Vol. 67 No. 125 | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | 26 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Modi S Sarkar ki Guara antee Hamara ra Sankalp l • 1,389 m mandis and 1.8 crore farmers connected with e e-NAM • Farmers getting better prices for agricultural products through g 'Beej se Bazar tak' initiative Scan for more information Viksit i Bharat a cbc 22201/13/0274/2324 2 Prosp perous Farmers, Prosperous Nat tion Government of India DOES GOVT KNOW ITS ONIONS? Cong & AAP sew up Delhi alliance Amid export ban, allows shipments to B'desh, Mauritius, Bahrain, Bhutan LAXMI DEVI / NEW DELHI Amid an export ban on onions, India on Thursday made an exception and permitted overseas sale of a fixed quantity of 54,760 tonnes of the key kitchen staple to Bangladesh, Mauritius, Bahrain and Bhutan. "We have allowed export of 50,000 tonnes of onion to Bangladesh, 1,200 tonnes to Mauritius, 3,000 tonnes of Bahrain and 560 tonnes to Bhutan with immediate effect," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. The shipments will be un- Admirer-turned-critic of PM feels CBI heat GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday launched nationwide searches on the premises of former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik in connection with bribery allegations linked to the Rs2,200crore Kiru Hydropower project. Incidentally Malik had , himself claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore for clearing files, including one pertaining to the project. Malik, who was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of reading down of Article 370 in August 2019, had in the past also served as Governor of Bihar, Odisha, Goa and Meghalaya. He is also a former national vice president of BJP a two term , Rajya Sabha MP and a former Lok Sabha MP who had won from Aligarh on Janata Dal ticket in 1989. A fervent admirer of PM Modi, he had later turned a bitter critic. He had supported the farmers’ agitation that began in 2020 and advised the BJP leadership to negotiate with farmers and accept their genuine demands, which had angered the Prime Minister. In November 2021, while speaking at the Global Jat Summit he had warned the Centre saying, CONTD. ON NATION dertaken by private trade till March 31. The modalities are being worked out, he said. Singh said the decision has been taken following a recommendation from the external affairs ministry . Sources said several countries have made a request for the supply of onion from In- FEMA VIOLATIONS ED SWOOPS DOWN ON HIRANANDANI dia. The external affairs ministry is evaluating the quantity on a case-to-case basis and a final decision will be taken by the group of ministers. Currently there is a ban on , onion exports till March 31. The ban was imposed on December 8, 2023, in order to boost domestic supply and check price rise. Ahead of general elections, the ban is unlikely to be lifted even after March 31 as rabi (winter) onion production is expected to be lower due to less coverage of area, especially in Maharashtra, sources said. CONTD. ON NATION CHAND SA ROSHAN CHEHRA ASHISH SINGH / MUMBAI Searches were conducted at several premises of the Niranjan Hiranandani Group by the ED on Thursday for al, leged violations of rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Those being probed include businessman and co-founder and managing director the of group Niranjan Hiranandani, his son Darshan Hiranandani, recently in the news in connection with the controversy involving TMC leader Mahua Moitra, and various other entities of the group. CONTD. ON NATION GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR / NEW DELHI B uoyed by the win of their joint candidate in the Chandigarh mayoral election, the INDIA bloc alliance partners, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, are likely to formally announce on Friday a seat-sharing formula for Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa and Chandigarh. According to sources, in Delhi AAP may contest four seats while Congress may field its candidates on the remaining three. While talks between the two sides, which had formally met twice on January 8 and 12 at Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik’s residence here, had almost stalled earlier this month, both the parties appear to have revived them over the past week as the developments in Chandigarh brought them closer. The meeting at Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s residence on Sunday 18, which was attended by AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Atishi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge among others, is learnt to have thawed the cooling sentiments on both sides. CONTD. ON NATION Pawar can blow his trumpet FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar takes a 'shikara' ride at Dal Lake in Srinagar on Thursday. – PTI The Election Commission of India on Thursday allotted the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Sharad Pawar a new symbol – a “man blowing a turha (a traditional trumpet)”. “The Commission has already allotted the name of “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar” to the group led by Sharad Pawar”, the poll panel said on Thursday “Further, . as per the request received, a ‘Man Blowing Turha’ is allotted to the group/ party in all parliamentary constituencies in the state of Maharashtra,” it said. "The Tutari, which invokes the great valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had once deafened the emperor of Delhi," NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) said in post on X. CONTD. ON NATION