22122021 first india new delhi

Irani’s Instagram post ‘One Single
Slap From Mom’ goes viral again
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Women and Child De-
velopment Minister Sm-
riti Irani, who is an avid
Instagram user, has
again hit the headlines
for reasons other than
politics and the pleasant
ones. In her latest Insta-
gram post, the Union
Minister on Monday
night shared a hilarious
picture that was sent to
her by her mother.
In this post, that too
has gone viral in no
time, Irani reveals how
her mom cleaned her
aura in hilarious post.
Within hours, the post
hasgarneredover33,000
likes and over 1300 com-
ments, including those
from celebrities.
The actress-turned-
politician who recently
has turned author too
with her debut novel
“Lal Salaam”, has
shared a meme that
reads:“WhenIwasakid,
they didn’t take me to a
psychologist...My mom
was able to open my
chakra, stabilise my kar-
ma and clean my aura
with one single slap!”
The netizens were
amusedwithIrani’spost.
“My ma gleefully
sharedthiswithme...aur
kis kis ki mataji ne aise
auracleankihaikripaya
haath uthayein (Please
raise your hand if your
mother cleaned your
aura like this),” Smriti
wrote in the caption of
the post. “PS - Ma, love
you,” she added.
DELHI POLICE
CHIEF LAUNCHES
PROJECT FOR
SAFETY OF
CHILDREN IN CITY
New Delhi: Delhi Police
Commissioner Rakesh
Asthana launched Project
‘Abhaya’, a joint initiative
of the force and an NGO
for safety and secu-
rity of girls, the officials
said here. Speaking on
the occasion, Asthana
underlined that protec-
tion of women, children
and the weaker sections
is the utmost responsi-
bility of any society, and
police personnel have
to be extra-cautious and
devoted while dealing
with such matters, Delhi
Police PRO Chinmoy
Biswal said in a state-
ment.. P2
WOMEN’S MARRIAGE AGE
CAUSING PAIN TO SP: MODI
PM CHIDES RIVALS FOR BASHING DECISION; ATTENDS ‘NARI
SHAKTI’ PROGRAMME IN PRAYAGRAJ; TRANSFERS `1K CR TO SHGs
Prayagraj: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
took a jibe at the Sama-
jwadi Party on Tuesday
and said the govern-
ment’s decision to raise
the marriage of women
to 21 has caused pain to
some. PM Modi was ad-
dressing a rally in UP’s
Prayagraj, which was
attended by over two
lakh women.
Taking a swipe at
his rivals, PM Modi
said women are hap-
py with the govern-
ment’sdecisiontoraise
the marriage age but
this has caused pain to
some. “We are trying to
increase the age of
marriage of women
to 21 years so that
they can have time to
study and progress.
The country is taking
this decision for its
daughters. Everyone is
seeing who is having
problems with this...it
has caused pain to
some,” he said.
PM’s remark follows
aftersomeSPMPsmade
adverse comments on
the issue
recently
. PM
also took a dig at
SP rule from 2012
to 2017. Ahead of
the UP Assembly polls,
PM transferred Rs1,000
crore into bank ac-
counts of various self-
help groups. Nearly 16
lakh women will bene-
fit from the scheme.
Bill linking voter ID,
Aadhaar gets RS nod
New Delhi: The Elec-
tionLaws(Amendment)
Bill, which aims to im-
plement long-pending
electoral reforms in-
cluding linking Aad-
haar with the voter ID
card, was passed in the
Rajya Sabha amid a
walkout by the Opposi-
tion on Tuesday. The
Bill was passed in the
Lok Sabha on Monday
.
Besides linking elec-
toral roll to Aadhaar,
the proposed legislation
seeks to make the stat-
utes gender neutral by
substituting the term
‘wife’ with ‘spouse’ to al-
low husbands of service
voters to cast their vote
from the place where
their wives are posted.
It also seeks to provide
four qualifying dates—
January 1, April 1, July
1 and October 1—in a
year for registration of
voters, instead of a sin-
gle qualifying date—
January 1.
Earlier in the day, RS
proceedings were ad-
journed till post-lunch
session without trans-
acting any business af-
ter oppn objected to al-
location of time for pas-
sage of Election Laws
(Amendment) Bill with-
out them being part of
BAC meeting. —ANI
LOK SABHA ADJOURNED AS OPPN
DEMANDS MoS MISHRA’S SCALP
TMC MP DEREK O’BRIEN SUSPENDED
FROM RS FOR ‘UNRULY BEHAVIOUR’
New Delhi: Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm
on Tuesday following ruckus from Opposition
members demanding the resignation of Union
Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra
and to exempt Tamil Nadu from National Eligibility
cum Entrance Test (NEET). Opposition members
stormed the Well of the House shouting slogans
and displaying placards as soon as the Question
Hour began. Due to continued disruptions,
Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House 47
minutes into Question Hour.
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien
was on Tuesday suspended from Rajya Sabha
for remaining part of the
current Session for ‘unruly
behaviour’ in House. He
allegedly threw RS Rule
Book towards Chair during
discussion on Election Laws
(Amendment Bill) 2021.
He was suspended after House passed a motion
moved by MoS for Parl Affairs in this regard.
Prayagraj has
been land of con-
fluence of Ganga-
Yamuna-Saras-
wati, symbol of our mother
power for thousands of
years. Today this city is also
witnessing such a wonderful
confluence of women and
power. —Narendra Modi, PM
PM Modi interacts with women
during distribution of certificates
to women beneficiaries under
various government schemes at
Parade Ground, in Prayagraj on
Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Volatile Sensex
snaps falling,
surges 497 pts
New Delhi: Bottom
hunters gathered on
Dalal Street on Tuesday
after a sharp drop in the
previous sessions, tak-
ing benchmark indices
higher and helping
them snap two-day los-
ing streak.
The 30-share pack
Sensex rose 497 points
or 0.89 per cent to close
at 56,319.01. The index
closed nearly 600 points
lower from day’s high.
Its broader peer NSE
Nifty advanced 156.65
points or 0.94 per cent to
16,770.85.
However, selling at
high levels indicates
that the overall trend
remains weak in the
market.
20 anti-India YouTube
channels blocked by govt
New Delhi: The central
government blocked 20
YouTube channels and
two websites on Tues-
day for spreading anti-
India propaganda and
fake news on the inter-
net, according to the
Ministry of informa-
tion and broadcasting.
Theministrysaidthat
the now blocked chan-
nels and websites be-
longed to a coordinated
disinformation network
from Pakistan and used
to post divisive content
on Kashmir, Indian
Army
, Ram Mandir, mi-
nority communities,
and CDS General Bipin
Rawat,amongothervar-
ious sensitive subjects
related to India.
INSTA ACCOUNTS
OF MY KIDS TOO
HACKED: PRIYANKA
Lucknow: Asked to com-
ment on pre-election raids
on political opponents,
Congress leader Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra went one step
further on Tuesday, accusing
the government of preying
on her children on social
media. “They are even hack-
ing my children’s Instagram
accounts, let alone phone
tapping. Do they not have
any other work?” she said.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
NEW DELHI lWEDNESDAY
, DECEMBER 22, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.113
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
At least three people were killed and 44 injured after a massive fire broke out
at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) refinery at Haldia in West Bengal’s Purba
Medinipur district on Tuesday afternoon. Sources said that they had seen a flash
which might have started the fire. Authorities have started a probe to ascertain
the cause of the incident.
Bhilwara: 12 employees of Agucha Mines were injured when a blast occurred
in a vehicle that was moving ahead of them in Bhilwara district. “Employees
were moving in a vehicle when a blast occurred in another which was moving
ahead. They were admitted to a hospital where their condition is stable,” SHO of
Gulabpura police station Satish said.
3 KILLED, OVER 40
INJURED IN FIRE AT
IOC REFINERY IN
WEST BENGAL
12 EMPLOYEES OF
AGUCHA MINES
INJURED IN BLAST
IN BHILWARA
OMICRON SPREADS ITS
TENTACLES IN MAHA,
EVADES VACCINE TOO
Mumbai: Eighty-one
percent of the 54 pa-
tients detected with
the Omicron variant
in Maharashtra are
cases of break-
through infections,
which means they
got infected while
they were fully vac-
cinated. A few have
even taken a third in-
jection of Pfizer vac-
cine. According to
experts, this is in line
with the growing evi-
dence that the vari-
ant can evade the im-
mune response.
LOK SABHA MP KUNWAR DANISH ALI
TESTS +VE, WAS IN PARL ON MONDAY
BOOSTER JAB TO
HELP: MODERNA
`1 LAKH FINE FOR PLEA AGAINST PM
MODI’S PIC ON VACCINE CERTIFICATES
New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Kunwar Danish Ali, who
attended Parliament on Monday, said he has tested
positive for Covid-19. The BSP leader added that he is
fully vaccinated, and urged people who had come in
contact with him to isolate themselves. “Despite being
fully vaccinated, today, I tested positive for #COVID19.
Yesterday, I attended Parliament also. I request all
those who came in my contact to get tested and isolate
themselves. I am having mild symptoms and hope to
recover soon,” he tweeted.
Washington: Moderna
has said that a booster
dose of its Covid-19
vaccine should offer
protection against
the rapidly spreading
Omicron. Moderna said
lab tests showed the
half-dose booster shot
increased by 37 times
the level of so-called
neutralizing antibodies
able to fight Omicron.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala HC on Tuesday dismissed a
petition questioning PM Modi’s picture on Covid-19 vax
certificates & fined the petitioner `1 lakh while calling the
plea “frivolous” and “politically motivated”. It said Modi is the
country’s PM and not that of any political party or ideology
and that such a petition was “not expected from a citizen”.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
NEW DELHI
5,326
new cases
453
Omicron tally
102
new cases
01
new fatalities
CRUCIAL READ
MEA: 68 FISHERMEN DETAINED BY LANKA
BETWEEN DEC 18 & 20, TALKS UNDERWAY
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
on Tuesday said about 68 Indian fishermen and 10
boats were taken into custody from Tamil Nadu by
the Sri Lankan authorities between December 18
and 20. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said,
“We are concerned about the detention of the Indian
fishermen.”
LANDSLIDE WIN
FOR TRINAMOOL IN
KOLKATA CIVIC POLLS
COLD WAVE, FOG IN
STORE FOR NORTH,
CENTRAL INDIA
Kolkata: TMC on Tuesday
registered a landslide vic-
tory in Kolkata Municipal
Corporation polls, winning
134 of 144 wards. BJP,
which had emerged as
the main Opposition party
in Assembly polls earlier,
won 3 seats, while the Left
Front and Congress won
two each.
New Delhi: The MET
department has predicted
cold to severe cold wave
conditions over central,
north and east India in the
next two days, following
which a relief is likely.
Cold wave conditions are
likely to persist in parts
of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi
and Rajasthan.
EX-PUNJAB MIN
SODHI QUITS
CONG, JOINS BJP
Chandigarh: Former
Punjab cabinet minister
Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi
Tuesday resigned from
the Congress and joined
the BJP in the presence
of party leaders Gajendra
Shekhawat and Bhupendra
Yadav in Delhi. Rana So-
dhi has been a confidant
of former chief minister
Captain Amarinder Singh.
A sitting MLA from Guru
Har Sahai, Sodhi was
dropped from the cabinet
after Amarinder’s ouster.
