10022022 first india lucknow

Lucknow: The battle
for Uttar Pradesh will
beginonThursdaywith
polling scheduled to
take place in 58 assem-
bly seats spread across
11 districts in the west-
ern part of the state.
The polling will start
at 7 am in these con-
stituencies according
to the guidelines of the
Election Commission
to ensure Covid-safe
polls. The voting will
end at 6 pm.
The canvassing for
the first phase re-
mained confined to the
virtual medium due to
a ban on road shows
and physical rallies in
the wake of the corona-
virus pandemic.
Leading the cam-
paign for the BJP,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi pitched for a
double-engine govern-
ment for fast-paced de-
velopment while at-
tacking the Samajwadi
Party-Rashtriya Lok
Dal (RLD) combine.
While Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
and UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath tried
to put the spotlight
back on alleged “exo-
dus” of Hindus from
Kairana before 2017,
SP president Akhilesh
Yadav claimed that
people have made up
their mind to vote out
the BJP from power.
The SP-RLD alli-
ance has centred their
electioneering on
farmers’ issues and
has attacked Adity-
anath over poll prom-
ises. BSP chief
Mayawati, who started
campaigning late, re-
minded people of her
government’s track
record on law and or-
der in the past.
The Congress under
the leadership of its
general secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
has generated interest
as seen in door-to-door
campaigns.
As many as 623 can-
didates are in the fray
in the first phase and
around 2.27 crore peo-
ple are eligible to vote
in this phase.
In 2017, the BJP
bagged 53 of the 58
seats, while the Sama-
jwadi Party and the
BSP had got two seats
each. One seat had
gone to the Rashtriya
Lok Dal. —PTI
Today it begins, lock, stock and barrel
BALLOT BATTLE
IRSS AMIT SINGH
IS NEW SECRETARY
TO CM
Lucknow: Amit Singh
of Indian Railways
Store Services (IRSS)
2000 batch has been
named as Secretary
to Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath. Singh was
till now Special Secretary
to the Chief Minister.
Singh is considered to
be a trusted officer of
CM Yogi Adityanath. He
was Regional Passport
Officer in 2016 and has
held posts of CPRO and
Secretary GM of NER
Railways in Gorakhpur.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Congress
general secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Wednesday accused the
BJP of copy-pasting the
pledges made by her
party in their Uttar
Pradesh poll manifesto
which she termed as
“dhokha patra”.
“The BJP should
name its ‘Ghoshna
Patra’ as ‘Dhokha
patra’. The BJP, which
used the talk about past
70 years, could not fulfil
even one-fourth of the
promises made in its
manifesto in the past
five years,” Priyanka
said in a tweet in Hindi.
“It (manifesto) neither
has the account of the
work of five years, nor
has the vision of build-
ing the future. That is
why, it (BJP) has copy-
pasted the pledges of
Congress,” she added.
Priyanka launched
the Congress mani-
festo ‘Unnati Vidhan
Jan Ghoshna
Patra-2022’ for Uttar
Pradesh on Wednes-
day, about
which she
said, “The
C o n g re s s
party be-
lieves that the people of
Uttar Pradesh deserve a
government that puts
the development and
well-being of people at
the center of its agenda.
The people of the state
need such a political
system that can bring
positive changes
in their lives.”
“Cases filed
against jour-
nalists will
be abolished and those
who are lodged in jail il-
legally will be released.
Five additional seats
will be added to the Leg-
islative Council for
groups such as crafts-
men, weavers, farmers
andex-servicemen,”she
said. She said that all
suggestions for the man-
ifesto have been taken
from the people of Uttar
Pradesh. —More on P3
BJP ‘copy-pasted’ Cong’s UP manifesto: Priyanka
CONGRESS RELEASES MANIFESTO
Polling officials at a polling station at Kamla Nehru Nagar,
Ghaziabad, on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY PTI
Polling officials leaving for polling booths in Mathura on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Polling officials check EVMs and other election material at a
distribution centre in Meerut on Wednesday.
Polling officials leave for booths
in Mathura on Wednesday.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speaking at the
release of Congress Manifesto for UP
assembly election at party headquarters
in Lucknow on Wednesday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
LUCKNOW l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 90
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23-yr-old Kerala trekker Babu was trapped in a ‘fault-
line’ or crevice on a hill at Palakkad district of Kerala.
However, the trekker was finally rescued by Army. The
specialised mountaineering unit of the Army rescued
him from the deep forests of the Palakkad Gap.
The Sensex closed 533 points higher at 61,150 on
Wednesday. The Nifty too rose 156 points to close at
18,212. Mahindra and Mahindra, which gained 4.6%,
Bharti Airtel (3.7%) and Reliance Industries (2.7%)
were among the top gainers in the market.
ARMY RESCUES
KERALA
TREKKER,
STUCK ON HILL
SENSEX
CROSSES 61K
MARK AGAIN,
NIFTY AT 18,212
CORONA CATASTROPHE
DELHI UNIVERSITY TO
REOPEN ON FEB 17
The University of Delhi will reopen
its gates for physical classes on
February 17, said Prof Rajni Abbi,
DU Proctor. The decision came af-
ter the academic council meeting.
As per the order, those coming to
Delhi from outstations will have to
quarantine for three days.
Uttar Pradesh Lucknow
NEW
CASES
424
NEW
CASES
2,127 NEW
DEATHS
16
KARNATKA HIJAB CONUNDRUM
JAT BELT VOTES TODAY TO DECIDE
FATEOF9BJPMINISTERS
MinisterSureshRanafacestheheatinThanaBhawanseat
In the 2007 Assembly
elections, the BJP had swept
the region riding on the
overwhelming support of Jats, but
they are now upset
This phase of polling is
crucial as it includes several
constituencies where the farmers’
agitation has led to anger against
incumbents
1 2
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: The first
phase of polls in Uttar
Pradesh on Thursday
will decide the fate of
nine ministers in the
Yogi government.
The 58 seats in the
Jat-dominated western
region would also de-
cide the future of Rash-
triya Lok Dal (RLD)
leader Jayant Chaud-
hary, who has joined
hands with the SP.
In the 2017 Assembly
polls, the BJP had swept
the region riding on the
overwhelming support
of the Jats, the upper
castes and non-Yadav
OBCs and division in
the Muslim votes.
This phase of polling
is extremely crucial
since it includes dis-
tricts in western UP
where candidates in
several constituencies
are facing hostile vot-
ers, mainly due to the
farmers’ agitation.
Bengaluru: A single-
judge bench of the Kar-
nataka High Court on
Wednesday decided to
refer a batch of peti-
tions questioning a ban
on the use of hijab or
headscarf by Muslim
girls in a few pre-univer-
sity colleges in the state
to a larger bench of the
court on account of the
issues raised in the peti-
tions involving larger
constitutional issues.
Meanwhile, the Ben-
galuru Police issued an
order saying that gath-
erings and protests will
be banned near educa-
tional institutions in
the city for two weeks,
i.e., till February 22.
Over 25K Indians ended lives due
to unemployment, indebtedness
in 2018-2020, Govt in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: The Union
government on Wednes-
day informed the Rajya
Sabha that more than
25,000 Indians died by
suicide due to either un-
employment or indebt-
edness between 2018 and
2020.
As many as 9,140 peo-
plediedbysuicidedueto
unemployment and
16,091 people due to
bankruptcy or indebted-
ness during the time pe-
riod, the government
told the upper house.
The information was
provided by MoS
(Home) Nityanand Rai
in Rajya Sabha. Rai said
that the government fig-
ures are based on data
providedbytheNational
Crime Records Bureau.
According to the data,
suicides among the un-
employed have been in-
creasingandtouchedthe
highest(3,548)inthepan-
demic year of 2020.
While 2,741 ended life
due to unemployment in
2018, 2,851 did so in 2019.
HC refers case
to larger bench
AMIT SHAH VOWS TO MAKE GOA
‘AATMANIRBHAR’, SLAMS CONG
Panaji: Ahead of
Goa Assembly
polls, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
slammed the Con-
gress for their governance
of ‘instability and anarchy’
when they were in power
in the state, assuring that
the BJP make the state
‘golden’, ‘prosperous’ and
‘Aatma-nirbhar’.
“Today I want to
remember the late
Manohar Parrikar
ji. He had dedi-
cated his entire life for the
development of Goa. In
next five years, apart from
stability and development,
we will also make Goa
‘Aatma-nirbhar’.
 Ahead of the first
phase of voting in Uttar
Pradesh on Thursday,
Prime Minister Nar-
endra on Wednesday,
during an interview
with ANI, said that the
agri laws were brought
in for the benefit of
farmers, but were with-
drawn in the interest of
the people.
 Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, break-
ing his silence on
the Lakhimpur Kheri
incident, said The
state government gave
its consent for what-
ever committee the
Supreme Court
wanted, for
whichever
judge the Su-
preme Court
wanted for
the
probe. The state
government is working
transparently. Centre
didn’t want to inter-
fere.
 Launching a scath-
ing attack on “dynastic
politics”, Modi said it
is a “big threat” and
the “greatest enemy of
democracy”.
 PM targeted the
former Congress chief
and dubbed him as a
“person who does not
listen and does not sit
in the House.”
 Attacking SP-RLD
alliance, PM Modi said,
“We saw the game of
“two boys” earlier
too... They had such
arrogance that
they used the
words ‘Gujarat ke
do gadhe’ (Two
donkeys
from Guja-
rat). Uttar
Pradesh
taught
them a
lesson”.
Protests banned near schools,
colleges in B’luru for 2 weeks
OWAISI REMINDS
PAK OF MALALA
MALALA CALLS
ROW HORRIFYING
Debt-hit UP trader
attempts to kill self
on Fb live, wife dies
AIMIM chief Asaduddin
Owaisi while reminiding
shooting incident on
Malala Yousafzai said
advised Pakistan to mind
its own business as the
country’s foreign minis-
ter commented on girl
education in India over
Karnataka hijab row.
Nobel laureate Malala
Yousafzai took to twitter
on February 9 saying
that ‘refusing to let girls
go to school in their
hijabs is horrifying’.
Baghpat: A trader in UP
went on Facebook live on
Tuesday and took poison,
blaming heavy losses, in
a disturbing video that
has gone viral ahead of
polls in the state. Rajiv
Tomar, a shoe trader in
Baghpat survived but his
wife died.
MODISPEAK BEFORE POLLS
MInisters Suresh Rana, Atul Garg,
Shrikant Sharma, Sandeep Singh,
Kapil Dev Agarwal, Dinesh Khatik,
Dr GS Dharmesh
This phase in west-
ern region would also
decide future of RLD
chief Jayant Chaud-
hary, who has joined
hands with the SP.
UTTAR PRADESH PHASE-1
KEY CANDIDATES
58
Constituencies
11
Districts
2.27
cr voters
623Candidates
in the fray
The Bhartiya Kisan
Union (BKU), which
had spearheaded
the farmer agitation
in the region, has
been working silently
among the farmers and
other communities to
persuade the electorate
to oppose the saffron
party, which, it said, had
termed the protesting
farmers as ‘’Khalistanis,
Pakistanis, and even
terrorists’’.
BKU FACTOR
58
58
Constituencies
Constituencies
11
Districts
2.27
cr voters
623Candidates
in the fray
Union (BKU), which
Kairana, Shamli, Muzaffar Nagar,
Baghpat, Thana Bhawan
KEY CONSTITUENCIES

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
02
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M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: As Uttar
Pradesh gears up for its
first round one of poll-
ing on Thursday, the
rising political mercu-
ry seems to have come
as a blessing in disguise
for three senior
state-cadre officers in
the dock in the alleged
provident fund scam
case.
It has been more than
a week now since the
Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI)
sought clearance to
quiz these officers but
the state government is
yet to give a nod thanks
to its ‘pre-occupation
with UP polls 2022’ or so
say those at the helm in
the administration.
