24022022 first india lucknow

DEMOCRACY ON FINGERTIPS
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cast his vote along with his family at Scholars’ Home School in
Lucknow’s Gomtinagar on Wednesday.
Deputy CM Dinesh
Sharma, along with
his wife, cast the
all important vote
at Rastogi College
in Aishbagh on
Wednesday.
ED arrests Nawab Malik in money
laundering case against Dawood
Mumbai: The Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
on Wednesday arrested
NCP leader and Maha-
rashtra minister
Nawab Malik in con-
nection with the money
laundering case
against underworld
don Dawood Ibrahim
and his aides.
Steppingoutof theED
office after questioning,
Malik told reporters
“Ladenge, jeetenge, sab
ko expose karenge. (Will
fight, win and expose
everyone)”.Hewastaken
to hospital for a medical
checkup, following
which he was brought to
a special court. Malik’s
lawyershavesoughttime
to speak to him. Malik
was picked up from his
house by the probe agen-
cy at 7 am on Wednesday
for interrogation. ED is
looking into a Kurla
property deal of Malik,
among others. It is
probing a `80 lakh pay-
ment by Malik to Ha-
seena Parkar, sister of
Dawood Ibrahim, to
acquire a 3-acre land in
Kurla.
Previous SP Rule Marred By Several Scams: PM Modi
Kaushambi: In a veiled
attack at the previous
Uttar Pradesh govern-
ments, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on
Wednesday said that
history has shown that
the State is not secure in
the hands of family-ori-
ented political parties.
“History shows that
the state is not secure in
the hands of family-
oriented political par-
ties. There were back-
to-back terrorist at-
tacks in Uttar Pradesh
during their rules. Un-
fortunately, instead of
punishing the terror-
ists of these blasts, the
Samajwadi government
worked to get them re-
leased,” said while ad-
dressing an election
rally in Kaushambi.
“Scams were the se-
cret of their rule. Min-
ing Scam, Food Scam,
Ambulance Scam, Riv-
er Front Scam. Today
every penny of the
State is being spent on
the welfare of the peo-
ple. This government
has done the work of
saving terrorists. Today
,
talent is being respect-
ed and industries are
being set up in every
district of the state.”
Taking a dig at Oppo-
sition leaders, the
Prime Minister said
that the ‘mausami’ (sea-
sonal) leaders disap-
peared during the COV-
ID-19 peak, reappeared
at the time of the elec-
tion and will again dis-
appear after election
results will be an-
nounced.
“You got to see
‘mausami’ leaders in
COVID who disap-
peared during peak and
reappeared when it was
controlled. When elec-
tions came, they have
come, when elections
will be over after March
10, they will go abroad.
They instigated people
against vaccines but
got themselves vacci-
nated. People of Uttar
Pradesh are well aware
of ‘seasonal’ leaders,”
said PM Modi.
PM IN UP
NCP leader Nawab Malik
outside ED office in Mumbai
on Wednesday.
MALIK REMANDED
Mumbai: Nawab Malik
was remanded to the
Enforcement Directo-
rate’s custody till March
3. According to sources,
Nawab Malik’s deal
with aides of Dawood
Ibrahim was under the
scanner of the ED. The
ED had issued sum-
mons to Malik to appear
for questioning.
BSP supremo
Mayawati shows her
inked finger as she
leaves after casting
her vote at Lucknow
Montessori School
in Lucknow on
Wednesday.
—PHOTOS
BY
ASHOK
DUTTA
&
SUMIT
KUMAR
LUCKNOW l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 104
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CORONA CATASTROPHE
Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking cancella-
tion of offline examinations for class 10th and 12th to
be conducted by all state boards, CBSE, ICSE and the
NIOS. Justice A M Khanwilkar observed that such a
petition creates “false hope” and “confusion” all over.
SC JUNKS PLEA
OF CBSE OFFLINE
BOARD EXAMS
CANCELLATION
Parts of Chandigarh have been left without electric-
ity and water for over 36 hours in a major blackout
following a three-day strike by electricity department
workers. The administration, in court, accused strik-
ing workers of “acts of sabotage”.
36-HOUR BLACKOUT
IN CHANDIGARH,
CHIEF ENGINEER
APPEARS IN COURT
On PM Modi’s Ukraine reference
at UP poll rally, a jibe from Jayant
Lucknow: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
while addressing an
election rally in Uttar
Pradesh, talked about
the “global turmoil”
and called for India to
be stronger during such
times. He was making
reference to the ongo-
ing tensions between
Russia and Ukraine,
which many western
leaders said is the big-
gest crisis since the
Cold War.
Thecommentsinvited
responsefromRashtriya
LokDal(RLD)chief Jay-
ant Chaudhary
, who
asked whether voters in
Uttar Pradesh should
ask for relief.
Addressing an elec-
tion rally in Bahraich
on Tuesday, PM Modi
said, “You can see that
there is so much tur-
moil in the world right
now. In such a situation,
it is very important for
India and the entire hu-
manity to be strong to-
day. Today your every
vote will make India
strong.”
First India Bureau
Lucknow: An average
of 59.12 per cent polling
was recorded on
Wednesday in 59 As-
sembly constituencies
during the fourth of the
seven-phase elections
in Uttar Pradesh, ac-
cording to the Election
Commission.
While poll panel offi-
cialsclaimedthatvoting
waslargelypeaceful,the
Samajwadi Party has al-
leged certain irregulari-
ties in some areas of
Lucknow, Unnao, Har-
doi and Sitapur and de-
manded action. In Lakh-
impur Kheri, where
eight people, including
fourfarmers,werekilled
during a violence in Oc-
tober last year, Union
Minister and BJP leader
Ajay Mishra cast his
vote. Mishra did not
speaktothemediabefore
and after visiting polling
booth. More on P3
Russian forces just 20 km from Ukraine, field hospitals up
Moscow: Satellite im-
ages show new deploy-
ment of the Russian
military in areas near
the Ukrainian border,
amidfearsthatRussiais
abouttoinvadeUkraine.
Yesterday
, the Russian
parliament voted to al-
low President Vladimir
Putin to use the army
outside the country to
support separatists in
Ukraine.
Thepictures,collected
by Maxar, show deploy-
ment and movement of
additional logistics and
supplies in southern Be-
larus and at multiple
sites in western Russia
near the Ukrainian bor-
der.
A large area is being
clearedforadditionalde-
ploymentnearPochep
inWesternRussia.A
new field hospital
has been set up at a
military garrison
on the western out-
skirts of Belgorod.
Several new troops
and equipment have
beendeployedinrural
areas southwest of
Belgorod, less than 20
kilometers from the
Ukraine bor-
der.
WHO IN LORD’S NAME DOES PUTIN THINK...?:
PREZ BIDEN ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS
U
S President Joe Biden announced new sanc-
tions against Russia and called President
Vladimir Putin’s moves in eastern Ukraine the
“beginning of a Russian invasion”. This comes after
President Vladimir Putin recognized the independ-
ence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk
and ordered Russian troops there. Speaking on
the Russia-Ukraine crisis from the White House,
Biden also called Putin’s moves the “beginning of a
Russian invasion” of Ukraine as he announces new
sanctions against Moscow. “We are implementing
full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial
institutions: VEB and their military bank,” Biden said
adding, “We are implementing comprehensive sanc-
tions on Russia’s sovereign debt.
UP VOTES 59.12%
IN FOURTH PHASE
DEMOCRACY FOR ALL: An elderly woman on a wheelchair being helped by her family member as
she reaches a polling booth in Lucknow to cast her vote. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
In Lucknow, BSP
supremo Mayawati,
Deputy CM Dinesh
Sharma and state
minister Brijesh
Pathak were among
the early voters
MAYA, SHAH’S
“MUTUAL PRAISE”
SETS SPECULATION
ON FIRE AMID
POLL SEASON
Lucknow: Weeks
before the Uttar
Pradesh election
result, former Chief
Minister Mayawati
and Union Home
Minister Amit Shah’s
“mutual praise” has
set speculation on
fire as the BJP faces
tough challengers in
its re-election bid in
India’s biggest and
most important state.
Asked to respond to
Amit Shah’s posi-
tive assessment of
her campaign in an
interview, Mayawati
said today: “It is his
badappan (magna-
nimity) that he has
acknowledged the
truth.” More on P2
Satellite imagery released on February 22 show more than 100 vehicles and dozens of troop
tents were seen at a small airfield in southern Belarus.
Uttar Pradesh Lucknow
FRESH
CASES
58
NEW
CASES
458 TOTAL
DEATHS
07
PM Modi greeting a spirited crowd after landing at Prayagraj on
Wednesday.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022
02
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WILL PROTECT GAUMATA. SAVE
FIELDS FROM STRAY CATTLE: YOGI
First India Bureau
Amethi:The Chief
Minister, on Wednes-
day, promised to en-
hance the security of
cows and protect the
farmers and main-
tained that those farm-
ers who will adopt and
rear destitute cows will
get a stipend of Rs 900-
1000 per month per cow.
Addressing a rally in
the Tiloi constituency
of Amethi, Yogi said,
“We have completely
stopped illegal slaugh-
terhouses. I promise
that we will not let
‘Gaumata’ be slaugh-
tered while we’ll also
protect fields of farm-
ers from stray cattle”He
also said that to protect
cows and farmers,
‘gaushalas’ will be built
on a large scale.
Yogi accused the SP su-
premo of “maintaining
silence” about the “con-
nection” between his
party and the kin of one
of the Ahmedabad blast
convicts.
He stated, “The ter-
rorist’s family is a cam-
paigner of Samajwadi
Party.” He also ques-
tioned SP over giving
supporting terrorists
saying, ‘Sapa ka haath
aakhir kyun hai aatan-
kiyon ke saath?’
On welfare oriented
decisions of his govern-
ment Yogi said, “The
first decision taken by
us in 2017 was to waive
loans of crop growers.
In contrast, the SP gov-
ernment, had taken
steps to withdraw cases
lodged against “terror-
ists” who attacked the
Ram Janmabhoomi.
Supporting SP means
encouraging terror-
ism,” he said adding
that “SP ko diye jaane
wala vote aane wale
bhavishya ko barbaad
karne jaisa hai”, said
the Chief Minister
.
Accusing the earlier
SP government of fa-
vouring a community,
the CM said electricity
used to be supplied on
Eid and Muharram,
but cut off on Holi and
Diwali.
‘Farmers who will adopt destitute cows will get a stipend of ` 900- ` 1000 per cow’
CM Yogi addresses an election rally in Sultanpur on Wednesday.
CM ON MED INFRA
Had there been the SP, BSP govt,Covid
vax would have been blackmarketed: CM
First India Bureau
Sultanpur: The CM
addressed a political
rally in Sultanpur on
Wednesday and took
a dig at SP and BSP in
saying, “Had there
been the government
of SP, BSP the vaccine
would be black mar-
keted.”
Asking the public
to recall how his gov-
ernment tackled chal-
lenges posed by the
Covid-19 pandemic,
Yogi said, “There was
a time when our mi-
grant workers and la-
bourers were driven
out from Delhi and
other states. At that
time we ensured their
social and economic
security by sending
them home through
our buses and by ar-
ranging food for
them.”
Furthermore, he
said that a strong gov-
ernment like that of
BJP is essential for a
state like Uttar
Pradesh to prosper.
