15022022 first india lucknow

Shift from sugarcane belt to rice bowl in crucial second round
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Among the
nine districts – Saha-
ranpur, Bijnor, Mo-
radabad, Rampur, Bari-
elly, Amroha, Sambhal,
Badaun and Shahje-
hanpur – which went to
the polls today, six of
them are dominated by
Muslim population
ranging from 35 per-
cent to 50 percent, and
some constituencies
like Rampur Sadar
touching 65-70 percent.
The other dominant
castes in these districts
are OBC-Kurmis, Lodh,
Brahmins, Jats, Banias
and Dalits. The Jats
and Gujjar are mainly
centred in Saharanpur,
Bijnor and Moradabad.
So, the Jat-Muslim
combination that the
SP-RLD alliance is
banking on is crucial
only in these three dis-
tricts.
Since there was no
“Jat-Muslim type”
combination in the sec-
ond phase and Sama-
jwadi Party was in di-
rect contest with the
BJP, as the RLD’s nomi-
nees were on only three
seats, the SP has fallen
on support of non-Ya-
dav OBCs to take on the
BJP. In view of farm-
ers’ agitation, reports
indicate that there has
been a dent in BJP’s
support base.
The ministers whose
fate was sealed in the
second phase were:
Suresh Khanna
( S h a h j e h a n p u r ) ,
Baldev Singh Aulakh
(Bilaspur), Mahesh
Chandra Gupta
(Badaun), Gulab Devi
(Chandausi). Other
prominent faces in the
second round were for-
mer minister Daharam
Singh Saini (Nukad-
Saharanpur), Mohd
Azam Khan (Rampur),
Abdullah Azam and
Haider Ali (Suar-Ram-
pur), Iqbal Mahmood
(Sambhal), Mahboob
Ali (Amroha) and Su-
priya Aron (Barielly
Cantonment). The pres-
tige of BJP’s Brahmin
face, cabinet minister
Jitin Prasada, was also
at stake in Shahjehan-
pur region.
First India Bureau
Mainpuri: Storming
Mulayam Singh Yadav’s
pocket borough on
Monday, Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath fired a
fresh salvo at SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav, saying
that “maintaining law and
order was never the pri-
ority of Samajwadi Party;
they handed over the
state’s dignity to crimi-
nals and terrorists.” He
added, “For SP, socialism
is anarchy, corruption,
dynastic rule, mafia, loot
and terrorism.”“Previous
governments did not
allow electricity to people
because there used to be
riots in the day and da-
coity during the nights,”
Yogi said.
YOGI FIRES SALVO AT AKHILESH
IN YADAV BASTION
POLITICAL CALCULATIONS
Suresh Kumar Khanna,
Finance Minister. Jitin Prasada, Minister of Technical Education.
LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 95
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Vineet Joshi, Additional Secretary in Education Minis-
try, was appointed as CBSE Chairman on Monday. The
development comes following relinquishing of charge
by Manoj Ahuja after he was appointed as the OSD in
Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The Tata Group has appointed Ilker Ayci — for-
mer Turkish Airlines Chairman — as Air India’s
Managing Director and CEO effective on or be-
fore April 1. The development is in line with the
Tata Group’s plans to appoint an expatriate chief.
IAS VINEET
JOSHI IS
CBSE’S NEW
CHAIRMAN
TATA GROUP APPOINTS
EX-TURKISH AIRLINES
CHAIRMAN ILKER AYCI
AS AIR INDIA MD & CEO
CORONA CATASTROPHE
JUSTICE BHANDARI TAKES
OATH AS MADRAS HC CJ
amil Nadu Governor RN Ravi administered oath of office to Madras High Court Chief
Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin at
the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Monday. Hailing from Rajasthan, he is the 32nd Chief
Justice of the High Court. Justice Bhandari, who was the Acting CJ of the High
Court, was appointed as the Chief Justice by President Ram Nath Kovind who accepted the
recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium which proposed his name. Turn to P8
T
Security concerns: MHA
‘bans’ 54 Chinese apps
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Home Affairs has
recommended banning
54 Chinese mobile apps
that pose a threat to the
country’s security
.
The apps against
whom the adverse secu-
rity inputs were gener-
ated include Sweet Self-
ie HD, Beauty Camera,
Music Player, Music
Plus, Volume Booster,
Video Players Media all
formats, Viva Video
Editor, Nice Video
Baidu, AppLock and As-
tracraft, among others.
A formal notification
banning these apps will
be issued by the Minis-
try of Electronics and
Information Technolo-
gy (MeitY).
his will be second ma-
jor action against Chi-
nese apps.
Back in June 2021,
the government had
banned 59 Chinese apps
including the popular
short video sharing
platform TikTok, UC
Browser, WeChat and
Bigo Live, saying they
were prejudicial to the
sovereignty, integrity
and security of the
country
.
U’KHAND, GOA DECIDED
2 VILLAGES IN KEDARNATH CONSTITUENCY BOYCOTT POLLS; ADMIN ASKS
THEM TO RECONSIDER, EC DISMISSES SP CLAIMS OF VVPAT TAMPERING
61.72% voting in UP polls’ second phase
F
rom ferrying the
elderly and dif-
ferently-abled in
‘dolis’ to making ar-
rangements for Covid
patients, the Election
Commission on Mon-
day ensured people in
Goa, Uttarakhand and
parts of Uttar Pradesh
do not miss out on vot-
ing in the assembly
elections on Monday
.
The voter turnout re-
ported at 8 pm was 78.94
per cent in Goa and
59.51 per cent in Uttar
Pradesh, the poll panel
said, while Uttara-
khand till 8 pm reported
62.50 per cent. Voting
was held peacefully in
all the three states, of-
ficials said.
While, assembly polls
inGoaandUttarakhand
were completed in a sin-
gle phase, for Uttar
Pradesh, it was the sec-
ond of a seven-phase
election. The results
will be declared on
March 10.
According to the
commission, special ‘di-
vyang dolis’ were de-
ployed in Uttarakhand
with the help of volun-
teers from the National
Cadet Corps (NCC) for
assisting people with
disabilities (PwD) and
senior citizens to poll-
ing stations.
Polling officials take a handicapped voter to a polling booth in
Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar. (Below): Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and
Acharya Balkrishna after casting their vote in Haridwar.
HC CORRECTS
BAIL ORDER OF
ASHISH, CLEARS
WAY FOR RELEASE
The Allahabad High Court
on Monday corrected
its order granting bail
to Ashish Mishra in
Lakhimpur Kheri case.
Ashish Mishra had moved
the Lucknow bench of
the High Court on Friday
seeking insertion of sec-
tions 302 (murder) and
120 B (criminal con-
spiracy) of IPC that were
“inadvertently” not men-
tioned in the high court
order as the jail authori-
ties would not release him
due to omission.
Triple talaq law saved
thousands of Muslim
women: PM Modi in UP
Kanpur: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
Monday claimed that
the law against triple
talaq has saved thou-
sands of Muslim wom-
en in Uttar Pradesh
Addressing an election
rally, Modi further said
that Muslim girls feel
safe under BJP rule in
UP and a greater num-
ber of Muslim girls is
going to schools.
PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Jalandhar on Monday.
PM MODI PROMISES ‘NAVA
PUNJAB’, SAYS CONGRESS
HUMILIATED AMARINDER
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday promised
a ‘Nava Punjab’ in his first
rally in the poll-bound state
since the security scare in
Ferozepur last month. Ad-
dressing a rally in Jalandhar,
PM Modi said, if given a
chance, the NDA will deliver
a ‘Nava Punjab’ or new Pun-
jab in next 5 years. PM also
targetted Congress for hu-
miliating ex-CM Amarinder.
Shah: Past govts
couldn't avenge
killing of our
jawans by Pak
Jhansi: Union home
minister Amit Shah
on Monday launched
an all-out attack on the
opposition in poll-
bound Uttar Pradesh,
invoking the third an-
niversary of Pulwama
terror attacks in which
40 CRPF personnel
had lost their lives.
“During SP, BSP-sup-
ported Congress rule,
any Tom, Dick & Har-
ry would enter India
from Pakistan & be-
head our jawans,” said
Shah in Jhansi.
Shah in Jhansi.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to
hear the police plea against a probe by the Central
Bureau of Investigation in the suicide of a 17-year-
old school girl in Tamil
Nadu. But the court said
that the central agency
can continue probe
in the case where the
student was allegedly
coerced to convert to
Christianity. The teen
had died by suicide after consuming poison at her
home in Thanjavur on January 9 and died 10 days
later. In a video, the girl alleged that the hostel
warden had forced her to clean the hostel and do
maintenance work. The hostel warden has been
arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges
of abetting suicide.
Guwahati: Assam’s
Cacher district police
recovered 30,000
tablets of Yaba, a mix
of methamphetamine
and caffeine, and
apprehended three
persons from the
Bagpur area under the
Joypur police station.
Taking to Twitter,
Cachar police wrote
‘In a major overhaul,
30,000 YABA tablets
recovered and three
persons apprehended
by Joypur Police Sta-
tion. The war against
drugs continues and
will not stop short of
any stops.”
New Delhi: Amid grow-
ing tension between
the BJP-led Centre and
the DMK government
in Tamil Nadu, a phone
call from Union Home
Minister Amit Shah to
Kanimozhi more than
a month ago has now
become a topic of fierce
discussion, sources
said. Shah called DMK
MP M Kanimozhi to
wish her on her 54th
birthday on January 5.
INMAJORHAUL,
30KDRUGTABLETS
SEIZEDINASSAM
SHAH’SB’DAYCALL
TOKANIMOZHI
RINGSLOUDBELLS
INDIA
JAIPUR |TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
08
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NATIONPAYSTRIBUTETOPULWAMAMARTYRS
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday paid
homagetotheCentral
Reserve Police Force
(CRPF)personnelwho
losttheirlivesinater-
rorist attack in Pul-
wama in 2019, and
saidtheirbraveryand
sacrifice
motivate
every In-
dian to
work to-
wards a
strongandprosperous
country. In the attack
by Pak sponsored ter-
rorists in the south
Kashmir,40CRPFper-
sonnel made the su-
preme sacrifice.
PM tweeted, “I pay
homage to all those
martyredinPulwama
onthisdayin2019and
recall their outstand-
ing service to our na-
tion. Their bravery
andsupremesacrifice
motivates every Indi-
an to work towards
a strong and
prosperous
country.” —PTI
CRPFpayshomageto
40jawanskilledin’19
THIRD ANNIV OF
DEADLY ATTACK Lethpora (J&K): The
CRPFonMondaypaid
floral tributes to its
personnelmartyredin
thePulwamaterrorat-
tack on this day three
years ago.
Additional Director
General (ADG), CRPF,
DS Chaudhary, led the
officers and jawans of
the paramilitary force
in paying their trib-
utes at the martyr’s
memorial here. ADG
Chaudhary and other
CRPF personnel laid
floral wreaths at the
memorial. —PTI
Thesecurity
forceselimi-
natedthe
modulebe-
hindthePulwamaat-
tackwithin100hoursof
theattack.Afterforces’
operationsagainstJeM,
theirultraswereso
scaredofdyingthatno-
bodywantedtotakethe
leadershiprole.
