24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf

Kartikey Dev Singh
Mumbai: Months after
he was embroiled in a
major controversy lead-
ing to the entire Maha-
rashtra opposition
breathing down his
neck, on Monday
, Maha-
rashtra Governor Bha-
gat Singh Koshyari ex-
pressed his desire to
step down from the po-
sition. Koshyari said he
has expressed desire
before Prime minister
Narendra Modi to quit
the post and ‘spend the
remainder of his life in
reading, writing and
other activities.’
“During recent visit
of Prime Minister to
Mumbai, I conveyed to
him my desire to be dis-
charged of all political
responsibilities. I have
always received the love
and affection from the
Hon’ble Prime Minister
and I hope to receive the
same in this regard,” a
statement from the Raj
Bhavan said.
“It was an absolute
honour and privilege
for me to serve as the
Rajya Sevak or Rajya-
pal of a great State like
Maharashtra the land
of Saints, Social re-
formers and valiant
fighters,” Koshyari add-
ed.
“I can never forget
the love and affection
that the people of the
state have given me for
three years,” he said.
MAHA-TURN IN MAHA-POLITICS!
Maha Guv Bhagat Singh Koshyari expresses desire to step down!
Cong demands President sack Koshyari;
‘better late than never’, says Thackeray faction
Mumbai: The Con-
gress on Monday de-
manded Maharashtra
Governor Bhagat Sin-
gh Koshyari, who has
expressed the desire to
quit, be sacked by the
President and not al-
lowed to quit while the
Shiv Sena (UBT) fac-
tion took a dig saying
“better late than nev-
er”.
The Congress and
NCP, both members of
the Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) along with Shiv
Sena (Thackeray) fac-
tion, also said Koshy-
ari should have written
to the President to dis-
charge him of all re-
sponsibilities if he be-
lieved the position of
the governor is Consti-
tutional and not politi-
cal one.
Maharashtra Con-
gress president Nana
Patole alleged when
MVA was in power, Ko-
shyari’s conduct and
mentality as the gover-
nor was to break the
Constitutional order.
“Instead of writing a
letter to the President
to whom the position
of governor is connect-
ed, Koshyari wrote a
letter to the Prime Min-
ister. He should not be
relieved of his respon-
sibilities but sacked
from the post,” Patole
told reporters.
He alleged Koshyari
made objectionable
statements against
icons like Chhatrapati
Shivaji, Savitribai
Phule, Jyotiba Phule
and Babasaheb Ambed-
kar and has turned the
Raj Bhavan into a
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty office.
He said the Congress
has been insisting on
the removal of the gov-
ernor over his contro-
versial statements but
the BJP was in agree-
ment with the gover-
nor’s opinion.
“We request the
President that the gov-
ernor should be ex-
pelled. Do not let him
go voluntarily,” he add-
ed.
Shiv Sena (UBT)
leader and spokesper-
son Arvind Sawant
said Koshyari cannot
be absolved of his ex-
tra-Constitutional acts.
Sawant questioned
the basis on which the
governor had adminis-
tered the oath to an
“extra-Constitutional”
chief minister, a refer-
ence to CM Eknath
Shinde, last June.
“It is better late than
never,” Sawant said.
Pakistan feared only Balasaheb
Thackeray: CM Eknath Shinde
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra CM Eknath Shinde
on Monday paid rich
tributes to Shiv Sena
founder Bal Thacker-
ay, saying he was the
only Indian leader
that Pakistan feared
and though the late
politician espoused
the cause of Hindut-
va, he never hated the
Muslim community.
Speaking at the inau-
guration of an oil por-
trait of Bal Thackeray
in the central hall of
Maharashtra legisla-
tive building in south
Mumbai on the occa-
sion of his 97th birth
anniversary, he said
the Sena founder nev-
er compromised on
his values to gain
power.
Thackeray-Ambedkar announce union ‘for democracy’
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai: The Shiv
Sena (UBT) and
Prakash Ambedkar’s
Vanchit Bahujan
Aghadi on Monday an-
nounced an alliance
ahead of civic polls in
several cities in Maha-
rashtra. Addressing a
joint press confer-
ence, Uddhav Thack-
eray said his grandfa-
ther Keshav Thacker-
ay and Prakash
Ambedkar’s grandfa-
ther, legendary social
icon and jurist B R
Ambedkar, were con-
temporaries who ad-
mired each other and
worked to eradicate
social evils and bad
practices.
“The inheritors of
these two leaders, and
people around them,
have come together to
protect the country’s
interest. We are com-
ing together to ensure
democracy is alive,”
Thackeray said.
Without naming the
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty, which is ruling in
Maharashtra as well
as at the Centre,
Thackeray said the
country is heading to-
wards autocracy.
Thackeray also
dared the powers-that-
be to hold Assembly
polls in Maharashtra
at the earliest. The
state is being ruled by
a faction of the Sena
that broke away in
June last year and the
Bharatiya Janata
Party, and the Thack-
eray group has rou-
tinely called it a dis-
pensation of “trai-
tors”.
Speaking about the
alliance, Ambedkar
said the coming to-
gether of the VBA and
Shiv Sena (UBT) was
the start of the “poli-
tics of change”.
Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray
with VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar and others celebrate their newly-
announced alliance at Ambedkar Bhavan in Mumbai on Monday.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari
‘SUPPORT US AND
WE WILL RESTORE
STATEHOOD IN J&K’
KL RAHUL, ATHIYA
SHETTY TIE KNOT!
PARAKRAM DIWAS
First India Bureau
Jammu: Cong leader Ra-
hul Gandhi on Monday
addressing a gathering
at the Satwari Chowk
said that the party will
put all its
might to
restore
state-
hood for
Jammu
and
Kashmir
and strongly accused
the NDA Government at
the Centre of snatching
away the statehood. P5
Daughter of actor Sunil Shetty,
Athiya Shetty and Cricketer KL
Rahul’s wedding marks the first
big fat celeb wedding of 2023.
They tied knot in their Khandala
farmhouse on Monday.
SC DISMISSES CBI
APPEAL AGAINST BAIL
TO ANIL DESHMUKH
New Delhi: In a major relief
for former Maharashtra
home minister Anil
Deshmukh, the Supreme
Court on Monday dismissed
the CBI’s appeal challenging
the Bombay High Court
order granting bail to NCP
leader in a corruption case.
SPICEJET OFFLOADS 2
PASSENGERS FOR
UNRULY BEHAVIOUR
PAKISTAN SUFFERS
HUGE POWER OUTAGE
AFTER GRID FAILURE
New Delhi: Two passengers
supposed to fly a SpiceJet
flight from New Delhi to
Hyderabad on Monday were
handed over to the security
agency. Male passenger
touched the female cabin
crew inappropriately. P6
Islamabad: Millions of
people were without
electricity in Karachi,
Islamabad etc as Pakistan
experienced a nationwide
power outage on Monday
due to reduced frequency
in national grid.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
5TH SCORPENE-CLASS
SUBMARINE INS VAGIR
COMMISSIONED INTO IN
Mumbai: Indian Navy on
Monday commissioned the
fifth Kalvari class submarine
Vagir at the naval dockyard
in Mumbai in presence of
Chief of the Naval Staff
Admiral R Hari Kumar. P6
GOLDEN TRIBUTE
TO INDIA’S HEROES!
PM Modi, HM Shah pay tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
21 Andaman Nicobar Islands named after PVC awardees
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Monday named 21 Is-
lands in Andaman and
Nicobar after recipients
of India’s highest mili-
tary decoration, the
Param Vir Chakra. The
naming was done on oc-
casion of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose’s 126th
birth anniv also known
as Parakram Diwas.
“When history is be-
ingmade,thefuturegen-
erationsnotjustremem-
ber, assess and evaluate
it, but also find constant
inspiration from it,”
Modi said. The first re-
cipient of the award
was Major Somnath
Sharma, who lost his
life while fighting
against Pak in 1947. P5
PM Narendra Modi at naming ceremony of 21 islands of Andaman Nicobar after 21 Param Vir Chakra
awardees, via VC, on Monday. Amit Shah and others present during the event in Port Blair on Monday.
INDIA 1ST COUNTRY
TO NAME ISLANDS
AFTER SOLDIERS: HM
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah, present on the occasion
on Monday, said that India
is the first country to have
done this, as no other country
in the world had named an
island after the brave soldiers
who fought for the nation.
BELOW ARE ALL
21 ISLANDS THAT
WERE NAMED...
DHAN SINGH ISLAND
Lieutenant Colonel (then
Major) Dhan Singh Thapa
TARAPORE ISLAND
Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji
Tarapore
KARAM SINGH ISLAND
Lance Naik Karam Singh
BANA ISLAND
Naib Subedar Bana Singh
EKKA ISLAND
Lance Naik Albert Ekka
KHETRAPAL ISLAND
2nd Lt Arun Khetrapal
PANDEY ISLAND
Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey
HOSHIAR ISLAND
Major Hoshiar Singh
SHAITAN ISLAND
Major Shaitan Singh
JADUNATH ISLAND
Nayak Jadunath Singh
YOGENDER ISLAND
Subedar Major YS Yadav
HAMID ISLAND
Company Quartermaster
Havildar Abdul Hamid
RANE ISLAND
2nd Lt Rama Raghoba Rane
RAMASWAMY ISLAND
Major R Parameswaran
BATRA ISLAND
Captain Vikram Batra
JOGINDER ISLAND
Subedar Joginder Singh
SALARIA ISLAND
Capt GS Salaria (then Major)
PIRU ISLAND
Company Havildar Major
Piru Singh
SOMNATH ISLAND
Major Somnath Sharma
SEKHON ISLAND
Flying Officer NS Sekhon
SANJAY ISLAND
Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar
REMEMBERING NETAJI!
LS Speaker Om Birla, PM Narendra Modi, S Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, VK Singh,
Arjun Ram Meghwal and other dignitaries on occasion of birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose, in New Delhi on Monday. PM Narendra Modi and Cong Prez Mallikarjun Kharge
share a lighter moment. Om Birla is also seen here.
Five-member Oversight
Panel to be led by Mary
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Legendary
boxer Mary Kom will
head five-member over-
sight committee formed
by the Indian Sports
Ministry to look into the
allegations of sexual
harassment of women
wrestlers by Wrestling
Federation of India
(WFI) Brij Bhushan
Sharan Singh, Union
Sports Minister Anurag
Thakur said on Monday
.
The other members of
the committee include
the Olympic medalist
wrestler Yogeshwar
Dutt, former badminton
player Trupti Murgun-
de, ex-TOPS CEO Crd
(Retd) Rajesh Rajagopa-
lan and former SAI ex-
ecutive director – teams
– Radhica Sreeman. P6
Mary Kom
Anurag Thakur
The WFI pres-
ident will not
discharge his
duties and stay away from
affairs of WFI. The working
of WFI will be looked after
by Oversight Committee till
their mandated duration and
it will also probe the serious
allegations against WFI and
its chief. —Anurag Thakur,
Union Sports Minister
Plea in Del HC against
wrestlers for levelling
harassment charges
against WFI President
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI l TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 258
BBC SERIES ON
PM: UK PETITION
CALLS FOR
PROPER PROBE
‘INDIA’S G20 A
CHANCE TO
TELL STORY OF
NEW INDIA’
3RD
TEMPLE VANDALISED IN MELBOURNE
Canberra: A third Hindu temple was vandalised
with anti-India graffiti in Melbourne’s Albert Park
on Monday, days after Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple
in Carrum Downs was vandalised.
4.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE IN MANIPUR
Imphal: An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 struck
Manipur’s Bishnupur on Monday evening, NCS
said. The earthquake occurred at 7.12pm and
epicentre was 79km west-northwest of Bishnupur.
New Delhi: A new petition has called for
an independent inquiry into a “serious
breach” by BBC in its duties as a public
broadcaster in UK over a controversial
documentary series on PM Modi.
New Delhi: British High Commissioner
to India Alexander Ellis said India’s G20
Presidency is an “opportunity” to tell the
story of a “new and modern India,” it can
tackle some of ‘world’s big problems’. P6
BSE SENSEX 60,941.67 319.90 | NSE NIFTY 18,118.55 90.90
P4
NATIONAL
GIRL CHILD DAY!
—PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Nana Patole

