Pioneer Dehradun-english-edition-2021-03-16

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With the objective of giv-
ing a proper “interpre-
tation” of a Supreme Court
ruling, the Centre on Monday
introduced a Bill in the Lok
Sabha that seeks to define
certain role and powers of the
Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
Union Minister of State for
Home G Kishan Reddy intro-
duced the
Government of National
Capital Territory
of Delhi (Amendment)
Bill, 2021.
According to proposed
amendments, Section 21 of the
Act — dealing with restric-
tions on laws passed by leg-
islative Assembly with respect
to certain matters — is sought
to be revised to clarify that the
expression “Government”
referred to in any law to be
made by the Legislative
Assembly shall mean the
“Lieutenant Governor”.
A sub-section shall be
inserted to this effect in
Section 21. In section 24 of the
principal Act — which
requires a Bill passed by the
Delhi Legislative Assembly to
be presented to the L-G who
may assent, withhold or
reserve it for consideration of
the President — an addition-
al clause will be inserted to
cover any of the matters that
fall outside the purview of the
powers conferred on the
Legislative Assembly.
In Section 33 of the prin-
cipal Act, in sub-section (1)
after the words “conduct of its
business”, the words “which
shall not be inconsistent with
the Rules of Procedure and
Conduct of Business in House
of People” shall be
inserted.
Also, in the proviso, for
the words “Provided that”, the
following shall be substituted,
“Provided that the Legislative
Assembly shall not make any
rule to enable itself or its
Committees to consider the
matters of day-to-day admin-
istration of the Capital or con-
duct enquiries in
relation to the administrative
decisions, and any of the rule
made in contravention of this
proviso, before the com-
mencement of the
Government of NCT of Delhi
(Amendment) Act, 2021, shall
b e
void”.
“The section 44 of the act
deals with conduct of business
and there is no structural
mechanism provided in the act
for effective time bound
implementation of said sec-
tion. Further, there is no clar-
ity as to what proposal or mat-
ters are required to be sub-
mitted to the LG before issu-
ing order thereon,” it
said.
In section 44 of the prin-
cipal Act dealing with powers
to makes rules for conduct of
business, in sub-section (2) —
which states that as otherwise
provided in this Act, all exec-
utive action of the Lieutenant
Governor whether taken
on the advice of his
Ministers or otherwise shall be
expressed to be taken in the
name of the Lieutenant
Governor — the following
proviso shall be inserted,
namely “Provided that before
taking any executive action in
pursuance of
the decision of the
Council of Ministers
or a Minister, to exercise pow-
ers of Government, State
Government, Appropriate
Government, Lieutenant
Governor, Administrator or
Chief Commissioner, as the
case may be, under any law in
force in the Capital, the opin-
ion of Lieutenant Governor in
term of proviso to clause (4) of
article 239AA of the
Constitution shall be obtained
on all such matters
as may
be specified, by a general or
special order, by
Lieutenant Governor”.
According to the state-
ment of objects and reasons of
the bill, the original bill was
enacted to supplement the
provisions of the Constitution
relating to the legislative
assembly and a Council of
Ministers for Delhi and for
matters connected
therewith.
It said that to give effect to
the interpretation made by
the Supreme Court which had
ruled that the city government
need not obtain the Lieutenant
Governor’s “concurrence” of
every issue of day-to-day gov-
ernance, the bill has been
brought.
The Government said it
wanted to clarify the expres-
sion “Government”, which in
the context of legislations to be
passed by the Delhi Assembly,
shall mean the LG of Delhi,
consistent with the status of
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ADelhi court on Monday
awarded death sentence to
Ariz Khan, convicted for the
murder of Delhi Police
Inspector Mohan Chand
Sharma and other offences in
connection with the 2008 Batla
House encounter.
Additional Sessions Judge
Sandeep Yadav said Ariz be
hanged by neck till death.
Inspector Sharma of the
police’s Special Cell was killed
during the Batla House
encounter between the police
and terrorists in Jamia Nagar in
South Delhi following serial
bomb blasts in the national
Capital in which 39 people died
and 159 were injured.
The court also imposed a
total fine of C11 lakh on Ariz
in the case. It said C10 lakh
should be immediately released
to the family of Sharma.
“I feel the fine of C10 lakh
is insufficient. Hence, I am
referring the matter to Delhi
Legal Services Authority for
award of additional compen-
sation,” the judge further said.
Additional Public
Prosecutor AT Ansari, appear-
ing for the police, sought death
penalty for Ariz, allegedly asso-
ciated with the terror outfit
Indian Mujahideen, saying it
was not just any killing but a
murder of a law enforcement
officer who was a defender of
justice.
Ansari said the case attracts
exemplary punishment, which
is capital punishment.
He further said a police
officer was killed while dis-
charging his public duty.
“Ariz along with others
was carrying deadly weapons
which clearly suggests that
they were ready to kill anybody
in any eventuality. They were
the first to start fire without any
provocation,” the public pros-
ecutor said.
He added that widespread
concerns were raised after the
incident regarding the safety of
police officers and it instilled
fear in the minds of the com-
mon people.
Advocate MS Khan,
appearing for Ariz, opposed the
death penalty and said the
incident was not
premeditated.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Registering an upward trend
in Covid-19 cases for the
fifth day in a row, India record-
ed 26,291 new infections on
Monday in the last 24 hours, its
highest single-day spike in 85
days, taking the total tally to
1,13,85,339. Union Health
Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan
blamed the rise in cases to peo-
ple’s disregard for social dis-
tancing and other guidelines.
Vardhan also said that
Covid-19 cases are on the rise
in a few States only. “Around
85% of cases are in five to six
States. The main reason behind
the increase in cases is people
not taking Covid appropriate
behaviour,” the Minister said.
Five States — Maharashtra,
which alone accounts for more
than 58 per cent of the total
active cases in the country,
Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and
Tamil Nadu — continue to
report a surge in Covid-19
cases, accounting for 78.41 per
cent of the new infections, the
Union Health Ministry said in
a statement here.
The death toll due to the
disease increased to 1,58,725
with 118 more fatalities being
recorded in a day, the Ministry
added. The total active caseload
has gone up to 2,19,262 which
is 1.93 per cent of the total
infections in the country, while
the recovery rate has dropped
to 96.68 per cent, the data
said.
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Prime electoral issues tend-
ed to give way to the ankle
politics as rival Trinamool
Congress and the BJP contin-
ued to cross swords on the plas-
tered heel of Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Mamata on Monday start-
ed the second leg of her elec-
tion campaign in wheelchair
even as Home Minister Amit
Shah tore apart her “conspira-
cy” theory saying only God
knows what happened to her at
Nandigram in the evening of
March 10 when she hurt her leg
during election
campaign.
“I was fortunate to survive
on March 10 … otherwise
people (read BJP) had thought
that they would be able to keep
me indoors with a broken leg,”
Mamata told a rally at
Balrampur in Bankura district
circuitously rebuilding the
“conspiracy” theory that she
alleged after hurting her ankle
during a campaign at
Nadigram last week — but
curiously skipped its mention
in her subsequent bites.
“I have plaster in my leg. I
have pain all over my body and
I cannot walk... They thought
that I will remain indoors after
this… But then I thought that
the pain of the people is greater
than my pain and so I am here,”
she said.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The CBI has registered a case
against 23 persons, includ-
ing 17 Army officers in a
recruitment scam.It conducted
searches at 30 locations across
13 cities in the
country.
The CBI registered a case
on a complaint from office of
Additional DG, Discipline
Vigilance, Adjutant General’s
Branch, Integrated
Headquarters of Ministry
Office Defence (Army), New
Delhi against 17 Army officials,
including Lt Colonel, Major,
Naib Subedar, Sepoy, besides
six private persons on the
charge of bribery in recruit-
ment through Service Selection
Board (SSB).
?=BQ =4F34;78
With Indian and Chinese
troops still in a stand-off
mode at some friction points at
the Line of Actual Control, the
Border Roads Organisation
(BRO) worked overtime
despite inclement weather to
open the strategically impor-
tant road linking Lahaul in
Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh
ahead of schedule. The road
will ensure steady logistical
support to the
troops.
The BRO team braved dif-
ficult terrain, avalanches, sub-
zero temperatures, lack of oxy-
gen and shelter to open the
crucial pass Baralachala.
The BRO on Monday
praised the team for the “sheer
grit and dogged determination”
it showed in the line of duty
without concern for personal
safety.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The traffic movement on
the carriageway of Delhi-
Meerut Expressway leading to
Ghaziabad from Delhi, which
was closed since January 26,
was reopened for commuters
on Monday, police said.
“The carriageway going
towards Ghaziabad from Delhi
has been opened in due con-
sultation with police officials,”
a senior official said.
The side of the road from
Ghaziabad towards Delhi, how-
ever, remains closed, they said.
The stretch has been closed
when violence broke out in
during a tractor rally. The car-
riageway was briefly opened on
March 2. The Tikri and the
Singhu borders continue to be
closed due to farmers’ agitation.
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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Monday
accused the BJP of seeking to
drastically curtail the powers of
his elected Government
through a new Bill in the Lok
Sabha.
He also said the Bill is “con-
trary to Constitution Bench
judgment”.
In a tweet, the AAP nation-
al convener said he strongly
condemns “BJP’s unconstitu-
tional and anti-democracy”
move. “After being rejected by
ppl of Delhi (8 seats in
Assembly, 0 in MCD bypolls),
the BJP seeks to drastically cur-
tail powers of elected
Government through a Bill in
LS today. Bill is contrary to
Constitution Bench judgement.
We strongly condemn BJP’s
unconstitutional n anti-democ-
racy move,” Kejriwal tweeted.
“The Bill says- 1. For Delhi,
“Govt” will mean LG Then
what will elected govt do? … 2.
All files will go to LG This is
against 4.7.18 Constitution
Bench judgment which said
that files will not be sent to LG,
elected govt will take all deci-
sions and send copy of decision
to LG,” he said in another
tweet.
Later addressing a press
conference, Deputy Chief
Minister Manish Sisodia said,
“It is a very dangerous amend-
ment democratically and con-
stitutionally. It will render the
elections and elected govern-
ment in Delhi meaningless.”
