25022023_First India Mumbai.pdf

Aditi Nagar & Yogesh Sharma
Nava Raipur: The Con-
gress Steering Commit-
tee unanimously decid-
ed on Friday not to hold
the CWC polls and au-
thorised party chief
Mallikarjun Kharge to
nominate its members.
The party also proposed
an amendment to its
constitution to include
the former Congress
PMs and former AICC
chiefs as permanent
members of the CWC, a
move that would ensure
the automatic inclusion
of Manmohan Singh,
Sonia Gandhi and Ra-
hul Gandhi in the par-
ty’s highest decision-
making body
.
First India Bureau
Pune: Hearing is going
on in the Supreme
Court for the last few
days regarding the
power struggle in the
state. The disqualifica-
tion case of 16 Shiv
Sena MLAs is also
pending. Speaking in
this background, Ud-
dhav Thackeray ex-
pressed the possibility
of mid-term elections
in the state. As a result
of this the political
temperature in maha-
rashtra rose consider-
ably, however, now NCP
Chief Sharad Pawar
has reflected on the
matter and Pawar
somehow deflated the
statements of Uddhav
Thackeray and Sanjay
Raut.
Sharad Pawar said, “I
do not know on what ba-
sis Uddhav Thackeray
made this statement.
But I don’t think there
will be mid-term elec-
tions now.”
Meanwhile, after Pa-
war’s statement, discus-
sion has started once
again in political cir-
cles. It is said that often
the opposite happens
when Sharad Pawar
speaks, in such a situa-
tion Sharad Pawar’s re-
action is becoming a
topic of discussion.
Moreover, Industries
Minister Uday Samant
has also denied a pos-
sibility of mid-term
polls and said, “Major-
ity is important in a
democracy and in
forming a cabinet. We
have repeatedly said
that 170 MLAs are with
us. 15 to 20 more people
are in contact with us.
We will know about it
in the next day or two.
Therefore, there is no
possibility of mid-
term elections.”
Mid-term polls? No,says Pawar
Sharad Pawar —FILE PHOTO
SPILLING THE BEANS
Uddhav offered CM’s chair, I declined: Devendra Fadnavis
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Deputy Chief
Minister of Maharash-
tra - Devendra Fadnavis
- had recently created a
political storm when he
claimed that Sharad Pa-
war had given his con-
sent about forming
BJP-NCP government
with Ajit Pawar as dep-
uty CM. However, on
Friday, Fadnavis made
another surprising rev-
elation and claimed
that during Eknath
Shinde faction’s rebel-
lion, Uddhav Thackeray
spoke with him and of-
fered the CM’s chair.
When Mahavikas
Aghadi was being estab-
lished, Eknath Shinde’s
life started suffocating
from day one. He could
see the party going
awry in front of him.
Uddhavji was in no
mood to listen then.
Eknath Shinde rebelled
and Uddhav ji contacted
me when he came out,”
Fadnavis said.
“He (Uddhav) was
batting both ways for a
long time. I do not know
whether he was actu-
ally on our side or on
the side of Mahavikas
Aghadi. But slowly we
realized that he only
wanted to spend five
years with Congress
NCP,” the deputy CM
said.
Interestingly, on the
question that when
Eknath Shinde left with
the MLAs via Surat, Ud-
dhavThackeraycontact-
ed him, Fadnavis said,
“The contact had al-
ready taken place. Even
after that it (rebellion)
happened. But at that
time I replied that we
have gone too far. At that
time I was also told that
now you (Fadnavis) be-
cometheChief Minister.
At that time I had made
it clear that that time
had passed. We cannot
silence those who have
come with us. When
Eknath Shinde and oth-
er MLAs came out and
approached us, I replied
that there was no ques-
tion of us slapping them
andif youhaveanything
else, talk in Delhi.”
Fadnavisclaimedthat
when MVA government
was in power, Uddhav
did not miss a single op-
portunity to criticize
him. “He insulted me by
stooping to the lowest
level with his social me-
dia team. Some develop-
ments and conspiracies
took place to remove me
and my family from po-
litical life, so I got very
angry
. So it was said that
I took revenge. But
many people advised me
not to use this word. I
also felt that this word is
notappropriatetouseso
I did not use it,” he said,
further adding, “Now
the time to join hands
with Uddhav Thackeray
has passed.”
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis —FILE PHOTO
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi,
Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal
Bhupesh Baghel arrive to
attend the 85th Plenary Session
of the INC, in Raipur on Friday.
—PHOTO BY PTI
Days after EC
setback, AAP’s
Kejriwal, Mann
meet Uddhav
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Delhi
CM Arvind Kejri-
wal on Friday met
Uddhav Thacker-
ay at the latter’s
residence in Ban-
dra. Kejriwal was
accompanied by
Punjab CM Bhag-
want Mann, Ra-
jya Sabha MPs
Sanjay Singh and
Raghav Chadha
during the visit to
‘Matoshree’.
The meeting as-
sumes signifi-
cance as the Elec-
tion Commission
had recently al-
lotted the ‘Shiv
Sena’ name and
‘bow and arrow’
symbol to the fac-
tion headed by
Maharashtra CM
Eknath Shinde.
AAP has said it
would contest
BMC polls.
The time to join hands with Uddhav
Thackeray has passed, says BJP leader
CONG NOT TO
HOLD POLLS TO
ELECT CWC
BSE SENSEX 59463.93 141.87 | NSE NIFTY 17465.80 45.50
MUMBAI l SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 289
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI
BIDEN’S PICK
BANGA FOR
WORLD BANK
SLAMMED
OLAF SCHOLZ
ON 2-DAY VISIT
TO INDIA FROM
TODAY
New York: India has abstained from voting on
resolution in the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) on the need to reach comprehensive, just
and lasting peace in Ukraine. P6
Kolkata: India will become the third largest
economy in the world in the next few years,
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed on Friday
during an event in Kolkata. P5
Washington: Groups that long advocated
for a change in the World Bank leadership
decried the Biden administration’s pick of
an ex-Wall Street executive Ajay Banga as
more of the same at the anti-poverty lender.
New Delhi: German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz and PM Narendra Modi will hold
comprehensive talks on Saturday covering
the Ukraine conflict, situation in the Indo-
Pacific and ways to boost bilateral ties. P5
UN: INDIA SKIPS VOTE ON UKRAINE “INDIA TO BE WORLD’S 3rd ECONOMY”
COUNTRY IS SAYING….
“MODI TERA KAMAL KHILEGA”
PM Modi lambasts Cong’s ‘Kabar Khudegi’ slogan
Shillong (ANI): Coming
downheavilyonCongress
for raising slogan ‘Modi
terikabarkhudegi’(Modi,
yourgravewouldbedug),
PM Narendra Modi on
Friday said the country
and people are saying
“Modi Tera Kamal Khile-
ga” (Modi, your lotus will
bloom). Retorting to the
Congress’ remarks, the
PM said that the country
will give a “befitting re-
ply” to the people with
offensive thinking and
language. Modi said,
“The people of Megha-
laya and Nagaland will
alsogiveareply
.”Megha-
laya and Nagaland will
go to Assembly polls on
February 27. P5
Ahead of Meghalaya elections, PM Narendra Modi holds a roadshow in Shillong
NORTHEAST PUNISHING CONGRESS FOR
ITS SINS: PM MODI IN NAGALAND
NORTHEAST REGION IS STRONG PILLAR
OF ACT EAST POLICY: PRIME MINISTER
Dimapur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at-
tacked the previous Congress governments stating that
they considered all states in the Northeast as ATMs and
added that the entire region is now “punishing” the grand
old party for its “sins”. The Prime Minister also lauded the
work done by the BJP government at the Centre and said
that it has changed the political thinking for the northeast.
Shillong: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said
that the northeast is a strong pillar of the Act East Policy
and Meghalaya along with the entire region has a strong
prospect of trade and tourism. He made the remarks while
addressing his first election rally in Shillong ahead of the
February 27 Assembly polls in Meghalaya. The Prime Min-
ister said that with the initiative of the NDA government,
the fortune of the northeast has been changing rapidly.
l Our mantra of ‘peace,
progress, prosperity’ for
Nagaland is reason behind
people’s increasing trust
in the BJP
l ‘Congress remote-
controlled Northeast from
Delhi, used like an ATM’
l The BJP considers the
eight states of the region
as ‘Ashtalakshmi’ (eight
forms of Goddess Lak-
shmi) and is working for
its peace and development
PM SAYS IN NAGALAND
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated during a public
rally ahead of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly elections, at Tura
in West Garo Hills district, on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the supporters during
a roadshow ahead of the Meghalaya Assembly elections, in
Shillong on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Unsustainable debts
threatening many
countries: PM Modi
Bengaluru(ANI):High-
lighting unsustainable
debt levels affecting the
viability of many coun-
tries and the erosion of
trust in international fi-
nancial institutions, PM
Narendra Modi on Fri-
day urged the leading
economiesandmonetary
systems of the world to
bring back stability
, con-
fidenceandgrowthtothe
globaleconomy
.Hevirtu-
ally addressed Finance
Ministers Central
Bank Governors first
meeting under India’s
G20 Presidency
. P6
PM Modi virtually addresses at the 1st Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors Meeting on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
“DIGITAL PAYMENTS
RADICALLY BOOSTED”
“INT’L MARKETS TO BE
IN FARMERS’ REACH”
Bengaluru (ANI): Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
on Friday said that India’s
digital payments ecosystem
has radically transformed
governance, financial inclu-
sion and ease of living in the
country.
New Delhi: Emphasiz-
ing on Centre’s thrust on
the agriculture sector, PM
Narendra Modi on Friday
said the government working
towards making domestic
and international markets
accessible to the farmers.
Will follow Khera
matter to logical
end, says Sarma
Naddatrashespastcropinsuranceschemes
Guwahati(ANI):Assam
Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma on Friday
hopedthatafterCongress
leader Pawan Khera ten-
dered an “unconditional
apology” in the Supreme
Court for his remarks
against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, no one
will use “uncivilized lan-
guage in political dis-
course hereafter”. The
Chief Minister, however,
added that the Assam Po-
lice will take the case to
its “logical end”.
Kapil Sharma
Hanumangarh: BJP
chief JP Nadda on Fri-
day said the farmers
were cheated in the
name of crop insurance
scheme in the past. He
said more than 11 crore
farmers, including 77
lakh from Rajasthan,
are currently associated
with the Centre’s Kisan
Samman Nidhi scheme.
He was addressing a
farmers’ gathering con-
vened by a Sikh organi-
sation here. “The crop
insurance scheme was
there earlier also, but
the farmers used to get
cheated in the name of
it.... They were tricked,”
Nadda said.
BJP chief JP Nadda in Hanumangarh on Friday.

NEWS
MUMBAI | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2023
02
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FOOT IN MOUTH
Raut causing more harm than good to Uddhav?
First India Bureau
Mumbai: With party
leader Sanjay Raut em-
broiled in yet another
controversy over his ‘su-
pari’ allegations against
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde’s son, there is
near a consensus within
Shiv Sena - Uddhav Bal-
asaheb Thackeray fac-
tion that the MP has
caused serious damage
to the organization.
Recently, the 61-year-
old politician accused
Kalyan MP Shrikant
Shinde of giving a mur-
der contract to a histo-
ry-sheeter, without pro-
viding any evidence.
It is not the first time
that Raut has made
highly controversial
statements.
Most recently, Raut
had alleged that Rs2,000
crore had been ‘paid’ to
get Shinde faction rec-
ognized as the ‘real’
Shiv Sena and for the
bow and arrow poll
symbol. The Sena lead-
er even promised to pro-
duce evidence support-
ing his allegation but
failed to do so.
Many Uddhav Thack-
eray supporters feel
that he is paying a
heavy political price by
not taking action
against Raut, despite
the huge damage he
continues to inflict.
According to sources,
Raut is useful to Ud-
dhav as a conduit be-
tween him and NCP
chief Sharad Pawar.
Though there is a per-
ception that Raut is be-
ing used by Pawar to
influence Uddhav.
