First india gujarat for gujarat today epaper 18 feb 2020 edition

WASN’T EASY TO PERSUADE HIM: SHAH
AFTER MARANDI’S JVM(P) MERGES WITH BJPormer Chief
Minister of
J h a r k h a n d
and JVM(P)
president Bab-
ulal Marandi on Mon-
day merged his party
with the Bharatiya
Janata Party. The
merger took place in
the state’s capital city
of Ranchi in the pres-
ence of Union Home
Minister Amit Shah.
The development
comes less than two
months after the re-
sultstotheJharkhand
Assembly elections
were declared. The
verdict saw BJP fin-
ish a distant second
with 25 seats while
Marandi’s JVM(P)
ended with three.
Welcoming Marandi
back into the BJP fold,
Shah said that he has
been trying to do so ever
since he was appointed
as the president of the
BJP. “I have been trying
to bring Babulal Maran-
di into BJP since I was
made BJP chief in 2014.
Someone rightly said
that he is quite stub-
born. We couldn’t per-
suade him easily. He has
now joined BJP as per
the wish of the people
of Jharkhand,” he said.
The merger took
place months after
the party was de-
throned by the grand
alliance comprising
JVM, Congress and
RJD. In the Assembly
elections held in De-
cember last year, the
BJP won 25 seats
while the JVM(P)
pocketed three seats.
The grand alliance se-
cured 47 seats.
Top BJP leaders in-
cluding its CM Raghu-
bar Das, state BJP chief
Laxman Gilua even lost
elections. Although the
BJP won 10 per cent of
the Assembly’s strength
and thus securing the
Leader of Opposition
post, the party lacked a
powerful leader to lead
the party in the Legisla-
tive Assembly.
Babulal Marandi won
the elections from
Dhanwar Assembly
seat. He is likely to be
appointed as the Leader
of the Opposition.
Marandiservedasthe
first CM of Jharkhand
between November 2000
and March 2003. He was
then in the BJP. Maran-
di parted ways with the
BJP in 2006 and floated
his own political party
Jharkhand Vikas Mor-
cha (Prajatantrik).
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Marandi said that
the saffron was in touch
with him since 2014.
“BJP had contacted me
after the Lok Sabha
elections and assembly
elections in 2014. Right
from the beginning,
BJP wanted us to merge
with them,” he said.
F Conservation of wildlife part of our
ethos, encourages compassion: PM
First India News
Gandhinagar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday
said conservation of
wildlife and habitat
have been a part of
India’s cultural
ethos, which encour-
ages compassion and
coexistence.
“For ages, conserva-
tion of wildlife and
habitat have been a
part of our cultural
ethos, which encour-
ages compassion and
coexistence,” said
Prime Minister Modi
while addressing a
convention on Conser-
vation of Migratory
Species of Wild Ani-
mals at Gandhinagar.
“Our Vedas spoke of
the protection of ani-
mals. Emperor Asoka
put great emphasis on
preventing the de-
struction of forests
and the killing of ani-
mals,” he said.
Emphasising on val-
ues of conservation,
he said: “India has
been championing Cli-
mate Action based on
the values of conserva-
tion, sustainable life-
style and green devel-
opment model.” —ANI
PM Modi speaking during video conference on Monday.
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 84
Home Minister Amit Shah welcomes Jharkhand Vikas
Morcha (JVM-Prajatantrik) chief Babulal Marandi as he
merged his JVM-P party with the BJP, in Jagannathpur
area of Ranchi on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Gargi Raval
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat has a long tradi-
tion of successful
conservation stories
like that of the whale
shark, Asiatic lion,
Indian wild ass, tur-
tle, the great Indian
bustard and migrat-
ing birds are example
of this, Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani said
on Monday. He was
addressing the gath-
ering at the 13th Con-
ference of Parties
(COP) to the Conven-
tion on the Conserva-
tion of Migratory
Species (CMS)
CM Rupani said, “Mi-
gratory birds connect
the planet. Let it bring
us all together for wild-
life conservation, espe-
cially the species that
are migrating across
several countries and
continents. Gujarat is
an important stop on
the migratory ‘flyway’,
and we are taking steps
to keep it intact and
seamless.”
He added that the
state is blessed with
the presence of mil-
lions of migratory
birds during this
time of the year and
that the state takes
great pride in their
protection.
Post this event, Ita-
ly’s Minister of Envi-
ronment Land and Sea
General Sergio Costa
paid a visit to the chief
minister, who informed
him about the work the
state government is do-
ing for the conserva-
tion of forests and the
environment. He also
told him about the so-
lar energy plants set up
for green clean energy.
The state is also work-
ing on sustainable de-
velopment and, for
that, it has introduced
many innovative steps,
the CM told the Italian
minister.
The CM also invited
Italy to participate in
Vibrant Summit 2021
after Costa showed
keen interest in join-
ing hands with the
state in the renewable
energy, sustainable
development sector.
The Italian then told
CM Rupani that his
country would be in-
terested in being an
associate in the Vi-
brant Summit event
instead of just par-
ticipating in it.
Turn on P5
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday personally visited Moter stadium to assess the preparation
for security. He was accompanied by Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja, K Kailashnathan,
Chief Principal Secretary to CM, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pankaj Kumar, Director General
of Police Shivanand Jha, Jay shah, secretary of BCCI too is visible in photo behind chief Minister.
State is keeping migratory birds flyway intact: CM Rupani
CM GETS PERSONAL
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
HISTORIC WELCOME
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani personally visited the
Motera stadium and took stock of the situation.
He looked into the completion of the stadium and
preparation for the event. He also discussed other
security measures taken at the stadium along with
other arrangements.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the renovated
stadium in Motera on February 24. Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani has asked ofﬁcers to ensure that the
welcome to the VVIP guests is so grand, it goes
down in history.

I
ndian tradition has
taught us what we
need to avoid catch-
ing deadly coronavirus,
Dr Rajesh Chawla of
Indraprastha Apollo
Hospital said while dis-
cussing proper preven-
tive measures to con-
trol the spread of the
deadly virus, which has
killed over 1500 people
in China.
“We should follow
our Indian values of
washing our hands
before everything, be-
fore eating a meal,
before doing any-
thing. And when you
wash your hands do it
for at least 20 sec-
onds, with water or
with alcohol, which
really helps in killing
germs. Follow proper
steps,” Dr Rajesh
Chawla said.
The doctor also ad-
vised that we should
stop shaking hands
and use the Indian
form of greeting na-
maste, as it cuts down
the chances of virus
transmission through
touch. Answering a
question from a viewer
on India Today TV, Dr
Chawla said that ob-
serving personal hy-
giene was the best
way to keep coronavi-
rus at bay. “When you
sneeze use a hanky or
use a tissue and prop-
erly dispose of it. If
you don’t have access
to it any of it, cover it
with your elbow and
not hands, so that
you don’t accidental-
ly transmit the virus
from your hands to
nose, eyes or ears,” Dr
Chawla said.
A study has asked
for the popular hand-
shake to be replaced
by a new gesture as
the practice is an dan-
gerous as smoking in
public – especially in
hospitals. According
to researchers from
University of Califor-
nia Los Angeles,’
handshake can
spread disease be-
tween patients so doc-
tors should replace it
with a wave or a bow.
In recent years, there
has been increasing
recognition of the im-
portance of hands as
vectors for infection,
leading to formal rec-
ommendations and
policies regarding hand
hygiene in hospitals
and other health care
facilities,’ explained
lead author Mark
Sklansky from Uni-
versity of California
Los Angeles.
Health care work-
ers’ hands become
contaminated with
pathogens from
their patients. The
researchers suggest
that a simple wave or
Namastecould re-
place the hand-
shake for doc-
tors.
‘Infection-
conscious al-
ternatives to
the hand-
shake may
be found in a
variety of secu-
lar and religiously
based gestures from
around the world,’ the
researchers wrote.
‘Effective develop-
ment and implemen-
tation of such a hand-
shake ban will likely
require further study
to confirm and de-
scribe the link be-
tween handshakes
and the transmission
of pathogens and dis-
ease; the promotion
of an alternative,
health-conscious
gesture to sub-
stitute for the
handshake;
and wide-
s p r e a d
media and
educational pro-
grams,’ the team em-
phasised.
Removing the hand-
shake from health care
setting may ultimately
become recognised as
an important way to
protect the health of pa-
tients and caregivers,
the researchers said in
the Journal of the
American Medical As-
sociation. The longer
the exchange lasted and
the more intense the
grip, researchers found,
the more strongly asso-
ciated with microbe
swapping.
One of the study
authors, Dr. Dave
Whitworth, a senior
lecturer at Aberyst-
wyth University, had
this message for the
public: “People rarely
think about the
health implications
of shaking hands.”
There’s even a “Stop
Handshaking” move-
ment online.
These sentiments are
rooted in the science of
hand hygiene. Public
health researchers
have long known that
clean hands can liter-
ally save lives by reduc-
ing the spread of dan-
gerous pathogens.
According to the
Centers for Disease
Control and Preven-
tion, hand-washing
can reduce the num-
ber of the people
who get sick with di-
arrhea and respira-
tory illnesses by up to
50 percent.
With the
increasing risk of
deadly diseases,
like coronavirus or
2019-nCoV
spreading
violently, it would
be better if we
go traditional,
setting aside
our hand-
shakes and
high fives for
the joined
handed
humble
greeting
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AChinese health of-
ficial on February
17 reportedly said, that
the new coronavirus is
preventable and treat-
able. The official from the
National Health Commis-
sion made the remarks at
a daily press conference
where she also said that
the percentage of infected
patients in Wuhan city
had dropped to 18 per
cent from 38 per cent
when the disease first
broke out in December
last year. The comments
from Guo Yanhong, a
hospital administration
supervisor at the com-
mission came on the day
when China reported 105
new deaths due to the
virus. As per reports, the
coronavirus or COVID-19
has claimed more than
1,700 lives in China alone
and over 71,000 new
cases have been con-
firmed in the country as
of February 17. US Center
for Disease Control (CDC)
has said that the virus
has already spread to
27 countries, including
Japan, which reported its
first fatality.
CORONA IS PREVENTABLE AND TREATABLE: CHINA
ANCIENT CUSTOM
The practice of hand-shaking has been around
for more than 2,000 years. It was documented
in the times of antiquity, as portrayed on this
ancient Greek flask. But the ancient Greeks,
who thought illness was related to a imbalance
of humors in the body and represented punish-
ment from the gods, never made a connection
between hand-shaking and disease.
LAYERS OF MEANING
Not only does hand-shaking pass along germs,
it carries unspoken meaning - yet this can
vary by culture. A firm handshake is positively
perceived to show decisiveness in Western
societies, while Eastern societies generally
prefer weaker or “limp” handshakes to prevent
imparting a sense of dominance. Regardless,
whenever you shake hands, you come away
with more than just a lasting impression.
HANDSHAKE PHOBIA
Prominent figures - including
Bill Gates and Donald Trump -
reportedly simply do not shake
hands due to the disease factor. A
person who is hand-shaking pho-
bic could always carry around a
small bottle of hand-sanitizer and
constantly use it. But that person
runs the risk of seeming obses-
sive and strange. Although there
are some proposals for alterna-
tives to shaking hands…
NASTY HABIT
Hand-shaking can
transmit viruses
like the cold or flu,
parasites like scabies,
and bacteria such
as Staphylococcus
(pictured above).
