20032022 first india new delhi

Modi still world’s most popular leader;
ratings highest among 13 world leaders
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
remains the world’s
most popular leader
with an approval rating
of 77 per cent, accord-
ing to a US-based global
leader approval tracker
– Morning Consult.
OnFridaywhenIndia
was celebrating festival
of colours Holi, Morn-
ing Consult Political In-
telligence released its
latest data highlighting
that the approval rating
of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi is the high-
est among the leaders
from 13 countries.
Among the 13 leaders
surveyed by the re-
search firm, PM Modi
tops the list with 77 per
cent, followed by Mexi-
co’s Andrés Manuel
López Obrador with 63
per cent. Italy’s Mario
Draghi enjoys 54 per
cent, while Japan’s Fu-
mio Kishida has an ap-
proval rating of 45 per
cent.
PM Modi also hap-
pens to have the lowest
disapproval rating at 17
per cent.
The data shows that
the Indian Prime Minis-
ter remained the most
popular global leader
for most of the months
from January 2020 to
March 2022. The latest
approval ratings are
based on data collected
from March 9-15, 2022.
In the last two years,
PM Modi’s approval rat-
inghadtouchedahighof
84 per cent on May 2,
2020. His approval rating
was at the lowest on May
7, 2021, with 63 per cent
during the second wave
of coronavirus in the
country
. However, more
or less, Modi’s approval
ratings have remained
relativelyhighcompared
to other global leaders.
PM Narendra Modi.
New Delhi (Agencies):
Japan aims to invest $42
billion over the next
five years in India,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said after a
bilateral meeting with
his Japanese counter-
part Fumio Kishida in
Delhi this evening. “Ja-
pan will raise its invest-
ment target in India to
an ambitious 5 trillion
yen or Rs 3.2 lakh crore
($42 billion) over the
next five years,” an-
nounced PM Modi.
Kishida, accompa-
nied by a high-level del-
egation, arrived in Del-
hi for the 14th India-Ja-
pan Annual Summit at
around 3:40 pm on his
first visit to India as the
head of the Japanese
government.
The two sides inked
six agreements provid-
ing for the expansion of
bilateral cooperation in
a range of areas, be-
sides firming a separate
clean energy partner-
ship.
At a joint briefing,
PM Modi said deepen-
ing India-Japan ties
will not only benefit the
two countries but will
also help in encourag-
ing peace, prosperity
and stability in the In-
do-Pacific region.
Ex-Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe in
2014 announced 3.5 tril-
lion yen in investment
during visit to India.
5 YRS, $42 BN IN INDIA
...Japan aims to invest: PM Modi after bilateral
meet with Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida
NEW DELHI l SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 199
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
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The ‘cold-hearted’ Gerbera
flowers that blossom best
in chilly mountain weather,
provide warmth to the beholder.
The Egyptians believed that
they symbolised a closeness
to nature and a devotion to the
sun, whereas the Celts (the
largest group in ancient Europe)
thought they lessened the sor-
rows and stresses of everyday
life. Generally, gerberas symbol-
ise innocence, purity, cheerful-
ness and loyal love.
Deepening India-Japan
ties will not only benefit
the two countries but
will also help in encouraging
peace, prosperity and stability
in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan will raise its investment
target in India over next 5 years
—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Russian invasion of
Ukraine is a “very
serious issue which is
shaking the roots of
international order. No
permission should be given by
one side to change the status quo
in world order by use of force
—Fumio Kishida, Japanese Prime Minister
GHULAM NABI AZAD MEETS SONIA GANDHI
DID G-21-CONG REACH
A ‘COMPROMISE’?
CRPF may not be needed
in J&K, NE in a year: Shah
Leader of the Congress
dissident group G-21
Ghulam Nabi Azad met
party chief Sonia Gan-
dhiatherresidence,cap-
ping days of escalated
activities by the bloc,
which has reiterated its
demands for party re-
forms and “inclusive
and and collective lead-
ership”.
According to sources,
crucial responsibility
can be given to Anand
Sharma, Ghulam Nabi
Azad and Manish Ti-
wari. Discussion on
sending Anand Sharma
to Rajya Sabha took
place while Ghulam
Nabi Azad can be given
the responsibility of
Karnataka or may take
RS route. Meanwhile,
Deepender Hooda can
be given an important
role in Haryana.
Senior Congress lead-
er Mallikarjun Kharge
on Saturday said Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad meeting
Sonia Gandhi is a wel-
come move as Azad said
he wants to strengthen
the party
.
Srinagar (Agencies):
Praising the Central Re-
serve Police Force or the
CRPF
,thecountry’slarg-
est paramilitary force,
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Saturday said
in a few years’ time the
force may no longer be
needed in Jammu and
Kashmir and northeast.
This is for the first
time that the govern-
ment at the highest level
hasbroadlyindicateddo-
ing away with massive
security deployment in
Kashmir and also set a
timeline of achieving it
within a few years.
SAFFRONISING EDU
NOT AN ISSUE: NAIDU
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
asked people of the country to
give up their colonial mindset”
and learn to take pride in their
own identity. “We must go
back to our roots,” he said.
BED OF GERBERA
DAISIES - BLISS IN
MOUNTAINS’ PRIDE
Progress in Indo-Japan ties
limitless, PM Modi tells his
Japanese counterpart
PM Kishida also to agree
to 300 billion Yen loan and
signs energy cooperation
document on carbon reduction
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida exchange
greetings at Hyderabad House, during the latters visit to India in New Delhi on Saturday.
1
2
Indian Oil finalises deal
to import from Russia
Mann’s 1st Cabinet
meet: 25,000 govt
jobs for Punjab
Moscow (Agencies):
Indian Oil Corporation
Limited has signed a
deal with a Russian oil
company to import 3
million barrels of
crude. It’s a company-
to-company deal.
While Western coun-
tries have imposed
sanctions, including
the US’ oil import em-
bargo, on Russia in re-
sponse to Moscow’s at-
tack on Ukraine, there
are no restrictions on
Indian oil companies
for buying crude
oil from Russian oil
companies.
Chandigarh: Punjab
Chief Minister Bhag-
want Mann on Satur-
day, in the first deci-
sion of first Cabinet
meeting, threw open
25,000 jobs in various
State Government de-
partments, including
10,000 in Police De-
partment.
Meanwhile, 10
ministers, including
2 doctors, took oath
on Saturday
. P3
RUSSIA LAUNCHES
HYPERSONIC MISSILE
IN UKRAINE,A FIRST
Russia has claimed
it used a hypersonic
missile to strike a
large weapons depot
in Ukraine’s western
Ivano-Frankivsk region.
It marks the first time
a Kinzhal – or ‘Dag-
ger’ – missile has been
deployed since Vladimir
Putin sent his troops
into Ukraine.
BHAGWAT REACHES
G’PUR,MEETS YOGI
Gorakhpur: Acting
chief minister Yogi
Adityanath called on
Rashtriya Swayam-
sevak Sangh (RSS)
chief Mohan Bhagwat,
who arrived in Gora-
khpur on Saturday on
a three-day visit. The
close door one-to-one
meeting lasted for over
half and hour during
which Aditayanath is
understood to have
extended Bhagwat an
invitation to attend the
swearing in ceremony
of his new government
to be held in Lucknow
on March 25. The tim-
ing of the RSS chief’s
visit just days ahead of
his formally taking over
the reigns aimed at
sending a political mes-
sage to the party that
his candidature has the
backing of the Sangh
and both are on the
same page now unlike
in the past.
Sonia Gandhi with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge.
Home Minister Amit Shah

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2022
02
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UNDERPASSTODECONGEST
CLOGGED ASHRAM CROSSING
Delayed by over an year, opening of the new underpass will benefit lakhs of commuters
New Delhi (PTI): After
a delay of over an year
during which it missed
nearly eight deadlines,
the 750-metre-long un-
derpass at the perenni-
ally clogged Ashram
crossing in Delhi is all
set to open for public
next week, a move that
will benefit lakhs of
commuters.
Delhi’s Public Works
Department has final-
ised the construction
work of the underpass.
“The construction
work has almost been
completed. Only some
finishing touches are
being given. We hope to
open it next week on the
given date,” a govern-
ment official said.
Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia had earlier
this month carried out
an inspection of the
underpass in south
Delhi and had an-
nounced that it would
be opened for the pub-
lic on March 22.
The foundation stone
for the underpass was
laid by CM Arvind Ke-
jriwal on December 24,
2019, and it was to be
completed in a year.
PWD officials said
the deadline was first
extended to March 2021.
It was further pushed to
June 30, 2021 and then
to September 2021. It
was again extended to
December 2021 and fi-
nally to March 2022.
The officials said
they are yet to get a
schedule for its inaugu-
ration ceremony from
the government.
An official said shed
work on ramps of the
underpass is underway
and footpaths along the
road of the underpass
is also to be done. Both
of these can be done
even after the facility is
opened, he said.
Sisodia, who also
holds the PWD portfo-
lio, said opening of the
underpass will benefit
lakhs of people daily
.
Ashram Chowk is an
important link between
central and south Delhi
and also with
Faridabad. The junc-
tion connects Mathura
Road and Ring Road
(linking Lajpat Nagar-
Sarai Kale Khan and
the DND flyover).
According to data
provided by the traffic
police, around 2.5 lakh
to three lakh vehicles
cross the Ashram inter-
section every day dur-
ing peak traffic hours.
—REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE
8 DEADLINES
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhigovernmentplans
to assess the “success
and survival rate” of all
transplanted trees in
the national capital and
has roped in the Dehra-
dun-based Forest Re-
search Institute for this
purpose, officials said.
According to forest
department data,
12,852 trees had been
transplanted at 23 sites
in the city till the end
of last year.
To assess the “suc-
cess and survival” rate
of the transplanted
trees, an FRI team will
look at the site selection
criteria for transplanta-
tion, size of pits and
their spacing; method
and time of transplan-
tation, health and
growth of the trans-
planted trees and main-
tenance schedule, an
official of the depart-
ment said.
FRI scientists will
also take stock of irri-
gation frequency, soil-
moisture conservation,
check dams, contour
trenches, fencing meas-
ures, silviculture prac-
tices and protection
strategies against biotic
and abiotic interferenc-
es etc, according to a
proposal received from
the institute.
The study will be con-
ducted over a period of
six months after the ap-
proval from the minis-
ter concerned, the offi-
cial said.
FRI Director A S
Rawat will head the
team which will have
around seven members
with expertise in silvi-
culture, nursery and
forest management.
3rd-partyauditon
survivalrateof
transplantedtrees
Delhi Police penalised
more than 2,450 people
for traffic violations in
the city on Holi and
Shab-e-Barat, including
over 190 for drunken
driving, officials said
on Saturday
.
