04052022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On the
occasion of Parshuram
Jayanti, the state gov-
ernment led by Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel announced Rs143
crore worth of develop-
ment works for
Ahmedabad.
Making the an-
nouncement CM Patel
highlighted the fact
that all towns and met-
ropolitan areas in the
state have seen mas-
sive development in
recent times.
“Earlier, ‘urban
amenities’ were limit-
ed to taps, sewers and
roads. Now, all urban
areas are thriving cen-
tres with many service
activities of town wel-
fare and public interest
works under Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s Nagar Seva Sad-
an initiative,” he said.
With the participa-
tion of the people in
private societies,
works including pav-
ing blocks and roads
are now being done
everywhere, he added.
“Under the guidance
and inspiration of PM
Modi, we have made a
solid plan to ensure
there would be no prob-
lem of money for ur-
ban amenities and
town welfare works,”
he further said.
He also gave details
of various develop-
ment works that have
been completed and
those that are under-
way in Gandhinagar,
the Lok Sabha constitu-
ency of Union Home
Minister Amit Shah,
and his own Ghatlodia
Assembly constituency
.
He further highlight-
ed PM Modi’s focus on
ensuring that everyone
has a roof over their
head.
“Today, with the
guidance and inspira-
tion of the Prime Min-
ister, the government
has completed 5,88,000
houses in Gujarat and
is still working on
more houses,” Patel
said.
He also distributed
nutrition kits to two
children and gave two
women widow assis-
tance certificates un-
der the Gangaswarupa
Arthik Sahay Yojna.
FOR THE PEOPLE
A’BAD GETS DEVELOPMENT WORKS WORTH `143 CR
CM Patel highlights urban
growth in all towns,
metropolitan areas of Guj
CM Bhupendra Patel addressing an event organized by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 158
OUR EDITIONS:
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Have appealed for immediate
ceasefire in Ukraine: PM Modi
Copenhagen: PM Nar-
endra Modi on Tuesday
reached Copenhagen in
Denmark to begin the
second leg of his visit to
the three European na-
tions. This is Modi ‘s
first visit to Denmark,
but his third summit-
level interaction with
his Danish counterpart,
Mette Frederiksen .
BothPMshelddelega-
tion-level talks to review
progress in the Green
Strategic Partnership
between the two coun-
tries. “Delegation level
talks led by PMs @nar-
endramodi@Statsmin
Mette Frederiksen be-
gin. Both sides to review
progress in the Green
Strategic Partnership.
Will also discuss our
wide-ranging coopera-
tion in areas of skill de-
velopment, climate, re-
newable energy, Arctic,
P2P ties, etc,” the Minis-
try of External Affairs
(MEA) tweeted.
(Top) Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed by Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen
on Tuesday. (Bottom) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen during a
Delegation level talks, in Copenhagen on Tuesday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
Rahul Gandhi seen
at nightclub in viral
video; BJP takes dig
BMC CHIEF CHAHAL UNDER IT RADAR AFTER
RAIDS ON STANDING COMMITTEE EX-CHAIRMAN
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: A high profile
and a corona control ex-
pert, Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) commissioner
Iqbal Singh Chahal was
summoned by the In-
come Tax department
recently in connection
with the search and sei-
zureoperationsconduct-
ed upon the civic body’s
former Standing Com-
mittee chairman Yas-
wanth Kamlakar Jad-
hav by officials attached
to the office of the Direc-
tor General (Investiga-
tions). The Deputy Di-
rector’s office located at
ScindiaHouseatBallard
Pier in south Mumbai
hadissuedthesummons
to Chahal to appear be-
fore its office on March
10, 2022. According to a
senior IT official, “Fol-
lowing the seizures of
documents and other
leadswehadsoughtdata
from the BMC in the
form of documents per-
tainingtoroadandother
civic contracts executed
between 2018 and 2021.
Summonswereissuedto
theBMCChief toappear
beforethedepartmentin
the same matter.” The
civic body had sought
time to submit the
sought documents and
other details. Investiga-
tions are believed to
have led IT sleuths on
the trail of benami
transactions, particu-
larly with road contrac-
tors, with some alleged
payments being linked
to the civic chief as well.
Chahal, who recently
earned kudos over his
corona management in
Mumbai city, is a high
profile IAS officer in
Maharashtra bureau-
cracy and is considered
close to the Chief Minis-
ter Uddhav Thackeray
.
New Delhi: Former
Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi was seen in a
viral video at a night-
club in Kathmandu.
The video seemingly
has a discotheque as its
background with peo-
ple around him seen
consuming liquor.
The viral video has
come at a time when
Congress is seen to be
in deep leadership cri-
sis, with the party’s bid
to onboard the poll
strategist Prashant
Kishor having failed.
Rahul Gandhi, who is in
Kathmandu, reportedly
attended the wedding
of a friend a day ago.
Video grab of Rahul Gandhi in Kathmandu’s Famous Pub.
CONG DEFENDS RaGa
HORATTI TO JOIN BJP
BOMMAI TO
CONTINUE AS CM
Congress spokesperson
Randeep Singh Surjewala
has defended Rahul Gan-
dhi saying
he has gone
to a friendly
country Ne-
pal to par-
ticipate in a
private marriage function
of a friend. “...having fam-
ily friends attending
marriage ceremonies is
a matter of our culture
and civilization. It has still
not become a crime in
this country. Maybe after
today, BJP may decide it
is illegal to attend a mar-
riage and a crime to have
friends,” he said.
Chairman of Karnataka
Legislative Council Basavaraj
Horatti met Home Minister
Amit Shah in Bengaluru,
and said he would join the
BJP soon. He is likely to be
the BJP’s candidate for the
upcoming MLC polls.
Karnataka BJP in charge
Arun Singh has clarified that
CM Bommai would continue
in his post and there are no
plans of changing the leader-
ship. Arun Singh maintained
that, Bommai is a common
man’s CM. “He is delivering
good governance,” he said.
Shah raises political heat in Bengaluru,
sets the poll drum rolling in Karnataka
Bengaluru:UnionMin-
isterAmitShahonTues-
day reached Bengaluru
for his day-long visit to
thesouthernstatethatis
set to go to polls early
next year. Shah paid
homage to Shri Basa-
vanna on the occasion
of Basava Jayanti in
Bengaluru on Tuesday
andsaidthatBasavanna
had set an example hun-
dreds of years ago of
universalandall-encom-
passing democracy in
Kannada society
. Later,
Shahheldmeetingswith
party leaders.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah being felicitated by Karnataka
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during the foundation laying
program of Nrupatunga University, in Bengaluru. —PHOTO BY ANI
Covid XE variant
confirmed; no
cause for alarm,
say officials
New Delhi: Weeks after
two unconfirmed cases
were reported from Ma-
harashtra and Gujarat,
thecountry’sfirstcaseof
Omicron sub-variant XE
has been confirmed by
the Indian SARS-CoV2
Genomics Sequencing
Consortium(INSACOG).
Asof now,expertssay
,
there is no evidence to
suggest that a Covid in-
fection from the XE sub-
variant is different from
those caused by the oth-
er Omicron sub-line-
ages. The new sub-vari-
ant has been found to be
only about 10 per cent
moretransmissiblethan
the currently dominant
BA.2 variant of Omi-
cron, which triggered
the third Covid wave in
the country in January
.
“Less than a handful
of recombinantvariants
have been detected in
the country so far. All of
themarefromgeograph-
ically disparate regions.
No cluster formation
has been seen,” a Gov-
ernment official told.
FRANCE OPTS
OUT OF INDIA’S
SUBMARINE
PROJECT
Before Modi meets
Macron, French opt
out of India project
for submarines Ahead
of PM Modi’s sched-
uled visit to France,
French defence major
Naval Group has
announced that it is
unable to participate
in the P-75 India
(P-75I) project under
which six conven-
tional submarines are
to be built in India for
the Indian Navy. The
group, one of the five
shortlisted interna-
tional players for
the Rs 43,000-crore
project, said it can-
not meet conditions
of the Request for
Proposal (RFP) and
will, therefore, not
continue with its bid.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A large
number of people from the
Muslim community visited
mosques and Eidgahs
in Gujarat on Tuesday
morning to offer the Eid
namaz. With the COVID-19
restrictions being lifted
after two years, people
visited each other's homes
to extend greetings on
Eid-ul-Fitr and celebrated
the festival with traditional
food preparations. In
Ahmedabad's old city area,
devotees offered prayers
in the morning at the Jama
Masjid. Many people also
visited the Eidgah near
the Kankaria Lake and the
15th-century Sarkhej Roza
mosque in Ahmedabad.
Similar congregations
were witnessed in various
other places in the state.
People were seen enjoy-
ing the festival with great
fervour this time, after
subdued celebrations in
the last two years due
to the COVID-19-related
restrictions. With the
COVID-19 numbers now
coming down sharply,
people turned out in large
numbers on Tuesday to
mingle with their relatives
and friends.
GUJARAT CELEBRATES EID
GUJARAT CELEBRATES EID
Gandhinagar: In a jolt
to the Gujarat Congress
ahead of the state As-
sembly polls due later
this year, tribal leader
and three-time MLA
AshvinKotwalresigned
from the party on Tues-
day and joined the rul-
ing BJP.
Kotwal (58) had won
the Khedbrahma seat in
Sabarkantha district,
reserved for Scheduled
Tribe candidates, on
Congress ticket during
the Assembly polls in
2007, 2012 and 2017.
Talking to reporters,
Kotwal claimed “injus-
tice” in the Congress as
the cause for his deci-
sion to quit the party
.
Gujarat BJP presi-
dent CR Patil welcomed
Kotwal into the saffron
party-fold during a
function held at the
state BJP headquarters
Shree Kamalam in Gan-
dhinagar on Tuesday
afternoon.
The state Assembly
secretariat in a commu-
nique said Kotwal had
resigned as MLA from
the Khedbrahma seat
and his resignation was
accepted by Speaker
Nimaben Acharya on
Tuesday morning.
Before joining the
BJP, Kotwal said he had
also resigned from the
primary membership
of the Congress.
“I was not happy with
the Congress’s func-
tioning. Instead of giv-
ing tickets to those who
are popular among the
masses, the party lead-
ership used to favour
only those who re-
mained loyal to them. I
fear they can also deny
me a ticket in future
and because of such in-
justice, I am now join-
ing the BJP,” Kotwal
told reporters.
Kotwal also said that
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, when he was
the chief minister of
Gujarat, had offered
him to join the BJP in
2007, when he was elect-
ed as MLA for the first
time.
“I firmly believe that
tribal areas of Gujarat
witnessed development
under Modiji. He invit-
ed me to join the BJP in
2007 saying he needs
dedicated people like
me to work towards up-
lifting tribal communi-
ties. Although I did not
join the BJP in 2007, I
have been a huge fan of
Modiji since then,” Kot-
wal said at a press con-
ference.
The state Assembly
elections are due in De-
cember this year.
Following Kotwal’s
resignation, the Con-
gress’ strength in the
182-member state As-
sembly has fallen to 63,
while the BJP enjoys a
majority with 111 mem-
bers.
AshvinKotwalresigns
citing‘injustice’inCong
He had
won the
Khedbrahma
seat in
Sabarkantha,
reserved for
ST candidates
in 2007, 2012
and 2017.
