First india rajasthan english news paper today 17 march 2020 edition

JAIPUR l TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 279
LifeLifeBEYOND
CORONA!
Anil Ambani summoned by
Enforcement Directorate
Kamal Nath meets Guv, says govt
in majority; rules out floor test
No fliers from
EU,Turkey, UK
to be allowed
into India
B h o p a l : M a d h y a
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Kamal Nath met
Governor Lalji
Tandon at Raj Bhavan
on Monday night and
later claimed his gov-
ernment enjoys ma-
jority, ruling out
holding a floor test in
the assembly.
Nath also dared the
opposition BJP to table
a no- confidence motion
against his 15-month-
old Congress govern-
ment if they wanted to
test its strength in the
house.
I met the Governor
and thanked him for his
address on the opening
day of the budget ses-
sion. We are in a major-
ity today so no question
of a floor test.
“Those who claim
that we dont have a ma-
jority should move a no-
confidence motion
against my government
to get the floor test done,
Nath told reporters af-
ter the meeting.
Nath’s meeting
with the governor at
Raj Bhavan lasted for
over half-an-hour.
Turn on P4
New Delhi:Further in-
tensifying the lock-
down induced by the
global spread of the
Novel Coronavirus
Disease (COVID 2019),
the Centre Monday re-
quested all airlines not
to board India-bound
passengers from the
European Union, the
European Free Trade
Association, Turkey
and United Kingdom.
This follows the sus-
pension of all visas, and
effectively means that
even Indians currently
in these countries may
have trouble getting
back home.
The government also
announced compulsory
quarantine for a mini-
mum of 14 days for pas-
sengers coming from/
transiting through
UAE, Qatar, Oman, and
Kuwait. Both moves
come into effect from
the midnight of March
18 till March 31.
Number of corona-
virus patients in India
have gone up to 114
with Odisha reporting
its first case. Mean-
while, the Congress has
demandedthatPMModi
should talk to CMs and
health ministers of all
the states.
Mumbai: Central
probe agency Enforce-
ment Directorate has
issued a fresh summon
to Reliance Group
chief Anil Ambani in
connection with an al-
leged money launder-
ing case involving the
crisis-hit Yes Bank, of-
ficials have said.
Anil Ambani, who
was told to appear be-
fore the probe agency’s
officials in Mumbai on
Monday, requested for
more time citing health
reasons. Accepting his
request, the Enforce-
ment Directorate has
told him to appear be-
fore its officials on
Thursday at 11 am.
Turn on P4
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh Governor La-
lji Tandon on Monday
issued a fresh direc-
tive to beleaguered
Chief Minister Ka-
mal Nath to hold a
floor test in the as-
sembly on Tuesday as
a ‘letter war’ raged
between the two con-
stitutional function-
aries amid political
turmoil in the state.
The governor said
failure to hold a floor
test will mean the
chief minister does
not enjoy majority in
the house.
Tandon’s fresh direc-
tive came two days after
he first asked Nath to
face a floor test on Mon-
day, the day when the
budget session of the
Assembly commenced.
However, the as-
sembly was ad-
journed till March 26
after the state govern-
ment raised concerns
over the coronavirus
threat without taking
up the confidence mo-
tion as demanded by
the BJP.
The 15-month-old
Nath government,
whose stability has
come Turn on P4
Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon along with Chief Minister Kamal Nath and others arrives
during the budget session of state assembly in Bhopal on Monday.
ANNOYED GUV, DEFIANT CM
Amidst raging ‘letter war’, Governor Lalji Tandon
asks CM Kamal Nath to seek floor test today
Committed to cement Raj’s oil sustainability with Barmer refinery: CM
Rajeev Gaur
Barmer/Pachpadra:
The state government
is giving priority to
the establishment of
petroleum refinery at
Pachpadra in Barmer
as well as new oil ex-
ploration works in the
state. With this, after
the refining work
starts, sufficient crude
oil will be available lo-
cally and oil will not
have to be imported
from outside the state.
Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot was
speaking during the re-
view meeting of the un-
der construction HPCL
Rajasthan Refinery, a
joint venture of HPCL
and Government of Ra-
jasthan, in Pachpadra
on Monday.
“On time completion
of the construction
work of the refinery is
a top priority of the
state government.
There will be no short-
age in the supply of re-
sources required for
this work,” Gehlot said.
He reviewed the re-
finery project point-
wise and said that the
works of various phas-
es of this project should
be completed on time.
He also discussed exten-
sively on the system of
water and power supply
as per the requirement
in the refinery area.
The Chief Minister
also inspected the
works under construc-
tion of the refinery.
He instructed to take
special care of technical
quality in construction
works and said, “The
Rajasthan government
is also going to set up a
petro chemical hub
here, due to which hun-
dredsof industrialunits
will be set up in a large
area. Local people will
be given priority in
employment in the
construction of the
refinery while local
youth will be trained
in the technical field
through various skill
development pro-
grams, so that they
will be able to shape
their future in the pet-
rochemical sector.”
Gehlot said that
about one-fourth of the
work is in progress
and tender of about
Rs 20,000 crore has been
issued. Turn on P4
Countries close borders, cities shut restaurants, citizens hoard supplies, schools close more classrooms and hundreds of millions of people shut doors on one another as
authorities continue to take more drastic steps to slow the spread of coronavirus. But the World has battled even worse crises in the past and emerged victorious. So, the need
of the hour is to take precautions, stay safe and healthy, and get back to the beautiful World that awaits each one of you with all the endurance and charm.
YES BANK MONEY LAUNDERING PROBE
Prez nominates ex-CJI Ranjan
Gogoi To Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: Presi-
dent Ram Nath Ko-
vind on Monday
nominated former
Chief Justice of In-
dia Ranjan Gogoi to
Rajya Sabha.
A government noti-
fication of the same
read “in exercise of
the powers conferred
by sub-clause (a) of
clause (1) of Article 80
of the Constitution of
India, read with
clause (3) of that arti-
cle, the President is
pleased to nominate
Shri Ranjan Gogoi to
the Council of States
to fill the vacancy
caused due to the re-
tirement of one of
the nomi-
n at e d
mem-
ber.”
Anil Ambani
Turn on P4
15°C - 25°COUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
In a massive relief for
customers, crisis-hit
Yes Bank on Monday
announced that its
all banking op-
erations - banking and
digital services would
resume after 6 pm
from March 18. This
announcement comes
hours after Yes Bank’s
shares jumped sharply
by over 58 per cent
over the Union cabinet
approving a recon-
struction scheme.
MAJOR RELIEF
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot along with Kuldeep Ranka, Harish Chaudhary, Madan Prajapat, Govind
Sharma, Kunji Lal Meena, Gaurav Goyal and other officials during the review meeting.
BAN OF 50-PLUS GATHERINGS IN STATE
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday imposed
a complete ban on gatherings of more than 50
people in the state to prevent community transmis-
sion of the coronavirus infection. The ban will be in
force till March 31 and after that the situation will
be reviewed and appropriate decision will be taken.

BUILDER RUINS MARKET
FOR OTHERS
Several Joint Ventures on Sikar road have
been cancelled in the past few weeks
after a builder entered in these JVs when the
market was booming. Now that the market
is in recession, the builder has given up and
the land owners are in a state of trouble
since they had taken advance cheque from
the builder years back hoping that with
passage of time, they will also be amongst
the ‘wealthy’, but with the builder taking his
hands off the JVs, the real estate market is
abuzz that neither did the builder complete
his old projects, nor did he saw through the
JVs, and on top of that he actually damaged
the market for a few builders who could
have completed their projects.
FIRST INDIA spreads
its vistas... we shall
now recount bytes
and buzz in the real
estate sector
Check
Realty
SHRI VINAYAK GROUP READY WITH NEW PROJECT
Shri Vinayak Group signed a deal for 4 bigha ground in Nari Ka Bas village, Jaipur, for
construction of their Vasundhara Aanchal Project. The project is RERA registered and
has been pitched for Rs 32.44 crore. Ashok Dhaka and Sanjay Singhal are the directors
of the project. Property Bazaar are looking forward to this development.
NEELKANTH APARTMENT
PROJECT SET FOR KOTA
Neelkanth Colonizers and Developers signed
a deal in Kota for the construction of
Neelkanth apartment project. The deal has
been made for 6 bigha land and the project
has been pitched to cost Rs 78.65 crore. The
RERA registered project is set to be build on
Baran road. The project has created a buzz in
the real estate market.
NEWSJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
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MP’S PRIVILEGE MOTION BRINGS
TROUBLE FOR TOP OFFICIALS
Chief Secretary (CS), Director General of
Police (DGP) and officers from police &
administration, in all five, will be appearing in
front of the Privilege Committee (PC) of the Lok
Sabha in Delhi on 17 March. The top officials
have been summoned after MP Hanuman Beniwal
moved a privilege motion and made a complaint
to Lok Sabha speaker who forwarded the matter
to the PC for further action. This is an extra
ordinary incident for the state bureaucracy. It has
caused a stir in the whole power structure and
the govt. is rightly shaken. Turning few pages of
the history of the state, it seems to be repeating
itself as something similar happened 22 years
ago. In 1998 it happened for the first time and
the whole govt was shaken then too. In 1998 IAS
Manjeet Singh was collector Jhunjhunu under
the govt of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. The state
was holding assembly elections. Brijendra Ola,
son of then Jhunjhunu MP & senior Congress
leader Sheeshram Ola, was contesting for MLA
seat. Sheeshram Ola was putting up at a hotel
in Jhunjhunu. One evening collector Manjeet
Singh raided Ola’s hotel room on a tip off that it
has a huge stock pile of money which was to be
distributed among people during the elections.
Manjeet found nothing incriminating in the raid.
Sheeshram Ola got really upset considering it to
be a breach of his privilege as an MP. He made
a complaint to the Lok Sabha speaker and the
matter was referred to the PC, as has been done
now. PC summoned Manjeet Singh and he had
to appear before the PC in Delhi more than once.
Manjeet Singh was a troubled man for quite some
time. The whole bureaucracy discussed the issue
for many days. In the end Manjeet Singh had to
apologize to the PC only then he could breathe
easy. Now everybody is curious to know how
does the PC treat the top state officers on 17
March. —RAJENDRA CHHABRA
OFF THE
RECORD
COURTESY MEET: Swami Santoshanand Avadhoot Mandal of Haridwar met Governor
Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhavan on Monday.
GOOD HOPES: AICC General Secretary and Rajasthan Incharge Avinash Pande said on Monday that
if the floor test occurs there is no doubt that the Congress party will register its majority in Madhya
Pradesh. “I believe the almighty will instill some sense in our friends (MLAs) who have been kidnapped
and they will come back in party fold,” he said, adding, “Today the MLAs are feeling insecure and they
are thus heading to Rajasthan. This shows how bad the nation’s environment is.”
