First india ahmedabad edition-31 october 2020

Bollywood drugs case: Post Supreme Court ruling, now 20
statements of accused not admissible as evidence before court
Mumbai: Following the
SupremeCourtonThurs-
day ruling that state-
ments recorded by offic-
ers under the Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act
cannot be treated as con-
fessions, around 20 state-
mentsof accused,includ-
ing actor Rhea
Chakraborty,recordedby
Narcotics Control Bu-
reau(NCB)inthealleged
drugs case linked with
Bollywood, will now not
beadmissibleasevidence
before the court.
NCB officers, howev-
er, said they have cor-
roborative evidence to
back each arrest they
have made in addition to
the statements, and that
the ruling will not have
an impact on the out-
come of the case. “In ad-
dition to the statements,
we have corroborative
evidence like the money
trail… how an accused
has paid a particular
drug dealer using UPI
app or credit card. Digi-
tal evidence and money
trail, along with the
statements, should be
enough to prove the
case,” said an officer.
The officer added that
usually, they do not rely
completely on state-
ments recorded under
Section 67 of the NDPS
Act since they know the
accused could retract
them later. The section
gives the officers the
power to call for infor-
mation from any person
or examine the person
during an inquiry.
In the current case,
most of the accused, in-
cluding Chakraborty,
have submitted to the
courtthattheywantedto
retract any statement
made before the NCB, as
they were “coerced” to
make them. In its re-
mand applications be-
fore the court, the NCB
had said that certain
statements led it to some
of the accused, resulting
in searches and raids.
“The order makes it
clear that the state-
ments recorded by NCB
officers will not be ad-
missible as evidence. In
absence of any other
evidence like posses-
sion or seizure, the
agency now cannot rely
only on statements to
prove the guilt of the ac-
cused,” said Ayaz Khan,
a lawyer representing
some of the accused in
the case.
When contacted,
NCB spokesperson and
Deputy Director K P S
Malhotra said, “The
NCB, during investiga-
tion, supplements the
statements with vari-
ous primary and cor-
roborative evidence.”
An Anti-Narcotics
Cell (ANC) officer from
the state police added,
“Since both ANC
Turn to P6File photo of actor Rhea Chakraborty outside NCB office.
(Left) President Donald Trump arrives for a
campaign rally at Phoenix. (Above) Democratic
presidential candidate former Vice President Joe
Biden calls out to people. —PHOTOS BY PTI
 In three days, the US will
either have Joe Biden as its new
president or Donald Trump will
continue to serve for four more
years. The dominating talking
point in this year’s elections has
been the coronavirus outbreak
and both presidential candidates
have clashed over the issue
several times over the past few
months.
 Ahead of the final weekend
before Election Day on
Tuesday,Trump and Joe Biden will
barnstorm across battleground
states in the Midwest, including
Wisconsin, where the coronavirus
pandemic has exploded.
FAROOQ NOT ALLOWED
TO STEP OUT FOR PRAYERS
Mohd Fahad
Srinagar: Former Jam-
mu and Kashmir chief
minister Farooq Abdul-
lah was stopped by the
administration from of-
fering prayers at Srina-
gar’s Hazratbal shrine
on the occasion of Mi-
lad-un-Nabi, his party
the National Confer-
ence claimed in a tweet.
The National Confer-
ence tweeted that it
“condemns this in-
fringement of funda-
mental right to pray,
especially on the auspi-
cious occasion of Milad
Un Nabi Saw.”
“J&K administration
has blocked the resi-
dence of party presi-
dent Dr Farooq Abdul-
lah and stopped him
from offering prayers at
Dargah Hazratbal.
JKNC condemns this
infringement of funda-
mental right to pray, es-
pecially on the auspi-
cious occasion of Milad
Un Nabi Saw,” the Na-
tional Conference
tweeted. Turn to P6
New Delhi: The Elec-
tion Commission, head-
ed by CEC Sunil Arora,
on Friday revoked sen-
ior Congress leader and
formerMadhyaPradesh
chief minister Kamal
Nath’s star campaigner
status for multiple mod-
el code violations.
The Commission has
slammed Nath for using
the word ‘item’ for a
woman candidate and
said that the usage of
the word for a woman
constitutes violation of
the advisory issued by
the commission. The
Commission has fur-
ther expressed its dis-
pleasure and said that
despite being a leader of
a political party, Nath is
repeatedly violating the
provisions of Model
Code of Conduct and
breaching the ethical
and dignified behaviour.
Turn to P6
EC rips status:
Kamal Nath
no more a star
campaigner
PM dedicates 17 projects
on day 1 of Gujarat visit
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad/Rajpipla:
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will pay trib-
ute to Iron Man of India
Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa-
telonhis145thBirthAn-
niversary at the ‘Statue
of Unity’ at Kevadia, on
Saturday, Day 2 of his
two-day visit to Gujarat.
On Friday, the Prime
Minister dedicated 17
developmental projects
to the people and an-
nounced the launch of
four new projects.
After arriving in
Ahmedabad on Friday,
Modi paid homage to
former chief minister,
the late Keshubhai Patel
who died on Thursday,
at the latter’s Gandhina-
gar residence before
heading to Kevadia.
He was accompa-
nied by Gujarat Gover-
nor Acharya Devvrat
and Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani.
The 17 projects dedi-
cated on Friday includ-
ed Jungle Safari, hand-
loom, and handicrafts,
‘Ekta Mall’ that symbol-
izes ‘Unity in Diversity’,
world’s first technology-
based ‘Children Nutri-
tion Park’, nation’s first
‘Glow Garden’ and ‘Cac-
tus Garden’. Turn to P6
GUPKAR ALLIANCE
DEPLORE KILLINGS
The People’s Alliance
for Gupkar Decla-
ration (PAGD) on
Friday “unequivocally
and unambiguous-
ly” condemned the
killing of three BJP
workers in Kulgam.
“Political differences
cannot justify the use
of violence. Violence
crowds out sanity,”
said Sajad Lone.
People attend the funeral of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
worker Umar Rasheed Beigh, who was killed in Kulgam.
Preventing Farooq
sahab from offering
prayers on Milad Un
Nabi Saw at
Hazratbal exposes
Government of India’s
deep paranoia and
their iron fist
approach towards
J&K. It’s a gross
violation of our rights
and is highly
condemnable
—Mehbooba Mufti
PDP Chief
‘LASHKAR-E-TAIBA HAND
IN KILLING OF BJP MEN’
Terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is behind
the killing of the three leaders of the Bharatiya
Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Kulgam, a senior police official said
on Friday and added that such killings were
being executed at Pakistan’s behest. A vehicle
has also been seized. The alleged shadow group
of LeT, The Resistance Front (TRF), has claimed
responsibility for the killings. “Three militants
came in a local car belonging to a local militant
identified as Altaf. Fida Hussain was with his
two colleagues in a car when the militants fired
indiscriminately from close range,” said Vijay
Kumar, the inspector general of police.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE CLAIM ON MILAD-UN-NABI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the newly inagurated Sardar
Patel Zoological Park at Kevadia in Narmada on Friday.
Projects expected
to generate 3,000
jobs and monetary
benefits of `9,000
crore by year 2022
DAYS
TO GO
DAYSDAYS
TO GOTO GO3
ASSEMBLY SESSION FROM TODAY
TO COUNTER CENTRE’S FARM LAWS
The session of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly will
begin on Saturday where the state government will
bring an amendment bill on the lines of the Punjab
government to ‘neutralise’ the impact of agricultural
laws passed by the Centre, in the state.
AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 336

NEWSAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Voters
could well be stuck be-
tween a rock and a
hard place on Tuesday
when eight constituen-
cies go to the polls in
the state Assembly by-
elections. A quarter of
all candidates have as-
sets amounting to Rs1
crore or more, but al-
most half ended their
formal education after
Class 12, and almost a
fifth of all the candi-
dates are facing crimi-
nal charges, according
to a study of their af-
fidavits.
The analysis, con-
ducted by the Associa-
tion for Democratic Re-
forms (ADR), states that
14 of the 81 candidates
have criminal cases
against them, with nine
of them named in “seri-
ous criminal cases.”
While 38% of BJP
candidates and 25% of
Congresscandidatesare
facing charges, BTP is
the worst off with 100%-
-in other words, its sole
candidate in Karjan-
-facing serious criminal
charges under the Indi-
an Penal Code. Of the
others, 25% of BJP can-
didates face serious
charges. None of the
Congress candidates
falls into this category.
However, 15% of inde-
pendent candidates face
criminal cases with 8%
facing serious charges.
Also disappointing is
the level of education
among the candi-
dates--49% have studied
only up to Class 12.
While four have post-
graduate degrees, six
are professional gradu-
ates, and 10 are gradu-
ates, 11 have passed
Class 12, 19 have passed
Class 10, 14 ended their
education after Class 8
and 10 candidates have
only finished Class 5.
Three are illiterate and
three have “other” qual-
ifications.
The ADR report
also revealed that an
analysis of the candi-
dates' assets and lia-
bilities shows that
25% of them are self-
declared crorepatis.
Of the total 81 candi-
dates in the fray, seven
(9%) possess wealth
amounting to more than
Rs5 crore, six have more
than Rs2 crore but less
than Rs5 crore and 15
have wealth more than
Rs50 lakh but less than
Rs2 crore. There are 33
candidates with assets
worth less than Rs 10
lakh. Independent can-
didate Pravinbhai Ge-
diya, who is contesting
the Dhari seat, has as-
sets of just Rs25,155.
In a somewhat ironic
twist, the two richest
candidates are from the
Congress. Morbi candi-
date Jayanti Patel tops
the list, with assets
worth Rs10.92 crore and
liabilities of Rs1.82
crore. He is followed by
Mohan Solanki, the
Congress party’s candi-
date from Gadhada, who
has assets worth Rs8.60
crore.
Per candidate, the
Congress party’s aver-
age assets amount to
Rs4.38 crore. For the
BJP, this number is a
relatively more modest
Rs2.52 crore.
However, it is worth
noting that all eight
of candidates from
the ruling party are
crorepatis, against six
from the Opposition
and six Independent
candidates.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi began his two-
day visit to the state
by paying tribute to
former chief minis-
ter and founding
member of the
Bharatiya Jana
Sangh Keshubhai Pa-
tel at his Gandhina-
gar residence. He
then also visited the
home of former MP
Mahesh Kanodia and
former MLA Naresh
Kanodia at their
Gandhinagar resi-
dence.
Modi was welcomed
by Governor Acharya
Devvrat, Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani, Dep-
uty Chief Minister Ni-
tin Patel, BJP state
unit president CR Patil
and other leaders when
he landed at the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel air-
port on Friday morn-
ing.
From there, Modi
went directly to Kes-
hubhai’s residence to
pay his respects. He
also spent a few mo-
ments with Keshub-
hai’s family members
to console them.
Later, the former
CM’s daughter Sonal
told the media that the
PM had inquired about
her father’s last day.
“He spent some time
with the family. Even
when my father tested
positive for COVID-19,
the Prime Minister
used to regularly in-
quireabouthishealth,”
she added.
Later, the Prime
Minister visited the
Kanodia residence in
Gandhinagar and paid
tribute to the Maheshb-
hai and Nareshbhai.
He then tweeted: “They
were associated with
the world of films, mu-
sic and culture.”
Later, Naresh Kano-
dia’s son Hitu Kanodia
told the media that the
Prime Minister ex-
pressed grief and said
that the duo’s name
would forever remain
in the pages of history,
when it came to the Gu-
jarati music and film
industry.