The request for sanc-
tion to question three
UP cadre IAS officers,
including the Union ag-
riculture secretary San-
jay Aggarwal, Union
power secretary Alok
Kumar and Aparna U,
at present, secretary,
medical, health and
family welfare in the
state, in connection
with the probe into the
Rs 2,267-croreEPF scam
was made by CBI to UP
government in Janu-
ary-end.
The CBI had regis-
tered an FIR in connec-
tion with the PF scam
in UPPCL on March 5,
2020 against Pravin Ku-
mar Gupta, former sec-
retary of the UP State
Power Sector Employ-
ees’ Trust and Sudhan-
shu Dwivedi, former
director, finance, Uttar
Pradesh Power Corpo-
ration Limited (UP-
PCL), under the charges
of criminal breach of
trust, cheating and forg-
ery. More than half a
dozen people, including
AP Mishra, another MD
of UPPCL, were arrest-
ed in the case.
Polls come as a breather for these IAS officers in dock
POLL-BENEFIT

The CBI
officials said
that as per
rules, prior
permission
ought to be
obtained for
investigating
public
servants
INVOLVED IN
R 2267CR SCAM
Union agriculture
secretary Sanjay Ag-
garwal, Union power
secretary Alok Kumar
and Aparna U, at pre-
sent, secretary, medi-
cal, health and family
welfare in UP are to be
probed by CBI with
regards to the Rs
2,267-cr Employees’
Provident Fund scam.
ONLY BJP CAN ENSURE LAW & ORDER
AND DEVELOPMENT, CLAIMS CM YOGI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Wednesday said
that the wheel of devel-
opment must continue
to roll in UP and only
the double engine Gov-
ernment of UP can en-
sure this because “de-
velopment is not possi-
ble without sound law
and order situation
and BJP alone can
guaranty safety and
honour of women,
farmers and the poor..”
Addressing a virtual
rally in Rampur, CM
Yogi said that scores of
people of Rampur have
benefitted from the
wide ranging welfare
schemes of the BJP
Government in the last
five years. Earlier, Yogi
was scheduled to ad-
dress public meetings
virtually in Bareily
and Moradabad also,
which were postponed
for some reasons.
He said: “We have
made a record payment
of Rs 1.59 lakh crore to
the sugarcane farmers
in the state of which
2400 crore has gone to
farmers of Rampur,
which is much more
than what was paid to
them during 10 years
of SP’s and Bahujan
Samaj Party’s (BSP)
governments.”
CM Yogi added that
sugarcane farmers
were paid a mere Rs 653
crore and Rs 1400 crore
during BSP and SP
Governments respec-
tively
.
The UP CM re-
marked that the double
engine government of
UP waived loans worth
Rs 36000 crore of 86
lakh farmers in the
state after taking over
in 2017, which includ-
ed 66,000 beneficiaries
from Rampur. Similar-
ly, 2,66,600 farmers of
Rampur are getting Rs
6,000 annually under
PM Kisan Samman
Nidhi, he pointed out.
CM Yogi said that the
previous government
either did not purchase
farmers’ crops at all, or
did it through middle-
men, who were dis-
pensed with during
BJP Government in
order to ensure that the
benefits reached the
farmers directly
.
He added that the SP
Government had
stopped old age pen-
sion and the amount
was distributed among
officials whereas the
BJP Government re-
sumed the pension.
“One crore elderly
people, widows and dif-
ferently-abled persons
are currently getting
an annual pension of
Rs 12,000 in the state,
of which 13,846 differ-
ently-abled, 52,000 wid-
ows and 50,198 senior
beneficiaries are from
Rampur”, the Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter said in his address.
‘SAMAJWADI PARTY GOONS A THREAT TO DAUGHTERS’ SAFETY ACROSS UTTAR PRADESH’
Double Engine: CM Yogi’s Twitter handle on Wednesday posted the above photograph of PM
Modi and CM Yogi.
YOGI LISTS ‘DOUBLE ENGINE’ BENEFITS
Yogi said that the double engine government
not only provided free testing, treatment and
vaccine for Covid, but also has undertaken
many developmental projects, such as build-
ing polytechnic institutes, medical colleges,
building highways and widening roads as well
as setting up new sugar mills.
Anurag Thakur hails
BJP's poll manifesto
First India Bureau
S a h a r a n p u r :
Hailing the mani-
festo of Bharatiya
Janata Party for Ut-
tar Pradesh Assem-
bly elections, Union
Minister Anurag
Thakur on Wednes-
day said that the
party will continue
to work on women
safety for the next
five years.
Thakur while ad-
dressing a press
conference in Uttar
Pradesh’s Lucknow
said that the funds
for ‘CM Kanya Su-
mangala Yojana’
and ‘CM Samuhik
Vivah Yojana’ have
been increased in
the state.
“BJP to work on
women safety for
next five years,
funds for ‘CM Kan-
ya Sumangala Yoja-
na’ has been in-
creased from Rs
15,000 to Rs 25,000,
funds for ‘CM
Samuhik Vivah Yo-
jana’ is now at Rs 1
lakh from Rs 51,000.
We will also give
SHG credit cards
up to a limit of Rs 1
lakh,” the BJP lead-
er stated.
The minister
also said that the
BJP promises to
provide two free
LPG cylinders with
every Holi and Di-
wali to all the bene-
ficiaries of Ujjwala
Yojana.
Anurag Thakur in Lucknow on Wednesday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
UP Polls: Nearly 50K
paramilitary security
personnel deployed
First India Bureau
Saharanpur: Nearly
50,000 paramilitary per-
sonnel from 412 compa-
nies of central paramil-
itary forces have been
deployed at different
locations to maintain
poll-bound state’s law
and order as the elec-
tion campaign for the
first phase of assembly
polls in western UP end-
ed on Tuesday evening.
The police have
sealed the borders of
the State and strict vig-
ilance is underway to
maintain peace in 58
assembly constituen-
cies which will go for
polling today
.
“The highest deploy-
ment will be seen in
Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh
and Meerut.
In Mathura alone, 75
coys of paramilitary
have been deployed and
the total force deployed
is 21,000 in this constit-
uency,” the security of-
ficials told ANI about
the deployment of
troops in sensitive ar-
eas.
The officials also in-
formed that thorough
vigilance is being done
at the state borders of
both Haryana and Ra-
jasthan where police
officials are listing the
car numbers. Amidst
tight security, polling
officers and the teams
have started assem-
bling at Krishi Utpanna
Bajar Samiti to collect
all the required election
materials since 7 am on
Wednesday
.
UP POLLS PHASE I
Highest
deployment of
forces will be
seen in
Muzaffarnagar,
Aligarh and
Meerut
BJP MLA booked for
violating code of conduct
First India Bureau
Ballia: An FIR has
been registered
against over a thou-
sand people, includ-
ing UP BJP MLA
Surendra Singh, for
allegedly violating
model code of con-
duct and Covid proto-
cols, and hindering
traffic, police said on
Wednesday
.
Singh, who re-
signed from the
BJP’s primary mem-
bership after being
denied a ticket,
reached Bairia with
his supporters on
Tuesday and held a
meeting there.
Deputy Superin-
tendent of Police
(DSP) Ashok Mishra
said six people, in-
cluding Singh, were
named in the FIR
registered on Tues-
day night, while the
rest are unnamed.
Singh was charged
of violating the
model code of con-
duct in place for the
elections
MLA Surendra Singh
EC removes
Gonda DM after
SP’s complaint
First India Bureau
Gonda: The electu-
ion Commission re-
moved Gonda DM
Markandey Shahi
on Wednesday.
Ujjwal Kumar will
be the new DM of
Gonda.
The SP had moved
the ECI seeking
transfer of Gonda
DM. SP state presi-
dent Naresh Uttam
Patel alleged that
Shahi has been
working on direc-
tions of BJP’s Kai-
serganj MP Bri-
jbhushan Sharan
Singh and his son
Prateek Bhushan
Singh, an MLA.
Baghel confident of victory in Yadav fortress
Karhal: Pitted against
Samajwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav in Kar-
hal seat of Mainpuri
district, Union Minister
SP Singh Baghel says
no area can be termed
as a “fortress” or
“stronghold” as person-
alities like Rahul Gand-
hi and Mamata Baner-
jee have also tasted de-
feat in their bastions.
He claimed the fight
in the high-profile seat
is not “one-sided” as a
journey across the con-
stituency would show
that there is a BJP wave.
Brought in politics by
former chief minister
Mulayam Singh Yadav,
the BJP leader advised
his principal opponent
to try his luck from
some assembly segment
of Azamgarh too.
When asked whether
he could demolish the
fortress of the Yadav
family, Baghel told PTI,
“There is nothing like
fortress or stronghold
in democracy. We have
seen demolition of such
fortress.You have seen
Rahul Gandhi got de-
feated in Amethi and
Mamata Banerjee in
West Bengal.”
Besides Dimple Ya-
dav got defeated twice
in Firozabad (2009 by-
polls) and Kannauj
(2019). In 2019, Akshay
Yadav lost from Firoz-
abad while Dharmen-
dra Yadav lost from Bu-
daun, he said.
Banerjee had tasted
defeat in last year’s as-
sembly polls from Nan-
digram from where she
had shot into limelight
after launching the an-
ti-land acquisition stir
against Tata’s Nano
project in 2007.
Since nomination on
January 31, Baghel has
been residing in BJP
leader Govind Bhadau-
ria’s house in Ghiror,
where he has also made
his election office and
leaves to meet people in
the morning. —PTI
SP SIngh Baghel
WARNS AKHILESH
No challan for triple ride on bike if
voted to power, says SBSP chief
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a rather
bizarre poll promise,
Suheldev Bhartiya Sa-
maj Party chief Om
Prakash Rajbhar vowed
to waive challans for
bikes carrying three
passengers if its alli-
ance with the Samajwa-
di Party (SP) is voted to
power in the upcoming
Uttar Pradesh assembly
elections.
The former UP minis-
ter and president of the
Suheldev Bhartiya Sa-
maj Party (SBSP),
promised to allow triple
riders on the motor-
bikes if his party
formed the next govern-
ment in the state.
‘We will allow triple rid-
ing on bikes.....they will
not be fined,’’ Rajbhar
said while speaking to
reporters in Meerut on
Thursday
.
Rajbhar advanced bi-
zarre logic behind the
promise, when queried
further on the matter.
‘’It is quite common to
see hundreds of people
travelling in the coach-
es of the trains which
have limited seating ca-
pacity.....against 70
berths we find 300 peo-
ple travelling in the
compartment...does the
government or the Rail-
way impose fine on
them?’’ he asked.
He said that the au-
torickshaws and tem-
pos also fill their vehi-
cles with passengers
more than their seating
capacity but they were
also not fined. ‘’We will
make sure that triple
riders are not fined,’’ he
added.
So far, the SBSP has
announced its candi-
dates from three seats,
including one in east-
ern UP’s Balha (Bah-
raich) and two in cen-
tral UP — in Sandila
(Hardoi) and Misrikh
(Sitapur).
SBSP supremo Om Prakash
Rajbhar.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

UTTAR PRADESH
03
Noida: The police in
poll-boundGautamBud-
dh Nagar have seized Rs
6.38 crore unaccounted
cash and over one lakh
litres of illicit liquor
since the model code of
conduct was implement-
ed, officials said on
Wednesday
.
Voting in the three as-
sembly constituencies
of Noida,DadriandJew-
ar in the district will
take place on Thursday
during the first phase of
polls in the state. The
three seats have a com-
binedvotercountof over
16 lakh.
Themodelcodeforthe
polls was enforced on
January 8 while cam-
paigning stopped Tues-
day evening, with CM
Yogi flying down to the
district for a poll pro-
gramme in the nick of
time. According to fig-
ures provided by the
Gautam Buddh Nagar
police commissionerate,
Rs6,34,38,000unaccount-
ed cash has been seized
in the district in run-up
to the elections.