GUP
SHUP
INTEL WING’S ‘SURVEY’ CREATES BUZZ
The police is tasked with not only safeguarding the people and
preventing crime, but a major portion of policing is intelligence
collection as well. But since that happens behind the curtains,
not many individuals come to know of the same. However the
report of the intel wing is always one of the most sought after
‘document’. Well, a ‘detail’ recently recovered by the wing is one
of the most sought after information these days. The reason: It
pertains to the upcoming municipal elections and who could be
a strong contender. Word is that the intel wing has conducted
its own survey and although it is just municipal election, yet the
survey made is akin to those in the assembly elections. In every
ward, names of individuals who are not just popular but also of a
good image and unruffled by corruption are being searched and
from each ward, a minimum of two and maximum five names
have been sent to the government! The ‘survey’ is one of the
most talked about topic in the BJP state headquarters.
SAHAB WITH NO WORK LIVING HIS LIFE
Asahab posted on the fourth floor of the PHQ keeps himself
busy in the evening by holding liquor parties at farm house.
The sahab is devoid of any important position or work and
so he reaches his relative’s farm house at Delhi road and what
follows is a night of drinking and making merry.
CLASSIC CASE OF KHAKI BEING
KHADI’S PUPPET
Ahistory-sheeter, accused of opening fire in
the west police district of Jaipur city, is being
given sanctuary by a stalwart politician. The
history-sheeter had opened fire at a man in a loan
related matter. However, the city police did not take
any action against the history-sheeter after the
politician ‘instructed’ the cops of not to take any
action. Naturally, when a powerful leader instructed
something, the ‘Sahab’ also realised that it was for his
benefit that he does not take any action in the matter.
Karni Sena meets
‘Prithviraj’ makers
First India News
Jaipur: A discussion
took place between Kar-
ni Sena and the makers
of film “Prithviraj”, at a
hotel in Jaipur. The
shooting is taking place
near Ramgarh, however
the shooting was stalled
after Karni Sena
claimed that history of
Prithviraj Chauhan was
being remoulded.
Chandraparakash Di-
wedi, director of the
Film gave the details of
the research done by
him and assured that
Prithviraj Chauhan will
not be portrayed in any
kind of negative light
and the honour of the
great king will be main-
tained. Mahipal Singh
of Karni Sena was also
present during the dis-
cussion and stated that
Prithviraj should be
showcased as a warrior
and not just as a lover.
Karni Sena members
also demanded for a
written letter stating
that whatever assur-
ance has been given,
will be fulfilled and in-
case anything beyond
that is portrayed then,
Karni Sena shall re-
serve the right to stall
the film.
Diwedi, who is also
the writer of the film,
stated that he has trans-
ferred his rights to
Yashraj Films and he
will speak to them if the
script can be shown to
few members of Karni
Sena. The shooting has
been stalled in the city.
‘Omar’s release not a threat to J&K’
New Delhi: Sara Ab-
dullah Pilot disputed in
SC, the claim of Jammu
and Kashmir adminis-
tration that freeing her
brother, former CM
Omar Abdullah who
has been detained since
the abrogation of Arti-
cle 370 in August last
year, will pose immi-
nent threat to public
order.
Pilot, who has chal-
lenged Abdullah’s de-
tention under J&K PSA,
said that on scrutiny of
the verified Facebook
account of her brother
she was shocked to dis-
cover that the social me-
dia posts, purportedly
attributed to him and
maliciously used
against him, were not
made by him.
“It is denied that the
mere presence of the
detenu coupled with the
decision to abrogate Ar-
ticle 370 would pose an
imminent threat to
maintain public order.
The factual data about
the loss of lives in the
erstwhile State of J&K
is utterly irrelevant for
the purposes of the pre-
sent controversy,” she
said.
Pilot claimed that the
official Facebook ac-
count of Abdullah, be-
ing a blue tick marked
verified account, has
not made any post as
claimed in the relied
upon material.
Her rejoinder said:
“...in the facts and cir-
cumstances of the pre-
sent case wherein the
only material used
against the detenu are
his social media posts,
the reliance on posts
that are non-existent
and have been wrongly
and maliciously attrib-
uted to the detenu viti-
ates the impugned or-
der of detention in toto
and renders the same
legally unsustainable
and utterly unconstitu-
tional.” —PTI
Sara Abdullah Pilot claimed that the social media posts, purportedly attributed to her brother, were not made by him
Diya Kumari bats for state
specific tourism policy
HC: Nature Farms, Tree
House Resort in the clear
First India News
Jaipur: High Court
has cleared ‘Nature
Farms’ and ‘the Tree
House Resort’ of vari-
ous allegations made
against them. These al-
legations include en-
croaching on Govern-
ment land and imped-
ing the flow of water to
Ramgarh Dam.
Both the organisa-
tions appeared before
the High Court to say
that no encroachments
have been made by
them, and if any en-
croachments are found
then the same may be
removed.
HC found no en-
croachments have
been done in Govern-
ment land, and Nature
Farms does not impede
flow of water. Both or-
ganisations have prop-
er title and legal rights
over their lands, in-
formed Sunil Mehta,
Director, Sums Exim
Pvt Ltd and Whisper-
ing Meadows Clubs &
Resorts Pvt Ltd.
Privatisation of
LIC harmful: Jully
First India News
Jaipur: There are 24
firms operating in LIC
sector. Of these, 23 are
private companies who
distribute 90% of its
year’ssurplustoinsured
and10%toshareholders.
While in LIC this per-
centage is 95% & 5%. On
privatisationof LIC,this
percentage will be same
asprivatefirms,andwill
harminterestsof poorly
insured,saidMoSTikar-
amJullyat13thAll-India
LIC Employees Federa-
tion conference.
First India News
Jaipur: Rajsamand MP,
Diya Kumari urged that
the future tourism poli-
cy by Union Govern-
ment should be State
specific. She was speak-
ing at Lok Sabha on de-
mand for Grants on
Tourism for Union
Budget.
She further suggest-
ed a comprehensive Na-
tional Strategy on Safe-
ty & Security of Tour-
ists and deployment of
Tourism Police at tour-
ist sites to ensure has-
sle-free experience for
tourists especially
women tourists.
New Indore-Kishangarh
flight under ‘UDAN’
New Delhi: The Civil
Aviation Ministry on
Monday, flagged off a
new thrice-weekly
flight on Indore-Kis-
hangarh route, operat-
ed by Star Air, under
the regional connectiv-
ity scheme UDAN.
This is 268th route to
be made operational un-
der the UDAN (Ude
Desh ka Aam Naagrik)
scheme, which was
launched in 2016 to
boost flight connectivi-
ty with under-served
and unserved airports
in India.
Under UDAN, Star
Air is already operating
direct flights from Bela-
gavi to Indore and will
now extend the same
route till Kishangarh in
Rajasthan, the ministry
said in a statement.
“The approximate
distance between In-
dore and Kishangarh is
around 550 kilometers
and people had to spend
more than 10 hours to
reach Kishangarh from
Indore by road. Howev-
er, with the commence-
ment of flight opera-
tions on this route, peo-
ple can take one hour
flight,” it noted.
Sara Abdullah Pilot
Karni Sena and film makers held a discussion, at a hotel in Jaipur.
Diya Kumari met Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Monday.
YOUNG BUILDER’S EGO
RESULTS IN A GREAT FALL
Let us tell you a little story on how one veteran and a young
builder came at loggerheads over a ‘pricey’ land deal.
Well, the veteran builder had challenged the ‘youngster’ that
he wont be able to get investors to invest 400 crore rupees
a major project. Such was the heat of the moment that
other builders from the city started talking about the young
builder’s ‘ego’ at even thinking of being in the 400 crore
rupee club. However, the very next day the young builder
called a dinner party and invited all the builders from the city.
While the ‘party’ was going on, the young builder brought
forward 100 crore rupees cash as advance and kept in front
of the men and then threw another challenge at the veteran
saying, “Now can you see the deal through?” taken aback,
everyone went silent. However, the young builder’s ‘ego’been
recently thwarted after he was arrested by the cops and put
behind bars in relation to bank fraud.

 Jaipur: BJP’s
Mukesh Dadhich said
that from Tuesday
at 10 am, BJP state
president Satish Poo-
nia will start a public
awareness campaign
regarding corona-
virus from Jaipur’s
Govind Devji temple.
Neem Giloy’s kaada
will also be provided
by BJP Yuva Morcha,
under the leadership
of Morcha President
Ashok Saini, along
with distributing 300
masks at the temple.
At the same time,
Mahila Morcha will
distribute kapoor,
laung, dalchini etc.
 Jaipur: CM Ashok
Gehlot assured Chair-
man Rajasthan Bar
Council that his govt
will not implement
Rajasthan Advocates
Welfare Fund Amend-
ment Bill 2020 at the
moment. In this re-
gard, a delegation, led
by Bar Council Chair-
man Shaheed Hasan,
met CM at CMR on
Monday. Hasan said
bill will be sent to
the Advocate General
and Bar Council for
reconsideration.
 Jaipur: The mu-
nicipal corporation
elections in the state
would be challenged
in the court as a PIL
will be ﬁled by Advo-
cate Poonamchand
Bhandari on Tuesday
regarding postponing
the elections. Actu-
ally, Bhandari had
sent a notice to the
state election com-
mission, requesting
to not hold elections
due to coronavirus
scare. Now, after the
announcement of
polls by EC, Bhandari
will ﬁle a PIL. Jaipur
resident Surendra
Pareek has sent a
legal notice through
Advocate Anand
Sharma to the state
election commission
and Chief Secretary
for holding municipal
elections despite
coronavirus.
 Jaipur: The Amber
Fort administration
has decided that
Elephant rides will
remain closed in
Amber from March
25 to April 3, in
view of Navratri. The
ghatasthapana will
be done at 6.30 am
on March 25. The ar-
rangements are being
made in Shila Mata
temple for it.
BRIEF
in
RAJASTHANJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur/New Delhi:
Congress-ruled state
government moved Su-
preme Court Monday
challenging the validity
of Citizenship (Amend-
ment) Act, saying it was
violativeof “basicstruc-
ture principle of secu-
larism” and fundamen-
tal rights of equality
and life.
Rajasthan became the
second state after Kera-
la to move SC invoking
Article 131 of the Con-
stitution under which a
state is empowered to
directly move top court
in case of a dispute with
the Centre. The newly-
amended law seeks to
grantcitizenshiptonon-
Muslim migrants be-
longing to Hindu, Sikh,
Buddhist, Christian,
Jain and Parsi commu-
nities who came to the
country from Pakistan,
BangladeshandAfghan-
istan on or before De-
cember 31, 2014.
“Pass a judgement
and decree that CAA is
violative of Article 14
(right to equality) and
Article 21 (right to life)
of the Constitution of
India as well as violative
of basic structure prin-
ciple of secularism.
Thus Act 47 of 2019
(CAA) be declared as
void under Article 13 of
the Constitution,” said
the plea filed through
lawyer DK Devesh.
