India Trusts Modi

NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.19
n the 74 years of India’s
Independence, there have been
merely three leaders who have
not just carried out the role of
Prime Minister, but have gone
to the length of being the
synonym of a political pivot.
The nation, having seen 14 individuals
ascend to one of the highest offices, has
merely witnessed three leaders in
Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and
now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who
according to TIME magazine’s latest
influential people’s list, “dominated the
country’s politics like no one”.
When COVID-19 crisis hit the country, a
relentless Modi tried to instil
confidenceintheotherwise
scared nation. His
efforts, like
asking people to light lamps, beat steel
plates and clap so that they remain upbeat,
drew huge response. From his initiative to
periodically laud the Corona warriors by
show of semblance with them, to giving a
huge `20 lakh crore push to the economy
hit by the pandemic, to making efforts for
economic growth for which the numbers
now look favourable; underline that people
still trust Modi to lead the nation.
Interestingly, even with Opposition
levelling several accusations at him in
order to tarnish his no-nonsense and anti-
corruption image, an approval rating of
71% lays bare the fact that INDIA TRUSTS
MODI, and the trend is not going to change
anytime soon. Perhaps that is why, he has
featured in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 most
influential people in 2014, 2015, 2017 and
2020 and 2021, i.e. 5 times since coming to
power in 2014. Modi’s 7 year prime
ministerial tenure also has given a clear
message that there is no parallel to
team Narendra Modi-Amit Shah, a
political ‘couple’, made for each other!
At a time when most people think of a
peaceful, retired time after a lifelong of
hardwork, PM Modi starts his day before
daybreak and goes on to work, for the
nation, for the next 20 hours. Even former
US President Barak Obama publicly lauded
the mere three hours of sleep our 71 year
old PM takes.
In his 71st year, we at First India wish
the Prime Minister....the leader....the man,
happy returns of the day
.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PM!
I
Happy
Birthday!
Birthday!
India Trusts
Modi!

PERSPECTIVE
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Vol 1 Issue No. 19
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express
Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing
and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309,
Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092.
Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for
selection of news under the PRB Act
GAIL owns about 74%
(13,700 kms) of existing
pipelines infrastructure in
28 states UTs sells
about 52% of natural
gas sold in India. 6000+
km of pipelines under
construction. 2000+ km
under construction through
JVs. Provides 65% of
India’s DPNG connections
55% CNG stations.
Hardeep Singh Puri
@HardeepSPuri SPIRITUAL SPEAK
With fools, there is no
companionship. Rather than to
live with men who are selfish,
vain, quarrelsome, and
obstinate, let a man walk alone.
—Buddha
TOP
TWEETS
Thank Tajik President
Emomali Rahmon for
receiving me. Conveyed
greetings of PM Modi.
Exchanged views on
recent developments in
Afghanistan and their
impact on regional security.
India and Tajikistan are
strong partners in fighting
terrorism, fundamentalism
and radicalism.
Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
This year also marks the
7th year of PM Modi. On
30 May 2019, He had
won a tremendous,
unprecedented mandate,
the most decisive one by
any leader in recent
history, an absolute
majority for a leader and
political party after
almost 3 decades. This
popular vote after 61crore
peoples cast their vote, was
a vindication of his first 5
years. This victory was
despite being targeted
almost continuously with
a vicious campaign of lies
and calumny by a
coalition of vested interests
he first time I travelled back to my
state Karnataka after joining the
council of Ministers was for Jan
Ashirwad Yatra. This Yatra took
methrough6districtsandallowed
me to meet hundreds of citizens,
Social leaders, and Karyakartas
through the 4 days of the Yatra.
Throughout the entire journey
,
there was a singular response
from those who came out to bless
me and wish me - the trust , faith
and pride that people felt in their
PM and leader Narendra Modi.
From a farmer in Shivamogga
thanking me for government’s
support to transform his life ; to
a housewife beneficiary of Ujwa-
la in Sirsi; to revered Swamijis in
the different Mutts I visited for
blessings; to the health warriors
and Karyakartas I visited to
thank for their service - they all
saw themselves as participants
in PM Narendra Modi’s vision of
a New India and so this outpour-
ing of affection, support and
blessings to me was because I
was also in Narendra Modi’s
team just as each of them were.
September 17 is Prime Minis-
ter Modi’s birthday. It is also
Vishwakarma day. Nothing de-
scribes Narendra Modi’s life and
20 years in Government as this.
His 13 years as CM and 7 years
have set new standards in Gov-
ernment leadership, hard work,
policy making and raised the bar
significantly for all those in pub-
lic life and public service.
But his impact on Indian poli-
tics goes beyond that. He has dis-
mantled myths of permanent po-
litical dynasties, corruption and
status quoism about our democ-
racy and about many issues in-
cluding the terror response that
haveprevailedsince1947whenwe
became an Independent country
.
He has also reset the confidence,
ambitions and aspirations of eve-
ry Indian. These achievements
are particularly significant today
and now, as we celebrate 75th year
of Independence and set our
sights on the future of India.
This year also marks the 7th
year of PM Modi. On 30 May 2019,
He had won a tremendous, un-
precedented mandate, the most
decisive one by any leader in re-
cent history
, an absolute majority
for a leader and political party
after almost 3 decades. This popu-
lar vote after 61crore peoples cast
their vote, was a vindication of
his first 5 years. This victory was
despite being targeted almost
continuously with a vicious cam-
paign of lies and calumny by a
coalition of vested interests.
His political and governance
philosophy has remained consist-
ent - around equal opportunity to
all. Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,
Sabka Vishwas.
In one of his first speeches of
his 2nd term he said
“This New India’s vision is mo-
tivated by the noble thoughts of
ShriNarayanaGurugreatspiritu-
alfigure,socialreformerandpoet:
“Jaati-BhedamMat-DweshamAd-
umIlladey Sarvrum Sodar-tvain
Vaadunn Matrukasthan Maanit”
That is, an ideal place is one
where people live like brothers
free from the discrimination of
caste and religion.
On this path of a New India,
rural India will be strong and ur-
ban India will also be empowered.
entrepreneurial India will attain
new heights and the dreams of
young India will also be fulfilled.
On this path of a New India, all
systems will be transparent, and
the prestige of honest country-
men will increase further;
infrastructure for the 21st cen-
tury will be built and all resourc-
es for creation of a powerful In-
dia will be mobilized.”
Narendra Modi delivered in
these 7 years, what most Govern-
ments weren’t able to do for dec-
ades. In areas ranging from
Cleaning up the Financial sector,
expanding economic opportuni-
ties to all, National Security, Re-
cord high Investments, Technol-
ogy , Art 370, new State of
Ladakh, Citizens Amendment
Act, Amicable resolution of Ram
Mandir etc. There’s much for all
of us to be grateful for.
But it is his leadership, fore-
sight and untiring hard work
during this last 18 months of the
COVID pandemic that we are
truly grateful for.
Throughout the CORONA cri-
sis, Modi’s leadership and Gov-
ernance was on full display. He
rallied every citizen to make it
the country’s collective resolve to
fight and overcome the virus –
leading all 1.4 Billion Indians
through this difficult Lockdown
period with calm.
When COVID pandemic hit us,
we had little or no capacity in PPE
manufacturing, limited hospital
and ICU beds, Patchy healthcare
capacity in states, limitations in
pharma, vaccine, equipment and
healthcare staff. As if these real
challenges weren’t daunting
enough, PM Modi also had to deal
with terrible behaviour of China
at our Northern borders and con-
tinuing terror by Pakistan and of
course some of India’s politicians
who seemed to see COVID-19 as a
political opportunity rather than
a time to serve and inept and/or
irresponsible CMs in some states.
But through it all, he led us un-
daunted. The personal effort put
in by PM Modi through this en-
tire time was super-human and
would tire out any normal person
many times over. The challenges
of designing the response even
when scientists and experts
themselves were struggling to
understand cause, consequences
and solutions can’t be overstated.
India’s resilience and response
during this pandemic was also
possible by many far-sighted deci-
sions of Narendra Modi in his
first term - unambiguous proof of
hisforesight.Thepoorandvulner-
able who were the most impacted
by the shock were provided quick
financial relief through the deci-
sion of Narendra Modi to create
Bank accounts for every Indian
through the JDY scheme. JDY, PM
GaribKalyanYojana,PDSandPM
Kisan have ensured that rural,
farmersandpoorarebackstopped
financially by the Government di-
rectly without any leakages. Digi-
talIndiahelpedcroresof peopleto
connect to Information and for
businessestocontinuetoremotely
work.SchemeslikeUjalaforCook-
ing cylinders, Jan Aushadhi Yo-
jana and PM Ayushman all came
in as great support to the common
people during this Pandemic. PM
Modis leadership has ensured In-
dia could handle the shocks and
keep deaths to much lower than
most other even more developed
nations.
As the past 18 months have
shown,Indianeededstrongleader-
ship capable of navigating India
through these choppy waters and
itisfortunatethatwehadhislead-
ership and fire-sight - prime mov-
ers for our national resolve and
achieving important milestones
in our fight against Covid like the
recent Sep 13th crossing of 75
crorevaccinationsbeingachieved.
The world is seeing deep tecton-
icchangespostCOVID.Indiatoois
emerging more resilient, Confi-
dent and Ambitious about its fu-
ture - led by PM Narendra Modis
vision of AtmaNirbharBharat for
the future and his strong belief
that India’s time has come. As he
said on August 15th this year, Yahi
Samai hai, Yahi Samai hai. This is
our time. This is our time.
This is also the year I complete
15 years of public service. I con-
sider it a singular honour and
privilegethatIhavehadtheoppor-
tunity to serve at a time of PM
Modi’sleadershipandbeawitness
to the irreversible and unstoppa-
ble rise of our country and all our
people under PM Narendra Modi.
The best way to celebrate PM
Modi’s birthday is for all Indians
to believe in and work towards his
dream of a strong, prosperous In-
dia for all. Sabka Saath, Sabka
Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, SABKA
PRAYAS. On this day, I wish him
many years of good health and
service to our motherland.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
RAJEEV
CHANDRASEKHAR
The writer is Union Minister of State for
Entrepreneurship, Skill Development. Electronics
Technology
India’s resilience and re-
sponse during this pan-
demic was also possible
by many far-sighted de-
cisions of Narendra
Modi in his first term - un-
ambiguous proof of his fore-
sight. The poor and vulnera-
ble who were the most im-
pacted by the shock were
provided quick financial relief
through the decision of Nar-
endra Modi to create Bank
accounts for every Indian
through the JDY scheme
SETTINGNEW
STANDARDSIN
GOVERNMENT
LEADERSHIP
MODI

Ahmedabad: Crediting
the BJP governments in
Gujarat, since Naren-
dra Modi’s first tenure,
for strengthening law
and order situation, Un-
ion Home Minister on
Thursday said that
BJP’s continuous ten-
ures have helped the
state shed the “curfew
capital” tag and being a
safe and secure state.
Shah said this while
virtually inaugurating
six newly-constructed
police stations and an
office of Deputy Super-
intendent of Police in
Ahmedabad rural.
“There was a time
when Gujarat was
known as the curfew
capital. Now, when you
ask a 20-year-old wheth-
er he has experienced a
curfew, he will certain-
ly answer in the nega-
tive. Under the leader-
ship of (Narendra)
Modi, Anandiben (Pa-
tel), Vijaybhai (Rupani)
- and now with Bhupen-
drabhai (Patel) taking
over - the BJP govern-
ment worked to
strengthen the law and
order situation.