Meanwhile, Leader
of Opposition Paresh
Dhanani cancelled
his campaign pro-
gramme on Friday
and reached Gandhi-
nagar to pay tribute
to former chief min-
ister Keshubhai. He
also consoled Patel’s
family.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: While
election time is never
easy when you are a
politician, the upcom-
ingstateAssemblyby-
election promises to
be tougher than most
on the two major po-
litical parties--espe-
ciallyinMorbi,where
voters in some pock-
ets have decided to
boycott the polls alto-
gether.
Votersinmorethan
10 villages already
banned the entry of
NJP candidate and
former MLA Brijesh
Merja, who stepped
down from the Con-
gress ahead of the Ra-
jya Sabha elections
and later joined the
ruling party. They
have also been taking
campaigning politi-
cians to task about
oldercampaignprom-
isesthathavebeenleft
undelivered.
Asresentmentover
a lack of basic ameni-
ties continues to sim-
mer, people of the Sat-
wara community in
Boriapati area of
Ward12inMorbihave
put up posters and
banners announcing
their decision to boy-
cott the election. And
after the residents of
the Kalika plot area
threatened to boycott
the polls if their is-
sues are not resolved,
boycott banners have
also sprung up in oth-
er areas of Morbi.
Sources say that
desperate political
leaders have been try-
ing to calm ruffled
feathers using back-
door tactics, but the
issue of primary fa-
cilities could severely
affect the by-election
for the Morbi seat in
the Assembly.
Locals have not let
up in their demand
for proper road con-
nections to their lo-
cality and other basic
amenities. Mean-
while, several villag-
es in Morbi have al-
readybannedtheBJP
contender Brajesh
Merja who has left
Congress Party and
joined BJP. More
than 10 villages have
banned his entry.
PM pays tribute to Keshu Bapa
and Mahesh, Naresh Kanodia
PM Modi paid tribute to Gujarati film industry stalwarts Mahesh
and Naresh Kanodia at their Gandhinagar residence on Friday.
PM Modi tribute
to former CM
Keshubhai Patel
a day after he
passed away.
‘Boycott bypoll’
banners seen in
pockets of Morbi
Morbi residents display a banner announcing a boycott of
the upcoming bypolls.
25% OF CANDIDATES ARE CROREPATIS,
18% FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES: ADR
The study also shows that almost half the candidates did not go to college
BY-ELECTIONS
Only 45 of the 81 candidates
are aged 50 years or lower,
while 22 candidates fall in the
51-60 age group and 13
candidates are senior citizens in
the 61-70 age group.
BJP candidate JV Kakadiya and other party leaders during a campaign meeting in Dhari. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Special
preparations in rela-
tion to sanitation and
security have been
made for Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi’s
visit to the city to inau-
gurate India’s first
seaplane service in the
state on Saturday. The
seaplane service will
operate from Sabar-
mati River Front in
Ahmedabad to Statue
of Unity in Kevadia.
Modi will also pay
tributes to Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel on
his 146th birth anniver-
sary.
The River Front and
surrounding areas have
been sanitized prior to
the event. In addition,
security has been
beefed up near the Wa-
ter Aerodrome at the
River Front. A bomb
squad and a dog squad
have also been mobi-
lized for extensive
checking.
The Ahmedabad Wa-
ter Aerodrome building
as well as the jetty will
also be sanitized. In or-
dertopreventthespread
of COVID-19, all the em-
ployees working for the
project as well as those
stationed in the vicinity,
willbetestedforthenov-
elcoronavirus.Thestaff
of Ahmedabad Water
Aerodrome, the police,
the Gujarat Test Avia-
tion team, SpyJet team,
fire team will also be
tested for the virus.
Fire and emergency
teams have also been
deployed at the loca-
tion, with more than 45
firefighters taking
COVID-19 tests. Indo-
Tibetan Border Police
troops have also ar-
rived in the city for the
security of Prime Min-
ister Modi.
Parts of River Front spruced up and sanitized before PM’s arrival
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
launch the seaplane service between
Ahmedabad and Kevadia on Saturday
FINAL CHECKS
Security personnel conducted a rehearsal a day before the PM’s visit to the Sabarmati River Front. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
In 2nd case this month, youth
held for raping minor cousin
First India Bureau
Junagadh/Gandhid-
ham: A youth has
been arrested for rap-
ing his nine-year-old
cousin in Vanthali Ta-
luka in Junagadh.
Disturbingly, this is
the second such case
of familial rape in the
past fortnight after
three brothers raped
their minor cousin in
Navsari district.
Vanthali Police In-
spector CM Gamar said
the accused, Akshay
Devipujak, was arrest-
ed on Friday morning.
He will be produced be-
fore the court after a
medical check-up.
According to the
criminal complaint
lodged at the Vanthali
police station, the
nine-year-old had been
playing with her cous-
in and one of her
friends near the local
temple on Thursday af-
ternoon. While Aksh-
ay returned home
around 3 pm, the vic-
tim did not arrive until
some time later. The
victim’s mother told
the police that her
daughter seemed to be
disturbed about some-
thing when she
reached home.
“When I asked her
what was wrong, she
initially complained
about pain in her abdo-
men. However, when I
persisted further, she
narrated the story,”
said the mother, who
told the police that the
revelation had left her
“shattered”.
The girl told her
mother that Akshay-
-her mother’s brother’s
son--had lured her to
his home, where he
raped her. He then pro-
ceeded to threaten the
girl, warning her not to
tell anyone about the
incident.
When they learned
about the child’s or-
deal, her parents
rushed to the police sta-
tion. There, the police
officer on duty advised
them to take the child
to the hospital first,
since she appeared to
require medical atten-
tion. The complaint-
filing procedure was
completed later.
TRUST SHATTERED
Complaint filed in Junagadh’s Vanathali taluka has echoes of Navsari case involving three brothers
Guj tests 50K samples for
nCoV in 1 day, 60L so far
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state has conducted
51,657 tests for COV-
ID-19 in the past 24
hours, bringing the
total up to 60,02,273
tests so far. Interest-
ingly, the past 30 days
have brought 30 lakh
more tests, since the
total number of tests
had been 30,01,383 on
September 30. This
means the state’s
health department has
conducted an average
of one lakh tests every
dayforthepastmonth.
This is the highest
jump in tests over the
past five months.
Gujarat, which had
tested2,11,930samplesat
the end of May, added
1,61,773 tests the next
monthtotakethetallyto
3,73,663 tests at the end
of June. In July, it added
another 3,91,114 to take
thetallyto7,64,777.How-
ever, August saw an ex-
ponentialjumpwhenthe
state added 15,67,059 to
take the total test tally to
23,31,836asonAugust31.
The past 24 hours
have brought 969 new
cases of COVID-19 from
across the state.
Ahmedabad and Surat
each accounted for two
of the six patients who
died. The other two
deaths occurred in Ra-
jkot and Patan. As on
Friday, there are 13,190
active cases in the state
and 62 patients on ven-
tilators.
Again, Surat reported
thehighestnumber(218)
of newcases,whilecases
were also reported in
Ahmedabad (181), Va-
dodara (114), Rajkot (74),
Gandhinagar (33), Jam-
nagar (29), Banaskantha
and Mehsana (26 each),
and Bharuch and Nar-
mada (24 each).
A family in
Ahmedabadhasaccused
the privately run CIMS
hospitalof overcharging
themforCOVID-19treat-
ment. They were alleg-
edly billed Rs5 lakh.
People wait in line to be tested for COVID-19. —FILE PHOTO
969 cases, six
fatalities take state
tally to 1,72,009
cases, toll to 3,714
Kutch cops arrest
man for rape and
murder of 7-year-old
Bidder submits fake certificate to win
contract at A’bad’s local civic body
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In an-
other case of
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) goof-ups, a
man was accused of
submitting a fake cer-
tificate along with a
bid for a contract for
garden maintenance
work. The Parks and
Garden department
of AMC had invited
bidders for the provi-
sion of labourers and
a tractor for watering
and gardening work,
for which Sai Enter-
prise was the lowest
bidder.
The civic body was
about to allocate the
work to Sai Enterprise
when the experience let-
ter that was submitted
by the bidder seemed
suspicious. “The con-
tractor has submitted
forged documents in re-
spect of experience. The
letter claims that the
contractor had provided
four labourers and a
tractor to the Mehsana
municipality,” an AMC
official alleged.
The letter was duly
signed by the chief of-
ficer. “The letter looked
suspicious when I read
it so we inquired with
the concerned authori-
ty and found that no
such contractor ever
worked there. We have
had such issues in the
past also where contrac-
tors gave fake bank
guarantees and so on,”
added the officer.
The standing com-
mittee had asked the
department to bar that
contractor from any
bidding in the AMC for
three years.
SMC nets `52K fines
for mosquito breeding
WINTER IS COMING: MERCURY DIPS ACROSS THE STATE
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The state
has been experiencing
nippy mornings and
colder evenings too.
Even daytime temper-
atures decreased due
to a change in wind
direction. At present,
northerly to north-
easterly winds prevail
at lower levels. The
lower temperatures
can be attributed
to them.
Many India Meteor-
ological Department
stations recorded min-
imum temperatures as
low as 20 degrees Cel-
sius. There was no sig-
nificant change in day
temperatures over the
region. Day tempera-
tures were appreciably
below normal in parts
of Kutch; above nor-
mal in parts of Sau-
rashtra; appreciably
above normal in parts
of the southern Guja-
rat region, and normal
over northern Gujarat
and in other parts of
the region.
No significant
change in night tem-
peratures occurred;
they were significantly
below average in the
southern Gujarat dis-
trict; below normal in
parts of Saurashtra–
Kutch; and above nor-
mal in the remaining
parts of the region.
Valsad recorded the
highest maximum and
lowest minimum tem-
peratures in the state,
which were 37 degrees
Celsius and 15.5 de-
grees Celsius respec-
tively. In Ahmedabad,
there was respite from
the burning heat as the
climate cooled down.
The maximum temper-
ature recorded in the
city was 34.7 degrees
Celsius while the mini-
mum was 18.5 degrees
Celsius.
First India Bureau
Surat: With the COV-
ID-19 situation seem-
ing to come under con-
trol, the Surat Munic-
ipal Corporation is
turning its focus to
vector-borne diseases,
which have shown an
uptick in the city.
Around 150 teams of
the vector-borne dis-
ease control depart-
ment combed through
more than 600 schools
and educational insti-
tutions in one day and
collected Rs52,000 in
fines after identifying
spaces that might be
breeding grounds for
mosquitoes.
“Efforts against vec-
tor-borne diseases had
taken a backseat to
COVID-19, but we are
now again focusing on
curbing the spread of
malaria, dengue, chi-
kungunya and other
similar diseases,” an
SMC official said.
First India Bureau
Bhachau (Kutch): The
police on Thursday
arrested a 22-year-old
man in connection
with the rape and
murder of a seven-
year-old girl who had
gone missing on Tues-
day. Her body was re-
covered from an old
deserted building on
Wednesday morning.
According to a state-
ment from the Kutch-
East (Gandhidham) po-
lice, the child’s parents
had lodged a complaint
with the Samakhiali
Police station on Tues-
day, stating that their
daughter had gone
missing from her home
in Lakhapar village.
Kutch-East and the
crime branch team
were roped in to search
for the missing girl.
The victim’s body was
found in a deserted
building in the neigh-
bourhood the next
morning.
The post-mortem re-
portof thedeceasedsaid
she was before being
murdered. The cause of
death has been estab-
lished to be suffocation,
the statement said.
