22062022_First India Mumbai.pdf

SURAT HOTEL HOUSING MAHARASHTRA MINISTER
SHINDE, REBEL SENA MLAs TURNS INTO FORTRESS
First India Bureau
Surat: As Maharash-
tra’s ruling coalition
battles for survival in
Mumbai, some 280km
away in Surat in BJP-
ruled Gujarat, a luxury
hotel has become the fo-
cus of all attention as it
is currently hosting dis-
sident Shiv Sena Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde and
some rebel party MLAs,
and the property has
been turned into a vir-
tual fortress with nearly
400 policemen guarding
it since early Tuesday
morning.
While guests who had
arrived earlier are leav-
ing one by one, sources
revealed that the hotel,
situated on Dumas Road
of the diamond city
, has
stopped accepting new
bookings for an indefi-
nite period.
Meanwhile,BJPMLA
from Jalgaon in North
Maharashtra Sanjay
Kute arrived at the hotel
in his car in the after-
noon and he was subse-
quently allowed to go
inside to meet the Shiv
Sena leaders camping
there.
After the arrival of
Shinde, a key Sena lead-
er, and other Sena MLAs
from Maharashtra on
Monday night, 300 to 400
policemen took posi-
tions inside and outside
the hotel premises and
put barricades on both
entry and exit points to
prevent any “unauthor-
ized” person from enter-
ing the property from
the main road.
Turn to P6
Police personnel stand guard outside Le Meridien hotel as Maharashtra’s MPs and MLAs conduct a
meeting, in Surat on Tuesday. —PTI PHOTO
400 cops have
been guarding it,
with DCP-level
officers visiting at
regular intervals
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI l WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 47
Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj was on Tuesday appointed
India’s Permanent Representative to United Nations in New York.
Kamboj, a 1987-batch IFS officer, is presently serving as India’s
envoy to Bhutan and will take up assignment shortly, MEA said.
QATAR AIRWAYS’ $1 BILLION LAWSUIT OVER PEELING PAINT
Doha: The head of Qatar Airways on Tuesday accused plane-maker Airbus of acting
like a “bully” as their billion-dollar dispute over peeling paint looked no closer to a
resolution. The airline and leading plane-maker have been fighting in British courts
for months over the paint problem that seen Qatar Airways ground 23 A350 jets.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, LUCKNOW, NEW DELHI MUMBAI
Twitter’s board has recommended unanimously that shareholders
approve proposed $44 billion sale of company to billionaire and
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with it last week.
Modi holds talks with
three service chiefs
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi held a meet-
ing with 3 service chiefs
at his residence on
Tuesday in the wake of
widespread protests
overthenewlylaunched
Agnipath scheme.
Army Chief General
Manoj Pande, Air Chief
Marshal VR Chaudhari
and Navy chief Admi-
ral R Hari Kumar re-
portedly met the Prime
Minister separately for
about half an hour
each. There is no word
out yet on what was dis-
cussed at.
AGNIPATH: CENTRE
FILES CAVEAT IN SC
Centre on Tuesday filed
a caveat application in
SC urging it to hear govt
in petitions filed before
it challenging ‘Agnipath’
recruitment scheme for
defence forces. Caveat
application is filed by a
litigant to ensure that no
adverse order is passed
without being heard.
RaGa TAKES A JIBE
AT PM MODI
Rahul hits out at PM Modi
on Tuesday, saying people
of country are suffering due
to his reforms that bring
“benefits with time” and
alleged that whatever the
ruling BJP describes as good
is fatal for the country.
NATIONAL HERALD CASE
ED questions Rahul
till late night on day 5
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
was questioned by ED
for over 10 hours on
Tuesday, 5th day of his
deposition in National
Herald money launder-
ing case.
Rahul Gandhi has
spent over 50 hours at
ED office over five sit-
tings with the investiga-
tors questioning him
over multiple sessions.
It is understood that his
questioning will end on
Tuesday night.
‘YOGA FOR HUMANITY’
(Left) President Ram Nath Kovind performs Yoga on the 8th International Day of
Yoga, at Rashtrapati Bhawan, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Top) Meanwhile, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on a 2-day visit to Karnataka performs yoga at a mass
Yoga event at Mysuru Palace grounds, in Mysuru on Tuesday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
DRAUPADI MURMU, EX-JHARKHAND
GUV, IS BJP’S CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT
Murmu (64), a former Jharkhand governor, will be the
first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post
if she is elected, a strong possibility as numbers are
stacked in the favour of the BJP-led NDA.
THE NEXT LADY
PRESIDENT!
New Delhi: BJP parlia-
mentary board on Tues-
day named Draupadi
Murmu, a tribal leader
of party from Odisha, as
ruling NDA’s candidate
for presidential elec-
tion. BJP chief JP Na-
dda announced her
nametomediafollowing
meeting of the party top
brass. Speaking on Mur-
mu’s candidature, PM-
Modi said, “Murmu’s
understanding of policy
matters compassion-
ate nature will greatly
benefit our country
.”
YASHWANT SINHA, EX-UNION MINISTER,
IS JOINT OPPOSITION CANDIDATE
After weeks of discussion among themselves, Oppo-
sition parties on Tuesday unanimously decided that
former union minister Yashwant Sinha will be the
common candidate of the Opposition for the upcom-
ing Presidential elections. Sinha’s name came up
after Sharad Pawar, Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Farooq
Abdullah opted out of the race. Sinha also said that
he will “step aside” from TMC Congress to work for
the larger national cause of greater Opposition unity.
Draupadi Murmu
PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari,
JP Nadda, Shivraj Chouhan at BJP HQ in Delhi on Tuesday.
MAHARASHTRA POLITICAL CRISIS
I’M WITH HINDUTVA, WILL NOT
RETURN TO SHIV SENA: SHINDE
l Uddhav calls Maha
cabinet meeting today
l Ajay Chaudhary replaces
Shinde as new party leader
l Rebel MLAs likely to be
shifted to Assam from Surat
Moni Sharma
Mumbai: In a startling
turn of events, Maha-
rashtra CM Uddhav
Thackeray has report-
edly offered to step
down and make way for
rebel minister Eknath
Shinde who, along with
close to 2 dozen MLAs,
has moved to a hotel in
Surat, a day after a blow
to the ruling Sena-NCP-
Cong coalition in MLC
elections where BJP
won 5 seats, with Sena
NCP bagging 2 each.
Meanwhile, Shinde
tweeted that he would
never cheat for power.
Nearly an hour after his
tweet, he dropped Shiv
Sena off his Twitter
bio. Tuesday’s political
drama came amid alle-
gations of cross-voting
by some Sena MLAs.
Shinde is reportedly
miffed with top brass
after he was neglected
in functioning of party
govt. Media reports
also said Shinde and his
followers had com-
plained about the step-
motherly treatment
by Deputy Chief
Minister Ajit Pa-
war in alloca-
tion of funds.

IF SENA READY TO ALLY WITH BJP, THERE
WON’T BE SPILT: SHINDE TO CM UDDHAV
CONGRESS DEPUTES KAMAL NATH AS
OBSERVER TO HANDLE MAHA CRISIS
Shiv Sena leader Milind Narvekar met Eknath Shinde and
other rebel party MLAs in Gujarat’s Surat on Tuesday.
During meeting that lasted for 2 hours, Narvekar made
Shinde speak to CM Uddhav, as per sources. Shinde claimed
he has 35 MLAs with him, adding if Uddhav is ready to ally
with BJP, there won’t be a split in party, sources added.
Police security outside CM Uddhav Thackeray residence in
Mumbai in Tuesday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Congress on Tuesday deputed
senior leader Kamal Nath as
AICC observer to handle
political crisis in Maha.
Congress decision to
rush Nath to Maharashtra is aimed
at defusing crisis currently faced
by the ruling MVA alliance.
FADNAVIS MEETS AMIT SHAH IN DELHI
The crisis in Maharashtra reportedly owes
much to Devendra Fadnavis,ex-CM from the
BJP, who was in Delhi on Tuesday and met
with party boss HM Shah. Fadnavis is seen as
having facilitated Shinde’s relocation to Surat.
‘WAS NOT AWARE OF SHINDE’S AMBITION’
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday
that it was never conveyed that Sena leader
Shinde had chief ministerial ambitions,
adding that a solution to ongoing political
crisis in Maha would be found out soon.
SHINDE SACKED, SAYS SANJAY RAUT
Shiv Sena has removed Eknath Shinde
as party’s group leader in Maha
Legislative Assembly, hours after he
went incommunicado and travelled to
Surat with some MLAs of his party.
BJP’S BHUPENDER TO HANDLE IN MAHA
BJP has entrusted Bhupender Yadav
and Mangal Lodha to keep an eye on the
developments in Maharashtra. A political
storm started in Maha after Shinde
revolted against MVA government.
Uddhav Thackeray
Eknath Shinde
CRUCIAL READ
INDIA COURTS SUPPORT ARBITRATION
NEED TO BALANCE GEOGRAPHY, SAYS CJI
New Delhi: CJI NV Ramana in his address
at annual meet of Indo-German Cham-
ber of Commerce on on Tuesday said,
“In recent years, there has been some
apprehension in minds of parties about
increasing interference of domestic courts
in arbitration process. Let me assure you, Indian courts
are known for their pro-arbitration stance.”
3 CRPF PERSONNEL
KILLED IN MAOIST
AMBUSH IN ODISHA
Bhubaneswar: 3 CRPF
personnel were killed in a
Maoist attack in Odisha’s
Nuapada dist on Tues-
day, police said. Incident
happened in Patadhara
Reserve Forest in Bheden
block when CRPF person-
nel were going from one
camp to another, they said.
PMC TO PROVIDE
MEDS, VACCINES TO
PILGRIMS
Pune: In an effort to help
devotees on the Pandharpur
pilgrimage route, PMC will
distribute free medicines,
sanitary napkins and COV-
ID-19 vaccines to them. All
PMC-run hospitals will also
provide free medical check-
ups to all pilgrims during
their stay in Pune. P3

