9Z[RS T]RdY Z_

12
T he hijab controversy in Karnataka took an ugly turn on Tuesday as pro and anti-hijab students clashed in several parts of the State. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed to students to main- tain peace and ordered the clo- sure of schools and colleges for three days. In a tweet, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of Karnataka to main- tain peace and harmony. I have ordered the closure of all high schools and colleges for the next three days. All concerned are requested to cooperate.” As protests for and against the hijab intensified at colleges in different parts of Karnataka, State’s Home Minister Araga Jnanendra also appealed for peace and said no one should give an opportunity to use the police force. The Home Minister’s warning came as tension pre- vailed at some educational institutions in Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote, and other parts, forcing the police and authorities to inter- vene. Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court began hearing the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre- university College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college. The court appealed to the students to maintain peace and posted the matter for fur- ther hearing on Wednesday. “You (students) are all edu- cated, you have to think about your future. After two years of Covid-19, this year classes have been conducted in a good way. This is the time for you to pre- pare for your exams that are coming up in a couple of months,” the Home minister said. Noting that religious forces behind such incidents have to be quelled and everyone should think about the country, the Minister in a video statement said, “We should all stand together as brothers, as the chil- dren of this country. Uniform is a sign of equality. Educational institutions are not the place for practicing our religion or to showcase our costumes.’ ‘Everyone should maintain peace. Don’t give an opportu- nity to use the police force. I appeal to parents to guide their children and let’s all work towards colleges functioning in a peaceful manner.” Protests erupted at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi after a large group of students wearing saf- fron stoles and headgears raised slogans on the college campus as hijab-clad Muslim girls were staging a protest demanding justice, forcing the police and college authorities to inter- vene. Some colleges have declared holidays in the district. A minor stone petting inci- dent has been reported near a college in Bagalkote and a few students even tried to barge into the campus, whom police dispersed using mild force. A similar incident was also reported at a college in the Shivamogga district, and police had to intervene to bring the tense situation under control. According to sources, some students even tried to hoist the saffron flag at the college premises. Similar protests have been reported at colleges in Mandya, Vijayapura, and Gadag districts. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday ques- tioned the legacy of the Congress rule in the country and pointed out that the lega- cy of the party included the massacre of Sikhs in 1984, the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir, and the Emergency in 1975. The Congress members walked out in protest during Modi’s speech. Launching a scathing attack on the main Opposition party, the aggressive Prime Minister in his 90-minute speech in the Upper House also said the Congress was now gripped by the ideology of urban Naxals. Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Modi said if the Congress would not have been at the helm for so many years in the past, incidents like atrocities against Sikhs or exodus of the Pandits would not have taken place. He also said Mahatma Gandhi was in favour of dis- mantling the Congress after the country gained Independence. However, it did not happen due to dynastic politics practised by the party and talent was the first casualty, Modi charged. He also said dynastic politics was the biggest threat to democracy. Listing out the so-called failures of the Congress, Modi said the country saw institu- tionalised corruption, casteism and regionalism. He claimed that the Congress practised the policy of three systems, including first discredit, then destabilise and then dismiss. He then read out how sev- eral State Governments were dismissed and President’s Rule imposed during the Congress’ rule. The President’s Rule was imposed more than 100 times during the Congress rule spread over 50 odd years, the Prime Minister said. He also said 50 State Governments were also dismissed during that tenure. When the Congress staged a walkout, Modi said one needs to listen in a democracy and that the party was used to only preaching to others till now. The Prime Minister reject- ed accusations of altering his- tory and said he was only refreshing the memory of some whose histories began only 50 years ago and whose histories were confined to that of a par- ticular family. Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi said he was “con- cerned about his global image”, refused to send the Army to help Ram Manohar Lohia led “satyagrahis” working for Goa’s independence. The Congress, he added, delayed Goa’s inde- pendence by 15 years until after India attained freedom. Modi also listed instances of past Congress Governments muzzling the freedom of expression and cited Lata Mangeshkar’s musician broth- er Hridaynath Mangeshkar being sacked from All India Radio (AIR) for presenting poetry on Veer Savarkar. Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, he added, was jailed for criticising Jawaharlal Nehru. Singer Kishore Kumar too had to suf- fer during the Emergency, the Prime Minister said. Whenever someone with- in the Congress has spoken against a particular family, the results have been there for all to see, Modi said, naming the late Sitaram Kesri. B odies of all the seven sol- diers, part of an Army patrol that was hit by an avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh and who went missing on Sunday, were found on Tuesday after the Army launched a big search and res- cue mission, including by mountaineers and helicopters. Giving details here, the Army said on Tuesday seven Army personnel were struck by an avalanche in the high alti- tude area of the Kameng Sector. The rescue operation was launched immediately and bodies of all seven have been recovered from the avalanche site. “Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed dead,” the state- ment said. H ours before the campaign for the first phase of elec- tion in Uttar Pradesh ended on Tuesday, the BJP released its election manifesto called Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra in which the party promised “freebies” like free electricity in the farm sector, a scooty each to college going girl students, and cre- ation of one crore job, includ- ing self-employment. With an eye on the core Hindutva voting bloc, the party also promised to make “love jehad” law more stringent. It promised to bring in a law for 10-year jail and 1 lakh penal- ty to those found guilty in case of what is called “love jehad”. It also promised the setting up of anti-corruption oganisation units in all 18 divisions and anti-terrorist commando cen- tres in Meerut, Rampur, Azamgarh, Kanpur, and Bahraich in order to maintain law and order in the State. “We have fulfilled almost 95 per cent of the promises we had made in the last elections in 2017. We are committed to fulfil the promises which we are making today,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said while releasing the manifesto here. The 16-page booklet has promised to make UP “number one” economy in the country and jobs to one member of every family. It promised to double the per capita income, free power for irrigation, strengthening of MSP for wheat and paddy as well as announced that sugarcane dues will be cleared within 14 days. Shah said Sankalp Patra pays special attention to farm- ers, crafts persons, workers, women, and the youth. “The BJP manifesto promises two additional LPG cylinders to all the beneficiaries of Ujjwala on the occasion of Holi and Diwali, free scooty to every tal- ented college-going girl. The grant under Kanya Sumangala Yojana has been increased from 15, 000 to 25,000. Besides, the manifesto promises to pro- vide 2 crore tablets or smart- phones to students,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the manifesto seeks to bring qualitative change in the life of the 25 crore population of the State. K ick-starting the BJP-led alliance’s digital campaign for February 20 Punjab polls being held amidst Covid pan- demic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made every effort to strike a chord with the Punjab electorate, especially the Sikhs. Right from starting his 20- minute virtual address with ‘Sat Sri Akal’, to speaking a few lines in Punjabi, Modi also talked about sensitive issues like 1984 riots, Kartarpur corridor, among others. Modi stated that the saf- fron party “always stands for the Sikh community”, while blaming the Congress for 1984 Sikh massacre, and giving away Kartarpur Sahib to Pakistan. “Congress indulged in the mas- sacre of Sikhs. But we got the guilty of genocide pun- ished...Congress could not keep Kartarpur (Sahib) in India. But we opened the way to Kartarpur,” said Modi while addressing a virtual “Fateh Rally” for 18 assembly seg- ments falling under Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib parlia- mentary constituencies. He added, “Some people hatched many conspiracies to rule Punjab. The land of the Gurus had suffered a lot...We made sincere efforts to promote the Sikh faith across the world. There are many such examples, which show our true intention in respecting the Gurus.” Stating that the NDA has a vision of “nawan Punjab” to develop its agriculture and industry, and a track record of delivering on the ground, Modi claimed that Punjab does not need hollow promises of new parties. Modi, addressing the peo- ple of Punjab virtually from New Delhi over a month after his much-talked-about Ferozepur rally was cancelled following the “security lapse” incident, also promised to visit the State soon “to meet the peo- ple of Punjab”. “Today, I am seeking your cooperation for the development that Punjab deserves...We have to work towards building a new Punjab while following the teachings of equality and common good given by our Gurus,” he said adding that “working for Punjabiyat and Sikh tradition is an act of service and a priv- ilege for me”. In an apparent attempt to woo the farming community, Modi said that the state’s farm- ers need modern cold storages, food parks, and food process- ing facilities. “Better connec- tivity is needed to sell your product. Our double engine government will work on this expeditiously. We will give pri- ority to the farmers of Punjab to reduce their expenditure on farming and increase their income,” he said while pointing that a record amount has been kept for fertilizer subsidy in the Union Budget this time for the welfare of small farmers. The Prime Minister said that the state’s industrial centers will be developed under One District-One Product. “The tex- tile sector of Ludhiana will be expanded, and for this, indus- try will be given incentives,” he said while adding that Punjab will develop rapidly under the “double engine Government”. He said that for some people, Punjab has only been a tool for power, and asked what had the parties, which ruled the state for decades, done for the farmers. “These parties do not have any roadmap to free the farmers of Punjab from debt, from barren land, from cancer-giving drink- ing water,” he said. Modi stressed that this time, elections are not just for elect- ing an MLA, “but for change”. He said that the BJP and its allies have made 11 commitments to the people of the state. “We will develop the border areas. One lakh crore will be spent on infra- structure in the next five years. We will set up a commission to assist the victims of terrorism, pucca houses will be given to every poor,” he said adding that the Center and the state will jointly stop the cross-border drug and arms supply with a better coordination. He urged the voters to be cautious of those who made lofty speeches on the menace of drug addiction, but instead of helping the people, they took the disease to Delhi. “I want to tell the mothers, sisters and daughters of Punjab that the problem of drug addiction has devastated your family. I know that you are troubled and want to make Punjab free from drugs. You want to keep your children away from all this. All those people who made various speeches during the previous election on drugs and got lost as soon as the elections were over, be aware of them,” said Modi, adding that he is again asking for votes by talking sweetly.