"A total of 2,456 chal-
lans were issued for
various traffic viola-
tions and a majority of
these were issued to mo-
torists without hel-
mets," an official said.
According to data
shared by the police,
out of the total, 1,921
people were fined for
riding without helmets,
314 for triple-riding, 196
for drunken driving
and 25 for dangerous
driving. Last year, the
Delhi Police had fined
3,282 people for traffic
violations on Holi.
2,450+ people
fined for traffic
violations on Holi,
Shab-e-Barat
Delhi High Court has
asked the Sport Author-
ity of India and the All
India Sports Council of
the Deaf to respond to a
plea by a woman tennis
player challenging the
decision of authorities
to take only 2+2 men
and women players for
tennis teams for the
Brazil Deaflympics in
place of the minimum
4+4 players.
The petitioner sought
to include her name in
the list of participants
selected for the lawn
tennis teams (men and
women) for the ensuing
camp scheduled from
March last week to en-
able her to participate
in the Deaflympics to be
held in Brazil from May
1 to 15. Petitioner Kirti
Lata said the selection
trials were conducted
on February 24 and 25
by the authorities in
which she secured third
place and was asked to
give photographs and
other documents.
Brazil Deaflympics: Plea
over downsizing teams
New Delhi (PTI): As
many as 52 students
who studied at the Ja-
mia Millia Islamia's
Residential Coaching
Academy have cleared
the civil services mains
exam, the varsity said.
These candidates will
now appear for the per-
sonality test (inter-
view), which will be
held in April.
“Fifty-two students
from the Residential
Coaching Academy,
Centre for Coaching
and Career Planning,
Jamia Millia Islamia
cleared the civil servic-
es main exam, 2021,”
the university said in a
statement on Friday
.
52JamiaRCAstudents
clearcivilservicesmains
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): A Delhi-based
lawyer on Saturday
wrote to President
Ram Nath Kovind,
seeking reopening
and re-investigation
by a SIT into the tar-
geted killings of
Kashmiri Pandits
during 1989-90. Su-
preme Court lawyer
Vineet Jindal said in
his letter that thou-
sands of people lost
their lives in the tar-
geted killings.
The lawyer said in
his letter that after
the massacre, succes-
sive governments as-
sured justice to Kash-
miri Pandits, but
nothing happened.
He further said that
215 FIRs were regis-
tered and the cases
were investigated by
the J&K Police, but to
no avail.
He further added,
“Therefore, it certain-
ly raises a doubt as to
what kind of investi-
gation was done for
these FIRs and the
central government is
also responsible for
ensuring justice to
the families of the
victims and punish-
ing ‘terrorists like Ya-
sin Malik’. who was
one of the active par-
ticipants of the geno-
cide.” The letter fur-
ther said that there
are many others like
Malik who were ac-
tively involved in this
massacre and are be-
lieved to be behind
bars, but due to the
ignorant attitude of
the police officers and
the liberal attitude of
the previous govern-
ments, the victims
were Justice has not
yet been served.
Delhi lawyer writes
to President Kovind
seeking special probe
KASHMIRI PANDITS KILLINGS
Delhi administered
only 13 doses of the
Covid-19 vaccine on
Holi, which is one of
the lowest figures the
city has seen since the
vaccination drive be-
gan in January last
year. Of these, 10 doses
were given to those be-
tween the ages of 18 and
44, one in the age group
of 45 to 60, and two were
given to persons aged
above 60, according to
data from the govern-
ment’s CoWin portal.
No doses were admin-
istered on the day to
children between the
ages of 12 and 14 years
for whom the vaccina-
tion drive began this
Wednesday. The re-
sponse from this age
group has been slow,
with just over 3,900
shots being adminis-
tered in the last two
days. There are over 6
lakh children in this
age group in Delhi. The
numbers are likely to
pick up when camps
will be organised in
schools. “Currently,
children are on vaca-
tion. Many are out of
the city as well. So, the
vaccination rate is low-
er. Hopefully, the num-
bers will increase once
the drive begins in
schools. We have al-
ready reached out to the
department of educa-
tion to check with
schools and give us a
schedule on when the
camps can be organ-
ised,” said a Delhi gov-
ernment official.
Vaccination numbers
have been dipping in
Delhi since mid-Febru-
ary as the city reached
its saturation point in
immunizing most cate-
gories of people.
Delhiadministersjust13CovidjabsonHoli
DIP IN NUMBERS
New Delhi (PTI): A
man was killed by five
people following an ar-
gument at a pan shop in
west Delhi's Naraina
area. All the accused in
the incident, which oc-
curredonFridayaround
10 pm, have been appre-
hended, they said.
A case under IPC sec-
tions 302 (murder) and
34 has been registered
and five people, includ-
ing a juvenile, have
been apprehended.
1 dead, 5 held
after fatal brawl
in Naraina
New Delhi (ANI): Del-
hi Police has busted an
international prostitu-
tion racket and arrested
three women from Uz-
bekistan along with two
agents from the eastern
part of the national
capital, an official said
on Saturday
. According
to the official, an infor-
mation was received
about a sex racket being
run in a OYO Hotel situ-
ated at Shashi Garden.
"A decoy customer
was sent to the hotel
and subsequently a
raid was conducted at
the said hotel and three
Uzbek national females
along with two agents
namely Praveen Ku-
mar and Ketan Kansal
were found present at
the time of the raid,"
DCP (east) Priyanka
Kashyap said.
Accordingly, the po-
lice registered a case
under ITP and Foreign-
ers Act. During sus-
tained interrogation,
all the accused persons
disclosed that to earn
easy money they all are
running the sex racket.
International sex racket busted
in Delhi,3 Uzbek women held
New Delhi (PTI): Del-
hi Police Commission-
er Rakesh Asthana on
Friday visited several
duty points in the capi-
tal and exchanged
pleasantries with per-
sonnel deployed for se-
curity on Holi.
The police chief also
visited integrated
checking pickets of the
traffic unit and the dis-
trict police deployed to
check revelries and un-
ruly driving, it said.
Asthana said ade-
quate security arrange-
ments have been made
to ensure peace and
harmony during Holi
and observance of
Sahb-e-Barat.
Patrolling has been
intensified and addi-
tional force has been
deployed in communal-
ly sensitive areas.
DelhiPolicechiefvisitsdutypoints
on Holi, interacts with personnel
A healthcare worker inoculates a girl with a dose of vaccine.
AAP KI HOLI!
Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh play with colours during the celebration
of Holi at his residence in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana distributes sweets on Holi.

INDIA
03
Kohima (PTI): Naga-
land is likely to get a
woman Rajya Sabha
MP for the first time as
a coalition of the
NDPP and the BJP,
having 35 MLAs in the
60-member Assembly,
nominated the saffron
party’s Mahila Morcha
president S Phangnon
Konyak as the candi-
date for the election to
the state’s lone seat to
the Upper House of
Parliament.
The Naga People’s
Front with 25 members
held a meeting on Sat-
urday to decide wheth-
er to support Konyak or
field its own candidate,
but it remained incon-
clusive, NPF secretary
general and spokesper-
son Achumbemo Kikon
told media.
The party will hold
another round of meet-
ing on Sunday
.
However, even if the
NPF fields its candi-
date, the NDPP-BJP
combine has more
MLAs and its nominee
is likely to win.
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) high command
has once again sum-
moned to Delhi the care-
taker Chief Minister of
Manipur, N Biren, and a
seniorBJPMLA,T Bish-
wajit, on Saturday
. Both
left Imphal by different
flights. Both declined to
speak to the press about
the sudden directive.
They were earlier
summoned on Tuesday
in connection with the
selection of the State’s
next Chief Minister and
went to Delhi by a char-
tered flight, accompa-
nied by State BJP presi-
dent A Sharda, to return
after two days in sepa-
rate commercial flights.
Bishwajit returned by a
morning flight, and
Biren and Sharda re-
turned by an evening
flight at the time.
With Biren and Bish-
wajit summoned back
to Delhi, political cir-
cles here have been left
wondering over new
developments in the
ongoing tussle.
Nagaland may get
first woman RS MP
Manipur leadership issue
still hangs in the balance
PM MODI, HOME MIN SHAH TO ATTEND
ADITYANATH’S OATH-TAKING ON MAR 25
Lucknow (Agencies):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh,
Bharatiya Janata Party
national president JP
Nadda are among the
list of invitees sched-
uled to attend the oath-
taking ceremony of
Yogi Adityanath as
Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh, said sources.
According to sources,
Yogi Adityanath, who
led his party to a thump-
ing victory in Uttar
Pradesh, is likely to take
oath as Chief Minister
of the state for the sec-
ond tenure on March 25.
Other than Union
Ministers and the lead-
ership of BJP and
Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh, many other
Union Cabinet Minis-
ters and chief minis-
ters of BJP-ruled
states are also among
the invitees. If sources
are to be believed, sev-
eral Opposition lead-
ers have also made
their way to the list of
invitees to the oath-
taking ceremony.
“Congress president
Sonia Gandhi, Con-
gress General Secretary
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra, Samajwadi Par-
ty founder Mulayam
Singh Yadav, SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav and Ba-
hujan Samaj Party
chief Mayawati are
among the prominent
names likely to be in-
vited from the opposi-
tion parties,” said
sources.
Beneficiaries of vari-
ous central and state-
run welfare schemes
have also been invited to
the oath-taking ceremo-
ny with a special focus
onwomenbeneficiaries.
Preparations for the
grand ceremony
have begun in Eka-
na Stadium of
Lucknow.
As per sources,
cabinet members’
names have al-
ready been
finalised
by the
BJP
.
Opposition leaders, including Sonia, Mulayam, Mayawati, likely to be invited
BJP ALLIANCE PARTNERS
SEEK ‘RESPECTABLE’ SHARE
IN UTTAR PRADESH CABINET
Lucknow (PTI): Ap-
parently convinced
that they had played a
crucial role in the
massive victory of
the BJP in the Assem-
bly polls, the Apna
Dal (S) and Nishad
Party (NP), which
had contested the
polls in alliance with
the BJP
, are now seek-
ing their pound of
flesh ahead of the for-
mation of the next
government in the
state. They also be-
lieve the saffron
party would need
them to win the
state in the
next general
elections in
2024. Accord-
ing to the
sources in the
BJP, the
A D
and NP wanted a ‘re-
spectable’ share in the
UP cabinet and their
leaders had also ap-
prised the BJP leader-
ship in the state about
their ‘expectations’.
The AD, which had
contested 17 seats in
the polls, managed to
win 12 while the NP
had contested 18 seats
and its candidates
emergedvictoriouson
11 seats, mainly the
eastern region of UP
.
NP president San-
jay Nishad said that
his party had not put
any conditions.
