23042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

Ashvini Yadav &
Shweta Mishra
Alwar: A 300-year-old
Shiva temple was demol-
ishedusingbulldozersin
Rajgarh town of Alwar.
A complaint has been
registered at Rajgarh Po-
lice Station. “I am sorry
to say
, it has become a
fashion; issues are made
in the name of temples
now. We respect temples,
we are more religious
than people from BJP
...
We don’t use religion for
vote bank,” said Ra-
jasthan Minister Ma-
hesh Joshi. “I have con-
stituteda5-membercom-
mittee for the factual in-
vestigation of the Raj-
garh (Alwar) temple
case. This committee
will go to the spot, pre-
pare a factual report and
submitthereporttome,”
saidBJPRajasthanpres-
ident Dr Satish Poonia.
In Raj’s Alwar, bulldozers
raze 300-year-old temple
‘Cong snatched Himachal’s rights, BJP safeguarded it’
Kangra (ANI): BJP
chief JP Nadda on Fri-
day attacked the Con-
gress saying that the
Congress has always
snatched the rights of
HimachalPradeshwhile
theBJPgovernmenthas
safeguarded the rights
and worked for the good
of the state. Addressing
a public rally in Kangra,
the BJP national presi-
dent said, “The Con-
gress party has always
snatched the rights of
Himachal, not always
given what Himachal
should have got, rather
ithasalsosnatchedwhat
wasgivenfromthefront.
BJP has always safe-
guarded the rights and
worked for the good of
Himachal Pradesh.”
Nadda further said
that during former
Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi’s tenure, they
took back the state’s
special category status
but when Narendra
Modi became Prime
Minister, he gave back
the special category sta-
tus to the state.
“Rajiv Gandhi was
the Prime Minister in
1987. At that time, the
9th Financial Commis-
sion came to Himachal,
whose chairman was
purely Congressman N
KP Salve was there, he
took back the special
category status of
Himachal Pradesh.
When Narendra Modi
became the Prime Min-
ister in 2014, he himself
madeHimachalPradesh
as before by giving spe-
cial category state sta-
tus,” said Nadda.
“If we used to spend
Rs 100 in the schemes of
the Center, then Rs 90
were given by the Cent-
er and Rs 10 by the state
government but N KP
Salve snatched this
right of Himachal
Pradesh with the bless-
ings of Rajiv Gandhi.
Now, the Centre gives
Rs 60 Centers and state
have to give Rs 40,” he
added.
BJP CHIEF NADDA IN HIS HOME STATE
BJP National President JP Nadda, Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram
Thakur wave to the supporters during a roadshow at Nagrota
Bagwan Bazar, in Kangra on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘INDIA-UK FREE TRADE PACT BY DIWALI’
...says UK PM Boris Johnson while calling Modi ‘khaas dost’
UK PM Boris Johnson with PM Narendra Modi prior to their meeting at Hyderabad House.
PM Modi and Johnson during the release of a joint statement after their meeting in New Delhi.
event
10
developments
British PM Boris Johnson met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Friday as the UK signed memorandum on new cooperation on clean
renewable energy, and promised defence production in India. SEE ALSO P5
While addressing the
media along with his
British counterpart, PM Modi
said, “While India is celebrat-
ing the “Azadi ka Amrit Ma-
hotsav” (celebrations on the
75th year of independence),
the UK Prime Minister’s visit
is historic.” The two leaders
stressed the progress of
the Free Trade Agreement
between the two countries,
their climate commitments at
Glasgow, and the need for a
“free and open” Indo-Pacific.
1
The UK is creating an
India specific open
general export license
reducing bureaucracy and
reducing delivery times for
defence procurement: British
PM Boris Johnson in Delhi.
3 “The UK’s partnership
with India is a beacon
in stormy seas as the world
faces threats from autocratic
states which seek to under-
mine democracy, choke off
fair trade,” Johnson said.
7
“We reiterated our
support to a peaceful
and stable Afghanistan. It’s
essential that Afghan territory
is not used to spread terror
in other countries,” PM
Narendra Modi said.
6
PM Modi said that the
two leaders stressed
the need for a ceasefire in
Ukraine and the resolution
of conflicts through dialogue
and diplomacy. “We reiterat-
ed the importance of territo-
rial integrity and sovereignty
of all nations,” he said.
4 Last year, Prime Minister Johnson and PM Modi agreed
on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,
announcing more than 530 million pounds in investment
into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship
across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and con-
necting our people. An ambitious “Roadmap 2030” was also
launched to steer the direction of the India-UK relationship
in this decade. PM Modi said they reviewed progress on this
roadmap today and set goals for the future.
8
“We aim to have a new
Free Trade Agreement
by Diwali...I have urged
officials to get it done by Di-
wali. We appreciate the tariffs
being dropped by India on
certain goods and commod-
ities and in return, we too
are dropping some tariffs we
levy,” the British PM said.
2 Britain and India have
agreed to a “new and
expanded” defence and
security partnership, Boris
Johnson said. The two coun-
tries have a “shared interest
in keeping the Indo-Pacific
open and free”, he added,
calling the new partnership “a
decades-long commitment”.
5 PM Modi invited the
UK to join India’s “Na-
tional Hydrogen Mission”
to deepen the two country’s
climate and energy partner-
ships. “The UK and India are
launching a virtual Hydrogen
Science and Innovation
hub to accelerate affordable
green hydrogen,” said UK.
10
Johnson said he
discussed next-gener-
ation defence and security
collaboration across the
five domains - land, sea, air,
space and cyber - as the two
countries face “complex new
threats”. “UK will work with
India to boost security in the
Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said.
9
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a delegation-level meeting.
WANT THEM TAKEN
BACK FOR TRIAL: UK
PM ON MALLYA, NIRAV
New Delhi: UK Prime
Minister Boris Johnson
on Friday said that his
government has ordered
the extradition of eco-
nomic fugitives wanted by
India but there are legal
technicalities that made
the task “very difficult”.
Answering a query related
to the extradition of Nirav
Modi and Vijay Mallya
at a press conference,
Mr Johnson said the UK
government wants them
to be taken back to India
for trial and it does not
welcome people who
want to use the British
legal system to evade the
law here in India.
TALKING TO MODI
MADE IT CLEAR:
JOHNSON ON INDIA’S
STAND ON RUSSIA
New Delhi: UK PM Boris
Johnson said he agrees
with India’s stand on the
Russia-Ukraine war as
India has a historic rela-
tionship with Russia that
everybody understands
and respects. Acknowl-
edging India’s strong
condemnation of what
happened to Ukraine’s
Bucha, Johnson said,
“Talking to Modi today
made it clear that he has
already intervened several
times and I am sure this
is no secret from our
Indian (media) friends,
he has talked to Vladimir
Putin several times.”
NEW DELHI l SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 233
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Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik’s plea to release him from jail
in a money laundering case was on Friday rejected by the Supreme
Court. “It is too nascent a stage to interfere with the investigation.
You (should) move the competent court,” the Apex Court said.
SUPREME COURT
REJECTS NAWAB
MALIK’S PLEA
FOR RELEASE
NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, who was appointed to India’s
policy think tank five years ago, decided to step down on Friday.
Economist Suman Bery will be the new vice chairman. Bery will take
charge from May 1, as per Cabinet Appointments Committee order.
NITI AAYOG VICE
CHAIRMAN: RAJIV
KUMAR OUT,
SUMAN BERY IN
ANURAG THAKUR IN GUJARAT
‘Ayush will create global footprint’
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
world is changing so in
the field of medicine
science, Ayush is going
to make a remarkable
footprint on the global
market making India
number one in the med-
ical science world
hoped Union Informa-
tion and Broadcasting
Minister Anurag Singh
Thakur, he was address-
ing th the valedictory
function of the Global
Ayush Investment and
Innovation Summit
2022 in Gandhinagar.
Thakur further said
that since Narendra
Modi has become Prime
Minister of India,
Ayush, Ayurveda have
got its due importance
in the medical science,
there were days when
allopathy and Unani
professionals were giv-
ing step motherly treat-
ment to Ayurveda,
which has become past.
“Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi got the first
Global Center for Tradi-
tional Medicine, now it
is the duty of practi-
tioners and manufac-
turers to see that our
products are placed in
the global market,” said
the IB Minister.
DANGER BELLS FOR
GUJ CONGRESS AS
HARDIK PRAISES BJP
Ahmedabad: Days after
criticising his party for
hostility against him,
young Patidar leader
and Gujarat Congress
working president Hardik
Patel announced that
he has kept his options
“open”, whilst prais-
ing the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) for
their “terrific decision-
making” leadership.
Patel also hailed BJP’s
decision to abrogate Ar-
ticle 370 from Kashmir.
IB Minister Anurag Thakur
Prashant Kishor’s
entry to Congress a
done deal: Sources
New Delhi: Poll strate-
gist Prashant Kishor --
whose last attempt to
join the Con-
gress fell
through -- is
on the brink
of success
thistime,top
sources said. That he
would join the Grand
Old Party and play a key
role has almost been de-
cided, barring the con-
tours of that role, which
will be drawn up by Con-
gress chief Sonia Gan-
dhi in consultation with
Rahul Gandhi.
Bhopal: Underlining
the need to modernise
the police force, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Friday advised
the police personnel to
become tech-savvy in or-
der to remain two steps
ahead of criminals.
“Police need to be
tech-savvytoremaintwo
steps ahead of crimi-
nals,” he said.
Shah added that there
was a need to modernise
the police force in order
to strengthen country’s
internal security
.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah examines weapons on display
during inaugural session of the 48th All India Police Science
Congress at Central Academy of Police Training in Bhopal.
Become tech-savvy to remain two
steps ahead of the criminals: Shah
AMIT
SHAH IN
BIHAR
TODAY
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take part in
the first convocation program of Gopal Narayan
Singh Vishwavidyalaya at Sasaram during his
one-day visit to Bihar on Saturday. Shah will give
degrees to more than 700 students at the varsity.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
02
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New Delhi (ANI): Delhi
Police Commissioner
Rakesh Asthana has
written to Enforcement
Directorate asking it to
take action against the
main accused in the Ja-
hangirpuri violence
case, Ansar, under the
Prevention of Money
Laundering Act, said po-
lice. Ansar, a resident of
Jahangirpuri, is pres-
ently under police cus-
tody. Aslam and Ansar
are the prime accused in
the violence that broke
out in Delhi's Jahangir-
puri on April 16 during a
religious procession. The
incident left nine people
injured, including eight
police personnel and a
civilian.
During submission be-
fore the court last week,
Delhi Police alleged that
the main accused - Ansar
and Aslam - got to know
about the 'Shobha Yatra'
on April 15 and then they
built up this conspira-
cy. Delhi Police also
said, We have to go
through the CCTV foot-
age, and identify others
involved in this case.
CRUCIAL READ
WOMAN STABBED TO DEATH IN FRONT OF HER
KIDS IN SAGAR PUR, ACCUSE MANAGES TO FLEE
New Delhi (ANI): A young woman was stabbed to death
in front of her kids on Thursday in the Sagar Pur area of
South West Delhi while the accused managed to flee, said
police. The police official
said, We received a PCR
call at around 2.00 pm at
Sagar Pur police station that
a woman was stabbed. We
reached the spot immediate-
ly. The victim was rushed to
the hospital where she was
declared dead. The police further said that CCTV footage
of the incident showed that the accused was chasing her
when she was headed home with her kids. At around 2.10
pm the accused stabbed her and managed to escape.
MAN SHOT DEAD BY FORMER TENANT IN
GURUGRAM, COPS SUSPECT PERSONAL ENMITY
Gurugram (Agencies): A 35-year-old man was allegedly
shot dead by his former tenant over some personal enmity
on Thursday evening in Gurugram, the police said. The
police added that a case has been filed and a hunt is on
to arrest the accused. The man, identified as Deepak,
was a resident of Bilaspur Khurd. According to his cousin
Sandeep, who is an eyewitness in the case, around 7.15
pm, Deepak spoke to him near his house and was walking
towards his car when the accused arrived on a motorcycle
and fired several rounds of bullets at Deepak and escaped.
