FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 154 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports MCA awards Mandhana Rs 50L P.18 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD 9 dead as explosives seized in terror module case go off PTI fp Briefs NEW DELHI Goyal engages with global leaders Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held several bilateral discussions with delegations from Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia, as well as with heads of international organisations, on the sidelines of the 30th CII Partnership Summit at Visakhapatnam, an official statement said on Saturday. ASUNCION India, Paraguay hold JCM meet India and Paraguay held the First Meeting of the Joint Commission Mechanism (JCM) in the Paraguayan capital city of Asuncion, where both sides conducted a comprehensive review of the current state of bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday. Nowgam police station damaged after a blast on Friday lation of a terror attack and stressing that it was an unfortunate accident. Neither officers took any questions from reporters. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Many nationalist leaders from the Congress who once worked with Indiraji and Rajivji are also unhappy with the actions of the 'namdar' Narendra Modi Prime Minister Congress' -- MMC. Many nationalist leaders from the Congress who once worked with Indiraji and Rajivji are also unhappy with the actions of the 'namdar'," said the PM, hinting at Rahul Gandhi. 4Continued on | P8 Actor Ajaz Khan appears before crime branch, phone seized Our Staff Reporter INDORE NEW DELHI Sparks row Ram Temple flag hoisting on Nov 25 Our Staff Reporter Ayodhya is preparing for one of its most significant religious events as the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust announced that the traditional sacred day of Lord Ram’s wedding — Tuesday, November 25, 2025 — will witness the ceremonial flag hoisting on the shikhara of the Ram Temple. General Secretary of the Trust, Champat Rai, confirmed the details. Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has called social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy an agent of the British. He made the statement at a function on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda in Agar Malwa district on Saturday. There were efforts to change the religious faith of the people through the British education system. The British made several people fake social reformers, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy was working as an agent of the British. Birsa Munda fought against the British government’s plan to do re- BHOPAL ligious conversion. The previous governments tried to suppress the contribution of the tribal leaders who fought for the country’s freedom struggle. The British government made the fake social reformers great and suppressed the contributions of the real freedom fighters. Birsa Munda wanted to study, but only missionary schools run by the British imparted education those days. In the name of educating people, the British used to do religious conversion. Leaving the classroom, Munda swung into action against the British. It was Birsa Munda who first fought against religious conversion and tried to save the tribal people. Roy fought against social evils Raja Ram Mohan Roy played an important role in stopping Sati Pratha, child marriage, casteism, religious dogmas, and Purdah system. He also founded Brahma Samaj. Actor Ajaz Khan, who was booked for posting an objectionable video on social media after death of gangster Salman Lala, appeared before Additional DCP (crime) Rajesh Dandotiya on Saturday. During questioning, the officer issued a strict warning, after which Khan apologised. His mobile phone was seized for investigation. A few days ago, Lala drowned in a pond in Sehore while trying to escape from police. After the incident, Khan uploaded a video and comments that police termed objectionable. An FIR was registered, and he was served a notice to appear before the crime branch. Khan arrived with his lawyer to respond to the notice. During interrogation, DCP Dandotiya cautioned him 4Continued on | P8 offgrid ‘GI tag to Panna diamond matter of pride’ Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL This recognition will help Panna diamond shine at a global level and create new opportunities for local artists and youth Mohan Yadav Chief Minister In a landmark achievement, the world-famous diamonds from Panna, have been awarded the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag, marking the state's 21st GI product. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said it is a matter of pride for the state that Panna district’s diamond has received GI tag. “This recognition will help Panna diamond shine at a global level and create new opportunities for local artists and youth,” he added. The certified diamond of Panna will be available in world markets and sold under the name Panna diamond. This, Yadav said, will infuse new energy into the local economy. Efforts had been ongoing for a long time to secure the GI tag for Panna diamond, and on Friday, Government of India granted it officially. Known as the 'Diamond City', Panna is renowned for its rich diamond mines and variety of precious gemstones. MUMBAI E-paper Nation Nowgam blast wake-up... P.7 Cinema Cooking Up A Storm... P.16 Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya quits politics Dheeraj Kumar PATNA PM hails tribal heroes’ role in freedom struggle FP News Service 4Continued on | P8 PTI Minister Parmar calls Ram Mohan Roy British agent NASHIK 