Smriti Irani
More on P8

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2021
02
New Delhi: Five joint
research projects be-
tween the Indian Insti-
tute of Technology-Del-
hi (IIT-D) and In-
draprastha Institute of
Information Technolo-
gy (IIIT) will be provid-
ed seed grants for inter-
disciplinary research in
the fields of computer
science and engineer-
ing, artificial intelli-
gence (AI) and machine
learning (ML), electron-
ics and communication
engineering, computa-
tional biology
, social sci-
ence, humanities and
quantum computing.
The two institutes
had signed an MoU ear-
lier this year to “estab-
lish a collaborative plat-
form for mutual bene-
fit”. The MoU intended
to “initiate wide-rang-
ing partnerships in aca-
demics, research, prod-
uct & process develop-
ment, and human re-
source development
with profound socio-
economic impact”.
They invited joint re-
search projects from
faculty members of
both institutions. “An
external expert commit-
tee evaluated the pro-
jects and selected five
projects for a seed grant.
The projects include:
Studies on human brain
structure and anxiety,
Femtech and its future
in India, Development
of nanodevices, Mathe-
matics theories pro-
pounded by Ramanu-
jam, and Model agnostic
evaluation of deep-mod-
el transfer,” the IIT-D
said in a statement.
“Tenable for two years,
the projects aim to at-
tract full-fledged spon-
sorship from external
agencies based on their
outcomes. These pro-
jects will function
through the Multi-Insti-
tutional Faculty Inter-
disciplinary Research
Projects (MFIRP)
scheme of the Industri-
al Research & Develop-
ment (IRD) Unit of IIT-
Delhi,” it said. —PTI
New Delhi: Delhi Po-
lice Commissioner
Rakesh Asthana
launched Project ‘Ab-
haya’, a joint initiative
of the force and an
NGO for safety and se-
curity of girls, the offi-
cials said here.
Abhaya means “one
who is fearless”, and
the joint initiative by
the Delhi Police and
NGO Shakti Founda-
tion is aimed at empow-
ering, educating and
making children aware,
the officials said.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Asthana under-
lined that protection of
women, children and
the weaker sections is
the utmost responsibil-
ity of any society, and
police personnel have
to be extra-cautious
and devoted while deal-
ing with such matters,
Delhi Police PRO Chin-
moy Biswal said in a
statement.
“We must strive to
ensure the prevention
of such crimes, and the
launch of the ‘Abhaya’
project is a step in that
direction as the society
also needs to be well
aware and educated,”
Asthana said.
He added that the
Delhi Police has en-
sured higher convic-
tion rates in crimes
against women and
children in comparison
with other metro cities
in India.
According to data
shared by the Delhi Po-
lice, its conviction rate
in rape cases is 47.25
per cent against a na-
tional average of 39.3
per cent, in molestation
cases, it is 47.32 per cent
against 27.9 per cent, in
kidnapping cases, it is
40 per cent against 35.6
per cent, in outraging
modesty cases, it is 50
per cent against 27.7 per
cent, in PW OCSO cas-
es, it is 79.12 per cent
against 39.6 per cent,
and in dowry death cas-
es, its conviction rate is
100 per cent.
During the event, a
booklet titled “AB-
HAYA” was also un-
veiled, along with the
“Abhaya statue”. Pri-
yank Kanoongo, Chair-
person of the National
Commission for Protec-
tion of Child Rights,
and senior officers of
the force were present
on the occasion.
“The booklet has
been compiled by ex-
perts in the field of
women safety, and it ex-
plains several aspects
of personal physical
safety, which are re-
quired to be learnt by
every child. —PTI
New Delhi: Slamming
the Delhi government
over the death of three
children due to the al-
leged administration of
wrongmedicinesataMo-
halla Clinic, BJP Mem-
ber of Parliament Gau-
tam Gambhir said Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal should take responsi-
bility for the incident.
Speaking to ANI,
Gambhir said, “The Del-
hi chief minister should
take responsibility for
the incident. More than
the chief minister, he
seems to be the ad-
vertisement minis-
ter. He has the
habit to put blame
on either the cen-
tral government
or the Municipal
Corporation of
Delhi. He calls
h i m s e l f
the son of Delhi but is
not taking responsibility
for the loss of lives of
three children.”
“The Delhi govern-
ment and the Delhi Drug
control board are respon-
sible for the incident.
They should be aware of
the fact that what kind of
doctors they have ap-
pointed,” added the BJP
Member of Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Delhi
governmentsackedthree
doctors in connection
with the incident. Delhi
Health Minister
Satyendar Jain
said Delhi
M e d i c a l
Council will
conduct a
thorough in-
vestigation
over the mat-
ter. —ANI
New Delhi: The nation-
al capital has recorded
102 fresh COVID-19 cas-
es, the highest since
June 27, and one death
as the positivity rate
stood at 0.20 per cent, ac-
cording to data shared
by the Delhi health de-
partment on Tuesday
.
On June 27, the city
had logged 259 coronavi-
rus cases with four
deaths, according to
Delhi government data.
The number of COV-
ID-19 cases recorded in
Delhi so far has reached
14,42,390. Over 14.16 lakh
patients have recovered
from the disease, the
data stated. —PTI
New Delhi: Three
men, including a
rider of an applica-
tion-based bike ser-
vice, were arrested
for allegedly rob-
bing a passenger in
northeast Delhi’s
Sonia Vihar area,
police said on Tues-
day.
The accused
have been identi-
fied as Shubham
Mishra, Amit
Chauhan and Ar-
jun, all residents of
Sonia Vihar, they
said.
On Thursday, a
PCR call regarding
robbery was re-
ceived at Sonia Vi-
har police station
from Unnao in UP.
The caller infor-
med that on Wed-
nesday, his brother
Ashish was robbed
in Sonia Vihar, po-
lice said. —PTI
New Delhi: A two-day
session of the Delhi As-
sembly will be held from
January 3 to take up leg-
islative work, an official
bulletin said.
Earlier in the day,
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal announced that
the Delhi Cabinet has ap-
proved the setting up of
a Delhi Teachers’ Univer-
sity and said that a bill
on it will be placed before
the assembly in the com-
ing session.
“Hon’ble Members are
informed that the Fourth
part of Second session of
Seventh Legislative As-
sembly of the National
Capital Territory of Del-
hi will commence on
Monday, January 3, 2022,
at 11 am in the Assembly
Hall,” the assembly bul-
letin said.
The sitting of the Leg-
islative Assembly has
been tentatively fixed for
January 3 and 4. Subject
to the exigencies of busi-
ness, the sitting of the
House may be extended,
it said. In view of the
Covid threat, the mem-
bers will be required to
wear a face mask and
practice social distanc-
ing. They will sit accord-
ing to a sitting plan to
ensure proper physical
distance between them,
the bulletin stated.
The members are com-
pulsorily required to
carry the final certificate
for COVID-19 vaccina-
tion or a Covid-negative
test report issued not ear-
lier than 48 hours prior
to the commencement of
the session on January 3,
it said.
The session will have
Question Hour and the
members will be able to
raise issues of impor-
tance under special men-
tion, it said. —PTI
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The air quality in Delhi slipped back into the
‘Very Poor’ category with the overall AQI recorded at
369 on Tuesday morning, as per the CPCB. This comes
as the city is experiencing a cold wave and residents
woke up to fog and mist. As per the IMD, the air quality
over Delhi-NCT is likely to remain in the upper end of
the ‘Very Poor’ category till Christmas, owing to slow/
calm winds and poor ventilation conditions but is
predicted to improve after that.
DELHI’S AQI SLIPS TO 369, REMAINS
IN ‘VERY POOR’ CATEGORY
‘RING ROAD HAVE
MOST BLACK
SPOTS IN DELHI’
New Delhi: The Delhi
Traffic Police has flagged
the Ring Road and Outer
Ring Road as having the
most ‘black spot’ zones.
The two roads witnessed
the highest number of
accidents last year with
287 accidents reported
on the Ring Road, in
which over 88 persons
were killed, and 256 ac-
cidents on the Outer Ring
Road.
New Delhi: Over 1000
students were awarded
degrees at the tenth
convocation of the
Delhi government-run
Dr. B R Ambedkar
University here on
Tuesday. Former ISRO
chief K Kasturirangan
was the chief guest at
the event. He was also
the head of the National
Education Policy draft-
ing committee.
STUDENTS
AWARDED
DEGREES AT AUD
Seed grants for research
between IIT-D and IIIT
JOINT PROJECT
2-Day Delhi Assembly
session from January 3
3 arrested for
robbing UP
resident in
Sonia Vihar
UP IN ARMS
Resident Doctors’ Association members holding placards stage a protest over the repeated
delay in the NEET-PG 2021 counselling in front of Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi.
Delhi records 102 fresh
COVID-19 cases, one fatality
Three arrested in connection
with killing of private tutor
New Delhi: Three men
were arrested for alleg-
edly killing a private tu-
tor and injuring his
friend during a fight in
Delhi’s Mangolpuri area,
police said on Tuesday.
The accused have been
identified as Mukesh
(22), Raunak (19) and Ro-
hit (23), all residents of
Mangolpuri, they said.
According to the po-
lice, they received infor-
mation around 8.20 pm
on December 14 about
the fight and that two in-
jured persons were taken
to the Sanjay Gandhi
Hospital. After reaching
the hospital, it was found
that Amardeep (20) was
declared brought dead
and Sagar (20) was un-
dergoing treatment, po-
lice said, adding that Sa-
gar is also a private tutor.
Preliminary inquiry
revealed that the duo
were going to meet their
friend when they had a
fight with the accused
over some issue. A case
was registered and inves-
tigation was taken up,
the officer said. During
investigation, police
checked the CCTV foot-
age of the area and iden-
tified the accused, they
said. —PTI
Gambhir slams CM
as 3 kids die due to
‘wrong medication’
DELHI POLICE CHIEF
LAUNCHES PROJECT
FOR SAFETY, SECURITY
OF CHILDREN IN CITY
Delhi Assembly —FILE PHOTO
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana unveils the ‘Abhaya’ statue at the introduction of the ‘Abhaya’ project by Dr Sonal
Rochani in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
THE INITIATIVE AIMS AT EMPOWERING, EDUCATING
AND MAKING CHILDREN AWARE, SAY OFFICIALS
THE INITIATIVE AIMS AT EMPOWERING, EDUCATING
ABHAYA
Gautam Gambhir
—Representative Image
—PHOTO BY ANI

INDIA
03
NIPUN ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
ARMY GETS WEAPONS BOOST FOR PAK, CHINA BORDERS
New Delhi: The Indi-
an Army is set to re-
ceive indigenously de-
signed and developed
anti-personnel and
anti-tank mines,
which will help secu-
rity personnel foil at-
tempts made by adver-
saries on the borders
with Pakistan and
China.
“The Indian Army
is going to induct 7
lakh indigenously de-
veloped ‘Nipun’ anti-
personnel mines
which carry a potent
mix of RDX,” a secu-
rity official familiar
with the developments
also told.
The Corps of Engi-
neers is showcasing
the indigenous equip-
ment in Pune, which
were inducted into the
army for carrying out
anti-terror operations
against the enemy as
well as defending its
own areas.
“The Indian Army
started inducting 200
high head water
pumps which can help
pump water and fuel to
locations at higher al-
titudes in those areas.
