First india ahmedabad edition-05 february 2021

NEW FACES IN BJP’S RMC ELECTIONS
LIST HAILED BY POLITICAL EXPERTS
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: In a historic
decision, only 12 incum-
bent corporators have
been granted tickets to
contest upcoming local
body polls by the
Bharatiya Janta Party
(BJP), which an-
nounced its final list of
candidates for the 72
seats of Rajkot Munici-
pal Corporation (RMC)
on Thursday
.
With a majority of
the nominated candi-
dates under the age of
50 years, the party has
tried to project an im-
age that is supportive
of the youth leading the
charge. Notably, women
candidates will be con-
testing on 36 of the 72
seats in the fray
.
After the party de-
clared its decision not
to give tickets to those
above the age of 60
years, there was rela-
tive dissent among old
guards. On the other
hand, young members
had welcomed the move
on receiving the oppor-
tunity to serve in an of-
ficial capacity
.
Rajkot city BJP presi-
dent Kamlesh Mirani
told First India, “There
are five doctors, four en-
gineers, two professors
and four advocates. The
majority of candidates
are graduates and post-
graduates. Only 12 in-
cumbent councillors
have been granted an-
other term and seniors
have not been consid-
ered, including me.
When we came onto the
political scene 20 years
ago, we had replaced a
few seniors then. Now, it
is our turn to return the
favour and help guide
the new team.”
Turn to P6
Rajkot BJP prez Kamlesh Mirani addressing the media.—FILE PHOTO
The party has granted tickets
to 12 incumbent councillors
but majority of its candidates
are below the age of 50 years
‘STOPMONOLOGUE,
GETBACKTODIALOGUE’
Oppn gherao govt in Parliament
Large population still vulnerable
to covid: ICMR’s 3rd serosurvey
New Delhi: Despite
achieving a record re-
covery rate against
the novel coronavirus,
a large proportion of
Indian population still
remains vulnerable to
it, the third serosur-
vey conducted by the
Indian Council of
Medical Research
(ICMR) has revealed.
Sharing the find-
ings of the survey at a
press conference, the
Union Health Minis-
try said the third na-
tional serosurvey has
found that 21.5 per
cent of population,
surveyed from Decem-
ber 17 to January 8,
showed evidence of
past exposure to the
coronavirus. A large
population still re-
mains vulnerable and
vaccination is neces-
sary, the ministry
said. The urban slums
have reported the
highest seropreva-
lence with 31.7 per
cent, the ministry
said. The urban slums
had reported the high-
est seroprevalence in
the last serosurvey as
well, with population
density coupled with
high mobility, and
challenges in safe dis-
tancing and hand hy-
giene being the key
driver of spread of
infection.
Shah holds meet
with NSA Doval,
Intelligence chief
New Delhi: Opposition
parties on Thursday as-
sailed the government
over its handling of the
farmer protests against
the three contentious
farm laws, saying BJP
ministers believe in
monologue and trench-
es have been dug,
barbed wires put up and
spikes installed when
bridges should have
been built to win over
farmers.
Sanjay Singh, who
was among three AAP
leaders marshalled out
of Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday over unruly
behaviour, on Thursday
hit out at the central
government saying
farmers are being lathi-
charged, called traitors,
terrorists and Khal-
istanis.
“Talks happened 11
times, all failed. Gov-
ernment claims to be a
call away, but doesn’t
bother,” he said in the
Rajya Sabha. Stating
that about 165 farmers
have lost their lives in
the past 76 days, Singh
appealed to the Modi
government to “have
mercy and repeal the
three black laws”.
Opening the second
day of discussion on a
motion thanking the
President for his ad-
dress to the joint sitting
of Parliament at the
start of the Budget Ses-
sion, Manoj Kumar Jha
of the RJD said the gov-
ernment has lost the
patience to hear and
any criticism is painted
as anti-national.
“With folded hands, I
request you to please
understand the pain of
farmers. Turn to P6
New Delhi: Home Min-
ister Amit Shah on
Thursday convened a
meeting in Parliament
House regarding the
proposed call for a na-
tionwide ‘chakka jam’
on February 6 (Satur-
day). Present at the
meeting were NSA Ajit
Doval, the Director of
the Intelligence Bureau
Arvind Kumar and Del-
hi Police Commissioner
SN Shrivastava, among
other officials of the
Home Ministry
.
Farmer unions on
Monday (February 1)
had announced a coun-
trywide ‘chakka jam’ on
February 6 (Saturday)
when they would block
national and state high-
ways for three hours for
the repeal of three farm
laws, Bhartiya Kisan
Morcha (R) president,
Balbir Singh Rajewal
said on Monday
.
“We will block both
state highways and na-
tional highways for
three hours from 12
noon to 3 pm on Febru-
ary 6. We will protest for
our demand of complete
rollback of farm laws,
against the repressive
measures being taken
across Delhi, and
against anti-farmer and
pro-corporate budget,”
he said at a press confer-
enceorganisedbySamy-
ukt Kisan Morcha.
The Samkyukt
Kisan Morcha (SKM),
an umbrella body of
protesting unions, also
alleged that the Twit-
ter accounts of Kisan
Ekta Morcha and a
user named ‘Trac-
tor2Twitter’ have been
restricted.
MPs stopped from
reaching Ghazipur
New Delhi: A delega-
tion of 15 MPs from 10
Opposition parties, led
by Shiromani Akali Dal
MP Harsimrat Kaur
Badal, was on Thursday
stopped by the police
from reaching the Ghaz-
ipur border to meet the
farmers protesting
against the Centre’s
three new farm laws.
Security has been
tightened at the Ghaz-
ipur, Singhu, and Tikri
borders, where thou-
sands of farmers have
been camping since De-
cember, after the vio-
lence and vandalism on
January 26 during a
farmers’ Turn to P6
Still stand with farmers: Greta
after police files ‘toolkit’ case
New Delhi:Greta Thun-
berg’s controversial
tweet on a “toolkit” for
supporting the farmer
protests was cited in a
case filed on Thursday
by the Delhi Police that
includes charges of se-
dition, an overseas
“conspiracy” and an at-
tempt to “promote en-
mity between groups”.
The police said its case
is against the creators
of the toolkit and does
not name Greta Thun-
berg. The teen climate
campaigner, unfazed,
tweeted that she “still”
stood with farmers and
“no amount of threats”
would change that.
Greta Thunberg’s
tweets in support of the
protests near Delhi
against farm laws are
among Turn to P6
The high-level review meet focussed
on Feb 6 ‘Chakka Jam’ by farmers
AAP MP Sanjay Singh and RJD MP Manoj Jha during the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Home Minister Amit Shah
Greta Thunberg
NSA Ajit Doval at Parliament.
SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal along with other Opposition
MPs were stopped near Ghazipur border on Thursday.
Farmers’ stir
discussed in
team meeting,
says Virat Kohli
Chennai: Indian crick-
et captain Virat Kohli
on Thursday said that
the ongoing farmers’
protest against new ag-
riculture
laws has
come up for
discussion
in his team
m e e t i n g
where everyone has “ex-
pressed their views”.
Kohli, speaking on-
line to the media ahead
of the first test against
England in Chennai,
did not share the details
of the “brief” conversa-
tion on the matter.
“Any issue which is
present in the country,
we do talk about it and
everyone has expressed
what they had to say
about the issue. We
briefly spoke about it in
the team meeting
Turn to P6
New Delhi: India has asked for US help in inves-
tigating Sikhs for Justice - a Khalistani group.
The request has been sent to US Department of
Justice, foreign ministry said. Delhi Police has
registered a case, citing an “overseas” conspiracy
behind violence during Republic Day tractor rally.
Rampur: Congress
leader Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on
Thursday
said that
the gov-
ernment
has failed
to identify the agitation
against the three farm
laws as a real struggle
and does not recog-
nise the plight of the
protesting farmers.
New Delhi: ”We have
to pledge that the unity
of the
country is
our prior-
ity and its
respect
above
everything. ,” Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
said at the inauguration
of the centenary cel-
ebrations of the Chauri
Chaura incident.
INVESTIGATE SIKHS FOR JUSTICE:
INDIA URGES UNITED STATES
‘STOP VIEWING
PROTESTS AS
POL CONSPIRACY’
UNITY OF NATION
OUR PRIMARY
PRIORITY: PM
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 71
NEXT REPUBLIC DAY PARADE WILL BE
ON CENTRAL VISTA AVENUE AND IT WILL
BE A ‘SYMBOL OF MODERN INDIA’: PURI
THERE IS JUST TALK, THERE IS NO
UNDERSTANDING, NO STRATEGY AND NO
LEADERSHIP IN COUNTRY: RAHUL
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
AAP MP Sanjay Singh
and RJD MP Manoj Jha
spearheaded attack as
Opposition tore into
government’s stand
towards farmers’ protest

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Election Commission
India (ECI) on Thurs-
day announced the
dates for two seats of
the Rajya Sabha that
were vacated by sitting
upper house members
Congress leader Ahmed
Patel and Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) MP
Abhay Bhardwaj, who
passed away last year.
The polls will be a
loss for the Congress
party since it can only
elect one candidate to
the Rajya Sabha.
As per the an-
nouncement by the
ECI, it will issue the
notification for two
seats on February 11.
The last date for filing
of nominations has
been slated for Febru-
ary 18 and withdraw-
al date is February 22.
Voting will take place
on March 01 from 9
am to 4 pm. The count-
ing of votes will be
conducted on the
same day after 5 pm.
The declaration is
indicative of good
news for the BJP
, as
both of its candidates
will be elected to the
Rajya Sabha, thereby
increasing its tally in
the Rajya Sabha. The
state has 11 members
in the Rajya Sabha
presently, with seven
members belonging to
the BJP
, two from the
Congress and two va-
cant seats.
As for the Gujarat
state assembly, the
BJP commands a
strength of 111 MLAs,
whereas Congress has
65 MLAs. As per
sources, if polls of
both seats had been
held together, the op-
position party may
have had a chance,
but since the polls
will be conducted sep-
arately, there is little
hope for the party
bagging more than
one seat.
First India Bureau
Surat: The residents of
Durgapur Society in
Rander area of the city
have banned politicians
from entering the resi-
dential housing area to
campaign for the up-
coming municipal cor-
poration elections. A
banner has been put up
in the society demand-
ing that all candidates
contesting polls keep
out.
According to sourc-
es, the residents of
the society have ex-
pressed their disin-
terest in receiving
potential office-bear-
ers because none of
them visited the area
when it was filled
with overflowing
drainage water and
did not have proper
facility of storm
drains to tackle it.
“We have com-
plained to the civic
body several times,
but no councillor
has ever visited or
got any work done
for our society. Peo-
ple have been forced
to live in miserable
conditions. And,
that is the reason
we have banned
them from entering
the housing society.
They only appear
when they need our
votes,” lamented a
local.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021
02
BJP DECLARES CANDIDATE LIST FOR
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION POLLS
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) on Thursday
evening declared a list
of candidates for the
upcoming local body
election of six munici-
pal corporations of
Ahmedabad, Vadodara,
Rajkot, Surat, Jamna-
gar and Bhavnagar.