DEF SECY VISITS
Union Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, IAS, visited the Indian Coast Guard Regional
Headquarters (North West) at Gandhinagar on Monday. He was welcomed by Inspector General AK
Harbola,TM, Regional Commander (North West). Kumar reviewed the operational preparedness
and infrastructural development in the region and was briefed about the ICG’s efforts towards
humanitarian assistance and joint operations with stakeholders in maritime safety and security..
US merchants demand declaration that
Surat’s diamond don’t come from Russia
First India Bureau
Surat: US sanctions
on Russian over the
latter’s invasion of
Ukraine, Surat’s dia-
mond-polishing sec-
tor is taking a mas-
sive hit.
About 30% of all im-
ported raw, or rough
diamonds imported
into India come from
Russia, with a lion’s
share coming to Surat
for further processing.
However, now, Ameri-
can clients are de-
manding that Surti
traders furnish certifi-
cation to show that the
stones they procure
were not sourced from
Russia.
This has affected
business so badly that
local businessmen
have been forced to
shut shop and give em-
ployees an unsched-
uled two-day break,
despite the otherwise
growing demand for
“finished” or polished
diamonds.
“American buyers
have refused to buy
finished diamonds
that started as raw
ones mined in Russia.
They’ve written to In-
dian traders threaten-
ing to ‘ban’ anyone
found selling such
stones,” Dinesh Nawa-
dia, chairman of the
Gem Jewellery Export
Promotion Council.
American clients
are threatening
to ‘ban’ traders
who sell them
polished stones
that originate in
Russia, they say
Rough diamonds. —FILE PHOTO
Guj HC pulls up
schools over vague
expense vouchers
AAP Guj chief Gopal
Italia, 15 others
booked for rioting
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The High
Court has expressed
surprised that school
managements have
been submitting claims
vouchers without giv-
ing details about ex-
penses.
The court is hearing
a petition moved by the
management of some
schools challenging a
decision of the Fees
Regulation Commit-
tees.
During the hearing,
the court noticed that
some school manage-
ments have cited their
teachers’ children’s
school fees as an ex-
pense, the income for
which is recovered from
other students. Ques-
tioning such expenses,
the court asked how
they can be put under
the header of expenses,
and how schools can re-
cover such expenses
from other students.
While going through
documents, the court
also noticed that
schools submit expense
vouchers without shar-
ing any details of the
expenditure, or wheth-
er they were actually
justified as necessary
.
Further, the court
also noted that some
schools have been in-
sisting that should buy
books and other station-
ery from the store on
school premises, and
stated that school man-
agements cannot make
itmandatoryforschools
to shop only at on-cam-
pus stores.
First India Bureau
Surat: Udhana police
have registered a
case of rioting
against state presi-
dent of the Aam Aad-
mi Party Gopal Italia
and 15 others, includ-
ing seven members
of the ruling Bharati-
ya Janata Party.
Italia and the other
AAP members were
protesting outside the
BJP office in Surat
without taking prior
permission.
“We were protesting
outside the BJP office,
when about 10 people
came towards us from
the office in Udhna and
started beating us,”
AAP leader Dinesh Jik-
adra--who is also
named in the com-
plaint--said.
The AAP workers
had been protesting
against police action
on their councillors in
Surat the previous day,
when they were de-
tained on Monday.
An AAP press state-
ment said several of its
members were de-
tained by police for
staging “peaceful” pro-
tests in Surat,
Ahmedabad and Va-
dodara.
It also alleged police
and “BJP goons” at-
tacked Italia and other
AAP leaders during the
protest, leaving some
of them injured.
Meanwhile, Surat
City BJP president
Niranjan Zanzmera
said his party workers
were alert this time as
AAP had created ruck-
us at the state BJP
headquarters ‘Ka-
malam’ in Gandhina-
gar on an earlier occa-
sion.
“BJP workers were
present at the party of-
fice after we received
input that AAP work-
ers were coming to-
wards the office… If
any person tries to at-
tack your house, you
will defend it. They
tried to enter and cre-
ate a ruckus. They have
a history of behaving
like this. A worker will
definitely defend him-
self and the office,” Pa-
tel asserted.
Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
AAP Guj chief Gopal Italia, 15
others booked for rioting.
Kotwal was welcomed into BJP by state unit chief CR Patil at an event at Shree Kamalam on Tuesday.
—PHOTOS BY AZMIN SINDHI

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The in-
spiration quotient at
the Indian Institute of
Technology Gandhina-
gar (IITGN) touched a
new height on Monday
as Tasnim Mir, World
no 1 girls junior bad-
minton player, interact-
ed with the IITGN com-
munity and shared her
journey
. The special in-
teractive event ‘A Day
with a Champion’ was
organised by the sports
council of IITGN.
Later in the evening,
Tasnim also played an
exhibition match with
one of the winners of
the intra-college Bad-
minton Super
League-2022 at the new-
ly built sports complex
of the Institute.
In a lively QA ses-
sion that followed a tour
of the newly construct-
ed sports complex, Mir
shared her journey
.
Tasnim, who hails
from Mehsana, started
playing badminton at
the age of seven under
the guidance of her fa-
ther and badminton
coach Irfan Mir. In Jan-
uary, she made history
by becoming the first
Indian to claim World
No 1 ranking in the un-
der-19 girls’ singles bad-
minton category
.
Having won eight in-
ternational titles, 22 na-
tional titles, and 40 state
titles, she is also the
only female player to
have won the Asian
Junior Championship
twice.
On the sacrifices she
hasmadeinherjourney
,
shesharedthatalthough
she loves chocolates and
sweets, she had to give
them up because the
diet discipline for the
game demands it. She
also does not have a
phone and does not use
social media as opposed
to most of the young
generation. She likes to
dopaintinganddrawing
in her free time.
“Apart from all the
strategies and practice;
ultimately
, the game ex-
amines your mental
strength. If you are not
strong mentally, you
cannot play a single
stroke the way you want
to play
. Failures are part
of the game. Just focus
on giving your best and
work on the weak as-
pects to improve your-
self after a failure,” she
advised students.
Extrapolating that
advice beyond sports,
she added, “Whichever
sport and category you
choose to play and make
a career in, hard work is
the key. Do not give up
on your dream. Choose
a goal and completely
focus on it; give it your
100%, and you will be
able to perform well in
anything you want to do
in life.”
Pursue your dreams: Shuttler Tansim Mir tells IITGN students
GOOD ADVICE
lll
Mir is the
first Indian
badminton
player to
clinch World
No 1 title in
the U-19
girls’ singles
rankings
Tasnim and Gaurav Kumar Rawat during their exhibition match.
2 run over by speeding
train near Vapi station
First India Bureau
Vapi: Two passen-
gers died after be-
ing run over by a
speeding train dur-
ing a rush to board
another train near
Vapi railway sta-
tion in Valsad dis-
trict, officials said
on Tuesday.
The incident took
place around 10.15
pm on Monday, the
official from Vapi
railway station said,
adding that the two
deceased were rela-
tives and were going
to board a Patna-
bound train.
“There is usually a
heavy rush of passen-
gers for the Bandra
Terminus-Patna train,
whichhasahaltof five
minutes at Vapi sta-
tion. During the rush,
two passengers cross-
ing the railway line to
get onto the platform
from the wrong side
were run over by the
Goa Sampark Kranti
Express train, which
does not halt at Vapi,”
the official said.
One of the passen-
gers died on the spot.
The other one was
rushed to a hospital
in Vapi where he died
during treatment.
Lion mauls 5-yr-old
to death in Amreli
First India Bureau
Amreli: A five-year-
old girl was mauled
to death by a lion in
Amreli district, for-
est officials said on
Tuesday.
The incident took
place around 8 pm on
Monday in Kadaya vil-
lage under Kunavav
forest range, following
which the carnivore
was caught and taken
to an animal care cen-
tre, they said.
The victim, the
daughter of a farm la-
bourer from Ra-
jasthan, was playing
near a water tank in
the village when a lion
attacked her and
dragged her for about
half a kilometre to-
wards the forest, an
official said.
The girl’s father
chased the lion and
managed to free her
from the carnivore’s
jaws, but she could
not be saved, the offi-
cial said.
After being alerted,
forest department of-
ficials rushed to the
village and set up
four cages to catch
the lion.
The adult male fe-
line was later spotted,
tranquillized and
shifted to an animal
care centre at Sasan
Gir, the official said.
Gujarat is the only
abode of Asiatic lions.
As per a census con-
ducted by the Gujarat
forest department in
2020, there were 674 li-
ons in the state.
Adult male
felinecaught,
shifted to
care centre
The big cat let go of the child, but she had already suffocated to death. —FILE PHOTO
Gujarat ATS seizes heroin worth `280 crore
Active tally 108 as Guj sees 12 cases
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gujarat
on Tuesday reported
12 COVID-19 cases,
taking its tally to
12,24,386, while there
was no addition to the
death toll, which stood
at10,943,astatehealth
department official
said.
The recovery count
increased by 15 to touch
12,13,335, leaving the
state with an active case-
load of 108, he said.
The new cases com-
prised 10 in Ahmedabad
andtwoinVadodara,the
official added.
A government release
said 19,648 people were
vaccinated against COV-
ID-19 during the day
, tak-
ing the overall number
of dosesadministeredso
far to 10.79 crore.
The adjoining Union
Territory of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu continued to be
coronavirus-free, a local
official informed.
First India Bureau
Kutch: A team of Gu-
jarat ATS and the In-
dian Coast Guard on
Monday intercepted a
boat called the Al-Hajj
within 14 nautical
miles from the notion-
al International Mari-
time Border Line
(IMBL) in the coastal
waters of India and
seized heroin worth
Rs280 crore.
On searching the
boat, 56 packets (ap-
prox. 56kg) of heroin
worth Rs 280 crore
were found from the
nine Pakistanis on the
boat. Subsequently, a
case was registered un-
der the Narcotics
Drugs and Psychotrop-
ic Substances Act,
1985, and all the Paki-
stani sailors were ar-
rested.
Later, several teams
were dispatched to dif-
ferent states of North
India to conduct raids.
In the preliminary in-
vestigation, the names
of Raji Haider and
Avtar Singh alias Sun-
ny were revealed.
Accordingly, a team
of Gujarat ATS, along
with the team of NCB
Operation, Delhi, con-
ducted a joint opera-
tion and arrested Raji
Haider, a resident of
New Delhi, Imran
Amir, a resident of Ut-
tar Pradesh, Avtar Sin-
gh alias Sunny of New
Delhi, and the Afghan
Abdul Rab Abdul Kha-
lik Kakad, who is cur-
rently living in New
Delhi.
A case was regis-
tered at NCB Delhi in
this regard and further
investigation was car-
ried out by NCB Delhi.
Moreover, based on the
information obtained
in the joint interroga-
tion of Raji Haider by
Gujarat ATS and NCB,
another 50kg of heroin
was seized by NCB Del-
hi from Jamianagar,
Shaheen Bagh along
with Rs30 lakh in cash.
The Gujarat ATS recovered nearly 90kg of heroin worth `450 crore from a shipping container at
the Pipavav port just a few days ago. —FILE PHOTO
State sees 2 group clashes in 24
hours leaving 1 dead, 3 injured
First India Bureau
Rajkot/Surendrana-
gar: Gujarat saw two
separate incidents of
armed clashes in a
span of 24 hours.
Inthefirst,twogroups
of Nepali-origin people
attackedeachotherwith
knives and sharp weap-
ons in Rajkot city
. The
second,whichtookplace
inSurendranagar’sChu-
da taluka, left one man
stabbed to death a clash
over a land dispute.
