15122022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

RESPITE ON CARDS FOR KIRIT, SON AS EOW
LOOKS TO CLOSE VIRAT DONATION CASE
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai: BJP leader
Kirit Somaiya has got
relief in the case relat-
ed to the donation scam
filed against him and
his son, Neil. The Bom-
bay High Court has
stayed his arrest for the
time being.
The EOW is prepar-
ing to give a major re-
lief in the alleged 57
crore fraud
case on BJP
leader and for-
mer MP Kirit
Somaiya. It is
reported that
the EOW is go-
ing to present
its report in
this matter, in which
Kirit Somaiya is going
to be cleared of all
charges and
the investiga-
tion file would
be closed.
N o t a b l y,
there is an al-
legation that
he raised
funds to save
INS Vikrant, but then
misused that fund. This
case has been regis-
tered on the complaint
of a 53-year-old ex-ser-
viceman.Thecomplain-
ant alleged that he gave
donations to Somaiya to
save the ship and the
former govt initiated
probe against Kirit and
his son for misusing
funds.
Mumbai: On Tuesday, the Mumbai police arrested one Narayan
Soni from Patna for issuing death threats to NCP President
Sharad Pawar. However, one day after the arrest, Mumbai police
spilled the beans as to why did the man issue death threats.
“Narayan Kumar Soni has been arrested from Bihar. He
called NCP president Sharad Pawar’s residence in Silver Oak
area yesterday (Tuesday) and threatened to kill him. He will be
produced in court. The accused is mentally unstable. He lived
in Pune for ten years, during which his wife
left him and married another man. After
this he approached Sharad Pawar and
requested him to mediate in the matter,”
officials said. According to the cops,
the accused confessed, “Sharad
Pawar did not make any effort to solve
his conundrum.” On this, Narayan
Soni got angry and started issuing
threats.
Mumbai: Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh
on Wednesday withdrew a defamation suit filed against TV
journalist Arnab Goswami and ARG Outlier Media which owns
Republic TV. Additional sessions judge V D Kedar allowed the
withdrawal but imposed a nominal cost of Rs 1,500 on Singh
which will be paid to Goswami. “It is not
in dispute that due to filing of the suit the
defendant has to engage an advocate.
I feel cost needs to be imposed for
withdrawal of the suit unconditionally,”
the judge said. Singh had filed a
defamation suit in 2021 against
Goswami and the owners of
Republic TV seeking damages
of Rs 90,00,000 for
allegedly defaming him.
MAHARASHTRA - KARNATAKA BORDER ROW
Shahi 'firman' subdues 'land wars' in neighbouring states!
Kartikey Dev Singh
New Delhi: With the
crescendo around the
border row between Ma-
harashtra and Karna-
taka rising to a new
high, Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah, on
Wednesday evening,
‘brokered’ peace be-
tween the two neigh-
bouring states as he
chaired a meeting with
Chief Minister of Ma-
harashtra and Karna-
taka - Eknath Shinde
and Basavaraj Bommai
respectively - in New
Delhi. During the meet-
ing, Maharashtra depu-
ty CM Devendra Fad-
navis and Karnataka
Home Minister Araga
Jnanendra were also
present.
Shah has strictly told
the leaders that no state
will make claim to an-
other’s territory untill
the time the Supreme
Court makes a decision
on the issue. Notably,
Shah has also dictated
to the leaders that “Both
states have agreed to
form a committee head-
ed by one senior IPS of-
ficer regarding this mat-
ter so that constitution-
al norms are followed
and law and order is
maintained in both
states so that outsiders
and locals don’t face any
problem.”
It has been learnt that
Shah clearly told the
leaders that six minis-
ters, three from each
state,willsitanddiscuss
the various issues that
are present between the
neighbouring states.
Moreover the Union
Home Minister also
commented on the role
of the opposition par-
ties in both the states
and claimed that the so-
cial media played ama-
jor role in stoking emo-
tions. “Some fake Twit-
ter (handles) mention-
ing top leaders were
spread… and this issue
is very serious… It has
been decided that wher-
ever these cases have
come out, FIR will be
registered and those
who have done it will be
exposed in front of the
public,” he said.
He also appealed to
the opposition parties
not to make the matter
into a political issue,
‘for the welfare of peo-
ple of both the state’.
Amit Shah holds meeting with Maha CM Shinde, Dy CM Fadnavis, K'taka CM Bommai and K'taka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, directs them to wait till SC makes its decision
After K'taka, dispute may escalate
BETWEEN MAHA AND TELANGANA
Mumbai: After the Maha-
rashtra-Karnataka border
row, a Maharashtra-Telan-
gana border dispute may
escalate as 14 villages of
Chandrapur district in the
western state bordering the
Telugu one, have expressed
interest to join the latter
alleging continuous neglect
and lack of development by
the former.
Although, all these 14
villages--geographically lo-
cated in remote Jivati tehsil
of Chandrapur dis-
trict -- are part of
Maharashtra; the
dependence of
these villages is
more on Telangana.
These 14 hamlets
have lagged behind
in development due
to the government’s
negligence and lack
of developmental
projects. The villages have
to struggle for basic facili-
ties like roads and water;
because of this, the local
people resent the Maha-
rashtra government.
The Telangana govern-
ment is providing facili-
ties like Gram Panchayat
building, school, water
tanks and other basic facili-
ties. The administration of
Telangana is constantly
reaching out to these peo-
ple, and villagers are taking
advantage of the social
welfare scheme of the
Telangana government.
All these 14 villages
figure in the voter’s list
of both the states and the
people there enjoy dual
identity, entitling them
to take benefits of all the
basic facilities including
political status from both
Telangana and Maharash-
tra.
NOW LAWYER RAISES DEMAND FOR
MARATHWADA
Mumbai: Advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, who is famous
for making various statements, has raked up the demand
for an independent Marathwada. He has also criticized MPs
Udayanraje Bhosale and Sanjay Raut. “Sanjay Raut opposes
independent Vidarbha and independent Marathwada. What
is Sanjay Raut doing in a drunken state while Home Minister
Amit Shah is holding a meeting on the border issue? How
much land does Udayanraj own? How much property tax
does he pay? I will unearth all this at the right time,” he said.
UHM Amit Shah with K’taka
CM Basavaraj Bommai, Maha
CM Eknath Shinde and dy CM
Devendra Fadnavis during
a meeting in New Delhi on
Wednesday —PHOTO BY PTI
“Pawar did nothing to bring back my wife” PARAM BIR WITHDRAWS DEFAMATION
SUIT AGAINST ARNAB GOSWAMI
MUMBAI lTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.MAHENG/2022/14652 lVol 1 l Issue No.218
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI
‘MESSI’AH
l Lionel Messi said FIFA
World Cup 2022 final will
be his last for Argentina
l Argentina captain, who
scored from a penalty and
played equally important in
the other two goals scored
by Julian Alvarez against
Croatia to take his country
to the FIFA WC 2022 final
l The 35-year-old cham-
pion is playing at his fifth
World Cup this year
l Messi will earn his
172nd cap as he tries to
bring the country its first
World Cup since 1986
l France meets Morocco
in the other semi-final later
on Wednesday
BSE SENSEX 62,677.91 144.61 | NSE NIFTY 18,660.30 52.30
I feel very happy to be able to
achieve this, to finish my World
Cup journey by playing my last
game in a final. —Lionel Messi
of MILLIONS!
Messi
confirms
retirement
PARLIAMENT WINTER SESSION
CHINABORDERCLASH
ISSUEECHOESINPARL
17 Opposition parties stage walkout from the
Rajya Sabha accusing the govt of not holding
a discussion over Dec 9 India-China border clash
Sonia Gandhi led the Congress MPs out of the Lok
Sabha after the Speaker did not accept yet another
request for a discussion on “Indo-China border” situation
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The ruckus
continued during the
Winter Session of Par-
liament on Wednesday
with the Opposition
seeking to corner the
ruling BJP-led govern-
ment over a host of is-
sues including border
issues with China, un-
employment and the
economy
. As many as 17
Oppn parties staged a
walkout from the Rajya
Sabha accusing the gov-
ernment of not holding
a discussion over Dec 9
clashes along the LAC
between Indian Chi-
nese forces at Tawang
sector of Arunachal
Pradesh. The Congress,
RJD, AAP, MDMK,
Communist Party of In-
dia (Marxist), CPI, JD
(U), DMK, TMC, and
TDM were among the 17
parties that walked out
from the House during
‘Zero Hour’. More on P6
LoP KHARGE CONVENES A
OPPN LEADERS’ MEETING
OVER INDO-CHINA TUSSLE
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
Malikarjun Kharge convenes a
Opposition leaders’ meeting to chalk
out a joint strategy on the Indo-
China tussle and other issues, at his
chambers, in Parliament, in New
Delhi on Wednesday. The leaders
also discussed important issues to be
raised and formulated their joint future
strategy in both houses of Parliament.
Opposition MPs stage a walkout from Rajya Sabha over India-China border clash during the Winter Session of Parliament on Wednesday.
INDIA-CHINA TROOPS CLASH IN ARUNACHAL
‘PLA wanted to set up the
observation post on LAC’
First India Bureau
Itanagar: China’s Peo-
ple’s Liberation Army
(PLA)wasplanningtoset
up an Observation Post
on LAC at Yangtze in Ta-
wang, Arunachal, an In-
dian Army officer said.
Officer claimed that as
extreme winter is ap-
proaching Chinese side
wants to get information
aboutpreparationsof In-
dian troops deployed at
forwardpostsattheLAC.
IA said unlike 2020, this
time our soldiers were
prepared and thwatrted
attempts of Chinese
who tried to access our
higher ground to set up
Observation Post, were
stopped, forced to leave.
WHITE HOUSE, PDP PREZ SPEAK
l Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) President Mehbooba
Mufti on Wednesday
described the recent tension
between India and China on
the border in Arunachal as
“a very sorry state of affairs”
saying it was unfortunate
that the BJP was doing
nothing about it.
l The White House on
Wednesday commented
on the recent face-off
between the Indian and the
China troops at Tawang
in Arunachal Pradesh on
December 9 and said it is
glad to note that there was a
quick disengagement of the
tension.
CHINA CONSTRUCTS
NEW MILITARY CAMP
MANY PLATFORMS
BEING MISUSED: EAM
Reports have emerged that
China has constructed a new
military base near LAC close
to strategically important
Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh,
satellite images reveal it.
In a veiled attack on China,
EAM S Jaishankar at the
UN Security Council said
Multilateral platforms are being
misused to justify and protect
perpetrators of terrorism.
EXCLUSIVE

NEWS
MUMBAI | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022
02
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Shirdi (PTI): Neelam
Gorhe, Deputy Leader,
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal-
asaheb Thackeray) has
said the Eknath Shinde-
led Maharashtra gov-
ernment should have
shown the “broadness
of mind” and invited
former Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray for
the inauguration of the
Samruddhi Expressway
.
The first phase of
the Nagpur-Mumbai
expressway, officially
named ‘Hindu Hriday-
samrat Balasaheb
Thackeray Maharash-
tra Samruddhi Ma-
hamarg’, was inaugu-
rated by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi in
Nagpur on Sunday
.
Speaking to the me-
dia in Shirdi on Tues-
day, Gorhe said, “When
Thackeray was the CM,
he closely monitored
the work of Samruddhi
Mahamarg. Even dur-
ing the COVID-19 pan-
demic, his government
ensured that the work
of the expressway con-
tinues unhampered.”
First India Bureau
Pune: The attempt to
murder charge against
three persons arrested
have been dropped by
Pimpri Chinchwad Po-
lice in Pune district, for
allegedly throwing ink
at State Minister Chan-
drakant Patil. Along
with this, the suspen-
sion of 10 police person-
nel in connection with
the incident has also
been revoked.