Transcript of 9Z[RS T]RdY Z_

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The hijab controversy inKarnataka took an ugly

turn on Tuesday as pro andanti-hijab students clashed inseveral parts of the State. ChiefMinister Basavaraj Bommaiappealed to students to main-tain peace and ordered the clo-sure of schools and colleges forthree days.

In a tweet, Chief MinisterBasavaraj Bommai said, “Iappeal to all the students,teachers and management ofschools and colleges as well aspeople of Karnataka to main-tain peace and harmony. I haveordered the closure of all highschools and colleges for thenext three days. All concernedare requested to cooperate.”

As protests for and againstthe hijab intensified at collegesin different parts of Karnataka,State’s Home Minister AragaJnanendra also appealed forpeace and said no one shouldgive an opportunity to use thepolice force.

The Home Minister’swarning came as tension pre-

vailed at some educationalinstitutions in Udupi,Shivamogga, Bagalkote, andother parts, forcing the police and authorities to inter-vene.

Meanwhile, the KarnatakaHigh Court began hearing thepetitions filed by five girlsstudying in a Government Pre-university College in Udupi,questioning hijab restriction incollege. The court appealed tothe students to maintain peaceand posted the matter for fur-ther hearing on Wednesday.

“You (students) are all edu-cated, you have to think about

your future. After two years ofCovid-19, this year classes havebeen conducted in a good way.This is the time for you to pre-pare for your exams that arecoming up in a couple ofmonths,” the Home ministersaid.

Noting that religious forcesbehind such incidents have tobe quelled and everyone shouldthink about the country, theMinister in a video statementsaid, “We should all standtogether as brothers, as the chil-dren of this country. Uniformis a sign of equality. Educationalinstitutions are not the place for

practicing our religion or toshowcase our costumes.’‘Everyone should maintainpeace. Don’t give an opportu-nity to use the police force. Iappeal to parents to guide theirchildren and let’s all worktowards colleges functioning ina peaceful manner.”

Protests erupted at theMahatma Gandhi MemorialCollege in Udupi after a largegroup of students wearing saf-fron stoles and headgears raisedslogans on the college campusas hijab-clad Muslim girls werestaging a protest demandingjustice, forcing the police andcollege authorities to inter-vene. Some colleges havedeclared holidays in the district.

A minor stone petting inci-dent has been reported near acollege in Bagalkote and a fewstudents even tried to bargeinto the campus, whom policedispersed using mild force.

A similar incident was alsoreported at a college in theShivamogga district, and policehad to intervene to bring thetense situation under control.

According to sources, somestudents even tried to hoist thesaffron flag at the collegepremises. Similar protests havebeen reported at colleges inMandya, Vijayapura, andGadag districts.

�������������� ��������� �����������

� �� �'9�)'72,

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday ques-

tioned the legacy of theCongress rule in the countryand pointed out that the lega-cy of the party included themassacre of Sikhs in 1984, themass exodus of KashmiriPandits from Kashmir, and theEmergency in 1975. TheCongress members walked outin protest during Modi’sspeech.

Launching a scathingattack on the main Oppositionparty, the aggressive PrimeMinister in his 90-minutespeech in the Upper House alsosaid the Congress was nowgripped by the ideology ofurban Naxals.

Participating in the debateon the motion of thanks to thePresident’s address, Modi saidif the Congress would not havebeen at the helm for so manyyears in the past, incidentslike atrocities against Sikhs orexodus of the Pandits wouldnot have taken place.

He also said MahatmaGandhi was in favour of dis-

mantling the Congress after thecountry gained Independence.However, it did not happen dueto dynastic politics practised bythe party and talent was thefirst casualty, Modi charged.He also said dynastic politicswas the biggest threat todemocracy.

Listing out the so-calledfailures of the Congress, Modisaid the country saw institu-tionalised corruption, casteismand regionalism. He claimedthat the Congress practisedthe policy of three systems,including first discredit, thendestabilise and then dismiss.

He then read out how sev-eral State Governments weredismissed and President’s Ruleimposed during the Congress’rule. The President’s Rule wasimposed more than 100 timesduring the Congress rulespread over 50 odd years, thePrime Minister said. He alsosaid 50 State Governmentswere also dismissed duringthat tenure.

When the Congress staged

a walkout, Modi said one needsto listen in a democracy andthat the party was used toonly preaching to others tillnow.

The Prime Minister reject-ed accusations of altering his-tory and said he was onlyrefreshing the memory of somewhose histories began only 50years ago and whose historieswere confined to that of a par-ticular family.

Referring to JawaharlalNehru, Modi said he was “con-cerned about his global image”,refused to send the Army tohelp Ram Manohar Lohia led“satyagrahis” working for Goa’sindependence. The Congress,he added, delayed Goa’s inde-pendence by 15 years until afterIndia attained freedom.

Modi also listed instancesof past Congress Governmentsmuzzling the freedom ofexpression and cited LataMangeshkar’s musician broth-er Hridaynath Mangeshkarbeing sacked from All IndiaRadio (AIR) for presentingpoetry on Veer Savarkar.Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, headded, was jailed for criticisingJawaharlal Nehru. SingerKishore Kumar too had to suf-fer during the Emergency, thePrime Minister said.

Whenever someone with-in the Congress has spokenagainst a particular family, theresults have been there for allto see, Modi said, naming thelate Sitaram Kesri.

� �� �'9�)'72,

Bodies of all the seven sol-diers, part of an Army

patrol that was hit by anavalanche in ArunachalPradesh and who went missingon Sunday, were found onTuesday after the Armylaunched a big search and res-cue mission, including bymountaineers and helicopters.

Giving details here, theArmy said on Tuesday sevenArmy personnel were struck byan avalanche in the high alti-tude area of the Kameng Sector.

The rescue operation waslaunched immediately andbodies of all seven have beenrecovered from the avalanchesite. “Unfortunately, despitethe best efforts of everyoneinvolved, all seven have beenconfirmed dead,” the state-ment said.

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Hours before the campaignfor the first phase of elec-

tion in Uttar Pradesh ended onTuesday, the BJP released itselection manifesto called LokKalyan Sankalp Patra in whichthe party promised “freebies”like free electricity in the farmsector, a scooty each to collegegoing girl students, and cre-ation of one crore job, includ-ing self-employment.

With an eye on the coreHindutva voting bloc, the partyalso promised to make “lovejehad” law more stringent. Itpromised to bring in a law for10-year jail and �1 lakh penal-ty to those found guilty in caseof what is called “love jehad”. Italso promised the setting up ofanti-corruption oganisationunits in all 18 divisions andanti-terrorist commando cen-tres in Meerut, Rampur,Azamgarh, Kanpur, and

Bahraich in order to maintainlaw and order in the State.

“We have fulfilled almost95 per cent of the promises wehad made in the last electionsin 2017. We are committed tofulfil the promises which we aremaking today,” Union HomeMinister Amit Shah said whilereleasing the manifesto here.

The 16-page booklet haspromised to make UP “numberone” economy in the countryand jobs to one member ofevery family. It promised todouble the per capita income,

free power for irrigation,strengthening of MSP forwheat and paddy as well asannounced that sugarcane dueswill be cleared within 14 days.

Shah said Sankalp Patrapays special attention to farm-ers, crafts persons, workers,women, and the youth. “TheBJP manifesto promises twoadditional LPG cylinders to allthe beneficiaries of Ujjwala onthe occasion of Holi andDiwali, free scooty to every tal-ented college-going girl. Thegrant under Kanya SumangalaYojana has been increased from�15, 000 to �25,000. Besides,the manifesto promises to pro-vide 2 crore tablets or smart-phones to students,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid the manifesto seeks tobring qualitative change in thelife of the 25 crore populationof the State.

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Kick-starting the BJP-ledalliance’s digital campaign

for February 20 Punjab pollsbeing held amidst Covid pan-demic, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday made everyeffort to strike a chord with thePunjab electorate, especially theSikhs. Right from starting his 20-minute virtual address with ‘SatSri Akal’, to speaking a few linesin Punjabi, Modi also talkedabout sensitive issues like 1984riots, Kartarpur corridor, amongothers.

Modi stated that the saf-fron party “always stands forthe Sikh community”, whileblaming the Congress for 1984Sikh massacre, and giving awayKartarpur Sahib to Pakistan.“Congress indulged in the mas-sacre of Sikhs. But we got theguilty of genocide pun-ished...Congress could not keepKartarpur (Sahib) in India.But we opened the way toKartarpur,” said Modi whileaddressing a virtual “FatehRally” for 18 assembly seg-ments falling under Ludhianaand Fatehgarh Sahib parlia-mentary constituencies.