NEWS
MUMBAI | TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Thane: The Mumbai-Goa
Highway will be devel-
oped on the lines of the
expressway between the
metropolis and Pune
as well as the recently
inaugurated Samruddhi
Corridor to Nagpur, Chief
Minister Eknath Shinde
said. Addressing the
concluding function of
the ‘Malvani Mahotsav’
on Sunday night, Shinde
said the expressway
between Mumbai and Goa
will be a greenfield one
(fresh construction) and
will be access controlled.
Thane: A 26-year-old
man has been arrested
from Bhiwandi city
in Thane district on
Monday for allegedly
raping and killing a
three-year-old girl
a day before, police
said. The accused is
a powerloom worker.
He lured the girl who
was playing outside
her house on Sunday
evening under the
pretext of showing her
a mobile phone. He
sexually assaulted her
at his house and then
strangled her to death.
Mumbai: The newly
commissioned Metro lines
together recorded over
one lakh ridership on the
second day after starting
commercial operations.
People of the city have
warmly embraced the new
full-length operations of
the Mumbai Metro’s Lines
2A and 7 which were inau-
gurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at an event
recently. According to
sources, the rush was
such that people avoided
taking autorickshaws,
taxis and buses.
‘CORRIDOR LIKE
PUNE EXP FOR
MUM-GOA SOON’
MAN HELD FOR
RAPE, MURDER
OF 3-YEAR-OLD
METRO LINES 2A, 7
RECORD RIDERSHIP
OF 1 LAKH ON DAY 2
CRUCIAL READ
HC denies bail to former police officer Pradeep Sharma
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court on Monday
refused to grant bail to
former policeman
Pradeep Sharma ar-
rested in connection
with the Antilia bomb
scare case and the kill-
ing of businessman
Mansukh Hiran, but ex-
pressed anguish about
the manner in which
the National Investiga-
tion Agency (NIA) had
probed the case.
A division bench of
Justices Revati Mohite
Dere and RN Laddha
noted that the NIA’s
probe was silent on the
co-conspiratorsinvolved
with dismissed police-
man Sachin Waze in
plantinggelatinsticksin
an SUV parked outside
the residence of indus-
trialistMukeshAmbani.
The agency has not done
an “in-depth” investiga-
tion, it said.
“We express some an-
guish in the manner in
whichtheNIAhasinves-
tigated the charge of
conspiracyof parkingof
the Scorpio vehicle near
theresidenceof apromi-
nent businessman and
plantingof gelatinsticks
in the said vehicle, on
February 24 and 25,
2021,” the court said. It
further noted that the
NIA was silent on per-
sons with whom Waze
had conspired to plant
the gelatin sticks. The
bench further said that
several questions were
unanswered by the NIA
with respect to the case
pertaining to the park-
ing of the vehicle laden
with gelatin sticks.
“We hope and trust
that the NIA, in right
earnest, will investigate
this aspect further,” HC
said.
While refusing to
grant bail to Sharma,
the bench noted that as
per evidence submitted
by the NIA in the Hiran
murder case, it prima
facie points to the com-
plicity of Sharma. “The
possibility of the appel-
lant, a retired police of-
ficer, having clout, tam-
pering with the wit-
nesses, cannot be ruled
out,” the court stated.
ANTILIA BOMB SCARE CASE
Cites prima facie evidence pointing to
his involvement in the Hiran murder;
pulls up NIA over investigation of case
Former cop Pradeep Sharma —FILE PHOTO
THE CASE
BJP working towards
winning Kasba Peth
bypoll: state min Patil
Govtworkingonimproving
healthcaresector:Fadnavis
SLOW AND STEADY
Pune (PTI): State min-
ister Chandrakant Patil
on Monday said the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) had wished for an
unopposed election in
the Kasba Peth bypoll,
but is working towards
ensuring a win. He cited
the Opposition’s inten-
tion to contest the by-
election as the reason.
The bypolls to
Chinchwad and Kasba
Peth Assembly constitu-
encies have been neces-
sitated after the deaths
of the sitting MLAs,
both from the BJP
.
The bypolls will be
held on February 27 and
the results will be an-
nounced on March 02,
as per the schedule an-
nounced by the Election
Commission.
Talking to reporters,
the BJP leader said,
“Everyone felt that the
bypolls for the Kasba
Peth constituency
should be unopposed.
However, some leaders
of the Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) do not
want this election to re-
main uncontested.
Hence, our party work-
ers have started work-
ing towards winning
this election. We will not
remain inattentive.”
Kasba Peth has tradi-
tionally been a BJP con-
stituencyandvoterslove
the party
, he said.
Mumbai (PTI): Actor
Sheezan Khan, arrested
for allegedly abetting
the suicide of his co-star
Tunisha Sharma, has
movedtheBombayHigh
Court seeking bail and
quashing of the case.
Khan in his petitions
said to have a relation-
ship and break-ups are
normal facets of life
and hence he cannot be
held responsible for
Tunisha’s death.
While Khan’s plea
seeking bail would be
heard by a single bench
of Justice MS Karnik
on Tuesday, his second
petition for quashing of
the FIR and release on
interim bail is likely to
be heard by a division
bench of Justices Revati
Mohite Dere and PK
Chavan on January 30.
Tunisha (21) was
found hanging in the
washroom on the set of
the serial near Vasai in
Palghar district on De-
cember 24, 2022.
Khan (28) was arrest-
ed the next for alleged
abetment. He is current-
ly lodged in a Thane jail.
His plea said, there is
nothing to even suggest
that he had done any act
with the specific inten-
tion of compelling Tuni-
sha Sharma to commit
suicide.
Thane (PTI): Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis on Mon-
day said that post the
COVID-19 pandemic,
the state government
realized that a lot of
work is needed to be
done in the healthcare
sector and it has started
working towards it.
While speaking at the
inauguration of a pri-
vate hospital in Navi
Mumbai, Fadnavis said
that medical treatment
is made available at a
relatively low cost in In-
dia as compared to oth-
er counties, and the
health sector is giving a
big boost to the coun-
try’s economy
.
Under the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yo-
jana, an insurance cov-
er of up to Rs5 lakh and
a cover of Rs2 lakh un-
der Mahatma Phule Jan
Arogya Yojana are of-
fered to the poor and
needy, efforts should be
made to increase the
health insurance cover
for citizens the deputy
chief minister said.
After the COVID-19
pandemic, the state gov-
ernment had come to
realise that a lot of
work needed to be done
in the healthcare sector
and it is working to-
wards the same, Fad-
navis added.
The deputy chief
minister also noted that
the use of modern tech-
nology and robotics
through artificial intel-
ligence has started in
the health sector. This
has the potential to ex-
pedite the quality and
growth of healthcare
services in the country
exponentially
.
BJP leader Chandrakant Patil
Sheezan Khan —FILE PHOTO
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis —FILE PHOTO
—FILE
PHOTO
‘Balasaheb wouldn’t be okay with alliance’
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai: On the occa-
sion of Shiv Sena found-
er Balasaheb Thacker-
ay’s birth anniversary,
the Uddhav Thackeray-
led faction shared a vid-
eo of Balasaheb on so-
cial media. In the video,
Balasaheb Thackeray is
seen saying, “If even
one MLA of Shiv Sena is
broken, trample him on
the road.”
The video is being
shared on multiple so-
cial media platforms
since it was posted on
Monday
.
Speakingtomediaper-
sons, (Chief Minister
Eknath) Shinde faction
MLA Sanjay Gaikwad,
said, “If Balasaheb
Thackeray was alive
now,hewouldhavetram-
pled all the other leaders
includingRaut,whoisin
alliance with Congress
and Nationalist Con-
gress Party (NCP).”
When asked about
Balasaheb’s words in
the video, Gaikwad
said, “When Balasaheb
Thackeray was alive,
we also marched as
Shiv Sainiks. Back
then, the MLAs who
had split had done so by
betraying Hindutva.
We (the Shinde faction)
have split by taking
with us the thoughts of
Balasaheb Thackeray
and not by betraying
Hindutva.”
Meanwhile,ShivSena
leader Uddhav Thack-
eray on Monday target-
ed former ally BJP say-
ing it is trying to take
the country towards
dictatorship through
the “sham” Hindutva.
Without naming BJP
,
hesaidtheywanttohave
an “iron grip” on India
and referred to China.
He was addressing
party workers on the
97th birth anniversary
of Bal Thackeray
.
Leader of Opposition
in the Assembly Ajit
Pawar said, “We should
not forget to say that he
(Balasaheb) was a Hin-
du ‘hriday samrat’ and
respected other castes
and religions as well.”
M a h a r a s h t r a
Navnirman Sena chief
Raj Thackeray termed
himself “rightful suc-
cessor of Balasaheb’s
thoughts.”
Shinde camp
leader talks of
NCP, Congress
and Sena coalition
going over with
Balasaheb
Mumbai: Remembering Shiv Sena founder Balasa-
heb Thackeray on his birth anniversary, party leader
Sanjay Raut paid tribute to him here on Monday.
Speaking to media persons at Balasaheb’s memori-
al in the city, Raut said, “Today is Balasaheb’s birth
anniversary. He was someone who gave a mantra
to Maharashtra, especially the Marathi people that
work for the state: “Live with self-respect”. “Balasa-
heb said that if I live in Maharashtra, I am a citizen
of Maharashtra. I am a bhumiputra (son of soil),
and I should stay right here. He always said that
every state has its own identity and pride,” added
the Rajya Sabha MP. On Balasaheb’s memory in the
minds of the people of Maharashtra, he reminisced,
“Balasaheb always raised the voice of labourers
and hard workers. He was certainly the emperor of
the hearts of the Marathi people. It is because of
the work that he has done for Hindutva that people
consider him as the ‘emperor’ of Hindu hearts.”
BALASAHEB WAS ‘EMPEROR’ OF HINDU
HEARTS; LIVED FOR MAHA: RAUT
Rival Shiv Sena factions
mark Balasaheb’s birth
anniversary in Mumbai
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Both factions
of theShivSenamarked
Balasaheb Thackeray’s
birth anniversary in
Mumbai on Monday
.
An oil portrait of the
late politician was also
unveiled in the Maha-
rashtra legislative
building here in an
event boycotted by his
son and former chief
ministerUddhavThack-
eray
. This was because
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) and the rul-
ing Eknath Shinde-led
campsoughttolayclaim
on the late Hindutva
icon’s political legacy
.
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde, who
heads a faction of the
Shiv Sena, and Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis, a senior
BJP leader, unveiled the
portrait in the Central
Hall of Vidhan Bhavan.
Uddhav Thackeray
and his son Aaditya, a
former minister and the
MLA from Worli in
Mumbai, and other fam-
ilymembersstayedaway
from the official event,
where Raj Thackeray
was also present.
The father-son duo,
along with other promi-
nent members of the
Shiv Sena -Uddhav Bal-
asaheb Thackeray, of-
fered floral tributes to
Balasaheb’s statue lo-
cated a few kilometres
away from the Vidhan
Bhavan building.
They later attended a
programme at Shan-
mukhananda Hall in
Sion.
CM Eknath Shinde paying floral tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray at
the portrait unveiling in Mumbai on Monday.
Uddhav Thackeray and CM Eknath Shinde both paid tribute to
Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray in Mumbai on Monday.
Ganeshpur
govt school
has only
one student
Ganeshpur (Agen-
cies): Kishore Mankar
who is teaching at a Zila
Parishad Primary
School in Maharash-
tra’s Ganeshpur village
says the school has had
only one student in the
last two years and that
he is the only teacher
there.
Kishore Mankar said
he has been teaching at
this school in Ganesh-
pur, a village with a
population of 150 for
the last two years. “I’m
the only teacher in
school for the last two
years. I have been teach-
ing during this period,”
Mankar added. He has
been showing up every
day on his bike for two
years to teach all the
subjects by himself to
just one student.
“From 10.30 am to 12
pm, I follow all the rules
and regulations of the
school including morn-
ing assembly, and sing-
ing the national an-
them. All other facili-
ties for the student pro-
vided by the govern-
ment are also being ful-
filled,” Mankar stated.
Village boasts of 150
people, but only single
student attends
classes
Tunisha suicide: Sheezan
Khan moves HC for bail
and quashing of FIR