Kutch-East Superin-
tendent of Police Mayur
Patil formed teams to
search for the culprit.
On Thursday even-
ing, acting on a tip-off,
the police team reached
Haripar Maliya and
picked up the suspect,
Vijay Koli (Mahalia).
During primary ques-
tioning, Koli told the
police that he had held
the child’s nose shut to
silence her.
The accused is cur-
rently on police remand.
The police team that nabbed Vijay Koli (seated in front).
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
Ahmedabad’s famous revolving restaurant is barely visible amid
the fog that has begun to descend in the mornings. —FILE PHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 336 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 | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
second term
for US Presi-
dent Donald
Trump would
complete the
demolition of the post-
war international eco-
nomic system. Trump’s
aggressive unilateralism,
chaotic trade initiatives,
loathing of multilateral
cooperation, and disre-
gard for the very idea of
a global commons would
overpower the resilience
of the web of rules and
institutions that under-
pin globalization. But
would a victory for Joe
Biden lead to a repair of
the global system – and,
if so, of what kind? This
is a much harder ques-
tion to answer.
There will be no lack of
eagernesstoeraseTrump’s
legacy, either in the United
States or internationally.
But an attempt merely to
restore the pre-Trump sta-
tus quo would fail to ad-
dress major challenges,
some of which contributed
to Trump’s election in
2016. As Adam Posen of
the Peterson Institute has
pointed out, the task ahead
is one of rebuilding, rath-
er than repair. It should
start with a clear identifi-
cation of the problems that
the international system
must tackle.
The first priority
should be to move to-
ward a commons-orient-
ed system. The preserva-
tion of global public
goods such as a stable
climate or biodiversity
was understandably ig-
nored by the architects
of the post-war interna-
tional economic order,
and (less understanda-
bly) was still a second-
ary priority in the sys-
tem’s post-Cold War par-
tial renewal. Policymak-
ers focused on visible
linkages through trade
and capital flows, rather
than on the invisible ties
that bind us to a common
destiny, which helps to
explain why the rules
and institutions govern-
ing the latter are still
much weaker.
Biden’s intention to re-
join unconditionally the
2015 Paris climate agree-
ment is to be welcomed, but
it will not by itself turn the
accord into an ambitious,
enforceable program. The
large number of players
and the strong temptation
to let others shoulder the
burden make preserving
the global commons notori-
ously hard. Even in the
area of health, solutions to
date do not measure up to
the challenge.
Climate action is criti-
cal. Absent an elusive
global consensus, efforts
will have to rely on a coa-
lition whose members
converge on hard targets
and on border-adjust-
ment mechanisms appli-
cable to trade with third
countries. Implementa-
tion will be fraught with
difficulties. Success will
require agreeing on
which trade measures
are acceptable and which
are just covert protec-
tionism. That is a high
bar to reach. Having al-
ready indicated its inten-
tion to introduce a bor-
der adjustment, the Eu-
ropean Union is on the
front line here. This is a
major responsibility.
The second priority is to
make the global economic
system as rivalry-proof as
possible. Regardless of who
wins the US presidential
election on November 3,
great-power competition
between the US and China
will continue to dominate
internationalrelations.But
the Cold War analogy is
misleading,becausetoday’s
protagonists are major eco-
nomic partners. Whereas
the Soviet Union’s share of
US imports never exceeded
a fraction of a percentage
point, China currently ac-
counts for 18%. Die-hard
US advocates of decou-
pling wrongly view further
Chinese development as a
national security threat
and want to end this inter-
dependence in an attempt
to halt China’s economic
rise. As the Peterson Insti-
tute’s Nicholas Lardy has
argued, however, a general
decoupling from China
would be a “high-cost, low-
benefit policy.”
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
Globalization needs rebuilding, not just repair
A
Whoever has a bountiful
eye will be blessed, for he
shares his bread with the
poor. —Proverbs 22:9
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
Our initiative of Tele-Law, to
provide legal advice to poor
litigants using video conference
has touched a new milestone. 4
Lakh beneﬁciaries have received
legal advice under this through
Common Service Centers.
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
Investments in renewable sources
of energy is one of the ways to
tackle Global Warming. I recently
inaugurated the DST- IEST Solar
PV Hub of IIEST Shibpur that
will help the institute engage in
credible work in the realm of
climate change and solar energy.
avana has gotten some very
unfair press for himself. If
you look at his life, he was a
wonderful guy by himself. It
is just that out of his own
foolishness and egoistic na-
ture, he was unable to ben-
efit from what he had.
Ravana was a great devotee
of Shiva and he worshipped
Shiva from down South where
his kingdom was. Then after
some time he thought, “Why
don’t I bring Kailash closer to
my home.” So he walked all the
way from Sri Lanka to Kailash
and went and started lifting
Mount Kailash. This made Par-
vathi very angry and she told
Shiva, “It does not matter how
dear he is to you, you cannot
allow him to take Kailash to the
South. That is not possible.”
Shiva also got angry with Ra-
vana’s egoistic nature and so
he pressed the mountain down
trapping Ravana’s hands be-
neath Kailash. Ravana strug-
gled in pain but Shiva refused
to release him.
Then Ravana with his
hand stuck beneath Kailash,
started pouring out his love
for Shiva in various beauti-
ful hymns. After he had
formed 1001 hymns of utter
love and surrender, Shiva re-
leased him and said, “You
can have a boon. Ask me
what you want.” Once again
Ravana’s asura nature man-
ifested itself and he said, “I
want to marry Parvathi.”
Shiva said “Ok. She is at Ma-
nasarovar Lake. You can go
and marry her.” All the ga-
nas who were around Shiva
got excited and wondered,
“How can it be? How can Ra-
vana ever touch Parvathi?
This is not possible.” They
all ran to Parvathi at Mana-
sarovar Lake and told her,
“Ravana is coming. Shiva
has given him permission to
marry you.” Then Parvathi
called Manduka, the queen
of the frogs, and converted
this frog into a beautiful
woman. Ravana had never
set eyes on Parvathi and
when he came and saw the
woman Manduka, he was at-
tracted to her and he took
her and married her. That
woman was Mandodhari.
After this, Ravana did a very
powerful sadhana and received
a powerful Jyothirlinga from
Shiva himself. Shiva does not
care whether something is so-
cially approved of or not. He
falls in love with anything that
happens genuinely. Shiva told
Ravana to carry the Jyothirl-
inga to his land and that wher-
ever Ravana placed the Jy-
othirlinga, it would remain
forever. The one condition was
that Ravana could not keep the
Jyothirlinga down anywhere
else because wherever he put it,
it would get established there.
Very carefully, Ravana
carried the Jyothirlinga
with great strength. The
man was such a yogi that he
held every aspect – he did
not eat, he did not urinate,
he did nothing that is com-
pulsive for every human be-
ing, and just walked down
almost 4000 kilometers from
Kailash to a place called
Gokarna in Karnataka. Be-
cause he walked without
anything that a human be-
ing normally needs, he was
feeling weak and he wanted
to pee. Maybe he was drink-
ing water because he was
not having any food. His
bladder must have been a
thousand gallons by then
and he could not hold it any-
more. But he could not keep
the lingam down and he
would not relieve himself –
something that he considers
a very base act, with the
lingam on his body.
Then he saw a very cute and
innocent looking cowherd boy.
He called him and said, “I will
give you a jewel if you hold this
in your hand for a few minutes
while I relieve myself.” The boy
said, “Fine” and Ravana gave
the lingam to the cowherd and
turned around to urinate. This
boy was actually Ganapathy
who did not want Ravana to
take this linga to Lanka be-
cause if he did, he would be-
come absolutely superhuman.
So Ganapathy just kept the
lingam down and it sank into
the earth. Even today if you go
to Gokarna, there is just a
small hole in the rock through
which you have to put your fin-
ger and feel the lingam because
it has gone in.
Ravana got so angry that
he knocked the boy on the
head and that is why you will
also find a Ganapathy statue
with depression in his skull
at Gokarna. Then, in anger,
Ravana took his turban and
threw it in one direction.
The turban went and fell at
a place which became Mu-
rudeshwar. Then he took his
necklace and threw it anoth-
er direction; then he took his
earrings and threw them in
a third direction. In this
manner, he took five differ-
ent things from his body and
threw them in different di-
rections and each one fell in
a different place. Today
there are temples at all these
places. Ravana did not have
the strength to walk back to
Kailash and do his work
again and so in great dejec-
tion and anger, he walked on
to Sri Lanka.
So similarly, irrespective of
whether you are good or bad, if
you are willing, divinity is al-
ways available to everyone.
But whether you make it a
curse or a boon for yourself is
left to what kind of nature you
carry within yourself. What
kind of attitude and mind you
cultivate within yourself de-
termines how you make use of
the existence.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SADHGURU, ISHA FOUNDATION
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential
people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic,
visionary and a New York Times bestselling
author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma
Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017,
the highest annual civilian award, accorded for
exceptional and distinguished service
THE INNOCENT COWHERD
Ravana was a
great devotee of
Shiva and he
worshipped
Shiva from down
South where his
kingdom was.
Then after some
time he thought,
“Why don’t I
bring Kailash
closer to my
home.” So he
walked all the
way from Sri
Lanka to Kailash
and went and
started lifting
Mount Kailash.
This made
Parvathi very
angry and she
told Shiva, “It
does not matter
how dear he is to
you, you cannot
allow him to take
Kailash to the
South. That is
not possible.”
IRRESPECTIVE OF
WHETHER YOU ARE
GOOD OR BAD, IF YOU
ARE WILLING, DIVINITY
IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE
TO EVERYONE. BUT
WHETHER YOU MAKE IT
A CURSE OR A BOON
FOR YOURSELF IS LEFT
TO WHAT KIND OF
NATURE YOU CARRY
WITHIN YOURSELF
IN-DEPTH
MACRON LEADS
FRANCE’S WAR
AGAINST TERROR
slamic terror started in France
with Charlie Hebdo, a magazine
known for attacking religious fun-
damentalism, publishing contro-
versial cartoons of Prophet Mo-
hammed. In 2006 the magazine was pulled up
by French President Jacques Chirac for its
overt provocations which could hurt the reli-
gious convictions of others. The matter went
to court but Nicolas Sarkozy, who would suc-
ceed Chirac, wrote a letter to be read in court
defending the French tradition of satire. The
journal’s editor won the case.
In 2015 two Muslim gunmen barged into
the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo and opened
fire, killing 12 staffers causing a furore. The
magazine’s supporters defied the Islamists by
holding placards with the slogan “Je suis
Charlie” (I am Charlie).
Two beheadings and two stabbings hap-
pened after the republication of Prophet’s
cartoons by Charlie Hebdo in September to
mark the start of the trial in the 2015 attack.
Theseterrorkillingssparkedstrongprotests
inFrancewhichtakesprideinitsseculartradi-
tions.TheFrenchStatedoesnotfavouranyone
religionandguaranteestheirpeacefulco-exist-
ence. The law prohibits all clothing or other
attire displaying religious worship to be worn
in school. Laicite does not allow any place for
religion in the public sphere. But Muslims, es-
pecially the recent immigrants, have found it
hard to reconcile with requirements like not
wearing a hijab or full veil by Muslim women
as mandated by Islam. The irreconcilable dif-
ferences give rise to friction the kind of which
one is witnessing in France today.
Adding fuel to the religious outrage are
certain remarks made by the French presi-
dent. Prior to the beheading of the school
teacher Samuel Paty, President Emmanuel
Macron spoke of Islam as “a religion that is
in crisis today all over the world” and that it
is “plagued by radical temptations and by a
yearning for a reinvented jihad which is the
destruction of the other”.