He added, “Some peoplehatched many conspiracies to

rule Punjab. The land of theGurus had suffered a lot...Wemade sincere efforts to promotethe Sikh faith across the world.There are many such examples,which show our true intentionin respecting the Gurus.” Statingthat the NDA has a vision of“nawan Punjab” to develop itsagriculture and industry, and atrack record of delivering on theground, Modi claimed thatPunjab does not need hollowpromises of new parties.

Modi, addressing the peo-ple of Punjab virtually fromNew Delhi over a month afterhis much-talked-aboutFerozepur rally was cancelledfollowing the “security lapse”incident, also promised to visitthe State soon “to meet the peo-ple of Punjab”. “Today, I amseeking your cooperation forthe development that Punjabdeserves...We have to worktowards building a new Punjabwhile following the teachings ofequality and common goodgiven by our Gurus,” he saidadding that “working forPunjabiyat and Sikh traditionis an act of service and a priv-ilege for me”.

In an apparent attempt towoo the farming community,Modi said that the state’s farm-

ers need modern cold storages,food parks, and food process-ing facilities. “Better connec-tivity is needed to sell yourproduct. Our double enginegovernment will work on thisexpeditiously. We will give pri-ority to the farmers of Punjabto reduce their expenditure onfarming and increase theirincome,” he said while pointingthat a record amount has beenkept for fertilizer subsidy in theUnion Budget this time for thewelfare of small farmers.

The Prime Minister saidthat the state’s industrial centerswill be developed under OneDistrict-One Product. “The tex-tile sector of Ludhiana will beexpanded, and for this, indus-try will be given incentives,” hesaid while adding that Punjabwill develop rapidly under the“double engine Government”.He said that for some people,Punjab has only been a tool forpower, and asked what had theparties, which ruled the state fordecades, done for the farmers.“These parties do not have anyroadmap to free the farmers ofPunjab from debt, from barrenland, from cancer-giving drink-ing water,” he said.

Modi stressed that this time,elections are not just for elect-

ing an MLA, “but for change”.He said that the BJP and its allieshave made 11 commitments tothe people of the state. “We willdevelop the border areas. Onelakh crore will be spent on infra-structure in the next five years.We will set up a commission toassist the victims of terrorism,pucca houses will be given toevery poor,” he said addingthat the Center and the state willjointly stop the cross-borderdrug and arms supply with abetter coordination.

He urged the voters to becautious of those who madelofty speeches on the menace ofdrug addiction, but instead ofhelping the people, they tookthe disease to Delhi. “I want totell the mothers, sisters anddaughters of Punjab that theproblem of drug addiction hasdevastated your family. I knowthat you are troubled and wantto make Punjab free fromdrugs. You want to keep yourchildren away from all this. Allthose people who made variousspeeches during the previouselection on drugs and got lostas soon as the elections wereover, be aware of them,” saidModi, adding that he is againasking for votes by talkingsweetly.

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Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda,with no trivial influence in

Malwa region having 69 of the117 assembly seats, is yet toshower its blessings on anypolitical party in Punjab. A dayafter its chief Gurmeet RamRahim Singh was released onfurlough till February 27, theDera on Tuesday made it clearthat its political wing would holdconsultations with the followersbefore coming out with its deci-sion on supporting a politicalparty.

Dera head, whose blessingsthe political leaders have beenseeking ahead of polls prior tohis conviction, was grantedthree-week furlough on Monday— a development that may pos-sibly have a bearing on the polloutcome in Punjab.

As the news of Ram Rahim’srelease went around, the fol-lowers, from different regions inPunjab, started calling the Dera’spolitical wing to enquire aboutwhom to support in this elec-tion. “After the Dera chief cameout, the sangat is calling andseeking opinion about castingvotes. We have asked them towait and in the next two-threedays, we would start taking thesangat’s opinion to finally arriveat a decision which will becommunicated to all,” the Deraofficial, who did not wish to benamed, told The Pioneer.

The Dera official said thatthere is resentment among thefollowers after several derapremis’ were arrested andnamed as accused in the cases ofsacrilege, which hit the State in2015. “There is resentmentamong the premis and theybelieved that all this is beingdone under a political conspir-acy as Pita ji (as Dera chief isreferred to by his followers)never had any involvement inthe politics. His aim is to servethe society,” said the official,while making it clear that thepolitical wing’s decision to takefollowers’ feedback has nothingto do with the sect head’s fur-lough.

Notably, names of several

Dera followers have surfaced inthe sacrilege cases and also2017 Maur Mandi blast. In thesacrilege case, the SIT had evenquestioned Dera chief inRohtak’s Sunaria jail, and alsoDera manager PR Nain in Sirsa.

Currently, the Sirsa-basedsect chief is lodged in Rohtak’sSunaria jail in Haryana after hisconviction in rape and murdercases. During his furlough, tillFebruary 27, he has been asked tostay at his Gurugram farmhouse,disallowing him to visit Deraheadquarters at Sirsa. Also, dur-ing his stay, Ram Rahim wouldnot be allowed to meet anyone,“except his family members”.

The 21-day furlough comesbarely 13 days before Punjabgoes to the polls on February 20,where it has over 35 lakh fol-lowers, with a majority fromsocial and economically mar-ginalized backgrounds. Apartfrom Punjab, the Dera also hasa significant following in anoth-er poll-bound state of UttarPradesh.

Even though Haryana ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattarhad made it clear that the fur-lough to sect head was a “coin-cidence” and “has nothing to dowith any polls”, the ShiromaniGurdwara ParbandhakCommittee (SGPC) on Mondaylinked it to the state assemblypolls. SGPC chief HarjinderSingh Dhami had accused theBJP of spoiling the atmospherein the country “for the purposeof gaining political advantage inthe elections”.

DERA’S PRESENCE INPUNJAB

Sirsa-based Dera, headed bycontroversial self-styled god-man Gurmeet Ram Rahim,claims that it has more than 35lakhs followers in Punjab alone.It is said to have its presence inPunjab’s Malwa region — hav-ing a maximum 69 of the 117assembly segments. On these,the Dera has a major influenceon at least 40 constituencies,especially among the Dalit Sikhs.The Malwa region comprises thedistricts of Ferozepur, Bathinda,Muktsar, Sangrur, Mansa,

Patiala, Barnala, Faridkot, Moga,Ludhiana, and Mohali. Themajority of Dera followers areDalits. In fact, the state has thelargest share of Dalit populationamong all states in the countrywith 32 percent falling in the cat-egory.

In all, Dera has around 84branches in Punjab; with thelargest of them beingSalabatpura, Bathinda, whichhas 11 Dera units. Even thoughthe Dera has a political wing, ithas always been claimed that thefollowers are free to support anypolitical party or candidate theylike. The choice was strategical-ly conveyed to the Dera follow-ers, who, it is believed, vote enmasse.

DERA’S POLITICALWING FORMED IN 2006-07

In 2006-07, Dera created itspolitical wing, and for eachstate, a separate wing was creat-ed comprising 45 members. Inthese, Dera’s chief ’s most trust-ed were included. For the firsttime in 2007 Punjab elections,Dera’s political wing directlysupported the Congress. Despitesupporting the Congress, SAD-BJP Government was formed in2007. Dera’s political wing usu-ally makes the decision. Despitehaving the power to swing pollsin favour of one party andagainst another, the 2017 elec-tion was an exception. Derachief, ahead of the 2017 election,had openly announced the sup-port for the SAD-BJP alliance.But, the alliance faced a resound-

ing defeat recording its worst-ever performance with just 18seats. As of now, the Dera iskeeping the cards close to itschest. It has been learnt that thesect will announce its supportfor any party. In fact, it isbelieved that Dera will announceits support from certain seats,and that too secretively. DeraSacha Sauda’s political winghead Ram Singh maintainedthat as of now, no decision hasbeen taken regarding Punjabassembly elections. “As soon asa decision is taken, it will be con-veyed to everyone,” he said.

POLITICAL LEADERSMAKE BEELINE

As soon as the elections areannounced, the politicians –cutting across party lines –make a beeline to deras, includ-ing Dera Sacha Sauda. In all,Punjab has at least 15,000 smalland big deras, which are oftenfrequented by political leaders,especially during poll season.Only recently, several leadersfrom the BJP, Congress, AAP,and SAD appeared at DeraSacha Sauda’s congregation atSalabatpura in Bathinda, onJanuary 9. On January 25, DeraSacha Sauda organised anotherevent at its Sirsa headquarters,which was considered as the

show of strength by the sectahead of Punjab AssemblyElections. The event was attend-ed by BJP MLA from AboharArun Narang, BJP candidatefrom Sardulgarh Jagjit SinghMilkha, Congress leader MangatRai Bansal whose wife ManjuBala is a Congress candidatefrom Maur in Bathinda district.Punjab Lok Congress candidatesalso attended the event.