Article 13 of the Con-
stitution, under which
CAA is sought to be held
as unconstitutional,
says any law “inconsist-
ent with or in deroga-
tion of the fundamental
rights” can be held un-
constitutional to the ex-
tent of its contravention
of fundamental rights.
The plea said the CAA
bedeclared“ultravires”
totheprovisionsof Con-
stitution.
Besides, the plea has
stated that the Passport
(Entry to India) Amend-
ment Rules, 2015 and
Foreigners (Amend-
ment) Order are ultra
vires the Constitution
and be declared void.
It said the CAA, the
amendedPassportRules
and Foreign Order are
class legislations harp-
ing on the religious
identity of an individu-
al,therebycontravening
the principles of secu-
larism, which has been
recognised by the court
as a basic structure of
the Constitution.
Earlier, the CPI(M)-
led Kerala had become
the first state to chal-
lenge the CAA in the
Supreme Court.
The Kerala Assembly
was also the first in the
country to pass a resolu-
tion against the Act.
The Kerala govern-
ment had said in its suit
that there is no ration-
ale in grouping together
the three countries—Pa-
kistan, Afghanistan and
Bangladesh—for the
purpose of the CAA and
rules and orders.
“Such grouping is not
founded on any ration-
aleprinciplejustifyinga
separate special treat-
mentfortheirrationally
chosenclassof religious
minorities facing perse-
cution on the basis of
religion therein,” it had
said. —With Agency Inputs
Raj govt moves SC challenging CAA validity
RAJASTHAN HAS BECOME SECOND STATE AFTER KERALA TO MOVE SC INVOKING ARTICLE 131 OF CONSTITUTION
State government has moved SC challenging validity of CAA.
—Picforrepresentationpurposeonly
First India News
Jaipur: Amid the an-
ticipation of postpone-
ment of the municipal
elections the district
administration is busy
preparing for them as
per declared schedule.
The administration on
Monday declared the
names of two Return-
ing Officers (RO) for
both Greater Jaipur
Municipal Corporation
(GJMC) & Heritage
Jaipur Municipal Cor-
poration (HJMC) for
the nomination process
due to begin on 19
March. RAS Pratibha
Pareek will be RO for
HJMC while Rajendra
Singh Kaviya has been
assigned GJMC.
21 Assistant Return-
ing Officers (ARO) have
also been announced
for with 12 for GJMC
and 9 for HJMC. With
an average of 13 wards
with each ARO, total 21
AROs will accept nomi-
nations for total 250
wards in both the cor-
porations.
The AROs will accept
the nomination forms
on all working days till
23 March from 10.30 am
to 3 pm in their desig-
nated rooms.
Due to paucity of
space the second floor
of the collectorate along
with Zila Pramukh of-
fice, SDM court, Tahsil-
dar court and some
other rooms will also be
used by the AROs.
First India News
Jaipur: State govt
will move to High
Court to get the sched-
uled municipal elec-
tions in Jaipur, Jodh-
pur and Kota. The
base for the petition
by state govt will be
the probability of cor-
onavirus infection.
The central govt has
issued an advisory
which forbids organ-
sing events with large
gathering of people.
Collectors of Jaipur,
Jodhpur and Kota
have already written
to the state govt re-
questing postponing
of the municipal elec-
tions due to coronavi-
rus threat. State govt
will also mention
these letters by the col-
lectors in its petition.
Govt in response to
letters from collectors
had written to the
State Election Com-
mission (SEC). recom-
mending the post-
ponement but SEC
had replied in nega-
tive stating that it was
merely following HC
orders of finishing
with local body elec-
tions by 18 April.
SEC thus threw back
the ball in the govt’s
court by stating that
any decision regarding
these elections could
only be taken by the
HC. After receiving the
above reply from SEC,
the UDH and legal de-
partment officers
sought the opinion of
the Attorney General
(AG) of the state. It is
on the suggestion of
AG that the state govt
had decided to move
to HC for the post-
ponement of the mu-
nicipal elections in
the three cities.
First India News
Chittorgarh: The pro-
ject head of CCL Com-
pany, Rajesh Mundra,
died after falling from a
pillar in the Hindustan
Zinc plant. After the in-
cident, Chandria police
reached the spot and
kept the body in the
mortuary of the district
hospital.
According to sources,
this is not the first death
in the plant and many
similar incidents have
taken place in the past
as well. In such a situa-
tion, questions are be-
ing raised on the secu-
rity arrangements of
the company. The ad-
ministration would pro-
vide compensation to
the family of the de-
ceased to settle the mat-
ter, but a human life
does not have any value
inthecompany,itseems.
First India News
Jaipur: A 14-year-old
girl died after she fell
on the railway tracks
nearSBIrailwaycross-
ing gate at Jagatpura
on Monday. The girl
who fell from Ranikhet
Express has been iden-
tified as Madhu. She
was travelling in a gen-
eral coach and was
coming back to Jaipur
from Bandikui with
her maternal uncle to
write her exams.
On seeing the girl
fall, passengers pulled
the chain after which
her maternal uncle
started running to-
wards her. Meanwhile
RPF officials caught
him, thinking he was
trying to run away af-
ter pulling the chain.
He kept on shouting
and screaming that his
daughter has fallen
down from the train.
Madhu’s maternal
uncle reported that,
till 10 minutes he kept
on pleading that his
daughter had fallen
but in vain. The RPF
men also clicked a
photo of his ID, mean-
while the crowd start-
ed to gather around
them and informed
the officials about the
incident. But, when
they reached there,
the girl had died. As
per information, Mad-
hu had gone to wash-
room, while she was
standing near the door,
she lost her balance
and fell.
Dist admn gears up for Municipal elections
Municipal polls in time of
Corona: Govt to move HC
Project head of CCL Co. dies in
accidentatHindustanZincplant
Girl falls on tracks from
moving train,dies
TOTAL RECALL
SECURITY BEEFED UP
First India News
Churu: Three per-
sons have been appre-
hended for allegedly
raping a 16-year-old
girl in Churu district,
police said on Mon-
day.FIRwaslodgedby
minor’sfamily,follow-
ing which a case was
registered and three
were detained, said
SHO, Taranagar, Rad-
heshyam. The sus-
pects allegedly took
the girl to a secluded
placed late night on
Sunday and gang-
raped her, he said.
Medical examination
of the girl has been
done by a medical
board and an investi-
gation is underway.
According to the
information, the vic-
tim had gone to her
village to attend her
cousin’s wedding.
While everybody was
busy in the celebra-
tions, the victim went
out to get some milk.
When she was re-
turning, three youth
came by and the vic-
tim knew them. They
forcefully took her to
an enclosed space,
wheretheygangraped
her. After this, they
fled leaving the girl
there after beating
her. When she did not
come home for a long
time, family started
looking for her.
3 held for raping
minor in Churu

First India News
Jaisalmer: A fresh
batch of 53 evacuees
from Iran have arrived
at an Army Wellness
Centre in Jaisalmer on
Monday, following the
COVID-19 outbreak in
the Middle East coun-
try, where there has
been over 700 deaths so
far. This is after the first
batch of 236 evacuees
that arrived at Jaisalm-
er on Sunday.
As per the procedure,
preliminary screening
of these persons was
undertaken at the air-
port upon arrival.
Thereafter, they were
moved to the quaran-
tine facility, where they
will undergo 14 days
quarantine under pro-
fessional medical su-
pervision, said Col
Sombit Ghosh, PRO,
Defence, Rajasthan.
The Army authori-
ties have assured that
they are fully geared up
to accommodate all
these evacuated Indian
citizens and provide
them with requisite
medical and adminis-
trative support during
their mandatory quar-
antine period.
The people have been
advised to take all pos-
sible precautions
against the COVID-19
virus, he added.
RAJASTHANJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
First India News
Jaipur: Addl CS (Medi-
cal & Health) Rohit Ku-
mar Singh reviewed ef-
forts to contain Corona-
virus threat on Monday.
He appealed people to
stay away from crowd-
ed places & stressed on
regular sanitization of
public places. He in-
formed that both the
Italian tourists have
been cured of corona
infection and are free to
leave for Italy. 1,120
health officials have
screened 11 lakh people
in 2,11,000 houses and
4,110 people have been
isolated in their homes.
A combination of two
anti-HIV drugs has
proved crucial in the
treatment of Coronavi-
rus positive cases, a
senior govt official
said. Singh said the pa-
tients’ condition im-
proved after they were
administered the anti-
HIV drugs.
Three of the four pa-
tients in the state have
now been declared cor-
onavirus-free.
“It appears it (combi-
nation of drugs) is
working because three
patients have recovered.
Good thing is that all
the three patients are
elderly and the success-
ful result of the drug on
patients of such age is a
big thing,” he said. Dr
DS Meena, Superinten-
dent of SMS Hospital,
where all three patients
were treated, said the
combination of the anti-
HIV drugs proved useful
in treating the patients.
Committed to...
“So far, about 3 thou-
sand crore rupees have
been spent. Currently
3800 employees are em-
ployed here, but about
35 thousand people are
expected to get employ-
ment in this project,”
he said further adding,
“The Rajasthan refin-
ery with a production
capacity of nine mil-
lion tonnes is one of
the largest refineries
in the country and its
formation will lead to
all-round development
of the state.
With the completion
of the refinery, the
state’s income will in-
crease, along with the
employment opportuni-
ties will increase here.”
Gehlot also said that
HPCL should complete
the construction of
road connecting Sajiali
village under CSR on
time and also build high
level schools and hospi-
tals near the refinery, so
that the local people can
get benefit of it.
He also asked to
start the Skill Develop-
ment Center proposed
by HPCL and RSLDC at
Pachpadra soon, so
that the local youth
can get training and
get employment in the
refinery.
Kamal Nath...
The chief minister
called on the governor
after the latter shot off
a fresh letter on Mon-
day, directing the Nath
government to hold a
floor test on Tuesday.
The 15-month-old
Nath government’s sta-
bility has come under
doubt due to resigna-
tion by 22 rebel Con-
gress MLAs.
Prez nominates...
Ranjan Gogoi retired
from the Supreme
Court on November 17,
2019.
Justice Gogoi’s ten-
ure in the apex court
will be best remem-
bered for heading the
five-judge Constitution
Bench that delivered a
unanimous verdict in
the Ram Janmab-
hoomi-Babri Masjid
land dispute case as
well as the time he had
addressed an unprece-
dented press conference
along with three other
brother judges in 2018.
Anil Ambani...
He will be questioned in
connection with loans
given by Yes Bank, on
which the Reserve Bank
of India imposed a mor-
atorium and capped
withdrawal by users at
Rs 50,000 a month after
the bank’s financial
health severely deterio-
rated. Other Reliance
Group officials will
also be called in for
questioning this
week, sources said.
Meanwhile, Anil Am-
bani filed an adjourn-
ment application and
sought more time to ap-
pear before the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED) in
connection with the on-
going money laundering
proberelatedtoYesBank
co-founder Rana Kapoor.