—Agencies
Thanks to BJP govts, Guj no more a “curfew capital”: Shah
New Delhi/ Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Amit
Shah will visit Nirmal on September 17 to address a
public meeting on the occasion of Telangana
Liberation Day and also to stress on the demand to
celebrate Liberation Day officially. The meeting will
held at Veyyi Urila Marri near Nirmal where 1000
Telangana Liberation fighters were hanged by
Razakars during the fight against the erstwhile
Nizam Government. The BJP leaders said though
India achieved Independence on August 15, 1947,
Telangana did not get independent as Nizam, the
king of Hyderabad State, refused to join Union of
India. However, he surrendered on September 17,
1948 after the Police Action of Government of India.
They said that though September 17 was a historic
day for Telangana, the state government has been
refusing to celebrate the victory on Nizam officially.
SHAH IN TELANGANA TODAY FOR
‘TELANGANA LIBERATION DAY’ MEET
Hails Guj govt
for making
“radical changes”
in the law and
order situation
Amit Shah at virtual inauguration of new police stations, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel also seen.
SKIPPER KOHLI TO SHED
VIRAT WORKLOAD
NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.19
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
Sensex jumped 418 points to end above 59,000 mark for the first time at
59,141. It touched a new high of 59,204 in intra-day deals. Meanwhile, its
NSE counterpart Nifty gained 107 points to 17,626. It hit a new peak of
17,645 during the session. 16 stocks closed in the green and 14 in the red.
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Shimla on Thursday
afternoon on a four-day visit to Himachal Pradesh during which he will
address the special session of the state assembly on 17 September to
mark the golden jubilee celebrations of statehood of the state.
SENSEX ENDS
ABOVE 59K, NIFTY
TOPS 17,600
PRESIDENT KOVIND
ARRIVES IN SHIMLA
ON FOUR-DAY VISIT
CORONA CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
INDIA
30,570
new cases
431
new fatalities
28
new cases
01
new fatalities
Modi attacks Vista critics as he
opensDefenceMinistrycomplex
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi hit
out at the critics of the
Central Vista Project
while inaugurating the
Defence Offices Com-
plexes in New Delhi on
Thursday
.
The PM said those
who were attacking the
Central Vista Project
would conveniently re-
main silent as 7,000 em-
ployees of the Defence
ministry and the armed
forces shift to the two
new multi-storey office
complexes. The Defence
Offices Complexes are a
part of the Rs
20,000-crore Central
Vista Project.
“Today
, the country is
watching what we are
doing with the Central
Vista. These modern of-
fices will help those
connected with the
work of national secu-
rity in working effec-
tively,” Modi said, add-
ing that it was “a major
and significant step
towards the develop-
ment of a modern de-
fence enclave in the
capital.”
‘Asthana brought in
for better policing’
New Delhi: The Centre
Thursday defended IPS
officerRakeshAsthana’s
appointment as Delhi
Police Commissioner,
saying he has been
broughtintoprovide“ef-
fective policing” on re-
cent law and order situa-
tions in the national
capital.Thegovernment
also said it needs to be
given a leeway in ap-
pointment of Delhi Po-
lice Commissioner as
any “paediatric ap-
proach” would not be in
national interest.
The submission has
been made in a written
replyfiledinresponseto
a PIL seeking quashing
of Asthana’s appoint-
ment, inter-cadre depu-
tation, and extension of
service. The court is ex-
pected to hear the case
next week. More on P5
New Gujarat Cabinet has no minister
who served in Rupani administration
Gandhinagar: TheBJP
onThursdayinducted24
ministers, including 21
who have become minis-
ters for the first time,
taking the strength of
the ministry led by CM
Bhupendra Patel, a first-
term MLA and minister,
to 25.
Political observers
say the BJP expects to
make an impact ahead
of the 2022 Gujarat As-
sembly polls with this
new-look ministry
.
Those sworn in at the
1.30 pm Raj Bhavan cer-
emony include former
Assembly Speaker Ra-
jendra Trivedi and for-
mer state BJP president
Jitu Vaghani. Governor
Acharya Devvrat ad-
ministeredtheoathto10
cabinet ministers and 14
ministers of state, in-
cluding five ministers
of state with independ-
ent charge. More on P8
Centre outlines
‘bad bank’ plan
NARCL for NPA
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet on Wednesday
cleared a proposal to
provide government
guarantee to security
receipts issued by the
National Asset Recon-
s t r u c t i o n
C o m p a n y
(NARCL) as
part of res-
olution of
bad loans,
sources said.
Indian Banks’ Asso-
ciation (IBA), entrusted
with the task of setting
up a bad bank, has
pegged the government
guarantee to be around
Rs 31,000 crore.
Head of Islamic State killed in Sahara: France
Paris: The leader of the
Islamic State in the
Greater Sahara died of
wounds from a drone
strike that hit him on a
motorcycle last month
in southern Mali, in a
French-led operation in-
volving backup from
US, EU, Malian and Ni-
gerien military forces,
French authorities said
on Thursday
.
The French govern-
ment did not disclose
how they identified him
as Adnan Abu Walid al-
Sahrawi, whose group
hasterrorisedtheregion.
France declared the
killing a major victory
against jihadists in Af-
rica and justification for
years of anti-extremist
efforts in the Sahel.
French government of-
ficials described al-Sah-
rawi as “enemy No. 1” in
the region and accused
him of ordering or over-
seeing attacks on
French aid workers.
V
irat Kohli To Step
Down As India’s
T20I Captain Af-
ter ICC T20 World Cup:
“Understanding Work-
load Important”Virat
Kohli announced on
Thursday that he will be
stepping down as India’s
T20I captain after the
completion of the upcom-
ing ICC T20 World Cup.
“I have been fortunate
enough to not only repre-
sent India but also lead
the Indian Cricket Team
to my utmost capability
.
I thank everyone who
has supported me in my
journey as the Captain
of the Indian Cricket
Team. I couldn’t have
done it without them - the
boys, the support staff,
the selection committee,
my coaches and each and
every Indian who prayed
for us to win.
PM Narendra Modi along with Union Minister for Defence Rajnath
Singh and Minister for Petroleum Natural Gas Hardeep Singh
Puri during the inauguration of the Defence Offices Complex, in
New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Delhi top cop Rakesh Asthana
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
Cabinet ministers: Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh
Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh
Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan.
WITH MANY EMBASSIES CLOSED, BLACK
MARKET FOR VISAS THRIVING IN KABUL
Kabul: A number of travel agencies say that currently only
Pakistan visas can be obtained legally, but visas of a number
of other countries are being sold in the black market at high
prices, Tolo News reported. “The real price for a Tajikistan
visa is $60, but in the black market it is around $350 to $400.
The real price for Turkey’s visa is $120, but in the black mar-
ket it is selling for up to $5,000,” according to the director of
a travel agency in Kabul. Meanwhile, Taliban have barred fe-
male employees from entering the Ministry of Women Affairs
in Kabul, allowing only males into the building, an employee
of the ministry said. “Four women were not allowed to enter
the building”, Sputnik quoted the employee as saying.
“I have decided to step down as the
T20 captain after this T20 World
Cup in Dubai in October,” Kohli
wrote in statement that he shared
on his social media handles.
1 Kohli cited the “immense workload”
he has been managing for most of the
last decade, as an all-format player and
captain, as the reason for his decision
2 He also said that the decision was
taken after consulting people close
to him, head coach Ravi Shastri and
teammate Rohit Sharma
DECIDES TO STEP DOWN FROM
CAPTAINCY AFTER T20 WORLD CUP
CENTRE TO DELHI HIGH COURT
24 MINS SWORN IN
CRUCIAL READ
‘ARRESTED TERRORISTS TRAINED IN PAK
TO CARRY OUT BLASTS ON RAIL TRACKS’
BHAGWAT TO VISIT JK IN OCT, FIRST
VISIT AFTER ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370
New Delhi: Pakistan’s ISI trained the two terrorists, that
were arrested by the special Cell of Delhi police, who
were to blow bridges and railway tracks to cause mass
casualties in India, it was revealed during the interroga-
tion on Thursday. The interrogation revealed that the
duo was also asked to acquire the details of the timings
and route of the trains with more passengers so that the
blast results in a high number of casualties.
Nagpur: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
chief Mohan Bhagwat will be visiting
Jammu and Kashmir for the first time
after articles 370 and 35A were revoked.
Bhagwat will be on a three-day visit to
the Union Territory from October 1 to
October 3 and will attend a meeting with
‘Prabudh Varg’ members.

New Delhi: While the
overall crime rate in
the national capital
dipped by 16 per cent in
2020 as compared to
2019, Delhi has reported
the highest number of
crimes against women
among all the metropoli-
tan cities of the country.
According to the data
released by the Nation-
al Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB), the number of
cases registered under
the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) in Delhi saw a
sharp dip by 18 per cent
between 2019 and 2020.
The rate of crime, occur-
ring per 1,00,000 popula-
tion, against women last
year is 129.1 in Delhi, ac-
cording to the NCRB data
issued on Tuesday.
According to the
data, Delhi is the most
unsafe city for women.
Nearly 10,000 cases of
crimes against women
were registered in the na-
tional capital last year.
New Delhi: Several
parts of the national
capital witnessed heavy
rainfall on Thursday
morning which is likely
to continue during the
next two hours.
Delhi and its adjoin-
ing area are likely to wit-
ness moderate to heavy
rainfall in the next two
hours, as per the Indian
Meteorological Depart-
ment (IMD). “Thunder-
storm with moderate to
heavy intensity rain and
winds with speed of 20-
40 Km/h would occur
over and adjoining areas
of manyplacesof North,
West, North-West,
South-West Delhi, NCR
(Bahadurgarh, Guru-
gram, Manesar), Soni-
pat, Rohtak, Meham,
Bhiwani, Charkhi
Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhaj-
jar, Kosali, Farukhna-
gar, Rewari, Nuh (Hary-
ana) and light to moder-
ate intensity rain would
occur over and adjoin-
ing areas of few places
of Central, New Delhi,
South, South-East, East
Delhi, Kandhla, Bagpat,
Moradabad, Sambhal,
Garhmukteshwar (U.P.)
during next 2 hours,”
tweeted IMD at 11.30 am.
Earlier in the day, the
weather forecasting
agency issued an orange
alert warning of moder-
ate to heavy rainfall
along with the strong
winds in the national
capital. —ANI
CAPITOL
04
CRUCIAL READ
ANTI-TERROR CONFERENCE TO BE
HELD AT DELHI POLICE HQ TODAY
New Delhi: An anti-terror conference will be
held at Delhi Police Headquarters on Friday to
discuss the new models and threats of terror-
ism, informed sources on Thursday. Delhi Police
Commissioner Rakesh Asthana who has recently
returned from Mumbai to Delhi will be part of
the conference, the sources informed. State Anti
Terror Squad (ATS) officers and senior officers
of intelligence agencies will also be involved, as
per the sources. Few officials will join via video
conferencing as well.—ANI
VIRAL FEVER CASES UP IN DELHI;
BUT NO NEED TO PANIC, SAY DOCS
New Delhi: Over the past few weeks, doctors in the
city are witnessing a rise in the number of cases
of viral illness, owing to the sudden change in the
weather. High-grade fever accompanied with body
ache and throat ache are some of the common
symptoms seen in most of the patients by the hos-
pitals. However, doctors have urged citizens not to
panic. At Delhi government’s biggest hospital, Lok
Nayak, over 100-150 patients with the symptoms of
viral illness are being witnessed on a daily basis.”