SIKHS AGAINST DERASACHA SAUDA

Punjab voters, especiallySikhs, are up in arms against theDera chief, who was accused ofcommitting blasphemy in 2007by appearing in attire similar tothat of Sikhs tenth master, GuruGobind Singh. The incident ledto the Sikh community dis-tancing itself from it. Akal Takht,the highest religious body forSikhs, later ordered a completeboycott of Dera. In 2015, AkalTakht Jathedar Giani GurbchanSingh ordered the pardon ofRam Rahim for blasphemy — adecision that again enraged theSikh community, resulting inrevoking the same. A series ofsacrilege incidents hit Punjab in2015, which, according to sev-eral probes, has links with theDera Sacha Sauda. In fact, thePunjab police team, probing

the matter, had also questionedthe Dera chief in Sunaria jail lastyear.

DERA’S INFLUENCE INPAST ELECTIONS

In 2002 Punjab polls, afterwhich Capt Amarinder Singhbecame Chief Minister for thefirst time, the Dera was perceivedas extending behind-the-scenessupport to the Congress. In2007, Dera openly declared itssupport to the Congress thathelped the party win 37 seats inMalwa but was routed in bothDoaba and Majha resulting in itsdefeat. At that time, Congress’sHarminder Singh Jassi, a closerelative of Dera chief RamRahim, played the role of amiddleman in inking the pactbetween the two. With the samein mind, Congress has givenparty ticket to Jassi, who wasdenied during previous polls —but to no avail. This time, Jassihas turned rebel, after Congressignored his candidature, and iscontesting as an independent.

Things underwent a changewhen the radical Sikhs attackedDera followers after Ram Rahimimitated the Sikhs’ tenth GuruGobind Singh. Staying awayfrom protecting the Dera fol-lowers proved costly for theCongress, which was not inpower then, during the 2009 par-liamentary polls. It is believedthat the Dera had ensured thatthe Badal bahu Harsimrat KaurBadal secure a win fromBathinda seat, from where CaptAmarinder’s son Raninder Singhsmacked a heavy defeat. In 2012,Ram Rahim chose to supportindividual candidates instead ofany party. The Akali Dal-BJPcame back to power for a secondconsecutive term in that election.

In Haryana, the Dera clear-ly threw its weight behind theBJP in the 2014 Assembly elec-tions, acting as a force multipli-er to the Narendra Modi wavenationwide, which powered theparty to a clear majority for thefirst time in the state’s history.Several BJP MLAs made a bee-line to the Dera to thank RamRahim after the results weredeclared.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Tuesday said that the BudgetSession of Haryana VidhanSabha will begin from March 2and a letter will be sent to theHaryana Governor and VidhanSabha Speaker in this regard.The duration of the session willbe decided in the meeting ofthe Business AdvisoryCommittee.

Addressing the CabinetBriefing after the first meetingof Haryana Cabinet held thisyear, the Chief Minister saidthat 28 Agendas were tabled inthe Meeting. Among these, aloan of �8.92 crore was sanc-tioned to Shahabad Sugar Millsfor setting up a 60 KLPDethanol plant. Along with this,the proposal to amend thePunjab Distillery Rules, 1932

has been approved. Under this,now flow meters will beinstalled in all the distilleries ofthe State, so that the liquor andspirits being made in them willbe measured and will be con-tinuously monitored by thegovernment. On the lines of theCentral Government, theHaryana Government has alsodecided to repeal 20 Acts thathave become useless on the rec-ommendation of the LawCommission.

Khattar said that soonrecruitment will be done onGroup C and D posts in thestate. All departments havebeen asked to send demand forGroup C and D posts byFebruary 11. After this, afterinforming the Haryana StaffSelection Commission, theadvertisement of the recruit-ment will be published and theportal will be opened for the

Common Entrance Test. So far8 lakh registrations have beendone on this portal. Soon aftercompleting this process, thetests will be conducted andrecruitments will be done.There will be one test forGroup D while there will betwo tests for Group C recruit-ment.

Responding to a question,Khattar said that there will bea medical checkup of the nam-bardars who have completed 65years of age. Whoever is foundfit in this medical checkup,their services will be continued,otherwise they will be dis-charged. Apart from this, thesystem of Sabra in Nambardariwill also be abolished.

The Chief Minister saidthat the Old Age Pension forthe month of December hasbeen deposited in the accountson February 7, while the pen-

sion for the month of Januaryis being deposited on February8. Pension is linked withParivar Pehchan Patra. Eligiblepersons will not face any prob-lem in future. Apart from this,whoever will complete the ageof 60 years and is eligible, thenhis pension will start automat-ically.

Khattar said that there is nobar on anyone who marrieswithout converting, but ifsomeone forcibly convertssomeone in the greed ofmoney, then strictest action willbe taken against them. In thisregard, the cabinet hasapproved the Prohibition ofUnlawful Conversion Bill 2022.Recently, cases of forced con-version were reported inYamunanagar, Mewat,Gurugram and Panipat dis-tricts. This bill has beenapproved only to stop them.

Responding to a questionregarding the AssemblyElections of 5 States, the ChiefMinister said that the party hasalso delegated him duties in theelection campaign. Khattarrecently went to campaign inUttarakhand for a day. Now inthe coming days, he will gocampaigning in Uttar Pradeshfor 4 days, 2 days in Punjab and1 day in Uttarakhand. The BJPwill form a Government in allthe states, the Chief Ministersaid. Khattar said that theGovernment would fight vig-orously in the matter of secur-ing reservation to the resi-dents of Haryana for 75 percentjobs in the private sector.Appeal has been filed in theSupreme Court against thedecision of the Punjab andHaryana High Court. Thehearing will be held onFebruary 11.

It was the first cabinetmeeting of the new cabinetmembers Devender SinghBabli and Kamal Gupta, so theChief Minister welcomed them.Before the start of the cabinetmeeting, two minutes of silencewas observed on the death ofLata Mangeshkar and everyoneprayed for her spiritual peace.

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***Budget Session fromMarch 2

***Recruitment will bedone on Group C and D posts

***Unlawful conversionBill to be brought in Session

***Government to fightvigorously to secure 75 percentjobs for Haryana residents inprivate sector

***Two-minute silence inmemory of Lata Mangeshkar

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Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)president Mayawati,

addressing the first politicalrally ahead of February 20polls on Tuesday, describedthe Congress party’s decision tomake Chief Minister CharanjitSingh Channi its chief minis-terial face in Punjab as a des-perate attempt to revive itssinking fortunes in the State.

“Congress only remem-bers Dalits at the time of elec-tions. Once the elections areover, they will sideline Channiwho is even now being remote-controlled from Delhi,” saidBSP supremo, addressing alarge gathering along with SADpresident Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Asking Channi to under-stand why he had been pro-moted in the party, Mayawatisaid that the Congress partyhad a past history of using theDalit community during elec-tions. “It would have been bet-ter and more befitting ifChanni had taken the blessingsof Guru Ravidas ji after beingappointed the Chief Ministerialcandidate of the Congressparty....I appeal to the Ravidassamaj to make Channi realisethe value of Guru Ravidas ji”,she added.

Expressing confidence thatthe SAD-BSP alliance would

sweep the polls, she said: “Weall have to work unitedly toinstall Sukhbir Badal as thenext chief minister of the State.”

BSP chief said that shewas confident that withSukhbir as the next chief min-ister, special schemes would belaunched to bring in all roundimprovement in the life of theweaker sections of society.

“Congress party is dying anatural death across the coun-try and its days are numberedin Punjab... BJP is also on itsway out....People realize thatthe BJP has a corporate mind-set and will make it meet thesame fate as the Congressparty,” she said.

Taking on the Aam AadmiParty (AAP), Mayawati saidthat the people should see theconditions in Delhi beforethinking of reposing faith inAAP in Punjab. “AAPGovernment had forced lakhs ofpeople to leave Delhi duringCovid pandemic. It failed tolook after its own citizens...Thestate of hospitals is there for allto see. Even the claims of cheappower are false and have beenthoroughly exposed,” she added.

SAD chief Sukhbir said thatafter Mayawati’s visit to Punjab,the SAD-BSP tsunami was setto sweep the State. “Punjabis feltcheated by the Congress partywhich has done nothing and

wasted five years by scrappingor curtailing all social welfarebenefits given to Punjabis byParkash Singh Badal — be itscrapping blue cards or curtail-ing old-age pension and shagunscheme,” he said, adding thatsimilarly, Punjabis could nottrust AAP which had an anti-Punjab agenda.

Sukhbir announced theestablishment of BabaAmbedkar University at DoabaBelt and Kanshi Ram MedicalUniversity in Punjab; besidesrestoring all blue cards, whichhad been deleted by theCongress Government, withinone month of formation ofSAD-BSP Government.

SAD chief also announcedthat �2,000 per month wouldbe given to the woman head ofbelow poverty line families, allconsumers would be given 400units of power free of cost, �10lakh medical insurance cover toall and students will be eligiblefor �10 lakh loan for higherstudies besides 33 percentreservation in technical insti-tutions (Government schoolstudents).

Sukhbir further declaredthat all those who did nothave a home would be given afive-marla plot of land and thata 500-bed medical collegewould be established in everydistrict of the State.