Someone who has a
cold could wipe their
dripping nose, leaving
mucus teeming with
rhinovirus on that
person’s hand. When
you shake hands with
them and then touch
your eye, you can
catch that infection.
Still eager to shake
hands?
SAY NAMASTE
STAY HEALTHY
Courtesy:Internet

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AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 84
SANIA WILL RETURN TO ACTION AT
ONGOING DUBAI OPEN ON WEDNESDAY
AFTER RECOVERING FROM CALF INJURYP7 P9
YOU MUST WALK THE TALK: SIBAL
TAKES DIG AT MINISTER RAMESH
POKHRIYAL OVER JNU, JAMIA REMARK
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
MoEF to ask Raj govt to give male GIB to Gujarat
First India News
Gandhinagar: There
is good news for bird
lovers in the state.
The ministry of envi-
ronment and forest
plans to ask the Ra-
jasthan government
to give the state a
male Great Indian
Bustard (GIB) to en-
sure that the species
survives here. There
are currently no male
GIBs in Gujarat.
GIB is among the
rarest of around 175
birds that are found ex-
clusively in India and
have been listed as
Critically Endangered
and under Schedule I
of the Wildlife (Protec-
tion) Act 1972.
Soumitra Dasgup-
ta, Inspector-General
of Forests, Ministry
of Environment and
Forests and Climate
Change (MoEF & CC)
said: “The ministry
will ask the Rajasthan
government to give us
a male GIB as we do
not have one.”
However, sources say
that the Rajasthan gov-
ernment has been re-
fusing to part with any
of its birds until Guja-
rat drastically reduces
the amount of high-ten-
sion wire in the state.
Today, there are just
about 175 great Indian
bustards left—75% less
than it was 30 years ago.
The bird is dying out at
an annual rate of 15%,
with collisions with
high-voltage power
lines being the main
cause of death.
To this, Dasgupta
says, “We have allo-
cated Rs30 crore for
the GIB project.
Moreover, to protect
the species from high-
tension lines, the
power ministry is lay-
ing 33kv lines under-
ground.”
Highly placed sources
say that while the state
government is not mak-
ing any major changes
to the power infrastruc-
ture, which uses 66kv
lines, it has initiated a
study by public-sector
undertaking Powergrid
to check the dangers
posed by these wires to
migratory birds.
The bird is likely to
be included in the
global list of top 10
migratory species
facing extinction by
the end of the 13th
Conference of Parties
(COP) to the Conven-
tion on the Conserva-
tion of Migratory
Species (CMS), which
kicked off here on
Monday. This would
enable a range of
countries to protect
and conserve the GIB.
Amy Fraenkel, Exec-
utive Secretary, CMS,
said that the GIB would
likely be included in the
list of Appendix 1 after
voting.
She said: “The part-
ner countries have to
protect the species
once it is in the list.
The Conservation of
Migratory Species is
the only multilateral
treaty dedicated to
addressing the need
of migratory species
and their habitats on
a global scale.”
Babul Suprio, Minis-
ter of State for Environ-
ment, Forest and Cli-
mate Change said that
the government has
taken steps to protect
GIB. “The government
has initiated the GIB
project and the pres-
ence of the same was
found in five states. In
addition, as part of the
captive breeding pro-
gramme nine eggs have
been successfully
hatched from wild,”
said the minister.
However, there is still
no clear answer to
whetherPakistan,where
GIB-hunting is popular,
would fall in line.The Great Indian Bustard.
SC appoints mediators to talk
to Shaheen Bagh protesters
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court said on
Monday that people
have a fundamental
righttoprotestagainst
a law, but the blocking
of public roads is a
matter of concern and
there has to be a bal-
ancing factor.
Hearing pleas over
the road blocks due to
the ongoing protests at
Shaheen Bagh against
the Citizenship Amend-
ment Act (CAA), a
bench comprising Jus-
tices SK Kaul and KM
Joseph said its concern
is about what will hap-
pen if people start pro-
testing on roads.
Democracy works
on expressing views,
but there are lines
and boundaries for it,
the bench said.
It asked senior advo-
cate Sanjay Hegde and
advocate Sadhana Ra-
machandran to talk to
Shaheen Bagh protest-
ers and persuade them
to move to an alterna-
tive site where no pub-
lic place is blocked.
Turn on P5
Protesters at Shaheen Bagh at New Delhi.
Masood Azhar is
missing,claims Pak
Islamabad: Jaish-e-
Mohammad supremo
Masood Azhar has gone
missing,
Pakistan
h a s
cl a i m e d
ahead of
the meet-
ing of the
Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) which
will take up the Paki-
stan dossier for discus-
sion on Friday. The
FATF plenary started in
Paris on Sunday. Paki-
stan has told FATF that
it could not file an FIR
against Azhar as he
could not be “found”.
Turn on P5
India to call out Pak
claim at FATF
New Delhi: India plans to
point out the incongruity of
Pakistan’s claim that Masood
Azhar has been “missing”.
Pakistan has claimed his
disappearance in numerous
Financial Action Task Force
meetings in the past year.
‘Pak no longer a safe
haven for terror’
Islamabad: There are no
“safe havens” for terror
groups in Pakistan “right
now”, Prime Minister Imran
Khan said on Monday while
acknowledging that it was
possibly not the case earlier.
Khan was addressing an
international meet marking
40 years of hosting Afghan
refugees in the country.
SIGNS OF A THAW?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meets Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Raj
Bhavan in Kolkata on Monday.The meeting, the first since Dhankhar assumed office in July
last year, set off speculation of a thaw in their frosty ties. Sources said the two discussed
“various issues”.“Had an extremely satisfying interaction with Hon’ble CM Mamata Bannerjee
at Raj Bhawan,” Dhankhar tweeted. Banerjee did not react immediately. —PHOTO BY PTI
WOMEN IN
COMMANDJAI HO!SUPREME COURT SAYS WOMEN CAN GET COMMAND POSITIONS IN
ARMY, DIRECTS PERMANENT COMMISSION FOR ALL WOMEN OFFICERS
New Delhi: In a land-
mark move of far-
reaching consequenc-
es, the Supreme Court
on Monday opened
the way for women in
command positions in
the Army and called
for an end to gender
bias in the armed
forces. The Supreme
Court also directed
the Centre to grant
permanent commis-
sion to all women of-
ficers within three
months.
A bench headed by
Justice DY Chandra-
chud termed “disturb-
ing” the government’s
argument of physiolog-
ical limitations and so-
cial norms for denying
women officers com-
mand posts and said
they had brought lau-
rels to the country in
the past. Marking a
milestone on the road
to gender parity in
the Army, the apex
court bench called for
a change of mindset
on the part of the gov-
ernment to put an
end to gender bias in
the armed forces and
said there will be no
absolute bar on giv-
ing women command
postings.
The bench, however,
clarified that deploy-
ment of women officers
in combat roles is a mat-
ter of policy as held by
theDelhiHighCourtand
the competent authority
has to look into it.
Slamming the Cen-
tre, the court said de-
spite no stay on the 2010
Delhi High Court ver-
dict allowing grant of
permanent commission
to women officers, the
government showed
scant regard in imple-
menting the directive
in the past one decade.
It said the engagement
of women officers in
the Army has been an
evolutionary process
and the Union of In-
dia should have acted
in accordance with
the Delhi High Court
judgment when there
was no stay on it.
Turn on P5
WHAT THE SC SAID
 The Supreme Court termed “disturbing” the
government’s argument of physiological limitations and
social norms for denying women officers command posts.
 SC called for a change of mindset on the part of
the government to put an end to gender bias in
the armed forces.
 The court clarified that deployment of women
officers in combat roles is a matter of policy
as held by the Delhi High Court and the
competent authority has to look into it.
WOMEN OFFICERS HAIL VERDICT
 The verdict led to jubilation among women officers
waiting outside the court for the verdict.
 Accompanied by her women colleagues, one
officer said it will help uplift women across the
country and not just the armed forces.
 “The sky is virtually the limit,” said advocate
Meenakshi Lekhi, who appeared for the women
officers. She said the apex court judgment has
given women officers the same rights as their
male counterparts.
INDIA TO SET UP THEATRE COMMAND FOR J&K: CDS
India is looking at setting up a separate theatre command for Jammu and Kashmir, Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS) General Bipin Rawat said on Monday. The air defence command is to be rolled out by the begin-
ning of next year and the Peninsula command by the end of 2021, General Rawat said. The Indian Air
Force will helm the air defence command and all-long range missiles as well as air defence assets
will come under it, he said. Indian Navy’s Eastern and Western commands will be integrated into
the Peninsula command, he said. Full report on P7
It’s all over for
Nirbhaya convicts
New Delhi: A Delhi
court on Monday or-
dered that the four
convicts in the Nirb-
haya gang-rape and
murdercasebehanged
on March 3 after it is-
sued fresh death war-
rants, observing that
deferring the execu-
tion any further would
be “sacrilegious” to
the rights of the vic-
tim for expeditious
justice.
The court directed
that the four men-—
Mukesh Kumar Singh
(32), Pawan Gupta (25),
Vinay Kumar Sharma
(26) and Akshay Kumar
(31)—be hanged by neck
on March 3 at 6 am until
they are dead. It is the
third time that the death
warrantswereissuedby
the court against them.
“It is hereby directed
that the death warrants,
as issued by this court
vide order dated Janu-
ary 7, 2020 in respect of
the condemned convicts
namelyMukesh,Pawan,
Akshay and Vinay shall
now be carried into ef-
fect by causing the said
convicts to be hanged by
neck until they are dead
on March 3 at 6 am,” Ad-
ditional Session Judge
Dharmender Rana said.
The court noted that
death warrants were
earlier issued on Janu-
ary 7 and the execution
waslaterdeferredtwice,
i.e., on January 17 and
January 31. Turn on P5
ENDGAME
MARCH 3, 6 AM

Male candidates demand
increment in LRD positions
Man threatened after filing RTI application
at Gujarat Cancer Research Institute
GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
BUGGED? Or is it the
grapevine... . First India
begins a column that
brings to you gossips or
tete-e-tete from the
corridors of power
GUP
SHUP
ALL FOR CREDIT
Asking for credit for a job
well done is understandable
but, who asks for credit
where there is none? The LRD
protest of women candidates
was withdrawn and leaders
belonging to both parties have
been haggling over who gets
the credit for ensuring a good
outcome. Reserved category
candidates were on strike
for two months and received
attention only after politicians
from both parties - the BJP and
Congress joined them. Although
it was the poor candidates who
were doing all the hard work of
agitating for several weeks, the
leaders wish to grab credit in
light of a positive result.
NO GOOD DEED
INDEED!
Several complaints have been
made in the past about the
depletion of grain worth lakhs
of rupees in the Food and Civil
Supplies department. This
prompted department officials to
ask citizens to report corruption
regarding food and civil supplies.
A lawyer from Amraiwadi area of
the city submitted an application
to officials about corruption in
grain shops in the eastern part
of the city. However, instead
of investigating the matter,
department officials asked the
lawyer to look into the matter
himself. When he refused, officials
threatened him. Who would want
to do something good after this?
WHO WANTS TO BE
A MILLIONAIRE?
How much do you earn
after getting an MBA,
engineering or medical
degree? If you’re really
really lucky, you might get
a fabulous package of a
lakh rupees. But, for that to
happen, you have to study
for years and spend almost
a quarter of your life doing
that. On the other hand,
what about people with no or
minimal qualifications? In the
secretariat, there are officers
who will tell you which leader
made how much money after
joining which agitation and
how were the payments made.
