21022022 first india new delhi

PM GAVE FREEDOM TO CRORES OF MUSLIM WOMEN BY
BRINGING LAW AGAINST TRIPLE TALAQ, SAYS NADDA
Shravasti: BJPnational
president JP Nadda on
Sundaysaidthatnations
like Afghanistan, Paki-
stan, Bangladesh, Iran,
Iraq and Indonesia do
not have Triple Talaq
but our secular nation
had it and it was Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
who gave freedom to
crores of Muslim wom-
en by bringing a law
against Triple Talaq.
Addressing a public
rally at Sharavasti in Ut-
tarPradesh,Naddasaid,
“Those appeasing Mus-
lims don’t know that
there’s no Triple Talaq
in Afghanistan or Paki-
stan or Bangladesh or
Iran or Iraq or Indone-
sia. These Muslim na-
tions did not have Triple
Talaq but our secular
nation had it. PM Modi
gave freedom to crores
of Muslim women.” At-
tacking Congress and
Samajwadi Party, he
said, “When Prime Min-
ister Modi talked about
SwachhBharatfromthe
ramparts of the Red
Fort, then Congress and
SP leaders born with a
silver spoon used to
laugh and joke. Ram
Manohar Lohia ji had
also expressed concern
in 1960 over the lack of
toilet facilities for wom-
en in Parliament.”
Furthering his attack
on Akhilesh Yadav, he
said, “During the SP
government, bullets
were fired on kar se-
vaks. But nowadays
Akhilesh ji is going to
the temple and ringing
the bell. Now I want to
tell them to ring as
many bells as they can,
there is no point on cry-
ing on spilt milk.”
Two phases of the
seven-phased polls in
Uttar Pradesh have con-
cluded, while the state
will have another five
phases of polling. Poll-
ing for the remaining
five phases will take
place on February 20,
23, 27, March 3 and 7.
The counting of votes
will take place on
March 10. —ANI
BJP NATIONAL PRESIDENT IN UTTAR PRADESH
BJP National President JP Nadda addressing a public meeting at
Jagat Jeet Inter College, in Shravasti on Sunday. –PHOTO BY ANI
Saffron party’s chief
says several Muslim
countries do not
have Triple Talaq
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NEW DELHI l MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.173
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
UP: 60.46%; PUNJAB: 65.32%
BJP,SP battle for UP in third phase Punjab seals multi-cornered contest
A
n average voter
turnout of
65.32% was re-
corded in Punjab while
Uttar Pradesh, in its
third phase of the As-
sembly elections, wit-
nessed an average vot-
er turnout of 60.46%
till 5 pm on Sunday.
In Punjab, the high-
est voter turnout was
in the Mansa constitu-
ency with 73.45%.
Punjab Chief Minis-
ter Charanjit Singh
Channi claimed after
casting his vote that
the Congress party
will form government
with 2/3rd majority in
Punjab.
The Samajwadi Party
had pinned hopes in
the third phase in the
largely Yadav-dominat-
ed region to solid its
tally in the polls.
WILL HIT TON IN ANOTHER TWO
PHASES: YADAV; YOGI HITS BACK
AKHILESH IS ‘AURANGZEB’ OF
TODAY: MP CM SHIVRAJ CHOUHAN
BUTTON ON SP,
VVPAT SLIP FOR
BJP, ALLEGES SP
COPS IMPOUND SONU SOOD’S
CAR, ASK HIM TO STAY AT HOME
KANPUR MAYOR BOOKED FOR
TAKING SELFIE INSIDE POLL BOOTH
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party
has hit a Century in first two phases and even in the
next two phases, the party alliance will be ahead of
everyone else. “The maximum number of unem-
ployed youths are from Bundelkhand region. The in-
come of farmers has not doubled. From Bundelkhand
till here, the BJP has stopped development, snatched
jobs,” he added. Meanwhile, UP CM Yogi Adityanath
contradicted Akhilesh’s claim saying it is clear that
the BJP is coming back to power in the state
The Uttar Pradesh election got personal on Sunday
with Madhya Pradesh chief minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan calling the
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav
a modern-day Aurangzeb. “Akhilesh is
today’s Aurangzeb. The one who wasn’t
loyal to his father, how will he be loyal
to you?,” news agency ANI quoted MP
Chief Minister Chouhan while he addressed a poll
rally in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh.
Soon after polling for the
third phase of Assembly
elections kicked off in
Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi
Party alleged discrepan-
cies in the Electronic Vot-
ing Machine (EVM) stating
that the Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)
issued a slip of the BJP as
the voter cast his vote to
the former. . “BJP’s slip is
coming out after pressing
the button of Samajwadi
Party at booth number
121 of Bhognipur 208
assembly of Kanpur rural.
The Election Commission
should take cognizance
for ensuring smooth
and fair voting,” the SP
tweeted in Hindi.
Punjab police on Sunday impounded the vehicle of
actor Sonu Sood and instructed him to stay at home
after receiving a complaint from SAD
that he was visiting polling booths in
Moga district and allegedly trying to
influence voters. Sonu Sood’s sister
Malvika Sood Sachar is the Congress
candidate from Moga constituency.
Meanwhile, the actor took to Twitter and alleged that
other candidates in Moga are buying votes.
BJP leader and Kanpur Mayor Pramila Pandey has
been booked for allegedly clicking a selfie and
making a video while exercising her franchise at
a polling booth during the third phase of voting in
Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, officials said. They said
legal action is also being initiated against another
BJP leader, former city president of the party’s Yuva
Morcha Nawab Singh, for clicking selfies inside a
polling booth. The mayor has shared her video online
that has gone viral on social media platforms.
‘Parivarvadis’ didn’t
let me work for UP
from 2014-17: Modi
Hardoi: In a veiled at-
tack on Samajwadi
Party, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sun-
day said that between
2014-2017 the ‘parivar-
vadis’ did not let him
work for the people of
Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing a public
rally in Hardoi, the
Prime Minister said
that the people of Har-
doi will celebrate the
first Holi on March 10
with the bumper victo-
ry of the BJP.
“People of Hardoi
have made prepara-
tions to play Holi twice.
First Holi will be played
with BJP’s bumper vic-
tory on 10th March. But
if you want to play Holi
on 10th March, you will
have to make arrange-
ments at polling
booths,” said PM Modi.
PM Modi said that
BJP government is for
poor, farmer and youths
of the country
.
Low-grade politics, not Hindutva:
Uddhav Thackeray, KCR hit out at BJP
New York: The US
has intelligence that
Russian commanders
have received orders
to proceed with an in-
vasion of Ukraine,
with commanders on
the ground making
specific plans for how
they would maneuver
in their sectors of the
battlefield, CBS News
national security cor-
respondent David Mar-
tin reported on “Face
the Nation” pro-
gramme on Sunday.
Meanwhile, French
President Emmanuel
Macron and Russian
leader Vladimir Putin
on Sunday agreed to
work for a ceasefire in
eastern Ukraine, Ma-
cron’s office said.
According to a top
diplomat, US President
Joe Biden is also will-
ing to meet Russia’s
Vladimir Putin “at any
time” to prevent a war
in Ukraine.
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray targetted
the BJP and said that
damage to the country’s
federalism, and “low-
grade politics that is
not Hindutva”.
His Telangana coun-
terpart K Chandrashek-
ar Rao, during his
Mumbai visit, declared
they were practically
brothers, since their
states shared a 1,000-km
border. The Telangana
CM assured that the
talks will continue. “We
will sit in Hyderabad or
somewhere else in a few
days and discuss more,”
he said. Meanwhile,
NCP President Sharad
Pawar stressed the need
for all like-minded par-
ties to join hands to re-
solve various socio-po-
litical issues.
WON’T RESPOND
TO RUSSIAN
PROVOCATIONS:
UKRAINE PREZ
QUEEN ELIZABETH, 95,
IS COVID POSITIVE
Ukraine’s president has
said his nation will not
respond to provocations
amid a deadly escalation
in fighting in rebel
Russian-backed
eastern territories. But
Volodymyr Zelensky told
world leaders Ukraine
would defend itself.
Two Ukrainian soldiers
were killed on a third
day of clashes between
Ukraine’s military and
Russian-backed rebels.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II
tested positive for Covid-19
on Sunday but her
symptoms are “mild”
and she intends to
continue with light
duties.The news
comes after Prince Charles
tested positive on February 10.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav with wife Dimple Yadav hold
identification cards during polling in Saifai on Sunday.
Punjab CM Charanjit Channi leaves a polling
booth after casting vote in Kharar on Sunday.
AAP CM candidate Bhagwant Mann
after casting vote in Mohali on Sunday.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh
Sidhu and wife Navjot Kaur after casting
votes, in Amritsar on Sunday.
President of Punjab Lok Congress and candidate from Patiala constituency Capt.
Amarinder Singh shows his inked finger after casting vote in Patiala on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
addresses a public meeting in
Hardoi on Sunday.
SP again alleges discrepancies in
working of VVPAT in Kanpur Rural
Pollpanelrestoresthenumberofstar
campaignersto40asCovidcaseswane
PERSPECTIVE
JAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2022 04
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RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77
764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
President of India
@rashtrapatibhvn
President Kovind inaugurated
the three-year-long celebrations
of the 150th birth anniversary of
Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati
Goswami Prabhupad, the founder
of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Puri, Odisha today.
Amit Shah@AmitShah
Extend my warm wishes to the
people of Mizoram on their
statehood day. Mizoram is known
for its vibrant culture and amazing
people, passionate about the
nation’s growth. May the state
continue scaling new heights of development.
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
“The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the
dead. There was never a time when you and I and
all the kings gathered here have not existed and nor
will there be a time when we will cease to exist.”
—Bhagavad Gita
n anti-BJP sen-
timent is grow-
ing in Telanga-
na with Chief
Minister K.
Chandrashek
ar Rao (KCR)
leading the charge. His
meetings with Chief Min-
ister Uddhav Thackeray of
Shiv Sena and Nationalist
Congress Party’s Sharad
Pawar are being seen as an
attempt to stitch up a non-
Congress front against the
BJP before the 2024 elec-
tions. The meeting took
place at Thackeray initia-
tive. This unity effort ap-
pears to be a move inde-
pendent of Mamata Baner-
jee and Prashant Kishor’s
plans for a unified front.
While reaching out to re-
gional parties, both intend
to keep the Congress out of
their scheme of things.
Could KCR and Mamata
find a common meeting
ground for a unified oppo-
sition front? And a bigger
question that looms is
whether these regional
leaders, including KCR,
will be able to rein-in their
balloon-sized
ambitions in
the national interest?
There have to be a host
of reasons for the Telan-
gana Rashtra Samithi
(TRS) leader, who once
sided with the BJP in Par-
liament, to turn against
the BJP and Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi.
One of the reasons clear-
ly is the political threat to
the TRS. The saffron party
is making inroads in Tel-
angana and giving KCR
pinpricks with remarks on
bifurcation of the state
that please YSR Congress
chief YS Jagan Mohan
Reddy, the chief minister
of Andhra Pradesh.
On Chief Minister
KCR’s birthday, the Union
Ministry of Road Trans-
port issued full-page ad-
vertisements
announcing
variousprojectsinAndhra
to dilute the impact ads
greeting Rao. KCR has
blamed the BJP for not re-
leasing funds for the
state’s development.
KCR
must remember that there
is no double-engin
e gov-
ernment there.
TELANGANA’S MOVE
AGAINST THE BJP
of reasons for the
Telangana Rashtra
Samithi (TRS) leader, who
once sided with the BJP
in Parliament, to turn
against the BJP and
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
A
or those who thought that Nar-
endra Modi doesn’t care for
Muslims should revisit the dead-
ly floods of Morbi in 1979 when
thousands of people lost their
lives to this disaster. There was
a great risk of epidemic due to
rotten bodies. Most of the people
living in that area were Mus-
lims. Soon after knowing the
pathetic condition of the resi-
dents, Modi swing into action
and took them to relief camp in
Rajkot. He took personal care of
Muslims and arranged for their
sehri during the pious Ramzan
month. Modi stayed in the relief
camp for 2-3 months and left
only after settling them.