It is learnt that Raut
does not share the same
chemistry with Aaditya
Thackeray as with Ud-
dhav. “Given the wide-
spread nature of resent-
ment against Sanjay
Raut within our party, I
won’t be in the least
surprised if he is politi-
cally downsized in the
near future,” a top Sena
source observed.
Making statements
without providing
any evidence has
been the norm for
the Rajya Sabha MP
Shiv Sena - UBT leader Sanjay Raut —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: Region-
based research will
bring socio-economic
change in society, Un-
ion Minister Nitin Gad-
kari said on Friday at
the 25th convocation
ceremony of the Swa-
mi Ramanand Teerth
Marathwada Universi-
ty in Nanded.
Stressing that being
cultured was as impor-
tant as getting an edu-
cation, he cited the
modesty of film super-
star Amitabh Bach-
chan who took time out
once during a pro-
gramme to speak with
two school students ea-
ger to meet him.
“I was with Amitabh
Bachchan at the time.
The way he respected
the two school students,
I learned from him. Be-
ing meritorious and be-
ing a good person are
equally important. Get-
ting accepted as a good
person is greater than
any degree,” he said.
“Region-based re-
search will bring socio-
economic change in so-
ciety. Socio economic
development and
change in the lives of
the poor must be
brought about by educa-
tion,” he asserted.
He also told the colle-
gians his plans to be-
come an engineer col-
lapsed after he jumped
into the movement led
by political stalwart
Jayaprakash Narayan
(to get rid of Emergen-
cy between 1975-77)
and ended up with a
lowly 52%. Maharash-
tra Governor Ramesh
Bais said Swami Ra-
manand Teerth Mar-
athwada University
had taken several ini-
tiatives to connect to
society.
“The new education
policy (NEP) encourag-
es research. There is a
need to maintain a bal-
ance between the wel-
fare of humanity and
advanced education,”
Bais said.
Gadkari and former
Maharashtra education
minister Kamalkishor
Kadam were conferred
honorary Doctor of Lit-
erature (D.Litt) degrees
by the University on the
occasion as well.
AT 25TH CONVOCATION OF RTMU
Gadkarisupportsforregion-based
researchforsocio-economicchange
Union minister Nitin Gadkari —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The
Bombay High
CourtonFridayac-
cepted that the
healthconditionof
NawabMalik,lead-
er of the National-
ist Congress Party
,
was serious and
agreed to hear his
bail application on
merits from the
next week.
Malik was ap-
prehended on Feb-
ruary 23, 2022, by
the Enforcement
Directorate (ED)
for alleged prop-
erty transactions
linked to fugitive
gangster Dawood
Ibrahim and his
associates, under
the Prevention of
Money Launder-
ing Act (PMLA).
Last year, Malik
petitioned the
High Court for
bail on medical
and legal grounds.
Justice MS
Karnik had re-
quested that Ma-
lik’s lawyers must
demonstrate that
his health condi-
tion was serious.
After some dis-
cussion with Ma-
lik’s counsel Amit
Desai, Justice
Karnik approved
that Malik was in-
deed suffering
from a serious
medical condition.
Malik’s health
condition
serious; HC to
hear bail plea
Nawab Malik
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP)
chief Sharad Pawar on
Friday said the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
givesacommunalcolour
to the political discourse
when it is not confident
of winning.Hisremarks
comeaheadof theKasba
Peth and Chinchwad As-
sembly by-elections in
Pune district.
Talking to reporters
here, the senior NCP
leader said it is not new
for the BJP to divert at-
tention towards com-
munal issues if it is not
confident of a victory.
Bypolls to the Kasba
Peth and Chinchwad
constituencies, sched-
uled to be held on Febru-
ary 26, were necessitat-
edfollowingthedeathof
BJP legislators Mukta
Tilak and Laxman Jag-
tap respectively
.
In Kasba Peth, Con-
gress’ Ravindra
Dhangekar faces BJP’s
Hemant Rasane, while
NCP’s Nana Kate will
take on BJP’s Ashwini
Jagtap in Chinchwad.
Dhangekar and Kate
are backed by the Maha
Vikas Aghadi (MVA)
comprising the Uddhav
Thackeray camp of the
Shiv Sena, the Congress
and the NCP.
Pawar alleged that
the Eknath Shinde-BJP
ruling alliance is spend-
ing huge money for the
bypolls.
AskedaboutBJPlead-
ers’ comments that he
wanted an alliance with
the saffron party
, but not
Devendra Fadnavis as
the chief minister, the
veteran politician said,
“I don’t think everyone
in the BJP is likeable. I
don’tthinktheywantme
in their alliance. So, all
statements being made
about me by BJP leaders
are childish.”
The NCP chief said
claims about his role in
the short-lived 2019 gov-
ernment of Ajit Pawar
and Fadnavis are an at-
tempttodeflectattention
as it “doesn’t have any-
thingtoshowintermsof
development.”
Responding to allega-
tions that he had made
a communal statement
during his party’s cam-
paign for bypolls, Pa-
war said, “What is
wrong in appealing to
voters to come out and
vote from wherever
they are? It is okay to
take objection if non-
voters are asked to come
and vote. Taking objec-
tion to such a speech is
like giving it a commu-
nal colour,” he said.
‘COMMUNAL COLOUR EVIDENT
WHEN BJP IS NOT CONFIDENT’
Saffron party trying to divert people’s attention, ahead of polls, feels NCP supremo
NCP President Sharad Pawar —FILE PHOTO
DIVERSION
NCP chief Sharad
Pawar also re-
sponded to claims
about his role in the
short-lived govern-
ment of party leader
Ajit Pawar and
Devendra Fadnavis
after 2019 state
Assembly polls. He
said that they are an
attempt by the gov-
ernment to deflect at-
tention as it “doesn’t
have anything to
show in terms of
development”.
What is wrong in
appealing to voters
to come out and
vote from wherever
they are? It is okay
to take objection if
non-voters are
asked to come and
vote. Taking objec-
tion to such a speech
is like giving it a
communal colour.
—Sharad Pawar, NCP chief
BRIGHT MINDS
Students display
their creations at a
science and technology
exhibition organized
at the ongoing
Technovanza 2022-23
fest at Veermata Jijabai
Technological Institute
in Matunga area of
Mumbai on Friday. The
fest will culminate on
February 26.
—PHOTOS BY
BHUSHAN KOYANDE
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Yet another
case of defamation was
registered against Shiv
Sena-UBTleaderSanjay
Raut in the Beed district
for his allegations of
threat to his life from
MaharashtraChief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde’s
son Shrikant Shinde, an
official said on Friday
.
The case was filed
based on a complaint
lodged by Shiv Sena’s
Beed district unit chief
on Thursday, he said.
This is the second
such FIR registered
against Raut in connec-
tion with his allegation
after a similar case was
filed at Kapurbawdi po-
lice station in Thane on
Wednesday night.
On the basis of the
complaint lodged at
Beed, an FIR was regis-
tered against the leader
underIndianPenalCode
(IPC)sections153(A),500
and 501, 504 and others,
the official said adding
that police are investi-
gatingtheclaimsof both
the parties involved.
Raut had alleged a
threat to life from MP
Shrikant Shinde. “Lok
SabhamemberShrikant
Shinde has given a ‘su-
pari’(contract)tokillme
to a Thane-based crimi-
nal Raja Thakur. I have
confirmed information
regardingthesame.Iam
informing you as a re-
sponsible citizen,” he
wrote in a letter.
Another defamation case filed
over ‘threat to life’ allegation
Sanjay Raut —FILE PHOTO
39 INJURED AFTER
BUS OVERTURNS
WHILE RETURNING
FROM PILGRIMAGE
ST COMMISSION ISSUES WARRANT
AGAINST CHANDRAPUR COLLECTOR
Nagpur: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
(NCST) has issued an arrest warrant against the collec-
tor of Chandrapur district in eastern Maharashtra for
failing to respond to a summons. The NCST in a letter to
the Director General of Police, stated that the collector
was issued a summons on February 1, but he failed to
appear before it. The case in which collector was asked
to remain present related to a complaint filed by Vinod
Khobragade alleging illegal encroachment of tribal land
in Kusumbi village in Rajura tehsil, it said.
Nashik: Thirty-nine per-
sons were injured after
their bus overturned in
Nashik district on Friday,
a police official said.
The incident took place
at 5.30pm near Sendri-
pada Phata in Kharpadi
Ghat when the bus was
returning from Trim-
bakeshwar carrying 45
pilgrims from Gujarat, he
said. “The pilgrims were
returning after praying at
Trimbakeshwar Temple,”
he said. “The bus driver
lost control of the vehicle.
A major incident was
averted as the bus over-
turned and stalled near a
teak tree,” he added.
WESTERN RAILWAY SHIFTS TO 100%
DIGITAL TICKET BOOKING ON THE GO
HINDU JAN AKROSH RALLY TO BE VIDEOGRAPHED: APEX COURT
Mumbai: The Western Railway has transitioned to the
use of hand-held terminals on all trains in order to create
a more eco-friendly and digital India. This shift will
provide a faster, more accurate way of ticket checking.
This paperless facility will help travelling ticket examiners
(TTEs) get real-time information about accommodation
status en route and enable them to book tickets online on
trains that have a remote location facility. It refers to an
arrangement where portions of the seats are earmarked
for intermediate stations falling on the train’s route.
Navi Mumbai: The Su-
preme Court has ordered
that a Hindu Jan Akrosh
rally to be held in Vashi on
February 26, be recorded
on video. Demonstrators
plan to protest against
cow slaughter, Love Jihad
and religious conversions.
After Tushar Gandhi,
President of the Mahat-
ma Gandhi Foundation,
sought preventive mea-
sures for the rally, Navi
Mumbai Commissioner of
Police Milind Bharambe
announced the decision
for video-shooting. Gandhi
wrote a letter to rally orga-
nizers and requested them
to follow the apex court’s
directives regarding
rallies, as they can cause
unrest in communities.
CRUCIAL READ

MAHARASHTRA
03
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The ambi-
tiouscable-stayedbridge
project of Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC), which will
connect Versova with
Madh Island in western
suburbs received final
go-ahead from Maha-
rashtra Coastal Zone
Management Authority
(MCZMA).
There are no roads
that directly connect
the two spots and are
separated by Versova
creek, an inlet into the
Arabian Sea.
The only mode of di-
rect public transport is
a ferry service, which
also remains non-oper-
ational for four months
during monsoon. Be-
sides this, the only
available mode of com-
mute is a 22-km route
between Madh Island
and Versova via West-
ern Express Highway
(WEH) or SV Road.
BMC has said that once
this bridge is operation-
al, travel time between
the two places will come
down to 7- 10 minutes.
The blueprint of this
project was finalized in
2020. However, since the
road passes through a
dense mangrove cover
and coastal regulatory
zone, the civic body re-
quired clearances from
MCZMA.
Earlier in 2022, MCZ-
MA had asked BMC to
find an alternate align-
ment for this bridge, to
ensure minimum dam-
age to the mangroves.
The project faced oppo-
sition from the Versova-
Madh fishing commu-
nity which said that the
proposed bridge would
cause inconvenience in
parking their boats.
Madh-Versova cable bridge gets coastal authority’s green flag
CONNECTING MUMBAI
Digital illustration of the Madh-Versova Bridge. —FILE PHOTO
BANNED TOBACCO
PRODUCTS WORTH
`74 LAKH SEIZED
MAN GETS 10 YRS
FOR SEXUALLY
ABUSING CHILD
3 KILLED AS CAR
VEERS OFF H’WAY,
TURNS TURTLE
MAN SMASHES
BROTHER’S HEAD,
HELD FOR MURDER
Thane: In separate opera-
tions, the police have seized
gutka and other banned
tobacco products collectively
worth nearly Rs74 lakh from
three vehicles at Turbhe
in Navi Mumbai, and have
arrested three persons, an
official said. “Gutka and oth-
er banned tobacco products
worth Rs73.78 lakh were
seized from three vehicles on
these two days,” said police.