“Deepak suffered several gunshots and collapsed to the
ground. Hearing the commotion, relatives and neighbours
came out and took him to a hospital where he was de-
clared dead. Some people even tried to chase the accused
person,” said Sandeep in the complaint.
BULLET FIRED IN ROHINI COURT COMPLEX FROM
CONSTABLE’S SERVICE RIFLE, TWO INJURED
New Delhi (PTI): Panic gripped Delhi's Rohini court complex
on Friday morning after a bullet was fired from a Nagaland
Police constable's service weapon as he intervened in a scuffle,
according to police. Two persons sustained minor injuries in
the incident, the police said. Around 9.40 am, a scuffle broke
out between two advocates San-
jeev Chaudhary and Rishi Chopra,
and a public person Rohit Beri.
During the scuffle, they entered
gate number 8, where the fight
continued, Deputy Commissioner
of Police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal
said. A Nagaland Police constable, who was deployed at the
gate, intervened in the situation and a bullet was fired from
his service weapon which hit the ground, the DCP said. Two
people sustained minor injuries due to concrete projectiles, a
result of the shot being fired, he said.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Edifice Engineer-
ing, the private firm
contracted to demolish
Supertech’s 32-storeyed
twin towers—Apex and
Ceyane—in Noida, has
started covering some
of the floors with piec-
es of white cloth to
ready them.
Officials of the com-
pany said that the
floors are covered be-
forehand as an addi-
tional security layer.
There are about 10
floors in each building
where all columns will
be demolished during
the blast. On the rest of
the floors, several col-
umns will be removed
before the blast.
“We are covering the
floors--also called blast
floors--where all col-
umns are to be demol-
ished for security pur-
poses. All columns on
blast floors will come
down on the same day.
These floors will have
several layers of pro-
tective covering to en-
sure that there is no
flying debris. On sev-
eral other floors, we
will remove columns
and load-bearing walls.
These are non-blast
floors,” said Uttkarsh
Mehta, partner, Edifice
Engineering.
He added that the
ground, first, second
and third floors of both
buildings are blast
floors and will be cov-
ered beforehand. Mov-
ing upwards, one floor
after every two or three
will be designated a
blast floor, depending
on the final blast plan.
Every column and wall
will also be separately
covered with thin steel
sheets and then with
geo-textile fabric to pre-
vent flying debris from
the structure.
Following the test
blast on April 10, offi-
cials of Edifice Engi-
neering and Jet Demoli-
tions are now designing
the details of the actual
blast depending on the
structural details.
Firm covers ‘blast floors’ of twin towers
NOIDA
New Delhi (Agencies):
Making it official that
the MCD polls in Delhi
will now be delayed, the
State Election Commis-
sion has put on hold all
preparations for the
polls to the three mu-
nicipal corporations.
MCD elections were
scheduled to be held in
Delhi in April. However,
the polls were post-
poned after the Centre
expressed its intention
to merge the three civic
bodies in the city
.
The Parliament
passed the Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(Amendment) Act, 2022
on April 5, and the Cen-
tre notified it after the
President’s assent on
Monday
.
The SEC notification
also underlined that re-
drawing municipality
wards and reservation
of seats for SC, SC
(women) and women
shall have to be under-
taken to constitute to
single unified corpora-
tion having a maximum
of 250 wards. All this
exercise is likely to take
considerable time, the
notification stated.
MCD elections
preparations
on hold, notice
issued
‘Enough.ShutUp’:Official
shoutsatmotherofboywhodied
‘12 major drains discharging dirty water into Yamuna’
In a heated exchange
that has gone viral, an
administrative official
in Delhi is seen asking
the family of an 11-year-
old boy who died in an
accident to “shut up” as
they protested seeking
action over the incident.
Anurag Bharadwaj
died on Wednesday after
he peeped out of the
school bus window and
his head hit a pole. Later,
angry parents and fami-
ly reached Dayawati
Public School and raised
a protest against the
school authorities for
negligence. A case of
murder has been filed
against the school au-
thorities and the bus
driver and conductor
have been arrested.
“We came to know
that the principal has
been taken to Niwari po-
lice station which does
not fall in the (proper)
jurisdiction. When we
reached, we saw no one
there. It was later in-
formed that he had been
let go after questioning.
Then we sat down on the
road to protest the action
against them because he
died due to negligence,”
said Preeti Bharadwaj,
Anurag’s aunt.
New Delhi (PTI):
Twelve of the 18 major
drains in Delhi are still
discharging untreated
water into the Yamuna,
the National Mission on
Clean Ganga (NMCG)
has told the Delhi Pollu-
tion Control Committee
(DPCC) and the Delhi
Jal Board (DJB).
Eighteen major
drains open into the Ya-
muna in the 22-km Del-
hi stretch of the river
between Wazirabad and
Okhla. Though the
stretch is less than two
per cent of the river’s
length, it accounts for
about 80 per cent of the
pollution in it.
According to a DPCC
report submitted to the
Union Jal Shakti Minis-
try in February, the
DJB had informed the
pollution control body
that 13 out of the 18
drainshadbeentrapped
and no untreated water
from them was flowing
into the Yamuna.
The NMCG, in a let-
ter to the DPCC and the
DJB, said it had sent
survey teams to ascer-
tain the status of the
trapped drains on
March 30 and 31.
“It is reported that
out of the 13 trapped
drains, seven are still
discharging into the
river Yamuna. So, as of
now, 12 drains (seven
trapped and five un-
trapped) are discharg-
ing untreated wastewa-
ter into the Yamuna,”
it said.
The seven drains are
the Khyber Pass Drain,
Civil Military Drain,
Delhi Gate Drain, Drain
No 14, Tughlaqabad
Drain, Kalkaji Drain
and the Sen Nursing
Home Drain.
The NMCG has asked
the DPCC and the DJB
to take action on the
field observation report
and submit an action-
taken report to it.
According to DJB of-
ficials, the 13 drains
have been trapped
through intercepting
sewers, which carry the
untreated waste to
nearby sewage treat-
ment plants. Only treat-
ed water from the STPs
drains into the Yamu-
na, they said.
Panel formed to check
reasons for bus fires
SC TO HEAR PLEA ON REMOVAL OF
SHANTIES IN SN MKT ON MONDAY
Delhi transport minis-
ter Kailash Gahlot
formed a six-member
committee to find out
the reason behind inci-
dents of fire in the bus-
es run by the Delhi
Transport Corporation
(DTC).
“Four incidents of
fire in Delhi Transport
Corporation buses in
the last two months
have raised safety con-
cerns. It is considered
essential to constitute a
committee to investi-
gate the recent inci-
dences of fire in Delhi
Transport Corpora-
tionbuses, identify the
root causes, review the
modalities of repair
and maintenance, scru-
tiny and checks of bus-
es at the various levels
of officials and suggest
the remedial meas-
ures,” read the order
signed by Gahlot.
The committee has
been asked to submit its
interim report within
15 days and the final re-
port in 30 days.
The panel will have
special commissioner
(operations) of the
transport department,
Neeraj Bharti, as its
chairperson, and will
include members from
IIT Delhi and Delhi
Technological Univer-
sity among others.
The Supreme Court Fri-
day agreed to take up for
hearing on April 25 a pe-
tition against the pro-
posed removal of shan-
ties in Sarojini Nagar.
Chief Justiceof IndiaN
V Ramana, before whom
thematterwasmentioned
for urgent hearing, said it
will be listed before an ap-
propriate bench on that
day
.Thespecialleavepeti-
tion challenges the Delhi
High Court order declin-
ing to interfere with an
order refusing to direct
rehabilitationof theslum
dwellers.
Senior advocate Vikas
Singh, who mentioned
the plea, told the court
that the slum cluster was
protected from demoli-
tion only till April 25 and
urged it to order status
quo. However, the court
did not grant the request.
The appellants, three
of whom are minors,
said about 200 families
have been residing in
the area since the 1980s
and have the necessary
documents to establish
their residence.
JAHANGIRPURI VIOLENCE
Police chief writes to ED,
wants probe under PMLA
AAP SAYS BJP COUNCILLORS 'EXTORTING' MONEY
FROM DELHIITES BY SHOWING BULLDOZERS
New Delhi (PTI): As the
political brouhaha over
the demolition drive in Ja-
hangirpuri continues, the
AAP on Friday accused
Delhi BJP councillors of
demanding bribe from
city residents after their
party's chief Adesh
Gupta asked the mayors
of south and east civic
bodies to remove illegal
encroachments by using
bulldozers.
Senior AAP leader and
Delhi Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Manish Sisodia called
the development truth
of the BJP's bulldozer
politics and gave a call to
his party MLAs to firmly
stand by the people who
are being intimidated,
blackmailed and threat-
ened by the saffron party
councillors.
AMID RISING CASES OF COVID, GOVT
ISSUES NEW SOPS FOR SCHOOLS
New Delhi (PTI): No
student or staff should
be allowed entry into
school premises without
thermal scanning and if
any of them tests Covid
positive, the institute’s
authorities must take ap-
propriate quarantine
measures, according to
Delhi government guide-
lines for schools.
The guidelines were
issued in the wake of a
spike in coronavirus pa-
tients in the city that on
Thursday logged 965
cases, 1,009 on Wednes-
day, 632 on Tuesday and
501 on Monday.
Schools have also
been advised to ask stu-
dents to not share lunch
and stationery items,
the Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) issued
by the city government
stated.
Parents should be ad-
vised to not send their
ward to school if the
child or any member in
the family tests positive
or shows Covid symp-
toms, it said.
“If a student as well
as staff member dis-
plays any Covid symp-
toms, they should be
moved away from other
people into an outdoor
ventilated space or
quarantine room,” the
SOP stated.
“Teachers are also di-
rected to report to the
principal immediately
if any student in the
class is found with Cov-
id symptoms. The same
must be reported to
zonal and district au-
thorities and the school
may close specific wing
temporarily or the area
may be cordoned off,” it
stated.
All entry and exit
gates of school buildings
should be used to avoid
crowding at the time of
entry and exit of stu-
dents, it stated.
“Help of volunteers
may be taken to avoid
crowding and maintain-
ing of Covid-appropriate
behaviour (CAB). No stu-
dent and staff should be
allowed to enter premis-
es without thermal scan-
ning,” the SOP added.
CITY CROSSES 1K MARK
AGAIN, SEES 2 DEATHS
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Delhi recorded
1042 fresh Cov-
id-19 cases crossing
the 1000 mark again
at a positivity rate of
4.64 per cent, and two
deaths on Friday
.
With the latest ad-
ditions, the case tally
rose to 18,72,699 and
death toll to 26,164.
The number of posi-
tive cases also
climbed to 3,253.
The overall recov-
eries, meanwhile,
have climbed to
18,43,282 after 757 pa-
tients were dis-
charged on Friday
.
However, the gov-
ernment said in an
order on Friday that
the fine will not apply
to people travelling
together in private
four-wheeler vehicles.
As many as 22,442
samples were tested
for Covid-19 in the
last 24 hours, includ-
ing 9,273 rapid anti-
gen tests and 13,169
RT-PCR/CBNAAT/
True Nat tests.
The number of pa-
tients under home
isolation has
breached 2,000 and
those in hospitals
stand at 68, the health
department’s bulletin
also showed.

INDIA
03
The Delhi High Court
Friday said student ac-
tivist Umar Khalid’s
speech at Amravati in
February 2020, which
forms a part of the
chargesheet against
him in the ‘larger con-
spiracy’ case of North-
east Delhi riots, was of-
fensive and obnoxious.
