First india ahmedabad edition-04 february 2021

AMC lacks data on RAT kits worth `130 cr: RTI
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation has admit-
ted that about two lakh
antigen test kits remain
unused. In all, the civic
body spent a whopping
Rs130.3 crore to buy 34
lakh tests, it said in re-
ply to an application
filed under the Right to
Information. Oddly, the
AMC does not have any
data on how many peo-
ple tested using the 32
lakh kits turned out to
bepositiveforCOVID-19,
either.
Social activist Ankur
Sagar, who filed the RTI
application, said, “I had
sought information re-
garding how many such
kits were purchased
from February 2020 to
December 2020, and
whether they used a ten-
der process or a quota-
tion. Out of five differ-
ent questions, I asked I
got only two bits of in-
formation: that they
spent roughly Rs 141
croretobuyantigentest-
ing kits and that two
lakh kits remain un-
used.”
In its reply
, AMC said
that 32 lakh kits were
bought (from SD Biosen-
sor Healthcare Ltd) for
Rs121.12crore,whiletwo
lakh kits were pur-
chased (from MyLab
Discovery Solution Pvt.
Ltd) for Rs9.18 crore.
“The civic body has
failed to share zone-wise
or month-wise usage de-
tails,” Sagar told First
India, adding, “Were 32
lakh people really test-
ed? If so, where were
these kits discarded af-
teruse?Howdoweknow
these purchases were
not just on paper?”
He also raised ques-
tionsonthedifferencein
costforbothlotsof tests.
“Why would the civic
body pay Rs81 more per
kit from a separate com-
pany in the second
round of purchasing?
The AMC does not even
haveanyinformationon
either state or Central
government SOPs
(standard operating pro-
cedures) to buy things,”
he said.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation —FILE PHOTO
MISSING INFO
Of 34 lakh kits purchased,
two lakh remain unused
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 70
BJP CAN BUY FEW CORRUPT LEADERS
BUT NOT TMC’S DEDICATED WORKERS:
WEST BENGAL CM MAMATA BANERJEE
P5 P6
CHIEF MINISTER PINARAYI VIJAYAN
HAS LOST HIS CREDIBILITY, SAYS JP
NADDA DURING 2-DAY VISIT TO KERALA
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
Historic: Sensex closes
above 50,000 for first time
EkanamayhostIPL,WorldT20
asJayShahallpraiseforstadium
SC refuses plea against
religious conversion laws
Mumbai: The BSE
Sensex closed above the
historic 50,000-mark for
the first time ever on
Wednesday as the post-
Budget euphoria con-
tinued for the third
straight session amid a
spurt in buying by for-
eign funds and positive
global cues.
Banking, finance and
pharma counters
hogged the limelight,
whilecementandFMCG
stocks succumbed to
profit-taking.
After touching a re-
cord intra-day high of
50,526.39, the 30-share
BSE benchmark ended
at 50,255.75, up 458.03
points or 0.92 per cent.
Similarly
, the broader
NSE Nifty surged 142.10
points or 0.97 per cent to
its fresh closing record
of 14,789.95. It touched
an all-time high of
14,868.85 during the day
.
IndusInd Bank
topped the Sensex gain-
ers’ chart, zooming 7.65
per cent, followed by
PowerGrid, Dr Reddy’s,
Sun Pharma, NTPC and
Axis Bank.
On the other hand, Ul-
traTech Cement, Maru-
ti, ITC, Kotak Bank,
Asian Paints, Nestle In-
diaandTCSwereamong
the losers, slipping up to
0.90 per cent.
“Domestic equities
continued to remain in
the grip of bulls
Turn to P6
Vishal Srivastav
Lucknow: ‘Yahan to
IPL hona hi chahiye’....
(IPL must happen here)
were the first words of
Jay Shah as he had first
glimpses of the Bharat
Ratna Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Ekana Cricket
Stadium in Lucknow on
Wednesday
.
Shah, Honorary Sec-
retary
, Board of Control
for Cricket in India
(BCCI) and newly elect-
ed President, Asian
Cricket Council (ACC),
was in the city along
with BCCI Vice Presi-
dent Rajiv Shukla, to
hold a meeting with Ut-
tar Pradesh Cricket As-
sociation (UPCA) office-
bearers.
However, exclusive
sources have revealed
to First India that
Shah’s visit Turn to P6
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court Wednes-
day refused to entertain
a plea challenging the
validity of laws enacted
by states, including Ut-
tar Pradesh and Uttara-
khand, which deal with
religious conversion by
marriage and others.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice S A Bob-
de, while saying that
the petitioner should
approachtheconcerned
high court, observed
that the issue raised is
important and the high
courts of Allahabad
and Uttarakhand are
already dealing with pe-
titions on it.
We are not on merits
at all. Allahabad and Ut-
tarakhand high courts
are entertaining simi-
lar petitions. We are not
denying the importance
of matter at all. We are
saying we would like to
have the benefit of high
courts view, said the
bench, also comprising
Justices A S Bopanna
and V Ramasubrama-
nian. Turn to P6
Jind: A huge crowd
gathered on Wednesday
at Jind in Haryana for a
farmers’ “mahapan-
chayat” or meeting to
push for the repeal of
three new laws at the
heart of farmer protests
outside Delhi since No-
vember. While several
such gatherings have
been seen in the past few
days in Uttar Pradesh,
Jind’s meeting took it to
Haryana’sJatheartland.
Five resolutions were
passedatthe“mahapan-
chayat”. Apart from the
demand that the gov-
ernment withdraw the
farm laws, the resolu-
tions called for a legal
guarantee of minimum
support price for crops,
a farm loan waiver and
the release of farmers
arrested after the vio-
lence on Republic Day
.
Bharatiya Kisan Un-
ion leader Rakesh Ti-
kait addressed the gath-
ering at Jind, consid-
ered the epicenter of
Jat politics in Haryana.
Turn to P6
SC REJECTS JUDICIAL PROBE INTO R-DAY VIOLENCE
Delhi Police
announces
reward on
Sidhu, 3 others
New Delhi: The Delhi
PoliceonWednesdayan-
nounced a cash reward
of Rs 1 lakh for anyone
who provided informa-
tion on actor Deep Sid-
hu, his two associates,
and Jugraj Singh, ac-
cused of hoisting the
Nishan Sahib, a flag sa-
cred to Sikhs, at the Red
Fortduringthefarmers’
protest on Republic Day
.
The police are con-
ducting multiple raids
in Delhi and Punjab to
look for the accused
who participated in the
violent clashes between
police and farmers dur-
ing the Republic Day
tractor march. Turn to P6
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday re-
fused to entertain a clutch
of petitions demanding
judicial investigations into
the violence during the
tractor rally in Delhi on Re-
public Day. The apex court
also referred to a state-
ment reportedly given by
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi during the all-party
meeting that “the law will
take its own course” and
allowed the petitioners to
withdraw pleas. The court
also dismissed another
petition seeking direction
to the media not to declare
farmers as ‘terrorists’
without any evidence,
news agency ANI reported.
In their petition, advocates
Vishal Thakre and Abhay
Singh Yadav, both practis-
ing in Delhi, sought probe
by the CBI, Turn to P6
TIKAIT’S HUNKAAR
5 resolutions passed at gathering including
withdrawal of farm laws, MSP legal guarantee
Union Home Ministry says no extension
of internet suspension at Delhi borders
...FROM MAHAPANCHAYAT IN JATLAND
Bharatiya Kisan Union Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait addresses Kisan Mahapanchayat in Jind district on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and VP Rajiv Shukla inspecting the
Ekana stadium. Also seen are Ekana Stadium MD Uday Sinha
and UPCA Secretary Yudhvir Singh along with other officials.
ADDL DIRECTOR PRAVEEN SINHA
APPOINTED ACTING CBI CHIEF
New Delhi: CBI Addi-
tional Director Praveen
Sinha, a 1988-batch
Gujarat cadre IPS, has
been appointed acting
chief of the agency till
a decision on a new
director is taken to
succeed Rishi Kumar
Shukla who retired
on Wednesday after a
two-year fixed stint. The
Appointments Com-
mittee of the Cabinet
chaired by PM Narendra
Modi chose Sinha. An
order issued by the
DoP and Training on
Wednesday stated that
Sinha will look duties
of the director with
immediate effect till
the appointment of a
new CBI chief or until
further orders, which-
ever is earlier. Shukla, a
1983-batch IPS officer
from Madhya Pradesh
cadre. The CBI director
is chosen by a high-
powered committee of
PM, LoP and CJI.
Praveen Sinha
New Delhi: Home
Minister Amit Shah
became the senior-
most member of the
government to warn
of the “temptation of
sensationalist social
media hashtags and
comments” - a re-
sponse to the wave of
support for farmers
protesting the new
agriculture laws, a
wave generated by a
six-word tweet from
pop star Rihanna.
Shah joined the
growing list of BJP
politicians and lead-
ers, and Bollywood
celebrities tweeting
against “propagan-
da” that threatens
national unity
.
“No propaganda
can deter India’s uni-
ty!Nopropagandacan
stop India to attain
new heights! Propa-
ganda can not decide
India’s fate only ‘Pro-
gress’ can. India
stands united and to-
gether to achieve pro-
gress,” Shah tweeted.
Late Tuesday night
Rihanna tweeted to
her 100 million follow-
ers: “Why aren’t we
talking about this
#FarmersProtest?”
and shared an article
on the farmers’ pro-
test by American
news outlet CNN.
Turn to P6
New Delhi: Twitter may face action if it does not
comply with the government’s orders, the centre
warned on Wednesday, stressing that the social
media giant “unilaterally unblocked” accounts and
tweets - linked to an objectionable hashtag related to
the farmers’ protest - despite its order.
COMPLY OR FACE ACTION: GOVT TO
TWITTER ON ‘GENOCIDE’ HASHTAG
Rihanna
No propaganda can
deter India’s unity: Shah
Amit Shah Greta Thunberg

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021
02
SHANKERSINHVAGHELATOREJOINCONGRESS?
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Ac-
cording to specula-
tions rife in the po-
litical circuit, veteran
leader and former
Chief Minister of Gu-
jarat Shankersinh
Vaghela may return
to the Congress fold
u n c o n d i t i o n a l l y.
There have been ru-
mours doing rounds
about Vaghela’s plans
but leaders of the op-
position party have
avoided commenting
on it. As per reports,
if everything goes as
planned, the party
may implement its
new social engineer-
ing experiment of PO-
DAM (Patidar, Other
Backward Class,
Dalit, Adivasi and
Muslims).
In a recent Facebook
Live session, Vaghela
had stated, “If the Con-
gress high command,
especially Sonia or Ra-
hul Gandhi ask me to
rejoin Congress, I will
love to do that uncondi-
tionally, to defeat the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP).”
While there have
been murmurs about
senior Congress leaders
Bharatsinh Solanki and
Arjun Modhwadia lob-
bying for Vaghela’s
‘ghar vapsi’, they have
not responded to calls
from First India to con-
firm or deny the ru-
mours.
The possibility of
Vaghela returning to
Congress cannot be
ruled out. If it works
out, it will help bail out
the Congress party that
is currently facing a
leadership crisis in the
state. Not only that, it
will also help Congress
strengthen its base on
its new social engineer-
ing PODAM experi-
ment, where it plans to
establish voter base in
these communities, as-
serted political analyst
Hemant Shah.
“As of now, the Con-
gress has OBC leaders
such as Bharatsinh
Solanki, Arjun Modh-
wadia, Amit Chavda
and others, but Vaghela
can add more value to
it. They appointed
Hardik Patel as the
working president of
the Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee
(GPCC) for the Patidar
community. Leaders
such as Mohansinh
Rathwa, Tushar Chaud-
hary, Ashwin Kotwal,
Dr Anil Joshiyara and
even Ashwin Kotwal
from the tribal commu-
nity. The Muslim com-
munity is represented
by Gyasuddin Shaikh,
Imran Khedawala,
Shailesh Parmar and
Naushad Solanki. This
new social engineering
experiment can change
the game of Gujarat
politics,” observed
Shah.
