20012022 first india lucknow

New Delhi: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Wednesday hit out at
Samajwadi Party ac-
cusing it of giving tick-
ets to “rioters” for the
state polls and said it
was “on the backfoot”
after releasing its first
list of candidates.
In an interview with
ANI, Yogi said the oppo-
sition party was trying
to “bring ‘mafiavad’ in
the state once again”.
He said that during the
past five years of BJP
rule in the state, “pro-
fessional criminals”
and “rioters” either left
the state or had their
bails cancelled and
went back to jails.
He said Samajwadi
Party’s first list of can-
didates showed its
“criminal mindset”. “As
elections approached...
Samajwadi Party’s
first list (had) riot-
ers of Saharan-
pur, of Muzaffa-
rpur, the crimi-
nals responsi-
ble for migra-
tion of Hindu
traders from
Kairana. The way
tickets were given in
Bulandshahr, Siyana,
Loni, all this shows the
criminal mindset, ta-
manchawadi mentality
,
mafiavadi mentality.
These political parties,
whether Samajwadi
Party or Congress, have
not been able to get
over it,” he said.
“They are re-
sorting to it to
deprive the
state of devel-
opment and
bring back ma-
fiavad,” he said.
“One thing is clear
that‘SamajwadiPartyis
on the backfoot after re-
leasing their first list.
Now they are apprehen-
sive over releasing the
secondlist,”hesaid.The
CM said that the BJP
came to power in the
state in the 2017 polls on
the issues of “develop-
ment, good governance
and nationalism” and it
was seeking a mandate
on these issues in the
upcoming polls. —ANI
MAFIA-MUKT UP
‘Soch imaandar,kaam asardaar’:
JP Nadda on CM Yogi’s tenure
New Delhi: BJP na-
tional president JP Na-
dda on Wednesday
hailed the five-year ten-
ure of the Yogi Adity-
anath government in
Uttar Pradesh, saying
that “Soch imaandar
hai, kaam asardaar hai
(Intentions are honest,
work is powerful).”
Addressing a press
conferenceafteranNDA
meeting to decide seat-
sharingintheupcoming
UP polls, Nadda said,
“What we had said, we
have done.” He enumer-
ated the developmental
work done by the UP
government and said,
“If we talk about devel-
opment, it is seen even
as optics. Be it road con-
nectivity
, metro connec-
tivity or state highways,
work has been done at a
tremendous pace on the
ground in the last five
years. Turn to P2
SP is on backfoot after first list of ‘criminal’ candidates: Yogi
CM Yogi Adityanath arrives for the BJP Central Election
Committee meeting at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President
JP Nadda, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the
UP Election Meeting at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
UP
17,776
NEW
CASES
3,517
NEW CASES
IN LUCKNOW
7
NEW DEATHS
LUCKNOW l THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 70
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
India’s Sania Mirza announced her retirement plans on Wednesday. The news
comes after her defeat in the first round of women’s doubles at the Australian
Open 2022. Sania said 2022 is going to be her last season on the tour. After
she announced her decision, fans flooded social media with heartfelt tweets for
the ace tennis player. Twitter users thanked her for the glorious years.
Sensex ended at 60,098.82 points, which was 656.04 points or 1.08 per cent
down from its previous day’s close. The broader Nifty 50 ended at 17,945.30
points, which is 0.93 per cent or 167.75 points down from its previous day’s
close. The Nifty touched a high of 18,129.20 points and low of 17,884.90
points. While shares of IT dragged, metals saw a steep rise on Wednesday.
SANIA ANNOUNCES
RETIREMENT: 2022
WILL BE HER
FINAL SEASON
SENSEX PLUNGES
656 POINTS, NIFTY
ENDS BELOW 18,000;
METALS SHINE
‘CHAOTIC’BJPTAKES
ONEFROMSPCAMP
Aparna Yadav joins BJP, likely to
be fielded as candidate in UP polls
Aparna, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Pratik’s wife, joined BJP in
Delhi in the presence of BJP National President JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh
CM Yogi Adityanath, UP Deputy CMs and party’s state chief Swatandra Dev
Punjab: No CM
face, Cong to
contest under
collective
leadership
New Delhi: Amid
tussle over the Con-
gress party’s chief
ministerial (CM) face
in Punjab, state Con-
gress in-charge Har-
ish Choudhary on
Wednesday said the
party would contest
the Assembly elec-
tions 2022 under the
collective leadership.
Harish Choudhary
claimed that the Con-
gress would win more
seats than it had se-
cured in the 2017 As-
sembly elections in
Punjab.
Refuting any differ-
ence of opinion be-
tween Navjot Singh
Sidhu and Chief Min-
ister Charanjit Singh
Channi, Chaudhary
said “all is well” in-
side the party
.
Mohd Fahad Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Samajwadi
Party (SP) patron Mu-
layam Singh Yadav’s
daughter-in-law Apar-
na Yadav Wednesday
joined the BJP in Delhi
ahead of the upcoming
Uttar Pradesh election.
She is likely to be field-
ed as a candidate in the
election, said BJP
sources.
The switch, a shot in
the arm for BJP, comes
at a time when a slew of
OBC leaders are quit-
ting the saffron party
and joining the SP
, hurt-
ing BJP’s narrative in
the poll-bound state.
Aparna, Mulayam
Singh Yadav’s younger
son Pratik’s wife, joined
the BJP at the national
headquarters in Delhi
in the presence of Uttar
Pradesh Deputy Chief
Minister Keshav Pras-
ad Maurya and the par-
ty’s state chief Swa-
tandra Dev Singh.
Aparna contested and
lost 2017 polls to BJP’s
Rita Joshi from Luc-
know Cantt. See also P8
Jan 27: PM to host first
India-Central Asia meet
New Delhi: After ris-
ing Covid-19 cases can-
celled the visit of the
leaders of five central
Asian nations, the Min-
istry of External Af-
fairs on Wednesday said
India will host the Pres-
idents of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyz Republic, Tajik-
istan, Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan virtu-
ally
. The summit will be
held a day after Repub-
lic Day, which the five
presidents were to at-
tend as chief guests.
Themeetingissignifi-
cantgiventhat3of these
5 nations — Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uz-
bekistan—sharebound-
aries with Afghanistan,
where Taliban takeover
in August last year left
India concerned.
INDIA LOSE TO SA BY 31 RUNS
SC considers hearing PIL on use of EVMs
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court Wednes-
day agreed to consider
listing a PIL challeng-
ing the Constitutional
validity of a provision
of the Representation
of People Act which had
led to the introduction
of electronic voting ma-
chines (EVMs) instead
of ballot papers for polls
in the country
.
A bench comprising
Chief Justice of India
(CJI)NVRamanaheard
the submissions of law-
yer ML Sharma, who
filed the plea in his per-
sonal capacity, that the
petition required hear-
ing in view of upcoming
assembly polls in five
states — Uttar Pradesh,
Goa, Punjab, Manipur
and Uttarakhand.
“We will see it… I
may list it before some
other bench as well,”
the CJI said.
Sharma said Section
61A of the Representa-
tionof PeopleAct,which
permitted the use of
EVMs,wasnotpassedby
Parliament and hence
cannot be imposed.
Bengaluru: TwoIndiGo
flights that took off from
the Kempegowda Inter-
national Airport in Ben-
galuru on January 7 had
come close to colliding
with each other mid-air
whiletakingoff,revealed
chief of DirectorateGen-
eral of Civil Aviation
(DGCA) Arun Kumar.
Kumar has ordered a
probe and said strict ac-
tionwillbetakenagainst
thoseresponsibleforthe
error. Another senior of-
ficer of DGCA said,
“The north runway was
being used for depar-
tures and the south run-
wayforarrivalof flights.
But later, the shift in-
charge decided to close
the south runway but
did not inform the air
traffic controller of the
south tower.”
Luckily, radar con-
troller spotted the error
and alerted the pilots.
400 lives were at stake: DGCA orders probe
into Jan 7 near miss involving Indigo aircrafts
PM MODI TO VIRTUALLY ADDRESS
‘AZADI KE AMRIT MAHOTSAV SE
SWARNIM BHARAT KI ORE’ TODAY
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
deliver the keynote address at the national launch
ceremony of ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav se Swarnim
Bharat Ke Ore’ on Thursday at 10:30 AM through
virtual mode. Year-long initiatives dedicated to
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by the Brahma Kumaris
will be unveiled as part of the program. These
initiatives include over 30 campaigns and more
than 15,000 programs and events, according to a
statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
INDIA EXTENDS
BAN ON INT’L
FLIGHTS TILL FEB 28
New Delhi: The DGCA on
Wednesday announced
the extension of ban on
scheduled commercial
passenger flights till
February 28. All flights
under Air Bubble
agreements and Mission
Vande Bharat will continue
to operate as before.
l India’s inexplicable
middle-order collapse
ensured that fine half-
centuries from Shikhar
Dhawan and Virat Kohli did
not count for much as the
team was handed a 31-run
defeat by a resolute South
Africa in the opening ODI
in Paarl on Wednesday.
l Chasing 297, India were
cruising at 138 for one
before wickets fell in a
heap dashing the hopes of
the visitors who trail 0-1
in the three-match series.
India’s ended at 265/8.
l South Africa skipper
Temba Bavuma (110
off 143) and Rassie van
der Dussen (129 not
out off 96) had scored
contrasting hundreds en
route to their 204-run
stand to take South Africa
to 296 for four.
YADAV’S CHEEKY
RETORT TO BJP’S
APARNA GAIN
WILL ASK PEOPLE OF AZAMGARH:
AKHILESH ON FIGHTING POLLS
Lucknow: Akhilesh
Yadav, reacting to his
relative Aparna Yadav
switching to the BJP
weeks before Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections, said that he
hoped she “carries our
ideology to the BJP”.
“I want to thank the
BJP that they are giving
tickets to those who
even we are unable
to give tickets to,”
Akhilesh Yadav quipped
in trademark humour.
Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav refused to
confirm reports that he was contesting
polls. “I will seek the permission of people
of Azamgarh if I decide to contest
the elections. I need to seek their
permission because they elected
me from there,” he said.
RAKESH TIKAIT DENIES EXTENDING
SUPPORT TO ANY POLITICAL PARTY
Prayagraj: National spokesman of Bharatiya Kisan
Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait has denied the reports of
the Union extending support to any political party in
the run-up to the assembly elections in five states.
On Sunday, Naresh Tikait had appealed for support to
Rashtriya Lok Dal-Samajwadi Party alliance in the UP
polls. However, he later withdrew his statement.
ORDER RESERVED
The Supreme Court
reserved order on
pleas filed by 12 BJP
MLAs challenging their
one-year suspension
from Maharashtra
Assembly for allegedly
misbehaving with
the presiding officer.
A three-judge bench
asked parties to file
written submissions
within a week.
Aparna Yadav, ex-Uttar Pradesh CM Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law being greeted by BJP
National President JP Nadda, at BJP HQ in New Delhi on Wednesday. UP CM Yogi Adityanath, UP Dy
CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, and BJP UP chief Swatantra Dev Singh also seen.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
02
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Lucknow: Bharatiya
Janata Party on
Wednesday announced
that it will contest the
upcoming Assembly
polls in Uttar Pradesh
scheduled next month
with the NDA allies in-
cluding Apna Dal and
Nishad Party on all 403
Assembly seats.
“NDA allies are con-
testing together just
like we did in 2019 Lok
Sabha elections. BJP,
Apna Dal and Nishad
Party will jointly con-
test polls on 403 seats in
upcoming UP Assembly
Polls. We have had a de-
tailed discussion with
both of the parties in
the past few days,” BJP
national president JP
Nadda said while ad-
dressing a press confer-
ence here.
The announcement
comes on the day that
Aparna Yadav, Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) leader
and daughter-in-law of
former CM Mulayam
Singh Yadav joined BJP
.
Earlier last week, BJP
had released its first list
of 107 candidates for
the first and second
phase of the upcoming
UP Polls that are sched-
uled to be held on Feb-
ruary 10 and 14.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath will contest
from the Gorakhpur As-
sembly constituency.
Deputy Chief Minister
Keshav Prasad Maurya
will contest from Sir-
athu in the Prayagraj
district.