MAHARASHTRA
03
‘Woman’s right to choose to
continue pregnancy or not’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
allowed a married
woman to terminate
her 32-week pregnancy
after the foetus was
detected with severe
abnormalities.
“A woman has the
right to choose whether
to continue her preg-
nancy or not and the
decision is hers and
hers alone to make,”
said a division bench
comprising Justice
Gautam Patel and Jus-
tice SG Dige, in its judg-
ment of January 20.
A copy of the order
was made available on
Monday. The court re-
fused to accept the med-
ical board’s view that
the even though the foe-
tus has serious abnor-
malities it should not be
terminated as the preg-
nancy is almost at its
fag end.
The woman had ap-
proached HC seeking to
terminate her pregnan-
cy after a sonography
revealed the foetus had
severe abnormalities
and that the baby would
be born with physical
and mental disabilities.
“Given a severe foe-
tal abnormality, the
length of the pregnan-
cy does not matter. The
petitioner has taken an
informed decision. It is
not an easy one. But
that decision is hers,
and hers alone to
make. The right to
choose is of the peti-
tioner’s. It is not the
right of the medical
board,” the court said
in its order.
Refusing termination
of pregnancy only on
grounds of delay would
not only be condemning
the foetus to a less than
optimal life, but would
also be condemning the
mother to a future that
will almost certainly
rob her of every posi-
tive attribute of parent-
hood, said the HC.
The petitioner’s foe-
tus is detected with
both microcephaly and
lissencephaly, and this
is what the future por-
tends, the bench said.
Asserting that the
rights of the woman
should never be com-
promised in the “blind
application of a stat-
ute”, the court said,
“Justice may have to be
blindfolded; it can nev-
er be allowed to be
blindsided. We are ag-
nostic about the
relative positions of
parties. We can never be
agnostic about where
justice needs to
be delivered.”
The Bombay High Court allows
termination of 32-week pregnancy
with foetal abnormalities, slams
medical board for denial of ‘right’
It would be a denial of her right to dignity, and her reproductive and
decisional autonomy. Accepting the medical board’s view is not just to
condemn the foetus to a substandard life but is to force on the petitioner
and her husband an unhappy and traumatic parenthood. The effect on them
and their family cannot even be imagined. ~ —-Bombay High Court
NO CONSIDERATION
Fire breaks out near Shivaji Mandai
in Mumbai's Kurla West, no one hurt
Mumbai (PTI): A lev-
el-2 fire broke out near
Shivaji Mandai in Kurla
West, and spread to mul-
tiple shops, the Brihan-
mumbai Municipal Cor-
poration (BMC) said on
Sunday. No one was re-
ported hurt in incident.
According to latest re-
port, blaze which erupt-
ed at around 10.15 PM on
Sunday spread to 25
shops. As soon as they
received information,
teams of fire brigade
and police personnel
rushed to spot to take
stock of the situation.
Efforts to douse
flames were on however
it was not yet clear
whether anybody was
trapped inside the
shops, according to the
latest inputs given by
the officials. The level 2
fire is usually of moder-
ate flame length and
rate of spread, accord-
ing to BMC.
Earlier, the officials
of the Mumbai Fire Bri-
gade (MFB) had doused
a level-one, an easily
inflammable fire, that
broke out in a two-sto-
reyed building, in Mum-
bai’s Byculla area.
UNIDENTIFIED DEAD
BODY OF MAN
FOUND IN LAKE
Thane: An unidentified
dead body of a man was
found in a lake in Thane
district on Monday, po-
lice said. The deceased,
aged around 45 years,
was found in Shil lake
around 11.30 am, said
Avinash Sawant, chief
of the Regional Disas-
ter Management Cell
(RDMC). Local firemen
and RDMC team fished
out the body, which has
been sent to a govern-
ment hospital for post-
mortem, he said.
8-YO GIRL HURT IN
BLDG COLLAPSE
DIES IN HOSPITAL
Mumbai: An 8-year-old
girl who was injured after
a portion of a ground-
plus-24-storey building fell
on her, died in a hospital in
the early hours of Monday,
an official said. The inci-
dent had taken place on
Sunday evening at Shripati
Apartments in Chandan-
wadi, he said. “The girl,
Krisha Patel, was injured
when a piece of plaster fell
on her. She was rushed
to a hospital in Girgaon
where she died at 1:30 am
in the ICU,” he said.
14-YEAR-OLD GIRL
RAPED BY PRIVATE
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Mumbai: A 14-year-old
girl was allegedly raped by
the principal of a private
school in Nagpada, police
said on Monday. An FIR
has been registered in
the case. The 50-year-old
principal of a trust-run
school had allegedly raped
the victim last month
and had again attempted
to take advantage of her
on Saturday after which
the victim went home
and informed her mother
about the incident and
a complaint was lodged
with the police, an official
said. The accused is still
absconding, he added.
ONE HURT AS PART
OF UNFINISHED
BLDG COLLAPSES
Mumbai: A part of an
under-construction build-
ing allegedly collapsed in
Girgaon on Sunday injur-
ing one person. Accord-
ing to the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC), the building in
Kattar lane collapsed. The
cause of the collapse is
yet to be ascertained. One
person was reported in-
jured in the incident. Last
month, as many as five
people were injured after
the bamboo scaffolding
of an under-construction
high-rise building col-
lapsed in the Lower Parel
area of the city.
NEIGHBOUR RAPES 20-MONTH-OLD BABY
ON FINDING PARENTS AWAY, ARRESTED
Mumbai: A 20-month-old girl was alleg-
edly raped by a neighbour in Worli, police
said on Monday. The child’s parents ap-
proached the police to file a complaint on
Sunday, according to which their 35-year-
old neighbour had allegedly raped the tod-
dler when the parents were away a couple
of days ago, an official said. The parents realised something
was wrong when the child kept crying and complaining
about being in pain, the official said. An FIR was registered
and the accused has been arrested, he added.
MAN GETS EXTORTION CALL THREATENING TO
LEAK OBSCENE PHOTOS OF WIFE, CASE FILED
Thane: The police registered an offence following a com-
plaint by a man who allegedly received phone call by an uni-
dentified person threatening to post obscene photographs of
his wife on social media if he did not pay him money, officials
said on Monday. According to the complainant, someone had
hacked into his wife’s mobile phone and gained access to her
photographs. He later received calls threatening him to post
edited photographs of his wife on social media if he did not
pay him Rs5 lakh, an official said.
CRUCIAL READ
Battling social stigma, man gets widowed mother remarried
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A man has
got his 45-year-old wid-
owed mother remarried
in Kolhapur after real-
izing her need for com-
panionship and to bat-
tle social stigma.
Yuvaraj Shele, 23, lost
his father in a road ac-
cident five years ago
and death took a toll on
his mother Ratna. “It
was a major shock for
me to lose my father
when I was just 18 years
old. But the death took
a real toll on my mother,
who had to battle loneli-
ness and felt socially
isolated,” Shele said.
Shele noticed a
markeddifferenceinthe
number of social events
his mother was invited
to after his father’s
death, and it affected
her psychologically
.
When Shele became a
breadwinner for his
family, he realized his
mother’s need for com-
panionship, as she
would be alone at home
with minimum interac-
tion with neighbours.
“My mother was mar-
ried to my father for
nearly 25 years. If a man
loses his wife, the socie-
ty thinks it is natural for
him to remarry
. I won-
dered why the same be-
lief was not applicable
to a woman, and I decid-
ed to convince her to re-
marry
,” said Shele, who
is a small-time worker.
In a city like Kol-
hapur, which is steeped
in traditional values, it
wasn’t easy to convince
his close-knit commu-
nity of relatives and
neighbours, Shele said.
However, with the
help of a few friends and
relatives, Shele began
the uphill task of groom
hunting for his mother.
“Luckily, Maruti
Ghanwat came along
and we got to know
about him through
some contacts. We dis-
cussed the marriage
proposal and after ini-
tial talks with her, the
alliance was fixed,”
said Shele.
SUPPORTIVE SON
Yuvaraj Shele
fixed alliance
after convincing
his mother to
remarry after
she lost her
husband in an
accident
NEW DAWN
No action against Rakhi till Tuesday: Court directs cops
3 cyber fraudsters arrested
for duping people through
fake insurance schemes
Mumbai (PTI): The
Mumbai police have
arrested three per-
sons allegedly in-
volved in duping peo-
ple through fake in-
surance schemes, job
opportunities and
other activities, an of-
ficial said on Monday.
The arrested ac-
cused allegedly oper-
ated a fake call centre
in Noida and contact-
ed the victims over
the phone and
through social media,
the official said.
The fraud came to
light after a dry fruit
trader from Ghat-
kopar approached the
cyber police alleging
that he had lost
around Rs4.5 crore in
an insurance scheme,
he said. The accused
had siphoned off the
money from the com-
plainant’s account
between November
2021 and August 2022,
the official said.
After going through
the details of different
bank account in
which the victim
transferred the
amount, the cyber po-
lice nabbed one of the
accused from Noida
earlier this month and
subsequently appre-
hended two others,
he said.
The gang was in-
volved in 14 cases and
has duped people of
more than Rs5 crore
so far, he said. At least
18 debit cards, pass-
books of different
banks,mobilephones,
laptop, diaries and
other materials have
been recovered and
more than Rs20 lakh
in their bank ac-
counts have been fro-
zen, the official said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
directed city police to
not take any action
against actor Rakhi
Sawant till Tuesday in
connection with a case
lodged against her by a
model for allegedly cir-
culating and displaying
her obscene and objec-
tionable video. Sawant
moved the HC seeking
pre-arrest bail.
Her lawyer on Mon-
day told a single bench
of Justice MS Karnik
that Sawant had been
cooperating with the
police in its probe since
the FIR was lodged in
November 2022.
Justice Karnik post-
ed the matter for hear-
ing on Tuesday and di-
rected the police to not
take any action against
her until then. The
bench was informed by
the additional public
prosecutor that Sawant
had appeared before the
police last week for
questioning but before
handing over her
phone, she deleted the
said video.
The police would now
also charge Sawant
with the destruction of
evidence, he said. Jus-
tice Karnik asked
Sawant’s lawyer to take
instructions on this.
Based on the model’s
complaint, the subur-
ban Amboli police had
booked Sawant and her
lawyer Falguni
Brahmbhatt on Novem-
ber 8, 2022, under sec-
tions 354A (sexual har-
assment), 500 (defama-
tion), 504 (intentional
insult) and 509 (insult-
ing modesty of woman
by act, word or gesture)
of the Indian Penal
Code and section 67
(transmission of ob-
scene content in elec-
tronic form) of the In-
formation Technology
Act.Sawantapproached
the HC after a sessions
court last week rejected
her anticipatory bail
application.
The fraud came
to light after a
dry fruit trader
informed cops
that he had lost
around `4.5 cr
Actor Nawazuddin’s wife booked for
trespassing, voluntarily causing hurt
Mumbai (PTI): The
wife of actor Nawa-
zuddin Siddiqui was
booked for alleged
trespass and voluntar-
ily causing hurt on the
complaint of his moth-
er, a Mumbai police of-
ficial said on Monday.
The FIR against the
actor’s wife Zainab
was registered on Sun-
day, the Versova police
station official said.
“The complainant
Mehrunisa Siddiqui,
who is the actor’s
mother, has alleged
Zainab trespassed into
her home and assault-
ed her after picking up
an argument. Zainab
has been questioned in
the case,” he said.
A case under Indian
Penal Code sections
452, 323 and other of-
fences has been regis-
tered against Zainab
Siddiqui, he said.
Rakhi Sawant
Nawazuddin Siddiqui

