17122021 first india lucknow

Jobs earlier given after taking ‘dowry’: Yogi
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Accusing
the previous regimes of
making the recruit-
ment process corrupt
through bribery, Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath said on Thursday
that during 2015-2016,
‘dahej lekar naukri di
jaati thi’. “Now, Uttar
Pradesh has undergone
a complete transforma-
tion and its perception
before the country and
across the globe has
changed,” he said.
The CM made the
statement while hand-
ing over the appoint-
ment letters to 58 Sub-
District Magistrates, 34
District Basic Educa-
tion Officer, 43 Senior
Lecturer, District Edu-
cation and Training In-
stitute , 173 Review Of-
ficers, 398 Sugarcane
Supervisors, 10 Senior
Cane Development In-
spectors, 208 Assistant
Engineers, Turn to P2
CM appoints new
officers in UP
Government
CM Yogi Adityanath hands over appointment letter to a selected Review Officer at Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Convention Center in Lucknow on Thursday. Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh, Minister
for Sugarcane and Sugar Mills, Suresh Rana, MoS Basic Education, Satish Dwivedi, and MoS for Jal
Shakti, Baldev Singh Aulakh, also seen. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh government
on Thursday told the
Legislative Council
that no death due to
lack of oxygen was re-
ported in the state dur-
ing the second wave
of COVID-19, a claim
rejected by the
opposition.
The government
said the death certifi-
cates made no mention
of ‘death due to lack of
oxygen’ in any of the
22,915 patients that
died due to the pan-
demic in the state.
Replying to Congress
member Deepak Singh
during the Question
Hour, Health Minister
Jai Pratap Singh said,
“No death has been re-
ported in the state due
to lack of oxygen dur-
ing the second wave.”
Raising a supple-
mentary question,
Deepak asked whether
the government had
details on similar cases
that were flagged by its
own ministers. “Many
ministers wrote letters
saying deaths are tak-
ing place due to lack of
oxygen in the state.
Apart from this, many
MPs had also made
such complaints. Many
incidents of deaths due
to lack of oxygen had
come to light. Is there
any information with
the government about
these deaths in the en-
tire state. Has the gov-
ernment not seen the
dead bodies flowing in
the Ganges and people
suffering due to lack of
oxygen?” he asked
Giving clarification,
Pratap said a doctor is-
sues death certificate
in case a hospitalised
patient dies. He said
there was no mention
of ‘death due to lack of
oxygen’ anywhere in
the 22,915 death certifi-
cates that were issued
by doctors for COV-
ID-19 victims in the
state.
The minister said
several deaths during
the pandemic were due
to various other dis-
eases, including termi-
nal ones, and that the
government had ar-
ranged oxygen from
other states when there
was a shortage.
Samajwadi Party’s
(SP) Udayveer Singh
had earlier said, “The
Uttar Pradesh govern-
ment took action
against Paras Hospital
in Agra because the
video of a doctor there
had gone viral... half
of the patients there
were given oxygen and
the other half died.
Oxygen supply was
stopped on the instruc-
tions of the district
magistrate.”
He sought to know
when the government
itself has taken action
in the case, how it could
make a “false state-
ment” in the House.
In response, the min-
ister said the district
magistrate and police
commissioner’s inves-
tigation report men-
tioned about a ‘mock
drill’ in the hospital
and it was during this
time that the oxygen
supply had allegedly
been stopped.
Udayveer objected to
the minister’s reply say-
ing the “truth will not
change” if the govern-
ment writes “extinct”
insteadof “death”inthe
certificate. Deepak also
argued whether the let-
ters written by the min-
istersonlackof oxygen,
too, were false. Leader
of the House Dinesh
Sharma said the health
minister had answered
the questions asked. He
said the members of
the opposition should
acknowledge that ma-
jor casualties were
avoided due to the
“promptness” of the
UP government in en-
suring medicines and
treatment.—PTI
No death due to lack of oxygen in second wave: UP Govt
People wait at an oxygen factory to get a refill for their cylinders
as supply was exhausted at the factory, in Talkatora area in
Lucknow, in April 26, 2021. —FILE PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Aditi Nagar
Anand: Urging farm-
ers to turn to organic or
natural farming, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday said
there is a need to take
agriculture out of the
chemical laboratory
and connect it with the
nature’s lab.
Modi, in his virtual
address at the National
Conclave on Natural
Farming held at Anand,
also expressed concern
over the issue of stub-
ble burning, saying the
practice would actually
harm the productivity
of the agricultural
land.
He said time has now
come to “correct the
mistakes” that have be-
come part of farming.
“It is a fact that
chemicals and fertiliz-
ers have played a cru-
cial role in the green
revolution. But it is
also imperative to
work on their alterna-
tives. It is the right
time to take big steps
before the issues re-
lated to farming be-
come severe. In Guja-
rati, it is said that pre-
vention is always bet-
ter than cure,” the
prime minister said in
his virtual address.
TAKING OUT OF CHEMICAL LAB
NEEDTOLINKAGRI
WITHNATURE:PMMODI
PM Modi appealed to all the state governments to take up natural
farming as a people’s movement and turn at least one village of each
panchayat towards the organic methods of agriculture
IAF, FAMILY PAY LAST RESPECTS
The Indian Air Force (IAF) and family members of Group Captain Varun Singh on Thursday
paid their respects to the officer at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka in Bengaluru before
his body was flown to Bhopal in a service aircraft. The last rites will be performed on Friday.
Shah: Centre making
efforts to establish
labs to audit land
Anand: Union Coop-
eration and Home
Minister Amit Shah
on Thursday said
that the Centre is
making efforts to es-
tablish labs to audit
land and certify or-
ganic products “so
that farmers get more
prices”.
Addressing the Na-
tional Summit on
Agro and Food Pro-
cessing, Shah said,
“We are trying to es-
tablish a laboratory
in the country that
will audit land and
certify organic prod-
ucts so that farmers
get more prices.
Amul and others
working on it. This
will encourage or-
ganic farming.”
Pressing the need
for organic farming,
Shah said, “From
2019 onwards, PM
Modi has appealed to
farmers for organic
farming such as
manure out of cow
dung improves land
fertility
. Organic pro-
duction is the need of
the hour.”
United Oppn guns for
MoS Mishra’s head!
New Delhi: Lok Sabha
witnessed abrupt ad-
journments Thursday
as a united Opposition
disrupted proceedings
seeking the dismissal of
Union Minister of State
for Home Ajay Mishra
Teni, whose son is an ac-
cused in the Lakhimpur
Kheri violence.
Opposition parties,
including Congress and
Trinamool Congress,
occupied the Well of the
House shouting slogans
against Teni. Rahul
Gandhiused the Ques-
tion Hour opportunity
to demand the minis-
ter’s dismissal.
Indrani writes
to CBI: Sheena
alive in Kashmir
Akhilesh allies
with Shivpal’s
party for polls
New Delhi: Jailed for-
mer media executive
Indrani Mukerjea, ac-
cused of murdering her
25-year-old daughter
Sheena Bora in 2012,
has written to the Cen-
tral Bu-
reau of
Investiga-
tion (CBI)
that Shee-
na is alive
and living
in Kashmir.
As per the letter sent
to the CBI, Indrani
claims that a fellow in-
mate had met Sheena in
Kashmir and has re-
quested the agency to
investigate the claim.
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav on Thursday an-
nounced alliance with
his uncle Shivpal Singh
Yadav’s Pragatisheel
Samajwadi Party (Lo-
hia). The announce-
ment came after a meet
between the SP chief
and Shivpal at the lat-
ter’s residence.More on P8
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 37
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
Army Chief Gen MM Naravane has assumed the charge as the chairman of the
Chiefs of Staff Committee that comprises the three service chiefs, people famil-
iar with the development said. The post fell vacant following the death of CDS
Gen Bipin Rawat in the IAF helicopter crash on December 8. Gen Naravane has
been given the charge as he is the senior-most among the three service chiefs.
Indian stock markets snapped four days of losses to close higher on Thurs-
day, largely led by gains in IT stocks, amid a volatile session. The Sensex rose
113.11 points, or 0.2%, to end the day at 57,901.14, and Nifty closed up 27
points at 17,248.40. On the Nifty, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, BPCL, Titan Company
and Reliance Industries were among the top gainers.
GEN NARAVANE
TAKES CHARGE AS
HEAD OF CHIEFS OF
STAFF COMMITTEE
SENSEX, NIFTY
END HIGHER AMID
VOLATILITY LED
BY IT STOCKS
CORONA CATASTROPHE
INDIA
7,974
new cases
343
new fatalities
‘CAN’T BE PUNISHED
FOR SON’S DEED’
STUBBLE BURNING A MAJOR CONCERN: PM
‘PM PROTECTING
CRIMINALS’
New Delhi: The BJP
sources have stated that
a minister cannot be
punished for his son’s ac-
tions. He will not, at this
time, be removed from
the Council of Ministers.
Anand: PM Narendra Modi said, “Experts believe
that burning farm residue would actually reduce the
productivity of the land. As we know, bricks are made
after heating the clay. Despite knowing that, it has
become a tradition in our country to burn the stubble.”
Air pollution due to stubble burning, especially in
northern parts of India, has become a major cause of
concern as farmers burn several tons of crop waste
from their paddy fields after harvesting.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Thursday
targeted PM Modi for
not sacking Minister
of State for Home
Ajay Misra, whose son
is accused in Kheri
violence.
PM Modi at National Summit on Agro Food Processing.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav with
‘estranged’ uncle Shivpal.
‘METRO MAN’
E SREEDHARAN
QUITS POLITICS
Palakkad: 90-year-old
E. Sreedharan, popu-
larly known as “Metro
Man”, has said that he
is no longer interested
in active politics. This
comes months after
he had contested in
Kerala’s assembly
elections from the
Palakkad constituency
on a BJP ticket but
lost. The party failed
to win even one seat
in the state. “I won’t
be in active politics.
That time has passed.
I am at an advanced
age of 90 and I was
anyways never a
politician,” he said.
‘Misogynist govt ignored
Indira on Vijay Diwas’
New Delhi: Congress
General Secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Thursday alleged that
former PM Indira Gan-
dhi, who played
a pivotal role
in the 1971
war, was
ignored
at the
Vijay Diwas
function held
in Delhi to com-
memorate India’s
thumping victory over
Pakistan. She went
on to call the govern-
ment “misogynist”.
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi, too, attacked
the government on the
issue. “Today, a func-
tion was held in Delhi
to commemorate the
Bangladesh war. How-
ever, there was
no mention
of [former
PM] Indira
Gandhi in
that func-
tion. The
name of the
woman who
took 32 bullets for
this country was not
there in the invitation
because this govern-
ment is afraid of the
truth,” Rahul Gandhi
said in Dehradun.

CM Yogi along with cabinet ministers get clicked in group photograph at the end of the winter session of UP assembly, which is also the last session of the 17th Legislative Assembly, in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CM ‘budgets’ welfare schemes
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi on Thursday
announced increased
allowances for destitute
women, aged and differ-
ently-abled people
ahead of the Uttar
Pradesh assembly elec-
tions, and also took a
dig at Samajwadi Party
chief Akhilesh Yadav
for sidelining party pa-
triarch Mulayam Singh
Yadav.
