19012022 first india new delhi

CRUCIAL READ
PORN FILM CASE: SC GRANTS PRE-
ARREST BAIL TO POONAM PANDEY
GRAFT CASE: COURT REJECTS ANIL
DESHMUKH’S PLEA FOR DEFAULT BAIL
New Delhi: The SC on Tuesday
granted protection from arrest
to actress Poonam Pandey in
porn films racket case. A bench
of Justices Vineet Saran and B V
Nagarathna issued notice to the
Maharashtra government on an
appeal filed by Pandey against a Bombay High
Court order rejecting her anticipatory bail.
Mumbai: In a setback to Anil Deshmukh, a special
PMLA court on Tuesday rejected the former Maha-
rashtra Home Minister’s plea to be granted default
bail in connection with a money laundering case
registered against him by the Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED). Deshmukh has argued in his plea that
though the agency had filed a charge-sheet against
him, the court had not taken cognisance of it, and,
therefore, he should be granted default bail.
First India Bureau
The AAP on Tuesday
announced Bhagwant
Mann as its chief min-
isterial candidate ahead
of the Punjab Assembly
elections scheduled in
February. The decision
was announced days af-
ter the party opened tel-
ephone lines for people
of Punjab to suggest
names for their pre-
ferred CM candidate.
AAP received around
22 lakh responses under
its campaign to elect its
CM face.
AAP NAMES BHAGWANT
MANN AS CM CANDIDATE
POLL-DANCE
NEW DELHI lWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.141
ED raids 10 locations
in Punjab, including
CM’s nephew’s house
Jalandhar: Days ahead
of the Punjab Assembly
elections, the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
Tuesday carried out
searches at 10 places in
Ludhiana, Mohali and
Pathankot districts in
connection with an ille-
gal sand mining case
based on an FIR regis-
tered in 2018 by the Pun-
jab police against
Kudrat Deep Singh, the
main accused, who
owns a quarry in
Nawanshahr, Shaheed
Bhagat Singh Nagar dis-
trict. Among the places
searched was the Mo-
hali residence of Chief
Minister Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi’s nephew -
BhupinderSinghHoney
.
ILLEGAL SAND MINING CASE
It is also a fact that AAP
sounded off a number of
prospective candidates but
each and every one of them
refused to lead the party.
This is why the
responsibility has been
thrust on Bhagwant after
a make belief survey.
—Sukhbir Singh Badal,
President
PRESSURE TACTICS
IN RUN-UP TO
POLLS: CHANNI
Reacting to the ED raid
at his nephew Bhupinder
Singh’s house, Channi
said, “The same thing
happened during the
West Bengal elections. It
is to put pressure on me
in view of the upcoming
assembly polls. They are
targeting me. This is not
good for democracy.”
‘MAKE FARMERS AWARE OF
CENTRE’S WELFARE SCHEMES’
GOA CONGRESS
RELEASES LIST
SONU SOOD ROOTS FOR
CHANNI, CONG TWEETS
SC TO CONSIDER
HEARING PLEA
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Tuesday interacted with the BJP workers
of his parliamentary constituency Varanasi
through his NaMo app and discussed issues
like restoration of the Kashi Vishwanath Cor-
ridor, women empower-
ment, farmers’ welfare,
etc. Interacting with the
BJP workers, he spoke
about people of Varanasi
getting benefits from
central government
schemes. “We have start-
ed various schemes for
farmers like farmers trains, vaccinating the
animal’s campaign and opening several dair-
ies. I want all the BJP workers to make farm-
ers aware of all these schemes. Tell farmers
about organic farming. It is very important to
tell the farmers about natural farming. —ANI
Panaji: Congress on
Tuesday released the
third list of candidates
for the upcoming Goa
Assembly elections
that are scheduled to
take place on February
14. Michael Lobo, the
former state minister
who recently quit
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) to join the party,
will contest from the
Calangute constituency.
Congress has apparently backed
Punjab CM Channi as its CM face
amid intense speculations. In a video
by the official Twitter handle of Con-
gress, actor‌ ‌Sonu‌ ‌Sood‌ ‌says‌ ‌the‌ ‌“real‌
‌chief‌ ‌ minister‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌one‌ ‌who‌ ‌does‌
‌not‌ ‌have‌ ‌to‌ ‌tell‌ ‌he‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌chief‌ ‌minis-
terial‌ ‌candidate”.‌ ‌Sood’s‌ ‌remark‌ ‌was‌
‌followed‌ ‌by‌ ‌several‌ ‌clips‌ ‌of‌ ‌Channi‌.
New Delhi: The
Supreme Court on
Tuesday said it would
consider listing for
hearing a plea seeking
a direction to the
Election Commission
to ensure that political
parties publish details
regarding criminal
cases of candidates
along with the reason
for their selection on
their websites.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with party’s CM candidate for Punjab Bhagwant Singh Mann in Mohali. —PHOTO BY PTI
I will try to get my party the victory with more than
two-third majority. We have to make Punjab
Rangla Punjab again. —Bhagwant Singh Mann
Rajnath writes to Didi,
Stalin over tableaux
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Tuesday wrote to Ta-
mil Nadu CM MK Stalin
and his West Bengal
counterpart Mamata
Banerjee over the exclu-
sion of the states’ tab-
leaux from the Republic
Day parade in New Del-
hi. In his letter to Sta-
lin, Singh said TN’s tab-
leau could not make it
into the final list of 12
tableaux selected for
participation.
A day ago, Stalin had
sought PM’s immediate
intervention in the mat-
ter alleging the move
was an “insult” by the
Centre.
3RD WAVE EBBING;
WILL LINGER TILL
MARCH IN INDIA
50L BOOSTER JABS
IN ALL SINCE JAN
10: MANDAVIYA
New Delhi: For the first
time, the list of invitees
to R-Day celebrations
include autorickshaw
drivers, construction
workers. A senior Min-
istry of Defence official
said that a special effort
has been made to give
opportunity who never
get a chance to see the
R-Day celebration.
The waning of the Omi-
cron wave has begun in
Mumbai, but it may take
at least another month
before the rest of the
country experiences a
decline in third wave. As
for pandemic, with some
European countries having
registered five waves.
Over 50 lakh healthcare,
frontline workers and
citizens aged 60 years
and above have been
administered the precau-
tion dose of Covid-19
vaccine since January
10, Union Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya said
on Tuesday.
CENTRE FLAGS DIP IN COVID TESTING,
ASKS STATES AND UTs TO ENHANCE IT
New Delhi: The health
ministry has written to
the states and union ter-
ritories highlighting
there has been a decline
in Covid-19 testing. It
has reminded the states
that the basic objective
of testing is early detec-
tion of cases for quick
isolation and care.
The letter to the
states by Centre said:
“Testing remains a key
and crucial component
of the framework. How-
ever, it is seen from the
data available on the
ICMR portal that test-
ing has declined in
many states and union
territories.
AVOID STEROIDS, TEST FOR TB IF
COUGH REMAINS, SAYS CENTRE
The Centre on Tuesday released fresh clinical guide-
lines for COVID-19 treatment advising doctors to avoid
prescribing steroids. Citing the possible increase in
risks of secondary infections such as the black fungus,
the Health Ministry urged doctors to limit the use of
steroids in the early stages of clinical treatment. The
latest guidelines for the management also recommend
testing for tuberculosis and other conditions if the
cough persists for more than two to three weeks.
Abu Dhabi blast: Efforts
on to send bodies back,
says Indian Embassy
NewDelhi:ThetwoIndi-
ans killed in the suspect-
ed drone strike in Abu
Dhabi on Monday have
beenidentified,informed
the Indian Embassy in
UAETuesdaymorning.It
added that two of the six
injured in the attack are
also Indians.
The embassy tweet-
ed, “Identities of 2 de-
ceased Indian nation-
als established.” It
added that the embassy
officials “are in touch
with their family mem-
bers. The Mission is
working closely with
UAE authorities, in-
cluding ADNOC, for
early repatriation of
mortal remains”.
The Indian Embassy
in another tweet Tues-
day said of the “6 in-
jured, 2 are Indian na-
tionals. After receiving
medical treatment they
were discharged yes-
terday night.”
N Chandrababu Naidu@ncbn
I’ve tested positive for COVID with mild
symptoms. I have quarantined myself at home
and taking all the necessary precautions. I would request
those who came in contact with me to get themselves
tested at the earliest. Please be safe and take care.
It’s very sad to know that raid is being
conducted on the premises of Punjab Chief
Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s relative
in connection with a case of illegal sand mining.
Punjab Chief Minister and his relatives are involved
in illegal sand mining. —Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/
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instagram.com/thefirstindia
R-DAY: IN A FIRST,
WORKERS, DRIVERS
IN LIST OF GUESTS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah to
get in action mode in UP soon
First India Bureau
New Delhi: As the po-
litically important state
UttarPradeshgetsready
for a 7-phase election,
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah will soon hit
GroundZeroandwillget
intoamoreactiverolein
the state in a big way
.
Shah will take on a more
active role as the saffron
party tries to seize back
the narrative after its
several leaders quit.
Meanwhile, the BJP
was holding a core com-
mittee at the party head-
quarters in New Delhi
on Tuesday
. Union HM
Shah, BJP chief JP Na-
dda, UP election in
charge Dharmendra
Pradhan, UP CM Yogi
Adityanath and other
BJP leaders arrive for
the meeting.
The first meeting was
held earlier in the day
with Union Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan,
the election in-charge
of Uttar Pradesh. In
this meeting, BJP’s alli-
ance partners, the Ni-
shad Party leaders and
Apna Dal President
Anupriya Patel were
present along with state
Deputy Chief Minister
Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Sources said in Apna
Dal, looking at develop-
ments in the meeting
first today, the party
hopes to get double the
number seats this time
as compared to previ-
ous elections in which
they contested on 11
seats. —With ANI Inputs
READY FOR ACTION
Amit Shah arrives for BJP core committee meeting at party
headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
EC ADDS NEW COLUMN ON EXPENDITURE
ON DIGITAL CAMPAIGNING
New Delhi: The Election Commission has added
a new column in candidates’ election expenditure
returns to submit information on money spent on
digital campaigning in the upcoming polls in five
states. The candidates used to mention money
spent on digital campaigning in previous elections
also, but this is for the first time that a dedicated
column has been created to “capture” details of
such expenditure. More on P8
No para-gliding,
aerial platforms:
Delhi Top Cop
New Delhi: To ensure
security and on account
of mitigatinganysortsof
t h r e a t s
d u r i n g
Republic
Day
,Delhi
P o l i c e
Commissioner Rakesh
Asthana on Tuesday is-
sued orders prohibiting
para-gliders, other aerial
platforms for 27 days, till
February15.Theorderby
Delhitopcopprohibitsly-
ing of para-gliders, para-
motors, microlight air-
craft, remotely piloted
aircraft, hot air balloons,
and other forms of sub-
conventional aerial plat-
forms for a period of 27
days starting from 20
January
. More on P2
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
11,684
NEW
CASES
17,516
RECOVERED
38
NEW DEATHS

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Tuesday
granted bail to six per-
sons in connection with
the Gokulpuri murder
case relating to the 2020
North-east Delhi vio-
lence.
Justice Subramoni-
um Prasad on Tuesday
passed the order and
granted bail to Mohd
Tahir, Shahrukh, Mohd
Faizal, Mohd Shoaib,
Rashid and Parvez.