The 403-member as-
sembly of UP will vote
in all seven phases will
polling to be held on
February 10, 14, 20, 23,
27 and March 3 and 7.
The counting of votes
will take place on
March 10. —ANI
Apna Dal, Nishad Party with BJP, seat division not yet decided

BJP, allies
have been
fighting
together in
the past and
look forward
to a
thumping
victory
SHAH TWEETS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President J.P Nadda, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,
with alliance leaders Sanjay Nishad of Nishad party and Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal (Sonelal), pose
for a group photo at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
ELECTION WATCH
NOIDA JINX: YOGI ADTITYANATH
TAKES A JIBE AT AKHILESH, MAYA
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath visited
Gautam Buddh Nagar
on Wednesday and hit
out at BSP supremo
Mayawati and Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav, saying his
predecessors hesitated
coming here as they did
not have any agenda for
the growth and well-be-
ing of people.
Visiting Noida, ad-
joining Delhi, in west-
ern Uttar Pradesh’s
Gautam Buddh Nagar
district was considered
a “jinx” among the lead-
ers of political parties
in the past, who be-
lieved that visiting the
area was a bad omen for
a chief minister.
Mayawati visited
Gautam Buddh Nagar
and his party lost the
2012 polls, while Yadav
paid no visit to the dis-
trict during his tenure
as chief minister from
2012 to 2017.
However, Yogi Adity-
anath, who became the
chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh in the year 2017
with a strong mandate,
has frequently visited
the state’s financial cap-
ital over the years and
used the opportunities
to hit out at his prede-
cessors over the super-
stitious belief.
On Wednesday, the
BJP leader said he was
in Gautam Buddh Na-
gar to review the prepa-
rations for the third
wave of the COVID-19
pandemic, considering
the proximity of the
district to Delhi and the
frequent movement of
people to and fro the na-
tional capital.
On previous CMs not
visiting Gautam Buddh
Nagar, Yogi said,“They
were hesitant about vis-
iting Gautam Buddh
Nagar.
But I have got multi-
ple opportunities to
visit Gautam Buddh
Nagar, including dur-
ing the pandemic.” —PTI
UP CM TARGETS EX CMS FOR REFRAINING FROM VISITING GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressing during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the
Noida International Airport in Jewar. —FILE PHOTO
PREV CMS HESITANT
Covid-III: High Court
extends all interim
orders till Feb 28
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Keeping
in view increasing
cases of COVID-19,
the Allahabad High
Court has extended
all interim orders
passed by the High
Court at Allahabad
as well its Lucknow
bench, all the dis-
trict courts and oth-
er courts across the
state, which were
subsisting on De-
cember 31, till Febru-
ary 28, 2022.
Hearing the suo
motu PIL, a division
bench comprising
Chief Justice Rajesh
Bindal and Justice
Piyush Agrawal fur-
ther directed that
the criminal courts
in the state, which
granted bail orders
or anticipatory bail
for a limited period,
which are likely to
expire on or before
December 28, 2022,
shall stand extended
for a period till Feb-
ruary 28, 2022.
“Any orders of evic-
tion, dispossession
or demolition, al-
ready passed by the
high court, district
court or civil court,
if not executed till
the date of passing
of this order, shall
remain in abeyance
for the period till
February 28, 2022,
the court added.
Besides, any bank
or financial institu-
tion shall not take
any action for auc-
tion in respect of
any property or an
institute or person
or party or anybody
corporate till Febru-
ary 28, 2022, the
court added.
However, the court
made it clear that in
case of extension of
interim orders as
per the present or-
der, any undue hard-
ship and prejudice
of any extreme na-
ture is caused to any
of the party to such
proceedings, the said
party/parties would
be at liberty to seek
appropriate relief by
moving appropriate
application before
the competent court
or tribunal.
3RD WAVE UNDER CONTROL,
claims CM Yogi Adityanath
First India Bureau
Greater Noida: “The
third wave of Covid-19
is perfectly under con-
trol in Uttar Pradesh
and also in Gautam
Buddh Nagar and we
are constantly moni-
toring the situation in
Gautam Buddh Nagar
because of its proxim-
ity to New Delhi and
large number of peo-
ple travelling between
the two places”, said
CM Yogi on Wednes-
day
.
Speaking to the me-
dia following a visit to
the Government Insti-
tute of Medical Sci-
ences (GIMS) to take
stock of the prepara-
tions to tackle Covid
cases, the CM said
that Gautam Buddh
Nagar has already
achieved the target of
giving first dose of
Covid vaccine to 100
% of eligible popula-
tion whereas the sec-
ond dose has been ad-
ministered to 92 % of
its population.
He added that a to-
tal of 62.83 lakh ado-
lescents aged between
15 to 17 years have got
the first dose of the
vaccine in UP to date
of which 1.16 lakh are
in Gautam Buddh Na-
gar alone. Besides,
5.29 lakh people in-
cluding elderly and
healthcare workers
have got the precau-
tionary dose of the
vaccine, he added.
Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath dur-
ing his address re-
marked that of the 551
oxygen plants set up
in Uttar Pradesh, 11
existed in Gautam
Buddh Nagar. The
district is fully
equipped to deal with
Covid cases with
450-bedded hospital,
including 300 beds
with oxygen and 120
with ventillators .
CM Yogi in his in-
teraction further add-
ed that there was no
dearth of vaccines
and that the Health
Department was keep-
ing constant vigil on
the situation through
vigilance committees.
The Chief Minister
further added that
door to door screen-
ing campaigns are be-
ing held in villages
and in localities
through healthcare
workers to detect sus-
pected cases and ad-
mit those in need of
treatment to hospitals
through Rapid Re-
sponse Teams.
CM presides over a virtual meet of Team 9 discussing the
state of Covid spread in the state on Wednesday.
ONLY 0.5% CASES IN HOSPITALS: CM
ACT ‘SLOW’
Have made no such demand of 36
seats from BJP, claims Anupriya
Lucknow: Union Min-
ister of State for Com-
merce and Industry and
national president of
Apna Dal party Anu-
priya Patel on Wednes-
day refuted reports that
the party has demanded
36 assembly seats from
the BJP in the forth-
coming polls.
“I do not know where
this figure is coming
from. I have made no
demand of 36 seats from
BJP
. We have not quoted
anything regarding the
number of seats in
front of the media. Our
talks are going in a good
direction,” Patel told
ANI on the speculation
of demand of 36 seats
by the Apna Dal.
“Winnability is the
only criteria that we
have to demand the
seats. We have to work
and ensure a better Ut-
tar Pradesh and I’m
sure we will get another
term. The seat-sharing
formula is working in a
good and positive man-
ner,” she said when
asked about their par-
ty’s criteria for asking
for seats.
“Apna Dal for a very
long time is a part of
NDA alliance. UP needs
both social justice and
development and our al-
liance has proved to be
a good cocktail of social
justice and develop-
ment,” she said. —ANI
Nadda praises improvement in
Law Order conditions of UP
Continued from page 1
UP has improved in
the education field
as well, especially in
medical education.”
“If we talk about
investment, today
Uttar Pradesh has
become a destina-
tion for investment.
There was a time
when the investors
were withdrawing
their investments.
Today they are in-
vesting there. It is
because of the politi-
cal environment that
has been established
in the state,” Nadda
added.
Stressing on the
law-and-order situa-
tioninUttarPradesh,
the BJP national
president said”,
“Law and order
has been a big issue
in Uttar Pradesh. I
always remind peo-
ple to remember the
scenario before five
years in the state.
There was migra-
tion, kidnapping, the
mafia of all kinds
were active. There
was a nexus of mafia
and the government.
All such things have
stopped in the last
five years”.
HARDOI MLA NITIN AGRAWAL
QUITS SP, DEPUTY SPEAKER POST
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh assembly Dep-
uty Speaker Nitin Agar-
wal, a Samajwadi Party
MLA who had been
elected to the post with
the BJP support, on
Wednesday quit his
post and resigned from
the party
.
The SP MLA from
Hardoi Sadar assembly
seat said he has also
quit as the MLA and
deputy speaker of the
House.
“I have sent my resig-
nation from the SP to its
national president Akh-
ilesh Yadav. I have also
resigned from the as-
sembly membership
and the post of its depu-
ty speaker,” Nitin Agar-
wal told reporters here.
Agarwal, who was
elected as the assem-
bly’s deputy speaker
with the BJP support,
had not formally joined
the party and techni-
cally was still an SP
MLA.
Agarwal, who earlier
shared the dais with
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah during the
BJP’s Jan Vishwas ral-
ly, is likely to contest
the assembly polls from
his Hardoi Sadar seat
on a BJP ticket. —PTI
Nitin Agarwal has also quit as
the MLA and Deputy Speaker
of the house.
Nitin Agarwal
had not formally
joined the BJP
and was
technically an SP
MLA
Anupriya Patel

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
SC ALLOWS ADVERTISEMENT BOARDS
ON DND FLYWAY INSIDE UP TERRITORY
14-YR-OLD SHOT DEAD WHILE SLEEPING
WITH GRANDFATHER IN CATTLE RANCH
Noida: The Supreme Court on Wednesday permit-
ted Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) to put
advertisements on the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) flyway
located inside the territory of Uttar Pradesh. A bench
comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai
asked the state government authority to refrain from
taking any coercive action against the concessionaire.
The commercials put by the NTBCL were pulled down
due to alleged non-payment of an increased license fee
by the authorities.
Amroha: A boy was shot dead in his house in Guraitha
village under Adampur police station area here. The po-
lice said Ganesh Dutt (14) elder son of Ramakant Shar-
ma, who had passed three years back in an accident,
was shot dead when he was sleeping in cattle ranch
with his grandfather. Ganesh was a student of Class 10
in Surajmukhi Inter college in Gavan of Sambhal. Old
rivalry could be reason behind murder, cops said.
RAVI KUMAR IS
EXEC OFFICER OF
AZAMGARH
Lucknow: Ravi Kumar,
PCS officer of 2018
batch and currently
posted as Deputy Col-
lector of Azamgarh has
been given the additional
charge of Executive
Officer, Nagar Palika
Parishad Azamgarh by
UP Urban Development
Section 4. The develop-
ment comes after Azam-
garh DM sent a letter to
Chief Electoral Officer
calling for suspension of
current EO Manoj Singh,
which was accepted.
YOUTH CONG’S
PANKHURI PATHAK
FILES NOMINATION
Noida: Young Congress
leader Pankhuri Pathak
Wednesday filed her
nomination for the UP
polls from Noida a seat
that had no woman
candidate in 2017 polls.
BJP’s UP vice president
Pankaj Singh is sitting
MLA from Noida. He
filed his nomination on
Tuesday. Pathak (29),
a legal consultant, was
earlier associated with
the SP’s youth wing but
had switched over to
Congress in 2018.
‘Missing’ family murdered
byson,policesolve puzzle
Elder son had
concocted a story as
thefamilyhadnever
left for Jammu
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A retired In-
dian Oil Corporation
employee, his wife and
their son, who were re-
ported missing a few
days back, were found
to have been murdered
by their own son and he
misguided police that
the family was on tour
of Jammu and Kashmir.
Police said Mahmood
Ali Khan, wife Darak-
shan and their son
Savez were reported
missing. Their daugh-
ter had complained
about their missing fol-
lowing which the police
initiated investigations.
Earlier, the police
had found the body of
an unidentified person
near Mall Road in
Itaunja area. His throat
was found slit. After a
few days, another body
of an elderly man was
recovered in Mali-
habad and that of an
elderly woman was
found in Mall area. All
three were murdered in
same manner.
During investigation
the bodies were identi-
fied as those of
Mahmood Ali, Dark-
shan and their son
Savez.
The JK Police in
Ramban had launched a
wide-scale search oper-
ation to locate the fam-
ily believed to have
gone ‘missing’ along the
Srinagar-Jammu high-
way at Ramsu, since
last Friday morning.
SSP Ramban Mohita
Sharma had said the
search operation was
launched after a family
from Lucknow in-
formed through social
media that their rela-
tives on way to Kashmir
had gone incommuni-
cado after purportedly
‘getting stuck at Ramsu
area on Friday morning
in the aftermath of a
huge landslide along
the highway
.’