Two hundred of these
pumps are being in-
ducted into the Corps
of Engineers under
the emergency pro-
curement powers,” the
official of the depart-
ment added. —ANI
Indian Ar-
my’s Corpo-
rations of En-
gineers getting a new
set of anti-personnel
and anti-tank mines
for acting as the first
line of Indian defence
against enemy infan-
try and armoured
columns or terrorist
trying to infiltrate
into own territory.
—Army official
The Corps of Engineers is showcasing the
indigenous equipment in Pune which were
inducted into the army for carrying out anti-
terror operations against the enemy as well
as defending its own areas. Nipun mines
were developed by an Indian firm in
partnership with the DRDO
POLLS IN MIND! PUNJAB CONG PANEL
HOLDS MEETING WITH RAGA IN DELHI
New Delhi: Members
of the AICC Screening
Committee for Punjab
on Tuesday held a meet-
ing with party leader
Rahul Gandhi at his
residence in the nation-
al capital.
Congress General
Secretary (Organisa-
tion) KC Venugopal and
AICC in-Incharge of
Punjab, Harish Choud-
hary, were present at
the meeting. Punjab as-
sembly polls are sched-
uled to be held in 2022.
In 2017 Punjab As-
sembly polls, Cong won
an absolute majority in
state by winning 77
seats & ousted SAD-BJP
govt after 10 years. —ANI
New Delhi: Union
Minister of Jal Shakti,
Gajendra Singh Shek-
hawat, said on Tues-
day that Congress has
no right to raise the
issue of mob lynching,
as the biggest incident
of lynching in the his-
tory of Independent
India happened during
Rajiv Gandhi’s era.
Shekhawat’s re-
sponse came hours af-
ter Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi tweeted,
“Before 2014, the word
‘lynching’ was practi-
cally unheard of.
#ThankYouModiJi.”
BJP national spokes-
person RP Singh said,
“Rahul Gandhi forgets
that his father Rajiv
Gandhi supported mob
lynching of more than
3,000 Sikhs by Con-
gress MPs and work-
ers.”
Referring to Rajiv
Gandhi’s comment,
‘Jab bhi bada ped girta
hai, dharti hilti hai’
(whenever a big tree
falls, the earth shakes),
another BJP leader,
Manjinder Singh Sir-
sa, said, “It is true that
Rahul Gandhi didn’t
hear about lynching
before 2014, because
they equated the kill-
ings of thousands of
innocent Sikhs with
fall of big tree.” —ANI
Biggest lynching in Independent
India happened in Rajiv’s era: BJP
Punjab Assembly polls
are scheduled in 2022
KC Venugopal and Harish
Choudhary were present
Chhattisgarh CM in Delhi,likely
to meet Congress high command Gajendra Singh Shekhawat with Bhupender Yadav felicitates former Punjab Cabinet Minister Rana
Gurmit Singh Sodhi as he joins BJP during an event, at party headquarters, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi addresses media at Vijay Chowk in Delhi on Tuesday.
New Delhi: Rahul
Gandhi on Tuesday
again lashed out at
the media when asked
about his latest tweet
on lynching and told
the journalist to stop
working as a govt
agent. When ques-
tioned, the Cong MP,
who was addressing
media at Vijay Chowk,
lost his cool and said,
“Sarkar ki dalali mat
kijiye (Don’t be an
agent of the govt).”
New Delhi: Attacking
the Centre, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
on Tuesday said the
incidents of lynch-
ing were unheard of
before the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-led
government came
to power in 2014.
Taking to Twitter,
Rahul Gandhi said,
“Before 2014, the
word ‘lynching’ was
practically unheard of.
#Thank you Modi Ji.”
RAGA: BEFORE
2014, WORD
‘LYNCHING’
WAS UNHEARD
RAHUL LASHES
OUT AT MEDIA,
SAYS ‘STOP
GOVT DALALI’
1 2
New Delhi: Chhattis-
garh Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel is vis-
iting New Delhi where
he is likely to meet par-
ty leaders Sonia Gandhi
and Rahu Gandhi on
Tuesday
.
According to sources,
there might be meet-
ings with Congress in-
terim president Sonia
Gandhi, party MP Ra-
hul Gandhi and Con-
gress general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi.
Baghel is also sched-
uled to visit Uttar
Pradesh for two days
where he will address
public meetings and
election rallies along
with Congress Uttar
Pradesh in-charge Pri-
yanka Gandhi in Luc-
know and Lakhimpur
Kheri and other areas.
Assembly polls in Ut-
tar Pradesh are slated
for early next year. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind visits Kerala on
Tuesday. As per the official statement, President will be in
Kerala from December
21 to 24. “On Decem-
ber 21, the President
addressed the fifth con-
vocation of the Central
University of Kerala in
Kasargod,” reads the
release. “On December
22, the President will witness the operational demonstra-
tion by the Southern Naval Command in Kochi,” it added.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
returned to Mumbai Tuesday night after appearing before
Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi in connection
with the Panama Papers leak case. The ED on Monday
questioned Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for
nearly 5 hours in the Panama Papers case. She deposed
before the investigators following the summons issued by
the federal agency against her to join the probe.
Dehradun: Uttrakhand
Chief Minister Pushkar
Singh Dhami injured
his hand during a
cricket match on
Tuesday. The match
was organised in Deh-
radun’s Abhimanyu
Cricket Academy
between Chief Min-
ister 11 Vs BJP Yuva
Morcha. Dhami was
playing for Chief Min-
ister 11. Despite his
injury, the Uttarakhand
chief minister played
the match and led his
team, Chief Minister
11, to victory.
Pune: Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh on
Tuesday witnessed a
MAE and inaugurated
an equipment display
on the second day of
PANEX-21, a HADR
Exercise for BIMSTEC
member nations,
organised at College of
Military Engineering in
Pune. Singh witnessed
a demonstration of ca-
pabilities of the IAF to
launch swift, coordi-
nated and incremental
relief efforts in case of
occurrence of calamity
in a particular region.
PRESIDENT KOVIND’S KERALA VISIT BEGINS
AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN RETURNS TO
MUMBAI AFTER BEING GRILLED BY ED
U’KHAND CM
PLAYS CRICKET
MATCH DESPITE
BEING INJURED
INDIA READY TO
HELP COUNTRIES
IN BAY OF BENGAL:
RAJNATH SINGH
GUJJARS, BAKERWALS
FROM J&K’S TRIBAL
COMMUNITY THANK PM
New Delhi: The In-
come Tax Department
carried out a search
and seizure operation
on a Neyveli based
group, engaged in the
business of chit funds,
finance and real estate.
As per an official re-
lease, the IT depart-
ment conducted the
search operation on De-
cember 16. The group
also runs educational
institutions through its
trusts. The search ac-
tion covered around 30
premises located at var-
ious places like Neyveli,
Chennai, Coimbatore,
Nilgiris, etc.
The search action has
led to the seizure of un-
accounted cash of more
than Rs 12 crore.
During the course of
the search operations, a
remotely located cloud
server containing a par-
allel set of books of ac-
count secretly main-
tained by key persons
of the group has been
unearthed. Various doc-
umentary and digital
evidence have also been
seized. —ANI
Jammu: Leaders of the
People’s Alliance for
Gupkar Declaration
(PAGD) on Tuesday
termed the draft pro-
posals by the Delimita-
tion Commission as ‘di-
visive’ and said they
will stage a peaceful
protest against the draft
proposals on January 1,
2022.
The PAGD leaders
met at the residence of
National Conference
president and Lok Sab-
ha member Farooq Ab-
dullah here on Tuesday
.
MY Tarigami of the
CPI-M, who is the PAGD
spokesman said that ab-
rogation of Article 370
and 35-A was unconsti-
tutional and the step
was taken without tak-
ing into confidence the
stakeholders from J&K
and Ladakh.
Tarigami Farooq Ab-
dullah and other mem-
bers of commission re-
iterated in commission
meeting that proposal is
not as per the wishes
and interests of people
and is just a step to cre-
ate wedge on regional,
community basis. —ANI
Panaji: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is the
first politician from In-
dependent India to be
recognised as a world
leader, Goa CM Pramod
Sawant said on Tues-
day. “Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s drive
to carve out a new India
has given him the iden-
tity of a world leader,”
Sawant said at a state
govt function here. “In
the 75 years of coun-
try’s Independence, this
is the first time that
such an honour has
been associated with In-
dia. This is very impor-
tant from our perspec-
tive,” he added. —ANI
PAGD leaders call delimitation
commission proposals ‘divisive’
BJP usurped
temple land in
Maha, siphoned
off crores: Malik
‘Modi 1st Indian to be known as world leader’
PAGD President Farooq Abdullah, alliance spokesperson MY Tarigami, alliance VP Mehbooba Mufti
and other leaders speak to media after a meeting at Abdullah residence, in Jammu on Tuesday.
Gujjars and Bakerw-
als from Jammu and
Kashmir’s tribal com-
munity visited New Delhi
on Tuesday to thank PM
Modi for recommenda-
tions of Delimitation Com-
mission that proposed
reserving nine Assembly
seats in J&K for STs.
Union Minister Krishan
Pal Gurjar said people of
Gujjar Bakerwal commu-
nity live in J&K. They had
many demands continu-
ously over years.
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Cabinet Minister
Nawab Malik on Tues-
day alleged that the BJP
leaders - MLC Suresh
Dhas and former Ashti
MLA Bhimrao Dhonde
from Beed district--
have usurped the tem-
ple land and siphoned
off crores of rupees by
indulging in Benami
transactions.
This statement came
a day after the ED con-
ducted searches at five
places related to Ma-
lik’s son Faraz Malik in
a case where a national-
ised bank was duped to
the tune of Rs 149.89
crore. NCP leader said
that his colleague in the
party, Ram Khade, has
filed complaint against
these illegal transac-
tions with ED. —ANI
JP Nadda, Pramod Sawant, Mandal Prabhari, Mandal President &
General Secretaries attend BJP meeting in Goa on Tuesday.
I-T dept conducts
searches, seizes
unaccountable
over `12 cr in TN
Bhupesh Baghel
Nawab Malik

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 113
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The spirit is beyond
destruction. No one can
bring an end to spirit
which is everlasting.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Held a meeting with Food Ministers
from various states. Inaugurated the
Rice Fortification Dashboard and
held wide ranging discussions on
community kitchens as well as Fair
Price Shop transformation to ensure
food security nutrition for all.
Avinash Pande
@avinashpandeinc
On behalf of the Uttarakhand
Screening Committee, thanks to all the
applicants, State Congress Committee
and District Congress Committee
office bearers for their cooperation.
@INCUttarakhand is definitely headed
for victory. @INCIndia
@kcvenugopalmp
TOP TWEETS
PUTIN’S
UKRAINE
FORMULA
s reports pile up
about Russia’s mili-
tary mobilization on
Ukraine’s border and
the Kremlin’s diplo-
matic demands, questions
abound. What is going on? What
will come next? Will Russia in-
vade? In fact, Russian President
Vladimir Putin is following an
eight-year-old script.
In the fall of 2013, Putin’s gov-
ernment launched a multifac-
eted offensive to prevent
Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia
from signing free-trade agree-
ments with the European Un-
ion. That set off a gradually
deepening crisis that would pro-
foundly alter Ukraine’s domes-
tic politics, Russia’s position in
Europe, and the future of NATO.
