25122021 first india lucknow

Will decide after visiting UP: CEC on
Allahabad HC’s call to defer polls
On father’s petition,HC asks SP Kasganj
to explain Altaf’s custodial death
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The custo-
dial death of 22-year-old
Altaf in a Kasganj po-
lice station on Novem-
ber 9, which the police
said was a suicide by
hanging – that Altaf had
used the drawstring of
his jacket to hang him-
self from a bathroom
fitting barely three feet
high – will now have to
be explained to the Al-
lahabad High Court by
the Superintendent of
Police (SP) Kasganj,
who has to file reply in
response to a writ peti-
tion by Altaf’s father
seeking CBI probe and
` 1 crore compensation.
Hearing a writ peti-
tion filed by Chand Mi-
yan, father of Altaf, a
division bench com-
prising Justice Mahesh
Chandra Tripathi and
Justice Subhash Vid-
yarthi in its order dated
December 23 directed to
list this case for hear-
ing on January 10, 2022.
Altaf had been de-
tained by police in a
case over a “missing”
Hindu girl in Kasganj
district. The girl was
later found at Kasganj
railway station. An FIR
against unidentified po-
licemen, under IPC Sec-
tion 302 (Murder), has
already been lodged at
Kasganj police station.
A departmental inquiry
and a magisterial probe
are being conducted si-
multaneously
.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A day after a
judge of the Allahabad
High Court urged the
Election Commission
of India to postpone
elections in Uttar
Pradesh, Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC)
Sushil Chandra on Fri-
day said any decision
will be taken only after
a review of the current
situation. The CEC
along with other mem-
bers of the commission
is scheduled to visit
Lucknow on December
29 and 30 to review the
situation and also hold
meeting with district
magistrates and district
police chiefs.
“I will be visiting UP
next week. An appropri-
ate decision as required
by the situation will be
taken after we review
it,” CEC Chandra told
reporters in Dehradun.
The CEC was asked
whether deferment of
polls was possible as the
Allahabad High Court
had expressed concern
over the rising cases of
the Omicron variant of
the Coronavirus.
On Thursday, Justice
Shekhar Yadav of the
Allahabad HC, while al-
lowing a bail plea of a
petitioner, said that the
cases of COVID-19 in-
cluding the Omicron
variant are rising in the
country and if political
gatherings are allowed
to take place, the situa-
tion could be worse than
the second wave that
happened earlier this
year in April-May
. The
court urged the EC to
direct political parties
tocampaignusingnews-
papers and TV chan-
nels. The judge also ap-
preciated PM Narendra
Modi for the COVID-19
vaccination drive and
requested him to stop all
political rallies.
CEC Sushil Chandra
Altaf
‘`150 crore cash
found in raids on
Piyush Jain’
Kanpur: Unaccounted
cash worth
over Rs
150 crore
has been
unearthed
in a series
of joint raids by various
taxation agencies at
business and of-
ficial premises of
Kanpur-based perfume
industrialist Piyush Jain,
sources said on Friday.
Jain runs perfume-
manufacturing units also
in Kannauj district. The
tax officials also raided
a factory manufactur-
ing ‘Shikhar’ brand of
pan masala and other
scented tobacco prod-
ucts here in the city. P3
LUCKNOW l SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 45
‘World witnessing 4th Covid
surge, can’t lower our guard’
Haryana declares night curfew; gathering over 200 banned
Mohd Fahad
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry on Fri-
day said that the World
is witnessing the fourth
surge in Covid-19 cases
and urged people to not
lower their guard.
“The World Health
Organisation on De-
cember 7 said that Omi-
cron has a significant
growth advantage over
Delta which means, it
has greater transmissi-
bility. Omicron cases
double within 1.5-3
days, so we have to re-
main vigilant with cov-
id appropriate behav-
iour,” Union Health
Secretary Rajesh
Bhushan said during a
briefing.
On case front, India
recorded 6,650 new cov-
id-19 cases and 374
deaths in the 24 hours
ending 8 am Friday
. The
tally of Omicron cases
in country rose to 358.
Maharashtra has re-
corded highest number
of the new variant cas-
es, at 88, followed by
Delhi with 67. P6
Pawan Lalchand &
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Ex-Uttara-
khand CM Harish Raw-
at will lead Congress’s
campaign in upcoming
Assembly elections. A
decision on next CM
will be taken by Con-
gress president Sonia
Gandhi after the elec-
tions. The decision was
taken at a meeting sen-
ior Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi had with
Rawat. Meanwhile, cr-
caks in BJP also sur-
facedwhenHarakSingh
Rawat, cabinet minister
of Uttarakhand, while
leaving cabinet meeting
midway
, resigned.
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah willinaugurateon
Saturday the ‘Bharat
Darshan Park’ in Delhi
which showcases attrac-
tive replicas of several
iconic monu-
ments of In-
dia built
with scrap
and waste
material. The recrea-
tional garden, built by
the South Delhi Munici-
pal Corporation on
‘waste-to-wealth’ model,
is being opened after
some delay and ahead of
civic polls in Delhi due
early next year.
RAM GOPAL YADAV
APPEALS TO SC
AGAINST JUDGE
New Delhi: Senior
Samajwadi Party leader
and Rajya Sabha MP
Ram Gopal Yadav
has demanded action
against the Allahabad
High Court judge who
remarked on Thursday
that in view of Omicron,
political rallies should be
banned and assembly
elections should be
postponed in UP. “The
Supreme Court should
take suo-motu notice
and take proper action
against the person
giving such directions,”
Ramgopal said. —ANI
Omicron cases
double within 1.5-3
days, so we have to
remain vigilant with
covid appropriate
behaviour. It also has
significant growth
advantage over Delta
—Rajesh Bhushan
Union Health Secretary
UP CM ADITYANATH ANNOUNCES
NIGHT CURFEW FROM TODAY
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi
Adityanath on Friday announced the reintroduction
of night curfew from Saturday (11 pm to 5 am) after
chairing a Covid-19 review meeting. Adityanath
directed the reintroduction of restrictions on
gathering at weddings and other public events to
200 with adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols.
Home to replicas: Amit Shah to inaugurate
‘Bharat Darshan Park’ in Delhi on Saturday
HarishRawattoleadU’khandpoll
campaign,butnoCMfaceasofnow
Devendra Yadav
will remain in
charge of UPC
Cong chief Sonia
to decide on CM
after poll results
‘Disgruntled’
minister Harak
Singh resigns
WISH YOU
WISH YOU
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
MERRY
Visitors take photos with Christmas tree in the
background amid the COVID-19 pandemic at a
shopping centre in Barcelona. Spain is reporting
almost 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over
14 days, more than double the accumulated
cases before last years Christmas holidays.
The omicron strain has soared from 5% of new
cases in Spain to 47% within one week. (Inset)
A man dressed as Santa Claus greets children
at a school to celebrate Christmas in Chennai.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
New Delhi: After Gujarat’s excellent assembly poll
performance in 2017, now Sonia and Rahul hand over
an additional responsibility of supervising coming up
Uttarakhand polls as an observer to ensure a likely
Congress victory in February-March Uttarakhand
assembly elections. An old Gandhi family loyalist -
Gehlot, who has virtually emerged as number one after
Rahul in the party, after the recent Jaipur rally, looks
like a last ray of hope for the Gandhi family to sort out
complicated issues like Harish Rawat. —Aditi Nagar
AN INDISPENSABLE ASHOK GEHLOT!
NIGHT CURFEW FROM 9 PM TO 6 AM
IN MAHA, CURBS ON GATHERINGS
Harish Rawat Ashok Gehlot
Kapurthala: Five days
after the lynching of a
youth at a gurdwara in
Kapurthala district,
police Friday booked
the gurdwara granthi,
Amarjit Singh, on
murder charges and
arrested him.
The arrest followed a
statement by Chief
Minister Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi that investi-
gations into the Ka-
purthala incident had
not found any evidence
of desecration.
GRANTHI HELD
FOR ‘MURDER’
INKAPURTHALA
LYNCHING CASE
PUNJAB SEEKS HELP IN
LUDHIANA BLAST PROBE
Punjab CM Charanjit
Channi said he had
reached out to Home
Minister Amit Shah for
help in getting equipment
to check the kind of
RDX used in the blast.
Meanwhile, Union Law
and Justice Minister
Kiren Rijiju visited
Ludhiana district court
and assured all help need
from Centre in probe.
Maharashtra government on Friday announced fresh
series of curbs beginning midnight. According to
government, not more than five people will be al-
lowed in public places from 9pm to 6am. Weddings
in closed spaces cannot have more than 100 people
and up-to 250 people in open to sky spaces. P6
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
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HOLIDAY NOTICE
The offices of First India
will remain closed on
December 25 on the
occasion of Christmas.
There will be no edition
on December 26.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021
02
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GOVT PROBE BEGINS INTO
AYODHYA LAND SCAM CASE
Spl Secy Revenue Radhey Shyam Mishra will lead the crucial investigation
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With the
Ayodhya land scandal
snowballing into major
controversy the state
government launched
an extensive investiga-
tion to probe into the
matter. The investiga-
tion will be led by spe-
cial secretary Revenue
Radheyshyam Mishra.
He will be collecting
all relevant documents
of sale and purchase
deeds of the lands to
prepare his report,
which is to be submit-
ted to the chief minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath.
The Yogi govern-
ment, had ordered an
inquiry into the scam
on Wednesday
. The land
parcels were purchased
after November 9, 2019
Supreme Court verdict
paving way for con-
struction of the temple.
The additional chief
secretary (revenue)
Manoj Kumar said the
CM has sought a report
with relevant docu-
ments with one week.
Sources said axe is
likely to fall on several
officers involved in the
racket after the report.
The commencement of
Ram temple has led
massive pressure on
sale and purchase of
land around the temple
periphery
.
While the market
value of land has sky-
rocketed, scandals are
flourishing in the area
to purchase land on
throwaway prices from
poor people and sell
them off at high rate.
The issue relates to ex-
tension project of Ayod-
hya where a number of
people including politi-
cians, officers and their
relatives bought land.
Mahirishi Ramayana
Vidyapeet Trust’s
(MRVT) name too has
cropped up in the con-
troversy, which report-
edly bought land from
Dalits and other people
andsoldittoBJPMLAs,
Mayor, relatives of sen-
ior officers and others.
It is to be noted that
the whole land sale and
purchase exercise has
snowballed into major
controversy as the trust
role has become quite
suspicious.
CM Yogi addressing the public during the Jan Vishwas Yatra event of BJP on Friday in Bahraich.
No year-end
leaves for UP
officers?
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Administra-
tive officers of the state
who usually take holi-
day in the last week of
December to celebrate
Christmas and New
Year might have not be
able to enjoy the same
privileges as the Elec-
tion Commission has
asked the state govern-
ment to not accept any
leave application of of-
ficers without its ap-
proval as the assembly
elections in the state
are just 2-3 months
away
.
The Election Com-
mission has sated that
no employee of any de-
partment, who will be
engaged in the election
process, be given leaves
under any circum-
stances.
The instruction came
after IAS Soumya
Agrawal, District Mag-
istrate of Basti took a
week’s leave and was
followed by many leave
applications of IAS of-
ficers reaching the ap-
pointment department.
Govt’s free laptop
drive starts today
First India Bureau
Lucknow: CM Yogi
Adityanath will com-
mence the distribu-
tion of one crore free
smartphones and
tablets on the birth
anniversary of for-
mer PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee today
.
On Saturday, one
lakh smartphones
and tablets will be
given to final year
students at Bharat
Ratna Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Ekana Sta-
dium in Lucknow.
On the occassion,
CM will also launch
Digi Shakti Portal
and Digi Shakti Ad-
hyayan App. Digi
Shakti Adhyayan
App is installed on
all smartphones and
tablets.
Kumar Vineet,
Special Secretary, IT
and Electronics De-
partment, said that
“The Yogi govern-
ment has made plans
to empower the
youthof UP
.Through
smartphones and
tablets, the youth
will be provided with
excellent content for
studies, competitive
examinations and
employment with
which they will be
able to become self-
reliant.”