After the barbaric killing of Paty, Macron
asserted France “would not give up cartoons,
drawings, even if others back down” as he
spoke of Islamic separatism in France.
His assertions led to a row with Turkey and
Pakistan attacking the Republic for spreading
Islamophobia.TurkishPresidentRecepTayyip
Erdogan went to the extent of questioning Ma-
cron’s mental health. At such a difficult time,
Macron has found a dependable friend in India
which strongly condemned the attacks as it
faces“similar,non-traditionalsecuritythreats”.
While it strongly criticised the killings in the
name of religion, India was careful not to men-
tion the Prophet’s caricatures. It did not agree
with them either in the name of secularism or
freedom of expression presumably because of
the sizeable Muslim minority in the country.
France plans to get cracking on radical Is-
lam with a bill against separatism. Will Mus-
lims agree to integrate fully into a country
where freedom is respected? For now, the
world is witnessing a resurgence of terror.
I
R

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
AMETHI: VILLAGE CHIEF’S
HUSBAND BURNT ALIVE, 3 HELD
Amethi: A village chief’s
husband in Amethi, Uttar
Pradesh, was allegedly
burnt alive and died on
his way to the hospital,
with his family claiming
that he was killed over
electoral rivalry, the
police said. The man’s
family filed a complaint
against five people, of
which three have been
arrested. Arjun Kori, 45,
husband of Bhadoiya vil-
lage head Chhotka Devi,
was found with serious
burns on Thursday night.
He died while being taken
to a Lucknow hospital
for treatment Friday
morning, the police said.
His son Surendra Kumar
said Arjun Kori had gone
to market to purchase
vegetables but did not
return home.
RETD IAS KK SHARMA IS NEW
J&K ELECTION COMMISSIONER
Srinagar: Advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Lt
Governor, KK Sharma took oath as the J&K
election commissioner on Friday. Sharma held
the post of advisor to the Lt Governor of the
union territory of Jammu and Kashmir prior to
his appointment. A 1983-batch IAS officer of the
Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram Union Ter-
ritories (AGMUT) cadre, KK Sharma was sworn in
as the J&K election commissioner at a ceremony
in Raj Bhavan in Srinagar on Friday evening. IAS
officer Rohit Kansal shared the news.
AAROGYA SETU: ORDERS
ACTION ON OFFICERS
New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and
IT has taken a serious view on lapses made
in providing information about Aarogya Setu
app, and issued directions to initiate suitable
action against concerned officers, government
sources said. The ministry is committed to fur-
nish all the information sought under the Right
to Information (RTI) Act to the applicant, and
comply with the directions of Central Informa-
tion Commission (CIC), the sources told news
agency Press Trust of India.
BIHAR: NO REPOLL RECOMMENDED
BY OBSERVERS/ CEO IN ALL 71 ACS
Patna: In accordance with
ECI’s instructions, General
Observers, in presence
of Candidates/Political
Parties, conducted post-
poll scrutiny of all 71 ACs
which went for first phase
poll in Bihar. Observers
after careful scrutiny of
records and inputs of can-
didates/political parties
have concluded that in
all 31,371 polling booths
in all 71 ACs spread
over in 16 districts, poll
process were completed
on poll day peacefully
and in accordance with
extant statutory instruc-
tions. In view of forego-
ing, Observers have not
recommended any repoll.
CEO, Bihar, has furnished
his report and also said
that no repoll is recom-
mended.
BIHAR ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2020
SAAT NISCHAY YOJANA IS BIGGEST SCAM
IN BIHAR’S HISTORY: CHIRAG PASWAN
Patna: Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP) chief Chi-
rag Paswan on Friday
termed Nitish Kumar’s
“Saat Nischay Yojana”
(Seven Resolves
Scheme) as the biggest
scam in the history of
Bihar.
“This is just the be-
ginning. Whoever is as-
sociated with “Saat Ni-
schay Yojana” will be
investigated and action
will be taken. I kept on
saying that “Saat Nis-
chay Yojana” is the big-
gest scam in the history
of Biharandthisshould
be investigated fully.
Just because of investi-
gation they are in fear.
Why is Nitish Kumar
scared when we are just
talking about the inves-
tigation,” Chirag said.
Chirag also reacted to
the Munger firing inci-
dent and blamed Nitish
Kumar for the episode.
“These kinds of in-
stances increased in Bi-
har. My Lok Sabha con-
stituency, Jamui have
also faced similar inci-
dents. If state’s CM’s
thinking is focussed on
caste system, then what
can we expect. This is an
attempttoindulgeinvote
bank politics.” —ANI
Why is Nitish Kumar scared when we are just talking about the investigation,” LJP chief said
Reservation should
be proportionate to
population: Nitish
Valmiki Nagar: Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar has said that res-
ervation should be pro-
portionatetopopulation.
Speaking at a public
rally on Thursday, Ku-
mar said, “As far as the
question of population
is concerned, that is de-
cided only after the cen-
sus and that decision is
not in our hands. We
would like to say that
reservation should be
proportionatetothepop-
ulation, there is no sec-
ond opinion about it.”
“Youhavegivenusthe
chance to work in the
past and if you give the
same in future, we will
continue to work. Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
is working for the whole
countryandisproviding
special assistance for
the development of Bi-
har,” he added.
Bihar saw a final vot-
er turnout of 55.69 per
cent in the first phase
of assembly polls with
the poll percentage bet-
ter compared to that in
2015. —ANI
Patna: Hitting back at
Tejaswhi Yadav’s barbs
thateducationandhealth
sectors were destroyed
under the reign of CM
Nitish Kumar, President
of the BJP in Bihar San-
jay Jaiswal on Friday
took a jibe at the Lalu
Prasad’s family, saying
that if voted to power
theywillhelpthe“sonsof
twoformerCMs(LaluYa-
dav and Rabri Devi) help
clear class 10 exams”.
Jaiswal was respond-
ing to allegations lev-
elled by Tejashwi Yadav
that Bihar’s CM de-
stroyed Health, educa-
tion and Industries in
the state. “If you talk
about Education, for
the last 15 years, Nitish
Kumar was the chief
minister and he distrib-
uted cycles, books and
uniforms for students,
but two chief ministers
couldn’t motivate both
of their sons to pass
class 10 exams. It is a
matter of concern The
person who is alleging,
who is the child of two
chief ministerscouldn’t
pass 10th in 15 years of
Nitish rule. We will
make sure to help those
from RJD who couldn’t
clear 10th exam so that
they can pass next
time,” Jaiswal said.
Tejashwi had ac-
cused Nitish govern-
ment of ruining state
by not addressing peo-
ple’s grievances. —ANI
New Delhi: A petition
has been filed in SC
seeking the setting up of
a SIT to probe into al-
leged forceful conver-
sion of Hindus and
crimes against women
of community in Nuh
district of Haryana.
A number of Hindus
have been forcibly con-
verted to Islam and a
number of Hindu wom-
en and minor girls have
been abducted and
raped. Hindu women
are not safe at all. The
Muslims at a large num-
ber have committed
atrocities on members
of Schedule caste (as
well,” the plea, filed by a
group of lawyers and
social activists claimed.
PIL filed through ad-
vocate Vishnu Shankar
Jain, sought protection
of the fundamental
rights of the Hindus.
SC Plea seeks
SIT probe into
‘forceful
conversion’
IN THE COURTYARD
Bineesh Kodiyeri
funded Bengaluru
drug peddler: ED
Thiruvananthapuram:A day after ED arrested
Kerala CPI(M) state secretary’s son Bineesh
Kodiyeri the central agency said he was the fi-
nancier of the drug cartel and pumped in huge
amount of unaccounted fund into the bank ac-
count of drug peddler Anoop Mohammad.
In a statement, the ED said Mohammad was
just a ‘benami’ of Kodiyeri and allegedly en-
sured fund from various sources for peddling
drug. Bineesh was arrested by the ED in Ben-
galuru on Thursday and a court had remanded
in the ED custody for four days.
Trouble began for Kodiyeri after the Bengal-
uru drug racket-accused Anoop Mohammad
gave a statement to NCB mentioning his name.
Hold FB, Twitter responsible for
spreading hate, fake news: PIL in SC
New Delhi: A petition
has been filed in the
Supreme Court seek-
ing directions to make
laws to regulate social
media platforms and to
hold Facebook, Twit-
ter, WhatsApp, Insta-
gram directly respon-
sible for spreading
hate speeches and fake
news.
The public interest
litigation (PIL), filed
by advocate Vineet Jin-
dal through advocate
Raj Kishor Choudhary
earlier this week,
sought directions to
Centre to frame laws
for criminal prosecu-
tion of persons in-
volved in spreading
hate, fake news
through social media.
It requested top
court to direct Centre
to establish a mecha-
nism for automatic re-
moval of hate speeches
fake news within a
short timeframe so
that counter produc-
tion is minimised.
AGUSTAWESTLAND CASE
MICHEL PAID EURO 22,000 FOR
TYPING REPORT, CONTRACTS
New Delhi: British National Christian James Michel,
who is one of the alleged middlemen in the Rs 3,600
crore AgustaWestland case, had hired a typist for
Euro 22,000 to type the AW contracts. According
to CBI supplementary charge sheet running in over
12,000 pages filed in the Delhi court last month,
“During investigation, Surbramanian, an associate of
Michel, stated that as per the instructions of him he
had typed the dispatches or reports and sent them
to the office of AgustaWestland/Finmeccanica, Guido
Haschke etc.,” it said.—ANI
New Delhi: In a major
revelation about the vi-
olence in Bihar’s
Munger on the night of
October 26, a report has
claimed that the Bihar
Police fired first.
The incident hap-
pened during the Durga
idol immersion in
Munger. The Bihar po-
lice have been claiming
that the people miscre-
ants fired first. Howev-
er, an internal report by
the Central Industrial
Security Force (CISF)
says that it was the po-
lice who fired first.Ac-
cording to the report,
“At 11:20 pm on the
night of 26 October, a
group of 20 CISF per-
sonnel, at the behest of
Munger police station,
was sent from the camp
at the district school for
the safety duty of
immersion.”According
to the report, “At 11:20
pm on the night of 26
October, a group of 20
CISF personnel, at the
behest of Munger po-
lice station, was sent
from the camp at the
district school for the
safety duty of immer-
sion.” The report adds
that state police divided
these 20 soldiers into
two groups of 10 each.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addresses a gathering during
an election meeting, in Khagaria on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
They are talking today, but how
was the condition of women earli-
er? They were ignored, nobody
paid attention to their issues. When he was
sent to jail, he installed his wife (Rabri
Devi) on the chair, but did nothing for the
welfare of the women otherwise.
—Nitish Kumar, BIHAR CM
LJP President Chirag Paswan speaks to media persons, in Patna on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘If elected will help 2 ex-CMs’ sons pass class 10’
‘SHOULDN’T NITISH KUMAR
SPEAK ON UNEMPLOYMENT?’
Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday asked
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to speak on
issues of unemployment and migration. In a tweet
in Hindi, Tejashwi Yadav said, “Respected Nitishji
accepts that in 15 years of his government he has
destroyed education, health and industries of the
state. He also ruined the present and future of
two generations. This is the reason why he does
not speak anything about unemployment, jobs
industries, investment and migration. Shouldn’t
he speak on these issues ?”
INTERNAL REPORT OF CISF
‘Police fired first in
Munger violence’

INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
PM dedicates...
