16022022 first india ahmedabad

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A stra-
tegic memorandum of
understanding (MoU)
was on Tuesday signed
in the presence of Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel, between the
state’s Department of
Science and Technolo-
gyandQXGlobalGroup
Ltd, which is active in
the business process
management space.
The tie-up is the result
of the recently an-
nounced IT/ ITeS Poli-
cy 2022-27 aimed at the
holistic development of
these sectors in the
state, officials said.
Welcoming the first-
ever Strategic MoU un-
der the new IT Policy,
CM Patel said, “Gujarat
is committed to contrib-
uting towards building
a self-reliant India un-
der the leadership of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi with this new
IT policy aimed at
building a robust infra-
structure to accelerate
the growth of IT sector
in the state.”
Congratulating QX
Global for this initia-
tive, he added that the
stategovernmentwould
also provide necessary
assistance in the firm’s
Gujarat operations.
QX Global CEO
Frank Robbins, who
joined the event via vid-
eo conferencing, said
that his firm--which
was launched in 2003-
04--now employs more
than 2,300 trained per-
sonnel in the IT sector,
about 17,00 of whom
work in Gujarat. Tues-
day’s strategic MoU
would generate around
2,000 more employment
opportunities in the IT
sector in the coming
days, he said.
Science & Technology Secretary Vijay Nehra and OX Global Group Ltd Gujarat representative Snehal
Patel signed the MOU in the presence of CM Bhupendra Patel, and Pankaj Joshi, Additional Chief
Secretary to the CM.
OX Global Guj signs MOU to build robust infrastructure
INVESTMENT PLANS
First such
agreement under
the new IT Policy
likely to create 2K
jobs in the sector
RSS CHIEF TO VISIT
A’BAD IN MARCH
Mohan Bhagwat,
Sarsanghchalak of the
Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh, will visit
Ahmedabad March 11-
13, to attend the organi-
zation’s Akhil Bharatiya
Pratinidhi Sabha at the
Pirana Ashram. Other
dignitaries including Sah
Karyavahak Dattatreya
Hosabale and various
Prant Karyavahaks from
across the nation will
also attend the event,
officials said.
AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 82
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Equity indices rebounded sharply on Tuesday with the
benchmark BSE sensex rising over 1,700 points led by
gains across sectors amid broad-based buying. The
30-share BSE index jumped 1,736 points close at 58,142.
While, NSE Nifty settled 510 points at 17,352. P7
SENSEX
REBOUNDS
SHARPLY, JUMPS
1736 POINTS
Actor Deep Sidhu who was out on bail in the Republic
Day violence case in January last year has died in a
road accident. The accident happened on the Kundli-
Manesar-Palwal e-way. Sidhu was going from Delhi to
Bhatinda when his car rammed a truck on Tuesday.
ACTOR DEEP
SIDHU, ACCUSED IN
R-DAY VIOLENCE,
DIES IN ACCIDENT
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE…
Dusty roads to crowning glory: The making of PM Modi
Shashikant Sharma
Shimla: The spirit of
Gujarati entrepreneur-
ship was also there in
Narendra Modi. He
exercised this qual-
ity to the welfare of
people and not
for amassing wealth for
himself. Every year in
the Gaurikund of Vad-
nagar, a mega fair used
to be held to mark the
Janmashtami celebra-
tions. Narendra Modi’s
father Damodar Das
gave him Re 1 for spend-
ing in the fair. That
time, a terrible flood
had struck various
parts of the country.
Narendra Modi wanted
to help the flood vic-
tims. So, he consulted
his friends and raised
some money from them.
He also contributed
that Re 1 which his fa-
ther had given him for
the fair. Instead of visit-
ing the fair for merri-
ment, he put a tea stall
from that money and
sold tea to visitors. Af-
ter the end of the fair,
he sent the entire collec-
tion to the relief fund
for the flood victim.
This shows the spirit of
philanthropy and the
human face of Naren-
dra Modi for public wel-
fare.
Notably
, 1973 has a sig-
nificant place in Naren-
dra Modi’s political life.
There was an engineer-
ingcollegeinAhmedabad
where students had
called a strike against
the irrational raise in
messbill.Narendra,who
was 23 years old then,
also joined the protest.
The strike snowballed
into a historical mass
movement against black
marketing, corruption,
highinflationandunem-
ployment. Full report on P4
INDIA PREPS FOR G20 PRESIDENCY FROM 1 DEC
New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Tuesday approved the
setting up of a G20 Secretariat and related structures that
will implement policy decisions and be responsible for
arrangements for India’s forthcoming presidency of the
group in 2023. India will hold the presidency of the G20
from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, culminat-
ing with the G20 Summit in India next year. The decision
on setting up the secretariat and other structures was
made at a cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
FIFTH FODDER SCAM
Lalu & Co. convicted...
27 years on, CBI court convicts Lalu Prasad Yadav, 74 others in case pertaining
to the withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury of Ranchi
during 1995-1996. Sentencing for Lalu Prasad and several others is awaited
Ranchi: A special CBI
courtinRanchionTues-
day convicted Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) chief
Lalu Prasad and 74 oth-
er accused in the fifth
fodder scam pertaining
to illegal withdrawal of
money from the Doran-
da treasury
. Special
Judge SK Sashi also ac-
quitted 24 accused in the
case pertaining to the
withdrawal of Rs 139.35
crore from the Doranda
treasury of Ranchi dur-
ing 1995-1996.
This is the fifth case
of the fodder scam and
Lalu Prasad, convicted
in the previous four
cases, is currently out
on bail. One more case
is pending before CBI
Patna pertaining to the
illegal withdrawal of
money from the Banka-
Bhagalpur treasury
.
His Defence lawyer
said: “Lalu Prasad has
been convicted. Out of
the 99 accused, 24 have
beenacquitted.Outof 75,
34accusedhavebeensen-
tenced to three years of
imprisonment and the
sentencing for the re-
mainingaccused,includ-
ing Lalu, is awaited.”
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav arrives to appear before the CBI
Special Court, in Ranchi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
No farmer in UP will have to pay
power bills for next 5 years: Shah
Auraiya: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on
Tuesday said that once
his party is re-elected to
power, farm-
ers in UP will
not have to
pay electrici-
ty bills for
next 5 years.
Shah said, “Holi is on
18th (March), counting
is on 10th, bring us to
power, free gas cylin-
ders will reach your
house on March 18.”
VOTE FOR CONGRESS TO UPHOLD PEACE IN PUNJAB,
IDENTIFY ‘FORCES’ BEHIND BJP, AAP: RAHUL GANDHI
Rajpura: Speaking from former CM Amarinder
Singh’s family bastion of Patiala, Rahul Gandhi
on Tuesday exhorted the people of Punjab to
vote for the Congress to maintain peace and
refrain from handing over the border state to
parties that had “forces” behind them.
CONGRESS DOES NOT REFLECT NATIONAL MOOD:
ASHWANI KUMAR AFTER QUITTING PARTY
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader from the state
and ex-Union minister Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday
resigned from the party. Kumar said that “I have
concluded that in the present circumstances and
consistent with my dignity, I can best subserve
larger national causes outside the party fold”.
Hijab row: K’taka HC
to resume hearing today
❍ ADJOURNED FOR DAY 3
New Delhi: The Karna-
taka High Court on
Tuesday adjourned the
hearing on petitions
challenging a ban on hi-
jab in educational insti-
tutes till Wednesday
.
The petitioners ar-
gued that they should be
allowed to wear head-
scarves in colours that
match their school uni-
form as even Centre-run
Kendriya Vidyalayas
allow the same. —PTI
STUDENTS REFUSE
TO GIVE EXAMS
Some students were
asked to sit in a
separate room as they
refused to appear for
exams without wearing
their headscarves in
Shivmogga and Udupi
cities of the state. Few
students of Karnataka
Public School in Nel-
lihudikeri in Kodagu
district staged a protest
against the hijab ban.
New Delhi: In what
would be the first major
step towards de-escala-
tion in weeks of crisis,
Russia’s defence minis-
try spokesperson on
Tuesday said the coun-
try was pulling back
some of its forces near
the Ukrainian border to
their bases. The Krem-
lin has also confirmed
that troops are being
pulled back, news agen-
cy AFP reported.
President Putin was
asked if he can exclude
the possibility of war
in Europe. He refer-
ences Chancellor
Scholz’s earlier com-
ments that his genera-
tion cannot imagine
war in Europe - but
points out the conti-
nent has seen war in
Yugoslavia in the 1990s,
which he claims was
initiated by Nato.
Putin says Russia
doesn’t want war and
so has put forward pro-
posals to start a nego-
tiation process - but he
says there has been no
constructive response
to Russia’s proposals.
—Agencies
RUSSIA DOES NOT
WANT WAR, SAYS PUTIN
BUT STILL RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE NOT RULED OUT
INDIA ASKS CITIZENS
TO LEAVE UKRAINE
New Delhi: All Indian
should leave Ukraine in
view of the escalating
tension with Russia, Indian
Embassy in Kyiv has said in
an advisory. It was issued
hours after the US Govt
spokespersons said that
Russia was expected to
invade Ukraine on Feb 16.
UKRAINE REPORTS CYBER ATTACK ON
DEFENCE MINISTRY WEBSITE, BANKS
KYIV: Ukraine’s defence ministry and two banks came
under a cyber attack on Tuesday that shut access to the
ministry’s website, Ukraine’s information security centre
said. The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications
and Information Security, which is part of the culture
ministry, did not say who it blamed for the attack, but a
statement suggested it was pointing the finger at Russia.
“It is not ruled out that the aggressor used tactics of little
dirty tricks because its aggressive plans are not working
out on a large scale,” it said.
Look out notice against
former CMD, 8 others
New Delhi: The CBI on
Tuesday said it has is-
sued look out notices
against Rishi Kamlesh
Agarwal, the former
chairman and manag-
ing director of ABG
Shipyard, and eight oth-
ers in a bank fraud case
of over Rs 22,842 crore.
The agency in a state-
ment said Look Out Cir-
culars (LOCs) have al-
readybeenopenedbythe
CBI against the accused,
while maintaining that
accused have been locat-
ed in India. The look out
notices have been issued
to prevent them from
leaving the country
, offi-
cials said. —PTI
❍ ABG SHIPYARD FRAUD
BJP LEADER
POONIA INJURED
IN REET PROTEST
Jaipur: BJP State presi-
dent Satish Poonia and
MLA Madan Dilawar were
injured while crossing the
police barricades when
the police stopped them
police on Tuesday during
a massive protest outside
the Assembly demanding
CBI inquiry in REET-2021
paper leak case. Later,
Poonia and other leaders
made a symbolic arrest.
LAKHIMPUR CASE:
UNION MIN’S SON
RELEASED ON BAIL
Lucknow: Ashish
Mishra, Union Minister
Ajay Mishra’s son and
the main
accused in
the killing
of protest-
ing farmers
in UP’s
Lakhimpur
Kheri last year, has been
released from jail. He left
prison via the back gate
in an SUV - not normal
procedure for other
prisoners.
JPR: 4 GUJ COPS,
ACCUSED KILLED IN
ROAD ACCIDENT
Jaipur: Five people, in-
cluding four Gujarat Police
personnel and an accused,
were killed after their
vehicle collided with a tree
here on the intervening
night of Monday and Tues-
day in Bhabru area near
Nijhar Mor on the Jaipur-
Delhi national highway, the
police said. P8
CORONA CATASTROPHE
Gujarat A’ bad
NEW
CASES
376
NEW
CASES
988 NEW
DEATHS
16

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court has is-
sued notice on a peti-
tion challenging the
Gujarat High Court’s
order staying Section
5 of the Gujarat Free-
dom of Religion
(Amendment) Act,
2021, which mandat-
ed permission of Dis-
trict Magistrates for
religious conversion.
