21032022 first india jaipur

Harassed by accused, minor dalit
rape victim dies by suicide in Barmer
Barmer: Harassed by
continues threats from the
accused, a 16-year-old dalit
rape victim ended her life
by jumping into water tank
late Saturday night under
Sadar police station area in
Barmer. The Class 10 stu-
dent was raped around two
months ago, when she was
returning back from school,
the police said on Sunday.
Her family members said
she took extreme step after
facing too much harass-
ment. Rampratap Singh,
SHO at women police sta-
tion, confirmed the matter.
The accused is identified
as a resident of Baytu. The
accused harassed her for
the past one year by send-
ing obscene messages and
videos of her. On March
17, the victim shared the
incident with her parents,
after which they assured
her of strict action against
but due to Holi they could
not approach the police on
time and late on March 19
the victim ended her life.
A case has been lodged
under relevant sections and
is being investigated by the
circle officer of Barmer.
—MUKESH MATHRANI
No suspense: Biren Singh
to continue as Manipur CM
Imphal (Agencies): N
Biren Singh, the acting
Chief Minister of Ma-
nipur, was on Sunday
unanimously elected as
the leader of the BJP
legislature party and
will continue as the
chief minister of the
state. The announce-
ment was made by Un-
ion Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman,
who is also the central
observer, at the party of-
fice in Imphal.
“It is a good decision
taken unanimously by
everyone. It will ensure
that Manipur has a sta-
ble and responsible
government which will
build further, because
the Centre today under
the leadership of PM
Modi gives special at-
tention to northeast-
ern states,” Sithara-
man said.
While the BJP bagged
32 seats — one more
than the majority mark
of 30 in the 60-seat as-
sembly in the recently-
concluded elections —
Singh won Heingang,
the seat that he has
been holding since 2002,
by a big margin of
18,271 votes.
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) national
convener Arvind Kejriwal
on Sunday
told the
party’s new-
ly elected
MLAs and
ministers in
Punjab to perform well
or perish and cautioned
them that heads would
roll if they indulged
in corruption. He was
addressing the leaders
virtually days after the
AAP’s victory in the As-
sembly polls in the state
by winning 92 of the
117 seats in the House.
After Bhagwant Mann
took oath as the CM of
Punjab, 10 MLAs were
inducted as ministers.
PERFORM OR PERISH,
KEJRI TELLS NEW
PUNJAB MINs, MLAs
YOGI HOSTS ‘THE KASHMIR
FILES’ TEAM IN LUCKNOW
 The Kashmir Files team, including director
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, actor Anupam Kher,
Pallavi Joshi, and the film producer Abhishek
Agarwal on Sunday met Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor
Anandiben Patel in Lucknow
 Adityanath said that the movie ‘Boldly’
reveals the inhuman horror of religious
bigotry and terrorism
 UP is one of the states that has made ‘The
Kashmir Files’ movie tax-free
 Agnihotri said that he congratulated CM
Adityanath for his victory in the elections and
that the CM elect assured him of expediting
work on Film City in Uttar Pradesh
Political parties including
mine create division...
Jammu (Agencies):
Stating that political
parties, including Con-
gress, create division
among people on vari-
ous grounds, former
Union Minister Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad, mem-
ber of G21 of the Oppo-
sition party, on Sunday,
while referring to the
1990 exodus and killings
of the Kashmiri Pan-
dits, said that Pakistan
and terrorism were re-
sponsible for all that
took place in the valley
.
His remarks came in
the backdrop of the on-
going controversy over
the film ‘The Kashmir
Files’, which is based
on the 1990 exodus of
the Kashmiri Pandits.
“Political parties cre-
ate division (among
people) 24x7 on the ba-
sis of religion, caste
and other things. I’m
not forgiving any party,
including mine (Con-
gress). Civil society
should stay together.
Justice must be given to
everyone irrespective
of caste, religion,”
Azad said.
He stressed that “Ma-
hatma Gandhi was the
biggest Hindu and secu-
larist”. “Pakistan and
militancy are responsi-
ble for what has hap-
pened in Jammu and
Kashmir. It has affected
all in Jammu and Kash-
mir, including Hindus,
Kashmiri Pandits, Mus-
lims, Dogras,” added
Azad in Jammu.
The film, which fo-
cuses on the exodus of
Kashmiri Pandits from
the Valley in the 1990s,
has been mired in con-
troversy since its re-
lease on March 11 with
the BJP and Opposition
parties sparring over
the portrayal of the in-
cidents.
CONG’S AZAD ON KASHMIRI PANDITS EXODUS
Ghulam Nabi Azad
N Biren Singh with Sitharaman
JAIPUR l MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 282
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Veteran socialist leader and former Union minister
Sharad Yadav Sunday merged his Loktantrik Janata Dal
(LJD) party with the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) in New Delhi. The merger took place
25 years after the two leaders parted ways.
SHARAD YADAV
MERGES HIS LJD
WITH LALU’S RJD
AFTER 25 YEARS
COVISHIELD DOSE GAP REDUCED TO 8-16 WEEKS
The second dose of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield can
now be administered between 8 and 16 weeks after the
first dose, health officials informed. Presently, the second
dose of the vaccine is given between 12-16 weeks.
CDS Bipin Rawat will be conferred with Padma
Vibhushan posthumously. His daughters will receive
award from President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati
Bhavan. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi and ex-CAG Ra-
jiv Mehrishi will also be honored with Padma Bhushan.
PADMA AWARDS
TO BE CONFERRED
BY PRESIDENT
KOVIND TODAY
MEETING AT PM’S
RESIDENCE OVER
UP, OTHER STATES’
GOVT FORMATION
New Delhi: A meeting
was held at the of-
ficial residence of PM
Narendra Modi regarding
the formation of govern-
ment in Uttar Pradesh,
Goa and Manipur. PM
was being briefed on
the decisions taken by
the party’s top leader-
ship in consultation with
the state leaders. Union
ministers Amit Shah and
Rajnath Singh and party
chief JP Nadda were
present at meeting. P5
NOW, PCC TO THANK GEHLOT
FOR BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENTS!
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Withoveralakh
people having reached
CMR to thank and hon-
our Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot for the an-
nouncements made by
him in the state budget,
itisnowturnfortheCon-
gress workers and lead-
ers to thank the chief
minister for giving an all
inclusivebudget.Forthis
purpose, Gehlot will
reachthePCCheadquar-
ters on March 23 at 11
AMwhereameetingwill
be held which will be at-
tended by PCC Chief Go-
vindSinghDotasra,min-
isters, MLAs, AICC and
PCC office bearers
amongst others. In the
meeting the attendees
will thank gehlot for
budget announcements.
Thereafter, the group
will head for CMR.
Meanwhile, on Mon-
day, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot will give
his reply on Rajasthan
Finance and Appropria-
tion Bills at 5 pm in the
Rajasthan Assembly
. It
is believed that CM Ge-
hlot can make some im-
portant announcements
for which Gehlot spent
timeinpreparingforthe
speech with officials.
Ashok Gehlot @ ashokgehlot51
Cases of corona are increasing in many countries
including China and South Korea. Infection rate
has reached 12 percent. In such a situation,
there is a need to be careful in India too. Flights
coming from countries where cases have increased should
be controlled and passengers should be screened at the
airport. Wearing of masks will have to be continued in the
country as well. Vigilance is very important to prevent infec-
tion in future. Rajasthan is on alert and we are continuously
monitoring the situation.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
NATO IN UKRAINE’s BACKYARD
1ST MULTINATIONAL NATO UNITS WITH PATRIOT
AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS MOVING TO SLOVAKIA
Igor, a 40-year-old
Ukrainian soldier embraces
his wife in front of his
military basement in the
center of Odessa.
troops Russia lost since
war began, says Ukraine
people have fled their
homes in Ukraine, says UN
Germany and the Netherlands have
agreed to send their troops armed
with the Patriots to Slovakia
1
Troops are some of the 2,100
soldiers from several NATO
members, including US, who will form
battlegroup on Slovak territory as alliance
boosts its defenses on eastern flank
following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
2
Bratislava: Slovakia’s
Defense Minister Jaro-
slav Nad says the first
multinational NATO
unitswiththePatriotair
defense systems have
beenmovingtohiscoun-
try
. Nad said on Sunday
the transfers will con-
tinue in the next days.
The system will be
operated by German
and Dutch troops and
will initially be de-
ployed at the Sliac air-
port in central Slovakia
to help reinforce the
defense of NATO’s east-
ern flank.
“I am happy to con-
firm that the first units
in charge of deploying
the Patriot air defense
system are gradually
arriving to Slovakia,”
Defense Minister Nad
said on Facebook.
EUROPE’S BIGGEST STEEL WORKS
“DESTROYED” IN UKRAINE WAR
One of Europe’s biggest iron and steel
works, Azovstal, has been badly damaged
as Russian forces lay siege to the Ukrainian
port city of Mariupol, officials said Sunday.
“One of the biggest metallurgic plants in
#Europe destroyed. The economic losses
for #Ukraine are huge. The environment is
devastated,” tweeted Ukrainian lawmaker
Lesia Vasylenko. Vasylenko posted a video
of explosions on an industrial site, with thick
columns of grey and black smoke rising.
SYRIAN FORCES SAY READY TO
FIGHT FOR PUTIN IN UKRAINE
Some Syrian paramilitary fighters say they
are ready to deploy to Ukraine to fight in
support of their ally Russia but have not
yet received instructions to go, two of their
commanders told Reuters. Nabil Abdallah,
a commander in the paramilitary National
Defence Forces (NDF), said he was ready
to use expertise in urban combat gained
during the Syrian war to aid Russia, speak-
ing to Reuters by phone from the Syrian
town of Suqaylabiyah.
Russia bombs
Mariupol
school with
400 refugees
Mariupol: Ukraine au-
thorities have said that
the Russian military
has bombed an art
school where about 400
people had taken ref-
uge, AP reported. Local
authorities said Sunday
that the school building
was destroyed and peo-
ple could still be under
the rubble.
Meanwhile, Ukraini-
an President Volody-
myr Zelenskiy has
signed a decree that
combines all national
TV channels into one
platform, citing the im-
portance of a “unified
information policy” un-
der martial law. Ukrain-
ian privately-owned
media channels have so
far continued to operate
since the start of the
Russian invasion.
5 KEY
PRICE MOVES SINCE THE
START OF THE UKRAINE WAR
 Since the day Russia in-
vaded Ukraine on February
24; Brent crude oil prices
have risen 11 per cent,
despite deepened volatility
and the price action risk in
the near-term is tilted more
to the upside.
 February 24 - March 8:
Crude oil prices went up,
with the Brent hitting its
highest since 2008 near
$140 a barrel. On March 7:
Brent hit 139$ per barrel,
its highest price since the
2008 financial crisis.
 March 9-16: Oil prices
started falling from the
peak closing price on
March 8, after the United
Arab Emirates supported
a supply increase and
reports emerged of US-
Iran talks and supported
sentiment.
 March 15: Brent crude
oil price closed below
$100 for the first time
since the war started - on
hopes of Ukraine-Russia
peace talks, increased
supply from other oil pro-
ducers and fears of falling
demand from China due to
its COVID-19 outbreak.
 March 17-18: Oil prices
started rising again, jump-
ing above $100 a barrel
and closed at around $108
on Friday, March 18. De-
spite that rebound, bench-
mark contracts ended the
week about 4 per cent
lower on Friday, after hav-
ing traded in a $16 range
for the week. Volatility was
predicted to extend into
the coming week driven by
the news flow on the peace
talks between Russia and
Ukraine.
POPE SLAMS
UKRAINE WAR
Pope Francis has
denounced Russia’s
“repugnant war” against
Ukraine as a “cruel and
sacrilegious inhumanity.”
In some of his strongest
words yet, Francis said
at St. Peter’s Square that
every day brings more
atrocities in what is a
“senseless massacre.”
14,700
10 mn