So much for hard work!
CANDIDATES TO WRESTLE OUT FOR
RAJYA SABHA SEATS ON MAR 26
Election Commission on Monday declared the date for Upper House polls
First India News
Gandhinagar: The
Election Commission of
India on Monday de-
clared March 26 as the
election date for four Ra-
jya Sabha seats. The
candidates in fray to get
tickets for the election
have already started lob-
bying and meeting sen-
ior party leaders. This is
to ensure that they are
thefirsttobeconsidered
for the panel and later
selected as candidates.
Each party is likely to
gettwomemberselected
as RS members. The big
challenge for both par-
ties is to strike a balance
between regional and
caste equations. While
selectingcandidates,the
parties will have to be
mindful of candidates
whohavegoodinfluence
over their community
and can fetch a substan-
tial number of votes for
the party. The BJP,
which has a strong base
of urban voters, will in
all probability choose
candidates from the ru-
ral area, including one
each from north, central
and western Gujarat.
The party has a no rep-
etition policy for the RS.
So, the chances of retir-
ing candidates getting
another term are low.
The BJP is likely to bal-
ance the candidacy se-
lection between Patel
and OBC members to
reap benefits in the up-
coming panchayat and
municipal elections.
On the other hand,
the Congress does not
have any policy not to
repeat candidates, so
there is a possibility
that sitting RS MP Mad-
husudanMistrymayget
a ticket this year too.
According to sources,
theBJP’sretiringRSMP
Shambhu Prasad Tun-
dia recently met Con-
gress party stalwart,
Ahmed Patel. Tundia is
aScheduledCasteleader
and, should the BJP
deny him a ticket, the
Congress may consider
him since he is an influ-
ential leader who can
bring in the Dalit vote.
Kutch police arrest four
people in Bhuj case
Cong threatens to stage
protest outside Motera
Woman files molestation
case against neighbour
First India News
Gandhinagar: Kutch
Police on Monday ar-
rested four people in
connection with the
Shree Sahajanand Girls
Institute case, where fe-
male students were sub-
jected to a physical
exam to check if they
were menstruating.
Those arrested in-
clude college principal
Ritaben Raniga and
other staff members
namely Anitaben, Nay-
naben, and Ramilaben.
Police produced the ac-
cused before a first-class
judicial magistrate on
Mondayandweregrant-
ed 48-hour remand.
In the last two days,
teams from the Gujarat
State Commission for
Women and National
Commission for Women
investigated the case
and each has prepared
a report, which they
will submit to their re-
spective commissions.
State Education Min-
ister Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama has as-
sured that stern action
will be taken against
institutes if any report
of misbehaviour or im-
proper conduct with
girls or women stu-
dents. If any such case
is reported in schools
then the state education
board will act against
responsible schools and
the same process would
apply to colleges.
First India News
Ahmedabad: Unhap-
py with a recent Su-
preme Court order on
reservation, the Guja-
rat Congress on Mon-
daythreatenedtostage
a protest outside the
Motera Stadium on
February 24. It is inci-
dentally also the venue
where US President
Donald Trump and
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will take part
in a mega event.
A ‘Save the Consti-
tution’ rally was or-
ganized in the Sarang-
pur area of the city
over Supreme Court’s
judgment which does
not bind states to pro-
vide reservation in ap-
pointments of govern-
ment services. There
is no fundamental
right to claim quota in
promotions.
First India News
Ahmedabad: A39-year-
old woman from Vastral
was allegedly molested
by her neighbour last
week. The woman regis-
tered a complaint with
Ramol police against
Mahesh Modi, who used
to visit the victim’s
house often and was ac-
quainted with her fam-
ily too.
She says Modi en-
tered her house on Feb-
ruary 13 even though
she kept telling him to
stay away. He allegedly
started touching her in-
appropriately and used
obscene language. She
further alleged that he
tried to kiss her and
kept pushing her to de-
velop physical relations
with her. Moreover, he
would also make ob-
scene phone calls to her.
The woman narrated
the incident to her hus-
band and family mem-
bers and later filed a
complaint against Ma-
hesh Modi with Ramol
Police station.
Vipul Rajput
Ahmedabad: Yuvraj
Singh Rathore, a for-
mer employee of Guja-
rat Cancer Society
(GCS) hospital, filed
an application against
the director of Gujarat
Cancer Research Insti-
tute (GCRI), accusing
him and his staff of
threatening to kill him
while they were hear-
ing his Right to Infor-
mation (RTI) appeal.
The Bapunagar resi-
dent, in his complaint,
says that he filed an
RTI at GCRI seeking to
get information about
the institute’s connec-
tion with GCS, his for-
mer employers. How-
ever, he said that no
information was given
by the hospital’s man-
agement regarding
the RTI application.
After filing an appeal,
he was summoned to
GCRI at the
Ahmedabad Civil Hos-
pital campus, where
they allegedly threat-
ened him and his fam-
ily instead of helping
him with his appeal.
In his complaint, he
further stated that one
of the employees of
GCRI snatched his mo-
bile phone and told
him to leave the prem-
ises or face dire conse-
quences. Rathore then
reported the matter to
the police control
room and filed an ap-
plication against Dr
Shashank Pandya, the
GCRI director.
First India News
Gandhinagar: Aspir-
ing male candidates of
the Lok Rakshak Dal
(LRD) on Monday start-
ed a dharna demanding
an increase in the num-
ber of positions open to
them. This comes after
the state government
announced an incre-
ment in the number of
positions for women
candidates in the LRD
recruitment process.
Following the declara-
tion, the unreserved
and reserved class
women candidates
withdrew their protest.
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani said, “When so
many women candi-
dates are getting jobs,
there should be no more
protest.”
Kamlesh Solanki, an
aspiring candidate for
LRD had scored 85%
marks in competitive
exams and yet has been
left out of the merit list.
The lack of positions
has prompted male can-
didates to demand more
positions.
While the govern-
ment may be relieved
about the withdrawal
of protest by women
candidates, the fight
over General Resolu-
tion (GR) 2018 contin-
ues. Unreserved-class
leaders have not made
any announcements
whether they plan to
continue agitation or
wait for the Gujarat
High Court to decide on
the GR issue.
Furthermore, lead-
ers of the reserved cat-
egory paid a visit to
Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel and Minis-
ter of State for Home
Pradipsinh Jadeja and
thanked them for the
decision. This gesture
has created division in
the reserved class
group. Their leader Sa-
gar Chaudhary said
that women candidates
may have withdrawn
agitation but the SC/
ST/OBC community
will continue protests
until the GR is
scrapped.
RETIRING FROM RAJYA SABHA
CALL FOR ACTION
Leaders from the reserved category paid a visit to Deputy Chief
Minister Nitin Patel and Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh
Jadeja to thank them for the new formula.
Yuvrajsinh Rathod
 Ramanlal Vora (BJP)
 K C Patel (BJP)
 C K Patel (BJP)
 Poonam Makwana (BJP)
 Sabdsaran Brahmbhatt (BJP)
 Yogi Narsinh Padhiyar (BJP)
 Bharatsinh Solanki (INC)
 Shaktisinh Gohil (INC)
 Jayrajsinh Parmar (INC)
 Deepak Babaria (INC)
 Tushar Chaudhary (INC)
 Shambhu Prasad Tundia (BJP)
 Lalsinh Vadodia (BJP)
 Chinubhai Gohel (BJP)
 Madhusudan Mistry (INC)
CONTENDERS
A team from the NCW visited the Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute
hostel and interacted with the students there. —FILE PHOTO
The Congress took out a rally at Sarangpur in Ahmedabad.
—PHOTOBYNANDANDAVE

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
State is...
Additional Chief Sec-
retary Forest and Envi-
ronment Rajeevkumar
Gupta, Principal Secre-
tary to Chief Minister
M K Das, and Principal
Chief Conservator
Dinesh Sharma were
present during Costa’
visit with the chief
minister.
Masood Azhar...
It has not yet applied
for his subsistence al-
lowance from the UN
Security Council, after
he was proscribed by
the 1267 Committee in
2019. In February 2018,
the FATF had found se-
rious deficiencies in
Pakistan’s anti-money
laundering and com-
bating financing of ter-
rorism regimes and
gave Islamabad a
27-point action plan to
exit the grey list.
SC appoints...
The matter has been
posted for next hear-
ing on February 24.
People have a funda-
mental right to protest,
but the thing which is
troubling us is the
blocking of public
roads, the bench said.
Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta said
Shaheen Bagh protes-
tors should not be giv-
en a message that ev-
ery institution is on its
knees trying to per-
suade them on this is-
sue. The apex court
said that if nothing
works, we will leave it
to the authorities to
deal with the situation.
Protesters have
made their made their
point and the protests
have gone on for quite
some time, it said. Re-
strictions have been
imposed on the Kalindi
Kunj-Shaheen Bagh
stretch and the Okhla
underpass, which were
closed on December 15
last year due to the pro-
tests against CAA and
Register of Citizens.
“It is disappointing
that the state machin-
ery is muted and a si-
lent spectator to hooli-
ganism and vandalism
of the protesters who
are threatening the ex-
istential efficacy of the
democracy and the
rule of law and had al-
ready taken the law
and order situation in
their own hand,” the
plea had said.
In his appeal, Sahni
had sought supervi-
sion of the situation in
Shaheen Bagh, where
several women are sit-
ting on protest, by a
retired Supreme Court
judge or a sitting judge
of the Delhi High
Court. Sahni has said
in his plea that protests
in Shaheen Bagh has
inspired similar
demonstrations in oth-
er cities and to allow it
to continue would set a
wrong precedent.
JAI HO!...
“There is no reason and
justification for the
Unionof Indianottoact
as per the Delhi High
Court verdict,” the
bench said.
The bench said it is
of the opinion that
physiological features
of women have no ef-
fect in granting perma-
nent commission and
they have to be given
equal opportunity at
par with their male
counterparts in the
armed forces.
The top court said
there is need for a
change in mindset
with regard to giving
equal opportunity to
women officers in the
Indian Army even af-
ter 70 years of post-co-
lonial era.
It said the Centre’s
submission of physio-
logical limitation is
based on flawed no-
tions and there is no
constitutional basis to
deny them equal op-
portunity.
It’s all...
“Now deferring it any
further would be sacri-
legious to the rights
of the victim for expe-
ditious justice,” it
said.
In its order, the court
further noted that the
criminal appeal of the
convicts was dismissed
by the Supreme Court
on May 5, 2017 and after
a lapse of about 33
months, convict Pawan
has opted neither to file
any curative petition
nor any mercy petition
has been filed on his
behalf.
FROM JACKET AND PG 1
‘SMC budget is to lure voters’
First India News
Surat: After present-
ing a draft budget by
the Municipal Commis-
sioner Banchhanidhi
Pani, the political wing
of the Surat Municipal
Corporation (SMC) on
Monday began a two-
day marathon of board
meetings. Monday’s
meeting saw the ruling
party count the
achievement of the
civic body even as the
opposition highlighted
its unmet targets.
One Congress coun-
cillorsaid,“Thisbudget
isjusttolurevoters.The
real budget will be seen
after the elections.”
Former Deputy May-
orShankarChevalialso
supported the claims of
the opposition.