But, not everyone is
confident of Vaghela’s
return to Congress. Ma-
hesh Pandya, political
analyst is of the view
that if the former CM
chooses to rejoin Con-
gress, it will be more
beneficial to him than
to the party. The party
is presently facing a
leadership crisis and it
may help if it is joined
by a face that will be ac-
cepted across all spec-
trums of the society
. At
the same time, it is also
a question of whether
Vaghela will enjoy the
same credibility among
the voters, or not.
Notably, had Vaghela
not left the Congress on
the eve of the 2017 as-
sembly elections, then
the opposition party
could had the chance to
form a majority in the
state assembly. His re-
turn can benefit Con-
gress, but for that to
happen, the party will
have to give him free
rein, stated senior jour-
nalist Dilip Patel.
Vaghela’s supporters at a rally —FILE PHOTO
Despite the rumours, senior leaders have neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of his return, as the party plans to run its PODAM experiment
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: The
World Cancer Day is
marked each year
on February 04,
with the objective to
raise awareness and
encourage the pre-
vention, detection
and treatment of
the disease. But, ac-
cording to the 5th
National Family
Health Survey
(NFHS), few people
opt for screening
cancer in India.
Overall, the accom-
panying report
clearly indicates
that cancer aware-
ness and preference
for early screening
in the state of Guja-
rat is very low.
One in 10 Indians is
likely to develop can-
cer in their lifetime,
and one in 15 will die
of it, according to a
recent World Health
Organisation (WHO)
study.
The recently re-
leased NFHS includes
estimates of the num-
ber of women aged
between 30 and 49
years who have ever
been screened for cer-
vical, breast or oral
cancer in 22 states
and UTs.
The fraction of
women aged 30-49
years and who have
been screened for
cervical cancer is
lower than 7% in
every state. Gujarat
is just second last
on the list with ur-
ban women account-
ing for 0.3% and ru-
ral for 0.2% of every
screening for cervi-
cal cancer.
As for breast can-
cer, only 0.1% of both
urban and rural wom-
en have been screened
or have examined
themselves for cancer.
The awareness
about oral cancer
among women also re-
mains low with only
0.2% of women in
both urban and rural
parts going for oral
cavity examination.
The survey has
also reported the
percentage of men
aged 30-49 years
who have undergone
an examination for
oral cancer, for the
first time. The
awareness of oral
cancer among men
was reported to be
higher – although it
does not even ac-
count for one per-
cent of the age
group population. It
is 0.5% in urban and
0.9 in rural pockets.
Guj women rank third from bottom in cancer screening
WORLD CANCER DAY
lll
The National
Family Health
Survey took
into account
the estimates
of women in
the age bracket
of 30 to 49
years in 22
states and UTs
Former AMC councillor
‘removed’ from voters’ list
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Former
councillor repre-
senting the Ghatlo-
dia ward Jatin Patel,
who had exposed the
fake bill road scam
in the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) by pre-
senting documenta-
ry evidence, was
shocked to find him-
self off the voters’
list. Patel is believed
to be part of former
Gujarat Chief Minis-
ter Anandiben Pa-
tel’s group.
According to the
former councillor, his
name was in the list
initially, but when the
final voters’ list was
published, it was not.
However, according
to officials, his name
may have deleted
when Patel filed an
application for his
late father’s name to
be removed. It is to be
noted that his father
Zaver Patel died in
January 2019 and af-
ter that, Jatin cast a
vote in the 2019 gen-
eral elections.
According to
sources, this ‘dele-
tion’ is a lame effort
by high-ranking
postholders in the
party to keep Patel
aloof from contest-
ing upcoming local
body polls. “Patel
was reprimanded by
the Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party (BJP) high
command in 2017,
when he revealed the
fake bill road scam
in AMC before the
media and officers
of the civic body. The
whole scandal had
dented the image of
the party. He is a
two-term councillor,
who was likely to get
a ticket from the par-
ty, due to his clean
and rebellious im-
age. It is surprising
that just four days
prior to the last day
for nomination of lo-
cal body polls, he has
found his name miss-
ing from the list,”
said a source from
the BJP
.
Now, as per sourc-
es, Patel is likely to
seek legal advice as
he wants to contest
the election. He was
one of the contend-
ers for the standing
committee chairman
position in the 2018
reshuffle.
Failing to get a ticket, female
Cong workers stage protest
First India Bureau
Rajkot: With the lo-
cal body elections
around the corner,
the Congress party
seems to be feeling
the heat in the run-
up to finalizing its
candidates.
On Wednesday, a
group of female Con-
gress members
staged a protest in
front of the party’s
Rajkot city office on
Dhebar Road, when
the name of ward
one president
Harshaba Jadeja did
not appear in the
first list released by
the party.
“Jalpaben Gohil
has been finalized
in the first list un-
der the general cat-
egory from the
ward. Harshaba is
the vice president
of the ward and
felt that only she
can win the elec-
tion but, this is the
party’s decision. As
for her chances of
winning, there can
be other candidates
who are more eligi-
ble then her,” said
Rajkot city Con-
gress president
Ashok Dangar.
“We have been ac-
tive in the party for
years. The lady who
has been selected as
a candidate is not a
known face. There-
fore, we demand that
her name be crossed
off the list and the
selection of a more
eligible candidate
should be made, even
if it isn’t me. Other-
wise, I will ensure
that nobody gets en-
try in the ward,” as-
serted Jadeja.
Women Congress workers outside the party office in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela.
Jatin Patel

GUJARAT
03
Security guard murdered
while protecting ATM in Bhuj
First India Bureau
Bhuj: A security
guard lost his life
while fighting off
robbers at the Anjar
SBI ATM on Tuesday
night, police officials
said on Wednesday,
adding that they have
launched an investi-
gation bases on CCTV
footage and the mo-
bile-tracking system.
The deceased has
been identified as
Navin Solanki, a
21-year-old native of
Bhabhar taluka in Ba-
naskantha district. His
brother-in-law discov-
ered his body in a pool
of blood inside the
ATM booth on Wednes-
day morning and
called the police, the
Anjar police station of-
ficer said.
“A team rushed to
the spot as soon as the
call came in on
Wednesday morning
and took the guard to a
hospital. However, he
was declared brought
dead. Prima facie, he
seems to have bled
out,” he said.
Based on primary
information, the police
say it is likely that
Solanki was stabbed by
robbers on Tuesday
night in an attempt to
take the ATM.
“Robbers must have
attempted to break
into the ATM, and se-
curity guard Navin
must have stopped
them. During that
fight, the robbers must
have stabbed him,” the
official said.
He added that senior
officers have formed a
number of teams to
trace the assailants,
who will be charged
with murder. Solanki
managed to foil the
robbery, he also said.
Says she decided to file police complaint against husband, in-laws since there is no hope for reconciliation
First India Bureau
Vadodara: An Army
Major’s wife has
lodged a criminal
complaint against
her husband and in-
laws under the Dow-
ry Prohibition Act
and the section of
Indian Penal code.
Sayajiganj Police
Sub-Inspector is in-
vestigating the case.
According to the
complaint filed at the
Sayajiganj police sta-
tion, Suchi (name
changed), an MBA
graduate, married
Meet in December 2017
in accordance with
Hindu rituals. At the
time of the wedding,
Suchi’s parents gave
the newlyweds Rs20
lakh worth of jewel-
lery and household
items. Suchi then
moved to Meerut in Ut-
tar Pradesh, where her
husband was posted.
She reportedly told
the police that her hus-
band began to torture
and harass her a few
days after she went to
live with him. He
would keep asking for
dowry and even com-
plain about her cook-
ing in bouts of petti-
ness, she told the cops.
In April 2018, the
couple was visiting
Suchi’s parents at
their home in Va-
dodara, her husband
allegedly demanded
Rs50 lakh to get his
parents’ home reno-
vated.
She told the police
that she finally gave up
efforts to reunite with
her husband and decid-
ed to file the complaint
since the in-laws re-
fused to accept her back
into their family even
after an intervention by
the family’s elders.
ArmyMajor’swifeaccuseshim
ofcruelty,demandingdowry
—FILE PHOTO
THE BEGINNING
The police have begun to investigate the murder at the ATM.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state government
vaccinated 27,065
people at 942 centres
on Wednesday, a re-
lease from the health
department said,
bringing the total to
4.19 lakh people who
have been vaccinated
since the beginning
of the drive on Janu-
ary 16.
The state also said
that not a single per-
son has been found
with serious side ef-
fects due to the COV-
ID-19 vaccine.
On Wednesday, two
people succumbed to
the Sars-CoV-2 virus,
oneeachinAhmedabad
city and Rajkot dis-
trict. With this, the to-
tal death toll has risen
to 4,391.
The state also saw
283 new cases of COV-
ID-19, taking the case
load to 2,62,406.
At least 528 patients
were also discharged
from hospitals across
the state on the day. So
far, 2,55,059 patients
have recovered from
COVID-19 in the state.
The Vadodara Mu-
nicipal Corporation
reported the highest
number of cases on the
day, with 59. This was
followed by
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation with 52,
Surat city, with 36, Ra-
jkot city, with 33, and
Vadodara district with
11 cases.
At present, there are
2,956 active cases
across the state, with
28 critical patients put
on a ventilator sup-
port.
The state has not dis-
closed the total num-
ber of samples taken
for COVID-19 tests for
more than two weeks
now.
27K people vaccinated, state sees 283 new cases of nCoV
COVID-19 UPDATE
Wednesday brought two more
fatalities—one each in Ahmedabad
city and Rajkot district—taking the
state’s total death to 4,391
Almost 4.2 lakh people have been vaccinated so far. —FILE PHOTO
Culprit turns out to
be daughter’s lover
in Rajkot robbery
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gujarat Secondary
and Higher Second-
ary Education Board
on Wednesday an-
nounced that the
Board exams for
Classes X and XII
will begin on May 10.
The Class X exams,
to be held from 10 am
to 1.15 pm, will begin
with the language pa-
per, followed by Sci-
ence on May 12, Math-
ematics on May 15, and
end with the second
language on May 20.
Students of Class
XII Science stream will
take their exams from
3-6 pm. The first paper
for these students is
Physics, on May 10, fol-
lowed by Chemistry on
May 12, Biology on
May 15 and Maths on
May 17. The last paper,
language, will be held
on May 21. This year,
the Board has given
students two days’ hol-
iday between two main
papers.
Exams for the Class
XII General stream
and Vocational stream
will last 15 days, with
General stream exams
being held from 10.30
am to 1.45 pm and Vo-
cational exams being
held from 3-6.15 pm.
X,XIIStateBoardexamstostartMay10
First India Bureau
Rajkot: In a shocking
incident, a jewellery
theft in the home of a
city-based woman
was committed by the
lover of her daughter.
According to the
case filed with the po-
lice, a beautician
named Jagruti resid-
ing on the Railnagar
Main Road complained
about the theft of gold
and silver ornaments
from her apartment.
On conducting an in-
vestigation, the police
uncovered the love af-
fair of Jagrutiben’s
daughter with a youth
named Vijayraj Singh.
It was revealed that
Singh was the thief
who executed the theft
at his girlfriend’s resi-
dence. The crime oc-
curred when Jagruti-
ben was away in
Ahmedabad on Janu-
ary 17, to see her sick
father.
Upon her return, she
discovered that all her
jewellery was missing.
When she inquired
about the ornaments,
her daughter was also
at a loss. The police dis-
covered that Vijayraj
had swiped the jewel-
lery when he had gone
to visit Jagrutiben’s
daughter (his girl-
friend) at her residence.
