FP FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. XXXX NO. 243 | INDORE | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 9, 2024 | PAGES 16 `3 - r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; ‘THE GAME IS TOO LONG’ SPORTS EDIT MAHABHARATA DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN ‘ECO WAS IN FRAGILE STATE WHEN NDA TOOK OVER’ GOVT'S ‘WHITE PAPER’ BLASTS UPA HANDLING OF ECONOMY NEW DELHI Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a 59-page 'White Paper' in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, highlighting the economic mismanagement by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, and comparing the country's economic performance between the UPA years and 10 years of the Narendra Modi government. The 'White Paper' reels out statistics to back the government's claim of the fragile state of the Indian economy in the UPA years and lists the steps taken by the NDA government to transform the economy into the 5th largest in the world. "In 2014 when we formed CONG COUNTERS WITH 'BLACK PAPER' HIGHLIGHTING MODI GOVT'S FAILURE NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday released a 'Black Paper' to highlight the 'failures' of the Modi government and alleged that the last 10 years have been a period of 'injustice'. Congress president Malllikarjun Kharge released a 54-page 'charge sheet', titled '10 saal anyay kaal', against the Centre ahead of the government's tabling in Parliament of a 'White Paper' on the "mismanagement" of the economy prior to 2014 aimed at drawing lessons. the government, the economy was in a fragile state; public finances were in bad shape; there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption. It was a crisis situation," it stated. It highlights the doubledigit inflation, ailing banking sector, high policy uncertainty marred India's business climate, dented its image and the people's confidence about their future, despite the Vajpayee-led NDA government having handed over a healthy and resilient economy with high growth potential in 2004. The 'White Paper' also discussed the mismanagement and shortsighted handling of the public finances during FY04-FY14. CONTD. ON P8 UBT LEADER’S Assailant turns gun on himself SON SHOT DEAD MEGHA KUCHIK / Mumbai In a bizarre incident, which was being streamed live on Facebook, a gunman opened fire at former Shiv Sena corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar, before turning the gun on himself. Both Abhishek the son of Uddhav Thackeray group leader Vinod Ghosalkar —- and the assailant, described as a social worker ON FACEBOOK LIVE are believed to be dead. The incident happened in Dahisar at around 5pm on Tuesday. Abhishek sustained three bullet wounds, and was immediately rushed to Karuna Hospital, where he was admitted in a critical condition. The motive behind the attack appears to be related to a year-old complaint filed by Abhishek against Mauris Noronha, the assailant, at the Dahisar police station, according to a local police officer. CONTD. ON P8 Father who craved for a son dumps 18-day-old daughter HE KEPT his sleeping daughter in a bag and left her in bushes about four kilometres away from his house Then, the accused along with his wife reached police station to lodge a complaint NEWS BRIEF Pak election marred by sporadic violence ISLAMABAD: Voting concluded across Pakistan on Thursday in an election marred by sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil terror attacks. The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable a total of 128,585,760 registered voters to cast their ballots. Gyanvapi hearing on February 15 VARANASI: A Varanasi court on Thursday fixed February 15 as the date for hearing the Gyanvapi Masjid committee's plea against the recently allowed 'puja' in a cellar of the mosque, the Hindu side counsel said. Advocate M M Yadav said he told District Judge Anil Kumar that since the Allahabad High Court was scheduled to hear the matter on February 12, there was no point in the district court hearing it now. Maldives: Tech staff in place of troops NEW DELHI: India will replace military personnel at aviation platforms in the Maldives with competent Indian technical personnel, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. The Mohamed Muizzu-led Maldives government has formally requested that India withdraw its troops from Male. In this regard, a second high-level group meeting took place in New Delhi on February 2 and a third meeting is scheduled to be held later this month. OUR STAFF REPORTER city.indore@fpj.co.in The inhuman face of a man was seen when he abandoned his 18-day-old daughter in the bushes just because he wanted a baby boy. The ruthless father kept the infant in a bag and took her about four kilometres away from his house and left her in the bushes to die. Fortunately, the police cracked the case and recovered the infant within two hours and also arrested the father. The incident took place PM Modi not OBC by birth, claims Rahul JHARSUGUDA (ODISHA) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not born in an Other Backward Class family, and he is "misleading" people by identifying himself as an OBC. Gandhi, while making a brief speech here on the third and concluding day of his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Odisha, said Modi "was born in a family that belonged to the general caste". "Modi ji has been misleading the people by saying that he is an OBC. He was born in a family of the 'Ghanchi' caste, which was included in the OBC list during the BJP government's tenure in Gujarat in 2000. "He changed his caste to OBC after becoming the CM of Gujarat. Therefore, Modi ji is not an OBC by birth," the Congress MP asserted. Gandhi had earlier in his GOVT HITS BACK WITH ‘FACT-CHECK’ NEW DELHI: The govt on Thursday afternoon hit back at Rahul Gandhi. In a brief note titled "facts regarding Rahul Gandhi's statement on PM's caste", the government said the Modh Ghanchi caste (and the sub-group to which Mr Modi belongs) "stands included in the Gujarat government's list... of socially (and) educationally backward class and OBCs"."