Wednesday, September 3, 2025 | Vol. 68 No. 284 | 30 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION KCR suspends daughter and MLC Kavitha from BRS for anti-party activities Cinema Vivek Agnihotri urges West Bengal CM not to ban his film Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek ease into US Open quarterfinals in emphatic fashion Edit Three to tango: The dragon, the elephant and the eagle SIEGE ENDS | After four days of both sides digging their heels in while the city bore the brunt, the fifth day sees a resolution – for now. Long haul lies ahead Maratha Quotacha Raja Kalpesh Mhamunkar Jarange’s tears, Maratha cheers MUMBAI ACTION-PACKED: BLOW BY BLOW 9.00 AM: Cops issue notice, ask Jarange to vacate Azad Maidan. 10.30 AM: Jarange says ready for talks with govt. 1.14 PM: Vacate Azad Maidan by 3pm or we will get on the streets, warn HC judges. 1.20 PM: Jarange apologises to HC for misbehaviour by some supporters. 2.24 PM: Securitymen ask protesters to vacate CSMT premises. 3.11 PM: Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil says he will meet Jarange. 3.28 PM: HC agrees to Jarange’s plea to let him stay at Azad Maidan till Wednesday morning. 3.38 PM: 4 ministers reach Azad Maidan, begin talks with Jarange. 4.01 PM: Jarange says govt has met his demands. 4.26 PM: We have won, declares Jarange. 4.30 PM: Protesters celebrate. 6 PM: Govt issues GR on Hyderabad gazetteer, sets up panel for Kunbi certificates to Marathas. 6.21 PM: Jarange accepts fruit juice from Vikhe Patil, ends fast. 6.46 PM: Jarange leaves in ambulance for medical checkup; then proceeds to his village. 7.08 PM: Solution found in interests of Maratha community, says CM. Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Monday evening ended his fiveday-long hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan after the state government agreed to six of his eight demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Jarange broke his fast by drinking juice offered by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, the head of the Cabinet subcommittee on Maratha reservation. Overwhelmed with emotion, he broke down in tears of joy, while his supporters erupted in celebrations, raising slogans of “Ek Maratha, Lakh Maratha”, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai”, and “Ganpati Bappa Morya” across Azad Maidan and the adjoining roads. Jar- FPJ News Service MUMBAI ange, who began his fast on August 29, has been at the forefront of the Maratha reservation movement since 2023, demanding that Marathas be included in the OBC category to secure quotas in government jobs and education. The Cabinet sub-committee comprising Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, PWD Minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale, Minister Uday Samant, and Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate held marathon discussions with Jar- ange before persuading him to end his protest. The panel assured him of the following: Immediate implementation of the Hyderabad Gazetteer, allowing Marathas to be recognized as Kunbis through village-level verification. DEMANDS CONCEDED PENDING Immediate implementation of the 'Hyderabad Gazetteer'. Since the names of Maratha individuals were absent in the Hyderabad GR, it has been proposed that if villagers, family members, or relatives from the same lineage already hold Kunbi caste certificates, an inquiry will be conducted and certificates will be issued accordingly. The government has sought two months to declare Kunbis and Marathas as one community, citing legal complications in scrutiny and implementation across various parts of the state. Implementation of the 'Satara Gazetteer' within 15 days. The government assured that complications related to scrutiny of names at the local level in some areas will be resolved within this period. The government has sought more time to decide on granting reservation to “Sage-Soyare” (distant relatives of Kunbi certificate holders), as it has received around 8 lakh suggestions and objections that are still under scrutiny. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Withdrawal of cases against Maratha protesters to be completed before September 30. This will provide major relief to thousands of protesters facing legal action from earlier agitations led by Jarange. 7 8 The state government on Tuesday formally announced the formation of village-level committees to issue Kunbi caste certificates to eligible members of the Maratha community, marking a major step towards addressing the long-pending demand of reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil. A Government Resolution Scrutiny of caste certificates to be completed within 90 days by the district administration. This will benefit Kunbis who had already applied for caste certificates but could not avail benefits due to delays or non-issuance. ‘US Prez let family biz Outcry over Modi meeting trump strategic ties’ Will only interpret Xi and Putin PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE Agencies WASHINGTON Former US NSA Jake Sullivan has accused President Donald Trump of jeopardising America’s relationship with India in favour of his family’s business interests in Pakistan. Speaking on the YouTube channel MeidasTouch, he said Trump’s move to sacrifice bilateral ties was a “huge strategic harm” to the United States’ own interests. “On a bipartisan basis, going back decades, the United States has worked to build its relationship with India, the world’s largest democracy - a country that we should be aligned with on Because of Pakistan’s willingness to do business deals with the Trump family, Trump has thrown the India relationship over the side. Constitution: SC FPJ News Service technology, talent and economics and so many other issues, and aligned with in dealing with the strategic threat from China,” Sullivan said. US President Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, doubled down on his criticism of India’s trade ties with Russia, calling PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO summit a “shame.” “It is a shame to see Modi getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I’m not sure what he’s thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and not Russia,” Navarro said. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will only interpret the Constitution while hearing the Presidential reference on whether courts can set timelines for Governors and the President to act on Bills passed by state assemblies. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai, and comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta it would not go into state-specific examples and would confine itself to constitutional provisions. As reports Bar & Bench and Live Law The bench also orally observed that instances of delay in granting assent cannot justify a blanket, general timeline for all cases under Articles 200 and 201. If there are individual cases of delay, aggrieved parties can approach courts for specific directions, the bench said, adding that Article 200’s phrase “as soon as possible” cannot be converted into a fixed period by the judiciary. 