—LtGen
(Retd)
KJS
Dhillon
Jhansi (UP): Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Mon-
day said that the defence
corridor project in Uttar
Pradesh’s Jhansi will help
India “teach a lesson to Pa-
kistan”. Addressing a public
rally in Mauranipur, Shah
said, “PM has
laid the founda-
tion stone for
the defence
project in
Jhansi.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi said
the sacrifice of jawans will
not go in vain. “We can
never forget the martyrs of
Pulwama. Their sacrifice and
that of their families will not
go in vain — we
will ensure
answers are
given. Jai
Hind,” Gan-
dhi tweeted
in Hindi. —PTI
Kochi: The Kerala High Court
allowed the State govern-
ment’s appeals and set aside
a single judge order defer-
ring a survey in connection
with the SilverLine project.
A bench of Chief Justice S
Manikumar and Justice Shaji
P Chaly set aside the single
judge’s order deferring the
survey till February 7. The
single judge, thereafter, had
further deferred the survey
till February 18. The single
judge’s orders had come on
several pleas, some of which
have opposed the survey be-
ing conducted and the others
were against the laying of
concrete poles. —PTI
New Delhi: The SC on
Monday issued a notice
on a petition challeng-
ing the Gujarat HC’s
order staying Section 5
of the Gujarat Freedom
of Religion (Amend-
ment) Act, 2021, which
mandated permission of
DMs for religious conver-
sion. A bench of Justices
Abdul Nazeer and Krishna
Murari, while hearing an
appeal filed by the state
govt, against staying Sec-
tion 5 of the Act issued
notice to Jamiat Ulama
E-Hind Gujarat and the
other on whose petition
HC order had come.
Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah, MP
from Srinagar, said that he has
been placed under house arrest
and has been disallowed from
visiting Jammu. “I was sched-
uled to visit Jammu today. This
morning, I was informed by
security officials that I cannot
step out of my house,” he said.
The ex-J&K CM said that police
cited the anniversary of the
Pulwama terrorist attack for not
allowing his travel to Jammu.
SHAH: DEF PROJECT
IN JHANSI WILL HELP
CRPF personnel pay tribute to those who
were killed in the Pulwama terror attack,on
its third anniversary,at a memorial,Lethpora,
in Pulwama on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RAHUL: WILL ENSURE
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN
KERALA HC SETS
ASIDE ORDER
DEFERRING SURVEY
SC NOTICE ON PLEA
AGAINST RELIGIOUS
CONVERSION
FAROOQ STOPPED FROM
VISITING JAMMU
Manila: External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Monday
held “productive dis-
cussions” with his
Philippines counter-
part Teodoro L Locsin
during which they cov-
ered a range of issues
dealing with mutual
national security.
Jaishankar's three-
day maiden visit to the
Philippines comes over
two weeks after the
Southeast Asian coun-
trysigneda$375million
deal with India to buy
three batteries of
BrahMoscruisemissile.
“Held productive
discussions with FM @
teddyboylocsinof Phil-
ippines. We are enter-
ing a new phase of our
partnership. Its basis
is the mutuality of na-
tional security and de-
velopment aspirations.
Our conversation cov-
dealing with both,”
EAM tweeted. —PTI
EAMholdstalkswithPhilippinecounterpart
ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar with Philippine counterpart
Teodoro L Locsin in Manila on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Finance
minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday
said the ABG Shipyard
account turned NPA
during the erstwhile
UPA regime and the
banks took lesser than
normal time to detect
the fraud perpetrated
by the shipping firm.
"...in this particular
case with that kind of a
measurement,actually,I
should say to the credit
to the banks, they've
takenlesserthanwhatis
normally an average
time to detect these
kinds of frauds," FM
said at a Press confer-
ence after addressing
the members of the RBI
board.Theministersaid
normally banks take 52-
56 months of time to de-
tectsuchcasesandiniti-
ate follow-up actions.
LoanstoABGturned
NPAspriorto2014:FM
Kolkata: Mamata Ba-
nerjee, after reaching
out to regional heavy-
weightsMKStalinandK
Chandrasekhara Rao,
reserved a grand snub
for the Congress as she
saidnoregionalpartyis
on good terms with it
anditcangoitsownway.
The Bengal Chief
MinisterpingedherTa-
mil Nadu and Telanga-
na counterparts and
discussed a meeting of
oppositionChief Minis-
ters to "protect" the
country's federal struc-
ture. She made it clear
today that the Congress
is not invited.
"No regional party
sharesgoodtermswith
Congress. The Con-
gress party will go its
way, we will go our
way,"MamataBanerjee
told reporters. —Agencies
Amid outreach to
MK Stalin,KCR,
Mamata’s snub
for Congress
New Delhi: As a virus-
weary world limps
through the third year
of theoutbreak,experts
are sending out a warn-
ing signal, Don't expect
omicron to be the last
variant we have to con-
tend with — and don't
letyourguarddownyet.
In the midst of a vast
wave of milder infec-
tions, countries around
the world are dialing
backrestrictions.Many
people are starting to
assume they've had
their run-in with Cov-
id-19 and that the pan-
demic is tailing off.
That's not necessarily
the case. —Agencies
Covid-19‘maynevergoaway’,will
likelytriggernewwaves,sayexperts
Hyderabad: After the
Ram Janmabhoomi de-
bate was settled by the
Supreme Court in No-
vember2019,anewcon-
troversy has erupted -
this time over Hanu-
man Janmabhoomi.
This, however, is not
between two religions
but between two Hindu
trusts (one in Andhra
Pradeshandtheotherin
Karnataka) claiming
differentlocationsasthe
birthplaceof Hanuman.
TheTTD,orTirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam,
in Andhra Pradesh has
planned a ceremony to
develop facilities at An-
janadri, a temple and
pilgrimage site in the
TirumalaHills.—Agencies
Two religious bodies fight
over Hanuman’s birthplace
NOT PRESTIGE ISSUE: SC TO
TN ON SUICIDE PROBE BY CBI
ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES
EOS-04,TWO OTHER SATELLITES
INDIA,MALDIVES HOLD DIALOGUE TO
EXPAND DEFENCE COOPERATION
ASSAM LIFTS ALL
COVID CURBS
CASE AGAINST BIHAR BJP MLA FOR
ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPING WOMAN: COPS
New delhi: The Indian Space Research Organ-
isation (Isro) successfully launched its earth
observation satellite EOS-4 and two co-passenger
technology demonstrator and scientific satellites
at 5:59 am Monday from the first launch pad at
the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh. “After a flight of about 17 minutes 34
seconds three satellites namely EOS-04, INSPIRE-
sat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully.
New Delhi: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has held
"very productive" talks with the top military brass
of the Maldives to further bolster bilateral defence
and security cooperation amid concerns over
China's increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean.The
Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours
in the Indian Ocean Region and the bilateral defence
and security ties have been on an upward trajectory
in the last few years. "Delighted to be in Maldives
for the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue. Had
very productive discussions. Deeply appreciate
warm hospitality of @cdfofmndf Maj Gen Abdulla
Shamaal," Kumar tweeted on Monday, a day after
the talks in Male. In November, India, the Maldives
and Sri Lanka held a two-day maritime operation.
New Delhi: Assam
to withdraw all
Covid-19 curbs in the
state from February
15, said CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma. Notifi-
cation in this regard
issued on Monday.
The curb that will be
lifted include manda-
tory testing facilities
at airports.
Patna: A case was filed against BJP MLA Vinay
Bihari in Patna for allegedly kidnapping a 25-year-
old woman, police said. The case was registered
at the Agam Kuan police station of the city based
on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother, they
said. “An FIR has been registered against the MLA
from Lauriya in West Champaran and two others
in connection with the kidnapping of a 25-year-old
woman,” said Bipin Bihari, the SHO. —PTI
New Delhi: Driven by rising prices certain food items,
retail inflation soared to a seven-month high of 6.01
per cent in January, breaching
the upper tolerance level of the
Reserve Bank. According to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data
released by the government, the
retail inflation in ‘oils and fats’
category stood at 18.7 per cent
Several other segments, including fuel and light,
clothing and footwear and transport and communica-
tion witnessed over 9 per cent price rise.
RETAIL INFLATION SPURTS TO SEVEN
MONTH HIGH OF 6.01% IN JANUARY
CRUCIAL READ
PM pays tribute to CRPF jawans
martyred in Pulwama terror attack
Imphal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
on Monday paid tributes to CRPF jawans
killed in the dastardly Pulwama terror
attack on this day three years ago. Singh
said that the Centre is ready to talk with the
militant outfits of the Northeastern region
to resolve their problems as the govern-
ment always wants to end the violence per-
manently. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
also had lunch at the residence of Kargil
War martyr Yumnam Kalleshor Kom, in
Imphal. Addressing an election meeting at
Langthabal Mandal in Imphal West district
of Manipur, the Defence Minister said
that the government is always prepared
to talk with the extremist outfits for a
lasting solution of the insurgency prob-
lem and to stop violence in Manipur and
other Northeastern states permanently.
RAJNATH PAYS TRIBUTE TO CRPF JAWANS,
SAYS OPEN TO TALK WITH MILITANTS OF NE
HIMANTA SLAMS KCR FOR
SEEKING PROOF ON STRIKE
New Delhi: The sparring between Telangana CM
K Chandrashekar Rao and his Assam counterpart
Himanta Biswa Sarma continued, with the Sarma
presenting “videographic evidence” of the surgical
strike. Rahul Gandhi’s comments, demanding
evidence of the surgical strike, had snowballed
as Rao came out in his support. Sarma posted a
video on Koo, captioned, “Dear KCR garu, here is
the videographic evidence of the surgical strike by
our brave Army. In spite of this you question the
valor of our forces and insult them. Why are you
so desperate to attack and malign our Army? New
India will not tolerate insults against our Army.”
IN THE COURTYARD
PM Narendra Modi
P6
We need not go to any other authority
than Holy Quran and wearing hijab will
be protected under Article 25. Muslim
girls wearing headscarves are not hurting
anyone. Religious freedoms can be barred only
when it interferes with public order.
—Devadatt Kamat, advocate contends in Karnataka High Court
HIGH COURT ADJOUNS HEARING
K’taka govt may
introduce new hijab
norms in schools
Bengaluru: Karna-
taka government is
likely to introduce a
Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) on
the usage of hijab
based on the high
court proposal ban-
ning religious gar-
ments in schools and
colleges till the mat-
ter is pending with
the court.
The government is
likely to issue guide-
lines for all schools
and colleges after
some students came
to attend classes to-
day wearing hijab de-
spite the court order.
Some students
were asked to remove
hijab by school au-
thorities standing
outside the school
gate. To prevent such
situations, the gov-
ernment is likely to
come up with a new
set of guidelines.
Chief Minister Ba-
savaraj Bommai will
meet Education Min-
ister BC Nagesh, edu-
cation department
officials and home
department officials
to decide upon such
guidelines based on
the high court pro-
posal.
The govt is likely to intro-
duce SOP on the usage
of hijab based on the high
court proposal. The new
guidelines will let students
coming in hijabs and
burqas enter schools and
then change into uniform.