“SP will be swept
away, BSP is almost
demolished and Con-
gress leaders are
enough to end their
own party,” he said.
Anupriya
trains guns
on sister
First India Bureau
Sirathu: The
Apna Dal (S) chief
and Union Minis-
ter of State An-
upriya Patel today
blasted her elder
sister Pallavi Pa-
tel, who is contest-
ing UP Assembly
election on Sama-
jwadi Party ticket
against the Depu-
ty CM Keshav
Prasad Maurya
from Sirathu.
Campaigning
for Maurya, An-
upriya accused
her sister of sur-
rendering Apna
Dal (Kamerawadi)
led by mother
Krishna Patel at
the feet of SP
Calling upon
the electorate to
ensure defeat of
Pallavi Patel, the
minister said “you
have to decide
whether to elect
the “daughter”
(Anupriya Patel)
who has taken for-
ward the ideology
of party’s founder
Sonelal Patel for-
ward or a daugh-
ter (Pallavi Patel)
who has pledged
breakaway group
of Apna Dal to an-
other party”
First India Bureau
Deoria: Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh
Wednesday said Uttar
Pradesh’s economy
grew three-fold during
the last five years as the
state was served by a
triple engine govern-
ment of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Chief
Minister Yogi Aditya-
nath and the contribu-
tion of people.
In an apparent dig at
the Akhilesh Yadav’s
Samajwadi Party, he
said, “The BJP is real
samajwadi as the mean-
ing of samajwad is to
free society from fear,
hunger and corrup-
tion.”
Under the previous
Akhilesh Yadav’s gov-
ernment, officials were
posted on the instruc-
tion of mafia, he al-
leged.
Addressing a rally in
the Barhaj assembly
constituency of Deoria,
Singh said, “With the
vision of PM Modi, CM
Yogi and the contribu-
tion of people, we are
running a triple engine
government in the state
and due to this our
pride has increased at
international plat-
forms.”
“During Akhilesh’s
government, officials
were posted on the in-
struction of the Mafia.
Our ministers have no
blot of corruption.
However, most of the
ministers of SP, BSP
and Congress faced
such charges,” Singh
said.
On the matter of se-
curity, the defense min-
ister said, “We will en-
ter the other side of
border and kill terror-
ists and will never let
the head of our ‘Bharat
Mata’ bow anywhere.”
We not only give ration
and money but also run
bulldozers on mafia,”
he said.
UP’s economy grew three-fold during
last five years, claims Defence Minister
POLLITICS
‘SOCH IMAANDAAR, KAAM DAMDAAR’
Rajnath Singh addresses an election rally in Aalapur on Wednesday.
‘SP Chief betrayed
people of UP by
withdrawing cases’
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: Launching
a scathing attack on
Akhilesh Yadav, BJP
national president J P
Nadda on Wednesday
said the Samajwadi
Party chief betrayed
the people of Uttar
Pradesh by withdraw-
ing cases against those
booked under terrorism
charges.
“Akhilesh Ji, these
days, is seeking votes
and talking about devel-
opment. Till now, he
had only developed his
family, but now he has
realised that Uttar
Pradesh should be de-
veloped. He will not
bring ‘vikas’ (develop-
ment), but ‘vinash’ (de-
struction) in the state,”
he said at an election
meeting here.
The BJP leader also
asked the audience,
“Did 200 riots not take
place during the five-
year rule of the Akh-
ilesh Yadav govern-
ment?”
Referring to the with-
drawal of terror cases
against two men be-
longing to Azamgarh
and Jaunpur in connec-
tion with the 2007 bomb
blasts in Gorakhpur
and at court compounds
in Ayodhya, Lucknow
and Varanasi, he said,
“I am posing these ques-
tions to Akhilesh Yadav.
When he comes here,
media should seek an
answer from him.”
Nadda said, “Can you
let such a person who
releases terrorists be
the chief minister? The
case of CRPF camp at-
tack in Rampur was
also withdrawn in 2012”
, he said in his address.
‘BJP SET THE TREND OF REACHING OUT TO
THE PEOPLE WITH ITS REPORT CARD’
Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi
for going to the masses with his report card and
talking about the promises fulfilled by him, BJP’s
National President JP Nadda said the saffron
party started this trend of candidates talking about
the development work undertaken by the Modi
government.
Nadda addresses a political
rally in Handia (Praygaraj) on
Wednesday.
Maya appreciates Shah’s remarks on BSP
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: Bahujan Sa-
maj Party leader May-
awati on Wednesday
appreciated Union min-
ister Amit Shah for ac-
knowledging that her
party will get Dalit
votes but added that
Muslims and other
communities are also
voting for the BSP.
Shah had recently
said in a television in-
terview that Mayawati
remained relevant in
Uttar Pradesh, where
the fourth round of
polling for the assembly
took place on Wednes-
day
.
The BSP has main-
tained its relevance. I
believe it will get votes.
I don’t know how much
of it will convert into
seats but it will get
votes, he had said.
“When the results are
declared on March 10,
the BSP will form its
government like it did
in 2007 with full majori-
ty,” she told reporters
after casting her vote.
CS DS Mishra displays the inked finger at a voters’ selfie point in
Lucknow on Wednesday.
Divisional Commissioner Kanpur Dr Rajshekhar and wife after
casting their votes on Wednesday.
IAS Rajendra Pratap Singh, MD UPSRTC and wife Sheela Singh show
their inked finger after casting their votes.
Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
& his wife Pooja Prasad cast their vote for the fourth phase of UP
elections on Wednesday.
ADG Naveen Arora and his wife Ishita Arora display their inked
fingers after exercising their right to vote on Wednesday in Lucknow.
Rajnikant Verma, CFO of Info Dept and his wife Reni Verma (Joint
Director, Finance, UP SAC) used their right to vote on Wednesday.
ACS ( Info and MSME) Navneet Sehgal with wife Vandana Sehgal and sons Shiv and Dhruv Sehgal after
using their adult franchise on Wednesday.
Director Information Shishir, his wife Dr Garima Singh and sons Rudraksh Singh and Shakti Singh
pose for a click after using their right to vote on Wednesday in Lucknow.
Anupriya Patel in Sirathu.
—PHOTOS BY ASHOK DUTTA, SUMIT KUMAR AND SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

UTTAR PRADESH
03
55.9%VOTINGINLUCKNOW
fate of 150 candidates sealed
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Around 60
per cent polling was re-
corded in 59 Assembly
constituencies during
the fourth of the seven-
phase elections in UP on
Wednesday
, according to
the Election Commis-
sion. The poll panel’s
voter turnout app till
9.30 pm showed 59.77 per
cent voting.
The app has updated
the turnout trend per-
centage after an official
announcement by the
state poll panel at 5 pm.
The State Election Com-
mission releases the fi-
nal voting percentage a
day after the polling.
With the completion
of the fourth round of
polling, 231 Assembly
constituenciesoutof 403
in the state have been
covered. The fifth phase
voting is on February 27.
As many as 624 candi-
dates were in the fray in
the fourth phase.
Accordingtothevoter
turnout app, Pilibhit re-
corded 67.59 per cent
polling, Lakhimpur
Kheri65.54percent,Sita-
pur 58.39 per cent, Har-
doi 58.99 per cent, Unnao
57.73 per cent, Lucknow
55.92percent,RaeBareli
61.90 per cent, Banda
57.54 per cent and
Fatehpur 60.07 per cent.
Around 73.67 per cent
votes were cast till 5 pm
in polling station num-
ber266of KarhalAssem-
blysegmentinMainpuri
district where a repoll-
ing was ordered by EC.
Polling in Karhal,
where Samajwadi Party
chief Akhilesh Yadav is
inthefrayagainstUnion
minister and BJP’s SP
Singh Baghel, was held
in the third phase on
February 20.
While poll panel offi-
cials claimed voting was
largely peaceful, the SP
alleged certain irregu-
larities in some areas of
Lucknow,Unnao,Hardoi
and Sitapur and de-
manded action.
First India Bureau
Lakhimpur Kheri:
Surrounded by a huge
posse of police and para-
military personnel, Un-
ion Minister of State for
Home Affairs Ajay
MishraTenicasthisvote
in the Lakhimpur Kheri
Assembly seat on
Wednesday
.
There was considera-
ble chaos witnessed at
the polling booth as re-
porters jostled to get
neartohimandthesecu-
rity men tried to bar
them from reaching the
minister.
The images raised
questions about a voter
taking so much security
with him to a polling
booth.
Theministerhasrare-
ly answered media ques-
tions on his murder-ac-
cused son and was even
caught on camera at-
tacking journalists last
year. Reports say he was
also hooted by some
members of a hostile
crowd.
Lakhimpur Kheri had
hoggedthenationallime-
light after eight people,
including four farmers,
were killed after being
moweddownbyavehicle
during last year. Teni’s
son Ashish Mishra is ac-
cused in the case.
Ashish was released
from jail last week after
Allahabad HC granted
him bail.
First India Bureau
Ghaziabad: An 11-year-
old girl was gang raped
by distance cousins un-
der Muradnagar police
station area here.
The police said ac-
cused Uwaid (22) and
Shan Illahi were ar-
rested in the incident.
The victim was
found in unconscious
condition near her
house covered inblood.
She was rushed to the
hospital, where the po-
lice took her statements
about the incident.
Shan Illahi and
Uwaid were arrested
on grounds of state-
ments of the victim
and case was registered
against them under
gang-rape, POCSO and
assault charges.
It was reported that
condition of victim
had improved while
both accused were sent
to jail.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE:
A group of women returning
through a field in Malihabad,
Lucknow, pose for a
photograph after casting their
vote on Wednesday morning.
(R) A poll official reaches
Ramabai Ambedkar rally
ground at the end of the 4th
phase polling on Wednesday
where the strong room for
keeping EVMs safe has been
set up.
—PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
Shrish Chandra Verma, ACEO UPEIDA, with his family, showing the inked fingers after exercising
their franchise on Wednesday.
ACS Awanish Awasthi with wife Malini Awasthi after casting vote on
Wednesday.
Cabinet Minster Mahendra Nath singh with his family pose for a photograph outsite the polling
booth.
CM’s secretary Amit Singh with wife Kavita Singh.
ADG (Law & order) Prashant Kumar with wife ACS Dimple Verma.
Minister Ashutosh Tandon after voting.
State election commissioner Ajay Kumar Shukla.
DM Abhishek Prakash with his wife.
BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra with his family.
Voting at Kheri
marked by EVM
tampering charge
LODGING
PROTEST,
VOTER
REACHES
POLL BOOTH
IN LANGOT
TECHNICAL SNAGS ANNOY VOTERS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A unique
incident involving
tampering of EVM
with the use of glue
has surfaced from
Kadipur Sani polling
station in Lakhim-
pur Kheri assembly
constituency.
It has been alleged
that someone used
glue on the button of
a Samajwadi Party’s
candidate on the
EVM and only when
the button of the
candidate was not
being pushed that
the complaint was
raised.
Utkarsh Verma,
former MLA of
Lakhimpur Kheri
from Samajwadi
Party reached the
polling station upon
receiving informa-
tion of the issue and
complained to the
administration and
returning officer.
Soon after the com-
plaint was raised, a
large police force
and returning offic-
er SDM Brijesh Ku-
mar reached the spot
to prevent any unto-
ward incident from
taking place.