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Ludhiana Police on Tuesdayarrested Lok Insaaf Party

(LIP) chief and sitting MLAfrom Atamnagar SimarjitSingh Bains following allega-tions of attempt to murder forallegedly opening fire atCongress candidate KamaljitKarwal on late Monday night— ahead of the Punjab assem-bly polls.

Amidst high drama, thepolice and paramilitary arrest-ed Bains from the bar room ofLudhiana court complex,where he had gone to meet thelawyers as he was booked formurder bid charges, besidesothers. Before taking Bains inits custody, the police sealedthe court building.

Two-time MLA fromLudhiana’s Atamnagar con-

stituency, Bains, his sonAjaypreet Bains, and 100-150other supporters have beenbooked on a complaint byKarwal’s aide Gurwinder SinghPrinkle. Karwal was onceBains’ close friend; and now,both are contesting from AtamNagar constituency againsteach other.

On Monday night,Congress candidate Karwalalleged that Bains, his sonAjaypreet Bains, and at least100 accomplices attacked himin Ludhiana’s Daba area whenhe was having a meeting at aworker’s office. He accusedBains of firing gunshot at himand also vandalizing their cars.

Acting on the complaint,the Ludhiana police lodged anFIR against Bains and hisaccomplices under sections307 (attempt to murder), 427(mischief causing damage tothe amount of fifty rupees),148 (rioting), 149 (every mem-ber of unlawful assembly guiltyof offence committed in pros-ecution of common object) ofthe Indian Penal Code andArms Act, among others.

Following the incident,Karwal claimed that Bains andhis son were present at the spotand they were captured invideos. “Bains has completelylost it because he knows he is

going to lose the election thistime. Out of frustration, he isattacking Congress workersnow. How can such peoplewho openly indulge in hooli-ganism and violence beallowed to roam openly?”

Bains, refuting the allega-tions, claimed that none of hissupporters were involved inany attack; while accusingKarwal of concocting stories todefame him. Bains also allegedthat Congress supporters,instead, assaulted LIP workers.

This is the second majorclash between the two groupsin the run-up to the Punjabpolls to be held on February20. Earlier on January 19, thesupporters of both candidatesclashed over installing hoard-ings. Atamnagar constituencyhas the highest number ofsensitive polling stations in thedistrict.

Bains is already booked in15 cases, including rape, vio-lating Covid protocols, rob-bery, criminal intimidation,restoring power connections,defamation, disobeying a pub-lic servant’s order, and assault-ing a public servant. In the rapecase, the Court had issuednon-bailable warrants againstBains on which he has got astay from the Supreme Courttill February 10.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Tuesday

said it has arrested an Al-Qaeda in the IndianSubcontinent/Ansar GhazwatulHind (AQIS/AGH) operativein a case of conspiracy by Al-Qaeda to conduct an IED blastin Lucknow.

The NIA arrested oneaccused person namelyTawheed Ahmad Shah ofAkbar Colony, Aribagh,Manchowa, police stationChadoora, Budgam, Jammu &Kashmir in connection withinvestigation of the case, theagency said in a statement.

The case was registered byAnti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)Uttar Pradesh as FIR 10/2021

on July 11, 2021 at police sta-tion ATS Gomtinagar againstthe accused persons who hadentered into a conspiracy forrecruiting members for Al-Qaeda affiliate AGH (AnsarGhajwatul Hind) and for com-mitting terrorist acts inLucknow, it said.

Earlier, the NIA had arrest-ed five accused persons in thecase against whom chargesheetwas filed on November 5.

“Investigation revealed thatthe arrested accused Tawheedwas the mastermind of the con-spiracy for recruitment and tocommit terrorist acts in thename of AGH; including pro-curement of arms, ammuni-tions and explosive materials tobe used for attacks in UP,” itsaid, adding, further investiga-tion in the case is continuing.

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Adelegation of CentralSecretariat Service (CSS)

officers called on Minister ofState for Personnel JitendraSingh here on Tuesday and dis-cussed with him issues of time-ly promotions as well as otherservice matters. The twelve-member delegation represent-ing all CSS officers flagged anumber of issues before theminister like immediate pro-motions (regular/ad hoc) intheir service and extending allthe benefits of organised Group'A' service to CSS officers,according to a statement issuedby the Personnel Ministry.

The members of the dele-gation wanted relaxation inthe nine-year service clause forproceeding on central deputa-tion, it said. They also request-ed the minister to notify anddeclare October 1 as CentralSecretariat Services Day, thestatement said.

Singh gave a patient hear-ing to the members of the del-egation and assured them thatthe Department of Personneland Training (DoPT) will takeall measures to sort out theissues, including the cases

pending in the courts, thestatement added. He recalledthat over three years back,DoPT had carried out masspromotions of nearly 4,000officials in different depart-ments at different levels, whichhad been widely hailed.

Many of these promotionorders were also issued, subjectto the outcome of pendingwrit petitions, Singh said. Themembers of the delegationconveyed their thanks to theminister for his highly respon-sive and generous attitude inresolving their service mat-ters, whenever he isapproached. They expressedconfidence that with the min-ister's intervention, their issueswill get resolved.

Speaking on the occasion,Singh said the CSS officials arean essential tool of governance,since the notes and drafts pre-pared by them form thebedrock of government policiesas the proposals pass throughvarious stages in the govern-ment hierarchy.

The minister told the offi-cers to have out-of-box think-ing and innovative ideas toimprove the administrative system.

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Congress MPs on Mondaystaged a walkout from the

Rajya Sabha during PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's replyto the Motion of Thanks onPresident's address, alleginghe was only speaking againstthe Congress and not on theaddress. Responding to Modi'sattack on the grand old party,Congress leaders mentioned itis because of the Congressthere is space for Oppositionand dissent and that a party oftwo MPs is today ruling thecountry.

Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi said that thePrime Minister was evasive on

the real issues in his speech inParliament and didn't answer hisquestions. Responding to PM'sremarks on former prime min-ister Jawahar Lal Nehru leavingGoa under imperial rule to savehis own image, Rahul said thathis great grandfather served thenation for his entire life and hedoesn't need any certificatesfrom anyone. "My great grand-father served the country, Idon't need anyone's certificate",Rahul Gandhi said.

On PM's calling Congressa 'dynast-first political partyworking for its benefits', RahulGandhi said the BJP is scaredof the Congress as the partyonly speaks truth and it wasvisible in the Parliament dur-

ing PM Modi's speech.He further said that it

doesn't matter whether PrimeMinister attacks Congress orany political leader, what mat-ters is what the BJP and thePrime Minister is doing.Reiterating his Lok Sabhaspeech, Rahul said that Modi isdividing the country betweenrich and poor.

He said that PM Modi isalso putting India at risk withhis bankrupt foreign policy. "Hedidn't answer my questions. Weneed to take the China andPakistan issue seriously. If PMModi wants to attack Congressor Jawahar Lal Nehru, be myguest but at least do your jobproperly,” Rahul remarked.

Other Opposition leadersfrom Shiv Sena, RJD and oth-ers also regretted the kind ofspeech the Prime Ministerdelivered while deliveringmotion of thanks to thePresident’s speech. Shiv SenaRajya Sabha MP PriyankaChaturvedi said in constantly‘abusing’ the former PMJawaharlal Nehru the currentregime in a way is an abuse tothe citizens of the day who hadchosen Nehru as the PM.

RJD member Manoj Jhasaid politics is at the lowest ebbwhen leaders of the day whoare leading the nation only likequestioning his predecessorsand never want to be ques-tioned.

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Disease-free, behaviourallysound — not overly

imprinted to humans but tol-erant — predators-wary, andcapable of hunting wild prey.These are ‘some’ of the ‘quali-ties’ that the Government islooking for in Cheetahs that itplans to bring from abroad inthe country as part of its wild-cat reintroduction plan.

Other qualities that theCheetahs should have is thatthey should be in the repro-ductive age and “socially toler-ant of each other”, said an offi-cial from the Union Ministry ofEnvironment Ministry. Itimplies that the 12 to 14 chee-tahs that are intended to bebrought from SouthAfrica/Namibia/Other AfricanCountries over a period of fiveyears should not be “hostile toeach other,” explained the offi-

cial.The Ministry has plans to

fit such introduced cheetahwith satellite/GSM-GPS-VHFradio-collars before theirrelease in the wild so as toenable monitoring remotely.

Under the 'Action Plan forIntroduction of Cheetah in

India' the Government ismulling to introduce at least 50Cheetahs in various nationalparks over five years.

The Ministry is in theprocess of holding consultationmeetings with African coun-tries for bringing Cheetah.

About 12-14 wild Cheetahs

(8-10 males and 4-6 females)for establishing a new cheetahpopulation would be imported,as a founder stock for five yearsinitially and then as may berequired by the program, as perthe official.

Cheetah is the only largecarnivore to have becomeextinct in the 1950s in India.Initially, the plan to reintroducecheetahs was in 2021, howev-er, it got delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Theidea to bring back the specieswas first conceived in 2009 bythe then Union EnvironmentMinister Jairam ramesh.