According to the com-
plaint filed with Chuda
police by Ashish Par-
mar, Jiliyabhai Devipu-
jak attacked his father
Arvindbhai.
“Jiliyabhai Devipu-
jak and three others at-
tacked his father Arvin-
dbhai and fatally
stabbed him with a
knife,” officials said, cit-
ing the complaint.
When the police
rushed the scene, they
broughtthesituationun-
der control and sent the
body for post-mortem.
“We are searching
for the accused,” Chu-
da police station officer
Ashokbhai said, add-
ing that the case has
been registered under
sections for murder,
criminal conspiracy,
voluntarily causing
grievous hurt by dan-
gerous weapon.
The Rajkot incident,
whichtookplacearound
11.30 pm on Monday
night, is believed to have
been triggered by a love
affair. Police said two
youths were injured in
the clash. CCTV footage
shows it broke out after
the groups gave up try-
ing to resolve the issue
by talking it through.
The two injured
youths were taken to a
hospital for treatment.
Police have Rohit
Vishwakarma, Dinesh
Tamta, Girish Vishwa-
karma, Yogesh Chau-
han,AnilSoni,andArun
Soni under sections for
attempt to murder, riot-
ing, criminal intimida-
tion, and voluntarily
causinggrievoushurtby
dangerous weapon.
Man killed over property dispute in S’nagar, youths injured in fight ‘over love affair’
CCTV footage of the Rajkot incident suggests the groups tried talking before resorting to violence.
Almost 20,000 people were vaccinated on Tuesday. —FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 158
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf
of First Express Publishers.
Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet
Survey No.148P, Changodar-
Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium
Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej
Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A disciplined mind
brings happiness.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Met with the family of Major CB
Dwivedi, who made supreme sacrifice
during the Kargil War. His daughters,
Neha and Diksha shared with me
copies of their work. Kudos to them
for their wonderful work and efforts.
My best wishes to them.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Whether its on field or off the field,
your passion for sporting excellence is
inspiring the next gen Rahul Dravid!
TOP TWEETS
SHOULD HE
OR SHOULD
HE NOT GO TO
NIGHTCLUB IN
FOREIGN LAND
s it wrong for a politi-
cian to visit a night-
club, that too in a
foreign country? Cer-
tainly, if the politi-
cian belongs to a star-crossed
national party and has doubtful
leadership credentials. We are
talking of Rahul Gandhi, a vid-
eo of whom partying in a night
club in Nepal has gone viral.
The BJP pounced on the Con-
gress leader as he is known for
disappearing on “holidays,
pleasure trips and private for-
eign trips” when the party needs
his presence. The undated video
from a Kathmandu hotel does
show Rahul with a friend but
not with glass in hand as much
as his detractors would have
wanted.
Rahul’s video has emerged at
a time when the party is busy
thrashing out its internal prob-
lems related to G23, the restless
Sachin Pilot, upcoming polls in
Gujarat and giving the party an
assertive, strong and cohesive
leadership. The Congress natu-
rally defended his Nepal visit
but it can’t really explain his
lack of leadership skills.
I
rime Minister
Narendra Modi’s
statement that
“there will be no
winning party in
this war, everyone will suf-
fer”, reminds of the Mahab-
harata war, an epic battle that
offers strong lessons to us
even today
. The battle be-
tween two groups of cousins
spanning 18 days is said to
have ended with heavy casu-
alties on both sides. There
were only a few survivors in
thewarthatgaveustheBhag-
vad Gita and a pyrrhic victo-
ry to the Pandavas. Another
war that should be looked at
for a lesson is the Kalinga
war in ancient India. The
deaths and destruction in Ka-
linga wrought by King Asho-
ka for victory over Kalinga
moved the Magadh king so
much that he turned Bud-
dhists.
The Russia-Ukraine war
could also give Moscow a
similar victory after huge
human and material losses
on the Ukrainian side. Not
all countries in today’s world
believe in a “rule-based or-
der” which Modi spoke of.
India and Germany, PM
Modi said, agreed that “bor-
ders should not be changed
through the use of violence
and that the … sovereignty
of nations has to be univer-
sally accepted”.
Both Vladimir Putin and
Volodymyr Zelenskyy must
strive to end the senseless
war as the world is already
bearing the brunt. From oil
to food and homeless mi-
grants, the devastation’s im-
pact can be felt in several
countries. There is no sign
that Russia will end hostili-
ties anytime soon, even as
world is staring at an eco-
nomic crisis. India’s stand on
war will not bring about
peace. Nor will stand of West.
BATTLES ONLY BRING
PYRRHIC VICTORY
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s statement that “there
will be no winning party
in this war, everyone will
suffer”, reminds of the
Mahabharata war, an epic
battle that offers strong
lessons to us even today
P
AAP’S INROADS MAKING
TIES WITH TMC FROSTY?
Politics is a strange game. If it brings strange bedfellows together… today’s friends can have frosty ties by tomorrow!
One great example or rather a case in hand is that of the Aam Aadmi Party and the TMC relationship
It will be interesting to see
how things shape up even as
AAP has expressed its
willingness to contest the
panchayat polls in West
Bengal in 2023 and has
also begun a membership
drive in the state. With the
Congress’ gradual slide and
the extreme infighting in the
BJP in Bengal, it may not
be difficult to predict that
AAP can garner some
support for itself
ample this… In 2015, when
Arvind Kejriwal visited Par-
liament for the first time after
he stunned one and all and
became Delhi Chief Minister,
Mamata played the role of an
elder sister and guided him
around the iconic monument.
However, as I had said ear-
lier, politics is a strange
game… in the next few years,
the two formidable leaders
had started charting out dif-
ferent paths. Especially in
July 2021, when Mamata vis-
ited Delhi after TMC’s re-
sounding victory in the Ben-
gal Assembly polls for the
third consecutive time and
defeating the Saffron might,
she met a number of noted
Opposition leaders, but the
“non-meeting”withAAPboss
created “more headlines.”
And from there on, as po-
litical grapevine has it… the
ties between TMC and AAP
have turned frosty, cold and
“strained” if we may say so
though it was never made
public.
In September 2021, the ties
between the two parties were
destined to hit a “collision
path” when both the parties
decided to take a plunge in
the Goa Assembly elections.
Both parties had jumped into
the fray and wanted to make
their presence felt as a “Na-
tional Opposition” following
the gradual “relegation” of
the Congress.
AAP managed to post vic-
tories on two seats in Goa,
with Kejriwal terming it as
the “beginning of honest
politics in Goa”.
Meanwhile, despite a high-
decibel campaign, a pre-poll
alliance and the might of
Prashant Kishor, TMC failed
to create a flutter in Goa.
TMC bagged no seats in the
40-member Assembly and
managed a meagre vote share
of 5.21 per cent.
However, recently on Fri-
day, both the CMs “met”
again, as Mamata was in Del-
hi to attend a joint conference
of CMs and High Court Chief
Justices, which was inaugu-
rated by Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Saturday
.
Even as there was no offi-
cial word on what had tran-
spired between them, the
meeting for obvious reasons
generated political ripples as
it was held ahead of the up-
coming Presidential polls.
The meeting has also as-
sumed major significance as
barely a month ago, Mamata
had written to all non-BJP
CMs, including Kejriwal, on
the need to ensure a united
front against the BJP-ruled
Centre’s alleged excesses.
However, in the past and
even today with just two
years to go for the crucial
Lok Sabha elections, AAP
has never shown its zeal for a
joint effort by the Opposition
forces to take on the might of
the Saffron “collectively”.
Even as Mamata has been
seen hobnobbing with KCR,
Sharad Pawar… the notable
absence of Kejriwal in all
these meetings always sur-
prised political analysts.
Accordingtoglobalpolitical
strategist and founder of the
upcoming world’s first socio-
politicalapp,Sanyog,DrAyan-
jit Sen, “There is no doubt that
AAP has emerged as the main
Opposition party post the re-
cent assembly elections, with
inroads even in civic elections
in Assam. But what must be
seen is the way the other main
contender, TMC, functions in
the next few months and the
strategies they implement.
With Tripura and Goa not do-
ing well for Mamata, the focus
has nationally shifted to Kejri-
wal, who has played his cards
very well to gain Punjab with
a brilliant populist agenda.
This strategy will take the
AAP boss quite a distance in
some states but he has to also
understand that the same po-
liticalstrategywillnotworkin
other states. However, he is
targeting West Bengal as well
and accordingly building that
national look for AAP
.”
It will be interesting to see
how things shape up even as
AAP has expressed its will-
ingness to contest the pan-
chayat polls in West Bengal in
2023 and has also begun a
membership drive in the
state. With the Congress’
gradual slide and the extreme
infighting in the BJP in Ben-
gal, it may not be difficult to
predict that AAP can garner
some support for itself.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
S
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Associate Editor,
Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former
Managing Editor, First India
RECENT MEET FUELS
POLITICAL RIPPLES...
However, recently on Friday,
both the CMs “met” again,
as Mamata was in Delhi to
attend a joint conference of CMs
and High Court Chief Justices,
which was inaugurated by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Saturday. Even as there was
no official word on what had
transpired between them, the
meeting for obvious reasons
generated political ripples
as it was held ahead of the
upcoming Presidential polls.
The meeting has also assumed
major significance as barely a
month ago, Mamata had written
to all non-BJP CMs, including
Kejriwal, on the need to ensure
a united front against the BJP-
ruled Centre’s alleged excesses.
New Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

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INDIA
05
Amit Shah: Regional languages
will revolutionalise education
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah on
Tuesday said that re-
gional languages will
play a crucial role in
revolutionising the edu-
cation system guided by
the National Education
Policy (NEP) 2020.
In his inaugural ad-
dress at the Nrupatunga
University on the auspi-
cious day of Basava Jay-
anti, Akshaya Tritiya,
and Eid, he said that the
Narendra Modi-led gov-
ernment has vowed to
realise the dream of
making India knowl-
edge-based superpower.
The Centre, he said,
aspires to inculcate the
culture of patriotism
among students dur-
ing the celebration of
75 years of Independ-
ence (Azad ka Amrit
Mahotsav). In the past
eight years, a total of
410 higher education
institutions, including
six central universi-
ties, seven IIMs, 15
AIIMS, have been es-
tablished in the coun-
try, he added.
North East region
which was earlier ne-
glected has also been
given prominence in
all developmental
works, including edu-
cation and Sindhu Cen-
tral University has
been established in
Ladakh, the minister
mentioned.
Further, he said that
the union government
has been focusing on
developing India as a
global manufacturing
hub. He also lauded that
Karnataka has become
an example for other
states in the implemen-
tation of NEP-2020.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Chief Minister
Basavarja Bommai,
stated that the govern-
ment is emphasising on
three Es- Education,
Employment, and Em-
powerment.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and others during
the foundation laying programme of Nrupatunga University, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
North East
region, which
was earlier
neglected, has also
been given promi-
nence in all develop-
mental works, in-
cluding education.
Sindhu Central Uni-
versity has been es-
tablished in Ladakh
—Amit Shah, Union Home Min
‘Karnataka has become example for other States in implementation of NEP-2020’
LOUDSPEAKER ROW
Raj Thackeray booked
for Aurangabad speech
Mumbai (Agencies):
Two days after the Ma-
harashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) held a
massive rally in Au-
rangabad, an FIR has
been registered
against party chief
Raj Thackeray and Ra-
jiv Jawalikar, the or-
ganiser of the rally
, for
allegedly violating the
terms and conditions
imposed by the police
while granting per-
mission for the rally
.
