22032022_First India Lucknow n.pdf

First India Bureau
Lucknow: Afteraplaca-
tory note from UP BJP
chief to party leaders
who lost polls, the ruling
party has come out with
an advisory specifying
dos and don’ts to be fol-
lowed by workers com-
ing to attend the grand
swearing-in ceremony
of Yogi’s second govern-
ment on March 25.
BJP workers who want
to attend the ceremony
at Ekana Stadium on
Friday will have to per-
form ‘puja’ at temples
before coming and put
party flags atop their ve-
hicles while travelling to
the venue. In a party
communique to its dis-
trict units, the saffron
party has also asked the
local leadership to reach
out to writers, profes-
sionals, doctors, engi-
neers, seers and reli-
gious leaders and send
them invites to attend
the ceremony
. The com-
munique says that two
workers each from the
403assemblyconstituen-
ciesinthestatewouldbe
allowed to attend the
swearing-inceremonyin
which top leaders of the
party
, including Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah, and
chief ministers of BJP-
ruled states are likely to
be present. “The work-
ers should perform puja
at local temples between
8-10 am before proceed-
ing to attend the oath
taking ceremony
,” says
the communique.
“The vehicles in which
the workers are travel-
ling must have BJP flags
atop them,” it adds.
Swati Singh reaches family
court for divorce hearing
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Discord be-
tween Swati Singh, ex-
minister in the Yogi gov-
ernment, and her hus-
band, newly elected
MLA from Basti,
DayashankarSingh,has
surfaced again as Swati
Singh on Monday ap-
proached the family
court here to reopen the
divorce case she filed in
2012. The dispute be-
tween Swati Singh and
her husband came to
light just before the as-
sembly election when
an audio clip of Swati
Singh went viral. Soon
after, the BJP denied the
Assemblyelectionticket
of Swati Singh from
Lucknow’s Sarojini Na-
gar seat and fielded ex-
ED officer Rajeshwar
Singh instead. At the
same time, the BJP
picked Dayashankar
Singh as candidate in
Ballia Nagar seat. The
win from Ballia Nagar
hasincreasedthechanc-
es of Dayashankar Sin-
gh becoming a minister
in the new Yogi govern-
ment, but now that Swa-
ti Singh has approached
the court for divorce, his
chances may take a hit.
Swati Singh had applied
for divorce from
Dayashankarin2012but
the case was closed by
the family court in 2018
asboththepartiesnever
reached the court for
hearing. Turn to P2
Bulldozers busy in preparation for the swearing-in ceremony
outside Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Monday.
YOGI’S SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
BJP’S INSTRUCTIONS: PERFORM PUJA IN
MORNING, PUT FLAGS ATOP VEHICLES
Swati Singh. —FILE PHOTO
LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 128
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
CDS GETS PADMA
VIBHUSHAN
CHINA PLANE CRASHES WITH 132
ON BOARD; NO SIGN OF SURVIVORS
BJP resurrects ‘loser’ Dhami as
U’khand CM, Sawant retains Goa
Dehradun: Putting all
speculations to rest, the
BJP on Monday an-
nounced that Pushkar
Singh Dhami will return
as the Chief Minister of
Uttarakhand. Dhami
will take oath as the 11th
CM of the state on
Wednesday
.
The announcement
was made after newly
electedBJPMLAsmetat
thepartyofficeinDehra-
dun to choose their lead-
er. The meeting was at-
tended by Union Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh, who
was appointed as BJP’s
observer, and minister
Meenakshi Lekhi.
Australian PM expressed ‘understanding of
India’s Ukraine position’, says foreign secy
New Delhi: Australian
Prime Minister Scott
MorrisononMondayex-
pressed his understand-
ing of India’s position
on the crisis in Ukraine,
and he and PM Naren-
dra Modi felt the conflict
should not be a reason
for diverting attention
from the Indo-Pacific,
ForeignSecretaryHarsh
Vardhan Shringla said.
The Russian invasion
of Ukraine figured at a
virtual summit between
thetwoprimeministers,
news agency PTI report-
ed.
Shringlaalsosaidthat
IndiaandAustraliawere
keentofinalisetheCom-
prehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement
as it will unlock new op-
portunities to expand
bilateral trade and in-
vestment ties.
Unlike its Quad part-
ners — the US, Japan
and Australia — India
has not condemned the
Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
DEATH IN
THE AIR
According to
broadcaster
CCTV, the accident
involving a China Eastern
Airlines Boeing 737 took
place near the city of Wuzhou
in Teng county
China Eastern Airlines grounds
Boeing 737-800 fleet post crash
Guangxi: A Chinese
airliner with 132 pas-
sengers on board Mon-
day crashed in the
southern province of
Guangxi, the Chinese
media has reported.
The aircraft, with 123
passengers and nine
crew on board, lost con-
tact over the city of
Wuzhou, China’s Civil
Aviation Administra-
tion of China (CAAC)
and the airline said.
The crash, in which the
plane descended at a
final rate of 31,000 feet
a minute according to
FlightRadar24, sparked
a mountainside fire.
China Eastern said
the cause of the crash
wasunderinvestigation.
‘SHOCKED’ XI
ORDERS PROBE
AIRLINE’S WEBSITE
TURNS INTO B&W
FI ANALYSIS
Chinese President Xi Jin-
ping said he was “shocked”
after a China
Eastern Boe-
ing 737-800
crashed in
the southern
province of
Guangxi on
Monday. He has called for
an investigation into the
accident, as per reports.
After the crash, the website
of China Eastern Airlines,
mobile app and some
of its other social media
platforms were presented
in black and white - what
airlines do as a sign of
respect or mourning for
the assumed victims. The
ill-fated China Eastern flight
MU5735 was traveling from
Kunming to Guangzhou.
Pushkar S Dhami - the BJP
warrior that went down fight-
ing while handing his party
another term in Uttarakhand
was given another shot
at the top post by Central
leadership of PM Narendra
Modi and Union Minister
Amit Shah. Both believed
that it was not very long
ago before polls that Dhami
was appointed CM, but in
short span of time, despite
facing internal revolt, he still
ensured victory for the party.
Most of the state leaders
favoured him for the top job.
26,000
FEET LOST
IN UNDER
3 MINUTES
Smoke rises from a fire
after a China Eastern
Airlines passenger plane
crashed near Wuzhou city
in the Guangxi region.
1
2
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
Deeply shocked and saddened
to learn about the crash of the pas-
senger flight MU5735 with 132 on
board in China’s Guangxi. Our thoughts
and prayers are with the victims of the
crash and their family members.
President Kovind
presents Padma
Vibhushan to
General Bipin Rawat
(Posthumous) for
Civil Service. As the
first Chief of Defence
Staff and Secretary,
Department of Military
Affairs, he was pivotal in
ushering transformative
reforms in Indian
Armed Forces. Rawat’s
daughters received
the award. President
Kovind presents
Padma Bhushan to
Rajiv Mehrishi for Civil
Service. More on P6
Pushkar Singh Dhami Pramod Sawant
Biren Singh
takes oath as
Manipur CM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspects antiquities which have
returned from Australia in New Delhi. In a historic move, 29
antiquities have been repatriated to India by the Australia.
Most of the farmers’ organisations, that the Supreme
Court-appointed body for studying the now-rolled-back
farm laws interacted with, supported the legislation, the
report of the committee that was made public on Mon-
day revealed, although now holding little significance.
MOST FARMERS’
BODIES FOR 3
FARM LAWS, SC
PANEL’S REPORT
RUSSIAN COURT BANS INSTA, FB AS ‘EXTREMIST’
A Russian court on Monday banned Facebook and Insta-
gram in country after finding Meta Platforms Inc “ex-
tremist”. Instagram was blocked after Meta said it would
allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages.
Admission to undergraduate programmes across all
45 central universities will be held through a common
entrance test starting this year, and the test will be held
in the first week of July, University Grants Commission
(UGC) chairman Jagadesh Kumar told reporters.
UGC: COMMON
ENTRANCE TEST
FOR ALL CENTRAL
VARSITIES IN JULY

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Lucknow: One of the
great achievements of
Yogi Adityanath during
his first term as Chief
Minister of Uttar
Pradesh has been effec-
tive and transparent
delivery of ration to 15
crore poor and needy
people of the state
throughout the ongoing
novel coronavirus
(Covid-19) pandemic,
which was totally ab-
sent during during the
Samajwadi Party and
Bahujan Samajwadi
Party governments in
the past in the state due
to involvement of vest-
ed interests leading to a
series of food scams.
What is most remark-
able is that from pro-
curement of foodgrains
from farmers and mak-
ing timely payments to
them within 72 hours of
purchase to constant
monitoring of vehicles
carrying foodgrains
from Food Corporation
of India (FCI) depot to
block godowns and
from godowns to ration
shops, the Yogi Govern-
ment has maintained
complete transparency
in the Public Distribu-
tion System with no
room for irregularities
of any kind.
Awareness of ground
realities probably
helped CM Yogi in
achieving this remark-
able feat as he started
with revamping the
PDS itself with use of
technology way back in
2017 when he took
charge of the state.
The government car-
ried out a phase-wise
massive operation for
the bio-metric valida-
tion of over 34 million
ration card holders
through Aadhar.
The operation led to
identification and can-
cellation of around 27
lakh ghost ration cards.
Meanwhile, the Yogi
govt also issued 33 lakh
new cards to the deserv-
ing people and also did
away with traditional
methods of procure-
ment, storage and dis-
tribution of ration,
which not only benefit-
ted the people at large,
but also those farmers
who had to wait for
months on end to get
the price of their crops
during previous gov-
ernments.
The PDS system not
in UP but across India
has been traditionally
plagued with large
scale irregularities at
different stages of pro-
curement, supply and
distribution.
TRANSFORMATION

Yogigovt
tooksome
revolutionary
stepsto
ensure
transparency
ofPublic
Distribution
Systeminthe
state
BJP govt brought transparency in PDS to serve 15-cr needy
Tech helped UP govt to
monitor transportation
To stop diversion of
foodgrains during
transportation, the
Government intro-
duced a vehicle
tracking system and
GPS monitoring,
which has made the
system even more
transparent.
The Command
Centre set up at the
Food Department
headquarters in
Lucknow has a dedi-
cated team that reg-
ularly monitors the
transport vehicles
right from its move-
ment from Food Cor-
poration of India
(FCI) depot to block
godowns and from
godowns to ration
shops and reports
suspected behaviour.
Due to GPS enabled
vehicles, the Food
Department was
also able to save 25
percent of the trans-
portation cost.
YOGI GOVT TO IMPLEMENT
OLD PENSION SCHEME IN UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Hike in
monthly pension of
aged, widows, destitute
and the handicapped
would be among the
first post-poll gifts of
Yogi Adityanath gov
ernment in Uttar
Pradesh.
In its poll manifesto,
the ruling BJP had
pledged that the pen-
sion for the aged would
be increased to Rs 1500
per month.
In his previous ten-
ure, the Yogi govern-
ment had doubled the
monthly pension for the
aged living below the
poverty line from Rs 500
to Rs 1000. Similarly,
pension for widows was
increased from Rs 400 to
Rs 1000.
According to offi-
cials, before authoris-
ing the increase, the
government had asked
for scrutiny of the list
of beneficiaries of the
scheme. As a part of
this exercise, the gov-
ernment has started
linking the Aadhar
number of eligible pen-
sioners with their bank
accounts.
The names of fake
and ineligible benefi-
ciaries would be weed-
ed out of the list
At present, 56 lakh peo-
ple in Uttar Pradesh are
availing of old age pen-
sion, while 31 lakh wid-
ows are being provided
financial assistance by
the state government.