Sanjay Prajapat &
Aishwary Pradhan
Churu/Jaipur: The
matter of demolishing
the entrance of Ram
Darbar in Sujangarh of
Churu is now gaining
momentum. Video of
the entrance being de-
molished is being circu-
lated on social media
and it is being described
as an attempt to play
with Hindu religion
and faith.
The BJP is busy cor-
nering the Congress
government on the mat-
ter while Bajrang Dal,
Vishwa Hindu Pari-
shad and Mahant
Dinesh Giri Maharaj of
Fatehpur Budhgiri
Math have warned of
agitation. On the other
hand, Congress says
that a non-issue is be-
ing deliberately made
up into an issue.
Notably, the work of
widening the Sujan-
garh-Salasar four lane
road is in progress. On
February 2, the Public
Works Department
(PWD) had sent a notice
to the Salasar Dham De-
velopment Committee
regarding this and
asked to remove the en-
trance. On March 11,
the committee officials
were again made aware
of this. After this, on
the night of 15 March,
the entrance was de-
molished with the help
of JCB.
As soon as the info
was received, the local
organizations of Sala-
sar blocked the road
and staged a protest.
The protestors were
later assured by PWD
officials that the en-
trance will be con-
structed again once the
work is completed.
RAJASTHAN
JAIPUR | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Jaipur: After losing its
base in Uttar Pradesh,
the Bahujan Samaj Par-
ty (BSP) is now once
again trying to save its
core vote in Rajasthan.
The party has started
its exercise for its Dalit
vote bank and will be
holding demonstra-
tions in all the districts
on 23rd March.
The party has taken
up the issue of prevent-
ing Dalit atrocities in
Rajasthan. Rajasthan
BSP President Bhag-
wan Singh Baba in-
formed that a memo-
randum in the name of
the President would be
given to the district col-
lectors in protest
against the atrocities
on behalf of the party.
In Jaipur, he himself
will lead the protest and
in the rest of the dis-
tricts, local leaders will
take charge of the dem-
onstration. For this, in-
structions are being
given to all the district
units to take more and
more people along to
protest. The murder of
Jitender Pal Meghwal
will also be discussed.
In 2008 and 2018 Raj
assembly polls, BSP’s
six MLAs won both
time, but these MLAs
merged themselves
with the Congress.
BSP trying to save its ‘Janaadhar’ in Raj
AFTER LOSING IN UP

Bahujan Samaj
Party has taken
up the issue of
preventing Dalit
atrocities in
Rajasthan;
memos to be
givent to DCs in
protest against
Dalit atrocities
Promoted by
Satish Poonia
@DrSatishPoonia
The policy and intention of
Congress and Ashok Ge-
hlot ji… one (Modi)builds
Shri Ram Mandir, the
other breaks it ruthlessly
anywhere…one who is not
of Shri Ram...is of no use
to anyone…
Gajendra S Shekhawat
@gssjodhpur
While demolishing the
entrance at Sujangarh,
it was not taken into
account that Ram Darbar
was built there. Who will
accept this method as
true Hindu?
Vasundhara Raje@
VasundharaBJP
It is extremely unfortu-
nate and condemnable to
break the archway gate of
Salasar Balaji and demol-
ish Ram Darbar on the
pretext of development.
Is this the development of
the Congress govt?
BJPCORNERS CONGONSALASARGATEDEMOLITION
The entire matter will be taken up
in the Assembly, say BJP leaders
Ram Darbar on Salasar Gate was
allegedly demolished on March 15
File photo of the gate
where a four-lane road is
proposed to built. (Inset)
Archway Gate being
demolished on March 15.
Poonam Vishal
Laxmangarh (Sikar):
PCC Chief Govind Sin-
gh Dotasra said that
BJP is doing politics of
religion on The Kash-
mir Files film. “BJP
leaders are trying to
create vote bank in the
name of religion. The
Kashmir Files film is
going to break the coun-
try. The whole country
knows what happened
to Kashmiri Pandits.
BJP leaders are doing
vote politics,” he said.
Dotasra was on a one-
day visit to Rorubari
village of Laxmangarh
on Sunday. He inaugu-
rated the classrooms in
the Government Higher
Secondary School of
the village. On the occa-
sion Dotasra an-
nounced a budget of
crores for the develop-
ment work of the vil-
lage. The development
of the village and pan-
chayat will happen only
when all of us will
share a similar plat-
form and work with
youth, he added.
Ashivini Yadav
Alwar: Police have ar-
rested four persons, in-
cluding a cloth mer-
chant and his wife for
the murder of a woman.
The deceased woman,
Priyanka, was said to
be his paramour and
kid’s tuition teacher.
The woman was mur-
dered in Tatarpur in
Neemrana. The arrest-
ed accused include
cloth merchant Kapil
Gupta and wife Sunain.
According to police,
Priyanka and Kapil
were in a relationship
and she was insisting
him to marry her. She
even started blackmail-
ing him by asking him
for Rs 50 lakh. Finally,
Kapil along with his
wife and two servants
killed Priyanka.
The Tatarpur police
station got information
on March 16 that a sack
was lying under the cul-
vert near Indira Basti.
Police found the dead
woman in the garbage
heap. Prima facie, it ap-
pears that the woman
was strangled.
There is no
need to give
importance
to this incident, be-
cause the work of
widening the road is
to be done, where the
main gate had to be
removed and that is
why that main gate
was demolished on
March 15.
—Pratap Singh
Khachariyawas,
Cabinet Minister
2 HELD FOR
GANGRAPE
WITH MINOR
BJP doing politics over ‘The
Kashmir Files’ movie: Dotasra
Cloth trader, wife held
for killing his paramour
B’lore man’s bag
with `8L cash
stolen in Jaipur
Contaminated
water claims life
of 17-year-old
Sisters missing since 46 days from
Jaipur caught in CCTV at Lucknow
Sarpanch accuses
husband of dowry
harassment
NCW seeksreportfromDGPinDholpur
gangrapecase;Collector,ASPreachvillage
This is a direct attack
on our faith: Poonia
Govind S Dotasra and others at the memorial of martyr
Khemchand ji Khatod at Roru Badi in Laxmangarh on Sunday.
New Delhi (ANI): Five
days after the gangrape
of a Dalit woman in
Dholpur, the National
Commission for Women
has taken cognizance
and asked DGP to sub-
mit the report. The
women was raped in
front of her husband
and children at gun
point.
ASP and Investigat-
ing Officer CO Vijay Ku-
mar Singh, along with
District Collector Rake-
sh Kumar Jaiswal vis-
ited the victim’s village
on Sunday
. However, the
police is yet to arrest
any accused in this
case.
The NCW has asked
the Rajasthan Director
General of Police (DGP)
to provide report in the
case against unknown
people for allegedly
gang-raping a 26-year-
old woman. Taking cog-
nizance of the matter
after a media report
dated March 19, the
Commission in a letter
to the DGP asked for the
arrest of the accused
and intimate it within
seven days about the ac-
tion taken.
“The victim has reg-
istered her complaint
and the police is on a
look out for the accused.
So far none of the ac-
cused person have been
arrested,” NCW Chair-
person Rekha Sharma
said in her letter to Ra-
jasthan DGP ML Lathar
on Saturday
.
On Sunday evening,
District Collector RK
Jaiswal reached the
spot and gathered infor-
mation about the inci-
dent from the villagers.
During this, ASP Bach-
chan Singh Meena and
DSP Vijay Kumar Singh
were present.
Sirohi: In Mount Abu,
the police arrested
two accused in the
gangrape with a
minor. Looking at
the seriousness of
the matter, Mount
Abu DSP Yogesh
Sharma investigated
the whole matter and
arrested two accused
Kamlesh Rana and
Rahul Rana. Inspector
Kishore Singh Bhati
SHO Mt Abu Police
said that the accused
had raped the minor
in the closed college
premises.
SPLASH OF ‘HAPPINESS’
As Jaipur recorded maximum of 37 °C on Sunday, people rushed to parks and green areas to get some relief from scorching
heat. A woman was seen with her kid near Albert Hall on hot Sunday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Jaipur: Bangalore busi-
nessmanbagcontaining
eight lakh rupees was
stolen from Hanuman
temple in Manak
Chowk. Abhinandan
Gandhi had come to
Jaipur for some work.
After which he went to
visit the temple. During
this, the unknown took
away a bag full of eight
lakh rupees. Aggrieved
businessman have
lodged a case in the po-
lice station. Police is in-
vestigating the case on
the basis of CCTV foot-
age. —FIB
Pali: A 17-year-old
youth died in Sojat Hos-
pital due to consump-
tion of contaminated
water. The deceased
named Laxman was
among the seven people
including four children
undergoing treatment
at the Bangar Hospital.
Meanwhile, an un-
conscious woman was
also admitted to a pri-
vate hospital in Pali.
This is an incident of
the Modawas village, in
the Shivpura police sta-
tion area. The matter is
being probed. —FIB
First India Bureau
Jaipur: No trace has
been found for the two
minor sisters missing
from Jaipur even after
46 days. But as per the
last location, both the
sisters were found in
Charbagh of Lucknow
and then Nishatganj of
Uttar Pradesh.
Based on the location,
Mahesh Nagar police of
Jaipur reached Luc-
know but despite every
effort, the girls could
not be found but were
seen roaming at the rail-
way station and a colo-
ny in some of the CCTV
footage.
According to the in-
formation, Awadhesh
Purohit, the father of
Bhavna (17) and Rama
(16) left them at school
in Kartarpura on Febru-
ary3.Bothlefttheschool
stating their bad health.
After taking early leave
the two called home and
informed to reach late.
After that, they never
returned home. When
contacted on phone the
mobile phone of the
girlswasfoundswitched
off. The next day
, Bhaw-
na called on Chand Kan-
war’s mobile by the
nameof ShivaniVerma.
Police teams are en-
gaged in search ops in 11
citiesandarewardof Rs
51,000hasalsobeenkept.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: A case of dow-
ry harassment has been
registered against the
husband by a female
sarpanch at Jamwara-
mgarh police station.
Station in-charge Jo-
gendra Singh Rathore
said that Suman Meena,
the sarpanch of Nangal
Tulsidas Gram Pan-
chayat, has lodged an
FIR with the police
against her husband
Mahendra Meena alleg-
ing dowry harassment
and assault. The police
have registered a case
and handed over the in-
vestigation to the Wom-
en’s police station for
further probe.
First India Bureau
Bengaluru: In conver-
sation with the media in
Bengaluru, Raj BJP
state president Dr Sat-
ish Poonia said demoli-
tion of Ram Darbar by a
bulldozer in Sujangarh
of the state is an insult
to the faith. On one
hand, the PM Modi govt
paves the way for the
construction of Lord
Ram temple in Ayodhya,
and the Yogi govt, takes
care of the law and or-
der in UP
, while sadly
, on
the other hand, the
Ashok Gehlot govt in
Rajasthan demolishes
Ram Darbar during the
razing of the Sujangarh
gate with a bulldozer.
This is a direct attack on
the faith, those idols
shouldhavebeenshifted
to some other place with
respect, but at midnight
the Gehlot govt has done
this sinful act, which
hurt the Hindu faith.
In this way the Con-
gress govt is bent on ap-
peasement, on one side
there are people who
build the temple and on
the other side, there are
people of Congress who
destroy the temple. A
large number of mi-
grant Rajasthani citi-
zens including BJP
State Prez Dr Satish
Poonia, MP from Banga-
lore Central, PC Mohan,
MLA Chhagan Singh
Rajpurohit, State Vice
Prez Madhoram Choud-
hary, and others were
present in the Holi Mi-
lan program of Rajput
Parishad Karnataka in
Bengaluru.
Taking a jibe at the Raj
govt GS Shekhawat
said that earlier the
Cong had described
Shri Ram as an
imaginary character
and then they started
going to the temples.
But their hypocrisy
couldn’t be veiled, as
they didn’t take care
of the Ram Darbar
near Sujangarh gate.
Shekhawat: ‘...
it is hypocrisy’
CCTV grab.
Bhagwan Singh Baba
Mayawati, BSP Chief