Less than a year later, Russia an-
nexed Crimea and embarked on
a barely disguised effort to dis-
mantle the rest of Ukraine. The
Kremlin then launched two
more incursions into eastern
Ukraine to save the separatist
statelets that it had managed to
set up there. Since then, 14,000
people have died in this low-level
“frozen” conflict.
PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
A
fter a year in
which people
longed to get back
to “normal,” it is
now clear that
COVID-19 will not make this
possible. The pandemic, now
heading into its third year,
has profoundly affected indi-
viduals, communities, coun-
tries, and international coop-
eration, creating four tough
challenges for 2022. Rebuild-
ing trust will be critical to
confronting all of them.
The first challenge is that
people’s relationship to work
has changed. In some coun-
tries, lockdowns, the death of
loved ones, and the general
uncertainty of the pandemic
have prompted or accelerated
arethink.IntheUnitedStates,
the number of workers quit-
ting their jobs exceeded four
million in each month from
July to October 2021. Many
young Chinese are joining the
“lie flat” movement by opting
outof longworkinghours,do-
ing the bare minimum to get
by
, and striving for only what
is absolutely essential for sur-
vival.Thepandemichasdeep-
ened the divide between those
who can work from home and
the many who cannot.
In 2022, people need to
trust that going back to work
will genuinely improve their
lives. Getting to that point
will require action by both
governments and companies.
Investment to help remedy
the disruption in education
caused by COVID-19 is cru-
cial. Some 1.6 billion students
in 180 countries were kept out
of school as a result of the
pandemic. Establishing pro-
grams to help students catch
up – and gain the skills and
training needed for the twen-
ty-first-century economy –
will help them get better jobs.
PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
KEY TO COVID POWERED
CHALLENGES OF 2022
The first challenge is
that people’s
relationship to work has
changed. In some
countries, lockdowns, the
death of loved ones, and
the general uncertainty of
the pandemic
have prompted or
accelerated a rethink
A
KMC OUTCOME A REASON
TO REJOICE FOR TMC
ven as the Trinamool supre-
mo was busy with the Goa
campaigning, her party work-
ers were led by Abhishek Ba-
nerjeeduringtheslogoversto
the run up to the crucial KMC
elections and on Tuesday
, the
TMC left its indelible mark on
the civic polls. By noon, the
writing on the wall was clear.
TMC had taken a lead in 133
out of 144 wards in the Kolka-
ta Municipal poll elections.
Earlier, the elections were
held on December 19 which
registered a 64 per cent turn-
out. With this civic poll vic-
tory, it was TMC’s third con-
secutive win in the Kolkata
Municipal elections.
As the TMC was leading in
133 of 144 KC seats while this
article was being written,
party supremo and West Ben-
gal CM Mamata Banerjee
said TMC maintained a
“landslide victory” as they
work at the grassroots. “Kol-
kata is now the safest city (in
the country). We have al-
ready beautified the city
. My
intention now is to see that
urban area, semi urban area
and village areas are devel-
oped,” she said.
Earlier, on Sunday sporad-
ic incidents of violence, in-
cluding hurling of two crude
bombs at two booths, marred
the KMC elections on Sunday
as nearly 40.5 lakh voters ex-
ercised their franchise.
In 2015, TMC had won 113
seats which was, so far, the
highest in recent times and
this year it has broken its
previous records turning the
Opposition into absolute
minnows. All the 16 boroughs
have been under the control
of Trinamool Congress.
Till late noon, no one from
the saffron camp had given
any comment neither was
there any tweet.
In a little over six months,
that the TMC has again
drubbed the BJP… but this
time the BJP was minus the
star power.
The TMC has bettered its
positionintheKMCbyatleast
20 seats as compared to the re-
sults of 2015 KMC elections.
It may be recalled earlier
that despite the starry cam-
paign by the BJP in 2021, the
TMC managed 215 seats and
BJP ended with 77. And by
November-end… defections
and desertions had reduced
the BJP to 70 and left the
TMC hovering around 221.
The Assembly poll story
might be hugely rejoicing for
the TMC, but Mamata had to
prove a point as she had lost
to Suvendu Adhikari in a
keenly contested contest at
Nandigram. She, however,
fought back and was su-
premely in power from Bha-
wanipore. Since then, Didi as
she is fondly known, has left
for the national vista to
broaden her party’s pros-
pects. Earlier, during the elec-
tion day… the Leader of Op-
position and BJP leader, Suv-
enduAdhikarihadsaid…“We
werepreventedbypoliceaswe
came out of my house where I
was holding a meeting. Police
hasnorighttopreventusfrom
going to Kolkata. Bidhanna-
gar Police has no role and this
is not the jurisdiction of Kol-
kata Municipal polls. My resi-
dence is in Bidhanagar Mu-
nicipality area and the police
have no right to stop us.”
Even the West Bengal Gov-
ernor,JagdeepDhankhar,had
tweeted, “Leader of Opposi-
tion has communicated “In
Salt Lake my residence was
totally blocked by Bidhanna-
garpolicewhere20BJPMLAs
including some state leaders
stayed. regards Suvendu
Adhikari Lop WBLA”. He also
mentioned that a delegation
of BJP MLAs will meet him
today on the issue.
However, in politics it is
kabhi khushi kabhi gham. If
the KMC outcome was a rea-
son to rejoice overwhelm-
ingly, grapevine has it that
Mamata who flew to Guwa-
hati to seek the blessings of
Ma Kamakhya and from
there she is expected to visit
Shillong where everything is
not so fine for the party
.
Frombeingtheprincipalop-
position party in Meghalaya
until of late, a beleaguered
Congress decided to support
the ruling National People’s
Party led by CM Conrad Sang-
ma,in“interestof thepeople.”
“We have decided to offer
our support to the govern-
ment on the aspect of govern-
ance in greater interest of
the people of Meghalaya,”
Congress leader Ampareen
Lyngdoh said.
In November, the Congress
suffered a huge loss when 12
of its 17 MLAs led by former
chief minister Mukul Sang-
ma defected to the Trina-
mool. The development re-
duced the Grand Old Party
(Congress) to a smaller party
and made the Trinamool the
state’s principal opposition
in a matter of time.
But in deciding to support
the current government, the
CongressgotclosertotheBJP
,
an NPP ally and a constituent
of the Meghalaya Democratic
Alliance (MDA) government.
The Trinamool said after it
emerged in Meghalaya, the
Congress was, perhaps, feel-
ing threatened. “But our in-
tention is not to threaten any-
body. We want to build the
party that will work for the
people,” TMC state chief
Charles Pyngrope said.
Mamata, as political sourc-
es say… will visit Shillong
after her Guwahati trip to
gauge the situation.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
E
Assembly poll story might be
hugely rejoicing for TMC,
but Mamata had to prove a
point as she had lost to
Suvendu Adhikari in a
keenly contested contest at
Nandigram. She, however,
fought back was supremely
in power from Bhawanipore.
Since then, Didi as she is
fondly known, has left for the
national vista to broaden her
party’s prospects
As the TMC was
leading in 133 of 144
KC seats while this
article was being written,
party supremo and West
Bengal CM Mamata
Banerjee said TMC
maintained a “landslide
victory” as they work
at the grassroots
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Associate Editor,
Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former
Managing Editor, First India
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee offering prayers at
Maa Kamakhya temple, in Guwahati on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

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INDIA
05
Goa:ECholdsmeetwithpol
partiesaheadofelections
Panaji: The Election
Commission of India
held a meeting with the
representatives of all
political parties in Goa
on Tuesday, months
ahead of the Assembly
election.
The meeting was
chaired by Chief Elec-
tion Commissioner Su-
shil Chandra and other
members of the com-
mission were present.
The meeting was held at
Hotel DoubleTree by
Hilton. Representatives
of BJP, Congress, TMC,
M a h a r a s h t r aw a d i
Gomantak Party
(MGP), Goa Forward
Party (GFP) met the
CEC.
After the meeting,
representatives of par-
ties said that they have
given some suggestions
to the Commission.
BJP Goa unit presi-
dent Sadanand Tana-
vade and Senior Con-
gress leader Altin
Gomes appreciated the
online registration sys-
tem of the SUVIDHA
App by the Election
Commission.
The GFP and BJP re-
quested the Commis-
sion to delay the imple-
mentation of model
code of conduct in the
State. —ANI
Plea in SC for fresh
Nat’l accreditation
policy for hospitals
New Delhi: A plea has
been filed in the Su-
preme Court seeking a
fresh national accredi-
tation policy that en-
sures the optimum doc-
tor to patient and nurse
to patient ratio is ad-
hered to in all the Na-
tional Accreditation
Board for Hospitals and
Healthcare Providers
(NABH) hospitals and
those who apply for ac-
creditation.
The plea filed by the
Indian Professional
Nurses Association, a
non-governmental reg-
istered body working
for the welfare of the
nurses across India,
also prayed to direct the
Quality Council of In-
dia and the National Ac-
creditation Board for
Hospitals and Health-
care Providers (NABH)
to place on record the
documents it peruses
while granting accredi-
tation. The plea also
sought direction for
forming a committee to
monitor the quality of
patient care, patient
safety and satisfaction.
The petitioner said
that the plea has been
filed in light of the RTI
responses and also in
the context of the over-
burden put on medical
staff during the ongoing
pandemic. In the RTI re-
sponse, Quality Council
of India admits that it
has no specified norms
related to the patient-
nurses ratio. —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
Govt plans review plea for
OBC quota in local polls
New Delhi: The Union
government plans to file
a review petition in the
Supreme Court to allow
political reservation of
other backward classes
(OBC) in local bodies
and municipal corpora-
tions “for the time be-
ing” till the states meet
the criteria set by the
top court, a government
statement issued late on
Monday said.
The government plan
comes after the Su-
preme Court, in sepa-
rate verdicts delivered
over the past fortnight,
struck down 27% reser-
vation for OBCs in local
body elections in Maha-
rashtra and Madhya
Pradesh citing the ab-
sence of empirical data
on OBC.
The union ministry
of social justice and em-
powerment said it is
consulting the law min-
istry and other stake-
holders in this regard.
How apt is Cong’s appointment of in-charges?
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Is any work
being done in the Con-
gress party under some
plan, or is it a free meal
for all? This important
question is being raised
by party leaders and in
informal conversations,
the party leaders have
raised several logical
questions regarding the
appointment of Con-
gress in-charges.
Like some time back,
questionhadarisenasto
why Harish Rawat was
keptinchargeof Punjab
when elections are to be
held simultaneously in
Punjabandhisownstate
Uttarakhand?
He was earlier in
charge of Assam, from
where he was made in
charge of Punjab. Simi-
larly
, now it is being
asked that Imran
Masood has been made
in charge of Delhi even
whenthereisanelection
in his own state Uttar
Pradesh. Meanwhile
therearetalksof Masood
joiningtheSPbuthewas
madein-chargeof Delhi.
However, perhaps the
biggest question of all
this is as to why is Dev-
endra Yadav made in
charge of Uttarakhand?
Yadav vote in the state is
negligible and there is a
kind of prejudice to-
wards Yadavs since the
firing on the agitators
of Uttarakhand under
Samajwadi Party rule.
It is worth noting that
in 1994 when Mulayam
Singh Yadav was the
Chief Minister, seven
people were killed at
Rampur Tiraha when
agitators demanding
for the state of Uttara-
khand were fired upon.