The ED had sum-
moned Ambani in con-
nection with the probe
against Kapoor and his
family members. In a
statement issued last
week, the Reliance
Group had denied any
links with Kapoor, his
family or entities con-
trolled by them.
Annoyed guv...
under doubt due to res-
ignation by a section of
Congress MLAs, point-
ed out that legislature
sessions in several oth-
er states had been trun-
cated due to the corona-
virus outbreak.
Earlier in the day,
Nath wrote a letter to
the Governor, stating
that holding the floor
test on Monday would
have been “undemo-
cratic and unconstitu-
tional” in a situation
where his MLAs have
been held “hostage”.
Apparently annoyed
over the tone of Nath’s
missive, Tandon dashed
off another letter to the
Congress chief minis-
ter, requesting him to
take up trust vote on
Tuesday and prove his
majority in the house.
The Nath govern-
ment has been teetering
on the brink of a col-
lapse ever since 22 Con-
gress rebel MLAs re-
signed. Thanks for the
reply to my letter dated
March 14. But I am hurt
that the tone and tenor
of it is not conducive to
democratic values, the
governor letter stated.
I request you again to
take up a floor test and
prove your govern-
ments majority in the
Assembly on Tuesday
to uphold the constitu-
tional and democratic
values, the governor
said. Or, it will be con-
strued that you dont en-
joy majority in the
House, he stated.
Tandon expressed
his annoyance over the
Congress government
not seeking a trust
vote on Monday as
directed by him.
FROM PG 1
First India News
Jaipur: Doctors of SMS
Hosital have achieved a
miracle of sorts by cur-
ing three out of four
Coronavirus patients
who tested positive but
the fight is far from
over. Two patients are
still critical.
Italian male tourist
and an elderly person
who had returned from
Dubai, have been strug-
gling to survive as they
have developed com-
plexities due to some
other health problems.
The reports of both,
theItalianpersonandthe
man who returned from
Dubai,camenegative,yet
they are still not out of
woods because the Ital-
ian’s lungs are damaged
while the other one has
dysfunctional kidneys.
The SMS Hospital au-
thorities have begun to
put in place special ar-
rangements for them.
Addl CS (Health) Rohit
Kumar Singh chaired a
special meeting regard-
ing the health condition
of these two patients.
It was decided in the
meeting to declare SMS
Hospital’smedicalemer-
gency ICU ‘Corona Dedi-
cated’ and both the pa-
tients will be moved
from ‘Isolation Ward’ to
this ICU.
The patients who were
testedpositiveearlier,but
whose report came nega-
tive during isolation, will
be kept in this ICU. A
medicalboardhasalsobeen
constituted for continuous
monitoringof theirhealth.
It is to be noted that Ra-
jasthan had four positive
cases, of which, three are
now ‘cured,’ while the
fourth one, is being treated
inthe‘IsolationWard.’
Meanwhile, the doc-
tors at the Hospital have
done wonders by curing
three patients with a
combination of H1N1,
Malaria and HIV drugs.
“We gave her a combi-
nation of Lopinavir
200mg/Ritonavir 50mg
twice a day,” the doc-
tors told First India.
Besides, the doctors also
gave her Oseltamivir,
useful in swine flu treat-
ment, and Chloroquine,
useful in treating ma-
laria. They were treated
acc to central govt’s
guideline. Indian Coun-
cil of Medical Research
has expressed satisfac-
tion about the line of
treatment adopted by
medics. The success of
achieving this feat has
not only encouraged the
doctors here, but also
have invited related que-
ries from elsewhere.
SMS Hosp’s ICU now ‘Corona
dedicated,’ says ACS SinghBE CAUTIOUS, NOT AFRAID: MISHRA
Corona threat looms large
on Raj wildlife sanctuaries
First India News
Jaipur:The fear of
Coronavirus has not
spared Rajasthan’s
wildlife sanctuaries.
Usually, with onset
of Summer, March is
considered among the
best months for wild-
life sightings. World
famous Ranthamb-
hore and Sariska are
flooded with tourists
especially foreigners.
However, the ban
on entry of foreign
nationals in India till
mid of April along
with return of those
who had come prior
to the ban has taken
life out of both the
sanctuaries.
The tourism indus-
try has suffered as a
whole but places like
Sawai Madhopur and
Alwar where these ti-
ger sanctuaries are
situated, have been
bearing the brunt a
bit more.
Hotel bookings
have been cancelled
and jungle safaris too
met the same fate
leaving vehicle own-
ers with huge income
losses. According to
industry sources,
normal occupancy
in the month of
March used to be
around 5000 rooms,
which has dropped to
around 2000.
This figures is just
for the state capital
Jaipur, which has
nearly 8000 rooms in
various budget hotels
to luxury ones. The
sources said that pri-
or to March, 70%
rooms were booked
but within two weeks,
bookings have
reduced to 20%.
Apart from Sawai
Madhopur & Alwar,
other cities with ma-
jor tourist attractions
like Jodhpur, Jaipur,
Udaipur, Chittorgarh,
Mount Abu & Jais-
almer too have wit-
nessed drastic fall in
tourist footfalls.
Tourism experts
claim that the impact
on the sector is so se-
vere that any recov-
ery would be impos-
sible in next 2-3 years.
COVID-19: Combination of two anti-
HIV drugs proved crucial in treatment
2nd batch of 53 evacuees
reach Jaisalmer army centre
Official held
for spreading
fake news
First India News
Jaipur: A contractual
worker in State’s Health
Department has been
arrested in Jaipur for
spreading fake message
about Coronavirus. He
has also been dismissed
from the service on Sun-
day. He had sent a mes-
sage of having eight
coronavirus positive
cases in Bandikui.
The message went
viral and created ter-
ror among local peo-
ple. The health depart-
ment immediately is-
sued a letter to deny the
fake news.
One of the most popular tourist spots in Jaipur, the Jantar Mantar lies abandoned in wake of the Coronavirus scare in the entire state, as the number of tourists visiting the region has reduced to a great extent. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR
Rohit Kumar Singh with Dr Sudhir Bhandari & DS Meena at SMS
Hospital. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR
PANDEMIC SCARE
URGENT CASES

INDIAJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
Bhopal: Amidst uproar
in the Madhya Pradesh
Assembly, the house
was adjourned till
March 26. Speaker NP
Prajapati adjourned the
house just after the gov-
ernor finished his cus-
tomary address. Gover-
nor Lalji in his address
asked the MLAs to up-
hold democratic ideals.
He also told the govern-
ment to hold a floor test
on Monday itself.
Meanwhile, the oppo-
sition BJP has said that
it will move the court if
the floor test in Madhya
Pradesh Assembly is
not held on Monday.
BJP’s chief whip Narot-
tam Mishra demanded
floor as Chief Minister
KamalNathmaintained
that in the current po-
litical situation it is
very difficult to do so.
Eariler on Monday,
the MLAs of both the
Congress and the BJP
arrived at the Madhya
Pradesh Legislative As-
sembly for the budget
session amid uncertain-
ty over holding of a
floor test. Many legisla-
tors were seen wearing
protecting masks in
view of the novel coro-
navirus scare.
The Rajya Sabha elec-
tions will be held on
March 26.
GOVERNORASKSMLASTO
UPHOLDDEMOCRATICIDEALS Bhopal: The BJP MLAs
on Monday met Gover-
nor Lalji Tandon at the
Raj Bhawan.
The BJP delegation
was led by former chief
minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan.
“Appropriate action
will be taken. Be as-
sured that no one will
violate your rights,” the
Governor told the
MLAs here. Following
this, BJP leader Chou-
han said that the Con-
gress government lacks
majority as it has just 92
MLAs while the BJP
has 106.
“The Chief Minister
is running away from
the trust vote as he
knows that the govern-
ment lacks the majority.
BJP has the majority
and we have appealed
the Governor to issue
order for conducting
the floor test at the ear-
liest,” Chouhan told re-
porters here.
“Congress has 92
MLAs while BJP's 106
MLAs are here and,
therefore, it is clear that
we have the majority.
This unstable govern-
ment cannot even be
saved on the pretext of
coronavirus,” Shivraj
added. In his address,
Guv Lalji Tandon ap-
pealed to Members: “All
must follow the rules
under the Constitution
so that dignity of Mad-
hya Pradesh remains
protected.”
BJP legislators led by
Chouhan meet Guv
BJP MLAs shows a victory sign as they coming out after meeting
Guv Lalji Tandon at Raj Bhawan in Bhopal on Monday.
New Delhi: After the
release of former Jam-
mu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Farooq Abdul-
lah, Member of Parlia-
ment Nazeer Ahmed
Laway, who was ex-
pelled from the PDP,
met Prime Minister
Narendra Modi here on
Monday and demanded
that party chief and
former Chief Minister
Mehboba Mufti be re-
leased along with Omar
Abdullah.
After the meeting
speaking to IANS, La-
way said, “There are
two Chief Ministers
and many youths who
are under detention and
I have demanded that
all of them should be
released.” He said that
the Prime Minister has
assured him of more af-
firmative action and
the detainees will be re-
leased soon.
The MP has also said
that he hopes “the po-
litical process in Jam-
mu and Kashmir starts
soon”. Laway hailed the
Prime Minister for tak-
ing the initiative on the
issue of COVID-19 and
said that he has done
good work.
On the question of
Pakistan raising Kash-
mir issue during the
video conferencing
with Prime Minister
modi over coronavi-
rus, Laway said, “We
should not take Paki-
stan seriously.”
J&K MP meets Modi, demands
release of Mehboba, Abdullah
New Delhi: Amid COV-
ID-19 scare, security at
Parliament has started
thermal screening of
visitors at all its en-
trances on Monday.
With coronavirus being
declared a pandemic by
the World Health Or-
ganisation, the issue
also dominated discus-
sion among MPs on
Monday.
As the Rajya Sabha
discussed precautions
required to contain the
spread of COVID-19, the
members of both Hous-
es believe that a strin-
gent screening process
is required at every
place of gathering, in-
cluding Parliament.
Ram Gopal Yadav, Ra-
jya Sabha MP of Sama-
jwadi Party suggested
that thermal screen-
ing should be started
at each of the Parlia-
ment gates to ensure
that no infected person
can enter the premises
even as the number of
those infected by the
virus crossed the fig-
ure of 100. BJD's Sas-
mit Patra called for
precautions at ATMs
and domestic airports
and establishment of
more testing facilities
for the deadly virus.
Parliament starts thermal screening
of visitors amid coronavirus scare
Thermal screening of visitors being conducted at the entrance of Parliament House, in New Delhi.
Ayodhya: The VHP
had decided not to take
out 'Shobha Yatras' and
'Rath Yatras' during the
Ram Navmi period
from March 25 to April
8 in Ayodhya.
This decision has
been taken in view of
the coronavirus scare
because these events at-
tract thousands of devo-
tees. A senior VHP lead-
er said that during the
scheduled 'Shri Ram
Mahotsav', the VHP will
now focus on smaller
programmes that will
be held in a controlled
environment.