RAJASTHAN
03
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: After a gap of
34 years in the state, the
Senior Men’s National
Handball Competition
is being organised from
March 20- 25 at the
Sawai Mansingh In-
door Stadium. The 50th
edition of the competi-
tion was inaugurated
by Agriculture Minis-
ter Lalchand Kataria
where Sports Minister
Ashok Chandna, Dr
Krishna Poonia, Chief
Patron of State Hand-
ball Association Dr Ru-
param Dhandev were
present.
35 teams of the coun-
try are going to partici-
pate in this competi-
tion.
Agriculture Minis-
ter Lalchand Kataria
said, “After 34 years,
Rajasthan has been
chosen to host the com-
petition. Along with
this, the handball asso-
ciation is well prepared
to make this mega
event, a success. The
result of the develop-
ment that has taken
place is now visible. Ra-
jasthan has achieved
great feats in the field
of sports in last three
years.”
Sports Minister
Ashok Chandna said,
“Sports has been devel-
oping continuously in
Rajasthan for last few
years. Athletes from Ra-
jasthanhave performed
brilliantly in Para
Olympics & Raj players
are winning medals in
every sporting field.”
Raj players winning accolades in various sports: Chandna
RAS MAINS: ABOUT 89% CANDIDATES
APPEAR FOR EXAM AMID TIGHT SECURITY
For first time, two videographers are deputed in every examination centre by the RPSC
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The RAS Mains
exam, held by the RPSC,
started from Sunday.
Rajasthan State and
Subordinate Services
Combined Competitive
(Main Examination)
2021, is being organised
on March 20- 21, 2022.
According to the sched-
ule, 20,371 candidates
took the exam at 113
centres in the state.
The examination was
held in the first shift
from 9 am to 12 am. In
the second shift, the ex-
amination was held
from 2 pm to 5 pm. ‘Con-
trol rooms’ have been
set up at the RPSC office
& at all divisional head-
quarters for the candi-
dates’ convenience.
This time candidates
are also being screened
with metal detectors at
examination centres
and they are being al-
lowed to enter the ex-
amination hall only af-
ter thorough investiga-
tion and identification.
For the first time, 2
videographers have
been appointed in every
examination centre by
the RPSC for video re-
cording.
Candidates come out of Govt Girls’ School in Chhoti Chaupar after appearing for RAS Mains exam on Sunday. (Inset): A woman
constable frisks a girl candidate using a metal detector at an examination centre in Bajaj Nagar. —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Wildlife enthusiasts can
choicefully adopt animals!
Govttolaunch‘BridgeCourse’inschoolsto
fillingapscausedduringCovid:DrKalla
First India Bureau
Jaipur: In order to fill in
thegapsintheeducation
system hit by the pan-
demic, the state govern-
ment will introduce
‘Bridge Course’ in
schools in the new aca-
demic session.
The ‘Bridge Course’
will be taught in first
four periods in schools
and the new course will
be taught in the remain-
ing four. Bridge Course
will continue for three
months. Later, it will be
taught in two parts
throughout the year.
A budget of Rs 75
crore has been allotted
for the same, Education
Minister BD Kalla had
said earlier.
According to the ac-
tion plan by RSCERT for
children from Class 1-8,
Hindi,EnglishandMath-
ematics will be taught in
the ‘Bridge Course.’ Kal-
la, in an exclusive inter-
view with First India
News, had said that
budget announcements
regarding the education
department will be im-
plemented from April 1.
Rajiv Arora, JK Jaju,
Pawan Goyal and others
were also present on the
occasion.
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: Now wildlife
enthusiasts will have
a chance to adopt a
wild animal of their
choice under the For-
est Department’s
‘Adopt a Wildlife’
scheme. Lions, tigers,
panthers, crocodiles,
hippopotamuses and
other wild animals
can be adopted.
The person who
adopts the animal,
will have to bear the
cost of feeding the
animal and will have
to visit the zoo or bio-
logical park to see the
adopted animal.
After Defence In-
stitute adopted ‘Emu’
bird, proposals start-
ed pouring in for
adopting other wild-
life creatures too.
Dr BD Kalla addresses the gathering during the inaugural ceremony of various development works
being carried out by the Jagriti Trust at Govt Senior Secondary School at Jaisinghpura on Sunday.
Quality of Edu hit
during the Covid
pandemic: Survey
Jaipur: A survey
conducted by the
Rajasthan State
Council of Educational
Research and Training,
shows a steep decline
in the quality of educa-
tion during the Covid
-19 pandemic. The
pace of learning in the
children of various
government schools
has slowed down to
a great extent. A total
of 42,000 teachers
included in the survey,
claim that the learning
deteriorated in 60% of
the school children.
The injured Tiger T-120 being treated by the veterinary doctors at Ranthambore National
Park under the supervision of CCF TC Verma on Sunday.
MOVIE TIME...
The Mayor of JMC- Greater, Dr Somya along with
councillors, saw the movie, The Kashmir Files at
Cinepolis in WTP. “Saw The Kashmir Files today,
lived the pain that stems from ignorance of the
suffering of Kashmiri Pandits. Watching this film
with victims of those atrocities, was an experience
that will stay with me forever,” she said. However,
Congress councillors didn’t turn up for the show.
Ashok Chandna, Lalchand Kataria and Dr Krishna Poonia during the Inaugural ceremony of the 50th Senior
Men’s National Handball Championship at the Sawai Man Singh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday. Also seen
here are Dr Ruparam Dhandev,Yash Pratap Singh and Aanandeshwar Pandey.
12,82,631
TOTAL CASES
32 IN A DAY
18 IN JAIPUR
12,72,668
TOTAL RECOVERED
9,551
TOTAL DEATHS
0 IN A DAY
0 IN JAIPUR
412
ACTIVE CASES
COVID-19
UPDATE
Ashok Gehlot@
ashokgehlot51
On #WorldSparrow-
Day, let us pledge to
save the little spar-
rows, which have
ecological significance.
Our effort should be
to raise awareness for
the bird’s conserva-
tion. People need to
provide water, food &
shade to these crea-
tures especially during
summers.
‘ADOPT A WILDLIFE SCHEME’
Sawai Madhopur: Tiger T-120 was once
again injured during a territorial fight at the
Ranthambore National Park on Sunday. A tour-
ist captured the entire incident in his camera.
The injured tiger T-120 was seen nearby
Malik Pond in Zone number 4 on Sunday and
is being monitored by the forest department.
It is being said that it had hurt itself duing
a conflict with Tigers T-86 or T-101. After
monitoring its condition, a team tranquillised
and treated it. DFO Mahendra Sharma has
increased the monitoring of T-120.
Udaipur: An Asiatic lion was reportedly
spotted in the nearby village of the Gogun-
da police station area on Sunday. People
working in the mines, saw the lion first.
Govind Singh Balla clicked the lion’s picture
and also made a 30-second video of the
animal. However, there is panic among the
villagers living in the vicinity of the mines.



EXAM FACTFILE
TIGER T-120 INJURED IN
TERRITORIAL FIGHT IN R’BORE
ASIATIC LION SIGHTED IN GOGUNDA!
NEWS DIGEST
Jhalawar: In a shocking development, a recipient
of National Youth Award,
identified as one Giriraj
Raigar, consumed toxic
substance on Sunday. As
the youth’s health wors-
ened, he was rushed to
the hospital, where he was
admitted to the ICU. Police officials have claimed that
Giriraj, who lives with three daughters in Dhanwara
Basti, was troubled with financial constraints. The
youth was awarded National Youth Award in 2010-11.
Meanwhile, the matter reached the CMO on instruc-
tions of CMO, the District Collector has formed a team
to monitor the line of treatment being given to Giriraj.
Churu: India’s javelin star from Churu, Devendra
Jhajharia, who won three
Paralympic medals, will
be honoured with Padma
Bhushan award today by
President Ram Nath Kovind
in a ceremony to be held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New
Delhi. Jhajharia will be the first para sports person
of the country to receive this award. He won a silver
medal in Tokyo Paralympics last year & gold medals
in Paralympic Games of Athens 2004 and Rio 2016.
NATIONAL YOUTH AWARDEE CONSUMES
POISONOUS SUBSTANCE, ADMITTED TO HOSP
PARALYMPIAN DEVENDRA JHAJHARIA
TO RECEIVE PADMA BHUSHAN TODAY
Trial run of ‘SS block’
begins at SMS Hospital
Vikas Sharma
Jaipur: Trial run of
‘Super- Speciality’
block at SMS Hospital
in Jaipur started on
Sunday. OPD-IPD will
be launched in the
block by March. Apart
from Gastrology, Urol-
ogy & Nephrology, pa-
tients of Hepato Pan-
creato Biliary Surgery
will be able to avail ser-
vices here. Hospital Su-
perintendent Dr Vinay
Malhotra is overseeing
the preparations. The
OPD-IPD service will
start from March 25. At
present, dialysis and
MRI are being conduct-
ed in the block.
The 10 storey super-
speciality block is built
at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
Services of about 20%
of patients will be shift-
ed to the new block.
Every floor will have
dedicated services.
Parking for two wheel-
ers & four wheelers is in
basement number 1
Second basement will
provide services like
MRI, X-ray, sonography
& will have a gas plant,
kitchen, laundry
, & ster-
ilization facilities too.
Sports has been
developing
continuously in the
state for the last few
years. Athletes from
Rajasthan have per-
formed brilliantly in
Para Olympics. Along
with this, Players
from Raj are winning
medals in every sport-
ing field.
Ashok Chandna,
Sports Minister