While senior party lead-
ers faced criticism in a
few centres, members
expecting to contest
polls this year promptly
resigned from the party
on not finding their
names in the list.
Former district
panchayat member of
Bharuch Vijay Patel
resigned from the
party. In Ahmedabad,
the party has chosen
to grant tickets to
more than a dozen in-
cumbent councilors.
Moreover, tickets
have been given to
relatives of current
postholders as well
despite BJP state unit
president CR Patil’s
contention that the
party would not do so
this time.
Jasu Thakor, the
nephew of former
Ahmedabad mayor
Kanaji Thakor, who is
on the BJP’s parliamen-
tary board, has been
named in the candidate
list as a nominee from
the Shahibaug ward.
Similarly, the daughter
of former deputy may-
or Kalpana Bhatt’s
daughter Vaishali Joshi
has also received a tick-
et from the Naroda
ward.
The list also in-
cludes the niece of
former state cabinet
minister Fakir
Waghela from Kuber-
nagar ward and the
son of former coun-
cillor Atul Patel, who
defected from Con-
gress.
In Jamnagar, 64
names were declared
for 16 wards of the Jam-
nagar Municipal Cor-
poration (JMC). It in-
cluded the names of 18
councillors who will
receive the opportunity
to serve another term,
if they win. Meanwhile,
allegations of nepotism
by the party have been
flying around after tick-
ets were granted to 10
candidates related to
party postholders.
In Surat, numerous
contenders fought to re-
ceive a BJP ticket for
the Surat Municipal
Corporation (SMC)
polls. The party an-
nounced 119 names, in-
stead of the expected
120 names, for 30 wards.
Nirav Shah, a three-
time councillor of ward
11, was protested
against by the Jain
community and activ-
ists even before he was
given a ticket for a pos-
sible fourth term. In all,
the party has fielded
new candidates in 14
out of the total 30 wards
of the local civic body
.
Going back on its word, the
party has granted tickets to
relatives of office-bearers;
several members have resigned
after not getting tickets
Senior leaders at the BJP parliamentary board meeting —FILE PHOTO
Party observers taking stock of situation in Bhavnagar. —FILE PHOTO
Surti residential society
prohibits entry of politicians
They have put up a banner decreeing the ban and also expressed
their indifference to the campaigns for upcoming civic body polls
Delhi DyCM Manish
Sisodia to helm roadshow
in A’bad on February 6
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With
only a couple of weeks
left for the local body
elections, political
campaigns of various
parties have started
gaining momentum
in the state. To formal-
ly promote its entry
into Gujarat politics,
the Aam Admi Party
(AAP) will be organ-
izing a roadshow that
will feature Delhi
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter (DyCM) Manish
Sisodia, in
Ahmedabad on Febru-
ary 06.
Sisodia’s roadshow
will mark the begin-
ning of AAP’s elec-
tion campaign. A song
has also been
launched on social
media platforms by
the party ahead of the
roadshow. While the
party released its list
of candidates phase-
wise over the last
month, it named the
remaining nomina-
tions for urban bodies
on Thursday
.
The first list of can-
didates was an-
nounced in
Ahmedabad by Delhi
MLA Atishi Marlena,
when she visited the
state last month. A
total of 504 candi-
dates from Surat, De-
diapada, Narmada,
Morbi, Jamnagar, Pa-
tan, Rajkot city, Ra-
jkot district were de-
clared at the time. Of
the total number of
candidates, 31% were
women.
Furthermore, the
party has also re-
leased an e-mail ID
that will enable voters
to access information
about the candidates,
around the time it de-
clared its list of candi-
dates for the local
body elections.
ECI announces Rajya Sabha elections of two vacant seats
THE SCHEDULE
lll
Voting will be
held on March
01; last day for
filing
nominations
and withdrawal
have been
slated for Feb
18 and 22
respectively
Veteran Congress leader Late Ahmed Patel
The banner at Durgapur Society in Rander area of Surat
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Late
Abhay Bhardwaj
Manish Sisodia

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: After a
hiatus of nearly 10
months due to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
the state government
has decided to reopen
colleges for first year
students from Febru-
ary 08. The state edu-
cation department
has directed all col-
leges to strictly ad-
here to all COVID-19
guidelines. The de-
partment also decid-
ed to limit the num-
ber of students in
hostels per room to
two, an official notifi-
cation said.
Principal Secretary
(Higher Education)
Anju Sharma said
that in view of the de-
creasing number of
nCoV cases in the
state, the department
has decided to resume
the academic session
on campuses. The de-
cision to reopen col-
leges for the second,
third year students
will be taken after an
official review.
The department also
said that thermal scan-
ning will be conducted
for hostel students,
while hostel manage-
ment will have to en-
sure that proper food
facilities are in place
for students, at the ear-
liest. In addition, stu-
dents have been advised
to avoid gathering out-
side their hostel build-
ings, gardens or public
places near their hos-
tels.
All hostel cooks
will have to undergo
a health check-up on
a daily basis and fol-
low the Standard Op-
erating Procedure
(SOP). All vegetables
must be washed prop-
erly before cooking,
the department add-
ed.
GUJARAT
03
S’kantha police bust gang of 4
bike thieves,recover 52 vehicles
275 nCoV cases reported,
33.6K get vaccine onThursday
Bhavesh Barot
Himmatnagar: Sabar-
kantha police on Thurs-
day arrested four mem-
bers of an interstate
gang of motorcycle
thieves. According to
the police, the gang was
allegedly involved in
the sale of stolen bikes
after forging their reg-
istration numbers. Po-
lice have recovered as
many as 52 such vehi-
cles from the accused
persons that include the
kingpin of the Baz
gang, Shakil Rafik Shai-
kh of Kotda Chhavni in
Rajasthan.
According to Sabar-
kantha police inspector
MD Champavat, the
gang stole over 50 two-
wheelers from nearby
areas and changed their
number plates and also
forging their docu-
ments. After receiving
the input of the local
crime branch sleuths,
Sabarkantha police in-
tercepted two motorcy-
cles near Sai Temple in
Vaktapur village and
arrested one suspect.
The police first ar-
rested Shaikh, and then
his accomplices namely
Naresh Nathubhai
Meghval, Gomaram
Paniyaram Bumbadiya
and Ramesh Batiya Na-
gotar, all residents of
Udaipur district.
Police officials said
that the gang allegedly
targeted bikes and oth-
er two-wheelers that
were left unattended by
owners. After stealing
the vehicles, the gang
members would erase
the chassis numbers
and number plates and
sell them to prospective
buyers at throwaway
prices, said the official
investigating the case.
Five months ago,
Khedbrahma Police in
the district had also
busted a gang involved
in stealing motorcycles
and recovered 20 bikes.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A
steady decline has
been witnessed in the
daily numbers of
COVID-19 cases in the
state lately
. Under the
vaccination drive that
commenced on Janu-
ary 16, on Thursday, a
total of 33,642 people
wereadministeredthe
shot at 1,268 centres
across the state.
The state has
claimed that not a sin-
gle person has been
found suffering from
serious side-effects
due to the COVID-19
vaccine. So far, over
4.53 lakh people have
received the first dose
of the inoculation.
On Thursday, one
person succumbed to
the virus in the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) jurisdiction.
The nCoV death toll in
the state currently
stands at 4,392.
With 275 new cases
of the novel coronavi-
rus infection, the tally
rose to 2,62,681. At
least 430 patients were
also discharged from
hospitals across the
state on the day
. So far,
2,55,489 patients have
recovered from the in-
fection in the state.
Vadodara Munici-
pal Corporation
(VMC) reported the
highest number of
cases at 69, followed by
AMC (47), Surat Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(43), Rajkot Municipal
Corporation (18) and
Vadodara district (11)
in the past 24 hours.
Currently
, there are
2,800 active cases in
Gujarat, of which, 27
patients are on venti-
lator support. Notably
,
the state has not dis-
closed the total figure
of samples taken for
testing for more than
two weeks now.
A complaint for beating up a man was registered by senior officials only after protests by local villagers
First India Bureau
Chhota Udepur: The
intentions of Pavi Jet-
pur police officials
were called into ques-
tion after they regis-
tered an attempt to
murder case against
their own staff mem-
ber without naming
him in the First Infor-
mation Report (FIR)
on Wednesday. Ac-
cording to reports, a
police officer had
beaten up a local fol-
lowing which villag-
ers convened at the
police station to pro-
test and demand that
they lodge a com-
plaint.
In the FIR filed after
day-long protests and
after intervention by
senior police officers,
the accused have been
cited as Saheb Jetpur
Pavi, Kamlesh Police
and Surpand GRD
(Gram Rakshak Dal).
According to the
complaint filed by a
Lilesh Rathva, on Feb-
ruary 01, he and
Rajesh Rathva were in
possession of liquor
and travelling on a
bike. When they were
about to reach Ghen-
tiya village, a jeep ap-
proached them from
the opposite side of
the road and tried to
run them over. When
Rajesh, who was driv-
ing, pulled over on the
wrong side to escape,
one of the police offic-
ers sitting in the front
seat of the jeep, hit
Rajesh on the head
with a stick. Rajesh
lost control over the
bike and both of them
fell on the road.
Not wanting to get
caught, Lilesh ran into
bushes and saw that the
police officials were
beating Rajesh with
sticks, who sustained
injuries on his head and
right hand. The police
officials then called
emergency services and
took the victim to a hos-
pital. Rajesh has been
undergoing treatment
at the SSG Hospital in
Vadodara.
Despite the fact that
the incident occurred
on Monday, the police
had not registered a
complaint against the
accused police officers
until Wednesday
. There-
fore, women from the
Khedvaniya village
staged a protest at the
Pavi Jetpur police sta-
tion on Wednesday
, com-
pelling senior police of-
ficers to intervene and
lodge a complaint.
FIR against PSI for attempt
to murder in Pavi Jetpur
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A two-
day meeting of stake-
holders for the west-
ern region consulta-
tion to discuss ways
to promote the Right
to Information Act
(RTI) commenced on
Thursday.
On the first day of the
meet,MadhyaPradesh’s
Information Commis-
sioner Rahul Singh dis-
cussed how his depart-
ment has been using
technology and making
information accessible
just a click away. Ac-
cording to reports,
Singh has revolution-
ized RTI hearings by
using social media
platforms to pass judg-
ments. He said that in-
formation can now be
attained within 24
hours through techno-
logical advancements.
“One order could
change life and soci-
ety
. There is a need to
promote the Act.
There are many
things that I have
been sharing online
and most of the audi-
ence comprise young-
sters. We are asking
people to use the
Act,” asserted the
officer.
Activist Aruna
Roy said that the re-
cent dilution of the
Right to Information
needs to be fixed. “No
officer can deny infor-
mation and nor ask for
the purpose of the in-
formation sought by a
citizen. If the officer
feels that the applicant
is harassing a person,
then there are several
IPCs, but they cannot
deny them information.
The paperless system
approach will help en-
sure transparency and
accountability,” she
said.
