First india ahmedabad edition-02 november 2020

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In yet
another confession by
the former Congress
MLA admitting that
he was offered money
from the BJP to re-
sign from the party.
The Congress party
on Monday released a
sting video of former
Congress MLA of
Soma Patel in which
it was admitted that
he took Rs 10 crore
from the BJP.
The video, allegedly
released by Congress,
has raised serious ques-
tions as it surfaced on
the last day of the cam-
paign ahead of the poll-
ing scheduled on Tues-
day. The Congress de-
manded a judicial in-
quiry in the case of
money laundering and
demanded judicial in-
quiry from the sitting
judge of the high court
or supreme court. Also,
till the time chief min-
ister Vijay Rupani, BJP
president CR Patil and
home minister Amit
Shah, (whose names
have been heard in the
video, who have alleg-
edly given bribes)
should refrain from the
posts.
In this video, Soma
Ganda Patel has un-
dergone a sting oper-
ation. In the sting op-
eration, Som Ganda is
allegedly talking in
Hindi to a stranger
and is said to have
been bought by giving
money to MLAs. Af-
ter the video went vi-
ral, Congress presi-
dent Amit Chavda
and former president
Modhwadia made se-
rious allegations
against the BJP.
Chavda said in the
video that it was clear
Somabhai accepted to
resign for money. “This
is an example of BJP-
inspired corruption in
which resignations
were paid for before the
Rajya Sabha elections.
The incident should be
investigated and those
responsible should be
prosecuted,” asserted
the president.
On the issue of the
viral video, Arjun
Modhwadia alleged
that the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party had bought
MLAs for money and
tickets. So, only mon-
ey has been dealt with
Somabhai. If the tick-
et deal has not been
done, then he has not
been given a ticket. He
may have been offered
a position as chair-
man of a board corpo-
ration. Turn to P6
Soma Patel took money from BJP & resigned: Cong
A sting video of him surfaces
admitting taking `10 crore
Congress Gujarat President Amit Chawda and Senior leader Arjun Modhwadhiya addressing media
on Sunday at GPCC office in city. (Right) Soma Patel. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
2nd phase of
civic polls: Kota
South tops with
66.43% voting
Jaipur: About 60
per cent votes were
polled in the second
phase of polling for
three municipal cor-
porations of Jaipur
Greater, Jodhpur
South and Kota
South in Rajasthan
on Sunday.According
to election officials,
66.43 per cent polling
was recorded in Kota
South, 58.31 per cent
in Jaipur Greater and
58.76 per cent in
Jodhpur South mu-
nicipal corporation.
Srinagar: Hizbul Muja-
hideen chief Saifullah,
who was involved in
several attacks on the
security forces, was
killed in an encounter
on the outskirts of Sri-
nagar on Sunday, news
agency PTI reported
quoting police officials.
Besides, a suspect
has been taken into cus-
tody and is being ques-
tioned.
“This is a huge suc-
cess for the police and
security forces. This is
not a small achieve-
ment,” Inspector Gen-
eral of Police (IGP),
Kashmir, Vijay Kumar
told reporters at the en-
counter site.
Saifullah, who took
charge of the outfit af-
ter the killing of Riyaz
Naikoo in May this
year, was one of the
most wanted militants
in the Kashmir Valley,
an official said.
Earlier in the day,
militants opened fire on
the forces while they
were conducting search
operations in Rangreth
area near the old air-
field following specific
information about the
presence of militants.
The forces retaliated
the fire which resulted
in a gunbattle.
Addressing reporters
near the encounter site,
IGP Kumar told PTI
that they had received
information that Saiful-
lah had come here from
south Kashmir and was
hiding in a house.
“So the security forc-
es cordoned off the area
and an operation was
launched. In the ex-
change of firing, one
militant was killed. Ac-
cording to our source,
we are 95 per cent sure
he is Dr Saifullah. We
are retrieving the body
and it will be identi-
fied,” Kumar was quot-
ed as saying by PTI.
Incriminating mate-
rial, including arms
and ammunition, was
recovered from the en-
counter site, he added.
Kumar further in-
formed that the net-
work of J-K Police has
become stronger and
police get information
about any militant en-
tering the city.
HIZBUL MUJAHIDEEN CHIEF KILLED,
MILITANT ARRESTED IN ENCOUNTER
“MAJOR SUCCESS”
Army jawans rush towards encounter site in Rangreth area, in Srinagar on Sunday.
Rajasthan’s first dalit Chief Secy
Niranjan Arya takes charge
Thrown off-track with consensus,
agitated Gurjars still block rail tracks
Aditi Nagar
I
n a masterstroke
move and part of his
popular social engi-
neering, a towering
chief minister Ashok
Gehlot surprised every-
one by appointing a 1989
batch Rajasthan cadre
IAS officer Niranjan
Arya as the new Chief
Secretary, by supersed-
ing ten IAS officers,
which has become a nor-
mal practice these days
in many of the states to
promote the talent and
sidelining the ‘dead
weight’. Arya is the first
dalit officer in the his-
tory of Rajasthan, who
has been elevated to this
coveted assignment by a
sensitiveChief Minister.
Arya’s appointment has
been welcomed almost
by all sections of society
includingtheopposition
and the bureaucracy.
Being a rural back-
ground officer from Pali
district, Arya enjoys the
goodwill and reputation
of being a ‘son of the
soil’ and an ‘NREGA’
category officer in a
‘creamy layer’ IAS cad-
re. By choosing a meri-
torious and honest Jat
IPS officer ML Lathar
as the next DGP of the
state, a dalit IAS Arya’s
appointment was the
next major step in the
direction of Gehlot’s so-
cial engineering and
‘balancing act’ in the
bureaucracy. In this
way, under the leader-
ship of Gehlot, the state
has a very powerful bu-
reaucratic combination
of Arya and Lathar to
ensuregoodgovernance
in the civil and police
administration. Now in
the secretariat building,
a Niranjan Arya-Kul-
deep Ranka team will be
calling the shots to im-
plement Gehlot’s devel-
opment agenda.
AfterArya’sdeparture
fromFinance,acarefully
chosenchoiceAkhilAro-
ra will now take over the
charge of finance.
Ashwini Yadav/
Deepak Lavania
Bharatpur: Dismissing
the agreement made on
Saturday between a
Gurjar delegation and a
cabinet sub-committee,
the Gurjar Aarakshan
Sangharsh Samiti led by
Colonel Kirori Singh
Bainsla revived agita-
tion on Sunday.
A large number of the
community youths
blocked railway tracks
near Bayana as well as
roads after Bainsla gave
a call for the agitation.
This time, Kirori
Bainsla’s son Vijay Sin-
gh Bainsla is leading the
agitation and sources
said that he is in the
mood for a longer agita-
tion this time.
Bainsla had given a
call to the community
peopletoreachAddavil-
lage on Sunday and as
per the call, people gath-
ered at Pilupura. Kirori
Singh Bainsla and his
son spoke to the sports
minister Ashok Chan-
dana over phone and
asked him to come to
Pilupura to hold talks.
Chandana was pre-
sent in the meeting in
Jaipur on Saturday
where a consensus over
14 points was reached.
After the telephonic
talk with Bainsla, the
minister left Jaipur to
meet him but neither
Kirori Bainsla Turn to P6
Shah to boost morale
of jawans on Diwali
eve at Kutch border
First India Bureau
Bhuj: Weeks before Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah’s November
12 likely visit to Kutch
border, the Border Se-
curity Force (BSF) Di-
rector General has al-
ready landed in Kutch
and is meeting with
commanding officers
of the western region
while taking stock of
preparations.
According to sources,
BSG Director General
Rakesh Asthana, Guja-
rat cadre IPS officer is
in Kutch and reviewing
the situation on the
western border. During
the visit, he will also
prepare a detailed plan
for Shah’s arrival.
Shah’sdetailedpro-
gramme is awaited,
but sources said
after spending
time with
Jawans
Turn to P6
Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya accompanied by wife Sangeeta
Arya (left) taking charge on Sunday.
Protesters from Gurjar community sitting on railway tracks near
Bayana while pressing for their demands on Sunday.
PAK MAKES GILGIT-BALTISTAN
PROVINCE, INDIA PROTESTS
Islamabad: Despite
protests in the country,
Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan on Sunday
officially announced
the provincial status of
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Khan used the occasion
to blame India for the
Shia-Sunni sectarian
violence in the country,
saying “the most racist
government” was in
power there.New Delhi
had strongly protested
Pakistan’s move to
make GB its fifth
province and to hold
legislative elections
there later this month,
asserting that Jammu
and Kashmir and
Ladakh, including Gilgit
and Baltistan, are an in-
tegral part of India, and
Pakistan had “no locus
standi on territories
illegally and forcibly oc-
cupied it.” GB, formerly
Northern Areas, was
earlier governed, with
only limited autonomy,
by the “Gilgit-Baltistan
Empowerment and
Self-Governance Order
of 2009”.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 338
CENTRE IS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO
CHECK “LOVE JIHAD” CASES, SAYS
HARYANA CM MANOHAR LAL KHATTARP5 P6
OPPOSITION MUST BELIEVE THAT BJP
CAN BE DEFEATED AND BIHAR POLLS
WOULD PROVE THE SAME, SAYS PC
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
A PRECEDENT
It has become a precedent in our nation
that the Prime Minister and Union Home
Minister spends time with those jawans,
who are deputed in border areas and can’t
visit families during festivals.
Saifullah was one of the most wanted terrorists in J&K involved in several attacks
18°C - 34°C

NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A
school board mem-
ber of the
Ahmedabad Munic-
ipal Corporation
(AMC) has alleged
that the surge in
number of dropouts
this year was due to
administrative mis-
management.
In a letter to AMC
chief Mukesh Kumar,
civic body –run
school board member
Ilias Qureshi asked
the top boss to look
into the issue of
schools being shut in
the name of mainte-
nance work.
Qureshi, in the
letter, has appealed
to the commission-
er not to shut
schools by citing re-
pair or mainte-
nance as the rea-
son. “Around eight
schools across the
city were asked to
vacate this year,
stating that the
schools needed to
undergo repairs.
Some of these
schools need basic
repair work, in or-
der to function
smoothly,” he as-
serted.
He stated that the
administration’s en-
gineering depart-
ment had served such
evacuation notices to
schools. “I want to
know the parameters
taken into account
while declaring a
building as ‘rickety’.
Schools in Danilimda
were vacated in 2016,
but till date no repair
work has been done
in them. As a result,
the dropout rate has
increased this year,”
he alleged.
Due to the misman-
agement of school
administrations, a
few buildings have
become gambling
dens, he said. It is to
be noted that recently
more than 40 liquor
bottles were recov-
ered from an AMC-
run school. “For me,
vacating schools
seems like a well-
planned conspiracy
to take away kids of a
certain community
from education,” he
said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On the
last day of cam-
paigning ahead of
bypolls for eight
state legislative as-
sembly seats, work-
ing president of the
Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee
(GPCC) Hardik Patel
held a meeting at the
Morbi constituency
where he alleged
that the BJP govern-
ment had been play-
ing with the senti-
ments of farmers.
Patel said that be-
fore the 2014 general
election, Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi
vowed to set a mini-
mum selling price
(MSP) for cotton at
Rs1,500 per 20kg.
“The BJP party has
always promoted in-
dustrialists and busi-
nessmen. They have
prioritized industries
over agriculture. In
2014, before the gen-
eral election, he
(Modi) had said that
farmers will receive
Rs1,500 for 20 kg of
the cotton harvest,
but our innocent
farmers did not take
into consideration
that the money prom-
ised to them would be
received for 20 kg or
40 kg of produce. The
farmers are getting
paid Rs700 to Rs750
per 20 kg and they re-
gret casting their
vote for the BJP,” Pa-
tel asserted.
Patel compared Mor-
bi Congress candidate
Jayantilal Patel to
Lord Ram and said
that he possessed qual-
ities of the Hindu god,
who was all set to van-
quish all BJP candi-
dates in the fray much
like Lanka king Ra-
van. Patel also com-
pared female voters
with Shabri, an ardent
devotee of Lord Ram.
The working pres-
ident also called on
the public to help
Congress win the
by-elections with a
lead of at least
20,000 votes.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will launch the
‘Ropax’ ferry service
between Ghogha in
Bhavnagar and Hazi-
ra in Surat November
8, which will reduce
the 370-km road dis-
tance between the
two places to 60-km
by sea route, Union
minister Mansukh
Mandaviya said on
Sunday.
Modi will flag off the
service, to carry both
passengers and heavy
vehicles between the
two places located in
Saurashtra and south
Gujarat, through a vir-
tual conference sched-
uled to be held at 11 am
on November 8, Man-
daviya added.
“A terminal has
been constructed at
Hazira, and all prepa-
rations are complet-
ed. The service will
begin on November 8,
and booking of tick-
ets will start from to-
morrow,” he said.
The Ropax ferry ve-
hicle can transport up
to 550 passengers, 30
trucks, seven smaller
trucks, and 100 two-
wheelers in one trip. It
will be an all-weather
service which will op-
erate all 12 months ir-
respective of the
weather conditions and
high tide.
“The coast of Sau-
rashtra is full of poten-
tial. There are a num-
ber of cement, steel and
ship breaking indus-
tries, with markets in
south India. Through
sea connectivity, dis-
tance and time can be
saved, and such a ser-
vice will play a big role
in industrial develop-
ment,” he said.
This will be impor-
tant to reduce road,
railway congestion,
reduce traffic acci-
dents and control pol-
lution,” he added.
“We have identified,
mapped and studied the
potential of destina-
tions across the 7,500-
km Indian sea coast and
are going to start simi-
lar services on many
destinations across the
country,” the Union
minister said.
“On November 8,
Modiji will also launch
similar services in
Kochi (in Kerala), one
on the Brahmaputra
River in Assam, and
one joining the North
East to Kolkata. A ser-
vice connecting Karim-
ganj in Assam over the
Barak River to Bangla-
desh will also be
launched,” he said.
The new Ropax ser-
vice in Gujarat comes
after a Ro-Ro (roll on-
roll off) ferry service
between Ghogha and
Dahej in Bharuch dis-
trict, launched by the
PM in October 2017, was
suspended last year due
to siltation and unavail-
ability of adequate
draft to carry the vessel.
Mandaviya said the
Ro-Ro service was af-
fected due to siltation
caused by flood in the
Narmada River con-
necting the sea, and
now only a small ves-
sel requiring limited
draft and carrying
only passengers will
operate between
Ghogha and Dahej.
The union minister
seemed hopeful that the
use of the country’s
coastal belt will help de-
crease the number of
road accidents and save
lives. It will also contrib-
ute towards significant-
ly decreasing fuel con-
sumption on roadways.
The state govern-
ment also plans to start
Ropax service between
Kutch and Hazira from
either the Mundra or
the Kandla port. It will
not only cut down on
the commute between
Kutch and Mumbai, but
also save crores of ru-
pees in fuel each day.
‘AMC vacates schools for repairs,
but never bothers to follow through’
Students studying at an AMC-run school in Ahmedabad.
FARMERSREPENTCASTING
VOTESFORBJP:HARDIKPATEL
GPCC working prez Hardik Patel.
 The GPCC
working prez said
that prior to the
2014 general elec-
tion, PM Modi
had vowed to set
MSP for cotton at
`1,500 per 20kg
LASTYEAR,THERO-ROSER-
VICEHADTOBESUSPENDED
DUETOLACKOFADEQUATE
DRAFTTOCARRYTHEVES-
SELANDSILTATION
PM TO LAUNCH ‘ROPAX’ FERRY
SERVICE BETWEEN GHOGHA & HAZIRA
Roll On-Roll Off Ferry and Passenger Services (Ropax). —FILE PHOTOS
—FilePhoto

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
First India Bureau
Bhuj: The state forest
department sealed 20
borewells of Archean
Chemical Industries
Private Limited in
Kutch district, amid
allegations of a 25
kilometre-long ille-
gal water pipeline on
forest reserve land.
The department has
also issued a notice to
the company asking
it to clarify the mat-
ter and explain why a
fine should not be ex-
acted from the organ-
ization.
Sources from the de-
partment said that the
company has been
fetching underground
water from 20 borewells
to run its plants situat-
ed near the big Rann of
Kutch since 2014-15. In
order to draw this wa-
ter into the plant, the
company had laid down
a 25 kilometre-long
pipeline, which was
built without securing
prior permission from
the state water resourc-
es or the forest depart-
ments.
With a 350 mm radi-
us, the pipeline draws
approximately 1.5 crore
litres of water daily. “It
was completely illegal
and in violation of the
Central government’s
norms to draw under-
ground water. If the
company fails to satisfy
the forest department
then it will be liable to
pay huge penalties as it
has been drawing water
for the last six years,”
said sources.
Nisarg Patel of the
Kutch (West) Water
Supplies Board, stat-
ed, “The company has
been drawing water
from the borewells il-
legally since long. A
detailed report has
also been submitted
by the board to the
state government.”
He added, “The or-
ganization had hired
a private contractor
to dig these borewells
and no state agency
was involved in it.”
“The pipeline passes
through a forest reserve
as well as the Banni
grasslands. Therefore,
a team from Gandhina-
gar had come down
here to check out the
borewells and then seal
them,” Tushar Patel,
Deputy Conservator of
Forest (Kutch West).
He added, “It cov-
ers three kilometers
of the forest reserve
and seven kilometers
of the grasslands.
And yet, no permis-
sion was sought by
the company from the
state forest depart-
ment.”
Sources said that if
the verdict is against
the company, it will be
liable to pay crores in
penalty for the viola-
tions.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A sharp
decline in the num-
ber of COVID-19 cas-
es was witnessed in
the state over the
past few days.
Around 10 days ago,
the state added 1,137
new cases, a number
that dropped down to
860 cases on Sunday.
Therefore, the ratio
of discharged pa-
tients is more than
new nCoV cases.
The state has so far
reported 1,73,804 posi-
tive cases and 3,724
deaths due to the vi-
rus. A total of 1,57,247
patients have been dis-
charged and as on Sun-
day, there are 12,833
active cases, of which,
56 patients are on ven-
tilator support.
On Sunday, a total of
1,128 patients were
discharged across the
state. Five deaths were
reported in total due
to the novel coronavi-
rus infection.
According to the
COVID-19 bulletin
issued by the state
Health and Family
Welfare Department,
the recovery rate
stands at 90.47%. In
the past 24 hours, a
total of 51,084 tests
were conducted in
the state. The high-
est number of posi-
tive cases were re-
ported in Surat
(220), followed by
Ahmedabad (177),
Vadodara (117), Ra-
jkot (82).
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The po-
litical campaigns at
eight state assembly
constituencies up for
by-elections culmi-
nated on Sunday af-
ternoon. Now, the fi-
nal day before voting
takes place on Tues-
day, candidates will
make final prepara-
tions for a high turn-
out in their favour.
Although the by-elec-
tions are being held in
Gujarat, two neighbour-
ing union territories
Daman-Diu and Dadra
& Nagar Haveli, have
imposed prohibition on
alcohol effective from
Sunday until Tuesday
evening, when voting
concludes in the state.
The Dang collector
Narsing Damor has also
barred tourists from
visiting Saputara due to
elections in the district.
All hotels and restau-
rants will remain closed
for two more days.
As for the decision
of the Union Territo-
ries (UTs), prohibi-
tion on liquor sale
was implemented be-
cause Kaprada con-
stituency is located
near Dadra & Nagar
Haveli, Dang district
has proximity to Da-
man, while Dhari is
just 86 kilometres
from Diu. In order to
avoid smuggling of
liquor into the state
on the eve of by-elec-
tions, prohibition
was imposed by au-
thorities.
On the final day of
the campaign, constitu-
ency incharges from
both parties pushed
their workers hard to
woo voters and win the
mandate. In Karjan,
Minister of State for
Home Pradipsinh Jade-
ja led a road show for
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) candidate
Akshay Patel.
Jadeja told mediaper-
sons that he was confi-
dent that the BJP will
register wins in all
eight constituencies. He
added that Patel would
win the Karjan seat
with a margin of 10 to
15,000 votes.
Meanwhile, Leader
of Opposition Paresh
Dhanani spent the day
in Dhari to campaign
on behalf of party can-
didate Suresh Kotadia.
State forest dept seals 20 borewells of Kutch company
SLOWING DOWN: State records
only 860 new COVID-19 cases
Assembly bypoll campaign ends,
prohibition in adjoining two UTs
l Archean Chemicals has been accused
of laying down an illegal 25 km pipeline
through a forest reserve & Banni grasslands
CONSEQUENCES
The company may be liable to pay crores if found violating norms.
OFFERINGS TO GOD
Members of the Ahmedabad Home Guards Association conducted a havan (religious ritual) for the good health of people
suffering from mental illnesses at the Government Mental Hospital in Shahibaug area of Ahmedabad on Sunday.
After 1.3K cases in a single day, the state’s numbers fell below
the 1K mark.
BJP candidate from Limbdi constituency filing his candidature for the bypolls. —FILE PHOTO
After PM Narendra Modi
launched the seaplane service
in Ahmedabad on Saturday,
six passengers boarded the
first seaplane flight to Kevadia
from Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati
Riverfront on Sunday. A
large crowd gathered at the
spot to take pictures of the
historic flight, including family
members of the passengers.
IPL betting racket
busted in Surat
80nCoVcasesreported
inashramforthedestitute
First India Bureau
Surat: The Katargam
police booked two
persons along with a
diamond artisan for
allegedly betting on
an Indian Premier
League (IPL) match
illegally.
After receiving a tip
off, police conducted a
raid on the spot. How-
ever, the main bookie
had absconded from
the scene, according to
police officials. The
bet was placed on a
match between Mum-
bai Indians and Delhi
Capitals.
As per police re-
ports, the accused
had bet on the match
through the EXCH99
website. The main
accused used to log
into the website
through an ID pass-
word given by the
bookie.
Police also seized
Rs15,120 in cash and a
mobile phone in the
raid. The accused, Ma-
hesh, used to fix
matches by calling an-
other bookie, Sumit
Gol, from Amreli, po-
lice officials said.
First India Bureau
Surat: As many as 80
out of 256 destitute
people living in the
Aashirwad Manav
Mandir run by Ma-
nav Seva Charitable
Trust near Dhoran-
Pardi village in
Kamrej have tested
positive for novel
coronavirus. Around
20 people have been
admitted to New
Civil Hospital (NCH)
for treatment while
the remaining 60
have been quaran-
tined in the ashram
itself. Two physi-
cians have been
appointed to moni-
tor the condition of
people living in the
ashram.
Jairam Bhagat, ad-
ministrator of Aa-
shirwad Manav
Mandir, said, “COV-
ID-19 tests were being
conducted in the ash-
ram for the past two
days and the report
came as a shock to
all those who tested
positive. All the people
living in this ashram
are destitute and if
they need any treat-
ment, they will be tak-
en to NCH.”
As political wooing comes to a conclusion, Daman-Diu,
Dadra & Nagar Haveli impose ban on liquor for two days
MAIDEN TAKE-OFF
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 338 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
PULWAMA: IT’S
MODI’S TURN TO
ROAST CONG
DOUBLE YUVRAJ
JIBE & ASSURANCE
ON CHHATH
riticisingPrimeMinisterNarendra
Modi on the Pulwama attack has
backfired on the Congress after a
Pakistan minister admitted to his
country’s role in the car-bombing
of a CRPF convoy on February 14, 2019, in
which 40 jawans were killed. While Pakistan-
based Jaish-e-Mohammed took responsibility
for the attack, Pakistan had then condemned
the attack. Pakistan’s bluff was called by none
other than the federal minister for science and
technology, Fawad Chaudhary, who said in the
National Assembly, “Our success in Pulwama
is a success of this nation…Humne Hindustan
ko ghar me ghus ke maaraa hai.” This gave
Prime Minister Modi to roast Rahul Gandhi
whose party found the prime minister’s “mis-
placedpriorities”onthatday“shocking”.Modi
was busy shooting for a film in the Corbett Na-
tionalParktillfourhoursaftertheattack.Con-
gress found other lapses to lash out at Modi.
Now that Fawad Chaudhary has said that Pa-
kistan was responsible for the terror act, Modi
tore into the Congress during his visit to Guja-
rat and Bihar. On Saturday he said in Gujarat
that those who resorted to ugly politics during
a difficult time have been exposed. While cam-
paigning for Bihar’s second phase of elections,
Modi used the Pulwama tragedy in which two
of the40jawanskilledwerefromBihar,forelec-
toralgains.Speakingatarally,thePMsaidthat
the admission by Fawad “has unmasked our
opponents” who did not care for the lives of
“many sons of Bihar” who were killed in the
suicideattack.Modithencautionedtheelector-
ate from voting for his opponents.
hestagewassetforthesecondphase
of polling on Tuesday. Hectic cam-
paigning saw Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi launch a vicious attack
on leaders of RJD-Congress com-
bineinfourback-to-backelectionrallies.Tejash-
vi Yadav, who is taking on the prime minister
and the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Ku-
mar single-handedly, addressed about a dozen
meetings. The prime minister called the Rahul
Gandhi-Tejashvi duo “double, double Yuvraj”
jibe who would take Bihar back to jungle raj,
while the “double engine” government of BJP
and JD-U would ensure the development of the
state. The sole aim of the princes, Modi said, is
to secure their thrones. He described Tejashwi
asthe“Yuvrajof junglerajinBihar”andRahul
as “one who failed in Uttar Pradesh”. In re-
sponse, Tejashwi said as prime minister he
should have spoken about the special package
forthestate,unemployment,andhunger”.Modi
struckanemotionalchordwhenheassured“my
mothers need not worry” about Chhath festivi-
tiesas“thissonissittinginDelhitotakecareof
their needs”. How, if one may ask?
IN-DEPTH
C
T
record 90 million Americans
have already voted which
makes it 65% of the votes of the
2016 presidential elections. A
clear indicator of deep engage-
ment and interest in the most
consequential elections in re-
cent US history, as defined by
many analysts.
Indian Americans are about
2.6 millions American citizens
thus only 1 percent of the reg-
istered voters. But their politi-
cal involvement this time is
unprecedented. ‘Coming of
age’ as described by many. The
community is gaining increas-
ing importance too.
Some groups may be vigor-
ously campaigning for Biden
but for the first time there is a
strong undercurrent amongst
Desi groups to promote Trump
too. An emphatic statement of
changing Desi mindset.
Organisations like Hindu
Americans for Biden or Indian
Americans for Biden should be
seen as ongoing identity contes-
tations in the US but I interpret
these as growing insecurity of
democrats about the Indian
American votes. The tilt which
has been created by ‘Howdy
Modi’ in Houston and Namaste
Trump in India is evident and
is in favour of Trump.
Actually, the Indian Ameri-
can vote base has gone through
a major shift compared to the
2016 elections as a major pro-
portion of Indian American
voters are now internally sup-
porting Trump. Figures al-
ready indicate that trump’s
popularity has increased by
28% since 2016 in the commu-
nity. A poll by Indiaspora and
API data reveals that Biden is
still supported by 54% of Indi-
an Americans. But it’s interest-
ing to note that around the
same time in 2016 Hillary Clin-
ton was supported by 77% and
Obama had 84% of this support
share. The clear implication of
this trend analysis is increas-
ing vote for Trump from the
Indian American community.
Beyond that, Biden’s cosmet-
ic appreciation of the Indian
community and Harris project-
ing a ‘reluctant’ Indian connec-
tion is not impressive enough,
whereas Trump’s attempt to
connect with the Indian com-
munity looks honest and more
strategic. Sharing a stage with
PM Modi in Howdy Modi was
the strongest message of recog-
nition and affection depicted
by any American President.
PM Modi’s developmental and
anti-terror agenda is shared
and supported by the Trump
administration. Likewise, the
American initiative to curtail
China coincides with Indian
right-wing philosophy and
thus receives the support of
the Hindu groups too. The In-
dian community is naturally
and understandably attracted
to this joint agenda which has
been undoubtedly initiated and
nurtured by Trump. Now, if
this influences the indecisive
voters too support Trump
might even reach beyond deci-
sive 30%.
The Desi mindset is absorb-
ing, analysing, and undergoing
a Paradigm shift. Trump who
is generally painted as being
blatant anti-immigrant is now
being re-evaluated. As prevent-
ing illegal immigrants makes
sense especially in difficult
times like these and so does
stimulating economic activity
against the Cancel Culture of
democrats. Strong economic
recovery and revival has sup-
ported Trump’s claim of deliv-
ery and conventional democrat
supporting Indian American
community is more than con-
vinced that promoting growth
and enterprise has worked in
their favour. Thus Trump could
be a better choice.
Many Indian Americans are
enamoured by PM Modi’s stand
on Kashmir and CAA and are
not happy about democratic
stand on Indian internal mat-
ters. 6 democratic controlled
City councils passing an anti-
India resolution opposing CAA
was a major psychological jolt
for the Indians who migrated
in early 2000 and have seen the
terrorism in Kashmir. They are
also tired of the Global preach-
ing policy of human rights fol-
lowed by democrats.
Trump’s effort to curtail
China and PM Modi is a genu-
ine effort to build an economic
strategic and comprehensive
partnership with the USA has
influenced many analytical
minds in Silicon Valley too.
Modi-Trump combination
looks attractive, reliable, and
result-oriented and extremely
democracy driven too.
Whereas Biden Harris alli-
ance with suspected Chinese
links, with Global preaching at-
titude on human rights appears
dated and suspicious. Indian
spirit of an enterprise doesn’t
connect with an authoritarian
state, the core element of demo-
crat philosophy. Thus the dis-
tance was expected at some
point which now is accelerating
in post covid china resistant
world. Thus though a bit, late
and reluctant the shift towards
Republicans is evident.
Most Hindu Americans are
upset with the democrats.
Biden supposedly wanting to
teach Islamic theology in
schools and Harris appearing
in Durga attire in a poster was
not welcomed by Hindu Ameri-
cans. And latest caste conversa-
tion in media spaces about dis-
crimination based on caste in
India are some incidents that
provoke Hindu Americans to
strongly oppose democrats and
thus choose Trump. The latest
2+2 summit reconfirms
Trump’s faith in India. Again a
psychological signal with per-
fect timing. In this time of un-
certainty, Desi fancy might
work for Trump.
WHY ‘DESI’ MIGHT
INCLINE TOWARDS TRUMP
A
The Indian
American vote
base has gone
through a
major shift
compared to the
2016 elections
as a major
proportion of
Indian
American
voters are now
internally
supporting
Trump. Figures
already
indicate that
trump’s
popularity has
increased by
28% since 2016
in the
community
The Desi mindset is
absorbing, analysing,
and undergoing a
paradigm shift. Trump
who is generally
painted as being
blatant anti-
immigrant is now
being re-evaluated.
ith the setting
of the sun and
the onset of po-
lar darkness,
the Arctic
Ocean would normally be
crusted with sea ice along
the Siberian coast by now.
But this year, the water is
still open.
I have watched the re-
gion’s transformations
since the 1980s as an Arctic
climate scientist and, since
2008, as director of the Na-
tional Snow and Ice Data
Center. I can tell you, this
is not normal. There is so
much more heat in the
ocean now than there used
to be that the pattern of au-
tumn ice growth has been
completely disrupted.
To understand what is
happening to the sea ice
this year and why it is a
problem, let us look back at
the summer and into the
Arctic Ocean itself.
Siberia’s summer
The summer melt season
in the Arctic started early.
A Siberian heatwave in
June pushed air tempera-
tures over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit (About 38 de-
grees Celsius) at Verkhoy-
ansk, Russia, for the first
time on record, and unu-
sual heat extended over
much of the Arctic for
weeks.
The Arctic as a whole
this past summer was at its
warmest since at least
1979, when satellite meas-
urements started provid-
ing data allowing for full
coverage of the Arctic.
With that heat, large ar-
eas of sea ice melted out
early, and that melting
launched a feedback pro-
cess: The loss of reflective
sea ice exposed dark open
ocean, which readily ab-
sorbs the sun’s heat, pro-
moting even more ice melt.
The Northern Sea Route,
along the Russian coast,
was essentially free of ice
by the middle of July. That
may be a dream for ship-
ping interests, but it is bad
news for the rest of the
planet.
Warmth sneaks in
underwater
The warm summer is only
part of the explanation for
this year’s unusual sea ice
levels.
Streams of warmer wa-
ter from the Atlantic Ocean
flow into the Arctic at the
Barents Sea. This warmer,
saltier Atlantic water is
usually fairly deep under
the more buoyant Arctic
water at the surface. Lately,
however, the Atlantic wa-
ter has been creeping up.
That heat in the Atlantic
water is helping to keep ice
from forming and melting
existing sea ice from below.
It is a process called “At-
lantification”. The ice is
now getting hit both from
the top by a warming at-
mosphere and at the bot-
tom by a warming ocean. It
is a real double whammy.
The warm summer is
only part of the explana-
tion for this year’s unusual
sea ice levels. Streams of
warmer water from the At-
lantic Ocean flow into the
Arctic at the Barents Sea.
This warmer, saltier Atlan-
tic water is usually fairly
deep under the more buoy-
ant Arctic water at the sur-
face. Lately, however, the
Atlantic water has been
creeping up. That heat in
the Atlantic water is help-
ing to keep ice from form-
ing and melting existing
sea ice from below.
Source: The Conversation
The Arctic freeze is unseasonably late this year
W
This past summer,
the region was at
its warmest since
at least 1979,
when satellite
measurements
started providing
data
Sever the ignorant doubt
in your heart with the
sword of self-knowledge.
Observe your discipline.
Arise. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Amit Shah @AmitShah
Best wishes to my sisters &
brothers of Kerala on ‘Kerala Piravi
day’. The state is blessed with
mesmerising culture and beauty.
People of Kerala have been playing
an important role all over the world
in various ﬁelds, especially in health
and education.
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
Further enhancing passenger
convenience, Railways is adding
753 services in Mumbai from 2nd
November onwards. This will take
the total number of services in
Mumbai suburban to 2,773, and
pave the way for safer travel.
DR. JYOTI
KIRAN SHUKLA
EX. CHAIRPERSON OF 5TH
STATE FINANCE COMMISSION

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
http://bit.ly/whatsappahm
Telegram:
https://t.me/firstindiaahmedabad
Click the above link☝ & subscribe us on your
preferred platform.

Hajipur: Slamming
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi for Pulwama at-
tack remarks, Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
President Jagat
Prakash Nadda said
that Congress has now-
adays become “Paki-
stan’s spokesperson”.
Nadda hit out at Con-
gress leaders including
Rahul Gandhi’s state-
ment “who benefitted
the most from the (Pul-
wama) attack” made
earlier this year.
The BJP leader’s re-
marks came in the wake
of admission by a Paki-
stan Minister that his
country was responsi-
ble for the Pulwama ter-
ror attack in which 40
CRPF personnel were
killed. Nadda also ex-
pressed confidence
about NDA getting a
two-thirds majority in
Bihar assembly polls
and said even if the BJP
gets more seats, “Nitish
Kumar will still be our
leader”. People remem-
ber Lalu Yadav’s “mis-
governance” and Nitish
Kumar’s “good govern-
ance” and they want
development. —ANI
New Delhi: Wayanad
Member of Parliament
Rahul Gandhi on Sun-
day wished the people
of Kerala on the occa-
sion of the state’s 64th
formation day, saying
that he hopes the south-
ern state moves forward
on the path of develop-
ment by upholding
democratic and secular
values.
“On the 64th anniver-
sary of the formation
of united Kerala, good
luck to the state and the
Malayalees. Let Kerala
move forward on the
path of development by
upholding democratic
and secular values.
Happy Birthday Kerala!
#Keralapiravi2020,” the
Congress leader wrote
on Twitter (roughly
translated from Malay-
alam). Kerala was
formed on November 1,
1956, by integrating
Travancore, Cochin,
and Malabar.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi also extend-
ed greetings to the peo-
ple of Kerala on the oc-
casion of “Kerala Pira-
vi Day”, also known as
Kerala formation day.
“Kerala Piravi day
wishes to wonderful
people of Kerala, who
have always made indel-
ible contributions to In-
dia’s growth. Kerala’s
natural beauty has
made it most popular
destination, drawing
people from all over the
world. Praying for Kera-
la’s continuous pro-
gress,” he tweeted. —ANI
INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
‘JOIN 10 HAFTE 10 BAJE 10
MINUTE ANTI-DENGUE DRIVE’
New Delhi: On the ninth
week of the ‘10 Hafte 10
Baje 10 Minute’ anti-den-
gue campaign, Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
on Sunday appealed to
the citizens to join the
campaign. CM Kejriwal
said that cases of dengue
have gone down in Delhi
and no dengue-related
death has taken place this
year. “Today is the 9th
Sunday of the ongoing
campaign against dengue.
I changed the water ac-
cumulated at my house.
The cases of dengue
have reduced even more
and no dengue-related
death has taken place in
Delhi this year. Delhi has
again defeated dengue.
#10Hafte10Baje10Minute
Har Ravivaar, Dengue Par
Vaar,” Delhi CM tweeted.
‘NORTH BENGAL ISSUES TOO
WILL BE SOLVED LIKE ART 370’
Siliguri: Like the two major issues of country -
Article 370 and construction of Ram Mandir - the
long-term issues of North Bengal will also be
solved constitutionally, West Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar said. “The two major issues
of the country -- abrogation of Article 370 and
construction of Ram Mandir -- have been settled.
North Bengal also has some long-term issues,
which will be solved constitutionally with a futur-
istic point of view,” said the governor who arrived
in Siliguri on Saturday.
WOMAN, MINOR DAUGHTERS
KILL ‘ALCOHOLIC’ MAN IN UP
Noida: The wife and two minor daughters of a
sanitation worker were apprehended for allegedly
killing him, a day after his body was found in a
park in Noida, police said. According to ofﬁcials,
the man’s wife and daughters were upset with
him being alcoholic and not mending his ways
which led them to strangulate him to death. The
body of Anil Kumar, 50, was found lying on a cot
in the park next to a slum near Morna village by
locals, with the police earlier suspecting he died
of liquor consumption.
‘RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA HAS
COME UNDER SEVERE STRESS’
New Delhi: India-China
ties are under “severe
stress” and normalcy
can be restored only if
bilateral pacts on border
management are re-
spected in their entirety,
Indian foriegn minister S.
Jaishankar said Saturday.
“To restore normalcy,
agreements between the
two countries must be
respected scrupulously
in their entirety. Where
the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) is concerned, any
attempt to unilaterally
change the status quo is
unacceptable,” Jaishankar
said while delivering
the Sardar Patel Memo-
rial Lecture on the theme
“India and the post-Covid
world.” “Noting that ties
with China had been sta-
ble for three decades.”
‘JUNGLE RAJ LEADERS WILL PUSH BIHAR IN DARK’Motihari : Alleging
that the “leaders of jun-
gle raj “ have come to-
gether with the sup-
porters of “Naxalism”
and “ tukde-tukde
gang”, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sun-
day urged the people of
the state to be aware
that if the Grand Alli-
ance wins, it will again
usher in an “era of vio-
lence”.
“This time for Bihar
elections, leaders of
jungle raj (Rashtriya
Janata Dal or RJD) have
come together with the
supporters of Naxalism
and tukde-tukde gang.
If given a chance, they
will again push the
state of Bihar into the
dark era of violence.
Therefore, people of Bi-
har have to be aware of
them,” PM Modi said at
the rally in Motihari
here. The Grand Alli-
ance in Bihar compris-
es of the RJD and Con-
gress. He added that
sugar mills and other
industries had closed
down during the jungle
raj in the state.
“If those jungle raj
leaders had ever been
worried about you, then
Bihar would not have
lagged behind in the
race of development.
The truth is they nei-
ther cared for you be-
fore nor do they care
about you now. They are
only worried about hid-
ing their benami (ille-
gal) property,” he said.
The rival political
parties term Lalu Pras-
ad Yadav-led RJD’s 15-
year rule in the state as
“jungle raj”.
“It is important for
youthtogetemployment
in Bihar itself. Who can
get this done? Those
whichgavedarknessand
crime, those for whom
giving jobs is a source to
earn crores, or NDA un-
derNitishKumar,which
brought out Bihar from
the BIMARU (an acro-
nym for Bihar, MP, Ra-
jasthan,andUP,whichis
a pun on Hindi word for
sickly) category,” Modi
said. —ANI
Be aware that if the Grand Alliance wins, it will again usher in an ‘era of violence,’ said PM Modi in a rallyBIHAR POLLS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Samastipur on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Samastipur: PM Modi
said that BJP has de-
cided to form 1000
Farmer Producer Or-
ganisations (FPOs) for
farmers and creation of
a fund of Rs 1 lakh
crores for agriculture
infrastructure. BJP has
decided to form 1000
Farmer Producer Or-
ganizations (FPOs) for
farmers in Bihar. Also,
Central Govt has creat-
ed a fund of Rs 1 lakh
crores for agriculture
infrastructure .
New Delhi: Mocking
BJP-JD(U)’s ‘beti
bachao’ slogan, the
Congress on Sunday ac-
cused the coalition of
offering election tickets
to those who abuse
women, raising ques-
tion over its women em-
powerment plank.
“Crime against women
in Bihar is increasing.
The government only
male tall claims of mak-
ing Bihar self-reliant.
But they never created
any opportunity for
women employment in
the state,” the Congress
tweeted from its official
handle.
“The Nitish Kumar
government didn’t do
anything to stop evil so-
cial practices like dow-
ry in the state,” the Con-
gress said.
Comparing crime
rates of Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar with that of
Punjab, the Congress
said, “When a govern-
ment is run by leaders
that respect women, it
shows.”
Overall crime cases
against women in Uttar
Pradesh were 59,445 in
2018. In Bihar, the num-
ber was 16,920. In Pun-
jab, it was 5,302.
—Agencies
Move forward upholding
democratic values: RaGa
‘When govt is run by leaders
that respect women, it shows’
1,000 FPO’s by
BJP for Bihar
farmers’
Who said BJP cannot be defeated?,
asks Congress leader Chidambaram
New Delhi: Former
union minister P Chi-
dambaram on Satur-
day said that the op-
position parties must
believe that Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
can be defeated
and the up-
coming Bi-
har polls
w o u l d
hope-
fully prove the same.
Referring to the as-
sembly elections and
by-elections held in
the country since the
2019 Lok Sabha polls,
the Congress leader
pointed out that
BJP’s winning
p e r c e n t a g e
had drastical-
ly reduced.
“381 State As-
sembly seg-
ments have had
A s s e m b l y
elections (330) or As-
sembly by-elections
(51) held since 2019
Lok Sabha elections,
where there were BJP
candidates. In the 2019
Lok Sabha elections,
BJP candidates won
319 out of these 381 as-
sembly segments In
the elections or by-
elections in these seg-
ments since 2019, BJP
candidates won only
163 out of 381 seg-
ments,” PC said.
‘Will increase
retirement age of govt
if voted to power’
Patna: RJD leader
Tejashwi Yadav once
again attacked Chief
Minister Nitish Ku-
mar on Sunday for
reportedly issuing a
‘’decree’’ for the re-
tirement of govern-
ment employees at
the age of 50 years
and said if he’’s elect-
ed to power, the age
will be increased.
“Nitish Kumar has
issued a decree ask-
ing to give retire-
ment to government
employees at the age
of 50 years. He him-
self has become over
70 years, but this
time the public is go-
ing to retire him. If
our government is
formed, we will in-
crease the retire-
ment age,” Yadav
said.
He also attacked
the Chief Minister
for the poor state of
the higher education
system and asked
why does it take more
than three years to
complete under-
graduation in Bihar.
“Nitish Kumar
should tell why peo-
ple of Bihar cannot
complete their grad-
uation in 3 years,
why does it take them
4-5 years,” the RJD
leader, Tejashwi Ya-
dav stated.
Tejashwi Yadav attacked the Chief Minister for the poor
state of the higher education system in Bihar.
KERALA FORMATION DAY
GREETINGS
VIEWPOINT
Cong has become
Pak’s spokesperson
these days: Nadda
Yogi instructs to control
prices of essential items
Lucknow : Asserting
that the Uttar Pradesh
government was taking
all possible steps to con-
trol the prices of essen-
tial products like pota-
toes, onions, and pulses
in the state, Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Sunday ordered the
authorities to take
strict action against
hoarders, a press re-
lease said.
“During a meeting
held in Lucknow on
Sunday, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath issued in-
structions to control
the prices of potatoes,
onions, vegetables, and
pulses, etc. He also or-
dered the authorities to
take strict action
against the hoarders,”
the release said.
“Strict action will be
taken against those in-
volved in profiteering
through hoarding. The
state government is
very sensitive to the
difficulties of the peo-
ple. All possible efforts
will be made to pro-
vide relief to the pub-
lic,” the release quoted
the CM as saying. Adi-
tyanath further or-
dered the concerned
authorities to ensure
adequate availability
of potatoes, onions,
vegetables, and pulses,
etc in the market so
that people do not face
any problem. —ANI
THE MEETING’S AGENDA
Yogi Adityanath launches special vaccination, and golden card
distribution campaign, in Lucknow on Sunday. — PHOTO BY ANI
Rahul Gandhi

INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
Soma Patel...
After the viral video,
CongresspresidentAmit
Chavda called BJP presi-
dentCRPatilandthepar-
ty were accused of cor-
ruption. In this regard,
Patil said, “I was not the
president when Soma
Ganda resigned, so there
is no question of me be-
inginvolved.Secondly,as
the party president, I
clearly believe that even
if this person is Soma
Bhai,Congressshouldgo
viral with a video show-
ing his face. Amit Bhai
has tried to discredit a
big leader of the Koli
community. Amit Bhai
should apologize to the
Koli community. Gujarat
should apologize. That is
why Congress is not
self-reflection and has
been losing for 25 years
andislikelytoloseforthe
next 25 years. “ CR Patil
said, “Amit Bhai must
be lying because of the
Jutwadia sitting next to
him. I have nothing to
do with the rest of this
video. This is a serious
allegation and I also be-
lieve that the police
should investigate who
is in the video and ask
the person who appears
in the video. ”
Shah to...
on the border, he may
spend some time with
party leaders in the
state as the state com-
mittee followed by the
district committees are
likely to be announced.
It has become a prece-
dent in our nation that
the Prime Minister and
Union Home Minister
spends time with those
jawans, who are deputed
inborderareasandcan’t
visit families during fes-
tivals.
Thrown off-track...
nor any other member
of the sangharsh samiti
met him in a village
near Pilupura.
Bainsla said he is not
feeling well and there-
fore he cannot meet.
Chandana then left to
meet Bainsla’s son in Pi-
lupura but police
stopped him midway on
the basis of an intelli-
gence report.
Police officers in-
formed him that the
community people have
blocked roads and there-
fore it is not possible to
reach Pilupura. Later,
he returned to Jaipur
and expressed displea-
sure over this. The min-
ister said he was called
by the Gurjar leaders
butnoneof themturned
up to meet him.
Meanwhile, the lead-
er of the second Gurjar
faction - Himmat Singh
Gurjar - opened a front
against Kirori Bainsla
and his son Vijay Bains-
la claiming that they
were working at the be-
hest of BJP. “Those
who are talking about
agitation are sponsored
by the BJP. Only those
who are BJP members
will talk of agitation.
BJP leader Colonel
Bainsla wants to make
his son a leader at the
cost of the community
which we will never al-
low. The Gurjar com-
munity met with gov-
ernment’s sub-commit-
tee and the community
is satisfied. When the
issue can be solved
with talks, why then to
opt for agitation,” Him-
mat Singh questioned.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: The GST
collected in October
rose to Rs 1.05 lakh
crore, crossing the Rs 1
lakh crore mark for the
first time since Febru-
ary this year, reflecting
a pick-up in economic
activity and demand.
The finance ministry in
a statement said on
Sunday that the total
number of GSTR-3B re-
turns filed till October
31, 2020 is 80 lakh.
The gross GST revenue
collected in October
2020 is Rs 1,05,155 crore,
of which CGST is Rs
19,193 crore, SGST is Rs
5,411 crore, IGST is Rs
52,540 crore and cess is
Rs 8,011 crore, the min-
istry said. The GST col-
lections fell from the
psychologically impor-
tant Rs 1 lakh crore
mark as the lockdown
imposed to contain cov-
id spread dented eco-
nomic activity. “The
trend shows that it did
decline for past few
mths but it is not only
on path of recovery but
is picking up too.
GST collection in Oct crosses Rs 1 lakh cr,
firsttimein8months:FinanceSecyBhushan
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Sunday extended his
wishes to the "Warriors
of the East" on the 100th
Raising Day of the East-
ern Command.
"Greetings and my
best wishes to the War-
riors of the East on the
100th Raising Day of
Eastern Command. I sa-
lute their courage, in-
domitable spirit. Their
service is unparal-
leled," Singh tweeted.
Meanwhile, Eastern
Command also wished
its defence civilian em-
ployees. —ANI
Rajnath Singh
extends wishes
to the warriors
100TH RAISING DAY
Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey with finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman at a meeting.
Ankara: The death toll
from the earthquake in
western Turkey has in-
creased to 60 people,
while the number of
those injured has in-
creased to 940, the Turk-
ish DisasterEmergency
Management Presiden-
cy (AFAD) announced
on Sunday.
“According to informa-
tion, 60 people died, 218
people continue receiv-
ing treatment at hospi-
tals,” the AFAD said.
Earthquake
death toll rises
to 60 in Turkey
ECONOMY ON RECOVERY PATH
New Delhi: The SC has
dismissed a PIL seek-
ing withdrawal of Z+
security cover given to
Reliance Industries
chairman Mukesh Am-
bani and his family
while observing that it
is for the State to assess
and review the threat
perception of individu-
al and take a call on
such issues.
A Bench headed by Jus-
tice Ashok Bhushan
dismissed an appeal
filed by petitioner
Himanshu Agarwal
against a December
2019 order of the Bom-
bay HC. “It is for the
State to assess and re-
view the threat percep-
tion of individuals on a
case to case basis,” the
top court said in its or-
der earlier this week.
The Bombay High
Court had said the State
was bound to provide
Z+ security to individu-
als willing to bear the
entire cost for security
to protect their lives in
view of their own grave
threat perceptions. HC
had noted that Ambani
family were willing to
bear cost to protect.
SC rejects PIL seeking withdrawal of
Z+ security to Mukesh Ambani, family
New Delhi: Indian se-
curity forces have is-
sued advisories as well
as started preparing
contents to educate
jawans against being
trapped by enemy na-
tions to give away stra-
tegic information.
"It has been observed
that anti-social ele-
ments and people with
malicious intent are us-
ing Facebook profile
cloning to target vul-
nerable users. This
scam is also being used
to target security forces
and extract confidential
information," the CRPF
said in recent letter is-
sued to jawans deployed
in J&K and red zones.
According to a senior
CRPF officer, there have
been complaints from
jawans in the last few
months that their
friends and family
members have received
a variety of requests
from their cloned pro-
files. In one such case,
friends of a jawan, de-
ployed in a sensitive lo-
cation, were asked to
send details of his loca-
tion, as “he was un-
traceable”. In most
such cases, even money
was demanded from the
jawans’ family. —ANI
CRPF alerts jawans
of Facebook profile
cloning to extract info
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind ex-
tended his greetings to
the people of AP, Karna-
taka,Haryana,Chhattis-
garh,MP,Punjab,Kerala
and Union Territories
of Andaman and Nico-
bar, Lakshadweep, and
Pudducherry, on the oc-
casion of their founda-
tion day on Sunday.
Let each state/union
territory be an exem-
plar of peace and pros-
perity to make the
country proud," the of-
ficial account of Rash-
trapati Bhavan tweeted
on Sunday. Earlier, VP
and PM Modi also
wished states on their
foundation day. —ANI
NewDelhi:Indiacontin-
ues to report a trend of
steadily declining active
cases. For the third day
after the active cases
droppedbelowthe6lakh-
mark after nearly three
months, the progressive
decline has been main-
tained, according to the
UnionMinistryof Health
and Family Welfare.
PresentlyIndia’stotalac-
tive caseload is 5,70,458.
The active cases have
dropped to only 6.97 per
cent of the total positive
cases of the country
demonstrating a steady
falling percentage of
the total cases, as per
the Union Health Min-
istry.
The trajectory of the
active caseload across
different States/Union
Territories (UTs) has
been diverse demon-
strating their focused
efforts and gradual pro-
gress in their fight
against COVID-19. Kar-
nataka has reported a
steep decline in the ac-
tive cases in the past 24
hours. With the consist-
ent decline in the active
cases, the cases per mil-
lion in India are among
the lowest in the world.
Let each State/UT be
exemplar of peace: Prez
Covid-19:Indiasustainstrend
of declining active cases
Bhopal: The high deci-
bel campaign for the
November 3 bypolls to
28 Assembly seats in
MP, which saw promi-
nent leaders of the BJP
and the Congress criss-
crossing constituen-
cies to woo voters,
came to an end on Sun-
day evening.
The campaigning
saw bitterness between
the main rivals BJP and
Congress hurling
charges and barbs at
each other.
Leaders of the ruling
BJP, opposition Con-
gress and the BSP made
all out efforts to win
over voters ahead of the
bypolls, in which 355
candidates, including
12 state ministers, are
in the fray.
While in two or three
seats of Gwalior Cham-
bal region, a triangular
contest is on the cards
in the wake of the BSP''s
presence there, political
observers said.
MP CM Chouhan,
minister Narendra Sin-
gh Tomar, former state
CM Uma Bharti, BJP
RS member Jyotiradi-
tya Scindia, made hec-
tic efforts to drum up
support for their party's
nominees.
On the other side, MP
Congress president and
former CM Kamal
Nath, Chattisgarh CM
Bhupesh Baghel, Con-
gress veteran Digvijaya
Singh, Sachin Pilot also
toured the state to woo
voters for their party
candidates.
With charges flying
thick and thick, EC had
to reprimand leaders of
both sides over sarcas-
tic comments.
Campaigning ends for crucial
MP by-polls, voting on Nov 3In 2 or 3 seats of Gwalior region, a triangular contest is on cards in wake of the BSP
MP seats fell vacant after Congress MLAs close to Jyotiraditya Scindia
resigned from the party and joined the BJP. —PHOTO BY PTI
Poonch: Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire
violations along the LOC resorting to small arms
firing and intense mortar shelling in Shahpur, Kirni,
and Qasba in Poonch, J-K on Sunday. "Pakistan
continues unprovoked ceasefire violations along
LoC. Indian Army retaliates befittingly," tweeted the
official account of Defence PRO, Jammu. —ANI
PAK VIOLATES CEASEFIRE IN J&K
NEVER ADDRESSED SCINDIA AS
'DOG', KAMAL NATH CLARIFIES
ECI SEEKS EXPLANATION FROM KRISHNAM
FOR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE AGAINST CHOUHAN
Former MP CM Kamal Nath on Sunday refuted the
allegation by BJP's Scindia that
he was called a "dog" by Con-
gress leader and that the people
of the Ashok Nagar constituency
are witness to it. Kamal Nath also
gave an explanation over his recent
'item' remark, for which he courted
controversy.
Kamal Nath expressed regret over his remarks and
said he did not intend to insult anyone. Later, Rahul
Gandhi also condemned Nath's remarks, saying
that he did not like kind of language used. —ANI
New Delhi: The EC on Saturday sought an ex-
planation from Congress leader
Acharya Pramod Krishnam within
48 hours for reportedly using
"abusive language against Shivraj
Singh on October 27. "The three
insidious mamas of Indian mythol-
ogy, Maricha, Kans and Shakuni,
if mixed into one make only mama Shivraj (Shivraj
Singh Chouhan)," said Krishnam in Morena. —ANI
Chandigarh: The
centre is looking for
ways to check "love
jihad" cases, Haryana
CM Manohar Lal
Khattar said Sunday,
a day after his UP
counterpart, Adity-
anath, issued a thinly-
veiled threat to "those
who, play with our
sisters' respect". Khat-
tar said his state was
also considering "le-
gal provisions" but
would ensure that no
innocent person is
punished.
"Since the Ballabh-
garh case is being
linked with "love ji-
had", the centre, as
well as state govern-
ment, is looking into
it, and considering
legal provisions so the
guilty cannot escape
and no innocent per-
son is punished,"
Khattar said.
Two attackers, Tou-
seef and Rehan have
since been arrested,
police have said.
The Haryana CM's
comment comes
shortlyafterhisHome
Minister, Anil Vij,
said, "This "love ji-
had", it is necessary to
cure it, so we can save
young girls.”
"Love jihad" is the
term used by right-
wing groups to target
relationships between
Muslim men and Hin-
du women, which,
they say, is an elabo-
rate ruse to forcibly
convert the women.
"Adults are given
permission to marry
under the law of the
country. I don't under-
stand why CM Yogi
wants to interfere,"
Vij told.
The subject made
headlines with Assam
BJP kickstarting
campaign for next
year's polls by saying
girls in state were
‘falling prey to love
jihad’. —ANI
LOVE JIHAD
Even Centre is looking
for laws: Haryana CM
ARMY DOC REMOVE
APPENDIX @ 16K FT
MOLLAH ATTACKS
Manohar Lal Khattar
Kamal Nath
Pramod Krishnam
Mukesh Ambani Ram Nath Kovind
BHARAT BIOTECH TO LAUNCH COVAXIN

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
PLANT LOVE
IN COVID TIMES!
House plants were our link
with nature in lockdown –
now they could change
how we relate to the
natural world
T
hey’re not the
first genera-
tion to keep
house plants,
but millennials seem to
have earned a reputa-
tion for gratuitous in-
door foliage. Bloomberg
reporter Matthew Boyle
claimed that young peo-
ple have helped revive
“the once moribund
market for house
plants” in the US,
where, according to the
National Gardening As-
sociation, sales surged
50% between 2016 and
2019. In UK, Royal Agri-
cultural Society report-
ed a 65% increase in
house plant sales in
2018 alone.
Why young people in
particular might be so
fond of house plants
has invited numerous
explanations. Lifestyle
reporter Casey Bond ar-
gued that house plants
offer something to nur-
ture that’s cheap and
doesn’t involve a lot of
maintenance, with ob-
vious appeal to a gen-
eration whose entry
into parenthood is sty-
mied by house prices
and economic instabil-
ity. Young people today
are thought to be more
conscious of mental
health, self-care too,
and plants have been
proven to reduce stress
levels and improve
mood.
But universal appeal
of house plants, accord-
ing to writer Alice Vin-
cent, is that they pro-
vide “a tangible way of
connecting with nature
that is absent from an
increasingly screen-
based world”. That
could explain why their
sales ballooned again
during lockdown, and
not just among younger
customers.
Anthropologist Gide-
on Lasco described the
phenomenon in his na-
tive Philippines as a
“botanical boom” that
seized Manila. Plants,
far more mobile than
locked down humans,
were ordered online in
record numbers and
ferried to anxious
households where they
acquired names and
were photographed
alongside their new
family. Patch, a British
online plant store estab-
lished in 2015, reported
a sales increase of 500%
during lockdown, with
stock intended to last 12
weeks vanishing in two.
Since June, I’ve been
talking to people to un-
derstand role plants
play in these times of
forced isolation.
A potted
history
Plants offered not
only bonding, but
recreational and educa-
tional opportunities to
their human families
during lockdown. Brian
started growing toma-
toes with his children –
part scientific experi-
ment, part family pas-
time. Mai had to keep
her toddler busy, and
turned the chore of wa-
tering and re-potting
her plants into a fun ac-
tivity.
With her access to the
outside world restrict-
ed, Aoife found solace
in nature, and would
gently submerge her
hand in the soil to de-
compress and heal after
a long day. Likewise,
Aveline described her
experience with plants
as one that “empties the
mind so that I can stop
being anxious”. Meri-
ma talked about her
lawn as a “void filler”
for her family. “In the
lawn we can still talk
about the future. What
should we plant and do
next and it’s a very pos-
itive experience.”
The pandemic tore
away our shared sense
of normality. Amid the
rupture, caring for
plants invited welcome
new routines – water-
ing, feeding, trimming
and re-potting. Plants
provided an escape
from the anxieties of
everyday life, offering
beauty and proof that
life could still flourish
in the darkest times.
Xin, who showed me
her indoor jungle over a
video call, told me that
“more plants make a
place feel luxurious. A
sort of lockdown luxu-
ry for those who can
work from home and
create a nest”.
But one of the most
interesting aspects of
my research was listen-
ing to stories about how
people discovered a
need to appreciate
plants. Laura explained
that she felt a new re-
sponsibility towards
her plants because she
more fully appreciated
their companionship.
Lucia, whose vibrant
social life had made her
largely unavailable to
her plants, was finally
able to keep them alive
and wanted to learn
how to make them feel
appreciated, as a way of
acknowledging how
they enriched her life in
lockdown.
Co nve r s a t i o n s
about care have
multiplied during
the pandemic. We
clapped for carers
and saw grassroots
mutual aid networks
emerge, providing
care in our neigh-
bourhoods and often
filling in for inade-
quate public provi-
sion.
But speaking with
plant owners in lock-
down, I unearthed
new networks of care
and solidarity be-
tween humans and
other species. The
gratitude that people
felt for their floral
companions chal-
lenged the view that
nature exists simply
to be used by humans
and made many see
for the first time how
non-human beings
enrich our social
world.
The stories I col-
lected suggest we
need a broader un-
derstanding of social
relationships and
solidarity; one that
appreciates the im-
portance of non-hu-
mans in everyday
life. Many hope that
the pandemic marks
a turning point in the
way humans interact
with the rest of the
natural world. Per-
haps this watershed
could be reached in
our own homes, by
recognising that the
non-humans we
share our lives with
are equal partners in
building a more sus-
tainable and just fu-
ture.
New shoots
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: MONI SHARMA DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Even as
the formal campaign
for the November 3
byelections to 8 As-
sembly seats ended on
Sunday afternoon, the
opposition Congress
continued its tirade
against the turncoats
on social media
through several post-
ers calling them
“gaddaar (traitors).”
Five of them have
been given BJP tickets
for the bypolls, which
were necessitated by
their resignations from
the Congress and as
legislators. The Oppo-
sition continuously
harped on the
“gaddaar” theme.
The posters with
catchy lines have pic-
tures of the 5 turn-
coats who are contest-
ing the byelections.
While the posters say,
“All of them are trai-
tors and all will lose,”
they also refer to indi-
vidual candidates
against the promises
they gave.
For instance, a post-
er that has gone viral,
asks the government’s
reply stating, “You
gave crores of rupees
to Pradyumansinh,
but what about farm-
ers who are waiting
for compensation for
the electricity poles?’
Pradyumansinh Jade-
ja is a Congress turn-
coat, contesting the
election from Abdasa
in Kutch.
In Kutch, the farm-
land was acquired by
the government to
enable private play-
ers to install wind-
mills and electric
poles. The farmers
are still waiting for
the compensation.
The poster goes on to
call this a betrayal to
farmers and that
“this traitor will be
defeated this time.”
Another set of post-
ers has pictures of un-
employed youth, and a
large photo of the
turncoats, asking a
question, “You have
become Richie rich,
what about us?”
Another popular
poster states that the
leaders were not re-
ceiving calls from the
villages, “but now the
villages will take re-
venge by defeating
them in the by-poll.”
Neither fear mistakes and
nor embrace them. The one
thing you should do with a
mistake is LEARN from it !
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Cong posters against turncoat ‘gaddaars’ find traction on social media
 The Opposition party’s posters
against the turncoats have gone viral
RUBBING IT IN!
Congress poster campaign against turncoats goes viral.
IN MEMORIAM
Several BJP
leaders, family
and friends
joined in prayer
meetings
for Gujarat
BJP veteran
and former
chief minister
Keshubhai
Patel, who died
on October
30, at the age
of 92.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Huge collision on Mumbai-A’bad
highway claims two lives
3 held for Saturday night murder in Ahmedabad
RSS’ west zone meet begins
today in Bhagwat’s presence
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A two-
day executive coun-
cil meeting for the
Western Zone of the
Rashtriya Swayam-
sevak Sangh (RSS)
begins on Monday in
the presence of RSS
chief Mohan Bhag-
wat and senior func-
tionary Bhaiyyaji
Joshi. This is the
first time that the
RSS had to split its
customary annual
“All India Diwali
Baithak” into zones
because of the Cov-
id-19 crisis.
An RSS leader in-
formed that the meet-
ing for the Western
Zone will have 60 func-
tionaries from Guja-
rat, Maharashtra and
Goa attending it. The
meeting will be held at
the Dr Hegdewar
BhavaninAhmedabad
and issues of the Cov-
id-19 impact on liveli-
hood, economy and
the farmer bill pro-
tests are likely to be
discussed.
The Sangh has 11
‘kshetras’ or zones in
the country. Bhagwat
and Joshi will travel
to all the zonal meet-
ings. According to
Hitendra Mojidra,
Sah Prachar Pra-
mukh of RSS in Gu-
jarat, normally all
the functionaries and
pracharaks gather at
one place in India for
the pre-Diwali meet-
ing that goes on for
three days.
But this year, it is
different due to the
Covid-19 crisis. A total
of 60 participants will
be present at the meet-
ing to ensure social
distancing norms.
RSS headquarters at Maninagar in Ahmedabad.
Mohan Bhagwat
 This is for
the first time the
Sangh has split
its pre-Diwali
meet into
various zones
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad:TheShah-
pur Police have arrest-
ed 3 persons in connec-
tionwithamurderlate
Saturday night. They
will be produced be-
foreacourtforremand
on Monday.
According to the FIR
filed by Shamsuddin Sai-
yed, the accused fatally
stabbed his brother Za-
hiruddin in the chest.
The complainant and
hisfriendswerestanding
near the Khanpur gate
when the accused were
havinganargumentwith
ascooterist.Theaccused,
armed with a baseball
bat, started beating him
andhisfriends.WhenZa-
hiruddin intervened try-
ing to cool off tempers
between the two groups,
he too was attacked.
Saiyed alleged that
suddenly Ayub and Ri-
zwan got hold of Zahir-
uddin and Firoz stabbed
himinhischestandlater
fled from the spot. They
immediately called an
ambulance van and
rushed him to a hospital,
where the doctors pro-
nounced him dead. Sai-
yed and 2 others were in-
jured with the baseball
bat. Later, the complain-
ant was lodged at the
Shahpur police station.
Three persons were arrested for murder.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Two huge
trucks clashed on the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
national highway at
Vasai on Sunday
morning, with both
the drivers killed and
another person in-
jured, hours after a
bizarre accident in-
volving as many as 30
vehicles on the Sion-
Panvel highway lead-
ing to Pune though no
one was injured.
Vasai police said the
accidents between the 2
trucks occurred around
5.45 am near Suvi Pal-
ace on the highway. The
drivers of both vehicles
were killed on the spot,
while the injured per-
son was admitted to a
private hospital.
The vehicles were
heading towards Gu-
jarat. The driver of
one of the trucks re-
portedly lost control
and the vehicle
swerved towards the
Mumbai side of the
highway.
Earlier, in a bizarre
case, 30-odd vehicles
collided on the Sion-
Panvel highway caus-
ing a massive traffic
jam on the road.
Though the vehicles
were severely dam-
aged, no injuries or
casualties were report-
ed, police said.
Shishir Awasthi
New Delhi/Gandhi-
nagar: After a debili-
tating post-lockdown
slump in its revenues,
the Gujarat Govern-
ment has reported a
15% improvement in
its collections from
the Goods and Servic-
es Tax (GST) in Octo-
ber 2020 over the cor-
responding month
last year.
According to the
numbers released by
the Central Govern-
ment, Gujarat had col-
lected Rs 6,787 crore by
way of GST during Oc-
tober, while it was Rs
6,060 crore in Septem-
ber and Rs 6,030 crore in
August 2020.
Secretariat sources
said the October collec-
tions were the first indi-
cator of the State’s
economy gradually
picking up.
According to an in-
ternal note of the State
Finance Department,
Gujarat’s GST collec-
tion as on September,
2020, was Rs 17,444 crore
as against Rs 22,825
crore in the April-Sept,
2019, period. The corre-
sponding numbers for
VAT were Rs 7,620 crore
(2020-21) and Rs 10,719
crore (2019-20). Togeth-
er, the collections from
GST and VAT fell by a
whopping Rs 8,480 crore
between April and Sep-
tember 2020.
In fact, the State Gov-
ernment suffered an
overall shortfall of a
whopping Rs 11,576
crore between April to
September, 2020, in its
tax revenues. As a re-
sult, Gujarat Govern-
ment’s capital expendi-
ture on development
workshasfallenbymore
than Rs 3,150 crore.
Now, with improve-
ment in October collec-
tions the economy
might look far better by
the close of the current
financial year on March
31, 2021.
According to the na-
tional figures put out by
the Centre, the gross
GST revenues in Octo-
ber, 2020, stood at Rs
1,05,155 crore.
With15%riseinOctoberGSTearnings,
GujarathopesforabrighterDiwali
With various phases of post-Covid Unlock, the economy shows
signs of revival.
Accident on Mumbai-A’bad highway resulted in a traffic jam.
Centresays
Gujarat
collected
`6,787crore
GSTduring
October,up
from`6,060cr
inSeptand
`6,030crore
inAug
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,724
DEATHS
1,73,804
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,917 DEATHS 1,98,747 CASES
DELHI
6,562 DEATHS 3,92,370 CASES
WORLD
1,203,268
DEATHS
4,66,44,297
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
82,21,786
CONFIRMED CASES
1,22,535
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
44,024 DEATHS 16,83,775 CASES
TAMIL NADU
11,152 DEATHS 7,27,026 CASES
KARNATAKA
11,192 DEATHS 8,27,064 CASES

AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
NOVEMBER 2, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
As Shah Rukh Khan turns 55 today, City First takes a
look at King Khan’s journey in Bollywood so far. The
journey from a commoner to one of the top actors of
India without any so-called godfathers!
Ultimate
King Khan
he man has many
names—call him
SRK, Raju, Sunil,
Raj, Kabir Khan,
Don, Raees… or
just call him Ra-
hul, Naam toh
Suna Hoga? And even de-
spite so many ways to
refer to him, the magnif-
icence of Shah Rukh
Khan stays beyond what
words can describe! Shah
Rukh Khan, who started
as the King of hearts,
slowly extended his
reign to become the un-
disputed Badshah of
Bollywood. From play-
ing the romantic hero
who wins the girl to a
crazy stalker who could
haunt anyone’s dream,
an emperor and a drunk-
ard, to
his touching act like an
autistic man, playing his
own fan and now a
dwarf; there is nobody
this artist hasn’t been
and no life he hasn’t
touched. Besides being
the silver screen’s heart-
throb, actor Shah Rukh
Khan has also endeared
himself to people from
other walks of life.
Any SRK fan would
know of his tryst with
destiny that started
on the sets of a TV
series ‘Fauji’ in
1989 and contin-
ued with shows
like ‘Circus’
and ‘Umeed’.
However, it
was ‘Baazi-
gar’ that
earned him
his first
F i l m f a r e
Award for
Best Actor,
b e -
cause you know, “Agar
Kisi cheez ko dil se
chaaho to puri kayanat
usey tumse milane ki ko-
shish mein lag jaati hai.”
Shah Rukh Khan is
rightly the crowned king
of romance, but it wasn’t
until ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya
Le Jayenge’, that he
earned the title. His
pairing opposite Kajol,
not only made the film
the longest running Hin-
di movie in Bollywood
history, but also earned
the lead stars a perma-
nent place in fans’
hearts. Over the years,
Shah Rukh has started
in several hit romantic
films like, ‘Veer Zara’,
‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, ‘Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Devdas’
and ‘Mahabbatein’,
among many others.
Every year, thousands
of fans gather outside
his Mannat mansion and
shower him with birth-
day wishes, love and lots
of gifts. However, this
year, because of the cor-
onavirus pandemic, the
actors have requested
them to not gather in
numbers outside his
home, quipping, “Iss
baar ka pyaar....
thoda door se yaar” on
Twitter.
KARISHMA
GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
T
Shahrukh and Gauri Khan with their kids Suhana, AbRam and Aryan

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
MEHAK GHAI, Blogger
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A good news is not it’s way
and it will fill your life with
joy. Professionals will need
to broaden their client base
to obtain better opportunities. A
technology upgrade may be required
to improve performance on the
academic front, as old methods may
not deliver.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Today Lack of
reciprocation in full
measure of your loving
gestures may prove
disappointing, so confront him or her
on the same. You will be able to give
a good account of yourself at work
and you will be praised for the same.
Be understanding enough today.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Get the right attitude, if you
want to fit into the crowd.
Teamwork requires full
focus and good
management skills, so remember
this if you want to reach your goal.
Someone’s unkind remarks may hurt
you, but there is no point in
retaliating.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Today you may need to get
into the groove in a new set
up. Fatigue is likely to
become a thing of the past,
as you adopt a new fitness regime. You
will need to tighten your grip on the
academic front to prevent a situation
from getting out of hand. Financial
skills may be much in demand today.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You will need to go out of
your way to woo the
golden hen. On the
academic front ,you are
likely to bounce back with full gusto.
An important responsibilty at work
will help in proving your mettle and
will improve your chances for a
promotion.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Today improved
performance will get you
noticed at work. Networking
will come in handy in
overcoming problems. Experiencing
togetherness with family will prove
most enjoyable. Shopping turns out to
be a memorable outing today. Your
talents are likely to be recognised.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Some progress will be
made in a new direction,
but you may have to put in
much more efforts to make
your dream a success. It will be in
your interest to not succumb to
emotional blackmail. Try and
overcome your shortcomings on the
academic front.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You make good progress
at work. Something that
you had to discontinue,
shall begin again to your
delight. Making your mark in a totally
different field will be difficult without
adequate preparation. Your
expenditure will be much more than
what you manage to earn.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Added personal responsi-
bilities may keep you from
doing justice to official
work but you need to try
hard. You may need to catch up on
pending work, putting in extra hours.
Returns from invested money are
likely to make your bank balance
healthy.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Wrong decisions may
become a bane and get you
on the back foot but you
will rise again. Don’t ignore
sane advice. Trying to earn big time
may remain a dream, if you don’t
work towards achieving it. Those
feeling out of sorts for some time are
likely to make a quick recovery.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Tackling something new on
the academic front is
indicated and will be fun.
You may remain tied up at
work and neglect a social event.
Chance of getting overstrained in
doing something at home is possible
for some. You can be held
accountable for not doing something.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Special treatment is in
store for you. Meeting
people of your generation
will be most enjoyable. You
are likely to make a big money in
coming times though you may have
no inkling as of now. Your expertise
will be much in demand and that will
add up for good.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
hen I look around
it breaks my
heart. The sight
of garbage every-
where and cows
and dogs feeding
off it. I wonder
why despite the door-to-
door garbage collection
that so much of it lands up
on our roads, and in ca-
nals. Are people not affect-
ed by the unhygienic con-
ditions around them?
The problem as I see it is
threefold. It exists on the
side of the government,
the public, and the indus-
tries. They have each
played a significant role in
the proliferation of gar-
bage and filth. Pointing
fingers at one wouldn’t be
fair.
The government comes
up with schemes that seem
so great on paper. The im-
plementation however is
extremely haphazard and
inefficient. All they seem
to care about is cost-cut-
ting. They are least con-
cerned about the effective-
ness of the program. They
issue tenders and the low-
est bidder irrespective of
their strategy and objec-
tives wins the project. How
convenient for them. But
not so perfect for us!
The public for the most
part isn’t any different
than the government they
criticize. What happens
outside their home isn’t
their problem. It is almost
as if they have made peace
with their condition. They
will ignore the filth and
even contribute to it as
long as they are not penal-
ized. They do not realize
that this is an alarming
situation and that they
should be concerned.
Medical waste is a huge
problem. The packaging is
too. Because more brands
use plastic then there are
recycling units to repur-
pose them. What then is
the point of those recy-
cling symbols printed on
the packaging?
I want to give each of
these culprits the benefit
of the doubt. They cannot
be held accountable unless
they are given feedback
and ideas.
Government programs
would be more effective if
they partner with the right
candidates. They should
take up the example of In-
dore not just in terms of
the idea but also imple-
mentation. Monitoring
and evaluation are an im-
portant part of this. Let’s
make Swach Bharat work!
There should be rigorous
cleaning drives organized
in collaboration with civil
society organizations.
The public can begin at
home. Segregation of
trash into wet and dry gar-
bage not just in the kitchen
but also in the bathroom
should be done. All items
that can be converted to
compost can be thrown
into the wet bin, and every-
thing else including used
tissues can be thrown into
the dry bin. Sanitary nap-
kins should be disposed of
in a different bag and
marked with a large red
dot. Bulbs, glass, and other
sharp items should be
wrapped and disposed of
properly. Let’s think of the
people who are handling
our trash once it leaves our
home.
Heritage brands like
Maggi must reduce the use
of plastic in their packag-
ing or ensure they recycle
their packaging. It is their
problem with what the
public buys. I once went up
to a drink brand and asked
them to accept the bottle in
which the served milk-
shake and they refused to
take it back. I was con-
fused, wondering what the
end of this bottle would be.
And honestly, I do not buy
Maggi for the packaging; I
enjoy what is inside it. And
how many buyers read the
labels? I feel it is the re-
sponsibilityof everybrand
to ensure its products are
not killing our environ-
ment.
Everyone points fingers
at others. But how many of
us do what counts- educate,
act, and provide solutions?
Call it a marriage of con-
venience, if you may. But
all three segments of soci-
ety must work together if
we are to make India
kachra-free!
GARBAGE ON
THE ROAD
GARBAGE
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
W

A
lerting her fans to take safety pre-
cautions amid the coronavirus
pandemic, actor Katrina Kaif on
Monday shared a picture sport-
ing a face shield a mask, and a thin robe
to protect herself from COVID-19. The
‘Namaste London’ star posted a picture to
Instagram in which she is seen standing in
a hall and embracing the safety gears as she
sports them, while she keeps ‘Safety First.’
She is seen in an
all ensemble as she
covered herself
with a robe while
striking a pose
for the lens. She
also donned a
facemask and
a face
s h i e l d
forextra
and took
extra precau-
tionary meas-
ures.
—ANI
SAFETY FIRST
T
wo days after wrapping
up the shoot for mystery
thriller Haseen Dilruba
, actor Taapsee Pannu
on Sunday flew to Dubai ahead
of the shooting of her next,
Rashmi Rocket . The ‘Pink’ ac-
tor took to Instagram to share
a breezy picture of herself en-
joying the Dubai air with her
hands wide open.
Taapsee revealed that she
would be enjoying a short
“#Holiday” before getting “on
her mark,” with the shoot of Rashmi Rocket .
“From the ‘pacific blue’ towards the Persian
Gulf. Jumping from being Haseen to being a
rocket. Getting all set before I am ‘On my
mark’ #Holiday #Dubai #RashmiRocket #Pa-
cificBlue,” she wrote in the caption. — ANI
HOLIDAY TIME
fficially, the first
family photo of
Gigi Hadid, Zayn
Malik and baby
‘ZiGi’ is out. It
has been a few
weeks since Gigi
and Zayn welcomed
their little munchkin.
Although they gave us a
glimpse of the little one
via the announcement
that she’s
here, Gigi
has kept the little one
away from the spotlight.
However, she decided to
give fans a look at their
happy family on the oc-
casion of Halloween
2020. The model, the for-
mer One Direction sing-
er and their little
baby girl were
seen in the
s a m e
frame, dressed up for the
occasion.
Zayn channelled his
love for Harry Potter as
he dressed up in a white
shirt, green tie to denote
the house of Slytherin
and a black sweater over
it. Meanwhile, Gigi took
inspiration from the vid-
eo game called Valorant.
But the highlight has
to be baby ZiGi who was
comfortable in her dad’s
arms while he gazed at
her adorably. The model
opted to cover the baby’s
face with a Hulk gif
while she sported a
green and black crochet
hat. She added a Hulk
hand emoji to complete
the little one’s digital
Halloween costume.
—Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020
11
The cutest ‘HULK’O
J
ames Bond actor Daniel Craig
on Sunday in a statement paid
tribute to the original 007, Sir
SeanConneryafterhisdemise.
The statement from the latest
James Bond flick ‘No Time To Die’
actor was posted on the official Ins-
tagram account of 007. “Statement
from Daniel Craig: “It is with such
sadness that I heard of the passing
of one of the true greats of cinema.
Sir Sean Connery will be remem-
bered as Bond and so much more,”
the statement read.
The52-year-oldactorwentontoad-
mire Sir Sean Connery’s work and
said that his wit and charm could
only be measured in “mega watts.”
“He defined an era and a style. The
witandcharmheportrayedonscreen
could be measured in mega watts; he
helped create the modern blockbust-
er,” the statement read. —ANI
T
wo days after celebrating her 22nd birthday,
actor Ananya Panday on Sunday extended
birthday greetings to her Khaali Peeli co-star
Ishaan Khatter. The Student of The Year 2 ac-
tor took to Instagram to mark her close friend and
co-star’s birthday and posted a glowing selfie of
theirs. She wrote a short, yet adorable, caption, wish-
ing him “more pancakes and adventure.” “happy
bday little mr sunshine. here’s to more pancakes and
adventures,” she wrote in the caption. —ANI
C
hrissy Teigen recently
showed off her Halloween
2020 costume on Twitter and
revealed that she dressed up
as the ballerina from Black Swan
while her husband John Legend
transformed into Spider-Man. The
34-year-old
model and
cookbook au-
thor showed
off her com-
pleted look
after sharing
a getting
ready image.
After a full day of getting ready,
Chrissy debuted her Black Swan
movie and stage inspired costume,
alongside her stylist Alana Van De-
raa, who embodied the dark side of
the character. —Agency
‘125 years of
togetherness’
A
s he completed 12 years of married life with his
author wife Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, actor
Ayushmann Khurrana on Sunday dubbed it as
their “125 years of togetherness”.
The Vicky Donor actor took to Instagram to mark the
special day and to appreciate his childhood
sweetheart who is
now his wife. He
posted a love-
soaked picture of
himself with Ta-
hira where is
seen enjoying a
piggyback ride on
him and compli-
mented the post
with an
e q u a l l y
a d o r abl e
caption.
“Cele-
brating
1 2 5
y e a r s
of to-
g e t h -
e r -
n e s s .
May be
m o r e .
Coz I
know
that I
know you
from cen-
turies and
time imme-
morial. This
bond can’t be
limited to
this life-
time,” the
36-year-old
actor wrote.
—ANI
TRIBUTE
‘MORE PANCAKES
AND ADVENTURE’
CHANNELS
BALLERINA
A
ustralian actor Rebel Wilson celebrated
Halloween alongside her boyfriend Jacob
Busch.
The 40-year-old shared a series of photos
from a small gathering with friends on Saturday
(local time), showing off her costume as a ‘Rona
Warrior,’ referring to the novel coronavirus. Wil-
son attacks a pinata shaped like the microscopic
image of the coronavirus that has come to define
2020, in a video post. She captioned one of the vid-
eos, “Rona (Warrior Princess)”, adding “Rona be
gone!” on another clip. —ANI
FIRST HALLOWEEN
Gigi Hadid;
(inset) Her post
Daniel Craig
Chrissy Teigen
...her post
Ayushmann Khurrana & Tahira kashyap Taapsee Pannu
Jacob Busch and Rebel Wilson Ananya Panday & Ishaan Khatter
Katrina Kaif’s post
...her post

12
CITY BUZZAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY FIRST
A
six-day online AI-
CTE-AQIS spon-
sored Short term
training Program on Re-
centAdvancesinNano-Photonics
Technology (RANPT-2020) con-
cluded at Swami Keshvanand
Institute of Technology Manage-
ment and Gramothan (SKIT),
Jaipur on Saturday. The STTP
was fully sponsored by AICTE
under AQIS scheme. The valedic-
tory was graced with the pres-
enceof thechief guestProf.Mith-
lesh Kumar, Professor, RTU
Kota and the honoured
guestDrBhupeshBishnoi,
National Institute of Ad-
vanced Industrial Science
and Technology, Japan. Prof.
MukeshArora,Head,ECE(SKIT)
delivered the welcome speech to
the honoured guests of the event.
Prof.Mithilesh,RTUKotahigh-
lighted the importance of Nano-
photonics and its relevance in the
recent scenario. Dr Bishnoi also
shed light that how the photonics
and the related technologies are
garneringtheattentionnowadays.
The training program at SKIT
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
PUSHPANJALI...
RAJ: Alok Pareek congratulated Niranjan Arya on taking over as the
Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, at his residence on Sunday.
CONGRATULATIONS!
CITY FIRST
I
f you are passionate enough, you
can turn every dream into reality-
this is what actress Isha Chhabra
believesin.BorninUttarPradesh,
she has always been very ambitious
since her childhood. Started her ca-
reer back in 2009, she has been a part
of various films, TV commercials,
web series and campaigns so far.
Not just this, she has also trained
in gymnastics, yoga, dance and vari-
ous other things. She loves to dance,
eat, exercise and roam the world
and by now she has roamed
around 10 to 12 countries and
her bucket list includes many
more names.
She has recently shot for an up-
coming Tamil film ‘Second
Show’, which is slated to re-
lease in 2021.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
RAJ: In a series
of Net-Theat,
famous singer
Harbans Grewal
from Jaipur
mesmerized
the audience
by presenting
a bouquet of
ghazals with his
melodious voice
in the ‘evening-e-
ghazal’ program
on Saturday.
GUJ: Ketan Umrigar being honoured by the hospital staff
after he recovering from COVID-19 on Sunday. He had
gone through about 100 tests and was being taken care of
at the Civil Hospital in Surat for almost 97 days.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
GUJ: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Women wing members
protesting against gang rape in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
HAPPY B’DAY!
IAS Avichal Chaturvedi,
IPS Shaveta Dhankhar
and IAS Ranjeeta Sharma
celebrated their birthdays
on 1 November, Sunday.
We wish them all the best!
The
birthday of
Advocate
Goverdhan
Singh and
his son
Aditya
Singh falls
on the
same day, 1
November.
They both
celebrated
the birthday
simply with
family and
friends.
Pre-Diwali Bash
CITY FIRST
T
heVirtualDiwali
Social hosted by
CREDAI Ra-
jasthan Women’s
Wing organised a ‘Pre-
Diwali Bash’ for All-In-
dia Real Estate Develop-
ers on Sunday, where
real-estate stakeholders
from across the country
came together to wel-
come the festivities.
The evening began with
a fun Bollywood trivia
followed by an open mic
where members show-
cased their poetry, sing-
ing, storytelling, and
other talents.
AmritaGupta,Found-
er & State Co-ordinator,
CREDAI Rajasthan
Women’s Wing said,
“The core of our CRE-
DAI family lies in sup-
porting each other, and
with this nationwide get
together, we hope to re-
vive the energy and
bring together more
people of the industry.”
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
BIRTHDAY DUO!
SPOTTED!
Bollywood
actor
Harshvardhan
Kapoor was
spotted
shooting in
Jaipur for his
upcoming
film. He
flew back to
Mumbai on
Sunday after
wrapping up
the shoot.
Passion is
Everything
Heetal and Nitesh Agarwal
Amrita and Tara Gupta
Sunil and Nisha Jain
Isha Chhabra
Narendra Swaroop Chandel, son of Late
Ram Swaroop Chandel of Jaipur, left for his
heavenly abode on 31 October, Saturday.
The Pushpanjali program is going to be
held today from 2 to 5 pm at road front of
Anandpuri Park Nayla House. He is deeply
mourned by his sister Sunita Gehlot and
brother-in-law Ashok Gehlot, his wife
Nirmala Chandel, Son Ashish Chandel,
daughter-in-laws Megha-Subhash Kumar,
Barkha- Abhishek Saini and brothers
Damodar Chandel, Anand Chandel, Devendra
Chandel, Kirti Chandel, Shanti Chandel.
he closing cere-
mony of two-day
Picture Box Glam
Fest was held on
Sunday at Jaipur
Ajmer Road
Bhankarota. The
event witnessed mesmer-
izing fashion show with
models donning the jewel-
lery of various renowned
designers.
Jagdeesh Chandra, the
Chief Guestontheoccasion
lit the lamp to kickstart the
event.SocialactivistPandit
Suresh Mishra and
Satyanarayana Sharma of
Shiv Vilas Group were also
present during the event.
The two-day event aimed to
spread the message of Cov-
id New Normal with the
fashion and a talk show.
MissRajasthan2018Sim-
ran Sharma, Miss Ra-
jasthan 2019 Kanchan Kha-
tana, Miss Rajasthan Mod-
els Aruna Beniwal, Mithali
Kaur, Mansi Benada, Ami-
sha Raj, among others were
present on the occasion
where models presented
the look of Nishant & Prei-
ty’s designate Rangrez col-
lection, Vivek Ladda’s jew-
ellery and Deepali Chugh’s
festive look.
KARISHMA
GWALANI
Karishma.gwalani
@firstindia.co.in
Picture Box
GLAM FEST
T
Models posing at ‘The Picture Box’
Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left) Aruna, Simran, Amisha, Mansi, Kanchan and Mitali
Jagdeesh Chandra lighting the lamp with
Mukesh and Yogesh Mishra and others
Models walking the natural
ramp during the show

First india ahmedabad edition-02 november 2020

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to First india ahmedabad edition-02 november 2020

Similar to First india ahmedabad edition-02 november 2020 (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (16)

First india ahmedabad edition-02 november 2020