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court criticised the Delhi
government for its “lethargic attitude” on processing
the forest clearance required to complete a 100-bed-
ded hospital in the Najafgarh area. A Division Bench
of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh
called it unfortunate of the public that a 100-bed-
ded hospital in the Najafgarh area was not completed.
However, the Court granted time to the government to
file its reply to the petition indicating the least possi-
ble time within which the state government may grant
permission, as required by the Centre under law.
HC SLAMS CITY GOVT FOR DELAY IN
BUILDING OF NAJAFGARH HOSPITAL
New Delhi: A Delhi
court on Thursday
framed charges of mur-
der against five men ac-
cused of killing a Mus-
lim man and burning his
body during the north-
east Delhi riots, taking
note of his brother’s
blow-by-blow account.
Additional Sessions
Judge Vinod Yadav
framed charges against
the accused — Lakhpat
Rajora, Lalit, Yogesh and
two men both named Kul-
deep under sections of
murder, rioting, mis-
chief by fire or explosive
substance with intent to
destroy house and dacoi-
ty of the IPC and sections
of the Arms Act. Mohd
Anwar was murdered on
February 25. His brother
Saleem Kassar had told
police that “a riotous
mob after breaking open
the doors of his house,
had looted the same and
thereafter set it on fire”.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: With inno-
vative techniques, the
Delhi government has
saved approximately
`600 crores by bringing
down the cost of `662
crore sewage barrel
project to mere `60
crore.
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) government is
well known for using its
cost-effective formulas
and completing projects
ahead of time and on
Thursday Delhi’s water
minister and Delhi Jal
Board chairman Saty-
endar Jain announced
that with the help of in-
novative techniques the
government has
brought down the cost
of rehabilitation of the
Okhla Barrel Project by
more than 90% and now
the earlier approved 662
crores project will be
completed in just 60
crores.
The 15km long bar-
rels carry 115 Million
Gallon Per Day (MGD)
of wastewater from
South and Central Delhi
to Okhla Sewage Treat-
ment Plant (STP). These
barrels are large con-
duits that carry huge
amounts of sewage to
the Sewage Treatment
Plant.
They were construct-
ed decades ago and have
passed their usual life
which as a result has re-
duced their capacity of
carrying the discharge.
HEAVY RAIN
lashes parts of Delhi
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The North
Delhi Municipal Corpo-
rationWednesdaypassed
the proposal to set up
multi-level parking fa-
cilities in four congested
areas of North Delhi–
Karol Bagh’s Ajmal
KhanRoad(BankStreet),
Old Rajendra Nagar,
Shastri Park, and Pusa
Lane with a total capaci-
ty to house 1,922 cars.
These proposals, how-
ever, have evoked criti-
cisms from the Aam
Aadmi Party as these
parking facilities will be
developed by private
contractors on a freehold
basis under an agree-
ment by which 70 per
cent of the car space will
be given to the North
MCD and the remaining
30 per cent will be with
the private player. More-
over, the private conces-
sionaire can use por-
tions of the facilities de-
veloped commercially,
based on floor area ratio,
and will have around one
to two floors, depending
on the size of the plot.
A minimum reserve
price of Rs 168 crores to
Rs 195 crores has been
set to bid for these pro-
jects.
NDMC okays multi-level parking in 4 congested areas
DEVELOPMENT
zzz
A minimum
reserve price of
`168 crores to
`195 crores has
been set to bid
for these
projects.
IMD ISSUES ORANGE ALERT
The India Meteorological Department (IMD)
has issued an orange alert warning of moderate
to heavy rain in the national capital on Thurs-
day.The weather forecasting agency has also
predicted strong winds in the national capital
along with the rainfall. Earlier on September
11, senior scientist, RK Jenamani said that the
national capital will receive a fresh bout of rain
from September 17. The senior scientist had
informed that Delhi has received the highest
24-hour rainfall this year in 121 years. Several
areas, including the Delhi airport, were wa-
terlogged after heavy rain lashed the national
capital on Saturday. Heavy rainfall and conse-
quent waterlogging have disrupted the normal,
everyday life in various parts of Delhi. —ANI
Delhi Govt saves
approx. `600 cr in
Okhla Barrel Project
Delhi has received the highest
24-hour rainfall this year in 121
years, a senior scientist said
Capital remains most
unsafe for women
Meet third gender voters
to boost enrolment: CEO
LNJP will ramp up oxygen
production, says Raghav
New Delhi: Delhi
Chief Election Offic-
er (CEO) Ranbir Sin-
gh has directed all
the District Election
Officers (DEOs) to
bolster the process of
enrolling young elec-
tors under the age of
30 years to address
the issue of their
under-representa-
tion in the electoral
roll.
Singh also asked
them to meet third
gender voters to in-
crease their enrol-
ment. DEOs have
been further directed
to improve gender
ratio in the electoral
roll by enrolling
all left out women
voters.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: AAP leader
and Chairperson Rogi
Kalyna Samiti, LNJP
Hospital Raghav Chadha
on Thursday said the
hospital will ramp up the
in-house oxygen produc-
tion capacity to tackle
the third wave of COV-
ID-19 if it occurs.
At a high-level meet-
ing with HODs of the
LNJP hospital to discuss
proper patient manage-
ment and streamlining
of operations, Chadha
said, “The medical team
needs to lay out a plan for
handling Pediatric Covid
cases, in terms of infra-
structure, doctors in-
tensive care facilities
available and also update
on the supply chain man-
agement of essential and
specialized medicines.
Delhi riots: Court frames charges
against five for killing Muslim man
Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain and Atishi Singh.
Image for representational use only.
Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh AAP leader Raghav Chadha
A man walks past the
Rashtrapati Bhavan holding
an umbrella after heavy
rainfall, in New Delhi. —ANI
A road gets blocked after the tree falls following heavy rainfall
A loaded bullock cart wades through flooded roads after
heavy rainfall at Baraf Khana Chowk, in New Delhi. —ANI
Image for represetaional use only
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NEWS
05
In HC, Centre defends Asthana’s appointment as Delhi Police chief
New Delhi: Justifying
the appointment of
Rakesh Asthana as Del-
hi Police Commission-
er, the Centre told the
Delhi High Court that
he was given charge be-
cause he had the expo-
sure of complexities of
governance and knowl-
edge of nuances of
broad canvas policing.
In an affidavit in the
High Court, the central
governmentsaidthatno
officer of the appropri-
ate seniority with bal-
anced experience was
available in the
Arunachal Pradesh-
Goa-Mizoram and Un-
ion Territory (AGMUT)
cadre.
The govt submitted
that petition which
challenged Asthana’s
appointment as Delhi
Police Commissioner is
an “abuse of process of
law and outcome of per-
sonal vendetta”.
“It was felt that an of-
ficer belonging to a
large state cadre, who
had the exposure of
complexities of govern-
ance and who had the
knowledge of nuances
of broad canvas polic-
ing is given charge of
Commissioner of Po-
lice Delhi,” the Centre
stated in its affidavit
filed through advocate
Amit Mahajan, who is
standing counsel of the
Government of India.
“Keeping the public
interest objective in
mind, the service ten-
ure of Asthana was ex-
tended in the exercise
of the powers vested in
the cadre controlling
authority,” it said, add-
ing that in absence of
there being a lack of
power, the exercise of
said power cannot be
faulted when the same
has been exercised af-
ter complying with
all the due process.
Henceforth, the
Centre urged High
Court to dismiss the
petition as well as the
Interlocutory Applica-
tion challenging Rake-
sh Asthana’s appoint-
ment as Delhi Police
Com- missioner
w i t h
exem-
plary
costs.
The
affidavitstatesDelhi,be-
ing the capital of coun-
try
, has a specific and
special requirement
that witnessed certain
untowardandextremely
challengingpublicorder
problems/riots/crimes
which have an interna-
tional implication.
“This necessitated
the appointment of an
experienced officer
having diverse, multi-
farious experience of
heading a Police
Force in any
large State/Central In-
vestigating Agency/
Para-military Security
Forces etc to head the
Delhi Police force.
Since the experience in
all these domains was
felt necessary by the
Competent Authority
to be present in an of-
fice for the purpose of
heading Delhi Police
and also taking into
cognizance the inci-
dent which had hap-
pened in the past,
the Competent
A u t h o r i t y
considered it just and
necessary and in the
public interest to have
an officer having expe-
rience and knowledge
of heading the Police
Force of a vast State/
Central investigating
agency and paramili-
tary /Police Force so as
to effectively negotiate
and handle the peculiar
policing needs, the law
and order situation in
the National Capital of
GNCT of Delhi,” read
the affidavit.
Centre, in its af-
fidavit, also mentioned
that the present peti-
tion is a verbatim re-
production of a peti-
tion filed by the inter-
vener before the Su-
preme Court of India.
High Court was hear-
ing a petition of Sadre
Alam seeking direction
for quashing the order
of the central govt ap-
pointing Asthana as the
Commissioner of Po-
lice, Delhi and another
order dated July 27,
2021. —ANI
New Delhi: Hindustani
Awam Morcha (HAM)
chief and former Bihar
Chief Minister Jitan
Ram Manjhi on Thurs-
day met with BJP na-
tional president JP Na-
dda in the national
capital.
The meeting at Na-
dda’s residence here
lasted for about an hour.
After the meeting, Man-
jhi called the meeting
“purely non-political”.
“Today I came here to
talk about the develop-
ment of our area, that
has been discussed. I
am a resident of
Magadh. There is a
strong demand in
Magadh that the ‘Maga-
dhi’ language, should
be included in the
eighth list and a written
letter has also been giv-
en for it. I am hopeful
for this to happen,” said
Manjhi.
Manjhi further said,
“Apart from this, our
area is Naxalite, so
there are no rail pro-
jects there. We had also
written to the Prime
Minister. The Prime
Minister had instructed
JP Nadda to talk to me
and that’s why we met
today. We talked about
two rail sections from
Islampur to Gaya and
from Gaya to Dalton-
ganj and the Magahi
language issue as well”.
He said, “There was
no discussion about the
alliance in the govern-
ment regarding which
is going on in Bihar.”
When asked if any
discussion regarding
the 2022 Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections
held with Nadda, Man-
jhi said: “No political
talk has taken place to-
day
.”
The HAM chief re-
futed the rift between
the BJP and Janata Dal
(United) in Bihar. “I do
not think that there is
any problem in NDA.
Everyone is working
with their mutual un-
derstanding. If any mis-
takes will be made by
someone then our lead-
ership will solve the is-
sue.” —ANI
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) President Jitan Ram Manjhi meets BJP National President J. P.
Nadda, in New Delhi on Thursday. —ANI
MAGADHI ISSUE
Thakur, Mandaviya flag off 15 medical
vans for HP, ahead of PM’s birthday
New Delhi: Ahead of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s birthday on
Friday
, Information and
Broadcasting Minister
Anurag Thakur and
Union Minister for
Health Mansukh Man-
daviya flagged off 15
mobile medical units
for Himachal Pradesh.