The SDM has ac-
cused two people of
obstructing voting
by using glue to jam
the button of the Sa-
majwadi Party’s can-
didate on the EVM
and has ordered the
police station in-
charge of the area to
register an FIR in
this regard. At the
same time, Utkarsh
Verma the Samajwa-
di Party’s candidate
has alleged the inci-
dent to be a BJP
sponsored action.
Lakhimpur Kheri: Dur-
ing polling for the fourth
phase of ongoing UP
Assembly Elections 2022
with voters arriving at all
the booths of the district
to vote since morning, a
voter arrived in a unique
dress. As per reports
when the policemen
stopped him coming to
the polling station without
wearing a mask, the voter
returned wearing a nappy
(langot) as a mark of
protest. The voter Anurag
Maurya, residing near
Guru Nanak Inter College,
arrived to cast his vote,
the police returned him
because he did not have
a mask on his face. The
policemen told him that he
will not be allowed inside
the polling booth without
wearing a mask. On this,
Anurag went to his house
and came again only wear-
ing a mask on his face
and a nappy on his body
leaving the police and poll-
ing personnel surprised.
Anurag said that a selfie
point had been made in
every polling station but
mobile was not allowed to
be carried so what was the
meaning of selfie point. To
protest this, he reached
the polling booth of Guru
Nanak College in a nappy.
Lucknow: Several voters who failed to
cast their vote due to technical fault in
EVMs, missing name in voter list and
other issues, were annoyed and argu-
ments at several polling booths with
electoral officials were reported. Speak-
ing to First India, Surendra Dubey, for-
mer UNI UP chief said, “There are four
voters in my family and it was first time
when name of my daughter was missing
from voter list. Officials were unable to
provide satisfying reply as many like
us were reporting same issues.” Poet
Munnawwar Rana also complained
about missing name in voter list. He said
in Yogi’s regime one vote was irrelevant.
Rana alleged when he reached Cantt
booth, officials told him that his name
was not on the list. He argued that he
always cast his vote at same booth but
his protests were of no use. Journalists
K Baksh Singh and Virendra Saxena
also faced the same issue. At polling
booth in Indira Nagar and in Chauk area
names of several voters were miss-
ing. Singh said name of his wife was
missing in one list but when he insisted
to look deeper her name was found in
second list. Reports of technical glitch
in EVM in Mohanlal Ganj area were
surfaced which forced voters to wait
for hours to cast their votes.
ANURAG MAURYA
Security personnel escort Union MoS for Home Affairs Ajay
Mishra as he arrives to cast his vote on Wednesday.
OVER 24,000 POLLING BOOTHS
Teni casts vote amid chaotic scenes Minor girl gang raped by
cousins in Gzb, 2 arrested

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 104
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Silence the angry man with
love. Silence the ill-natured
man with kindness. Silence
the miser with generosity.
Silence the liar with truth.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Pralhad Joshi
@JoshiPralhad
@CoalIndiaHQ and its subsidiaries are
also incorporating the female workforce
into aspects of their operations that
were hitherto beyond the reach of
women. With their inclusive approach,
coal companies are writing a
new story of women empowerment. @
mahanadicoal Look at the example!
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
World wants ‘Made In India’. 88%
jump in exports of Electronic Goods in
Apr-Jan 2021-22 over same period in
2013-14. Government’s initiatives are
boosting domestic manufacturing of
quality & globally competitive products.
TOP TWEETS
TEENAGER PRAGGU’S
STERLING PLAY
STUNS CARLSEN, THE
WORLD CHAMPION
eating Magnus Carls-
en, world champion
since 2013, was a
memorable event for
chess lovers in India.
For R. Praggnanandhaa, Praggu
in short, it was an incredible win
in39movesintheAirthingsMas-
ters online rapid chess tourna-
ment. To put the 16-year-old’s
achievement in perspective,
Carlsen has been beaten only by
twootherIndians---formerworld
champion Vishwanathan Anand
and another top player P.
Harikrishna. Praggu has been
the world champion in Under-8
and Under 18, so it is easy to look
at the chess prodigy as the cham-
pion of tomorrow. In an earlier
encounter Carlsen and Praggu
played “a memorable” 80-move
game which eventually ended in
a draw which must have given
the Norwegian a feel of his prow-
ess. But beating the world cham-
pion was one of the big dreams
of Praggu, who became the
youngest Grandmaster in 2018.
The stunning win will go a
long way in popularising the
game, which now offers big prize
money
,amongtheyouthinIndia.
B
umbaihasbecome
a hunting ground
for the Enforce-
ment Directorate
which has been
taking on leaders of the
Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP). The
latest to fall in ED’s net is
Nawab Malik, Maharashtra’s
Minister for Minority Devel-
opment, who has been arrest-
ed for alleged money launder-
ing in a property deal and
links with Dawood Ibrahim
aides. Dawood’s brother Iqbal
Kaskar was arrested earlier.
Last year the Narcotics Con-
trol Bureau (NCB) had arrest-
ed Malik’s son-in-law Sameer
Khan in a drug-related case.
More than Malik it is the
NCP and the Uddhav Thack-
eray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government which
the ED is chipping away at
and leaders of the coalition
know that. Before swooping
down on Malik the ED had
arrested the state’s Home
Minister Anil Deshmukh,
also a senior leader of the
NCP. Malik was the most vo-
cal critic of the ED, NCB and
CBI when they arrested
Deshmukh and Aryan Khan,
actor Shahrukh Khan’s son.
Defending Deshmukh, Malik
had described his arrest as
“politically motivated”. “It is
aimed at scaring leaders of
the MVA,” Malik said.
Deshmukh’s arrest was a
setbackfortheNCP
,butthatof
Malik has come as a jolt.
Sharad Pawar has accused
China of using Central agen-
cies to target MVA. His daugh-
terSupriyaSulecalleditanew
brand of politics. There’s little
else Pawar, Sule and Sanjay
Rautcando,otherthanwaitto
seewho’snextinEDandCBI’s
cross-hairs.Or,maybe,quickly
form a national alliance.
ED DEALS
STAGGERING BLOW
TO MVA, NCP
NAWAB MALIK SUPRIYA SULE SANJAY RAUT
The latest to fall in ED’s net
is Nawab Malik,
Maharashtra’s Minister
for Minority
Development, who has
been arrested for
alleged money
laundering in a property
deal and links with Dawood
Ibrahim aides. Dawood’s
brother Iqbal Kaskar was
arrested earlier. Last year
the NCB had arrested Malik’s
son-in-law Sameer Khan in a
drug-related case
M
unich – The world is not en-
during a “Ukraine crisis,”
but rather a Russia crisis. So
said Germany’s new foreign
minister, Annalena Baer-
bock, at the most recent Mu-
nich Security Conference,
which was dominated by the
situation in eastern Europe.
In fact, Russia’s crisis goes
even deeper than Baerbock
probably meant. We are wit-
nessing the latest install-
ment in a longer process.
Russia is trying to decide
whether it is a nation-state or
an aspiring empire, and until
this fundamental question is
resolved, conflicts like the
one over Ukraine will con-
tinue in various forms.
On paper, the Soviet Union
was a multinational federa-
tion of republics. In reality,
Russians were solidly in
command of a tightly con-
trolled regime headed by the
Communist Party. One rea-
son for the Soviet collapse
was that many of its con-
stituent republics had
become aspiring nation-
states, or, as with the
Baltic republics,
sought to recover
their independence.
The single most im-
portant factor was
Ukraine’s Decem-
ber 1991 referendum, in
which an overwhelming ma-
jority voted for independ-
ence. But then-Russian Presi-
dent Boris Yeltsin’s behind-
the-scenes efforts to assert
Russia’s own sovereignty
were also important.
At the time, Soviet Presi-
dent Mikhail Gorbachev was
still struggling to preserve
certain state structures, and
he responded with hostility
to the three Baltic republics’
expressed aspirations. But he
was undercut by Yeltsin, who
had recognized the independ-
ence of Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania even before the
Ukrainian referendum.
That was the start of to-
day’s Russia crisis, fueled by
the conflict between building
a modern state and economy,
on one hand, and indulging
imperial nostalgia, on the
other. As a result, Russia’s
economic and political mod-
ernization has been ham-
pered, and its neighbors’ se-
curity has been in doubt.
The best way for Russia to
guarantee its own security
would be to foster friendly
relations with its neighbors,
so that they can feel secure
and stable themselves. But it
has not done that, and now a
growing number of Ukrain-
ians want to join NATO. Un-
realistic as that seems, they
recognize that their own na-
tional aspirations are direct-
ly threatened by Russian im-
perial revanchism.
To be sure, the road to es-
tablishing the same kind of
relationship between Russia
and Ukraine is much longer.
Putin’s behavior has under-
standably left Ukrainians
skeptical of Russia, if not
hostile toward it. Unless Rus-
sia refocuses on building its
future solely within its own
borders, the region will re-
main under a cloud of inse-
curity, ultimately to Russia’s
detriment.
Istillrememberaconversa-
tion I had decades ago with
former German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl, a statesman
well versed in European his-
tory
.DiscussingLuxembourg,
he noted that Germany is
secure because even
its smallest neighbor
sees it as a close
friend. Germany
has come to terms
with its past. Rus-
sia has not. Until it
does,allof Europe,
butespeciallyRus-
siaitself,willcon-
tinue to suffer.
SOURCE:
PROJECT SYNDICATE
RUSSIA’S LETHAL
IDENTITY CRISIS
M
CARL BILDT,
The writer is former
Prime Minister of Sweden
In fact, Russia’s crisis goes
even deeper than Baerbock
probably meant. We are
witnessing the latest
installment in a longer
process. Russia is trying to
decide whether it is a
nation-state or an aspiring
empire, and until this
fundamental question is
resolved, conflicts like the
one over Ukraine will
continue in various forms
The irony of this history-driven strategy is that if one
were to survey the Europe of a thousand years ago, there
would be no Russia to speak of. Rudimentary Slavic
state structures had begun to emerge in the
region stretching from Novgorod to Kyiv, along
the old trading routes between the Baltic and Black Seas

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Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: It seems
that the Congress party
has no hope from Uttar
Pradesh, because if the
Congress had any hope
of even making a dent
in the results, it would
not have happened that
Punjab Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni, would have abused
the people of Bihar and
UP and appealed to
them to stop coming to
Punjab, all while when
Priyanka was sitting
on the stage and she
kept smiling on while
listening to the speech!
Priyanka kept listen-
ing to this speech be-
cause she knows that
nothing is to be
achieved in UP, while
in Punjab Channi may
bring Congress back to
power. So why should
the power of Punjab be
lost in the affair of UP
& Bihar?
Just imagine, Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
even reached Uttar
Pradesh with Channi,
who gave a speech to
stop the 'Bhaiya' from
Bihar & Uttar Pradesh,
and joined with Channi
in Ravidas Jayanti and
also gave an election
message to the Dalit so-
ciety. Earlier, in the
presence of Priyanka,
Channi had said on the
stage that 'Brothers'
from UP should not be
allowed to even move
about in Punjab.
INDIA
05
New Delhi: An amount
of `18,000 crore has been
returned to banks from
fugitive tycoons Vijay
Mallya, Nirav Modi and
Mehul Choksi, the gov-
ernment has told the Su-
preme Court, which is
hearing a batch of peti-
tions challenging the
wide scope of powers
given to the Enforce-
ment Directorate in con-
nection to money laun-
dering cases.