Even though Devendra
Yadav has nothing to do
with Mulayam Singh
Yadav, but only after lis-
tening the word Yadav,
people here get upset.
Brahmin and Rajput
voters are in majority
in the state but Con-
gress has kept Deven-
dra Yadav as in-charge.
Banned Assam outfit inches
towards peace talks with govt
Guwahati: The Kamta-
pur Liberation Organi-
zation — a banned sepa-
ratist group active in
western Assam and
northern Bengal — is
inching closer to re-
suming peace talks
with the government.
The KLO was once al-
lied to ULFA, or the
United Liberation Front
of Asom, in Bhutan and
Myanmar, wants a sepa-
rate Kamtapur state for
the Koch Rajbongshi
community
.
On Tuesday, in a vid-
eo message sent from an
undisclosed location,
Koch Pavel, the KLO’s
Foreign Secretary, re-
minded the government
of the Cooch Behar
Merger Agreement that
recognised Kamtapur
as a “full-fledged con-
stituent state of Union
of India”. —Agencies
Meghwal: Govt will consider revoking
suspension if Opposition MPs apologise
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Arjun Ram Megh-
wal on Tuesday said
that the 12 suspended
Rajya Sabha MPs from
the Opposition had low-
ered Parliament’s dig-
nity while adding that
the government will
consider revoking the
suspension if they apol-
ogise.
“They have (sus-
pended MPs) lowered
Parliament’s dignity.
They should have some
remorse. If they apolo-
gise, the government
will think about revok-
ing the suspension. It
has been Parliamenta-
ry tradition if some
MP does something to
lower Parliament’s dig-
nity, they apologised,”
Meghwal told the me-
dia. Union Min AR
Meghwal Asked about
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) Parliamen-
tary Party meeting, the
Union Minister said,
“Union Law Minister
Kiren Rijiju gave a
presentation that why
does the country need
the Election Laws
(Amendment) Bill that
was passed in the Lok
Sabha yesterday. Our
national president (JP
Nadda) addressed us at
the end that we have to
celebrate December 25,
the birth anniversary
of Atal Bihari Vajpay-
ee, as Good Govern-
ance Day.”
Since the beginning
of the Winter Session
on November 29, Rajya
Sabha has been facing a
ruckus over the revoca-
tion of the suspension
of 12 MPs from the
House. —ANI
Ruckus continues in Parliament; Suspended MPs have lowered Parl’s dignity, says Union Min
Delhi Police acted
swiftly: MoS Rai
New Delhi: Union
Minister of State for
Home Nityanand
Rai on Tuesday in-
formed the Lok Sab-
ha that Delhi Police
acted swiftly in an
impartial and fair
manner during the
violence in the North-
east part of Delhi in
Feb 2020.
Rai in a written re-
ply to Lok Sabha MP
Thomas Chazhikadan
said,“DelhiPo-
lice makes sus-
tained efforts
to obviate the occur-
renceof anyuntoward
incident in the NCT of
Delhi. During the vio-
lenceintheNorth-East
partof Delhi,DelhiPo-
lice acted swiftly in an
impartial and fair
manner.” MoS Home
further inform Lower
Housethatproportion-
ateandappropriateac-
tions were taken by
Delhi Police to control
the situation.
“ S i n c e re,
dedicated and
incessant ef-
forts made by Delhi
Police brought riot-
ous situation to nor-
malcy within a short
span of time and also
prevented riots from
spreading across to
other areas of Delhi/
NCR” he added. —ANI
BJP PARLIAMENTARY
PARTY MEETING BEGINS
New Delhi: BJP Parlia-
mentary Party meeting
has commenced at the
Ambedkar Interna-
tional Center in the
national Capital on
Tuesday. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is not
attending the meeting.
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah, Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman; Ports, Ship-
ping and Waterways
Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal, Minister of
State (MoS) for Food
Processing Industries
Prahlad Singh Patel;
Environment, Forest
and Climate Change
Minister Bhupender
Yadav, MoS Ministry
of External Affairs V
Muraleedharan and
other union ministers
are present at the meet-
ing. BJP chief JP Nadda
and other party MPs
are also present at the
meeting. In its notice,
the BJP Parliamentary
Party has requested
the attendance of all
BJP members of both
Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha. The winter
session of Parliament is
scheduled to culminate
on 23 December. —ANI
Oppn MPs hold march seeking
MoS Ajay Mishra’s suspension
New Delhi: Several
Opposition MPs of
both the Houses on
Tuesday marched from
the Mahatma Gandhi
statue in Parliament to
Vijay Chowk, demand-
ing suspension of Min-
ister of State for Home
Affairs Ajay Mishra
Teni over Lakhimpur
Kheri incident.
Congress leaders Ra-
hul Gandhi, Adhir Ran-
jan Chowdhury, Leader
of Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge, Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut, Trinamool
Congress MP Dola Sen
among others partici-
pated in the march. At
least 17 political parties
joined the protest
march including Shiv
Sena, TMC, NCP, Con-
gress, DMK and others.
Earlier today, the Op-
position leaders held a
meeting in the Parlia-
ment on Tuesday to
chalk out the floor strat-
egy for the day
.
Some of them were
seen carrying placards
that read “Sack MoS
Home”.
Teni’s son Ashish is
accused in the Lakhim-
pur Kheri case and is
presently in jail.
Rahul Gandhi while
addressing the media at
Vijay Chowk accused
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi of inaction
over the Opposition’s
demand for Teni’s dis-
missal. —ANI
LAKHIMPUR KHERI INCIDENT
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives to attend the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting at Ambedkar
International Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rahul Gandhi along with Oppn MPs including Sanjay Raut, Adhir
Ranjan Choudhary, Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma others
march from Gandhi statue to Vijay Chowk on Tuesday.
N-E DELHI
VIOLENCE
Anita Hada
New Delhi: The in-
fighting within Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
in West Bengal does not
seem to be ending any-
time soon and the move
of replacing Dilip
Ghosh by making Su-
kanta Majumdar the
state president, does
not seem to be paying
any dividends.
On the contrary
, since
then, the internal strife
and controversies in
the party have also in-
tensified. Many senior
party leaders, who have
been associated with
the BJP for decades, are
angry with the politics
of Suvendu Adhikari,
who is joined BJP from
Trinamool.
Former Governor
Tathagata Roy, who was
a senior leader of the
party, targeted the in-
charge of the state and
the state leadership sev-
eral times and levelled
some serious allega-
tions regarding the
policies of the party
and the selection of
candidates.
Now, BJP MP Roopa
Ganguly has also made
similar allegations
stressing that the party
has sold tickets in the
Kolkata Municipal Cor-
poration elections,
claiming that she has
proof of this. She has
also said that she is not
an office-bearer of the
party, so she has no re-
sponsibility
. Ganguly is
a nominated member of
Rajya Sabha and her
term is to end in Octo-
ber next year. She has
an idea that the party
will not send her to the
Rajya Sabha again, that
is why she is separating
herself.
But apart from Gan-
guly, many other lead-
ers had levelled allega-
tions of tickets being
sold in the Assembly
elections and similar al-
legations are being
made in the corpora-
tion elections as well.
Bengal BJP’s internal strife does not seem to be ending!
POLITICAL SCHISM
lll
Now, BJP MP
Roopa Ganguly
has also made
allegations
stressing that
the party has
sold tickets in
the Kolkata Civic
polls, claiming
that she has
proof of this
Sukanta Majumdar Dilip Ghosh

BIZ BUZZ
06
Funds shunning India turn rupee into
ASIA’S WORST CURRENCY
New Delhi: The Indi-
an rupee is wAsia’s
worst-performing cur-
rency with foreign
funds fleeing the na-
tion’s stocks.
The currency de-
clined 2.2% this quar-
ter as global funds
pulled $4 billion of
capital out of the
country’s stock mar-
ket, the most among
regional markets
where data is availa-
ble.
Foreigners sold In-
dian stocks as Gold-
man Sachs Group Inc.
and Nomura Holdings
Inc. recently lowered
their outlook for equi-
ties, citing lofty valua-
tions, at a time when
concerns about the
omicron virus variant
are roiling the global
markets. Record-high
trade deficit and the
central bank’s policy
divergence with the
Federal Reserve have
also impinged on the
rupee’s carry appeal.
Depreciation in ru-
pee is a double-edged
sword for the Reserve
Bank of India. While
a weaker currency
may support exports
amid a nascent eco-
nomic recovery from
the pandemic, it also
poses risk of imported
inflation, and may
make it difficult for
the central bank to
maintain interest
rates at a record low
for longer.
QuantArt Market
Solutions expects the
rupee to decline to 78
per dollar by end-
March, falling past
the previous record
low of 76.9088
reached in April 2020,
while a Bloomberg
survey of traders and
analysts forecast the
rupee at 76.50. The
rupee is set to drop
about 4% this year in
a fourth straight year
of losses. —Agencies
The
currency declined
2.2% this quarter as
global funds pulled $4
billion of capital out of
the country’s stock
market
INR (PROJECTION)
78/$
by end March 2022
76.9088/$
in April 2020
RUPEE VS DOLLAR
75.63/$
on Tuesday
` JUMPS 31 PAISE TO END AT 75.59 AGAINST $
New Delhi: The rupee surged by 31 paise to close at 75.59 (provisional)
against the US dollar on December 21 as positive domestic equities
and a weak American currency in the overseas markets boosted inves-
tor sentiment.At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened
strong at 75.74 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high
of 75.41 and a low of 75.74 during the day’s trade. It finally ended at
75.59 a dollar. In the previous session, the rupee had settled at
75.90 against the US dollar. —PTI
RBI empanels CSB Bank
to undertake govts biz
New Delhi: Private
sector lender CSB
Bank on Tuesday
said it has been em-
panelled as an ‘agen-
cy bank’ by the Re-
serve Bank of India
(RBI) to undertake
general banking
business of central
and state govern-
ments. This appoint-
ment will allow CSB
Bank to undertake
general banking
business of the cen-
tral and state gov-
ernments which
may be entrusted by
the RBI, the bank
said in a statement.
“As an agency
bank of the RBI,
CSB Bank is now au-
thorised to enter
into an agreement
with different state
governments and
central government
departments for
businesses such as
tax collections, pen-
sion payment, col-
lection of stamp
duty, etc.,” the bank
said.
It will also enable
CSB Bank to handle
a broad range of
transactions related
to government busi-
ness, such as tax de-
ducted at source
(TDS), goods and
services tax (GST),
stamp duty
, registra-
tion, property tax,
value-added tax and
professional tax, it
said further.
Narendra Dixit,
head (retail bank-
ing) at CSB Bank,
said, “This is a good
opportunity for us
to offer our services
to different govern-
ment depart-
ments.
With
our extensive net-
work of 562 branch-
es across the coun-
try
, this appointment
will ease the routes
between govern-
ment-related pay-
ment services and
our customers.”
This facility shall
provide the bank’s
customers with an
efficient path to con-
duct payments to the
government from
their existing ac-
count with CSB
Bank, Dixit added.
The south-based
private sector bank
said it has been ex-
panding its business
by adding new prod-
uct lines and in-
creasing the distri-
bution channel
through physical
and digital channels.
Over 85 per cent
of the transactions
in the bank are con-
ducted through the
digital mode, CSB
Bank said.