TMC sweeps Bengal civic body
polls, wins in 4 municipal corps
Kolkata: Nine months
after its landslide win
in the West Bengal As-
sembly polls, the Trina-
mool Congress on Mon-
day reaffirmed its dom-
inance among urban
voters as it made a
clean sweep in the elec-
tions to four municipal
corporations.
The TMC retained
control of Bidhanna-
gar, Chandernagore
and Asansol municipal
corporations and
wrested power in Silig-
uri from the CPI(M)-led
Left Front. Both the
vote share and the
number of seats for the
TMC in these civic bod-
ies were much higher
than the last election
held in 2015. The
CPI(M) lost opposition
status to the BJP in
Asansol and Siliguri,
but retained its distant
second position in Bid-
hannagar and Chand-
ernagore.
Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate party’s win in Kolkata.
TMC chief and West Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee.
UTTAR PRADESH LUCKNOW
NEW
CASES
201
NEW
CASES
1,235 NEW
DEATHS
02

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
02
People who call themselves ‘Samajwadi’ are actually ‘Tamanchawadi and ‘Parivaarwadi’:
Yogi Adityanath says while addressing a public rally along with PM Modi in Kanpur Dehat
‘SP govt ran tamancha factories in
UP, BJP building defence corridors’
Akbarpur: CM Yogi
Adityanath on Mon-
day targeted the Sam-
ajwadi Party, saying
that during its rule
there were illegal
country-made pistol
(‘tamancha’) factories
in Kanpur but his BJP
dispensation is estab-
lishing a defence cor-
ridor. Addressing an
election meeting here,
he said, “Under the
previous government,
there were factories
of ‘tamancha’ in Kan-
pur.
Their name is ‘Sam-
ajwadi’, work is ‘ta-
manchawadi’ and
thinking is ‘pariwar-
vadi’. Our govern-
ment is making a de-
fence corridor. Now,
the youth of Kanpur
will sit on tanks made
in Kanpur, enter into
the boundary of the
enemy, and will raise
the war cry for Bharat
Mata.” Adityanath
said the same set of
people also tried to
mislead people on the
coronavirus vaccine,
calling it “Modi vac-
cine”.
“A person who
stands by someone
during a crisis is a
true well-wisher. And
a person who does not
support during a cri-
sis is an opportunist,”
he said and urged peo-
ple that it is an appro-
priate time to give a
befitting reply to such
people by defeating
them in the elections.
Referring to the same
party rule in the state
and at the Centre, he
said that the “dou-
ble-engine govern-
ment” has given a dou-
ble dose of ration to
people. “Do you need a
government which
provides electricity or
one which spreads
darkness? Do you
want a government
that gives a double
dose of ration or one
which loots ration?”
he told the gathering.
Referring to the law
and order situation,
he said, “Earlier,
bombing used to take
place in markets.
The lives of our
daughters and traders
were in danger. But
after 2017 the law and
order situation of the
state became an exam-
ple. Now there are no
riots, no bombing.”
Kanpur Dehat will
vote on February 20 in
the third of the sev-
en-phase assembly
elections in Uttar
Pradesh. —PTI
PM Narendra Modi with CM Yogi Adityanath at a public rally in Kanpur Dehat on Monday.
A person who stands
by someone during a
crisis is a true
well-wisher. And a
person who does not support
during a crisis is an opportunist’’
—CM Yogi Adityanath
‘AFTER 2017, NO RIOTS’
Referring to the law and order situa-
tion, he said, “Earlier, bombing used
to take place in markets. The lives of
our daughters and traders were in
danger. But after 2017 the law and
order situation of the state became
an example. Now there are no riots.
Priyanka campaigns
in Bundelkhand
Lucknow: Congress
leader Priyanka Gand-
hi Vadra on Monday
held poll campaigns for
party candidates in the
Bundelkhand region of
Uttar Pradesh where
assembly election is
due on February 20.
The Congress gener-
al secretary and party
affairs in-charge in UP
sat atop an SUV as she
held door-to-door cam-
paigns in Orai and
Kalpi of Jalaun district.
Flanked by party work-
ers and supporters, Pri-
yanka also visited
Maudaha in Hamirpur
district for the poll cam-
paign where she made
fervent pitches for Con-
gress candidates.
Purported visuals
from the rally showed
that when Priyanka
Gandhi was passing
through the Maudaha
market, she spotted a
young girl in the crowd
who was cheering for
her. She then called the
girl to her car. The
Congress leader tied
what party workers
said was the ‘Ladki
hoon lad sakti hoon’
band on the girl’s wrist
before her convoy
moved ahead once
again. Hamirpur and
Jalaun in the Bun-
delkhand region of UP
will go to polls on Febru-
ary 20 during the third
phase of assembly elec-
tions in the state. —PTI
Priyanka campaigning in Hamirpur on Monday.
Jhansi: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on
Monday launched a
blistering attack on Sa-
majwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav, saying
his “goons” encroached
on land belonging to the
poor in five years, while
the Yogi Adityanath
government used bull-
dozers and freed land
worth over Rs 2,000
crore.
Addressing an elec-
tion rally in support of
BJP’s ally Apna Dal (S)
candidate in Maurani-
pur, Shah said, “In five
years, Akhilesh’s goons
occupied govt and poor
people’s land, but Yogi
Adityanth got land
worth Rs 2,000 crore
freed by using bulldoz-
ers.” He (Akhilesh) pro-
vided different posts to
45 members of his fami-
ly in the five years, while
Modi sent 45 schemes to
your houses,” he said.
Highlighting the
work done by the Prime
Minister for the Bun-
delkhand region, the
Home Minister said,
“We have decided that
we will do all-round de-
velopment of Bun-
delkhand.
For this, Modi ji has
brought Defense Corri-
dor in Bundelkhand.
Earlier people used to
collect pellets in Bun-
delkhand but now un-
der the leadership of
Modi ji, the work of
making shells will be
done here and they
(shells) will be used to
deal with Pakistan.”
On water scarcity
problem in the region,
Shah said “Modi and
Yogi” have well under-
stood the water crisis of
Bundelkhand and took
initiative to solve it.
“Five exhibition cen-
tres are about to come
up in UP and one of
them will come up in
Bundelkhand and a
mega leather park will
come up in Kanpur.
This will provide em-
ployment to the Dalits
associated with the
leather business. The
BJP govt has thought of
building two IT parks in
Bundelkhand,” he said.
Shah said that in UP,
the govt of SP-BSP
-’bua and babua’ (Akh-
ilesh and Mayawati)
worked to destroy the
economy, but the BJP
worked to bring the
economy of the state to
number second spot
from 7th place in the
country
.
Hesaidthatinthenext
5 years, UP will be at
number one position in
terms of economy
. —PTI
Akhilesh’s goons encroached on poor’s lands: Amit Shah
BUNDELKHAND CAMPAIGN

Shah says
govt of SP-
BSP -’bua
and babua’
(Akhilesh
and
Mayawati)
worked to
destroy the
economy
Home Minister Amit Shah while addressing a rally in Mauranipur on Monday.
NEW JHANSI
Everything is less for stomach of
behenji’s elephant: CM Yogi
Lucknow: Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath tar-
geted the Bahujan Sam-
aj Party by saying that
the ‘elephant’ of Behen-
ji (BSP chief Mayawati)
has such a large stom-
ach that everything is
less for it. “Behenji has
pointed fingers at my
(Gorakhpur) ‘math’.
I say this again and
again: The ration being
received by the poor to-
day used to be consumed
by the goons of SP earli-
er,” he said, adding, “The
‘elephant’ of Behenji has
suchalargestomachthat
everything is less for it.”
Questioning the utili-
sation of state funds
during the tenure of the
SP government in the
state, Adityanath said
that Akhilesh did not
have time to think about
these things since he
was busy sleeping and
dreaming. —ANI
’DOUBLE RATION’
BSP’s Sudhindra Bhadoria slams CM Yogi
for ‘elephant of behenji’ remark
Lucknow: Bahujan
Samaj Party National
Spokesperson Su-
dhindra Bhadoria on
Monday hit out at Yogi
Adityanath for his
“elephant of Behenji”
comment saying that
it is against Dalit,
backward and deprived
sections of the society.
This comes after Yogi
Adityanath told ANI that
the “elephant of Behenji
(BSP chief Mayawati)
has such a large stom-
ach that everything is
less for it.” Reacting to
CM Yogi’s comment,
Bhadoria told ANI, “It
is very sad that the
Chief Minister of UP
is commenting in this
way about the Dalit, op-
pressed, deprived and
poor people who have
supported the country
on their shoulder”. The
elephant symbol was
given by Baba Saheb
Bhimrao Ambed-
kar. Kanshiram gave
strength to the exploit-
ed people and Mayawati
ji gave them promo-
tion,” he added. Further,
Bhadoria alleged that
the BJP has snatched
the right of livelihood,
while Mayawati contin-
ues giving strength to
these sections.” —ANI
Yogi claims Akhilesh doesn’t want Azam
out of jail as it ‘threatens’ his position
Lucknow: Taking a
jibe at Samajwadi Par-
ty chief Akhilesh Ya-
dav, Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath said
that Yadav does not
want former minister
and party leader Azam
Khan to come out of
prison because it will
pose a threat to his po-
sition. Adityanath said,
“Even Akhilesh doesn’t
want Azam Khan to
come out of prison be-
cause his (Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s) position will be
in danger.”
In the recent hear-
ing, the Supreme Court
refused to grant any re-
lief to Azam Khan, who
had sought interim bail
to campaign in upcom-
ing UP assembly elec-
tions. Khan has been
lodged in Sitapur jail
since February 2020
last year over several
casesregisteredagainst
him. Slamming Yadav
for trying to manipu-
late the narrative, the
Chief Minister said
that the SP chief should
understand that these
cases pertain to courts
and not state govern-
ments.”The state gov-
ernment has nothing to
do with them. It is the
work of courts to grant
bail and not that of
state governments. The
state government only
answers what has been
asked by the court. It is
wrong to link it with
state government; it is
like tampering and ma-
nipulating facts,” he
said. On allegations of
Opposition regarding
‘Thoko Raj’, Aditya-
nath said that every
person who is a danger
to the security of the
state should fear the
law. Azam Khan has
been in jail since Febru-
ary 2020 in connection
with several cases of
land grabbing, en-
croachment, etc.
Former SP minister Azam Khan
YOGI ALWAYS GIVES A LOT OF WRONG
STATEMENTS: FATIMA KHAN
IMRAN MASOOD’S COUNTERATTACK
TO YOGI’S AZAM STATEMENT
Rampur:Hours after
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath made
statements stating
Akhilesh Yadav does
not want jailed Azam
Khan out, Tanzeem
Fatima, his wife, said
that he always gives a lot of wrong statements.
“This is wrong. CM Yogi Adityanath gives a lot of
wrong statements. This is one of them. He (Azam
Khan) always faces oppression in the state,” Fa-
tima told ANI. Azam Khan’s wife further expressed
confidence in her husband’s victory and said, “He
is not here but the people of Rampur are with him.