Even as the Ramban
Policeandtheircounter-
parts in other districts
continued the search op-
eration with all sinceri-
ty
, it has now turned out
that it was brutal mur-
der executed by elder
son of the couple.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The state
capital reported 3,517
fresh cases of Covid
along with 1 Covid-relat-
ed death as the number
of fresh cases in Uttar
Pradesh shot up to
17,776 on Wednesday,
pushing the active in-
fection tally to 98,238,
while seven more fatali-
ties raised the death toll
to 22,990, an official
statement said.
Among the districts
that reported the most
cases were Ghaziabad
(2,003), Gautam Buddh
Nagar (1,403), Meerut
(958), Varanasi (570),
Kanpur City (556), Pray-
agraj (502), Bareilly
(449), Saharanpur (437),
and Gorakhpur (371).
One death each was re-
ported from Lucknow,
Meerut, Agra, Baghpat,
Etawah,Pratapgarhand
Farukhabad districts.
The number of active
cases in Lucknow is now
16,943 while in Gautam
BudhNagaritis9,503,in
Ghaziabad 8,406, Meerut
6,243, Varanasi 3,952,
Agra 3,242, Kanpur City
2,993, Prayagraj 2,771,
Moradabad 2,466, and
Gorakhpur 2,313.
As many as 20,532
more patients have re-
cuperated from the vi-
ral infection, taking the
total number of recov-
eries to 17,60,800, the
statement said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chhattis-
garh CM Bhupesh
Baghel Wednesday ac-
cused the Yogi govern-
ment of cheating the
farming community in
the state. He said Modi
government had prom-
ised to double the in-
come of farmers but the
government only in-
creased their woes dur-
ing the last five years.
Addressing a press
conference here, Baghel
said people in rural are-
as were facing massive
problem because of
stray cattle. He said if
the Congress came to
power “Chhatisgarh
model” for the protec-
tionof straycattlewould
be implemented in UP
.
He said the defeat of the
BJP would in fact be a
majorvictoryof farmers
and labourers in UP
.
AICC spokesperson
Supriya Shrinate, who
was also present at the
conference called upon
the people to dislodge
anti-people BJP govern-
ment in the state. Baghel
also released a “white
paper” on bad condition
of farmers in the state.
Baghel recalled that
on February 28, 2016 PM
NarendraModi,address-
ingarallyinBariely
,had
promised to double the
income of farmers by
2022 and also implement
Swaminathan commit-
tee report. But no action
had been taken during
the last six years.
First India Bureau
Agra: After the com-
mencement of the nomi-
nation process on Janu-
ary 14, the maximum
number of nominations
took place on Wednes-
day
. BJP candidate Rani
Pakshalika,Ruralcandi-
date Baby Rani Maurya,
Kheragarh candidate
BhagwanSinghKushwa-
ha and Agra Cant candi-
date GS Dharmesh filed
theirnominationsonthe
day
. Cantonment candi-
date Kunwar Chand Va-
kil from SP
, Virendra
Chauhan from Etmad-
pur and Brajesh Chahar
of RLD also filed their
nominations.
Kiran Prabha Kesari,
BSP filed nomination
from Rural seat.
BJP candidate from
Bah assembly seat, Rani
Pakshalika, said Bah as-
sembly is far away from
the district headquar-
ters. Therefore, efforts
will be made that a 100-
bed hospital is provided
totheLegislativeAssem-
bly so that a person can
get treatment easily
. BJP
candidate Baby Rani
Maurya, who came to
file nomination from
Agra Rural, neither di-
rectly interacted with
the media nor answered
anyone’s questions.
BJP’s Bhagwan Singh
Kushwaha said he had
always been getting the
support of the public
andisconfidentthatpeo-
plewillcontinuetocoop-
erate in the same way
.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The ses-
sions court has convict-
ed 41 persons found to be
involved in the flesh
trade and human traf-
ficking, which at one
time used to be run in a
brothel located in meer-
ganj area of Prayagraj
district.
The additional ses-
sions judge, who passed
theorder,willpronounce
the sentence on January
25. In 2016, some social
organisations and activ-
its had filed a PIL before
the HC, which directed
the authorities to take
appropriate steps to stop
the flesh trade and hu-
mantraffickinggoingon
in the heart of the city
.
Acting on the direc-
tion of the HC, the po-
lice launched a massive
‘operation freedom’ on
labour day on May 1,
2016 to cleanse Meer-
ganj area. As a result,
several girls, many of
whom even minors,
were rescued from the
brothel.
During the operation,
48 persons were arrest-
ed and a criminal case
was registered against
them. After the conclu-
sion of trial, the court in
its decision on January
18 convicted 41 accused
persons.
Mahmood Ali Khan, wife Darakshan and son Savez during happy
times. —FILE PHOTO
Info Dept being sanitised on Wednesday in view of the expected
rush to get press accreditation cards for the UP polls.
Sarfaraz was taken into
custody for interrogation.
During integration he
confessed to his crime
and told police that he
was neglected member
of family. He was frus-
trated over the behaviour
of his family members
and he murdered
them for property. He
messaged his sister by
brother’s phone that they
were in JK, after killing
his parents and brother.
‘NEGLECTED BY
PARENTS’
Over 3,500 new cases
in Lko; 7 deaths in state
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party MP and a
senior leader from UP
Rita Bahuguna Joshi on
Wednesday said that she
waspatientlywaitingfor
the decision of the par-
ty’s top leadership about
her proposal sent to BJP
chief JP Nadda for giv-
ing ticket to her son in
the upcoming state As-
sembly elections.
Joshi’s close sources
said, “She (Rita Joshi) is
waiting for the party’s
decision on her propos-
al which will be taken
after the meeting today
.
She is hoping that their
decision will be com-
municated to her and
accordingly, she will
make her next move.”
Earlier on Tuesday,
Joshi who is BJP Lok
Sabha MP from Alla-
habad, Uttar Pradesh
wrote to BJP chief JP
Nadda seeking a ticket
for son Mayank Joshi
from Lucknow Cantt for
the upcoming UP As-
sembly polls.
“He (son Mayank
Joshi) has been working
since 2009 and has ap-
plied for it (a ticket from
Lucknow Cantt), right-
fully. But if the party
has decided to give the
ticket to only one per-
son per family, I will re-
sign from my present LS
seat if Mayank gets a
ticket,” Joshi told media
persons.
She had also said that
she will always continue
workingforBJPanyway
andthepartycanchoose
to accept or not accept
the proposal. “I had al-
ready declared that I
will not contest elec-
tions, many years ago,”
Joshi added.
Meanwhile, specula-
tions have surfaced that
Joshi is in touch with
the the Samajwadi Par-
ty and other parties in
the state.
Replyingtothesespec-
ulations, Joshi told ANI,
“I have been in Delhi
for the last ten days and
have not met any other
party leaders and nei-
ther do I intend to. I
have given my proposal
to the BJP top leader-
ship and I will wait pa-
tiently for them to re-
spond to me.”
Notably, Joshi joined
the BJP in 2016 after
serving Congress for 24
years. —ANI
Wait on for Rita Bahuguna Joshi after plea to party for ticket to son
FAMILY MATTERS

The BJP MP has
written to the
party chief to
consider her
proposal and
has even offered
to sacrifice her
seat for her son
Rita Bahuguna Joshi with son Mayank Joshi. —FILE PHOTO
DefeatofBJPinUPwillbewin
forfarmers,labourers:Baghel
Baghel said NSSO report of Sep 2021 indicated that aver-
age income of farmers had come down to Rs 27 per day
and debt burden had shot up to Rs 74,000 per farmer.
Pointing out that Modi government was anti-farmers, He
said the Centre conspired against farmers by introducing
the farm laws and later Rs 150 bonus on wheat paddy.
‘CENTRE CONSPIRED AGAINST FARMERS’
FIR against NTPC officer in
fake caste cert for job case
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Cen-
tral Bureau of Investi-
gation on Wednesday
registered an FIR
against a senior em-
ployee of National
Thermal Power Cor-
poration (NTPC) post-
ed here for presenting
afakeScheduledTribe
certificate to get a job.
The CBI said the in-
formation, received
from a reliable source,
has revealed that Om
Prakash got employ-
ment in NTPC in 2010
as Executive Trainee
under ST Category
based on forged/fake
caste certificate and
further got promo-
tions to senior posts,
under ST Category in
NTPC whereas he be-
longs to OBC category
.
It is alleged that ST
Caste Certificate was
purportedly issued by
the Tehsildar of Shah-
pura Tehsil of Jaipur
(Rajasthan) in the
name of Om Prakash
showing his caste as
“Meena” under the ST
category
.
During the investi-
gation, the Tehsildar
informedthatnodocu-
ments or records
about the issuance of
the said certificate
had been found in his
office. It is further al-
leged that no person
having the name of
Om Prakash Meena,
sonof MohanLalMee-
na is a resident of the
Village Gulab Bari in
Shahpura tehsil. Om
Prakash is from
Chhapura Khurd in
Shahpura tehsil.
According to the
school records, Om
Prakash’s caste has
been mentioned as
“Jat”. As per the Ga-
zette of India, the
caste “Jat” comes un-
der OBC in Rajasthan.
GOT ‘SC’ TAG
41 persons convicted
of flesh trade,trafficking
After days of lull,Wednesday sees flurry of nominations by various leaders
BJP’s Baby Rani Maurya Bhagwan SIngh Kushwaha,BJP SP candidate Virendra Chauhan
—PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 70
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
Do not let any unwholesome
talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for
building others up according
to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
On the 30th on this month, the first
#MannKiBaat of 2022 will take place.
I am sure you have lots to share in
terms of inspiring life stories and
topics. Share them on @mygovindia or
the NaMo App. Record your message
by dialling 1800-11-7800.
Kiren Rijiju
@KirenRijiju
Greetings to the @NDRFHQ on their
Raising Day. The response of NDRF in all
natural or man-made disaster and saving
the lives of the people and property are
always swift. PM @NarendraModi Ji has
accorded top priority to make India a
disaster resilient nation.
TOP TWEETS
UTTAR PRADESH
FACES WRATH OF
APEX COURT AND
DELHI HIGH COURT
tate officials keep
causing embarrass-
ment to the govern-
ment by their lax
ways even towards
orders of the Supreme Court.
The police are acquiring infamy
for their criminal ways of tor-
turing and detain innocent peo-
ple like the killing of a Kanpur
businessman in a hotel by the
Gorakhpur police and the ab-
duction of two men from Delhi.
In a strong order on Wednes-
day, a Supreme Court bench
headed by Justice AM Khan-
wilkar rapped the UP govern-
ment for not releasing the ac-
cused Vijay Kumar Sharma in
the Rs 3500 crore “bike bot”
ponzi on bail despite the apex
court’s month-old order. As if
the state has a parallel judicial
system, a magisterial court ex-
tended his judicial custody in
violation of the SC order.
On Tuesday the Delhi High
Court pulled up UP Police for
resorting to “complete forgery
of documents” and “illegally”
arresting two men from Delhi.
While arresting the two men,
the UP Police didn’t inform
their Delhi counterparts.
S
parna Yadav, wife
of Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s half brother
Prateek, who was
fielded as the SP
candidate from Lucknow
Cantonment seat, lost the
2017 Assembly elections to
BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
Subsequently
, she was kept at
an arm’s length by the Sama-
jwadi Party president. That
did not dampen Aparna’s am-
bitions and she continued to
eye a role in UP politics. So
the moment Ajay Bisht (Yogi
Adityanath’s original name),
was anointed the chief min-
ister of UP, Aparna grabbed
the chance with both hands.
Her maiden name Aparna
Bisht made it easy for her to
connect with the chief minis-
ter. That both belong to the
Garhwal region also helped
her cause, though not imme-
diately
. Aware of Yogi’s dedi-
cation for cows, Aparna in-
vited him to her cow shelter
in Lucknow soon after he
became the chief minister in
March 2017. And now she has
joined the BJP.