Around 11 lakh handi
capped people are also
drawing pension.
The pension in these
categories is being di-
rectly credited to bank
accounts.
The issue had hit the
headlines when seeking
support of state govern-
ment employees in the
assembly election Sma-
jawadi Party supremo
Akhilesh Yadav had an-
nounced in January to
restore the old pension
scheme (OPS), if voted
to power.
He said that it would
help lakhs of govern-
ment employees, offi-
cers and teachers in the
state.
The govt looks keen to fulfill the promises made in its poll manifesto
CM designate Yogi Adityanath paid a courtesy visit to Governor
Anandiben Patel on Monday and greeted her with a book titled
‘Man Manas Mein Ram’.
JAIPUR REPLICATES
LUCKNOW’S MOVE
Jaipur: Interestingly
in view of the political
significance of the
Old Pension Scheme
the Rajasthan Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot
has also announced
the restoration of old
pension scheme in
the state. Rajasthan
goes to poll in De-
cember 2023.
Scope for more improvement
in Agra’s tourism: CS Mishra
First India Bureau
Agra: Durga Shankar
Mishra, the Chief
Secretary (CS) of the
state on Monday ad-
dressed a seminar or-
ganized by Society for
Preservation of
Healthy Environment
and Ecology and Her-
itage of Agra (SPEE-
HA) Jaypee. Palace
Hotel and Convention
Center.
He said that a simi-
lar seminar was con-
ducted around 25
years ago, where dis-
cussions were held on
declaring Agra as a
world heritage, to at-
tract more tourists
and on improving
was its connectivity
via roads and rail-
ways. He added that
despite improve-
ments, similar con-
cerns still need to be
addressed.
Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra addresses a seminar
organised by SPEEHA.
CS ATTENDS TAJ NATURE WALK
Shah to give final shape to
NEW YOGI CABINET
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
will visit Lucknow on
Wednesday ahead of
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) state legis-
lature party meeting on
24 March, said sources.
According to sources,
Shah will give final
shape to the nature and
composition of the new
Yogi Adityanath cabi-
net that will lay the saf-
fron outfit’s template
for the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections when PM Nar-
endra Modi will seek to
return to office for the
third consecutive time.
The party, as a matter
of fact, is keeping its
card close to its chest
about the number of
deputy CMs who will
take oath along with
Yogi. Sources said that
the party considers that
the step to appoint at
least two deputy CMs
who paid off well for
the party
.
The oath-taking cere-
mony of the Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath will
take place on 25 March,
sources said. This will
be his second term as
the chief minister of
the state.
As per sources, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh, Bharati-
ya Janata Party nation-
al president JP Nadda
are on the list of invi-
tees for the scheduled
oath-taking ceremony
of Yogi Adityanath.
Meanwhile, Yogi Adi-
tyanath will be the first
chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh in the last 37
years to return to power
after completing a full
term.
Union Minister Amit Shah and CM-designate Yogi Adityanath.
MODI DISCUSSES GOVT FORMATION
BJP names 6 more candidates for MLC polls
Lucknow (PTI): The
BJP on Monday an-
nounced the names of
six more candidates for
the biennial Uttar
Pradesh Legislative
Council elections
scheduled to take place
on April 9.
The party had earlier
announced 30 candi-
dates for the biennial
polls.
Subhash Yaduvansh
has been fielded from
Basti-Siddharthnagar
local authority constit-
uency, Avinash Singh
Chauhan from Kan-
pur-Fatehpur, Vineet
Singh from Mir-
z a p u r- S o n b h a d r a ,
Shailendra Pratap
Singh from Sultanpur,
Sudama Singh Patel
from Varanasi and
Brajesh Singh Pranshu
has been fielded from
Jaunpur, according to
the list released by the
party’s national general
secretary Arun Singh.
Yaduvansh is a secre-
tary in the UP BJP and
has been a former state
president of BJP Yuva
Morcha, while Chau-
han and Patel are also
associated with the par-
ty’s organization.
Vineet Singh who has
been fielded from Mir-
zapur-Sonbhadra has
been MLC in the past
but was defeated in
2016.
Shailendra Pratap
Singh, who won from
the SP in Sultanpur,
had joined the BJP
some time back. while
Brajesh Singh of Jaun-
pur won as an indepen-
dent last time.
The polling for the 36
seats will be held on
April 9 and the last
date of nomination is
March 21.
Will have custody of children, says Swati
Singh after court hears divorce petition
Continued from page 1
This was the time when
Swati Singh was named
a cabinet minister in
the Yogi government.
Hearing the applica-
tion of divorce case to-
day, Additional Princi-
pal Judge, Family
Court, Shruti Srivas-
tava listed the next
hearing on May 5.
Speaking to the me-
dia after coming out of
the court, Swati Singh
said that the dispute
had been ongoing since
2012 and a divorce appli-
cation had already been
filed.
When asked about
the custody of the chil-
dren, Swati Singh said
that she will have the
custody of the children.
When asked about
the impact of the di-
vorce hearing on
Dayashankar Singh be-
coming a minister, she
stated that no women
will be subject to ha-
rassment when Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi and Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath are
in power.
It is to be noted that
Swati Singh’s entrance
into politics was out of
the ordinary as her hus-
band Dayashankar
Singh was expelled
from the BJP after he
made objectionable re-
marks on BSP supremo
Mayawati before the
2017 assembly elections.
Swati Singh successful-
ly fought the election
and went on to become
a cabinet minister in
the Yogi government
during its last term.
Swati Singh Daya Shankar Singh
CM-elect Yogi
lauds Sawant
and Dhami
First India Bureau
Lucknow: CM Yogi has
congratulated Dr Pra-
mod Sawant and Push-
kar Dhami on their
election as leader of
legislative party in Goa
and Uttarakhand re-
spectively on Monday
“I am sure that under
the able guidance of re-
spected Prime Minister
both of you with your
able leadership will set
new benchmarks of de-
velopment in your re-
spective states,” said
the CM-elect of UP.
37 SEATS VACANT
CS Mishra plants a tree during
the nature walk.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

UTTAR PRADESH
03
RISING MERCURY
As day temperature soared in state capital Lucknow on Monday, people were seen finding solace under contrived shades like towels
and stolls to cover their face and head. (R) A vegetable vendor sprinkles water generously on his vegetwables to keep them from
drying up in the sweltering sun. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
PEAKING
HEAT...
UP STF GUNS DOWN NOTORIOUS
CRIMINAL IN VARANASI ENCOUNTER
CarriedrewardofRs2Lonhead;wasprimeaccusedinbizmanTiwarimurder
First India Bureau
Lucknow: An alleged
criminal involved in the
murders of a journalist
and a manager of a pri-
vate firm was shot dead
in Varanasi on Monday
in an encounter with Ut-
tar Pradesh’s Special
Task Force, officials
said here.
Gangster Manish Sin-
gh Monu was injured in
an encounter with an
STF unit on the border
of the Lohta and Jansa
police stations in the
district and was rushed
to hospital, they said.
He was declared dead
in the hospital, they
added.
Sources said acting
on a tip-off, an STF team
led by additional super-
intendent of police
(STF) Vinod Kumar Sin-
gh intercepted two bike-
borne suspects near
Bankata underpass at
Harhua-Rajatalab ring
road but they opened
fire on STF team. In re-
taliatory firing Monu
was injured while an-
othermanagedtoescape
from the spot.
The officials said po-
lice also seized a pistol
and a carbine besides
many live cartridges at
the site of the gunfight
between the police and
Monu and his accom-
plice, who managed to
flee from there.
Monu was wanted in
connection with several
murder cases including
that of journalist and
coloniser ND Tewari in
Varanasi. Manish also
murdered another his-
tory-sheeter Abhishek
Singh alias Prince at
Chaukaghat under Jait-
pura police station, the
police said, adding the
accused had dodged the
police many times.
The police had also
declared a reward of Rs
2 lakh on Monu’s arrest,
they said. An STF offi-
cial said at least three
people belonging to his
gang had been killed in
separate encounters
with the police.
20 CRIMINAL CASES
Police at the encounter site on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Temple vandalised, idol found
broken, police launch probe
Noida (PTI):An idol
was found damaged
inside a temple in a
village in Noida on
Monday morning,
prompting the police
to launch an investi-
gation into the mat-
ter, officials said.
Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police (Cen-
tral Noida) Harish
Chander said the lo-
cal Sector 63 police
station was alerted
about vandalisation
inside a temple in Be-
hlolpur village.
A police team along
with forensic experts
and a dog squad
reached the site to
look into the matter
immediately
. One idol
was found in a dam-
aged condition, he
said.
Some blood sam-
ples were also found
there which prime
facie look like human
blood. Apparently
someone who broke a
glass cover within
which the idol was set
got hurt and his blood
dropped, DCP Chan-
der said.
The officer said the
police were investi-
gating all angles in
the case and refuted
rumour that a piece
of meat was also
strewn inside the
temple compound.
He said the police
had also contacted
the temple priest,
who had gone to his
home in the night and
returned only in the
morning when he
witnessed the van-
dalisation.
The temple which was attacked.
CRUCIAL READ
Noida: The Gautam Buddh Nagar traffic police issued
over 3,600 e-challans to vehicle owners post Holi over
various violations of road traffic rules like wrong lane
driving, red light jumping, not using helmet or seat
belt, officials said. The e-challans were issued on in-
structions of Police Commissioner Alok Singh during a
special campaign on Sunday to check violation of traf-
fic rules on Noida and Greater Noida roads, they said.
Action was taken against 3,677 vehicles and e-challans
issued in all cases where traffic rules were flouted.
WOMAN HELD
WITH 2 KG
CANNABIS
Noida: The police have
arrested a woman in
Noida and recovered
two kgs cannabis from
her possession, of-
ficials said on Monday.
The married woman,
who hails from Bihar’s
Nalanda district, was
arrested on Sunday by
officials of the Phase
2 police station, they
said. “Accused Manisha
was held near the Sec-
tor 81 metro station
road close to Shiv
Shakti Enclave. Two
kilogrammes of canna-
bis was seized from her
possession,” a police
spokesperson said. An
FIR has been lodged
against her at the Phase
2 police station under
the provisions of the
Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substanc-
es (NDPS) Act.
MAN KILLS WIFE
AFTER ARGUMENT,
ARRESTED
Bulandshahr: A 40-yr-
old woman was hacked
to death by her hus-
band in Shikarpur area
of the district, police
said Monday. Police
identified the victim
as Rajni of Qutubpur
village under Shikarpur
Police Station. They
said the man attacked
his wife following an
argument with her with
a sharp-edged weapon
in which she suf-
fered grievous injuries
and bled to death.
Police have arrested
the accused and are
interrogating him, they
said. The police seized
the body and sent it
for postmortem. After
coming to know of Raj-
ni’s murder, her parents
and relatives reached
her in-laws’ place and
created ruckus.
OVER 3,600 CHALLANS IN A DAY FOR
TRAFFIC RULE VIOLATIONS IN NOIDA
KashmiriswhobackedPakistanhelped
inmassacreofPandits:VivekAgnihotri
First India Bureau
Kanpur: “Terrorism is
a business and Kash-
miri Pandits have suf-
fered the most in this
business. Besides, the
truth is more frighten-
ing than the massacres
that took place,”said
Vivek Agnihotri, Direc-
tor of the film ‘The
Kashmir Files’, on his
visit to Kanpur on Mon-
day
.
He said he had made
an effort to bring to the
fore the tragedy which
people were unable to
digest and Kashmir
still trembled remem-
bering those bad times.