He said: “Surat has a
large population of mi-
grants, so it is the
prime responsibility of
the SMC to provide ba-
sic facilities on a prior-
ity basis. The SMC and
its political wing are
planning to include
nearby villages under
the limits of the civic
boundary but there are
still some areas where
people lack sanitation
amenities. In such a
situation, one cannot
plan for a mega city.”
10 more species to
receive protection
under species conf
First India News
Gandhinagar: Ten
more species, including
the Asian elephant,
great Indian bustard
and jaguar, will likely
receive special protec-
tion by the end of the
13th Conference of Par-
ties (COP) to the Con-
vention on the Conser-
vation of Migratory
Species (CMS), which
kicked off on Monday.
Ministers, govern-
ment officials, environ-
ment advocates, activ-
ists, researchers, biodi-
versity leaders, and
stakeholders from as
many as 130 countries
were part of the inau-
gural event on Monday.
India has assumed
the presidency of COP
for the next three years,
and will focus on col-
laborative approaches
to tackle biodiversity
issues. Assuming the
presidency, Union Min-
ister of Environment,
Forest and Climate
Change Prakash Ja-
vadekar said, “The COP
in India will mark the
start of focused atten-
tion to migratory spe-
cies and their habitats.”
He also said: “Migra-
tory birds, mammals,
and aquatic species are
increasingly in danger
on their migration
routes and countries
need to work together to
protect them. For India,
caring about these spe-
cies is part of our ethos
to protect all animals
and natural life on
earth. India is very hap-
py to host CMS COP13.”
Stressing the urgen-
cy to take collaborative
action towards conser-
vation, Amy Fraenkel,
Executive Secretary of
CMS, said, “COP13
comes at a critical time
for wildlife conserva-
tion, with continued
downward trends of
habitat loss and species
decline.”
The jaguar and the Asian elephant are among the 10 species that
are likely to receive added protection. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Vipul Rajput
Ahmedabad: The
EMRI 108 emergency
ambulance service will
survey the 22km route
and keep its fleet ready
to meet any emergency
during the roadshow
andtheeventatMotera
Stadium for the event
that is being called Na-
maste, Trump.
The Ahmedabad col-
lector sent an advisory
notice to the ambu-
lance service EMRI 108
ahead of the visit.
They have been or-
dered to deploy more
ambulances on the
route for the road show.
Jaswant Prajapati,
Chief Operating Offic-
er of EMRI Ambulance
Service 108, told First
India, “We have re-
ceived the advice no-
tice from Ahmedabad
Collector KK Nirala.
So, in the next one or
two days, we will pre-
pare our plan on the
basis of the survey
which will be conduct-
ed in the next couple of
days.”
Routine emergency
services of EMRI 108
will still be running in
the city.
Prajapati adds, “It is
very important to keep
in mind the possible
medical emergencies
that can happen dur-
ing and after the VVIP
Movement. We cur-
rently have about eight
ambulances on the
VVIP route and loca-
tion. But a large num-
ber of people are com-
ing to the program. So
we put around a dozen
more ambulances
along with additional
para medical staff on
the route and loca-
tion.”
EMRI 108 to survey roadshow
route for US President’s visit
T
he security vehi-
cles of US Presi-
dent Donald
Trump’s convoy ar-
rived at Ahmedabad
Airport on Monday.
As the countdown to
Trump and First
Lady Mela-
nia’s visit
t o the
city comes closer,
preparations for their
arrival seem to have
reached a feverish
peak. Plants and flow-
er beds are being
placed on the 22-km
stretch of road which
Trump is ex-
pected to
p a s s . T h e
First Lady
M e l a -
n i a
Trump and the Presi-
dent are likely to be
gifted a replica of Pa-
tan’s Rani ki Vav and
also the world-famous
Patan nu Patola sa-
ree. The walls of
Motera Stadium are
being painted with
colours and slogans
on Swachh Bharat
Mission. The roads
will have than 300 dif-
ferent posters and
hoardings of Trump
and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to-
gether.
Trump cavalcade debuts in A’bad
Cars of US President Donald Trump’s cavalcade arrived in US
Air Force Cargo plane on Monday. —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 84 G 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: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
SC JUNKS
CENTRE’S GENDER
BIAS IN THE ARMY
oliticians and parochialism go
hand in hand, allowing patriarchy
and contradictions to thrive even
in the 21st century Indian society.
Although an Indian male may
worship Durga and Kali, it hurts his ego to
see a woman fight alongside him in a battle
zone. And to see her command a tank or in-
fantry regiment is too preposterous an idea
for them even when some countries have
given them equal opportunity. Norway, for ex-
ample, allowed women in all combat roles in
1985, America opened all ground combat jobs
to women in 2016, the same year UK lifted ban
on women serving in close combat units and
women have served in combat positions since
1995. Surprisingly, while opposing permanent
commission and parity to women in all
branches of the army the government ap-
peared to foster the closed societal mindset.
In a case which can be termed as govern-
ment proposes, Supreme Court disposes,
women’s long-pending demand seeking per-
manent commissions and command posi-
tions in the Army has got the apex court’s
nod. The Union government told the Supreme
Court last week that women were not suitable
for command posts in the army as male
troops were “not yet prepared” to accept
women officers. In an affidavit the Centre
said, “The composition of rank and file
being male and predominantly drawn
from rural background, with prevailing
societal norms, the troops are not yet
mentally schooled to accept women offic-
ers in command.”
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and
Ajoy Rastogi rejected the Centre’s argument
against granting permanent commission
roles citing physiological features saying
this mindset must change as it perpetuates
“gender stereotypes”. The Supreme Court
has been quoted as saying, “It is an insult to
women as well as the Army when aspersions
are cast on women, their ability and their
achievements in the Army. Reading out the
order Justice Chandrachud said, “Soldiers
must have the physical capability to do one’s
role. Women in the army is an evolutionary
process.”
The bench directed the Centre to grant
permanent commission within three
months to all women officers in the Army
who opt for it. As per the order, the terms
of appointment of women officers shall
be the same as their male counterparts.
The Centre putting forth women soldiers’
physiological disadvantage was, to put it
mildly, ridiculous. Women IPS officers like
Kiran Bedi, late Kanchan Chaudhary and
Anju Gupta have demonstrated their leader-
ship capability while leading a rank and file
drawn mostly from rural background. They
led the police force decades ago when the so-
ciety had an even more regressive mindset.
Those who opt for field postings and com-
mand positions are fully aware of the dangers
and are brave enough to face them. As one
woman officer said, “Let women take a call
whether they want to go to the front.”
IN-DEPTH
P uring his tenure as the Joint
Secretary in the Ministry of Ag-
riculture from 2010 to 2015, your
columnist held the additional
charge of MD of Nafed thrice
for varying intervals of time.
Thosewereindeedverydifficult
times for Nafed, and it was dif-
ficult to keep the organization
running. However, thanks to the
restructuring and revival pack-
age of the Union government,
thesagacityof theelectedBoard
and the professionalism of its
top management, Nafed has be-
come the lead procurement
agency for pulses and oilseeds,
andisagaincontributingtoboth
farmers welfare by providing
the marketing support to this
veryimportantagri-commodity.
It was therefore, in the fit-
ness of things that NAFED
took the lead in organizing
the World Pulses Day in In-
dia with the active support of
the Global Pulse Confedera-
tion, FAO, Ministry of Farm-
ers Welfare and Co-operation,
NITI Ayog, AgriBazaar and
NEML on February 10,2020 at
the Dr Ambedkar Interna-
tional Centre at New Delhi.
Celebrating the entire value
chain of pulses started with
the UNGA declaring 2016 as
the International Year Puls-
es, and getting the FAO, IFAD,
CGIAR and national institu-
tions involved in this. Al-
though India should have
taken the lead in pressing for
the IYP as we are the world’s
largest producer, processor,
importer and consumer of
pulses, it is good that starting
from this year, the Global Pulse
Confederation and Nafed are
committing themselves to or-
ganizing the event in India on
the designated day (February
10) each year! It may be pointed
outthatproductionof pulsesfits
very well into the agenda of the
Sustainable Development goals
of the UN. The FAO report on
IYP says ‘thanks to their low-fat
content, absence of gluten and
richness in vitamins and miner-
als,pulesareessentialforhealth,
preventing diseases and com-
bating malnutrition and mal-
nourishment, pulses contribute
directly to the first, second and
thirteenth SDGs (poverty re-
moval, eliminating hunger and
climateaction),andindirectlyto
the rest!
In his keynote address NITI
Ayog member Prof Ramesh
Chand shared how Green
Revolution technologies
which saw a massive spurt in
the production of wheat and
rice also created the negative
externality of pulses being
moved to the most marginal
areas. The fact that they can
grow on poor soils does not
mean that they will not grow
if the soil is good and the land
is irrigated. However, the eco-
nomics of grain proved to be
much better than that of
pulses, and India got her rice
and wheat surpluses at great
ecological costs with large
tracts of land in Punjab and
Haryana facing acute water
distress. The healthy and pro-
tein rich pulses gave way to po-
tato and onion which made the
diets even more carbohydrate
centric, thereby leading to its
own set of issues. Again, while
the procurement of wheat and
rice was done by FCI for the
maintenance of a national sur-
plus pool and the PDS, pulses
receivedlowerMSP,andwasnot
part of the PDS. And although
neither he, nor any other speak-
er pointed out, the fact is that
Nafed’s existential crisis for
over a decade also contributed
to the decline in the salience of
pulsesinourdiets. This brings
us to the larger issue that an
effective co-operative market-
ing arrangement provides the
basic assurance to farmers
that their produce will have a
ready market. Thus, institu-
tionalstrengtheningisasimpor-
tant as the gains which technol-
ogy provides in terms of better
and high yield varieties. It was
good to note that this aspect of
strengthening farmers institu-
tionslikeco-operatives’andself-
help groups was taken up in the
technical sessions, for without a
‘value chain’ in this (or any oth-
er commodity), the farmer
would not get the fair price for
her produce.
In his Inaugural address ,
Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar com-
plimented the farmers of the
country for having made In-
dia self-sufficient in pulses
from 2016-17 by producing
25 MT of pulses. He went on
to add ‘our government has
taken several policy meas-
ures for increasing the con-
sumption of pulses, like sup-
ply of pulses to armed forc-
es and CAPFs, inclusion of
pulses to states under PDS,
mid-day meals and ICDS pro-
gramme. These have helped
protect the interest of farmers,
aswellassustaintheincreasing
trend in the production of puls-
es ‘Earlier he launched Nafed
Pulses in easy ‘family packs’, as
wellasNafed OrganicPulses to
meet growing demand for qual-
ity pulses across all strata of
society. This step of Nafed to
developitsownbrandforpulses
will go a long way in providing
a market for pulses beyond the
PDS, besides opening avenues
for exports, especially for or-
ganic produce. As people be-
come more health conscious,
they would also like to move to
food which is grown locally as
well as organically!