The accused were
booked in a case relat-
ing to vandalism, put-
ting fire on a sweet shop
which caused the death
of a 22-year-old man
who died due to burn
injuries. The dead,
identified as Dilbar
Negi (22), was burnt by
a mob of rioters after
they cut off his hands
and feet. Negi had come
to Delhi in search of a
job from his native state
Uttarakhand six
months before the inci-
dent.
According to police, a
riot had taken place
near Shiv Vihar Tiraha
on February 24 in which
accused persons pelted
stones, ransacked and
torched severa l shops
there. Two days later, a
mutilated dead body of
a person namely Dilbar
was found from the said
shop. An FIR under var-
ious sections of the In-
dian Penal Code was
registered against the
accused at Gokulpuri
Police Station. —PTI
Commission for Women
issued a notice to Delhi
Police on Tuesday and
demandedanFIRagainst
persons making obscene
comments against Mus-
lim women on an app
called ‘Clubhouse’.
The DCW took sou-
moto cognizance of a
video posted on twitter
showing a filthy Club-
house conversation on
the topic targeting Mus-
lim girls and sought in-
formationlatestbyJanu-
ary24.Inthesaidconver-
sation, the participants
are clearly heard mak-
ing obscene remarks
over Muslim women.
“The DCW has taken
suo-moto cognizance on
obscene remarks made
for women and girls by
some persons on a social
media platform called
‘Club House’. It is learnt
that some participants
were having a conversa-
tion on the platform
‘Club House’ on a topic
named‘MuslimGalsAre
More Beautiful Than
Hindu Gals’,” the com-
mission said. —ANI
New Delhi: The air
quality in the national
capital on Tuesday dete-
riorated to ‘very poor’
from ‘poor’ category
with an overall AQI at
312, according to the
System of Air Quality
and Weather Forecast-
ing And Research.
The air quality in the
national capital was in
the ‘poor’ category on
Monday
. The concentra-
tions of PM 2.5 and PM
10 stood at 135 in the
‘very poor’ and 232 in
the ‘moderate’ category
respectively
“AQI today deterio-
rated to ‘Very Poor’.
Maximum temperature
and wind speed is likely
to increase gradually
for the next three days
(January 18, 19, 10) en-
hancing ventilation of
pollutants leading to
improvement in air
quality but within ‘Very
Poor’ category. High
wind speed is likely
from January 21 result-
ing in dilution of pollut-
ants and improvement
of AQI,” SAFAR said in
its bulletin. —ANI
New Delhi: After a
brief exchange of fire,
the Delhi Police has ar-
rested a 36-year-old one
desperate and notori-
ous arms supplier of
the Kapil Sangwan
gang with a huge cache
of arms in Sector-35 Ro-
hini area of the nation-
al capital on Monday
night.
The accused has been
identified as Shakil ali-
as Sherni, a resident of
Jahangir Puri. Accord-
ing to DCP Outer North
Brijendra Yadav, the ac-
cused was found carry-
ing a backpack contain-
ing 13 sophisticated
pistols and 38 live car-
tridges separately
.
Acting on the secret
information, a trap was
laid near UER-II in Sec-
tor-35 Rohini Delhi wh-
erein the accused was
intercepted while he
was seen coming from
the side of Sector 29 Ro-
hini on a motorcycle.
“A secret information
was developed by Ct
Pradeep regarding mo-
vement of one desper-
ate and notorious Arms
Supplier of Kapil Sang-
wan @ Nandu and Jyoti
Baba gang and Sisodia
Gang namely Shakil
alias Sherni. —PTI
high court on Monday
pulled up the South Del-
hi Municipal Corpora-
tion (SDMC) for not car-
rying out a social disa-
bility audit in a “proper
manner” in Vasant Vi-
har area and failing to
take steps to make
streets and pavements
friendly for wheelchair-
bound people.
Justice Najmi Waziri,
while hearing a con-
tempt plea alleging in-
action of the authori-
ties in preserving trees
and preventing them
from concretisation,
took note of a video
showing civic officials
conducting the audit on
a wheelchair but with
assistance from another
person. On November
15 last year, the court
said SDMC engineers
shall traverse the entire
colony’s footpaths on a
wheelchair unaided to
ensure the usability the
footpaths. In compli-
ance, the civic body of-
ficials carried out an
audit, but with assis-
tance.
The court observed
that every citizen has a
right to move around in
the area created by the
state and asked why
SDMC officials were not
moving independently
on wheelchairs.
“When they moved
around in wheelchairs,
did they find it diffi-
cult?” the court asked
the SDMC counsel. —PTI
New Delhi: In a bid to
provide green spaces
and promote physical
activities and yoga
among the public, the
New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) has
proposed to redevelop
and modernise 27 small
residentialparksinLax-
mi Bai Nagar and 30
parks in Gole market.
The redevelopment,
beautification and mod-
ernisation of parks will
be completed by March
2023, said NDMC offi-
cials. The main aim of
this project is to make
these parks accessible
for the public and sup-
port them mentally and
physicallyamidtheCov-
id-19, they said.
“The Covid pandemic
has altered human be-
haviour around the
world and to help the
people stay healthy and
maintain their mental
and physical health dur-
ing the pandemic,
NDMC has decided to
redevelop these park
with plantation, green-
ery, flower, street furni-
ture, open gym, cycle
tracks and space for do-
ing yoga, so people can
engage in outdoor ac-
tivities maintaining
physical distancing,”
said NDMC vice-chair-
man Satish Upadhyay
.
Parks and green spac-
es improve the quality
of life for urban resi-
dents in many ways.
They promote active
lifestylesthatreducethe
risk of cardiovascular
disease and other chron-
ic health conditions, he
added. —Agencies
NDMC to modernise parks for physical activities
GREEN SPACES
CRUCIAL READ
REPUBLIC DAY
New Delhi: A PhD
student of JNU said a
motorist allegedly tried
to molest her inside the
campus when she was
taking a stroll around
11.45 pm Monday, the police said Tuesday. While
an FIR is lodged, the police said initial prove has
revealed that the motorcyclist came from within the
campus and after the woman raised an alarm, he
escaped and disappear within the University.
Gautam Buddh Nagar:
A pit bull mauled a
child at Sadopur vil-
lage in Uttar Pradesh’s
Gautam Buddh Nagar
district on Monday
while the owners of
the dog looked on. According to the Badalpur Police,
during an argument with the boy’s family, the own-
ers, identified as Ravinder and Saurabh, allegedly let
the dog attack the minor. A complaint was filed by
the minor’s family member.
JNU PHD STUDENT ALLEGES BID TO
MOLEST ON CAMPUS, CASE FILED
PIT BULL MAULS BOY IN NOIDA, DOG’S
OWNERS ARRESTED: POLICE
BIRDS OF JOY!
Birds flying as a man rows a boat on the waters of Yamuna river on a cold winter morning,
Yamuna Bazar in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
HC pulls up SDMC
over disability audit
MAN SHOT DEAD
AT ENGAGEMENT
PARTY
New Delhi: A 27-year-
old man was shot dead
by assailants at an
engagement function in
Faridabad’s Tigaon al-
legedly over enmity re-
garding a criminal case
lodged by a relative of
the victim. An FIR was
registered under section
302 (murder) of the IPC
and relevant sections of
The Arms Act at Tigaon
police station Tuesday,
police said.
New Delhi: Delhi’s
Social Welfare Minister
Rajendra Pal Gautam
on Tuesday tested posi-
tive for COVID-19. He
requested people who
came in contact with
him to get themselves
tested. “I am in home
isolation due to mild
fever and cough for the
last four days. I under-
went a Covid test, and
the report came out
positive,” he tweeted.
RAJENDRA PAL
TESTS POSITIVE
FOR COVID
Obscene remarks
against Muslim
women on app:
DCW seeks FIR
The order
shall
come into
force with
effect
from
January
20, 2022
and shall
remain in
force till
Feb15.
North-East Delhi violence: Six
accused gets bail in murder case
‘Notorious’ arms supplier arrested
after brief encounter in Rohini
City air quality
deteriorates to
‘very poor’
category
Delhi Police arrested an arms supplier and seized 13 sophisticated
pistols and 38 live cartridges in New Delhi —PHOTO BY ANI
Police on Tuesday pro-
hibited flying of para-
gliders, para-motors,
microlight aircraft, re-
motely piloted aircraft,
hot air balloons, and
other forms of sub-con-
ventional aerial plat-
forms for a period of 27
days starting 20 Janu-
ary, 2022 on account of
mitigating any sorts of
threats during Repub-
lic Day, said Delhi Po-
lice Commissioner
Rakesh Asthana.
“It has been reported
that certain criminal
or anti-social elements
or terrorists inimical
to India may pose a
threat to the safety of
the general public, dig-
nitaries and vital in-
stallations by the use
of sub-conventional
aerial platforms like
para-gliders, para-mo-
tors, hang gliders, un-
manned aerial vehicles
(UAVs), unmanned air-
craft systems (UASs),
micro-light aircraft,
remotely piloted air-
craft, hot air balloons,
small size powered air-
craft, quadcopters or
even by para-jumping
from aircraft etc,” said
Delhi police. This order
shall come into force
with effect from Janu-
ary 20, 2022 and shall
remain in force for a
period of 27 days that is
up to February 15, 2022
(both days inclusive)
unless withdrawn ear-
lier.
The Delhi Police, in
pursuance of the Min-
istry of
H o m e
A f -
f a i r s
(MHA) order, has pro-
hibited flying of sub-
conventional aerial
platforms like para-
gliders, para-motors,
hang gliders, UAVs,
UASs, microlight air-
craft, remotely piloted
aircraft, hot air bal-
loons, small size pow-
ered aircraft, quadcop-
ters or para jumping
from aircraft etc. over
the jurisdiction of the
National Capital Ter-
ritory of Delhi on the
occasion of Repub-
lic Day Func-
tion-2022 and doing
so shall be punish-
able under sec-
tion 188 of the
Indian Penal
Code. —ANI
Delhi Police prohibits
para-gliders, aerial
platforms till Feb 15
It is reported that certain
criminal or anti-social ele-
ments or terrorists inimical
to India may pose a threat to the
safety of the general public, digni-
taries and vital installations.
—Rakesh Asthana, Delhi Police Commissioner

INDIA
03
New Delhi: Around
1000 drones, 75 military
aircraft and tableaux of
12 states and Union Ter-
ritories and nine minis-
tries will be part of the
Republic Day celebra-
tions at Rajpath in the
national capital.
Interestingly
, the gov-
ernment has introduced
two important changes
— Republic Day celebra-
tion week will be held
from January 23 to Jan-
uary 30 and the main
function will begin 30
minutes later on Janu-
ary 26. It will begin at
10.30 a.m. in place of 10
a.m. to let visibility im-
prove by the time flypast
takes place.
The celebrations will
begin from January 23
to mark the 125th birth
anniversary of Netaji
SubhasChandraBose.It
will end on January 30
to commemorate Mar-
tyrs Day
. Number of
visitors has been signifi-
cantly curtailed be-
tween 5,000 to 8,000.
No foreign chief
guest this year due
to COVID-19
There will be no foreign
chief guest on R-Day
this year due to Covid
crisis Omicron
threat. Invitations to
Heads of States of five
Central Asian coun-
tries have been sent.
