28012022 first india new delhi

CM Arvind Kejriwal unfurls 115-ft high
tricolour to mark 75th year of Independence
New Delhi: Chief Min-
ister Arvind Kejriwal
on Thursday unfurled a
115-ft high tricolour in
Timarpur constituency
and said such high-mast
national flags were in-
stalled at 75 locations
across the city to mark
75th year of India’s In-
dependence. He said he
will get it examined if
this qualifies for a Guin-
ness world record.
“It is a matter of
pride for the country
that 75 tricolours on 115-
ft high flagpoles have
been installed today in
Delhi to mark 75th year
of our independence.
The target is to install
total 500 in the next few
months,” he said at the
ceremony organised
near Delhi University
campus in Timarpur as-
sembly constituency
.
“I have been told that
in no city
, tricolours on
flagpoles of this height
have been installed on
such a large scale. We
will get it examined if it
qualifies for a Guinness
world record, he said.
These national flags
are being set up at pub-
lic places like parks, big
school buildings, mar-
ket complexes, residen-
tialcomplexes,grounds,
road roundabouts,
among others. —PTI
READY FOR GUINNESS RECORD
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal will
be on a two-day visit to Punjab from January 28 to
30 ahead of assembly polls in the state, which are
scheduled for February this year. As a part of his
visit to the state, Kejriwal will visit various assem-
bly constituencies in Punjab, including Jalandhar
and Amritsar. Punjab will go to the polls on Feb-
ruary 20. The counting of votes will take place on
March 10. —ANI
KEJRIWAL ON TWO-DAY PUNJAB VISIT
FROM TODAY AHEAD OF ELECTIONS
National flag flying high at one
of the 75 locations, in Delhi.
DELIGHTEDTATASBRING
HOME
Air India was officially handed over to the Tata
Group on Thursday shortly after Tata Sons
chairman N Chandrasekaran called on PM Modi
After a competitive bidding process, the
government had on October 8 last year sold
Air India to Talace Private Limited for `18,000 crore
1 2
NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 149
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
The Arunachal youth who was captured by China’s People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) when he strayed across the border has returned. Union minister and
BJP Arunachal Pradesh leader Kiren Rijiju announced that Miram Taron had
been handed over to the Indian Army. Taron was handed over at the Wacha-
Damai interaction point in the Kibithu sector around 10.30 am.
Sensex had plunged more than 1,000 points in intra-day trading. The losses
in equity markets continued on Thursday as Sensex lost 581 points to finish
trading at 57,276. The broader 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 17,110, down 167
points (0.97%) from the previous closing mark. Amid losses in stock markets
in various countries, Sensex continues to nosedive since last several days. P6
CHINESE ARMY
RETURNED MISSING
ARUNACHAL YOUTH:
KIREN RIJIJU
FROM DALAL
STREET: SENSEX
FALLS 581 POINTS,
NIFTY AT 17,110
Covishield, Covaxin
to be available now
in hospitals, clinics
New Delhi: Covishield
and Covaxin have been
cleared by India’s
drugs regulator for
sale in the market,
sources have said
However, this doesn’t
mean the two COVID-19
vaccines will be availa-
bleatshopssoonthough
people would be able to
buy them from hospi-
tals and clinics, sources
have said. Key details
are awaited from the
government, they said.
For emergency use,
safety data has to be
given the Drugs Con-
troller General of India,
or DCGI, within 15 days
but for market approval
the data has to be given
to the regulator within
six months.
The market sale of
the two vaccines was
approved under the
New Drugs and Clinical
Trials Rules, 2019 after
nod by expert commit-
tee on January 19.
FOREIGN MINISTER
S JAISHANKAR
TESTS COVID +VE
New Delhi: Union
External Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar Thursday
said he
has tested
positive
for Cov-
id-19 and
urged all those who have
come in recent contact
with him to take suitable
precautions. Earlier in
the day, Jaishankar had
taken part in a virtual
event — The French
Presidency: EU-India
Partnership in the Indo
Pacific — along with
French Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian.
AMIT SHAH’S DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGN IN KRISHNA BHOOMI
BJP WORKS FOR THE ENTIRE
SOCIETY: SHAH IN MATHURA
Aditi Nagar
Mathura: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah hit
out at the Samajwadi
Party (SP) and the Ba-
hujan Samaj Party
(BSP)inUttarPradesh’s
Mathura during a door-
to-door poll campaign
on Thursday
.
Shah claimed that their
government only
worked for caste, add-
ing that only the BJP
has always worked for
the overall development
of society
.
Addressing a gather-
ing in Mathura, Amit
Shah said, “It is only
after Narendra Modi be-
came the PM and Yogi
Adityanath became the
Chief Minister (of UP)
that we followed ‘sabka
saath, sabka viswas,
sabka vikas’.” More on P8
Mohd Fahad
New Delhi: Tata group
has officially taken over
Air India from the gov-
ernment on Thursday.
“We are totally delight-
ed to have Air India
back at the Tata group
and are committed to
making this a world-
class airline,” Tata Sons
Chairman N Chan-
drasekaran said. Chan-
drasekaran also met
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi ahead of the
official handover.
As a part of the deal,
the Tata group will also
be handed over Air India
Express and a 50 per cent
stakeingroundhandling
arm Air India SATS.
Tatas had set up Tata
Airlines in 1932, which
was in 1946 renamed as
Air India. The govern-
ment had taken control
of theairlinein1953,but
JRD Tata continued to
be its chairman till 1977.
Handover will be home-
coming of Air India to
Tatas after 69 years.
...slams SP, BSP
over casteist,
dynastic traits
Chairman of Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the
official handover of Air India to Tata Group in New Delhi on Thursday.
A beneficiary receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during a
jab drive with the help of Army amid snowfall in Baramulla.
1 Tata’s winning bid
for Air India was
`18,000 crore, higher
by `2,900 from the bid
made by the other
conglomerate
2 Tata has paid
`2,700 crore in
cash and taken over
debt of `15,300 crore
3 On August 31,
2021, Air India
had a total debt of
`61,562 crore. Of
this, `46,262 crore is
being transferred to a
special purpose vehicle,
or SPV. The balance
debt has been cleared
by Tata
4 Of the total
government debt
in the SPV, `14,718
crore is being serviced
with Air India’s
non-core assets
including buildings
and land
5 Tata will not keep
non-core assets
such as Vasant Vihar
housing colony and Air
India building in Delhi,
and another Air India
building in Mumbai’s
Nariman Point
‘STRATEGIC DISINVESTMENT
COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY’
The strategic disinvestment transaction of Air India
successfully concluded on Thursday with transfer
of 100% shares of Air India to M/s Talace Pvt Ltd along
with management control. A new Board, led by the
Strategic Partner, takes charge of Air India, said Tuhin
Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment
and Public Asset Management. ‘’Now, the new owners
(of the airline) are Talace,’’ Pandey noted. The govern-
ment has notified the agreement between Air India and
special purpose vehicle AIAHL for the transfer
of non-core assets, ahead of the national airline’s
takeover by the Tata Group.
The entire nation’s
eyes are on us,
waiting to see what
we will achieve to-
gether. To build the
airline our country
needs, we need to
look to the future
N Chandrasekaran,
Tata Sons Chairman
YOU
READ IT
FIRST
IN FIRST
INDIA
OCTOBER
09, 2021
KEY POINTS
5
or SPV. The balance
or SPV. The balance Nariman Point
Nariman Point
IN FIRST
OCTOBER
First India Bureau
Udaipur: In a show of
unity ahead of bypolls
on Rajasthan’s two as-
sembly seats, Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot,
his former
deputy
Sachin Pilot, AICC Gen-
eral Secretary Incharge
Ajay Maken and PCC
Chief Govind Singh Do-
tasra travelled together
and addressed rallies in
poll-bound Vallabhna-
gar and Dhariawad con-
stituencies in a helicop-
ter for the campaign.
Bypolls are to be held
onUdaipur’sVallabhna-
gar and Pratapgarh’s
Dhariawad seats for
which the party candi-
dates filed nomination
on Friday
.
They
reached
Vallabhnagar and ad-
dressed a meeting in
support of party candi-
date Preeti Shaktawat,
Turn to P6
Raj Congress leaders put up a show
of unity before Assembly bypolls
RAHUL HANDS OVER GUJARAT
TO AN AGGRESSIVE AND ‘YOUNG
TURK’ RAGHU SHARMA
Anita Hada
Jaipur: After a five
month long vacancy
of Gujarat Congress
Incharge at AICC, which
was created after the de-
mise of a Rahul Gandhi
confidante’ Rajiv Satav,
finally a ‘decisive’ Rahul
Gandhi, after a care-
ful consideration, has
shouldered the respon-
sibility to an old 24/7
Congress worker and
presently Health Minister
of Rajasthan, Dr Raghu
Sharma. Raghu enjoys
the goodwill and reputa-
tion of an aggressive and
young turk leader, who
has old links with the
Gandhi family. Raghu
also doesn’t mince words
while saying that his first
loyalty will always be
with the Gandhis. Only
the last week, Turn to P6
CM Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken, Sachin Pilot & GS Dotasra flew together in a chopper to Vallabhnagar.
IN AHMEDABAD TODAY
CRUCIAL READ
INDIAN, CHINESE PATROLS FACE-OFF IN
TAWANG BEFORE CORPS COMMANDER TALKS
JOURNALISTS MARIA RESSA AND DMITRY
MURATOV WIN 2021 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Tawang: Ahead of the next round of Corps Commander
level talks between India and China, which are supposed
to take place in eastern Ladakh, there was a minor
altercation between Indian and Chinese troops in the
eastern sector of the India-China boundary. Sources
mentioned that patrol parties of both the countries came
face-to-face in Arunachal Pradesh, which led to some
jostling before they disengaged. Sources in the defence
establishment said the Chinese had come in “sizeable”
strength near Yangtse in the Tawang sector.
Manila: Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and
Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace
Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expres-
sion in countries where reporters have faced persistent
attacks, harassment and even murder. “Free, independ-
ent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against
abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit
Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Commit-
tee, explaining why the prize went to two journalists.
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JAIPUR l SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 124
CORONA CATASTROPHE
RAJASTHAN
INDIA
21,257
new cases
271
new fatalities
05
new cases
00
new fatalities
Aryan Khan, son of movie star Shah Rukh Khan, has been denied bail in the Mumbai
drugs-on-cruise case and will be spending the weekend in prison. He was sent to
judicial custody by the Magistrate’s court yesterday. Aryan Khan was supplied drugs
by one of the other men arrested in the cruise ship drug bust, the anti-drugs agency
said in court yesterday as it argued against the 23-year-old being given bail.
Sensex closed the session at 60,059 levels, up 381 points, while the Nifty50
ended at 17,895 levels, up 105 points. The RBI’s seemingly dovish policy,
with repo and reverse repo rates unchanged at 4 per cent and 3.35 per cent,
respectively, bolstered bull sentiment on Dalal Street on Friday. The central bank
also retained the GDP growth forecast at 9.5 per cent for the on-going fiscal year.
ARYAN KHAN
DENIED BAIL BY
COURT IN DRUGS
ON CRUISE CASE
RBI’S DOVISH
POLICY GIVES
BSE SENSEX
381-POINT BOOST
AS GOVT SAYS TATA TO AIR INDIA
TATA’S PRODIGAL
SON RETURNS!
What’s done not enough:
SC on Lakhimpur violence
Your seriousness is only in words and not in actions: CJI
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Friday
said it was “not satis-
fied” with the steps tak-
en by the Uttar Pradesh
government in the bru-
tal killing of eight peo-
ple in the Lakhimpur
Kheri violence, and
pulled up the state po-
lice asking whether
sending summons and
telling “please come”
was the way the accused
are treated in other
murder cases.
“The proof of the
pudding is in the eating,
a bench headed by
Chief Justice N V Ra-
mana told the UP gov-
ernment, and sharply
questioned why Union
Minister of State for
Home Ajay Mishra’s
son Ashish Mishra, an
accused in the case, has
not been arrested yet.
As the court mulled
transferring the probe
into the violence to an-
other agency, it also
said any investigations
by the CBI “may not be
the solution” because
of the persons who have
been named in the FIR.
Advocate Harish Salve,
while representing UP
government, conceded
that not enough has
been done by the au-
thorities.
1
Air India has been
sold to Tata Sons for
`18,000 crore as the
conglomerate outbid the
consortium led by
SpiceJet’s chief Ajay Singh
as the winning bidder for
the debt-laden state-run
airline by `2,900 crore.
2
TAir India’s total
debt stands at over
`60,000 crore and the
government loses nearly
`20 crore every day.
3
Tata Sons will pay
`2,700 crore in cash
to the government and
take over the remaining
debt of `15,300 crore.
After the deal, the
government will take on
debt worth `46,262 crore
and non-core assets
including land and
building worth `14,718.
All of it will be transferred
to the government’s
holding company AIAHL.
4
There will be no
retrenchment in the
first year and Air India
Afghan mosque blast
kills at least 25 people,
challenges Taliban govt
Kabul: A blast went off
Friday at a mosque
packed with Shiite Mus-
lim worshippers in
northern Afghanistan,
killing at least 25 and
wounding dozens in the
latest security
chal-
lenge to the Taliban as
they transition from in-
surgency to govern-
ance.
The explosion tore
through a mosque in
the city of Kunduz dur-
ing noon prayers, the
highlight of the Muslim
religious week. It blew
out windows, charred
the ceiling and scat-
tered debris and twisted
metal across the floor.
Rescuers carried one
body out on a stretcher
and another in a blan-
ket. Blood stains cov-
ered the front steps.
There was no imme-
diate claim of responsi-
bility for what Kunduz
police said may have
been a suicide attack.
But militants from a lo-
cal Islamic State affili-
ate have a long history
of attacking Afghani-
stan’s ethnic and reli-
gious minorities.
PM Modi has done
what Cong couldn’t
do in 70 years: Shah
If India strides,
the world will
succeed: Birla
Rome:
Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla, ad-
dressed the delegates
duringtheSecondWork-
ing Session of the G20
Parliamentary Speak-
ers’ Summit (P20), on
the theme “Rebooting
Economic Growth in
terms of Social and En-
vironmental Sustaina-
bility’’ held in Rome on
Friday
.Onthwoccasion,
Birla observed that if
India progresses, the
world succeeds.
`18,000 cr bid
Tata Sons wins
control of airlines
once again with
New Delhi: Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan
Tata today expressed delight after the salt-to-
software conglomerate won the bid to acquire
debt-laden Air India. Tata, in a statement that
he tweeted along with an old photo of former
Tata group chairman JRD Tata, said “it will take
considerable effort to rebuild Air India”, which
has a debt of over `60,000 crore and loses
`20 crore every day.
WILL MAKE EFFORT
TO REBUILD AIR
INDIA: RATAN TATA
SON RETURNS!
RETURNS! WILL MAKE EFFORT
INDIA: RATAN TATA
Tata Sons Pvt. was selected as the winning bidder for India’s flag carrier, ending
decades of attempts to privatise a money-losing and debt-laden airline, and
potentially ending years of taxpayer-bailouts that’s kept the company alive
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar:
Ap-
plauding Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
completing 20 years in
office, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
said, “PM Modi has
been serving the society
and nation for the last
20 years and will con-
tinue to do so.”
Shah was in Gujarat on
a 24-hour visit, where
he dedicated various
projects and also at-
tended the aarti of God-
dess Becharji at the Be-
charaji Temple in Man-
sa town of Gandhina-
gar district.
Turn to P6
Mohd Fahad
The blast site.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah & Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel
during inauguration of tea stall at Gandhinagar railway station.
THE DONE DEAL IN 5 POINTS
employees will be
given a voluntary
retirement scheme or
VRS in the second
year. Gratuity and
Provident Funds
benefits will be provid-
ed to all employees.
5
After five years,
Tata Sons can
transfer the brand but
only to an Indian
person.
YOU
READ IT
IN FIRST
INDIA
OCTOBER
8, 2021
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
Ex-VP Ansari,US senators wary
of human rights scene in India
Washington: Former
vice-president Hamid
Ansari and four US law-
makers have expressed
concern over the cur-
rent human rights situ-
ation in India. They
were speaking at a vir-
tual panel discussion
organised by the Indian
American Muslim
Council on Wednesday
.
“As the Indian gov-
ernment continues to
target the practices of
minority faiths, it cre-
ates an atmosphere
where discrimination
and violence can take
root,” said Democratic
Senator Ed Markey
.
Former vice presi-
dent Ansari also ex-
pressed his concern.
“In recent years, we
have experienced the
emergence of trends
and practises that dis-
pute the well estab-
lished principle of civic
nationalism, and inter-
poses a new and imagi-
nary practice of cultur-
al nationalism,” Ansari
said, adding that “al-
most 20 per cent of our
people belong to reli-
gious minorities”.
Union Minority Af-
fairs Minister Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi hit out at
Ansari saying the event
attended by Ansari on
the Republic Day was
organised by a group
that had a “link with
SIMI and ISI.
Hamid Ansari
Electoral majority
in guise of religious
majority: Ansari
said on India’s
new nationalism
Amritsar/Jalandhar:
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi said the Con-
gress will soon an-
nounce a Chief Minis-
ter candidate in Punjab
and the decision will be
taken by workers.
With a raging Navjot
Sidhu versus Charanjit
Singh Channi rivalry
threatening to hurt the
Congress campaign for
next month’s Punjab
election, Rahul in Ja-
landhar on his daylong
visit to Punjab stressed
that “two people can’t
lead, only one can”.
Gandhi made the
comments with both
Punjab Congress chief
Navjot Sidhu and Chief
Minister Charanjit
Channi on stage; their
swipes at each other
have been getting loud-
er and more embarrass-
ing for the party by the
day
. Punjab, said Rahul,
needs now is peace and
brotherhood.
Beginning visit from Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh
Rahul in Punjab raises poll pitch, slams BJP over farm laws
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit
Singh Channi and party State chief Navjot Singh Sidhu eats langar
after offering prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Thursday.
Rahul: Cong will announce CM name in Punjab if
“party or Punjab” want, but two people can’t lead
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
4,291
NEW
CASES
9,397
RECOVERED
34
NEW DEATHS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah being greeted during door-to-
door campaign in Mathura on Thursday.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022
02
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Restaurants, bars, cinema halls and theatres to reopen with 50% capacity
DELHI LIFTS WEEKEND CURFEW,
ODD-EVEN CURBS ON SHOPS
CMKejriwalunfurls
NationalFlagonR-Day
New Delhi: On the oc-
casion of Republic Day,
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal un-
furled the national flag
at his residence on
Wednesday
.
Taking to Twitter, the
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal said, “The
Constitution of India is
the largest written con-
stitution in the world.
Our constitution, writ-
ten by Babasaheb Bhim-
rao Ambedkar, encap-
sulates the hopes and
aspirations of every
Indian. Many many
greetings to all the
countrymen on the 73rd
Republic Day of the
great Indian Republic.”
Kejriwal distributed
sweets among Delhi Po-
lice personnel after the
flag hoisting ceremony
at his residence.
Several Chief Minis-
ters of various states
unfurled the tricolour
on the occasion of Re-
public Day on Wednes-
day
.
The celebrations this
year are special as Re-
public Day falls in the
75th year of Independ-
ence, being celebrated
as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Ma-
hotsav’ across the coun-
try
.
It has been decided
that the Republic Day
celebrations will now
be week-long from Jan-
uary 23-30 every year.
The celebrations will
commence on January
23, the birth anniversa-
ry of great freedom
fighter Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose and cul-
minate on January, 30
which is observed as
Martyrs’ Day because
of Mahatma Gandhi’s
death anniversary
. —ANI
New Delhi: The Delhi
Disaster Management
Authority on Thursday
decided to lift weekend
curfew and the odd-
even system of open-
ing non-essential shops
in the city besides al-
lowing restaurants,
bars, cinema halls and
theatres to reopen with
50% capacity, given the
improving Covid situa-
tion. The decisions
were made at a DDMA
meeting headed by Lt
Governor Anil Baijal.
They said government
offices have been al-
lowed to reopen with
50% of employees in
attendance. Weddings
venues have been al-
lowed to have guests
50% of its capacity not
exceeding 200 in at-
tendance. Till now,
only 20 people were al-
lowed to attend wed-
ding ceremonies at
home.
Curfew from 10 pm
to 5 am imposed on
weekdays will contin-
ue. The DDMA meeting
also decided to strictly
enforce and enhance
Covid-appropriate be-
haviourandotherguide-
lines to check the rise in
cases, they added. Fol-
lowing the meeting, Bai-
jal tweeted that after de-
tailed discussions with
experts, keeping in view
the decline in cases, it
wasdecidedtogradually
ease restrictions while
ensuring adherence to
Covid-appropriate be-
haviour. —PTI
PIL in HC challenges
7-dayhomequarantine
Air quality remains in
‘poor’ category
New Delhi: A PIL has
been moved in Delhi HC
seeking a direction to
the Government of In-
dia to reconsider its
guidelines for interna-
tional arrivals, where-
by all of them are man-
dated to undergo home
quarantine for seven
days on arrival in India.
The plea stated that,
incoming travellers are
required to upload their
COVID-19 RT PCR test
results on a govt portal
to be monitored by re-
gional authorities on
the eighth day, while
continually monitoring
their health for another
week. Those passengers
found symptomatic
during the screening
will be isolated and tak-
en to a medical facility.
If positive, their sam-
ples would be sent for
genome sequencing to
confirm the Omicron
strain. All other passen-
gers have to observe
seven days home quar-
antine. —ANI
New Delhi: The cold
wave conditions contin-
ued to persist in Delhi,
even as the air quality
in the national capital
remained in the ‘poor’
category on Thursday
morning. The overall
Air Quality Index (AQI)
in the national capital
was recorded at 262 on
Thursday morning.
SAFAR, in its daily
bulletin, has advised
people belonging to sen-
sitive groups to reduce
prolonged or heavy ex-
ertion; take more
breaks and do less in-
tense activities. Asth-
matics are advised to
keep medicine ready if
symptoms of coughing
or shortness of breath
occur.
—PTI
Woman publicly assaulted,
paraded, shamed by neighbours
New Delhi: A 20-year-
old woman was alleg-
edly abducted, sexually
assaulted and publicly
humiliated by her
neighbours who parad-
ed her on the streets of
Shahdara over “person-
al enmity”, police said
on Thursday. Police
said the accused also al-
legedly chopped off the
woman’s hair and
forced her to wear a gar-
land of slippers around
her neck.
The Delhi Commis-
sion for Women has
written to the Delhi Po-
lice to take strict action
against the accused af-
ter several videos of the
abuse went viral on so-
cial media.
The woman was at
her husband’s house
when the accused,
who lives near her
mother’s place, ab-
ducted her. They alleg-
edly thrashed her,
sexually assaulted her
and then humiliated
her in public. —PTI
TEA SELLER SHOT DEAD IN FARIDABAD
New Delhi: A 38-year-old tea seller was shot
dead over personal enmity in sector-68 of
Faridabad on late Wednesday night, police
said. Suresh was found
dead by his family early
Thursday morning at his
tea stall in the IMT area
here, the police said. An
FIR has been registered
against unknown accused at Sadar police station
of Ballabhgarh on the complaint of deceased’s
brother. The police suspected it to be the result of
personal enmity.
Noida: The Greater Noida Industrial Development
Authority slapped a penalty of `2.16 lakh on a group
housing society for improp-
er waste management on
its premises. The action
was taken against the Sri
Radha Sky Garden society
in Sector 16B of Great-
er Noida West on the instructions of GNIDA CEO
following complaints by its residents, the officials
said. “The penalty has been imposed by the Public
Health Department of the GNIDA. During inspection,
the team found waste was being thrown haphazardly
without proper disposal. Hence, a fine of `2.16 lakh
was imposed on the society,” a GNIDA official said.
GREATER NOIDA HOUSING SOCIETIES
PENALISED OVER WASTE MANAGEMENT
HC RESERVES
ORDER ON APPEALS
OF ANSAL BROS
DR ROBBED BY 3
SNATCHERS IN
SHALIMAR BAGH
New Delhi: The Del-
hi High Court re-
served the order on
the petition moved
by businessmen Su-
shil and Gopal Ansal
in the Uphaar evi-
dence tampering
case. The lower court
had awarded them
seven years impris-
onment and imposed
a fine of `2.25 crore.
The court will hear
the appeal on convic-
tion on Feb 23. Jus-
tice S Prasad re-
served the order after
hearing the argu-
ments of the counsel
for convicts and for
the victims.
New Delhi: A woman
was robbed by three
men in Shalimar
Bagh. According to
the complaint filed by
the woman, who is a
doctor by profession,
she was walking in the
park in AD Block,
Shalimar Bagh on
Wednesday evening
when three men force-
fully robbed her mo-
bile phone, diamond
ring and gold chain.
“CCTV footage is be-
ing examined thor-
oughly and based on
the analysis, three
suspects have been
identified. Raids are
being conducted and
the accused are ex-
pected to be nabbed
soon, as teams are
working relentlessly
on the case,” said Del-
hi Police.
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: Following
thesuccessof theWaste-
to-Wonder park and
Bharat Darshan park at
Punjabi Bagh, the South
Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration has decided to
construct a Bollywood
park based on Indian
cinema and expand the
existing Shaheed park
on India’s freedom
strugglefromironscrap.
Earlier proposed as a
public-private partner-
ship due to uncertain-
ties over the project’s
execution,theparkswill
now be undertaken by
the corporation.
Stating that the pro-
ject will be executed by
the civic body, standing
committee chairperson
B K Oberoi said, “The
Bollywood park will de-
pictscenesfrompopular
movies. It need not be
only from the Hindi film
industry
.”
Spread over eight
acres, the Bollywood
park will depict the In-
dian cinema history
through various arte-
facts and exhibits and
will come up at an old
park at Jangpura, a sen-
ior SDMC official said.
The history of Indian
cinema since its incep-
tion from the first film
‘Raja Harishchandra’ of
1913 will be depicted, he
said. These replicas will
be built with recycled
scrap including waste
from vehicles, fans, iron
rods, nuts and bolts, ly-
ing unused or aban-
doned at SDMC stores.
The corporation’s
Waste-to-Wonder park
at Sarai Kale Khan was
opened in Feb 2019. It
has replicas of the sev-
en wonders of the
world, such as the Taj
Mahal and Eiffel Tower,
made from recycled
waste. Similarly, the
park at Punjabi Bagh
has replicas of 21 mon-
uments, including Qu-
tub Minar, Taj Mahal,
Char Minar. —Agencies
‘Bollywood park’ to come up, Shaheed park to be expanded
BUILD ON SUCCESS
—FILE PHOTO
South Delhi Municipal Corporation
has decided to construct a Bollywood
park based on Indian cinema
WHAT ARE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE
z Cinema halls and restaurants al-
lowed to operate with 50% capacity.
Govt offices will also function at 50%
capacity.
z All education institutions to con-
tinue to remian closed. Night curfew
to remain in place.
z Schools to be taken up in the next
DDMA meeting.
z No weekend curfew, no odd even
but night curfew to remain
z Enhancement of COVID Appropri-
ate/ Compliant Behaviour
z Wedding functions allowed with
50% capacity with maximum limit of
200.
z Strict enforcement.
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES TO
REMAIN CLOSED: DDMA
New Delhi: Schools and
colleges will continue
to remain closed in the
national capital and the
issue will be taken up in
the next meeting of the
Delhi Disaster Manage-
ment Authority, officials
said on Thursday.
During the meeting, the
Delhi government, for its
part recommended reo-
pening of schools saying
it was necessary to pre-
vent further damage to
the social and economic
well-being of children as
the COVID-19 situa-
tion in the capital has
improved.“The issue of
reopening of schools
will be taken up in the
next meeting of DDMA,”
a senior official said.
Asserting that online
education can never
replace classroom stud-
ies, Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia said the govern-
ment had closed schools
when it was not safe for
children, but excessive
caution was harming
them. —PTI
—FILE PHOTO
CM orders strict
action on accused
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
on Thursday called it a
shameful act and urged
the Centre to instruct the
police to take strict action.
“This is very shameful.
How did the criminals get
so much courage? I urge
the Union Home Minister
and the Lieutenant Gover-
nor to instruct the police
to take strict action, pay
attention to the law and
order situation. Delhiites
will not tolerate such hei-
nous crime and criminals
at any cost,” tweeted the
CM on Thursday. —PTI
e-FIR app
launched for
theft plaints
DJBtosealindustriespollutingYamuna
New Delhi: Delhi Po-
lice Commissioner
Rakesh Asthana on
Wednesday launched
an e-FIR app where peo-
ple will be able to in-
stantly lodge com-
plaints about incidents
like ‘house theft’ and
‘burglary’, police said.
Asthana said lodging of
FIRs online for proper-
ty theft will help police
to quickly solve such
cases. Listing out the
features of the app, po-
lice said through it com-
plaints can be lodged
anywhere at any time
without actually going
to a police station. —PTI
New Delhi: The Yamu-
na cleaning cell has
formed 11 teams to sur-
vey the industrial and
redevelopment areas
and to hold violators of
norms in the city. The
cell has stepped up its
game to put a stop to
polluting industries in
the national capital.
The Yamuna cell will
focus on 25 redevelop-
ment areas where regu-
lar surveys and checks
will begin. Legal action
will be taken against
the violators with im-
mediate effect. The ex-
ercise will be carried
out assembly constitu-
ency-wise and action
will be taken accord-
ingly.Delhi Jal Board
identified three areas
Moti Nagar, Mayapuri
and Wazirpur to check
for electroplating in-
dustries causing water
pollution. Delhi CM Ke-
jriwal has set 2025 as
the deadline to clean
the Yamuna, hence the
special focus is to stop
any direct flow of harm-
ful effluents into the
river.
—Agencies
Arvind Kejriwal hoisting National Flag in Delhi on Wednesday.
The weekend curfew was imposed in Delhi as Covid cases had started increasing again.

INDIA
03
New Delhi: Amid inter-
nal rumblings within
the Congress over Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad being
awarded Padma Bhush-
an, senior Congress
leader Karan Singh on
Thursday said national
awards should not be-
come subject of intra-
partycontroversyandif
“one of our colleagues”
is honoured, he should
be greeted with warm
appreciation rather
than “snide remarks”.
Singh’s comments
come amid a controver-
sy triggered soon after
the announcement of
the Padma awards on
Tuesday evening when
Congress leader Jairam
Ramesh, while com-
menting on CPI (M)
leader Buddhadeb Bh-
attacharya’s refusal to
accept the award, said,
“He wants to be Azad
not Ghulam”. Several
members of the group
of 23 leaders who had
written to Sonia Gan-
dhi demanding an or-
ganisational overhaul
in the Congress con-
gratulated Azad for be-
ing awarded Padma
Bhushan, saying it was
“well-deserved”. Re-
acting to the row, Singh
said he was distressed
at the “unseemly con-
troversy” over the well
deserved Padma Award
to Azad. “These Na-
tional Awards should
not become subject of
inter-party controversy
,
far less of intra-party
ones,” Singh, a former
Union minister and
party stalwart, said in a
statement.
“I have known Ghu-
lam Nabi for half a cen-
tury since he first start-
ed his political career
as an active participant
in my second election
campaign for the Lok
Sabha in 1971 from the
Udhampur constituen-
cy
, to which he belongs,”
he said. Since then,
Singh said, he has seen
Azad rise through sheer
dint of hard work, dedi-
cation and administra-
tive ability to becoming
a Cabinet Minister, both
with PV Narasimha
Rao and Dr Manmohan
Singh. —PTI
If colleague honoured, greet him with appreciation:Karan Singh
PADMA AWARD TO GHULAM NABI AZAD

The award was
well-deserved
and these
National
Awards should
not become
subject of inter-
party
controversy, far
less of intra-
party ones
‘DECISION POLITICAL, NOT ON MERIT’
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The SC on Thursday orally asked the
Punjab govt not to take any coercive step against SAD
leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Jan 31 when it hears
his pre-arrest bail plea in a drugs case. A bench com-
prising CJI NV Ramana & Justices AS Bopanna & Hima
Kohli took note of the submissions of senior advocate
Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Majithia, that the plea
seeking anticipatory bail plea needed urgent hearing as
the accused has been facing “political vendetta”.
SC ASKS PUNJAB GOVT NOT TO ARREST
MAJITHIA IN DRUGS CASE TILL JAN 31
KERALA HC GRANTS
DILEEP RELIEF
FROM ARREST
Kochi: The Kerala High
Court Thursday granted
Malayalam actor Dileep
and four others protec-
tion from arrest till next
Wednesday (February 2)
in the case pertaining to
the alleged conspiracy
to kill the police offic-
ers who had probed the
abduction and sexual
assault case of a woman
actor in which Dileep is
an accused.
New Delhi: The
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) on Thursday
said it has arrested
Karvy Stock Broking
Limited (KSBL) CMD
C Parthasarathy and
group CFO G Krishna
Hari in connection with
a money laundering
investigation linked to
alleged diversion of
clients’ securities of
over Rs 2,873 crore.
GRAFT: KARVY
STOCK BROKING
CMD, CFO HELD
Mumbai: The SC on Thursday directed Maha Police
not to arrest BJP MLA Nitesh Rane for 10 days in an
attempt-to-murder case registered. Disposing of the
pre-arrest bail plea of Rane, son of Union minister
Narayan Rane, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV
Ramana asked him to surrender before the trial court
in the meanwhile, and seek regular bail in the matter.
SURRENDER AND SEEK BAIL: NITESH
RANE GETS 10-DAY SC ARREST SHIELD STRANDED AFGHAN ARMY OFFICERS IN INDIA STAGE PROTEST
OUTSIDE AFGHAN EMBASSY IN NEW DELHI
CORONAVIRUS: SC ADJOURNS HEARING ON
BOMBAY HC’S REDUCED WORKING HOURS
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned a
hearing on a plea challenging circular issued by the Bom-
bay HC reducing its working hours to three hours a day in
view of COVID. A bench headed by Justice DY Chandra-
chud listed the matter for Feb 4 for hearing. The plea filed
by activist Ghanshyam Upadhyay stated that due to the
Standard Operating Procedure(SOP), the principal bench
of the High Court has been “functioning only for name-
sake” causing hardships to the litigants and advocates.
NHRC’S OBSERVATION FOR WB JUSTIFIED BY CM’S ACTIONS: GUV
ANTILIA BOMB
CASE: EX-COP
WAZE CHALLENGES
SANCTION ORDER
5G LAWSUIT: DELHI
HC REDUCES
COST IMPOSED
ON JUHI CHAWLA
LEGENDARY INDIAN
HOCKEY PLAYER
CHARANJIT DIES
High Court has the
territorial jurisdiction to
entertain the petition in
view of Article 226(2) of
the Constitution of India
as impugned order
granting sanction to
prosecute was passed
by an Authority in New
Delhi argued Mumbai’s
former cop Sachin
Waze while challenging
sanction order to pros-
ecute him under Unlaw-
ful Activities Prevention
Act (UAPA).
High Court Thursday re-
duced the costs imposed
on actor Juhi Chawla
and two other plaintiffs
by a single bench last
year from Rs 20 lakh to
Rs 2 lakh in a 5G-related
suit and expunged the
adverse observations
against her in the verdict.
The court Tuesday had
said that she would have
to voluntarily do some
service for a public cause,
a condition which was
agreed to by Chawla.
Shimla: Captain of
India’s 1964 Tokyo
Olympics gold medal-
winning hockey team,
Charanjit Singh, died
on Thursday at his
home in Una, Himachal
Pradesh after suffering
a cardiac arrest that
followed prolonged
age-related illnesses.
The former mid-fielder
was 90 and would have
turned a year older next
month. He is survived
by two sons and one
daughter.
New Delhi: Around one hundred Afghanistan Army officers stranded in India
after falling of the Government in Kabul, staged protests outside Afghanistan
Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday. Protesters include officers from the Army,
Special Forces and intelligence services. They demanded the intervention of the
embassy in their rehabilitation in other countries as going back to Afghanistan
is no more option for them.
Kolkata: Firing a fresh salvo at the Mamata Banerjee government, West Bengal
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has accused the Chief Minister of “extreme trans-
gressions” of constitutional prescriptions, claiming that such actions justify the
observation of an NHRC panel on post-poll violence that law of ruler and not rule of
law prevails in the state. “There have been continually and serially extreme trans-
gressions of constitutional prescriptions — justifying NHRC observation that in the
state there is ‘law of the ruler, not rule of law’,” Dhankhar wrote to Banerjee.
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: Omicron is
now the dominant vari-
ant of Covid-19 in In-
dia, the government
said on Thursday.
There are also early in-
dications of a plateau
in the number of cases,
with just the top 10
states contributing to
77 per cent of total ac-
tive cases in the coun-
try, the health ministry
told reporters.
The percentage of
the Omicron variant
increased rapidly in
Dec & Jan and the prev-
alence of the Omicron
subvariant called BA.2
is increasing in our
community, it added.
The govt credited
wide vaccination cover-
age for low death rate.
“Active case numbers
and corresponding
deaths are much lower
in this wave,” it said.
More than 90 per
cent of cases are in
home isolation with
mild to moderate sever-
ity and there are a low-
er number of cases
needing oxygen and
ICU beds, it said. —PTI
Omicron dominant variant
in country, says Health Min
A special Omicron ward in a hospital.
MARKET NOD TO COVAXIN, COVISHIELD
Lucknow: Amidst con-
tinuing unrest among
railway job aspirants in
Uttar Pradesh and Bi-
har, Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) chief
Mayawati on Thursday
accused the BJP of hav-
ing a narrow mindset
of making the youth
sell “pakoras”.
“There has been a
huge uproar in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar over
UPTNT and now over
Railways’RRB-NTPCre-
sults. This is a proof of
thefailureof thegovern-
ments. Beating up poor
and unemployed youths
for protesting, and play-
ing with their future is
totally unjustified,” she
said in a tweet in Hindi.
“Due to the wrong
policies of the govt, pov-
erty and unemployment
havereachedthepeak.It
is unjust to not have the
examination even for
small government jobs
for years. BJP should
change its narrow mind-
set of making the youth
sell ‘pakoras’ (snacks),”
she added. —PTI
Mayawati’s
‘pakora’ jibe at
BJP post Rlys
exam unrest
Goa Assy polls: Parrikar’s son
files nomination independently New Delhi: Two days
after China held a vir-
tual summit with Cen-
tral Asian countries,
India too stepped in and
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi pitched for
“an integrated ap-
proach for regional con-
nectivity and coopera-
tion for the next 30
years”.
He also flagged Af-
ghanistan as a common
concern and said that
their “mutual coopera-
tion has become even
more important for re-
gional security and sta-
bility”.
“We all have the same
concerns and objectives
for regional security
. We
are all concerned about
the developments in Af-
ghanistan,” Modi said
at the first virtual sum-
mit with the Central
Asian leaders. “In this
context also, our mutual
cooperation has become
even more important
for regional security
and stability
,” he said.
The virtual summit
saw the participation of
the five presidents —
Kazakhstan’s Kassym-
Jomart Tokayev, Uzbek-
istan’s Shavkat Mirzi-
yoyev, Emomali Rah-
mon of Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan’s Gur-
banguly Berdimuhame-
dow and Sadyr Japarov
of Kyrgyz Republic.
—Agencies
BMC polls: 27 corporators
of Congress join NCP
Malegaon: As many as 27 corporators of the Con-
gress party joined the Nationalist Congress Party
on Thursday. All the corporators joined the party
in the presence of party leader and Deputy Chief
Minister Ajit Pawar. Malegaon Mayor Tahira Shaikh
is among the 27 corporators who joined the party.
This development holds importance ahead of the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elec-
tion that is scheduled to held this year. —ANI
Days after China, PM
holds summit with five
Central Asian countries
Panaji: Utpal Parrikar,
the son of former Goa
Chief Minister Mano-
har Parrikar, has joined
the race for his father’s
constituency Panaji as
an independent candi-
date after the BJP de-
nied him a ticket.
Utpal Parrikar of-
fered prayers at a tem-
ple this morning before
filing his nomination
papers from Panaji.
He will take on sit-
ting MLA Atanasio ‘Ba-
bush’ Monserrate, who
was chosen over him by
the BJP for the Panaji
contest.
An upset Utpal Par-
rikar quit the BJP last
week and declared that
he would contest from
his father’s constituen-
cy anyway
.
Manohar Parrikar, a
three-time Chief Minis-
ter, died in 2019. He held
the Panaji seat for 25
years. In the by-election
after Mr Parrikar’s
death, his long-time ri-
val Babush Monserrate,
accused in a rape case,
won as a Congress can-
didate but later
switched to the BJP.
Utpal Parrikar quit
last Friday, and said he
would readily withdraw
from the contest if the
BJP fielded “an honest
candidate with integri-
ty and no criminal re-
cords” from Panaji. He
did not name Mr Mon-
serrate.
Talking to media, Ut-
pal Parrikar, the elder
son of Manohar Parri-
kar, said the decision
to quit the BJP was
“most difficult”. —PTI



POLL SNIPPETS
Utpal addressing a press conference in Panaji. —FILE PHOTO
New Delhi: A TMC del-
egation met the Elec-
tion Commission (EC)
in Delhi regarding the
upcoming Goa assem-
bly polls.
“On January 21 a
team from EC raided
the TMC party office in
Goa at around 11 pm
and vandalised hoard-
ings and flexes while
the office staff was kept
on hold. Our meeting
with the Election Com-
mission was regarding
that incident. We spoke
for25minutes”,claimed
TMC leader and MP
Saugata Roy
.
“We told the EC that
despite being aware of
the new TMC office in
Goa, vandalisation on
their part was not
right”, alleged Roy
.
TMC delegation meets
EC regarding Goa polls
Pb: New entrants spice
up contest in Mansa
Chandigarh: Fielding
of new faces by major
political parties in the
semi-rural constituency
of Mansa has spiced up
the contest in this cotton
belt for the next month’s
Punjab assembly polls.
While the ruling Con-
gress has fielded popu-
lar Punjabi singer
Shubhdeep Singh Sid-
hu, better known as
‘Sidhu Moosewala’, the
opposition Aam Aadmi
Party’s candidate is Vi-
jay Singla and Shirom-
ani Akali Dal has field-
ed Prem Arora in Man-
sa. Mansa, where peo-
ple mainly grow cotton,
paddy and vegetables, is
known for electing leg-
islators on many occa-
sions in the past from
opposition parties.
Karan Singh Ghulam Nabi Azad
SNUBBED BY BJP

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 149
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Birthday greetings to Meghalaya’s
Chief Minister Shri @SangmaConrad.
Praying that he is blessed with
a long and healthy life.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
Reviewed various railway
projects of Himachal Pradesh with
Shri @jairamthakurbjp Ji and@
ianuragthakur Ji.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The peace of God is with
them whose mind and soul
are in harmony, who are
free from desire and wrath,
who know their own soul.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
TOP TWEETS
HERCULEAN
TASK FOR BJP IN
WESTERN UTTAR
PRADESH?
nion Home Minister
Amit Shah visiting
door-to-door in one
of the western UP
districts, makes for a
worrisome picture for BJP in
Western UP. As Shah has taken
on this Herlecuean task, it sug-
gests a feeling of disquietude in
the party. Watching Shah seek-
ing votes for his party in Ma-
thura-Vrindavan and earlier
trying to entice Jayant Chaud-
hary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal
into his party when one cannot
recall seeing such visuals in ei-
ther 2014 or 2019, gives a hint of
the picture. Western UP is cen-
tral to BJP’s election strategy.
Of the 70 seats in 20 districts of
Meerut, Saharanpur and Mo-
radabad, the party had won 51
in 2017. The region goes to vote
in the first two phases on Febru-
ary 10 and 14.
Deaths of about 700 farmers
during their year-long protest
against the controversial farm
laws may make it difficult for
BJP to repeat that performance.
To BJP’s disadvantage, the-Jat-
Muslim communal divide has
apparently been bridged to an
extent. The SP-RLD tie-up may
also queer the pitch for BJP.
U
tudents and job-
seekers vent their
anger over Rail-
way Recruitment
Board’s incompe-
tence by burning trains and
damaging railways property
.
As a double whammy, they
were chased and beaten up by
the police. Those protesting
were students from Bihar
and poll-bound Uttar
Pradesh. The violent protests
began on January 24, after
RRB declared the results of
the first phase of examina-
tions held across the country
on January 10. The RRB fi-
asco is a cruel joke on thou-
sands of unemployed youth.
Around the time of parlia-
mentary elections in 2019,
railways invited applica-
tions for a little over 35000
Non-Technical Popular Cat-
egory (NTPC) posts and re-
ceived about 1.25 crore appli-
cations for the Level 2 to
Level 6 posts. These exams
were held in phases between
December 28, 2020 and July
31, 2021. Violence erupted af-
ter candidates found that
same names were there in
results of different catego-
ries. Some of the applicants
point to the lack of transpar-
ency in the entire recruit-
ment process. The Railways
Ministry has formed a com-
mittee to look into the stu-
dents’ grievances but that
won’t be of much help as by
the time its findings are out,
hundreds of candidates may
lose out on the basis of age
eligibility criteria.
Those vandalising govern-
ment’s property must be pe-
nalised as even the Supreme
Court has been firm on that
view. At the same time the
railways owe an apology to
the candidates, who stand to
lose due to the RRB’s incom-
petence at a time when, as
per CMIE data, India had a
force of 530 lakh jobless peo-
ple as of December 2021.
RRB’S CRUEL
JOKE ON THE
JOBLESS YOUTH
The Railways Ministry
has formed a committee
to look into the students’
grievances but that
won’t be of much help as
by the time its findings
are out, hundreds of
candidates may lose
out on the basis of age
eligibility criteria
S
PADMA AWARD:
LET’S NOT
POLITICIZE
BUDDHABABU’S
DECISION
n the chilly evening of Janu-
ary 25, 2022 veteran Left lead-
er and former Chief Minister
of West Bengal, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee made head-
lines, again through his mod-
est ways!
The former CM had said, “I
don’t know anything about a
Padma Bhushan award. No
one told me anything about
it. If they have given me a
Padma Bhushan award, I am
rejecting it.”
Having said that on Tues-
day evening, Buddhadeb on
Wednesday requested gov-
ernment officials not to call
or visit him regarding the
matter of Padma Bhushan.
West Bengal CPM state sec-
retary Surjya Kanta Misra
issued the statement on Bud-
dha’s behalf and said he can
be reached via post because
of his physical condition.
Explaining the party’s
stand, CPM leadership had
said that, “We, as a party,
don’t support the political
stand and economic policies
of the people who are confer-
ring the award. So, if we take
the award from them, we are
supporting them. Thus, we
refuse such awards. This is
our party’s stand. There is
individual opinion as well.
“Former UP CM Kalyan
Singh has received the Pad-
ma Vibhushan for public af-
fairs while Bhattacharya was
conferred Padma Bhushan.
In a way, Singh had a bad
historical background as,
during his tenure, Babri Mas-
jid was demolished while Bh-
attacharyahadacleanrecord.
Had Bhattacharya accepted
the award, it would have justi-
fied Singh’s award,” a senior
CPM leader was quoted.
According to the 1954 Pad-
ma awards order, a resident
may cancel and annual Pad-
ma Award. For withdrawal
or cancellation of awards,
the request can be examined
by the government.
However, No ‘formal’ con-
sent is required for a person
to be bestowed the Padma
awards but, as per the nor-
mal practice, the “willing-
ness of the person proposed
to be conferred with the title,
is informally ascertained”
before the announcement,
Union home ministry offi-
cials had confirmed.
However, “In accordance
with the normal practice,
willingness of the person pro-
posed to be conferred Padma
Awards is informally ascer-
tained (to the extent possible)
before the announcement of
the Award,” the Government
had told Rajya Sabha in 2015
while answering a question.
Political Grapevine has it
that soon after the announce-
ment, the CPM top leadership
in New Delhi had approached
Bhattacharya’s family and
persuaded them to refuse it
since the party as per the tra-
dition doesn’t accept such
honours. Mishra did appar-
ently discuss the award with
Bhattacharya’s family
.
Meanwhile, unfortunately,
The news of Buddhababu’s
Padma-rejection is creating
ripples in the political cir-
cles.If theLeftcamp“claims”
it is a political stunt of the
Centre, Trinamool Congress,
on the other hand, has (coun-
ter) claimed that the “addi-
tion of left-wingers is clear in
paying homage to Buddha
Babu.”
BJP state president Sukan-
ta Majumder, had said, “Bud-
dhadeb Bhattacharya is the
former chief minister of the
state. Keeping in mind his
social and administrative
contribution, the central gov-
ernment felt that he should
be honoured with the Padma
Bhushan. There is no need
for politics to reject the
award. It’s unwanted.”
BJP’s national vice-presi-
dent, Dilip Ghosh, said, “Bud-
dhababu’s rejection of the
award is his personal matter.
However, the CPM has never
maintainedthattradition.The
communists have always in-
sulted the culture of the coun-
try
. So not taking the award is
also a sign of that insult. ”
The matter was also all
over social media. CPM’s Fa-
cebook handle stated, “The
CPI(M)’s policy is consistent
in rejecting such awards
from the state. Our work is
for the people, not for re-
wards.” Everyone mentions
another former Chief Minis-
ter Jyoti Basu. Bharat Ratna
was rejected by Jyoti Basu.”
Alleging Ram-Bam “nex-
us”, Trinamool Congress
HAD CLAIMED THAT LEFT
VOTERS HAVE BEEN
THANKED NOW FOR HAV-
ING VOTED FOR THE BJP.
APART FROM THIS, TRINA-
MOOL’S MOUTHPIECE
‘JAGO BANGLA’ HAD SAID
ON WEDNESDAY THAT
BUDDHADEB HAS BEEN
RECOGNISED FOR CRUSH-
ING THE LAND ACQUISI-
TION MOVEMENT.
TMC also raised the point
of honouring three former
CMs together. It may be re-
called that Buddhadeb Bhat-
tacharjee from West Bengal,
Ghulam Nabi Azad from
Kashmir and Kalyan Singh
(posthumously) from Uttar
Pradesh were named.
TMC said Kalyan Singh
was accused of helping in
demolition of Babri Masjid,
while former Kashmir Chief
Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad,
for some time now… has
been facing opposition from
Congress itself and the party
(TMC) also claimed that the
BJP’s “closeness” was
“CLEARLY EVIDENT” in
the matter. TMC also went on
to say that Buddhadeb was
once close to LK Advani.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
O
In a way, former UP CM
Kalyan Singh had a bad
historical background as,
during his tenure, Babri
Masjid was demolished while
Bhattacharya had a clean
record. Had Bhattacharya
accepted the award, it would
have justified Singh’s
award,” a senior CPM
leader was quoted
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Associate Editor,
Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former
Managing Editor, First India
The former Chief Minister had said, “I don’t know
anything about a Padma Bhushan award. No one told me
anything about it. If they have given me Padma Bhushan
award, I am rejecting it. Buddhadeb on Wednesday
requested government officials not to call or visit
him regarding the matter of Padma Bhushan

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BIZ BUZZ
06
Budgetshouldfocusonbridging
economicinequality:DSubbarao
New Delhi: The up-
coming Budget should
focus on creating jobs
and bridging the wid-
ened inequality in the
economy besides accel-
erating growth, former
RBI Governor D Sub-
barao said on Thurs-
day while observ-
ing that given the
continuing need
to raise spend-
ing on educa-
tion, health and
infrastructure,
there is not
much leeway for
tax cuts.
“Accelerat-
ing growth is
the objective
of every Budg-
et as it should be
of this one. But this
Budget should pay
special attention to
bridging the widened
inequality in the econ-
omy,” he said.
While noting that the
COVID-19 pandemic
has caused enormous
distress to
the low-in-
come seg-
ments who op-
erate in the infor-
mal econo-
my, Sub-
barao said
the upper income seg-
ments have not only
been able to protect
their incomes but have
in fact been able to
grow their savings and
wealth.
Citing the latest
World Inequality Re-
port which
had said
t h a t
In- dia is among the
most unequal
countries in the
world, he said,
“Such wide ine-
quality is
notonlymorallywrong
and politically corro-
sive, but it will also
dent our long-term
growth prospects.”
“We need job intensive
growth. If there is a
theme for this Budget,
it should be jobs,” he
said.
The former
RBI Gov-
e r n o r
pointed
out that
jobs have
been lost be-
cause of the
growth slow-
down and also
because of the
shift in activity
from the labour-
intensive informal
sector to the capi-
tal-intensive
formal sector.
“Growth is neces-
sary to generate jobs,
but not sufficient,” he
said, adding that there
is a need for stronger
emphasis on improv-
ing the ease of doing
business through gov-
ernance reforms so
that investment be-
comes a promising op-
tion for both domestic
and foreign investors.
Subbarao pointed
out that raising the
level of exports is good
not just for balance of
payments reasons but
also from a jobs per-
spective b e c a u s e
export produc-
t i o n is la-
b o u r i n -
tensive.
—PTI
DISTRESS TO LOW-INCOME SEGMENTS
Sensexfalls581points,Nifty
endsabove17,110-mark
Mumbai: Equity benchmark
Sensex tumbled 581 points on
Thursday
, in tandem
with a global
selloff after the
US Federal Re-
serve signalled
policy tighten-
ing from March.
The 30-share
index ended
581.21 points
or 1.00%
lower at
57,276.94.
S i m i l a rly, the NSE
Nifty plunged 167.80 points or 0.97% to
17,110.15. HCL Tech was the top loser in
the Sensex pack, skidding over 4%, fol-
lowed by Tech Mahindra Dr Reddy’s,
Wipro, TCS, Titan and Infosys.
On the other hand, Axis Bank, SBI,
Maruti and Kotak Bank were among the
gainers. —PTI
RUPEE SLUMPS 30
PAISE TO 75.08
AGAINST $
Mumbai: Registering its third
straight session of loss, the
Indian rupee on Thursday
depreciated by 30 paise to
close at 75.08 (provisional)
against the US dollar, tracking
the strength of the American
currency after a hawkish US
Fed policy stance. —PTI
I-T refunds worth
`1.62 lakh cr issued
Adani Wilmar IPO
subscribed 58%
New Delhi: The In-
come Tax department
on Thursday said it
has issued refunds
worth `1.62 lakh crore
to more than 1.79 crore
taxpayers so far this
fiscal. This includes
1.41 crore refunds for
2020-21 fiscal amount-
ing to `27,111.40 crore.
“CBDT issues refunds
o f
over
`1,62,448 crore to more
than 1.79 crore taxpay-
ers from 1st Apr,2021
to 24th Jan,2022,” the
IT department tweet-
ed. This includes per-
sonal Income Tax re-
funds of `57,754 crore
and corporate tax re-
funds of `1.04 lakh
crore have been is-
sued. —PTI
New Delhi: The `3,600
crore initial public of-
fer (IPO) of Adani Wil-
mar saw decent inves-
tor response on the
first day of the bidding
process on Thursday
.
The issue was sub-
scribed 58 per cent by
5 pm. It saw applica-
tions for 7,05,41,510
shares so far against
the total issue size of
12,25,46,150 shares.
The IPO is entirely a
fresh issue of shares.
Ahead of the IPO,
the company mobi-
lised `940 crore from
15 anchor investors.
Government of Singa-
pore, Monetary Au-
thority of Singapore,
Jupiter India Fund,
Volrado Venture Part-
ners Fund, Societe
Generale, Cohesion
MK Best Ideas, Winro
Commercial and Dove-
tail India Fund were
among marquee for-
eign investors. HDFC
Mutual Fund, Nippon
Life India Trustee,
Aditya Birla Sun Life
Trustee, and Sun Life
Excel India Fund also
participated in the an-
chor round.
The company is sell-
ing its shares in the
price range of `218-230
apiece. Investors can
bid for a minimum of
65 equity shares and in
multiples of 65 there-
of. The issue can be
subscribed till Janu-
ary 31, Monday
.
Sebi to send notices, summons
via instant messaging services
New Delhi: Sebi will
now be sending show
cause notices and
summons to alleged
offenders of securi-
ties market rules
through instant mes-
saging services, a
move that will make
the process faster.
At present, the reg-
ulator sends such doc-
uments through ei-
ther registered post,
courier or electronic
mail.
Also, Sebi has
tweaked norms per-
taining to powers of
investigating author-
ity for seeking infor-
mation and docu-
ments in respect of
any transaction in se-
curities markets,
which are under in-
vestigation.
To effect these, the
regulator has amend-
ed Prohibition of
Fraudulent and Un-
fair Trade Practices
(PFUTP) norms relat-
ing to securities mar-
ket.
Summons or notic-
es issued by Sebi un-
der PFUTP norms will
be served on the per-
son by delivering or
tendering it to that
person or his duly au-
thorised agent. —PTI
1 million job potential in green sector by 2030
New Delhi: India’s re-
newable energy sector
has the potential to em-
ploy around one mil-
lion people by 2030, and
most of the new jobs
would be generated by
small-scale renewable
energy projects, ac-
cording to a study
.
India’s renewable en-
ergy sector could po-
tentially employ
around one million
people by 2030, which
would be ten times
more than the existing
workforce of an esti-
mated 1.1 lakh em-
ployed by the sector,
according to an inde-
pendent study released
on Thursday
.
The study ‘India’s
Expanding Clean En-
ergy Workforce’ high-
lighted that most of the
new jobs would be gen-
erated by small-scale
renewable energy pro-
jects such as rooftop
solar and mini and mi-
cro-grid systems com-
pared to utility or
large-scale projects like
solar parks.
The CEEW-NRDC-
SCGJ analysis also
highlighted the adverse
impact of the pandem-
ic on employment in
the renewable energy
sector.
In comparison to
12,400 new workers em-
ployed in the sector in
FY19, only 5,200 new
workers were employed
in FY20 and 6400 were
employed in FY21, it
said.
—PTI
New Delhi: Ola Electric
will invest over $100
million over the next
five years and set up
a global centre for ad-
vanced engineering and
vehicle design in the
UK. Ola Futurefoundry
will work in-sync with
the design and engi-
neering teams based at
Ola Campus in Bengalu-
ru. “It will house global
talent across multiple
disciplines of 2W and
4W vehicle design,
advanced high-per-
formance automotive
engineering, digital and
physical modeling and
more,” it added. The
centre will also house
talent that will focus
on vehicle RD around
new energy systems
including cell technolo-
gies. —PTI
OLA TO INVEST OVER $100MN IN UK CENTRE
New Delhi: NTPC
Renewable Energy Ltd,
has invited bids for
selection of devel-
opers for inter-state
transmission system
(ISTS)-connected en-
ergy storage facility of
3,000 MW capacity at
any location in India to
meet round-the-clock
requirement of renew-
able energy. NREL
intends to avail energy
storage facility to meet
its round-the-clock
renewable energy re-
quirement with a wind/
solar generation profile
under service model
through an ISTS-con-
nected energy storage
solutions with capacity
of 3000 MWh with 500
MW (min) at any loca-
tion in India, as per the
document. —PTI
NTPC INVITES BIDS FOR 3GW ENERGY STORAGE
D Subbarao
Green H2 policy in next
10 days: R K Singh
New Delhi: The
green hydrogen poli-
cy will be unveiled in
the next 10 days fea-
turing incentives like
free transmission for
25 years to boost pro-
duction of this clean
source of energy,
Power and New Re-
newable Energy Min-
ister R K Singh said
on Thursday
.
“We will come out
with the green hydro-
gen policy in the next
10 days. We will give
free transmission for
25 years. So you can
generate power for
making hydrogen in
Rajasthan or trans-
port it to Guwahati or
to Baruni refinery (to
make hydrogen),”
said Singh while ad-
dressing a virtual
conference on smart
metering organised
by industry body CII.
The minister also
said that the policy
will feature dollar de-
nominated bids, offer
of land in renewable
energy parks and
land allocation near
ports for creating
bunkers for green hy-
drogen or ammonia.
“We want India to
emerge as the export-
er for green hydro-
gen... Japan wants to
import and Germany
also,” Singh said.
Raising the issue
of payment for power
supply, he said free
power supply ulti-
mately affects the en-
tire value chain.
“If he (politician or
public representa-
tive) wants to give 100
units free then he can
do so from the budg-
et. We don’t mind
that. He can give en-
tire taxpayers’ money
for free electricity or
water but then he
would not be left with
funds for develop-
ment of roads and
other works.”
The minister was
of the view that if
they (states) cannot
pay the subsidy for
free electricity from
their budget then
they should not prom-
ise such freebies.
About smart me-
tering, the minister
informed that the
government will
come out with an ap-
proved list of models
and manufacturers
for smart meters.—PTI
CHIP PROBLEM

07
NEWS
This phase of polling is extremely crucial since it includes districts in western Uttar Pradesh
PHASE 1 ON FEB 10 TO DETERMINE
FATE OF NINE BJP MINISTERS IN UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The first
phase of polls in Uttar
Pradesh on February 10
will decide the fate of
nine ministers in the
Yogi Adityanath gov-
ernment. This phase of
polling is extremely
crucial since it includes
districts in western UP
where candidates in
several constituencies
are facing hostile vot-
ers, mainly due to the
farmers’ agitation.
Thefirstministercon-
testing in this phase is
Suresh Rana, minister
forcane,fromtheThana
Bhawan Assembly seat
in Shamli district.
Rana is known as a
firebrand Hindu leader
and was an accused in
the Muzaffarnagar ri-
ots. He won from this
seat in 2012 and then in
2017. In 2012, he had
won the seat with a ra-
zor thin margin of 265
votes but in 2017, his
margin increased to
over 16,000 votes.
The Yogi Adityanath
government has with-
drawn cases against
him, but the minister
faces resistance in his
constituency on the is-
sue of insufficient in-
crease in cane MSP and
pending arrears.
The second minister
contesting in this phase
is Atul Garg from Gha-
ziabad. He had defeated
the BSP candidate with
a margin of over 70,000
votes in 2017 and now
faces the challenge of
retaining his seat. Shri-
kant Sharma, UP Power
Minister, is also facing
a crucial test in his con-
stituency Mathura. In
2017, Sharma had de-
feated Pradeep Mathur
of Congress with a mar-
gin of over 1.43 lakh
votes.
Mathur is a three-
term MLA from this
seat and has been work-
ing overtime to regain
his seat this time. With
Mathura now moving
on to the BJP’s political
agenda, the contest in
this constituency is
bound to be interesting.
The fourth minister
in the fray in the first
phase is Sandeep Singh,
grandson of late Kalyan
Singh. Sandeep has
been one of the few low-
profile ministers in the
Yogi Adityanath gov-
ernment and has
steered clear of contro-
versy in his tenure.
He is seeking re-elec-
tion from Atrauli in Ali-
garh, which is consid-
ered a stronghold of the
Kalyan Singh family.
Kalyan Singh had won
from this seat eleven
times, which is a record
in itself. Anil Sharma,
minister of state for en-
vironment, is seeking
re-election from Shikar-
pur seat in Buland-
shahr district. The seat
is considered to be a
BJP bastion and the
party has won from
here in the past five
elections. This is Anil
Sharma’s second elec-
tion. The sixth minister
in the first phase of
polls is Kapil Dev Agar-
wal from Muzaffarna-
gar Sadar seat. The seat
has been the epicentre
of farmers’ agitation
and Agarwal faces a
tough challenge this
time.
Punjab Guv Purohit hoists Tricolor at
state level R-Day function in Mohali
Kulwinder Bawa
Mohali: During the
state level program con-
ducted on the occasion
of Republic Day at
ShaheedMajorHarmin-
derpal Singh Govern-
ment College here, Ban-
warilal Purohit Gover-
nor Punjab and Admin-
istrator UT Chandigarh
performed the national
flag hoisting ceremony
.
Addressing the people
of Punjab on the occa-
sion, he called upon the
people to take an oath to
abide by the basic tenets
of the Constitution. He
said that the country
could progress only by
upholding the constitu-
tional values.
He said that Punjab’s
contribution in nation
building was very im-
portant. Countless
times Punjab was hurt
by the invaders but
each time the brave
sons of Punjab defend-
ed the country. That is
why the whole country
believes in the iron of
Punjab. He further said
that Punjab is the land
of Guru Nanak Dev Ji,
Guru Gobind Singh Ji,
the land of saints,
saints and prophets.
This is the land of he-
roes like Lala Lajpat
Rai, Sardar Bhagat Sin-
gh and Sukhdev. There-
fore, our responsibility
towards the Constitu-
tion increases as none
of our actions would
insult these great per-
sonalities.
The Governor said
that the country was
currently celebrating
the 75th anniversary of
its independence. We
have to mobilize with
new energy to fulfill the
dream of modern India
that our freedom fight-
ers dreamed of. He said
that this Republic Day,
which has come in the
75th year of independ-
ence, has brought an op-
portunity of new con-
cepts for us.
In poll-bound Punjab, police
arrest 2 with `7L drug money
Mahesh Kumar
Moga: The Moga Police
has tightened the noose
against anti-social ele-
ments by undertaking
special operations
against drug peddlers
keeping impending
elections in view.
Senior Superinten-
dent of Police (SSP)
Charanjit Singh Sohal
SSP Moga briefed the
media that, two persons
namely Amandeep Sin-
gh (26) of Kot Budda in
Tarntaran district and
Sukhchain Singh (24) of
Jallo Ke in Tarntaran
district were appre-
hended at special naka-
bandi done on receiving
credible source infor-
mation. 50 gms of hero-
in was recovered from
them along with one
motorcycle PB 38 D,
2666 and they were ar-
rested in an FIR under
the provisions of Nar-
cotic Drugs and Psycho-
tropic Substances
(NDPS) Act.
SSP further said that
police worked on for-
ward and backward
linkages revealed by
the accused during in-
terrogation. One
Sukhwant Singh (28)
and Gurpreet Singh (28)
both residents of Tarn-
taran were nominated
in the FIR based on al-
legations of selling nar-
cotic drugs to these ac-
cused.
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: With Am-
ritsar based conjoined
twins Sohan Singh and
Mohan Singh, fondly
knownasSohna-Mohna,
turned18lastyear,Chief
Electoral Officer (CEO)
Punjab Dr S Karuna
Raju handed over two
separateElectoralPhoto
Identity Cards (EPIC) to
bothof themtomarkthe
12th National Voters’
Day
. Special arrange-
ments will be made for
Sohna and Mohna, so
that both can vote sepa-
rately, while ensuring
that their privacy could
be maintained. Notably,
the Election Commis-
sion of India (ECI) had
considered Sohna and
Mohna as separate vot-
ers and decided to give
individual voting rights
to both of them.
The CEO has also
symbolically handed
over five more EPIC
cards to the first-time
voters during the State
LevelEventorganisedat
Mahatma Gandhi State
Institute of Public Ad-
ministration (MGSIPA)
here, while, Deputy
Commissioners-cum-
District Election Offic-
ers (DC-cum-DEO), who
have joined the event
virtually have handed
over the EPIC card to
first time voters at dis-
trict level. A video mes-
sage of Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC)
SushilChandrawasalso
played on the occasion.
The CEO accompa-
nied by Additional CEO
DPS Kharbanda along
with officials and audi-
ence present also took
pledge to promote demo-
cratic Electoral Partici-
pation. The theme for
this year’s National Vot-
ers’Dayis‘MakingElec-
tions Inclusive, Acces-
sible and Participative’.
Dr Raju unveiled the
poster of ‘Know Your
Candidate’mobileappli-
cation,usingwhichelec-
tors can know the par-
ticulars and criminal
antecedents of any can-
didate. He also launched
a demo video of the mo-
bile app and urged the
voters of the state to
download the app.
Hesaidthemobileapp
has been developed to
provide wide publicity
and greater awareness
regarding criminal ante-
cedents of contesting
candidates to ensure
transparent elections. It
can be downloaded from
GoogleplaystoreandAp-
ple App store.
During the event,
Gurpreet Singh, a fine
arts teacher from Patia-
la drawn a virtual live
painting from DC Office
Patiala, while Theatre
Artistes Sukhdev Sin-
gh Ladhar and Inder
Manuke from Moga per-
formed live from DC Of-
fice Moga to sensitise
and encourage voters.
Conjoined twins Sohna-Mohna get separate voter cards in Punjab
FIRST OF ITS KIND
CEO Dr Raju giving voter cards to conjoined twins Sohna-Mohna.
CEO Punjab hands-over Voter ID Cards to
Sohna-Mohna five more new voters
Calls on people to
remain committed
to eradicating
corruption
HARYANA’S STATE LEVEL
R-DAY AT PANCHKULA
First India Bureau
Panchkula: The
73rd Republic Day
was celebrated with
great enthusiasm in
Haryana. The state
level function was or-
ganized in Panchku-
la where Haryana
Governor Bandaru
Dattatraya unfurled
the national flag.
At the same time,
Haryana CM Mano-
har Lal Khattar un-
furled the national
flag at Ambala and
took the salute of the
parade. District level
functions were also
organized in all the
districts, in which
Deputy CM, Vidhan
Sabha Speaker and
Deputy Speaker, Cab-
inet Ministers, Min-
isters of State, Divi-
sional Commission-
ers and Deputy Com-
missioners unfurled
the National flag. In
in Jind, Deputy CM
Dushyant Chautala
while attending as
the chief guest un-
furled the flag and
took the salute of the
grand parade.
On this occasion,
the contingent of
Haryana Police paid
homage to the mar-
tyrs. Chautala said
that the free environ-
ment in which we are
freely living today is
because of the mar-
tyrs, freedom fight-
ers and soldiers pro-
tecting the borders.
He said that we will
always be indebted to
them.
UNITED COLOURS OF INDIA
It gives the impression of shape of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue as a woman takes part in a
“Save Water” event in Pune, Maharashtra.—PHOTO BY VIJAYKUMAR HARISHCHANDRE
The polling for the first phase will be held on February 10 in Uttar Pradesh.
S
S
S
CONJOINED TWINS SEPARATE VOTERS
OTHER MINISTERS’ LITMUS TEST
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit at R-Day function in Mohali.
Dattatraya hoisting Tricolour
Gujarat: Cong, AAP
test Patidar waters
ahead of poll season
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Even as
the BJP is busy training
workers ahead of the
Assembly elections slat-
ed to be held later this
year, the Congress is at-
tempting to expanding
its base using social en-
gineering. After ap-
pointing Jagdish Tha-
kor state unit president
and tribal leader Sukh-
ram Rathva as Leader
of Opposition, now it
has now turned its at-
tention to the Patidar
community--by cosying
up to Khodaldham pres-
ident Naresh Patel and
veteran leader Shan-
kersinh Vaghela.
Meanwhile, youth
wing vice-president Yu-
vraj Sinh Jadeja of the
AAP also met Naresh
Patel on Thursday, os-
tensibly to “seek his
support in making rep-
resentation to the state
over the government
examination scandals”.
Patel has already hint-
ed that he will join poli-
tics if the community
“asks” him to do so, at
an appropriate time.
“All those who be-
lieve in Congress ideol-
ogy are always welcome
to join the party. As to
who will join when, it is
up to the party high
command,” Gujarat
Congress in-charge Dr
Raghu Sharma said.
However, GPCC chief
Thakor says the Con-
gress is in touch with
Patel and “other like-
minded leaders”.
On Wednesday, Tha-
kor praised Shankers-
inh Vaghela’s social
and political contribu-
tion in the state and
stated, “Bapu means
struggle and struggle
means Bapu”.
Khodaldham prez Naresh Patel

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,647,735
TOTAL DEATHS
287,953,257
TOTAL RECOVERED
70,232,956
ACTIVE CASES
363,833,948
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
491,729
TOTAL DEATHS
37,677,328
TOTAL RECOVERED
2,202,443
ACTIVE CASES
40,371,500
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
When life seems to be speeding
by, pause to watch the sunset
and the sparrow take flight!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Ajay Bhalla tells all States/UTs for effective Covid-19 management
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Home Secretary Ajay
Bhalla has writen to the
chief secretaries all
States/UTs asking to is-
sues necessary direc-
tions to authorities con-
cernedforeffectiveman-
agement of Covid-19.
The Home Secretary’s
letterreferstotheMinis-
try of Home Affairs’
(MHA) Order of even
numberissuedonThurs-
day
, vide which MHA
Order dated 27.12.2021
issued to ensure compli-
ance to the normative
framework for taking
evidence based COV-
ID-19containmentmeas-
ures, has been extended
up to 28.02.2022.
The letter reads due
to the current COVID
wave, led by the new
variant, Omicron, there
has been a steady in-
crease in the number of
COVID cases in the
country and the active
cases have increased to
over 22 lakh. Though a
majority of active cases
are recovering fast and
a low percentage of cas-
es are in hospitals, it is
still a matter of con-
cern that 407 districts
in 34 States UTs are
reporting a positivity
rate of more than 10%.
Therefore, looking at
the current trends of
COVID virus, there is a
need to exercise caution
and vigilance.
“In this background,
I would like to reiterate
that all the States/UTs
must observe all pre-
cautions and not let the
guard down. Based on
the normative frame-
work, mentioned in the
Ministry of Health
Family Welfare
(MoHFW) D.O. letter
dated 21.12.2021 and as-
sessment of the situa-
tion, local/district ad-
ministration should
continue to take prompt
and appropriate con-
tainment measures. Im-
position and lifting of
local curbs/restrictions
should be dynamic and
should be based on the
ease, positivity and hos-
pitalization status at
the local level,” Bhalla
said in the letter.
HOME SECY’S LETTER
ShahholdstalkswithJatleaders
tosortoutdifferencesinWestUP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Intense bat-
tle has ensued between
ruling BJP and Rash-
triya Lok Dal-Samajwa-
di Party (RLD-SP) alli-
ance over well-en-
trenched Jat votes in
west UP. Both have been
trying to wrest control
over them to make
headway in the elector-
al fight in west UP
which goes to polls on
February 10, 14.
As a part of BJP exer-
cise to woo restive Jat
community the Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah held a meeting of
Jat leaders in Delhi on
January 26 to sort out
differences with the
community. The party
has been trying to rec-
tify their grievances to
bring them back to the
BJP-fold. Around 250
prominent Jat leaders
of West UP met Shah at
the residence of Delhi
BJP Member of Parlia-
ment Parvesh Verma.
While laying stress
on reunion with the Jat
community during the
meeting, Shah is learnt
to have sent feelers to
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief
Jayant Chaudhury also
for alliance. “Chaud-
hury has chosen a
wrong path by aligning
with Samajwadi Party
and BJP doors are open
for him”, Shah has re-
portedly commented.
Shah told the Jat lead-
ers that the community
had been a strong ally
of the party for a long
time and had ensured
the victory of BJP in
three previous elec-
tions. He said the BJP
was open to their de-
mands and their prob-
lems would be solved.
“You (Jats) fought for
650 years against the
Mughals and we are
also fighting against
them now,” Shah com-
mented to connect with
Jat history. Shah said
the community sup-
ported the BJP even
“we did not accept some
of your demands”.
Later briefing news-
men Parvesh Verma
said that Amit Shah
had appealed to the
community not to go
anywhere and support
the party as they did not
pass. Verma said the
community’s grievanc-
es would be solved.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah during door-to-door election campaign in Mathura on Thursday.
Lucknow: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thurs-
day unveiled a bag of goodies for the UP people in
its manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections.
The party manifesto promises 300 units of free
electricity and waiver of all power dues. The party
also promises 24-hour power supply and free elec-
tricity for farmers. Farmers will also get the benefit
of loan waiver. For the youth, the AAP has assured
10 lakh jobs and an unemployment allowance of
Rs 5,000. Women will get Rs 1,000 per month, as
announced earlier. Releasing the manifesto, AAP
MP Sanjay Singh said the party would spend 25%
of budget on education. He said martyrs’ families
would be given a compensation of Rs 1 crore. He
also promised that the old pension scheme would
be revived for government employees.
AAP RELEASES UP MANIFESTO,
PROMISES 300 UNITS FREE POWER
INTENSE BATTLE FOR JAT VOTES
AmritsarianscanteachSidhu
Majithiaalesson:AAP
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
Punjab Senior Leader
and Leader of Opposi-
tion Harpal Singh
Cheema has appealed
to the voters of Amrit-
sar that they have a
golden opportunity to
teach a lesson to both
Navjot Singh Sidhu
and Bikram Singh
Majithia. He said that
both of these leaders
have betrayed the peo-
ple of Punjab. It may
be recalled that for
Amritsar East Punjab
Legislative Assembly
seat, Navjot Singh
Sidhu is contesting
for Congress, Bikram
Singh Majithia, Akali
Dal Badal and Aam
Aadmi Party has field-
ed prominent social
worker Jeevan Jyot
Kaur. He said that in a
democracy, people
have power of vote.
Voters have a golden opportunity to
teach a lesson to both Navjot Singh
Sidhu and Bikram Singh Majithia.
He said that both of these leaders have be-
trayed the people of Punjab. It may be re-
called that for Amritsar East Punjab
Legislative Assembly seat, Nav-
jot Singh Sidhu is contesting
for Congress, Bikram Singh
Majithia, Akali Dal Badal and
Aam Aadmi Party has fielded
prominent social worker Jeevan
Jyot Kaur.
—Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP
Punjab Senior Leader
Chandigarh: AAP’s
Punjab CM candidate
and MP Bhagwant
Mann has said that
while contesting for
the first time in Delhi,
Arvind Kejriwal defeat-
ed Congress veteran and then CM Sheila Dikshit,
similarly to teach a lesson to Congress-SAD
leaders here, the people of Punjab should make
common leaders of Aam Aadmi Party victorious.
AAP IS COMMON PEOPLE’S PARTY,
CLAIMS BHAGWANT MANN
Phagwara: Former Punjab Minister and AAP candidate from Phagwara
Joginder Singh Mann on Thursday criticised Punjab CM Charanjit Channi
for making false promises to people of Phagwara assembly segment to
accord district status to Phagwara. Mann asked the Chief Minister what
stopped him from declaring Phagwara a district during the last 60 days
o f his tenure. He reminded the Chief Minister that he had himself
raised this issue before the CM during his visit to the city at
Lord Vishwakarma Temple on 6 November and subse-
quently at Khaati on 28 November. Similarly he said
that not only this but later on he had raised this issue in
meetings with the CM and other officers at Chandigarh
twice. However, he said that unfortunately none of them
bothered to declare Phagwara a district despite the fact
that it is the long pending demand of the people of Phag-
wara. He said that peeved over this apathetic attitude
of the Congress government he had severed his
five decades long association with the party.
AAP CANDIDATE JOGINDER S MANN SLAMS CHANNI FOR
MAKING FALSE PROMISES TO PHAGWARA PEOPLE
2 Greater Noida
housing societies
penalised over
poor waste mgmt
Noida: The Greater
Noida Industrial De-
velopment Authority
(GNIDA) on Thursday
said it has penalised
two group housing so-
cieties over improper
waste management on
their premises.
The action was tak-
en against Galaxy
North Avenue and Vic-
tory One Amayra soci-
eties in Greater Noida
(West) which have
been slapped with Rs
40,400 and Rs 10,200
penalties, respectively,
it said.
“During inspection,
the team found waste
was not being proper-
ly disposed of and in
violation of waste
management rules,”
Public Health Depart-
ment in-charge Salil
Yadav said. —PTI
Over `21 lakh 'unaccounted cash' seized in Noida
Noida: Unaccounted
cash worth over 21
lakh has been recov-
ered from a Porsche-
borne businessman in
Noida ahead of the Ut-
tar Pradesh assembly
polls, officials said on
Thursday.
The businessman
was intercepted near
the Sector 60 police post
in the city on Wednes-
day during checking by
the local Sector 58 po-
lice station and the Stat-
ic Surveillance Team in
a joint operation, the
officials said.
“Over 21 lakh cash
was found in the Por-
sche that was being
driven by a person who
identified himself as
Rohit Awana, a resident
of Noida’s Sector 19.
The car bore a UP regis-
tration number,” Assis-
tant Commissioner of
Police (Noida 2) Ra-
jneesh Verma told news
agency PTI. —PTI
Pictorial book on country’s ‘Unsung
Women freedom fighters’ released
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of State for Cul-
ture Meenakashi Lekhi
released a pictorial
book on India’s Women
Unsung Heroes of Free-
dom Struggle as part of
Azadi ka Mahotsav, in
New Delhi on Thursday
.
The book has been re-
leased in partnership
with Amar Chitra
Katha which is a house-
hold name in India.
Addressing the occa-
sion, Lekhi said that the
book celebrates the
lives of some of the
women who led the
charge and lit the flame
of protest and rebellion
throughout the country
.
It contains the stories
of queens who battled
colonial powers in the
struggle against impe-
rial rule and women
who dedicated and even
laid down their lives for
the cause of the mother-
land, she added.
She further added
that if we go through
the glorious past of In-
dian history , we find
that the Indian culture
was the one which cel-
ebrated women and
there was no place for
gender discrimination.
This is amply evident
from the fact that wom-
en had the courage and
physical strength to
fight like soldiers in the
battlefield.
MoS Meenakashi Lekhi during a book release event in New Delhi.
Be sensitive towards complainants,
develop info network: Gehlot to cops
Naresh Sharma
Shivendra Parmar
Jaipur: Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot on Thursday
chaired a review meet-
ing of the Police depart-
ment wherein Range
IGsanddistrictSPsgave
presentations about
theirrespectiveareason
various aspects con-
cerning crime, law and
order.Duringthereview
meeting, DGP ML Lath-
er also gave a presenta-
tion on the achieve-
mentsof thestatepolice
over the past few
months, while ADG
Crime Ravi Prakash
Mehrada gave a presen-
tation on crime in state.
Notably
, Chief Minis-
ter Gehlot’s police re-
view meeting will con-
tinue on Friday as well.
During the meet, all
range IGs were given a
chance to make a pres-
entation in front of the
CM. Teams of police of-
ficers were formed un-
der the leadership of
different range IGs
whichgavepresentation
about how organised
crime will be stopped in
Jaipur Range.
Similarly, for Kota
range, presentation
was made on how ille-
gal weapons and asso-
ciated crimes will be
handled.
Ajay Bhalla

he annual cal-
endars of
First India
2022 were
l a u n c h e d
amid fanfare
on Thursday
by Jagdeesh Chandra
in a low-profile func-
tion, as per corona pro-
tocol, at Club Haven,
Jaipur. This year, First
India has launched two
calendars and both of
them are equally beau-
tiful. It was a graceful
merging of the tradi-
tional and modernity,
Indian and Western
cultures, the ethnic
and contemporary,
withbeautyallaround.
The Rajasthani cal-
endar showcases in
great elegance the un-
surpassed allure of
our beloved desert
state with each month
a picturesque state-
ment of pulchritude
and exquisiteness. At
the same time, the
beauties of the glam-
our calendar are so
awesome that one
doesn’t feel like turn-
ing the month.
Gaurav Gaur, Ashok
Singh, Nikhil Anand,
Rishee Miglani,
Shaan, Lokesh Shar-
ma, Yogesh Mishra,
Kapil Raj Akanksha
Bhalla, Mona Gautam,
Swati Jangid, Poonam
Sharma and Mannat
Siwach who recently
won the Miss Teen In-
ternational India 2021
title along with many
of the page 3 celebri-
ties of Jaipur attended
the launch as did the
models whose faces
adorn the calendars.
The concept and
styling is by Shaan and
Elite Miss Rajasthan
Director Gaurav Gaur
while the entire shoot
has been done by
Shaan. The design and
print is by Ashok Sin-
gh of Big Boss Studio.
Prashant of Manda-
kani whose traditional
wear has been show-
cased also attended
the event. Elite
Miss Rajasthan,
Glamanand Miss
India, Faspro
Fashion Acade-
my, Style Skool
and KP Produc-
tions supported
the shoot as did
Manmeet Singh.
Moon Bohra,
Aditi Dabhai,
Sunil Parihar,
Manav Golecha,
Aman Singh and
Kishan who all are
closely associated
with the calendars
sent their best wishes.
The exquisite loca-
tions of the shoot are
Sawai Vilas, Rantham-
bore and Chomu
Palace with a couple
of photographs at
some undisclosed
heritage properties
of Rajasthan.
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY
JANUARY 28, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The Annual Calendar of First India 2022 has a dual avatar this year, one of fashion
and glamour and another which exuberantly celebrates and promotes the tradition,
culture and heritage of Rajasthan. Jagdeesh Chandra launched both the calendars
on Thursday at Club Haven, Jaipur!
UNRIVALLED GLAMOUR!
The traditional calendar will not
only promote the culture and
heritage of Rajasthan across the
national and international audi-
ence in a hitherto unique manner
but will also provide Rajasthani girls with a
chance at employment in the national and
international fashion arena. This calendar
will ensure a place and platform for the
rural and young talent from the districts of
Rajasthan on the runways of international
repute.” —JAGDEESH CHANDRA
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
T
—MORE IN CITY
FIRST TOMORROW
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Muskan Kamdar, Swati Jangid, Poonam Sharma, Tanu Choudhary, Akanksha Bhalla, Neelanjana Jangid, Rewati Upadhyay, Mansi Bachani,
Mannat Siwach, Yogesh Mishra, Lokesh Sharma, Nikhil Anand, Rishee Miglani, Ashok Singh, Prashant Poddar, Shaan, Gaurav Gaur, Saurabh Verma, Anita Hada, Mona Gautam,
Aanchal Ajaipal, Soni Kumari, Himakshi Choudhary, Simran Kashyap, Shubdha Panwar and Megha Shyam Soni during the First India Annual Calender 2022 launch
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA MUKESH KIRADOO
(L-R) Tanu, Soni, Akanksha, Swati, Himakshi, Simran, Neelanjana, Simran, Aanchal, Mannat,
Muskan, Shubdha, Rewati, Megha, Poonam, Riya, Angel and Srishti pose with the calendars
(L-R) Riya Rarh Choudhary, Astha Khandelwal and Poonam Sharma
FIRSTINDIAANNUALCALENDER2022

10-11
ETC
FIRST INDIA ANNUAL
CALENDER 2022
A glimpse of the traditional Rajasthani calender with (Standing) L-R: Swati Jangid, Astha Khandelwal,
Himakshi Choudhary, Akanksha Bhalla, Mona Gautam, Shrishti Khatri and Rutvi Tiwari; (Sitting)
L-R: Simran Modi, Radhika Rarh Choudhary, Poonam Sharma, Divisha Paliwal and Muskan Kamdar

26 JAN CELEBRATIONS!
Jagdeesh Chandra unfurled the Tricolour at the First India News channel office on the
morning of January 26, Wednesday. The entire First India family was present in true
patriotic spirit and the entire atmosphere was replete with the fervour of Bharat Mata ki Jai!
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
he end of win-
ter is knock-
ing on our
doors, the sea-
son of juicy
apples and dry skin is
coming to an end. Be-
fore the frosty season
ends, we must rejoice
in this period with our
whole hearts. From de-
licious ‘Gajar Ka Hal-
wa’ to trendy coats,
jackets and scarves;
every winter asset will
become tasteless.
Here we remind you
about some winter ex-
clusive things that you
should not let slip this
season.
Having delicious
warm delicacies: As the
winter comes, it brings
you cups and bowls
filled with delicious
recipes like Hot Choc-
olate, Gajar ka Halwa
and Palak Paneer. No
one wants to miss out on
such mouths watering
edibles, but because of
our busy schedule, we
may miss on enjoying
such recipes.
Bonfire: Winters and
bonfireisthebestcombo
youwillevercomeacross
to. Surrounded by your
lovedonesunderanopen
sky with some soothing
music is the best feeling
ever. Adding up to this,
somewinterspecialdish-
esisabsolutelycherryon
the cake!
Coats, Jackets and
Scarves: ‘Winters with-
out fashion are winters
not lived’. Layering
those Coats, matching
up your Jackets with
shoes; perhaps winters
are the best season for
all the fashion enthusi-
asts. NightDrives:Emp-
ty roads, friends and
‘YunhiChalaChalRahi’
with no decided destina-
tion is itself a mood.
With you enjoying your
best company and your
favourite playlist night
drives are the blessings
from winter. Get out of
your blanket and go on a
Long night drive before
these never-ending cold
nights vanish.
Enjoyingwintersintotality!
T
A
rt is the language
of the soul, which
has carved our
most profound in-
tended emotions and de-
siredconceptsintoabeauti-
ful hieroglyph work of im-
agination with the touch of
magic.
On the occasion of 73rd Re-
public Day various artists
across the country paid
homage to the immortal
martyrsof ourcountryand
farmers through their art.
SAND ART
Sand artist Ajay Rawat
sculpted a colourful sand
art at Ganpati Ground,
Jaipur on the theme of Jai
JawanJaiKisanJaiVigyan
and showed the elixir of
independence prominently
through his sand art.
SCULPTOR ART
Sculptor Artist Mahavir
Bharti from Bharti Shilp
Kala Studio, Jaipur sculpt-
ed a life-size statue of mar-
tyr CDS Bipin Rawat, the
head of the army of our
countrytopaytributetothe
legend on the occasion of
Republic day
.
KALA KUMBH
Huge paintings depicting
the stories of unsung he-
roes of India’s freedom
movement will be exhib-
ited in the national capi-
tal. More than 500 artists
have done the research
and prepared these
paintings scrolls. The
Government of India or-
ganised the Kala Kumbh-
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
to celebrate the 75 years of
India’s independence and
its culture.
OIL PAINTING
Artist Chandra Prakash
Gupta made portraits of
martyrs and gifted them
as token of respect to
their families. Gupta has
made more than 300 por-
traits of martyrs. He was
honoured by the govern-
ment in 2001.
SHADES OF PATRIOTISM!
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
Art is more than just an aesthetic creation. It’s a
passion, movement and the beautiful thing that
happens when we build a strong connection.
Chandra Prakash Gupta painting Rohitash Lamba
Artwork of Mahavir Bharti
The stories of unsung heroes
Artwork of Ajay Rawat
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
elebrity design-
er Bani Pasri-
cha recently
completed 10
years into cele-
brating fashion
in the industry. Follow-
ing the unconventional
path, she has paved a
different way for her-
self on the global front.
And to celebrate these
10 glorious years of
success, she launched
her collection THE
PHARAOH'S, based
on the Egyptian mon-
archs recently. The
concept is based on
empowered women
rulers like Nefertiti
and Cleopatra from
Egyptian monarchs
times when powerful
women uplifted society
for the better and great-
er cause. It was easier
for women of great po-
tential to be in power
during that era. The
entire collection was
seen in royal colours
like hues of black,
white, gold and tur-
quoise with a few piec-
es that have been
hand-painted by the
designer herself.
Her brand's selec-
tive custom pieces
have been adorned
by Bollywood cel-
ebs like Raveena
Tandon, Guru
Randhawa and
Esha Gupta, for the
cover shoot of ce-
lebrity and lifestyle
based magazine FA-
BLOOK.
GLORIOUSYEARS
SUCCESS!
OF
GLORIOUSYEARS
GLORIOUSYEARS
SUCCESS!
SUCCESS!
SUCCESS!
SUCCESS!
SUCCESS!
SUCCESS!
MITRA
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
PARTH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
C
Bani Pasricha
WEDDING BELLS!
LASER LIGHT SHOW!
With the blessings of their friends and
family, Mouni Roy and Suraj Nambiar
tied the knot at their wedding
ceremony on Thursday. Mouni Roy
shared a priceless picture of feeling
blessed, on Instagram and expressed
her love for marrying her best friend I
found him at last.
A beautiful laser light
and drone show was
held on the evening of
Republic Day at Rajpath
Vijay Chowk in New
Delhi. —PHOTO BY
SHAZID CHAUHAN
Jagdeesh Chandra unfurling the Tricolour at the First India
News channel office on Republic Day. Also seen are Senior
Editor Sudhanshu Mathur, Anita Hada. Jinendra Shekhawat,
Nitesh Singh Goyal, Mukesh Sharma and Dinesh Mathur.

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