“This is offensive, ob-
noxious. Don’t you
think? These expres-
sions being used, don’t
you think they incite
people? You say things
like aapke purvaj angr-
ezon ki dalali kar rahe
the, you don’t think it is
offensive. It is offensive
per se. This is not the
first time that you said
so in this speech. You
said this at least five
times. It is almost as if
we distinctly get the im-
pression that it was
only one particular
community that fought
for India’s independ-
ence,” said the division
bench of Justice Sid-
dharth Mridul and Jus-
tice Rajnish Bhatnagar
after Khalid’s lawyers
read the contents of his
speech before the court.
The court made the
observation when the
counsel representing
Khalid was reading the
portion where he is re-
ported to have said Ma-
hatma Gandhi had
launchedanon-coopera-
tion movement against
the British in 1920, and
Jamia Millia Islamia
University was one of
the first educational in-
stitutestobeestablished
after Gandhi’s call.
Srinagar (Agencies): A
fierce gun battle erupted
between security forces
and terrorists near an
army installation in
Jammu early Friday
morning,twodaysahead
of a visit by Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi to
the region. Two terror-
ists have been killed
while a security officer
has lost his life and four
others injured in the
shoot-out, officials said.
The encounter started
after security forces
launched a pre-dawn op-
eration at the Sunjwan
cantonmentareainJam-
mu city
. The police said
they had information
thatterroristswereplan-
ninganattackinthecity
.
The CISF, however, said
terrorists targeted a bus
carrying its personnel
and an Assistant Sub In-
spector was killed.
The attack comes
ahead of PM Modi’s ar-
rival in Jammu on Sun-
day
. The presence of ter-
rorists near a vital mili-
tary installation in the
city is a major security
concern ahead of his
first political visit to
Jammu and Kashmir af-
tertheformerstate’sspe-
cial status was revoked
in August 2019.
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: There is go-
ing to be some upheaval
in the politics of Bihar.
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar recently ex-
pressed his desire to go
to the Rajya Sabha and
then turned against it.
After that it is reported
that they are leaving the
official residence of
Chief Minister and go-
ing to a bungalow at
Seven, Circular Road. It
isbeingsaidthatrenova-
tion work is going on at
CMR. Meanwhile, the
discussionhasalsostart-
ed that a BJP leader will
be seated in BIhar CMR
while Nitish Kumar will
go to Delhi. Earlier there
was talk of him becom-
ing the Vice President,
but BJP will hardly give
him this post. There is
talk of a veteran BJP
leader and Union Minis-
ter becoming the Vice
PresidentandNitishKu-
marcanjointhetopmin-
isters of the Centre in
his place. But this is also
speculation.
On the other hand,
the tone of BJP leaders
has started changing.
State President Sanjay
Jaiswal, who had been
targeting the Nitish Ku-
mar government till
now, has said that Nit-
ish Kumar will remain
our Chief Minister till
the next assembly elec-
tions. The state govern-
ment’s powerful minis-
ter Samrat Chaudhary,
who kept finding faults
in the functioning of
his government, also
said that there is no
question on the leader-
ship of Nitish Kumar.
Thusononesidethere
is discussion of Nitish
moving to Delhi while
on the other hand, BJP
leaders are making
statements considering
him as a leader; which is
actually a contradictory
reality
. But there is also
the possibility of some
change from the contra-
diction. Keep in mind
thatinthebypollheldon
one seat recently, when
BJP lost, Nitish Kumar
had said that the public
is the mightiest, which,
accordingtopoliticalob-
servers, may be a silent
threat to those challeng-
ing Nitish’s authority
.
HASNITISHKUMARBROUGHT
BIHARBJPONTHEBACKFOOT?
Khalid’s speech obnoxious, offensive: Delhi HC
JK: 2 ultras killed, officer dead
in encounter ahead of PM’s visit
Mulling postal ballots
for overseas voters: EC
CONGRESS CLUELESS ABOUT
ITS OWN HOME AFFAIRS!
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: The Con-
gress party had given a
Rajya Sabha ticket to its
former president Ripun
Bora in Assam. It is a
different matter that
the party did not put
much emphasis to en-
sure his victory. The
Congress and ally AI-
UDF combined had 44
votes, while 43 votes
were needed to win the
seat. Despite this, Con-
gress candidate Ripun
Bora got only 35 votes
and lost. For this Bora
is blaming the party,
while in reality it was
also the lack of man-
agement since he too
could not unite the
votes. He had been the
state president and the
party had given him a
Rajya Sabha ticket, so it
was his responsibility
to win the seat. But he
lost the election and
within a week of his de-
feat left the party accus-
ing the party and went
to Trinamool Congress.
Just think, while giv-
ing him ticket in mid-
March, did the party
high command have no
idea that he is in touch
with Trinamool leaders
and he should not be
given tickets? He was in
touch with Sushmita
Deb, who left the party.
But Congress had no
idea. Similarly, Con-
gress did not get any
idea about RPN Singh.
The party made him a
star campaigner in the
Uttar Pradesh elections
and two days after the
release of the list of
star campaigners, he
joined the Bharatiya
Janata Party. It is the
lack of the organisa-
tion general secretary
of the Congress as well
as the state committee
and everyone in charge
that they do not know
anything about their
own leaders. If the top
leaders of the party
just keep their eyes and
ears open, then they
will know in time
which of their leaders
are soon going to ‘aban-
don ship’.
K’taka: 2 Hijab-clad students
denied entry to exam centre
Udupi (PTI):In another
dramatic development
in the Karnataka Hijab
ban row, the two stu-
dents who had first peti-
tioned the court to allow
Hijab inside classrooms
were on Friday turned
away from the examina-
tion centre of their final
class 12 board examina-
tion after they insisted
on taking the exams
wearing burqas.
Aliya Assadi and Re-
shamhadcollectedtheir
hall tickets and turned
up donning burqas to
take the exams at the
VidyodayaPUCollegein
Udupi. They tried to
convince the invigila-
tors and the college
principal for around 45
minutes but were even-
tually not allowed any
exception to the court
order upholding the
state government’s ban.
They were then seen
quietly leaving the
premises without tak-
ing the exams.
The principal of Vidy-
odaya college which was
the designated examina-
tion centre blamed it on
the girls.
“We are following
the rule. Our exam in-
vigilator tried convinc-
ing them but they re-
fused to budge. They
clearly had no inten-
tion of giving their ex-
ams. They just wanted
to create an issue,” col-
lege Principal Sandeep
Kumar said.
Meanwhile, BJP OBC
Morcha General Secre-
taryYashpalSuvarnaon
Friday said that in fu-
ture,hijabwillbebanned
notjustincollegesbutin
public places as well.
Callingitabigissuein
Europe, Suvarna said
that once the hijab is
banned it will send a
good message globally
.
The exam which be-
gan on Friday will go
on till May 18. The first
paper was Business
Studies. The exams will
be held at 1,076 centres
across the state amid
tight security with cops
deployed at various
centres to ensure there
are no untoward inci-
dents with regard to
students following the
dress code.
The state Education
Minister BC Nagesh
has categorically said
that students won’t be
allowed to take their ex-
ams in the hijab. This
comes in the wake of
many Muslim female
students requesting the
Minister to allow them
to wear their hijabs
during the final exams.
Bengaluru (Agencies): The Karnataka government
is all set to strictly implement the law in connection
with Azaan. The move is likely to add to the existing
social unrest in the state. Karnataka Chief Minis-
ter Basavaraj Bommai and the state DG and IGP
Praveen Sood made it clear on Friday that everyone
should follow the law in this regard. Meanwhile,
Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik has stated
that he has launched a “Azaan se Azadi” campaign
in the state. He had demanded that the government
should ensure implementation of the law on viola-
tion of rules while performing Azaan in mosques.
LAW ON AZAAN IN K’TAKA SOON
Aliya Assadi and Resham had collected their hall tickets and then
denied entry into the hall.
Patna (Agencies):
The Iftar party
, hosted
by the RJD at the offi-
cial residence of for-
mer Chief Minister
Rabri Devi on Friday,
attracted attention of
every political party
in the state.
Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar, accepting
the invitation sent to
him by Rabri Devi,
and her sons Tejashwi
Yadav and Tej Pratap
Yadav, walked from
his 7 Circular Road
bungalow to her 10
Circular Road resi-
dence – a mere bunga-
low away
.
He was seen meet-
ing Rabri Devi and
Tejashwi Yadav.
Nitish Kumar’s
meeting with Tejash-
wi Yadav has a big
message for BJP top
leadership – coming
it is a day before Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah’s visit to
the state.
Sources have said
that Nitish Kumar is
coming closer to the
RJD especially at a
time when its supre-
mo Lalu Prasad has
been granted bail by
the Jharkhand High
Court in a fodder
scam case. It will be
interesting to see the
next move of Nitish
Kumar.
CM Nitish walks to Rabri’s
residence for Iftar party
In coming days,
hijab will be
banned in public
places as well,
says BJP leader
LALU PRASAD YADAV GRANTED BAIL
IN `139 CRORE FODDER SCAM CASE
Ranchi (PTI): Jharkhand High Court on Friday granted
bail to Rashtriya Janata Jal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad
Yadav in the 139 crore Doranda Treasury scam case
in which a CBI special court had sentenced him to five
years in prison. 73-year-old Lalu Prasad Yadav is in
custody following his conviction and sentencing by a
CBI court in February in a fodder scam case involving
embezzlement of over Rs 139 crore from Doranda
treasury. The high court order is expected to be com-
municated to the lower court by Tuesday and we will
submit the bail bond and obtain release order, Prabhat
Kumar, counsel of Lalu Prasad, said.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with RJD’s Tejashwi and Tej Pratap.
CRUCIAL READ
MAHA GOVT TO IMPORT COAL AMID
ELECTRICITY CRISIS: AJIT PAWAR
Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit
Pawar on Friday said that in order to tide over the
current load shedding
crisis in the state,
the government has
decided to import coal
to some extent from
outside the country
for power genera-
tion. He also said that efforts were on to get one
coal mine in Chhattisgarh allocated to the power
department in Maharashtra.
SUPPLY 72,000
TONNE OF COAL
PER DAY: STALIN
Chennai: Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister MK Sta-
lin on Friday requested
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi to supply
72,000 tonne of coal
daily to maintain unin-
terrupted power sup-
ply in the state. Stalin
in a letter to Modi said:
“I request you to direct
the Ministry of Coal
to ensure the supply
of 72,000 MT coal per
day as per the FSA
(Fuel Supply Agree-
ment) at Paradip and
Vishakhapatnam ports.
Only this step can
enable us to maintain
uninterrupted power
supply in the State and
hence I solicit your
personal intervention
in this regard.”
MAMATA HOPES
TO MEET PM
MODI IN DELHI
New Delhi: West
Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee will
be going to New Del-
hi to attend the “Chief
Ministers-Chief
Justices’ Conference
on Judiciary”, to be
inaugurated by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, on April 30.
Speculations are rife
on what observations
Banerjee is likely to
make at the event
against the backdrop
of so many orders
of the Calcutta High
Court - that have
gone against the
State Government —
for Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI)
enquiries on various
issues.
NOTICE TO DELHI POLICE OVER UMAR’S
APPEAL CHALLENGING BAIL REFUSAL
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued
notice to Delhi Police on an appeal moved by a
former student leader of JNU Umar Khalid, chal-
lenging trial court order that refused his bail appli-
cation in a larger conspiracy case related to North
East Delhi violence. Umar Khalid is an accused in
northeast Delhi violence larger conspiracy case.
Mumbai: The State
police on Friday is-
sued a notice to MP
Navneet Rana and
her husband MLA
Ravi Rana, asking
them not to disrupt
the law and order
situation as they
plan to recite Hanu-
man Chalisa out-
side Maharashtra
Chief Minister Ud-
dhav Thackeray’s
residence here on
April 23.
On Thursday,
Ravi Rana had an-
nounced that he
was firm on his
plan to recite Ha-
numan Chalisa
outside ‘Ma-
toshree’, the pri-
vate residence of
Mr Thackeray, who
is also the presi-
dent of the Shiv
Sena on Saturday.