VHP holds Ram
Navmi’s Shobha
Yatras in Ayodhya
‘PUNJAB GOVT TO PROVIDE 1
LAKH JOBS IN NEXT TWO YEARS’
Chandigarh: Punjab
CM Amarinder Singh on
Monday announced his
government will provide
one lakh jobs to the state’s
youth in various state
departments in the next
two years. Singh made
the announcement while
addressing media here on
the occasion of completion
of three years of his gov-
ernment. “For the youth of
the state, we will provide
one lakh government jobs
over the next two years,”
he said. Singh added that
“These jobs will be filled
up through a transparent
and merit based system
of selection.” The jobs
will be offered in several
government departments,
including health, educa-
tion and police, the chief
minister said.
‘PROUD TO SEE INDIA TAKING
LEAD ROLE’ ON COVID-19
New Delhi: Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India
Yerlan Alimbayev on Monday said that he is proud
to see New Delhi taking a lead role in enhancing
efforts to fight corona pandemic and assured his
country’s full cooperation to combat the deadly
infection. “It was a good idea actually. We watched
the conference yesterday. I am very proud to see
that India is taking the lead role and all the steps
that were proposed by PM Modi are very useful
and timely, which we support. We are ready to
cooperate and work jointly,” the ambassador told.
BISHOP FRANCO’S PLEA IN
RAPE CASE DISMISSED
Kottayam: A trial court in Kottayam, Kerala, has
dismissed a discharge petition filed by Bishop Fran-
co Mulakkal, in connection with the case of alleged
rape of a nun in which he is the prime accused. In
his plea filed before the Additional District and
Sessions Court I, Mulakkal had claimed that
prima facie there was no case to frame charges
against him. Dismissing the plea, the trial court
said the bishop should stand for trial in the rape
case. The bishop’s lawyer said an appeal would
be filed in the HC against the trial court order.
NO DECISION TO DISCONTINUE
PRINTING OF RS 2,000 BANKNOTES
New Delhi: The govern-
ment on Monday said no
decision has been taken
to discontinue printing of
Rs 2,000 banknotes, and
state-owned SBI and Indi-
an Bank are reconfiguring
ATMs for Rs 500 and Rs
200 notes. “No indent was
placed with the presses
for printing of Rs 2,000
denomination notes for
2019-20. However, there is
no decision to discontinue
the printing of Rs 2,000
banknotes,” MoS Anurag
Singh Thakur said in LS.
The minister was replying
to a question whether the
govt has stopped printing
of new Rs 2,000 currency
notes and if the public
sector banks have issued
any circular to stop circu-
lation of Rs 2,000 notes
through ATMs.
MP POLITICAL CRISIS Speaker NP Prajapati adjourned the House just after the Governor Lalji Tandon finished his customary address
‘SPEAKER HAS TO DECIDE ON FLOOR TEST’
PM LAUDS MEDICAL WORKERS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
BJP MLAs meets Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, at Governor House in Bhopal on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: After
the Congress-led
Kamal Nath gov-
ernment in Madhya
Pradesh on Monday
got a breather as the
state Assembly was
adjourned till
March 26, Home
Minister Amit Shah
held discussion
with PM Narendra
Modi over the po-
litical turmoil in
the state.
Shah and Prime
Minister Modi met
inside PM’’s Parlia-
ment House office
on Monday and dis-
cussed the Rajya
Sabha elections in
Gujarat apart from
political develop-
ments in Madhya
Pradesh. Union
Minister Narender
Singh Tomar and
Dharmendra Prad-
han, both handling
Madhya Pradesh
developments, will
also hold meeting
with Amit Shah at
his Parliament
House Office.
Shah meets
PM Modi
over political
turmoil
FORCES SPENT `26.12 CR IN LEGAL EXPENSES
New Delhi: India’s
armed forces spent
Rs 26.12 crore in
legal expenses in the
financial year 2019-20
up to February 2020,
Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh said
in Parliament on
Monday. “A total of
Rs 26,12,30,810 has
been spent for legal
expenses by Army, Navy
and Air Force for the
year 2019-20 (up to
February, 2020),” Singh
said in the Rajya Sabha,
replying to the query of
a member of the House.
On the eve of first death anniversary of Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along
with Tarun Vijay and Shripad Naik released a book on the life and times of the former Union
minister, on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind
Bobde on Monday said that rules for preventing
overcrowding in the courts to avoid the spread of
coronavirus cannot be relaxed for journalists alone on
the basis of profession. “Can’t make an exception on
the basis of profession,” CJI Bobde said while asking
journalists to share information and notes and sug-
gesting that a system can be put in place to facilitate
daily media briefing by Secretary-General.
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS : RULES CANNOT
BE RELAXED FOR JOURNALISTS, SAYS CJI
Siddhivinayak
temple to close
over coronavirus
Mumabi: Siddhivinay-
ak temple will remain
shut to devotees from
this evening till further
notice to check the
spread of coronavirus,
the temple authorities
have announced. Mean-
while, the Tourism Min-
istry has decided to
close all museum and
ASI monuments till
March 31. “Keeping in
view the outbreak of
deadly virus, we have
decided to close all mu-
seum and ASI monu-
ment till March 31,”
said Tourism Minister
Prahlad Singh Patel.
GOVT IS IN MINORITY: MIN TOMAR

PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
G Vol 1 G Issue No. 279 G RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
FATE OF NATH
GOVT HANGS
BY A THREADadhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath
must have breathed easy after
Speaker NP Prajapati adjourned
the assembly till March 26. But
whether he’ll be able to sleep easy
is difficult to say as his government is not out
of the woods. Governor Lalji Tandon, being
an appointee of BJP, is expected to play a par-
tisan role in favour of the Opposition.
On Monday, Budget session’s opening day,
Tandon left the House after urging legislators
to follow Constitution and maintain dignity of
theHouse.BJPimmediatelybegandemanding
floor test but parliamentary affairs minister
citedcoronavirusthreatandSpeakerpromptly
adjourned House ignoring Tandon’s directive
that Nath seeks trust vote by raising of hands.
With 106 BJP members present in the House,
government, having lost support of 22 Scindia
loyalists, clearly lacked numbers.
Later, BJP led its flock to Raj Bhawan to
prove its strength and demanded immediate
floor test which Nath wanted postponed. In a
letter to Lalji Tandon, Nath said, “Some of
my MLAs are being held hostage by BJP un-
der the supervision of Karnataka police…to
carry out a floor test in these circumstances
is unconstitutional.” Governor did not buy
his “baseless and meaningless” argument
and directed him once again to seek a trust
vote by the end of the day on Tuesday.
After weaning away Scindia, BJP is not
ready to let go of this chance to once again
wrest control of power in MP. Seeing Nath
escape the test, former CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan filed a petition in SC seeking direc-
tion for a test of majority within 12 hours.
Constitutionally, within precincts of House
,Speaker is supreme and is free to run House
the way he wants but for how long can he defy
the governor who is empowered under Article
175 to advise or instruct the Speaker and the
government? ThereisnoclarityonthisinCon-
stitution.Karnataka,whereasimilarsituation
played out last year, could provide a clue.
After 16 Congress and JD(S) legislators re-
signed the Speaker, citing the rule book, said
that MLAs had to personally hand over their
letters to him or his office. In MP, 22 Congress
legislators have resigned. The Speaker has ac-
cepted six resignations and has asked to meet
the remaining 16 before accepting their letters
hoping to win back some of them. On Tuesday,
all eyes will be on SC which had rejected the
NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress’s demand in Ma-
harashtraforadirectiontoDevendraFadnavis
government to seek an immediate composite
floor test. But after his oath-taking the court
ordered an immediate floor test. After the gov-
ernor’s report, a similar direction could be is-
sued to Kamal Nath. It has to be seen what line
of argument the Congress takes to counter the
re-run of Operation Kamal. The governor too
can spoil Kamal Nath’s party by declaring his
governmenttobeinminority.Itwillalldepend
on Congress trouble-shooters who are leaving
no stone unturned to avert the inevitable.
IN-DEPTH
M
he coronavirus
pandemic has
taken the world
by surprise and
will now expose
underlying economic
weaknesses wherever they
lie. But the crisis also re-
minds us that we live in a
deeply interconnected
world. If the pandemic has
any silver lining, it is the
possibility of a much-need-
ed reset in public dialogue
that focuses attention on
the most vulnerable in so-
ciety, on the need for global
cooperation, and on the im-
portance of professional
leadership and expertise.
Apart from the direct im-
pact on public health, a cri-
sis of this magnitude can
trigger at least two direct
kinds of economic shock.
The first is a shock to pro-
duction, owing to disrupt-
ed global supply chains.
Suspending the production
of basic pharmaceutical
chemicals in China dis-
rupts the production of
generic drugs in India,
which in turn reduces drug
shipments to the United
States. The second shock is
to demand: as people and
governments take steps to
slow the spread of the coro-
navirus, spending in res-
taurants, shopping malls,
and tourist destinations
collapses.
But there is also the po-
tential for indirect after-
shocks, such as the re-
cent plunge in oil prices
following Russia and Saudi
Arabia’s failure to agree on
coordinated output cuts.
As these and other shocks
propagate, already stressed
small- and medium-size
businesses could be forced
to shut down, leading to
layoffs, lost consumer con-
fidence, and further reduc-
tions in consumption and
aggregate demand.
Moreover, downgrades
to, or defaults by, highly lev-
eraged entities (shale-ener-
gy producers in the US;
commodity-dependent de-
veloping countries) could
lead to wider losses in the
global financial system.
That would curtail liquidi-
ty and credit, and trigger a
dramatic tightening of the
financial conditions that
have hitherto been so sup-
portive of growth.
The parade of horrible
possibilities could go on.
The more fundamental
point to remember is that
the world economy never
fully recovered from the
2008 global financial crisis,
nor were the underlying
problems that produced
that disaster ever fully ad-
dressed. On the contrary,
governments, businesses,
and households around the
world have piled on more
debt, and policymakers
have undermined trust in
the global trading and in-
vestment system.
But even though the
world started with a weak
hand, our response to the
COVID-19 crisis could be
far better than it has been.
The immediate task is to
limit the spread of the vi-
rus through widespread
testing, rigorous quaran-
tines, and social distanc-
ing. Most developed coun-
tries should be well-posi-
tioned to implement such
measures; yet, Italy has
been overwhelmed by the
epidemic, and the US re-
sponse has not exactly in-
spired confidence.
Looking ahead, unless
the coronavirus is eradi-
cated globally, it could al-
ways return, or even be-
come a seasonal disrup-
tion. If an effective treat-
ment is not discovered
soon (Gilead’s antiviral
drug remdesivir current-
ly shows some promise), all
countries will face a choice
between walling them-
selves off entirely and
pushing for a global effort
to eradicate the virus. Giv-
en that the former is an
impossibility, the latter
seems the natural choice.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.ORG
THE PANDEMIC STRESS TEST
T
But even though
the world started
with a weak hand,
our response to
the COVID-19
crisis could be far
better than it has
been
TOP TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Welcome the British Government’s
decision to turn the Ambedkar
House in London as Dr. Ambedkar
Museum. Sincere gratitude to Hon.