Thane: A special court here
has sentenced a 35-year-old
Navi Mumbai resident to 10
years of rigorous imprison-
ment after finding him guilty
of sexually abusing a child.
In his order of Thursday,
Special Judge A N Sirsikar
also imposed a fine of
Rs10,000 on the accused,
who was tried under the
Indian Penal Code and
POCSO Act.
Mumbai: Three persons
were killed and one was left
injured after the car they
were travelling in veered off
the road and flipped over
three times in the Pune
district in the early hours of
Friday, an official said. Three
members of a family from
Latur district were on their
way to Pune when they met
with the accident around
3.20 am, the official said.
Thane: Police on Friday
arrested a 26-year-old man
from Ulhasnagar in the
district for allegedly killing
his elder brother, an official
said. The accused allegedly
smashed the head of his
28-year-old brother with a
grinding stone at home on
Friday afternoon, killing the
victim on the spot, said in-
spector Chandrakant Godse
of Ulhasnagar police station.
Thane: Police have arrested two persons for allegedly
running a flesh trade operation from a massage parlour
in Thane district and rescued a woman and a minor
girl, an official said on Friday. Following inputs about a
prostitution racket, the police sent a decoy customer to
the massage centre at Naya Nagar area, on the outskirts of
Mumbai, said the official. After being alerted by the decoy,
a police team raided the premises and rescued a woman
and a minor girl, said Sameer Ahirrao of Mira-Bhayandar,
Vasai-Virar police.
2 HELD FOR RUNNING FLESH TRADE
OP FROM THANE MASSAGE PARLOUR
CRUCIAL READ
First India Bureau
Mumbai: To increase
its digital footprint, the
Brihanmumbai Elec-
tric Supply and Trans-
port (BEST) undertak-
ing will be offering tick-
eting choices for digital
buses and Metro. The
transport body is intro-
ducing the Paytm tran-
sit card, which will op-
erate on Metro lines
and BEST buses, and a
new electric AC double-
decker bus that is en-
tirely digital and does
not issue paper tickets.
The Paytm transit
card will be introduced
in March and is aiming
to provide commuters
with a convenient way
to pay for their rides on
Mumbai Metro services
and BEST buses. The
card is directly connect-
ed to the Paytm Wallet,
making all recharges
and transactions online.
For those unversed, the
National Common Mo-
bility Card (NCMC) is
already available for
commuters to use on
BEST buses. The NCMC
is an interoperable
physical mobility card
that supports the gov-
ernment’s One Nation,
One Card project.
First India Bureau
Pune: A total of 12 cows
have died of suspected
acidosis,ametabolicdis-
ease, at a “goshala” or
cow shelter at the Kan-
eri Math in Kolhapur
district, an official said
on Friday
. “Of the 12
cows, three died yester-
day (Thursday) and 9
died today
. Twelve more
cowsarecurrentlybeing
treated and they are sta-
ble,” said an official
from the state Animal
HusbandryDepartment.
Kaneri Math is the
highest seat of the Kad-
siddheshwar tradition.
and its goshala has
more than 1,000 bovine
animals. The official
said a team of veteri-
nary doctors is treating
the cows at the spiritual
centre. Acidosis, the of-
ficial said, is a kind of
food poisoning and is
caused by the consump-
tion of cooked food such
as dry rotis. It is charac-
terized by too much acid
in body fluids.
“The cattle are not
used to consuming
cooked food and it is
possible that the cows
might have been fed
with such food inad-
vertently,” he said. The
Shree Kshetra Siddha-
giri Mahasansthan of
Kaneri Math at
Karveer tehsil is cur-
rently organizing a
7-day programme “Su-
mangal Panchmahab-
hoot Lokotsav” that
began on February 20.
It was inaugurated by
Shinde and Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis.
`2.49 ‘net profit’ for 512 kg onions
SHOCKER FOR FARMER
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Many routes
were affected after the
recent withdrawal of
400 buses by the Brihan-
mumbai Electric Sup-
ply and Transport
(BEST). Although it has
said that they had de-
ployed 297 buses on
these affected routes.
While trade unions
called for the scrapping
of wet-leasing buses
urging BEST to buy
their own, a team of en-
gineers from Tata Mo-
tors arrived in the city
to inspect the buses.
The BEST undertak-
ing on Thursday said
nearly 400 CNG-run
buses which were taken
off roads will be back in
service only after a writ-
ten assurance of safety
is received from manu-
facturer TATA Motors.
“A team of TATA Mo-
torsengineeringarrived
from Lucknow and is re-
examining all these bus-
es for compliance with
safety standards and
safety norms. Once they
complete examination
of safety parameters
andgivenecessaryclear-
ance and written com-
mitment and assurance
of safety norms compli-
ance, these buses will be
back in service. The
safety of commuters is
of paramount impor-
tance for BEST, no com-
promise can be made on
this count,” a BEST
spokesperson said.
First India Bureau
Pune: It was a rude
shock for a Solapur
farmerwhenhe‘earned’
a profit of merely Rs2.49
against the sale of 512
kg onions to a trader in
the district.
The farmer, 63-year-
old Rajendra Chavan
who resides in Barshi
tehsil of Solapur, said
his onion yield fetched a
price of Rs1 per kg at the
Solapur market yard. He
added that he received
the paltry sum after all
thedeductionslastweek.
Talking to PTI,
Chavan said, “I had sent
10 bags of onions weigh-
ing more than five quin-
tals to an onion trader
in Solapur for sale. But
after deducting charges
towards loading, trans-
port, labour and others,
I received a net profit of
just Rs2.49 from him.”
The rate the trader of-
fered to me was Rs100
per quintal. The
o v e r a l l
weight of
the crop
was 512
kg and
the total
price he
got for the
p r o d u c e
was Rs512, he
said. “After deduc-
tions worth Rs509.51
against labour, weigh-
ing, transportation and
othercharges,Ireceived
a net profit of Rs2.49.
This is an insult to me
and other onion-grow-
ers in the state. If we get
such returns,
how will we sur-
vive?” he asked.
He said the onion
farmers need to get a
good price for the crop
and the affected farm-
ers get compensation.
While Chavan
claimed that the pro-
duce was of good qual-
ity, the trader said it
was low grade.
“The farmer had
brought only 10 bags
and the produce was
also of low grade. That
is why he received the
Rs100 per quintal rate.
So after all the deduc-
tions, he got Rs2 as net
profit,” the trader said.
He added that the
same farmer had re-
ceived good returns in
the recent past by sell-
ing more than 400 bags
to me. “This time he
brought the remaining
produce that was hardly
10 bags and since the
prices have gone down,
he got this rate,” he said.
Deduction of labour, weighing,
transportation other charges leave
paltry sum for Solapur agri worker
Rate offered to Rajendra Chavan was Rs100 per quintal. —FILE PHOTO
STORAGE ISSUES
According to farmers
leader and former MP
Raju Shetti, onion hitting
the market now is a ‘kharip’
produce and cannot be stored
for a long time. “This onion
needs to be sold in the market
immediately and exported out.
But due to glut, the prices of
onions have nosedived in the
market,” he said. He added
that this onion is not being
purchased by NAFED, so the
government should make
the market available for this
‘kharif’ onion. The government
should buy this onion or give
subsidies to farmers, he said.
After deduc-
tions worth
`509.51
against labour, weigh-
ing, transportation and
other charges, I received
a net profit of `2.49.
This is an insult to me
and other onion-growers
in the state. If we get
such returns, how will
we survive?
—Rajendra Chavan, Farmer
Dozen cows die of
suspected acidosis
BEST’s new digital payment option soon
WATER TAXI LIKELY
Mumbai: Mumbaikars
are soon going to have
BEST’s water taxi as it
is testing the option that
runs on land and water
both. This test will be
done in cooperation with
Maharashtra Maritime
Board and the report is
expected by March after
which a final decision
will be taken. By June,
the BEST aims to
introduce 500 app-based
AC taxis.
Tata team arrives for inspection after
BEST takes 400 CNG buses off roads
FRESH PRODUCE
With the summer season almost here, a woman collects melons in a jute basket at a fruit
market in Nagpur on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Try to amicably resolve issues
over children, HC tells Nawazuddin
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court on Friday
advised actor Nawa-
zuddin Siddiqui and
his estranged wife to
try to amicably resolve
their differences per-
taining to their two mi-
nor children.
Siddiqui has moved
HC with a habeas cor-
pus (produce the per-
son) petition seeking
direction to his es-
tranged wife Zainab to
reveal the whereabouts
of their children, a
12-year-old daughter
and a 7-year-old son.
A division bench of
Justice AS Gadkari and
Justice PD Naik asked
the actor and his wife to
speak and try to resolve
their differences over
the children.
“He (Siddiqui) is only
concerned about his
children and their edu-
cation. Speak with each
other and settle the
communication and
visitation rights be-
tween the father and
children. If it can be
worked out then good...
settle the matter amica-
bly
...resolve the issues,”
said the court.
Advocate Pradeep
Thorat, appearing for
Siddiqui, told the court
that the actor was una-
ware of the wherea-
bouts of his children.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
MUMBAI COASTAL ROAD FIRST PHASE TO BE
DONE BY NOVEMBER: SENIOR BMC OFFICIAL
Mumbai (PTI): The first phase of the Mumbai
coastal road--from Marine Drive to Worli--is likely to
be ready by November 2023, a senior official of the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on
Friday. The total estimated cost of the project, being
constructed by the BMC, is Rs12,721 crore. Phase I,
the 10.58 km stretch from Marine Drive to Worli in
south Mumbai, would be operational by November,
BMC Chief Engineer MM Swami told reporters. As
much as 71% work is complete, he said. The project
began in October 2018. The total reclaimed area is
111 hectares.
The AC e-bus
was launched
earlier this
week. —PHOTO
BY BHUSHAN
KOYANDE

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 289
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
ts more than a year since the
Russia- Ukraine war broke
out on 24 Feb 2022 and so far
the war has clearly been
through three distinct phas-
es. Phase1. Russian offensive
and capture of almost 20% of
Ukrainian territory and
threatening its capital Kiev.
Phase 2. The Ukraine counter
offensive to claim back large
chunk of its territory and re-
lieved Kiev of Russian threat.
The ongoing Phase 3. Russian
forces have tried to encircle
the Ukrainian stronghold of
Bakhmut and push deeper
into the Donetsk region pav-
ing way for a new offensive
for capture of the entire Don-
bas and to wear down Ukrain-
ian forces for any offensives
elsewhere. Ukraine awaits
supply of arms and ammuni-
tion from US and western
countries to resist any ag-
gression by Russians and
launch a counter offensive.
The war seems to be plunging
into a long-term stalemate
and sort of an attritional un-
ending war. Despite huge loss
of life and property on both
sides and Ukraine economy
and infrastructure virtually
devastated and razed to
ground, there have been no
sincere global efforts so far to
mediate and end the conflict
from or on behalf of either
side. Currently there are no
signs of end to this war, rath-
er both sides are preparing
for escalation and things are
going to get muddier.
GLOBAL IMPACT OF
THE WAR.
The war has disrupted global
trade and adversely affected
markets and food supply.
Ukraine has been a major
grain exporter to Africa and
the stoppage of grain exports
has almost led to hunger cri-
sis. European Union nations
imported almost half their
natural gas and third of their
oil from Russia and the sanc-
tions slapped on Russia deliv-
ered an energy price shock
on a scale never seen before.
Other than adverse impact
on trade and economy the
other impacts are: - Division
of world on lines of cold war
era with two blocs under US-
led western coalition and an
emerging Russia-China axis.
Reignition of the arms
race and rise in defence budg-
et of most countries. The Ger-
many is fast emerging as the
major weapon supplier in
Europe and Japan is boosting
its military expenditure and
production of weapons.
A new space has opened up
for the non-aligned style of
politics of multilateralism
for those like India who are
not strongly aligned with ei-
ther of the blocs.
Emergence of a new sys-
tem of banking and trade that
is not entirely dependent on
the US Dollar and the SWIFT
system of transaction.