4Contd on | nation Dheeraj Kumar PATNA Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday broke his silence on a controversy that had simmered for nearly a week, accusing the Congress and RJD of allowing abuses to be hurled at his late mother from their stage. Addressing nearly 20 lakh women in Bihar via video conferencing, Modi turned his anguish into a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, declaring that the incident was not just an insult to him but to every woman in India. Neither Yadav nor Gandhi was present when the abuses were shouted against the Prime Minister and his mother. The rally had been organised by Youth Congress leader Mohammad Naushad, who said he condemned the incident. “In Bihar, slangs were used for my mother from an RJDCongress stage. These slangs have not just insulted my mother, but every mother and Modi links insult to his late mother with attack on CongressRJD, says abuse affronts every Indian woman sister in India. I know you are pained as much as I am after you heard this,” Modi said. His voice at times choked with emotion as he invoked the memory of Heeraben Modi, who passed away last year after completing 100 years. “My mother, who had nothing to do with politics, was subjected to vile abuses from the RJD-Congress platform. This is deeply saddening, painful, and distressing,” he told the gathering. Recounting her struggles, 4Contd on | nation Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sent four members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee to broker peace with Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil and convince him to end his hunger strike. While three of them are Marathas themselves, one of them, industries minister Uday Samant, belongs to the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) caste. The Maratha members are the committee head and water resources minister (Godavari and Krishna Valley) Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, PWD minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale (a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj), and newly-appointed controversial minister Manikrao Kokate. Files under their arms, the team arrived at Azad Maidan around 3.30pm and spent nearly three hours in discussions with the ailing activist. Other officials waited on side but did not participate. Vikhe Patil led the negotiations, presenting the draft prepared by the state government and explaining the legal hurdles and practical challenges in implementing some of the demands. 4Contd on | nation (GR) issued by the Social Justice Department stated that the committees will verify claims based on archival land and revenue records, particularly those cited in the historic Hyderabad Gazetteer of 1918. The gazette, issued during the Nizam era in Hyderabad State, recognized Marathas as socially and educationally backward and entitled them to reservation benefits. 4Contd on | city ■ Mahayuti govt walked a tightrope on quota issue ■ Muslim support for Maratha protesters, but some advise caution ■ The protesters understood the legal reality, says CM SEE CITY GST Council to meet today The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday in New Delhi with a key agenda of revamping the existing GST structure. Gold hits fresh peak IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented PM Modi first 'Made in India' semiconductor chip, the 32-bit ‘Vikram’ processor developed by Isro's semiconductor lab Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar the Prime Minister said, “Mother would be sick, but she kept working. She would save up every penny to get clothes made for us. There are crores of such mothers in our country. The place of a mother is higher than that of gods and goddesses.” Modi linked the personal slight to Bihar’s cultural ethos, noting how rivers in the state are given the prefix maiyya and how Goddess Sita was born in Mithila. Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI ‘Economic selfishness cannot derail growth’ NEW DELHI ‘My dead mom was abused’: PM tears up THREE HOURS THAT TURNED THE TIDE Hyderabad Gazetteer GR MUMBAI Display of 58 lakh Kunbi records in every gram panchayat office to enable people to apply for reservation. The Shinde Committee had identified 58 lakh Kunbi records in Marathwada, which many were unaware of. This decision will help Marathas at the village level verify their names in government records and apply for caste certificates. Agencies 4Contd on | nation Kalpesh Mhamunkar Compensation to the kin of deceased protesters within a week, along with a government job for one family member. The government had sanctioned Rs15 crore for this purpose, but the distribution was pending that will be done in a week. WASHINGTON Manoj Jarange broke down in tears at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Tuesday evening , his frail body trembling after five days of fasting. When he whispered, “Jitlo re raje ho apan” — we have won, my friends — the crowd that had been waiting breathlessly erupted into an outpouring of emotion. Men and women who had camped for days collapsed into each other’s arms. Farmers raised their calloused hands skyward in gratitude, while students wiped tears streaming down their faces. Few elderly women let out piercing cries of joy, and young men beat drums until the ground shook. Slogans hailing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj echoed through the square as supporters showered Jarange with petals and burst crackers in sheer abandon. The Maharashtra government’s cabinet sub-committee, led by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, had accepted most of Jarange’s demands, including granting Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas. In a veiled dig at Trump's tariffs, PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India has managed to post strong economic growth “despite challenges driven by economic selfishness". “On one hand, many of the world's economies are facing uncertainty and challenges related to economic selfishness. Yet, in this environment, Bharat has achieved a remarkable growth rate of 7.8% (in the April-June quarter of 2025),” he said at the launch of Semicon India 2025 here. Asserting that his government will soon unleash a new phase of next-generation reforms, the PM said, “India has performed better than every hope, every expectation, every assessment.” Modi added that “this growth is in every sector, manufacturing, services, agriculture, construction, enthusiasm is visible everywhere.” In an oblique reference to Trump's "dead economy" jibe, he said “the direction of growth is sure to move rapidly towards making India the third largest economy.” Highlighting the success of the Semicon India programme, he said the scheme was launched in 2021 and thus far an investment of $18 billion or Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been made in 10 semiconductor projects. 4Contd on | nation Gold price stayed firm for the seventh consecutive session on Tuesday, and added Rs 400 to hit a fresh peak of Rs 1,06,070 per 10 grams. Rupee falls to all-time low The rupee declined 5 paise to close at an alltime low of 88.15 against the US dollar. Traders said the rupee is trading near all-time low levels as risks remained skewed to the downside amid uncertainty over US tariffs. ‘US biz deal likely by Nov’ Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said India and the US are in talks for a bilateral trade agreement and the pact is likely to be clinched by November. SEE MONEY