Over the last weeks,
several senior advo-
cates, including Kapil
Sibal, Abhishek Manu
Singhvi and Mukul Ro-
hatgi have made sub-
missions before the Su-
preme Court on poten-
tial misuse of the recent
amendments to the Pre-
vention of Money Laun-
dering Act or PMLA.
The law has been crit-
icised over a range of
issues — stringent bail
conditions, non-com-
munication of grounds
of arrest, arrest of per-
sons without supply of
ECIR (parallel to a First
Information Report
filed by the police), the
broadening of the defi-
nition of money laun-
dering, proceeds of
crime, and statements
given by accused dur-
ing investigation made
admissible as evidence
during trial.
A very small number
of cases are being taken
up for investigation un-
der the PMLA in India,
compared to the situa-
tion abroad, the Centre
told a bench of Justices
AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh
Maheshwari and CT Ra-
vikumar.
As examples, the Cen-
tre cited the UK, where
7,900 cases have been
filed under the PMLA in
a year, the US (1,532),
China (4,691), Austria
(1,036),Hongkong(1,823),
Belgium (1,862) and Rus-
sia (2,764).
In India, 4,700 PMLA
cases are being investi-
gatedbytheEnforcement
Directorate and the total
proceeds of crimes pend-
ing before the court
amounts to ` 67,000 crore,
the Centre said.
The number of cases
taken up for investiga-
tion each year in the
last 5 years varies from
111 cases in 2015-16 to
981 in 2020-21, the Cen-
tre said. Over the last
five years (2016-17 to
2020-21), 33 lakh FIRs
have been filed for such
offences. But only 2,086
cases were taken up for
investigation, the Cen-
tre said. —PTI
`18,000 crore returned to banks from Vijay Mallya, others: Centre
IN THE SUPREME COURT

In India, 4,700
PMLA cases are
being probed by
the Enforcement
Directorate and
total proceeds of
crimes pending
before the court
amounts to
` 67,000 crore
Churachandpur: On
his maiden visit to poll-
bound Manipur, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Wednesday
said that the focus of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi's Government
at the Centre is to take
the State on the path of
innovation, infrastruc-
ture and integration.
"Our focus is to en-
sure that we take for-
ward the dream of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi. He has always
kept the development of
Northeast and Manipur
a priority
. We want to
take the state on the
path of innovation, in-
frastructure and inte-
gration," said Shah at a
rally in Churachandpur.
He has visited the dis-
trict almost after 4.5 yrs.
“Improving the sports
infrastructure is the
focal point of both
state as well the cen-
tral government,” said
Amit Shah. —PTI
Manipur devp PM’s priority: Shah Cong does not have hope from itself in UP!
Mehul Choksi Nirav Modi Vijay Mallya
Won’tagreetoany
changeinstatusquo:
EAMonstandoff
New Delhi: India is
engaged in talks with
China on the eastern
Ladakh border stand-
off with absolute
clarity that it will not
agree to any change
in the status quo or
any attempt to unilat-
erally alter the Line
of Actual Control
(LAC) in the region,
External Affairs
Minister S Jais-
hankar has said.
Jaishankar said he
was optimistic about
resolving the issue
through dialogue and
that significant head-
way has been made
in many of the fric-
tion points following
talks between mili-
tary commanders of
the two sides.
“We are absolutely
clear that we will not
agree to any change
in the status quo.
Any attempt to
change the LAC uni-
laterally by one side.
So however complex
it is, however long it
takes, however diffi-
cult it is, I think that
clarity is what guides
us,” he said on Tues-
day
.
He said achieving
disengagement is the
goal right now and
that he was optimis-
tic about the resolu-
tion of the issues.
“I would say other
than optimism, it is
very important to
have perseverance.
Believe me, I have got
those qualities in rea-
sonable measure and
my system has it in
the reasonable meas-
ure which is more im-
portant,” he said.
“We will carry on
with this and disen-
gagement is right
nowthegoal.Because
it is only when disen-
gagementhappenswe
can then start talking
about de-escalation,”
he added. —PTI
MODI GOVT SHOULD BRING BACK
studentsfromUkrainesafely:Mann
Mahesh Kumar
Chandigarh: Aam Aad-
mi Party (AAP) Punjab
Chief Ministerial candi-
dateandMemberof Par-
liamentBhagwantMann
has appealed to the Un-
ionGovernmenttobring
back the students study-
ing in Ukraine safely
and for free. Mann also
demanded that strict ac-
tion be taken against the
multi-foldincreaseinair
ticket prices by airlines
they were looting of the
peopleincrisisforwhich
the government was re-
sponsible.
Mann said, “Students
studying in Ukraine are
facing severe difficul-
ties due to the unfavour-
able situation between
Ukraine and Russia.
Hundreds of students
from all over India, in-
cluding Punjab, went to
study medicine in
Ukraine. The Indian
government has or-
dered the students to
leave Ukraine and re-
turn, but has not made
any arrangements to
bring the students back
home safely. No airline
was given the responsi-
bility, nor have plane
ticket prices been fixed.
Mann said that the
students and their par-
ents had accused the
Indian Embassy in
Ukraine of not cooper-
ating in any way, which
is very unfortunate. He
said that the Indian Em-
bassy in foreign coun-
try is the biggest sup-
port for Indians, but the
Indian government had
already invited the In-
dian embassy staff and
their relatives to India
when hundreds of In-
dian students and other
Indians still seeking the
help of embassy there.
Criticizing the BJP’s
decision to privatize
Air India, Mann said,
“In this time of crisis,
the people of India are
paying the price for Air
India sale. The country
does not have any pub-
lic-owned airline that
can bring these chil-
dren back to India safe-
ly.” Mann said that pri-
vate airlines have tri-
pled their air-ticket
prices. Earlier a ticket
which was sold for only
Rs 25,000, now the same
ticket is available for
Rs 75,000.
AAP raps BJP over privatisation of
Chandigarh’s electricity department
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: AAP
Punjab Senior Leader
Harpal Singh Cheema
saidonWednesdaythat
the decision of the Un-
ion Govt to privatize
the Chandigarh Power
Department, which is
currently operating
perfectly fine and in
profit, shows the anti-
people policy of BJP
and part of BJP’s ne-
farious plan to sell our
country to few capital-
ists. He said that there
was no reason for the
government to privat-
ize a government de-
partment which was
running at a profit of
over Rs. 200 crore but
the BJP government is
once again benefitting
its ‘corporate friends’
at the expense of com-
mon people.
Cheema said that it
was not a matter of a
single state or single
public sector. The
manner in which the
central government
has sold the public
sectors for pennies to
their favourite capi-
talists is worrisome
and the people should
oppose it outright.
Harpal Cheema citing
the privatisation of
government airline,
LIC, railways, banks,
telecommunications
etc. said that if this
policy of the NDA gov-
ernment was not op-
posed and stopped at
time it will be fatal for
common people and
our economy.
Cheema said that
during the Corona
pandemic, we experi-
enced how the private
sector works for its
own benefit without
caring about the peo-
ple and exploit them
financially in case of
helplessness. That is
why public sectors
were set up where peo-
ple pay taxes and in
return the govern-
ment provides them
basic facilities.
AAP leader Harpal Singh Cheema
Srinagar: The air traffic to and from Kashmir was affected on
Wednesday as all flights at the Srinagar airport were cancelled due
to bad weather in the wake of heavy snowfall in the Valley, officials
said.“All flights of all airlines have been cancelled,” said Kuldeep
Singh, director,Airport Authority of India (AAI), Srinagar airport.The
flight operations at the airport were affected due to bad weather
and low visibility in the wake of heavy snowfall across the Valley.
A total of 41 flights have been cancelled, he said.The visibility was
below 400 metres and the continuous snowfall made the operations
impossible, he added. Singh said the passengers of the cancelled
flights will be adjusted on the next available flights. —PTI
Heavy snowfall disrupts
Heavy snowfall disrupts
flights at Srinagar airport
flights at Srinagar airport

INDIA
06
Mumbai: After Maha-
rashtra Minister
Nawab Malik’s arrest in
a money laundering
case, the BJP has de-
manded the NCP lead-
er’s resignation and
warned of protests if
he did not step down.
Speaking to media
persons, Maharashtra
BJP chief Chandrakant
Patil said, “Nawab Ma-
lik has been arrested,
he should resign now.
We demand his resigna-
tion. If he doesn’t, we
will protest. How are
they running the gov-
ernment? There’s a
long list of allegations
against Maharashtra
Ministers, will get tired
reading it.” Speaking to
media persons, Maha-
rashtra BJP chief
Chandrakant Patil said,
“Nawab Malik has been
arrested, he should re-
sign now. We demand
his resignation. If he
doesn’t, we will protest.
There’s a long list of al-
legations against Maha-
rashtra Ministers.”
Earlier in day
, ED had
arrested Nationalist
Cong Party leader in
connection with under-
world don Dawood Ibra-
him’s money launder-
ing case.
BJP demands Nawab Malik's
resignation, warns of protests
EXPANSION OF WOMEN
LED SHGS NEEDED: MODI
HE WAS ADDRESSING A WEBINAR ON BUDGET
2022, THEME“LEAVING NO CITIZEN BEHIND”
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday
said that financial in-
clusion has ensured
greater participation
of women in economic
decisions. PM Modi
also said that women
are major pillars of the
rural economy.
Prime Minister stat-
ed that there is a need to
increase efforts to en-
sure more and more
Startups in rural parts
of India. He also
stressed that the partici-
pation of women
through Self Help
Groups (SHGs) needs to
be expanded further.
"Women's power is a
major pillar of the rural
economy. Financial in-
clusion has ensured
greater participation of
women in economic de-
cisions in households.
This participation of
women through SHGs
needs to be expanded
further," said PM Modi
while addressing a we-
binar on the Union
Budget 2022 with the
theme of "Leaving No
Citizen Behind".
PM Modi also empha-
sised for more Startups
to come up in rural In-
dia. "The target of 'Leav-
ing no citizen behind'
can only be achievable
with such," he added.
"Today, in most of the
states of India, there is
a need to emphasize the
outcome more than the
output. Today, a lot of
money goes to the vil-
lages. If that money is
used at the right time,
then the situation of
the villages can
change," he said. —ANI
New Delhi: Digital connectivity of
villages is no longer an aspiration but
the need of the day, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.
Digital connectivity of villages is no
longer an aspiration but the need of
the day. Broadband connectivity will
not only provide facilities in the vil-
lages, but it will also help in creating
a large pool of skilled youth in the vil-
lages, said Prime Minister Narendra
Modi while addressing a programme
on the Union Budget 2022. When
the service sector expands with
broadband connectivity in the vil-
lage, the country's potential will
increase further. If there are
any problems in optical fiber
connectivity, then we have
to identify them and find
solutions, the Prime
Minister said. He said
that the citizens of
the country need to inform the rural
population about the proper usage
of optical fibre networks. We need
to identify and solve all optical fibre
connectivity issues across the na-
tion's rural areas. We also need to in-
f o r m the rural population
about the proper
usage of optical
fibre networks
in villages
that are now
connected,
he said.
DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY OF VILLAGES NEED OF DAY,
WILL CREATE POOL OF SKILLED YOUTH: PM MODI
Vibrant Village
Programme in
budget is
important: PM
‘OVER 172.68
CR DOSES
WITH
STATES/UTS’
New Delhi: PM Modi
on Wednesday said that
the 'Vibrant Village
Programme' an-
nounced in the budget
is very important for
the development of our
border villages.