As much as 1,11,019 li-
tres of illicit liquor has
also been seized in the
state’s western district,
which borders Delhi,
Haryana, Ghaziabad as
well as Hapur, Aligarh
and Bulandshahr.
The police also seized
177 illegal firearms,
while7,915licensedguns
and pistols were deposit-
ed with it ahead of the
polls, according to offi-
cial election guidelines.
While police officials
along with paramilitary
personnel have been de-
ployed across the length
and breadth of the 1,442
sq km large district, pre-
ventive action has been
taken against more than
22,000 mischievous ele-
ments .
Challans under CrPC
sections107and116have
been issued to 22,287
such people, while 695
have been bound under
CrPC section 110(G)
surety bonds to be given
bythoselikelytocommit
acts to disturb public
tranquility and breach
peace, the police said.
Besides, 34 anti-social
elements have been ex-
pelled out of Gautam
Buddh Nagar under the
UP Control of the Goon-
das Act since the code
came into force. —PTI
Lucknow: The Con-
gress on Wednesday
promised to waive farm
loans within 10 days and
provide 20 lakh jobs if
the party forms govern-
ment in Uttar Pradesh.
The poll manifesto re-
leased by party general
secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra also
vowedtoprovideRs3,000
as compensation to
farmersforcropdamage
bystraycattle,aproblem
gripping cultivators in
many parts of the state.
The manifesto — “Un-
nati Vidhan” — was
termed by Priyanka as
“Jan Ghoshna Patra’
(people’s manifesto).
The vision document
was released a day be-
fore voting starts in 58
seats in the state.
Two earlier manifes-
tos--“ShaktiVidhan”for
women and “Bharti
Vidhan”foryouth--have
already been released by
the party
.
Priyanka said, the
Congress will waive
loans of farmers within
10 days of government
formation, and also pur-
chase wheat and paddy
at Rs 2,500 per quintal as
well as sugarcane at Rs
400 per quintal. She said
inChhattisgarh,herpar-
ty’s government had
written off farmers’
loanswithinthreehours
of being sworn-in.
“Issues of unemploy-
ment and inflation have
been taken care of while
formulating the mani-
festo,” she said.
“Ourgovernmentwill
provide 20 lakh govern-
ment jobs. While 12 lakh
jobs will be given for fill-
ing vacant posts, 8 lakh
new jobs will be creat-
ed,” she said, adding 40
per cent of these would
be for women.
Shesaid,“Rs3,000will
be given to farmers for
crop damage by stray
cattle. ‘Godhan Nyay Yo-
jna’willbestartedunder
which cow dung will be
bought at Rs 2 per kg,”
she said. —PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With stray
cattle becoming night-
mare for villagers
across the state from
east to west and turning
into major political is-
sue in the run up to UP
Assembly elections, the
Congress has promised
to compensate the farm-
ers for the losses due to
these animals.
The AICC president
Priyanka Gandhi, re-
leasing the party mani-
festo said that affected
farmers would be com-
pensated for Rs 3,000
per acre if the party is
voted to power in the
state. Even as the crisis
has been haunting the
farmers for the last five
years the state govern-
ment has also launched
series of measures to
contain the problem.
The Congress has
been persistently rais-
ing the issue during
public meetings. Ch-
hattisgarh Chief Minis-
ter Bhupesh Baghel re-
cently said people in
rural areas were facing
massive problem be-
cause of stray cattle. He
said the Congress came
to power “Chhatisgarh
model” for the protec-
tion of stray cattle
would be implemented
in UP.
Fearing political
backlash, the Yogi Adi-
tyanath government
recently reviewed the
situation and take cor-
rective measures to con-
tain anger prevailing
among villagers.
Chief Secretary DS
Mishra has directed the
district magistrates to
launch extensive cam-
paign to catch aban-
doned cattle and put
them safely in the cow
protection centres.
Even as the problem
of stray cattle in rural
areas has been going on
for the last five years,
the government recent-
ly received reports that
it had assumed serious
dimension in some
parts of the state.
`6.38-cr cash, over 1L lt liquor seized ahead of polls, 34 miscreants exterened
CODE OF CONDUCT

The police
also seized 177
illegal firearms,
while 7,915
licensed guns
and pistols were
deposited
with them
Polling officials leave for respective stations in Noida on Wednesday.
20L JOBS, LOAN WAIVER FOR
FARMERS IN CONG MANIFESTO
Party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra releases poll manifesto as state
goes into first phase elections today
Assures purchase of wheat and paddy at
`2,500 per quintal as well as sugarcane at
`400 per quintal, if voted to power
1 2
CRUCIAL READ
CS MISHRA ATTENDS FOUNDATION DAY
PROG OF CSJMU, KANPUR
Lucknow: Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra
participated as chief guest in the online seminar
on ‘Fulfillment of youth aspirations through new
national education policy’ on the foundation day of
Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur.
In his address, Mishra said there was a wealth of
knowledge in the field of education, in which many
things were being extracted by doing research. By
making good use of this knowledge, we could work
for the country’s progress, he added.
24-HR ELECTION
CONTROL ROOM
SET UP IN LKO
Lucknow: For con-
ducting the Assembly
Elections in a free, fair
and peaceful manner, an
Election Control Room
has been set up in the
Home Department at
Lok Bhavan. This will be
active for 24 hrs during
the election period and
will keep close watch
on incidents related to
elections. The telephone
numbers of this Control
Room are 2226424,
2226428, 2226429 and
fax numbers 2226425,
2226426, 2226427 and
e-mail idhomeg2.elec-
tion2022@gmail.com
LU V-C ALOK RAI
TO HEAD NEP
IMPLEMENTATION
Lucknow: Prof Alok Ku-
mar Rai has been given
the responsibility to be
lead Coordinator of Cen-
tral Zone Universities,
including Chattisgarh,
U’khand, UP & MP, in
implementing NEP. In
an online meeting of
V-Cs from across India
called by the Ministry of
Higher Education and
UGC it was decided to
implement NEP across
the country. Rai said,
‘‘It is a proud moment
for LU to be recognised
for its achievements and
an honour for me to be
given this responsibility.”
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi at the launch event of the party manifesto in Lucknow
on Wednesday. (Below) Gandhi after releasing the manifesto. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Lucknow: Asked about the hijab controversy at the
press conference in Lucknow, the Congress general
secretary reiterated that a woman is free to choose
what she wants to wear. “Have I started the debate on
the hijab? A woman has the right to choose whether
she wants to wear a bikini, a hijab, a ‘ghoonghat’, a
saree or a pair of jeans. There is no politics in this and
also there should be no politics. No one has any right
to tell a woman what she can wear,” she said.
‘WOMEN HAVE RIGHT TO CHOOSE DRESS’
Promise of `3,000
dole to victims of
stray cattle menace
GOVT MEASURES
DOMES AND UMBRELLAS
Tourists bring our their umbrellas at the Taj Mahal as Uttar Pradesh saw another spell of winter rain on Wednesday.
Baghpat: A trader in
went on Facebook live
and took poison, blam-
ing heavy losses, in a
disturbing video that
has gone viral ahead of
polls in the state. Rajiv
Tomar, a shoe trader in
Baghpat - one of the
towns voting tomorrow
- survived but his wife
died.
In the chilling video,
Rajiv Tomar, 40, tears
open a sachet and swal-
lows its contents as his
wife tries to stop him.
She even tries to make
him spit it out before
moving out of the
frame. 38-yr-old Poo-
nam Tomar allegedly
took poison after she
failed to stop her hus-
band from taking it.
“I think I have the
freedom to speak. I will
pay the debts I have.
Even if I die, I will pay.
But I request everyone
to please share this vid-
eo as much as possible.
I am not an anti-nation-
al but I have faith in
the country. But I want
to tell Modi-ji , you are
not a well-wisher of
small traders and
farmers. Change your
policies,” Tomar says,
in tears.
The shoe trader com-
plains that GST had hit
his business.
Those watching
them live on Facebook
called the police, who
took them to hospital.
Rajiv Tomar is critical,
but his wife died.
A father of two,
Tomar had reportedly
been in financial trou-
ble for some time. Just a
day before attempting
suicide, he had posted a
photo with his two sons,
15 and 11. —AGENCIES
Muzaffarnagar: The
police in Shamli district
rescued a 10-yr-old boy
kidnapped from outside
his house and arrested
fivepeople,officialssaid.
The boy was kid-
napped on Tuesday eve-
ning. His family in-
formed police after they
received a call from the
kidnappers demanding
ransom for his release,
the police officials said.
SP Shamli, Sukriti
Madhav Mishra said on
the complaint filed by
the family
, a police team
led by DSP Dhuristha
Thakur conducted
searchesandrescuedthe
boyfromthekidnappers.
Three mobile phones
and intoxicant tablets
were recovered from the
accused, who have been
identifiedasSufiyan,Sa-
hil, Pervaiz, Razi and
Arif, the police said.
A case was registered
undersections364A(kid-
napping,506and328IPC,
the police said. —PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Bank of
Baroda, announced that
it will celebrate ‘
Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav’,
with the launch of a spe-
cial campaign compris-
ing a series of events,
customer meets and on-
ground initiatives
throughout February
across UP
.
These‘JantaseJudna’
events will celebrate the
digitisation of the bank-
ing industry that has
made banking quick,
easy and convenient and
accessible to all corners
of the country as well as
Bank of Baroda’s man-
tra ‘Customers and Em-
ployees First’, as the
Bank seeks to offer a
seamless banking expe-
rience,whileadheringto
the tenets of a safe and
secure banking environ-
ment. Sanjiv Chadha,
MD&CEO,BoBsaid,“
At
Bank of Baroda, we be-
lieve our actions of to-
day will determine our
future, and with our Dig-
ital-First approach, we
are ready to continue to
participate in and con-
tribute significantly to
theIndiangrowthstory
.”
Debt-hit trader attempts to kill
himself on Facebook, wife dies
His stunned relatives say they never realised he
was in crisis. “He was a very jolly person. It now
appears that he was dealing with depression. But
he never told us that he was facing any issues. He
was in fact the person who solved other people’s
problems,” said his uncle, VK Tomar.
RELATIVES STUNNED
The video grab of the trader taking poison as he killed self on
Facebook live.
BoB spl Feb campaign for ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ 5 kidnappers
of 10-yr-old
boy arrested,
victim rescued
State chief Ajay Lallu
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
—PHOTO
BY
PTI

PERSPECTIVE
04
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
IMRAN GETS LOW-KEY WELCOME IN CHINA
THE OPPOSITION FINALLY JOIN HANDS TO OUST
THE GOVERNMENT IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
It is quite known in
Pakistan that during the
tenure of Raheel Sharif
as the army chief, Nawaz
Sharif, was advised to
resign, but he dared the
army to topple him. In
angered Raheel so much
that instead of imposing
martial law, he decided
to control the civilian
government by using the
judiciary and media.
The media was used to
malign the established
political leaders in
cooked-up corruption
cases and the
judiciary ensured
their conviction
he count-down has begun
for the hybrid regime of
Imran Khan in Pakistan
and his recent China visit
could be his last foreign
trip as the prime minister.
Amidst, the two foreign
trips of the country’s most
powerful persons i.e. the
armychief,GeneralQamar
Jawed Bajwa to the USA
andthecivilianprimemin-
ister, Khan, with his minis-
ters to China, the opposi-
tionpartieshavedecidedto
topple the government.
The opposition has de-
cided to oust the Khan and
his party, Pakistan Tah-
reek-i-Insaf (PTI) by a non-
confidence motion in the
Pakistan National Assem-
bly(PNA).Of the342-strong
PNA, the PTI has only 149
members. It means with
the support of the smaller
parties, the Khan govern-
ment can be toppled.