...after a survey in Gujarat, Mandal Commission prepared a list of OBCs under Index 91(A),, which included the Modh Ghanchi caste. address claimed that Modi belonged to the 'Teli' caste, but later clarified he meant the 'Ghanchi' caste. The former Congress president also alleged that the prime minister will never conduct a caste census in the country, without which social justice cannot be achieved. "A majority of people are denied social justice. CONTD. ON P8 in Gauri Nagar under Hira Nagar police station on Thursday. The infant’s mother lodged a complaint that she was in the bathroom and her daughter was sleeping on the bed. When she came out of the bathroom she found her daughter missing. She informed her husband Mohit (name changed) after which they searched her in the area, Hira Nagar police station in-charge PL Sharma said. After registering a case under the section of abduction, the police started a search. CONTD. ON P8 SHOOT-AT-SIGHT ORDERS Flashpoint Haldwani FIERY PROTESTS over razing of religious structures BISWAJEET BANERJEE Dehradun Communal tension erupted in Haldwani area of Nainital district on Thursday evening following the demolition of a madrasa and an underground mosque-like structure that were illegally constructed on government land in the Banbhulpura area. The incident led to a volatile situation, prompting the imposition of curfew after miscreants pelted stones at police officers and set vehicles ablaze, including a police car. Late night reports on India Today s news portal said shoot-at-sight orders have been issued in strife-hit Banbhulpura. CONTD. ON P8 WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 26.10c. 12.10c Sunrise : 07.03 Sunset : 06.19 Aditya Singh new Harda collector, Abhinav Chokse appointed SP OUR STAFF REPORTER Bhopal The State government on Thursday appointed IAS officer Aditya Singh as new collector of Harda and IPS officer Abhinav Choukse as Superintendent of Police, a day after transferring the incumbents in the wake of an explosion at a firecrackers factory that killed a dozen people in the district. Their appointment orders were issued in the evening. Singh is a 2014-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, while Choukse joined the Indian Police Service in 2018. The state government had on Wednesday transferred Harda district collector Rishi Garg and SP Sanjeev Kanchan. On Thursday, the General Administration Department (GAD) issued an order appointing Singh as new collector of Harda district in place of Garg, who has been posted as a deputy secretary in the state secretariat at Bhopal. In a separate order, the state home department appointed Choukse as Harda SP in place of Kanchan. Kanchan has been moved to the state police headquarters in Bhopal as Assistant Inspector General (AIG). QUALITY AT VALUE r RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in PREGNANCY JOY AMID ARTICLE 370 FILMING CINEMA HARDA HORROR ‘BLAST WAS AKIN TO N-BOMB EXPLOSION’ OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said when he saw the video of Harda blast incident it looked that it was a blast akin to the nuclear bomb blast. When he inquired that how Shivakashi like factory came up there, he was informed that before the strictness was ensued one or two years back, explosive material was distributed in homes for making of the bomb and later these bombs were collected (in factory). " Now such kind of drama has been heard for the first time," he told. He was replying to the adjournment motion brought by the Opposition over Harda tragedy in assembly on Wednesday . He said in starting of the incident, it was not clear that whether it was a terrorist act or something else but when it was con- Toll reaches 12; 15 factories sealed OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in WALK OUT BY OPPN As opposition was unsatisfied with the reply of CM on Harda incident, it staged walk out in the assembly. It demanded that judicial or open court of inquiry shall be done into the incident. firmed that incident is related with crackers, then government took the matter seriously CONTD. ON P8 . Team formed to estimate losses HARDA: A committee has been formed to estimate the losses in nearby areas because of the blast in Harda. Addln collector Nagarjun B Gauda has been appointed nodal officer The other members are SDM KC Parte, Tehsildar Lavina Ghagre and Nayab Tehsilder Roopkala Parmar. Another team was set up to visit each house in the area to take feedback on the losses. Besides, chief medical and health officer Dr HP Singh set up a temporary health camp to treat the injured. Meanwhile, collector Rohit Sisonia has directed the general manager of Madhya Chhetra Vidyut Vitaran Company to restore the power supply in Bairagarh area where the power supply was snapped after the blast. The body of an unidentified woman was found while clearing the debris of the firecracker factory in Harda where a blast took place on Tuesday. With this, the death toll has risen to 12. Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours, the administration had sealed 15 factories. On Tuesday morning, a blast occurred in a firecracker factory in Harda in which 11 people died and around 200 got injured. After the incident, the district administration launched a drive against the firecracker factories. SDM SK Parte told Free Press that a huge amount of debris from the factory and houses was scattered in around half a kilometre radius following the blast. CONTD. ON P8