Having arrived with
wife Pallavi Joshi to
meet his cousin Sharad
Tiwari residing in Arya
Nagar, Vivek Agnihotri
said it was Kashmiris
who supported Paki-
stan, helped in the exo-
dus of Hindus and
helped in the massacre.
He further said now
no matter what anyone
said, the whole country
had understood what
was faced by Kashmiri
Pandits.
On the question of
making a film on
Godhra and Lakhim-
pur incident and the
statements of former
Chief Minister Akhile-
sh Yadav and Owaisi,
Vivek said that people
who gave such state-
ments were kings and
their sons were also
very capable to make a
film on it if they felt the
need.
He said on the ques-
tion of opposition call-
ing the film a political
stunt, that people were
shaken on seeing the
truth of being ex-
posed.
The soldiers who
were falsely accused of
vandalism have now
been cleared. On the
question of giving po-
litical colour to the
film, he said everyone’s
thinking was different.
Bajrang Dal members
gherao police station
First India Bureau
Saharanpur: Bajrang
Dal workers thronged
Rural Kotwali police sta-
tion and demanded
stringent action against
culprits in the matter of
molestation of a girl.
Though police had ar-
rested the accused they
had reportedly taken ac-
tion against both parties
which was strongly ob-
jected by the activists.
Police said it was re-
portedthatsomemiscre-
antsmolestedaDalitgirl
in a village under Rural
Kotwali area. The police
arrested the accused but
when family of the vic-
tim returned to the vil-
lage several people from
Muslim community at-
tacked them.
The police rushed to
the spot and took 10
miscreants into custo-
dy. When Bajrang Dal
workers came to know
that the police had reg-
istered case against two
persons from victims’
side they thronged the
police station.
On axe attack spree,
man kills 3, injures 7
First India Bureau
Bulandshahr: There
was panic in the area
after a man attacked
several people with axe
in Parwana village un-
der Khanpur police sta-
tion area.
Police said a person
axed several people in
Parwana village in the
morning. Three per-
sons including a wom-
an died on the spot in
the attack while several
others were injured.
Severely injured seven
persons were rushed to
the hospital where
their condition was
stated to be critical.
Locals said accused
Balbeer was going for
agricultural work
when he attacked sev-
eral persons all of a
sudden. After attack ac-
cused managed to es-
cape from the scene.
Police rushed to the
spot after information
and shifted all injured
to the hospital. After a
few hours they nabbed
the accused from a
nearby village.
SSP Santosh Singh
said accused had no ri-
valry with the victims.
It was speculated that
his mental condition
was not good, though
investigation is on.
Prisoner
commits
suicide
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In Luc-
know district jail
an inmate Sunil
Karauri (40) com-
mitted suicide by
hanging self from
window of his
barrack on Mon-
day morning.
Police said
Sunil was sen-
tenced to life im-
prisonment for
murder charges
in April 2006. He
was a resident of
Dhamnabujurg
village under Sa-
jeti police station
area in Kanpur.
Fellow inmates in-
formed jail offi-
cials about the in-
cident.
Jail officials in-
formed Gosaiganj
police and further
investig ations
were underway.
Deceased inmate
used his towel
(Gamchha) to
hang self from
window of the
barrack. He was
rushed to the doc-
tor where he was
declared dead.
Vivek Agnihotri with wife
actor Pallavi Joshi in Kanpur
on Monday.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The burnt
body of a woman was
foundinagarbagedump-
ing yard in Ghaila area,
IIM road here.
Thepoliceweretryingto
ascertain the identity of
the victim.
Forensic team has col-
lectedevidencesfromthe
spot. CCTV cameras
near dumping yard
were searched to get the
footage.
It was speculated that
women was raped and
murdered and then
criminals burnt her.
Probe is on.
Burnt body of
woman found
in dumpyard
Agnihotri said now no
matter what anyone
says, the whole country
has understood
what was faced by
Kashmiri Pandits.

oon after Narendra Modi
took over the reins of the
country, he went heavily
after corruption. Right
from tightening the noose
on shell companies to ini-
tiating legal action against
bank loan defaulters, Modi
lived up to and still does,
of his image of “Na Khata
Hun Na Khane Doonga”.
Narendra Modi always
knew the power of new
technology and its inter-
vention towards bringing
transparency in govern-
ance. He introduced tech-
nology and IT-led innova-
tions and initiatives to
make the governance effec-
tive and at the same time
ease the lives of people. He
launched Digital India Mis-
sion and the rest is history
.
“Corruption-free gov-
ernance, transparency,
public partnership and
reaching out to people
standing last in the line…
Modi government has ful-
filled all four-five basic
rules of governance…This
also shows Modi ji’s lean-
ing towards new technol-
ogy and scientific temper-
ament. Every reform and
improvement show opti-
mum use of technology,”
union cabinet minister Dr
Jitendra Singh was quoted
as saying.
The Digital India Mis-
sion, which was launched
onJuly1,2015,expandedits
wings and utility with the
introduction of Apps and
digital platforms like
Umang, DG Locker, Bhim,
Rupay and UPI. The coun-
try
, which used to rely com-
pletely on physical transac-
tions was ready to embrace
thetechnology-drivencash-
less transaction system.
The aim was to put a curb
onblackmoneyandenforce
transparencyinthesystem,
which Modi had already
initiatedthroughdemoneti-
sation. He gave a new di-
mension to the Aadhar
Card scheme launched by
the predecessor UPA gov-
ernment and linked every
government-run schemes
with Aadhar for transfer-
ring benefits directly to the
beneficiaries eliminating
any intermediary
.
“Earlier people couldn’t
open bank accounts due to
lack of KYC documents.
Aadharprovidedidentityto
such people and they start-
ed getting cash benefits and
other subsidies directly in
their bank accounts. Leak-
age was plugged,” said RS
Sharma, CEO of Aayush-
man Bharat Scheme.
The PM Modi also fo-
cused on education, health
and employment to serve
theinterestsof poorpeople.
He started new IIMs, IITs
and launched AIIMS in
various parts of the coun-
try
. He also launched Skill
India Mission to hone the
skills of youth and make
them employment ready
.
On November 7, 2015, Modi
fulfilled one of his impor-
tant poll promises… he re-
alised the dreams of thou-
sands of ex-servicemen by
launching One rank One
pension … a long pending
demand which had not
beenfulfilledsince40years.
It was a tribute to the
Armedforcesfromaperson
who used to dream to join
the Army for serving the
country
. Apart from that,
Modi also resolved prob-
lems of Armed forces
whichhadbeenhangingon
fire for long. Right from the
slowpaceof modernisation
to shortage of modern sub-
marinesandfighterplanes,
the country was facing
acute shortage of weapons.
“He gave us more than
whatever we had demand-
ed. Now you see we are the
best centre in the world …
centre of excellence…
which are manufactur-
ing everything includ-
ing weapons,” said
Harivansh Narayan
Singh, deputy chair-
man of RS. While
resolving problems
and difficulties of
Armed forces,
Modi celebrated
thefestivalof Di-
wali with sol-
diers at the fron-
tiers … some-
times in Pun-
jab, some-
times in
Kashmir or
R a j a s t h a n
and some-
times in
Ladakh. The
solider in Modi saluted the
high spirit of Indian Army
deployed in difficult ter-
rainstoprotectthecountry
.
On September 18, 2016,
in the wee hours of the
morning at 5.30 am, an un-
fortunate incident hap-
pened at Uri when Paki-
stan-sponsored terrorists
carried an ambush against
Indian soldiers, who were
caught sleeping in their
camps.Inthatoperation,18
Indian soldiers laid down
their lives before killing
the terrorists. That en-
raged the entire nation and
people called for revenge.
Moved by the public senti-
mentsPMModiannounced
- “Let the terrorists hear it
out… the country is not go-
ing to forget this ghastly
act.” And within 15 days on
September 29, 2016 the In-
dian army avenged the Uri
attack.
“The Indian Army con-
ducted surgical strike last
night at the launch pads, “
Lt General Ranveer Singh,
DGMO, IA declared.
In that operation, the
army conducted sur-
gical strikes in the
P a k - o c c u p i e d
Kashmir and de-
stroyed terror
launch pads kill-
ing a large num-
ber of terrorists.
That was a big
demonstration
of PM Modi’s
courage and
risk-taking abil-
ity. His deci-
sion was
hailed by eve-
ryone in the
country as
Modi defied
the nuclear
threat posed
by Pakistan.
The confi-
dent Modi
then conquered another
front. This time he an-
nounced to roll out GST in
the country, marking the
entry of long awaited One
Nation One Tax system.
This was the biggest re-
form in the field of taxa-
tion in Independent India.
And Modi made it histori-
cal by announcing it at the
stroke of 12 midnight in
the intervening night of
June 30 and July 1, 2017
from the central hall of the
parliament.
Modi never held him-
self back from rolling out
big decisions and mega
reforms. He didn’t shy
away from getting the law
of Triple Talaq passed in
the parliament on Septem-
ber 19, 2018 which brought
great relief in the lives of
Muslim women.
Modi didn’t stop there.
He went on to launch sev-
eral public-friendly
schemes and programmes
including Namami Gange,
Jan Aushadhi Yojana,
Mudra Yojana, Start-up In-
dia and Make in India
among others. Apart from
that healso focusedspecial-
ly on the development of
northeastern states. Under
Look East policy
, he set up a
separate ministry DoNER
to develop infrastructure
and establish connectivity
of northeastern states with
rest of the country
.
The country was on its
way to economic develop-
ment. Just then Pakistan
came into picture once
again. This time Pakistan
backed militants of JeM
conducted a ‘Fidayin’ at-
tack on the convoy of
CRPF killing 18 jawans in
Pulwama on February 14,
2019. After Uri, this was
the second occasion when
the entire country was
boiling with anger. And
Modi was no exception.
On February 26, 2019,
Indian Air force launched
airstrikes in Pakistan’s
Balakot region and de-
stroyed launch pads of ter-
rorists. A large number of
militants were killed and
spirit of terrorists damp-
ened completely after the
bold move of Modi.
2019 was the election
year and Modi was target-
ing a second term with
more than 300 seats. ‘Abki
baar 300 paar’ was the slo-
gan of BJP when it went
for polls in the biggest fes-
tival of democracy. On
May 23, 2019 when the
counting of votes ended,
BJP emerged a clear win-
ner with 303 seats while
the tally for its coalition
NDA went up to 353 seats.
Thedecisivemajorityem-
powered Modi even more,
who looked determined to
roll out bigger reforms and
take big decisions in public
interest at large.
On August 5, 2019, the
Parliament of India voted
in favour of a resolution
tabled by Home Minister
Amit Shah to revoke the
temporary special status,
or autonomy, granted un-
der Article 370 of the In-
dian Constitution to Jam-
mu and Kashmir - an agen-
da which was there in BJP
manifesto for long. With
this Modi also fulfilled his
17-year old promise which
he had made to people of
J&KduringhisEktaYatra.
Just after 3 months on
November 2019 five-judge
bench of Supreme Court
in its ruling ordered con-
struction of Ram Mandir
on the disputed land in
Ayodhya. The path for con-
struction of Mandir was
clear now. On August 5,
2020, Narendra Modi went
to Ayodhya for bhoomi pu-
jan of Ram Mandir. Modi
sent out a message and
clear to everyone - Modi
hai to Mumkin hai.
To be continued...
Corruption-free governance,
transparency, public
partnership and reaching out
to people standing last in the
line… Modi government has
fulfilled all four-five basic
rules of governance…This also
shows Modi ji’s leaning
towards new technology and
scientific temperament. Every
reform and improvement
show optimum use of
technology.
