08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

MUMBAI l SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 2
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, LUCKNOW, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS)
chief Raj Thackeray has
turned into a conun-
drum for the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in
Maharashtra, with the
latter now recalibrating
itstieswiththefirebrand
leader.
Confirming this a
senior BJP leader told
First India, “We never
formally tied up with
MNS although the Shiv
Sena alleges it is our ‘C’
team, just as the Owai-
si-led AIMIM was alleg-
edly our ‘B’ team. These
assumptions are abso-
lute humbug, and we
are seriously reconsid-
ering political equa-
tions with MNS over
the potential fallout for
the BJP in Maharash-
tra.”
The BJP’s recalibra-
tion of its ties with MNS
stems from perceived po-
litical implications in
the forthcoming elec-
tionsto23municipalities
of Maharashtra, includ-
ing the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) in Mumbai.
“The BJP crossed
swords with Shiv Sena
and hopes to benefit
from the Mar-
athi Hindu
voter exodus
from the
Sena over
disillusion-
ment with its
proximity to the NCP
and Congress with
whom it has
formed the
MVA alliance
government.
In 2017, we
fought Sena for
the BMC and
won 83 seats to
their 85. If MNS
rouses public senti-
ment in its favour,
then it’s natural
that Raj Thack-
eray’s party
— r a t h e r
than the
B J P —
would at-
t r a c t
hardcore
Sena voters. This will
not help our party so,
why would we tie up
with MNS?” the BJP
leader asks.
Thackeray’s ties with
the BJP have been con-
tentious right from 2010,
when he cosied up to Un-
ion minister Nitin Gad-
kari, who was then Na-
tional BJP president. At
the time, Maharashtra
BJP leaders Vinod
Tawde and Sudhir Mun-
gantiwar had invited
Thackeray over to the
BJP office in south
Mumbai and felicitated
him. The Shiv Sena was
in alliance with the BJP
and objected to the new-
found love between BJP
and MNS, even threat-
ened to break the alli-
ance, resulting in Mun-
gantiwar and Tawde be-
ing pulled up by the BJP
high command (read LK
Advani).
Meanwhile, BJP’s
Member of Parliament
from Kesarganj in Uttar
Pradesh, Brijbhushan
Sharan Singh, on Satur-
day dared the MNS chief
to visit Ayodhya for his
scheduled Darshan of
Ram Lalla on June 5.
Singhhasvowedtonot
allow Raj Thackeray to
visit the Ram temple pil-
grimage site without
first apologizing to the
citizens of UP for past
instances when north-
Indian migrants in
Mumbai city bore the
bruntof MNS-sponsored
violence against mi-
grantsoverperceivedjob
losses to the local Mar-
athi population.
Asking not to be
named, a senior BJP
leader told First India,
“Brijbhushan Singh’s
statements were made in
his personal capacity, as
he feels the need to as-
suage the sentiments of
his parliamentary con-
stituents; it is not en-
dorsed by the party. On
the contrary, there is a
strong likelihood that
MNS chief Raj Thacker-
ay may actually be re-
ceived by UP Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
when he visits Ayodhya
for his pilgrimage.”
As if echoing this,
Singh during the course
of his public statements
Saturday, was quick to
note that he was not
aware of the UP govern-
ment’s stand on the MNS
chief’s proposed visit to
Ayodhya.
MNS IS NO BJP ALLY, WANTS SENA VOTERS JUST LIKE BJP
The BJP’s recalibration of its ties
with MNS stems from perceived
political implications in the
forthcoming elections to 23
municipalities of Maharashtra,
including the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) in
Mumbai.
Raj Thackeray’s Hindutva call may enthuse UP CM Yogi, but not Maharashtra BJP
BJP to reserve 27% poll seats for OBCs
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The launch
of First India’s inaugu-
ral edition from Mum-
bai on Saturday has
achieved the distinction
of impactful journal-
ism. Our lead story on
the lackadai-
sical efforts
of the Ma-
harashtra
g o v e r n -
ment on
e n s u r i n g
p o -
litical reservations for
the Other Backward
Castes (OBC) communi-
ties has evoked a com-
mensurate response
and reactions from po-
litical stakeholders of
the state, from across
the board.
Former Chief Minis-
ter Devendra Fadnavis
and his Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) col-
league and incumbent
state president, Chan-
drakant Patil,
have come on
record Satur-
day asserting
that their party
would ensure
27% political
reservations for
the OBC com-
munities in the
forthcoming
elections of 23
municipali-
ties in Ma-
harashtra.
He vowed to field OBC
candidates for 27% of
the seats notwithstand-
ing the Supreme Court
directions to treat these
seats as general catego-
ry constituencies.
Reacting to this, Ma-
harashtra’s Congress
state President Nana
Patole has also an-
nounced his party’s de-
cision to ensure that
more than 27% of candi-
dates from the OBC find
political representation
(de-facto reservation) in
the forth-
c o m i n g
local self-
body elections slated to
be held in the state.
Maharashtra Chief
Minister, Uddhav
Thackeray and his alli-
ance partners in the
MVA government – the
Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) and the
Congress— have also
been espousing their re-
solve to rectify the un-
derrepresentation of
the OBC communities
following the recent Su-
preme Court ruling.
Their words must trans-
late into concrete action
now.
First India urges the
state government to
commence long-over-
due census taking, post-
haste, for not only the
OBC communities but
also other segments of
the society in Maha-
rashtra. This is to en-
sure that a more scien-
tific process of col-
lating empirical
data is complet-
ed at the earli-
est and the
necessary po-
litical, social
and econom-
ic empower-
ment of all
representative commu-
nities in Maharashtra
is undertaken, as per
the principles of Indian
democracy enshrined
in the Consti-
tution of
India.
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
BJP CONCERN FOR OBCs FAKE: PATOLE
Fadnavis, Patil assure representation
for them in upcoming polls of 23
municipalities in Maharashtra
Chandrakant Patil
Devendra Fadnavis
MUMBAI | SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2022
08
2NDFRONT
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Like everything else in life,
education in the classrooms has to
adapt and change as per the times..
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India
Maharashtra’sActionPlanonClimateChange &
Badri Chatterjee
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra has paid Rs19,637
crore in compensa-
tion to victims of cli-
mate change-related in-
cidents across 35 dis-
tricts over the past six
years. The state has al-
ready reported over 400
heat-related illnesses
and 25 deaths in the cur-
rent heatwave.
With cyclones, floods,
andstormsurgeslikelyto
occur shortly after sum-
mer, the state govern-
ment has come up with
an Action Plan for Cli-
mateChangeandHuman
Health (SAPCCHH) later
this month, Dr Pradip
Awate, Maharashtra’s sur-
veillance and nodal officer
of the public health depart-
mentsaid.Thenodfromthe
government is expected in
the next 10 days.
SAPCCHH will focus on
twokeyareas:‘Surveillance
of Acute Respiratory Ill-
ness (ARI) with respect to
Air Pollution’ and ‘Surveil-
lance of Heat-Related Ill-
ness’.
Inadditiontostrengthen-
ing the healthcare system’s
capacity to reduce illnesses
caused by climate variabil-
ity
, it will also build on
health preparedness, re-
search capacity
, and re-
sponse at the regional, dis-
trict, and state levels to fill
the evidence gap on climate
impacts on human health.
Given that—according to
the National Clean Air Pro-
gramme—Maharashtrahas
the largest number of pol-
luted cities in India, the
public health department
has started the process for a
state-widesentinelmonitor-
ingandselected17hospitals
for air pollution surveil-
lance under SAPCCHH.
Dr Awate said that data
collection for ARI will
commence from these in-
stitutes in the 17 most pol-
luted cities, including
Mumbai. For this, each
hospital has designated a
nodal officer who is send-
ing daily and weekly re-
ports to the state nodal of-
ficer of the plan.
The second area of at-
tention, on which work be-
gan on March 1, is the ur-
gent issue of heat-related
disease, with heat-wave
prone districts and munic-
ipal authorities through-
out Vidarbha, Marathwa-
da, and central Maharash-
tra sub-divisions being in-
structed to develop district
heat action plans at the
earliest. District-level
training and workshops
had already taken place in
collaboration with the In-
dia Meteorological Depart-
ment, Dr Awate said.
In order to increase
stakeholder capacity and
climate awareness, SAPC-
CHH—which has a total
budget of Rs1.69 crore for
2022-23—is being devel-
oped through three co-
horts: the general people,
policymakers at various
levels, and doctors and
healthcare professionals.
SAPCCHH’s Environ-
ment Health Cell will
ensure implementa-
tion of the plan across
13 verticals: adapta-
tion plans for air pol-
lution, heat-related
illness, vector-borne,
water-borne, food-
borne diseases, those
related to nutri-
tion and allergies, cardio-
pulmonary diseases, zo-
onotic diseases, mental
health, health adaptation
for coastal regions, moun-
tainous regions, and over-
all disaster management.
Key
focus areas
will be a climate
resilient health system
with adaptation plans
for acute respiratory
and heat-related
illness
HUMAN HEALTH MAY BE A GAME CHANGER
Badri Chatterjee is the Communications & Engagement
Strategist with Asar, a research and communications start-
up that seeks to address the big environmental and social
challenges facing India.
Coal gasification is
essential: Pralhad Joshi
Nod for illegal film
shoot costs Mumbai
Uni `5 cr in revenue
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Univer-
sity of Mumbai leased
five acres of land in
the Kalina campus for
eight months at a cost
of Rs75 lakh for shoot-
ing of a feature film.
Documents available
with the RTI activist
Anil Galgali revealed
that the Vice-Chancel-
lor (VC) had given a
discount of up to 50%
on the rent following
the recommendation
of the committee in
whose name the uni-
versity is claiming to
follow the legal proce-
dure. Also eight
months parking space
has been made free.
The documents pro-
vided by the universi-
ty’s Deputy Secretary
Ashok Ghule in re-
sponse to a request
from Galgagai on the
five acres of land allot-
ted to M/s Siddhesh En-
terprises for shooting a
film revealed sketchy
financial transactions.
Earlier, the universi-
ty had taken Rs50,000
per day from the gov-
ernment for the same
space. The university
had initially proposed
daily rent of Rs1-2 lakh
but the VC-led three-
member committee
gave it for a marginal
amount.
According to Galgali,
this has cost the univer-
sity more than Rs5
crore in revenue. An
inquiry committee
should be constituted to
determine the responsi-
bility, Gagali said.
Mumbai (ANI): Un-
ion Minister for Coal
and Mines, Pralhad
Joshi on Friday
launched 20 closed
and discontinued
mines that will help
the country to in-
crease its coal supply.
“Launched 20 closed
and discontinued
mines on revenue shar-
ing for re-operationali-
sation, in presence of
Minister @raosaheb-
danve ji These mines
have an estimated re-
serve of 380 MT and
will help us further in-
crease coal supply to
TPPs while creating
employment opportu-
nities for locals,” tweet-
ed Joshi.
After the launch of
the mines here, Joshi
said, “I assure you all
that today we are doing
responsible coal min-
ing. Despite achieving
the target set by PM
Modi in the renewable
energy sector, the coun-
try will still require coal
and hence coal gasifica-
tion is essential.”
Highlighting that the
demand for power has
gone up by almost 20%
in energy terms, the
Ministry of Power on
Thursday ordered all
imported coal power
plants to operate at full
capacity.