study by IIT-Kan-
pur warned in
February that the
fourth wave of
Covid could land
in India in mid or late June.
A massive surge in new cases
in China, Hong Kong, South
Korea, Israel, Italy, Austria
and some other countries has
led the World Health Organi-
sation to call it a “tip of the
iceberg”. China’s Jilin prov-
ince, which is fighting to con-
tain the virus, found a special
mention in the warning by
WHO president Tedros Adha-
nom Ghebreyesus. “This in-
crease is occurring despite
reductions in testing in some
countries, which means the
cases we’re seeing are just
thetipof theiceberg,”Tedros
said. The WHO also warned
that those who say that Omi-
cron is mild and is the last
variant of Covid are spread-
ing misinformation. The
warning came after a new
variant of SARS-CoV-2 was
detected in Israel.
The Kanpur IIT study sug-
gested that the next wave “is
to persist for approximately
four months.” So far Covid
cases have been falling in In-
dia. A little over 1700 cases
were reported in the last 24
hours.Still,thegovernmentis
warning people not to lower
theirguard. TheIndianCoun-
cil for Medical Research, how-
ever, is of the view that India
may not witness a surge like
in some of the Asian and Eu-
ropean countries. In some of
the countries hit by the new
wave vaccination has been
low and there is a lot of misin-
formation about vaccines. In-
dia, on the other hand, has
fully vaccinated the majority
of people and children also
are now getting a jab. The
push here is for booster dose.
MASK ON: 4TH COVID
WAVE IS COMING
The Kanpur IIT study suggested that the next wave “is to persist
for approximately four months.” So far Covid cases have
been falling in India. A little over 1700 cases were reported in the
last 24 hours. Still, the government is warning people not
to lower their guard. The Indian Council for Medical Research,
however, is of the view that India may not witness a surge like in
some of the Asian and European countries
A
Vol 3 Issue No. 282
RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B.
Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk
Road, Jaipur. Published at 304,
3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das
Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001,
Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
All conditioned things are
impermanent—when one
sees this with wisdom, one
turns away from suffering.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Many common birds,
including the house sparrow
are becoming a rarity. On
#WorldSparrowDay today, let
us raise awareness about the
dangers these species confront
and work collectively to ensure
safe habitats for avifauna. Let
us act before the morning
chirp is gone. #LoveSparrows.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Stupendous Sen!
Congratulations, this is truly
historic. Wishing you the best
for the finale @lakshya_sen!
TOP TWEETS
ADOPTED CHILD’S
CASTE CAN’T BE
THAT OF PARENTS
ABANDONING HIM
ne thought that the
issue of caste of an
adopted child was
settled millions of
years ago during the
Mahabharata period. Karna, the
bravest Pandava made invinci-
ble by a gift from his celestial
father, the Sun god, was tor-
mented with the insult of be-
longing to a low caste. An archer
more accomplished than Arjun,
Karna was abandoned by Kunti
(a Kshatriya) as he was born out
of wedlock. He was adopted by a
couple belonging to the Suta
caste and came to be mocked as
Suta-putr (son of Suta) until the
very end of the war when, fear-
ing Arjun’s defeat at the hands
of Karna, Kunti reveals the
truth about his father.
After the mythological tale it
is the Bombay High Court which
has had to settle the issue of
caste of a child adopted by a sin-
gle mother. The child will bear
the caste of his mother, the
court ruled. Why should those
who abandon a child have any
link with the baby?
O
PERSPECTIVE
04
Promoted by
APT Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
n the last column, we dis-
cussed the professional train-
ing of the new entrants to the
IAS. This provides them with
competencies and skill sets
for the filed postings in the
first decade of the service. Of-
ficers start their career as
SDOs and move on to become
Chief Development Officers
in a rural district or as Chief
Executive officer in a devel-
opment authority or Munici-
pal corporation, culminating
in an assignment as District
Magistrate. After 10 to 12
years, they move on to the
state secretariat or the gov-
ernment of India. The job
requirement is now quite dif-
ferent – for now they must
begin their specialization in
a chosen sector, besides get-
ting into the nitty-gritty of
performance management
and review. To help them cope
with their new responsibili-
ties, officers participate in
three Mid-career Training
Programmes (MCTPs) curat-
ed specifically to meet their
changing functional require-
ments as they grow in ser-
vice. These are offered in the
8th to 10th, 16th to 18th and
the 28th to the 30th year. This
brings officers from 3 batches
together and is also an occa-
sion to share experiences be-
yond the batch. These MCTPs
also involve an element of the
study visits and experiential
learning at civil service and
government training institu-
tions in UK, Singapore, South
Korea, and USA.
The first of these is called
Phase Three. For many offic-
ers, it is their first visit to the
Alma Mater after their induc-
tion into the Service. In the
first few years, as an SDO,
CEO of ZP
, and even as a DM,
the officers have functioned
as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the
government and work hard at
implementing programs.
There is certainly scope for
innovation in the implemen-
tation – especially in terms of
outreach, resource optimisa-
tion, community mobiliza-
tion and engagement with
multiple stakeholders. Offic-
ers are now at an inflexion
point and ready to make the
transition from field adminis-
tration to higher-level respon-
sibilities as Head of Depart-
ment at the State level and
Deputy Secretary / Director
in the Government of India.
By the 16th year, officers
have reached the mid-point of
theircareers:Theyhaveequal
number of years behind as
wellasaheadof them.Officers
are now Joint Secretaries to
the Government of India, or
secretaries to their state gov-
ernments. They have helped
draft cabinet memorandum,
replies to parliamentary /as-
sembly questions, and re-
sponded to the queries of the
Finance Department for re-
lease of funds. They have also
fielded questions from RTI
activists and faced a few con-
tempt petitions at the High
Court. They have also wit-
nessed how their Secretaries
have been grilled by the Par-
liamentary and Assembly
committees. They now need
to understand the conceptual
framework in which the gov-
ernment operates. Thus, the
focusinthe4thphaseisonthe
‘politicaleconomyandinstitu-
tions in public policy and gov-
ernance.’ This is also the time
when analysis and interrela-
tionof bigdataequipsthemto
support the policy spectrum.
The pedagogy for this co-
hort includes a mix of lec-
tures, case studies, discus-
sions, individual assign-
ments, and syndicate work.
This phase is driven by the
participants rather than the
faculty. In that sense, train-
ing only nudges the learning
process in a more planned
and focused direction. The
principal objective of the
programme is to provide
training in a peer-group situ-
ation and preparation for the
next higher level of responsi-
bilities. Negotiation skills,
team-building exercises and
case studies of recent suc-
cesses and failures are also
imparted in this phase.
When officers attend the
last ‘formal institutional’
training in Phase V
, they are
on the verge of becoming Sec-
retaries to Government of In-
dia and Additional/ Special
Chief Secretaries to the State
governments. They are now
the ‘strategic’ core of their or-
ganizations. While the Minis-
ter does provide the political
mentorship, the actual task of
running the Ministry or the
Department falls upon them.
They attend inter-ministerial
meetings, lead negotiations at
bi-lateral and multilateral
platforms in their sector,
speak at industry forums,
press conferences, business
meetings and think tanks
where they spell out the me-
dium to long term vision of
their department. Guest
speakers for this phase in-
clude the Governor of RBI,
Chairman of NABARD, CEO
of NITI,secretairestoGovern-
ment of India. Issues covered
in the last few training pro-
grams included Governance,
Political economy
, Economic
Development, Public Finance,
Foreign Policy
, Trade, Envi-
ronment, Energy etal.
Participants also submit a
Policy Paper/Syndicate Re-
port based on their readings
and professional experience.
These are then shared with
the concerned ministries and
become an integral input in
the strategic directions of
thatMinistry
.Thereport‘Pro-
duce in India, Feed the World’
prepared by this author’s
groupduringhisPhaseVcon-
tributed in no small measure
tothefinalreportof Doubling
farmers Income Likewise,
recommendations from the
report on urban infrastruc-
turearereflectedintheSmart
City program of the Urban
Development Ministry
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
SANJEEV CHOPRA
The writer is Distinguished Fellow,
USI Delhi and Historian Policy Analyst. Also
former Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy of Administration, Mussoorie
Participants also submit
a Policy Paper/Syndicate
Report based on their
readings and professional
experience. These are then
shared with the concerned
ministries and become an
integral input in the strategic
directions of that Ministry.
The report ‘Produce in
India, Feed the World’
prepared by this author’s
group during his Phase V
contributed in no small
measure to the final report of
Doubling farmers Income
Likewise, recommendations
from the report on
urban infrastructure are
reflected in the Smart City
program of the Urban
Development Ministry
RAJ DHARMA 5
AN INSIGHT INTO
LIFE OF AN OFFICER
The first of these is
called Phase Three.
For many officers, it is
their first visit to the Alma
Mater after their induction
into the Service. In the
first few years, as an SDO,
CEO of ZP, and even as a
DM, the officers have
functioned as the ‘eyes
and ears’ of the
government and work hard
at implementing programs
YOU READ RAJ DHARMA 4
IN FIRST INDIA ON
MARCH 07, 2022

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INDIA
05
Jerusalem (Agencies):
Israeli Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett has said
that he will be visiting
India in the first week
of April to mark the
30th anniversary of the
establishment of diplo-
matic relations between
the two countries.
The maiden visit of
Bennett who became
prime minister in June
last year also aims to
expand the cooperation
between the two coun-
tries in the areas of in-
novation and technolo-
gy, security and cyber,
and agriculture and
climate change.
“I am delighted to pay
my first official visit to
India at the invitation
of my friend, Prime
Minister (Narendra)
Modi, and together we
will continue leading
the way for our coun-
tries’ relations,” Ben-
nett said.
“Modi restarted rela-
tions between India and
Israel, and this is of his-
toric importance. The
relations between our
two unique cultures —
the Indian culture and
the Jewish culture —
are deep, and they rely
on deep appreciation
and meaningful collab-
orations,” he said.
“There are many
things we can learn
from the Indians, and
this is what we strive to
do,” Bennett said, pledg-
ing to expand coopera-
tion “to other areas,
from innovation and
technology, security
and cyber, to agricul-
ture and climate
change.” Informed
sources told PTI that it
will be a four-day visit
from April 2-April 5.
In a statement, the
Israeli PM’s Foreign
Media Adviser said that
Prime Minister Bennett
will pay his first official
visit to India on Satur-
day, 2 April 2022, at the
invitation of Prime
Minister Modi.
The two leaders had
first met on the side-
lines of the UN Climate
Change Conference
(COP26) in Glasgow in
November last year
during which they re-
viewed the bilateral ties
besides exchanging
views about expanding
cooperation in areas of
high-technology and in-
novation.
Israel PM Naftali Bennett to visit India in April first week
TO EXPAND BILATERAL TIES