The police said
Thackeray has been
named the main ac-
cused in the case as he
allegedlymadeprovoc-
ative statements at the
rally and “instigated”
hissupporters.Thepo-
lice have also issued
notices to hundreds of
MNS workers.
“The speech was
provocative in nature
and that can disrupt
peaceinsociety
.Hence,
an FIR has been regis-
tered,” said a senior
officer with Aurang-
abad city police.
On Sunday, Thack-
eray had reiterated
the May 3 “deadline”
for removal of loud-
speakers from
mosques in the state.
Mumbai: With the
Aurangabad police on
Tuesday registering
a case against MNS
Raj Thackeray over
his speech against
loudspeakers on
mosques, some party
leaders slammed the
MVA govt and said
they will hit the streets
in case of further
action against their
party head. Talking to
reporters, MNS Thane
district chief Avinash
Jadhav criticised CM
Uddhav over the issue.
Jadhav claimed it was
Bal Thackeray who
had first demanded
the removal of
loudspeakers from
mosques, but his son
has booked Raj Thack-
eray for the same.
MNS LEADERS WARN OF AGITATION
What is Gaya Lal’s ‘backing’ in Congress?
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: An inde-
pendent candidate from
Hasanpur seat in Palw-
al district of Haryana,
by the name of Gaya
Lal had won the Assem-
bly election in 1967,
when 16 independents
won election to the Har-
yana Assembly and
both the Congress and
the United Front were
busy bringing together
independent MLAs to
form their own govern-
ment. At that time,
Gaya Lal changed the
party thrice in a day
. At
first he went to Con-
gress but after a while
went with United
Front. But within a few
hours he again had a
change of heart and
joined the Congress.
After coming back to
the Congress, the then
Congress leader Rao
Birender Singh took
him with him and held
a press conference in
Chandigarh, in which
he said – Jo Gaya Ram
The, Wo Aaya Ram hao
Gaye Hain. Since then
the jumla of 'Aaya
Ram-Gaya Ram' has
come in Indian politics.
Uday Bhan, who con-
tests from Hodal as-
sembly seat, is the son
of the this Gaya Lal,
and been given the
command of Haryana
Pradesh Congress. Ac-
cording to the old for-
mula, Bhupinder Singh
Hooda was to become
the president and Gee-
ta Bhukkal was to be-
come the leader of the
legislature party. But
both these leaders are
from Rohtak district,
hence the plan was
changed. Uday Bhan,
who comes from the
Dalit community, was
made the president by
the choice of Bhupin-
der Singh Hooda, since
the party failed to find
a combination of fe-
male leader and Dalit
face, as was projected
by Kumari Selja.
Udai Bhan (middle) is a four-time MLA from Hodal constituency.
Will the Jakhar family
head to the BJP?
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: In Pun-
jab, although the
Bharatiya Janata
Party has sidelined
Captain Amarinder
Singh,theadvocateof
Sunil Jakhar, but it is
being said that
Jakhar can talk di-
rectly to the BJP. Af-
ter the assembly elec-
tions, the BJP left
Captain. The BJP it-
self will contest the
municipal elections
to be held in three cit-
iesandtheby-election
of Sangrur Lok Sab-
ha seat. Actually Cap-
tain is not fit in BJP
politics even because
of his age and habits.
So, he may not go to
BJP or continue with
hisparty
,butmanyof
his close leaders will
head to BJP, includ-
ing Jakhar.
However, the Con-
gress party has
shown leniency on
Jakhar. His suspen-
sion from the party
was recommended by
the Disciplinary
Committee but in-
stead of suspending
him, the Congress
President decided to
remove him from all
posts. Anyway, he
was not in any posi-
tion, so this decision
has no meaning.Heis
not even a legislator
of the party
. He has
given his traditional
Abohar seat to his
nephew Sandeep
Jakhar, who is the
MLA from there. Re-
garding the attack on
Sunil Jakhar, the
Jakhar family said
that he is a Hindu, so
he is being treated
like this. Keep in
mindthatinthename
of being a Hindu, his
name was cut in the
race for the post of
Chief Minister. So,
his family is playing
the Hindu card,
which will culminate
in BJP politics.
Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar (C)
Congress fields
Uma Thomas in
Thrikkakara
Thiruvananthapuram
(Agencies): Congress
appeared to have stolen
a march on its rivals by
naming Uma Thomas as
the party’s candidate for
the Thrikkakara As-
sembly by-election.
The CPI(M) and the
BJPwillsoonfollowsuit
so as not to be outpaced
by the Congress in the
campaign.
Opposing fronts view
the bypoll as a yardstick
of the second Pinarayi
Vijayan government’s
performance and a bell-
wether of the public’s
position on the Silver-
line project.
Thomas is the wife
of late Thikkakara
MLA PT Thomas, and
the party hopes to cash
in on the groundswell
of sympathy that fol-
lowed her husband's
death.
Thomasisnopolitical
novice. She has a histo-
ry of student activism
and significant election
experience, shadowing
Thomas on his many
campaign trails.
TN to send essential
items to Lanka: Stalin
Chennai (Agen-
cies): Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister MK
Stalin on Tuesday
said the government
will send rice, milk
power and life saving
drugs to crisis-hit Sri
Lanka in the first
phase. He also ap-
pealed to the people
to contribute money
for the purpose.
Stalin said with the
permission of the
BJP-led central gov-
ernment, the state
will soon send 40,000
ton of rice, 500 ton of
milk powder and life
saving drugs to Sri
Lanka caught in a se-
vere economic crisis.
He also appealed to
the people to donate
on humanitarian ba-
sis so that necessary
items can be bought
and sent to the island
nation.
Earlier, Stalin had
requested the Centre
to allow the state to
ship the essentials,
includingfoodgrains,
vegetables and medi-
cines, from the
Thoothukudi port to
the Tamils living in
Northern and East-
ern Parts of Sri Lan-
ka and Colombo.
Nadda to attend Telangana
BJP’s public meet on May 5
Hyderabad (PTI): BJP
president JP Nadda
will attend a public
meeting at Mahabub-
nagar in Telangana on
May 5 as part of the
state unit president
and MP Bandi Sanjay
Kumar’s ongoing
‘padayatra’.
BJP is organising
the ‘Janam Gosa- BJP
Bharosa’ (people’s suf-
fering — BJP’s reas-
surance) rally to mount
pressure on the Telan-
gana Rashtra Samithi
(TRS) government to-
wards implementing
its election promises
and to rebuild the state
as per the dreams of all
sections of society,
state BJP general sec-
retary G Premender
Reddy and other lead-
ers said in a statement
on Tuesday.
Sanjay Kumar began
the second phase of his
‘padayatra’ on April 14
after offering prayers
at the temple of God-
dess Jogulamba at
Alampur in Gadwal
district.
Jolt to Trinamool’s UP unit as
State chief, members resign
Lucknow (PTI): The
Uttar Pradesh unit of
the Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) suffered a
jolt after several mem-
bers, including the
state unit president,
Neeraj Rai, resigned.
Big leaders in the
Trinamool Congress do
not want the party to
expand beyond West
Bengal. The party's
committed workforce
in Uttar Pradesh is be-
ing side-lined and at-
tempts are being made
to disintegrate the state
unit, Rai told report-
ers on Tuesday
.
He, however, did not
divulge his future plans.
The infighting within
the party will hit Mama-
ta Banerjee's plan to
have a stronger pres-
ence in Uttar Pradesh
ahead of the 2024 Lok
Sabha elections.
Thepartyhadnotcon-
tested the 2022 state elec-
tions but started ground
level preparations for
the 2024 Lok Sabha elec-
tions by raising a strong
organisational setup in
Uttar Pradesh.
The mass resigna-
tions, however, seem to
have brought the party
back to where it stood
in Uttar Pradesh before
May 2021, when Mama-
ta won for the third
time in West Bengal.
Mamata's win con-
vinced the party work-
ers that she is the only
leader who can take on
the saffron might. This
emboldened Trina-
mool's workforce in Ut-
tar Pradesh as well and
it started making efforts
to gain visibility
.
Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra begins
Dehradun (Agencies):
The Char Dham yatra
began on May 3 with the
portals of Gangotri and
Yamunotri temples in
Uttarkashi district
thrown open to devotees
on the occasion of Ak-
shay Tritiya.
The gates of Gangotri
were opened at 11.15
a.m. and those of Yamu-
notri at 12.15 p.m. in the
presence of thousands
of devotees, administra-
tive and temple commit-
tee officials.
The idols of goddess-
es Ganga and Yamuna
were brought in ornate
palanquins decorated
with flowers from their
winterabodesbeforethe
vedic rituals were start-
ed by the priests to mark
the opening of the tem-
ples. A record number
of pilgrims are likely to
visit Char Dham this
year as it is for the first
time since 2019 that the
yatrahasbegunwithout
the COVID-induced
restrictions in force.
However, a daily limit
has been imposed on the
number of pilgrims vis-
iting the temples so that
they do not face any in-
convenience due to lim-
ited accommodation
available for them at the
Himalayan shrines.
The opening of Gan-
gotri and Yamunotri
marks the commence-
mentof theUttarakhand
Char Dham yatra. Ke-
darnath opens on May 6
and Badrinath on May 8.
Chief Minister Push-
kar Singh Dhami along
with his wife also visit-
ed Gangotri to offer
prayers and witness the
ceremoniousopeningof
the temple gates.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami during the opening
ceremony of the Gangotri Dham portal, in Gangotri on Tuesday.
Portals of Kedarnath
to open on May 6 and
Badrinath on May 8
JK Delimitation Commission
to submit report soon: Sources
New Delhi (Agencies):
The Delimitation Com-
mission on Jammu and
Kashmir is likely to sub-
mit its report shortly,
sources said.
The Commission’s
tenure expires on May 6
and it is likely to submit
itsreporttotheECsoon.
The Commission has
been constituted to re-
draw the Lok Sabha and
Assembly constituen-
cies of JK, and once it
submits the report, the
Election Commission
will take a call on hold-
ing Assembly elections
in the Union Territory
of JK.
The sources also said
that the govt will review
all the aspects, includ-
ing the security facets.
Officials in the gov-
ernment set up also said
that the draft electoral
roll will be published
and a ‘door-to-door’ veri-
fication of the roll will
be done and the Centre
will also discuss this in
an all-party meeting to
have their opinion.
The sources said that
elections can be held
earliest in October and
the state electoral office
would like to get them
conducted before the on-
set of winter in JK.

INDIA
06
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Officialsare
unable to figure out the
meaning of the recent
large-scale reshuffle of
Union Secretaries that
took place on Monday
.
However, Pradeep
Kumar Tripathi’s ap-
pointment (on a lateral-
shift basis) as Secretary
(Coordination) in Cabi-
net Secretariat by in-
stalling Mrs S Radha
Chauhan as new
DOPT Secretary has
triggered many stories
that also include the
take from the CSS Cad-
re. However, none of
them convincingly ex-
plains the reasons.
In addition to the HR-
related policy frame-
work, the Department
of Personnel Train-
ing (DOPT) looks after
all important transfer
postings of senior level
officers in Government
of India and is con-
cerned with Cadre
Management welfare
of 20k Central Secre-
tariat officials, the CSS
cadre version of the
change of guard in this
department may seem
interesting even though
it oversimplifies the
change of guard in the
department (DOPT).