“There will be no for-
eign chief guest from
Central Asian coun-
tries on R- Day this year
due to COVID-19. —ANI
R-Day celebrations begin from
Jan 23, visitor numbers curtailed
ASSEMBLY POLLS 2022
Chandigarh: Aam
Aadmi Punjab Presi-
dent Bhagwant Mann
on Tuesday expressed
his gratitude to his par-
ty and the people of
Punjab after being
declared as the
AAP’s chief min-
isterial candidate
in the upcoming
Assembly elections,
and said that his party
would be victorious
with more than two-
third majority and
make the state “Rangla
Punjab” again.
Earlier on Tuesday,
Mann was declared the
Chief Ministerial can-
didate of AAP after the
party received nearly 22
lakh responses on the
phone number released
last week asking people
to give names of their
preferred candidate for
the face of the chief
minister for the party
in Punjab. Speaking to
ANI, Mann said, “I will
try to get my party the
victory with more than
two-third majority. We
have to make Punjab
Rangla Punjab again.”
Asked about his pri-
orities if he is elected as
CM in upcoming polls,
Mann said that he
would address the is-
sues relating to drug ad-
diction and the unem-
ployment of youth. “Un-
employment is a big is-
sueinPunjab,ouryouth
has gone into depres-
sion, running away
abroad. We will work for
this, we will fix educa-
tion, we will fix agricul-
ture. Electricity is also a
big issue. We have to
end the mafia rule and
fill the treasury of Pun-
jab, give convenience to
the people.” —ANI
Amritsar: Congress
leader Raj Kumar Verka
on Tuesday alleged
“There is no truth in the
response calls that
Arvind Kejriwal is talk-
ing about and to cheat
the people of Punjab
and Bhagwant Mann,
Kejriwal has played a
newtrick,”saidtheCon-
gress leader. “AAP is not
going to get a total 5 lakh
votes in Punjab.
Imphal: The All Manipur Christian Organisation
(AMCO) urged Election Commission to resched-
ule first phase of As-
sembly polls on Febru-
ary 27 as the day being
a Sunday is the prayer
day of the community.
The AMCO requested
the ECI to conduct the
polling of the first phase
on any day of the week
other than Sundays.”We earnestly appeal to
the Election Commission to reschedule the first
phase polling date to show solidarity and respect
to the religious sentiment of the Christians,” it
said in a statement.The elections to the 60-mem-
ber Manipur Assembly would be held in two
phases on February 27 and March 3. —ANI
Panaji: Aam Aadmi
Party national conven-
or and Delhi Chief Min-
ister Arvind Kejriwal
will be announcing the
party’s CM candidate
for Goa during a press
conference in Panaji
on Wednesday.
Kejriwal had
held a door-to-
door campaign
on Sunday in
Cortalim village of Goa,
which is scheduled
to go to polls this
February. As a part of
the campaign, Kejriwal
along with other party
members was seen
interacting with voters
in Cortalim. Pamphlets
were distributed to
the voters during the
campaign.
Goa will go to the
assembly polls on
February 14.
The counting of
votes will take
place on March
10. AAP an-
nounced its Lok Sabha
MP Bhagwant Mann
as the party’s chief
ministerial candidate
for Punjab Assembly
elections. —ANI
ty and the people of
Punjab after being
declared as the
isterial candidate
in the upcoming
Assembly elections,
PUNJAB
conference in Panaji
conference in Panaji assembly polls on
assembly polls on
February 14.
February 14.
The counting of
The counting of
votes will take
votes will take
place on March
place on March
10. AAP an-
10. AAP an-
GOA
GOA
AAPWILLWINBYTWO-THIRDMAJORITY,
MAKE ‘RANGLA PUNJAB’ AGAIN: MANN
Verka: Mann
declared CM
face on fake
response calls
Asked about his priorities if elected as CM, the AAP leader said that he
would address issues like drug addiction youth unemployment
AAP chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Mann in-conversation with Delhi CM AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal ahead of Punjab
polls, in Mohali on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
LORD KRISHNA BIGGEST POLITICIAN,WE’VE LEARNT POLITICS FROM HIM: BAGHEL
Mathura: Chhattis-
garh Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel on
Tuesdayofferedprayers
at Bankey Bihari tem-
ple in Uttar Pradesh’s
Mathura and said that
Lord Krishna was the
biggest politician who
fought for truth and the
Congress has learnt
politics from him.
Speaking to ANI,
Baghel said, “Lord
Krishna is the biggest
politician who fought
for truth, we’ve all
learnt politics from
him.” He further hit
out at Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath and said
that his days are gone
as a Chief Minister and
shocking results will
come in the upcoming
Assembly polls.
“Shocking results
will come; days are
gone for UP CM
Yogi Adityanath,”
he said.
Earlier, Baghel
expressed confi-
dence in his party se-
curing a win in the up-
coming Assembly polls
in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to ANI,
Baghel who is also an
observer for the UP As-
sembly election said,
Elections for the 403
Assembly constituen-
cies in Uttar Pradesh
will be held in seven
phases starting Febru-
ary 10, the Election
Commission said. The
pollinginUttarPradesh
will be held on Febru-
ary 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and
March 3 and 7 in seven
phases. —ANI
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel along with Congress
Mathura candidate Pradeep Mathur pays obesiance at Bankey
Bihari temple, in Mathura, Tuesday.
Indian Navy personnel wave the tri-colour flag while rehearsing
for the Beating Retreat ceremony, at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi.
New Delhi: The Nishad
Party founder, Sanjay
Nishad said all the seats
on alliance with BJP for
the UP assembly polls will
be announced
in two to four
days and
discussion
on two seats
are going on.
“Around 15
seats are fix for us while
discussions are going for
two-three more seats.
Names of all seats will be
announced in two to four
days, after our meeting.”
”We are working to win
the Uttar Pradesh As-
sembly polls and have no
problem in giving seats to
BJP,” he said. —ANI
New Delhi: There is no dearth of war of words ahead
of Punjab Assembly polls, which is scheduled next
month. And as AAP announced its CMcandidate, it
took a Bollywood route to poke fun at its opposition.
Posting the song ‘Dil Da Mamla Hai Dilbar’ from Heyy
Babyy on Twitter, AAP morphed faces of Congress
leaders Charanjit Singh Channi, Navjot Sidhu and Rahul
Gandhi, its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and can-
didate Bhagwant Mann onto those of actors in scenes.
Lucknow: As per sources in Apna Dal, the party
has demanded 36 assembly seats in the forth-
coming polls. However, the discussion is still
underway. “Winnability will be the criteria. We
will put our candidates in the fray of elections
on the seats where there is more possibility of
winning. Similarly, BJP will do that same for
their candidates. This time, we will fight the
polls on twice the number of seats,” sources in
Apna Dal said. —ANI
Lucknow: Politician Islamic cleric Tauqeer Raza
Khan, who was earlier booked for derogatory
comments against PM Modi reportedly issuing
threats against Hindu community, joined Congress
ahead of UP Assembly polls. “We had resentment
with Congress, but BJP took advantage of it. We
are responsible for country’s loss. This step has
been taken to rectify that mistake. I request all UP
people, especially Muslims if you want to maintain
peace here, vote Congress,” Khan said. —ANI
Lucknow: Desperately
seeking assembly ticket
for her son, senior BJP
leader and sitting MP
from Prayagraj, Rita
Bahuguna
Joshi is
ready to
sacrifice her
seat in the
parliament.
In a letter to
BJP, national president
JP Nadda, Rita Joshi has
offered to resign from
parliament provided
party gives ticket to her
son Mayank Joshi from
Lucknow Cantt assembly
seat. Before being elected
as MP from Prayagraj,
Rita was legislator from
this seat. —Agencies
‘BJP ALLIANCE
SEATS TO BE
DECLARED SOON’
AAP USES BOLLYWOOD SONG
TO INTRODUCE ITS CM FACE
UTTAR PRADESH ASSEMBLY
POLLS: APNA DAL EYES 36 SEATS
BOOKED EARLIER FOR HATE SPEECH,
TAUQEER RAZA KHAN JOINS CONG
‘WILL RESIGN FROM
LS SEAT IF MY SON
GETS TICKET’
The situation of Congress is strong in Uttar
Pradesh. Under the leadership of Priyanka
Gandhi, the organisation has become
strong and has fought for the farmers, workers and
women. There is great support on the ground for
Congress. We are complying with the guidelines of
the ECI. We are doing door to door campaign. We
are adhering to the guidelines of the commission.
—Bhupesh Baghel, Chhattisgarh CM
will come; days are
gone for UP CM
Yogi Adityanath,”
he said.
expressed confi-
UP
expressed confi-
UP
Christians in Manipur urge EC
not to hold polling on Sunday
Arvind Kejriwal to announce
AAP’s Goa CM face today
1000 DRONES TO DISPLAY MULTIPLE FORMATIONS IN SKY
New Delhi: To encourage a startup led by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Delhi, for the first time in the country, a drone show consisting of 1,000 drones
will be held during the Beating Retreat event in Republic Day celebrations this
year, said an official from the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday. After China, Russia
and UK, India will be the fourth country to perform drone show. The official also
said that this year, the Beating Retreat ceremony will also witness projection
mapping to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of Independence.
SC TO CENTRE: FRAME
MODEL SCHEME ON
COMMUNITY KITCHENS
New Delhi: The SC on
Tuesday questioned the
Centre for not reporting
any starvation death. The
court said if it can be
understood that there is
no starvation death in the
country. The apex court
asked the government to
furnish the latest data on
starvation deaths and also
frame a model scheme,
for state governments to
implement, in commu-
nity kitchens to address
hunger and malnutri-
tion. A bench headed
by Chief Justice N.V.
Ramana and comprising
Justices A.S. Bopanna
and Hima Kohli told At-
torney General (AG) K.K.
Venugopal, “Government
of India should give us
data on starvation deaths,
latest information. Ask
your officer to give us
information”. The bench
further emphasised that
the Central government
should frame a model
scheme for community
kitchens and leave it on
the state governments to
implement it. —ANI
EXPLAIN WHY NDA-2022 EXAM HAS ONLY 19
SEATS FOR WOMEN: SC TO CENTRE
HELLO TAXI MULTI-CRORE FRAUD: DELHI HC
GRANTS BAIL TO TWO DIRECTORS
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January
18) sought the response of the central government
on limiting the intake of
women candidates for the
National Defence Academy
(NDA)-2022 examination
to 19, the same as last
year. A bench of justices
Sanjay Kaul and MM Sun-
dresh asked the Centre to
place the figures on record about the total number
of candidates including women who have appeared
in the NDA examination 2021, for entrance tests for
Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and for
Rashtriya Military School (RMS). The bench told Ad-
ditional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati.
New Delhi: Delhi HC has granted bail to two
directors of an app-based taxi company, accused
of duping hundreds of
people of Rs 250 crore
after promising them huge
returns on investing in the
firm. Justice Subramonium
Prasad noted that their
custody isn’t required.
“Whether or not cheated
money was entrusted to petitioners (accused) is a
matter of trial and cannot be taken into consideration
at this juncture. This court is, therefore, of the opin-
ion that continued custody of the petitioners is no
longer required and that both the petitioners should
be enlarged on bail,” the court said. —PTI
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: Following
raids on the house of
Punjab Chief Minis-
ter’s relative, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
today hit out at the BJP
saying it’s the ruling
party’s “favourite weap-
on because they them-
selves have things to
hide”. The raids are in
connection with an old
case, and come just
weeks before state as-
sembly elections, lead-
ing to speculation on
social media of a politi-
cal motive behind it.