PERSPECTIVE
04
went to the Maninagar
Ahmedabad Gujarat State
Sangh Karyalaya in
Ahmedabad. At that time we
had late Vakil Saheb there
and I went to meet him. He
was in a meeting when I ar-
rived at the office. We had
heard a lot about him as the
emergency had just been lift-
ed and all those who had been
underground were gradually
coming out in the open. Sev-
eral Sangh pracharaks were
connecting with us and pass-
ing on messages incognito.
One of these pracharaks liv-
ing in disguise was Narendra
bhai and he was very popular.
Sometime a sardar, sometime
a sadhu - Narendra bhai had
been travelling throughout
Gujarat with the messages of
the Sangh. But we had only
heard about him, never met
him. Well, I will always re-
member my visit to the Sangh
Karyalaya that day as it was
the first time I got to meet
Narendra bhai. A very sim-
ple, young guy — I was com-
pletely taken in by his mag-
netic persona. I introduced
myself to him and he knew all
about my father, his work and
everything. In 1993 when he
visited USA the first time,
wherever we travelled, we
rode in the subway
, the buses
or the metro. What I observed
about him was that he was
always reading something.
Whatever instructions would
be posted on the walls, he
would make sure to not pass
by without reading them and
he would continue to talk to
you at the same time. His in-
terest was Central Park,
Brooklyn Museum and his
goal was to grab as much ex-
perience as he could in his
short visit. Not just this, Nar-
endra bhai has a penchant for
photography. Even today he
has a big library in Gandhi-
nagar dedicated to the photo-
graphs he has clicked and the
memories he has created over
the years.
One great quality about
Narendra bhai is that whoso-
ever he would stay with, rath-
er than becoming a burden
on the household, he would
turn into an asset, in fact he
would live like he belonged to
the family itself! As a Sangh
pracharak, he would not just
connect with the main per-
son of the house but would
interact with each and every
member of the family and
endeared himself to all of
them. He would enter the
kitchen and offer his help in
cooking if needed. “Bhabhi-
ji, Mataji, let me know how I
may help you today”, he
would say. And with his
smiles and jovial nature, he
won everyone over. Well, he
is a fantastic cook himself !
Not just this, he was willing
to contribute to other house-
hold chores as well. This is
how Narendra bhai connect-
ed with several families and
formed a strong bond of love
and affection with all the
members of the these fami-
lies where he would put up as
Sangh pracharak.
He carried a diary with the
details about thousands of
volunteers or karyakartas of
the Jan Sangh, of the BJP and
he would know their sons and
daughters too living in the
USA. He would try and call up
as many people as he could
during his visit. As to me,
Narendra bhai is the one who
understood from day one the
strength of the NRI. All NRIs
have a strong connect in their
native villages and if they
spread good word about you,
thousands of people know
everything about your accom-
plishments. Even today very
few people understand the
strength of the NRI. But Nar-
endra bhai was the best and
remains the best Statesman
we could ever have!
In 1997, we visited the
States once again. At that
time he was the National Gen-
eral Secretary of the BJP and
incharge of Punjab, Haryana
and Himachal Pradesh. He
always wanted to meet the
community so we organised a
community gathering at
Bombay Plaza. One of our
Gujarat MLAs, a young guy
elected for the first time, Pan-
kaj Desai was there too. To-
day he is a senior and sea-
soned BJP member. Narendra
bhai said to him “Pankaj
bhai, tell me about your con-
stituency!” And that is how
Narendra bhai gathered com-
plete information about the
people, their problems and
the way ahead. The point here
is that at that time Narendra
bhai was not looking after Gu-
jarat, but the urge to know as
much as possible about the
people from those he meets
comes naturally to him. Nar-
endra bhai gains a lot of in-
sight and perspective from
his general interactions with
people. Any karyakarta he
would meet, he would ask
questions to test the level of
his or her connect with the
Sangh. “So what is Bharat
Mata? How many shakhas are
there? Who is your Zila
Pracharak?” — these are the
sort of questions he would
ask the volunteers and such
discussions would help every-
one stay current and augment
their knowledge. This is the
reason why people love him
and he has a strong hold over
them. His power to communi-
cate with people with diverse
backgrounds is terrific.
Post this interaction, we
took him for an interview
with TV Asia. You know, the
tunnel that connects New
York to New Jersey is always
over crowded. Mostly there is
a bumper to bumper traffic
jam there. And he was dis-
cussing with us what the
other venues for the inter-
view could be besides this! So
Narendra bhai has always
been a visionary
. He is always
thinking out of the box and
trying to look for alternatives
that improve the efficiency of
governance.
TO BE CONTINUED...
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
SHASHIKANT SHARMA
AND SHWETA SHARMA
I
YOU READ PART 28 ON JANUARY 17, 2023
NaMo: The PM who bonds with the Indian diaspora
The narrator shares with us how Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was the first to
fully understand the real strength of the
NRI community and the bond that he
shares with them is terrific. Read this
story to know how Narendra bhai visited
and interacted with NRI families and
Sangh volunteers developing a deep
connect with them during his visits
abroad.
‘MODI GAINS PERSPECTIVE FROM
HIS INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE’
Modi gains a lot of insight and perspective from his
general interactions with people. Any karyakarta
he would meet, he would ask questions to test the level
of his or her connect with Sangh. “So what is Bharat
Mata? How many shakhas are there? Who is your Zila
Pracharak?” — these are sort of questions he would
ask the volunteers and such discussions would help
everyone stay current and augment their knowledge.
‘NARENDRA BHAI UNDERSTANDS THE
STRENGTH AND VALUE OF THE NRI’
Narendra bhai is the one who understood from
day one the strength of the NRI. All NRIs have
a strong connect in their native villages and if they
spread good word about you, thousands of people
know everything about your accomplishments. Even
today very few people understand the strength of the
NRI. But Narendra bhai was the best and remains the
best Statesman we could ever have!
UNTOLD STORIES OF PM MODI - PART 29
‘MODI HAI TO MUMKIN HAI…’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
One great quality about
Modi is that whosoever he
would stay with, rather
than becoming a burden
on the household, he
would turn into an asset,
in fact he would live like he
belonged to the family itself!
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 258 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
MODI’S PRIDE
‘RASHTRADOOTS’

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
Telegram:
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.
https://bit.ly/fiwhatsappmumbai
https://t.me/thefirstindiamumbai