Looking at the emer-
gency situation, the
Union Ministry direct-
ed all States and all
generating companies
based on domestic coal
to import at least 10%
of their requirement of
coal for blending.
Highlighting that the demand for power has gone up by almost 20% in energy terms, the Ministry of
Power has ordered all imported coal power plants to operate at full capacity. —FILE PHOTO
Launched 20 closed
and discontinued
mines, with a total
reserve of 380MT, for
re-operationalisation
‘India suffered due to wrong
eco policies, visionless
leadership post-1947’
Pune (PTI): Union
minister Nitin Gad-
kari on Friday said
that
due to
the “wrong economic
policies, corrupt gov-
ernance and vision-
less leadership” post-
Independence, the
country suffered
heavy losses, but
with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at
the helm, people are
now
talking
about “self-reliant,
happy, prosperous
and powerful” India.
Speaking at the in-
augural ceremony of
Jain International
Trade Organisa-
tion’s ‘JITO Connect
2022’ business meet
here, Gadkari under-
lined the need to bring
down imports and in-
crease exports.
“...We are a rich na-
tion with a poor popu-
lation. Post-1947, due
to the wrong economic
policies, bad and cor-
rupt governance and
visionless leadership,
we suffered heavy
losses. But now under
the leadership of PM
Modiji, we are talking
about ‘aatmanirb-
har’ Bharat, we are
talking about happy,
prosperous and pow-
erful India,” the Min-
ister of Road Trans-
port and Highways
said.
He added that PM
Modi promoted the
idea of ‘swadeshi’ giv-
en by Mahatma Gan-
dhi. “The thought
of ‘be Indian and buy
Indian’ should be prop-
agated,” he said.
...We are a rich nation with a poor
population. Post-1947, due to the
wrong economic policies, bad and cor-
rupt governance and visionless leadership, we
suffered heavy losses. But now under the lead-
ership of PM Modiji, we are talking about ‘aat-
manirbhar’ Bharat, we are talking about hap-
py, prosperous and powerful India
—Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways
BMC Commissioner
Iqbal Singh Chahal told
First India, “As per the
apex court order, the no-
tification will have to be
issued for elections
within 45 days thereaf-
ter, in June end or first
week of July in the
thick of the monsoon.
Conventionally, in In-
dia, elections are not
held during the rainy
season when flooding
may create obstacles to
holding free and fair
elections. In Mumbai,
for instance, a typical
flood situation requires
two to three days to dis-
sipate.”
Chahal’s assessment
(as applicable to the 22
other municipalities in
Maharashtra currently
under administrators
since 2020 in five
civic bodies and
2022 in 18 others
where elections
have been man-
d a t - e d )
would re-
quire a
review
p e t i -
t i o n
before
the SC
to again
defer elec-
tions till af-
ter the monsoon season
is over by September-
October.
Maharashtra’s minis-
ter for Public Works
Chagan Bhujbal on
Thursday said that
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
must resolve the po-
litical reserva-
tions crisis
for the OBC
communi-
t y
through a Parliamenta-
ry legislation.
However, Mahendra
Jain a senior BJP lead-
er and general secre-
tary of the BJP Trad-
ers’ Cell says, “The
MVA government is
paralysed when it
comes to making im-
portant decisions. This
is the second time the
SC has ordered the state
to conduct elections to
administrator-run mu-
nicipalities (without
OBC reservations) and,
for over a year, census-
taking has not even be-
gun in earnest.”
According to former
Union planning Com-
mission member Hari
Narke, “The Centre
filed a review petition
before the SC over a
similar order in Mad-
hya Pradesh and has
sought a stay on the or-
der till a fresh census is
completed.”
The only way to ap-
pease OBCs and circum-
vent the SC’s diktat is
for political parties to
field OBC candidates
from re-designated
posts, even though they
are designated as gen-
eral category seats.
Maharashtra BJP
president Chandrakant
Patil said that the party
would reserve 28% seats
for OBC candidates in
the upcoming polls to
ensure adequate politi-
cal representation for
the community. This
will be a tall ask at such
short notice since find-
ing winnable candi-
dates will prove to be a
daunting task.
It would have been
simpler if Maharashtra
had commenced a fresh
census of OBC commu-
nities that would have
concluded in six
months, without find-
ing itself in a political
quagmire today
.
Modi must resolve the political crisis for OBCs: Bhujbal
Mumbai to host Int’l Motor
Boat Championship
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Interna-
tional Motor Boat For-
mula-1, H2O Power
Boat World Champion-
ship will be organ-
ised in Mum-
bai this November.
This was announced
during a meeting held
at Garware Club
House, Wankhede Sta-
dium, under the chair-
manship of Sports and
Youth Welfare Minis-
ter Sunil Kedar on Fri-
day
.
Speaking on the oc-
casion,
Kedar
said that the first edi-
tion of the Interna-
tional Motor Boat For-
mula -1, H2O Power
Boat World Champion-
ship will be organized
in Mumbai on the
lines of Formu-
la-1 championships.
The competition
will be organized by
Union Internationale
Motonautique (UIM)
– H2O with the sup-
port of the state gov-
ernment.
FROM PG 1
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA
MAY 7, 2022
IMPACT
CENTRE DEFENDS
SEDITION IN SC
Submitting its written
submissions before the
Supreme Court, the Centre
maintained that there is no
need to review the validity
of the sedition law.
others are
changing
in real life
and natu-
rally so is
the depic-
tion in
reel life undergoing
a massive change.
While Bollywood
movies still may
kowtow to the shad-
ows of the stereo-
typical loving, com-
passionate,
sacrific-
ing ‘Maa’, the OTT
platforms
have
brought across to
our homes quite a
few Maa roles
which are a great
watch, throw up a
question or two and
walk a finely bal-
anced line between
the Bollywood
Maa
and the GenX Ma. I,
for one am very
pleased that the
over glorification
and oversimplific
a-
tion of mothers and
motherhood
is no
longer done on
screen, the reality
has always been dif-
ferent. A mother-
child relationship
is not perfect and
all roses but full of
conflict, confusion
and despair too.
Aarya as a strong
protective
mother
who takes up arms
and murder to pro-
tect her children
has Sushmita
Sen
in a fierce, spirited
and ambitious
role.
Murderous
twists
are a daily part of
her life but in spite
of that, as she is
thrown headlong
into conspiracy
and
death with her hus-
band’s murder, she
remains a Mother
first, foremost and
throughout.
Her
struggles
with her
daughter,
under-
standing
with the
elder son and an
uncondition
al love
with her younger
son makes the audi-
ence empathise
with her. Sushmita
brings her usual
grace to the role.
Why is Jalsa a
movie about Moth-
ers? Well, for Rohi-
ni Hattangady
as
an understandi
ng
but not rollover
mother to Vidya
Balan, for Vidya as
a single mother
trying to cope with
a specially-abl
ed
child wherein all
the trials, tribula-
tions, impatience
and fear are shown
in a sensitive moth-
er-child
relation-
ship, for Shefali
Shah as the
mother who
almost loses
everything
as
she tries to
give her
daughter
the
choices which are
her right, unshack-
led by religion and
class and for bril-
liant performance
s
by all three women.
Sakshi Tanwar
in Mai plays a
mother, who turns
a grief into revenge
as she seeks her
daughter’s
killers.
She has a husband
but takes up this
task single-hande
d-
ly. The story is not
one-track and has a
lot of unnecessary
sub-plots
and Sak-
shi, time and again
slips backwards
into the docile
housewife
from the
vengeful Mom role.
I like stories where
women go from
meek to merciless,
saree clad simple
women who don
Maa Durga’s role to
get justice for their
children.
Huma Querishi
in Leila is a woman
searching
for her
daughter Leila in a
dystopian
future
world. Set in the fic-
tional world of Ar-
yavrat, with inter-
religion discord at
the centre, Leila is a
symbol of love and
hope and the reason
Huma can go on.
The despair which
shadows her eyes
throughout
and
tinges the corners
of the lips as like
a blood
smear, is
a mother
who is living
the unbearable
ago-
ny of a lost child.
Masaba Masaba
is frankly,
here
only because
I
like the courage
of Neena Gupta
and Masaba to ac-
tually make a se-
ries on their own
lives
though
frankly their real
life is far more in-
teresting
that the
reel life.
For now, let us
celebrate
mothers
and motherhood
,
we are imperfect,
cranky, driven and
quirky and all too
human and
that is
okay…
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindiane
ws.com
M
City First greets all its readers on Mothers’ Day! We
walk forth with our principles that ALL days are Mothers
and Fathers days… and Grandparents too because
family matters! Today, we celebrate the maturing of the
eternal bond on-screen also, motherhood is not all
glory, it’s guts and conflict and a lot more...
JAIPUR, SUNDAY
MAY 8, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in
I https://firstindia.co.in/ep
apers/jaipur
I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/th
efirstindia I instagram.com/
thefirstindia
09
MOM’s
MOM’s
THE WORD!
THE WORD!
Happy Mother’s Day
P9
DAY AFTER HIGHWAY DRAMA
FRESH ARREST WARRANT FOR
BAGGA BY MOHALI COURT
This comes a day after an operation to arrest him pitted Punjab
Police against their counterparts in Delhi and Haryana and
led to a political war of words between the BJP and AAP
Mohali: A day after the
dramatic arrest and
“rescue” of Tajinder
Pal Bagga, a Mohali
court today directed
the Punjab police to ar-
rest the BJP leader and
produce him before it,
relating to a case regis-
tered against him on
the charges of making
provocative state-
ments, promoting en-
mity and for alleged
criminal intimidation.
Bagga was taken into
custody from his Delhi
home by the Punjab po-
lice in connection with
the same case on Fri-
day morning.
However, his arrest
was thwarted by the
Delhi Police.
CBI SEARCH AT
PUNJAB AAP MLA’S
PROPERTIES IN
ALLEGED 40 CRORE
FRAUD CASE
SEVEN KILLED IN COLLISION ON YAMUNA
EXPRESSWAY IN UP’S MATHURA
Sangrur: The Central
Bureau of Investigation
today
car-
ried out
searches
at the
premises
of Punjab Aam Aadmi
Party MLA Jaswant
Singh Gajjan Majra in
an alleged ₹ 40 crore
bank fraud case. Three
premises in Sangrur,
including his resi-
dence, were searched
in Punjab’s Sangrur.
At least seven people were killed when a WagonR
car collided with another vehicle on a stretch
of the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura, Uttar
Pradesh on Saturday morning. Passengers in the
car -- three men, three women and a child -- were
killed on the spot in the deadly collision, while two
others were injured, police said. UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences.
No matter one or 100 FIRs are regis-
tered against me, I will keep raising is-
sues of dishonouring of Guru Granth
Sahib and Kejriwal’s insult to Kashmiri Pan-
dits. My fight won’t end till Kejriwal apologises
—Tajinder Pal Bagga, BJP leader
7 charred to death in Indore
building blaze, nine rescued
Untrue, baseless:
ED dismisses
Xiaomi’s claims
of ‘threat’ during
forex probe
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
responded to Chinese
smartphone maker Xi-
aomi allegations that
its top executives faced
threats of “physical vi-
olence” and coercion
during questioning in
connection with forex
violation. Calling it
“untrue and baseless”,
ED said that “allegation
now made after passage
of substantial time is
an afterthought.”