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Kolkata: A complaint regard-
ing suppression of facts lodged
by BJP’s Nandigram candidate
Suvendu Adhikari against
Mamata Banerjee is threaten-
ing to boomerang on him.
Adhikari had lodged a com-
plaint with the EC saying
Mamata had suppressed facts
— while filing her nomination
— that she had six cases pend-
ing against her
name.
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Delhi as a Union Territory to
address the ambiguities in the
interpretation of the legislative
provisions.
It further seeks to ensure
that the LG is necessarily
granted an opportunity to
exercise the power entrusted
to him under proviso to clause
(4) of article 239AA of the
Constitution, in select catego-
ry of cases and also to make
rules in matters which
incidentally encroach
upon matters falling outside
the preview of the
Assembly.
“The said bill will promote
harmonious relations between
the legislature and the execu-
tive, and further define the
responsibilities of the elected
government and the LG,
in line with the
constitutional scheme
of governance of National
Capital Territory of Delhi, as
interpreted by the Supreme
Court,” the statement of
objects said.
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A8CD0=90H:D0AQ A0=278
The State Government has set
a target to create five lakh
jobs for the unemployed people
through its new industrial pol-
icy. After the Stakeholders meet
in National Capital 10 days ago
a similar meeting was organised
on Monday in the State Capital
to get suggestions from local
traders and industrialists.
The entrepreneurs from
various parts of the State par-
ticipated in the meet chaired by
the State Industry Secretary,
Puja Singhal.
Addressing the entrepre-
neurs Singhal said that several
changes have been made in the
policy of 2021 from the policy
of 2016 and various changes in
taxes have been brought by the
Government. She said that
under the policy, the
Government will give five per
cent subsidy on setting up of
first two units in any district.
“The government will provide
an additional 10 per cent grant
to industries that take two years
after the policy is implemented.
For medium scale industries, 25
per cent subsidy will be given
instead of 20 per cent, which
will be up to Rs 30 crore. The
grant amount will also be the
same for large industries,” she
added.
Singhal said that the depart-
ment is working to open closed
industries till the second
anniversary of the Government.
The number of such industries
is 634, which have been identi-
fied by the department, she
added.
The Secretary also gave a
presentation on the key high-
lights of the draft Jharkhand
Industrial and Investment
Promotion Policy 2021. She
explained the various focus sec-
tors identified by the policy
especially the high-priority sec-
tors namely ‘textiles and appar-
el, automobiles, auto-compo-
nents and electric vehicles, agro-
food processing and meat pro-
cessing, pharmaceuticals and
electronics system design and
manufacturing. She also gave a
brief overview of the key incen-
tives offered in the policy
including the Anchor Unit
Subsidy, Early Bird Subsidy and
Incentives on SGST.
Director Jeetendra Kumar
Singh informed about the new
features of the policy. He said
that the main focus of the pol-
icy is separate provisions for
agro food, electronic, vehicle
industries, pharmaceuticals. He
informed that a target of US $
206 billion has been set for elec-
tric vehicles in the State, which
is likely to be $ 280 billion in the
coming year. “Electricity is the
most important resource for
industries. In such a situation,
NTPC's unit will start in Chatra
soon. At the same time, other
companies will also start their
operations,” said Singh.
During this, information
was also provided for the stake-
holders about the parks of dif-
ferent industries. The pharma-
ceutical park is ready in 35 acres
at Barhi, Chanho and Bijupada.
The work of the plastic park is
almost complete, which is being
built on 93 acres in Deoghar.
The electronic manufacturing
cluster will be built in Adityapur.
There are 82.49 acres for this, 34
acres for Leather Park.
The session was attended by
about 100 delegates. The meet
saw a Question and Answer ses-
sion wherein the Secretary,
Industries took questions and
suggestions directly from the
local industrialists and
experts.
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Ranchi:The two back to back mob lynching cases
in State Capital came up in the State Assembly
during the ongoing budget session on Monday.
Raising the issue, CPI (ML) MLA from Bagodar
Vinod Kumar Singh during the Question Hour,
said, “Two incidents of mob lynching have taken
place in the capital city in a week. Even after this,
the government has not been cautious. If the gov-
ernment had become serious during the incident
of Sachin Verma's mob lynching in Upper
Bazaar, the other incident would have been avert-
ed.” Singh said, the Government had said that the
case was serious and the government will take up
the issue, but steps have been taken in this con-
nection.
On March 8, a 22-year youth Sachin Kumar
Verma was beaten to death by a mob on the sus-
picion of vehicle theft. The police in this con-
nection have arrested some persons. The matter
was raised by BJP legislators in the House, with
State Parliamentary Affairs minister Alamgir
Alam stating that the Government is serious with
such incidents.
In the House BJP MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi
raised the issue of offering Namaz on the road
in Hazaribagh in the Assembly. He said that
Namaz was being offered on the road after stop-
ping traffic in Hazaribagh. Those who went to
the police station with the information the police
put them behind the bar. The government must
respond to this and also clarify its stand on the
majority population.
Meanwhile, AJSU MLA from Gomia
Lambodar Mahto today demanded discussion
over Uttarakhand's Chamoli district incident
where several workers from the State were
trapped and killed. Through the House, Mahto
drew the attention of Government to the fact that
on 7 February last, due to a sudden flash flood
in Rishi Ganga of Chamoli district of
Uttarakhand, Amrit Mahato of Jariadih village of
PetarwarblockofBokarodistrictofthestatemany
people of the state have gone missing, including
Kuldeep Mahato, Mithilesh Mahato, Bir Sai
Mahato of Bir Chaut and Madan Mahato of
Sangrampur in Gola block of Ramgarh
district. The missing people of Jharkhand have
been declared dead by the Uttarakhand govern-
ment. But neither the Uttarakhand government,
nor the Jharkhand government nor the agency
has paid any assistance or compensation amount
to the dependent family.
Meanwhile, the Para teachers working under
the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan tried to gherao the
Assembly premises in support of their demands
including pay scale and other demands. Para
teachers from five districts of the state Giridih,
Ramgarh, Deoghar, Lohardaga and East
Singhbhum arrived to lay siege to the assembly.
Legislative assembly siege of Para teachers will
continue till 19 March. Each day the Para teach-
ers of the prescribed districts will join it.
/HJLVODWRUVFRQFHUQHGRYHU
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?=B Q A0=278
Police have detained at least
nine residents of Sirka vil-
lage in connection with the
mob lynching of Mubarak
Khan in Angara block of
Ranchi on Sunday for interro-
gation, Superintendent of
Police (Rural) Naushad Alam
said on Monday, adding that all
the nine men apprehended so
far were named in an FIR
lodged by the deceased’s elder
brother with Angara police
station.
“We have detained nine
men named in the FIR lodged
by Mubarak Khan’s brother.
They are being interrogated,”
said Alam, adding that the
police were also investigating
the case from the perspective of
one Durga Munda, who had
lodged an FIR against Mubarak
and two others for stealing tyre
and battery of his bike.
In the second incident of
mob lynching reported in the
month of March, 27-year-old
Mubarak, a driver by profes-
sion, was allegedly beaten to
death by some residents of
Sirka village in suburban
Ranchi on charges of stealing
tyre and battery of a pulsar bike
owned by Durga Munda. The
irate mob reportedly caught
hold of him while he was flee-
ing the spot and thrashed him
brutally.
However, the deceased
man’s family has accused some
residents of the village of tying
Mubarak to a pole and thrash-
ing him with the intent of
killing him in the wee hours of
Sunday. In the FIR, the family
has alleged that Mubarak was
murdered as a part of a con-
spiracy and that he had sus-
tained severe injuries on his
neck, back and head.
In an FIR lodged by
Tabarak Khan, the elder broth-
er of Mubarak, he has named
Saheb Ram Mahto, Durga
Mahto, Raju Munda, Durga
Munda, Lakshman Munda,
Balram Mahto, Karulal Mahto,
Sakhichand Mahto, Kamlal
Mahto, Pokhar Mahto,
Jaleshwar Mahto, Dilip Mahto,
Chunnu Thakur, Jitendra
Thakur, SanjayMahto,Dashrath
Mahto, Rajendra Mahto, Jhabbu
Lal Mahto, Pranav Mahto,
Raghunath Munda and 20
unknown persons for killing his
brother as a part of a conspira-
cy. Tabarak told the police that
his brother left home at around
11 pm on Saturday. At around
4 am, he came to know that
Mubarak had been spotted at
Sirka village. He claimed that
while the deceased was badly
beaten, he was later on stran-
gulated to death.
“We have taken statements
of the deceased man’s family,
and the investigation is in
process,” said the Ranchi Rural
SP, refusing to divulge further
details.
?=B Q A0=278
The two-day strike, called by
the United Forum of Bank
Union (UFBU) against pri-
vatisation of the nationalised
banks, remained largely effec-
tive in the State as around
8,000 branches of the
Government owned banks
remained closed in the State on
Monday. The Strike will con-
tinue on Tuesday also and it is
expected that transactions of
around Rs 5000 crore have
been impacted on the first
day of the strike.
Addressing a press meet
on Tuesday the State Convener
United Forum of Bank Unions,
ML Singh said that if the
Government will not listen to
the voice of Unions after
March 16 then the Unions
will chalk out future strategy
and i
t can announce indefinite
strike also.
“More than 45,000
employees of around eight
thousand nationalized bank
branches including and four
hundred fifty regional rural
banks branches are partici-
pating in the strike. Whole
banking system is being closed
these two days,” he added.
All India Bank Employees'
Association (AIBEA), All India
Bank Officers' Confederation
(AIBOC), National
Confederation of Bank
Employees (NCBE), All India
Bank Officers' Association
(AIBOA), Bank Employees
Federation of India (BEFI),
Indian National Bank
Employees Federation
(INBEF), Indian National
Bank Officers' Congress
(INBOC), National
Organisation of Bank Workers
(NOBW), National
Organisation of Bank Officers
(NOBO) are among the bank
unions that have given a call
for strike against the proposed
privatisation of two nation-
alised bank by the
Government.