05
INDIA
Judges don’t
have to face
scrutiny: Rijiju
New Delhi: Law Minis-
ter Kiren Rijiju on Mon-
day said that judges do
not have to contest elec-
tions or face scrutiny by
the public. Rijiju was
speaking at an event of
the Delhi Bar Associa-
tion. The law minister
stated that even though
judges are not elected by
people, but still public is
judging them from the
orders they passed and
their actions.
“After becoming judg-
es, they don’t have to
face elections or scruti-
ny by the public...Public
is watching the judges,
their judgements and
the way they deliver
justice, and make their
assessments...In this
era of social media,
nothing can be hidden,”
Rijiju stated.
“RSS Netaji’s goals
similar for the Nation”
Kolkata (PTI): RSS
Chief Mohan Bhagwat
on Monday said the
goals of RSS and that of
Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose are similar — mak-
ing India a great nation.
Hiscommentcameamid
the criticism that the
ideologies of the RSS
and Netaji were not the
same. Critics pointed
out that Netaji believed
in secularism which is
“against the ideology of
RSS”. Lauding Netaji’s
contribution to India’s
freedom struggle, Bhag-
wat urged everyone to
imbibe the qualities and
teachings of Bose and
work towards making
the country “vishwa
guru” (world leader).
New Delhi (ANI): Re-
calling Netaji’s “unpar-
alleled contribution to
India’s history”, Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
onMondaypaidhomage
to Subhas Chandra Bose
on his 126th birth anni-
versary today
.
“Today, on Parakram
Diwas, I pay homage to
Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose recall his unpar-
alleled contribution to
India’s history. He will
be remembered for his
fierce resistance to colo-
nial rule. We are work-
ing to realise his vision
for India,” PM Modi
wrote in his tweet. The
Government had de-
clared January 23 as
Parakram Diwas in
2021 to commemorate
the birth anniversary
of Netaji Subhas Chan-
dra Bose.
Born on January 23,
1897, Netaji played a
crucial role in India’s
freedom movement.
Subhash Chandra
Bose established the
Azad Hind Fauj. While
there is a controversy
over Bose’s death in a
plane crash in Taipei on
August 18, 1945, the
Central government
had in an RTI (Right to
Information) in 2017
confirmed that he had
died in the incident.
Netaji fiercely resisted colonial rule: PM Modi
TRIBUTE TO SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE
PM Narendra Modi, LS Speaker Om Birla and Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh after paying tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
SUPPORT ME IN REPATRIATING NETAJI’S
REMAINS FROM TAIWAN: ANITA BOSE PFAFF
Stadtbergen: As Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s 126th
birth anniversary was celebrated on January 23, his
daughter Dr Anita Bose Pfaff on Monday requested all
Indians to help in repatriating Netaji’s last remains
from Taiwan. “I request all Indians to support me to
repatriate Netaji’s remains,” Dr Anita Bose Pfaff said
while speaking to ANI.
Mohan Bhagwat speaks during
a meeting in Kolkata.
SRK messaged that he
wants to talk: Himanta
Guwahati (ANI): A day
after Himanta Biswa
Sarma tweeted that he
had assured actor Shah
Rukh Khan over the
phone that the state govt
willensurenountoward
incidents happen dur-
ing the release of his
film ‘Pathaan’, the As-
sam CM on Monday said
the actor had requested
for the phone call.
At a presser on Mon-
day, Sarma said, “Shah
Rukh Khan sent me a
message introducing
himself and saying that
he wants to talk to me.”
“I had many requests
for phone calls, so after
completing my queues,
we spoke at 2 am. He
said that some problems
have taken place regard-
ing his film’s release. I
asked the name of his
film, to which he replied
it was ‘Pathaan’. Then, I
told him that there
would not be any distur-
bance over the film in
the state,” he said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addresses a press
conference after a State Cabinet meeting regarding child marriage,
at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
I am not much interested in movies and only
know film stars from my boyhood. I didn’t know
Shah Rukh Khan. I saw that our phone call was
trending on social media. So many ‘Pathaans’ come and
go, we have more burning issues to care about.
—Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister, Assam
Jammu (PTI): The de-
mand for statehood is
Jammu and Kashmir’s
biggest issue and the
Congress will use “our
full power” to get it re-
instated, party MP Ra-
hul Gandhi said on
Monday as his Bharat
Jodo Yatra arrived here
to a grand welcome.
Gandhi, who met a
cross section of people
from Jammu and Kash-
mir during his yatra,
said JK has the high-
est level of unemploy-
ment in the country
.
“The Congress party
will fully support you
and your statehood (de-
mand).Toreinstatestate-
hood, the Congress will
use our full power,” Gan-
dhi told a gathering at
the Satwari Chowk here.
“Statehood is your
biggestissue.Thereisno
big issue as big as state-
hood. Your right has
been snatched,” he said.
Gandhi said he spoke
to a cross section of
people from JK during
his yatra and they
raised their issues. He
said they told him that
their voices are not be-
ing heard by the admin-
istration. “The entire
trade is being run by
outsiders and people of
JK watch them sitting
haplessly,” he said.
Gandhi said Jammu
and Kashmir has the
highest level of unem-
ployment in the country
.
Youngsters aspire to be-
come engineers, doctors
and lawyers but they
findtheycannot,hesaid.
“There was another
way (to get employ-
ment) earlier. It was
with the Army. It has
also been closed now by
a new scheme, called
Agniveer, introduced by
BJP. That path is also
now closed,” he said.
In August 2019, the
NDA government re-
voked Article 370 which
gave special status to
Jammu and Kashmir
andproposedthestatebe
divided into two union
territories, Jammu and
Kashmir and Ladakh.
RaGa vows to get JK’s statehood reinstated
“Statehood is your biggest issue. There is no big issue as big as statehood. Your right has been snatched,” Congress leaders tells public in Jammu
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with supporters during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Jammu district on Monday. (R) Rahul Gandhi
leads ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Samba district on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
RaGa: We’re
not allowed to
raise issues in
Parl,hence BJY
Jammu (PTI): Defend-
ingCongress’decisionto
start Bharat Jodo Yatra
to “unite” India, Rahul
Gandhi on Monday said
the Opposition party
was forced to undertake
the 3500-km foot march
after it was not allowed
to speak on the public is-
sues in Parliament.
He slammed the BJP
government at the Cen-
tre for demonetisation,
“hasty implementa-
tion” of GST and the
recently launched Ag-
niveer scheme.
Gandhi alleged that
the government is “fa-
cilitating” flight of mon-
ey into the coffers of a
few corporators and ru-
iningthesmallbusiness-
es across the country
.
“The democracy in
the country is under at-
tack which is a major
challenge for the na-
tion. Before the com-
mencement of the
Yatra, we tried to raise
the issues like demone-
tisation, GST, farmers’
bill and China’s aggres-
sion in Parliament,
both in Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha, but we
were not allowed and
the mikes were being
switched off,” he said.
DIGVIJAYA QUESTIONS SURGICAL STRIKES;
BJP ACCUSES CONG OF INSULTING FORCES
2 IEDS RECOVERED
IN JK’S RAJOURI
DISTRICT, DEFUSED
Rajouri: The security forces
recovered two improvised
explosive devices (IEDs)
in Rajouri district which
were defused. The IEDs
were detected on Sunday.
Police said on Monday, “On
22-01-2023 at 6 p.m. a
joint search operation was
launched by police, special
operations group, 225
field Regiment of Army
and CRPF 72 battalion at
Dassal and adjoining areas.
“During searches two IEDs
were recovered. Later on
IEDs were defused by
Bomb Disposal
Squad”.
Jammu/New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya
Singh on Monday questioned the surgical strikes and
accused the government of peddling lies, drawing
furious reaction from the BJP which said the Opposi-
tion party was blinded by its “hate” for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and has “insulted” armed forces.
Addressing a public meeting during the Bharat Jodo
Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh alleged that the
government did not agree to the CRPF request of
flying its personnel from Srinagar to Delhi
and 40 soldiers sacrificed their lives
in Pulwama in 2019 to a terror attack.
“They talk of surgical strikes. They
claim to have killed so many people but
no proof is given. They are ruling by
peddling a bundle of lies,”
the former Madhya Pradesh
chief minister, who has
often courted controversy
with his comments, said.
Bharat Jodo Yatra gets a
warm welcome in JK
Jammu (PTI): Con-
gress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
received a warm wel-
come as it entered Jam-
mu from the adjoining
Samba district Monday
afternoon with authori-
ties further strengthen-
ing the security cordon
around him. The yatra
started from Samba’s Vi-
jaypuralongtheJammu-
Pathankot highway at
around7amMondayand
was received warmly by
a massive crowd as it
crossed Bari Brahmana
in Jammu’s Parmandal.
Rahul Gandhi lookalike person
in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
MP schools to teach
Hindu scriptures
Bhopal (ANI): Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
on Monday said that ex-
cerpts from Bhagavad
Gita, Ramayana, Ma-
habharata, and other
religious books will be
taught in the schools
across the state.
Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
made the above an-
nouncement while ad-
dressing the Sughosh
Darshan program or-
ganized by the Vidhya
Bharti organization at
Old Campion ground in
the state capital Bhopal
on Monday. Chouhan
said, “Ramayana, Ma-
habharat, Vedas, Upani-
shads and Shrimad
Bhagavad Gita are our
priceless books. These
books have the ability
to make man moral and
to make man perfect.
Therefore, the teaching
of our religious books
will be implemented in
the government schools
of the state. I am saying
this as the Chief Minis-
ter of the state.”
MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
pays floral tribute to Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose.
IN THE COURTYARD
HIJAB BAN: SC ASSURES TO CONSIDER
LISTING MATTER BEFORE 3-JUDGE BENCH
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday assured the
petitioners to list the matter of ban on Hijab in the educa-
tional institutes in Karnataka. Advocate Meenakshi Arora
mentioned the matter related to the headscarves before
a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud. Arora said that
many girls have lost out on the entire year because they
have refused to take off their hijab. She also apprised the
court about practicals in educational institutes in Febru-
ary and sought an early hearing for interim directions.
GYANVAPI: HEARING ON PLEA DEMANDING
SURVEY OF 2 BASEMENTS ON MARCH 21
Varanasi: A local court on Monday fixed March 21 for
next hearing on a petition seeking to open and survey
two basements in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri com-
plex. Varanasi District Judge AK Vishvesh posted the
matter after almost two months as the Allahabad High
Court last week postponed hearing in a related matter
by eight weeks. The High Court on January 19 had
granted eight more weeks to the Archaeological Survey
of India for filing its response on the matter.
FOREIGN TOURS: DELHI HC GIVES ‘LAST
OPPORTUNITY’ TO CENTRE, LG TO REPLY
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted a
“last opportunity” to the Centre and the Lt Governor to
respond to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot’s plea chal-
lenging a provision which requires state govt ministers,
including the CM, to seek political clearances from
the Centre for foreign visits. The petition was filed last
year in the backdrop of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal being
denied permission for his visit to Singapore for the 8th
World Cities’ Summit from July 31 to August 7, 2022.
DELHI COURT GRANTS EXEMPTION FROM
PERSONAL APPEARANCE TO JACQUELINE
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday granted exemp-
tion from personal appearance to Bollywood actor
Jacqueline Fernandez for the day in
a money laundering case against her
and alleged conman Sukesh Chan-
drasekhar. The judge, who was sched-
uled to hear the arguments on framing
charges in the matter, adjourned the
matter for February 15. The court will
hear arguments on January 25 on an application
moved by the actor seeking permission to go abroad.
“ISSUE ORDERS ON APPOINTMENT OF
IPS OFFICER RUPIN SHARMA AS DGP”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday told the
Nagaland govt to pass orders within one week on
the appointment of senior IPS officer
Rupin Sharma as the DGP of the
state. A bench refused to consider
the plea of the Nagaland government
that the UPSC be asked to relax the
30 years service criteria rule to 25
years for IPS officers for being em-
panelled in the UPSC list of three for appointment
as the state police chief.