Theincidentoccurred
in Pimpri city on Satur-
dayapparentlyasamark
of protest against Patil's
remark about Dr BR
Ambedkar and social re-
former Mahatma Jyoti-
ba Phule. After which,
threepeoplethrewinkat
him when he was step-
ping out of one of the
office-bearer's houses.
Ten police personnel, in-
cluding three officers,
had been suspended for
alleged security lapse.
“We have dropped sec-
tion 307 (attempt to mur-
der) of the IPC in a case
registered against three
accused, who were held.
However, the other sec-
tions under which they
were booked, will re-
main,” Ankush Shinde,
Pimpri Chinchwad Po-
lice Commissioner said
on Tuesday
.
‘ `60,000-crore gems jewellery park coming up in Navi Mumbai’
GLITZ GOLD
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Navi Mum-
bai will have one of the
world’s largest gems
and jewellery park with
an investment of
Rs60,000 crore, said De-
vendra Fadnavis, Depu-
ty Chief Minister, Ma-
harashtra.
Spread over 80 acres
of land, this gems and
jewellery park will be
one-of-its-kind manu-
facturing to retail park
and the largest such fa-
cility in the country
, the
minister said in a tweet.
“Spread over more than
80 acre (25 acre in Phase
1), this will be one of
the largest Gem and
Jewellery parks in the
World,” he tweeted.
Fadnavis further
said that a few days ago,
a delegation of India
Bullion Jewellers As-
sociation (IBJA) met
him with a proposal of
setting up a state-of-the-
art gems jewellery
Park in Navi Mumbai.
The facility is
expected to generate a
total employment of
over 1 lakh for both
skilled and unskilled
professionals.
“The park will
generate direct and in-
direct employment for
over 1,00,000 skilled
and unskilled work-
ers,” he said.
The Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister
also said that he
has directed “all con-
cerned departments
to expedite the approv-
al process for this
most iconic project of
this sector”.
SARAF NEW AG OF MAHA
Mumbai(PTI): The Maharashtra cabinet has
approved the name of senior lawyer Birendra
Saraf as the new Advocate General of the
state, an official said on Wednesday
. The cabi-
net which met here on Tuesday accepted the
resignation of Ashutosh Kumbhakoni as the
Advocate General, he said. Kumbhakoni has
been in the post since 2017. He was appointed
by Devendra Fadnavis during his tenure as
chief minister.
lll
Devendra
Fadnavis said
that the facility is
expected to
generate a total
employment of
for over 1 lakh
skilled and
unskilled workers
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Chairman of
the Maharashtra gov-
ernment’s Marathi lan-
guage committee and
four members of the
literary board have
resigned in protest
against the State dis-
pensation’s “one-sided”
decision to withdraw
an award for the
Marathi translation of
alleged Maoist ideo-
logue Kobad Ghandy’s
memoir.
A controversy has
erupted after the gov-
ernment on Monday
withdrew the Late
Yashwantrao Chavan
Literature Award 2021
announced for the Mar-
athi translation of
Ghandy’s book “Frac-
tured Freedom: A Pris-
on Memoir”.
The government also
scrapped the award se-
lection committee.
Author and chair-
man of the state gov-
ernment’s Language
Advisory Committee,
Laxmikant Deshmukh,
on Wednesday an-
nounced that he was
stepping down from his
post in protest against
the way the govern-
ment withdrew the
award announced for
the Marathi translation
of Ghandy’s memoir.
On December 06, the
government’s Marathi
language department
had announced the
award to Anagha Lele
for her translation of
Ghandy’s book. But the
decision faced criti-
cism on social media
because of Ghandy’s al-
leged Maoist links.
Deshmukh, in his let-
ter addressed to Minis-
ter for Marathi lan-
guage Deepak Kes-
arkar, said, “Maharash-
tra had never witnessed
political interference in
literary awards, except
in 1981 when Vinay
Hardikar’s book was
similarly rejected by
the then state govern-
ment that later faced
severe backlash. This
government also took a
one-sided decision and
as a protest I am quit-
ting from the post of
chairman of the Lan-
guage Advisory Com-
mittee of the state gov-
ernment.”
“Ghandy’s book does
not sympathize or
promote violence of
Naxalism, still the
state government took
a one-sided decision,”
he said.
Deshmukh, a former
IAS officer from the
Maharashtra cadre,
was earlier the chair-
man of All India
Marathi Literary Con-
vention.
Three members of
the award selection
committee on Tuesday
resigned from the
state Literature and
Culture Board citing
“insult of democratic
procedures”.
The three authors -
Dr Pradnya Daya Pa-
war, Neeraja and Her-
amb Kulkarni - were
also members of the
award selection com-
mittee that was
scrapped by the govern-
ment.
Another member of
the board, Vinod
Shirsath, also tendered
his resignation as a
mark of protest.
Shirsath is also the edi-
tor of 'Sadhana', a Mar-
athi weekly
.
Ink attack row: Police
drop attempt to murder
charge against accused
OFF-ROAD
Police revokes
Sec 307 but accused
still remain booked in
other sections
“When Thackeray was
the state chief
minister, he closely
monitored the work”
Govt LAC chairman, 4 members resign in protest
Term withdrawal of the Late
Yashwantrao Chavan Literature
Award 2021 to translation of
memoir a ‘one-sided’ decision
KOBAD GHANDY BOOK ROW
THE REVERSAL
A Government Resolution (order) issued on Mon-
day had stated that the decision of the selection
committee had been reversed for “administrative
reasons”, and the award, which included a cash
prize of one lakh rupees, has been withdrawn. The
committee too has been scrapped, the GR added.
CAN’T APPROVE ANY
NAXAL MOVEMENT,
SAYS KESARKAR
AWARD WITHDRAWN
TO IMPOSE ‘UNSAID
EMERGENCY’: PAWAR
Mumbai (PTI): Nationalist Congress
Party leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday
said the ruling dispensation was trying
to impose an “undeclared emergency”
by scrapping a literary award, which
was finalized by a selection commit-
tee. He was referring to a row over the
Maharashtra government withdrawing
an award for the Marathi translation
of former Maoist ideologue Kobad
Ghandy’s memoir. Addressing a press
conference in Mumbai, the Leader
of the Opposition in the Legislative
Assembly said, “The Eknath Shinde-
led government is interfering in the
selection of literary awards. He said
political parties should not interfere in
these matters.” Pawar wondered if the
resignation of the selection committee
members wasn’t “shameful” for the
government. The row erupted after
the state government withdrew the
Late Yashwantrao Chavan Literature
Award 2021 for Anagha Lele for her
translation of Ghandy’s “Fractured
Freedom: A Prison Memoir”, six days
after announcing the prize.
Mumbai (PTI): State minister Deepak
Kesarkar on Wednesday defended
the government’s decision to reverse
the award for the Marathi translation
of former Maoist ideologue Kobad
Ghandy’s memoir, saying giving the
prize would have meant the gov-
ernment’s “stamp of approval” for
Naxalism. “An award even for the
translation of Ghandy’s book would
have meant the government’s stamp
(of approval) for the Naxal move-
ment and for their violent actions.
Hundreds of jawans have died fighting
against Naxal movements. I cannot
give any kind of government approval
to the Naxal movement,” Kesarkar,
who holds the charge of the Ministry
of Marathi Language, said. A row
erupted after the state government
rolled back the decision of a selection
committee and withdrew the Late
Yashwantrao Chavan Literature Award
2021 for Anagha Lele for her transla-
tion of Ghandy’s “Fractured Freedom:
A Prison Memoir”, six days after an-
nouncing the prize on December 06.
‘Mahashouldhaveshownbroadmindednessand
invitedThackerayforSamruddhiE-Wayopening’
Toll charge too high on
expressway, says Patil
Man fires in air on Samruddhi
Expressway stretch, booked
First India News
Aurangabad: A case
was registered against
a man on Wednesday
for firing in the air near
a tunnel of the newly-
inaugurated Samrud-
dhi Expressway in Au-
rangabad district.
Police swung into ac-
tion after a video clip
surfaced on social me-
dia showing a man com-
ing out of an SUV and
firing in the air from a
gun near a tunnel. The
incident occurred on
the expressway stretch
passing through Phu-
lambri taluka in Au-
rangabad district.
A case was registered
against the man, who
has been identified, un-
der the Arms Act 1959.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Nationalist
CongressParty(NCP)
statePresidentJayant
Patil has vowed to
seek answers on the
high toll fee charged
on the Samruddhi Ex-
pressway
.
The first phase of
the expressway from
Nagpur to Shirdi was
inauguratedbyPrime
Minister Narendra
Modi last week.
Addressing media
persons in Mumbai
on Wednesday
, Patil
said that he would
seekanswersfromthe
state government in
this regard.
“Vehicles using the
Samruddhi Express-
way will have to pass
through a total of 18
tollbooths.Lightvehi-
cles will have to pay a
toll of up to Rs899 on
this total route of 520
km. Four-wheeler
heavy vehicles will
have to pay a toll of
aroundRs1,200forthe
entire journey of 701
km from Mumbai to
Nagpur,” said Patil.
The current toll
ratesareunaffordable
for the common man,
he added.
FIRST FATALITIES
A lone blackbuck, gray
langur and also a few stray
dogs are the first deaths
reported on the Samruddhi
Mahamarg within days of
inauguration of its Phase I
stretch. The 510km-long section of the expressway
was opened to the public on Sunday. The remaining
portion is expected to be operational within a year.
Neelam Gorhe
Jayant Patil
Ghandy’s book is not even banned,
still the Maharashtra government
back-tracked its own decision to
award the translated version of it. This kind
of treatment by the government will discour-
age people in future to be part of such process-
es. If the board is not going to support us, then
I better quit. Please accept my resignation.
—Heramb Kulkarni, Member of Award Selection Committee
Kobad Ghandy’s memoir has been translated by Anagha Lele.
—FILE PHOTO

MAHARASHTRA
03
94 BMC ex-councillors put
out ‘SOS’ call to CM Shinde
First India Bureau
Mumbai: An ‘SOS’ call
has been sent out by
several former council-
lors of the Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC) in a letter to
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde on Wednesday.
They have alleged lack
of transparency, finan-
cial mismanagement,
policy paralysis and ar-
bitrary transfers under
the rule of state-ap-
pointed administrator
and civic chief Iqbal
Singh Chahal.
The letter has been
signed by 94 former
councillors cutting
across party lines, in-
cluding former mayor
Kishori Pednekar of the
Shiv Sena - Uddhav Bal-
asaheb Thackeray
. Ped-
nekar claimed that the
morale of officers was
at an “all-time low” and
the entire governance
had come to a standstill
as operations were be-
ing run as per the
“whims and fancies” of
the administrator.
In the letter written
on December 12, they
urged Shinde to “inter-
vene immediately” and
direct the administra-
tor to publish a white
paper on the state of af-
fairs at the BMC.
The term of these
councillors ended in
March 2022, after
which, the state govern-
ment appointed Munic-
ipal Commissioner
Chahal as the adminis-
trator of the civic body
.
“We are writing to
point out about the deep
rot and decline of BMC
due to lack of transpar-
ency and accountability
,
ad hoc and arbitrary
transfers, financial mis-
management and fiscal
indiscipline leading to
the collapse of the civic
administration and gov-
ernance of Mumbai and
damage to the morale of
officers,” the letter read.
The letter also sought
Shinde to direct the
BMC to publish its DLS
(draft letters) and poli-
cy decisions on its web-
site immediately and
continue to do so till a
fresh general body is
elected, apart from re-
plying to their letters
and queries.
Urging the chief min-
ister to treat the letter
as an “SOS call”, they
said that the govern-
ment led by him will be
seen as being responsi-
ble for the “mess” that
the BMC has become.