In view of his an-
nouncement, a
large number of
Shiv Sena workers
gathered outside
‘Matoshree’ in sub-
urban Bandra in
Mumbai on Friday
and raised slogans
in support of the
chief minister.
MP, MLA get notice
over plan to chant
Hanuman Chalisa
outside CM house
New Delhi: Lamenting
that the number of reg-
istered overseas voters
is “abysmally low”,
Chief Election Commis-
sioner Sushil Chandra
has told members of the
Indian community in
South Africa and Mau-
ritius that the facility to
extend postal ballot fa-
cility for NRI electors is
being contemplated. Ac-
cording to an official
statement issued by the
Election Commission,
Chandra interacted
with members of the In-
dian community during
his official visit to the
two countries and urged
them to register as over-
seas voters as the pre-
sent numbers are “abys-
mally low”.
In 2020, the EC had
proposed to the gov-
ernment to extend the
ETPBS facility to eligi-
ble overseas Indian
voters as well.
Sushil Chandra
Umar Khalid
MUMBAI

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 233
l 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
PERSPECTIVE
04
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The power of God is with
you at all times; through the
activities of mind, senses,
breathing, and emotions;
and is constantly doing all
the work using you as a
mere instrument.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
#EarthDay is about expressing
gratitude to Mother Earth for
her kindness and reiterating our
commitment to care for our planet.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
I’ve the Indian jab in my arm...
Many thanks to India: UK PM Mr @
BorisJohnson Under the leadership
of PM Shri @NarendraModi
ji, India has emerged as the
pharmacy of the world.
TOP TWEETS
HIJAB ROW: FROM
KARNATAKA SCHOOL
PRESIDENTIAL POLL
IN FARAWAY FRANCE
ijab row is back to
haunt in Karnataka
with two Muslim stu-
dents who reached
their examination
centre in Udupi wearing burqas
being turned back from the cen-
tre. The Karnataka government
has banned hijab in classrooms.
The state high court upheld the
ban. The two class 12 students
wanted to write their exams
wearing burqas but when they
were denied permission, they
returned. However, other Mus-
lim students agreed to take off
the head scarf before entering
their class rooms.
Thousands of miles away in
France, the simple hijab may de-
cide the fate of far-right candi-
date Marie Le Pen who has
promised to ban the covering of
face by Muslim women in public
places.PresidentEmmanuelMa-
cron is against the ban. In their
televised debate before Sunday’s
vote, Macron told Le Pen that her
move will lead France to a “civil
war”. France has the largest
Muslim population in Western
Europe. Wearing of the Islamic
covering is already illegal in
French schools.
H
ndia couldn’t
have made its pro-
Russia stand
clearer than the
way it did at the
G20 meet on Wednesday
when Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman did not join
the western bloc in boycott-
ing Russian finance minister
Antony Siluanov’s virtual
address. At least 10 other who
stayed on during the Russian
leader’s speech despite the
US call for boycott included
Indonesia’s finance minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati who
was chairing the session,
China, Brazil, South Africa
and Saudi Arabia. The boy-
cott led by US treasury secre-
tary Janet Yellen over inva-
sion of Ukraine was backed
by the UK, Canada, Germany
and France among others.
The vertical split in the
group on economic coopera-
tion indicated that the Amer-
ican effort to isolate Russia
over Ukraine only has the
backing of the western bloc,
Japan and UK. If the war
continues, the chasm will
present an awkward sight
when the G20 heads of state
meet at Bali in November.
With India and China on
its side, ousting Russia from
G20, as desired by US Presi-
dent Joe Biden, will be im-
possible. And that has creat-
ed another issue for the G20
Common Framework which
is meant to resolve the prob-
lem of debt incurred by na-
tions during the pandemic.
Debt restructuring of coun-
tries like Sri Lanka, which is
in a deep economic crisis,
may face hurdles. Colombo is
in talks with the IMF for a
bailout package but has been
bluntly told that its $51 bil-
lion loan was unsustainable
and required restructuring.
Lankan crisis is due to
poor management of the
economy and the pandemic.
It is for such situations that a
united G20 is needed.
RUSSIA’S ISOLATION
AT G20 IS DIFFICULT
If the war continues, the
chasm will present an
awkward sight when the
G20 heads of state meet at
Bali in November. With
India China on its side,
ousting Russia from G20,
as desired by US Prez Joe
Biden, will be impossible
I
RISING SEAS, VANISHING LANDS
THREAT TO INDIA’S FINANCIAL
CAPITAL EDGES CLOSER
The Maharashtra Shoreline
Management Plan (MSMP)
2017, a document that
looked at the extent of coastal
erosion, could be amended
this year as per government
sources to account for new
changes (due to erosion)
throughout the state’s
720-kilometre coastline
The MSMP evaluates natural
coastal processes, land use,
and environmental details
for coastal developments, and
this time will include the
direct effects of sea-level rise
verthoughtaboutthatsinking
feeling? Imagine this. You are
lounging in your lavish home
ontheMumbaiseaface,enjoy-
ing the view of the sea on a
monsoon morning. Suddenly
,
the waves swell and start get-
ting dangerously close to the
streets,surpassingthetripods.
Before you know, its crashing
on the streets, and now its
near your doorway
. As you sit
up and take notice of your
beautiful morning turning
intoanimminentlyfatalpaint-
ing,thingsstartgettingworse.
Reads just like one of those
movies like ‘2012’, right? How-
ever, this is not fiction. As
Mumbai grapples with its un-
precedentedpopulationburst,
it has stood out as a severely
threatened city along the
western coast of India. Why?
The bulk of the coastal zones
around the financial capital
have witnessed the highest
amountof erosionasrevealed
after the Union Environment
Ministry presented stunning
statistics on ecological chal-
lenges impacting India’s
coastal regions before the Ra-
jya Sabha earlier this month.
TheNationalCentreforSus-
tainableCoastalManagement,
Chennai had undertaken
shorelinechangestudiesusing
satellite data from the past 38
years, identifying locations
badly impacted by erosion. In
Mumbai, the coastline along
the Mahul village towards the
eastern suburbs shrunk by
146.16metres(themostforany
location across Maharashtra).
SHRINKING SPACES BY
2050 IN MUMBAI
Taking it a step further, in-
creased erosion puts infra-
structure in jeopardy, and
whenpairedwiththeprospect
of risingsealevels,itbecomes
much more so. According to a
study conducted by Noida-
based IT consulting firm
RMSI (based on Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate
Change reports) for six major
coastal cities in India, by 2050,
a large portion of the people,
property, and infrastructure
would be at risk of submer-
sion due to rising sea levels.
Risingsealevelsmaydrown
portions of Mumbai’s essen-
tial road and infrastructure
by 2050, including parts of the
Western Express Highway,
the Bandra-Worli Sea-Link,
andtheMumbaiCoastalRoad
Phases I and II, which are cur-
rently being developed.
THE CRZ CONUNDRUM
The Coastal Regulation Zone
(CRZ) notice was issued by
the Ministry of Environment
and Forests in 1991 under the
Environmental Protection
Act, 1986, to regulate activi-
ties in India’s coastal zones.
The legislation has been re-
vised multiple times since
then, most recently with the
CRZ 2019 notification.
As highlighted by Mum-
bai-based group Conserva-
tion Action Trust, CZMP
maps for Mumbai city and
suburbs produced recently
failed to include all CRZ IA
categories, and there is no
distinction between man-
groves and mudflats.
RESTRICT CONSTRUCTION
IN MUMBAI’S
LOW-LYING AREAS
Low-lying locations, in com-
parison to high places, would
see a direct and immediate
impact, according to RMSI’s
research. Building in Mum-
bai’s low-lying regions should
besuspendedimmediately
,ac-
cordingtotheMCAP
,launched
inMarchthisyear,tolimitthe
risk of erosion and sea-level
rise. In addition, the plan,
overthenexteightyears,calls
for improving data monitor-
ing and consistency to close
gapsinlocalweatherforecast-
ing and tidal changes for sea-
levelrise,planningandimple-
menting climate-proofing in-
frastructure, and, most im-
portantly, empowering vul-
nerablecommunitiestobetter
understand and integrate
early warning systems.
THREE-PRONGED
APPROACH NEEDED
BEFORE ITS TOO LATE
In view of the increased sea-
level rise projections for 2050,
RMSI has proposed that the
Centre launch a project to cre-
ateanewshoreline,inundation
mapping, and disaster prepar-
edness throughout the whole
Indian coastline. All locations
to the left of the new coastline
(towards the ocean), whether
residential,industrial,orinfra-
structural,mustbemovedonce
the new coastline mapping is
ready
. All the data should be
includedinaDecisionSupport
System(DSS)toassistplanners
inrelocatingassetstotheleftof
the new shoreline, planning
newbuildingsinlightof thelat-
est flood risk maps, and deter-
miningplinthlevels,basements,
and other issues.
This DSS will also help pre-
dict the dangers of heavy
rains and cyclones. In addi-
tion, all rivers and streams
should have their water levels
modelled, and locations at
risk of permanent submer-
gence marked. With this new
reality, inundation mapping
for Mumbai and other cities
in danger from increasing sea
levels becomes a top concern.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
E
BADRI CHATTERJEE
The writer is a Contributing Author to
First India as well as Communications
Engagement Strategist with Asar, which is a
research and communications startup that
seeks to address the big environmental and
social challenges facing India
The Mumbai Municipal Corporation, with the help of
the forest department, plans to identify barren
land along the city’s shore, increase green cover
for mangrove planting, and strengthen a ‘green wall’
surrounding the city as a buffer against coastal
inundation through MCAP
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INDIA
05
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The lead-
ers of Trinamool Con-
gress and Telangana
Rashtra Samithi are
upset and complaining
over two issues. Word is
that some senior lead-
ers of Trinamool have
met Mamata Banerjee
and complained about
Prashant Kishor while
objecting to his meet-
ings with Congress
party leaders. Their
first complaint is that
when Prashant Kishor
has an agreement with
the Trinamool Con-
gress, hence how can he
talk to the Congress
party. Secondly, these
leaders have objected
as to how has he as-
sured the Congress that
he will bring harmony
in West Bengal without
talking to the Trina-
mool Congress.
In fact, Trinamool
Congress wants to fight
alone in West Bengal.
He knows that if the
card of Bengali identi-
ty is played by raising
the issue of making
Mamata Banerjee the
Prime Minister, the
party can win maxi-
mum seats. The party
leaders are also looking
at the possibility of
winning all the seats in
Gujarat like the BJP.
They feel that if there
is a campaign to make
the first Prime Minis-
ter from Bengal, Mamta
can win all the seats. In
such a situation, they
are displeased with
Prashant Kishor’s
claim of reconciliation.
However, Mamta has
not taken these com-
plaints seriously, yet.
She knows that her
agreement is not with
Prashant Kishor, but
with the Indian Politi-
cal Action Committee
(I-PAC). She also knows
that Prashant Kishor
has separated himself
from this company. So,
Trinamool Congress’s
deal with this company
is till 2026 elections but
technically not with
Prashant Kishor and
hence Kishor is free to
do his politics. Yes, she
too has raised an eye-
brow over Kishor’s
claim of coordination
with other parties.
On the other hand,
Prashant Kishor has
also had talks with Tel-
angana Rashtra
Samithi. Recently,
Kishor had gone to Hy-
derabad and he also
met Chief Minister
Chandrashekhar Rao.
Telangana Rashtra
Samithi leaders also
have the same problem
as the Trinamool and
are also not ready to
align with the Con-
gress. Congress leaders
of Telangana have also
objected to this. State
Congress President Re-
vanth Reddy has said
that Congress will fight
the elections on its own
and will make a come-
back.