New Delhi: After PM Modi had to restart his Davos Agen-
da address, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe
saying “even the teleprompter could not take so much
lies”, even as BJP leaders pointed to a “technical glitch’’ at
event organiser World Economic Forum’s end. There was
no official reaction from the Centre or the World Economic
Forum. Several Congress leaders and social media users
claimed that it was a “teleprompter gaffe” as PM Modi had
to pause and then restart his special address to the WEF’s
online Davos Agenda 2022 summit, but BJP leaders and
many others pointed out that it was a technical glitch due
to which the WEF people were not able to patch the PM
and requested him to start again. —PTI
RAGA TAKES‘TELEPROMPTER’ JIBE AT MODI,
BJP LEADERS CITE‘TECHNICAL GLITCH’
RAID ON PUNJAB CM’S NEPHEW
Raid at the instance
of BJP,says Rahul
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
Conducting an ED
raid is BJP’s favour-
ite weapon because
they themselves have
things to hide. Not
everyone is like you.
We have #NoFear.
#BJPFakeRaid
AHEAD OF POLLS,
ECI TRANSFERS
TWO DCS, 8 SSPS
Chandigarh: Ahead of
Punjab Assembly Elec-
tions, the Election Com-
mission of India on
Tuesday transferred
two Deputy Commis-
sioners-cum-District
Election Officers and
eight Senior Superin-
tendents of Police
(SSPs) in the state. —ANI

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 141
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Hatred is never
appeased by hatred in
this world. By non-
hatred alone
is hatred appeased.
This is a law eternal.
—Gautam Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Shri Narayan Debnath Ji brightened
several lives through his works,
cartoons and illustrations. His works
reflected his intellectual prowess.
The characters he created will remain
eternally popular. Pained by his
demise. Condolences to his family
and admirers. Om Shanti.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Election is a training camp for the
development of political workers.
We can prepare maximum people as
workers. Winning the election is not
only a matter, but the organization
should also expand and the worker
should also be developed: PM@
NarendraModip-
TOP TWEETS
SISTER DUO WHO
KILLED 13 KIDS,
ESCAPE THE NOOSE
BY A WHISKER
heirs is a classic case
of cheating death.
Kolhapur’s Seema
Gavit and her sister
Renuka Shinde were
accused of killing 43 children be-
tween 1990 and 1996. After kid-
napping, they forced them into
beggary and later killed them.
The police was able to prove the
murder of 13 children. The Kol-
hapur court sentenced them to
be hanged till death in 2001. After
the Supreme Court upheld the
death sentence in 2006 their exe-
cution was almost certain. On
Tuesday
, the Bombay High Court
commuted their death sentence
into life imprisonment. The re-
prieve was not because the court
found loopholes in the prosecu-
tion case but because of the
state’s“casualapproach,amercy
petitionwasnotdecidedfornear-
ly seven months and 10 months”.
It is a sad commentary on the
country’scriminaljusticesystem
as the “unexplained” delay failed
“theinnocentvictims”of thehei-
nous crimes. Having “spent” 25
years in jail, the “menace to soci-
ety”,astheSupremeCourtcalled
them, may now walk free.
T
here’s a row be-
tween the Centre
and three opposi-
tion-ruled states--
-WB, TN and Ker-
ala---over the exclusion of
their tableaux from the Re-
public Day parade. This is
the second time after 2020
that Kerala and Bengal’s tab-
leaux are not a part of the
parade. CM Mamata Baner-
jee is miffed over the exclu-
sion. In a letter to PM Naren-
dra Modi she said, “I am pro-
foundly shocked and hurt by
the decision of the Govern-
ment of India to abruptly
exclude the proposed tableau
of the Government of Ben-
gal from the ensuing Repub-
lic Day Parade. It is even
more baffling for us that the
tableau was rejected without
assigning any reasons or jus-
tification.” The tableau was
designed to commemorate
Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose’s 125th birth anniv.
Replying to Mamata, De-
fence Minister Rajnath Sin-
gh said that the rejection of
Bengal’s tableau had noth-
ing to do with politics and
that “PM Modi-led govern-
ment respects” Netaji “in
high regard”.
Kerala’s tableau carried
figure of “anti-caste crusad-
er Narayan Guru” instead of
Adi Shankara’s as wanted by
Centre. TN CM MK Stalin
also questioned exclusion of
his state’s tableau.
Even if CMs of 3 states are
peeved at their tableaux be-
ing sidelined, Centre has its
reasons for dropping them.
First, the selection is made
by an expert committee. And
two, as FM Nirmala Sithara-
man said, GoI and received 56
proposals from states, minis-
tries and PSUs out of which
only 21 were selected. Ra-
jnath Singh explained that
out of 29 design proposals
only 12 were approved. Heart-
burn is unavoidable.
BENGAL, TN, KERALA
TABLEAUX EXCLUSION
First, the selection is
made by an expert
committee. And two, as
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman said,
Government of India and
received 56 proposals
from states, ministries
and PSUs out of which
only 21 were selected
T
WHY THIS ‘KOLA VERI DI’
FOR TABLEAU JUNK ISSUE?
ableaux of several states
meant for the Republic Day
parade on January 26 has
been rejected which has obvi-
ously sparked controversy
.
And quick to take the
“mass” media route, which is
today in the form of Twitter,
FB, Instagram, Youtube…
people, netas (obviously a
juicy fodder for them), and
civil society commentators
have come out against this
rejection vehemently and
notwithstanding the fact,
everyone has a theory
.
The tableaux of the state,
in general, is supposed to be
a visual representation of
personalities, people, events,
culture, etc. deeply rooted
and associated with the
state(s) concerned.
And in an obvious move…
the Chief Ministers of Kera-
la, West Bengal, and Tamil
Nadu have written to the
Centre against the rejection
of their state’s tableaux.
And this became a news
peg for channels and the me-
dia for some time.
The Centre, meanwhile,
has criticized the states’ reac-
tion over the rejection and in
its defense said the decisions
were taken after “thorough
deliberation” by an expert
committee. It also accused
the chief ministers of Kera-
la, Tamil Nadu, and West
Bengal of “spreading misin-
formation” about Republic
Day tableaux.
Having said that… let’s see
how the tableaux are ordered
and what is the process of
selection and rejection.
UNDERSTANDING THE
SELECTION PROCESS…
The tableaux aren’t decid-
ed by the Centre. The Defence
Ministry appoints an expert
committee comprising emi-
nent personalities from vari-
ous fields like culture, art,
painting, music, sculpture,
dance, architecture, etc. to
study these artworks and
take a call.
Before drawing up a final
list… the committee vigor-
ously discusses the idea, con-
cept, topic, design, and visual
impact of these. It must be
remembered that only a few
suggestions can be cleared
due to the restriction of the
time factor. Out of the 56 pro-
posals received from states
andcentralministriesin2022,
twenty-one were selected.
It is not correct to say that
West Bengal, Kerala, and Ta-
mil Nadu are being rudely
treated or rather unfairly as
the same Central govern-
ment led by Narendra Modi
had approved Kerala’s tab-
leau proposals in 2018 and
2021. Similarly, Tamil Nadu’s
tableaux were approved in
2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021
and West Bengal’s were given
the green signal in 2016, 2017,
2019, and 2021.
We need to know the fact
correctly and study the issue
closely. Even as Mamata Ba-
nerjee accused the Centre of
disrespecting Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose by rejecting
West Bengal’s tableau, it
must be noted that this year’s
tableau of the Central Public
Works Department, which
falls within the ambit of the
Centre, actually incorporates
Netaji as a topic. As a result,
accusing the Centre of disre-
specting the great freedom
fighter by West Bengal does
not hold water.
Also, it was reported in a
section of the media that this
year’s Republic Day festivi-
ties will be initiated from
January 23… the birth anni-
versary of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose.
In the first phase of selec-
tion, the sketch and design of
the proposals are closely ex-
amined and suggestions for
changes, if required, are in-
formed to the concerned
states. Once okayed by the
expert panel, the participat-
ing states are required to pre-
sent a three-dimensional
model of their proposal once
again to the committee. The
experts again examine the
same and look at the changes
asked for to take a final call.
The final selection of a tab-
leau is based on a combina-
tion of issues or rather fac-
tors like the visual appeal,
impact it will have on people
especially of the state and on
the wide spectrum of people
witnessing the same virtual-
ly, concept, the minute detail-
ing that has gone into the
making of the artwork and
also the music composed to
accompany the same.
The Subject Expert Com-
mittee which rejected the
proposals of Kerala, West
Bengal, and Tamil Nadu did
so after marathon delibera-
tions and a due process that
is followed every year.
They also said it is quite
natural for more proposals to
be rejected than those ap-
proved given the time con-
straints.
According to the experts’
panel, the outcry by states
and lambasting the Centre
over the rejection of tab-
leaux sets out a wrong prec-
edent as chief ministers try
to politicize the matter and
portray the outcome of an
“objective” process as a
flashpoint between the states
and the Centre. They also
feel that this goes a long way
in harming the country’s fed-
eral template.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
According to the experts’
panel, the outcry by states
and lambasting the Centre
over the rejection of
tableaux sets out a wrong
precedent as chief ministers
try to politicize the matter
and portray the outcome of
an “objective” process as a
flashpoint between the states
and the Centre. They also
feel that this goes a long
way in harming the
country’s federal template
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Associate Editor,
Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former
Managing Editor, First India
THE TABLEAUX
AREN’T DECIDED BY
THE CENTRE. THE
DEFENCE MINISTRY
APPOINTS AN EXPERT
COMMITTEE
COMPRISING EMINENT
PERSONALITIES FROM
VARIOUS FIELDS LIKE
CULTURE, ART,
PAINTING, MUSIC,
SCULPTURE, DANCE,
ARCHITECTURE, ETC.
TO STUDY THESE
ARTWORKS TAKE CALL

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INDIA
05
Are Delhi govt’s
vaccine figures fudged?
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Delhi
Health Minister Satyen-
dar Jain said that 75%
of the people who have
died due to corona in
Delhi are those who
were not vaccinated. In
the last 5 days, around
150 people died in Delhi
and most of these peo-
ple were above 60 years
of age. Regarding these,
on December 24, Delhi
CM Arvind Kejriwal an-
nounced that 100% of
the adult population of
Delhi has received the
first dose of the vac-
cine. He informed that
148.33 crore people have
got the first dose for
which, he saluted the
doctors, ANMs, ASHA
workers and frontline
workers.
A day later, PM Modi
announced that adoles-
cents in the age group
of 15 to 18 years would
also be vaccinated from
January 3. Adolescents
in this age group are
not yet 100% vaccinat-
ed. If all the people
above 18 years of age
have been vaccinated,
then how are unvacci-
nated adults being
found, who are getting
infected by corona re-
sulting in their deaths?
Are these people from
other cities of NCR or
other states instead of
Delhi? If it is not so,
then there is something
wrong with either of
the two figures of 100%
immunized or 75% un-
vaccinated deaths.
CRUCIAL READ
Patna: Facing criticism over poor implementation of
the liquor ban, the Nitish Kumar govt in Bihar is likely
to give some relaxation to the violators. According to a
top official of the JDU, the state government is ready to
review this issue and a proposal is likely to be put on ta-
ble in the upcoming budget session of the Bihar Vidhan
Sabha. As per the proposal, the violators who are caught
in drunken state can be let off after paying penalty on
the spot. Though, it is not applicable on repeat offend-
ers. A person repeatedly violating the norms of liquor
prohibition law would be liable to face jail term. Such a
relaxation would allow liquor consumption at home and
would also promote the home delivery concept, which is
already popular among habitual drinkers in Bihar.