Diversificationof sourcesof
energy and food by European
countries to reduce depend-
ence on Russia and Ukraine
and Russian lines of supply of
energymainlytoAsiaandfood
and fertilizer supply to Africa
and South America.
The influence of the US
over western Europe is un-
dergoing a very significant
transformation.Ascompared
to western European allies
the nine eastern European
nations “Bucharest Nine” or
“B-9” comprising Bulgaria,
the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania and the Slo-
vak Republic, have emerged
as far more willing ally of the
US fearing Russia as a direct
threat to them. A new base-
line for NATO’s deterrence
and defence posture is likely
to be in place reducing ma-
noeuvrability of France And
Germany
.
Putin’s declaration on 21
Feb 2023 about suspending
Russian participation in
Strategic offensive Arms
Treaty (START) has danger-
ous implications and opens
gate for nuclear weapons
race in the future.
INDIA’S POSITION
India has so far maintained a
very fine balance between
the long-term trusted ally
Russia and Ukraine. While
abstaining from voting
against Russia in UN and
other fora and purchasing
natural gas despite US sanc-
tions, India appeared to be
siding with Russia but bal-
anced it by extending hu-
manitarian aid to Ukraine
and also cautioned Russia
that its not an era of war and
all nations must respect the
territorial sovereignty of
other nations. So instead of
causing a rupture, the war
led to a deepening of ties be-
tween India and the west in
general and the US in par-
ticular. The west has realised
that in the emerging world
order if China needs to be
contained, then India is the
fulcrum in the Indo-Pacific.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s statement that “no so-
lution can ever arrive at the
cost of human lives” and “to-
day is not era of war” reiter-
ates India’s position in the
Russia-Ukraine war, that dia-
logue and diplomacy were
the only viable way out. In-
dia’s steadfast commitment
to multilateralism, strategic
autonomy, refusal to be
pushed out and maintaining
independent views in the po-
larised world has made it
emerge as global voice of
south. A fact reiterated by
India holding Presidencies
of two most prominent world
fora G-20 and SCO.
India’s stand in ongoing Fi-
nance Ministers and Central
Bank Chiefs of G-20 meeting
that its forum for discussing
economic growth issues and
is not keen to discuss or back
any additional sanctions on
Russia as the existing sanc-
tions on Russia have had a
negative impact on the world
and the impending visit of
German Chancellor to India
inendFeb2023wheretheGer-
mans see India as a very influ-
ential and extremely valuable
partner and has both Ukraine
war and China on talking list
of issues of concern are in-
dicative of India’s success in
carving its independent place
in global affairs.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Technical textiles will be a strong pillar
of India’s growth. At Technotex 2023
in Mumbai, urged industry to help skill
2 lakh people in 2 years work to
scale up and capture a bigger share for
India in the world market.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Odisha’s most-awaited and adorable
residents are back on her shores for en
masse nesting. A delight for all nature
lovers and conservationists. Swagatam
Olive Ridleys!
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The one who has faith,
and is sincere, and has
mastery over the senses,
gains this knowledge.
Having gained this, one
at once attains the
supreme peace.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
SPACE FOR HEALTHY
DISCOURSE IN
INDIAN POLITICS
HAS SHRUNK
he drama at the Delhi
airportafterCongress
spokesman Pawan
Khera was forced to
deplane from an Indi-
goflightandtakenintocustodyby
the Assam police on Thursday
was a shocker. As Khera was
headedforhisparty’splenaryses-
sion in Raipur, the timing of this
action suggested that the govern-
ment wanted to make things dif-
ficult for the opposition party
.
Congress recalled ED’s raids on
its leaders in the coal levy scam.
Khera is lucky that the Su-
preme Court immediately
agreed to not only hear his peti-
tion but also grant him interim
bail on condition that Khera ten-
der an unconditional apology for
what he said against Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi. Khera has
apologized unconditionally
. Dur-
ing the hearing, Chief Justice of
India DY Chandrachud made a
significant observation. There
has to be some level of discourse
“we are protecting you”.
The space for discourse, the
opposition rues, has diminished
and blames the BJP
. But it is also
to blame for lowering the quali-
ty of discourse.
TOP TWEETS
T
ar in Ukraine just
completed one
year with no sign
of its ending any
time soon. Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s surprise
visit to Kyiv en route to Po-
land and his promise of fur-
ther aid to Ukraine ensured
that the pot will remain on
the boil. Besides assuring the
war-torn country that the
West will not waver in its
support, what Biden’s visit
managed to achieve was a
strong riposte from Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
The day after Biden’s visit
Putin warned that the option
of using tactical nuclear
weapons in Ukraine was on
the table as Russia stepped
up attacks on Ukraine.
President Vladimir Zelen-
sky said that after one year
his country remained unde-
feated in a war which Putin
thought would end with a
Crimea-like short action.
Ukrainian forces have so far
stoutly defended their land
and even regained control of
some lost territory
. Unable to
make any headway in the
conventional war because of
the West’s continued weap-
ons’ supply to Ukraine, Rus-
sia’s threat sounds ominous
for the world. Biden warning
Putin against using tactical
nuclear weapons may not de-
ter Moscow as US and NATO
allies realise that Russia is
not interested in peace.
It is in this light, one no-
tices broad contours of op-
posing alliances. Russia is
relying on North Korea, Chi-
na Iran whose Kamikaze
drones have already demon-
strated their lethal power.
NATO has its forces battle
ready to defend Eastern Eu-
rope. But Ukrainians need
weapons, quickly
. The West
has exhausted its stock. Jens
Stoltenberg, NATO’s Secy-
Gen, said firms have been
asked to speed up production.
UKRAINE WAR HAS
NO ‘END IN SIGHT’
Biden warning Putin
against using tactical
nuclear weapons may not
deter Moscow as US
and NATO allies realise
that Russia is not
interested in peace.It is in
this light, one notices
broad contours of
opposing alliances
W
ONE YEAR OF UKRAINE WAR
IMPACT: GLOBAL AND INDIA
I
A new space has opened up
for the non-aligned style of
politics of multilateralism
for those like India who are
not strongly aligned with
either of the blocs.
Emergence of a new system
of banking and trade that
is not entirely dependent on
the US Dollar and the
SWIFT system of
transaction
India has so far
maintained a very fine
balance between the
long-term trusted ally
Russia Ukraine. While
abstaining from voting
against Russia in UN
other fora purchasing
natural gas despite US
sanctions, India appeared
to be siding with Russia
but balanced it by
extending humanitarian
aid to Ukraine
COL RAJESH BHUKAR
The author is a Post Graduate in
International Studies, Alumni of Defense
Services Staff College, Wellington
and College of Combat, Mhow

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05
INDIA
IN THE COURTYARD
MAN FILES DIVORCE PETITION IN 2 STATES;
K’TAKA HC QUASHES SEPARATION ORDER
Bengaluru (Agencies): The Karnataka High Court on
Friday quashed the divorce order of the Raichur Family
Court as the petitioner was found to have filed divorce
petition in the courts of
two states concealing the
facts to the respective
courts. The petitioner
from West Bengal, Anirban
Das, worked at the Raichur
industrial Development
Centre. The Division bench
headed by Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar and Justice
T.G. Shivashankare Gowda stated that the petitioner had
submitted divorce petition in courts of two states.
‘TOUGH FOR WOMAN
AFTER LIVE-IN
RELATIONSHIPS END’
Prayagraj (Agencies):
The Allahabad HC has ob-
served that it is difficult for
a woman to live alone after
a live-in relationship ends,
as our society does not
accept and recognise such
relationships. The court
was hearing a bail applica-
tion of a man who was
arrested for not fulfiling
his promise to marry the
woman, his live-in partner.
While granting bail to the
man, Justice Siddharth
noted that the woman in a
live-in relationship is left
with no option but to lodge
a case against her live-in
partner in such a situation.
ED GETS THREE DAYS
REMAND OF SUKESH
CHANDRASHEKHAR
New Delhi (ANI): A Delhi
Court on Friday further
granted 3 days remand of
alleged conman Sukesh
Chandrashekhar to ED, re-
cently arrested in another
case of extortion and
money laundering. He was
arrested in an enforce-
ment case information
report registered by the
ED for allegedly duping
former promoter of Relig-
are Enterprises Malvinder
Singh’s Wife Japna of
Rs 3.5 crore. As per
complainant, Sukesh had
called Japna by imperson-
ating himself as a senior
government official.
GUJ HC LAWYER CHALLENGES ANTICIPATORY
BAIL TO ASSAILANTS; SC ISSUES NOTICE
Gujarat (Agencies): Gujarat HC Advocate challenges an-
ticipatory bail granted by Trial court Ahmadabad to assail-
ants who attacked him, Supreme Court issues notice to
State and accused. The Hon’ble apex court bench com-
prising of Justice KM Joseph And Justice B.V. Nagarathna
issued notices in a matter challenging the Gujarat High
Court order wherein the High court dismissed the appeal
on the sole ground that FIR filed by Petitioner lacks basic
ingredients of the offence punishable under the provision
of SC/ST Act. The Petitioner was abused and beaten up
by residents of a Society in Ahmedabad. The accused-
Respondents humiliated and
insulted the Petitioner and
further made derogatory
statements pertaining to
caste of the Petitioner.
Petitioner filed FIR against
the accused Respondents,
fearing arrest, Respondents
preferred an anticipatory bail application before the trial
court, Ahmedabad which came to be allowed by imposing
certain conditions. Aggrieved by the said order, Peti-
tioner preferred a criminal appeal before the High Court
of Gujarat which was later dismissed by the High court
stating that specific words were not narrated in the FIR
and passed an unreasoned order as to how an anticipa-
tory bail application can be entertained and allowed under
section 18A when there is a specific bar on grant of
anticipatory bail. The Petitioner was represented by Adv
Aditya Jain, Bhavya Golecha and Shravi Garg.
Germany to pursue submarine deal with India
New Delhi/Berlin:
Germany will pursue a
$5.2 billion deal with In-
dia to jointly build six
conventional subma-
rines in the country dur-
ing Chancellor Olaf
Scholz’s February 25-26
visit,twoIndianandtwo
German sources said.
The naval project is
the latest attempt by a
Western military manu-
facturing power to wean
New Delhi away from its
dependence on Russia
for military hardware.
India wants to replace
its ageing submarine
fleet,with11of its16con-
ventional submarines
more than two decades
old,asitseekstocounter
China’s growing pres-
enceintheIndianOcean.
The Indian Navy also
has two indigenous nu-
clear-powered subma-
rines.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi’s govern-
ment wants India to
manufacture more
weapons at home in col-
laboration with foreign
partnersafterdecadesof
being one of the world’s
largest arms importers.
The submarine pro-
ject, for which Germa-
ny’s ThyssenKrupp Ma-
rine Systems (TKMS) is
one of two international
bidders,willbediscussed
between the two coun-
tries during Scholz’s trip
andBerlinwouldsupport
the deal, one source said.
Under the deal, a for-
eign submarine manu-
facturer will have to
partner with an Indian
company to build the
submarines in India.
The foreign company
will also need to trans-
fer a niche technology
for fuel-cell-based Air
Independent Propul-
sion (AIP), a clause that
has been a sore point for
most foreign firms.
France’sNavalGroup
had pulled out of the
project just ahead of
PM Modi’s visit to Paris
in May 2022, citing its
inability to meet condi-
tions listed by the Indi-
an government in 2021.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be in India during February 25-26.
Will become 3rd
largest economy
soon: Rajnath
Kolkata: India will be-
come the third largest
economy in the world in
the next few years, De-
fence Minister Rajnath
SinghclaimedonFriday
.
“The day is not far
when our country will
emerge as the third
largest economy in the
world. At least interna-
tional reports suggest
that India will attain
that position in the next
four to five years,” the
defence minister said
while addressing the
convocation ceremony
of Gurudev Ra-
bindranath Tagore-
founded Visva Bharati
University at Bolpur-
Santiniketan in Birb-
hum district of West
Bengal.