Aparna’s joining the BJP
has given the party a psycho-
logical advantage over the SP
and a stick to beat Akhilesh
Yadav with. The SP chief was
in news when he had an on-
stage scuffle with his uncle
Shivpal Yadav who broke
away to form his own party
in 2017. It is only now that the
two have patched up.
At the same time the BJP
may find it difficult to choose
its candidate for the Luc-
know Cantonment seat.
There’s Aparna Yadav and
the last election’s winner
Rita Joshi who wants the
ticket for her son. Possibly,
Dr Dinesh Sharma, the Dep-
uty Chief Minister, is also
said to be in contention for
that seat.
APARNA YADAV SEES
OPPORTUNITY IN BJP
Aparna’s joining the BJP
has given the party a
psychological
advantage over the
SP and a stick to beat
Akhilesh Yadav with.
The SP chief was in news
when he had an on-stage
scuffle with his uncle
Shivpal Yadav who
broke away to form his
own party in 2017
A
he killing of civilians in a
botched-up ambush, mistak-
en to be NSCN terrorists by a
SF unit of the armed forces
in Nagaland’s Mon district in
first week of December 21
and its violent countrywide
fallout have once again put
the spotlight on the very rel-
evance and necessity of the
Armed Forces Special Pow-
ers Act (AFSPA) of 1958. The
incident not only gave wings
to various human rights ac-
tivists to rekindle the flames
but also has undone, to a
great extent, NAGA peace
talks progressing well for
over two decades.
So, let us understand the
AFSPA? In simple words, AF-
SPA bestows Armed forces
with the authority to main-
tain public order in “dis-
turbed areas”. It gives the
authority to Army to prohib-
it a gathering of five or more
persons in an area, allows it
use of force or, even opens
fire after administering due
caution if someone is in vio-
lation of the law. Also, if ap-
propriate reasoning exists,
arresting an individual or,
entering/searching premises
without a warrant; and ban
the possession of firearms.
Actually
, the Act came into
being in September 1958, in
the context of increased vio-
lence in the Northeastern
States more than six decades
ago when the legally elected
government and the civil ad-
ministration failed to control
the situation through the
meanswithin.Overtheyears,
theerstwhilestateof JKwas
also brought under the Act in
September 90 for law and or-
der. Nevertheless, at this
stage, it may be pertinent to
view how have the people of
these states taken the imposi-
tion of this Act? Indeed, it has
all through been a controver-
sial one, with human rights
groups opposing it as being
aggressive and regressive.
In spite of SC holding the
constitutional validity, AFS-
PA provokes strong reactions
both in the Northeast as well
as the Kashmir region. The
perception remains that it is
particularly an anti-people
act that gives the armed forc-
es the license to act with im-
punity and commit human
rights violations without ac-
countability. A few far and
widespread cases of alleged
human rights violations,
where the armed forces have
stonewalled attempts to in-
vestigate and punish the
guilty, have only strength-
ened the belief and percep-
tion of the local populace.
Well, on the other hand, as
a veteran who has operated
both in North East and Kash-
mir valley, my personal per-
spective is that the army is
one of the important stake-
holders in the entire debate,
and therefore, its version is
based on ground realities
should be given a due weight-
age. The three major argu-
ments I shall offer in the de-
fense of military perspective
would be, firstly, that India is
fighting a proxy war in these
states and therefore, AFSPA
enables the security forces to
fight both external and exter-
nally-abetted forces that
threaten to destabilize and
break the country
.
Secondly
, the army has its
institutions, set-ups, and even
road convoys running through
areas where AFSPA is ineffec-
tive.Therefore,theoverallsecu-
rity of men and material mer-
itsprotectionunderthepowers
of AFSPA. Last but not the
least, operations hot pursuit
may well take soldiers from ar-
easwherethelawisimposedto
where it may have been re-
voked, thus allowing terrorists
safe hideouts for themselves.
Considering a wider per-
spective of current times, the
violence by terrorists is ex-
pected to increase in the near
future as the US troops have
withdrawn from Afghanistan
and various insurgent
groups are looking for occu-
pation and money. In such
conditions, military authori-
ties feel that once AFSPA is
removed, compulsions of pol-
ity will not allow its re-impo-
sition even if the situation
worsens and that may jeop-
ardize our national interests.
Yes, its never easy to fight
your own brethren who pick
up weapons against the state.
The forces in such circum-
stances are always working
“with one hand tied behind
their back”. We need to real-
ize that “forces are deployed
not by choice but out of duty”
and if the political masters
feel that AFSPA needs to be
repealed, then, “the army
must be moved back to bar-
racks” and the civil adminis-
tration police given charge
to deal with the problem.
There is no doubt that in
insurgency and militancy-
affected areas, provisions
must be made for the protec-
tion of the armed forces dur-
ing operations, and as such
most provisions of the Act
are perfectly valid and essen-
tial. However, in a democracy
,
public opinion and percep-
tions must be taken into ac-
count when examining
whether a particular action
needs to be amended, re-
viewed or even repealed.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
AFSPA: GENESIS,
RELEVANCE
AND NECESSITY
T
In spite of SC holding the
constitutional validity,
AFSPA provokes strong
reactions both in the
Northeast as well as the
Kashmir region. The
perception remains that it is
particularly an anti-people
act that gives the armed
forces the license to act with
impunity and commit
human rights violations
without accountability
The killing of civilians
in a botched-up
ambush, mistaken to be
NSCN terrorists by a SF
unit of the armed forces in
Nagaland’s Mon district in
first week of December 21
and its violent
countrywide fallout
have once again put
the spotlight on the very
relevance and necessity of
the AFSPA of 1958
RETD. COL
ANUPAM JAITLY
Defence expert, Motivational
speaker Corporate Trainer

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INDIA
05
Panaji: The Aam Aadmi
Party has announced
its Chief Ministerial
candidate for Goa. Amit
Palekar will be AAP’s
CM candidate, Delhi
chief minister and
AAP’s national conven-
or Arvind Kejriwal
said. The party will be
contesting all the 40 As-
sembly seats in Goa.
Palekar is an advocate
by profession and
comes from the
Bhandari community,
Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal had held a
door-to-door campaign
on Sunday in Cortalim
village of Goa, which is
scheduled to go to polls
this Feb. As a part of
the campaign, Kejriwal
along with other party
members was seen in-
teracting with voters in
Cortalim. Pamphlets
were distributed to the
voters during the cam-
paign.
Kejriwal has prom-
ised cash assistance of
Rs 1,000 per month for
every woman above the
age of 18 years if his
party came to power in
the state in the 2022 As-
sembly elections. Kejri-
wal said, “Griha Aad-
har benefit for women
will be increased from
Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per
month. Rs 1,000 per
month will be given to
every female over 18
years.
New entrant Amit Palekar is
AAP’s CM face for Goa polls
‘SHIV SENA, NCP TO GO WITHOUT CONG’
Panaji: AAP chief ministerial candidate Amit
Palekar for the Goa Assembly polls on Wednesday
assured a corruption-free Goa and promised to
bring back the glory which the State lost in the
last 20 years. “Amit Palekar will be AAP’s chief
ministerial candidate for the Goa Assembly pollsr.
He has done a lot for goa, contributed a lot in
corona times, and a new face who has never done
politics,” said Kejriwal. “I am guaranteeing you a
Corruption-free Goa. We will get back Goa’s lost
glory. A Goa everyone dreamt of. Goa which lost
its identity in the last 20 years, we promise to get
back that Goa. I will keep every word that I have
said and that is my guarantee,” said Palekar.
AMIT ASSURES CORRUPTION-FREE GOA
GOA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS
Arvind Kejriwal with the CM candidate Amit Palekar in Panaji
Dehradun : The Central
Election Committee (CEC)
of the Congress will meet
on Thursday at 5 pm for
the Uttarakhand assembly
polls, said sources on
Wednesday. The polling
for Uttarakhand Assembly
Election will take place in
a single phase on Febru-
ary 14. The counting of
votes will take place on
March 10.
New Delhi: Vijay Raw-
at, brother of India’s
first Chief of Defence
Staff General Bipin
Rawat who recently
died in a helicopter
crash, joined the BJP
on Wednesday
. The BJP
may field him as its can-
didate in poll-bound Ut-
tarakhand, sources
said. Vijay Rawat, who
retired as a colonel
from the army, joined
BJP in the presence of
Uttarakhand CM Push-
kar S Dhami and RS MP
Anil Baluni. He thinks
out of the box and all
his efforts are directed
towards the country’s
betterment, Rawat said.
Delhi HC issues notice to ED
on Pinki Irani’s bail plea
New Delhi: The Delhi
HighCourtonWednes-
day issued notice to
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) on bail Plea
of Pinky Irani, an al-
leged aide of multi-
millionaire conman
Sukesh Chan-
drasekhar, arrested on
December 9, 2021, by
ED in the Rs 200 crore
money laundering
case.
On January 11, 2022,
the trial court had re-
jected Irani’s bail peti-
tion in the matter. The
bench of Justice Muk-
ta Gupta on Wednes-
day issued notice to
the probe agency and
sought a response of it
and listed the matter
for February 14, 2022,
for further hearing.
According to the ED,
Pinki Irani introduced
Chandrasekhar to Bol-
lywood actor Jacque-
line Fernandez.
Late CDS Rawat’s brother joins
BJP, may contest U’khand polls
Bareilly : Day after
joining the party, Con-
gress leader Maulana
Tauqeer Raza Khan on
Wednesday said that
those killed in the Batla
House encounter in the
national capital in 2008
should be declared as
“martyrs”. “People who
died in Batla House
were not terrorists,
they should be given
martyr status,” Khan
told ANI.
He said, “After the
formation of the Con-
gress government at the
Centre, they said an in-
vestigation will be con-
ducted into Batla House
encounter.
Those killed in the
Batla House encounter
were not terrorists,
they should get martyr
status. But Congress
did not get the inquiry
done.” “I will always op-
pose Congress if they
go wrong.
But, as of now, it
seems that only Con-
gress is needed for Ut-
tar Pradesh and for the
whole country. Con-
gressmen are true secu-
larists,” he said.
Politician and Islam-
ic cleric Maulana
Tauqeer Raza Khan,
who was earlier booked
for derogatory com-
ments against PM Nar-
endra Modi and report-
edly issuing threats
against the Hindu com-
munity, joined Con-
gress ahead of the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly polls
on Tuesday
. I request all
the UP people, especial-
ly Muslims that if you
want to maintain peace
here, vote for Con-
gress,” Khan had said.
Batla House terrorists were ‘martyrs’: Raza Khan
CLAIM GAME
SAMBIT PATRA CONDEMNS REMARKS
IN THE COURTYARD
SC TO STEER EX GRATIA
PAYMENT TO KIN OF
COVID-19 DECEASED
CONGRESS CEC TO MEET
TODAY FOR U’KHAND
POLLS
FORMER SC JUDGE EXPRESSES CONCERN ON
BOOKING CRITICS OF GOVT FOR SEDITION
New Delhi: The
Supreme Court on
Wednesday pulled up
state govts for failing to
disburse claims to the
next of kin of COVID-19
victims, and issued a
show cause notice to
the AP chief secretary
as to why contempt
action be not initiated
against him.
Mumbai: Calling for abolishing the law on sedition,
former SC judge Rohinton Nariman has expressed
concern on booking of people who criticized the
govt for sedition. “Now, unfortunately, of late, we
have had in this country, young persons, students,
stand-up comedians, all being booked for freely
criticizing the govt of the day under sedition law.
FINMIN ASKS DEPTS TO RESTRICT
EXPENSES WITHIN PRESCRIBED LIMIT
New Delhi: In a bid to
maintain fiscal deficit
within the targeted
limit, the finance min-
istry has asked minis-
tries and departments
to restrict their ex-
penses with the re-
vised estimates.
The communication
comes ahead of the
Union Budget 2022-23,
likely to be unveiled
on February 1.
In an office memo-
randum seeking pro-
posals for the third
and final batch of Sup-
plementary Demands
for Grants, the eco-
nomic affairs depart-
ment under the fi-
nance ministry asked
the ministries and de-
partments to submit
their proposals by
February 10.
