DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2025, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 REMARKS RATTLE ISLAMABAD Kashmir will be solved when part stolen by Pak returns: Jaishankar BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY On China, says want relationship that respects interests, works for both TRUMP DELAYS TARIFFS ON MOST GOODS FROM MEXICO FOR A MONTH IT’S OVER FOR YOU: TRUMP ISSUES ‘LAST WARNING’ TO HAMAS PAGE 12 PM IN UTTARAKHAND Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to Harsil, in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, on Thursday. The PM made a strong pitch for round-the-year tourism in the state. PTI PAGE2 Manmohan Singh’s Rajasthan HC stays demolition of family gives nod for houses of rape accused in Beawar his memorial site at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, MARCH 6 Sent formal acceptance to Govt after visit to site, says daughter Upinder Singh THE RAJASTHAN High Court Thursday stayed the demolition of homes of the Beawar rape accused while pulling up the state government for being “hellbent” on demolition. Hearing a bunch of petitions by the families of the accused who face demolition of their homes, a Bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal said that Syed Saadat Ali, the counsel for the petitioners, has submit- ted that upon the receipt of a showcause notice dated February 20, seeking to demolish their construction, the petitioners filed their response well in time. However, “the respondents are hell-bent to demolish their construction without taking a decision on their response,” the court said. The Rajasthan government through the Local Self Government department, the Additional Chief Secretary for Home department, the Beawar District Collector, the Superintendentof Policeandthe local Municipality have been made a party to the case. AdditionalAdvocate General G S Gill and Manoj Kumar appeared on their behalf. Ali said he told the court, “All those who have been made an accused are arrested and that notices have been pasted on their homes. But the homes do not belong to the accused but to their grandfather, father, uncle, etc. Not a single home is owned by the accused. So that was our argument, that these properties CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Punjab pastor named in sexual harassment case, is on the run A 900 sq m plot at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal complex has been chosen for Manmohan Singh’s memorial. Anil Sharma RITU SARIN NEW DELHI, MARCH 6 THE FAMILY of late Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has given the government its written approval for his memorialona900sqmplotinthemiddle of the complex of samadhis called the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal near Delhi’s Raj Ghat. Following a visit to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal by members of the family last week, Gursharan Kaur, the former PrimeMinister’swife,islearntto have sent a formal acceptance letter to the government. Last week, Singh’s daughters Upinder Singh and Daman Singh, along with their spouses, surveyed the plot. The Indian Express has learnt that as of date there are only two empty plots left in the samadhi complex. One was offered to the familyofformerPresidentPranab Mukherjee in January this year. Theotherplot,measuring900sq m, located towards the centre of theRashtriyaSmritiSthal,wasoffered to Singh’s family. UpinderSinghconfirmedthe development to The Indian Expressandsaidaformalacceptance has been sent by them. “The land is to be allotted to a Trustandwewillshortlysetthat up.Thestipulationisthatwecan apply for a one-time grant of up toRs25lakhfortheconstruction of the memorial,” she said. The Rashtriya Smriti Sthal complex consists of 9 samadhi spots which are meant to have a similar architectural design for the cenotaph. SourcesinSingh’sfamilysaid the plot chosen by the government — and now approved by the family — has the samadhi of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar in front; that of former President R Venkataraman behind it; and those of former Presidents Giani Zail Singh and PranabMukherjeeoneitherside. In 2013, when Singh was Prime Minister, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for creation of a “common” memorial ground near Raj Ghat – ironically,hisfamilyhasnowapproved what could be the last or among the last vacant pieces of land there. The Cabinet decision, dated May 16, 2013, had, however, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA JALANDHAR, MARCH 6 A SELF-PROFESSED miracle healer,asubjectof manymemes, and a preacher who claims to preside over 260 churches worldwide — Pastor Bajinder Singh is many things to many people. For the Punjab police, however, he is currently an accused in a sexual