The historical decision
was taken at a luncheon
meeting held in Lahore at-
tendedbythetopleadersof
the opposition parties such
as the co-chairpersons of
thePakistanPeople’sParty
(PPP), Asif Zardari, and
his son, Bilawal Bhutto.
The venue of the high-pro-
filemeetingwastheLahore
residence of Shehbaz Sha-
rif, the president of the
country’s main opposition
party, Pakistan Muslim
League-Noon(PML-N).The
strength of the PML-N and
PPP is 82 and 54 respective-
ly
.Thepresenceof Maryam
Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz
Sharif, has reaffirmed that
it could take place follow-
ing her father’s consent.
Nawaz Sharif, three-time
prime minister, is present-
ly in London for treatment.
It is also believed in the po-
litical circles that he is in
constanttouchwiththetop
PPP leadership.
The low-key welcome of
Imran Khan in Beijing also
indicates that his hosts
were aware of his ‘bleak
political future’. He was
received by a deputy min-
ister in the foreign office,
Wu Jianghao, and could
not meet the president, Xi
Jinping. Khan, who was of-
ficially invited to the inau-
gural ceremony was ac-
companied by his cabinet
colleagues, Foreign Minis-
ter, Shah Mehmood
Qureshi, Finance Minister,
Shaukat Tareen, Planning
Minister, Asad Umar, In-
formation Minister, Fawad
Choudhary and National
security advisor, Moeed
Yusuf. His visit is consid-
ered partially successful
because he could have a
virtual meeting
with the Chi-
nese premier
Li Keqiang. Khan’s request
for a personal audience
was ‘politely’ rejected. He,
however, appreciated the
Khan government’s deci-
sion to offer an $11.6 mil-
lion compensation for the
families of Chinese engi-
neers who were killed and
wounded in a terrorist at-
tack at the Dasu Dam hy-
dropower project last year
in Pakistan. The Pakistani
media is describing Khan’s
mission to lure more Chi-
nese funds and financial
help as a great success, but
he could not obtain a firm
dateregardingXiJinping’s
visit to his country
. Khan’s
request for an additional
USD three billion of loan
was promised, but the
Chinese charge exorbi-
tant interests, almost eight
times than the IMF, on the
recipient countries.
The agenda of Bajwa’s
visit to the USA has not
been disclosed, but it is be-
lieved that he has reas-
sured his American hosts
thatthearmyanditssecret
police, Inter-Services Intel-
ligence (ISI) would main-
tain neutrality in the polls.
President Joe Biden is an
ardent supporter of de-
mocracy and human
rights. Bajwa, perhaps,
might have cited the local
bodies’ elections in the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
where the ruling party
, PTI
was trounced. He might
have also assured Penta-
gon, the defense headquar-
ters of America, unhin-
dered access to the coun-
try’s military establish-
ments to the USA despite
theanti-Americanrhetoric
of Khan and his ministers.
It may be noted that in
spite of US exit from Af-
ghanistan on August 15,
2021, Bajwa has been in
constant touch with Amer-
ican and British security
establishment. Earlier, on
September 9, 2021, he had
met, the CIA chief William
Burns, who was assured of
Pakistan’s cooperation
with the USA in the region.
The US Defence Secretary
Lloyd Austin had been in-
structing Bajwa about the
exitof theAmericanforces
from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the judici-
ary has also become asser-
tive. The Islamabad High
Court has already asked
the army to dismantle the
business centres estab-
lished in the cantonments.
The case of the audiotape
of former Chief Justice of
Pakistan, Saqib Nissar, in
whichhereportedlyasking
is brother judges to impli-
cate Maryam Nawaz in cor-
ruption cases and ensure
that Nawaz and his daugh-
terdonotgetbailbeforethe
elections. It is quite known
in Pakistan that during the
tenure of Raheel Sharif as
the army chief, Nawaz Sha-
rif, was advised to resign,
but he dared the army to
topple him. In angered Ra-
heel so much that instead
of imposingmartiallaw,he
decided to control the civil-
ian government by using
the judiciary and media.
The media was used to ma-
lign the established politi-
cal leaders in cooked-up
corruption cases and the
judiciary ensured their
conviction. However, this
strategy has finally boo-
meranged, the army has
become neutral and judges
impartial. The opposition
parties are expected to be
more aggressive in the
coming weeks under the
banner of the Pakistan
Democratic Movement.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
GOPAL MISRA
The writer is accredited as a journalist
of long and distinguished service with
the Press Information Bureau of the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry
It may be noted that in
spite of US exit from
Afghanistan on August
15, 2021, Bajwa has
been in constant touch
with American and
British security
establishment. Earlier,
on September 9, 2021,
he had met, the CIA chief
William Burns, who was
assured of Pakistan’s
cooperation with the
USA in the region
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 90 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Vishal Srivastav responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari
Stable and development-oriented
government in Uttarakhand is our
endeavor. Prime Minister Mr. @
narendramodi Ji and Chief Minister Mr.
@pushkardhami. The BJP government
under the leadership of Ji is committed
for the overall development of
Uttarakhand. #UttarakhandWithBJP #Vote4BJP
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Warn divisive people once, and then warn
them a second time. After that, have
nothing to do with them.
—Bible
Narendra Singh Tomar @nstomar
Pineapple reached the foreign
markets through the fields of
India. There was a 100% increase
in the export of pineapple in April-
December 2021 as compared to
April-December 2013.
ohannesburg –
Imagine that a
crisis emerges
in your home,
workplace, or
community. You neither
created it nor benefited
from it. And yet, you are
bearing the brunt of the
consequences, while those
who did create and benefit
from it continue to make
the problem worse. For Af-
rica, such an egregious
injustice has become all
too real.
Though Africa contrib-
utes only 4% of global
greenhouse-gas emissions
annually, it is among the
regions most vulnerable to
climate change and cli-
mate variability. Already,
climate disruptions and
crises are severely under-
mining human well-being
and economic develop-
ment, and water-related
disruptions pose some of
the most serious risks.
The so-called WASH
(Water, Sanitation, and Hy-
giene) initiative, being
pursued by the Southern
African Development
Community with GWP
support, is also advancing
vital water-related objec-
tives. By installing hand-
washing facilities at bor-
der posts across the region,
the initiative will help to
stem the transmission of
infectious diseases, there-
by facilitating intra-re-
gional trade and economic
activity and, ultimately,
contributing to the realiza-
tion of the African Conti-
nental Free Trade Area.
But, as with all these
initiatives, success de-
pends significantly on
funding. That is why Afri-
can countries and their
international partners
have developed the Water
Investment Scorecard, a
data-driven approach that,
by tracking progress, will
help to sustain pressure on
decision-makers.
Africa did not cause the
climate crisis, but African
leaders are taking the ini-
tiative in developing strate-
gies for coping with it, in-
cluding its impact on the
continent’s water security
and sanitation. The ques-
tion is whether those who
are most responsible for cli-
mate change will put their
money where their mouth
is before it is too late.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
RIGHTING THE INJUSTICE
OF AFRICA’S WATER CRISIS
Africa did not cause the
climate crisis, but
African leaders are
taking the initiative in
developing strategies
for coping with it,
including its impact on
the continent’s water
security and sanitation
J

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INDIA
05
Kohima: The Nagaland
State Disaster Manage-
ment Authority (NSD-
MA) has declared a
‘drought of a moderate
nature’ in the entire
state for six months
from September 2021 to
March this year.
TheNSDMAdeclared
the ‘drought of moder-
ate nature’ after taking
into account the condi-
tions arising from rain-
fall deficiency and poor
crop conditions, an of-
ficial statement issued
by the Department of
Information and Public
Relations said in Kohi-
ma on Wednesday
.
It also considered the
distress situation that
had developed in al-
most the entire farming
area affected by these
conditions through
field verification, the
statement said.
The NSDMA had also
taken into considera-
tion the reports availa-
ble from the Deputy
Commissioners and
Chairmen of the con-
cerned District Disas-
ter Management Au-
thorities (DDMAs).
Based on the scanty
,
deficit and less than nor-
mal rainfall that has
been observed from
March to November
2021, the declaration of
droughtwouldcomeinto
effect from September
15, 2021, and would con-
tinue to be in effect for
six months, till further
order,theNSDMAnotifi-
cation stated. —Agencies
‘Drought of a moderate nature’ declared in Nagaland
STATE STRUGGLES!
SCANTY RAINFALL
Less than normal rainfall
that has been observed
from March to Nov
2021, the declaration
of drought would come
into effect from Sep-
tember 15, 2021, and
would continue to be in
effect for six months, till
further order.
Why tax exemption to corporates?
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: In many
countries of the world,
big corporate houses
have written letters to
the governments asking
themtoimposeaddition-
al tax on them. In the
midstof thecoronavirus
epidemic,everycivilised
and democratic country
in the world has helped
its citizens financially
,
but in India, there is an
exception to this idea as
no financial help was
given to the citizens in
India. In India, the in-
comeof 84percentof the
populationhasdecreased
in the last year and on
the other hand the num-
ber of billionaires has
increased. There is a re-
coveryintheeconomyof
India,thatis,therichare
getting richer and the
poor are getting poorer.
Nevertheless, the gov-
ernment has given tax
exemption to corporates
in the budget.
Even before this, in
the last Lok Sabha elec-
tions i.e. 2019, the Cen-
tral Government had
given a rebate of one
lakh 45 thousand crore
rupees in corporate tax.
In the next year’s budg-
et, the Government of
India has reduced the
surcharge on corporate
tax from 12 per cent to
sevenpercent.Think,on
the one hand, economic
inequality is increasing
in the country, the gov-
ernmentiscontinuously
increasing indirect tax-
es, which is burdening
the common people and
there is no exemption
for the middle class in
income tax but the sur-
charge on corporate tax
has been reduced. The
governmentshouldhave
increased the corporate
tax but the government
has done the opposite.
Flight takes off, key
part falls on runway
Mumbai: An Alliance
Air flight with 70 on
board flew from Mum-
bai to Gujarat’s Bhuj
thismorningwithoutits
engine cover, which fell
off on the runway
.
The Alliance Air ATR
72-600 aircraft landed
safely in Bhuj, but the
aviation watchdog, the
Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA),
is investigating how it
happened.
Officials said the cov-
er or cowling of one of
the engines fell off the
aircraft as it took off.
The Air Traffic Control
soundedanalertandthe
part was found on the
runway
. An official says
the pilots did not realise
that the cover had fallen
on the runway in Mum-
bai as they told the Air
Traffic Control in Bhuj
thateverythingwasfine.
After spotting some
objectontherunway
,the
Mumbai ATC contacted
the pilots of the Bhuj-
bound flight and asked
if something had fallen
off the aircraft. —PTI
DGCA orders probe
CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Sahara News Network Upendra Rai presented his two
recently published books Hastkshep and Nazariya to President Ram Nath Kovind during a
courtesy visit, in New Delhi.
COURTESY MEET
Capt Amarinder
flays Cong, AAP,
SAD for sowing
seeds of caste
First India Bureau
Patiala: Lambasting the
Congress, the Aam Aad-
mi Party (AAP) and the
Akalis for sowing the
seeds of caste and reli-
gious dissension in the
state, Punjab Lok Con-
gress (PLC) chief Cap-
tainAmarinderSinghon
Wednesdaysaidthemove
would backfire on these
parties, who were com-
promising the peace and
security of the border
state to further their nar-
row political interests.
‘Love Jihad’ crackdown in BJP manifesto
THE PARTY PROMISES TO HALVE ELECTRICITY BILLS AND FAMILIES FINANCIALLY AFFECTED BY
COVID-19 WILL BE GIVEN RS 25,000. SCOOTIES TO COLLEGE-GOING FEMALES ALSO IN MANIFESTO
Dehradun: Union Road
Transport and High-
ways Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Wednesday
released BJP’s manifes-
toinDehradunaheadof
the Assembly polls in
Uttarakhand laying a
roadmap for its develop-
ment over the next five
years as a model state.