“While processing
proposals for supple-
mentary grants, the
grant-controlling au-
thority must invaria-
bly identify savings
available within the
grant so that the in-
fructuous or inflated
supplementary de-
mands are weeded out
and the eventuality of
surrender after ob-
taining supplementa-
ry grant is avoided,” it
said.
The proposal for
Supplementary De-
mands for Grants may
be projected after a
thorough and objec-
tive assessment of ad-
ditional requirements
of funds, it said.
“All the ministries
and departments have
been requested to con-
tain the expenditure
within the approved
Revised Estimate ceil-
ings,” it said.
The government es-
timates a fiscal deficit
of 6.8% of the gross
domestic product
(GDP) in the current
financial year ending
on March 31. —PTI
All the
minis-
tries and
departments
have been re-
quested to con-
tain the expendi-
ture within the
approved Re-
vised Estimate
ceilings
—ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT
Nirmala Sitharaman
OBC reservation: SC directs
Maha Govt to present data
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Wednesday directed the
Maharashtra govt to
submit data on OBCs to
the SBCC to examine its
correctness and make
recommendations on
their representation in
elections for the local
bodies.
The top court also di-
rected the State Back-
ward Classes Commis-
sion (SBCC) to submit
the interim report to
the authorities con-
cerned in two weeks of
receiving information
from the state govt.
“Maharashtra has
asked this court to per-
mit elections based on
data already available
to the state concerning
other backward classes.
Instead of examining
the data, the appropri-
ate step would be to pre-
sent this data before a
state appointed dedi-
cated commission
which can examine the
correctness. Appearing
for Maharashtra S Na-
phade submitted his
arguments —PTI
SHAH: NDRF SYMBOL OF
COURAGE,DEDICATION
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah praised the Na-
tional Disaster Re-
sponse Force (NDRF)
on its Raising Day,
saying that the force
is a symbol of cour-
age, service, dedica-
tion, and faith.
The National Dis-
aster Response Force
(NDRF) is a highly
trained force that can
respond to any type
of crisis both in the
country and abroad.
Every year, the
NDRF Raising Day is
celebrated on Janu-
ary 19 to commemo-
rate the organisa-
tion’s founding,
which took place on
January 19, 2006.
The NDRF is cele-
brating its 17th anni-
versary this year.
RAISING DAY
In a bid to boost renewable energy financing
UNION CABINET OK’S INFUSION OF
`1,500CROREINIREDA
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet led by Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
on Wednesday approved
the infusion of Rs 1,500
crores in the Indian Re-
newable Energy Devel-
opment Agency Limited
(IREDA), a public sector
unit (PSU) under the
Ministry of New and Re-
newable Energy
, to ena-
ble it to lend loans up to
Rs 12,000 crores to the
renewableenergysector.
Addressing the Press
conference after the
Cabinet meeting, Union
Minister Anurag
Thakursaid,“IndianRe-
opment Agency Limited
plays a big role in the
field of renewable ener-
gy
. This agency was es-
tablished to finance re-
newable energy
. Its port-
folio has increased from
Rs8,800croretoRs28,000
croreinthepast6years.”
“But according to
RBI,theloancanonlybe
lent on 20 per cent of the
networth.Thenetworth
of IREDA is Rs 3,000
crore. It can lend loans
up to Rs 600 crore only
,”
the Union Minister add-
ed. Thakur further said
that the decision would
enable IREDA to lend
loans up to Rs 12,000
crore in the renewable
sector.
“The decision has
been taken of equity
infusion of Rs 1,500
crore in the Indian Re-
opment Agency. The
benefit that it would
lead to is that with the
infusion of increased
equity, IREDA would be
able to lend loans up to
Rs 12,000 crore in the
renewable sector,”
Thakur said. —ANI
Picture
for
Representational
Purpose
only.
SC DIRECTS STATES ON
COVID COMPENSATION
New Delhi: The SC
pulled up the gov-
ernments of Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, and
Kerala on Wed and told
them to reach out to
the families who lost
their loved ones to
Covid.Justices M.R.
Shah and Sanjeev
Khanna told the Kerala
govt counsel to send
out its officers to those
families.

INDIA
06
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Every year
tableaux of States, Un-
ion Territories, depart-
ments of the Govern-
mentof India,etc.march
down New Delhi’s Raj-
path on 26 January
. Last
year, a total of 32 tab-
leaux rolled down Raj-
path of which 17 were
from States and UTs. A
selected number of tab-
leaux make it to the Re-
public Day parade. So,
obviously the tableaux
of some states get reject-
ed every year. But this
yearwhenthecountryis
celebratingthe‘
AzadiKa
Amrit Mahotsav’, per-
haps some relaxation
can be given and the
number of tableaux can
be increased. However,
even if the number is in-
creased, the controversy
that is happening now
would not have hap-
pened.
Right now there is a
controversy regarding
the tableaux of West
Bengal and Kerala. Sur-
prisingly
,thetableauxof
West Bengal was based
on the heroes of inde-
pendence, yet it was re-
jected.TheStateGovern-
menthassaidthatonthe
occasion of 125th birth
anniversary of Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose, a
tableauof theAzadHind
Sena was made and pho-
tographs of great free-
dom fighters of Bengal
were also included in it.
Pictures of Gurudev Ra-
bindranathTagore,Swa-
mi Vivekananda, Desh-
bandhu Chittaranjan
Das, Maharishi Arvind,
Matangini Hazra, Bhag-
wan Birsa Munda etc.
were also put in the tab-
leaux.
Similarly
, the tableau
of the Kerala govern-
ment was based on the
great social reformer
Narayan Guru, who
campaigned for break-
ingthecaste-barrierand
untouchability
. Along
with this, the state gov-
ernment had also shown
Jatayu Park as a tourist
center in the tableau.
But it was rejected. It is
being told that the cen-
tral government wanted
the tableau to be on
Shankaracharya.Kerala
tableau has been reject-
ed thrice in the last four
years and that is when
the ruling Communist
Partymadeitabigissue.
Stateministersandlead-
ers have asked the BJP
whether they agree with
thecentralgovernment’s
decisiontorejectthetab-
leau of Narayan Guru.
What is actual reason behind rejecting tableaux?
PM lauds zeal of teens for getting jabbed
Momentum must continue, says PM while reacting to Mandaviya’s tweet
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday lauded
youngsters in the 15-18
age group for showing
enthusiasm in getting
vaccinated against Cov-
id-19 and called for con-
tinuing the momentum.
While reacting to Un-
ion Health Minister Dr
Mansukh Mandaviya’s
tweet the Prime Minis-
ter said “Young and
youthful India showing
the way! This is encour-
aging news. Let us keep
the momentum. It is im-
portant to vaccinate
and observe all Covid-19
related protocols. To-
gether, we will fight this
pandemic.”
Earlier on Tuesday,
Mandaviya informed
that over 50 per cent of
children between the
15-18 age group have re-
ceived the first dose of
Covid-19 vaccine so far
in the country, since
January 3 when vacci-
nation drive for the age
group commenced.”Big
day for India’s fight
against Covid-19! Over
50 per cent of our
youngesters between
15-18 age group have re-
ceived their 1st dose of
the Covid-19 vaccine.
Well done, my Young
Friends! Your enthusi-
asm for vaccination is
inspiring people all
over India. Sabko Vac-
cine Muft Vaccine,”
Mandaviya tweeted.
“Amazing enthusi-
asm among young India
for Covid-19 vaccina-
tion over 3.5 crore chil-
dren between the 15-18
age group have received
the first dose of Cov-
id-19 vaccine, since Jan-
uary 3. Congratulations
to all my young friends
who have got vaccinat-
ed,” the health minister
tweeted. —ANI
PFC-REC MAKE
FURTHER
REDUCTION IN
LENDING RATES
ED SEIZES `10 CR
FROM RESIDENCE OF
PUNJAB CM’S
RELATIVE, OTHERS
New Delhi: State-
owned non-banking
financial companies,
Power Finance Corpo-
ration (PFC) and REC
Limited have further
reduced their lending
rates across all types of
loans by 40 Bps. Union
Minister RK Singh
expressed satisfaction
at the continued efforts
by both companies
to reduce rates and
remain competitive. In
the last about one year,
both the organisations
have reduced lending
rates cumulatively by
upto 3 per cent. —ANI
New Delhi: The ED has
seized more than Rs 10
crore cash, gold worth
above 21 lakh and a
Rolex watch worth Rs 12
lakh from the residential
premises of land mafia
Bhupinder Singh Honey,
a relative of state Chief
Minister Charanjit Singh
Channi, and others in
connection with an al-
leged illegal sand mining
case. The ED declares
the recoveries after it
concluded its two-day
raid conducted at the
business and residential
premises of the accused
persons. —ANI
AIR INDIA CURTAILS US OPERATIONS OVER
5G ISSUE, FOUR FLIGHTS SUSPENDED
New Delhi: New Delhi: After several international airlines
curtailed their operations to the United States due to
deployment of 5G communications in the US, Air India on
Wednesday also suspended four of its flights scheduled to
the US. Air India announced the suspension of flight op-
erations between Delhi Airport and San Francisco, Chicago
and John F Kennedy. It will also suspend a Mumbai to
Newark flight. It will continue to fly into Washington DC’s
Dulles International Airport. Air India in a tweet said, “Due
to deployment of 5G communications in the USA, our op-
erations to the USA from India stand curtailed/revised with
change in aircraft type from 19th January 2022. Update in
this regard will be informed shortly.” —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
Mumbai: As many as
28 Mumbai police-
men tested positive
for Covid-19 in the
past 24 hours, in-
formed police on
Wednesday
.
With this, the tally
of positive police per-
sonnel rose to 1,273 in
the city
. A total of 127
personnel have died
so far from the infec-
tion, said the Mum-
bai police.
A total of 10,666 po-
licemen have been
found positive in
Mumbai so far.
Also, 21 police per-
sonnel tested Cov-
id-19 positive on
Tuesday in Pune city
.
With this, the num-
ber of infected police
personnel in the city
rose to 504, said Pune
police. Meanwhile,
Maharashtra report-
ed 39,207 new Cov-
id-19 cases and 53
deaths in the state on
Tuesday
. —ANI
A girl reacts as she gets inoculated with a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, at SKM Hall, in Patna on
Wednesday. — PHOTO BY ANI
28 Mumbai, 21 Pune cops
test +ve in last 24 hours
84IAStrainees,facultymembers
test+veatMussoorieinstitute
Mussoorie: A total of
84 IAS trainee officers
and faculty members
have tested positive at
the Lal Bahadur Shas-
tri National Academy
of Administration,
Mussoorie, said acad-
emy administration on
Wednesday.
After the massive
spread of the virus on
the campus, to control
the spread further, the
administration has
made containment
zones inside the acad-
emy itself. ‘Everyone’s
health is being checked
at the campus. Notably,
Uttarakhand on Tues-
day reported 4,482 new
Covid cases, 1,865 re-
coveries and six deaths
in the last 24 hours.
The active cases stand
at 20,620. —Agencies
NDRF’s courage, professionalism
extremely motivating, says Modi
 India’s Covid-19
vaccination coverage
exceeds 158.88 crore
 Karnataka to take
decision on relaxa-
tion after consulting
experts
 MoS Kapil Patil
tests positive
 Fardeen Khan tests
positive for Covid
 No relaxation on
norms in Delhi as
positivity rate ‘not
low enough’: Jain
 Czech singer Hana
Horka dies after
catching Covid
 US to provide
additional one million
vaccine doses to
Afghanistan: Blinken
 Grammy Awards
2022 rescheduled
due to Omicron
concern for April in
Las Vegas
 Study: No evidence
of transmitting virus
through breastfeeding
HIGHLIGHTS
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednes-
day lauded the National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) on its Raising Day and said that the force was
at the forefront of many rescue and relief measures.
The Prime Minister said that NDRF’s courage and
professionalism are extremely motivating. “Greetings
to the hardworking @NDRFHQ team on their Raising
Day. They are at the forefront of many rescue and relief
measures, often in very challenging circumstances.