TAKING NO CHANCES
Ahmedabad Municipal corporation health workers and animal husbandry workers disinfect a grave dug for 35 pigeons that were found dead in a residential society in
Ahmedabad on Wednesday.The authorities took samples from the dead birds and have sent them to the lab to be tested for bird flu. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Brain-dead
person from
A’bad gives
new lease of
life to four
First India Bureau
A h m e d a b a d :
The family
members of a
42-year-old in
A h m e d a b a d
have donated
five of his or-
gans after he
was declared
brain-dead.
Dharmesh Patel
was rushed to a
private hospital
after falling to the
ground while tak-
ing a bath on
Wednesday morn-
ing. Doctors there
declared him
brain-dead, and
requested his fam-
ily members to do-
nate his working
organs, which can
give new life to
others. When they
agreed, the man-
agement of the
private hospital
informed Civil
Hospital authori-
ties.
A team of spe-
cialists then
helped to move
Patel to the Civil
Hospital campus,
where his viable
organs--two eyes,
two kidneys and
his liver--were
harvested for do-
nation.
“Four benefi-
ciaries have now
got a new lease of
life, thanks to
Dharmesh Patel
and his family,”
Dr Rajnish Patel,
Additional Super-
intendent of the
Civil Hospital,
said.
—FILE PHOTO
Students giving Board exams. —FILE PHOTO

Vol 2 Issue No. 70 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
And do not let your dislike of
a people lead you to be unjust.
—Surah Al-Ma-idah 5:8
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdeka
India’s tech industry has
hailed the tax breaks
incentives in #Budget2021 ,
as an important step towards
#AatmanirbharBharat. Coming
in the wake of the pandemic the
#AatmanirbharBharatKaBudget
strengthens important pillars for
India’s economic growth.
Sachin Tendulkar
@sachin_rt
India’s sovereignty cannot be
compromised. External forces can
be spectators but not participants.
Indians know India and should
decide for India. Let’s remain united
as a nation. #IndiaTogether
#IndiaAgainstPropaganda
ndia’s journey
from a milk defi-
cit country to
one of surplus
has been mo-
mentous. Initiated in 1970,
Operation Flood was argua-
bly the world’s most ambi-
tious dairy development
program that transformed
India into one of the largest
milkproducers.India’smilk
production rate in the past
few decades has, in many
ways, been symbolic of the
upward trajectory of the
country’s economy and in-
fluence.Thepercapitaavail-
abilityof milkin2018-19was
394gramsperdayasagainst
the world average of 302
grams. Between 2016 2019,
the annual milk production
in the country registered a
Compound Annual Growth
Rate of 6.4%. Today
, with an
annual production of 187.75
Million Tonnes (per 2018-19
data) India accounts for
about 22% of world’s milk
production. However, India
isyettojointheranksof ma-
jor milk exporting nations,
asmuchof whatweproduce
is directed towards meeting
domesticdemands.So,toun-
pack the issues facing our
dairysector,itispertinentto
divedeepandlistoutthefac-
tors that have been hamper-
ingtheproductivitylevelsof
our cows.
The dairy sector assumes
a great deal of significance
on account of multiple rea-
sons – for one, it has to do
withthesocio-culturalaffin-
ity towards cows and dairy
products in large parts of
thecountry
,andasanindus-
try
, it employs more than 70
million farmers. However,
the crying need of the hour
is for us to identify ways in
which we can enhance the
return on investment for
our farmers. Recent data in-
dicates that indigenous
cows produce 3.01 kgs of
milk per cow per day while
theyieldof exoticcrossbred
cowsis7.95kgs.So,themag-
ic word is ‘cross breeding’.
Cross breeding has taken
off in a big way because of
the advancements in repro-
ductive technologies like
IVF, embryo transfer pro-
cess, and artificial insemi-
nation.Outof theseprocess-
es, IVF and artificial insem-
ination have proven to be
the most popular and effec-
tivemethods.TheNAIP(Na-
tionwide Artificial Insemi-
nation Programme) Phase-I
was launched by PM, Nar-
endra Modi in Mathura in
September 2019. Every ani-
mal in the programme was
assigned a 12-digit unique
identification number un-
der the Pashu Aadhar
scheme to ensure accuracy
in tracking. Building upon
the first phase of the pro-
gramme, NAIP Phase-II
wasinitiatedinAugust2020
withanallocationof Rs1090
crores in 604 districts cover-
ing 50,000 animals per dis-
trict and is on track to be
completed by May 2021.
Consequently, 18 MMT of
additional milk will be pro-
duced, as average produc-
tivity will be enhanced
from 1861 kg per animal per
year to 3000 kg per animal
per year.
Until now, AI technology
has been the most used
method in India, but its
success hinges upon accu-
racy in heat detection and
timely insemination. And
this is where IVF tech will
prove to be more effective.
IVF has become a helpful
tool in crossbreeding.
In past six years, the Ani-
mal Husbandry and Dairy-
ing sector has received a
greatdealof impetusunder
PM’s vision of ‘Make in In-
dia’ and towards becoming
an‘
AtmanirbharBharat’.In
keeping with our ethos of
‘Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan’ the
marriage of rural farming
with latest innovations in
technologywillusherinun-
precedented transforma-
tions in our dairy industry
.
Breed improvement: Changing dairy’s canvas
I
ATUL
CHATURVEDI
SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING,
MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL
HUSBANDRY AND DAIRY
espite ongoing series of talks
to resolve the contentious mil-
itary standoff in Eastern
Ladakh, the Chinese incur-
sions and aggressiveness con-
tinue on the borders. Close at
the heels of revelation of con-
struction of a village in the
disputed territory in Upper
Subansiri District of
Arunachal Pradesh came to
thenewsof theforcedChinese
incursion in area of Naku La
in North Sikkim. All this at a
time when there appears to be
no positive development in re-
solving the ongoing standoff
and the relations between the
two nations are deteriorating
by the day with chances of a
confrontation on the border
appearing more likely soon
after the snow melts. While
theDragon’streacherycontin-
ues unabated, India needs to
prepare herself militarily
, po-
litically and diplomatically to
halt the Chinese expansion-
ism, a product of its Middle
Kingdom Complex being pur-
sued vigorously by the Chi-
nese Communist Party (CCP)
under the garb of China
Dream of its overambitious
ParamountLeaderXiJinping.
Ever since the emergence
of Communist China or the
Peoples Republic of China
(PRC), the Indian leader-
ship beginning with Pandit
Nehru desired to have
friendly and cordial rela-
tions with China under the
hope that it would contrib-
ute towards world peace,
oppose colonialism and
form the pillars of a Pan–
Asian order. India was
among the first few nations
to establish diplomatic ties
with the PRC on April 1,
1950. Pandit Nehru had in-
troduced China for the first
time at an international
stage during the first-ever
multi-national Afro-Asian
Conference at Bangdung in
1955. India was instrumen-
tal in getting China the per-
manent membership of the
United Nations Security
Council. Unfortunately
,
Nehru failed to read Mao’s
mind which at its back was
filled with Sinocentrism
(ideology that China is the
cultural, political, or eco-
nomic centre of the world)
and Chinese Nationalism
focussed on a modern pow-
erful Chinese nation.
Mao’s ideology manifested
in form of China emerging
on the world scene as a “Re-
visionist” power aiming to
change the existing status
quo. It resulted in annexa-
tion of Inner Mongolia, Xin-
jiang and Tibet. Subsequent-
ly, India also became a victim
of Chinese expansionism.
The Chinese greed showed
no signs of subsiding. Apart
from its adventurism in the
South and East China Seas, it
has been steadily extending
its claim lines across Ladakh
to include more and more In-
dianterritories,whilerepudi-
ating Indian sovereignty over
ArunachalPradesh.Of late,it
has included Sikkim also in
its growing lists of disputes
with India. The stubborn pos-
ture adopted by China in the
current standoff has proved
beyond doubt that China con-
siders India as its rival but
will not tolerate any rival. It
has therefore decided to put
Indiainitsplacebuoyedbyits
mighty Comprehensive Na-
tional Power (CNP).
It has established beyond
doubts its greed for expan-
sionism and hegemony over
its neighbours. India has de-
cided to contest Chinese revi-
sionism and expansionism.
It has refused to bow down to
the machinations of Xi Jin-
ping for which it has received
considerable global support.
India needs to strategize to
exploit the Chinese vulnera-
bilities which are in plenty.
The CCP is, however, very
sensitive to the two “Ts”
namely Taiwan and Tibet.
As a consequence of the
civil war in China the nation
was divided into two parts in
1949 two years after India at-
tained independence. Mao’s
communist government re-
tainedcontrolof themainland
China forcing the Republic of
China (ROC) government to
relocatetoTaiwan.Sincethen,
theROChascontinuedtoexer-
cise effective jurisdiction over
themainislandof Taiwanand
a number of outlying islands
whilecommunistChinaisalso
knownasPeoples’Republicof
China (PRC) continues to
claim it as its part (23rd prov-
ince). China’s official position
on Taiwan is uncompromis-
ing. It claims that Taiwan is,
was, and always has been an
inseparablepartof China,and
that international law sup-
ports China’s claim. CCP
wants outright reunification,
the sooner the better, seeing
the recovery of the island as
the final chapter in the civil
war and end of past humilia-
tions when China was forced
to cede territory to foreigners.
On the other hand, there
is growing global support
for Taiwan as it is viewed as
avictimof growingChinese
expansionism that wants to
impose the communist ide-
ology on a democratic na-
tion. China at the same time
threatens that “Taiwan
shall not be referred to as a
‘country’ (‘nation’) or “Re-
publicof China”orthelead-
er of China’s Taiwan region
as “President”, so as not to
send wrong signals.” The
Chinese sensitivity to Tai-
wan is growing by the day
and CCP considers cosiness
to Taiwan by any other
country as a a direct assault
on its sovereignty
.
The other Achilles Heel of
CCP is Tibet, the region that
shares border with India and
has had historic ties with In-
dia since centuries. With the
end of the Chinese Civil War,
the newly-established com-
munist regime, openly stated
its intention of ‘liberating’
Tibet, but the Indian estab-
lishment paid no heed.
To maintain control over
Tibet, the PLA entered Tibet
on October 7, 1950 and subse-
quentlyannexedit,thuselimi-
nating the traditional buffer
between India and China. In-
diadisplayedutterlackof stra-
tegic thinking by dismissing
Tibetan pleas for help and in-
stead insisting on Tibetans to
settletheissuepeacefullywith
China. Nehru was too enam-
oured with his image of Shan-
ti Doot (messiah of peace) and
“Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai’’ fa-
çade and committed a big folly
in 1954, when, under the
Panchsheel Agreement, we
surrendered in Tibet all our
militaryandotherfacilities,to
China. Chinese responded
with attacking an Assam Ri-
fles outpost in Longju in the
Central Frontier of erstwhile
North-East Frontier Agency
(now Arunachal Pradesh) and
building a road through the
Indian Territory of Aksai
Chin in Ladakh. Nehru still
did not realise the gravity of
the situation till China back-
stabbed India in 1962.
It is worth reminding the
readers that at the time of in-
dependence in 1947, India did
notshareacommonboundary
with China in the north, but
withtwohithertoindependent
nations –– Sinkiang (present
day Xinjiang) and Tibet. The
northern border was consid-
ered settled in accordance
withtheShimlaConventionof
1914 with the Tibetan nation
being a signatory to the con-
vention. The Shimla Conven-
tion defined the boundaries
betweenTibetandChinaprop-
er, and that between Tibet and
British India (the latter came
to be known as the McMahon
Line). The boundary between
Jammu Kashmir (which
merged with India in October
1947) and Tibet was estab-
lished vide Treaty of Chushul
signed in 1842 and between
Sikkim (which merged with
India in 1975) and Tibet was
agreed under the Anglo-Chi-
nese Convention 1890 and
physicallydemarcatedin1895.