To the sceptics who re-
gard pulses as the poor man’s
protein, and scoff at the idea
of ‘knowledge and technol-
ogy share platform for this
wonder- crop, all one can say
is that pulses have been part
of the diet of nobility and
warrior classes across civili-
zations. Legend has it that
during his year of disguise
as chef in their ‘incognito
year of exile’, Bhima had
perfected the art of making
a wide range of culinary
items with lentils. Through-
out the length and breadth
of the country, pulses are
part of our diet, and reflect
great diversity of food tradi-
tions. As it was both nutritious
and easy to carry, most armies
carried pulses in convoys.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
THE WORLD
PULSES DAY
D
Green
Revolution
technologies
which saw a
massive spurt
in the
production of
wheat and rice
also created the
negative
externality of
pulses being
moved to the
most marginal
areas
Union Agriculture Min
Narendra Singh
Tomar complimented
farmers for having
made India self-
sufficient from 2016-
17 by producing 25
MT of pulses
ver since the
ruling Bharati-
ya Janata Party
(BJP) enacted
the Citizenship
Amendment Act that dis-
criminates specifically
against Muslim asylum
seekers, India’s Muslim
minority has been protest-
ing and agitating. It is re-
acting against what it per-
ceives to be majoritarian
tyranny that has been ex-
acerbated by the rise of the
“Saffron brigade.”
Muslim protests would
not have carried much
weight without the support
of the enlightened sections
of the majority Hindu com-
munity. Other minority
communities have also sup-
portedtheprotests,amplify-
ingthevoiceof India’sMus-
lims. In fact, the best Indian
minds have followed their
conscience and spoken out
against the new citizenship
law. They argue that it is a
flagrant violation of the
spirit of the Indian Consti-
tution, which is based on
inclusion, secularism, plu-
ralism and democracy.
TIME TO INTEGRATE
In keeping with the inclu-
sive spirit of the constitu-
tion, Muslim leaders must
now integrate and even
assimilate into Indian
mainstream. Their lead-
ers and opinion leaders
must understand that
they are an indivisible
part of the Indian nation.
So, opposing some of the
symbols of this young na-
tion such as Vande Mata-
ram, the Sanskrit hymn to
the motherland, is coun-
terproductive. Similarly,
invoking Islamic imagery
in politics is equally un-
helpful.
Indian Muslims must
not get insulated into a
ghetto mentality fomented
by conventional mullahs.
The ulema have created all
sorts of cultural and psy-
chological hurdles for In-
dian Muslims to get a mod-
ern education. This means
that they are unable to
claim their legitimate
rights as citizens of India,
which include schools, hos-
pitals, roads and basic ser-
vices. It is indubitable that
sections of Hindu society
have deep contempt for
Muslims, which has been
nurtured for a very long
time. Furthermore, the In-
dian state has failed to
adopt policies that could
help poor Muslims break
out of the stranglehold of
poverty and illiteracy. Both
prejudice and policy have
exacerbated the overall
bad situation.
Currently, different com-
munities in India are gov-
erned by different laws.
These laws are based on
religion. The BJP has long
been planning to replace
different laws governing
personal matters of citi-
zens and draft a uniform
civil code. Supreme Court
has repeatedly called for
such a code.
HUMANISM &PLURALISM
Indian Muslims must re-
alize that there is no mag-
ic solution to their back-
wardness. They must
make an all-out effort to
adopt a modern world-
view even as they remain
steadfast to their spiritual
beliefs. Islam as an iden-
tity marker is fine, but it
should harmonize with an
Indian identity. The two-
nation theory of Moham-
mad Ali Jinnah did great
harm to the one-third of
the Muslims of British In-
dia who did not leave for
Pakistan and remained be-
hind in India. That past
cannot be undone, but the
present is here and now.
The time has come for In-
dian Muslims to adapt to
presentrealities.Theymust
adopt a positive attitude to-
ward other communities.
India is unique in being a
fascinating mosaic of eth-
nicities and languages.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM
Muslim minority should join nat’l mainstream
E
Muslims in India
must get rid of
ghetto mentality,
embrace modern
education and
Indian identity
based on humanism,
not religion
TOP TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
The global steel industry is
reeling under the pressure of
overcapacities and high cost
of steel production. Our steel
industry must proactively focus
on reducing raw material exports,
producing value added steel and
enhancing cost competitiveness
to stay ahead of the curve.
The author is an IAS &
Director, Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of
Administration Mussoorie
and Honorary Curator, Valley
of Words: Literature and Arts
Festival, Dehradun
DR SANJEEV
CHOPRA

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
New Delhi: Supreme
Court on Monday re-
fused to pass an order
on Vodafone-Idea's plea
to direct the central
government not to en-
cash its bank guarantee
in view of Adjusted
Gross Revenue (AGR)
judgement.
Senior advocate
Mukul Rohatgi, appear-
ing for Vodafone-India,
mentioned the matter
before a bench of Jus-
tice Arun Mishra and
said that it will deposit
Rs 2,500 crore with the
Department of Tele-
communications (DoT)
today and Rs 1,000 crore
by Friday, and it needs
more time to deposit the
entire amount arising
out of the AGR judge-
ment. Rohatgi request-
ed to not take any 'coer-
cive measures” against
the company, including
encashment of its bank
guarantees with the
government.
After hearing Rohat-
gi, Mishra declined to
pass any instruction to
the government.
The Supreme Court,
while hearing a plea on
payment of dues under
the AGR case on Friday,
had observed how the
telecom companies had
violated its order “in
pith and substance”
and not paid the money
to the Centre.
A three-judge bench
headed by Mishra said:
“This case projects a
very disturbing scenar-
io. The companies have
violated the order
passed by this court in
pith and substance. In
spite of the dismissal of
the review application,
they have not deposited
any amount so far.”
Justice Mishra, in
his order, also made it
clear that it appears
that the way in which
things are happening
shows “scant respect to
the directions issued by
the top court.”
“A desk officer of the
DoT has the temerity
to pass the order to the
effect of issuing a di-
rection to the account-
ant general, another
constitutional author-
ity, not to insist for any
payment pursuant to
the order passed by
this court and not to
take any coercive steps
till further orders,” the
court had observed.
Warning the telecom
companies of initiation
of contempt proceed-
ings against them and a
desk officer of the DoT,
the top had court ruled,
“This is nothing but a
device to scuttle order
of this court. This kind
of order should not
have been passed by the
desk officer at all.” —ANI
SCdeclinestopassdirection
overVodafone-Idea’splea
AGR DUES NIRBHAYA CASE
New Delhi: Asha Devi,
mother of the 2012 Del-
hi gang-rape victim, on
Monday voiced hope
that fresh death war-
rants would be issued
against all four convicts
by a Delhi court.
Delhi’s Patiala House
Court heard a plea seek-
ing issuance of a fresh
death warrant against
the convicts in the Nirb-
haya case. While speak-
ing to reporters before
that Asha Devi said,
“Several dates have
come and gone but fresh
death warrants have
not been issued yet. But
we go with new hope in
every hearing. Their
(convicts’) lawyers use
new tactics every day, I
cannot say what will
happen today but I am
hopeful.” —ANI
‘Hopeful for issuance of
fresh death warrants: Mom
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Mon-
day appointed advocate Ravi Qazi as
the counsel for one of the death-row
convicts Mukesh, in the Nirbhaya gang-
rape and murder case, after he showed
unwillingness to be represented by his
counsel, Vrinda Grover.
“If he tells me that he doesn''t want to
be represented by me, it won''t be pro-
fessional for me to stay on the matter,”
Amicus Curiae Grover told the court.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra
Rana called it “unfortunate” and appre-
ciated Grover for her efforts in giving
legal assistance to Mukesh. Ravi Qazi
was also appointed counsel for Pawan
last week after his lawyer A.P. Singh
recused himself from the case. Of the
four convicts, Pawan has not yet availed
the remedy of either curative or mercy
petition. The court was hearing a plea
seeking issuance of fresh date for the
death warrants in the case. —ANI
COURT APPOINTS
COUNSEL FOR NIRBHAYA
DEATH ROW CONVICT
New Delhi: Nirbhaya convict Vinay
Kumar Sharma is on hunger strike and
his mental status is also not well, his
lawyer AP Singh told the Delhi's Patiala
House Court on Monday.
Singh also sought direction to jail
authorities for his health check-up and
proper medical report. The lawyer, who
also represents another convict, Akshay
Thakur, said that Thakur had filed mercy
petition in an incomplete way and he
wants to file a fresh mercy petition.
Court began hearing on a plea seek-
ing issuance of fresh death warrants
against all four convicts in the 2012
Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.
Tihar Jail's law officer handed over a
status report to the court. Special Pub-
lic Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan apprised
the court about the current status of the
case and also stated that three out of
four convicts have already exhausted
their legal remedies. —ANI
New Delhi: After Un-
ion Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank as-
serted that attempts to
denigrate institutions
like JNU and Jamia will
not be tolerated, Con-
gress leader Kapil Sibal
on Monday took a dig at
him stating that the
“Minister should walk
the talk”.
“I entirely agree with
the Human Resource
Development Minister's
statement. But what has
the government done?
We know for the fact
what happened in Jawa-
harlal Nehru University
(JNU). Is any action be-
ing taken? So, the HRD
Minister must walk the
talk. He cannot just
talk,” said Sibal. “What
happened to miscre-
ants those who entered
JNU? Nothing has hap-
pened. The police are
not telling the truth.
Police are there to pro-
tect people and not to
attack them. Police said
they did not enter the
library. But now, it is
clear that they entered
the library,” he said.
Nishank on Sunday
said that those who
will try to denigrate
good institutions like
JNU and Jamia Millia
Islamia will not be
tolerated. —ANI
You must walk the talk:
Sibal takes dig at Pokhriyal
over JNU, Jamia remark
New Delhi: During the
Jamia violence on De-
cember 15, those pre-
sent in the university
library had to cover
their faces with hand-
kerchiefs due to tear
gas, claimed students
on Monday.
Delhi Police had re-
leased CCTV footage
showing young men
and women putting a
cloth on their faces
when the violence
broke out on the cam-
pus. “I want to ask po-
lice that they threw
shells and made it (li-
brary) a gas chamber.
We put the mask on the
face as it was difficult
for us to breathe. They
were also wearing
masks,” said Juber Ah-
mad, student and mem-
ber of Jamia Coordina-
tion Committee.
“Initially, Delhi Po-
lice said they don't en-
ter the library. Later,
they said that they en-
tered the library be-
cause stone-pelters
came into the library. If
someone from outside
entered the library then
the police would have
identified them with
the help of University
security staff,” he said.
On December 15,
2019, cops allegedly car-
ried out a crackdown at
the Jamia Millia, fol-
lowing protests against
Citizenship Amend-
ment Act. —ANI
‘Coveredfacestoprotectfromteargas’
We put the mask on the face as it was difficult for us to breathe. Police were also wearing masks, a student claimed.
JAMIA VIOLENCE A DAY AFTER THE CCTV FOOTAGE SHOWING MASKED YOUTH WAS RELEASED, STUDENTS CLAIMED
GADKARI ATTENDS CONFERENCE
ON ROAD SAFETY IN STOCKHOLM
New Delhi: Union Minister
Nitin Gadkari represented
India at third High-Level
Global Conference on
Road Safety for Achiev-
ing Global Goals 2030 in
Stockholm on Monday. Its
objective is to bring road
safety on global agenda
and renew world com-
munity's commitment to
safer roads. Leaders will
draw up a road-map for
reaching UN's goal set un-
der UN Decade of Action
of reducing road crashes
by 2030. Gadkarialso held
a bilateral dialogue with
Swedish Minister for Infra-
structure Tomas Eneroth,
Minister for Foreign Trade
Anna Hallberg, Minister
for Business, Industry &
Innovation Ibrahim Baylan
and UK Minister for Road
Safety Baroness Vere.