To mark 30
years of
diplomatic
ties and to
‘advance,
strengthen’
strategic
alliance with
India
New Delhi (Agencies):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Sunday
held a key meeting with
top BJP leaders, includ-
ing party chief JP Na-
dda, and Union Minis-
ters Amit Shah and Ra-
jnath Singh, amid the
ongoing exercise for
government formation
in Uttar Pradesh, Utta-
rakhand and Goa.
The meeting was held
at the Prime Minister’s
residence and it was
also attended by BJP
general secretary (or-
ganisation) BL San-
thosh.
BJP retained power
in Uttar Pradesh, Utt-
arakhand, Goa and
Manipur in the latest
round of assembly
polls.
Earlier in the day, the
BJP reposed faith in N
Biren Singh and nomi-
nated him as the chief
minister of Manipur.
There is also sus-
pense over the top post
in Goa where a race is
in progress between
Pramod Sawant and
Vishwajit Rane. Earlier
this week, sources said
Sawant is likely to get a
second term at the top
post. The decision is
likely to be made on
Monday before the BJP
meets the Governor to
stake claim to form
government.
In Uttar Pradesh and
Goa it is almost certain
that the party will re-
peat Yogi Adityanath
and Pramod Sawant as
Chief Ministers.
In case of Uttar
Pradesh, the party has
to take a call on whom
to appoint as deputy
Chief Minister, as Kes-
hav Prasad Maurya,
who held the post in
the previous BJP gov-
ernment, lost his as-
sembly seat.
The BJP is expected
to complete the govern-
ment formation process
in Uttar Pradesh, Utta-
rakhand and Goa by the
end of next week.
New Delhi: Pakistan
prime minister Imran
Khan on Sunday heaped
praises on India and its
foreign policy, this at a
timewhenitfacesthreat
of being unseated amid
no-confidence motion
moved against him.
Addressing a rally in
Malakand, Khan
said,”Main aaj Hindu-
stan ko daad deta hun (I
salute India today). It
has always maintained
an independent foreign
policy
.”
“India is a member of
Quad alliance with
United States as one of
its members. But still it
calls itself neutral. In-
dia is importing oil
from Russia which is
facing sanctions. This
is because India’s for-
eign policy is for its peo-
ple,” media reported
quoting Imran Khan.
Earlier in January,
Khan had praised India
for its boom in the IT
Sector, and hailed the
policies attracting in-
vestments.
The former cricket
captain-turned politi-
cian’s remark has come
amid a no-confidence
motion moved by a joint
opposition which will be
takenupbythePakistan
National Assembly on
March 25. A substantial
number of lawmakers
from his party PTI are
alsobelievedtobevoting
against the government.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Afterhistour
to Gorakhpur, Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) chief Mohan
Bhagwat will be reach-
ing Varanasi on March
23 on a five-day visit.
It is believed that
during the visit, Bhag-
wat will participate in
a crucial organisation-
al meeting of the Sangh
where besides taking
feedback from the of-
fice bearers of the
Kashi province, he will
also brainstorm on the
expansion of the ac-
tivities of the Sangh in
the region.
Kolkata (ANI): BJP's
Keya Ghosh took a jibe
at the Trinamool Con-
gress saying it is scared
of losing after BJP MP
Jagannath Sarkar nar-
rowly escaped bomb at-
tack on Sunday and
demanded the deploy-
ment of Central forces
for the bypolls.
Ghosh is BJP's candi-
date for Ballygunge As-
sembly by-elections and
facing Trinamool Con-
gress'BabulSupriyo.She
Speaking to media,
she said, The attack on
BJP MP Jagannath
Sarkar shows that TMC
candidates are scared
that they will lag be-
hind in polls.
Earlier on Saturday,
the BJP MP from Rana-
ghat in West Bengal
Jagannath Sarkar al-
leged that a bomb was
hurled at his car when
he was returning after
watching the film 'The
Kashmir Files' in Nadia
district.
I was returning after
watching 'The Kashmir
Files'. A bomb was
hurled at my car on my
way back, we escaped it
(bomb) narrowly, said
Jagannath Sarkar.
Kochi (PTI): KPCC
president, K Sudha-
karan has once asked
party leaders, includ-
ing Shashi Tharoor, to
refrain from attending
CPI-M seminar to be
held in April. Sudha-
karan said that the
state party has issued a
ban on party leaders
participating in the na-
tional level seminar to
be organised by the
CPI-M as part of its Na-
tional Conference at
Kannur and if anyone
violates that they
would have to face par-
ty action.
The CPI-M has in-
vited Shashi Tharoor
and former Union Min-
ister, KV Thomas for
the seminar on nation-
al politics. The party
had issued a statement
that no Congress lead-
er must participate in
the CPI-M seminar as
the party is in a fight
against the CPI-M due
to the Kerala Govt’s
anti-people policies.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
MEET AT PM’S RESIDENCE OVER
GOVT FORMATION IN 3 STATES
Suspense over the top post in Goa, where both Pramod
Sawant and Vishwajit Rane are CM probables, continues
Prime Minister Modi with party chief JP Nadda. —FILE PHOTO
Keya Ghosh, BJP candidate
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
Arvind Kejriwal
The BJP top leader-
ship is holding hectic
parleys to finalise
the names for Yogi
Adityanath's cabinet
ahead of swearing-in
ceremony on March
25. Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
will visit Lucknow on
Monday.
HOME MINISTER
AMIT SHAH IN
LUCKNOW TODAY
BALLYGUNGE
CANDIDATE
SLAMS TMC,
DEMANDS
CENTRAL
FORCES
DEPLOYMENT
AAP'S PLAN FOR
RAJASTHAN
2023 ELECTIONS
AFTER PB SWEEP
Lucknow: The opposition alliance led by SP having decisively lost the battle for
Uttar Pradesh, there is speculation now on whether the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj
Party (SBSP) chief OP Rajbhar is leaning towards former partner BJP again. The
speculation started amid reports of his meeting with the BJP's chief strategist
Amit Shah. The buzz is that Mr Rajbhar met the top leadership of the BJP on
Holi. A purported photo of the meeting also surfaced on social media, which later
turned out to be four years old. Mr Rajbhar has denied that any meeting took
place. This is not true at all. I have not travelled out of Lucknow in many days.
I am with the Samajwadi Party, will remain with them and also contest the 2024
Lok Sabha polls as an ally, he said in response to questions by journalists.
KEY SAMAJWADI PARTY ALLY OP RAJBHAR
DENIES MEETING WITH AMIT SHAH
Jaipur: Buoyed by
its resounding win
in Punjab polls, the
AAP is now focusing
on Rajasthan with
the party holing a
two-day convention
in Jaipur to “streng-
hthen” the organi-
sation in the state
where elections
are due next year.
According to the
AAP, party's state in-
charge and RS MP
Sanjay Singh will
hold discussions
on ways to make
people aware of the
party’s welfare poli-
cies during the event
on March 26-27.
Dehradun: Following
the BJP's victory in the
recently concluded Utt-
arakhand Assembly
election, the newly
elected MLAs will take
their oath at a ceremo-
ny at the Vidhan Sabha
in Dehradun at 11 am
on Monday
.
The pro-tem Speaker
in the Uttarakhand As-
sembly, Bansidhar Bha-
gat, has confirmed the
same.
Later in the evening,
the next chief minister
of state will be decided
at the BJP legislative
party meeting, said BJP
Uttarakhand chief
Madan Kaushik.
“Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh and
MoS MEA Meenakshi
Lekhi will be arriving
tomorrow for the Leg-
islature Party meeting
to be held in Dehradun
where the CM's name
will be declared.
Swearing-in ceremony
will take place after
the meeting,” State
media in-charge Man-
veer Chauhan was
quoted as saying by
media.
On Sunday morning,
former Uttarakhand
CM Trivendra Singh
Rawat told reporters,
We have many options
for the CM face.
U’khand: Newly
elected MLAs to
take oath today
India’s foreign
policy better
than Pak: Imran
Bansidhar Bhagat, pro-tem Speaker in the Uttarakhand Assembly.
Later in the
evening, the
next Chief
Minister will
be decided at
the BJP
legislative
party meeting
‘The Kashmir Files’ won’t help any
political party in polls: Sena’s Raut
Mumbai (ANI): Shiv
Sena leader Sanjay
Raut on Sunday said
that 'The Kashmir Files'
is just a film and will
not provide any politi-
cal advantage to anyone
in the coming elections.
It is not right to do
politics on a sensitive is-
sue like Kashmir... 'The
Kashmir Files' is just a
film, I don't think it will
provide any political ad-
vantage to anyone in the
coming elections, said
Raut addressing media
persons here.
He further said that
by the time the contro-
versy surrounding the
film will be gone by the
time elections come.
Whether the events
shown in the film are
true or not can be dis-
cussed later. Many
things shown in the film
are being questioned
that are not true. Many
people are also saying
that there are many
facts that were sup-
posed to be shown, but
are not shown. Muslims
were also among those
who died at that time.
There were many offic-
ers whose lives were
saved by Muslims, these
are all such things that
could be in the film but
are not there, he said.
The Shiv Sena MP
said that in the coming
days, the film will get a
national award and the
makers of the film will
get something like
Padma Shri, Padma
Bhushan etc.
New Delhi: The release
of the hotly-debated
Bollywood movie ‘The
Kashmir Files’ has been
put on hold in New
Zealand. The country’s
censor board, which
had earlier cleared
the movie, decided
to review its decision
after it was approached
by some community
groups. The country’s
censor board had given
‘The Kashmir Files’ a
certificate that allows
individuals above the
age of 16 and over to
watch it. But the has
board decided to review
its decision and put on
hold the screening of
the film. The film, which
focuses on the exodus
of Kashmiri Pandits
from the Valley in the
1990s, has been mired
in controversy since its
release on March 11.
Reports said the chief
censor is reviewing the
film’s classification after
members of the Muslim
community raised con-
cerns over the content
of the film. Former New
Zealand deputy PM
Winston Peters has hit
out at the movie board
and said that censoring
the film would be an
attack on the freedom
of New Zealanders.
CENSORING ‘KASHMIR FILES’ IS ATTACK ON
FREEDOM: NEW ZEALAND EX DEPUTY PM
BJP MP Jagannath escapes bomb attack
Bhagwat on 5-day Varanasi visit from Mar
23, to oversee Sangh expansion in region
Congress warns
Tharoor against
attending
CPI-M seminar
BENGAL BYPOLLS

INDIA
06
Shillong (Agencies): As
many as 877 newborn ba-
bies and 61 mothers have
died as pregnant women
refusedtogetadmittedto
hospitals for institution-
al delivery during the
COVID-19 pandemic due
to fears of contracting
the disease, the Megha-
laya government has in-
formed the NHRC.
The Meghalaya gov-
ernment has recently
submitted the action
taken report to the Na-
tional Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) af-
terthelatterregistereda
case over the high num-
ber of maternal and
newborn deaths in the
stateduringthepandem-
ic.
“The causes of the
newborn deaths had
been looked into and it
wasfoundthatthefatali-
ties were due to the lack
of medicalattentionand
care because pregnant
women refused to get
themselves admitted to
the health institutions
duetofearandstigmaof
contracting COVID-19
and also the refusal to
test for COVID-19,” the
report said.
During the time the
deathshadtakenplace,it
was mandatory to segre-
gate COVID-19 and non-
COVID-19 patients,
hence testing was done
toavoidthespreadof the
disease, especially in
hospital wards, it said.
Even though women
“abstained” from visit-
ing health facilities,
ANMs and ASHAs were
regularly monitoring
their health through
home visits and counsel-
ling,urgingthemtovisit
hospitals during deliv-
ery
, the report said.
Taking cognisance of
the high number of
deaths, the state govern-
ment had launched a
“rescue mission” and
health teams were con-
stituted to identify all
pregnant women and
register them on a mo-
bile application to pre-
vent such incidents, the
state government said.
MEGHALAYA: 877 NEWBORNS, 61 MOTHERS DIED AS RESULT
WOMEN DENIED HOSPITAL DELIVERY DURING COVID PANDEMIC