CM said that his gov-
ernment will now pro-
vide Rs 1,000 as pension
every month to desti-
tute women, aged and
differently-abled peo-
ple, instead of Rs 500
which was given earlier.
Besides this, labour-
ers will now get a
monthly allowance of
Rs 500 monthly for next
four months and pen-
sion for leprosy-affect-
ed people will be Rs
3,000 per month, he said
after the tabling of the
supplementary budget.
Provisions for these
have been made in the
supplementary budget,
Adityanath said.
Without taking names,
he took a jibe at Akh-
ilesh Yadav saying,
“Our government gives
respect to elderly and if
the father becomes old,
he is not removed from
the post.”
Yogi was apparently
referring to the bitter
feud in the Yadav fami-
ly which climaxed with
Akhilesh Yadav snatch-
ing the mantle of the
party president from
his father Mulayam
Singh Yadav in 2017.
Yogi said that desti-
tute women (widow
pension) used to get an
honorarium of Rs 300,
which was earlier in-
creased to Rs 500 by the
government. This will
further be raised to Rs
1,000, he said. Under
Yogi regime the num-
ber of such women
availing pension has
increased from 17.31
lakh to 30.34 lakh.
Announcing an in-
crease in old-age pen-
sion from Rs 500 to Rs
1,000, he said that many
families were earlier
not covered under this
scheme.
Before 2017, about 37
lakh people were ben-
efitting from this
scheme and now the
number has increased
to 55.77 lakh. —PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment, on Thursday
, said
in the state Assembly
that it had taken all ap-
propriate steps in the
Lakhimpur Kheri inci-
dent, in keeping with
the law, and the Opposi-
tion should desist from
raising the issue for po-
litical gains.
Parliamentaryaffairs
minister Suresh Khan-
na said that a minister’s
son was arrested and
sent to jail after the FIR
was filed against him.
“He is still in jail with
other accused. The fam-
ilies of the deceased
have been duly compen-
sated. Investigations
are being monitored by
SC and what more does
the Opposition want?”
he asked.
The Congress moved
an adjournment notice
on the matter and Con-
gress legislature party
leader Aradhana
Mishra Mona said that
the matter was serious
because the SIT set up
by the government had
found that the killing
of farmers was ‘well
planned’. The Speaker
rejected the notice.
Lucknow: The Con-
gress legislators on
Thursday sat on a dhar-
na in the Assembly
building demanding the
dismissal of Union
minister Ajay Mishra
Teni from the govern-
ment after the Special
Investigation Team
(SIT) probing the Lakh-
impur Kheri incident
said it was a “pre-
planned conspiracy”.
Ashish Mishra, son
of the Union Minister
of State for Home, is the
main accused in the Oc-
tober 3 case in which
eight people, including
four farmers, were
killed.
The Congress legisla-
tors, led by the party’s
Uttar Pradesh chief
Ajay Kumar Lallu, also
raised slogans against
the government.
Carrying placards, they
sat on the steps of the
Vidhan Bhavan and
said they will also raise
the matter in the House,
where the three-day
winter session is under-
way
.
“It is now clear that
the government is not
serious and is not doing
justice to the farmers,”
Lallu said.
Lallu further added
that Congress leaders
Priyanka Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi have con-
stantly been demanding
the ouster of Mishra
from the Union govern-
ment. —PTI
CM Yogi addressing the MLAs during the assembly session on
Thursday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna and Civil
Aviation Minister Nand Gopal Nandi also seen.
Uproar in Vidhan Sabha
over Lakhimpur violence
Lucknow: The sec-
ond day of the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
got off to a stormy
start on Thursday
with opposition par-
ties storming into the
well of the House
raising slogans and
demanding the dis-
missal of Union min-
ister Ajay Mishra
over the Lakhimpur
Kheri violence.
Amid the din, the
state government ta-
bled the second sup-
plementary budget
of Rs 8479.53 crore
for the current fi-
nancial year.
As soon as the
House assembled in
the morning, Leader
of Opposition and
Samajwadi Party
leader Ram Govind
Chaudhary raised
the issue of alleged
police harassment
of party MLA Prab-
hu Narayan Yadav
in Chandauli dis-
trict and demanded
a discussion.
Congress Legisla-
ture Party leader
Aradhana Mishra
came into the well of
the House with her
party members, de-
manding the sacking
of Ajay Mishra.
The Samajwadi
Party and SBSP mem-
bers also came to the
well and started rais-
ing slogans during
the session.
Eight people, in-
cluding four farmers,
were killed in the
Lakhimpur Kheri vi-
olence in October.
The SIT has arrest-
ed 13 people, includ-
ing Union Minister of
State for Home Ash-
ish Mishra’s son in
connection with
death of four farmers
and a journalist.
In the second FIR
relatingtothedeathof
twoBJPworkersanda
driver during the vio-
lence, the SIT had ar-
rested four people.
Following the up-
roar, Speaker Hriday
Narain Dikshit ad-
journed the House for
about 75 minutes in
phases. —PTI
Some said third wave will come
in the month of August, while
others predicted in September
One thing is certain that many of you
(Opposition) will not come back.
—Yogi Adityanath, CM
UP GOVT
ANNOUNCES
3% DA HIKE
FOR STAFF
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The
state government
has announced a 3
% point increase
in dearness allow-
ance for govern-
ment employees,
from existing
28%to 31%, tweet-
ed the CM’s office.
The increase
will be applicable
in retrospect from
July 2021 and the
arrears will be
transferred to the
employees’ provi-
dent fund account.
The move will ben-
efit around 16 lakh
government em-
ployees and 12 lakh
pensioners.
“The DA is in-
creased twice an-
nually, on January
1 and July 1 but in
April 2020, the
Centre and then
the state an-
nounced that
there would be no
revision in DA till
July 1, 2021 to help
the government
financially tide
over Covid-19,”
said an official.
For members of
the National Pen-
sion Scheme,
some amount of
revised DA will be
deposited in NPS
accounts, sources
said.
SIT takes Ashish Mishra and 3 other accused to recreate the
crime scene in Tikunia, Lakhimpur Kheri. —FILE PHOTO
Cong’s UP President Ajay
Kumar Lallu along with other
party MLAs protesting outside
UP Vidhan Sabha on Thursday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Lakhimpur row: Govt replies back
Lakhimpur incident planned: Cong
Continued from page 1
Lucknow: 236 stenos
were selected through
Uttar Pradesh Public
Service Commission
and Subordinate Ser-
vices Selection Com-
mission (UPSSSC).
The CM said “You are
the backbone of mak-
ing the state number
one economy in the In-
dia. If the backbone
breaks, the entire sys-
tem falls. Previous gov-
ernments had made
this state without a
backbone. We intend to
bring the state to num-
ber one in the country
with efficient people
like you.”
“Good Governance is
not possible merely by
changing the govern-
ment; rather, the entire
system needs to be re-
formed. Officers should
also get a chance to
work in a positive envi-
ronment,” he added.
The CM highlighted
employment genera-
tion under his govern-
ment, saying that his
government had estab-
lished an honest, fair
and transparent work
culture in the state.
‘BJP govt established honest work culture’
EMPLOYMENT NEWS
CM Yogi hands over appointment letter to selected Review Officers at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Convention
Center on Thursday. Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh, Minister for Sugarcane Suresh Rana, MoS
Basic Education, Satish Dwivedi, MoS Jal Shakti, Baldev Singh Aulakh, were also present.
PM TO MEET BJP MPS TODAY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet
BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh on Friday over
breakfast, sources said.“The Prime Minister will
meet party MPs from Uttar Pradesh tomorrow
on breakfast. Total 40 MPs are invited,” a source
said. The Prime Minister had inaugurated Kashi
Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, his parliamentary
constituency, on Monday.
Samajwadi Party MLAs protest at Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow
on Thursday demanding sacking of MoS (Home) Ajay
Mishra ‘Teni’. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021
02
CM Yogi
informed the
House that PPE
kits, masks,
sanitisers are now
being made in UP.
“We are supply-
ing sanitisers to
27 states across
India. We provid-
ed free free tests,
free vaccines, and
free medicines”,
he added.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

UTTAR PRADESH
03
Morefundstopower24x7electricity
Yogi govt provisions another Rs 1,000-cr to UPPCL to ensure uninterrupted power supply in state
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi Ad-
ityanath Government
today made arrange-
ments for more funds
for 24x7 electricity in ur-
ban and rural areas of
the state.
The Yogi government
in its supplementary de-
mands, which was ta-
bled in the state assem-
bly today has made pro-
vision of Rs 1,000 crore
for uninterrupted pow-
er supply in the state.
In view of 2022 polls,
the government has
been making elaborate
plans for the electricity
supply, to avoid power
shortage turning into a
political crisis. The gov-
ernment through sup-
plementary demands
has also provided Rs
1,350-cr as assistance to
the UP Power Corpora-
tion. In order to ensure
adequate availability of
funds the government
has provided total Rs
33,8250-cr under supple-
mentary demands to the
energy demands.
Sources said the Yogi
government has also is-
sued directives to UP-
PCL to fully gear for the
regular supply in the
state. There are reports
of continued power cri-
sis in the rural areas
with long outage. Thus
the government as per
the requirements of the
UPPCL has provided
it funds so that it could
not precipitate into po-
litical crisis.
According to infor-
mation the energy de-
partment has pointed
out that UPPCL was
running short of funds
because of low revenue
collection due to
Covid-19, even as power
purchase cost has been
constantly increasing.
Currently the corpo-
ration has been supply-
ing 24-hr power to big
cities while district
headquarters and vil-
lages are getting 22 and
18 hours supply respec-
tively
. However, the situ-
ation is even worse in
villages because of long
un-attended local faults
forcing people to go
without supply for days.
Mathura: A petition
has been filed at a local
court here seeking pro-
hibition on namaz at
the Shahi Idgah, located
close to the temple in
Shri Krishna Jan-
masthan here.
In recent months,
some organisations
have moved the courts
here seeking the ‘re-
moval’ of the Idgah
claiming it is built in
the ‘actual birthplace’
of Lord Krishna.
The court has been
requested to pass an in-
junction order restrain-
ing the Muslim commu-
nity from offering
namaz in Shahi Masjid
Idgah and on adjacent
road, Mahendra Pratap
Singh, the petitioner
said in his application.
He said Moghul em-
wperor Aurangzeb had
built the mosque by dis-
mantling the temple in
1669 and that the walls
of the Idgah still had
signs of Om, Swastik
and Shesh Nag.
In the petition filed at
the court of civil judge,
senior division, Singh
alleged the manage-
ment of the mosque
was now attempting to
either deface or re-
moved them.
Earlier, the Mathura
district administration
had imposed prohibito-
ry orders under CrPC
Section 144 following an
announcement by the
AkhilBharatHinduMa-
hasabha that it will in-
stall a statue of the deity
at the mosque. —PTI
DATE EXTENDED
The Shahi Idgah adjacent to the Krishna temple in Mathura.