Regarding the
blacklisting of four
individuals in Guja-
rat for filing RTI, Roy
said that there is a
need for a public
hearing in the case.
It should be noted
that, earlier in Janu-
ary, Chief Informa-
tion Commissioner
DP Thaker, had di-
rected public infor-
mation officers of
three authorities of
the health depart-
ment in Bhavnagar
district not to accept
any RTI applications
or appeals or to re-
spond to such a re-
quest, from three per-
sons of the same fam-
ily for five years.
They have been iden-
tified as Chintan
Makwana, his wife
Dilahariben, and his
mother Bharatiben.
Info commissioners, activists gather virtually to promote RTI Act
ACCESS TO RELEVANT DATA
One of the
topics covered
at the two-
day meet was
attainment of
information
within 24
hours
through vari-
ous tech ad-
vancements
The accused and the bikes seized from them by police officials.
People awaiting their turn to get tested for COVID-19 at a centre in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
A senior police officer trying to persuade protestors to stand down with the promise to lodge complaint
against police officer of Pavi Jetpur police station —FILE PHOTO
COLLEGES TO REOPEN FOR 1st YR STUDENTS FROM FEB 8
A paperless approach may help ensure transparency and accountability.
NO JUSTICE?
THE AFTERMATH
Due to the prevalence of the bird flu, a total of 190 pigeons
have died in Ahmedabad, said District forest officer Suketu
Upadhyay, who accompanied a team of health workers from
the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) that collected
dead pigeons in Narol area of the city on Thursday. The
workers also sprayed disinfectant in residential societies and
common roads. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI

Vol 2 Issue No. 71 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
There isn’t enough darkness
in all the world to snuff out
the light of one little candle.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
TOOLKIT PLOT
AGAINST INDIA
CAUSES UPROAR
here’s an ugly spat going on in
the cyberspace with two western
celebrities --- pop star Rihanna
and environment activist Greta
Thunberg (whom Kangana
Ranaut called a rat) — pitted against the
Government of India and Indian idols like
Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar, and the
Queen of nationalism in India, the vitriol-
spewing Kangana Ranaut, who is ready to
cross swords with the high and mighty dar-
ing to criticise the Narendra Modi govern-
ment. Any Indian defending the farmers’
protest is an enemy of the country, a traitor,
a Khalistani, or a Pakistani agent. Kangana
has been bombarding actor Diljit Dosanjh
with tweets asking him to denounce farmers
and say that he is not a Khalistani. She called
cricketer Rohit Sharma “a dhobi ka kutta”
for not calling farmers terrorists. After a
surfeit of such hate-spreading tweets, Twit-
ter decided to act. It deleted three of Kan-
gana’s tweets in two hours as they violated
the platform’s hate speech rules. Her ac-
count was earlier suspended briefly after
she called for the beheading of producers of
a TV show which, she said had hurt the Hin-
du sentiments.
Rihanna’s tweet defending the farmers’
agitation triggered a deluge of tweets
against her. The Central government joined
the issue with her by defending the farm
laws and asking external forces to stay off.
However, it is Greta Thunberg’s tweet and
the Twitter toolkit she used which have
pushed the climate activist in the eye of the
storm. The Delhi Police have registered a
case against the creators of a toolkit, used
“accidentally” by the Swedish activist, for
promoting enmity between groups” and for
being part of a greater conspiracy. The
toolkit first posted by Greta called for sup-
port for the violent Republic Day protests by
farmers. She deleted the tweet after an up-
roar and uploaded an updated toolkit. This
updated version spoke of seven ways of sup-
porting the farmers’ agitation and called for
protests outside Indian embassies. After the
Delhi Police case, Greta only renewed her
support for the peaceful protests. Whether
the Delhi Police will go to some foreign coun-
try to unravel the plot behind the toolkit,
which essentially mobilises support for the
agitation, or seek Interpol’s help remains to
be seen. India’s counter-hashtag campaigns
and police cases won’t help the country’s im-
age globally.
In this age of Facebook, Twitter, Telegraph,
and Instagram the only way to block all com-
munications is to develop some social media
platforms of our own. That will take some
years. In the meantime, the government
thought of blocking internet services in pro-
test sites. The action may have left farmers
cut off from the world, but it also inconven-
ienced the common man.
As farmers have moved too far away from
ending the agitation and the government ob-
stinately resolute, the crisis created by new
farm laws has reached unmanageable levels.
IN-DEPTH
T
iscerning eyes
have known for
quite a while
that the Arab
world is more
than it appears in conven-
tional photography. The
old visual language of min-
arets and souks, of unas-
suming eyes set deep in
dark faces, of conceptual
or actual “unveilings” and
of non-consensual or am-
bivalent colonial portrai-
ture is one of yesterday
.
Though this may have
seeped backward, another
dynamic of documentary
photography came for-
ward, one defined by the
symbiotic relationship be-
tween news cycles and pho-
tographers in the region.
Whatever media outlets
needed, photographers
were shooting. From this
political economy of pho-
tography arose the decades
of image production that
defined a new visual short-
hand for the Arab world:
namely, the necessary but
relentless Rolodex of photo
stories focused on war, con-
flict and revolution.
In recent years, however,
remarkable bodies of work
have been coming out of a
new generation of young
Arab photographers, due
in part to the support of
institutions like the Bei-
rut-based Arab Fund for
Arts and Culture (AFAC).
Its Arab Documentary
Photography Program,
which has been training
and funding emerging
Arab photographers since
2014, has helped produce
an impeccable collection
of photo essays.
Launched in 2014 in
partnership with Magnum
Foundation and the Prince
Claus Fund, the program
provides financial support
as well as group and one-
on-one mentoring from
Arab and American pho-
tographers and Magnum
fellows Randa Shaath, Eric
Gottesman, Tanya Hab-
jouqa and Peter van Agt-
mael. After the conclusion
of each round, photogra-
phers also have opportuni-
ties to exhibit across the
Arab region as well as in
Europe and the US.
More than intentionally
shifting who holds the cam-
era and has the kind of ac-
cess and training to shoot
these projects, the genera-
tion of photographers that
AFAC is helping foster is
also opening up entirely
new places and perspec-
tives for visual storytelling.
In addition to their sup-
port of emerging Arab
photographers, AFAC has
funded over 1,500 projects
across the region since
2007. Its support extends to
institutions and individu-
als in the fields of the per-
forming arts, visual arts,
writing, cinema, music,
events and research.
In the past decade, since
the Arab uprisings of 2011,
AFAC has also emerged as
a lifeline for creative com-
munities in times of crisis.
In 2012-13, the AFAC Ex-
press program gave sup-
port to artists living in af-
fected countries who want-
ed to fast-track projects
under restrictive condi-
tions. In 2014, AFAC’s film
program Crossroads ena-
bled filmmakers to create
what they wanted, as op-
posed to the generally one-
note projects that film fes-
tivals and production
houses wanted to market
about the region.
Though AFAC’s work is
markedly different from
the kind of humanitarian
aid that institutions
rushed into, the organiza-
tion decided to reopen the
Solidarity Fund for indi-
viduals. To date, 210 artists
who had lost homes, studi-
os or workspaces to the ex-
plosion have been directly
supported by the fund.
“It was a strategic deci-
sion. We work to support
art that is critical, that is
provocative, that asks ques-
tions, that opens dialogue.
And this work can’t be done
if artists and writers and
researchers weren’t able to
survive circumstances like
2020’s.”
SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER
The new generation of Arab photographers
D
Top
TWEET
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Powering Make in India
Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives,
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in
West Bengal produces its 300th
locomotive of Financial Year 2020-21.
Despite COVID, this feat has been
achieved in just 215 working days, as
compared to 292 days in 2017-18.
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Out of 1000 cranes tagged in
Russia for research purposes,
one Demoiselle crane managed to
fly down to a village in Rajasthan
where she was spotted recently.
Interesting to note that she has
travelled over 4300kms, the longest
distance covered by the tagged
migratory birds so far
represent the generation
called “Baby Boomer” which
saw the computers when
they were past 40 - 50 years
of age. Yet, many of us re-
mained the link between
digital illiteracy and the
tech-savvy Generations X, Y,
and now Z in India. The dif-
ferences between genera-
tions and the way they inter-
act with media is important
for all to understand. The
social media behavior of my
generation is obviously go-
ing to be vastly different
from those of successive
generations. Never the less,
we can learn from the
younger generation rekin-
dle with them if we reignite
a newfound sense of curios-
ity amazement as we open
our minds to the vast digi-
tal/online world.
As a matter of fact, in today’s
world, the purpose of social me-
dia (SM) is primarily to build a
brandandincreaseitsvisibility
,
may it be a product, service, or
personality
. With social media
becoming more popular, the
more a brand is covered across
social media the more is the re-
call value and acceptability
.
If I may emphasize, the
main characteristic of social
media is its diverse content,
copiously generated by both
standard outlets and general
users, constantly competing
for the scarce attention of
large audiences. Out of this
flood of information some
topics manage to get enough
attention to become the most
popular ones and thus to be
prominently displayed as
trends. Equally important,
some of these trends persist
long enough so as to shape
desired social agenda or the
opinion of the masses.
In 21st century, the internet
and SM provide young people
with a range of benefits, and
opportunities to empower
themselves in a variety of
ways. They can maintain social
connections and support net-
works that otherwise wouldn’t
be possible, and can access
more information than ever be-
fore. The communities and so-
cial interactions young people
form online can be invaluable
for bolstering and developing
young people’s self-confidence
and social skills of debating
and discussion in a local, na-
tional or international context.
However, the paradox of
SM is a double-edged weap-
on. While the past decade
has witnessed an explosive
growth of media, in the
form of news, videos and
stories leading to a flux of
inputs from which it is hard
for users to sort out the rel-
evant pieces to concentrate
on. Thus, the end-user often
is confused in understand-
ing the problems of culture,
decision making and opin-
ion formation and this is
where the SM influences and
makes its audiences believe
in what it throws at them.
On one hand, these plat-
forms are highly beneficial en-
vironment for word-of-mouth
(WOM) propagation of new
ideas and products making
them a focus of marketing com-
munications. On the other
hand, companies and their
brands as well as politicians,
governmental institutions, and
celebrities have increasingly
been facing the impact of nega-
tive online comments and com-
plaint behavior. In reaction to
any questionable statement or
activity, social media users can
create huge waves of public
opinion within just a few
hours. These so-called online
firestorms pose new challenges
for marketing communications
and social causes alike.
All in all, SM mirrors the
current trends and often in-
dicates the perceptual reali-
ties which leaves a lot of
room for varied interpreta-
tions leading to social dia-
logues. It facilitates the in-
teractive web by engaging
users to participate in, com-
ment on and create content
as means of communicating
with other users, where citi-
zens are able to talk about
the issues of day-to-day life
and also about issues of
global importance.
In current times, the availa-
bility of different types of Plat-
forms for chats, blogs, and vid-
eos are not just innovations in
the internet world, but are fast
emerging as influencers and
opinioncreatorsworldoverasit
was evident in the presidential
elections of USA and the last
two general elections in India.