Meanwhile in New Delhi,
Chaudhary Charan Singh took
over from Morarji Desai as
Prime Minister. But he could not
the govern for even 6 months
and the experiment of Janta
front failed. Fresh elections
were held in 1980, bringing In-
dira Gandhi back to power.
However, a major political
event happened on 6th April 1980
when leaders of Jansangh found-
ed a political party - Bhartiya Ja-
nataParty-whichhasbecomethe
largest political party and is pres-
ently ruling the country
. The first
session of BJP was held in Mum-
bai where the former Prime Min-
ister and where one of the BJP’s
founding members Atal Bihari
Vajpayeehadfamouslysaid-And-
hera Chhatega, Kamal Khilega.
In 1981, the country was shak-
en up by mass conversion of Dal-
its to Muslims at Meenaxipuram
in Tamil Nadu. Sangh parivar
immediately took cognisance of
that and started Ekatm Yatra
across the country
. This embold-
ened Hindus and during these
yatra, representativ
es of Sangh
parivar connected more than 6
crore Hindus. Narendra Modi
led this campaign in Gujarat giv-
ing new dimensions to his lead-
ership skills.
Kaushik Mehta of VHP be-
lieves that the concept of this
yatra was of Narendra Modi
only
. “Every citizen of the coun-
try is one. Two raths were taken
out in the country simultane-
ously putting kumbh of Gangaji
and photo of Mother India to-
gether. This spread a meaning-
ful message to Hindus,” he said.
Meanwhile,PrimeMinisterIn-
dira Gandhi was assassinated on
31st October, 1984 and Congress
rompedhomewithgreatmajority
ridingonthesympathyvotes.The
newly formed BJP ended up win-
ning just two seats. In the next
year, assembly elections were
heldinGujaratandCongresswon
149 out of 182 seats while BJP
could manage to win just 11 seats.
This set the alarm bells on and
Sangh started sending pracha-
raks to strengthen the BJP
.
On6thDecember1986,pracha-
rak Narendra Modi was sent to
BJP by the then Sarsanghchal
ak
Bala Saheb Devras. Modi, who
was working selflessly for the
Sangh for last one and half dec-
ades, found a new path to trudge.
Soon after coming into BJP, in
1989 Modi had a tough challenge
ahead which he turned into an
opportunity. There was an elec-
tion of Ahmedabad Nagar Nig-
am. Modi took over the entire
responsibility
of poll strategy
and publicity
. He gave the slogan
– ‘Bas ab Bhajapa’. That slogan
played an important role in re-
vival of BJP and changed the
face of electoral politics. People
related with the slogan and the
political acceptability
increased
simultaneous
ly
.
After the great win at
Ahmedabad
Nagar Nigam,
Modi’s role in the party gained
prominence and he was entrust-
ed with the responsibility
of Or-
ganising Secretary in Gujarat.
Modi took out yatras to connect
with the people of the state.
While he carried out ‘Nyay yatra’
championing
the cause of farm-
ers in 1987, he also took out Lok
Shakti yatra in support of tribals
in 1988. In the same year, Modi
went on one more yatra - Kailash
Mansarovar
yatra, which was
organised by External Affairs
ministry for the first time. Soon
after he returned from the yatra,
he came to know about his fa-
ther’s ill health. He immediately
went to Vadnagar, only to see his
father taking his last breath.
Modi’s father probably was wait-
ing for the last sight of his son.
However, undeterred by his
father’s demise, Narendra
Modi left his home the next day
for a journey meant for nation
building.
F
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE…
DUSTY LANES TO CROWNING GLORY- THE MAKING OF PM MODI – PART 3
NARENDRA MODI: FROM A ‘PRACHARAK’
TO A STRATEGIC BJP LEADER !
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India
Soon after coming into
BJP, in 1989 Modi had
a tough challenge
ahead which he turned
into an opportunity.
There was an election
of Ahmedabad Nagar
Nigam. Modi took over
the entire responsibility
of poll strategy and
publicity. He gave the
slogan – ‘Bas ab
Bhajapa’. That slogan
played an important
role in revival of BJP
and changed the face of
electoral politics. People
related with the slogan
and the political
acceptability increased
simultaneously.His role
in Party also gained
prominence
However, a major
political event
happened on 6th April
1980 when leaders of
Jansangh founded a
political party -
Bhartiya Janata Party
- which has become the
largest political party
and is presently ruling
the country. The first
session of BJP was held
in Mumbai where the
former Prime Minister
and where one of the
BJP’s founding
members Atal Bihari
Vajpayee had famously
said - Andhera
Chhatega, Kamal
Khilega
PM Narendra Modi with former PM late
Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
PM Narendra Modi with veteran RSS
leader Lakshman Rao Inaamdar.
PM Narendra Modi being welcomed at Ahmedabad Airport.
Narendra Modi
BIG PLAYERS WITH HIGH-STAKES
P4
An instructor shows a Kalashnikov assault rifle during a training
of members of a Ukrainian far-right group in Kyiv on Sunday.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao along with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and
Sanjay Raut. (Right) KCR with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel and Prakash Raj in Mumbai.
Maha Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray assured support to Telangana
counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao’s efforts to form an anti-BJP front
Embassy in Kyiv
advises Indians, its
staff families to
leave Ukraine
Putin gives Russian commanders orders
for Ukraine invasion, US channel claims
Groom, 8 others killed after car
falls into Chambal river in Kota
Bhanwar S Charan
Kota: Nine people, in-
cluding the groom,
were killed when a car
carrying a marriage
party fell into the
Chambal river in Kota
on Sunday, police said.
The deceased were
travelling in a Maruti
Ertiga car to Madhya
Pradesh from Sawai
Madhopur for his mar-
riage when the driver
lost the control over the
car and it fell into the
river from a bridge in
the Nayapura police
station area, SP (Kota
city) Kesar Singh Shek-
hawat said.
The ill-fated car being fished
out from the Chambal river.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2022
02
New Delhi: A section of students from the College of
Art on Saturday staged a protest near CM Arvind Ke-
jriwal’s residence over
the institute’s merger
with the Delhi govern-
ment-run Ambedkar
University. The DU was
informed that the Office
of the Lieutenant Gover-
nor has in-principle approved the merger of the COA,
subject to its de-affiliation from the university.
COLLEGE OF ART STUDENTS STAGE
PROTEST NEAR KEJRIWAL’S RESIDENCE
New Delhi: It was a pleasant Sunday morning in
Delhi with the minimum temperature settling at 11.4
degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department
said.The relative humidity in the city at 8.30 am was
83 pc. The weatherman has
predicted mainly clear skies
with strong surface winds
during the daytime. The maxi-
mum temperature is likely
to settle around 25 degrees
Celsius. The AQI of Delhi was recorded in the moder-
ate category. The AQI read 175 around 9 am, accord-
ing to the Central Pollution Control Board. The AQI
of neighbouring Faridabad (171), Ghaziabad (185),
Gurgaon (214), Noida (143) and Greater Noida (128)
was recorded between poor, moderate categories.
PLEASANT SUNDAY MORNING IN DELHI
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The Special
Cell of Delhi Police
and Uttar Pradesh
Police conducted a
joint operation and
arrested two persons
with 115 kgs of charas.
The police arrested
the two accused from
Jangalgram Nahar
near Neelawala Pul on
Meerut Expressway
under Masoorie police
station, Ghaziabad, Ut-
tar Pradesh. They were
identified as Ankur Ver-
ma and Sanjeet Singh.
In this regard, a case
is registered under
section 08/20/29/30 of
the NDPS Act, 1985 at
Masoorie police sta-
tion, Ghaziabad in Uttar
Pradesh, the police
said.
New Delhi : A
55-year-old woman
was allegedly mur-
dered by two persons
in the Madangir area
of Delhi on Saturday.
As per the victim’s
daughter, two armed
men entered their
house with the inten-
tion to rob and killed
the victim by slitting
her throat. However,
the police are suspi-
cious of the veracity
of the statement and
are interrogating
the case. The body
of the deceased has
been shifted to AIIMS
mortuary and an FIR
under section 302
of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) has been
registered.
DELHI, UP
POLICE ARREST
TWO WITH 115
KGS OF CHARAS
WOMAN KILLED
IN DELHI’S
MADANGIR
AREA
New Delhi: Distraught
after he lost his liveli-
hood in Mumbai due
to the COVID-19 pan-
demic last year, 44-year-
old dance teacher
Balaji Sawalkar arrived
in Delhi to start life
afresh.
But he found no tak-
ers for his dancing
skills in the national
capital. When he ran
out of money
, he started
to live in ‘Rain Basera’,
a night shelter for
homeless people in the
city
.
It was here the Delhi
Police found him and
helped him to get a job
at a restaurant.
Talking to PTI,
Sawalkar said he is a
professional dancer and
had been performing
for the past 20 years.
Hesaidhehadopened
a dance academy called
‘Bali Step of Dance
Classes’ at Saki Naka in
Mumbai in 2013.
Sawalkar said he also
has a registered com-
pany named ‘Bali
Events and Entertain-
ment LLP’ but it has
been closed for now.
“I had a dance insti-
tute in Mumbai which
has been closed due to
the COVID-19 as the
premises were on rent
and I did not have funds
to run it anymore. I was
running out of money
and left Mumbai. When
I moved out of Mumbai,
I went to four to five stu-
dents’ homes at differ-
ent places, including
Odisha and Bihar.
“I was exploring
whether I can open a
new academy, but I saw
the situation as same
there,” Sawalkar said.
He reached the na-
tional capital by
train on Diwali, Novem-
ber 4, last year to ex-
plore more possibili-
ties.
“I reached here and
initially was living at
Bangla Sahib Gurud-
wara. Later, I shifted to
a nearby Rain Basera.
The arrangements at
the Rain Basera
are good and we get
food. The SHO sir came
at the Rain Basera
and chose some per-
sons, including me, to
help in getting some
livelihood. –PTI
DELHI POLICE HELPS DANCE TEACHER FIND JOB
DIL KI POLICE
—REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE
Delhi Govt hosts concert to pay homage to Lata Mangeshkar
New Delhi: The rendi-
tion of Lata Man-
geshkar’s songs reso-
nated through Con-
naught Place on Satur-
day as the Delhi gov-
ernment organised a
concert to pay tribute
to the late singer.
A f f e c t i o n a t e l y
known as the ‘Nightin-
gale of India’, Man-
geshkar passed away at
a private hospital in
Mumbai a few days
ago. She was 92.
Delhi Deputy Chief
Minister Manish Siso-
dia was the chief guest
of the event held at
Central Park in Con-
naught Place. Several
classical artists per-
formed at the event
while thousands of
people joined the mu-
sic event, physically
and online, the Delhi
government stated.
Held in a surreal set-
ting, the event left the
attendees awestruck as
several government
school children sang
the legendary singer’s
songs, including her
iconic “Meri Awaz Hi
Meri Pehchan Hai”
and “Allah Tero Naam
Ishwar Tere Naam”.
Popular artists
Shilpa Rao and Annu
Kapoor among others,
too, paid a musical trib-
ute to her.
“We should be proud
that we are from an era
in which we could see
her performing. She
has left behind a legacy
that will stay on for
centuries. Even when
she is not among us,
her songs will be
around us in moments
of happiness, love, joy
and sorrow,” Sisodia
said and called Man-
geshkar the “pride of
our country”.
“She was the voice
of the nation and
through her voice, she
will be eternally pre-
sent in our hearts,”
Sisodia said during the
programme that
marked the re-opening
of cultural events after
a long pause due to
COVID-19.The pro-
gramme began with a
video on Mangeshkar’s
life and it depicted how
she simultaneously in-
stilled a feeling of pat-
riotism besides moti-
vating the masses to
live their lives to the
fullest.