HadTibetnotbeenforciblyan-
nexed by PRC there would
have been no boundary dis-
pute on our northern borders.
The PRC on assuming pow-
er renounced all earlier for-
eign agreements as unequal
treatises imposed on it dur-
ing the ‘century of humilia-
tion’ and demanded renego-
tiation of all borders.
Chinese obsession with
Tibet stems from many rea-
sons, one of them being to
fulfil Mao’s revisionist
dream of Five Fingers. Mao
believes Tibet to be China’s
Right-hand palm with
Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim,
Bhutan and Arunachal
Pradesh to be its five fingers
which also need to be liber-
ated contrary to the Indian
claim as mentioned above.
Tibet is China’s fundamen-
talvulnerabilityvizavizIndia
and a mechanism available to
the later to refrain China. In-
dia made a cardinal mistake
of accepting Tibet Autono-
mous Region (TAR) as part of
China thus permitting China
to share a border with India.
China time and again defied
India’s hopes of a peaceful co-
existence through its acts of
treachery by showing scant
respect to mutual treaties and
international conventions.
Time has come to junk the
OneNationpolicyof Chinaby
paying it back in the same
coin. India needs to consider
toderecogniseTibetaspartof
China and recognise Taiwan
as an independent nation. To
begin with India needs to en-
hance commerce and cultural
relations with Taiwan and in-
crease military cooperation.
To ensure Hans supremacy
CCP has been subjecting the
otherethnicminoritiestosup-
pression and subjugation.
There is growing unrest in
Tibet and Xinjiang against in-
creased Chinese atrocities.
Chinaalsoplanstochangethe
population along the Sino-In-
dianborderthroughestablish-
ment of the Hans populated
villages. To counter it India
should take off the gloves and
give up its timid Tibet policy
.
India should assist the Tibet-
anresistancemovementwith-
in Tibet and give free hand to
the Dalai Lama and his gov-
ernment to espouse the Tibet-
an freedom cause from Indian
soil. It should also draw inter-
nationalattentiontoincreased
human right violations inside
Tibet comparable to the atroc-
ities being committed on Uig-
hur Muslims.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
LASTING PEACE A DISTANT
DREAM UNLESS WE CHANGE
D
Ever since the
emergence of
Communist
China or the
Peoples Republic
of China (PRC),
the Indian
leadership
beginning with
Pandit Nehru
desired to have
friendly and
cordial relations
with China
under the hope
that it would
contribute
towards world
peace, oppose
colonialism and
form the pillars
of a Pan–Asian
order. India was
among the first
few nations to
establish
diplomatic ties
with the PRC on
April 1, 1950.
Pandit Nehru
had introduced
China for the
first time at an
international
stage during the
first-ever multi-
national Afro-
Asian Conference
at Bangdung
in 1955
BRIG VETERAN
ANIL GUPTA
The author is a Jammu
based veteran, political
commentator, columnist, security
and strategic analyst
THE CHINESE GREED SHOWED NO SIGNS OF SUBSIDING.
APART FROM ITS ADVENTURISM IN THE SOUTH AND
EAST CHINA SEAS, IT HAS BEEN STEADILY EXTENDING
ITS CLAIM LINES ACROSS LADAKH TO INCLUDE MORE
AND MORE INDIAN TERRITORIES, WHILE REPUDIATING
INDIAN SOVEREIGNTY OVER ARUNACHAL PRADESH. OF
LATE, IT HAS INCLUDED SIKKIM ALSO IN ITS GROWING
LISTS OF DISPUTES WITH INDIA

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INDIA
05
PM ‘GLAD’ TO SEE PIETERSEN’S
AFFECTION TOWARDS INDIA
New Delhi: After Kevin
Pietersen praised ‘beloved
country’ India for provid-
ing COVID-19 vaccines to
South Africa, PM Naren-
dra Modi on Wednesday
said that he is glad to
see the former England
cricketer’s affection
towards India. PM said,
“we believe that world is
our family” and want to
play “our role in strength-
ening the fight against
COVID”. “Glad to see your
affection towards India. :)
We believe that the world
is our family and want to
play our role in strength-
ening the fight against
COVID-19,” PM wrote,
replying to Pietersen’s
tweet. On Monday, EAM S
Jaishankar had informed
that ‘Made in India’ vax
have arrived in SA.
‘JNVS TO START PHYSICAL
CLASSES FOR CLASSES 10, 12’
New Delhi: The
Ministry of Education
has allowed the restart
of physical classes for
Class 10 and Class 12
students in Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas
(JNVs) in those states
that have allowed gov-
ernment and private
schools to reopen
schools for Classes 10
and 12. The Ministry
said that it has pre-
pared Standard Operat-
ing Protocols (SOPs)
for re-opening of JNVs
based on guidelines of
the Ministry of Home
Affairs and the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare.
93K CYBERCRIMES, SEXUAL
CRIMES REGISTERED: MHA
New Delhi: Over
93,000 cybercrimes
related to fraud,
sexual exploitation and
spreading of hate have
been registered in the
country between 2017
and 2019, Rajya Sabha
was informed. Minister
of State for Home G
Kishan Reddy said the
enhanced use of the
internet, the number of
cybercrimes was also
increasing. As per data
maintained and pub-
lished by the National
Crime Records Bureau,
21,796 cybercrimes
were registered in
2017, 27,248 in 2018
and 44,546 in 2019.
266 APPS BLOCKED BY GOVT SINCE
JUNE 2020: CENTRE TO LOK SABHA
New Delhi: 266 mobile
apps have been blocked
by the government so
far since June 2020, Lok
Sabha was informed.
Union Minister of State
for Home G Kishan Reddy
said use of the banned
apps by a large number
of people in India enables
compilation of huge data
which might be collated,
analysed, profiled mined
by elements that are
hostile to the sovereignty
and integrity of India,
defence of India, security
of the State as well as to
the public order, apart
from being detrimental to
the interest of the general
public. Mr Reddy said with
the enhanced use of cyber
space, number of cyber
crimes, including online
fraud is also increasing.
New Delhi: In a writ-
ten reply in Rajya
Sabha on steps being
taken to deport Roh-
ingyas, the Ministry
of Home Affairs
(MHA) said Central
government has been
vested with powers to
detain deport ille-
gal foreign nationals.
“Central Govern-
ment has been vested
with powers under
sections 3(2)(e) and
3(2)(c) of the Foreign-
ers Act, 1946 to detain
and deport foreign na-
tionals staying ille-
gally in the country,”
said Minister of State
for Home Affairs Nity-
anand Rai, while re-
sponding to Shiv Sena
MP Anil Desai’s query
.
The minister main-
tained that detection
and deportation of Ro-
hingya migrants after
due process of nation-
ality verification is a
continuous process.
He also said that the
Central government
may also, by an order,
direct the removal of
any person from India
who enters the coun-
trywithoutapassport.
“Further, under Ar-
ticle 239(1) of the Con-
stitution of India, the
Administrators of all
the Union Territories
have also been direct-
ed to discharge the
functions of the Cen-
tral Government re-
lating to the aforesaid
powers since 1958,”
said Nityanand Rai.
Central govt has power to deport
illegal foreign nationals: MHA
New Delhi: Apex child
rights body NCPCR has
identified 50 “religious
places”, including the
Taj Mahal Shri Ram
Janmabhoomi in Ayod-
hya, where interven-
tions will be undertak-
en to ensure zero toler-
ance towards child la-
bour.
The National Com-
mission for Protection
of Child Rights (NCP-
CR) said the interven-
tion shall be undertak-
en in a collaborative
manner with the in-
volvement of multi-
stakeholders including
child welfare police of-
ficers, anti-human traf-
ficking unit, represent-
atives from NGOs.
NCPCR said it has
noted instances of
“child begging, child
labour kids in street
situations” reported at
religious places, which
is not only exploitation
but also does not re-
flect a positive image
of our nation.
NCPCR identifies 50
‘religious places’ to
combat child labour
IN THE COURTYARD
SC junks plea seeking probe
into China’s alleged
surveillance on Prez PM
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Wednesday refused to
pass any order on a
plea seeking direc-
tions to the Central
government to inves-
tigate China’s alleged
surveillance on the
President of India,
Prime Minister, judg-
es (sitting and re-
tired) of the apex
court and High Court
and other influential
personalities.
A Bench headed by
Chief Justice of India
SA Bobde, while dis-
posing of the plea,
asked the petitioner to
file a representation
before the Centre say-
ing “these are sensi-
tive matter, make a rep-
resentation to the
Home Ministry or Fi-
nance Ministry”.
The Bench allowed
the petitioner to file a
representation before
the government.
New Delhi: SC junked
a PIL seeking direction
to CBI to submit a sta-
tus report in actor Su-
shant Singh Rajput
death case. A bench
comprising Chief Jus-
tice S A Bobde and Jus-
tices A S Bopanna V
Ramasubramanian
dismissed plea filed by
advocate Puneet Kaur
Dhanda. “We are not
going to entertain this.
You go to High Court,”
the bench said. The pe-
titioner had contended
that apex court passed
an order for the CBI
inquiry on August 19,
2020 and despite lapse
of almost 5 months the
probe agency is yet to
conclude its investiga-
tion. “The CBI is not
acting responsibly in
the present case and
there is a delay in the
conclusion of investi-
gation of case,” it said.
Kochi: A court in Ker-
ala on Wednesday
granted bail to sus-
pended IAS officer M
Sivasankarin the dol-
lar smuggling case, ob-
serving that the of-
fence against him was
“serious” in nature
and “required inten-
sive probe”
Sivasankar, the for-
mer Principal secre-
tary of Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan, was
released by 3 pm from
prison after 98 days in
judicial custody
.
SC dismisses PIL to
seek direction to CBI to
submit status report
Suspended
IAS officer
M Sivasankar
gets bail
GOVT NEEDS TO LISTEN AS FARMERS
AREN’T GOING AWAY: RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul Gandhi slams Centre’s proposal to farmers, questions why government fortifying New Delhi
New Delhi: While
slamming the govern-
ment’s proposal to post-
pone the implementa-
tion of farm laws for
two years, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Wednesday questioned
why the Centre is forti-
fying the national capi-
tal if it plans to resolve
the farmers’ problems.
Addressing the me-
dia, the former Con-
gress president remind-
ed the Government of
its job and said, “Farm-
ers are the strength of
India. Suppressing
them, beating them and
threatening them is not
the government’s job.
Their job is to talk to
them and find a solu-
tion to their problem.”
“Prime Minister is
saying that offer is still
on the table to postpone
laws for two years. What
does it mean? Either
you believe that you
need to get rid of the
laws or you don’t,” he
added. He called farm-
ers ‘people who give us
sustenance’, and said, ”
Delhi is surrounded by
farmers. Why is Delhi
being converted into a
fortress? Why are we
threatening, beating,
and killing them? Why
is the Government not
talking to them and not
resolving this problem?
This problem isn’t good
for the country,” said
Gandhi. The Congress
leader said the farmers’
issue needs to be re-
solved as soon as possi-
ble and the government
needs to listen “as farm-
ers aren’t going away”.
In another dig at the
BJP-led Central govern-
ment, Gandhi said that
at a ‘time when India
needs to put money in
the hands of its people’,
the budget 2021 is for
the 1 per cent popula-
tion in the country
.”
“I had expected from
the Budget that Govt
will provide support to
99% of India’s popula-
tion. But this Budget is
that of the 1% popula-
tion. You snatched away
money from people in
the small and medium
industry, workers,
farmers, Forces and put
it in the pockets of 5-10
people,” he added. —ANI
DELHI GOVT TO
ISSUE LIST OF
PEOPLE NABBED ON
R-DAY: KEJRIWAL
LOCALS FORCED TO WALK FOR HOURS AT SINGHU BORDER
Security tightened during an ongoing protest, at the Singhu border in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Thiruvananthapuram:BJP
National President Jag-
at Prakash Nadda, who
arrived on Wednesday
for a two-day visit to
Keralaaheadof thestate
Assembly elections,
slammed the ruling par-
ty of the Communist
Party of India (Marxist)
and said that Kerala
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayanhaslosthiscred-
ibility
.
