FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 69 | INDORE | MONDAY | AUGUST 18, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports ‘My intent in video was to talk about Brevis’ batting, not... P.10 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY markets to remain resilient; GST reforms, Wang Yi’s visit in focus UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK A Brand Sutra Love Has A New Language P.12 fp Briefs LADAKH Now, Siachen, Galwan tour? Ladakh Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta on Sunday said his administration is planning to develop Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, and Galwan valley as new tourism attractions in the Union Territory. "Siachen and Galwan are being developed to promote tourism, thereby offering visitors a unique opportunity to witness the unmatched natural beauty as well as the spirit of courage and sacrifice associated with Ladakh's frontier regions," Gupta said. BHUBANESWAR Naveen in hosp, stable BJD chief and Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, was admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Sunday due to dehydration. His health condition is stated to be stable. Maha Guv Radhakrishnan named NDA veep candidate N Chithra & Kalpesh Mhamunkar Tamil Factor CHENNAI/MUMBAI The BJP-led NDA has picked Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the vice presidential election. BJP chief and Union Minister JP Nadda made the announcement during a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday. "At the parliamentary board meeting, we all unanimously decided on the VP candidate, CP Radhakrishnan. We also discussed the VP candidate with all our alliance parties earlier. We will discuss our opposition party as well to smooth the VP election..." Hails from Tamil Nadu, headed state BJP unit Represented Coimbatore in Lok Sabha for 2 terms Nadda said. "He has a 40-year experience in politics and wore many hats," Nadda said. “Radhakrishnan is considered a statesman, commands respect in all sections of society in Tamil Nadu.” This development follows the BJP parliamentary board meeting, which was attended by top party leaders, including PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Nomination comes ahead of TN election next year The candidature comes almost a month after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President on 21 July. Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022, and his tenure was till 2027. The Election Commission issued a notification on 7 August for the 9 September election to the vice president's post, kickstarting the nomination pro- PM NUDGE TO STATES FOR GST DIWALI GIFT FP News Service NEW DELHI PM Modi on Sunday said the Centre has circulated the draft of the next-generation GST reforms among states and sought their cooperation to implement the proposal before Diwali. He said the reform in GST would benefit poor and middle-class people, as well as small and big businesses. The PM had announced the reform proposal during his Independence Day speech on August 15. The Centre intends to make the GST law simpler and revise ‘Oppn trampled statute, now dancing with it’ cess. The last date of filing the nomination for vice presidential election is 21 August. The opposition INDIA bloc is yet to announce its candidates even as the numbers favour the NDA. His choice - coming ahead of the next year's election in Tamil Nadu - is expected to send a signal to the people of the state where the BJP is yet to make a build a niche for itself. It is also expected to be a googly for the Dravidian parties - the ruling DMK and the Opposition AIADMK which has so far kept a firm grip on the state. 4Continued on | P8 SIT to present status report on Vijay Shah case in SC today Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL 7-DAY CHALLENGE Submit affidavit, or apologise, no third option: CEC’s ultimatum to Rahul over allegations of ‘vote theft’ FP News Service NEW DELHI In a sharp rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "vote theft" in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Congress leader: either submit a signed affidavit substantiating the claims or apologise to the nation. Addressing his first press conference since Gandhi accused the Election Commission of allowing electoral fraud, Kumar said unequivocally: “Give an affidavit or apologise to the nation. There is no third option. If an affidavit is not submitted within seven days, all allegations will be deemed baseless and invalid.” Kumar was flanked by fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi during the press conference, which coincided with the launch of the opposition’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar—a protest campaign highlighting alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state. Kumar dismissed the opposition’s claims as mis- EC is standing like a rock with voters. How can EC discriminate between parties? EC does not distinguish between the opposition and the ruling party. Political parties firing from EC’s shoulders. EC will not shy away from its constitutional duty. information and warned against “firing from the Election Commission’s shoulder.” He stressed that legal protocol mandates submission of an af- we are set to implement reforms aimed at making life and business operations smoother and more convenient. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the controversial remarks made by Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah on Colonel Sofia Qureshi will present its third status report in Supreme Court on Monday. Initially, the SIT was expected to submit the report last Wednesday, but the next hearing and submission are now scheduled for August 18. SIT chief and IG Jabalpur Pramod Verma, who heads the team formed under Supreme Court instructions, confirmed the timeline. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 4 held in ESAF Bank heist, mastermind still elusive Trump’s ‘big progress on Russia’ post sets off buzz Taking a swipe at Opposition leaders, PM Narendra Modi on Sunday said that those “who dance with a copy of Constitution on their head” had maintained unjust and regressive laws while in power, trampling the spirit of the statute. Addressing an event after inaugurating two expressways, he said the opposition parties have not been able to digest the success of BJP in Delhi and its adjoining states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. tax rates, Modi said. "For us, reform signifies the advancement of good governance, which is why we place a strong emphasis on continuous improvement. In the near future, E-paper Edit Creating a defence shield P.6 V-P POLLS | The candidature comes almost a month after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President on 21 July mbrish Kela, founding member of Jaivik Setu, has been leading a transformation rooted in sustainability, health and ethical living. Turn to Indore page to find out how. SEE P2 MUMBAI fidavit for any serious electoral complaint. “If someone believes the Election Commission will act on a PowerPoint presentation filled with incorrect data, that’s not how the law or Constitution works,” Kumar said.On July 31, Rahul Gandhi had accused the EC of facilitating "vote chori" (vote theft), citing alleged discrepancies in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment. Presenting a detailed breakdown, Gandhi alleged that over one lakh votes were stolen through five kinds of manipulation, including duplicate entries, invalid addresses, and mass registrations from single addresses. 4Continued on | P8 Rahul: Why is EC asking only me for oath? Dheeraj Kumar PATNA Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned why the Election Commission (EC) was singling him out to submit an affidavit on his vote theft allegations, while the BJP, which had made similar claims recently, was not being held to the same standard. Speaking at the launch of the 1,300-km ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Sasaram, Bihar, Gandhi said the EC’s demand that he verify data — which he claims originates from the poll body itself — was unjustified. “Why is the EC asking only me for an affidavit? The data I used is from the Election Commission. Why isn’t the BJP being asked the same when it made similar allegations just days ago?” he asked. 4Continued on | P8 SURENDRANAGAR Eight charred to death Eight persons, including five women and two children, were charred to death after the car carrying them collided with an SUV, landed in a roadside ditch, and burst into flames in Gujarat's Surendranagar district on Sunday, police said. The horrific accident occurred on a highway near Dedadara village in Wadhwan taluka at around 3:40 pm when the car was headed towards Surendranagar city from Kadu village. Cloudburst, landslide hit Kathua; 7 killed FP News Service Unidentified attackers opened fire outside the residence of controversial YouTuber Elvish Yadav in Haryana's Gurugram early Sunday morning, triggering panic in the upscale locality. Police said the firing took place between 5.30 and 6 a.m. when three bike-borne assailants sprayed more than two dozen bullets at Yadav's house before fleeing. GORAKHPUR UP gets green hydrogen plant Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inaugurated the state's first and the country's second green hydrogen plant at Khanimpur village in Gorakhpur district, set up by Torrent Gas and Torrent Power, an official statement issued here said. WASHINGTON JABALPUR struck Chisoti village in Kishtwar district, leaving 60 people dead and more than 1 0 0 injured. Officials said while five persons, including a man and his two minor sons, lost their lives in Jodh Ghati which was hit by the cloudburst, snapping access to the village and causing damage to several mud houses, a mother-daughter duo lost their lives in landslide triggered by rains at Bagra village of Janglote. The Army has evacuated six injured persons to hospital from Jodh Ghati. Jabalpur Police have arrested four men in connection with the daring bank robbery that shook Khitola on August 11. Armed assailants looted 14.875 kg of gold and Rs 5.08 lakh in cash from ESAF Small Finance Bank in a swift, meticulously planned 15-minute operation. The arrested have been identified as Rais Lodhi, Sonu Varman, Hemraj and Vikas Chakraborty. Police said the gang had rented a house in the area to plan the heist and used motorcycles to escape after the crime. CCTV footage helped investigators trace the suspects, leading to recovery of Rs 1.83 lakh in cash, an illegal weapon, live cartridges and two motorbikes. However, the main accused remains at large, believed to be carrying the bulk of the stolen gold. The robbery occurred around 9 AM on Monday, when a group of armed men stormed the ESAF office. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 GURUGRAM Shots fired at Elvish’s home Agencies Agencies JAMMU Five children were among seven members of four families who perished in two separate incidents of cloudburst and landslide in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir early Sunday, officials said. The calamity struck Jodh Ghati village of Rajbagh and Bagra village of Janglote amid heavy overnight rains in the district, leading to increase in the level of water bodies and submerging many low-lying areas, they said. The cloudburst in Kathua came three days after flash floods triggered by cloudburst US President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed “big progress” had been made on Russia, following his ummit in Alaska with President Putin that focused on finding a way to end the conflict in Ukraine. "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED! President DJT", Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, Don seeks trilateral summit by Aug 22 US President Donald Trump has told European leaders after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he wants to arrange a trilateral summit with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as soon as August 22, US media reported without elaborating. The post has fueled speculation that the US President may be referring to possible security guarantees for Ukraine, as it coincided with reports from Trump envoy Steve Witkoff revealing that during the talks, Putin sig- Bhopal will host international cricket friendlies for the first time this October, featuring veteran players aged 50-60 from India and New Zealand. Three martches of 40 overs will be played between two teams from New Zealand and two local Bhopal teams, representating India. The matches, organised by Veteran Cricket India (VCI), are scheduled for October 12, 13 and 15 at Faith Club, Old Campion School and Sanskar Valley School grounds. New Zealand’s teams, New Zealand A and New Zealand B, will face Bhopal’s Urban Tigers and Central Strikers. 4Continued on | P8 mission. He was welcomed at the airport by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Isro Chairman V Narayanan, alongside a sea of wellwishers. "Thank you sir. Surely feels good to be back home," Shukla posted on X (formerly Twitter), responding to Minister Singh’s message welcoming him on his return. FP News Service NEW DELHI Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, popularly called Shux, returned to India early Sunday to a rousing reception at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, where a large crowd waving the tricolour and beating drums gathered to celebrate his historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla, who became the second Indian to undertake a Bhopal to host India vs NZ veteran series in Oct BHOPAL BHOPAL: The Union Government will soon launch a nationwide campaign to crack down on fake and harmful agricultural inputs, including spurious pesticides, fertilisers, and seeds. This decision comes in the wake of a major crop failure in Madhya Pradesh, where farmers have suffered heavy losses due to suspected faulty weedicide. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a surprise visit on Good to be back: Shux comes home in a first Smita naled that he would be open to allowing the US and its European allies to offer Ukraine a NATO-style security guarantee. “We got to an agreement that the US and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee,” Witkoff said. Govt to launch action against spurious agri inputs: Chouhan The Bhopal teams comprise 18 local players and six from Indore. Nearly 26 players from New Zealand will participate, with the teams playing prior friendlies in Delhi. The Faith Club and Old Campion grounds can host around 1,000-1,500 spectators, while Sanskar Valley matches will be closed to the public. Ratnadeep Saksena, president of Veteran Cricket India, said the event aims to promote sports among people aged 40-60 and encourage fitness through friendly competition beyond professional retirement age. “Players retire from competitive cricket at 30-35, but often remain fit for decades after. Our goal is to bring such veterans together to play friendly matches,” Saksena said. He also revealed plans to invite veteran players from Canada for future matches in Bhopal. spaceflight, was part of the Axiom-4 private space 4Continued on | P8 ‘Unfettered’ EC powers: Ex-CJI Khanna on ONOE Agencies NEW DELHI Former Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna has told a parliamentary committee scrutinising the simultaneous election bill that the constitutional validity of a proposal in no way amounts to a pronouncement upon the desirability or necessity of its provisions. In his written opinion to the committee, Khanna, however, said that arguments related to the dilution of the country's fed- eral structure may be raised about the constitutional amendment bill, as he listed the various claims made supporting and criticising the concept, sources said. Most of the experts, who have shared their views with the committee headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, have rejected the charge that the proposals are unconstitutional but have flagged some issues with the current provisions of the bill. 4Continued on | P8