During the time
the deaths had
taken place, it
was mandatory
to segregate
COVID-19 and
non-COVID-19
patients
HOOCH SHOCKER IN DRY BIHAR:
MORE THAN 12 DIE DURING HOLI
Police await post mortem reports in different incidents involving illicit liquor consumed on Holi
Patna (PTI): More than
12 persons died after
consuming suspected
hooch in different dis-
tricts of dry Bihar on
Holi, March 19. Local
police said the would
not be able to confirm
the deaths were caused
by the consumption of
illicit liquor “until post-
mortem reports come
in”. Bihar was declared
a dry State in April 2016
under a stringent Pro-
hibition law.
At least seven per-
sons died in the Amar-
pur block of Banka dis-
trict. Four persons died
in the Sahibganj area of
the Nathnagar locality
in Bhagalpur district.
The deceased were
identified as Raja Ti-
wari of Kamdeopur,
and Raghunandan Pod-
dar, Sanjay Sharma, Su-
mit Kumar, Vijay Sah,
Rahul Singh and Ash-
ish Kumar from other
villages. Similarly, at
least four persons died
in a suspected hooch
tragedy in the Sahib-
ganj area in the Nathna-
gar block of Bhagalpur
district. They were
identified as Binod Rai,
Sandip Yadav, Nilesh
Kumar and Mithun Ku-
mar. Abhishek Kumar, a
youth, lost his eye sight
and has been admitted
a hospital in the town.
Deputy Superinten-
dent of Police Prakash
Kumar confirmed the
deaths of three persons
in Sahibganj area but
declined to say any-
thing on the “cause of
deaths”. “Deaths due to
consumption of illicit
liquor can be con-
firmed only after an
autopsy report,” Rita
Kumari, Station House
Officer (SHO) of Vish-
wavidyalya (Universi-
ty) Police Station under
which the Sahibganj
area falls, said.
A police personnel shows empty liquor bottle. —REPRESENTATIONAL PIC
DEATH COUNT
Y-security for Karnataka HC
judges who gave Hijab verdict
Bengaluru (PTI): The
Karnataka government
on Sunday decided to
give ‘Y’ category secu-
rity to three judges, in-
cluding the chief jus-
tice of the state, who
passed the ruling on the
hijab controversy
.
This comes amid the
backdrop of statements
made in Madurai
threatening to kill the
judges. An FIR has been
registered in Bangalore
on the same.
Chief Minister Basa-
varaj Bommai attacked
the opposition by call-
ing them “fake secular”
as they did not condemn
the Madurai incident.
He said, “Why are the
“fake secular” lobby si-
lent even after 3-4 days
of the incident? People
threaten to kill judges
because of the verdict
and they talk about how
judges will meet with
accident. Even after
this, why are you all si-
lent, just to appease the
section? That is not sec-
ularism, it is commu-
nalism. I condemn this
andyouallshouldbreak
your silence and we
should be united.”
CM asked the state
DGP to look into the in-
vestigation and coordi-
nate with Tamil Nadu
to seek custody of the
accused. The accused
have been booked based
on complaints made by
private citizens.
Karnataka High Court
Depression to
intensify into
cyclonic storm
in 24 hours
Kolkata (PTI): The
low-pressure system
brewing in South East
Bay of Bengal and the
adjoining Andaman
Sea is
likely to
intensify
into a de-
pression today (March
20) and lead to the first
cyclone in March since
2000 in the North Indi-
an Ocean region on
Monday. And if that
happens, the cyclonic
storm will be called
Asani, the name given
by Sri Lanka.
According to IMD, the
system is predicted to
move north-eastwards
and reach near the
north Myanmar and
southeast Bangladesh
coasts on Mar 22. The
IMD has also predicted
heavy to very heavy
rainfall in a few places
over the Andaman
Nicobar Islands.
OTHER FACTORS
Mother holding her newborn baby. —REPRESENTATIONAL PIC
Mamata Banerjee’s
nephew to be grilled
again by ED today
Kolkata: Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee’s nephew and
MP Abhishek Banerjee
and his wife Rujira Ba-
nerjee will be ques-
tioned next week by
the Enforcement Di-
rectorate in an alleged
money laundering
case linked to the Ben-
gal coal scam. Baner-
jee linked the sum-
mons to the BJP’s re-
cent victory in the as-
sembly elections in
four states and ques-
tioned the dismissal of
his appeal in High
Court challenging the
questioning in Delhi.
“I will go to the Su-
preme Court. That path
is open to me. And we
have faith in the top-
most justice system in
the country,” he said.
Banerjee said he was
going to Delhi, even
though he has been ad-
vised bed rest by his
doctor after a recent eye
procedure.
Speaking to report-
ers in Kolkata before
his departure this af-
ternoon, Banerjee said
he had appealed in the
Delhi High Court, say-
ing he should be ques-
tioned in Kolkata in-
stead of Delhi since
the case is connected
to Bengal.
Will Sonia ‘respect’ Azad’s ‘sentiments?
First India Bureau
New Delhi: With the
dismal performance of
Congress in 5 state as-
sembly polls and sym-
pathy, within the party,
developing for G-21, the
meeting between Sonia
Gandhi and Ghulam
Nabi Azad was looked
up by party members
across the length and
breadth of the nation.
K n o w l e d g e a b l e
sources in the relevant
circles of the grand old
party have revealed
that Azad apprised So-
nia Gandhi of demands
and concerns raised by
G-21. Word is that Azad
has shared with Sonia a
comprehensive frame-
work for collective lead-
ership with suggestions
for revival of Central
Election Committee
and Congress Parlia-
mentary Board.
Representing the
G-21, Azad has also sug-
gested to constitute a
committee till the ap-
pointment of new full-
time chairman and to
include senior party
leaders in this commit-
tee. He stressed that the
committee should be
consulted in all the im-
portant decisions of the
party
.
However, now an im-
portant question aris-
ing in the political fields
regarding these de-
mands. After all, why
was there a demand for
revival of parliamenta-
ry board and committee
formation? Is its pur-
pose to test the current
working system of the
Gandhi family?
Now after this whole
conversation, there
may be another meet-
ing of the leaders of the
G-21 group.
Quad has accepted
India’s position on
Ukraine crisis:Australia
Uttar Pradesh:Woman raped
in public toilet at Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh (PTI): A
20-year-old woman was
allegedly raped inside
a public toilet located
near a parking stand
at the Pratapgarh rail-
way station, police
said on Sunday.
The incident took
place on March 19,
they said, adding that
an FIR has been regis-
tered in this regard.
SHO of Kotwali po-
lice station R N Rai
said the victim along
with her husband were
waiting to catch a
train when the inci-
dent occurred.
“The husband went
to buy tea in the morn-
ing leaving the woman
alone. That is when
the accused, identified
as Anna, approached
the woman and gave
her a key, telling her
that she can use it to
access a clean toilet lo-
cated near the parking
stand outside. When
the woman entered the
toilet, the accused
raped her.”
New Delhi: Austral-
ia on Sunday said
that the Quad mem-
ber countries have
accepted India’s posi-
tion on the crisis in
Ukraine and it is evi-
dent that Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
has been using his
contacts to call for an
end to the conflict in
that country
.
The comments by
AustralianHighCom-
missioner to India
Barry O’Farrell came
a day before a virtual
summit between
Modi and Australian
Prime Minister Scott
Morrison during
which they are set to
discuss the situation
in Ukraine.
“The Quad coun-
tries have accepted
India’s position. We
understand that each
country has a bilater-
al relationship and it
is clear from the com-
ments of the MEA
and Prime Minister
Modi himself that he
has used his contacts
to call for the end of
the conflict and no
country will be un-
happy with that,” he
told reporters.
The Australian en-
voy was asked about
increasingdisquietin
the West over India’s
position on the Rus-
sian invasion of
Ukraine and its pur-
chase of discounted
crudeoilfromRussia.
Separately
, diplo-
matic sources said
India’spositiononthe
Russian attack on
Ukraine appeared to
be driven by the then
Prime Minister Jawa-
harlal Nehru’s policy
in 1957 that India was
not in the business of
condemnation and it
focused on creating a
space for resolution
of conflicts.
US President Joe Biden (Top left), Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese
PM Yoshihide Suga. —FILE PHOTO
Attempts being
made to divide
country once
again: Mufti
I-T dept raids
at unicorn,
unearths `224
cr black money
Jammu: PDP President
MehboobaMuftionSun-
day accused the BJP of
pushing the country to-
wards another division
by dividing people on
religious lines. The for-
mer JK CM hurled the
allegation while prais-
ing first PM Nehru for
his“secular”credentials
and “steering” India on
the path of development
and prosperity
. She said
Jammu has been home
toallreligiousfaithsand
beliefs and the city has
accepted everyone from
across JK, irrespective
of their faith.
Mumbai (PTI): The In-
come Tax department
has detected undis-
closed income of about
Rs 224 crore after it re-
cently raided a unicorn
start-up group based in
Pune and Thane in Ma-
harashtra, the CBDT
said on Sunday. The
group, which is engaged
in wholesale and retail
of construction materi-
als, has a turnover ex-
ceeding Rs 6,000 crore.
In a statement, the de-
partment said that the
searches were carried
out on March 9 at 23
premises in 5 states.
MONEY LAUNDERING CASE
MP Abhishek Banerjee
Representing G-21, Azad has demanded
revival of Central Election Committee
and Congress Parliamentary Board, a
move which is being seen as a challenge
thrown by G-21 to Gandhis’ authority!
CYCLONE
ASANI