Alargesectionof CSS
cadre looks, rather
wishes to look, at the
change with its own per-
spective. It presumes
that it is the manifesta-
tion of the continuous
embarrassment faced
by PMO and especially
MoS Dr Jitendra Singh
as all his assurances re-
gardingimmediatereso-
lution of the long-pend-
ing issues of Central
Secretariat Officers
failed to be acted upon
by the DOPT even after
clear instructions.
Further, the said
transfer is different in a
sensethatsince2014sec-
retaries posted in
DoPT served till their
superannuation and
Tripathi could also have
continued as DOPT
Secretary till June 2024.
Earlier, on February
25,2022agitatedwiththe
non-resolution of their
long pending issues of
promotion, CSS Officers
under the leadership of
CSS Forum (their um-
brella association) gath-
ered in protest in front
of the office of the Min-
isterinchargeof DoPT
at North Block. CSS Fo-
rum had then raised its
voice and claimed that
DoPT did not work on
any of the issues includ-
ing promotions of CSS
officers so far and offic-
ers were still retiring
every month bearing
huge financial losses.
Senior officials,
though, believe that
CSS Cadre’s version
might have been de-
signed to escalate pres-
sure on DOPT and its
new Secretary to fast-
track the pending is-
sues of the Cadre.
Though the guardian
minister for Personnel
Dr Jitendra Singh had
assured the Cadre to re-
solve their issues, one
should not forget that
the present regime at
the Centre has its own
way and timing to tack-
le critical issues.
Theveryview-pointof
a large section of CSS
Cadre appears to ignore
the fact that the matter
of pending promotions
has legal implications as
well and secondly
, the
timing of PK Tripathi’s
shift from DOPT to
Cabinet Secretariat i.e.
ahead of completion of
CabinetSecretary’sterm
in August this year.
DoPT change of guard looks enigmatic amid too many speculations
TWO TRIBALS ACCUSED OF KILLING COW
BEATEN TO DEATH IN MADHYA PRADESH
Seoni (PTI): Two tribal
men on Tuesday were
beaten to death after
they were allegedly as-
saulted by a group of
15-20 people over suspi-
cion of cow slaughter in
Madhya Pradesh’s Seo-
ni district, police said
on Tuesday. Another
person was also injured
in the incident.
As per the media re-
ports, the complainant
in the case and the op-
position Congress in the
BJP-ruled state have al-
leged the attackers be-
long to the Bajrang Dal.
According to officials,
over 20 people have been
booked in connection
with the incident, which
took place at Simaria
under Kurai police sta-
tion limits between 2:30
AM and 3 AM on Mon-
day, including six on
charges of murder.
Soon after the inci-
dent was reported, a
group led by Congress
legislator Arjun Singh
Kakodia started a pro-
test on the Jabalpur-
Nagpur highway
. More-
over, the Seoni Superin-
tendent of Police and
other officials visited
the protest site.
“Two tribal men have
died. It was alleged a
group of 15-20 people
went to the victims’
house, accused them of
killing a cow and as-
saulted them. The two
men died while being
taken to hospital and
another sustained mi-
nor injury. A postmor-
tem is yet to be conduct-
ed,” Additional Super-
intendent of Police SK
Maravi told media.
“A case of murder
has been registered at
the Kuarai police sta-
tion and police teams
are searching for the
accused. Some of the
accused are named and
others are unidentified.
We have taken 2-3 sus-
pects into custody.
Some 12 kilograms of
meat has been found in
the victims’ house,”
Maravi said.
In his complaint,
Brajesh Batti, who was
injured in the incident,
said the mob was hit-
ting Sampat Batti, a
resident of Sagar, and
Simaria resident Dhan-
sa with sticks when he
arrived at the spot, and
he, too, was assaulted.
During the protest,
Congress MLA Kakodia
claimed the attackers
comprised Bajrang Dal
members and called for
a ban on the right-wing
outfit. He further said
the kin of the victims
should be given Rs 1
crore each as well as
government jobs.
Meanwhile, Congress
has demanded a high-
level inquiry into the
incident and swift ac-
tionagainsttheculprits.
Taking to Twitter,
MP Congress presi-
dent Kamal Nath said,
“I demand from the
government that strict
action be taken against
the culprits by an-
nouncing a high-level
inquiry into this inci-
dent. All possible help
should be given to the
families of the victims
and arrangements for
treatment of the in-
jured man at govern-
ment expense.”
Furthermore, Kamal
Nath said the kin of the
deceased and local resi-
dents have claimed the
Bajrang Dal was in-
volved in the incident.
Complainants allege that attackers belong to the Bajrang Dal; 20 booked, say cops
Protests erupted on NH-44 after the mob-lynching incident.
SII: Covovax
now available
for kids in India
New Delhi (Agencies):
Children aged 12 to 17
years in India can now
get the Serum Institute
of India’s (SII) Covid-19
vaccine Covovax, phar-
ma company’s SEO
Adar Poonawalla an-
nounced on Tuesday
.
“Covovax (@No-
vavax), is now available
for children in India.
This is the only vaccine
manufactured in India
that is also sold in Eu-
rope and has an efficacy
of 90%,” Poonawalla
tweeted.
He also hailed Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi for his vision of
providing another vac-
cine for children.
“This is in line with
Shri @narendramodi
Ji’s vision of providing
yet another vaccine to
protect our children,”
he added.
Covovax is the sec-
ond Covid-19 vaccine
manufactured by SII,
which makes the Cov-
ishield, the dose that is
most widely used in the
country. On December
28, the DCGI had ap-
proved Covovax for
emergency use in
adults, and approved
the vaccine for emer-
gency use in those aged
12 and above in March
this year, making it the
fourth Covid vaccine
approved for emergen-
cy use in children in
this age group.
The NTAGI had re-
cently recommended
that Covovax be includ-
ed in the government’s
programme for chil-
dren aged 12 and above.
CHANGES IN
VACCINATION
POLICY: SC
DISMISSES PLEA
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court has
asked the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare Ministry to
decide on a repre-
sentation of a person
seeking modification
of COVID-19 policy
to allow voluntary
re-vaccination of
persons who have
received the Sputnik-
V vaccine and are
desirous of travelling
abroad. A bench
of Justices Chan-
drachud and Surya
Kant while refusing
to interfere with the
petition granted lib-
erty to the petitioner,
Tarun Mehta, to
move a represen-
tation before the
Ministry. The plea
stated that Mehta
was vaccinated with
Sputnik-V vaccine,
but, since it has not
been approved by
the WHO, he was un-
able to travel abroad.
Agartala (PTI):
Twenty-four Roh-
ingya immigrants
were detained in
Tripura's Unakoti
district, police
said on Tuesday
.
Acting on a tip-
off, BSF intercept-
ed three cars at
J i t u r d i g h i p a r
check-gate on
Monday evening,
they said.
They were on
the way from Ku-
marghat to Kailas-
hahar, police said.
On suspicion,
all the suspected
Rohingya immi-
grants were de-
tained and taken to
Kailashahar police
station for interro-
gation. In the
course of the inter-
rogation,threepeo-
ple showed their
refugee cards is-
sued by the UN,
SuperintendentPo-
lice Kishore Debb-
barma told media.
BSF ARREST
24 ROHINGYAS
IN TRIPURA’S
UNAKOTI DIST
Top security cover for
777 vital installations
New Delhi (ANI): As
many as 777 vital instal-
lations in India are cur-
rently under special
security cover provided
by the Central Armed
Police Forces (CAPFs),
working under the Min-
istry of Home Affairs
(MHA) and the state
governments.
As per the recently
published Annual Re-
port 2020-2021, based on
threat vulnerability,
these installations are
being guarded by Cen-
tral Armed Police Forc-
es and state forces.
The report says that
the security categoriza-
tion of vital installa-
tions has been re-
viewed, and they have
been re-categorised as
A, B, C, D and E, in
view of their threat
vulnerability and to in-
clude a wider range of
vital installations.
These vital installa-
tions include nuclear
and aerospace build-
ings, sensitive govern-
ment departments, and
power and energy set-
up among others.
Casewon’tstandincourt:Choksi’s lawyer
New Delhi (ANI): Me-
hul Choksi’s Advocate
Vijay Aggarwal on
Tuesday said that the
Central Bureau of In-
vestigation’s (CBI) fresh
case against fugitive
diamantaire and his
company Gitanjali
Gems, for allegedly de-
frauding the Industrial
Finance Corporation of
India (IFCI), will not
stand in court.
“This case may be
good for coffee table
talk, but will not stand
in the court,” Aggarwal
told media.
Further, the Advo-
cate said that in the ear-
lier cases, “not the
slightest development
has taken place in trial
and this will also go
into the storage house.”
Slamming the central
agency, Choksi’s Advo-
cate said that the finan-
cial institution should
have carried valuation
immediately after de-
fault. “Government
agencies can go up to
Antigua to kidnap the
man but they have not
checkedtheirownhouse
and have found it now.”
Fugitive Mehul Choksi
The CBI recently
registered a
fresh case
against Choksi
and his company
for allegedly
defrauding IFCI
Central Govt seeks time from
top court for filing response
PLEAS CHALLENGING SEDITION LAW
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The Centre has
sought time from the
Supreme Court to file
itsresponseonabatch
of pleas challenging
the constitutional va-
lidity of the colonial
era law on sedition.
Athree-judgebench
of CJI Ramana and
justices Surya Kant
and Hima Kohli, on
April 27, had directed
the Central govern-
ment to file the reply
saying it would com-
mence the final hear-
ing in the matter on
May 5 and would not
entertain any request
for adjournment. In
an application filed
before the court, the
Centre said while the
draft of the affidavit is
ready
, it was awaiting
confirmationfromthe
competent authority
.
The top court, in its
last order, had noted
that senior advocate
Kapil Sibal will
lead the argu-
ments from the
petitioner's
side against
the validity
o f
section 124A (sedi-
tion) of the IPC in the
matter.
Concerned over the
enormous misuse of
the penal law on sedi-
tion, the top court in
July last year had
asked the Centre why
it was not repealing
the provision used by
the British to si-
lence people like
Mahatma Gan-
dhi to suppress
the freedom
movement.
Agra (Agencies): A
seer from Ayodhya Ja-
gat Guru Paramhans
Das was stopped by po-
lice in Agra on Tuesday
.
He had announced
that he would visit the
Taj Mahal, to perform
‘shudhikaran’withman-
tras on Akshaya Tritiya.
The seer was earlier
denied entry on April 26
at the Taj Mahal for try-
ing to enter the prem-
ises with a ‘brahmdan-
da’ (a wooden stick car-
ried by Hindu seers).
Agitated with police
action, the seer has said
that while members of
other communities are
allowed inside, he was
stopped because he was
wearing saffron clothes.
“Why was I invited if
they had to insult me,”
he had said.
Meanwhile, the seer
has announced that he
would give up food and
water until he was al-
lowed to offer prayers
inside the Taj Mahal.
Seer detained in Agra, wanted
to offer prayers at Taj Mahal

BIZ BUZZ
07
Coal production rises 28% in Apr on
strong demand from power sector
New Delhi (PTI): India’s coal out-
put soared by 28% to 66.1 million
tonnes in April amid high demand
from thermal power plants as sev-
eral parts of the country grappled
with power shortage.
The overall coal production was
at 51.6 million tonnes (MT) in April
2021.
“During the month of April,
2022 India’s total coal production
stood at 661.54 lakh tons (66.1 MT),”
the coal ministry said in a state-
ment.