NITISH KUMAR GOVT LIKELY TO
RELAX LIQUOR PROHIBITION LAW
FADNAVIS SEEKS
ACTION OVER PATOLE
REMARKS ON MODI
Mumbai: The BJP will not
keep quiet over Maharash-
tra Congress president
Nana Patole’s alleged
controversial remarks
against PM Narendra
Modi, Leader of Opposi-
tion in the Maharashtra
Assembly and senior BJP
leader Devendra Fadnavis
said on Tuesday. Speak-
ing to reporters in Panaji,
Fadnavis also slammed
the Maharashtra govern-
ment for not filing an FIR
over Patole’s comments,
a video of which had gone
viral on Monday. “Some-
one called the Maharashtra
CM’s wife Rabri devi and
an FIR was filed. And here
a person who calls himself
a leader, threatens to kill
the PM and there is no FIR
(First Information Report)
against him in Maharash-
tra,” Fadnavis said.
CM HOLDS MEETING
TO RESOLVE
BORDER ROW
Guwahati: Assam Chief
Minister Himanta Biswa
Sarma held a meeting
today with representatives
of all political parties on
the Assam-Meghalaya
border issue at State
Guest House, Koinadhara.
Assam ministers Ranoj
Pegu and Ashok Singhal
and Leader of Opposi-
tion in state Assembly
Debabrata Saikia were
among those present in
the meeting. During the
meeting, the Chief Minis-
ter briefed representatives
of all political parties on
the progress made so far
on the issue. According
to Assam Chief Minister’s
Office, to resolve the
Assam-Meghalaya border
row, 6 of the 12 areas
of difference have been
identified for resolution in
the first phase.
Mumbai: Three naval personnel died of injuries
caused by an explosion on board Indian Navy’s
destroyer ship INS Ranvir. “In an unfortunate
incident today at Naval Dockyard Mumbai, three
naval personnel succumbed to injuries caused by
an explosion in an internal compartment onboard
INS Ranvir,” a Defence Ministry release said.
No major material damage has been reported,
it added.Sources say the explosion had nothing
to do with weapons or ammunition explosion. A
board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate
the cause. “The ship’s crew responded immediately
and quickly brought the situation under control,”
the release said. INS Ranvir was on cross-coast
operational deployment from the Eastern Naval
Command since November 2021 and was due to
return to base port shortly.
MUMBAI: 3 NAVAL PERSONNEL DIE IN
EXPLOSION ONBOARD INS RANVIR
State approves `4,369 cr for
Narmada pipeline in Kutch
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gujarat
Chief Minister Bhupen-
dra Patel has granted
administrative approval
for phase-1 works worth
Rs4,369 crore for the
supply of an additional
1 million-acre feet of
Narmada water to the
border district of Kutch.
A total of four links
with pipelines of a total
of 337.98km length have
been planned, keeping
in view the present op-
eration of the Kutch
branch canal-- which is
a part of the Narmada
main canal, the Chief
Minister’s Office (CMO)
said in a release.
“Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel has sanc-
tioned projects worth Rs
4,369 crore for phase-I
works for the use of addi-
tional one million acre-
feetof Narmadawaterfor
the border district of
Kutchinthestate,”itsaid.
The river water will
be diverted to 38 small
and medium irrigation
schemes through a pro-
posed 337.98-km pipe-
line to irrigate around
2.81 lakh acres of land,
covering 77 villages in
six talukas of the Kutch
district, as per the re-
lease.
About 77 villages in
the six talukas, namely,
Mundra, Anjar, Mandvi,
Rapar, Bhuj and Na-
khatrana will get irriga-
tion facilities due to this
work. About 2,81,000
acres of land can be ir-
rigated with this Nar-
mada water.
CMPatelalsoreleased
the State Focus Report
from the National Bank
for Agriculture and Ru-
ralDevelopment’s(NAB-
ARD)for2022-23onTues-
day
. NABARD has
planned to extend loans
of Rs 2.48 lakh crore to
the priority sectors. It
has set aside Rs 1.13 lakh
crore for agriculture, Rs
1.09 lakh crore for MS-
MEs and Rs 26,000 crore
forotherprioritysectors
in Gujarat.
Lt Gen Manoj
Pande appointed
as next Army Vice
Chief: Sources
New Delhi: Even as the
appointment of the
next Chief of Defence
Staff is
awaited, the
G o v e r n -
ment on
Tuesday ap-
proved the
proposal for appoint-
ment of Eastern Army
Commander Lieuten-
ant General Manoj Pan-
de as the next Vice
Chief of Army Staff,
sources said on Tues-
day
.
The Eastern Army
Commander will be the
next Army Vice Chief,
sources told the media.
General Pande would
be the successor to Lt
Gen CP Mohanty who is
scheduled to superan-
nuate on January 31.
General Pande was
commissioned into the
Corps of Engineers
(The Bombay Sappers)
in December 1982.
Each vote important, we must tell
people to vote: Modi urges workers
New Delhi: Ahead of
the upcoming Assem-
bly elections in Uttar
Pradesh, Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi in-
teracted with BJP work-
ers in his Lok Sabha
constituency Varanasi
and asked them to in-
form people about the
importance of voting
and emphasised that
every vote is important.
“Each vote is impor-
tant, we must tell peo-
ple the importance of
voting,” said PM Modi.
This was PM Modis’
first political interac-
tion involving party
workers since the Elec-
tion Commission (EC)
announced the sched-
ule for the Assembly
polls to five states, in-
cluding Uttar Pradesh.
In the wake of rising
COVID cases, the EC, in
its order, had forbidden
the political parties to
hold roadshows, ral-
lies, padayatras till
January 22.
Elections for the 403
Assembly constituen-
cies in Uttar Pradesh
will be held in seven
phases starting Febru-
ary 10. The polling in
Uttar Pradesh will be
held on February 10, 14,
20, 23, 27 and March 3
and 7 in seven phases.
The counting of votes
will take place on
March 10.
MAKE FARMERS AWARE
OF USE OF CHEMICAL-
FREE FERTILISERS: PM
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Tuesday
interacted with BJP work-
ers from his parliamentary
constituency Varanasi and
urged them to make farmers
aware of the use of chemical-
free fertilisers. In an audio
interaction with BJP booth
level workers, the PM reaf-
firmed the BJP’s commitment
towards development. While
interacting with party work-
ers, he discussed several
topics including, restoration
of Kashi Vishwanath Dham
corridor, women empower-
ment, infrastructure, health-
care development and other
issues. Interacting with one
of the BJP workers, Prime
Minister Modi asked him to
expand the reach of the govt’s
welfare schemes to farmers.
The PM said, “They (workers)
should make farmers aware
of the use of chemical-free
fertilisers.” He also, talked
about the several central
schemes which are benefiting
the people of Kashi at large.
Prime Minister Modi urged
people to contribute to a
section, Kamal Pushp, in his
NaMo app that features some
inspiring party members.
LOVE THAT I’VE GOT FROM VARANASI IS UNPRECEDENTED: PM
Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said though he did not have the
fortune to be born in Varanasi, he was able to associate himself with the holy city with
the blessings of Lord Mahadev. Modi, who represents Varanasi in Lok Sabha, made the
remarks during an interaction with BJP workers of his parliamentary constituency in Uttar
Pradesh. Speaking to party worker Ashutosh Sharma, Modi said, “There is Mahadev in your
name. Due to the blessings of Mahadev, I have been able to have the honour of associating
myself with Varanasi. I did not have the honour of being born in Varanasi, but have the hon-
our of being associated with Varanasi… The love that I have got from Varanasi is unprec-
edented.” Lord Shiva is also called Mahadev and Ashutosh by devotees. To this, Modi said,
“Development happens where there is good connectivity. It has been our efforts that the
heritage of the city should be preserved and development ensured at a fast pace.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Bihar’s political equation will change based on UP’s results!
Kumar Pramod
Patna: The BJP has not
givenasingleseatinUP
to its ally JDU of Bihar.
Exhausted, JDU has
said that it will fight
alone and a decision in
thisregardwillbetaken
inLucknowonTuesday
.
Meanwhile,thefightbe-
tween the two parties
has intensified in Bihar
and the recent incident
of people dying after
consuming spurious
liquor, the second inci-
dent in three months,
hasaddedfueltofire.So
far 10 people have died
in the CM’s home dis-
trict Nalanda and the
BJPhasbecomeaggres-
sive regarding this.
Interestingly, on one
hand, CM Nitish Ku-
mar is on a social re-
form tour and explain-
ing the benefits of pro-
hibition to the people;
on the other hand,
there is news of the sale
of liquor in villages,
due to which people are
dying and BJP is ques-
tioning the policy of
prohibition.
Moreover, both the
parties are at logger-
heads over the Sahitya
Akademi given to Daya
Prakash Sahai, a story
writer who compared
Emperor Ashoka to the
Mughal ruler Aurang-
zeb. While BJP leaders
are avoiding Sahai,
JDU says that Daya
Prakash Sahai is get-
ting the support of the
people of BJP which
has stirred up the Koiri-
Kurmipoliticsof Bihar.
On the other hand,
RJD’s state president
Jagdanand Singh has
given a direct proposal
to Nitish Kumar. He has
saidthatif BJPdoesnot
come together on the
question of caste cen-
sus, then Nitish should
partways,RJDwillgive
full support to him. An-
other interesting fact is
thatMrityunjayTiwari,
a spokesperson for RJD,
metJDUParliamentary
Party President Upen-
dra Kushwaha in the
past. Tiwari is not a big
leader but both the par-
ties campaigned for the
meet, which in turn is
also a message for BJP.
Keepinmindthatinthe
caseof castecensus,the
government is postpon-
ing the all-party meet-
ing because of the BJP
,
but Nitish will not post-
pone it for long.
It is believed that af-
ter the UP assembly
elections, the equation
can change in Bihar as
well. If BJP is not able
to win the election, then
the alliance of BJP and
JDU in Bihar may
break. Then Nitish Ku-
mar will intensify the
demand for caste cen-
susandspecialcategory
status and will plan for
2024. However, then he
willnothavemuchtodo
because then there will
beaggressivepoliticsof
RJD and the Hindustan
Awam Morcha and Vi-
kassheel Insan Party,
which are included in
the NDA, will leave the
alliance. But if BJP
wins in Uttar Pradesh,
then BJP’s politics in
Bihar will get more ag-
gressive and even then
Nitish’s troubles will
only increase.
IF AKHILESH BECOMES
CM, TEJASHWI WILL TOO!
f the discussions going on in
Patna, the capital of Bihar, are to be
believed, then the month of March
is going to be very important for
the politics of Bihar. The results of
the assembly elections in UP will be out
on March 10. If SP wins the election and
Akhilesh Yadav becomes the CM, then
the equation of power in Bihar will also
change. One-line rhetoric is going on right
now in Bihar that if Akhilesh becomes the
CM, Tejashwi will also reach that echelon
and this will happen based on two NDA
allies. NDA’s two constituents - Jitan Ram
Manjhi’s HUM and Mukesh Sahni’s VIP -
have seven MLAs. A seat is vacant
due to the death of an MLA from
Sahni’s party. Both these parties
have been keeping distance
from both BJP and JDU for
some time now and Sahni is
especially angry because of not
getting a place in UP.
On the other hand, RJD is the
single largest party in
Bihar with 75 MLAs.