Dr Jitendra Singh,
Union cabinet minister
Earlier people couldn’t open
bank accounts due to lack of
KYC documents. Aadhar
provided identity to such
people and they started getting
cash benefits and other
subsidies directly in their bank
accounts. Leakage was plugged.
RS Sharma, CEO,
Aayushman Bharat Scheme
He gave us more than
whatever we had demanded.
Now you see we are the best
centre in the world … centre of
excellence… which are
manufacturing everything
including weapons.
Harivansh Narayan Singh,
deputy chairman, Rajya Sabha
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE … PART 9
NARENDRA MODI AS PRADHAN SEVAK… PM OF INDIA
Majority of 140 crore Indians now believe…
‘MODIHAITOMUMKINHAI’
S
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India LET THE TERRORISTS HEAR
IT OUT… THE COUNTRY IS
NOT GOING TO FORGET
THIS GHASTLY ACT:
NARENDRA MODI
INDIAN ARMY’S SURGICAL STRIKE
“The Indian Army conducted surgical strike last
night at the launch pads, " Lt Gen Ranveer Singh,
DGMO, IA declared. In that operation, the Army
conducted surgical strikes in Pak-occupied Kash-
mir and destroyed terror launch pads killing a large
number of terrorists. That was a big demonstration
of PM Modi’s courage and risk-taking ability. His
decision was hailed by everyone in the country as
Modi defied the nuclear threat posed by Pakistan.
RAM TEMPLE'S CONSTRUCTION
Just after 3 months on November 2019
five-judge bench of Supreme Court in its
ruling ordered construction of Ram Mandir
on the disputed land in Ayodhya. The path
for construction of Mandir was clear now. On
August 5, 2020, Narendra Modi went to Ayo-
dhya for bhoomi pujan of Ram Mandir. Modi
sent out a message and clear to everyone -
Modi hai to Mumkin hai.
YOU READ PART-8
IN FIRST INDIA ON
MARCH 14, 2022
PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI
PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 2 Issue No. 128 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 Lucknow.
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

!#$%%'(%#)*%%#+%,-./.%*#
01)#1/'23#
!#$%#'
##$%''()#*+,'-.#%.$$+/0
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##$%''#*12'3)4%#)56).+78/50-
!#$%'()*+,-)#.% /01+0$2#+)10,.3,12
42)5)22)64*'5,278

INDIA
05
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Patiala MP
Preneet Kaur has also
joined the ‘gathering’ of
angry Congress leaders
and many Congress
l e a d - ers have
questioned this. An in-
formed Congress leader
has pointed out that the
statement issued after
the five-hour meeting at
Ghulam Nabi Azad’s
house said that ‘Con-
gress leaders met’, but
should Preneet Kaur
now considered a Con-
gress leader, when she
has openly campaigned
for BJP in Punjab and
sought votes? A mem-
ber of the Congress
Working Committee
says it is one thing to be
angry with the Con-
gress and another to
campaign for the BJP
.
Keep in mind that
Preneet Kaur’s hus-
band Captain Ama-
rinder Singh left the
Congress and formed a
separate party and con-
tested the elections in
coordination with the
BJP. After her aligning
with the BJP, Preneet
Kaur said many times
that family is more im-
portant to her than the
party
.Thatis,sheisCon-
gress MP later and
Capt’s wife is first. Kaur
also attended the BJP
meeting held in Patiala
in connection with the
preparations for Amit
Shah’s programme and
sought votes for the BJP
during the campaign.
Only then the Congress
leaders say that her at-
tending the meeting
means that the meeting
is in support of the BJP
.
Therefore, if the mem-
bers of the meeting at
Azad’s residence were
sincerely with the Con-
gress, they would have
stopped Preneet Kaur.
Similarly, this question
is also being asked that
since when did Shankar
Singh Vaghela become a
Congressman? He had
left the Congress before
the Lok Sabha elections
and later moved to the
NCP
. Therefore, by what
authority has he signed
the roll call of leaders as
a Congress man?
Why not stop Preneet Kaur?
STILL A CONG MEMBER?
New Delhi: In a refer-
ence to the border
standoff with China,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Monday
emphasised that peace
and tranquillity at the
border area was an es-
sential prerequisite for
normalisation of rela-
tions with the neigh-
bouring country
.
PM Modi made these
remarks during the vir-
tual summit with his
Australian counterpart
Scott Morrison, during
which the two leaders
exchanged views on im-
portant regional and
global issues.
Shringla said that
there was equal empha-
sis on the fact that in-
ternational orders
stand on the UN Char-
ter on the rule of law
and respect for the ter-
ritorial integrity and
sovereignty of states.
The conflict in Eu-
rope should not be a re-
gion for us to divert our
attention from the Indo-
Pacific region, and our
position, far as Quad is
concerned, also was on
similar lines, the For-
eign Secretary said.
Shringla informed
that PM Modi and PM
Morrison exchanged
perspectives about re-
gional and multilateral
matters and global is-
sues of mutual interest
including shared con-
cerns such as terrorism.
PM Modi referred to
LAC (Line of Actual
Control) in Ladakh, the
incidents of the previ-
ous year and he empha-
sised that peace and
tranquillity in the bor-
der area was an essen-
tial prerequisite for
normalisation of rela-
tions with China, said
Foreign Secretary
.
Morrison also gave a
fairly detailed perspec-
tiveof howhesawChina
and its actions in the re-
gion and he spoke in par-
ticular about the South
ChinaSea,headded.Ear-
lier this month, the 15th
round of Corps Com-
mander level talks be-
tween India and China
was held at the Chushul-
Moldo border meeting
point on the Indian side
on March 11, 2022.
BORDER PEACE KEY FOR TIES
WITH CHINA, SAYS PM MODI
PM also discussed crucial regional, global issues with Australian PM Scott Morrison
Kolkata (PTI): Trina-
mool Congress candi-
dates Shatrughan Sin-
ha and Babul Supriyo
on Monday filed their
nominations for by-
polls to a Lok Sabha and
an assembly seat to be
held on April 12 in West
Bengal.
Sinha has been field-
ed for by-election to the
Asansol Lok Sabha con-
stituency, while Supri-
yo was nominated for
the Ballygunge Assem-
bly seat.
Speaking to reporters
after filing his nomina-
tion at Alipore Survey
Building, Supriyo said,
I am thankful to 'Didi'
(TMC supremo Mamata
Banerjee) for giving me
this opportunity to con-
test from the presiti-
gious Ballygunge con-
stituency. I am really
honoured and accept
the challenge.
The bypoll to Asansol
was necessitated as Su-
priyo resigned as the
BJP MP after joining
the TMC in September
last year. The Bally-
gunge Assembly seat is
going for polls as in-
cumbent MLA and state
minister Subrata
Mukherjee died in No-
vember 2021.
TMCcandidates
Shatrughan,Babul
filenominations
BENGAL BYPOLLS
Kohima (PTI): BJP
leader S Phangnon
Konyak has become
the first woman Rajya
Sabha MP from Naga-
land after winning the
Rajya Sabha seat on
March 21. She is the
Mahila Morcha presi-
dent of BJP’s Naga-
land unit.
She filed her nomi-
nation earlier in the
morning of March 21
in presence of Naga-
land Chief Minister
Neiphiu Rio and BJP
state president Temjen
Imna Along. The elec-
tion was slated for
March 31 but Konyak
was elected unopposed
to the seat.
The election for the
lone Nagaland seat
was to be held on
March 31 but Konyak
was elected unopposed
to the seat.
The seats are spread
across six states - five
in Punjab, three in
Kerala, two in Assam,
and one each in
Himachal Pradesh and
Tripura.
Now, elections to
three Rajya Sabha
seats in two other
Northeastern states:
two seats in Assam and
one each in Tripura
are slated for March 31.
Srinagar (PTI): Ter-
rorists on Monday shot
dead a civilian and in-
jured a non-local ven-
dor in two separate in-
cidents in Budgam and
Pulwama districts of
JK, police said.
“Around 7:20 pm, ter-
rorists fired at and in-
juredacivilian,Tajamul
Mohiuddin Rather, near
his residence in Goth-
pora area of Budgam in
central Kashmir,” a po-
lice official said.
In the second inci-
dent in Pulwama, a non-
local vendor, Bisujeet
Kumar from Bihar, was
injured after militants
fired at him at Circular
Road, the official said.
BJP’s Phangnon Nagaland’s
first woman Rajya Sabha MP
JK: Civilian killed,
non-local vendor
hurt by terrorists
S Phangnon Konyak, Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland.
New Delhi (ANI):
Leader of Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha and
senior Congress leader
Mallikarjun Kharge on
Monday dismissed the
possibility of an alli-
ance with Asaduddin
Owaisi's All India Maj-
lis-e-Ittehadul Musli-
meen (AIMIM) and
dubbed it as Bharatiya
JanataParty'sB-team.
Slamming AIMIM,
Kharge said that Con-
gress needs to be cau-
tious of such parties
which try to defeat sec-
ular parties. Congress
has not yet received any
proposal (of an alli-
ance), Kharge told ANI.
A strategy for an alli-
ance is decided within
the party, he said, add-
ing that there is a need
to be cautious of such
parties which attempt
to defeat secular par-
ties. Kharge further al-
leged that the AIMIM is
working at the behest
of the BJP. His remarks
come after Shiv Sena
also termed AIMIM as
BJP's B team while re-
jecting scope for an alli-
ance with AIMIM.
Kharge dubs AIMIM
‘B team’ of BJP, rejects
scope of any alliance
Dehradun (ANI): BJP
MLA from Kaladhungi,
Bansidhar Bhagat was
on Monday sworn in as
the pro tem speaker of
Uttarakhand Assembly
.
The oath of office was
administered by Gover-
norLtGen(retd)Gurmit
SinghatafunctionatRaj
Bhawan which was at-
tended by caretaker CM
Pushkar Singh Dhami,
Chief SecretarySSSand-
hu, Principal Secretary
Ananad Vardhan and
secretary to the gover-
nor,RanjitKumarSinha.
Soon after being sworn
in, Bhagat rushed to the
Vidhan Bhawan here to
administer oath to the
newly elected MLAs.
Bhagat is one of the
senior most BJP leaders
from the state who was
state party president till
March, 2021 when he be-
came a minister in Dha-
mi's cabinet.
The BJP won the pop-
ular mandate for the sec-
ond consecutive term in
Uttarakhand,bagging47
seats in the 70-member
Assembly
.
U’khand: BJP’s Bansidhar Bhagat takes oath as Protem Speaker
TO STOP MEKEDATU DAM PROJECT
Tamil Nadu Assy moves
resolution against K’taka
Chennai (Agencies):
The Tamil Nadu As-
sembly adopted a res-
olution against the
Karnataka govern-
ment’s attempt to
build the Mekedatu
Dam across the Cau-
very river, in what is
the latest develop-
ment in the row be-
tween the two states.
Earlier this month,
Karnataka Chief
Minister Basavaraj
Bommai had ruled
out negotiations with
his Tamil Nadu coun-
terpart. The resolu-
tion adopted by the
Tamil Nadu Assem-
bly was unanimous,
with the support of
the Tamil Nadu BJP
and the Congress.
The resolution,
moved by Water Re-
sources Minister V
Duraimurugam, said
that the Karnataka
government did not
respect the order of
the Cauvery Water
Dispute Tribunal or
Supreme Court and
without receiving
clearances from co-
basin state or the gov-
ernment of India is
proposing to construct
the dam unilaterally,
which is not accepta-
ble. “Hence, the action
of Government of
Karnataka is strongly
condemnedbythisAu-
gust House,” it said.
The resolution also
urged the Union gov-
ernment to not give
technical, environ-
mental or any other
clearance to the Kar-
nataka government.
