Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | Vol. 68 No. 272 | 31 Pages THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY GAMES NATION Oppn renews its protests in Parliament against Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls Selectors will have to decide on Shubman Gill’s place in the Asia Cup squad today World PHOTOGRAPHY Day Cinema 20 years on, comedian Papa CJ still unfiltered Edit ONOE: For India, it is all about setting the right traditions BRACE FOR MORE DOWNPOUR Red alert for Mumbai Devashri Bhujbal MUMBAI In another day of recordbreaking August rainfall of over 200mm, one person died in a tree fall incident at Nepean Sea Road, another was injured at Sahar Road and one was washed away in the Mithi river spate. The red alert for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar will continue on Tuesday, and all schools and colleges will remain closed in the metropolitan region. On Monday morning, the city and the surrounding areas came to a grinding halt amid heavy downpour. Buses waded slowly through flooded roads, Central and Harbour Oppn impeachment sword over CEC Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI The INDIA bloc of Opposition parties plans to bring an impeachment notice against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for lashing out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has repeatedly made “vote chori” (vote theft) allegations against the Election Commission. On Sunday, the CEC had demanded that Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, either submits an affidavit to buttress his claims or apologise in seven days for his allegations and insinuations. Following a meeting of eight parties, Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi asked why EC was silent on the issues raised by Gandhi regarding discrepancies in the Mahadevapura electoral roll, the high voter addition in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and on the deletion of video data. “The CEC did not reply to the important questions being raised by the political parties and ran away from his responsibility,” he said, adding that it would have been better had the official “answered all the valid questions asked by the Opposition” and not “raised questions on political parties and attacked them”. Gogoi also remarked that, “The EC is in the hands of officers who are taking sides and not probing any charges made by the opposition." To a question on the Opposition planning to bring an impeachment notice against the CEC, Gogoi said, “Will take the right decision at the right time.” Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha also said that the Opposition parties have “all parliamentary, legal options open before us.” He also criticised the CEC for his remarks saying, “we found a new BJP spokesperson”. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation, Edit line trains were delayed by close to an hour and there were ten turn-around incidents at the Mumbai airport. On Monday morning, a bus carrying students from Don Bosco School got stuck on a waterlogged road at Kings Circle. The passers-by informed the Mumbai police, Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar A day after the BJP-led NDA declared Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the post of VicePresident, senior Opposition leaders got into a huddle at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to decide their nominee. However, the meeting remained inconclusive and TMC MP Derek O'Brien said another meeting would be held at Kharge’s residence at 12.30 pm on Tuesday. All through the day there were a buzz that DMK MP Tiruchi Siva could be the Opposition candidate, as his party had demanded that like Rad- State deluged, 6 missing Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI who rushed to the spot to rescue the kids to a safe location. By 10 am, all low-lying areas were under water – Kurla, Powai, Andheri, Sion, Matunga, Dadar, Byculla, Ghatkopar, Chembur, and Andheri. 4See also | city Torrential rains lashed Maharashtra on Monday, creating flood-like situation in Konkan, Vidarbha and Marathwada. Six people are missing in Marathwada – three in Nanded, two in Beed, and one in Hingoli. Nanded district witnessed cloudburst-like rainfall in Mukhed taluka, submerging several villages and leaving many stranded. While the State Disaster Relief Force managed to rescue several people, reports indicated that five persons were swept away. A total of 57 revenue circles in Marathwada have recorded excess rainfall. According to the CM’s office, red alerts have been extended to Ratnagiri, Pune Ghat, Satara Ghat, and Kolhapur Ghat regions for Tuesday. Meanwhile, Palghar, Thane, Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Amravati, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli are under orange alert. Over the past two days, several rivers in Konkan have NOT AFRAID OF CEC THREATS, SAYS RAHUL A plot twist to Dharmasthala Dheeraj Kumar BENGALURU Vinay Madhava Gowda PATNA According to SIT sources, the ‘mass burial’ complainant has confessed to being part of a plan to create a narrative against the temple administration The Dharmasthala ‘mass burial’ episode has taken a dramatic turn as the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been probing the allegations made by an anonymous complainant, has now shifted its focus on the complainant himself and begun questioning the man known as the “maskman.” According to SIT sources, the complainant has confessed to being part of a plan to create a narrative against the temple administration. However, both the SIT and the government are waiting to complete all legal formalities before making a public statement. The investigation had begun Rubio shields China over oil tariffs Zelenskyy & Don want 3-way talks Agencies Agencies WASHINGTON WASHINGTON hakrishnan, their candidate too should be from Tamil Nadu. The meeting, however, was not able to pick him as easily. The opposition meeting was attended among others by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, TMC's O’Brien, DMK MP Kanimozhi, and JMM MP Mahua Maji. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified why Washington has refrained from imposing secondary sanctions on China, Russia’s largest oil buyer, even as heavy tariffs have been applied to India for its trade with Moscow. Speaking to Fox Business on Sunday, Rubio said the decision was shaped by concerns over global energy prices and European dependence on refined Russian oil sold through Beijing. Rubio noted that a significant share of Russian oil exported to China is not consumed domestically but refined and re-exported to other markets, including Europe. “Well, if you look at the oil that’s going to China and being refined, a lot of that is then being sold back into Europe. Europe’s also buying natural gas still. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump expressed hope Monday’s critical talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Russian President Putin to bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine. The US president said he would back European security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump stopped short of committing US troops to the effort, saying instead there would be a “NATO-like” security presence but that all those details would be hashed out in their afternoon meeting with EU leaders. “They want to give protection and they feel very strongly about it and we will help them out with that,” Trump said. “It’s very important to get the deal done.” Trump also said he plans to talk to Putin after his meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders. Zelenskyy also ex- A day after the Chief Election Commissioner issued an ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi to substantiate his allegations of “vote chori”, the Congress leader intensified his attack, accusing the Election Commission of using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a "new weapon" to disenfranchise eligible voters. Speaking in Gayaji, Gandhi declared, “I want to tell the Election Commission — the whole country will ask you to give an affidavit. The INDIA bloc is not afraid of your threats. Neither am I, nor is Tejashwi Yadav, nor is Bihar.” Addressing the three election commissioners directly, he warned, “When the INDIA bloc comes to power, we will take action against you for vote theft.” 4Contd on | nation No consensus on VP face, Oppn to meet again today NEW DELHI SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES TO REMAIN CLOSED FLOOD-LIKE SITUATION IN KONKAN, VIDARBHA, MARATHWADA crossed danger levels, while Jalgaon has reported major losses. In Vidarbha, preliminary estimates suggest that nearly two lakh hectares of farmland has been damaged. `25 CRORE DIAMOND ROBBERY IN SURAT Melvyn Thomas SURAT following a court order after the maskman lodged a complaint with the Dharmasthala police and later recorded a statement before the judge under Section 164 of the CrPC (now 186). 4Contd on | nation If everything works out today, we will have a trilateral. We are going to work with Russia, we are going to work with Ukraine. Donald Trump We are ready for trilateral as president said. It’s a good signal about trilateral. I think this is very good. Volodomyr Zelenskyy pressed openness to trilateral talks. Trump first held one-onone talks with Zelenskyy. The two were then to gather with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, 4Contd on | nation PUTIN, PM IN TALKS ussian President Putin called PM Narendra Modi on Monday to brief him about his meeting with President Donald Trump in Alaska over Ukraine. Following the conversation, PM posted on social media saying, "Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska." He added, “India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come." The Prime Minister's Office said the 2 leaders also touched upon a number of issues of bilateral cooperation with a view to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. R Diamonds worth `25 crore were stolen from DK & Sons Diamond Company at Kapodra during the three-day public holiday. It is considered as one of the biggest heists in Gujarat's Surat. According to the police, the thieves gained entry into the fourth-floor office in Kapoorwadi, cut open the safe with a cutter, and fled with rough diamonds and cash. Before fleeing the spot, the miscreants smashed the CCTV cameras and stole the DVR system. DCP Alok Kumar said, “The timing of the theft indicates meticulous planning. Taking advantage of the three-day holiday, the criminals broke into the company and executed the robbery with precision. As per the invoice records, diamonds worth over `25 crore have been stolen. We are scanning the CCTV footages from nearby buildings to trace the culprits.” Teams of the Surat crime branch and forensic experts investigated the crime scene, collected the evidence, and tried to analyse the entry and exit points. Possibility of insider's involvement could not be ruled out, said the cop. DCP Kumar said, “This is one of the biggest heists Surat has seen in recent years. We are confident the culprits will be identified soon.” Referred to as the “Diamond City of the World”, Surat processes nearly 90% of the world’s diamonds. The heist has sparked panic in the industry, said sources. 4Contd on | nation offgrid Skibidi! Delulu married to a tradwife? Agencies LONDON Cambridge Dictionary has added more than 6,000 new words to its latest edition, with social media slang and terms born out of internet culture making a notable appearance. Among them are “skibidi” and “tradwife,” two expressions that have rapidly gained popularity online. “Skibidi” is described as a versatile word that can mean “cool” or “bad,” or simply be used as a joke without any real meaning. As per the BBC, the dictionary cites the example, “What the skibidi are you doing?” The term originated from a surreal animated video series on YouTube, the first of which has already been viewed more than 60 million times. The phrase recently entered pop culture when reality TV star Kim Kardashian shared a video on Instagram of a necklace engraved with “skibidi toilet,” a nod to the viral series. “Tradwife,” meanwhile, is a shortening of “traditional wife” and refers to a married mother who cooks, cleans, and often documents her lifestyle on social media. Colin McIntosh, lexical programme manager at Cambridge Dictionary, said: “Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary.” 4Contd on | nation Trump aide cautions on India’s Russia tilt FPJ News Service WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: Over 6,000 Gen Z words, social media slang, added to Cambridge Dictionary White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has sharply criticised India’s continued purchases of Russian crude, saying they are helping fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine and undermining global efforts to isolate Russia’s economy. Writing in the Financial Times, he argued that India’s dependence on Russian crude is “opportunistic” and “deeply cor- rosive” of the world’s attempts to choke off President Putin’s war financing. “India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote. He pointed out that India exports more than a million barrels per day of refined petroleum products, shielding India from sanctions scrutiny. If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one. 4Contd on | nation Peter Navarro