Petition filed to stop
namaz at Shahi
Idgah in Mathura
UP IN ARMS
Banks employees and members of United Forum of Bank union stage two days strike to protest
against the privatisation on the premises of SBI in Lucknow on Thursday.
—PHOT0S
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
Lucknow: A 2-day
all-India strike of bank
employees started in
protest against the
ill-fated efforts being
made by the govern-
ment for privatisation
of banks. On the first
day of the strike,
massive demonstra-
tion and meeting was
organised in Lucknow
main branch of State
Bank of India. On the
second day on Friday,
a massive demonstra-
tion and gathering
would be held at Haz-
ratganj in Lucknow
branch of Indian Bank
(Allahabad Bank) from
11.30 am onwards.
Banking hit
by strike
RESTRAIN PLEA
CRUCIAL READ
CBI FILES CHARGE SHEET AGAINST RETD
ALD HC JUDGE IN CORRUPTION CASE
Lucknow: The CBI has filed its charge sheet against
retired Allahabad High Court Judge Justice SN
Shukla in a corruption case for
allegedly favouring a private
medical college in his orders,
officials said. The agency has
moved with its charge sheet
against Shukla after getting
a go ahead from the govern-
ment to prosecute the retired
judge, they said. The Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) had booked Justice Shukla with other accused
in December 2019 under Section 120B (criminal
conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions
of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
MAN, SON COMMIT
SUICIDE AFTER
FAMILY DISPUTE
Gorakhpur: A man
and his son allegedly
committed suicide by
hanging themselves in
Gulariha area here, the
police said Thursday.
Ramvilas Patel (48)
and his son Akash (16)
hanged themselves sep-
arately due to a family
dispute, they said.The
incident took place on
Wednesday when Patel
and his wife Shambhu
Devi had a dispute over
some issue.
MP TEAM IN KNP FOR
COMMISSIONERATE
SYSTEM STUDY
Kanpur: After the police
commissionerate system
implemented recently
in Bhopal (Madhya
Pradesh), a team of offi-
cials from their arrived in
Kanpur on Thursday to
learn its format of func-
tioning.The team visited
offices of DCP, ADCP,
ACP and understood
their division of work
and functioning. Later,
they learnt the function-
ing of magistrate and
operation of the court.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Governor
and Chancellor of Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam
Technical University
,
Lucknow Anandiben
Patel, while wishing
bright future to stu-
dents who received
medalsanddegreesfor
their meritorious per-
formance at the 19th
convocation ceremony
on Thursday said, the
aim was not limited to
just getting a degree
but its goals were
far-reaching.
She said knowledge
should not become a
means of getting a job,
but should be more
than that. Education is
not meaningful with-
out being related to
public interest.
DuringtheConvoca-
tionceremonytheGov-
ernor presented 92
medals and 53,226 de-
grees to students.
She said the gradu-
ate students were on
the threshold of a new
journey as some stu-
dents would move for-
ward for higher stud-
ies, while some would
take up the responsi-
bility of employment
and self-employment.
The Governor said
students must remem-
ber that reflection of
personality was
formed only by good
work and should pro-
mote human values
and morals. She fur-
ther said technical ed-
ucationwastheeasiest
waytogetemployment
and self-employment
and the easy route
from skill to employ-
ment passed through
technical sector itself.
‘Edu shouldn’t be just
a means to get job’
First India Bureau
Kanpur: A grand wel-
come awaits PM Nar-
endra Modi at the Met-
ro depot for which offi-
cers have started mak-
ing blue prints. UP
Metro MD Kumar Kes-
hav also reached here
on Thursday to check
preparations and di-
rected higher officials
of the metro for ensur-
ing everything is in
order. He said in view
of possibility of the
PM travelling in met-
ro, every point of all
the stations should be
checked.
After reviewing prepa-
rations from entrance
to exit, he enquired
about the prepared-
ness from engineers
regarding the investi-
gations to be done by
CMRS, post which
green signal for com-
mercial operation of
Metro could be given
by December 24.
On December 25, in-
spection of Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
is proposed. MD Ku-
mar Keshav said that
after Prime Minister’s
inauguration, the met-
ro would be available
for city residents.
Knp Metro on track to greet PM Modi
UP Metro MD Kumar Keshav inspecting a metro station in Kanpur
Governor Anandiben Patel
awards gold medalist
Rashi Mathur at the 19th
convocation of AKTU, Lucknow
—PHOT0 BY SUMIT KUMAR

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 37
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There has to be evil so
that good can prove its
purity above it.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
On the occasion of ‘Swarnim Vijay
Diwas’ we remember the courage and
sacrifice of our armed forces during
the 1971 war. The 1971 war is the
golden chapter in India’s military
history. We are proud of our armed
forces and their achievements.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
#NaturalFarming Farmers get benefits
like reduction in cost of production,
improvement in soil quality, less
dependence on credit. To encourage
this, an area of 4 lakh hectares will
be covered under Indian Natural
Farming System Program at a cost of
Rs50 crores.
TOP TWEETS
inister of State
for Home Ajay
Mishra ‘Teni’ is
no stranger to
c o n t r ove r s i e s
and has faced several cases
in the past, including that of
murder. The alleged involve-
ment of his son Ashish in
the “murder” of seven farm-
ers and a journalist in Lakh-
impur Kheri on October 3
and the consequent uproar
in the Lok Sabha is not sur-
prising.
Given the Union minister’s
reputation, his son Ashish’s
conviction in the alleged
murders may not be easy.
Just as difficult will be Ajay
Mishra’s removal from the
ministry despite the Opposi-
tion’s persistent demand,
given the government’s un-
yielding stance. The govern-
ment doesn’t seem embar-
rassed about the minister’s
misbehaviour with the me-
dia. As for his son, the gov-
ernment says the matter is
sub-judice and rightly so.
But there’s a term called
‘moral ground’ which re-
quires that Ajay Mishra, who
is the junior minister in the
sensitive Ministry of Home
Affairs, should himself offer
to quit. That he has not done
so is because in the present
day politics the term “moral
ground” has been obliterat-
ed. Also, a minister with
Mishra’s background should
not be expected to chuck his
post for as frivolous a reason
as “moral ground”.
Ajay Mishra was inducted
into the Union ministry as a
Brahmin face. It is believed
that he was picked much
against the wish of Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Sacking Misra just before
elections could antagonise
Brahmin voters, prove politi-
cally detrimental and bring a
smile on UP CM’s face. The
BJP may not like that.
Possibly, the minister was
reprimanded but the Opposi-
tion baying for his blood
won’t be satisfied.
THE MISSING MORAL
GROUND IN POLITICS
But there’s a term
called ‘moral ground’
which requires that Ajay
Mishra, who is the junior
minister in the sensitive
Ministry of Home Affairs,
should himself
offer to quit
M
OVERUSE OF PMLA
MAKES APEX COURT
CAUTION AGAINST
ITS IRRELEVANCE
nce again it is the Su-
preme Court which
has red-flagged the
government for in-
discriminate use of
Prevention of Money Launder-
ing Act (PMLA), 2002. It has cau-
tioned the government against
the Act losing its “relevance” if
it is not used “reasonably”. “You
are diluting the Act. Not just this
case. If you start using it as a
weapon against 10,000 rupee-
case and 100 rupee-case, what
will happen? You can’t put all the
people behind bars. You have to
use it reasonably
,” Chief Justice
of India NV Ramana told Addi-
tional Solicitor General SV Raju
in a money laundering case.
The PMLA Tribunal also
slammed the Enforced Directo-
rate for “inadequate investiga-
tion” in the Punjab national
Bank scam. “In recent years one
can see that ED has been attach-
ing properties on the basis of
self-created concept of “value
thereof” which has resulted in
shoddy investigation,” the Tri-
bunal noted. In fact, ED and the
CBI have been used to harass
people rather than pursue seri-
ous offenders.
O
he Indian sub-continent is
celebrating the 50th anniver-
sary on December 16, when
on this auspicious day Bang-
ladesh was born in 1971, thus
ending the two-nation theory
imposed on the undivided In-
dia in 1947. It was the last bid
of the outgoing colonial pow-
er to undermine the unity of
India. Thus twins, present
day India and Pakistan, came
into being from the womb of
a white mother, by an Act of
the House of Commons.
However, Pakistan’s frag-
ile unity ended due to its trig-
ger-happy assertive army,
which even today considers
itself asthesymbolof Islamic
assertions in the world, espe-
cially in the Indian sub-conti-
nent. The successive regimes,
under the military dictator-
ships as well as the so-called
civilian governments, refuse
toacceptthatBangladeshwas
an outcome of an unprece-
dented genocide of the major-
ity population of Pakistan
comprising the Bengali Mus-
lims. It is estimated that more
than three million unarmed
people were killed and their
women were violated. How-
ever, the Pakistani rulers con-
tinue to harbour grudge
against India for supporting
the Bengali Muslim, and
USA, for not intervening mil-
itarily despite having defence
pats of CEATO and CENTO.
Earlier, this month their
mindset was reflected again,
whenPakistan’sPrimeMinis-
terImranKhandecidednotto
attend the much-awaited con-
ference on democracy organ-
ised at the behest of US Presi-
dent Joe Biden. Another rea-
son for this refusal could be
attributed to promote ‘hawk-
ish’ attitude of his regime by
promoting Islamists to take
revenge with India, USA and
Israel,whilemourningforthe
session of East Pakistan. In
fact, in India and Bangladesh,
it is celebrated as the victory
of democracy and freedom.
A large section of the mem-
bersof civilsocietyinvarious
countries, including India,
had expected that Khan, an
Oxford graduate having lib-
eral British education, would
be promoting free press and
judiciary
, but the recent reve-
lations expose that how he
came to power with the con-
nivance of higher judiciary
and the GHQ. The Khan gov-
ernment’s recent agreements
with the banned Tehreek-i-
Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and
theTehreek-e-Labbaik,which
hadkilledasmanyas11police
men in a rally recently have
caused apprehensions that ia
bid to retain his hold in the
power, he might be promoting
the Jihadists.
FRANKENSTEIN
REBORN
In her fiction of 1818, Mary
Shelley narrates how a scien-
tist creates an eight feet high
monster out of clay
, Franken-
stein , who causes havoc on
human lives. Both Taliban
and TTP have been working
together in Afghanistan and
the north-west regions of Pa-
kistan. During the past 14
years, TTP are believed to be
responsible for many major
attacks on Pakistani security
forces and civilians including
the attack on an Army school
in Peshawar in 2014 that
killed over 150 people, mostly
children. The recent TTP
statement released on Decem-
ber 10 has accused the Paki-
stan government of failing to
honour the decisions, includ-
ing the release of their fight-
ers. Earlier, a six-point agree-
ment was reached between
TTP and the Khan Govern-
ment on October 25 this year
under the aegis of the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan
(IEA), the present day rulers
of Afghanistan. The two
sides, according to the agree-
ment, had accepted that the
IEA would play the role of a
mediator and that both sides
would form five-member
committees each which, un-
der the supervision of the
mediator, would discuss the
next course of action and de-
mands of each side.
The Pakistani newspapers
and activists these days are
remembering that the then
military dictator had ordered
a brutal crackdown, which
finally enabled India to mus-
ter West’s support success-
fully for a Bengali nation.