Addressing a webi-
nar on the Union Budg-
et 2022, he said, Vi-
brant Village Pro-
gramme announced in
budget is very impor-
tant for development of
our border villages. On
Feb 1, Union FM Nir-
mala Sitharaman had
proposed to cover vil-
lages on northern bor-
der under new Vibrant
Villages Programme.
Speaking further, the
PM said, In this budg-
et, a clear roadmap has
been given by govt to
achieve this lofty goal
of saturation. 'Sabka
Saath, Sabka Vikas,
Sabka Vishwas Sab-
ka Prayas' are driving
force.” —ANI
New Delhi: More
than 172.68 crore
doses of COVID-19
vaccines have been
provided to the States
and Union Territories,
said the Union Ministry
of Health Family
Welfare on Wednesday.
A balance of more than
10.98 cr vaccination
doses is still available
with States Union
Territories, added
ministry. More than
172.68 crores vac-
cine doses have been
provided to States/
UTs so far through
Government of India
through direct state
procurement category.
More than 10.98 Cr
(10,98,57,832) balance
unutilized COVID
Vaccine doses are still
available, ministry.
PM Modi addressing a webinar on Wednesday.
15,102 new Covid cases
recorded, 278 deaths
New Delhi: India re-
ported as many as
15,102 fresh COVID-19
infections and 278 fa-
talities in the last 24
hours, the Ministry of
Health and Family
Welfare informed on
Wednesday
.
With this single-day
rise of COVID-19 in-
fections, the country's
tally of cases touched
4,28,67,031 in the coun-
try
. Active cases stand
at 1,64,522 which ac-
count for 0.38 per cent
of the total cases. The
ministry informed
that 31,377 fresh recov-
eries from Coronavi-
rus were logged in the
last 24 hours thereby
increasing the total re-
coveries to 4,21,89,887
in India.
The recovery rate
is currently at 98.42
percent.
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Assembly
elections are over in
three states. All the
seats in Uttarakhand
and Goa went to the
polls on Feb 14 and in
Punjab, polls on all the
seats ended on Sunday
.
But instead of Congress'
concerns ending, it has
increased drastically
.
Not much about Punjab,
but the Congress leader-
ship in Uttarakhand
and Goa is worried.
There is no worry in
Punjab because BJP is
not contesting as a ma-
jor force there, so there
is no situation that the
government will be
formed by BJP, whatev-
er the outcome after the
elections.
Two issues are trou-
bling the Congress in Ut-
tarakhand and Goa. The
first issue is the possibil-
ity of EVMs being re-
placed or any malprac-
tices in them and per-
haps that is why Con-
gress party leaders are
guarding every place
where EVM machines
have been kept. In every
district where counting
centers have been set up,
EVMs are kept in strong
rooms and Congress
leaders are guarding
them outside. This rais-
es a big question on the
credibility of the Elec-
tion Commission, how-
ever, the commission ap-
pears to be not a bit wor-
ried about its credibility
.
However, the state
BJP leaders are attack-
ing the Congress party
for guarding the strong
room saying that Con-
gressislosingbutisnow
doing drama to blame
on EVMs. But remem-
ber, this is not a unique
thing. In many other
states also it was seen
that the leaders of the
opposition parties stood
guard outside the strong
room from the day of
polling till the day of
counting. Think, what
kindof distrusthasaris-
en in the entire process
of voting and counting.
The way the Congress
is concerned about the
guarding of the strong
room, in the same way
there is concern in the
Congress about its po-
tentialMLAs.InGoa,the
Congress is busy guard-
ing all its candidates
who are likely to win the
assembly elections. The
Congress has also ac-
cused the BJP and said
that the BJP leaders
have already started
working to break the po-
tential Congress MLAs.
However, this time Con-
gresshasgiventicketsto
lessnumberof defectors
and has also got them to
file affidavits and still
the Congress party is
worried. Then party
leaders said that Chief
Minister Pramod
Sawant and Health Min-
ister Vishwajit Rane are
in touch with some Con-
gress leaders and are al-
ready trying to break
them. In Manipur too,
Congresspartyisworry-
ing about same thing.
The modern age
Congress dilemma:
Strong rooms and
defecting MLAs
Bengaluru: The
Karnataka govern-
ment said the state
has crossed 10
crore COVID vac-
cination doses on
Wednesday. State
Health Minister Dr
Sudhakar K said
on Wednesday,
Karnataka has
crossed 10 crore
COVID vaccina-
tions doses today.
Dr Sudhakar said
that to achieve
this milestone,
the state took 1
year and 39 days.
The state health
minister also
congratulated all
the health workers
and the district ad-
ministration. —ANI
Puducherry: The Puducherry Assembly was ad-
journed sine die after a brief session of 22 minutes
on Wednesday.
After transacting the
scheduled business,
Puducherry Assembly
Speaker R Selvam
adjourned the House
sine die. As the
Assembly session began, the MLAs of DMK and
Congress staged a protest, demanding exemption
in NEET examination.
Mumbai: Former Mumbai NCB Zonal Director
Sameer Wankhede arrived at Kopri Police Station in
Thane on February 23 in connection with an alleged
forgery case. A complaint was filed by Maharashtra
Excise Department official Shankar Gogavale, in
which he alleged that Wankhede was below 18 years
of age in 1996-97 while obtaining a licence for Sad-
guru Bar in the city. Bombay High Court has granted
Wankhede interim protection till February 28.
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chair-
man Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said India
is likely to become world’s third largest economy
by 2030. He also exuded confidence that India
would take over Japan to become the second
largest economy in Asia.”India is likely to over-
take Japan as Asia’s second largest economy,
and the world’s third largest economy by 2030,”
Ambani said while speaking at the Asia Economic
Dialogue (AED) 2022. India could become a
global green energy superpower, he added.
KARNATAKA
CROSSES 10
CRORE CASES
PUDUCHERRY ASSEMBLY ADJOURNED
SINE DIE AFTER MEETING FOR 22 MINS
SAMEER WANKHEDE ARRIVES AT KOPRI
POLICE STATION IN FORGERY CASE
INDIA LIKELY TO BECOME 3RD
LARGEST ECONOMY BY 2030: AMBANI
New Delhi: Flight
AI 1946 comprised
mostly of stu-
dents. Indian em-
bassy in Kyiv had
earlier asked stu-
dents to temporar-
ily leave the coun-
try amid the rising
tensions in region
after President Pu-
tin said his regime
would recognise 2
areas in eastern
Ukraine escalat-
ing tensions with
the West. Delhi.
New Delhi: Amid ris-
ing popularity of cryp-
tocurrencies in India,
the Advertising Stand-
ards Council of India
(ASCI) has framed
guidelines for virtual
digital asset advertise-
ment. The ASCI noted
that crypto advertise-
ments often do not ade-
quately disclose the
risk associated with
cryptocurrency and
NFTs. To ensure that
these ads do not exploit
consumers, the body in-
troduced new guide-
lines to carry necessary
disclaimer.
Indians arrive
in AI flight
from Ukraine
CRYPTO CURRENCY
ADS CAN'T USE
'CURRENCY': ASCI
CRUCIAL READ
Delhi HC on Wednesday issued notice
to Centre Judo Federation of India
(JFI) on the plea by the Bombay Judo
Association seeking restoration of
voting rights. Justice V Kameswar Rao
issued notice.
Mumbai: Bombay HC on
Wednesday dismissed
2 petitions against Alia
Bhatt-starrer movie 'Gan-
gubai Kathiawadi' and
disposed off another peti-
tion against it. Dismissed
petitions include one filed
by Cong MLA Amin Patel.
The HC has disposed off
the petition of Hiten Me-
hta. The film directed by
Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
On Wednesday, Delhi HC dismissed a PIL
seeking direction to the Union of India,
for implementation of Whistle-Blowers
Protection Act, 2014. Union of India has
not brought any notification under the
provision of Whistle-Blowers, said plea.
NOTICE TO MINISTRY
HC ON 'GANGUBAI
KATHIAWADI' PLEA
DELHI HC DISMISSES PIL
IN THE COURTYARD
A Delhi HC judge on Wednesday
recused from hearing an appeal
moved by social media platforms
challenging a single judge order
which had asked to remove video
content. Next hearing on March 21.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Wednesday said it will hear on March
9 a plea of BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy seeking direction to the Cen-
tre to declare 'Ram Setu' as a national
heritage monument.
SOCIAL MEDIA APPEAL SWAMY'S PLEA ON MARCH 9
Polling staff marks a voter’s
finger with ink at polling
station. —PHOTO BY ANI
A beneficiary reacts as she gets inoculated.
Nawab Malik raise slogans as he is being taken for medical
examination, in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY ANI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
Shivamogga: A friend of Bajrang Dal
activist Harsha, who was stabbed to
death in Karnataka's Shivamogga,
said Harsha received repeated calls
from unknown numbers asking him
to come outside. He said they were
together till around 7-8 pm when
Harsha received video calls.
Hyderabad: Activists of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal held a
‘Mashal Rally’ here on Wednesday in
memory of a Bajrang Dal worker who
was allegedly murdered in Shivamog-
ga on Sunday Calls to ban the Popular
Front of India (PFI) and the Students’
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
SAKSHI MAHARAJ
WANTS BAN ON HIJAB
CALL FROM UNKNOWN NO. MASHAL RALLY HELD
8 arrested in Bajrang Dal case
Bengaluru: As many
as 8 people have been
arrested in connection
with the murder of Ba-
jrang Dal activist Har-
sha in Shivamogga,
Karnataka Home Min-
ister Araga Jnanendra
said on Wednesday
.
Speaking to report-
ers, Karnataka Home
Minister said, Until
last night, six suspects
were arrested and today
two more arrests.
Eight persons have
been arrested as of now
officially, others are be-
ing interrogated, inves-
tigation going on.”—ANI
Unnao: BJP MP from
Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj,
on Wednesday demanded
a law to ban wearing of
hijab across country. He
also slammed the Opposi-
tion for stoking hijab row.
Members of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal burn an effigy. —PHOTO BY ANI

NEWS
07
POWER
CONUNDRUM
The state will decide on March
10. But, as the seven-phase
assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh got halfway through on
Wednesday, bureaucrats have a
different kind of power
conundrum before them. Both
the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the main challenger
the Samajwadi Party, apart from
the Congress and the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP), have made a
pre-poll promise for free power
in one form or the other and
officials are racking their brains
on how to implement this tall
order post-poll verdict. And the
man at the helm of the state’s
administration, chief secretary
DS Mishra, has already started
brainstorming on how to fulfill
the promise. The SP and the AAP
have promised the first 300 units
of power free to consumers
while the BJP has promised free
power to farmers for irrigation.
The Congress manifesto
promised to reduce the
electricity bill to half for all
consumers, besides waiving off
the pending electricity bills. The
CS has asked the officials to
keep a road map ready on how
to deliver. Data available with the
power corporation shows of the
total around 3 crore electricity
consumers in UP, more than 90
lakh consumers consumed only
up to 100 units per month.
Another around 50 lakh
consumers used 101-150 units
per month while more than 21
lakh households consumed 151-
300 units of electricity per
month. “More than 2 crore
consumers in UP use less than
300 units of power per month
and once free power is available
to them, they might get tempted
to consume more power and this
will require the UPPLC to make
arrangements for additional
power and funds,” UP Rajya
Vidyut Parishad chairman
Avadhesh Kumar Verma said.