The musical evening
was also a proof that
life is gradually getting
back on track after a
long break due to COV-
ID, the Delhi govern-
ment later stated in a
c o m m u n i q u e. T h e
event was jointly or-
ganised by Delhi’s Art,
Culture and Languages
Department, Tourism
Department and Sahi-
tya Kala Parishad. –PTI
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia speaks at a programme to pay tribute to Lata Mangeshkar,
organised by Delhi Government at Central Park in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
Educationdeptrelaxes
eligibility criteria for SoSE
‘Excellent education
at city’s Govt schools’
New Delhi: Delhi So-
cial Welfare Minister
Rajendra Pal Gautam
celebrated the birth an-
niversaries of social re-
formers Guru Ravidas
and Gadge Maharaj on
Saturday
.
“Sant Ravidas had a
dream that every per-
son, irrespective of
caste, should have the
right to lead a dignified
life. Both rich and the
poor should get equal
opportunities,” Gautam
said after he launched
the programme by recit-
ing a couplet of the 15th
Century mystic poet
and reformer. Praising
the CM Arvind Kejri-
wal, Gautam said, “Now,
the children of both
rich and the poor in
Delhi are getting an ex-
cellent education in gov-
ernment schools.” –PTI
Ex-spl commissioner
of Delhi Police made
DERC ombudsman
ITBP jawan shoots
himself dead in
central Delhi
New Delhi: A 31-year-
old Indo-Tibetan Bor-
der Police (ITBP) jawan
deployed for security
duty at the Teen Murti
Bhavan here allegedly
shot himself dead on
Sunday using his ser-
vice rifle, officials said.
Constable Y Reddy
was found dead around
5 AM with his INSAS
rifle lying next to him,
they said. Reddy was
from Karnataka and
had returned from a 30-
day leave just about two
weeks back. A purport-
ed suicide note was re-
covered from his bed in
which he has accused
his wife and father-in-
law of mentally harass-
ing him, officials said.
The jawan got mar-
ried in October last
year.
The mountain war-
fare trained ITBP is pri-
marily deployed to
guard the LAC with
China and many of its
units are deployed for
rendering law and or-
der duties. –PTI
Same persons behind IEDs in
Ghazipur,OldSeemapuri:Police
New Delhi: The Delhi
Police investigating
the recoveries of IEDs
in Ghazipur and Old
Seemapuri has found
that the design and
component of the ex-
plosives were same and
that a stolen motorcy-
cle was parked near
both the spots.
Investigators believe
that the same persons
were behind planting
the IEDs within a
month. The sketches of
two suspects who
claimed to be students
hailing from Uttar
Pradesh have been pre-
pared, a senior police
officer said, adding
that efforts are being
made to identify and
nab them at the earli-
est.
The explosives re-
covered at the two
spots in Delhi were
similar in make and
design to those that
were recovered from
Punjab two months
ago, police said. –PTI
24-yr-old man dies in Dwarka
workshop fire, brother critical
New Delhi: A 24-year-
old man died while his
brother sustained se-
vere injuries after a
chemical drum explod-
ed inside their work-
shop in Delhi’s Dwarka
Sunday morning. Po-
lice said the men were
sitting at their work-
shop where the family
repairs sofa and other
furniture. A drum, used
for storing chemical
foam, exploded because
of a short circuit and a
fire broke out inside the
workshop. According to
the police, they received
a call around 10.15 am
from Om Vihar, Uttam
Nagar and informed the
Delhi Fire Services
(DFS). –PTI
New Delhi: Delhi’s
power regulator DERC
has appointed Delhi Po-
lice’s former Special
Commissioner Pardeep
Kumar Bhardwaj as
its ombudsman to ex-
amine grievances of
the city’s electricity
consumers.
A 1987-batch IPS of-
ficer of the AGMUT
cadre, Bhardwaj had
earlier held several
prestigious posts in the
central government
and had retired as a spe-
cial commissioner of
Delhi Police.
He was administered
the oath of office by the
Delhi Electricity Regu-
latory Commission
Chairman Justice
(Retd) Shabihul Has-
nain earlier this
week, said a DERC
statement.
The institution of the
Electricity Ombuds-
man was established by
the Commission under
the provisions of Sec-
tions 42(5) and 42(6) of
the Electricity Act, 2003
and the DERC (Forum
for redressal of griev-
ances of the consumers
and ombudsman) Regu-
lations, 2018.
Four consumer griev-
ances redressal forum
(CGRF), one each for
consumers of discoms
BSES Rajdhani Power
Ltd (BRPL), BSES Ya-
muna Power Ltd
(BYPL), Tata Power
Delhi Distribution
Ltd (TPDDL) and New
Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) have
been functioning since
2004.
Any aggrieved elec-
tricity consumer may
approach the appropri-
ate forum seeking re-
dressal of his grievance
related to metering, bill-
ing, grant of a new con-
nection, disconnection,
reconnection, change of
name of the registered
consumer. But these fo-
rums cannot be moved
in matters related to the
unauthorised use or
theft of electricity and
meter tampering among
others. –PTI
New Delhi: The educa-
tion department has
dropped the minimum
percentage require-
ment to apply for ad-
missions to Schools of
Specialized Excellence
(SoSE) this year.
Admissions to these
31 new resource-rich
Delhi government
schools are ongoing
and will continue till
February 28.
According to the
usual guidelines adopt-
ed by the government,
the students require a
minimum of 66% ag-
gregate marks in Class
7 to apply for admis-
sion in Class 9 of any
SoSE and a minimum
of 75% aggregate
marks in Class 9 for ad-
mission in Class 11,
with a 5% waiver for
students from SC, ST,
OBC and CWSN (Chil-
dren with Special
Needs) categories.
According to the
education depart-
ment, it has received
many representations
seeking relaxation in
this eligibility crite-
ria because of which
it has relaxed it for
the 2022-23 session.
This means stu-
dents will only have to
pass the respective
previous grade to ap-
ply.
As part of the ad-
mission process, they
will have to appear for
aptitude tests which
will take place be-
tween March 15 and
March 30.
The last date for ap-
plications is February
28. There are 31 SoSEs
for which admissions
are being conducted
this year, each special-
ising either in STEM,
humanities, ‘High End
21st Century Skills’ or
Performing and Visual
Arts, and one Armed
Forces Preparatory
School. Admissions
are open for Class 9 at
five types of these
schools and for Class
11 as well at the STEM
schools and the Arms
Forces Preparatory
School. –Agencies
SURVEY TO ASSESS COVID IMPACT
ON GOVT SCHOOL CHILDREN SOON
New Delhi: The Delhi
government will soon
commission a study to
assess the impact on
the mental health and
emotional well-being
of students due to the
closure of schools,
COVID-19 and the
shift towards online
education. Schools
in Delhi were closed
following lockdown
in March 2020. The
planning department
of the Delhi govern-
ment on Friday issued
a request for pro-
posal to hire a suitable
agency to conduct
the study covering
government school
students, parents and
teachers.“The study is
designed to assess the
emotional well-being
and mental health of
all types of students,
boys and girls, from
different classes, age
groups, social and
economic back-
grounds, which will
provide an insight into
how students from
different backgrounds
responded, adapted
and handled the ef-
fects of COVID-19,”
the document stated.
Students will only
have to pass the
respective previous
grade to apply

INDIA
03
OPPN PARTIES FIGHTING FOR
SECOND POSITION: YOGI
Lucknow: With rivals
equating the Lakhimpur
Kheri incident to the Jal-
lianwalamassacretotar-
get the BJP
, Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on Sun-
day asserted that the law
is taking its own course
in the matter and the Op-
position’s attempt to de-
rive political mileage in
thepollswillnotsucceed.
Asked as to who he
thinks is the main oppo-
nent in the UP polls, Adi-
tyanath said, “We have
no fight with anyone.
They are fighting for the
second position.” “We
have a strong support
baseamong80percentof
the voters while they are
fighting among them-
selves for the remaining
20 percent,” he said.
Onthegeneralpercep-
tion that he was “op-
posed” to Muslims, Adi-
tyanath dubbed it as “op-
ponents’ tactics as part
of their vote bank poli-
tics.”
Assertingthathewould
continue his operation
againstcriminalsandma-
fias after returning to
power, Adityanath said,
“There will be a stick of
development in one hand
whileanotherhandwillbe
ona bulldozerto runover
theanti-socialelements.”
Asked if he has any
prime ministerial am-
bition, the saffron-clad
seer answered: “I am a
simple worker of the
BJP and perform the
task given by the party
to me. I have never run
after any post or chair.”
He laughed when
asked about the Sama-
jwadi Party’s claim of
being a “nayi (new) SP”.
“The distribution of
tickets to criminals, ma-
fias and those assisting
terrorists makes it am-
ply clear that the party
has not changed even a
bit”,hesaid.“Nayi hawa
hai par wahi SP hai”
(the air is fresh but the
SP is the same old one).
There is not a bit of
change in the nature of
the party which, like in
the past, has made
criminals who are be-
hind bars, mafias and
those assisting terror-
ists as its nominees in
the current election,”
he said. —PTI
Hardoi: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi tar-
geted rivals Samajwadi
Party and the Congress
in Uttar Pradesh on
Sunday, adding to alle-
gations that the parties
are soft on terror. Point-
ing to the 2008
Ahmedabad serial
blasts, which claimed 56
lives and left over 200
people injured, he said
some parties are sym-
pathetic to terrorists.
Speaking at a rally in
Hardoi, he accused the
erstwhile Uttar Pradesh
government of seeking
to withdraw cases
against terrorists.
“The attitude of the
leaders of the Samajwa-
di Party and the Con-
gress has been even
more alarming. These
people address a terror-
ist like Osama as ‘ji’.
These people shed tears
over the elimination of
terroristsinBatlaHouse
encounter,” he said.
“Similarly
, in 14 cases
of terrorist attacks in
Uttar Pradesh, the Sa-
majwadi government
had given orders to
withdraw the cases
from many terrorists.
These people were set-
ting off blast after blast,
and the Samajwadi Par-
ty government was not
even allowing these ter-
rorists to be prosecut-
ed,” he added.
The BJP has tradi-
tionally accused the
Congress of appease-
ment politics because
of its sizeable Muslim
support base. Once this
support shifted to the
Samajwadi Party, the
barbs got sharper.
Campaign in the run-
up to this election was
sharply polarised, with
senior state leaders and
the Chief Minister ac-
cusing Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s party of being
supporters of Pakistan
and its founder Muham-
mad Ali Jinnah. Mr
Yadav’s father, party pa-
triarch Mulayam Singh
Yadav was dubbed
“Maulana Mulayam”.
Yogi Adityanath had
also alleged that the SP
was trying to turning
the assembly seat of
Bhojpur into an “Is-
lamabad”. —PTI
New Delhi: The out-
come of the five state
elections will have an
impact on the Presiden-
tial poll and will also
bring some change in
the Upper House of
Parliament as except
for Punjab the other
four states were ruled
by the BJP with brute
majorities in UP and
Uttarakhand.
The Bharatiya Janata
Party may not be that
comfortably placed in
the Presidential elec-
tion which is likely to be
conducted in June-July
2022, as the President is
indirectly elected by an
electoral college con-
sisting of the elected
members of both the
Houses of Parliament
and the assemblies.
The electoral colleges
comprises 776 MPs of
both the Houses and
4,120 MLAs of all the
states and Union Terri-
tories. The electoral col-
lege has 1,098,903 votes,
and a majority is 549,452
votes. As far as the value
of votes is concerned,
Uttar Pradesh has the
highestnumberof votes,
approximately83,824fol-
lowed by Maharashtra
and West Bengal.
The BJP has a brute
majority in the assem-
blies of UP and Uttara-
khand and any reduc-
tion of seats will put the
game in the opposition
camp as the Chief Min-
isters of different re-
gional parties are try-
ing to join hands.
If they join hands
and put up a joint candi-
date, the BJP will find
it difficult to get
its nominee
e l e c t e d .
The only
way would
be a divi-
sion in the opposition
camp which may be a
difficult task. After
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee
who is trying to expand
her party, Trinamool
Congress’ footprints at
the national level, Tel-
angana Chief Minister
K. Chandrashekhar
Rao (KCR) had a
meeting with Maha-
rashtra Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray
.
Not only is the Mum-
bai meeting important
but KCR is also meeting
Tamil Nadu Chief Min-
ister M.K. Stalin and
Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan.
Even Mamata Ba-
nerjee is likely to
travel to Hyderabad to
meet KCR. He has the
support of former
Prime Minister H.D.