NAVY CHIEF TO VISIT MYANMAR
FROM FEBRUARY 17 TO 20
New Delhi: Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh
will embark on a four-day visit to Myanmar from
February 17 to 20 to consolidate and enhance
the bilateral maritime relations between the two
countries. “Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh to
visit Myanmar from February 17 to 20. The visit
is intended to consolidate and enhance the bilat-
eral maritime relations between India and Myan-
mar,” officials said. Last year, Singh had visited
Sri Lanka to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral
maritime relations between the two countries.
EX-TRIPURA CHIEF SECRETARY
ARRESTED IN PWD SCAM
Agartala: Former Tripura Chief Secretary Yash
Pal Singh was arrested on Monday in connection
with a multi-crore PWD scam from Ghaziabad
in a joint operation by police of two states, said
Acting Tripura DGP, Rajiv Singh. “Singh would be
produced in a court in Uttar Pradesh for getting
his transit remand and with the permission of the
court he would be brought to Agartala for further
legal formalities,” the officiating Tripura Police
Chief said. Singh was state Principal Secretary
(PWD) during 2008-09.
CONG LEADERS WANT PRIYANKA
GANDHI AS RS NOMINEE FROM MP
New Delhi: Four Con-
gress leaders from Mad-
hya Pradesh on Monday
urged party leadership
to field Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra from the state in
the Rajya Sabha polls. 3
RS seats from the state
are falling vacant in April.
One seat is currently
represented by Congress
veteran Digvijaya Singh,
while other two are held
by BJP. Congress is likely
to bag two of these three
seats following the party's
victory in 2018 MP
Assembly polls. Mad-
hya Pradesh Congress
leaders, including former
Union minister Arun
Yadav and three current
state ministers Sajjan
Singh Verma, PC Sharma
and Jaivardhan Singh,
backed Priyanka Gandhi.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: A special Delhi court issued no-
tices to CBI and ED on Karti Chidambaram
application, who is co-accused
in Aircel Maxis case along
with his father P Chidambar-
am and others. Earlier, Karti
had sought permission to
travel to the United Kingdom
and France between Febru-
ary 17 to March 1. The trial court while grant-
ing anticipatory bail had imposed certain
conditions. One was that accused shall not
leave country without permission. Karti's
lawyers apprised that SC has already granted
permission to him to travel abroad.
New Delhi: Delhi HC on Monday issued a
notice to Centre, CBI and Delhi Police on a
petition seeking
a CBI probe into
mass molesta-
tion incident
that took place at
Delhi’s Gargi
College. The court has asked the parties to
file their reply and has listed the matter for
April 30.
The plea was mentioned on Friday for ur-
gent hearing before a bench of Justices GS
Sistani and C Hari Shankar.
On February 6, a group of men broke into
the college and allegedly groped, harassed
and molested girl students.
Court seeks ED, CBI
response on Karti’s plea
Gargi case: Centre's reply
sought on plea for CBI probe
UNPAID REVENUE
Several dates of court hearing have come
and gone but fresh death warrants haven't
been issued. Though, we have demanded
death warrant, we aren't getting it. On every single
hearing we go with a new hope.
Their advocates are using dif-
ferent strategies and new tac-
tics to delay the case. I can't
say what will happen but I
hope that death warrant will be
released against them.
—Asha Devi, Nirbhaya's Mother
FORMER DELHI
LG NAJEEB
JUNG DEMANDS
INVESTIGATION
Former Lieutenant
Governor of Delhi
Najeeb Jung demand-
ed an investigation
into the incident,
the CCTV footage of
which is doing rounds
showing policemen
in riot gears barging
into JMI library and
beating students with
batons on the night
of December 15 last
year. “A statement
should come from
the Police on this. If
a student entered the
library carrying stone
that is also condemn-
able. There should be
a proper investigation
into this,” Jung, who
was also the Vice-
Chancellor of JMI
before taking over as
Delhi LG. —ANI
New Delhi: Delhi
HC issued notices
to Centre and Delhi
Police on a petition
filed by a student
injured during De-
cember 15 protests
at Jamia Millia Isla-
mia University.
Shayyan Mujeeb
who suffered inju-
ries on both his legs
due to the alleged
police brutality in-
side the library, has
sought a compensa-
tion of Rs 2 crore.
Mujeeb had report-
edly spent Rs 2 lakh
on his treatment.
On Sunday, the
students’ organisa-
tion in Jamia re-
leased a video that
showed uniformed
personnel indis-
criminately beating
students. —ANI
HC Notice to
Centre on aid
for injured
student
NIRBHAYA CONVICT VINAY ’S
MENTAL STATUS NOT WELL:
LAWYER TO DELHI COURT

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
New Delhi: Chief of
Defence Staff (CDS)
General Bipin Rawat
on Monday said the
military theatre com-
mands are planned to
be rolled out by the
year 2022 which will
help the three armed
forces to fight future
wars jointly.
“The Military theatre
commands are planned
to be rolled out by the
year 2022. The shape of
different theatre com-
mands would be clear
after the studies to be
ordered in this regard
are completed,” he said.
The Department of Mil-
itary Affairs, headed by
CDS has been given the
mandate to create joint
military commands
along with theatre com-
mands which would a
mega restructuring ex-
ercise involving the
three services.
The CDS hinted that
there may be a separate
Jammu and Kashmir
theatre.
“We may have a sepa-
rate Jammu and Kash-
mir theatre but the
shape would be final-
ised later. We are also
working on separate
joint commands for lo-
gistics and training,”
he said.
He further said that a
study has been ordered
under the Air Force
Vice Chief, on the Air
Defence Command.
“A study has been or-
dered under the Air
Force Vice Chief, on the
Air Defence Command,
which will be helpful in
avoiding fratricides and
timely implementation
of orders in case of aer-
ial attacks,” he said.
Rawat is aiming to set
up the first integrated
tri-services command
by June this year which
will be headed by an
IAF officer. —ANI
‘Militarycommandstorolloutby2022’Chief of Defence Staff Gen Rawat also said that India is also looking at creating a distinct theatre command for
Jammu & Kashmir and integrating the western and eastern naval commands to create a Peninsular Command
Daman:President Ram
Nath Kovind on Mon-
day said the NDA gov-
ernment is taking sev-
eral steps to strengthen
the rural economy and
it has announced to
spend Rs 25 lakh crore
on the agriculture sec-
tor across the country.
Kovind was speaking
here after laying the
foundation stone of
various works and in-
augurating some devel-
opmental projects of
the Union Territory of
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
and Daman & Diu
through remote control.
Addressing a gather-
ing, Kovind congratu-
lated people over the
merger of Daman and
Diu, and Dadra and Na-
gar Haveli last month.
Govt working to boost rural economy: Kovind
Srinagar: Days after
the dates for by-elec-
tions to panchayats
were announced, the
Jammu and Kashmir
Congress party has said
it will take part in the
polls if restrictions on
its leaders were lifted
and they are allowed to
move freely.
State Party Presi-
dent Ghulam Ahmad
Mir said that the party
cannot be expected to
take part in the Pan-
chayat by-elections
when its top leadership
was barred from free
movement in the Union
Territory.
The panchayat by-
polls are going to be
held in eight phases
from March 5 in the Un-
ion Territory.
Mir said that an as-
surance should come
from the administra-
tion that the leaders
were free to move, then
only the party can take
part in the elections.
“We are not allowed
to move freely,” Mir
said. “Movement of the
top leadership of the
party has been restrict-
ed, even I as the state
party president cannot
move out of Jammu.”
He said the adminis-
tration is applying dif-
ferent yard sticks for
different phases of poll-
ing for the Panchayat
elections.
“The first phase of
the Panchayat elections
in which 70 % of the
members were held on
non party basis, now we
are told the elections
will be held on party ba-
sis for electing the rest
of 30 per cent mem-
bers,” Mir said. “How
can there be two rules
for two phases of the
Panchayat polls?”
HesaidnormallyPan-
chayat polls across the
country are conducted
on non party basis.
‘Willtakepartinpollifcurbsarelifted’
Mumbai: A major fire
broke out on the eighth
floor of GST Bhavan at
Mazgaon in Byculla,
officials said. There
were no reports of any
casualties in the inci-
dent so far. The Mum-
bai fire brigade car-
ried out a search oper-
ation of the building
alongside the fire
fighting operations to
check if there were
any trapped persons in
the building. The fire
brigade had pressed 16
fire engines and 9 wa-
ter tankers to the spot.
The intensity of the
fire escalated quickly
to level 4 (major) from
Level 3 within 45 min-
utes since it broke out.
Fire breaks out in GST Bhavan, none hurt Maharashtra to
Conduct ‘Parallel’
Probe as Case
Transferred to NIA
The intensity of fire escalated to level 4 (major) from level 3.
Prez Kovind inaugurating various developmental projects of Dadra & Nagar Haveli in Daman.
New Delhi: Maharash-
tra govt announced that
it will carry out a ‘par-
allel investigation’ into
Elgar Parishad case.
NCP leader Nawab Ma-
lik said, “The state gov-
ernment will carry out
a parallel enquiry in
the Bhima Koregaon
case through a (SIT).
Our Home Minister will
make a decision soon,
over forming the SIT.”
New Delhi: A British
MP, critical of India's
move to withdraw Jam-
mu and Kashmir's spe-
cial status, said she
was denied entry de-
spite a valid visa after
she landed at Delhi air-
port and deported to
Dubai from where she
had flown into the In-
dian capital.
Labour Party MP
Debbie Abraham's
charge of a valid visa
was rebutted by In-
dia's Home ministry
which said she was in-
formed about her e-
visa being cancelled.
Abrahams, who
chairs the All Party
Parliamentary Group
for Kashmir, said she
was travelling on a val-
id e-visa to India to visit
family and friends but
her visa was revoked
without explanation.
A Home Ministry
spokesperson in New
Delhi said the British
parliamentarian had
been duly informed
that her visa was
cancelled and she ar-
rived Delhi despite
knowing this.
When contacted,
Abrahams told PTI she
“had not received any
emails before February
13”. After that, she had
been travelling and was
away from office.
She said later several
immigration officials
came to her but none of
them knew why her e-
visa was cancelled.
“Even the person who
seemed to be in charge
said he didn't know and
was really sorry about
what had happened.”
British MP who leads
Kashmir group denied
entry into India
WILL MHA HAVE ONE MORE
SECRETARY?
According to sources, MHA is likely to have one
more Secretary level post. UTs J&K, Laddakh
and Ayodhya are now under MHA .It is said that
in the recent months, increased many workloads
has necessitated to have one more Secretary in
the Ministry.
ANURAG AGRAWAL TO JOIN ED?
Anurag Agrawal is likely to join Enforcement Di-
rectorate as Special Director. He is a 1998 batch
IPS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
WILL PRAVIR RANJAN BE
NEW DG OF GOA?
Name of Pravir Ranjan is doing the round for
the post of DG Goa. He is a 1993 batch IPS
officer of UT cadre.
DR KAUR IN THE RACE
FOR DG, MOEF &CC
A 1983 batch IFS officer of Haryana cadre, Dr
Amrinder Kaur appears to be one of the con-
tenders for the post of Director General in the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MEF&CC).
DEPUTATION TENURE OF MS
CHAUDHURI ENDING SOON
The central deputation tenure of Smita S
Chaudhuri working as Joint Secretary, National
Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is
coming to an end soon. She is a 1990 batch
IA&AS officer.