A bench of Justices
Abdul Nazeer and
Krishna Murari while
hearing an appeal filed
by the State govern-
ment against staying
Section 5 of the Act is-
sued notice to Jamiat
Ulama E-Hind Gujarat
and the other on whose
petition High Court or-
der had come.
“Issue notice,” said
the bench.
The Gujarat High
Court on August 19
last year in an inter-
im order had stayed
Sections 3, 4, 4A to
4C, 5, 6 and 6A of the
Gujarat Freedom of
Religion (Amend-
ment) Act 2021.
Section 5 of the Act
requires a person who
is converting another
person from one reli-
gion to another, to seek
prior permission for
such a conversion from
the district magistrate
and also requires the
person converting to
send an intimation to
the district magistrate
of the district where
the ceremony of con-
version took place.
Failing to adhere to
this provision attracts
imprisonment up to
one year or with a fine
which may extend up to
Rs 1,000, or both.
The Gujarat govern-
ment approached the
top court in October
against the High Court
order, claiming that
Section 5 of the Act has
been in place ever since
the original law was en-
acted in 2003 and it has
nothing to do with mar-
riage per se.
Notably, the very
first case under the
new law, registered a
few days after the
Amendment came
into play fell apart
when the complain-
ant later said that the
charges of ‘forced
conversion’ were add-
ed fraudulently in a
minor domestic dis-
pute case she filed
against her husband
and in-laws.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In view
of the Gujarat As-
sembly elections
scheduled to be held
in December, Con-
gress leader Hardik
Patel has approached
the High Court seek-
ing an urgent hear-
ing on his plea
against conviction in
the 2015 Visnagar
riot case.
Patel’s lawyer on
Monday sought from
the court of Justice BN
Karia an urgent hear-
ing in the case, citing
that as on the date, the
Congress leader is
barred from contesting
elections and he will be
in a position to fight
the polls only if the ap-
peal is decided.
The court has set
February 28 as the next
date for hearing.
In July 2018, a ses-
sions court at Visna-
gar in Mehsana dis-
trict had sentenced
Patel to two years of
imprisonment for ri-
oting and arson at
Visnagar town dur-
ing the Patidar quota
stir led by him in
2015.
The high court had
in August 2018 sus-
pended the sentence,
but not his conviction.
As per the Repre-
sentation of the Peo-
ple Act and a related
Supreme Court rul-
ing, a convict facing a
jail term of two years
or more cannot con-
test an election un-
less his conviction is
stayed.
Patel had moved the
Gujarat High Court in
2018 challenging the
conviction and sought
a stay, which was re-
jected by the court
ahead of the 2019 Lok
Sabha election.
He had later joined
the Congress and was
made the working pres-
ident of the party's
state unit.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Members
of the Vadodara Par-
ents Association
(VPA) on Tuesday
submitted a memo-
randum to the dis-
trict education of-
ficer (DEO), regard-
ing various issues
such as private
schools charging
fees not according to
recommendations of
the Fee Regulation
Committee (FRC),
mandatory offline
education, not allow-
ing students to at-
tend online classes
due to non-payment
of fees. They de-
manded deduction
in fees like last year
and threaten to agi-
tate if correspond-
ing notification is
not released.
VPA members
chanted slogans
against schools and
called for a rollback
on fee increment.
“Most of the
schools within Va-
dodara have not ad-
hered to the Supreme
Court’s interim judg-
ment about collecting
fees from parents
over and above the
FRC recommenda-
tions. Last year, the
state government had
approved a 25% re-
duction in tuition fees
but due to lack of
clarity on fee adviso-
ry. However, a few
schools were charg-
ing fees as per their
own norms. Manage-
ments even harassed
students by not allow-
ing them to attend on-
line classes. We de-
mand deduction in
fees or charge it as per
FRC,” said Kishor Pil-
lai, President, VPA.
Jalpa Patel, one of
the parents protest-
ing hiked fees, said,
“We are ready to pay
as per FRC rules, but
schools are charging
more. We demand de-
duction in extra fees
being charged by
schools.”
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court on
Tuesday came down
heavily on
Ahmedabad city po-
lice for violating
court protocols. It in-
structed the city po-
lice commissioner to
carry out a depart-
mental inquiry
against traffic police
personnel for beating
up two women in
2019 on the Sarkhej-
Gandhinagar High-
way. The court asked
a report to be submit-
ted by February 25,
when the matter has
been kept for the
hearing.
The first division
bench comprising
Chief Justice Aravind
Kumar and Justice
Ashutosh Shastri was
hearing a petition
against police officers
for ‘illegal’ arrest of
citizens. On Tuesday,
one of the judges spot-
ted one of the respond-
ents drinking a soft
drink while virtual
court proceedings were
underway. The court
took strong objection
to the “lethargic atti-
tude of the police of-
ficer having a soft
drink during proceed-
ings and behaving as if
he was sitting in a
cafe.”
Hoping to diffuse
the situation, the ad-
ditional public pros-
ecutor immediately
apologized to the
court and pleaded for
a pardon on behalf
of the officer. In re-
sponse, the bench
asked the police in-
spector to distribute
100 cans of soft
drinks at the Crimi-
nal Court Bar Asso-
ciation or the public
prosecutors’ office.
The traffic police in-
spector and two consta-
bles are facing allega-
tions of beating up two
women and arresting
them illegally without
lodging any complaint
on SG Highway. The
women were reported-
ly nabbed for violating
traffic rules. The court
reprimanded the police
officer and questioned
their actions by asking
how they could arrest
women without a war-
rant.
HC asks commissioner to submit inquiry report against policemen
NO MERCY
lll
Police
inspector &
two constables
are under fire
for wrongfully
arresting two
women for
violating
traffic rules
in 2019
Court slammedA’bad police for not carrying out a departmental inquiry against their personnel.—FILE PHOTO
GUARD OF HONOUR
Air Marshal Vikram Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command
on February 13-14 visited the frontline Air Base at Bhuj, where he was received by Air
Commodore Maluk Singh, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Bhuj. On arrival, Air
Marshal Singh was presented with a ceremonial Guard of Honour. He later visited various
installations at the base, reviewed its operational readiness and also interacted with air
warriors and other defence security personnel.
VPA URGES DEO TO
RESOLVE SCHOOL
FEES, CLASS ISSUES
HardikPatelseeksstayof
convictioninriotingcase
Parents of school kids protesting outside the DEO office on Tuesday.
Demand rollback of
fee increment by pvt
schools, ask for
FRC regulated
charges
SC agrees to consider govt’s
plea against Guj HC order
On August
19 last year,
the court
had stayed
sections of the
Gujarat
Freedom of
Religion Act
MOVES HC SEEKING URGENT HEARING AHEAD OF ASSEMBLY POLLS
BACKGROUND
In July 2018, a sessions court at Visnagar in Mehsana district had sentenced
Patel to two years of imprisonment for rioting and arson at Visnagar town during
the Patidar quota stir led by him in 2015. The high court had in August 2018
suspended the sentence, but not his conviction. As per the Representation of the
People Act and a related Supreme Court ruling, a convict facing a jail term of two
years or more cannot contest an election unless his conviction is stayed.
Hardik Patel

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Surat: Nearly a thou-
sand people on Tuesday
joined the funeral pro-
cession of a woman col-
lege student, who was
killed allegedly by a
stalker here last week
after she refused to en-
ter into a relationship
with him.
Some angry citizens
also demanded death
penalty for the accused.
Apart from the wom-
an's family members
and relatives, several
prominent citizens, in-
cluding former BJP
MLA Praful Pansuriya,
Aam Aadmi Party's Gu-
jarat unit president Go-
pal Italia and former
Patidar quota leader Al-
pesh Kathiria, also
cession.
Many residents, some
unable to control their
emotions, lined up on a
roadside and showered
flower petals on the van
which carried the mor-
tal remains of Grishma
Vekariya (21).
The funeral proces-
sion started from her
house in Pasodara vil-
lage near here in the
morning and later
reached the Ashwini
Kumar crematorium in
Surat city after covering
a distance of about 10
km.
Many people from dif-
ferent walks of life
cession on their motor-
bikes and in cars as a
mark of sympathy to-
wards the woman's fam-
ily
.
There was also many
women among those
who gathered at the cre-
matorium to bid a final
farewell to the victim.
At the crematorium,
some angry citizens de-
manded capital punish-
ment for the accused,
Fenil Goyani.
On Saturday, Goyani
allegedly slit the wom-
an’s throat with a knife
in full public view and
also injured her uncle
and brother when they
tried to save her, police
had said.
Later, a purported
video of the killing went
viral on social media
platforms, triggering
outrage among citizens.
Goyani, who tried to
commit suicide by cut-
ting his vein after the
incident, was arrested
on Saturday and a case
was registered against
him under relevant pro-
visions, police earlier
said.
The police investiga-
tion into the case re-
vealed that the accused
and the victim had stud-
ied in school together.
When the woman and
her family members op-
posed his desire for a
relationship with her,
Goyani got angry and
killed her, the police
said.
Gujarat registers 998 new nCoV cases, lowest
since Jan 2; 16 die, 2,454 recover in 24 hours
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat on Tuesday re-
rat on Tuesday re-
ported less than 1,000
ported less than 1,000
new COVID-19 cases
new COVID-19 cases
at 998 for the first
at 998 for the first
time in nearly a
time in nearly a
month-and-a-half,
month-and-a-half,
taking its overall tal-
taking its overall tal-
ly to 12,17,328, while
ly to 12,17,328, while
16 more patients suc-
16 more patients suc-
cumbed to the infec-
cumbed to the infec-
tion in the state, the
tion in the state, the
health department
health department
said.
said.
The state had last re-
The state had last re-
ported under 1,000 cor-
ported under 1,000 cor-
onavirus cases at 968
onavirus cases at 968
on January 2 this year.
on January 2 this year.
As many as 16 COV-
As many as 16 COV-
ID-19 patients died in
ID-19 patients died in
the last 24 hours, rais-
the last 24 hours, rais-
ing the toll to 10,838, the
ing the toll to 10,838, the
department said in a
department said in a
release.
release.
As many as 2,454 pa-
As many as 2,454 pa-
tients were discharged
tients were discharged
during the day, which
during the day, which
pushed the tally of re-
pushed the tally of re-
covered cases to
covered cases to
11,95,295, it said.
11,95,295, it said.
With this, the state’s
With this, the state’s
tally of active cases fell
tally of active cases fell
further to 11,195, of
further to 11,195, of
which 77 patients are
which 77 patients are
on ventilator support,
on ventilator support,
the release said.
the release said.
With 2.12 lakh more
With 2.12 lakh more
beneficiaries inoculat-
beneficiaries inoculat-
ed against COVID-19 in
ed against COVID-19 in
Gujarat on Tuesday, the
Gujarat on Tuesday, the
number of vaccine dos-
number of vaccine dos-
es administered so far
es administered so far
rose to 10.13 crore, the
rose to 10.13 crore, the
department said.
department said.
D i s t r i c t - w i s e ,
D i s t r i c t - w i s e ,
Ahmedabad reported
Ahmedabad reported
the highest number
the highest number
of 376 COVID-19 cas-
of 376 COVID-19 cas-
es, followed by Va-
es, followed by Va-
dodara 211, Surat 73,
dodara 211, Surat 73,
Gandhinagar 51 and
Gandhinagar 51 and
Rajkot 46, among
Rajkot 46, among
others, the release
others, the release
said.
said.