DISMAL STATE
THE SIGNATORIES
The letter blamed that the bureaucracy in the BMC has
succumbed to the pressure of adverse lobbies and cartels,
who are driving transfers, contracts, policies and financial
decisions. On the “arbitrary transfers”, the letter said
there are officers, who have been shunted out six to seven
times in just three months and there were instances where
the transfer orders were reversed or changed in less than
24 hours. They said the BMC budget has now become an
item of disregard and only a paper exercise.
Former Congress councillor and Leader of Opposition in
the BMC Ravi Raja, former Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) councillor and group leader Rakhi Jadhav, former
Samajwadi Party (SP) councillor and group leader Rais
Shaikh, former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar are
among the councillors who have signed the letter.
The BMC is be-
ing run by the
whims and
fancies of the adminis-
trator with ever-chang-
ing priorities that are
driven by vested inter-
ests. —The ‘SOS’ letter
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation; (right) Iqbal Singh
Chahal —FILE PHOTOS
l Allege lack of
transparency,
financial
indiscipline in
BMC under
Chahal in letter
l Governance,
morale of
officers at ‘all-
time low’ as
leaders seek
Shinde’s
intervention
TWO WORKERS DIE
OF SUSPECTED
ASPHYXIATION
Palghar: Two workers
died at a factory in Palghar
district, suspected of as-
phyxiation, police said.”The
two victims aged 27 and
32 were working in a resin
factory. Around 10 pm yes-
terday, one entered a reac-
tor but collapsed inside. His
colleague, who witnessed
it, entered the reactor and
met the same fate,” said
Palghar Police Spokes-
person Sachin Navadkar.
Other workers soon pulled
them out of the reactor and
rushed them to Wada rural
hospital, where doctors
declared them dead. We
suspect that they died of
asphyxiation, he said.
MAN JUMPS IN
CREEK TO END LIFE,
SAVED BY COPS
Thane: Three police
personnel in Thane saved
the life of a 31-year-old
man who had jumped into
a creek to commit suicide,
police said on Wednesday.
An official said the three
beat marshals in Kalwa
received a message that
a man had jumped into
the Kharegaon creek.
“They rushed to his help
with two boats and pulled
him out of the water,” the
official said. The man said
that he tried to commit
suicide due to domestic
issues. Police counselled
and handed him over
to Bhiwandi police, the
official added.
3 WOMEN, 2 KIDS
DIE AS TRACTOR
FALLS INTO CANAL
Pune: Three women
sugarcane workers and
two children were killed
after the tractor-trolley in
which they were travelling
fell into a canal in Solapur
district, police said on
Wednesday. The deceased
belonged to Madhya
Pradesh’s Barwani district.
The incident took when a
group of migrant workers
engaged by local farmers
for sugarcane harvesting
were returning to their
camp after the day’s work,
said a police official. “Due
to the driver’s error, the
tractor-trolley got off the
road and fell into the dry
canal. While four persons
died on the spot as the
trolley fell on them, one
person died in hospital,”
said Shirish Sardesh-
pande, Superintendent of
Police, Solapur.
SURVEY TO STUDY
CONDITION
OF FARMERS
Aurangabad: The au-
thorities in Marathwada
region have undertaken
a survey to study the
financial and social
condition of farmers and
their families so that the
benefit of government
schemes can be extended
to them, a senior official
said on Wednesday.
According to Deputy
Divisional Commissioner
Parag Soman, the survey
will be completed in three
months. “It has already
begun in some districts
and will soon start in
the rest,” he said. The
Divisional Commissioner-
ate issued letters to the
district collectors in the
region, saying that the
financial, social aspects
of the farmers and their
families will be studied in
the survey.
TEMPORARY DOT PUNE EMPLOYEE NABBED
FOR SELLING PVT DATA FOR `50,000
Pune: A temporary employee with the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT), Pune office has been arrested
by the Mumbai police Crime Branch (Unit VI) for allegedly
selling personal user data for as much as Rs50,000. The
accused, identified as Sujit Nangre, 27, reportedly provided
data of mobile service providers to one Sandeep Palande, a
senior employee of Airtel. This data eventually made its way
to loan collection agencies who used it to call up people
and threaten them to return the money. The lid on the scam
was blown with the arrest of two brothers Rahul, 28, and
Nikhil Eligati, 25, in the last week of November.
CRUCIAL READ
OUTRAGED
Members of city-based organization Raza Academy hold placards as they raise slogans during a protest against recent
Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh, in Mumbai
on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
NCB Mumbai
busts inter-state
drug trafficking
syndicate, 5 held
First India Bureau
Mumbai: TheNarcotics
Control Bureau (NCB)
Mumbai has busted an
inter-state drug traffick-
ing syndicate supplying
drugs in Dharavi, Mum-
bai. According to the
NCB officials, five peo-
plehavebeenarrestedin
a well-coordinated oper-
ation conducted over
four days.
A total of illicitly di-
verted 1407 CBCS bot-
tles (140kg) and 6000
Nitrazepam tablets
(3.6kg) were seized from
Mumbai, Thane and
Navi Mumbai in multi-
ple on-field operations,
confirmed by the NCB.
The NCB had infor-
mation from internal
sources that a Mumbai-
based syndicate was ac-
tively involved in the
inter-state trafficking
of illicitly diverted
pharmaceutical drugs.
According to NCB
during the investiga-
tion, a couple Z.Qureshi
and S.Z.Qureshi was
identified as based in
Kopar khairane, Navi
Mumbai who was alleg-
edly dealing in the pro-
curement and supply of
drugs. Later it was
found, that they used to
store drugs on the
premise of Kopar
khairane. Moreover,
they were distributing
the drugs mainly in
Dharavi, Mumbai.
Based on the specific
output, 920 CBCS bot-
tles were seized from
their possession.
The couple arrested
by NCB revealed that
they used to procure the
drugs from a person
named R. Singh during
the interrogation.
According to NCB, a
trap was laid to appre-
hend Singh at Sion.
Soon, Singh was appre-
hended and confessed
his involvement as a
carrier in operation and
street-level peddling. He
was also managing the
logistical support to
other persons for the
movement and distribu-
tion of the drugs.
After interrogating
the said three persons,
more drug-deal infor-
mation was intercept-
ed. Another distributor
from Mira Road was
obtained. On the basis
of that, discreet surveil-
lance was mounted in
Mira Road, Thane area.
The investigation has
indicated that syndicate
has linkages with inter-
state suppliers and the
drugs were being pro-
cured through Dharavi.
Four co-passengers to be grilled in
Palghar baby’s death case, cops on toes
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Mira
Bhayander Vasai Virar
(MBVV) police crime
branch said their prior-
ity is to find out how the
toddler died and who
was behind it.
According to a senior
officer from MBVV po-
lice—which is investi-
gating the murder of a
toddler and molesta-
tion of her 19-year-old
mother—the biggest
challenge is to find out
how exactly the baby
has died.
“We will first investi-
gate the toddler’s death
and then the mother’s
molestation,” he said.
Cops have arrested
the driver in the case
and have traced four of
the passengers who are
yet to be questioned.
According the sourc-
es, there were eight oc-
cupants, including the
woman, in the vehicle
when the incident took
place on Mumbai-
Ahmedabad Highway
on Saturday morning.
Police have already ar-
rested the driver of the
car in connection with
the case.
“The woman was
seated next to the driv-
er, two passengers were
in the middle seat while
four others were in the
back. We have identi-
fied four passengers but
are yet to question
them,” the police officer
added.
The remaining two
passengers are yet to be
traced.
On Saturday, the
woman, who boarded
the vehicle at Pelhar on
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
Highway to go to Man-
or, said that her
“10-month-old baby girl
was thrown out of the
running vehicle” by one
of her molesters who
was seated in the back.
Crime Branch investi-
gators are yet to ascer-
tain how the baby died.
According to
police, they will
first thoroughly
investigate how
the toddler fell
out of vehicle,
before opening
probe on
mother’s
molestation
The investigation
indicates that
the syndicate had
linkages with
inter-state suppliers
ED plea in HC against
closure of Tops Group
case by Mumbai police
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The En-
forcementDirectorate
(ED) has filed a peti-
tion in the Bombay
High Court challeng-
ing the police’s deci-
sion to close the Tops
Group scam case.
The order of clo-
surewasissuedbythe
Esplande Additional
Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Court,
which had purport-
edly just a few days
previously submitted
the matter to the Spe-
cial PMLA Court.
The ED’s plea came
up for hearing before
the bench of Justice
Amit Borkar, when
Advocate Hiten Ven-
egaonkar, appearing
for the agency
, sought
an early hearing.
Venegaonkar sub-
mitted that the ac-
cused in the case have
already filed their dis-
charge applications
before PMLA court
and it could be heard
anytime and it would
render their plea here
infructuous.
Advocate Kushal
Mor, appearing for
the accused, was then
told by the bench
“Not to precipitate
the lower court hear-
ing till January 12.”
The court will hear
ED’s plea on that date.
The ED plea stated
that the impugned or-
der of September 14,
2022 passed by the
Magistrate court, ac-
cepting ‘C’-Summary
Report is bad in
law and passed with-
out jurisdiction.
The agency’s plea
stressed that it is the
settled position of law
that after the case has
been committed to the
Superior Court, the
lower court ceases to
have jurisdiction in
the matter and is in-
competent to pass any
orders, whatsoever,
concerning that case.
Hence, restoration/
revival of the case by
the Magistrate Court
after the committal of
the case was ultra
vires, ED said.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court continued
an interim stay till January 30 on orders
issued by Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra
government on July 19 and 25 suspending
development activities initiated during the pre-
vious Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government
in rural areas, including that of the petitioner
village panchayat. The HC had ordered that
pending hearing and final disposal of the writ
plea, the operation, implementation and effect
of the impugned orders by the state would be
stayed till December 12. The activities which
were suspended by the government included
those for which tenders were issued from
April 01, 2021, but work orders were not giv-
en and also those wherein work orders were
issued but the actual work had not begun.
HC CONTINUES INTERIM STAY ON
GOVT DEVTL WORKS SUSPENSION

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 218
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
India is going to be the skill and
talent capital of the world. India’s
talent surplus can help meet the
global labour market shortages.
Harmonisation of skills, student
and workforce mobility capacity
building in skill development will be
beneficial to both countries.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
Met with Finland Employment Minister
Ms Tuula Haatainen today. We had
fruitful discussions on furthering
our ties in manpower and mobility
partnership, mutual recognition of skill
qualifications in the two countries and
its harmonisation.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Train up a child in the
way he should go, and
when he is old, he will not
depart from it. —Bible
IN-DEPTH
WILL FORMER RBI
GUV GO BEYOND
YATRA AND TAKE
POLITICAL PLUNGE
ormer Reserve Bank
of India Governor
Raghuram Rajan
joining Rahul Gan-
dhi’s Bharat Jodo
Yatra, however briefly, in Ra-
jasthan has brought his political
leanings in the open. The former
Governor has always been criti-
cal of the BJP government’s eco-
nomic policies but earlier his
views were taken to be that of an
academician and economist.
Now onwards his opinions will
be looked at as biased political
views. The BJP attacked Rajan
with the retort that he wants “to
be another Manmohan Singh”
who, incidentally
, is still regard-
ed as a highly rated economist.
Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT Cell
chief,saidthatRajan’s“commen-
tary on the Indian economy…is
coloured and opportunistic”.
The criticism will not dilute
the significance of the event as
Rajan is an eminent economist
and will bolster the appeal of Ra-
hul Gandhi’s march. The ques-
tion that many would seek an
answer to is whether Rajan, who
has been a strong critic of de-
monetisation, will join the Con-
gress or support it from outside.
TOP TWEETS
F
hina’s provoca-
tive action along
the Line of Actual
Control in Ta-
wang has raised
temperatures between the
two countries. The People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) at-
tempting to occupy vantage
positions in the Yangtse area
of Tawang in Arunachal
Pradesh were effectively
pushed back by the Indian
soldiers after a skirmish in
which a few soldiers suffered
injuries but that won’t deter
the Chinese from attempting
another transgression either
in Ladakh or in Tawang.