“We are sure the
BJP will keep in mind
our contribution and
role in the electoral
victory while forming
the ministry and will
accommodate us re-
spectfully
,” he said.
Preparation underway at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium where Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to be
sworn in as UP Chief Minister for the second consecutive term on Friday.
Chandigarh (PTI):
Punjab Chief Minister
Bhagwant Mann on
Saturday, in the first
decision of his first
Cabinet meeting,
threw open 25,000 jobs
in various State Gov-
ernment departments,
including 10,000 in Po-
lice Department.
The decision to fill
the 25,000 vacancies in
various departments
was taken in a Cabinet
meeting chaired by
Chief Minister Mann,
whohimself announced
it in a video message.
“The agenda of 25,000
government jobs was
passed in the Cabinet
today
,” Mann said in his
message.
He said 10,000 jobs
will be filled in the Pun-
jab Police Department
and the rest of them
will be in different oth-
er departments, boards
and corporations.
He said the jobs will
be given on merit.
“There will be no dis-
crimination, no ‘sifar-
ish’ (recommendation)
or no bribe,” he added.
Unemployment has
been one of the major
issues that the Aam
Aadmi Party had raised
during the just-conclud-
ed state assembly polls.
25,000 government jobs for Punjab:
Bhagwant Mann’s 1st decision as CM
Punjab CM Mann chairs the first meeting of the Punjab Cabinet, in Chandigarh on Saturday.
PUNJAB: TEN AAP MLAS INDUCTED
INTO BHAGWANT MANN-LED CABINET
Chandigarh (ANI): Ten
AAP MLAs, including a
woman, were inducted
in the Bhagwant Mann-
led Cabinet in Punjab
here on Saturday.
Governor Banwarilal
Purohit administered
the oath of office and
secrecy to the minis-
ters at Punjab Bhawan
here. Among the 10,
eight are first-time
MLAs. All of them took
the oath in Punjabi.
Harpal Singh Cheema,
Harbhajan Singh, Dr
Vijay Singla, Lal Chand,
Gurmeet Singh Meet
Hayer, Kuldeep Singh
Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh
Bhullar, Bram Shanker
Jimpa, Harjot Singh
Bains and Dr Baljit
Kaur, the lone woman
in the cabinet, were
administered the oath.
There are 18 berths
in the Cabinet, includ-
ing the Chief Minister.
Punjab Governor had
on Wednesday ad-
ministered the oath of
office and secrecy to
Bhagwant Mann.
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) court
has ordered framing of charges against Lashkar-
e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz
Saeed and Hizbul Mujahi-
deen chief Syed Salahuddin,
Kashmiri separatist leaders
including Yasin Malik, Shabbir
Shah, Masarat Alam and oth-
ers under various sections of
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in a case
pertains to the terrorist and secessionist activities
that disturbed the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mumbai: Following the reports of a surge in COVID-19
cases in European countries and neighboring China,
Maharashtra Health Minister
Rajesh Tope on Saturday said
the state government is on
alert over the situation. “We
have received a letter from the
Centre to be on alert as there
is a surge in cases across
European Countries, South Korea and China. Accord-
ingly, our health department had issued a letter to DCs
to be cautious and take necessary steps,” Tope said.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh chief of the Rash-
triya Lok Dal (RLD) has resigned from the party
after accusing the top brass of selling tickets for
the recently concluded State assembly elections.
In a letter to RLD supremo Jayant Chaudhary,
former state unit president Dr Masood Ahmad
alleged party tickets were sold to undeserving
candidates ahead of the UP elections, and that
Muslims and Dalits were sidelined. Jayant Chaud-
hary’s RLD had tied up with the Samajwadi Party,
led by Akhilesh Yadav, in the run-up to the seven-
phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. RLD had
bagged eight seats in the recently held polls.
HAFIZ SAEED, HIZBUL CHIEF, SEPARATISTS
CHARGED IN TERROR FUNDS CASE
COVID-19: MAHARASHTRA ON ALERT
AMID RISING CASES IN CHINA, EUROPE
RLD’s UP CHIEF RESIGNS, ALLEGES
SALE OF PARTY TICKETS BEFORE POLLS
AIMIM is BJP’s ‘B’ team,
it was proved in Bengal,
UP elections: Sena’s Raut
Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut on Satur-
day rejected the sugges-
tion of AIMIM for an
alliance with the MVA,
saying those who bow
before the grave of Au-
rangzeb cannot become
Maharashtra’sidealand
dubbed the Asaduddin
Owaisi-led party as the
“B team” of the BJP
.
AIMIM MP Imtiaz
Jaleel has caused a flut-
ter in political circles by
hinting an alliance with
the MVA, saying the dis-
pensation can become a
“comfortable car” from
the three-wheeled au-
torickshaw which can
prevent the BJP from
coming to power.
“The AIMIM has a se-
cret alliance with the
BJPwhichwasprovedin
UPandBengalpolls.The
AIMIM is a ‘B’ team of
the BJP and will remain
so. The MVA is a three-
party alliance and there
is no room for a fourth
partner,” Raut said.
He said MVA part-
ners revere Chhatra-
pati Shivaji Maharaj
and Chhatrapati Samb-
haji Maharaj while
AIMIM bows before
Aurangzeb- the 17th
century Mughal em-
peror who had kept
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj in captivity in
Agra before the latter
managed to escape.
India may soon top
hate, anger charts:
Rahul slams Centre
New Delhi (PTI):
Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi on Satur-
day in an apparent
jibe at the Centre over
the country’s ranking
in the latest World
Happiness Report,
said India would soon
top hate and anger
charts.
Taking to Twitter,
Rahul Gandhi shared
the report and said,
“Hunger Rank: 10,
Freedom Rank: 119,
Happiness Rank: 136.
But, we may soon top
the Hate and Anger
charts!”
Published by Unit-
ed Nations Sustaina-
bleDevelopmentSolu-
tions Network, the
World Happiness Re-
port ranks 150 coun-
tries of the world on
several factors such
assenseof well-being,
GDPpercapita,social
support system, life
expectancy
, generosi-
ty
, liberty to make life
choices and percep-
tions of corruption,
etc.
In this year’s re-
port, Finland topped
the list. The other
countries ranked
among the top 10 list
includeDenmark,Ice-
land, Switzerland,
The Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Swe-
den, Norway
, Israel
and New Zealand
(rankwise from sec-
ond to tenth).
India performed
slightly well this year
and moved up three
places to 136th posi-
tion in the World Hap-
piness Report. Last
year,Indiawasranked
139th in this list.
Uttarakhand: BJP meeting to
pick new CM likely on Monday
Dehradun (PTI): The
BJP legislature party
meeting to decide the
new chief minister of
Uttarakhand is likely to
be held here on Monday
.
Theparty’scentralob-
servers for Uttarakhand
Rajnath Singh and
Meenakshi Lekhi may
arrive a day earlier on
Sunday or on the same
day to attend the meet-
ing.
The swearing-in cere-
mony may take place on
Tuesday with Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, Home Minister
Amit Shah, BJP presi-
dentJPNaddaandChief
Ministers of several
BJP-ruled States likely
to attend the event, he
said.
The MLAs have been
informed about the like-
ly formation of govern-
mentintwotothreedays
and will arrive in Dehra-
dun by Sunday
, Uttara-
khand BJP president
Madan Kaushik said.
While Pushkar Singh
Dhami continues to be
the frontrunner for the
post of chief minister,
other probable names
for the top job doing the
rounds include those of
Chaubattakhal MLA
Satpal Maharaj, Shrina-
gar MLA Dhan Singh
Rawat and Rajya Sabha
member Anil Baluni.
CALL FOR ALLIANCE!
Sena leader Sanjay Raut AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi
Two CM probables summoned to nat’l Capital
N Biren Singh, CM, Manipur
India among
‘unhappiest’
nations,
languishes at
WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT
Rahul Gandhi

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 199 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301.
Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Sharat K Verma responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
he Internation-
al Court of Jus-
tice (ICJ), top
court of United
Nations, has or-
dered Russia to “immedi-
ately suspend” its military
operations in Ukraine.
What does decision mean,
and what happens next?
We already knew Rus-
sia’s invasion was illegal in
int’l law. But ICJ decision
now makes it virtually im-
possible for anyone, includ-
ing Russia, to deny that il-
legality
.Itisalsoimpressive
because Ukraine used a
creative strategy to get ICJ
to hear case, based on Geno-
cide Convention of 1948.
RUSSIA’S LEGAL
ARGUMENTS
Russia’spresident,Vladimir
Putin,gaveseveraljustifica-
tions for invading Ukraine.
Some had little to do with
the law, such as his com-
plaints about NATO. But
two were legal arguments.
First, he claimed Russia
wasactingin“self-defence”.
Self-defence is an estab-
lishedreasontousemilitary
force in international law.
But Putin suggested Russia
was defending 2 breakaway
parts of eastern Ukraine it
recognises as sovereign
states: Donetsk and Lu-
hansk. Legally
, these are
still parts of Ukraine’s own
territory
, not independent
states, which makes non-
sense of this argument.
THE JURISDICTION
OF THE ICJ
TheICJhearsdisputessole-
ly between sovereign states
(in contrast to separate Int’l
CriminalCourt,whichtries
individuals for committing
things like war crimes). ICJ
doesnotautomaticallyhave
jurisdictionovereverystate
and every issue.
THE ORDER MADE
BY THE ICJ
Russia did not turn up to
the courtroom in The
Hague for the initial hear-
ing in early March (though
it did write the ICJ a letter
outlining its view).
WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT?
All the ICJ has done so far is
to order provisional meas-
ures. It has not even found
conclusivelythatithasjuris-
diction in the case. It might
be a long time before it de-
cides the case as a whole.
Source: The Conversation
T
ICJ HAS ORDERED RUSSIA TO STOP THE
WAR. WHAT DOES THIS RULING MEAN?
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
The movie ‘The Kashmir Files’, with a
small budget, has already crossed the
100 crore mark. It is bringing about a
consciousness that the nation should
have seen 32 years ago.
Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju
I’m delighted that @BJP4India has
selected Smt @phangnon as the
candidate for election to Rajya Sabha
from Nagaland. She is a committed
BJP Karyakarta and currently serving
as President of State Mahila Morcha @BJP4Nagaland.
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Everything that happens to us is the result of
what we ourselves have thought, said, or
done. We alone are responsible for our lives.
—Buddha
ALL ABOUT CONGRESS’ DEFEAT IN ASSEMBLY
POLLS,G-23MEET,WAR-HITUKRAINEMORE...
he Gandhi family, once
adored and respected in
large parts of India, is to-
day looked upon as a lia-
bility by many Congress
party members. The Con-
gress Working Committee
is overflowing with politi-
cal lightweights and ac-
complished sycophants.