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
60,99,342
TOTAL DEATHS
40,09,30,830
TOTAL RECOVERED
6,33,81,365
ACTIVE CASES
47,04,11,537
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,16,510
TOTAL DEATHS
4,24,65,122
TOTAL RECOVERED
26,209
ACTIVE CASES
4,30,07,841
TOTAL CASES
NEWS
07
43 BJP WORKERS JOIN CONGRESS
SEEING DEVP WORKS, PEOPLE
ARE JOINING CONG: DHARIWAL
Kota tour! Birla meets differently
abled, Ukraine-returned students
Now, mine owners may use
govt land for mining soon!
Truck rams into SUV leaving
2 dead, 5 hurt near Bikaner
Poonia projected as CM face
Bhanwar S Charan
Kota: A total of 43 BJP
workers in Kota joined
the Congress during a
programme organized
in Rampura on Sunday
.
UDH Minister Shanti
Dhariwal was the chief
guest here. He wel-
comed the workers
upon joining the party.
Many women activists
have also joined the
Congress.
Speaking about the
development works go-
ing on in Kota, Dhari-
wal said, “Seeing the
development works,
people are joining the
Congress. Those who
were with the BJP for
years are joining the
Congress, which means
that they have faith in
us.”
UDH Minister Shanti
Dhariwal was apprised
about the work of the
new building and Adv.
Council Colony
.
A delegation of nurs-
ing personnel also met
him and submitted
their demand letter.
The Congress government is working
continuously in the interest of the peo-
ple and for the development of the state.
I would also motivate youth to add more people
to the party and work together.
—Shanti Dhariwal, UDH Minister
UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal felicitates new joinee in the Congress party in Kota on Sunday.
Om Birla presents motorized tricycles to specially-
abled people at his Lok Sabha camp office in Kota.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla speaks to students
returned from Ukraine in Kota on Sunday.
Dhariwal also
laid the founda-
tion stone of Motor
Market on DCM Road
here. He said that the
motor market will
become an example
in Rajasthan, where
most modern facili-
ties will be included.
“It will attract busi-
ness. The mechanics
and businessmen
of the motor market
will be rehabilitated
under the scheme
on DCM Road,” he
said. UIT Special
Officer RD Meena
said that this will be
a model scheme and
about 311 shops
will be constructed
in an area of 60,000
square metres.
Dhariwal lays
foundation of
Motor Market
First India Bureau
Kota: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla met
citizens at his Camp Of-
fice during his stay in
Kota-Bundi parliamen-
tary constituency on
Sunday wherein he pre-
sented motorized tricy-
cle to divyangs and sen-
iors for which they had
requested Birla.
Moreover, locals
from the region also
came to meet Birla with
their problems and re-
quested the MP to solve
their problems and get
a few development
works done. Upon this
Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla gave instructions
to officers in this re-
gard and urged them to
solve the issues soon.
During the day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also
met Indian students from Ukraine who reached LS
camp Speaker’s Camp office. The students expressed
their gratitude to the Government of India and Birla for
their safe return from the war torn nation. The students
said, “Government of India was ready to help at every
step. Only by the efforts of the Government of India, we
could return to India safely. The Indian ‘Tricolour’ be-
came the biggest support in challenging circumstances
as we were immediately given permission when the
Indian flag was shown. Pakistani students also took the
support of Indian flag. Seeing this we felt proud of the
power of the Indian flag.”
STUDENTS EXPRESS GRATITUDE TO GoI
AND OM BIRLA FOR THEIR SAFE RETURN
‘ROOTED’
MATHUR!
Being in public life means a
person does not actually get
time for themselves. As an
individual moves up the
political ladder, the lesser time
they have for themselves. And
amid this, their connect with
nature gets lost. However,
there are a handful of ‘mindful’
politicians too who know the
importance of the rustic
connect and take out time to
stay rooted. One such leader is
Omprakash Mathur whose love
for nature is well known.
Mathur recently spent 3 days
with nature at his farmhouse
where he looked after the ‘desi’
bovines and other pets like a
Marwari horse and a German
shepherd dog. Moreover,
Mathur took time out to do
jungle safari too and clicked a
leopard in his camera. Mathur
also gives time to farming and
gardening to stay connected to
his roots.
—Aishwary Pradhan
FLYING INFO
DECODED?
For any covert act, especially
the one where an authority
has to enforce law, information
about the squads movement is
crucial. However, when the
information leaks, the purpose
of the squad is defeated. It
appears that the Roadways is
going through the same trouble
and yet the roadways
management is silent! Word is
that the location of Roadways
flying squad is getting leaked.
In fact, most of the operators
are informing their own drivers
and helpers about the location
of flying squads. This has
resulted in a ‘leakage’ of
revenue, due to info leakage
but surprisingly, even after
complaints, Roadways
management is not taking any
action. Manoj Bulani, a resident
of Bhilwara, has written letters
to the roadways management
many times and given info as
to who is giving out details of
the location of flying squads
and yet, the roadways
management has not taken any
action.
—Shivendra Parmar
TRAGIC SUNDAY
First India Bureau
Bikaner: Two youth
died in a road accident
in Deshnok, Bikaner on
Sunday morning. At the
same time, 5 others
were injured. 5 friends
were coming from
Deshnok towards Bi-
kaner in a Bolero car
and a truck full of veg-
etables was going to
Deshnok. The Bolero
and the truck collided
head-on near a chemi-
cal factory near Desh-
nok. 22-year-old Surya
Pratap, a resident of
Subhashpura and Man-
gu, a resident of Bhuton
ka Chauraha died on
the spot. 3 friends of the
deceased youth along
with the truck driver
and a helper were in-
jured and have been
shifted to PBM Hosp.
Ill-fated vehicles being separated with the crane. Deceased Surya
COPS CLUELESS ABOUT IDENTITY OF
CHILD WITH SEVERED TONGUE
Bikaner: Police have yet not been able to trace
the identity of the child, with his tongue severed,
found in the City Police Station area in Suratgarh
area. The child was found in front of the Govern-
ment ITI College, Suratgarh after a woman, who
had gone to collect wood, informed the police.
Police have put up the child’s picture on social
media. They found the child with his hands and
feet tied, his tongue severed and could not see
with one eye. Prima facie, police say that he was
brutally beaten up and then abandoned here.
Dr Rituraj Sharma
Jaipur: 2007 batch IAS
Abhishek Bhagotia of
Assam-Meghalaya cadre
has been deputed to Del-
hi. Bhagotia’s appt has
been made
under Cen-
tral Staffing
Scheme on
post of Di-
rector in the
Union Hous-
ing and Urban Ministry.
Notably, appointment
has been made for 5
years from assuming
charge.
As of now, Bhagotia
had been serving in Ra-
jasthan as he was on in-
ter cadre deputation
serving as EGS commis-
sioner since July 2019.
His inter cadre deputa-
tion has already ended
due to his appt in Centre.
The Centre also waived
his ‘cooling off period’.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: In the coming
week, to strengthen the
BJP, the power centre
conferences will be of
organized at the district
level across the state.
Head of the campaign,
State General Secretary
Bhajan Lal Sharma
said that the prominent
leaders of state will
travel to the districts in
the conference of Shak-
ti Kendra convenors
from March 22-25.
In order to force the
booth, the campaign of
Panna Pramukh ap-
pointment will be start-
ed simultaneously in
Rajasthan on March 26.
Sharma said that BJP
will appoint its Panna
Pramukhs at more than
52,000 booths of the
state and will hold con-
ferences across the
state.
Jaipur: Police arrested a
woman, her husband and
one other on charges of
killing Bhairuram Devasi
(35) on suspicion of illicit
relations. Devasi was found
dead in a room on Sunday
in Shivdaspura area. SI
Kailash said he was Super-
visor in Wood Factory lo-
cated at Puglia Farm and
lived there. Accused, Ma-
hesh (25) from UP suspect-
ed illicit relations between
Devasi and his wife. Rajku-
mar (22) and Mulayam (22)
were also arrested. —FIB
IAS Bhagotia
appointed as
Dir in MoHUA
BJP strengthens
Shakti Kendras
from March 22
Couple, 1 more
held for murder
due to love affair
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: The Mining
Department has made
preparations to give a
gift to about 500 mine
owners for carrying
out mining in 2,000
bighas of government
land i.e. an area of
about 500 hectares for
which amendments in
required rules and
regulations have been
prepared.
Once changes are
approved, mine own-
ers will get the oppor-
tunity to do mining in
the leases of their al-
lotted area, a develop-
ment which the de-
partment is linking
with the budget an-
nouncement of CM
Ashok Gehlot. Ac-
cording to the com-
plaints received by
Mines Department,
mining has taken
place on govt land at
many places.
The mining dept
will get additional
revenue of Rs 25
crore every year
The govern-
ment has tak-
en this deci-
sion to get rid of such
problem and stop ille-
gal mining.
—Pramod Jain Bhaya,
Mines Minister
Deceased Mangu
First India Bureau
Bengaluru: The dis-
cussion about CM face
has intensified again
among Rajasthan BJP
leaders. BJP State Prez
Satish Poonia, who
went on a visit to Ben-
galuru, has been greet-
ed by the Karnataka
Rajput society among
the migrant Rajasthan-
is to become CM. On
Sunday, Poonia had
reached the Holi Milan
program of Rajput Par-
ishad in Karnataka.
Bhagwan Singh Bhati,
former president of Ra-
jput Samaj Karnataka,
told Poonia from the
stage, “Goddess’ bless-
ings are here. Visit Cha-
munda Mata Temple in
Rajput Parishad Com-
plex. We are saying
with 100% challenge
that you will come back
here as CM.”
MALIK’S LOVE FOR JODHPUR!
Meghalaya Governor Satya
Pal Malik reached Jodhpur
on Sunday where Pali MP
PP Chaudhary, former Pali
MP Badriram Jakhar and
administrative officials
welcomed him at airport.
In a conversation with
First India, the Governor
said that he came to
honour children in Kharia
Khangar. “I have been in
love with Jodhpur for the
last 10 years. I love people
of Jodhpur and this keeps
bringing me here,” he said.
Satish Poonia beging greeted
by Karnataka Rajput society.