Left Front has 16
MLAs with it. Thus
its alliance is of
91 members. At
the time of the by-elections for two seats,
although there was disharmony from the
Congress, 19 Congress MLAs will remain
with the alliance and five MLAs of Asadud-
din Owaisi will also support it. So, the
alliance’s strength would be 115 members.
On the other hand, BJP has 74 MLAs
and JD(U) 45. That is, their number
becomes 119. If MLAs of HUM and VIP
switch sides, then the number of RJD
alliances will increase to 122, which means
the alliance will reach the majority figure.
If this equation is made, then independent
MLA Sumit Singh, who is supporting the
government, can also change his side. If
these cards are played right then BJP will
not interfere in it as it will serve its
purpose of destroying JDU by weak-
ening it. Nitish Kumar understands
this, so he is also keeping an eye on
the election results. It is generally
believed that if he had taken the
initiative in the current clime, then
perhaps the RJD would have con-
sidered him as a leader, but if
he takes the initiative after
the elections, then the
chances of him be-
coming a ‘leader’
are negligible.
I
SPECIAL CATEGORY
STATUS TO BIHAR
Another issue between
BJP and JDU is the
special category
status, which has been
aggressively pursued
by Nitish Kumar and
his party. On this issue
too, RJD has openly
supported Nitish.
Guj Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel (centre) released NABARD’s State
Focus Report 2022-23 on Tuesday. He is flanked by Agriculture Minister
Raghavji Patel, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, Minister of State for
Cooperatives Jagdish Vishwakarma and other officers on his right.

New Delhi: Blanket
approaches such as
complete restriction on
the movement of peo-
ple and travel bans can
be counterproductive
in containing Covid in
a country like India,
says WHO’s India rep-
resentative Roderico H
Ofrin while advocating
target, risk-based strat-
egies to counter the
pandemic.
Stressing on the need
to protect both lives
and livelihoods, he said
public health action in
India and across the
world must be continu-
ally guided by evidence
from four key ques-
tions -- how transmis-
sible is the variant, se-
verity of the disease it
causes, how well vac-
cines and prior SARS-
CoV-2 infection protect
and how common peo-
ple perceive risk and
follow control meas-
ures.
“WHO does not
recommend
a blanket
t r av e l
b a n ,
n o r
com-
plete
r e -
stric-
tion of
people’s
m o v e -
ment. In
many ways, such
blanket approaches
can be counterproduc-
tive. India with its di-
versity in population
distribution and geo-
graphic spread, the
risk-based approach
remains the wiser pub-
lic health practice to
counter a pandemic,”
Ofrin said.
Depending on the
epidemiological situa-
tion, available public
health capaci-
ties and so-
cial and
economic
context,
govern-
m e n t s
should
t a i l o r
t h e i r
measures
to prevent
and control the
transmission, the Del-
hi-based official said as
an Omicron driven
surge pushed India’s
Covidtallyto3,76,18,271
(37.6 million/3.76
crore) on Tuesday
.
“WHO advises gov-
ernments to adopt nu-
anced, targeted and
risk-based approaches
which involve layered
control measures, re-
ducing the risks associ-
ated with travel and
transmission,” Ofrin
said.
If all the dos and
don’ts are followed,
there is no need for
lockdowns.
“In the current sce-
nario, existing tools
and solutions continue
to be effective - expand-
ing vaccination cover-
age, using masks,
maintaining hand hy-
giene, physical distanc-
ing, ventilation of in-
door spaces and crowd
avoidance help in cut-
ting the chain of trans-
mission. If these are
followed, there will be
no need for lock-
downs,” Ofrin main-
tained. —PTI
WHO: India should adopt
risk-based approach
BIZ BUZZ
06
In the current scenario, existing
tools and solutions continue to
be effective - expanding vacci-
nation coverage, using masks, maintain-
ing hand hygiene, physical distancing,
ventilation of indoor spaces and crowd
avoidance help in cutting the chain of
transmission. If these are followed, there
will be no need for lockdowns.
—Roderico H Ofrin, WHO’s India representative
Investors lose `3.7 lakh crore as
SENSEX TANKS 554 POINTS
Mumbai: After trad-
ing flat for most of the
day
, benchmark indices
slumped on Tuesday
after US Futures
opened deep in the red.
Weak global cues from
elsewhere also damp-
ened the market mood.
The 30-share pack
Sensex declined 554.05
points or 0.90% to close
at 60,754.86. Its broader
peer NSE Nifty fell
195.05 points or 1.07%
to 18,113.05.
Investors were left
poorer by `3.71 lakh
crore as the total mar-
ket cap of BSE-listed
firms, which reflects
investor wealth,
slipped to `276.30 lakh
crore. Among the
bluechip names, Axis
Bank was the top gain-
er, rising 1.78%. ICICI
Bank, HDFC Bank, Dr
Reddy’s Labs, Nestle
India were other gain-
ers. —PTI
Mumbai: Continuing its fall for
the third consecutive ses-
sion, the rupee on Tuesday
slumped 33 paise to close
at 74.58 against the $ as
strong American currency
and elevated crude oil prices
continue to weigh on inves-
tor sentiments. —PTI
RUPEE SLUMPS 33 PAISE AGAINST $,
CLOSE AT 74.58
Mumbai: There are some
stocks that see buying
no matter how the overall market is performing.
One such name is Adani Green Energy. The com-
pany’s stock hit another milestone on Tuesday,
touching a market cap of `3 lakh crore as the
share price rose to a high of `1,919. Eventually,
the stock ended up 4.31% at `1,906.80. —PTI
ADANI GREEN HITS
M-CAP OF `3 LAKH
CRORE
TataMotorstohikePassenger
Vehicles’pricesfromtoday
New Delhi: Tata Mo-
tors on Tuesday said it
will increase prices of
its passenger vehicles
by an average of 0.9%
with effect from Jan
19, in order to partially
offset the impact of
rise in input costs. The
automaker sells vari-
ous models like Tiago,
Punch and Harrier, in
the domestic market.
Effective January
19, 2022, an average in-
crease of 0.9% will be
implemented, depend-
ing on the variant and
model, the automaker
said in a statement.
At the same time,
the company has also
taken a reduction of
up to `10,000 on spe-
cific variants, in re-
sponse to feedback
from customers.
There would be
no impact of the
price increase on
the cars booked
on or before Janu-
ary 18, 2022. —PTI
“WHO does not
recommend
a blanket
t r av e l
b a n ,
n o r
stric-
tion of
people’s
m o v e -
ment. In
tion, available public
health capaci-
ties and so-
cial and
economic
context,
govern-
m e n t s
should
t a i l o r
t h e i r
measures
to prevent
and control the
WHO
does not
recommend
complete restriction
of people’s
movement
New Delhi: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India
(HMSI) on Tuesday said its 125cc bike Shine has
touched the cumulative sales milestone of one
crore units. Launched in India in 2006, the model
crossed 10 lakh cumulative sales in 2010, 30 lakh
in 2014. In 2017, it reached the 50 lakh unit sales
milestone and the following year, it touched the
70 lakh unit sales mark. In 2020, the Shine range
touched cumulative sales of 90 lakh units, it add-
ed. HMSI Director Yadvinder Singh Guleria said,
“Spanning over one and a half decades,
brand Shine has been a true companion
for many generations of riders,
making it one of the
most-popular motor-
cycle brands in the
Indian household
across all re-
gions.” —PTI
HONDA SHINE MARKS 1 CR
CUSTOMER MILESTONE
Reliance buys 54%
stake in Addverb
Mumbai: Mukesh
Ambani led Reliance
Retail has acquired a
54% stake in domestic
robotics company Ad-
dverb for $132 million,
a senior official of the
robotic firm said on
Tuesday
.
Addverb Technolo-
gies co-founder and
CEO Sangeet Kumar
said that the company
will continue to oper-
ate independently and
will use the funds re-
ceived from Reliance
to expand business
overseas as well as set
up one of the biggest
robotic manufactur-
ing facilities in Noida.
The company pro-
duces around 10,000
robots per annum.
The strategic part-
nership with Reliance
Retail will help us lev-
erage 5G, battery tech-
nology through new
energy initiatives, ad-
vances in material sci-
ences (carbon fibre) to
deliver more advanced
and affordable robots,
he added. —PTI
82% of Indians considering job change in 2022
New Delhi: Notwith-
standing the pandemic,
India’s workforce is op-
timistic about the fu-
ture of work, and a sig-
nificant percentage of
professionals are con-
sidering changing their
jobs this year, accord-
ing to a report.
LinkedIn on Tuesday
launched new job-seek-
er research, which re-
vealed that 82% of pro-
fessionals in India are
considering a job
change in 2022.
Based on the respons-
es of 1,111 professionals
in India, the survey
showed that profession-
als are leaving their
current jobs due to poor
work-life balance, not
enough money
, or great-
er career ambitions.
When looking for
new roles in the new
year, professionals in
India said flexible work-
ing arrangements will
be the top priority
.
The professionals in
India are confident
about their job roles, ca-
reers, and overall job
availability getting bet-
ter in 2022.
But, despite this con-
fident outlook, around
71% of professionals
said they question their
abilities at work more
now than before the
pandemic, while 63%
stated they suffer from
imposter syndrome.
The top reasons that
can convince profes-
sionals in India to stay
with their current em-
ployer in 2022 include
better salary, more ap-
preciation, and im-
proved work-life bal-
ance. —PTI
New Delhi: Gems and
Jewellery Export Promo-
tion Council (GJEPC) has
urged the government to
reduce import duty on gold
to 4% from 7.5% and a special
package for the sector in the forthcoming Budget
to boost shipments. The council has also sug-
gested a reduction in the import duty on cut and
polished diamonds; cut and polished precious
and semi-precious gemstones from 7.5% to
2.5%. —PTI
GJEPC URGE GOVT TO CUT
GOLD IMPORT DUTY TO 4%
New Delhi: Private equity
and venture capital funds
invested $77 billion in
Indian companies in 2021,
a jump of 62% over the
previous year. Going by a
number of deals, there was a
37% growth to 1,266 transactions, the report by
IVCA and EY said. The year saw a massive glut
of liquidity across the world coming out of the
pandemic, which led to higher investments in
many assets and a surge in valuations. —PTI
PE, VC INVESTMENTS JUMP TO
ALL-TIME HIGH OF $77 BN
New Delhi: Supply chain
company Delhivery has re-
ceived capital markets reg-
ulator Sebi’s approval to
raise `7,460 crore through
an IPO. The IPO comprises
fresh issuance of equity shares worth
`5,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) component
of `2,460 crore by existing shareholders. Under the
OFS, investors Carlyle Group and SoftBank as well
as Delhivery’s co-founders will divest their share-
holding in the logistics company. —PTI
DELHIVERY IPO GETS SEBI NOD
TO RAISE `7460 CRORE

Lucknow: In the battle
for the Uttar Pradesh as-
sembly elections, a mu-
sical war has broken out
between political par-
ties which are resorting
to catchy campaign
songs to promote their
policies and ideologies.
The Election Com-
mission has imposed
restrictions on poll ral-
lies till January 22 in
the wake of rising COV-
ID-19 cases in the five
poll-going states.
After the BJP, Con-
gress and Samajwadi
Party, the Aam Aadmi
Party too has released
its theme song for the
elections.
Although the custom
of resorting to songs
during elections is old,
with the campaign go-
ing virtual due to the
Covid pandemic, the
competition among par-
ties to grab the atten-
tion of voters has only
intensified.