ED had initiated an
investigation against
smartphone giant Xiao-
mi India under the pro-
visions of FEMA ACT.
Indore: A fire broke
out in a two-storey
building in Madhya
Pradesh’s Indore in the
early hours of Saturday
.
Seven people, includ-
ing two women were
charred to death in the
blaze and nine people
have been rescued so
far, of which five have
been hospitalised, po-
lice said.
The fire erupted due
to a short circuit in
main electric supply
system in the basement
of the building located
in Swarn Bagh colony
in Indore at around 3.10
this morning when res-
idents were asleep. The
fire then spread to two-
wheelers and vehicles
parked there, rapidly
burning down the
whole building.
The building’s owner
Ansar Patel has been
detained by the police
and a case has been reg-
istered against him for
causing death by negli-
gence.
Narendra Modi @narendramodi
The fire incident in Indore, Madhya
Pradesh is very sad. I express my
deepest condolences to the families of those
who lost their lives in this tragedy. Along with
this, I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured
XIAOMI GETS FUNDS
USE RELIEF FROM HC
Karnataka High Court on
Saturday granted temporary
relief to Xiaomi India to use
ED seized funds worth INR
5,551.27 cr for for day-to-day
activities, but the ban on any
kind of foreign payments re-
mains. The next hearing date
is scheduled for May 12.
BJP leader Tajender Bagga at his residence along with father
after being released by police, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Family members mourn their loss, in Indore on Saturday.
SC gets 2 more judges,
set to regain full strength
New Delhi: The Union
government Saturday
notified the appoint-
ment of Justice Sud-
hanshu Dhulia, Chief
Justice of Gauhati
High Court, and Jus-
tice Jamshed Burjor
Pardiwala, a judge of
the Gujarat High
Court, as judges of the
Supreme Court.
The Collegium head-
ed by Chief Justice of
India NV Ramana had
recommended their
names for appointment
on May 5. The other
members of the Colle-
gium are Justices UU
Lalit, AM Khanwilkar,
DY Chandrachud and L
Nageswara Rao.
At present, the Su-
preme Court has a
strength of 32 judges as
against a sanctioned
strength of 34 judges.
The fresh appoint-
ments will help regain
the 34-judge strength,
but two other vacan-
cies will arise soon
with Justice Vineet Sa-
ran set to retire on
May 10 and Justice
Nageswara Rao on
June 7.
One of them is Gujarat HC judge, who was critical
of state govt during Covid pandemic
Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Jamshed B Pardiwala.

NEWS
MUMBAI | SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2022
02
TAKE ACTION ON INVASION OF
CONSUMER PRIVACY: EX-MLA HEGDE
NAGPUR CONG FUNCTIONARIES
HELD FOR AGITATION AT TOLL PLAZA
ENSURE ADEQUATE GRAIN SUPPLY
AHEAD OF RAINS: PALGHAR COLLECTOR
Mumbai: Calling out food
chains and commercial
stores for asking con-
sumers for their per-
sonal details at the time of
purchase, former MLA and
Bharatiya Kamgar Sena
(BKS) Secretary, Krishna
Hegde, has written Mumbai Police Commissioner
Sanjay Pandey, asking him to “take appropriate
and corrective steps.” According to him, con-
sumers are being asked to register their mobile
numbers, names, and dates of birth.
Nagpur: Three Congress
functionaries were arrested
for holding an agitation at
Mansar Kandri toll plaza on
Nagpur-Jabalpur highway
and obstructing staffers
from carrying on their work,
on Friday. They claimed that transporters were being
subjected to extortion, said a police official. They
have been identified as corporator Bunty Shelke, Nag-
pur city Youth Congress President Tousif Khan and
Youth Congress functionary Nayan Tarwatkar. The
three have been remanded in 14-day judicial custody.
Palghar: The district
collector of Palghar in Ma-
harashtra has instructed
the local authorities to
ensure that remote villages
get stock of food grains
that will last three months
considering the possibility of these places getting
cut off during the upcoming monsoon season. Col-
lector Manik Gursal gave the instructions during
a meeting of officials on Friday aimed at taking a
stock of the monsoon preparedness. The collector
also directed the officials to carry out an inspection
of dangerous buildings and take appropriate action
to avoid any untoward incident.
Crucial Read
Crucial Read
Maharashtra
Maharashtra
MP NAVNEET RANA UNDERGOES
MRI SCAN, FULL-BODY CHECKUP
PATOLE GIVES STATEMENT IN
ILLEGAL PHONE TAPPING CASE
Mumbai: Independent MP Navneet Rana
underwent an MRI scan and a full body checkup
at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday, after
she complained of pain in the chest, neck, and
spondylitis. Mumbai’s Borivali Court issued the
release order of Navneet Rana and her husband,
Ravi, who were arrested after they declared
that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa outside
Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray’s residence.
Pune: A city police team went to Mumbai to
take the statement of Maharashtra Con-
gress Chief Nana Patole in a phone tapping
case, said a senior official on Saturday. A
case pertaining to alleged illegal tapping
of phones, including that of Patole, was
registered in Bund Garden police station in
February, where officials invoked the Indian
Telegraph Act, 1885.
Maha govt scared of Raj Thackeray: Nirupam
Cong leader deems it necessary to take action against the MNS chief for breach of conditions at his May 01 rally
First India Bureau
Pune: Senior Congress
leader P Chidambaram
on Saturday stated that
the ‘Grand Old Party’ is
going through ‘intro-
spection’, which will
throw up ‘solutions’.
In apparent reference
to ongoing rumblings
within the Congress fol-
lowing a string of elec-
toral setbacks, the for-
mer finance minister
said that the party is
“going through intro-
spection.”
“I think it (the intro-
spection) will throw up
solutions. At least you
are part of the govern-
ment in Maharashtra. It
is absolutely important
that the organization is
strengthened,” he add-
ed. In his address to lo-
cal party workers, the
senior leader also men-
tioned that it is not
enoughtohaveonlygen-
erals, major generals,
brigadiers and colonels
but also foot soldiers.
“Without the foot sol-
diers, the army is not
going to win the battle.
It is they who win the
battles,” he said.
To motivate young
people for taking active
participation, Chidam-
baram said, “If Jawaha-
rlal Nehru could hoist
the flag and move the
resolution for ‘Purna
Swaraj’ (declaration of
completeindependence)
in Lahore, and become
Congress President in
1929-30, why can’t a
40-year-old become the
district Congress com-
mittee president?”
Furthermore, he also
called out the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-led
Union government for
removing all Congress
stalwarts including
Jawaharlal Nehru, In-
dira Gandhi and Rajiv
Gandhi from history
textbooks.
“Around 50% of peo-
ple (in India) are under
the age of 25 years. If
you ask them about
Jawaharlal Nehru or In-
dira Gandhi, they do not
know. How will they
know about Rajiv Gan-
dhi or Indira Gandhi?”
he asked.
Congress going through introspection: P Chidambaram
LEADING FOR STRENGTH
lll
Amid a series
of electoral
setbacks,
former union
minister called
on youngsters
to join party
as “foot
soldiers”
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram
Issuenowa‘closedchapter’,SanjayRautsays
LOUDSPEAKER ROW
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Calling the
issue of loudspeakers a
“closed chapter”, Shiv
Sena leader Sanjay
Raut on Saturday said
that the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party should in-
stead talk about rising
inflation and unem-
ployment, which are
among the major chal-
lenges being faced by
the people.
“Prime Minister
(Narendra Modi), Fi-
nance Minister (Nir-
mala Sitharaman) and
top BJP leaders don’t
speak of the issue of
inflation and unem-
ployment. Their issues
are different. They only
speak on what police in
Punjab and Maharash-
tra are doing,” Raut
told reporters here.
The issue of loud-
speakers is a closed
chapter as attempts to
create Hindu-Muslim
divide over it have
failed, he said.
It is the Hindu com-
munity that has faced
the biggest setback as
far as the issue of loud-
speakers is concerned,
the Sena MP added.
“Attempts were made
to incite tension be-
tween Hindus and
Muslims by raising the
demand to ban loud-
speakers on mosques.
But people are wise.
The Supreme Court’s
directives on loud-
speakers are being im-
plemented. There
should be a national
policy on loudspeak-
ers,” Raut said.
No one is ready to
speak on inflation. Peo-
ple of the country are
grappling with issues
like price rise and un-
employment. But no
BJP leader is speaking
on it, the Sena’s chief
spokesperson said.
Even since Maha-
rashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) chief Raj
Thackeray demanded
the removal of loud-
speakers from mosques
in his rallies held last
month, it has become a
hot button issue in the
state and other parts of
the country. The BJP
has supported his de-
mand.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Congress
leader Sanjay Nirupam
has alleged that the
state government is
“scared” of Maharash-
tra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) chief Raj Thack-
eray and therefore is
not taking action
against him for “violat-
ing the conditions” for
his May 01 Aurangabad
rally
.
The Congress leader
demanded the arrest of
the MNS chief for the
breach, saying that it is
necessary to stop him
from flaring up the
communal tension in
the state.
He also expressed his
disappointment over
the “lack of action
against the MNS chief
by the Mumbai police.”
“The Maharashtra
police had set 16 condi-
tions for the rally in
Aurangabad, out of
which he violated 12.
There are non-bailable
warrants against Raj
Thackeray from two
courts. I do not under-
stand why the Mumbai
police are not doing
anything? The state
government appears to
be scared of Raj Thack-
eray
,” said Nirupam.
He said that there
should be legal action
against those who vio-
late the rule of law.
“I urge the govern-
ment to not be scared.
There is rule of law in
the country and Maha-
rashtra and anybody
who poses a challenge
against the law, they
should be firmly dealt
with,” he said.
Raj Thackeray had
held a rally in Aurang-
abad on May 01 and
lambasted the Uddhav
Thackeray government
on the issue of loud-
speakers. He had set a
May 03 deadline for the
removal of loudspeak-
ers from mosques. He
had also threatened
that “his party workers
would play the Hanu-
man Chalisa with dou-
ble the volume of ‘azan’
(Muslim call to prayer)
in front of mosques if
the state government
did not act within the
deadline.”
At the end of the
deadline, numerous
MNS workers were de-
tained for allegedly try-
ing to put up loudspeak-
ers outside mosques.
Notably
, a court in Parli
of Maharashtra’s Beed
district has issued a
non-bailable warrant
against Raj Thackeray
in a 2008 case for alleg-
edly making inflamma-
tory speeches. Earlier,
on May 03, a Sangli
court had issued a non-
bailable warrant
against Thackeray in
connection to another
2008 case.
Thane: (PTI): In light
of the loudspeaker row,
the MBVV (Mira Bhay-
andar Vasai Virar) po-
lice on Saturday said
they have issued over
200 licences for loud-
speakers to places of
worship within the com-
missionerate that cov-
ers parts of Thane and
Palghar districts in Ma-
harashtra. The commis-
sionerate covers Mira-
Bhayander in Thane
and Vasai-Virar in Pal-
ghar, and there are 999
places of worship in its
jurisdiction.
Of 722 temples, per-
mits have been issued 22
and licences have been
issued to 64 out of 75
mosques, while 132 ma-
drasas have been given
permission out of 202,
an official said.In all,
the police have issued
218 licences to places of
worship, he said.