“Kerala CM Pinarayi
Vijayan has been at-
tacking constitutional
bodies. In the gold scam,
the involvement of the
Chief Minister Office
has embarrassed self-
respecting Malayalis,
not only in Kerala but
the world over. Pinarayi
Vijayan has lost his
credibility,” Nadda said
while addressing a
press conference here.
“An investigation
which is going on is go-
ing to throw further
light and it seems many
ministers are going to
come to light,” he said.
Kerala CM has lost
his credibility: Nadda
JP Nadda
Dictators’ names begin with M!
On RaGa’s dig, BJP’s retort
New Delhi: The Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi, who regularly
targets Prime Minis-
ter Narenra Modi in
his tweets, posted a
barbed question.
“Why do so many
dictators have names
that begin with M?”
he tweeted. A list fol-
lowed as evidence
“Marcos, Mussolini,
Milosevic, Mubarak,
Mobutu, Musharraf,
Micombero”.
There was no fur-
ther explanation or
context to the tweet,
which was liked near-
ly 58,000 times and
shared 12,400 times.
The BJP refused to re-
act.
“Is it necessary to
take Rahul that seri-
ously? His approach,
whatever it has been
in Indian politics, eve-
rybody has seen. Need
not react,” party chief
JP Nadda said.
Gandhi has been
consistently targeting
the government over
the farmers’ issue.
Slamming Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
for his tweet asking
why names of many
dictators begin with
the letter “M”, Union
Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh
Tomar on Wednesday
said even Congress
doesn’t take its former
president’s statement
seriously. —Agencies
Rahul Gandhi
Guwahati: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
will visit Assam on
February 7 lay the
foundation stone of
two medical colleges
and launch the scheme
for the upgradation of
the state highways,
state Finance Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma
said on Wednesday.
Union Finance Minis-
terNirmalaSitharaman
too is scheduled to visit
GuwahationFebruary6
and be present at a pro-
gramme where money
will be given to the bank
accounts of eight lakh
tea garden workers in
thestate,Sarmatoldme-
dia. The PM will visit
Dhekiajuli from where
he will lay the founda-
tion of two medical col-
leges in Charaideo and
Bishwanath districts.
He will also launch the
‘’Assam Mala’’ scheme
under which the state
public works depart-
ment will upgrade the
state highways.
Work will be taken up
in 2500 km to be taken
up at the initial stage,
he said adding the esti-
mated Rs 5,000 crore
project is expected to be
completed within 15
years. In the February 6
function where Sithara-
man will be the chief
guest, the state govern-
ment will transfer Rs
3,000 each to the bank
accounts of eight lakh
tea garden workers
which will involve an
expenditure of Rs 2.4
crore, Sarma said.
PM to visit poll-bound
Assam on February 7
PM Narendra Modi

INDIA
06
Tikait’s hunkaar...
Tikait and several oth-
ers were on the stage
when it suddenly col-
lapsed under their
weight, briefly inter-
rupting the meeting.
Tikait, a Jat leader
from Uttar Pradesh, ap-
pealed to people not to
panic after the accident.
He warned the govern-
ment that it would find
it difficult to stay in
power if the new laws
are not repealed.
“Wehavesofartalked
about ‘bill wapsi’ (re-
pealing the farm laws).
The government should
listen carefully. What
will you do if the youth
call for ‘gaddi wapsi’
(removal from power)?”
he questioned.
It was Tikait’s tearful
appeal last week that
led to a resurgence of
the farmer agitation af-
ter a backlash over the
Republic Day tractor
rally violence, when
protesters broke
through barricades and
clashed with the police.
After the January 26
violence, the police
have barricaded the
protest sites outside
Delhi’s borders with ce-
ment barriers and
spikes on the roads.
“When the king is
scared, he secures the
fortress,” Tikait said.
The village Kandela,
where the mahapan-
chayat was held today,
was the first in the re-
gion to have sent men to
Mr Tikait’s sit-in at the
Delhi-UP Ghazipur bor-
der in response to the
viral video of the farm-
er leader in tears.
Five resolutions were
passed at the “ma-
hapanchayat”. Apart
from the demand that
the government with-
draw the farm laws, the
resolutions called for a
legal guarantee of min-
imum support price for
crops, a farm loan waiv-
er and the release of
farmers arrested after
the violence on Repub-
lic Day
.
No propaganda...
Her tweet was quickly
followed by a flood of
such messages, includ-
ing one from teen cli-
mate activist Greta
Thunberg and Leba-
nese-American former
adult film star Mia
Khalifa. Both Rihanna
and Ms Khalifa were la-
belled “anti-national”
today by the BJP’s Sam-
bit Patra.
SC rejects...
Special Investigation
Team (SIT) or a judicial
commission into the
January 26 violence in
Delhi. They also urged
the top court to call for
records of the Union
and Delhi governments
on “action or steps tak-
en by them over the vio-
lence” and ask the in-
quiry commission to
submit its report in a
time-bound manner
and take action on it.
Delhi Police...
Police also said they are
looking for protesters
named Jajbir Singh,
Buta Singh, Sukhdev
Singh and Iqbal Singh
and announced a re-
ward of Rs 50,000 for
information on them.
Till date, police regis-
tered 44 FIRs in connec-
tion with the violence
during tractor march
and arrested a total of
122 persons so far.
Historic: Sensex...
and broader indices
madefreshrecordhighs
today
,”saidBinodModi,
Head Strategy at Reli-
ance Securities.
SC refuses...
Senior advocate Sanjay
Parikh, appearing for
the petitioner, said they
have challenged the
laws enacted by three
states including Uttar
Pradesh and Uttara-
khand as innocent per-
sons are being booked
under these Acts.
He said the top court
had earlier issued no-
tice on similar petitions
and this plea should be
tagged with them.
Ekana may...
was more centered to-
wards hosting of Indian
Premier League (IPL)
and World T20 matches
in Lucknow in their up-
coming editions.
Shah who had
reached Lucknow on
Tuesday evening, visit-
ed the stadium on
Wednesday morning
where he strolled across
the stadium along with
Rajiv Shukla and Yudh-
vir Singh, Honorary
Secretary, UPCA. They
were accompanied by
Uday Sinha, Managing
Director, ECS and
Navneet Sehgal, ACS
Information. “IPL to
hona hi chahiye ya-
han.... (IPL must hap-
pen here) Kisne design
kiya hai isko? (who de-
signed this stadium?),”
Shah asked Sinha. Shah
was particularly happy
with the colour combi-
nations used for the
seating areas and he
also appreciated the
state-of-the-art dressing
rooms of the venue that
has already hosted a
ODI couple of years
back. The BCCI Secre-
tary also inquired about
the size of the stadium,
red and black soil pitch-
es, water drainage fa-
cilities etc.
FROM PG 1
FOUR SECRETARIES OF 1984
BATCH RETIRING IN 2021
Four Secretaries of 1984 batch out of total nine
are retiring in 2021. Accordingly, A B P Pandey
of Maharashtra cadre working as Finance
Secretary will be retiring in February 2021, while
Ms. Shakuntala Gamlin of UT cadre working
as Secretary, Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities is due to retire in March and Ravi Kant
of Bihar cadre working as Secretary, Department
of Ex-Servicemen Welfare superannuates in June.
Durga S Mishra working as HUPA Secretary is
scheduled to retire in November this year.
NO REGULAR HEADS FOR AIR AND DD
All India Radio and Doordarshan are not having
regular DG,s. Supriya Sahu left the DD in June
2019, since then no regular incumbent could be
appointed. DG, News, Mayank Agrawal, is holding
the additional chage of DG, DD for the last one
year. Shahryar retired as DG in December 2019.
Since then the organisation is waiting for a regular
DG. Presently, CEO, PB is holding the additional
chage of DG.
MAJ. GEN. ABHIJIT BAPAT MAY BE
MOVED TO ARMY TRAINING COMMAND
Major General Abhijit Bapat, General Officer
Commanding (GOC) of Karu-based 3rd Infantry
Division, is likely to be moved and posted on
Shimla-based Army Training Command (ARTRAC).
EIGHT IPS OFFICERS GET NEW
ASSIGNMENTS IN DELHI POLICE
As many as eight IPS officers have been
given fresh assignments in Delhi Government.
Accordingly, Deepak Purohit has been promoted
to Addl CP had posted at the Headquarter while
Chinmoy Biswal was posted as DCP, Crime and
Gaurav Sharma is DCP, Security. Rajiv Ranjan
Singh has been appointed as DCP, Outer North
district DCP; Esha Pandey as DCP, PCR; Urjiva Goel
as DCP, West district; Ghanshyam Bansal as DCP,
Traffic and Manoj C was made Addl DCP, Outer
North Delhi district.
33 IRSEE OFFICERS PLACED IN SAG
As many as 33 Indian Railway Service of Electrical
Engineers (IRSEE) officers have been appointed
to officiate under selection grade (SG). They
are: Neeraj Gupta, Sugind Surendran, BK Kisku,
Dilip Kumar Kujur, SKN Singh, Pankaj Kumar
Kesharwani, Raju Lal Meena, Rajiv Kumar,
Rajendra Kumar Sharma, Alok Ranjan Mohanty,
Om Shankar Prasad, Biplab Das, Pratibha Gupta,
Vijay Chaudhary, Sandeep Kumar Chatterjee,
Boppudi Srinivasu, Jitendra Yadav, Lalit Kumar
Tomar, Ajit Kumar, Jeetesh Kumar Singh,
Khursheed Ahmed, Sudhir Kumar Srivastava,
Vishal Monldoi, M Senthamil Selvan, Karpoor
Chandra Yadav, Santosh Kumar Singh, Bhimraj
Dhanna, Prem Singh Meena, Shobharam Verma,
Vinod Kumar, Narendra K Agrawal, Prasanna K
Bhanja and Neeraj Kumar Verma.
24 OFFICERS FROM ODISHA
AWARDED IFS CADRE
As many as 24 officers of State Forest Service of
Odisha have been awarded Indian Forest Service
(IFS) cadre. The officers: Lakshmikanta Mishra,
Arjun Behera, Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra, Bimal
Prasanna Acharya, Jayanta Kumar Das, Biswa
Ranjan Rout, Sudarshan Patra, Mihira Kumar
Biswal, Dilip Kumar Swain, Aswini Kumar Kar,
Satyanarayan Behura, Arun Kumar Mishra, Bikash
Ranjan Dash, Sudeep Nayak, Kedar Kumar Swain,
Prasanna Kumar Sahoo, Lalitendu Jena and
Pradipta Kumar Sahoo; Harsha Bardhan Udgata,
Kapil Prasad Das, Hanif Mohammed, Santosh
Banchhur and Prasanna Kumar Behera, Lakshmi
Narayan Behera.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Opposition MPs give adjourment notices
in LS demanding repeal of farm laws
EXPLAINED: A look at how, when, and what happened in Parliament when it convened
New Delhi: Eleven
Members of Parliament
from Shiromani Akali
Dal, Communist Party
of India (Marxist), Tri-
namool Congress, Indi-
an Union Muslim
League (IUML), Bahu-
jan Samajwadi Party
(BSP), Shiv Sena, Revo-
lutionary Socialist Par-
ty, and Congress have
given notices of ad-
journment motion in
Lok Sabha demanding
farm laws to be re-
pealed.
These MPs include
Sukhbir Singh Badal
and Harsimrat Kaur
Badal from SAD,
Gaurav Gogoi, Manish
Tiwari, Preneet Kaur, K
Suresh, and Jasbir Sin-
gh from Congress.
Ritesh Pandey from
BSP, ET Mohd Basheer
from IUML, NK Prem-
chandran from RSP
, and
Adv AM Arif from CPI
(M) are among those
who gave notices today
.