So, the question is
how Prashant Kishor
will bring a cohesive
coordination between
the Congress and TRS
in Telangana and if he
does, will the BJP not
automatically become
the only opposition par-
ty. There is no confron-
tation in the rest of the
states regarding
Prashant Kishor. Be-
cause the Congress al-
ready has coordination
in the states like Tamil
Nadu, Maharashtra,
Jharkhand etc. But
there is a problem in
West Bengal and Telan-
gana.
TMC TRS upset over PK’s ‘role’ both within outside party lines!
Prashant Kishor
India, UK call for ceasefire in Ukraine
Both sides discussed situation in Ukraine, underscoring importance of diplomacy and dialogue
New Delhi (AP): India
and Britain on Friday
called on Russia for an
immediate ceasefire in
Ukraine as British
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson announced
steps to help move New
Delhi away from its de-
pendence on Russia by
expanding economic
and defense ties.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi said that
both sides discussed the
situation in Ukraine,
underscoring the im-
portance of dialogue to
settle issues.
“Both sides also
called for a free, open,
inclusive and rule-
based order in the Indo-
Pacific,’’ Modi said an
apparent reference to
China’s aggressiveness
in the region.
Johnson switched
over to Hindi language
to describe Modi as a
“Khaas-Dost,” or spe-
cial friend, and said,
“Our relations have
never been as strong or
as good between us as
they are now,’’
Johnson said Britain
will issue an Open Gen-
eral Export License to
India, reducing bureau-
cracy and shortening
delivery times for de-
fense procurement.
Johnson also an-
nounced $1.29 billion in
new investments and
export deals in areas
from software engineer-
ing and artificial intel-
ligence to health, creat-
ing almost 11,000 jobs
across the United King-
dom.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with UK PM Boris Johnson
at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
JAISHANKAR CALLS ON BORIS JOHNSON,
DISCUSSES INDIA-UK ROADMAP 2030
AMERICA
SLAMS CHINA’S
SUPPORT
FOR RUSSIA
Washingto: A senior
US diplomat again
warned China of
sanctions if it offers
“material support”
for Vladimir Putin’s
war in Ukraine, while
also pledging to help
India end its depend-
ence on Russian
weapons. China
wasn’t helping the
situation in Ukraine
by doing things like
amplifying Russian
disinformation cam-
paigns, US Deputy
Secretary of State
Wendy Sherman
said at an event in
Brussels. She said
she hoped Beijing
will learn the “right
lessons” from Rus-
sia’s war, including
that it can’t separate
US from its allies.
BRITAIN SETS UP TASK FORCE AGAINST
PRO-KHALISTAN, OTHER EXTREME GROUPS
New Delhi (ANI): EAM
S Jaishankar on Friday
called on British PM
Boris Johnson here and
discussed bilateral ties
and implementation of
the India-UK Roadmap
2030. “Delighted to call
on UK PM @BorisJohn-
son during his India
visit. Discussed our ex-
panding partnership and
implementing the #In-
diaUK Roadmap 2030,”
Jaishankar tweeted.
New Delhi (ANI): Pro-
Khalistan and other
extremist groups in the
UK may face heat in the
coming days. British
PM Boris Johnson,
during his visit to India,
announced that the UK
has set up Anti-Extremist
Task Force. “We have a
very strong view that we
don’t tolerate extremist
groups threatening other
countries, threatening
India. We’ve set up an
Anti-Extremist Task
Force,” Boris Johnson
said. Pro-Khalistan
groups have time and
again resorted to violent
protests outside the High
Commission of India.
Recently, UK police also
conducted raids against
pro-Khalistan organisa-
tion in the country.
‘NO PRESSURE’
FROM UK OVER
RUSSIA: INDIA
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson put no
pressure on his Indian
counterpart Narendra
Modi over New Delhi’s
position on Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine when
they met on Friday, India’s
foreign secretary told
reporters. India has not
explicitly condemned
the invasion by Russia,
its biggest supplier of
military hardware.
Hate speech case: SC
directs Delhi Police to
file ‘better affidavit’
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court on Fri-
day expressed its dis-
pleasure over a Delhi
Police affidavit which
said “no hate speech
was made” during an
event held here by a
right-wing outfit, and
wondered whether the
officer who filed the
document had applied
his mind or merely re-
produced the inquiry
report.
Posing searching
questions, the court
also directed the police
to file a “better affida-
vit” after which Addi-
tional Solicitor General
(ASG) KM Nataraj, ap-
pearing for the Delhi
Police, said they will
have a “re-look” of the
matter and file a fresh
affidavit.
The Delhi Police had
told the top court that
“no specific words
against any community
were uttered” at the
event organised by the
‘Hindu Yuva Vahini’ on
December 19 last.
“The affidavit has
been filed by the Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice. We hope he has un-
derstood the nuances.
Has he merely repro-
duced the inquiry re-
port or applied his
mind? Is it your stand
as well or the reproduc-
tion of inquiry report
of sub-inspector level
officer?” a bench of Jus-
tices AM Khanwilkar
and Abhay S Oka asked.
The bench ques-
tioned can such a stand
be taken on an affidavit
before the court and
wanted to know who
verified the affidavit.
Birla: Need to enhance trade
betweenIndiaandCambodia
Shah: Tribal welfare funds
increase to `78,000 crore
‘Russian malware used
for Oil India cyber attack’
Phnom Penh: Indian
Parliamentary Delega-
tion led by Lok Sabha
Speaker, Shri Om Birla,
which concluded its
three-day visit to Viet-
nam yesterday, arrived
in Phnom Penh.
Underlining that
trade relations between
India and Cambodia are
yet to reach to their po-
tential, Birla stressed
the need for increasing
bilateral trade between
the two countries. New
areas of cooperation
need to be explored and
tapped, said Birla.
The Delegation in-
cludes Ravneet Singh,
Member of Parliament
(Lok Sabha); Saroj Pan-
dey, MP (Rajya Sabha);
Locket Chatterjee,
Member of Parliament
(Lok Sabha); Sarmistha
Sethi, Member of Par-
liament (Lok Sabha);
Dr. Santanu Sen, Mem-
ber of Parliament (Ra-
jya Sabha) and Utpal
Kumar Singh, General
Secretary, Lok Sabha.
Bhopal (PTI): Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi increased the al-
location of funds for the
welfare of tribal com-
munities drastically af-
ter coming to power in
the Centre, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
said on Friday
.
He was speaking at
‘Van Samiti Sammelan’,
a program where bonus
was distributed to col-
lectors of forest pro-
duce such as Tendu
leaves. “This is a gov-
ernment of the poor,
Scheduled Tribes, dal-
its and backward class-
es. During Congress
government’s time,
only Rs 21,000 crore
were provided for the
welfare of (tribal com-
munities) people, but
after Modi came to pow-
er in 2014, it has been
enhanced to Rs 78,000
crore,” Shah said.
Guwahati (PTI): A
Russian malware plant-
ed from a server in Ni-
geria was used for a re-
cent cyber attack on Oil
India’s (OIL) system in
Assam’s Duliajan,
which had brought
down the PSU major’s
network, a top police of-
ficial said on Friday
.
The OIL system is yet
to be restored complete-
ly even after 10 days of
the incident, they add-
ed. A top police official,
who wished not to be
named, told PTI that
their investigations in-
dicated the cyber attack
was carried out from
overseas.
He said, “We have
found that a Russian
malware was used in it.
And someone, individu-
al or group, planted it
from Nigeria.
“We are working out
the details and also as-
certaining whether it
was planned attack or a
random one that hit
OIL,” the official added.
The cyber attack took
place on April 10 on one
of the workstation of
Geological and Reser-
voir department of OIL,
but it was intimated by
the IT department on
April 12.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla meets King of Cambodia, Preah Bat
Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni in Phnom Penh.
Home Minister Amit Shah
addresses the ‘Van Samiti
Sammelan’ in Bhopal.
No choice but to make nation stronger
amid altering world order, says Rajnath
New Delhi (PTI): India
has no option but to
make itself stronger to
ensure its defence,
peace and stability as
the world order is
changing rapidly, De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh said on Friday in
the context of the
Ukraine-Russia war.
A lot of things are
happening in the world
that are affecting India,
Singh said at the inau-
guration of DefCon-
nect 2.0.
DefConnect 2.0 is a
one-day event to bring
together start-ups, big
companies and armed
forces personnel to
boost indigenous in-
novation in the de-
fence sector.
“When we met at
Aero India 2021 (Febru-
ary 21), from then to
now, the world has
changed so much that it
cannot be accounted for
or measured. Every
new danger is looking
more complex and chal-
lenging than the previ-
ous one,” Singh told the
gathering.
“We did not even re-
cover fully from the
Covid-induced crisis
but the world is now
facing the issue of the
Ukrainian conflict,”
he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inspecting the display of electric
vehicles in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi (ANI): The ED has attached assets worth Rs
6.28 crore of Saradha Group of Companies in Assam
for running illegal Ponzi schemes by befooling com-
mon people. The properties
were attached under the
PMLA, 2002 in connection
with a case. The ED initi-
ated a money-laundering
investigation on the basis of
various FIRs and chargesheets filed by different law
enforcement agencies under Section 120B and Section
420 (cheating) of the IPC against Saradha Group.
New Delhi: NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar,
who was appointed to India’s policy think tank five
years ago, has decided to step down, people familiar
with the matter said on Friday. Kumar is likely to be
replaced by economist Suman Bery. Kumar took over
as vice chairman in August 2017 after his predeces-
sor Arvind Panagariya exited the National Institution
for Transforming India, better known as NITI Aayog.
Suman Bery, who is likely to succeed Rajiv Kumar, was
the director-general of the National Council of Applied
Economic Research, or NCAER, one of the country’s
leading independent policy research institution.
ED ATTACHES ASSETS WORTH `6.28 CR
OF SARADHA GROUP OF COS IN ASSAM
NITI AAYOG VC RAJIV KUMAR TO STEP DOWN,
ECONOMIST SUMAN BERY MAY REPLACE HIM
ISRO CHAIRMAN,
MAHA MP GIVEN
VIP SECURITY
COVER BY CENTRE
New Delhi (PTI): Ma-
harashtra MP Navneet
Rana and ISRO chair-
man S Somanath have
been provided a central
armed VIP security
cover by the Union gov-
ernment. The Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA)
accorded the security
cover last week to the
two after accepting sep-
arate recommendations
of central intelligence
agencies.
2 UKRAINIANS
HELD IN ASSAM
WITH INVALID
PASSPORTS
Guwahati (Agencies):
Two Ukrainian nationals
who carried invalid
passports have been
detained by the railway
police in Assam’s
Karimganj district.
The two Ukrainians,
Chrisinsky Volodimir,
39, and Nazari Voznyuk,
21, were travelling in
Agartala-New Delhi
(Anand Vihar) Tripura
Sundari Express on
Thursday night.
CRUCIAL READ 18 more at IIT
Madras test
+ve for Covid
Chennai: Eighteen peo-
ple have tested positive
for Covid-19 at IIT Ma-
dras, taking the total to
30 cases in two days, of-
ficials said on Friday,
amid a spike in corona-
virus infections in some
parts of the country
.
Tamil Nadu on
Thursday reported 39
fresh Covid-19 cases,
pushing the caseload to
34,53,390 as the State
continued to witness an
increasing trend. The
number of deaths re-
mained 38,025 with zero
fatalities being record-
ed in the last 24 hours, a
medical bulletin said.

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
drone service sector
holds tremendous
promise and will pro-
vide about one lakh
jobs in the next four-
five years, Aviation
Minister Jyotiraditya
Scindia said on Friday
.
“We took out a pro-
d u c t i v i t y - l i n k e d
scheme for the drone
sector where a nascent
industry of drone man-
ufacturing -- which had
a total revenue of Rs 60
crore -- was given an in-
centive of Rs 120 crore
over the next three
years,” the minister
said in his speech at an
event organised by the
Indo-American Cham-
ber of Commerce
(IACC).