—M Tariq Khan
CHAOS AFTER
PICS OF IPS
OFFICER GONE
VIRAL
The instructions issued by IPS
BR Meena, Additional Director
General (PAC) to have his pictures
put up in all the PAC offices have
gone viral along with elaborate
instructions of where to find his
pictures were also specified in
them. A 1997 batch IPS officer,
BR Meena in his letter to the
Deputy Inspector General of
Police, PAC Kanpur Section in his
capacity as the ADG of PAC has
instructed to ensure that all the
PAC offices have his photo taken
by Nano Photo Service during his
promotion. Such an instruction
has gone viral and has become the
topic of discussion in the corridors
of the state’s bureaucracy. It’s not
only the instructions to put up his
photo in all the PAC offices
peculiar but the presence of the
instructions of where to find the
photo has everyone shocked. The
instructions issued has not only
the name of the photo studio but
also has the address and the
phone number. Previously, Meena
has hogged the headlines as he
was alleged to have called women
late at night but all allegations
were proven baseless upon proper
investigation. —Ahtesham SIddiqui
ROHITADVISESYOUNGSTERSTO
KEEPSCORINGRUNSINRANJI
Lucknow: Indiaskipper
Rohit Sharma on
Wednesday said young
battersshouldkeepscor-
ing runs in the domestic
cricket and not worry
abouttheselectioninthe
squadastheopportunity
will arise in the near fu-
ture. Rohit Sharma also
pointed out that at times
the selection depends on
the particular combina-
tion which a team is
looking for. “A lot of
these guys, I know, you
got to keep scoring runs,
you got to keep your
head down and keep do-
ing your job, that is all I
can tell them at the mo-
ment and that is all we
can expect them also to
do,” Rohit said during a
virtualpressconference.
“And there will be a
time (when) the oppor-
tunity will arise, pretty
sure that they will also
be focussing on getting
more and more runs
rather than worrying
about if I am getting se-
lected or not and things
like that. “A lot of things
depend on what sort of
combination we have at
the moment in our par-
ticular squad and what
pitches we are playing
on, the opposition, and
things like that. So a lot
of selection depends on
that as well moving for-
ward,” he added. The
All-India Senior Selec-
tion Committee has
picked an 18-member
squad for the upcoming
T20I and Test series
against Sri Lanka. Ro-
hit Sharma hoped to see
more and more good
performances from the
young batters in upcom-
ing games. “But like I
clearly said there are
only three Test matches.
For the two Test match-
es we have announced
the team and there is
one Test which will be
played in England. We
will see about England
later,” he said. “All these
guys who have got an
opportunity to play
Ranji Trophy
, I am very
happy that they at least
got to play Ranji Trophy
,
which is the most criti-
cal from their perspec-
tive. I hope we see more
and more performances
in the next two games as
well,” he added.
Team India are set to
play three T20Is in Luc-
know and Dharamsala
and two Tests in Mohali
and Bengaluru respec-
tively against Sri Lan-
ka. India’s T20I squad:
Rohit Sharma (Cap-
tain), Ruturaj Gaikwad,
Shreyas Iyer, Surya Ku-
mar Yadav, Sanju Sam-
son, Ishan Kishan
(wicket-keeper), Ven-
katesh Iyer, Deepak
Hooda, Ravindra Jade-
ja, Yuzvendra Chahal,
Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep
Yadav, Mohd. Siraj,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Harshal Patel, Jasprit
Bumrah (vice-captain),
Avesh Khan.
Indiaskippersaysyoungstersshouldnotworryabouttheselectionasopportunitywillarise
India skipper Rohit Sharma
INDIA’S TEST SQUAD
HC denies bail to man who
sent girlfriend’s intimate
pictures to her family
Prayagraj: While de-
nying bail to a man
who allegedly sent
girlfriend’s intimate
pictures to her family,
the Allahabad High
court said that this is
an exclusive case of
betrayal of the faith
of the victim by the
applicant and termed
the man as “most gen-
der insensitive and
crooked person”.
Both victim and ap-
plicant – Balram
Jaiswal, who is
young, came into con-
tact with each other
through a social me-
dia platform. When
this relationship got
deepened, both of
them visited a num-
ber of places. It is al-
leged that after cross-
ing all the limits of
decency and chivalry,
the applicant has out-
raged her modesty.
Thereafter, he al-
legedly took her cer-
tain intimate “videos
and pictures” in inti-
mate condition and
thereafter, started ex-
ploiting her. Alleged-
ly, on February 22,
2021, when she was
going to her room, she
was intercepted by
the applicant, thereaf-
ter, he misbehaved
with her and extend-
ed all sorts of threats,
and hurled filthy
abuses to her. The ap-
plicant is behind bars
since August 9, 2021,
in connection with
this case.
Allahabad High court
FAR REACHING REPERCUSSIONS
Two cases in a week against
BJP candidate in Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur: Another
case was registered
against BJP former leg-
islator from the Du-
mariyaganj area for in-
citing speeches during
election campaigning.
It was the second case
on him under the same
charges. Police sources
said that BJP candidate
Raghvendra Pratap
Singh had used deroga-
tory comments about
the voters which went
viral on social media.
The case was regis-
tered against him in
Dumariyaganj police
station. Raghvendra
said that his statements
were twisted and pre-
sented in a different
way under a political
conspiracy
. He said that
he never threatened
any voters in election
addresses. Dr. Yashveer
Singh, superintendent
of police here said that
a case was registered
against BJP candidate
Raghvendra Singh after
his hate speech video
was viral on social me-
dia. He said that case
was registered under
relevant sections to dis-
turb the harmony and
further investigations
were underway
.
Raghvendra Pratap Singh
A CONSPIRACY?
Bajrang Dal protest over their
Karnataka activist stabbing
Prayagraj: Bajrang
Dal workers on Wednes-
day held a demonstra-
tion in poll-bound Uttar
Pradesh’s Noida and
submitted a memoran-
dum of their demands
to the district adminis-
tration over the killing
of the right wing
group’s activist in Kar-
nataka. In their memo-
randum, which they
wanted to be sent to the
Centre through the dis-
trict administration,
they demanded Rs 1
crore compensation and
a government job for
the kin of Harsha, a
23-year-old Bajrang Dal
activist who was al-
legedly stabbed to death
in Karnataka’s Shiva-
mogga on February 20
amid the hijab row. Ba-
jrang Dal’s local leader
Uma Nandan Kaushik
also demanded capital
punishment for those
involved in the killing
of Harsha and a probe
into the case by the Na-
tional Investigation
Agency
, which is tasked
with probing matters
related to terrorism.
“The outfit started a
protest march around
10.30 AM and reached
near the district magis-
trate’s office, where
they burnt an effigy and
occupied a road stretch
for demonstration,” a
police official said. “The
demonstration briefly
impacted normal vehic-
ular movement in the
locality but the situa-
tion was under control.
There was no violence
and the demonstration
got over in around an
hour,” the official said.
—FILE PHOTO
PRE-POLL STRATEGY
Former Uttarakhand CM and Congress leader Harish Singh Rawat during an election
campaign rally for the ongoing UP Assembly elections, in Prayagraj on Wednesday.
POLICE BUST GANG OF VEHICLE LIFTERS IN AGRA
Agra: Agra’s Achh-
nera police has arrest-
ed a gang of 6 vicious
thieves who were steal-
ing vehicles have re-
covered 10 motorcy-
cles. All the arrested
accused have a long
criminal history. SP
West Satyajit Gupta
said that the police
were receiving fre-
quent complaints that
a gang of vehicle
thieves is active in the
area, which is continu-
ously carrying out in-
cidents of theft. Based
on the complaints, pa-
trolling and checking
in the area were in-
creased by the police.
On the basis of the in-
formation received,
the police arrested 6
vicious thieves and
also recovered 10 mo-
torcycles from the ar-
rested accused. SP
West said that all the
arrested accused had a
long criminal history
and these people used
to carry out criminal
incidents in Agra and
surrounding areas. The arrested accused recovered vehicles in police custody.
Man stages his
own kidnapping to
extract ` 10 lakh
SP workers attacked
at ex-Pradhan’s
house in Raebareli
Jaunpur: Police have
arrested a youth who
staged his own kidnap-
ping and demanded a
ransom of Rs 10 lakh
from his father. Police
sources said Chandan
Saroj (23) son of Dharm-
raj Saroj native of Sarai
Kashi village was miss-
ing for the past 2 days
his father received a
message about the kid-
napping of his son and
a ransom of Rs 10 lakh
was demanded. Police
investigation found the
missing youth during
interrogation, Chandan
confessed that he faked
his own kidnapping and
demanded Rs 10 lakh
ransom from his father.
Raebareli: Some mis-
creants attacked the
residence of former vil-
lage Pradhan in Aaima-
jhamiya village. Police
sources said that the
former Pradhan of Aa-
imajhamiya village has
filed a complaint that
some miscreants at-
tacked his house van-
dalised several things.
He alleged that Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) work-
ers were with the at-
tackers. Police have
registered complaints
and investigations were
underway. Police have
interrogated several
suspects claimed ac-
tions will be taken after
the investigation.

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,928,314
TOTAL DEATHS
356,844,538
TOTAL RECOVERED
65,948,710
ACTIVE CASES
428,721,562
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
512,652
TOTAL DEATHS
42,189,887
TOTAL RECOVERED
164,492
ACTIVE CASES
42,867,031
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Humility is a virtue but don’t
undervalue what you do or the
world will place little value on you.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
KISAN UNION
Bharatiya Kisan Union National Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait with political activist Yogendra Yadav during a press conference
in Prayagraj on Wednesday
EXTREMESOFLOVEHATEMARK
MYRIAD MOODS OF 4TH PHASE
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: From bovine
menace, political bonho-
mie between arch rivals
to facing farmers fury in
Lakhimpur Kheri, poll-
ing in the fourth phase
witnessed myriads
moods and colours in a
multi-cornered contest
on Wednesday
.
As polling was in
progress BSP supremo
Mayawati and Union
Home Minister Amit
Shahshoweredpraiseon
each other, setting the
tongueswaggingabouta
possible tie-up between
the BSP and BJP in the
event of a hung assem-
bly after the polls and
wasalsobeinginterpret-
ed as an admission by
the saffron party that it
faced a stiff challenge in
the polls.
LakhimpurKheriwit-
nessed an impressive
turnout, apparently in-
dicating the region’s
agrarian unrest and
angst against the ruling
dispensation. Long
queues were witnessed
outside polling booths.
Surrounded by a large
number of security per-
sonnel, Union Minister
and BJP leader Ajay
Mishra, embroiled in a
major controversy in-
volving his son, also
turned up to caste his
vote and had to face a
hostile crowd. His pres-
tige is said to be at stake
and the outcome in this
region may also have an
impact on his position.
Not too far off, CM Yogi
Adityanath too found
himself at the receiving
end of this pent-up emo-
tions of the electorate as
angry farmers released
hundreds of stray cattle
onto an open ground in
Barabanki,about40kilo-
metres from Lucknow,
where he was scheduled
to address an election
rally
. The day started
with brisk polling but
rural areas reported a
betterturnoutcompared
to the urban ones.