Deve Gowda who could
be another possible can-
didate for President.
However the Chief
Ministerstryingtounite
en bloc is not a good sign
for the Congress which
may get isolated in the
opposition while the
BJP has to search for a
consensus candi-
date for the
Presiden-
tial poll.
K C R ’ s
new initia-
tive is to save his home
turf as the BJP is ex-
panding its base in Tel-
angana. He is being
forced to take on the
BJP due to domestic po-
litical compulsions, oth-
erwise the party had
been bailing out the BJP
on key legislation in the
Upper House since 2014.
The southern states
and Maharashtra ac-
count for more than 200
Lok Sabha seats and al-
most half of the elector-
alcollegewhichcouldbe
crucial in the next Presi-
dential poll. If the re-
gionalpartiesteamup,it
will be unlikely that the
BJP will have its way in
the choice of President.
Thus the electoral
outcome in the five
states which include UP
will impact the presi-
dential election.
If the opposition puts
up a candidate like NCP
supremo Sharad Pawar
who is capable of mus-
tering support from oth-
ers like the Trinamool
Congress, the BJD, the
TRS,theYSRCP
,theCPI-
M, the CPI and the other
parties, then the BJP
will have a tough task
ahead of it. —Agencies
How Assembly polls will impact Presidential and RS elections
POLITICAL INTRICACIES
Patna: Lalu Prasad’s
RJD has slammed its
doors shut on the pos-
sibility of any under-
standing with the Con-
gress, its estranged ally,
for elections to 24 seats
of the legislative coun-
cil in Bihar.
State RJD president
Jagadanand Singh on
Saturday announced its
candidates for two
seats, having done the
same for 21 others a
week ago, and declared
that it was leaving one
for the Left parties.
Elections to the two
dozen seats, vacant for
quite some time, are ex-
pectedinMarchorApril.
The development
came barely a day after
Congress leader Priyan-
ka Gandhi Vadra came
outinsupportof Prasad,
whoisinjailafterconvic-
tion in yet another fod-
der scam case. The two
parties, along with the
CPI,CPI(M)andCPI(ML)
hadformedaGrandAlli-
ance to contest the 2020
Assembly polls. —PTI
THEY SAY OSAMA-JI:
PM SLAMS SAMAJWADI, CONG
POLLS
UTTAR PRADESH
Gurdaspur: Shiroma-
ni Akali Dal (SAD)
leader Bikram Singh
Majithia said on Sun-
day that the party will
decide on forming an
alliance with the Bhar-
tiya Janata Party
(BJP) post Punjab As-
sembly elections if the
SAD-Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) alliance
comes to power.
Talking to media,
Bikram Majithia said,
“My fight is for the peo-
pleof Punjab.Amritsar
East needs develop-
ment. There are poor
people who do not get
welfare schemes. It is
themostbackward.The
truth will win.”
“We will decide on
the tie-up with the BJP
afterthestateAssembly
polls,” he added.
Majithia, who had
filedhisnominationpa-
pers from two seats —
Majitha and Amritsar
East — in January
, will
be facing off with Pun-
jab Congress President
Navjot Singh Sidhu in
the Amritsar East con-
stituency
. —ANI
Will decide on tie-up with
BJP after Punjab polls, says
SAD’s Bikram Majithia
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting in UP’s Hardoi on Sunday.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addresses party workers in Unnao.
Cong leader Rahul Gandhi with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav. —FILE
Lambi: Former Punjab Chief Minister
and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader
Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday took
a dig at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),
saying the party does not have any
relation with Punjab. Speaking to the
media persons after casting his vote
with the entire Badal family, he said,
“AAP does not have any relation with
Punjab. Neither does it have any
sympathy with the state. They do not
know how many districts are there in
the state.” Slamming Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Channi’s “UP-Bihar”
remark, Badal said that if you behave
inappropriately with the people of
other states, they would do the same
with you.
Patiala: Former Punjab Chief Min-
ister Captain Amarinder Singh said
that Congress will be wiped out from
the state in the Assembly elections.
Speaking to media, Amarinder Singh,
who left Congress and formed Punjab
Lok Congress, said, “I am certain of
winning Patiala. I think we will win
the elections...They (Congress) live
in a different world will be wiped
out in Punjab.” “Bhagwant Mann is
an anti-national and he is supporting
Arvind Kejriwal,” said the Punjab Lok
Congress founder after casting his
vote in Patiala. The former CM also
said that his party is performing well
and positive reports coming from the
ground.
AAP DOES NOT HAVE ANY
RELATION WITH PUNJAB:
PARKASH SINGH BADAL
CONGRESS WILL BE WIPED
OUT FROM PUNJAB, SAYS
CAPT AMARINDER SINGH
‘They’llgetanswerfrom
peopleofUPonMar10’
PM accuses Congress
of appeasement politics
POLLS
PUNJAB
Ayodhya: Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav took a jibe at in-
cumbent Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on
Sunday by calling him
“Baba Bulldozer” and
said that “Baba” will
lose election just like
contentious farm laws
were withdrawn.
“BJP leaders are now
learning abcd, I want to
tell them, “agar Kaka
chale gaye toh Baba bhi
chale jaenge” (if black
farm laws were taken
back, CM Yogi will also
go back),” said Yadav
while addressing a
raaly in Rudauli of Ayo-
dhya district.
Akhilesh further
said, “Yogi changed
the name of every-
thing. Till now we were
calling him “Baba CM”
but today one of the re-
puted English newspa-
pers called him “Baba
Bulldozer”. —Agencies
1 2
Just like farm laws, ‘Baba
Bulldozer’ will be gone:
Akhilesh’s jibe at Yogi
AKHILESH WILL
BE CM: SHIVPAL
Etawah: Shivpal Singh
Yadav on Sunday said
that the third phase of the
State Assembly elections
has made it clear that
Akhilesh Yadav will be-
come the CM. Yadav was
interacting with the media
after casting his vote in
Etawah on Sunday.
Lucknow: Union
Minister Anurag
Thakur on Sunday
slammed the Sama-
jwadi Party saying
that all criminals,
goons and rioters
have links with it.
His latest attack
on the party comes
a day after he had
questioned its chief
Akhilesh on the al-
leged involvement
of his party’s leader
in 2008 Ahmedabad
serial blasts case.
“All criminals,
goons and rioters
have their links to
the Samajwadi Par-
ty,” Thakur said.
He called out
chief Yadav for his
silence on the al-
leged connection of
his party’s leader
with 2008
Ahmedabad blasts,
saying that ‘Aantan-
kiyo ka abbujaan,
Samajvadiyo ka
bhaijaan, isliye
band hai zubaan’.
All criminals,
goons, rioters
have links to
SP:Thakur
RJD snubs Cong in Bihar
legislative council elections
Parkash Singh Badal
Captain Amarinder Singh
Yogi Adityanath’s roadshow in Lucknow on Sunday.

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 173 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
President of India
@rashtrapatibhvn
President Kovind inaugurated
the three-year-long celebrations
of the 150th birth anniversary of
Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati
Goswami Prabhupad, the founder
of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Puri, Odisha today.
Amit Shah@AmitShah
Extend my warm wishes to the
people of Mizoram on their
statehood day. Mizoram is known
for its vibrant culture and amazing
people, passionate about the
nation’s growth. May the state
continue scaling new heights of development.
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
“The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the
dead. There was never a time when you and I and
all the kings gathered here have not existed and nor
will there be a time when we will cease to exist.”
—Bhagavad Gita
n anti-BJP sen-
timent is grow-
ing in Telanga-
na with Chief
Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)
leading the charge. His
meetings with Chief Min-
ister Uddhav Thackeray of
Shiv Sena and Nationalist
Congress Party’s Sharad
Pawar are being seen as an
attempt to stitch up a non-
Congress front against the
BJP before the 2024 elec-
tions. The meeting took
place at Thackeray initia-
tive. This unity effort ap-
pears to be a move inde-
pendent of Mamata Baner-
jee and Prashant Kishor’s
plans for a unified front.
While reaching out to re-
gional parties, both intend
to keep the Congress out of
their scheme of things.
Could KCR and Mamata
find a common meeting
ground for a unified oppo-
sition front? And a bigger
question that looms is
whether these regional
leaders, including KCR,
will be able to rein-in their
balloon-sized ambitions in
the national interest?
of reasons for the Telan-
gana Rashtra Samithi
(TRS) leader, who once
sided with the BJP in Par-
liament, to turn against
the BJP and Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi.
One of the reasons clear-
ly is the political threat to
the TRS. The saffron party
is making inroads in Tel-
angana and giving KCR
pinpricks with remarks on
bifurcation of the state
that please YSR Congress
chief YS Jagan Mohan
Reddy, the chief minister
of Andhra Pradesh.
On Chief Minister
KCR’s birthday, the Union
Ministry of Road Trans-
port issued full-page ad-
vertisements announcing
variousprojectsinAndhra
to dilute the impact ads
greeting Rao. KCR has
blamed the BJP for not re-
leasing funds for the
state’s development. KCR
must remember that there
is no double-engine gov-
ernment there.
TELANGANA’S MOVE
AGAINST THE BJP
of reasons for the
Telangana Rashtra
Samithi (TRS) leader, who
once sided with the BJP
in Parliament, to turn
against the BJP and
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
A
or those who thought that Nar-
endra Modi doesn’t care for
Muslims should revisit the dead-
ly floods of Morbi in 1979 when
thousands of people lost their
lives to this disaster. There was
a great risk of epidemic due to
rotten bodies. Most of the people
living in that area were Mus-
lims. Soon after knowing the
pathetic condition of the resi-
dents, Modi swing into action
and took them to relief camp in
Rajkot. He took personal care of
Muslims and arranged for their
sehri during the pious Ramzan
month. Modi stayed in the relief
camp for 2-3 months and left
only after settling them.
Meanwhile in New Delhi,
Chaudhary Charan Singh took
over from Morarji Desai as
Prime Minister. But he could not
the govern for even 6 months
and the experiment of Janta
front failed. Fresh elections
were held in 1980, bringing In-
dira Gandhi back to power.
However, a major political
event happened on 6th April 1980
when leaders of Jansangh found-
ed a political party - Bhartiya Ja-
nataParty-whichhasbecomethe
largest political party and is pres-
ently ruling the country
. The first
session of BJP was held in Mum-
bai where the former Prime Min-
ister and where one of the BJP’s
founding members Atal Bihari
Vajpayeehadfamouslysaid-And-
hera Chhatega, Kamal Khilega.
In 1981, the country was shak-
en up by mass conversion of Dal-
its to Muslims at Meenaxipuram
in Tamil Nadu. Sangh parivar
immediately took cognisance of
that and started Ekatm Yatra
across the country
. This embold-
ened Hindus and during these
yatra, representatives of Sangh
parivar connected more than 6
crore Hindus. Narendra Modi
led this campaign in Gujarat giv-
ing new dimensions to his lead-
ership skills.
Kaushik Mehta of VHP be-
lieves that the concept of this
yatra was of Narendra Modi
only
. “Every citizen of the coun-
try is one. Two raths were taken
out in the country simultane-
ously putting kumbh of Gangaji
and photo of Mother India to-
gether. This spread a meaning-
ful message to Hindus,” he said.
Meanwhile,PrimeMinisterIn-
dira Gandhi was assassinated on
31st October, 1984 and Congress
rompedhomewithgreatmajority
ridingonthesympathyvotes.The
newly formed BJP ended up win-
ning just two seats. In the next
year, assembly elections were
heldinGujaratandCongresswon
149 out of 182 seats while BJP
could manage to win just 11 seats.
This set the alarm bells on and
Sangh started sending pracha-
raks to strengthen the BJP
.
On6thDecember1986,pracha-
rak Narendra Modi was sent to
BJP by the then Sarsanghchalak
Bala Saheb Devras. Modi, who
was working selflessly for the
Sangh for last one and half dec-
ades, found a new path to trudge.