Under the PLI
scheme that was an-
nounced last year, the
incentive for a manu-
facturer of drones and
drone components will
be 20 per cent of the
value addition made by
the company during
the next three years.
The value addition is
calculatedastheannual
sales revenue from
drones and drone com-
ponents (net of GST)
minusthepurchasecost
(net of GST) of drone
and drone components.
The ministry has re-
leased the names of 14
drone companies se-
lected as beneficiaries
of the PLI scheme.
Scindia said on Fri-
day
, “We look at a rapid
expansion of almost Rs
5,000 crore in terms of
investment into the
drone manufacturing
space.”
“The drone service
sector...we are looking
at the creation of
1,00,000 jobs over the
next four-five years. It is
an area of tremendous
promise,” he added.
Drone service sector holds huge promise: Scindia
Under the PLI scheme that was
announced last year, the incentive for a
manufacturer of drones and drone
components will be 20 per cent of the
value addition made by the company
during the next three years.
New Delhi ( Agencies):
Reliance Industries Ltd ,
operator of the world’s
biggest oil refining com-
plex, has ordered at least
15 million barrels of
Russian oil since Russia
invaded Ukraine in Feb-
ruary
,tradesourcessaid.
Reliance has bought
an average 5 million
barrels a month for the
June quarter, the sourc-
es said. Reliance did not
immediately respond to
a Reuters’ email seek-
ing comment.
Before the Ukraine
war, Indian refiners, in-
cluding Reliance, rarely
bought Russian oil ow-
ing to high freight costs.
But Western sanctions
against Russia since its
Ukraineinvasion,which
Moscow calls a “special
operation”, have
prompted many oil im-
porters to shun trade
with Moscow, depress-
ing its crude prices to
record discount levels .
Indian refiners have
snapped up the cheap
barrels as India, the
world’s third-biggest oil
importer and consumer,
is hit hard by high oil
prices. India imports
about85%of its5million
barrelsperdayoilneeds.
While New Delhi has
called for an immediate
ceasefire in Ukraine, it
has not explicitly con-
demned Moscow’s ac-
tions. India has also
abstained from voting
on multiple United Na-
tions resolutions on the
invasion.
Refinitiv’s tanker flow
data shows a supply of
about8millionbarrelsof
Russian oil, mainly
Urals, at the Reliance-op-
eratedSikkaportinwest-
ern India, for arrival be-
tween April 5 and May 9.
AMID UKRAINE WAR RELIANCE BUYS 15
MN BARRELS OF RUSSIAN OIL: REPORT
RELIANCE HAS BOUGHT AN AVERAGE 5 MILLION BARRELS A MONTH FOR THE JUNE QUARTER
SNAPPING UP THE CHEAP BARRELS
Govt may cut LIC
IPO size by 40% on
Ukraine war woes
Mumbai (Agencies) :
The government is
likely to cut the initial
public offering of Life
Insurance Corpora-
tion (LIC) by 40 per
cent to Rs 30,000 crore
as the Russia-Ukraine
war continues to dent
the global supply
chain as well as damp-
en the global econo-
my, Bloomberg report-
ed citing sources.
Touted as India’s
biggest IPO, the gov-
ernment was earlier
planning to sell its 5
per cent stake in LIC to
raise Rs 63,000 crore.
The LIC IPO was earli-
ersupposedtobetaken
place on March 11, to
meetthedisinvestment
target of Rs 78,000
crore for FY2022. How-
ever, the Russian inva-
sion of Ukraine de-
railed the LIC IPO. The
report said that now
the stake sale could be
a little over 5 per cent.
BusinessStandardhad
last week reported that
thegovernment’sstake
sale could be as much
as 7 per cent.
LIC IPO is likely to
place within the next
two weeks at a valua-
tion of Rs 6 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, the gov-
ernment’s offer for
sale including the
draft herring prospec-
tus expires on May 12.
Sensex
slumps 714
points on
weak
global cues
Mumbai (ANI):
The Indian equi-
ties markets key
indices, Sensex
and Nifty,
slumped by more
than 1.2 per cent
on Friday
dragged by heavy
selling pressure
in banking fi-
nancial, IT and
FMCG stocks.
The 30 stock
SP BSE Sensex
slumped 714.53
points or 1.23 per
cent to 57,197.15
points against its
previous day’s
close at 57,911.68
points. The
Sensex started
the day in the
negative at
57,531.95 points
and slumped to a
low of 57,134.72
points in the in-
tra-day
.
The index wit-
nessed heavy
selling pressure
in the last hour
of trading due to
weakness in the
global markets.
The Sensex
closed in the red
for the first time
inthreedays.The
index had rallied
874.18 points or
1.53 per cent on
Thursday
.
The broader
Nifty 50 of the
National Stock
E x c h a n g e
slumped 220.65
points or 1.27 per
cent to 17,171.95
points against its
previous day’s
close at 17,392.60
points.
The index
came under sell-
ing pressure after
two days of the
rally
. The Nifty 50
had gained 256.05
points or 1.49 per
cent on Thursday
.
UBS cuts India FY2023 GDP growth
forecast to 7%, flags risk of RBI failing
New Delhi (agenices):
UBS has downgraded its
GDP growth forecast for
India for the current fi-
nancial year from 7.7 to
7.0 percent, adding that
the Reserve Bank of In-
dia’s (RBI) Monetary
PolicyCommittee(MPC)
risks failing to meet its
inflation mandate.
The reduced forecast
is one of the lowest ex-
pected by economists.
Earlier this month, the
RBI had surprised by
lowering its own projec-
tion from 7.8 to 7.2 per-
cent on risks from Rus-
sia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
The central bank’s
survey of professional
forecasters released on
April 8 pegged GDP
growth for this year at
7.5 percent.
India’s economy like-
ly grew 8.9 percent in
FY22, as per the statis-
tics ministry’s second
advance estimate.
According to UBS,
high global commodity
prices, slower global
growth, hit to domestic
demandfromtheincome
shock of high fuel prices
and elevated inflation.
Adani Ports to acquire 100% stake in
Ocean Sparkle for `1700 core
Mumbai (Agencies):
Adani Ports and Spe-
cial Economic Zone
(APSEZ) through its
subsidiary, Adani Har-
bour Services is acquir-
ing 100 per cent stake in
Ocean Sparkle (OSL), a
leading third-party ma-
rine services provider,
at an enterprise valua-
tion of Rs 1700 crore
Ocean Sparkle is a
leading player in tow-
age, pilotage, and
dredging with an asset
base of 94 own vessels
and 13 third-party-
owned vessels. The
company has Rs 300
crore of free cash and
was established by a
group of marine tech-
nocrats with P Jairaj
Kumar as the chair-
man and MD, in 1995.
Kumar will continue as
the chairman of the
OSL board.
“Given the synergies
of OSL and Adani Har-
bour Services, the con-
solidated business is
likely to double in five
years with improved
margins, thereby creat-
ingsignificantvaluefor
APSEZ’s sharehold-
ers,” said Karan Adani,
CEO and Whole-time
Director, APSEZ.
“This acquisition not
only provides APSEZ a
significant share of In-
dia’s marine services
market but also pro-
vides us a platform for
building presence in
other countries, there-
by facilitating APSEZ’s
journey towards be-
coming the largest port
operator globally by
2030 and largest inte-
grated transport utility
in India,” he said.
Govt to finalise
Pawan Hans sale
this week: Report
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): India will final-
ize the sale of state-
owned helicopter ser-
vice provider Pawan
Hans Ltd. this week
and has received bids
from companies in-
cluding JSW Steel Ltd.
and Jindal Steel
Power Ltd., according
to people with the
knowledge of the mat-
ter.
A group of officials
headed by Cabinet
Secretary Rajiv Gauba
is meeting on Satur-
day to pick the win-
ning bid, the people
said, asking not to be
identified as the mat-
ter is private. A final
announcement will be
made after the approv-
al by a ministerial
panel which is largely
procedural, they said.
The asset sale plan
will help bridge the
budget gap and meet
spending targets as
the economy faces
fresh headwinds from
the geopolitical ten-
sions. The govern-
ment is targeting to
garner 650 billions ru-
pees ($8.5 billion) from
disinvestment, includ-
ing sale of minority
stake in some compa-
nies, in the year to
March 2023.
Mumbai (PTI): The Re-
serve Bank on Thurs-
day asked Urban Coop-
erative Banks (UCBs)
not to create create any
honorary position or
title such Chairman
Emeritus and Group
Chairman at the board
level as it results in cre-
ation of a shadow au-
thority
.
The RBI has directed
these banks to elimi-
nate such positions
within one year.
“Such positions may
be seen as creating con-
flicts of interest”, RBI
said.
RBI directs UCBs
to eliminate
honorary positions
within one year
SECURED CREDITORS OF FUTURE RETAIL
REJECT DEAL WITH RELIANCE RETAIL
New Delhi (PTI): A majority of secured creditors
of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) have rejected the Rs
24,713-crore deal between the Kishore Biyani-led
retail major and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s
Reliance Retail, according to a regulatory filing.
While more than 75 per cent of shareholders
and unsecured creditors supported the deal, FRL
did not get the requisite 75 per cent favourable
voting from secured creditors. A majority of
69.29 per cent of secured creditors of FRL voted
against the resolution while 30.71 per cent voted
in favour of it, FRL said in a regulatory filing.
While 85.94 per cent of shareholders have voted
in favour of the deal with Reliance, 14.06 per cent
of shareholders opposed it.
ZOMATO OFFSET ABOUT 500,000 METRIC
TONNES OF CARBON EMISSIONS LAST YR
Bengaluru (Agencies): Food delivery company
Zomato said on Friday that it offset around 500,000
metric tonnes last year and has introduced 100 per
cent plastic neutral deliveries.“Last year, we took
our first step towards long-term sustainability by
launching ‘Climate Conscious Delivery’ – we started
funding local environmental projects to offset the
carbon footprint of all our deliveries and packaging
in India,” said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal in a
blog. “We also made ‘no cutlery required’ the default
option on our app. This helped ensure 74 per cent
of orders go without cutlery preventing tonnes of
single-use plastic from reaching landfills. We signed
up for the EV100 initiative, and have committed to
move to a 100% EV fleet by 2030,” he added.
HERO ELECTRIC JOINS HANDS WITH INDIA’S FRIST
WOMEN-ONLY DELIVERY PLATFORM EVEN CARGO
New Delhi (PTI): Hero Electric on Friday said it has joined hands
with Even Cargo, the country’s first women-only delivery platform,
to strengthen the last-mile deliv-
ery segment. The collaboration
envisages women to play a crucial
role in accelerating electric mobility
adoption and increasing penetration
in low-income communities. As part
of the tie-up, Hero Electric will aid Even Cargo to create the first-ever
women-only delivery EV fleet by bringing over 10,000 women riders
on the platform by 2025, further empowering them and creating em-
ployment opportunities. The fleet will be allocated across major cities,
including Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderaba.

07
NEWS
RLD endeavours towards new political alignment!
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the re-
cently concluded assem-
bly polls, SP chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav had forged
an alliance with RLD
under the assumption
that Jayant Chaud-
hary’s support would
prove to be a game
changer for his camp’s
victory
. But this experi-
ment of alliance did not
meet the test of success.
Since these election re-
sults, the spontaneity of
the relationship be-
tween Akhilesh Yadav
and Jayant started
showing a decline as
compared to earlier.
In the backdrop of the
developments after the
election defeat, resent-
ment flared up among
many Muslim leaders
associated with the SP.
