FP FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 313 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | APRIL 25, 2024 | PAGES 14 `3 - r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; BHOPAL GETS MODI-FIED EDIT RAHUL GANDHI’S POVERTARIAN PITCH WEATHER INDIA ALLIANCE GOVT WILL CREATE CRORES OF LAKHPATIS: RAGA NATION EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE TEACHERS’ RECRUITMENT CASE State capital was specked with saffron hue and Modi-fied on starry Wednesday evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a road show in support of BJP candidate Alok Sharma from Malviya Nagar Tri-section to Nankane Petrol Pump Tri-section. Both sides of the road through which Modi’s cavalcade passed were jam-packed. As Prime Minister displayed the replica of Lotus, the election symbol of the BJP, crowd chanted – Modi, Modi. Cheers only got louder as the cavalcade passed. It was around 7.40 pm that PM embarked on open chariot for the road show. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Alok Sharma and BJP state president VD Sharma. Sporting a big smile on face, PM waived the lotus symbol throughout the road show. He also accepted greetings of people with folded hands. Men and women were standing on either sides of the road and their enthusiasm was at peak. By seeing PM, they waived hands and filled the atmosphere by chanting Modi- Modi. Throughout the road show, flower petals were showered on the chariot of PM and latter was overwhelmed by seeing the outpouring affection towards him. Moreover, a group of people greeted PM by playing ‘Damru’, drums and pipe. The entire road show of PM lasted for at least 25 minutes. The people of different communities, including Gujarati, welcomed the PM. The energy of BJP workers was at the pinnacle during the entire road show. The chariot was decorated with flower garlands and security personnel were walking around it. NEW DELHI The West Bengal government has moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools. CONTD. ON P7 RANCHI: The Jharkhand government sounded an alert after bird flu cases were reported in a staterun poultry farm in Ranchi, an official said on Wednesday. As many as 2,196 birds including 1,745 chickens were culled at the Regional Poultry Farm, Hotwar, an official told PTI. A total of 1697 eggs were also destroyed. The presence of H5N1, a type of avian influenza A virus that causes disease in birds, was confirmed in the samples sent to the ICAR-National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, the official said. Radical preacher Amritpal Singh to fight LS polls CHANDIGARH: Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in a jail in Assam under the National Security Act, will fight the Lok Sabha polls from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib seat as an Independent candidate, his counsel claimed on Wednesday . However, his father, Tarsem Singh, said he would comment on the matter only after meeting his son on Thursday while asserting that Amritpal Singh had earlier not shown any interest in joining politics. Amritpal Singh's legal counsel Rajdev Singh Khalsa claimed that he met the preacher in Dibrugarh jail on Wednesday and requested him to contest the polls. CONTD. ON P7 Can't control polls, SC tells EVM critics AGENCIES New Delhi The Supreme Court said on Wednesday it cannot "control the elections" or issue directions simply because doubts have been raised about the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), as it reserved its judgement on a clutch of petitions claiming the polling devices can be tinkered with to manipulate the results. The court said it cannot change the thought process of those doubting the advantages of polling machines and advocating going back to ballot papers. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), after taking note of the answers to queries it had posed to the Election Commission. CONTD. ON P7 MP BOARD RESULTS 2024 Class 10 result dips by 5%, XII students do better ‘Cong's loot Zindagi Ke Saath Bhi, Zindagi Ke Baad Bhi’ n PM takes opposition to task using the slogan of LIC n Inheritance tax on properties becomes issue before second phase of polling n Congress wants to reduce reservation of SC, ST and OBC by 15% OUR STAFF REPORTER / BHOPAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cut to bits the statement of Indian Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda. "The Congress has only one Mantra loot Zindagi Ke Saath Bhi, Zindagi Ke Baad Bhi," Modi said at public meetings in Sagar and Harda on Wednesday . The Congress is talking about inheritance tax without knowing that people keep their properties and savings for their children and grandchildren, but the party wants to deprive them of the properties made by their hard-working parents, Modi said. CONTD. ON P7 P INDI ALLIANCE BRINGING ONE-YEAR-ONE-PM FORMULA 58.10 pass percentage reported in class 10, 64.49 in class 12 OUR STAFF REPORTER / City.bhopal@fpj.co.in rime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the NDA has a prime ministerial candidate - Modi - but Indi alliance has none. There are media reports that Indi alliance is working on one-year-one-PM formula, Modi said. Prime Minister wanted to know what would happen to the country, if the Prime Minister was changed every year. Therefore, such alliance should not be voted. Pass percentage of MP Board Class 10 dropped to 58.10% from 63.29% in 2023, while that of Class 12, shot up from 55.28% to 64.49%. Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) declared results of high school and higher secondary examinations on Wednesday . Among the 8,21,491 regular students who took the high school exam, 4,77,075 passed, including 3,05,067 in first division, 1,69,863 in second division and 2,145 in third division. CONTD. ON P7 P TAKING SHIVRAJ TO DELHI: MODI rime Minister Narendra Modi has said he worked with former chief minister of MP Shivraj Singh Chouhan. When he was an MP, he used to work for the organisation, Modi said. Modi said when Chouhan was the chief minister he was also the chief minister. He further said that he wanted to take Chouhan to Delhi, so the people should vote for the latter. HIGH SCHOOL TOPPERS Cong distances itself from Pitroda's remarks NEWS BRIEF Avian flu outbreak at poultry farm CINEMA WB govt moves SC against Cal HC order OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in www.freepressjournal.in FATHERHOOD ON SCREEN 38.40c. 24.50c Sunrise : 06.01 Sunset : 06.50 ROAD SHOW from Malviya Nagar tri-section to Nankane Petrol Pump tri-section continues for 25 minutes QUALITY AT VALUE r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday asserted that it has no plans to introduce inheritance tax in the country as a row erupted over the remarks by its leader Sam Pitroda, who also later said that his comments on the issue had nothing to with the party policy . Pitroda had spoken about inheritance tax in the US while delving into the issue of redistribution of health. As the BJP latched on it to target the Congress, the opposition party first distanced itself from the remarks of "He has expressed his views in the American context, which has no relevance for us. He does not speak on behalf of the Congress," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the US-based president of its overseas wing and then launched a counter-offensive claiming it was the BJP that wanted to impose an 'inheritance tax'. It cited the remarks made in the past by some ruling party leaders, including former union minister Jayant Sinha and the party's social media head Amit Malviya, to buttress its claim. "I would like to categorically state that Congress has no plan on the inheritance tax. (Sam) Pitroda is a very distinguished professional and has made many contributions to the development of India. He expresses his views on the topic he feels strongly about. CONTD. ON P7 he bank continue Thowever,shall,to its to provide services Bars bank from onboarding customers online, issuing credit cards T Protesting Tamil Nadu farmers climb mobile tower in Delhi's Jantar Mantar A few farmers from Tamil Nadu, including a woman, on Wednesday climbed onto a mobile tower as they protested at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over demands of better prices for their crops and the river interlinking issue, officials said. Scores of Tamil Nadu farmers gathered at Jantar Mantar, some of who climbed nearby trees and a mobile tower, police said. Police used a fire brigade crane to bring the farmers back to the ground from the mobile tower, they said. "Around 50 people have come for interlinking of rivers. AGENCIES / Mumbai Cracking down on repeated non-compliance of IT norms, the RBI on Wednesday barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards with immediate effect after the regulator found "serious deficiencies" in the lender's IT risk management. In an almost similar action, the RBI in December 2020 had barred HDFC Bank from issuing new cards and REASON hese actions, the RBI said, are necessitated based on significant concerns arising out of Reserve Bank's IT examination of the bank for the years 2022 and 2023 and the continued failure on part of the bank to address these concerns in a comprehensive and timely manner launching new digital initiatives after repeated instances of technological outages at the lender. The restrictions were later lifted in March 2022. In a statement regarding the supervisory action against Kotak Mahindra Bank, the RBI said: "Serious deficiencies and noncompliances were ob- 'At least come for my funeral...,' hether us Wvote foryou (Congress) or not, but at least Cong chief Kharge's emotional pitch at rally on home turf Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the people of his home district of Kalaburagi, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday appealed to them to at least attend his funeral if they thought he worked for them even though they do not wish to vote for the party candidate here in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at a poll rally at Afzalpur in this