Their apprehension is that
Imran Khan’s support to the
Islamists might unleash a
Frankenstein again.
They recall that though US
secretly stood with Pakistan
but no open military or mor-
al support was provided to
Yahya Khan. The Chinese did
provide armaments but no
strong affiliation was showed
with the military’s action.
They also recall how a White
Paper published by the suc-
cessive Pakistani govern-
ment tried to ‘exonerate’ the
army from any genocide
charges and crimes.
Referring to the contempo-
rary situation in Pakistan, a
number of journalists and
thinkers in Pakistan as well
as abroad are apprehensive
of a possible re-emergence of
the dreaded Frankenstein. It
could destroy the remaining
Pakistan and its civil society
comprising teachers, lawyers
and authors. The cooked up
reports by the khan Govern-
ment condemn the country’s
major mainline political par-
ties , Pakistan People’s Party
and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan
Muslim League-Noon are
being branded as agents of
India.
Khan, a prisoner of this
own rhetoric against India,
USA, Israel and the western
nations, appears to be allying
with the Jihadists in his do-
mestic policies. His govern-
ment’s olive branch towards
these dreaded outfits is being
defended by stating that “it is
in the “larger national inter-
est” as a means to prevent fu-
ture violence from these ex-
tremist groups, but it has trig-
gered off more violence in the
society
. The mindset of com-
mon citizens towards Islam-
ists has become pro-violence
inthenameof religion,wheth-
er a hapless Lankan manager
iskilledinSialkotfourwomen
workersseekingabottleof wa-
ter on Faislabad are paraded
naked and their videos are be-
ing uploaded in internet sites
with cheering mobs.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
50 YEARS OF BANGLADESH WAR
THE LOVE FOR JIHADISTS REASSERTED
PAK REFUSES TO LEARN
FROM DEC 16 DEBACLES
T
The Pakistani newspapers
and activists these days are
remembering that the then
military dictator had
ordered a brutal crackdown,
which finally enabled India
to muster West’s support
successfully for a Bengali
nation. Their apprehension
is that Imran Khan’s
support to the Islamists
might unleash a
Frankenstein again
However, Pakistan’s
fragile unity ended
due to its trigger-happy
assertive army, which
even today considers
itself as the symbol of
Islamic assertions in the
world, especially in
the Indian
sub-continent
GOPAL MISRA
The writer is accredited as a journalist
of long and distinguished service with the
Press Information Bureau of the Information
and Broadcasting Ministry

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INDIA
05
IN THE COURTYARD
LIVING TOGETHER
FOR FEW DAYS IS
NOT ‘LIVE-IN’: HC
SC ALLOWS TO
CONDUCT BULLOCK
CART RACES
ISSUE OF NAMAZ
IN PUBLIC PLACES
REACHES SC
Chandigarh: Punjab and
Haryana High Court has
observed, “Merely because
the two adults are living to-
gether for a few days, their
claim of live-in-relationship
may not be enough to hold
that they’re truly in live-in
relationship.” This comes
as an 18-year-old woman
and a 20-year-old man
sought protection from
their families, stating they
would get married on at-
taining the age of majority.
New Delhi: The SC al-
lowed on Thursday the
resumption of bullock-cart
race in Maharashtra on
the same conditions and
regulations as mentioned
in the state amendments
to Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act by Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu. A Bench
headed by Justice AM
Khanwilkar said the validity
of the Maharashtra amend-
ments too will be decided
by the constitution.
New Delhi: Former Rajya
Sabha MP Mohammad
Adeeb has approached
the SC seeking contempt
action against officers of
the Haryana govt for their
alleged failure to pre-
vent incidents revolving
around the Friday prayers
offered by Muslims. The
state govt recently banned
Friday namaz at public
spaces at Gurugram fol-
lowing opposition from
residents.
BOMBAY HC DEFERS HEARING
ON DEFAMATION SUIT OF RAGA
SETBACK FOR BOMBAY HIGH COURT JUDGE WHO
DELIVERED ‘NO SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT’ VERDICT
SC COLLEGIUM APPROVES APPOINTMENT
OF 3 PERMANENT JUDGES FOR BOMBAY HC
SC DISPOSES OF PLEA FILED
AGAINST CM PEMA KHANDU
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Thursday deferred
beyond January 25
proceedings before a
magistrate court here
in a defamation case
against Cong leader
Rahul Gandhi. The
case was filed over
Rahul’s “commander-
in-thief” remark
targeting PM Modi.
A single-judge bench
of Justice Sandeep K
Shinde extended the
relief to Rahul while
hearing his plea seek-
ing quashing of the
defamation case.
New Delhi: Justice
Pushpa V Ganediwala,
the Bombay High Court
judge who delivered
controversial orders
like the “skin-to-skin”
verdict in the sexual as-
sault of a minor, will not
be made a permanent
judge, sources have
told NDTV. This is the
second time that the SC-
collegium has rejected
her elevation as a High
Court judge. This means
Justice Ganediwala, cur-
rently a temporary judge
with the BHC, will return
to her District Judge
post when her stint
ends in February. Earlier
this year, the Centre had
granted Justice Ganedi-
wala an extension but
had reduced the usual
two-year period to one.
New Delhi: The SC
Collegium has ap-
proved the proposal
for appointment of
three additional judges
of the Bombay High
Court as permanent
judges. The Collegium
headed by Chief Jus-
tice N V Ramana, in a
meeting held on Dec
14, took the decision
and the resolution
was uploaded on the
apex court website on
Thursday. The three
additional judges of
the BHC whose names
have been approved
are Madhav Jayajirao
Jamdar, Amit Bhal-
chandra Borkar and
Shrikant Dattatray
Kulkarni.
New Delhi: A plea filed
in the Supreme Court
by Arunachal Justice
Forum seeking a probe
against AP CM Pema
Khandu and his govt
for their involvement in
alleged misused funds
granted to various dept
has been disposed of
by the court. The as-
sociation also alleged
that Pema Khandu was
involved in the scams
under RGGVY, pan-
chayat and hydropower
schemes, among
others.
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Churchill
Alemao, the lone MLA
of Sharad Pawar’s Na-
tionalist Congress Par-
tyinGoa,hasjoinedthe
Trinamool Congress.
Some two weeks ago he
hadgonetoKolkataand
met Mamata Banerjee.
AfterthisMamatawent
to Mumbai, where she
held a long conversa-
tion with Sharad Pawar
and post meeting Pa-
war, she attacked the
Congress fiercely and
denied the existence of
the UPA.
Interestingly, it is
now, after a long time
has passed, that politi-
cal observers can join
the dots and know for
sure what actually
transpired between the
two. Didi went to Goa
and got Alemao in her
party and informed
sources say that this
work has been done
with Pawar’s consent.
The Congress lead-
ers were already aware
of this, so they were
not talking about coor-
dination with NCP in
Goa. Irritated by this,
NCP leader and Goa in-
charge Praful Patel tar-
geted the Congress and
said that his party will
not wait for the Con-
gress till eternity
.
Despite this, the
Congress did not start
talk of coordination,
rather it talked of
aligning with Goa For-
ward Party but did not
pay heed to NCP. In fu-
ture too, Congress may
not talk of coordina-
tion and can stress that
Trinamool and NCP
should fight together!
However, consider-
ing the kind of under-
standing that exists
between Pawar and
Mamata, there is no
reason for Mamata’s
party to do any work to
annoy Pawar. So the de-
cision of Alemao to go
to TMC has certainly
been in Pawar’s knowl-
edge. Informed sources
say that Pawar and
Didi are trying to
weaken Congress to-
gether. Right now Pa-
war is not coming out
in the open but is en-
suring that Congress is
weakened in some
states. For this he is
trying to increase
TMC’s strength be-
cause later he has to
align with Trinamool.
According to in-
formed sources, when
Pawar will come out in
the open, which will
happen after the local
body elections in Ma-
harashtra next year,
then he will break the
Congress in his state.
Just as in Meghalaya,
more than two-thirds
of Congress MLAs
went to TMC, similarly
in Maharashtra, more
than two-thirds of
MLAs will be included
in NCP. The old leaders
who have left the Con-
gress are preparing to
grab remaining Con-
gress in their respec-
tive states. After that
everyone will come on
one stage. A new party
may also be formed but
its fate could be like the
unity of the parties of
the Janata Parivar.
WHATISCOOKINGBETWEENPAWARMAMATA?
Kavita Pant
Jaipur: The date was
December 17, 2018
whenhistoryrepeated
itself, third time over.
For, in a grand func-
tion, in presence of
the then Governor of
Rajasthan, Congress
stalwart Ashok Ge-
hlot took oath of office
for the Chief Minister
of Rajasthan. It was a
historic moment Ra-
jasthan witnessed for
another reason, after
BJP stalwart Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, it
was for the first time
that any leader as-
cended to the chair of
CM for the third time.
And creating that
hat-trick, Gehlot put a
stamp on the state as
being among the all-
time stars of the po-
litical world as merely
a handful of leaders
have been able to rule
for such a long time,
especiallyconsidering
that this time period
also had 10 years of
BJP rule, thereby giv-
ing the saying ‘Third
time is the charm’ an-
other meaning.
But over the past
threeyearsinpower,it
seems that for Gehlot,
third time is actually
the charm, owing to
the fact that he has not
only grown closer to
the Gandhi family but
has also come up as
their trusted general
in times when they
face extreme difficul-
ties on national level.
In fact, the recent
Jaipur maha-rally
against inflation has
bolstered Gehlot’s im-
age, even among sen-
ior Congress leaders,
to the tune that even
Soniahasgivenheras-
sent that after Rahul,
it can only be Gehlot
who can throw an
open challenge to PM
Modi and Amit Shah
in national politics.
For Rajasthan, Ge-
hlot and his govern-
menthasbeenbattling
on several fronts, the
biggest of them being
Corona and the state
governmenthasleftno
stones unturned to
save the state as much
as it can. Whether it is
Gehlot’s Corona man-
agement, or his finan-
cial management in
such difficult times,
He has ensured that
the people do not suf-
fer and therefore he
continued to work
through the hours,
even though he con-
tractedCovidandlater
underwent angioplas-
ty a few months back.
And now he is busy
preparing the plat-
form to bring Con-
gress back in power
in 2023.
‘MAIN THANSU
DOOR NAHI!’
THREE YEARS OF GEHLOT GOVERNMENT
New Delhi: The Indian
Railways has to take re-
sponsibility for en-
croachments that have
come upon its land and
takestrictactionagainst
them, the Supreme
Court said on Thursday
,
refusing to allow 5000
hutments to continue in
Gujarat.
“All major cities have
turned into slums…
This is a sad story going
on for 75 years,” said a
three-judge bench, turn-
ingdownanappealfrom
the slum dwellers to
stop the demolition.
“Look at any city,
Chandigarh might be an
exception but there are
problems in Chandi-
garh as well. That is
happening everywhere.