While Coal India Ltd (CIL) and
its subsidiaries produced 53.4 MT
of coal, production by Singareni
Colleries Company Ltd (SCCL)
stood at 5.3 MT and by captive
mines at 7.3 MT during the last
month.
According to the provisional
data of the Ministry of Coal, while
the total offtake of the coal sector
was 70.8 MT during the month, the
power sector offtake touched 61.7
MT in April. At the same time, coal
supplies to the power sector from
Coal India alone stood at 49.7 MT.
On an average, the PSU supplied
1.66 MT of coal per day to power
utilitiesinAprilwhichincreasedto
1.73 MT during last week. Avg sup-
ply per day is at par with what was
programmed by CIL for this sector
during the first quarter of FY23.
India fell short of domestic coal supply
targets to utilities by 7.6% in April, as
output from mines owned by companies
for self-use were 33% lower than required
and a shortage of trains for delivery fur-
ther exacerbated a crippling power crisis.
India faced its worst power crisis in over
six years in April as demand hit a record
high. Local supplies are crucial as coal
inventories at utilities are at the lowest
pre-summer levels in at least nine years
and electricity demand is expected to rise
at the fastest pace in nearly four decades.
India’s supply to the power sector in April
was 61.72 million tonnes, the government
said in a statement on Tuesday, 7.6% low-
er than the target of 66.8 million tonnes.
INDIA FALLS 7.6% SHORT OF
SUPPLY TARGETS
New Delhi (Agencies): India
has asked state and private
sector utilities to ensure
delivery of 19 million tonnes
of coal from overseas by end-
June, according to a power
ministry letter. The move,
which marks the first time the
world’s second-largest coal
importer is issuing timelines
for imports, can put pressure
on the global prices of coal. If
the timelines are adhered to,
the imports by the states and
private utilities over the next
five months for blending with
domestic coal will surpass
annual imports by the entities
in at least six years. The fed-
eral government has asked
state government-owned
utilities to import over 22
million tonnes of coal and
private power plants to
import 15.94 million tonnes,
the power ministry said in a
letter reviewed by Reuters.
The power ministry asked
all utilities to ensure deliv-
ery of 50% of the allocated
quantity by June 30, another
40% by end-August and the
remaining 10% by the end of
October.
INDIA SETS END-
JUNE COAL IMPORT
TARGETS
Wheat procurement down
44% on higher exports
Centre’s wheat pro-
curement declined by
44% to 162 lakh tonnes
till May 1 of the cur-
rent rabi marketing
year on higher exports
and low arrival in Pun-
jab and Haryana man-
dis, according to offi-
cial sources.
As per the latest of-
ficial data, about 162
lakh tonnes of wheat
have been purchased
by the government
agencies till May 1 of
the ongoing 2022-23
rabi marketing season
(RMS). It was 288 lakh
tonnes in 2021.
Around 14.70 lakh
farmers have benefit-
ted from the procure-
ment at the Minimum
Support Price (MSP)
value of Rs 32,633.71
crore, the data showed.
State-owned Food
Corporation of India
(FCI) and state agen-
cies undertake pro-
curement at a mini-
mum support price to
meet the requirement
under the Public Dis-
tributionSystem(PDS)
and other welfare
schemes.
The Centre has set a
target to procure re-
cord 444 lakh tonnes of
wheat in the 2022-23
marketing year as
against an all-time
high 433.44 lakh tonnes
in the previous mar-
keting year.
The fall in the gov-
ernment wheat buying
was mainly due to in-
creased private pur-
chase for the export as
well as lower crop
yields, especially in
Punjab and Haryana
because of the sudden
rise in temperature.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): India’s wheat
output looks likely to
fall in 2022 after five
consecutive years of
record harvests, as a
sharp, sudden rise in
temperatures in mid-
March cut crop yields
in the world’s second-
biggest producer of
the grain. The govern-
ment is yet to formally
revise its production
estimates, but an
official note, said the
output could fall to
105 million tonnes this
year.
HEAT WAVE
THREATENS
INDIA’S WHEAT
PLANS
LIC raises `5,627
crore from anchor
investors
New Delhi (PTI): In-
surance behemoth
LIC on Tuesday said it
has garnered a little
over `5,627 crore from
anchor investors led
primarily by domestic
institutions ahead of
its mega initial public
offering (IPO).
Anchor Investors’
(AIs) portion
(5,92,96,853 equity
shares) was sub-
scribed at `949 per eq-
uity share, the insurer
said in an early morn-
ing filing to exchang-
es.
Out of the alloca-
tion of about 5.9 crore
shares to AIs, 4.2 crore
shares (71.12%) were
allocated to 15 domes-
tic mutual funds
through 99 schemes,
the filing said.
Besides, investment
was made by some do-
mestic insurance com-
panies and pension
funds.
Some of the promi-
nent names in this cat-
egory included ICICI
Prudential Life Insur-
ance, SBI Life Insur-
ance, Kotak Mahindra
Life Insurance, PNB
Metlife Insurance, SBI
Pension Fund and UTI
Retirement Solutions
Pension Fund Scheme
among others.
Foreign participa-
tion included Govern-
ment of Singapore,
Monetary Authority
of Singapore, Govern-
ment Pension Fund
Global and BNP In-
vestment LLP.
As per the prospec-
tus, out of the 22.13
crore shares offered
for sale, 5.93 crore
shares were reserved
for anchor investors.
India's exports rise 24% to $38 billion in April
New Delhi (PTI): Led
by petroleum products,
electronic goods and
chemicals, India’s mer-
chandise exports rose
24.22% on-year in April
to $38.19 billion, pre-
liminary data released
on Tuesday showed.
A higher increase in
imports of 26.55% at
$58.26 billion, left a
wider trade deficit in
the first month of
FY23. The trade gap
was $20.07 billion as
against $15.29 billion in
the year ago period and
$18.51 billion in March
2022.
“April exports jump
24.22%, continuing the
record-breaking 2021-
22 performance, result-
ing in highest ever ex-
ports in April,” the
commerce and indus-
try ministry said in a
statement.
It said that petrole-
um products (113.21%),
electronic goods
(64.04%) and chemicals
(26.71%) led the way in
high increase in ex-
ports during April.
Imports of petrole-
um, crude and prod-
ucts rose 81.21% on-
year while those of
gold contracted almost
73% compared to 2021.
BSE smallcap, midcap indices skid up to 4% this yr
BSE smallcap and mid-
cap indices have under-
performed the bench-
mark gauge so far this
year, falling up to 4%,
with experts saying a
hawkish US Fed and
soaring inflation may
lead to more market
volatility in the near
term.
Domestic equity
markets have faced
many headwinds in re-
cent times like the
emergence of geopoliti-
cal tensions, inflation
concerns and FII sell-
ing, analysts said.
“Markets need just a
single reason to fall
when they are trading
at all-time highs. And
this year has been full
of negative surprises
like Ukraine war, re-
cord FII selling, global
economy losing its
growth momentum, in-
flationary headwinds,”
said Parth Nyati,
Founder, Tradingo.
He explained that the
smallcap and midcap
indices consist of
stocks that have char-
acteristics like high
growth, high return
and high volatility
.
“In other words, both
losses and gains are
magnified compared to
the large index. Thus,
during a market fall,
small and midcap indi-
ces underperform the
largecap index,” Nyati
added. The BSE small-
cap index has tumbled
1,095.98 points or 3.72%
so far this year, while
the midcap gauge has
lost 666.1 points or
2.66%.
In comparison, the
Sensex is down 1,277.83
points or 2.19% till May
2 this year. Stock mar-
kets were closed on
Tuesday (May 3) for
Eid.
Nonetheless, there is
no significant under-
performance by the
broader market, Nyati
said. “This under-
scores the strength of
our domestic flows.”
SENSEX DIP 2% New Delhi (PTI): Realty firm Godrej Proper-
ties on Tuesday reported a consolidated net
profit of `260.47 crore for the quarter ended in
March while its sales bookings grew by 23% to
`3,248 crore on improved housing demand de-
spite the second wave of the COVID-pandemic.
The company
had posted
a net loss of
`191.57 crore
in the year-ago
period. Total in-
come increased
to `1,522.57 crore during the January-March
quarter of the last fiscal from `576.08 crore
in the year-ago period. Mumbai-based Godrej
Properties posted a net profit of `352.37 crore
during the 2021-22 fiscal year as against a net
loss of `189.30 crore in the previous year.
GODREJ PROPERTIES FY22
PROFIT AT `352 CRORE
CUMIN PRICES SET TO TOUCH
FIVE-YEAR HIGH
New Delhi (PTI): Cumin prices are likely to soar by up to
30-35% to touch a five-year high of `165-170 per kg in the
2021-2022 crop season following a decline in production,
low acreage and damage to the crop due to excess rainfall.
Cumin appears set to take the centre stage as a sharp decline
in production in crop season 2021-22 (Nov-May) drives up
its prices to a five-year high, Crisil Research said. Crisil esti-
mates cumin prices to shoot up 30-35% to touch a five-year
high of `165-170 per kg in the Rabi season 2021-2022.
ADANI WILMAR BUYS SEVERAL
BRANDS, INCLUDING ‘KOHINOOR’
Mumbai (PTI): Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) on Tuesday an-
nounced the acquisition of several brands, including the
renowned ‘Kohinoor’ brand from McCormick Switzerland
GMBH to strengthen its leadership in food business. The
deal size was not disclosed. The acquisition would give
AWL exclusive rights over the brand ‘Kohinoor’ basmati rice
along with ‘Ready to Cook’, ‘Ready to Eat’ curries and meals
portfolio under the Kohinoor brand umbrella in India, the
company said in a statement.
AC sales hit record high in April
New Delhi (PTI):
Driven by the early ar-
rival of summer and
intense heat wave, res-
idential air condition-
er makers are looking
forward to a record
sales of around 90 lakh
units this year, said
Consumer Electronics
and Appliances Manu-
facturers Association
on Tuesday
.
Already, in April the
industry has clocked
the sale of around 17.5
lakh units, which is
also an all-time high
for the month.
However, the availa-
bility of certain prod-
ucts could be an issue
in the next couple of
months as manufac-
turers may not be in a
position to supply
their entire range of
models to meet market
demand, especially the
energy-efficient 5-star
range, due to high de-
mand and supply con-
straintsof components
such as controllers and
compressors, said Eric
Braganza, president of
CEAMA (Consumer
Electronics and Appli-
ances Manufacturers
Association).

Education guides a man to learn
and change, to adapt to survive
and thrive.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Navsari/Surendrana-
gar: Nine persons,
five of them members
of one family, were
killed and three oth-
ers injured in two
separate road acci-
dents in Gujarat on
Monday, police said.
Five members of a
family, including two
women, were killed,
while a teenage boy was
seriously injured after
their car met with an
accident on the out-
skirts of Navsari in the
evening, officials said.
The victims were re-
turning home from Su-
rat after completing
shopping for a wedding
when their car got
crushed under a ship-
ping container that fell
off a truck, they said.
The deceased includ-
ed one Praful Patel, his
wife Minakshi and
three of their close
relatives, including a
woman. A teenage boy
was rescued in critical
condition and admit-
ted to a nearby hospi-
tal, said Navsari Depu-
ty Superintendent of
Police SK Rai.
On learning about
the accident, local MLA
and state Tribal Devel-
opment Minister Nar-
esh Patel rushed to the
spot and supervised the
rescue operation.