Strengthening the im-
pression of a concerted
move, Some SP leaders
considered close to
Azam Khan even ten-
dered their resigna-
tions, citing Akhilesh’s
alleged apathy towards
Azam and the Muslim
community
. At a time
when there was visible
turmoil in the SP camp,
its ally RLD chief Jay-
ant Choudhary created
a political stir by meet-
ing jailed MLA Azam
Khan’s wife Tanzeen
Fatima and son Abdul-
lah Khan at their Ram-
pur residence on
Wednesday
. Describing
this important meeting
as a courtesy call, Jay-
ant refrained from
speaking on questions
related to Akhilesh Ya-
dav. But Jayant Chaud-
hary fueled the specula-
tions about the new
alignment by pointing
to the “new political
axis” in UP
. Interesting-
ly, in response to a re-
porter’s question re-
garding this meeting,
Akhilesh Yadav replied
angrily
, “You should ask
Jayant ji. I don’t know. It
is good he met them. But
I didn’t send him.”
Arjun Chaudhary, a
political expert who has
a better understanding
of the politics of west-
ern UP, says that the
RLD chief’s meeting
with Azam Khan’s fam-
ily was not a random
incident. This was a
well thought out step for
future plans. Because
the election challenges
of the year 2024 are now
in the focus of Jayant
Chaudhary and it is
evident from the re-
sults of the recently
concluded elections
that despite getting the
support of SP, the party
could not achieve the
expected results. That’s
why RLD is exploring
new political possibili-
ties. Jayant’s close as-
sociation with ASP
chief Chandrashekhar
Azad is pointing in this
direction. Both of them
recently made a joint
visit to a village in Ra-
jasthan where a Dalit
youth was murdered.
With the unity of Jat-
Dalit and Muslim vot-
ers, an effective political
axis can emerge in west-
ern UP
.
RLD has been trying
to regain its lost
ground in UP for
many years. This time
the party was expect-
ed to perform well in
western UP, but could
win only eight of the
33 assembly seats it
got under the alliance.
However, its vote
share has definitely
increased to about 3
per cent from 1.78
per cent in 2017.
RLD TRYING
TO REGAIN
ITS GROUND
Sitapur (PTI): Shiv-
pal Singh Yadav on
Friday accused his
nephew Akhilesh Ya-
dav's SP of not taking
up the jailed SP lead-
erAzamKhan'scause
and said he would
soon put the matter
before Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath.
The Pragatisheel
Samajwadi Party (Lo-
hia) president target-
ed the Samajwadi
Party soon after
meeting Khan at the
district jail here, a
day after he dared
Akhilesh Yadav to
throw him out of the
SP legislature party
if he thought he was
with the ruling BJP
.
When reporters
waiting for the PSPL
leader outside the jail
asked him if he was
with Khan or Akh-
ilesh Yadav, he said, I
am with Azam and
Azam is with me.
Shortly after Shiv-
pal Yadav's prison
visit, SP MLA Ravi-
das Mehrotra and an
SP ally, SBSP leader
Om Prakash Rajbhar,
said they too will
meet Khan in jail
soon. Yadav won the
recent assembly polls
on an SP ticket but
has signalled his
growing closeness to
the BJP after the re-
sults, even meeting
Adityanath once.
The senior Yadav
said it was unfortu-
nate that the SP is not
helping or agitating
for a founder of its
own party
.
The Azam Khan
camp has expressed
unhappiness with
Akhilesh Yadav,
claiming that he has
been ignoring the
jailed MLA.
Shivpal meets Azam
Khan in jail, says
‘SP not helping him’
Shahjahanpur (UP)
(PTI): A day after bull-
dozing an illegal
building belonging to
Samajwadi Party lead-
er Roshanlal Verma's
daughter-in-law, the
district administra-
tion is looking into his
properties to check
whether they violate
rules. Roshanlal Ver-
ma, who recently
switched from the BJP
to the SP
, has appealed
to Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath for a probe into
the matter and criti-
cised the Shahjahan-
pur district adminis-
tration, saying, the
action is against a
helpless widow.
The property which
was demolished be-
longed to Ruchi Ver-
ma, who lost her hus-
band in 2019.
District Magistrate
Umesh Paratap Singh
said, We have also re-
ceived complaints
against alleged illegal
properties of the for-
merlegislator(Roshan-
lal Verma). The com-
plaints are being
looked into.
Roshanlal Verma,
who was the sitting
MLA from Tilhar lost
in the 2022 Uttar
Pradesh assembly
polls fighting on a Sa-
majwadi Party (SP)
ticket.
On the Thursday ac-
tion, Singh said, The
revenue department
looked into the prop-
erty of Ruchi Verma
followingacomplaint.
AUTHORITIES CHECKING PROPERTIES LINKED TO SP LEADER
AKHILESH YADAV HAD FORGED AN ALLIANCE WITH RLD THAT JAYANT CHAUDHARY’S SUPPORT WOULD PROVE TO BE A GAME CHANGER FOR HIS CAMP’S VICTORY
Chandigarh (PTI):
Newly appointed Pun-
jab Congress president
Amrinder Singh Raja
Warring on Friday as-
sumed office here, say-
ing discipline, dedica-
tion and dialogue are
needed to strengthen
the party
.
While giving the 3-D
formula, Warring, a for-
mer transport minister
of Punjab, also said dis-
ciplinary action will be
taken against anyone
trying to weaken the
Congress.
Warring along with
the working president
of Punjab Pradesh Con-
gress Committee,
Bharat Bhushan Ashu,
took charge at a low-key
ceremony here in the
presenceof seniorparty
leaders at Punjab Con-
gress Bhavan.
Warring succeeds
Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Congress leader Sid-
hu came to the party of-
ficebutdidnotsharethe
stage with other party
leaders. He later met
Warring and congratu-
lated him for taking
over as the new Punjab
Congress chief.
Former Punjab Con-
gress chief Sunil
Jakhar, who was served
notice by the discipli-
nary committee for al-
leged anti-party activi-
ties, was conspicuous by
his absence.
Addressing the gath-
ering, Warring said the
Congress is a 'soch'
(thought) and 'vichar'
(ideology) which cannot
wither away
.
Stressing that disci-
pline was essential for
strengthening the party
,
the 44-year-old leader
said no person or party
can grow in absence of
discipline.
New Delhi (PTI):
A couple and one
of their associ-
ates were arrest-
ed for allegedly
duping people on
the pretext of
providing foreign
currency at half
its market value,
police said on
Friday.
They identified
the arrested men
as Jamaal (41), a
resident of GTB
Enclave and Mo-
hammad Nahid
Shaikh (33), a res-
ident of Harsh
Vihar. The police
did not divulge
the name of
Jamaal's wife.
The complain-
ant, an e-rick-
shaw driver, said
he learnt from his
friend that cer-
tain people were
providing US dol-
lars at half the
market value and
hence arranged
Rs 1 lakh to get
them exchanged
for the American
currency, a senior
police officer said.
He met Jamaal
and his wife at
Gokalpuri and
handed them Rs 1
lakh in return for
the US dollars in
a bag.
Soon, the cou-
ple, along with
their associate
Nahid Shaikh, left
the venue after
which the com-
plainant opened
the bag only to
find a bundle of
newspapers cut in
the shape of cur-
rency notes, po-
lice said.
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: To pro-
vide ‘job-oriented’ edu-
cation rather than ‘cer-
tificate-oriented’, a
‘World Skill Centre’ to
providetraininginVoca-
tional Education and
Skill Development to the
youth of the State would
be set up at Gurugram
which is known as the
Gateway to the World. In
this Centre, training
wouldbeimpartedto680
candidates in six main
sectors.
State’s Chief Secre-
tary Sanjeev Kaushal
said that in the first
phase, a target to train
candidates in various
sectors including Tour-
ism and Hospitality
, Re-
tail, IT and ITES, Ac-
counts, Banking and Fi-
nance, Logistic, and
BeautyandWellnesshas
been set.
He further said that
the Haryana Skill Devel-
opmentMission(HSDM)
hassignedanagreement
with Magic Billion (Unit
TGM Services Pvt. Ltd.),
a registered India Inter-
national Skill Centre
(IISC)asaNSDCPartner
for International Ap-
prenticeship and for em-
ployment opportunities
in Germany for the
youth of the State.
As per the agreement,
the Magic Billion would
provide residential
training to around 200
candidates in various
sectors including nurs-
ing, hospitality
, food re-
tail, restaurant service
and construction.
He revealed that the
training provider will
ensure a minimum of 70
percent placement to
successfully certified
candidates with domes-
tic and international
brands within India as
well as overseas (mini-
mum 15 percent).
‘World Skill Centre to come up at Gurugram’
JOB ORIENTED EDU
—Image for representational purpose only
Social security scheme for
transgenders soon in Bihar
First India Bureau
Patna: The Bihar gov-
ernment has intensi-
fied the process of
counting transgender
people in the state to
bring them under social
security schemes, an of-
.
The COVID-19 pan-
demic had slowed down
the process and only 20-
25 transgender people
were issued identity
cards in the last two
years, Social Welfare
Department Director
Raj Kumar said.
All district authori-
ties have been asked to
intensify the survey of
counting transgender
people in their respec-
tive areas and issue
them identity cards at
the earliest, Kumar
told media.
The term of the wel-
fare board for such
people expired in Jan-
uary last year. The
state government has
also initiated the pro-
cess of reconstituting
the board. Its members
include transgender
community people to
ensure their recogni-
tion and empower-
ment, Kumar said.
Separate public toi-
lets will be made for
them, Kumar said.
680 CANDIDATES TO BE TRAINED
IN SIX MAIN SECTORS IN THIS
CENTRE, SANJEEV KAUSHAL
Trio, including
couple, held
for cheating
CBI arrests a recovery
officer, DRT-I, Chandigarh
for taking bribe of `70k
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: The CBI
has arrested a recovery
officer, DRT-I, Chandi-
garh for demanding
and accepting bribe of
Rs 70,000 from a com-
plainant.
A case was registered
on a complaint against
recovery officer, DRT-I,
Chandigarh. It was al-
leged that theComplain-
ant had submitted a bid
in an auction for pur-
chasing the Plant Ma-
chinery
. As he was the
highestbidder,hedepos-
ited total amount within
stipulated time. It was
further alleged that the
Complainant submitted
affidavit in DRT-I office
mentioning therein that
some Plant and Machin-
ery were missing and
requested that either all
the remaining machin-
erybeprovidedorgetan
amount equivalent to
the missing machinery
returned/refunded to
him. It was also alleged
that the accused de-
manded a bribe of Rs
Two lakh from the com-
plainant for settling his
matter and getting his
entire amount back. On
request of Complain-
ant, the accused had al-
legedly reduced the
amount and asked him
to pay the minimum
bribe of Rs 70,000.
CBI laid a trap and
caught the Recovery Of-
ficer, DRT-I while ac-
cepting bribe.
Warring’s ‘3-D mantra’ for strengthening
Pb Cong: Discipline, dedication, dialogue
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Congress
leader Navjot Singh Sid-
hu on Friday said the
party lost the Punjab
elections because of the
mafia raj that prevailed
in the state and it now
needed to reinvent itself,
while praising Chief
Minister Bhagwant
Mannasayoungerbroth-
er and an honest man.
Without taking
names, he blamed Ama-
rinder Singh and
Charanjit Singh Channi
- the two Congress chief
ministers who ran the
state in the past five
years for failing to crack
down on the mafia.
He said he will sup-
port Mann, whose Aam
Aadmi Party trounced
the Congress in the re-
cent assembly polls, if
he fights the mafia.
He is an honest man,
Sidhu told reporters at
the sidelines of an event
where Amrinder Singh
Raja Warring took
charge as the state Con-
gress president. Sidhu
had resigned from the
same post after the par-
ty’s defeat in the Punjab
elections.
Sidhu says Congress
needs to reinvent itself
Amarinder Singh Raja taking charge as Punjab Cong chie.

Once we learn to focus on what is
most significant and important,
we gain impact in relationships
and all tasks.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
Imran warns those who ousted
him to rectify their ‘mistake’
Lahore (PTI): In a
veiled warning to Paki-
stan’s military estab-
lishment, former prime
minister Imran Khan
has given an ultimatum
to those who have oust-
ed him to rectify their
“mistake” by holding
early elections or else
his supporters will
reach the capital to
overthrow the “import-
ed government”.
