FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 246 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 18, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in India’s hopes ride on his lethal seam & swing P.14 Sam’s ‘China no enemy’ fuels row BJP seeks clarification as Cong says not party view IANS Not party's views: Cong NEW DELHI Briefs NEW DELHI PM receives Amir of Qatar Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who arrived here on Monday on a two-day state visit to India, will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18. Extending a rare gesture of hospitality, Modi went to the airport to receive the Amir of Qatar, who arrived in Delhi in the evening. "Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Amir of Qatar H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stay in India and looking forward to our meeting tomorrow," the prime minister said in a post on X. BHOPAL Ujjain Paris huddle to find ‘voice’ PITRODA AGAIN | Raises heckles by calling to collaborate and not confront the Dragon fp iii QUALITY @ VALUE WORLD Sports Congress veteran and Rahul Gandhi's close aide Sam Pitroda has said the threat from China is often blown out of proportion, and it is time to recognise and respect that country. In an exclusive interview with IANS, Pitroda was categorical in his take on IndiaChina relations saying that there is a need to change India's mindset and stop assuming that China is the enemy. He said that India's approach has been confrontational from the beginning. "Our attitude is that of confrontation from day one, and that attitude creates enemies, and that creates certain support in the country. I think we need to change that pattern to assume that China is the enemy from day one. It is not just to China, but to everyone..." "I don't know what is the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the US has the habit of defining an enemy," he said. The Congress leader said the time has come for all nations to come together. "I think the time has come for all of us to learn, increase communication, collaborate, operate and co-create and not have this command and control mind- EDITIONS: ESTD-1983 The Congress on Monday distanced itself from its leader Sam Pitroda's remarks on China, saying they are not the views of the party and that China remains India's foremost external security and economic challenge set. China is around... China is growing .. you know you got to recognise that and respect that ... Every other country is going to grow, some will grow faster, some will grow slower. Those who are very poor have to grow faster, those who are well-accomplished and developed will have slower growth. Those who are developed will also have an ageing population, while those who are developing will have a young population. We will have to look at all these things together," he said. Pitroda's re- marks come amid heightened discussions surrounding the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which included discussions on India-China border tensions. During their joint press conference on February 13, Trump offered to help mediate the ongoing India-China tensions, signalling a willingness for the US to play a role in de-escalating the situation. 4Continued on | P8 Clear agenda of harming India: BJP The BJP on Monday cited Indian Overseas Congress leader Sam Pitroda's reported comments negating Chinese threat to India to target the opposition party, claiming that his remarks are in line with its leaders' statements in support of China. Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson and MP Sudhanshu Trivedi sought to draw a link between USbased Pitroda's remarks, US-based groups funding for "voter turnout" in India and the ruling party's charges against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for his alleged links to Pakistan NAME OF NEXT CEC FINALISED PTI NEW DELHI The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met here on Monday and is learnt to have recommended the name of the next chief election commissioner to the President, sources said, even as the Congress asked the government to defer the decision pending a Supreme Court hearing. Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi are part of the three-member panel to select the CEC. The committee met here at the Prime Minister's Office in South Block and recommended the name to President Droupadi Murmu. The sources in the government said the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued "in the next few hours". Incumbent CEC Rajiv Remote voting for NRIs Outgoing Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday stressed the need to have a totaliser system to ensure confidentiality in polling station-wise voting patterns and said it is high time that NRIs are empowered to vote from their locations. In his farewell address ahead of his retirement on attaining the age of 65 years, he also said consensus for remote voting mechanisms is must to facilitate crores of migrants Kumar demits office on Tuesday on attaining the age of 65. As a matter of precedent, the senior-most Election Commissioner (EC) used to get elevated as the CEC following the retirement of the incumbent. 