Under the ongoingCentrally Sponsored Scheme ofProject Tiger, Rs. 38.70 crorehas been allocated to the chee-tah introduction project for theyears 2021-22 to 2025-26, saidUnion Environment MinisterAshwani Kumar Choubey.

“The primary aim is to

establish a free-ranging popu-lation of cheetahs in andaround KNP in MadhyaPradesh. Further, this popula-tion in KNP will be managedas a metapopulation with othertwo to three established popu-lations of cheetah in Indiawith occasional 'immigrants'brought in from Africa, as andwhen needed," notes the ActionPlan document prepared by theMinistry to initiate Cheetahreintroduction plan in thecountry.

The other sites recom-mended for holding and con-servation breeding of cheetahin India, in controlled wild con-ditions are Nauradehi WildlifeSanctuary, Gandhi SagarWildlife Sanctuary –Bhainsrorgarh WildlifeSanctuary , both in MadhyaPradesh, Shahgarh bulge inJaisalmer, Mukundara TigerReserve, both in Rajasthan.

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The Rajya Sabha SecretariatEmployees Association

(RSSEA) on Tuesday expressedgratitude to Chairman RajyaSabha M Venkaiah Naidu fortaking landmark decisionstowards the welfare of theemployees of the Rajya SabhaSecretariat.

RSSEA also termed tenureof incumbent Chairman as the'Golden Phase of Rajya SabhaSecretariat' for taking severalremarkable decisions in theinterest of the employees.

Amongst various initia-tives Naidu guided theSecretariat in framingRecruitment Rules for the postsof Secretary, Additional

Secretary and Joint Secretary inthe Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Healso constituted Rules ReviewCommittee that presented itsreport on the 28th December,2018 recommending amend-ments to the Rules ofProcedure and Conduct ofBusiness to the Council ofStates (Rajya Sabha).

Keeping in view the over-all development of the employ-ees/officials of the Secretariat,Naidu directed secretariat tomake rules regarding the rota-tion and transfer policy ofOfficers posted in a Section formore than ten years. As aresult of this policy, rotation ofwork amongst more than 225staff and officers was initiated,

said a Press release from theRSSEA.

Naidu also looked into theConstitution and implementa-tion of the recommendations ofthe 5th Parliamentary PayCommittee w.r.t. structure ofpay, allowances, leave, pen-sionary benefits and otheramenities to the officer and allcategories of employees ofRajya Sabha and Lok SabhaSecretariat in the context of thedecision of the Government ofIndia on the recommendationof the 7th Central PayCommission.

Other initiatives taken dur-ing the tenure of Naiduincludes creation of aReservation Cell for scrutiniz-

ing the promotional proposals,creation of Welfare Section,introduction of Aadhar enabledbiometric attendance system(AeBAS) enabling the employ-ees to mark their attendancetwice a day on AeBASmachines, introduction of E-Office software package andFile Management System ofE-Office Module, creation ofVigilance Section in theSecretariat, a Committee forRationalization of Cadre strength in variousgrades, the Financial IncentiveScheme, 2021 for acquiringtyping proficiency inHindi/English language,Gradation List 2020 of theRajya Sabha Secretariat.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday asked the MBBS

students seeking extendingone-year internship deadlinebeyond May 31, criteria foraspirants for NationalEligibility-cum-Entrance Test(NEET)-PG-22, to make a rep-resentation to the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare(MoHFW).

A bench of Justices DYChandrachud, Surya Kant, andVikram Nath said that lookingat the hardship faced by theaspirants, the MoHFW maydecide on the representationwithin one week from the dateof its submission.

“Since the issue which hasbeen raised by the petitionersrequire some element of deter-mining of facts as well asaspects of policy, we are of theview that the ends of justice willbe met by permitting the peti-tioners to submit a representa-

tion to the Union Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare,setting out the nature of hard-ship, which is being faced bythe students placed similarly tothe petitioners”, the bench said,adding : “We, therefore, requestthat the representation be con-sidered expeditiously withinone week of its submission”.The bench said that it is notexpressing any opinion on theissue at this stage.

Senior advocate MukulRohatgi, appearing for theMBBS Students, said that theexamination has been extend-ed but there is one importantcriterion that needs to belooked into.

He said that the criteria arethat students appearing for theexamination have to completea one-year mandatory intern-ship by May 31, 2022, to be eli-gible for the NEET-PG-22examination. “This May 31, thedeadline can be extended by amonth or two”, he said, adding

that many candidates hadjoined COVID duties andhence could not commenceinternships early.

The senior advocate fur-ther said that different medicalinstitutions have differentinternship schedules and somestarted in May 2021, June 2021,or July 2021.

Senior advocate GopalSankaranarayanan, appearingfor the six students who havefiled the petition, had pointedout that postponement of theexam by 6-8 weeks onlyimpacted the larger reliefsought by the petitioners butstill some issues remain.

He said the issue whichremains was that the deadlineof May 31, 2022, has been fixedfor completion of a one-yearinternship which was difficultto meet as the doctors after anannouncement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modihave got engaged in COVIDduty.

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Families of atleast 1,616deceased healthcare work-

ers who were involved in fight-ing the Covid-19 pandemic hasbeen paid insurance claimsworth Rs 808 crore under thePradhan Mantri Garib KalyanPackage (PMGKP) insurancescheme launched on March 30,2020.

The scheme provides com-prehensive personal accidentcover of Rs 50 lakh to 22.12lakh healthcare providers,including community healthworkers and private health

workers, who may have comein direct contact.

The Centre launched thePMGKP scheme on March 30,2020, for health workers fight-ing Covid-19.

The scheme provides com-prehensive personal accidentcover of Rs 50 lakh to 22.12lakh healthcare providers,including community healthworkers and private healthworkers, who may have comein direct contact with and wereinvolved in the care of Covid-19 patients and may be at riskof being impacted by the dis-ease.

Replying to a supplemen-

tary question, Mandaviya com-plemented all doctors, nursesand other healthcare workersfor doing exemplary work dur-ing the first, second and thirdwave of the pandemic.

He said the country wasable to successfully handle thepandemic because of the effortsof these health workers.

The minister said the gov-ernment launched the PMGKPscheme to provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhto eligible beneficiaries. Thescheme has been extended sev-eral times.

Mandaviya said insuranceclaims amounting to Rs 808

crore under this limit of Rs 50lakh have been paid to familiesof 1,616 health workers. In awritten reply, Mandaviya said201 compensation claimsamounting to Rs 100.5 crorehad been paid in Maharashtratill January 2022.

As many as 160 claimsamounting to Rs 80 crore werepaid in Andhra Pradesh.

To another query duringQuestion Hour, the ministersaid health is a state subject andthe related data is collected bythe states and then reported tothe central government.Mandaviya said the WHO hasissued guidelines on collecting

the data on Covid-19 deaths.Based on these guidelines,

the Centre has created a plat-form and asked the states tosubmit the data on Covid-19deaths on it, he added.

So far, all the state govern-ments have submitted data ofover 5 lakh deaths caused byCivid-19, Mandaviya said,asserting that the Centre hasnothing to hide.

The Centre has also askedstates to reconcile the data ifthey failed to submit it, he said,adding that many states havedone that. "We disclose what-ever information we get fromthe states," he said.

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India is seeing a decline innew Covid-19 cases with

67,597 infections registeredon Tuesday. Fatalities, howev-er, have been over 1,000 in thepast few days taking the deathtally to 5,04,062 cases.

The total cases are report-ed at 4,23,39,611, while theactive cases fell below 10 lakhafter around 27 days, theUnion Health Ministry said onTuesday. The active Covidcases have declined to9,94,891, comprising 2.35 percent of the total infections. Thenational recovery rateimproved to 96.46 per cent,the Ministry said.

There was a reduction of1,14,047 cases in the activeCovid-19 case count in a spanof 24 hours, as per the data.The daily positivity rate wasrecorded at 5.02 per cent whilethe weekly positivity rate wasrecorded at 8.30 per cent, itsaid. The number of peoplewho have recuperated fromCovid surged to 4,08,40,658,while the case fatality ratewas recorded at 1.19 per cent,the data showed.

India's Covid-19 tally hadcrossed the 20-lakh mark onAugust 7, 2020, 30 lakh onAugust 23, 40 lakh on

September 5 and 50 lakh onSeptember 16. It went past 60lakh on September 28, 70lakh on October 11, crossed 80lakh on October 29, 90 lakh onNovember 20 and surpassedthe one-crore mark onDecember 19. The countrycrossed the grim milestone oftwo crore Covid cases on May4, 2021, and three crore caseson June 23 last year.

The 1,188 new fatalitiesincluded 860 from Kerala and49 from Karnataka, the datastated.

Of the 860 deaths, 14 werereported in the past 24 hours,113 occurred in the last fewdays but were not recordeddue to late receipt of docu-ments and 733 were designat-ed as Covid-19 deaths afterreceiving appeals based onthe new guidelines of theCentre and the directions of

the Supreme Court, a Keralagovernment release said onMonday.

A total of 5,05,062 deathshave been reported so far inthe country, including 1,43,098from Maharashtra, 59,115from Kerala, 39,396 fromKarnataka, 37,772 from TamilNadu, 25,998 from Delhi,23,330 from Uttar Pradeshand 20,852 from West Bengal.