“The Patel family of
Samroli village in
Chikhli taluka of
Navsari district had
gone to Surat for mar-
riage-related shop-
ping. When they were
returning, a shipping
container mounted on
a truck slipped and fell
on their car. While five
persons were crushed
to death, one boy was
rescued and admitted
to hospital,” Patel told
reporters.
An investigation by
the local police revealed
that the truck driver
lost control of the vehi-
cle while negotiating a
sharp curve near Dhola-
pipla village on a state
highway
.
“Due to the sharp
curve, the container on
the truck fell off and
crushed the van in
which the family was
travelling. Due to the
container’s weight, the
car got flattened. The
truck driver has been
detained for further le-
galprocedure,”saidRai.
Earlier in the day,
four people were killed
and two others griev-
ously injured when
their van collided
head-on with a bus
near Limbdi in Suren-
dranagar district, po-
lice said.
The victims were go-
ing from Rajkot to Ra-
jasthan to attend a
marriage function
when the accident took
place at around 2.30 am
near Katariya village
on the Rajkot-
Ahmedabad highway,
over 100 km from
Ahmedabad, an offi-
cial from the Limbdi
police station said.
All the four deceased,
in their 20s, were resi-
dents of Rajkot, he said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: It was his
five sixes in an over
from Sheldon Cottrell
at Sharjah during the
2020 edition of IPL
which instilled self-be-
lief in Rahul Tewatia
that he belongs at this
level, feels the legend-
ary Sunil Gavaskar.
Tewatia has been in
stellar form for Gujarat
Titans as he has won
his team multiple last-
over games with big
hits and is being con-
sidered for a place in
the Indian T20 team.
“That assault on
Sheldon Cottrell in
Sharjah gave him the
belief to do the impos-
sible and the confi-
dence that he belongs
here. We saw the impos-
sible (he did with the
bat) the other day as
well (vs RCB),”
Gavaskar said on Star
Sports.
“There’s no twitch-
ing or touching the
pads (which shows a
batter’s nervousness)
when he bats in the
death overs. He just
waits for the ball to be
delivered and plays his
shots. He’s got all the
shots in the book, but
most importantly his
temperament to stay
cool in a crisis is bril-
liant,” Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar has also
nicknamed the 28-year-
old cricketer the ‘ice-
man’ and lauded Tewa-
tia’s ability to remain
unruffled during tense
moments.
“Reason why call
him the ice-man is be-
cause he just stands
there (at the crease)
and shows no signs of
shrugs or whatever.
He’s composed, he’s an-
ticipating the deliver-
ies and knows which
shots to play. In his
mind, he’s ready that if
the ball is (landing)
there, he’s going to play
his favourite shot. And
when he middles (the
ball), it’s always a six.
That’s what makes him
the ice-man because
he’s not ruffled at all
(with the situation),”
he said.
ICE-MAN COMETH
SixesoffCottrellatSharjahinstilledself-beliefinTewatia:Gavaskar
Tewatia has been in stellar
form for GT winning his
team multiple last-over
games with big hits
Navsari family crushed by
a container on their way
back from wedding-related
shopping in Surat
Rahul Tewatia celebrates the Gujarat Titans’ win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai on April 27. —FILE PHOTO
5 of family among 9 killed in road accidents
Ahmedabad (PTI):
Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi will ad-
dress the ‘Adivasi
Satyagrah Rally’ on
May 10 in tribal-dom-
inated Dahod town of
Gujarat, where elec-
tions are scheduled
for later this year, a
party functionary
said on Tuesday
.
Tribalsaredecisivein
at least 40 of the 182 As-
semblyseatsinthestate,
including 27 which are
reserved for members
of the Scheduled Tribe
communities, said sen-
ior Congress leader Ar-
jun Modhwadia while
addressing a press con-
ference here.
Giving details about
Gandhi’s visit, former
state unit chief Bharat-
sinh Solanki said the
purpose of the rally is to
expose the ruling BJP,
make tribals aware
about their rights and
tell them how the Con-
gress will help them if
voted to power.
“We had planned to
organise this rally on
May 1, but had to post-
pone it due to some un-
foreseen circumstances.
Rahul Gandhi will ad-
dress tribals on May 10
in Dahod town. At the
rally
, Congress will reit-
erate its resolve to fight
for the rights of tribals,
who are at the receiving
end at present under
BJP rule,” Solanki told
reporters.
The Congress leader
accused the BJP of not
implementing several
pro-tribal Acts properly
,
such as MNREGA and
Forest Rights Act, and
also said the state gov-
ernment had displaced
tribals from their land
in the name of building
highways and dams.
“The Congress will
reinstate the rights of
tribals given to them by
the Constitution. Since
we are confident of win-
ning the Assembly polls,
Rahulji will share Guja-
rat Congress’ roadmap
for the overall develop-
ment of tribals during
the rally
,” said Solanki.
Notably, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
had visited Dahod on
April 20 and launched
various projects worth
Rs 22,000 crore for the
tribal region.
New Delhi (ANI): Min-
istry of Home Affairs
(MHA) has written to
all states and Union
Territories as well as
their prison authori-
ties to take steps to
prevent prisons from
becoming breeding
grounds for anti-na-
tional activities.
In the order, which
wasissuedonMondayto
ACS and Principal Sec-
retary (Home) of all
states and UTs as well as
Director-General or In-
spector General (Pris-
ons), it is directed that
the inmates should be
motivated to leave the
lifeof crimeandbecome
responsible citizens of
the nation.
Inadditiontoconduct-
ing regular inspections,
the order also suggests
taking “appropriate
measures”tostrengthen
security arrangements
and implement effective
administration in pris-
ons. The states and the
UTs have also been sug-
gested to strengthen and
improve the medical fa-
cilities in jails in such a
manner that reduces the
requirement of referral
of inmates outside the
prison complex.
It is suggested that
psychological assess-
ment of inmates should
be done by competent
medical professionals to
reduce depression in
prison inmates and pro-
videthemwithapositive
outlook in life.
The order stressed the
needfortrainingof pris-
onandcorrectionalstaff
pointing out that they
play a significant role in
the efficient manage-
ment of prisons.
It further advises that
prison staff should be
encouraged to make use
of innovative methods
for better prison admin-
istrationandalsobepro-
vided appropriate up-
skilling in this regard,
and that “non-habitual
criminals among the
prisoners should be
trained to impart train-
ing to other prisoners”.
To discourage com-
placency and corrupt
practices in prisons,
the order emphasises
that prison staff should
be rotated on a regular
basis. “Inter-Jail (and
not Intra-Jail) transfer
of Staff every two
years is considered de-
sirable,” it said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
RahulGandhitoaddress
DahodtribalsonMay10
MHAsuggestsstepsto
improveadmininprisons
Labour strike over pay
at Surat Goods Yard
costs Railways `20L
First India Bureau
Surat: A 12-hour
strike at the Goods
Yard near Surat’s
railway railway
station, where la-
bourers demand a
30 paise increase in
pay, has cost the
Railways a whop-
ping Rs20 lakh,
since six goods
trains were left
stranded and traf-
fic had to be halted.
The striking la-
bour union and rail-
way authorities at-
tempted to hold dis-
cussions on the is-
sue, but did not
come to a solution.
Labourers cur-
rently get paid
Rs2.70 per sack of
goods that they load
and unload. The
Railways agreed to
hike their pay by 5
paise per sack, but
union representa-
tives say that they
have been demand-
ing a 70 paise in-
crease in pay to Rs3
per sack for the past
three years.
“Labourers went
on strike in 2018, de-
manding a hike of
10 paise per year. At
the time, they had
been getting Rs2.60
per sack, which was
later increased to
Rs2.70. Now, they
are demanding Rs3
per sack of goods,”
an official said.
Meanwhile, the
strikers have given
the Railways a dead-
line of May 11 to ac-
cede to their de-
mands.

—FILE PHOTO

AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY,
MAY 4, 2022
ndian hand-
loom textiles
acquire a de-
gree of creativ-
ity and intrica-
cy that is unpar-
alleledandbeyondthe
grasp of contempo-
rary machines, main-
taining the country’s
tradition and culture.
Aachho Jaipur
Weaves Magic at Ra-
jasthan Handloom
Show 2022 as an exclu-
sive design develop-
ment partner.
B.D.Kalla (State
Education, Sanskrit
Education, Arts, Lit-
erature and Culture
ASIMinister)andMa-
hesh Joshi (PHED
Cabinet Minister
Govt of Ra-
j a s t h a n )
were the
c h i e f
g u e s t s
for the
s h o w
andmulti-
ple other dignitaries
of Jaipur graced the
show with their at-
tendance.
Supermodels Deep-
ti Gujral and Candice
Pinto walked the
ramp as showstop-
pers.Theorganiserof
the show and CMD of
RSHDC, Neha Giri in-
formed that 30 IAS
and IPS wives came
together on stage in
the show. These in-
cluded wives of for-
mer and present IAS
officers. The theme of
the fashion show,
‘Time Travel’ focused
on promoting sustain-
able fashion along
with the artisans,
weavers, and makers
behind textile crafts.
Aachho, one of In-
dia’s leading ethnic
wear fashion brands
basedout of Jaipur
was the design de-
velopment part-
ner for the fash-
ion show.
Launching their
capsule collec-
tions that included a
range of contempo-
rary and ethnic wear
for men, women and
children, the entire
collectionwascreated
using indigenous nat-
ural fabrics and tradi-
tional dyeing and
printing techniques.
Rimjhim Hada,
Founder and Creative
Headof Aachhobeau-
tifully designed the
entire collection with
a focus on blending
ethnic fashion tradi-
tions with modern
sensibilities. The col-
lection included eth-
nic ensembles such as
dresses, jumpsuits
and shirts in western
wear. Floral themes
and prints on Chand-
eriandcottongrabbed
the show with match-
ing purses, ac-
cessories and
shoes. The offi-
cial make-up
and hair part-
ner was Sizz-
lin Scizzors
while Diggi Palace
raised the bar high for
exceptional guest
service. The
fashion chore-
ography was
coordinat-
ed by Ab-
hishek
S i n g h
of Van-
a m o
Enter-
t a i n -
ment.
09
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thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
I
THE RAJASTHAN STATE HANDLOOM
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HELD A ONE-
OF-A-KIND FASHION SHOW IN PINK CITY, WITH
30 WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WALKING THE
RUNWAY AND SHOWCASING THEIR SPECIAL
HANDLOOM COLLECTION!
FASHION
FASHION
AGAINST TIME!
AGAINST TIME!
Top: (L-R) Ana and Netra Patel
Down: (L-R) Divyansh Tank, Aksha Khan, Priyanshi and Priya Choudhary

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
10
he Rajasthan Po-
lice personnel are
protecting the
lives of the people
by putting their
lives at risk as per
the intention of Chief
Minister Shri Ashok Ge-
hlot. Recently in Karauli, a
constable Netresh Sharma
while discharging his duty
saved 4 persons surround-
ed by fire. Sirohi constable
Labhu Singh got alert with
the help of CCTV cameras
and saved a six-year-old
minor from being raped.
Similarly, on April 24, con-
stables Ashok Kumar and
Mahesh Kumar saved 6
people from a fire that
broke out at Cine Star Tow-
er located in Vidyadhar
Nagar by risking their
lives. These examples dis-
play the sense of duty and
dedication of the police
personnel.