Congress MP TN
Prathapan has also giv-
en an adjournment mo-
tion notice in the Lower
House over the govern-
ment’s approach in
dealing with agitating
farmers.
TMC MP Saugata Roy
gave the notice on
“repres=sion of agitat-
ing farmers by police
with the use of wires,
spikes, trenches” and to
take up discussion on
farmers”.
On Tuesday, LS wit-
nessed three adjourn-
ments following Oppo-
sition protests against
the arm laws. Farmers
have been protesting
since November 26.
Alipurduar (WB): Hit-
ting back at the BJP
amid a continuing exo-
dus of ministers and
legislators from the Tri-
namool Congress (TMC)
in the poll-bound West
Bengal, Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee said
the saffron party could
“buy a few corrupt lead-
ers” but not her party’s
“dedicated workers”.
“There is no place for
corrupt people in TMC,
those who wish to leave
ruling party should do
so immediately
,” Baner-
jee said.
The TMC supremo’s
latest remark comes
after two-time Diamond
Harbour MLA Dipak
Haldar resigned from
the party on Monday
and joined the BJP
. Oth-
er TMC leaders who
have joined the BJP
recently are Suvendu
Adhikari, Rajib Baner-
jee, Baishali Dalmiya,
Prabir Ghoshal, Rathin
Chakraborti,andRudra-
nil Ghosh.
BJP can buy a few
leaders but not my
workers: Mamata
New Delhi: After his
suspension from Rajya
Sabha for raising slo-
gans against the new
farm laws in the House,
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) MP Sanjay Singh
compared the Central
government with ‘Hit-
ler’ and accused the
government of taking
harsh action against
the protesting farmers.
“The government is
taking such harsh ac-
tion against the protest-
ing farmers that even
Hitler has failed in front
of the Centre govern-
ment.” Taking a dig at
the Centre for treating
farmers indifferently,
he said, “A total of 44
farmers of Punjab are
missing, we have no
idea they are dead or
alive, are farmers are
from an enemy coun-
try?,” Singh asked.
Bengaluru: Asserting
that India has to focus
on new goals for new
India, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh said the
DRDO is continuously
developing technology
that will help the
country in achieving
these goals. “Today,
when the world is
changing so fast and a
new world order is
emerging in front of us.
We have to focus on new
goals for our new India,
I am happy to see that
the DRDO is continu-
ously developing tech-
nology that will help us
in achieving these
goals,” Singh said in
Bengaluru at Aero In-
dia 2021. “In many of
our tests, we have got
success in our maiden
attempt itself, this is
our great achieve-
ment,” he added.
New Delhi: India has
become the fastest
country in the world to
reach the 4 million
COVID-19 vaccination
mark, achieving this
feat in 18 days, the
Union Health Ministry
said.
More than 41 lakh
beneficiaries have been
administered shots
under the countrywide
exercise.
“As on February, 1,
India was among the
top five countries in
terms of number of
COVID-19 vaccine doses
administered to people.
India continues to un-
dertake its vaccination
drive at a fast pace,” the
ministry highlighted.
India’s fight against
COVID-19 is bringing
daily successes on other
fronts as well, it said.
With a high number of
COVID-19 patients re-
covering every day and
the sustained fall in the
mortality rate,” minis-
try adds.
Indiafastestcountryinworldtoreach
4millionCOVID-19vaxmark:Centre
After suspension,
Sanjay Singh compares
Centre with Hitler
DRDO continuously
developing
technology: Rajnath
GUJARAT WILL NEVER RULE BENGAL,
DECLARES MAMATA BANERJEE
Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee, who has triggerd a
huge “outsider versus insider” debate in the state
ahead of the assembly election, offered a clarifica-
tion, saying there is no discrimination in the state
between Bengalis and non-Bengalis while reiter-
ating her stand on the controversial law on the
National Register of Citizens. But when it comes to
ruling Bengal, the matter is different, she indicated.
BJP LEADER MUKUL ROY’S BROTHER
-IN-LAW SRIJAN ROY JOINS TMC
Kolkata: A BJP leader, who the Trinamool
Congress said is a brother-in-law of the saf-
fron party’s national vice-president Mukul Roy,
rejoined the ruling party of West Bengal. Srijan
Roy returned to the TMC months before the
assembly elections in the state amid the exo-
dus from the party to the BJP. Handing over
the party flag to Srijan Roy and two others.
The ban applies to
non-citizens including
health practitioners, diplo-
mats, from 20 specific
countries. According to
Saudi Press Agency,
the countries facing
suspension of arrival
for non-Saudis include
India, Argentina, Brazil,
Egypt, France, Germany,
Indonesia, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan,
Portugal, South Africa,
Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, the UAE, the UK.
SAUDI ARABIA
BANS ENTRY FOR
NON-CITIZENS
T
T
T
COMMITTEE FORMED
TO SUGGEST REFORMS
IN CRIMINAL LAWS
BRING BILL FOR RESTORING JK
STATEHOOD: GHULAM NABI AZAD TO GOVT
Senior Congress leader Ghulam
Nabi Azad asked the govern-
ment to bring a bill in Rajya
Sabha proposing restoration of
statehood for J K. “I appeal to
you, if Jammu and Kashmir has
to progress, we need to take our
own people into confidence and
give them love,”he said.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
Member of Parliament
Dr Sasmit Patra raised a
demand in Rajya Sabha
for the passage of the
Women’s Reservation Bill.
During the Zero Hour, Dr
Patra reiterated the long
pending demand for the
passage of the Bill in the
Parliament.
On the direction of Lok
Sabha Speaker Om
Birla, LS Secretariat has
rolled out “Parliamentary
Research and Informa-
tion Support to Mem-
bers” (PRISM) to provide
24×7 round-the-clock
research and information
support to Members of
Parliament (MPs).
DEMAND IN RS FOR
WOMEN’S
RESERVATION BILL
PARLIAMENTARY
RESEARCH AND
SUPPORT FOR MPS
Vaccination drive is going at a fast pace in India.
Rajnath Singh
Mamata Banerjee
Sanjay Singh

TALKING POINT
07
HONG KONG: Since the Chinese au-
thorities suddenly halted fintech con-
glomerate Ant Group’s planned initial
public offering in autumn 2020, its par-
ent company, e-commerce king Alibaba,
has been facing harsh regulatory scru-
tiny. On Christmas Eve, China’s anti-
trust authority announced that it was
investigating the firm’s exclusive busi-
ness practices. And Alibaba’s founder,
Jack Ma, recently eased concerns re-
garding his fate by appearing in public
for the first time since last October,
when he delivered a speech criticizing
financial regulation in China.
The mere announcement of the in-
vestigation into Alibaba wiped more
than $100 billion off the firm’s mar-
ket value overnight. Given the Chi-
nese government’s huge regulatory
power, investors are rightly anxious
about Alibaba’s prospects. But the
government’s sudden and aggressive
move against the firm also reveals
much about the regulatory regime’s
weaknesses.
To be sure, the Chinese government
has legitimate reasons to be vigilant
toward the country’s highly concen-
trated internet sector. By targeting su-
perstar firms like Alibaba, China is fol-
lowing a global regulatory trend, with
US and European Union policymakers
similarly vowing to impose tougher
sanctions against monopolistic inter-
net giants.
Just as Americans are worried about
Amazon’s dominance in e-retail, Chi-
nese consumers have equally good rea-
sons to be concerned about Alibaba. In
2020, Amazon’s share of the US e-com-
merce market was slightly less than
40%, whereas Alibaba’s Tmall and
Taobao held over 50% of China’s e-re-
tail market.
The current investigation into Aliba-
ba is not the first time that the firm’s
business practices have been subject to
antitrust scrutiny
. JD.com, China’s sec-
ond largest e-retailer, lodged a com-
plaint about Alibaba with China’s anti-
trust authority back in 2015. Dissatis-
fied with the authority’s perceived fail-
ure to act, JD.com filed a suit against
Alibaba in a Chinese court (the case is
still pending).
In fact, Alibaba used to be far more
dominant in e-commerce. At its peak,
when it was first listed in 2014, the
firm accounted for more than 80% of
China’s online retail market. Since
then, its share has been gradually
eroded by JD.com and other rivals
such as Pinduoduo.
So, why did China’s antitrust author-
ity wait so long before investigating
Alibaba? Many have linked the current
antitrust campaign to Ma’s October
speech and his seemingly recalcitrant
attitude toward regulation. Although
cil announced the “Internet Plus” pro-
gram with the aim of fostering more
entrepreneurship in the digital sector.
This placed antitrust regulators in a
difficult position, because overly harsh
regulation might thwart domestic in-
novation and entrepreneurship. And
the last thing antitrust officials want
to do is act in ways that could be per-
ceived as contrary to the national de-
velopment agenda.
This explains why the Chinese anti-
trust regulator adopted a “cautious and
tolerant” approach vis-à-vis the tech
sector. When disgruntled competitors
complained about Chinese tech giants’
abusive business practices, the author-
ity preferred to deploy relatively leni-
ent regulatory tools such as the Anti-
Unfair Competition Law and the E-
Commerce Law.
These laws lack teeth, because the
largest fines that can be imposed under
them are relatively small. And instead
of launching investigations, the anti-
trust regulator conducted administra-
tive interviews with each of the major
online platforms on the eve of Singles’
Day, China’s largest e-commerce sales
promotion event, in an effort to per-
suade them not to impose restrictive
trading conditions on merchants.
Similarly, the regulator also re-
frained from intervening in merger
transactions involving a “variable in-
terest entity,” a structure many Chi-
nese tech firms have used to circum-
vent government restrictions on for-
eign investment in the internet sector.
Until early last year, hundreds of ac-
quisitions by Alibaba and Tencent had
completely escaped antitrust scrutiny.
As a result, the firms have become two
of the largest investors in China’s
digital economy, together owning a
large proportion of the tech sector’s
unicorns.
This regulatory inertia continued
until Ant Group’s IPO debacle, when
the antitrust regulator received a clear
signal from China’s top leadership to
rein in the tech giants. But the author-
ity’s previous lax regulation in this
area has contributed to today’s intrac-
table dilemma: once a monopoly
emerges, it is hard to reverse it using
antitrust law. As EU and US antitrust
regulators have recently discovered,
such legislation is too blunt a tool for
tackling Big Tech.
Above all, the sudden recent regula-
tory crackdown against Alibaba gives
the impression that Chinese law en-
forcement is arbitrary. Of course, no
law is implemented in a vacuum. But
it appears that the Chinese authorities
treat the same business practice in
dramatically different ways when pol-
icy priorities shift, even when the rel-
evant laws remain unchanged. This
risk certainly will not bolster investor
confidence in China’s thriving inter-
net firms.
Ma’s remarks may have been the
trigger, the fundamental reason
relates to regulatory inertia, a
phenomenon deeply ingrained in
Chinese bureaucratic politics.
As I elaborate in my forthcom-
ing book, although China’s anti-
trust authorities are seldom chal-
lenged in court, they must closely
observe the formal and tacit rules
of the bureaucracy and conduct a
cost-benefit analysis before every
regulatory move. These consider-
ations influence the type of cases
they bring and the approaches
they employ to tackle them.
One such constraint relates to
the Chinese government’s initia-
tives promoting innovation as a
driver of economic growth. In
2015, for example, the State Coun-
Why is China
ALIBABA?
The Chinese authorities’ antitrust action against
the e-commerce giant appears arbitrary. The
perception that the same business practices are
treated in dramatically different ways when
policy priorities shift will not bolster investor
confidence in China’s thriving internet firms.
ANGELA HUYUE ZHANG
SOURCE: PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
The founder of Alibaba Jack Ma recently made his first public appearance since last October, easing concerns about his fate.