The health ministrystressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurreddue to comorbidities.

In the meantime, the gov-ernment said that more than5 crore adolescents in the 15-18 age group have beenadministered the first dose ofCovid-19 vaccine in the coun-try while the cumulativeCovid-19 vaccine dosesadministered in the countryhave exceeded 170.21 crore.

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Former Finance Minister PChidambaram on Tuesday

took a swipe at the ModiGovernment’s annual Budgetpointing lacunas and termedit “no data available (NDA)Government”.

Initiating a discussion onthe Union Budget 2022-23,Chidambaram talked over theruling dispensation's “failure”to have the record on oxygenshortage deaths, corpses float-ing in rivers and migrantswalking back home during thecoronavirus-induced lock-down.

Speaking during the dis-cussion, while former primeminister HD Devegowdaexpressed concern over theplanned river linking projectsannounced in the UnionBudget, saying they will causeshortage of drinking water inKarnataka, former bureaucratturned politician JawaharSircar stated this budget insti-tutionalises the differencebetween classes in India. TheTMC Rajya Sabha memberalso mentioned that nobodygave the government right tosell-off assets the nation cre-ated over 70 years

Chidambaram said unem-ployment is on the rise in thecountry and questioned theCentre over the steps taken forthe welfare of the commonpeople following reduced sub-sidies for petroleum, fertiliser,food, among others. "Welfarehas been thrown to the windfor 142 billionaires of thiscountry,” he said.

Chidambaram spokeimmediately after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sreply to the debate on theMotion of Thanks to thePresident's address. He said hewas speaking eloquently aboutjobs and employment, and ason March 31, 2021, there were8.72 lakh vacancies in thecentral government and thegovernment made 78,264recruitments, leaving nearly 8

lakh vacancies. "This is the sta-tistic I hope the prime minis-ter will welcome and use in hisnext speech," he said.

On Nirmala Sitharaman'sbudget speech, Chidambaramsarcastically said, “The thing Iliked about the finance min-ister's budget speech is that itwas the shortest speech of 90minutes. "I am a member ofthe 'Tukde Tukde' gang, whichmeans ‘disruption'. I am wor-ried because in this parlia-ment, a question was asked‘who are members of TukdeTukde gang’ and the hon-ourable minister said ‘we haveno data available on TukdeTukde gang'," he said.

“I have some data andwant the House to look into it.Last year, the finance ministerprojected the 2021-22 fiscaldeficit as 6.8 per cent. I hadcautioned them and said it willnot be contained at 6.8 percent and said we would do bet-ter than it," he said, adding"they have done better than 6.8per cent and they have done6.9 per cent". On the govern-ment's plan to raise Rs 6 lakhcrore through NationalMonetisation Pipeline throughselling old infrastructure, hesaid one year has passed andthere is no word on that.

"Railways said 151 pas-senger trains on 109 routeswould be bid out to privatesector,” he said, adding it wasresponded with “zero bids"."Why do you make theseannouncements which you donot have capacity to execute?"he asked.

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Ahmedabad: A special courthere on Tuesday convicted 49persons in the case related tothe 2008 Ahmedabad serialblasts which had claimed 56lives and left over 200 injured.

In his verdict, which came13 years after the deadly blasts,special judge A R Patel acquit-ted 28 accused, giving them thebenefit of doubt.

As many as 20 explosionshad ripped through the city onJuly 26, 2008. The hearing onthe quantum of punishment forthe convicts will start fromWednesday, the court said.Those who were held guiltyincluded Safdar Nagori, JavedAhmed and Atikur Rehman.

Among those acquittedwere Mohammad Irfan, NasirAhmad and Shakeel Ahmed.The 49 were convicted undervarious sections of the IndianPenal Code, UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act(UAPA), Explosive SubstancesAct and the Damage to PublicProperty Act. One accusedwas also convicted under theArms Act.

The accused were convictedunder IPC sections 302 (mur-der), 307 (attempt to murder),121 (a) (conspiracy to wage waror attempt to wage war againstthe nation) and 124 (a) (sedi-tion), and section 16(1)(a)(b) of

the UAPA which concerns ter-rorist acts.

The convicts can attract amaximum punishment ofdeath or imprisonment for life,and the prosecution will seekcapital punishment for some ofthem, said special public pros-ecutor Amit Patel.

The prosecution arguedbefore the court -- speciallydesignated to conduct trial inthe case -- that the blasts werean act of terrorism, he said,adding that as many as 547charge sheets were filed and1,163 witnesses examined.

"Twenty-eight otheraccused were acquitted by thecourt giving them the benefitof doubt. Details will be clearfrom the full judgement whichwe have not yet gone through,"the prosecutor said. Of 28acquitted, all but six have oneor more other cases pendingagainst them or are alreadyserving sentences in past casesincluding under theMaharashtra Control ofOrganized Crime Act and casesinvestigated by the NIA, Patelsaid.

Hence, only six out of 28acquitted persons will bereleased from jail, he added.Further, the trial of four otheraccused who were arrestedlater has not started and the

prosecution has sought thatthey be tried jointly, Patel said.

Among those awaiting trialis Yasin Bhatkal, a leader of theterror organization IndianMujahideen (IM). According toinvestigation agencies, the IMwas involved in a string ofbombings across the countryincluding the 2008 Ahmedabadblasts.

Of 15 wanted accused, twodied in police encounter inAzamgarh in Uttar Pradeshand one died in Kerala. A cou-ple of accused are believed tobe hiding in Pakistan.

Three of the acquittedaccused were also booked forallegedly digging a tunnelunder the Sabarmati jail here ina bid to escape which wasfoiled by the police in February2013, Patel said.

The convicts are currentlylodged in six jails across India,including 32 in SabarmatiCentral Jail in Ahmedabad.Others are lodged in jails atTaloja (near Mumbai),Bengaluru, Jaipur, Gaya andBhopal, officials said.

All 77 accused who wereon trial were presented beforethe

court via video conferenceon Tuesday. They will remainpresent in the same way duringthe hearing on quantum of sen-

tence, prosecutor Patel said. PG Vaghela, one of the investi-gating officers, said phone callsanalysis and human intelli-gence proved useful in crack-ing the case.

The trial against 77 accusedended in September 2021.When it began in December2009, charges had been framedagainst 78 persons, but one ofthem turned approver and wasgranted pardon.

Twenty bombs went off indifferent areas of Ahmedabadcity between 6:32 pm and 7:45pm on July 26, 2008, killing 56and injuring 246 others. Asmany as 29 live bombs werealso found in Surat thoughnone of them exploded. Thetrial was conducted after thecourt merged all 35 FIRs.

The Gujarat governmenthad transferred the investiga-tion to the Ahmedabad crimebranch. Present Gujarat direc-tor general of police AshishBhatia, who was then jointcommissioner of police, hadsupervised the probe.

A total of nine judgespresided over the trial at dif-ferent times, starting with BelaTrivedi in whose court chargeswere framed on February 15,2010.

Justice Trivedi is now aSupreme Court judge. Special

judge A R Patel who deliveredthe verdict had taken over thetrial from June 14, 2017, pros-ecutor Patel said. Police hadclaimed that members of theIM, a radicalized faction of thebanned Students Islamic

Movement of India (SIMI),were behind the blasts. IMplanned the blasts as a revengefor the 2002 post-Godhra riotsin Gujarat in which over athousand persons, most ofthem from the Muslim com-munity, had died, as per theinvestigators.

For survivors, the blasts leftpermanent physical as well aspsychological scars. Yash Vyaswas only 10 years old when hesuffered severe burn injuries inthe blast at a hospital ward inAsarva area.

"I am still suffering frompartial hearing impairmentbecause of the explosion. Ispent nearly four months in theICU while my father and elderbrother Rohan, who was then12 years old, died in the blast.

I miss them. My motherand grandmother suffered a lotall these years and our strugglestill continues," he said. Hisfather Dushyant Vyas was a labtechnician in a cancer medicalfacility located on the civilhospital campus.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Tuesday attacked the BJP tellingit to ask for forgiveness frompeople before asking for vote.

Launching a scathingattack on the saffron party ona whole range of issues from anelection rally in Uttar PradeshBanerjee said , "the BJP is ask-ing for votes but before askingfor votes they should shouldask for forgiveness for what wasdone in Unnao ... They shouldask for forgiveness for whathappened in Hathras beforeasking for votes."

Attacking BJP for theenactment of CitizenshipAmendment Act Banerjee said,"they are asking for votes butthey should ask for forgivenessfor tbe CAA."The TrinamoolCongress chief had on Mondayleft for Lucknow to address avirtual meeting in support ofSamajwdi Party.

Raising the farmers' issue,the Bengal Chief Minister askedwhether BJP had any repen-

tance for the farmers' deathduring farm movement. "Havethey asked for forgiveness forthe farmers' deaths ... First letthem ask for forgiveness for thatbefore asking for votes."

Banerjee who was earlierinvited by SP chief AkhileshYadav to campaign for his partyin UP said that her party wouldhave liked to contest against theBJP bur decided to refrainfrom doing so because "there isno point in allowing oppositionvotes to get divided."