Notices have been is-
sued to 105 persons un-
der section 149 of the
CRPC (prevent cogniza-
ble offence), he said,
adding that no preven-
tive action has been
takenwithrespecttothe
Hanuman Chalisa row.
First India Bureau
Pune: Workers of the
Pune unit of the Maha-
rashtra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) have threatened
to recite Hanuman
Chalisa in front of police
chowkies in the city if the
police don’t get an assur-
ance from maulavis of all
mosques in Pune about
not using loudspeakers
for azan, local leader
Hemant Sambhus has
said. The city unit has
sent a letter to the police
demanding a written
assurance from maulavis
that loudspeakers will
not be used to recite
azaan at mosques in the
city, Sambhus said. “We
are not objecting to azan,
but are opposing the use
of loudspeakers as they
create problems. We
will continue our agita-
tion against their use.
We want the police to
intervene and take assur-
ance from maulavis of all
mosques in the city. By
doing this, there won’t
be any issue related
to law and order,” he
explained. If the police
don’t take an assurance,
party workers will recite
Hanuman Chalisa in
front of police chowk-
ies, as the next stage of
protest, he added. Earlier
this week, MNS chief
Raj Thackeray had asked
his supporters to play
Hanuman Chalisa where
the loudspeakers let out
azan, keeping the state
police on alert to prevent
a law-and-order situa-
tion. Meanwhile, three
persons were booked in
two incidents of alleged
violation of noise norms
for relaying azaan from
mosques using loud-
speakers before 6am,
Mumbai police officials
said on Saturday.
WANT ASSURANCE ABOUT NOT USING
LOUDSPEAKERS FOR AZAN: MNS IN PUNE
Police personnel stand guard outside a mosque after MNS called for agitation outside mosques, at
Hajuri in Thane on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Talk about inflation and
unemployment instead,
Shiv Sena leader tells BJP
OVER 200
LOUDSPEAKER
PERMITS ISSUED,
SAY POLICE
THACKERAY CRACKS DOWN ON
LOUDSPEAKERS FOR AZAN
The Ma-
harashtra
police had
set 16 conditions
for the rally in Au-
rangabad, out of
which he violated
12. There are
non-bailable war-
rants against Raj
Thackeray from
two courts. I do
not understand
why the Mumbai
police are not do-
ing anything? The
state government
appears to be
scared of Raj
Thackeray.
—Sanjay Nirupam,
Congress leader
Raj Thackeray had held a rally in Aurangabad on
May 01 and lambasted the state government on
the issue of loudspeakers. He
had set a May 03 deadline for
the removal of loudspeakers
from mosques. He had also
threatened that “his party
workers would play the Ha-
numan Chalisa with dou-
ble the volume of ‘azan’
(Muslim call to prayer)
in front of mosques
if the state did
not act within the
deadline.”
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam
Raj Thackeray

MAHARASHTRA
03
Crucial Read
Crucial Read
MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS RI FOR SEXUALLY
ABUSING MINOR NIECE IN 2018
Thane: A special court in Thane district on Friday sentenced a 50-year-old
man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing his minor
niece. Special judge Kavita Shirbhate found the accused guilty of charges
under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act. A fine of Rs 10,000 was also imposed on him. The
crime took place in 2018, when the victim, who was 10 years old at the time,
had come down to Nerul in Navi Mumbai for studies.
Two charred to death at Pawne MIDC fire
First India Bureau
Thane: A 65-year-old
manager of a rubber
factory and an engi-
neer working there
were killed in a major
fire that broke out on
Friday at the Pawne
MIDC in Navi Mumbai.
The blaze, which took
almost 18 hours to put
out was still in the pro-
cess of cooling, chief
of the Regional Disas-
ter Management Cell
of Thane civic body,
Avinash Sawant, said
on Saturday afternoon.
“The blaze had start-
ed around 3.25 pm in
West Coast Polychem
Pvt. Ltd, a ground plus
three-storey structure
in Pawne MIDC, which
soon spread to the ad-
joining Hind Elasto-
mers, both owned by
the same person,” he
said, adding that both
the companies were in-
volved in rubber manu-
facturing.
Apart from these two
factories, one more
company was gutted in
the fire, which had also
left three other nearby
units affected, officials
had said.
Monukumar Nair
(65), manager of West
Coast Polychem and
Nikhil Pashilkar (25),
who worked as an engi-
neer died in the inci-
dent, fire officer of Ra-
bale MIDC fire station
RB Patil said.
The cause of the
fire is still being ascer-
tained.
Fire breaks out at LIC building in
suburban Mumbai; none injured
Mumbai (PTI): A fire
broke out at an office of
the Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) in
suburban Santacruz
(West) on Saturday
morning but nobody
was injured, the public
sector company said.
The fire was brought
under control after six
hours and cooling
operations were under-
way, said an official of
the Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC).
Earlier, BMC officials
had said the building
was located in the ad-
joining Vile Parle area.
As per an LIC state-
ment, fire broke out at
its ground-plus-two-sto-
rey Jeevan Seva building
on SV Road around 6.40
am. The building houses
its SSS Divisional office,
it said.
Flames were restrict-
ed to the second floor
and there were no casu-
alties, the statement
added.
As per the BMC, the
fire was brought under
control by 1.15 pm.
LIC’s data centre
which is located nearby
was safe and precaution-
ary measures had been
taken to protect its IT as-
sets, the firm said.
IPL 2022
David credits bowlers for win against GT
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Tim David,
who was adjudged as
the ‘Player of the
Match’ for his perfor-
mance against Gujarat
Titans (GT) on Friday,
credited Mumbai Indi-
ans (MI) bowlers for the
thrilling win.
Two-wicket haul by
Murugan Ashwin and
top knocks from Rohit
Sharma, Ishan Kishan,
and Tim David helped
MI script a five-run win
over GT at the Bra-
bourne Stadium.
Talking about the
win, Tim praised the
bowlers for taking
Mumbai over the line in
the nail-biting last over,
where Gujarat only
needed 9 runs off 6 balls
to win.
“Given the context,
us winning the game, it
feels great. It was a good
batting wicket, I missed
out on a few scoring op-
portunities in the last
over. Shows how well
our bowlers bowled in
the second half to get us
over the line,” David
said in the post-match
presentation.
He expressed happi-
ness as Mumbai regis-
tered the second win of
the IPL 2022 and added
that the pitch was fa-
vourable for batting.
“The wicket was
slightly two-paced. It is
about starting your in-
nings, if you get off to a
flier then you just run
with it. It is great to be
on the winning side and
tough when you are sit-
ting off the field, watch-
ing your teammates not
get the result. Try as
hard as you can in the
nets and be ready when
theopportunitycomes,”
he added.
Woman among 5 held
for terrorizing people
Only 22% increase in
STP cost in 2 yrs: BMC
First India Bureau
Thane: Police have ar-
rested five persons, in-
cluding a woman, for
allegedly terrorizing
residents of Dahisar
Mori and Thakurpada
villages in Thane dis-
trict by wielding weap-
ons like swords and
axes, an official said on
Saturday
.
Javed Salim Shaikh,
Dilawar Farid Shaikh,
Sahid Naseer Shaikh,
Saad Ahmed and Maria
Javed Khan, were
booked under various
sections of the Indian
Penal Code including
those for unlawful as-
sembly, rioting, being
armed with a deadly
weapon and voluntarily
causing hurt, and also
sections of the Arms
Act, the official said.
They were arrested
on Friday, soon after
some local residents
caught hold of them
and handed them over
to the police, he said.
There were some
more persons in the
gang and the police are
trying to nab them, an
official of Shil Daighar
police station said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Refuting the
media reports that the
cost of construction of
Sewerage Treatment
Plants (STPs) in Mum-
bai has increased by
42%, over its estimated
cost of `16,412 crore,
Brihanmumbai Munic-
ipal Corporation (BMC)
has clarified that the
cost has gone up by only
22% during the two
years of Covid-19.
BMC commissioner
IS Chahal in a
statement said that
considering last two
years of the pandemic
coupled with a sharp
increase in cement and
steel prices in the last
six months and the
uncertainty caused by
the Ukraine-Russia war
this annual increase of
11% per annum is high-
ly justified and far away
from the alleged hike of
42% as reported by cer-
tain sections of media.
The total amount has
increased from
`16,412.17 crore in 2020
to `20,065.85 crore in
April 2022 – which is a
22% increase and 11%
hike per annum as per
the lowest bids received
by the BMC.
In the case of Bhan-
dup and Versova, the
costs have actually
come down. The
Bhandup project, which
earlier was estimated
to cost `1,758.64 crore,
will now cost `1,170.00
crore. The Versova pro-
ject was estimated to
cost `1,639.81 crore, but
will now cost `1,603.81
crore.
“Between
12.15 am and
3.45 am on
Friday, the accused
moved around these
localities carrying
swords, choppers
and axes in their
hands and terroris-
ing the local resi-
dents. They banged
the doors of several
houses and threat-
ened the residents
for no valid reason,
causing widespread
panic.”
—Police official
Nagpur: Five persons
were killed while a
two-year-old girl had a
miraculous escape when
a speeding multi-utility
vehicle (MUV) rammed
into a truck from behind
in Nagpur district on late
Friday night, a police
official said. Another
person was critically in-
jured, he added. The ac-
cident occurred around
11 pm, near Vihirgaon,
when the MUV, a Tavera,
was heading towards
Nagpur from Umred, he
said. “Five occupants
of Tavera were killed on
the spot. Their identity
is yet to be established,”
said Zone IV DCP Nurool
Hasan.
FIVE DIE AS
CAR HITS
TRUCK IN
NAGPUR DISTRICT
4-YEAR-OLD GIRL
DIES AFTER IRON
GATE FALLS ON
HER IN VASAI
Palghar: A four-year-old
girl died after an iron
gate fell on her in Vasai
West area in Palghar
district, an official said.
The incident took place
in Papadi Talao area on
Thursday evening when
the deceased, identified
as Bhumika Mehere,
was playing near the
waterbody, he said.
She suffered severe
injuries and died while
undergoing treatment
in a nearby hospital. An
accidental death case
has been registered
and further probe is
underway, the official
added.
Mumbai: A special squad led by the Deputy
Commissioner of Police (DCP) in Mumbai ar-
rested a man and his wife for allegedly peddling
drugs and seized 295 grams of heroin from
their possession. A case has been registered
under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Sub-
stances Act (NDPS) Act, said Mumbai Police.
The two alleged drug peddlers were taken to
the Dahisar Police Station area in Mumbai after
the arrest.
POLICE SEIZE 295 GRAMS OF
HEROIN, TWO HELD
Mumbai: The Passenger Reservation System
(PRS) in Mumbai area will remain shut for main-
tenance on the intervening night of May 8 and 9,
a Central railway release said. PRS system is used
for reserving confirmed and waitlisted tickets for
outstation trains. The power block of PRS will
begin from 11.45 pm on May 8 and last till 4.15
am on May 9.
PASSENGER RESERVATION SYSTEM
TO REMAIN SHUT ON SUNDAY NIGHT
Mumbai Indians’ Tim David and N Tilak Varma greet each other
during the match.
Fire broke out at ground-
plus-two-storey Jeevan
Seva building on SV Road
around 6.40am.