Stating that the
matter is a sensitive
dispute, the resolu-
tion asks the Union
government to “ad-
vise the Karnataka
government not to
take up the proposal
of constructing the
reservoir at Mekedatu
or at any other place
in the Cauvery basin,
without getting the
concurrence of the
co-basin States and
obtaining the clear-
ance from the Union
Government.”
Patna (PTI): The death
toll due to consumption
of illicit liquor continue
inBihar.Accordingtoan
official of Bihar police,
so far 37 persons have
died after consuming
spurious liquor in the
three districts of Bihar
since the day of Holi.
Maximum number
of deaths took place in
Bhagalpur district
where so far 22 persons
have died since March
19. Besides, 12 persons
lost their lives in Ban-
ka district and 3 in
Madhepura.
Preliminary probe
reveals that some peo-
ple died after report-
edly consuming poi-
sonous liquor while
others were suffering
from some kind of ill-
ness. We are waiting
for the post-mortem re-
ports to ascertain the
actual cause of deaths,
Gangwar said.
Bihar hooch
tragedy: Death
toll reaches 37
Washington (Agen-
cies): Violentrepression
of the largely Muslim
Rohingya population in
Myanmar amounts to
genocide, US Secretary
of State Antony Blinken
said Monday, a declara-
tion intended to both
generate international
pressure and lay the
groundwork for poten-
tial legal action.
Authorities made the
determination based on
confirmed accounts of
mass atrocities on civil-
ians by Myanmar’s
military in a wide-
spread and systematic
campaign against the
ethnic minority,
Blinken said in a speech
at the US Holocaust Me-
morial Museum.
It is the eighth time
since the Holocaust that
the US has concluded a
genocide has occurred.
The secretary of state
noted the importance
of calling attention to
inhumanity even as
horrific attacks occur
elsewhere in the world,
including Ukraine.
“Yes, we stand with
the people of Ukraine,”
he said. “And we must
also stand with people
who are suffering atroc-
ities in other places.”
The government of
Myanmar, also known
as Burma, is already
under multiple layers
of US sanctions since a
military coup ousted
the democratically
elected government in
February 2021. Thou-
sands of civilians
throughout the country
have been killed and
imprisoned as part of
ongoing repression of
anyone opposed to the
ruling junta.
US: MYANMAR REPRESSION
OF ROHINGYA IS GENOCIDE
Rohingya refugees crossing into Bangladesh. —FILE PHOTO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison during India-
Australia virtual summit on Monday.
Kathmandu: Chinese
Foreign Minister and
State Councillor Wang
Yi will embark on a vis-
it to Nepal from March
25 to 27, the Foreign
Ministry in Kathmandu
announced on Monday.
Wang is the first top-
level foreign dignitary
to visit Nepal after the
Sher Bahadur Deuba
government was
formed on July 13 last
year. According to the
Ministry, Wang's visit
comes on an invitation
by Nepal's Minister for
Foreign Affairs Narayan
Khadka. During the
visit, some agreements
could be signed includ-
ing implementation
of the Belt and Road
Initiative, the flagship
initiative of Chinese
President Xi Jinping.
CHINESE FM
WANG YI TO
VISIT NEPAL
THIS WEEK
Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge
Bansidhar Bhagat
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in the State Assembly.
Preneet Kaur
Babul Supriyo Shatrughan Sinha
India China agreed to maintain peace along the
LAC in the Western Sector during the 15th round
China-India Corps Commander Level talks

INDIA
06
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Angry with
the Congress high com-
mand, some leaders of
the grand-old party met
at the house of Ghulam
Nabi Azad and after
that issued a statement,
in which many things
have been said. Howev-
er, most things don’t
make sense. Congress
leaders are also sur-
prised as to what was
the need for so much
frills to issue such a
statement. Like it said
that to defeat BJP, Con-
gress needs to be
strengthened and Con-
gress should talk to
like-minded parties.
This is a very generic
thing, which everyone
knows and everyone
also knows the prob-
lems surrounding this
idea. In this, it was spe-
cifically said that the
Congress should pre-
pare a collective and
inclusive leadership
and adopt a collective
and inclusive approach
before taking decisions
at all levels.
Think, what could be
a collective or inclusive
way of making deci-
sions at every level? If
the Congress has to de-
cide the candidate of
the Legislative Assem-
bly in a state, then all
the leaders of the party
should be asked the
names of the candi-
dates on each seat or the
names should be told
and the name is decided
with the consent of all?
Like all parties do, the
Congress also forms a
sorting committee for
the candidates. Based
on the opinion of the
State Committee, the
Sorting Committee pre-
pares a list of names,
which is approved by
the Central Election
Committee. The same
method is adopted in
other parties as well.
Similarly, do the an-
gry leaders want the
Congress high com-
mand to take approval
from the working com-
mittee and all the lead-
ers from outside before
appointing the presi-
dent or making any of-
fice bearer in any state?
Is it the intention of the
collective leadership of
the leaders of this so-
called G-21 that the par-
ty high command
should tell them about
every decision and de-
cide with their consent?
Can these leaders tell
how the current organi-
zation of the Congress,
the current office bear-
ers or the current work-
ing committee is not in-
clusive? Does it not have
leaders from Kashmir to
Kanyakumari and from
Gujarat to Bengal?
In fact, these leaders
have said very superfi-
cial things, the sole pur-
pose of which was to
show that they are op-
posing something, with-
out saying anything
meaningful or con-
structive. Sibal ex-
pressed great displeas-
ure questioning the au-
thority of Rahul, to
have announced the
name of Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi? Think, what
a stupid question? Ra-
hul Gandhi is the for-
mer President of Con-
gress and the only sur-
viving former Presi-
dent. Does anyone in
BJP ask who is Amit
Shah, who makes all the
policy announcements
of the party? Sibal
wants victory like BJP
but Congress doesn’t
want that kind of or-
ganization or that kind
of system.
A PROTEST JUST FOR THE SAKE OF PROTESTING!
New Delhi (PTI): India
has received praise
from across the board
for many of its foreign
policy initiatives, For-
eign Secretary Harsh
Vardhan Shringla said
on Monday, a day after
Pakistan PM Imran
Khan lauded India for
its foreign policy
.
When asked at a me-
dia briefing about
Khan’s comments,
Shringla said India’s re-
cordspeaksforitself and
suggested that it would
bewrongtosaythatonly
one leader compliment-
ed New Delhi.
“To say that one per-
son would be wrong. I
think we have received
praise across the board
for many of our foreign
policy initiatives. I
think our record speaks
for itself,” the foreign
secretary said.
At a public rally,
Khan lauded India for
following an independ-
ent foreign policy say-
ing New Delhi imported
crude oil from Russia
despite American sanc-
tions on Moscow for its
attack on Ukraine.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Shashi Tharoor, or-
dered to stay away from
a CPM seminar next
month by Congress
chief Sonia Gandhi,
took a step back today.
But his statement mak-
ing the announcement
had a sting in the tail.
Recounting that he had
earlier turned down a
similar CPM invite af-
ter a discussion with
Mrs Gandhi — “a suit-
able decision... taken
without media contro-
versy” — he added that
a similar procedure
“could have been easily
followed this time”.
“I regret that some
preferred the unseemly
public airing of inter-
nal differences, thereby
creating a needless con-
troversy in a matter in
which AICC’s view was
binding. I hope wisdom
will prevail in future,”
he added.
The admonition was
apparently meant for
colleagues in the Con-
gress in Kerala, who
had flagged the issue to
Sonia Gandhi at the
party’s parliamentary
office in Delhi.
New Delhi: India’s first
Chief of Defence Staff
General Bipin Rawat,
who died in a chopper
crash last December,
late Radheshyam
Khemka, former chair-
man of Gita Press that
publishes Hindu reli-
gious books, and Con-
gress leader Ghulam
Nabi Azad were among
54 personalities who
were conferred Padma
awards by President
Ram Nath Kovind on
Monday
.
While Rawat and
Khemka were given
Padma Vibhushan, the
country’s second-high-
est civilian award, post-
humously, Azad, Tata
Sons chairman N Chan-
drasekharan, former
CAG Rajiv Mehrishi,
founder of Serum Insti-
tute of India that made
Covid-19 vaccine Cov-
ishield Cyrus Poona-
walla were among the
eight honoured with
Padma Bhushan, the
country’s third-highest
civilian award, at a civil
investiture ceremony
.
The award for Rawat
was received by his
daughters while a close
family member re-
ceived the award for
Khemka. Many of those
who received the Pad-
ma awards were “un-
sung heroes”, including
125-year-old yoga prac-
titioner Swami Si-
vananda. Members of
the audience clapped as
a bare-feet Sivananda,
dressed in a simple
white kurta and dhoti,
knelt before PM Naren-
dra Modi who promptly
got up and bowed,
touching the ground as
he returned the greet-
ing. These awards are
given in various disci-
plines and fields such as
art, social work, public
affairs, science and en-
gineering, trade and
industry, medicine, lit-
erature and education,
sports, civil service, etc.
New Delhi (ANI): Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la flagged off the Pras-
adam Raths from his
residence here to pro-
vide free food to the at-
tendants of the patients
in 6 hospitals of Delhi.
In the spirit of Azadi
ka Amrit Mahotsav, ini-
tiatives like this one are
bringing free fresh food
for the underprivileged
and the poor sections of
society, said Birla on
the occasion of the ini-
tiative Prasadam Rath.
Apart from the other
hospitals in the coming
times, this facility
would be extended at
bus stations, railway
stations, etc., he added.
New Delhi (PTI): Drug
firm Hetero on Monday
said its biologics arm
has received approval
from the Central Drugs
Standard Control Or-
ganisation (CDSCO) to
manufacture and sell
Sputnik Light for re-
stricted emergency use
in India.
Hetero is the first bi-
opharmaceutical com-
pany in India to receive
Manufacturing and
Marketing (MM) ap-
proval for the product
manufactured locally
for the prevention of
Covid-19 in adults aged
over 18 years, adminis-
tered in a single dose of
0.5 ml, the company
said in a statement. All
other currently ap-
proved vaccines in In-
dia require two doses of
administration, it add-
ed. Sputnik Light is the
first component (recom-
binant human adenovi-
rus serotype number 26
(rAd26)) of Sputnik V
.
In February 2022, the
DCGI granted emergen-
cy use permission to
single-dose Sputnik
Light Covid-19 vaccine
in India.
Kabul (Agencies):
Khalid Payenda who
once oversaw and pre-
sented a 6 billion dollar
budget as Afghanistan's
Finance Minister in Ka-
bul is now an Uber driv-
er in Washington DC to
support his family.
Talking to The Wash-
ington Post he said he
earns “a little over 150
dollars for six hours'
work, not counting his
commute”.
Afghanistan is cur-
rently facing a financial
and humanitarian cri-
sis, with many coun-
tries around the world
hesitant to recognize
the Taliban govern-
ment that overthrew
the US backed regime.
Payenda had resigned
as the Finance Minister
of the country
.
New Delhi (PTI):
India’s economy is
far better placed to-
day, and there will be
a “marginal impact”
from the Ukraine
war, said RBI Gover-
nor Shaktikanta Das
on Monday, address-
ing industrialists at
the National Council
Meeting of the Con-
federation of Indian
Industry or the CII.
Speaking on the
economy and the
risk of stagflation,
Das said the Indian
economy is far better
placed today
.
“India is far away
from such a prospect.
You have to look at
targets. We expect in-
flation in India to
moderate. I don’t see
a situation in India
where inflation
keeps on skipping
the band,” he said.