Chief Minister Shri
Ashok Gehlot during the
Rajasthan Police Raising
day celebrations empha-
sised that the police should
protect the life, property
and dignity of the people
keeping in mind the State
Government’s goal of pro-
viding responsive, trans-
parent and accountable
administration without
any pressure.
Rajasthan Police is
working with determina-
tion to win the trust of the
people by participating in
many innovations of peo-
ple utility and social con-
cerns including corona
management during the
corona pandemic in the
last 3 years.
The Rajasthan police
have a distinct identity
across the country for dis-
charging its duties. Imbib-
ing its motto “Trust in
common man, fear in crim-
inals’, Rajasthan police are
discharging their respon-
sibility of curbing crimes
in the State and providing
speedy justice to the weak
persons and victims with
complete dedication. At
the same time, the Ra-
jasthan police is emphasis-
ing that there should be no
injustice to any person in
any situation.
The State Government
has taken many several
steps on the initiative of
Chief Minister Shri Ashok
Gehlot to increase the ef-
ficiency and working ca-
pacity of the police along
with has taken many effec-
tive decisions towards
strengthening and mod-
ernisation of police. There
is no dearth of resources.
Reception rooms are being
constructed in all the po-
lice stations to provide a
positive ambience to re-
solve the problems of the
general public and for
their convenience. So far,
reception rooms have been
constructed in 731 police
stations. Emphasis is be-
ing laid on the immediate
investigation in the cases
of gender crimes against
women and this has re-
duced the investigation
time. In 2019, the average
time taken for investiga-
tion was 129, which now
the investigation is com-
pleted in just 79 days.
The results of the imple-
mentation of uninterrupt-
ed registration are visible.
In 2017, 33.4 per cent rape
cases were lodged through
courts, but now this num-
ber has come down to less
than half which is 16 per
cent. Cybercrimes are pos-
ing a major challenge to
the police. To deal effec-
tively with cybercrimes,
the state government in
the budget for the year
2022-2023 has decided to set
up cyber police stations in
all the districts of the state.
It has also been decided to
set up a Centre for Cyber
Security for Rs 50 crore to
prevent cybercrimes, for
the protection of digital
eco-system from cyber
threats and to create the
public awareness.
To maintain the law and
order situation and to nab
the criminals, the state
government has also de-
cided to set up 500 police
mobile units on the lines
of 108 ambulances by link-
ing dial 100 and dial 112. To
keep a close watch on inci-
dents, the number of cam-
eras attached to Abhay
Command and Control
Center is being increased
from 10,000 to 30,000. Provi-
sion is being made to make
the installation of CCTV
cameras mandatory in
large private institutions
and commercial places.
Rajasthan Police officers
and jawans played a com-
mendable role during the
lockdown in the first wave
of corona infection. The
people fighting the infec-
tion saw the human face of
the Rajasthan Police. The
policemen worked hard
round the clock to provide
food and medicines to the
common people.
The state government
has provided many facili-
ties to the police regarding
basic and scientific inves-
tigation along with has in-
creased the posts of ASI,
the opening a cyber police
station in every district,
the introducing of Mobile
Investigation Unit and en-
suring three promotions to
every policeman during
his service period.
Police are facing many
challenges at the current
time and these challenges
are going to increase in the
coming time. The police-
men will have to keep
working with more enthu-
siasm and dedication for
the safety of the citizens so
that the credibility of the
Rajasthan Police remains
high. The Rajasthan Police
would continue its identity
as the best police force in
the country by being dedi-
cated as always with the
goal of public service.
Rajasthan Police is winning
Rajasthan Police is winning
THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE
THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE
T
GOVIND PAREEK
Additional Director Publicity,
Rajasthan Police

MUMBAI
M
ere Desh ki
Dharti is an
u p c o m i n g
Hindi lan-
guage drama film that
stars Divyendu, Anu-
priyaGoenka,Inaamul-
haq and Anant Vidhaat
inpivotalroles.Talking
about their movie, the
four cast members met
Ashish Tiwari from
First India Filmy and
got candid about their
experience as an actor,
what they think about
haters and how they
deal with failures
among others.
Talking about the
film, Divyendu spoke
about how he could not
make a connection
with rural India and
this film came as an op-
portunity for the actor
to do that. “The small
details in looking at
different farms and
checking out the tiny
houses of farmers like
the ones we saw in
films, to see their work
in the fields; seeing all
of this, in reality
, was a
great experience.”
“Acting has been the
most difficult and sat-
isfying aspect of my
life. The highs and
lows of acting are
huge. When you deliv-
er a good scene, it satis-
fies you. But when you
are lonely, your acting
career challenges you
mentally a lot”, Anu-
priya quoted while
talking about her
struggles as an actor.
Inaamulhaq had
very thoughtful words
tosayabouthisfailures
and about the people
who did not believe in
him. “People laughed
at me when 10 years
ago I told them I’ll be
big in Bollywood and
there will be hoardings
of my movie. But now,
that dream has turned
into reality”, he said.
Anant Vidhaat may
have begun his career
only a few years back.
But his thought pro-
cess and positivity
looked like they came
from years of experi-
ence. “Results do make
you sad sometimes.
But instead of dwell-
ing on that, if you
think about your goal,
you will be able to go
ahead in life. Do not
struggle for the hope
of a bright future.
Struggle for your goal
and hope will come
along”, the newcomer
said about dealing
with failures in life. In
an interview that
turned into a beautiful
discussion about life
and failures, Divyen-
du, Anupriya, Inaam-
ulhaq and Anant
poured their hearts
out. Mere Desh Ki
Dharti is directed by
Faraz Haider and will
release on May 6, 2022.
Watch the entire interview
segment on First India Filmy
ADITI CHAVAN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
ADITI CHAVAN
MUMBAI
N
awazuddin
Siddiqui is a
force to reck-
on with and
his acting has proven
time and again that he
is among the best. The
actorwillsoonbeseen
in a never seen avatar
as he dons the role of
Laila for the upcom-
ing action-thriller,
Heropanti 2. Laila, a
ruthless villain with
feminine manner-
isms, is surely a very
quirky character that
Siddiqui is experi-
mentingwiththistime.
Talking to Ashish
Tiwari, the manag-
ing editor of First
India Filmy, the Sa-
cred Games actor
opened up about his
role, how he prepares
for his quirkiest
characters, his expe-
rience as a small-
town person in a glo-
riously large indus-
try and many such
more revelations.
Watch the entire interview
on First India Filmy
NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI’S
BOLDEST INTERVIEW
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
T
ara Sutaria is all over the news
these days courtesy of her recent
release Heropanti 2 with Tiger
Shroff and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
TheactressstatedthathergoalistoreachHol-
lywood as well. Tara stated, “Because when we
see ourselves, there is a void of representation
of our kind of people in films where it’s mu-
sically or acting. I do not want to stick to a
bunch of Hollywood movies but I do feel like
it would be really nice to approach that sooner
rather than later because I don’t want to regret
it much later”. —Agency
A
nurag Kashyap’s daughter
Aaliyah Kashyap spent
this weekend with the
filmmaker’s ex-wife
Kalki Koechlin. Aaliyah took
Instagram to share the
photos of her
w e e k e n d
with Kalki.
The first
picture was
a striking self-
ie of the star kid.
The next photograph
showcased Kalki’s daughter
Sappho smiling adorably
. The
third click featured Kalki
chilling in the pool with Sap-
pho. The next photograph
showcased their furry friend
sitting on a bed, which fol-
lowed another mirror selfie
by Aaliyah. Lastly, there
was a video featuring
their pet. —Agency
G
wyneth Pal-
trow opened
up about los-
ing her fa-
ther to throat can-
cer in 2002. The
Oscar-winning ac-
tress shared that
she lost her father
when she was 30
years old as she
noted that at
the time her
f a t h e r
B r u c e
Paltrow
w a s
only 58
years old. She said,
“It gets so abstract
as the years go on.
You are so far away
from the last phone
call, the last meal
you had with them,
the last embrace,
your relationship
with them is in an-
other realm. It was
not in my lexicon
of emotions. It
was so physi-
cal it felt
like it split
me open.”
—Agency
ctress Blake Lively
will take on direct-
ing duties for Sec-
onds. The 'Gossip
Girl' star will make
her directorial de-
but with an adapta-
tion of Bryan Lee
O'Malley's graphic novel,
which follows Katie
Clay, who receives the
power to fix her mis-
takes by writing
them down, eat-
ing a mushroom
and falling
asleep. Blake
has previ-
ously re-
c e ive d
two ACM Award nomina-
tions for directing and pro-
ducing her friend Taylor
Swift's music video 'I Bet
You Think About Me (Tay-
lor's Version)'.
Meanwhile, Lively's hus-
band, Ryan Reynolds, in-
sisted he doesn't want to
follow in her directorial
footsteps because he'd
rather act or pro-
duce. —Agency
ETC
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11
DIRECTORIAL DEBUT!
A
TALKS
TALKS
ABOUT LOSING
ABOUT LOSING
HER FATHER!
HER FATHER!
A
ctress Ananya
Panday’s moth-
er Bhavana
Pandey is quite
popular on social me-
dia. She enjoys a mas-
sive fan following and
every now and then, she
treats her fans with
some unseen, throw-
back family photos.
Speaking of which, on
May 02, she shared
throwback photos from
her Mexico vacation,
featuring Chunky Pan-
day, Ananya Panday,
and Rysa. In the fun
photos, Ananya can be
seen in her goofy side,
having fun with her
family during the va-
cation. Rysa and Bha-
vana can be seen hav-
ing fun in the pool.
While sharing the
photos, she wrote,
“Take me back to
Mexico !!!! #throw-
back #traveldiaries
!!! Can’t wait to travel
again.” —Agency
V
ictoria Beckham recently shared
a tribute honouring David for not
only being the best husband, but
also a great dad
to their kids. Victoria
shared two Instagram
posts where she penned
a heartfelt message for
him, she wrote, “I love
you so much @david-
beckham you are
the most incredible
husband anyone
could wish for
and I feel truly
blessed. You
are my every-
thing x I love
you so so much x happy
birthday.” Along with this
message, Victoria added
two photos of the duo from
their vacation. —Agency
SHARES
SHARES
THROWBACK
THROWBACK
PICS!
PICS!
VictoriaBeckham
VictoriaBeckham
pensatribute!
pensatribute!
AALIYAH SPENDS
TIME WITH KALKI
TARA SUTARIA
TARA SUTARIA
ON HOLLYWOOD
ON HOLLYWOOD
PLANS...
PLANS...
A
fter his stel-
lar perfor-
mance in 83,
R a n v e e r
Singh is getting
ready to entertain
his audience in his
next upcoming
Jayeshbhai Jor-
daar. Jayeshbhai
Jordaar marks the
directorial debut of
Divyang Thakkar.
In the film, Ranveer
Singh plays the tit-
ular role of Jayes-
hbhai and will ap-
pear in a never seen
avatar. The actor is
constantly promot-
ing his film around
different cities
keeping his fans up-
dated. On Monday,
Ranveer treated his
fans with some new
photographs. He
sealed his look with
bright orange
shoes. Once again
Ranveer impressed
his fans with his
sartorial pick.
Deepika Padukone
called hubby “Sun-
shine” in the com-
ment section.
—Agency
PADUKONE
REACTS TO
RANVEER'S PICS!
Blake Lively
Bhavana Pandey
Deepika Padukone
Aaliyah Kashyap
Gwyneth Paltrow
Victoria Beckham
Tara
Sutaria
ANINTERVIEWTHATTURNEDINTOATEDTALK

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