—PTI
As an
agency
bank of the RBI,
CSB Bank is now
authorised to enter into
an agreement with dif-
ferent state govts and
central govt depart-
ments for businesses
such as tax collections,
pension payment, col-
lection of stamp duty,
etc.
—CSB Bank
Consumer durables industry eyes a great 2022
New Delhi: With de-
mand for premium and
technologically advanced
products on the rise, In-
dia’s `75,000 crore appli-
ances and consumer elec-
tronics industry will be
switching on to 2022 with
hopes of double-digit
growth despite anxiety
over semiconductor
shortage and the impact
of the spreading Omi-
cron variant on business.
The industry is expect-
ing double-digit growth
on a year-on-year basis,
helped by a possible price
correction after soften-
ing of raw material in-
puts and factors such as
positive sentiments, pent
up demand and improv-
ing economic conditions.
Besides, a shift in con-
sumer behaviour from
price consciousness to-
wards technologically
advanced premium prod-
ucts with quality, value
proposition and safety
aspects leading to a rise
in demand for home auto-
mation products is mak-
ing the industry upbeat.
With the government’s
PLI scheme for white
goods, which has wit-
nessed a committed in-
vestment of `4,614 crore,
in place, many manufac-
turers are gearing up to
make the most out of the
opportunity as well as
take steps towards reduc-
ing their dependency on
imports and make prod-
ucts more affordable.
Leading players like
Samsung, LG and Pana-
sonic have reported con-
sumers getting more
tech-savvy in 2021 with
growing awareness for
AI and IoT enabled prod-
ucts and expect this trend
to gain further momen-
tum next year.
Strong demand for pre-
mium segment products
such as larger screen
TVs, higher capacity re-
frigerators and washing
machines, and especially
IoT and AI-enabled prod-
ucts, were witnessed not
only from the developed
metro markets but also
from smaller tier-II
towns. However, the ap-
pliances and consumer
electronics industry will
also have to tackle the
shortage of semi-
conductors, which
has resulted in
postponement of
new launches of
smart and con-
nected products.
The `75,000
crore consumer
durables indus-
try excludes
phones and IT
equipment. —PTI
The industry is
expecting double-digit
growth onY-o-Y basis,
helped by a possible
price correction
Mumbai: Equity
benchmark Sensex re-
bounded 497 points on
Tuesday after a two-
day selloff, tracking
gains in index majors
Reliance Industries,
ICICI Bank and HDFC
Bank amid a positive
trend in other Asian
markets.
The 30-share BSE
index jumped 497
points or 0.89% to end
at 56,319.01. Similarly,
the NSE Nifty ad-
vanced 156.65 points
or 0.94% to 16,770.85.
HCL Tech was the
top gainer in the
Sensex pack, rising
around 4%, followed
by Wipro, Tata Steel,
Titan, Tech Mahindra
and Sun Pharma.
On the other hand,
PowerGird, Axis
Bank, Bajaj Finance
and SBI were among
the losers.
Elsewhere in Asia,
bourses in Shanghai,
Hong Kong, Tokyo and
Seoul ended with
gains.
Stock exchanges in
Europe were also trad-
ing on a positive note
in mid-session deals.
—PTI
Sensex rises 497 points;
Nifty settles at 16,750
Apple starts trial production of iPhone 13 in India
New Delhi: Apple has
announced that it has
started trial produc-
tion of the iPhone 13 in
India at the Foxconn
plant near Chennai.
The company report-
edly will only produce
the iPhone 13 and has
no plans to produce the
iPhone 13 Pro and iP-
hone 13 Pro Max in the
country
.
According to an Eco-
nomic Times report,
the company expects to
start the commercial
production of the iP-
hone 13 from Febru-
ary. The device pro-
duced will be sold
domestically as well
as exported to the
company’s other
markets.
Apple has been
struggling in ramp-
ing up the production
of the iPhone 13 due
to chip shortages and
has been finally able to
secure supply for its
flagship devices.
A s
per the report, 20-30%
of the iPhones pro-
duced in India are ex-
ported to other
countries so
the produc-
tion of iP-
hone 13 in
India will
also help the
c o m p a n y
ease up the
supply issues
in other coun-
tries.
The iPhone
13 is the most selling
device from the com-
pany’s iPhone 13 series
in the country and this
is likely the reason why
the company is focus-
ing on producing it
first.
Apple currently pro-
duces the iPhone 11
and iPhone 12 at its
Foxconn plant in the
country and the two de-
vices are among the
top-selling devices for
the company
. Addition-
ally, the affordable iP-
hone SE is produced in
the company’s Wistron
plant in Bengaluru.
—Agencies
Centre slashes
import duty on
refined palm oil
New Delhi: Concerned
over high prices of
cooking oils, the gov-
ernment has reduced
the basic customs duty
on refined palm oil to
12.5 % from 17.5 % till
March next year to
boost domestic sup-
plies and bring down
rates in the domestic
retail markets.
With reduction in the
basic custom duty
(BCD), the effective
levy (including social
welfare cess) on both
refined palm oil and re-
fined palmoline will
come down to 13.75 %
from 19.25 %, according
to Solvent Extractors’
Association of India
(SEA).
—PTI
INDIA SEES RECORD MA VOLUME IN 2021
New Delhi: India witnessed mergers and acquisitions (MA) at an all-time high in
2021, led by more first-time buyers accounting for more than 80 per cent of the
deals closed in 2020 and 2021 -- an increase from less than 70 per cent through
2017 to 2019, a new report showed on Tuesday. The nature of deals was broad-
based, including more mid-sized deals ranging from $500 million-$1 billion,
compared to the mega $5 billion deals that drove activity in 2017-19, according
to a Bain Company report. While MA activity has been robust for a few years,
the nature of deals in the past 18-24 months has been very different from those of
earlier years. Scope and capability deals accounted for nearly half (46 per cent) of all
strategic deals above $75 million closed in 2021. —Agencies

07
NEWS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A picture is
worth a thousand
words indeed. A seem-
ingly innocuous photo
clicked at a wedding
reception attended by
leaders from different
political parties has
triggered a political
slugfest in poll-bound
Uttar Pradesh.
The photo, which
was taken at the wed-
ding reception of Vice-
President Venkaiah
Naidu's granddaughter
at Delhi, showed Rash-
triya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) chief Mo-
han Bhagwat and Sa-
majwadi Party (SP)
patron Mulayam Singh
Yadav sitting together.
As the picture tweet-
ed by Union Minister
Arjun Meghwal gained
attraction, the Uttar
Pradesh Congress
tweeted what roughly
translates to, Is the S
in the 'new SP' meant to
be Sanghawad.” This
seems to have prompt-
ed a reply from the BJP
which said a “picture
says a lot.
According to re-
ports, the two leaders
met at the wedding re-
ception of Vice Presi-
dent Venkaiah Naidu’s
granddaughter in Del-
hi. Though there were
various leaders pre-
sent at the event, this
photograph has creat-
ed a new row.
Stung by the Con-
gress tweet, Samajwa-
di Party hit back by
sharing another photo
of Yadav exchanging
pleasantries with the
Natioanlist Congress
Party (NCP) supremo
Sharad Pawar and said
the Congress has for-
gotten political eti-
quette.
The Congress has
put up a photo from an
event where leaders of
its ally NCP (National-
ist Congress Party)
also sought Netaji’s
(Mulayam Singh) bless-
ing. “What does the
Congress have to say to
this?” the Samajwadi
Party replied to the
Congress tweet.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The adop-
tion of drone technolo-
gy is the need of the
times and will benefit
farmers. Stating this
during the release of
Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs) for
drone application in ag-
riculture, Union Agri-
culture Minister Naren-
dra Singh Tomar said
that under the leader-
ship of Prime Minister
Modi all policies since
2014 are aimed at dou-
bling farmer’s income
by 2022.
He said that the for-
mation of the Farmer
Producer Organisation
(FPOs) and the Agricul-
ture Infrastructure
Fund (AIF) will bring
about a revolution in
the lives of small farm-
ers. The minister in-
formed that the drones
were used for the first
time in warding off lo-
cust attacks in various
states of the country
. He
said that the govern-
ment is making contin-
uous efforts to infuse
new technologies in ag-
riculture so as to pro-
vide sustainable solu-
tions in the context of
enhancing the produc-
tivity as well as efficien-
cy of the agriculture
sector. The SOPs for
drone regulation for
pesticide application
covers important as-
pects like statutory pro-
visions, flying permis-
sions, area distance re-
strictions, weight clas-
sification, overcrowded
areas restriction, drone
registration, safety in-
surance, piloting certi-
fication, operation plan,
air flight zones, weather
conditions, SOPs for
pre, post and during op-
eration, emergency
handling plan.
The Ministry of Agri-
culture Farmers Wel-
fare, in consultation
with all the stakehold-
ers, has brought out
SOPs for use of drones
in pesticide and nutri-
ent application.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even as
dra Modi on Tuesday
lauded the NDA govern-
ment’s decision to in-
crease the marriage age
of girls from 18 to 21
years, the All- India
Muslim Personal Law
Board (AIMPLB), an
apex body of Muslim
community, has op-
posed the decision.
The general secre-
tary of the board Maul-
ana Khalid Saifullah
Rahmani in a statement
has asked the central
government to refrain
from fixing the age of
marriage of girls from
18 years to 21. Pointing
out that such a move
was interference in the
personal liberty of the
person, the board said
the government should
stay away from making
such “useless and
harmful laws”.
The Union Cabinet
had approved a propos-
al to raise the minimum
legal age of marriage
of girls from 18 to 21
and Modi especially
mentioned it while ad-
dressing women rally
in Prayagraj on Tues-
day. Modi said the gov-
ernment had taken this
decision to provide
equal opportunity to
girls. However, not only
the Muslim board, but
Khaps of Jat commu-
nity in West UP have
also come out in opposi-
tion to the deci-
sion. The Samajwadi
Party MPs Shafiqur-
Rahman Barq and ST
Hasan had also opposed
the government. But
the SP president, Akh-
ilesh Yadav had dis-
tanced himself from
their statement.
New Delhi: Delhi’s
Rouse Avenue court has
discharged former
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) MLA Kuldeep
Singh Senger, and five
others, in the 2019 acci-
dent case of Unnao rape
survivor and her family
members.
According to the
court’s order, there is
‘no prima facie evi-
dence’ against the ex-
pelled BJP leader and
others in the matter.
A truck rammed into
the vehicle in which the
Unnao rape victim was
travelling to Rae Bareli
with her two aunts and
lawyer in July 2019.
While her aunts suc-
cumbed to their inju-
ries, the rape survivor
and her lawyer were
grievously injured.
Pronouncing the or-
der, additional Chief
Metropolitan Magis-
trate Ravindra Kumar
Pandey discharged the
accused observing that
prima facie there is no
evidence against the ac-
cused persons – Senger,
Komal Singh, Arun
Singh, Gyanendra Sin-
gh, Rinku Singh and
Awdesh Singh. The
court, however, ordered
framing of charges
against four other ac-
cused – Ashish Kumar
Pal, Vinod Mishra,
Haripal Singh and
Naveen Singh – as there
was prima facie suffi-
cient evidence against
them. In its order, the
court noted that the
charge sheet did not
find mention of any re-
cord or evidence re-
garding the criminal
conspiracy between the
accused persons or-
dered to be put on trial
with the accused Kul-
deep Sengar.