All medical units are
equipped with modern
gadgets and will pro-
vide free treatment and
medicines in villages,
Thakur said.
Mansukh Mandaviya
congratulated Anurag
Thakur, who is a Mem-
ber of Parliament from
Himachal Pradesh’s
Hamirpur, for taking
care of the health needs
of the poor in the state.
“I want to congratu-
late Anurag Thakur.
Under Prime Minister
Modi, the country is
changing. When there
was a discussion in par-
liament, many MPs
started speaking about
the health budget that it
was doubled by club-
bing other segments.
But that wasn’t true.
What PM Modi did was
integrated health and
development,” Manda-
via said.
“There was Obama
care in the USA, the
whole world was prais-
ing it. We are giving Rs
5 lakh health security to
10 crore families. More
than 2 crore people have
taken benefit of Ayush-
man Bharat,” he said.
The minister said the
scheme is a big help to
the poor who felt vul-
nerable if they fell sick.
Mandaviya listed the
health benefits of gov-
ernment schemes for
the poor living in the
mountainous regions.
Around 17 mobile
units, operated by an
NGO, are already being
used in Thakur’s con-
stituency and have
helped about 6 lakh peo-
ple. Tests like KFT, cre-
atinine, LFT, lipid pro-
file, uric acid, sugar,
Hepatitis B and C are
conducted through
these units free of cost.
“With the addition of
these 15 units, there
would be 32 such mobile
medical vans to cater to
medical needs of people
in and around the con-
stituency. Also, these
units also aid the health
set up in testing tour-
ists for COVID and ren-
der assistance,” he add-
ed. Thakur said Ayush-
ma Yojana started by
the Prime Minister has
been a big help to the
poor in getting medical
services.
The minister re-
ferred to Made in India
vaccines against COV-
ID-19 and said over 75
crore people have been
vaccinated. —ANI
The meeting held at Nadda’s house in
New Delhi lasted for about an hour
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur felicitates Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya during
the launch of 15 Mobile Medical Units for Himachal Pradesh, in New Delhi on Thursday. —ANI
THAKUR ON PM
‘No political talk’: Manjhi
after meeting with Nadda
I want to congratulate Anurag Thakur.
Under Prime Minister Modi, the country
is changing. When there was a discus-
sion in parliament, many MPs started speaking
about the health budget that it was doubled by
clubbing other segments. But that wasn’t true.
What PM Modi did was integrated health and
development.
—Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister
AAP attempts to woo UP voters with 300 units free power
L u c -
k n o w :
The AAP on Thursday
said if it is voted to pow-
er in Uttar Pradesh, it
will provide 300 units
of free electricity to do-
m e s -
tic con-
sumers, waive “inflat-
ed” bills and ensure 24-
hour power supply, a
move aimed at replicat-
ing its Delhi model.
AT a press confer-
ence here just months
ahead of the assembly
elections, AAP leader
and Delhi Deputy CM
Manish Sisodia also an-
nounced providing free
electricity to farmers.
The AAP has made
similarpromisesinPun-
jab, Uttarakhand and
Goa where assembly
polls are due next year.
In last Delhi assem-
bly elections, AAP had
promised free electrici-
ty up to 200 units to do-
mestic consumers and
after that up to 200 units
at half the price, which
is believed to have
played an important
role in polls.
The AAP, which
has decided to con-
test all 403 assembly
seats in Uttar
Pradesh,allegedthat
electricity tariff is
so expensive in UP that
it is becoming very dif-
ficult for people to pay
the bills. At the same
time,Sisodiaallegedthe
government tells people
“to either pay the elec-
tricity bill or be tagged
as criminals”.
Claiming that there
are hundreds of in-
stances in UP where
people committed sui-
cide after receiving in-
flated electricity bills,
Sisodia claimed a farm-
er in Aligarh, named
Ramji Lal, killed him-
self over non-payment
of electricity bill.He
claimed that in Etah, a
17-year-old girl commit-
ted suicide just because
the electricity depart-
ment had sent a wrong
bill to her father who
was declared a criminal
for not paying it.
“38 lakh families in
UP have got inflated
electricity bills and the
govt is considering
them as criminals.
“Tear the bills as soon
as the (AAP) govern-
ment is formed. Every-
one’s outstanding bill
will be waived,” Siso-
dia claimed. —PTI
FORMER APPLE EMPLOYEE IS
AAP'S 'PROBABLE' NOIDA CANDIDATE
Noida: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
on Wednesday named a former Apple
employee as it “probable candidate”
for the upcoming assembly election
from Noida constituency in Uttar
Pradesh.
Rajya Sabha MP and AAP’s UP
in-charge Sanjay Singh in Lucknow
released the first list of 100 “probable
candidates” of the party for the state
assembly polls due early next year.
“The AAP’s two likely candidates
have been announced today (Thurs-
day). Pankaj Awana from Noida and
Poonam Singh from the Jewar as-
sembly seats,” party’s district general
secretary and spokesperson Sanjeev
Nigam told PTI.
Awana, who hails from Bhooda
village in Sector 81 of Noida, has a
Masters in Business Administration
(MBA) and has formerly worked for
tech giant Apple, Nigam said.
The other candidate is Singh,
who hails from Nagla Bhatuna village
in Jewar. She is a graduate and the
party’s probable candidate from
Jewar, he said.
Nigam said a “probable can-
didate” is almost certain to be the
AAP’s candidate in the upcoming
elections but for exceptional circum-
stances in which the party might
reconsider changing the nominee.
Gautam Buddh Nagar in western
UP adjoining Delhi, where the AAP is
in power under Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, has three assembly seats
of Noida, Jewar and Dadri. Current-
ly, all the three seats are held by the
BJP MLAs. Announcement for the
AAP’s candidate in Gautam Buddh
Nagar’s third assembly seat Dadri is
yet to be done.
Bribery case:
25 years after
bail, cop sent
back to jail
New Delhi: 25 years af-
ter a police official was
released on bail in a
bribery case, the Delhi
High Court has dis-
missed the appeal of the
police official, who was
convicted in a corrup-
tion case in April 2001.
Sentenced to an im-
prisonment of three
years in 2001, Delhi Po-
lice ASI had undergone
16 days of detention as
an undertrial in 1996.
ASI Ram Naresh Tiwari
of Police Post Shanti
Nagar in 1996 had de-
manded Rs 10,000 from
a person against whom
he was looking into a
complaint of kidnap-
ping filed by a woman’s
father. The issue actu-
ally involved a case of
runaway marriage and
both the families later
agreed to the union.
However, Tiwari con-
tinued to insist on the
bribe money. Later, Ti-
wari was caught for
bribery and convicted
in April 2001.
The trial court deci-
sion was challenged be-
fore the High Court,
which suspended the
sentence during the
pendency of trial in
May 2001.
AAP
The issue was of a
runaway marriage
and both families
later agreed to union

INDIA
06
AFTERSCRAP,CENTRE NOTIFIESON
RULESFORTRIBUNALSAPPOINTMENTS
The tribunal hearings are on the basis of a petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Thursday
issued a notification re-
garding rules for ap-
pointments to 12 tribu-
nals, or quasi-judicial
bodies, in various
fields, including the In-
come Tax Appellate Tri-
bunal.
This comes a day af-
ter an irritated Su-
preme Court repri-
manded the govern-
ment for its delay in
filling posts in tribu-
nals; a bench led by
Chief Justice NV Ra-
mana told Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta
“return with appoint-
ment letters (in two
weeks)... or (if appoint-
ments are not made)
cite the reason”.
“We are a democratic
country... follow the
rule of law,” the Chief
Justice reminded the
government. In a
charged hearing the
court singled out de-
layed appointments to
the NCLT, or National
Company Law Tribu-
nal, and criticised the
government for “cherry
picking” from a short-
list of 22 names.
The Chief Justice,
part of the selection
committee, said 544 peo-
ple had been inter-
viewed for the shortlist,
but “... only some were
appointed... rest went to
(a) wait list,” he ob-
served. The Solicitor
General’s replied that
“the government is en-
titled to not follow cer-
tain recommendations”
to which Justice L Nag-
eswara Rao, part of the
three-judge bench, shot
back that “What (then)
is the sanctity of the se-
lection committee
(headed by top court
judges)?” it did not go
down well.
MP Jairam Ramesh, asking that provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021, which revives an
ordinance struck down by the Supreme Court shall be declared unconstitutional.
May rob media’s freedom:
2nd HC setback on IT rules
BJP eyes record of
1.5 cr vax doses on
PM Modi’s B’day
Rawat meets Sonia, urges
to settle Punjab issue
Pan-India raids to nab
terror module mastermind
RaGa meets family of late senior
party leader Oscar Fernandes
New Delhi: Key sec-
tions of the country’s
new Information Tech-
nology rules that seek
to regulate digital me-
dia outlets were put on
hold on Thursday by
the Madras High Court,
which became the sec-
ond court to do so after
the Bombay High Court
last month.
“Prima facie there is
substance that the over-
sight mechanism to
control the media by
the government may
rob the media of its in-
dependence and the
fourth pillar of the de-
mocracy may not be
there at all,” the Ma-
dras High Court said.
“By way of abundant
caution, sub-rules 1
and 3 of Rule 9 of the
said Rules of 2021 will
remain stayed,” it add-
ed. Put on hold by the
Bombay High Court on
August 16, Clauses 1
and 3 of Rule 9 require
digital media outlets to
follow the code of con-
duct laid down by the
Press Council of India
and the country’s cable
TV code.
New Delhi: BJP is as-
piring to help create a
record by helping
achieve the nation max-
imum number of COV-
ID-19 vaccine inocula-
tions today on the birth-
day of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, party
sources said.
To achieve this mile-
stone, BJP is prepared
up its health volunteers
to ensure that the maxi-
mum people get their
COVID-19 vaccines on
the day, BJP sources
stated.India has admin-
istered more than one
crore COVID-19 vac-
cines in a day on earlier
occasions. The target
that BJP is aspiring is
to get more than 1.5
crore vaccines adminis-
tered on the day, the
BJP leader informed.
Senior leaders in the
Bhartiya Janta Party
said that the party will
try to see that the day
will be recorded in the
nation’s history
. —ANI
New Delhi: PunjabCon-
gress in-charge Harish
Rawat has met Sonia
Gandhi and Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, and
sources said he has been
askedtosettletheraging
tussle within the party
as MLAs have once
again started raising
voices and seeking the
Legislative party meet.
Rawat met the two top
leaders here on Wednes-
day. He is also said to
have spoken to the top
Congress leaders in
Punjab. The MLAs have
demanded that two neu-
tral observers be sent
from Delhi so that they
can narrate their griev-
ances. The prime mov-
ers this time are Pargat
Singh and Tript Singh
Bajwa, both are close to
the state President Nav-
jot Singh Sidhu.
New Delhi: Pan-India
raids are being carried
out by anti-terror units
of the states and Delhi
Special Cell sleuths on
Thursday to nab sus-
pected mastermind of
the terror module Hu-
maid.
It is alleged that Hu-
maid, a relative of ar-
rested accused Osama,
who is a resident of
Delhi’s Jamia Nagar,
was coordinating the
entire terror network in
India.The police are
also looking for Osa-
ma’s father Humaid-ur-
Rehman. His wherea-
bouts are unknown.