Singh further said that the
Union called the strike against
the conspiracy hatched by the
Central Government to sell
public assets to the corporate
houses through private lend-
ing. While the harsh truth is
that over the years, the oper-
ating profit of the banks has
been steadily increasing,
preparations are being made by
the Government to ignore it
and hand it over to its busi-
nessmen friends, he added.
The Union Joint Convenor
said that it is well known that
after the nationalization of the
banks, more than 25 private
sector banks failed and they
were merged with the public
sector banks to save the pub-
lic capital and to protect the
service of the workers.
?=B Q A0=278
Increasingly, farmers in Jharkhand are tak-
ing up the profession of fish farming and
earning a better income for themselves. The
Government of Jharkhand is promoting this
practice and is directing special attention
for its further development in the State. In
addition to public ponds, fish farming is
being practiced in the privately owned
ponds as well. With the goal of making
Jharkhand leading producers of fish in the
country, the state government has set the
target of producing 2.65 lakh metric tonnes
of fish during the 2021-22 financial year.
In the financial year 2020-21, the State
government had aimed to produce 2.40 lakh
metric tonnes of fish. Against this target, by
January 2021 an over 1.94 lakh metric tonne
of fish production has been achieved. The
target of 1000 crore fish seed production in
the FY 2020-21 was also achieved.
Additionally, during 2020-21, the state gov-
ernment created a fish rearing pond on 58
acres of land. In the recently tabled state
budgetfortheyear2021-22,thegovernment
has revised its targets in the sector, it aims
to produce 1100 crore fish seed and devel-
op a fish rearing pond utilising 80 acres of
land.
With support from its 7,390 fish farm-
ers and fish seed producers, Jharkhand is
headed towards becoming a leader in fish
seed production in the country. To support
fish farmers and further promote the pro-
fession, the state government has stored
349.24 lakh major carp and 81 lakh grass
carp fish seeds along with over 1,44,438 fish
spawn. The government is promoting
feed-based fisheries to fasten the pace of
development for this sector. During the
financial year 2021-22, the government has
promised to support the displaced fishers
with fish seeds and provide boats at sub-
sidised rates. The government is also pro-
viding floating fish seed to the fisheries at
a subsidy of 50 per cent, which is helping
increase the fish production and yielding
better profits.
Internet-based devices are being
employed by the Government of Jharkhand
to monitor the water quality of the pond.
To ensure a clean and healthy fish market,
mobile fish retailing kiosks, auto-rick-
shaws, e-rickshaws and pick-up vans are
being provided to the fish sellers. With sup-
port encouragement from the state gov-
ernment and the hard work of fish pro-
ducers, Jharkhand is leaping towards a Blue
Revolution.
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Senior Aam Aadmi Party
legislator Atishi on Monday
slammed the Centre for not
tabling the Commission for Air
Quality Management ordi-
nance in the Parliament.
She said the Commission
has become defunct in the last
few months, but the BJP-led
Central government did not
take the matter seriously to
resolve the air pollution in
Delhi.
The AAP legislature from
Kalkaji said that Delhi has two
main sources of pollution - one
which emanates from within
the city and the other from the
neighbouring states.
The Delhi government has
taken consistent steps to con-
trol pollution in the city. Even
the Centre for Science and
Environment has said that pol-
lution in Delhi has reduced by
25 per cent. With adequate
electricity, the dependency on
generators has reduced. The
electric vehicles policy
launched recently is also one
the measures introduced in
this direction, she said.
She further said that Delhi
has become the only state
where thermal power plants are
completely shut. I would like
to ask the Central govern-
ment, what is it doing to con-
trol pollution generating from
states like Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and
Rajasthan? Why has the
Central government not taken
any step to control pollution,
she asked.
Some time ago, we dis-
covered that ever since the
Commission was formed, it has
not been given any office space
or any office staff. This shows
how serious the Central gov-
ernment is when it comes to
curbing pollution, Atishi said.
She further said that when-
ever an ordinance is brought
forth, it must be tabled in the
Parliament within six weeks of
a session. The Budget Session
began on January 29, but no bill
towards this has been present-
ed yet, and thus the ordinance
has lapsed, she said.
Delhi's air quality was in
the poor category on Monday
morning. Data from the
Central Pollution Control
Board showed that the hourly
air quality index (AQI) at 7 am
stood at 201. On Sunday, the
average 24-hour AQI was 209.
An AQI between zero and 50
is considered good, 51-100 is
satisfactory, 101-200 is mod-
erate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400
is very poor, and 401-500 is
severe.
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Ayouth in Bhubaneswar was
allegedly duped of Rs 1
lakh while trying to sell his cow
on an online marketplace.
After being duped by the
cyber criminal, the youth,
Debasish Sahoo, lodged a com-
plaint at Bharatpur Police
Station here.As per the com-
plaint, Sahoo put up an adver-
tisement on the digital mar-
ketplace, Krishify to sell his cow
on March 11 when the scam-
ster posing as a potential buyer
duped him.
The imposter identified
himself as Manjit called Sahoo
and introduced himself as an
army officer. He showed inter-
est to purchase the cow and the
deal was finalised at Rs 20,000.
The fraudster sent QR scan
code five times to the number
of Sahoo and Rs 1 lakh was
debited from his bank account
in five separate transactions.
Initially, the caller sent a
QR scan code for Rs 5. When
I scanned the code on my
smartphone, Rs 5 was credited
to my account, the com-
plainant said.
After building trust, the
caller then sent another scan
code for Rs 20,000 to the phone
of Sahoo.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In his book Life- Symphony-
The Prism of a Conscious
Soul, author Mohit Agarwal
goes back to the starting point
of a man’s thinking.
The author talks about
various topics that are part of
everyone’s life, but are fre-
quently taken for granted or
just believed blindly. In one of
the chapters he talks about the
power of knowledge, conscious
data gaining, perseverance,
hard work and self-discipline to
achieve success. He focuses on
various aspects in different
chapters. The author points to
the importance of being trans-
parent and communicative
with the teenagers and young
adults in the family, giving
them a lending shoulder of help
and courage in tough times.
The book gives a vivid picture
of India, its practices and the
forgotten values from the epics.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In his fiction novel Anuradha
Bhawan, the author Ganesh
Lath, along with the flow of the
main protagonist’s story, rais-
es the clash of morals, dual
standards of society and the
darkness of the business com-
munity these days. The author
talks about the sentiments and
difference in thoughts between
mother and son, father and
son, two brothers and two
friends as they are the main pil-
lars of this story. The crisis due
to the generation gap has been
indicated here in an engrossing
manner.
After tasting success in
Nepal, I was keen to bring the
book out in the Indian market
for a wider reach. The fact that
the names and setting sound
familiar was an added advan-
tage,” said Lath.
The story is narrated by the
main protagonist’s (Biraju)
mysterious self proclaimed best
friend. Life makes Biraju meet
various people and learn
unusual lessons. He happens to
face a thug with the mask of a
friend and a true friend in the
mask of a thug. The story talks
about the issues Biraju deals
with throughout his life.
Anuradha Bhawan contains
the message- life is nothing
more than a journey. It should
be enjoyed just like a passenger
does. The main motive of this
novel is to convey the message
to the youth that the journey of
life with high values and dig-
nity may be difficult to lead, but
it gives glorious completion.
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3. 347A03D=kCD4B30H k0A27 %!! RP_X_P[
?=BQ 347A03D=
All preparations for the Char
Dham Yatra should be
completed by April 30. Chief
minister Tirath Singh Rawat
issued this direction while
chairing a meeting with offi-
cials to review preparations
for the Char Dham Yatra at the
secretariat on Monday.
The CM stressed that there
should be no complacency in
execution of any work and
that special focus should also
be laid on quality along with
pace of execution. Rawat said
that he will himself inspect the
work sites and directed the
departmental secretaries to do
the same periodically. In case
any problem is faced, the same
should be communicated swift-
ly so that a proper solution can
be found out on time. The CM
stressed that work on improv-
ing the roads should be com-
pleted without fail before the
start of the Char Dham
Yatra.
The work on improving
the road at Totaghati should be
completed by March 31. The
online facility should be kept
active to enable pilgrims to
access helicopter service during
the Yatra. Special focus should
be laid on maintaining trans-
parency in the ticketing
process, he said. Further, all
necessary health facilities
should also be arranged on
time along the Yatra circuit and
the shrines. All arrangements
for air ambulance and 108
ambulance service should also
be ensured. In addition to this,
ECG and cardiologist should
be facilitated at Kedarnath and
Yamunotri on time. Adequate
arrangements for oxygen, ICU
and ventilators should also be
made, he said, while adding
that street lights should also be
arranged at Hemkund.
Directing that adequate
number of vehicles should be
ensured during the Yatra sea-
son, the CM stressed that fit-
ness test of vehicles to be sent
on the pilgrimage circuit
should also be ensured.
Further, rate lists should also be
displayed on the vehicles and
hotels on the pilgrimage circuit.
Strict action should be taken
against those found guilty of
overpricing. Rawat further
stressed that all necessary
resources should be made
available at places vulnerable
from the disaster point of view.
Focus should also be laid on
decreasing the response time in
cases of disaster and health
facilities. The CM also direct-
ed the departmental secre-
taries to review the depart-
mental work progress every
second week.
It is pertinent to mention
here that while Gangotri and
Yamunotri will be reopened to
the public on May 14,
Kedarnath will be reopened on
May 17 and Badrinath on May
18.
4`^a]VeVacVaRcReZ`_dW`c4YRc
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The recent statements of the
chief minister Tirath Singh
Rawat on Kumbh in Haridwar
suggest a perceptible change in
the policy of the Uttarakhand
government on holding of the
mega religious event. It is now
clear that former CM Trivendra
Singh Rawat’s decision on hold-
ing the event on a limited
scale in the wake of threat
posed by the pandemic of
Covid-19 with strict emphasis
on imposition of the Covid-19
prevention guidelines has been
changed by the new CM. He
has stated that there would be
no hindrances in the way of the
devotees attending the holy
Kumbh. He has also declared
that the devotees would not be
asked to carry the negative RT-
PCR test report for the Kumbh.
The new CM has asserted that
the devotees wait for 12 years
for the Kumbh and the gov-
ernment would do every effort
to ensure that the Kumbh is
grand and divine.