Let us rise to reality and
think how the problem
has to be resolved,” said
JusticeAMKhanwilkar,
who was on the bench
along with Justices
Dinesh Maheshwari
and CT Ravikumar. Di-
recting the Railways to
initiate criminal action
against unauthorised
occupants immediately
,
the court said, “Rail-
ways cannot be let off
the hook of their re-
sponsibility
. It is not just
the state government’s
responsibility
... The
time has come for the
corporations to take the
responsibility of remov-
ing the encroachment”.
The court said it would
also review the action
taken. The Railways
have also been asked to
take action against offi-
cials who allowed the
encroachments to take
place.
“Performance will be
apprised by us not
your hirers. Your liabil-
ity is an equal liability
along with state and cor-
poration. Owner who is
incapable of protecting
the property should be
liable along with State
and Corporation,” Jus-
tice Khanwilkar told
ASG KM Nataraj.
—ANI
All major cities have turned
into slums: SC on squatters
Parl Panel on data protection bill recomnends
greater accountability of social media platforms
New Delhi: A parlia-
mentary committee on
Thursday recommend-
ed widening the scope
of proposed data pro-
tection legislation to
include both personal
and non-personal data
and sought greater ac-
countability for social
media platforms by
treating them as pub-
lishers.
The Joint Committee
on Personal Data Pro-
tection Bill, 2019, head-
ed by BJP MP PP
Chaudhary, tabled its
report in both the Hous-
es on Thursday
. The key
highlights of the report
include widening the
scope of the draft legis-
lation to also cover non-
personal data, tighter
regulation for social
media platforms and
the establishment of a
statutory media regula-
tory authority, accord-
ing to a release by the
LS Secretariat. The
panel has also favoured
a framework to regulate
hardware manufactur-
ers, who also collect
data along with the soft-
ware. It has favoured a
mechanism for certifi-
cation of all digital and
Internet of Things de-
vices. “The committee,
considering the imme-
diate need to regulate
social media intermedi-
aries, have expressed a
strong view that these
designated intermedi-
aries may be working as
publishers of the con-
tent in many situations,
owing to the fact that
they have the ability to
select the receiver of
the content and also ex-
ercise control over the
access to any such con-
tent report said, assert-
ing that a mechanism
must be devised for
their regulation. —PTI
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Wednes-
day clarified that there
is no plan as of now
to curtail the ongoing
Winter Session, but
added the Opposi-
tion should not run
away from debate
they themselves have
sought on vital is-
sues. The statement
comes on a day both
Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha were adjourned
on Wednesday amid
sloganeering by the
Opposition over an
SIT probe report on
the Lakhimpur Kheri
violence. Speaking to
reporters Parliamen-
tary Affairs Minister
Pralhad Joshi said
that government has
no plans to curtail the
ongoing session of
Parliament.
NO PLAN AS OF NOW TO CURTAIL
WINTER SESSION OF PARL: JOSHI
—Picture for representation
New Delhi: Union Ag-
riculture Min Narendra
Singh Tomar on Thurs-
day said that after Ma-
hatma Gandhi and
Vallabhbhai Patel, In-
dia has gained global
recognition under PM
Narendra Modi's lead-
ership.
Speaking at the Na-
tional Summit on Agro
andFoodProcessing,the
Union Min said, After
Gandhi and Patel, under
PM Modi's leadership,
India has gained global
recognition.Therewas
a time when India was
overlooked but today no
country's agenda is ful-
filled without India's
consensus, he added
while lauding the PM
role in the growth of the
country
. The national
three-day summit on
natural farming com-
menced on Dec 14 and is
settoconcludeonDec16.
PM Modi will address
the farmers during the
valedictory session of
the national conclave.
Farmers will be provid-
ed with all requisite in-
formationabouttheben-
efits of adopting natural
farming methods.
‘Indiagainedglobalrecognition
under Modi’s leadership’
(L) PM Modi (R) Union Agriculture Min Narendra Singh Tomar.

INDIA
06
CRUCIAL READ
B’DESH TO IMPORT DEFENCE ITEMS FROM
IND UNDER USD 500 MN LINE OF CREDIT
Dhaka: Bangladesh will soon import defence related
items from India under the USD 500 million Line of
Credit provided by Delhi as several identified equip-
ment are being fast tracked, according to Foreign
Secy Harsh Vardhan Shringla. His remarks came
after President Ram Nath Kovind, who is in Dhaka
on his maiden state visit held delegation-level talks
with the country’s top leadership on Wednesday.
SERVICES HIT: PSU
BANK EMPLOYEES
GO ON 2-DAY STRIKE
New Delhi: Employees
of public sector banks
(PSBs) on Thursday
went on two-day strike
against the move to
privatise public sector
banks impacting normal
banking operation
across the country.
Many branches across
different parts of coun-
try were shut as UFBU,
an umbrella body
of nine bank unions
including AIBOC, AIBEA
and NOBW, had given
strike call. ATMs to
function as usual.
TN: TRANSGENDER
FOUND DEAD, CASE
FILED FOR MURDER
Chennai: A 31-year-old
transgender was found
in B Mutlur village in
Cuddalore dist of TN.
Deceased, identified as
Panimalar, was residing
in Manalur near Chid-
ambaram. ‘In probe, we
have found that Panima-
lar and the other person
had gotten into an
argument over money
issue. The person had
attacked her, pushed her
against wall. She was
left bleeding to death.
Culprit will be arrested
soon,’ police said.
POLITICAL PARTIES RAISED CONCERNS
OVER MONEY POWER IN PB POLLS: CEC
Chandigarh: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Sushil Chandra Thursday said that political parties in
Punjab have raised concerns about misuse of money
and distribution of liquor
and drugs in the forthcom-
ing Assembly polls. CEC
made the remarks while
addressing a press confer-
ence in Chandigarh after a
high-level team of the Election Commission, including
the election commissioners, held meetings over past
two days on the preparedness for the polls in Punjab.
50th ANNIVERSARY OF VIJAY DIWAS
1971-ERA AIRCRAFT REPLICA, SWEETS:
PRESIDENT’S GESTURE IN BANGLADESH
Dhaka: President Ram
Nath Kovind has pre-
sented a replica of the
1971-era MIG 21 aircraft
to his counterpart Ab-
dul Hamid here to com-
memorate the joint sac-
rifices made by the
armed forces of India
and Bangladesh during
the 1971 liberation war.
Kovind is here on a
three-day state visit, his
first trip abroad since
the outbreak of the pan-
demic, to participate in
the commemoration of
the 50th anniversary of
Victory Day on Thurs-
day at which he is the
guest of honour.
Kovind also brought
a wide assortment of
sweets, cakes, and sa-
vouries prepared at the
Rashtrapati Bhavan's
in-house bakery for his
Abdul Hamid and PM
Sheikh Hasina, a good-
will gesture that will
add a personal touch to
the relations between
top leaders of the two
close neighbours. —ANI
President Ram Nath Kovind presented a replica of 1971-era
MIG 21 aircraft to President Abdul Hamid of Bangladesh.
PM Narendra
Modi participates
in the reception
ceremony of
‘Swarnim Vijay
Mashaals’ at
National War
Memorial in
New Delhi on
Thursday.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and
others at National Parade Ground in Dhaka on Thursday.
PRESIDENT KOVIND WITNESSES VICTORY
DAY CELEBRATIONS IN BANGLADESH
President Ram Nath Kovind witnesses Bangladesh's
Victory Day celebrations at the National Parade
Ground in Dhaka as a guest of honour on Thursday.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid reviewed the pa-
rade at National Parade Ground in Dhaka on Thursday
as the national program of Victory Day began.
Prez Kovind is here on
a three-day state visit,
his 1st trip abroad
since outbreak of Covid
PARLPAYSTRIBUTES
TOBANGLADESHI
FREEDOMFIGHTERS
New Delhi: Parlia-
ment on Thursday
paid tributes to
Bangladeshi freedom
fighters and Indian
armed forces on the
50th anniversary of
Vijay Diwas, which
celebrates India’s
victory over Pakistan
in the 1971 war that
led to the liberation of
Bangladesh. In the RS,
Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu said the display
of dauntless courage
and gallantry by our
Armed Forces in 1971
is still remembered
with pride and zeal
across the country,
which continues to
inspire the people of
our nation.
Om Birla
@ombirlakota
On the completion of
50 years of victory
over Pakistan in the
1971 war, salute to
those brave soldiers
whose indomita-
ble courage and
valor made Mother
Bharati proud. On
#VijayDiwas, we also
remember those
bravehearts who
made the supreme
sacrifice while pro-
tecting the borders
of the country.
PROUD OF WARRIORS WHO
WROTE UNPARALLELED
TALES OF VALOUR: PM MODI
PM Narendra Modi on Thursday
signed the visitors' book at the
National War Memorial and wrote
that the nation's citizens are proud
of the brave warriors who wrote
unparalleled tales of valour. The PM
participated in the homage and re-
ception ceremony of 'Swarnim Vijay
Mashaals' and laid a wreath at the
National War Memorial here.
AROUND THE WORLD
Typhoon Rai intensifies
in Manila, many evacuated
Manila: Typhoon Rai
rapidly intensified to a
Category 5 storm before
making landfall in the
southern Philippines
on Thursday, forcing
mass evacuations and
flight cancellations as
floodwaters reached
chest-high in low-lying
communities. People
have fled their homes as
the second-most power-
ful typhoon to strike na-
tion this year dumped
heavy rains on south-
ern islands on its way
towards central part.
OZ: 4 KIDS KILLED,
BOUNCY CASTLE
TOSSED INTO AIR
Canberra: Four children
were killed and several
more badly injured in
Australia after strong
winds lifted an inflated
jumping castle into the
air during end-of-year
school celebrations,
causing them to fall 10
metres (33 feet), authori-
ties said on Thursday,
prompting an outpouring
of grief. Australia’s PM
Scott Morrison described
the incident as “shatter-
ing and heartbreaking”.
PM TO LAY FNDN
STONE OF GANGA
EXPRESSWAY
Lucknow: PM Naren-
dra Modi will lay the
foundation stone of
Ganga Expressway in
Shahjahanpur district
of UP on December 18.
The inspiration behind
the Expressway is the
vision of PM to provide
fast-paced connectiv-
ity across the country,
according to an official
statement issued by UP
govt on Thursday. The
594 km long six-lane
Expressway will be built
at a cost of over Rs
36,200 crore.
BJP TO BRING
LAW AGAINST
CONVERSION
Bengaluru: A draft bill to
prevent religious conver-
sion in Karnataka, called
the Karnataka Protection
of Right to Freedom of
Religion Bill 2021, has
proposed a maximum
punishment of 10 years
of imprisonment for
forcible conversion of
persons from SC/ST
communities, minors
and women, to another
religion. The ruling BJP
is pushing for introduc-
ing this stringent bill in
Karnataka Assembly dur-
ing its winter session.
New Delhi: BCCI
president Sourav
Ganguly on Thursday
dodged questions on
Virat Kohli after the
former ODI captain
made some startling
revelations in the media
a day before. Ganguly
had said that he
personally spoke to Kohli
when he was deciding to
step down as the T20I
captain and urged him
to carry on with the job
but the star cricketer
refused to continue.