“Last known location
of Humaid was in Uttar
Pradesh. We are in
touch with Uttar
Pradesh anti-terror
squad and raids are be-
ing carried out at vari-
ous places,” said a top
Indian Police Services
officer privy to the
probe. —ANI
Bengaluru: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday met family
members of late senior
party leader Oscar Fer-
nandes in Bengaluru.
State Congress presi-
dent DK Shivakumar
was also present. Gan-
dhi reached Bengaluru
to attend the last rites of
senior party Oscar Fer-
nandezwhopassedaway
on September 13.
The programme is
scheduled to begin by
paying respect to Fer-
nandez at Karnataka
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee office and later
Gandhi will also partici-
pate in cremetion. —ANI
PM Narendra Modi
Harish Rawat Sonia Gandhi
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Secretary-
level vacancies in the
Union Government will
tot up to 20 by this end-
month if one adds the
number of secretaries
to retire by then to the
existing number of 13.
If no appointment is
effected between now
and end-month, it will
be described as an ‘un-
precedented situation’,
even from the standard
of the NDA administra-
tion whose considered
decision to keep critical
posts vacant has ac-
quired disturbing pro-
portions.
In the meanwhile it is
heard that the Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi may convene a
marathon meeting with
Union secretaries on
Saturday. If true, it
would assume more sig-
nificance in the back-
drop of large number
of vacancies.
It may be underlined
that in matters of tribu-
nal and HC vacancies, it
has earned the displeas-
ure of the Supreme
Court. But who will call
it to courts in keeping
secretarial appoint-
ments hanging no mat-
ter how it affects gov-
ernance? No one. Since
there is no substitute for
good governance, the
NDA administration
willfavornonebutitself
in urgently filling the
pending vacancies. Of
course, it is their choice
to help themselves.
It is believed among
officials, and one can’t
butexpecttheirbelief to
be justified sooner than
later, that the govern-
ment is probably work-
ing up to issue a whole-
sale list to fill all the 20
vacancies at one shot.
Currently, to cope
with 13 vacancies, 11
union secretaries are
given dual charges and
one among them is han-
dling triple responsi-
bilities.
WILL SECRETARIAL VACANCIES BE FILLED IN ONE SHOT?
NEW AVENUES?
Union Government will tot up to 20 by the end of this month.
With seven union secretaries retiring
this month, tally may touch 20 mark
SPECIAL POOJA
IN VARANASI
ED raids seize `3.88 crore
fromforeignexchangefirms
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
on Thursday said it
seized over Rs 4 crore
worth of Indian and for-
eign currency and bul-
lion in recent multi-city
raids against Hawala
operators based in
north India.
The searches were
carried out under pro-
visions of the Foreign
Exchange Management
Act against directors
and associates of Paul
Merchants Ltd, Quick
Forex Ltd, Supama Fo-
rex Pvt Ltd and Curo
India Pvt Ltd in Chandi-
garh, Panchkula, Mo-
hali, Jalandhar and
Delhi, the agency said
in a statement.
These “entities sent
outward remittances of
over Rs 475 crore to Sin-
gapore, Hong Kong and
the UAE on behalf of
shell or dummy entities
like Triple Streak
Dream Holidays, Wang-
ester Travels Pvt Ltd,
Peripatizo Travels Pvt
Ltd, Himalaya Tourism,
Ezax Holidays, and
Great Journey Tours
etc”, said official. —ANI
ED RAIDS AT
MANDER'S
HOME, OFFICES
New Delhi: The ED
on Thursday searched
the residence and
offices linked to hu-
man rights activist
and retired IAS Harsh
Mander as part of a
money-laundering
probe, a report
said. As per official
sources at least three
premises located in
Vasant Kunj, Adchini,
and Mehrauli are
being searched. The
raid by the ED came
shortly after Mander
and his wife left for
Germany, sources
reported. —PTI
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will hold bilat-
eral meetings with
Quad leaders in-
cluding US Presi-
dent Joe Biden and
other foreign lead-
ers during his US
visit later this
month besides at-
tending the first-in
person meeting of
Quadrilateral Secu-
rity Dialogue, the
Ministry of Exter-
nal Affairs (MEA)
said on Thursday.
Prime Minister
Modi is visiting the
US next week.
“Prime Minister
(Modi) will partici-
pate in the first in-
person Quad lead-
ers’ summit in
Washington on Sep-
tember 24. On Sep-
tember 25, he will
address the general
debate of the UN
General Assembly
at its 76th session.
While the PM is in
Washington, he will
also have a bilateral
meeting with Presi-
dent Biden,” Minis-
try of External Af-
fairs (MEA) spokes-
person Arindam
Bagchi said during
a press briefing.
—ANI
PM Modi to
hold bilateral
talks with
Biden: MEA
Rahul Gandhi at residence of late Oscar Fernandes. —PHOTO BY UNI
BOMBAY HC TO HEAR PLEA SEEKING CBI
PROBE AGAINST ANIL PARAB ON OCT 8
RAJ KUNDRA PORNOGRAPHY CASE:
MUMBAI CB SUBMITS CHARGE SHEET
Mumbai: : Bombay High Court will hear the plea filed by a
suspended RTO officer seeking a Central Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) probe into alleged
corruption in the Transport
Department of the state on
October 8.A Division Bench
comprising of Justice S
S Shinde and Justice N J
Jamadar on Wednesday fixed
the matter for a physical
hearing for October 8, 2021. Suspended officer of nashik RTO
Gajendra Patil has filed a writ petition against Anil Parab. —ANI
Mumbai: A The Mumbai crime branch filed a 1467-page
supplementary charge sheet against Raj Kundra and three
others, including Ryan
Thorpe, the IT head
of Kundra’s Viaan
industries, in connection
with the alleged porn
films racket case. The
charge sheet comprises
40 statements, including
that of Raj Kundra’s wife Shilpa Shetty. However, it men-
tions that the businessman’s brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi
is absconding. Raj Kundra and Ryan Thorpe were arrested
on 19 July after the case came to light in February 2021
following a raid on a bungalow in western Mumbai. —ANI
FORMER NCLAT CHAIRPERSON ALLOWED
IN OFFICE TILL SEPT 20: CENTRE TO SC
BOMBAY HIGH COURT DISMISSES
PARAM BIR SINGH’S PLEA
New Delhi: The Central government told the Su-
preme Court on Thursday that it has decided to allow
Justice (Retd.) AIS Cheema, former acting Chairper-
son of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT), to continue in office till September 20 and
the current chairperson M Venugopal will be asked
to go on leave until then. AG KK Venu appearing for
Centre told SC that the govt has decided that Justice
Cheema to continue in the office till Sept 20. —ANI
Mumbai: Bombay HC on Thursday dismissed Former
Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s peti-
tion challenging prelim inquiries initiated against him
by the Maharashtra government. The order has been
passed by a bench comprising Justice SS Shinde and
Justice NJ Jamadar. The High Court while dismissing
Param Bir’s plea as non-maintainable asked him to
approach the appropriate forum. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
SC ALLOWS IMMERSION OF GANESH IDOLS
IN HUSSAIN SAGAR LAKE FOR LAST TIME
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed
the Telangana government to permit the immersion
of Ganesh idols made of
Plaster of Paris (PoP) in
Hussain Sagar Lake in
Hyderabad, only this year.
A Bench headed by Chief
Justice of India NV Ramana
said, “As a last chance we
allow the state to use this lake for immersing the idols.”
Telangana government told the Bench that Ganesh idols
will be lifted immediately from the lake through cranes
and it will only be a symbolic immersion. —ANI

TALKING POINT
07
EDUCATION
IN AFGHANISTAN
I
n the two decades that fol-
lowed the fall of the Tali-
ban regime in 2001, signifi-
cant progress was made in edu-
cation in Afghanistan. By 2017,
the number of schools had
more than quintupled. School
enrolment, from grades one to
twelve, had reached 9.2 million
pupils, 39% of whom were
girls. This represented almost
a tenfold rise in enrolment, up
from just under one million
children (almost none of whom
were girls) in 2001.
The recent return of the Tal-
iban has therefore raised seri-
ous concerns about the future
of education – girls in particu-
lar. But to understand the pros-
pects, you first have to under-
stand what has come before.
In 2016, we conducted a
small-scale study to examine
how violent campaigns carried
out by the Islamic State (IS)
had affected education in Af-
ghanistan. The defeat of IS in
Syria and Iraq had pushed Is-
lamist fighters to seek sanctu-
ary in poorly governed regions
of Afghanistan.
We interviewed dozens of
educators, politicians and
teachers in Kabul and Jalal-
abad, the provincial centre of
Nangarhar province, which is
to the east of the capital. We
wanted to understand how
these complex security dynam-
ics were affecting education.
We found that Afghanistan’s
schools were caught between
deteriorating security condi-
tions, weak governance and
systemic corruption. Rebel
groups, including IS and the
Taliban, were capturing
schools and educational spaces
to extort resources and radi-
calise young people. This was
happening throughout the vast
rural areas that remained
largely under the control of
the Taliban, at the same time
as the US-supported govern-
ment was in power in Kabul.
These rebel groups were in-
doctrinating students into hat-
ing both the west and the Af-
ghan government institutions
on the grounds that they pro-
moted western values by re-
pressing Islam and Afghan
cultural identity. They also en-
couraged young people to car-
ry out attacks on the US-led
coalition forces.
EDUCATION CAN
FUEL CONFLICT
National governments and in-
ternational communities sup-
porting education in conflict-
affected contexts generally
view it as a vehicle for peace
and sustainable prosperity.
Education is indeed a means
of empowering learners. It cre-
ates new visions and employ-
ment opportunities to help
students secure a stable liveli-
hood.
This, however, is a slow pro-
cess. And education systems
are rarely neutral. For educa-
tion to lead to social change,
long-term political commit-
ment is crucial.
Without ensuring equity in
access and outcomes, along
with conflict-sensitive plan-
ning and delivery, increased
access to schools alone cannot
promote peace and social jus-
tice. On the contrary, as re-
search has shown, education
can be used to create and fuel
conditions of violent conflict.
It does so by hardening so-
cioeconomic inequalities, and
promoting values and ideas
that are perceived to be repres-
sive and a threat to local eth-
nic, religious and cultural
groups. Imported models of
education are seen to be im-
posed on these groups.
Several factors play into the
ways in which education can
fuel conflict. These include un-
equal access to education; bi-
ased history being promoted
for political purposes; text-
books being manipulated; and
hatred against certain groups
being encouraged. All of these
issues have contributed to Af-
ghanistan’s educational devel-
opment.
THE URBAN-RURAL
DIVIDE
While school enrolment – and
university attendance - has in-
creased in Afghanistan over
the last two decades, educa-
tional progress has largely
been concentrated in urban
areas. This meant that even as
urban populations were able to
use education as a ticket out,
rural communities were left
open to attacks from the Tali-
ban and IS.
Despite the developments in
education, few inroads were
made into mending divisions
between the Pashtun-dominat-
ed Taliban and different minor-
ity ethnic communities such as
Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks,
who have long faced persecu-
tion. Education could have
been a significant tool for na-
tional reconciliation through
recognition of ethnic, religious
and linguistic diversity
.
For the duration of the west-
ern military presence in Af-
ghanistan, the Kabul govern-
ment clashed with conserva-
tive forces, criminal groups
and local warlords, including
the Taliban, over control of the
education system, resources
and the curriculum to girls’
education.