“Accused Ashish Ku-
mar Pal is directed to be
charged for offence pun-
ishable under section
304-A (causing death by
negligence), 338 (caus-
ing grievous hurt by act
endangering life or per-
sonal safety of others),
279 (rash driving on a
public way) of IPC and
accused Vinod Mishra,
Haripal Singh and
Naveen Singh are di-
rected to be separately
charged for offence pun-
ishable under section
506(ii) (threat to cause
death) of IPC, read with
Section 34 (common in-
tention) of IPC,” the
court said.
The order stated Kul-
deep Sengar was in ju-
dicial custody during
the period when the al-
leged threat was ex-
tended to the victim.
The prosecution’s case
was that he conspired
with the other accused
to extend the threat to
the victim or her fami-
ly members and he
himself did not extend
any threat, the court
said. —PTI
Mulayam-Bhagwat photo triggers political slugfest in poll-bound UP
Union minister showers women start-ups with praise
GSSSB exam cancelled after paper leak; 3 arrested
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The Gu-
jarat government has
cancelled the recently
conducted written test
for the recruitment of
head clerks following
leak of a question paper
ahead of the exam, Gu-
jarat Minister of State
for Home Harsh Sang-
havi said on Tuesday
.
Meanwhile, police
said they have arrested
the main accused in the
case.
The paper leak case
will be tried in a fast
track court to “set an
example”, Sanghavi
told reporters in Gan-
dhinagar after a meet-
ing with Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel.
He said the CM took
the decision to cancel
the exam in the larger
interest of nearly 88,000
candidates who had ap-
peared for it.
“A fresh exam will be
conducted in March
2022 in a more transpar-
ent manner and using a
different method. All
the candidates who had
filled up forms for the
previous test will be
considered eligible for
the new test,” the min-
ister said.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Minister of State (In-
dependent Charge) Dr
Jitendra Singh on
Tuesday said that
women start-ups are
leading the innovative
success stories of In-
dia. Speaking at the
inaugural session of
the 12th batch of the
Women scientist
Scheme-C, WISE-
KIRAN IPR of DST
training programme
here on Tuesday, Dr Ji-
tendra Singh said that
many of the big scien-
tific projects including
that of Gaganyaan are
being led by women
scientists.
He said, even during
the COVID pandemic,
it was the Women Self
Help Groups from
Northeast who led
from the front in pro-
viding bulk supply of
face-masks in differ-
ent innovative designs
and colours to match
the attire and big
branded houses picked
up the cue from them
to manufacture the
same. He said one of
the key pillars of
dra Modi’s New India
is the success story of
women innovators in
the country.
The minister said
that soon after taking
over as Prime Minis-
ter in 2014, Narendra
Modi took several
steps to institutional-
ize women participa-
tion in scientific en-
deavours. He pointed
out that all the women
welfare schemes rolled
out after 2014 have
very strong scientific
basis, be it Swachh
Bharat Mission to ad-
dress the challenges of
health hygiene or the
Ujjawala scheme.
Dr Jitendra
Singh says
women start-ups
are leading the
innovative
success stories of
the country
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh with woman scientists.
AIMPLB opposes NDA
govt’s decision to raise
marriage age of girls
Adoption of drone technology
need of the hour, says Tomar
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the release of SOPs for drone application in agriculture.
Delhi court discharges
Sengar in accident case
UNNAO RAPE CASE
CASE HISTORY
Court says there
is ‘no prima facie
evidence’ against
the expelled BJP
leader and others
in the matter
Union Minister says
drone tech is useful
for agriculture and
will benefit farmers
AAP LEADERS, WORKERS SENT TO
JUDICIAL CUSTODY FOR ASSAULT
Gandhinagar: More than
200 workers and six func-
tionaries of the Gujarat
unit of the Aam Aadmi
Party were sent to sent
to judicial custody by the
First Class Judicial Mag-
istrate of Gandhinagar on
Tuesday. AAP workers, led
by Gujarat unit president
Gopal Italia, had barged
into the state BJP head-
quarters in Gandhinagar
to register their protest
over the recent leaking
of a question paper of
clerk recruitment exam,
and clashed with activists
of the ruling party on
Monday. They were then
booked on charges of
rioting, sexual harass-
ment, assault on women,
trespass, among others,
Gandhinagar SP Mayur
Chavda had said.
SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and MoS for Parliamentary Affairs
Arjun Ram Meghwal at Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's residence in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘Is the S in the ‘new SP’ meant to be
Sanghawad,” tweets UP Cong over
the photo showing 2 leaders together
The case will be tried in a fast track court, MoS (Home) Harsh
Sanghavi said on Tuesday.
Kuldeep Singh Senger

08
2NDFRONT
PM expresses delight over growing
confidence of rural women in UP
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: It was an
exuberant display of
women empowerment
at Prayagraj on Tuesday
when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Ut-
tar Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
addressed a huge gath-
ering of female benefi-
ciaries of various Cen-
tral and State Govern-
ment’s schemes gath-
ered from across the
state at the Parade
Ground to greet them.
The PM also laid
foundation stone for 202
Supplementary Nutri-
tion Manufacturing
Units and transferred
Rs. 4000 as first month’s
stipend to the account
of 20,000 Business Cor-
respondent-Sakhis
(B.C.-Sakhis).
Speaking at the event,
PM Modi lauded initia-
tives undertaken by CM
Yogi Adityanath to em-
power women on his
own apart from imple-
menting Central Gov-
ernment’s schemes.
Modi remarked: “I am
delightedtoseethegrow-
ing confidence of wom-
en in Uttar Pradesh,
thanks to various Cen-
tral and State Govern-
ment’s schemes.”
He said that the em-
powerment of women
throughschemeslikethe
BusinessCorrespondent-
Sakhis (BC-Sakhis) is
evident. “These banking
sakhis are doing a great
job,bringingbankstothe
door steps of the rural
population. They are re-
sponsible for transac-
tions worth Rs 75,000
crore.”
He added that
schemes like Matri Van-
dana Yojana under
whichawomanreceives
Rs 5000 during her preg-
nancy as well as Sukan-
ya Samriddhi Yojana,
which takes care of the
education of a girl child
through direct money
transfer are bringing
about real change in the
social status of women.
“Two crore women
have received Rs 10,000
crore under Matri Van-
dana Yojana. Similarly,
bank accounts of 2.5
crore girls have been
opened under Sukanya
Samriddhi Yojana”, the
PM informed.
The PM said that the
Central Government’s
‘Beti Bachao, Beti Pad-
hao’ campaign has
helped in checking fe-
male foeticide in the
country, balancing the
ratio of male and female
population. “We tried
to stir the conscience of
the population through
‘Beti Bachao, Beti Pad-
hao’ campaign. For dec-
ades, women did not re-
ceive their rights as well
as safety and honour
that they deserved to
have in society
.”
PM LAUDS YOGI
Prayagraj: UP CM Yogi
Adityanath credited PM
Modi with empowering
women of the country
for the first time in the
history of India. He said
the PM through various
schemes such as Beti
Bachao, Beti Padhao
and building toilets, has
not only been giving
women their long due
rights, but also has
been continuously
enhancing their self-es-
teem by making them
self-reliant through
various innovative
measures. He said that
PM’s initiative to give
property ownership
rights to women is a
landmark move, which
will go a long way in
empowering women in
society. He said the UP
Govt was committed to
pursuing the women
empowerment mission
of the Central Govt with
zeal. Deputy CM Keshav
Prasad Maurya, Rita
Bahuguna and Hema
Malini were among
those present at the
event. Before the public
meeting, PM interacted
with members of SHGs
and beneficiaries of var-
ious govt’s schemes for
women in an informal
atmosphere.
PM MODI GIVING WOMEN THEIR LONG DUE RIGHTS: YOGI
Haryana starts
on-line drug
licencing system
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: The
Haryana government
has started on-line
National drug licenc-
ing system in the
state. The the state
has also started pro-
viding status to the
applicants of all types
of licences in the
pharmaceutical sec-
tor including licences
needed for retail and
wholesale products of
pharmaceuticals.
Thiswasannounced
by Haryana Home and
Health Minister Anil
Vij at a function of all
drugmanufacturersat
theseminarorganized
by Haryana Pharma-
ceutical Manufactur-
ers Association. Addi-
tional Chief Secretary
(ACS)(HomeHealth)
Rajeev Arora, Com-
missioner (Food
Drugs Administra-
tion) Rajiv Rattan and
State Drug Controller
Manmohan Taneja
were also present.
Vij said that Hary-
ana is a right choice
for those willing to set
up industry in the
country having no la-
bour problem, lesser
criminal activities by
anti-social elements,
corruption free assis-
tance provided by the
government to entre-
preneurs willing to
set up new industry in
the state.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij speaking to media persons.
ACS (Health) Rajeev Arora (right) is also seen.
BOOST TO STATE
In a rare scene of bonhomie, some Oppn MLAs praise Haryana CM
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: In a rare
sceneof bonhomie,some
OppositionMLAsinHar-
yana Assembly praise
Chief MinisterManohar
LalKhattar.Surprisingly
,
theseincludedsomeCon-
gress MLAs.
This rare scene was
witnessed in the Hary-
ana Vidhan Sabha on
MondaywhentheHouse
was having discussion
on the adjournment mo-
tion on the second day
of the winter session of
the Haryana Legislative
Assembly
. The discus-
sion on the proposal
went on for more than 3
hours in which many
members participated.
Many members of oppo-
sition including the
Congress mentioned
during the discussions,
that CM Manohar Lal
Khattar is honest, how-
ever,somepeopleamong
the lower ranks are cor-
rupt. They should not go
unnoticedandshouldbe
investigated.
They said the CM has
taken the initiative to
awardjobsonmerit,how-
ever, those who are using
unfair means should be
brought to book.
Responding to the ad-
journment motion
Khattar said that the
opposition has been
saying time and again
that the Chief Minister
is honest during their
adjournment motion
then why do they still
havedoubts.Hethanked
the Opposition and said
that the guilty will not
be spared. We have com-
plete faith in our inves-
tigation agencies. Due
to the misdeeds of one
person the entire sys-
tem cannot be blamed
and those suspected
will be rounded up.
He said that the state
government has re-
cruited people to 84,000
posts without ‘Parchi
Kharchi’ which include
people from needy fami-
lies. During previous
governments people
used to even sell their
jewellery to buy jobs.
But during the present
government recruit-
ments are being made
on the basis of merit.
The youth have faith in
the government and the
government intends to
maintain it.
Addressing the As-
sembly CM Khattar
said said that the gov-
ernment is complying
with the spirit of its
slogan of recruiting ac-
cording to merit. Those
who indulge in corrup-
tion in recruitments
will not be spared at all.
The State Vigilance Bu-
reau has succeeded in
nabbing the gang leak-
ing competitive exami-
nation papers. An inde-
pendent and impartial
investigation is under-
way in the matter. If the
opposition also has any
information related to
discrepancy in competi-
tive examinations, then
they should give it to
the State Vigilance Bu-
reau or the court so that
immediate action can
be taken and no one will
be spared.
the government
is complying
with the spirit
of its slogan of recruit-
ing according to merit.
Those who indulge in
corruption in recruit-
ments will not be spared
at all.