The Union Minister
said being a former
teacher of physics with
a college in Uttar
Pradesh, whenever he
attends any function of
any educational institu-
tion, he prefers speak-
ing in the tone of a
teacher rather than a
minister or a politician.
“When I was on my
way to this great univer-
sity on Thursday even-
ing, I was constantly
thinking of what I can
offer to the meritorious
students of this univer-
sity that will ultimately
benefit them,” he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits Rabindra-Bhavana,
Shantiniketan in Birbhum on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The day is not
far when our
country will
emerge as the third larg-
est economy in the
world. At least interna-
tional reports suggest
that India will attain
that position in the next
four to five years.
—Rajnath Singh,
Defence Minister
RSS training
helped me
rise, says
Yediyurappa
Bengaluru (Agencies):
Former Chief Minister,
BJP Central Parliamen-
taryCommitteeMember
B.S. Yediyurappa on Fri-
day said the training im-
partedbyRSSandSangh
Parivar is responsible
for his rise in politics.
In his farewell speech
on the last day of the
15th Assembly session,
the veteran leader gave
all credit to RSS for his
growth and stated that
he can never forget its
contribution.
“I am speechless, un-
abletofigureoutwhatto
say,” he said. “I thank
the people of Shikaripu-
ra constituency for hav-
ing elected me continu-
ously
. I will be 80 years
old on February 27. On
the occasion, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi is arriving to inau-
gurate the Shivamogga
airport. This is a matter
of joy and complacency
for me,” he said.
Yediyurappa stated
he got many good op-
portunities in life.
Stop taking direct orders from Delhi L-G:AAP to officials
New Delhi (PTI): The
AAP government on
Friday asked officials to
stop taking directives
from Delhi Lt Governor
V K Saxena and report
any such orders from
him to their respective
ministers, a move that
may trigger a fresh tus-
sle between the ruling
party and the LG office.
According to an offi-
cial statement, Deputy
Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia said the govern-
ment has warned that
any such orders re-
ceived directly from the
LG are a violation of
the Constitution and
directives of the Su-
preme Court.
He said the imple-
mentation of orders,
that are in violation of
SC directives and the
Constitution, will be
viewed seriously
. The
LG office and the AAP
dispensation have been
engaged in a tussle over
a host of issues, includ-
ing the government’s
proposal to send school
teachers to Finland for
training.
On several occasions
in the past, AAP leaders
have accused the LG of
bypassing the elected
government of Delhi
and issuing orders to of-
ficials.
The vexatious Centre-
Delhi government row
over control of services
is being heard by the Su-
preme Court.
Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena (L) Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
AAP’S SEHRAWAT AND
OTHERS CAST VOTE
New Delhi (PTI): AAP rebel
Pawan Sehrawat on Friday
cast his vote during the elec-
tion for six members of the
MCD’s standing committee
amid jeers by his former
colleagues, many of whom
termed him a “traitor”. The
AAP councillor joined the
BJP ahead of the crucial
municipal House meeting.
The Lt Guv’s office
AAP dispensation
have been engaged
in a tussle over a
host of issues
Ex-SC Judge
Abdul Nazeer
takes oath as
AP Governor
Vijayawada (ANI):
Justice (Rtd.) S Abdul
Nazeer was sworn in as
theGovernorof Andhra
Pradesh on Friday
.
The Chief Justice of
Hyderabad High Court,
Justice Prashant Ku-
mar Mishra, adminis-
tered the oath of office
to the new Governor at
a function held at Raj
Bhavan on Friday
.
Chief Minister YS
Jagan Mohan Reddy
, his
wife YS Bharati Reddy,
Chief Secretary Dr K.S.
Jawahar Reddy, several
sitting ministers, High
Court Judges and senior
officials attended the
swearing-in function.
Justice Nazeer suc-
ceeds Biswa Bhusan
Harichandan as the
Andhra Governor.
Justice Nazeer was elevated as
a SC judge on Feb 17, 2017.
EPS wants to capture
party: Panneerselvam
Chennai (ANI): A day
after the Supreme
Court affirmed the Ma-
dras High Court divi-
sion bench decision
that restored Edappadi
K Palaniswami (EPS) as
the AIADMK party’s
single leader, expelled
AIADMK leader O Pan-
neerselvam on Friday
said EPS wanted to cap-
ture the party
.
“Amma is the perma-
nent general secretary
of our party and we
passed a resolution on
it. Nobody has the pow-
er to act against this
resolution. ,” he said.
AIADMK party leader
Panneerselvam
Mahua Moitra hits back at RaGa
over ‘TMC’s idea in Meghalaya’ barb
Shillong (ANI): Com-
ing down heavily on
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi over his charge
that the Trinamool Con-
gress was in cahoots
with the BJP, TMC lead-
er Mahua Moitra said
her party was the only
national alternative to
the saffron party
.
The TMC MP’s re-
marks came in re-
sponse to Rahul’s claim
on Wednesday that the
ruling party in West
Bengal was contesting
the Meghalaya Assem-
bly polls to ‘help’ the
BJP win.
At a public meeting
in support of TMC can-
didate from North
Shillong, Elgiva
Gwyneth Rynjah, Moi-
tra said, “Had the Con-
gress been able to defeat
the BJP, there would be
no need for us (to con-
testtheAssemblypolls).
However, since Con-
gress failed to win the
state, we had to step for-
ward to provide an alter-
nativetothepeople. The
TMC is the only alterna-
tive (against the BJP).”
Congress remote-controlled
Northeast, used like ATM: PM
Dimapur (PTI): Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Friday claimed
that the Congress used
Northeast as an ATM,
while the BJP considers
the eight states of the
region as ‘Ashtalaksh-
mi’ (eight forms of God-
dess Lakshmi) and is
working for its peace
and development.
Addressing an elec-
tion rally at Chumouk-
edima near Dimapur, he
said the NDA is striving
to bring permanent
peace in Nagaland so
that Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act,
1958 is completely lifted
from the state.
“The country can’t be
run by distrusting your
own people but by re-
specting and solving
their problems. Earlier,
Northeast had politics
of divide, but we have
now transformed it into
divine governance. The
BJP does not discrimi-
nate people on the basis
of religionorregionand
religion,” Modi said.
Noting that there was
political instability in
Nagaland during the
Congress rule, he
claimed that the grand
old party remote-con-
trolled Northeast from
Delhi, and siphoned off
money meant for its de-
velopment, while giv-
ing primacy to “dynas-
ty politics, from Delhi
to Dimapur”.
“The Congress and
its partners’ policy for
Northeast has been to
‘get vote and forget’.
Congress leaders from
Delhi turned a blind eye
to the problems of Na-
galand. 10 years ago, no-
bodywouldhavedreamt
that circumstances can
change in the region,”
he said.
Modi claimed the BJP
has put a big dent in cor-
ruption by employing
technology
, as a result of
which money sent from
Delhiisdirectlycredited
tobeneficiaries’bankac-
counts. The PM asserted
that the BJP-led Nation-
al Democratic Alliance
(NDA) has adopted three
mantrasforrunningNa-
galand -- peace, progress
and prosperity
.
“The focus of every
central government
scheme has been wom-
en, tribals the poor.,”
he said. Noting that
there has been a 75% re-
duction in incidents of
violence in Nagaland,
he asserted that many
youths have returned to
the mainstream.
While attacking Grand Old Party, PM Modi said BJP considers 8 states ‘Ashtalakshmi’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd as he arrives to address a public rally for the
upcoming Nagaland Assembly elections, in Dimapur on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘NAGALAND’S
PEACE, PROGRESS
PROSPERITY TOP
PRIORITY: PM MODI
Dimapur (Nagaland)
(ANI): Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday
said that the BJP’s man-
tra of “peace, progress
and prosperity” in the
state is the reason behind
people’s ‘rising’ trust in
the BJP, adding that the
border disputes are being
resolved at a rapid pace
due to the NDA govern-
ments in the states. “Our
mantra for Nagaland has
been - Peace, progress
and prosperity, and this
is the reason people’s
trust in BJP is rising,”
PM Modi said while ad-
dressing an election rally
here. The Prime Minister
lauded the peaceful
polling in the recently
held voting in Tripura
Assembly elections on
February 16 and said that
there was no violence
after decades because of
the presence of the BJP
government in the state.
”After many decades,
there was no incident of
violence during Assembly
elections in Tripura as
there is a BJP govern-
ment in the state. The
BJP-NDPP government
in the state has converted
the “politics of divide” in
the northeast to a “divine
governance model”.
We have worked for infrastructural
development of Northeast. The change is
evident. We will support the youth in
sectors ranging from tourism to technology, and
sports to start-ups. The BJP also gave Nagaland its
first woman Rajya Sabha MP.
—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

06
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI): IT
sector employees’ un-
ion NITES has written
to the Union Labour
Minister against
Wipro’s decision to cut
salary offers to freshers
awaiting onboarding,
as it called for strict ac-
tion against the tech
company for violating
the terms of offer letter
and breaching contract.
Taking up cudgels on
behalf of affected em-
ployees, NITES ex-
pressed concern that
Wipro’s move could set
a dangerous precedent
for other companies
“which could lead to ex-
ploitation of workers
and a lack of job secu-
rity”. NITES’ (Nascent
Information Technolo-
gy Employees Senate)
letter to Labour Minis-
ter Bhupender Yadav
comes after Wipro re-
cently reached out to
candidates to whom it
had earlier rolled out an
offer of Rs 6.5 lakh per
annum asking them if
an offer of Rs 3.5 lakh in
annual compensation
would be acceptable to
them, instead. These
candidates were wait-
ing to be onboarded.
“The company is now
reducing the salary un-
ethically, which is a
clear violation of the
terms of the offer letter
and a breach of con-
tract,” Harpreet Singh
Saluja, President of
NITES, wrote in the let-
ter seen by PTI. The
employees’ union has
sought necessary ac-
tions regarding “uneth-
ical reduction in salary
offer of more than 4,000
employees by Wipro”.
Employees’ Union seeks action against Wipro
FOR CUTTING FRESHER’S SALARIES
Mumbai (Agencies):
The financial viability
of many countries is be-
ing threatened by un-
sustainable debt, India’s
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said on Friday
,
as he called for the
Group of 20 (G20) to fo-
cus on the world’s most
vulnerable citizens.
Trust in internation-
al financial institutions
has eroded, partly be-
cause the lenders had
been slow to reform
themselves, Modi said
in a video message at
the beginning of a two-
day meeting of G20 fi-
nance ministers and
central bank governors.
“Food and energy se-
curity have become ma-
jor concerns across the
world. Even the finan-
cial viability of many
countries is threatened
by unsustainable debt
levels,” Modi said.
The meeting is the
first major event of In-
dia’sG20presidencyand
coincided with the first
anniversary of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine,
which Modi alluded to.
“We are also witness-
ing rising geo-political
tensions in different
parts of the world.
There are disruptions
in global supply chains.
Many societies are suf-
fering due to rising
prices,” Modi said.
PMModiurgesG20tofocus
on‘mostvulnerablecitizens’
‘Financial viability of many nations being threatened by unsustainable debt’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the first meeting of Finance Ministers under India’s G20 Presidency via video message on Friday.
United Nations (PTI):
India slammed Paki-
stan after it referred to
Jammu and Kashmir
during a special session
on Ukraine in the UN
General Assembly,
terming the provoca-
tion as “regrettable and
misplaced” and calling
out Islamabad’s track
record of harbouring
and providing safe ha-
vens to terrorists with
impunity
.
“I’m taking the floor
today to say that India
chooses this time not to
respond to Pakistan’s
mischiesvious provoca-
tions. Our advice to the
delegate of Pakistan is
to refer to our numerous
Rights of Reply that we
have exercised in the
past,” Counsellor in In-
dia’s Permanent Mis-
sion to the UN Pratik
Mathur said.
Mathur exercised In-
dia’s Right of Reply on
Thursday after Paki-
stan’s envoy at the UN
Munir Akram referred
to Jammu and Kashmir
while delivering the ex-
planation of vote on the
UN General Assembly
resolution on Ukraine
during the Emergency
Special Session.