How did this lot get into
the CWC? Courtesy the
Gandhis.
Sonia Gandhi became
Congress President in
1998- twenty-four years
ago. Perhaps a world re-
cord for a democracy
. Gan-
dhiji was Congress presi-
dent once in 1924. Sardar
Patel once in 1931. Nehru,
Azad, Rajendra Prasad,
Subhas Chandra Bose and
Indira Gandhi came no-
where near even 10 years.
Who is responsible for
the recent electoral disas-
ter in the elections held in
5 states? Let’s take Uttar
Pradesh. 2 seats out of 403.
Who was the General Sec-
retary in charge of UP
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Who vigorously pushed
for Navjot Singh Sidhu to
become President of the
Punjab Congress-Vadra.
No one did more harm to
the Punjab Congress than
this former cricketer. He
disobeyed the Chief Min-
ister and went to Kartar-
pur Sahib, held Imran
Khan’s hand and intro-
duced him to India digni-
taries present on the occa-
sion. Sidhu embraced
General Bajwa, Head of
the Pakistan army
. Did So-
nia, Rahul, Priyanka rep-
rimand Sidhu?
Throughout his tenure
as PCC President he used
foul language against the
Chief Minister. Did the 3
Congress deities pull up
the erratic individual?
Not as far as I know. On a
visit to Hyderabad Sidhu
on TV he declared, “Cap-
tain is not my captain. My
captains are Rahul and
Priyanka”. If, according
to the fading trinity, Ama-
rinder Singh is responsi-
ble for the party’s defeat
in Punjab, who were re-
sponsible for the rout in
UP, Manipur, Goa and Ut-
trakhand.
If one were to look for
an expert and chronic in-
triguer, she is the one who
has sat in the Rajya Sabha
for 30 years. This female
announced that no Hindu
could be president of the
Punjab Congress. What
about Bhim Sen Sachar-
Was he a Sikh?
ABOUT THE G-23
Now I come to the G-23.
Kapil Sibal’s interview in
the Indian Express was
widely appreciated. He
said what needed to be
said. Manish Tiwari’s
critical candour is wel-
come. Members of the
G-23 should not even think
of leaving the Congress.
They can do much to re-
form, rejuvenate and re-
vive the party. The dia-
logue between Sonia and
Ghulam Nabi Azad should
continue.
The Congress does face
an acute dilemma. The
Gandhis are an asset and
also a liability
. Sonia is an
astute politician. In the
CWC meeting she an-
nounced that she and her
son and daughter would
step down if the Party so
desired. She knew the an-
swer, “No, No, madame,
please keep leading us”.
The CWC now resem-
bles a mini public meet-
ing. It should urgently
abandon the practice of
having special invitees to
attend CWC meetings.
Their number keeps in-
creasing. The CWC now
resembles a jamboree.
The Congress party is
reduced to ruling 2 states,
Rajasthan and Chattis-
garh. At one time it was in
office in every Indian
state. On 29 December
1984 it had 414 members in
the Lok Sabha. Today only
52 or is it 57. In 2014 the
number was 42.
UKRAINE CRISIS
Russian President
Vladimir Putin will go
down in history as a de-
stroyer of an independ-
ent, democratic country.
Hundreds of children
have been killed, millions
of Ukrainians have be-
come refugees, finding
temporary homes in Po-
land, Romania, Slovakia.
A few in Western Europe,
the UK, Canada has of-
fered to take in many
.
ZELENSKYY MANN
The world now has 2 for-
mer comedians heading
governments. Volodymyr
Zelenskyy President of
Ukraine has become a fa-
miliar name throughout
the world. Sardar Bhag-
want Mann who regaled
his audiences is now
Chief Minister of Punjab.
CHANDIGARH TRIP
My wife and I spent a
week in Chandigarh a few
days back with Ama-
rinder Singh, my wife’s
younger brother. It was a
melancholy visit. Ama-
rinder lost his Patiala seat
by 19,000 votes. An unu-
sual experience for him.
Also staying with him was
an engaging couple from
New Delhi. They are
friends of Raninder Sin-
gh, one of the outstanding
shooters in the world. He
is Amarinder’s son.
Jitin Singh is a man of
all seasons. He like me as
a Stephenian. In his col-
lege days he was among
the best squash players in
India. He is not only witty
but well informed about
the politics, economic,
business and media func-
tioning or non-function-
ing. His attractive wife
Rachna is a product of
Miranda House, where
she read History
.
It is unusual for people
in their eighties and in
nineties to make new
friends. “We took Jitin
and Rachna and they
warmly and respectfully
reciprocated”.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
Jitin Singh is a man of
all seasons. He like me as
a Stephenian. In his
college days he was
among the best squash
players in India. He is
not only witty but well
informed about the
politics, economic,
business and media
functioning or non-
functioning. His
attractive wife Rachna is
a product of Miranda
House, where she read
History. It is unusual for
people in their eighties
and in nineties to make
new friends. “We took
Jitin and Rachna and
they warmly and
respectfully reciprocated”
THE CONGRESS DOES FACE AN ACUTE
DILEMMA. THE GANDHIS ARE AN ASSET
AND ALSO A LIABILITY. SONIA GANDHI IS AN
ASTUTE POLITICIAN. IN THE CWC MEETING
SHE ANNOUNCED THAT SHE AND HER
SON AND DAUGHTER WOULD STEP
DOWN IF THE PARTY SO DESIRED. SHE
KNEW THE ANSWER, “NO, NO, MADAME,
PLEASE KEEP LEADING US”
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India

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Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
it won’t wreck
RUSSIAN
A
t the time of writing,
donations have ex-
ceeded US$50 mil-
lion. This may not be
in the same league as
the value of the war
bonds or the financial aid and
military assistance being of-
fered by governments around
the world, but it’s not insignifi-
cant. It shows individuals col-
lectively having a state-like
impact on the global stage.
This new way of accessing
global private capital is a re-
freshingly welcome facet of
cryptocurrencies. By going
straight to the people of the
world, Ukraine’s government
has been able to raise finance
quickly without the need for
financial intermediaries.
Yet as ever with cryptocur-
rencies, they bring benefits and
risks in equal measures. They
also have the potential to help
Russians to evade the crashing
rouble – contrary to demands
by Ukraine. Mykhailo Fedorov,
for example, pleaded on Twit-
ter for, “all major crypto ex-
changes to block addresses of
Russian users … It’s crucial to
freeze not only the addresses
linked to Russian and Belaru-
sian politicians, but also to
sabotage ordinary users”.
The crypto community has
not wholeheartedly agreed.
One leading Twitter user, Da-
vid Gokhshtein, replied that he
is, “definitely with Ukraine
and for peace but we don’t do
that in crypto”.
Changpeng Zhao, founder of
leading exchange Binance, has
said that it’s not the place of
crypto exchanges to restrict
Russian activities in general,
though he emphasised that his
exchange was not permitting
any of the hundreds of wealthy
Russian individuals on west-
ern sanctions lists to use its
services. Even then, he said, it
was impossible to stop them
because there were so many
other exchanges that they
could use instead.
With Russians also being re-
stricted by moving money out
of the country both by sanc-
tions on Russian banks and
capital controls imposed by
their own government, many
appear to be attempting to
throw off the shackles of their
national virtual identity to get
around these rules. Russian de-
mand for VPNs, which help in-
dividuals to stay private online
when using public networks,
was up at least fourfold over the
weekend, and possibly a good
deal more.
Russian demand for crypto
may already help to explain bit-
coin’s rise by about 15% since
the weekend, currently trading
at around US$43,500. Leading
altcoins such as ethereum
(+12%), ripple (+7%) and sola-
na (+18%) have also been on the
way up.
War is expensive. The United States spent about US$1.1 trillion
(£830 billion) on the 2003 Iraq war in today’s money, while the
Falklands war cost the UK the equivalent of about £2.6 billion.
Funding is therefore an important resource in any conflict, similar
to that of artillery, fuel and boots on the ground. The burden of
finance traditionally falls to governments, often in the form of
issuing war bonds. Ukraine is currently issuing US$270 million in
war bonds for that very purpose. Interestingly, however, Ukraine is
also drawing on options that were not available until very recently.
Several days after the Russian invasion, Mykhailo Fedorov, vice
prime minister of Ukraine and minister of digital
transformation, called on people around the world to show
solidarity with Ukraine by making crypto donations.
The bigger
ISSUE
There are also questions about how
crypto could affect the sanctions re-
gime as a whole, which not only in-
cludes restrictions on Russian banks
and oligarchs but also a freeze on the
US$630 billion foreign reserves of
the Russian central bank. Could
Russian institutions get around
these restrictions by using crypto-
currencies?
The problem is not new to this
conflict. Countries such as Iran
have previously been accused of us-
ing bitcoin to bypass sanctions.
Nonetheless, as the global commu-
nity looks ever more fractured by
ideology and past grievances, con-
cerns about Russia are of a differ-
ent order.
In my view, however, it is doubtful
that crypto will save Russia from
sanctions. Even apart from the huge
task of establishing the necessary
facilities within Russian banks,
many of the people and institutions
that would be receiving the crypto
would need to set up wallets of
their own. Besides that,
daily transaction val-
ues in crypto
only amount to a few billion dollars.
This is a big number, but an order of
magnitude less than the overall fi-
nancial system. If Russia were to
seriously start using crypto for pay-
ments, the market is not yet mature
enough to cope.
Having said that, it’s worth noting
that thanks to the devaluation of the
rouble, bitcoin has now eclipsed it
in overall value. It is now the 14th
most valuable currency in the world,
three places above the rouble.
It is possible that the positives
that crypto has brought to this war
will be a step towards it becoming
more widely accepted and for the
world to come up with the harmo-
nised global regulation vital for it
to fully reach the mainstream. On
the other hand, it is clearly already
difficult to prevent crypto from be-
ing used as a way of evading sanc-
tions on a relatively small scale,
and it has the potential to make it
much harder to financially
restrict pariah coun-
tries in years to
come.
Source: https://theconversation.com/
EXPENSE OF
UKRAINE-RUSSIA
WAR
UKRAINE
RUSSIA FACING
US$270
million
issuing war bonds
currently
US$630
billion
freeze on foreign
reserves
The problem is not new to
this conflict. Countries such
as Iran have previously been
accused of using bitcoin to
bypass sanctions.
Nonetheless, as the global
community looks ever more
fractured by ideology and
past grievances, concerns
about Russia are of a
different order.
BIZ BUZZ
06
Bitcoinishelping both sides inUkraineconflict,but

Ministry of Home Af-
fairs (MHA) has consti-
tuted an advisory board
comprising three judg-
es of the Delhi High
Court to review the
cases registered under
the stringent National
Security Act (NSA)
which allows the deten-
tion of a person up to a
year without any
charge. Such an advi-
sory board is constitut-
ed under Section 9 of
the 1980 Act.