BJP’s manifesto for
Uttarakhand named,
“Vision Document
2022”, has promised
amendment of the law
of ‘love jihad’ to make it
stricter, including a pro-
vision of 10 years of rig-
orous imprisonment,
Chief MinisterPushkar
Singh Dhami told me-
dia on Wednesday
.
Theparty’spollmani-
festo also puts renewed
emphasis on infrastruc-
ture development, tour-
ism,stoppingmigration,
employmentgeneration,
empowerment of wom-
en,farmers,horticulture
and dairy development.
Releasing the Con-
gress party’s Unnati
Vidhan manifesto, Pri-
yanka Gandhi an-
nounced that the party
will waive off farmers’
debt within 10 days of
coming to power in Ut-
tar Pradesh. —PTI
POLLS
U’khand
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari along with Union Minister BJP’s Uttarakhand election in-charge
Pralhad Joshi, MP Tirath Singh Rawat, State BJP chief Madan Kaushik, and ex-CM Trivendra,
releases BJP’s manifesto for Assembly elections, in Dehradun on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BADAL: WILL
COMPLETE
RAVIDAS
MEMORIAL
Chandigarh: SAD
president Sukhbir
Singh Badal said
their previous
government had
started work on Guru
Ravidas memorial
at Khuralgarh on
which work was
not completed
by the Congress
government. “After
coming to power,
SAD-BSP would
complete the work
at the earliest,” he
said, while also
reiterating pro-poor
announcements
made by the alliance
earlier. Apart
from attacking
the Congress, he
also attacked AAP
supremo Arvind
Kejriwal stating that
on every crucial
issue his stand was
anti-Punjab.
Cong engages in divisive politics, BJP
focuses on devp: Nadda in U’khand
Kedarnath: BJP na-
tional president JP Na-
dda on Wednesday al-
leged that the Congress
party always engages in
divisive politics, unlike
BJP which never asks
the identity of people
while implementing de-
velopment schemes.
“Congress leaders al-
ways incite fights be-
tween villages, castes
and brothers. Getting
votes after dividing soci-
ety has always been
their way of working.
But BJP never asks your
caste or village. If some-
one is a resident of Utta-
rakhand then it is our
job to ensuretheir devel-
opment,”MrNaddasaid
while addressing a rally
in Kedarnath.
He further asserted
that BJP leaders share
their report cards while
seeking votes, unlike
Congress candidates.
“You must have seen
that any BJP leader who
contests elections talks
about themselves and
the party’s report card.
But have you ever seen
Congress leaders put-
ting forward their re-
port card?” he asked.
Accusing Congress
leaders of benefiting
from the relief that
came in for the 2011 Ke-
darnath tragedy, the
BJP leader said “When
the tragedy hit the state,
Congress leaders ‘ne
malai khai the’ (took
away the benefits from
the relief that came in)
and left everything in
ruins. PM Modi worked
on establishing this
place. A new story of
development has been
written here.” —PTI
JP Nadda
Yogi Adityanath is a
successful CM. He
has done unprece-
dented work in law order.
He finished 'gunda raj' in UP.
State is seeing development. He
has done good work in health
services, education sector
provided jobs in MSME sector.
—Nitin Gadkari, Union Min
SANKALP PATRA IS
JHOOTA PATRA:
AKHILESH YADAV ON
BJP’S UP MANIFESTO
‘They said they would double farmers’
incomes but this did not happen’
Lucknow: Akhilesh Ya-
dav took on the BJP on
Wednesday saying the ruling
outfit “should observe two
minutes’ silence (for failing
to deliver on its promises)
before commenting on those
offered by his Samajwadi
Party. Yadav said the BJP
“lies in the name of law and
order” and countered Amit
Shah’s ‘mafia’ charge; the
Union Home Minister had
said criminals in UP were
either in jail or on a list of
Samajwadi candidates.
“Announcements made
by the Samajwadi Party in
our manifesto were made
after talking to experts...
this is for the people of
Uttar Pradesh. But if
you see the BJP’s
manifesto, it is full
of lies of false promises...
the BJP’s Sankalp Patra is
actually a Jhoota Patra,”
Akhilesh Yadav told media.
“Lots of promises made...
first was for farmers. They
said they would double
farmers’ incomes but
this did not happen.
The BJP should
observe two
minutes’ si-
lence before saying anything,”
he said. As part of its major
promises, the SP has said it
will make more than one crore
jobs available, make electricity
(for irrigation) free for farmers,
and make education for girls
free. On the ‘mafia’ charge
Yadav said: “It is the BJP
which has given most election
tickets to criminals and the
mafia,” he said. —Agencies
Mann reaches Parliament
to raise issues of farmers
Mahesh Kumar
Chandigarh/New
Delhi: Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) Punjab’s
state president and
chief ministerial can-
didate Bhagwant
Mann, fulfilling his re-
sponsibility as an MP
in Parliament, raised
variousissuespertain-
ing Punjab’s farmers
in Lok Sabha. Mann,
on Wednesday
, left be-
hind his campaigning
for the Punjab assem-
blyelectiontoraisethe
issue of sugarcane
farmers in the Parlia-
ment.
Mann said that
about Rs. 1.25 crore of
sugarcane farmers for
2020-21 and about Rs.
20 crore for 2021-22
have not been paid,
due to which farmers
are very upset. Since,
it takes one year for
the sugarcane crop to
grow fully, so the fam-
ily of sugarcane farm-
ers is supported by
this money through-
out the year. They
have to face a lot of
problems because of
delayed payments and
bonuses.
Mann appealed to
the Parliament to pay
the dues of sugarcane
farmers.
MANIFESTO OF BJP ALLIANCE FOR
PUNJAB IS DECEPTIVE AND FULL
OF LIES, SAYS BHAGWANT MANN
Chandigarh: AAP’s Punjab CM candidate and MP Bhag-
want Mann termed the Election Manifesto, issued by BJP,
Capt Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s al-
liance, as deceptive and full of lies, saying it has nothing
for farmers, labourers, traders, industrialists, students
and youth of Punjab. He said from past experiences we
know that BJP leaders don’t deliver on their election
promises by saying that these are ‘election jumlas’. In a
statement Mann raised several questions regarding the
11-point election manifesto issued by the BJP, Capt Ama-
rinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa for the Punjab
Assembly polls 2022. Mann said Capt Amarinder Singh
had come to power in Punjab during the 2017 elections
by promising to waive all the debts of farmers.
AAP MP Bhagwant Mann in Lok Sabha, on Wednesday.

INDIA
06
New Delhi: Billonaire
businessman Mukesh
Ambani has regained
the status of Asia’s
richest person, a day af-
ter Gautam Adani had
surpassed the Reliance
Industries Ltd chair-
man on net worth, ac-
cording to Bloomberg
Billionaires Index.
As of February 9,
2022, Mukesh Ambani
is in the 10th spot on the
Bloomberg Billionaires
Index global list with a
net worth of $89.2 bil-
lion. Ambani’s net
worth has eclipsed
Gautam Adani’s $86.3
billion.
The founder of Adani
Group was at the 11th
spot on the list and
holds the status of the
second richest man in
Asia. The development
comes after Gautam
Adani on February 8 be-
came the richest person
in Asia, overtaking fel-
low countryman Muke-
sh Ambani, according
to the Bloomberg Bil-
lionaires Index. Last
week, Gautam Adani
became the richest In-
dian, leaving behind
Mukesh Ambani, ac-
cording to Forbes’ Real-
Time Billionaire’s list.
Last week, both
Mukesh Ambani and
Gautam Adani sur-
passed Mark Zucker-
berg on Forbes’ list of
real-time billionaires
after he lost $29 billion
in net worth as Face-
book owner Meta Plat-
forms Inc’s stock
marked a record one-
day plunge following a
disappointing earn-
ings forecast that
shook the global tech
landscape.
Meanwhile, the
Bloomberg Billionaires
Index has been topped
by Elon Musk with a net
worth of $238 billion.
Musk is followed by
Jeff Bezos, Bernard Ar-
nault, Bill Gates, and
Larry Page.
Ambani is back as Asia’s richest man
New Delhi/Amritsar:
The Border Security
Force (BSF) on Wednes-
day recovered over 4 kg
of RDX, a pistol and
bomb-making items
dropped in two packets
by a drone that flew
from Pakistan into an
Indian farm along the
Punjab border.
A spokesperson of
the paramilitary force
said troops fired after
they heard a buzzing
sound of a suspected
flying object coming
from the Pakistani side
to the Indian side
around 1 am in the Pan-
jgrain area of Gur-
daspur sector.
A search was later
conducted in the wheat
farms of Ghaggar and
Singhoke villages along
the border and the BSF
party recovered two
yellow-coloured pack-
ets, lying about 20 m
apart embedded in the
wet soil, he said.
1st nasal spray
to treat Covid patients
Glenmark launches FabiSpray for adult patients in India
New Delhi: Mumbai
based innovation-driv-
en global pharma com-
pany Glenmark has
launched Nitric Oxide
Nasal Spray (FabiS-
pray) in India, in part-
nership with SaNOtize,
for treatment of adult
Covid-19 patients.
Glenmark received
approval from India’s
drug regulator, Drugs
C o n -
troller General of In-
dia, for spray as part of
the accelerated process.
“Phase 3 trial in In-
dia met the key end-
points and demon-
strated reduction of
viral load of 94 per
cent in 24 hours and
99 per cent in 48 hours.
Nitric Oxide Nasal
Spray (NONS) was safe
and well-tolerated in
Covid-19 patients. Glen-
mark to market NONS
under the brand name
FabiSpray,” reads the
official statement.
New Delhi: India logged 71,365 new coronavirus infections taking the
country's total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,24,10,976, while the active
cases declined to 8,92,828, according to the Union Health Ministry data
updated on Wednesday. The death count climbed to 5,05,279 with 1,217
fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
INDIA RECORDS 71,365 NEW COVID CASES
Explosives, gun
smuggled by
Pak drone,
recovered: BSF
Modi has misused Parl for
political gains, says Kharge
New Delhi: Leader of
Opposition in the Rajya
Sabha and senior Con-
gress leader Mallikar-
jun Kharge on Wednes-
day said that PM Naren-
dra Modi misused the
Parliament for political
gains.
Speaking to ANI,
Kharge said, “The
Prime Minister was
only attacking Con-
gress and was not an-
swering questions
raised by the party
. Con-
gress party raised is-
sues like China's ex-
treme aggression, ris-
ing inflation in the
country, unemploy-
ment, crisis arising out
of Pegasus and Covid in
front of the govern-
ment, but the PM did
not say anything on
these issues.”
He further slammed
the Prime Minister stat-
ing that he should have
kept in mind the digni-
ty of the post he is oc-
cupying.
The Prime Minister
should have kept in
mind the dignity of the
post but he talked only
on those issues which
can be used for elec-
tions in five states, if
there is any hate and
anger against Congress,
Mahatma Gandhi, Pan-
dit Nehru and Rahul
Gandhi, he can speak
these things outside the
House and should have
responded to the issues
raised by the Congress
in the House. But the
Prime Minister has
misused the House for
electoral gains.
Mallikarjun Kharge
New Delhi: Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi today took a
jibe at the govern-
ment’s aatmanirbhar
policy pointing out
that the Statue of
Equality was made
in China. He asked if
‘New India is China-
nirbhar’. “Statue of
Equality is Made in
China. ‘New India’ is
China-nirbhar,” he
posted on Twitter
today. According to
the project website,
the 216-feet statue
of Ramanujacharya
was made by a
Chinese corpora-
tion. The contract
for the ₹ 135
crore statue was
awarded to China’s
Aerosun Corpora-
tion in 2015.