CHANDRA TO JOIN AS DIRECTOR,
CVC ON FEB 17
Rajesh Chandra is expected to take over the
charge as Director in the Central Vigilance
Commission on February 17, 2020. He is a 2003
batch IDAS officer.
SEVEN-YEAR DEPUTATION OF
ADITYA JOSHI ENDING SOON
Seven-year deputation tenure of Aditya Joshi
working as Director, Central Vigilance Commis-
sion (CVC) is coming to an end soon. He is a
1995 batch IRAS officer.
ARVIND KUMAR APPOINTED AS
DEPUTY SECRETARY, DOPT
Arvind Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Heavy Indus-
try, has been appointed as Deputy Secretary,
Department of Personnel & Training. He is a
CSS officer.
THREE IAS OFFICERS SHIFTED
IN MAHARASHTRA
Vinita Vaid Singal has been appointed as
Managing Director, Maharashtra State Film,
Stage and Cultural Affairs Development
Corporation, Mumbai, while Vijay Singhal is
Commissioner-cum-Director, Municipal Ad-
ministration, Mumbai and Vipin Itankar was
made Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad,
Latur has been posted as Collector, Nanded
in Maharashtra.
POWERGallery
CISF RECOVERS FOREIGN
CURRENCY WORTH OVER RS 42L
New Delhi: The CISF
nabbed one person at the
IGI Airport & recovered
foreign currency worth ap-
proximately Rs 42.35 lakh
from his possession. The
accused identified as Mo-
hammad Arshi, resident
of Delhi, was supposed to
travel to Dubai. Officials
said that suspicious im-
ages were noticed during
the x-ray screening of his
bags, following which it
was physically examined.
“On physical checking of
the bag, a huge amount
of foreign currencies
(1,97,500-Saudi Riyal
and 2,000-Kuwaiti Dinar)
worth approximately INR
42.35 lakh were found.
They were finely concealed
in perfume cans & cloth
pouches kept inside his
bags,” the CISF said.
MAGSAYSAY AWARD WINNER HELD
ON WAY TO ANTI-CAA MARCH
Lucknow: A Magsaysay Award-winning social
activist was arrested by the Lucknow police on
Monday, while he was about to take out a protest
march against the Citizenship Amendment Act
and the National Register of Citizens in the Uttar
Pradesh capital. The activist, Sandeep Pandey,
was released on bail after being produced in the
District Magistrate's court. Police said a case un-
der Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code, which
pertains to violating prohibitory orders, was filed
against him at the Thakurganj police station.
3 KASHMIRI STUDENTS, HELD IN
SEDITION CASE, RE-ARRESTED
Hubballi: Three Kashmiri engineering students
a college facing sedition charges were arrested
again after protests broke out against police for
releasing them on execution of a bond under
Section 169 of CrPC. The trio, students of a
private engineering college, were arrested for
raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting it on
social media on the first anniversary of the terror-
ist attack that left scores of CRPF soldiers dead at
Pulwama in Kashmir.They were let off on Sunday
execution of a bond under Section 169 of CrPC.
‘DIRTY’ YAMUNA HEADACHE FOR UP
ADMN BEFORE TRUMP’S TAJ VISIT
Agra: The dry and
polluted river Yamuna at
the rear of the Taj Mahal
is the biggest concern
for the UP administration
engaged in organising
a grand welcome to US
President Donald Trump,
his wife Melania and
delegation members who
will arrive at the Kheria
airport on February 24.
When Donald Trump
visits the Taj Mahal, what
would be the first likely
question that he could
ask, “Is the Taj yellowing
due to pollution? Is this a
river or a sewage drain?”
officials are preparing to
answer these questions to
present a positive profile
of state & union govt that
claims to have addressed
the problem of river pollu-
tion and air pollution.
The Indian Navy's plan to acquire a third
aircraft carrier may not materialize in
near future, CDS General Bipin Rawat
hinted. Replying to a media query on his
priority between submarines & another
aircraft carrier for the Navy, General
Rawat said: “When we know that there
would be two aircraft carriers there, and
if the submarine force is dwindling, then
our priority should be for submarines.”
'NAVY MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR
3RD AIRCRAFT CARRIER'
The official
looked at his
screen and
started shaking his
head.Then he told me
my visa was rejected,
took my passport.
—Debbie Abrahams,
British MP
NEW PROJECTS
TAKING CHARGE
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gestures as he takes charge of his office at Delhi
Secretariat in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

SPORTSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
Vidit on top in
chess tourney
Prague: Indian Grand
Master Vidit Gujrathi
opened up a one-point
lead after posting an
impressive win over
world’s top junior Al-
ireza Firouzja in the
fifth round of the
Prague Chess Festival’s
Masters Category here.
The 25-year old notched
up his third win by out-
classing his Iranian op-
ponent in a 24-move
Slav exchange late on
Sunday. Firouzja, play-
ing with black pieces,
underestimated the
power of the exchanged
variants and went down
without much of a
fight.
Harsimran invited
to NBA academy
New Delhi: Indias Har-
simran Kaur has been
invited to participate in
a multi-week training
camp from at The NBA
Global Academy at Bas-
ketball Australias Cen-
tre of Excellence in
Canberra. This will be
her second stint at the
NBA Global Academy
after attending a camp
from November 7 - 24
which made her the
first prospect from the
NBA Academies Wom-
ens Program and the
first female prospect
from outside of Austral-
ia to attend The NBA
Global Academy. The
16-year-old will travel to
Canberra from Chicago
after attending the sixth
annual Basketball With-
out Borders (BWB)
Global Camp.
Du Plessis quits
as SA captain
Johannesburg: Senior
batsman Faf du Plessis
on Monday stepped
down as captain of
South Africa’s Test and
T20 teams with immedi-
ate effect. Du Plessis
was rested for the three-
match T20 series
against England which
South Africa lost 1-2 on
Sunday. The decision
comes less than a week
from the start of South
Africa’s T20 campaign
against Australia. Du
Plessis, who gave away
the ODI captaincy to
wicket-keeper Quinton
de Kock, for the recent
series against England,
said he took the deci-
sion to help South Afri-
ca start a new era.
Saina, Srikanth
chase Olympic berth
Barcelona: Seasoned
Indian shuttlers Saina
Nehwal and Kidambi
Srikanth will look to
keep their Olympic
hopes alive when they
compete at the USD
170,000 Barcelona Spain
Masters starting here
on Tuesday. The Indian
duo has been inconsist-
ent in 2019 and didn’t
enjoy a good start to the
new year. While Saina
has crossed the first
round in only one of
the three events in 2020,
Srikanth has lost in the
opening round in all
three tournaments that
he has played so far this
year.
BRIEF
in
First India News
Gujarat: The world’s
biggest cricket stadium,
Motera will be inaugu-
rated on February 24 by
US President Donald
Trump and PM Naren-
dra Modi. The seating
capacity of the newly
constructed stadium is
1 lakh 10 thousand. Pre-
viously, Australia’s Mel-
bourne Cricket Ground
was the largest stadium
in the world with a seat-
ing capacity of 92 thou-
sand. Apart from the
seating capacity, vari-
ous stadium facilities
like 360 degree seating,
use of LED lights for
the first time in India
are the center of attrac-
tion. Everyone is aware
of the characteristics
of the stadium, but the
interesting thing is that
the first match in such
a world-class stadium
will be played a year af-
ter the inauguration.
Day-night test will be
played against England
Team India will play
their first match
against England in the
new stadium next year.
England will travel to
India to play a five-Test
series in January-Feb-
ruary 2021. The second
match of the series will
be played in Motera,
which will be a day-
night test. The decision
was taken by BCCI
President Sourav Gan-
guly and Secretary Jai
Shah at the BCCI’s Apex
Council meeting in Del-
hi on Sunday. With the
final series before the
World Test Champion-
ship and only the sec-
ond day-night Test in
India, the match will be
of greater importance.
Motera last hosted an
international cricket
match in November
2014.
New Motera to host Ind-Eng D/N test in 2021
TRUMP TO INAUGURATE ON FEB 24
lll
Seating capacity
of this stadium is
1,10,000.
Previously,
Melbourne Cricket
Ground was
world’s largest
stadium with a
seating capacity
of 92,000
Bellary (Karnata-
ka): A billion expecta-
tions will be on Manu
Bhaker’s mind when
she takes part in her
maiden Olympics lat-
er this year. But for the
teen shooting star, the
hopes of people is a
way of showing their
support which can
only fuel her to go for
glory at Tokyo 2020.
“What I think is ex-
pectation is like peo-
ple supporting me.
Nobody expects (from)
you till they support
you,” Bhaker told
IANS at the end of a
High Performance
training camp for elite
shooters at the Inspire
Institute of Sport.
Since bursting onto
the scene in 2017 when
she won silver at the
Asian Airgun Cham-
pionship 10m air pis-
tol youth event in
Wako City, Japan,
there has been no
looking back for the
shooter who will
turned 18 on Tuesday.
A Commonwealth
and Youth Olympic
Games champion in
2018, Bhaker won as
many as five ISSF
World Cup gold med-
als and a further two
more yellow metals at
the Asian Shooting
Championships in
2019, picking up an
Olympic quota in the
shooting World Cup in
Munich along the way.
“I will try my best as
I am genuinely work-
ing really hard. Rest is
not in my hands,” said
Bhaker who is also
good at 25m pistol
events besides 10m air
pistol where she is one
of the best in world.
The pair of Bhaker
and Chaudhary swept
virtually every gold on
offer in the mixed
team mixed 10m air
pistol events at world
shooting competitions
last year.
Asked if she is
ready to potentially
compete in 3 events at
Olympics, she said: “I
love my sport. Wheth-
er it be one, two or
even three events. I am
not really sure about
this whether I will be
competing in one, two
or three events.
“The federation has
to decide it and the re-
sults will be deciding
it. I will try to do my
best for my country in
whatever opportuni-
ties I will get.”
Bhaker further said
her preparation is on
track and there is
nothing to change at
this stage, also adding
that she loves Japan
and is looking forward
to going there.
“My practise is go-
ing really good and I
don’’t think I need to
change anything,”
said Bhaker.“When I
went to Japan, the
weather was different.
But I love the country.
It is one of my favour-
ite countries. Every-
thing is so disci-
plined,” she added.
—Agencies
Bhaker vows to give her best in Tokyo
RIDING ON EXPECTATIONS
Manu feels the hopes of
a billion people will only
fuel her to go for glory at
2020 Tokyo Olympics
St Louis: World rapid
champion Koneru
Humpy claimed her
second title in the last
two months by emerg-
ing triumphant at the
Cairns Cup chess tour-
nament following a
draw against compatri-
ot Dronavalli Harika in
the ninth and final
round here.
Humpy, who was
crowned world cham-
pion in the last week of
December 2019, fin-
ished the tournament
with 6 points. The icing
on the cake is that
Humpy would be gain-
ing five ELO rat-
ing points and
moving to no.2 in the
world list.
“I am very happy to
have won such a strong
tournament. It also re-
minds me that winning
the world rapid title
was no flash in the
pan,” Humpy said.
Humpy needed only a
draw in last round to at
least tie for first place
and be in contention for
the top prize.