The PM also undertook
the 40-minute ‘Ekta
Cruise’ ferry ride from
the Statue of Unity to
the Shresth Bharat
Bhavan. Before that, he
also unveiled the plaque
for nine projects: the
jetty and boating for
Ekta cruise, a naviga-
tion channel, the Navo
Gora Bridge, Garudesh-
war Weir, Ekta Nursery,
Khalvani Eco-Tourism,
a government housing
project, two bus termi-
nals, and the Tribal
Home Stay.
The projects dedicat-
ed on Friday are expect-
ed to provide employ-
ment opportunities to
3,000 families and mon-
etarybenefitsof Rs9,000
crore to inhabitants of
the tribal communities
living in a 100 sq. Km
radius, over the next
two years.
The PM will also
launch four new pro-
jects: Administrative
Bhavan, Government
Housing, SRP quarters,
and Adarsh Houses to
rehabilitate the people
of five villages who
were affected by the
SoU project.
In addition, the PM
will also inaugurate the
special design lighting
decorations spread over
25 sq. km area around
the Statue of Unity-
-which will see Kevadia
shining with one billion
lights.
On Saturday, Modi is
expected to launch the
nation’s first seaplane
service between Keva-
dia and Ahmedabad
from the water-aero-
drome in Ahmedabad’s
Sabarmati River Front.
Bollywood drugs...
and NCB were working
on NDPS cases, we had
on several occasions
said that either both
agencies be allowed to
use the statements re-
corded as evidence or
neither should be al-
lowed to do so.”
However, Thursday’s
ruling by the SC stated
that as per the NDPS
Act, officers – from the
departments of central
excise, narcotics, cus-
toms or revenue intel-
ligence – would be con-
sidered as police offic-
ers and hence, state-
ments recorded by them
would not be admissible
like in case of other po-
lice matters.
Farooq not...
PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti in a tweet today
criticised the adminis-
tration.
“Preventing Farooq
sahab from offering
prayers on Milad Un
Nabi Saw at Hazratbal
exposes GOI’s deep par-
anoia and their iron fist
approach towards
J&K,” Mufti tweeted
about her latest col-
league in the People’s
Alliance for Gupkar
Declaration, a newly
minted group that in-
cludes Sajjad Lone to
fight for restoration of
Article 370 and resolu-
tion of Kashmir.
Spokesperson of the
Peoples’ Alliance for
Gupkar Declaration Sa-
jad Lone said Abdullah
was scheduled to go to
Hazratbal, but was
stopped from leaving
his house. “We strongly
condemn the actions of
the state administra-
tion which are tanta-
mount to interference
in the religious rights
of Dr Farooq Abdul-
lah,” Lone said.
EC rips...
The EC had pulled up
Nath to not use words
such as “item” to ad-
dress a woman during
campaigning for the
bye-elections while
Code of Conduct is in
effect.
Addressing an elec-
tion meeting on Sun-
day for the November
3 bypoll in Gwalior’s
Dabra town, where the
ruling BJP has fielded
Imarti Devi, Nath had
said the Congress can-
didate was a “simple
person” unlike his op-
ponent who was an
“item”.
Taking another com-
plaint in consideration,
where the Congress
leader has spoken
against current state
CM Chouhan and re-
ferred to him as “ma-
fia” and milawatkhor”.
FROM PG 1
JISHU BARUA IS NEW CHIEF
SECRETARY, ASSAM; TO TAKE
CHARGE ON OCT 31
Jishu Barua has been appointed as the new Chief
Secretary of Assam. Baura, who belongs to a 1988
batch IAS officer, will assume the charge on Octo-
ber 31, 2020.
YASHVARDHAN KUMAR SINHA TO
BE CIC
Name of Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha has been cleared
as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
He served as India’s High Commissioner to the Unit-
ed Kingdom and to Sri Lanka. He is the senior most
member of the Central Information Commission.
PUNHANI TO BE IC !
Saroj Punhani is being appointed as Information
Commissioner. Punhani ‘s name has reportedly
been cleared by the PM - led selection Committee.
Punhani 1984 batch IA&AS is presently Dy CAG.
MAHURKAR TO BE NEW
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
Veteran Journalist Uday Mahurkar is being ap-
pointed as Information Commissioner of India.
SECRETARY, DEFENCE FINANCE
RETIRING THIS MONTH
Ms Gargi Kaul, Secretary Defence Finance in the
ministry of Defence, is retiring this month. She is
an IA&AS officer.
IDAS OFFICER LIKELY TO BE NEW
SECRETARY, DF
All eyes are on the appointment of new Secre-
tary, Defence Finance in the Ministry of Defence.
According to sources, this time an officer from
IDAS is likely to be appointed as the Secretary,
Defence Account. Eariar IDAS officers were used to
be appointed as Secretary, Def Finance but former
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharman stopped
appointing IDAS officers as Secretary m Defence
Finance and bought an IA&AS officer.
WILL MITTAL BE APPOINTED
SECRETARY, DEFENCE ACCOUNT?
If IDAS officers get the chance then Sanjeev Mittal
is likely to be appointed as Secretary, Defence Fi-
nance in MoD. He is presently CG, DA.. he is a 1984
batch IDAS officer.
JUSTICE BHAT CONTINUES AS
CHAIRPERSON, NCLAT
Justice Bansi Lal Bhat will continue as
officiating Chairperson of NCLAT till
December 31, 2020.
TWO IAS OFFICERS SHIFTED IN AP
Pattanshetti Ravi Subash has been appointed as Chief
Executive Officer, Comprehensive Financial Manage-
ment System and S Ram Sundar Reddy was made
Joint Collector, Rythu Bharosa and Revenue, Kurnool
District in AP.
MRS RACHNA PATIL APPOINTED AS
COLLECTOR, MUNGER IN BIHAR
Mrs Rachna Patil has been appointed as Collector,
Munger at the behest of Election Commission.
MANAVJEET SINGH DHILLON
APPOINTED AS SP, MUNGER IN BIHAR
Manavjeet Singh Dhillon has been appointed as
Superintendent of Police (SP), Munger in Bihar. He
is a 2009 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.
ALOKE SINGH APPOINTED AS CEO,
AIR INDIA EXPRESS LTD
Aloke Singh has been appointed as Chief Executive
Officer, Air India Express Limited (AIXL) on con-
tractual basis for a period of three years.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
‘Pak Min reveals truth
of Pulwama attack’
Bhagalpur : Defence
Minister Rajnath Sin-
gh Friday said that a
Pakistani ministers ad-
mission of his coun-
trys involvement in the
2019 Pulwama attack
has revealed the truth
on the matter and si-
lenced those who had
questioned the NDA
governments intent on
the issue.
His statement came
at an election rally here
a day after senior Paki-
stani minister Fawad
Chaudhry sensational-
ly admitted that his
country was responsi-
ble for Pulwama attack
in J&K.
Pakistan has accept-
ed that they were be-
hind the Pulwama at-
tack. Until now, they
had been saying they
were not involved in it,”
he said. Singh said, “Op-
position had questioned
our intent then. Con-
gress leaders were indi-
rectly empowering Pa-
kistan. —PTI
Rajnath Singh
15th Finance Commission
concludes deliberations
The commission will submit 5-year report to President, PMO on Nov 9
New Delhi : The 15th
Finance Commission
(XV-FC), led by Chair-
man N K Singh, con-
cluded its deliberations
on the report for 2021-22
to 2025-26 on Friday.
Following this, the
report was signed by
the chairman, and oth-
er members of the com-
mission -- Ajay Narayan
Jha, Professor Anoop
Singh, Dr Ashok Lahiri,
and Dr Ramesh Chand,
as per a release.
President, whose of-
fice wants it to be pre-
sented on November 9.
A copy will also be pre-
sented to PMO. The re-
port, pertaining to five
financial years, along
with an Action Taken
Report of Centre, will
be tabled in Parliament
by the Union finance
minister. The commis-
sion finalised report
after wide-ranging con-
sultations with Centre,
state governments,
members of finance
commissions. —ANI
Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K. Singh concludes deliberations on the Report for the
year 2021-2022 to 2025-2026, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi : The EC on
Friday said that BJP’s
National General Sec-
retary Kailash Vijay-
vargiya violated the
Model Code of Conduct
ahead of the MP by-
polls. The poll panel
had pulled up Vijayvar-
giya for referring to
Congress leaders Digvi-
jaya Singh and Kamal
Nath as “chunnu mun-
nu” at an election rally
on October 14 in Indore.
The commission had
issued a notice to Vijay-
vargiya in connection
with matter on Monday.
BJP leader replied on
next day, saying re-
marks were misunder-
standing. “The com-
plaint is an election
driven narrative of the
Congress to change
course of the election,”
Vijayvargiya replied.
Order said, commis-
sion has considered
matter “and is of con-
sidered view that
Kailash Vijayvargiya
violated Para (2) of Part
I of Code of Conduct for
Guidance of Parties,
Candidates”. —Agencies
violates code of conduct
ahead of MP by-polls
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah and De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Friday greeted
people on the occasion
of Eid-Milad-un-Nabi,
the birthday of Prophet
Muhammad. Muslims
celebrate this occasion
as the day of prosperity.
“On the occasion of
Milad-un-Nabi, the
birthdayof ProphetMu-
hammad,goodwishesto
all fellow citizens, espe-
cially to our Muslim
brothers and sisters in
India and abroad,” Pres-
ident Kovind tweeted.
“A celebration to com-
memorate the birth of
Prophet Mohammad.
He showed the path of
compassion, universal
brotherhood,” VP
Naidu tweeted.
“Hope this day fur-
thers compassion and
brotherhood. May eve-
rybody be healthy and
happy!” Modi tweeted.
A tweet from the Of-
fice of the HM read,
“May this festival bring
brotherhood and happi-
ness all across country.
Prez, other leaders greet
people on Milad-un-Nabi
Muslims take part in a religious procession on the occasion of Eid
Milad-un-nabi, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Cong to observe Kisan Adhikar
Diwas today against farm laws
New Delhi : Stepping
up its support to the
farmers in the wake of
enactment of three
contentious agricul-
ture-related central
laws, Congress on Fri-
day said it would ob-
serve October 31, the
birth anniversary of
Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa-
tel and death anniver-
sary of late PM Indira
Gandhi as ‘Kisan Adhi-
kar Diwas’.
Party’s state leaders
and activists will hold
‘satyagraha’ between 10
am and 4 pm at district
headquarters to protest
against the farm laws
brought forth by Modi
government.
“During the ‘satya-
graha’, party leaders
will highlight the spe-
cial contribution of in-
dependent India’s first
Union HM Sardar Patel
in the context of Bar-
doli farmers movement
and how the Modi gov-
ernment is blatantly at-
tacking what the Sardar
fought for, as also undo-
ing the ‘Green Revolu-
tion’ ushered in by then
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi that made India
self-sufficient in food,”
said AICC General Sec-
retary KC Venugopal.
RAHUL GANDHI
@RahulGandhi
On the occasion of
#EidMiladUnNabi,
may the spirit of kind-
ness and brotherhood
guide one and all.
Heartiest wishes.
Sensex ends
at 136; Nifty
at 11,642
Sena chooses
Urmila Matondkar
for Legislative
council seat
Mumbai: The Shiv
Sena has picked Bolly-
wood actor Urmila Ma-
tondkar for nomination
to the Maharashtra
Legislative Council
through the Gover-
nor’s quota. Confirm-
ing the same, Sena’s
chief spokesperson
Sanjay Raut stated,
“CM Uddhav Thacker-
ay has spoken to Ma-
tondkar and she has
agreed to be nominated
by the Sena.”