06
INDIA
Mumbai (ANI): The
Indian Navy on Monday
commissioned INS Va-
gir’ the fifth submarine
of Project 75 Kalvari
class at the naval dock-
yard here in presence
of Chief of Naval Staff
Admiral R Hari Kumar.
Launched and named
‘Vagir’ on November 12,
2020, the submarine in
its new avatar has the
distinction of having
the lowest build time
among all indigenously
manufactured subma-
rines to date. ‘Vagir’ un-
dertook her maiden sea
sortie in February 2022,
markingthecommence-
ment of sea trials and
has gone through a se-
ries of comprehensive
acceptance checks and
stringent and demand-
ing sea trials prior to
being commissioned,
according to the de-
fence ministry
. The sub-
marine was delivered to
Indian Navy by MDL on
December 20, 2022.
‘Vagir’ will boost the
IndianNavy’scapability
to further India’s mari-
time interests and is ca-
pable of undertaking
diverse missions includ-
inganti-surfacewarfare,
anti-submarinewarfare,
intelligence gathering,
mine laying and surveil-
lance missions.
“Vagir is a lethal plat-
form with a formidable
weapon package. Vagir
is the third submarine
inducted into the Navy
in a span of 24 months.
It is also a shining testi-
mony to the expertise of
our shipyards to con-
struct complex and
complicated platforms,”
said Admiral Kumar.
Coxswain of the fifth
Kalvari submarine ‘INS
Vagir’ Daljinder Singh
on Saturday said that
the submarine is ready
to face any threat if war
breaks out between In-
dia and China.
While talking to ANI,
Singh said, “This sub-
marine is the latest
technology of the Indi-
an Navy. It is a silent
submarine. It has good
anti-submarine weap-
ons like the advanced
version of mines. It has
advanced versions of
combat and advanced
version of sonar, and
radar systems.”
“All the technology
used in the submarine
is Indian. If there is a
war between India and
China, then we are
ready to face it,” Singh
added.
‘INS Vagir’ commissioned into Indian Navy
5TH KALVARI-CLASS SUBMARINE
Naval officers onboard the fifth Kalvari-class submarine 'INS Vagir' during its commissioning
ceremony, at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai, on Monday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
READ
Crucial
Crucial
UNRULY BEHAVIOUR
ON SPICEJET FLIGHT
AT DELHI AIRPORT
New Delhi: Two passen-
gers supposed to fly a
SpiceJet flight from Delhi
to Hyderabad on Monday
were handed over to the
security agency at the
origin airport. According
to sources, one of the
passengers allegedly
inappropriately touched
the foreign cabin crew of
this wet-leased aircraft
(where the airline rents
the plane with the oper-
ating crew).
YETI CRASH: ALL
FIVE BODIES OF
INDIANS IDENTIFIED
Kathmandu: The bodies
of all five Indians, who
were killed in the Yeti
Airlines plane crash in
Nepal’s resort city of
Pokhara, have been
identified and handed
over to their respec-
tive family members,
hospital sources said on
Monday. The five Indians
were among 72 people
on board when the Yeti
Airlines plane crashed on
the bank of Seti River.
ED ATTACHES `7.90
CRORES ASSETS IN
PUNJAB DRUG CASES
New Delhi: Assets worth
Rs 7.90 crore have been
attached under the anti-
money laundering law in
connection with a probe
linked to two narcotics
trafficking cases of Pun-
jab, ED said on Monday.
The money laundering
case stems from separate
FIRs filed by the Punjab
Police under various sec-
tions of NDPS Act against
Gurdeep Singh Rano and
Rajesh Kumar.
20 INJURED AS TN
GOVT BUS FALLS
INTO CANAL
Chennai: At least 20
passengers were injured
when a state transport
bus overturned and fell
into a canal at Koman-
galam near Virudhacha-
lam in Tamil Nadu’s
Cuddalore district on
Monday, the police said.
The injured are admit-
ted to Virudhachalam
General hospital, where
the condition of a few is
stated to be serious, the
police added.
WOMAN PUSHES
HER 2 KIDS INTO
RIVER, KILLS SELF
Hyderabad: A woman
pushed her two children
into Godavari river in
Telangana on Monday
before jumping into
it to die by suicide.
The shocking incident
occurred in the Basara
town. The police pulled
out all three bodies. The
woman, identified as
Manasa, 27, pushed her
son Baladitya, 8, and
daughter Navasri, 7, into
the river near the ghat.
“UK supports India’s bid
for UNSC permanent seat”
New Delhi (ANI): The
United Kingdom sup-
ports India’s candidacy
for a permanent seat in
the United Nations Se-
curity Council (UNSC),
British High Commis-
sioner Alexander Ellis
said while adding that
New Delhi’s push for
reforms will make the
institution more effec-
tive in dealing with the
realities of today
.
In ANI Podcast, the
British High Commis-
sioner said, “We certain-
ly support India becom-
ing the member of the
UNSC as this is why the
UNSC reforms are the
institutionalthatreflects
to the realities of today
.”
“Change in the institu-
tion (UNSC) is hard and
we need to make them
work. Some of them
come after the second
World War like UN and
UNSC, some came later
likeWorldTradeOrgani-
zation(WTO)...zenithof
globalization, the mid
90s and what we want
from India is actually to
make the effective insti-
tution,” he added.
Healsogavetheexam-
ple of the International
Financial Institutions
(IFI) which is the prod-
uct of the Organisation
for Economic Co-opera-
tion and Development
(OECD)andsaidthatthe
countries are adapting
those to realities of to-
day
. He also said that In-
dia,forexamplehadalso
lend money
.
He also said that the
vulnerable states like
island nations need
greater support so that
they can create the im-
pact in the world and
hardwork is the key to
that lock.
“Change in the multi-
lateralisation is hard-
work. What we are see-
ing is the creation of
new institution which
we will start more,” El-
lis said in a podcast
with ANI.
He also gave the ex-
ample of Clinical Trials
Registry - India, which
is majporly created
with the support of UK.
“India will increas-
ingly be part of all of
those (Indo-Pacific
group, minilateralism)
things and including in
panel so UK and India
but also with other
countries try to solve
the particular prob-
lem,” British High
Commissioner said.
On December 1, India
assumed the monthly
rotating presidency of
the UN Security Coun-
cil (UNSC) for the sec-
ond time in its two-year
tenure as an elected
member of the Council
in 2021-22.
We certainly
support India
becoming the
member of the
UNSC as this is why
the UNSC reforms
are the institutional
that reflects to the
realities of today.
—Alexander Ellis,
British High Commissioner
INDIA NOW PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE AT INT’L FORUMS
UNDER PM MODI, SAYS GERMAN AMBASSADOR
Lucknow: German Ambassador to India,
Philipp Ackermann, met UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in
Lucknow on Monday. Ambassador Philipp
said that under the leadership of PP Nar-
endra Modi, India now plays an important
role in international forums. Big changes
have been seen in Uttar Pradesh in the last
six years. Law and order has improved
significantly. Work in the area of infrastruc-
ture development has been unprecedented.
All efforts are being made to modernise
the transport system including airport,
expressway, waterway and metro. Fruitful
discussions regarding industrial invest-
ment in Uttar Pradesh were held between
the CM and German Ambassador. They
also talked about the strong economic ties
between India and Germany. The CM said
that with a trade history of more than 500
years, India and Germany are bound by a
common history of economic cooperation.
German Ambassador to India Philipp
Ackermann calls on UP CM Yogi Adityanath at
his residence, in Lucknow on Monday.
People’s consent must
forAadhaar authentication
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Consent of Aad-
haar holders will be
required before carry-
ing out Aadhaar au-
thentications.
The Unique Identifi-
cation Authority of In-
dia (UIDAI) has high-
lighted in its new guide-
lines for Requesting
Entities (REs) that they
are required to obtain
residents’ informed
consent either on paper
or electronically before
carrying out Aadhaar
authentications.
It has urged REs,
which carry out online
authentications, to en-
sure that residents un-
derstand the type of
data being collected
and the purpose of Aad-
haar authentications. It
has underlined that
logs of authentication
transactions, including
the consent taken, are
kept only for the period
as prescribed in the
Aadhaar Regulations.
Purging of such logs
after expiry of the said
time period shall also
be done as per the Aad-
haar Act and its regula-
tions.
OSDMA, Mizoram’s fire
station bag central award
New Delhi (PTI): The
Odisha State Disaster
Management Authority
andtheLungleiFireSta-
tion in Mizoram have
been selected for a cen-
tral award for their ex-
cellent work in disaster
management in the in-
stitutional category
, the
Union Home Ministry
announced on Monday
.
The Modi govt has in-
stitutedanannualaward,
called Subhash Chandra
Bose Aapda Prabandhan
Puraskar, to recognise
and honour the invalua-
ble contribution and self-
less service rendered by
individuals and organi-
sations in India in the
field of disaster manage-
ment. For 2023, the OSD-
MA and the Lunglei Fire
Station(LFS)inMizoram
havebeenselectedforthe
award in the institution-
al category
, according to
a statement of the home
ministry said.
R-Day: Full dress rehearsals
organised at Kartavya Path
New Delhi (ANI): With
only three days left for
Republic Day, prepara-
tion for the occasion
has been intensified as
full dress rehearsals are
underway at the Kar-
tavya Path in Delhi.
With the Garud Spe-
cial Forces of the Indi-
an Air Force will be
marching on the Kar-
tavya Path during the
parade for the first
time, the country is all
set to showcase Special
Forces.
Squadron Leader PS
Jaitawat will be leading
the Garud team as part
of the IAF contingent
and Squadron Leader
SindhuReddywillbethe
contingent commander.
A military contingent
fromtheEgyptianArmy
will also participate in
theRepublicDayparade.
This is for the first
time that the President
of Egypt has been in-
vited as Chief Guest at
India’s Republic Day
celebrations.
Akash Army Launcher passes through Kartavya Path during full
dress rehearsal of Republic Day Parade, in New Delhi on Monday.
ArmyChiefvisitsposts
alongLACinArunachal
New Delhi (PTI):
Army Chief Gen
Manoj Pande carried
out a comprehensive
review of India’s mili-
tary preparedness
along the Line of Ac-
tual Control in
Arunachal Pradesh in
hisfirstvisittothebor-
der state after recent
clash between Indian
and Chinese forces in
the Tawang sector.
Gen Pande visited
various forward posts
along the de-facto bor-
der with China in the
Rest of Arunachal
Pradesh (RALP) as
well as some other
strategically key posts
during his visit.
They said senior
commanders in
Arunachal Pradesh
briefed the army
chief about the over-
all security scenario
in the border areas.
“Gen Manoj Pande
#COAS visited units
formations along LAC
inEastern#Arunacha-
lPradeshwasbriefed
on operational prepar-
edness security situ-
ation. #COAS compli-
mented troops for
maintaining sharp
vigil exhorted all to
continueworkingwith
same zeal devotion,”
the Army tweeted.
On Saturday
, Gen
Pande reviewed Ar-
my’s preparedness
along the LAC in
Arunachal Pradesh
and Sikkim during his
visit to the headquar-
ters of the eastern
Army command in
Kolkata. Gen Pande’s
visittothecrucialcom-
mand came six weeks
aftertheclashbetween
Indian and Chinese
troops in an area along
the LAC in the Tawang
sector of Arunachal.
Gen Manoj Pande
“Neither me,nor my men filed any petition”
New Delhi (ANI): Brij
Bhushan, who was re-
centlyaskedtostepaside
as the Wrestling Federa-
tionof India(WFI)chief,
pending an inquiry by
anOversightCommittee
into the allegation of
sexual harassment and
financialimpropriety
,on
Mondayclarifiedthatno
petitionhasbeenfiledby
himorbyanypersonau-
thorized by him in the
DelhiHighCourtagainst
the Delhi government,
the wrestlers who pro-
tested and against the
news channels.
Brij Bhushan in his
statement further clari-
fied that I deny the news
of filing a petition in the
name of Vicky showing
my Delhi residence ad-
dress on the news chan-
nel.Ihavenotauthorized
anyadvocate,lawagency
orrepresentativetofilea
petition in any court of
law. Earlier today
, a Peti-
tion was moved in Delhi
High Court against Play-
ers/Wrestlers, who re-
cently staged a protest
against Wrestling Fed-
eration of India (WFI)
president Brij Bhushan
Sharan Singh, levelling
serious charges of sexu-
al harassment against
him, and coaches of the
federation.
Lawyer Sharikasnt
Prasad after filing the
plea claimed that the pe-
titioner in the matter is
Vicky, whose address is
21, Ashoka Road, the of-
ficial residence of Mem-
ber of Parliament Brij
Bhushan Sharan and is
working as his cook.
WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. —FILE PHOTO
WILL FILE DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST WFI
CHIEF: CONGRESS MP DEEPENDER HOODA
New Delhi: Congress MP Deepender
Singh Hooda on Monday said that he will
file a defamation case against the Wres-
tling Federation of India (WFI) President
and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
after the latter claimed that the allegation
of sexual harassment against him by
wrestlers was made at the behest of the
former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and his son
and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda.