According to an offi-
cial notification, Jus-
tice Yogesh Khanna
will be the chairman of
the advisory board
while justices Chandra
Dhari Singh and Ra-
jnish Bhatnagar will be
members of the high-
powered body
.
The NSA empowers
the government to de-
tain a person if it con-
siders the individual a
threat to national secu-
rity or to prevent him or
her from disrupting
public order.
Under the NSA, a per-
son can be detained for
up to 12 months without
a charge. The detained
person can be held for
10 days without being
told the charges against
him or her.
The detainee can ap-
peal only before the ad-
visory board for relief
but will not be allowed
a lawyer during the
trial.
In the case of every
NSA detainee, the gov-
ernment concerned
shall, within three
weeks from the date of
detention, place before
the advisory board the
grounds on which the
order has been made
and the representation,
if any, made by the de-
tainee. The advisory
board shall, after con-
sidering the materials
placed before it and af-
ter hearing the detain-
ee, submit its report to
the government within
seven weeks from the
date of detention of the
person concerned.
MHAforms3-memberboardof
HCjudgestoreviewNSAcases
NSA empowers Government to detain a person for an year without any charge
The NSA Act 1980 has its roots in the colonial era. Rowlatt Act allowed confinement without a trial.
New Delhi (PTI): RSS
national executive
member Indresh Ku-
mar on Saturday con-
demned the alleged in-
cident of vandalism at
a temple in Bangladesh
and urged India to in-
tervene, saying the
Sheikh Hasina govern-
ment has completely
failed in protecting the
minority Hindus there.
He also appealed to
the Congress and all
other opposition par-
ties to condemn the in-
cident rising above poli-
tics of religion and
caste and join New Del-
hi in building pressure
on Dhaka to stop at-
tacks on Hindus, which
he said continues to re-
main unabated in the
neighbouring country
.
Kumar, founder and
chief patron of Mus-
lim Rashtriya Manch,
also called upon the
Muslim society to con-
demn the attack.
According to reports,
a mob of over 200 people
allegedly attacked the
devotees and vandal-
ised ISKCON Radha-
kanta temple in Dhaka.
The attack was car-
ried out at ISKCON
Radhakanta temple at
222 Lal Mohan Saha
Street in Wari, Dhaka,
on Thursday evening by
a mob of more than 200
people led by Haji
Saifullah. The temple
was ransacked and loot-
ed, Kumar said in mes-
sage to PTI and de-
scribed the incident a
form of terrorism.
On every festival,
Hindus are targeted in
Bangladesh under a pre-
planned conspiracy
, the
Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh (RSS) leader
said, adding that the
community has faced
3,679 attacks, which in-
clude 1,678 cases of
armed attacks and van-
dalism at religious plac-
es, in the last nine years.
B’desh completely failed in
protecting Hindus: Indresh
Lalit K Jha
Washington: US Presi-
dent Joe Biden has an-
nounced his intent to
nominate Indian-origin
diplomat Puneet Tal-
war as the country's
ambassador to Moroc-
co, the second such
nomination of an Indi-
an-American in a week.
Talwar, who is cur-
rently a Senior Advisor
at the State Depart-
ment, has held senior
national security and
foreign policy positions
in the State Depart-
ment, the White House
and the Senate, the
White House said as it
announced several oth-
er senior administra-
tion positions.
He previously served
as the Assistant Secre-
tary of State for Politi-
cal-Military Affairs,
Special Assistant to the
President and Senior
Director at the National
Security Council, and
as a Senior Professional
Staff Member at the
Committee on Foreign
Relations in the United
States Senate.
Talwar is the second
person of Indian-ori-
gin to be nominated as
the US ambassador in
a week.
On March 11, Biden
announced his intent to
nominate Indian-origin
political activist Shefali
Razdan Duggal as his
envoy to the Nether-
lands. An immigrant to
the US from Kashmir,
Duggal, 50, has been
raised in Cincinnati,
Chicago, New York and
Boston. Her nomination
has been sent to the Sen-
ate for confirmation.
According to the
White House, Talwar's
public service also in-
cludes key roles in the
US House of Represent-
atives and the State De-
partment's Policy Plan-
ning Staff. —PTI
Indian origin diplomat to
beUSA’senvoytoMorocco
OM BIRLA AT ROTARY EVENT
Rotary District 3011 recently
organised Conclave 22 District
Conference 2022 at Thyagraj
Stadium, New Delhi. Lok Speaker
Sabha Om Birla inaugurated the
event. District Governer Anup Mittal
said that now Rotary has taken up
the target of ‘Total Literacy’, earlier
it worked for the eradication of Polio.
Nitin Mukesh and Kumar Vishwas
performed at the event.
DISTURBING DATA
Zojila (PTI): The
strategic 434-km
Srinagar-Leh na-
tional highway was
re-opened for vehic-
ular traffic on Sat-
urday in record
time of 73 days after
its closure in Janu-
ary this year follow-
ing heavy snowfall,
officials said.
A trial movement
was conducted suc-
cessfully, and the
decision to open the
road for civil traffic
was taken after a
joint inspection by
the civil adminis-
tration. The high-
way was thrown
open for traffic at
the Zojila Pass.
Colombo (PTI): BCCI
secretary Jay Shah’s
tenure as president of
the Asian Cricket
Council (ACC) was on
Saturday unanimous-
ly extended by a year
at its annual general
meeting held here.
Shah had taken
over the reins of the
Asian Cricket Coun-
cil in January last
year from Bangladesh
Cricket Board (BCB)
president Nazmul
Hassan, making him
the youngest adminis-
trator to be re-ap-
pointed as the ACC
president.
Addressing the
AGM, Shah said the
ACC’s key focus would
be to carry forward the
development of the
sport in the region.
SRINAGAR
LEH HIGHWAY
RE-OPENS
AFTER 73 DAYS
Jay Shah’s term
as ACC president
extended by 1 yr
Indresh Kumar
Puneet Talwar
HAS THE STATUS OF
THE GANDHI FAMILY
DIMINISHED?
Defeat often carries
with it the burden
of blocked beliefs,
which was clearly visi-
ble in CWC meeting
convened in New Delhi.
The meeting lasted for
five hours but only five
people came forward in
support of Gandhi fam-
ily. Whereas, 52 leaders
attended the meet. So-
nia Gandhi offered her
resignation, declaring
that ‘the Gandhi family
can sacrifice anything,
to protect the Congress’.
This time no slogans of
‘Sonia Gandhi
Zindabad’ were raised.
Only five leaders stood
in her support. After
this, it was the turn of
Rahul Gandhi. KC
Venugopal raised slo-
gans in favor of Rahul.
Same was the case with
Priyanka Gandhi. The
five people who took the
lead in Rahul’s favour,
after Rahul spoke, were
Bhupesh Baghel, Ka-
mal Nath, Ashok Ge-
hlot, Mallikarjun
Kharge, and Adhir Ran-
jan Chowdhury. In this
meeting, only three
leaders of disgruntled
G-23 faction of Con-
gress including Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad, Anand
Sharma Mukul Was-
nik attended the meet.
Various senior leaders
praised Azad for his
speech. Obviously, Gan-
dhi family was feeling
uncomfortable.
RAJYA SABHA SEAT
TO VADRA’S CLOSE
ONE FROM KERALA?
As a senior party
leader AK Antony
had kept all his hopes on
the lone RS seat from
Kerala.Butthenamedo-
ing the rounds for the
same is that of Con-
gress’ Telangana in-
charge Krishnan Srini-
vasan, who is also on
board of directors of
several firms owned by
Robert Vadra. Ever
since the matter of RS
candidature has come to
the fore, there has been
a ruckus in Congress
unit of Kerala and AK
Antony has started talk-
ing about retiring from
politics. RS term of
Anand Sharma, a prom-
inent Congress G-23
leader, is about to end.
Sharmaalsoapproached
AAP supremo Arvind
Kejriwal, but given Ke-
jri’s political style, there
is little hope that he will
favour Sharma.
AKHILESH’S EYES
ON 2024!
SP chief Akhilesh Ya-
dav has won from
Karhal seat of Mainpu-
ri, but he wants to leave
his assembly seat and
retain the MP status.
Akhilesh’s uncle Shiv-
pal Singh Yadav wants
to field his son Aditya
Singh from Karhal,
but Akhilesh has de-
clared him as LoP in
Assembly, so that he
couldn’t pres-
surise Akh-
ilesh on
this is-
s u e ,
say-
ing that he has some big
plans for Aditya in
2024. Akhilesh’s vote
share has increased by
one a half times in
UP polls he wants to
maintain this boom in
2024 LS polls too.
WILL AKHILESH
GIVE RAJYA SABHA
BERTH TO JAYANT?
The queue of those
seeking RS seat
from Akhilesh Yadav
gets longer. Jayant
Chaudhary’s name has
also been added to this
list. On the one hand,
the BJP continues to
woo Jayant so that the
party’s path can be
eased in western UP in
2024. This time
J a y a n t ’ s
party RLD
has won 8
seats. Usu-
ally, 38
votes are
re-
quired for a RS seat,
that is why Jayant is
now looking towards
Akhilesh for 30 votes.
But Akhilesh’s dilem-
ma is that there is a
long queue of people
seeking Rajya Sabha’s
seat from him. Akhile-
sh has also made up his
mind that ‘he will not
give Rajya Sabha seat to
any Yadav or Muslim
on behalf of SP’. In fact,
Akhilesh wants to send
a message to the back-
ward caste voters of the
state before the election
of 2024 that SP is not
only a party of Yadavs
and Muslims.
DEFEAT FROM
WITHIN?
To review Congress’
crushing defeat in 5
states, party’s interim
president Sonia Gandhi
has constituted a com-
mittee. The responsibil-
ity of probing the defeat
has also been entrusted
to same leaders, on
whom the party cadre
has been raising fingers
earlier. For example,
most of Congress lead-
ers of Uttarakhand
were blaming the in-
charge Devendra Yadav,
Avinash Pandey and co-
in-charge Deepika Pan-
dey for the crushing
defeat. Now interest-
ingly, in the committee
formed by Sonia Gan-
dhi to review the defeat,
Ajay Maken along with
Avinash Pandey has
also been included. In
review meeting which
was held to review de-
feat in Punjab, just be-
fore CWC meeting, Con-
gress MPs said that
‘Ghar ko ag lagi ghar ke
chirag se’. Now ques-
tions are being raised
that who is in Rahul’s
team who is taking for-
ward leaders like Avi-
nash Pandey and Chan-
dan Yadav. The needle
of suspicion has wan-
dered around and fixed
on Alankar Sawai.