Matondkar is also
likely to be appointed as
spokeperson. Well, her
name was earlier doing
rounds from Congress.
Mumbai: Equity
benchmark Sensex
declined 136 points
on Friday following
losses in Infosys,
ICICI Bank and
Bharti Airtel amid
a selloff in global
markets.
After gyrating
746 points during
the day, the 30-share
BSE index ended
135.78 points or 0.34
per cent lower at
39,614.07.
Similarly, broad-
erNSENiftyslipped
28.40pointsor0.24%
to 11,642.40. —PTI
New Delhi: The Centre
has asked states to con-
stitute committees for
coordination and over-
seeing Covid-19 vacci-
nation drive while en-
suring minimal disrup-
tions in other routine
healthcare services,
stressed early tracking
of SM to dispel ru-
mours which could im-
pact community ac-
ceptance of coronavi-
rus inoculation.
Activities also in-
clude planning and
mapping of vaccination
sessions where HCWs
will be vaccinated dur-
ing 1st phase and map-
ping human resources
across departments
that could be deployed
for vaccination sessions
for verification, overall
coordination. STF will
track districts for ad-
herence to timelines for
overall implementation
of vaccine intro.—Agencies
Centre asks states
for smooth Covid-19
vaccination drive
LS Speaker Om Birla to
lead Indian delegation
New Delhi: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla will
lead the Indian Parlia-
mentary delegation to
the 206th Session of the
Governing Council of
the Inter-Parliamenta-
ry Union (IPU), which
will be held from No-
vember 1 to 4, 2020.
This will be an Ex-
traordinary Virtual
Session, which is being
organised in place of a
full-fledged in-person
Statutory Assembly of
IPU due to pandemic,
according to an official
release.
The term of the new
president of IPU will be
from 2020-23.
There are four candi-
dates in fray for the
election of IPU Presi-
dent- Duarte Pacheco
from Portugal, Muham-
mad Sanjrani from Pa-
kistan, Akmal Saidov
from Uzbekistan and
Salma Ataullahjan
from Canada. —ANI
EC ISSUES NOTICE
ASSEMBLY OF IPU
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

Since the mid-1980s more
than 100 journal articles
have explored the idea that a
single gene might influence
handedness. These theories
suggested one variant of the
gene would bias an indi-
vidual towards right-
handedness, while
the alternate vari-
ant led to handed-
ness being randomly
determined.
While there have
been many theories
attempting to explain
different human char-
acteristics via single
genes, in recent years
we have discovered
that the reality is often
much more complicat-
ed. More recent research
uses genome-wide associa-
tion studies (GWAS) to look
for a relationship between a
trait of interest and the num-
ber of copies of a genetic
variant someone has. These
analyses are run for millions
of variants located across
the genome.
These genome-wide studies
have shown that almost all
human traits are influenced
by many hundreds or thou-
sands of genetic variants. Of-
ten these variants are lo-
cated between genes
whose purpose is not
clearly identifiable,
in what used to be
called “junk DNA”.
GWAS has also
shown most traits
are influenced by
large numbers
of genes which
each contribute a
very small effect,
rather than a single
gene which has a
large effect. To track
these small
ef-
fects,
large
collabo-
rative studies with
many participants
are required in or-
der to identify the
individual genetic
variants involved.
About 88% of peo-
ple prefer to use
their right hand for
complex tasks,
around 10% prefer
their left hand, and
the other 2% report
they do not have a
preference and can
useeitherhand.Hand
preference develops
so early that it can be
seen in the womb.
Handedness tends
to stabilise around
the time children are
learning to draw. In
the absence of injury
or training it re-
mains constant
throughout life. Evi-
dence from historic
human populations
suggests it has been
this way for hun-
dreds of thousands
of years.
Research examin-
ing patterns of hand-
edness in twins and
families shows most
of the variation is
down to non-genetic
factors, such as train-
ing and the environ-
ment in which we
gain early motor
skills. However, ge-
netics does play a sig-
nificant role.
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
I’M A LEFTY!
It is RIGHT to be LEFT-HANDED; no single gene
governs it, at least 41 regions of DNA are involved
M
ost people consistently use the
same hand to do tasks that re-
quire skill and control such as
writing or threading a needle.
We know genetics plays a big part in which
hand a person prefers, but it has been dif-
ficult to identify the exact genes responsi-
ble. To find out more, we analysed the DNA
of more than 1.7 million people and discov-
ered 41 regions of the genome associated
with being left handed and another seven
associated with being ambidextrous.
THERE IS NO SINGLE GENE FOR HANDEDNESS
WHAT MAKES PEOPLE
LEFT-HANDED?
In 2009 we started a project
involving researchers from
around the world to hunt for
genetic variants that influence
handedness using GWAS. We
did not recruit participants
based on their handedness, so
the number of left-handed peo-
ple was relatively small. As a
result, we have only recently
gathered enough to undertake
robust analyses.
Our study brought together
analyses of data from 1,766,671
people. Of these people, 194,198
were left-handed and 37,637
were ambidextrous. We found
41 regions of the genome asso-
ciated with left-handedness
and seven regions associated
with ambidexterity.
Many of the regions of the
genome associated with left-
handedness contained genes
that code for microtubule pro-
teins. These proteins play im-
portant roles during develop-
ment in the migration of neu-
rons and in the ability of the
brain to adapt to changes in the
environment.
Interestingly, genes that in-
fluence other asymmetries in
the body, such as which side of
the body the heart is located
on, were not associated with
handedness in our study.
Another important finding
was that there was little overlap
between the regions of the ge-
nome associated with left-hand-
edness and those associated
with ambidexterity. This sug-
geststhatambidexterityismore
complicated than we previously
thought. The mechanisms that
influence the direction of hand
preference might be different
from those that influence the
degree of hand preference.
These findings give us prom-
ising new leads but more work
is needed to identify further
genetic variants that influence
handedness. There is also a
long way to go before we under-
stand how these variants play
a role in someone becoming
right-handed, left-handed or
ambidextrous.
WHAT GWAS REVEALS ABOUT HANDEDNESS
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: CP SHARMA

Always try to do what you
cannot do, in this way at least
you will learn to do something
that you didn’t know earlier.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a curi-
ous case spawning
from the saata-paata
custom of exchange
weddings, the Gujarat
High Court on Friday
directed the Patan Po-
lice to look into allega-
tions of a man that he
had paid Rs 3 lakh to a
woman’s parents to
marry their daughter.
If required police
could initiate against
the man (the complain-
ant) himself, the court
stated.
A division bench of
Justice Sonia Gokani
and Justice N V Anjaria
was hearing a habeas
corpus petition filed by
Sanjay Thakor, who had
alleged that his in-laws
were not allowing his
wife to return in his life.
Sanjay’s sister Vidhi
had married Rakesh,
and the latter’s sister
Jyoti to Sanjay. After a
few years, Rakesh di-
vorced Vidhi. This an-
gered Jyoti who re-
turned to her parental
home. Sanjay claimed in
the court that he had
paid Rs 3 lakh to his in-
laws through middle
men to marry Jyoti.
The court observed,
“It is quite shockingly
apparent that the areas
of the State, where there
is depletion in sex ratio,
more and more such il-
legal and unpalatable
incidents are being no-
ticed.” The “saddest
part is that the legal bat-
tles are fought over
daughters,” not for her
happiness or to protect
her, but for money, the
court observed with
concern.
Meanwhile, Jyoti
got married to a per-
son of her choice and
settled in Kutch and
the court has directed
police protection to
the couple.
Menace of ‘exchange weddings’ alarms Gujarat High Court
In a curi-
ous case, a
man wants
his wife back
from her
parents since
he had paid
Rs 3 lakh to
her family
SHOCKING CUSTOMS
Gujarat HC said GST Commissioner can make arrests before assessment, but sparingly
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: In a far-
reaching decision, the
Gujarat High Court
has ruled that the
Goods and Service
Tax (GST) Commis-
sioner could arrest
suspected defaulters
even before a show-
cause notice is issued
or assessment process
started.
Though the High
Court has introduced
safeguards stating that
this power should be ex-
ercised only if the offic-
er concerned has “rea-
son to believe” that the
person has committed a
grave offence, experts
advise utmost caution.
Amid fears that this
power in the hands of
tax officers could herald
an inspector raj yet
again, eminent GST ex-
pert and author of at
least 10 books on the
subject, Ahmedabad-
based Monish Bhalla
said, “Assessment offic-
ers would need to exer-
cise utmost care since
this would be their sub-
jective judgment.”
Bhatt told First India,
“Although there are pro-
visions that empower
officials to arrest de-
faulters for huge GST
evasion, there is every
possibility of blatant
misuse of powers.”
He agreed that there
were safeguards in the
law but since GST was
being implemented by
the Centre and the State
together, the “GST
Council should come
out with strict and clear
uniform guidelines, es-
pecially after this High
Court order.”
Similarly, Senior Su-
preme Court advocate
Tarun Gulati said while
the High Court had reit-
erated several safe-
guards to exercise the
power to arrest, the
judgment “has over-
looked the practical con-
siderations where pow-
ers of arrest could be
brazenly misused and
are used as a coercive
measure for tax recover-
ies.
Echoing these
views, Harpreet Singh
of KPMG, says while
the High Court has
held that the Commis-
sioner has the power
to make arrests under
Section 69, one hopes
that the rationale
would be applied by
officers in substance
and entirety by exer-
cising extreme cau-
tion “The learned
judges have rightly
held that such power
should be used spar-
ingly and only on sub-
stantive weighty
grounds and reasons,
instead of based on
mere suspicion of
complicity in an of-
fence,” he said.
Expertswarnarrestpowersto
GSTofficersmeansinspectorraj
NATURE OF
OFFENCES
3 Delhi businessmen
duped of `16 lakh
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Three
businessmen from
Delhi were duped of
Rs 16 lakh in
Ahmedabad when
they came to the city
on Thursday for a
dubious deal of
changing old cur-
rency with new
notes on a commis-
sion basis.
Police said Satish
Kumar Garg (56) and
Ashok Kumar Taneja,
both residents of Sa-
gra village in old Del-
hi, and Rajkumar
Gandhi from Greater
Noida, had come for
the business transac-
tion.
On Thursday even-
ing, when they
reached a hotel near
Shantipura in Sarkhej
area they were duped
of Rs 16 lakh allegedly
by Imran Khan Pa-
than,SureshMotaand
Rahul. Imran Khan
had contacted them in
Delhi a few days ago.
“We were told by
Imran that there is a
person called Suresh
Mota from Mandvi
in Kutch who can
get us old currency
notes in exchange of
Rs 2,000 notes for
10% commission in
Ahmedabad. Since
we have had busi-
ness in Ahmedabad
earlier, the three of
us came here on
Wednesday evening
by train and booked
a hotel. Imran told
us that he would
makeusmeetSuresh
along with bundles
of old currency
notes in Sarkhej on
Thursday evening,”
said Garg in his
complaint.
Zipline at riverfront removed
to enable seaplane landing
Surat city reports 3
suicides in 24 hours
Police remove anti-Macron
posters from Vadodara street
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi inaugu-
rating the seaplane
service between
Ahmedabad and Ke-
vadiya on Saturday,
the Amdavad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) has disman-
tled the zipline it
erected for Rs 50
crore on the Sabar-
mati Riverfront in
2015.
Deputy Municipal
Commissioner RK Me-
hta said the zipline was
proving to be an ob-
struction in the flight
path of the seaplane,
which would land at the
Sabarmati Riverfront.
It was removed after a
request from the Civil
Aviation Department.