Key education appointments
were repeatedly made not on
the basis of merit, but to con-
solidate power and influence
in the provinces. There have
been reports of widespread
corruption across the school
sector. Consequently, large
amounts of education funding
served the personal interests
of the political elites rather
than benefiting most deprived
Afghan communities.
The Taliban’s return to
power and the departure of
western forces has put an end
to the radical political dis-
course that has served these
militant groups for 20 years,
in the sense that the Taliban
have justified their struggle
as resistance to western occu-
pation.
Nevertheless, the three prob-
lems we identified in our re-
search – insecurity, corruption
and weak governance – will
continue to be major barriers
for Afghan children in access-
ing education. Even though
the Taliban have expressed a
commitment to education for
girls and to employment rights
for women, it remains to be
seen whether their ideology
has really changed. Only time
will tell whether education
policies and content in the new
Taliban era will promote eth-
nic and religious tolerance,
cultural diversity and global
citizenship.
The safety of learners and
their schools will also depend
on how the Taliban govern the
country and the new conflict
dynamics, involving ethnic
groups and ISIS-K, an extrem-
ist group that refutes the Tali-
ban’s supposedly moderate
political ideology.
TEJENDRA PHERALI
Associate Professor in Education
and International Development, UCL
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Itwasa
battlefield
longbefore
theTaliban
returnedto
powerinthe
war-torn
country
Children make their way to school from their village in
the hills of Bamyan province to the west of Kabul.
—MAJORITY WORLD CIC /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Educational opportunities for students in Kabul, pictured here, were far
greater than in rural areas. —TON KOENE /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
With the return of the Taliban to power, the future of
girls’ education in Afghanistan hangs in the balance.
—TON KOENE /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

08
2NDFRONT
I have observed that if we merely
criticize our learning stops,
appreciation results in new
learnings and open-mindedness- so choose
wisely.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
RAJ CABINET EXPANSION WOULD HAVE HAPPENED BY NOW: MAKEN
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Congress Gen-
eral Secretary In charge of
Rajasthan Ajay Maken on
Thursday said
that roadmap
is ready for
cabinet ex-
pansion and
o r g a n i s a -
tional rejig
in the
state.
“If
CM Ashok Gehlot had not
fallen ill, the cabinet expan-
sionandtheroadmapisready
forappointmentatboard,cor-
porations and district presi-
dentswouldhavehappenedin
those couple of days. We
wanted to do this before the
assembly session,” Maken
said at a press conference in
Delhi on Thursday
. He added
that according to protocol,
Chief Minister travels to Del-
hi for finalising the appoint-
ments, but due to health con-
cerns Raj CM Gehlot could
notdoso.TheCongressleader
saidthatGehlotisstillunwell
and doing his work from
home and as he gets well this
will be done.
When asked about Sachin
Pilot, he said, “What has to be
done at the AICC level is be-
yond my purview as that will
be addressed by Congress
President. At the state level,
we are discussing all issues.”
Meanwhile, on the ques-
tion of losing the Jaipur Zila
Pramukj election, Maken
saidthathehassoughtreport
on the matter. “That is all I
would like to say
about the
matter,” he
stressed.
Losing the Jaipur Zila Pramukh election has
hurt the Congress party immensely, due to the
events associated with the development and
therefore, the matter, according to sources,
is far from over. On condition of anonymity,
a senior leaer of the party who is in loop with
the entire political developments in Rajasthan,
said, “Solanki was appointed the PCC General
secretary on recommendation of other group.
The two dissenters, were given party’s symbol
on Solanki’s insistence and therefore, since
the onus of their appointment fell on Solanki,
the responsibility of this defeat also falls on
him. The high command is extremely upset
and serious on how the ‘faction’ has handled
the election and decision on this matter will
be taken soon.” However, an even more sur-
prising aspect of this development is that high
command appears apprehensive on taking ac-
tion on Solanki. “If something is said directly
by any of the leaders, it could lead to another
political swell as the ‘other group’ will take the
entire matter, otherwise,” he said. Interesting-
ly, on the topic, state incharge Ajay Maken has
claimed that he has received feedback from all
concerned. “We have received feedback from
everyone, including Ved Prakash Solanki. We
have not decided on anything, yet,” he said.
SOLANKI ISSUE FAR FROM OVER, BUT WILL ACTION BE TAKEN?
IN 2 HRS!
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Raj Energy Minister BD Kalla conduct
inspection of under construction of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Thursday. —PHOTO BY UNI
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: UnionMinister
Nitin Gadkari an-
nounced that the dis-
tance between Jaipur
and Delhi will soon be
completed in just two
hours. This came after
he was in Rajasthan to
review the Mumbai-
Delhi Expressway
.
Gadkariinspectedthe
Expressway near Dausa
and Bundi, Sawai Mad-
hopurduringwhichalso
interacted with the offi-
cials regarding the pro-
gress,qualityandtimeli-
ness of the construction
work. He himself drove
a car on the expressway
with MLA Gajraj Kha-
tana in Dausa.
Trafficwillstartfrom
Delhi to Dausa on this
expressway in March
next year. During the
inspection event held at
Manawar in Dausa,
Gadkari said that his
dream is to have an elec-
tric expressway from
Delhi to Jaipur, in
which only electric ve-
hicles ply
, and talks are
on with a foreign con-
sultancy company
.
He said that toll pla-
zas would be removed
in next two years and
will be replaced by GPS
chips that will be in-
stalled on vehicles, on
the basis of which toll
will be deducted auto-
matically
.
He added that fruit
trees would be planted
on remaining land be-
tween the up-down line
of the expressway and
only birds would have
the right to these fruits.
This will also improve
the environment and re-
duce carbon emissions.
Gadkari also praised
Ashok Gehlot govt for
promptly issuing re-
quired NOCs so that the
projectcanbecompleted
on time.
The expressway will
also include two iconic
eight-lane tunnels, one
tunnelling through
Mukundra sanctuary
without disturbing the
endangered fauna in
the region for 4 km and
the second 4-km eight-
lane-tunnel will pass
through the Matheran
eco-sensitive zone.
Gadkari inspected
the 1,350-km-long Delhi-
Mumbai Expressway
built under the Bharat-
mala Pariyojana on
Thursday
. The project is
slated to be completed
by January 2023. The
expressway will be the
longestinIndiaandwill
pass through five states
viz Delhi, Haryana, Ra-
jasthan, Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
It is being built at a
cost of Rs 90,000 crores.
He also talked about
changing the law to al-
low ethanol-based vehi-
cles to ply on roads.
Respondingtoaquery
on flaws on the Delhi-
Jaipurhighway
,Gadkari
said he was not solely
responsible for it.
DELHI
JAIPUR
PLAN TO MAKE
IT E-HIGHWAY;
GADKARI
INSPECTS
DELHI-MUMBAI
EXPRESSWAY
TO
WELL CONNECTED
z Expressway which passes through
six states of Delhi, Haryana,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
and Maharashtra
z Will improve connectivity to
economic hubs like Jaipur,
Kishangarh, Ajmer, Kota, Chittorgarh,
Udaipur, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore,
Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat bringing
economic prosperity to millions
MUSIC TO EARS!
TO REDUCE SOUND POLLUTION,
GADKARI SAID THE HORNS IN VEHICLES
WILL BE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS BASED
LIKE SARANGI, TABLE AND HARMONIUM.
1,380 kilometres
long Delhi Mumbai
expressway will be the
longest expressway in India
`98,000 crore
is the cost of development
of the Expressway
A new DPR has been
made for improvement of
the highway between Del-
hi and Kishangarh. Encroach-
ments on the Delhi-Jaipur High-
way will be removed.
—NITIN GADKARI,
Union Road and Transport Minister
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Selec-
tion of ministers for the
Gujarat cabinet by the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was a strategic
balancing of the caste
equation. Of the 25
members in the council
of ministers, seven have
been granted to the in-
fluential Patidar com-
munity, seven to Other
Backward Class (OBC),
four to Scheduled Tribe
(ST), two each to Brah-
min, Kshatriya and
Scheduled Caste (SC)
communities and one to
Jains.
Despite BJP state unit
president CR Patil hav-
ing a free hand in forma-
tion of Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel’s new
cabinet, insiders feel Ut-
tar Pradesh Governor
Anandiben Patel and
Union Home and Coop-
eration Minister Amit
Shah played an impor-
tant role in selection of
MLAs. The biggest
shocker was Surat
(West) MLA Purnesh
Modi inclusion in the
cabinet.Sourcessaythat
Modi was inducted
againstPatil’swishes,as
both are arch rivals. The
news was even kept un-
der wraps from party
MLAs as well as the me-
dia till the last minute,
even though his name
was finalized two days
ago.
Olpad MLA Mukesh
Patel and Gandevi MLA
Naresh Patel are being
considered the picks of
Anandiben Patel. Ac-
cording to chatter, it was
believed that Majura
Gate MLA Harsh Sang-
havi was a close confi-
dant of Patil, but sourc-
es from Surat have sug-
gested that he is also in
contact with UHM Amit
Shah.
Seven MLAs from
South Gujarat, five from
Central Gujarat, six
from North Gujarat in-
cluding Chief Minister
Patel, and seven from
Saurashtra have been
inducted into the state
cabinet. The ruling par-
ty has done its due dili-
gence for all sub-caste
equations too. Before
confirmation of MLAs
into the cabinet, CM Pa-
tel, Patil, Union Minis-
terandGujaratincharge
Bhupender Yadav were
in a closed-door meeting
at the Ahmedabad Cir-
cuit House on Thursday
to finalise the list.
BJP WOOING PATIDARS OBCS
throughcabinetinduction?
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
anticipated tension
among former minis-
ters in Gujarat has fiz-
zled out in a matter of
36 hours, leaving the
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty line, and its image,
intact.
Even former depu-
ty chief minister Ni-
tin Patel said that he
was “not unhappy”
about the party’s deci-
sion to drop ex-CM
Vijay Rupani’s entire
cabinet. Similarly,
Koli community lead-
er Kunvarji Bavaliya
appealed to his work-
ers and followers to
withdraw their bandh
call, issued in Vinchi-
ya after he was
dropped from the cab-
inet.
Jawahar Chavda,
told his followers that
he agreed with the no-
repeat rule, and asked
them to abide by it.
The followers of ex-
minister Dilip Tha-
kor blocked Chanas-
ma road to protest his
exclusion from the
new cabinet but were
later mollified.
(L to R) Vadodara MLA Manisha Vakil, Kaprada MLA Jitu Chaudhary, Morbi MLA Brijesh Merja, Nikol MLA Jagdish Panchal and Majura Gate MLA Harsh Sangahvi at the
cabinet swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Nitin Patel: Will
contest from
Mehsana in 2022
Other former ministers fall in
line, ask protesting supporters
to respect 'no-repeat' formula
If CM Gehlot had not fallen ill...

orn and brought up in
the Pink City, Jaipur,
Charmika Sharma
has always believed
in free will. She says
that you may not shift
your focus from what
destiny has always chosen for
you, you may try running
away from it, but, the universe
will always guide you towards
it. The young model who is
currently pursuing Mass
Communication shared, “My
biggest inspiration is my
mother, she has always taught
me to follow your heart even if
it means going against the
tide. I wish to be an inspira-
tion for others who underesti-
mate themselves because of
the false ideas that society
makes them believe in. I am
fond of communicating with
people, to know them, to know
their real stories, learn from
them and create a meaningful
life.”