He will win with more votes than earlier.” —ANI
Saharanpur: SP
leader Imran Masood
on Monday urged CM
Yogi to get former
state minister and SP
leader Azam Khan out
of the jail. Masood’s
statement came in response to Yogi’s state-
ment that the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav does
not want Azam Khan out of jail “I would
then request Yogi Ji only with folded hands
to get Azam Sahab out of the jail. We will be
grateful. —ANI
SP objects to
distribution of
tablets
Kannauj: The Sa-
majwadi Party on
Monday alleged
that tablets were
distributed to stu-
dents at a college
here in violation of
the model code of
conduct for elec-
tions.
Additional Dis-
trict Magistrate
(ADM) Gajendra
Kumar, however,
said the tablets
were distributed af-
ter permission
from the Election
Commission (EC).
The tablet distribu-
tion took place in
the PSM College
this morning in
which over 100 stu-
dents were given
tablets, the party
claimed. When the
SP leaders came to
know about it, they
reached the college
and protested. Col-
lege Principal Ajay
Singh said that the
tablets were distrib-
uted following an
order of the ADM.
Fatima Khan
Imran Masood

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
CONG CANDIDATE KARISHMA THAKUR
SLAMS BJP FOR APATHY DURING COVID
SP WRITES AGAIN TO EC URGING
TRANSFER OF IG, LUCKNOW RANGE
Kanpur: Govind Nagar seat’s candidate Karishma
Thakur of Congress on Monday held a PR campaign
in Fazalganj along with her supporters. Thakur and
her supporters interacted with the people residing in
colonies and settlements in the area. In her address
she levelled allegations at the BJP MLA by saying
that they have cheated the public by making false
promises and when Covid stuck, these MLAs who are
representatives of the public had switched off their
phones and were sitting idly at homes.
Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Monday urged the
Election Commission to transfer IG, Lucknow Range,
Laxmi Singh for allegedly forcing people to vote for her
husband contesting the UP polls on a BJP ticket. In a
letter sent to the poll panel by SP state president Nar-
esh Uttam Patel, he said the police official was affect-
ing the polls by asking people to vote for her husband,
Rajeshwar Singh, and that she should be transferred to
some other district. Singh, former jt director of ED, is
contesting from Lucknow’s Sarojini Nagar seat.
TWO WOMEN GET
LIFER, 5 AWARDED
10 YEARS IN JAIL
Muzaffarnagar: A
fast-track court here on
Monday sentenced two
women to life imprison-
ment and five others to
10 years of jail term in
a case of dowry killing.
Rizwan, Mehtab, Nau-
shad, Ehsaan, his wife
Tahira, Saira and Sanni
had burnt their sister-
in-law Gulista Begum
to death at Hussainpur
under Budhana police
station in 2013. While
judge Sumit Panwar
pronounced life term
for Saira and Sanni, the
others were awarded 10
years imprisonment.
MUKHTAR’S SON
FILES NOMINATION
FROM MAU SADAR
Mau: Jailed gangster-
turned-politician
Mukhtar Ansari’s son
Abbas Ansari filed his
nomination from Mau
Sadar as a candidate of
Suheldev Bhartiya Sa-
maj Party, an allay of SP.
As the administration
was creating hurdles
in filing my father’s
nomination papers, I
have filed the nomina-
tion today, Ansari told
reporters. He alleged the
senior Ansari had been
unconstitutionally kept
in jail and that he will go
to the people and take
up their issues.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With cam-
paigning picking up on
round two of the sev-
en-phased UP assembly
elections on Monday
,
which coincided with
Valentines Day
, leaders
of political parties
wooed voters in their
own different way and
style.
CM Yogi Adityanath
appealed to the elector-
atetovotefortheBJPfor
a “riot-free” and “fear-
free” state and also to
make sure that UP con-
tinued its journey on the
path of development.
The UP CM’s princi-
pal challenger and Sam-
ajwadi Party (SP) presi-
dent Akhilesh Yadav
sought to remind the
electorate about the po-
lice brutality when
youths were protesting
in Prayagraj against al-
leged irregularities in
Railways recruitment
test a few days back.
“Remember the lathi
whilevoting....whenyou
(voters) were seeking
jobs, the Adityanath
government was caning
you....vote to get rid of
the lathiraj, unemploy-
ment, police rule, rising
prices and corruption,”
AkhileshsaidinaTweet
hours before the polling.
Akhilesh’s alliance
partner and Rashtriya
Lok Dal (RLD) chief
Jayant Chaudhary ap-
pealed to the electorate
to “vote for love, broth-
erhood and develop-
ment”.
BSP supremo May-
awati asked the elector-
ate to ‘protect’ their
votes just as they pro-
tected their “life, prop-
erty and reputation”.
“BSP will always be
with you in this endeav-
our,” she said.
Congress general sec-
retary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra appealed to the
electorate to vote for
“love and progress”.
“Cast your vote for a
newkindof politics...for
the issues concerning
the people,” she said.
It would be known
only on March ten (the
day of counting) whose
appeal the voters had
followed.
Leaders bat different strokes on UP’s poll pitch on V-Day
IN FULL FORM

Akhilesh
reminded people
of police brutality
when youths
protested in
Prayagraj against
irregularities in
rly recruitment
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigning
in Kalpi and Hamirpur on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
NarendraModiexudesconfidenceYogigovtwillbebackinpowerwiththumpingvictory
First India Bureau
Akbarpur (Kanpur
Dehat): The Yogi Gov-
ernment is coming back
in UP with great fanfare
(Jor shor ke saath, gaje
baje ke saath), said PM
Narendra Modi during
an election rally held
here on Monday
.
PM Modi added: “Peo-
ple have overwhelming-
ly voted for the BJP irre-
spective of caste and
community while wom-
en are carrying BJP’s
victory flag in 2022. Mus-
limwomenarealsocom-
ingoutquietlytovotefor
us in large numbers be-
cause they know that
only those who stand
with you in your bad
times are your real
well-wishers and by
abolishing the triple ta-
laq system, we have
proved that we stand
with them on this medi-
eval practice.”
Modi said people were
votingfortheBJPforthe
safety and security of
women. He said the op-
position parties were
defeatedin2014,2017and
2019 and they would bite
dust in the 2022 elections
as well. “This year peo-
ple will start celebrating
HolifromMarch10itself
withthevictoryof BJP
.”
“Previous govern-
ments looted people and
left them at the mercy of
mafias and gangsters.
They even looted the ra-
tion meant for poor by
issuing fake ration
cards. These dynasts
used to divide areas
among family members
to carry out the loot.
When Yogiji took over,
he cracked down on the
land and ration mafias
as well as all criminals
and gangsters. The dou-
ble engine government
cancelled those fake ra-
tion cards and ensured
that ration reached the
deserving people,” he
pointed out, urging peo-
ple to not to allow par-
ties like SP to give ma-
fias and rioters a fresh
lease of life.
The PM said welfare
and empowerment of
thepoorwastoppriority
of the BJP
. “The double
engine government has
built 34 lakh houses for
thepoorof which13lakh
havebeenhandedoverto
Dalits. The government
has also started several
schemes to protect the
honour of women and
for their empowerment
through Mudra Scheme,
SHGs, Har Ghar Nal Yo-
jana as well as by build-
ing toilets,” he said.
The PM also said the
government had taken a
numberof initiativesfor
theupliftof farmerslike
PM Kisan Samman
Nidhi.
PM Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting atAkbarpur in Kanpur Dehat on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
BJP COMPLAINS OF FAKE
VOTING BY VEILED WOMEN
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh branch of
Bhartiya Janata Par-
ty have on Monday
have written to the
Chief Election Com-
missioner of Uttar
Pradesh complaining
of careless checking
of identity of women
wearing veiled
clothes during the as-
sembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh result-
ing in fake votes.
The party in the
letter requested the
Election Commission
to instruct the lady
police officers sta-
tioned at every poll-
ing booth to validate
the identity of the
women in veils and
have alleged that this
lapse in the verifica-
tion of identification
of veiled women vot-
ers have resulted in
fake votes in the
on-going elections.
The letter signed
by JPS Rathore, State
General Secretary of
BJP, Uttar Pradesh
has requested the
Election Commission
to first ensure the
identity of the voters
thoroughly before let-
ting them poll their
votes so that a clean
and fair elections are
held across the state.
Bajrang Dal workers
play moral police on
V-day, hound lovers
First India Bureau
Agra: In the city of
love, Valentine’s Day
was lost to the enemies
of love.Workers of Ba-
jrang Dal and Hindu
Mahasabha were seen
walking on the streets
carrying hockey sticks.
Somewhere those peo-
ple committed indecen-
cy with the lovers who
came to visit the park,
then the situation
reached till the fight.
Not only this, Hindu
groups and Bajrang Dal
activists intimidated
the boys and girls and if
they did not listen to
them, they would send
them to jail.
In Bal Vihar, Bajrang
Dal workers first as-
saulted a girl and the
girls present with Ba-
jrang Dal also searched
for her bag. When a man
objected to the indecen-
cy with the girl, the peo-
ple of Bajrang Dal start-
ed quarreling with him.
Not only this, videos
of girls and boys have
also been made and
posted on social media.
During this the police
also remained absent.
On Valentine’s Day,
the officials of Rashtri-
ya Bajrang Dal and
Akhil Bharat Hindu
Mahasabha had already
announced that whoev-
er is seen doing obscen-
ity in the parks, his face
will be blackened and
circumambulated by
making him seated on a
donkey
.
Activists of Akhil
Bharat Hindu Ma-
hasabha also burnt an
effigy of Valentines at
Diwani Crossroads.
Cong’sTiwaricelebrateslovewitholdiesonV-Day
Lucknow: On Valen-
tine’s Day
, Congress can-
didate from Lucknow
East Manoj Tiwari of-
fered roses and choco-
lates to senior citizens
and promised to take
care of them.
“Valentine’s Day sym-
bolises love and this is
the best occasion to
reach out to the elderly
,
who always guide us,”
Tiwari, a former presi-
dent of LU students’
union,saidafterhisvisit
toanoldagehomeinMa-
hanagar on Monday
.
“Byofferingourelder-
ly roses and chocolates, I
sought their blessings
and assured them all
possible care they need.
I told them that irrespec-
tive of my victory or de-
feat, I will be there for
them,” Tiwari said.
“A lot of senior citi-
zens reside in this con-
stituency
.Thereisaneed
to talk to them and un-
derstand their prob-
lems,” Tiwari said. He
assured them better
health facilities and sep-
arate parks if elected.
Tiwari also cam-
paignedinChhotaChan-
dganj, Ghosiana and
Nishatganjandapprised
thepeopleof thepromis-
esmadebytheparty
.PTI
DEMOCRACY... BY THE PEOPLE
(Clockwise from left) People lined up to cast their vote at a polling booth in Bareilly on Monday. A girl escorts an elderly woman to a polling booth. A woman with a baby in her lap waiting for her turn
to cast vote. An old woman showing her voters’ ID card after voting at a booth. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
Effigy of Valentine being burnt
Manoj Tiwari presenting a rose to a lady at an old age home in
Lucknow on Monday.
Muslim women after casting their vote on Monday.
MAKE VIDEO
MUSLIMWOMENQUIETLYVOTINGFOR
US IN LARGE NUMBERS, SAYS PM

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 95
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through the
efforts of his own mind; or
draw himself down, in the same
manner. Because each person is
his own friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Heartfelt tribute to the brave jawans
of @crpfindia who upheld the
sovereignty of the country by making
their supreme sacrifice in the cowardly
terrorist attack of Pulwama. The
nation will always be indebted to your
sacrifice. Your bravery will continue to
inspire us to root out terrorism.