—FILE PHOTO
Prez Kovind confers Padma
awards to 54 personalities
Late Gen Rawat, Ghulam Nabi Azad, SII’s Cyrus Poonawalla honoured; Devendra Jhajharia
receives Padma Bhushan, first para athlete to do so; 125-yr-old yoga guru receives Padma Shri
President Ram Nath Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Ghulam Nabi Azad and Padma Shri to Swami Sivananda for Yoga, in New
Delhi on Monday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
India’s record speaks
for itself, says Shringla
‘Marginal impact’ of Ukraine
war on India’s eco: RBI Guv
Af’s ex-Fin Min
now drives an
Uber cab in US
Khalid Payenda
Harsh Vardhan Shringla Imran Khan, Pakistan PM
Hope wisdom
prevails: Tharoor
after Sonia’s msg
Sonia’s message
was to listen to
the state Cong
and came days
after Tharoor
brushed the dust
off his G-21
credentials
BIRLA FLAGS
OFF ‘RATHS’
FOR PATIENTS
SC TO HEAR REVIEW
PLEA IN ROAD RAGE
CASE AGAINST SIDHU
NAWAB MALIK’S
JUDICIAL CUSTODY
EXTENDED
New Delhi: The SC said it
would hear on March 25
the plea seeking review of
the sentence awarded by
it in May 2018 to Navjot
Singh Sidhu in a 1988
road rage case. The mat-
ter was listed for hearing
before a special bench.
As soon the bench of Jus-
tices Khanwilkar and AS
Oka assembled for hear-
ing, Justice Khanwilkar
said the special bench
would hear the review
plea on Friday.
Mumbai: Special
PMLA court on
Monday extended the
judicial custody of
Maharashtra minis-
ter and Nationalist
Congress Party leader
Nawab Malik who was
arrested in a money
laundering case till
April 4. The court has
also allowed Malik
to be provided with
a bed, mattress, and
chair during his judicial
custody.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday
closed two cases after the Centre said it had
completed the “mammoth job” of evacuating
22,500 stranded Indian
students from the war
zone in Ukraine. A
bench comprising Chief
Justice NV Ramana and
Justice Krishna Murari
took note of Attorney
General K K Venugopal’s
submissions that the
Centre, besides bringing
back stranded students,
is also looking into the representation on their
studies being hit by the ongoing war.
SC CLOSES CASES ON EVACUATION
OF STUDENTS FROM UKRAINE
HETERO GETS NOD TO PRODUCE, SELL SPUTNIK LIGHT VAX
z India’s daily Covid-19
infections drop to
1,549; positivity rate at
0.4 pc
z Clear guidelines on
booster dose for under
60 yrs sought in Rajya
Sabha
z Maharashtra court
asks State if banning un-
vaccinated people from
local trains justified
z Defence recruitment
restricted due to Covid
pandemic: MoS Ajay
Bhatt
HIGHLIGHTS
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
flags off ‘Prasadam Raths’
from his residence.
Shashi Tharoor

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
61,02,544
TOTAL DEATHS
40,77,11,190
TOTAL RECOVERED
5,77,49,037
ACTIVE CASES
47,15,62,771
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,16,516
TOTAL DEATHS
4,24,67,774
TOTAL RECOVERED
25,100
ACTIVE CASES
4,30,09,390
TOTAL CASES
NEWS
07
DOCUMENTARY
ON MISSION
GANGA TO
PREMIERE ON
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
TODAY
Charting Ganga’s journey from
its birthplace in the glaciers of
Uttarakhand to the wetlands of
Sundarbans, a new documentary
on one of the largest and most
comprehensive river conservation
programmes in India will premiere
on National Geographic on March
22, World Water Day, at 8 PM, the
network said. Titled “Ganga: The
River from the Skies”, the one-
hour special will highlight the
intricate network of people,
organisations, and infrastructure
that are working together towards
this monumental -- National
Mission for Clean Ganga -- to
rejuvenate and preserve the river,
it said in a statement. “Ganga
River Basin is the largest river
basin in India, covering 1 million
square kilometres, sustaining 600
million people. But relentless
human and economic activity and
the effects of climate change have
impacted the clean and unbridled
flow of its waters in the main stem
and in its tributaries,” it said.
“From the wetlands of the
Sundarbans, through the silk city
of Bihar, where the Gangetic
Dolphin thrives, to the glaciers of
Uttarakhand, the birthplace of the
Ganga, the film takes the viewers
through one of the largest and
most comprehensive river
conservation programmes in the
country,” the statement said.
Hosted by award-winning
conservationist and filmmaker,
Mike Pandey, the film will let
viewers experience Ganga’s
beautiful voyage across the heart
of India. —PTI
YOUNG ARMY
ASPIRANT’S
MIDNIGHT RUN
IN NOIDA WINS
INTERNET
Avideo of a 19-year-old boy
running from his workplace
to his home 10 km away in the
middle of the night to keep
himself fit to join the Army has
won huge appreciation on
social media. After the video of
Almora resident Pradeep
Mehra, shot by a journalist-
cum-filmmaker Vinod Kapri,
surfaced on social media,
several former Army officers
and others have pitched in to
help the teenager realise his
dream. In the video, Pradeep is
seen running on a city road
around midnight with a small
bag flung across his shoulder
and a mobile phone in his
hand. When offered a ride to
his home in a car, Pradeep
declines the help and says he
runs around 10 km every night
from Sector 16 (workplace) to
his home in Barola here to train
himself physically to join the
Army. Asked why is he
running, Pradeep says To join
Army. In the morning, I have
to go to work and cook food,
he purportedly says in the
video, adding his mother is
hospitalised in Almora while he
stays in Noida with his elder
brother, who works during
night shifts in a company.
When the filmmaker told him
the video clip would go viral,
Pradeep responded, Who is
going to recognise? In any
case, I am not doing anything
wrong, he added. The clip
shared on Twitter by Kapri on
Sunday evening got over
75,000 retweets, 11,000 quotes
tweets and nearly 2.50 lakh
likes. The clip has since been
shared by several other people,
including celebrities, on various
social media. —PTI
EGI CALLS FOR COURT-MONITORED PROBE
INTO AGRA-BASED SCRIBE’S ARREST
New Delhi (PTI): The
Editors Guild of India
(EGI) on Monday called
for an independent
court-monitored probe
into the arrest of an
Agra-based journalist.
Gaurav Bansal (39)
was arrested on March
15 for reporting about
alleged electoral mal-
practices in the recent-
held Uttar Pradesh as-
sembly elections.
“The Editors Guild
of India is shocked by
the manner in which an
Agra-based journalist,
Gaurav Bansal, was ar-
rested and allegedly tor-
tured for reporting
about electoral mal-
practices in the recent
assembly elections,”
the body said in a state-
ment.
Noting that Bansal’s
lawyer has alleged that
“he was given third de-
gree torture and humil-
iated by police officers”,
the guild said that the
scribe should be imme-
diately released and
there should be an inde-
pendent court-moni-
tored inquiry. Police
has charged Bansal un-
der penal laws for ob-
structing a government
officer from discharg-
ing his duty, the guild
noted.
The guild said it is
deeply concerned that
penal laws are ever so
often used as tools to
harass and intimidate
journalists from freely
reporting on sensitive
issues.
“This guild demands
that Gaurav Bansal be
treated fairly by the
state administration
and that he be released
immediately
.
Further, an independ-
ent court-monitored in-
quiry be done to inves-
tigate into the charges
of torture by police,” it
said.
The Editors Guild of
India also urges the
state government to en-
sure that the rights of
the media are protected
and journalists are not
harassed from doing
their job fearlessly, the
guild said.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
UP in worst position in entire
nation: Akhilesh’s jibe at BJP
MLC polls: SP asks for deadline
extension to file nominations
Lucknow (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Monday
attacked the BJP gov-
ernment in Uttar
Pradesh, saying it is
ranked among the worst
states in the country un-
der the Niti Aayog’s
Multidimensional pov-
erty index (MPI).
“In the first multidi-
mensional poverty in-
dex (MPI) of NITI Aay-
og, under the BJP rule,
UP is among the three
poorest states in the
country; UP ranks third
in terms of malnutri-
tion rate and under the
child and adolescent
mortality rate category
,
UP has secured the
worst position in the en-
tire country. These are
the badges of failure of
the BJP government,”
Akhilesh said in a tweet
in Hindi. He also posted
a newspaper clipping
which claimed that UP
is among the poorest
state in the country
.
The SP chief was re-
ferring to the Niti Aay-
og’s MPI ranking report
according to which Bi-
har, Jharkhand and Ut-
tar Pradesh have
emerged as the poorest
states in India. As per
the index, 51.91% popu-
lation of Bihar is poor,
followed by 42.16 per
cent in Jharkhand,
37.79%inUttarPradesh.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: After its can-
didates were roughed
up and their nomina-
tion papers were
snatched, a delegation
of the Samajwadi Party
leaders met chief elec-
toral officer UP and de-
manded an extension of
the deadline for filing
nominations for MLC
polls in Mathura-Etah-
Mainpuri seats.
Monday was the last
day of filing nomina-
tions for these constitu-
encies. As per SP
spokesperson Rajendra
Chowdhary, BJP work-
ers snatched away nom-
ination papers of party
nominee Udaiveer Sin-
gh from his hands when
he reached the collec-
torate gate in Etah. The
incident, he said, hap-
pened in the presence of
police which did noth-
ing to nab the miscre-
ants. Similarly, the par-
ty leader alleged that SP
workers were attacked
and beaten up in Ma-
thura and Mainpuri to
prevent them from fil-
ing nominations.
In Azamgarh, SP na-
tional president Akh-
ilesh Yadav also alleged
irregularities in the re-
cently concluded UP as-
sembly elections. To a
question, he said he
would not go to the Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment 2.0 swearing-in
ceremony, because he
will not be invited. Even
if he is invsited, he will
not go, he added.
3 die, 1 taken ill
by consuming
liquor, one held
First India Bureau
Kannauj (PTI): Three
people died and one
was taken seriously ill
after consuming liquor
in Uttar Pradesh’s Kan-
nauj district, police
said on Monday. The
wife of one of the de-
ceased accused two per-
sons of poisoning the
liquor and a youth has
been taken into custody
for questioning, they
said. The deaths were
reported from Katha-
har village under Kasa-
va outpost of Chhi-
bramau police station
area. After receiving
information on Satur-
day, Superintendent of
Police (SP) Prashant
Verma reached the spot
and spoke to the villag-
ers, the police said. The
villagers told police
that one Amit (30) along
with his father
Jaskaran, uncle Rake-
sh and another person
consumed liquor pur-
chased from a nearby
shop on Saturday, they
said. Amit’s condition
deteriorated soon after
and his family mem-
bers took him to a local
hospital. From there he
was referred to the
Saifai Medical College,
where he later died,
they added. SP Verma
said Amit’s family per-
formed his last rites
without informing the
police. On Sunday af-
ternoon, the condition
of Jaskaran and Rake-
sh also deteriorated
and they were being
taken to the Saifai Med-
ical College but both
died on the way. The
fourth person is under-
going treatment at the
hospital, the police
said. According to the
post-mortem report,
Jaskaran died of a
heart attack, they said.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
COURTESY CALL
Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Rajesh Bindal in conversation with Governor Anandiben Patel at Raj Bhavan.
New Delhi (PTI): The
NCW has asked the Ut-
tar Pradesh Police to
take stringent action
against a man who re-
portedly thrashed his
wife and threw her out
of their home for not
voting for the political
party of his choice in
the state elections.