The change in the stand of
the government on Kumbh is
causing concern among the
experts. The Founder of Social
Development for Communities
(SFC) foundation, Anoop
Nautiyal said that it appears
that the government has decid-
ed to give priority to the reli-
gious sentiments and econom-
ic criteria over the pandemic of
Covid-19. He added that the
government should undertake
a risk analysis before taking
such a measure.
When asked to comment
on the issue, the former chief
minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat said in Haridwar on
Monday that the CM has only
reiterated what he had stated on
Kumbh that the event would be
'divine and grand' with the
adherence to Covid-19 guide-
lines. He however added that
no risk should be taken on the
pandemic front. “We are wit-
nessing a spurt in the number
of cases in the country. On
Sunday more than 25,000 cases
were reported which are the
highest in the last three
months. The immunisation
against the disease is going on
but it takes 42 days to develop
the immunity and people are
still hesitant for the vaccine. In
such a situation we should not
take any risk,’’ he said.
A senior officer of the
health department said that the
state government is duty bound
to follow the SoP’s released by
the union government on
Kumbh. “ We can get more
strict on the SoPs but cannot
relax them,’’ he said.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The newly-appointed state
president of Bharatiya
Janata Party, Madan Kaushik
said that considering the enthu-
siasm among party workers,
the party is sure to achieve a
resounding victory in the 2022
Assembly elections. He said
this after reaching the party’s
state office along with chief
minister Tirath Singh Rawat
and other party leaders in a
rally which passed through
various areas of the city on
Monday.
Addressing the party work-
ers he said that all should work
according to the organisation,
adding that the decision taken
by the party organisation is
always for the best. He said,
“We have a leader like Prime
Minister Narendra Modi whose
policies are now being fol-
lowed in various countries.
We have to ensure that each
scheme of the central and state
government reaches
every citizen while also
fulfilling the expecta-
tions and aspirations
of the public.”
Speaking on the
occasion, CM Tirath
Singh Rawat asked
party workers to think
first for the nation and
then the party organi-
sation, adding that the
party will take them
forward. “I will work
according to the organ-
isation and fulfill the
expectations of the peo-
ple and party workers
to discharge the responsibility
accorded to me by the party
organisation,” he said.
Earlier, Kaushik, CM, for-
mer BJP state president and
current cabinet minister
Banshidhar Bhagat and other
party leaders participated in a
rally of party workers which
began from the party’s
Mahanagar office near Parade
Ground and passed through
various areas. Happy with the
decision of the CM to rethink
the state government’s earlier
decision on Devsthanam
Board, members of the Teerth
Purohit fraternity welcomed
Rawat and Kaushik near
Gandhi Park. Members of
social organisations from
Garhwal and Kumaon dressed
in traditional attire also wel-
comed the rally at different
locations. Cabinet ministers
Bishan Singh Chufal, Subodh
Uniyal, Ganesh Joshi, Arvind
Pandey, State ministers Dhan
Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya,
Swami Yatishwaranand and
various party leaders were also
present at the function held in
the party’s state office.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The rally held by the
Bharatiya Janata Party to
mark the occasion of its new
state president Madan Kaushik
assuming charge formally
caused traffic congestion in
various parts of Dehradun on
Monday. The citizens are of the
view that irrespective of the
party taking out such rallies,
the public suffers major incon-
venience due to political road-
shows which contradict the
official claims of the politicians
about according top priority to
the convenience and interests
of the public.
A commuter Tanuja
Barthwal said, “All such polit-
ical roadshows cause inconve-
nience to the public at large.
Such events cause major traf-
fic jams and are basically not
for the people but for the
politicians. Nobody cares about
these political rallies except
their own party members who
are there for
creating more
chaos for the
common peo-
ple. Such ral-
lies should be
banned for the
good of the
public as their
time and ener-
gy will be
saved while
the political
parties will
also save
money and
o t h e r
resources,” she
opined.
A senior
citizen stuck
in the traffic jam at Buddha
Chowk questioned how politi-
cians think of seeking votes
from the people by holding
such roadshows which create
problems for the people. Every
party does such rallies in which
traffic rules are blatantly flout-
ed while the police remain
mute spectators and try to
tackle the resulting traffic mess,
he said.
A shopkeeper at Araghar
Chowk opined that political
parties should avoid such ral-
lies on busy roads. “Whichever
party takes out rallies, the par-
ticipants riding two-wheelers
do not wear helmets and flout
other rules while causing
inconvenience to others. The
nuisance and noise caused by
such events needs to be avoid-
ed,” he said.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Transactions amounting to
about Rs 800 crore were
affected across Uttarakhand as
employees of nationalised
banks went on strike against
the proposed privatisation of
two public sector banks.
Various services like deposits,
cheque transactions and cash
withdrawals were hindered due
to the protest. On Monday, the
employees of various nation-
alised banks like Union Bank,
Central Bank of India, Nainital
Bank and Punjab National
Bank (PNB) participated in the
two-day nation-wide protest.
Since the banks were already
closed on Saturday and Sunday,
the two-day protest would
affect the transaction services
across the State today too.
According to Samdarshi
Barthwal, the convenor of the
United Forum of Bank Unions
(UFBU) in Uttarakhand, the
bank employees are staging
the protest to convey their dis-
agreement to the
C e n t r a l
Government on the
proposed privatisa-
tion of two public
sector banks. The
banking sector was
established for the
welfare of the public
and it flourished in
the last many
decades with the
public's money. If
the government will
privatise these
banks, it would
adversely affect the
banking services of
people, especially in
the remote rural areas, said
Barthwal. He asserted, We are
not saying that the government
should not do it. We are saying
that the government does not
have any right to privatise
these banks because they do
not hold that right. He further
added that the transaction ser-
vices of about Rs 800 crore to
Rs 1,000 crore were affected on
Monday which would be pos-
sibly the same on Tuesday too.
For now, only the transaction
services are getting affected
which will return to normal on
Wednesday. However, we will
escalate our protest if the gov-
ernment does not reconsider
the proposal of privatising
banks, said Barthwal. He stat-
ed that they will stage a bigger
protest along with several other
unions which are against the
privatisation of public sectors
if the government fails to
reconsider the proposal. It is
pertinent to mention here that
UFBU consists of nine bank
unions of employees and offi-
cers and the unions will con-
tinue the protest on Tuesday
too.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Atotal of 30,081 people were
vaccinated for the Covid-
19 in different parts of the state
on Monday. In the state 95,093
people have been fully vacci-
nated so far as they have
received both the first and sec-
ond dose of the vaccine. A total
of 1,11,335 senior citizens (60
Plus) have received the first
dose of the vaccine in the
state. Similarly 7154 persons in
the age group of 45-59 years
having co-morbidity have been
vaccinated.
The Chief Operations
Officer (COO) of state Covid-
19 control room, Dr Abhishek
Tripathi said 357 vaccine ses-
sions were organised in differ-
ent parts of the state on
Monday. In Dehradun 76 vac-
cine sessions were organised in
which 6001 senior citizens,
338 people with co-morbidity,
671 healthcare workers and 939
frontline workers were vacci-
nated on the day. Similarly
2,276 senior citizens, 240 per-
sons with co-morbidity, 134
health care workers and 1,807
front line workers were vacci-
nated in 73 vaccine sessions in
Haridwar district. Meanwhile
the state health department
reported 60 new cases of the
disease on Monday which
increased the cumulative tally
of the disease to 97,866. Death
of one patient was reported by
the department on the day
which increased the death toll
in the state to 1,704. The
authorities discharged 86
patients from different hospi-
tals of the state following their
recovery on Monday. A total of
94,168 patients have recov-
ered from the disease in the
state so far and the recovery
percentage is now at 96.22. The
state health department report-
ed 35 new cases of the disease
from Dehradun, 10 from
Haridwar, seven from Nainital,
four from Udham Singh Nagar
and two each from Pauri and
Tehri on the day. No new case
was reported from Almora,
Bageshwar, Chamoli,
Champawat, Pithoragarh,
Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi
districts on
Monday.
The state now has 581
active patients of the disease.
Haridwar district is at the top
of the table of active cases of the
disease with 207 patients,
Dehradun has 125, Nainital
107, Tehri 36, Udham Singh
Nagar 27, Champawat and
Almora 16 each, nine from
Uttarkashi, seven each from
Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and
Rudraprayag districts.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) presi-
dent Pritam Singh has said that
the BJP government has
reduced the time period of
Kumbh in Haridwar from four
months to only one month and
has undertaken no develop-
ment works in Haridwar for
Kumbh.
Talking to the media per-
sons at the state headquarters
of Congress party here on
Monday, the PCC president
said that the Congress govern-
ment had included Dev Prayag
in the Kumbh area but the BJP
government has not even
included the entire Haridwar
district for Kumbh works. He
also took a dig at the BJP for
changing its policy on Kumbh
with change of Chief Minister
(CM). He said that the new CM
has kept the guidelines of
Covid-19 in the side and has
reversed the decision of his pre-
decessor on the issue. “It is for
the people in power in the state
to make a decision to follow the
union government’s guidelines
on Covid-19 or not,’’ he said.
Taking a dig at the BJP for
changing the face of the chief
minister, the PCC president
said that it would have been
better had the decision to
change the CM was taken
before the budget session.
“This was the last budget of
the BJP government and if the
CM was changed earlier, he
could have prepared a roadmap
for himself but now has noth-
ing in his hand,’’ he quipped.
The PCC president said
that the people of the state had
given a huge mandate to the
BJP in the assembly elections of
2017 but no promise made by
the party was fulfilled. The
prices are at their peak and the
corruption is everywhere. The
people of the state have made
up their mind to change the
government in the next assem-
bly elections, he
claimed.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Paving the way for a large
number of unemployed
youths to appear in the
Licensed Teacher (LT) exami-
nation, the Uttarakhand High
Court (HC) has extended the
last date of submission of forms
for the examination. The
Uttarakhand Subordinate
Services Selection Commission
(USSSC) had invited the appli-
cation for the examination last
year and the last date was
December 4, 2020. The court
has now directed the commis-
sion to extend the last date to
March 25, 2021.