While the ruling BJP
refers to the party’s
Hindutva pride and the
“development” done
under the Yogi Adity-
anath government, the
opposition Samajwadi
Party echoes the social-
ist sentiments and the
achievements of the
previous government
led by Akhilesh Yadav.
BJP MPs and Bhojpu-
ri actors Ravi Kishan
and Manoj Tiwari have
come out with various
songs and some more
are in the pipeline.
Among these, ‘damru
jab bajega to dekhna
nazara kya hoga’ — ap-
parently referring to the
damru of lord Shiva is
quitepopularwhilesim-
ilar songs like jo Ram ko
laye haye, hum
unko layenge’
(those who
h a v e
b r o u g h t
lord Ram,
we will
b r i n g
them to
power) and
mandir banne
laga hai, bhagwa
rang chadne laga hai’
(construction of temple
has begun, saffron col-
our is on the rise) are
testament to BJP lever-
aging on the upcoming
RamtempleinAyodhya.
The Election Com-
mission has banned
election rallies and
meetings till January
22. In such a situation,
BJP wants to make a
place in the hearts and
minds of voters through
songs. The party will
take these songs to eve-
ry voter through its so-
cial media team,”
BJP’s state me-
dia in-
c h a r g e
Manish
D i x i t
told the
media.
Mean-
w h i l e ,
the SP’s
songs prom-
ise to end all
woes of the people if it
is voted to power while
emphasising on how the
socialist ideology en-
sures welfare of all sec-
tions of the society
.
Some of the songs
like ‘hunkara’, ‘janata
pukarti hai’ (people are
calling) and ‘jai-jai sa-
majwadi’ (hail sama-
jwadi) are all about the
work done by the previ-
ous SP government and
giving hope to the peo-
ple to solve their prob-
lems if it comes to pow-
er again.
SP national spokes-
person Ashutosh Ver-
ma said the songs
strike a chord with the
unemployed youth,
farmers, labourers,
women, exploited and
downtrodden sections
and the party intends
to heal their wounds.
These songs will reso-
nate in every village
and town of the state
and will remind the
people of how impor-
tant the SP government
is for the development
of all, he said.
The theme song of
Congress, which claims
it is fighting the elec-
tions to bring women
into mainstream poli-
tics, also revolves
around them.
Congress’s media
convener Lalan Kumar
said the party’s election
campaign is being over-
seen by general secre-
tary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra and her thoughts
are clearly reflected in
the songs. —PTI
07
NEWS
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Within15
days of the start of the
vaccination drive for
teenagers, Haryana has
achievedhalf of thetar-
get.Withatargetof vac-
cinating 15.43 lakh chil-
dren in the 15-17 group,
Haryana, so far, has ad-
ministered 7.82 lakh
doses to this age group.
The vaccination drive
for teenagers had start-
ed on January 3.
Haryana’sAdditional
Chief Secretary (ACS)
(Health) Rajeev Arora
hassaiddirectionshave
been issued to all the
districts to increase the
pace of vaccination
across the state.
“As each district has
its target and issues,
the booster delivery
and 15-17 group vacci-
nation are not included
in the door-to-door
drive yet. Already, we
have completed 50% of
our target for the 15-17
age group in Haryana,”
ACS Arora said, adding
that “districts can de-
cide their strategy de-
pending on their target.
Meanwhile, on Tues-
day state’s Health De-
partment included
children in the 15-17
age bracket and recipi-
ents over 60 who are
eligible for the booster
dose in its door-to-door
vaccination drive to in-
crease vaccine cover-
age in Gurugram and
strengthen its firewall
against the Omicron
variant of Covid-19.
The Health Depart-
ment also plans to set
up vaccination camps
targeting children in
more schools in rural
areas and additional
ones in religious places
and market areas for
both age groups.
AreportsaidthatGu-
rugram has adminis-
teredfirstdosesto86,970
children in the 15-17 age
group since January 3.
It, however, has a target
of covering 1.51 lakh
children. On the other
hand, it has adminis-
tered 14,924 booster
doses since January 10.
With the daily cases
increasing in Guru-
gram, speeding up the
vaccination of the two
groups in focus has be-
come an administra-
tive priority. “We have
included the 15-17 age
group and eligible
booster recipients in
our door-step vaccina-
tion plan. We will be
organising camps in
every village as per the
data, focusing on chil-
dren between 15-17
years. We are also
mapping out schools
in rural areas where
vaccination camps
have not come up,” the
report quoted Guru-
gram CMO Dr Viren-
der Yadav as saying.
Lucknow: Under at-
tack over fielding candi-
dates with a criminal
background in Uttar
Pradesh assembly polls,
Samajwadi Party presi-
dent Akhilesh Yadav on
Tuesday alleged that
his party leaders have
been framed in false
cases by the ruling BJP.
Flanked by new en-
trant Swami Prasad
Maurya, who had quit
the BJP, and veteran
leader Azam Khan’s son
Abdullah Azam, recent-
ly released from jail,
Yadav also claimed that
the maximum number
of MLAs with a crimi-
nal background are
from the saffron party
.
The SP president was
replying to queries
from media on a PIL
which sought a direc-
tion from the Supreme
Court to the Election
Commission to de-reg-
ister any political party
which violates the di-
rections of the apex
court on making public
information about their
candidate’s criminal re-
cord.
The public interest
litigation (PIL) cited the
case of an SP candidate
announced from Kaira-
na constituency - Nahid
Hasan - who was arrest-
ed recently under the
Gangster Act. —PTI
New Delhi: Another
meeting of the Con-
gress’ Central Election
Committee (CEC) for
the upcoming Uttara-
khand Assembly elec-
tions is likely to take
place on January 19.
“We are discussing
things in detail. We are
looking at all the pros
and cons, and what the
electoral strategy will
be for each constituen-
cy,” senior Congress
leader and former chief
minister Harish Rawat
told the media. “We are
not only discussing can-
didates but also the
election strategy to at-
tain victory in the polls.
On all seats, the agree-
ment has been done.
Now, the CEC is likely
to take place on Janu-
ary 19,” he said.
Referring to expelled
BJP minister Harak
Singh Rawat, the for-
mer Chief Minister
said, “I don’t know if he
is joining Congress.
This issue has not been
discussed with me and
this is not my subject.
We will follow whatever
the party decides.”
Commenting on
Harak Singh Rawat, the
Uttarakhand Congress
chief said, “I have heard
in news channels and
papersthatHarakSingh
wants to work selflessly
for Congress. This is a
big thing. I respect his
feelings.” —ANI
Ahmedabad: A day af-
ter two Aam Aadmi
Party leaders quit and
one of them joined the
ruling BJP in Gujarat,
the state unit of the
Arvind Kejriwal-led
party on Tuesday said
the latter was trying
to break it through
“pressure tactics and al-
lurement”.
Vijay Suvada and Ma-
hesh Savani left AAP on
Monday and the former
joined the BJP.
“It was their person-
al decision to leave the
party. BJP is known
for applying pressure
tactics. They try to at-
tract opposition lead-
ers using threats, mon-
ey or other allure-
ments. In the past, BJP
had tried to poach our
corporators (in Surat).
But, no one left AAP
because we all are rev-
olutionaries,” claimed
AAP leader Isudan
Gadhvi in a press con-
ference here.
Gadhvi was among
those arrested after
AAP activists barged
into the BJP state head-
quarters during a pro-
test last month, and he
was also charged with
a Prohibition Act case
for allegedly being
drunk in dry Gujarat.
“The BJP is trying to
threaten and harass
us. We were kept be-
hind bars for 13 days. I
was falsely implicated
in a liquor consump-
tion case. But, I want to
tell the BJP we are
fighting for the people
and we will continue to
fight till our last
breath. There is no
question of AAP break-
ing up. People will
come and go. AAP is
not a party, it is a move-
ment,” he said. —PTI
Chandigarh: To ensure
free, fair and transpar-
ent assembly elections
next month in Punjab,
the police have intensi-
fied search operations,
especially in the border
districts, to keep a vigil
on illegal activities in
vulnerable areas.
The operations are
being assisted by the
BSF, Punjab Armed Po-
lice, CID Units and Spe-
cial Branch, besides the
Excise and Taxation
Department and Dog
squad and anti-sabo-
tage teams, Chief Direc-
tor Ishwar Singh of the
Vigilance Bureau-cum-
State Police Nodal Of-
ficer (SPNO) said.
He said apart from
carrying out conven-
tional combat and
search operations, the
Punjab Police has also
been using technology-
driven policing by de-
ploying drones to con-
duct aerial surveys to
cover inaccessible are-
as of Mand along the
Beas and Sutlej rivers.
He said during the
search operations spe-
cial attention is being
paid to desolate loca-
tions, unpaved roads,
tube-wells, freshly dug-
out areas and freshly
cleared areas inside
fields besides Deras out-
side villages. —PTI
Haryana achieves half of the target of vaccinating teenagers: Rajeev Arora
Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora.
New Delhi: Bikini Babe
Archana Gautam got an
early glimpse into the
murky world of politics
soon after the Congress
picked her as its candi-
datefromUttarPradesh’s
Hastinapur seat but the
actor-model says she is
emboldened by party
leader Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra’s words — don’t
get scared, be strong.
The 26-year-old politi-
caldebutanteandformer
Miss Bikini India from
the largely rural, con-
servative belt of western
UP is unfazed by old pic-
tures of her doing the
rounds of social media
and the derogatory com-
ments, just as she is un-
deterred by attacks from
rival BJP and groups
such as the Akhil Bharat
Hindu Mahasabha.
I’m not scared, I’ll
march forward,” Gau-
tam told the media in a
phone interview from
Hastinapur.
Gautam joined the
Congress in November
last year after a brief
stint in acting where she
starredinmoviessuchas
“GreatGrandMasti”and
“Haseena Parker”. But it
is her background as
winner of the 2018 Miss
BikiniIndiapageantthat
isbeingusedasammuni-
tion by political rivals as
wellastrollsaheadof the
assemblyelectionsbegin-
ning next month.
While the BJP ac-
cused the Congress of
indulging in cheap pub-
licitybyfieldingGautam
from the constituency in
Meerut district, social
media users dug out her
oldphotographsandvid-
eos to slut-shame her.
Gautam said she is
takingitallinherstride.
“When I spoke to Pri-
yanka didi, she told me,
‘
Archana, you’re step-
ping into this world but
don’t come half-hearted-
ly
. There will be trolling
becauseof yourpictures
and videos but you don’t
have to get scared, you
have to stay strong.’ —PTI
Taking BJP shenanigans in stride: Cong’s Archana
GLAMOUR GIRL
Archana Gautam with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Pb polls: Cops using
drones to keep vigil
on illegal activities
Akhilesh hits back
at BJP on charge of
fielding criminals
U’khand: Cong CEC
meet likely today,
to discuss poll plan
After BJP, Cong and SP,AAP too releases theme song for polls
Gujarat: BJP trying to break up AAP, says Gadhvi
Gujarat AAP leader Isudan Gadhvi during a press conference.
ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS
2022
UTTARAKHAND, UTTAR PRADESH,
GOA, MANIPUR AND
PUNJAB
UP POLLS ON A SONG
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav addresses a press
conference, as Abdullah Azam Khan, son of senior party
leader Azam Khan looks on, at the party office, in Lucknow on
Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Punjab Police using drones, conducting search operations in
vulnerable areas.