CM Yogi said that his government in Uttar
Pradesh has been doing its best by provid-
ing benefits to the youth, women and farmers
without any discrepancy or partiality and will
continue to do so in the upcoming elections.
Chief Minister Yogi has extended his
heartiest wishes to the people of
the state on Christmas and has ap-
pealed them to make sure that they
follow all the required protocols
to make sure that Covid-19
does not spread in UP.
follow all the required protocols
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
Ayodhya land scam
allegations are
baseless: Minister
Ballia: Uttar Pradesh
minister Anand Swa-
roop Shukla on Friday
attacked Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra for her
urging the apex court
to intervene in an al-
leged land scam in Ayo-
dhya, saying only those
opposed to the Ram
temple are raising such
issues.
“The Congress party
and Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra had put in all
their effort to ensure
that Ram temple is not
constructed and now
when a grand temple is
being built at the Ram
Janmabhoomi, they are
not able to tolerate it
and are levelling base-
less allegations,” Shuk-
la, Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs,
told media here.
He said Congress
General Secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
should first get an im-
partial probe done into
the land scam of her
husband(RobertVadra)
in Rajasthan, which is
ruled by Congress.
He also accused the
leader’s husband of get-
ting government land
at throwaway prices
during the Congress
government.
Priyanka Gandhi
had on Thursday dis-
missed as eyewash the
probe ordered by the
Uttar Pradesh govern-
ment into the alleged
Ayodhya land scam and
had urged the Supreme
Court to intervene
She had also said
that with their “cor-
ruption” BJP leaders
and government offi-
cials hurt the faith of
people who donated for
the construction of the
Ram Temple.
MoS, Parliamentary affairs
Anand Swaroop Shukla.
Sunny Leone’s Madhuban
Mein Radhika Naache dance
number draws priests’ flak
Centre, state trying to
rectify previous govts’
mistakes: CM Yogi
First India Bureau
Lucknow:Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on
Friday asserted that
both the central and the
state governments were
trying to rectify the mis-
takes of the previous
governments which did
not honour deserving
warriors and leaders as
he launched a slew of
development projects
worth Rs 35.38 crores in
Bahraich district.
Speaking on the oc-
casion, he criticised
the previous govern-
ments for not honour-
ing deserving leaders
like Maharaja
Suheldev. “It is unfor-
tunate that deserving
leaders were not given
the place of pride they
deserved, however, un-
der PM’s guidance,
foundation stone of a
medical college has
been laid in the name
of Maharaja Suheldev
and Maharishi Balark.
A grand memorial of
Maharaja Suheldev is
being built,” Yogi said,
adding his government
was trying to rectify
the mistakes of the
past governments.
The Chief Minister
further went on to say
that this yatra has
come to gain your
trust in the work done
by the BJP govern-
ment during the last
five years. He in-
formed that about 500
health wellness cen-
tres and 250 AYUSH
centres have been in-
augurated for 75 dis-
tricts in Ayodhya to-
day, which will prove
to be a milestone in the
world of medicine.
CM Yogi poses with physically
challenged ones after gifting
them with special tricycles.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
and Union Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal
on Friday reached Ayo-
dhya and offered
prayers at the Ramjan-
mabhoomi.
The two leaders also
performed an ‘aarti’.
“The Ayodhya town
will soon be connected
with waterways, said
CM Yogi adding that no
efforts will be spared to
present the Temple
Town as a world class
destination with mod-
ern amenities and the
global connectivity
.
The UP CM laid the
foundation stone of
Government Ayurvedic
College, 500 health well-
ness centers and 50 bed-
ded AYUSH hospitals in
six districts. He said
that the new Ayodhya
will have the best road,
air, rail and waterways
connectivity soon. He
said that preparations
would be made to con-
nect Ayodhya with wa-
terways. This work will
be done through the
Central Government.
“Also, the work is on to
connect all the Ayurve-
dic colleges of the state
with the Ayurvedic Uni-
versity, “ added CM.
The visit comes amid
the Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment facing flak
over the alleged land
‘scam’ in Ayodhya
linked to local MLAs
and relatives of state
government officials.
In a scathing attack
on the previous SP gov-
ernment in the state,
Chief Minister Yogi
Aditynath said there
was a pressing need of
government of Ram
devotees to bring ‘Ram
Rajya’ in true sense.
“People don’t want a
government that fires
bullets at Ram Bhak-
ts,” he said with obvi-
ous reference to firing
on the Karsewaks in
1990.
Chief Minister Yogi
described Ayodhya as a
symbol of faith for eve-
ryone. “It required to
have everyone’s coop-
eration to fulfill the re-
solve of Prime Minis-
ter Modi to develop
Ayodhya as the most
beautiful city in the
world,” the CM said.
The Chief Minister
in address thanked the
central government for
giving an Ayurvedic
college in Ayodhya.
Soon, efforts to connect Ayodhya with waterways
DEVELOPMENT SPREE
New Ayodhya will have the best of air,
rail and water connectivity to serve as a
catalyst in the city’s development
CM Yogi and Union Minister of Waterways Sarbanda Sonowal pray at
the Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya on Friday.
CM ON AYODHYA Mathura: Mathura-
based priests have de-
manded a ban on Sun-
ny Leone’s latest video
album, accusing the
Bollywood actress of
hurting their religious
sentiments by perform-
ing an obscene dance
on the iconic Madhu-
ban mein Radhika
naache song.
The song had origi-
nally been sung by Mo-
hammed Rafi for the
1960 film Kohinoor.
We will go to court if
the government does
not act against the ac-
tress and ban her video
album, said Sant Naval
Giri Maharaj of
Vrindaban.Unless she
withdraws the scene
and tenders a public
apology, she should not
be allowed to remain in
India, he said.
Akhil Bhartiya
Tirth Purohit Mahasa-
bha’s national presi-
dent Mahesh Pathak
too has taken excep-
tion to Leone’s dance
video, saying she has
maligned the prestige
of Brijbhumi.
CM Yogi Adityanath addresses the public in Ayodhya in an
event where he dedicated an Ayush Hospital and an Ayush
HWC to the public.
REMEMBERING ATAL
An event ‘Apne Apne Ram’ was organised
at the Scientific Convention Centre in
Lucknow on the eve of birth anniversary of
former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. CM Yogi,
Union Minister Dharamendra Pradhan,
BJP’s State Chief Swatantra Dev Singh,
Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, Jal Shakti
Minister Mahendra Singh, MP Radha
Mohan SIngh, other BJP leaders and poet
Kumar Vishwas were present.
Sunny Leone
—PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
MINISTER LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF 857 LKO PARKS
ADMN ISSUES GUIDELINES TO HOTELS TO
ADHERE TO COVID PROTOCOLS
Lucknow: Urban Development Minister, Ashutosh
Tandon laid the foundation stone for civil and garden
works in 857 parks in Lucknow on the occasion of
birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The programme was held at Indira Gandhi Prat-
ishthan Lawn-2, Gomti Nagar and attended by SC
Tiwari (MLA Cantt), Neeraj Bora (MLA Lko North), AK
Dwivedi (LMC Comm), Pawan Gangwar (Secy-LDA),
Rajneesh Gupta (Executive Vice President, LMC),
Neeraj Singh (Youth leader).
Agra: A high alert has been issued in Agra including
entire UP regarding the new variant Omicron. The
district administration, after meeting with the hotel as-
sociation, has issued a new order regarding Christmas
and New Year parties, in which guidelines have been
given to hotel operators to host a limited number of
100 people inside a hall and only till 11 pm. ADM City
Anjani Kumar and CMO Agra Arun Kumar made it clear
that all events will be organised under full protocol.
NEW UNION REPS
OF INFO DEPT
SWORN-IN
Lucknow: On Friday,
newly elected office
bearers of the Ministe-
rial Employees’ Union
of UP’s Information
and Public Relations
Department were sworn-
in at the Deen Dayal
Upadhyay Information
Complex. Chief Guest
ACS Navneet Sehgal
congratulated the elect-
ed office bearers and
said departmental works
are carried out smoothly
with the coordination of
officers and employees.
DGP GOEL GREETS
PROSECUTION DEPT
FOR COMING FIRST
Lucknow: Mukul Goel,
DGP, Uttar Pradesh on
Friday congratulated the
Prosecution Department
for bagging the first
prize at the national level
competition. Goel re-
viewed the presentation
on the use of technology
in election duty manage-
ment and policing, fol-
lowing which he directed
the officials to use the
necessary technology
and get the maximum
benefit from these them
for a better election.
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Friday issued orders
to initiate strict meas-
ures, including a state-
wide night curfew from
December 25, in view
of a rise in Covid cases
in several states.
The coronavirus
night curfew will be ap-
plicable from 11 pm to 5
am, a senior official
said here.
Chairing a high-level
meeting, the chief min-
ister also instructed of-
ficials to cap the num-
ber of people attending
events like marriages
to 200. These events
have to adhere to COV-
ID-19 guidelines, and
organisers will be re-
quired to inform the lo-
cal authorities about
these, the official said.
Adityanath also
asked the officials to
ensure all traders fol-
low the “no mask,
no goods” policy at
their establishments,
he said.
Masks should be
made mandatory for
everyone on the streets
or in the markets. Po-
lice should carry out
continuous patrols to
ensure the guidelines
are followed, the offi-
cial said.
Adityanath directed
the officials to ensure
that people arriving in
Uttar Pradesh from
other states or abroad
are traced and tested
for coronavirus, and
extra vigilance is main-
tained on buses, rail-
way stations and air-
ports, he said.
He asked for a close
watch to be kept on the
health of those coming
from outside the state
after testing them, and
if required, they should
be admitted to hospi-
tals or be quarantined,
the senior official said.
Monitoring commit-
tees did a commenda-
ble job in coronavirus
management in the
past, and directives
have been issued to re-
activate them in vil-
lages and urban wards,
he said.
The CM said in view
of the possibility of a
third wave of COV-
ID-19, the state made
systematic prepara-
tions in the past which
needed to be re-exam-
ined. Facilities availa-
ble at all government
and private medical
institutions of the state
should be examined
closely, and the Covid
help desk and the day
care centre in indus-
trial units should be
activated, he said.
The situation in the
state is under control at
present. Forty-nine
new cases of the infec-
tion were confirmed in
the investigation of
over 1.91 lakh samples
tested in the last 24
hours.
Kanpur: Vivek Johri,
theChairmanof Central
Board of Indirect Taxes
and Customs (CBIC) on
Friday said the cash re-
covery of Rs 150 crore
fromsearchesinKanpur
at several locations re-
lated to Trimurti Fra-
grance is the “biggest
haul ever”. The teams of
CBIC are currently at
various premises of
businessman Piyush
Jain counting the cash.
“We got the informa-
tion that Trimurti Fra-
grances was working
withoutaninvoiceortax
payment. We searched
their three entities and
recovered approximate-
lyRs150crorecash.This
is the biggest recovery
ever in the history of
CBIC,” Johri said.
Briefing on the de-
tails Johri said, “Ahem-
dabad unit of DGGI re-
ceived intelligence that
pan masala and G com-
pany Trimurti Fra-
grance, manufacturers
of a branded Gutkha,
are transporting mate-
rials without any in-
voices and without pay-
ing taxes.”
“DGGI Ahemdabad
team started searches
on the manufacturer of
Pan Masala and their
supplier. A transporter
and a fragrance compa-
ny of Unnao were also
searched as they were
providers of fragrance
to the pan masala com-
pany,” he added.
Johri also said that one
of the parties involved
has accepted the case of
tax evasion and has de-
posited Rs 3 crore for
the same.
“No arrest has been
made yet,” he added.
AspertheGSTlaw,if the
invoice is over a certain
limit, it is necessary to
generate invoices.
During searches,
DGGI found an item on
which GST rate was 28
per cent plus cess, Johri
informed. —AGENCIES
First India Bureau
Lucknow: On Christ-
mas evening, night cur-
few order of UP govern-
ment has muted the
celebratory prepara-
tions of the city church-
es and several changes
were implemented to
follow Corona protocol.