PM Shri @narendramodi ji for his
relentless efforts in preserving the
legacy of Babasaheb, one of the
founding fathers of India.
earelivinginthedayandageof
coronavirus, and all our conver-
sationsarecenteredaroundthis.
All of us are learning to cope
with this. In India, we have tak-
en quite a pro- active stand, and
we have been able to stem the
contagion, which seems to have
taken its toll in China, Japan,
Korea,Italy,SpainandIran.This
should also make us reflect on
the challenges of governance
today–theterm‘actof god’isno
longer acceptable in the govern-
ancelexicon.WhetheritisaTsu-
nami or an earthquake, or an
ethnic clash, our stakeholders –
bothintheimmediateneighbor-
hood and the international com-
munityexpectustotakepreven-
tive and curative action. What-
ever be the cause or reason – it
could be a rogue virus or a per-
ceived sense of wrong in the re-
cent or the hoary past – the fact
is that as the permanent execu-
tive, we are expected to resolve
these issues. And how do we
tackle issues as complex as
these…byworkingtogether,and
understandingtheinterconnect-
edness. And by realizing, now,
more than ever before that a lit-
tle humility and a little less cer-
titude would make it easier for
us to cope with the uncertainty
which engulfs us today.
Let me at this stage also
share my world- view, which
is on record in an essay which
I wrote two decades ago part
of my course work on devel-
opment discourses in India at
Cornell University during my
Fellowship year. This is the
ongoing debate between the
Malthusians and the Pro-
metheans, and this dilemma
is recorded in myths and fa-
bles of almost all the folklore.
The Malthusians have always
been like the prophets of
doom – the world will never
be able to cope with the crisis
– whether of food production,
or of climate change, or of
impending wars . The Pro-
metheans, on the other hand
believe that there are virtu-
ally no limits to a human be-
ings ability to do anything –
including stealing fire from
the gods, thereby setting the
stage for human settlements
to extend – both temporally
and spatially. In a way, Yuval
Noah Harari avers to this de-
bate in his writings, and one
also noted that he is also mov-
ing away from ‘absolute cat-
egories’ to living with appre-
hension about the range of
possibilities and probabili-
ties. I for one have been on the
side of the Prometheans – I
have believed that human be-
ings have the ability to handle
complexity, and though pro-
gress is never linear, it is
more in the nature of an evo-
lutionary cycle.
Thequestionis:Howdoesthis
happen, and whether or not we
have a role in this. My proposi-
tion is that we have a role, and a
dominantrole,becausemyread-
ing of history is that it happens
because when individuals and
institutions are clear in what
theywishtoachieve,theycando
it? The problem is that we often
flounder, and harbor self-doubt
aboutourselves.If webelievewe
have a role as individuals then
listen carefully - if not try doz-
ing off! Well, as individuals, we
areblessedtobelongtotheinsti-
tution of the IAS which gives us
a tremendous opportunity to
make a positive change, provid-
ed, we believe in ourselves and
our institution. I must say that
whenIheardyourpresentations
yesterday, I was convinced that
hereisagroupof peoplewhoare
not just bright stars in them-
selves,butalsomakeagreatcon-
stellation. I have used the word
‘constellation’ for we have to re-
tain our identity even as we
work in unison! we must shine,
but we must give space and
scopetoothersaswell–andreal-
ize that we cannot be lone stars
in the firmament. Again, insti-
tutions, like nations do not
flounder because of challeng-
es or pressures from others.
They fail because they lose
confidence in themselves – or
lose the will to govern and
cease to take hold of the eco-
system. We create our eco
-systems, and when we are in
the forefront of anticipating
change , we will take control
over it. If the country needs
domain expertise in different
areas of governance and de-
velopment interventions, we
have to be in the forefront of
this change. We have to be the
change we anticipate. We in
the IAS have an advantage
over the rest. We talk to the
political executive directly,
and we must be able to give
them ideas which work, for
we have to work together
with the political leadership
respecting each other’s pro-
fessional space. And within
the space that we have, why
can’t we create excellence as
a habit. It’s not easy, for the
devil lies in the detail, but we
must try to do our best, even
as we realize that we are mor-
tals, and some things can al-
ways go wrong.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
STARS IN A
CONSTELLATIONExtracts from an address to officers attending Mid-career Training Programme at LBSNAA
W
And within the
space that we
have, why can’t
we create
excellence as a
habit. It’s not
easy, for the
devil lies in the
detail, but we
must try to do
our best
I have used the word
‘constellation’ for we
have to retain our
identity even as we
work in unison! we
must shine, but we
must give space and
scope to others as
well – and realize that
we cannot be lone
stars in the firmament
The author is an IAS &
Director, Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of
Administration Mussoorie
and Honorary Curator, Valley
of Words: Literature and Arts
Festival, Dehradun
DR SANJEEV
CHOPRA

INDIAJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court Monday
refused to entertain the
plea of Mukesh Singh,
one of the four death-
row convicts in the 2012
Nirbhaya gang-rape
and murder case, seek-
ing restoration of legal
remedies alleging that
his earlier counsel mis-
led and forced him to
sign the papers.
A bench comprising
Justices Arun Mishra
and M R Shah heard
submissions of lawyer
M L Sharma, appearing
for Mukesh, and reject-
ed the plea by terming
it as “not maintainable”
in view of the fact that
both the review and the
curative pleas in the
case have been dis-
missed. The apex court
had on July 9, 2018 dis-
missed the review plea
of Mukesh against its
judgement; later, his cu-
rative and mercy pleas
were rejected by the top
court and President
Ram Nath Kovind re-
spectively.
On March 5, a trial
court issued fresh war-
rants with March 20,
5.30 am, as the date for
theexecutionof thecon-
victs Mukesh Singh (32),
PawanGupta (25),Vinay
Sharma(26)andAkshay
Kumar Singh (31).
Mukesh in his fresh
plea had sought the CBI
probe into alleged
“criminal conspiracy”
and “fraud” hatched by
the Centre, the Delhi
government and advo-
cate Vrinda Grover, who
is the amicus curiae in
the case.
It said: “Petitioner
(Mukesh) is victim of
criminal conspiracy
and fraud played and
hatched jointly by the
R-1 (Ministry of Home
Affairs), R-2 (Delhi gov-
ernment) and R-3 (Vrin-
da Grover) and other
advocate who appeared
in the sessions court,
high court and the Su-
preme Court in the pe-
titioner's death war-
rant case. The court
took strong note of the
statement and said the
curative plea was not
heard in an open court
and such plea was be-
tween the court and the
convict only.
NO REMEDY LEFT: SC DECLINES PLEA
New Delhi: Three of
the four death row con-
victs in the Nirbhaya
gangrape case ap-
proached the Interna-
tional Court of Justice
(ICJ), seeking a stay on
the execution of their
death sentence.
The three convicts
who approached the ICJ
are Akshay Singh,
Pawan Gupta and Vinay
Sharma. The Interna-
tional Court of Justice,
sometimes called the
World Court, is the
principal judicial organ
of the United Nations.
This comes as the
four convicts in the 2012
case - Vinay, Akshay
Thakur, Pawan Gupta
and Mukesh Singh -- are
scheduled to be hanged
at 5:30 am on March 20.
Asha Devi along with her husband speaks to media at the Supreme Court, in New Delhi on Monday.
Jammu: Aspecialcourt
in Jammu on Monday
framed charges against
Yasin Malik and six oth-
ers in connection with a
case related to the kill-
ingof IAFofficerSquad-
ronLeaderRaviKhanna
and three others in 1990.
The court slated the
matter for further hear-
ing on March 30.
Charges were framed
under several relevant
sections of the Ranbir
Penal Code (RPC), Ter-
rorist and Disruptive
Activities (Prevention)
Act and Arms Act of
the RPC.
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day rejected a plea seek-
ing an extension of an-
ticipatory bail granted
to social activists Gau-
tam Navlakha and
Anand Teltumbde, two
accused in Bhima Kore-
gaon violence case. A
bench of Justice Arun
Mishra and Justice MR
Shah gave three weeks
to Teltumbde and Nav-
lakha to surrender and
asked them to surren-
der their passports im-
mediately as well.
Special court frames charges
against Yasin Malik, six others
SC dismisses Vodafone’s
plea against OTSC
SC rejects anticipatory bail
pleas of Navlakha, Teltumbde
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday
dismissed a petition filed by Vodafone against
the levy of one-time spectrum charges (OTSC).
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi,
appearing for Vodafone, told a bench of Justice
Arun M ishra and Justice MR Shah that the
charges are related to the adjusted gross rev-
enue (AGR).
The Department of Telecommunications
(DoT) had sought to levy a one-time spectrum
charge on telecom service providers.
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh Governor
Anandiben Patel has
promulgated an ordi-
nance to recover dam-
age to public and pri-
vate properties in any
violent protest or dem-
onstration.
'The Uttar Pradesh
Recovery of Damage to
Public and Private
Property Ordinance,
2020' was promulgated
by Patel on Sunday.
With this Ordinance,
a person participating
in a protest, political
rally, strike, or shut-
down has to give com-
pensation in case of
damage to public or pri-
vate property caused by
him or her. The Ordi-
nance also covers the
incidents of riots.
On Friday, the Uttar
Pradesh Cabinet had
passed the Ordinance.
The decision was taken
in a cabinet meeting
headed by Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath.
Governor promulgates
ordinance to recover
damages in UPNew Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Monday expressed dis-
satisfaction with MoS
for Finance Anurag
Thakur’s response in
the Lok Sabha on wilful
bank defaulters.
“I had asked a simple
question about the
names of 500 wilful de-
faulters. But I was not
given a clear answer.
What hurt me was that
the Speaker did not al-
low me to ask a supple-
mentaryquestionwhich
is my right as a member
of Parliament,” Rahul
told reporters at the Par-
liament. Gandhi had
asked the names of wil-
ful defaulters and meas-
ures taken to recover
loans advanced to them.
“Why is the govt de-
fending the wilful de-
faulters? Why is it not
revealing their names
in the Parliament?”
he added.
‘Unsatisfied
with govt
response on
bank defaulters’
THREE STRONG PROBABLES EMERGE
FOR POST OF RBI DY. GOV
RBI Executive Directors Dr Deepak Kumar
Mohanty, M Rajeshwar Rao and S C Murmu are
three strong probables for the post of RBI Deputy
Governor.
PRAVEEN GUPTA TO BE MEMBER SEBI?
MD in the SBI Praveen Gupta is likely to be ap-
pointed Member of the SEBI. One post of Member
SEBI is falling vacant on April 4.