Dehradun resident
Ravindra Jugran had filed pub-
lic interest litigation (PIL) in
the Uttarakhand High Court
on the issue. In the PIL, it was
submitted that the Uttarakhand
Teachers Eligibility Test
(UTET) examination which
was scheduled in July 2020 was
held in January 2021 and its
result was declared in February
2021 due to which a large
number of youths were
deprived to apply for the LT
examination. Hearing the peti-
tion, the bench of chief justice
of Uttarakhand HC, R S
Chauhan and Justice Alok
Kumar Verma directed the
USSSC to extend the date of
submission of forms and make
proper publicity about the
extension of the date.
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Chairing a meeting on forest
fire management on
Monday, chief minister Tirath
Singh Rawat directed that the
money approved from the
Compensatory Afforestation
Fund Management and
Planning Authority (CAMPA)
fund should be made available
immediately at the field level.
A plan should be prepared for
the active involvement of 5,000
women in works related to for-
est fire management. Further,
the ex-gratia to personnel and
locals who die while fighting
forest fires should be released
without delay.Drones should be
used for monitoring firelines
and necessary equipment
should be provided to the for-
est department personnel, he
directed. The CM also said that
the disaster management
department should also arrange
for a helicopter for extinguish-
ing forest fires.
Reviewing preparations for
forest fire management, the
CM said that the involvement
of Van Panchayats and locals is
vital. He further said that for-
est, police, revenue and other
departments concerned should
work in full coordination. The
district magistrates should also
regularly review the situation
while also ensuring availabili-
ty of necessary human
resources and equipment.
Rawat also sought information
on preparations for managing
forest fires from district mag-
istrates via video conferencing.
He said that those who inten-
tionally set up fires should be
identified. Further, compensa-
tion should be provided as per
standards for disasters in case
of damage caused by forest
fires. An effective mechanism
should be made to ensure that
money for Pirul (dry pine nee-
dles) collected is paid on time.
Officials informed in the
meeting that controlled fires are
set up every year for mitigation
of forest fires in about 36,000
hectare forest area. Forest lines
totalling to about 2,700 kilo-
metres in length are main-
tained in the state. About 7,000
fire watchers from among the
local residents are also
deployed every year. There are
40 master control rooms, 1,317
crew stations and 174 watch
towers in the state, informed
the officials. Chief secretary
Om Prakash, principal chief
conservator of forests Rajiv
Bhartari and other officials
were also present in the meet-
ing.
3ROLWLFDOURDGVKRZVWKURZWUDIILFRXWRIJHDUFRPPXWHUVIXPH
?=BQ 347A03D=
State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission
(SCDRC) of Uttarakhand
launched an online portal e-
Daakhil on Monday for the
redressal of consumer griev-
ances. Through this portal,
consumers from across the
State can file online complaints
besides making payments for
filing a complaint. Informing
about this, the registrar of the
commission Anjushree Juyal
said that the chairman of the
commission, D S Tripathi
launched this portal on World
Consumer Rights Day to facil-
itate the easy filing of the con-
sumers' complaints. According
to her, people can click on
http://e-daakhil.nic.in to file e-
complaints or contact the com-
mission's mobile number
09412902466 for
details.
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?=B Q =4F34;78
The NIA along with local
police units on Monday
conducted simultaneous
searches at 11 locations includ-
ing eight in Kerala spread over
districts of Kannur,
Mallapuram, Kollam and
Kasargod, two locations in
Bengaluru and one location in
Delhi in connection with a
case pertaining to terrorist
activities of a group led by one
Mohammed Ameen of Kerala
who along with two of his
associates were arrested pre-
liminary questioning.
“TheNIAalsoarrestedthree
accused persons Mohammad
Ameen alias Abu Yahaya,
Mushab Anuvar and Dr Rahees
Rashid after preliminary exam-
ination. Mohammad Ameen
was leading the module and the
othertwoarrestedaccusedwere
hiscloseassociates,”theNIAsaid
in a statement.
This group has been run-
ning various ISIS propaganda
channels on different social
media platforms such as
Telegram, Hoop and Instagram
for propagating the violent
Jihadi ideology of ISIS and rad-
icalizing and recruiting new
members to this ISIS module,
the NIA said.
?=B Q =4F34;78
The CBI on Monday ques-
tioned relatives of
Trinamool Congress MP
Abhishek Banerjee in connec-
tion with its ongoing probe into
the multi-crore coal pilferage
scam.
The agency had on Friday
issued a notice to Ankush
Arora, husband of Menaka
Gambhir who is the sister-in-
law of Banerjee, for question-
ing in the illegal coal mining
case. The agency had also
asked Gambhir's father-in-law
Pawan Arora to join the inves-
tigation.
Both have appeared before
the anti-corruption branch
(ACB) of CBI at the agency’s
Nizam Palace office in
Kolkata, source in the agency
said.
Earlier, a CBI team had on
February 23 visited the resi-
dence of Banerjee and exam-
ined his wife Rujira in con-
nection with the case. The
agency also examined Rujira's
sister on the previous day in
this case.
Abhishek is West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee's nephew.
When Gambhir was inter-
rogated by the CBI, she had
told the sleuths that her hus-
band and father-in-law were in
the know of some bank trans-
actions. She claimed that she
was not aware of anything, the
sources said.
Searches were also con-
ducted at the residences and
offices of people who are con-
sidered close to Anup Majhi
alias Lala -- the prime accused
in the coal scam.
?=B Q =4F34;78
With a rising consumer
base, e-commerce firms
have drawn maximum com-
plaints on Government
helplines. As per data, on an
average 70,000 complaints are
registered at National
Consumer Helpline every
month. Out of this e-
Commerce Sector related
grievance comprise of 22 per-
cent of total grievances.
Besides, 172 Notices have been
issued by Central Consumer
Protection Authority since
October 2020 for misleading
advertisement and unfair trade
practice and Violation of
Declarations under Packaged
Commodity Rules including
country of origin.
According to the
Department of Consumer
Affairs, between April 2020 and
February 2021, 188262 dockets
registered against E-Commerce
companies. Between April 2017
and March 2018, the number of
dockets registered was 78089
which rose to 154122 in 2019-
2020.
Other Sectors which have
significant number of griev-
ances are Banking (8.6%) and
telecom (7.7%) of total griev-
ances. The number of conver-
gence companies on the NCH
Platform has increased from
403 in 2017-18 to 647 and with
98.5% of grievance redressal
during April – December 2020.
?=B Q =4F34;78
The Centre on Monday said
it is trying to consult and
convince the Jharkhand
Government about benefits of
commercial coal mining poli-
cy which is designed to boost
domestic production and
reduce imports. Union Coal
Minister Pralhad Joshi during
the Question Hour in the Rajya
Sabha said that it is a big sin
that India despite having the
largest coal reserves is depen-
dent on import of thermal
coal used in power generation.
The dependence on
imports was due to restriction
on allocation of coal blocks,
which has been eased out after
deep consultation with the
state governments, he said.
After consultations with states,
the central government has
brought a commercial coal
mining policy under which
coal blocks are opened to pri-
vate investors through auction
for commercial purpose, he
added.
We have consulted the
state governments. Even we
have consulted the Jharkhand
government. Initially, they
appreciated it and later they
have opposed it. But we are in
regular consultation with the
state government, Joshi said in
the Upper House.
The central government is
trying to consult and con-
vince the Jharkhand govern-
ment because ultimately the
policy is in the interest of the
state as the revenue earned goes
to the state, not to the centre,
he said.
We are trying to convince
them. I hope they will be con-
vinced. Already auction is
done, since cooperation of the
state is needed, we are in reg-
ular touch with the state gov-
ernment, he added. The min-
ister was responding to a query
by BJP leader from Jharkhand
Sameer Oroan that if any hur-
dle has been faced in imports
due to opposition to the gov-
ernment policy by Jharkhand.
Replying to another ques-
tion asked by BJD leader Amar
Patnaik on non-operation of
coal blocks that were already
auctioned, the minister said
some of the mines have not
started the production.
?=B Q =4F34;78
Given the sustained drive to
achieve self-reliance and
indigenization in weapon man-
ufacturing, India’s imports in
the last nine to ten years have
dropped by more than 33 per
cent. In the process, Russia, the
main supplier of arms to India,
suffered. And so did the US
which had emerged as a big
supplier of arms to India in the
last one decade.
Noting these points in its
report on Monday, the reput-
ed international organization
Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute (SIPRI) also
said the decline took place
due to an attempt by to reduce
its dependence on Russian
arms and complex procure-
ment processes.
Its arms imports reduced
by 33 % between 2011-15 and
2016-20, the report said. At
present, more than 70 per cent
of inventory in the Indian
armed forces is of erstwhile
USSR and Russian origin. For
its part, the US in the last one
decade has supplied arms and
ammunition worth over 15
billion dollars.
Attributing this reduction
in imports to an attempt to
reduce its dependence on
Russian arms and complex
procurement processes, the
SIPRI report said, “Russia was
the most affected supplier,
although India’s imports of US
arms also fell by 46%.” India is
planning large-scale arms
imports in the coming years
from several suppliers, it added.
Arms exports by Russia,
which accounted for 20% of all
exports of major arms in
2016–20, dropped by 22%, the
report said. “The bulk --
around 90% -- of this decrease
was attributable to a 53% fall in
its arms exports to India,”
SIPRI said.
It also said exports by
China, the world’s fifth largest
arms exporter in 2016-20, fell
7.8% between 2011-15 and
2016-20. However, the United
States, the world’s largest arms
exporter, saw its exports rise. Its
global share of exports went up
from 32% to 37% between
2011-15 and 2016-20.
Over the years, India has
taken several steps to reduce
dependence on imported mil-
itary hardware. The defence
industry was thrown open to
the private sector in a big way
with special focus on giving an
impetus to MSMEs.
Last year, the government
banned the import of more
than 100 items in a determined
attempt to goad the armed
forces to procure such systems
from the local industry. More
items are likely to be added to
the list in the coming days.
Also, the budget for next
fiscal has set aside more than
Rs 71,000 crores, 63 percent of
the capital budget of defence,
for purchasing weapons sys-
tems from the Indian industry.
The government spent nearly
Rs 50,000 crore, 58% of the
capital budget, on indigenous
equipment procurement.