Vadodara reported
Vadodara reported
five deaths, Surat
five deaths, Surat
three, Ahmedabad two,
three, Ahmedabad two,
and Gandhinagar, Ra-
and Gandhinagar, Ra-
jkot, Morbi, Valsad,
jkot, Morbi, Valsad,
Panchmahal and Devb-
Panchmahal and Devb-
humi Dwarka one
humi Dwarka one
each, it added.
each, it added.
The adjoining Union
The adjoining Union
Territory of Dadra and
Territory of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, Daman
Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu reported three
and Diu reported three
new COVID-19 cases
new COVID-19 cases
and two recoveries, of-
and two recoveries, of-
ficials said. With this,
ficials said. With this,
the UT’s tally of con-
the UT’s tally of con-
firmed COVID-19 cases
firmed COVID-19 cases
rose to 11,405 and re-
rose to 11,405 and re-
coveries to 11,376.
coveries to 11,376.
COVID-19 testing in Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. —FILE PHOTO
COVID-19
UPDATE
12,17,328
TOTAL CASES
988
CASES IN A
DAY
11,95,295
2,454
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
TOTAL DEATHS
16
DEATHS
IN A DAY
10,838
ACTIVE CASES
376 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
11,195
TOTAL
RECOVERED
12,17,328
Man cuts wife’s nose, hair with knife in Dhoraji
With murders on the rise in Surat in the recent past, protests erupt calling for the state to take responsibility
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A 25-year-old
Rajkot: A 25-year-old
woman was attacked
woman was attacked
by her husband with
by her husband with
a knife at her par-
a knife at her par-
ents’ home in Dhora-
ents’ home in Dhora-
ji, after she refused
ji, after she refused
to come back to live
to come back to live
with him in Rajkot,
with him in Rajkot,
following an es-
following an es-
trangement.
trangement.
Farzana alias Haju
Farzana alias Haju
Sitarbhai Malaviya, a
Sitarbhai Malaviya, a
resident of Ambavadi
resident of Ambavadi
colony in Dhoraji town
colony in Dhoraji town
of Rajkot district, was
of Rajkot district, was
attacked by her hus-
attacked by her hus-
band Sultan alias Tapu
band Sultan alias Tapu
Jan Mohammad June-
Jan Mohammad June-
ja with a knife at her
ja with a knife at her
parents’ residence.
parents’ residence.
Tapu allegedly cut
Tapu allegedly cut
off Farzana’s nose and
off Farzana’s nose and
hair and was about to
hair and was about to
stab her in the stom-
stab her in the stom-
ach, when she shoved
ach, when she shoved
his hand away to pro-
his hand away to pro-
tect herself.
tect herself.
Tapu then injured
Tapu then injured
her hand with the
her hand with the
sharp weapon and fled
sharp weapon and fled
the scene with his
the scene with his
friends, officials said.
friends, officials said.
According to re-
According to re-
ports, Farzana had
ports, Farzana had
been living with Tapu
been living with Tapu
in Rajkot after their
in Rajkot after their
marriage last year.
marriage last year.
After enduring har-
After enduring har-
assment at his hands,
assment at his hands,
she returned to her
she returned to her
parents’ place in
parents’ place in
Dhoraji. Despite multi-
Dhoraji. Despite multi-
ple attempts to get her
ple attempts to get her
to come back, Tapu was
to come back, Tapu was
unsuccessful in per-
unsuccessful in per-
suading Farzana to
suading Farzana to
make amends. Her re-
make amends. Her re-
fusals then prompted
fusals then prompted
him to travel to Dhoraji
him to travel to Dhoraji
and attack her.
and attack her.
The victim has been
The victim has been
referred to Rajkot Civ-
referred to Rajkot Civ-
il Hospital for treat-
il Hospital for treat-
ment. Police have
ment. Police have
nabbed Tapu and one
nabbed Tapu and one
of his friends named
of his friends named
Rahul, who accompa-
Rahul, who accompa-
nied him to Farzana’s
nied him to Farzana’s
residence for the at-
residence for the at-
tack. Dhoraji police
tack. Dhoraji police
have begun investigat-
have begun investigat-
ing the matter.
ing the matter.
The victim is now recovering at the Rajkot Civil Hospital.
Surat’s streets were filled with mourners on Tuesday.
CRUCIAL READ
Himmatnagar: In a major breakthrough, Prantij
police in Sabarkantha
on Monday arrested
a man for allegedly
stealing seven tractor
trolleys. A police unit
commanded by in-
spectors H.S.Trivedi
and Y.B.Barot kept a
lookout near Sadolia
bridge near Prantij
after receiving a tip and intercepted a tractor trol-
ley. When police inquired about the documents
from the driver, he was unable to provide them.
After further questioning, he admitted to stealing
tractor trolleys from various areas near Himmat-
nagar and Vijapur.
Vadodara: Employees of NBC Bearings at
Manjusar GIDC
held a hunger
strike outside the
residence of the
BJP MLA for Savli
Ketan Inamdar on
Tuesday, con-
tinuing their fight
that began more
than a year ago.
They were sacked
around a year and a half ago and are now de-
manding reinstatement. After meeting the firm’s
management, Inamdar said he would try to find
a solution. According to ex-employee Mahen-
dra Gohil on September 19, 2020, the company
abruptly fired roughly 480 employees under the
guise that the company was shutting down, but is
still operational.
Vadodara: A team from the Waghodia taluka’s
Mobile Veterinary Dispensary (MVD) saved the
life of a cow suffering from uterine prolapse. The
ambulance was on its way to Kamrol village for
a routine visit when they learned that the cow
had successfully delivered a calf. During calving,
however, the cow developed a uterine prolapse.
The owner contacted the MVD Amreshwar team,
which included veterinarian Dr Bijal Trivedi, Dr
Bhavik Patel, and pilot Ajitsinh Jadav. The team
immediately cleaned the cow safely and saved the
life of the cow.
Man arrested for stealing 7
tractor trolleys in Sabarkantha
Sacked workers go on hunger
strike outside MLA’s house
V’dara mobile veterinary
dispensary saves cow’s life
Surat mournswoman
killedbyspurnedstalker
CongwantsSanghavitostep
downas‘law&ordercollapses’
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Owing
to a surge in crime rates
in the state, the Con-
gress party has de-
manded Minister of
State for Home Harsh
Sanghavi’s resignation.
In a statement released,
the opposition party
stated, “Murders are
happening in broad
daylight, anti-social ele-
ments do not have any
fear of police, the MoS
Home has failed and so
he should resign from
his post.”
Leader of Opposition
Sukhram Rathva al-
leged, “Drug smuggling
into Gujarat has in-
creased. Police cases
are registered, carri-
ers/smugglers are ar-
rested, but the chain of
drug cartels has not
been broken nor have
those running them
been arrested.” He has
demanded appropriate
action against the drug
cartels.
Echoing a similar
sentiment, Shailesh
Parmar, Deputy Leader
of Opposition, “Not just
drugs, but the state has
become a liquor hub.
Indian Made Foreign
Liquor (IMFL) is smug-
gled from neighbouring
states in trucks and
they pass borders un-
checked. Sometimes,
such trucks are even
piloted by police per-
sons with the support
of high-ranking offi-
cials.”
There are more than
40 lakh unemployed
youths in the state. It
seems that the state has
been made into a safe
havenforlandingdrugs.
As youngsters are not
being granted employ-
ment by the state, drug
trade is flourishing in
the market. The youths
are addicted and never
demand jobs, alleged CJ
Chavda, Congress Leg-
islative Party (CLP)
whip.
He added, “The state
government is not both-
ered to give jobs to
youths; they invite ap-
plications, then papers
leak, examinations are
postponed and/or never
held on time. Young-
sters are promised gov-
ernment jobs but do not
get them.”
21-year-old
Grishma Vekariya
was murdered in
front of her family
on Saturday,
allegedly by her
college-mate
Guj Cong in-charge Dr Raghu Sharma and GPCC president
Jagdish Thakor lead the protest, accompanied by former Guj
Congress chief Amit Chavda, and Jignesh MEvani.
RAGA TO ATTEND CONG SHIBIR IN GUJ
3 murders in
24 hours,10
in 15 days
First India Bureau
Surat: As many as
10 murders have
taken place in Su-
rat over the past 15
days, including
three that occured
within a span of 24
hours over the
weekend.
In the first, a man
was smothered to
death after he re-
fused to share his
snacks at an illegal
watering hole in the
city’s Bhestan area.
he was taken to a
hospital but de-
claredbroughtdead.
In the second, the
dead body of a wom-
an was discovered
behind JP Mall in
Udhana. Police sus-
pect that she was
murdered, but have
ruled out sexual
abuse.
In the third, a dia-
mond broker beat
another to death
with a wooden stick
as an argument over
the placement of a
tableescalatedtothe
point of violence.
Here too the injured
man was taken to a
hospital but died be-
fore he got there.
District-wise, Ahmedabad saw the most new cases
with 376, while Vadodara led in terms of fresh
fatalities, reporting five deaths in a 24-hour span.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol3IssueNo.82 RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
PublishedatD/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35TitaniumSquare,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Haresh Jhala responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
Narendra Modi @narendramodi
Birthday greetings to my dynamic
Cabinet colleague Shri @
HardeepSPuri Ji. He is vigorously
working in the critical spheres
of achieving energy security and
ensuring better urban amenities.
May he lead a long and healthy life.
Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari
The double engine BJP government
in Uttar Pradesh under the
leadership of Prime Minister
Shri @narendramodi ji and Chief
Minister Shri @myogiadityanath ji is
committed to do development work
with service spirit. #UP_Mange_BJP #Vote_For_BJP
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
You have the right to work, but never
engage in action for the sake of rewards,
nor should you long for inaction.
—Bhagavad Gita
fter Captain
Amarinder Sin-
gh, yet another
important Con-
gress leader,
former Union Law Minis-
ter Ashwini Kumar, has
resigned pointing towards
failings in the leadership.
Kumar, who was a cabinet
minister in the Manmohan
Singh government in 2012
before the coal scam con-
troversy erupted, said that
the Congress party was
“out of sync” with the na-
tion’s mood. These are not
the only two senior leaders
who have resigned from
the party in recent times.
Disillusioned by the lead-
ership of brother-sister
duo of Rahul Gandhi and
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,
Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN
Singh, Jitin Prasada, Sush-
mitaDev,PriyankaChatur-
vedi and Lalitesh Tripathi
had left the party earlier.
The Sonia Gandhi loyalist
must have been truly “de-
nuded of dignity”, or else
he wouldn’t have snapped
his ties. Even Amarinder
Singh had felt humiliated
before parting ways with
the Gandhis.
Another senior leader
Manish Tiwari was also
shown his place when the
party decided not to make
him part of the star cam-
paigners team in Punjab.
Tiwari retorted to the snub
by saying that made a star
campaignerhewould“have
been pleasantly surprised”
if he was made a star cam-
paigner. Tiwari, being a
prominent member of the
group of 23 leaders who de-
manded transparent organ-
isational elections in the
party
, is obviously a pariah.
ButAshwiniKumardefend-
ed the Gandhis from G-23
attack. For him to go con-
firms the rot in the party
.
AshwiniKumarsummed
up the situation succinctly
.
The Congress does not
promise a “transformative
leadership”, nor does it
“reflect national aspira-
tions”. As Rahul is not seen
as an alternative, he should
be advised to step back.
ASHWINI KUMAR QUITS,
CONG SINKS FURTHER
Kumar, who was a
cabinet minister in the
Manmohan Singh
government in 2012
before the coal scam
controversy erupted,
said that the Congress
party was “out of sync”
with the nation’s mood
A
he involvement of youth in large
numbers made universities and
colleges its epicentre. The slo-
gan which intensified the pro-
test was - Sach ka naam bagawat
hai to hum sab baghi hain….Jai
Prakash Zindabad….Sampoor-
na Kranti Zindabad. The move-
ment soon came out of the walls
of universities and colleges and
engulfed the entire state. The
intensity was such that the elect-
ed Congress government of Chi-
man Bhai Patel got uprooted.
