FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 70 | INDORE | THURSDAY | AUGUST 21, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Maharaj spins back to No 1 in ICC ODI bowling rankings P.12 Centre wants GST on health cover to go Agencies NEW DELHI The Centre has proposed exempting life and health insurance policies for individuals from GST, Bihar deputy Chief Minister and convenor of Group of Ministers (GoM) on insurance, Samrat Choudhary, said on Wednesday. Currently, health and life insurance premium attracts 18% GST. During the meeting of the 13-member state GoM, almost all the states were in favour of the proposal, but they asked the GST Council to device a mechanism by which the rate cut benefits are passed on to the customer, said Telangana deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. "We made it clear that the GST reduction benefit should go to policyholders and not companies, some mechanism has to be developed. States wanted it (tax rate) to be brought down or exempted. At the same time, many states told the (GoM) meeting that some mechanism must be developed so that rate cut benefit reaches the people. The GST Council will decide a mechanism," Vikramarka said. 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs PRAYAGRAJ Big relief for Abbas Ansari In a major relief for Mau MLA Abbas Ansari, the son of late gangsterturned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday set aside his conviction in a 2022 hate speech case and paved the way for the restoration of his membership of the Assembly. THANE/PALGHAR Mumbai rain spell continues Heavy rains affected the normal life in Thane district on Wednesday, cutting off villages, inundating houses, and triggering landslides, officials said. A man died after falling into a water-filled quarry while an inundated bridge in Kalyan area was closed amid downpours. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) recorded 186.91 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours ending 8:30 AM on Wednesday. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD US revokes security clearances of 37 current, former govt officials UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema ‘You should be in gutter’ P.14 Archana’s Nepal sojourn to escape marriage pressure Chaos in LS over bill to sack jailed PMs, CMs, mins Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Bills referred to Joint Committee of Parliament Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI MPs react after Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled three bills in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi hah read out the provisions of the Bill which stated that a PM, CM or minister who has been in jail for 30 consecutive days “shall be removed from office by the 31st day by the President, Chief Minister (in case of State Ministers), Governor (for Chief Ministers) and Lieutenant-Governor (for Chief Minister in Union Territories).” S Rahul Gandhi, in black T-shirt, slams new bills Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condemned the tabling of the three contentious bills provisioning the removal of the Prime Minister or chief ministers if they have completed 30 days in prison on serious charges, and suggested that the move seems to be taking the country back to medieval times. The Congress leader, wore a black T-shirt while speaking about the legislation as a mark of protest. IN PARLIAMENT n Oppn MPs walk out of RS demanding discussion on SIR n Cong urges Centre to in custody on account of serious criminal charges. However, the Opposition Amit Shah vs KC Venugopal on ‘morality’ Rijijiu, Bittu assaulted women MPs: TMC After the bills were introduced Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "Can I ask the Home Minister a question? When he was the home minister of Gujarat, he was arrested. Did he uphold morality at that time?" Hitting back, Shah said, "I want to set the record straight. Fake allegations were levelled against me, but despite that, I abided by morality and ethics and not only resigned but did not accept any constitutional post until I was cleared of all charges.” Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged that two Central ministers -- Kiren Rijiju and Ravneet Singh Bittu -have assaulted two women MPS of the party during the protest in parliament. The protest was over three contentious bills. Trinamool has demanded that the ministers step down. The BJP denied any wrongdoing. "Absolutely baseless claims by TMC,” said party MP Sanjay Jaiswal. implement SC, ST, OBC quotas in private higher educational institutions n Passenger Reservation System can book 25,000 tickets per minute: Rail- way minister n Parliament passes bill to set up IIM in Guwahati n Commissioning of Kulasekarapattinam spaceport targeted for FY 27 members protested loudly against the three Bills calling them draconian and an at- tempt to create a police state. Medicaps bus mows down class 12 girl, engineer Bus hits 4 vehicles one by one; auto driver & 2 class XII girls injured ‘Can’t subject govt to whims of guv’ FP News Service dent. She is survived by her parents and a younger brother.  Three people named 16-year-old Suhani Rathore of Telibakhal (Malharganj), 16year-old Khushi Karosiya, a resident of Indra Nagar area and the auto driver got critically injured and they are undergoing treatment in a city hospital. The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that if a Governor has the power to permanently withhold assent to bills passed by a State legislature, it would reduce the elected government to being subject to the whims and fancies of an unelected Governor. A Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar was hearing a Presidential reference made by President Droupadi Murmu under Article 143 of the Constitution. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 INDORE In a tragic road mishap, a recklessly driven bus of Medicaps University hit a car, an autorickshaw and a bicycle killing two people including a class XII girl and a software engineer in the Malharganj police station jurisdiction on Wednesday. Three people were injured in the accident and they are undergoing treatment in a city hospital.  The incident took place between Antim Square and Bada Ganpati Square around 3.50 pm. The bus carrying students hit the vehicles one by one. The 4Continued on | P8 NEW DELHI Our Staff Reporter incident was also captured in the CCTVs installed near the spot. In this accident, 16-yearold Mansi Shrivas, a resident of Hukumchand Colony, who was on his bicycle and was on her way home from the school and 32-year-old Ekansh Pandya, a resident of Sitarampark Colony, who was on the scooter, were killed. A neighbour of Mansi said that she was an excellent stu- Sans deadline, uncertainty over IRS S Balakrishnan MUMBAI E ven though there are reports that the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) has asked its technical committee to prepare a questionnaire for the much-awaited Indian Readership Survey (IRS) and shortlist an agency to conduct the survey, media insiders say that in the absence of a timeframe within which to conduct the survey there is considerable uncertainty. Hormusji Cama, former chairman of MRUC, is reported to have confirmed that no deadline has been set for conducting the IRS. In fact, there are indications that the Council may go only for a pilot survery before launching a full-fledged exercise. Exchange for Media (e4m) , a digital website dealing with media-related issues, had earlier reported that media owners had agreed to apply the same cost-sharing formula for the upcoming E-paper Edit Rain wins again in Mumbai P.6 HIGH DRAMA | Oppn tears bills, throws at Shah The Lok Sabha witnessed some tumultuous scenes on Wednesday as Opposition members tore up copies of The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment Bill), 2025 and threw pieces of paper towards Home Minister Amit Shah as he introduced the legislation which provides for removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers of States and Union Territories who are arrested and detained in custody for 30 consecutive days on allegation of committing an offence punishable with imprisonment for five years or more. There was commotion in the House as Opposition members protested against the legislation saying it would give the executive agencies power to play judge, jury and executioner against elected representatives and could thus be used to destablise government, especially those led by Opposition parties in the states. Along with The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment Bill), 2025, Shah also introduced the related law pertaining to UTs and called The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025. Shah also introduced The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which seeks to amend section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, to provide a legal framework for the removal of the Chief Minister or a Minister in case of arrest or detention MUMBAI IRS as was used in the 2019 IRS. At present, advertisers have to depend on old data which is totally outdated and useless in the new set up. "The IRS is used to gain insights into print and media consumption patterns, product ownership, demographics, and usage covering over 100 product categories across surveyed households," according to e4m. 4Continued on | P8 Archana Tiwari, a 29-year-old High Court lawyer and civil judge aspirant who went missing on August 7 was found near Nepal’s border in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday night. She told Government Railway Police (GRP) that she left voluntarily, unable to bear repeated pressure from her family to marry. Tiwari had boarded the Narmada Express from Indore, reportedly en route to her hometown Katni for Raksha Bandhan. When she didn’t arrive, her brother lodged a missing complaint with GRP Katni on August 8. The case was later transferred to GRP Rani Kamalapati, triggering a high-intensity investigation led by Railway SP Rahul Kumar Lodha. SP Rahul Lodha said that during questioning, Archana told police that her family had been urging her to marry, even suggesting a patwari as a match. "I do not want to marry until I become a civil judge. The repeated pressure to settle down pushed me to leave home,” she I do not want to marry until I become a civil judge. The repeated pressure to settle down pushed me to leave home n Archana Tiwari High Court lawyer & civil judge aspirant 2K CCTV footage, 32-km search & combing op olice examined over 2,000 CCTV recordings between Indore and Bilaspur, searched 32 km of the Narmada river and conducted forest combing operations with help from the forest department. Eventually, electronic surveillance traced her movement. P said. After boarding the train, she decided not to return. With help from two friends—Tejen- Delhi CM slapped, pushed, hair pulled at ‘Jan Sunwai’ FPJ News Service dra Singh from