Union Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh’s statement in
Parliament that the “Indian
Army bravely prevented the
PLA from transgressing into
our territory and compelled
them to return to their posts”
did not satisfy Oppn which
insisted on a discussion on
repeated Chinese aggression.
The govt did not accede to the
demand leading to a walkout
by the Opposition. The de-
mand was also made after a
more violent clash in Galwan
Valley in 2020 in which many
soldiers were killed.
The disengagement hap-
pened after several rounds of
talks between the army com-
manders of both sides but
Chinese build-up in Ladakh
remains a worrying factor.
Even in Yangtse area there is
nothing new about Chinese
transgression. In 2021 Chi-
nese launched an aggression
with sizable number of troops
which too was repulsed.
The status quo along LAC
is not a very comforting idea
because of China’s attempts
to open new flashpoints along
LAC whether in the east or in
Ladakh. It is this unpredict-
ability of PLA that has made
Oppn seek clarification from
the govt on the actual situa-
tion along the border which
the Chinese say is stable.
DANGEROUS MOVE
ALONG THE LAC
Rajnath’s statement in
Parl that “Indian Army
bravely prevented the
PLA from transgressing
into our territory,
compelled them to return to
their posts” did not satisfy
Oppn which insisted on a
discussion on repeated
Chinese aggression
C
he 2022 FIFA World Cup has
certainly attracted plenty of
negative press, with scandal
frombiddingprocessthrough
to the tournament itself. Yet
out of this negativity, one
positive storyline has arisen.
With victories over two re-
cent European champions –
Spain and Portugal – Moroc-
co have become the first Afri-
can nation to reach the last
four of the World Cup.
MAPPING A PATH TO
THE FINAL
Could the location of the tour-
nament itself partially ex-
plaintheMoroccans’surprise
progress?WhenanAsianside
– South Korea in 2002 - simi-
larly broke the duopoly of
Europe and the Americas, it
was on home soil.
An African squad would
have made it to the semifi-
nals 12 years ago in the first
World Cup to be hosted on
that continent, if not for one
of the most infamously un-
sporting acts in the game’s
history, at the hands (literal-
ly) of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez.
Now the World Cup is
played in the Arab world for
the first time and, perhaps
not coincidentally
, we are see-
ing a nation from the region
reach unprecedented heights.
GEOGRAPHY COULD
MATTER MORE THAN
WE THINK
In 21 previous tournaments,
only three teams have lifted
the trophy without being ei-
ther hosts or a prior cham-
pion. One of those – West
Germany in 1954 – did so in a
neighbouring country. Be-
fore 2010, no European na-
tion had won the tournament
outside Europe and only one
non-European nation had
won on the continent.
This trend is also seen in
continental competitions.
The European Champion-
ships’ two biggest shocks
were Denmark’s 1992 success
after initially failing to qual-
ify, and the 2004 champion-
ship of rank outsiders
Greece. The Danes’ victory
came in another Scandina-
vian nation, and the Greek
success was in another Medi-
terranean country
.
Of course, none of this is
directly causal. The Moroc-
cans have certainly not
reached this lofty stage be-
cause the tournament is in a
fellow Arab country. As a
low-scoring, complex team
game, football is one of the
hardest sports to predict and
every little advantage, even
as small as being in a compa-
rable climate, could tip the
balance of a game one way or
another.
PARALLELS WITH
OTHER NATIONS
When looking at historical
data, the clearest predictor
of whichsidesmaybeprimed
to perform better than ever
before is their latitude rela-
tive to the tournament host.
For example, Paraguay’s best
run was in South Africa in
2010, at similar latitude, rath-
er than in geographically
closer South American na-
tions further south.
Of the 39 nations to reach
the tournament at least six
times, 23 of those have never
bettered their performance
at the tournament closest to
their home latitude. Almost
three-quarters of sides’ best
tournaments involved travel
less than 10 degrees either
north or south.
THE “WORLD” GAME?
Even with its huge global ap-
peal, football has been his-
torically slanted towards Eu-
rope and the Americas,
which may have stifled pro-
gress of the game in other
regions.
Despite its numerous on-
going flaws, the administra-
tion has come a long way
since the absurd situation in
1958 when the one place des-
ignated for a team from the
Asian and African regions
was taken by Wales.
Morocco’s fairytale run
should certainly be seen as a
huge positive for the game in
North Africa, in particular.
There do remain numerous
“blind spots” in where tour-
naments have been held.
Rio de Janeiro, where the
1950 and 2010 finals were
held, lies within one degree
of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Amazingly, if you travel
north from there, you will
only find one World Cup final
venue (Mexico City) south of
Doha.
A SPORTING CHANCE
Criticisms of the process and
politics underlying the 2022
World Cup cannot be over-
looked, but the decision to
broaden the geographic foot-
print of host nations can at
least be seen as a positive
step towards a more reason-
able distribution of sporting
advantage.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
T
MISHA KETCHELL
The writer is Editor,
The Conversation Australia
No on-field results will (nor
should) lessen the valid
criticisms surrounding this
tournament, but it would
be a shame for the historic
achievement for African
football to be overlooked.
We can’t definitively know
how much of a role
geographic proximity
played in the Moroccan
story, but the case for
breaking European and
American hegemony over
the game is surely
established beyond doubt
2022 FIFA WC HAS
CERTAINLY
ATTRACTED PLENTY
OF NEGATIVE PRESS,
WITH SCANDAL FROM
BIDDING PROCESS
THROUGH TO THE
TOURNAMENT ITSELF.
YET OUT OF THIS
NEGATIVITY, ONE
POSITIVE STORYLINE
HAS ARISEN
ARE THE FIRST-
EVER AFRICAN
SEMIFINALISTS OF
THE WORLD CUP
MOROCCO

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05
INDIA
COURTYARD
in the
in the
ARTICLE 370: APEX
COURT TO CONSIDER
LISTING PLEAS
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday said
it would consider listing
for hearing a batch of
petitions challenging the
abrogation of Article 370
and bifurcation of the
erstwhile state of Jammu
and Kashmir into two
Union Territories. “We
will examine and give a
date,” said Chief Justice
DY Chandrachud and
Justice PS Narasimha
as one of the petitioners
in the case sought early
listing of the matter. Vari-
ous petitions are pending
before the top court chal-
lenging the validity of the
law scrapping Article 370
of the constitution.
CENTRE’S REPLY
SOUGHT ON SAME
SEX MARRIAGE
Court on Wednesday
sought a response from
the Centre to two pleas
seeking transfer to the
apex court the petitions
pending in the Delhi High
Court seeking directions
to recognise same-sex
marriages. A bench
comprising Chief Justice
D Chandrachud and
Justice P S Narasimha
took note of the submis-
sions of senior advocate
Menaka Guruswamy
that the pleas relate to
the fundamental right to
equality. “Issue notice,”
the bench said.
APEX COURT WARNS
ODISHA LAWYERS
AGAINST STRIKE
Court has warned it will
come down “very hard”
on those who vandalised
courts and disrupted
proceedings in of Odisha,
including members of
the bar, and admonished
state police for their
“utter failure” to control
situation. It observed the
demand for establishing
a permanent bench of the
high court Odisha seems
to have become a “pres-
tige issue”, while noting
there was no justification
for having another bench
of the high court in view
of the widespread use of
technology.
ULB POLLS: UP
TOLD NOT TO ISSUE
NOTIFICATION TILL 20
Lucknow: The Allahabad
High Court on Wednesday
extended till December 20
its order restraining the
Uttar Pradesh State Elec-
tion Commission from
issuing a notification to
conduct urban local body
elections in the state.
The Lucknow bench of
the court was hearing a
petition alleging that the
reservation process for
the OBC (Other Backward
Classes) was not followed
for the urban local bodies
by the state government.
On Wednesday, the state
government sought
three day’s time to file a
counter affidavit.
PMlaunchescentenarycelebrationsofPramukhSwamiMaharaj
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday
launched centenary cel-
ebrations of Swami-
narayan sect leader late
Pramukh Swami Maha-
raj in the inaugural
function of birth cente-
nary celebrations of
Swami Maharaj in
Ahmedabad.
The Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO) said that
Pramukh Swami Maha-
raj was a guide and
guru who touched
countless lives across
India and the world.
“He was widely re-
spected and admired as
a great spiritual leader.
His life was dedicated to
the service of spiritual-
ity and humanity. As
the leader of BAPS
Swaminarayan San-
stha, he inspired count-
less cultural, social and
spiritual initiatives,
providing comfort and
care to millions,” the
PMO statement added.
In his birth cente-
nary
, people from across
the world are celebrat-
ing his life and work.
The yearlong world-
wide celebrations will
culminate in the ‘Pra-
mukh Swami Maharaj
ShatabdiMahotsav’that
will be hosted by BAPS
Swaminarayan Mandir,
Shahibaug, which is the
worldwide headquar-
ters of BAPS Swami-
narayan Sanstha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of month-long Pramukh Swami Maharaj centenary
celebrations, at a ground on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
4 Meghalaya MLAs join BJP as
party seeks North-East boost
New Delhi (PTI): Four
Meghalaya MLAs, in-
cluding two from the
state’s ruling National
People’sParty
,joinedthe
BJP on Wednesday as
the party looks to ex-
panditsfootprintsinthe
north-eastern region
ahead of assembly polls.
Assam CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma, who is
the party’s pointsman
for the region, said the
joining of the four “ex-
perienced and respect-
ed” political figures will
mark a “new begin-
ning” for the BJP in the
state, where it could
win only two seats in
the 60 member-assem-
bly in the 2018 polls.
Though the state’s
ruling NPP has been a
member of BJP-led Na-
tional Democratic Par-
ty, their relations have
been far from smooth.
MLAs Bendict Marak, Himalya Muktan, Ferlinc A Sangma and Samuel
Sangma join BJP in presence of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Nitish Kumar blames BJP
for hooch tragedy in Bihar
First India Bureau
Patna: Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
on Wednesday blamed
the opposition Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
for the loss of lives in
the state due to con-
sumption of liquor.
Losing his cool while
speaking in the Assem-
bly
, the Janata Dal-Unit-
ed leader said: “You
(BJP MLAs) are respon-
sible for the hooch trag-
edies in Bihar. We all
know that you are doing
the dirty work. I parted
ways with you… and it
was my good decision.
Youaretalkinginfavour
of liquor in Bihar. It
would not be tolerated.”
A ruckus was wit-
nessed in the Assembly
on Wednesday over the
loss of lives in Saran
due to consumption of
spurious liquor.
The death toll has
risen to 17 on Wednes-
day. Five of them died
on Tuesday night and 12
others passed away at a
hospital on Wednesday
.
The condition of five
others are said to be crit-
ical. The incident was
reported from Mashra-
kh and Isuapur village.
CM Nitish Kumar screams at BJP MLAs during the State Assembly session when Leader of Opposition
Vijay Sinha questions state govt’s liquor ban in wake of deaths that happened due to spurious liquor.
You are talking
in favour of liquor
in Bihar: Bihar Chief
Minister to BJP MLAs
Nitish Kumar
told his former
alliance partner that it
would not be tolerated
SHARABI HO TUM: NITISH
KUMAR SCREAMS AT BJP MLAs
Saran: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on
Wednesday lost his cool in the state
assembly when leaders of the Opposition
BJP attacked his govt
over several deaths due to
sp urious liquor in Saran
district’s Chhapra area.
As Leader of Opposition
Vijay Kumar Sinha ques-
tioned the state’s liquor
ban policy since 2016.
Nitish Kumar lost his temper in the House
and screamed at the BJP MLAs ‘’Sharabi
ho gaye ho tum...(you are drunk)”.