In a one of the big ticket
upcoming purchases, the IAF
will buy 83 Tejas light combat
aircraft(LCA)worth over Rs
48,000 crores from the aero-
space company Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited(HAL).
The Army will also buy
upgraded 118 Arjun main bat-
tle tanks(MBT) worth over Rs
9,000croresfromthetankman-
ufacturing unit in Avadi,
Chennai. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi last month
handed over to the Army the
indigenouslydesignedandman-
ufactured Arjun Main Battle
Tank(MBT)MK-1AinChennai.
Presiding over the cere-
mony, Modi said the tank rep-
resented the united Indian
spirit as the weapon system
manufactured in the south will
guard the frontiers in the north.
?=B Q =4F34;78
Taking note of an incident of
alleged racism in Britain
against an Indian, the
Government on Monday said
it will take up the issue with the
UK when required and assert-
ed it will never turn our eyes
away from racism wherever it
is”.
Giving this assurance in the
Rajya Sabha, External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar described
India as the land of Mahatma
Gandhi and said, “It can never
turn its eyes away from
racism..particularly so, when it
is in a country where we have
such a large diaspora,
This reiteration came when
BJP MP Ashwini Vaishnav
drew the attention of the house
to the incident of racism and
cyber bullying that forced the
Indian-origin Rashmi Samant
to resign as president of the
Oxford University Students
Union. The minister said New
Delhi has strong ties with the
UK and will take up such mat-
ters with “great candour” when
required.
Samant, the first Indian
woman to be elected as presi-
dent of the Oxford University
Students Union, was forced to
resign within five days of her
appointment over several of her
social media posts that were
labelled anti-Semitic and racist.
Vaishnav said she was cyber
bullied and her parent's Hindu
religious beliefs were publicly
attacked by a faculty member.
As a friend of the UK, we
also have concerns about its
reputational impact.We will
monitor these developments
very, very closely. We will raise
it when required and we will
always champion the fight
against racism and other forms
of intolerance, Jaishankar
stressed.
Raising the issue through a
zero hour mention, Vaishnav
said there appears to a contin-
uation of attitudes and preju-
dices from the colonial era in
the United Kingdom. Samant,
a bright student from Udupi,
Karnataka, overcame all chal-
lenges to become the first
Indian women president of
the union, he said.
But what was the treat-
ment meted out to her? he
asked. Shouldn't this diversi-
ty been celebrated? Instead of
that, she was cyber bullied to
the point that she had to resign.
Even the Hindu religious belief
of her parents was publicly
attacked by a faculty member,
which went unpunished. If this
happens at an institute like
Oxford what is the message
that goes out to the world, he
said.
While she did issue a pub-
lic apology for 'unintentional-
ly' hurting anyone's emotions,
Samant believes she was unfair-
ly targeted as a 'conscious
attempt'.
Vaishnav also referred to
Prince Harry's wife Meghan
Markle's accusations of racism
by UK royals. A behaviour of
a society is actually a reflection
of its beliefs and value system.
If such practices of racial dis-
crimination are followed at
the highest level in society
what would be the following at
the lower levels, he asked.
Stating that the two
instances were not isolated, he
said the treatment of migrants
and their segregation in the UK
on a racial basis is very well
known all over the world.
Quoting a recent report
which said the death rate
among people of Asian origin
because of COVID-19 is high-
er than the death rate in other
communities in the UK, the
MP said Doesn't it raise a
major question about equi-
table access to health and
indeed the entire basic human
rights issue?
?=B Q =4F34;78
The Congress on Monday
attacked the Government
over reports that it plans to sell
its residual stake in the already
privatised Delhi, Mumbai,
Bengaluru and Hyderabad air-
ports, alleging that such pri-
vatisation hurts the public and
benefits only a handful of
cronies.
Former Congress chief
Rahul Gandhi questioned the
Centre’s plans to sell the stakes
of the Delhi, Mumbai,
Bengaluru and Hyderabad air-
ports. Does not know how to
build, knows only how to sell.
India Against Privatisation
which hurts the public and
benefits only a handful of
cronies, Rahul tweeted
The attacks comes follow-
ing reports about ambitious Rs
2.5 lakh crore asset monetisa-
tion pipeline identified to raise
additional resources from the
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad airports.
In a statement, Congress
chief spokesman Randeep
Singh Surjewala said the gov-
ernment is running away from
its responsibility of ensuring
better governance in public
sector units including the
banks by recklessly selling these
public sector establishments.
The party recalled as to
how this government forced
ONGC to acquire HPCL, a
move with no benefits for the
oil explorer. But in the bar-
gain, ONGC‘s cash reserves
were eroded by 91% and
today the company is forced
to spend less than half of what
it did on oil exploration in
2014, consequently domestic
oil production has dipped
under the Modi regime. The
government needs to get out
of the mindset of running a
‘Hum do Humare Do’ gov-
ernment and instead focus on
the welfare of every Indian -
including the poor and mar-
ginalized, the statement
read.
The Congress also attacked
the government on the two-day
bank strike. “We stand in sol-
idarity with 10 lakh bank offi-
cials and staff participating in
the strike against reckless pri-
vatisation of public sector
banks. The strike called by the
United Forum of Bank Union
is against the ill placed priori-
ties of the Modi
government.
43:bfVdeZ`_d
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?=B Q =4F34;78
Reacting to the verdict and
conviction in the Batla
House encounter, the
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Prakash Javadekar
on Monday attacked the
Opposition leaders saying
Delhi court's verdict on Batla
House Encounter today thor-
oughly exposes the terrorist
sympathisers and
doubters lobby in the country.
Javadekar said Congress
president Sonia Gandhi, Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee and
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
should apologise to the nation
for raising questions on the
integrity of our police
forces.
He said all terrorist sym-
pathisers have been thorough-
ly exposed by the verdict
Union Minister Giriraj
Singh also hailed the verdict. In
a tweet, he reacted to the
verdict saying Jai Ho.
Batla House is a locality in
Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, where an
encounter between the Delhi
police and alleged terrorists
took place on September 19,
2008. The terrorists were sus-
pected to be the members of
terror outfit, Indian
Mujahideen.
?=B Q =4F34;78
Vice President M Venkaiah
Naidu on Monday empha-
sized that India believes in
promoting multilateralism and
democratization of interna-
tional governance architecture.
In his interaction with the
President of the Inter-
Parliamentary Union (IPU),
Duarte Pacheco, the Vice
President reiterated India’s
commitment to democracy
and an inclusive development
paradigm. This was also reflect-
ed in the supply of COVID-19
vaccines to several countries
around the world.
Naidu said that India also
provided COVID-19 related
medical supplies to more than
154 countries and Indian Rapid
Response Teams were deployed
in many countries to assist in
pandemic response.
Pointing out that India has
been pro-actively associated
with the IPU since 1949, Naidu
wanted IPU to focus on issues
which enrich democratic gov-
ernance. It should avoid
becoming a forum for bilater-
al issues.
Secretary-General, Rajya
Sabha, Desh Deepak Verma,
Secretary to the Vice President,
Dr. I.V. Subba Rao, and senior
officials were present during
the interaction.
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Prominent Congress leaders
in Kerala accuse the BJP of
attempting to make them cross
over to the Hindutwa party
with offers of crores of rupees.
“I was offered crores of rupees
to ditch my party and defect to
the BJP but I rejected the offer
outrightly,” said M A Wahid, a
senior Congress leader in the
State.
Despite his rejection of the
offer, the BJP leaders told him
that they would wait till he
changes his mind.
Saratchanadra Prasad, another
Congress leader too accuse
the BJP of trying to make him
move over to the Hindu party.
Meanwhile, discontent-
ment is brewing up in Kerala
BJP over the highhanded
behaviour of V Muraleedharan,
union minister of state for for-
eign affairs and K Surendran,
state party chief for dumping
long serving cadres of the party
while allocating tickets. Till
Saturday, there was a feeling
among political commentators
that the BJP may win four to
five seats but developments in
the last 24 hours have damp-
ened the spirit of senior party
leaders.
“We may win two or three
seats but that will not make any
impact in Kerala politics,” a
senior party leader told The
Pioneer. Kummanam
Rajasekharan, former
Governor of Mozoram who is
the BJP candidate at Nemom
assembly constituency said that
he was in the dark about party
leaders approaching Wahid or
Prasad with offers of crores of
rupees.
The fight between Sobha
Surendran, former vice-presi-
dent of the Kerala BJP and the
present State leadership con-
tinued unabated as she was
denied a ticket. But what upset
the party cadre in the State was
denial of ticket to R Balasankar,
former chief editor of The
Organiser and author of many
books. He had begun his cam-
paign at Chengannur con-
stituency, his home town, with
the blessings of the party's
national leadership. “But
instead of Balashankar, it is a
political greenhorn who has
been fielded from
Chengannur,” said Sreela Pillai,
political commentator.
Adding to the woes of the
party, Manikuttan, whose name
was announced by Arun Singh,
national general secretary as
the candidate for
Mananthawadi constituency
cried off within hours telling
that his name was announced
without his consent. The
euphoria associated with E
Sreedharan, the Metroman and
Dr Jacob Thomas, the former
DGP, joining the party has
become a thing of the past, said
commentators.
Roy Mathew, veteran scribe
and analyst, said that the pre-
sent leadership in Kerala is
incapable of making the party
take roots in the State. “They
don’t want the BJP to grow in
Kerala because they know
they would be nowhere if a new
generation emerges as leaders.
The talks between Church and
BJP leaders are all bunkum. We
in the community do not go by
what the bishops or cardinals
ask as to do while casting
votes,” said Mathew.
The Congress is yet to
recover from the shock of the
visuals featuring Mahila
Congress leader Lathika
Subash tonsuring her head in
protest against denial of a tick-
et to her. Subash resigned from
the coveted post of AICC
membership despite requests
from senior leaders like A K
Antony and Oommen
Chandi.
Seasoned leaders like
Chandi and K Sudhakaran
may intervene and save the
Congress from further embar-
rassment. But the BJP does not
have trouble shooters in their
ranks which could spell doom
for the party, said Mathew.
Aligarh: Now fraud on online
insurance installment platform
is also going on. The Kwarsi
police arrested a gang from
Noida with the help of a cyber
cell. The gang leader succeeded
inescaping.Butfourgangmem-
bers were caught. This gang has
so far transferred several crores
ofrupeestoaBangaloreaccount.