Palghar: A truck loaded
with plastic materials
caught fire on Friday on
the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
highway, fire brigade of-
ficials in Dahanu in Palghar
district said. The fire took
place at 3 pm near Ghol toll
naka when the vehicle was
on its way to Ahmedabad
in Gujarat from Mumbai,
he said.
“Fire-tenders from Dahanu
doused the blaze. The
driver and cleaner of the
truck were unhurt as they
jumped to safety in time,”
he added.
Truck blaze doused in Dahanu; driver,cleaner unhurt
Blaze that started around 3.25 pm on
Friday was put out around 9.30 am
Maharashtra
Maharashtra

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 2
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed
and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22,
Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar,
TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi
Mumbai-400701. Published
at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of
Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Salute on the birth anniversary of
Gurudeva Rabindra Nath Tagore, the
great poet, great novelist, beacon
of literature and composer of Indian
national anthem. Your unique
contribution to world literature will
continue to inspire future generations.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Punjab was happy, is happy
and should be happy. Power was
given to you from Punjab for reform,
keep its value. Punjabis who run
Punjab with remote control from
outside will never accept this.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Give, even if you only
have a little.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
TOP TWEETS
BJP PULLS OUT
ALL STOPS TO
SAVE BAGGA
FROM PUNJAB
POLICE CLUTCHES
rrespective of the
state they belong to,
the police are wont to
flout rules either to
serve their own inter-
ests or those of the government
inpower.InJanuarythisyearthe
Delhi High Court reproached the
Uttar Pradesh police for resort-
ing to “complete forgery of docu-
ments” and “illegally arresting”
two men from Delhi. That the UP
police are not averse to resorting
to such tactics is common knowl-
edge. Now the Punjab police fol-
lowed their UP counterparts by
whiskingawayDelhiBJPspokes-
person Tajinder Singh Bagga in
a case filed against him by the
Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson
of Punjab for his comments on
Twitter and in the media. The
comments, the FIR said, amount-
ed to “criminal intimidation”.
Before Bagga could reach
Punjab, the BJP ruled Haryana
government intercepted the ve-
hicle ferrying him at Kuruk-
shetra and handed over the Pun-
jab police quarry to Delhi police
which reports to the Union
Home Ministry and set a danger-
ous precedent. Politics won over
the rule of law.
I
World Health Or-
ganisation’s re-
port on excess
Covid related
deaths in India is
nottothelikingof thegovern-
ment. Health officials are
strongly disputing the WHO
figure of 47.4 lakh excess
deaths occurring directly or
indirectly due to Covid infec-
tion. This is about ten times
higherthanthe4.8lakhdeaths
declared officially by the gov-
ernment. The official num-
bers were doubted even by
people in India who were pre-
vented from reporting Covid
cases or deaths, even shortage
of oxygen. While WHO excess
deathnumberscouldbeonthe
higher side they were, howev-
er, believed to have been much
morethanthefiguresreleased
by the government. Studies
published in Science and The
Lancet also give higher Covid
mortality numbers in India.
Most states had to revise
their data on Covid deaths
which, initially, were grossly
underreported. Even after
that exercise undertaken by
several states, the perception
that the government’s excess
death count during the Covid
years is refusing to go away
.
Chief of India’s Covid
Working Group, Dr NK Aro-
ra, dismissed the report as
“preposterous” and “worri-
some”. The government
called the methodology used
by WHO in calculating excess
deaths as flawed. But there
was a discrepancy in the
health ministry’s death fig-
ures vis-a-vis data from cre-
matoria and burial grounds
where, in some states, me-
dia’s entry was banned.
Since 2019, when three for-
mer members of the Nation-
al Statistical Commission
described the apex statistical
body as “toothless, impotent
and powerless”, government
data has been looked at with
doubt. The government was
then accused of undue influ-
ence on NSC to clear NSO
data on jobs.
ROW OVER COVID
EXCESS DEATHS
Health officials are strongly
disputing the WHO figure
of 47.4 lakh excess
deaths occurring
directly or indirectly due to
Covid infection
A
TALKING ABOUT USA DEMOCRACY,
IPL CRAZE AND MORE...
he well-known and widely
read American novelist Saul
Bellow wrote that, “Life’s es-
sential values are not quanti-
fiable”. He is grossly mistak-
en. Are truth, untruth,
prayer, wickedness, decep-
tion quantifiable. Above all
are life and death quantifia-
ble. No, these are not.
Nevertheless, without val-
ues the world would be a per-
manently nasty place. How-
ever, in large parts of the
world (and in history) values
have taken a beating. Power
and force generally take prec-
edence over values. Did the
Roman, Ottoman, Mughal,
British, French, Dutch Em-
pires run on values. They
were power mechanisms.
DEMOCRACY IN THE
USA IS UNDER ATTACK
Abraham Lincoln’s famous
twelve-line words, “Govern-
ment of the people, By the
people and For the people did
not became a visible reality
till the 1960s.
Today, democracy in the
United States of America is
under attack. That US voters
should send a businessman
called Donald Trump to the
White House is no tribute to
democracy. Nearly 2 billion
people today live in non-dem-
ocratic countries. Another 2
billion in semi-democracies.
The clarion call of the
French Revolution consisted
of 3 words, Liberty
, Equality
andFraternity
.FrancehasLib-
erty
, quasi Equality
, some Fra-
ternity
. Human beings are not
perfect, they are yet to evolve
into a near-perfect democracy
.
The Scandinavian countries
and Switzerland have almost
achieved near ideal democra-
cies. The UK too is in good
democratic company
.
What Russia has done and
doing in Ukraine is a horrify-
ing example of invasion fol-
lowed by brutality. Thou-
sands and thousands of in-
nocent people have been
killed. Russia has never been
a democracy
.
I knew EM Forster, 1879-
1970, author of “A Passage to
India”, intimately. In his es-
say, “What I believe” he lauds
democracy
. “…..it is less hate-
ful than other contemporary
forms of government, and to
that extent it deserves our
support. It does start from
the assumption that the indi-
vidual is important, and that
all types are needed to make
a civilization….and the soci-
ety which allows them most
liberty is a democracy….De-
mocracy has another merit.
It allows criticism…. That is
why I believe in the Press, de-
spite all it vulgarity and why
I believe in Parliament.”
GREAT ADMIRATION
FOR GAME OF CRICKET
I have great admiration for
the game of cricket. The high
point of my love for the game
was a brief meeting with Don
Bradman in Sydney in 1989 at
a dinner given for him by the
Australian Prime Minister.
I played for the St. Ste-
phen’s College cricket team.
My highest score was 62. The
other scores are not worth
mentioning.
Each evening my leading
passion is watching the IPL
cricket matches. Most of the
time I am on tenterhooks.
Not too many spectators in
the stadium seats or on TV
comprehend the complexi-
ties; subtleties and richness
of the game. Cricket purists
sneer at T-20 and IPL, but
they sneer in vain. IPL
matches are watched by hun-
dreds of millions of people.
Bets are instant. These run
into millions of rupees.
As a Rajasthani, I natural-
ly support the Rajasthan Roy-
als. Their captain, Sanju
Sampson, has so far not come
up with a big score, but I
think he will before it is too
late. The Rajasthan Royals
won the first IPL in 2008 un-
der the captaincy of the great
Shane Warne. He died sud-
denly a few weeks ago in
Thailand at the age of 52. He
was an all time great.
One of the great pluses of
the IPL is that it gives a
chance to young players to
display their batting, bowl-
ing and fielding skills. Other-
wise, they would have re-
mained hopeful only
.
Among the new finds are 2
outstanding youngsters- S
Gill and Abhishek Sharma.
Both stylish batsmen, hard-
hitting, leaving the fielders
helpless. The bowlers too
have to work very hard to get
them out. Both are in their
twenties and good looking
too. The biggest disappoint-
ment has been Pollard who
plays for the Mumbai team.
Bumrah too has not got too
many wickets.
Friday’s match between
Mumbai and Gujarat was an
absolute thriller. Mumbai
won by 5 runs in the final
over. I must now stop. Soon
the match between Punjab
Kings and Rajasthan Royals
will begin. This was written
on Saturday May 7.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
Among the new finds are 2
outstanding youngsters- S
Gill and Abhishek Sharma.
Both stylish batsmen,
hard-hitting, leaving the
fielders helpless. The bowlers
too have to work very hard
to get them out. Both are in
their twenties and good
looking too. The biggest
disappointment has been
Pollard who plays for the
Mumbai team. Bumrah too
has not got too many wickets
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
Abraham Lincoln’s
famous twelve-line words,
“Government of the people,
By the people and For the
people did not became a
visible reality till the 1960s.
EM Forster, 1879-1970,
author of “A Passage to India”,
in his essay, “What I believe”
he lauds democracy. “…..
it is less hateful than other
contemporary forms of govt.

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
Telegram:
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.
https://bit.ly/fiwhatsappmumbai
https://t.me/thefirstindiamumbai

05
INDIA
‘Medical report reveals
bruises on Bagga’s body’
New Delhi (PTI): The
medical examination of
BJP leader Tajinder Pal
Singh Bagga, conducted
after the Punjab Police
arrested him, has re-
vealed injury marks on
his body, the Delhi Po-
lice said on Saturday
.
The Delhi Police also
said it will make neces-
sary security arrange-
ments for the Delhi
BJP leader.
Bagga was arrested
by Punjab Police from
his home here on Fri-
day
, stopped in Haryana
while being taken to
Punjab and brought
back to the national
capital by Delhi Police
hours later.
Bagga returned to
his Janakpuri home in
the wee hours of Satur-
day after being pro-
duced before a Dwarka
court magistrate by the
Delhi Police.
He was taken from
Kurukshetra to Guru-
gram where the Dwarka
court magistrate lived.
However, he was later
takentoDDUhospitalin
Delhi for Medico-Legal-
Case (MLC) which took
a couple of hours and
finally he was produced
before the magistrate.
“The medical exami-
nation has revealed in-
jury marks on Bagga’s
body,” a senior police
official said.
Asked whether other
sections will be added
in the case, the official
said further investiga-
tion are underway
.
The police also said
necessary security ar-
rangements will me
made for Bagga.
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. —FILE PHOTO
PUNJAB HARYANA HIGH COURT ADJOURNS
HEARING IN BAGGA’S CASE TILL TUESDAY
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on
Saturday adjourned till May 10, the hearing on BJP leader
Tejinder Bagga’s case in which the police of three states
were involved. The Punjab government, in its habeas
plea, moved two applications — one for making the
Centre a party to the case and the second for direction to
Delhi and Haryana Police to preserve the CCTV cameras.
Adjourning the matter, the Bench of Justice G.S. Gill
sought a status report on or before Tuesday.
READS
crucial
crucial
MILITANT ATTACK:
COP SUCCUMBS TO
GUNSHOT INJURIES
Srinagar: A policeman
who was injured in a
militant attack earlier
today succumbed to his
injuries at SKIMS hos-
pital here on Saturday
evening. The policeman
in civvies was criti-
cally injured on Saturday
morning after militants
fired upon him near Aiwa
Bridge at Dr Ali Jan road
in Srinagar district, of-
ficials said. A top police
officer said that the cop,
Ghulam Hassan Dar was
riding his bike, possibly
on way to duty at PCR,
when militants fired upon
him this morning, leaving
him critically injured.