Soon after coming into BJP, in
1989 Modi had a tough challenge
ahead which he turned into an
opportunity. There was an elec-
tion of Ahmedabad Nagar Nig-
am. Modi took over the entire
responsibility of poll strategy
and publicity
. He gave the slogan
– ‘Bas ab Bhajapa’. That slogan
played an important role in re-
vival of BJP and changed the
face of electoral politics. People
related with the slogan and the
political acceptability increased
simultaneously
.
After the great win at
Ahmedabad Nagar Nigam,
Modi’s role in the party gained
prominence and he was entrust-
ed with the responsibility of Or-
ganising Secretary in Gujarat.
Modi took out yatras to connect
with the people of the state.
While he carried out ‘Nyay yatra’
championing the cause of farm-
ers in 1987, he also took out Lok
Shakti yatra in support of tribals
in 1988. In the same year, Modi
went on one more yatra - Kailash
Mansarovar yatra, which was
organised by External Affairs
ministry for the first time. Soon
after he returned from the yatra,
he came to know about his fa-
ther’s ill health. He immediately
went to Vadnagar, only to see his
father taking his last breath.
Modi’s father probably was wait-
ing for the last sight of his son.
However, undeterred by his
father’s demise, Narendra
Modi left his home the next day
for a journey meant for nation
building.
F
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE…
DUSTY LANES TO CROWNING GLORY- THE MAKING OF PM MODI – PART 3
NARENDRA MODI: FROM A ‘PRACHARAK’
TO A STRATEGIC BJP LEADER !
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India
Soon after coming into
BJP, in 1989 Modi had
a tough challenge
ahead which he turned
into an opportunity.
There was an election
of Ahmedabad Nagar
Nigam. Modi took over
the entire responsibility
of poll strategy and
publicity. He gave the
slogan – ‘Bas ab
Bhajapa’. That slogan
played an important
role in revival of BJP
and changed the face of
electoral politics. People
related with the slogan
and the political
acceptability increased
simultaneously.His role
in Party also gained
prominence
However, a major
political event
happened on 6th April
1980 when leaders of
Jansangh founded a
political party -
Bhartiya Janata Party
- which has become the
largest political party
and is presently ruling
the country. The first
session of BJP was held
in Mumbai where the
former Prime Minister
and where one of the
BJP’s founding
members Atal Bihari
Vajpayee had famously
said - Andhera
Chhatega, Kamal
Khilega
PM Narendra Modi with former PM late
Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
PM Narendra Modi with veteran RSS
leader Lakshman Rao Inaamdar.
PM Narendra Modi being welcomed at Ahmedabad Airport.
Narendra Modi

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INDIA
05
Mumbai/Khajuraho:
Taking cognisance of a
complaint by a Maha-
rashtra heritage expert,
the Archaeological Sur-
vey of India (ASI) is
probing allegations of
certain activities re-
ported from the vicinity
(buffer zone) of the an-
cient Khajuraho Tem-
ples — a UNESCO
World Heritage site.
The quiet develop-
ment follows objections
by the Jalgaon-based
Heritage Foundation
Director Bhujang
Bobade to the ASI Di-
rector-General, Madhya
Pradesh ASI officials,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi and others.
Bobade said in his
complaint that a group
of Jain Temples in the
close proximity of the
Khajuraho Temples
have recently carried
out certain minor reno-
vations and used chem-
ical/synthetic paints.
This poses a severe
threat to the safety of
the 11-12 centuries old
Khajuraho Group of
Monuments, compris-
ing two dozen temples.
They were declared a
UNESCO World Herit-
age Site in 1986.
It was in December
2021-January 2022 that
locals were taken aback
to witness painting and
minor repairs being un-
dertaken on the equally
ancient cluster of Jain
Temples outside the
Khajuraho Group of
Monuments. —Agencies
ASI probes ‘risks’ to heritage Khajuraho temples
Mumbai: A 10-member
Indian delegation will
visit Pakistan for the
annual meeting of the
Permanent Indus Com-
mission (PIC) from
March 1-3, a senior Jal
Shakti Ministry official
said on Sunday
.
In a first since the
signing of the Indus Wa-
ter Treaty between the
two countries, three fe-
maleofficerswillalsobe
part of the Indian dele-
gation, which will be ad-
vising the Indian Com-
missioner on various
issues during the meet-
ing, the official said.
Last year, a delega-
tion led by the Pakistan
Commissioner for In-
dus Waters had visited
India for the annual
meeting.
“The annual meeting
of the Permanent Indus
Commission will be
held in Islamabad, Paki-
stan between March 1
and 3, 2022,” Pradeep
Kumar Saxena, Indian
dus Waters, told PTI.
The delegation will
comprise Saxena's ad-
visers from the Central
Water Commission, the
Central Electricity Au-
thority, the National
Hydroelectric Power
Corporation and the
Ministry of External
Affairs. The Pakistan
side will be led by Syed
Muhammad Mehar Ali
Shah, the Pakistan
dus Waters.
The Indian delega-
tion will leave for Paki-
stan through Atari bor-
der on February 28 and
will return through the
same route on March 4.
The agenda for the
meeting is being final-
ised between the two
Commissioners, offi-
cials said. Pakistan's
objections on Indian
hydroelectric projects
namely Pakal Dul (1,000
MW), Lower Kalnai (48
MW) and Kiru (624 MW)
in Chenab basin in Jam-
mu and Kashmir and
few small hydroelectric
projects in Ladakh are
likely to be on the agen-
da for discussion.
According to the trea-
ty, India has been given
the right to generate hy-
droelectricity through
run-of-the-river pro-
jects on the western riv-
ers subject to specific
criteria for design and
operation.
The pact also gives
the right to Pakistan to
raise objections to de-
signs of Indian hydroe-
lectric projects on the
western rivers. Paki-
stan has raised objec-
tions on the design of
these projects. —PTI
Munich: India's rela-
tionship with China is
rightnowgoingthrough
a very difficult phase
after Beijing violated
agreements not to bring
the military forces in
the border, External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar has said, em-
phasising that the state
of the border will deter-
mine the state of the
relationship.
Speaking at a panel
discussion on Saturday
at the Munich Security
Conference (MSC) 2022
in Munich, Mr Jais-
hankar said that India
was having a problem
with China along the
Line of Actual Control.
For 45 years, there
was peace, there was
stable border manage-
ment, there were no
military casualties on
the border from 1975.
That changed because
we had agreements
with China not to
bring military forces
to the border and the
Chinese violated those
agreements, the Min-
ister said.
Now, the state of the
border will determine
the state of the relation-
ship. That's natural. So
obviously, the relations
with China right now
are going through a dif-
ficult phase, he added.
The eastern Ladakh
border standoff be-
tween the Indian and
Chinese militaries
erupted following a vio-
lent clash in the Pan-
gong lake areas and
both sides gradually
enhanced their deploy-
ment by rushing in tens
of thousands of sol-
diers as well as heavy
weaponry
. —PTI
Indian delegation to visit
Pak for Indus panel meet
117th ROUND OF PIC
Meeting of PIC to take place
in Pak from 1st to 3rd March
3 female officers will also be
part of the Indian delegation
According to sourc-
es, the delegation
is expected to leave
around February
28th and return on
March 4th. This
will be the 117th
meeting of the
commission led by
the commissioners
from both sides.
1 2
India’s relations with China going
through ‘very difficult phase’: EAM
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses a meeting with
Indian community in Munich on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Munich: Dismissing the notion that the Quad
is an Asian NATO, EAM S Jaishankar has said
that there are interested parties who advance
such analogies and one should not slip into it,
underlining that the four-nation grouping is a
kind of 21st century way of responding to a
more diversified and dispersed world. Jaishankar
was speaking during a panel discussion on 'A
Sea Change? Regional Order and Security in the
Indo-Pacific' at the MSC 2022. Quad is a group-
ing of four countries who have common interests
a great deal of comfort, who happen to be located
at four corners of the Indo-Pacific. —PTI
'LAZY ANALOGY': S JAISHANKAR ON
COMPARISONS OF QUAD WITH NATO
Development in Arunachal
being speeded up, says PM
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday said the govern-
ment has done unprec-
edented work to speed
up development in
Arunachal Pradesh and
asserted that modern
infrastructure is being
built there considering
its role from the nation-
al security perspective.
In his message to the
people of Arunachal,
Modi said that it has
been his firm belief
that eastern India and
particularly the north-
east will be the engine
of the country's de-
velopment in the
21st century.
—PTI
MODI GREETS PEOPLE OF MIZORAM,
ARUNACHAL ON THEIR STATEHOOD DAY
New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Sunday
greeted the people of Mizoram and Arunachal
Pradesh on their statehood day. Greetings to the
people of Mizoram on their Statehood Day. India
takes great pride in the vibrant Mizo culture and
the contributions of Mizoram to national pro-
gress, PM said in a tweet. I pray for the good
health and well-being of the people
of Mizoram, he said. PM also
extended best wishes to the
people of Arunachal on their
statehood day. The people
of the state are known for
their stupendous talent and
hardworking nature. May the
state scale new heights
of development
in the times
to come, he
said. —PTI
PM Narendra Modi
New Delhi: Daily new
Covid-19 cases in India
fell below 20,000 after 51
days, taking the total
virus tally to 4,28,22,473,
while the active cases
dipped to 2,24,187, ac-
cording to the Union
Health Ministry data
updated on Sunday
.
A total of 19,968 cases
have been reported in a
day while the death toll
climbed to 5,11,903 with
673 fresh fatalities, the
data updated at 8 am
stated.
The daily Covid-19
cases have remained be-
low one lakh for 14 con-
secutive days.
India reported 16,764
corornavirus infections
on December 30 last
year. The active cases
comprise 0.52 per cent
of the total infections.
Active Covid cases decline to 20K after 51 days
New Delhi: Bharat
Biotech on Saturday
said its Covaxin will
be evaluated as a
Covid-19 vaccine
candidate in the
US. In a statement,
Ocugen Inc, Bharat
Biotech's partner in
the US and Canada
for Covaxin, noted
that the American
health regulator —
the US Food and
Drug Administra-
tion (FDA) — has
lifted its clinical
hold to evaluate the
Covid-19 vaccine
candidate BBV152,
known as Covaxin
outside US. —PTI
London: The British
government con-
firmed that people
with Covid-19 won't
be legally required
to self-isolate start-
ing next week, as
part of a plan for
“living with Covid”
that is also likely to
see testing for the
coronavirus scaled
back PM Boris
Johnson said end-
ing all of the legal
curbs brought in
to curb the spread
of the virus will let
people in the UK
“protect ourselves
without restricting
our freedoms.” —AP
US TO EVALUATE
COVAXIN, SAYS
BHARAT BIOTECH
UK TO SCRAP
ALL CURBS
NEXT WEEK
INDIAN ARMY USES DRONES TO SUPPLY
VACCINE DOSES IN JAMMU KASHMIR
New Delhi: In
a bid to ensure
that the Covid-19
vaccine reaches
members of the
armed forces
in the most far-
flung areas in
the country, the Indian Army has opted to use drones.
The Indian Army is using drones to supply the booster
dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to forward troops in
snow-bound areas in Jammu and Kashmir. —PTI
‘AN OBLIGATION, NOT A CHOICE’,
ZAIRA JUMPS INTO HIJAB RING
MAHARASHTRA: FORGERY CASE AGAINST
SAMEER WANKHEDE OVER BAR LICENCE
New Delhi: 'Dangal' actor Zaira Wasim, reacted
to the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka.
Former actor Zaira Wasim is the latest to use
her social media power to react on the same. On
Twitter Zaira posted a long note. It's often either
a construct of convenience or ignorance. Hijab
isn't a choice but an obligation in Islam. Like-
wise, a woman who wears the hijab is fulfilling
an obligation enjoined upon her by the God she
loves and has submitted herself to, the 21-year-
old shared.
Mumbai: An FIR was filed against IRS
officer and former zonal director of
Mumbai NCB Sameer Wankhede for
forgery in Mumbai's Thane for allegedly
obtaining a license for a hotel by willful
misrepresentation of his age, said the
Kopri police on Sunday. The FIR was
filed on Saturday night on the complaint of State Excise
Department official Shankar Gogavale who alleged that
Mr Wankhede was below 18 years of age in 1996-97
while obtaining a license for Sadguru Bar in the city.