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Tributes to the country’s beloved
leader, gentle and simple natured,
known as a dynamic orator, Padma
Vibhushan respected Sushma Swaraj ji
on her birth anniversary. Her intimacy
with the workers and her immense life
dedicated to public interest has been
innumerable inspirations for all of us.
TOP TWEETS
HIGH PENDENCY
OF CASES AND
OVERCROWDED
JAILS IN COUNTRY
he India Justice Re-
port 2020 has stated
that the number of
pending cases in dis-
trict courts is an area
of major concern. Quoting the
National Judicial Data Grid
numbers, the report said that
there were 35.34 million cases
pending in district courts across
the country. Another 4.74 mil-
lion cases were pending in the
high courts. The pandemic was
one of the contributing factors
in the large pendency
.
Overcrowding of prisons is
another area of concern with
undertrials constituting three-
fourths of those in prisons.
Compared to 2019, there was
also a steep fall of 2.6 lakh in the
number of undertrials released
on bail adding to the number of
undertrials languishing in jail.
Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Odisha,
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
saw an increase in their prison
population in 2020.
This has a direct link with the
pendency of cases and the ten-
dency of courts to deny bail for
minor offences.
T
nline games
played with real
money have been
a controversial is-
sue in the country
.
Several states have declared
online gaming a vice and
banned them. Dubbed gam-
bling because of real money
involved, it was banned in the
states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, Assam and
Odisha. It was costly push-
back for the burgeoning gam-
ing industry, which includes
gaming platforms like Dream
11, owned by Dream Sports
and Virat Kohli-owned Mo-
bile Premier League. Both the
gaming platforms are valued
at billions of dollars and the
ban came as a shocker.
Karnataka amended its Po-
lice Act to ban all forms of
betting and made online gam-
ing to include “any act of
risking money, or otherwise
on the unknown result of an
event including on a game of
skill”. Online gaming was
made a non-bailable offense
and the police were allowed to
arrest without warrant. The
law was challenged by the All-
India Gaming Federation.
The Karnataka High
Court’s order striking down
provisions of the Karnataka
Police (Amendment) Act
which proscribe and “crimi-
nalise betting on and playing
games of skill, including on-
line games”. While striking
down “only the offending”
provisions, the court allowed
the government to bring in a
new law which is in conform-
ity with the constitutional
provisions against gambling.
Similar amendments
passed by Tamil Nadu and
Kerala to ban online gaming
platforms were quashed by
the respective high courts of
the two states. Last year the
Supreme Court had ruled
that the Dream11 fantasy
sports format was a game of
skill. Gambling being a state
subject, governments ought
to take a broad-minded view
on the subject.
GAMING INDUSTRY
GETS A FRESH LEASE
Online gaming was made a
non-bailable offense and
the police were allowed to
arrest without warrant. The law
was challenged by the All-
India Gaming Federation
O
ndia took a balanced stance at
the UN Security Council on
January 2022, when the
Ukraine Crisis discussion
was put to vote. India ab-
stained from voting in UNSC
demonstrating a balanced po-
sition. That reflects India’s
predicament in the current
East European standoff. In
2014, Russia got away with the
annexation of Crimea. But if
Moscow again takes military
action against Ukraine, it will
significantly complicate In-
dia’s foreign policy narrative.
India has been balancing its
equation with US and Russia
quite well but a conflict be-
tween two of its allies is likely
to hit India adversely
. Whoso-
everwins,Indialosesafriend.
GENESIS OF CONFLICT
Russia and Ukraine share a
centuries-old political, cultur-
al and linguistic history
, and
there are innumerable famil-
ial links, too. Before the USSR
broke apart, Ukraine was sec-
ond only to Russia politically
,
economically
, and culturally
.
Ukraine was an industrial
hub and millions of Russians
havefamilymemberslivingin
Ukraine, and vice-versa. It’s
somewhat similar to the Indo-
Pak relationship.
The genesis of the present
crisis has a historical angle
with relevance to the present.
Afterthecollapseof theUSSR,
Russia feels that Ukraine is
their natural ally due to its
friendlypastandculturalties.
Russia would always prefer a
neutral Eastern Europe
neighbourasabufferstatebut
geopolitics provides strange
combos. In 2014, Russia seized
Crimea, an important port re-
gioninUkraine.Ukrainethen
turned to NATO for help
against Russian aggression
and they were more than will-
ing to help.
Ukrainians, like an es-
tranged relative, feel their
sovereignty is threatened by
Russia’s claims of a shared
identity. The popular senti-
ment is that Russia is using
emotional appeal to misap-
propriate the heritage of
Ukraine. They have not for-
given Russia for the annexa-
tion of Crimea by force. The
present generation dislikes
Russia and now they have
found an ally in NATO.
The US, EU and key mem-
bers of NATO view Ukraine
as a buffer between Russia
and the western world. They
fear that if Moscow gets the
upper hand in Ukraine, it
will expand its hold over the
rest of Eastern Europe.
EMERGING
WORLD ORDER
US won the Cold War and be-
came the only superpower in
the world. In the last decade,
the dynamic world order has
changed, making China the
principal challenger to
American supremacy, rather
than Russia. Russia has been
essentially trying to project
itself as a regional power in
the new international order.
The existing NATO members
are keen on making inroads
intoEastEuropeandUkraine
is falling into the plan. Po-
tential Russian military ac-
tion against Ukraine and
western backlash would
mean that Moscow will need
Beijing’s diplomatic and mil-
itary support, even more.
Washington and Moscow
recognize that India is now an
indispensable global ally
. In-
dia will officially become the
world’s fifth-largest economy
this year, overtaking Britain.
India will also become an $8.4
trillioneconomyby2030,com-
ing close to China. Mean-
while, India’s rapid develop-
ment of military might with
battle-hardened fourth-larg-
est Army, blue water Navy,
strategic airpower, hyperson-
ic missiles and strong nuclear
deterrence make the country
relatively immune to extra-
territorial threats. This will
enable India to play a pivotal
role in world diplomacy
. India
and Russia will inevitably
emerge as the new powers in
the emerging multipolar
world, rubbing shoulders
with USA and China.
INDIA’S
DHARAM-SANKAT
Indian Govt had maintained
strong ties with USSR. After
collapse of the USSR, Indo-
Russian relations also wit-
nessed a new era of warmth.
It’s a mutually beneficial re-
lationship. However, India is
a traditional defender of na-
tional sovereignty. Russian
military action in Ukraine
would go against respect for
territorial integrity and sov-
ereignty that Delhi frequent-
ly advocates.
Incidentally, India’s rela-
tions with USA and Europe
started witnessing a rapid
improvement during the
post-cold war period. A Rus-
sia-Ukraine crisis could also
impede India’s move to deep-
en security and economic
ties with European partners.
A crisis next door could re-
duce NATO’s increased focus
on Asia and decide to im-
prove relations with China,
rather than act against its
hegemonic actions.
Moscow also slowly culti-
vated closer ties with China,
post-cold war era. Russia will
notbeabletofacethemightof
NATO including USA alone
and may naturally lean to-
wards China for diplomatic
and military support. Beyond
the strategic challenge that a
close Sino-Russian partner-
shipposesforIndia,aMoscow
that is more beholden to Bei-
jing would be particularly
problematic for India. If Bei-
jing will support Russia in the
Ukraine standoff/conflict
againsttheWest,itwillexpect
Russia for reciprocal favour
when it has a conflict with In-
dia which indebted Russia
will not be able to refuse.
CONCLUSION
India should play an active
role to diffuse the tensions, in
its own interest and as expect-
ed from it, by the world. For
the geopolitics of the world,
in general, and India, in par-
ticular, it makes sense if Rus-
sia remains a node of global
power, balancing the US and
China. Russia going into the
lap of China to counter NATO
has inherent dangers. China
has often displayed its own
hegemonic designs on other
countries, very clearly
. India’s
national interest lies in a
multipolar world, in which
India itself becomes an im-
portant pole of global power.
Russia- Ukraine conflict
would adversely affect the In-
dian interests, irrespective of
the outcome of the war.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
UKRAINE CRISIS AND
INDIA’S DHARAM-SANKAT
I
India should play an active
role to diffuse the tensions,
in its own interest and as
expected from it, by the
world. For the geopolitics of
the world, in general, and
India, in particular, it
makes sense if Russia
remains a node of global
power, balancing the US
and China. Russia going
into the lap of China to
counter NATO has inherent
dangers. China has often
displayed its own
hegemonic designs on other
countries, very clearly.
India’s national interest
lies in a multipolar world,
in which India itself
becomes an important pole
of global power. Russia-
Ukraine conflict would
adversely affect the Indian
interests, irrespective of the
outcome of the war
Indian Govt had maintained strong ties with USSR. After
collapse of the USSR, Indo-Russian relations also witnessed a
new era of warmth. It’s a mutually beneficial
relationship. However, India is a traditional defender of
national sovereignty. Russian military action in Ukraine
would go against respect for territorial integrity and
sovereignty that Delhi frequently advocates
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited
with MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt)
and M Phil (International Strategic Affairs)

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INDIA
05
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party is the
first party, which,
against the spirit and
rules of the democratic
system of India, for the
first time started con-
testing elections by de-
claring candidates for
the post of Prime Min-
ister and Chief Minis-
ter. Under its pressure,
other parties, especial-
ly the Congress, also
started declaring con-
tenders. But this time
BJP is fighting in the
assembly elections of
five states without de-
claring any face. In Ut-
tar Pradesh, of course,
the face of Yogi Adity-
anath is being shown
and votes are being
sought on the function-
ing of his government,
but what will happen
after the elections,
there is a doubt about
it. There is also a lot of
speculation about the
importance being giv-
en to Keshav Prasad
Maurya and Baby Rani
Maurya.
Apart from Uttar
Pradesh, the BJP has
not put forward any
face in the remaining
four states. That’s
when Goa Chief Minis-
ter Pramod Sawant had
to say that the party is
contesting the elec-
tions under his leader-
ship and the people of
the state should believe
that the party will
make him the Chief
Minister after the elec-
tions. However, no sen-
ior leader of the party
has said that if BJP
wins the election,
Pramod Sawant will be
the CM.
Similarly, Uttara-
khand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
himself is saying that
there is talk about him
that he got less time.
But it is not being said
from the party that he
has been given less
time as CM and if the
party wins then he will
get full tenure. There
too, there are no right-
eous faces. In Punjab,
the BJP had once said
that it would make a
Dalit chief minister.
This time the saffron
party is also contesting
former Union Minister
Vijay Singh Sampla
but his name has not
been declared. In Ma-
nipur, N Biren Singh is
the Chief Minister, but
even there, the votes
are not being demand-
ed to make him the
Chief Minister again.
In a bizzare move, BJP contesting elections
without ‘formal’ face in poll-bound States!