He said the AMC
would explore where
else the zipline could
be erected again and
would do so if it was
feasible.
The 350-metre wide
zipline was erected at a
height of 20 metres
near the Sabarmati Riv-
erfront behind NID in
Paldi in 2015. The fee to
use the zipline was Rs
200 per person.
The seaplane is a
Twin Otter 300, which
will be operated by
SpiceJet. The plane can
seat 19 people.
First India Bureau
Surat: Surat city wit-
nessed 3 cases of sui-
cide during the last
24 hours including 2
businessmen and a
student.
Police said in one
case, a man from Ka-
targam area con-
sumed poison near a
construction site,
while in another a
man jumped from a
building and a stu-
dent killed himself
by consuming poison
reportedly under
pressure of studies.
Popatbhai Gabani,
48, of Ved Road sat on
an under construc-
tion building and
consumed poison.
Then he called his
brother and his fam-
ily members rushed
him to the nearest
hospital which re-
ferred him to New
Civil Hospital where
he was declared dead.
M e a n w h i l e ,
5 0 - y e a r - o l d
Dharmesh Modi
jumped from his resi-
dence in Begumpura.
He was suffering
from Psoriasis while
his salary was
slashed to half dur-
ing he Covid-19 cri-
sis. This led him to
the extreme step, po-
lice said.
In the third case,
Hasmukh Vaghasiya,
18, was under stress
reportedly due to
studies and killed
himself.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The police
on Friday removed
posters calling for
boycott of France and
its President, Emma-
nuel Macron, that
surfaced in a locality
in old Vadodara city.
According to the po-
lice, the posters carry-
ing a pictures of Ma-
cron with “Boycott Ma-
cron and Boycott
France” printed on it,
were pasted by some
unidentified persons
on a small stretch of a
road at Nawabwada.
Apart from this, a
banner with the same
text was also found
hanging at the road
when police reached
the spot after getting
information about it
in the morning, Va-
dodara Police Com-
missioner R B
Brahmbhatt said.
“We removed the
posters and banner in
the morning itself, and
no complaint has been
lodged in this regard,”
he added.
The French Presi-
dent has been facing
criticism from vari-
ous Muslim-majority
countries over a car-
toon row.
Amdavad Municipal Corporation removes zipline erected at the
Sabarmati Riverfront. —FILE PHOTO
Cops removed posters of French President Emmanuel Macron
in Vadodara.
HC is hearing a curious case of "exchange weddings." —FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,714
DEATHS
1,72,009
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,898 DEATHS 1,95,213 CASES
DELHI
6,470 DEATHS 3,81,644 CASES
WORLD
11,90,233
DEATHS
4,56,55,031
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
80,22,264
CONFIRMED CASES
1,20,387
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
43,837 DEATHS 16,72,858 CASES
TAMIL NADU
11,091 DEATHS 7,22,011 CASES
KARNATAKA
11,140 DEATHS 8,20,398 CASES

SCREENING INTERNATIONALLY
Sharing a poster of ‘Laali,’ actor Pankaj Tripathi
announced that the short film will be screened at
the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival this
year.
KAJAL WEDS GAUTAM!
Actor Kajal Agarwal, tied a knot
with with long-time beau Gautam
Kitchlu, who is a well-known
interior designer. She took to
social media to share this news
with fans and well-wishers.
‘BHARAT KE
MAHAVEER’
Sonu Sood and Dia Mirza have
partnered with Niti Aayog, United
Nations India, & Discovery to
host ‘Bharat Ke Mahaveer’
three-part series, which will
share the stories of 12
Covid warriors.
WEDDING
BELLS!
Neha Kakkar and Rohanpreet
Singh got married in a beautiful and
lavish wedding ceremony on 24
October and ever since, the social
media is filled with pictures and
videos of the newly-wed
couple.
DEARLY DEPARTED
Bhanu Athaiya, the costume designer from
India, who became India’s first Oscar winner
for her work in ‘Gandhi’ in 1982 passed
away in Mumbai.
Ajay Devgn’s brother Anil Devgan died on 5
October. The actor announced the demise
on Twitter to his fans, adding that there will
be no formal prayer meet for Anil due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
SILVER JUBILEE OF DDLJ
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge clocked 25
years on Oct 20 and opened the floodgates of
memories for the fans and those who were
associated with the iconic movie.
MANDIRA KI TARA
Actor Mandira Bedi has adopted a four-year-old girl named Tara. She announced the news on her
Instagram profile by sharing an adorable photo of herself with the whole family.
THE MONTH THAT WAS...CITY FIRST BRUSHES UP THE HAPPENINGS OF THE MONTH OF OCTOBER IN BOLLYWOOD, COME WHAT MAY... LIFE GOES ON!
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Amitabh Bachchan
and Deepika Padukone
will star with Telugu
superstar Prabhas in a
multi-lingual mega-
production for the
big screen. The yet-
untitled film is slated
to release in 2022.
MIRZAPUR-2 RELEASE
The gangster drama Mirzapur 2 started
streaming on Amazon Prime on October 23.
Helmed by Karan Anshuman and Puneet
Krishna, Mirzapur has been produced by
Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.
RECORD-BREAKING
Akshay Kumar’s ‘bell-bottom’
became the first film in the
world to start and finish
shooting during the pandemic.
CANCER-FREE
Sanjay Dutt, 61, who recently
flew to the United States to seek
treatment for his cancer, announced
that he is cancer-free and in remission,
recovering well. Taking to social
media, the actor shared the happy
news on his twins, Iqra and
Sharaan’s, tenth birthday.
—COORDINATED BY KARISHMA GWALANI
AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
OCTOBER 31, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
ROSHNI BHATIA, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You have in-depth
knowledge of a particular
subject and you may have a
career in teaching like. You
will earn a lot and money will never
cease to flow in your life but
satisfaction is another thing, you have
to learn to be happy. All that you love
is manifested in your life.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Excessively eating from
outside right now could
prove to be a big health
hazard. You are tempted
towards trying you hand in
something creative and its requires
some money initially. You are
someone who gives strength to
people to fight and never give up.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You are financially stable
but not satisfied and you
want to collect wealth. This
is an excellent time to
showcase your talents as not only
you will get the recognition for it but
also you will get rewarded for the
same. Eating right is important but
its alright to treat yourself.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Impatient nature sometimes
does good for you. You are
always busy in your fantasy
world and you need
someone from outside to wake you up
and get you out. You are working on a
project that will change your life, this is
the beginning of your career and you
shall never look back.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Abstemious behaviour just
to slim down could be a
good idea if tried for
sometime. Your venture
that was all going down will suddenly
start giving you profits beyond
measure. Some of you are not very
much interested in studies and there
is nothing to be ashamed about it.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Brilliant mind leads to
brilliant ideas but thats not
it, you need to put those
ideas to some use for
brilliant outcomes. You are very quick
with your responses and sometimes
you say things that you don’t mean as
you don’t think much before speaking.
You love your spouse.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Changes in behaviour will
directly have good impact
on your relationships both
personal and professional.
Joining hands with someone for a
social cause will be the best decision.
Your problem will be solved only if
you have an spiritual inclination. You
are a nice person.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Looking out for a friend is
something everyone can
learn from you. You are
special in many ways and
your parents are blessed to have you
in their life. You have a vision and
you will achieve all that you want
someday. This is the beginning of a
golden period of your life.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Eventualities related to
business are something
you should be prepared for
well and in advance. Don’t
stress out and over exert today as
sometimes too much burden of work
can make you sick so take things a
bit easy. Those compelled in terms of
career must take a stand now.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Barriers are many in life to
state the truth but it surely
depends on each individual
how they manage to cross
it. You are gifted with lots of wealth
in inheritance and you plan to do
something big with it. You are a
devoted person and you dedicate
yourself completely to any task.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Mother’s love is most
important for you and you
can do anything for your
mother. You are recently
feeling restless as you wish to do
something but still couldn’t figure
out what, don’t worry you shall find
the way soon. Your performance
academically is remarkable.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Haphazard arrangements
only causes trouble
therefore hire some profes-
sion to do the same for
business event. Pending tasks will be
completely on your behalf by
someone, this is how nature will
show its love towards you. You may
be confused.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
his is a story which has
been with us, in this land,
for thousands of years, in
which the seekers of
Truth, wander the land as
mendicants. They are re-
spected and looked after
by the common lot for their fru-
galrequirements,enablingthem
the freedom to pursue their
search for the Divine. They have
defined and illustrated Hindu-
ism, the world’s oldest religion,
as a living experiential belief
system, free of the rigid institu-
tionalization seen in other ma-
jor religions of the world.
The Monk here is a young,
welleducatedman,amillionaire
in the international business
circuit, deep in the labyrinth of
life willing to forsake all, in pur-
suit of his Mukti. He is very
much here, present and has met
his creator. His experience and
wisdom is for all of us to learn
from, to refresh all that defines
our Hindu culture. His search is
a revalidation of the deep spir-
itual truth that forms the com-
mon thread, which links the
seemingly disparate elements in
ourreligionandthechaoticmul-
titude of deities worshipped in
every form.
“If Truth Be Told : A Monk’s
Memoir,” is an amazing book.
A must read. It is a truth that
jolts you. Awakens you. One can
almost not believe it. It’s not a
book- it’s a living experience.
Can a person subject himself to
such hardships? It is the ulti-
mate devotion from a seeker.
Up in the solitude of Himala-
yas, he calls out to Maa and she
comes- radiant, compassionate,
loving, bestowing, as “Primor-
dial Principle and The Creative
Energy”.
By contrast, he seeks a spirit-
ual Guru,in the Holy city of
Kashi. All he finds is- fake, mer-
cenary, drug addicts. Finally, a
Babaji takes him in and assures
him of guidance. By way of total
surrender he prostrates before
his Guru with complete servi-
tude, offering unquestionable
faith, devotion and services. It is
beyond human endurance. Page
after page you read through un-
shed tears and disbelief. Can a
so-called realised soul actually
besoinhuman.Heusesandtests
this young disciple’s tenacity to
the hilt: Physical (insect and
scorpion bites, raging fever, star-
vation, hardships, even more so
due to asthma attacks); Mental
(by promising an initiation
which never comes about); Emo-
tional (verbal abuse and humili-
ation). He fleeces him of his
bank balance, along with self
respect, forcing him to ultimate-
ly leave the ashram in disgust.
Can one actually review such
a memoir? By divine grace, I had
the opportunity to meet Om
Swamiji at the Jaipur Literary
Festival on 25th January, 2020.
It’s pure bliss to be in his pres-
ence. Swamiji’s personality ex-
udes such radiance, goodness,
positivity. He is totally charis-
matic. Indeed, how fortunate we
are to be in Om Swamiji’s era.
He lives in an ashram in the
Himalayan foothills. We can ac-
tually meet him, be in his pres-
ence and feel the all enveloping
aura that reflects off his warm
personality.
One is awestruck by Om Swa-
miji’s simplicity, balancing his
sheer power, his beauty, his di-
vinity, his empathy for every liv-
ing creature, his emphasis on
each word, as he speaks. He is
the perfect image of a self real-
ised soul, a Saint.
“A Monk’s Memoir” is a most
inspiring autobiography, writ-
ten in a down-to-earth manner.
Om Swami comes across not as
a pretentious monk but as a
modern man, with the courage
and conviction to seek and find
God. For the sincere seeker of
Truth, it’s a must read book. He
boldly declares that religious
prayers, rituals and offerings
have no value, if we cannot be
compassionate and truthful.