The church authori-
ties have asked devotees
to follow preventions
and protocols.
Speaking with First
India, Church’s Rodney
Patrick said,“Though
we were vigilant about
Corona protocols, fur-
ther prevention and
protocols will be fol-
lowed. Usually there
are gathering of more
than 1,000 persons in
the church for celebra-
tion and prayers but
due to advisory the
numbers will be re-
duced to minimum.”
Patrick said social
distancing and use of
mask were strictly fol-
lowed in religious gath-
erings and during cele-
brations. He said most
of known were vacci-
nated but even then all
protocols were being
followed. Also, extra
precautions were fol-
lowed at cake shops and
other markets, he point-
ed out.
First India Bureau
Kanpur: Commission-
er of Metro Rail Safety
(CMRS)hasgivenNoOb-
jectionCertificate(NOC)
to commence passenger
services on the 9-km Pri-
ority Section of Kanpur
Metro Rail Project be-
tween IIT-Kanpur and
Motijheel, having 9 ele-
vated Metro Stations.
CMRS Janak Garg has
given NOC after three-
daylongrigorousinspec-
tion of the section.
Now, the revenue op-
erations on the said sec-
tion is scheduled to be
inaugurated by PM Nar-
endra Modi in the pres-
ence of CM Yogi on De-
cember 28, after which
the passenger services
will commence from the
next day from 6 AM.
The inspection was
commenced on Decem-
ber 20 and concluded on
December 22.
Congratulating the
UPMRC team, Kumar
Keshav, MD, said “Get-
ting all the required
technicalclearancesand
finallycertificationfrom
the CMRS to commence
revenue operations has
been a great achieve-
ment for all of us.”
He also congratulated
theteamof GeneralCon-
sultant,contractors,ven-
dors and labourers for
their dedication, com-
mitment, hard work and
perseverance.
First India Bureau
Ayodhya: Three girl
students died on the
spot while two others
were severely injured
when a truck loaded
with onion overturned
on them on the Luc-
know-Gorakhpur na-
tional highway
.
CMYogi Adityanath
has condoled the deaths
and instructed officials
to provide required
medical treatment to
the injured girls.
Police said a truck
loaded with onion, over-
turned after hitting a
road divider in Saadat-
ganj area and crushed
five school girls head-
ing to school. Locals
rushed to the spot and
initiated rescue opera-
tions.
Senior police and ad-
ministrative officers
including KP Singh, IG
range, DM Nitish Ku-
mar and SSP Shailesh
Pandey, rushed to the
spot. The deceased were
identified as Srishti
Kanaujiya, Anjali Mau-
rya and Shivani Pal
while Palak and Komal
were severely injured.
First India Bureau
Bulandshahr: District vice-presi-
dentof BJPyouthwingwasshotat,
inhisAmbacolonyhouseonAnup-
shahar road.
Police said BJP leader Janpriya
Singh was attacked when he was
sitting with his friend at his resi-
dence. It was alleged that RLD
worker Vishal Chaudhary
, his
younger Vinay Chaudhary
, Diwa-
kar and Rajat Sharma reached his
residenceandstartedabusinghim.
When the matter escalated
Vishal opened fire at him but Jan-
priyaSinghhadacloseshave.After
information police have initiated
the investigations and vehicle was
seized. Police have registered case
against accused on complaint of
the leader and further investiga-
tion were underway
.
NIGHT CURFEW IS BACK!
State government announces
shutdown from 11pm to 5am
Shopkeepers asked to adopt
‘no mask, no goods’ policy
CM asks to cap attendance
in marriages, events to 200
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holding a high-level meeting on Covid-19 on Friday. CS Rajendra
Tiwari, ACS Home Awanish Awasthi, ACS Info Navneet Sehgal attended the meeting among others.
Cathedral Church in Lucknow decked up on the eve of Christmas on Friday.
—FILE EPHOTO
Trunk loads of unaccounted cash seized from the premises of
Piyush Jain. (Bottom) Accused Piyush Jain
49 new cases were
confirmed among over
1.91 lakh samples tested
in the last 24 hours. In
the same time period, 12
people recovered from
the infection, and the
total number of active
cases in the state now
stands at 266. There are
no Covid patients in 37
districts, an official said.
49 NEW CASES IN
STATE IN 24 HRS
Dy CMO
held while
taking bribe
First India Bureau
Chitrakoot: Su-
perintendent of
police ombuds-
man, Rewa arrest-
ed deputy chief
medical officer
(CMO) Naya Gaon
City Council red
handed while tak-
ing Rs 1 lakh bribe
at his government
residence.
Police said
Krishna Pal Singh
had demanded Rs
1 lakh for compas-
sionate appoint-
ment. Acting on
tip-off SP team
lead by Gopal
Dhakad caught
him red-handed
whiletakingbribe.
Anil Tiwari of
Naya Gaon was
asked to pay Rs 1
lakh bribe for job
on compassionate
basis. The com-
plainant reached
the residence of
the DyCMO with
money and the po-
liceteamwasready
to nab the accused .
` 150-cr haul ‘the
biggest ever’, says
CBIC chairman
NO INVOICE, BILLS
Covid protocols in churches on Christmas
Safety comm nod
to start Knp metro
passengerservices
3 girl students killed, 2 hurt as truck overturns on them
BJP leader
attacked in
Bulandshahr
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 45
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 Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem
Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
tal Bihari Vajpayee ji is well-
known in politics and more than
thatalso.Perhapsbecauseasmuch
as he was deeply concerned with
politics, he was also concerned
with the sensitivity of literature. I
have felt many times that what he
could not say directly while in
politics, his poetic mind used to
say it. We can read his mind by po-
ems. This was the biggest quality
of his personality that he believed
in taking people of different ide-
ologies along. I had constant close-
ness to him. During this, I also re-
alizedthathewasverybigatheart.
Even if there was any dispute or
displeasurewithanyone,hewould
not keep it in his mind. I have al-
ways seen a feeling of respect in
his mind towards his opponents
and rivals too.
While taking everyone along
under the democratic vision, he
never cared about anyone in ex-
pressing his views. I think, not
everyone has the courage to tell
the truth, but Vajpayeeji had this
quality. He used to appreciate it
openly even if the leader of any
Opposition party did good work.
But he never shied away from op-
posing extremism.
Remember, when Bangladesh
was created in 1971, Atalji was
the leader of the front line in the
Opposition. He even gave the title
of ‘Abhinav Chandi Durga’ to the
then Prime Minister Indira Gan-
dhi in the House for the efforts
made for the creation of Bangla-
desh with the crushing defeat of
Pakistan. But on the intention of
concentrating power only in her
hands, he did not reduce the at-
tack on Mrs Gandhi by writing
poems in sarcasm on her in pub-
lic meetings in the eighties.
I still remember the poems re-
cited by him during that period,
‘Indira Gandhi number ek/ num-
ber do hai kaun? /Nari number ek
/ baki sab 10 numbari.’ He used to
do it. He didn’t keep anything in
mind. Whatever is there, if not
said, he used to convey it easily to
the people in impeccable poetry
.
Atalji had faith in the lofty val-
ues of life from the very begin-
ning. Be it politics or life outside,
he used to always stay away from
smallness. These lines of his
poem are very dear to me even
today, ‘Hey prabhu! Mujhe itni
unchain kabhi mat dena/ gairon
ko gale na laga saku/itni rukhai
kabhi mat dena.” I think he al-
ways kept himself attached to
himself. He was skilful and witty
.
He became a Member of Parlia-
mentforthefirsttimein1957atthe
age of 33. His speeches in the Lok
Sabhaarerememberedeventoday
because he used to delve into the
subject very deeply and speak his
words in the contexts of the time.
I still remember his speech in the
House in 1959, in which he talked
about China completely destroy-
ingthepersonalityof thepeopleof
Tibet and spreading a new type of
imperialism. This speech of his
later became very popular. We all
knowwhathismindsawthattime,
the same thing happened later.
China has not only captured Tibet
and made its right there, but has
also continuously exploited Tibet-
ans by making them a minority in
their own country
.
Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee’s
energetic personality has had a
deep impact on Atalji from the
very beginning. Dr. Syamaprasad
Mukherjee’s speech on Kashmir,
hisideologyandthinkinginspired
Atalji probably from the very be-
ginning. That is why this glimpse
also emerges again and again in
his contemplation. After Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyayji, when he
got the post of President of Jana
Sangh,hetookeveryonealongand
did very important work for the
organisation. I have experienced
thathealsohadtheabilitytobring
those, who opposed him, towards
him. Perhaps the main reason for
this was that he used to go directly
to the opponent himself without
anyformalityandaskforcoopera-
tion. This vision and spontaneity
is not there in everyone, but Atalji
was full of this quality
.
A lot is being said and heard on
Hindu,HindutvaandIndiancul-
tureatthistime.Ataljiwasnot
only associated with the ide-
ology of Hindutva, he has
also made it public again
and again. Everyone
knows that ‘Hindu’ is
derived from the Vedic
word Sindhu. The
basis of word ori-
gin in Vedic gram-
mar is the science
of phonetics. On
the basis of this,
Sindhu is the Hin-
du of today
. At many levels in pro-
nunciation, the ‘s’ is changed to
the ‘h’ sound. On the basis of the
grammar of Vedic Sanskrit, we
can assume that there was a tem-
poral transformation of Hindu
from Indus itself. Atalji had once
written a poem with a coloured
mind in the concerns of Indian
culture and Hindutva. Voices
were raised on it, but he was al-
ways firm. I think his poem ex-
plains Hindutva in a way
.
Just a few days ago, when I was
re-reading his collection of fifty
one poems, his same poem came
to mind. In the rare shades of
meaning, he has said a lot in a few
words while transforming Hin-
dutva in Hindustan. See the lines,
‘Hindu tan-man, Hindu jeevan,
rag-rag mera Hindu mera
parichay / main akhil vishwa
guru mahan, deta vidya ka am-
ardan/samashti ke liye vyasti ka
kar sakta balidan’. Those who do
not understand the deep meaning
of the sublime of Hindutva, they
should understand that Hindu
means the tradition of tolerance
in which the values of Sanatan
culture are deeply embedded.
Another important aspect of
Vajpayeeji has always fascinated
me. That is, he was closely relat-
ed to healthy parliamentary tra-
ditions. Heard him many
times in the Lok Sabha and
every time I felt that he had
lived the sub-
ject deeply.
Not only this,
instead of cov-
ering himself
with serious-
ness in the par-
liamentary tradition, he believed
in being straight, simple. I used
to interact with him many times
on the traditions of the House. He
knew that I have a deep attach-
ment to the Constitution and cul-
ture, so if there was a discussion
on this subject, we used to talk for
a long time. Every time I also felt
that he was in favour of preserv-
ing the values of the Constitution
and its associated culture under
any circumstances.
I have also noticed several
times in my interactions with
him that he used to get distracted
when there was a lot of unneces-
sary noise in Parliament and im-
portant issues could not be de-
bated. He used to get disturbed
many times with members speak-
ing loudly in the House and with
their struggle to get a place in the
media. On this, sarcastic lan-
guage was also heard from his
mouth many times. When he was
the Leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha, he used to say re-
peatedly, “The members of the
House consider making noise as
an easy means to get into the
limelight. That is not good. Do a
deep study on a topic, collect
facts, keep arguments and give
an effective speech even then
there is an apprehension that it
is not known how much will be
printed. That’s why the members
have started finding a simple way
to say something in the zero hour
at 11 o’clock or 12 o’clock which
will attract the attention of the
journalists sitting in the gallery
and get a good place in the news-
papers on the second day
.”
Healsousedtosayjokinglythat
as a man feels thirsty
, in the same
way politicians and public repre-
sentatives feel ‘Chhapas’ (a strong
desiretogetprintedinthemedia).
In the House, Vajpayeeji’s hu-
mour and sarcasm as well as wit
was always in the discussion.