India slams Pak for raking
up Kashmir issue in UN
‘COMMITTED TO MULTILATERALISM’: ENVOY
TO UN AFTER INDIA ABSTAINS FROM VOTING
New York (ANI): India’s Permanent Representative to the UN,
Ruchira, said India remains committed to multilateralism while
reiterating calls for dialogue and diplomacy. She
made the statement after India abstained from
voting on a resolution in the UN General Assembly
on the need to reach a comprehensive, just and
lasting peace in Ukraine. “India remains steadfastly
committed to multilateralism upholds principles
of the UN Charter. We will always call for dialogue
diplomacy as the only viable way out,” Kamboj said.
INDIA ABSTAINS FROM UN GEN ASSEMBLY
VOTE ON LASTING PEACE IN UKRAINE
United Nations (PTI): India abstained in the UN
General Assembly on a resolution that underscored
the need to reach as soon as possible a comprehen-
sive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with
the principles of the UN Charter. The 193-member
General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, put
forward by Ukraine and its supporters, titled ‘Princi-
ples of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine'.
Nonewtaxes,focusongreengrowth:Desai
Gandhinagar (ANI):
Gujarat Finance minis-
ter Kanu Desai on Fri-
day presented the state
Budget for financial
year 2023-24, saying that
a total budgetary outlay
of Rs 301,021.61 crores
has been proposed.
The plan for rapid de-
velopment of Gujarat
stands on 5 pillars — ba-
sic amenities, and social
security for the poor and
needy
, development of
human resources, crea-
tion of world-class infra-
structure, boosting eco-
nomic activities in agri-
culture, and service sec-
tors, and green growth.
No increase or reduc-
tioninexistingtaxeshas
been proposed by the
government. In a major
relief for consumers,
Piped Natural Gas and
Compressed Natural
Gas (CNG) set to get
cheaper. The minister
slashed the Value Added
Tax (VAT) on PNG
CNG to 5% from 15%.
New Delhi (PTI): India
saved over 3.4 million
lives by undertaking a
nationwide COVID-19
vaccination campaign
at an unprecedented
scale, a report by Stan-
ford University said.
The Covid vaccina-
tion campaign also
yielded a positive eco-
nomic impact by pre-
venting a loss of USD
18.3 billion, the working
paper by Stanford Uni-
versity and Institute for
Competitiveness titled
'Healing the Economy:
Estimating the Econom-
ic Impact on India's Vac-
cination and Related Is-
sues' released by Health
MinisterMansukhMan-
daviya on Friday said.
India saved over 3.4 mn
lives during COVID with
vaccination: Health min
MANDAVIYA LAUDS
INDIA’S HOLISTIC
RESPONSE STRATEGY
DURING PANDEMIC
HIGHLIGHTS OF
BUDGET 2023-2024
New Delhi (ANI): Health
Minister Dr. Mansukh Man-
daviya lauded the govern-
ment’s response in ‘adopting
a holistic response strategy’
that helped the country
in managing COVID-19
effectively. He said, “India
adopted a ‘Whole of Govern-
ment’ ‘Whole of Society’
approach, in a proactive,
preemptive graded
manner; thus, adopting a
holistic response strategy,
for effective management of
Covid-19.” “Under PM Garib
Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan, 4
million beneficiaries were
provided employment which
resulted in an overall eco-
nomic impact of US$ 4.81
billion,” he added.
z Rs 2 lakh crore to be
spent in next five years for
betterment of poor people.
z Rs 4,200 crore World
Bank Loan to be utilised for
new schemes for healthcare
infrastructure.
z New airport at Dwarka; Ke-
shod airport to be revamped.
z Annual Insurance limit
doubled to Rs 10 lakh under
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
scheme. Rs1,340 crore al-
located for National Old Age
Pension scheme.
z Rs 10,000 crore outlay
for heritage, eco-tourism
development.
Dr Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: The Central
Government has ex-
tended the
inter-state
deputation
period of
Moradabad
Divisional
Commissioner IAS An-
janeya Kumar Singh
for one more year. The
Central Government
has taken this decision
on the recommendation
of the UP Govt.
Anjaneya Kumar Sin-
gh, a 2005 batch IAS of-
ficer of Sikkim cadre,
cametoUttarPradeshon
inter-state deputation on
February 16, 2015. After
completing the deputa-
tion period of 8 years, he
had to be relieved from
the parent cadre on Feb
14, 2023. Singh’s inter-
district deputation end-
ed on Feb 14, 2023, after
which he handed over
his charge to the District
Magistrate of Mo-
radabad.Meanwhile,lob-
byingwasgoingoninthe
governmentonbehalf of
the state to increase the
deputation tenure and
finally the govt extended
the deputation for 1 year.
Central Govt
extends IAS
Anjaneya Singh’s
deputation in UP
Gangtok (ANI): Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la on Friday urged for
collective efforts and
strong coordination be-
tween law enforcement
agencies and border
states to tackle the prob-
lem of drug abuse.
“Drug abuse is a na-
tional problem. It is a
borderless crime, which
makes the problem ex-
ceptionally challeng-
ing” he said referring to
extensive international
borders of North East-
ern states hilly ter-
rain. Due to this, there
is a high risk of drug
trafficking,” he said.
New Delhi (Agencies):
The CBI on Friday ar-
rested a Chief Control-
ler of East Central Rail-
way, in Bihar’s Hajipur
for allegedly demand-
ing and accepting a
bribe of Rs 50,000.
The CBI laid a trap
caught the accused Ab-
hay Kumar red-handed
while accepting undue
advantage of Rs 50,000
from complainant.
Collective efforts strong coordination
needed to tackle drug abuse: Om Birla
CBI arrests chief
Controller of East
Central Railway
“LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENT”
“In this case, the employees have not given consent for a
reduction in salary, yet the company is trying to impose it upon
them,” NITES wrote. Offer letter, it said, is a “legally binding
document” outlining the terms and conditions of the job offer
and any changes to it should be done with consent of both par-
ties. NITES said its immediate actions and attention are focused
on protection of IT and BPO employees from financial, legal,
labour and social problems. The IT company said it is commit-
ted to the growth and success of all its employees and looks
forward to welcoming this new group of recent graduates. The
employees’ union has sought necessary actions regarding this.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj with
Counsellor Pratik Mathur at the session of the UN General Assembly.
Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presents the State
Budget 2023-24 at Assembly House, in Gandhinagar on Friday.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya virtually addressing ‘The India
Dialog’ session on the Economic Impact of Vaccination on Friday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during an interaction on the occasion of
Annual Zone III Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on Firday.
US SECY OF STATE BLINKEN TO TRAVEL
TO INDIA ON MARCH 1 FOR G20 MEETING
Washington (PTI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
will travel to India next week to attend the meeting of G20
foreign ministers and meet senior Indian officials to reaf-
firm America's strong partnership with the
country. India has taken over the Presiden-
cy of the G20 on December 1, last year. On
March 1, Blinken will travel to participate in
the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which
will focus on strengthening multilateralism
and deepening cooperation on food and
energy security, sustainable development, counter-narcot-
ics, global health, humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief, and gender equality and women's empowerment,
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.
Jammu: Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief
Yasin Malik appeared via video-conferencing before a
special court here on Friday and an
eyewitness identified him in the 1989
kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the
daughter of then Union home minister
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The eyewit-
ness corroborated that he had gone to
Sopore in Baramulla district of north
Kashmir at the time of the kidnapping
of Rubaiya Sayeed and identified the place and persons
connected with it, the prosecution said, terming it a major
success for their side.
Gandhinagar: With the objective of curbing paper leaks
in government recruitment exams, the Gujarat Legislative
Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill that provides
for up to 10 years in prison for
such malpractices. As per the
provisions of the bill, the accused
shall also be liable for fine which
shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh,
which may extend to Rs1 crore.
Moreover, the accused “shall also
be liable for fine which shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh,
which may extend to Rs 1 crore”. The offence will become
more serious if it falls in the category of “organised crime”.
TERRORIST YASIN MALIK IDENTIFIED BY
EYEWITNESS IN 1989 KIDNAPPING CASE
10 YEARS JAIL, `1 CRORE FINE: BILL TO
CURB PAPER LEAK PASSED IN GUJARAT
CRUCIAL READ
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
DELHI-MEERUT
RAPID RAIL TO
START IN MARCH
“UNSAFE” HOTELS
DEMOLISHED
IN JOSHIMATH
New Delhi: The 17-km
Duhai-Sahibabad prior-
ity stretch of the coun-
try’s first Delhi-Meerut
RRTS train corridor
is expected to get
operationalised by this
March, officials said on
Friday. An official said
the project cost of the
entire 82-km Delhi-Gha-
ziabad-Meerut Regional
Rapid Transit System
(RRTS) is around Rs
32,274 crore and it
will be fully operational
by 2025.
Dehradun: Mount View
and Malari Inn - two
unsafe hotels in sub-
sidence-hit Joshimath
- have been razed more
than a month after their
demolition began. The
process of their demoli-
tion has been completed
and removal of debris
at the site has begun,
District Information
Officer Ravindra Negi
said on Friday. Mounds
of rubble remain where
the two popular hotels
stood for years.
EX PREZ PRATIBHA
PATIL’S HUSBAND
SHEKHAWAT DIES
MISSING GIRL
FOUND DEAD IN
DELHI HOTEL: COPS
Pune: Former President
Pratibha Patil’s husband
Devisingh Shekhawat
passed away at the age
of 89 at a hospital in
Pune on Friday following
a heart attack, sources
close to the family said.
He was admitted to the
hospital a few days back,
they said. “He passed
away at 9 am today
due to a heart attack,” a
source said. He is sur-
vived by his wife Pratibha
Patil and two children - a
son and a daughter.
New Delhi: A 19-year-
old girl was found
hanging inside a
hotel room at Delhi’s
Uttam Nagar, police
said. Further, police said
the woman had been
missing for the last
couple of days, adding
that her relatives filed
a missing complaint at
the Dabri police station
in Dwarka district.
Acting on the complaint,
the police launched a
search for the missing
19-year-old.
GUJARAT BUDGET

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 55,840.00 80.00 0.14 (Per 10g)
SILVER 64,517.00 767.00 1.18 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.74 0.10 0.12
GBPINR 99.45 0.09 0.09
CURRENCIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki
India on Friday said it has
increased prices of its
premium compact model
Ignis by up to `27,000
with the addition of new
features. The model is
now being equipped with
an ESP and Hill Hold As-
sist as a standard feature
across all the variants
providing an added safety
shield for customers, the
country’s largest carmak-
er said in a regulatory fil-
ing. The Ignis is also
compliant with the up-
coming E20 and RDE
norms, it added. —PTI
MARUTI SUZUKI
HIKES PRICE OF IGNIS
MODEL BY `27,000
New Delhi: Gold price fell
`80 to `55,840 per 10
grams in the national cap-
ital on Friday amid weak
global trends, according
to HDFC Securities. In the
previous trade, the yellow
metal had closed at
`55,920 per 10 grams.
Silver also tumbled `767
to `64,517 per kilo-
gramme. “Spot gold pric-
es in the Delhi markets
traded at `55,840 per 10
grams, down `80 per 10
grams,” said Saumil Gan-
dhi, Senior Analyst - Com-
modities at HDFC Securi-
ties. In the overseas mar-
ket, gold and silver were
quoting lower at $1,820
per ounce and $21.17 per
ounce, respectively. —PTI
GOLD PRICES FALL
BY `80; SILVER
TUMBLES `767/KG
New Delhi: Tata Motors
on Friday announced the
launch of its new league
of DARK series including
new models of Nexon,
Harrier, and Safari. AThe
Nexon Petrol Dark is
priced at `12.35 lakhs
(ex-showroom) compared
to Rs 7.8 lakh for normal
version. Similarly, the
Nexon Diesel Dark costs
`13.70 lakh vs 9.99 lakh
for the normal version.