The police is now engaged in an
attempt to arrest the kingpin.
Thefourarrestedmembershave
been sent to jail.
According to SP City
Kuldeep Singh Gunawat, a res-
ident of Kishan Pur had filed a
caseofcheatinglastyearatkwar-
si police station, stating that he
searched online platform to
deposit insurance premiums.
:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
Lali Vincent , senior Congress
leader in Kerala has lam-
basted Latika Subhash who on
Sunday tonsured her hair in
protest against denial of an
assembly seat to her by the
party leadership.
“What Latika Subash has
done is against all ethics asso-
ciated with a political party. She
has been honoured with many
State and national level posi-
tions by the party in the past.
She was twice elected to district
panchayath councils, made
chief of Janasree mission and
made president of district pan-
chayath president. Subash, her
husband too was appointed as
district panchayath member
and was fielded as a candidate
from Vypeen assembly con-
stituency in the 2016 assembly
election,” said Vincent.
She said there were no
couple like Lathika and Subash
who have made it big with the
label of Indian National
Congress. “Tonsuring the hair
over denial of ticket in the
assembly election is her per-
sonal issue. This is not the way
to protest against party deci-
sions,” said Lali Vincent, who
too was expecting a ticket to
contest the 2021 assembly elec-
tion.
Vincent said she too was
part of the group politics in the
Congress. “But we have drawn
a line beyond which we will not
take out party issues,” she said.
P Rajan, veteran scribe,
commentator and himself a
Congress leader belonging to
the old school, said there was
nothing abnormal in the behav-
iour of Subash. “This is part of
the Congress culture in Kerala.
We have seen much worse inci-
dents in the name of group
fightings. But this will not
affect the chances of the party
in the coming election. The
polling is on April 6 and
chances are that the Congress
would recover and retrieve the
lost space,” he said.
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The Rajasthan BJP on
Monday launched a sharp
attack on the Ashok Gehlot
Government after it “accepted”
phone tapping during the polit-
ical crisis of July last year.
The BJP accused Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot of
“crossing all limits and bypass-
ing laws” just to “save his
chair”.
In August, the “rebellious”
Sachin Pilot camp accused
Gehlot of tapping the phones of
some MLAs who were staying
at a resort in Jaisalmer. Gehlot
had than claimed at the time
that it was “not the way” of his
government to tap the phones
of Ministers and MLAs.
Eight months after leaked
phone conversations between a
Union minister and Congress
leaders in Rajasthan triggered
a political crisis in the state,
Gehlot`s government recently
confirmed that phones were
indeed “intercepted”.
The confirmation was
reportedly posted on the web-
site of the Rajasthan Assembly
in reply to a question asked
during the House session of
August 2020. BJP MLA (who
was health minister in the
BJP's Vasuandhara Raje gov-
ernment) Kalicharan Saraf in
his question asked: “Is it true
that phone tapping cases were
done in the last days? If yes,
under which law and on whose
orders? Place details on the
table of the House.”
In the reply, furnished after
a delay of many months, the
government reportedly said:
“In the interest of public safe-
ty or public order, and to pre-
vent the occurrence of a crime
which might risk public safety
or public order, telephones are
intercepted after an approval by
a competent officer under the
provisions of section 5(2) of
The Indian Telegraph Act,
1885, and section 419 (A) of
The Indian Telegraph
(Amendment) Rules, 2007, as
well as section 69 of the
Information Technology Act,
2000.”
“Telephone interception
has been done by the Rajasthan
Police under the above provi-
sion only after obtaining per-
mission from the competent
officer. As per the provision
described in Rule 419(A) and
Section 69 of the Information
Technology Act 2000, the
approval of the competent
authority is granted,” it said.
State BJP president Satish
Poonia attacked Gehlot and
accused him of conspiring
against the people of his own
party. “Those who wear the
false mask of Gandhism and
cry for democracy @
ashokgehlot51 Ji crossed all
limits for the sake of saving the
chair; They conspired against
the people of their own party,
but even tapped the telephone
of the leaders of the opposition
party in an unethical manner;
indulged in spying,” he said in
his tweet.
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Moradabad (Uttar Pardesh): A minor girl
attempted to end her life by suicide after being
sexually assaulted by her brother-in-law.
The girl's family managed to rescue her
on time and she has been admitted to the dis-
trict hospital where her condition is stable.
In their complaint to the police, the girl's
family said that their daughter was living at
her sister's place. She had been called there
to help after her sister gave birth to a baby
three months ago.
During her stay there, her husband
allegedly forced himself on the girl and
raped her. On March 8, the girl narrated her
ordeal to the family.
An FIR has been registered against the
accused at the Chaljet police station.
The victim's mother told the police on
Sunday, “My daughter had called up to say
that she does not want to stay there. Once she
came back, she remained very quiet. When
we repeatedly asked her what was troubling
her, she narrated her ordeal. She then tried
to end her life, but was saved in time when
a family member raised an alarm.”
Chajlet Station House Officer (SHO)
Sunil Kumar said, “The girl was rescued by
the family and taken to hospital where she
was provided medical aid. Her condition is
now stable.”
An FIR has been registered against the
25-year-old accused under section 376 (pun-
ishment for rape) of IPC and relevant sections
of the POCSO Act, the SHO said, adding that
further investigations in the case are under-
way. The accused is yet to be arrested. IANS
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Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has
announced that her party will contest the 2022 Assembly elec-
tions alone and will not enter into an alliance with any party.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mayawati
said that her party would also contest the Panchayat elections
on its own.
Mayawati mounted a scathing attack on the BJP governments
at the Centre and state and said that the BSP was supporting farm-
ers' agitation and the Centre should repeal the farm laws.
She alleged that the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh
was poor and people were being victimised on caste grounds.
Paying glowing tributes to her mentor, late Kanshi Ram, on
his birth anniversary, the BSP president said that it was only by
following his ideology that a change could be brought in the weak-
er sections.
She said that late Kanshi Ram had inspired her to continue
to struggle against oppression of the poor. IANS
Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh): The sta-
tion house in-charge (SHO) of the
Naseerpur police station here,
PravendraYadav,hasbeensenttolines
after his video in which he is seen cel-
ebrating the birthday of a Samajwadi
Partyworkeratthepolicestationwent
viral on social media.
The Samajwadi Party worker
whose birthday was celebrated at the
police station on Saturday, has been
identified as Mohit Yadav, a resident
of the Tatapura village.
The video of the birthday cele-
bration was uploaded on social media
by a friend of Mohit Yadav. The video
shows the inspector cutting the cake
and feeding it to Mohit Yadav went
viral on social media on Saturday but
was later deleted.
Mohit was also seen sharing the
cake with other policemen.
Following primary investigation,
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)
Firozabad removed the station in-
charge Pravendra Yadav from the
Nasserpur police station and attached
him to police lines.
SSP Firozabad Ajay Kumar said,
“Taking cognizance of the viral video,
inspector Pravendra Yadav has been
removed from the Naseerpur police
station. The act of the police officer in
uniform was found unethical in pri-
maryinvestigation.Hehasbeenasked
to submit a written clarification. The
matter will be investigated in detail.
Further action will be taken on the
basis of the inquiry report.” IANS
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Patna: Five persons of a fami-
ly, including four minors, were
charred to death in a massive
blaze that broke out in Bihar's
Kishanganj district early
Monday leaving at least one
more critically injured.
The fire broke out in Salam
colony under Kishanganj police
station at around 2.30 a.m.
The deceased were identi-
fied as Noor Alam and his four
children aged between of 4 and
12.
Shahnawaz Akhtar Niyazi,
the SDO of the area said that
the reason for the fire was yet
to be ascertained. “We are
investigating the matter to find
out possible reasons. Short cir-
cuits could be one,” Niyazi
said.
“As per eyewitness account,
the intensity of the fire was as
such that it engulfed the house
of Noor Alam within minutes.
The fire was so intense, it also
damaged four adjoining hous-
es. The residents of other four
houses were evacuated,” Niyazi
added. IANS
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In the ongoing operation in
the South Kashmir district of
Shopian, Jaish-e-Mohammad
dreaded commander Sajjad
Afghani was gunned down by
the joint team of security forces
on Monday. So far two terror-
ists including LeT cadre
Jahangir Ahmad Wani have
been eliminated while fresh fir-
ing resumed late Monday
evening after the security forces
established contact with the
third terrorist at the encounter
site.
Till the time of filing the
report intermittent firing was
going on in the area.
At least three houses also
caught fire on Sunday during
the heavy exchange of firing.
Some of the local residents also
tried to assemble near the
scene of action to disrupt the
operations but were dispersed
by the paramilitary forces after
they resorted to heavy stone
pelting in the area.
Meanwhile, Inspector
General of Police ,Kanshmir
range Vijay Kumar Monday
congratulated Shopian police
security forces for eliminating
JeM commander Sajjad
Afghani in a Shopian
encounter.
He along withGoC Victor
Force conducted aerial moni-
toring of the operation and law
and order situations at the
encounter site.
Sajad Afghani along with
his associates was trapped by
security forces in Rawalpora
village of Shopian district on
Saturday.To avoid any collateral
damage the security forces
waited patiently while main-
taining a tight cordon in the
area.
Afghani, resident of
Rawalpora area of Shopian,
remained active since 2018
and was chiefly responsible
for recruiting local youth in the
terrorist ranks.
According to a police
spokesman, “Several terror
crime cases were registered
against him and was wanted by
law for his complicity in several
terror crime cases including
Case FIR No. 304/2018 PS
Shopian pertaining to terroris-
ing the people so as to keep
them away from Panchayat
polls including blazing a
Panchayat Ghar at Kanji-ullar.
Case FIR No. 307/2018 PS
Shopian pertaining to barging
into the houses of police per-
sonnel, abducting and killing of
SgCt Nisar Ahmad, Foll.
Firdous Ahmad and SPO
Kulwant Singh.