CRUCIAL READ
SUSPECTED LeT
ULTRA ARRESTED
FILE CASE AGAINST
18 UP COPS: COURT
Jammu: A suspected
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
terrorist was arrested
in Doda district of
Jammu and Kash-
mir, officials said on
Sunday. Adil Iqbal Butt,
a resident of Sazan-
Bajarni village, was
apprehended by a joint
search party of police.
Shahjahanpur: A court
in Shahjahanpur has
directed the police to
register a case against
18 policemen including
the then superinten-
dent of police chief
in an alleged fake en-
counter case in which
two persons were
killed 18 years ago.
New Delhi: The Lok
Sabha Speaker, Om Bir-
la, will lead an parlia-
mentary delegation to
the United Arab Emir-
ates from February 21
to 25 on the invitation
of the Federal National
Council of UAE.
This is the first-ever
visit under the bilateral
exchange of parliamen-
tary delegations from
either side, read the of-
ficial release of the Lok
Sabha Secretariat.
During their visit to
UAE, the delegation,
apart from meeting
their host, Saqr Gobash,
Speaker of the Federal
National Council of
UAE, will also call on
Sheikh Mohammed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan,
Crown Prince of Abu
Dhabi and Deputy Su-
preme Commander of
UAE Armed Forces and
Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice President and
Prime Minister of the
UAEandRulerof Dubai,
added the release. —ANI
Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla to lead delegation
to UAE from Feb 21 To 25
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
—FILE PHOTO
Munich: India
and Germany
share a commit-
ment to promoting
green growth and
clean technology,
EAMSJaishankar
has said, as he
held a construc-
tive meeting with
German Minister
for Economic Co-
operation and De-
velopment Svenja
Schulze.
Jaishankar ar-
rived in Germany
on Friday to take
part in the Munich
Security Confer-
ence 2022.
A constructive
meeting with Ger-
man Minister for
Economic Coop-
eration and Devel-
opment @Sven-
jaSchulze68, Jais-
hankar tweeted.
India, Germany
committed to
promote green
growth: EAM
This is the first-
ever visit under
the bilateral
exchange of
parliamentary
delegations from
either side, read
official release

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
TradepactwithUAEmaybenefit
$26 bn worth of Indian goods
New Delhi: The com-
prehensive free trade
agreement between In-
dia and the UAE is like-
ly to benefit about $26
billion worth of domes-
tic products like gems
and jewellery that are
currently subjected to
5% import duty by the
Gulf nation, an official
said. Labour intensive
industries such as tex-
tiles, leather, footwear,
sports goods, plastics,
furniture, agricultural
and wood products, en-
gineering, pharmaceu-
ticals and medical de-
vices, and automobiles
would gain substantial-
ly from the pact.
The services sector
segments which would
get significant boost
from the pact include
computer-related ser-
vices,audio-visual,edu-
cation, health, tourism,
travel, nursing, engi-
neering, and account-
ancy
, the official said.
India and the UAE on
Feb 18 signed the CEPA
with a view to boosting
bilateral trade in goods
to $100 billion over a
five-year period and
creation of lakhs of
jobs. “While the UAE is
already India’s second
largest export destina-
tion with exports val-
ued at approximately
$29 billion in 2019-20,
CEPA with UAE is like-
ly to benefit about $26
billion worth of Indian
products that are sub-
jected to 5% import
duty by the UAE.”
As per estimates, ex-
ports of plain gold and
gold-studded jewellery
wouldincreaseto$10bil-
lion in 2023 and tariff
concessions offered to
the UAE by India in
products like gold will
reduce the import cost
of inputs. Additional in-
creaseintextilesexports
is projected at $2 billion
over the next five years.
“With duty free tariffs,
India can cater to the
hospital segment of the
UAE through institu-
tional selling of home
textileslikebedandbath
linen as well as contract
textiles - beach towels,
salon and spa linen etc,”
the official said. —PTI
LIC’s biz plan change after
IPO a threat to private firms
Mumbai: Amend-
ments to the surplus/
profit distribution
rules for IPO-bound
LIC, which has already
improved its margins
by 700 bps to 9.9% and
will further rise to 20%
when the national in-
surer shifts its busi-
ness mix to non-partic-
ipating policies, can
give nightmares to pri-
vate players who have
been thriving on this
segment for too long,
says a report.
According to an
analysis of its IPO fil-
ings by Swiss broker-
age Credit Suisse, SBI
Life, ICICI Prudential,
HDFC Life and Max
Life will face the maxi-
mum impact of the
LIC move.
The report notes
that LIC’s margin has
already gone by up 700
bps to 9.9% after gov-
ernment amended
LIC’s surplus/profit
distribution rules
which allows it to
make a 10% shift in the
business mix from par-
ticipating policies to
non-participating poli-
cies, which is only 4%
now, which can take its
margins to 20%.
This is based on the
assumption a full tran-
sition to new surplus
distribution from 100%
for non-participating
policies now and 10%
for participating poli-
cies.
A participating (par)
insurance policy pro-
vides both guaranteed
and non-guaranteed
benefits to policyhold-
ers in the form of bo-
nus or dividend pay-
outs, while a non-par-
ticipating (non-par)
policy typically pro-
vides guaranteed ben-
efits to policyholders,
but they do not receive
profit or dividend pay-
ments.
Currently, LIC just
has 4% of its new busi-
ness premium coming
in from non-participat-
ing policies, while the
same is for its the top
five private sector
peers range from 20 to
45%. —PTI
PARTICIPATING (PAR) POLICY
GOLD EXPORT UP
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment’s revenue col-
lection from telecom
services will be signifi-
cantly higher than the
projection of `52,806.36
crore made in the un-
ion budget after adding
the collection from the
proposed spectrum
auction, a top telecom
department official
said. The government
has lowered its revenue
estimate from the tele-
com segment to `52,806
crore for the next finan-
cial year, according to
the budget document.
“Some people are
making advance pay-
ments and since spec-
trum auction is pro-
posed we expect this to
go northwards. It will
be significantly higher
but at this stage we
won’t be able to give
any estimates because
we don’t have recom-
mendations in hand,”
Telecom Secretary K
Rajaraman said.
The telecom revenue
collection is expected
to be higher than the
budget estimates of
`53,986.72 crore for the
current financial year
at `71,959.24 crore.
Rajaraman said that
the DoT has already
collected `69,559 crore
as of February 3.
The receipt from
communication servic-
es includes licence fees
from telecom operators
and re-
c e i p t s
on ac-
count of
spectrum us-
age charges
which are charged
at the rate of 8% of
their adjusted gross
revenue.
“We will not
be able to
guess 5G
spectrum
auction es-
timates till
we have
Trai’s rec-
o m m e n d a -
tions in
h a n d .
These rec-
ommenda-
tions will
u n d e r g o
some chang-
es,” Rajara-
man said.
—PTI
The government has lowered its revenue
estimate from the telecom segment to
`52,806 crore for the next financial
year, according to the budget
document
Govt telecom revenues to exceed BE: Official
Govt plans new tech
to support coal ops
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment plans to im-
plement new technolo-
gies and build digital
infrastructure to sup-
port current and fu-
ture coal mines opera-
tions, a move that
would reduce the
country’s dependency
on imports. Techno-
logical advancements
in coal mining are also
making operations
more productive.
“The objective is to
implement new tech-
nologies and build
digital infrastructure
to support current and
future ramp-up for the
mines,” according to
the government’s
draft technology road
map for the coal sector.
This involves a
strong, multi-speed
backbone information
technology and infra-
structure system that
allows rapid deploy-
ment of new technolo-
gies. “Creation of
such system would
require access to new-
age ecosystems. The
technological trans-
formation will also
entail the creation of a
new culture in the or-
ganisation,” it said.
To reduce the de-
pendency on imports,
it is critical for CIL to
reach the one billion
tonnes target, thereby
embarking on a tech-
nological transforma-
tion journey, it said.
—PTI
OBJECTIVE
Devas:AI wins nod to appeal
against seizure ruling in Canada
New Delhi: Air India
has won a nod of an ap-
peals court in Quebec to
challenge a Canadian
court order that allowed
foreign investors in
Bengaluru-headquar-
tered Devas Multime-
dia to seize its funds to
recover compensation
for a failed 2005 satellite
deal with Antrix Corpo-
ration, a commercial
arm of ISRO.
In a February 11 rul-
ing, Judge Christine
Baudouin agreed with
Air India that the court
should take a closer
look at the claim
brought by three Mau-
ritius investors and the
German major
Deutsche Telekom to
identify the airline as
an alternative to Gov-
ernment of India to fa-
cilitate recovery of
compensations award-
ed by international tri-
bunals over the failed
satellite deal.
“Without expressing
an opinion on the mer-
its or on the chances of
success in appeal, I am
satisfied that the pre-
sent matter is one that
should be submitted to
the court,” Judge Bau-
douin wrote in a brief
order. She set a hearing
in the case for May 13.
Earlier this month, a
US federal court for the
southern district of
New York stayed pro-
ceedings to identify Air
India as an alter ego of
India and to find its as-
sets in the US to facili-
tate recovery of com-
pensation awarded by
international tribunals.
The shareholders
have been targeting
government assets
abroad to recover a total
of $1.3 billion compen-
sation they won in three
different arbitrations.
—PTI
New Delhi: Foreign
portfolio investors
(FPIs) have with-
drawn a net `18,856
crore from the Indian
markets in February
so far amid geopolitical tensions and
chances of a rate hike by the US Fed-
eral Reserve. As per depositories data,
overseas investors took out `15,342
crore from equities and `3,629 crore
from the bonds market between Febru-
ary 1-18. —PTI
FPIS PULL OUT `18,856 CR
FROM INDIA IN FEBRUARY
New Delhi: Tata Technolo-
gies, a global engineering
and product development
digital services firm, will
hire at least 1,000 more
people in FY2023 than its planned
recruitment of over 3,000 innovators
over a 12-month period to fulfill the
requirements of customers as its busi-
ness growth accelerates, according to
Tata Technologies Managing Director
and Chief Executive Officer Warren
Harris. —PTI
TATA TECHNOLOGIES TO HIRE
TO SUPPORT GROWTH
New Delhi: EPFO is mulling a new
pension product for organised sector
workers who are getting basic wages
of more than `15,000/month and are
not mandatorily covered under its
EPS-95. At present, all those
employees in the organised
sector whose basic wage
is up to `15,000/ month
at the time of joining
service are mandato-
rily covered under
EPS-95. —PTI
EPFO MULLS A NEW PENSION
SCHEME
New Delhi: Bull-
ish on the future
of green mobility,
the Hinduja Group
flagship Ashok Leyland plans to set
up a new manufacturing facility in the
country to roll out electric vehicles,
according to a top company official.
The Chennai-based firm has also lined
up a `500 crore investment to develop
powertrains based on alternative fuels
like CNG, hydrogen and electric for its
commercial vehicles range. —PTI
ASHOK LEYLAND MULLS
SEPARATE PLANT FOR EVs
New policy to cut green
hydrogen cost by 50%
New Delhi: India’s
largest oil firm IOC
will set up ‘green hy-
drogen’ plants at its
Mathura and Pani-
pat refineries by
2024 to replace car-
bon-emitting units
as it sees the just an-
nounced green hy-
drogen policy as a
watershed moment
in the country’s en-
ergy transition that
will help cut costs.
SSV Ramakumar,
Director for Re-
search and Develop-
ment at Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC),
says the new policy
will help cut the cost
of manufacturing
green hydrogen by
40-50%.
—PTI
Services exports may
reach $325 bn in FY23
New Delhi: India’s
services export is ex-
pected to reach $325
billion in 2022-23 on
account of increasing
demand for all kinds
of services and grad-
ual resumption of
regular international
travels, SEPC said. It-
said by the end of the
ongoing fiscal year,
services exports
would reach about
$250 billion.The esti-
mated value of ser-
vices export for April-
Jan 2021-22 is $209.83
billion. —PTI
New Delhi: The
country’s leather and
footwear exports are
expected cross $6
billion in 2022-23 on
account of increasing
demand in the US and
new markets such as
Middle East, Africa
and Latin America,
CLE Chairman Sanjay
Leekha said.During
April-Jan this fiscal,
leather and leather
products exports rose
by 33% to $3.6 billion.