Therefore, if our world
and the people around us are
immersed neck-deep into
technology and digitization,
its ripe time for yester gen-
erations to get hands-on op-
erating knowledge of this
magnificent technology and
remain connected not only
with our next generations
but also with the environ-
ment. With the advent of
ever-changing technology,
some gaps in information
and knowledge will neces-
sarily surface. Needless to
say, that in Indian social
panorama, cautious surveil-
lance is desired as the dis-
cretion level of the larger
masses remains questiona-
ble due to comparative lit-
eracy levels. But having said
that the prevalence of social
media is a necessary evil
that needs harnessing for
optimum utilization.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SOCIAL MEDIA!
A PARADOX
I
In the 21st century,
the internet and
SM provide young
people with a
range of benefits,
and opportunities
to empower
themselves in a
variety of ways.
They can
maintain social
connections and
support networks
that otherwise
wouldn’t be
possible, and can
access more
information than
ever before. The
communities and
social interactions
young people form
online can be
invaluable for
bolstering and
developing young
people’s self-
confidence and
social skills of
debating and
discussion in a
local, national or
international
context
IN CURRENT TIMES, THE
AVAILABILITY OF
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PLATFORMS FOR CHATS,
BLOGS, AND VIDEOS ARE
NOT JUST INNOVATIONS
IN THE INTERNET WORLD,
BUT ARE FAST EMERGING
AS INFLUENCERS AND
OPINION CREATORS
WORLD OVER AS IT WAS
EVIDENT IN THE
PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS OF USA AND
THE LAST TWO GENERAL
ELECTIONS IN INDIA
RETD. COL
ANUPAM JAITLY
Defence expert, Motivational
speaker Corporate Trainer

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INDIA
05
7,139 INDIAN PRISONERS LODGED
IN FOREIGN PRISONS: MEA
New Delhi: A total of
7,139 Indian prisoners,
including undertrials,
are lodged in various
jails around the world,
the Ministry of External
Affairs said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia has the
highest number of 1,599
Indian prisoners, followed
by the United Arab Emir-
ates with 898 and Nepal
having 886 inmates,
according to information
provided by Minister of
State for External Affairs
V Muraleedharan in
Rajya Sabha. “As per the
information available with
the ministry, the number
of Indian prisoners in for-
eign jails as on December
31, 2020, is 7,139, which
also includes undertri-
als,” he said responding
to a question.
IAF TO GET 1ST LAC TEJAS BY
MARCH 2024: HAL CHAIRMAN
New Delhi: Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited
Chairman and Manag-
ing Director R Madha-
van gave information
of delivering 83 LCA
Tejas to Indian Air
force. He said that
the 83 LAC Tejas
will be delivered to
IAF according to the
contract. “We will be
doing by March 2024
the first delivery, the
first year the delivery
will be of probably 2
aircraft or something
which will be rammed
up to 16. The total
supply time post the
first delivery is 6
years,” he said.
CHINESE ACTIONS “SERIOUSLY
DISTURBED PEACE”: CENTRE
New Delhi: The Chi-
nese military’s attempts
to unilaterally alter the
status quo along the
Line of Actual Con-
trol (LAC) in eastern
Ladakh have seriously
disturbed peace and
tranquillity in the
region, the government
said in Rajya Sabha.
Minister of State for
External Affairs V
Muraleedharan said
the attempts have been
responded to “appro-
priately” by the Indian
armed forces and it has
been made clear to the
Chinese side that such
unilateral attempts are
“unacceptable”.
MAHARASHTRA FARM WIDOWS
SLAM KANGANA, BURN EFFIGY
Maharashtra: Widows
of farmers on Thursday
staged a noisy protest in
Yavatmal to slam Bolly-
wood actress Kangana
Ranaut for her “anti-farm-
ers remarks”, burnt her
effigy demanded an un-
conditional apology from
her. The protesters carry-
ing banners and placards
to proclaim ‘Yes, we are
farmers but not terrorists’,
referring to Kangana’s
recent statement to malign
the farmers protesting on
Delhi borders compare
them to terrorists also
burnt her pictures. The
protesters announced their
resolve to boycott all films
of Kangana till she did not
withdraw her remarks and
tender an unconditional
apology to farmers for her
“insulting statements”.
WILL IMPROVE EFFICIENCY OF
MARKETS: US ON FARM LAWS
Washington: Recognis-
ing that peaceful pro-
tests are a hallmark of a
thriving democracy
, the
US has said it welcomes
steps that would im-
prove the efficiency of
India’s markets and at-
tract greater private
sector investment.
The State Depart-
ment, responding to a
question on the ongoing
farmers’ protests in In-
dia, said on Wednesday
the US encourages that
any differences between
the parties be resolved
through dialogue.
Indicating that the
new Biden administra-
tion is supportive of the
Indian government’s
move to reform the ag-
ricultural sector that
attracts private invest-
ment and greater mar-
ket access to farmers, a
State Department
spokesperson said: “In
general, the United
States welcomes steps
that would improve the
efficiency of India’s
markets and attract
greater private sector
investment”.
“We recognise that
peaceful protests are a
hallmark of any thriv-
ing democracy and note
that the Indian Su-
preme Court has stated
the same,” the official
said. Meanwhile, sev-
eral American lawmak-
ers came out in support
of the farmers’ protests
in India. —PTI
High security at Delhi-Ghazipur border amid ongoing protest, in Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Previous governments
drafted Budget with eye
on vote bank: PM Modi
Gorakhpur: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday tar-
geted previous govern-
ments, saying they
drafted the Union Budg-
et with an eye on their
vote bank and made
budgets a medium of
announcements they
could not fulfil but now
the country has
changed its approach.
“From decades, the
meaning of budget in
our country was only
restricted to what an-
nouncements have been
made on whose name.
Budget was turned into
an account for the vote
bank,” he said after in-
augurating via video
conference the cente-
nary celebrations of the
historic Chauri Chaura
incident, a landmark
event in the country’s
fight for Independence.
“You all make an ac-
count of household ex-
penditure by keeping in
mind present needs and
future responsibilities.
But earlier govern-
ments made budgets a
medium of such an-
nouncements that they
could not fulfil. Now the
country has changed
such ‘soch’ (thought)
and approach,” the
prime minister said.
Modi also released a
postage stamp to mark
the beginning of the
centenary celebrations.
—ANI
KAPIL DEV: WISH
TIFF BETWEEN
FARMERS, GOVT
GETS RESOLVED
New Delhi: Amid
the ongoing standoff
between the farm-
ers and Centre over
newly-enacted three
farm laws, former
Indian skipper Kapil
Dev on Thursday
said, “I simply love
India, I wish the tiff
between Farmers and
Govt gets resolved
ASAP. Let the experts
take a call. One thing
for sure India is su-
preme,” Dev tweeted.
India and England
are set to lock horns
in a four-match Test
series. The first Test
will be played from
Friday, while the sec-
ond is slated to begin
on February 13. Dev
wished the Indian
side a “grand suc-
cess” in the series.
NAILS NOT REMOVED, JUST
“REPOSITIONED”, SAYS COPS
New Delhi: Nails fixed on the road at the farm-
ers’ protest site near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh
border are not being removed but only being
repositioned to not cause problems to the
public who may cross some spots, Delhi Police
said after videos of the nails being taken off the
road emerged. “Videos and photos are getting
circulated in which it’’s shown that nails are be-
ing taken off in Ghazipur. These are just being
repositioned. Position of arrangement at the
border remains the same,” the police said.
SOME FOREIGN ELEMENTS TRYING
DEFAME INDIA: JAVADEKAR
New Delhi: Amid the controversies over
‘Toolkit’ regarding ongoing farmers’ protest,
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar while
interacting with media persons said, “The
‘Toolkit’ matter is a serious one. It clearly shows
that some foreign elements are conspiring
to defame India.” “The ‘Toolkit’ matter is a
serious one. It clearly shows that some foreign
elements are conspiring to defame India.”
Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi. —ANI
GOVT FAILED COUNTRY AT MANY
LEVELS, SAYS DEREK O’BRIEN
New Delhi: TMC MP Derek O’Brien on Thursday said
that the government failed to uphold Parliament’s
sanctity because of its arrogance, adding that it has
“failed India at many levels”. On September 20, 2020,
seven MPs who stood for farmers were suspended. I
stand in solidarity with the farmers who lost their lives”
said TMC leader. Speaking on the Motion of Thanks
on President’s Address, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP
Sanjay Singh also slammed the government for its
reaction on the issue. —ANI
‘MSMEs ‘betrayed’ in
‘crony-centric’ budget’
New Delhi: Describ-
ing the Union Budget
as “crony-centric”,
Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi said the
micro, small, medi-
um enterprises (MS-
MEs) were given no
low interest loans or
GST relief which
meant that the em-
ployers of India’s
largest workforce
were “betrayed”.
The Congress had
slammed the budget,
saying it was a “let
down like never be-
fore”. The Opposition
party had claimed
that the budget will
unravel soon.
Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
presented the budget
for 2021-22 from a tab-
let, instead of a con-
ventional paper docu-
ment, the first paper-
less budget since In-
dependence. Hitting
out at the govern-
ment, Mr Gandhi on
Thursday tweeted,
“Modi’’s crony cen-
tric budget means
Struggling MSMEs
given no low interest
loans, no GST relief.
The employers of In-
dia’s largest work-
force betrayed.”
Another
arrest in SSR
death case
‘North states
to get brief
Monsoon’
43 FIRs lodged
linked with
R-Day violence:
Centre to HC
New Delhi: The Nar-
cotics Control Bureau
(NCB) has made anoth-
er arrest on Thursday.
The NCB official re-
vealed that they have
arrested a person
named Jagtap Singh
Anand who is connect-
ed to Karamjeet Singh.
Singh was arrested ear-
lier in connection to
peddling drugs. “Nar-
cotics Control Bureau
makes another arrest of
one Jagtap Singh Anand
in connection with drug
cases related to Sushant
Singh Rajput’s death. He
is associated with anoth-
er accused Karamjeet
Singh who was arrested
earlier,” NCB said.
New Delhi: A fresh
Western Disturbance
over Afghanistan
North Pakistan has
created an untimely
monsoon weekend in
parts of North, East-
ern Central India
over the weekend, IMD
predicted. The IMD
predicted light to mod-
erate rain or thunder
showers with isolated
thunderstorm, light-
ning and hail over
North Rajasthan, Har-
yana, Punjab, Chandi-
garh, Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh on Thursday
and Friday.
Several parts of the
national capital and ad-
joining areas woke up
to light rain showers on
Thursday morning.
Weather department
has predicted “general-
ly cloudy sky with light
rain and thunderstorm,
and hail at isolated plac-
es” in Delhi for the rest
of the day
. —Agencies
New Delhi: The Centre
on Thursday informed
the Delhi High Court
that it has taken sub-
stantial steps and 43
FIRshavebeenlodgedin
connection with the vio-
lence on Republic Day
.