When Vajpayee reached the Par-
liament from Balrampur, Uttar
Pradesh on the seat of Jana
Sangh, then Nehruji’s lot of dif-
ficult postures like Shirshasana
yoga used to get printed in news-
papers. One day, during the de-
bate in Parliament, Pt. Jawahar-
lal Nehru spoke very effectively
on some issues. Everyone appre-
ciated his speech. Looking at Va-
jpayeeji sitting in the Opposition,
Nehru ji smiled and said, now tell
me, what do you have to say?
Atalji was not going to remain
silent. He said, “I know that Pan-
ditji does Shirshasana yoga. It
should also be done but it does
not mean that he should also look
at the solution of problems in re-
verse.” I think the house used to
be always alive whenever he was
in the House.
Personalities like Vajpayeeji
are rare in this era. I wonder
where such personalities have left
in politics, who, while taking eve-
ryone along, always keep the
house illuminated with their
presence. He was such a personal-
ity associated with the sensitivity
of parliamentary traditions, cul-
ture and literature who despite
being in politics, kept herself
away from its quagmire. He made
his mark as a leader. I have been
fortunate enough to have such
closeness with him that every
now and then I used to communi-
cate with him on many subjects
other than politics. Whenever
there was a gap in our meeting, he
used to reprimand me. Sweet re-
bukes and listening to a lot. There
aresomanythingsandmemories
that if I write, I do not know
where it will reach. I will say only
one thing for a hundred things
that Atalji was ‘Atal’ in
politics and will always
remain so.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Another important aspect
of Vajpayeeji has always
fascinated me. That is, he
was closely related to
healthy parliamentary
traditions. Heard him
many times in the Lok
Sabha and every time I
felt that he had lived the
subject deeply. Not only
this, instead of covering
himself with seriousness
in the parliamentary
tradition, he believed in
being straight, simple. I
used to interact with him
many times on the
traditions of the House.
A
While taking everyone
along under the
democratic vision, he
never cared about anyone
in expressing his views. I
think, not everyone has the
courage to tell the truth, but
Vajpayeeji had this quality.
He used to appreciate it
openly even if the leader
of any Opposition party
did good work
KALRAJ MISHRA
The writer is Governor of Rajasthan
REMEMBERING AB VAJPAYEE ON HIS BIRTH ANNIVERSARY TODAY
ATALJI WAS ‘ATAL’ IN POLITICS
AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN SO!
Projects dedicated to
memory of Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana
Pratap, Veer Abdul Hameed
and General Bipin Rawat
were inaugurated in
Dodaicha, Maharashtra
today. I bow to the
memories of all these
majestic generals and
heroes who contributed for
the country.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Jesus answered, ‘I am the
way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
—Bible
TOP
TWEETS
Addressed a women’s rally
in Imphal today. Manipur is
another name for women
empowerment. The social
and economic contribution
of the mother power
here is very deep. Be it
Commonwealth Games or
Olympic Games, the players
of Manipur have brought
laurels to the country by
flaunting medals.
Jagat Prakash
Nadda @JPNadda

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INDIA
05
Guwahati: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla on
Firday expressed con-
cern over “continuous
disruption” of proceed-
ings and “lack of deco-
rum” in Parliament and
State legislatures.
Calling obstruction
of proceedings ethical-
ly and constitutionally
wrong, he said, it was
even more disturbing
when such disruptions
are pre-planned.
Addressing the As-
sam Assembly, Birla
said, “Democracy is
based on debates and
dialogue. But continu-
ous disruption in the
House and lack of deco-
rum is a matter of con-
cern.” While it is natu-
ral for treasury and op-
position benches to
disagree, “dissidence
should not lead to im-
passe”, he added.
The Speaker advised
political parties to hold
discussions on intracta-
ble issues and ensure
the House functions in
a manner that it can ful-
fil the hopes and aspira-
tions of the people.
“To obstruct the pro-
ceedings of the House is
not right, ethically and
constitutionally. Many
a time, disruptions are
not organic but pre-
planned. Such conduct
is even more disturb-
ing,” Birla said.
He said disruption
and adjournment of
proceedings are not
part of democratic tra-
ditions, and asked the
legislators to come true
to the hopes of
the people.
Birla said a diverse
country like India is
bound together by par-
liamentary democracy,
and as the nation cele-
brates 75 years of Inde-
pendence, it has become
necessary to revisit
how the House, which is
an integral part of the
system, functions.
The first Lok Sabha
Speaker to address the
Assam Assembly, Birla
said, the state is a vi-
brant example of unity
in diversity
.
“Assam is the bridge
that connects the richly
diverse North-East with
the rest of India. This
diversity makes our de-
mocracy even more re-
silient,” he added. —ANI
BIRLA VOICES CONCERN OVER
DISRUPTIONS IN PARLIAMENT
Democracy is based on debates and dialogue, says Lok Sabha Speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla being felicitated with traditional Assamese Japi (hat) and Gamocha
by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the official launch of the Assam Legislative
Digital TV Assam Legislative Assembly, in the Central Hall of the Assam Legislative Assembly in
Guwahati on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mumbai: Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Narhari
Zirwal, on Friday asked the legislature secretary not to respond to the Supreme
Court’s notice on the plea filed by 12 BJP MLAs challenging their one-year
suspension. The 12 MLAs were suspended on July 5 this year after they al-
legedly misbehaved with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav. Zirwal directed the
government to apprise the SC of the developments that led to the suspension
of BJP MLAs. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar wondered how the government
can hold the speaker’s election by keeping 12 voters suspended. Leader of
Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the 12 MLAs have applied to the speaker’s
office requesting their suspension be reconsidered. “I hope their suspension is
revoked before the speaker’s election next week,” he said.
MAHA HOUSE SECRETARIAT NOT TO REPLY TO
SC NOTICE ON SUSPENSION OF 12 BJP MLAs
PMtochairCouncil
ofMinisters’meet
onDecember29
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will be holding
a Council of Minis-
ters meeting on De-
cember 29. Mean-
whie,PMModiwould
virtually address the
Gurpurab celebra-
tions of Guru Nanak
Dev Ji at Gurudwara
Lakhpat Sahib in
Kutch of Gujarat on
December 25.
As per the PMO,
PM will address the
Gurpurab celebra-
tions at 12:30 pm.
Every year, from Dec
23 to Dec 25, Sikh
Sangat of Gujarat
celebrate the Gur-
purab of Guru
Nanak Dev Ji.
Guru Nanak Dev ji
had stayed at Lakh-
pat during the course
of his travels. Gurud-
wara Lakhpat Sahib
has his relics includ-
ing wooden footwear
and palki (cradle) as
well as manuscripts
and markings scripts
of Gurmukhi.
As per the PMO,
the Gurudwara had
suffered damages
duringthe2001earth-
quake. “The then Gu-
jarat CM, Narendra
Modi, had undertak-
en efforts to ensure
repair of the damag-
es,” the PMO said.
“This step showed
the deep reverence of
the PM for the faith,
as also reflected in
multiple recent en-
deavours, including
the celebrations of
550th Parkash Purab
of Guru Nanak Dev
Ji, 350th Parkash Pur-
ab of Guru Gobind
Singh Ji, and 400th
Parkash Purab
of Guru Tegh
Bahadur ji,”
it further
added.
—ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
New Delhi: Reacting
sharply to hate speech-
es allegedly made at a
‘Dharma Sansad’ held
recently in Haridwar,
Congress leader Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Friday demanded the
strictest action against
those who incite vio-
lence, saying such acts
violate the Constitution
and the law.
All-India Trinamool
Congress national
spokesperson Saket
Gokhale has also de-
manded action against
the organisers and the
speakers of the ‘Dhar-
ma Sansad’ held in
Haridwar, where “hate
speeches” were alleged-
ly made. He has lodged
a complaint against it at
the Jwalapur police sta-
tion in Haridwar.
Hitting out at the re-
marks, Priyanka Gan-
dhi said, “Strictest ac-
tion should be taken
against those who in-
cite hatred and violence
of this kind.” —PTI
Priyanka slams
‘hate speeches’,
demands action
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Imphal: BJP president
JP Nadda on Friday
claimed that fear had
been dispelled from
among the people in
Manipur by the BJP
helmed Government of
N Biren Singh, which
has ensured “innova-
tion, infrastructure and
integration” in the
north eastern State.
Manipur had wit-
nessed “instability, in-
surgency and inequali-
ty” in the Congress re-
gime, he said at a rally
organsied by women ac-
tivists of the party here.
State poll in Manipur
is due in March 2022.
The government has
allayed the fear that
was prevalent among
the people, he said.
“There was an atmos-
phereof fearinthestate.
A mother used to fear
whether her son would
be return to the state
andasisterdidnotknow
whetherherbrotherwill
returnornot.Now,there
is no fear after the BJP
came to power.
“I now see a new Ma-
nipur which has pro-
gressed due to the
power of women,” Na-
dda said. —ANI
‘BJP has dispelled fear in Manipur’
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh (L), BJP national president
JP Nadda (2L sitting) and other dignitaries have lunch at Luxmi
Kitchen, in Imphal on Friday. — PHOTO BY ANI
Panaji: Nearly three
months after joining
the Trinamool Con-
gress, Goa's former leg-
islator Lavoo Mamledar
on Friday resigned
from TMC, accusing it
of being communal and
trying to create a divide
between Hindus and
Christians for votes
ahead of polls.
The former Ponda
MLA had joined the Tri-
namool Congress in the
last week of September.
He was among the first
few local leaders in the
state to join the TMC,
which has decided to
contest all 40 seats in
the Goa Assembly polls,
due in February 2022.
He also alleged that
the Trinamool Con-
gress was collecting the
data of people in the
name of rolling out a
welfare scheme for
women in the state if it
is voted to power after
the elections. —PTI
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Anurag Thakur on
Friday slammed Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi by calling him
‘Raul Vinci’.
In a tweet, Thakur
wrote, “Afsarwaadi Hin-
du, Raul Vinci (loosely
translated as Opportun-
istic Hindu Raul Vin-
ci)” This tweet by
Thakur was in response
to a tweet by Gandhi to-
day. The Congress MP
wrote, “Hindutvawadi
always spread hatred
and violence. Hindu-
Muslim-Sikh-Christian
pay the price. But not
anymore! #IndiaAgain-
stHindutva #Harid-
warHateAssembly
.”
Referring to the re-
cently registered case
against Wasim Rizvi
aka Jitendra Tyagi and
others for ‘hate speech’
against Islam during an
event in Haridwar,
Uttarakhand DGP
Ashok Kumar on Fri-
day said that incidents
of ‘hate speech’ will not
be tolerated in the state.
— ANI
TMC ‘WORSE THAN BJP’:
GOA LEADER QUITS PARTY
ANURAG THAKUR CALLS
RAHUL ‘RAUL VINCI’
Sonia Gandhi holds
meet with Cong MPs
from poll-bound Punjab
New Delhi: Ahead of
Punjab Assembly polls,
the Congress MPs from
the State unit of the
party on Thursday met
Congress interim presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi and
raised several issues
including the bomb
blast in Ludhiana and
mob lynching incidents
in the state.
According to the
sources, the MPs also
criticised Punjab Chief
Minister Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi and the State
Home Minister for not
condemning the lynch-
ing incidents in the
State and the conse-
quent action to stem
such violent incidents.
The sources further
stated that MPs also
stressed the need to
maintain communal
peace in the State.
Apart from security
and law and order is-
sues dominated the dis-
cussion, governance
challenges, electoral
strategy for Assembly
elections. —ANI
Sonia Gandhi
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: The Janata
Dal-(United), an ally of
the BJP in the Bihar gov-
ernment, and the state’s
main Opposition party
,
RJD, are coming togeth-
er. While there are many
issues on which agree-
ment between the JDU
and the RJD is visible,
but such is not visible be-
tween the JDU and the
BJP
. On the contrary
, the
demand of the JDU,
which the BJP leaders
are opposing, is being
supportedbytheRJD.Al-
though it is not that any
political equation is be-
ingcreatedimmediately
,
but the possibility of a
miracle cannot be ruled
out in the coming days.