Punjab and S au ra n s h Jo kc ha n d — s h e avoided CCTV cameras at Narmadapuram and moved through Shujalpur, Indore and Hyderabad. As her disappearance gained public attention, she shifted to Jodhpur and Delhi, eventually crossing into Nepal and staying briefly in Kathmandu. She said that she was not harmed or coerced, and her friends only helped facilitate travel. Police said she was safely brought back to Delhi from the Nepal border, and then flown to Bhopal by a GRP team under Inspectors MS Somwanshi and Zaheer Khan. Rajnath, CDS to attend Mhow tri-services seminar PTI NEW DELHI MUMBAI The calm of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s weekly Jan Sunvai at her Civil Lines residence was shattered on Wednesday morning when she was physically assaulted by a man posing as a petitioner. Around 8.05 am, 41-year-old Rajesh Sakariya, an autorickshaw driver from Rajkot, Gujarat, approached Gupta with a sheaf of papers. As the Chief Minister leaned forward to accept them, Sakariya suddenly slapped her several times and yanked her hair before being overpowered by security staff. Witnesses recalled him shouting, “This is for the dogs!” in apparent reference to the Supreme Court’s recent order directing civic bodies to round up stray dogs across DelhiNCR. Though Gupta escaped unhurt, the suddenness of the attack left her visibly shaken. “This cowardly incident will not deter me from serving College recognition fraud: Case against Cong MLA Masood Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Koh-e-Fiza police on Wednesday registered a case against Congress MLA Arif Masood for allegedly obtaining recognition for his college through forged documents. The action follows directions issued by the Jabalpur High Court. DCP Zone-3 Riyaz Iqbal said that the case has been filed against Masood and other unnamed accused in compliance with the court’s order. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been assigned to carry out further probe into the matter. The case pertains to Indira Priyadarshini College, located in Khanugaon and run by the Aman Education Society, where Masood serves as secretary. Earlier, the Higher Education Department had cancelled the college’s recognition. However, keeping students’ academic interests in mind, the court allowed ongoing classes to continue while prohibiting fresh admissions. Delhi,” she told reporters later, a bandage visible on her temple. Police have registered a case of attempted murder against Sakariya. Preliminary investigations revealed his troubled background, including multiple cases in Gujarat related to liquor smuggling and assault. His mother told reporters he was an ardent animal lover who often grew violent when confronted with cruelty towards dogs. She also admitted he had stopped taking prescribed psychiatric medication. “He becomes uncontrollable when he hears about dogs being harmed,” she said. The Army War College in Mhow will host a landmark tri-services seminar, ‘Ransamwad 2025’, on August 26-27 where India’s top defence leadership and officers from across the armed forces will come together to share frontline lessons, debate the impact of technology on future wars, and reflect on the recent Operation Sindoor. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will join the event, which will also see the release of three joint doctrines, including one on heliborne operations. Defence Secretary R K Singh, DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat, veterans, paramilitary officers, defence attaches and industry representatives are also expected. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 RUSSIAN BALM FOR US TARIFFS Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI Indian exports could find a place in Russia if they were hit by the US tariffs, Russia said on Wednesday. It accused the US of “weaponising the economy” and added that Russia would never do so. “Friends do not impose sanctions. Russia will never impose sanctions,” Russian Charge D’Affairs in India, Roman Babushkin, said at a briefing. “Russia understands the importance of India’s relations with the West. We are non-West, not anti-West.” India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil after China, and Moscow accounts for almost 40% of the country’s energy purchases. Trump has accused India of fueling the war in Ukraine for continuing to buy oil from Russia and has said he will impose another 25% tariff on the country by August 28. Post-this, all Indian exports to the US will have a 50% tariff. The Russian diplomat also stated that while he had not seen the official readouts, some western media reports ‘Modi-Putin-Xi meet sooner’ The Russian Embassy in India said on Wednesday that Moscow hopes for a trilateral meeting with India and China which should take place “sooner rather than later.” Roman Babushkin, Russia’s Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, said that Moscow is confident that India and Russia’s energy cooperation will continue despite external pressure. He also said, If Indian goods are facing difficulties entering the US market, the Russian market would welcome Indian exports. had given the impression that Trump would not impose the additional 25% tariff on India. He added that if Indian exports faced difficulty in the US and Western markets due to the Trump tariffs, Russia would be happy to buy them. “We believe that any kind of trade protection policy provokes disputes and instability in global trade. 4Continued on | P8