First India Bureau
Akola: Amid the
high-voltage politi-
cal drama in Maha-
rashtra, Pranjal,
the wife of party
legislator Nitin
Deshmukh has filed
a police complaint
that her husband is
“missing”, a police
official said on
Tuesday
.
Nitin Deshmukh is
the Shiv Sena MLA
from Balapur in Ako-
la district.
His wife Pranjali
Deshmukh filed a
complaint at the Civil
Linespolicestationin
Akola, stating that
her husband was not
reachable since Mon-
day night, and asked
police to find him
soon, the official said.
Deshmukh’s wife
Pranjaltoldthepolice
thatsheapprehendsa
threat to his life.
“Ihavebeenrepeat-
edly trying to contact
him since 7pm on
June 20 but in vain.
He was supposed to
return to Akola on
June 21. However, nei-
ther has he returned
to Akola nor have we
been able to reach
him on his mobile
number,” Pranjal re-
portedlytoldthecops.
The Akola Police
on Tuesday said it
will send a team of
personnel to Surat to
trace Deshmukh's
whereabouts.
Meanwhile, on-
ground reports in Su-
rat suggest that Desh-
mukh was taken to
thelocalcivilhospital
after he fell ill and
that his condition is
stable.
NEWS
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022
02
Mumbai: (PTI): Lead-
ers of MVA constitu-
ents Congress and
the NCP met Chief
Minister Uddhav
Thackeray here on
Tuesday evening to
take stock of the on-
going political crisis
in Maharashtra.
Cabinet ministers
Balasaheb Thorat and
Ashok Chavan of the
Congress met Thacker-
ay, who heads the Shiv
Sena, at his official resi-
dence ‘Varsha’ in south
Mumbai, where state
NCP president and min-
ister Jayant Patil was
also present.
At the meeting, sev-
eral major opposition
parties, including the
Congress, the NCP and
the TMC, picked former
Union minister
Yashwant Sinha as their
presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, AICC
secretary in-charge of
Maharashra H K Patil
held one on one talks
with each of the 44
party MLAs.
A Congress leader
said Patil discussed the
prevailing political situ-
ation in the state with
the MLAs.
The Congress, a key
constituent of the MVA,
suffered a shock defeat
when its candidate
Chandrakant Handore
lost the state Legislative
CouncilpollsonMonday
.
The opposition BJP got
itsfifthcandidateelected
to the Upper House of
the state legislature de-
spitelackinginnumbers
in the Assembly
.
All eyes are on NCP
presidentSharadPawar,
the chief architect of
the Shiv Sena-led ruling
coalition Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) who is
likely to arrive in Mum-
bai soon from New Del-
hi, where earlier in the
day he convened a cru-
cial meeting of opposi-
tion parties to decide on
a common candidate for
the next month’s presi-
dential polls.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: With the
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government in
Maharashtra in cri-
sis, NCP chief Sharad
Pawar on Tuesday al-
leged that a third at-
tempt was being made
to pull it down but
expressed confidence
that Chief Minister
Udhhav Thackeray
will be able to handle
the Shiv Sena’s “in-
ternal issue”.
Pawar, who played a
crucial role in the for-
mation of the MVA
government, said it
will complete its full
five-year term and
ruled out going with
the BJP, in case the
state government falls.
He said he would be
leaving for Mumbai
soon after the opposi-
tion meeting on the
joint presidential can-
didate and would be
meeting Thackeray
later in the day.
“There are no differ-
ences in the alliance
and all have full confi-
dence in Thackeray’s
leadership,” he told re-
porters.
“This is not an NCP
issue. It is an internal
issue of Shiv Sena,
they (Sena) will inform
us after assessing the
situation,” he also said.
Pressed further, Pa-
war reiterated that it is
the Sena’s internal is-
sue and whatever that
party decides, “we’ll
be with them”.
Pawar told report-
ers, “What happened
in Maharashtra, in the
past two and two-and-
a-half years, this is the
third incident. I re-
member when the Ud-
dhav Thackeray gov-
ernment was being
formed, some of our
MLAs were kept in
Haryana. But later,
they came out of there
and returned, forming
the government. Since
then, the government
has worked fine. Yes-
terday, there was a (leg-
islative council) elec-
tion. As far as NCP is
concerned...not even a
single vote of NCP
went elsewhere.
“A candidate of our
front could not win due
to a shortfall in votes,”
he said, adding that it
was the duty of the
other political party to
ensure the victory of
their candidate.
Pawar said Thack-
eray has convened a
meeting of his party
and that he would “talk
to them” after that.
Asserting that the
NCP, the Congress and
Shiv Sena are together,
Pawar said it would
not be correct to take
any step till a guide-
line is received from
the Sena on what the
exact issue is and how
to resolve it.
Third attempt to pull down MVA govt in Maha: Sharad Pawar
STANDING TOGETHER
‘Internal matter of Shiv Sena,
Thackeray will handle situation’
Sharad Pawar. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Mumbai: With uncer-
tainty looming over
the Maha Vikas
Aghadi government’s
stablility in the wake
of Shiv Sena minister
Eknath Shinde camp-
ing in Gujarat with
some party MLAs,
the stand of 29 legis-
lators from smaller
parties and Inde-
pendents is likely to
be crucial.
The 288-member state
Legislative Assembly
has one vacancy due to
the death of Shiv Sena
MLA Ramesh Latke.
Any party or alliance
needs 144 MLAs to be in
power with a simple
majority
.
The MVA (compris-
ing the Shiv Sena, NCP
and Congress) govern-
ment had won the trust
vote on the floor of the
Assembly on Novem-
ber 30, 2019, with 169
MLAs voting in favour
of the coalition.
The Shiv Sena cur-
rently has 55 MLAs, the
NCP has 53 legislators
and the Congress has
44 MLAs.
The BJP had won 105
seats in 2019, but in-
creased its tally to 106
after it wrested the Pan-
dharpur Assembly seat
from the NCP in a by-
election.
There are 13 Inde-
pendents in the House.
One of them—Rajendra
Patil Yedrawkar—is a
minister in the MVA
government from the
Shiv Sena quota.
Similarly, Shankar-
rao Gadakh, the Kranti-
kari Shetkari Paksh
MLA from Nevasa, and
Bachu Kadu of the Pra-
har Janshakti Party are
also ministers from the
Shiv Sena quota.
The Prahar Janshak-
ti Party has two MLAs
in the House.
Of the 13 Independ-
ents, six are support-
ers of the BJP, five
have backed the Shiv
Sena, while the Con-
gress and NCP enjoy
the support of one In-
dependent each.
Vinay Kore (Jansura-
jya Shakti Party) and
Ratnakar Gutte (Rash-
triya Samaj Paksh) are
BJP supporters.
Besides, Devendra
Bhuyar (Swabhimani
Paksh) and Shyamsun-
der Shinde (PWP) are
NCP supporters.
In the Rajya Sabha
elections to six seats
from Maharashtra held
earlier this month,
AIMIM and the Sama-
jwadi Party, having two
MLAs each, had sup-
ported the Congress,
while three MLAs of
the Bahujan Vikas
Aghadi (BVA) backed
the BJP.
Shiv Sena supporters gathered in a show of force and shouted slogans in support of CM Uddhav Thackeray, outside Shiv Sena Bhavan
in Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
29MLAsofsmallerpartiesIndependentscrucialasMVAfacestrouble
HIGH DRAMA IN MAHA
Any party or alliance needs 144 MLAs to be in power with
simple majority; Shiv Sena currently has 55 MLAs, the
NCP has 53 legislators and the Congress has 44 MLAs
ISSUE AT HAND
HOW IT STARTED
WHAT IT MEANS
WHY, SHINDE?
PUNITIVE ACTION
LONG TIME COMING?
The Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharash-
tra appears to be in crisis after Shiv Sena minister
Eknath Shinde and some MLAs of his party went
incommunicado and camped in Surat, a day after
suspected cross-voting in MLC polls. As Shinde is
yet to spell out his stand, Maharashtra BJP chief
Chandrakant Patil ruled out any link of his party to
the ongoing political developments but also said
the BJP would “definitely consider” a proposal if it
comes from Shinde to form a government.
The crisis was reportedly triggered by a reprimand
from CM Uddhav Thackeray to Shinde last night
after Sena MLAs cross-voted for the BJP in the
Legislative Council polls on Monday. Their action
meant that the BJP won five of a total of 10 seats
despite not having enough numbers in the Assem-
bly. Maharashtra minister and some MLAs reached
the hotel in Surat late on Monday night, with Shinde
going incommunicado after the Council poll results.
It later it came to light he is camping in the hotel
along with some party MLAs—a move that report-
edly owes much to former Chief Minister from the
BJP Devendra Fadnavis, who is is seen as having
facilitated Shinde’s relocation to Surat.
The 288-member state Legislative Assembly has one
vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh
Latke. Any party or alliance needs 144 MLAs to be
in power with a simple majority. The MVA (compris-
ing the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government
had won the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly
on November 30, 2019, with 169 MLAs voting in
favour of the coalition. The Shiv Sena currently
has 55 MLAs, the NCP has 53 legislators and the
Congress has 44 MLAs. The BJP had won 105 seats
in 2019 but increased its tally to 106 after it wrested
the Pandharpur Assembly seat from the NCP in a
byelection. To displace Thackeray and win a vote
of confidence—should it come to that—the BJP
will need 37 MLAs apart from its own 106. Without
Shinde’s faction, the current government is perilously
close to the majority mark at 133.
Currently the minister for Urban Development
and Public Works, Shinde rose in the Shiv Sena
hierarchy from ranks. He had served as a council-
lor for several terms before getting elected to the
Legislative Assembly in 2004. He is also known for
his accessibility and has a strong grip on the party
organization in Thane and Palghar districts, part of
the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which send 24
MLAs to the Assembly. He has been smarting over
the increasing importance of Sanjay Raut, who is
seen as a key aide of CM Thackeray, and who led
the PR campaign for the Sena on Tuesday, describ-
ing the crisis as one that would be defused and
Shinde as “a Sena loyalist”.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has removed
Eknath Shinde as the party whip in the Maharashtra
Legislative Assembly and replaced with Ajay Choud-
hury, Sena MP Sanjay Raut told reporters. Choud-
hary, who represents the Sewri segment in Mumbai,
said that 25 MLAs have supported his appointment
as the group leader of the Shiv Sena.
In view of Shinde going incommunicado, a Maha-
rashtra Congress minister on Tuesday claimed there
was unrest in the Sena since about a week adding
that Chandrakant Handore’s loss in Monday’s polls
came as a shock. “All leaders need to sit together
and analyse what went wrong,” he said, adding that
the Congress is monitoring the developments in the
Shiv Sena.
MLA Nitin Deshmukh’s
wife files ‘missing
person’ complaint
Cong mins Thorat, Chavan meet CM
Reports of CLP
leader quitting
false
Nitin Deshmukh
Police personnel are seen outside CM Uddhav Thackeray's residence, Varsha bungalow, during his meeting with MLAs, in Mumbai on
Tuesday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