Especially after seeing
the attitude of two small
partiesinvolvedinNDA,
HUM and VIP
.
However, JDU and
RJD had already agreed
on the caste census.
When Nitish Kumar
had gone to meet Prime
Minister Modi with an
all-party delegation on
this issue, Tejashwi Ya-
dav had accompanied
him. Later, Nitish gave
credit to Tejashwi for
the idea of meeting the
Prime Minister with an
all-party delegation.
When the central gov-
ernment did not agree
to the caste census, Nit-
ish made a unilateral
announcement and said
that the state govern-
ment would get the
castes census done and
would bear its expenses.
On this issue, RJD-JDU
are together and the
BJP is in opposition.
Similar is the case of
specialstatestatusof Bi-
har, Nitish Kumar had
raised the issue long
back but was silent on it
for four years. Now he
hasagaindemandedthis
from the Centre, so RJD
has supported him. BJP
is also opposing this.
Renu Devi, deputy chief
minister in Nitish gov-
ernmentandBJPleader,
has opposed this and
said that the central gov-
ernment is giving more
funds to Bihar than un-
der the special state sta-
tus, so there is no need
for special state status.
The growing closeness of RJD and JDU!
CRUCIAL READ
INDORE-SHARJAH
FLIGHTS FROM
MAR 27: SCINDIA
LENSMAN TO
GET AWARD
New Delhi: Air India
Express will start
operating flights on
Indore-Sharjah route
from March 27 next
year, Aviation Minister
Jyotiraditya Scin-
dia said on Friday. On
October 8, the Centre
had announced that
Talace Private Limited
— a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Tata Sons
— has won the bid to
acquire Air India and
its subsidiary Air India
Express. —PTI
Mumbai: Photo-
journalist Danish
Siddiqui, who died
in Afghanistan, will
be posthumously
awarded as the ‘Jour-
nalist of the Year’ for
2020 by the Mumbai
Press Club.Siddiqui,
who had a long stint of
working, was the chief
photographer for the
news agency Reuters.
GOLD CLIMBS `57; SILVER GAINS `183
New Delhi: Gold price in the national Capital on Friday
gained Rs 57 to Rs 47,263 per 10 gram tracking firm
international trends, according to HDFC Securities. In
the previous trade, the precious metal settled at Rs
47,206 per 10 gram. “Spot gold prices for 24 carat at
Delhi were trading up by Rs 57 in line with global gold
prices,” HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodi-
ties), Tapan Patel said.
MAHA PLANS TO DEVELOP KOREGAON
Mumbai: A high-level committee has been set up to
prepare a draft plan for the development and beautifi-
cation of the Koregaon Bhima memorial in Pune dis-
trict, the Maharashtra government told the Legislative
Assembly on Friday. Social Justice Minister Dhananjay
Munde made this announcement. “The social justice
department has set up a high-level committee. Its
report is expected in two months,” he said.
NC TO APPROACH SC AGAINST DELIMITATION: FAROOQ
New Delhi: National Conference president and former Jammu and
Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said on Friday that his
party is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the
Delimitation Commission’s recommendations as it believes
that the very basis of the exercise is “illegal”.
SC REJECTS APPEAL IN 38-YR-OLD CASE!
New Delhi: The SC has dismissed an appeal filed
against a verdict of the Patna HC modifying the
conviction and sentence awarded to a man from life
term to five years in a 38-year-old case in which a
person had died after fight over grazing of crops.
NALINI AND PERARIVALAN GET PAROLE
Tamil Nadu: Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts Nalini
Sriharan and AG Perarivalan were granted one month of
parole by the Tamil Nadu Government. Nalini was given
a month of parole, while her fellow convict Perarivalan
received an extension on his one-month parole. Perari-
valan’s parole had been extended twice in succession.
PLEA SEEKS UNIFORM
JUDICIAL CODE
New Delhi: A petition
has been filed in the
SC seeking directions
to HC across India to
adopt a uniform judi-
cial code. The plea filed
by advocate Ashwini
Kumar Upadhyay said
such step will contrib-
ute to access to justice
for the citizenry.
IN THE COURTYARD
CAPT’S WIFE
PRENEET KAUR
SKIPS MEET
WITH SONIA
New Delhi: Con-
gress MP and wife
of former Punjab
Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder
Singh, Preneet
Kaur missed a
crucial meeting
called by Congress
interim president
Sonia Gandhi at
10 Janpath on
Thursday. Congress
MP Preneet Kaur
remained absent in
meeting where all
MPs from Punjab
were present. —ANI

INDIA
06
New Delhi: Noting that
the world is witnessing
a fourth surge in Covid
-19 cases, the govern-
ment on Friday cau-
tioned people against
lowering the guard, par-
ticulary during year-
end festivities.
It urged people to
avoid crowding and un-
necessary travel and
stressed on COVID-
19-appropriate behav-
iour and expedited vac-
cination.
Addressing a joint
press conference on the
pandemic, a senior of-
ficial said the predomi-
nant strain in India
continued to be Delta,
including in recently
identified clusters.
India has so far re-
ported 358 cases of the
Omicron variant, of
which 183 were ana-
lysed and 121 of them
were found to have for-
eign travel history
.
The Health Ministry
on Friday said that 61
per cent of the adult
population is fully vac-
cinated, while 89 per
cent has received their
first COVID-19 vaccine
dose.
Addressing a joint
press conference on the
pandemic, Union
Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said,
“89 per cent of the eli-
gible population in In-
dia have received at
least the first vaccine
dose. 61 per cent of the
eligible population has
received the second
dose.” He further said
that the cause of con-
cern is 11 states where
vaccination is less than
the national average.
The 11 states are Odi-
sha, Maharashtra, Ta-
mil Nadu, Bihar, Pu-
ducherry, Uttar
Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Jharkhand, Manipur,
Punjab, and Nagaland.
The national average
of the first dose is 88.7
per cent, while of the
second dose is 60.7 per
cent. On a policy for
booster dose, the Indi-
an Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) said
that deliberations are
underway and it is re-
viewing scientific data.
“Deliberations are
underway. We are re-
viewing scientific data
to formulate a policy,”
said Dr Balram Bhar-
gava, Director General
of ICMR on vaccine
booster shots.
He said that the
world is witnessing the
fourth surge in COV-
ID-19 cases and the
overall positivity rate
stands at 6.1 per cent.
—PTI
358 Omicron cases in India,
114 have recovered, says government
New Delhi: The government will
conduct a medical study - on 3,000
fully vaccinated individuals - to
assess the efficacy of a Covid vac-
cine booster against the Omicron
variant, Health Ministry sources
said Friday. To be carried out by the
Translational Health Science and
Technology Institute in Haryana’s
Faridabad, news of the study comes
amid increasing global worry over
the Omicron strain, which the
World Health Organization has said
is more transmissible than Delta
and reduces vaccine efficacy.
GOVT TO STUDY BENEFIT OF
BOOSTER DOSE: SOURCES
Beed: In a goof-up, the names of
two persons, who are still alive,
have figured in the list of those who
died due to COVID-19 infection in
Ambejogai tehsil of Maharashtra’s
Beed district, an official said on
Friday. The list of the deceased has
been prepared by revenue depart-
ment based on the information given
by the district health department, the
official said. The Maha govt had an-
nounced that a financial assistance
of Rs 50,000 would be provided to
the families of each of those who
succumbed to coronavirus infection.
NAMES OF LIVING FOUND ON
LIST OF COVID-19 DEAD
Mumbai: Amid rising Omicron cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has prohibited the gathering of
more than five people in public places between 9 pm to 6 am. In the new guidelines, only 100 people are allowed
in indoor weddings and not more than 250 in outdoor weddings. Gyms, spas, hotels, theatres and cinema halls in
the state can only allow 50 per cent of the full capacity. Maharashtra reported 23 new cases of the Omicron variant
of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the state’s tally to 88, the highest in India. Of the 23 new cases, 13 are from Pune
district, including three each from Pune city and Pune Rural, and seven from Pimpri-Chinchwad. The BMC on Friday
made a 7-day home quarantine compulsory for all passengers taking a flight from Dubai and arriving in Mumbai,
said BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. The civic body said that an RT-PCR test will be done on the seventh
day of home quarantine. If the test is negative, the traveller needs to self-monitor for seven more days.
—Agencies
MAHA ANNOUNCES FRESH CURBS, LIMITS OVERNIGHT GATHERING; 50% CAP FOR CINEMA HALLS, RESTAURANTS
Image for representational purpose only
Third Covid wave
may peak in early
Feb: IIT-Kanpur
New Delhi: The third
wave of the COVID-19
pandemic in India may
peak by February 3,
2022, claims a model-
ling study by research-
ers at Indian Institute
of Technology Kanpur.
However, the forecast
is based on the assump-
tion that India will fol-
low the trends of rise
in cases seen in many
countries globally driv-
en by the Omicron var-
iant of coronavirus.
The yet-to-be peer-
reviewed study, posted
on the preprint reposi-
tory MedRxiv on De-
cember 21, used a sta-
tistical tool named the
Gaussian Mixture mod-
el to forecast the third
wave.
In their study, the re-
searchers used data
from countries such as
the US, UK, Germany,
and Russia that are al-
ready facing the third
COVID-19 wave.
They modelled the
daily data of cases in
these countries to pre-
dict the impact and
timeline for the third
wave in India.
The study also used
the data from the first
and second waves in In-
dia, considering the
number of cases with
respect to time.
“The cases start ris-
ing around 15 Decem-
ber 2021 and the peak
of the third wave will
occur on Thursday, 3
February 2022,” they
wrote in the research
paper.
The authors of the
study noted that the
conclusions are based
on the assumptions
that “a third wave of
COVID-19 may hit the
country, and will follow
the trends happening
around the world. —PTI
Mumbai: Kareena
Kapoor’s genome
sequencing report for
Omicron is negative, the
Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) said
on Friday, according to
news agency ANI. She
is currently recovering
from Covid-19 and is on
day 13 of her quarantine.
Earlier this month, Ka-
reena and her best friend
Amrita Arora tested posi-
tive for the virus.
KAREENA KAPOOR
TESTS -VE FOR COVID
Channi rules out sacrilege in Kapurthala
No evidence of sacrilege has been found in the Kapurthala wherein a man was lynched
New Delhi: Punjab
Chief Minister Charan-
jit Singh Channi on Fri-
day said that no evi-
dence of sacrilege has
been found in the Ka-
purthala case, wherein
a man was lynched.
Channi also said that
the FIR in the case will
be amended and probed
accordingly
.
Addressing a press
conference,Channisaid,
“In Kapurthala (killing
of a man for alleged sac-
rilege), no evidence that
sacrilege was done. The
matter is being probed...
FIR to be amended.”
The postmortem of
the unidentified man
has revealed an attack
with a sharp weapon.
“It has been revealed
in the postmortem that
he was attacked over
with a sharp weapon
leading to multiple inju-
ries. There are over 30
sharp cut marks on the
body including neck,
head and hip,” execu-
tive Senior Medical Of-
ficer (SMO) Dr Nar-
inder Singh informed
on Thursday
.
“There is also a mark
of inserting a sharp ob-
ject into the chest,” he
added while also saying
that the cut mark on the
left side of his throat
reveals that his breath-
ing tube was cut.
“We have taken DNA
samples for identifica-
tion of the body,” he
added. The last rites of
themanwereperformed
by the Municipal Corpo-
ration after the post-
mortem. —Agencies
Haryana govt to withdraw FIRs registered against farmers’
Chandigarh: TheHary-
ana govt Friday initiat-
ed a state-wide move to
withdraw the FIRs reg-
istered against farmers
from September 9 last
year during the agita-
tion against the three
contentious central
farm laws. Additional
Chief Secretary (Home)
Rajeev Arora sent a let-
ter to all district magis-
trates in this regard.