district, the 81-year-old also said that if they (people) did not vote for the Congress candidate, he would HIGHER SECONDARY TOPPERS In class 12, Muskan Dangi (Vidisha) was state topper in commerce group, scoring 493 out of 500 (98.6%). In Math-Science stream, Anshika Mishra (Rewa) topped with 493 out of 500 marks (98.6%). Jayant Yadav (Shahjahanpur) secured the highest position in Humanities category scoring 487 out of 500 (97.4%). Vinay Pandey (Panna) topped the agricultural group scoring 480 marks. Nandini Malgam (Dindori) bagged the top position in Fine Arts and Home Science JAYANT YADAV MUSKAN DANGI category scoring 464 out of 500 (92.8%). Sana Anjum Khan (Seoni) secured first place, scoring 487 marks in the biology group. TOP-PERFORMING DISTRICTS IN HIGH SCHOOL Narsinghpur ranked highest with 80.51%, followed by Alirajpur and Balaghat, both achieving 71%. Mandla, Anuppur, and Jhabua complete the top five with 70%. On the other hand, districts with lowest pass percentages include Bhind (45.11%), Shivpuri (43.75%), and Damoh (41.39%). BEST PERFORMING DISTRICTS IN HR SECONDARY Narsinghpur boasts the highest pass percentage among all districts in Madhya Pradesh, with 81.53% for regular students. Neemuch follows closely with 77%, while Indore secured third place with 76.27%. Anuppur and Ujjain also clinch spots in the top five districts, with pass percentages of 75.98% and 73.19%, respectively. CONTD. ON P7 RBI cracks whip on Kotak Gadkari faints ‘HAMARI MAANGE POORI KARO’ AGENCIES / Kalaburagi (Karnataka) In high school exam, 82 students made it to the top 10. Anushka Agrawal from Mandla secured first position scoring 495 out of 500 marks. Three students, Rekha Rebari (Katni), Ishmita Tomar (Agar Malwa) and Sneha Patel (Rewa) secured second rank each scoring 493 marks. Saurabh Singh from Satna secured third place with 492 marks. ANSHIKA MISHRA "If you miss your vote this time (if you don't vote for the Congress candidate), I will think that I don't have any place here for me and I could come to my funeral if you think not win your heart," said Kharge, that I have done for who won the Lok Sabha elections Kalaburagi here in 2009 and 2014, but lost in 2019. He also said that he would con-M MALLIKARJUN KHARGE, CONGRESS PRESIDENT tinue in politics till his last breath to "defeat" the BJP and RSS ideology . think that he did not have "any place" "I am born for politics. Whether or in Kalaburagi anymore. not I will contest the election, I will The Congress has fielded Kharge's strive till my last breath to save the son-in-law Radhakrishna DodConstitution and democracy of this damani from Kalaburagi, against country. I will not retire from poliBJP's sitting MP Umesh Jadhav. tics," Kharge asserted. CONTD. ON P7 existing customers, including its credit card customers n RBI served in the areas of IT inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, vendor risk management, data security and data leak prevention strategy, business continuity and disaster recovery rigour and drill, etc." The Kotak Mahindra Bank has been directed "to cease and desist", with immediate effect, from onboarding of new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards. due to heat during poll rally AGENCIES Yavatmal (Maharashtra) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari fainted on stage while speaking during a poll campaign in Maharashtra's Pusad on Wednesday . Fortunately, later he felt good and resumed his poll campaign. Gadkari himself informed in a post on X on Wednesday, "I felt uncomfortable due to the heat during the rally in Pusad, Maharashtra. But now I am completely healthy and am leaving for Varud to attend the next meeting. Thank you for your love and good wishes," wrote Gadkari in a post on X. Notably, Nitin Gadkari is among the star campaigners for the BJP in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections 2024 and is busy doing several rallies across the nation. Gadkari is contesting from the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency which underwent a poll on April 19. CONTD. ON P7 Could use some of Modi’s policies in US: JP Morgan CEO AGENCIES New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken 400 million (40 crore) people out of poverty and is doing an "unbelievable job" in India, Global banking giant JP Morgan Chase chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon has said. Speaking at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, Dimon lauded odi has done an unbelievable job in India. I liberal Press the hell Mknow thehe's taken 400here, they beat out of out of him when million people poverty n JAMIE DIMON, JP MORGAN CHASE CEO the economic reforms implemented by the Modi government and said some of them could be introduced in the US as well. He complimented PM Modi for his resilience in challenging outdated bu- reaucratic systems, calling him "tough". The leading banker referred to PM Modi as a "tough" administrator for breaking outdated bureaucratic systems in India and said, "We need a little bit more of that here (in the US)."