Sports
Sports
UPDATES
SINDHU BEATS
CHOCHUWONG TO
ENTER QF OF WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP
Madrid: India's PV
Sindhu beats Porn-
pawee Chochuwong of
Thailand 21-14 21-18
in the Round of 16 of
the ongoing 2021 BWF
World Championships
on Thursday in Huelva.
The defending champion
Sindhu has now entered
the quarter-final.
LEAVE IT TO BCCI, WE
WILL DEAL WITH IT...
BCCI TOP BRASS EXPLORING OPTIONS
BCCI leadership group is exploring
options to respond to Virat Kohli’s
sensational comments on his India
captaincy. The top brass of the board is
not in agreement with Kohli’s claims from
Wednesday’s press conference. Kohli on
Thursday alleged lack of communication
between him and the BCCI.
KOHLI’S REMARKS IN SEPT COULD BE
REASON FOR SACKING: GAVASKAR
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar
feels that Virat Kohli should have
chosen his words right while announcing
his decision of stepping down as the T20
captain back in September. Gavaskar felt
the statement, which is still there in the
public domain, might have lit fire among
the BCCI top brass which eventually led
the Indian cricket board to strip Kohli
from the ODI captaincy as well.
SUNIL GAVASKAR VIRAT KOHLI SOURAV GANGULY
OMICRON MAY BE DOMINANT
OVER NEXT ONE MONTH: GITA
New Delhi: With the
world battling Omicron,
IMF Chief Economist
GitaGopinathheldouta
rayof hopeonThursday
as she said the new vari-
ant is expected to be the
dominant version over
the next one month but
is less severe than Delta,
which caused mayhem
during the second wave.
Dr Anurag Agrawal,
director, Institute of
Genomics and Integra-
tive Biology (IGIB), too
said it is good to hope
that what has been true
for SA should be true
for India, but even mild
viruses have the capa-
bility of bringing the
entire healthcare sys-
tem to its knees. —ANI
The high num-
ber of cases can
impact medical
centres. Travel restric-
tions could be imposed if
Omicron spreads faster.
We need the whole world
to get vaccinat-
ed or you will
keep getting
new variants
of Covid-19.
—Gita Gopinath,
IMF Chief Economist
HOME SECRETARY REVIEWS OMICRON PREPS
New Delhi: Union home secretary Ajay
Bhalla chaired a meeting on Thursday to
review the Covid-19 situation in Union ter-
ritories, MHA said, adding that during the
meeting, the preparedness of the UTs to
deal with pandemic was reviewed as well.
NIGHT VACCINATION CENTRES IN MUMBAI
BMC has opened vaccination centres at night. The cor-
poration will either have mobile teams or vax centres in
all 24 administrative wards to cover population who are
yet to received their second doses. Night centres will
be operational from 6 pm to 10 pm, and will mainly be
set up in crowded areas where there is poor vax rates.
GANGULY REACTS TO KOHLI’S EXPLOSIVE STATEMENTS

NEWS
07
SULKING IN
SILENCE
The BJP is on cloud nine in poll-
bound UP post the high
publicity blitzkrieg in Kashi. But
there is one man who is sulking in
silence for being given the short-
shrift in the mega two-day event.
The ruling party’s ‘bete noire’ is
none other than deputy chief
minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
The number two man in the
pecking order in government had
reportedly buried the hatchet and
reconciled to toe the party line that
CM Yogi will be chief minister
again if the BJP makes a comeback
in 2022. PM Modi is understood to
have put the lid on the controversy
when he met the deputy CM
recently in New Delhi.The latest
slight for this backward mascot of
the party is a photograph of PM
Modi with CMs of BJP-ruled States
in which Maurya is seen occupying
the last seat on the left while the
PM is flanked by UP CM and BJP
chief JP Nadda. The photograph
has gone viral on social media and
drawing lots of barbs from
Maurya’s detractors and opposition
party leaders. Sources close to the
leader, however, say it remains to
be seen as to who will have the last
laugh. The deputy CM’s trip to the
country-capital, they revealed, have
increased in recent times and
Maurya, who usually puts up in UP
Bhawan in New Delhi, has now
also reportedly bought himself a
new house in a posh locality in
New Delhi to avoid media glare.
—M Tariq Khan
BHAGWAT, SRI
SRI TOGETHER
AT HINDU EKTA
MAHAKUMBH
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
administered an oath to the
congregation of Hindus gathered
at the Hindu Ekta
Mahakumbh here to work for
‘ghar wapsi’, the return of those
who had left Hindu religion.
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar and Hindutva leader
Sadhvi Rithambara were among
the seers from across the country
who attended the gathering. The
participants also pledged to
protect the modesty and honour
of Hindu sisters and strengthen
Hindu society by rising above the
divisions of caste and language.
“From the `sankalpsthali’ (place
of resolution) of Lord Ram, the
dharma yodhas’ of Hindu culture
take a pledge to work for the
protection, promotion security
of the sacred Hindu religion,
culture and society throughout
life,” the RSS chief said. The
gathering vowed to work for the
return to the Hindu fold of those
who had converted to other
faiths. It pledged “not to allow
any Hindu brother to get
alienated from Hindu religion
and work for the ghar wapasi
(return) of those who left Hindu
religion and went somewhere
else, and make them family
members.” Bhagwat said, “While
practising dharma working
selflessly without ego, one gets
success even in the most
difficult tasks.” —PTI
STATE EXPECTS BUMPER
MUSTARD CROP THIS YEAR
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The area of
mustard cultivation, for
example, has grown by
35 per cent this year as
compared to last year,
according to the latest
Agriculture Depart-
ment data. Farmers
have grown mustard on
a total land of 9.46 lakh
hectares in UP, exceed-
ing the target of 7.80
lakh hectares set by the
Yogi Government for
this year in the state,
the data reveals.
In Lucknow alone,
mustard has been
grown on 15,000 hec-
tares this year while
earlier it was cultivated
on around 9,000 hec-
tares. The reason be-
hind farmers switching
to oilseed cultivation, in
general, is believed as
much to be the rise in oil
prices as the campaign
run by the Agriculture
Department at the be-
hest of Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath to en-
courage mustard culti-
vation in the state. So,
it will not be an exag-
geration to say that the
Yellow Revolution has
begun in UP
. As per gov-
ernment sources, Agri-
culture Department of-
ficials went from village
to village and encour-
aged farmers to culti-
vate mustard in order to
achieve the target of its
cultivation on 7.80 lakh
hectares. The officials
also informed farmers
about the importance of
taking timely care of
crops as well as ways
and means to achieve a
better yield. As a result,
more than 20 lakh farm-
ers in the state have
taken to mustard culti-
vation in the recent
past. The Agriculture
Department officials
claim that there will be
a bumper mustard pro-
duction this year in UP
after a gap of several
years and soon UP will
emerge as a major pro-
ducer of the crop within
the country. It is worth
mentioning here that
mustard was grown on
7 lakh hectares of land
in the state last year
while the total produc-
tion was 10.07 lakh met-
ric tonnes.
The officials of the
Agriculture Depart-
ment said that the pro-
duction of mustard will
be much more this year
in UP than last year be-
cause of its cultivation
on a much larger piece
of land. At present, UP
ranks second after Mad-
hya Pradesh in the pro-
duction of oilseeds in
the country, accounting
for 16 per cent of the to-
tal production of the
crop in the country
.
Muzaffarnagar: Two
cases of abduction of
girls have been regis-
tered in the district,
police said on Thurs-
day. A Class XII student
was allegedly abducted
by a youth under Bhopa
police station limits on
Wednesday. The girl’s
parents have in the
complaint alleged that
she was kidnapped
from the house, police
said, adding they are
investigating.
In another case, a
woman filed a com-
plaint at the Kotwali
police station that her
daughter was abducted
by four men from their
house. She named the
accused as Faisal, Sat-
tar, Gulshan and Meh-
raj. In a separate case
in Chapar, angry locals
and members of the
Bhim Army staged a
protest outside the po-
lice station alleging the
incompetence of the
police in tracing the
men who kidnapped a
girl from Khudda vil-
lage sometime ago.
Station House Officer
Akhilesh Singh said the
police had rescued the
girl but they were yet to
nab the accused. —PTI
First India Bureau
Agra: The Agra Police
have arrested 7 mem-
bers of the hi-tech gang
for stealing luxury cars
from various places in
the city. The gang have
stolen 27 cars in the last
6 months from Agra.
Apart from stealing
cars, the gang also used
to smuggle ganja.
SP City Vikas Ku-
mar said that the gang
has been caught by the
SWAT team, SOG, CIW
and 3 police stations.
Seven members of the
gang include Hridesh
Bhadauria, his broth-
er Pradeep Bhadauria,
Shailendra Sikarwar,
Suresh, Vikram, Sunil
Chak Vinay and Arida-
man Bose. After steal-
ing, the gang used to
sell cars to Raju Goli
alias Rajesh Sharma
in Agra, Madan Singh
Ara and Monu resi-
dent Patna for 2.5 to 3
lakh rupees. SP City
also told that they have
stolen cars in other
states as well.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
The arrested 7 members of hi-tech gang in police custody.
OILSEEDS
PRODUCTION IN
THE COUNTRY
Madhya Pradesh,
which is the top
producer of oilseeds,
accounts for the high-
est 24%, Maharashtra
comes third with 14%.
Andhra Pradesh, Kar-
nataka and Rajasthan
constitute 10%, 7%
6% respectively of the
total oilseed produc-
tion. Gujarat, Chhattis-
garh, Bihar, Orissa and
Jharkhand collectively
account for 23% of the
total oilseeds produc-
tion in the country.
UP topped in mus-
tard production
25 years ago. How-
ever, the area of cul-
tivation of mustard
shrank in course of
time due to increase
in wheat farming with
introduction of its
new varieties.
The cultivation of oilseeds is on the rise
in UP, thanks to the steps taken by the
state Govt led by CM Yogi Adityanath
The area of mustard cultivation has
grown by 35% this year as compared to
last year, as per the latest agri dept data
First India Bureau
Lucknow: National
Rural Livelihoods has
made a significant con-
tribution to improving
rural livelihoods in UP.
The reduction of rural
poverty through liveli-
hoods promotion has
been a unifying goal of
the Yogi government.
Women are getting di-
rectly benefitted from
various schemes under
Mission Shakti Abhi-
yan as well as State Ru-
ral Livelihood Mission.
Through self-help
groups, women are join-
ing the mainstream of
employment and sup-
porting their families.
Amidst the pandemic,
these Self Help Groups
manufactured masks
and PPE kits on a large
scale along with organ-
izing awareness pro-
grammes at the village
level in the state. In the
year 20-21, more than
1.23 crore face masks
have been made by vari-
ous Self-Help Groups
across the state by 20,386
members of SHGs. Also,
over 50,714 PPE kits
were produced by 1,223
members of SHGs. Be-
sides, as much as 19,921
litres of sanitiser was
also produced by 559
members of these
groups. So far this year,
morethan15lakhmasks
havebeenmanufactured
by the WSHGs. As per
theinformationgivenby
Director, State Rural
Livelihood Mission,
Bhanu Goswami, “We
are continuously work-
ing towards promoting
awareness regarding
beneficial schemes of
the state government
among the rural women
and providing them new
opportunities of em-
ployment by connecting
them with small cottage
industries. Now, more
and more women are be-
coming self-reliant.”