The National Com-
mission for Women has
also sought the registra-
tion of an FIR against
the man if the allega-
tions against him are
found to be true. In a
statement,theNCWsaid
it has come across sev-
eral media reports stat-
ing that a Muslim wom-
an from Bareilly, Uttar
Pradesh was beaten up
by her husband and
thrown out of their
home after she did not
vote for the political par-
ty of his choice in the
recent Assembly polls.
Reportedly
, the woman’s
husbandalsothreatened
to divorce her. Taking
cognisance of the mat-
ter, NCW chairperson
Rekha Sharma has writ-
ten to the director gen-
eral of police, Uttar
Pradesh to take strin-
gent action against the
woman’s husband and
in-laws, the NCW said.
Elections in Uttar
Pradesh were held in
seven phases and the
results were announced
on March 10. The BJP
returned to power in
the state with a land-
slide victory
.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma
Man beats up wife for voting
differently, NCW demands action

08
2NDFRONT
 Renowned faces lost
the election in the As-
sembly polls for 5
states. How do you
analyse this loss of
established leaders?
Jagdeesh Chandra:
Let’s take these one by
one. Firstly, Charanjit
Singh Channi. His de-
feat is extremely shame-
fulforCongress,moreso
since he contested from
2 seats. His image was
destroyedandthenraids
were carried out on his
brother. He crashed on
the runway, even before
take-off. The comes Nav-
jot Singh Sidhu. Well,
this had to happen to
him. The people of Pun-
jab have grown tired of
Sidhu’s barbs and at-
tacks at party. So, they
thought they will teach a
lesson to Sidhu. Captain
Amarinder Singh de-
served a more humiliat-
ing defeat than this. He
proved to be the biggest
villaininPunjab.Noone
cried on Captain’s de-
feat. Dhami too lost, but
the real reason for his
loss is still a mystery al-
thoughpeopleclaimthat
he worked a lot for the
party hence he could not
give time to his constitu-
ency. However, the un-
dercurrent in this case
is that his relation with
a few businessmen were
not cordial, that is what
is being said. Some com-
mitmentsweremadebut
the work did not happen.
So, there was an under-
current and they affect-
ed the election. Similar-
ly, Harish Rawat also
lost. He was a party in
Congress’ defeat in Pun-
jab. KP Maurya’s defeat
is also surprising.
 After Punjab elec-
tions and dismal per-
formance of both
Congress and BJP
, do
you think the politi-
cal graph and hon-
our of both parties
in-charges - Harish
Choudhary and Ga-
jendra Singh Shekha-
wat - will come down?
See, the individual’s
honour does take a hit.
But in politics, honour
can be regained and
through wrong acts, lost
also. But what happens
at the end of the day
, gets
counted. See, Rajasthan
will undergo elections
next year and Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat is still
the CM face, if Gehlot is
unable to form govern-
ment. So, he was a CM
candidate and will re-
main so. He still has ac-
cess to PM. Moreover,
what has happened in
Punjab cannot be put on
just one person because
it was a clean sweep. But
yes, he had to face a
slight disappointment
from PM and Home Min-
ister’s side due to the
security lapse when PM
had visited Punjab. I
have heard that he had
promised that one lakh
people will be present
for the rally, but there
were about five to ten
thousand people, over
which PM and Amit
Shah conveyed their dis-
pleasure. So yes, there
hasbeenaslightdamage
but for Punjab’s loss, he
cannot be made fully re-
sponsible. So, the blame
on leaders like Shekha-
wat, Harish Choudhary
and even Ajay Maken
who was not directly
and openly involved,
does not stand since it
was a Tsunami of AAP
.
 Can the Union gov-
ernment bring back
the agricultural laws
before 2024, that were
withdrawn few
months back?
It does not appear so. It
is ruled out till 2024.
 How do you visual-
ise the political land-
scape in Gujarat,
Himachal Pradesh
and Rajasthan?
Let’sbeginwithGujarat.
That state will witness
BJP’s clean sweep once
again. Although Con-
gress too will improve
over its current situa-
tion as Raghu Sharma,
as Congress in-charge,
will make certain im-
provements. Only in
ticket distribution will
one find out how much
of a say Raghu Sharma
has and how much free
hand Rahul Gandhi has
given him. As of now he
is doing good because he
talks convincingly
. But
for BJP, with Modi and
Shah, it will be more or
less like clean sweep.
Just imagine, after a
grand victory on 10
March Modi gave a
speech to party workers
frompartyheadquarters
and went back. At a time
when all other party
leaders were busy rest-
ing from the tiring work
of all the past months,
Modi set an agenda for
next day and flew to
Ahmedabad. He carried
out a 9 km long rally
from Ahmedabad to
Gandhinagar which 4
lakh people attended
and that moment has set
the tone for Gujarat, he
is the hero of Gujarat so
the election is a mere
formality now. Secondly
,
the situation in
Himachal is bad. But
even though the locals
may be disgruntled with
the CM there, but again
it will be the central
leadership of BJP i.e.
Modi-Shah who will car-
ry out the strategy and
conduct the poll. For Ra-
jasthan, there was a per-
ception that through his
budget, his strategy and
the undeclared Raje fac-
tor in BJP, will make it
easyforGehlottoreturn
to power. It will be ex-
tremely hard to beat
Ashok Gehlot on strate-
gic level for BJP
. But the
new theory that state
leaders have no rele-
vance, and there are
questions on efficacy of
Rajefactor.Electionsare
contested on political at-
mosphereandInowcon-
sider that in the current
environment, Gehlot
has fifty percent chance
of repeating the govern-
ment, which I earlier
considered to be 90%.
Because now even in
state elections, votes are
being cast on Narendra
Modi’s name. This is the
situationtodaybutsince
there is a little over a
year left to election, the
situation may change.
 How do you rate
Modi as a Prime
Minister and also as
a game-changer po-
litical leader of the
Nation?
People of the land rate a
leader and as a citizen, I
can, without doubt, rate
him as an outstanding
leader, and as a Prime
Minister also. Every-
thing is before us. At the
end of the day delivery
counts and results are
in his favour.
 Are Modi and Shah
made for each other
as political support
system?
100%! The wavelength,
the ideology matches.
He is like a ‘Hanuman’
for Narendra Modi and
even though Shah is the
Home Minister and a
powerful force in politi-
cal sphere of the nation,
yet for him Narendra
Modi is his ‘Ram’. That
is his faith and trust in
Modi. Secondly, Shah is
Narendra Modi’s all-
weather friend. He is
not like the ‘good weath-
er friend’ that as long as
someone is in power,
they will stay with
them. Does any state
have a second in com-
mand like him where
the CM may rest and
hand over the reins to
the second in command
that they can handle the
state and not backstab, I
don’t see anyone. There
is no vacuum between
the number 1 and num-
ber 2 in leadership.
 BJP was defeated
in 3 Assembly and
one Lok Sabha by-
elections held in
Himachal last year.
Can there be a change
of leadership after
the defeat in these
elections?
There is a possibility of
this happening. I have
information from inter-
nal sources that BJP
national president JP
Nadda has been told to
go to Himachal since he
has a good image. He is
in two minds and has
tried to approach PM for
not sending him there.
as such it is like walk-
ing on a sword, firstly to
bring a mandate and to
work on Modi-Shah’s
mandate. He may have
to go but as of now he
has denied. If Nadda
does not go to Himachal,
then Anurag Thakur
may be a choice.
 If JP Nadda is
brought to Shimla
from Delhi, then who
will be the next Chief
of BJP?
See, BJP can surprise
anyone on this aspect.
But one person who I
think can fit the bill is
Dharmendra Pradhan,
since he enjoys trust of
both Narendra Modi
and Amit Shah. He is a
hardworking party
worker, is connected
with Sangh, has carried
out responsibilities in
Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh, as Petroleum
minister he removed
the corporates and
opened the ministry for
poor through his gas
connection scheme. His
ministry achieved the
same feat as what NRE-
GA had achieved in
UPA. So, I think he is a
strong candidate and if
he becomes, he will be a
good choice.
 Can Narendra
Modi give Amit Shah
the responsibility of
BJP President yet
again? If so, how will
he align his work be-
tween Home Ministry
and BJP?
Who so ever becomes
the party president will
ascend to the position
only with acceptance of
Narendra Modi and
Amit Shah. Like I said,
for Shah , Modi is like
Ram, so if Ram says
that you will have to
take responsibility of
the party also, he will
accept it. He is a worka-
holic. If he is working
for 20 hours now, he will
still increase his work
time to make time for
party
. He was unwell af-
ter corona but still went
on a tour. He is the best
choice, if the situation
ever comes to this.
 To whom would you
like to give the credit
for the historic victo-
ry in Manipur? How
do you see the role of
Bhupender Yadav as
Manipur in-charge?
Manipur victory is, in a
way, a collective victory
.
The CM there is popular
as he has done good
work there. People
thought that it will be a
hung assembly, but the
results proved to be dif-
ferent. When Bhupen-
dra Yadav was made
Manipur in-charge, I
questioned the move,
thinking if he has been
side-lined, since he held
powerful positions pri-
or to that as in-charge
of Bihar, UP and other
responsibilities. After
Amit Shah, he is the one
who understands the in-
ner workings of the
party and the political
sphere also. It was after
the BJP won the Ma-
nipur election that I re-
alised he was given an
extremely critical as-
signment and he has
done well. BJP has its
government again.
 What are the chal-
lenges before the new
BJP government of
Goa today? Who do
you consider to be a
serious candidate
among the possible
chief ministerial fac-
es for Uttarakhand,
Goa and Manipur?
Goa is a major tourism
centre and one of the
prime challenges before
the government will be
how to boost tourism
that has been majorly af-
fected by Corona pan-
demic. Then a new pseu-
do-culture is taking over
that opposes the night
life in Goa, so if one
takes out that part from
Goa, then who will go
there? This is what Goa
has sold to tourists for
all these years. So, if you
ban activities which are
actually the ones that
generate revenue not
just for government but
for people, how will any-
thing work then? The
government faces a
challenge from people
with extreme views and
then it also has to pro-
ject its liberal image too.
Additionally, mining is
a major sector there but
it gets all sorts of stays
in courts. So, CM will
have to fight legal bat-
tles and win too. Thirdly
,
the BJP CM will have to
counter growing influ-
ence of AAP also.
During the show
#JConModiUPWave
trended top All-India
on Twitter
TO BE CONTINUED...
Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Poonam Sharma, Tripti Arora
and Khushi Ajwani on the New JC Show. —PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA
FOR SHAH, MODI IS RAM
ANDHISWORD,THE FINALITY,IN ANY ASPECT...
YOU READ PART-2 ON
MARCH 21, 2022
An 11th March, 9 km long Modi Ahmedabad road show only indicates a likely BJP sweep in upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls
Editor-In-Chief of First India,
Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show,
speaks about the political landscape in Guj,
Raj and Himachal and also the special bond
between Modi and Shah and more... (Part 3)
The most beautiful part of life is
that we have a choice, every day,
how to lead it.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

he roads of
success often
start with a
bumpy ride,
e s p e c i a l l y
when you’re
a teenager
but passion and dedi-
cation to one’s craft
makes it all bearable.
Simran Modi, partic-
ipating model at Elite
Miss Rajasthan 2021
India shared her
journey in an exclu-
sive interview with
City First.
When asked about
her journey, the diva
said, “I was born and
brought up in Jaipur
itself. I live in a nu-
clear family which
includes my mother,
father and my won-
derful younger broth-
er.” She further add-
ed, “I am a master’s
degree graduate.
Though, with the un-
conditional support
that my mother gave
me, my journey has
become much easier.
I strongly believe in
never giving up on
dreams. When the
time is right, it will
all come together and
the struggle you went
through will finally
make sense.”