MAHARASHTRA
03
13 held for abetting suicides
of 9 members of Sangli family
First India Bureau
Pune: Thirteen of the
25 people booked for
abetting the suicides
of nine members of a
family in Sangli dis-
trict have been arrest-
ed, officials said on
Tuesday
.
Apreliminaryinvesti-
gation has revealed that
theaccusedusedto“har-
ass and humiliate” the
Vanmore family as they
were unable to repay the
loans they had taken
from them, apparently
forcing them to take the
extreme step, he added.
Some of the arrested
accused already have
cases related to money
lending against them,
the official said.
Popat Vanmore (54),
whoworkedasateacher,
his brother and veteri-
narian Dr Manik Van-
more (49), their 74-year-
old mother, wives and
fourchildrenwerefound
dead at their houses in
Mhaisal village of San-
gli district on Monday
,
police had said.
Suicide notes were
foundfromthetwohous-
es, located 1.5km apart
from each other.
“The contents of the
suicide notes indicate
that the family had bor-
rowed money from some
peopleandwasfindingit
difficulttorepayit,”San-
gli Superintendent of
Police (SP) Dikshit
Gedam told reporters.
“As the family mem-
bers were humiliated by
this, they took the ex-
treme step,” he added.
Prima facie, it looks
like the deceased had
taken the loan for some
business, the officer
said.
“We have already reg-
istered a case against 25
people from whom the
family had taken money
.
Thefamilywasharassed
and humiliated by these
people, who forced them
totaketheextremestep,”
he said.
The 13 have been ar-
rested under Indian Pe-
nal Code (IPC) sections
306(abetmentof suicide)
and 341 (wrongful re-
straint) and the relevant
provisions of the Maha-
rashtra Money Lending
(Regulation) Act and the
Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe (Pre-
vention of Atrocities)
Act, the SP said.
Multiple teams have
been formed to trace the
other accused, the SP
said.
Asked if all the de-
ceased had consumed a
poisonous substance to-
gether, the officer said a
probe to ascertain what
they had consumed and
how was still on.
“The cause of the
deaths is still reserved
and what substance was
used is under investiga-
tion,” he said.
NEIGHBOURS
SUSPECT
SUPERSTITION
BEHIND DEATHS
Sangli: The people
of Mhaisal village in
Sangli district suspect
superstition as a prob-
able reason behind the
overnight death of nine
members of a family
here.
“Although the fam-
ily was educated,
they were involved in
superstitious ac-
tivities and were overly
religious… recently
their son Shubham had
brought a bunch of
coconuts, which looked
suspicious. When I
asked about it, he said
that soon all of their
problems were about
to be solved,” said a
neighbour of the family
of nine members who
died on Monday.
The neighbours said that
the family did not have
any envious or bad rela-
tions with anybody, but
rather had friendly and
joyous relations with all.
“They had good rela-
tions with me and eve-
ryone. I have not seen
them stressed for any
reason for the past two
to three months, their
routine remained normal
till last night...We are
not able to figure out the
reason for their suicide,”
said Pasha, their neigh-
bour told reporters.
The contents of the suicide notes indicate
that the family had borrowed money from
some people and was finding it difficult to
repay it. As the family members were humiliated by
this, they took the extreme step.
—Dikshit Gedam, Sangli Superintendent of Police (SP)
Accused used to
“harass and
humiliate” the
deceased, who
were unable to
repay their loans
WOMAN,KIN SEXUALLY
HARASSED BY LOAN APP
RECOVERY AGENTS
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A woman
registered a First In-
formation Report
(FIR) at a city police
station on Sunday
, al-
leging cyber sexualf
harassment by un-
known persons of a
loan application. She
claimed that she had
not taken any loan
but was still being
harassed.
Family members of
a 26-year-old woman
and her friend were
sexually harassed by
loan recovery agents,
who allegedly sent ex-
plicit messages
a n d
morphed obscene pho-
tostopeopleinhercon-
tact list.
In her complaint,
the woman said she
was set to get married
soon. She said her fi-
ance took care of all
her expenses but she
needed money urgent-
ly
. While watching vid-
eos on YouTube last
month, she came
across an advertise-
ment for a loan app.
She clicked on the app
linkandwasinthepro-
cess of installing the
app. While doing so,
she gave permission to
the app to access her
contactlistandgallery
.
However, she felt
something was
amiss and de-
cided not to
apply for a
loan. She
also re-
versedthe
installa-
tion of the app. How-
ever, the complainant
said she soon started
receiving sexually ex-
plicit abuses from an
unknownnumber,call-
ing the woman and her
mother “sex workers
who were not return-
ing their loan”.
The same message
wassenttoherfriends,
relatives and former
bosses from different
mobile phone num-
bers, she stated in her
statement.
ALLEGATIONS
The
26-year-old
filed a FIR against
the accused on
Sunday, insisted she
never took any
loan
Banned tobacco
products worth
`2.68 lakh
seized; 1 held
First India Bureau
Palghar: Tobacco
products worth `2.68
lakh was seized in
Palghar and one per-
son has been held in
this connection.
Following a tip-off,
a police team intercept-
ed a tempo on the Mum-
bai-Ahmedabad high-
way on Sunday
, and dur-
ing checking of the ve-
hicle, the police seized
banned goods, which
were being transported
to Palghar.
The tempo driver was
arrested, district rural
police spokesperson
Sachin Nawadkar said.
A case has been
registered against the
tempo driver under rel-
evant provisions. The
police is trying to find
out from where the ac-
cused got the stock and
to whom he was to de-
liver it.
The sale and con-
sumption of gutka,
scented and flavoured
tobacco has been
banned in Maharashtra
since 2012.
A police team
intercepted a tempo on
the Mumbai-
Ahmedabad highway
on Sunday, and during
checking of the
vehicle, the police
seized banned goods
To mark the 8th International Day of Yoga, people from
all walks of life performed yoga at various locations
across Mumbai city on Tuesday. Celebrating this year’s
theme ‘Yoga for Humanity’, some of the places ‘yogis’
were spotted at the Gateway of India, right outside the
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Terminus, Juhu beach and Bandra Reclamation.
—PTI PHOTOS
Suicide
notes were
found from
the two
houses,
located
1.5km apart
from each
other.
‘YOGA FOR HUMANITY’
PMC to provide medicines, sanitary napkins for Pandharpur pilgrims
First India Bureau
Pune: The Pune Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(PMC) will set up
free medicine distribu-
tion centres at 21 loca-
tions across the city
,
including bus stops,
along the Pandharpur
pilgrimage route, and
will provide free sani-
tary napkins to wom-
en pilgrims at their
place of stay during
their two-day halt.
Speaking to the me-
dia, additional munici-
palcommissionerRavin-
dra Binawade said, “The
PMC will be providing
free medical check-ups,
medicines, and other
health facilities to pil-
grims till their depar-
ture from the city
.”
He further added that
the PMC will also pro-
vide free vaccines
against COVID-19 for
eligible citizens at Ma-
masaheb Badade Hospi-
tal and Rafi Mohammad
Kidwai School.
For the women pil-
grims, the PMC has de-
cided to put up sanitary
napkin vending ma-
chines at all civic
schools where they will
halt for two days during
the pilgrimage.
“All PMC-run hospi-
tals would provide free
medical check-ups to all
pilgrims during their
stay
i n
t h e
city.
There will be 21 centres
spread across the route
of pilgrimage in the
city for distribution of
free medicines to pil-
grims,” Binawade said.
The centres will be at
Bopodi Hospital, the
post office on the Pune-
Mumbai highway,
Bhagwan Shankar
Mandir at Wakdewadi,
Property Tax office in
Kalas, Vishrantwadi
Chowk, Datta Mandir at
Vishrantwadi, Bombay
Sappers Chowk, Kend-
riya Vidyalaya BRT sta-
tion, Sangamwadi BRT
station, Shivajinagar
Chowk, Deendayal Hos-
pital on FC Road, Alka
Chowk, Samadhan
Chowk on Laxmi Road,
Dulya Maruti Chowk in
Ganesh Peth, Palkhi
Vithoba Chowk in
Bhavani Peth, Triluck
Hotel in Bhavani Peth,
Big Bazaar Chowk in
Fatimanagar, the
Ramtekdi bus stop,
Magarpatta Hospital,
Gadital bus stop,
Akashwani on Pune-
Solapur Road, and Juna
Jakat Naka at Pune Sas-
wad Road.
The Pune Municipal Corporation will also
provide free vaccines against nCoV for
eligible citizens at Mamasaheb Badade Hospital
and Rafi Mohammad Kidwai School

