INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E paper circulation THE SUNDAY N AT I O N A L WA F F L E DAY Vol. 36 No. 48 | Sunday, August 24, 2025 29 Pages | `5 & for State `6 | Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation WEEKEND Weekend Girgaon Ganeshotsav to celebrate tradition, unity, and Marathi pride Live Smart Teachings from Ganesha This Ganesh Chaturthi, choose eco-friendly elegance of metal idols Sunday Read Sweet & savoury modaks to offer Lord Ganesha this year PROBLEM IDENTIFIED | External Affairs Minister says New Delhi will have to deal with the American president’s unorthodox way of conducting foreign policy Blame falls on Trump’s style Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday maintained India’s line on buying oil from Russia. Explaining the impasse in the relationship, the Jaishankar said India needed to understand that it was dealing with a president who conducted foreign policy in a very different manner. “President Trump’s way of dealing with the world is a departure from the current orthodox manner of doing so. We’ve not had a US president who has conducted foreign policy as publicly as the current one does. The minister dubbed the US tariffs on India as “unjustified and unreasonable” and maintained that India had continued to buy Russian oil with the knowledge and encouragement of the previous Biden administration. He said that India's priority was to protect farmers and small producers, stressing that New Delhi would not compromise on their interests. "What we are concerned about is that red lines are primarily the interest of our farmers and, to some extent, our small producers. We had a series of explicit conversations with the Biden administration, which said that we have no problems with you buying Russian oil. This is where the idea of an oil price cap came up. How else did the oil price cap idea come about? You can't say I object to your buying oil, but I have a price cap. Vidhi Santosh Mehta Sergio Gor, once a relative unknown, has suddenly become one of the most consequential figures in Donald Trump’s second administration. At just 38, the Tashkent-born conservative operative now holds extraordinary power as director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, tasked with finding, vetting, and hiring nearly 4,000 officials across the executive branch. The role gives him sweeping influence over the shape of Trump’s government, with loyalty to the president as the top criterion. As Donald Trump Jr. explained, Gor’s team examines not just resumes but also political allegiances, scrutinising what potential appointees were “doing and saying” as far Meet the new US envoy, from ‘Mayor of Mar-a-Lago’ to Roosevelt House back as 2015 and in the aftermath of January 6, 2021. Within Trump’s circle, Gor is considered both a loyalist and a social fixture. Dubbed the “Mayor of Mar-a-Lago,” he is a constant presence at Trump’s Florida estate, deejaying MAGA-themed parties, belting out Phantom of the Opera tunes alongside the president, and even visiting Trump allies like Peter Navarro, a senior economic adviser to the US who criticises India for buying oil from Russia, in prison. His closeness to the Trump family is widely acknowledged. 4Contd on | Nation Ashwin Ahmad Senior diplomats in New Delhi have reacted strongly to President Trump’s appointment of Sergio Gor as the next US ambassador to India. Apart from the lack of India expertise, senior diplomats voiced concerns over Gor’s dual role. Gor has been appointed not just the US Ambassador to India but also Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, a role given to a US envoy for the first time. Former foreign secretary and ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, believes that Gor’s appointment and his wider role would hurt rather than help India-US ties. “Gor is not a diplomat. He is a longtime Trump aide with no Ashwin Ahmad 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Gor’s appointment signals an even more transactional phase in the relationship. – Nirupama Rao, former foreign secretary and ambassador to US This Special Envoy mandate also blurs the focus on the Indo-Pacific dimension of USIndia ties. The intention behind this double nomination is problematic. – Kanwal Sibal, former foreign secretary It is good to have an ambassador who has the ear right to the top. It also means that we won’t have a policy kind of filter that might have been able to balance what Trump wants with larger policy. So that will be a loss. – Navtej Sarna, former ambassador to US background in India or South Asia. His main qualification appears to be loyalty to Trump.” Rao believed Gor’s appointment was to push Trump’s agenda rather than look to The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday raided the Mumbai residence of Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCom) Director Anil Ambani and the company’s corporate office in connection with a ₹2,929 crore fraud case lodged by the State Bank of India (SBI). The raids at Ambani’s Cuffe Parade residence ‘Sea Wind’ and the RCom office followed the registration of an FIR on Thursday against RCom, Ambani, unidentified public