Om Swami, born as Amit, in
a Brahmin family, to a spiritual
mother. A saint had prophesied,
“One of us would come to the
family soon”. He was born as
the third child. At 8, he had a vi-
sion of God in a dream which
aroused his quest for spiritual-
ity. He drowned himself in
books, study of astrology, medi-
tation, religious texts, study of
mantra and tantra. But no God!
In frustration, as an 18 year old,
Amit headed to Australia (in
1990), to realise his worldly
dreams. With almost no money
and support, he struggled to
study, earn and survive. He
gained every possible knowl-
edge. Two years later he was
earning well. At 26, he was a
multi millionaire. He had every
possible luxury, but his yearn-
ing to find God made him rest-
less. So, he returned to India. He
handed over his entire business
to a friend (not family, so as not
to leave any attachments), and
walked out of his office one day,
to never return (15.3.2010). He
renounced the world. As a
monk, he faced the ordeals of
heartless Kashi. Finally, it was
in the silence and solitude of
The Himalayas that he found the
presence of divinity. All the
near-death encounters, intense
meditation, starvation, excruci-
ating hardships through fierce
elements and wild nature only
made his resolve stronger. He
reached the ultimate realisa-
tion- “I am what I have been
seeking”. This is the base of all
Om Swami’s teachings and
books. “An empty mind is not a
devil’s workshop. A passionate
mind is. It is restless. Empty
mind is a divine blessing. To be
free of thought, is a coveted
state for a yogi- calm, serene &
focused. With complete stillness
comes the control over mind &
body. Heartbeat, blood pressure,
pulse, body temperature can all
be mastered by the mind. Truth
is a personal affair- Buddha
found under a tree, Einstein in
a laboratory, Edison in a bulb,
Socrates in a drink, Christ on
the cross, Bill gates in Micro-
soft, Steve Jobs in Apple....!
Spiritual process is basically
a journey from the Creation to
the Creator. You are a master of
infinite possibilities. Find the
fulfilment- in meditation, danc-
ing, writing poetry, painting,
music, reading”.
“I’ve given you my truth.
Go, discover yours.”
IF TRUTH BE TOLD
A MONK’S MEMOIR
T
DEEPAK
deepaklifemusings@gmail.com
DEEPAK’S CORNER

alloween, which is
celebrated today is
now almost as pop-
ular in India as
abroad, though in
India it remains a
niche festival pop-
ular among a certain group
and especially on social me-
dia platforms.
Kids are apt to dress up and
move around in their local
apartment blocks and colo-
nies at least; if not going
trick or treat then at least
enjoyingscaringothers.For
the young it is purely an oc-
casion to dress up differ-
ently and party the night
away! Resorts and clubs
would advertise special Hal-
loween nights in pre-pan-
demic times.
Now, with much of the
world in the midst of the
coronavirus pandemic,
there is talk of cancelling
Halloween celebrations this
year across the world.
It’sonlynaturaltowonder
if we should celebrate an
event that, on the surface,
seems frivolous and unim-
portant when so many peo-
plearoundtheworldaresuf-
fering and dying because of
the deadly virus.
Halloween is a celebra-
tion of both the living and
the dead. The fun and enter-
taining aspects — sweets,
parties, carved pumpkins
and over-the-top costumes
and decorations — don’t
take away from its impor-
tance.
The question is: how to
celebrate Halloween and
stay safe within any local
rules you have to follow?
Perhaps it’s time to create
new traditions to keep the
spirit of Halloween alive,
without forfeiting our
health. Halloween has a
mixed historical heritage.
It’s often claimed it origi-
nated in Europe in the an-
cient Celtic festival of Sam-
hain. This was celebrated
(roughly) in November,
starting on the evening of
October 31 — known as “the
eve of Samhain”.
Carved vegetables, such
as turnips, were placed out-
side doors to both guide and
ward off evil spirits.
Maskswerewornaspart
of thecelebration:theaim
waseithertoscareoff the
spiritsortohonourthem,
depending on which
source you consult.
Across the centu-
ries, many practices
havebeenpartof the
Hallowtide celebra-
tions, children
dress up in
whimsical cos-
tumes and go
door to door
demanding of-
ferings of
foods for the
departed.
If we
t h i n k
about the
eventinthese
terms then we can
reshape and re-invent our
traditionstofitourchanged
world. —Input from Agencies
Stay COVID-safe this
HALLOWEEN
hain. This was celebrated
(roughly) in November,
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
11
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
H

HAPPY B’DAY!
In a country like India, where
festivals form the essence of
life, it is very interesting to see
how each & every occasion is
celebrated especially during the
tough time of the pandemic.
I’m going to celebrate Karwa
Chauth with my family and
friends. I would be keeping myself hydrated
and will make sure to have proper meals
prior and after the festive. I will also per-
form the rituals and Mehendi ceremony
but this time with proper social
distancing. I will maintain the proper
sanitization of the area where every-
one is going to be gathered.
—NIMISHA AJITSINH MAHIDA
A few days
left for Kar-
wa Chauth
and I have
already
started
shopping
for the
day. What most women
love about Karwa Chauth
is the sola sringar, which
is all about dressing up for
their loved one. I have also
started buying new ‘karwas’
and paint them on the out-
side with lovely designs.
—RAKHI SINGH
Karwa Chauth is the most impor-
tant festival for me as it shows
my love for my better half, who
also fasts for me. I have already
started the preparations- I have
got a new saree and jewellery for
the day. I will be putting Mehendi
and would keep myself hydrated
during the fast. I will also take utmost care of
sanitization especially on this Karwa Chauth.
— AMISH JOSHI
CITY BUZZwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
HAPPY 22nd!
A
nanya Panday on
Friday rang in her
22nd birthday on the
sets of Shakun Ba-
tra’s upcoming untitled film
as she spent her special day
shooting. “But no com-
plaints. It will be a different
kind of celebration without
family and friends but with
the cast and crew,” she said.
Ananya is shooting for the
Shakun Batra directorial
with Deepika Padukone and
‘Gully Boy’ fame Siddhant
Chaturvedi.
As she returned to work
after the six-month-long cor-
onavirus induced hiatus, the
22-year-old actor termed the
period of shutdown as “scary
and uncertain.”
“I had not taken an off
since I started Student Of the
Year 2 and these six months
were scary and uncertain. I
was afraid, I had forgotten
how to face the camera. But
it was smooth sailing from
day one,” she said. —ANI
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
12
arwa Chauth is one festival
women wait all year round
for! A day marked by celebra-
tions, fasting and feasting, it
is generally observed by
married Hindu women
to wish for a long and
healthy life for their hus-
bands. All these together
make this festival a celebra-
tion of the bond of love and mar-
riage. City First talked to a few people
from Rajasthan and Gujarat, to know
how they are prepping to celebrate
the day of Karwa Chauth on 4 Novem-
ber. If this is your first time observing
a Karwa Chauth or you are looking
for a few tips to keep the fast more
healthily, then here’s some help.
Awarded for
INNOVATIONCITY FIRST
H
industan Zinc’s Evolve eCom-
merce Initiative has been con-
ferred with ‘Best eCommerce
Technology Innovation
award’, under
e-Commerce
category for its
overall state-of-
the-art innova-
tion of chang-
ing the way metal is bought or sold in
themarket.Theawardswerepresent-
ed in the recently held ‘21st Inflection
ConferenceAwards2020’ceremony
viavirtualeventco-sponsored jointly
by NASSCOM Centre of Excellence-
IoT AI, Singapore Institute of Ma-
terialsManagement(SiMM),Council
of SupplyChainManagementProfes-
sionals(CSCMP)andTheAldenGlob-
al Value Advisors.
Speaking on the occasion, Arun
Mishra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc said,
“Driving a high-performance cul-
ture by creating disruptive ideas in
technology and innovation is what
exemplifies Hindustan Zinc as an
organization. This is a huge achieve-
ment for us and just goes on to dem-
onstrate our continuous efforts in
embracing innovation and technol-
ogy. Our aim is to revolutionize the
Indian Mining industry through the
adoption of such innovative ideas
and continue to strive for excel-
lence.” cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
RAJ: A two-day talk show ‘Picture Box Glam Fest’ on how to celebrate
the festival with safety during COVID-19 is going to be organised on 31
October and 1 November at Jaipur Ajmer Road Bhankarota.
CITY FIRST
Y
outh icon, Rish-
ee Miglani was
spotted shooting
in the Pink City
at various locations for
an upcoming trendy
brand, ‘Copy Cats’. The
owner of the brand
Kultejan Singh men-
tioned, “We make
trendy designer shirts,
that are affordable for
all. I was very excited
about this shoot,
and the pictures
have come out
very well. I’ll be
sharing them on
social media soon.
My dad is my inspira-
tion, and I am following
his guidance.”
Talking about the
brand, Rishee men-
tioned, “The best part
about Copy Cats is the
fit of the shirts, every
size is perfect. We shot
at various locations,
but Piante Kitchen and
Bar in Raja Park is
where we shot mostly,
and I quite like the
place. Jiten is a fantas-
tic photographer, he’s
done a good job.”
“ K u l t e j a n ’ s
family is in the
industry for dec-
ades, I’m confi-
dent his launch will
be a big hit, despite co-
rona. Because the prod-
uct is outstanding,” he
added.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
FASHIONABLY ROYALCITY FIRST
I
n today’s era where
everyone is fight-
ing against this
hazardous COV-
ID-19, where every in-
dustry is surviving. In
these tough times, the
industries upgrade
themselves by taking
numerous small steps
in a form of mini-
events.
In this typical sce-
nario in the world of
fashion designers
showcase their new
wedding collection on
different colourful
themes with their dif-
ferent patterns
and creations.
‘Shivayu’ by
Shivani and
Ayush, a well-
known fashion
clothing brand did
their shoot to show-
case their new crea-
tive collection ‘Naz-
akat’ for the wedding
season.
Celebrity designers
Shivani and Ayush
Soni said that their
collection shows a
softness towards
the Indian tradi-
tions and cul-
ture, which are
carried on special
moments to feel the
comfort and unique-
ness. The ‘Nazakat’
collection also shows
the royalty and art of
Rajasthan.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
RAJ: For the
occasion of National
Unity Day on 31
October, 7-year old
Jayaditya Gautam
from Jaipur made
a portrait of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel
using a paper
quilling technique
to pay tribute to him
on his 145th birth
anniversary.
GUJ: Students of Swaminarayan Gurukul Saint School taking their regular classes at
the Swaminarayan Gurukul Navsari in Gujarat on Friday.—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
GUJ: Statue of Sardar
Vallabh Bhai Patel
inaugurated inside
the Anti Corruption
Bureau (ACB) office
in Ahmedabad on
Friday.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Prepping for Karwa Chauth
KARISHMA GWALANI
Karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
K
IAS Nishant Jain (left) and IAS Mahendra
Kumar Parakh celebrated their birthdays on 30
October, Friday. We wish them all the best!
BUZZ
PICTURE BOX GLAM FEST
SPOTTED
Ananya Panday
Rishee Miglani
Kultejan Singh
‘Nazakat’ collection by Shivayu
Shivani and Ayush Soni
RAJ: People in the Pink City
witnessed a jaw-dropping
scene on Friday, as a man
stood in the public wearing
a red bra. RJ Mohit initiated
this awareness campaign
as the commemoration of
international breast cancer
awareness month. In his
message, he wrote “Nazar
Andaz Nahi, Parwah Karo”,
encouraging a change in the
perception of breast cancer.

First india ahmedabad edition-31 october 2020

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First india ahmedabad edition-31 october 2020