The movement also sent shivers
to Indira Gandhi government at
the Centre. This was the victory
of youth and of course the tri-
umph of young Narendra. The
election which followed this
movement saw the emergence of
a non-Congress government in
Gujarat in the form of Janta
Morcha. Babu Jayesh Bhai Patel
became the Chief Minister.
Subsequently
, the Navnirman
movementsetthetoneforamajor
political uprising against the
Congress government. Following
the change of guard in Gujarat, a
political shake-up was waiting in
the wings. On June 12, 1975, Jus-
tice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of Alla-
habadHighCourtinvalidatedthe
election of Indira Gandhi as the
Member of Parliament from Rai
Bareli.ThecourtfoundthePrime
Minister guilty on the charge of
misuse of government machin-
ery for her election campaign.
IndiraGandhichallengedthever-
dict of the High Court in the Su-
preme Court, which didn’t give
much relief to the Prime Minis-
ter. Eventually
, to save her posi-
tion on June 25, 1975, Indira Gan-
dhideclaredanEmergencyinthe
country
. During this period, the
fundamental rights of citizens
were suspended, there was com-
plete censorship on media and
press and no one was allowed to
utter a single word against the
government. All newspapers
were bound to get their content
checked before publishing so that
not a single sentence gets pub-
lished against Indira Gandhi and
her party
, Congress.
The government arrested all
the big leaders of the Opposition
to crush the protest. The flame of
this unrest also touched young
Narendra who evaded arrest by
disguisinghimself asaSadhuand
attimesasaSikh.Hekeptthepro-
test alive and helped Opposition
leaders with all he had at that
time.Rightfromorganizingsecret
meetings to transporting impor-
tant documents and banned mag-
azines to safe places, Narendra
was in the thick of things. Bhu-
pendrasinh Chudasama, a senior
BJPleaderof Gujaratremembers
young Narendra as a dare-devil
with a great presence of mind.
“Duringemergencydays,there
wasameetinginKashi.Narendra
Modi was one of the main organ-
izers.Wehadtoreachtherebefore
sunrise and had to leave before
sunset. After the meeting, we all
left together. Narendra Bhai was
ahead of us in a different car and
I was following him in an old car.
We saw the police patrol party on
our way
. I got frightened but Nar-
endra Bhai kept his calm and
duped the police. He first turned
the right indicator and then the
left one signalling that he would
go in the right direction and we
hadtochangeourdirectiontothe
left. That’s how we evaded the po-
lice,” he reminisced.
During the period of Emer-
gency, Modi’s father Damodar
Das used to be worried about
Narendra Modi’s whereabouts
and wanted to meet him. Naren-
dra Modi’s younger brother Pan-
kaj somehow managed to convey
the message to Narendra Modi
about his father’s wish. Modi in
the guise of a Sikh came to his
maternal uncle’s place at the Ni-
mad area in Ahmedabad to meet
his proud father Damodar Das
who was happy and satisfied
withthewayNarendraModiwas
fighting against the oppressive
Congressgovernment.Theemer-
gency gave an opportunity to
Narendra to attain a bigger role
in this movement which provid-
ed him the chance to understand
the principles of Gandhism and
socialism and see them in the
context of Sangh ideology
.
Finally, on March 21, 1977, the
Emergency ended with the onset
of the first non-Congress gov-
ernment in the country led by
Morarji Desai. His cabinet in-
cluded senior leaders of the
Sangh like Atal Bihari Vajpayee
and Lal Krishna Advani. The
young Narendra, who had
emerged as the backbone of agi-
tation against Emergency, was
given the responsibility to write
the history of Emergency in Gu-
jarat. Modi’s book ‘Sangharsh
Maa Gujarat’ became popular
and is an authentic document of
the fight against emergency
. The
book was unveiled by the then
Chief Minister, Babubhai Jash
Patel. This book is a shining
document of the darkest mo-
ment of Indian democracy. The
book became so popular that it
was later translated into Hindi
for a wider readership.
(To be continued...)
On March 21, 1977, the
Emergency ended with the
onset of the first non-
Congress government in the
country led by Morarji Desai.
His cabinet included senior
leaders of the Sangh like
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal
Krishna Advani. The young
Narendra, who had emerged
as the backbone of agitation
against Emergency, was
given the responsibility to
write the history of
Emergency in Gujarat
T
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE…
DUSTY ROADS TO CROWNING GLORY: THE MAKING OF PM MODI
1975 EMERGENCY LED TO THE
EMERGENCE OF LEADER MODI
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
During the period of
Emergency, Modi’s
father Damodar Das
used to be worried
about Narendra Modi’s
whereabouts and
wanted to meet him.
Modi’s younger brother
Pankaj somehow
managed to convey the
message to Modi about
his father’s wish. Modi
in the guise of a Sikh
came to his maternal
uncle’s place at the
Nimad area in
Ahmedabad to meet his
proud father Damodar
Das who was happy
and satisfied with the
way Modi was fighting
against the oppressive
Congress government
The government
arrested all the big
leaders of the
Opposition to crush the
protest. The flame of
this unrest also touched
young Narendra who
evaded arrest by
disguising himself as a
Sadhu and at times as
a Sikh. He kept the
protest alive and helped
Opposition leaders with
all he had at that time.
Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama, a senior
BJP leader of Gujarat
remembers young
Narendra as a dare-
devil with a great
presence of mind

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INDIA
06
Guwahati: The Assam
government lifted all
covid-19 restrictions in
the state from today
(February 15), making
it the first state in the
country to do so. Re-
portedly, the ban on
mandatory covid-19
testing at airports, train
stations, and hospitals
has been lifted. In addi-
tion, the night curfew
has also been lifted.
“GoA shall withdraw
all Covid-19 compulsory
testing facilities at air-
ports, railway stations
and hospitals wef Feb-
ruary 15. Also, all re-
strictions incl night cur-
few, social-religious
gatherings including
other curbs shall stand
withdrawn. Detailed no-
tification on February
14,” Assam Chief Minis-
ter Himanta Biswa Sar-
ma tweeted on Sunday
.
On Tuesday
, the As-
sam government has an-
nounced that covid-19
restrictions and all the
mandatory covid-19 tests
at airports, railway sta-
tions, and hospitals will
end,butthosewithsymp-
toms can still choose for
voluntary testing.
According to an order
issued on Monday, As-
sam Health Family
Welfare, Principal Sec-
retary Anurag Goel,
said that the covid-19
positive rate in the state
and country is rapidly
dropping. —PTI
Assam becomes the first state to
lift all Covid-related restrictions
New Delhi: Army
Chief General MM
Naravane on Tuesday
held extensive talks
with Commander of
Royal Saudi Land
Forces Lt Gen Fahd
BinAbdullahMoham-
med Al-Mutair with a
focus on expanding
bilateral defence and
military ties.
Lt Gen Al-Mutair
was also accorded a
guard of honour at
theSouthBlocklawns
before the talks.
“Lieutenant Gen-
eral Fahd Bin Abdul-
lah Mohammed Al-
Mutair, Commander,
Royal Saudi Land
Forces, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia called
on General MM Nar-
avane #COAS dis-
cussed ways to fur-
ther enhance the bi-
lateral defence coop-
eration between the
two countries,” the
Army tweeted.
Lieutenant Gen-
eral Fahd Bin Abdul-
lah Mohammed Al-
Mutair, Commander,
Royal Saudi Land
Forces, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia called
on General MM Nar-
avane #COAS dis-
cussed ways to fur-
ther enhance the bi-
lateral defence coop-
eration between the
two countries. The
defence and security
ties between India
and Saudi Arabia
have been on an up-
swing in the last few
years. —PTI
‘BABUA-BUA’ CRUMBLED UP’s
ECONOMY: HM SHAH IN AURAIYA
Auraiya (UP): Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Tuesday ac-
cused the Samajwadi
Party and the BSP of
crumbling the econo-
my of Uttar Pradesh
and credited Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath with bringing a
turnaround in five
years in the state.
He also said the 2022
elections are for
“strengthening Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s hands and for
making Yogi chief
minister again”.
“SP and BSP’s
‘babua and bua” both
had crumbled the
economy of such a big
state as Uttar Pradesh,
the economic system
was on the seventh
spot in the country
which was brought to
second spot by Yogiji
in five years. Give an-
other chance of five
years and it will be
taken to the first spot,”
Mr Shah told an elec-
tion meeting.
Claiming success on
the law and order front
under the Yogi Adity-
anath government, he
asked, “Can any mafia
trouble you anywhere,
can anyone encroach
your land, play with
the honour of mothers
and sisters? Yogi ji has
ensured the migration
of mafia from Uttar
Pradesh.” “Akhilesh
Yadav had asked what
has happened (during
the five years of BJP
government), the one
who has put yellow
spectacles will see eve-
rything as pale,” he
said taking a swipe at
the SP chief.
“Yogiji has brought
down the dacoity in
your time down by by
72 per cent, loot by 62
per cent, murder by 31
per cent and rape by 50
per cent,” he said.
Continuing his at-
tack, he said, “During
the Akhilesh govern-
ment, only ‘kattas’ and
sharpnels were made in
Uttar Pradesh but now
during the BJP govern-
ment ‘goley’ (ammuni-
tion) are being made
here which will be fired
at Pakistan. This
change has come in five
years by the BJP gov-
ernment.” Praising
Modi, he said that he
has ensured the safety
of the country
. —PTI
Panaji: The Trinamool
Congress on Tuesday
claimed it will win 12
seats in Goa and its ally
M a h a r a s h t r aw a d i
Gomantak Party (MGP)
will bag seven seats in
the 40-member state As-
sembly
.
Polling in all the 40
Assembly constituen-
cies of the coastal state
was held on Monday
.
The counting of votes
willbeheldonMarch10.
Before the polls, the
Mamata Banerjee-led
Trinamool Congress
(TMC) had forged an al-
liance with Goa’s oldest
regional party MGP
.
TMC Goa chief Kiran
Kandolkar claimed his
party was the only po-
litical outfit that gave a
tough fight to the ruling
BJP in the state.
“The TMC will win at
least 12 seats in the
state. Our ally MGP will
win seven seats,” he
claimed.
Kandolkar said they
might fall short of a few
seats, as against the ma-
jority mark of 21, but ex-
pressed confidence that
they will be able to prove
the majority on the floor
of the House. —PTI
Army Chief Naravane
holds talks with Saudi
Arabian Commander
Goa Assembly polls:
TMC says it will win
12 seats,ally MGP 7
Army Chief Gen Naravane felicitates Royal Saudi Armed
Forces, Commander, Lt Gen Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed
Al-Mutair with a book on Indian Army on Tuesday.
I agree that we
have no grass-
root level
workers in Goa at pre-
sent, but during the
campaigning for the
elections, we managed
to make our presence
felt in all the 40 As-
sembly constituencies.
—Kiran Kandolkar,
TMC Goa chief
n Punjab Election: SAD-BSP releases manifesto;
includes houses for poor, schools film city
n Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to hold door-to-door
campaign in Navjot Singh Sidhu’s constituency
n 1 kg ‘ghee’, free ration to poor if voted to
power in UP, promises Akhilesh Yadav
ELECTION BUZZ
BATTLE FOR PUNJAB
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra waves to supporters during a
roadshow ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, in Amritsar on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
HIJAB BAN ROW
Faiths, secularism argued
in HC, next hearing today
Will move SC: Tikait
on bail to Min’s son
in Lakhimpur case
Bengaluru:Inthelatest
developments on the hi-
jab ban row on Tuesday
,
petitioners told the Kar-
nataka High Court that
the interim order in ef-
fectsuspendsfundamen-
tal rights and urged the
courtnottocontinuethe
currentorder,according
toseveralmediareports.