servants, and others. The agency has booked them on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal misconduct under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the FIR, the fraud relates to loans and credit facilities sanctioned to RCom between 2013 and 2017. The CBI alleged that the accused misrepresented facts to obtain funds and later diverted them through complex transactions. “It is alleged that the accused persons, in criminal conspiracy, misrepresented and got sanctioned credit facilities from SBI in favour of Reliance Communication Ltd. NEW DEHI mend fences with India. “Trump has openly said Gor will push his agenda, not necessarily strengthen U.S.India ties. Re-hyphenation concerns seen in envoy’s dual role NEW DELHI MUMBAI President Donald Trump announced the appointment of the new US ambassador to India. In a Truth Social post on Saturday, the president stated that he had appointed Sergio Gor to be the US envoy to India as he needed someone he could fully “trust to deliver on my Agenda and help us, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” “I am pleased to announce that I am promoting Sergio Gor to be our next United States Ambassador to the Republic of India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs,” said Trump, who stated that Gor would take over the role once his confirmation came through. Emphasising Gor’s closeness to him, Trump said Sergio was a “great friend” who has been at my side for many years. “He worked on my Historic Presidential Campaigns, published my best-selling Books, and ran one of the biggest Super PACs, which supported our Movement. Sergio’s role as Director of Presidential Personnel has been essential to delivering on the unprecedented Mandate that we received from the American people.” Key people in the Trump administration also endorsed the president’s choice. – S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister After January, there was never any conversation with this administration saying don’t buy oil. MUMBAI Somendra Sharma President Trump’s way of dealing with the world is a departure from the current orthodox manner of doing so. We’ve not had a US president who has conducted foreign policy as publicly as the current one 4Contd on | Nation The unlikely rise of Sergio Gorokhovsky ANIL AMBANI’S HOUSE, RCOM OFFICE RAIDED Sergio Gor named US envoy to India FIR against Masked complainant Tejashwi in identified, arrested Gadchiroli Dheeraj Kumar MUMBAI PATNA Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has been booked in Gadchiroli for allegedly sharing an ‘objectionable’ social media post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The FIR was registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups), Section 356 (defamation), Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace), and Section 353 (statements causing public mischief). Similar FIRs have also been lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur and Lalitpur districts. The controversy stems from a post shared by Yadav on X ahead of the Prime Minister’s rally in Gaya. The post carried a cartoon portraying Modi as a shopkeeper with a signboard reading “famous shop of rhetoric.” Alongside, Yadav demanded that Modi give an account of his 11-year rule and the NDA’s 20 years in Bihar. Meanwhile, Shahjahanpur Police in Uttar Pradesh also registered a case against Yadav over the same post. The complaint, filed by BJP city president Shilpi Gupta, alleged that Yadav’s remarks against the Prime Minister had “caused immense anger among the people.” 4Contd on | Nation FPJ News Service Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that India will build its own space station, the Bharatiya Antriksh Station (BAS), by 2035. Addressing scientists, engineers, and students on National Space Day, he said the milestone would mark one of the boldest chapters in India’s space journey. The Prime Minister’s remarks came as ISRO laid out an ambitious roadmap that includes Chandrayaan-4, a Venus Orbiter, a Moon sample-return mission by 2040, and the development of a Next Generation Launcher to carry heavier payloads into deep space. India’s space journey has always been about ambition against the odds. In the 1960s, Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajith Krishnan with others during the unveiling of first look of the Bharatiya Antriksh Station. sounding rockets were launched from Thumba in Kerala, carried on bicycles and bullock carts. Decades later, ISRO stunned the world with the 2013 Mars Orbiter Mission, accomplished at just ₹450 crore. More recently, Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing at the lunar south pole established India as a leader in planetary exploration. 