The exports stood at
$3.3 billion in 2020-21.
Leather, footwear
exports to cross
$6 bn in 2022-23
FedFina files IPO
papers with Sebi
New Delhi: Fed-
bank Financial Ser-
vices Ltd (FedFina),
which is promoted
by Federal Bank,
has filed prelimi-
nary papers with
capital markets reg-
ulator Sebi to raise
funds through an in-
itial public offering
(IPO). The public is-
sue consists of a
fresh issue aggregat-
ing up to `900 crore
and an Offer for Sale
(OFS) of up to
45,714,286 equity
shares by promoter
and investor. —PTI
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and UAE Minister of Economy, Abdulla bin
Touq Al Marri. — PHOTO BY PTI

07
NEWS
Special court says allowing them in society akin to releasing man-eater leopard
‘38 CONVICTS IN AHMEDABAD
BLASTS DESERVE DEATH’
Ahmedabad: The 38
convicts in the 2008
Ahmedabad serial
blasts case deserve the
death sentence as allow-
ing them to remain in
society is akin to releas-
ing a “man-eater leop-
ard” in public that con-
sumes innocents, the
special court has said in
its order.
In the judgement, a
copy of which was
made available on Sat-
urday, the court also
said that in its opinion,
the death sentence will
be reasonable as the
case falls in the “rarest
of the rare” category
.
The special court had
on Friday sentenced to
death 38 members of
the terror outfit Indian
Mujahideen (IM) for the
Ahmedabad bombings
which killed 56 people
and injured over 200 on
July 26, 2008. The court
also gave life terms to 11
other IM convicts in the
case.
It was for the first
time in the country that
the maximum number
of death sentences were
handed down by a court
in one go. “The convicts
created unrest in a
peaceful society and
carried out anti-nation-
al activities while living
here. They have no re-
spect for the constitu-
tionally-elected govern-
ment at the Centre and
in Gujarat, and a few
believe only in Allah
and not in the govern-
ment or the judiciary,”
special judge A R Patel
said in the order.
There is no need for
the government to keep
the convicts in jail, es-
pecially those who said
they believed only in
their God and none oth-
ers, the court said, add-
ing there is no jail in the
country that can keep
them lodged forever.
“If such people are al-
lowed to remain in the
society, it will be like
releasing a man-eater
leopard in public. Such
convicts are like a man-
eater leopard that eats
innocents in society, in-
cluding children, youth,
elderly, women, men,
newborns, and people
of different caste and
communities,” the
judge said in the order.
The prosecution had
sought death sentence
for all the 49 convicts in
the blasts case, includ-
ing those who hatched
the conspiracy and
those who planted the
bombs.
“For the people car-
rying out such terrorist
activities, death sen-
tence is the only option,
for the sake of peace
and safety of the coun-
try and its people,” the
court said about the 38
convicts. —PTI
BJPmocksCongressafterDigvijay’svideosurfacesonline
Bhopal: A video show-
ing Congress Rajya
Sabha MP Digvijaya
Singh exhorting party
leaders to stand united
failing which it would
be tough to find work-
ers post the 2023 Assem-
bly polls in Madhya
Pradesh surfaced on
social media on Sunday,
leading to the ruling
BJP saying it was yet
another example of
“groupism” gripping
the grand old party
.
The video, which has
been purportedly shot
in Ratlam, has Singh
telling party workers
about the urgent need
for unity.“You are not
ready to sit together. I
am here but you are
standing separately....
This will not do. I am
telling you the election
of 2023 (Assembly elec-
tions of Madhya
Pradesh) will be the last
one. If you will not con-
test elections honestly
then be ready to sit at
home. The Congress
will not make a come-
back and even finding
workers (for the party)
will be hard”, he says in
the video. Mocking the
Congress over the vid-
eo, state BJP secretary
Rajneesh Agrawal said
Singh was highlighting
groupism in the party
and that the video was
aimed at unseating Ka-
mal Nath as the state
unit president. —PTI
BJPonlyworkingfor‘big
businesses’,saysPriyanka
Raebareli: Congress
General Secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Sunday said BJP has
forgotten it’s raj dhar-
ma of serving the com-
mon people and is only
working for big busi-
nesses. She said this
while addressing a rally
in Jagatpur area of Rae-
bareli asking people to
watch out for those who
use “religion and caste”
to get votes.
“BJP leaders have
forgotten their religion
of serving people. The
religion for them has
become a means to in-
stigate people to get
votes. The government
is not following ‘raj
dharma’ of serving peo-
ple,” Priyanka said.
Talking about infla-
tion, she said the prices
of gas cylinder and
musterd oil have gone
up. “You earn `200 daily
and a bottle of mustard
oil is of `240,” she said.
She spoke of unemploy-
ment among youths and
the plight of farmers in
UP accusing the gov-
ernment of stoking re-
ligious sentiments to
divert people’s atten-
tions from these issues.
—PTI
Railways see 79%
rise in ticketless
travel,1.78crnabbed
New Delhi: The Rail-
ways caught more than
1.78 crore ticketless pas-
sengers, and those with
unbooked luggage, in
the first nine months of
2021-22, a jump of
around 79% from the
non-Covid-hit fiscal of
2019-2020, according to
an RTI response.
During the coronavi-
rus impacted fiscal of
2020-21, when severe re-
strictions on traffic
movement were in
place, the number of
such passengers stood
at 27 lakh.
The RTI response
also revealed that dur-
ing April-December
2021, more than 1.78
crore passengers were
detected travelling
without ticket/with im-
proper ticket and un-
booked luggage.
An amount of
`1,017.48 crore was real-
ised from them as fine,
it said.
Sources indicated
that one of the major
reasons for such a surge
in ticketless travel is
the fact that even now,
when most of the Covid
restrictions have been
lifted, many express
and superfast trains
have only online book-
ing and limited servic-
es.
As for the 2019-2020
fiscal, which was not
impacted by the corona-
virus pandemic, 1.10
crore people were
caught travelling ticket-
less and a total fine of
`561.73 crore was recov-
ered from them.
—PTI
38 convicts were sentenced to death for involvement in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts. —PTI FILE PHOTO
3 convicts claim accused-
turned-approver deposed
against them out of grudge
Ahmedabad: Three
death-row convicts
in the 2008
Ahmedabad serial
bomb blasts case
have claimed that an
accused-turned-ap-
prover deposed
against them due to
jealousy, grudge and
differences over
their religious sects.
One the accused in
the case, Ayaz Sai-
yed, had turned ap-
prover and his state-
ment was crucial in
proving the crime
against the other ac-
cused.
Convict Shamsud-
din Sahabuddin
Sheikh, who was
among those sen-
tenced to death, told
the court that he and
Ayaz Saiyed shared
the same cell at the
crime branch office
and the same bar-
rack in the Sabarma-
ti jail here.
In his statement,
Sheikh said the two
of them got acquaint-
ed in the jail and
shared with each
other their family
and educational
background. Saiyed
came to know about
Sheikh’s “command
over English and his
Quaranic Arabic”.
According to
Sheikh, he used to
“beat him in every
field, either sports or
academic competi-
tion,whichincreased
his jealousy towards
me.” —PTI
‘Kejriwal should issue statement
against pro-Khalistan separatists’
Bhopal: Congress
veteran Digvijaya Singh
has supported Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
leader Kumar Vishwas
and demanded that
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal issue
a statement against
the Khalistan move-
ment. Singh, in a tweet
in Hindi on Saturday
night said, Kumar
Vishwas has made a
very simple demand.
Kejriwal ji should give
a statement against
Khalistan. Kejriwal ji
should not have any
objection to this.” —PTI
New Delhi: The Indian
Institute of Technology
(IIT), Madras is hosting
a housing incubator,
‘ASHA’, to identify and
support new innovative
housing technologies,
bring down the cost of
construction in India
and support start-ups in
scaling up their ideas.
The ‘Accelerator Af-
fordable Sustainable
Housing Accelerators’
is an initiative of the
Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs to
provide incubation and
acceleration support to
potential future tech-
nologies that are not yet
market-ready (pre-pro-
totype applicants) or to
the technologies that
are market-ready (post-
prototype applicants).
According to offi-
cials, the incubator has
already supported a
couple of start-ups in-
cluding Tvasta, which
constructed India’s first
3D-printed house as
well as the first 3D-
printed doffing unit
used by COVID-19 front-
line healthcare workers
to safely remove PPEs.
The key objectives of
‘ASHA’ incubator in-
clude identification of
technologies, providing
technical support to in-
novative ideas, busi-
ness support and men-
toring on the financial
viability of innovative
ideas and infrastruc-
ture support.
“The key parameter
would be the impact of
the technologies identi-
fied and how many
housing units are con-
structed through the
technologies supported
by ASHA. Business suc-
cess would be the key
focus of IIT Madras.
Success will be meas-
ured in terms of scaling
up and output in terms
of millions of housing
units constructed
through ASHA-sup-
ported technologies,”
said Meher Prasad, pro-
fessor at IIT Madras’
Department of Civil
Engineering.
Another firm sup-
ported by ASHA-IIT
Madras is Slab Engi-
neering that is engaged
in 3D volumetric pre-
cast development. The
company will be work-
ing with IIT Madras to
refine its designs and to
develop standards and
specifications so that
the adoption of its prod-
ucts can be enabled.
Shailesh Kr Agrawal,
executive director,
Building Materials and
Technology Promotion
Council, Ministry of
Housing and Urban Af-
fairs, said, “The Minis-
try under technology
sub-mission of PMAY-U
is running the ASHA
initiative where upcom-
ing Indian individuals
or technology ventures
in the housing sector
are being nurtured in
their start-up phase by
providing all the sup-
port necessary to help
entrepreneurs translat-
ing innovations into
products and services
that are commercially
viable.” —PTI
IIT Madras researchers to identify new housing technology
TO CUT CONSTRUCTION COST
GANGA AARTI
Priests perform Ganga Aarti at Assi Ghat, in Varanasi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Congress leaders Kamal Nath (L) and Digvijaya Singh

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,903,460
TOTAL DEATHS
349,562,801
TOTAL RECOVERED
68,886,688
ACTIVE CASES
424,352,949
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
511,935
TOTAL DEATHS
42,086,383
TOTAL RECOVERED
224,155
ACTIVE CASES
42,822,473
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Family keeps us rooted, like
branches we spread out
reaching to the sky, but remain
one at the roots.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Humanity,truthcan’tbedivided
onbasisofgenderorcaste:Prez
Puri (Odisha): Presi-
dent Ram Nath Kovind
Sunday said humanity
and truth cannot be di-
vided on the basis of
caste, gender or reli-
gion, as serving the
needy has always been
accorded top priority in
Indian culture.
Kovind,whileinaugu-
ratingthe150thbirthan-
niversary celebrations
of Srimad Bhakti Sid-
dhanta Saraswati Gos-
wami Prabhupad, the
founder of the Gaudiya
Math and Mission here,
alsosaidthoughvarious
religious traditions and
practises are prevalent
in different parts of In-
dia, there is only one be-
lief and that is to work
for the welfare of all,
considering the entire
humanity as one family
.
Serving the needy
has been given top pri-
ority in our culture. Hu-
manity and truth are
supreme, which cannot
be divided. The ulti-
mate goal is welfare of
the society, the presi-
dent said.
Hailing doctors,
nurses and health work-
ers. Kovind said they
displayed this spirit of
service during the COV-
ID-19 pandemic, despite
many of them contract-
ing the virus. —PTI
Bhubaneswar/Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind and
his family members Saturday chanted Jai Jagannth
as special servitors tied a bana’ (flag) on the ‘Neela
Chakra’ atop Shree Mandir in Puri in his name
after a darshan’ of the idols of Lord Balabhadra,
Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. The president
accompanied by first lady Sabita Kovind and family
members watched the special ‘chunara’ servitor
climb the 213 feet high 12th century temple and tie
the flag on the Neela Chakra, the wheel atop it, pray-
ing for the well-being of the nation, said Narayan
Gochhikar, the traditional priest of Kovind. —PTI
PRESIDENT KOVIND PAYS OBEISANCE
AT JAGANNATH TEMPLE WITH FAMILY
Mann casts vote, says
Punjabis want change
Dhuri: After casting
his vote for the single-
phase Punjab Assembly
elections, Aam Aadmi
Party chief ministerial
candidate Bhagwant
Mann on Sunday said
that everyone wants a
change in the State
which AAP will bring if
voted to power on
March 10.