EX-JK MIN HARSH
DEV SINGH JOINS
AAM AADMI PARTY
Jammu: Jammu Kash-
mir National Panthers
Party (NPP) Chief and
former State Minister
Harshdev Singh joined
the Aam Aadmi Party in
New Delhi on Saturday.
He has joined AAP along
with other leaders of
NPP, including Rajesh
Pandgotra provincial
chief, Gagan Pratap
Singh, Purushottam Pari-
har and Sudesh Dogra.
Sources say that Singh,
a three-time legislator,
had met AAP leaders
in the national capital a
month ago to discuss the
modalities and plans for
joining the party.
CHAMPAWAT
BYPOLL: SP FIELDS
MANOJ BHATT
Lucknow: The Samajwadi
Party on Saturday fielded
Manoj Kumar Bhatt as
the party’s candidate
against Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Pushkar Singh
Dhami for the by-election
to the Champawat as-
sembly seat. Samajwadi
Party national secretary
and chief spokesperson
Rajendra Chaudhary, in
a statement, said party
president Akhilesh Yadav
has made Manoj Kumar
Bhatt alias Lalit Mohan
Bhatt the SP candidate
for the Champawat
constituency in the
Uttarakhand assembly
by-election.
Sourav will do
well in politics,
says Dona
Kolkata (Agencies): A
day after Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
dined at the residence of
BCCI president and for-
mer India captain
Sourav Ganguly
, a com-
ment made by the lat-
ter’swife,DonaGanguly
,
has kindled the possibil-
ity of her husband join-
ing active politics.
When asked about the
possibility of Sourav
joining active politics,
Dona said, “Guessing is
the task (job) of people.
If anything of that sort
happens, everyone will
cometoknowof that.All
I can say is that Sourav
will do well in politics
and work for the welfare
of people”.
Politics was not dis-
cussed with Amit Shah,
she added.
Dona Ganguly
COAL SCAM CASE
Warrant against TMC MP Abhishek’s wife
New Delhi (Agencies):
A Delhi court on Satur-
day issued a bailable
warrant against Rujira
Banerjee,thewifeof Tri-
namool Congress leader
AbhishekBanerjeeafter
she failed to join an En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) investigation de-
spitesummonsissuedby
the central agency in a
money laundering case
related to an alleged coal
scam in West Bengal.
Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Snigdha Sar-
variaissuedthewarrant
against Rujira, whose
husband is the nephew
of Bengal Chief Minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee.
A further hearing in
the matter will take
place on August 20. Spe-
cial public prosecutor
NiteshRanarepresented
the ED and submitted
before the court that the
accused did not appear
beforeeitherthecourtor
theprobeagencydespite
the issuance of multiple
summons.
Last month, the cou-
ple had moved the Su-
preme Court challeng-
ing the ED summons in
the case. The ED sum-
moned the couple to ap-
pear for questioning on
March 21 and 22.
Abhishek and Rujira
Banerjee had earlier
moved the Delhi High
Court against the ED
summons, contending
that since both are resi-
dents of West Bengal,
theyshouldnotbecalled
by the agency to appear
before it in New Delhi.
Rujira Banerjee
GYANVAPI MOSQUE ROW
Survey team stopped from entering premises
Janardan Misra
Varanasi: The court-
appointed survey com-
mittee could not enter
the Gyanvapi Masjid
premises on Saturday
as Muslim protestors
blocked the way while
the mosque manage-
ment committee went
to court demanding
that the court appoint-
ed commissioner, law-
yerAjayKumarMishra,
be replaced.
Civil Judge (Sr Div)
Ravi Kumar Diwakar,
who had ordered the
videographic survey,
asked both parties to
submit their objections
and listed the next hear-
ing on May 9. Police
also used mild force to
disperse the crowd gath-
ered at the mosque.
Vishnu Jain, plaintiffs’
advocate who had
sought the survey, said
the mosque committee
obstructed legal pro-
ceedings and survey
committee members
were not allowed inside
the premises. He said
this amounted to con-
tempt of court.
Those who fight
for people will get
tickets: Rahul
Hyderabad (Agen-
cies): Congress Presi-
dent Rahul Gandhi on
Saturday told the party
leaders in Telangana
that those who remain
in the midst of people
and fight for them will
get the tickets in the
next year’s Assembly
elections.
Stressing the need for
unity, he cautioned the
state leaders against
voicing their grievanc-
es before the media and
also urged them to go to
their respective constit-
uencies and work on the
ground.
Rahul was addressing
an extended meeting of
Telangana Pradesh Con-
gressCommittee(TPCC)
at Gandhi Bhavan.
Reiterating that the
coming elections will be
a direct fight between
TRS and Congress, he
made it clear that the
tickets will be given only
on the basis of merit.
“Tickets will be given
on the basis of merit.
Nobody should be un-
der any illusion. Those
who work and remain
in the midst of people,
fight for farmers, work-
ers, petty traders, and
youth will get tickets on
a merit basis,” said the
Congress MP.
“Our party is a fami-
ly. No one should feel
that he is being discrim-
inated against. You will
be rewarded for the
work. No matter how
senior a leader you are
and no matter how
many years you have
spent in the party
, if you
don’t work, you won’t
get a ticket,” he said.
Tickets will be
given on the basis
of merit. Those
who work and remain in
the midst of people, fight
for farmers, workers, petty
traders, and youth will get
tickets on a merit basis
Rahul Gandhi,
Congress MP
26th Everest feat: Nepali
climber sets new record
Kathmandu (Agen-
cies): Nepal’s legend-
ary climber Kami Rita
Sherpa, 52, claimed
the Mt Everest, the
tallest peak in the
world, for the 26th
time on Saturday to set
a new world record.
Leading a 11-rope fix-
ing team, Kami Rita
and his team reached
the summit on Satur-
day, breaking his own
previous world record,
Chhang Dawa Sherpa,
expedition manager at
Seven Summit Treks,
the organiser of the ex-
pedition, told media.
Nepali climber Kami Rita
Sherpa sets new world record.
Colombo (PTI): The
Sri Lankan govern-
ment on Saturday de-
fended imposing a state
of emergency, saying it
was required to tackle
the unprecedented eco-
nomic crisis plaguing
the country, even as
President Gotabaya Ra-
japaksa faced flak from
the Opposition and for-
eign envoys for his de-
cision which gives se-
curity forces power to
crack down on peaceful
protests.
In a special Cabinet
meeting on Friday, the
embattled president de-
clared the state of
emergency with effect
from Friday midnight.
This is the second
emergency declared in
just over a month.
The announcement
came as student activ-
ists kept the Parlia-
ment under siege since
Thursday night.
The students blocked
the main entrance to
the complex demand-
ing the resignation of
the government for its
inability to handle the
ongoing economic cri-
sis marked by shortag-
es of essentials.
In a statement on
Saturday, the Govern-
ment Information De-
partment said, “Sri
Lanka is currently fac-
ing the worst economic
crisis and political in-
stability ever after In-
dependence due to
manifold reasons both
short and long-term.
The common percep-
tion is that several re-
forms in the sectors of
political, economic and
social fabric should be
carried out in-depth to
escape from this grave
situation.”
“Priority among
them is to manage the
shortage of foreign ex-
change within the
shortest possible time
and restore the supply
of goods and services,
the statement added.
The government said
discussions are ongo-
ing with the multi-lat-
eral institutions, in-
cluding the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund,
to obtain financial as-
sistance and restruc-
ture outstanding debt.
“Political stability
and peace in society
are two major condi-
tions that are demand-
ed in building confi-
dence and strength to
make such programs a
success,” the statement
said, explaining the
need for the emergency
.
Sri Lanka is current-
ly in the throes of un-
precedented economic
turmoil since its inde-
pendence from Britain
in 1948.
LANKA GOVERNMENT DEFENDS
IMPOSITION OF EMERGENCY
The embattled president declared the state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight
MIDNIGHT ACT
BJP will form govt in JK
with its own CM: Raina
Jammu (PTI): Days af-
ter the Delimitation
Commission on Jammu
and Kashmir notified its
final report, the BJP on
Saturdayexpressedhope
that the assembly elec-
tions will be held within
the next six months and
the party will form the
governmentintheunion
territory
.
The delimitation
panel, formed in March
2020, on Thursday noti-
fied its final report giv-
ing six additional as-
sembly seats to the
Jammu region and one
to the Kashmir Valley
and bringing areas of
Rajouri and Poonch un-
der the Anantnag par-
liamentary seat.
The delimitation
commission has com-
pleted its exercise now
wait for four to six
months (for the assem-
bly elections) and you
will see the BJP form-
ing the next govern-
ment with its own chief
minister, J-K BJP presi-
dent Ravinder Raina
told reporters on the
sidelines of a function
at the party headquar-
ters here.
Congress leader Raju
Sharma, along with
scores of his support-
ers, joined the BJP in
the presence of Raina,
former deputy chief
minister Kavinder Gup-
ta and BJP general sec-
retary (organisation)
Ashok Koul.
BJP is growing very
fast with daily joining
of prominent leaders
from opposition camps
and we are moving to-
wards our mission of 50
plus seats in the next
assembly elections,
Raina said.
J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina. —FILE PHOTO
BSF repels Pak drone in
Jammu’s Arnia sector
Jammu (Agencies):
Border Security Force
(BSF) personnel on Sat-
urday evening repelled
a drone that was trying
to enter the Indian ter-
ritory from Arnia sec-
tor of Jammu by firing
bullets.
The drone was com-
ing from the side of Pa-
kistan when it was de-
tected by BSF men
standing on posts due to
its buzzing sound at
around 7.25 pm.
Deputy Inspector
General (DIG) SPS
Sandhu, Public Rela-
tions Officer (PRO) of
BSF Jammu, said, “A
drone from Pakistani
side was observed com-
ing towards Indian side
in Arnia area at 1925
hrs with a blinking
light. Hardly had it
crossed the IB that the
alert BSF troops fired
eight rounds at the
drone due to which it
returned immediately
.”
A search operation
has been launched by
the BSF troops and local
police to ensure there
was no dropping of
arms or drugs.
Drones have been
used by Pakistan
backed terror groups
and ISI for smuggling
drugs and arms inside
the Indian territory.
There have been in-
stances where the
drones had thrown her-
oin and rifles on this
side of the border.
The scene outside the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi on Saturday.
—PHOTO BY ANI

GRAND OPENING!
Union Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Information Broadcasting Anurag Thakur with Haryana CM
Manohar Lal Khattar, Sandeep Singh, and Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta at the inaugural
ceremony of 4th Khelo India Youth Games-2021 in Panchkula’s Indradhanush auditorium.
PM chairs meet on NEP,
calls for hybrid learning
New Delhi: Pushing
for the adoption of tech-
nology in delivering
formal education,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Saturday
said a hybrid system of
online and offline learn-
ing should be developed
to avoid overexposure
to technology in school-
going children. PM said
that in the two years
since its launch, the
new policy has seen
many initiatives being
unrolled to achieve the
objectives of access, eq-
uity, inclusivity, and
quality
, as laid down un-
der the policy
.
“Chaired a meeting
in which we had in-
depth discussions relat-
ing to the education sec-
tor. We are working to-
wards reforms that
would make India a
global knowledge su-
perpower,” PM tweeted.