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 47
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed
and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22,
Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar,
TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi
Mumbai-400701. Published
at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of
Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Endurance is one of the most
difficult disciplines, but it is
to the one who endures that
the final victory comes.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
I believe in the importance of yoga
and making time for it, as it offers
numerous health benefits. I always
strive towards practicing yoga. On
this #InternationalYogaDay, let us all
be a part of Hon. PM @narendramodi
Ji’s initiative towards a healthy fit
India.#YogaForHumanity
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
India Navy is on the path to become
gender-neutral. As a result of the
#AgnipathRecruitmentScheme, @
indiannavy for the first-time will
recruit women as sailors. #Agnipath
is yet another opportunity for
women to break the glass ceiling.
#IndiaWithAgniveer
TOP TWEETS
JOLT TO MACRON
BUT FAR RIGHT’S
MARINE LE PEN
CAUSES TREMORS
n a setback to Emma-
nuel Macron his En-
semblealliancefailed
to win a majority in
the parliamentary
elections. Mr Macron now finds
himself sandwiched between
Marine Le Pen’s far right Nation-
alRallyandJean-LucMelenchon
of the left coalition NUPES jeop-
ardising implementation of his
political agenda. Will Macron
make compromises or will the
Fifth Republic see a government
indeadlockwiththeFrenchPres-
ident’s reform plans in limbo?
Thebiggestsurprisethrownup
by the French electorate is their
supportforMarineLePen’sparty
which jumped from previously
held eight seats to 89 in the
577-member hung parliament. It
was described as a “seismic
event”inFrenchpolitics.TheLeft
partiesalsowon131seatstobethe
principal opposition. The Ensem-
ble alliance won 245 seats but was
well short of majority
, leaving the
parliament fragmented.
The result showed that the
voter did not buy Macron’s sof-
tening stand on pension reforms
and raising of retirement age
which came just before parlia-
mentary elections.
I
entre has cau-
tioned Indian
states which are
equal to the size
of Pakistan and
Sri Lanka to cut down on
their debts to avoid an eco-
nomic crisis being faced by
the two neighbouring coun-
tries. The Union finance min-
istry officials recently ad-
dressed a meeting of state
chief secretaries to flag the
issue of burgeoning fiscal
problems in some of the
stateswhich,if notcontrolled
now, may go out of hand. Un-
controlled debt and capital
expenditure of some of the
states could adversely impact
the performance of the econ-
omy at the national level.
An article by a team of
economists under the super-
vision of Reserve Bank of
India stated that Punjab, Ra-
jasthan, Bihar, West Bengal
and Kerala, the five most in-
debted states, need to cut
down on expenditure as their
debt has become unsustain-
able. Although the RBI arti-
cle does not mention Uttar
Pradesh, the state which is
almost the size of Pakistan
and like Pakistan has a popu-
lation of 200 million, also has
a huge debt burden. As per
2021-22 budget estimates the
state’sliabilitieswerearound
Rs 6.5 lakh crore.
The five debt-ridden states
have questioned the hypoth-
esis of their being in a debt
trap. Kerala has said no to cut-
ting down expenditure. Only
a marginal cut in the revenue
expenditure is possible, said
former finance minister TM
Thomas Isaac. Rajasthan has
blamed “wrong” decisions of
the Centre like demonetiza-
tion and GST for its debt bur-
den and has asked for a stimu-
lus package. In Bengal, wel-
fare schemes were held re-
sponsible for increase in its
borrowings. These counter
arguments, however, do not
address the problem.
DEBT BURDEN OF
STATES A CONCERN
An article by a team of
economists under supervision
of RBI stated that Punjab,
Rajasthan, Bihar, WB and
Kerala, 5 most indebted
states, need to cut down on
expenditure as their debt has
become unsustainable
C
FINALLY, AFTER MUCH ANXIETY…
OPPN GETS ITS CANDIDATE
ver since Mamata Banerjee
registered that historic vic-
tory in the state Assembly
elections in 2021, her efforts
to unite the Opposition on at
least three occasions have
not turned out to be an easy
task. In March 2021, Mamata
had written to Opposition
honchos, urging them to
unite against the BJP’s al-
leged ‘assaults’ on democra-
cy and the Constitution.
Again in July 2021, Mama-
ta’s visit to Delhi stoked spec-
ulations over the fact if she
was actually pitching herself
as the PM candidate for the
2024 Lok Sabha polls. She
was, however, extremely cau-
tious and categorically ruled
out her (prime ministerial)
ambitions. When asked, she
reiterated that she was only
a “simple worker”.
She, however, was keen to
drive home the message that
her efforts were to unite Oppo-
sitionforcesatleastfortalksso
thattherecouldbeaconsensus
among parties to chalk out a
concreteplantodefeattheNar-
endra Modi-led BJP
. However,
all that is past now. Her recent
bid to bring the Opposition
camp into a huddle over the
crucial presidential polls is
also facing rough weather.
After NCP chief Sharad
Pawar and former Jammu
and Kashmir chief minister
Farooq Abdullah declined
the offer to be the joint Op-
position candidate, the third
jolt came in the form of Go-
palkrishna Gandhi, former
Governor of West Bengal,
who also refused the offer.
The process to elect a presi-
dential candidate began on
June 15 with the last date for
filing of nominations being
June 29. The polls are sched-
uled to be held on July 18.
The NCP veteran’s reluc-
tance pulled the plug on the
Opposition camp’s zeal and
NCP insiders said that Pawar
being a “people’s man” won’t
“restrict himself to Rashtra-
pati Bhavan”. “…don’t think
he is keen on it (contesting
the election). Saheb (Pawar)
is a people’s man who loves
meeting people. He will not
restrict himself to Rashtra-
pati Bhavan,” the party
sources said.
In a quick move, Farooq
Abdullah’s name was circu-
lated. However, unwilling to
contest, he said, “I believe
that JK is passing through
a critical juncture and my ef-
forts are required to help
navigate these uncertain
times. Therefore, I would like
to respectfully withdraw my
name from consideration
and I look forward to sup-
porting the joint opposition
consensus candidate.”
Meanwhile, according to
news reports on Monday
, BSP
supremo Mayawati’s name
was suggested by some Con-
gress leaders in Rajasthan
who backed their theory by
saying that Mayawati, the
face of Dalit politics in the
country, would be a better
choice as the Dalits, in the
larger context in the country,
have faith in the Congress
and in the bigger picture, this
would put the Grand Old Par-
ty in a better frame of things.
However, there was more
bad news for the Opposition
camp on Monday when Go-
palkrishna Gandhi too de-
clined the offer. The former
civil servant said the Opposi-
tion needs a candidate who
will generate a national con-
sensus and ensure unity. “I
am most grateful to them (the
Opposition),” Gandhi said.
The Opposition’s fight
looks stunted before it even
could begin and with the date
for filing the nomination
hardly a week away
, it is time
they zero in on a candidate at
least to reach a stage where
an election for the top post
takes place… or else with the
kind of bonhomie the Opposi-
tion parties are showing in
terms of uniting, with the
Lok Sabha elections just two
years away, one wonders
whether they would be able to
put up a unified fight at all...!
It may be noted that while
Leaders of Congress, Sama-
jwadi Party
, NCP
, DMK, RJD
and the Left parties attended
themeetingcalledbyMamata,
AAP
, TRS and BJD skipped it!
Tuesdaywas,however,agog
withbreakingnewscomingin
that Yashwant Sinha is being
considered as the Opposi-
tion’s joint candidate. On
Tuesday, he announced that
he would be stepping aside
frompartyworkforthelarger
national cause of Opposition
unity
.Thedevelopmentcomes
a day after the TMC chief pro-
posedhisname.“Iamgrateful
to Mamataji for the honour
and prestige she bestowed on
me in the TMC. Now, time has
come when for a larger na-
tional cause I must step aside
from the party to work for
greater opposition unity
. I am
suresheapprovesof thestep,”
Sinha tweeted.
Meanwhile, after much de-
liberation and anxiety sev-
eral major Opposition par-
ties, including the Congress,
the NCP and the TMC, on
Tuesday picked former Un-
ion minister Yashwant Sinha
as their candidate for the
July 18 presidential polls.
Opposition leaders, who
gatheredattheParliamentan-
nexeforthemeetingconvened
byNCPchief SharadPawarto
decide on a common candi-
date for the much-discussed
presidential election, unani-
mously agreed on Sinha’s
name. This, thus… brings to
rest the long-drawn heart-
burn reflux over the Opposi-
tionunityfactorastheparties
havefinallyshownsome“con-
nect” or else it would have
been a cakewalk for the NDA.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
E
Opposition leaders, who
gathered at the Parliament
annexe for the meeting
convened by NCP chief
Sharad Pawar to decide on a
common candidate for the
much-discussed presidential
election, unanimously agreed
on Sinha’s name. This,
thus… brings to rest the long-
drawn heartburn reflux over
the Opposition unity factor
as the parties have finally
shown some “connect” or else
it would have been a
cakewalk for the NDA
On Tuesday, Yashwant
Sinha announced that he
would be stepping aside
from party work for the
larger national cause of
Opposition unity. The
development comes a day
after TMC chief proposed
his name. “I am grateful
to Mamataji for the
honour and prestige
she bestowed on me in
the TMC. Now, time has
come when for a larger
national cause I must
step aside from the
party to work for
greater opposition
unity. I am sure she
approves of the step,”
Sinha tweeted
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Associate Editor,
Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former
Managing Editor, First India
Yashwant Sinha
Farooq Abdullah
Sharad Pawar
Gopalkrishna Gandhi
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05
INDIA
No rollback of Agnipath; good for Army, youth: NSA Doval
New Delhi (ANI): Amid
protests against the Ag-
nipath defence recruit-
ment scheme, National
Security Adviser (NSA)
Ajit Doval said on Tues-
day that “there is no
question” of a rollback.
“India has among the
youngest populations in
the world; yet it cannot
continue to have an
army with a high aver-
age age,” he told media,
arguing that the new
system will ensure a
more tech-savvy army
.
NSA Doval is the lat-
est among those de-
ployed by the govern-
ment to defend the
scheme for recruiting
‘Agniveer’ soldiers on
four-year contracts
without pension. Only
up to 25 per cent of these
recruits may be given
regular commission of
15 years thereafter. This
has led to violent pro-
tests across India.
On the protests, he
said vandalism is not
justified. “Those doing
this are not the aspir-
ants; the real ones are at
home, preparing.” He
said that while some
veterans had genuine
concerns and were now
changing their minds,
there are people who
“just want conflict in
society to discredit the
government”.
Speaking about the
future of Agniveers let
go after four years, he
asserted that the age
of “settling down” is
around 25-26 now. “Peo-
ple are speaking of one
life-two careers, even
three careers now.
When recruits from
the first batch of Ag-
niveers retire, India
will be 5-trillion-dollar
economy; industry
will need people who
have age on their side.
These men and women
will still be young and
won’t have family com-
pulsions.”
CONTROVERSIAL MILITARY RECRUITMENT SCHEME
READ
Crucial
Crucial
PM TO VIRTUALLY
ATTEND BRICS
SUMMIT ON JUNE 23
New Delhi: On the the
invitation of Chinese
President Xi Jinping,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will attend the 14th
BRICS Summit hosted
by China in virtual
format on June 23-24.
This includes a high-
level dialogue on global
development between
the guest countries on
June 24. The Ministry
of External Affairs said
that BRICS has become
a platform for discuss-
ing and deliberating
on issues of common
concern for all the devel-
oping countries.
CONG’S GHULAM
NABI AZAD TESTS
COVID POSITIVE
Srinagar: Former Chief
Minister of Jammu
Kashmir and senior
Congress leader, Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad tested
positive for Covid-19
on Tuesday. In a tweet,
Azad said, “I have tested
Covid positive today and
am under home quaran-
tine.” Of late there has
been an upward trend
in the number of Covid
cases being reported
daily in the country.
There are, however, no
reports of any fatalities
during the recent surge.
EC DELETES 111
‘NON-EXISTENT’
PARTIES FROM LIST
New Delhi: The Election
Commission of India
has ordered the dele-
tion of 111 registered
unrecognised political
parties that it found to
be “non-existent” and
referred three of the par-
ties to the Department of
Revenue for legal action
for “serious financial
impropriety”, an EC
statement said. This was
the second such action
in the recent past against
registered parties that
have been found violat-
ing the Representation
of the People Act, 1951.
GOLD SMUGGLING
ACCUSED SEEKS CBI
INVESTIGATION
Kochi: Swapna Suresh,
the prime accused in
the 2020 Kerala gold
smuggling case, on
Tuesday wrote to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
seeking a Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI)
probe into the matter
as she believes to have
been made a scapegoat
by “several influential
people”. In her letter,
Suresh said many other
accused, like former
principal secretary of
Kerala chief minister – M
Sivasankar, was leading
a normal life unlike her.
THANE POLICE
SUMMONS JINDAL
IN PROPHET CASE
New Delhi: Fresh trou-
ble seems to be brewing
for former BJP leader
Naveen Kumar Jindal
as the Thane police on
Tuesday served a notice
to him in connection
with a new case over
the controversial re-
marks he made against
Prophet Muhammad.
Jindal has been asked to
join the probe on June
25. The case has been
lodged against him by
Mumbra Police Station
on the complaint of
one Mohammed Gufran
Akmal Khan.
OVER 50,000 ITBP PERSONNEL
PERFORM YOGA AT 19,000 FEET IN
SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURE LOCATIONS
ITBP ‘Himveers’ participate in a yoga
sessions at an altitude of 19,000 feet in
Uttarakhand to celebrate the 8th International
Day of Yoga on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
HRY CM: GOVT JOBS
FOR ‘AGNIVEERS’
POST RETIREMENT
Bhiwani (ANI): Amid the
row over the Centre’s
newly launched Agnipath
scheme for recruitment
to Armed Forces, Haryana
CM on Tuesday said the
‘Agniveers’ after their four
years of service will be
provided guaranteed jobs
in the state government.
CM Khattar participated in
the Yoga Day celebrations
here on Tuesday. Khattar
said, “Those (75 per cent
of Agniveers who would
return after four years)
who want to get Haryana
government jobs will be
given guaranteed jobs.”
SC: APPROACH
REGISTRAR FOR
PLEA’S LISTING
New Delhi (ANI): The Su-
preme Court on Tuesday
asked the petitioner to
mention his plea seeking
an urgent hearing on a
petition seeking directions
to set up a Special Inves-
tigation Team to enquire
about the violent protest
that erupted against the
“Agnipath” scheme. A
vacation bench of Jus-
tices CT Ravikumar and
Sudhanshu Dhulia asked
petitioner-in-person and
advocate Vishal Tiwari, to
mention before the regis-
trar plea seeking an urgent
hearing on his petition.
Mysuru (PTI): Yoga no
longer a part of life, but
isbecomingawayof life,
Prime Minister Naren-
draModisaidwhilelead-
ing the country's Yoga
Day celebrations from
Karnataka's Mysuru.
Addressing the event
at the Mysore Palace
grounds, the Prime
Minister said Yoga is a
problem-solver and
brings inner peace.
The peace from yoga is
not merely for individu-
als. Yoga brings peace to
our society
. Yoga brings
peace to our nations and
the world. And, Yoga
brings peace to our uni-
verse, he said.
The Prime Minister
was accompanied at the
event by Union Minis-
ter for AYUSH, Sarba-
nanda Sonowal, Karna-
taka Governor Gover-
nor Thaawarchand Ge-
hlot and Chief Minister
Basavaraj S Bommai.
No matter how
stressful an atmosphere
we are in, meditation
for a few minutes relax-
es us and boosts our
productivity. So we
should not consider
yoga an additional
work. We have to know
yoga and live yoga and
make it our own, the
Prime Minister said.
Yoga is no longer a
part of life, but is be-
coming a way of life,
he added.
This whole universe
starts from our own
body and soul. The uni-
verse starts from us.
And,Yogamakesuscon-
scious of everything
within us and builds a
sense of awareness, the
Prime Minister said.
Since 2015, the Inter-
national Day of Yoga is
celebrated worldwide
on June 21 every year.
The theme for this
year's Yoga day is Yoga
for Humanity.
Yoga no longer just a part of life,
it’s becoming a way of life: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses yoga enthusiasts during celebration of the 8th
International Day of Yoga at Mysuru Palace in Mysuru on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Billionaire Gautam Adani performs Yoga to celebrate the 8th
International Yoga Day in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
PM LEADS YOGA DAY CELEBRATIONS FROM MYSURU
PROTESTERS
ATTACK INDIA
EMBASSY EVENT
IN MALDIVES
Male (Agencies): Police
in the Maldives used tear
gas and pepper spray to
control a crowd of people
who disrupted a yoga
event organised by the
Indian High Commission,
or embassy, in the capital
Male on Tuesday morn-
ing, an organiser said.
The crowd stormed a
stadium where more than
150 people, including
diplomats and govern-
ment officers, were
taking part in an event
celebrating International
Day of Yoga, attacking
participants and vandalis-
ing the property, one of
the organisers, who did
not want to be named
because he was not au-
thorised to speak with the
media, told media. Earlier,
the protesters brandished
placards proclaiming
that yoga was against
the tenets of Islam. Islam
is the state religion in
the Maldives, a group
of islands in the Indian
Ocean with a population
of about half a million.
Police responded with
anti-riot measures and
later used pepper spray
and tear gas to control
the crowd and secure the
area, Superintendent of
Police Fathmath Nashwa
told media.

z Agniveers have secure future, defence
training will ensure high stature in society

z Regimental system to continue
under Agnipath Scheme

z Raising voice is democracy
but vandalism is not

z 'Conflict entrepreneurs' with vested
interest behind Agnipath protest, arson

z Battle of future will be fought with tech,
need young, well-trained armed forces

❍ INDIA’S 153RD SEISMIC STATION
Seismological
observatory in
JK’sUdhampur
First India Bureau
Jammu: Union Minis-
ter, Dr. Jitendra Singh,
inaugurated a Seismol-
ogy Observatory at Ud-
hampur in the Jammu
division on Tuesday
.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, he said Udhampur
has now emerged on the
world seismological
map with the installa-
tion of the latest up-
graded Seismological
Observatory by the Min-
istry of Earth Sciences.
Secretary DST, Dr. M
Ravichandran was also
present during the in-
auguration.
Dr. Singh said that
during the last eight
years under Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s
leadership, India has
installed more than 70
such observatories
across the country
, com-
pared to just 80 installed
in over six decades.
While dedicating the
observatory to the peo-
ple, the minister said
that PM Narendra Modi
has laid renewed em-
phasis on the scientific
programmes by prior-
itising science and tech-
nology-based develop-
ments and allocating
sufficient budget to the
science departments.
Healsosaidthatinthe
last 7-8 years, the depart-
ments that previously
did not get due impor-
tance are prioritised.
One such department
brought into the fore-
front is the Department
of Earth Sciences which
used to work in anonym-
ity earlier, he added.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates Seismological
Observatory in Udhampur on Tuesday.