“You are requested to
send your comments on
FIRs registered against
farmers in Haryana
during farmer agitation
from 09.09.2020 to till
date, along with full
facts, stage of the case
and specific recommen-
dation whether the FIR
registered so, can be
withdrawn in public in-
terest along with inde-
pendent opinion/report
of District Attorney/
Superintendent of Po-
lice concerned to the
Government immedi-
ately
,” the letter read.
In his reply on the
floor of the House on the
concluding day of the
state Vidhan Sabha’s
winter session, Chief
Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar had said, “As
per the police records,
276 cases have been reg-
istered during the farm-
ers’ agitation so far. Of
these, four cases are reg-
istered under serious
offences. Out of 272 cas-
es,chargesheethasbeen
prepared in 178 cases.
The cancellation report
of eight cases has been
prepared and cancella-
tion report of four cases
has been filed. The pro-
cess of cancellation of
29 cases is going on. The
state govt will withdraw
all the cases registered
against farmers except
cases involving heinous
crimes such as rape,
murder, etc.” —ANI
J-K: Budgam
Police arrests
2 Lashkar terror
associates
Srinagar: Budgam Se-
curity forces on Friday
(December 24) arrested
two individuals linked
with the terror outfit
Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT)in
JK`s Budgam district.
The arrests were
made in a joint opera-
tion by the police, coun-
ter insurgency force
Rashtriya Rifles, and
the CRPF in Chadoora
area of Budgam, offi-
cials said.“The arrested
persons are Imran Ma-
jeed Khandey and Aqib
Amin, both resident of
Mochwa in Budgam.
Two hand grenades,
two AK-47 magazines,
30 AK-47 rounds and in-
criminating material of
LeT were recovered
from them,” said police.
Friday`s arrests have
been made a day after
two persons were ar-
rested as terror associ-
ates in Magam area of
the same district.
During preliminary
investigation, it sur-
faced that both the ar-
rested terrorist associ-
ates have been in touch
with LeT commanders
and were involved in
providing logistics,
shelter ad transporta-
tion of arms and am-
munition. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
INDIAN ENGINEERING EXPORTS TO
CHINA DOUBLES IN NOVEMBER 2021
New Delhi: Engineering goods shipments to China has
more than doubled in November, 2021 to USD 434.6
million (Rs 32,60 crore approximately) as compared to
USD 205.3 million (Rs 1540 crore) in the same month
last year, sector export
promotion body EEPC
said on Friday. The US,
however, remained the
top importer of Indian
engineering goods at
USD 1196 million during
this period, registering a
growth of 36.6 per cent over USD 875 million in No-
vember, 2020. The UAE was the third biggest market
for Indian engineering goods with a total shipment
value of USD 404.4 million in the previous month.
RAILWAYS TO
MONETISE NEW
JALPAIGURI
New Delhi: Indian
Railways invited bids for
the redevelopment of the
existing railway housing
complex and develop-
ment of the commercial
and residential space lo-
cated at Barrack Colony,
New Jalpaiguri in West
Bengal. The RLDA said
in a statement today that
the bid carries a reserve
price of `26.7 crore for
the area of 16,222 square
metre to be leased out
for 99 years. The online
pre-bid meeting was held
where prominent national
and local level develop-
ers participated. The
proposed plot of land is
square in shape and well
connected to the rail and
road network.
Image for representational purpose only

z Kerala reports 8 new
cases of Omicron, total
rises to 37

z Health ministry: 3
out of 183 Omicron+ve
cases had taken 3d vax
dose

z IT biggies TCS, HCL,
Infosys to continue work
from home as Omicron
scare looms large.
Blast case: NIA
chargesheet
against LeT
New Delhi: Pakistan-
based LeT operative Ha-
feez Iqbal along with
two other associates
fabricated the Darb-
hanga railway station
IED blast that occurred
in mid-June this year, a
chargesheet filed by the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA) reveals.
Chargesheet mentions
name of Hafeez Iqbal
and 4 associates. —ANI
Will night curfew and other restrictions
mar electoral ‘atmosphere’?
Aditi Nagar
Dehradun: A day after
the Allahabad HC sug-
gested deferring the Ut-
tar Pradesh assembly
elections due to a possi-
ble Omicron-led third
Covid wave, Chief Elec-
tion Commissioner Su-
shil Chandra onFriday
saidanappropriatedeci-
sion will be taken on the
issue after his UP visit
next week.“I will be vis-
iting UP next week. An
appropriate decision as
required by the situa-
tion will be taken after
we review it,” Chandra
told reporters here.
Meanwhile, with the
suspicion that election
buglemaybeblownsoon
as ECI may announce
dates on December 30
and on the other hand
the cases of corona are
increasing continuously
,
politicalobservers,party
leaders and general pub-
lic alike is raising one
pertinent question, as to
howwillpollactivitiesbe
carried out at night after
night curfew has been
imposedinUP
.Generally
poll strategies are made
in night and banners,
posters too are put up by
workersinnightbutnow
night curfew may prove
a dampener.
EC WILL VISIT UP NEXT WEEK,
TAKE APPROPRIATE DECISION: CEC
Man Killed In Ludhiana Court Blast Was Bomber, An Ex-Cop: Sources
Chandigarh: The body of the man who was
killed in the blast at a court in Punjab’s Lu-
dhiana has been identified and is believed to
be that of the bomber, and more startlingly,
a former police officer, sources said on
Friday. According to sources, the body of
the bomber was identified as Gagandeep
Singh, a former cop. A head constable, he
was dismissed from service in 2019 and
spent two years in jail following his arrest
in a drug-trafficking case. He was released
in September. His SIM card and a wireless
dongle helped identify him and the family
too have confirmed that the body was of
Singh, sources said. The disclosure bol-
stered CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s state-
ment that there appeared to be no evidence
of the involvement of Pakistani agencies or
Khalistani groups in the blast. “It is a possi-
bility. The blast happened in Ludhiana when
the hearing in the Majithia case was taking
place in Mohali,” the CM said. —Agencies
NO COLD WAVE CONDITION OVER ANY PART
OF INDIA, RAIN LIKELY IN NORTHERN STATES
New Delhi: There is no cold wave condition over any
part of India, but there are chances of rain in the plains
particularly in Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan,
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, said the Indian Meteorological
Department on Friday. As
per IMD, all these areas
will receive rainfall from
the intervening night of
December 26 and 27 and
the spell will continue till
December 28. IMD said,
“As of December 24, the
temperature has been normal or above normal, both
night and day temperature. There is no cold wave
over any parts of India and as we have predicted from
December 22, mostly it has been withdrawn.
CAUGHT ON CCTV,
MAN’S RAMPAGE
OVER ICE CREAM
Mumbai: How far can
one go if children are
denied ice-cream? A man
in Mumbai suburb Vasai
gave a shocking answer
to this when he damaged
a shop’s entire ice cream
stock after the owner re-
fused to sell them dessert
two hours after midnight.
The episode, which took
late night ice cream
craving to a whole new
level, was captured by a
CCTV camera installed
next to the medical store
in Vasai’s Kaul Heritage
City that also stocked
ice cream. In the foot-
age from 2.11 am on
December 19, a man
is seen speaking to the
shop owner from across
the counter.

NEWS
07
PRIYANKA
GANDHI
RECALLS FILM
DEEWAR
DIALOGUE TO
CONNECT WITH
UP WOMEN
The AICC general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi recalled the
iconic dialogue from the
Bollywood blockbuster movie
‘Deewar’ to counter critics that
her party had lost base in poll-
bound Uttar Pradesh, saying,
“Mere Paas Behen Hai” (I have a
sister). In a video clip uploaded
by the Congress general
secretary on her Twitter handle,
a journalist is seen seeking her
response to the rival parties’
remarks that the Congress had
been speaking about women in
its rallies as it had no base left in
UP. To this, she asks the
journalist whether he has heard
the dialogue from Film Deewar in
which Amitabh Bachchan and
Shashi Kapoor played brothers.
“Amitabh tells Shashi Kapoor,
‘mere paas gaadi hai, mere paas
bangla hai, yeh hai, woh hai, toh
Shashi Kapoor ne kaha, mere
paas maa hai (I have a car, I have
a bungalow... so Shashi Kapoor
says, I have a mother). “Toh
main keh rahin hun, mere paas
Behen hai (I have a sister),”
Priyanka said in an apparent
reference to women in UP. “I
have sisters ....sisters will bring
change in politics. #ladki hoon
lad sakti hoon,” her tweet in
Hindi read. —First India Bureau
NEW SCHEMES
FOR THE MIDDLE
CLASS IF ALL
GOES WELL
The KDA would bring many
schemes on the ground for the
middle class for which the officers
held a meeting on Friday. Under
the new scheme, New Kanpur City
Scheme will be implemented
between Kalyanpur-Singhpur and
Singhpur to Mainavati road in the
west, Chakeri in the east,
Bingawan in the south and Maati
Awas Yojana in Kanpur Dehat. The
proposal of the housing scheme is
being prepared to present in the
KDA board meeting and further
action would be taken post green
signal from the Board. In the first
phase, 73 hectares of land would
be brought under two sectors and
KDA has got the land vacated by
demolishing structures. A
proposal would be presented in
the board meeting of KDA which
will be held on December 30 for
making the layout and the work
would start as soon as the green
signal is received. Preparations are
on to bring the plan to the ground
in the New Year. Apart from this,
100 hectares of land has been
marked in Binagawa where the
land of the several cultivators
exists, which would be marked
and bought. —Sumit Awasthi
COPS TRACE MISSING
NOIDA WOMAN IN SURAT
Noida: Searches in
several cities across
multiple states,
electronic surveillance
and analysis of more
than 50 CCTV footage
were what the Noida
Police had to resort to
for tracing and bringing
back home a woman,
gone missing over a
week ago. The 21-year-
old woman, who lived
with her sister and her
husband in Sector 50
here, was tracked in
Surat, Gujarat where
she was found working
at a beauty parlour,
police officials said.
She had left home
after a fight with her
sister and brother-in-
law. She told police that
she was angry and had
not informed them
where she was going, a
police spokesperson
said. A ‘missing’
complaint was lodged at
the local Sector 49
police station after
which searches were
conducted at several
places within and
outside Noida under
the supervision of
Inspector Vinod Kumar
Singh, the official said.
Police teams looked
for the woman in
Ghaziabad,Moradabad,
Chandigarh, Ambala
several other nearby
cities and towns. Over
50 CCTV footage were
analysed and electronic
surveillance was also
used to get a clue about
woman’s whereabouts,
the spokesperson said
Ultimately, police
teams investigating the
case got a lead that she
could be present in
Surat, Gujarat,
prompting the
deployment of officials
to the state. On
Thursday, the woman
was tracked down in
Surat. She had started
working at a parlour
there but has been
brought back and
reunited with her
family, the police
official said. The issue
of the missing woman
from Noida had created
a buzz among locals
here, with residents’
groups demanding
prompt action by police.
A ‘missing’ complaint was lodged at local Sector 49 police station
after which searches were conducted at several places in Noida.
POLICE PRAISED
UP’s investor-friendly policy
regime for global investors
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Satish
Mahana, Minister for
Industrial Develop-
ment, Government of
Uttar Pradesh invited
global investors to
take advantage of the
state’s vibrant policy-
based governance ap-
proach and various
land reforms that
support investor
needs.
The Minister was
virtually speaking at
the closing ceremony
of the UP Week at the
India Pavilion in
EXPO2020 Dubai on
Thursday evening.Ma-
hana said, “UP has
witnessed a high MoU
conversion rate in In-
dia. MoUs worth INR
1.78 lakh crores out of
the signed MoUs
worth INR 4.28 lakh
crores at the UP Inves-
tors Summit held in
2018 are under vari-
ous stages of imple-
mentation. The State
generated fresh leads
worth around INR
66,000 crores at a dedi-
cated helpdesk set up
post Covid19 in April
2020. On the interna-
tionalfront,theState’s
exports registered a
steep rise of nearly
36% between FY18-
20.” “UP became a buz-
zword amongst the
investor fraternity,
both domestic inter-
national, and we expe-
rienced the same wave
during our 14-day par-
ticipation at Dubai
Expo 2020. The Expo
has served as an in-
credible platform for
India UP to reach
out showcase to the
whole world the new
face of a fast-growing
and technologically
driven land of unlim-
ited opportunities
immense potential”,
Mahana added.