KAUN BANEGA CHAIRMAN SAIL?
Anirban Dasgupta The name of Anirban Dasgupta,
Director (Projects and Business Planning), SAIL,
is being bandied around as next Chairperson, Steel
Authority of India Limited (SAIL) falling vacant on
January 1, 2021.
TENURE OF VIVEK JOHRI AS DGP
OF MP FIXED FOR TWO YEARS
The tenure of Vivek Johri as DGP of Madhya
Pradesh has been fixed for a period of two years.
A notification has been issued in this respect. He is
1984 batch IPS officer.
SIX NEW ADMINISTRATIVE
MEMBERS IN CAT
Six former bureaucrats have been appointed
Administrative Members of the CAT. They are
Amarendra Kumar Dubey, Tarun Shridhar, K V
Eapen and Rakesh Kumar Gupta all former IAS
officers. Sushil Kumar Sinha former IPA officer
and Anand Mathur former IRPS officer will also
be Member.
BASEER AHMAD KHAN IS NEW
ADVISOR TO J&K LG
Baseer Ahmad Khan, Divisional Commissioner
Kashmir and an IAS officer of 2000 batch has been
appointed as fourth Advisor to Lieutenant Gover-
nor Girish Chandra Murmu.
P R JAISHANKAR RECOMMENDED
FOR MD VACANCY IN IIFCL
Banks Board Bureau has recommended PR Jais-
hankar for the vacancy of MD in IIFCL.
THAKKAR RECOMMENDED FOR 1ST
DMD VACANCY IN EXIM BANK
The Banks Board Bureau has recommended
Lekhan Thakkar for the first vacancy of Deputy
Managing Director in EXIM Bank.
MRS HARSHA BANGARI RECOMMENDED
FOR 2ND DMD VACANCY IN EXIM BANK
The Banks Board Bureau has recommended Mrs
Harsha Bangari for the second vacancy of Deputy
Managing Director in EXIM Bank.
S K BANSAL RECOMMENDED FOR
DMD VACANCY IN IFCI
The Banks Board Bureau has recommended Sunil
Kumar Bansal for the vacancy of Deputy Managing
Director in IFCI Ltd.
JUSTICE RAHUL CHATURVEDI
APPOINTED PERMANENT JUDGE OF
ALLAHABAD HC
Justice Rahul Chaturvedi, Additional Judge of
the Allahabad High Court has been appointed as
Permanent Judge of the Allahabad High Court.
JUSTICE IRSHAD ALI
APPOINTED AS PERMANENT
JUDGE OF ALLAHABAD HC
Justice Irshad Ali, Additional Judge of the Alla-
habad HC has been appointed as permanent judge
of the Allahabad High Court.
SHAILENDRA K. SHUKLA RESIGNS AS
CHAIRMAN OF CHHATTISGARH
STATE POWER COMPANIES
Shailendra Kumar Shukla has resigned as Chair-
man of Chhattisgarh State Power Companies.
SOMNATH GHOSH APPOINTED AS
JOINT SECRETARY, DEFENCE
Somnath Ghosh has been appointed as Joint Sec-
retary, Department of Defence for an overall period
of three years. He is a 1997 batch IFS officer.
POWERGallery
PRESIDENT KOVIND’S VISIT TO
JABALPUR POSTPONED
New Delhi: The sched-
uled visit of President
Ramnath Kovind
to the convoca-
tion ceremony
of Jabalpur’s
Rani Durgavati
Vishwavidya-
laya has been
postponed due
to “unavoidable
circumstances”. “Due to
unavoidable circumstanc-
es the visit of Honourable
President to Madhya
Pradesh (Jabal-
pur) scheduled
on March 20 and
March 21 stands
postponed,”
said a letter
from Rashtra-
pati Bhavan to
Vice-Chancellor
of Rani Durgavati Vish-
wavidyalaya.
LIC’S NPAS STOOD AT RS
1453.11 CR AS ON DEC 31, 2019
New Delhi: Minister of State (MoS) Finance,
Anurag Thakur on Monday said that as reported
by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), its Non
Performing Assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 1453.11
crore as on December 31, 2019. The MoS Finance
replied to a series of questions that whether the
LIC has NPAs of approximately Rs 30,000 crore or
even more than that; if so, the amount outstanding
on various companies out of the said NPAs at
present, company-wise; the time when the LIC had
provided the said amount to the said companies.
TAHIR HUSSAIN ARRESTED FOR
IB STAFFER’S MURDER
New Delhi: Suspended AAP councillor Tahir
Hussain was on Monday arrested in connection
with murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer,
Ankit Sharma, during the recent violence in the
national capital. “He has been arrested,” a Delhi
Police official told. The police have sought his
custody for five days in connection with the
case. He is also accused for involvement in in-
stigating the violence. The police had registered
a criminal case against him on a complaint filed
by deceased IB staffer’’s father.
WB GUV EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE
IN SEC FOR PEACEFUL CIVIC POLLS
Kolkata: West Ben-
gal Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Monday
exuded confidence that
the State Election Com-
mission (SEC) would take
measures to ensure fair
and peaceful civic polls.
“Post my interaction with
State Election Commis-
sioner and my subse-
quent communication to
him, I am confident SEC
would take appropriate
call on dates of civic
elections taking note of
totality of circumstances
and the contemporaneous
situation,” said Dhankha.
In the letter, Dhankar
stated, “This is further to
the meeting with the un-
dersigned on February 27,
2020 as regards ensuring
upcoming civic polls to be
peaceful, orderly and fair.”
Aday after the family members of the four
death row convicts in Nirbhya gangrape and
murder case sought the President’s permission
for euthanasia, Asha Devi, the mother of the vic-
tim, on Monday, appealed for justice saying she
has also been suffering for the past seven years.
“I would also want to appeal to the President
to help me get justice for my daughter as well.
People know me and my children by the name
of Nirbhaya. I have also been dying for the last
seven years,” Asha Devi told ANI. She said that
she had to cope with people’s taunts about how
she created a drama in these last seven years.
HAVE BEEN DYING FOR 7 YEARS: MOTHER
New Delhi: Former
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday ac-
cused Lok Sabha Speak-
er Om Birla of “hurt-
ing” his parliamentary
rights by restricting
him to ask question
from the government
about the top 50 wilful
bank defaulters.
Gandhi launched the
allegation against Birla
following the Question
Hour in which he raised
a supplementary ques-
tion on wilful default-
ers. Speaking to the me-
dia after the Question
Hour, Gandhi said there
is a process that supple-
mentary question can
be asked by a parlia-
mentarian and that was
exactly he did.
However, when he
came out to speak to the
media he said: “I asked
the question about 500
wilful defaulters. I am
hurt that my parlia-
mentary right to ask a
supplementary ques-
tion was restricted by
the Speaker.”
“As an MP, my rights
were compromised. But
the question is why the
government is saving
those wilful defaulters,”
Gandhi said inside the
Parliament premises.
During the Question
Hour, Gandhi had asked
supplementary ques-
tion when Question No
305 regarding “Wilful
defaulters” was read.
Gandhi said, “The In-
dian economy is going
through a very difficult
period. Our banking
system is practically
not working any more.
Banks are failing. And
I think more banks are
going to fail as a result
of the current global
situation.
Meanwhile, treasury
benches created ruckus
and the Speaker gave
chance to another MP
to raise other question
and Gandhi could not
get a chance to put his
point properly.
My parliamentary right was
hurt by LS Speaker: Rahul
WILFUL DEFAULTERS
YOGI SEEKS TIME
3 Nirbhaya
convicts
approach ICJ
IN THE COURTYARD
Anandiben Patel
NIRBHAYA CASE

TALKING POINTJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
Foreign tourists hit
hurdles in Kerala due to
CORONAVIRUS SCARE
While it makes per-
fect sense for IT
employees to work from
remote locations via
video conferencing and
collaboration tools
seamlessly - especially
in the case of tech gi-
ants like Google or Mi-
crosoft -- workers from
the non-IT companies
and small and medium
enterprises (SMBs) are
the worst-hit in India as
most of them have little
or no clue about how
these messaging and
collaborationtoolswork
amid the coronavirus
pandemic.
Small companies -
from corporate to edu-
cation verticals- are
scrambling to get their
act together as new cor-
onavirus threat has
reached their premises,
prompting them to send
employees home who
have age-old laptops,
poor network and con-
nectivity with no UPS
backups and little
knowledge about how to
handle group chat and
collaboration software
likeZoom,GoogleHang-
outs Meet, Microsoft
Teams, and Flock etc.
Instead of halting op-
erations, however, busi-
nesses can choose to
shift towards remote
working methods with
teaching non-IT
staff on how to use the
latest digital software to
connect and work, say
industry experts.
The training will take
some time and may ham-
per productivity in the
short run but is a win-
win situation for the
non-tech companies in
the long run, in case any
such global emergency
arises in the future.
According to a latest
report by Gartner, 54 per-
cent of HR leaders have
cited that poor technol-
ogy and/or infrastruc-
ture for remote working
is the biggest barrier to
effective remote work-
ing.
Sandy Shen, Senior
Director Analyst,
Gartner, says that with
COVID-19 disrupting the
businesslandscape,CIOs
should re-
look at the
digital ful-
filment of market
demand.
“The value of digi-
tal channels, products
and operations is imme-
diately obvious to com-
panies everywhere right
now. This is a wake-up
call for organisations
that have placed too
much focus on daily op-
erational needs at the
expense of investing in
digital business and
long-term resilience,”
warned Shen.
The IT industry’s
apex body Nasscom has
asked the government to
relax norms for a month
to allow work-from-
home for technology and
back-office employees as
a measure to deal with
the spread of COVID-19
in India.
According to reports,
India has approximately
1,000 co-working loca-
tions (as of September
2019) and is the second-
largest market for the
co-working industry af-
ter China.
Indian firms struggling to deal
with work from home scenario
Instead of halting ops, businesses can choose
to shift towards remote working methods
Kerala Tourism Minister
Kadakampally Surendran
described overseas visitors as “our
friends” and ‘guests” and called for
a change of mindset of some people
who allegedly treat them as carriers
of coronavirus. “Tourism industry
contributes 10 % of Kerala’s GDP.
During the last fiscal, the total
revenue collected from the tourism
sector alone stands at Rs 45,000
crores,” he added
should re-
look at the
digital ful-
filment of market
demand.
“The value of digi-
tal channels, products
Instead of halting ops, businesses can choose
Bengaluru: Amid
the rising number of
coronavirus cases in
the country, the order
of closure of malls and
multiplexes across
many top cities by the
respective state gov-
ernments to prevent
people congregating
for any reason, has
caused the organised
retail scene there to
come to a grinding
halt, according to a
property consultant.
Ahmedabad,
Bangaluru, Chennai,
Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Mumbai and
Pune have 126 malls
sprawling over more
than 61 million sq.
ft. area, and more
than 100 malls have
multiplexes attached,
property consultant
Anarock Retail said.