—MARLENE AWAAD/BLOOMBERG
—GILLES SABRIE/
BLOOMBERG
Cracking Down on

If only humans would realise the
value of a person or a moment
before it becomes a memory, then
life would be even more beautiful.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Fighting
the upcoming local
body polls like a veri-
table national battle,
the Gujarat BJP has
put its legal cell on
the high alert mode to
ensure none of its
candidates faced any
legal wrangles.
The ruling party has
rustled up a team of
500-odd lawyers and no-
taries to ensure that the
nominations of their
selected candidates are
not rejected and they
get all legal assistance.
The BJP has as-
signed two lawyers
and a notary for each
of the wards in the 6
municipal corpora-
tions going to the
polls. Even as the par-
ty is yet to announce
the names of its can-
didates, its legal cell
convenors JJ Patel
and Parindu Bhagat
have put in place a
system to ensure that
candidates don’t face
legal hurdles while
filing their nomina-
tions.
JJ Patel said the legal
cell had been active for
the last 20 days after the
announcement of the
elections and zone-wise
meetings were also held
for the same. The team
of lawyers will help
candidates fill forms
and scrutinize it before
it is submitted.
As for the taluka lev-
el elections, each taluka
will have a team of five
lawyers and two nota-
ries to help the candi-
dates. The nagarpa-
likas will have a team
of two lawyers and one
notary for each ward.
This has been the rul-
ing BJP’s strategy for a
long time.
BJPhas500lawyersformunicipalelections
PULLING OUT ALL STOPS!
—FILE
PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
‘AIMIM CAN’T FOOL GUJARAT’S
SECULAR MUSLIM VOTERS’
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Put-
ting up a brave face
amidst the AIMIM
queering the pitch
in the upcoming
civic body polls,
Congress’ Muslim
MLA in Ahmedabad
Imran Khedawala
has claimed the vot-
ers in the minority-
dominated areas of
the city would not
get carried away.
Khedawala,whowon
from the Jamalpur-
Khadia constituency
during the 2017 State
Assembly elections
clinching a BJP domi-
nated seat, believes the
AIMIM of Asaduddin
Owaisi would not have
animpactonthevoters.
In an interview to
a local news portal,
Imran Khedawala in-
sisted that, “Voters
in Gujarat are secu-
lar enough and won’t
fall for the AIMIM’s
political ideology.”
He believes that the
people are clever
enough to see
through the game of
communal polarisa-
tion.
He pointed out that
the AIMIM didn’t have
a base and had only
candidates. “We (Con-
gress) will go to people
with the work we have
done during our ten-
ure,” said Khedawala.
The Congress leg-
islator simultane-
ously admitted that
AIMIM contesting
the local body elec-
tions would help the
BJP as was the case
in the Hyderabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion elections re-
cently. The BJP won
48 seats from the 4
seats there. Similar-
ly, the seats that
AIMIM contested in
Bihar only helped
the BJP
, he says.
Khedawala wonders
that Owaisi speaks of
increasing Muslim po-
litical representation
but his party his going
to contest the polls
from seats that already
have adequate Muslim
representatives. “How
can this increase Mus-
lim’s political repre-
sentation,” he asks.
He asked why was
the AIMIM not talk-
ing of contesting
from other seats like
Bopal, Maninagar
and Odhav in
A h m e d a b a d .
Khedawala said he
worked for the peo-
ple even when he
was not a corporator
and expressed confi-
dence that, “we will
win 4 seats in Khad-
ia and 8 seats in Ja-
malpur. So it is mis-
sion 12 for us.”
BATTLE OF WITS?: Congress MLA Imran Khedawala (left) says AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi
can’t spoil Congress prospects. —FILE PHOTO
BJP’S B-TEAM?
Congress MLA from Ahmedabad Imran Khedawala believes Asaduddin
Owaisi’s party can’t dent his party’s prospects in civic body polls
The ruling party has as-
signed two lawyers and a no-
tary for each of the wards in
the 6 municipal corporations
going to the polls in Gujarat
SWACHH BHARAT MISSION
A painter gives final touches to a painting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat
Mission and city’s heritage on a wall outside Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Wednesday.
8 people escape fire at 3
shops in A’bad building
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A fire
broke out in 3 shops
located in a building
in Ahmedabad’s
Naranpura locality
on early Wednesday
morning, according
to fire department of-
ficials. Eight people
were rescued from
the premises.
The blaze erupted
around 6.30 am in the
shops located on the
ground floor of the
three-storey building,
official sources said.
The building has res-
idential apartments on
the top two floors and
smoke entered the flats
after the fire on the
ground floor,
Ahmedabad’s acting
Chief Fire Officer
Rajesh Bhatt informed
mediapersons.
“Eight people, in-
cluding 4 women,
trapped in the apart-
ments of the building
were rescued,” he said,
adding that no casualty
was reported.
The fire was
brought under con-
trol after a couple of
hours, the official
said. The cause of the
fire was not immedi-
ately known, he said.
NHAI contractor sets record for
laying concrete road in 24 hours
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A contrac-
tor of the National
Highways Authority
of India has created a
world record for the
laying of pavement
quality concrete
(PQC) for a 4-lane
highway of 2,580 me-
ters length within 24
hours.
Starting at 8 am on
February 1, 2021, they
finished the job, total-
ling 2,580 meters or ap-
proximately 10.32 km
lane, by 8 am the next
morning. With a width
of 18.75 meters, an area
of 48,711 square meters
of concrete was laid for
the expressway in 24
hours. The highest
quantity of concrete
laid in 24 hours – 14,613
Cubic Meter was also
achieved.
The feat by the con-
tractor, Patel Infra-
structure Limited,
has been recognized
by both, the India
Book of Records and
the Golden Book of
World Records.
The record is part of
the greenfield Delhi-
Va d o d a r a - M u m b a i
8-lane Expressway pro-
ject, and was carried
out by the world’s larg-
est fully automatic ul-
tra-modern concrete
paver machine.
The feat comes in
the backdrop of the
Ministry having con-
structed 8,169 km of
National Highways
(NHs) from April 2020
to 15 January 2021
with a speed of about
28.16 km per day. The
Ministry is hopeful
that it should be able
to cross the construc-
tion target of 11,000
km by 31 March.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The Indian
Oil Corporation (IOC)
has announced the ap-
pointment of Sanjaya
Bhatnagar as the Exec-
utive Director and Re-
finery Head of its Guja-
rat Refinery near Va-
dodara in Gujarat.
Bhatnagar assumed
the charge on February
1. He succeeds Sudhir
Kumar, who superannu-
ated from the service on
January 31.
Bhatnagar’s was ear-
lier Executive Director
(Technical) at the Guja-
rat Refinery, which has
the capacity of 13.7 mil-
lion tonnes per annum
(MTPA).
“Bhatnagar has tak-
en charge at a crucial
time when Gujarat Re-
finery is gearing up for
the next phase of
growth to become a ma-
jor PetChem hub
through the Petrochem-
ical Lube integration
project,” an official
statement from the
company said.
The project is be-
lieved to enhance the
petrochemical and spe-
cialty product integra-
tion index of Gujarat
Refinery to 20.7 per
cent.
—FILE PHOTO
Sanjaya Bhatnagar
Starting at 8 am on
February 1, 2021,
they finished the job,
totalling 2,580 meters
or approximately
10.32 km lane, by 8
am the next morning
IOC gets new Guj
Refinery head
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: As
many as 23 rela-
tives of the people
who died in the
2002 Godhra Sa-
barmati train at-
tack incident were
paid an additional
compensation of
Rs 4.85 lakh by the
Railway depart-
ment on Wednes-
day. The compensa-
tion was paid as
according to a
judgment of the
Gujarat High Court
in 2017.
The State Govern-
ment had paid Rs 5
lakh as compensa-
tion to the relatives
of the deceased in
2019, whereas the
Railways has now
paid financial assis-
tance of Rs 4.85 lakh
to the 23 people who
are relatives of the
deceased.
In 2017, the Guja-
rat High Court had
directed the govern-
ment and railways to
pay additional com-
pensation of Rs 10
lakh to each of the
relatives of the de-
ceased in the Godhra
train carnage.
Bipin Thakkar,
who lost 2 of his fam-
ily members in the
incident, said the fi-
nancial assistance
would help the rela-
tives who lost their
loved ones. He said
true justice would be
done if the culprits
are hanged to death.
The matter is pend-
ing before the Su-
preme Court.
He said they were
helped by lawyer
Dipak Shukla who
had not taken any
fees from them. In
all, the kith and
kin of 42 people
(out of 59) who
died in the incident
would get the addi-
tional compensa-
tion.
23 relatives of
Godhra victims
to get more
compensation
The blaze was controlled in
two hours.
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI

iya Tose Naina laage re
was the dance sequence
that made me fall in love
with Waheeda. I watched
the 8-minute song over-
awed as she brought
alive the ‘idea of India’
through the festivals, all woven
together in the amazing grace of
her dance and expressions. Kaan-
to se kheench kar yeh aanchal,
another Waheeda special from
the same movie Guide was my
‘rebel’ song for a long time, Wa-
heeda in her path-breaking role
as Rosie was heartbreakingly
beautiful and far ahead of her
times.
Raat bhi hai kuch
bhhegi bheegi,
the sensuous
grace of Wa-
heeda, her
come-thither expressions and the
sheer innocence she managed in
those enigmatic smiles in full
sleeved dress, makes this song
one of my top favourites not to
mention that I loved the mous-
tache swirling macho Sunil Dutt
making a statement with both-
the money and the weapon!
Jaane kya tune kahi is one of
my favourites because it cele-
brates the innocence of the
streetwalker that Waheeda as-
says, as she beckons the smitten
curious Guru Dutt with her large
expressive eyes.
Rangeela re is a poem in love
and despair- I believe it to be one
of the finest dance sequences of
Waheeda as she portrays a heart-
broken woman with
pain flow-
ing
from every step and sigh – Dukh
mera dulha Virha hai doli – I still
get goosebumps when I see her
sitting on the floor- beautifully
demure absolutely beautiful in
white! She reminded of an Ajanta
sculpture in this number!
Zara nazron se keh do ji and
Bhanwra bada nadaan re is car-
ried purely on her impish expres-
sions- a joy to watch!
Waqt ne kya haseen sitam – The
light and shadows and Waheeda
Rehman – still as she emotes each
syllable with her bottomless yes
– is a song which will always stay
with me- it is a dance of emo-
tions and life!
Waheeda ji … jiyo hazaa-
ro saal!
AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 4, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
aah
aheeda Waah!
W
Waheeda Rehman has wooed generations with her
beauty, grace, gorgeous dances and path-breaking
roles, this Throwback Thursday as she celebrated her
83rd birthday on February 3, City First remembers
some of her most amazing dance sequences!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
P

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
MEGHNA KAUR, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Your desire for an exciting
time on the social front is
likely to be fulfilled today.
Those looking for buying a
house can get a good bargain.
Appreciation is in store for some
homemakers. A professional victory
is yours if you play your cards well
today.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may wait for
someone’s invitation for a
trip. Your professionalism
in handling problem areas
will be appreciated. Tenant troubles
are foreseen for some house owners.
You will find family life more than
fulfilling. A senior is likely to put in a
good word for you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
A new deal is likely to
come through and give you
a taste of success. Those
fond of travelling may get
their chance soon. This is the time
when you enjoy yourself with a new
group of friends or colleagues. A
change of job is likely to give you
better salary and perks.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You are likely to take up
someone’s cause and earn
appreciation from all
quarters on the social front.
Remaining on the good side of those
who matter on the academic front will
help you achieve much. Good tidings
of your well wishers will keep you
going on the professional front.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Excellent opportunities
may knock at your door.