When asked about
what interests her,
Simran said, “Other
than modelling, I en-
joy reading and danc-
ing. It is the perfect
combination since
one keeps my mind
busy, and the other
keeps my body fit.”
I do my best to grow
myself as much as I
can in a short span
and through this tal-
ent, I will one day be
a successful model.
Paying immense
gratitude to Gaurav
Gaur, Director Elite
Miss Rajasthan, the
ravishing diva said,
“I am glad to be a part
of Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan and my
mentor, Gaurav
Gaur. His support
has been truly
fruitful.”
Sharing her two
cents for aspiring
models, Simran
Modi said, “A lot
of rejection
may come
your way but
always believe
inyourself.”
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Living the
Dream Life
CITY FIRST ENGAGED IN A TÊTE-
À-TÊTE WITH SIMRAN MODI,
HAILING FROM JAIPUR , WHERE
SHE SPILT THE BEANS ABOUT
HER CAREER TRAJECTORY,
ASPIRATIONS AND WHAT’S
NEXT ON HER BUCKET LIST!
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
LUCKNOW, TUESDAY,
MARCH 22, 2022

City First brings to you
some more glimpses of
the First India Queen of
Cosmos and the Lifestyle
Luxury Awards held at
Oaks Ibn Batutta Gate Ho-
tel, Dubai on March 10.
Jagdeesh Chandra
congratulated all the
winners and wished
them success. Su-
perstar Daisy Shah
also appreciated the
supermodels and the
winners of the interna-
tional beauty pageant.
10-11
ETC
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Racha, Aparna, Franko, Rishee Miglani, Deepak Agarwal, Anastasia and Alia
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Farah Ansari
for the Best Khadi Designer (Sewa) Also seen are Rupa Khurana,
Anita Hada Daisy Shah
Rizwan Sajan and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle award
to Dr Makkar for the Best Hospital (EHCC) Stunning supermodels flaunt their gorgeous gowns during the rampwalk
Clockwise: Larisa, Sophie, Olga, Elisabeth and Daphnila
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Ayan Chugh for the Best
Salon (Sizzlin Scissors). Also seen are Rupa Khurana,
Anita Hada and Daisy Shah
Jagdeesh Chandra and Daisy Shah confer the Lifetstyle
Award to Deepak Sankit for the Best Social Entrepreneur. Also seen are
Rupa Khurana Anita Hada
Daisy Shah confers the Lifetstyle
Award to Mayuri Sogani
for Best Jewellery Brand
to Mukund Maheshwari for the Best Outdoor Publicity Co.
Rizwan Sajan and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury
Lifestyle award to Dr Purva (Amara) for the
Best Skin Hair Clinic
Rizwan Sajan and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle
award to Khushi Sonkhiya (Paavaki Jewels) for
the Best Emerging Bespoke Jewellery Designer
to Swati Bhandari for the Emerging make-up artist of the year
to Ajay Singh for the Best Fitness Coach
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle award
to Poonam Madan for the Best Social Influencer
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle
award to Z Haus for the Best Makeup Service
Provider (International)
Yaqoob Al Ali confers the Luxury Lifestyle award to Vineet Jain for the Best Production
for events while Daisy Shah confers the Luxury Lifestyle award to Gunjan Singhal for
the Best Set Designer. Also seen is Rupa
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle
award to Jassi Chhabra (Shades Skin Hair care) for
the Best Salon Chain of Raj
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle award to
Rehan Ahmad Baley (Baley Fashion) for the
Best Fashion Designer (International)
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle award
to Soundkraft LLC for AV Production, Staging and Rental Company
of the year 2021
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra presents a memento
of welcome to Aparna
Jagdeesh Chandra presents a memento
of welcome to Vijay Samyani
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Rajiv Kapoor,
GM Fairmont Jaipur for Most Dynamic GM.Also seen are
Rupa Khurana,Anita Hada and Daisy Shah
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Vaibhav Gupta,
(Jaipur Bagh) for Best Wedding Destination.
Also seen are Anita Hada and Daisy Shah
Kewal and Anjana Miglani bagged the Best Furniture Designer
award for AK furniture. Also seen are Rupa Khurana,
Rizwan Sajan, Rishee Miglani and Daisy Shah
Yaqoob Al Ali and Daisy Shah confer the Luxury Lifestyle award to Arvind
and Puja Arya (Arya Group of Colleges) for the Best Engineering College
PAILLETTES ET
GLAMOUR

CITY FIRST
O
n the occasion
of Maulana Ab-
dul Majid Dari-
yabadi’s 120th
birthday
, which falls on
March 16, and the 200th
anniversary of Sada
Sukh Lal and Harihar
Dutt’s founding of
Urdu journalism, a
seminar titled “Urdu
Journalism Maulana
Abdul Majid Daryaba-
di” was held on Satur-
day at the Islamic Cen-
tre of India, Aishbagh,
Lucknow. Aishbagh,
Lucknow, is home to
the Islamic Centre of
India. The seminar was
organised by AMU
Old Boys Association
in collaboration with
Sidq Foundation and
anchored by Atif
Hanif, Jt Secy of AMU-
OBA. After the recital
of Quran by Qari
Tareeq-ul Islam and
Naat by Qari Qamrud-
din, Syed Shoeb, Secre-
tary of AMUOBA Luc-
know welcome the
speakers and guests.
After the welcoming,
the speakers, namely
Prof Shafey Kidwai
(keynote speaker),
Maulana Khalid
Rasheed, Naeem-ur
Rahman Siddiqui, Ravi
Bhatt, Prof Abbas
Mahdi, Guest of Hon-
our, Dr Masood-ul
Hasan Usmani, A jour-
nalist must explicitly
the difference between
Khabar(news) and
Nazar(perspective)
shared their presenta-
tions. At the end of the
event, a vote of thanks
was delivered by Dr Ai-
sha Qudsi Kiwai, Secy
of Sidq Foundation.
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
RAJA TIKAIT RAI, DIWAN OF
NAWAB ASAF-UD-DAULA!
ucknow is re-
nowned for
its exquisite
architectur-
al treasures,
such as the
spectacular
Imambada, Rumi
Darwaza, and others,
which were created
during the glory days
of theAwadhNawabs.
While the narrative
of how these beauti-
ful monuments came
to be under Nawab
A s a f - u d - r u l e
Daula’s is well-
known, there is a
lesser-known fig-
ure who played a key
part in the commis-
sioning of these his-
torical structures.
Raja Tikait Rai, the
Diwan (Finance Min-
ister) of Nawab Asaf-
ud-Daula, who direct-
ed the construction of
several remarkable
structures. The
Nawabs of Awadh,
who were known for
their secular beliefs,
frequently promoted
Hindus to
the top of
the minis-
try based
on merit.
Tikait Rai
Bahadur
was one of these min-
isters, and he is re-
garded as one of
Awadh’s
m o s t
p r o m i -
nent lords
to this day
.
Tikait has
left an in-
credible legacy in the
shape of different
monuments, ba-
zaars, with titles
such as Muhsin-ul-
Mulk, Raja, and ‘Kun-
war.’ City First brings
to you a few examples
of such projects:
L
Tikaitganj, a hamlet on the
outskirts of Lucknow,
was one of the big projects
overseen by Tikait Rai un-
der Asaf-ud-Daula. Daula’s
This community, named af-
ter Tikait Rai, has a popula-
tion of over 2000 people and
features old architecture
that draws tourists from all
over the world. Tikaitganj is
home to a beautiful Shiva
temple complex, the Behta
Bridge, and a Shahi Jama
Masjid, which the minister
is said to have erected to
honour the Nawab who
came to visit the hamlet.
Tikait Rai Talab is a lesser-
known monument in
Lucknow that was created
in1791-1796inremembrance
of Tikait Rai Bahadur, the
Nawabs’ Deewan. It’s a tiny
tank with a separate wom-
en’s bathing ghat.
The pond, which was previ-
ously used by the queens for
swimming, is now a play-
ground for children, and the
steps have been converted
into a running route. Even
now, it remains a historical
treasure trove for all history
aficionados. It is truly a re-
markable monument.
TIKAITGANJ TEMPLE, MOSQUE BRIDGE
TIKAIT RAI TALAB
BARA IMAMBARA PATTHAR GHAT
Nawab Asaf-Ud-Daula commissioned
Bara Imambara or Asfi Imambara
to create work for the people during the
11-year famine. Without Raja Tikait
Rai, who oversaw the whole project,
this cultural site would not exist. After
the Nizamat Imambara, this historic
monument is the second-largest edifice
of its sort, displaying the development
of Mughal architecture.
Patthar Ghat, located on the banks of
the Ganga, is a bathing quay made
out of red sandstone. This Ghat in Kan-
pur is visited by both residents and
visitors. It was built with the aid of Ti-
kait Rai funda. Because of its beauty,
this site, one of Kanpur’s most re-
nowned tourist attractions, has been
utilised as the backdrop of films and
television serials.
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Lucknow is renowned for its exquisite architectural treasures, City
First brings to you a few examples of the marvellous projects!
ON THE 200TH
ANNIVERSARY
Officers Left Sweating In Investigation
CITY FIRST
D
r Seema Modi,
general secre-
tary of Srijan
Shakti Welfare
Society, Lucknow and
coordinator of the pro-
gram, told that the De-
partment of Culture,
Uttar Pradesh, in col-
laboration with BM
Shah Auditorium,
Bharatendu Natya
Academy
. The artists of
Anukreethy Rangaman-
dal, Kanpur staged a
drama investigation by
the organization, on Sat-
urday
.
The play depicted
how corruption per-
vadeseverygovernment
agency in a tiny town
from top to bottom.
The play was direct-
ed by Krishna Saxe-
na and the music was
co-directed by Dr Omen-
dra Kumar, and it was
based on the famous
Russian writer Nikolai
Vasilyevich Gogol’s fa-
mous play ‘The Govern-
ment Inspector’, which
was adapted into Hindi
by Sanjay Sahay
.
CITY FIRST
A
5-person Sikh
delegation led
by Sardar
Parvinder Sin-
gh Advocate, a member
of the Uttar Pradesh
State Minorities Com-
mission, met with the
team of The Kashmir
Files. Sardar Parvin-
der Singh awarded
the film’s director,
Vivek Agnihotri, ac-
tress Pallavi Joshi,
and producer Ab-
hishek Agarwal
with body garments
and flowers.
Deputy Director Film
Bandhu and Informa-
tion Dinesh Sehgal
were present on this oc-
casion.
Shri Singh praised the
whole film crew for
bringing the plight of
Kashmiri Pandits to the
attention and uniting
the Sanatan Samaj in a
common cause.
He said, “Though the
Kashmiris were ex-
posed to atrocities from
time to time, Kashmiris
of Indian descent have
not received full jus-
tice.”
THE KASHMIR FILES
DURING THE DAY! GETTING ROWDY!
UP Chief Secretary Durga
Shankar Mishra, Additional
Chief Secretary Navneet
Sehgal, CM PC Sanjay
Prasad, Commissioner
Ranjan Kumar played Holi
with great joy. They were
seen enjoying the colours of
holi together and immersing
themselves in the pure joy
of this wonderful and Rowdy
festival.
During the play
During the seminar
Dinesh Sehgal Deputy Director
Information with the Kashmir Files Team
Durga Shankar Mishra, Chief
Secretary, Uttar Pradesh.
Government, Mukesh Meshram,
Principal Secretary and
Director General, Tourism, Uttar
Pradesh, along with Amit Gupta
Commissioner Agra, visited the
Taj on Sunday along with the
Senior administrative officers
from the Agra Administration,
the Tourism Department, and the
ADA. The officers paid a visit to
the Taj View Point, created by the
Agra Development Authority.

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