NDRF’s courage and professionalism are extremely
motivating. Best wishes to them for their future en-
deavours,” Prime Minister tweeted. —ANI
New Delhi: With an
aim to ensure the suffi-
cient number of the
IAS officers for the Cen-
tral deputation, the
Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances and
Pensions is planning to
amend the existing ser-
vice rules of IAS
(cadre) Rules, 1954, of-
ficials said.
According to offi-
cials, the Ministry’s
proposal will ensure a
greater say of the Cen-
tre compared to the
States and Union Ter-
ritories or from
the joint cad-
re.
T h e
Central
move came after it
found that states
have not re-
leased ade-
quate numbers
of IAS officers
as part of the
central depu-
tation re-
s e r v e
de-
spite several reminders
by the Ministry of the
Personnel.
The Ministry sent the
proposal to seek chang-
es in IAS (Cadre) Ser-
vice Rule, 1954, to all the
State Governments on
December 20 last year
and were asked to re-
spond by January 5,
2022 with their com-
ments. —Agencies
New Delhi: Rahul Gan-
dhi, for the second day
in a row, took a swipe at
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, this time over
reports of China con-
structingabridgeonthe
Pangong Tso Lake in
Ladakh near the Line of
Actual Control (LAC).
The former Congress
chief had questioned
the Prime Minister’s si-
lence on the same on
January 4 as well. This
time he tagged a picture
with arrows showing
the alleged Chinese
bridge on Pangong Tso
Lake, which is extreme-
ly close to the LAC.
“China is building a
illegal bridge in our
country
. The PLA’s spir-
its are increasing due to
the silence of the PM.
Now it is a fear that PM
may not reach to inau-
gurate this bridge too,”
said the Rahul throwing
shade at the PM. The
construction of the
bridge across the Pan-
gong gives Chinese forc-
es the ability to mobilise
soldiers to either bank
of the Lake. —Agencies
New York: Al-Qai-
da’s linkages with
UNSC proscribed Pa-
kistan-based terror
groups like LeT and
JeM has continued to
strengthen, India’s
envoy to the UN has
said, underlining
that the recent devel-
opments in Afghani-
stan have only served
to re-energise the ter-
rorist group.
India’s Permanent
Representative to the
UN Ambassador TS
Tirumurti told the
International Coun-
ter-Terrorism Con-
ference 2022 organ-
ised by the Global
Counter-Terrorism
Council on Tuesday
that the Islamic State
(ISIS) has changed its
modus operandi with
its core focus is now
on regaining ground
in Syria and Iraq, and
its regional affiliates
are strengthening
their expansion.
“Similarly, al-Qai-
da remains a major
threat and recent de-
velopments in Af-
ghanistan have only
served to re-energise
them. Al-Qaida’s
linkages with Secu-
rity Council pro-
scribed terrorist enti-
ties like Let and JeM
has continued to
strengthen,” he said.
Tirumurti, who is
also the Chair of the
UNSC Counter-ter-
rorism Committee
for 2022, said that in
the global counter-
terrorism domain,
the 9/11 terrorist at-
tacks in 2001 had
proved to be a “turn-
ing point in our ap-
proach towards ter-
rorism.”
The September 11
attacks highlighted
that the threat of ter-
rorism is grave and
universal and can
only be defeated by
the collective efforts
of all UN member
states, he said. —PTI
‘Al-Qaida’s links with
terror groups LeT,
JeM strengthening’
Rahul takes swipe at Modi
over China’s illegal bridge
Centre to amend rules to ensure
availability of babus for deputation
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Many
learned individuals be-
lieve that it is a good de-
velopment that the sale
of Central Electronics
Limited (CEL) has
stopped. The govern-
ment had decided to sell
it and Nandal Finance
and Leasing Company
Pvt Ltd had bought it at
a bid of Rs 210 crore.
Two companies had bid
to buy this PSU located
in Sahibabad, adjacent
to Delhi. The bid of the
second company was Rs
190 crore.
But workers’ unions
opposed it, opposition
MPs wrote letters, cam-
paigns took place on so-
cial media, and one of
the best Congress
spokespersons, Gaurav
Vallabh, explained the
nuances of it by holding
apressconference.After
all this, the government
has banned its sale and
is investigating allega-
tions of being sold to the
company at a low bid.
Surprisingly
,whywas
thecompany’sworthnot
assessed before selling?
This company has 50
acres of land in Sahiba-
bad, which is worth
around five hundred
crores. Think, the com-
pany has more than
twice the land that the
company was being sold
on and on top of that the
companyismakingprof-
it. This company of the
Government of India,
formedin1974,madethe
first solar cell and the
first solar panel and es-
tablished the first
solar plant.
The third thing is that
theworkof thecompany
to whom it was sold is of
furniture and interior.
Premier Furniture In-
teriors Pvt Ltd holds
99.96 per cent stake in
Nandal Finance which
had bought it.
HOW DID THE SALE OF CEL STOP?
CABINET OK’S `1,500 CR FOR IREDA
New Delhi: The Gov-
ernment on Wednesday
approved the extension
of the tenure of the Na-
tional Commission for
Safai Karamcharis for
threeyearsuptillMarch
31, 2025. The total impli-
cation of the extension
for three years would be
approx Rs 43.68 crore.
The decision was tak-
en in a meeting of the
Union Cabinet chaired
by PM Narendra Modi,
IB Minister Anurag
Thakur said. —ANI
Tenure of National
Commission for
Safai Karamcharis
extended till 2025

NEWS
07
EXCISE DEPT
CRACKS DOWN
ON ILLEGAL
LIQUOR
On the directives of District
Magistrate Dr Dinesh
Chandra, the Excise Department
is taking action against traders of
illicit liquor. The exercise is being
undertaken as per the guidelines
of the Election Commission of
India, in view of the 2022
Assembly Elections, to effectively
curb illegal liquor extraction and
sale. Under the special
enforcement drive conducted by
the joint teams of the
administration, the Police and
Excise Department, the checking
of excise shops, Dhabas located
on national highways, vehicles
besides methyl alcohol and
ethanol tankers are being done.
District Election Officer Dr
Dinesh Chandra said that during
action initiated against the
manufacture and sale of illicit
liquor on the basis of information
received about illegal liquor
extraction, during surprise raids
conducted by joint teams, about
2291 liters of raw liquor was
seized and 75 illicit liquor
furnaces and about 10000 kg
Lahan was destroyed on the spot
besides 66 accused were
arrested and the case was
registered under relevant
sections of Excise Act and IPC.
The DM said that on the night of
January 13/14, 2022, two
vehicles including one Bolero
jeep and one motorcycle was
caught with 293 liters of illicit
liquor. Four accused were caught
by the joint team of Sashastra
Seema Bal officers, Police, and
Excise Department while
transporting illicit liquor. Dr
Chandra told that due to the
district being located adjacent to
the international border of Boke
district of Nepal, the teams of
Sashastra Seema Bal, Police, and
Excise Department were
conducting random intensive
checking of vehicles and
suspicious persons at check
post-Rupaidiha in Bahraich.
—Ajay Sharma
RLD CHANGES
CANDIDATE
FROM
CHHAPRAULI
SEAT IN
BAGHPAT
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD),
which is fighting the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly elections in a
tie-up with the Samajwadi Party
(SP), on Wednesday changed its
candidate for the Chhaprauli seat
in Baghpat district. The RLD has
announced Ajay Kumar’s
candidature from Chhaprauli and
Saurabh, who goes by single
name, from Muzaffarnagar, the
party said on Twitter. On January
17, the RLD had announced Vijay
Pal Rathi as its candidate for the
Chhaprauli seat.The reason for the
change in candidature was not
known immediately. BJP’s Kapil
Dev Agrawal is the sitting MLA
from Muzaffarnagar, while
Sahendra Singh Ramala
represents Chhaprauli in the state
assembly. Ramala recently quit
the RLD and joined the BJP.
—PTI
`18K AS PENSION PER
FAMILY, PER YEAR: YADAV
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party Chief and MP
from Azamgarh, Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Wednes-
day said when his party
will come to power, Sa-
majwadi Pension
Scheme will be started
and each beneficiaries
will get Rs 18,000 finan-
cial assistant.
While addressing a
press conference at the
party office in Lucknow,
Yadav said “Samajwadi
Pension Scheme will be
started when SP come to
power. Financial assis-
tance of Rs 18,000 each
will be given annually to
underprivileged women
and families below the
poverty line (BPL) un-
der this scheme.” SP
Party chief said. “Ear-
lier under this scheme,
the financial assistance
was given to Rs 6000 and
there wasn’t a single
family in Bundelkhand
who wouldn’t have been
benefited.”Earlierinthe
day
, Yadav said he will
contest elections after
taking permission from
the people of Azamgarh.
“I will contest elections
after taking permission
from the Azamgarh peo-
ple,” he said.
Elections for the 403
assembly constituen-
cies in UP will be held in
7 phases starting Febru-
ary 10, the Election
Commission said. The
polling in Uttar Pradesh
will be held on February
10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and
March 3 and 7 in seven
phases. The counting of
votes will take place on
March 10. —ANI
Samajwadipensionschemewillincreaseby3timesifSPcomestopower:Akhilesh
Akhilesh Yadav addresses a press conference in Lucknow on
Wednesday. Rashtriya Janhit Sangharsh party president senior
SC advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh was also alongside him.
‘AKHILESH SCARED’
POLICEBUST
ILLEGALARMS
FACTORY,3HELD
Sumit Awasthi
Kanpur: With the aim
to create disturbance
during assembly elec-
tions, preparations were
afoot to sell illegal weap-
ons in rural areas in
large numbers.
The SWAT team of SP
(Outer) and Bidhnu po-
lice stations busted the
illegal gun factory in
which three persons
have been arrested by
the police besides sei-
zure of equipment used
tomanufactureweapons
along with two dozen il-
legal weapons. The ille-
gal weapons were sold
for Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000.
The arrested persons
were in this business for
thelastseveralyears.On
Tuesday night, the ille-
gal firearm factory was
busted in Ghatampur
Gadharian Purva. On
Mondaynight,thepolice
were checking the vehi-
cles near Shambhua
ROB when a SOG team
informed about the ar-
rival of 3 bike-borne
youths with firearms.
Meanwhile,3youthsrid-
ing bikes on seeing the
police tried to take a U-
turn. The police nabbed
the youths and recov-
ered 3 pistols. During
interrogation, the
youths confessed to go-
ing towards the city for
the sale of firearms. The
police station in-charge
Atul Kumar Singh,
along with the SOG
team, raided a house in
Ghatampur Gadharian
Purva village and bust-
ed the firearm factory
.
SP Outer Aditya Shukla along with Ghatampur CO Sushil Dubey
with the accused and recovered weapons.
A team of youths
was working as
surveillance to
give information
about the police
whereabouts
Elderly couple
found dead
in Auraiya
First India Bureau
Auraiya: An elder-
ly couple was mur-
dered at their resi-
dence in the Naveen
Basti area under the
Bidhuna police sta-
tion area. Police
sources said that
retired teacher Gan-
dharva Singh (75)
was the manager of
SGS College and
was residing with
his wife Kamla Devi
(70). Senior police
officials along with
Mahendra Singh,
deputy superinten-
dent of police,
S h a s h i b h u s h a n
Mishra, Bidhuna
police station in-
charge rushed to
the spot and initiat-
ed the investiga-
tions. A forensic
team has collected
evidence from the
crime scene and it
was found that the
back door of their
house was open. Ini-
tial investigations
indicated that the
robbery could be
one reason behind
their murder as
most of the things
in the house were
scattered. Investi-
gation is on and the
cause of death can
be ascertained after
the investigation
report, police said.
DELHI MAN HELD FOR‘REVENGE KILLING’ OF CHILD
New Delhi: The Delhi
Police has arrested a
man from here over a
suspected case of re-
venge killing after the
body of a five-year-old
boy was recovered
from Uttar Pradesh’s
Etah, officials said on
Tuesday. The matter
came to light when the
victim’s father, who is
a labourer, Rajan Singh
reported at Ghazipur
police station stating
that his son has been
missing from his resi-
dence, police said.
Based on the com-
plaint, a case of kid-
napping was registered
and CCTV footages in
and around the area
were checked wherein
the boy was seen going
with his uncle’s wife
Pooja, who lived near
Rajan’s house, a senior
police officer said.