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 56,840.00 40.00 0.07 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,980.00 85.00 0.12 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 81.38 0.21 0.25
GBPINR 101.09 0.97 0.97
CURRENCIES
BCCI set for another `4,000 cr windfall
New Delhi (PTI): The
BCCI is all set to get richer
by at least `4000 crore with
some of the top business
houses set to bid aggres-
sively for the five Women’s
IPL (WIPL) teams that
would be auctioned on
Wednesday. According to
market experts, the teams
are expected to shell out in
the “range of 500 to 600
crore INR” per team in the
closed-bid auction.
“WIPL has huge poten-
tial but most of the legacy
teams would like to mix
optimism with pragma-
tism,” an industry insider,
who has previously worked
on men’s IPL team bid said.
“Expect a few bids in the
range of `500 crore up-
wards. `800 crore plus
could be a bit ambitious
but BCCI won’t complain,”
he added.
More than 30 odd compa-
nies have bought the bid
documents worth `5 lakh
including all the 10 men’s
IPL team.
WOMEN’S IPL TEAM BID
AUCTION ON
WEDNESDAY
z The BCCI is all set to get
richer by at least `4000
crore with some of the top
business houses set to bid
aggressively for the five
WIPL teams that would be
auctioned on Wednesday
z The teams are expected
to shell out in the “range
of 500 to 600 crore INR”
per team
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi (PTI): Canara
Bank on Monday report-
ed 92% jump in profit at
`2,882 crore for the
quarter ended December
2022, helped by a rise in
interest income and de-
cline in bad loans. Its net
profit stood at `1,502
crore in the same quarter
of the preceding financial
year. Total income in-
creased to `26,218 crore
in the quarter from
`21,312 crore in the
year-ago period, the
state-owned bank said in
a regulatory filing. At the
same time, interest in-
come rose to `22,231
crore as against `17,701
crore in the same quarter
a year ago.
New Delhi (PTI): Hyundai
Motor India on Monday
said it has launched an
updated version of its
compact sedan Aura with
price starting at `6.29
lakh (ex-showroom Del-
hi). The company said it
has introduced the model
with introductory prices
ranging between `6.29
lakh and `8.57 lakh. The
new Aura comes with pet-
rol and CNG trims with
diesel variants discontin-
ued in the new range. The
company said it is offer-
ing the car with over 30
safety features.
HYUNDAI DRIVES IN
AURA WITH PRICE
STARTING AT `6.29 L
CANARA BANK Q3
PROFIT SURGES 92%
TO `2,882 CRORE
New Delhi (FIB): Finnish
telecom equipment maker
Nokia on Monday said it
has signed a new multi-
year agreement to license
its 5G patents to Sam-
sung following the expiry
of the previous pact in
Dec. Samsung will make
payments to Nokia from
Jan 1, but the companies
did not disclose the terms
of the deal. Nordic rival
Ericsson last year also
reached an agreement on
5G patents with Samsung,
ending a dispute that hit
its quarterly revenue.
NOKIA SIGNS 5G
PATENT AGREEMENT
WITH SAMSUNG
New Delhi (PTI): Honda
Motorcycle and Scooter
India (HMSI) on Monday
launched a new version of
its Activa scooter which
conforms to the upcom-
ing stricter emission
norms, with price starting
at `74,536 (ex-showroom
Delhi). The new Activa is
compliant with on board
diagnostics (OBD 2) and
is being offered in three
trims tagged at `74,536,
`77,036 and `80,537. The
new Activa comes with
various new features like
the smart key which ena-
bles the customer to easi-
ly locate the vehicle.
HONDA LAUNCHES NEW
ACTIVA AT STARTING
PRICE OF `74,536
*Rates till the edition went to print.
SAYS UK TRADE MINISTER
AMAZON AIR DEBUTS IN
INDIA FOR FASTER
DELIVERIES
Hyderabad (PTI): Amazon
India on Monday launched
Amazon Air in the country
to further
enhance its
transportation
network and
enable faster
deliveries to customers. Ama-
zon is the first e-commerce
company in India to launch a
dedicated air cargo network,
an Amazon release said. Ama-
zon executive said two planes
are being operated at present.
He said each plane can carry
20,000 shipments.
VODA IDEA REFUTES
REPORTS OF PREPAID
SERVICE OUTAGE
New Delhi (FIB): Vodafone
Idea has refuted reports of
its prepaid services being
unavailable for
a few hours
on Sunday.
“We would
like to alert
our customers to not believe
such false news,” Vi said in
a statement on Monday. The
cash-strapped telco clarified
its customers in the Delhi
circle about a system upgrade
for a few hours on the night
of January 22 to morning of
January 23.
INVESTMENT THROUGH P-NOTES DROPS TO
`96,292-CR IN DEC 2022 ON PROFIT BOOKING
New Delhi (PTI): Investment in the Indian capital markets through
participatory notes slightly dropped to `96,292 crore at the end
of December 2022 from the preced-
ing month on higher valuation of
domestic markets. Before the decline,
the investment through the route had
been on an increasing trend since July
because of a slump in prices of oil and
other commodities and relative out-
performance of Indian equity markets.
The value of P-note investments in Indian markets —equity, debt,
and hybrid securities —stood at `96,292 crore at December-end.
AS LAYOFFS CONTINUE, GOOGLE FREEZES KEY
GREEN CARD PROCESS FOR WORKERS
New Delhi (FIB): As if the news of mass layoffs at top tech
firms wasn’t causing anxiety enough for Indian techies working
in the United States, latest reports
suggest Google has paused its Pro-
gram Electronic Review Manage-
ment (PERM), a key step in acquir-
ing an employer-sponsored green
card. Google has sent an email to
foreign employees, notifying them
that the tech giant will pause any
new filings of PERM, leaving workers in a limbo.
OTHER STORIES
IndiaFTAcanbeclinchedthisyr
New Delhi (PTI): The In-
dia-UK free trade agree-
ment (FTA) is expected to
be clinched this year but it
won’t involve any boost of
free movement visa offers
for Indians, British trade
minister Kemi Badenoch
,in charge of the negotia-
tions has said.
The UK Secretary of
State for Trade also ruled
out any major similarities
between the FTA the UK
had struck with Australia
- one of the first post-Brex-
it trade deals - and that
with India.
“We left the EU (Euro-
pean Union) because we
didn’t believe in free move-
ment, we didn’t think it
was working. This is not a
deal that’s negotiating
some kind of free move-
ment with India,” Bade-
noch said, with reference
to more visa offers.
The minister indicated a
willingness to make con-
cessions on issues like
business mobility, but
ruled out the prospect of
Indians getting the same
kind of deal as with Aus-
tralia. “We have to make
sure that each trade agree-
ment we sign is tailored to
the specific country. The
kind of mobility offer I can
do to a country like Aus-
tralia is not going to be the
same kind of mobility of-
fer I can do with a country
like India, which has got
many times the popula-
tion,” said Badenoch. “And
what people from the UK
want to do when they trav-
el to Australia is probably
slightly different from
what they do when they
travel to India, and vice
versa as well,” she said.
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z Kemi Badenoch, who was
in New Delhi last month to
kick off the sixth round of
FTA talks with Piyush Goyal,
said that former PM Boris
Johnson’s “deal by Diwali”
deadline last year was
not feasible and had to be
changed
z She also ruled out any major
similarities between the
FTA the UK had struck with
Australia
Indigenously-developed
5G, 4G tech roll out this
year, says Telecom Min
Gandhinagar (PTI): In-
digenously-developed 5G
and 4G telecom technology
stack will be rolled out in
the country this year and
the platform will be offered
to the world from next year,
Union telecom minister
Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Vaishnaw said that only
five countries in the world
have end-to-end 4G-5G tel-
ecom technology stack but
now with the public-pri-
vate partnership, India has
developed its own technol-
ogy which has been tested
to handle 10 million simul-
taneous calls.
“Our private and public
partnership approach has
given us a solution where
the core was developed, in-
vested by the public sector,
public funds, and every-
thing else sitting on it
comes from the private
partners. In this entire
2023, we will be rolling it
outonabout50,000to70,000,
towers, sites and then in
2024 will be offering it to the
world,” Vaishnaw said.
The minister also elabo-
rated on four broad ap-
proaches directed towards
economic management,
digital economy, regula-
tion in digital economy
and development of new
technology.
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark BSE Sensex rose by
319 points on Monday on
gains in IT and financial
stocks after positive quar-
terly results amid support-
ive global cues.
The 30-share BSE barom-
eter rose by 319.90 or 0.53%
to close at 60,941.67.
The index opened higher
and gained more than 400
points to scale the 61,000
level. It touched a high of
61,113.27 and a low of
60,761.88 in the day
.
The broader NSE Nifty
gained 90.90 points or 0.5%
to settle at 18,118.55 as 32 of
its stocks advanced while 18
declined.
Among Sensex stocks,
Hindustan Unilever rose
the most by 1.89%. Sun
Pharma, Tata Motors, Info-
sys, TCS, Tech Mahindra,
HCLTech,SBI,KotakBank,
HDFC twins, and Nestle
were among major gainers.
On the other hand, Ul-
traTech Cement was the
biggest loser, falling by
4.62%. NTPC, LT, Tata
Steel, Reliance Industries,
and Titan were also among
the laggards.
New Delhi (FIB): Zomatois
shutting down its 10-minute
food delivery service Zoma-
to Instant less than a year
after it was launched as it
chases profitability amid
tough market conditions.
The company has recent-
ly told its restaurant part-
ners it would look to close
down the service.
“Itdidn’tlooklikeitwould
turn profitable. The compa-
ny was not getting the daily
volume required to even pay
thefixedcosts.Itwasn’tscal-
inguptothatlevel,”asource
told ET Prime.
“The plan is to now pivot
to a new product,” he said,
adding that Zomato is ex-
perimenting with low-val-
ue packed meals – thalis or
combo meals. It has not
been decided if Zomato
will retain the 10-minutes
preposition for this. How-
ever the new offering will
be launched in 7-10 days,
one of the sources said.
However, Zomato said it
was not shutting down In-
stant but rebranding the
service. “Instant is not
shutting down. We are
working on a new menu
with our partners and re-
branding the business. All
finishing stations remain
intact, and no people are
impacted by this decision.”
Gandhinagar (PTI):
The Business-20 forum
during India’s leadership
has a unique opportunity
and a very important role
to play in working out
agenda that can be value
adding for all G-20 na-
tions and the rest of the
world, B20 India Chair N
Chandrasekaran said.
The B20 is the official
G20 dialogue forum with
the global business com-
munity. It is among the
most prominent engage-
ment groups in G20.
Chandrasekaran, who
is also the Chairman of
Tata Sons, said during In-
dia’s leadership of the
forum, various initiatives
would be taken up in sev-
eral areas, including glob-
al supply chain, creative
skills, circular economy,
digital transformation
and financial inclusion.
“India is in a very
unique position in the
world at a time (when) we
are seeing several moving
parts, and B20, during In-
dia’s leadership of G20,
has a unique opportunity
and has a very important
role to play,” he said.
“So, we’ve had the op-
portunity to look at the
evolution and the pro-
gress (of B20) over the
years and have been able
to relate it to the context
in which the world is
functioning today and
able to work out an agen-
da which we think is very
exciting and can be value
adding for all G20 nations
or in fact for the rest of
the world not only to In-
dia,” he asserted.
MarketsadvanceongainsinIT,
financialsharesandglobalcues
Zomatowindsup10-mindelivery
‘B20 CAN BE VALUE ADDING’
RUPEE FALLS 21
PAISE TO 81.38
AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee fell 21
paise to close as 81.38 (pro-
visional) against the US dollar
on Monday amid rise in crude
prices. At the interbank foreign
exchange market, the rupee
opened stronger at 80.92 to a
dollar against the previous close
of 81.17. The local unit moved in
a range of 81.47 to 80.93 during
the day. On Friday, the rupee had
appreciated by 19 paise to close
at 81.17 against the US dollar.
Apple looks to scale
up mfg in India: Goyal
Gandhinagar (PTI): iP-
hone-maker Apple is look-
ing to scale up its manufac-
turing in India as the busi-
nessenvironmentishelping
global firms make the coun-
try their base, Commerce
and Industry Minister Pi-
yush Goyal said. He said
Apple already have about
5-7% of their manufactur-
ing in India. “They are tar-
geting to go up to 25% of
their manufacturing. They
launched their most recent
models from India, manu-
factured in India.”
SAYS N CHANDRASEKARAN