PUNJAB CM CHANNI’S CHOPPER GROUNDED DUE TO MOVEMENT OF PM MODI
HAD CLEARANCE TO FLY, WHY
WAS I SUDDENLY STOPPED: CM
‘No-fly zone’ was enforced
because of the PM’s visit
Channi calls it electoral tactic
Chandigarh: On Mon-
day, Punjab Chief Min-
ister Charanjit Singh
Channi’s helicopter
was not permitted to
take off from Chandi-
garh’s Rajendra Park
as a ‘no-fly zone’ had
been imposed due to
the movement of Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi.
While Punjab CM
Channi had to go to
Hoshiarpur to partici-
pate in Congress lead-
er Rahul Gandhi’s poll
rally, BJP leader Nar-
endra Modi had to be
in Jalandhar in Pun-
jab to make an address
ahead of the Assembly
election.
Speaking to media
on the incident, CM
Channi said, “I had the
clearance to take off
from here at 11 am and
land in Hoshiarpur.
But when I went and
sat in my helicopter,
they said you cannot
fly. They kept telling
me wait for a while.
Now, I have been wait-
ing for 2.5 hours and
still they have not al-
lowed us. This is
wrong.”
He added, “It is clear
that it is an electoral
tactic. Had they told
me last night, I
would’ve reached Ho-
shiarpur by car by now.
But even this morning,
they kept asking me to
wait. Till now, the per-
mission has not come
through.”
CM Channi said,
“The Prime Minister
was visiting, that’s
okay. Let his chopper
land, but allow mine
too. Why was my heli-
copter stopped sudden-
ly? We had the permis-
sions. I had to speak at
Rahul Gandhi’s rally.”
He added that he had
to make another ad-
dress elsewhere in
Punjab on Monday and
was not being given
clearance for that ei-
ther. “No problem, I’ll
speak through video
conferencing. People
know me and listen to
me. But this is not
right,” he said.
Jalandhar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday at-
tacked the Congress
and Rahul Gandhi
over a 2014 incident
when he said his heli-
copter was held up in
Punjab because “Yu-
vraj (prince)” was fly-
ing to Amritsar.
PM Modi said he
had gone to Punjab to
campaign for the 2014
nationalelection,after
beingnamedtheBJP’s
presumptive Prime
Minister, when the in-
cident took place.
“My name was an-
nounced for PM candi-
date. I had to visit
Pathankot and
Himachal to cam-
paign.Butmychopper
was not allowed to fly
because their yuvraj
(prince) was also in
Amritsar. So the Con-
gresshasahabitof not
allowing the opposi-
tion to work,” PM
Modi said at a rally in
Jalandhar ahead of
Sunday’s election in
Punjab.
The PM’s taunt was
significant on a day
PunjabChief Minister
CharanjitSinghChan-
ni’s helicopter was not
allowed to take off
fromChandigarh’sRa-
jendra Park, reported-
ly as a “no-fly zone”
had been enforced due
to the Prime Minis-
ter’s visit.
The Chief Minister
was flying to Punjab’s
Hoshiarpur for Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi’s poll rally
. Ra-
hul Gandhi’s chopper
was, however, allowed
to land in Hoshiarpur.
The Prime Minister
also accused the Con-
gress of “humiliating
Captain Amarinder
Singh” after trying to
obstruct his govern-
ment and run it by re-
mote control. —PTI
Mahesh Kumar
Sahnewal (Ludhi-
ana): Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) senior
leader and Deputy
Chief Minister of
Delhi Manish Siso-
dia campaigned in
favour of the par-
ty’s candidate Har-
deep Singh Mundi-
an from the Sah-
newal assembly
constituency. Siso-
dia appealed to the
people to help the
Aam Aadmi Party
form government
by casting their
votes for party can-
didate Hardeep
Singh Mundian.
Sisodia, on Mon-
day, fiercely target-
ed the Opposition
parties and said
that Akali Dal and
Congress leaders
are trying to buy
votes of people by
distributing money
.
1
2
They kept telling me wait for a while.
Now, I have been waiting for 2.5 hours
and still they have not allowed us. This
is wrong. It is clear that it is an electoral tactic.
Had they told me last night, I would’ve reached
Hoshiarpur by car by now.
—Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab CM
My chopper held up
by Yuvraj in 2014:
PM’s swipe at Rahul
PM Narendra Modi at a poll rally in Jalandhar on Monday.
Sharat K Verma
Lucknow: The Bharati-
ya Janata Party has re-
leased a huge list of star
campaigners for all the
election states like Ut-
tar Pradesh, Uttara-
khand, Punjab etc but
the party leaders see a
shortcoming, which
has been complained of
by many candidates.
They say that the BJP
has a shortage of star
campaigners this time.
Star campaigners
means film stars or
cricket stars or celebri-
ties from other fields
are not in the BJP cam-
paigners list. Apart
from star campaigners,
celebrities indepen-
dently are also not seen
in the campaign.
BJP definitely has
leaders like Hema Ma-
lini and Sunny Deol,
who are also MPs but
they are not going any-
where in the campaign.
Last year, when the
farmers’ movement was
going on, these two
leaders did not take a
stand in favor of the
farmers. That is why de-
spite the anger of the
Jats, the BJP is not
sending these two lead-
ers to the Jat dominated
areas. No Jat candidate
is even calling them for
campaigning. They are
not being called in other
areas except Jat areas.
The BJP had a perma-
nent star campaigner,
Shatrughan Sinha, who
has left the party and
due to his departure, the
BJP has lost two stars –
Shatrughan Sinha and
Sonakshi Sinha. Crick-
eter Kirti Azad left the
party and went to Con-
gress and then to Trina-
mool Congress, and
then Chetan Chauhan
has passed away
.
BJP lacks star campaigners
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath took a swipe
at Congress leaders
Rahul Gandhi and
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Monday
— amid voting for
the second phase of
polls — declaring
that brother-sister
duo “are enough”
to bring down their
party and that the
GOP “should be
left to its fate”. “I
went to Uttarakhand
(to campaign for
today’s single-phase
poll) and said... No
one else needs to
work on ending
Congress... both
siblings will do
that themselves. I
appealed to people...
don’t make Con-
gress a burden on
the people of Uttara-
khand,” Adityanath
told media. Earlier,
while campaigning
in Uttarakhand’s
Pauri Garhwal, he
had said: “Where
there is little exist-
ence brother and
sister are enough
to push it down.
So it should be left
to its fate.” —PTI
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday tar-
geted Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi over unem-
ployment, saying he does
not talk about it and black
money in his election
speeches. Addressing a
poll rally, Gandhi targeted
the Narendra Modi-led
government over demon-
etisation and goods and
services tax, alleging that
only two-three billionaires
benefited from them.
Both siblings
will end
Congress;
don’t bother:
Yogi’s dig
CONG LEADER
RAHUL ATTACKS
MODI GOVT OVER
UNEMPLOYMENT
Patiala: Two-time Chief
Minister Punjab Lok
Congress supremo Ama-
rinder Singh feels that no
single party is going to get
a clear majority in the as-
sembly polls, and asserts
that his party’s alliance
with the BJP and SAD
(Sanyukt) is on the rise.
The 79-year-old scion of
the royal family of Patiala
and former Congress state
unit chief floated his own
party after resigning as
CM of Punjab last year.
Asserting that he is neither
retired nor tired, Singh
says the urge to make
Punjab and the country
a better place keeps him
going at this age.
Don’t see any
party getting
clear majority
in Punjab: Capt
Cong, Akalis
giving money
to people for
votes: Sisodia
Dehradun: Aam Aad-
mi Party (AAP) candi-
date SS Kaler on Mon-
day accused Uttara-
khand chief minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
and his wife of violating
the model code of con-
duct by visiting polling
booths wearing scarves
with the ruling Bharati-
ya Janata Party’s (BJP)
symbol and campaign-
ing by moving in a cav-
alcade of over a dozen
vehicles from one booth
to another.
Kaler, who is contest-
ing against Dhami
from Khatima, said the
couple’s violation of
the code was clear from
the photos that the BJP
shared on social media.
“I will again file a
complaint with the re-
turning officer... elec-
tion norms forbid
wearing of party sym-
bols or displaying prop-
aganda material near
polling booths. How
can he move in a caval-
cade of over a dozen
vehicles and campaign
from booth to booth?
On Sunday also, I filed
a complaint against
Dhami for campaign-
ing in the area and dis-
tributing money among
the voters.” —Agencies
U’khand CM Dhami accused of
violating model code of conduct
SCARVES WITH BJP SYMBOL
The CM and his wife could be seen openly donning BJP scarves
and badges in a photo shared online.
Rahul, Sonia Gandhi among 30 star
campaigners for Congress in Manipur
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gan-
dhi, former chief Ra-
hul Gandhi and Jairam
Ramesh are among the
30 star campaigners
for the Manipur as-
sembly elections, ac-
cording to the list re-
leased by the party on
Monday.
The two-phased
assembly election in
Manipur will be held
on February 28 and
March 5.
Though Sonia Gan-
dhi is also the party’s
star campaigner for
other states, where
polls are being held,
neither she nor former
Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh have ac-
tively campaigned any-
where so far.
The list of star cam-
paigners also include
names of former Ma-
nipur Chief Minister
Okram Ibobi Singh,
former Deputy Chief
Minister Gaikhangam,
youth leader Kanhaiya
Kumar, party’s minor-
ity department chief
Imran Pratapgarhi
and Mahila Congress
chief Metta D’Souza.
The Congress along
with five other ‘like-
minded’ parties
launched the Manipur
Progressive Secular
Alliance last week to
take on the ruling BJP
in the upcoming as-
sembly polls. —PTI
UP BJP MLA DEFENDS ‘MUSLIMS WILL WEAR TILAK’ REMARK
Lucknow: A BJP MLA in Uttar
Pradesh on Monday defended his
hate speech, littered with anti-
Muslim slur, that has gone viral in
the middle of elections. In a video,
Raghvendra Singh was heard saying
that if he was re-elected, Muslims
would switch from skull caps to
“tilak”. Facing a backlash over his
outrageous comments, the MLA
from Domariyaganj in eastern UP
said today he had meant it as a
“conditional speech” to counter what
he called “Islamic terrorism”. “When
there were Islamic terrorists here,
Hindus were forced to wear gol topis
(skull caps). I said ‘conditional’. I am
ready to sacrifice anything for Hindu
pride. I meant that if Muslims are
trying everything they can to defeat
me, I will not stay silent,” Raghven-
dra Singh said in a video.
Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi
Captain Amarinder Singh
Punjab Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Channi

INDIA
06
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to
hear the police plea against a probe by the Central
Bureau of Investigation in the suicide of a 17-year-
old school girl in Tamil
Nadu. But the court said
that the central agency
can continue probe
in the case where the
student was allegedly
coerced to convert to
Christianity. The teen
had died by suicide after consuming poison at her
home in Thanjavur on January 9 and died 10 days
later. In a video, the girl alleged that the hostel
warden had forced her to clean the hostel and do
maintenance work. The hostel warden has been
arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges
of abetting suicide.
Guwahati: Assam’s
Cacher district police
recovered 30,000
tablets of Yaba, a mix
of methamphetamine
and caffeine, and
apprehended three
persons from the
Bagpur area under the
Joypur police station.
Taking to Twitter,
Cachar police wrote
‘In a major overhaul,
30,000 YABA tablets
recovered and three
persons apprehended
by Joypur Police Sta-
tion. The war against
drugs continues and
will not stop short of
any stops.”