Charmika, a model as well
as an actress is currently
working in
the serial
called, ‘Ghar-
ek-Mandir’, and she
further plans on making it big
in the world of glamour, to
establish a name that is
known by all. She further
shared, “I look forward to
opportunities where I may
learn and polish my skills,
I keep on challenging my-
self every once in a while.
My motto is to never stop.”
When asked what advice
would she give someone
starting, the alluring beau-
ty replied, “The new gen-
eration needs to be the
perfect blend of aware-
ness, smartness and sim-
ply wear the confidence
beautifully. They needn’t
worry about the features
or complexion or even
height.” Well, Mona was
very fortunate to have
learned so much at a young
age and she’s now using those
experiences as a platform to
speak truth to others.
The budding actress enjoys
listening to music which helps
her keeping calm from within.
She also travels across states
to gather an experience of a
new culture, traditions, fash-
ion and food among others.
WHEN IT COMES TO MODELLING,
IT ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT
OVERCOMING YOUR FEARS, IT IS
ALSO ABOUT LETTING OTHERS
GROW ALONG WITH YOU,
BEING AN INSPIRATION FOR
OTHERS. ONE OF THE
SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
OF FIRST MISS INDIA’21
SHARES THE MESSAGE WITH
EVERYONE!
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The Charming
BEAUTY
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
B
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
DAMINI, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Seek opinion of expert
before opting for a health
supplement. You will
succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with family
members, normalizing ties. Seek
proper valuation of the property you
are planning to buy. You will remain
much in demand on social front.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Roadblock
in the matrimonial alliance of kin gets
cleared bringing happiness for entire
family. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Avoid being indulgent in
your spending to balance
budget. Continue to put in
efforts at work and you will
see promising opportunities coming
your way. Matrimonial match for
siblings will bring happiness for
entire family. You will get a good
price for your property.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You may get a chance to
pursue old hobby. Health
tips from an expert will
enable you to get closer to
your fitness goals. Chances of being
misled by competitors in business are
high, so remain alert. Your generous
behavior would enable to enjoy some
lovely moments with family.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Yoga would help in raising
energy levels. Some of you
are going experience
emotional fulfillment on
romantic front. Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with humanitar-
ian group would benefit you.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Long-pending arrears are
likely to be recovered.
Senior management will be
appreciative of your creative
inputs. Seek the opinion of your family
before finalizing a property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a function
from an unexpected friend is likely to
be received.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Don’t give a firm
commitment in financial
matters before considering
the viability of the project.
You succeed in completing an
important project well.
Disagreements on the family front
are foreseen. Your intuition will save
you from a tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Distant relatives may drop
in for a surprise visit.
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains. On
professional front, recognition for
good work would motivate you to
work harder. Efforts will bring
desired results.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will be greatly
benefited by investing in
companies of repute.
Develop a good adaptabil-
ity to handle pressurized situation on
professional front. Paying special
attention to plan your career would
give immense joy. You find things
moving in the way you want them.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
It’s a very good day to take
calculated risks in financial
matters.Those suffering
from chronic ailments may
find remarkable improvement in their
health. Today you will enjoy the trust
of senior management. Minor
domestic disputes may pop up, so
give attention to the family.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Better to consult an expert
in financial matters before
making an investment.
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be noticed by
seniors. Family will be supportive of
career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight
without any efforts.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Successful implementation
of new ideas and projects
would add to your prestige
on the professional front.
Avoid raising controversial issues at
home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build new
connections. Your relationship
requires you to be tactful.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
‘TAX THE RICH’
emocratic congress-
woman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez has ig-
nited both controver-
sy and celebration af-
ter wearing a gown to
the Met Gala embla-
zoned in red graffiti text with
the statement “Tax the Rich”.
Appearing as a guest of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
at the annual fundraiser, (for
which tickets cost tens of
thousand dollars), the left-
wing politician wore a custom
gown by fashion brand Broth-
er Vellies, bringing with her
the label’s founder, the young
Black designer and activist
Aurora James.
Using fashion as a tool to ad-
dress wider social concerns
has, in fact, long been a strat-
egy for people seeking to make
the change — including wear-
ing these clothes in spaces of
influence.
From 19th century Suffra-
gettes who pounded the streets
in heels, ultra-feminine dress
and large “picture” hats to re-
fute claims that they were un-
womanly
, to patriot textiles in
the second world war, to Indig-
enousAustralianstreetclothes
and accessories by a brand
such as Dizzy Couture today,
dress has historically con-
veyed political messages, cre-
ating “looks” for generations
of change agents. Here are 5
clothing acts as provocations
that changed history
.
GEORGE
WASHINGTON’S SUIT
The founders of the
American Revolution
wished to break with
the old codes of Eu-
ropean aristocracy.
Much of the world
still had “sumptu-
ary laws”: legal
edicts that regu-
lated the types,
materials and
amounts of cloth, colours,
jewellery and accessories per-
mitted to various social
groups.
In North America, the for-
mal clothing codes of the old
regime were actively resisted:
men were not expected to
wear the expensive and col-
ourful embroidered silks typi-
cally worn to European
courts. Their imported fab-
rics were considered bad for
local economies, and their
elite air was at odds with the
idea that all men might now
be (relatively) equal.
President-elect George
Washington was sculpted by
Houdon in the late 18th cen-
tury with a button missing
from his waistcoat. This was a
deliberate gesture to show his
actions were more important
than his appearance. He also
wore plain, home-spun Ameri-
can woollen cloth for his inau-
guration instead of the expect-
ed silk or velvet. This was a
firm demonstration of North
American independence and
perhaps the first American
“business casual”.
THE ABOLITIONIST
HANDBAG
An abolitionist bag full of
anti-slavery pamphlets. ©Vic-
toria and Albert Museum,
London, CC BY-NC.
Since the late 18th
century
, a range of
objects from
j e w e l -
lery to printed dishes were
produced to critique the Slave
Trade.
British Quakers had advo-
cated for Abolition in 1783. The
Female Society for Birming-
ham (originally the Ladies So-
ciety for the Relief of Negro
Slaves, the first such group)
mobilised their anti-slavery
followers with handbags print-
ed with images and slogans
designed to gain support for
the Abolitionist movement.
The silk drawstring bags,
made by women in sewing cir-
cles, were presented to promi-
nent figures such as George IV
and Princess Victoria. The
bags contained newspaper ar-
ticles and tracts supportive of
Abolition.
The Slavery Abolition Act,
which provided for the imme-
diate abolition of slavery in
most of the British Empire
was passed ten years later, in
1833. A similar Act was rati-
fied in the USA only in 1865.
NO FEATHER HATS
The ostrich and exotic bird in-
dustry was massive in the 19th
century: as well as plumes,
women wore whole bodies of
birds as accessories, such as
hummingbird earrings.
The ostrich plume “double
fluff” industry was centred on
South Africa, where the
feathers were worth
more than gold. They
were exported to rooms in
London and New York where
exhausted young girls fin-
ished and dyed them for retail.
In 1914 a massive “feather
crash” saw the raw material
become close to worthless.
Young women interested in
the growing national park and
conservation movements ob-
jected to the trade on ecologi-
cal grounds. They simply
stopped wearing the fashion,
starting a global “anti-plum-
age” movement.
The women involved with
the Massachusetts Audubon
Society were so successful
that their lobbying led to the
first US federal conservation
legislation, The Lacey Act
(1900). Taxidermied birds,
feather boas and birds as ear-
rings became largely unfash-
ionable and were rarely seen
again in women’s fashion.
THE ACT UP T-SHIRT
The AIDS crisis of the 1980s-
90s saw the mobilisation of a
unique blend of activism born
from the women’s, Hispanic,
Black power and 1970s gay
movements. ACT UP New
York determined that only an-
ger and civil disobedience
would focus the attention of
government and big pharma
on the plight of mainly gay
men’s health.
A series of extraordinary
“zaps” or site-specific pro-
tests, often theatrical,
was engineered. ACT UP’s
membership included skilled
figures from advertising and
design who created unified and
stylish T-shirts, posters and
banners. The designs were
clean, slick and looked just like
good advertising.
As Sarah Schulman recent-
ly demonstrated in her 20-year
history of ACT UP, the bold T-
shirt designs both created op-
timum impact for ACT UP’s
protests on the TV news and a
new pro-gay identity. Worn
with Doc Marten shoes, leath-
er jackets, clean and tight
jeans or denim shorts, ACT UP
established the look of gay ur-
ban men for a generation.
Government bodies and
large drug companies were
shamed by the public protests
into adopting better and more
rational health messaging,
conducting better funded and
more equitable drug trials and
selling cheaper retrovirals.
WHEN KATHARINE
MET MAGGIE
In 1984, designer Katharine
Hamnett wore a t-shirt that
read, “58% DONT WANT
PERSHING” (a reference to
nuclear missiles) to a high
profile fashion evening attend-
ed by conservative Prime Min-
ister Margaret Thatcher.
Hamnett made her T-shirt
the night before, recognising
the opportunity she had, and
hid it under her coat upon en-
try. Its graphic format owes a
debt to both 1970s Punk and
ACT UP. She later recalled of
the widely photographed en-
counter with Thatcher:
She looked down and said,
“You seem to be wearing a
rather strong message on your
T-shirt”, then she bent down
to read it and let out a squawk,
like a chicken.
Social change needs its vis-
ual forms. Fashion is one of
them. Fashion is a brilliant
communicator of new ideas.
That we are reading about
AOC’s clothing “controversy”
shows she fully understands
fashion’s power.
Beyond
AOC’s ‘Tax
the Rich’
dress: 5 acts
of fashion
provocation
that changed
history
PETER MCNEIL
Distinguished Professor of
Design History, UTS, University
of Technology Sydney
D
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM

A
sequel to Welcome was also re-
leased in 2015, however, Mall-
ika wasn’t a part of it. Now, in
a recent conversation with
sources, when we asked the ac-
tress about a possibil-
ity of another se-
quel in the fran-
chise, here’s
what she said.
“Welcome ka
sequel banega
toh director
apni girlfriend
ko hi dalega na
usmein. Welcome
2 bana toh usmein
apni girlfriend ko
daal diya batao,
ab main kya
karun? ques-
tions Mall-
ika.
—Agency
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
11
S
amantha Akkineni made her act-
ing debut with Ye Maaya Chesave.
Since then, there has been no
looking back for her. However,
initially, when she got married, she had
no hope of a career. During an interview
she said.“When I got married, I did so
with no hope of a career, because of what
happened before me and all the examples
of the heroines who got married and took
break from their careers only to never
come back. That’s what I thought would
happen with me too.” —Agency
O
n Wednesday, Shilpa Shet-
ty Kundra was spotted leav-
ing from Mumbai airport
and paparazzi had
snapped her while she headed out
of the city
. Now, photos of Shilpa
visiting the holy shrine of Mata
Vaishno Devi in Jammu have
gone viral on social media amid
Raj Kundra’s case proceedings.
The businessman has been in
judicial custody since allega-
tions of his apparent involve-
ment in an adult films racket
came out. —Agency
AMOL JOINS
hands with TVF
B
e it films
or OTT
shows -
a c t o r
Amol Parashar
has made a
strong impact
with his acting
performances
and has an envi-
able lineup of
projects which
includes play-
ing Bhagat Singh in Sardar Udham
Singh and his first film as a lead with
Vishesh films, both set to release this
year. To take this to the next level, he
will be collaborating with the popu-
lar content studio TVF to develop a
show with them that he will also
helm as an actor. —CITY FIRST
A
fter Ajay Devgn, Vicky
Kaushal is off to the Mal-
dives to feature in the new
season of Into the Wild with
Bear Grylls.