Indian Constitution
provides positive secu-
larism and all faiths
have to be recognised,
the petitioners added.
Advocate Devadatt Ka-
mat, appearing for the
petitioners, said: “The
essence of Article 25 is
that it protects the prac-
tice of faith but not a
meredisplayof religious
identity or jingoism.”
The petitioners urged
the high court to allow
“voluntary expression”.
After much wran-
gling, the hearing was
deferred till Wednesday
.
Kamat said, “When I
was in school and col-
lege I used to wear
rudraksha. It was not to
display my religious
identity
.Itwasapractice
of faith because it gave
me security
. We see
many judges and senior
lawyers wearing such
customary things. To
counter that, if some-
body wears a shawl, you
will have to show that is
it a display of religious
identity alone or is it
something more. If it is
sanctioned by Hindu-
ism, by our Vedas or
Upanishads then the
court is duty-bound to
protect it.”
“It cannot be that by
Education Act you can
curb religious beliefs.
Otherwise, it is a very
dangerous proposition.
The State will say there
is an Act and based on
that we will curb some-
body’s freedom,” Ka-
mat added.
Drawing parallels
from a judgment in
South Africa regarding
a girl being allowed to
wear a nose ring, Kamat
said we should celebrate
if students are wearing
namams or other reli-
gious symbols. —Agencies
Motihari (Bihar): A
statue of Mahatma
Gandhi, installed near
the spot from where he
had launched the
Champaran Satyagra-
ha, has been found van-
dalised, triggering out-
rage, the administra-
tion said on Tuesday
.
According to East
Champaran District
Magistrate Shirshat
Kapil Ashok, the statue
at Charkha Park was
found damaged and
dumped on the ground
on Sunday night.
“The police are car-
rying out their investi-
gations and those
found involved in the
act of vandalism will
face action in accord-
ance with law,” the
DM said.
Social media was
abuzz with reports al-
leging that religious
slogans were heard in
the area on Sunday
night, which suggested
the involvement of
fringe right-wing
groups. —PTI
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan on Tuesday announced that he has tested
positive for Covid-19. He added that he was isolating
at home since he has mild symptoms. “I have done
my RTPCR #COVID19 test in which I have tested Covid
positive. I have normal symptoms. I have isolated my-
self following the guidelines of Covid-19,” the Madhya
Pradesh CM said in a tweet.
Home Minister Amit Shah addressing a public meeting, in Auraiya on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Lucknow: Farmer lead-
er Rakesh Tikait has
said they will approach
the Supreme Court
“soon” over the bail
granted to Ashish
Mishra, the son of jun-
ior Home Minister Ajay
Mishra,accusedof mur-
der in the Lakhimpur
Kherirunovercase.The
umbrella body of farm-
ers’ unions, the Sanyukt
Kisan Morcha, will file
an appeal. “We are gath-
ering documents,” he
told media on Tuesday
.
The decision was tak-
en at a meeting in Lakh-
impur earlier on Tues-
day at a meeting of the
farmers’ unions,
chaired by Rakesh Ti-
kait and farmer leader
Shiv Kumar Kakka.
Ashish Mishra, ac-
cused of murdering
four farmers and a jour-
nalist last October, was
granted bail by the Luc-
know bench of the Al-
lahabad high court last
week. He walked out of
jail on Tuesday
.
Asked how he sees
the release, Mr Tikait
said “The people can
see everything. If in
such a case, he gets to
walk out in three
months, what will hap-
pen in other cases?” he
said, questioning if the
BJP is getting political
dividends out of this.
The order has be-
come controversial -- es-
pecially during the elec-
tion season in the state,
where the ruling BJP is
seeking a second term
in power. —Agencies
IN THE COURTYARD
RELIANCE-FUTURE DEAL: SC ASKS HIGH
COURT TO DECIDE ON NCLT PROCEEDINGS
MP CHIEF MINISTER SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN
TESTS COVID POSITIVE, SYMPTOMS MILD
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the
Future Group to approach the Delhi High Court on
continuation of the proceedings pending before
the National Company Law Tribunal. The Future
Group is seeking to resume the process of NCLT
approval for its Rs 27,513-crore transaction with
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. The top court on
Tuesday asked the high court to decide on allow-
ing the continuation of the proceedings. Earlier
this month, the top court had reserved its order
on the Future Group’s plea. During the hearings,
Future Retail Ltd. had told the court that the NCLT
approval required multiple steps which would take
a few months and therefore the court should allow
the process to continue.
New Delhi: A case
involving who should
control bureaucrats in
the capital, at the heart
of a prolonged conflict
between the Centre and
the Delhi government,
will be taken up by the
Supreme Court on
March 3. Senior
lawyer Ab-
hishek Manu
Singhvi
raised the
case before
Chief
Justice
NV Ramana on behalf
of the Delhi Govern-
ment and requested
a hearing. The case
involves a legal wrangle
between the BJP-led
central government and
the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP)’s Delhi govern-
ment over the con-
trol of the civil
services. The
points of dis-
pute include
the transfer
postings of
IAS officers.
CONTROL OF CAPITAL’S BUREAUCRATS?
CENTRE VS DELHI IN SC ON MARCH 3
Bihar: Gandhi
statue vandalised
near Satyagraha
launch site
Sansad TV’s YT
account, allegedly
hacked, restored
New Delhi: Govern-
ment-owned television
channel Sansad TV’s
YouTube account was
restored on Tuesday
evening, hours after be-
ing terminated by the
platform for allegedly
violating its community
guidelines.
In a tweet, Sansad TV
said that the outage was
due to a “hacker attack”
and the media had mis-
represented the matter
by reporting that the ac-
count had violated You-
Tube guidelines. How-
ever, during the period
when the account was
unavailable, YouTube
displayed a guideline
violation. —PTI

BIZ BUZZ
07
D-Street recoups from Manic Monday
Mumbai: Equity indi-
ces staged a stellar
comeback on Tuesday
after suffering their
worst losses in a year
in the previous session
as bargain hunters
piled into energy, fi-
nance and IT swtocks
amid signs of easing
Russia-Ukraine ten-
sions.
European markets
clambered up follow-
ing reports that some
Russian troops near
Ukraine were return-
ing to their bases,
which could de-esca-
late tensions between
Moscow and the West.
A strengthening ru-
pee further bolstered
sentiment, traders
said.
Recouping the previ-
ous day’s losses, the
30-share BSE Sensex
surged 1,736.21 points
or 3.08% to end at
58,142.05. This was its
biggest one-day jump
since February 1, 2021.
Likewise, the NSE
Nifty soared 509.65
points or 3.03% to set-
tle at 17,352.45.
On the Sensex chart,
all 30 shares closed
with gains — with Ba-
jaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj
FinServ, LT, Titan,
Wipro and Asian
Paints rallying as
much as 5.13%.
In line with the
benchmark, all 19 BSE
sectoral indices logged
significant gains. Auto,
banking, teck, realty
and IT indices were the
top performers, climb-
ing up to 3.87%.
Broader BSE large-
cap, midcap and small-
cap indices rose as
much as 2.94%.
Elsewhere in Asia,
bourses in Tokyo,
Hong Kong and Seoul
closed in the red, while
Shanghai finished
higher.
Markets in Europe
were trading in the
positive zone in the af-
ternoon session. —PTI
Investors turn richer by `5.4 L crore
Mumbai: A day after
recording the biggest
crash in 10 months, bot-
tom hunters gathered
to push benchmark in-
dices higher to register
their biggest gain in the
last one year on Tues-
day
.
A massive pullback
rally led by autos,
banks, IT and FMCG
recovered almost all
losses sustained a day
prior.
Thanks to the buy-
ing, equity investors
gained `5.37 lakh crore
as their wealth reflect-
ed in the market cap of
BSE-listed firms ad-
vanced to `261.80 lakh
crore.
Among the bluechip
names, Tata Motors
was the biggest gainer,
rising 6.69%.
Bajaj Fi-
nance, Eicher
Motors, Shree
C e m e n t ,
Hero Mo-
t o C o r p ,
Bajaj Fin-
serv, SBI
and Wipro
were other ma-
jor gainers.
—Agencies
Bajaj Finance pips HDFC in Mcap race
New Delhi: Bajaj Fi-
nance on Tuesday beat
mortgage lender
HDFC in terms of mar-
ket capitalisation to
become the eighth-
most valued stock on
BSE.
Shares of Bajaj Fi-
nance rose 1.99% to
`6,925. At this price,
the stock was com-
manding a market
value of `4,17,989
crore, which was
higherthanHDFC’s
`4,17,211.02 crore.
Housing finance
company HDFC
was up 0.20% at
`2,301.80.
On Monday, the dif-
ference in the market
capitalisation of the
two was `6,330 crore on
a closing basis, data
compiled from corpo-
ratedatabaseAceEqui-
ty suggests.
Shares of Bajaj Fi-
nance have rallied 20
per cent in the last one
year compared with an
8% drop in HDFC
shares.
—Agencies
Zomato hits all-time low, slips below issue price
New Delhi: Zomato
share price plunged to
a fresh all-time low of
`75.75 per share
on Tuesday, falling
below the compa-
ny’s issue price of
`76 a share. The
stock of the
BSE-listed
food-tech
firm is
down nearly
40% from
its listing price, and is
down over 55% from its
peak, hit in November last
year.
Zomato stock recovered
some losses and was
trading at `83.15 a share
in afternoon trading.
Share prices of other
newly listed tech com-
panies such as FSN
E-Commerce Ventures
(Nykaa) and One97 Com-
munications (Paytm)
were also trading near
record lows on the
BSE. Shares of One 97
Communications hit a
52-week low of `840.05
apiece, down about 60%
from IPO issue price of
`2,150 a piece. On the
other hand, shares of FSN
E-Commerce Ventures
also touched record low
of `1,479 apiece.
—Agencies
Adani Wilmar shares up over 7%
on strong Q3 results
New Delhi: Shares of Adani Wilmar jumped over 7% on
Tuesday a day after the company posted a 66% jump in
consolidated net profit to `211.41 crore for the December
2021 quarter. On the BSE, the shares were trading 7.33
percent higher at `404. Similarly, on the NSE, the scrip was
up 7.62 percent to `405. —PTI
` settles 29
paise higher
at 75.31
against $
Mumbai: The rupee
snapped its four-day
losing streak to close
29 paise higher at
75.31 against the US
dollar, tracking a re-
covery in domestic
equities and weak-
ness of the $ overseas.
Attheinterbankforex
market, rupee opened
onaweaknoteat75.60
againstthegreenback
and witnessed an in-
tra-day high of 75.31
and a low of 75.72. It
finally settled at 75.31,
a rise of
29 pai-
s e
o v e r
i t s
p r e -
vious
close.
—PTI
New Delhi: In a sig-
nificant move, mar-
kets watchdog Sebi on
Tuesday decided to
implement the re-
quirement to separate
the positions of Chair-
person and Managing
Director at listed com-
panies on a voluntary
basis and not make it
mandatory for now.
The development
also comes against the
backdrop of Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman recently
saying the regulator
should hear if Indian
companies have a
view on the matter
even as she made it
clear that she was not
giving a diktat .
The top-500 listed
entities were required
to split the roles of
Chairperson and
Managing Director/
Chief Executive Of-
ficer before the April
2022 deadline.
Sebi cited rather
unsatisfactory level
of compliance. Initial-
ly, the listed entities
were required to sepa-
rate the roles of
Chairperson and MD/
CEO from April 1, 2020
onwards. However, an
additional time period
of two years was giv-
en for compliance.