4Continued on | P8 Centre wants to control EC: Cong The Congress on Monday asked the government to defer its decision on the new chief election commissioner till the Supreme Court hearing on a petition challenging the constitution of the selection panel. The Congress' side was put forth by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the meeting of the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said. The meeting took place at the South Block office of the prime minister PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Europe out of US peace deal P.6 Cinema Viral or Timeless? P.13 I have told everything to ED: Saurabh All 3 accused sent to 14-day judicial remand SAURABH’S ONE-TO-ONE WITH MEDIA While leaving, Saurabh said, it will be clear in the investigation. As soon as the ED team prepared to take Saurabh to jail after Court hearing, he answered questions of media persons. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Before being sent to judicial remand on Monday, Saurabh Sharma said that he had disclosed all the information to ED officials. The three accused in a corruption case—Saurabh, Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal—were sent on judicial remand until March 3 by the Special Court of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), sources said. Moreover, Lokayukta Special Court extended their remand till March 4. Q - What do you want to say about allegations against you? A - ED is investigating. I have not done anything wrong. I have nothing to do with anyone. Q - Along with you, your family and other people have also been made accused. Saurabh said that he did not own any property in Dubai and emphasised that he had shared all the details he knew with the ED. The three accused were brought to the Court around 1:22 pm, where their family members and lawyers were also present. The lawyers requested some time to meet their clients in the courtroom, which the court allowed. Thereafter, advocates provided their responses to the questions asked. 4Continued on | P8 EOW PE against former IFS officer Case is linked to illegal recruitment for Livelihood Mission Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL EOW has registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against a former IFS officer LM Belwal for irregularities in the recruitment of staff for MP State Livelihood Mission. According to an EOW press note, the PE has been registered following a court notice. EOW registered cases on the basis of the reports of an IAS officer Neha Marvya. In an inquiry, Marvya found that during his stay in Livelihood Mission on deputation from 2015 to 2023, Belwal misused his office and illegally ap- pointed advisors to the posts of project managers. In the report, it was also said the directives of the ministers and the secretary of the department had been ignored. In the report, it was also said the human resources guidelines, on the basis of which the recruitments were made, were inexistent. The 40% hike in the honourarium given to the employees was also illegal. A man Rajesh Mishra lodged a complaint against Belwal that Sushma Rani Shukla, and her relatives Devendra Mishra, Anju Shukla, Mukesh Gautam, Omkar Shukla and Akansha Pandey were recruited, though they lacked proper qualifications. 4Continued on | P8 SC postpones Bhojshala hearing FP News Service DHAR The Supreme Court has postponed hearing of petition demanding removal of interim stay imposed by the Apex Court on implementation of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) report on Bhojshala. The petition had been filed by Hindu Front for Justice. Petitioner Ashish Goyal said only two judges were present today and the petition has to be heard by a three-judge bench. Goyal said the next hearing could be in March or April. 4Continued on | P8 A - Whatever happens, the truth will come out. I have told the truth to ED. Q - There has been inquiry about property in Dubai and abroad. Do you have property in Dubai? A - I do not have any property there. Q - What is the truth about the car full of gold and cash? A - Saurabh remained silent on this question. After this, the ED team took him in the car with Chetan and Sharad. Govt to present UC waste incineration plan in HC today Court had given 6-week time for confidence building amid public outcry Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL After one-and-a-halfmonths, the state government will inform High Court, Jabalpur, about its strategy and planning for the incineration of 337 MT of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) chemical waste at REEL, Pithampur, during a hearing on Tuesday. The government had requested a six-week period on January 6 to build public Enough is enough, says SC Irked over fresh pleas on Places of Worship Act PTI NEW DELHI Expressing displeasure over filing of several pleas on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, the Supreme Court on Monday said a threejudge bench will hear in April Adani pledges Rs 2,000 cr to set up schools IANS AHMEDABAD the pending post-notice petitions related to the 1991 law which mandates the religious character of a place to be maintained as it existed on August 15, 1947. The top court, however, granted liberty to the petitioners like Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary, who have filed the pleas recently and notices have not been issued on them, to file applications for inter- Our Staff Reporter 4Continued on | P8 High Court, principal bench of Jabalpur, has granted interim relief to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates, allowing them to apply for UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025 with age relaxation benefits similar to those provided to Other Backward Classes (OBC). Double bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain recently passed the order. The 10% EWS reservation was introduced in 2019 through 10% EWS reservation was introduced in 2019 through 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, providing benefits to EWS, who do not belong to