His mother, Harpal
Kaur, also participated
inpollingandexpressed
her happiness stating
that Bhagwant Mann
has already become the
Chief Minister for her.
Speaking to ANI, Har-
pal Kaur said, “By
God’s grace, everyone
loves him. For us, he
has already become the
Chief Minister. People
love him.”
“If a mother has said
this, what else does one
want...Youth, students,
everyone wants a
change here,” Bhag-
want Mann said.
Voting for 117 constit-
uencies in Punjab is un-
derway amid tight secu-
rity
.
In Punjab, over 2.14
crore voters will decide
the fate of 1,304 candi-
dates who are in the
fray from 117 constitu-
encies.
Punjab is witnessing
a multi-corner contest
this time with Con-
gress, Aam Aadmi Par-
ty (AAP), Shiromani
Akali Dal-Bahujan Sa-
maj Party alliance and
the coalition of Bharati-
ya Janata Party-former
Chief Minister Ama-
rinder Singh’s Punjab
Lok Congress party as
key players.
In the 2017 Punjab As-
sembly polls, Congress
won 77 seats in the
117-member House
whereas Shiromani
Akali Dal could win
only 18 seats. On the
other hand, AAP
emerged as the second-
largest party with 20
seats. —ANI
Muktsar: Shiro-
mani Akali Dal
chief Sukhbir
Badal along
with Parkash
Singh Badal and
Harsimrat Kaur
cast their votes
in Muktsar for
the single-phase
Punjab Assembly polls on Sunday. Earlier, Badal
said the SAD-BSP alliance will win over 80 seats
while Harsimrat said people want a stable, strong
government in Punjab. The state is witnessing a
multi-cornered contest with Congress, Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP), SAD-BSP alliance, and the coalition of
Bharatiya Janata Party-former CM Amarinder Singh’s
Punjab Lok Congress party as key players. —ANI
PARKASH SINGH BADAL, SUKHBIR AND
HARSIMRAT CAST VOTE IN MUKTSAR
Amritsar-based conjoined twins vote separately
Amritsar: Conjoined
twins but two separate
votes. Amritsar-based
SohanSinghandMohan
Singh who are joined in
the hip exercised their
franchise for the first
time in the Punjab as-
sembly polls on Sunday
.
The conjoined twins,
fondly known as Sohna-
Mohna, had recently
been handed over two
separate electoral photo
identity cards. They had
turned 18 last year and
became eligible to vote.
The conjoined twins
were treated as two sep-
arate voters and special
arrangements were
made for them so that
both could maintain the
secrecy of their votes.
They said dark glass-
es were provided to
them when they voted.
The twins live in Pin-
galwara, a charitable
home for the destitute
in the city
. Born in June
2003 in Delhi, they were
abandoned by their par-
ents. Later, an orphan-
age in Amritsar adopt-
ed them.
Deputy Commission-
er, Amritsar, Gurpreet
Singh Khera reached
the polling booth where
the conjoined twins ex-
ercised their franchise
and handed over certifi-
cates to them as first-
time voters. —PTI
Pakistan detains 30
fishermen,5 boats off
Gujarat coast
A meet of heavy-weights
with long lasting effects?
Akhilesh humiliated father
to seize party, says PM Modi
Unnao: Attacking Sam-
ajwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday said that the
CM-candidate is “inse-
cure” about his seat and
hadtopleadtohisfather,
whom he had “humiliat-
ed” to capture the party
,
to save him from defeat
in the constituency
.
“You can gauge the di-
rection of wind... The
seat, which these people
were considering as the
safest, is also getting out
of theirreach,”Modisaid
in an apparent reference
to the Karhal seat from
where Yadav is contest-
ing in the family-strong-
hold of Mainpuri.
Ahead of polling in
thethirdphase,SPpatri-
arch Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav had campaigned for
his son Akhilesh Yadav
ontheseatthoughhehas
maintained a low profile
during this election.
The Karhal seat with
a majority of Muslim
and Yadav voters is con-
sidered safe for the Sa-
majwadi Party supre-
mo Akhilesh Yadav as
the communities have
over the years favoured
the SP in the caste-dom-
inated UP politics. —PTI
Dimple Sharma
Jaipur: In what could
be termed as a meeting
of heavy-weights in the
political capital of the
nation, RSS’s senior
pracharak Indresh Ku-
mar and former Ra-
jasthan Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje held a
courtesy meet at
Sangh’s Delhi office.
The duo even held a
long discussion of vari-
ous subjects and Raje
wished Kumar on his
birthday while also pre-
senting the symbol of
Om to Indresh Kumar.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Paki-
stani authorities cap-
tured at least 30 Indian
fishermen off the Por-
bandar coast in the
Arabian Sea on Satur-
day
. A total of five
boats were also seized
by the Pakistan Mari-
time Security Agency
(PMSA) in Porbandar,
Wanakbara, Okha 1,
and 2 Mangrol (Gir
Somnath).
Most of the boats
that have been im-
pounded are from
Okha and Porbandar.
While the Pakistan
Marine Force has hi-
jacked 20 boats carry-
ing 120 Indian fisher-
meninthelast25days,
there is resentment
among the fishermen
over the lack of action
from the central or
state government.
Currently, around
1,200 boats and 500
fishermen are lodged
in Pakistani jails.
Earlier, on Febru-
ary 10, Okha’s ‘Satya-
vati’ boat was seized
by the PMSA from In-
dian waters off the
Porbandar-Pakistan
border. Earlier, on
January 28, another
boat named ‘Tulsi
Maiya’ was also cap-
tured. On January 31,
BSF personnel patrol-
ling in the Lakhpat-
wari Creek area of
Bhuj had caught a Pa-
kistani boat trying to
enter Indian waters.
There were four to five
Pakistani fishermen
aboard the vessel. The
BSF apprehended one
Pakistani civilian and
three Pakistani boats,
while the others man-
aged to flee. The seized
boats were searched
and none of them
were suspicious.
Manish Lodhari of
the National Fee Fo-
rumhasdemandedthe
release of the fisher-
meninPakistan’sjails.
TROUBLED WATERS
President Ram Nath Kovind lighting the lamp to inaugurate the three-year long celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Srimad
Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad, the founder of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Puri, Odisha, on Sunday.
Vasundhara Raje presenting Om symbol to Indresh Kumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the cheering crowd in
Unnao on Sunday.

elebrating the tran-
sition of grand wed-
dings to more inti-
mate nuptials, the
Jaipur Couture
Show 2022 revisits
the traditional tech-
niques synonymous with the
vision to refashion and recre-
ate veritable pieces of art
with a new commitment to
drapes silhouettes which
are luxurious yet light. Strad-
dling the present and tradi-
tion rooted in Indian heri-
tage, each designer’s cre-
ation exemplifies the guiding
philosophy—“all that we
were and more”, combining
historical opulence with
modern chic.
The Pink City’s fashion and
beauty extravaganza, ‘Jaipur
Couture Show,’ is back for its
tenth season. The three-day
fashion festival is set to take
place on April 6, 7 and 8 at The
Palace, Jaipur. The event will
bring together a medley of
fashion designers showcasing
their vivacious and latest col-
lections. The poster unveiling
ceremony was held at the U
Club on Saturday
.
Gaurav Gaur, director Elite
Miss Rajasthan along with
various dignitaries like pa-
tron JD Maheshwari, Nakul
Vijay, Ankur Jain, Virendra
Singh, Yasheel Pandel, Ajit
Soni and supermodels
Akanskha Bhalla, Astha
Khandelwal, Vasudha Tiwari,
Muskaan Kamdar among oth-
ers graced the occasion.
Rajasthan, according to
Gaurav Gaur, is evolving
quite quickly in the realm of
fashion today. He said, “For
the past ten years, the Jaipur
Couture Show has
served as a forum
for fashion,
jewellery
, and
accessories
designers,
as well as
models. This
year, various
fresh and well-
known designers
will also display their
craftsmanship and crafts-
manship and we’re beyond
excited to hold this.”
At the same time, like in
previous years, a gathering
of Bollywood and televi-
sion superstars will be vis-
ible on the Couture show’s
stage. Prince Narula and
Yuvika Chaudhary of Road-
ies and Bigg Boss fame will
spend four months on the
ramp. Shiney Ahuja, of
Metro, Bhool Bhuliya, and
Welcome Back fame, will
also be seen doing a run-
way walk in designer
clothes. The three-day
event will have 16 sequenc-
es with 4-5 celebs serving as
show stoppers. Khizar Hus-
sain and Karan Wig, two ac-
claimed artists, will choreo-
graph the show.
The season will definitely
provide an artistic sympho-
ny of fine craftsmanship and
finesse to cherish one’s spe-
cial moments.
NEW DELHI, MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 21, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW 2022!
The grand poster launch ceremony of Jaipur Couture
Show Season 10 was held at U-Club, Jaipur on
Saturday. The star-studded event will be held from
April 6 to 8 at The Palace, Jaipur!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
C
(L-R) Bai sa, Farah Ansari, Akanksha Bhalla, Shivani Soni, Ayush Soni, Ankur Jain, Poonam Madan, Gaurav Gaur, Karan Vig, Ajeet Soni, Dhirendra Raghav and Virendra Singh
Jagdeesh Chandra and Aarna Vishvkarma Jagdeesh Chandra and Gaurav Gaur
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
EXQUISITE ENSEMBLES
Aarna Vishvkarma, Akanksha Bhalla, Jyoti Saini, Srishti Khatri, Megha Shyam, Nupur Jhankal and Divisha Paliwal
JD Maheshwari

10-11
ETC
Scintillating Evening!
Queen of Cosmos India, held on Hotel
Fairmont on Friday is still grabbing all
the attention. City First brings to you
some more glimpses of the glamorous
evening. Brand Ambassador Rishee
Miglani and Show Director
Lokesh Sharma along with
the First India team paid
immense gratitude to
the team including
the sponsors and
partners in the Queen
of Cosmos International
Beauty Pageant!
Jagdeesh Chandra with Manju Sharma and Rishee Miglani
Jagdeesh Chandra and the First India family with the winners. (L-R) Mitali Dusad, Anita Hada, Kavita Chauhan, Angela Kumar, Sanskriti Sharma, Aarna Vishvkarna, Sanskriti Negi, Khushi Verma, Ashok Singh and Shaan
Mandakini, Usha Punia, Vishaal Mathur, Meera Kataria and Hemant ambwani
Amisha and Bharat Anshuman Bhomia and Dhirendra Raghav Deepak and Anjali Gupta Shalini and Farha Ansari
Usha Punia, Meera Kataria and Rimmi Shekhawat
Richa and Vishal Jhalani
Parul amd Dushyant Beel
Aaysha and Pradeep Rohit, Ankit, Shivani and Payal Ayush, Purva and Piyush Ayan and Simran Pankaj and Reema Kothari
Indu, Gunjan, Rajat Sharma and Vineet Tusharika, Jagdeep, Vishaal and Gagan Gaurav and Swaroop Bhati
Vinay, Maria, Parul, Minal, Nupur, Dushyant and Rajiv Anjula and Mohit Falod with Arti Dubey, Poonam Madan and Dr Bhavna
Anjana and Kewal Miglani with
Akansha and Preeti Bakshi
Pooja
Karwasra,
Shruti
Pareek,
Bahaar,
Kalpana
Yadav,
Priya
Vinod
Singh,
Muskan
Moolchandani,
Nivedita
Dhariwal,
Dayana
Jayanath
and
Tripti
Arora
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

MUKESH
KIRADOO
Nikhil Anand and Timsy Sikri. Also seen are Ashok Singh and Mitali Dusad

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