Ruralwomenearning`6000
monthlybymanufacturingmasks
RISE IN MONTHLY INCOME OF WOMEN
Under the mission, masks were provided to the
staff of the Police Department, Health Depart-
ment, Panchayati Raj Department, Vikas Bhawan
and other departments on behalf of the women
of Self Help Groups. With the manufacturing of
masks, each member of these women self-help
groups are earning an average monthly income of
Rs 6000. To make women self-reliant, more than
1.98 lakh members of self-help groups have been
provided loans through the mission.
Two girls kidnapped
in separate cases
in Muzaffarnagar
AGRAPOLICEBUSTHI-TECHGANGOFLUXURYCARTHIEVES
The gang
members used
an electronic
device worth Rs
1.5 lakh to
unlock and steal
luxury cars
First India Bureau
Agra: In the dispute of
Chak Road in Kheda
Rathore village under
Bah tehsil of Agra, two
cousins were shot dead
by miscreants. The mur-
der has caused panic in
thearea.SSPSudhirKu-
mar from Agra, SP Pro-
tocol the forces of sev-
eral police stations
reached the spot after
receiving information.
It has been reported that
there was a dispute be-
tween two parties on
Thursday
. SSP said that
Mahesh Dinesh, cous-
ins of Kheda Rathore
village, were watering
their fields during
which the people of
Kalyan Singh opened
fire on Dinesh, son Atar
Singh (44) and Mahesh,
son Kamal Singh (38).
The culprits then fled
fromthespotafterfiring
the injured were tak-
en to the health centre
where doctors declared
them brought dead.
The family villagers mourn the death of the two cousins.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the ‘Hindu Ekta
Mahakumbh’ in Chitrakoot. —PHOTO BY ANI
BJP IN EXPANSION MODE
Leaders from various political parties join BJP in presence of President of BJP’s Joining
Committee Laxmikant Bajpai at the party office in Lucknow on Thursday.
PANIC AFTER 2 COUSINS SHOT DEAD
YELLOW REVOLUTION
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

08
2NDFRONT
India and its secular fibre is an
inherent part of each Indian -
all religion - together to stand
for India - this is the idea of India.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Surya Command celebrated Vijay Diwas to pay respects to the 1971 martyrs, at Command
War Memorial in Lucknow on Thursday.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Surya
Command celebrated
Vijay Diwas on Thurs-
day at the Command
War Memorial ‘SMRI-
TIKA’. On the occa-
sion, Lt Gen Yogendra
Dimri, Ati Vishist
Seva Medal, Vishisht
Seva Medal, GOC-in-C
Surya Command, paid
homage to the gallant
martyrs of the 1971
Warbylayingawreath
at the Memorial.
Veterans, Veer Na-
ris and all ranks of
Surya Command also
attended the ceremo-
ny and paid their re-
spects to the martyrs.
After the ceremony,
theArmyCommander
interacted with the
veterans and the sol-
diers wherein he con-
veyed his gratitude to
the Veterans and Veer
Naris for their invalu-
able contribution and
exhorted all present
serving soldiers to
continue to uphold the
glorious virtues and
traditions of the Indi-
an Armed Forces.
In December 1971,
in a short and swift
military offensive, the
Indian Armed Forces
achieved a decisive
and resounding victo-
ry over Pakistan. The
war which com-
menced on December
3, 1971 saw valiant ac-
tions by the Indian sol-
diers and resulted in
theformationof anew
nation - Bangladesh.
The instrument of
surrender was signed
between Lt Gen AAK
Niazi and Lt Gen Jag-
jit Singh Aurora in
Dhaka on 16 Dec 1971.
The day is celebrated
by the nation as Vijay
Diwas.The event
marked the culmina-
tion of the yearlong
Swarnim Vijay Varsh
celebrations by the In-
dian Armed Forces.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Partychief AkhileshYa-
davonThursdaymethis
uncle Shivpal Singh Ya-
dav on Thursday and
announced an alliance
withhisPragatisheelSa-
majwadi Party (Lohia).
The meeting between
the two leaders came al-
mostfiveyearsafterthey
parted ways following a
bitter public power tus-
slethathadledtoShivpal
Yadav’s sacking as a
ministerintheAkhilesh
Yadav cabinet in 2016.
“Met national presi-
dent of PSPL and final-
ised the alliance. The
SP’s policy to take along
regional parties is
strengthening the party
and taking SP and its al-
lies towards victory
,”
Akhilesh Yadav said in a
tweet in Hindi after the
meeting at his uncle’s
residence.
Healsosharedaphoto
with Shivpal Yadav, 66.
Hundreds of supporters
of the parties gathered
outside Shivpal Yadav’s
residence, raising the
sloganof “Chacha-Bhati-
ja zindabad”.
Reacting to the meet-
ingbetweenthetwolead-
ers, BJP leader and Dep-
uty CM Keshav Prasad
Maurya said it will have
no adverse bearing on
his party’s prospects in
the polls.
The BJP is going to
form a majority govern-
ment again in 2022 by
winning over 300 seats.
Whether there was a
meeting of ‘Chacha’
-Bhatija’ or ‘Bua’ -’Bhati-
ja’ or SP or Congress or
all of them, only lotus
(BJP’s election symbol)
will bloom, he said.
VIJAY DIWAS
Vijay Diwas celebrated to
mark 50 yrs of 1971 war
RAHUL SPEARHEADING CHARGE
TO RECLAIM BASTION OF AMETHI
After a lapse of two-and-a-half years, he will
mark his presence in Amethi on Dec 18
Along with the BJP, the Samajwadi Party is
also making efforts to get a grip on Amethi
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: Amethi,
which is considered to
be one of the family
bastions of the Gand-
hi family, has come
into the focus of the
Congress camp after a
long gap. Because af-
ter losing the election
from this Lok Sabha
seat, Rahul Gandhi is
reaching here on a
two-day tour.
Rahul Gandhi
reached Amethi on 24
May 2019, a week after
the Lok Sabha election
results were declared.
After this, he had ap-
parently forgotten this
traditional electoral
constituency of his
family, now after a
lapse of two and a half
years, he will mark his
presence in Amethi on
December 18. It is be-
lieved that through this
tour, he will try to
strengthen the roots of
Congress in Amethi in
the upcoming assembly
elections in UP.
It is noteworthy that
the present Union Min-
ister Smriti Irani con-
tested the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections against
Rahul Gandhi in Ame-
thi, but had to face de-
feat on this seat, which
has been a stronghold
of the Gandhi family
for three generations.
After losing the elec-
tions in 2014, she came
repeatedly and made
all efforts to bond with
locals. The tireless ef-
forts of this BJP veter-
an brought fruitful re-
sults for the Saffron
party. The Congress
could not get a single
seat in Amethi in the
2017 assembly elec-
tions, while the BJP
won four of the five
seats here.
And in the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections, she
surprised the political
pundits by defeating
Rahul Gandhi by a
margin of 55,120 votes.
According to political
analyst Pawan Upad-
hyay, BJP’s strong orga-
nizational structure
and Smriti Irani’s ef-
forts are crucial factors
in establishing the par-
ty’s roots in Amethi,
but the widening gap
with the ordinary peo-
ple and poor campaign
management also
played a decisive role
in weakening the Con-
gress here. Now along
with the BJP, the Sam-
ajwadi Party is also
making efforts to make
a hold in Amethi. Re-
cently, Mulayam Singh
Yadav’s daughter-in-
law Aparna Yadav had
expressed her desire to
contest from Amethi.
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Political
mercury is all set to rise
even further in UP with
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, who has al-
ready paid six visits in
the past eight weeks,
storming the poll-
bound State with four
more visits over the
fortnight.
The PM knows that
the route to New Delhi
in 2024 goes through the
UP assembly polls in
2022. With the model
code of conduct to be
implemented in Janu-
ary, the BJP has gone
into overdrive on proj-
ect-inauguration spree
roping in PM Modi to
lead the high decibel
campaign as the sun
sets on 2021.
According to party
itinerary
, the PM will be
in Shahjahanpur on De-
cember 18 to lay the
foundation stone of the
594-km long Ganga Ex-
pressway from Meerut
to Prayagraj. Three
days later he will be in
Allahabad now
Prayagraj on December
21 to address an
all-women employees
show. In what would be
one of his first direct
interaction with farm-
ers after the decision to
repeal three conten-
tious agriculture re-
form laws, PM Modi
will address a farmers’
convention on cow-
based organic agricul-
ture in Varanasi on De-
cember 23. Farmers en-
gaged in cow-based ag-
riculture in different
states of the country
and using cow dung ma-
nure in farming have
also been invited.
The PM will round up
his UP tour with the
big-ticket launch of
Kanpur Metro Rail ser-
vice on December 28
and also attend the IIT
Kanpur convocation.
For the unversed, the
PM has already visited
Uttar Pradesh six times
in the past month— to
Gorakhpur, Sultanpur,
Varanasi, Jhansi,
Greater Noida and Bal-
rampur— for unveiling
projects.
SP President Akhilesh Yadav with his uncle Pragatisheel SP
(Lohia) chief Shivpal Yadav in Lucknow on Thursday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi. —PHOTO BY ANI
PAST RECORD
FARM CONNECT
Finally, Chacha-Bhatija
come together
SP founder
Mulayam Singh
Yadav was also
present at
Shivpal Yadav’s
residence before
Akhilesh Yadav
reached there
PM to round off his UP poll
blitz with 4 visits by Dec end
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Law Minister
Brajesh Pathak on
Thursday dismissed
the Opposition charge
that Brahmins are un-
happy with the BJP
and alleged that the
community faced max-
imum atrocities during
the Samajwadi Party
regime.
He claimed that the
community is backing
his party and those “ea-
ger to grab power” are
creating confusion.
“Our government is
moving forward taking
all sections of society
along. The entire Brah-
min community is with
the BJP,” Pathak told
PTI. “People of state
know that the Brahmin
community faced maxi-
mum atrocities during
the previous SP regime.
The SP government was
anti-Brahmin,” the
minister said.
The statement by
Pathak has come days
after former minister
Harishankar Tiwari’s
family members joined
the Samajwadi Party
(SP) and alleged atroci-
ties against the commu-
nity in the state’s Gora-
khpur, Raebareli and
Kanpur.
Gorakhpur was the
Lok Sabha constituency
of Yogi Adityanath be-
fore he was sworn-in as
the Uttar Pradesh chief
minister after the 2017
Assembly elections.
Pathak has been
tasked with wooing
Brahmins voters ahead
of the Assembly elec-
tions next year by the
BJP
. The minister said
members of the Tiwari
family joining the SP
will not have any impact
on the elections.When
askedthattheBJPnever
made any Brahmin its
CM face in UP
, Pathak
claimed his party never
takes decisions on the
basis of caste and reli-
gion.The party worker
who does good work is
given a chance, he said,
adding it is decided at
thepartyforumunitedly
.