New Delhi: Amid grow-
ing tension between
the BJP-led Centre and
the DMK government
in Tamil Nadu, a phone
call from Union Home
Minister Amit Shah to
Kanimozhi more than
a month ago has now
become a topic of fierce
discussion, sources
said. Shah called DMK
MP M Kanimozhi to
wish her on her 54th
birthday on January 5.
IN MAJOR HAUL,
30K DRUG TABLETS
SEIZED IN ASSAM
SHAH’S B’DAY CALL
TO KANIMOZHI
RINGS LOUD BELLS
NATION PAYS TRIBUTE TOPULWAMA MARTYRS
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday paid
homage to the Central
Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) personnel who
lost their lives in a ter-
rorist attack in Pul-
wama in 2019, and
said their bravery and
sacrifice
motivate
every In-
dian to
work to-
wards a
strong and prosperous
country. In the attack
by Pak sponsored ter-
rorists in the south
Kashmir, 40 CRPF per-
sonnel made the su-
preme sacrifice.
PM tweeted, “I pay
homage to all those
martyred in Pulwama
on this day in 2019 and
recall their outstand-
ing service to our na-
tion. Their bravery
and supreme sacrifice
motivates every Indi-
an to work towards
a strong and
prosperous
country
.” —PTI
CRPF pays homage to
40 jawans killed in ’19
THIRD ANNIV OF
DEADLY ATTACK
Lethpora (JK): The
CRPF on Monday paid
floral tributes to its
personnel martyred in
the Pulwama terror at-
tack on this day three
years ago.
Additional Director
General (ADG), CRPF,
DS Chaudhary, led the
officers and jawans of
the paramilitary force
in paying their trib-
utes at the martyr’s
memorial here. ADG
Chaudhary and other
CRPF personnel laid
floral wreaths at the
memorial. —PTI
The security
forces elimi-
nated the
module be-
hind the Pulwama at-
tack within 100 hours of
the attack. After forces’
operations against JeM,
their ultras were so
scared of dying that no-
body wanted to take the
leadership role.
— Lt Gen
(Retd)
KJS
Dhillon
Jhansi (UP): Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Mon-
day said that the defence
corridor project in Uttar
Pradesh’s Jhansi will help
India “teach a lesson to Pa-
kistan”. Addressing a public
rally in Mauranipur, Shah
said, “PM has
laid the founda-
tion stone for
the defence
project in
Jhansi.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi said
the sacrifice of jawans will
not go in vain. “We can
never forget the martyrs of
Pulwama. Their sacrifice and
that of their families will not
go in vain — we
will ensure
answers are
given. Jai
Hind,” Gan-
dhi tweeted
in Hindi. —PTI
Kochi: The Kerala High Court
allowed the State govern-
ment’s appeals and set aside
a single judge order defer-
ring a survey in connection
with the SilverLine project.
A bench of Chief Justice S
Manikumar and Justice Shaji
P Chaly set aside the single
judge’s order deferring the
survey till February 7. The
single judge, thereafter, had
further deferred the survey
till February 18. The single
judge’s orders had come on
several pleas, some of which
have opposed the survey be-
ing conducted and the others
were against the laying of
concrete poles. —PTI
New Delhi: The SC on
Monday issued a notice
on a petition challeng-
ing the Gujarat HC’s
order staying Section 5
of the Gujarat Freedom
of Religion (Amend-
ment) Act, 2021, which
mandated permission of
DMs for religious conver-
sion. A bench of Justices
Abdul Nazeer and Krishna
Murari, while hearing an
appeal filed by the state
govt, against staying Sec-
tion 5 of the Act issued
notice to Jamiat Ulama
E-Hind Gujarat and the
other on whose petition
HC order had come.
Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah, MP
from Srinagar, said that he has
been placed under house arrest
and has been disallowed from
visiting Jammu. “I was sched-
uled to visit Jammu today. This
morning, I was informed by
security officials that I cannot
step out of my house,” he said.
The ex-JK CM said that police
cited the anniversary of the
Pulwama terrorist attack for not
allowing his travel to Jammu.
SHAH: DEF PROJECT
IN JHANSI WILL HELP
CRPF personnel pay tribute to those who
were killed in the Pulwama terror attack, on
its third anniversary, at a memorial, Lethpora,
in Pulwama on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RAHUL: WILL ENSURE
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN
KERALA HC SETS
ASIDE ORDER
DEFERRING SURVEY
SC NOTICE ON PLEA
AGAINST RELIGIOUS
CONVERSION
FAROOQ STOPPED FROM
VISITING JAMMU
Manila: External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Monday
held “productive dis-
cussions” with his
Philippines counter-
part Teodoro L Locsin
during which they cov-
dealing with mutual
national security
.
Jaishankar's three-
day maiden visit to the
Philippines comes over
two weeks after the
Southeast Asian coun-
try signed a $375 million
deal with India to buy
three batteries of
BrahMos cruise missile.
“Held productive
discussions with FM @
teddyboylocsin of Phil-
ippines. We are enter-
ing a new phase of our
partnership. Its basis
is the mutuality of na-
tional security and de-
velopment aspirations.
Our conversation cov-
dealing with both,”
EAM tweeted. —PTI
EAM holds talks with Philippine counterpart
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Philippine counterpart
Teodoro L Locsin in Manila on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Finance
minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday
said the ABG Shipyard
account turned NPA
during the erstwhile
UPA regime and the
banks took lesser than
normal time to detect
the fraud perpetrated
by the shipping firm.
...in this particular
case with that kind of a
measurement,actually
,I
should say to the credit
to the banks, they've
takenlesserthanwhatis
normally an average
time to detect these
kinds of frauds, FM
said at a Press confer-
ence after addressing
the members of the RBI
board.Theministersaid
normally banks take 52-
56 months of time to de-
tect such cases and initi-
ate follow-up actions.
LoanstoABGturned
NPAspriorto2014:FM
Kolkata: Mamata Ba-
nerjee, after reaching
out to regional heavy-
weightsMKStalinandK
Chandrasekhara Rao,
reserved a grand snub
for the Congress as she
said no regional party is
on good terms with it
anditcangoitsownway
.
The Bengal Chief
Minister pinged her Ta-
mil Nadu and Telanga-
na counterparts and
discussed a meeting of
opposition Chief Minis-
ters to protect the
country's federal struc-
ture. She made it clear
today that the Congress
is not invited.
No regional party
shares good terms with
Congress. The Con-
gress party will go its
way, we will go our
way, Mamata Banerjee
told reporters.
—Agencies
Amid outreach to
MK Stalin, KCR,
Mamata’s snub
for Congress
New Delhi: As a virus-
weary world limps
through the third year
of the outbreak, experts
are sending out a warn-
ing signal, Don't expect
omicron to be the last
variant we have to con-
tend with — and don't
let your guard down yet.
In the midst of a vast
wave of milder infec-
tions, countries around
the world are dialing
back restrictions. Many
people are starting to
assume they've had
their run-in with Cov-
id-19 and that the pan-
demic is tailing off.
That's not necessarily
the case. —Agencies
Covid-19‘may never go away’,will
likely trigger new waves,say experts
Hyderabad: After the
Ram Janmabhoomi de-
bate was settled by the
Supreme Court in No-
vember 2019, a new con-
troversy has erupted -
this time over Hanu-
man Janmabhoomi.
This, however, is not
between two religions
but between two Hindu
trusts (one in Andhra
Pradeshandtheotherin
Karnataka) claiming
differentlocationsasthe
birthplace of Hanuman.
TheTTD,orTirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam,
in Andhra Pradesh has
planned a ceremony to
develop facilities at An-
janadri, a temple and
pilgrimage site in the
Tirumala Hills. —Agencies
Two religious bodies fight
over Hanuman’s birthplace
NOT PRESTIGE ISSUE: SC TO
TN ON SUICIDE PROBE BY CBI
ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES
EOS-04, TWO OTHER SATELLITES
INDIA, MALDIVES HOLD DIALOGUE TO
EXPAND DEFENCE COOPERATION
ASSAM LIFTS ALL
COVID CURBS
CASE AGAINST BIHAR BJP MLA FOR
ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPING WOMAN: COPS
New delhi: The Indian Space Research Organ-
isation (Isro) successfully launched its earth
observation satellite EOS-4 and two co-passenger
technology demonstrator and scientific satellites
at 5:59 am Monday from the first launch pad at
the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh. “After a flight of about 17 minutes 34
seconds three satellites namely EOS-04, INSPIRE-
sat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully.
New Delhi: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has held
very productive talks with the top military brass
of the Maldives to further bolster bilateral defence
and security cooperation amid concerns over
China's increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean.The
Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours
in the Indian Ocean Region and the bilateral defence
and security ties have been on an upward trajectory
in the last few years. Delighted to be in Maldives
for the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue. Had
very productive discussions. Deeply appreciate
warm hospitality of @cdfofmndf Maj Gen Abdulla
Shamaal, Kumar tweeted on Monday, a day after
the talks in Male. In November, India, the Maldives
and Sri Lanka held a two-day maritime operation.
New Delhi: Assam
to withdraw all
Covid-19 curbs in the
state from February
15, said CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma. Notifi-
cation in this regard
issued on Monday.
The curb that will be
lifted include manda-
tory testing facilities
at airports.
Patna: A case was filed against BJP MLA Vinay
Bihari in Patna for allegedly kidnapping a 25-year-
old woman, police said. The case was registered
at the Agam Kuan police station of the city based
on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother, they
said. “An FIR has been registered against the MLA
from Lauriya in West Champaran and two others
in connection with the kidnapping of a 25-year-old
woman,” said Bipin Bihari, the SHO. —PTI
New Delhi: Driven by rising prices certain food items,
retail inflation soared to a seven-month high of 6.01
per cent in January, breaching
the upper tolerance level of the
Reserve Bank. According to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data
released by the government, the
retail inflation in ‘oils and fats’
category stood at 18.7 per cent
Several other segments, including fuel and light,
clothing and footwear and transport and communica-
tion witnessed over 9 per cent price rise.
RETAIL INFLATION SPURTS TO SEVEN
MONTH HIGH OF 6.01% IN JANUARY
CRUCIAL READ
PM pays tribute to CRPF jawans
martyred in Pulwama terror attack
Imphal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
on Monday paid tributes to CRPF jawans
killed in the dastardly Pulwama terror
attack on this day three years ago. Singh
said that the Centre is ready to talk with the
militant outfits of the Northeastern region
to resolve their problems as the govern-
ment always wants to end the violence per-
manently. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
also had lunch at the residence of Kargil
War martyr Yumnam Kalleshor Kom, in
Imphal. Addressing an election meeting at
Langthabal Mandal in Imphal West district
of Manipur, the Defence Minister said
that the government is always prepared
to talk with the extremist outfits for a
lasting solution of the insurgency prob-
lem and to stop violence in Manipur and
other Northeastern states permanently.