Professionals will be able
to give their best in a new
situation. Financially, this day may
prove lucky for you, so go ask for the
raise that is keeping you on
tenterhooks. Don’t take any chances
with your health today.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will have to be more
focussed on the academic
front. You may get busy
organising something on the
social front. You may need to put your
ideas into action, if you want to prove
yourself. A party may be thrown in
your honour at work. Your good
performance is likely to be noticed.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
A family youngster is likely
to do you proud. A
business trip is indicated
and will achieve much.
Your strategy to promote yourself on
the professional front will bear fruits.
You may need to speed up things on
the academic front to remain ahead.
The day finds you in your element.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Success is foretold on the
academic front. Your
reputation is likely to boost
your image on the social
front. On the work front, you will
manage to keep your superiors in
good humour. This is an excellent
day to spend time with family.Good
planning will see you complete tasks.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Getting into a favourable
situation on the academic
front is possible. Good luck
promises to brighten your
day. Some positive changes can be
expected on the home front. This
seems a good day for job seekers.
New avenues for earning open up as
you get more determined.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Your performance at work
will be commendable. Your
own happiness is in your
hands today. Spouse may
need her space, respect that. This is
a favourable day for completing
pending jobs. Financially, no
problems are foreseen. It is best to
avoid outside food.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You will manage to achieve
what you had aimed for on
the academic front. A
celebration can find you in
your element today. Praise and
honour are likely to greet you in
something that you have managed to
achieve. You will be a pillar of
strength to a friend or associate.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Good performance on the
academic front will help
enhance your reputation at
work. Some favourable
developments on the social front are
foreseen. Buying new furniture or a
major appliance is possible. With
good networking, a prized posting
can be yours.
f my earliest mem-
ories of childhood
is waking up to the
sharp, high-
pitched sound of
the pressure cook-
er whistle. It
seemed to me to be the
harshest sensations as a
child. But today, it reminds
me of my Mother and her
warmth, and the delicious
food lovingly prepared and
served by her.
Her efforts nourished my
spirit as much as it filled
my stomach. During my
school days, My Mom who
was also working in a gov-
ernment hospital used to
prepare food for us in the
evenings. I was not a foodie
then! I developed this inter-
est as years passed by
.
My love for cooking
comes from both my Mom
and Dad. When my two sis-
ters and I were growing up
in the 70s, we loved every-
thing Mom cooked, but
there was a dish she made
that stood out over every-
thing else. It was Yakhni
Pulao. My elder Sister Na-
lini is close to Mom’s magic
of Yakhni Pulao and my
younger Sister Shalini
makes the best Shami ke-
babs anyone could ever
make. So delicious.
Today I am sharing one
of My Mom’s favourite rec-
ipe without which our
Christmas in incomplete
even today
.
Mutton Yakhni Pulao
INGREDIENTS
1-kilo old basmati rice,
washed and soaked in wa-
ter for a minimum of 2
hours. 1.5-kilo fatty goat
meat on the bone. 250
grams Clarified butter. 4
pods black Cardamoms. 6
pods green cardamoms. 10
cloves. 1 teaspoon black
cumin. 50 grams
Whole coriander
seeds. 100 grams
fennel seeds. 1
large stick cin-
namon. 3 dried
bay leaf. 1 tea-
spoon black pepper.
Salt to taste. 2 medi-
um-size peeled on-
ions plus 2 medi-
um size thinly
sliced onions. 50
grams Fresh
ginger. 50 grams
Fresh garlic. 2
litres of water. 25
grams each of gin-
ger and garlic paste
for Pulao.
PREPARATION
Prepare the stock : In a
large cooking pan, add
washed meat and water.
Wrap up these spices in a
muslin cloth and place it in
the pan Black and green
cardamoms, cloves, black
cumin, cinnamon stick, bay
leaf, peppercorns, corian-
der seeds, fennel seeds,
peeled onions cut into four,
Chopped ginger and garlic.
Add salt to taste.
Place the pan on fire and
cook the meat till it is ten-
der, but not falling off the
bone. To tenderise,
the meat will ap-
proximately
take
45 minutes on woodfire. I do
not use gas and pressure
cooker. Keep checking the
meat every 20 minutes.
When the meat is tender,
drain the stock and keep
the meat aside. Please do
not wash the meat again or
else you will lose the fla-
vour. You should have ap-
proximately 6 cups of stock.
Prepare the Pulao: In a
heavy-bottomed pan. Add
ghee and sliced onions. On
the medium heat, fry the
sliced onions till caramel-
ized, this will take about 10
minutes. Add ginger-garlic
paste and the reserved
meat. Saute till the garlic
raw smell goes. Turn the
heat to low and add the
stock. Once it starts boiling
add soaked rice. Check the
salt.
Now cover the pot with a
cloth or a kitchen towel and
place the lid on top. Allow
rice to cook for 20 minutes.
As much as you may be
tempted, Please do not open
the during the steaming
process or else you will lose
the aroma and will end up
with undercooked rice.
Now turn the heat off and
allow the rice to settle for 20
- 30 minutes. Decant with a
wide-rimmed steel plate as
we do at home. Serve with
plain yoghurt or Raita.
Learning to cook is no
longer that instruc-
tionclasswhere
you make notes and see
someone demonstrate. It is
now a hands-on experience
where you learn as much
about food, as you do about
management.
Cooking classes are no
longer limited to that are
conducted by women in
their homes to teach young
brides how to put up a fan-
cy dinner on the table. It is
no longer a class even! It is
about having an experience
learning exotic dishes and
bonding with family and
friends over food.
You could argue that you
can be done by simply look-
ing up recipes from the in-
ternet or watching YouTube
videos and learn along, but
nothing to beat a real-life
hands-on experience and
learning live from each oth-
er. “There is a Chef in each
one of us.” People from all
walks of life, who love food,
indulge themselves in
cooking these days.
INDULGE IN A COOKING
EXPERIENCE
MANOJ EDWIN
(Uncle Nibolson’s)
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
O
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Mutton Yakhni Pulao

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021
11
E
vaMendeshashadher
hands full with social
media this week. After
being alleged to have
had botox on her face, the
actress deactivated her Ins-
tagram account. After the
episode, many new outlets
misconstructed Mendes’
words and now she is
speaking out against
them. It all started when
the 46-year-old actress
put up a birthday post
for a friend this week-
end and she responded
to many comments
from fans on the post.
—Agency
Botox on
the face?
A
s the pop icon,
Shakira, who
doesn’t seem to
age turns 44 on
Wednesday
, we are look-
ing back at some of her
most iconic hit songs,
that still have a re-
served spot on our play-
list. From classics like
Hips Don’t Lie to ever-
green anthems like
Waka Waka, the singer
never disappoints and
always wows fans with
her phenomenal talent.
Over her almost 3 dec-
ades long career, the
singer and mentor
ha managed to
build a niche for
herself with her
Spanish music,
build a global
fanbase, and fea-
ture as a judge on
reputed shows
like The Voice.
—Agency
WiththePannus
M
athias Boe enjoyed a dinner night out
with girlfriend Taapsee Pannu and her
sister, Shagun Pannu. Tapsee Pannu
has recently made her relationship of-
ficial and yet she prefers to keep everything
under the sphere of privacy. Mathias recently
took to Instagram to share a fun video with the
Pannu sisters. —Agency
C
ardi B
is set-
ting social
media on
fire with her new
announcement. The rap-
per who is known for
her slick songs and
much-loved rap, took to
Twitter and Instagram to
drop a video. In the video,
Cardi B delighted mil-
lions of her fans as she
revealed that she has a
grand announcement
lined up. While her vid-
eo naturally got fans
excited, Cardi B’s choice
of music in the back-
ground left many sur-
prised. Cardi then goes on
to say, “I have an announce-
ment to make tomorrow,
bye.”
—Agency
Love and
heartbreaks
I
ndian playback singer,
Shilpa Rao has released
her latest track, ‘Rusvaai-
yaan’, the second song
from the album Songs of love
on January, 20. Released
ahead of Valentine’s week,
the song is penned down by
Kausar Munir and composed
by Amit Trivedi. Rusvaaiyaan
narrates the story of heart-
breaks and the brevity of life.
In an exclusive interview
with City First, Shilpa Rao shared “This
song is about a ray of hope. The song cele-
brates love in the form of pain. Even when
we feel isolated, there is integration among
individuals. That we will conquer every
situation with love.”
On being asked about her experience
with Amit Trivedi, she said, “With Amit, it’s
actually such a long association since 2006.
We have collaborated for multiple projects
such as DevD, Manmarziyan, Lootera, etc
and audiences have loved our work.”
Shilpa Rao has recently got married to
her best friend Ritesh Krishnan on January
,
25 and has stepped into the new phase of
life. Talking about her further plans, she
mentioned that there are a couple of singles
in the pipeline and a track with Pritam.
SUSHMITAAIND
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Rihanna extends
SUPPORT!
fter many celebri-
ties spoke up about
the farmer protests
in India, now an in-
ternational celeb-
rity is also speak-
ing up, singer and
pop icon Rihanna recently
extended her support on the
issue. If you didn’t know, nu-
merous farmers are protest-
ing on the outskirts of Delhi
against the centre’s agricul-
tural laws, condemning the
internet shutdown aimed at
crippling the movement.
Speaking upon the issue, Ri-
hanna tweeted on Wednes-
day, “Why aren’t we talking
about this?! #FarmersPro-
test,” along with a news ar-
ticle about the situation.
—Agency
A
Hollywood lost a star!
E
mmy Award winner Hal
Holbrook recently
passed away, he was 95
years old. The Holly-
wood veteran was best known
for playing American novelist
Mark Twain in the solo show
MarkTwainTonight,whichhe
first began performing in 1954.
Not only did he perform in the
show, but he also wrote and di-
rected the play as well. Reports
via the New York Times con-
firmed that Holbrook died on
January 23 at his home in Bev-
erlyHills,California.Hisdeath
was confirmed late on Monday
by his assistant, Joyce Cohen.
—Agency
Buggie wheels Golden heart
K
eeping his fans updated with his
day to day happenings, Amitabh
Bachchan has yet again posted a
picture on his Instagram where he
is seen riding a three-wheel bike to enter
sets. Big B who enjoys a massive fan follow-
ing was seen enjoying music as he enters
the set on his new bike. —Agency
S
idharth Malhotra was
seen stepping out to
meet the director Vish-
nuvardhan as the pa-
parazzi spotted him. On his
way out, a needy man ap-
peared before him, asking for
help, to which he instantly of-
fered a helping hand. The pa-
parazzi loved his spontaneous
action and is displaying love
for his kindness. —Agency
ONE LOVE
A
rmaan Jain and Alissa
Malhotra celebrated
their first wedding an-
niversary on Wednes-
day
. The lavish wedding took
place last year in Mumbai and
nowthecoupleismakingmem-
ories in Rishikesh as they cel-
ebrate their one year of togeth-
erness. The couple has been
seen twinning while on their
excursion. —Agency
No me without you
O
n their 9th wedding an-
niversary, Genelia
Deshmukh has posted
an adorable video with
her husband Riteish Desh-
mukh. She has added a cap-
tion in which she mentions
that love finds you, and that
‘there is no me without you’.
Wishing the couple all the best
wishes for their future en-
deavours! —Agency
Sad demise
T
he self-pro-
claimed god-
man and a
former Big
Boss 10 contestant,
Swami Om took his
heavenly abode on
Wednesday
. Swami
Om had been facing
health issues and
was diagnosed with
Covid-19 a couple of
months ago. It was
reported that he
was even paralysed
following which he
had breathed his
last. —Agency
Happy B’day, Shakira!
Indian fans
go crazy!
Rihanna
Shilpa Rao
Cardi B
Shakira
Eva Mendes
Mathias Boe and Taapsee Pannu
Late Hal Holbrook
Late Swami Om
Alissa and Armaan Genelia and Riteish
...his post
Sidharth Malhotra
...her tweet

First india ahmedabad edition-04 february 2021

First india ahmedabad edition-04 february 2021

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First india ahmedabad edition-04 february 2021