Kaushal will ex-
plore the wild
with the British
adventurer and
survivalist in
Discovery’s re-
ality show that
tests the survival instincts of celeb-
rities. The channel confirmed that
Kaushal has given his nod to the
show, which will premiere first on
discovery+app. —Agency
I
n d i a n
O c e a n ’ s
Amit Kilam,
has a special
treat for music
lovers across
the country
. The
c e l e b r a t e d
drummer and
vocalist is all set
to introduce his
daughters Mey-
haa and Kaira
with ‘Roshè’, a
popular Kashmiri folk song, originally
penned by Kashmiri legend, Habba Kha-
toon. Sisters Meyhaa and Kaira are fi-
nally out with their soulful rendition of
the song which is an integral part of
Kashmir’s heritage. Amit Kilam also
lends his vocals to the track that takes
listeners through a rollercoaster of emo-
tions – hurt, agony, passion and rage all
entwined in a beautiful and heart wrench-
ing melody
. —CITY FIRST
TUNE INTO THE
HEAVENLY TUNES
A
fter a whirlwind year, Britney Spears re-
ceived a huge honor as the pop icon
graced Time magazine’s 100 Most Influ-
ential People list this year. The Toxic
singer, who recently broke her silence on her traumatis-
ing conservatorship which has been going on for the
past 13 years, was featured in the magazine under the
“Icon” section and was graced by words of apprecia-
tion, written by her pal and another 90s icon Paris Hil-
ton! Heiress Paris Hilton wrote of Britney: When I think
of Britney Spears, I see the sweetest soul. Despite the dark-
ness that has sur- rounded her life, Britney embodies
joy and shares the light of her
beautiful heart, forever the
superstar.” —Agency
Hamlin Scott
SPLIT UP?
S
cott Disick and Amelia Hamlin re-
cently parted ways following the
former’s DM drama regarding ex
Kourtney Kardashian. While nei-
ther Scott nor Amelia officially spoke
about their breakup, Hamlin’s mother
Lisa Rinna has now opened up about what
she truly felt about her daughter’s rela-
tionshipwithScott.Rinnasays“Youknow,
I have been quite nice about Scott Disick,
and I would never say that out loud. I
might have thought things that weren’t
very good.” She then further added, “Can
I atone for my thoughts?” —Agency
KANYE SUPPORTED KIM?
hile the world may
be divided over Kim
K a r d a s h i a n ’ s
unique Met Gala
2021 look, it seems
her estranged hus-
band, Kanye West is more
than impressed with it.
Kim turned up sporting a
unique, head-to-toe cov-
ered black outfit by Balen-
ciaga for the event.
Kanye took to his Insta-
gram to share few photos
of Kim from the Met Gala
and in the captions, simply
added the goat emoji, sug-
gesting that he meant to
call her GOAT (Greatest of
All-Time).
As for Kim’s Met Gala
outing, after the SKIMS
founder was spotted ar-
riving for the event with
a mysterious masked
man, fans assumed that it
was Kanye West making a
surprise appearance. Al-
though it was later clari-
fied that the person ac-
companying her was the
designer. —Agency
W
Vicky into the wilds...
Shilpa prays
for HUBBY?
Britney in
TIMES!
Mallika isn’t
Welcome Back?
Way you go,
Samantha!
Kim Kardashian West
Kanye’s post
Samantha Akkineni
Mallika Sherawat
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Shilpa spotted in Vaishno Devi
Vicky Kaushal
Amit Kilam with daughters
Meyhaa and Kaira
Amol Parashar
Scott Disick and Amelia Hamlin
Britney Spears

EATS MORE
Your favourite sweetmeat … ATTA
HALWA
The child in you loves … BEING play-
ful with my nephew Payran
Your fitness freaky soul makes you
play … BADMINTON
Your fitness inspiration is … VIDYUT
JAMWAL
Your fans should send in birthday
hearts for you… 14th May
Hollywood star you admire … BRAD
PITT
Bollywood diva you’d like to shoot
with … SUSHMITA SEN
A song that you can’t resist humming
along with … DON’T YOU WORRY
CHILD, SWEDISH MAFIA
A humanitarian cause you feel
deeply for … HELPING CANCER
PATIENTS
A woman you admire the most …
MY SISTER
You’re high on adrenalin
when you’re … SKYDIVING,
SCUBA-DIVING, TRAVEL-
LING
Your dream is … LIVING
ON PHI PHI ISLANDS
Your message for
young aspiring ac-
tors … BELIEVE IN
YOURSELF
ity First brings to
you the dashing,
chivalric, debonair
actor Gaurav Dhin-
gra. A pakka Delhite,
he did his schooling
from St. Michael’s
and high school from MCL Sr.
Secondary School. With his
heart deep in sports, he played
badminton at the national
level for 5 years and bagged
several rewards. After he
graduates from Shri Guru
TeghBahadurKhalsaCollege,
his drive for fashion got the
better of him and he joined JD
Institute where he completed
his diploma in Fashion De-
signing and got the opportu-
nity to be part of the manage-
ment and production team
with Channel V
.
His debut ramp walk was
with the Fashion Design
Council of India. Just the way
he loves swimming and listen-
ing to Techno music in his
leisure time, a fitness routine
every day is a given for him.
Gaurav’s firm belief is
“However or whenever be it,
life is beautiful and I shall be
apartof thathappinesswhich
I deserve.”
Your movie that we’re waiting for
… EIGHTEEN HOURS
Streaming platform to log into to
watch you … AMAZON PRIME
MANORAMA
The chef in you cooks … LESS
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
CITY FIRST
T
o mark the golden occa-
sion of Amrit Mahot-
sav, the completion of
75 years of independ-
enceof India,andthebirthday
of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on September 17, a five-
day exhibition of 23 portraits
of patriotic hero-heroines
‘Bharat Mata and Bharat Ke
Nayak’ by Kamal Art Gallery
is organised at Palm Court Art
Gallery
, India Habit Center on
Thursday
. The exhibition was
inaugurated by the chief
guest, Delhi State BJP Presi-
dent Adesh Gupta, former Na-
tional Vice President Shyam
Jaju, and Union Minister of
State for Law and Justice SP
Singh Baghel.
In this exhibition, a large
number of patriots, enlight-
ened people, women, and
youth expressed their love for
patriotism through their pres-
ence. The exhibition was inau-
gurated by eminent artist
Pawan Verma, Shaheen, and
Kamal Chib, Director of Ka-
mal Art Gallery by congratu-
lating everyone present on the
occasion. After that, the por-
traits of our heroes, who con-
tributed to the independence
of the country, were saluted.
To increase the spirit of na-
tionalism in the country, this
exhibition is being organised
from September 16 to Septem-
ber 20.
On this occasion, Chief
Guest, Delhi State BJP Presi-
dent Adesh Gupta said “All the
pictures in this exhibition are
alive, we get inspiration from
them and it is also the dream
of our Prime Minister that the
country should be developed
and should be made strong.”
Further this year, there will be
displays in 75 different vil-
lages and states, which will
inculcate the feeling of patri-
otism. In this art exhibition,
eminent artist Pawan Verma
presented 23 portraits made
by him, including Guru Gob-
ind Singh, Swami Vivekanan-
da, Bhagwan Birsa Munda,
Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash
Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel,
and many freedom fighters
including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
SPREADING
patriotism!
T
he live events industry,
one of the hardest hit by
the covid-19 pandemic, is
trying to limp back to nor-
malcy. As some states ease re-
strictions, small comedy and mu-
sic gigs are taking place in Goa,
Hyderabad, Bengaluru,
Ahmedabad and Kolkata with au-
dience sizes of 200-300.
Regular ticket prices range
from `500 to `1000, and the pre-
mium can go up to `2,500. With
limited sponsorships, local,
home-grown brands are stepping
in for selective on-ground and at
digital events.
“There is a definitive rise in
demand (for live events) across
cities. However, the format of
events tends to be smaller-capac-
ity ones where covid safety proto-
cols can be followed. Awareness
has improved significantly as we
have been witnessing most audi-
ences to be vaccinated while con-
tinuing to wear masks through
the event even as they enjoy get-
ting out,” said Anil Makhija,
chief operating officer, live en-
tertainment and venues at
BookMyShow.
Music gigs in Goa, smaller,
staggered comedy and music
shows and weekend community
experiences in Mumbai, as well
as restaurant and club perfor-
mances by artists such as Yo Yo
Honey Singh, Lucky Ali, B
Praak, rappers Emiway Bantai
and DIVINE, have been running
to a full house, Makhija said.
Varun Khare, business head,
live entertainment (IPs and
partnerships), Paytm Insider,
said, “We’re seeing markets like
Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata
open up to events just as other
establishments have in these
cities. We’re also expecting a
few more cities to open up at the
end of September or by early
October.”
Quick-firewith
DashingGaurav
SHWETA SHARMA
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
C
WHAT A
COMEBACK!
COMEDY SHOWS, GIGS HELP THE LIVE
EVENTS INDUSTRY STAGE A COMEBACK!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
W
hy work from
home, when you
can work from
m o u n t a i n s ,
beaches or deserts?
The outbreak of COV-
ID-19 completely changed
the dynamics of working
culture. Work from home
became the new normal.
On one hand, where the
concept enhanced work-
life balance, flexibility and
decreased commuting
stress, many people, on the
other hand, experienced a
lack of motivation, team-
work and a distractive en-
vironment. Nevertheless,
remote working opened up
doors to new possibilities
and trends. Now that pro-
fessionals knew that smart
gadgets and a good Wi-fi
connection is all that they
need, it got easier to attend
meetings and facilitate dis-
cussions from any part of
the world.
Hence, a new trend and
business lingo ‘Workation’
(work + vacation) popped
up after the travel restric-
tions started lifting. The
idea revolves around relo-
cating for work (solo or
with colleagues) for a cou-
ple of weeks or more to a
serene yet nearby destina-
tion.
The upsides of amal-
gamating work, travel and
leisure include meeting
like-minded people, allow-
ing the flow of fresh ideas,
indulging in recreational
activities and improved
creativity and innovation.
Many travel companies
and properties including
hostels, homestays etc
have leveraged their brand
awareness and sales by
providing Workations
plans/ packages at pocket-
friendly prices.
Here are some recommen-
dations if you’re looking
forward to a Workation
near Delhi:
From WFH to Workation 1
Kothli Hills, Ri-
shikesh: A serene
escape amidst
nature offering an amaz-
ing Wi-Fi connection,
recreational activities,
pet-friendly environment
and group accommoda-
tion service.
2
The Hosteller, Bir:
The popular prop-
erty provides free
wi-fi, budget-friendly
packages for profession-
als, an open air lounge
and weekend hikes.
3
Poetry of senses,
Pushkar: A farm-
house getaway
nestled in the Aravalli to
rejuvenate body, mind
and soul. The property
offers bespoke experi-
ences, a good internet
connection and midnight
meals for professionals
working late at night.
NITIKA PANJWANI
During the exhibition
Gaurav Dhingra

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