New Delhi (PTI): De-
fence Minister Rajnath
SinghonSaturdayasked
theBorderRoadsOrgan-
isation (BRO) to develop
infrastructureatafaster
pace through the use of
technology, citing how
the Chinese side has in-
creased its presence in
the Northern sector by
carrying out construc-
tion activities in moun-
tainous areas.
Rajnath Singh also
said that the develop-
ment of border areas is
a major part of the gov-
ernment’s “compre-
hensive defence strat-
egy”, noting that it will
bolster the overall se-
curity apparatus of the
country.
In an address at an
event to celebrate the
63rd Raising Day of the
BRO, he also said that
providing maximum fa-
cilities to those guard-
ing India’s borders is
the top priority of the
government.
“The Chinese pres-
ence has increased in
the Northern sector in
the recent past. Due to
their proficiency in con-
struction in mountain-
ous areas, they manage
to reach different places
very quickly,” the de-
fence minister said.
PM MODI REVIEWS PROGRESS IN
IMPLEMENTATION OF NEP
While chairing a high-level meeting to
review the progress in the implementa-
tion of the NEP 2020, PM said the use
and promotion of technology in various
modes for education at school and higher
levels was discussed in detail. The PM’s
office said that NEP has given a big push
to online learning.
Rajnath asks BRO to
crank up border infra
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with MoS of Defence Ajay Bhatt
and Director General of BRO Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary at Seema
Sadak Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah
mosque case verdict on May 19
No delay in NEET PG
2022 exam, says Govt
Ready for peace
talks with Govt,
say Maoists
Mathura, Uttar
Pradesh: A court in Ut-
tar Pradesh’s Mathura
has reserved its verdict
in the Shri Krishna Jan-
mabhoomi-Shahi Idgah
Mosque dispute case for
May 19.
The judgment relates
to the first lawsuit in
the case, which was
filed by Lucknow resi-
dent Ranjana Agnihotri
as the next friend of
child deity Shri Krish-
na Virajman of the
Katra Keshav Dev tem-
ple and six others.
Of the three lawsuits
in this case, the second
suit was filed by Hindu
Army chief Manish Ya-
dav and the third by five
other plaintiffs through
advocate Mahendra
Pratap Singh.
The lawsuits have de-
manded the removal of
the mosque allegedly
builtonordersof Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb in
1669-70 in the 13.37-acre
premises of Katra Kes-
hav Dev temple near the
birthplace of the deity
Lord Krishna.
“As the arguments by
both sides concluded
(on Thursday), Sessions
Judge Rajeev Bharti set
May 19 for pronouncing
the judgment on the Sri
Krishna Janmabhumi
suit,” District Govern-
ment Counsel (Civil)
Sanjai Gaur said.
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry on
Saturday clarified that
the NEET PG 2022 has
not been postponed,
adding that a letter be-
ing circulated in this
regard is fake.
TheMinistrysaidthat
the fake letter is being
circulated in the name
of National Board of Ex-
aminations (NBEMS).
“The Ministry of
Health and Family Wel-
fare, Govt of India, has
directed that over five
thousand interns are
ineligible for the exams
and exams hence con-
duct of NEET PG 2022
scheduled to be held on
May 21, 2022 is to be
postponed,” reads the
letter being circulated
on social media.
Dantewada: Respond-
ing to the Chhattisgarh
government’s proposal,
the outlawed CPI(M)
has shown willingness
to hold peace talks with
the Bhupesh Baghel-led
dispensation, but also
set several conditions,
including the release of
their jailed leaders and
withdrawal of forces
from strife-torn areas.
The Delhi police, after
getting reprimanded by
the Supreme Court, has
now registered a hate
speech case relating to
the Delhi “Dharam San-
sad”. The police have
filedafreshaffidavitand
informed the top court
about it on Saturday
.
A speech at a Hindu
Yuva Vahini event in
Delhi that called for a
“Hindu Rashtra (Hindu
nation)” at all costs was
“not hate speech”, the
Delhi Police had earlier
told the Supreme Court.
At the event, Sudar-
shan News TV Chief
Editor Suresh
Chavhanke had urged
people to take an oath
and had said: “Hindu
rashtra ke liye ladenge,
marenge aur zarurat
padi toh maaarenge (We
all pledge to make this
country a Hindu nation.
We will fight for it, die
for it and, if needed.
also kill for it).”
The event was organ-
ised on December 19 last
year by the right-wing
group Hindu Yuva Va-
hini.
In the new affidavit,
the police have said that
an FIR has been filed af-
ter examining the mate-
rial, and that action will
be taken according to
the law.
After verification of
the material, an FIR
was filed on May 4 at
Okhla Industrial Area
Police Station for of-
fences under sections
153A, 295A, 298 and 34 of
the Indian Penal Code.
All the charges relate to
promoting religious en-
mity
.
SIA raids 19
locations in
JK over sale
of SIM cards
New Delhi: The Jam-
mu and Kashmir State
Investigation Agency
(SIA) on Saturday car-
ried out searches at 19
premises across Kash-
mir in connection with
11 FIRs relating to
fraudulent issue of mo-
bile SIMs their al-
leged misuse by terror-
ists, OGW associates,
narcotics smugglers
and other criminals.
Preliminary evi-
dence strongly indicat-
ed that the SIMs were
procured to help the ter-
rorists in maintaining
communication with
their handlers.
A majority of the
raids conducted on Sat-
urday were at premises
of Point of Sale (POS)
vendors who sold these
cards in violation of De-
partment of Telecom
(DoT) regulations and
in a manner that
amounts to forgery
.
After SC rap, Delhi
police makes U-turn
HATE SPEECH CASE
Sitharaman flags anonymity
factor as risk in blockchain use
Mumbai: Finance Min-
ister Nirmala Sithara-
man on Saturday
flagged anonymity as
an “inherent risk” in
blockchain technology
and called for taking
precaution in future.
The Finance Minis-
ter made it clear that
using the distributed
ledger technology
(DLT), , is “absolutely
imperative” and the
government also sup-
ports the use of same.
The minister’s re-
marks come ahead of
the launch of the budg-
etary announcement of
CBDC which is based
on the blockchain tech-
nology itself and is
billed as being similar
to the paper currency
carried in our wallets.
The more empowered the people of
border areas become, the more
aware and concerned they will be
about the security of those areas. Citizens
are the greatest power of a nation.
—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister
INDIA
06
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: The recent
activities of Suheldev
Bharatiya Samaj Party
(SBSP) chief Om-
prakash Rajbhar, an
important partner of
the SP alliance, are
hogging the limelight.
It is believed that due to
the compulsion of elec-
toral needs, Rajbhar
and BJP can reconnect
with each other by put-
ting aside their mutual
animosity.
The corridors of UP
politics were abuzz
with Rajbhar’s recent
meeting with state
transport minister
Dayashankar Singh
and Union minister
Kaushal Kishor. Al-
though Rajbhar cited
the reason for the meet-
ing as merely a formal
discussion regarding
his constituency-relat-
ed issues, he did give an
indication that all is
not well within the
SP-alliance. It is also
worth noting that after
the announcement of
the results of the UP
assembly polls, there
were speculations
about the meeting of
the SBSP chief with
the BJP’s top brass in
Delhi, speculations
which the former de-
nied categorically. Po-
litical experts believe
that Omprakash Ra-
jbhar’s party may have
won six seats after be-
ing part of the alliance
with the SP but his par-
ty’s victory percentage
decreased significantly
compared to the last
assembly elections. In
2017, SBSP contested
eight seats in alliance
with BJP and won four
seats. This time out of
18 seats, only six seats
could be won. Om
Prakash Rajbhar’s son
Arvind Rajbhar also
lost the election.
Dr Amit Kushwaha,
Professor of Political
Science at Lko Univer-
sity, says that the Ra-
jbhar community com-
prises about 4% of the
population in UP, with
a significant presence
in eastern UP. Om-
prakash Rajbhar has a
lot of influence among
these voters, and it was
due to their opposition
that the BJP had to suf-
fer losses in many dis-
tricts of Purvanchal.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) has
thrownaspannerinthe
Presidential elections
by announcing that it
will neither support a
BJP candidate, nor a
Congress nominee in
the upcoming polls.
“Our party president
and quite a few senior
leaders feel that SP
should maintain equal
distance from the BJP
and the Congress in the
Presidential elections,”
said party’s national
spokespersonRajendra
Chaudhary
. In political
circles, SP’s decision is
being seen as a clear
message to the Con-
gress to not to mess
with its internal mat-
ters. Sources said that
Akhilesh had taken a
strong exception to
Acharya Pramod
Krishnam’s recent
meeting with senior SP
MLA Mohammad
Azam Khan in jail.
While the BJP seems
to be in a comfortable
position to see its nom-
inee through in the
polls, for the Cong, the
Presidential polls will
be a major opportunity
to position itself as the
main challenger to the
saffron brigade in the
run-up to the 2024 LS
elections. For this, the
Cong would need the
support of all the BJP
rivals, and SP’s latest
stance could leave the
Cong strategists eyeing
SP votes a bit con-
cerned.Astheelectoral
college which elects the
Presidentcomprisesall
members of both Hous-
es of the Parliament
and MLAs from all the
states, SP will be a no-
ticeable player. Pres-
ently, SP and its allies
have 125 MLAs, 16
MLCs and 8 MPs.
Political twists lead to path of
friendship for SBSP and BJP
Rajbhar is reviewing gains and
losses of being in partnership
with SP in 2022 compared to
being with the BJP in 2017
SBSP chief Omprakash Rajbhar BJP MLA Daya Shankar Singh
SP THROWS A SPANNER EVEN
AS ITS ALLIES STAY UNDECIDED
FOR PREZ POLL
SP spokesperson Rajendra
Chaudhary

BIZ BUZZ
07
New Delhi (Agenceis):
India’s Central bank
would seek to keep its
stash of foreign ex-
change in excess of $600
billion to provide ade-
quate cushion through
the current commodi-
ties super-cycle, record
inflation in the West and
the Ukraine war, poten-
tially halting sell-buy
currency swap deals
hitherto used to suck
out excess rupee liquid-
ity. “The Central bank
does not want forex re-
serves to fall below $600
billion. This will show
India’s strength amid a
war,” said a top Central
bank observer.
Robust foreign ex-
change reserves are ex-
pected to burnish In-
dia’s relative appeal as
an investment destina-
tion amid the ongoing
global liquidity tight-
ening.
Foreign portfolio in-
vestors are seen exiting
the emerging markets
amid global uncertain-
ties,” said Kunal Sodha-
ni, associate vice presi-
dent, Shinhan Bank.
“Crude oil again
started rising higher
reflecting commodity
market worries with
the ongoing Russia-
Ukraine war. It is natu-
ral for the RBI to retain
strong forex reserves,
which puts India in a
better position among
global peers,” he said.
To this effect, the Re-
serve Bank of India
(RBI) is likely to stop
doing sell-buy swaps
under which the cen-
tral bank sold dollars in
the spot market at a
specified rate, only to
buy from the forwards.
A bank participating
in such an auction win-
dow is expected to re-
turn the dollars after
the contract period of-
fered by the RBI.
