THE SUNDAY Vol. 37 No. 14 | Sunday, December 28, 2025 32 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 How parasocial relationships reshaped connection in digital age NCP to field three from Malik family Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is set to field three members of former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik’s family in the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, a move that has reignited political debate and caused visible discomfort within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Confirming the development, Sana Malik, daughter of Nawab Malik, said the NCP would allot tickets to Malik’s brother Kaptan Malik, his sister Dr Saeeda Khan, and Kaptan Malik’s daughter-inlaw Bushra Nadeem Malik from three different Mumbai wards. Kaptan Malik will contest from Ward No. 165, Dr Saeeda Khan from Ward No. 168, while Bushra Malik has been fielded from Ward No. 170. Explaining the reshuffle, Sana Malik said Kaptan Malik had earlier represented Ward No. 170, but the ward has now been reserved for women. 4Contd on | Nation 4See also | Mumbai MGNREGA mantra is Congress battle cry FPJ News Service MUMBAI Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led NDA government, likening the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G) to the 2016 demonetisation shock. Calling the move “anti-village” and “anti-state”, Gandhi alleged that the Centre had demolished two decades of a globally admired rightsbased employment framework “in a single night”. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi after a crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of acting unilaterally, without consulting the Cabinet, states or Parliament in spirit. 4Contd on | Nation Digvijaya’s RSS praise sparks rumpus Vidhi Santosh Mehta MUMBAI Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Saturday triggered a controversy after sharing a black-and-white photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the 1990s and praising the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which the Congress has often criticised. In a post on X, Digvijaya Singh said he found the picture on Quora and described it as “very impressive”. In the post, he wrote in Hindi for which the English translation of the image showed “I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impressive...the way the grassroots swayamsevaks (workers) of RSS and the workers of Jan Sangh @BJP4India sit on the floor at the feet of leaders and be- FPJ News Service MUMBAI Vinay Madhava Gowda The political battle between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala has spilt over into Karnataka, following strong criticism by the Kerala government of a recent encroachment clearance drive in Bengaluru. The controversy erupted after the Karnataka govern- come the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country. This is the power of the organisation. Jai Siya Ram,” The post tagged Congress's social media handles, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the Prime Minister, and quickly drew sharp reactions, as it appeared to praise Diktat to keep stray dogs off sports grounds Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI China in the top tier of ultrahigh-speed maglev technology. Footage aired by state broadcaster China Central Television showed a chassislike vehicle flashing across the track, leaving a visible trail of out proper information. Shivakumar said the land in question was earmarked for garbage dumping and solid waste management and that the Karnataka government would not allow unauthorised slums to come up in different parts of Bengaluru. Six days ago, the Greater Bengaluru Authority carried out one of its biggest demolition drives at Kogilu Layout in Yelahanka. Sports Department officers across the state have been made responsible for ensuring that all sports grounds, complexes and stadiums under their jurisdiction are kept free of stray dogs, following a recent directive issued by the state government. Acting on a diktat from the Animal Husbandry Department, which forwarded standard operating procedures (SOPs) drafted by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), the Sports Department has instructed officers from joint directors to taluka sports officers to ensure proper maintenance and cleanliness of sports facilities and to prevent the presence of stray dogs. The officers will be supported by local authorities and district collectors. The decision follows a recent order of the Supreme Court of India, which directed authorities to take steps to prevent human-stray dog conflict and to ensure that government and private educational institutions, hospitals, medical colleges, sports complexes and grounds are kept free of stray dogs. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation mist as it reached peak speed almost instantly before stopping at the end of the line, according to a report by South China Morning Post. 4Contd on | Nation Kerala hits out at Karnataka anti-encroachment drive BENGALURU ment demolished over 200 illegal constructions on government land, which the Kerala government termed as “bulldozer justice against minorities”. The remarks came in the backdrop of the recent local body election results in Kerala, where the LDF suffered a major defeat at the hands of the UDF. Responding to the criticism, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had commented with- Good news story Consumer Helpline: Big hit Laxmi Devi Aere NEW DELHI As 2025 draws to a close, a quiet success story emerges with Rs 45 crore recovered and 67,265 consumer grievances resolved through the government's National Consumer Helpline. Ramesh Kumar (name changed) from Jodhpur ordered chairs online earlier this year. They arrived defective. Five times, the e-commerce company scheduled a Sunday Read Hindi cinema 2025: Decoding the hits and misses ONE POINT AGENDA | Congress Working Committee paves the way forward: Mobilising opinion against the VB-G RAM G Act China tests train @700 kmph Researchers at the National University of Defence Technology of Hebei province have successfully accelerated a tonne-class magnetic levitation vehicle to a record speed of 700 km/h in less than two seconds on a 400-metre test track, marking the fastest acceleration ever achieved by a superconducting electric maglev system. The vehicle was also brought safely to a stop within the short test line, demonstrating both extreme acceleration and precise high-power control. The test has set a new global benchmark and placed Play & Pause Toast to mindful New Year parties Growing up online, offline, and figuring out life at 25 in 2025 The top five sectors contributing to this year's `45 crore in refunds are e-commerce, travel and tourism, agency services, electronic products, and airlines, accounting for over 85 per cent of the total. pickup. Five times they cancelled. Kumar was left with broken furniture and dwindling hope. Then he dialled 1915. “Thank you so much, Consumer Helpline, for helping cheated consumers like me,” Kumar wrote later after the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) intervened and secured his full refund within days. Between April and December 2025, 67,265 Indians like Kumar found redress through this government platform, which facilitated refunds totalling Rs 45 crore, according to official data released on Saturday. PTI reports that the numbers from 2025 tell a story of India’s digital economy and its discontents. Ecommerce platforms account for nearly 40,000 complaints and Rs 32 crore in refunds, more than twothirds of the total, followed by travel and tourism at Rs 3.5 crore, the data showed. 4Contd on | Nation the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party, both long-standing targets of the Indian National Congress. As the remarks snowballed into a controversy, Digvijaya Singh later issued a clarification. Speaking to reporters, he said that he had only praised the organisation but would continue to oppose the BJP and the RSS. 4Contd on | Nation Mumbai-Delhi rly Allu Arjun route kavach-less is accused number 11 PUSHPA-2 STAMPEDE PTI HYDERABAD The city police have filed a charge sheet in a court against 23 persons, including top Telugu actor Allu Arjun, in connection with the death of a woman in a stampede during the premiere of ‘Pushpa-2’ at Sandhya theatre last year. The theatre’s owner, partners, manager, lower balcony in-charge, and gatekeeper have been named as accused numbers 1 to 10, while Allu Arjun has been named as accused number 11. The charge sheet was filed on December 24. Hyderabad Police Commissioner said the investigation into the Sandhya theatre stampede case has been completed. “The investigation established lapses in planning, crowd management, security arrangements, and coordination among the theatre management, event organisers, private security personnel, and others involved during the incident,” he said. 4Contd on | Nation 2ND DEADLINE GONE PTI NEW DELHI Having missed the second deadline of December 2025, the Railways is now hopeful of operationalising the automatic train protection system Kavach on routes connecting the national capital with Mumbai and Howrah anytime in 2026, officials said, citing steady progress and an aggressive approach to implementation. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system that helps loco pilots operate trains within prescribed speed limits and automatically applies brakes if they fail to do so. Officials said around 25 per cent of the work on the Mum- bai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata routes has already been commissioned and is in ready-touse condition. In comparison, major components have been installed on the remaining 75 per cent. “We are doing our level best to operationalise Kavach on the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata route, hoping that it will be achieved in 2026,” officials said. The Railway Ministry had earlier said on August 7, 2024, that Kavach work on these high-density routes would be completed by March 2025. The deadline was later extended to December 2025, as announced on February 1, 2025, in a budget document titled ‘Railways estimates for Revised Estimates 2024-25 and Budget Estimates 202526’. That deadline has now been missed. 4Contd on | Nation