“Considering rath-
er unsatisfactory level
of compliance
achieved so far, vari-
ous representations
received, and with a
view to enabling the
companies to plan for
a smoother transition,
Sebi board at this
juncture, decided that
this provision may
not be retained as a
mandatory require-
ment and instead be
made applicable on a
voluntary basis, it
added. —PTI
ISSUES FACED
Initiate GenNext
reforms to improve
ease of doing biz: FM
New Delhi: Fin Min
Nirmala Sitharaman
on Tuesday asked Sebi
to initiate the next
generation reforms to
improve the ease of
doing business and
also be prepared to
deal with possible
market turbulence in
the wake of actions by
the US Federal Re-
serve.
Addressing the
board of Sebi, Sithara-
man appreci-
ated the ini-
tiatives tak-
en by the
re g-
ula-
tor. She also asked the
watchdog to further
boost the corporate
bond market and also
develop green bond
market in the context
of increasing focus on
ESG investments.
Sebi has to “initiate
next generation of re-
forms to improve ease
of doing business and
be prepared for the
possible market turbu-
lence on account of US
Fed actions,” Sithara-
man said.
Sebi Chairman Ajay
Tyagi briefed the min-
ister about the major
trends and outlook for
Indian securities mar-
ket. —PTI
INDIA’S JAN TRADE DEFICIT AT $17.42 BN
New Delhi: Retail sales in Janu-
ary this year suffered due to the
restrictions imposed by states
to curb the third wave of the
coronavirus pandemic, Retailers
Association of India (RAI) said
on Tuesday. In its latest business survey, RAI said
retail sales last month were at 91% of the pre-pan-
demic sales levels of Jan 2019, as well as that of
January 2020. Category wise, beauty, wellness and
personal care was the worst hit with a drop of 24%
as compared to January 2019, followed by furniture
and furnishing with a drop of 12% and apparel and
clothing registering a decline of 7%. —PTI
RETAIL SALES IN JAN
AFFECTED BY COVID
New Delhi: SpiceJet
on Tuesday reported
a consolidated profit of
`42.45 crore for the three
months ended December 2021 as
higher passenger traffic and improved perfor-
mance of the logistics segment propelled the
airline into the black.
The no-frills carrier, which is currently going
through turbulent times, had a consolidated loss
of `66.78 crore in the year-ago period. Total
income in the latest December quarter climbed
to `267.73 crore compared to `187.06 crore in
the same period a year ago, according to a reg-
ulatory filing. On a standalone basis, the airline
recorded a profit of `23.28 crore for the third
quarter of the current fiscal year. In the year-ago
period, it had a standalone loss of `56.96 crore.
SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay
Singh said he was happy that the airline reported
a “profit in Q3 FY2022 driven by excellent logis-
tics operations, rebound in passenger traffic and
various accommodations from aircraft manufac-
turer and lessors”. —PTI
SPICEJET LOGS `42
CRORE PROFIT IN
DEC QUARTER
New Delhi: State-run
Indian Renewable Energy
Development Agency
Ltd (IREDA) is eyeing
`2,749 crore revenue from
operations in the ongoing financial year. IREDA
has signed a MoU with the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy, setting an annual performance
target for the year 2021-22. The government has
set a target of `2,749 crore revenue from operation
under the ‘Excellent’ rating along with various per-
formance-related key parameters such as return on
net worth, NPA to total loans, asset turnover ratio
and earnings per share etc, it stated. —PTI
IREDA EYES `2,749
CR REVENUE IN FY22
Kia drives in Carens with
starting price of `8.99 lakh
New Delhi: Automak-
er Kia India on Tues-
day launched its fourth
product -- the all-new
three-row model Ca-
rens -- in the domestic
market, with an intro-
ductory price ranging
between `8.99 lakh and
`16.99 lakh (ex-show-
room).
The model featuring
six and seven seating
options, which the
company refers to as a
recreational vehicle
(RV), competes with
the likes of Maruti Su-
zuki XL6, Hyundai Al-
cazar, Mahindra
XUV700 and Tata Mo-
tors Safari.
The Kia Carens
comes powered by a 1.5
petrol, 1.4 litre petrol,
and 1.5 diesel power-
trains mated with
three transmissions -
6MT, 7DCT, or 6AT.
The petrol versions
of the model are priced
between `8.99 lakh and
`16.99 lakh, while the
diesel trims are tagged
between `10.99 lakh
and `16.99 lakh.
The company claims
a fuel efficiency of 16.5
km per litre on the pet-
rol variants and 21.3
km per litre with die-
sel trims. —PTI
Kia India’s new model
competes with the
likes of Maruti
Suzuki XL6,
Hyundai
Alcazar,
Mahindra
XUV700 and
Tata Motors Safari
New Delhi: India’s exports in Jan rose 25.28% to $34.50
billion on account of healthy performance by sectors such
as engineering, petroleum and gems and jewellery, accord-
ing to data released on Tuesday. However, the trade deficit
during the month too widened to 17.42 billion. Imports
grew by 23.54% to $51.93 billion during the month under
review. Cumulatively, exports increased by 46.73% to
$335.88 billion during April 2021-Jan 2022, from $228.92
billion in the corresponding period a year ago. —PTI
Separation of Chairperson, MD posts at listed
Companies to be voluntary, not mandatory: Sebi

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
58,47,564
TOTAL DEATHS
33,65,79,481
TOTAL RECOVERED
7,20,95,701
ACTIVE CASES
41,45,22,746
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,09,388
TOTAL DEATHS
4,17,60,458
TOTAL RECOVERED
4,23,097
ACTIVE CASES
4,26,92,943
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Having
landed a staggering
deal of Rs3.2 crore at
the 2022 IPL auction,
young left-arm pacer
Yash Dayal is living
the dream of his fa-
ther Chandrapal Day-
al, who was once a
medium pacer.
The 24-year-old from
Allahabad was snapped
up by the Gujarat Ti-
tans at the IPL mega
auction on Sunday,
bringing immense joy
to his family.
“His father was a
cricketer. He had
played Vizzy Trophy
and was also a medium-
pacer but for some rea-
son, could not play fur-
ther. He is currently
working in the AG of-
fice in Allahabad. His
son fulfilled his
dream,” Yash’s coach
Amit Pal said.
“He brought Yash to
me when he was around
14-15 years old. I was
cricket coach at the
Madan Mohan Malavi-
ya stadium in Alla-
habad then. Yash came
to me and we started
training.”
Pal said like most
players who make it
big, Yash too climbed
up the ranks through
age-group cricket.
“He was selected in
the U-19 camp, but that
time he wasn’t selected
for the U-19 team, but
he kept working hard
and next time, he got a
chance for U-23. But
then also, he was able
to take one or two wick-
ets in a couple of
games,” he said.
But then came the
turning point.
“In the third match
against Madhya
Pradesh, he took eight
wickets, after which he
got a call up for the
Ranji Trophy. When Ut-
tar Pradesh took on
Mumbai in the final of
the Vijay Hazare Tro-
phy last season, he was
selected for the knock-
out games and he was
also roped in as a prac-
tice bowler ahead of
the Kanpur Test
against New Zealand.”
al said that Dayal,
who has picked 45 wick-
ets from 12 first-class
matches and made his
debut versus Goa, al-
ways wanted to become
a pace bowler. So now,
his coach has advised
his ward to keep up the
hard work.
Budding pacer Yash Dayal living his dad's dream
GUJARAT TITANS

Youngster
from
Allahabad
landed a
staggering
Rs3.2 crore
deal at the
2022 IPL
auction
Yash Dayal
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Five people, in-
cluding four Gujarat Po-
lice personnel, were
killed after their vehicle
collided with a tree here
on Tuesday
, police said.
The accident took
place in Bhabru area
here near Nijhar Mor on
the Jaipur-Delhi nation-
al highway
, they said.
The policemen were
escorting an accused
from Delhi to Gujarat
when their vehicle met
with the accident, kill-
ing all of them, the po-
lice said.
The accused was
Saeen alias Munna, a
resident of Seelampur
in Delhi. The deceased
policemen were identi-
fied as Head Constable
Mansukh Bhai and con-
stables Irfan Pathan,
Bheeka Mukhera and
Shakri Singh Gohel.
Rajasthan Chief Min-
ister Ashok Gehlot con-
doled the loss of lives in
the accident.
“Sad to know about
the death of five people,
including four police-
men, after a Gujarat Po-
lice vehicle taking an
accused from Delhi to
Gujarat met with an ac-
cidentinBhabruareaof
Jaipur,” he said in a
tweet in Hindi.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A female
officer of the Va-
dodara Urban Devel-
opment Authority
(VUDA) has lodged a
complaint against
city-based architect
Kirit Patel for abus-
ing and threatening
her. In her statement,
the complainant men-
tioned that the ac-
cused filed an appli-
cation for a land de-
velopment charge by
paying a small
amount and quar-
relled over the matter.
Ruchita Shah of the
town planning depart-
ment has alleged that
Patel was working on a
building’s construc-
tion. He was in charge
of securing develop-
mental permission for
the structure.
In her complaint,
Shah stated, “He (Patel)
had applied for a devel-
opment charge on land
in Bhayali and submit-
ted the maps. A number
of permissions ob-
tained for half of the
land were mentioned on
them. According to reg-
ulations, the fee has to
be charged for building
permission obtained
earlier, but Patel did not
present details of the
construction area. He
also did not have any
supporting evidence
about the amount of de-
velopment charge writ-
ten in the application.
On top of it, the archi-
tect went to visit me
and then IAS Ashok Pa-
tel and misbehaved.”
However on Febru-
ary 07, Kirit Patel
came to the complain-
ant’s office and asked
for his file. He was told
to meet the town plan-
ner and when she
called and told him
thatverificationwould
take 20 to 25 minutes,
itirkedhim.Heabused
the complainant,
threatened her and ob-
structed her while dis-
charging their duties.
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: Bhavna-
gar: Local police
have detained one
Ramdutt Sahu, for
the murder of his
minor daughter,
who he had report-
ed as missing just a
few days prior.
Sahu was held after
the police found the
dead body of the miss-
ing teen, who was five
months pregnant at
the time of her death.
During interrogation,
Sahu admitted to
murdering his daugh-
ter. Police are now
looking into whether
this is a case of hon-
our killing, or if Sahu
had impregnated the
teen.
Police say Sahu, a
native of Uttar
Pradesh, had filed a
complaint at the
Bharatnagar police
station on February
10, stating that his mi-
nor daughter had
gone missing.
“The body, which
was discovered at an
isolated location in
Vadar village on Mon-
day evening, has been
sent for post-mortem.
The DNA of the foetus
will be tested as well.
We can then know for
sure if this was a case
of rape or honour kill-
ing,” an official said
on Tuesday.
“During rigorous
questioning, Ramdutt
admitted that he had
strangled his daugh-
ter and later disposed
of the body. He said
his daughter was five
months pregnant,”
the official added.
The official also
told First India that
Sahu will likely be ar-
rested after the police
reconstruct the crime
scene and collect sci-
entific evidence to es-
tablish the offence
“His (Sahu’s) DNA
will also be tested if
required. It is not yet
clear how the minor
conceived. So it also
unclear if the father
killed her for honour
when he learnt of the
pregnancy, if the fa-
ther is responsible for
making his daughter
pregnant.”
The police will in-
vestigate all aspects
and angles of the
crime, and will seek
Sahu’s remand, if re-
quired, the official
said.