Addressing a rally of
his Pakistan Tehreek-e-
Insaf (PTI) at Minar-i-
Pakistan in Lahore on
Thursday night, Khan
lashed out at the new
coalition government
led by Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif and
those who brought it to
power.
In an indirect refer-
ence to the military es-
tablishment, Khan said,
“Those who had com-
mitted this mistake of
ousting my government
should rectify it by hold-
ing fresh elections with-
out any delay
.”
He also asked the peo-
ple of Pakistan to wait
for his call to reach the
capital. “Wait for my
call when I will invite
you to Islamabad. I am
not giving a call just to
the PTI but all Pakistan-
is. I want to make it
clear that I don’t want
confrontation,hesaidin
an hour-long speech.
“The actual party has
just begun, our cam-
paign will intensify [...]
wait for my call. I don’t
want anything else ex-
cept early elections,” he
said. In a veiled attack
on Pakistan’s Army
chief General Qamar
Javed Bajwa, Khan on
Wednesday alleged that
“some elements” in the
powerful establishment
who indulged in “bad
practices” were respon-
sible for his unceremo-
nious ouster from pow-
er. According to experts,
Khan, who was ousted
from power on April 10
after the National As-
sembly passed a no-con-
fidence motion against
him, had apparently lost
the support of the Army
after he refused to en-
dorse the appointment
of the ISI spy agency
chief last year. Finally,
he agreed but it soured
his ties with the Army
.
The Pakistan Army,
which has ruled the
coup-prone country for
more than half of its 73
plus years of existence,
has hitherto wielded
considerable power in
the matters of security
and foreign policy
.
Khan, 69, is the only Pa-
kistani PM to be ousted
in a no-confidence mo-
tion in Parliament. He
was replaced by Sharif,
the Opposition leader
and President of Paki-
stan Muslim League-
Nawaz. Khan asked the
people to pledge that
they would continue
their peaceful struggle
for real democracy and
independence in Paki-
stan till the announce-
ment of fresh elections.
Khan lashes out at the new coalition government led by PM Shehbaz Sharif
Jammu (PTI): Con-
demning the terror at-
tack, the Jammu and
Kashmir unit of the
BJP on Friday raised
serious concerns
against the anti-nation-
als that vitiate the at-
mosphere of peace in
Jammu.
Two Pakistani terror-
ists of Jaish-e-Moham-
med’s (JeM) suicide
squad were killed here
in a pre-dawn gunfight
near an Army camp,
during which a Central
Industrial Security
Force (CISF) officer
also died, on the out-
skirts of Jammu on Fri-
day, two days ahead of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s scheduled
visit to Samba district.
Encounter of terror-
ists in Sunjwana area
today is an eye-opener
about the modus oper-
andi of terrorism
spreading its tentacles
in Jammu region. It is
happening when PM’s
visit is just two days
away and it raises seri-
ous concerns, chief
spokesperson of the
party Sunil Sethi told
reporters here.
He alleged that the
area where the encoun-
ter took place was ille-
gally occupied by Roh-
ingaya emigrants and
that they had settled in
Jammu as part of a con-
spiracy .
The local protection
and assistance being
given to the terrorists
needs to be curbed, he
warned.
The conspiracy is
showing its fangs with
increased terror and
hate activities in the
area. Earlier, an at-
tempt was made to engi-
neer communal riots in
Jammu by deliberately
hurting the sentiments
of one community by
an act of vandalism at a
religious place, the BJP
leader said.
PAK NSC DISMISSES KHAN’S CLAIMS OF
‘FOREIGN CONSPIRACY’ TO TOPPLE HIS GOVT
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan’s National Security Committee
(NSC) on Friday said there was no foreign conspiracy
as claimed by former prime minister Imran Khan to
topple his government. “The NSC discussed the telegram
received from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US briefed the
committee on the context and content of his telegram,”
the Committee said in a statement released after its
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The
NSC is the highest forum in Pakistan for coordination on
security issues. The NSC said it examined the “contents
of the communication” shared by the ambassador and
“reaffirmed the decisions” of its last meeting, the Dawn
newspaper reported.
BJP raises concern about
terrorism in Jammu
GALLANT DEEDS OF
CISF ASI WILL NEVER
BE FORGOTTEN: LG
Jammu (PTI): Jammu
and Kashmir Lieutenant
governor Manoj Sinha
on Friday said the gallant
deeds of CISF’s Assistant
Sub-Inspector SP Patel,
who was killed during an
encounter with terrorists
in Jammu, will never be
forgotten. Two Pakistani
“fidayeen” (suicide)
attackers belonging to
proscribed terror outfit
Jaish-e-Mohammed and
the Central Industrial
Security Force personnel
were killed in a pre-dawn
gunfight near an Army
camp on the outskirts of
Jammu on Friday, two
days ahead of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s
scheduled visit to the
region, officials said.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia distrib-
uted laptops and other
learning aids on Friday
to over 5,000 children
with special needs stud-
ying in schools run by
the city government, ac-
cording to an official
statement.
The initiative was
carried out under the
Delhi government’s Tal-
ent Promotion Policy
through which children
with special needs are
provided support in the
form of suitable aids,
equipment and learn-
ing materials. The
scheme covers special-
ly-abled children under
21 categories and helps
them enhance their
learning capabilities
and productivity, the
statement said.
To facilitate the chil-
dren with special needs
(CWSN) studying in
Delhi government
schools, Sisodia distrib-
uted laptops, tablet
computers, sports kits
and teaching aids to
5,322 children of Class-
es 8 to 12.
“Children with spe-
cial needs are deter-
mined to learn but they
often face challenges in
different aspects of life,
which hinders their de-
velopment and restricts
them from participat-
ing at the community
level. The Talent Pro-
motion Scheme is a
small step by the
(Arvind) Kejriwal gov-
ernment to provide sup-
port to the special chil-
dren in our schools and
help them enhance
their productivity and
efficiency,” Sisodia,
who also holds the edu-
cation portfolio in the
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) government,
said.
Sisodia distributes laptops to specially-abled students
FOR A CAUSE
lll
The scheme
covers
specially-abled
children under
21 categories
and helps them
enhance their
learning
capabilities and
productivity
NEXT HEARING OF MUKUL ROY
DISQUALIFICATION CASE ON APRIL
Kolkata (PTI): The
next hearing of the
Mukul Roy disqualifi-
cation case as an MLA
will take place in West
Bengal Assembly
on April 28, an as-
sembly official
said.
Calcutta High
Court had last
week set aside
Speaker Biman Baner-
jee’s order which had
dismissed a petition by
Leader of Opposition
Suvendu Adhikari seek-
ing disqualification of
TMC lawmaker Mukul
Roy as a member of the
House on the ground of
defection and restored
the matter for fresh con-
sideration.
Roy
, a former BJP na-
tional vice-president,
had defected to
the ruling TMC
from BJP in June
2021 after win-
ning the assem-
bly poll on a BJP
ticket in March-
April state poll. “The
lawyers of both Roy and
Adhikari were present
at the Speaker’s cham-
ber today and placed
their arguments. The
next hearing will take
place on April 28,” an as-
sembly official said.
BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi addressing media.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia distributes a learning
aid to a specially-abled student during an event under the Talent
Promotion Scheme, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Russia bars Kamala
Harris, Mark Zuckerberg
Moscow (AP): Russia’s
foreign ministry has an-
nounced that it has
barred US Vice Presi-
dent Kamala Harris,
Meta CEO Mark Zucker-
berg and 27 other prom-
inent Americans from
entering the country
.
In a statement on its
website Thursday, the
ministry said that the
move came as a re-
sponse to ever-widening
anti-Russian sanctions
brought on by the Biden
administration. It
claimed to be targeting
top executives, public
intellectuals and jour-
nalists shaping what it
referred to as the Rus-
sophobic narrative pre-
vailing in US public
debate.
Alongside Harris and
Zuckerberg, the ban in-
cludes top defense and
justice officials; the
CEOs of LinkedIn and
Bank of America; high-
profile foreign affairs
commentators; as well
as the editor of the Rus-
sia-focused Meduza
news website. In a state-
ment the ministry said
that the travel bans
would apply in perpetu-
ity and that the sanc-
tions list would be up-
dated shortly
.
Similarly accused of
spearheading Russo-
phobic policies. Those
sanctioned include
Cameron Ahmad, direc-
tor of communications
to Prime Minister Jus-
tin Trudeau, and Cana-
dian Special Operations
Forces Commander Ste-
ve Boivin.
UKRAINE AIR STRIKE AGAINST RUSSIA
Bengal likely to get three new districts
Sudipto Chowdhury
Kolkata: The West
Bengal government, in
its bid to simplify ad-
ministrative opera-
tions, is planning to tri-
furcate South 24 Parga-
nas, creating new dis-
tricts of Baruipur,
Sundarbans and Dia-
mond Harbour, a top of-
.
Work was being un-
dertaken on “war foot-
ing” to complete formal-
ities necessary to split
South 24 Parganas the
largest district in the
state into three parts,
the official said.
“We are planning to
create three new dis-
tricts — Baruipur, Dia-
mond Harbour and
Sundarban — by the end
of the year. Once the
proposal gets Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee’s nod, South 24
Parganas — currently
stretching from the city
to the coastal villages
along Bay of Bengal —
will cease to exist,” he
told PTI.
Currently, Diamond
Harbour, Baruipur and
Sundarbans are police
districts.
Explaining the ra-
tionale behind the divi-
sion, the bureaucrat
said geographical loca-
tion of different blocks
of South 24 Parganas
often caused problems
to people who had to
travel miles after miles
to get administrative
work done.
The split was being
plannedinacertainway
to ensure that the new
districts get to have one
sub-divisional court
each, he stated.
Baruipur, spanning
around 2,500 sq km, is
likely to have 11 blocks.
“With 11 blocks, Ba-
ruipur will be the big-
gest of the three pro-
posed districts. Sugges-
tion to make Gosaba a
part of Baruipur has
been made,” he said.
Sundarbans was like-
ly to have eight blocks
four in the entire Kakd-
wip sub-division and an
equal number in Dia-
mond Harbour sub-divi-
sion, he said.
The Diamond Har-
bourdistrictwasexpect-
ed to constitute the en-
tire Alipore Sadar area
andapartof thecurrent
Diamond Harbour sub-
division, the official
elaborated.
“Kakdwip has been
proposed as the district
headquarters of Sunda-
rban, and Tongtala of
Baruipur. We are yet to
decide on a zilla head of-
fice for Diamond Har-
bour,” he said.
Asked if the creation
of the three proposed
districts would in any
way affect the configu-
ration of assembly seg-
ments in South 24 Par-
ganas, the official said
thatBaruipurwaslikely
to have 11 assembly con-
stituencies, Diamond
Harbour nine and Sund-
arban six.
National Investigation
Agency on Friday filed
a charge sheet against
two persons in connec-
tion with their alleged
involvement in conspir-
acy and espionage ac-
tivities with an inten-
tiontowagewaragainst
India,anagencyspokes-
person said.
The charge sheet was
filed before a competent
court in Hyderabad
against Altaf Hussen
Ganchibhai alias Shak-
il, who hails from Guja-
rat, and Waseem, a Pa-
kistani national under
various provisions of
the IPC, IT Act and the
stringent Unlawful Ac-
tivities (Prevention)
Act. The case, pertain-
ing to a criminal con-
spiracy to carry out
anti-national activities.
NIA files
charge sheet
against 2 for
espionage
We are planning to create three new
districts — Baruipur, Diamond
Harbour and Sundarban — by the
end of the year. Once the proposal gets Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nod, South 24
Parganas -- currently stretching from the
city to the coastal villages along Bay of Ben-
gal -- will cease to exist. —An official
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

23042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

23042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

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23042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf