First india ahmedabad edition-14 december 2020

24X7 RTGS
transaction
facility to start
from today: RBI
Mumbai: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) Gov-
ernor Shaktikanta Das
onSundaysaidRealTime
Gross Settlement (RTGS)
facility in the country
will become operational
from12.30amonMonday
(December 14).
“RTGS facility be-
comes operational 24X7
from 12.30 am tomor-
row. Congratulations to
the teams from RBI, In-
dian Financial Technol-
ogy and Allied Services
(IFTAS) and Turn to P6
RAJ FARMERS MARCH TOWARDS DELHI
Jaipur: Amid the ongoing demonstration against the farm laws, the farmers’
march from Rajasthan started on Sunday morning from Shahjahanpur, which is
around 120 km from Delhi. The group of 800-900 are being led by Swaraj India
chief Yogendra Yadav. Social activist Medha Patkar is also accompanying the
group. Visuals showed farmers carrying placards and shouting slogans as they
walked slowly down the highway. Tractors pulling tarpaulin-covered trailers, and
flanked by cars with banners waved out of the windows, were also seen.
PUNJAB DIG (PRISONS)
TENDERS RESIGNATION
Chandigarh: Punjab DIG (Prisons) Lakhminder
Singh Jakhar on Sunday said he has resigned
from the service in support of farmers. Jakhar
said he tendered his resignation to state govt
on Saturday. In his resignation letter to Prin-
cipal Secretary (Home), he wrote that he was
himself a farmer. “I have always listened to my
conscience and now I earnestly feel that I should
stand by my brotherhood,” he wrote in his
resignation letter.
IN SUPPORT OF
FARMERS, KEJRIWAL
TO FAST TODAY
New Delhi: Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal said on Sunday
that he will be hold-
ing a one-day fast on
Monday in support of
the protesting farmers.
He also urged all AAP
workers and support-
ers to observe one-day
fast in solidarity with
the farmers. Addressing
a virtual press brief-
ing, he said the Centre
should immediately
accept all demands of
the farmers who have
been protesting on
Delhi’s borders for the
past two weeks. He also
asked BJP-ruled Centre
to shun “arrogance”
and scrap the laws as
demanded by agitating
farmers.
DELHI-JAIPUR HIGHWAY
OPENS PARTIALLY
New Delhi: Delhi-Jaipur highway was partially
opened after a three-hour closure that started as
farmers began a tractor march from Shahjahan-
pur on the Rajasthan-Haryana border. A highway
was opened as farmers removed blockade from
the Delhi-Noida border at Chilla. Thousands of
farmers on way to Delhi, meanwhile, reached
the Rewari border of Haryana, where the police
blocked both sides of the Delhi-Jaipur highway
to stop them from entering the state.
GOVT GOES INTO A HUDDLE
AS FARMERS GO ON 9-HR FAST TODAY
New Delhi: Union min-
isters, including home
minister Amit Shah,
Agri minister Narendra
Singh Tomar and minis-
terof stateforcommerce
and industry Som
Parkash, went into a
huddle on Sunday as
farmers, who have been
camping at Delhi’s bor-
ders to demand the re-
pealof threecontentious
laws, showed no sign to
relent. The ministers
were accompanied by
BJP leaders from Pun-
jab. Tomar and Parkash,
alongwiththeirministe-
rial colleague Piyush
Goyal, had led the gov-
ernment’s negotiations
with the protesting
farmers.
Both Tomar and
Parkash met the Union
home minister at his
house and it was not im-
mediately known what
transpired in the meet-
ing, even as the farmers’
agitation in and around
Delhi entered its 18th
day with the protesters
threatening to block the
Delhi-Jaipur highway.
Meanwhile, during a
press conference, on
Sunday, at the Delhi-
Haryana Singhu Border
farmer leader Gurnam
Singh Chaduni an-
nounced that heads of
all farm unions will
hold fast from 8 am till
5 pm on Monday. “Govt
agencies have been
stopping farmers from
reaching Delhi, our pro-
tests will continue till
our demands are met,”
said farmer leader Shiv
Kumar Kakka.
Union Minister
Kailash Choudhary on
Sunday said the govern-
ment will soon decide a
date and call union lead-
ers for the next round of
talks. The government
has made it clear that it
is ready for discussion
anytime. But the farmer
unions have said they
would come for talks
only if the laws are re-
pealed. Asked when the
government will hold
the next round of meet-
ing, Chaudhary told
PTI, “The meeting will
be called soon. We are
ready for discussion.
But the date has not
beenfinalised.”Thegov-
ernment will find “some
solution” to end the
deadlock. “We have full
confidence. In the next
meeting, the issue will
be resolved,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Su-
preme Court is sched-
uled to hear on Decem-
ber 16 a plea seeking a
direction to authorities
to immediately remove
the farmers who are
protesting at several
border points Turn to P6
UNION MINISTERS TOMAR & PARKASH MEET SHAH ON SUNDAY; DATE FOR NEXT ROUND OF TALKS SOON
Security personnel stand guard as farmers block Rajasthan-Haryana border during their protest against farm laws, at NH 48 in Rewari district on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PM leads nation in paying tributes to
victims of 2001 Parliament attack
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
Home Minister Amit
Shah and Defence Min-
ister Rajnath Singh on
Sunday paid tributes to
those who lost their
lives in 2001 Parliament
attack.
Vice President M
Venkaiah Naidu, Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la and Leader of Oppo-
sition in Rajya Sabha
Ghulam Nabi Azad also
paid tributes on the oc-
casion. “Paid floral trib-
utes to the brave mar-
tyrs who laid down
their lives while pro-
tecting our Turn to P6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Arjun Ram Meghwal and others pays homage to
martyrs who lost their lives in 2001 Parliament attack, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
BJP dumps its
coalition partner
in Assam
Guwahati: The BJP on
Sunday virtually
dumped one of its coali-
tion partners in Assam,
the BPF, and picked up a
new ally to gain major-
ity and rule the Bodo-
land Territorial Council
(BTC), a self-governing
body in the Bodo-domi-
nated areas of the state.
TheBodolandPeople’s
Front (BPF), which has
three ministers in the
SarbanandaSonowal-led
coalition government in
the state, has emerged as
the single-largest party
in the just concluded
BTC polls, winning 17
seats in the 40-member
body. Turn to P6
BJP prez Nadda
tests positive
for Covid-19
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) na-
tional president Jagat
Prakash
N a d d a
has tested
positive
for the
novel cor-
onavirus.
Taking to Twitter,
Nadda said he is in
home isolation as per
coronavirus protocol
and is in good health.
The BJP chief also ap-
pealed to people who
came in contact with
him recently to get test-
ed for the infection.
“Observing the ini-
tial symptoms Turn to P6
16°C - 31°C www.firstindia.co.in | www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia | instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 20
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
2 PAKISTANI TERRORISTS
KILLED, 1 ASSOCIATE ARRESTED
IN J-K’S POONCH
P8
DILEMMA OF CHOOSING BETWEEN LOYALISTS
& DISSIDENTS THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT
GEHLOT FACING IN CABINET EXPANSION!
Two Pakistani terrorists
of proscribed terror outfit
LeT were gunned down
and one associate was
arrested at Durgan Poshana
area in Poonch in a joint
operation launched by
Jammu and Kashmir Police,
Indian Army and CRPF.The
slain terrorists have been
identified as Sajid and Bilal.
2 AK 47 Rifles, one UBGL
and one Thuraya Satphone
have been recovered from
their possession.
Yogi’s farmers’ outreach:
Who will blink first?
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Offense is
the best defense. And
nobody knows this bet-
ter than UP Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath,
who put the Opposition
parties stoking farm-
ers’ unrest in Western
UP on the back foot by
launching a blitzkrieg
of development and in-
frastructure projects on
Sunday in Meerut.
After launching 29
projects in Ghaziabad,
the UP CM laid founda-
tion stones of a whop-
ping 88 projects includ-
ing on Sunday in
Meerut. The shift in fo-
cus from Gorakhpur in
Purvanchal (Eastern),
where the UP CM spent
three-days, last week, to
Paschim (Western) UP
is being viewed as a
move to woo farmers’ on
the warpath over new
farm laws. Emphasising
that every penny (sugar-
cane dues) Turn to P6
Yogi Adityanath
Fire NOCs go online to give faceless service: CM Vijay Rupani
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Two
months after the state
announced that pro-
fessional youth will
be empanelled as fire
consultants and they
will give consultancy
to private firms, Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni on Sunday said that
fresh No-Objection
Certificates (NOC)
from the fire depart-
ment will be issued
online. This move to a
faceless, hassle-free
service will begin on
January 26. While
making the announce-
ment, Rupani reiter-
ated that engineers
with fire safety crash
courses will be em-
panelled as fire safety
consultants.
He added that fire
NOCs for new buildings
will be issued for a pe-
riod of three years,
while renewals will be
valid for two years. Fire
safety officers will visit
the sites every six
months and check all
fire safety equipment.
Those applying for fire
NOCs will have to up-
load approvals from the
fire safety officers on-
line and builders/devel-
opers will have to sub-
mit the fire NOC while
filing building plans to
avail Building Use cer-
tificate.
According to the
announcement, all
engineers, who have
additional qualifica-
tions in disaster man-
agement or fire safety
services will be en-
rolled as fire safety
officers. Other engi-
neers, from any disci-
pline, who are willing
to be fire safety offic-
ers, will have to take
online and practical
training, which will
be organized by the
urban local bodies.
Later, they will have
to clear exams, after
which they will be en-
rolled as fire safety
officers.
This list of enrolled
fire safety officers will
be made public so that
they can be hired by
owners and manage-
ment of high-rise build-
ings, residential socie-
ties, hospitals and in-
dustrial units. Once
hired, they will conduct
a check of fire safety
services and issue them
fire NOC.
The decision comes
at a time when fire
NOC renewal is as low
as 20-23% and urban
local bodies don’t
have enough staff to
conduct studies and
get the renewals.
Random surveys are
done when major fire
accidents occur. How-
ever, if there are
enough fire safety of-
ficers to provide ser-
vice and get NOC re-
newal will serve a
dual purpose, Rupani
added.
PORTAL FOR THE SERVICE TO
LAUNCHED ON JANUARY 26
Vijay Rupani

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty’s state-level Chintan
Baithak concluded on
Sunday evening in Gan-
dhinagar. In the 24-hour
marathon exercise, the
party’s state leaders, in
the presence of state in-
charge Bhupender Ya-
dav and joint in-charge
Sudhir Gupta, assessed
the ground situation of
local bodies.
State president CR
Patil, Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani, Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel and other senior
leaders participated in
the Chintan Baithak.
A powerpoint presen-
tation was made about
all six municipal corpo-
rations, 55 nagarpa-
likas, 31 district pan-
chayats, and 231 taluka
panchayats and includ-
ed data about the last
election’s voting pat-
tern and vote share
were compared with
that from the 2017 As-
sembly elections and
the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
Patil reiterated that
the page president plays
a very important role in
turnout and it increas-
es vote share for the
party too.
Party’s chief spokes-
man Bharat Pandya
told the media that the
party is prepared for
the local body elections
and that it has appoint-
ed two observers for
each district. These ob-
servers will consult lo-
cal leaders and prepare
a list of aspiring candi-
dates, which will be
later discussed at the
state level.
He added that the
party’s state-level lead-
ers will meet on Mon-
day, in the presence of
office bearers of vari-
ous cells and district in-
charges. The BJP’s state
unit has appointed IK
Jadeja, Bhargav Bhatt
and Mahesh Kashwala
as state election in-
charge.
Union Minister
Amit Shah has now
been named the page
president for Booth
No. 10 of the Naran-
pura ward in
Ahmedabad. Making
the announcement, Pa-
til stated that this will
boost the morale of
lakhs of workers who
work on the ground.
Chief Minister Rupa-
ni, his wife Anjali Ru-
pani, and Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel have also become
page presidents.
NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
BJP state unit puts party in top
gear for local bodies elections
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah and Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani become
voter’s list page presidents
From left: Deputy CM Nitin Patel, CM Vijay Rupani and BJP state unit chief CR Patil at the Chintan Baithak. The state-level strategy planning session was a marathon 24-hour affair.
Police book 11 in Vejalpur for violating night curfew
Ex-Dudhsagar Dairy chairman
Vipul Chaudhary arrested
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Around
11 people have been de-
tained in Vejalpur for
violating the night cur-
few on Saturday, police
said. Two of the 11 were
arrested on the same
day for assaulting po-
lice officers.
Vejalpur police de-
tained youths on two-
wheelers and two auto
rickshaws drivers
among the violators.
According to police,
their team on duty
stopped these vehicles
and ordered them to re-
turn home due to the
night curfew an-
nounced by the state
government due to the
growing cases of COV-
ID-19. Police say this
group was celebrating a
wedding and thus vio-
lated the lockdown
rules.
Instead of obeying
the police, they start-
ed verbal arguments
with them and later
even assaulted police
officers, officials said.
Two police constables
have suffered inju-
ries. A criminal com-
plaint has been lodged
against 11 persons for
rioting, violation of
public order and ob-
struction of public
servant from dis-
charging duty and vi-
olation of the disaster
management act. Po-
lice have already ar-
rested two persons in
this connection.
In another incident,
a video was circulated
on social media where
some youths are seen
bullying a police team
late in the night.
The location in the
video is identified as
Chacharwadi street
of the Dariyapur
area. When the DCP,
Zone-4, Rajesh Ga-
dhiya was contacted,
he did confirm the
incident and video
clip. He added that
no complaint was
filed against anyone
as there was no unto-
ward incident re-
ported.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s
former home minister
and the former chair-
man of Dudhsagar
dairy was arrested late
at night on Saturday in
Gandhinagar. CID
Crime has registered a
case of embezzlement,
in which Chaudhary
stands accused of mis-
appropriating Rs14
crore meant for salaries
and bonuses of Dudhsa-
gar Dairy employees.
In a written state-
ment issued soon after
his arrest, Chaudhary
said: “This is not a Sa-
gardan (cattle feed)
scam,” he said. The case
has been stayed by the
Cooperative Tribunal
against the order of the
State Registrar.
Investigators suspect
that the scam was car-
ried out with the help of
about30officersandem-
ployees. Dudh Sagar
Dairy also has branches
in other states, making
it an interstate crime.
“Out of the Rs14 crore,
Rs9 crore has been paid.
While details of Rs5
crore are being ob-
tained,”saidChaudhary.
According to Chaud-
hary, the Co-operative
Tribunal on Tuesday
directed the Co-opera-
tive Tribunal against
the order of the Regis-
trar of Co-operative So-
cieties on the condition
of depositing 10% of
the estimated Rs22.5
crore in Dudhsagar
Dairy in Maharashtra
during the drought. A
temporary restraining
order was issued on Oc-
tober 8, 2018.
After the revolt
against the BJP’s Kes-
hubhai government in
1995, Vipul Chaudhary
became Home Minister
and Transport Minister
intheRajpagovernment
formedunderShankars-
inh Vaghela. However,
Shankarsinh later left
the party due to differ-
ences with Vaghela and
rejoinedtheBJP.During
thistime,Chaudharybe-
came the chairman of
the Gujarat Milk Mar-
keting Federation,
whichmarketsthepopu-
lar Amul brand, and
Dudh Sagar Dairy. How-
ever, over time, both po-
sitions were lost.
Two constables were injured in the scuffle. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
He is accused of embezzling Rs14 cr from dairy employees
Chaudhary (in white) was produced before a court in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Another incident also reported, but no arrests made
ANARCHY ON THE STREETS
Congress leaders kept from
participating in farmers’ protests
Several were placed under house arrest in Rajkot
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Vinubhai
Dhaduk, a Congress
leader from Jasdan,
was among those
placed under house ar-
restonSaturdaynight,
allegedly to keep them
from lending their
support to protesting
farmers in Rajkot. Pal
Ambaiya, president of
the Gujarat Kisan
Congress, was also un-
der police surveil-
lance, sources said.
Echoes of the pro-
tests in New Delhi
have been heard in Gu-
jarat as many local un-
ions have tried to car-
ry out demonstrations
in the state. As local
farmer unions are
uniting to march to
the national capital,
Gujarat police are not
allowing the farmer
groups or the opposi-
tion party to stage
demonstrations.
Several farmer lead-
ers affiliated to the
Congress and farmers
organizations in Ra-
jkot district have been
placed under house ar-
rest by the police,
sources said.
Police have arrest-
ed several leaders,
including Jasdan
Congress leader
Vinubhai Dhaduk
and Gondal Congress
leader Bhavesh Bha-
sa. Congress and
peasant leaders from
Lodhika, Jetpur, and
Upleta have been de-
tained by the police
even before they
joined the agitation,
sources confirmed. In
this regard, Vinubhai
said that the govern-
ment has left no stone
unturned in tortur-
ing the farmers.
The Rajkot district
panchayat ruling par-
ty leader has been un-
der house arrest since
Saturday. According
to state government
officials, no society,
organization, or par-
ty leader can cooper-
ate in the agitation to
bring justice to the
farming community
and all traders.
Dhaduk, a farmer
leader, a leader of
the Rajkot district
panchayat ruling
party and the chair-
man of irrigation
committee, has been
working with all the
communities of Jas-
dan taluka in the
farmers’ movement.
Police allegedly
placed him under
house arrest at his
home in Santhali vil-
lage on Saturday.
Dhaduk (right) was allegedly placed under house arrest at his home in Santhali village on Saturday.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
Guj out of Top 10 list
of worst-hit states
Passersby watch as youth is murdered
First India News
Ahmedabad: The
post-Diwali surge in
COVID-19 cases ap-
pears to be settling
down with the state
reporting a steady
day-on-day decrease
in the number of new
cases for the past
week. Gujarat wit-
nessed 1,175 new cas-
es of Sars-CoV-2 in-
fection in the 24-hour
cycle ending Sunday
evening, according to
the bulletin issued by
the state health de-
partment.
With this, Gujarat is
no longer among the 10
worst-hit states in the
country in terms of
new COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, the state
saw another 11 fatali-
ties, taking the total
death toll to 4,071 since
March.
Ahmedabad again re-
ported the highest rise
with 247 new cases,
while cases also
emerged in Surat (172),
Vadodara (152), Rajkot
(129), Gandhinagar (52),
Mehsana (51), and Jam-
nagar (45), among other
districts.
There are now 13,296
active cases in the state,
with 65 patients on ven-
tilator support.
First India Bureau
Surat: A youth, iden-
tified as Rajkumar,
was brutally beaten
to death by a group of
people at Bhagyoday
Industries in the
city’s Puna area, even
as several people
walked by, on Sunday.
Police officials, who
say they have arrested
theprimeaccusedfrom
his residence, say that
Rajkumar worked in
the looms and embroi-
dery unit at Bhagyoday
Industries.
CCTV footage shows
the deceased running
away as he was ap-
proached by some
goons, who caught up
with him and thrashed
him with iron rods. Po-
lice say he was severely
beaten and succumbed
tohisinjuries. Thefoot-
agealsoshowedseveral
peoplewalkingpastthe
crimescenewithoutin-
tervening.
This is the seventh
murder in Surat in two
and a half months.
A total of 2.10 lakh COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Gujarat Tour-
ism received the ‘Best
Stall Award’ for its
unique concept and
decoration at the on-
going India Travel
Mart (ITM) in Jaipur.
ITM is India’s Lead-
ing B2B Travel &
Tourism showcase.
According to Nikita
Kathiriya, Deputy Man-
ager Marketing & Pro-
motions, Tourism Cor-
poration of Gujarat
Ltd, the initiatives tak-
en by the tourism de-
partment highlights the
state’s potential to at-
tract both domestic and
international tourists,
despite the COVID-19
pandemic.
Highlighting the
need to be “Vocal for Lo-
cal”, she said, “It is
gratifying that the vi-
sionary and responsible
tourism activities of
Gujarat Tourism have
been recognized and
awarded by esteemed
organisations.”
Most participants at
the exhibition were
hopeful of a stronger
future in the sector.
Subash Verma, nation-
al advisor for India As-
sociation of Travel and
Tourism Experts, said
that tourism will
bounce back. “Tourists
in all countries will
travel domestically for
the next one-two years,
and India has a tre-
mendous potential for
domestic tourism,” he
said, adding that now
is the time for each
state to push domestic
tourism.
Ajay Gupta, manag-
ing director, ITM, said
the objective of the ex-
hibition is to promote
domestic tourism even
during the pandemic,
and provide the indus-
try, as well as potential
tourists, with informa-
tion regarding differ-
ent types of tourism
and packages. He said
that people who have
been stuck inside their
homes for the past nine
months are itching to
get out.
PP Khanna, presi-
dent of the Associa-
tion of Domestic Tour
Operators highlighted
the need for travel and
tour operators to fol-
low all health and safe-
ty protocols when vis-
iting a tourist destina-
tion. In addition, he
said, operators need to
visit the destinations
beforehand.
“They need to move
out of their offices and
create confidence
amongst the masses to
travel,” he said.
Guj Tourism wins ‘Best Stall Award’ at India Travel Mart conclave
VOCAL FOR LOCAL

ITM is India’s
Leading B2B
Travel & Tour-
ism showcase
that promotes
domestic tour-
ism and spread
information
about the sector
The prize-winning stall featured a large image of Sardar Patel.
Seekinghigherpay,interndocs
togoonstrikefromMonday
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Intern
doctors across the
state are set to walk
away from all du-
ties, including the
treatment of COV-
ID-19 patients, be-
ginning Monday.
They say the Guja-
rat government is
paying doctors less
than other states,
and have demanded
an increase in their
stipend. They will
begin an indefinite
strike on Monday if
their demand is not
met by the govern-
ment, they said.
According to a let-
ter posted on social
media from an ac-
count called “Interns
of Government of Gu-
jarat”, the intern doc-
tors say they have
been working in the
COVID-Care Centre
since April. About 300
doctors have been re-
cruited for COVID-19
duty since the pan-
demic first hit the
state in March.
Despite being con-
stantly on duty with
senior doctors, they
are being paid just
Rs12,800, considerably
less than what other
state governments
paying their doctors,
especially during the
pandemic, they al-
lege.
Despite repeated
representations to
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Nitin Patel, who is
also the state’s health
minister, as well as the
Health Secretary, and
other officials, asking
for a raise in pay, no
positive decision has
been forthcoming.
Hence, say that if
the state does not meet
their demand, all in-
tern doctors working
in government and
GMERS hospitals, and
corporation-run facili-
ties will go on strike
from Monday.
Intern doctors want
to their stipend to be
increased to a mini-
mum of Rs20,000,
which is to be paid ret-
roactively from April.
They say arrears are
also to be paid.
The Delhi govern-
ment pays medical,
dental pass, and in-
tern doctors an hono-
rarium of Rs1,000 for
an eight-hour shift
and Rs2,000 for every
12-hour shift.
About 200 doctors at the GCS Hospital had gone on strike last month, demanding a fee waiver.
INEQUALITY
Commissioners to turn
caretakers in six cities
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Apart
from Junagadh and
Gandhinagar, six Mu-
nicipal Corporations
in the state--Jamnagar,
Bhavnagar, Rajkot,
Ahmedabad, Va-
dodara, and Surat-
-will be headed by
their respective com-
missioners for the first
time, from Monday.
The commission-
ers will take on their
double mantle as ad-
ministrators, since the
term of the mayors,
deputy mayors, stand-
ing committee chair-
men, corporators, etc.,
of the six cities ended
at noon on Sunday.
Usually, the officers
in the corporations get
a senior officer who
has the power of the
general board and the
standing committee
but, this time, the state
government has not
given permission to the
commissioners to make
any policy decisions.
They will only carry
out routine work.
Elected office bear-
ers will have to return
all public facilities in-
cluding cars, offices,
and mobile phones al-
lotted to them by their
respective cities once
their term ends. Elec-
tions to six state corpo-
rations are likely to be
held next February, a
notification on the is-
sue is expected to be
announced in January.
They want their monthly stipend to be increased from the current Rs12,800 to at least Rs20,000
LIMITED ROLE
Threedetainedinacidattack
on family that left woman,
three kids injured in A’bad
First India Bureau
Surendranagar: The
two men accused in
the acid attack on a
woman and her three
children were arrest-
ed along with their sis-
ter in Chotila town on
Sunday by the Suren-
dranagar police.
Brothers Ajay and Vi-
jay Dantani had fled af-
ter pouring acid on their
sister-in-law Laxmiben
Dantani and her three
minor children in
Ahmedabad’s Mendi
Kua area on Saturday
morning while they
slept. The case had been
registeredattheMadhu-
pura police station.
As part of their inves-
tigation, the police had
been surveilling the
phones of the two ac-
cused as well as their
relatives.
On Sunday morning,
police recorded that the
men’s sister in Chotila
had received a call from
an unknown number,
which had gone on for a
long time. Immediately
alerted, the Chotila po-
licetracedthenumberto
a local trader. Chotila
Police Inspector BK Pa-
tel and her team traced
down brothers and have
detainedthemwiththeir
sister.Allthreearebeing
taken to Ahmedabad.
During primary inter-
rogation, both brothers
admitted their guilt and
showed remorse for
theiractions,policesaid.
Ajay and Vijay Dantani, as well as their sister, were arrested.
1,175 cases, 11
fatalities take state
tally to 2,27,683
cases, toll to 4,171
IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE XMAS
With Christmas less than two weeks away, stars, trees and other decor have ﬂooded Ahmedabad’s markets. —HANIF SINDHI
—FILEPHOTO
The ﬁve-year term of the elected wing of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and other civic
bodies ended at noon on Sunday. The elections for these posts are expected to be held in February.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

G Vol 2 G Issue No. 20 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, DECEMBER 14, 2020
You should perform your
duty with a view to guide
people and for universal
welfare. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
edition is perhaps the very
vaguestof alloffencesknownto
the criminal law. The offence of
sedition was pitchforked in the
newsrecently,beit“Delhiriots”
during President Trump’s visit
in February this year; be it the
“Tukade-Tukade” gang of JNU
which advocated fragmentation
of India,orbeittheprosecution
of dissident MLAs in Rajasthan
in June-July this year under
Section 124-A of the Indian Pe-
nal Code, 1860.
It was rightly observed by
Counsel Paulus Pleydell in
“Guy Mannering; or The As-
trologer” (a second of the Wa-
verly novels by Sir Walter
Scott) that “a lawyer without
history or literature is a me-
chanic, a mere working mason;
if he possesses some knowl-
edge of these, he may venture
to call himself an architect.”
For analytical jurists the pre-
sent is more important, for
philosophical jurists the fu-
ture, but the historical jurists
attach greater importance to
the past. Law is not a disjointed
phenomenon or a static entity
but an organic and a living
mechanism to keep pace with
society. Let us track down the
historical evolution of the of-
fence of ‘sedition’ in India.
The offence of sedition was
extant in ancient India. Dhar-
ma-Sutras” bear ample testi-
mony to this. From very early
times, the lawgivers treated the
king as the embodiment of the
state. There were two entities
– one the king, the individual
and two the kingship, the insti-
tution - which represented the
state. Arthur Coke Burnell,
who has translated ‘Manu Sm-
riti’ in ‘The Ordinances of
Manu’, has cited Manu – the
ancient lawgiver – to the effect
that ‘a king is not to be de-
spised’….. (pp 227-228). Kau-
tilya has also echoed similar
views in his ‘Artha Shastra’
(1.13). Even in such early works
as the ‘Rig Ved’ there are
hymns glorifying the office of
king (Rig Ved IV 42). It should
be noted that it was not the
king but the kingly office that
actually carried special dignity
and sanctity and invoked re-
spect and any offence against
this office was treated very se-
verely indeed. For offences
against the royal office Narada
has prescribed monetary and
corporal punishment (Narada
Smriti, Parikirnaka, 13). The
‘Matsya Puran’ advocates ag-
gravated punishment for inter-
fering with the authority of the
king (‘Matsya Puran’ 227.185).
Brhaspati was much lenient
and suggested lighter punish-
ment for a person inimically
disposed towards king (Brhas-
pati Smriti XVII).
It is significant that Kaman-
daka emphasised that there
was no punishment, other than
death, for the offence of sub-
verting the state (Kamandaka
Nitisara XIV 16). In Mudrarak-
shasa there is an instance of
Sreshthi Canadandasa being
taken to the execution ground
for doing what was politically
unwholesome - Rajapathyaka-
rinam (Mudrarakshasam VII).
Manu has stated that in a king’s
realm there is no thief, nor
adulteror, nor libellor. Accord-
ing to Burnell ‘libellor’ here
means ‘one with an injurious
voice and sentiments towards
the king’ (‘The Ordinances of
Manu’ p. 239). Medhatithi has
opined that no communication
must be had with the man who
excites hatred towards the king
nor should he be allowed to en-
ter the house. Disloyal feudato-
ries were kept under check af-
ter the failures of rebellion and
were subjected to various in-
dignities (Epigraphia Indica
XVIII pp. 43-46). It is quite clear
that royal policy measures
were not always liked by the
people and that some political
crimes were committed during
outbursts of resentments.
Thus, our ancient legal texts
prohibited the people from de-
spising and diffusing hatred
against the office. There are
various references to instances
where people were punished
for exciting disaffection to-
wards the king (Mrcchhakati-
kam VI). The ancient regimes
in our country realised that a
government has the right to
object when its populace wan-
der off from criticism to cal-
umny. Those who excited evil
prejudices and stirred up dis-
content against the king and
the kingdom were the produc-
ers of mischief of the gravest
character. Those who distilled
and sold the poisonous product
of ferment to saturate the gul-
lible masses with evil thoughts
of king and kingdom were re-
pressed with a strong hand.
During the medieval period
there was a disintegration of
theancientIndianempire.Mus-
lim invaders captured our terri-
tory and a cultural conflict en-
sued wherein the ancient legal
mores were subdued. Conse-
quently, the laws of these invad-
ers held sway and added to the
extreme fluidity of the contem-
porary legal system. Muslim
laws had an ethico-religious
tinge and were prone to subjec-
tive application. Strictly speak-
ing, Islamic law did not have a
distinct corpus of “criminal
law”. It divided crimes into dif-
ferent categories depending on
the offence. Huddud were
crimes against God. Their pun-
ishment was prescribed in the
Quran and Hadiths. Qisas were
crimes against an individual or
family. Their punishment was
equal retaliation as per the
Quran and the Hadiths. Tazir
were crimes whose punishment
was left to the discretion of the
ruler or judge. Siyasah were
crimes against the government.
The offence of sedition, as
such, was not in vogue but we
find instances of revolt by the
Muslims themselves against
their rulers. Aram Shah pro-
voked rebellion against the re-
gime of Altmish. Similarly, re-
bellion incited by Ali Mardan,
again against Altmish, was
quelled. Razia Sultana had to
suppress the upsurge of sol-
diers against her regime. It is,
therefore, noticeable that the
offence of exciting disaffec-
tion, which included disloyalty
and all feelings of enmity,
against the Muslim rulers was
not unknown in the medieval
period also. Any incitement
and disparaging exhortation
against the Muslim kings was
dealt with an iron hand.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SEDITION IN INDIA – A
HISTORICAL RETROSPECT
S
The offence of
sedition, as such,
was not in vogue
but we find
instances of
revolt by the
Muslims
themselves
against their
rulers. Aram
Shah provoked
rebellion against
the regime of
Altmish.
Similarly,
rebellion incited
by Ali Mardan,
again against
Altmish, was
quelled. Razia
Sultana had to
suppress the
upsurge of
soldiers against
her regime
SHRAWAN
SAWHNEY
THE OFFENCE OF
SEDITION WAS EXTANT
IN ANCIENT INDIA.
DHARMA-SUTRAS”
BEAR AMPLE
TESTIMONY TO THIS.
FROM VERY EARLY
TIMES, THE LAWGIVERS
TREATED THE KING
AS THE EMBODIMENT
OF THE STATE
IAS (RETD.) SOLICITOR
& LEGAL CONSULTANT
oday’s growing
world popula-
tion and a privi-
leged minority’s
rapidly rising
living standards are driving
resource consumption and
waste production at a rate
requiring the capacities of
1.7 Earths and fuels alarm-
ing levels of global warm-
ing. And the ocean is in-
creasingly suffering the
consequences – not only the
well-known large-scale
bleaching of tropical corals
caused by rising tempera-
tures, but also the less visi-
ble risks of ocean-water
acidification and temporal
and spatial discrepancies in
productivity patterns due to
species-specificadaptability.
Earth, and especially the
ocean, is thus approaching
the tipping point of irre-
versible degradation. That
would be a tragedy, marked
bytheocean’sincreasingin-
ability to provide us and fu-
turegenerationswithneces-
sities such as healthy food,
the carbon cycle, nutrient
regeneration, and mitiga-
tion of global warming.
A recent studies and as-
sessments indicate, the
world is still able to change
course in the face of this
threat,if majorpressures—
including climate change—
are mitigated and marine
ecosystems restored. But a
new risk is looming on the
horizon: commercial deep-
seabed mining for in-de-
mand minerals.
The industry’s prevail-
ing narrative today is that
the world needs deep-sea
minerals – including rare-
earth elements, cobalt,
manganese, and tellurium
– to enable the renewable-
energy transition and de-
carbonize the global econ-
omy. But recent economic
analyses suggest that exist-
ing land-based mining and
a transition towards a cir-
cular economy can fill pos-
sible gaps in mineral sup-
ply, and even indicate that
surplus mineral produc-
tion, such as from the deep
sea, may cause prices to
collapse. So, who will gain
from mining the seafloor?
The mining of mineral-
rich substrates will poten-
tially affect the largely un-
touched deep sea at depths
of 2,000-4,000 meters in
some national waters, as
well as the international
seabed, known legally as
“the Area.” The 1982 Unit-
ed Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNC-
LOS) declared the Area
and its mineral resources
to be the “common herit-
age of mankind,” and es-
tablished the International
Seabed Authority (ISA) – a
Jamaica-based body that
currently has 168 member
states – to manage them.
Since it came into exist-
ence in 1994, the ISA has
signed 30 mineral-explora-
tion contracts with 21 enti-
ties – sponsored by 16 states
and one consortium. And
industry pressure to start
commercialexploitationhas
increased in recent years.
Although this impa-
tience is perhaps under-
standable, seabed mineral
depositsaretypicallyfound
in highly specific and sen-
sitive ecosystems. Older
and more ecologically sta-
ble locations have more
concentrated deposits and
thus attract greater mining
interest, but the associated
ecosystems are more spe-
cialized and diverse.
Recent research has rev-
olutionized our view of the
deep sea and revealed an
extraordinary diversity of
small-scale habitats, life
forms, and strategies. But
we have yet to uncover
most of these ecosystems’
secrets, and our under-
standing of their complex-
ity and functional relation-
ships is still in its infancy.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
Must we risk destroying the ocean to save the planet?
T
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Welcome the round-the-clock
availability of RTGS money
transfer services on all days
from today 12:30 PM. This will
facilitate global integration of
Indian ﬁnancial markets, lead
to development of international
ﬁnancial centers in the country
and facilitate seamless payments.
Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani
NDA victory in Assam BTC polls is
validation of PM @narendramodi
Ji’s development agenda for
the State. I congratulate CM
@sarbanandsonwal Ji, @
himantabiswa, @RanjeetkrDass &
UPPL for the victory and express
gratitude towards the people of
Assam for their support.
IN-DEPTH
FARMERS’ STIR CAN’T
CONTINUE FOREVER
here’s no end in sight to protest by farm-
ers who began converging on the Delhi-
Jaipur Highway to block access to Delhi
while refusing to compromise on their
demand for the repeal of the three new
farm laws. The government, on the other hand, is
resorting to the usual tactic of maligning the pro-
testers by calling them Khalistanis and tukde-
tukde gang besides staying firm on its no rollback
stand. The ranks of agitators and their sympathiz-
ers are, meanwhile, swelling. Punjab’s DIG Prisons
Lakhminder Singh resigned in farmers’ support
and next in line are 5000 army veterans who have
threatened to return their gallantry medals.
The government is not just waiting for farmers
to come forward for talks and calling them names
but it is also trying to create a split among farmers.
A group of farmers met Agriculture Minister Nar-
endra Singh Tomar and threatened to start their
own agitation if the new laws are repealed. The
petition filed in the Supreme Court by a faction of
the Bharatiya Kisan Union challenging the validity
of the three Acts passed in September this year is
also being viewed with skepticism. Validation of
theActsfromtheApexCourtwouldgivethegovern-
ment the handle to crack down on the protesters.
With all the power at its command, the govern-
ment will eventually win this fight against farm-
ers who must understand that there is a difference
between the National Democratic Alliance and the
earlier government of United Progressive Alli-
ance. They must realise that no BJP-ruled the state
will allow their protest to succeed and plan their
strategy accordingly.
T
ALL EYES ARE ON COVID
VACCINE CANDIDATES
n India the Covid-19 caseload is now a lit-
tle over 3 percent and the situation looks
much under control but life is far from
normal as the fear of the virus is still
haunting us. With the necessary proto-
cols in place this is bound to decline further. The
goal, however, is to protect the virus from infecting
the people. The government and pharmaceutical
companiesare,therefore,arestrivingtomakeavac-
cine available to the masses at the earliest.
Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute
of India, has said that the Covid-19 vaccination
drive was likely to begin in January. The SII is test-
ing the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine and expects
clearance for emergency trial later this month.
Last week the Subject Expert Committee asked the
SII and Bharat Biotech for further study on the
safety and efficacy of their vaccine as risk-free
vaccination is important for restoring people’s
confidence so badly eroded by the pandemic.
Although Pfizer and Sputnik V are already be-
ing used, India could wait for SII and Bharat Bio-
tech vaccines as they’ll be not only cheaper but
will also be easier to maintain. Pfizer’s being an
RNA vaccine there were apprehensions of adverse
side-effects in the long run. Those fears have been
addressed but its price and low temperatures of
minus 70 degrees required for maintenance makes
it unsuitable.
That is why all eyes are on the vaccines being
developed by Bharat Biotech and the SII which are
in a critical stage of trials. States are already
geared up for the task of vaccination.
I

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
24X7 RTGS...
theservicepartnerswho
made this possible,” Das
tweeted. “India will be
among very few coun-
tries globally with a 24 x
7 x 365 large-value real-
time payment system.
This will facilitate inno-
vations in the large val-
ue payments ecosystem
and promote ease of do-
ing business,” Das has
said in an earlier state-
ment. —ANI
BJP dumps...
BPF president Hagra-
ma Mohilary said his
party repeatedly ap-
pealed to the BJP to fol-
low the “coalition”
norms and help it to
form a “government” in
the BTC, but the BJP ig-
nored the pleas.
The United People’s
Party Liberal (UPPL)
has won 12 seats, the
BJP nine, while the
Congress and the Gana
Suraksha Party (GSP),
headed by Lok Sabha
MP Naba Sarania, got
one each.
The BJP and BPF,
along with the AGP,
fought the 2016 assem-
bly elections together in
which BPF got 12 seats,
winning all they has
contested. Three of its
MLAs are still minis-
ters in the Sonowal gov-
ernment. —PTI
Yogi’s farmers’...
owed would be paid to
farmers even if it re-
quires stopping emolu-
ments of MLAs and
MPs, Yogi has vowed to
unshackle them from
the chains of vested in-
terests and bring them
on the path of prosperi-
ty.
Instead of directly
locking horns with the
opposition parties, or
for that matter, farmers,
Yogi has deftly couched
his counter-campaign
and using his a vocabu-
lary of ‘development
and empowerment.’ He
is keeping his ear to the
ground. If sources in
BJP are to be believed,
the party may soon hold
‘Kisan Chuapals’ in
western districts soon
to spread awareness
about the farmers wel-
fare schemes and work
it has done for them.
What, however, is mak-
ing UP CM’s task diffi-
cult is the support of
some BJP allies and
RSS outfits to the agita-
tion. The million dollar
question is: who will
blink first?
BJP prez...
of coronavirus, I got
myself tested and the
report came back posi-
tive. My health is fine, I
am following all the
guidelines and I am in
home isolation on the
advice of doctors. My
request is, whoever has
come in contact in the
last few days, please iso-
late yourself and get
yourself tested,” his
tweet read.
Recently, he visited
West Bengal as part of
his 120-days nationwide
tour. —ANI
PM leads...
Parliament in the 2001
terrorist attack. I bow to
their exemplary cour-
age and sacrifice,” Shah
tweeted.
Earlier today, Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi paid
tributes to victims of
the 2001 terror attack on
Parliament.
“My humble tribute
to personnel from police
and Parliament who
lost their lives on this
day in 2001, in a bid to
protect the House. Their
loyalty and valour will
continue to inspire us
and further strengthen
our resolve to fight
against terrorism,” Om
Birla tweeted (roughly
translated from Hindi).
“We will never forget
the cowardly attack on
our Parliament on this
day in 2001. We recall
the valour and sacrifice
of those who lost their
lives protecting our Par-
liament. India will al-
ways be thankful to
them,” PM Modi tweet-
ed.On December 13,
2001, five heavily-armed
terrorists belonging to
terror outfit Lashkar-e-
Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-
Mohammed (JeM),
stormed the Parliament
complex in New Delhi
and opened fire indis-
criminately. Around 14
people, mostly security
forces and one civilian,
were killed in the at-
tack. —ANI
Govt goes...
of Delhi against three
new farm laws, saying
commuters are facing
hardships due to the
road blockades and the
gatherings might lead
to an increase in the
number of COVID-19
cases. According to the
apex court website, a
bench of Chief Justice
S A Bobde & justices A
S Bopanna and V Ra-
masubramanian will
hear the plea filed by
law student Rishabh
Sharma, who has also
sought directions to au-
thorities to open the
roads at Delhi’s bor-
ders, shift the protest-
ers to allotted place and
provide guidelines on
social distancing and
use of masks at the pro-
test site in order to curb
the spread of COVID-19.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Senior Con-
gress leader P Chidam-
baram slammed the
Central government
and alleged that some of
its Ministers had allud-
ed to the presence of
“separatist” elements
in ongoing farmers’ pro-
test against the agricul-
ture reforms. “Minis-
ters have described the
protesters against the
Farm Laws as Khal-
istanis; agents of Paki-
stan & China; Maoists;
&, the latest, tukde tuk-
de gang,” the Congress
leader tweeted. “If you
exhaust all these catego-
ries, it means there are
no farmers among the
thousands of protest-
ers. If there are no farm-
ers, why is the govern-
ment talking to them?”
he asked.
Meanwhile, several
rounds of talks have
taken place between the
Centre and farmer lead-
ers regarding the laws
but no headway has
been made on the front
Farmers are protesting
against the Farmer’s
Produce Trade & Com-
merce (Promotion and
Facilitation) Act, 2020,
the Farmer (Empower-
ment and Protection)
Agreement of Price As-
surance & Farm Ser-
vices Act, 2020 & Essen-
tial Commodities
(Amendment) Act, 2020.
‘If there are no farmers,
why govt talking to them?’Chidambaram slams the Central government over issue of ongoing farmers’ protest
Jammu: The sixth
phase of District De-
velopment Council
(DDC) elections record-
ed voter percentage of
42.79 per cent across 31
constituencies spread
over different districts
of Jammu and Kash-
mir till 1 pm on Sunday.
As per the figures
given by the office of
State Election Commis-
sioner, in Kashmir Di-
vision, Pulwama has
recorded a voting per-
centage of 6.80 per
cent, Baramulla 26.68
per cent, Kulgam 32.71
per cent, Shopian 3.66
per cent, Anantnag
20.95 per cent, Bandip-
ora 40.57 per cent, Gan-
derbal 45.89 per cent,
Kupwara 41.21 per cent
and Budgam 27.44 per
cent till 1 pm.
Similarly, in Jammu
and Kashmir division,
Udhampur has record-
ed a voting percentage
of 54.69 per cent, Jam-
mu 55.62 per cent,
Kathua 50.09 per cent,
Ramban 61.91 per cent,
Doda 53.39 per cent,
Samba 60.61 per cent,
Poonch 60.73 per cent,
Rajouri 63.07 per cent
and Reasi 61.21 per
cent till 1 pm.
DDC elections:
42.79 pc
votes polled till
1 pm in J-K
New Delhi: With contin-
ued farmers protests
regarding the Central
farm laws, Union Min-
ister of State for Fi-
nance Anurag Thakur
has said that the gov-
ernment led by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi brought three
laws to double the in-
come of farmers and
that the present gov-
ernment paid Mini-
mum Support Price
(MSP), double than
what was paid by the
previous UPA govern-
ment.
"The three agricul-
ture laws were brought
so as to double the in-
come of farmers. In the
last six years, Modi
government paid more
than double MSP, then
what was paid in the
UPA time. During 2009-
2014, the UPA govern-
ment paid Rs 3,75,000
crore whereas the NDA
government has paid
over Rs 8,00,000 crore,"
the Minister said.
"The farmers have
been given the freedom
to sell their products to
anybody in the country
at any cost. They will
own their farmlands,
only their crops will be
on contracts. The gov-
ernment has made this
arrangement too. The
Centre is working hard
to double their income
by 2022," he added.
New farm laws to double
income of farmers: Thakur
Bolpur: Claiming that
Trinamool Congress su-
premo Mamata Baner-
jee is "banking on vio-
lence" to return to pow-
er, BJP national general
secretary Kailash Vi-
jayvargiya on Sunday
said central forces
should be deployed im-
mediately in West Ben-
gal to put an end to the
prevailing atmosphere
of political violence
and terror in the state.
With Assembly polls
due in the state in April-
May next year, the BJP
Bengal minder ap-
pealed to the Election
Commission to ensure
free and fair elections,
saying there should not
be any place for fear
and violence.
"Mamata Banerjee
knows that the land un-
der her feet has slipped
and so she is trying to
return to power in the
state on the strength of
violence.
"I urge the Election
Commission to deploy
central forces from now
itself in order to put an
end to the prevailing at-
mosphere of political
violence and terror in
the state," Vijayvargiya
said. The ruling TMC
and the BJP have been
engaged in a war of
words over the attack
on BJP national presi-
dent J P Nadda''s con-
voy by alleged TMC
supporters.
‘Deploy central forces
immediately in Bengal’
Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla releases
book on Parl attack
Om Birla during the release of the book ‘The Shaurya Unbound’,
which narrates stories of exemplary courage of CRPF India
Bravehearts, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla re-
leased a book on occa-
sion of 19th anniversa-
ry of the Parliament
attack.
He released the book
‘The Shaurya Unbound’
(English Version) and
‘Samundar Samawe
Boond Mein’ (Hindi
Version) in the national
capital on December 13.
Central Reserve Po-
lice Force (CRPF) DG
Dr Anand Prakash Ma-
heshwari also attended
the book launch cere-
mony along with other
officers.
Addressing the me-
dia, Central Reserve
Police Force DG said,
“We are fully prepared
to face any challenge
now and are updated
with all the relevant in-
telligence.
All the concerned
agencies are in synergy
with each other and
best possible security
systems will be given to
new Parliament.”
Chadha among 3 MLAs
detained by Delhi Police
New Delhi: The Delhi
Police detained 3 AAP
MLAs with Raghav
Chadha ahead of their
plannedprotestatHome
Minister Amit Shah’s
residence. This comes
after Police had rejected
Raghav Chadha’s re-
quest for permission to
hold a demonstration at
Union Minister Shah’s
residence on Sunday in
view of the pandemic.
On Saturday, Chadha
has written a letter to
Delhi Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police request-
ing for permission to
hold a dharna outside
the residence of Union
Home Minister against
alleging misappropria-
tion of funds by New
Delhi Municipal Coun-
cil (NDMC).
Mumbai: The Mumbai
Police has arrested Re-
public TV CEO Vikas
Khanchandani in the
alleged TRP manipula-
tion case. Recently, Re-
public TV Network has
alleged that its Assis-
tant Vice President
(Distribution) Ghan-
shyam Singh, who was
released on bail on De-
cember 5, was “tor-
tured and assaulted”
during interrogation
by Mumbai police. An
interim application
has been filed by Re-
public Media Network
before Bombay HC stat-
ing that Singh was
lashed with “chakki
belt” while he was in
the custody of Mumbai
Police. He was arrested
on November 10 in con-
nection with the al-
leged Television Rat-
ing Point (TRP) scam.
The interim applica-
tion says that police
force was saying in
Marathi “inko maaro
maro maro”. It says
that Singh was forced
to extend his hand be-
fore the police officers
& he was whipped by a
chakki belt three times
(twice on the right
hand and once on the
left hand).
Mum Police arrests Republic TV
CEO in TRP manipulation case
P Chidambaram
New Delhi: Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) leader
Manoj Jha has urged
the government to
speak to farmer leaders
protesting against the
three farm laws passed
in the Parliament
recently. "I am very
sorry to say that I have
never seen such an
insensitive government
in my lifetime. They
are calling the protes-
tors Khalistanis and
Pakistanis. Then why is
the government talking
with farmers," Jha said.
"The farmers and the
rest of the society are
not demanding the
moon from the govern-
ment. They just want
proper arrangements,
but the government is
not listening to them. I
urge the government to
listen to them so that
things do not go out of
hand," RJD leader said.
He added that if the
government listens to
farmers, its reputation
will not be affected, but
instead, their stature
will increase in history.
RJD LEADER MANOJ JHA URGES
GOVT TO LISTEN TO FARMERS
New Delhi: Amid the
rise in fuel prices, Con-
gress General Secre-
tary in-charge of Uttar
Pradesh Priyanka
Gandhi slammed BJP
saying that the party
has earned around Rs
3 lakh crore additional
revenue by increasing
the excise duty on fuel
in 2020. “Petrol and
diesel prices are sky-
rocketing. By increas-
ing excise duty on fuel
in 2020, the BJP gov-
ernment has earned
around 3 lakh crore ad-
ditional revenue. But
instead of providing
relief to the people
where is this money
going? Please explain.
Rs 20,000 crore on Par-
liament Corridor. Rs
16,000 crore for Prime
Minister’s plane and
Rs 2 crores being spent
on advertising daily,”
Priyanka Gandhi
tweeted Minister of
Petroleum & Natural
Gas, Dharmendra
Pradhan said there
has been a rise in fuel
prices in the interna-
tional market because
of recent elections in
USA & other reasons.
Priyanka Gandhi slams Centre for hike in fuel prices
Priyanka Gandhi
Vikas Khanchandani
Raghav Chadha
Kailash Vijayvargiya
‘HINDU RAJ IN WEST BENGAL SOON’
Pragya Singh Thakur

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
JAYATI GHOSH
I
ndia’s capital is
under siege from
more than two
million farmers, who
are currently gathered
at the city’s border in a
massive protest that
started two weeks ago.
Old and young men,
women, and even chil-
dren from farming fam-
ilies are camping on
open roads in the bitter
cold of a Delhi winter.
They have abandoned
their concerns about
viral infection and
come prepared for the
long haul, bringing
enough food to last for
several months.
The movement began
when several thousand
farmers from the neigh-
bouringstatesof Punjab
andHaryanadrovetheir
tractors toward Delhi in
the hope of publicizing
their grievances in the
city’s centre. The pro-
tests subsequently
swelledasmorefarmers
arrived from other
states, and show no sign
of dissipating. More
than500farmers’organ-
izationsacrossIndiaare
supporting the protest-
ers’ demands, and the
farmers’ calls for
“BharatBandh,”orana-
tional shutdown, on De-
cember8garneredwide-
spread support from
tradeunionsandseveral
opposition parties.
The immediate trig-
ger for the protests was
the government’s hasty
enactment of three new
farm laws, introduced
during the COVID-19
pandemic without con-
sulting stakeholders,
like the farmers them-
selves, or state govern-
ments, which are re-
sponsibleforagriculture
under India’s Constitu-
tion.
On the face of it, the
lawsappearharmlessor
evenbeneficialforfarm-
ers. They relax restric-
tions on the purchase
and sale of farm pro-
duce, remove con-
straints on stockpiling
under the 1955 Essential
Commodities Act, and
enable contract farming
based on written agree-
ments. The govern-
ment’sdeclaredpurpose
is to create “an ecosys-
tem where farmers and
tradersenjoyfreedomof
choice,” with “competi-
tive alternative trading
channels”that“promote
efficient, transparent,
and barrier-free” trade.
India’s farmers view
the new legislation very
differently.Theyfearthat
these “modernizing”
lawswillpavethewayfor
the predatory corporate
commercialization of In-
dian agriculture, led by
politically well-connect-
ed tycoons. Others argue
that the laws effectively
deregulatefarm-produce
transactions, contract
farming, and stock hold-
ing in ways that will
harmfarmers.Smalland
marginal farmers fear
they will be the worst af-
fected.
Thesemeasureswere
probably the proverbial
last straw for many
farmers,whoseprotests
have become more vo-
cal in recent years as
threats to their liveli-
hood have increased.
True, farm incomes
were declining continu-
ouslybeforePrimeMin-
ister Narendra Modi
came to power in 2014.
In fact, farmers played
a crucial role in Modi’s
initial election triumph
after he promised to
double their incomes in
five years by offering
minimum support pric-
es (MSPs) for their pro-
duce (sold to the public
food-procurementagen-
cy) that were 50% above
total cultivation costs.
But Modi failed to
keep that promise, and
farmersinsteadreceived
prices that were even
lower relative to their
coststhantheyhadbeen
under the previous gov-
ernment. Several of
Modi’sotherpromisesto
the agriculture sector
alsoturnedouttobehol-
low, further eroding
farmers’ trust in his ad-
ministration.
In recent years, col-
lapsing demand in the
Indian economy has
kept prices for agricul-
tural produce low. This
was the result of policy
blunders—two in par-
ticular—that destroyed
many informal econom-
ic activities and dam-
agedlivelihoods:theNo-
vember 2016 demoneti-
zation initiative and the
subsequent poorly con-
ceivedandimplemented
national goods and ser-
vices tax.
The government did
not use fiscal policy to
revive employment and
demand, so both in-
comesandconsumption
declined, keeping crop
prices low. The pandem-
ic subsequently made it
much harder for farm-
ers to grow produce and
get it to market, while
crop prices have re-
mained well below 2019
levels.
Farmers suspect that
the new laws will sound
the death knell for the
public food-procure-
ment system, which,
though imperfect, still
provides them with
some basic protection
against the vagaries of
the market. And they
can see that crop prices
in states like Bihar
(which has already end-
ed the monopoly of reg-
ulated market yards)
fall well below the
MSPs.
One of the new laws
aims to do away with
“middlemen” like com-
mission agents. But
farmers say they would
rather interact with
such people, and poten-
tially develop a relation-
shipthatallowsforsome
flexibility and conces-
sions when required,
than with faceless, in-
tractable corporations
that can use various
means—such as “quali-
ty control” during pur-
chase—to deprive them
of their due.To be sure,
farmers must also wor-
ry about ecological con-
straints and soil degra-
dation resulting from
ever-greater reliance on
chemical agriculture,
scarce and contaminat-
ed water, and climate
change (reflected in ad-
verse weather events
and changing rainfall
patterns). But the Modi
government’s policies,
farmers fear, would
worsen these problems.
So far, the govern-
ment has sought to deal
with the angry farmers
much as it has done
withalldemocraticpro-
tests.Itinitiallyignored
the demonstrators, be-
fore claiming that they
were being misled and
manipulatedbymalevo-
lent opposition forces.
The government then
implied that the Sikh
farmers were “anti-na-
tionals” and therefore
“terrorists,” and used
brute force to quell
peacefulprotests.Pliant
mainstream media and
social media trolls have
beenunleashedinanef-
fort to undermine the
farmers and discredit
their demands, just as
they have aggressively
attacked all dissenters
over the past six years.
The government has
refused to bend to the
farmers’ central de-
mand of doing away
with these laws. It ap-
parently thinks the
open-air protests may
in time fizzle out, espe-
cially given the cold
that has already
claimedthelivesof sev-
eral demonstrators.
But this could be hu-
bris. Around half of
India’s total workforce
depends on agricul-
ture, and two-thirds of
the population (and
70% of rural people)
depend on farm in-
comes directly or indi-
rectly. The protesting
farmers’ resolve, and
their widespread pub-
lic support, suggest
that this time could be
different.
The Central government apparently thinks that the huge open-air farmers’ protests outside Delhi may fizzle out in
due course. But the farmers’ resolve, and their widespread public support, suggest that this time could be different.
FARMERS VS THE
IndianState
SOURCE:
PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM

Belief is good. Belief in goodness
and love is better. Anything
which promotes hate does not
deserve your belief.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Dilemma of choosing between loyalists & dissidents, the
biggest impediment Gehlot facing in cabinet expansion!
z How would you de-
cipher the mirage of
PCC re-constitution,
political appoint-
ments and the cabinet
expansion, which
seems to have blurred
the vision of every-
body concerned?
The answer to all the
questions related to is-
sues pointed out by you,
are with CM Ashok Ge-
hlot and yet due to the
fog of multiple uncer-
tainties like pulls &
pressures, caste factors,
political factors, dissi-
dence against the state
government and Corona
have created such a situ-
ation. This forces one to
wonder whether the
long pending issues like
PCC re-constitution, po-
litical appointments,
ministerial reshuffle
and some other impor-
tant decisions will ever
find a solution or not.
Let us simply hope that
the Congress High Com-
mand and CM Gehlot,
soon enough, one day
realise that they have all
the solutions and they
unveil them to end the
mirage and clear the vi-
sion.
z What according to
you is CM Gehlot’s in-
ner thought in all
this?
I feel he is in a dilemma.
Dilemma of annoying a
large number of his sup-
porters, who stood by
him in the hour of need,
for the sake of those
handful, who revolted
againstthepartyandthe
state government and
had virtually knocked
the doors of BJP. These
102 supporters, who
helped Gehlot govern-
ment survive, are with
him in thick and thin,
but only until Gehlot
doesn’t resort to ap-
peasement of the dissi-
dents, who are back in
the party fold now. Such
an appeasement might
even lead to a big revolt
in the party, which even
a highly skilful & experi-
enced Gehlot may fail to
manage. Some may al-
lege that such a revolt
would be stage-managed
by Gehlot himself, but it
would be a genuine re-
volt by his supporters
‘hurt’deepinside.So,the
day, CM Gehlot is able to
differentiate between
these loyalists and those
handful, who had shown
open dissidence and
came out of his dilem-
ma,thenitwouldn’ttake
even24hoursforthenew
ministers to take oath at
the Raj Bhawan.
z What are the im-
pediments holding
Gehlot back and don’t
you find it unusual
that AICC state in-
charge Ajay Maken
conveyed the dead-
lines for the party &
political appoint-
ments to CM Gehlot
through an interview
given to PTI?
The dilemma of choos-
ing between the loyal-
ists and dissidents, is
the topmost reason fol-
lowed by the unprece-
dented corona crisis,
coupled with the finan-
cial crunch and then the
critical caste & group
balancing in the event
of inclusion of the dis-
sidents, form the wall of
multiple reasons hold-
ing Gehlot back. Con-
sidering the experience,
stature and command
of Ashok Gehlot and his
access to Gandhi family,
it was extra ordinary
for the party High Com-
mand to route its mes-
sage through party Gen-
eral Secretary who in
turn, chose PTI to carry
forward it rather than a
‘direct approach.’ Con-
sidering the kind of sea-
soned & mature politi-
cian Maken is along
with his personal admi-
ration of Gehlot’s sen-
iority and skills plus
according to my person-
al knowledge, I am sure
that Maken did this on
the instructions of So-
nia Gandhi, who want-
ed Gehlot to come out of
his dilemma now.
z What was the ‘chro-
nology’ of the events
according to you, did
the Congress High
Command first in-
form CM Gehlot of
the deadlines for ap-
pointments and then
asked Maken to go
public or was it Mak-
en trying to pacify Pi-
lot camp after CM all
of a sudden, resur-
rected the ‘Conspiracy
Still at Work’ theory?
Mark my words, Con-
gress High Command
willneverdoanythingin
Rajasthan without first
taking Gehlot in confi-
dence. So, Gehlot knew
of the ‘deadline’ issue. It
was surprising for Ge-
hlot to rake up the dissi-
dence episode from an
unusual platform of
MLA Sanyam Lodha’s
function, but what actu-
ally happened according
to my sources, is that af-
ter Gehlot raised the is-
sue of yet another at-
tempt to topple his gov-
ernment, Pilot himself
called Maken and told
himthathewouldliketo
finally break his silence
and demeanour and re-
act to the CM’s state-
ment.ThisforcedMaken
to stop Pilot and go pub-
licwiththeappointment
deadline dates after due
permission from the
High Command and
which I think was a
‘smart move’ to satisfy
all the stakeholders in-
cluding the aspirant
partyworkers,loyalsup-
porters and the Pilot
camp.
z Do you think now
the deadlines for the
political appoint-
ments and cabinet ex-
pansion will be fol-
lowed?
Let’s keep our fingers
crossed and hope that
everything happens
keeping the sanctity of
the High Command’s
instructions, but these
are complex issues and
may stretch a bit, but I
am certain that before
the actual announce-
ments, Gehlot will sit
and double check with
the High Command that
no untoward incident
occurs during the entire
complicated process.
z Do you think Ajay
Maken’s going public
with the deadlines for
appointments has en-
thused the Pilot camp
while discouraging
the Gehlot loyalists
and will Gehlot even-
tually manage & af-
ford the re-induction
of the two suspended
ministers of the Pilot
camp?
This has been the first
ray of hope for the Pilot
supporters post home
coming after the open
defiance, so being en-
thused is but natural,
as it re-affirms their
faith in Pilot still hav-
ing sway in Delhi and
on the other hand, disil-
lusionment of Gehlot
loyalists, who are a si-
lent & disciplined lot, is
also natural for paying
the price despite stand-
ing firm and saving the
government from the
imminent fall. Now,
this is the biggest di-
lemma for Gehlot as
how to make himself
and his firm loyalists
comprehend the ulti-
mate decision to re-in-
duct the suspended
ministers in the cabi-
net, who were actually
suspended to save the
government. Let’s see
how this ultimate puz-
zle unfolds eventually
because you can’t rule
last minute changes on
this particular issue
due to the equations be-
tween Gehlot and the
High Command.
z Can you confirm
that Ahmed Bhai
had, just before his
untimely sudden de-
mise, fixed November
20 as the date of oath
taking for the new
ministers in Ra-
jasthan?
Yes, this information is
near totally true that de-
spite being hospitalised,
Ahmed Bhai was active
in his usual crisis man-
agement of Congress
through his mobile and
since the three-member
committee appointed
for Rajasthan hadn’t
met for almost four
months, the High Com-
mand asked Ahmed
Bhai to look into the
matter. It is said that
Ahmed Bhai conveyed
that he would be dis-
charged from the hospi-
tal by November 15 and
would hold a VC with all
concerned from Ra-
jasthan and make new
ministers take oath on
November 20. But des-
tiny had other plans, he
tragically passed away.
z What are the big-
gest challenges be-
fore CM Gehlot and
state in-charge Ajay
Maken?
CM Gehlot clearly has
the biggest challenge of
thwarting what is now
infamously called ‘Op-
eration Lotus-2,’ which
may in form of BJP or
any other external pow-
er, trying to destabilise
his government or it
might be Pilot camp or
some other internal
group taking a second
shot at bringing down
Gehlot government. On
the other hand, Maken
comparatively has an
easier challenge of tak-
ing both, Gehlot and Pi-
lot together amicably
and ensuring nothing
overturns this apple
cart.
z When Pilot came
back to the party fold
after the Manesar ad-
venture, the 3 member
committee had clearly
said that their ‘home-
coming’ was uncondi-
tional and ‘bargain
free,’ but the pressure
being built by the Pi-
lot camp for rehabili-
tation points to some-
thing else. How do
you see it?
This is a major contra-
diction in the party. The
three- member commit-
tee openly said then that
there were no condi-
tions for the comeback
of the Pilot camp, so ei-
ther they were unaware
of the conditions or ob-
viously kept those as a
secret, keeping the dig-
nity of their High Com-
mand, but the subse-
quent behaviour of the
High Command of not
only insisting on the re-
habilitation, but also on
a time -bound rehabili-
tation, clearly indicates
the fact that there was
some kind of under-
standing or MoU be-
tween Pilot camp and
the Gandhi family,
which is being hon-
oured now.
z What according to
you is the future of
Sachin Pilot in Con-
gress? If somehow the
Gehlot government
falls in coming
months, even then the
most probable names
for CM are Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat or
Satish Poonia or may
be some third person,
but what happens to
Pilot’s ambition of
bagging the coveted
chair then?
If Pilot had to become
CM of Rajasthan, then it
had to be when he de-
fected with his support-
ers and had the support
of BJP although that
washighlyunlikelyeven
then. Now his future is
with Congress because
in case, the Gehlot gov-
ernment falls prema-
turely,thenBJPwillonly
placate him with a cen-
tral minister portfolio
for which Pilot will have
to swallow the bitter pill
of joining BJP first,
which would be difficult
for him. In Congress, his
future is in Delhi as its
General Secretary or
Working President. The
‘so-called understand-
ing’ with Gandhi family
at the time of homecom-
ing, also had the essen-
tial clause of ‘no hyper-
active’roleinRajasthan.
Of course, being the
third most popular face
in the state after Gehlot
andVasundharaRaje,he
would have some extra
constitutional authority
in Rajasthan with his
supporters involved in
active politics of the
state. As far as BJP is
concerned, as of now,
Gajendra Singh Shekha-
wat is the one, who is
fully conducting like a
CM designate with the
blessings of his central
leadership. Though Sat-
ish Poonia can also be
considered as his alter-
native, if Raje or some
other forces obstruct
Shekhawat’s way.
z Rumour mill had it
some time ago that
the BJP High Com-
mand has now en-
trusted Vasundhara
Raje with the task of
toppling the Gehlot
government and she
herself has also as-
sured the party lead-
ership of accomplish-
ing the mission in
coming 3 months.
How credible do you
find these rumours?
Somebody added fuel to
this fire by attaching
CM Gehlot’s statement
regarding the renewed
efforts to topple his gov-
ernment with the ‘Raje
Contract Theory.’ De-
spite a strong disbelief
in this theory, on check-
ing the rumour, I found
it utterly ‘baseless,’ as I
feel, Madam will now
initiate all her efforts in
2022 so, if at all, some
body is in the game, it
might be Gajendra Sin-
gh or Satish Poonia, but
not Vasundhara Raje. I
say this with extra con-
fidence because Raje
has always found it ‘im-
moral’ to topple a gov-
ernment with however
thin a majority. Al-
though, during the re-
cent crisis, somebody
alleged that she helped
Gehlot government sur-
vive and later, some evi-
dencewasalsoproduced
to support these claims,
but that is altogether a
different ball game.
z Do you think that
the communication-
gap or ‘trust deficit’
between Raje and
BJP High Command
has narrowed down?
The answer to this will
decide the fate of
Vasundhara Raje in the
state politics, but this is
true that in a series of
meetings in Delhi with
JP Nadda, she conveyed
that she was within the
party system and was
not involved in shield-
ing Gehlot government
in the state along with
sharing her pain of
BJP’spoliticalnobodies,
taking pot-shots at her.
These messages appar-
ently were conveyed to
PM Modi, who then is
said to have told Nadda
to take Amit Shah in the
loop as he was the man,
who oversaw party af-
fairs. Later, Raje herself
had courtesy meetings
with Amit Shah, so we
can say that the misun-
derstandings and ‘trust
deficit’ between her and
the Centre have reduced
and softening has taken
place although the ex-
tent of softening is un-
known. Meanwhile, the
opposite camp report-
edly gave a tape to the
central leadership,
which allegedly had
some ‘Raje supporting’
leaders claiming that
she would break away
with her 40 MLAs, if Ga-
jendra Singh was made
CM in case the Gehlot
government ‘fell.’ But
tapes can be doctored
and all these are politi-
cal games, which go on
endlessly.
z After watching PCC
chief Govind Singh
Dotasra perform for 5
months now, do you
think he is being ‘re-
mote- controlled’ by
CM Gehlot?
Well, people expected
this to happen and since
Gehlothimself hasbeen
party chief in the state
more than once, this was
most likely to happen, as
Gehlot has firm grip on
the party organisation,
which he had loosened
to give free hand to Pilot,
when he was made the
PCC chief. I think Do-
tasra has performed
well until now and being
a grateful man to his
senior like Gehlot, he
has lived up to his expec-
tations so far. So, the
term ‘remote control’ is
wrong to use and it
would be more precise to
say that both share a
very comfortable rela-
tionship.
z With the vacuum in
Congress leadership in
Delhi, do you think
that Rahul Gandhi will
take over the charge of
the party in February-
March next year and if
that happens, how will
it affect the politics of
the state?
First, will the reluctant
Rahul take over? My call
is that Sonia Gandhi will,
due to her failing health,
transfer the power to
someone else for sure.
Now there are ‘50-50’
chances that Rahul may
take the charge or may
stick to his old stand of a
‘Non-Gandhi’ party presi-
dent. As far as impact on
state politics is con-
cerned, I don’t think Ra-
hul’s coronation will in
any way prove negative
for Gehlot because firstly,
why would he himself
destabilise a Congress
state government, which
is already numbered in
the country. Secondly, I,
contrary to popular be-
lief, don’t think that he is
completely averse to Ge-
hlot’s leadership and last-
ly, very few people know,
but Pilot, after the recent
defiance, has a new ‘God-
father’ in Priyanka Gan-
dhi and not Rahul Gan-
dhi. It was Priyanka, who
pacified Rahul,who was
upset due to Pilot’s dissi-
dence.
During the show #JC
onAshokGehlot
trended Top 10
All India
Editor-In-Chief of First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, talks about the likely re-
constitution of PCC, political appointments and reshuffle of the cabinet, which are said to be the
biggest challenges before CM Ashok Gehlot, in thwarting what is infamously called ‘Operation Lo-
tus-2,’ significance of Gehlot as Congress High Command’s confidante, of Sachin Pilot’s future in
Congress & how he has found a new ‘Godfather’ in Priyanka Gandhi and much more...
‘I DON’T THINK RAHUL’S CORONATION WILL IN ANY WAY PROVE NEGATIVE FOR GEHLOT’
Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Kriti Garg, Akanksha Bhalla and Aayushi Shekhawat. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

urning dreams into
passion needs a lot
of courage, as there
are various obsta-
cles that tend to
come on the way.
Miss Rajasthan, Ra-
jasthan’s oldest beauty pag-
eant provides a platform to
all the aspiring models to
fulfil their dreams. The audi-
tions of this pageant were
being done virtually, keeping
the current scenario in mind.
Out of 5600 girls who had
participated to be a part of
the pageant, the top 28 final-
ists were announced by Yo-
gesh and Nimisha Mishra
from Fusion Group on Sun-
day at Hotel Hilton. AJ
Dance Group kick-started
the event with their graceful
performance.
Jagdeesh Chandra was the
chief guest of the event and
congratulated all the finalists
on the great achievement. He
also wished them all the best
fortheirfuture.Variousother
renowned people like SSBC
Group’s MD Madan Yadav,
Hotel Hilton’s GM Vivek Gup-
ta, Jaipur Marathon’s CEO
MukeshMishra,ArshanHus-
sain and Pawan Goyal.
Yogesh and Nimisha
Mishra said, “The sash cere-
mony was organised follow-
ing all the COVID guidelines,
and the grooming sessions of
the top finalists will be organ-
ised in the coming months.”
There will be a month of
various grooming sessions
for all the participants, to
make them compete with
confidence with each other,
and also to compete with
other states, nations in the
coming future.
Queen Chaperon Simran
Sharma,ChaperonsKanchan
Khatana and Aruna Beniwal,
Buddy Chaperons Mansi
Bainada, Mansi Bachani and
Mitali Kaur will guide the top
finalists throughout.
AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
DECEMBER 14, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
BEST OF THE BESTRajasthan’s oldest beauty pageant, Miss Rajasthan announced its top 28
finalists who will be competing to attain the title of ‘Miss Rajasthan 2020’
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
T
Top 28 finalists of Miss Rajasthan 2020
Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left) Mitali Kaur, Kanchan Khatana,
Mansi Bachani, Simran Sharma, Nikita Shekhawat and Amisha Raj
Miss Rajasthan 2019 Kanchan Khatana Miss Rajasthan 2017 Simran Sharma
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Ganesh Vandana by AJ Dance Group Yogesh Mishra

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
AASHIKA BHATIA, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Those ailing for long can
expect a miraculous
recovery. Keeping a check
on expenses is your only
hope to save for purchasing a major
item. Those in a creative field will
achieve much in terms of clientele.
Spouse may differ with your opinion
about a social situation.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Timely treatment of a
minor ailment will prevent
it getting aggravated.
Returns from previous
investments will manage to finance
something you desire. Things may
not be completely hunky dory on the
professional front. Resetting the
house may be on the minds.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Dancing and doing fun
things will keep some in
perfect health. Timely help
from someone close will
be a boon for those financially tight
at the moment. However, the same
cannot be said about business
owners, especially where profits are
concerned.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Health remains satisfactory,
but aim for total fitness.
Make any excuse, but don’t
lend money to anyone today.
Maintaining a working relationship with
those you don’t particularly like will be
a better option. Home remedy may
come in handy in countering a malady.
Shifting into a bigger house is possible.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A family reunion is
indicated and promises
much enjoyment. Religious
minded can go on a
spiritually elevating journey. Some of
you may get embroiled in a legal
battle over property. You will be able
to keep up the pace with others on
the academic front.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Health of a family member
may cause a bit of a concern,
but will be nothing serious.
Money comes to you from
various sources to fill your coffers.
Your strategy for promoting business is
likely to be on the right lines and lead to
good profits. You can feel hurt at not
being invited somewhere.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Some of you will have to
adopt measures to blunt
the impact of a lifestyle
disease. Consider betting
and speculation a big no-no, if you
don’t want to ruin yourself financially.
Your performance is likely to improve
manifold on the professional front
and get noticed.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those doing their bit to
shed weight will succeed
beyond their expectations!
You will be able to remain
strong on the financial front.
Thinking out of the box is likely to get
the spotlight on you on the
professional front. A pending
property issue will be completed.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
An exercise buddy can be a
blessing in disguise for
some. Purchasing
expensive items may need
to be put on hold. This is the day
when you will achieve unprecedented
success in your current occupation.
Some of you may not be able to
devote much time to family.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Adequate health measures
will keep you in a fine
fettle. You are likely to
remain in the saving mode
for some more time. Positive
developments at work can keep you
in an upbeat mood. Differences with
your spouse should be best avoided
or they may take an ugly turn.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Rest and relaxation are
yours as you manage to
find the perfect getaway.
You may be compelled to
spend more on something, but it will
be worth it. Keeping a low profile on
the professional front may keep you
from coming into the notice of those
who matter.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Choosing a healthy lifestyle
at this juncture becomes
most essential for some.
Judicious spending and
not succumbing to temptations
promise to keep your financial
situation intact. Market trends can
tempt you into playing the stocks,
which may prove to be profitable.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
VETTHEVET
am convinced that the In-
dian educational system
needs reviving. But I am
also sure that the deci-
sion-makers from
amongst the Ministry of
Educationdonotreadmy
articles, so the chances that I can
bring about change in the way we
impart education are slim. The
children whose parents can afford
an international education for
them are fortunate. Those who
cannotarealmostdoomedastheir
future is pretty much decided for
them. In India, you can either
study to be a doctor, engineer, ac-
countant, or businessman. You
can only choose from Arts, Sci-
ences,andCommerce.Everything
hasanentranceexam,andseatsof
colleges can be purchased. And
then there is the reservation sys-
tem. Sadly, this is the state of our
country.
Until recently, I believed that
only those who loved animals
choosetobecomevets.Howwrong
Ihavebeen.Whilesomechoosethe
stream because they want to help
animals, many are veterinarians
because they had no choice but to
be pushed into studying veteri-
nary science by a flawed system
thatsaysif youfailtheMBBS,you
are bound to take up Veterinary
science. And then it goes all down-
hill from there for the vets and for
the animals they treat.
So if you are one of those who
doesn’t like animals, I suggest you
do not get into it. Veterinarians
have an obligation towards ani-
mals. The Veterinarian’s oath
should be adhered. The job of a
veterinary surgeon is tougher.
Their patients do not express
themselves as human patients do.
So the task becomes a lot more
challenging and this is why the
veterinary profession is more
grounded in compassion. How
thencansomeonewhodoesn’tlike
animals do justice to the oath?
Forsomeonewhobecomesavet
just for the sake of staying in the
medical profession, it won’t make
a difference if an animal lives or
dies.Forthem,theprofessionisn’t
as gratifying as it would be had
they saved a human life. This is
why I always ensure I find out if
the vet I seek services from is an
animalloverfirst.Isuggestyoudo
too. After all, your pet is your fam-
ily member and you would want
them to be in safe hands.
We all get this one life we are
sure of living. Why would you
want to spend it doing something
you don’t enjoy? If you don’t make
the MBBS, and you ain’t fond of
animals, opt for something else
insteadwhichwouldnotentailyou
putting a life at risk because you
feel you have no choice.
For those who are already vets
and are the victim of our flawed
system, I would recommend they
put in their heart and do their ut-
most to treat their patients. Trust
me it shows when a vet cares and
whenheorshedoesn’t.Soyoucan-
not fool your clients. For them, the
animal is their child. If you would
not care less for a human child,
then why such discrimination is
practiced with animals? Well, you
have taken the oath. Live up to it.
Veterinary clinics are growing
exponentially in the city. This is
usually a good thing, but we don’t
live in Utopia. There are many
cases of negligence
and man-
handling
of animals.
Fortunately,
somevetsare
passionate
animal lovers.
I hope you find
one of them for
your pet. I hope
our educational
system gives us
more kindness-led
vets. I hope the gov-
ernment gives Vet-
erinary Science as
much attention as it does to the
medical field. Schools should im-
bibe more kindness education.
Animal shelters should vet the
vets they wish to hire as they exist
for the sake of the community
animals.
An animal is a life after all.
Choosewisely.Itisalsoamatterof
yourlife.If youchosewronglyyou
will only be frustrated. Passion
will bear fruit, and force will only
kill it and the life it is being as-
signedtosave. Tothoseof youwho
have dedicated your life to serving
animals, I express my gratitude.
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
I
usually a good thing, but we don’t
live in Utopia. There are many
cases of negligence
of animals.
Fortunately,
somevetsare
passionate
animal lovers.
I hope you find
one of them for
your pet. I hope
our educational
system gives us
more kindness-led
vets. I hope the gov-
ernment gives Vet-
erinary Science as

ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
11
aj Kapoor was a
charmer, he could get
people to do things for
him which they had
never imagined. His
films gained national
and international ac-
claim as they grappled with so-
cial themes and issues facing
the nation like poverty, unem-
ployment and class, individual
moralissues–allwoventhrough
comedy and stirring romance
depictedbeautifullythroughhis
heroines-innocencepersonified
in white! As his heroine, one
hadtogiveuponcolourandem-
brace white.
As we take you on a rain
drenchedwalkthroughsomeof
theleadingladiesof RajKapoor
who made an impact on me for
various reasons, let me tell you
that my favourite is Raj Ka-
poor’s own favourite-Nargis.
Nargis,whomheneveraskedto
bare and who played strong em-
powered roles in all his movies.
Being a romantic, I like to be-
lievethatitwashisloveforNar-
gis which made it so. It is their
chemistry also, which led to
AwaaraandShri420beingicon-
ic films, but each of their 16
films is worth a watch.
My next favourite is Padmini
Kolhapure. She struck a chord
as the innocent girl, bride and
widow in Prem Rog and the
movie gave a strong message of
widowremarriagewhilebaring
the dark side of life of the rich
and hallowed. Yeh galiyan yeh
chaubara is a must in weddings
even today.
Padmini is closely followed
by Vijyantimala. She is one of
my favourites but in Raj Ka-
poor’shandsinSangamsheleft
me breathless. Raj had her in
whitethroughoutthemovieex-
cept in the wedding and main
kya karun ram mujhe buddha
mil gaya – the song which had
her looking super cute.
Raj charmed her into
wearing a swimsuit
ashesangbolradha
bol sangam hoga ya
nahin. And she is simply WOW
as the woman who refuses to
sacrificeherhappinessbutdes-
tiny nails her.
Dimple Kapadia in Bobby-
like the entire nation I adored
her. Only Raj Kapoor could
have presented the perfect
combination of innocent and
sexy siren in the young Dim-
ple. Andar se koi bahar na ja
sake is the cutest with Dimple
and Rishi and so is Jhooth
bole kauvva kaate with a sexy
bold Dimple. Be it the red bi-
kini or the polka-dotted knot-
ted tops, Raj Kapoor nailed the
look. The love story in the
backdrop of class and values
was an instant hit.
As for my point that Raj Ka-
poor was a charmer and could
get the ladies do and bare to
the limits they never did for
anyone else. Remember Simi
Garewal in Mera Naam Jok-
er? Many a young boy wished
himself in the shoes of the
chubby child Rishi. Zeenat
Aman in Satyam Shivam
Sundaram and Mandakini in
Ram teri Ganga maili- flashes
which come to mind is of sexy
women, waterfalls, breasts in
white transparent sarees and
sexiness seeped in woman-
hood and innocence.
That’s Raj for you! The
Showman knew his women
and he portrayed them as he
saw them- beautiful as God
made them.
The Kapoors are said to be the first family of
Bollywood and much of the credit goes to Raj
Kapoor, the founder of RK Films, son of
Prithviraj Kapoor. On his 96th Birth
anniversary, City First pays a tribute by
remembering the heroines of the Showman!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.
com
R
Raj and Krishna Kapoor with Rishi, Rajiv and Randhir

12AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
Jagdeesh Chandra greeted Kavish on his first birthday on 10 December, seen here
with the proud father Mahesh Sharma of First India family and mother Meenakshi,
brother Kanha and grandparents Moolchand Sharma and Rukmani Devi.
JC SHOW!
Jagdeesh Chandra with
the team of the New JC
Show at the channel
office on Friday. From left
– Yogesh Sharma, Senior
Editor Syed Umar, Anita
Hada, Vijendra Solanki,
Aditi Nagar, Shweta
Mishra, Swati Jangid,
Shashi Bhati, Akanksha
Bhalla, Riya Sen, Mahima
Sharma, Mansi Bachhani,
Vaishali Rajawat, Jyoti
Rawat, Khushbu Mishra,
Megha Kaushik.
WEDDING BELLS!
BIRTHDAY WISHES!
ELECTIONS!
ELITE MISS RAJASTHAN 2020
Jagdeesh Chandra blessed and congratulated the newly wed couple Yogendra
Singh and Ritu Kanwar at their wedding reception at Samurai farms, Jaipur.
Also seen is Ashok Rathore GM Rambagh Palace and Mahendra Singh & Krishna
Kanwar, the parents of Yogendra.
Congress leader, Mamta Bhupesh and Dr
Ghanshyam Berwa celebrated their 26th
marriage anniversary with family in a simple
way on Saturday. —City First
CONGRATULATIONS!
The election of Rajasthan Pencak Silat Association was held on Sunday from
12 noon to 2 pm at of Ved Marriage Garden, Panigraha, Jaipur. The officials
from 19 districts of Rajasthan participated, voted and elected the State officials.
Hridesh Kumar Sharma (IAS) became the Chairman and Mohan Singh Tada was
appointed as the President.
—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Fancy Dress
Competition
CITY FIRST
A
ll the competitions for chil-
dren between 6 and 14 years
have been held at Digital
Baal Mela. Children from
the age of one to five years have also
made a big jump. En-
tries from many
states including Ma-
harashtra Assam
and Delhi were re-
ceived for Digital
Mummy-Papa Fair,
especially in the fan-
cy dress competi-
tion.
The parents of
Aarav Sanklecha
from Balotra sent a
photo of Aarav
dressed as a chef trying his hand at
cooking, while the parents of Kh-
waishJainof Maharashtratouched
the hearts of many people by dress-
ing their three-year-old girl in a
Haryanvi dress. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
CelebrationofdramaCITY FIRST
he virtually ongoing
9th edition of Jai
Rangam Festival
witnessed two full-
length plays and
three short plays on
Sunday. The day
started with Morning Raga.
Various Dance and Musical
Performances were organ-
ised from morning to even-
ing. Meer - E - Alam and
DhaapuKhanperformedSufi
Songs and played Kamaya-
cha. Three short plays were
performed during which
Bhoomika Dubey direct-
ed Kuch Manzil Upar Se,
Anil Tiwari directed
Hayaat and Aadar Satkar
directed by Sikandar Khan
were performed.
Later, performances of
full-length plays started. All
the plays to be showcased
during the festival can be
watched on the official web-
site of Jai Rangam at free of
cost. Later these plays would
be available on YouTube as
well. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
Magic of Poetry
CITY FIRST
T
hefamouspoetsof
Jaipur gathered
online in the net
theatre and made
the day worth remem-
bering on Saturday. Ra-
jendra Sharma Raju of
NetTheattoldthatBanaj
Kumar Banaj, senior in-
ternational poet, made
all online poetry listen-
ers overwhelmed. Ved
Dadhichof Jaipur,while
cursing the coronavirus,
prayed to Lord Krishna
that he should save hu-
manity. Yogita Zeenat in
herstylerecited,”Kisine
cheen li uski ravani, vo
dariya hai magar behta
nahihai”.ShireMukhtar
Mahir said, “I ached in
pain like I was wrapped
in myself, then who
could stop me? I was
moved ahead of me”.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
AAKHAR SERIES
organised virtually
R
enowned Rajasthani language litterateur
Vishnu Vishwas shared his literary jour-
ney in “Aakhar” series on Sunday. An ini-
tiative by Prabha Khaitan Foundation in
association with Grassroot Media Foundation,
Aakhar aims to promote Rajasthani Language,
Arts & Culture. Supported by Shree Cement, the
talk-show was held digitally on Aakhar Ra-
jasthan’s Facebook page amid the ongoing pan-
demic. Rajasthani writer and poet Nahush Vyas
interactedwithVishnuVishwasabouthisjourney
and creations. Talking about his journey in Ra-
jasthani literature, writer Vishnu Vishwas
shared that despite being from Hindi back-
ground, he started writing poems in Rajastha-
ni language because of the sweetness of Ra-
jasthani folk culture. —City First
The sash ceremony of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 will be held today, 14
December at Hotel Hilton. A total of 31 finalists will be announced for the
seventh season of Elite Miss Rajasthan, who will then undertake a week of
grooming sessions. The finale of this renowned beauty pageant will take place
on 20 December.
Jagdeesh Chandra with the team Jagdeesh Chandra with Yasheel Pandel and Gaurav Gaur
Khwaish
Aarav
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
GUJ: Ajay Choudhary, Joint commissioner of police (IPS) organised an abstract live painting talk exhibition at hutheesing centre, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.
Many art enthusiasts visited the exhibition. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
Raj: Club executive
elections were held on
Sunday at the virtual
meeting of Rotary Club
Jaipur Royal for the
year 2021-22. Harish
Khatri became the
President, while Rajesh
Vijay was appointed the
Secretary.

First india ahmedabad edition-14 december 2020

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