KEEPING FIREFIGHTERS BUSY
A tanker exploded in a freak accident at an Indian Oil petrol pump near Jamalpur Crossroad in
Ahmedabad late on Tuesday evening. Luckily, no one was injured. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
5, including 4 Guj cops,
killed in Jaipur accident
Female VUDA town planner abused by
architect, lodges complaint with cops
COP COMMITS SUICIDE
Devbhoomi Dwarka: A woman police constable
allegedly committed suicide at her residence in
Khambhaliya town in Devbhoomi Dwarka district,
officials said. Meeraben Chavda (29) was found
hanging by the ceiling of her flat in police quarters
on Monday morning, a Khambhaliya police station
official said. Chavda was attached to the Khamb-
haliya police station and took the extreme step on
Sunday night, apparently due to some domestic
dispute, he said. A case of accidental death was
registered at the police station and further investi-
gation is underway.
Constables Irfan Agvan and Shaktisinh Gohil. —FILE PHOTOS
Constables Bhikhubhai Bukera and Mansukhbhai Baladhiya.
Ruchita Shah, the complainant.
Bhavnagar man held for
killing ‘missing’ daughter
Cops unsure
if pregnant
minor was
raped, or if
this a case of
honour killing
The man has been detained and may be arrested based on scientific evidence. —FILE PHOTO
The easiest existence but one of
the most difficult to reach is a life
of inner peace and harmony.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

ompared with fashion, beau-
ty has been quicker to act on
matters of inclusivity
. Driv-
en by social media, beauty
has, in the last five years,
moved to wel-
come, and repre-
sent, customers all along
thespectrumof skinshades
and gender identities. The
beauty industry witnessed a
myriad of trends in the year
2021.Whiletherecoverytime
formosttrendsisoftenshort-
lived, transparent skincare and gor-
geous haircuts are trends that’s mak-
ing a comeback.
Sizzlin Scizzors has made huge
strides in the realm of hair beauty
and Ayan Chugh’s passionate ap-
proachtohairdesign,beautymake-
up, combined with unrivalled techni-
cal expertise, has inspired hairdress-
ers makeup artists at Sizzlin Sciz-
zors and has clearly spearheaded the
phenomenalgrowth.Fuelled
by Ayan’s passion to excel
and his consistent hard work
and devotion, Sizzlin Scizzors
enjoys the status of being an
icon in the Hair Beauty do-
main whether it is the best salon
one wants or is on a lookout for
destination weddings or for party
makeup, rest assured to find the
best makeup artists right here.
It is a brand marquee that is quite
embryonic but the experience and
expertise behind the salon and spa
have been in the industry for a while
now. This expertise includes profes-
sionals like Deepali Chugh, who is
one of the best makeup art-
ists in Jaipur. With this
newborn brand, Sizzlin
Scizzorsareheretochange
the way this industry
functions; for the better.
Ayan Chugh, Director,
Sizzlin Scizzors on being
associated with FC, Season 11
said, “I am beyond excited to be a
part of the grand show. Looking
forward to styling the ravishing
models and artists. Our mission in
this endeavour was and still is - to
understand our customer’s needs
and to then treat them with what’s
best for them. In this endeavour, we
ensure that our customer truly
knows what it means and how it
feels to be taken care of.
IN AN ERA OF MAKEUP COLLECTIONS
WITH 40 FOUNDATION COLOURS AND
MORE SPOKESMODELS OF COLOUR
THAN EVER BEFORE, DIVERSITY AT THE
BEAUTY COUNTER WOULD SEEM TO BE
ACCEPTED, EVEN CELEBRATED. SIZZLIN
SCIZZORS, STYLING PARTNER FOR FIRST INDIA
FASHION CONNECT, SEASON 11, TO BE HELD AT OAKS
IBN BATUTA GATE HOTEL, DUBAI ON MARCH 12, IS
ALL SET TO SHOWCASE THE BEST SENSE OF STYLE!
AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 16, 2022
09
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
LIFE ISN’T PERFECT...
BUT YOUR
HAIR CAN BE!
C

10
ETC
PRIYANKA
JAIN, Model
FACE
OF
THE
DAY!
Aries
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20
You are likely to have
fun at work today. A
changed lifestyle
promises good health.
You may not be in the
best of financial situations, but things
are likely to improve. Much excitement
is foreseen on the family front. There is
some scope of improving your scores
on the academic front.
Gemini
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Balancing act between
home and office will
remain most smooth
for working women.
You succeed in putting
an ambitious project on the tracks and
cross all hurdles in making it a
success. Love beckons and promises
to give immense joy and fulfillment.
Homemakers can exceed budget.
Leo
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Job prospects for
those freshly out of
professional institutes
are set to brighten up
soon. A positive
outlook will help you throw out the
negativity within. You will manage to
ignore distractions and interruptions
at work to complete a pending task in
time. is so miffed.
Libra
SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22
This is the day to play
your winning card on
the professional front. A
lot of time may be
wasted in socialising,
but you will love every moment of it!
Time is ripe for investing in a scheme
you have been considering for long.
Your upbeat mood and a happy
demeanour will brighten atmosphere.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22
Sticking to workout
routine may benefit you
on the health front.
Meeting relatives at a
marriage or party
cannot be ruled out. Accompanying
someone you click with is likely to
make your business journey
entertaining. Support from the family
may seem most encouraging.
Aquarius
JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19
You may get motivated
to shake a leg just to get
on the fitness trail. It will
be important to keep a
tab of your expenses
today. Some shuffling on the work front
is likely but will not affect you. Peace
and tranquillity prevail on the home
front and will help you unwind.
Romance seems on the upswing.
Taurus
APRIL 21 - MAY 20
A major purchase may
make a dent in your
savings, but will help in
keeping up with the
jonesses. Speculation
may not be profitable and you can very
well burn your fingers. Some of you
may get hard pressed to find a good
match for someone eligible in the family
down, Saturn will save you.
Cancer
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Homemakers will get a
chance to implement
their ideas. You are
likely to be recognised
for your efforts on the
professional front. Some of you can be
invited for guidance or consultancy.
Chance of a raise is possible for some.
Timely and correct decision will help
you in saving a lot of money.
Virgo
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23
Satisfaction is foreseen
for the image conscious
people trying to achieve
perfect figure and
physique. You will
succeed in surmounting the odds to get
a stalled job back on the tracks. Your
efforts on the academic front will keep
you in contention. You are likely to
spend an enjoyable time.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will succeed and
move ahead in your
professional life, as the
year begins. Be careful,
though, as your daily
routine may be affected adversely.
Your boss may be the reason for your
annoyance. Pressure tactics can
infuriate you. Probably, by 5th or 6th,
you may think of taking up a new job.
Capricorn
DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20
Focussing on your
career graph at this
juncture will be a step
that will take you far. A
rethink is in order for
those going in for a heavy investment.
Recovering a loaned amount from
someone will not pose much difficulty.
You will manage to defuse tensions
prevailing at home.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Financial condition of
those down in the
dumps is set to
improve. Your
efficiency at work is
likely to impress those who matter at
work. Your biggest asset is your
sense of humor try to use it to cure
your not so good health. Spending
time with family.
oung people,
just like every-
one else, feel
the need to go
on holiday, en-
joy them-
selves, visit
new places, shop, eat,
and be entertained.
However, there is per-
haps a deeper, more
meaningful way of
‘holidaying’ that might
serve students better
than the mere shop-
ping vacation to Dubai!
To embark on a trip
that combines life ex-
periences, character
building and adven-
ture. I remember one
such incredible so-
journ of my own that
I’d like to share to pro-
vide an example of
what I mean.
The Round Square –
a selection of schools
from across the world
that meets each year
over a Conference and
a Social Service Camp.
The idea is simple – to
discuss, deliberate, de-
bate and derive solu-
tions to some of the
world’s pressing is-
sues, particularly
from young peoples’
perspectives. While
that is the mainstay of
the Conference, the
Camp on the other
hand is much more im-
mediate, less theoreti-
cal, entirely practical.
A need is identified at
a specific place and a
group of approximate-
ly forty students, an
amalgam of a few kids
each from these inter-
national schools, gath-
ers over a month and
conducts this Social
Service Camp.
It so happened that I
had an opportunity to
be part of my school’s
Round Square Service
Camp delegation in my
eleventh grade, and
Ladakh, specifically
the town of Leh, was
identified as our base.
We were to reach
there, stay with the In-
dian Armed Forces for
a month, work as daily
wage labourers each
day and assist in the
construction of a local
school building.
Most of us took the
only Indian Airlines
flight from New Delhi
to Leh (note this was
circa 1996, pre-Private
Airlines). We could
spot the awe-inspiring,
though a dry and al-
most arid vast land-
scape of Ladakh from
our daytime flight and
made a smooth touch-
down into Leh Airport
– a rather modest
shack with a single
runway at the time.
The moment we
stepped off the plane,
we could sense a cer-
tain effort was re-
quired to breathe. As
per our on-campus
briefing, we were pre-
pared to expect lower
levels of oxygen at this
height, and without
any euphoria or obvi-
ous physical strain,
boarded the Army 1
ton Truck to our living
quarters, about four
miles from the airstrip.
That day, we were un-
der strict instructions
to stay still, not move
around too much, and
let our bodies and nat-
ural biological
rhythms acclimatize to
the local climate.
The following morn-
ing, in typical army
style, we were woken
up at the crack of
dawn. A quick shower
and a healthy if some-
what bland breakfast
later, we were dropped
off at our Construction
Point. In earnest, we
met with our team
leader, a rather stoic
looking Tony Hide, and
were shown what to do
and where. Hence be-
gan a two-week routine
of getting to the con-
struction site early
each morning, spend-
ing the day laying
bricks and cement with
our bare hands (some-
thing I dare say none
of us had ever done
previously or even con-
ceived of doing). By the
end of the day
, we’d be
all but dead; yet the
sense of achievement,
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t ,
pride, and the knowl-
edge that we were truly
contributing to local
welfare, spurred us the
following day!
Right after two
weeks, we were re-
warded with a three-
day trip to the Nubra
Valley. Crossing gla-
ciers, needing to help
in moving trucks off
the road during land-
slides, river-rafting the
highest patch on earth
from a place called Phe
to Nimmu, visiting
Chug La, the base camp
of Siachen, and con-
suming copious quan-
tities of the initially
terrible but later-com-
forting Butter Tea and
Yak Cheese at several
Buddhist Monasteries
– it was a time of much
discovery, explora-
tion, reflection, and
amazement. Memories
became an indelible
part of our collective
consciousness as we
grew more bonded as
a cohort.
Returning to Leh af-
ter our amazing adven-
tures, we had another
two weeks of hard work
at the school site. Along
with other locals, we
managed to complete
the basic structure of
this new school build-
ing, handed over the
building official to the
local administration,
bid our adieus to
Ladakh and returned to
school in Dehra Dun
just in time for the new
term to start.
One might wonder
why I considered this
rather labour-inten-
sive stint a holiday in
the first place, more
curiously, my favour-
ite vacation! That is
simply because the
combination of uncov-
ering uncharted terri-
tory, once-in-a-lifetime
experiences with the
genuinely good work
we did, is simply un-
matched by any other
holiday experience
I’ve ever had, and am
likely to! I felt, On Top
Of The World!
KARTIK BAJORIA
(the author is a Jaipur-
based Communication
Skills Educator Writer)
Y
ONTOPOFTHEWORLD!
ONTOPOFTHEWORLD!
YOUR DAY Horoscopeby
SaurabbhSachdeva
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ETC
11
V
ikrant Mas-
sey and
S h e e t a l
Thakur got
married on Febru-
ary 14. Theey opted
for a registered
marriage, which
took place at their
Versova residence.
We have now learnt that Vikrant and Sheetal will also
be tying the knot in a traditional ceremony this week,
preparations for which have already begun. Vikrant
and Sheetal will get married in a traditional ceremo-
ny on February 18 in his village. —Agency
Traditional Ceremony wedding
Everything is not what it seems!