Political bigwigs like
Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh, BSP su-
premo Mayawati were
among the first to exer-
cise their franchise in
Lucknow. The ruling
BJP faces a tough fight
over some of the most-
talked-about seats
against the opposing SP
,
the BSP and Congress,
among others.
“I am winning from
Lucknow North. There
is no doubt about it. Peo-
pleareturningoutinbig
numberstooutseatBJP
,”
said Pooja Shukla, the
youngest SP candidate
in fray
. Polling in Saroji-
niNagarfromwherefor-
mer Enforcement Direc-
tor Rajeshwar Singh is
contesting on a BJP tick-
et, however, was slow to
start. “I have voted for
the Congress but please
don’trevealmyidentity
,”
said Rajendra Pasi
(name changed).
As Maya-Shah
share bonhomie,
farmers’ angst
rears head
People waving at PM Modi’s copter during his visit to Prayagraj on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BABUS TURN UP
WITH MEMSAHIBS
Being the administra-
tive seat of govern-
ance, the State capital
also witnessed an
enthusiastic participa-
tion of the bureau-
cracy as ‘babus’ with
their ‘memsahibs’ and
‘baba log’ too turned
up in full glare of the
lensmen and the me-
dia to cast their vote.
First India Bureau
Kunda: Known by the
moniker “Kunda ka
Gunda”, six-time MLA
Raghuraj Pratap Singh
alias Raja Bhaiya is fac-
ing a challenge from his
erstwhile aide, Gulshan
Yadav of the SP
, in his
pocket borough Kunda.
The SP
, which had not
fielded its candidate on
the seat in the past 15
years, has put its nomi-
nee this elections to
make the contest tough
for Raja Bhaiya in his
seventh outing in the as-
sembly elections.
Kunda and other as-
sembly segments of
Pratapgarh will go to
vote in the fifth phase on
February27.Thecontro-
versial MLA was in the
news after he got arrest-
edin2002bythethenCM
Mayawati. The Preven-
tion of Terrorism Act
(POTA)wasalsoinvoked
against him. Soon after
the formation of Mu-
layamSinghYadav’sgov-
ernment in 2003, all
POTA charges against
him were dropped and
hispoliticalstaturegrew
overnight. Ever since
then, his relationship
with the SP continued
and the party did not
field a candidate against
him in three subsequent
elections in 2007, 2012
and2017.Thistime,how-
ever, the SP has fielded
former nagar panchayat
chairman Gulshan Ya-
dav and he is leading an
aggressively vocal cam-
paign which many be-
lieve has not been seen
in any of the past con-
tests. Raja Bhaiya has
retained the seat win-
ning for the last six
terms --1993, 1996, 2002,
2007, 2012 2017 -- as an
Independent candidate.
Raja Bhaiya to face his own aide Gulshan Yadav
TOUGH BATTLE
Death toll mounts to 15 in
Azamgarh hootch tragedy
First India Bureau
Azamgarh: As many
as 15 persons have
lost their lives till
date and several oth-
ers were under treat-
ment after consum-
ing spurious liquor
in Ahraula area here
though district ad-
ministration has
claimed that only
five persons died in
the tragedy.
Police have arrest-
ed nine accused after
registering five cases
in Phulpur and Ah-
raula police station
and two accused
were arrested while
several others were
taken into custody
for interrogations.
Four police teams
were formed to nab
the accused and fur-
ther investigation of
the matter.
It was reported
that 60 persons were
fallen ill after con-
suming spurious li-
quor in Mahul town
under Ahraula police
station area.
As many as 10 per-
sons had died on
Monday while four
others had suc-
cumbed on next day
in the tragedy. Sever-
al victims died in
their residences
while few others suc-
cumbed in district
hospital. Senior offi-
cials of excise de-
partment were sus-
pended into the mat-
ter but it was alleged
that negligence of
the police and excise
department caused
such huge tragedy.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Akhilesh
Yadav on Wednesday
said the Samajwadi
Party-led alliance will
score a double-century
of seats by the fourth
phase of Uttar Pradesh
polls and asked people
to ensure a historic win
for the coalition.
He also took a dig at
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah over his re-
ported promise of pro-
viding laptops to those
who take “admission in
Inter after passing
class 12”.
Inter is the short
form of Intermediate
and refers to classes 11
and 12. “There is a lead-
er in the BJP who...
made a statement on
distributing laptops
and whoever heard it
has gone ‘lotpot’ (split
their sides laughing).”
He said those who
take admission in Inter
after Class 12 will be
given laptops. Good
that he did not say
those doing class 10 af-
ter Inter will get a lap-
top, else people would
be perturbed,” Yadav
said. Making light of
the BJP targeting the
SP with new sobri-
quets, he said, “They
are going A for this, B
for that ... and reading
ABCD these days.”
“I want to make them
learn Hindi... ‘kaka’
stands for ‘kala kanoon’
(black agri laws) which
have gone and so will
‘Baba’ (Yogi Aditya-
nath).” Elated over the
sizeable crowd in the
meeting, the SP chief
said many BJP leaders
will become invisible
after seeing this “’jan-
sailab’ (sea of people)”.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Taking a
jibe at PM Narendra
Modi, RLD president
Jayant Chaudhary on
Wednesday said the
people of UP should no
longer seek relief or de-
velopment from the gov-
ernment as the PM has
brought the issue of
Ukraine to the state
polls.
Chaudhary referred
to Modi’s speech in Bah-
raich on Tuesday
during which he made a
reference to the eastern
European nation. Cur-
rently tension is high
between the neighbour-
ing nations amid appre-
hensions of Russia in-
vading Ukraine. In his
speech, Modi had said
turmoil is prevailing in
the world, India needs
to be stronger and for
difficult times, a tough
leader is needed.
Chaudhary also ap-
pealed to voters to “vote
for change”.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BSP
is going to win an abso-
lute majority in UP As-
sembly elections, said
the party’s national
general secretary
Satish Chandra Mishra
on Wednesday.
Mishra further
claimed that the BSP
supremo Mayawati will
become the CM for the
fifth time in the state.
“The BSP is headed
for an absolute majori-
ty in the state. Taking
into account the first
three phases and to-
day’s voting, you will
find out that the popu-
lar support is for the
BSP. The BSP will form
a government with an
absolute majority on
the pattern of the 2007
verdict in the state
polls,” Mishra said.
He also stated that
the BSP is getting a
one-sided vote in fa-
vour of the party. By
the end of the fourth
phase, it will become
certain that the BSP
will form the govern-
ment with a full major-
ity. Every section, in-
cluding Brahmins, is
voting for us,” he said.
Mishra cast his vote at
the Montessori school
polling booth in Luc-
know today. Elections
in UP are being held in
seven phases and will
conclude on March 7.
—FILE PHOTO
Police have
arrested nine
accused after
registering five
cases
SP-led alliance will score a
double-century: Akhilesh
RLD chief
takes jibe at
PM’s Ukraine
reference
‘BSP headed for absolute majority’
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addressing an election rally. —FILE PHOTO
‘TERRORIST
LINKS’: MIN
SLAMS SP
CHIEF YADAV
Lucknow: BJP leader
and Union Minister
Anurag Thakur
slammed the SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav over
alleged ‘terrorist’
links on Wednesday
and said that so far
SP’s list of candidates
included rioters, crim-
inals and mafias but
now their connections
can also be seen with
terrorists.
Further, crediting
the Yogi Adityanath
led BJP government
in UP over the issue of
development, the
Union Minister said,
“UP has witnessed de-
velopment across the
state and now people
have decided to carry
forward the pace of
the development.”
“Hence, the state’s
mandate is that Akh-
ilesh won’t be return-
ing to power,” he said.
The polling in the
fourth phase will
complete a double
century for us. It is
now the responsibility
of the people to ensure
a historic win us.
Akhilesh Yadav,
SP chief

LUCKNOW, THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 24, 2022
GUDDI
The good girl...
This Throwback Thursday we take a peek at
one of the first reel-real films which threw
light upon the world of Bollywood vs reality
and in the hands of Hrishikesh Mukherjee,
Jaya Bhaduri nee’ Bachhan’s debut film
became one of her best till date!
umkomanki
shakti dena
was actually
a prayer in
our school
and every
time I would
close my eyes in the
morning assembly,
Guddi would imp-
ishly peek and wink
at me- Jaya Bhaduri
actually immortal-
ised Guddi with her
charm and sheer bril-
liant essaying of the
schoolgirl with a
crush on her favour-
ite star Dharmendra,
a young chirpy, fun-
loving girl on the
cusp of becoming a
beautiful and viva-
cious young woman.
What a transition the
consummate actress
displayed, and in her
debut film too.
Guddi is a movie
with many layers and
delicately handles
the issues of Bolly-
wood Stardom and its
pitfalls with the real-
ity of behind the
screen sensitively
handled, raising the
concerns of disen-
chantment, inequali-
ty
, failure and monot-
onous hard work.
Hrishikesh Da high-
lights h o w
movies are teamwork
and the old adage- all
that glitters is not
gold. At that time,
most of the public
had zero ideas how
films are actually
made and Guddi
threw real light on
this world. Written
by Gulzar the movie
abounds in meta-
phors and stays close
to the theme.
Dharmendra is
heart-stoppingly
handsome and we
mooned over him as
much as Jaya did,
coupled with humili-
ty
, sensitivity and su-
per-cuteness- he is
totally lovable in the
movie. Utpal Dutt,
Samit and Smita San-
yal have good strong
characters, I quite
like Smita Sanyal
both in Guddi and in
Chupke Chupke too.
And frankly, we all
need an Uncle like Ut-
pal Dutt in our lives.
But Guddi belongs
to Jaya Bhaduri. She
is hilarious as the
schoolgirl, I can think
no other actress who
would do justice.
Watch the play of
emotions as she
sings Bole re
Papihara,unre-
quited love for
Dharmendra
flashes across
the eyes and
her smile
s u b c o n -
sciously woos
Samit. We watch
her grow, subtly
,
fromatonguein
cheek naugh-
ty school-
girl
wearing skirts and
sporting pigtails to a
perky young woman
whounderstandslove.
I loved the scene
where she first wears
a saree, of the natural
awkwardness, so
charming. Jaya was
like a breath of fresh
air in the 1970s of
bouffant-ed and jew-
elled decked up hero-
ines.
The special appear-
ances of Ashok Ku-
mar, Mala Sinha, Am-
itabh Bachhan and
Vinod Khanna make
it very interesting. In
Guddi, we have a
family drama that
showcases the effect
movies have on the
real-life of people,
still a watch.
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
H
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
STATUE!
In the movie the
characters play this
game with various
in-depth meanings,
we started play-
ing this game after
watching Guddi,
though we did not
use the game to
profess love as she
does, it was a lot of
fun.

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
DIVYANJALI, Influencer
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Health tips from an expert
will enable you to get closer
to your fitness goals.
Chances of being misled by
competitors in business are high, so
remain alert. Your generous behavior
would enable to enjoy some lovely
moments with family. Love comes
your way.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Some of you are going to
experience emotional
fulfillment on romantic
front. Yoga would help in
raising energy levels and improve
your metabolism. Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility. Associate
yourself with social groups.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
On professional front,
recognition for good work
would motivate you to
work harder. Efforts made
to improve looks or personality will
bring desired results. Those awaiting
an affirmation on romantic front are
likely to get lucky today, as partner
responds positively.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be
noticed by seniors, paving
way for promotion or
increment. Family will be supportive of
career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight without
any efforts. Harsh words may create a
rift in your romantic relationship.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Your sole
dependency on friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with
family members,
normalizing ties. Seek
proper valuation of the property you
are planning to buy. You will remain
much in demand on social front. You
need to stand by romantic partner
during testing times.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You succeed in completing
an important project well
before deadline.