Representing the
Centre, Solicitor Gen-
eral (SG) Tushar Mehta
told a Division Bench
of Chief Justices DN
Patel Jyoti Singh that
police have registered
43 FIRs in connection
with the Republic Day
violence and 13 of them
have been transferred
to Special Cell of Delhi
Police. He also apprised
the court about the al-
leged involvement of
Sikh For Justice (SFJ),
a banned organisation,
and said that the inves-
tigating agency has in-
voked provisions of Un-
lawful Activities (Pre-
vention) Act (UAPA).
‘Ready to supply weapon
systems to IOR countries’
PM Modi has given
special focus to
Kerala,says Nadda
Bengaluru: India is
ready to supply various
weapons systems, in-
cluding missiles and
electronic warfare sys-
tems, to countries in
the Indian Ocean Re-
gion (IOR), Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
said on Thursday
.
Rajnath said organis-
ing a conclave of coun-
tries in the IOR on the
margins of the interna-
tional event “Aero In-
dia-2021” shows the im-
portance India attaches
to the vision of common
growth stability, and
constructive engage-
ments with them. Our
efforts are to synergise
the resources and ef-
forts in the Indian
Ocean, including, de-
fence Industry indus-
trial cooperation
amongst participating
countries,” Singh said.
Manyof theIORcoun-
tries are becoming glob-
ally competitive and are
developing new technol-
ogies, including defence
shipyards for design and
shipbuilding, he said.
He said the Indian
aerospace and defence
industries present an
attractive and signifi-
cant opportunity for
foreign companies
across the supply chain
to take their coopera-
tion to newer levels.
“India is ready to sup-
ply various types of
Missile systems, Light
Combat Aircrafts/Heli-
copters, Multi-Purpose
Light Transport air-
craft, Warship and Pa-
trol Vessels, Artillery
Gun systems, Tanks,
Radars, Military Vehi-
cles, Electronic Warfare
Systems other weap-
ons systems to IOR
countries,” he said.
Thrissur: BJP Nation-
al President Jagat
Prakash Nadda on
Thursday said that spe-
cial attention and focus
have been given to Ker-
ala under the National
Democratic Alliance
(NDA) government led
by PM Narendra Modi.
While addressing a
public rally at Thrissur,
BJP Chief said that Rs
3,000 crore has been
spent on a 450 kilome-
tre-long natural gas
pipeline from Kerala’s
Kochi to Mangaluru.
“Under the NDA gov-
ernment led by PM
Modi, special attention
and focus have been
given to Kerala. Rs 3,000
crore have been spent
on a 450-km long natu-
ral gas pipeline from
Kochi to Mangaluru un-
der the ‘One Nation,
One Grid’ program,”
Nadda said. He further
said that Rs 16,000
crores have been spent
for Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd Inte-
grated Refinery Expan-
sion Complex in Kochi.
“In terms of infrastruc-
ture, I can assure that
Rs 12,000 crores will be
spent on six mega pro-
jects whose foundation
stones have been laid,”
the BJP chief said add-
ing that the six-laning
work of several high-
ways and high-level
bridge construction has
also been undertaken
under the leadership of
PM Modi. —ANI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses at the IOR Defence
Ministers’ Conclave during Aero India in Bengaluru on Thursday.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

New faces in...
KaushikMehta,editorof
Phulchhab, a vernacular
daily
, opined, “This is a
revolutionary and coura-
geous decision. It should
benefittheBJP
.Neverhas
such a decision of giving
the youth a chance been
taken before.” City news
editor and senior journal-
istSunilJoshistated,“The
party has tried to divert
attention and adopted a
face-saving strategy
againstlarge-scalecorrup-
tion. At the same time, it
has also given a message
that the party is supreme.
While the seniors are dis-
satisfied, party workers
are covertly happy to be
givenachance.”
Further, the caste cal-
culation has been kept
almostsimilartothepre-
vious election but there
is no Muslim candidate
in the fray this time.
Joshi added, “The BJP
has taken a calculated
risk to project a new im-
age to the voters and is
likely to succeed in the
absence of a strong op-
position.”
Meanwhile, Mirani
suspendedwardnumber
14presidentAnishJoshi
and ward number 17
worker Narendra
Rathod for misbehav-
iour while challenging
theparty’sdecisionwith
immediate effect. Both
Joshi and Rathod have
claimedthattheyshould
havebeengrantedatick-
et. “All party workers
nurse the desire and the
right to contest polls.
But when the party deci-
sion is declared, no
claims are tolerable and
are against party disci-
pline.Thatisthereason,
they (Joshi and Rathod)
were suspended,” as-
serted Mirani.
Stop monologue...
In harsh winter you
stoppedwatersupplyand
toilet facilities, dug
trenches, put barbed
wires, and installed
spikes,” he said. “Such
aggressive approach
wasn’t even heard of to-
wards the neighbouring
nations who came inside
(the Indian territory).”
To the response to a
tweet by pop star Rihan-
naonthefarmerprotest,
he said the democracy
will not be weakened by
a tweet but by the ap-
proach of the govern-
ment.
“Your backbone is the
farmer. 303 (seats won in
lastgeneralelections)did
not come from cold stor-
age or godowns but from
these very people,” Jha
said in a veiled reference
to cold storage chain and
godowns built by private
corporatessuchasAdani
Group. “We will support
you but every world
against you is not anti-
national. Patriotism is
not be worn on sleeves
but carried in heart,” he
said in his speech loaded
withpoetryandsarcasm.
Further pointing out
that 11 rounds of discus-
sion held by the govern-
ment have failed, he said
its ministers “believe in
monologue and not dia-
logue”.
Still stand...
many posts that have
drawn international at-
tention over the past two
days to the farmers’ agi-
tation that began late-
November. The Cyber
Cellof theDelhiPoliceis
investigating several
tweets but the subject of
the FIR refers to Greta
Thunberg’s tweet this
morning on a “toolkit”
guidingpeopleonhowto
supportthefarmers’pro-
tests. Ranjan said the
toolkit “exposes the con-
spiracy by an organized
overseas network” to in-
stigate the farmer pro-
tests.
Farmers’ stir...
and then we carried on
discussing the team’s
plans,” Kohli said when
askedabouttheagitation
that has been going on
for over two months.
ViratKohliwasamong
Indian celebrities who
joined the government-
backed pushback on so-
cialmediaonWednesday
after international pop
starRihannaandclimate
activist Greta Thunberg
highlighted the farmers’
protest and efforts by au-
thorities to stifle.
MPs stopped...
tractor rally
. Concertina
wires have been used to
cover vast stretches, and
at Tikri and Ghazipur,
police have also put met-
al spikes on the roads
leading to the protest
sites.
According to Badal,
the Opposition leaders
werenotallowedtocross
thebarricadesandreach
the protest site. “Saw
firsthandtheconditions
created at Ghazipur bor-
der. Shocked to see the
treatment being meted
out to the annadaata.
Farmers are barricaded
behind fortress-like con-
crete barriers and
barbed wire fencing.
Even ambulances and
fire brigades cannot en-
tertheprotestsite,”Bad-
al said in a tweet.
Supriya Sule from
NCP, Kanimozhi and
Tiruchi Siva from the
DMK, Saugata Roy
from the TMC were also
part of the delegation.
Members of the Nation-
al Conference, RSP and
the IUML were also
part of it.
FROM PG 1
INDIA
06
SANJIV RANJAN OJHA
EMPANELLED AS ADG IN GOI
Sanjiv Ranjan Ojha has been empanelled
for holding Additional Director General and
equivalent posts in Government of India. He is
a 1989 batch IPS officer of HP cadre.
NITIN AGARWAL EMPANELLED
AS ADG IN GOI
Nitin Agarwal has been empanelled for holding
Additional Director General and equivalent
posts in Government of India. He is a 1989
batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre.
NEERAJ SINHA EMPANELLED
AS ADG IN GOI
Neeraj Sinha has been empanelled for holding
batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.
YB KHURANIA EMPANELLED
AS ADG IN GOI
YB Khurania has been empanelled for holding
batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.
SUDHANSU SARANGI
EMPANELLED AS ADG IN GOI
Sudhansu Sarangi has been empanelled
a 1990 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.
SEEMA AGRAWAL EMPANELLED
AS ADG IN GOI
Seema Agrawal has been empanelled for
holding Additional Director General and
equivalent posts in Government of India. She is
a 1990 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.
SANDEEP SALUNKE EMPANELLED
AS ADG IN GOI
Sandeep Salunke has been empanelled for
a 1990 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
DILBAGH SINHA EMPANELLED FOR
ADG EQUIVALENT POSTS IN GOI
Dilbagh Sinha has been empanelled for holding
batch IPS officer of JK cadre.
SANJIV KUMAR SINGHAL
EMPANELLED FOR ADG
EQUIVALENT POSTS IN GOI
Sanjiv Kumar Singhal has been empanelled
a 1988 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.
RASHMI SHUKIA EMPANELLED FOR
Rashmi Shukia has been empanelled for
equivalent posts in Government of India.
Shukia is a 1988 batch IPS officer of
Maharashtra cadre.
ASHOK KUMAR EMPANELLED FOR
Ashok Kumar has been empanelled for holding
batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.
ANIL PALTA EMPANELLED FOR ADG
EQUIVALENT POSTS IN GOI
Anil Palta has been empanelled for holding
batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
SAJJAD WASI NAQVI EMPANELLED
FOR ADG EQUIVALENT POSTS IN
GOI
Sajjad Wasi Naqvi has been empanelled
a 1990 batch IPS officer of MP cadre.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Next R-Day
parade on
Central Vista
Avenue: Puri
Bengaluru: Union
Minister Hardeep Sin-
gh Puri said that the
next Republic Day pa-
rade will be on Central
Vista Avenue and added
that it will be a ‘symbol
of modern India’. “Next
R-Day parade will be on
Central Vista Avenue.
It’ll be a symbol of Mod-
ern India. Some don’t
understand its impor-
tance. They were ques-
tioning the COVID vac-
cine too but as all can
see, we had a phenome-
nal rollout,” said the
Union Minister.
New Delhi:The Su-
preme Court is sched-
uled to hear on Friday a
plea filed by comedian
Munawar Faruqui,
who is accused of hurt-
ingreligioussentiments
by allegedly passing ob-
jectionably remarks
about Hindu deities
during a show, challeng-
ing the Madhya Pradesh
HC order denying him
bail. Faruqui’s plea
would come up for hear-
ing before a bench com-
prising Justices RF Na-
riman and BR Gavai.
Faruqui and four oth-
ers were arrested on
January 1 following a
complaint by a BJP
MLA’s son that alleged
objectionable remarks
about Hindu deities and
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah were passed
during a comedy show
at a cafe in Indore on
New Year’s day
.
One more person was
arrested subsequently.
The high court, in its
order passed on Janu-
ary 28, had refused to
grant him bail noting
that to “promote har-
mony” is one of the con-
stitutional duties. It had
also turned down the
bail plea of another ac-
cused in the case.
Faruqui and others
were arrested for the al-
leged offences punisha-
ble under various sec-
tions of the IPC, includ-
ing section 295-A.