She secured the draw
late on Sunday without
much difficulty by play-
ing a solid line of Four
knightsopeningagainst
Harika. Humpy re-
ceived USD 45,000 for
winning the title in
what is considered one
of the strongest tour-
naments ever. Wenjun
Ju finished second
with 5.5 points after
winning her final round
game against Russia’s
Alexandra Kosteniuk (5
points). —PTI
In-form Koneru Humpy
wins Cairns Cup title
Red Bull campus
cricket to ‘Halla Bol’
for its 9th edition
Dubai: Tennis star Sania Mir-
za will return to action at ongo-
ing Dubai Open on Wednesday
after recovering from a calf
injury which had cut short her
campaign at Aust Open in Jan.
The 33-year-old will pair up
with her French partner Gar-
cia and they face Russia’s
Kudryavtseva and Srebotnik in
opening round of the women’s
doubles event on Wednesday.
“Quitting off a grand slam
tournament due to an injury is
a sad experience. Especially,
when you are back into game
after a long break. But thanks
to my physio Dr Hayat Khan
for making me fit for tourna-
ment. I have started practicing
and look forward to a great
tournament,” she said. Return-
ing to circuit after a two-year
break, Sania’s first Grand
Slam outing after maternity
leave had ended with an early
exit after the Indian ace retired
mid-way into her women’s dou-
bles first-round match due to a
right calf injury. —Agencies
Sania returns to
action at Dubai Open
First India News
New Delhi: The ninth
edition of the only glob-
al cricket tournament
for university students,
Red Bull Campus Crick-
et is set to kick off in
India across 32 cities
with city qualifiers
from February 13 to dis-
cover and nurture bud-
ding cricketers from
college campuses. The
Indian Premier League
franchise Rajasthan
Royals deepens their as-
sociation with the en-
ergy drink giant Red
Bull in India and plans
to continue scouting
talent from the annual
international T20 tour-
nament for college
cricket teams – Red Bull
Campus Cricket
Tripura & Rajkot are
the two new cities that
have been added for this
edition and will be part
of the East and West
Zones respectively. The
winning college from
each city will then pro-
ceed to the zonal/re-
gional finals in April.
This year, RBCC will
find their Kochi city
champions through
their association with
Kerala College Premier
League T20 Champion-
ship, of which the finals
will take place at Green-
field Stadium on Febru-
ary 23.
352 colleges across 30
cities in India competed
for the national champi-
onship 2019.
CLUB CRICKET
O7 Club of Ahmedabad organised glimpse cricket
tournament 2020 for its members. The match was played
in the day-night format and was enjoyed by the playing
members and their families alike.

Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: Home
Minister and Gan-
dhinagar MP
Amit Shah is
likely to visit
his home
state before
Us President Don-
ald Trump’s visit
on February 24.
Shah is sup-
posed to partici-
pate in a govern-
ment function dur-
ing the visit. But
there is more to it
than meets the eye!
Sources say that Amit
Shah will take stock of
preparations of the pro-
posedTrump’sAhmedabad
visit and submit a report
to Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi.
‘The Great Wall’ of
Ahmedabad constructed by
the AMC to hide the slums
from the coveted visitor’s
eyes has been widely covered
and criticised in the national
and international media, and
the PM is reported to be quite
upset with the whole develop-
ment. As per sources, the PM
is said to be really upset with
Ahmedabad Mayor and the
AMC administration. Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani and
other important BJP leaders
in the state are also aware of
this. Since the world media
has its eyes wide open for the
Trump’s Ahmedabad visit,
PM doesn’t want to take any
more chances so PM’s most
trusted lieutenant and the
‘Chanakya’ of the party has
been entrusted with the job.
Shah is expected to not
only review all aspects of the
Trump-Modi schedule in
Ahmedabad, but will also re-
solve the probable ‘mishaps’
and report back to the PM.
Meanwhile, as if old
time foes in the opposition
were not enough, BJP’s
long time ally and recent
political opponent Shiv
Sena is leaving no chance
to embarrass the Modi
government, Sena mouth-
piece ‘Samna’ took a jibe
by calling Trump a ‘Bad-
shah’ and equated his visit
with the legendary Indian
tours by the Kings of Eng-
land during colonial era.
Samna also questioned the
‘Ahmedabad Wall’ and the
huge expenses on road re-
pairs in the city in the areas
on the Trump itinerary.
Sena mouthpiece sar-
castically asked
whether US would
lend India money to
build walls across
the country to
hide the poor of
the nation?
The main oppo-
sition in Gujarat,
Congress organised
a ‘Save Constitu-
tion’ rally in
Ahmedabad
to demon-
strate its
support to
the reser-
vation policy as laid in the
Constitution. State Congress
chief Amit Chavda, LOP
PareshDhanani,Ahmedabad
MLA Gyasuddin Shekh, Im-
ran Khedwala, Shailesh Par-
mar, Himmat Singh Patel
with many other leaders par-
ticipated in the rally. State In
charge Rajiv Satav mocked
the development of
Ahmedabad saying if Trump
went on a state tour, the
whole Gujarat would be de-
veloped over night.
NAMASTE TRUMP: ‘TASKMASTER’ SHAH TO TAKE
MATTERS IN HAND AS SLUM WALL SNOWBALLS
After PM Modi’s displeasure with AMC, Home Minister
Amit Shah during his likely Gujarat visit is expected
to ensure US Prez’s visit to Ahmedabad is foolproof
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
10
2NDFRONT
Hope will be dashed once in a
while, keep them away safely to
be taken out on a ‘sunnier’ day.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat Organic Agricul-
ture University has
very high hopes from
the state budget this
year. The university
was founded in 2017
but is yet to start de-
veloping a campus.
The fund allocation
for the year 2020-21
will decide when the
agrarian institution
will commence its
first academic year.
University Vice-
Chancellor BR Shah
told First India, “For
the current year, state
had allocated Rs50 lakh
to the university. If the
government allocates
more funds, we can
start inviting applica-
tions for faculties and
other staff.”
Shah added that he
has submitted a propos-
al regarding faculty and
other staff require-
ments. He also said that
he seeks to appoint at
least 226 members in
first phase. For now, uni-
versity has not appoint-
ed any faculty members.
Upon requesting facul-
ties and other staff
members of four agri-
culture universities to
send in their applica-
tions, if they wished to
come on deputation.
Shah revealed that he
has received 10 applica-
tions to fill positions.
The state govern-
ment has allocated
land to build the uni-
versity campus near
Halol in Central Gu-
jarat. However, con-
struction can only
begin after funding is
approved by authori-
ties. The registrar’s
charge at the univer-
sity is being given to
MK Qureshi, Addi-
tional Director of Ag-
riculture, Vadodara.
Currently,theVCfunc-
tions from the Agricul-
ture department’s build-
ing in Gandhinagar. In a
jointventurewithAnand
AgricultureUniversity,a
30-day crash course on
organic farming has
been organized at the de-
partment. The course is
open for youths from ru-
ral areas with a mini-
mum qualification of
passing intermediate.
Any person willing to
learn about organic
farming may join the
course, age is no bar.
The University will
provide diploma, post-
graduate and voca-
tional courses. It seeks
to establish colleges,
research centres, Kri-
shi Vigyan Kendras
and incubations, as
per agricultural cli-
mate conditions.
Guj Organic Agri Univ seeks to build campus
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat HC on Monday
rejected the anticipa-
tory bail plea of Con-
gress leader Hardik
Patel in an unlawful
assembly case regis-
tered in connection
with the 2015 Patidar
stir for quota for com-
munity in govern-
ment jobs and educa-
tional institutions.
Justice V M Pancholi
rejected Patel’’s bail ap-
plication after consider-
ing the government’’s
objection on the ground
of his criminal anteced-
ents. Opposing the
plea, the government
told HC there are more
than ten criminal cas-
es against Patel, and
that he had gone un-
derground fearing ar-
rest. Thecasedatesback
to August 2015 when the
Patidar Anamat An-
dolanSamitiunderPatel
had organised a mega
rally in Ahmedabad as
part of the quota stir,
and an FIR was lodged
for “unlawful assembly”
as the police claimed the
event did not have requi-
site permissions.
The police further
contended that this un-
lawful gathering led to
violence,inwhichovera
dozenyouthswerekilled
and property was dam-
aged. In his anticipatory
bail plea, Patel claimed
he was being “victim-
ised by the ruling party
of the state” which has
slapped “several false,
frivolous and concocted
cases against him”. He
said police was acting
under “political pres-
sure” to arrest him.
First India News
Palanpur: Banaskan-
tha district’s Lakheni
Thakor Sena has is-
sued new guidelines
for all its community
members. But, the
Sena has come under
fire for banning wom-
en and young girls
from participating in
any religious pady-
atras and from visit-
ing fairs.
Commenting on the
controversy, social ac-
tivist Savjibhai Thakor
said, “Anyone question-
ing the new resolution
should read the entire
thing. It is a set of
guidelines to be fol-
lowed for the better-
ment of society. Many
other decisions were
taken at the meeting
but people are only fo-
cusing on the ban on
women.”
He added, “The rea-
son why girls and
women were asked to
avoid joining any pa-
dayatra was because
of the harvesting sea-
son. It is to begin soon
and people of our
community aren’t fi-
nancially sound to
hire labourers or ma-
chines to harvest
their crop. If girls
and women work
alongside male mem-
bers, the harvesting
will help their fami-
lies financially.
Some of the revolu-
tionary decisions taken
by the Sena included a
prohibition on all types
of intoxicants during
social functions, no un-
necessary expenses
when a family member
is ill and relatives and
friends visit.
Wedding cards may
bear only the names
of the bride and
groom’s parents and
grandparents. The fa-
ther of the bride may
buy stainless steel
utensils for his daugh-
ter and no one else.
No DJs to play during
wedding processions.
The food served at
condolence meetings
(besnas) to be kept
simple with only two
to three items.
Earlier, the Thakor
Sena in Gandhinagar
had banned the use of
cellular phones by teen-
age girls and women.
Lakheni Thakor Sena
revealsnewguidelines
Unlawful assembly: HC rejects Hardik’s bail plea
HC upholds trial court
verdict in Vismay case
First India News
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat HC upholds the
verdict of the trial
court on five-year im-
prisonment to Vis-
may Shah in the BMW
hit and run which
killed two youth in
2013. Shah was driving
at the speed of 110 km
which was rammed into
a motorcycle. He was
proved guilty in 2013 af-
ter a dramatic trial.
Gujarat HC rejected
the petition of Vismay
Shah, the accused and
maintained the lower
courtpunishmentof five
years jail term and fine.
The court of Justice So-
nia Gokani has also or-
dered Vismay to remain
presentfortheexecution
of the punishment in
four to six weeks. Two
m o t o r c y c l e - b o r n e
youths, Rahul Patel (25)
and Shivam Dave (21),
were killed on February
24,2013,whenhisluxury
BMW car hit them.
BILATERAL TALKS
Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Prakash Javadekar held a bilateral
meeting with Secretary General of Ramsar Convention Martha Rojas Urrego on the
sidelines of CMSCOP13 in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Ban women from padyatras, restrict food menu at besnas
WHAT WILL IT DO?
POWER-PACKED WEDDING
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani, Deputy Chief
Minister Nitin Patel,
Education Minister
Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama, Chief
Principal Secretary
to the Chief Minister
K Kailashnathan, and
Minister of State for
Home Pradipsinh
Jadeja at the wedding
reception of Jadeja’s
son Shashirajsinh
and daughter-in-law
Urvashiba on Sunday
evening at the circuit
house lawn
in Gandhinagar.
Guidelines
included no
unnecessary
expenses when
a family
member is ill
and relatives
and friends visit

First india gujarat for gujarat today epaper 18 feb 2020 edition

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