SC, ST or OBC categories. The ruling comes in response to a writ petition challenging the exclusion of EWS candidates from age and attempt relaxations in Central government recruitments. As per order, the peti- 4Continued on | P8 Russia-US talks: Zelensky in Saudi too? Online Report RIYADH no notices, stand dismissed with liberty to file an application raising additional grounds, if any. The new IA will only be allowed if there is any new point or new legal issue that has not been raised in the pending petitions," the bench said. 4Continued on | P8 HC grants age relaxation to EWS candidates in UPSC BHOPAL Gautam Adani, the Chairperson of the Adani Group, on Monday announced the building of world-class Schools of Excellence across India, making quality education affordable and accessible to all. With an initial donation of Rs 2,000 crore from the Adani family, the partnership will prioritise making world-class education and learning infrastructure affordable to people from all strata of society. vention in pending ones by citing new legal grounds. Dismissing fresh petitions, on which notices were not issued yet, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, "The writ petitioners can file an (intervention) application raising new grounds." "We are constrained to pass this order after taking note of the number of fresh petitions filed. The pending writ petitions, which have confidence and dispel myths about the incineration of UCC waste. The government is now set to submit its report to the court. There has been significant public outcry over concerns of air and water pollution following the incineration. To address these issues, the local administration conducted outreach through camps to explain and clarify doubts regarding the potential pollution. The waste was transported on January 1, 2025, after the High Court's order on December 3, 2024, for its transportation from the UCC plant to REEL, Pithampur. tioners contested the Department of Personnel and Training’s (DoPT) Office Memorandum (OM) dated October 21, 2019 and its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) issued on September 19, 2022 which state that EWS candidates are not entitled to age or attempt relaxations. Petitioner advocate said as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and women are granted such relaxations, it is discrimination against EWS. 4Continued on | P8 As Saudi Arabia gears up to facilitate talks between top diplomats from Russia and the United States aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is also traveling to the middle-eastern nation - but a day after the Russia-US meeting. As the world awaits the update from high-level meeting between Moscow and Washington, it is important to note that Ukraine has not been invited to these diplomatic talks, leaving European nations aghast with Washington's dramatic change in policy towards Moscow after the Trump administration took charge. This will be the first time that diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet for talks since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Donald Trump has, on a number of occasions, been vocal about a swift resolution to the three-year-long war. Ukraine's President Zelensky however, said Kyiv "does not know anything about" the upcoming talks in Riyadh. Matsya-6000 FOR VERTICAL Deep-ocean submersible clears wet tests PLANS AFOOT AMBULANCES TAKE-OFF AIR IANS NEW DELHI India’s Fourth-Generation Deep-Ocean Submersible 'Matsya-6000' has successfully completed wet testing at the harbour, paving the way for conducting shallowwater demonstrations at depths reaching up to 500 meters by the end of 2025, according to an official statement issued on Monday. To ensure a seamless integration of all systems within its exo-structure, the Matsya first underwent a comprehensive series of integrated dry tests over a 500-metre operational range. Following the successful completion of these tests, it was transported to the L&T Shipbuilding facility located at Kattupalli Port, near Chennai from January 27 to February 12, 2025, for conducting wet tests and demonstrating the submersible functionality, the statement said. The tests aimed to meticulously assess Matsya's performance across several critical parameters. Evaluations focused on the robustness of power and control networks, floatation and stability of the vehicle, human support and safety systems, and manoeuvrability within limited degrees of freedom, specifically forward and reverse motion. 4Continued on | P8 Online Report NEW DELHI India will soon join a selectfew nations globally to start an on-road vertical take-off and landing air ambulance service across the country. An over $1 billion deal has been signed in this regard, according to which an IITMadras based electric aircraft startup - ePlane Company - will supply 788 air ambulances. These 788 eVTOL or Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing air ambulances will be delivered to ICATT - India's leading air ambulance firm, which will then deploy these aircraft across every district in India. The deal - a non-binding agreement- assumes significance as Indian cities and towns grapple with ever-increasing vehicular traffic. eVTOLs will begin by providing essential services like facilitat- ing medical emergencies. Being electric vehicles, they will also ensure that the environment is not adversely affected. India's eVTOL market has gained a lot of attention in recent years with the government also looking to ease airspace to a limited extent to facilitate transportation and delivery services by eVTOLs and drones respectively. 4Continued on | P8