The Harrier (Diesel) Dark
edition is priced at `21.77
lakh; Safari 7S Diesel Dark
at `22.61 lakhs. —FIB
NEXON, HARRIER
AND SAFARI’S DARK
EDITION LAUNCHED
New Delhi: India’s do-
mestic coal production
has shown impressive
growth during the past
few years and this rise in
output has helped the na-
tion to check the import of
fossil fuel considerably,
the government said on
Friday. In the current fi-
nancial year, the country’s
total coal production re-
corded a more than 16%
rise to 698.25 MT during
the period from April
2022 to January 2023, as
compared to 601.97 MT
during the corresponding
period of the previous
fiscal. —PTI
COAL PRODUCTION
RISES 16% TO 698.25
MT DURING APR-JAN
*Rates till the edition went to print.
SPICEJET POSTS `107
CRORE PROFIT IN
DECEMBER QUARTER
New Delhi: No-frills airline
SpiceJet on Friday reported a
higher net profit of `107 crore
in the three
months ended
December
2022, helped
by better
performance in passenger and
cargo businesses. The carrier
had a net profit of `23.28
crore in the year-ago period. In
the third quarter of the current
fiscal, the airline’s net profit
stood at `221 crore, excluding
forex adjustment and the cor-
responding figure in the same
period a year ago was at `20
cr. Revenues rose to `2,794 cr
in the latest quarter. —PTI
NTPC PAYS `4,121.08
CRORE AS INTERIM
DIVIDEND FOR FY23
New Delhi: State-owned
NTPC Ltd has paid an interim
dividend of
`4,121.08
crore to its
sharehold-
ers for the
financial year 2022-23. The
dividend paid is 42.50% of the
paid-up equity share capital
of the company. ‘’NTPC Ltd
has paid an interim dividend
of `4,121.08 crore today for
the financial year 2022-23.
This is the 30th consecutive
year that NTPC Ltd has paid
a dividend,’’ it said. NTPC is
the largest power producer in
India. —PTI
AUTO COMPONENT
REPLACEMENT DEMAND
TO GROW 6-8% IN FY24
New Delhi: Auto compo-
nent replacement demand is
estimated to
grow 6-8% in
the next fiscal
driven by
factors such
as the increase in mobility and
healthy freight movement,
among others. The improve-
ment in demand has resulted
in a positive impact on cash
flows for aftermarket dealers
and garages while the liquidity
remains comfortable, credit
ratings agency Icra said in the
report. Also, there have been
relatively minimal issues in the
collection of receivables. —PTI
ZEE CASE: NCLAT
STAYS INSOLVENCY
PROCEEDINGS
New Delhi: The National Com-
pany Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) on Friday stayed the
insolvency
proceedings
against media
major Zee
Entertain-
ment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).
Admitting a plea by ZEEL
MD and CEO Punit Goenka,
a two-member NCLAT bench
stayed the order passed by the
Mumbai bench of the NCLT.
On Wednesday, NCLT admitted
an insolvency plea against
ZEEL by private sector lender
IndusInd Bank and also ap-
pointed Sanjeev Kumar Jalan
as the IRP. —PTI
WORLD NEEDS NEW INSTITUTIONS TO DRIVE
CLIMATE ACTION, SDGs, SAYS AMITABH KANT
New Delhi: The world needs new institutions to drive climate
action and sustainable development goals (SDGs) as organisa-
tions such as the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank are not designed
to address these challenges, India’s G20
Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Friday. Kant
talked about the challenges and said they
are “external” and referred to the Ukraine
war and the prevailing situation in the
West. “We have seen the war going on for
one year, we don’t know how it will shape up in the coming days.
G20 is essentially a consensus building platform,” he said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
BY TURN OF DECADE
‘Indiatobecome3rdlargesteconomy’
New Delhi (PTI): Vice
President Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Friday said
India is a rising star in the
global economy primarily
due to agriculture and ag-
ri-based industry, and
stressed that the country’s
rise is “unstoppable”.
Dhankhar said: “In Sep-
tember 2022, India became
the 5th largest economy
in the world. It has not
come easily. It has been a
cesarean.”
Indeed, it is a milestone
achievement and the agri-
culture sector had a sig-
nificant contribution in
India’s global rise, he said.
Agriculture is the back-
bone of the Indian econo-
my
. It is primarily because
of the agriculture and agri-
based industry, India is a
rising star in the global
economy, he added.
Dhankhar further said,
India that everyone is see-
ing today is wonderful. “In-
dia’s rise is unstoppable...
We are the most favourite
destination of opportuni-
ties and investment,” he
noted.
Such an ecosystem has
been developed that affirm-
ative policies are in place to
attract talent and invest-
ment, he said.
“By the end of the dec-
ade, India will be the third
largest economy in the
world,” he said and urged
young Indians to lay the
foundation for 2047 when
India enters the centenary
of its independence.
He also asserted that
value addition to agri-pro-
duce can bring economic
revolution.
ACCORDING TO
VICE PRESIDENT
z In September 2022, India
became the 5th largest
economy in the world. It has
not come easily. It has been
a cesarean
z Agriculture is the backbone
of the Indian economy. It
is primarily because of the
agriculture and agri-based
industry, India is a rising star
in the global economy
Uncertainties cloud global
economy, says RBI Governor
Bengaluru (PTI): The
global economic outlook
has improved in recent
months, but uncertainties
still remain, RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das said on
Friday as he called upon
G20 nations to resolutely
address the challenges, in-
cluding debt distress and
threats to financial stabil-
ity, confronting world
economies.
“There is now greater
optimism that the world
may avoid a deep recession
and only experience slow
growth or a softer reces-
sion. Yet uncertainties lie
ahead of us,” Das said.
The International Mon-
etary Fund (IMF) had in its
January update of the
World Economic Outlook
said although the global
economy is poised to slow
this year, before rebound-
ing next year, the outlook
is less gloomy than in its
October forecast, and
could represent a turn-
ing point, with
growth bottoming
out and inflation
declining.
“Together we
must resolutely
address the chal-
lenges that con-
front us, in-
c l u d i n g
those that
are of medium to long-
term nature such as
threats to financial stabil-
ity, debt distress, climate
finance, fractures in global
trade and strains on global
value chains. We must pro-
mote greater global eco-
nomic cooperation and
position the global
economy on a
trajectory of
strong sustaina-
ble balanced
and inclusive
growth,” Das
said. The RBI
Guv said G20 is
poised for a trans-
formational
journey
.
FM highlights rising
debt vulnerabilities
New Delhi (PTI): Finance
Minister Nirmala Sithara-
man on Friday highlighted
rising debt vulnerabilities
in many developing coun-
tries and sought views from
G20 member nations on
‘multilateral coordination’
for managing the burden.
Sitharaman also sought
views on how multilateral
development banks, like
the IMF and World Bank,
can be strengthened to ad-
dress shared global chal-
lenges of the 21st century
.
“FM highlighted the ris-
ing #DebtVulnerbilities in
many vulnerable coun-
tries and sought views of
the #G20 members on
#MultilateralCoordina-
tion stating that managing
global debt vulnerabilities
would be crucial for the
world economy,” the fi-
nance ministry tweeted.
In December last year,
World Bank President Da-
vid Malpass had said the
world’s poorest countries
owed $62 billion in annual
debt service.
FTA with EU may
take longer to
conclude: Goyal
New Delhi (PTI): Union
commerce minister Piyush
Goyal on Friday said a free
trade agreement with the
European Union (EU) will
take longer as negotiations
with the 27-country bloc
will be prolonged.
Active negotiations for
the FTAs (free trade agree-
ments) are ongoing with
two-three countries and
the EU, Goyal said.
“EU will take a longer
time, because there are 27
countries which have to
come on the same page,”
the minister said.
Last year, India signed
FTAs with Australia and
United Arab Emirates. Re-
ports had suggested that
the country is in talks with
other countries including
the UK, Israel and Canada.
Markets pare early gains; Sensex
and Nifty fall for sixth straight day
New Delhi (PTI): Bench-
mark indices pared early
gains and ended lower on
Friday in line with weak
trend in Asian markets and
concerns that the US Fed-
eral Reserve might raise
interest rates further to
curb inflation.
Fresh foreign fund out-
flows and selling pressure
in HDFC twins also dented
investor sentiments.
The BSE Sensex declined
141.87 points or 0.24% to
settle at 59,463.93 despite a
firm start. During the day,
it fell 280.46 points or 0.47%
to 59,325.34.
The NSE Nifty dipped
45.45 points or 0.26% to end
at 17,465.80.
In the Sensex pack, Ma-
hindra Mahindra, Tata
Steel, Tata Motors, Maruti,
Larsen Toubro, HDFC,
HDFC Bank, Tech Mahin-
dra and Bharti Airtel were
the major laggards.
Asian Paints, Bajaj Fin-
serv, Power Grid, Reliance
Industries, NTPC and Ul-
traTech Cement were
among the gainers.
INDIAN RUPEE FALLS 10 PAISE TO CLOSE AT
82.74 AGAINST AMERICAN CURRENCY
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 82.74
(provisional) against the US currency on Friday. At the interbank
foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.67 against the
greenback and finally settled for the
day at 82.74 (provisional), register-
ing a fall of 10 paise over its previous
close of 82.64. During the session, the
domestic unit witnessed an intra-day
high of 82.66 and a low of 82.81.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which
gauges the greenback’s strength
against a basket of six currencies, was
trading 0.10 per cent higher at 104.69.
Mumbai (ANI): Reliance
Retail on Friday an-
nounced the opening of the
first freestanding Gap store
in Mumbai.
The launch of this Gap
store marks a milestone in
the long-term partnership
between Reliance Retail
and Gap, through which
the Indian firm is the offi-
cial retailer for Gap across
all channels in India, ac-
cording to a statement
from Reliance Retail.
After opening over 50
Gap shop-in-shops since
last year, Reliance Retail
now initiates the second
phase of the launch with
the new Gap store at Infini-
ti Mall in Mumbai. A shop-
in-shop is an area that one
retailer sublets within an-
other retailer’s premises.
A freestanding store is a
store on the street and not
in a mall or a shopping cen-
tre. The expansion of Gap’s
India presence will include
a series of freestanding
store openings across the
country in the coming
months, according to the
statement.
RELIANCE
OPENS FIRST
GAP STORE IN
MUMBAI
Air India to hire 5,100 cabin crew pilots
New Delhi (PTI): Air In-
dia plans to hire more
than 4,200 cabin crew
900 pilots this year as the
Tata Group-owned airline
expands its fleet ops.
The announcement
comes close on the heels of
the carrier placing an or-
der to buy 470 aircraft from
Boeing and Airbus, includ-
ing 70 wide-body planes.
Air India said it “plans
to hire over 4,200 cabin
crew trainees and 900 pi-
lots in 2023 as the airline
adds new aircraft and rap-
idly expands its domestic
and international opera-
tions”.
Between May 2022-Feb-
ruary 2023, the airline
hired more than 1,900 cabin
crew. “Over 1,100 cabin
crew have been trained in
the last seven months (be-
tween July 2022-January
2023), and in the past three
months, approximately 500
cabin crew have been re-
leased for flying by the air-
line,” the release said.
AS IT EXPANDS ITS FLEET OPERATIONS
AFTER INDIGO,
NOW GOFIRST
ANNOUNCES SALE
New Delhi (FIB): Budget airline
GoFirst has announced a Febru-
ary sale, offering tickets for as
low as `1,199. The sale is valid
from Feb 21 to Feb 24 2023 for
travel between Match 12 and
September 30, 2023. Under the
special sale, it is offering tickets
with fares starting at just `1,199
for domestic flights and `6,139
for international flights. Earlier
this week, IndiGo too announced
a special sale.

08
2NDFRONT
Write a journal, meditate, walk alone
regularly- take up activities which
deepen your understanding of yourself.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Union
government has ap-
proved renaming of
Maharashtra’s Aurang-
abad city as `Chhatra-
pati Sambhajinagar’
and Osmanabad city as
`Dharashiv’.
Maharashtra Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis shared the
news on Twitter.
Aurangabad derives
its name from Mughal
emperor Aurangzeb,
while Osmanabad was
named for a 20th centu-
ry ruler of the princely
state of Hyderabad.