HIS TIME IS OVER: SUSHIL MODI
OVER CM’S “SHARABI” COMMENT
New Delhi: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil
Kumar Modi reacted strongly at Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar’s ‘sharabi’ statement
made in the Bihar As-
sembly today. “The tenure
of Nitish Kumar is over. He
has lost his memory. He
calls Prashant Kishor and
BJP MLAs as ‘tu’, ‘tum’. It
happened earlier as well.
He loses his temper very
often now. But his disposition was not like
this before,” said the former Deputy Chief
Minister of Bihar to ANI.
‘GOVT WILL TAKE STRICT
ACTION AGAINST ACCUSED’
Patna: Bihar excise Minister Sunil Kumar
on Wednesday “confirmed” six people
have died after allegedly consuming
spurious liquor in the
Chhapra area of Bihar’s
Saran district. Bihar
minister “vowed’ that
govt would take “strict
action” against culprits
responsible for deaths.
“Process of filling an
FIR is underway. I have spoken over the
phone with SP. He confirmed the death of
six people so far.
BIHAR CM SHOULD RECONSIDER
PROHIBITION POLICY: GIRIRAJ
New Delhi: Bihar BJP leaders, including
Union minister Giriraj Singh, on Wednes-
day asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
to reconsider prohibition
policy in the state, claim-
ing that it has failed with
illegal sale of spurious
liquor causing frequent
deaths and rise in crimes
linked to it. Singh told
reporters outside Parlia-
ment that Kumar should convene an
all-party meeting on the issue and take a
decision accordingly.
Congress is worried about
Amethi and Rae Bareli
Shamsher Singh
New Delhi: The two
traditional Lok Sabha
seats of Gandhis - Am-
ethi and Rae Bareli - are
a majro cause of worry
for the grandold party
and the party’s first
family - Gandhi family.
These seats have been
held by the family for
decades but in the last
election BJP’s Smriti
Irani defeated Rahul
Gandhi in Amethi seat.
Rahul’s team had an
idea of this in advance,
so he contested from the
Wayanad seat in Kerala,
from where he is now an
MP. Therefore, now the
big question is whether
Rahul Gandhi will con-
test from Amethi this
time or not? If he fights,
will he fight from only
one seat or will we fight
from both Amethi and
Wayanad seats?
Keep in mind that no
member of the Nehru-
Gandhi family has lost
two consecutive elec-
tions. Indira Gandhi was
also defeated from Rae
Bareli, then won from
Chikmagalur in the by-
election and did not lose
again after that. Sonia
Gandhi has not lost any
election. Rahul has also
beencontestingelections
since 2004 and lost from
Amethi for the first time
in2019.Sothefamilycan-
not take the risk that he
contests rom Amethi
again and loses. The cur-
rent situation in Uttar
Pradesh is not very good
for the Congress. The
BJPisridingonthewave
of HindutvaandtheCon-
gress and the first family
have also left both the re-
gions. On the other hand
BJP and Smriti Irani are
active in both the areas.
As far as Rae Bareli is
concerned, it is almost
certain that Sonia Gan-
dhi will not contest the
elections this time. Her
health is also not good
andafterleavingthepost
of Congress President,
sheisalmostinastateof
retirement. Even if she
hastobecomeanMP
,she
will go to Rajya Sabha
like Sharad Pawar. That
is why it is believed that
this time Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra can contest
from Sonia’s seat. Con-
gress is still confident
about that seat but the
partyisnottooconfident
about Amethi.
It is certain that BJP
will try to make a big
fight on both these seats.
Evenif PriyankaandRa-
hul contest poll or only
Priyanka contests, the
party will try to corner
her and some renowned
andaggressivecandidate
willbefieldedsothatPri-
yanka can be surround-
ed in her own area.
Sonia Gandhi with party leader Rahul Gandhi takes part in the
party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Mandya. —FILE PHOTO
RAHUL GANDHI WILL CONTEST 2024 LS
POLL FROM AMETHI, CLAIMS AJAY RAI
Amethi: Rahul Gandhi would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections again from Amethi with which the Nehru-Gan-
dhi family has old ties, Uttar Pradesh Congress leader
Ajay Rai claimed on Wednesday. Rai, the regional head of
the party in UP, also said that it is his appeal to the people
of Amethi to send Rahul Gandhi to Delhi by electing him
as an MP again with a huge margin. “The Gandhi-Nehru
family has old relations with Amethi...no one can weaken
it. Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi in 2024,” Rai
told reporters here. There has been no word from the
party so far on the former Congress president fighting
the next parliamentary elections again from Amethi. Ra-
hul Gandhi, who had won the Amethi parliamentary seat
for three times in a row, was defeated by BJP leader and
Union minister Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
SUKHU’S ELEVATION A SIGN OF
CHANGING TIMES IN CONGRESS?
Mahesh Sharma
Shimla: Sukhvinder
Singh Sukhu becoming
the Chief Minister in
Himachal Pradesh is a
big deal for the Con-
gress in many respects.
He is the first such lead-
er who was made the
state president by Rahul
Gandhi and has now be-
come the Chief Minis-
ter. Keep in mind that
when the Congress par-
ty was in power at the
center, Rahul Gandhi
promoted many leaders.
He made many young
leaders ministers in the
center. But barring a
few exceptions, all the
youths were sons of one
or the other prominent
leader. Many of them
conducted major fraud
with Rahul and Con-
gress. Rahul also made
many young leaders as
state presidents, but
many of them also
cheated. However, no
member of his youth
team had yet become
the chief minister.
Sukhuisthefirstlead-
er who was made the
President of Himachal
Pradesh by Rahul Gan-
dhi despite opposition
from the old leaders of
the party and now he
has become the Chief
Minister. Rahul had giv-
en Sukhu a go-ahead de-
spite opposition from
the then Chief Minister
Virbhadra Singh. Was
made the president in
2013. Also worth noting
is the fact that Sukhu
does not come from a po-
litical family
. He is the
son of a simple bus driv-
er. Barring two or three
exceptions, Rahul has
always promoted and
been cheated by mem-
bers of big political fam-
ilies. So, now there is a
new beginning. Instead
of people coming from
well-known political dy-
nasties and rich fami-
lies,peoplefromhumble
background have start-
ed going to higher posi-
tions in Congress and
this can be a good sign
for Congress.
Himachal Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administers the
oath of office to Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as the CM. —FILE PHOTO
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin’s
son Udhayanidhi sworn
in as Cabinet Minister
Chennai (ANI): Tamil
Nadu CM MK Stalin’s
son Udhayanidhi Stalin
was on Wednesday
sworn in as a cabinet
minister in the state.
Udhayanidhi was ad-
ministered the oath by
Governor RN Ravi at
Durbar Hall in Raj
Bhavan. Udhayanidhi
took oath in presence of
CM Stalin. He has been
given the Youth Welfare
andSportsDevelopment
Portfolio. After taking
charge,Udayanidhipaid
respectstoformerTamil
Nadu CM the Late CN
Annadurai. “I thanked
and congratulated the
ever-leading Hon’ble
Chief Minister @mksta-
lin for giving me the op-
portunity to participate
in the Dravidian model
govt cabinet that imple-
ments social justice pro-
grams and protects the
welfare of Tamils,”
tweeted Udhayanidhi.
TN Guv RN Ravi with TN Chief
Minister MK Stalin presents a
bouquet to Udhayanidhi Stalin.

06
INDIA
New Delhi (ANI): Re-
plying to a written ques-
tion in the Lok Sabha
Union Minister Jiten-
dra Singh on Wednes-
day said that ISRO has
taken initiatives for fea-
sibility studies on mis-
sions to Venus.
“Union Minister of
State Science Technol-
ogy; Earth Sciences;
Atomic Energy and
Space,DrJitendraSingh
on Wednesday informed
that ISRO has taken
initiatives for feasibil-
ity studies on mis-
sions to Venus as
well as Aeronomy
studies,” read an
officialstatement
by the Union De-
partment of
Space. The term
a e r o n o m y,
coined and introduced
about60yearsago,refers
to the scientific study of
the upper atmospheric
regions of the Earth and
other solar system bod-
ies. It covers the chemis-
try
,dynamicsandenergy
balance of both neutral
and charged particles.
“Both these missions
are being conceptual-
ized and the scientific
scopes are being deliber-
atednationallywithpar-
ticipation of science
community
,”saidSingh.
Earlier on Tuesday,
Union Agricultural
minister Narendra Sin-
gh Tomar and MoS Dr
Jitendra Singh for-
mally released
the data prod-
ucts and ser-
vices of RI-
SAT-1A sat-
ellite for the
user com-
munity, as
per an of-
ficial press
release.
New Delhi (ANI):
Ahead o f the beginning
of the day’s proceedings
inParliament,Leaderof
OppositioninRajyaSab-
ha Mallikarjun
Kharge on Wednesday
convenedameetingwith
leaders of opposition
partiestodiscusstheDe-
cember 9 faceoff be-
tween Indian and Chi-
nese troops along the
Line of Actual Control
(LAC) in Arunachal.
On Tuesday, both
Houses were rocked by
the issue with the Op-
position staging a walk-
out after Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh made
a statement in Lok Sab-
ha and Rajya Sabha on
the Tawang clash. “A
total of 17 parties at-
tended today’s meeting
and decided to raise the
issue for discussion if
not allowed it has been
decided that parties
will walk out from the
house,” a leader said.
Hyderabad: The Tel-
angana Congress has
given a call to protest
the arrest of several of
its leaders over alleged
derogatory posts
against Telangana CM
K Chandrasekhar Rao
and the ruling state
government. As per po-
lice, Hyderabad Cyber
Crime Department con-
ducted searches at the
office of Sunil Kanu-
golu, who is working
for Congress as a politi-
cal strategist in Telan-
gana. The Cyber Crime
police said that it had
on Tuesday night con-
ducted a raid on the
party’s war room and
seized several comput-
ers. “We have regis-
tered five FIRs based on
five different com-
plaints for allegedly
making derogatory re-
marks on social media
against the opposition
party,” said KVM Pras-
ad, (Cyber Crime ACP).
New Delhi (ANI):
Congress MP has
given the notice to
move an adjournment
motion in the Lok Sab-
ha today
, to discuss the
police raids at the war
room of party poll
strategist Sunil Kanu-
goluinHyderabad.The
Telangana Congress
also gave a call to pro-
test against the arrest
of itsseveralleadersby
the Telangana police.
Police conducted raids
on Tuesday nighwt at
Congress Poll Strate-
gist Sunil Kanugolu.
Police also arrested
five persons by raiding
the Congress’ war
room in Jubilee Hills
on Tuesday night. The
Cyber Crime police
raided the Congress
War room on Tuesday
night and seized com-
puters. A call has been
giventoprotestagainst
the house arrest of the
Congress leaders.
New Delhi (PTI): The
CBI has booked three
Jalgaon-based jewel-
lery companies for al-
leged loan fraud of over
Rs 352 crore in the State
Bank of India, officials
said on Wednesday
.
In three separate
FIRs,theCBIhasnamed
Rajmal Lakhichand
Jewellers Pvt Ltd, RL
Gold Pvt Ltd, and Man-
raj Jewellers Pvt Ltd,
and their promoters-di-
rectors-guarantors —
Ishwarlal Shankarlal
Jain Lalwani, Manish
Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani,
Pushadevi Ishwarlal
Jain Lalwani and Nee-
tika Manish Jain Lal-
wani — as accused.
According to the SBI
complaint to the Cen-
tral Bureau of Investi-
gation (CBI), Rajmal
Lakhichand Jewellers
caused a loss of Rs
206.73 crore, RL Gold Rs
69.19 crore loss and
Manraj Jewellers Rs
76.57 crore to the bank.