“Wherever it has
been mandated, there
will therefore be a high
number of establish-
ments that need to
shut down for opera-
tions. Even short-term
closures will have
signiﬁcant ﬁnancial
implications,” Anarock
Retail’s MD & CEO,
Anuj Kejriwal said in a
statement.
“However, what mat-
ters more is that these
establishments attract
massive footfalls. In
a health crisis like the
coronavirus pandemic,
shutting them down
can be a major step
forward in terms of
harm prevention,” Ke-
jriwal, however, added.
Indian retail reels under
coronavirus concerns
W
ith Kerala
on high
alert for
coronavirus, foreign
tourists visiting
God’s Own Country
are finding it diffi-
cult to get accommo-
dation and move
around, prompting
the government to
disapprove of such
acts and ask people
not to see every for-
eignerasaCOVID-19
carrier.
With two people,
including a UK na-
tional, testing posi-
tive for coronavirus
on Sunday, the num-
ber of those affected
inthestatehasrisen
to 21 as the govern-
mentbegana“break
the chain” initiative
to prevent spread of
the virus.
It has also
launchedintensified
medical check up at
border areas for peo-
pleenteringthestate
by rail and road.
Amid the stepped
up preventive meas-
ures, several cases
of foreigners being
‘denied’ travel in
publictransportsys-
tems and stay in ho-
tels have been re-
ported in the past
few days from vari-
ous parts of the
state, a major attrac-
tion for travellers
with its picturesque
locales and enchant-
ing backwaters.
C a u t i o n i n g
against such acts,
Kerala Tourism
Minister Kadakam-
pally Surendran de-
scribed overseas
visitors as “our
friends”and‘guests”
and called for a
change of mindset
of some people who
allegedly treat them
as carriers of coro-
navirus.
On Sunday, au-
thoritieswereforced
to shift two foreign
nationals to a quar-
antine facility at a
government hospi-
tal in nearby Pala
aftertheirco-passen-
gersinastate-owned
transport corpora-
tion bus raised an
alarm.
The two from
Spain were travel-
ling in the bus when
police stopped it at
Kuravilangad in
Kottayamdistrictaf-
ter co- passengers
said they could not
travelwiththemdue
to the coronavirus
threat, according to
official sources.
The tourists were
then taken to a gov-
ernmenthospitalfor
check-up by the po-
lice.
Though the two
were advised to re-
main in quarantine
for 14 days, they
were allegedly de-
nied stay in a hotel
or lodge in the area.
Police later shift-
ed them to the quar-
antine facility set up
in the general hospi-
talinPala,thesourc-
es said.
A foreign tourist
visiting scenic Wag-
amon hill station
bordering Kottayam
and Idukki district
allegedlysleptinthe
cemetery of a
church after he was
denied lodging facil-
ity due to the COV-
ID-19 pandemic.
People visiting
the church for at-
tending the Sunday
morning mass re-
portedly saw the
tourist coming out
of the cemetery.
However, he could
not be traced despite
a search being
launched, police
said.
Speaking at a
function in Varkala
in Thiruvanan-
thapuram district,
the Minister said
foreign tourists are
“our guests” and
they are flocking to
the state thanks to
theglobalmarketing
campaign launched
by the Tourism de-
partment.
Noting that the
tourism industry
was the backbone of
Kerala’s economy,
Surendran said the
arrival of the tour-
ists to the state was
necessary for the
state’s growth.
“Tourism indus-
try contributes 10 %
of Kerala’s GDP.
During the last fis-
cal,thetotalrevenue
collected from the
tourismsectoralone
stands at Rs 45,000
crores. It is 24%
higher than the pre-
vious year. The sec-
tor also provides
jobs for 15 lakh peo-
ple, directly or indi-
rectly”, he said.
“The tendency of
seeing the foreign
tourists as coronavi-
rus carriers must
change. They are not
our enemies.They are
our friends. For us,
they are our guests. So
our mindset towards
themshouldchange.”,
he added.
DIVYA
HEMNANI
Design: Abhishek Gupta

New Delhi: It was on Decem-
ber 2 in 2011 that Manasi Joshi
met with an accident and had
her left leg amputated. After
spending days in hospital and
post recovery, Manasi, who
had just started her career as
an engineer, got a prosthetic
leg. Any other person would
have lost all her confidence,
but that was not the case with
Manasi. In fact, the accident
went a long way in changing
her outlook towards life.
“The turning point of my
life was when I met with an
accident back in 2011, which
led to the amputation of my
leg. After the accident, I had to
relearn everything -- from
walking to conducting daily
chores and activities on my
own,” she said.
While she studied and pur-
sued a career in software en-
gineering, she was always in-
clined towards sports and had
been coaching for badminton
as a hobby since the age of 10.
“Playing sport teaches you an
important life lesson; that you
must always accept defeat and
always tread onwards. This
learning was always deep-
seated in my conscience and
helped me through the initial
phase. Post my accident, in
2011, I participated in an inter-
company badminton champi-
onship and won a gold medal,”
she added.
Eight years later, she creat-
ed history. In August 2019 in
Basel, she defeated defending
champion Parul Parma to win
gold at the World Para-bad-
minton Championships.
However, for Manasi the
bronze medal she won at the
2018 Asian Para Games held
in Jakarta, Indonesia is the
one she loves the most.
“Manasi also said that she
owes a lot to Pullela Gop-
ichand, under whom she has
been training since 2018 at his
academy in Hyderabad.
Manasi is currently fo-
cussed on qualifying for the
mixed doubles category of To-
kyo Paralympics. —Agencies
‘Never let amputated leg
become an obstacle on court’
Indian paddler Sharath
clinches Oman Open
CM Amarinder
announces `5 lakh
prize for Simranjit
‘Don’t lose
spirit, keep
focussing on
training’
First India beat Dainik
Bhaskar to enter finals of PPL
COVID-19: BCCI
tells employees to
work from homeMuscat: Ace Indian
paddler Sharath Kamal
thrashed Portugal’s
MarcosFreitastoclinch
the 2020 IITF Challeng-
er Plus Oman Open
here on Sunday.
Fourth-seeded Shar-
ath made a sensational
comeback after being
one game down to regis-
ter 6-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9,
3-11, 17-15 win, in a
thrilling six-set final.
This was Sharath’s
first-ever IITF title
since winning the
Egypt Open in 2010.
“#TOPSAthlete@
sharathkamal1 won the
ITTF Oman Open table
tennis event after beat-
ing top seed Marcos
Freitas 4-2 (6-11, 11-8, 12-
10, 11-9, 3-11, 17-15). This
is his first-ever ITTF ti-
tle since winning the
Egypt Open in 2010,”
SAI media tweeted.
Earlier, Sharath de-
feated Russia’s Kirill
Skachkov to enter
men’s singles final. The
ace Indian paddler won
the thrilling seven set
semi-finals that lasted
for one hour and eight
minutes.
—ANI
Chandigarh: Punjab
Chief Minister Cap-
tain Amarinder Sin-
gh on Monday an-
nounced Rs 5 lakh
prize for boxer Sim-
ranjit Kaur, who re-
cently booked her
spot in the 2020 To-
kyo Olympics.
Disclosing this, a
spokesperson of
CMO said that Sports
Minister Rana Gur-
mit Singh Sodhi ac-
companied by Sim-
ranjit Kaur and her
family members met
Captain Amarinder
Singh this morning.
CM said she had
made Punjab proud
and wished her best
of luck for the 2020
Tokyo Olympics.
He assured that
the govt would ex-
tend all possible sup-
port and cooperation
to her in the future as
well. Also, Sodhi as-
sured that the Sports
Dept would provide a
suitable Govt job as
per her eligibility.
After securing a
berth in the quadren-
nial event, Kaur be-
came the first-ever
Punjabi woman box-
er to have qualified
for the Olympics.—ANI
New Delhi: With the
coronavirus outbreak
bringing all sports ac-
tivities to a halt in the
country,SportsMinister
Kiren Rijiju on Monday
urged the athletes to not
lose spirit and keep
working hard to stay
battle ready for competi-
tions.
The COVID-19 pan-
demic, which has
claimed over 6,000 lives
and infected close to
160,000 people world-
wide, has led to the
cancellation or post-
ponement of all sport-
ing events across the
globe. “Due to coronavi-
rus, sporting events and
competitions are post-
poned temporarily but I
appeal all our athletes
not to lose the spirit,
keep practicing and fo-
cus on your training,”
Rijiju wrote on his twit-
ter handle. The govern-
ment last week imposed
travel restrictions to
control the spread of the
virus, while the Sports
Ministry also urged all
national federations to
follow the Health Minis-
try’s advisory and avoid
large gatherings in
sports events. —PTI
New Delhi: The
COVID-19 pandemic
has forced India’s
biggest sports body
BCCI to virtually
shut down its head-
quarter in Mumbai
from Tuesday with
its employees being
advised to work from
home.
It has been learnt
that the employees
have been asked to
“work from home”
with all the cricket-
ing operations al-
ready being suspend-
ed till further notice.
“The BCCI em-
ployees were today
notified that the
headquarters at the
Wankhede Stadium
will be as good as
closed in the wake of
COVID-19 pandemic.
All the staffers have
been advised to work
from home,” a top
source from the
Board told PTI on the
condition of ano-
nymity.
“However, if some-
one still wants to
come, they can,” he
added.
The BCCI last Fri-
day postponed the
IPL-13 from March 29
to April 15 along with
all other domestic
tournaments, includ-
ing the Irani Cup and
the Women’s Chal-
lenger Trophy.
—Agencies
SPORTSJAIPUR | TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020
Manasi Joshi
CHUNDA CHEER TO VICTORY
Team Chunda Polo and Naila Heirloom Textiles in action during the RPC Cup 2020. Chunda
Polo team defeated Naila Heirloom Textiles on Monday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
RPC CUP
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: In the second
semi-final match played
in the PPL (Press Pre-
mier League 2020) tour-
nament being organ-
ised by the Pink City
Press Club, team First
India defeated Dainik
Bhaskar on Monday.
Fielding first after win-
ning the toss, team First
India stopped Dainik
Bhaskar’s team for only
162 runs. Ajay Shekha-
wat batted brilliantly
for Dainik Bhaskar,
scored a century.
While chasing the
target, First India
team’s Bharat Dixit’s 66
and Kartikey Dev Sin-
gh’s 56 helped them to
own the match in just 16
overs.
The first blow to team
First India came in the
form of Garvit Narang
who was run out, after
which Bharat Dixit
scored 66 runs with the
help of 10 fours and a
six on 40 balls. Kartikey
Dev Singh scored 56
runs on 37 balls with
the help of 7 fours. The
finals will be played be-
tween team First India
and Media 11 at Sanskar
Academy at 9.00 am on
Tuesday.
Players of team First India celebrating their win on Monday.

First india rajasthan english news paper today 17 march 2020 edition

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First india rajasthan english news paper today 17 march 2020 edition