The UP Week (10-23
December) conclud-
ed on a high note as
the delegation led by
Shri Maneesh Chau-
han, Director, Indus-
tries, Government of
UP, held 21 G2B meet-
ings signed an MoU
of INR 500 crore
(close to USD 66 mil-
lion) with Sharaf
Group which has
shown interest in the
development of Mul-
timodal Logistics
Parks with rail and
road connectivity at
Kanpur, Moradabad
and Varanasi.
Satish Mahana
20-year-oldgangrapedinBijnor
Bijnor; A 20-year-old
woman was allegedly
gangraped by two of her
friends after receiving
cold drinks mixed with
intoxicants in Bijnor,
police said on Friday
.
The accused have been
identified as Umer
Abdul. As per Bijnor
police, the incident
occurred at around 12
pm on December 19
when the main accused,
Umer, called the victim
over phone and
convinced her to come
near a hostel. Later on
the pretext of
celebrating the accused
sister’s birthday, Umer
convinced the victim to
sit inside the car, said
the complainant. The
victim,inthecomplaint,
said that there was
another person, whom
he called Abdul, was
sitting inside the car.
Later, the duo took her
to Hotel Sunheri and
allegedlygangrapedher.
The accused also
threatened her of dire
consequences if she
reported the matter to
police or family
members. The
complainant alleged
thatthetwoaccusedtold
her that they had made
a nude video of her and
demanded Rs 10,000 for
not releasing it on the
internet. However, with
the help of another
friend, she managed to
pay Rs 8,000 through
Paytm. Meanwhile,
Kothwali Police station
registered a case under
Sections 366, 328, 376(D),
323, 506 of the IPC and
under section 3 (2)(v) of
the SC/ST Act. —ANI
Agra: Two people
have been arrested
after an 18-year-old
woman alleged that
they raped her in a
moving car here,
police said on Friday.
Krishna (22) and
Hemant (22), resi-
dents of Etmadpur,
forced the woman
to consume liquor
then raped her on
December 19. They
also filmed the act
and threatened her
of leaking the video
if she revealed the
incident, as per her
complaint. They
have been booked
under Section 376
(rape) of the Indian
Penal Code, Circle
Officer (CO) Haripar-
vat Lakhan Singh told
PTI. According to the
police, Krishna had
befriended the woman
on a social networking
application around six
months ago, and on
December 19, invited
for a meet. Hemant is
Krishna’s friend, they
said. —PTI
First India Bureau
Moradabad: Police
have registered a
case against a person
who blackmailed
his wife by send-
ing objectionable
photographs in the
Civil lines area. Police
sources here said a
woman had filed a
complaint in the Civil
Lines police station
that some miscreants
were blackmailing
and sending her
objectionable photo-
graphs on her phone.
During the investiga-
tion, it was revealed
that her husband
was the culprit. DK
Sharma, in-charge
cyber police station
said that the accused
and his wife also had
a family dispute. The
number was regis-
tered in the name of
Mohammad Naeem,
resident of the
Katghar police station
area but it was found
that some other per-
son was using it.
2 HELD FOR
RAPING WOMAN
IN MOVING CAR
IN AGRA
MAN BLACKMAILS
HIS WIFE THROUGH
CYBER-CRIME
BOY’S GENITALS CUT OFF BY GF’S FAMILY
WRAP UP
A man covers his body with a blanket to keep himself warm on a cold winter
morning, in Varanasi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Constable injured in
encounter with robbers
Mathura: A constable
was injured in an
encounter with robbers
in the outskirts of
Unchagaon village on
Thursday night, police
here said. Constable
Mahendra, posted in
Barsana Police Station,
was injured in the
operation and was
admitted into a district
hospital, Srish
Chandra, SP Rural
said. The incident took
place when on a tip-off,
Police raided a gang of
robbers in an area
close to Rajasthan.
However during the
bid, the gang opened
fire at the police
without any
provocation and
managed to flee,
abandoning their car
behind, the officer
said. Eleven cartridges
of .315 bore and 19
cartridges of 12 bore
were recovered from
their car, said the
officer. A combing
operation was on when
the last report came in,
he added. —PTI
ATM with ` 8 lakh stolen in Agra
Agra: A private bank
automated teller
machine (ATM)
carrying Rs 8.20 lakh
was stolen under
Tajganj police station
limitsontheintervening
night of Thursday
Friday, police said. As
per sources, the ATM
kiosk was located just
400 metres away from
the police post in Kalal
Kheria area.
Agra Senior Superin-
tendent of Police (SSP)
Sudhir Kumar Singh
told reporters that the
incident took place
around 2.45 am 4
teams have been consti-
tutedtonabtheaccused.
SSP said that heavy po-
lice force reached the
spot after the incident
was reported. Singh
also said his teams have
received clues from
CCTV footage. The mis-
creants fled from the
spot keeping the ATM in
the car. SSP said the lo-
cation of the car is be-
ing traced. Two consta-
bles including outpost
in-charge were suspend-
ed in this case.
Kalal Kheria in Tajganj area of Agra where ATM was located.
If BJP hadn’t won in
2017, terrorists would
have entered UP: Maurya
Baghpat: Had the Sa-
majwadi Party come
back to power in 2017,
the terrorists of Jam-
mu and Kashmir would
have come to UP
there would have been
a situation to vacate
the state, said the Dep-
uty CM of UP Keshav
Prasad Maurya, while
cutting a sharp remark
at Samajwadi Party’s
Akhilesh Yadav on
Thursday.
While addressing a
public rally organised
by BJP workers, ahead
of the UP polls, in
Baghpat, Maurya add-
ed, “Our brave soldiers
are doing surgical
strikes and airstrikes
to fight the terrorists
from Pakistan, had the
SP government been
back to power in 2017,
the terrorists from Pa-
kistan would have
come to Uttar Pradesh
and the common peo-
ple would have had to
flee UP due lack of se-
curity.” —ANI
Multi-city probes, over 50 CCTV clips helped bring back woman home
—PHOTO
BY
PTI

08
2NDFRONT
SCRAMBLE TO WIN OVER BRAHMINS
IN RUN UP TO ASSEMBLY POLLS
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the elec-
toral landscape of UP,
the focus of all political
parties is on turning
the caste equations in
their favour. The oppo-
sition camp was trying
to capitalize on the nar-
rative of the alleged
resentment of the
Brahmin community
against the Yogi gov-
ernment so far. Now to
woo the voters of this
community, the opposi-
tion parties are seem-
ingly busy cornering
each other.
In response to the
Brahmin card of the
BSP, the Brahmin faces
of the SP have been en-
trusted with the task
of establishing the par-
ty’s connection with
this community. Re-
cently, while address-
ing the Brahmin con-
ference, organised in
Ambedkar Nagar, sen-
ior SP leader and for-
mer Speaker of the As-
sembly Mata Prasad
Pandey said his party
would field more
and more Brahmin
candidates in election,
especially in eastern
UP, to ensure a return
to power.
Last year, in a bid to
woo Brahmin voters,
the SP had announced
the construction of
Lord Parshuram’s tem-
ples in different dis-
tricts of UP and
the installation
of the biggest
statue in Luc-
know. The famous
sculptor of Jaipur,
Rajkumar Pandit, who
prepared the statue of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
Lok Bhavan, has been
given the task of in-
stalling the statue near
Purvanchal Ex-
pressway in the
state capital.
This 108 feet
high bronze statue
is being built by SP’s
Brahmin leader and
former MLA Santosh
Pandey. According to
SP sources, a grand
programme will be or-
ganised for the unveil-
ing of this statue in
January in which SP
Chief Akhilesh Yadav
will be the chief guest.
A big rally will also be
organised during this
time.
In her attempt to out-
do the SP’s Brahmin
connect campaign, BSP
supremo Mayawati has
already announced that
if voted to power, her
party would build hos-
pitals named after Lord
Parshuram and his stat-
ue grander than the one
promised by the SP.
The Priyanka-led
Congress is also eyeing
Brahmin voters. Con-
gress spokesperson An-
shu Awasthi takes a jibe
at the SP, saying that
when the Brahmins
were being targeted in
UP, the SP was nowhere
to be seen, the Congress
raised its voice from the
road to the Parliament.
When elections are ap-
proaching, SP is trying
to woo this class by put-
ting up statues.
However, accusing
each other of working
under political greed,
the opposition camp is
trying to convince the
Brahmin voters not to
fall into the trap of
others.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra BSP chief Mayawati



MISSION 2022
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party (SP) chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Friday
promised regular and
cheap power supply for
agricultural, domestic
and industrial purposes
if voted to power.
“Had the proposed
power plants in Etah
and other districts been
built, the people of Ut-
tar Pradesh would not
have been compelled to
buy electricity at the
highest rate in the
country,” his tweet in
Hindi, targeting the
BJP government, read.
He further wrote,
“When the SP govern-
ment takes over, we re-
iterate our resolve to
provide more relief
than anticipated and
regular cheap electrici-
ty to agriculture, house-
holds, industries and
businesses.”
During a rally at Iglas
in Aligarh on Thursday
,
the SP-Rashtriya Lok
Dal alliance promised
‘martyr’ status to the
farmers who died dur-
ing the agitation against
the three farm laws and
Rs 1 crore to each of
their families if it
formed the government.
Refuting the allega-
tions, UP Energy Minis-
ter Shrikant Sharma in
a tweet alleged that the
previous Samajwadi
Party government in-
creased electricity rates
by over 60 per cent.
There has been “no
increase” in electricity
rates in the Yogi Adity-
anath government, he
claimed. “Electricity is
being provided without
any discrimination.
Villages are getting
more than 54 per cent
electricity,” the minis-
ter said.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav during a party rally. —FILE PHOTO
Akhilesh promises
regular, cheap power
supply if elected
POLL FREEBIES
New Delhi: AIMIM
president Asaduddin
Owaisi’s remarks at a
poll rally cautioning the
UP Police triggered a
controversy on Friday
with the BJP comparing
him to Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, even though he
clarified that the context
of his remarks was de-
liberately edited out to
misrepresent it.
In a series of tweets,
Owaisi shared a video
clip which has been
widely circulated on so-
cial media and said the
remarks made by him
were in the context of
atrocities against Mus-
lims by the state police,
which has been edited
out of the clip. In the
videoclipsharedbyhim,
Owaisi is heard saying
that Yogi Adityanath
will not always be the
CM and Narendra Modi
the PM. “We will not for-
get the injustice. We will
rememberthisinjustice.
Allah will destroy you
through his strength.
Thingswillchange.Who
will come to save you
then? When Yogi will re-
turn to his mutt and
Modi will retreat to the
mountains, then who
will come?” he said.
Owaisi said the edited
one-minute clip of his
45-minutespeechwasbe-
ing circulated to divert
the attention from the
alleged hate speeches
made at a Dharma San-
sad in Haridwar which
he alleged as “genocidal
meet”. “I did not incite
violence or give threats.
I talked about police
atrocities.... I said we
will remember these
police atrocities. Is this
objectionable? Why is
it offensive to remem-
ber how police have
treated Muslims in UP?
I asked cops: who will
come to save them
when Modi-Yogi retire?
Indeed, who will? Do
they think they’ve life-
time immunity?” Owai-
si tweeted while clari-
fying his position. —PTI
Owaisi’s remarks trigger controversy
EX-UP HOME
MINISTER
FROM CONG
JOINS BJP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Lead-
ers of Congress,
BSP, SP and RLD
including former
home minister Ra-
jendra Tripathi
joined the BJP
here on Friday
.
According to
BJP state co-me-
dia in-charge
Himanshu Dubey,
former home min-
ister and three-
time Prayagraj
MLA Rajendra
Tripathi joined
the BJP quitting
Congress at a pro-
gramme held at
the latter’s head-
quarters here.