The three companies
allegedly transacted
business with their as-
sociate firm Rajmal
Lakhichand, the largest
debtor among the four
companies. They also
involved three named
in the FIRs — Rajmal
Lakhichand Jewellers
Pvt Ltd, RL Gold Pvt
Ltd, and Manraj Jewel-
lers Pvt Ltd.
The purchase and
sale of all four compa-
nies were primarily
routed through Rajmal
Lakhichand, the SBI
has alleged.
The accounts of the
FIR-named companies
show payments made to
Rajmal Lakhichand for
purchases, but they
said that receivables for
products sold to it are
shown as outstanding.
1 HELD WITH 30 KG
‘MALANA CREAM’
WORTH `18 CRORE
New Delhi (Agencies):
Delhi Police’s Special
Cell has arrested a drug
trafficker and seized 30 kg
malana cream, also known
as ‘hashish’, valued Rs 18
crore from his possession
in Alipur in the national
capital. The accused was
identified as Rajesh Kumar,
30, a resident of Khanna
Khurd near Ludhiana in
Punjab. With the arrest
of the drug trafficker, the
Delhi Police’s Special Cell
on Wednesday claimed to
have unearthed an inter-
state syndicate involved in
smuggling drugs in Delhi
and its peripherals.
FREAK ACCIDENT:
KERALA MAN DIES
AFTER COCONUT HIT
Thiruvananthapuram: A
man in Kerala’s Kozhikode
died on Wednesday after
being hit on the head by
a coconut falling from a
roadside tree. The victim
Muneer, 49, worked in
Saudi Arabia, but had
come home to attend
to his father who was
unwell and admitted to a
hospital. On Tuesday after
being with his ailing father,
Muneer was driving back
home on his two-wheel-
er when the incident
occurred. Even though he
was taken to a hospital
quickly, he breathed his
last early on Wednesday.
MINOR GANG-RAPED IN KARNATAKA DIST, 4
ARRESTED INCLUDING AN UNDERAGE
Hassan (Agencies): Four persons, including a minor, have
been arrested for gang-raping a minor girl in Karnataka’s
Hassan district, police said on Wednesday. Charges under
the Pocso, IPC and prevention of atrocity act have been
slapped on the accused, identified as Sudarshan, Swagath,
Papanna and a minor boy. According to police, the incident
had taken place in a village under the Sakaleshpur Rural
police station limits. The accused had lured the 13-year-old
girl to an isolated place and raped her. After the crime, the
accused had threatened the girl not to say anything and
behaved in the village as if nothing had happened.
CRUCIAL READ
SPECIAL TASK FORCE OF ODISHA’S CRIME
BRANCH ARRESTS ONE WITH TIGER SKIN
Bhubaneswar (Agencies): The special task force (STF) of
Odisha crime branch on Wednesday seized one tiger skin
and arrested one person in this connection, an official said.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of STF conducted a raid with
the help of forest officials of Baripada forest division early
morning near Belpal Chhak under Udala police station in
Mayurbhanj district. The officials seized a Royal Bengal
tiger skin and arrested a wildlife criminal Debasish Patra
alias Sibu, of Musakhai village of Mayurbhanj district. In
this connection, the STF has registered a case under rele-
vant sections of IPC and Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to get ticket to Final
Al Daayen (ANI): Ju-
lian Alvarez’s brace
and Lionel Messi’s goal
help Argentina beat
Croatia 3-0 here at Lu-
sail Stadium to enter
the final of the FIFA
World Cup 2022.
Midfielder Leandro
Paredes and defender
Nicolas Tagliafico were
brought into Argenti-
na’s starting line-up.
Croatia started off ag-
gressively getting a cor-
ner in the 16th minute
where Dejan Lovren’s
header from a difficult
angle on the left was too
high with the help of
Josip Juranovic’s cross.
Lionel Scaloni’s men
made their first aggres-
sive move in the 25th
minute when Enzo Fer-
nandez’s right footed
shot from outside the
box was saved in the
bottom right corner
coming from the assist
of Alexis Mac Allister.
In the 32nd minute,
Dominik Livakovic of
Croatia conceded a pen-
alty corner. Livakovic
and Kovacic both got
yellow cards and in the
34th minute Messi con-
verted it to give Argen-
tina a 1-0 lead
This appearance was
Lionel Messi’s 25th
equalling Lothar Mat-
thaus’ record in FIFA
World Cup.
In the 39th minute,
the Argentines doubled
their lead as Julian
Alvarez scored a goal to
give his side a 2-0 lead.
Argentine scored al-
most for the third time
when Messi’s cross
helped Alexis Mac Al-
lister take a header
from the left side of the
six-yard box to save in
the centre of the goal.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2022
Argentina’s Julián Álvarez in action during the match against
Croatia in semi-final of FIFA World Cup, in Lusail on Wednesday.
During the match, Argentina had only
39 per cent of possession while 2018
champions Croatia had 61 per cent
Jio 5G services launched in
MP from Mahakaal temple
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Jio on
Wednesday started its
5G services in Madhya
Pradesh by dedicating
the high-speed services
from the holy shrine of
Mahakaleshwar Jyotir-
linga and Shri Ma-
hakaal Mahalok. MP
CM Shivraj Singh Chou-
han launched the high-
speed telecom services
at an event, a statement
by Jio said. After the
launch, Jio demonstrat-
ed the immersive bene-
fits of 5G in the field of
healthcare, through Jio
Community Clinic med-
ical kit, and the revolu-
tionary AR-VR device,
Jio Glass, the statement
said. These benefits will
bring transformational
changes in the lives of
the people in Madhya
Pradesh, it said.
Jewelleryfirmsbookedfor`352crfraud
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
“Feasibility studies on for Venus missions”
Science Technology, Earth Sciences, Space MoS Jitendra Singh tells Lok Sabha that ISRO took initiatives studies in this regard
Opposition leaders meet in Kharge’s
chambers before start of day’s Session
T’gana Cong calls for protest after cops
raidpollstrategist’sofficeinHyderabad
CongMPmovesadjournmentmotion
todiscussraidsatKanugolu’soffice
NIA has registered 497
cases till Dec 2: MoS Rai
New Delhi (Agencies):
MoS (Home Affairs)
Nityanand Rai on
Wednesday told the
Rajya Sabha that the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA) has reg-
istered a total of 497
cases till December 2
this year, including the
Coimbatore blast. He
said that an increase
in the cases had been
recorded in the recent
years. Rai in a written
reply said that from
2019 to 2022, judge-
ment in 67 NIA cases
was pronounced by
the court, of which 65
resulted in conviction
and 2 in acquittal. Cit-
ing reasons for the rise
in cases, Rai said: “The
reason for the increase
in cases over the years
is due to enhanced ca-
pacity of NIA with the
establishment of new
branch offices, expan-
sion of its mandate in
2019 by the inclusion
of certain offences
related to human traf-
ficking, manufacture
or sale of prohibited
arms, cyber-terrorism
and the Explosive
Substances Act, 1908
in the schedule of
National Investigation
Agency Act, 2008.”
20 NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS TO BE COMMISSIONED IN
COUNTRY BY 2031: MoS JITENDRA SINGH’S WRITTEN REPLY
New Delhi (PTI): India
plans to commission
20 nuclear power plants
by 2031, adding nearly
15,000 MW in power
generating capacity, the
government told the Lok
Sabha on Wednesday. The
first of these 20 nuclear
power plants, a 700 MW
unit, is expected to be
commissioned in 2023 at
Kakrapar in Gujarat, which
already has three atomic
power generating units
operational. According to a
written reply by MoS in the
PMO Jitendra Singh, the
500 MW Prototype Fast
Breeder Reactor at Kalpa-
kkam is likely to be opera-
tional in 2024, followed
by two 1,000 MW units at
Kudankulam in 2025. Two
700 MW units at Rawatb-
hata in Rajasthan are likely
to be completed by 2026,
while another two 1,000
MW units are likely to be
completed at Kudankulam
by 2027, he said. Two 700
MW units are expected to
be completed at Gorakhpur
in Haryana by 2029, the
minister said listing out
details of projects under
consideration. In addition,
government had accorded
administrative approvals
and financial sanctions for
building 10 atomic power
units of 700 MW each at
Gorakhpur, Haryana (units
34), Kaiga, Karnataka
(units 56), Chutka, Mad-
hya Pradesh (units 12)
and four units at Mahi
Banswara in Rajasthan.
NO FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
‘BHARAT RATNA’ NECESSARY: RAI
New Delhi (ANI): MoS
Nityanand Rai told Lok
Sabha that the decisions
regarding Bharat Ratna
award are taken from
time to time and no for-
mal recommendations
for this Award are neces-
sary. He was replying to
the query of BJP leader
Bhagirath Choudhary
who had asked if there is
a set criterion for confer-
ring ‘Bharat Ratna’, the
date on which ‘Bharat
Ratna’ award was
started and whether the
govt proposes to confer
the award on various
brave freedom fighters.
“Bharat Ratna, the
country’s highest civilian
Award was instituted
on January 2, 1954. All
persons without distinc-
tion of race, occupation,
position or sex are
eligible for this Award. It
is awarded in recognition
of exceptional service/
performance of the high-
est order in any field of
human endeavour. The
decisions regarding the
award of Bharat Ratna
are taken from time to
time. No formal recom-
mendations for this
Award are necessary,”
MoS Rai answered.

business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: India’s edible
oil imports rose 34% in
Nov to 15.29 lakh tonne
on sharp jump in import
of crude palm and refined
palm oils, according to
industry body SEA. As
per the data, imports of
vegetable oils rose 32%
in November 2022 to
15,45,540 tonne. Out of
total vegetable oil im-
ports, SEA said ship-
ments of edible oils in-
creased to 15,28,760
tonne in November this
year. Import of non-edible
oils fell 52% in Nov 2022
to 16,780 tonne. —PTI
EDIBLE OILS IMPORT
UP 34% TO 15.29
LAKH TONNE IN NOV
New Delhi: State-run
power giant NTPC will
raise `500 crore through
the issuance of non-con-
vertible debentures on a
private placement on Fri-
day. “NTPC has decided
to issue unsecured non-
convertible debentures of
`500 crore on December
16, 2022, through private
placement at a coupon of
7.44% per annum with a
door to door maturity of
10 years 3 months 30
days on April 15, 2033,” a
BSE filing stated. The
proceeds will be utilized
for, inter alia, funding of
capital expenditure, refi-
nancing of existing loans
and other general corpo-
rate purposes. —PTI
POWER GIANT NTPC
TO RAISE `500
CRORE VIA NCDs
New Delhi: Mahindra
Mahindra Ltd on Wednes-
day said it will invest
`10,000 crore in the next
7-8 years in the manufac-
turing and development
of electric vehicles at
Pune, Maharashtra. “The
company, through its
subsidiary, will make in-
vestments of approxi-
mately `10,000 crore
over a period of 7-8 years
for setting up the manu-
facturing facility, develop-
ment, and production of
Mahindra’s upcoming
BEVs,” it added. —PTI
MM TO INVEST
`10,000 CR ON EVs
IN NEXT 7-8 YEARS
Lucknow: Telecom opera-
tor Bharti Airtel on
Wednesday announced
the launch of its cutting-
edge 5G services here.
Airtel 5G Plus services
will be available to cus-
tomers in a phased man-
ner as the company con-
tinues to construct its
network and complete the
rollout. Customers with
5G-enabled devices will
enjoy a high-speed Airtel
5G Plus network at no ex-
tra cost until the rollout is
more widespread, accord-
ing to a press statement.
—PTI
AIRTEL LAUNCHES
5G SERVICES IN
LUCKNOW
07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 54,913.00 318.00 0.57 (Per 10g)
SILVER 69,176.00 682.00 0.98 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.45 0.15 0.18
GBPINR 102.19 0.55 0.55
CURRENCIES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
Govt to further bring down inflation: FM
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Finance Min-
ister Nirmala Sitharaman
on Wednesday assured the
Lok Sabha that the govern-
ment will take measures to
further ease inflation,
which has dipped below the
RBI’s upper tolerance level
of 6%.