PRIYANKA GANDHI
IN TROUBLE!
After UP poll results
were declared, Pri-
yanka Gandhi held a
review meeting with
Congress leaders of the
state. The narrative of
‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti
Hoon’ has reached the
public in a wrong way
etc-etc. So, realizing the
gravity of the situation,
many prominent lead-
ers of the state were
called from Priyanka’s
office and Priyanka
herself spoke to those
leaders and presented
her clarification. Af-
ter this, when
the meeting
s t a r t e d ,
s e n i o r
U P
Congress leader
Pramod Tiwari started
his speech by praising
Priyanka and said,
“You fought very well.
Congress’s voice has
been raised in the en-
tire state.” Majority of
leaders weren’t agree-
ing with Tiwari’s opin-
ion’ For Priyanka too,
the situation was get-
ting uncomfortable in
the meeting, but some-
how she managed the
matter.
...AND FINALLY
The Sangh’s Sarkar-
yavah Dattatreya
Hosabole is ready to re-
turn to Nagpur after
completing his mission
UP. His office is also
shifting from Lucknow
to Nagpur. Sources re-
veal that Hosabole, the
architect of BJP’s mas-
sive victory in UP, can
be handed over the com-
mand of the 2024 Lok
Sabha elections from
now on.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Akhilesh Yadav Priyanka Gandhi
Jayant Chaudhary
Ajay Maken
07
NEWS

08
2NDFRONT
If you propose to do good, expect the
stones as well as a flower or two,
they should not hinder your efforts.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
z The main theme of
The New JC Show is
that the fight is not
for 2024 now, but for
2029. What does that
mean?
Jagdeesh Chandra:
The point is that it is a
sweeping statement
which only indicates
the towering image of
Modi and Amit Shah
and failure of all Oppo-
sition parties including
Congress, SP and oth-
ers. I can see it clearly
that the fight is no long-
er for 2024. Now leaders
in Delhi have to plan for
2029. If the team Modi-
Shah remains then it is
sure that 2024 is in their
hands. Now, the next
milestone is 2029. That
is the theme of the en-
tire story
.
z What is the politi-
cal message and
practical effect of the
five Assembly elec-
tions where BJP has
won 4 states?
The messages from this
win are multi-fold.
Firstly, Narendra Modi
is the real hero of the
nation and it has been
proved once again.
There is no match for
Narendra Modi’s face
and Amit Shah’s hard
work and strategy. Sec-
ond message of this vic-
tory is that 15-20 crore
people still place Modi
adjacent to God, since
he can turn the tables at
the last moment. An-
other message is that
Central leadership is
now making party win
in states too and people
have been voting on
Modi’s face in states
too. Local CMs have be-
come irrelevant as all
the work is being han-
dled by central teams.
CMs only have one re-
sponsibility, that of
campaigning. There is
no role in decision-mak-
ing process of state
leadership and central
leadership’s new exper-
iment has been a super-
hit in this election. An-
other message is that
traditional political dis-
course like inflation,
unemployment etc have
become irrelevant.
Such issues can make
people think on them
but cannot convert
their votes in favour of
other parties. Modi
goes, makes promises,
attacks opposition, tar-
gets its leaders and the
situation changes com-
pletely. One more mes-
sage of this election is
that Congress is almost
over in the election bat-
tle. Priyanka was Con-
gress’ last hope, but that
card too has failed. And
the last message is that
wherever people have
become disgruntled
with Congress, BJP, SP
or any other party, they
have found an option in
Kejriwal’s AAP whom
they will give a decision
mandate.
z Everyone thought,
even the opposition
parties, that SP will
form government in
Uttar Pradesh. But it
came to nought. How
do you see that?
It was a failure of Op-
position unity. In UP,
Mayawati was a natural
ally but she went her
way
. Therefore, SP lead-
ers termed her a villain
and it’s a fact that due to
Mayawati factor, SP lost
on several seats and
BJP won. The anti-es-
tablishment forces
could not form a union
and therefore they fell
down like a house of
cards.
z The Opposition
could not come under
one umbrella in UP
,
so will there be a
united front with one
face against Naren-
dra Modi in 2024 gen-
eral elections?
There is no hope. It is
purely imagination. It
is a dream to have one
leader from the united
opposition be it for
Prime Ministerial post
or for Presidential post
or any other position.
Opposition parties can-
not be united. They can
certainly talk, Mamata
can meet with other
party leaders, Thacker-
ay, Pawar and others
can meet but, in the
end, no one face will be
seen. There is example
of Bengal where Con-
gress has parted ways
from TMC. There is no
chance that one candi-
date of united opposi-
tion can be placed be-
fore BJP’s Modi.
z Who among Modi,
Shah and Yogi have
played what role in
BJP’s massive win in
Uttar Pradesh and
how much of a credit
will you give to each
of the BJP leaders?
First credit goes to Nar-
endra Modi not just for
being a leader but for
being the most popular
leader. Secondly, for
strategy and executing
it on ground, credit goes
to Amit Shah. Thirdly,
for campaigning, mak-
ing a consensus among
people and hard work
for the party credit goes
to Yogi Adityanath. I
had said that this elec-
tion proves that CM has
become irrelevant but
UP will be an exception
to that since Yogi has
had an existence in the
state, he has had a ma-
jor contribution, he has
an image and his contri-
bution can be seen
clearly. So, these three
are key players who
have played out their
roles to the best. Amit
Shah conducted several
meetings, PM moved
about for 20 days on sev-
eral seats, but of course,
the maximum credit
goes to Narendra Modi
who covered 134 seats
and then Amit Shah
who went to about 60
seats and thereafter
Yogi Adityanath who
held over 200 rallies.
z Before elections,
Yogi Adityanath’s
contribution to UP
,
his performance and
results were being
highlighted by both
PM Modi and Amit
Shah. But in Modi’s
victory speech in the
BJP office post re-
sult, there was no
mention of Yogi.
What sort of contra-
diction is this?
This is not a contradic-
tion. It is a political
compulsion before Nar-
endra Modi and Amit
Shah on how to handle
Yogi. They could not de-
cide for a long time and
have perhaps still not
found a way in this re-
gard. But they tweeted
about Yogi being given
another term as CM
and his relationship
with the high command
is like a googly where it
keeps changing and
PM’s tweet about Yogi
as CM is part of that,
which is a good thing
and should have hap-
pened too in the man-
ner it did. One person
has worked hard in UP
and it is a good effort
but it is basically a po-
litical compulsion.
z There were rumours
of certain differences
between Yogi and
Central leadership
for the past two
years. What do you
think, were these ru-
mours only? Also,
what about the up-
coming cabinet for-
mation?
Call it difference of
opinion or communica-
tion gap but the basic
point is that all was not
well between BJP high
command and Yogi. The
reason for that is that
Yogi is a strict person
with his own unique
ways, he is compara-
tively less flexible. Sec-
ondly, he is a reluctant
‘yes man’ before high
command, whereas in
Congress and BJP by
and large everyone is a
‘YES MAN’ before high
command. Therefore,
he is considered strin-
gent due to which dif-
ferences may arise. But
in some cases, being
flexible is a constitu-
tional requirement be-
tween the Centre and
state. What happened
last year? The high
command decided on
AK Sharma’s inclusion
in government but it
didn’t go down well
with Yogi. Then the is-
sue of carving Purvan-
chal state also came up
and a meeting was held
in Delhi. I have heard
that the Home depart-
ment had even finalised
the draft to this effect
but Yogi didn’t want
that and the same even-
ing he released a press
note that UP will not be
divided. Then this
year’s differences are
too deep and therefore
there is a delay in for-
mation of cabinet.
From what we have
heard, it appears that
Baby Rani Maurya,
high command’s Dalit
face, has to be made
Deputy CM and a de-
partment like Home has
to be given to her. Yogi
says she does not have
that kind of role in UP
politics whereas the
high command may
have a strategic thought
behind it, and therefore
a difference may erupt.
But one thing is sure,
whenever cabinet is
formed in UP, you will
find Baby Rani Maurya
as deputy CM else the
cabinet will not be
formed. UP cabinet is
not a minor issue or
just Yogi’s cabinet for-
mation. It is what will
decide BJP’s future po-
litical landscape and
2024 roadmap of the saf-
fron party. We heard
that there was come is-
sue on number of depu-
ty CMs as high com-
mand was asserting for
four while Yogi wanted
just two but then news
came that the parties
have agreed to three po-
sitions. But I feel that
there is still no agree-
ment on it. It is a tricky
situation which could
be delayed for few more
days.
z The high command
has decided that Yogi
will lead UP for next
5 years. So, has Yogi
become indispensable
for the high com-
mand or has he be-
come flexible or if the
coordination has im-
proved?
Both the things are
there. He is indispensa-
ble because of the par-
ty’s Hindu card, of
which he has a good fol-
lowing. So, he is indis-
pensable to the extent
that neither can you
underwrite him or
change him. You can-
not make a new leader
in his place in UP. You
cannot undermine him
too in cabinet forma-
tion and running of
state. You will have to
give him freedom in
these aspects. To that
extent he is certainly
indispensable for the
party and high com-
mand. And if it is about
being flexible, well the
world runs on hope, so
let’s see.
z The Yogi cabinet is
to be formed in next
few days. How much
of a free hand will
Yogi have and how
much of a say will
the central leader-
ship have?
It is very difficult, but
the baseline is that Yogi
will not get more than
fifty percent free hand.
This is what I think.
Amit Shah himself is
going there as an ob-
server and it is perhaps
for the first time in 9
years that a leader of
Home Minister’s stat-
ure is going to any state
as an observer. Because
the challenge and task
is to handle Yogi. In it
there is another chal-
lenge that when he goes
to Delhi and when he
comes back to Lucknow
if the issues decided
upon get implemented
in the same manner as
decided upon, that is
one challenge. UP is a
complicated state and
whosoever may be the
Chief Minister, if they
say I will have a hun-
dred percent say in cab-
inet formation, it will
never be so. But one
thing is sure that Yogi
will have a reasonable
free hand and you will
not see if he has been
undermined. But an-
other thing is also sure
that high command will
have a huge say in it.
z Yogi came to Delhi
on March 13 and met
PM, Home Minister,
JP Nadda and BL
Santosh. What really
happened in these
meetings?
I believe that PM does
talk about the nitty-
gritty of things and
talks on broader lines.
During his meet one
year back, PM had
handed a report fur-
nished by BL Santosh
stressing that 150 MLAs
were against CM and he
was told that there is a
need for improvement.
Agencies had conduct-
ed surveys wherein at
first BJP was getting 80
seats and then 150 seats.