4Contd on | Nation The funds were misutilised through inter-company loans, diversion via Reliance Infratel Ltd., fictitious debtors, and capital advances written off to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd.,” a CBI spokesperson said. 4Contd on | Nation Vinay Madhava Gowda BENGALURU PTI before a magistrate, obtained 10 days of custody, and also detained his brother Tanosi, a The Special Investigation municipal employee in Ujire, Team (SIT) probing the alleged for questioning. “illegal mass burial” in DharThe bigger twist came when masthala on Saturday arrested Sujatha Bhat, who had alleged the anonymous complainant, that her daughter Ananya, a earlier known as the ‘mask- medical student from Maniman’. He was identified as pal, had gone missing from the Chinnaiah from Mandya, a temple, admitted she had fabformer grave digger at Dhar- ricated the story. She had masthala until 2014. never had a daughter. Initially, The focus she refused to DHARMASTHALA has now file a comshifted to inplaint with the vestigating a possible conspi- police or the SIT, making her racy behind the allegations. claims only before the media. During two days of interroga- However, following the arrests tion, Chinnaiah admitted he and questioning, she conhad been acting on the in- fessed she invented the story structions of a “team” that had out of anger towards the promised him money. Investi- temple administration for not gators also discovered that he involving her when her grandhad been making regular visits father sold property to the to Ujire, a town near Dharmas- temple trust. thala, for the past year and a 4Contd on | Nation half. The SIT produced him Vinay Madhava Gowda Anil Ambani’s spokesperson ED nabs MLA lottery king Veerendra ‘Puppy’ PM PROMISES SPACE STATION BY 2035 BENGALURU SBI itself has already withdrawn proceedings against five other non-executive directors. Despite this, Mr Ambani has been selectively singled out. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Congress MLA from Chitradurga, Veerendra alias ‘Puppy,’ in Gangtok, Sikkim, in connection with an illegal betting racket. Officials seized ₹6 crore in unaccounted cash from him, adding to earlier recoveries worth over ₹6 crore. With Friday’s raids on more than 30 premises, the total seizures linked to Puppy now stand at ₹12 crore, including cash, foreign currency, and gold recovered from his Chitradurga residence. A first-time MLA, Puppy is also the owner of five Goa casinos—Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean7 Casino, Ocean River Casino, Big Daddy Casino, and Puppy’s Casino Pride. The ED has frozen 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers belonging to him. Investigators allege Puppy ran an illegal betting network through gaming apps such as King567, Raja567, Puppies003, and Rathna Gambling, possibly routed via his brother Thippeswamy’s Dubai-based firms. Puppy was produced before a Judicial Magistrate in Gangtok, who granted transit remand. He is being brought to Bengaluru for further proceedings before the jurisdictional magistrate. India Post suspends some services to America Agencies NEW DELHI India Post has temporarily suspended postal services to the United States after Washington announced the withdrawal of duty-free entry for goods valued up to $800 from August 29. The Department of Posts said on Saturday that from August 25, it will stop booking all types of articles to the US, except for letters, documents, and gift items worth up to $100. These exempt categories will continue to be accepted and con- veyed to the USA, subject to further clarifications from CBP and USPS. The government explained that under Executive Order No. 14324 issued by the US administration on July 30, all international postal items destined for the US will attract customs duties as per the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA) tariff framework. Gift items up to $100 will remain exempt. Until now, the de minimis exemption had allowed duty-free entry of goods up to $800, a system The Department of Posts will from Aug 25 stop booking all types of articles to the US, except for letters, documents, and gift items worth up to $100. widely used by global e-commerce exporters. Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Research Initiative, said the US has eliminated the de minimis exemption, and after August 29, such shipments will face either ad valorem duty under IEEPA or a flat rate duty of $80, $160, or $200 per item, depending on the tariff bracket of the expor- ting country. The Ministry of Communications noted that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidelines on August 15, but key processes, including the designation of “qualified parties” and mechanisms for duty collection and remittance, remain undefined. As a result, US-bound air carriers have said they cannot accept postal consignments after August 25 due to a lack of operational and technical readiness. The development comes amid worsening India-US trade ties, with the US already imposing a 25% tariff on India, which is set to rise to 50% from Wednesday. Negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, which began in February, have recently broken down, and the next round of talks has been postponed indefinitely. India Post said customers who have already booked items that cannot be dispatched may seek a refund of postage. It added that the situation is being closely monitored in coordination with stakeholders, and efforts are being made to resume services to the US as early as possible. The Department of Posts expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to customers.