Vol. 35 No. 18 | SUNDAY | JANUARY 28, 2024 | 30 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Songs of change A look at songs that were composed to bring about a change or evoke the patriot in you Strings of Legacy Rahul Sharma talks about his upcoming concert which is a tribute to his father, late Pandit Shivkumar Sharma SHINDE BUYS PEACE WITH DRAFT RULES... FOR NOW As the Chief Minister deftly wards off Manoj Jarange-Patil, OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal set to knock on court's doors S BALAKRISHNAN / MUMBAI Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday deftly warded off what certainly would have been a catastrophe for Mumbai by persuading pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to call off his proposed long march into Mumbai with a million of his supporters and thousands of vehicles. Late on Friday night, the state government fine tuned “draft rules" after hectic consultations with senior bureaucrats and legal experts conceding all the demands of Jarange Patil and issued a notification. The latter accepted not only the midnight notification, but also a glass of fruit juice from Shinde, who is also a Maratha. He ended his fast and appealed to his followers to return home. They had marched 400 km from Jalna to Navi Mumbai where they were halted in their tracks by some shrewd handling by Shinde, whose political stock has risen exponentially overnight. However, senior cabinet minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal, struck a discordant note and said the government notification was nothing but an effort to ensure the backdoor entry of Marathas into the OBC category Significantly he also . , pointed out that the government had only issued “draft rules." This gave the impression that the government has not taken a final decision on Jarange Patil's demands. Advocate Gunratan Sadavarte, who has been consistently been opposing in the courts Maratha reservation, said he would challenge Saturday's decision too before the Bombay high court. CONTD. ON NATION With Nitish poised to switch, Tejashwi says “khel baki hai” DHEERAJ KUMAR / PATNA Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as CM with the support of BJP and its allies on Sunday . He is to be aided by two deputy chief ministers, both from the BJP sources say , . Injecting a last minute note of uncertainty, deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav declared that ‘Bihar mein ab bhi khel hona baki hain’. He did not elaborate. Nitish is expected to convene a meeting of JD (U) MLAs on Sunday morning. At the same time, meeting of BJP MLAs will also be held. Later in the day Nitish is , likely to be declared leader in the joint meeting of BJP and its allies. Subsequently he is , expected to meet the governor and stake claim to form a new government. Senior BJP leaders including Union Minister of State for Home Nitiyanand Rai held a meeting with senior party leaders and MLAs on the formation of a NDA government in the state. They however, did , not divulge details. Meanwhile, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) met all four party MLAs following which Manjhi said that his party was fully behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi. HAM national president Santosh Kumar Suman said that his party would be part of the NDA government. Signs of the grand alliance falling apart became clearer on Saturday when JD (U) chief spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar launched a blistering attack on RJD chief Lalu Prasad by virtually holding them guilty of acquiring land in lieu of jobs in the railways. Kumar said, “RJD leadership is desperate. The reason for desperation is clear as it has the track record of acquiring land in lieu of giving jobs.” “Under the leadership of Nitish, 2.15 lakh teachers were appointed within the stipulated time frame but RJD could not do anything (minting money) in appointments and postings of teachers and so it was making baseless complaints. RJD should stop it, otherwise it will result in serious political consequences,” he added. CONTD. ON NATION RELATIVE CLAUSE A notable amendment in the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Rules, 2012, in Saturday's notification is the inclusion of the term “Sage-soyare” in the definition section.This term encompasses relatives of the applicant’s father, grandfather, great grandfather, and earlier generations, formed out of CONTD. ON NATION marriages within the same castes. Kharge in touch with Nitish, Mamata, claims Jairam GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee following her decision that the TMC would fight the Lok Sabha elections without getting into a seat sharing alliance with the Congress. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday that Kharge reached out to her and “invited her” to be a part of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. “He has spoken to her also written a letter to her,” he added. Ramesh said in her statement two days ago, Banerjee had clearly indicated that her target was the BJP and that her fight was against the BJP and she wants to defeat it. “The aim of the Congress and the INDIA bloc (of opposition parties) is also the same. So there is no issue of ‘vaad vivaad’ (divergence of views) CONTD. ON NATION here.” Bopanna oldest Grand Slam champ JOE WILLIAMS / MUMBAI T ennis ace Rohan Bopanna scripted history on Saturday by becoming the oldest man in the Open Era to claim a Grand Slam doubles title at the age of 43 years and 329 days. This surpassed the previous record held by Jean-Julien Rojer, who won the 2022 Roland Garros men’s doubles title by pairing up with Marcelo Arevalo at the age of 40 years and 284 days. Bopanna and his partner, Matthew Ebden of Australia, exhibited unstoppable skill at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to defeat the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in straight sets with a scoreline of 7-6, 7-5. The victory also makes Bopanna the oldest World No. 1 player to claim a Grand Slam men’s doubles title. This caps a remarkable week for Bopanna, who had previously been a runner-up in the men’s doubles at the US Open. Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden will share the prize money CONTD. ON NATION of 730,000 Australian dollars Akhilesh announces 11 seat pact, Cong demurs BISWAJEET BANERJEE JAL KHAMBATA LUCKNOW, NEW DELHI In a significant turn of events the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are showing signs of entering into an alliance in Uttar Pradesh. This alliance, announced by Akhilesh Yadav, aims to counter the BJP's stronghold in the state. Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party took to the social me, dia platform 'X' to announce the initiation of a promising alliance with Congress on 11 seats. He did not clarify the seats given to Congress. But Yadav expressed optimism, saying: "Our cordial alliance with Congress is off to a good start with 11 strong seats. This trend will move forward with the winning equation. The 'India' team and the 'PDA' strategy will change history ." The Congress has not yet officially endorsed this agreement. CONTD. ON NATION BJP woos new allies, mollycoddles old ones GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI In order to realise its dream of “abki baar 400 paar” (more than 400 seats this time) in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is this time leaving no stone unturned. From Punjab to Bihar to Andhra Pradesh, the BJP is going all out to get the Modi 3.0 government back to power in New Delhi. The party somewhere also realises that the departure of some of its earlier allies like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) in Punjab or even the Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar in the past could have been avoided with some deft handling. ANI / OTTAWA Canada's outgoing National Security Advisor Jody Thomas on Saturday emphasised that India is cooperating in the investigation of the killing of India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nij- Army gets first woman subedar R enowned trap shooter Preeti Rajak has become the Indian Army's first woman subedar following an out of turn promotion after her silver medal performance at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou in China, an official said on Saturday . Rajak joined the Army in the Corps of Military Police in December 2022 on the basis of her performance in Trap Shooting, and she was also the first sportswomen from the shooting discipline to be inducted in the rank of havildar, Mhowbased Army Marksmanship Unit's Subedar Major Rajendra Thapa said in a press release. Based on her stellar performance in the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou in China in 2022, where Rajak won a silver medal in the Trap Shooting Team Event, she was awarded an out of turn promotion to the rank of subedar, Thapa said. "Rajak is now the first woman subedar of the Indian Army Thapa said, adding that ," the AMU imparts training to Army personnel and prepares them for shooting competitions. Apart from Rajak, among those who have trained at the AMU are Olympic medallists Colonel Rajyavardhan Amit Shah meets Bihar LJP leader, his party reaches out to SAD (Badal) in Punjab, TDP in Andhra Pradesh as it pursues its dream of “abki baar 400 paar” So this time the BJP is wooing its old partners while mollycoddling those who stood by it. On Saturday , Union Home Minister Amit Shah met LJP leader Chirag Paswan at his residence in Delhi. He did so because Paswan had a falling out with Nitish Kumar a few years ago and that was the reason he left the NDA in 2020. CONTD. ON NATION Z+ cover for Kerala Guv after roadside face off PTI / THIRUVANANTHAPURAM The Centre on Saturday extended Z+ security cover to Arif Mohammed Khan, on a day of dramatic events that saw the Kerala Governor face yet another protest from the Left-leaning SFI as he lashed out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for "promoting lawlessness." A visibly irked Khan, on his way to Kottarakkara for an event, got out of his car at Nilamel, took on the agitating members of the Students Federation of India and sat on the roadside demanding police action against the activists of the CPI-M- affiliated SFI for staging a blackflag protest against him. CONTD. ON NATION India on board on Nijjar killing probe, says Canada LAST WORD PTI / MHOW Jackie Shroff completes 40 years in Bollywood and turns a year older on February 1 40 years of Jaggu dada Singh Rathore (now a Rajasthan BJP MLA) and Subedar Major Vijay Kumar, the official said. Subedar Rajak is currently ranked 6th in India (in Trap Shooting event among women) and is preparing for the Paris Olympic Games 2024, the AMU release said. "Her great achievement will motivate generations of young women to come forward to join he Indian Army as well as carve a niche for themselves in professional shooting," the Army said. Today Padma Shri and Arjuna , awardee Subedar Major and Honorary Lieutenant Jitu Rai was promoted to the rank of Subedar Major and Honorary Captain for his meritorious service, the Army added. jar, and called the changing relationship an "evolution", as reported by Canada-based CTV News. Thomas said that Canada has "made advancements in that relationship." In an interview with CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos which airs this Sunday Thomas said , that her discussions with her Indian counterpart have been fruitful. "My discussions with my counterpart in India have been fruitful, and I think they've moved things forward," she said. CONTD. ON NATION Navy to the rescue of stricken oil tanker in Gulf of Aden DHARMESH THAKKAR / MUMBAI The Indian Navy rushed guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam deployed in the Gulf of Aden for antipiracy operations to respond to a distress call from British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda late on Friday night after it was struck by a Houthi antiship missile that caused a fire onboard the ship. Indian Navy team helped fight the fire on board tanker which had 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi crew onboard. Marine security experts claimed two other vessels in region were also attacked but the missiles missed their targets; two missiles were reported to have exploded in the water. Both vessels and crew were reported safe and with no damage. CONTD. ON NATION