When Pooja was exam-
ined, she told that she
had gone to meet Rajan
at his house and the
boy accompanied her
and was playing out-
side her house, the of-
ficer said. When CCTV
footages were exam-
ined, the boy was spot-
ted going with Sunil
who is a distant rela-
tive of the victim’s fam-
ily, police said. When
Sunil was apprehended
and interrogated, he
disclosed that his
brother Manoj was
married to Rajan’s sis-
ter and had died in
2015. He suspected that
Rajan and his brother
Raj Kumar were re-
sponsible for his death.
He also disclosed that
Rajan’s wife had bor-
rowed Rs 1,500 from
him and was not re-
turning it,” the officer
said.
Therefore, Sunil took
the five-year-old son to
Pillua in Uttar
Pradesh’s Etah, and
killed him on same day
by strangulation. Dep-
uty Commissioner of
Police (East) Priyanka
Kashyap said “The ac-
cused Sunil was arrest-
ed and during further
investigation, the dead
body of the child was
recovered from Pillua,
Etah at his instance on
Monday night. —PTI
THE ACCUSED STRANGULATED HIM TO DEATH
—REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO
SP-RLD
candidate,
59 others
booked for
Covid rules
violation
Muzaffarnagar:
An Uttar Pradesh
assembly poll can-
didate and 59 oth-
ers were booked
for alleged breach-
es of the Election
C o m m i s s i o n ’ s
Model Code of
Conduct and coro-
navirus norms on
Wednesday, police
said. Samajwadi
Party-Rashtriya
Lok Dal alliance
candidate from
Shamli, Prasann
Choudhary, held a
public meeting in
Kuwana village in
the district with-
out taking permis-
sion, they said. A
case was regis-
tered against 60
people, including
Choudhary, under
sections 188 (diso-
bedience to order
duly promulgated
by public serv-
ant), 269 and 270
(spread infection
of any disease) of
the IPC and the
Epidemic Diseas-
es Act, 1897 at
Kandhla Police
Station, they said.
The Election Com-
mission has
banned physical
rallies and assem-
bly of people in
the state till Janu-
ary 22 due to the
spike in coronavi-
rus cases. —PTI
4 MISCREANTS ROB 200 KG SILVER 1
LAKH CASH IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN AGRA
First India Bureau
Agra: Four miscreants
riding in a car robbed
200 kg of silver by stop-
ping the courier com-
pany’s car on the beach
road on Wednesday
morning. The four mis-
creants had their faces
covered with masks.
It was reported that
that the miscreants
looted silver worth Rs
1.27 crore in this inci-
dent which happened
near Rohtak canal of
police station Sadar.
On receiving infor-
mation about the inci-
dent, ADG Rajiv Krish-
na and SSP Sudhir Ku-
mar Singh reached the
spot along with the
force. ADG Rajiv Krish-
na told that the employ-
ees of the courier com-
pany have told that the
miscreants have robbed
200 kg of silver from
them. According to the
employees of the cou-
rier company, the mis-
creants had come in a
white colored Honda
Amaze car.
On the basis of the
information, the case is
being investigated in
the district and search
of a white-colored Hon-
da Amaze car is on. But
the police have not
found any clue about
the miscreants. The
ADG said that apart
from silver, the miscre-
ants have also looted
one lakh rupees in cash.
ADG Rajeev Krishna, SSP
Sudhir Kumar SP city Vikas
Kumar at the incident spot.
TEAM FORMED
ALL DONE
CM Yogi Adityanath with Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya
at BJP HQ in New Delhi on Wednesday after attending
the party’s meeting on UP elections. —PHOTO BY PTI
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
55,75,701
TOTAL DEATHS
27,14,67,563
TOTAL RECOVERED
5,87,54,601
ACTIVE CASES
33,57,97,865
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
4,87,226
TOTAL DEATHS
3,55,83,039
TOTAL RECOVERED
18,30,976
ACTIVE CASES
3,79,01,241
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
The human being is a “work in
process”, over the years I have
realized that all of us are
incomplete, striving towards ‘completeness’.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Former CM says Aparna’s joining is in fact spreading of SP ideology in BJP
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav congratulates
sister-in-law Aparna for joining BJP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party (SP) president
Akhilesh Yadav on
Wednesday congratu-
lated his sister-in-law
Aparna Yadav for leav-
ing SP and joining the
BJP. Talking to news-
men here on Wednes-
day Yadav sarcastical-
ly said “her joining of
BJP is in fact spread-
ing of Samajwadi Par-
ty ideology in that
party.”
Aparna Yadav is
wife of Mulayam Sin-
gh Yadav’s younger
son Prateek Yadav
from his second wife
Sadhana Yadav. Apar-
na’s joining in the BJP
has been in circulation
for the last couple of
days as Akhilesh was
unwilling to nominate
her for 2022 Assembly
election either from
Lucknow Cantt seat or
any other constituency
including Amethi.
Aparna was SP’s can-
didate from Lucknow
Cantt in 2017 and had
lost to BJP’s Rita Ba-
huguna Joshi.
The BJP has recently
seen a steady exodus of
MLAs/senior leaders to
SP and induction of
Aparna into BJP is be-
ing seen as the party’s
way to hit back. In fact,
she is neither a politi-
cian nor has any solid
political base and her
only claim to fame is
that she is daughter-in-
law of Mulayam Singh
Yadav. There is a feeling
in political circle here
that the BJP has taken
her only for posturing
and not for any major
political impact. “It is
merely an optics”, said
a political expert. She
had been pressing her
father-in-law for SP
ticket but according to
insiders elder Yadav
was opposed to “anoth-
er political power cen-
tre” within the family.
Aparna’s husband’s
maternal uncle and for-
mer SP MLA from Bid-
huna Pramod Gupta is
also set to join BJP.
Pramod Gupta is hus-
band of Kalpama Gup-
ta-elder sister of Sadh-
na Yadav. Last week
another close relative
of Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav and SP MLA from
Sirsaganj Hariom Ya-
dav had joined the BJP.
During the last five
years Aparna Yadav’s
statements in favour of
BJP government had
been quite embarrass-
ing for the party. She
had also invited Chief
Minister Yogi to her
cow shelter farm in
Lucknow. On social me-
dia she was quite active
in favour of BJP.
SP national president Akhilesh Yadav during a press conference
at party office in Lucknow on Wednesday.
MSY TRIED TO CONVINCE APARNA
YADAV NOT TO JOIN BJP: AKHILESH
SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav tried hard to con-
vince his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav to not join the
BJP, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on
Wednesday. He also addressed specula-
tion on whether he would contest the
assembly elections and said he would
consult the people of his parliamen-
tary constituency Azamgarh. “If I
contest the assembly election, it
will be after taking permission
from the people of Azamgarh
who have elected me as MP,”
he told reporters.
Impressed by PM Modi’s work for
making women self-reliant:Aparna
First India Bureau
New Delhi/ Luc-
know: In a massive
jolt to the SP and its
leadership, sister-in-
law of Akhilesh Yadav,
Aparna Yadav joined
the BJP on Wednesday
,
putting all specula-
tions to rest.
Taking a dig at SP
chief Akhilesh Yadav
during a press brief-
ing, the Deputy CM
Keshav Prasad Mau-
rya said that Akhilesh
Yadav has failed as a
family man, as a CM
and also as a member
of Parliament. Mau-
rya said despite all the
claims of develop-
ment made by the SP
leader and former
CM, he was not being
able to decide to con-
test from any of the
constituencies that he
falsely claimed to have
developed during his
tenure and was busy
taking credits for oth-
ers’ work.
Aparna Yadav said
she has always been
impressed by the work
being done by PM,
whether it was his
Swacchh Bharat mis-
sion, or the campaign
to make women self-
reliant. UP BJP chief
Swatantra Dev Singh
said Aparana’s join-
ing the BJP will em-
power ‘Matrashakti’.
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the first
phase of elections, the
BJP strategists are find-
ing it more difficult to
deal with the dissenters
of their camp than the
challenges from the op-
position parties.
BJP has fielded new
faces in Etmadpur,
Fatehpur Sikri, Khera-
garh, Rural and Fate-
habad assembly constit-
uencies.Due to the de-
nial of tickets to five
sitting MLAs in Agra
district, there is a pos-
sibility of internal re-
bellion in BJP
.
Jitendra Satwai was
the sitting MLA from
Siwalkhas seat of
Meerut, but this time
the supporters of Sat-
wai have become agi-
tated due to Maninder
Pal Singh getting the
ticket. There has been a
sit-in demonstration at
the western regional of-
fice of BJP in Meerut.
When former BJP state
pres Dr. Laxmikant Baj-
pai refused to contest,
his supporter Kamal
Dutt Sharma was given
a ticket from the Meerut
city seat, which angered
the supporters of MoS
Sunil Bharala. Former
BJPMLAGopalKalihas
blown the bugle of rebel-
lion after Dinesh Khatik
was nominated as the
candidatefromMeerut’s
Hastinapur seat.
Sangeeta Chauhan,
wife of former min late
Chetan Chauhan was a
contender for the ticket
from Amroha. But she
could not get the ticket.
Usha Chauhan, wife of
former min Virendra
Sirohi from Sadar seat
of Bulandshahr; Vimla
Solanki, sitting MLA
from Secunderabad seat
and Dr Anita Lodhi
from Dibai were also de-
nied tickets. So there is
a lot of resentment
among their supporters.
In Bareilly, there is dis-
pleasure in a faction of
BJP over the denial of
ticket to Manish Aggar-
wal, son of former min
Rajesh Agarwal, who
has expressed his dis-
pleasure.
Dr. Raghavendra
Sharma has been made
thecandidateinplaceof
RajeshMishraaliasPap-
pu Bharataul from
Bithrichanpur seat of
Bareilly
. leading to dis-
satisfaction among the
local workers. Upset
over the ticket given to
BJP MLA from Baghpat
Yogesh Dhama, BJP
workers protested out-
side the house of UP in-
charge Dharmendra
Pradhan in Delhi.
It is evident that there
is resentment among
the workers in many
seats regarding ticket
distribution in western
UP, although the BJP
spokesperson Sanjay
Chaudhary said, “Our
party is organization
based, not individual
centric. All decisions
are taken in the interest
of the party
. Some peo-
ple may be upset. The
party and the ideologi-
cal organization are in
constant touch with
those who have not been
able to get tickets. To-
gether we will ensure
victory
.”
New Delhi: Soon after
Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav’s daughter-in-law
Aparna Yadav joined
the BJP on Wednesday
,
Union Minister Anur-
agThakursaidthather
joining the party is an
example of women of
Uttar Pradesh feeling
safe in the BJP
.
Earlier on Wednes-
day
, in a major setback
to the SP ahead of UP
elections, Aparna Ya-
dav joined the BJP.
Speaking to the report-
ers here, Thakur said,
“In the past few days,
many sitting MLCs,
MLAs have left SP and
joined the BJP
. We wel-
come them. It would
strengthen the BJP.
Aparna Yadav too
joined the BJP
. This in-
dicateshowtheUPgov-
ernment led by CM
Yogi Adityanath has
given protection to
women.”
Citing Aparna’s join-
ing as an example of
women’s safety in UP,
Thakur said that be it
the daughter of former
BJP Minister Swami
Prasad Maurya who
left the party recently
and joined the SP, or
the daughter-in-law of
Mulayam Singh, both
of them feel safe in the
BJP
.
BJP chief JP Nadda welcoming Aparna Yadav into the BJP fold. CM Yogi Adityanath,UP BJP
chief Swatantra Dev Singh and deputy CM Dinesh Sharma also seen.
Lucknow: CM Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday wel-
comed Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter-in-law
of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, in the BJP
family. “Welcome Aparna ji into the BJP family,”
he tweeted and also posted a picture. Earlier in the
day, Aparna Yadav joined the BJP in the presence
of UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and state
party chief Swatantra Dev Singh. Aparna Yadav
said the nation’s interest has always been a priority
for her and praised several schemes of the BJP.