As the central bank
planstodiscontinuethis
tool, it has instead an-
nounceda50-basispoint
rise in the cash reserve
ratio (CRR) with effect
from May 21 to suck out
Rs 87,000 crore from the
inter-bank market as
part of itsongoinggrad-
ualliquiditywithdrawal
plan. One basis point is
a hundredth of a per-
centagepoint.CRR,now
at 4.50%, is the portion
of bank deposits kept
with the RBI earning no
interest.
India’s foreign ex-
change reserves got de-
pleted by nearly $35 bil-
lion since the Russia-
Ukraine war broke out.
Forex reserves stood at
$597 billion at the end
of April 29, as against
its record level of
$642.453 billion seen on
September 3 last year.
India’s reserves cover
nearly 12 months of im-
ports. India is the fifth
biggest holder of forex
reserves at $600 billion
with Russia holding the
fourth rank at $607 bil-
lion, show data .
RBI may aim $600 bn forex reserves
Foreign portfolio investors are seen exiting the emerging markets amid global uncertainties: Shinhan Bank
50-BASIS POINT RISE IN CRR W.E.F MAY 21
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Axis Asset Man-
agement Company on
Friday said it has sus-
pended two fund man-
agers over “potential
irregularities”. The
fund house said that it
has been conducting a
suo motu investigation
from February this
year and hired external
advisers for the same.
Chief trader and
fund manager Viresh
Joshi and assistant
fund manager Deepak
Agarwal have been re-
placed in seven
schemes of the fund
house, amid allegations
of front-running and
making illegal gains.
The Securities and Ex-
change Board of India
(Sebi) is said to be ex-
amining the matter of
potential irregularities
in the fund house.
Joshi managed five
funds, namely Axis Ar-
bitrage Fund, Axis
Banking ETF, Axis
Consumption ETF,
Axis Nifty ETF, and
Axis Technology ETF.
On the other hand,
Axis Consumption
ETF, Axis Quant Fund
and Axis Value Fund,
were managed by
Agarwal, data released
by Value Research
showed.
Front-running is a
practice of dealing in
securities on advance
information of an up-
coming transaction
that could affect its
price movement. For
this offence, Sebi typi-
cally restrains enti-
ties/individuals from
buying, selling or deal-
ing in the securities
market or associating
themselves with secu-
rities market, either
directly or indirectly,
in any manner whatso-
ever, as seen in previ-
ous matters.
Front-running is
hard to establish be-
cause it entails a fund
manager using friends
or other unrelated enti-
ties to buy stocks be-
fore the fund house
buys it for its schemes.
The fund manager can
use his or her network
to purchase stocks be-
fore the fund house
does, so that they can
personally benefit from
the price rise.
As the people who
purchase the stocks on
behalf of the fund
manager are not relat-
ed to them, it becomes
hard to establish a di-
rect link.
Pranav Haldea, man-
aging director of Prime
Database Group, says:
“It is very hard to de-
tect cases of front-run-
ning. Therefore, if
found guilty, exempla-
ry punishment can act
as a strong deterrent.
The full picture in
terms of redemptions,
outflows etc will only
be known when disclo-
sures for May are filed
at the beginning of
next month.”
Axis MF suspends two fund managers, initiates probe
As the people
who buy stocks
on behalf of the
fund manager are
not related to
them, it becomes
hard to establish
a direct link.
Mumbai: Mum-
bai: The government
will let venture capi-
tal (VC) and private eq-
uity (PE) funds take a
higher share of profit,
earn more fees and go
for a faster drawdown
of the money they re-
ceive from the state’s
fund of funds.
The fund of funds for
startups (FFS) was in-
troduced in 2016, for
contribution to vari-
ous alternative invest-
ment funds (AIFs) regis-
tered with the capital
market regulator Sebi.
The FFS, run by the
state-controlled Small
Industries Development
Bank of India (Sidbi),
has invested more than
Rs 9,400 crore in 86 AIFs.
Sidbi is the coun-
try’s largest limited
partner (LP) or investor
contributing to the capi-
tal of VC and PE funds.
In a letter dated April
29, 2022, Sidbi told AIFs
that it would allow “ac-
celerated drawdowns”
of the money committed
by the FFS while fund
managers achieve inter-
nal rate of returns (IRR)
higher than the hurdle
rate — the minimum re-
turn a fund has to clock
in before profits can be
shared between inves-
tors and fund manager.
Since AIFs often take
a long time to mobilise
capital from other inves-
tors, a quicker draw-
down of the money com-
mitted by the FFS will
enable that the deal
making capability of
AIFs is not hampered.
LIC IPO’s non-institutional
investors’ portion fully
subscribed on Day 4
New Delhi (PTI):
The portion of
LIC’s initial public
offering earmarked
for non-institution-
al investors, includ-
ing high net-worth
individuals, has
been subscribed
fully on the fourth
day on Saturday
.
Against the total
2,96,48,427 shares re-
servedforNon-Insti-
tutional Investors
(NII),3,06,73,020bids
were received re-
sulting in subscrip-
tion of 1.03 times,
according to data
posted on stock ex-
changes at 4:36 pm.
The overall issue
was subscribed 1.59
times. However, the
Qualified Institu-
tional Buyer (QIB)
portion is yet to be
fully subscribed. It
is still 0.67 per cent
of sharesearmarked
for the QIB.
Retail individual
investors bid for 9.57
crore shares as
against 6.9 crore set
aside for this seg-
ment, translating
into an oversub-
scription of 1.38
times.
Of the total,
the policy-
holders’
portion
w a s
s u b -
scribed 4.4 times,
while that for em-
ployees was sub-
scribed 3.4 times.
State-ownedLIC’s
IPO (Initial Public
Offering) will close
on May 9. The coun-
try’s biggest ever
public offer is open
for subscription on
Saturday and Sun-
day as well.
Meanwhile, LIC
in a statement said
that a fire broke out
at around 6.40 am in
the LIC’s Jeevan
Seva building, San-
tacruz in Mumbai,
which houses SSS
divisional office.
KEY POINT
To boost startup financing, Govt
offers incentives to VC, PE funds
Pune (PTI): Union
transport minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari on
Friday said the num-
ber of electric vehi-
cles in the country
will go up to 3 crore in
the next two years.
Speaking at the
launch of start-
up products incubat-
ed at Science and
Technology Park
here, Gadkari said In-
dia has the largest
pool of young talent
and there was need to
encourage these inno-
vative minds. “In
the electric scoot-
er segment, th-ere
are about 250 startups
that are working
right now and they
have really made good
scooters and all are
heavily booked,” said
Gadkari.
‘Number of
EVs in India
to reach 3 cr’
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Continuing its
selling spree for the
seventh consecutive
month, foreign portfo-
lio investors have
pulled out Rs 17,144
crore from the Indi-
an equity market in
April. In May too, the
trend remained the
same.
The recent pullout
was triggered due to
an aggressive rate
hike by the US Federal
Reserve, which is a
negative for Indian in-
vestors.
Analysts say foreign
flows are likely to re-
main volatile in the
near term amid the
high prospect of ag-
gressive rate hikes
globally and the head-
winds in terms of
higher crude prices,
and rising Inflation.
FPIs remained net
sellers for seven
months to March 2022,
withdrawing a mas-
sive net amount of Rs
1.65 lakh crore from
equities.
FPI selling extends to
8th straight month
Boeing CEO discusses Aatmanirbhar
Bharat Agenda partnership with PM
Boeing President and
CEO Dave Calhoun
called on Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi in
New Delhi on Friday to
explore wider partner-
ship and participation in
India’s Aatmanirbhar
Bharat agenda.
The Boeing leadership
is understood to have dis-
cussed investment in the
GIFT City in Gujarat.
GIFT City is being de-
veloped as a global fi-
nancial service and IT
hub. It is located on the
banks of the Sabarmati
connecting theBusiness
capital (Ahmedabad)
and Political capital
(Gandhinagar) of Guja-
rat, the Prime Minis-
ter’s home state. It is be-
ing positioned as the
new “Financial Tech-
nology Gateway of In-
dia for the World”.
Gujarat is drawing the
attention of big global
business as an invest-
ment destination. Re-
cently, the first stop of
the visiting British
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson was also Guja-
rat. BW Businessworld
and BW Defence was the
first to report recently
that Airbus is partner-
ship with Tata will be set-
ting up an aircraft as-
sembly line at Dholera in
Gujarat. This will be In-
dia’s first full spectrum
aircraft manufacturing
facility in the private sec-
tor. Forty C-295 military
transport aircraft will be
manufactured here.
Boeing boss Calhoun
highlighted “our contin-
uing efforts to strength-
en India’s growing aero-
space and defense indus-
try through our invest-
ments in engineering,
manufacturing and re-
search, and the work to
improve skills and grow
oursupplier-partnernet-
workacrossIndiaandon
a global scale”.
HDFC raises home loan
interests by 30 bps
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Mortgage lender
HDFC on Saturday
raised interest rate on
home loans by 30 basis
points, effective May 9,
following the monetary
policy committee’s de-
cision to hike bench-
mark repo rate by 40
basis points earlier this
week. The new rates
will start from 7 per
cent as against 6.7 per
cent earlier.
HDFC joins a list of
lenders, including ICI-
CI Bank, Bank of Baro-
da, RBL Bank, who have
raised interest rates
consequent to the rate
hike by MPC in an off-
cycle meeting.
“HDFC increases its
RPLR on housing loans,
on which its ARHL are
benchmarked by 30 ba-
sis points with effect
from May 9, 2022”, the
lender said in a state-
ment. The mortgage
lender had raised inter-
est rates on home loans
last week as well, but
only for its existing bor-
rowers, by 5 basis
points. So, for existing
customers, the interest
rate on home loans will
go up by 35 basis points.
New Delhi (PTI): State-
run SJVNLtd hasbagged
a 90 MW floating solar
project worth Rs 585
crore at Omkareshwar,
in Madhya Pradesh.
SJVN has bagged 90 MW
Floating Solar Project at
the rate of Rs 3.26/Unit
on Build Own and Oper-
ate basis in a tender float-
ed by REWA Ultra Mega
Solar Ltd (RUMSL),
Nand Lal Sharma, Chair-
man Managing Direc-
tor, SJVN said in a state-
ment. SJVN will develop
this project in the coun-
try’s largest floating so-
larparkatOmkareshwar
in Khandwa District of
Madhya Pradesh.
SJVN bags 90
MW floating
solar project
New Delhi (PTI):
Public sector In-
dian Bank has un-
veiled digital bro-
king solution — E-
Broking — allow-
ing customers to
open a demat and
trading account
facility, in line
with the digitali-
sation mission of
the bank, an offi-
cial said on Satur-
day. The launch of
digital broking
solution ‘E-Brok-
ing’ was a strate-
gic step towards
complete digitali-
sation of its offer-
ings to customers,
a bank statement
said. “E-Broking,
an instant and
paper-less demat
and trading ac-
count opening is
integrated in the
bank’s mobile
banking applica-
tion,” it said. In-
dOASIS, the ba-
nk’s mobile bank-
ing application,
would offer cus-
tomers, a seam-
less experience
from demat and
trading account
opening to dis-
counted broking
services bac-ked
by research based
investment in the
secondary market
starting from eq-
uity, futures, op-
tions, and initial
public offerings
in a single plat-
form, it said.
Indian Bank
unveils digital
broking
solution
Boeing President CEO Dave Calhoun with PM Narendra Modi.

08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

Similar to 08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (16)

08052022_First India_Mumbai.pdf