STATUE OF
EQUALITY
MADE IN
CHINA: RaGa
New Delhi: Glob-
al automaker Toy-
ota Motor and fast
food chain Domi-
no’s Pizza are
among half a doz-
en companies that
have apologised to
India for social
media posts from
their Pakistani
partners express-
ing support for
separatists in
Kashmir, as more
companies got
caught up in the
diplomatic fracas.
The apology
comes after a rare
diplomatic escala-
tion between
South Korea and
India on Tuesday
over social media
posts by Hyundai
Motors’ Pakistani
partner, which
caused an uproar
and calls to boy-
cott the carmaker.
Japan’s Suzuki
Motor, majority
owner of India’s
biggest carmaker
Maruti Suzuki,
Honda Motor and
IsuzuMotor,South
Korea’s Kia Mo-
tors and Yum!
Brands’ KFC also
issued apologies
as criticism grew
on Twitter over so-
cial media posts.
New Delhi: Over 600
Kashmiri Pandit mi-
grant families’ land
has been restored in
the last five years, the
Centre told Parliament
Wednesday, adding that
the government is tak-
ing various steps to en-
sure that such families
can safely return to val-
ley and also can earn
their livelihood with-
out any fear.
“As per the informa-
tion provided by the
Government of Jammu
and Kashmir, the land
of 610 applicants (mi-
grants) has been re-
stored in the last five
years,”Ministerof State
for Home Affairs Nity-
anand Rai informed the
Rajya Sabha.
“Under the JK Mi-
grant Immovable Prop-
erty (Preservation, Pro-
tection Restraint on
Distress Sales) Act,
1997, District Magis-
trates (DMs) of con-
cerned Districts in Jam-
mu Kashmir are the
legal custodians of the
immovable properties
of Migrants. The DMs
are further empowered
to take all steps for the
preservation and pro-
tection of such proper-
ties,” the Minister said.
To ensure that mi-
grant Kashmiri pandit
families do not have
problems to gain custo-
dy of their property, a
portal was also
launched by JK ad-
ministration, it said.
Kashmir
tweet row
entangles
more cos
600 Kashmiri Pandit families’ land restored
New Delhi: Experts
have warned that
the next Covid-19
variant will be
more transmis-
sible, and perhaps,
more deadly. WHO
epidemiologist Dr
Maria Van Kerkhove
stressed that the
future variants will
be in some way
more virulent than
Omicron is now.
NEXT VARIANTS
WILL BE MORE
VIRULENT: WHO
New Delhi: Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut on
Wednesday said that he
has all the evidence to
back up his claims and
would reveal them at
the right time. Raut had
earlier alleged that the
ED has been harassing
him and his family after
he refused to help in
toppling the Maharash-
tra govt. He alleged that
there was a criminal
syndicate involving
the ED and some black-
mailers like BJP’s Kirti
Soumya that he was go-
ing to expose.
The ED officials “are
now reduced to puppets
of their masters”, he
had said and added that
the officials have even
admitted that they have
been asked by their
'bosses' to 'fix' me.
Will expose criminal
syndicate: Sena MP
warns probe agencies
Mumbai: Maha-
rashtra minister
Nawab Malik on
wednesday said
the NCP, Congress
and Shiv Sena will
not only continue
to govern Maha-
rashtra, but will
also come to power
at the Centre by
dislodging the BJP
at the Centre.
BJP’S ILLUSION
THAT WE’LL GET
SCARED: MALIK
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Different
groups have their own
concerns regarding the
next year’s Budget of
the central government.
One of these big con-
cerns is whether the
Central Government
will continue the Prad-
han Mantri Garib Kaly-
an Yojana or will it be
closed? This question is
because the Finance
Minister did not say an-
ything about it in the
general budget. Keep in
mind that at the end of
lastyear,thecentralgov-
ernment had decided to
end this scheme. Then
many states including
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
announced to imple-
ment this scheme on
their own. Since assem-
bly elections are going
on in five states, the
Center also extended
this scheme by four
months, the limit for
whichwillendonMarch
31. That is, the election
willendinthefirstweek
of March and the
scheme will end on the
last day of the current
financial year. What will
happen after that?
Many experts are
speculating that the gov-
ernment has kept the
budget for procurement
of paddy and wheat
fromfarmersatthemin-
imum support price
(MSP) same as last year,
so it is possible that it
should be carried for-
ward. Keep in mind that
this year the Finance
Minister has made a
provision of two lakh 37
thousand crore rupees
for the purchase of food
grains. Last year it was
Rs 2 crore 42 lakh crore.
However, another fig-
ure in Nirmala Sithara-
man’s budget indicates
that it may be scrapped.
She has reduced the
budget for distribution
of food grains through
Public Distribution
System (PDS) from Rs 2
lakh 10 thousand 929
crore to one lakh 45 920
crore. That is, there has
been a reduction of Rs
65 thousand crores.
That is why it seems
that the Pradhan Man-
tri Garib Kalyan Anna
Yojana may not go be-
yond March 31.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO
GARIB KALYAN YOJANA?
SC GIVES ANTICIPATORY BAIL TO
TRINAMOOL LEADER IN MURDER CASE
DUE PROCESS OF LAW BEING FOLLOWED IN
POLICE ENCOUNTERS: ASSAM GOVT TO HC
AHMEDABAD BLASTS: HEARING ON
QUANTUM OF SENTENCE ON FEB 11
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted anticipa-
tory bail to Trinamool Congress leader SK Supiyan,
who was the election agent of
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee in Nandigram during
last year’s assembly elections,
in a murder case. A bench of
Justices L Nageswara Rao
and Abhay S Oka, however,
imposed several conditions while granting the relief
to Supiyan. The top court on February 4 had reserved
its order when the CBI had said that Supiyan has been
running away from the investigation in the murder case
of a BJP worker being probed by it.
Guwahati: Due process of law and all guidelines issued
by the NHRC are being followed in all cases of police
encounters that have taken place in Assam since May
last year, the state government claimed in an affidavit
filed before the Gauhati High Court. In the affidavit
filed in connection with a PIL, the Assam government
informed the court that 28 people have been killed
and 73 others injured in police action from May 10
last year, when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
assumed charge, till January 28 this year. The Assam
government on February 7 filed the “detailed affidavit”,
a copy of which is available with PTI, as sought by the
Gauhati HCt, which on Tuesday deferred the hearing of
the PIL related to the encounters till February 10.
Ahmedabad: A special court here on Wednesday
said it will begin hearing arguments on February
11 for deciding on the quantum of sentence for
convicts in the case of 2008 Ahmedabad serial
bomb blasts. The hearing was deferred after a
defence lawyer requested some time to gather
documents before the court begins further pro-
ceedings. The court had on Tuesday convicted
49 people in the case related to the blasts which
had claimed 56 lives. In the verdict, which came
13 years, special judge AR Patel acquitted 28
accused, giving them the benefit of doubt.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: As many as
4,844 foreigners have
been granted Indian
citizenship in the past
five years, the govt told
the Lok Sabha. In 2021,
the govt granted almost
three times the number
of Indian citizenships
compared to 2020. Ac-
cording to the data, 817
foreigners were granted
Indian citizenship in 2017,
628 in 2018, 987 in 2019,
639 in 2020 and 1,773 in
2021. “The citizenship of
India is governed under
the provisions of Citizen-
ship Act, 1955.
Kohima: The Nagaland State Disaster Management
Authority (NSDMA) has declared a ‘drought of a
moderate nature’ in the entire state for six months
from September 2021 to March this year. The
NSDMA declared the ‘drought of moderate nature’
after taking into account the conditions arising from
rainfall deficiency and poor crop conditions, an of-
ficial statement issued in Kohima.
4,844 FOREIGNERS
GRANTED INDIAN
CITIZENSHIP
‘DROUGHT OF A MODERATE NATURE’
DECLARED IN NAGALAND
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
will begin a six-day visit to Australia and the Phil-
ippines beginning on Thursday. His visit to Aus-
tralia from February 10 to 13 will be his first trip
to that country as EAM. The visit to the Philip-
pines comes over two weeks after the Southeast
Asian country signed a $375m deal with India to
buy 3 batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile.
JAISHANKAR TO VISIT AUSTRALIA,
PHILIPPINES FROM FEB 10-15: MEA
As of Feb 9,
2022, Ambani is
at 10th spot on
Bloomberg
Billionaires
Index global list
with a net worth
of $89.2 bn
Mukesh Ambani Gautam Adani

NEWS
07
5 COPS SACKED,
BOOKED UNDER
CRIMINAL
CHARGES
Five policemen have been
suspended and booked under
criminal charges for pocketing
Rs 4.5 lakh during vehicle
checking near Katwarupur
village. Police sources said that
trader Veer Chauraiya was
heading towards Varanasi from
Bhadohi along with his friend
Umesh Yadav when Rs 8.5 lakh
were recovered from the bag of
Veer Chaurasiya during vehicle
checking by a surveillance team
on February 7. Veer failed to
provide an account of the Rs 4.5
lakh, following which the
surveillance team seized the
money to hand it over to the
income tax department. Veer
was told to provide an account
of the money and recover it from
the income tax department, but
it was alleged that the team
never deposited the money with
the income tax department.
Veer filed a complaint about this
at Jansa police station and
investigations were launched. A
team of sub-divisional
magistrates and an additional
superintendent of police were
deployed for probe and on
grounds of its reports, action
was taken against the team
members. Kaushal Raj Sharma,
district election officer said that
a case was registered against
accused surveillance team
members including five
policemen, who have been
suspended. All accused have
been arrested, he said, adding
that they will be sent to judicial
custody. Action has been taken
against Sub Inspector Vidyarthi
Singh, constables Jata Shankar
Pandey, Amit Singh, Sanjay
Kumar, and Uday Pratap Singh,
Mukesh Singh Kushwaha CDPO
of Child Development
Department appointed as
Magistrate, videographer
Saurabh Seth, and driver Gorakh
Yadav. —Janaradan Misra
FORMER AMETHI
MLA OBJECTS
TO OMISSION OF
HER NAME FROM
HUSBAND’S
NOMINATION
PAPERS
Former UP MLA Garima Singh
on Wednesday objected to the
omission of her name as wife in
the affidavit filed with his
nomination papers by BJP
candidate Dr Sanjaya Sinh, a
member of the erstwhile Amethi
royal family. Garima Singh, the
first wife of Sanjaya Sinh, filed
the objection in front of
Returning Officer Sanjeev Kumar
Maurya, protesting against the
mention of Amita Singh as his
wife in the affidavit. BJP has this
time given ticket to Dr Sanjaya
Sinh from the Amethi Assembly
seat from where Garima Singh
had won in the last elections. It
is wrong for Dr Sanjaya Sinh not
to show me as his wife, for which
I have filed an objection, Garima
Singh told reporters at the
collectorate office in Gauriganj.
The former MLA said she filed
the objection fighting for her
rights. Showing Amita as his wife
is wrong, she said. On a
question if she will campaign for
Dr Sanjaya Sinh, Garima Singh
said she has not yet taken any
decision in this regard but will
follow directions of the party in
this regard. Dr Sanjaya Sinh, who
was a Congress loyalist earlier,
has been fielded by the BJP from
the seat this time. He had joined
the BJP in 2019. —PTI
TAINTED CANDIDATES RULE
THE ROOST IN PHASE SECOND
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Nearly 25
per cent of candidates,
at least 40 more than in
previous 2017 polls, con-
testing the second phase
of UP elections have a
criminal back-
ground. According to
an analysis released by
the Association for
Democratic Reforms
(ADR) which has anal-
ysed affidavits of 584
out of 586 candidates,
nearly 147 have crimi-
nal cases.
In 2017, of the 67
seats in the second
phase, there were only
107 tainted candidates.
This has put a question
mark on the parties
who claim that they are
against criminalisa-
tion of politics and do
not give tickets to those
with criminal back-
grounds. In 2017, it was
BSP, which topped the
second phase by put-
ting up 25 contestants
with declared criminal
charges against them.