O
n the occasion of
Va l e n t i n e ’ s
day, Vishal
Kotian, who
is well known for
his strong per-
sonality and
on the face
attitude from
Bigg Boss 15
spanned to the Royal
City to ring in the day
of love with his lady
love Payal Shetty.
He gave a sneak
peek about his
journey in the
Bigg Bos house
and his love life
in an exclusive
interview with
City First.
Vishal, why did
you choose Jaipur to
celebrate Valentine’s
Day with Payal? What
is so special about this
place?
“Although it’s been some
weeks since I came out of the
Bigg Boss house, I have hardly
gotten much time to chill and
relax. So I was looking for a
quick getaway for a while now.
Jaipur came to my mind as I
wanted to explore a new place.
Also, I am keener to visit cities
with historical characters and
Jaipur is one of them. And I
always treat my love like a
queen and this place made us
feel royal. We had a fabulous
lunch in the gorgeous garden
and enjoyed watching pea-
cocks roaming around us. This
can only happen in a city like
Jaipur! Our Valentine’s Day
celebration couldn’t have been
better than this one,”
Q- Could you tell our readers
about your love story?
“There’s a saying that, under-
standing is the second name of
love. Our journey of love is
cute and simple, we met at the
Disney office, connected on In-
stagram and fell in love. But I
believe that Love is easy to do
but difficult to keep, it needs
understanding, support and
trust and Payal and me shared
this connection very well”
Q- Your outspoken and fabri-
cated personality created a
negative image among the
housemates in Bigg Boss 15,
how will you define your neg-
ative attributes to positive in
real life?
“Everything is not what it
seems, but we see them in the
way what we are, and I don’t
care what people think of me,
but I care what I see myself as
a person, and I want to look at
myself and say that I AM
VISHAL KOTIAN. I am well
versed with a lot of good lit-
erature and culture. Bigg
house is a show, where our
positive and negative traits
were shown narratively, where
one side my Chadakya Nithi
and ballyhoo traits depicted
my competitive side, my bonds
with a few housemates showed
that I am a good human. I miss
many instances like that sug-
arcane task, Teja and my
morning dance, my bond with
Shamita, but the one which
broke my heart was when I
was waiting to re-enter as a
wildcard that time my covid
reports came positive and my
journey was put on hold but
hopefully I will complete it in
my upcoming show ‘Khatron
Ke Khiladi’
The couple reached Nazarbagh
Palace on Sunday night, soon
after celebrating Vishal’s birth-
day in Mumbai.
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
O
ver the years, Akshay Kumar’s movie
looks have gone on to set trends and add-
ing to that list is the big reveal of his look
in Sa-
jid Nadiadwa-
la’s big-ticket
release of this
year, ‘Bachch-
han Paandey’
also starring
Kriti Sanon,
Ja c q u e l i n e
F e r n a n d e z
and Arshad
Warsi! As the
movieisallset
to hit theatre
screens on
March 18, the
makers have unveiled Akshay’s new look from
the action-comedy on Tuesday
, also announcing
the trailer launch on February 18, which also
happens to be power producer Sajid Nadiadwa-
la’s birthday
. —Agency
A
amir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha re-
lease has been officially pushed. The
film which was set to release on April
14 will
now be released
on August 11,
Aamir Khan
announced on
Tuesday. The
actor released a
statement that
read, “This is to
announce that
our film, Laal
Singh Chad-
dha, will not be
releasing on
14th April as
planned. This is because we are unable to com-
plete the film in time. The film will now be re-
leasing on 11 Aug 2022 in theatres worldwide. We
would like to thank Mr Bhushan Kumar, T Se-
ries and Om Raut and the entire team of Adipu-
rush from the bottom of our hearts.” —Agency
Y
ash Raj Films’ Shamshera starring su-
perstar Ranbir Kapoor is an adrenaline-
pumping entertainer which is set to re-
lease in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu on July 22,
2022. Directed by Karan Malhotra, the makers
dropped a release date announcement video and
the internet is abuzz about the powerful back-
ground score. Fans of Ranbir have taken to it in
an incredibly positive manner and Karan re-
veals that it has taken 7 months to create this
inspirational music that he feels will add to the
grandness of this pulsating big-screen specta-
cle. —Agency
CAN’T KEEP CALM!
RELEASE DATE PUSHED
SHAMSHERA SPECIAL
A
ll eyes are on
F a r h a n
Akhtar and
Shibani Dan-
dekar ever since the
news of their wedding
came out. Reportedly,
the lovebirds are going
to tie the knot this
month. On Tuesday
, he
shared a picture with
his boy gang and it
looked like his bache-
lor party
. But one thing
that caught our atten-
tion was Shibani Dan-
dekar’s presence at
Farhan’s party
. Shar-
ing this picture, the
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
actor wrote, “The
boys are back in town
#stagdaynightfever.”
—Agency
I
t was Randhir
Kapoor’s birth-
day on Tues-
day and just
like any other occa-
sion, the entire Ka-
poor clan got to-
gether to celebrate
the actors special
day. Since after-
noon, pictures of
Kareena Kapoor
Khan, Karisma Ka-
poor, Jeh, Taimur, Saif Ali
Khan, Neetu Kapoor, Armaan
Jain and others have been sur-
facing on the internet as they
arrive at Randhir Kapoor’s
house in Mumbai. —Agency
BACHELOR’S PARTY?
Hum Sath Sath Hain!
The new
Valentine’s
K
hloe Kardashian and
Kim Kardashian have al-
ways been the talk of the
town. While Khloe had a
difficult time in 2021 following
her relationship with Tristan
Thompson ended. The KUWTK
alum also hit the headlines amid
Thompson’s paternity suit that
proved he had fathered a son
with Maralee Nichols. This year
she celebrated her Valentine’s
Day with daughter True.
—Agency
e n n i f e r
Lopez and Ben Af-
fleck attended Su-
per Bowl 2022 to-
gether and the cou-
ple in no time took
away all the lime-
light as they danced
around and held hands
while enjoying the game
from the stands. Lopez
and Affleck were seen
alongside Cardi B and
other artists at the game.
Videos of the couple’s
pre-Valentine’s date have
now been going viral.
Jennifer and Ben’s date
night came a day after the
singer revealed on her re-
cently started newsletter
the adorable Valentine’s
Day present that the actor
gave her which consisted a
sweet video of their throw-
back moments put together
to her Marry Me song, On
My Way’s remix. Sharing
the sweet gift that Affleck
gave her, Lopez said that it
“melted her heart” and in
her newsletter wrote,
“Watching it made me think
about the journey of true
love, its unexpected twists
and turns, and that when
it’s real, it actually can last
forever.” —Agency
Holding Hands
at Super Bowl!
J
Kareena Kapoor Khan Kim Kardashian
Jennifer Lopez
Vishal Kotian with Payal Shetty
Vishal and Shamita from Bigg Boss
Vishal
Vikrant Massey and Sheetal Thakur
Poster of the film
Kapoor Family
During the party
Bachchhan Paandey’s poster
Poster of the film

CITY FIRST
I
ndia Designer Show
in association with
Dinamic Advertising
Productions hosted
a meet greet with the
city’s fashion bloggers
media and wit-
nessed the preview of
designer Rosy Ahlu-
walia’s collection in
Goa venue partner
The Leela, Goa, and
launch party at Infin-
ity Lounge, Punjabi
Bagh on Sunday. De-
signer Rosy Ahlu-
walia is going to
showcase her
spring-summer
collection at the
Pre-launch of
India Design-
er show in as-
sociation with Dinamic
advertising and Produc-
tion Partner on February
19, at The Leela, Goa. The
event will also witness a
live performance by fa-
mous Punjabi singer Par-
mish Verma at the pre-
launch. The show will rep-
resent the designer’s sig-
nature aesthetics and in-
clude both modern and
classic Spring Summer
closet essentials.
Rosy Ahluwalia is a Del-
hi based designer, mentor
for NIIFD mumbai and
founder of Dikha Khadi,
she specialsies in bridal
wear as well semi-formal
wear.
CITY FIRST
D
elhi’s fashiona-
ble class came
out in force for
fashion design-
er Shivang Kapoor’s
birthday event, which
was held at a swanky
farmhouse in the capi-
tal on Monday
. Shivang
about the party said,
“It’s fun to party
with my friends
from my fraternity
on my birthday.” De-
signers Ashfaque
Ahmed, Neetu Singh,
Dinesh Aneja, Viresh
Verma, Raksheet
Anand, Piyushi Ba-
nasia, Kavita Anand
and Zorawar were
among those seen
grooving on the floor.
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
clecticism is
the virtue of
artists who are
not limited by
staunch ideo-
logical dogmas.
They could fly
in the heavens of imagi-
nation and cull the visu-
als that they see around
and infuse them into
theircreativeworks.Gu-
rugram based artist So-
nia has these qualities
of being an eclectic art-
ist whose imagination is
limitless, expressive fac-
ulties mature and sensi-
tivity abundant. City
First brings to you the
life story of this amaz-
ing artist, Sonia whose
journey will not only
leaveyouspellboundbut
will also inspire you. So-
nia Khurana is a con-
temporary artist who is
specializes in mixed me-
dia.Shehasdepictedher
thoughts beautifully on
canvas. Her works are
empirical, conceptual
blends of swirling col-
ours on a variety of me-
diums. She uses delicate
colours with metallic
tonesonpaper.Herartis
aperfectcombinationof
nuanced and vibrant, il-
lustrating how art and
fashionhavefraternised
through history
. She
works out of her studio
in Gurugram. Holding a
Diploma from the pres-
tigious National Insti-
tute of Fashion Design,
she is currently honing
her attention to the art
by pursuing her Senior
Diploma in Painting
fromJJSanskritiSchool
of Visual Arts, Guru-
gram. Sonia’s art has
been evolving, creating
wonderfulcombinations
of her training in fash-
ion with a very unique
sense of art. Goaded by
eclectic tendencies she
oscillates between the
ideal and the apparent,
imparting the glimpses
of both to the viewers,
sending them to the joy-
ful realm of aesthetic
appreciation.
Curator,JitendraPad-
am Jain brought a fresh
body of works from So-
nia’s oeuvre to date
where the viewers
could witness the un-
ending passion of the
artist for abstract.
Sonia Khurana will
be showcasing her
language of nature
on canvas at India
Habitat Centre.
HEAVEN OF IMAGINATION
HEAVEN OF IMAGINATION
UTTKARSHA
SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@
firstindia.co.in
E
12
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022
SILVER SCREENING!
CITY FIRST
A
IRIA Mall hosted a
special screening of
the movie GEHRAI-
YAAN with actor
Pavleen Gujral at AIRIA
mall, Gurugram on Sunday.
During the screening,
Pavleen said “It’s a
deeper look into mod-
ern relationships and
how your past some-
how never leaves you and it
changes you as a person.
The star cast of the film
comprises Deepika Padu-
kone, Siddhant Chaturvedi,
Ananya Pandey, Dhairya
Karwa apart from others
and can be watched on Am-
azon Prime. The film is
produced by Dharma Pro-
ductions.
BIRTHDAY
BASH!
DYNAMIC LAUNCH!
Model flaunting Rosy’s designed outfit Rosy Ahluwalia
Aman Hora, Pavleen Gujral,Ishwin Singh Hora and Harinder Singh
Tianna with Dinesh Aneja
Shaine Soni
Kavita Anand
Zorawar
Ashfaque Ahmed with Neetu Singh Shivang Kapoor with Neetu Kapoor Piyushi Banasia with Rakshit Anand
Sonia Khurana
Pavleen Gujral at the Airia Mall
her
artworks...
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
Mohit Singh, Gagan Aggarwal and Rosy Ahluwalia with a friend

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