—Manohar Lal Khattar,
Haryana Chief Minister
SAD’s Bikram Majithia booked in drugs case
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Close on
the heels of Assembly
polls in Punjab, Shirom-
ani Akali Dal leader and
formerministerBikram
Singh Majithia has been
booked in a drugs case.
The case under sec-
tions of the NDPS Act
was registered by the
Punjab Bureau of Inves-
tigationatPunjabCrime
PoliceStationatMohali.
Welcoming the devel-
opment, Punjab Con-
gress chief Navjot Singh
Sidhu tweeted: “
After 5.5
Years of fight against
Corrupt System run by
Badal Family Captain
anddelayof 4yearswith-
outactiontakenonED
STF Report against Ma-
jithia. Finally now, after
pushing for credible of-
ficers in positions of
powerandinfluencefirst
step has been taken !!”
The brother-in-law of
SAD president Sukhbir
Badal, Majithia is a
powerful figure in the
party and wielded con-
siderable clout in the
previous Akali govern-
ment. The Congress
and other parties have
long accused Majithia
of links with the state
drug racket, an allega-
tion that both Majithia
and SAD have denied.
In 2018, the chief of
Punjab’s anti-drug Spe-
cial Task Force, Har-
preet Singh Sidhu, had
submitted a report in
the drug racket in the
state, on the instruc-
tions of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court.
However, the report is
yet to be made public.
Sidhu claimed that
the FIR against Majith-
ia had been filed on the
basis of the STF report,
adding that his demand
for this for four years
had finally been heeded.
Amritsar: Former Deputy CM and
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal
on Tuesday declared that his party
“accepts the challenge of a false
case against one of our leaders,
Bikram Singh Majithia, and warned
“those abusing their official positions and playing
havoc with the rule of law” to be ready to face legal
consequences.” He also came down heavily against
the Congress govt in Punjab for what he called
“Their playing brazen politics over the sensitive
issue of the sacrilege of sacred Sikh scriptures.”
SUKHBIR BADAL TERMS CASE AGAINST
MAJITHIA POLITICAL VENDETTA
Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) Punjab has termed the latest
FIR, against Bikram Singh Majithia
as an election stunt of the ruling
Congress, in Punjab’s infamous
drug case against Akali leader. While addressing the
media at the party headquarters on Tuesday, AAP’s
Punjab co-in-charge and MLA Raghav Chadha
alleged, “We had told on 8 December itself that the
deal between Chief Minister Channi and Sukhbir
Badal has been struck in a farm house.”
FIR AGAINST MATHIA AN ELECTION
STUNT OF ‘STUNTMAN’ CHANNI: AAP
It is truly said that flowers are
the sweetest thing that god made
and forgot to put a soul into.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Raj CM orders premature
release of sick old prisoners!
Jaipur: Rajasthan CM
Ashok Gehlot has ap-
proved the proposal for
premature release of
suchprisonerswhohave
served most of their sen-
tences, displaying good
behaviour, or are suffer-
ingfromseriousdiseases
and old age, who have
been serving long sen-
tences in the jails of the
state. This initiative of
the CM will bring happi-
ness to such families,
whose members have
suffered a major part of
life imprisonment.
Accordingly
, inmates
serving term other than
life sentence, and such
prisonerssufferingfrom
old age and serious dis-
eases like cancer, AIDS,
leprosy and other seri-
ous diseases or are blind
or handicapped and de-
pendent on others for
theirdailyactivitiesmay
be released prematurely
.
Also, such old men, who
are 70 years of age and
women,whoare65years
of age or more and have
served one-third of the
sentence, will be able to
bereleased prematurely
.
Besides, prisoners
serving life imprison-
ment and have served 14
years and have obtained
remission of two and a
half years while their
conduct in the last two
years has been satisfac-
tory and has not been
punished with any pris-
onsentence,suchprison-
ers can also be released.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
GEHLOT TO
ADDRESS RPSC
FUNCTION TODAY
Ajmer: The foundation
day function of RPSC on
Wednesday will be ad-
dressed by chief minister
Ashok Gehlot virtually. A
documentary presentation
will be given by the RPSC.
The programme will be ad-
dressed by acting chairman
Dr Shiv Singh and member
Dr Jaswant Rathi will deliver
vote of thanks.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar addressing the state
Assembly in Chandigarh, on Tuesday.
PM Modi transferring Rs 1000 cr to the accounts of 1.60 lakh women SHGs and laying the foundation stone of take-home ration (THR) nutrimix plants in 202 developmental
in Prayagraj on Tuesday. CM Yogi Adityanath, Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union Minister Anupriya Patel, MoS Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Nirajnan Jyoti were also present.

09
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 22, 2021
City First in conversation
with Yashasvi Shrivastava, one
of the finalists of First Miss India
2021 held at Hotel Novotel,
Goa on October 30!
he dazzling diva,
Yashasvi Shriv-
astava hailing
from Mandsaur,
Madhya Pradesh
shifted to Pune to
pursue her edu-
cation. A lawyer by pro-
fession, she always car-
ried a strong desire for
the stage of modelling.
She is blessed with par-
ents who supported her
all the way and encour-
aged her to follow her
dreams.
Talking about how her
modelling career took
off, Yashasvi shared,
“Modelling caught my in-
terest when I was in first
year of College and got
selected in the Fashion
team and bagged the title
of Miss Pune 2016 Run-
ner up.” She further
shared that she was often
misguided as she further
took step in the industry.
After receiving an
opportunity at the
beauty pageant
First Miss India,
she gained her
c o n f i d e n c e
and belief in
people.
When asked about
what would she be if not
a model, she commented,
“I would want to be a suc-
cessful entrepreneur but
would always stick to the
creative side so some-
thing like being a Make-
up artist. Also, I don’t
want to restrict myself to
a single profession, I
want to explore and try
my hands on everything
that I would love to do.”
Lastly talking about
her source of inspira-
tion, Yashasvi credits her
Mother for letting her
choose her own path.
Keeping her passion as
the source of inspira-
tion that drives her,
the young model
sticks to maintain-
ing a positive envi-
ronment and being
led by her passion
itself, keeping all
the distractions at
bay and focusing
solely on herself.
She further wishes
to represent India
internationally as
a model. The beau-
ty with brains is
ready to set
the world
on fire.
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
T
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Yashasvi Shrivastava’s proud parents: Prakash and Rekha
Yashasvi Shrivastava

10
ETC
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22,2021
ittle Affair is a
newly construct-
ed boutique Jun-
gle Lodge with 6
luxury stone vil-
las, inspired by its
natural surround-
ings and is an eco-friendly
marvel of note. It is situ-
ated near the Tehla gate of
Sariska. True to its name,
Little Affair takes care of
all the details that contrib-
ute to a comfortable stay.
Every private villa boasts
of a spacious living area
with minimalist design
furniture, bathroom, open
shower and outside sitting
deck striking a perfect bal-
ance between casual luxu-
ry and sophisticated ele-
gance.
It’s the intricate details
tucked with warm hospi-
tality serving an amalga-
mation of rustic wilder-
ness that will make your
stay memorable. From eas-
ing into the luxury of shar-
ing family meals under the
stars every night to having
high tea by the lake, you’ll
create memories to last a
lifetime. The sunset roof-
top lounge will settle you
in the middle of panoram-
ic views, globed by starry
skies while the stillness is
punctuated by the wilder-
nessof Sariska.Amidstthe
plethora of experiences to
indulge in, the place offers
you a curated menu, cater-
ing to your taste buds with
flavours from a variety of
delicacies. For another
spell of rejuvenation, one
can enjoy bonfire and can-
dlelit dinner while build-
ing the most beautiful
memories with your loved
ones. Combine this with a
lounge equipped with a
pool table, a stacked li-
brary and TV for your en-
sured days full of adven-
tures, even for the most
restless souls. With excit-
ing wildlife safaris in the
vast wilderness of Saris-
ka, stone villas designed to
immerse you into the lap
of nature, and sumptuous
cuisine to treat your sens-
es, you’re going to live the
adventure that you’ve al-
ways dreamed of. Little Af-
fair, Sariska offers great
packages for Christmas
and New Year. So get into
the celebration mood
amidst the beautiful na-
ture of Sariska.
L
KAVITA CHAUHAN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
AN AFFAIR
WILDERNESS!
AN AFFAIR
AN AFFAIR
WILDERNESS!
WILDERNESS!
Distance by road:-
2 hrs from Jaipur,
3 hrs from Gurugram,
3.5 hrs from New Delhi
For reservations:-
Contact No: +91 78770 83719
Mail: info@littleaffairsariska.com

ETC
11
is officially the
holiday season,
the most joyous
time of the year.
With the shorter
days, cold winter
breeze,andChrist-
mas decorations every-
where, it is impossible not
to think about watching a
feel-good holiday movie
while you’re curled up in
your blanket.
I personally like to top
the experience with a little
hot chocolate and some
gooey marshmallows to
make it all the more cozy
.
There’s nothing better
thanenjoyingmyfavourite
movie with my family at a
time like this. Here is a list
of somesoul-warmingNet-
flix movies you are sure to
enjoy this Holiday season!
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
SINGLE
ALL THE
WAY
Peter’s family is
concerned that
he is unmarried,
so he invites his
closest buddy
home for the
holidays to act
as his lover.
When his
family
comes in
to play
match-
maker,
their plan goes
badly.
THE PRINCESS SWITCH
You’ll have to take another look at
this one. It is the classic princess and
the pauper come to life but with
Margaret, the Duchess of
Montenaro, and Stacy, a
normal Chicago girl.
ANGELA’S
CHRISTMAS WISH
Set in Ireland in the 1900s,
this movie depicts the narra-
tive of the strength of family
and a child’s naive wish to
keep her family safe around
Christmas in an adorable
animated programme.
THE
CHRISTMAS
CHRONICLES
Two children attempt to capture
Santa delivering presents, but they
wind up accompanying him as
his tiny assistants. It is engag-
ing for all ages.
THE
BOY CALLED
CHRISTMAS
Nikolas, a young man accompanied
by his furry mates, journeys north in
pursuit of his father, who is looking
for an elf settlement. Find out what’s in
store for him.
SINGLE
SINGLE
ALL THE
ALL THE
Set in Ireland in the 1900s,
this movie depicts the narra-
tive of the strength of family
and a child’s naive wish to
keep her family safe around
Christmas in an adorable
animated programme.
Two children attempt to capture
Santa delivering presents, but they
wind up accompanying him as
his tiny assistants. It is engag-
ing for all ages.
SANTA BROUGHT MOVIE
recommendations this year!
REVEL IN THE HOLIDAY MERRIMENT WITH 8 OF THE MOST HEART-WARMING MOVIES OF ALL TIME
HOME ALONE
Christmas just wouldn’t be the
same without this film. Kevin Mc-
Callister, being left behind by his
family on a trip to Paris must de-
fend his home from 2 burglars. Will
he be able to protect his house?
KLAUS
Jesper, a poor
postal school student, is
sent to serve on an Arctic
Circle island. It is here that
he meets Klaus, an elderly,
lonely carpenter who lives
in a cottage filled with
handcrafted toys.
THE HOLIDAY
CALENDAR
Abby Sutton, a strug-
gling photographer
working a dead-end
job at Sears has her
luck turned when her
grandfather gifts her a
magical calendar that
can predict the future.
Will she find her
dream career or true
love behind one of the
calendar doors?

22122021 first india new delhi

22122021 first india new delhi

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