The fittest are not the strongest,
the one’s most adaptable are the
fittest for survival.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
POSTAL REG NO. JPC/004/2022-24
 One section in BJP
and RSS considers
Yogi as its ‘dattak
putra’. What does
that mean?
Jagdeesh Chandra:
This means that he is
favoured. His ideology,
his image, his attire, his
no-nonsense attitude,
non-appeasement of mi-
norities etc all is pre-
ferred by this section.
So, they see him as a
future prospect after
Modi who can be sent in
the field. But Shah, who
does not have a monk
like image but his im-
age is of a strategist and
stands with them. He
does not have a hard-
core image but he has
strategy and hard work
to his side. Modi and
Shah need RSS’s help but
not to extent that RSS
needs these 2 . It is due
to strategic importance
that saffron is spread
across nation. Yogi too
needs RSS perhaps
more than Modi Shah.
 It is said that Yo-
gi’s media manage-
ment and his CMO
have also played an
effective role in the
election victory of UP
.
What is your assess-
ment about this?
Definitely it has been
there. No govt can enter
electoral foray without
media management.
During Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s govt media man-
agement was at its low-
est ebb then Navneet
Sehgal was brought in
after which situation
improved. When Yogi
govt was formed, Sehgal
was away from media
management but later
high command and Yogi
himself realised that it
is important to put an
experienced person in
charge of media man-
agement. Awanish K
Awasthi was handling it
then but he also had law
and order charge which
is basically the image
builder for Yogi as
strong law and order
has been his mainstay.
So, Sehgal was brought
back and UP media gave
credit of the victory to
Yogi, more than Modi-
Shah. This was Yogi
govt’s media manage-
ment. There is a minor
coordination issue be-
tween Sehgal and the
director there but that
will smoothen out with
time. CMO there is ef-
fective. The one similar-
ity between Modi and
Yogi’s work culture is
that they give free hand
to bureaucracy and del-
egate power. Since both
of them remain ex-
tremely busy in politi-
cal assignments so they
emphasise on total del-
egation with total trust.
Overall, CMO and me-
dia management team
played a good role.
 What will be the
major challenges be-
fore Yogi in his sec-
ond term?
Challenges are many
.
there is a long way to go.
Firstly
, he has to ensure
that his coordination
and understanding with
high command is better
than before and there is
no confrontation like
earlier. For this he will
have to delegate this co-
ordination responsibili-
ty to some trusted indi-
vidual. Secondly
, he will
have to look into the poll
percentage for 2024 gen-
eral election since this
time around a lot of
votes have been cast due
to Mayawati factor, so
next time BJP will have
to bring LS seats on its
own. Thirdly, he will
have to move ahead in
administrational field.
Fourthly, there is a per-
ception about him that
he promotes Thakur bu-
reaucracy, even if he
does not do so. So, he
will have to work to end
that perception. Fifth
and perhaps the biggest
issue is of coordination
with the central nomi-
nees. there are individu-
als who will be part of
the Yogi government as
nominees of Central
leadership so they may
have some attitude. The
smooth functioning of
government will depend
on Yogi’s coordination.
Development agenda
has brought votes and
that should continue.
 Now elections will
be held in Gujarat,
Rajasthan and many
other states. Will Hin-
dutva be a factor and
will after Ayodhya
and Kashi, focus will
now shift to Mathura?
Hindutva has become
agenda of every Hindu
now. They have ensured
that Hindutva is accept-
ed as a value system for
masses. So now they do
not have to do anything
it will be people who will
take it forward. Kashi
and Mathura is a policy
matter and they will
pick up when they want.
 What was Mayawa-
ti’s role in BJP’s vic-
tory in UP?
Extremely crucial.
Mayawati’s image has
been formed of a party
which has cut votes of
BJP’s rival parties. BJP
should thank her for
this. Mayawati has been
a crucial factor, her vote
percentage, which was
around 22% came down
to 12% or so. But she
must have thought that
if I cannot be in power,
then why should Akh-
ilesh be? Secondly,
Modi-Shah contested
election through mind
games and not through
votes, wherein Mayawa-
ti could fit in strategy.
Mayawati shifted her
votes to BJP and Amit
Shah acknowledged it
and stressed that BSP is
still relevant.
 There are murmurs
that BSP may get in-
cluded in BJP and
Mayawati could be
made the Presiden-
tial or Vice-presiden-
tial candidate. Do
you think so?
I have heard about it
and it is not impossi-
ble since Modi and
Shah are known for ex-
periments. I can’t say
that the parties will be-
come one but there can
be an unannounced co-
ordination likes of
which we saw in UP
election recently.
Mayawati can be a can-
didate which will send
good message in Dalit
community and as such
there has been some un-
derstanding between
BJP and Dalit commu-
nity now.
 Did Vikas Dubey
encounter have any
effect on the election?
There was no effect on
election of the encoun-
ter. Even on Brahmin
dominated seats BJP
has performed well.
 Did the Lakhimpur
Kheri incident have
any effect on polls?
There is just one answer
to all this. Modi wave.
What to do about it? Add
to this is Amit Shah’s
strategy and it becomes
amiracleof thiscentury
.
It is nothing short of a
miraclethatall8seatsof
Lakhimpurdistricthave
been won by BJP
. Con-
gress fielded someone
from the victim’s family
but their security depos-
it was forfeited. It is a
tremendous victory for
BJP to win all seats in
the Lakhimpur district.
 And how successful
was Priyanka Gan-
dhi’s decision to give
40% tickets to women?
The sentiment behind
it was good, but it
proved to be a disaster.
Priyanka was Con-
gress’ last hope after
Rahul. Rahul is there,
but some people, in-
cluding me, believed
that she will be able to
do something. But
keeping in mind the
overall structure of the
Gandhi family, she has
not been able to achieve
anything. She fielded
144 women candidates
of which security was
forfeited of 137. This is
Priyanka and Con-
gress’ report card.
Ashok Gehlot says at
least she contested, so
yes that point is there,
she did move about
campaigned for party.
But at end of day deliv-
ery counts. Where is
delivery?
 Do you think Con-
gress will repeat this
formula in 2024 Lok
Sabha elections?
I don’t think so. Neither
in any state nor in 2024.
Priyanka must have be-
come extremely demor-
alized due to the failure.
They have managed
just 2 seats whereas
they had 7 earlier. Even
in CWC the participants
did not say anything out
of courtesy and respect
and said to Priyanka
that she did a good job.
That is alright, elders
do say encouraging
words to children. But
the result is before all to
see. So, there is no
chance that Congress
would give forty per-
cent seats to women.
 What was the result
of the five-hour CWC
meeting held on
March 13 after the de-
feat of the Congress
in these five states?
There has not been any
conducive result. The
same script has been re-
peated. One Rajasthan
CM is Ashok Gehlot,
standsupassaviourand
as defender of Gandhi
family
. He changed the
entire discourse of the
talks but what was the
result? Sonia did show
large hearted approach
and offered to resign.
But everyone knows
where is the option.
Thereisnooptionfor
leadership in Con-
gress other than
Gandhi family
. The
real issue is how
does Gandhi family
provide leadership.
They said they will
holdaChintanShi-
vir and CM Gehlot
is expert in organ-
isingsuchevents.
Cong says those
that are left are
BJP’s men. Ghulam
Nabi was alleged to have
an alliance with BJP but
it was a sin to term a
leader like Azad with
BJP. CWC was ritual
which was carried out
nicelyduetocourtesyof
Rajasthan CM Gehlot.
 Congress will get a
full time President in
August-September
this year and it is be-
lieved that Rahul
Gandhi will be ap-
pointed as President.
But has Rahul ac-
cepted this?
I have had my doubts
since day one about Ra-
hul. He is brilliant per-
son, but he will avoid
taking any direct re-
sponsibility
. I still have
my doubts that even if
the working committee
passes the proposal, he
will go to the next room
and say sorry to his
mother that he will not
be able to carry out the
role. And his mother
knows about his anger
too. This is the difficulty
faced by Congress. Par-
ty has been swinging
between Rahul becom-
ing President or not.
Half of the people say
something else and in
anger he leaves for Italy
to meet his grandmoth-
er. His colleagues like
Surjewala can’t give
leadership in his ab-
sence. problem in Gan-
dhi family is that Sonia
is the only person left
with whom people con-
nect but her health does
not permit her to move
about too much. Rahul’s
problem is that he is not
regular, you may see
him once and he may
disappear for days alto-
gether, he isn’t easily ac-
cessible, you don’t want
to consult anyone. I have
said it before too that
only Rahul can take on
Modi. In 2015 I inter-
viewed Rahul and Pri-
yanka and during off-
camera interaction they
asked my view of Con-
gress. I told them that
either of them should
move away from nation
and tell people to sup-
port the one staying be-
hind. Priyanka then im-
mediately said to me,
“why should I leave?” I
had said then that she
has a passion to lead the
nation. The solution
nowisthatRahulshould
be appointed leader in
LS and Priyanka should
be sent to RS from Raj
where she should be
given place of Ghulam
Nabi and also made par-
ty president which So-
niashouldenforce.They
need this moral cour-
age. Unless there is this
clarity in Cong nothing
will change. Then deci-
sionbyPresidentshould
not change. Gandhi fam-
ily
, I am sorry to say
, is a
house of confused and
disappointed people.
Only hope is Gehlot but
what will he do in Delhi,
Cong may lose Raj then.
And if remote has to be
with Rahul or anyone
else, then what good will
Ashok Gehlot do?
 Who could be the
party president if Ra-
hul declines taking
the mantle?
Such a role can be
played by those who are
okay with being run
through remote control.
For example, there is
Mallikarjun Kharge.
Another name doing
rounds is of Mukul
Wasnik. He knows the
Delhi culture and is a
loyal worker like Avi-
nash Pande. There are
some people who are
simple, mature and loy-
al. But the first issue is
whether Gandhi family
will decide on appoint-
ing a president apart
from the family. Few
days back there were
murmurs in Congress
of which 10 Janpath
also took notice, that
perhaps someone from
G-21 may come at helm.
So, they became active
to safeguard their sur-
vival. Mukul Wasnik, I
think may be one of the
best choices at the mo-
ment. He is from South-
India but has a good im-
age in North too. He has
good liaison abilities
and enjoys good rapport
with Gehlot. He can co-
ordinate with everyone
since he does not have a
state to run, unlike Ge-
hlot. Wasnik is there-
fore a good name, pro-
vided Gandhis move out
of their self-drawn lak-
shman rekha.
 How do you visual-
ise the role of G-21 af-
ter the CWC meeting?
G-21 has become more
sensible now. Earlier
there was a disappoint-
ment, but off late Gan-
dhis have recognised
that. They realised their
mistake and honoured
G-21, to some extent.
Secondly
, even the mem-
bers of G-21 are behav-
ing properly, but some-
times frustration does
happen, Kapil Sibal has
said a lot of things,
without mincing words,
blaming Rahul. Even
G-21 does not have a fu-
ture without Gandhi
family. I had read that
someone proposed Pi-
lot’s name saying he
could be brought, to
which someone else pro-
posed Wasnik’s name.
So, point is that anyone
other than Gandhi fam-
ily will be run through
remote control will
have problems in run-
ning too there will be
nothing more than this.
 Ashok Gehlot
changed the entire
paradigm of CWC
meet. Do you think he
yet again emerged as
man Friday for Gan-
dhis?
100% this has been the
case. He is one of the
most sensible leaders
not only in Congress
but across the nation. I
have firm belief that
even Modi must have
admiration for Gehlot.
being in different party
and Opposition on po-
litical issues is a differ-
ent thing. He changed
the entire script of the
meeting just through
his interviews and he
virtually emerged as
principal trouble-shoot-
er for Gandhis in that
critical CWC meeting.
During the show
#JConModiUPWave
trended top All-India
on Twitter
TO BE CONTINUED...
Editor-In-Chief of First India,
Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New
JC Show, speaks about media
management of Yogi’s
government, CWC Gehlot as
trouble-shooter for Gandhis
including impact of Assembly
elections on the Presidential
poll and more...(Part 2) Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Tanu Choudhary, Muskan Moolchandani and Vijender Solanki on the New JC Show. —PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA
Rahul a brilliant person but appears to be a
bit confused and a reluctant bride because
there are several ‘power centres’ at 10 Janpath
WillSoniaaskRahultoleadCongressinLokSabhaandalsohandoverherlegacytoPriyankaastheCongressPresident?
periments. I can’t say
that the parties will be-
come one but there can
be an unannounced co-
ordination likes of
which we saw in UP
election recently.
Mayawati can be a can-
didate which will send
good message in Dalit
community and as such
and offered to resign.
But everyone knows
where is the option.
Thereisnooptionfor
leadership in Con-
gress other than
Gandhi family
. The
real issue is how
does Gandhi family
provide leadership.
They said they will
holdaChintanShi-
YOU READ PART-1 ON
MARCH 20, 2022
Hindutva not BJP’s agenda anymore, now it is every Hindu’s agenda...

uck always fa-
vours the brave
andbravearethe
people who fol-
low their hearts
andtakechances
in life because
they know the power of
opportunities. Maybe it is
becauseof luckbychance
butAsthahasgrabbedthe
opportunity and made
her name shine in the
world of glamour. A sim-
ple 22-year-old did not
know that her life would
take her on this trip, from
a regular life to a glamor-
ous dash Astha has seen
allthis.Whenaskedabout
her journey she said,
“Coming from conserva-
tive middle-class family
modelling was an unreal-
istic aspiration
for a
girl weigh-
ing 72 kgs
with lots
of pim-
ples on
her face. I
never thought
of modelling
until I was
spotted by
a casting
agent at a
cafe. Ini-
tially, I
thought it was some
prank but then they
showed their profile and
that’s how my journey as
a model began.”
Astha has proved that
‘It’sourchoicethatshows
who we truly are, far
more than our abilities.’
Apart from modelling,
this gorgeous beauty is
passionate about acting,
dancing and has learnt
acting from Anupam
Kher’s Actor Prepares -
The School of Actors’
which gave wings for her
flight. While talking
about her achievements,
she said, “I came across
Elite Miss Rajasthan the
last year but was over-
weight so decided to par-
ticipatethisyearwithfull
preparation. I worked
hard on myself and
lost 17 kgs to be a part
of the Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan family, I am
extremely grateful
to Gaurav Gaur for
his constant sup-
port and guidance,
its like a dream
come true. After 20
years I see myself
as an established
actress in the
film industry
.”
Astha has also
worked in Dil
Bechara and
Pyaar Tune
Kya Kiya.
JAIPUR, MONDAY,
MARCH 21, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
L
ASTHA KHANDELWAL,
WHO HAILS FROM
JAIPUR, RECENTLY
WON THE ELITE MISS
RAJASTHAN 2022
BEAUTY PAGEANT
AND IS SOARING
HEIGHTS WITH EACH
PASSING DAY.
RECENTLY THE
BEAUTY WAS SHOT
BY THE WORLD
FAMOUS FASHION
PHOTOGRAPHER
DABOO RATNANI.
CITY FIRST SHARES
HER JOURNEY!
BEAUTY
@ ITS BEST
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
—PHOTOS BY
MUKESH KIRADOO
Astha Khandelwal

10-11
ETC
Un soir de glamour
et de beauté
City First brings to you some
more glimpses of the First
India Queen of Cosmos
held at Oaks Ibn Batutta
Gate Hotel, Dubai on
March 10, where not
only stunning beauties
from all across the globe
were crowned but a lux-
ury lifestyle award cer-
emony was also held.
Jagdeesh Chandra
conferred the awards
to various people
from different sectors
and congratulat-
ed them on the
occasion. Bol-
lywood Star
Daisy Shah
graced the
occasion as
a special
guest!
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Rishee Miglani, Rupa Khurana, Akansha Bakshi, Third runner-up Sanskriti Negi from India, CEO and Director Bikaji Foods International Ltd Deepak Agarwal, First runner-up Vanessa Amorim from Brazil,
Winner of the First India Queen of Cosmos Elisabeth from Ukraine, Daisy Shah, Rizwan Sajan,Yaqoob Al Ali, Lokesh Sharma, Second runner-up Akan William from South Sudan and Anita Hada
Jagdeesh Chandra with Rajiv, Nupur Kapoor and their kids. Also seen is Yaqoob Al Ali
Jagdeesh Chandra presents a memento of welcome to Rizwan
Sajan, founder and chairman of the Danube Group in Dubai.
Also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani
Hollywood singer Persiana Dulo gives
a spectacular performance
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Priyatam Sogani (Sogani Jewellers)
for Best Jewellery Brand. Also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani Jagdeesh Chandra with Simran Kashyap and Yaqoob Al Ali
Khushi Ajwani
Jay and Sadiya Deepak Agarwal, Anita Hada and Nikhil Anand Kris, Mr Dubai 2022 Yasser and Meg Mayur, Sharmine Khan, Aakansha and Aadharika
Jagdeesh Chandra confers the Lifetstyle Award to Akansha Bakshi for the
Best Luxury Blogger, also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani Kulsum Malik, Anjana Miglani, Usha Punia and Meera Kataria
Mukund, Madhav and Divyansh
(L-R) Aarna Vishwakarma, Iman Harti,
Daisy Shah and Akansha Bakshi
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

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