PM talks on policy lev-
el. The nitty-gritty
would have come when
he would have met Amit
Shah and perhaps a bit
with BL Santosh. Na-
dda does not have a
critical role in decision
making as his office is
more or less a post of-
fice. But I feel Mohan
Bhagwat would get in-
volved this time around
because UP is a sensi-
tive issue.
z PM Modi tweeted in
favour of Yogi after a
long meet with him.
What does that
mean?
It is a welcome move.
He is the Prime Minis-
ter and Yogi is his lead
worker. The Yogi camp
was demotivated that
after such a historic
win and in the function
at BJP headquarters,
Yogi wasn’t mentioned.
So, to counter that feel-
ing, and to fill in the
gap, Modi displayed his
leadership through that
tweet.
z How many phases
will the Yogi cabinet
be formed in and who
will be part of it?
Phases can be many, till
the time CM gives his
resignation to Gover-
nor for the next elec-
tion. In Rajasthan too
everything has hap-
pened but people still
hope that there will be
another expansion ex-
ercise. So such things
can go on but I feel that
eighty percent appoint-
ments will be carried
out in this first phase
and from what I have
heard, it is said that 62
ministers will be sworn
in, 25 cabinet minis-
ters, 21 MoS with Inde-
pendent charge and 23
MoS. As far as faces are
concerned, there are
many in the race for
deputy CM but apart
from Baby Rani Mau-
rya, I am not too sure
about others personal-
ly. So Baby Rani Mau-
rya, AK Sharma and
Asim Arun of which
Arun being appointed
as deputy CM will be an
experiment. Modi lead-
ership is known for giv-
ing surprises so per-
haps he may be includ-
ed. Others include
Rajeshwar Singh, Pan-
kaj Singh, Siddharth
Nath Singh, Swatantra
Dev Singh. But those
who have lost, I don’t
think they will be given
a chance. 11 ministers
have lost the election, I
don’t think any of them
will be adjusted any-
where.
z How did Narendra
Modi and Amit Shah
handle Yogi govern-
ment’s anti-incum-
bency factor?
Definitely there was
some anti-incumbency
but it wasn’t much per-
haps 20-25 percent. But
to counter it, they fo-
cussed on the constitu-
encies where their sur-
vey indicated anti-in-
cumbency was preva-
lent. So, they focussed
on 134 seats and Modi-
Shah handled the reins
of critical seats. These
people accept challeng-
es and confront it, work
hard for it so they han-
dled it and succeeded.
During the show
#JConModiUPWave
trended top All-India
on Twitter
TO BE CONTINUED...
Editor-In-Chief of First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, speaks about the massive
victory of BJP in the Assembly polls of four states and what it means for the future political realm of
the nation and all political parties. Chandra also analyses how people now don’t vote for Modi only
for LS polls but also for the State Assemblies, how the strategy of Modi-Shah changes with time
issues at hand and the relationship of Yogi Adityanath with the high command...(Part I)
Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Akanksha Bhalla, Astha Khandelwal and Sudhanshu Mathur at the New JC Show. —PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA
NOT 2024, BUT THE ACTUAL
FIGHT NOW IS FOR 2029!
MODI’S POPULAR FACE AND
AMIT SHAH’S STRATEGY IS
A DEADLY COMBINATION
WHICH THE OPPOSITION
CANNOT MATCH!

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, SUNDAY,
MARCH 20, 2022
oli is known
as the ‘Fes-
tival of
Happiness’
since peo-
ple of all
c a s t e s ,
creeds, colours and
races are painted in
the same colour.
And this year, India
has celebrated the
festival of colours
two years after the
outbreak began
with great vigour
and joy.
Holi sequences
and Bollywood are a
natural fit. We have
seen how Indian
cinema has given a
new expression to
the festival of col-
ours, starting with
vintage films. From
upbeat songs to
funky dance moves
and crazy celebra-
tion. On the auspi-
cious occasion,
many Bollywood ce-
lebrities took to so-
cial media plat-
forms to
wish
their fans while
some experimented
with colours, others
spent time with
their family and cel-
ebrated the festival
with much love and
enthusiasm. City
First brings you
some colourful chit-
chat about gingery
Bollywood celebs
and their Holi cele-
bration.
Katrina Kaif and
Vicky Kaushal, the
newlyweds from
Bollywood, cele-
brated Holi in the
most intimate and
lovely way possible
with their loved
ones. On their first
Holi after marriage,
the couple decorat-
ed the entire town
with their colour of
love and celebrated
the festival with
much elegance.
Priyanka Chopra
and her hubby Nick
Jonas threw a super
fun Holi bash at
their Los Angeles
home. The lovebirds
brought the party
home and
drained each
other in
the colour
of their
love. The diva
smeared colours on
her hubby’s face
and exchanged some
lovely kisses. Tak-
ing to social media,
the couple gave a
glimpse of all the
madness.
AnkitaLokhande
and her betterh-
alf Vicky Jain
c e l e b r a t e d
their first Holi
together with
much love.
The couple
enjoyed the
c l o s e - k n i t
Holi, they
were dressed
in white enjoy-
ing light of ro-
mance, candid
moments with
each other.
Mouni Roy, went
desi and celebrated
her Holi in the tra-
ditional manner.
The gorgeous diva
was seen touching
her husband’s
feet. The couple
also shared
some cosy pic-
t u r e s
smeared in
gulaal.
H
FESTIVALOFCOLOURSANDSTARS
OFBOLLYWOODGOHANDINHAND.
CITYFIRSTBRINGSTOYOUSOME
ICONICBOLLYWOODMOMENTS
SHAREDDURINGTHEFESTIVALOF
HOLIBYB-TOWNSTARS
UTTKARSHA
SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
ing to social media,
the couple gave a
glimpse of all the
AnkitaLokhande
and her betterh-
alf Vicky Jain
mance, candid
moments with
Mouni Roy, went
desi and celebrated
her Holi in the tra-
TERE
RANG MEIN
Ankita Lokhande and her hubby Vicky Jain Priyanka Chopra and her hubby Nick Jonas
Mouni Roy and her husband
Suraj Nambiar
K
a
tr
in
a
K
a
if
a
n
d
V
ic
k
y
K
a
u
s
h
a
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w
it
h
th
e
ir
fa
m
il
y

accines have
their success
storiesandhor-
rible tragedies.
Some of the
most deadly
diseases have
been eradicated by vac-
cines or contained sig-
nificantly like small-
pox, polio, hepatitis A
and B, yellow fever, ra-
bies, tetanus etc. But
there are some painful
memories and hor-
rible experiences
also. How one
can forget the
“ Cutter labo-
ratory fias-
co” and the
r e s u l t a n t
tragedy of
the USA
where thou-
sandsof children
gotpoliobecauseof
a vaccine which left
many paralysed and
some dead? The Deng-
vaxia controversy of
Philippines children
getting more at risk be-
cause of vaccination in
previouslynon-infected
children against den-
gue is also fresh in the
memory of many peo-
ple. All these episodes
may make many people
sceptical about vac-
cines, especially RNA
vaccines. The recent
incident of strong pro-
test by truckers in Can-
ada and also related to
tennis player Novak
Djokovic point to “ vac-
cine hesitancy” regard-
ing COVID 19 vaccine.
As nobody wants to die
of infectious disease,
then why people are re-
fusingthisvaccine?Pro
vaccine people try to
brush aside such pro-
testsaspoliticalagenda
but are it really so? As
such, no ordinary citi-
zenwouldliketoputhis
life at risk to prove a
political point. A deep-
er analysis is required
to understand this vac-
cine hesitancy
.
If anybody analyses
the whole scenario of
just declined COVID 19
pandemic, it appears
that the whole pan-
demic management
was poorly planned
globally. The treat-
ment regimens were
frequently changed to
the extent that even af-
ter two years, nobody
can be confident about
the exact line of treat-
ment in future. Drugs
like remdesivir which
were black marketed
are now already in
oblivion along with
much-abused doxycy-
cline, Azithromycin,
HCQS and ivermectin
in many latest treat-
ment advisories.
Similar things have
also happened with the
vaccine. From the very
beginning, everything
wasputonthepublicdo-
mainonanad-hocbasis.
Thedoseschedule,when
it should be given after
anepisodeof disease,its
pricing, effectiveness,
side effects etc all kept
changing at a rapid pace
in tandem with a num-
ber of people dying at
that point in time. This
inconsistency gave
enoughmaterialtoscep-
tical people to denounce
the vaccination effort as
a farce and profit-mak-
ing venture of big phar-
ma. Even the pro-vac-
cine people lost some of
their trust in the effec-
tiveness of the vaccine.
It is common knowl-
edge that in most coun-
tries, senior doctors
stayed indoors and iso-
lated. They never ex-
amined patients close-
ly and treated them
only by guesswork. As
a result, their opinion
regarding the useful-
ness of the vaccine was
taken with a pinch of
salt. With the advent of
Google and other social
media, personal expe-
riences were shared
across the world and
when, during the sec-
ond wave, immunized
people started report-
ing severe COVID 19
symptoms, the trust in
the vaccine was far low
to recommend it to eve-
ryone. It was also sur-
prised to note that no
portal was created
where registered medi-
cal professionals can
report about side ef-
fects, success and fail-
ure of vaccine case by
case. This approach by
manufacturers dented
the authenticity of
their published data.
Then came the ques-
tion of the easy and
systematic availability
of vaccines during the
launch period and its
dosage schedule. Peo-
ple who were interest-
ed to get vaccinated for
its perceived benefit
were not getting the job
easily and there was
very poor communica-
tion between them and
authorities. The time
gap between the first
and second dose and
finally the booster was
not well-defined and
even most of the doc-
tors were not sure of
the exact timing. The
time gap went on
changing as per the
availability of the vac-
cine. A logical question
arises under such cir-
cumstances - is science
so much flexible?
At this point in time,
the COVID 19 virus has
lost its virulence sig-
nificantlywhichmeans
it can no more kill peo-
ple as it did during the
first and mainly second
wave. Now a question
arises that should the
governments of the
world force people to go
for vaccination even
when the pandemic has
gone into abatement
and become endemic?
Hasn’t the time arrived
when these things
should be left to medi-
cal professionals and
people as in cases of
many other diseases?
Political involvement
always leads to division
in society and should
be minimal in day to
day decisions of the
people. Politicians have
nothing concrete to of-
fer and hence, are al-
ways in search to get
credit for trivia and
important.
V
RAM AWATAR SHARMA
ramawatarf132@gmail.com
10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
ARSHITA, Model
WHY DON’T SOME PEOPLE
TRUST THE
COVID VACCINE?
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Don’t give a firm
commitment in financial
matters before considering
the viability of the project.