Retail inflation has mod-
erated to an 11-month low
of 5.8% in November from
6.77% in the previous
month.“Wewillbringdown
further for the sake of com-
mon people,” she said.
The government is con-
stantly watching the price
situation of essential com-
modities, she said.
The finance minister
made it clear that there is
no fear of stagflation as In-
dia is one of the fastest-
growing economies with
low inflation levels.
With regard to fiscal
deficit, the finance minis-
ter said the government
would be able to meet the
fiscal deficit target of 6.4%
of the GDP for the current
financial year.
The government is com-
mitted to the path of fiscal
consolidation, she added.
On non-performing as-
sets (NPAs), Sitharaman
said it has come down dras-
tically to 7.28% at the end
of March 2022 due to vari-
ous measures taken by the
Modi government.
With regard to the de-
clining value of the rupee
against the US dollar, she
said, the domestic unit is
appreciating against all
other currencies, and the
fall against the greenback
is lower as compared to
other currencies.
Quoting the World Bank
report, she said India’s fo-
rex reserves is one of the
highest in the world and
this provide a cushion
against global spillover.
Later, the House passed
Supplementary Demands
for Grants, authorising the
government to spend
additional `3.25 lakh crore
in FY23.
NO FEAR
OF STAGFLATION
z FM made it clear that there is
no fear of stagflation as India
is one of the fastest-growing
eco with low inflation levels
z She said the government
would be able to meet the
fiscal deficit target of 6.4%
of the GDP for the current
financial year
November WPI inflation hits
21-month low of 5.85 per cent
New Delhi (PTI): The
wholesale price-based in-
flation fell to a 21-month
low of 5.85% in November
as prices of food, fuel
and manufactured items
softened.
The WPI (wholesale
price index) based inflation
has been on a declining
trend since May and came
down to single digit in Oc-
tober at 8.39%.
Experts said a high base
of last year and some eas-
ing in food prices also
worked in favour of the No-
vember 2022 wholesale
price index coming in at its
lowest level since February
2021 when it was 4.83%.
“Decline in the rate of
inflation in November 2022
is primarily contributed by
fall in prices of food arti-
cles, basic metals, textiles,
chemicals chemical
products and paper pa-
per products as compared
to the corresponding
month of the previous
year,” the commerce and
industry ministry said on
Wednesday
.
Inflation in food articles
in November was 1.07%
against 8.33% in the previ-
ous month.
Inflation in vegetables
was (-)20.08% during the
month compared to 17.61%
in October.
As per WPI data, in the
‘fuel and power’ basket, in-
flation was 17.35%.
Mumbai (PTI): Falling ex-
ports and high crude prices
are set to push up current
account deficit (CAD) in
the second quarter to a
37-quarter high of 4.4% of
GDP at $36 billion as
against $9.7 billion or 1.3%
in the year-ago period, esti-
mates a report.
As a percentage of GDP,
the previous high was in
the first quarter of 2013-14
when CAD had scaled to
4.7%, but in absolute terms
the previous high was in
the third quarter of 2012-
13 when it touched $31.8
billion.
Global headwinds facing
merchandise exports had
the shipments contracting
by close to 20% in October
2022 and the agency expects
merchandise exports to
slip to an eight-quarter low
of $88.2 billion in Q3FY23.
CAD may jump to
a 37-quarter high
in second quarter
Mkts settle higher for
2nd consecutive day
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark indices Sensex and
Nifty ended with gains on
Wednesday, extending the
previous day rally amid
lower level of inflation on
domestic front and better-
than-expected inflation
readings from the US.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
climbed 144.61 points or
0.23% to settle at 62,677.91.
The broader NSE Nifty ad-
vanced 52.30 points or
0.28% to end at 18,660.30.
From the Sensex pack,
Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel,
NTPC, IndusInd Bank, SBI,
Power Grid, HCL Technol-
ogies, Tata Consultancy
Services and Larsen Tou-
bro were the major win-
ners. Nestle, Bharti Airtel,
ICICI Bank, Asian Paints,
Hindustan Unilever and
UltraTech Cement were
among the laggards.
` RISES 15 PAISE
TO CLOSE AT 82.45
AGAINST US $
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee
gained 15 paise to settle at
82.45 (provisional) against
the US dollar on Wednes-
day, as a positive trend
in domestic equities and
easing inflationary pres-
sures strengthened investor
sentiment. At the interbank
forex market, the local unit
opened flat at 82.60 against
the greenback and witnessed
an intra-day high of 82.40
and a low of 82.71. It finally
ended at 82.45 against the
American currency, register-
ing a rise of 15 paise.
ADB KEEP INDIA’S
GDP GROWTH
UNCHANGED AT
SEVEN PER CENT
New Delhi (PTI): Asian
Development Bank (ADB)
has kept its outlook for In-
dia’s economic growth un-
changed at 7% for the cur-
rent fiscal year while fore-
casting a weaker-than-pre-
viously expected pace for
developing Asia.
ADB’s 7% growth projec-
tion for fiscal 2022-23 (April
2022 to March 2023), un-
changed from its Septem-
ber forecast, compares to
8.7% GDP growth in 2021-
22. For 2023-24, the GDP
growth has been kept un-
changed at 7.2%.
The Manila-based ADB
in a report on Wednesday
saw Asia expanding 4.2%
this year.
‘Success rate of startups relatively higher’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The success
rate of startups in India is
relatively higher than the
rest of the world and there
were 84,012 recognised
startups in the country at
the end of November,
Union minister Piyush
Goyal said on Wednesday
(December 14).
To boost the startup eco-
system, the government
launched the Startup India
initiative on January 16,
2016, and an action plan
was also put in place.
“Startups are prone to
failures is a very high prob-
ability. Though I must say,
the success rate of startups
in India is relatively higher
than the rest of the
world...,” the minister said.
The number of recog-
nised startups has in-
creased from 452 in 2016 to
84,012 as on November 30,
2022, the minister said.
The FFS, Startup India
Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)
and CGSS extend support
to startups at various stag-
es of their business cycle.
The Startup India Seed
Fund Scheme has been ap-
proved for four years start-
ing from 2021-22 and is be-
ing implemented with a
corpus of `945 crore.
IN INDIA, SAYS PIYUSH GOYAL
LAUNCHED IN
JANUARY 2016
z According to Union Minister
Piyush Goyal to boost the
startup ecosystem, the
government launched the
Startup India initiative on
January 16, 2016, and an
action plan was also put in
place
BIDDERS CAN SHOW
INTEREST FOR IDBI
BANK TILL JANUARY 7
New Delhi: The government
on Wednesday extended the
deadline to submit preliminary
bids for the
IDBI Bank pri-
vatisation till
January 7. The
government
and LIC together are looking
to sell 60.72% of IDBI Bank
and had invited bids from
potential buyers in October.
The last date for submitting
an Expression of Interest
(EoI) or preliminary bids was
December 16. In a notice, the
Department of Investment
and Public Asset Management
(DIPAM) said the last date for
submission of EoI is January
7, 2023, instead of December
16, 2022. —PTI
COAL INDIA’S 7
PROJECTS TO BE
DEVELOPED BY MDOs
New Delhi: State-owned CIL
on Wednesday said it has
issued orders for seven coal
projects to
be developed
by mine
developer
and opera-
tors (MDOs). The objective of
engaging MDOs through open
global tenders is to augment
domestic coal production and
reduce reliance on import
to extent possible. Of these
seven projects, three belong to
CIL arm Central Coalfields Ltd
(CCL) and two to Mahanadi
Coalfields Ltd (MCL)--another
subsidiary of CIL. South East-
ern Coalfields Ltd and Eastern
Coalfield Ltd account for a
solitary project each. —PTI
GOVT ALLOWS NON-RESIDENT TAXPAYERS TO
MANUALLY FILE FORM 10F TILL MARCH 31
New Delhi: The income tax department has allowed non-resident
taxpayers not having PAN to file Form 10F manually till March 31,
2023, a move which would ease their
compliance burden and enable them to
claim lower TDS rate. The Central Board
of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had in July made
it mandatory for non-resident taxpayers
to file Form 10F electronically to claim
benefit of lower TDS. However, taxpayers
faced problems in electronic filing of the
form as the income tax portal did not allow a taxpayer who does
not have a PAN to file Form 10F. —PTI
CPAI ASKS SEBI TO PROVIDE UNINTERRUPTED
TRADING IN COTTON FUTURES CONTRACTS
New Delhi: CPAI has urged capital markets regulator Sebi to
facilitate uninterrupted hedging and trading in cotton futures
contracts to market participants. This
comes after Sebi in August suspended
trading in all cotton futures contracts
on commodity exchange MCX for one
month to align the contract specifica-
tions with that of the market. Later,
MCX informed that it is in process of
modifying the cotton contract specifica-
tion and no fresh position would be permitted in cotton January
2023 contracts and the subsequent expiry contracts till such time
the revised contract specification gets finalised. The market par-
ticipants and hedgers need to roll over the position into January
2023 onwards contract. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
‘Govt saved banks from `3 lakh cr
of NPAs by clearing road projects’
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment on Tuesday
claimed in the Rajya Sabha
that it has saved Indian
banks from `3 lakh crore of
NPAs by helping clear
pending road projects in
the country since 2014.
Road Transport and
Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari informed the Ra-
jya Sabha that there are 415
road projects where 95% of
work is complete but have
been categorised in the de-
layed projects category
.
He said the government
would soon carry out
state-wise monitoring
of all such pending or
delayed projects and
help clear them at the
earliest.
“There are 415 projects
where 95% of work is com-
plete and are termed as de-
layed projects. When our
government came in 2014,
there were projects worth
`3.85 lakh projects which
were shut for various rea-
sons,” he said. “We have
saved Indian bank from 3
lakh crore NPAs,” he said.
719 NH PROJECTS FACING DELAYS: GADKARI
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 719 national highway (NH) projects are
facing delays and 438 projects of these are likely to be completed in the
ongoing fiscal, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. As many as
268 projects are facing delays of less than a year, Road Transport and
Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha. Gadkari
said, “The government constantly monitors sanctioned projects and as
part of this exercise, 719 delayed National Highway projects have been
identified across various states.”

08
2NDFRONT
MAHARERA directs recovery
of `730 cr from developers
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: In a bid to en-
surereal-timecompensa-
tion accrues to home
buyers in the state, the
MaharashtraRealEstate
Regulatory Authority
(MAHARERA) has di-
rected 13 district collec-
tors to provide special
assistance to aggrieved
complainants for a time-
bound recovery of Rs730
crore from defaulting re-
alty developers.
The missives were
sent to collectors of sev-
eral districts including
Mumbai, Mumbai sub-
urban region, Thane,
Pune, Raigad, Palghar,
Aurangabad,
Nagpur, Nashik, Chan-
drapur, Sindhudurg, Sa-
tara and Ratnagiri.
Complaints by home
buyers ranged from fail-
ure to hand over posses-
sion as per the contrac-
tual obligation by realty
developers, incomplete
housing projects by
builders to sub-standard
work have been consist-
ently taken up and de-
cided in favour of con-
cerned citizens by MA-
HARERA, since its in-
ception.
The district collectors
are expected to play a
mitigating role to ensure
the recovery of money
ordered to be paid to the
adversely-impacted
home buyers.
The regulator
has consist-
ently issued orders re-
garding accruing inter-
est for investors’ money
paid to developers, com-
pensation and refunds
following proper hear-
ings in each case. Over
the last five years, the
realtyregulatorinMaha-
rashtra has issued 733
warrants for payment of
cumulative compensa-
tion amount of Rs729.68
crore against developers,
in favour of complainant
home buyers.
In another first, the
MAHARERA has ap-
pointed a retired state
government official (of
additional collector
rank) to coordinate with
concerned district col-
lector offices
to take appropriate ac-
tion to liquidate war-
rants, follow-up and exe-
cute them in close coor-
dination with collectors.
Retired Additional
Collector, Anant Dinkar-
rao Dahiphale, has been
recently assigned the
charge to follow-up and
monitor RERA war-
rants of recovery
against de-
faulting
devel-
opers.
Retired additional
collector appointed
to follow-up. monitor
recovery effort from
defaulting builders
ROLE OF DISTRICT COLLECTORS
The respective
developers have
been ordered to
pay interest,
damage
compensation,
refund and
other due
payments to
complainant
home buyers
within a
prescribed
timeline after
completion of
hearings on
complaints.
Raghuram Rajan joins
Bharat Jodo Yatra in Raj
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with former RBI governor
Raghuram Rajan during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Sawai
Madhopur district on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Jaipur (PTI): Reserve
Bank of India’s former
governor Raghuram
Rajan on Wednesday
joined Rahul Gandhi
during the Congress-led
Bharat Jodo Yatra in
Rajasthan.
The yatra resumed
from the Bhadoti area
of Sawai Madhopur on
Wednesday and reached
Badhshapura for a
morning break. Rajan
walked with Gandhi
during this leg of the
yatra on Wednesday
.
“#BharatJodoYatra
Shri Raghuram Rajan,
former Governor of
RBI, shaking steps with
@RahulGandhi ji... The
increasing number of
people standing up to
unite the country
against hatred shows
that we will be success-
ful,” The Indian Nation-
al Congress tweeted
along with a picture of
Rajan walking with
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi. The yatra
reached Bagdi village of
Dausa in the evening.
The BJP on Wednesday
took a swipe at former
RBI governor Raghu-
ram Rajan after he
joined the Congress’
‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and
said his commentary
on India’s economy
should be discarded
with “disdain” as it is
“coloured and oppor-
tunistic”. BJP’s foreign
affairs department
head Vijay Chauthai-
wale tweeted, “One
former RBI governor
became head of govt
and country lost ten
precious years. Thanks
to Modi, India will
not repeat that mis-
take. RRR (Raghuram
Rajan) can walk from
Delhi to Chicago.” The
party’s IT department
head Amit Malviya
said, “Raghuram
Rajan, former RBI
Governor, a Congress
appointee, joining
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat
Jodo Yatra is not a
surprise”
NO SURPRISE: BJP
G20 meetings put
work at Marine
Drive on hold
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The excava-
tion work of the coastal
road at Marine Drive
has been halted for two-
three days due to the
ongoing G20 meetings.
The municipal corpo-
ration made the deci-
sion for the conveni-
ence of the foreign del-
egates since the roads
were littered due to the
spillage of wet soil dur-
ing excavation.
The streets of Mum-
bai have been decked in
just a few days to wel-
come the participants
from abroad attending
the summit being held
in Mumbai.
The meetings are be-
ing held at Bandra Kur-
la Complex (BKC) and
Colaba. Therefore, the
roads leading to these
locations have been dec-
orated. Also, efforts are
being made to keep
these roads clean.
Work on the seashore
at Marine Drive has
been halted too. Excava-
tion work of two paral-
lel tunnels beneath the
Sea Coast Project is un-
derway. These tunnels
are being built from Pri-
yadarshini Park to
Chhotya Chowpati at
Swarajyabhoomi along
Netaji Subhash Marg
(Marine Drive).
Oneof thetunnelshas
been dug, and the work
on the other tunnel is in
progress. But while dig-
ging the tunnel, a large
amount of wet soil is re-
leased, which damages
the roads.
Meanwhile, despite
the construction ban in
Mumbai for 10 days due
to pollution, the work
on the sea coastline will
continue.
Supriya Sule also used car meant
for Nirbhaya squad: Chitra Wagh
First India Bureau
Kolhapur: Hitting
back at Nationalist Con-
gress Party (NCP) MP
Supriya Sule, state
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) Women’s Wing
chief Chitra Wagh on
Wednesday claimed
that vehicles secured
from the Nirbhaya
Fund were used by po-
litical leaders of all par-
ties when Maha Vikas
Aghadi government
was in power.
Sule had recently tar-
geted the Chief Minis-
ter Shinde and his dep-
uty Devendra Fadnavis-
led government and al-
leged that police vehi-
cles meant to ensure
safety of women in
Mumbai were being
used to protect MLA
supporters of CM Shin-
de.
In response to the
NCP leader’s claim,
Wagh revealed, “MP Su-
priya Sule has also used
a car of the Nirbhaya
squad,” adding that the
cars deployed for Y-plus
security of ministers,
MPs and MLAs will
gradually be requisi-
tioned back to the Nirb-
haya squad by the Shin-
de-Fadnavis govern-
ment.
Targeting the MVA
coalition government—
comprising Shiv Sena
– Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray, Congress
and NCP—Wagh
termed Sule’s claim as
“ulta chor kotwal ko
dante” (pot, meet ket-
tle).
“Out of the 99 vehi-
cles given to police sta-
tions, nine vehicles
have been deployed to
convoys of ministers,
including ex-tourism
minister) Aaditya
Thackeray,” said Wagh.
G20 delegates visit the Gateway of India, in Mumbai, on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
The municipal
corporation made the
decision for the
convenience of the
foreign delegates
since the roads were
littered due to the
spillage of wet soil
during excavation
BJP’s Chitra Wagh
First India Bureau
Alibaug: Rajapur MLA
Rajan Salvi was interro-
gated by Anti-Corrup-
tion Bureau (ACB) offi-
cials at its Alibaug office
for 4.5 hours on Wednes-
day
. After Kudal MLA
Vaibhav Naik, an inves-
tigation has been initi-
ated against Salvi over
illegal assets.
The ACB had issued a
notice to the Shiv Sena
- Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray MLA to ap-
pear for an open inves-
tigation in Alibaug last
week.
After undergoing
grilling for four-and-a-
half hours, Salvi
walked out to be greet-
ed by Shiv Sainiks rais-
ing slogans in his sup-
port. “No matter how
many such notices
come, I will not be
afraid. I will continue
to do my work. I will
face this investigation
with determination
and nothing will come
of it,” he said.
ACB grills
MLA Salvi for
4.5 hours
Maha sets up panel
to collect data on
inter-faith couples
Mumbai (PTI): The
state government has
set up a committee to
gather information on
the inter-faith and in-
ter-caste marriage cou-
ples and the maternal
families of the women
involved if they are es-
tranged. State minister
Mangal Prabhat Lodha
on Wednesday said the
move is aimed at avoid-
ing a repeat of the
Shraddha Walkar case.
The opposition Na-
tionalist Congress Par-
ty (NCP) called it a “ret-
rograde” step and said
the Eknath Shinde gov-
ernment had no right to
spy on the personal life
of people.
A Government Reso-
lution (GR) issued on
Tuesday by the state’s
Women and Child De-
velopment Department
said the “Intercaste/In-
terfaith marriage-fami-
ly coordination com-
mittee (state level)” will
be headed by Lodha.
The committee will
monitor district-level
initiatives for women
involved in such mar-
riages who may be es-
tranged from their fami-
lies, so that assistance
can be provided if nec-
essary
.
Talking to reporters
on Wednesday, Lodha
said setting up the com-
mittee was an attempt
of the state government
to ensure that the
Shraddha Walkar case
does not happen again.
The GR said that the
panel will have 13 mem-
bers from government
and non-government
fieldstostudypoliciesof
the state annd Centre.
FOR THE PEOPLE
Duty of govt to protect all people who
come to pray to Lord Ram: UP MoS
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai: Minister of
state in the Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath-
led Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment, Raghuraj
Singh, on Wednesday
emphasized on the duty
of government officials
to protect citizens in In-
dia and those who come
from overseas to pray to
Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
“Not only Maharash-
tra Navnirman Sena
chief Raj Thackeray,
but any citizen of the
country and the world
can visit Ayodhya to of-
fer prayers to Lord
Ram. Being in the gov-
ernment, we are re-
sponsible for protecting
the citizens coming to
UP. Opposing Thacker-
ay is a personal matter
of BJP MP Brij Bhush-
an Sharan Singh, and
the BJP and the govern-
ment have nothing to do
with it,” assured Singh
while speaking to First
India.
On a three-day visit
to Mumbai, Singh also
talked about rising cas-
es of ‘Love Jihad’ and
the UP government’s
decision to enact a law
to curb it, population
control and possible
legislation in UP As-
sembly and food
schemes.
Speaking to First In-
dia, Singh addressed
the ‘Love Jihad’ inci-
dents occurring across
the country, “In view of
the increasing cases of
‘Love Jihad’ in the
country, the Yogi Adity-
anath government has
decided to bring a law
against it in the state. In
order to pass the legisla-
tion, the government
will present a proposal
in both assemblies in
upcoming session.”
Sharing his thoughts
on UP’s population con-
trol bill, Singh said, “In
order to keep increas-
ing population in check,
the UP government has
decided to introduce a
population control law
in the state. We plan to
present a proposal in
this regard in the up-
coming session.”
On the UP’s plans to
introduce a food
scheme, Singh in-
formed, “The govern-
ment will implement
‘Maa Annapurna Bho-
jnalaya’ scheme in eve-
ry district of the state to
help the poor and gen-
eral public get food. It
will be implemented in
two phases, starting
from the district level.
Minister of State Raghuraj Singh —FILE PHOTO
Raghuraj Singh
talks ‘Love Jihad’,
population
control
legislations and
food schemes
with First India
Put a voice to your fear- Move
those shadows to the sunlit
windows and release them.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

09
his autumn and
winter in 2022,
prints are hav-
ing a moment,
whichcanmake
you hunt for
fresh patterns
to flaunt. Undoubtedly
,
animal print is always
fashionable. Addition-
ally
, you undoubtedly
alreadyhavesomeitems
in your collection that
haveflowersandstripes.
But how about a galaxy
print with a cosmic mo-
tif to raise your pattern
game?
Galaxy is an expres-
sion of digital innova-
tion that includes deep
blue and electric pinks
and is closer to violet
but often less saturated
than purple. It was in-
spired by the holo-
graphic effects of light.
The 2018 Color of the
Year represents knowl-
edge and exploration,
independence and self-
respect, creativity and
complexity, mystery
and magic. The colour
violet, which is related
to monarchy and stands
for strength, nobility,
luxury, and ambition,
blends the qualities of
blue’s stability with
red’s energy
. It conveys
luxury and elegance
and has historically
been associated with in-
trospection, spirituali-
ty and mindfulness
techniques.
Galaxy fashion has
already become a trend-
setter in today’s fashion
world. It is perfect for a
person who is into stars
and the universe.
The galaxy print
hasn’t lately taken over
your Instagram feed be-
cause it’s off the beaten
path. So it’s a welcome
change of pace to see a
poster of a dreamy con-
stellation made up of
stars and planets.
In reality, the galaxy
print has only started to
show up on the catwalk.
The runway during the
Fall 2017 Milan Fashion
Week had a galactic mo-
tif. The Ashish Spring/
Summer 2018 Ready-to-
Wear collection also
had a cosmic motif. Ad-
ditionally, the Galaxy
theme is heavily empha-
sised in these pieces
from the Zuhair Murad
Resort 2018 collection.
MRIDULA SHARMA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
MUMBAI, THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 15, 2022
AN
IDEA
OF
TRAVELLING
THROUGH
THE
HEAVENS
AND
A
DREAMY
CONSTELLATION
PRINT
OF
STARS
AND
PLANETS.
LET’S
DIVE
INTO
THE
UNIVERSE
OF
STARS
AND
GALAXIES
WITH
CITY
FIRST
T
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

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