4Continued on | P8 SURAT tional Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the assembly polls in the eastern state. He said the Congress' spate of electoral defeats in the last decade is a matter of introspection for that party. "The country has already rejected this 'Muslim League-Maoist INDORE Sinha expressed deep anguish over the loss of lives and has ordered a probe to ascertain the exact cause of the blast. A top official said the huge cache of explosives was brought from Haryana's Faridabad in small bags on a pickup truck. The official said the original case was registered at the Nowgam police station, and the explosives were the case property of that police station Modi: Bihar rejected Muslim League-Maoist Congress Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the people of Bihar have rejected the Congress, which has become a "Muslim LeagueMaoist" combination, and the Opposition that spewed the "poison of casteism". Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, he said even the Congress' nationalist leaders who had worked with former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were sad due to the actions of the "namdar". Modi was speaking at a programme organised by Bihar natives living in Gujarat's Surat city to felicitate him for the landslide victory of the Na- PUNE RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter R o h i n i Acharya on Saturday created a political firestorm and dropped a bombshell, saying that she was quitting politics and severing all ties with family. She had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Saran. The development in the RJD’s first family came a day after RJDCongress led Mahagathandhan’s debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, results of which were announced on Friday. While Mahagathbandhan secured 35 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, RJD could win 25 seats only. Faridabad explosives transported to J&K? SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI Faridabad. Prabhat and Lokhande read out almost identical statements before the media in Srinagar and New Delhi, respectively, dismissing specu- PRESS Trump can’t cut funding of California Univ: Federal judge NOWGAM BLAST | Mishap happened as specialised team was extracting samples from unstable cache of explosives An "accidental" explosion ripped through the Nowgam police station in Srinagar, killing nine people and injuring 32 others, senior officials said while underlining that it was not a terror attack. Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Nalin Prabhat and MHA Joint Secretary (Kashmir) Prashant Lokhande said the incident occurred while officials were handling samples of the large cache of explosives seized in connection with the Jaish-eMohammed 'white-collar' terror module case in Haryana's UJJAIN JABALPUR Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the National Tribal Pride Day event in Jabalpur on Saturday. He said, "Tribal freedom fighters made a huge contribution to India’s independence movement. Tribal pride has always been an important part of India’s identity. Whenever it came to fighting for the country, our tribal community stood at the front. Tribal brothers fought bravely against British and shed their blood. Many chapters of the freedom struggle are filled with pride of tribal heroes. We cannot forget the role and pride of tribal community in India’s freedom struggle.” Modi accused previous Congress governments of ignoring the love, sacrifice and CM awards Rs 1 cr cheque to Kranti CM Yadav presented a cheque of Rs 1 crore and a certificate of appreciation to World Cup-winning women cricketer Kranti Devi Gaur from Chhatarpur. Padma Shri awardees and Vikram Awardees were also recognised. During his virtual address, Modi praised talent and traditional skills of tribal communities and mentioned Kranti Gaur’s key role in India’s Women’s Cricket World Cup team. contributions of tribal communities, saying that before 2014, hardly any discussion took place about tribal icons. 4Continued on | P8 Trump drops tariffs on food imports India’s mango, tea exports may benefit IANS NEW YORK US President Donald Trump has cut tariffs on food imports as “affordability” is emerging as a potential political force, and India’s mango, pomegranate, and tea exports may benefit. Tropical fruits and juices, tea, and spices were among the imports that won’t be hit by reciprocal tariffs, the White House announced on Friday. The other items mentioned in the White House Factsheet were coffee and tea, cocoa, oranges, tomatoes, and beef. Trump imposed 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on imports from India and added a punitive 25 per cent for buying Russian oil. But to contain inflation, Trump earlier exempted generic medicines from tariffs, benefiting India, which supplies 47 per cent of generic medicines prescribed in the US. Some of the increases in food product prices were due to the higher tariffs, which were passed on, in whole or in part, by importers and retailers to the customers. In the recent elections in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia, Democrats' campaign focus on “affordability” - higher costs overall straining the voters’ budgets -- contributed to their victories. While Trump has been engrossed in international affairs, tariffs, and investments, voters were concerned with the more mundane issue of prices. In an NBC News poll released this week, 63 per cent of all registered voters said that Trump had fallen short of their expectations on the cost of living and the economy, and 30 per cent of Republicans concurred. 4Continued on | P8