The DGP has given
clear instructions to
all the CPs/SSPs to
adopt a zero-tolerance
policy towards drugs
and bootlegging
ahead of the elections.
Our lead-
ers have
been
framed in false
cases by the ruling
BJP.
—Akhilesh Yadav, SP

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
55,65,957
TOTAL DEATHS
26,93,30,027
TOTAL RECOVERED
5,71,05,148
ACTIVE CASES
33,20,01,132
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
4,86,784
TOTAL DEATHS
3,53,94,882
TOTAL RECOVERED
17,36,605
ACTIVE CASES
3,76,18,271
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
EC adds new column on expenditures on digital campaigning
New Delhi: The Elec-
tion Commission has
added a new column in
candidates’ election ex-
penditurereturnstosub-
mitinformationonmon-
ey spent on digital cam-
paigning in the upcom-
ing polls in five states.
The candidates used
to mention money spent
on digital campaigning
in previous elections
also, but this is for the
first time that a dedicat-
ed column has been cre-
ated to “capture” details
of such expenditure.
In a bid to check the
spread of COVID-19, the
Election Commission
has extended a ban on
holding physical ral-
lies, roadshows and
similar physical cam-
paigning events till
January 22.
With the ban on out-
door physical events in
place, parties are using
digital and online plat-
forms to reach out to
voters.
The new column has
been created for the
first time for elections
in Uttar Pradesh, Utta-
rakhand, Goa, Punjab
and Manipur by tweak-
ing the format of re-
turns.
“Parties and candi-
dates (so far) used to
disclose on their own
such expenditures ...
they used to provide de-
tails of expenditure on
things like digital vans
... they used to show ex-
penditure under this
category. Now, a dedi-
cated point has been
created to capture such
expenditure from this
(set of) polls,” a func-
tionary explained.
The functionary said
it is not for the first
time such disclosure by
the candidates and par-
ties will be made. “But
the manner of disclo-
sure now is dedicated,”
the functionary ex-
plained.
Section 10A of the
Representation of the
People Act 1951 says
that a candidate who
fails to lodge his or her
election expenditures
within the prescribed
time is liable to be dis-
qualified by EC for a pe-
riod of three years from
contesting polls. —PTI
MORE EXPENDITURES, MORE COLUMNS
Dr Jitendra Singh calls for
boosting India-UK relations
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Dr Jitendra Singh
has called for collabora-
tion between India and
UK on issues of mutual
concern like achieving
the goals of food securi-
ty and zero hunger. He
was addressing the In-
dia-UK meet on “Sus-
tainingFoodProduction
under Environmental
Stress” on Tuesday
through virtual mode.
Dr Singh said India
andUKmustinviteglob-
alcollaborationsinvari-
ous dimensions of sci-
ence like agriculture,
medicine, food, pharma,
engineering or defense.
The Workshop is being
organized jointly by Na-
tional Agri-Food Bio-
technology Institute
(NABI),Mohali,aninsti-
tute under Department
of Biotechnology, Gov-
ernment of India and
University of Birming-
ham, UK and supported
byNewtonBhabhaFund
and British Council.
He said the aim of the
Indian Government has
been to enable farmers
to feed India and the
world. He said, India’s
efforts to safeguard the
Food Security needs of
every citizen in the
country have been un-
precedented as PM
Modi even ensured that
no person goes hungry
during pandemic time.
The aim of the Indian Government has
been to enable farmers to feed India and
the world. He said, India’s efforts to safe-
guard the Food Security needs of every citizen in
the country have been unprecedented as Prime
Minister Modi even ensured that no person goes
hungry during pandemic time.
—Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister
New Delhi: India will host five events in 2022 as
decided in the 15th meeting of the BRICS Science
Technology Innovation (STI) Steering Commit-
tee held on January 17, the Union Science and
Technology Ministry said on Tuesday. The five
events that will be hosted by India are BRICS
Startups Forum meeting, Working Groups meet-
ings on Energy; Biotechnology Biomedicine; ICT
High-Performance Computing; STIEP (Science,
Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Part-
nership) Working Group Meeting and the launch-
ing of BRICS innovation Launchpad as a microsite
(Knowledge Hub). —ANI
INDIA TO HOST 5 BRICS SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION EVENTS
FMchargesCongoffraudin
enteringintoAntrix-Devas
deal;citesSCjudgment
New Delhi: Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Tuesday
accused Congress-led
UPA of entering into a
“fraud” and “scandal-
ous” deal with Devas
Multimedia by allo-
cating S-band spec-
trum used by the de-
fence for “pittance”.
At a press confer-
ence, she said the gov-
ernment is now fight-
ing in every court to
save taxpayers’ mon-
ey that would other-
wise go towards pay-
ing for arbitration
awards that Devas
has won against the
cancellation of the
2005 deal.
She said the Su-
preme Court on Janu-
ary 17 has compre-
hensively upheld liq-
uidation of Devas
Multimedia on
grounds that it was
incorporated with
fraudulent inten-
tions.
Her comments
came as Devas share-
holders pursue Indi-
an assets abroad to
recover USD 1.29 bil-
lion that internation-
al arbitration tribu-
nals awarded over a
cancelled satellite
contract. They have
got a French court or-
der for freezing Indi-
an properties in Par-
is and are seeking
Air India funds in
Canada. —PTI
CASE HISTORY
Maha sisters’ death penalty
commuted to life sentence
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court on Tuesday
commutedtolifeimpris-
onment the death sen-
tence awarded to sisters
Renuka Shinde and See-
ma Gavit, who were con-
victed by a Kolhapur
court for kidnapping 14
kids and killing 5 of
them between 1990 and
1996.
The court commuted
the death sentence
awarded to the two
women after holding
that the Maharashtra
government and the
Centre had caused inor-
dinate delays in execut-
ing their death sentence
and had breached their
fundamental rights.
The court noted that
thegovernmentauthori-
ties, particularly the
state government, had
acted casually, delayed
protocol despite being
awareof theseriousness
of the case, and did not
execute the death sen-
tence awarded to the
women despite their
mercy petitions being
rejectedbythePresident
over seven years ago.
The Maharashtra au-
thorities had delayed
processing papers re-
lated to the mercy peti-
tions filed by the con-
vict women, and a
bunch of mercy peti-
tions filed by others on
their behalf, it said.
The state prison au-
thorities had failed to
follow the protocol of
informing the convicts
about the status of their
pleas, the state govern-
ment officials had de-
layed sending relevant
details to the Union
ministry of home af-
fairs, and in seeking a
hearing in HC, the
bench noted.
“Though the proce-
dure for deciding mercy
petitions mandates
speed and expediency,
the state machinery
showed indifference
andlaxityateachstage,”
the court said. —PTI
Harish Chaudhary sends curated Punjab
candidates’ list to party high command
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Ahead of
the Punjab assembly
elections, state Con-
gress in-charge Harish
Chaudhary is working
hard to get the survey
of each candidate done
twice. The first list of 86
candidates was released
after the survey. There
is dispute over only one
candidate. While Mal-
vika Sood from Moga
has emerged strong in
the survey, Moga’s cur-
rent MLA Harjot Ka-
mal’s report turned out
to be weak. The survey
report was sent to the
high command after
which the winning can-
didates were chosen.
Out of 86, the high com-
mand is confident that
48 to 51 candidates
would win the elections.
In its first Punjab list,
the Congress retained
mostof thesittingMLAs
initslistof 86candidates
announced for Punjab
assembly polls on Satur-
day with both CM
Charanjit Channi and
PPCCchief NavjotSingh
Sidhu to contest from
their traditional seats.
The party gave tick-
ets to 60 MLAs and not
given to four of its sit-
ting legislators. The
state has 117 constituen-
cies. The MLAs who
have been denied tick-
ets are Deputy Speaker
Ajaib Singh Bhatti (Ma-
lout), Harjot Kamal
(Moga), Nathu Ram
(Balluana) and Bal-
winder Singh Laddi (Sri
Hargobindpur).
The Congress faces a
multi-cornered fight in
Punjab polls. While for-
merPunjabChief Minis-
ter Capt Amarinder Sin-
gh has formed his own
party and aligned with
the BJP
, the Congress
facescontestfromitstra-
ditional rival Shiromani
Akali Dal besides AAP
,
which had finished sec-
ond in the last polls.
Most of those who
have got tickets in the
first list have spent long
years in Congress. Par-
ty leaders who were
seen close to Amarinder
Singh when he was
chief minister have
also been given tickets.
Congress manifesto
committee chairman
Pratap Singh Bajwa,
MP, has been fielded
from Qadian, which
was earlier represented
by his brother Fateh
Singh Bajwa, who has
joined BJP.
Cabinet ministers
Bharat Bhushan Ashu,
Aruna Chaudhary,
Tript Rajinder Bhajwa,
Rana Gurjeet Singh,
Manpreet Badal, Sangat
Singh Gilzian and
Gurkirat Kotli have also
been given ticket. Actor
Sonu Sood’s sister Mal-
vika Sood, who recently
joined Congress has
been fielded from Moga.
The party’s sitting MLA
from the seat Harjot Ka-
mal joined BJP.
Sukhpal Singh Khai-
ra, who is facing a probe
in a money laundering
case, and Punjabi Sing-
er Sidhu Moosewala
have been fielded from
Bholath and Mansa con-
stituencies.
—With ANI inputs
Harish Chaudhary at a Congress rally in Punjab. —FILE PHOTO
MASTERSTROKE
Were convicted by a
Kolhapur court for
kidnapping 14 kids
and killing five of them
Individuals look at life
differently, each with a different
perspective which adds spice and
beauty to life, celebrate the differences do
not ruin them.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 19, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
A WOMAN
VISION
Young, fearless and a woman with
big dreams, Preksha Purnam from
Jaipur, Rajasthan gives a sneak-peek
into her life, as she reveals her
aspirations and future plans in an
exclusive interview with City First!
n ace model and
a stunning fash-
ion aficionado,
Preksha is a
young woman
with vivid
dreams and a
fierce passion to achieve
all that she aims for. She
walks with grace, poses
with panache and moves
like melody. As she
bagged various beauty
pageants titles, she left a
lot of mouths gawking in
absolute awe and fascina-
tion.
When asked about her
recent victory, the diva
said, “ I recently bagged
the runners-up at Miss
Rajasthan 2021. Miss Ra-
jasthan has been taking
place for more than 23
years now, so to be among
their crowned queens is
a privilege.” She further
added, “I’d like to extend
my heartfelt gratitude to
my mentors and direc-
tors Miss Rajasthan, Yo-
gesh Mishra and Nimi-
sha Mishra for their
guidance and constant
support.
Sharing details about
her family background,
the bold and beautiful
model, Preksha an-
swered, “My parents,
Dazy (mother) and
Purnendu (father) come
from highly educated
backgrounds and wanted
me to continue to achieve
greater heights in aca-
demics since I scored
95% marks in my 12th
board exams in humani-
ties stream. Though I al-
ways believed in doing
something for society. I
started an NGO on sus-
tainable menstrual hy-
giene awareness when I
was 18 years old, back in
2019 and today my NGO
is a big family of 8,000
dedicated team members
spread all across the na-
tion consisting of mem-
bers from DU and other
major universities of the
country
.”Iwanttospread
awareness and be the
voice of the unheard.
I recently spoke about
the importance of sus-
tainable menstrual hy-
giene awareness on the
First India news chan-
nel to raise more
awareness.
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
A

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