harassment casewhoisyettoturnhimself in. On February 28, Singh (42) was booked based on a complaint filed by a 22-year-old woman at the Kapurthala City police station. The head of the Church of Glory and Wisdom, EXPRESS NETWORK Pastor Bajinder Singh claims to have a global following headquartered in Jalandhar's Tajpur village, Singh has been booked under sections of sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation. The woman claims she first started visiting SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 6 EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister S Jaishankar has said the Kashmir issue will be “solved” once the “stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation” returns to India. Speaking late Wednesday at Chatham House, the Londonbased think tank, Jaishankar, responding to a question on “solving” issues in Kashmir, said: “On Kashmir, actually we have done, I think, a good job, solving most of it. Removing Article 370 was step number one, restoring growth and economic activity andsocialjusticeinKashmirwas step number two, and holding elections with a very high turnoutwasstepnumberthree.” “I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation; when that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved.” This is in line with what has E ● Unanimity athome JAISHANKAR’S REMARKS echo the unanimous resolution by both Houses of Parliament on February 22, 1994 that J&K (and Ladakh) is an integral part of India, and that Pakistan must vacate the parts under its illegal occupation. Successive governments have stuck to this resolution, warning Pakistan to desist from its acts of terror. been said about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by BJP ministersinthepastincludingUnion Home Minister Amit Shah who, inMaylastyear,said,“PoKispart of India and we will take it.” Jaishankar’s remarks drew a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BENGALURU, MARCH 6 KANNADA FILM actress Ranya Rao, who was nabbed at the Bengaluru International Airport on March 3 on charges of smuggling 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.86 crore, had allegedly strapped 14 gold bars on her thighs with tape and bandages Who’s stopping you? Reclaim PoK, also part with China: Omar to Govt J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Assembly on Thursday. PTI ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, MARCH 6 REFERRING TO External Affairs MinisterSJaishankar’srecentremarks on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday asked who was stopping the Centre from reclaiming PoK. Jaishankar, while answering a Pakistani journalist’s question at an event in London on Wednesday, had said the Kashmir issue would be solved whenthe“stolenpartofKashmir, which is under illegal Pakistani occupation,” is returned. At the J&K Assembly on Thursday,Abdullahasked,“Who stopped you (from reclaiming PoK)?” “Chaliye, ek hissa Pakistan ke pass hai. Humne kabhi kaha ki mat lao (One part is with Pakistan. Did we ever say don’t reclaim it)?” he asked. “Reclaim CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Khalistan activists breach minister’s security, India & UK condemn incident SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 6 AS A pro-Khalistan protester attempted to breach the security perimeter outside Chatham House in London when External AffairsMinisterSJaishankarwas leaving the think-tank, India on Thursday condemned the incident and said it “deplored the misuse of democratic freedom by such elements”. It also called on the “host government... to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations”. The UK, too, strongly condemned the security breach, saying such attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events are “completely unacceptable”. Theincidenttookplacewhen JaishankarwasleavingChatham House on Wednesday evening. A purported video of the incident shows a man carrying the Indian flag rushing towards Jaishankar's vehicle. Even as he was restrained and taken away by police personnel, a group of protesters with pro-Khalistan flags can be seen shouting slogans. “We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of the External Affairs MinistertotheUK.Wecondemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kannada actress tied 14 gold bars to her thighs, made multiple trips to Dubai, Malaysia: Probe EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE TAHAWWUR RANA SEEKS STAY ON EXTRADITION: ‘WILL BE TORTURED’ TEN INDIANS TRACED TO WEST BANK, BACK IN ISRAEL PAGE 4 his church when she was 16-17 and was sexually harassed for years. Since her complaint, police have formed a Special Investigation Team, the state Women's Commission has sought a response from Singh, and a Mohali court has issued non-bailable warrants in a separate