Former BSP
MLA Krishnapal
Singh Rajput
(Jhansi), RLD’s
Muni Dev Sharma
(Bijnor), BSP’s
Veer Singh Praja-
pati (Buland-
shahr), and found-
er member of SP
Kunwar Balbir
Singh Chauhan,
were among those
who joined the
party on Friday,
Dubey said.
Retired IPS of-
ficer Gurbachan
Lal was also in-
ducted into the
BJP, he said.
While joining, the
leaders expressed
faith in the na-
tionalist policies
of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
and Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adity-
anath, he added.
—PTI
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Tourists dressed up as Santa at the Taj Mahal in Agra on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Bahraich: Extra vigil
will be maintained in
the bordering areas
with Nepal in view of
the assembly elections
in Uttar Pradesh early
next year and the ad-
ministrative officials of
the neighbouring coun-
try have assured full co-
operation in this regard,
a senior district official
said here on Friday
.
A meeting of the In-
dia-Nepal Coordination
Committee was held in
Nepalganj city of
neighbouring country
during which the issue
of peaceful conduct of
UP elections was taken
up on which the senior
administrative officers
present from the Nepa-
lese side assured all
possible cooperation,
Bahraich District Mag-
istrate Dinesh Chandra
Singh told newspersons
here.
There are many foot-
paths on the open bor-
der roads between the
two countries, hence
there is a need for spe-
cial vigilance to check
that anarchic elements
do not use these routes
for spreading unrest
during the polls, he said.
Officials from both
sides also agreed on co-
ordinating with each
other for taking preven-
tive measures for check-
ing crime, especially
organised crime on the
border, the DM said,
adding they have agreed
to exchange informa-
tion in cases of criminal
elements committing
crime in one country
and hiding in another.
Other important
points including smug-
gling of illegal drugs,
liquor and arms and use
of border by criminal
elements for human
trafficking were also
discussed. Senior offic-
ers of all the border dis-
tricts concerned attend-
ed this meeting, the DM
added. —PTI
VIGIL ALONG INDO-NEPAL BORDER STEPPED UP AHEAD OF POLLS
FOR
SMOOTH
ELECTION
INSTATE
HARIDWAR DHARAM SANSAD
Hate speech incidents will not be
tolerated, warns U’khand DGP
Haridwar: Referring
to the recently regis-
tered case against
Wasim Rizvi aka Jiten-
dra Tyagi and others
for ‘hate speech’
against Islam during
an event in Haridwar,
Uttarakhand Director
General of Police
(DGP) Ashok Kumar
on Friday said that in-
cidentsof ‘hatespeech’
will not be tolerated in
the state.
A case under section
153A of the IPC has
been registered
against Rizvi for “pro-
moting enmity be-
tween different groups
on grounds of reli-
gion...”
The DGP said, “We
will do the investiga-
tion as per law and
suchtypesof incidents
will not be tolerated.”
On Thursday, Uttara-
khand Police in a tweet
said, “Taking cogni-
zance of the video that
is going viral on social
media for spreading
hatred by giving pro-
vocative speeches
against a particular
religion, a case has
been registered
against Wasim Rizvi
aliasJitendraNarayan
Tyagi and others and
legal proceedings are
in progress.”
—Agencies
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad High Court has
recently issued notice
and sought counter-affi-
davit from the UP Gov-
ernment on a plea filed
against the contentious
statements of Waseem
Rizvi,whoisnowknown
as Jitendra Narayan
Singh Tyagi after his
conversion, at a Dharam
Sansad in Haridwar. He
was the former chair-
man of the Shia Waqf
Board.
The bench of Chief
Justice Rajesh Bindal
andJusticePiyushAgar-
wal sought response
from Rizvi as well as
from the state govern-
ment regarding the dis-
puted religious state-
ments made by Rizvi.
On December 17-19,
Rizvi, along with others,
delivered hate speech
against Muslims at a re-
ligious assembly in
Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
Mohammad Yusuf
Umar Ansari, the secre-
tary of the Hazrat Kh-
waja Garib Nawaz Asso-
ciation, has filed the pre-
sent petition where it is
alleged that Waseem
Rizvi is making disput-
able statements against
Islam, thus scaring peo-
ple and creating a suspi-
cious environment by
making such statements
on public platforms.
The petition in the High
Court sought direction
topreventWaseemRizvi
from making such reli-
gious statements on so-
cial media or any other
electronic media.
2
0
2
2 ELECTION
W
I
T
H
2
2 EL ON
W
HC issues notice to Waseem Rizvi, UP govt
The Allahabad High Court.(Inset) Waseem Rizvi
Dinesh Chandra Singh
A Merry Christmas
to all of us!
—Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

elebrating the be-
ginning of the In-
ternational pag-
eant Queen of
Cosmos, an initia-
tive by Jagdeesh
Chandra to be
held on March 10,
2022 in Dubai and
Fashion Connect
Season 11 curated by
brand ambassador
Rishee Miglani which
is also marking its
second international
venture in March 2022
in Dubai, a pre-launch
bloggers meet was
held at PitStop- the
riders cafe on Fri-
day
. Show Director
Lokesh Sharma
was also present.
Jagdeesh Chan-
dra also graced the
occasion.Hefelici-
tated the entire
team of PitStop
for their new
venture and
wished them
great suc-
cess.
The sumptuous desserts
which were enjoyed by the
who’swhoof thePinkcity
,as
well as ingenious entrepre-
neurswashostedbytheown-
ers of Pitstop, Nishant Lohi-
yaandAbhishekChoudhary
.
Nishant Lohiya and Ab-
hishek Choudhary
, owners,
PitStop said, “We care as
much about what is on the
table in front of us as what
is around us. We got this
unique concept when we
travelled to Jammu and
Kashmir.PitStop,theriders
cafe is our brainchild and
was born out of our sheer
passion for bikes. Unfortu-
nately, we didn’t come
across such a place in Pink
City and wanted a remedy
for the food and caffeine
lovers in Jaipur. We are
grateful to our friends and
family for their support
and are beyond excited to
host the lovely crowd.”
Sports-themed cafes are
popular choices because
they have a ready-made
customer base; sports fans
love to congregate in
drinking and eating estab-
lishments with friends.
Major sports leagues’ sea-
sons overlap, making it
possible for this riders
cafe to be popular through-
out the year.
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
CHRISTMAS EVE BECAME MEMORABLE
AS THE FASHION BLOGGERS GATHERED
AT PITSTOP- THE RIDERS CAFE, JAIPUR
FOR THE PRE LAUNCH OF FIRST INDIA
FASHION CONNECT SEASON 11!
Rishee Miglani and Ayan Chugh
LUCKNOW, SATURDAY
DECEMBER 25, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The riders Cafe
The riders Cafe
PIT
PITS
STOP
TOP
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Neha Choudhary, Aaliya Seth, Pankhuri Nag, Shaina Ahuja,
Lokesh Sharma, Rishee Miglani, Khushi Sonkhiya, Shreya Jain and Juhi Agarwal
Neha Choudhary, Abhishek Choudhary, Juhi Agarwal and Nishant Lohiya
(From top) Khushi Sonkhiya and Aasawari Sahni
Apoorva Sharma
Twinkle Sethi
(From top) Shaina Ahuja and Payal Samal
C

10-11
ETC
WITH A PINCH
OF GLAM!
POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
s a kid, Christmas
was always about
exchanging (ma-
jorly receiving)
presents, thrust-
ing chocolates in
stockings, decking
up the tree and reluctantly
dressing up as Santa for
school celebrations. Talk-
ingof dressingup,theterm
gets redefined for adults,
especially for the Holiday
season, courtesy cinema.
Think: skimpy red dress,
white garters, scarlet lips
and bralette.
FromKardashiansisters
to Urvashi Rautela, Ariana
GrandetoSunnyLeone,we
have enough spicy Santas
to draw inspiration from.
Withcandycanes,reindeer
tentacles and mesh stock-
ings as their partners in
debauchery, they serve us
the ultimate Christmas
looks for holiday parties,
not necessarily for the
church.
However, come to think
of it, adulting has also re-
defined the way we look at
Christmas, way beyond
donning reds and whites. I
remember doing secret
santa with a group of
friends in ’20 and the year
before that, being a part of
the cake-making process
with a friend’s family
. I re-
alised that indulging in
such experiences and shar-
ing a piece of warmth can
bring us so much joy, just
what we need for the Holi-
days, right?
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS,
JINGLE ALL THE WAY…
Gorgeous chics from movie
world are finally here to slay!
A
Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani and Diljeet Dosanjh
Jacqueline Fernandez Tara Reid
The
iconic
‘Mean
Girls’
Selena Gomez Katy Perry
Sherlyn Chopra
Ariana Grande Bethany Mota
Christiana Milan
Sunny Leone
Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner
Diana Penty
Kylie Jenner and Michael Buble
Miley Cyrus
Khloe Kardashian, Kendal Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner
Dove Cameron
Lea Michele, Naya Rivera and Chris Colfer as Santa’s elves

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
Merry
Merry
Christmas!
Christmas!
ASTHE BELLS JINGLE ANDTHE OVERFLOWING AROMA OF
GINGERBREAD AND CINNAMON FILLSTHE SOUL, LUCKNOW
REVELS INTHE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS.WITH MALLS,
HOTELS, CAFES ANDTHE NOOKS AND CRANNIES OFTHE
CITY DECKED UPWITH LIGHTS, BAUBLES AND RUFFLES,
IT’S AVERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FORTHE CITY OF NAWABS.
—PHOTOS BY ASHOK DUTTA
Hausla buland!
‘H
ausla Fash-
ion Show’
was organ-
ised by Rivaj
Sanstha in the audito-
rium of RBS College,
Agra on Thursday
with the aim of em-
powering transgen-
ders and handi-
capped. The pro-
gramme was attended
by National Vice Presi-
dent of BJP and former
Governor Baby Rani
Maurya, who presided
over as the chief guest.
Transgenders and
handicapped graced the
ramp with cat walk.
Transgenders who
were a part of the
event said that by
participating in the
show, for the first time,
they realised that they
too are a part of the
mainstream society
.
B’DAY
The birthday of IAS Dr Senthil
Pandian C. and IPS Ankur
Aggarwal was on Friday,
December 24. We wish them
all the best!
CULTURAL DELIGHT!
The first day of
UP Mahotsav,
being held
at Postal
Ground Aliganj,
Lucknow saw
beautiful cultural
performances
on Friday. Chief
Guest MLA Niraj
Bora inaugurated
the event.
—PHOTOS BY
ASHOK DUTTA
JINGLE ALLTHEWAY...
ANDAZ-E-BAYAAN
AWARENESS CAMP
A HELPING HAND
Members of Innerwheel
Club Of Lucknow
celebrated Christmas in
KGMU on Thursday with
children suffering from
cancer. Children decorated
Christmas tree and danced
to the happy tunes.Art kits
and nutritious food was distributed to them. President Madhu
Bhargava,Secretary Smrita Agarwal,Editor Sangeeta Mital and
Anuradha Agarwal were present on the occasion.
Urfi Kidwai was
honoured at a gathering
organised by Andaz-e-
Bayaan on Thursday.
Arvind Singh Gop, former
minister, bestowed
the honour upon Kidwai. The programme was organised in
appreciation of the literature of the Indian subcontinent.
Dr Archana Tiwari, President of Akanksha Samiti, UP, organised a camp for workers at Akanksha
Vidya Kendra located at Butler Palace for their registration on the ‘e-shram’ portal of the Ministry
of Labor and Employment.Akanksha Samiti strives to make the poor and economically weaker
men and women self-reliant and empowered. With the aim of creating a national level database
of unorganised workers, they are being registered on the e-shram portal.
A mega registration awareness camp was organised at
Ganna Sansthan Dalibaag, Lucknow on Friday. Ravikant Garg,
President UP Vyapari Kalyan Board, presided over as the
chief guest. Dr Bharti Yogesh, Bhupendra Shukla, Zeeshan
Afzal, Varun Tripathi, Pradeep Patel and Kripal Agnihotri were
present on the occasion.

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