06
INDIA
Surat hotel...
Apart from the outer cam-
pus of the hotel, policemen
are also deployed inside the
hotel, especially on the floor
where these “rebel leaders”
are staying. Since morning,
DCP-level officers were seen
visiting the premises at reg-
ular intervals and giving
necessary instructions to
on-duty police personnel.
While no outsider or visi-
tor is permitted to enter the
hotel premises, staffers are
allowed inside only after
checking their IDs and tak-
ing permission from the au-
thorities concerned. A large
group of journalists and
camera persons are camp-
ing outside the hotel to gath-
er news on the dramatic po-
litical developments con-
nected to Maharashtra,
where the Shiv Sena-led
Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)
ruling coalition is battling
its worst crisis since coming
to power in November 2019.
FROM PG 1
Mahesh Sharma
Ahmedabad: The Patel
chapter of the Congress
party was closed before
the assembly elections
in Gujarat. Congress’s
Decorated Patel leader
Hardik Patel has left the
party and is now root-
ing for Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party and Narendra
Modi. On the other
hand, Naresh Patel has
declared that he will not
enter active politics yet.
Remember, Naresh Pa-
tel is a leader of the in-
fluential Leuva Patel
community and is the
chairman of the Shrik-
hodladham Trust. He
said that senior people
associated with the so-
ciety do not want him to
enter politics. Anyway,
after the failure of the
Congress deal with
Prashant Kishor, it
seemed that Naresh Pa-
tel would stay away
from the Congress.
Keep in mind that
Naresh Patel’s joining
the Congress was dis-
cussed only at the time
of Prashant Kishor
joining the Congress. It
was Prashant Kishor
who had made him meet
the top Congress lead-
ers. Patel also had a con-
dition that if Prashant
Kishor contests the
Congress elections,
then he would join the
Congress. Now since he
has refused to enter ac-
tive politics, there is no
question of joining Con-
gress. In this way the
Congress once again
has kept itself away
from ‘Patel politics’.
Anyway, Congress nev-
er used to do Patel poli-
tics in Gujarat. Patels
have been voting for the
BJP for more than 30
years. Unlike the Patels,
the focus of the Con-
gress is on the weak
equations i.e. Kshatri-
yas, Harijans, Adivasis
and Muslims. This time
also the Congress will
fight the elections on
the same formula.
Turned down by Patels, Cong to focus on
traditional vote bank in poll-bound Guj
Guwahati (Agencies):
A total of 51 persons
have been killed and 139
injuredbytheAssampo-
lice in a number of cir-
cumstances since May
2021, the state govern-
menthastoldtheGauha-
tiHighCourtinresponse
to a plea that demands a
probeandcompensation
for such encounters
that may be fake.
The Home Depart-
ment's affidavit was
filed on Tuesday follow-
ing the court's direc-
tions on a PIL by Delhi-
based lawyer-activist
Arif Jwadder.
Some of these people
were killed in custody
,
such as those trying to
escape after snatching a
policeman's firearm,
while several others
were shot in the leg, as
per the affidavit. The
numbersalsoincludeac-
cused in some cases dy-
ing after being hit by
police vehicles when
going to verify their
statement at the crime
spot. Advocate General
Devajit Saikia appeared
for the government.
Jwadder has sought
the court's intervention
to register a case for
fake encounters and
an inquiry by the CBI,
or by a special team or
police from another
state, under the court's
supervision. He has de-
manded monetary com-
pensation for families
of victims once fake en-
counters are identified.
Above all, he raises
theissueof violationsof
theruleof lawandequal-
ity
... Police do not have a
licence to kill; the whole
idea of the CrPC is to ap-
prehend criminals and
bringthemtojustice,not
to kill them, the activist
said in his PIL, next be
heard on July 29.
PLEA SEEKS PROBE FOR ‘FAKE ENCOUNTERS’
ASSAM POLICE KILLED 51 PEOPLE
SINCE MAY 2021, GOVT TELLS HC Kolkata (Agencies):
West Bengal Police filed
an FIR against several
Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI) offic-
ers on Tuesday, includ-
ing Umesh Kumar, who
is heading the central
agency’s ongoing probe
in the coal smuggling
case in the state.
TheFIRhasbeenfiled
at the Bishnupur Police
Station under Diamond
Harbour sub-division in
South 24 Parganas dis-
trict of West Bengal. A
special team of Dia-
mond Harbour district
police has started probe
in the matter.
Recently
, a resident of
Diamond Harbour filed
a complaint at the local
police station alleging
that he, along with some
other people were
threatened by the CBI
officials in the name of
interrogation pertain-
ing to the coal scam in-
vestigation. The com-
plainant also alleged
that CBI investigators
had been putting pres-
sure on them to give
statements according to
their instructions and
also record those state-
ments.HenamedUmesh
Kumarinthecomplaint.
It is learnt that
Umesh Kumar was a
part of the CBI team
who went to the resi-
dence of Trinamool
Congress’ national
general secretary and
the party MP, Ab-
hishek Banerjee’s resi-
dence in South Kolkata
on June 14 this year to
interrogate his wife
Rujira Narula Baner-
jee in connection with
the coal scam.
Bengal Police book
CBI officials probing
coal smuggling case
New Delhi (Agencies):
Inthelatestdevelopment
in connection with the
CDSCObriberycase,the
CentralBureauof Inves-
tigation on Tuesday ar-
rested all the remaining
accused, who were alleg-
edly involved in waiving
the Phase-3 trial of In-
sulin Aspart Injection
of Biocon Biologics.
The CBI said that
they have arrested
Guljit Sethi, the Direc-
tor of Bioinnovat Re-
search Service Private
Limited; L. Praveen Ku-
mar, the Associate
Voice President and
Head of National Regu-
latory Affairs of Biocon
Biologics Limited; and
Animesh Kumar, the
Assistant Drug Inspec-
tor of CDSCO.
The CBI had on Mon-
day arrested E. Eswara
Reddy, the Joint Drug
Controller (JDC) of CD-
SCO and Dinesh Dua,
the Director of Delhi-
based Synergy Network
India Private Limited.
CBI arrest three
more accused in
Biocon Biologics
bribery case
Srinagar (Agen-
cies): Four militants
were killed in two sep-
arate gunfights in the
Valley on Tuesday.
While two Jaish-e-Mo-
hammad (JeM) mili-
tants were killed in
south Kashmir’s Pul-
wama, two militants
were killed in north
Kashmir’s Sopore.
In less than 48
hours, the Kashmir
Valley has witnessed
five gunfights between
militants and the
armed forces, result-
ing in the deaths of 11
militants. Officials
say that 118 militants
have been killed in the
Valley this year.
On the intervening
night of June 20 and 21,
a joint team of J-K Po-
lice, Army and para-
military forces cor-
doned off the Tulibal
neighbourhood of
Sopore in north Kash-
mir after inputs about
the presence of mili-
tants in the area.
As the joint team of
forces launched search-
es, the militants opened
fire while trying to
break the security cor-
don. The joint team re-
turned the fire, leading
to a gunfight that lasted
several hours.
Police said two mili-
tants have been killed
in the gunfight. “Sopo-
reEncounterUpdate: 01
more terrorist killed
(total 2). Search going
on. Further details
shall follow,” JK Po-
lice tweeted.
Four ultras killed in 2 separate
ops,11 in less than 48 hours
Guwahati (PTI): As-
sam's flood situation
which have claimed 82
lives till now, remained
critical with the River
Brahmaputra and
Barak along with its
tributaries in spate on
Tuesday, affecting some
48 lakh people.
Officials said NDRF
personnel from Bhu-
baneswar have been
rushedtotwodistrictsof
Karimganj and Cachar
in Barak Valley where
situation is grim.
''Four units of the
NDRF from Bhubane-
swar with a total of 105
personnelhavebeensent
to Silchar to carry out
rescue operations in
Barak Valley'', he said,
thankingHomeMinister
for this “prompt help”.
As flood worsens, NDRF
rushed to Assam dists
Gauhati HC had directed Home Dept to file a response after a plea alleged fake encounters
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced a crackdown on alleged drug dealers,
smugglers, murderers, cattle lifters and those accused of rape. —FILE PHOTO
Is Haryana’s Lal
ParivarwithBJP?
Sharat K Verma
Chandigarh: There
wasatimewhenHary-
ana was dominated by
the ‘Lal Parivar’ and
the entire politics of
the state used to re-
volve around them.
Butif theireffectisnot
completelyovernow,it
can surely be said that
it has definitely re-
duced a lot. After this
time’s Rajya Sabha
elections,a‘jumla’was
heard about the family
of the three ‘Lals’ of
Haryana, that the
threefamiliesarecom-
pletely in support of
BJP
, although it can
not be said for certain
how true or untrue
this claim is.
Keep in mind that
the family of Chaud-
hary Devi Lal is divid-
ed but in the Rajya
Sabha elections, the
entire family voted for
the BJP
. Dushyant
Chautala is already
with the BJP but his
uncle and the lone
INLD MLA Abhay
Chautalaalsovotedfor
a BJP-backed inde-
pendent candidate.
KuldeepBishnoi,son
of Haryana’s second
Lal - Bhajan Lal- is in
Congress but he voted
for a BJP-backed inde-
pendent on the basis of
conscienceintheRajya
Sabha elections. Now
there is speculation of
him joining the BJP
. In
this way the family of
two Lals - Devi Lal and
Bhajan Lal - is directly
with the BJP
. The third
i.e.Banshilal’sfamilyis
officially with the Con-
gress, but it is being
said that in the RS
polls, Banshilal’s
daughter-in-law Kiran
Choudhary deliberate-
ly made her vote inva-
lid to ensure BJP-
backed Independent’s
victory
.Althoughsheis
denying this, the Con-
gress leaders, on the
otherhand,findithard
to digest her claim.
BRIEF
in
in
1984 Anti-Sikh
Riots: Two More
Held for Mass
Killings in Kanpur
Kanpur (PTI): A spe-
cial investigation team
(SIT) probing the anti-
Sikh riots in Kanpur in
1984 arrested two more
people for mass killings
and setting a house
ablaze, in which three
people were charred to
death, said a senior offi-
cial on Tuesday
. The ar-
rests were made from
Ghatampur and the
number of those held
by the SIT so far has
reached six. The SIT
was formed by the Ut-
tar Pradesh govern-
ment three years ago to
re-investigate the cases
related to the riots,
which had claimed 127
lives in Kanpur.
RJD MLA Anant
Singh gets 10
years RI in arms
recovery case
Patna (PTI): The RJD
MLA from Mokama,
Anant Singh, who was
found guilty in a case
where the Patna police
recovered an AK-47, gre-
nades, magazines and
other weapons from his
Ladma residence, has
been sentenced to 10
years of rigorous im-
prisonment by a special
court in Patna on Tues-
day
. The MP-MLA court
pronounced the quan-
tum of punishment
against the Mokama
MLA. The court had last
Tuesday held him guilty
under the Arms Act.
ED PROTEST: MAHILA CONGRESS
PRESIDENT SPITS AT COPS
New Delhi (Agencies): Mahila Congress president Netta
D'Souza was seen spitting at police officers while having a
scuffle with the cops during protest in Delhi against ques-
tioning of Rahul Gandhi by the ED.
A video has come up that shows
D'Souza spitting at the cops just
before closing the door of the vehi-
cle she was in. BJP spokesperson
Shehzad Ponnawalla shared the
video on Twitter slamming the Con-
gress leader for the act. Shameful
Disgusting After beating up cops in Assam, holding their
collar on Hyderabad now Mahila Congress President Netta
Dsouza spits at cops women security personnel merely
because Rahul is being questioned by ED for corruption Will
Sonia,Priyanka Rahul act on her? (sic), he tweeted.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Congress leader
Alka Lamba alleged
that while she was pro-
testing peacefully with
her hands tied, the po-
lice was trying to break
her neck. Alka Lamba
was staging a protest in
Delhi against the ED’s
questioning of Rahul
Gandhi as well as well
as the government’s
Agnipath scheme.
A video of the inci-
dent shows Alka Lam-
ba sitting on the road.
When asked to move,
the Congress leader lay
on the ground and
started chanting
“Bharat mata ki jai, Jai
Jawan, Jai Kisan.”
‘Cops tried to break my neck’, accuses Alka
Congress leader Alka Lamba during protest in Delhi.
Manohar Lal Khattar Dushyant Chautala
‘THE CHARGES’
BILATERAL MEET
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla meets Nguyen Van Nen,
Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of
Vietnam Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City in New
Delhi on Tuesday. They also discussed a range of issues
concerning bilateral parliamentary cooperation.