Case FIR No. 343/2018 PS
Shopian regarding attack on
34RR camp at Matribugh. Case
FIR No. 362/2018 PS Shopian
regarding abduction and killing
of civilian Suhail Ahmad
Ganai. Case FIR No. 35/2019
PS Shopian regarding killing of
SPO Khusboo Jan and Case
FIR No. 45/2019 PS Shopian
regarding abduction and killing
of civilian Tanveer Ahmad
Dar”.
As per police records,
another terrorist Jahangir
Ahmad Wani was active since
01/09/2020 and was involved in
several terror crime cases
including attacks on security
forces and civilian atrocities.
Arms ammunition
including USA made M4
Carbine rifle and other incrim-
inating materials were recov-
ered from the site of encounter
so far.
On the other hand,
Director General of Police,
Dilbag Singh accompanied by
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar vis-
ited Anantnag where he
chaired a security review meet-
ing with Police, Army CRPF
officers.
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Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh):
Four persons, including a
woman, have died after con-
suming spurious liquor in
Pratapgarh district.
Four police personnel,
including the Nawabganj police
station in-charge, have been
suspended following the inci-
dent in the Manoharpur
Rampur Dabi village in
Sangramgarh police circle.
According to police
reports, the four persons had
purchased liquor from one
Babulal Patel on Saturday and
consumed it.
Prayagraj Inspector
General Kavindra Pratap Singh
said, “The four persons were
admitted to the Sangramgarh
community health centre as
their condition started deteri-
orating. All four died on
Sunday night during treat-
ment.”
The deceased have been
identified as Sunita Saroj, 55,
her husband Jawaharlal Saroj,
56, Vijay Kumar, 35 and Ram
Prasad,40.
Their bodies have been
sent for post mortem, the offi-
cer said.
The wife of Babulal Patel
and his brother have been
detained for questioning, the
police said. IANS
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Monday sought response from the Centre
on a plea by the Indian Medical
Association (IMA) against a Central
Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM)
order authorising post-graduate practi-
tioners in specified streams of Ayurveda
be trained to perform surgical proce-
dures.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S
A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and
V Ramasubramanian issued notices to
the Ministry of Ayush, CCIM and
National Medical Commission while
seeking their replies on the petition.
IMA has moved the top court seek-
ing to set aside or quash the amendment
to regulations to the Postgraduate
Ayurveda Surgery by CCIM and declare
that the council does not have the pow-
ers to include modern medicine in syl-
labus.
The notification by the CCIM listed
39 general surgery procedures and
around 19 procedures involving the eye,
ear, nose and throat by amending the
Indian Medicine Central Council (Post
Graduate Ayurveda Education)
Regulations, 2016.
According to the November 20,
2020 gazette notification the procedures
listed include removal of metallic and
non-metallic foreign bodies from non-
vital organs, excision of simple cyst or
benign tumours of non-vital organs,
amputation of gangrene, traumatic
wound management, foreign body
removal from stomach, squint surgery,
cataract surgery and functional endo-
scopic sinus surgery. PTI
New Delhi: The Narcotics Control
Bureau (NCB) has moved the Supreme
Court challenging the Bombay High
Court order granting bail to actress
Rhea Chakraborty, arrested over
drugs-related charges in actor Sushant
Singh Rajput's death case.
A bench of Chief Justice Bobde
and Justices AS Bopanna and V
Ramasubramanian will hear the plea
on March 18.
On October 7, last year the
Bombay High Court had granted bail
to the actress and directed her to
deposit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
It had however rejected the bail
plea her brother Showik Chakraborty,
who is also an accused in the case, and
an alleged drug peddler Abdel Basit
Parihar.
Rhea, her brother and the other
accused were arrested in September
last year by the NCB in connection
with its probe into the drugs angle
related to the case of Rajput's death.
While granting bail to Rhea
Chakraborty and two others, the high
court had directed them to deposit
their passports with the NCB and not
to leave the country without permis-
sion of the special NDPS court.
It had asked Rhea to deposit a
personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and
directed her to visit the NCB office at
11 am on the first day of every month
for next six months.
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The ruling Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP) on
Monday scotched the intense
speculation that it had asked
Maharashtra Home Minister
Amit Deshmukh to put in his
papers over the allegations of
“inept”handlingof theexplosive
laden SUV recovery incident
and subsequent murder, saying
that that Deshmukh was per-
forming well and the question
of his resignation did not arise.
Talking to media persons here,
Maharashtra NCP president
Jayant Patil said: “Anil
Deshmukh is performing well
as the State Home Minister. The
question of his resignation does
not arise. Hence there is no need
for speculation over his resig-
nation”.
Patil made the statement
soon after NCP chief Sharad
Pawar held an hour-long meet-
ing with chief minister Uddhav
Thackeray apparently over the
situation arising out of the
recovery of explosive-laden
SUV near industrialist Mukesh
Ambani’s residence on February
25 and the events like the mur-
der of businessman Mansukh
Hiren and the arrest of
Mumbai’s crime branch officer
Sachin Vaze.
After his meeting with
Uddhav, Pawar headed straight
to the YB Chavan in south
Mumbai where he was sched-
uled to have a meeting senior
party leaders and review the
performance of some of the
party ministers in the Shiv
Sena-led MVA government in
the starte.
However, Patil – who was
present at the meeting –said that
no discussion took place on
either the resignation of
Deshmukh or the reshuffle in
the State Cabinet took place at
the meeting.
Reiterating the party’s stand
on police officer Vaze’s arrest,
Deshmukh said: “Two separate
investigations are going on in
connection with the recovery
of explosive-laden SUV near
industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s
residence on February 25 and
subsequent murder of Hiren.
While the NIA is investigating
the car recovery case, the ATS
is looking into the subsequent
murder of the businessman.
All the three constituents in the
ruling MVA – Shiv Sena, NCP
and Congress – are on the
same page. There is no truth in
the allegation that the Shiv
Sena is trying to protect the cul-
prits behind the twin incidents.
Whoever found guilty will be
punished sternly”.
Alluding to the claim that
former chief minister and leader
of the opposition Devendra
Fadnavis possessed an incrim-
inating CD purportedly carry-
ing the telephonic conversations
between Vaze and late Hiren.
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Two days after his arrest for
his alleged link with the
recovery of an explosive-laden
SUV near Industrialist Mukesh
Ambaniandsubsequentmurder
of businessman Manshukh
Hiren, the Maharashtra
Government on Monday sus-
pended Mumbai’s Assistant
Police Inspector and encounter-
specialist Sachin Vaze from his
service.
Confirming Vaze’s suspen-
sion, Mumbai Police
Spokesperson DCP S Chaitanya
said: “API Sachin Vaze has been
placed under suspension, by an
order of Addl CP Special
Branch.” Monday’s was the sec-
ond occasion when Vaze’s was
suspended from the service by
the Maharashtra government.
It may be recalled that on
March 3 2004, Vaze was sus-
pended along with 14 other
policemen for the alleged cus-
todial death of Khwaja Yunus, a
suspect in the December 2,
2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast
case.Vazesubsequentlyresigned
fromthepoliceonNovember30
2007 after requests for his rein-
statement were rejected by the
Maharashtra government.
The Maharashtra govern-
ment revoked Vaze’s suspension
and reinstated in service in June
last year, after the outbreak of
Covid-19 when there was short-
age of police personnel.
Vaze’s latest suspension has
come two days after he was
arrested by the NIA for his
alleged link with the recovery of
an explosive-laden SUV near
Industrialist Mukesh Ambani
and subsequent murder of busi-
nessman Hiren.
Currently in the NIA’s cus-
tody, Hiren is being investigat-
ed for his role in the planting of
20 gelatin sticks in a “stolen”
Scorpio car, which was recov-
ered by the Mumbai police near
Industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s
skyscraper mansion “Antilia”
on Carmichael Road in south
Mumbai on February 25.
Vaze has been booked
under sections 120 (B) (crimi-
nal conspiracy) 286 (negligent
conduct with respect to explo-
sive substance), 465 (forgery)
473 (making or possessing
counterfeit seal) and 506 -2
(criminal intimidation) of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 4
(a)(b)(i) of the Explosive
SubstancesAct,1908.Vazeisthe
firstaccusedtohavebeenarrest-
ed by the NIA which registered
an FIR in the explosive-laden
SUV recovery case on March 8.
This is for the first time that
Vaze, who has gunned down 63
underworld gangsters during
his three-decade-long contro-
versial career, has come under
scanner. This time around, the
investigatorsarelookingintothe
recovery of gelatine sticks’ laden
SUV and the mysterious death
of businessman of Manshukh
Hiren, whose body was recov-
ered from the Reti Bunder creek
area at Mumbra-Kalwa on
March 5.
While the NIA is investi-
gating the case involving the
recovery of explosive-laden
Scorpio car, Maharashtra’s Anti-
Terrorism Squad (ATS) is look-
ing into the murder of Hiren.
The ruling Shiv Sena and
State Home Minister Amit
Deshmukh have come under
severe flak for reinstating Vaze
into service on June 6, 2020 –
after the outbreak of Covid-19
pandemic and lockdown during
which there was shortage of
police staff.
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Amaravati: The number of
active Covid-19 cases con-
tinued to rise in Andhra
Pradesh, reaching 1,443 on
Monday.
The state logged 147 new
Covid-19 cases on Monday,
pushing the state's tally to
over 8.92 lakh, even as 103
persons recovered from the
disease in the past 24 hours,
taking the total number of
recoveries in the state past
the 8.83 lakh-mark.
Chittoor district report-
ed the highest number of
cases at 35, followed by East
Godavari (31), Guntur (21),
Srikakulam (10), Anantapur,
Kadapa, Krishna and Nellore
(9 each), Visakhapatnam (7),
Kurnool (4) and Prakasam,
Vizianagaram and West
Godavari (1 each).
Chittoor district has
been logging the highest
number of cases for the past
several days.
East Godavari's tally has
crossed 1.24 lakh, the high-
est among all Andhra dis-
tricts, while the state's posi-
tivity rate fell to 6.13 per cent,
which is still higher than the
national average of 5.01 per
cent.
Meanwhile, one more
person succumbed to the
virus in the past 24 hours,
raising the Covid death toll
to 7,185. With 22,604 more
tests, the total number of
tests conducted in Andhra
Pradesh crossed the 1.45
crore-mark on
Monday. IANS
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