CM WELCOMES APARNA INTO BJP FOLD
Aparna’sinductionshowswomenfeelingsafeinBJP:Anurag
UPpolls:Resentment
brewinginBJPover
ticketdistribution
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: One of the
most widely read and
appreciated epic from
Indian history has been
the Mahabharata,
which has not only left
an indelible civiliza-
tional mark on land but
alsoleftitsstamponthe
psyche and even the
politics of the nation.
But, like they say his-
tory repeats itself, it
seems that the grandest
epicisbeingrepeatedin
thepresentdayandage,
and in fact in the same
region as all those eons
ago - Yesterday’s Hasti-
napur, today’s Uttar
Pradesh.
But the parallels
don’t end there. In the
epic was a family and
two sets of opposing
groups and in the ‘Kali-
yuga’Mahabharatatoo,
there is one family and
two sets of opposing
groups! Interestingly,
here too both the fac-
tions are aiming for po-
litical power.
Let us clear the
smoke. The family is
‘Netaji’ Mulayam Ya-
dav’s and the groups
are Akhilesh Yadav’s
and the other being,
Aparna Yadav - the wife
of Mulayam’s second
wife’s son. On Wednes-
day
, amidst much pomp
and fanfare, Aparna
joinedtheBharatiyaJa-
n a t a
Party,
which is being seen as a
major blow to the SP
and particularly the Ya-
dav family
.
But what transpired
that Aparna had to en-
ter BJP, against the
family and deal this
shocker to the SP right
before elections? In-
formed sources in the
‘relevant circles’ close
to Aparna and Akhile-
sh,revealthatalmost16
years ago, there was an
agreement between her
husband -Prateek Ya-
dav - and Akhilesh Ya-
dav. According to the
agreement, the parties
had agreed that only
Akhilesh will be the
heir to the father’s po-
litical legacy’, thereby
pushing Prateek to a
‘Vanvasa’, hypotheti-
cally speaking. Fur-
thermore, it was also
agreed upon that Mu-
layam’s second wife -
Sadhna Gupta’s son
- Prateek will never en-
ter politics.
In fact, just like
the Kuru land
was divided
equally be-
tween Hastinapur and
Indraprastha, similar,
in the modern version
too, at the time of the
agreement, Mulayam’s
property was also di-
vided equally between
the two brothers - Akh-
ilesh and Prateek. How-
ever, much like Akhile-
sh’s wife Dimple, Apar-
na too wanted her
‘right’ in the party and
due to this insistence of
Aparna, SP gave her
ticket in 2017. She con-
testedandtasteddefeat.
However, she blamed
Akhilesh for her defeat.
In such a situation,
Akhilesh Yadav, this
time around, did not
give the ticket to any
family member and the
political circles are rife
with this belief that af-
terthisdecisionof Akh-
ilesh, Aparna came in
contact with BJP and
formally accepted the
membership of BJP
.
So battleground ‘Ku-
rukshetra’(UP)isready
to witness yet another
Mahabharata, and this
time too, the victor will
rewrite the history of
the land!
Modern-day Mahabharata in UP as ‘PATRIARCH’
Mulayam unable to pacify and settle warring cousins!
THE INTERNAL STORY OF HOW AND WHY APARNA YADAV DEFECTED NOT JUST HER PARTY BUT EVEN FAMILY TO JOIN THE BJP!
Mulayam S Yadav Akhilesh Yadav Prateek Yadav Aparna Yadav

LUCKNOW, THURSDAY
JANUARY 20, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
With a combo of chill and pandemic times, on-
screen time is going to go—high and this
Throwback Thursday we bring you, Jawaani
Diwani, a 1972 movie – with songs you still
dance and sway too!
awani Diwani, I
would like to ask
you to watch it for
its stellar perfor-
mances and excel-
lent plot, but I
can’t … so won’t.
The plot with
young love reject-
ed by elders, due to the family
feud is old hat.
So, I will ask you to watch it
for the RD Burman scores, beau-
tifully supported by Kishore Da
and Asha Bhonsle to give one
among the most memorable
tracks ever where each number
is still hummable after decades.
I would ask you to watch it to
see Jaya Bhaduri in a different
role, glamorous, candy-floss with
trend-setting clothes and hair-
styles as she trots around hold-
ing a doll and falling in love with
a chubby Randhir Kapoor but
she is hardly her confident self.
I could ask you to watch it for
a feisty, non-weepy Nirupama
Roy, a different A K Hangal but
not much then too.
I suppose I could ask you to
watch for the college an-
tics, the pattern of
college-love set by
this movie for
others to fol-
low till date-
the songs,
the circle
of friends, wooing the girls, the
ongoing rivalry, with the bets
and pranks they engage in etc.
But it is the music that carries
Jawani Diwani They add the ex-
uberance of youth and the expec-
tations of the flower generation
with an unapologetic abandon, a
joie de vivre and more to the
movie that by the time one starts
looking around for the plot and
characterisations amid the col-
lege rebellion, the movie is over
and you carry on singing the
songs for a long long time.
The iconic Jaane jaan dhoond-
ta phir raha is hauntingly beau-
tiful and sexy though it’s only
because of it’s lyrics, the music
and Kishore Da and Asha- the
landscape and the stars do not
add to it, trust me.
Saamne yeh kaun aaya is
memorable also for Jaya – one of
her most stylish looks which you
can duplicate even today and
catch eye-balls at a party – a
bright shirt with white denim
and a studded belt to boot. And
regardless of the ‘image-change’
of Jaya, this is the only song
where she is not in a saree.
NahinNahinabhinahin moves
the movie forward sets the stage
for the next scene but hear it for
the sheer reluctance in Asha’s
voice with an underlying inter-
est- the ‘na-na’ is legendary
.
Yeh Jawani hai Diwani is sim-
ply ‘high on life’ hear it on a
down day and it is sure to pep
you up and get your feet tapping.
Agar Saaz chheda the antak-
shri number is better than most,
they were quite a staple in the
earlier movies since in the
days without internet and
surfing – antakshri was a
popular ‘time-pass’ and
many have made eyes at
each other during this
in reel and real life.
Hai tauba mujhe
tune is unremarka-
ble in all respects.
And I would have
preferred a slimmer
hero and a cuter
doll!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
J

10
ETC
“NOT A MILD FLU, TAKE
PRECAUTION GET TESTED”
he third wave of
Covid-19 is here
with exponential-
ly more and more
people getting in-
fected by the Omi-
cron variant. This
new heavily mutated vari-
ant has taken priority over
the earlier Delta variant.
Although Omicron is said
to be milder, the rate of in-
fection is far greater. With
the disease spreading like
wildfire across the coun-
try, City First spoke once
again to Consultant Pul-
monologist, Narayana
Multispeciality Hospital
in Jaipur, Dr. Shivani Swa-
mi in an exclusive inter-
view to gain a better un-
derstanding of the Omi-
cron variant, its rate of
transmissibility, treat-
ment strategy, and herd
immunity against the vi-
rus.
In the past, Dr. Swami
has worked in some of the
most prestigious hospitals
in the country like the Me-
danta: The MediCity in
Gurgaon and the Fortis
Hospital in New Delhi. She
specialises in pulmonolo-
gy, sleep medicine, allergy
and immunology as well
as critical care.
Q - Some doctors are say-
ing that Omicron is
mild and not so fright-
ening; whereas the
others are saying we
should not sit back
thinking Omicron is
just like a common
cold.
So which statement do
you believe to be true?
A - I think both are par-
tially true. So far, what-
ever we have seen of
Omicron is a mild infec-
tion. However, this vari-
ant is extremely conta-
gious. The turnaround
time that was 3-7 days in
the Delta variant has re-
duced to 1-2 days in the
Omicron variant. We
cannot say it is a mild
infection because as per
international data, the
mortality rate with
Omicron is also around
1-2%. So, we have to
have our guard up, fol-
low Covid appropriate
behaviour and avoid
panic.
Q- What is the difference
between the 2nd wave
and the 3rd wave?
A - Vaccination has made
a lot of difference. The
severity is much less
compared to last time.
This is because of the
massive vaccination
drive that has taken
place in which a major-
ity of the people are al-
ready vaccinated. Hav-
ing said that, there is a
huge scene of reinfec-
tion and breakthrough
infection. This means
that people who
have had previ-
ous Covid in-
fections and
have taken
the vaccine
are also get-
ting infect-
ed.
Q - What
sort of pre-
c a u t i o n s
should peo-
ple be taking
now?
A - Most common
precautions like
social distanc-
ing, hand hy-
giene and mask-
ing are the
most impor-
tant. Apart
from this, those who are
due for the second dose
of their vaccine or the
booster dose should go
forward and do it. Espe-
cially, children over 15
years of age who can
now get vaccinated.
Eventually, we will ex-
pand it to reach other
age groups as well. That
is what will help us
achieve better immuni-
ty
.
Q - What will help flatten
the curve of the 3rd
wave? Herd immunity
or vaccine-induced im-
munity?
A - Both things together
will have a bigger im-
pact. On their own nei-
ther option is full proof.
What we are seeing now
is that vaccinated peo-
ple are getting infected
and those who had Cov-
id earlier are also get-
ting re-infected. There
is no complete bubble
where we can say that
we have achieved com-
plete immunity
. Howev-
er, time will tell. But
eventually, we will have
to live with precaution.
Q - With Omicron being
milder than Delta
would you say we are
slowly nearing the end
of the pandemic?
A – Maybe we are slowly
moving from the pan-
demic stage towards the
endemic stage. It is the
way forward. Hopefully,
we do not get any more
dreadful mutations and
can deal with the dis-
ease properly
.
Q –What is an alarming
trend that can be seen
among people in the
3rd wave?
A - A dangerous trend that
has been noticed is that
those infected are hav-
ing fever for which
they are sitting at
home for two days
after which they go
back to work with-
out getting test-
ed. It needs to be
stressed upon
that if you are
d i s p l a y i n g
symptoms of
Covid you must
get tested. All of
us have children
or the elderly
p o p u l a t i o n
around us. The dis-
ease can take a compli-
cated turn for children
who are not vaccinated.
We need to protect
them, get tested and fol-
low the proper quaran-
tine period and not
take it lightly. A child
may develop complica-
tions later on. Even in
the earlier waves chil-
dren who got Covid
were prone to long term
complications. Omicron
is affecting children
more severely. We have
to be cautious, get tested
and not take it as mild
flu.
Q – As a medical practi-
tioner what do you
think would be the
best response to Omi-
cron by the State?
A – On a strict note, enter-
tainment needs to be
curtailed. If restaurants
and theatres are open
people tend to go. Once
you are sitting inside
the restaurant you will
take off your mask to
eat or drink. We will
have to eventually cur-
tail these activities as
the numbers are expo-
nentially increasing in
every district in the
State especially Jaipur.
We will have to revisit
as a policy public gath-
erings like weddings
and other functions.
Q- How is Omicron not
affecting lungs this
time?
A – Mutations have led to
certain changes in the
virus that so far Omi-
cron is not affecting the
lungs too much. It is ma-
jorly the upper respira-
tory tract only which is
infected. This is a good
thing and the reason
why the hospitalisation
rate is much less.
Q - Is it true that only 7
days of quarantine is
needed for Omicron? Is
this because this vari-
ant is milder?
A - Yes, as per the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the
quarantine period has
been reduced to 5 to 7
days. After which the
next 5 days people can
step out but they have to
be cautious and keep
their masks on at all
times. This is because
after 7 days the viral
load reduces. Also,
healthcare workers
across the globe are get-
ting severely infected
and there is a dearth of
workforce. So, keeping
both these things in
mind, the quarantine
period has been re-
duced.
Q - How is the Narayana
Hospital geared up to
meet the present de-
mand for hospitalisa-
tion? What is the cur-
rent treatment strate-
gy?
A- Right now, we do not
have a lot of patients
that require hospital ad-
mission. We are treat-
ing patients majorly
based on OPD and we
have also started online
consultation. So that
those infected can seek
treatment from our
specialists from the
comforts of their
homes. That being said
we are regularly re-
viewing the situation
and if there is an in-
creased requirement
for hospital beds, we
have the infrastruc-
ture to start immediate
admissions.
T
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
Dr Shivani Swami

20012022 first india lucknow

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