BIZ BUZZ
07
New Delhi (PTI): Del-
hi-NCR has highest va-
cancy of office space at
28.5%, while Pune has
the lowest at 8.5% be-
cause of higher de-
mand of premium
workspace from IT/
ITeS sector, according
to property consultant
Anarock.
As per the data of
Grade-A office build-
ings across seven major
cities of the country,
Chennai has an office
vacancy of 10.35%,
Bengaluru 11.25% and
Hyderabad 15%.
Office vacancies in
NCR are the highest
among the top 7 cities
at 28.5%, followed by
Kolkata at 23.5% and
MMR (Mumbai Metro-
politan Region) about
16%.
IT hubs Pune, Ben-
galuru, Chennai and
Hyderabad have lower
Grade A office vacan-
cies.
“IT/ITeS remained
one of the most buoy-
ant sectors during the
pandemic. This sector
helped India’s top four
IT/ITeS-driven cities to
keep Grade A office va-
cancies firmly in
check,” Anarock said.
In contrast, cities
like NCR, MMR and
Kolkata, with
signifi-
cant of-
f i c e
demand also coming
from non-IT sectors
such as BFSI and man-
ufacturing/industrial,
recorded higher office
vacancies.Anarock
Chairman Anuj Puri
said: “NCR currently
with the highest vacan-
cy levels has approx.
26 million square feet of
planned or under-con-
struction office stock,
while MMR has just 15
million square feet of
such inventory
.”
Kolkata has a mere 2
million square feet of
planned or under-con-
struction office stock.
According to the
data, Bengaluru has the
maximum Grade A of-
fice stock of about 168
million square feet, fol-
lowed by Delhi-NCR at
128 million square feet,
MMR at 108 million
square feet.
DUE TO HIGH DEMAND
Diwali in Oct was set as a timeline for a draft FTA after British PM’s talks with PM Modi
HOPEFUL FOR CONCLUSION OF
INDIA-UK FTA BY DIWALI: GOYAL
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion minister Piyush
Goyal has expressed
hope that the free trade
agreement between In-
dia and the United
Kingdom will be con-
cluded by Diwali.
The minister for
commerce and indus-
try and textiles said
that the government is
moving ahead on free
trade pacts with Cana-
da, EU and the UK.
Moreover, Goyal in-
formed that Australia,
Israel and the Gulf Co-
operation Countries
have expressed interest
to forge Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs)
with India, along with
Eurasia and Brazil.
The Gulf Coopera-
tion Council (GCC) is a
political and economic
union of Arab states
bordering the Gulf. It
was established in 1981
and its six members in-
clude the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Ara-
bia, Qatar, Oman, Ku-
wait and Bahrain.
Diwali in October
was set as a timeline
for a draft FTA after
British PM Boris John-
son’s talks with PM
Narendra Modi during
the former’s visit to the
country last month.
“All countries are ea-
ger to make friendship
with India, as we offer
huge opportunity and
promise. We are mov-
ing ahead on FTA with
Canada, EU, UK. Aus-
tralia, Even GCC and
Israel along with Eura-
sia and Brazil have
shown their interest to
forge FTA with India. I
am hopeful that by Di-
wali, India-UK FTA
will be concluded,”
Goyal said.
He observed that ap-
parel, fashion jewel-
lery and MICE (Meet-
ings, Incentives, Con-
ferences and Exhibi-
tions) are three indus-
tries where India has
to grow.
Total trade between
India and the UK stood
at USD 16 billion in
FY22 (Apr-Feb). The
UK was India’s 17th
largest trading partner
during the period.
A free trade agree-
ment is a trade pact ac-
cording to internation-
al law to form a free
trade area between the
cooperating states.
FTAs with UAE, OZ to boost apparel exports
New Delhi (PTI): Free trade
agreements (FTAs) signed by
India with the UAE and Australia
will boost product and market
diversification of the apparel sec-
tor’s existing basket, AEPC said
on Tuesday. AEPC Chairman
Naren Goenka said the global
apparel market, which was just
under $1.5 trillion in 2013, is
expected to generate revenues to
the tune of $1.8 trillion in 2022
and $1.9 trillion in 2025. He said
India offers the world a complete
value chain solution from farm
to fashion. Talking about the
ongoing 67th India International
Garment Fair (IIGF) at Greater
Noida, he said it provides a direct
marketing platform to MSME
exporters from across the coun-
try, as it has brought together
almost 500 exhibitors and more
than 2,000 overseas buyers and
buying agents. The buyers are
visiting from countries like the
US, Brazil, Japan, UK, Spain,
Australia, Poland, Colombia,
Greece, Italy, and Egypt. “The
council is taking efforts towards
promoting Brand India at various
global platforms, showcasing
its strength on sustainability,
circularity, ethical sourcing and
manufacturing, labour stand-
ards, women employment with
no child labour,” Goenka added.
“I have set a modest target for
the apparel sector, which is to
double the production and triple
the exports. So, this 15 per cent
growth is achievable,” Goyal said
Mkts climb for 2nd day,
Sensex up by nearly 2%
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark indices advanced
for the second straight
session on Tuesday,
with the Sensex and
Nifty jumping nearly
2% each, mirroring a
rally in global equity
markets. Buying in in-
dex majors Reliance In-
dustries and IT stocks
buoyed the bench-
marks. The BSE Sensex
zoomed 934.23 points or
1.81% to settle at
52,532.07. the NSE Nifty
climbed 288.65 points or
1.88% to finish at
15,638.80.
From the Sensex
pack, Titan, SBI, TCS,
HCL Technologies, Dr
Reddy’s, Tata Steel,
Wipro, Infosys, ITC and
Tech Mahindra were
the major gainers. Only
Nestle India ended mar-
ginally lower.
BRIEF
in
in
5G subscriptions in
India seen at 500 mn
by 2027-end: Report
Monthly instalment
scheme to help
discoms in savings
Akasa Air takes
delivery of first
aircraft
New Delhi (PTI):
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-
promoted Akasa Air's
first aircraft Boeing
737 MAX arrived here
on Tuesday, bringing
it closer to securing
the mandatory Air
Operator Permit to
start operations.
` DROPS 12
PAISE TO 78.10
AGAINST US
DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI):
The rupee declined
12 paise to close
at 78.10 (provi-
sional) against
the US dollar
on Tuesday, as
persistent foreign
fund outflows and
a jump in crude
oil prices weighed
on investor
sentiment. At the
interbank foreign
exchange market,
the local currency
opened at 78.00
and finally ended
at 78.10, down
12 paise over its
previous close. On
Monday, the rupee
had appreciated 7
paise to settle at
77.98.
New Delhi (PTI): The 5G
subscriptions in India
will touch 500 million by
2027-end, accounting for
39% of mobile subscrib-
ers, according to a report
by Swedish telecom gear
maker Ericsson. The com-
mercial launches of 5G
networks are planned for
the second half of 2022 in
India, with enhanced mo-
bile broadband expected
to be the initial main use
case, the Ericsson Mobility
Report said.
New Delhi (PTI): New
equated monthly instal-
ment scheme introduced
by power ministry can
help electricity distribution
companies (discoms) save
a quarter of their additional
payouts and clear around
`20,000 crore payments to
generation firms (gencos)
this fiscal, according to
Crisil Ratings. If discoms
clear the fresh dues and
EMIs on time, going for-
ward, they won’t be billed
for LPS by gencos.
Doha (PTI): It is not
easy for an airline to
operate in India and if
the Tata Group cannot
make Air India work,
no one else in the coun-
try will be able to do so,
Emirates President
Tim Clark has said.
“Air India should be as
big as United Airlines.
It should be as big be-
cause of its domestic
market as well as the
NRIs abroad and the
amount of economic
activity that goes in
and out of India. It is a
goldmine,” Clark said
on Monday
.
While Air India cur-
rently has approxi-
mately 128 planes in its
fleet, Chicago-based
United Airlines has
860-odd aircraft.
“You (India) have got
a billion population
with an NRI diaspora
which is so big and
growing all the time
that for the notion that
Air India would not be
one of the largest in-
ternational carriers in
the world defies all
sense,” Clark said.
The Tata Group took
control of loss-making
and debt-ridden Air In-
dia on January 27 after
successfully winning
the bid for the airline
on October 8 last year.
Clark stated, “I
think the best thing
that could have hap-
pened to Air India was
for Tatas to take it over.
One of the first air-
lines to buy Boeing 707
aircraft in 1959 or
1960.” He said that for
decades, Air India has
continued to be a small
player on the interna-
tional scene.
ONGCseeksminimum
$17priceforBokarogas
New Delhi (PTI):
State-owned Oil and
Natural Gas Corpora-
tion (ONGC) is seeking
a minimum $17 price
for the gas it plans to
produce from coal
seams in its Bokaro
CBM block in
Jharkhand. ONGC in-
vited bids for the sale of
0.20 million standard
cubic metres per day of
gas it plans to produce
from the Bokaro CBM
block by the year-end,
according to a tender
document.
It sought bids on a
formula indexed to the
prevailing Brent crude
oil price. The reserve or
floor price of gas will be
14% of the Dated Brent
crude oil Price plus $1
per million British
thermal unit, ONGC
said in the tender.
Bidders will have to
quote a premium they
are willing to offer over
this reserve price.
The floor price will
be the government-
mandated price for do-
mestic natural gas plus
a $1 per mmBtu mark-
up. The “Contract Gas
price shall be the high-
er of the 14% of Dated
Brent Price plus $1 per
mmBtu plus ‘P’ (the bid-
dable parameter); or the
floor price,” it said.
India ranks
4th in global
gold recycling
MFs can start
investing in int’l
stocks: Sebi
Mumbai (PTI): India
has emerged as the
fourth largest recycler
in the world and the
country has recycled 75
tonnes in 2021, accord-
ing to a World Gold
Council (WGC) report.
According to the WGC
report, China topped
the global gold recy-
cling chart as it recy-
cled 168 tonnes of the
yellow metal, followed
by Italy in the second
position with 80 tonnes
and the US at the third
rank with 78 tonnes in
2021. India was ranked
fourth in the list as the
country recycled 75
tonnes in 2021. Accord-
ing to the WGC report
titled ‘Gold refining and
recycling’ from 300
tonnes in 2013, India’s
gold refining capacity
increased by 1,500
tonnes (500%) in 2021.
New Delhi (PTI): Capi-
tal markets regulator
Sebi has permitted mu-
tual funds to again in-
vest in foreign stocks
within the aggregate
mandated limit of $7
billion for the industry
.
“Mutual fund
schemes may resume
subscriptions and make
investments in overseas
funds/securities up to
the headroom available
without breaching the
overseas investment
limits as of end-of-day
of February 1, 2022, at
the mutual fund level,”
Sebi said in a communi-
cation sent to Amfi.
Also, the regulator
has asked Association
of MFs in India to en-
sure that the total utili-
sation of the overseas
limit by each AMC or
mutual fund remains
capped at the Feb level.
Metro projects to
generate biz opps
New Delhi (PTI): The
domestic metro rail
projects will provide
business opportuni-
ties worth `80,000
crore for construction
companies over the
next five years, ac-
cording to ICRA.
In India, 15 cities
have operational met-
ro networks of about
746 km, the agency
said adding another
seven cities have un-
der-implementation
metro projects of
about 640 km. This is
apart from 1,400 km of
metro rail projects
worth `2 trillion in the
approval/proposal
stages, of which a 352-
km of new metro net-
work has been ap-
proved. Metro rail pro-
jects offer `80,000
crore business oppor-
tunities to construc-
tion firms over the
next five years, it said.
Britannia to
strengthen
cake portfolio
New Delhi (PTI):
Bakery food com-
pany Britannia
Industries will
seek to tap oppor-
tunities in the
cake category
through the
launch of innova-
tive products at
different price
points and expan-
sion in rural mar-
kets.
B r i t a n n i a ’ s
strategy is to
strengthen the
cake portfolio by
launching new
products, premiu-
mising and grow-
ing the base cake
portfolio and cre-
ating new-to-mar-
ket formats at af-
fordable price
points. “This cate-
gory offers vari-
ous opportunities
for launch of inno-
vative products at
different price
points and expan-
sion in rural mar-
kets,” it said.
‘If Tatas can’t make Air India
work,nooneelseinIndiacan’
‘Appreciate Indian govt’s idea
to make AI a strong player’
Doha (PTI): Most
of the growth in the
Indian international
passenger market has
been taken up by the
airlines based out of
the Gulf region and
the Lufthansa Group
appreciates the Indian
government’s idea
to make Air India
a strong player to
regain that market
share, its Chief Ex-
ecutive Officer (CEO)
Carsten Spohr has
said.India’s interna-
tional passenger mar-
ket is dominated by
international airlines,
mainly carriers based
out of the Gulf region
such as Emirates and
Qatar Airways.
Delhi-NCR has highest vacancy of office space

08
2NDFRONT
The language between true friends is
not made of words but of meanings.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: In the first
six months of 2021,
Mumbai witnessed
more than six-fold
increase in monthly
heart attack deaths
when compared to
previous years. Be-
tween January and
June 2021, as many
as 3,000 people died
in the city from
heart attacks each
month, up from 500
in 2020.
According to data
provided by the
B r i h a n m u m b a i
Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC), a total of
5,849 patients died
from heart attacks in
Mumbai in 2019. This
fell by 3.6% when 5,633
patients died from the
disease in 2020. How-
ever, between January
and June 2021, a total
of 17,880 people died
from heart attacks in
the city, a 217% in-
crease over the previ-
ous year, according to
a reply to an RTI re-
quest filed by activist
Chetan Kothari.
“Prior to the pan-
demic, cancer was the
leading cause of death.
However, while cancer
deaths decreased last
year, heart attacks in-
creased significantly,”
a civic body official
said.
It has been observed
that Sars-CoV-2 injures
the heart and blood
vessels in infected pa-
tients, which leads to
the development of
clots, heart inflamma-
tion, arrhythmias and
heart failure.
According to Dr
Avinash Supe, in-
charge of the COV-
ID-19 death commit-
tee, there are three
major reasons for the
surge in deaths relat-
ed to heart attack —
possibility of devel-
opment of thrombosis
among recovered Cov-
id-19 patients, delay
in diagnosis of pa-
tients during the pan-
demic and better re-
cording of data.
lll
According to
BMC’s statistics,
nearly 3,000
individuals lost
their lives to
heart attacks
every month in
Mumbai city
between
January and
June 2021
STATS REVEAL
17,880
people died from heart
attacks in the city
between January and
June 2021
3,000
people died in the city
from heart attacks each
month
217%
increase in such deaths
over the previous year,
according to a RTI reply
Rise in monthly heart attack deaths in first six months of 2021
Min Parab appears
before ED in money
laundering case
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Transport Minis-
ter Anil Parab ap-
peared before the En-
forcement Directo-
rate (ED) on Tuesday
in connection with
money laundering
probe being conduct-
ed by the agency,
sources said.
The ED had sum-
moned Parab for ques-
tioning in the money
laundering investiga-
tion linked to alleged
violation of coastal
regulation zone provi-
sions in the construc-
tion of a resort in
Dapoli beach area of
Maharashtra’s Ratna-
giri district.
Parab, 57, is a three-
time Shiv Sena legisla-
tor in the Maharashtra
Legislative Council,
the Upper House of the
Legislature, and the
state transport and par-
liamentary affairs min-
ister.
On Tuesday, Parab
reached the ED’s office
at Ballard Estate in
south Mumbai at 11.20
am, the sources said.
He was earlier sum-
moned on June 15, but
skipped the deposition
then citing official
work.
The federal agency
wants to question and
record Parab’s state-
ment under the Pre-
vention of Money
Laundering Act
(PMLA), officials said
earlier.
The ED had raided
his premises and those
allegedly linked to him
in May, after lodging a
fresh case under the
PMLA against him and
others.
Bail to student facing multiple FIRs
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Tuesday granted bail
to a 22-year-old phar-
macy student from
Nashik, who was ar-
rested last month for
an alleged objection-
able tweet against Na-
tionalist Congress
Party (NCP) Sharad
Pawar.
A bench led by Jus-
tice Nitin Jamdar ob-
served that the high
court could not lose
sight of the fact that
Nikhil Bhamare was
“just a student”, and
that he had been in jail
for over a month for a
social media post.
Bhamare faces six
FIRs registered in dif-
ferent districts of the
state over that one
tweet.
Though the tweet
does not name Pawar,
the Maharashtra police
have claimed that it is
“defamatory” and “that
it promotes enmity be-
tween different groups
on the basis of religion
or race.”
Bhamare was grant-
ed bail in the first and
the sixth FIRs by two
magistrate courts,
while his pleas in the
second and third FIRs
were rejected and he
had approached the
high court challenging
the two orders. He is yet
to be arrested in the
fourth and the fifth
FIRs, the state police in-
formed the court.
Justice Jamdar then
said that the bench will
grant relief to Bhamare
in the two cases where
his bail pleas had been
rejected, while the po-
lice are restrained from
arresting him in the
fourth and the fifth cas-
es.
“An element of public
interest is involved
here. He is a student,
who has been in jail for
over a month. We are
granting him bail in CR
numbers two and
three,” the court said,
adding that the police
will be restrained from
arresting Bhamare in
cases where he is yet to
be arrested.
Bhamare was arrest-
ed by the Nashik police
on May 19, following a
complaint against him
over the said tweet and
he has been in custody
since then.
The petitioner’s coun-
sel Subhash Jha on
Tuesday argued that the
Supreme Court had
ruled that multiple FIRs
must not be registered
against someone for one
offence. “This is a con-
temptof theapexcourt’s
order and a breach of
his (Bhamare’s) funda-
mental rights.
Bombay HC grants
Nikhil Bhamare
relief in two cases
over tweets on
Sharad Pawar
SANJEEV KHANNA GETS BAIL
An element of public interest is involved
here. He is a student, who has been in jail
for over a month. We are granting him bail
in CR numbers two and three. —Bombay High Court
ACCOUNTABLE
UNDER THE LAW
‘File reply to trans person’s
plea seeking job reservation’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Tuesday sought re-
sponses from the Ma-
harashtra govern-
ment and the Maha-
rashtra State Elec-
tricity Transmission
Company (MA-
HATRANSCO) to a
plea filed by a
transgender person
seeking reservation
in jobs at the state-
run utility.
A bench comprising
Chief Justice Dipankar
Datta and Justice Am-
jad Sayed issued notices
to the state authorities
and directed them to
file their replies within
two weeks.
The court was hear-
ing a plea filed by a pe-
titioner, who identifies
herself as a transgen-
der person.
In the plea filed
through advocate Kran-
ti LC, the petitioner
said that MA-
HATRANSCO had ad-
vertised for jobs for
around 170 people.
While it provided for
reservations based on
caste and tribe, and also
for Other Backward
Classes (OBCs), women
and persons with physi-
cal disabilities, it did
not provide reserva-
tions for transgender
people.
Though the govern-
ment-run MA-
HATRANSCO allowed
persons of the third
gender to apply for the
said vacancies, no res-
ervation was provided
for candidates belong-
ing to the category, stat-
ed the petition.
This was despite pre-
vious judgments of the
Supreme Court direct-
ing that such reserva-
tion be provided, it
stated.
The petitioner fur-
ther claimed that the
lack of reservation
breached her funda-
mental right to earn a
living as guaranteed by
Article 19 of the Indian
Constitution.
NO PROVISION
HC asks govt,
MAHATRANSCO
to respond to
petitioner’s plea
‘within two weeks’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Road accident
deaths in the city increased
by 11% in 2021, while Maha-
rashtra experienced the
highest number of such fa-
talities in five years. Last
year, there were 37 deaths on
state roads every day, which
equates to three deaths every
two hours, the highest in re-
cent years.
In Mumbai, fatalities in-
creased from 349 to 387 in 2021
compared to 2020, but were
still lower than in pre-COV-
ID-19 times. In 2021, Mumbai
continued to witness most
number of road accidents
(2,230), while Nashik rural had
the most number of fatalities
(862).
In terms of deaths, Mumbai
slipped a spot in a year to rank
10th among Maharashtra’s dis-
tricts in 2021. The leading cause
of accidents was speeding, fol-
lowed by drunk driving and
lane cutting. The statistics
were released by the
transportation department on
Monday
.
StateTransportCommission-
er Avinash Dhakne said the de-
partment’s mission was to “re-
duce fatalities across the state
by 50% in five years”.
Dhakne has directed his
team to review
black spots - accident-prone ar-
eas - in the city and across the
state in order to reduce crashes.
Anil Parab
UAE GOLDEN VISA GRANTED
Dr. Jagdeesh Chandra was granted Golden Visa by the UAE (United Arab Emirates) on Tuesday.
Dr. Chandra received the 10 year Golden Visa in person in Dubai. The visa was granted to him
for his outstanding work in the field of Journalism and promoting fashion and talent in Dubai.
Dr. Jagdeesh Chandra hosted two seasons of Fashion Connect in Dubai, which were attended
by the members of the royal family of Dubai and highly appreciated by everyone.
Mumbai’s road mishap deaths rise 11% in 1 year
Transport
dept has sought
help from NGOs to
help mitigate vehicle
speed and crashes
this year
Bombay High Court
—FILE PHOTO