This time, among the
major parties, 35 out of
52 candidates analysed
from SP, 23 out of 54
candidates analysed
from Congress, 20 out
of 55 candidates anal-
ysed from BSP, 18 out of
53 candidates analysed
from BJP, 1 out of 3 can-
didates analysed from
RLD 7 out of 49 can-
didates analysed from
AAP, have declared
criminal cases against
themselves in their af-
fidavits. Among the
candidates with seri-
ous criminal cases in-
clude, 25 out of 52 can-
didates in SP, 16 out of
54 candidates from
Congress, 15 out of 55
candidates from BSP, 11
out of 53 candidates
from BJP, 1 out of 3 can-
didates from RLD, and
6 out of 49 candidates
analysed from AAP.
6 of these candidates
have declared cases re-
lated to crime against
women and one candi-
date has a case related
to murder. Nearly 29 of
the 55 constituencies go-
ing to polls in the sec-
ond phase are ‘red alert’
constituencies because
of the presence of crim-
inals. As per ADR re-
port, there are also 12
candidates who have
declared cases related to
“crimes against wom-
en” one of them has
declared cases related to
rape (IPC section 376).
ADR analysed affidavits of 584 out of 586 candidates and nearly 147 have criminal cases
Chief Election Commissioner of UP Ajay Shukla at a press
conference in Lko on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Based on the data, the ADR said that SC directions
have had no effect on political parties in selection of
candidates in phase I of the polls. “All major parties
contesting in UP phase I elections have given tickets
to 15% to 75% candidates who have declared crimi-
nal cases against themselves. The SC in its directions
dated February 13, 2020 had specifically instructed
political parties to give reasons for such selection
and why other individuals without criminal anteced-
ents could not be selected as candidates,” it said.
“This data clearly shows that political parties have
no interest in reforming the electoral system and our
democracy will continue to suffer at the hands of
lawbreakers who become lawmakers,” it added.
‘DEMOCRACY WILL CONTINUE TO SUFFER’
Three held after BJP
MLA’s supporters
assaulted, cow dung
thrown at them
Noida: Ahead of as-
sembly elections in
western Uttar
Pradesh, supporters
of BJP MLA Sahen-
dra Ramala were al-
legedly assaulted
cow dung thrown at
them during a poll
campaign in Ch-
haprauli area of
Baghpat district, po-
lice said on Wednes-
day. The three per-
sons have been de-
tained in connection
with the case, which
appears to have tak-
en place on Tuesday,
the last day of the
poll campaign,
Baghpat Superinten-
dent of Police Neer-
aj Singh Judaun
said. The police took
note of videos that
surfaced on social
media and showed
supporters of sitting
MLA Sahendra Ra-
mala. On the basis
of the videos, three
people were rounded
up and taken into
custody proceed-
ings were underway
to ascertain their
identities, he said.
Video clips purport-
edly showed cow
dung also being
thrown at the car-
borne supporters of
the MLA. The dis-
trict police chief
along with some oth-
er senior officers
visited the incident
spot to review the
situation in the area,
which goes to polls
on Thursday. —PTI
BJP MLA Sahendra Ramala
17 arrested
in drive
against
Illicit liquor
First India Bureau
Hamirpur: Police
along with excise
department offi-
cials arrested 17
persons for illegal
liquor trading re-
covered more than
1,000 liters of ille-
gal liquor, small
m a n u f a c t u r i n g
equipment, and raw
materials.
Vivek Yadav, Dep-
uty Superintendent
of Police said that a
joint team of
Hamirpur police
and excise depart-
ment raided at Jari-
ya, Lalpura, Chika-
si, Majhgavan, Kur-
ara, Sumerpur,
Sisolar, Bivar,
Maudaha, Muska-
ra, Jalalpur, Sa-
dar Kotwali areas
held 17 perpetrators
involved in the ille-
gal liquor business.
Book analyses mountain temples of central Himalayas
New Delhi: A new book
analyses the construc-
tion of temple sites in
the central Himalayas
through the ages, their
economic, social and
cultural impact on the
region and how they
have developed as plac-
es of pilgrimage. In
“Mountain Temples
Temple Mountains: Ar-
chitecture, Religion,
and Nature in the Cen-
tral Himalayas”, Na-
chiket Chanchani stud-
ies how the remote
mountainous landscape
around the glacial
sources of the river
Ganga was transformed
into a region encoded
with deep meaning, one
approached by millions
of Hindus as a primary
destination of pilgrim-
age. Chanchani’s study
explores scores of stone
edifices and steles that
were erected in the cen-
tral Himalayas. As the
author argues,
“Through their forms,
locations, interactions
with the natural envi-
ronment, and sociopo-
litical context, these
lithic ensembles evoked
legendary worlds, em-
bedded historical mem-
ories in the topography,
changed the mountain
range’s appearance,
and shifted its semiotic
effect.” He draws paral-
lel between religious
locations in places such
as Gujarat and certain
Himalayan temples,
comparing the temple
architecture and relat-
ed connections.
Published by Niyogi
Books, “Mountain Tem-
ples Temple Moun-
tains” has numerous
images of natural fea-
tures, religious struc-
tures and temples in the
Himalayan region to il-
lustrate the author’s
point of view. He also
includes information on
how recent natural di-
sasters have had an im-
pact on the practices
and management of
mountain temples, in-
cluding commenting on
their reconstruction
and revival after these
natural disasters.
Thebookalsoexplores
many lesser known sites
of worshipintheregion,
bringing out their hid-
den nuances, and traces
how successive rulers
over the centuries pro-
moted religious pilgrim-
ages to these mountain
temples for economic,
sociocultural and reli-
gious reasons. —PTI
Badrinath temple. —FILE PHOTO
CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY
Rahul Dev as celebrity guest in DigiflixTV’s DIGISTAR KI KHOJ
Kanpur: DigiflixTv
presents a brand new
show ‘DIGISTAR KI
KHOJ,’ a dancing act-
ing talent show which
will provide budding
artists with a platform
to showcase their talent.
Actor and former model
Rahul Dev will be ap-
pearing as a celebrity
guest. The audition is
set to take place on Feb-
ruary27thwithitsmega
finale taking place on
March5thatLajpatBha-
wan, Kanpur. Deepika
Awasthi, COO of Digi-
flixTv said, “We are ex-
tremely delighted to an-
nounce the show. It has
been in the work for
quite some time. We are
hoping to encounter a
lot of great talent hop-
ing to cater them with a
platform that may
change their path to suc-
cess.”The event is being
managed by Prafulla
Srivastava Artists with
a love for dancing and
acting can register for it
on their website www.
DigistarKiKhoj.com.Di-
giflixTv is a platform
where you can watch
original shows, web se-
ries and songs. They re-
cently launched Digi-
flixTv Bangla in Kolk-
ata. Event Producer and
Managing Partner of
Awsome Events , which
is organizing the show
said that the best part of
the this show is the com-
mitment of giving work
to winners on DigiflixT-
V;s upcoming Web Se-
ries and Films.
Rahul Dev
AKHILESH YADAV’S RAMPUR VISIT
POSTPONED DUE TO BAD WEATHER
Farmers’ protest will have impact on
UP polls: BKU President Naresh Tikait
Lucknow: Samajwa-
di Party president
Akhilesh Yadav’s
Rampur visit was
postponed on Wednes-
day due to bad weath-
er, the party said. Ya-
dav was scheduled to
visit Rampur to cam-
paign for party candi-
dates Azam Khan and
his son Abdullah
Azam ahead of the as-
sembly polls in the
state. “The pro-
grammes of national
president Akhilesh
Yadav in Rampur
have been postponed
due to bad weather.
The fresh dates for the
same will be an-
nounced soon,” the
party said in a tweet.
Rampur will go to
polls in second phase
on February 14. —PTI
Sisauli: The Bhartiya
Kisan Union (BKU)
president Naresh Ti-
kait on Wednesday
said that his ‘apoliti-
cal’ organisation is
not supporting any
party but the
13-month-long farmer
protest will have an
impact on UP Assem-
bly polls. Tikait said,
“BKU always has been
apolitical organisa-
tion but we did sup-
port BJP in the past
but now we do not
want to interfere in
public’s mandate. We
are not supporting
anypoliticalpartyand
public has full right to
decide whom to caste
the vote. It (farmer
protest) will have an
impact as it stayed for
13months.AsFarmers
werenotrespectedand
this will have impact
in the UP elections.”
Speaking upon the is-
sues dominating in his
village Sisauli, BKU
president had his own
grievance, where he
saideverygovernment
ignored the area not
much investment has
been made. —ANI
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait during a press conference. — PHOTO BY PTI

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
57,85,073
TOTAL DEATHS
32,15,70,474
TOTAL RECOVERED
7,44,63,662
ACTIVE CASES
40,18,19,209
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,05,308
TOTAL DEATHS
4,10,12,869
TOTAL RECOVERED
8,92,799
ACTIVE CASES
4,24,10,976
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Of all the things we need to
make peace with - our past and
people who have hurt us - are
the most important for self-growth.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: The seniori-
ty list of IAS officers of
UP cadre has been re-
leased by the Appoint-
ments Department. In
the list, 545 IAS officers
of the state’s cadre have
been mentioned. The
first name among the
IAS officers of the state
isthatof DurgaShanker
Mishra,Chief Secretary
Uttar Pradesh, while
Sanjay Agarwal, who is
onCentraldeputation,is
second Rajendra Ti-
wari, former Chief Sec-
retary of the state, is 3rd
in the list. At the bottom
at number 545 is Ajay
Kumar Gautam of IAS
2020 batch.
The seniority list
doesn’t have any IAS of-
ficersfromthe2021batch
as the central govern-
ment is yet to allot cadre
stateof thisbatch,which
is why the DoPT did not
send the information
aboutnumber,nameand
detail of the IAS officers
of 2021 batch Uttar
Pradesh cadre.
At the same time, PCS
officersof UttarPradesh
who were promoted to
IAS rank last year have
found their place in the
list. Such officers have
either got 2014 batch or
2015 batch and the last
name in the list among
such officers is that of
IAS Kapil Singh. IAS
Arun Kumar-II and oth-
er IAS officers below
Kapil Singh have com-
plained to DOPT about
PCS officers being given
a senior batch than
them.
In the list the names
of 1 IAS officers, Gham-
shyam Singh are miss-
ing as they were rein-
stated after 1 January
2022 and the seniority
list took into consider-
ation only the period
between 1 January 2021
and 31 December 2021.
CS Durga Shankar
Mishra has given credit
for the publication of
the seniority list to ACS
DeveshChaturvedi,Spe-
cial Secretary Ghanshy-
am Mishra, Dhananjay
Shukla, Under Secy Ra-
ghavendra Pratap Singh
and Naseem Khan.
The names of the 41
IAS officers who are
currently on a deputa-
tion to the central gov-
ernment has been giv-
en a separate space in
the list.
UP Cadre IAS officers’ seniority list issued, carries names of 545 bureaucrats
PECKING ORDER

The seniority list
doesn’t have
any officers
from the 2021
batch as the
Centre is yet to
allot cadre state
of this batch
Outgoing CS RK Tiwari (R) congratulates Durga Shankar Mishra
for taking charge as new CS of UP at Lok Bhawan, in Lucknow.
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the Ro-
hilkhand region of UP
,
the north-western part,
polling is going to be
heldintheinitialphases.
The demand for making
thisareaaseparatestate,
once the kingdom of
Ruhela Afghans, has
arisen many times.
Mayawati and Mulay-
am Singh Yadav have
also won elections in Ro-
hilkhand, which was the
work place of veteran
leaders like Acharya
Kriplani, Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad, Pandit Go-
vind Vallabh Pant. The
BJP had won more than
two-thirdsof theseatsin
the last assembly elec-
tionsinthisregion,once
considered a stronghold
of the Samajwadi Party
.
