 6 p.m. local time, about a mile before the final stop of the club’s 10-mile trophy parade. Fans, draped in red Liverpool FC scarves and jerseys, had packed the streets to celebrate the club’s latest title win on what was also a public holiday. Merseyside Police quickly confirmed that the crash was not being treated as a terrorist act. A 53-year-old white British man from Liverpool has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and remains in custody. Authorities believe he acted alone. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the scene as one of “utter horror and devastation,” adding that “the whole country stands with Liverpool.” 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Kiwi Minister’s Indian spam faux pas New Zealand’s Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has come under fire for controversial remarks made during a recent parliamentary session, where she described unsolicited immigration-related emails from Indian nationals as “almost akin to spam”. Stanford made the comments on May 6 while responding to a Who designed Op Sindoor logo? Have decided to remove thorn of terrorism: PM FPJ News Service FP News Service E-paper Edit Indian economy now 4th largest P.6 FDI inflows up 14% to $81 bn in 2024-25 MUMBAI MUMBAI MUMBAI question about her use of a personal Gmail account for official correspondence. Defending her decision, she said she received “a lot of unsolicited emails like, for example, things from people in India asking for immigration advice, which I never respond to. I almost regard those as being akin to spam.” The remarks have drawn criticism from Indian-origin Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who accused Stan- ‘EMAILS FROM INDIANS AKIN TO SPAM’ ford of singling out one ethnicity in a negative light. In a Facebook post, Radhakrishnan said, “If you’re from India, don’t bother emailing her because it’s automatically considered spam.” She called the minister’s words “careless at best and prejudiced at worst,” and warned such remarks reinforce negative stereotypes about the Indian community. Priyanca Radhakrishnan 4Continued on | P8 Erica Stanford INDORE COUPLE MISSING FROM SHILLONG YADAV SPEAKS TO MEGHALAYA CM Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL / INDORE FP News Service MUMBAI The logo of Operation Sindoor stands as a haunting symbol of sacrifice, grief, and unwavering resolve. A booklet and visuals released by the Army of its command centre during the operation reveal that the design was conceived by Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Gupta and Havaldar Surinder Singh. At its heart lies the name ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’ in bold, unyielding block letters. But it's the transformation of one 'O' into a bowl of sindoor (vermillion) that delivers the emotional blow. In Indian tradition, sindoor signifies a married Hindu woman’s bond with her husband. 4Continued on | P8 Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed concern on Tuesday regarding Indore-based couple that went missing from Shillong, Meghalaya since May 23 , saying the incident as "extremely shocking" and praying for their safe return. CM Yadav had a telephonic conversation with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and requested swift and effective action to ensure the couple's safety. The couple, identified as Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, residents of Sahakar Nagar, CAT Road, had gone on their honeymoon and reportedly went missing in Shillong on May 23. CM Yadav wrote on X, “The case is extremely shocking. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma assured me that his police administration is making all possible efforts to trace the missing couple. He has also assured all possible help.” CM Yadav also directed US pauses students’ visa interviews Online Report S ecretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered US embassies all over the world to not schedule new interviews for student-visa applicants as the Trump administration considers ramping up vetting of social media profiles. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M and J) visa ‘SKIP CLASSES, LOSE VISA’ BAGS FOUND 10KM FROM SCOOTER aja’s brother Arpit said the couple had travelled with two large bags and one small bag. Two family members, Vipin and Govind, went to Shillong to assist the police in the search operation. On Tuesday, they were informed that two of the bags were found about 10 km from where the couple’s scooter was abandoned. The family members claimed that the last known location of the couple, the scooter location and the spot where the bags were recovered are all different and roughly 10 km apart from each other. R senior state government officials to remain in constant contact and coordinate with the Meghalaya administration. "I pray to God that Raja and Sonam return home safely. We are working with full commitment for their safe return," said the Chief Minister. Page 3 Father dies as son is trapped in lift Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” Rubio wrote. Panic turned to tragedy in Bhopal on Monday night when a 51-year-old man died of heart failure after his eightyear-old son got stuck in a lift following power cut. The incident occurred at a residential apartment in Jatkhedi under Misrod police station. The deceased, identified as Rishi Bhatnagar, was a real estate and stock market dealer. According to Misrod police sub-inspector Amod Sharma, Bhatnagar had stepped out for 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 The US Embassy in India on Tuesday warned international students studying in the US that if they "drop out, skip classes, or leave your programme of study" without informing the school, then their student visas may be revoked. Date of transfers to be extended for 10 days after ministers’ request Transfers will be done till June 10 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The government has extended the last date for transfer of officials till June 10 following demand from the ministers. The ban on transfer was lifted from May 1 to 31. At the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the ministers discussed the issue of extending the date of transfer for a few more TRANSFER POLICY IN SCHOOL EDUCATION TO BE CHANGED It also came up before cabinet that the policy of transfer of the district cadre was not clear. In the school education department, the officials are transferred at the state level. The right for district-level transfers should be with the in-charge ministers. There is no clear policy for transfer of Patwaries. The collectors transfer the officials from one place to another in the districts. At the state level, transfer of officials is done from one district to another. 4Continued on | P8 days with CM Mohan Yadav. Yadav initially refused to extend the time limit for transfer. But he accepted the plea of the ministers for extending the date of transfer for ten days. 4Continued on | P8