SC to hear comedian’s plea against
HC order denying him bail today
About 140 lawyers on
Wednesday have sent
a signed petition to Chief
Justice of India SA Bobde
requesting him to take
suo motu cognisance of
mobile Internet suspen-
sion near farmers’ protest
sites. They have also
demanded to set up an
inquiry commission to
probe the police inaction
dealing with violence
during a tractor rally on
Republic Day. They have
demanded inquiry.
LAWYERS REQUEST
CJI TO TAKE NOTE
OF INTERNET BAN
SECOND DOSE OF VACCINE SHOT TO
BE ADMINISTERED FROM FEB 13
INDIA WAS THE FASTEST COUNTRY TO REACH FOUR MILLION VACCINATIONS
II PHASE OF VAX FOR
COPS, OTHER
FRONTLINE WORKERS
NO NEW COVID-19 CASES IN 47
DISTS IN PAST 3 WEEKS: GOVT
Up to 47 districts have reported no new Covid-19 cases
and 251 districts have reported
no Covid-19-related deaths in
the past three weeks, the Union
Health Ministry said. India’s
cumulative Covid-19 positivity
rate is 5.42 percent and the
positivity rate last week was
1.82 percent, the secretary said.
At least 44,49,552 ben-
eficiaries have received
COVID-19 vaccination
in merely 19 days, the
MoHFW said on Thurs-
day. India’s Covid-19
active caseload has
dropped to 1.55 lakh
(1,55,025) and comprises
just 1.44 per cent of the
total infections.
NEARLY 4.5 MLN
BENEFICIARIES
VACCINATED
98.43% have confirmed
that they were informed
about the vaccine process
and given the vaccine
properly, Union health
secretary, Rajesh Bhush-
an said. The government
is collecting feedback
from beneficiaries a day
after vaccination through
a ‘Rapid Assessment’.
97% PEOPLE ARE
SATISFIED WITH
VACCINATION
New Delhi: The second
dose of Covid-19 vac-
cines will be adminis-
tered to healthcare
workers from February
13, NITI Aayog member
Dr VK Paul said at a
press conference on
Thursday
.
“The second dose of
vaccine will be adminis-
tered to healthcare
workers from 13th Feb-
ruary
. Only the first
dose has been given to
them so far,” he said.
During the press confer-
ence, Union Health Sec-
retary Rajesh Bhushan
said that 1,239 private
and 5,912 public hospi-
tals were being utilised
as vaccination session
sites. Bhushan also said
that the the country’s
Adverse Event Follow-
ing Immunization
(AEFI) system was ro-
bust and was strength-
ened for the purpose of
Covid-19 vaccinations.
He also noted that 0.18%
of vaccinationswerefol-
lowed by adverse events.
“There is a very struc-
tured robust system
of AEFI monitoring in
this country
. It has been
further strengthened in
view of Covid-19 vacci-
nation. We have 8563
AEFI so far when we
have done vaccination
in lakhs. This is 0.18%
of vaccinated people,”
he said. As per the gov-
ernment, 45,93,427 ben-
eficiaries have been vac-
cinated against Covid-19
till 1.30pm on Thursday
.
India was the fastest
country to reach four
million vaccinations.
ED attaches over Rs14 cr assets
of Choksi in PNB fraud case
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
has attached assets
worth over Rs 14 crore
belonging to the Gitan-
jali Group and its pro-
moter and jeweller Me-
hul Choksi, one of the
prime accused in the
alleged over Rs 13,000
crore PNB loan fraud
case. The properties at-
tached, under the anti-
money laundering law,
include a flat measur-
ing 1,460 sq feet located
at O2 Tower in Gore-
gaon area of Mumbai,
gold and platinum jew-
ellery, diamond stones,
necklaces made of sil-
ver and pearls, watches
and a Mercedes Benz
car, the ED said in a
statement. A provision-
al order for attachment
has been issued under
the Prevention of Mon-
ey Laundering Act
(PMLA) for the assets
worth a total Rs 14.45
crore that are in the
name of Gitanjali
Group of companies
and its director Mehul
Choksi, it said. Choksi,
61, is the maternal un-
cle of Nirav Modi who
is the other prime ac-
cused in the alleged
over USD 2 billion
(more than Rs 13,000
crore) Punjab National
Bank (PNB) fraud case.
Choksi has fled India
and is stated b y probe
agencies to be based in
Antigua and Barbuda.
Modi, 49, is in a London
jail after he was held by
authorities there in
2019 on the basis of a
legal request made by
the ED and the Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) in this case.
Bill to amend
arbitration law
introduced in LS
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Thursday
introduced a bill in Lok
Sabha to amend the ar-
bitration law to ensure
that all stakeholders
get an opportunity to
seek unconditional stay
on enforcement of arbi-
tral awards where the
agreement or contract
is “induced by fraud or
corruption”. Introduc-
ing the Arbitration and
Conciliation (Amend-
ment) Bill, 2021 amid
uproar by Opposition
members over the three
farm laws, Law Minis-
ter Ravi Shankar Pras-
ad said the bill seeks to
check fly-by-night op-
erators who take advan-
tage of the law to get
favourable award by
fraud.
The bill intends to re-
place an ordinance is-
sued on November 4,
2020. Among other
things, the bill, seeks to
do away with the the
necessary qualifica-
tions for accreditation.
SISODIA: UNION
CABINET GAVE NOD TO
GNCTD AMENDMENT
BILL SECRETLY
New Delhi: Delhi Deputy
Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia on Thursday
alleged that the Union
Cabinet has secretly
given nod to a bill
that would give more
power to the Lieutenant
Governor. Sisodia
termed the bill as the
“murder of constitutional
democracy” and said that
the Central government
wants to impede Delhi’s
development and
progress by enhancing
Lieutenant Governor
(LG)’s power.
POWER OF THE ELECTED GOVERNMENT
New Delhi: Sisodia further said, “It is clearly
mentioned in our Constitution that barring police,
land and public order, everything else falls under
the ambit of an elected government in Delhi. In
its reading of the Constitution, the Constitutional
Bench of the Supreme Court has also clearly
distinguished the powers of the elected govern-
ment and LG.”

KATIE HEADRICK TAYLOR
Associate Professor of Learning
Sciences and Human Development,
University of Washington
D
igital games can provide a
forum for a diverse group
of people to come together.
That’s especially important now,
while our physical locations are re-
stricted. During the COVID-19 pan-
demic, for example, undergraduates
havesharedwithmethevitalimpor-
tance of digital games for their so-
cial connection.
Digital games also encourage var-
ious forms of participation in a
group activity
. Some people in the
digital space may be lurkers, for ex-
ample, and simply watch the action.
Others comment and ask questions
via text or audio. Still others play
,
movingalongtheactionof thegame.
Families, too, can use digital
gamestosetupcollaborativeendeav-
orswithinthehomewhereeachfam-
ilymemberparticipatesintheirown
way
. For instance, a child doesn’t
need to actively play the game in or-
der to meaningfully participate and
develop problem-solving, communi-
cation and spatial reasoning skills.
Observation is a crucial first step
for learning how to fully participate
in any activity
, and digital games are
no exception. Caregivers who look
closely will see that children who ap-
pear to be merely observing a game
are also asking questions, strategiz-
ing and hypothesizing, or posing
“what-ifs.”
Minecraft,agameinwhichplayers
build protective enclosures against
monsterattacks,encouragescollabo-
rative problem-solving either in per-
son or online. Playing with another
gamermeanshavingmoreresources
to build with and more strategies to
employ
, since different players bring
different expertise to the table.
LikeMinecraft,onlinegamesthat
run on mobile technologies, such as
tablets, allow family members to
play next to each other at home or
while they’re on the move. This al-
lows caregivers to understand and
supplementthequalityof children’s
gameplay by participating in the
game. They no longer worry about
the quantity of screen time from an
outsider perspective.
TALKING POINT
07
BENEFITS PERILS OF
I
n-game caregiv-
ers can also help
young gamers
consider how women
and people of color are
represented–ornotrep-
resented – on screen.
Families can discuss,
for example, how charac-
ters like Mario of Super
Mario Bros. or Link of
Zelda are represented.
Why are these men saving
women? Why are the wom-
enportrayedasprincesses?
Wherearethecharactersof
color?Aretheyantagonists?
Ignoring these problem-
atic representations further
enables sexism and racism
in the real world. For exam-
ple, racist and sexist imagery
and storylines can turn girls
and people of colour away
from gaming, making them
less likely to become game de-
signers themselves.
In Minecraft, creating one’s
avatar is an opportunity to con-
sider how children want to pre-
sentthemselvesinthegameand
what messages they convey to
other gamers through their “skins.”
InOctoberlastyear,USRepresent-
ative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of
New York and Ilhan Omar of Min-
nesota amassed more than 4 million
viewers while playing the video
gameAmongUstogetheronTwitch,
the popular livestreaming platform
for gamers.
Beyond getting out the vote, Oca-
sio-Cortez and Omar used the plat-
form to educate potential voters
about health care issues and fossil
fuel dependence. They used the
game’s ship as a problematic exam-
ple of oil consumption.
But the range of responses Oca-
sio-Cortez and Omar received on-
line, from enthusiastic to vitriolic,
also reminds caregivers that chil-
dren need knowledgeable compan-
ions with them in digital spaces.
As in real-world learning envi-
ronments like classrooms and sci-
ence labs, digital games offer valu-
able learning opportunities while
also perpetuating racism and sex-
ism. Newcomers are not left alone
to learn and navigate problematic
issues in classrooms or labs, and
they don’t have to be in digital spac-
es either.
cation and spatial reasoning skills.
Observation is a crucial first step
Why are these men saving
women? Why are the wom-
enportrayedasprincesses?
Wherearethecharactersof
color?Aretheyantagonists?
atic representations further
enables sexism and racism
in the real world. For exam-
ple, racist and sexist imagery
and storylines can turn girls
and people of colour away
from gaming, making them
less likely to become game de-
signers themselves.
In Minecraft, creating one’s
avatar is an opportunity to con-
sider how children want to pre-
sentthemselvesinthegameand
what messages they convey to
As per a recent
study, parents
can actually help
their kids by
playing digital
games with
them
MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS
CONNECTION
COLLABORATION
Gaming
s
t
i
l
l
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
g
a
m
e
‘
M
i
n
e
c
r
a
f
t
’
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM DESIGN: SHYAM SHONKIYA
A
s the pandemic forced many
Americans to hunker down at home,
the video game industry saw record
spending and profits in 2020. Interacting with
other people through gaming became, for
some players, essential for social connection.
As an education researcher and professor of
digital literacy, I study the education benefits
and perils of digital gaming. They range from
providing opportunities for collaborative
problem-solving to displaying content that
perpetuates racism and sexism.

Isn’t it surprising that we hold
on to grudges for so long and the
happy moments become distant
memories so quickly?
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Kevadia: The Statue
of Unity (SoU) is not
merely a sculpture
or a statue, it has be-
come a place of pil-
grimage and only
those who are bless-
ed by God get an op-
portunity to visit
here.” These were
the words of India’s
Chief Election Com-
missioner Sunil Aro-
ra after he paid a
visit to Kevadia on
Thursday
.