RAJNATH PAYS TRIBUTE TO CRPF JAWANS,
SAYS OPEN TO TALK WITH MILITANTS OF NE
HIMANTA SLAMS KCR FOR
SEEKING PROOF ON STRIKE
New Delhi: The sparring between Telangana CM
K Chandrashekar Rao and his Assam counterpart
Himanta Biswa Sarma continued, with the Sarma
presenting “videographic evidence” of the surgical
strike. Rahul Gandhi’s comments, demanding
evidence of the surgical strike, had snowballed
as Rao came out in his support. Sarma posted a
video on Koo, captioned, “Dear KCR garu, here is
the videographic evidence of the surgical strike by
our brave Army. In spite of this you question the
valor of our forces and insult them. Why are you
so desperate to attack and malign our Army? New
India will not tolerate insults against our Army.”
IN THE COURTYARD
PM Narendra Modi

NEWS
07
UNDER BJP,
WOMEN CAN NOW
STEP OUT
WITHOUT FEAR:
SURESH AWASTHI
The political race is heating
up in Kanpur’s Arya Nagar
assembly seat due to vigorous
campaigning over the past few
days. The seat which has been
the traditional seat of BJP was
won by SP’s Amitabh Bajpayee
in 2017, which has resulted in
the BJP fielding senior leader
Suresh Awasthi. Suresh
Awasthi during an exclusive
conversation with First India
said that the opposition parties
have showered lakhs of populist
promises but the BJP in the last
5 years owing to the double
engine government has worked
hard towards changing the
direction of the state and the
country. He added that no one
has to pay goonda tax and the
law-and-order situation in the
state has improved so much that
women are able to step out of
their homes without fear. He
further added that the state
government has taken strong
decisions regarding public
interest and these decisions
have either locked the goons in
jails or made them run from the
state. Awasthi stated that the
people of the Arya Nagar
assembly seat have been
deprived of development due to
the incumbent MLA who has
tricked the people by promising
development but not fulfilling his
promises. —First India Burea
PRATIMA PAL
PROMISES LOAN
WAIVER TO
FARMERS
The Sirsaganj assembly seat of
Firozabad district has become
the hot topic ahead of the
assembly elections in the region
owing to an interesting battle on
the cards. Hari Om Yadav, the
incumbent MLA of Bharatiya
Janata Party, had a tough fight
already on his hands against his
opponent from SP, Sarvesh Yadav,
but now it is an even tougher fight
ahead with the entry of Pratima
Pal of the Congress who is
disrupting the plans of everyone.
Pratima Pal has been visiting
villages after villages amassing
huge support with the help of
fruitful public interactions and her
slogan ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti
Hoon’ strikes a chord among the
public. Pal has also promised that
loans of the farmers will be waived
and electricity bills are halved if
Congress is elected to power. The
performance of the Congress party
in the assembly elections may
cause a stir in the political
corridors of the state this time,
and has already resulted in much
closer battles in the assembly
elections. —First India Bureau
PEOPLE HAVE COOLED DOWN
YOGI’S ‘GARMI’, SAYS AKHILESH
Lucknow: Claiming
historic voting for the
SP-RLD candidates, Sa-
majwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav on
Monday said the people
have subdued the garmi
(haughtiness) of Chief
Minister Yogi Aditya-
nath in the first two
phases of the UP assem-
bly elections. Yadav
took on Adityanath say-
ing he used to claim
ahead of the elections
that khoon ki garmi
(haughtiness, enthusi-
asm) of the SP and RLD
leaders would be sub-
dued after the elections.
“After the first two
phases, the people have
pacified ‘garmi’ of
those who were talking
of curbing others’ en-
thusiasm (garmi nikal
denge) after the elec-
tions, Yadav said while
addressing an election
rally in the Bun-
delkhand region. “Now
after the third phase,
the people of Bun-
delkhand will make him
‘thanda’ (cool down),”
he said. he addressed
rallies in Jhansi,
Hamirpur and Mahoba.
“In the first phase, there
was historic voting in
favour of the SP-RLD
alliance candidates. The
same is the situation in
the second phase. The
BJP only betrayed the
people of Bundelkhand
while the SP is there for
them,” he said. Claim-
ing that the BJP is head-
ing toward defeat, Ya-
dav said it was evident
from the changing lan-
guage and the face of
Baba CM, who could not
sleep amid the immi-
nent defeat”.
Accusing the BJP
leaders of telling lies to
people, Yadav appealed
to the voters to vote for
the pre-poll SP-RLD alli-
ance candidates with-
out any discrimination
on grounds of caste and
religion. While address-
ing rallies, Yada prom-
ised jobs to youth saying
he would start recruit-
ment in government de-
partments soon after
forming the govern-
ment. He also promised
to undertake a caste
census in the state with-
in three months of
forming the govern-
ment, saying all the dis-
crimination done by the
BJP will be undone by
him by providing reser-
vation and due rights to
the people of all castes.
He said the BJP will
never undertake caste
census and only make
people fight. “The UP’s
assembly poll is a big
election. If UP is saved,
the country will be
saved, he said, accusing
the BJP government of
ignoring the develop-
ment of the Bun-
delkhand region and
leaving it lagging. He
repeatedly appealed to
the people to vote for the
SP-RLD candidates, say-
ing the BJP is a threat to
constitution, democra-
cy development. —PTI
YadavslamsAdityanathoverhis‘khoonkigarmi’remarksmadeaheadoftheelections
Crowd at the SP rally in Jhansi on Monday. Akhilesh Yadav in Mahoba on Monday.
Two villages in Shekhupur
Assembly seat boycott
polls over foul water supply
Badaun: People of
two villages— Narau
and Milaal Nangla—
in Shekhupur assem-
bly constituency in
UP’s Badaun district
on Monday said that
they have boycotted
the voting for the sec-
ond phase of the state
Assembly election
overcontaminatedwa-
ter supply
. Ujhani is
themunicipalboardin
Badaun district here.
Badaun Sub-Divi-
sional Magistrate
(SDM) BP Sharma
said, “Even before this
call by a few villagers,
we spoke to them. The
water comes from
Ujhani Municipality.
The villagers say that
the drinking water is
also completely con-
taminated. For this, a
plan has been chalked
out that has been pre-
pared by the munici-
pal council. We have
also spoken to the vil-
lagers that we are
making full efforts by
engaging higher offi-
cials from the govern-
ment level to solve
this problem.” “We
are trying that the vil-
lagers should exercise
their voting rights. Ef-
forts are still going on.
Although the voting
has been started, not
all the eligible people
have voted yet. We are
still trying for that,”
he said. The villagers
have said that they
will not vote until the
problem of contami-
nated water is re-
solved. They claimed
that many people have
died and many are suf-
fering from serious
diseases. —ANI
Narau villagers of the Shekhupur Assembly constituency
gather as they boycott voting for the UP assembly elections
in view of several deaths after drinking contaminated water,
in Budaun on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘DISEASE SPREAD IN THE VILLAGE’
CRIME ROUND-UP
CYBER-
CRIMINALS
ARE ON
PROWL IN
KANPUR
Kanpur: Fearless
cybercriminals
have challenged the
police department
by trapping several
including IT inspector.
It was reported that
Shambhu Dayal
Tewari, inspector IT
department lost Rs
4.50 lakh after clicking
to a message on his
mobile. He filed a
complaint about the
incident under the
IT act in Naubasta
police station. In
another case, Pandit
Vinodanand, a priest at
the temple in Govind
Nagar had accepted
the friend request of a
foreign girl on social
media who offered
him an expensive
gift and demanded
10,000 pounds as
courier charges.
He transferred Rs
1.57 lakh following
which the social
media account was
deactivated. Police is
is now investigating
the matters.
MURDER ACCUSED ESCAPES
FROM POLICE CUSTODY, HELD
Prayagraj: A murder accused who escaped from
police custody held after attacking a police constable
in Colvin hospital on Monday. Police sources said
that police constable Surendra Shukla reached
Colvin hospital with murder accused Satyam Yadav
after the accused complained of health issues.
Meanwhile, Sunil, an accomplice of Satyam, also
reached the hospital, and in an attempt to rescue
Satyam, they attacked constable Surendra. Both
criminals managed to flee from police custody after
attacking the constable but due to the vigilance of the
police department, both accused were arrested. Both
accused were arrested near the railway station within
a few hours of the incident.
MISCREANTS VANDALISE
DEITY IDOLS IN ALIGARH
Aligarh: Some miscreants vandalised deity idols
in a temple in the Madrak police station area in an
attempt to disturb social harmony. When devotees
reached the temple in the morning, they found
idols broken and several things scattered. People
started protesting against the police and demanded
stern actions against the miscreants who had the
audacity to damage temple assets. Senior police
officials rushed to the spot. Police brought new
idols and placed them in the temple. Police have
also interrogated several suspects and claimed that
culprits will be nabbed soon.
CHOOSEPROTECTOROF
NATION,NOTMLA:NADDA
First India Bureau
Lakhimpur Kheri:
JP Nadda, BJP Presi-
dent on Monday ad-
dressed a public meet-
ing in Lakhimpur Kheri
and connected with the
people by reminding
them of the Pulwama
attack and how the PM
Modi has shown that In-
dia can go to any extent
to protect people by con-
ductingsurgicalstrikes.
Nadda during the
speech described the
Modi government as the
protector of the nation
and appealed to choose
the protector of the
country and not the
MLA. The senior leader
also criticized the Akh-
ilesh Yadav-led Sama-
jwadi Party as the party
encourage mafia raj
while naming people
like Ateeq Ahmed
Mukhtar Ansari. He
added that SP MLAs are
either in jail or on bail
and those who opened
fire at the ‘kar sevaks’
are now are taking the
rounds of temples to
seek blessings.
POLL
YATRA
IN FIRST 2 PHASES OF POLLS
BJP candidate from
South Varanasi Assembly
constituency Dr. Neelkanth
Tiwari on his way to file
nomination for Assembly
elections, in Varanasi on
Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
FIR for posting objectionable
pic of Yogi on social media
Oppn should stop dreaming
of capturing power: Dy CM
Ghaziabad: An FIR has
been registered against
a municipal councillor
here for posting an ob-
jectionable picture of
Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath, police said on
Monday. As per police
complaint filed by the
residents of Pasonda
village here, Mustkeem
Chaudhary of Ward 66,
Ghaziabad Nagar Nig-
am, had allegedly post-
ed Adityanath’s picture
on social media in
which he was portrayed
as a bearded man wear-
ing a skull cap. An ob-
jectionable caption had
also been written along
with the picture, the
complaint stated. —PTI
First India Bureau
Firozabad: Deputy CM
Dr. Dinesh Sharma on
Monday addressed pub-
lic meetings in Shiko-
habad and Tundla Vid-
hanSabhasof Firozabad
district where he stated
that opposition should
stop dreaming of captur-
ing power, in the pres-
ence of nationalist patri-
ots, there will be no state
orcountrieslikeAfghan-
istan, Pakistan. He
said the state will see
suchagovernmentbeing
run which, along with
being nationalist will
take care of all its citi-
zens. Sharma said that
the message has been
clearly conveyed that
gun-wielding elements,
familyism, casteism,
communalism promot-
ing people will no more
have any say in the mat-
ters of the state. He add-
ed those who dream of
being intoxicated in the
power will be brought
down on March 10th.
Dy CM Dr Dinesh Sharma
JP Nadda, BJP President
Pratima Pal

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