08
2NDFRONT
On the occasion of National Girl
Child Day, we must promise ourselves
to ensure the safety of our girl child
and ensure all opportunities for them.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Union min-
ister Narayan Rane on
Monday said the newly
minted alliance be-
tween the Shiv Sena
(UBT) and Dalit lead-
er’s Prakash Ambed-
kar’s outfit VBA in Ma-
harashtra will not
have any political im-
pact on the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and
the ruling Eknath
Shinde faction. “Their
alliance would not
make any political
dent to the ruling coa-
lition in the state (BJP
and Balasahebanchi
Shiv Sena). I do not un-
derstand, why people
(in the media) are giv-
ing so much impor-
tance to Ambedkar
and Uddhav Thacker-
ay...they do not have
any political backing,”
Rane said
“Theybothlackpoliti-
cal stature to criticise
PM Modi. Tell me, how
many people are behind
them?” he asked Rane
maintained Uddhav
Thackeray has lost sup-
port of a majority of his
MLAs post rebellion by
a section of legislators
in June last year.
“Thackeray once
had support of 56 Sena
MLAs, now there are
not even 12. What is
Prakash Ambedkar’s
contribution in the up-
liftment of Scheduled
Caste people in the
state? Can he give me
some number, because
I can tell you how
many people I have
helped,” said the BJP
leader. “Both the lead-
ers are losing ground
and are at the end of
their political career,”
Rane claimed.
Malik’s son, daughter-in-law get pre-arrest bail
Mumbai (PTI): A ses-
sions court here on
Monday granted pre-
arrest bail to former
Maharashtra cabinet
minister Nawab Malik’s
son Faraz and French
daughter-in-law Laura
Hemelin alias Ayesha in
connection with a case
of submission of al-
leged forged documents
to extend her visa.
Judge MG Deshpande
granted the couple an-
ticipatory bail.
The suburban Kurla
police had registered a
complaint of cheating
and forgery against the
duolastweek.According
to the police, Hemelin, a
French national, had
submitted forged docu-
ments while applying to
convert her tourist visa
into a long-term visa.
The duo has denied
the criminal charges
and claimed to be vic-
tims of fraud at the
hands of an agent who
they had appointed to
obtain a marriage cer-
tificate, which is at the
centre of the case. The
couple has said the
agent had cheated 18
other people.
The couple, who had
approached the court
for anticipatory bail,
claimed no cheating or
forgery case was made
out against them as
they are neither the au-
thors of the alleged
forged marriage certifi-
cate nor had they
caused any wrongful
loss to any person.
An FIR (first informa-
tion report) was lodged
against the two under
sections 420, 465, 468,
and 34 of the Indian Pe-
nal Code and section 14
of the Foreigners Act.
FAKE DOCUMENT VISA FRAUD
According to the police, Hemelin, a
French national, had submitted forged
documents while applying to convert
her tourist visa into a longterm visa
Nawab Malik —FILE PHOTO
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai. The cam-
paigning for the polls
for graduate and teach-
er seats in the state has
started in full swing.
Meanwhile, Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde has
given a signal to imple-
ment the old pension
scheme in the state.
Additional burden
of `55 thousand
crores on state
government
If the old pension
scheme is implemented
in the state, then there
will be an additional
burden of about 55 thou-
sand crore rupees on the
state government, and
there is a possibility
that there will be a big
gap in the pension
amount of the old em-
ployees and the new em-
ployees. The old pension
scheme can be imple-
mented. This decision
of the government will
benefit the ruling party-
Shinde faction and BJP
- in the elections.
There are about 16
lakh 10 thousand gov-
ernment employees in
the state. 58 thousand
crore rupees are spent
on their salary per
year. Now if the old
pension scheme is in ef-
fect and it is decided to
implement it from 2004,
then there will be an
additional burden of 50
to 55 thousand crore ru-
pees on the exchequer
of the state govern-
ment. The state govern-
ment will spend an ad-
ditional 4 to 4.5 thou-
sand crore rupees on
teachers' pension. In
the state, if the old pen-
sion scheme is imple-
mented, the employee
will get 50 percent of
the salary after retire-
ment till death. Also,
after his death, an em-
ployee's spouse will get
30 percent of the
amount as pension till
his death. But in the
new pension, the pen-
sion will be given on the
accumulated amount
by deducting the money
from the salary and not
according to the salary
of the employees. Since
this scheme is based on
market investment,
pension will be given on
the accumulated
amount.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde on Monday said
good governance will be
provided to citizens
through e-governance.
Addressing a gather-
ing after inaugurating a
two-day regional confer-
ence on “e-governance”
in Mumbai, Shinde said
e-governance is being
widely implemented in
the country under
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s leadership.
The two-day confer-
ence has been jointly
organisedbytheDepart-
ment of Administrative
Reforms and Public
Grievances (DARPG) in
collaboration with the
state government.
The conference, be-
ing held in a hybrid
mode, has been attend-
ed by 500 delegates from
30 participating states
and Union Territories.
“E-governance is be-
ing widely implement-
ed in the country under
the leadership of Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi and the two-day
conference being held
by the Centre and state
governments is a wel-
come initiative to up-
date the administrative
system and exchange
innovative ideas,” the
chief minister said.
He said through this
conference, informa-
tion about the activities
taking place under e-
governance across the
country will be made
available to all states
and UTs.
“E-Governance is be-
ing widely implement-
ed across the country
and good governance
will be provided to citi-
zens through e-govern-
ance,” the chief minis-
ter said, adding India is
getting significant par-
ticipation at the global
level under PM Modi’s
leadership.
DARPG Secretary V
Srinivas said that one
of the objectives of the
conference is to trans-
late Maharashtra’s core
strengths ingovernance
into e-governance to en-
able the digital transfor-
mation of institutions
and the digital environ-
ment of citizens.
He said the Good Gov-
ernance Index of India
recognizes Maharash-
tra’s strong perfor-
mance in several sec-
tors, like agriculture,
commerce and industry
,
public infrastructure,
social welfare and de-
velopment, judiciary
and public safety
.
“Maharashtra stands
well ahead of the Indi-
an states in terms of the
58 parameters across
ten sectors,” Srinivas
added. Speaking about
the adoption of e-office
version 7.0, he said it’s
an initiative for increas-
ing efficiency in deci-
sion-making through
de-layering, delegation
and digitization of the
state secretariat and
other measures.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The alliance
between Shiv Sena
(Thackeray group) and
Vanchit Bahujan
Aghadi was announced
on Monday by Sena
chief Uddhav Thack-
eray and Vanchit Ba-
hujan Aghadi chief
Prakash Ambedkar.
Congress state presi-
dent Nana Patole has
welcomed this deci-
sion. He said that the
Congress is positive
about the alliance with
Vanchit Aghadi.
What did Nana
Patole say?
“Speaking as Maha Vi-
kas Aghadi, we do not
have any proposal re-
garding the inclusion
of the Vanchit Aghadi.
What exactly is
Prakash Ambekar say-
ing? It is clear that we
will discuss it and take
a decision. Basically,
our position in this re-
gard is positive. I had
also said yesterday
that BJP is the party
that is destroying the
constitutional system.
It is our job to stop it.
Congress is a national
party. So our role is to
take small and big par-
ties together”, said
Nana Patole.
Notably on Monday,
Uddhav Thackeray and
Prakash Ambedkar an-
nounced an alliance of
Shivshakti and Bhim-
shakti in the state.
Meanwhile Uddhav
Thackeray had said
that the alliance of
Vanchit Thackeray fac-
tion was discussed
with Congress and this
was also confirmed by
Nana Patole. “I had a
discussion with Ud-
dhav Thackeray. How-
ever, what is the pro-
posal of Vanchit Agha-
di? We will clarify the
situation only after it is
known,” he said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Dhirendra
Krishna Shastri Maha-
raj of Bageshwar
Dham who has made
headlines was recently
challenged by Shyam
Manav, the founder of
the ‘Andhwishwaas
Unmulan Samiti’. How-
ever, now Shyam Ma-
nav has received a
death threat.
Word is that Manav
had said that he would
give thirty lakh rupees
to Bageshwar Baba to
undergo tests, however,
Baba left the program
in Nagpur halfway
.
Thereafter, Shyam
Manav got a call threat-
ening to kill him. After
the call was received,
Shyam manav ap-
proached the Alyawar
police and now his secu-
rity has been beefed up.
Baba’s challenger
gets death threats!
Shyam Manav —FILE PHOTO
Shinde hints at starting
OPS in Maharashtra!
E-governancetousherGood
governance in state: Shinde
Eknath Shinde —FILE PHOTO
Eknath Shinde —FILE PHOTO
Narayan Rane —FILE PHOTO
No impact of Uddhav-
Ambedkar alliance on
BJP, Shinde camp: Rane
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The alliance
between Vanchit Bahu-
jan Aghadi and the
Thackeray group was
announced on Monday
.
Former Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray and
Prakash Ambedkar had
made the announce-
ment by holding a joint
press conference. Shin-
de group leader Sanjay
Shirsat has reacted to
thisallianceandclaimed
that this alliance will
not last for long.
“The Vanchit Bahu-
jan Aghadi of Uddhav
Thackeray and Prakash
Ambedkar does not
have a heart-to-heart al-
liance. I have seen
Prakash Ambedkar, he
has a distinct identity
as a strong leader. To-
day he has gone with
Uddhav Thackeray. I
sincerely feel that this
alliance will not last,”
said Shirsat.
“We have worked
withUddhavThackeray
.
Many people have allied
with him before. But we
have also seen where
Thackeray has placed
the people who have
joined the alliance. I
think Prakash Ambed-
kar will not tolerate it as
he is an aggressive lead-
er. That is why this alli-
ance will not last. Now,
Uddhav Thackeray has
less following, and NCP
and Congress have also
gone away
. So they have
tried this alliance in or-
der to attract the crowd.
They want people now,”
added Shirsat.
MLA SANJAY SHIRSAT TAKES A JIBE AT AADITYA’S ‘CHILDISH’ COMMENTS, MAKES POLITICAL PREDICTION
SENA-VANCHITALLIANCEWON’TLAST
LONG,CLAIMSMLASANJAYSHIRSAT
Uddhav Thackeray
and Prakash
Ambedkar do not
have a heart-to-
heart connect
Sanjay Shirsat —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Mumbai: An oil
painting of former
Shiv Sena chief Bal-
asaheb Thackeray
will be unveiled in
Vidhan Bhavan, but
the Thackeray
group has expressed
its displeasure
about it. Former
minister and leader
of the Thackeray
faction, Aditya
Thackeray, made a
statement saying,
“Balasaheb must be
saying that these
traitors are unveil-
ing my oil paint-
ing.” Speaking on
the matter, Sanjay
Shirsat has ex-
pressed his anger.
“This kid has not
even sat on Balasa-
heb’s lap. He does
not know what hap-
pened to Balasaheb
Thackeray. Being
the grandson does
not mean that he
has common sense.
He should have
thought that my
grandfather’s oil
painting is being
displayed in Vidhan
Bhavan. Who is put-
ting up that oil
painting is a differ-
ent issue,” said
Shirsat.
“Aditya Thacker-
ay should be proud
to think that a hos-
pital is being opened
today in the name of
my grandfather.
People are calling
you Aditya Saheb
because of Balasa-
heb Thackeray.
He should be con-
scious when he
speaks. Balasaheb
Thackeray is not
only his grandfa-
ther. He is our Shiv
Sena chief. That’s
why we will do any-
thing for him,” add-
ed Shirsat.
‘Being a grandson
doesn’t mean he
will have sense’
Congess is positive over Sena-
Vanchit alliance, claims Patole
Nana Patole —FILE PHOTO

MUMBAI | TUESDAY,
JANUARY 24, 2023
aipur Litera-
ture Festival
2023 includes
opportunities
to meet your fa-
vourite authors
and brush up
on your writing skills (aid-
ed by enthusiastic profes-
sional authors). In order
to foster a true love of
reading, most of the festi-
vals offer extensive pro-
grams of story-telling and
other fun activities for
children and young
adults.
With the rise in
the digital age, it
has been tough
to maintain the
love for tradi-
tional publish-
ing. The biggest
testimony to the
revival of books is the
large swathe of literary
festivals mushrooming up
in every part of the world.
The 16th edition of Jaipur
Literature Festival at-
tracted huge numbers of
people from all back-
grounds together-
readers, writers,
playwrights,
and publish-
ers who come
to spend a week
or week-
end exchanging ideas
with like-minded people
on Day 5 on Monday at Ho-
tel Clarks Amer, Jaipur.
Jaipur Literature Festi-
val brings people of all
backgrounds together. Ba-
sically, everyone loves
what reading repre-
sents: the stirring of
ideas, the sparks of
recognition, and the
realization that we
are all connected.
Congregation
Savants
JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2023 ALLOWED FINDING
ALL ABOUT THE LATEST TRENDS IN PROSE, FICTION,
POETRY AND CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT
LITERATURE- ALL UNDER ONE ROOF, EVEN ON ITS
CONCLUDING DAY, ON MONDAY!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
J
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
SWEET SMILES: Manika Kaul, Nikita Goyal, Aditi Shukla, Rishika Jain and Apurva Singh
Gaur Gopal Das during the session
‘FIRST EDITION: ENERGIZE YOUR MIND’
CAPTURE THE MOMENT:
Sakshi and Hetal
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO

SUNIL
SHARMA
ELEGANT, DASHING AND DARING:
Clockwise: Neha, Riddhi, Siddhi and Nandini Kadam
STAY SHADY: Lovely International guest posing for the camera

24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf

24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf

Similar to 24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf (16)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

24012023_First India Mumbai.pdf