Arora was accompa-
nied by his wife and
family members on a
day-long visit to Keva-
dia,wherehealsowent
around the Nature
Park, Jungle Safari,
medicinal park and
Ekta Park and Mall.
Arora bowed down
with his head to the
ground before the stat-
ue of Sardar Vallabhb-
hai Patel. He fondly
and respectfully re-
called the letters writ-
ten to Sardar Patel be-
tween 1945 to 1050,
which were compiled
by several authors in
their work, and called
him a committed and
determined person.
“This place is far
above imagination and
it does reflect the stat-
ure of Sardar,” the
Chief Election Com-
missioner said.
He and his family
were also accompa-
nied by Vadodara Col-
lector and the Narma-
da district incharge
Collector Shalini
Agrawal, who also
briefed him about the
progress on the voters’
list updation pro-
gramme. She shared
details about gender
ratio in the Narmada
district as per the 2021
voters update. Accord-
ing to the latest update,
youth voters have in-
creased in the district.
Arora was accompa-
nied by Gujarat Chief
Electoral Officer Dr H
Murli Krishna, Addi-
tional Chief Secretary
(Forest and Environ-
ment) Rajiv Gupta and
other officers of the
district.
STATUE OF UNITY A PILGRIMAGE PLACE: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner
Sunil Arora said that only the
blessed ones could come calling
at the Sardar statue here
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: As
many as 10 days after
she was adminis-
tered an anti-Cov-
id-19 vaccine, a wom-
an healthcare worker
at the Sayla primary
health centre in
Surendranagar dis-
trict died on Thurs-
day. A post mortem
report would decide
if the vaccine was
the reason for the
death.
Kajal Solanki had an
headache and then she
started vomiting when
she passed out. She
was rushed to a nearby
hospital for treatment
where she died.
Solanki, a resident
of Sayla village, was
working as a health-
care worker for the
past 5 years. She was
working at the polio
booth of the Sayla
primary health cen-
tre on Tuesday when
she complained of
pain in her head and
vomited.
The other healthcare
workers immediately
took her to a nearby
heath centre, where
her condition deterio-
rated. Then she was to
be shifted to the Suren-
dranagar’s Gandhi
Hospital, but before
she could be shifted
there for treatment
Solanki died.
The sudden death of
the woman has created
a panic among corona
warriors in the dis-
trict.
The anti-Covid im-
munisation was car-
ried out at 24 loca-
tions in Surendrana-
gar district, in which
822 corona warriors
were vaccinated.
This is besides 250
healthcare workers,
including Kajal
Solanki.
This is the second
case after a sanitation
worker, Jignesh Solan-
ki, was administered
the Covid-19 vaccine at
Sayaji Hospital in Va-
dodara, following
which he died though
the doctors claimed
that the death was not
linked to the vaccina-
tion.
Woman health worker dies 10 days after getting Covid vaccine
MYSTERIOUS DEATH?
This hap-
pened in
Suren-
dranagar
when a
govern-
ment health
worker died
after getting
the vaccine —FILE PHOTO
RAHUL FILES DISCHARGE PLEA
INADC BANK DEFAMATION CASE
HC asks SEC to have BJP
corporator name in voter list
51 child
labourers
rescued by
Labour Dept First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi has filed a dis-
charge application in
a criminal defama-
tion case at the
Ahmedabad Metro-
politan Court in con-
nection with a suit
filed by the
Ahmedabad District
Cooperative (ADC)
Bank, contending
that the complainant
continuously re-
mained absent from
the court.
Gandhi’s advocate,
PS Champaneri, said
the court had already
rejected 2 applications
filed by ADC Bank
chairman Ajay Patel
seeking exemption from
appearing and adjourn-
ment of the hearing.
However, the complain-
ant in the case himself
had remained absent
during several hear-
ings.
Therefore, Gandhi
has moved a discharge
plea in the court of Ad-
ditional Chief Metro-
politan Magistrate SP
Dulera. The hearing on
the discharge plea is
scheduled for February
11. Apart from Gandhi,
Congress’ national
spokesperson Randeep
Surjewala is also facing
the defamation charge.
The bank is pressing
defamation proceedings
against the Congress
leaders for publicly stat-
ing that the office-bear-
ers were involved in a
Rs 745.59 crore scam of
converting demonetised
currencies within 5 five
days of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi an-
nouncing the note ban
on November 8, 2016.
Their claims assumes
significance for the then
BJP president Amit
Shah was one of the di-
rectors of the bank
when demonetisation
took place.
Patel has alleged that
Rahul’s tweet saying
#ShahZyadaKhaGaya
was damaging to the
bank’s reputation and
many potential deposi-
tors refrained from de-
positing in the bank.
He alleged that Ra-
hul’s tweet and Surjew-
ala’s press conference
on the subject later had
ruined his and the
bank’s reputation.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Could an
elected councilor’s
name get deleted from
the voter list? The Guja-
rat High Court on
Thursday directed the
State Election Commis-
sion to include the
name of Ghatlodia cor-
porator Jatin Kumar
Patel in the
Ahmedabad’s voters
list, which had been de-
leted.
A division bench of
the High Court ob-
served that a small mis-
take of the applicant
had created the prob-
lem and asked the SEC
to include the name of
the corporator in the
voters’ list.
The court said, “We
expect the commission
to issue necessary in-
structions by late
Thursday evening to
ensure that the neces-
sary correction is af-
fected by Friday
.”
Patel had made an ap-
plication to delete his
father’s name from the
voter’s list since the lat-
ter had passed away.
But his name was also
deleted along with that
of his father.
He is the ruling BJP’s
sitting corporator from
Ghatlodia in
Ahmedabad and has
sought a ticket to con-
test the upcoming AMC
elections. The State’s
counsel stated that only
the SEC could correct
this mistake.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In a
joint operation or-
dered by Additional
Chief Secretary, La-
bour and Employ-
ment, Vipul Mittra,
through the child la-
bour task force res-
cued 51 minors from
a seeds godown in
Khedbrahma in
North Gujarat.
The child labour task
force, which includes
officials from the La-
bour Department, CID
Crime (women and
child cell) and Bachpan
Bachao Aandolan res-
cued child and adoles-
cent labourers from Sa-
bar seeds and Shri
Krishna seeds at Gandu
village in Khedbrahma
taluka.
Rahul Gandhi —FILE PHOTO
Gujrarat High Court —FILE PHOTO
FEELING
BLESSED
Chief Election Commissioner
Sunil Arora paid a visit to the
Statue of Unity in Gujarat on
Thursday. He knelt before the
Statue of Sardar Patel (top),
while he and his family made
a tour of various destinations
in Kevadia in South Gujarat’s
Narmada district where the
statue is located.
—FIRST INDIA BUREAU

AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 5, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Far from being purely utilitarian,
belts can be the final sartorial
touch that completes and
polishes your total look.The
addition of a belt can be the
equivalent of adding a period to
the end of a sentence. City First
brings you stylish tips to
successfully pull off and
integrate a belt into your look!
elts can add shape and
aid in improving the
garment’s fit. Being
knowledgeable about
the types of belts
available will better
equip when it comes
to figuring out which one to
choose for particular occa-
sions and whether a certain
belt style will suit your per-
sonal style and body type.
Knowing the belt lingo will
also make it easier for you to
shop and find exactly what
you’re looking for.
CLASSIC
Whether it comes in black or
brown, the classic belt is a
must-have in every woman’s
wardrobe. This belt is a versa-
tile piece that exceeds its prac-
ticality. With a simple design
and buckle, the simplicity of
this belt makes it adaptable to
a gamut of occasions. This belt
when in a good quality leather
will add polish to your office
separates and your denim.
But don’t stop there; why not
try some bright coloured belts?
They are the perfect choice to
pep up your LBD or a predomi-
nantly monochromatic look.
Go to neon belts and you’ll add
some youthful vigour and dose
of trendy style to classic looks.
If you’re up for getting noticed,
match one accessory e.g, bag or
scarf to the colour of your belt.
The next step up is the me-
tallic belt. If you want to add
glam to your look, reach for a
metallic belt and watch your
glam instantly shine through.
Whether you opt for a skinny
or wide metallic belt, the ver-
satility of this piece remains
constant. A trendy and of-the-
moment take on this belt is to
buy a belt with a metallic piece
on the front; this type of metal-
lic belt gives more structure to
your overall look.
WOVEN/BRAIDED
Typically a boho accessory
, the
woven/braided leather belt has
crossed over to more tradition-
al styles. Leather is the usual
material of choice for this type
of belt given its earthy style
connotations. However, the
ease with which this belt can
be styled has made it an easy
pick for fashionistas to cross
over to style even their preppy
looks. In my opinion, this belt
looks best when worn over
flowing tunic tops and maxi
dresses as well as more pol-
ished pieces like pencil skirts
and sheath dresses.
SKINNY
Skinny belts are subtle acces-
sories that can easily spruce
up your outfit and make it
look complete. It’s also easier
to play around with colourful
hues and bolder prints
since it’s width makes it un-
derstated.
When styling this belt take
note of proportion since the
belt is so skinny wear it with
jeans or skirts that are more
fitted. Loose and flowing piec-
es will drown out the belt and
it will lose its chic appeal.
Belts surely leave a major
impression. From a belt that
sparkles for the glam queens,
to a studded belt if you’re more
of a rock chick and an animal
print if you’re a dramatic gal,
the choices are endless. The
key here is to find a style that
resonates with your style so
you can wear it with confi-
dence!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
B
AN ACQUIRED OBSESSION!

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
SHIVANI SINGH, Actor
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A happy reunion of sorts is
in the offing on the family
front. Regular workouts
and eating right is your
mantra for keeping fit. A piece of
immovable property can come to you
through a will or gift. You will put in
the required efforts on the
professional or academic front.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Focus on health will
become your priority and
will have a positive
outcome on your fitness.
Family support will be crucial against
those who are trying to tarnish your
image on the social front. Initiative
taken on the property front is likely to
benefit. Love is likely to come.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You will be in a happy state
as far as finances are
concerned. Marketing
people are likely to be at
their selling best. A peaceful
domestic environment will help you
unwind. Someone is likely to spoon
feed you on the academic front and
remove all your doubts.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Chances of winning a deal
become bright through your
efforts on the business
front. You are likely to
resolve to come back in shape and
start an exercise regimen. Family will
be supportive and look after your
needs. Some of you are likely to join a
group to resolve difficulties.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Monetary condition is set
to improve as money
comes to you from various
sources. Your confidence
is likely to win the day for you on the
professional front. Something is
likely to happen on the academic
front which may go in your favour.
Life will surprise you beautifully.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Some of you are set to add
to your wealth. You will find
people acknowledging your
skills and talents at work.
Those unwell are set to show
remarkable recovery. Your plans for a
new business will materialise, get
ready for the new beginnings. You will
enjoy the struggles too.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Your confidence is likely
to win the day for you on
the professional front.
Some of you can strike a
friendship that may turn into
something serious. Those pursuing
sports may find themselves in
excellent form. Choosing the correct
mode of conveyance will benefit.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Some of you will resolve to
come back in shape and
may even join a gym.
Financially, it is advisable
to remain tight fisted. A long-winded
project is likely to near completion.
Family will bestow its love on you, as
you continue to excel in your field.
You will be really active.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
This is the time to muster
all your resources for
tackling something
complicated on the work
front. A new line of treatment for an
old ailment is likely to work wonders.
A family event may keep you
entertained. You are likely to benefit
from a property related matter.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will manage to remain
regular in your fitness
schedule. Guidance of your
near and dear ones will
prove a great help. This is a good
time to sell an asset as you are likely
to get a good price for it. Those
preparing for competitive exams are
likely to find the going easy.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You are likely to resolve to
come back in shape and
start an exercise regimen.
Taking a ride with your
near and dear ones will be fun.
Someone is likely to become your
mentor and help you out of a difficult
situation on the academic front. You
will likely eat extra today.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Stringent cost-cutting
measures may find you
growing financially strong.
Not much is likely to be
achieved on a business trip, but it
may open new opportunities.
Devoting some time for physical
fitness is indicated for some and will
help keep them fit.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
hen the rest of
Gujarat almost
got into a non-
chalant exit-
Covid-19 mode
around Diwali,
the Ahmedabad
Kerala Samajam (AKS)
got on the alert as many
Malayalees found them-
selves in the grip of the
deadly virus with the sud-
den surge in the cases.
Many families went
into home quarantine, ei-
ther because many of
them were hit by the vi-
rus or for someone in the
family had fallen sick. For
them, the immediate need
was food -- lunch as well
as dinner. Fresh home-
cooked food.
The Ahmedabad Kerala
Samajam decided to serve
them freshly cooked Ker-
ala meals free of cost
twice a day. By now, they
have already served
around 7,000 food packets.
C V Narayanan, gener-
al secretary of AKS said,
“Even a single infected
family member means the
rest have to go under
quarantine. They could
have easily ordered food
from outside but there
could be hesitation for the
delivery of food at a quar-
antined home. So, the
calls started pouring in.”
He says, “We first tried
to identify the people
from our community who
were ready to prepare
meals and deliver it at the
doorstep or give it to their
security guard. Two Ma-
layalee women in Bopal
came forward. This gave
us strength and within a
day, eight different kitch-
ens were set up in differ-
ent areas like Maninagar,
Chandkheda, Naroda,
Thaltej, Gota and Ghatlo-
dia.”
As the AKS has been
working in 13 municipal
wards, a circular was is-
sued for free food in the
AKS groups in different
areas. This helped Malay-
alees reach out to them.
They started sharing ad-
dresses and contact coor-
dinates. The community
donated voluntarily and
the response was over-
whelming.
They appointed eight
coordinators in different
areas and each day it was
counted how many food
packets have to be pre-
pared and delivered.
KM Ramachandran,
President of AKS ex-
plained, “In a self-suffi-
cient project, the food had
sambhar, pickles, dry
chutney, rasam- complete-
ly healthy. We used to pay
on a cost-to-cost basis to
the ones who prepared
meals while the ones who
delivered mostly did it
voluntarily and a few
were paid.” He asserts, “It
was a real need of the day.
Generally, we do social
service for all communi-
ties but Kerala food can be
liked by Malayalees. So,
we restricted our services
to the community only.”
Ahmedabad has an esti-
mated 2.5 lakh Malayalees
out of overall some 8 lakh
in Gujarat. The project is
titled AKS Santhwanam
project, ‘We Care, We
Share.’ Narayanan and
Ramachandran are happy
and said it needed a lot of
meticulous work, coordi-
nation and communica-
tion.
N S Nair, Vice President
of AKS and food supply
coordinator at Vastrapur
and Ghatlodia states,
“Managing time was a
challenge. The food has to
be prepared and delivered
on time. However, the sat-
isfaction one receives of
being a help to the com-
munity at such times
meant a lot.”
Meghna Dyuthith, who
prepared meals with her
friend Anuja Suraj in
Bhopal said, “It was the
opportunity we grabbed.
We used to prepare 30 hy-
gienic packets with the
use of filtered water. It
was done on a non-profit
basis. We agreed as it was
for a social cause.”
Shiji Kumar, who deliv-
ered food in Thaltej and
Vastrapur, credits it all to
teamwork and felt good to
be of help in a noble
cause.
KK Kunjappan whose
son, daughter-in-law and
two grand-children were
Covid positive while he
and his wife were nega-
tive, said, “We received
the Kerala food free of
cost from the organisa-
tion. We struggled two
days a lot but we learnt
about an initiative and we
were being delivered
homely food. It was a
great relief.”
KO Antu, his wife and
daughter tested positive
for the virus but his son
was fine. He recalls, “It is
a great initiative which
can inspire other commu-
nity organisations. We
used to receive the food on
time. It was of great help.”
The AKS also contrib-
uted by delivering ration
kits to more than 1,900
families, helping people
who were stuck to return
to Kerala with the sup-
port of the State Govern-
ment. They distributed
immunity boosters at
negligible rates, organ-
ized meetings online for
guidance in dealing with
mental stress or symp-
toms of Covid and gave
Kerala delicacies to Covid
warriors of around 57
hospitals in the city.
GUJARAT MALLUS’
‘We Care, We Share’ spirit
When the people in Gujarat let their hair down during Diwali, the Ahmedabad Kerala Samajam
was on its toes providing authentic South Indian food to Covid-19 victims and warriors alike!
W
MEGHA BHATT
cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com
During the distribution of Kerala delicacies to the Covid warriors
During the distribution of Ration kits to the needy people
During the distribution of immunity booster kits at negligible rates
Immunity Boosters boxes
Webinar organised for spreading awareness against COVID-19

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021
11
REBEL CONFIRMS BREAKUP
WEDDING SHENANIGANS
GOOD NEWS
HIDDEN SCARS
A
ustralian
actress Re-
bel Wilson
r e c e n t l y
confirmed her split
from her ex-boy-
friend, Busch-
Adolphus fortune
heir Jacob Busch.
The Pitch Perfect
actress who recent-
ly lost more than 60
pounds, had been
pretty vocal about
her relationship
and had even post-
ed photos of the
couple looking
loved up after they
met last year. Now,
sources close to the actress confirmed the
breakup, saying the relationship had “just
run its course.” —Agency
I
t’s raining wed-
dings in tinselville.
Aftern Varun Dha-
wan and Natasha
Dalal’s much talked
about wedding, the B-
town is set to witness
another celeb tying
the knot. We are talk-
ing about Padmini Kol-
hapure’s son Priyaank Sharma who will be
marrying his longtime girlfriend Shaza Mo-
rani, Karim Morani’s daughter) on Thursday
.
The lovebirds, who got engaged in December
2020, will be having a court marriage which
will be followed by a small celebration with
their loved ones. —Agency
S
inger Harsh-
deep Kaur has
announced her
pregnancy
. The
singer is expecting her
first child with her
husband Mankeet Sin-
gh. Harshdeep Kaur is
known for her Bolly-
wood Hindi, Punjabi
andSufisongs.Shehasalsoappearedasacoach
on The Voice India. Her due date is March 2021.
We wish her all the very best! —Agency
T
ahira Kashy-
ap, while
s p r e a d i n g
awareness on
World Cancer day has
penned down a beau-
tiful poem on Insta-
gram as she journeys
through the time
whensheexperienced
the battle within. Ta-
hira Kashyap urges her fans to do not let the
battle sink you in and rise above. —ANI
GIGI HADID SENDS GOODIES
igi Hadid has been
busy as a bee lately
.
The supermodel,
who recently wel-
comed her baby
girl with Zayn Ma-
lik, is embracing
motherhood, managing
work. The model revealed
she has been sending good-
ies filled with things that
her friends love to those
who are welcoming their
baby soon. There might be
a number of goodie ham-
pers making their way out
of her house for Gigi feels
her mailman might think
she runs a small baby
shop. —Agency
G
S
alma Hayek will be
making her entry into
the MCU (Marvel Cin-
ematic Universe) world
as Ajax, the badass leader of
Eternals. Along with the
54-year-old actress, Eter-
nals also stars Angelina Jolie,
Richard Madden, Kit Haring-
ton and Kumail Nanjiani
amongst many others. Dur-
ing a recent appearance on
Variety’s podcast Just for Va-
riety
, Hayek was asked for her
reaction when she saw her-
self as Ajax in the mirror for
the first time. “It was empow-
ering. It really moved me”,
she said. —Agency
Salma
Hayek
in
eternals
GoldenGlobesNominations-2021
T
he 78th Golden Globe
Awards Ceremony will be
held on February 28, 2021,
with its host Jane Fonda
and Amy Poehler. The much-
awaited award shoe will be hosted
streamed online on NBC. The Hol-
lywood Foreign Press Association
(HFPA) has announced the nomi-
nees for the ceremony
.
Here’s a list of all the Best Ac-
tress for the year 2021! Viola Davis
for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, An-
dra Day for The United States vs
Billie Holiday, Vanessa Kirby for
Pieces of a Woman, Frances Mc-
Dormand for Nomadland, Carey
Mulligan for Promising Young
Woman, Maria Bakalova for Borat
Subsequent Moviefilm, Kate Hud-
son for Music, Michelle Pfeiffer for
French Exist, Rosamand Pike for I
Care a Lot and Anya Taylor Joy for
Emma.
The nominations for the best ac-
tors! Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal,
ChadwickBosemanforMaRainey’s
Black Bottom, Anthony Hopkins
for The Father, Gary Oldman for
Mank, Tahar Rahim for The Mauri-
tanian, Sacha Baron Cohen for Bo-
rat Subsequent Moviefilm, James
Corden for The Prom, Lin-Manuel
Miranda for Hamilton, Dev Patel
for The Personal History of David
Copperfield and Andy Samberg for
Palm Springs. —Agency
The Girl on the Train
A
ctor Parineeti Chopra took to Twitter to
thank her fans and the team of her upcoming
movie The Girl On The Train, for their re-
sponse to the Mystery-thriller’s trailer. The
Netflix original’s trailer, which was released on
Wednesday, is making headlines for its intriguing
storyline. Parineeti is embodying the role of Mira
who is an alcoholic divorcee. She gets involved in a
missing person and a murder investigation. Fans
were stunned by the Ishaqzaade star’s acting that was
unlike any other character she has played in her pre-
vious films. —Agency
Gigi Hadid
Salma Hayek
Parineeti Chopra
Tahira Kashyap’s post
Mankeet Singh and
Harshdep Kaur
Priyaank Sharma
Rebel Wilson
Rosamand Pike
Kate Hudson
Tahar Rahim
Sarah Paulson
Dev Patel Elle Fanning
Michelle Pfeiffer
Andy Samberg Vanessa Kirby Andra Day
Gary Oldman
Anya Taylor-Joy

First india ahmedabad edition-05 february 2021

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