rape case. A senior police officer said that while the charges are bailable, bail can only be granted oncehesurrendersorisarrested. According to police sources, the pastor is believed to be in Nepal. Investigating Officer Rajvinder Kaur confirmed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Bronwen Maddox, Director and CEO of Chatham House, in London. PTI EXPLAINED THE WORLD PAGE 1 ANCHOR ● in an attempt to avoid detection by Customs officials, sources familiarwiththeinvestigationsay. Rao (33), the stepdaughter of a senior DGP-rank IPS officer in Karnataka, was arrested by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), who hadinformationof herarrival,allegedly with the contraband, at the airport. While there has been specu- RanyaRaowasnabbedfrom BengaluruairportonMarch3 lationthatthegoldconsignment was smuggled in a jacket Rao wore, the DRI has indicated that the gold was found on the actress during a physical check. “Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on (her) person,” the DRI said in an official statement on the arrest of Rao,whohadarrivedfromDubai CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK IT’S DEATH OF A MOVEMENT: FORMER MAYAWATI AIDES REMOVAL OF SACRED THREAD BEFORE EXAM TRIGGERS POLITICAL ROW PAGE 3 ‘World’s most expensive cow’: Booming in Brazil, dwindling in India NIKHILA HENRY GUNTUR, MARCH 6 A SMALL group of veterinary interns stand huddled together at the opening of Shed No 9 in a cattle farm on the outskirts of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Minutes later, a calf tumbles out of her mother and there are cheers all around. The group is witnessing the birth of a purebred Ongole calf attheLivestockResearchStation, LAMFarm,inGuntur–oneof the few government-run farms in the country dedicated to the conservation of the indigenous cattle breed. Asthecowlicksheroffspring, helping it to its feet, Dr M Mutha Rao, the officer in charge of the LAM Farm, tells The Indian Express, “This calf was born out of IVF-embryo transfer technology. With similar breeding techniques, we have been maintaining the purity of the breed over the past 30 years and eight generations of cattle.” Whileithassofarbeenalong and lonely fightatthe LAMFarm to conserve the Ongoles, one of the53indigenouscattlevarieties in the country, the breed is having its moment under the Brazilian sun as “the most ex- pensive cattle in the world”. In February, an Ongole purebred cow, Viatina-19, was sold for a whopping 4.38 million USD (25.7 million Brazilian Real or INR 40 crore) in Brazil’s Minas Gerais. It’s a breed that thrives in Brazil — about 80 per cent of the country’s 226 million cattle are Ongoles. In Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter where the cattle industryisaprimarydriverof itseconomy, the Ongoles are raised for their meat. As the country attemptstocapturenewermarkets, Brazilian breeders are racing to raise bigger, meatier supercows such as the Viatina-19. LAM Farm Ongole cattle at the Livestock Research Station in Guntur The snowy-white, muscular Viatina-19, weighing 1,100 kg, was bought at an auction by three breeders -- Casa Branca Agropastoril, Agropecuária Napemo,andNeloreHRO--who will now use her to breed cattle with superior characteristics based on her genetic traits. However, back in India, the originalhomeof theOngoles,the breed is facing the threat of extinction, its numbers halving from 15 lakh in 1944 to 6.34 lakh in the 2019 Livestock Census. In a country where the population of indigenouscattlehasdropped by nine per cent between 2007 and 2012 and six per cent be- Jaipur tween 2012 and 2019, the fate of the Ongole breed is somewhat predictable. The price of the cattle, too, is relatively low in India – Rs 1 lakh a cow and Rs 10 to 15 lakh for a prized bull. Despite government efforts to promote conservation and rearing of desi breeds through schemes such as the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), launched in 2014, farmers prefer exotic and crossbred cattle that yield more milk when compared to the indigenous varieties. This is reflected in the 29.5 per cent jump in the population of exotic and crossbred cattle – from 39.73 million in 2012 to 51.47 million in 2019. On the need to conserve the indigenous breeds, Mutha Rao says, “They are the most farmerfriendly cattle. Their yield and characteristics suit our climate, soil and farmers. They are superiorto several crossbred animals in more ways than one, including disease resistance and strength.” The Ongoles, he adds, arealsoknownfortheirheattolerance and ability to survive on low fodder. Rao says they focus on the Ongoles at the LAM farm becausethebreedis"India’spride". "Itisthisindigenouscattlewhich CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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