Disagreements on the
family front are foreseen. Be careful
about the legal apprehensions in the
property you are planning to buy.
Your intuition will save you from a
tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering from
chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement
in their health with home
remedies. Today you will enjoy the
trust of senior management. Minor
domestic disputes may snowball into
a major row, so give attention to the
family.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation of new
ideas and projects would
add to your prestige on the
professional front. A sound
monetary position would enable you
to keep pace with changing times.
Avoid raising controversial issues at
home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build connections.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will have an awesome
day today .Continue to put
in efforts at work and you
will see promising
opportunities coming your way.
Matrimonial match for siblings will
bring happiness for entire family. You
will get a good price for your
property.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Paying special attention to
plan your career would
give immense joy. You are
likely to get clearance or
approval for your construction plans.
You find things moving in the way
you want them. Gifting something to
your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Seek the opinion of your
family before finalizing a
property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a
function from an unexpected friend is
likely to be received. Your bold
initiatives on romantic front bring
back passion and spark in romantic
relationship.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Travelling Time:
A State Amalgamating
Multiple Centuries!
efining Rajasthan
has never been easy
for the natives who
dwelled on its dunes
for centuries. From
the magnificent pal-
aces and havalies to
the golden spread of Thar,
Rajasthan is a charmer who
spells its divination not only
to its own born but to every
voyager who beholds it for
the twinkling of an eye.
Among the high sought-after
tourist destinations, Ra-
jasthan stands tall, but the
fact cannot be brushed off
that it is a crucial segment
of the economic lifeline of
India. It has modernized
state of art industries and it
nurtures the 21st century’s
commercialized enterprise.
It is phenomenal to ponder
how Rajasthan lives in mul-
tiple centuries every day,
fabricating it as its strength
and vulnerability in the
same breath.
There are conglomerate
cultsof musicanddancethat
have evolved in this magical
state. Some eco the senti-
ments of its bygone legacy
that is told through mesmer-
izing songs picturing the
bravery of its kings and
queens. These can be heard
in the streets of Rajasthan
and you don’t have to possess
that eye of a tourist or rotate
your premier cameras to for-
ever freeze that fascinating
nostalgia. Not far away,
around the corner is the new
rock company which repre-
sents the youth of the 21st
centurywhoknowsthelatest
launched trend lingering
around the globe and can
twist that high stilettos in
the symphony of universal
notes of a contemporary era
on online streaming tools.
This is the state which has
gifted some of the finest fe-
male talents in various
fields. Yet it is ironically also
the state which sometimes
struggles to match the edu-
cation aspirations of its
female segment due to
the engulfed mindset.
A journey through
the tribal Rajasthan
to metropolitan
look-alike Ra-
jasthan seems like
t r a v e l l i n g
through time in
terms of how
much has
changed and how
much remains to
be changed.
Handcraft has
always been patron-
ized by the soil of
Rajasthan. It is not
laying it on thick that prob-
ably it is the soul of this
state. In handcrafted items,
it may be in fabric or other,
this state breaths its spirit
in alpha and omega? Consid-
ered a crucial segment of
economic wellbeing this
area engages a massive
amount of locals who have
inherited and skilled into
this loom from generations.
Juxtaposed to its contempo-
rary competitors it wran-
gles to meet the
pepped-up demands of
the encyclopedic industry.
From a clothing shop in the
village of Bagru to the on-
line sale portals, this state
breath in several centuries
in a moment.
Over time Rajasthan has
lived the sectoral growth in
this segment and has wit-
nessed a remarkable perfor-
mance in other manufactur-
ing domains too. This also
derives attention to the agri-
culture, or construction sec-
tor where one sees greater
possibilities of change as
there remains awaiting re-
sponse which may be a pos-
sible explanation of poverty
and lesser development. In
the same line, it has gradu-
ally groomed the informa-
tion technology industry
which needs surely a facelift
toengageitspowerfulyouth’s
capacity and would also help
in barricading the talent
drain from the state.
A state enriched in
wonderful world herit-
age sites offers a treat
to the soul. It has
more to offer the
world than desti-
nation wedding
venues. Promot-
ing the beautiful
sites in Ra-
jasthan for the
event industry
will not only buck
up the penny val-
ue but also push
up the local talent
of music, food,
art, and so on. The
uniqueness of cultural be-
quest, if bridged with the au
courant demand of trade
can bring Rajasthan to the
forefront. Its absolute
strength of keeping alive the
gone by centuries can be its
successful strategy. This
unique charm can be a
game-changer. An umpteen
number of people still envis-
age Rajasthan as a state
holding on to its gone-by era.
Whether it is food, clothing,
its signature hospitality Ra-
jasthan is viewed as mirror-
ing the sentiments of previ-
ous centuries which is
equally the case of many
cultures and countries. The
threshold of the difference
comes in when the contem-
porary takes over the posi-
tivity of the previous centu-
ries and cements the devel-
opment. Rajasthan has a
captivating culture. Would
not it be a mesmerizing ex-
perience for the people liv-
ing and visiting Rajasthan
when they catch a glimpse
of how Rajasthan has blend-
ed its culturally diverse fac-
ets with the ever changing
pace of the developing
world: be it education, in-
dustry, or civic manage-
ment? “What should modern
cities offer to people? What
are some of the most impor-
tant factors that determine a
city’s success?” It may seem
unbelievable but, ancient
cities like Rajasthan offer
many such answers.
DR JYOTI JOSHI
jyoti.joshi.jpr@gmail.com
D

K
atrina Kaif will soon start shooting
for the final schedule of Tiger 3 with
Salman Khan. The two actors were sup-
posed to start shooting for the film in
Delhi from early January but due to the surge in
Covid-19 cases in the country including the
capital city, several cities are now under par-
tial lockdown and several restrictions, be-
cause of which the shoot was pushed.
Katrina and Salman are going to
shoot for some dramatic sequenc-
es in this schedule which is
expected to be for about 15
days. —Agency
S
ophie Turner cele-
brated her 26th birth-
day on February 21
and the actress decid-
ed to drop a glimpse of her
celebrations for the same on
Instagram. Taking to her Ins-
tagram story, Turner posted a
photo of herself posing along-
side a giant cake with a cake
topper that was designed
like Queen Elizabeth’s crown.
Sophie’s five-tiered British
themed cake celebrated all
English things including
the UK flag, the Lon-
don skyline and
more,
—Agency
Pooja Banerjee to exit
Kumkum Bhagya
P
ooja Banerjee is presently seen portraying
the character of Rhea in the popular show
Kumkum Bhagya. The actress today shared
that she has quit the show. She is expecting
her first baby, and is in her last month of pregnancy,
due to which she has decided to bid adieu to the
show. She wrapped shooting for the show on Febru-
ary 21. She got a surprise from her Kumkum Bhagya
team on the last day of her shoot.The team planned
a farewell party for the mom-to-be
Pooja. She shared pictures and
videos of the party with her fans.
She took to her Instagram ac-
count and shared a video of
the surprise farewell party,
along with an emotional
note thanking everyone
for their constant sup-
port and love. In the
post, she mentioned
that she will always
be grateful to the
entire team for
making her feel
special.
—Agency
King Khan to make a
COMEBACK
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022
11
THAT RUMOURED BF!
ollowing engage-
ment rumours, Adele
has now been spotted
cosying up with boy-
friend Rich Paul.
The couple was
snapped sitting be-
side each other at the 2022
NBA All-Star Game in Cleve-
land, Ohio on February 20 as
per ET. The two had a good
time on their date night by
the court. Beside Adele was
another big name, Mary J.
Blige who recently head-
lined the Super Bowl Half-
time show.
Subsequently, in February
the Grammy Award winner
created a further buzz on the
Brit Awards 2022. Not only
did she win big at the award
show but she also stepped on
the red carpet with the most
gorgeous ring on her left
ring finger. Fans and specta-
tors alike made many specu-
lations, “did Adele get en-
gaged?” —Agency
F
S
inger Billie Eilish was
performing in New York
City over the weekend
when she urged the
crowd to “sit down” if they
needed to, and take a moment to
compose themselves. In footage
shared by TMZ, she said: “If you
want to sit down, you are al-
lowed. Go ahead, sit
down, take a
breath.” The in-
cident comes
after Eilish
stopped her
show at the
State Farm
Arena in Atlanta,
Georgia earlier this
month when she
spotted an audience
member struggling
to breathe and ap-
pealed to her crew to
get an inhaler for the
female fan. Fans sure-
ly go gaga over this
gorgeous beauty
.
—Agency
W
ith less than two months until Fantas-
tic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
hits cinemas, the threequel’s marketing
machine is ramping up, with a brand-new
trailer coming this week. To heighten fan excitement,
Warner Bros. has chosen to unveil a slew of character
posters featuring the cast of characters that will be
returning to the Wizarding World. Eddie Redmayne and
Jude Law reprise their roles as Newt Scamander and
the eponymous Hogwarts professor, respectively, in
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, starring
Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner,
Jessica Williams, and Katherine Waterston. —Agency
SECRETS TO BE REVEALED SOON!
I
n Wednesday’s episode, Priya wakes up and
wonders where Ram is. Ram thanks Vedika for
coming with him. She asks him if he bought
something for Priya. He tells Priya doesn’t like
clothes from expensive places. Vedika tells Priya’s
clothes are simple like a uniform. Ram tells they
look really good on Priya. Akshay asks Shivina why
did she disturb Ram and ask him to get clothes for
him and asks which shop will be open early in the
morning. Shivina tells they shop from malls and not
shops. Akshay tells he doesn’t care. Akshay tells
Nandini that he doesn’t want new clothes. Ram
comes with shopping bags and Mami sees the bill
and tells the bill is only 4 lakhs. Ram tears a button
of his shirt. Priya stitches his shirt and they have a
moment. Priya thinks Ram does so much for her, so
the kachoris aren’t even a big deal. —Agency
Saucy insights on
Bade ache lagte hain 2
HEART OF
GOLD!
QUEEN OF HAPPINESS!
Adele
Prem Bhandhari addressing the audience
Prem Bhandhari addressing the audience
Sophie Turner
...her IG story
Deepika Padukone Pooja Banerjee
W
hile Shah Rukh Khan’s fans are ea-
gerly waiting for the actor to make a
comeback, they are more excited as
SRK will be seen with Deepika Padu-
kone in his upcoming movie. For those unaware,
DeepikasharedthescreenspacewithShahRukh
Khan in Farah Khan’s directorial Om Shanti Om.
And the on-screen pair is now all set to return with
this actioner. SRK will resume shooting for Pathan
in Spain with Deepika Padukone in a few days. Re-
cently
, Deepika Padukone got in touch with a news
portal and opened up about her reunion with SRK.
While Shah Rukh Khan’s fans are eagerly waiting
for the actor to make a comeback, they are more
excited as SRK will be seen with Deepika Padukone
in his upcoming movie. —Agency
SWAGAT NAHI
SWAGAT NAHI
karoge humara
karoge humara
Billie Eilish
Katrina Kaif

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