A
fter the release of Allu Arjun, Rash-
mika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil
starrer Pushpa: The Rise in Decem-
ber last year, fans are eagerly
waiting for its sequel. And now
even before Pushpa 2 has gone on
the floors, speculations are rife
that Rashmika’s character
Srivalli might get killed in the
sequel. According to the sourc-
es, Pushpa producer Y. Ravi
Shankar clarifies the rumours.
“That’s all trash,” he states, fur-
ther adding, “This is all nonsense.
Until now we didn’t hear the story
to be fair and frank, so it’s not like
that, and all these are speculations.
At this point in time, you write
anything on that film, no one
knows anything about that, so they
believe in it. This is being carried
by other websites and TV
channels also, but it’s
false news.” So
Rashmika’s char-
acter does live in
part 2? “Ya ya,
sure,” confirms
Y. Ravi Shankar.
09
A
nushka Sharma is prep-
ping hard for her return
to the movies. The ac-
tress will be making
her onscreen comeback after
almost 3.5 years with Chak-
da Xpress. In the biopic,
Anushka will be telling
Indian cricketer Jhulan
Goswami’s life story.
Anushka began her
prep in February and
has now started shoot-
ing in Mumbai. “A film
of this scale needed tre-
mendous prep in all de-
partments. It is a delight-
ful script that intends to
make strong statements,”
Anushka told sources. After
she wraps up the current shoot
in Mumbai, Anushka and the
crew are expected to fly to the UK
next month for an extensive sched-
ule. An ecstatic Anushka said, “It
is a fact that women have to go that
extra mile to earn their place in
this patriarchal world. Jhulan Gos-
wami’s life is a testimony to the
fact that she carved her own desti-
ny
, and fought for every inch of the
spotlight and recognition. I hope
that I can do justice to the script.”
T
amannaah Bhatia
made heads turn with
her desi look as she
was papped at the Mumbai
airport. The actress gave
out major goals on how to
keep it simple yet stylish
with an ethnic look and we
are stunned. She opted for a
blue floral Anarkali suit for
the airport look and looked
beautiful. With silver jhum-
kas, she made a statement
with her desi look. Tamannaah
Bhatiacompletelythelookwith
pink eye makeup and lipstick
and also tied her hair into a
sleek ponytail. She also carried
a book in hand and posed for
paps with her bright smile.
A
s we reported earlier that after his
divorce from Samantha Ruth Prab-
hu, Tollywood actor Naga Chaitan-
ya is dating the Made In Heaven
fame actress Sobhita Dhulipala. According
to sources, the Thank You star was spotted
with his ladylove at his new abode in Hy-
derabad. The couple looked extremely
comfortable in each other’s company
. The
fans claimed that Samantha is spreading
false reports regarding the actor. Taking
to Twitter, the Yashoda actress reacted
to the same, “Rumours on girl – Must
be true !! Rumours on boy – Planted
by girl !! Grow up guys ..Parties in-
volved have clearly moved on ..
you should move on too !! Con-
centrate on your work … on
your families .. move on!!”
MUMBAI, WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 22, 2022
DESI
LOOK
Rashmika’s character
killed in Pushpa 2? DATING
RUMOURS
ANUSHKA’S
COMEBACK
Kiara Advani
Tamannaah Bhatia
Spotted
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Anushka Sharma
Rashmika Mandanna
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
3 YEARS OF
KABIR SINGH
hahid Kapoor and Kiara Ad-
vani’s romantic drama film,
Kabir Singh released in 2019.
The film became one of the
biggest hits of the year. It
was a remake of Sandeep
Reddy Vanga’s Telugu film
Arjun Reddy (2017) which starred Vi-
jay Deverakonda and Shalini Pandey
in the lead. This film marked Shahid
and Kiara’s first collaboration togeth-
er and their camaraderie became the
talk of the town in no time. Their siz-
zling on-screen chemistry also won
millions of hearts of their fans.
Kabir Singh completed 3 years of
release on Tuesday and on this spe-
cial occasion, Shahid and Kiara
shared a special video on their social
media handle as they celebrated on
the sets of Karan Johar’s chat show,
Koffee With Karan S7.
S
Glimpse from Koffee with Karan S7
T
o celebrate International
Yoga Day, Bollywood cel-
ebs have been taking to
their social media han-
dles to share pictures and videos
of them doing Yoga and moti-
vating their fans to practise the
same. Alia too shared a cute
video to wish her fans on this
day and it featured her furry
friend Edward too. The video
begins with Edward walking away
from the camera toward the actress
who is sitting on her Yoga mat and is
in the middle of performing Yoga. She
has tied her hair in a bun and can be
seen lying on the floor. As Edward
walks toward her, Alia can be seen
playing with it. Sharing this video, Alia
wrote, “Happy Yoga Day from my Yoga
partner and me”.
Alia Bhatt
YOGA
WITH
ALIA AND
EDWARD

10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
VINNIE SONI, Blogger
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You need help on academic
front and you should not
shy away from asking. Your
spouse may make you
spend more than you expected.
Fantastic day for investing money in
stock market as you can make
fortune. You miss your parents a lot
and somewhere fear to loose them.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Best day to buy gold and
silver or any precious
metal for investment sake.
You love to live close to
your family. You are a child at heart
and never let this child die. You have
a big heart and you always help
someone if you can. Video gathering
is possible with your social circle.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
This is the best time try
something new with life
give yourself a new
purpose. You will feel
amorous towards your wife. Work on
your limitations, there can be no
better time than this. You have more
opposite sex friends than the same
and you may be judged for it.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Take stand where you need
to, don’t run in the same
direction where everybody
else is going. Visit a doctor
if you have any doubts about your
health. Don’t attack stress even if you
don’t have any. Let go of things that
are not in your control. You will work
hard to make your dream come true.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You are very fortunate to
have a great friend circle.
You are very generous by
nature and also you are the
backbone of your family. Today is a
favourable day for business. You may
postpone your study plans. Be
careful of the words that come out of
your mouth.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You are opportunist and this
will make you successful
one day. Your spouse is
someone who can do
anything for your happiness. There
may be delays in property possession
and it won’t effect you. You are happy
spending whole day at home. Help
your mothers at home today.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Boisterous behaviour is
what everyone needs right
now, do whatever you can
do to cheer everyone up.
You will feel financially comfortable
and infant you are in position to
invest money in some new venture.
Your personality will attract many
eligible bachelors.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Never demotivate someone
even if someone is not
capable of doing some-
thing. You make sure to
make things work your way. You are
most wanted by your friends. You
can have romantic affair in office and
a serious one. You will invest money
in clothes and accessories today.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Don’t make friends for
money and status rather
make friends who will stick
with you forever. You care
about you lover but somehow
hesitate in expressing that care. On
social front, you may have to spend
some extra money in buying gifts for
someone for some specific occasion.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You must create an
environment of under-
standing at home. You
need a break from day to
tensions and the way to cope up with
stress is to meditate. You will
succeed in any sort of examination if
you put your heart and soul to it.
Promotion can be expected.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Scrumptious food is what
you are craving for today.
You always maintain
cordial relationship with
everyone. You workout daily to keep
yourself fit. You may start a side
business to earn extra money. You
are not a jealous kind and you feel
happy for others.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You are a pro in your field
and none can beat you.
Female scorpios are
lioness and women around
are often jealous. You give tough
competition to people. Many people
get inspired by you. You will get
special treatment from your dear
ones. A good day for you.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
TRAVEL TO EXPAND
TRAVEL TO EXPAND
YOUR HORIZONS
YOUR HORIZONS
hisweekIthought
I’d share a slight-
ly different kind
of article. While
my recent writ-
ing has been
about specific
skills development and
about bringing up children
with a certain ethos, this
week is about travel. Argu-
ably one of the most fun
pursuits, travel is also one
of those activities that are
as educative, as it is, im-
mersive. Students who
have the opportunity to
travel can learn and grow
immensely
. How?
EXPOSURE
When one travels, one ex-
poses oneself to different
cultures, lifestyles, and
people. In sampling the
heritage, food, customs and
traditions of a people un-
known to oneself, one is
enriched and one becomes
knowledgeable about the
world. Travel to different
parts of the country and
the world endows us with a
new, fresh perspective. A
global viewpoint. It makes
us realize that in our eclec-
tic diversity
, which is to be
preserved and celebrated,
resides shared, common
humanity that transcends
boundaries, races, religion,
language and creed. Travel
then can be the most liber-
ating, uplifting, evolution-
ary pursuit there is.
CREATIVITY
Through travel, one also
feels extremely inspired.
The sights, sounds, people,
and goings-on of a place
can compel us to express
our emotions in different
ways. From the most obvi-
ous travel writing to pho-
tography, writing poetry,
painting, and sketching;
there are infinite ways of
translating one’s experi-
ences of a place. Inspira-
tion is always readily at
hand when one is travel-
ling, and this can manifest
incountlesscreativeforms.
KNOW ONESELF
Perhaps the greatest bene-
ficiary of travel is one’s
personality. Many happy
accidents can take place
along one’s travels. One
could, for example, fall in
love and find one’s life
partner. In another in-
stance, one could spot a
rare kind of art or craft
and realize it is that craft
that is one’s calling. From
tiny realizations about
oneself and one’s charac-
ter to big, life-changing
moments and incidents;
travel offers all this and
more. To travel then, is to
learn, completely
.
I urge everyone, espe-
cially young children and
students, to try and travel
as much as possible. Never
let any excuses come in the
way of this. It isn’t neces-
sary to travel abroad or to
some unaffordable exotic
destination. We are all
blessed to live in a country
that is a veritable gold-
mine of diverse experi-
ences and cultures, wait-
ing to be discovered.
Sharing a little sample
of my travel writing, a
snippet from a trip to Kol-
kata. Happy reading, and
bon voyage!
‘MY CITY OF JOY’
The bread for the day
would come from four dif-
ferent places. A loaf from
Flury’s, one from Saturday
club, another kind from
Cookie Jar and a fourth,
from a fourth place. As var-
ied as this, were the experi-
ences that Kolkata, the Cal-
cutta of my childhood,
would present, each time
I’d be here, for at least a
month, every summer va-
cation. ‘Nani Badi’ was a
dichotomous contradiction
of fun and firmness, of
adrenalin and routine, of
merriment and meditative-
ness. Calcutta is, charm-
ing, addictive, chaotic, and
charismatic, the beating
heart of the holiday
.
Camouflaged in all its
ivied glory
, my grandfa-
ther’s hundred and some-
thing-year-old white
green Victorian Bungalow,
5 Rainy Park, at the centre
of Ballygunge, the grandi-
ose backdrop of all the fes-
tivities.Thehouse,aresting
placeformychildhoodrem-
nants, a place of respite, a
sanctuaryof calm,anoasis,
only real! That my grand-
mother screaming at one
and all, constantly
, sounded
to my ears, like soothing
music, given the unsavoury
tones of my own home back
in Jaipur; made this ritual-
istic visit to the ‘bungalow’,
even more cathartic. Here,
amid countless trips to the
races, to Flury’s, to Sky-
room, to Blue Fox, to the
Oberoi and the Taj Bengal,
to Saturday
, Calcutta, Cal-
cutta Swimming, RCGC
clubs, AC Market and delec-
tables at Vineet Snack Bar,
to family lunches at ‘Kwali-
ty’ on Park Street, to muri
on Russel Street, to flying
radio-controlled aircraft in
the maidaan, to Badminton
in the house lawns, to being
introduced to The Doors
and the Carpenters and the
Beatles in my younger un-
cle’s upstairs Bar; I lived,
regained some modicum of
a childhood.
The moment I’d land in
this wonderfully eccentric,
poetic, talented city
, the fog
would lift, the heart would
swell, and there’d be clarity
of mind and purpose. The
purpose is to be a child, to
have fun, to just, be!
My grandmother (nani)
has always been an author-
itarian, stern woman. But
she provided and contin-
ues to till today, the maxi-
mum emotional support to
me. When I was younger, it
was by way of pampering.
Boat pastries galore, Sand-
esh by the dozens, and lat-
er, be it my choice of sub-
jects, vocation or life part-
ner; my one constantly
unwavering source of
strength, to her, I owe at
least half my sanity! My
grandfather (nana), a dot-
ing figure whose expres-
sion of love I have known
largely through his sheer
generosity
, indulgences, or
advice (albeit at times
questionable!); and that
whenever I’d want some-
thing, I’d only have to emit
as much as the suggestion
of a ‘cry’, and he’d order
my mum to procure the de-
sired item (a strategy espe-
cially effective in public)!
My younger uncle (mama),
the ‘cool’ one, the one to
look up to, idolize and emu-
late. The man who’d done it
all, from dj’ing to the Hima-
layan Rally! Whether it
was because he didn’t have
a son of his own, or be-
cause I am his sister’s son,
perhaps a combination of
the two, he has always
showered me with lots of
love, and lots of gifts. To
me, however, the former, I
cherish more. He made me
want to be cool, and it is so
important to have a ‘cool’
role model now isn’t it!
Calcutta, today Kolkata,
is much the same, though
much changed as well.
Now when I visit the city,
my mind grapples with the
vestiges of a time gone by.
It feels like ancient history
,
not just the place but even
my own time spent here. It
is a strange feeling. It’s
like I’m looking from the
outside, in. It is vaguely
familiar. The smells, the
sights, déjà vu unlimited.
The emotion, however, re-
mains the same. No matter
what happens within fami-
lies, and to this city, Kolk-
ata to me has been, and
will always stay, my Cal-
cutta, my City of Joy!
KARTIK BAJORIA
(the author is a Jaipur-based
Communication Skills
Educator Writer)
T

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