In this election, there is
a close contest between
BJP and SP here.
Notably
, there are sev-
en major districts under
RohilkhandinUP;Shah-
jahanpur, Bareilly
, Pilib-
hit,Rampur,Moradabad,
Bijnor, Budaun. The
maximum nine seats
here are in Bareilly dis-
trict.Of total403seatsin
the UP Legislative As-
sembly
,45seatsbelongto
thisregion.Outof which
in the year 2017 BJP won
34 seats while SP got 11
seats. Congress and BSP
had a disappointing per-
formance in this area. In
the year 2018, Nurpur
MLA Lokendra Singh
Chauhan had died in a
road accident, after
which SP’s Naimul
Hasanhadwonfromthis
seat in the by-election.
SP stalwart Azam Khan,
who was a nine-time
MLA from Rampur seat,
is in the fray again. He is
preparing for the elec-
tions from behind the
bars as his bail has not
been approved yet. His
son Abdulla Azam is
contesting from Swar
seat against whom Ali
Haider Khan has been
fielded as Apna Dal-S
BJP alliance candidate.
Many influential minis-
ters of the Yogi govern-
mentareassociatedwith
thisarea.TechnicalEdu-
cation Minister Jitin
Prasad, BJP National
Treasurer Rajesh Agar-
wal, Finance Minister
Suresh Khanna, MoS for
Revenue Chhatrapal
SinghGangwarandMoS
for Urban Development
Mahesh Gupta belong to
the Rohilkhand region.
Muslim and Kurmi
community is the ma-
jority population in this
area of the state. Apart
from these, there are a
large number of Dalits
and OBC castes like
Lodh, Kashyap, Nishad.
Political parties have
taken great care of caste
equations here to en-
sure victory
.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: After Trina-
mool Congress chief
and West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee, it is Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
who is all set to rev up
electioneering in Uttar
Pradesh.
Part of the National
Democratic Alliance,
the Bihar CM’s Janata
Dal (United), has decid-
ed to hold virtual public
meetings in various UP
assembly constituen-
cies. It’s poll-plank will
be enforcement of pro-
hibition law in Uttar
Pradesh, a la Bihar. JD
(U) state unit president
Anup Singh Patel said
senior JD (U) leader and
Union steel minister
RCP Singh held several
rounds of talks with Un-
ion home minister Amit
Shah, defence minister
Rajnath Singh, BJP na-
tional president JP Na-
dda and BJP UP in-
charge Dharmendra
Pradhan but there was
no positive response
from the BJP leader-
ship. So, the party lead-
ership decided to go solo
in Uttar Pradesh assem-
bly election, he said.
The JD (U) has al-
ready announced candi-
dates on 20 assembly
seats in the districts lo-
cated in east and cen-
tral UP, including Vara-
nasi, Ayodhya, Mir-
zapur, Sonbhadara, Un-
nao, Prayagraj, Aurai-
ya, Shravasti, Sid-
dharthnagar, Jaunpur,
Deoria, Kanpur Dehat,
Pratapgarrh, Amethi
and Lucknow.
JD (U) has decided to
field candidates on seats
in which it has strong
organisational network.
“We have identified
50 assembly seats in
various districts. Can-
didates on the remain-
ing 30 seats will be an-
nounced soon,” Patel
said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: IRSS Amit
Singh of Indian Rail-
ways (2000 batch)
has been named
as Secretary to
CM Yogi. Singh
has served the In-
dian Railways for
14 years and after
Yogi Adityanath
was elected as
CM of UP, Amit
Singh who was on dep-
utation was named as
Special Secretary to
the CM.
Once he got to the
Senior Administrative
Grade in the Railways,
the application for his
promotion was sent to
the Appointments De-
partment of the Gov-
ernment of UP. Once
the procedures
were completed,
IAS Dhananjay
Shukla, Special
Secretary, Ap-
pointment De-
partment issued
the order naming
him as Secretary
to the CM.
Singh, who is con-
sidered to be a very
close to CM Yogi, was
Regional Passport Of-
ficer in 2016 and has
held posts of CPRO
and GM of NE Railway
in Gorakhpur
SP eyes wresting
seats from BJP in
Rohilkhand region
A BJP rally in run-up to the UP Assembly polls. —FILE PHOTO
JDU chief and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar addressing a rally
—FILE PHOTO
Bareilly has nine assembly seats... Baheri, Mirganj,
Bhojipura, Nawabganj, Faridpur, Bithri Chainpur, Bareilly,
Bareilly Cantt and Amla. Moradabad has six seats...
Moradabad Nagar, Kanth, Thakurdwara, Moradabad
Dehat, Kundarki and Bilari. SP has fielded Muslim
candidates in all the seats here. Thakurdwara, Kundarki,
Bilari were with the SP. Badaun has seven... Gunnaur,
Bisauli, Sahaswan, Bilsi, Badaun, Shekhupur and Data-
ganj. Four assembly seats of Pilibhit .... Pilibhit Sadar,
Bisalpur, Puranpur and Barkheda. Eight seats of Bijnor..
Bijnor-Chandpur-Nurpur-Nahtaur Su-Dhampur-Badhapur,
Nagina, Najibabad.
NUMBER OF SEATS
JDU going solo in state polls after BJP cold shoulder
AfterMamata,Nitish
allsettorevuppoll
campaigninUP
BJP WILL LOSE UTTAR PRADESH, PEOPLE ARE TIRED
OF THEIR PROPAGANDA: LALU PRASAD
New Delhi: Ahead of the UP polls, former Bihar chief minis-
ter and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav
on Tuesday slammed Bharatiya Janata Party over the
issues raised said that people in the state are tired of BJP’s
propaganda. “BJP is going to lose in Uttar Pradesh. Peo-
ple in the state are tired of BJP’s propaganda. They have
only been talking about riots, religion and temple,” said
Yadav. Meanwhile, election campaign for the first phase of
assembly polls in western Uttar Pradesh ended on Tuesday
evening. Total 58 assembly seats spread over 11 districts
will go to the polls in the first phase on February 10.
IRSS Amit Singh is
Secretary to the CM
PLEA IN HC SEEKING RESTORATION
OF IMAMBARA GHULAM HAIDER
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: Apetition
has been filed in Alla-
habad HC seeking to
restore the Imambara
GhulamHaider,demol-
ished under Samajwa-
di Party government,
locatedintheChowkof
Prayagraj city
.
In a petition by Syed
Shabbir Shaukat Abi-
di, President of Asar
Foundation, action has
been sought against of-
ficials responsible for
the matter.
In the petition, the
court has been in-
formed that the then
chairman of the Waqf
Board, Waseem Rizvi,
demolished the Imam-
bara at Prayagraj’s
Chowk and built com-
mercial buildings
there. An inquiry was
conducted on this
through a high level
committee. There were
manybigrevelationsin
the case.
The investigation
foundthattheproperty
of Meerut Waqf was
sold to fugitive liquor
baronVijayMallyaand
a liquor factory was set
up. A FIR has been reg-
istered against the
Waqf Minister and the
Chairman in the mat-
ter.CBCIDisinvestigat-
ing the matter.
The HC granted con-
ditional bail to a man
accused of appearing in
SSC Exam on another’s
admit card. A bench of
Justice JJ Munir passed
this order while hearing
a bail plea by Shyam
Babu Yadav. This is an
application for bail on
behalf of the applicant,
in connection with case
under Sections 120B,
419, 420, 467, 468, 471
IPC and Section 6/10 U.P
Public Examination Act,
PS Puramufti, District
Prayagraj. It is submitted
by counsel that the appli-
cant has been prosecuted
in the instant case for ap-
pearing in the SSC Exam
on another’s admit card,
whereas the fact is he is
not a proxy candidate, it
was submitted.
HIGH COURT
GRANTS BAIL TO
‘EXAM SOLVER’
Lucknow: Asking peo-
ple not to be swayed by
tallpromisesof political
parties, BSP supremo
Mayawati on Wednes-
day claimed people of
UPwillteachrulingBJP
a lesson in the assembly
polls because of its
faulty policies . Ahead
of the UP assembly elec-
tions, drama and hypoc-
risy(of politicalparties)
is going on to mislead
people with tall promis-
es. People are suffering
due to the wrong poli-
cies of the BJP govern-
ment and are eager to
teach a lesson to the an-
ti-people government,”
Mayawati said ina state-
ment issued here.
“People should keep
in mind that only BSP
can give a reliable gov-
ernmentfreeof violence
and riots while generat-
ing employment and en-
suring development,”
she said.
Attacking the BJP,
Congress, and Sama-
jwadi Party, Mayawati
said,“Crores of poor
people of Bahujan Sa-
maj and upper caste so-
ciety have been hit by
the anti-people attitude
of the BJP, SP and Con-
gress. People should not
forget this. All these
parties share the blame
and responsibility for
the peoples’ plight.”
“The formation of a
BSP government will be
a welcome change for
people living in unprec-
edentedstress,pain,and
struggle under the BJP
rule. Crores are suffer-
ing due to poverty, un-
employment and infla-
tion,” she said. —PTI
People of UP will teach BJP a lesson for its faulty policies: Mayawati
NEW INNINGS
SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav with (R) ex-IAS Fateh Bahadur
and (L) ex-PCS officer Chintamani who joined the party
on Wednesday.
BSP Supremo Mayawati
Amit Singh

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEELANJANA JANGID IS A
BEACON OF EASE,
SOPHISTICATION, STYLE AND A
WOMAN WHO LIVES AS MUCH
FOR HER OWN INTERESTS AND
DESIRES AS SHE DOES FOR
CREATING A SENSE OF FAMILY
WITH THOSE SHE CHOOSES. IN
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH CITY FIRST, THE
STUNNING BEAUTY TALKS
ABOUT FAME, FAMILY AND HER
JOURNEY SO FAR!
The
Joyful
The
Joyful
WARRIOR
WARRIOR
eelanjana Jan-
gid seems to be
at ease every-
where. Wheth-
er it’s walking
on the ramp,
acing the
hoardings, fashion
shows, or social media
feeds, this 20-year-old
young star, hailing from
Jaipurissurelyaninspi-
ration for the emerging
stars. Self-acceptance,
however, was hard-won.
Now, she’s basking in it.
Being a supermodel
often means having to
deal with photoshoots,
scheduling and travel
that are subject to
change at the 11th hour.
This year, Neelanjana
Jangid is determined to
maintain more consist-
ent routines. Talking
about her modelling
journey, the diva said,
“My modelling journey
started from Elite Miss
Rajasthan. I still re-
member giving audi-
tions and since then
there has been no look-
ing back. I have evolved
so much as a person and
as a model. I’d also like
to thank Gaurav Gaur,
my mentor and director
Elite Miss Rajasthan for
helping me tap my po-
tential. He has always
been so kind and sup-
portive to the entire
team.”
She further added, “I
enjoy modelling be-
cause it gives me a plat-
form to showcase not
just my outer beauty
but inner beauty and
strength both.
When asked who has
been her source of in-
spiration and lifted her
spirits on bad days, Nee-
lanjana said, “There are
no second thoughts, my
mother has always been
my true source of inspi-
ration. Someone who
hasalwaysbeenthrough
my ups and downs. She
is a wonderful human
being and has taught me
so much, truly made me
who I am.
On asking what ad-
vice she’d like to give to
the teens who are now
showing
huge in-
t e r e s t
in the
field of
fashion
and mod-
e l l i n g ,
the shin-
ing star,
Neelanjana
said, “I am a
strong believ-
er of self-love
and confi-
dence. I’d like
all the ravish-
ing girls out
there to go and
slay! Don’t let the
world rule you,
just believe in
yourself keep go-
ing. Face your
fears never be
scared to own
your flaws!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
N
LUCKNOW, THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 10, 2022

10022022 first india lucknow

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