About Brahmin
MLA Jai Chaubey join-
ing the SP, Pathak said
he was involved in “an-
ti-party activities” and
was told a year ago
not to attend party
meetings. —PTI
Brahmins faced max atrocities under SP rule, alleges Pathak
COUNTER ATTACK
Brajesh Pathak meets family members of murdered Hindu Samaj
Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Sitapur. —FILE PHOTO
HM TO ATTEND NISHAD’S SHOW OF STRENGTH
SHAH IN
LUCKNOW
TODAY
First India Bureau
Lucknow:UnionHome
Minister Amit Shah is
scheduled to attend the
‘sarkar banao adhikaar
pao’ maha rally of the
Nishad Party at Rama
Bai Ambedkar Maidan
in Lucknow on Friday
..
“Amit Shah is slated
to attend the event,”
said Nishad Party
chief Sanjay Nishad.
He will also inaugurate
23 new branches of Ut-
tar Pradesh Coopera-
tive Bank between 3.45
pm and 4.45 pm and
dedicate 29 godowns of
UP State Warehousing
Corporation.
The Home Minister
is also expected to at-
tend the inauguration
of theseventhNational
Convention of Sahakar
Bharati between 4.45
pm and 6.40 pm.
His visit to UP to attend
the rally comes after
the BJP in September
end this year formally
announced an alliance
with the Nishad (Nir-
bal Indian Shoshit Hu-
mara Aam Dal) party
led by Sanjay Nishad.
—FILE PHOTO

LUCKNOW, FRIDAY
DECEMBER 17, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Expression
OF AN ARTIST
Rishika, one of the top 10 finalists of the First Miss
India 2021 and an ace dancer from Pink city shared
insights about her modelling career with City First!
here are no
taxes on
dreams but
to turn
them into
reality does
require a
sheer amount of
talent, grit and per-
severance. These
are the traits of the
modelling journey
of Rishika Chand-
nani, a model from
Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Rishika, one of
the top 10 finalists
of the First Miss In-
dia 2021 and an ace
dancer from Pink
city shared insights
about her modelling
career with City
First.
Talking about her
onset in the indus-
try, Rishika remi-
nisced, “My journey
as a model began
two years back
when I decided to
work on my body
weight (70kg) and
worked hard to get
in shape to come
this far. Being a
model has always
been my passion. I
love to be on stage,
expressing myself
as I’m also a profes-
sional dancer.”
Rishika then
talked about
her inspi-
ration in life and
said, “My father al-
ways inspired me at
every point in time.
I lost him due to
Covid-19 in 2020 as
it became the dark-
est time of my life
where I locked my-
self in the home for
more than 8 months
but picked myself
up and I worked on
my skills and be-
came a better ver-
sion as my father is
always watching me
from the heaven and
I have to keep mak-
ing him proud.”
When asked about
her journey in the
First Miss India
2021, Rishika said,
“Being a part of
First Miss India was
a golden opportuni-
ty for me. It taught
me so many things
but the one thing I
learned is to stand
out with yourself.
And being the part
of the top 10 final-
ists with the crown
on my head was like
a dream come true.”
MONICA PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
SARAH S CORDA, Actor
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You are a pro in
your field and
none can beat
you. Female Aries
are lioness and
women around
are often jealous.
You give tough
competition to
people. Many people get inspired by you.
You will get special treatment from your
dear ones.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You must create
an environment
of understanding
at home. You
need a break
from day to
tensions and the
way to cope up
with stress is to
meditate. You will succeed in any sort
of examination if you put your heart and
soul to it. Promotion can be expected
even if other are not.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You are
opportunist and
this will make
you successful.
Your spouse can
do anything for
your happiness.
There may be
delays in property
possession and it won’t effect you. You
are happy spending whole day at home.
Help your mothers at home to give them
a reason to smile.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You need help on
academic front
and you should
not shy away
from asking.
Your spouse
may make you
spend more than
you expected.
Fantastic day for investing money in stock
market. You miss your parents a lot and
somewhere fear to loose them. Admit
your faults in relationship.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
This is the
best time try
something new
with life give
yourself a new
purpose. You
will feel amorous
towards your
wife. Work on
your limitations, there can be no better
time than this. You have more opposite
sex friends than the same and you may
be judged sometimes but don’t care.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Don’t make
friends for money
and status rather
make friends who
will stick with you
forever. You care
about you lover
but somehow
hesitate in
expressing that care. On social front, you
may have to spend some extra money
in buying gifts for someone for some
specific occasion.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You make sure to
make things work
your way. You
are most wanted
by your friends.
Never demotivate
someone even if
someone is not
capable of doing
something. You can have romantic affair
in office and a serious one. You will invest
money in clothes and accessories today.
You are a God fearing person.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Best day to
buy gold and
silver or any
precious metal
for investment
sake. You love to
live close to your
family. You are a
child at heart and
never let this child die. You have a big
heart and you always help someone if you
can. Video gathering is possible as you
miss your social circle like anything.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Just do whatever
you can do to
cheer everyone
up. You will
feel financially
comfortable and
infant you are in
position to invest
money in some
new venture. Your personality will attract
many eligible bachelors. Spend time
talking with likeminded people as it will
make you feel good for now.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You always
maintain cordial
relationship with
everyone around
you. You workout
daily to keep
yourself fit and
be active. You
may start a side
business to earn extra money. You are not
the very jealous kind and you feel happy
for others. You are a very grounded
person.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You are very
fortunate to have
a great friend
circle. You are
very generous
and also the
backbone of your
family. Today is a
favourable day for
business. You may postpone your study
plans. Be careful of the words that come
out of your mouth. Your lover may finally
say yes to get married to you.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Take stand where
you need to,
don’t run in the
same direction as
everybody else.
Visit a doctor
if you have any
doubts about
your health. Let
go of things that are not in your control.
You want to have your own house and
you will work hard to make your dream
come true.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
inter is here! Are
you prepared to
welcome the sea-
son of festivities
with the right
kind of fragranc-
es? It is essential
to choose the right perfume
for the right occasion and
winter months demand extra
attention to make sure your
personality gets the attention
it needs. Choosing the right
perfume for oneself or gift
someone is difficult some-
times. The various notes,
types of perfumes, sizes and
variations can be a time-con-
suming task. So to add some
charm to your sweet abode
with intoxicating fragrances
FIRST INDIA spoke to In-
dore’s perfumer, Rishi Sug-
andhi to get you a handy
guide on how to pick a per-
fume for yourself.
Rishi says, Our body heat
plays a very important role
in the projection of the per-
fume we wear. It helps the
perfume to project farther
and evaporate faster. Per-
fumes with light floral, cit-
rus or aquatic notes are
more volatile and tend to get
muted during the winter
season. An ideal perfume for
the winters should be warm-
er, deeper and more concen-
trated perfumes for the fra-
grance to last longer and
spread further. Thus, even if
the body temperature is low-
er, the fragrance will still be
able to make an impact or
leave you feeling fresh for a
longer period of time in or-
der to find the best perfume
for yourself.
Most loved fragrances:
If you are looking out to
add a new fragrance to your
collection, here are some of
the notes that you must con-
sider before buying a per-
fume:
 Woody (oudh, cedarwood,
patchouli, vetiver)
 Aqua
 Gourmand smells (vanilla,
chocolate, coconut)
 Oriental Spices (cinnamon,
clove, nutmeg)
 Citrus
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE
Perfumes are available in dif-
ferent sizes these days. It is
very important to choose the
right size. There are different
sizes available, however; one
should opt for either a 5 ml or
10 ml bottle. These sizes come
in handy and can be carried
anywhere, without taking
much space.
THE RIGHT WAY TO TRY A
PERFUME
When you are trying a per-
fume, you not only need to
understand its fragrance but
also how it grows on you. One
must apply for the 357 Thumb
Rule, where 3 stand for neck,
5 stand for back and 7 stand
for the foot. When you are
trying a perfume, you should
wear it on your wrist first
and then smell it. Some per-
fume takes time to smell
good, so smell them again in
a while.
WAY TO WEAR IT
According to Rishi, the right
way to wear perfume (roll-on
bottle) is to first apply it on
the wrist or back of the palm
and then rub it all over the
clothes. This increases the
longevity of the fragrance. In
the case of a spray bottle, he
suggests applying it from a
distance of at least six cen-
timeters from the chest.
PERFUME OILS
Perfume oils are fragrance
components, natural or syn-
thetic, in an oily base rather
than an alcohol base, and can
be used directly on the skin.
Perfume oils are considered
the safest and the best scents
to apply for natural and or-
ganic products.
Crack the art of
layering scents
There are no
wrong or right
combinations
when layering
fragrances. In the
end, the final scent
created by you
should appeal to
your sense and
persona
SHIVANI SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
W
Picking the right fragrance,
especially if you are buying it for
someone else, can be a tricky
job. Everyone has a different
choice but people these days,
mostly opt for pure essential oil
blends. And in these, the most
preferred choices are of lavender,
sage, rosemary, orange, neroli,
and peppermint among others.
—– Rishi Sungandhi, perfumer

Well, I have a pile of papers
that I need to go through
once but I deserve a break.
I am going to spend some time
listening to music, talk to my
friends and probably spend
some time alone.
—UNNATI SENANI
I remember going
off to Rantham-
bore with my
cousins and by
far, it’s the best
weekend getaway
I’ve had. Amidst
Safari, a luxurious
property and a
crazy game night,
I had a very relax-
ing time, a much
needed break
from the lock-
down. Looking to
plan something
similar for the last
weekend of the
year!
—RADHIKA
AGARWAL
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021
11
Preppingupforthe
WEEKEND!
CITY FIRST IN CONVERSATION
WITH OUR READERS FROM
RAJASTHAN, AHMEDABAD,
UTTAR PRADESH AND DELHI
WHO SHARED THEIR PLANS
FOR THE WEEKEND!
rust me it
will only
get better
than this.
You have
been work-
ing way too
hard this entire
week and it’s finally
Fri-yaaayyy! Most
of you must be plan-
ning to just sit back
and relax which are
much needed days,
others binge-watch
perhaps, I also sus-
pect that some of
you are planning to
go for a small hike
or perhaps plan out
a small weekend
getaway with your
buddies.
Let’s hear it from
our beloved readers
about their upcom-
ing weekend plans!
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
T
Now that I am blessed with a new
opportunity, I am going to trav-
el and unravel more parts of the
world. I am all set for winters and snow
and Christmas and I can’t wait to get out,
following all protocols obviously.
—KARISHMA GWALANI
I am a total sucker for
holidays, I would rush to the
nearest getaway possible,
chill out and just have fun. I
wouldn’t want to spend my time
looking at the walls and think
about what else could I be doing
today. As alwasys, I would make
the most out of this weekend too.
—PULKIT BHARDWAJ
I have been working pretty
hard to display my paintings
at an exhibition. So for now
I am going to sit and think about
new ideas and how to display
them. I am actually pretty excited
for the weekend, well, more or
less. I’ll sit back reflect.
—NADEEM KHAN
No, weekends are not for me.
I am going to get up on time,
clear the room, prepare myself
for the day and focus. A new day,
a new opportunity and a new be-
ginning. I’d get on my To-Do list.
—-ROSHAN KHAN

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