You succeed in completing an
important project well before
deadline. Disagreements on the family
front are foreseen. Be careful about
the legal apprehensions.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
It is good day to confess
your love as stars appear
favourable for positive
reply. Your sole
dependency on friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness
today. A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable to give
monetary benefits to employees.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Rewards and recognition
will come your way for
your involvement in a
social endeavour. It’s a
very good day to take calculated
risks in financial matters. Those
suffering from chronic ailments may
find remarkable improvement in their
health with home remedies.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Distant relatives may drop in
for a surprise visit.
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains. On
professional front, recognition for good
work would motivate you to work
harder. Those awaiting an affirmation
on romantic front will get lucky.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Develop a good adaptabil-
ity to handle pressurized
situation on professional
front. Paying special
attention to plan your career would
give immense joy. You are likely to
get clearance or approval for your
construction plans. You find things
moving in the way you want them.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Senior management will be
appreciative of your creative
inputs on professional front.
Seek the opinion of your
family before finalizing a property deal.
An impromptu invitation to a function
from an unexpected friend is likely to
be received. Your bold initiatives on
romantic front bring back passion.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will succeed in
resolving
misunderstanding with
family members,
normalizing ties. You will remain
much in demand on social front. You
need to stand by romantic partner
during testing times to make the
relationship stronger.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Chances of being misled
by competitors in business
are high, so remain alert.
You may get a chance to
pursue old hobby. Health tips from
an expert will enable you to get
closer to your fitness goals. Your
generous behaviour will enable some
lovely moments with family.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Yoga would help in raising
energy levels and improve
your metabolism. Some of
you are going experience
emotional fulfilment. Place emphasis
on domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquillity and harmony.
Associating yourself with humanitar-
ian group would benefit you.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Avoid being indulgent in
your spending to balance
budget. Continue to put in
efforts at work and you will
see promising opportunities coming
your way. Matrimonial match for
siblings will bring happiness for
entire family. You will get a good
price for your property.
PISCES
FEB 20 - MARCH 20
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be
noticed by seniors, paving
way for promotion or
increment. Better to consult an
expert in financial matters before
making an investment. Family will be
supportive of career aspirations. A
promising day overall.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
A sound monetary position
would enable you to keep
pace with changing times.
Avoid raising controversial
issues. Successful implementation of
new ideas and projects would add to
your prestige on the professional
front. It is a wonderful day to build
new connections.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2022
11
he Taj Ram-
bagh Palace at
Jaipur epito-
mises rich tra-
ditions and a
place where
heritage and
culture are protected
and celebrated and
customs are preserved
and performed to per-
fection.
Even a usual visit to
Rambagh has over-
tures of royalty as one
is greeted by the aus-
picious ‘aarti’ and
‘tika’ ceremony per-
formed by women in
the traditional Ra-
jasthani attire.
Rambagh boasts of
overwhelming timeless
interiors of the resi-
dence of the last ruler
of Jaipur, Maharaja
Sawai Man Singh II and
his queen, the beautiful
MaharaniGayatriDevi.
Holi is also celebrat-
ed paying homage to
the age-old traditions.
GM Ashok Rathore
takes a personal inter-
est in the same and en-
sures that the customs
are carried out to per-
fection.
With the traditional
Holika Dahan Puja and
lighting of the holy fire,
one feels one is back in
royal times and holi
songs and cultural per-
formances add to the
ethereal experience. As
peacocks frolic in its
royal gardens, one can
be forgiven for actually
thinking that we have
entered a time machine
and are back in the age
of Kings and Queens.
T
TAJ RAMBAGH JAIPUR CELE-
BRATES ALL THE FESTIVALS
ENSURING THAT THE AGE-OLD
TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS ARE
EXECUTED TO PERFECTION. CITY
FIRST BRINGS YOU A FEW GLIMPS-
ES OF THE HOLIKA DAHAN TRADI-
TIONAL CELEBRATION!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Ashok Rathore during
the traditional holika puja Ashok Rathore prays before the holy fire before lighting it Traditional chang artists go round the holi fire before it is lit
Cultural performance with the majestic Rambagh as a backdrop
Phoolon ki holi Horses and horse drawn carts add to the traditional ambience
Guests enthralled by the celebrations A floral Rangoli greets all guests
Phoolon ki holi being enjoyed by the guests
Guests at the celebration pose for a pic As the holy fire of Holika Dahan burns bright the guests gather to pay homage
GM Ashok Rathore
Ki RAM RAM

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
Jagdeesh Chandra with
the JC show team during
the shoot of The New JC
show on Tuesday. (From
left) Jinendra Shekhawat,
Vijendra Solanki, Poonam
Sharma, Khushi Ajwani,
Srishti Khatri, Yogesh
Sharma, Sudhanshu
Mathur, Shweta Mishra
Awasthi, Aditi Nagar,
Anita Hada, Muskan
Kamdaar, Neelanjana
Jangid, Tanu Choudhary,
Tripti Arora, Ayushi
Vijayvargiya, Shishir
Awasthi and Mahesh
Sharma.
—PHOTO BY
SUNIL SHARMA
THE JC
SHOW
TEAM!
heLexiconArt
Gallery organ-
ised an inau-
gural art show
titled ‘His Glo-
ry and His
Monuments’
at The Lexicon Art,
Connaught Place re-
cently
. The theme of-
fered a brief albeit in-
tense visual journey
into the occult nature
of reality and history
.
From Jain Tirt-
hankaras to the Sirohi
Mandala, ‘His Glory
and His Monuments’
captivated and provid-
ed thoughts into the
aesthetic,cosmological,
and esoteric traditions
of both Ancient and
Mediaeval India. The
art gallery has been
presenting shows of
contemporary Indian
art. Now, they are step-
ping a milestone to ex-
plore the numerous
forms of Indian and
International art.
The exhibition was
curated and also
explicated through
abook-lengthessay
by Dr Kallol Roy
.
Mamta Nath,
Founder Direc-
tor-LexiconArtGal-
lery said “This exhi-
bition, titled” His
Glory and His Mon-
uments”isacollabo-
rative effort of vari-
ous learned minds in
the field of art. We hope
tonotonlyexhibitthese
treasures to all but also
make them accessible.
Hopefully, for the dis-
cerning art lovers, this
show shall bring joy
and dispense the much-
hidden knowledge
about an art form
which remains en-
shrined in the scrip-
tures and miniatures.”
Dr Kallol Roy said,
“This exhibition show-
cases an eclectic assort-
ment of miniature
paintings,manuscripts,
maps and other objects
which explore the eso-
teric and transcenden-
tal explorations of Hin-
du and Jain religious
and metaphysical sys-
tems!”
Claudio Ansorena
PhD Ambassador of
Embassy of the Repub-
licof CostaRica,Indian
Designer,scenographer
and art curator with
Padma Bhushan Ram
VanjiSutar,DrBlossom
Kochhar, philanthro-
pist Neelam Pratap
Rudy, Classical Singer
Dr Meeta Pandit, Mam-
ta Nath Founder Direc-
tor The Lexicon Art,
Designer Leena Singh,
K L Ganju Consul
General of the Re-
public of Union
of Comoros, An-
nieMunjaal,De-
signer Preeti
Ghai, Aash-
meen Munjaal,
Artist Avijit Dut-
ta, Prabhakar
Kolte, Artist Mani-
sha Gawade, Art-
ist George Martin
PJ, Director and
founderof Izhaar
by Core Designs
Ruchita Bansal
and Manisha
Bhatia, Gaurav
Grover with
wife Palka
Grover graced
the event with
their pres-
ence.
Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi and Varun Sharma Nupur Sanon were spotted in Delhi for
the special screening of the movie Bachchan Pandey at PVR Plaza on Thursday.
CITY FIRST
N
euro Spine
Onco Update
2022 was organ-
ised by Rajiv
GandhiCancerInstitute
Research Centre re-
cently
. The seminar was
organised to spread
awareness about new
techniques that have
revolutionised the treat-
ment of brain and spi-
nal cord tumours. These
treatments with high
precision are leading to
total removal of tu-
mours while preserving
the organs and leaving
the least detrimental ef-
fect on their functional-
ity
. Experts from Tata
Memorial, RGCIRC,
AIIMS, GB Pant Hospi-
tal, RML Hospital and
Safdarjung Hospital de-
livered talks and
shared their experi-
ences. Dr I C Premsa-
gar said ,“The seminar
was one-of-its-kind
event in terms of its
depth and width where
neuro-oncosurgeons,
medical oncologists, ra-
diationoncologists,neu-
ro-pathologists, neuro-
anaesthetists, neuro-ra-
diologists, neuro-physi-
ologists and neuro-psy-
chologists came togeth-
er to discuss the latest
trends in the field of
brain and spinal tu-
mours to make the man-
agement of these tu-
mours technically feasi-
ble, surgically safer,
more effective and ac-
ceptable to the patients.
Fight Cancer With Awareness!
CITY FIRST
R
ajasthan Inter-
national Fash-
ion Week organ-
ised a Pre-
Launch Holi Party at
Barrel Co Club in
Mumbai on Friday
. Dur-
ing the launch party
Rahul Kapoor, a well-
known Celebrity pro-
moted his event Ra-
jasthan International
Fashion Week which is
to be held in Rajasthan
soon. Fashion week will
showcase the lineage
and traditions of Ra-
jasthan via dresses,
Jewellery and will also
be promoting culturally
rich monuments. The
event will provide a pro-
motional platform for
all the associates and
would serve as a brand-
building exercise com-
bined with a whole lot
of opportunities to be
recognised in the Indi-
an market. The event
will propel the Fashion
Industry to greater
heights by showcasing
the work of National
and International De-
signers, also will pro-
vide a platform where
budding talented de-
signers would be able to
create a brand name.
Star-Studded Holi Party!!
SPOTTED IN THE CITY
ICONIC GOLD AWARDS
His Glory and His
MONUMENTS
SHUBHANSHI PATHAK
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
T
The Iconic Gold
awards 3rd edition
announced its
winners at Hotel
Sahara Star on 12th
March, Mumbai.
The starry event
witnessed several
B-town celebrities
sparkling up the
red carpet with
their gracious
presence. Despite
the difficulties the
film industry faced
during the Covid-19
pandemic, Iconic
Gold Awards and
its CEO Piyuus
Jaiswal decided,
it was important
to commemorate
the best of Indian
cinema.
Mita Pandit and Mamta Nath Dr Priyanka Tyagi with a guest Leena Singh and K L Ganju
Claudio Ansorena
Manisha Gawade
George Martin PJ
Annie Munjaal, Preeti Ghai and Aashmeen Munjaal
(L-R) Ajay, Rahul Kapoor, Kasturi, Arshi Khan and Eshaan Masih
(L-R) Aditi, Dr Ashwin Naayak, Rahul Kapoor, Indu and Amruta
Dr IP Premsagar, Dr Sudhir Rawal and DS Negi
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
—PHOTO
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN

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