Chhatrapati Samb-
haji, eldest son of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-
haraj, was the second
ruler of Maratha state
founded by his father.
Sambhaji Maharaj was
executed on Aurang-
zeb’s orders in 1689.
Dharashiv, the name
of a cave complex near
Osmanabad, dates back
to the 8th century as per
some scholars.
Hindu right-wingers
had been demanding re-
naming of the two cit-
ies for long.
Fadnavis tweeted two
letters from Ministry of
Home Affairs to the
deputy secretary of the
state General Adminis-
tration Department
dated February 24.
The letters stated
that the Centre had no
objection to the change
in the names of these
two central Maharash-
tra cities.
Fadnavis thanked
PM Narendra Modi
and Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah for the
decision.
The state govern-
ment headed by Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de ‘’did what was prom-
ised ‘’, he said.
Notably, to rename
Aurangabad as Samb-
hajinagar and Os-
manabad as Dharashiv
waslastcabinetdecision
of the Shiv Sena-NCP-
Congress government
which collapsed last
June following Shinde’s
rebellion against Ud-
dhav Thackeray
.
New government
headed by Shinde
scrapped cabinet deci-
sion and took a fresh
decision.
First India Bureau
Thane: Nationalist
Congress Party MLA Ji-
tendra Awhad on Friday
alleged the Maharash-
tra government and
Thane police had tried
to mislead the Supreme
Court in connection
with an assault case reg-
istered against him.
Thane-based civil
engineer Anant Kar-
muse (40) had alleged
he was assaulted on
April 5, 2020 by Awhad
and some policemen
over a morphed pic-
ture and criticism of
the MLA.
Karmuse had al-
leged he was assaulted
in Awhad’s bungalow
after he criticised the
latter, who was minis-
ter in the Uddhav
Thackeray cabinet at
the time, on social me-
dia for opposing Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s appeal to light
lamps as part of ef-
forts to curb the spread
of COVID-19.
Observing that a vic-
tim has a fundamental
right to a fair trial, the
Supreme Court on Fri-
day ordered Maha-
rashtra police to fur-
ther investigate the
alleged assault.
While refusing to or-
der a probe by the Cen-
tral Bureau of Investi-
gation, a bench of Jus-
tices MR Shah and CT
Ravikumar said the
Bombay High Court
has not committed any
error in refusing to
transfer the investiga-
tion to the central
agency.
Addressing a press
conference here, Awhad
said the Thane police
had claimed he had
tried to create a feud
between two communi-
ties, adding cases men-
tioned in the affidavit
in SC were related to
acts as a politician.
None of them per-
tain to attempt to mur-
der, assault or serious
offences, he claimed.
“The Maharashtra
government and police
have told the SC there
are 24 cases against
me. I have been por-
trayed as a gangster.,”
he said.
He said he was being
“fixed” by a “sarvochh
shaktiman” (all power-
ful) person from Thane,
adding recent FIRs in
connection with a
ruckus in a mall and an
alleged molestation
were to make the case
against him strong in
the apex court.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Lyricist-writ-
er Javed Akhtar on Fri-
day said his comments
on the 26/11 Mumbai
terror attacks during
his recent visit to Paki-
stan have become “too
big” but he had to set
the record straight on
certain things while he
was there.
Calling himself as
someone who has made
remarks that were
“slightly controversial
and sensitive in na-
ture” in India, Akhtar
said he was not scared
to speak his mind while
in Pakistan.
Akhtar, who was in
Pakistan for a festival
in memory of celebrat-
ed Urdu poet Faiz
Ahmed Faiz last week,
said Pakistanis should
not feel offended when
India talks about the
2008 terror attack.
“It became too big. It’s
embarrassing for me.
Now I think I should not
gloat over it. When I
came here, I felt like I
won World War III.
There were so many re-
actions from people as
well as media that I just
stopped taking calls. I
was embarrassed that
‘aisa maine kya teer
maar diya’. I had to say
these things. Should we
keep quiet?” the lyricist
said during a session at
the ABP Ideas of India
2023 Summit.
The writer-poet said
he has now got to know
that his comments have
caused a stir in Paki-
stan. “I got to know that
people are abusing me
there. They are asking,
‘why was he given
visa?’ Now I will only
remember what kind
of place it was. I have
been saying things that
are slightly controver-
sial and sensitive in
nature in the country
where I was born, I live
and where I will die,
then what was to fear
there? When I don’t feel
scared here, then why
would I fear anything
there?” The lyricist-
poet had also spoken
about Pakistan not wel-
coming Indian artistes,
the way India wel-
comed talent from
across the border.
At the summit,
Akhtar said he had to
answer that question as
it came from the audi-
ence. “During a QA
session in a huge hall...
They were asking very
friendly and warm
questions. It was going
on nicely but someone
asked me that they
meet us very nicely but
they don’t get that
warmth from us. There
was little room for me
to move away without
answering, so I did.
And in the most polite
manner possible. I told
them to set their record
right,” he said.
Akhtar said India had
hosted ghazal great Me-
hdi Hasan and even Faiz
Ahmed Faiz visited the
country during the Atal
Bihari Vajpayee’s time.
“We don’t have any-
thing against them but
they never hosted Lata
Mangeshkar.” The writ-
er, however, said “no
country is a monolith”
and should not be de-
fined by the policies of
the government and es-
tablishments. “The fact
is that it is very unfortu-
nate that we’re unaware
that it is a huge segment
of Pakistan that wants
to have good relations
with India and it is to-
tally understandable.
They are seeing a coun-
try next door that wit-
nessed so much develop-
ment, industries, corpo-
rates, culture, films,
music. So naturally, an
average citizen would
be curious and would
like to come and witness
this himself,” he said.
He also said that it is
not wise to club “every
Pakistani with Paki-
stani army, bigots and
its establishments”.
LAYING THE ‘TRACK’ STRAIGHT!
CSMTredevelopmentprojecttobeawardedinmid-March:Vaishnaw
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Union Rail-
ways Minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw on Friday
said the Rs 18,000-crore
CSMT redevelopment
projectinthecitywillbe
awarded in mid-March.
Speaking at an event
organised by news
broadcaster ABP News
here, the bureaucrat-
turned-politician said
in three years, India
will emerge as an ex-
porter of railway tech-
nology which will be a
quantum leap from be-
ing an importer for the
longest time.
“Middle of March the
tender will be allotted.
Every authority in
Mumbai has given its
go-ahead for the pro-
ject,” Vaishnaw said
while making a presen-
tation on the railways.
He said huge space
will be created in the
otherwise space-starved
city and also assured
that the movement of
people will be smooth.
The Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Ter-
minus (CSMT) redevel-
opment project has
been on the drawing
board for some years
now, and nine entities,
including the Adani
Group, are in the race
to bag the project.
Vaishnaw also took
potshots at Uddhav
Thackeray, saying the
former Chief Minister
did not have any inter-
est in development pro-
jects while he was in
power, and projects like
the high speed rail be-
tween Ahmedabad-
Mumbai received a big
push after his succes-
sor Eknath Shinde
came to power.
The minister said 152
kilometres of pillars of
the ‘Bullet Train’ are
ready as of now.
Citing the experience
with the Vande Bharat
trains, he said engi-
neers are keen to indi-
geneously develop and
manufacture a train
which will run at 220
kms per hour, higher
than the 160 kmph in
Vande Bharat.
He hinted that the
Vande Bharat train sys-
tem can be exported as
well, and added that in
the next three years, In-
dia will be exporting
railway technology
.
Vaishnaw, who also
handles the telecom
portfolio, said 300 cities
and towns have been
covered with the 5G net-
works by now. He also
said that it takes 7 days
to get a permission to
erect a telecom tower
now as against over 220
days earlier.
The complexity in
telecom, which was
fraught with issues
like litigation, makes it
the most challenging
of his portfolios,
Vaishnaw said, adding
that railways is the
hardest because of the
attention it needs.
Vaishnaw also took
potshots at Uddhav
Thackeray, saying the
former CM did not
have any interest in
development projects
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Pune: Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde was in
Pune on Friday to cam-
paign in favor of BJP
candidate Hemant
Rasane in Kasba bypoll.
Shinde’s road show in
Kasba Peth Assembly
constituency drew huge
crowds. At the same
time, after the end of the
roadshow, Shinde tar-
geted Uddhav Thacker-
ayduringhisspeechand
responded to the criti-
cism made on the sym-
bol of bow and arrow.
Shinde attacked the
Mahavikas Aghadi by
claiming that victory of
Hemant Rasane was as-
sured in the Pune town
elections and made fun
of Uddhav Thackeray’s
online speech.
“Eknath Shinde is an
ordinary worker, those
who are giving speech-
es online, let them stay
online,” Shinde said.
Apart from this,
Thackeray had accused
Eknath Shinde of steal-
ing the name and bow
and arrow election sym-
bol of Shiv Sena. Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de has commented on
this for the first time
and directly attacked
Uddhav Thackeray
.
“The bow and arrow
given to Congress and
NCP two and a half
years ago has been
mortgaged. It is a gov-
ernment that meets the
people and not a gov-
ernment that takes
from people. There was
no development in two
and a half years and
works were stalled,”
Shinde said.
In fact, various alle-
gations and counter-al-
legations are going on
between Eknath Shinde
and Uddhav Thackeray
regarding Shiv Sena
and symbol. Thackeray
does not leave any
chance to criticize 40
MLAsincludingEknath
Shinde. Similarly, now
Shinde is also attacking
Uddhav Thackeray
.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: On Fri-
day, MLA Sanjay
Shirsat fired sal-
vos on Shiv Sena
(UBT) leader San-
jay Raut, who is
constantly accus-
ing the Shinde
group, and
stressed that he
will soon be sent to
a ‘silent zone’.
Shirsat said, “We
are worried about
Sanjay Raut, who
is going to drown a
big party in Maha-
rashtra. That is
why we are going
to send him to the
silence Zone.”
Interestingly,
Raut had claimed
that CM Eknath
Shinde’s son Shri-
kant, a parliamen-
tarian, had given
his ‘supari’ to a lo-
cal gangster.
“Shrikant Shin-
de is a doctor. I
gave the informa-
tion I got to the po-
lice. There is no
reason for Shri-
kant to become so
uncomfortable.
The marches go-
ing against me
fromShindegroup
are not right. If a
person is com-
plaining, he
should be investi-
gated. A party is
supporting a gang-
ster, it is an at-
tempt to change
the culture of Ma-
harashtra,” Raut
had said.
Soon, Raut
will be sent
to the ‘silent
zone’: Shirsat
Sanjay Shirsat
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde —FILE PHOTO
Jitendra Awhad —FILE PHOTO
Javed Akhtar —FILE PHOTO
Uddhav pawned Sena’s ‘bow and
arrow’ to NCP, Congress: Shinde
VICTORY IS WHAT MATTERS, STRESSES
CM SHINDE DURING ROADSHOW
Kasba: Conducting a road show in the Kasba
constituency on Friday, Shinde responded to the
criticism during the road show and said, “While re-
sponding to the MPSC question, I was made fun of.
But note that whether it is Election Commission or
the Public Service Commission, it is victory which is
more important. When the farmers demanded water,
we do not show them the dam,” he said. “The elec-
tion should be unopposed, but there is a low level of
campaigning here. Mukta Tilak had shown what loy-
alty was. In fact, the election of Kasba should have
been unopposed. When Andheri’s by-election was
held, Raj Thackeray and Pawar requested us, and we
withdrew, but that did not happen in this election.
The propaganda has begun at the lower level,” said
Shinde. “I bow down to people for their response to
our rally. The Kasba constituency has seen a rare,
rare picture,” concluded Shinde.
Name change of Aurangabad
and Osmanabad: Centre agrees
NCP’s Awhad slams govt,
cops over assault case
AKHTAR ON HIS 26/11 COMMENTS IN PAKISTAN
‘IT BECAME TOO BIG, BUT I
HAD TO SAY THOSE THINGS’
—FILE
PHOTO

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