To this Congress LokSabha leader and BengalPradesh Congress presidentAdhir Chowdhury questionedher "double standards" in Goaand UP."If she knows that divi-sion of votes will give BJP a bet-ter chance then why the TMCis contesting against theCongress in Goa," the Congressleader asked.

Meanwhile in an unrelateddevelopment the infightingcontinued both in the BJP andTMC over distribution of tick-ets for the upcoming electionsto 108 civic boards if Bengal.

While hundreds of rebelTMC men continued to protestin a dozen of districts the dis-gruntled BJP workers tooprotested in Nadia, WestMidnapore and other places.

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Kolkata: The CBI, which isprobing cases of post-assemblypoll violence in Bengal, hasarrested three persons in con-nection with the murder ofBiswajit Mahesh, who wasknown to be a supporter of theBJP, a source in the agency saidon Tuesday.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) had onNovember 11 last year filed acase against five accused forMahesh's death in WestMidnapore, in compliance withthe orders of the Calcutta HighCourt, the source said.

Mahesh was allegedlyattacked with an iron rod and asword on May 4, 2021, shortlyafter the declaration of assem-bly poll results in the state, andhis body thrown in a pond.

He was later taken toSabang hospital, where doctorsdeclared him "brought dead".

The BJP had alleged thatworkers of the ruling TMC car-ried out attacks on its activistsand supporters, in the after-math of the elections.

The high court had onAugust 19 ruled that probe intopost-poll violence cases involv-ing rape and murder be held bythe CBI, taking note of anNHRC report in the matter. PTI

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Chennai: The Tamil NaduAssembly on Tuesday adoptedagain, the anti-NEET Bill,returned days ago to theGovernment by Governor RNRavi and the ruling DMK andprincipal opposition AIADMKreaffirmed their opposition tothe test based on the Dravidianideology.

Chief Minister M K Stalinlabelled NEET a killer examand said he believed that theGovernor would forward with-out any delay the Bill re-adopt-ed, now to the President for hisassent.

"It is the Constitutionalduty of the Governor to for-ward it to the President. Ithink and expect the Governorto do that duty hereafter atleast," he said.

The Bill was passed fol-lowed discussions thatstretched to 3 hours and the testwas yet again dismissed byStalin as one that went againstthe principles of Constitutionincluding social justice andequality.

As per the Constitution,the action of Ravi in sendingback the Bill to the Assemblywas not a correct decision, thegovernment said.

The CM targeted the gov-ernor on the return of the Billand said it raised questions over

Centre-state relations. He won-dered if the action of the gov-ernor in sending back the Billthat was enacted based on apolicy decision and which waspassed by a duly elected gov-ernment, did not go against theprinciple of democracy.

He said the governor wasonly an appointee, apparentlypointing to the supremacy of aduly elected government. Ifthis was the case, "believingwhom would the people vote,based on what belief wouldpeople vote?" he asked.

Citing the recommenda-tions of the SarkariaCommission on Centre-staterelations, he said the governorshould forward a Bill, if it con-tradicted a law passed byParliament, to the Presidentimmediately for his assent ifadvised by the state cabinet.The governor must abide by theadvice of the council of minis-ters, he said.

The TN Admission toUndergraduate Medical DegreeCourses Bill was passed onSeptember 13, 2021 by theAssembly. On Tuesday, it wasadopted amid thumping ofdesks and Speaker M Appavuannounced that it has beenadopted unanimously.

The Speaker said the Billwould be sent to Raj Bhavan

today to forward it to theCentre to get Presidentialassent.

Stalin implied DMK's longstanding opposition to theinstitution of governor by cit-ing a remark made in 1967 byparty founder and late ChiefMinister, CN Annadurai. "Ibelieve that our governor willnot create such a situation." Heexpressed confidence that Raviwould forward the Bill to thePresident without any delay.

Stalin apparently slammedthe governor for returning theBill and said by sending it back,the right of Tamil Nadu and theAssembly's sovereignty havebeen questioned. It was anattack on the state's autonomyand the doctrine of cooperativefederalism has been turnedtopsy-turvy and that is a mat-ter of grief and concern, he said.

Earlier, the BJP led by itsf loor leader NainarNagenthiran staged a walkoutraising its objection to themove. The resolution for thepassage of the Bill was pilotedby Stalin. The Chief Minister,referring to the communique ofthe governor on the return ofthe Bill on February 1, said thereasons adduced by him werenot correct.

Ravi, citing the Justice AKRajan panel recommendations

on NEET, said they were basedon "guess," but it was data-dri-ven and based on the opinionsfurnished by nearly one lakhpeople, Stalin said.

Reiterating his government'sstand against the qualifying test,the CM said "NEET is not aneducation system but only a sys-tem to coach medical aspi-rants." The test favoured privatecoaching institutions which col-lected lakhs from students.

"We are seeking exemptionfrom NEET for the sake of stu-dents who could not spend somuch money to get coached,"Stalin said.

NEET obstructed the edu-cation right of poor and ordinarystudents. He pointed to thenational test related irregularitiesand arrests which also includesimpersonation and a CBI case.NEET, which witnessedbungling, was brought to sidelinepoor and ordinary students inthe name of qualification.

"That is why we are oppos-ing it and seeking exemption.Rather than a test, it is a killerof students. It is not a test butan altar," he said and referredto aspirants including AriyalurAnitha who had died by suicideafter failing to crack the test.

NEET sent some studentsto grave and others to jail, hesaid and wondered if such a testwas needed.

Stalin said the Assemblyhad laid foundation for socialjustice a century ago andreferred to the Justice Partycapturing power in 1920."Some think that only socialjustice is a gift of the Dravidianmovement. But state autonomyis also the movement's gift."NEET went against social jus-tice and equality enshrined inthe Constitution, he added.

In his remarks, HealthMinister Ma Subramanian, cit-ing the Constitution, said thatthe governor unilaterally send-ing back the Bill and him giv-ing his opinion on the JusticeAK Rajan panel report werenot correct. He recalled that in2006, (DMK government)entrance examinations for pro-fessional courses includingmedicine were done away withby passing a law which hadreceived Presidential assent.

He gave point by pointanswers to aspects flagged byRavi while returning the Bill tothe government. Ravi labellingviews of the panel as ‘guess' waswrong and tantamount toinsulting the committee, hesaid. Pointing to a SupremeCourt judgment he said the

state has powers to enact law toexempt the state from theambit of NEET and appealed tothe House to adopt the Billunanimously.

During the discussion overthe Bill, the House witnesseddin twice when AIADMK's CVijayabaskar, Health Ministerin the previous regime, tracedthe origin of the NationalEligibility cum Entrance Test tothe Congress-led UPA era in2010 which was opposed by theCongress members. He said theissue should not be politicisedand the matter has to be eval-uated by legal experts.

Vijayabaskar said his partystood firm in its opposition tothe NEET and pointed to the 7.5per cent reservation for gov-ernment school students inmedical admissions. As early as2005, during the then AIADMKregime led by late J Jayalalithaa,it was decided there should beno entrance test at all for admis-sion to professional courses. AGovernment Order was alsoissued in 2005 this regard.However, it was challenged in acourt subsequently and thatorder was struck down and theDMK assumed power later in2006, he said.The AIADMKlegislator underscored that hisparty, in keeping with itsDravidian ideology had

opposed entrance tests.When the Congress party

opposed Vijayabaskar'sremarks related to NEET's ori-gin, Leader of the Opposition,K Palaniswami said that hisparty colleague was only stat-ing the fact. In view of defam-atory campaign against theAIADMK over NEET, his partyhas to provide answers toclaims made.

Stalin and Leader of theHouse, Water ResourcesMinister Duraimurugan saidthe Bill be adopted unani-mously once again and urgeddiscussions accordingly.

Before leading the walkout,Nagenthiran said his party hadopposed the anti-NEET Bill lastyear itself and hence it couldnot be said that it was passedlast year unanimously.Duraimurugan said the Bill wassupported by all those whowere present, and thus it wasadopted unanimously.

MLAs including PoovaiJaganmoorthi spoke onincreasing the 7.5 per centquota to government schoolstudents up to 15 per cent.Legislator Easwaran sought 30per cent reservation to studentswho pursued state syllabus.Barring the BJP, which has 4members, all others supportedthe Bill. PTI

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KOCHI: Justice N Nagaresh ofthe Kerala High Court onTuesday upheld the orderissued by the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingrevoking the license of MediaOne, a Malayalam news chan-nel owned by MadhyamamBroadcasting Ltd. The channelauthorities and the KeralaUnion of Working Journalistsin a writ petition had soughtthe dismissal of the Centre’sorder revoking the license.

Though the order wasissued last month, JusticeNagaresh had allowed thechannel to continue broad-casting pending reply fromthe ministry. The judge hadasked the ministry to submit ina sealed cover the reasons for

revoking the license of thechannel. The Information andBroadcasting Ministry had toldthe court that the revoking ofthe license was based on inputsprovided by the intelligenceagencies to the Union HomeMinistry. The Ministry ofHome Affairs had passed onthe input to the Informationand Broadcasting Ministrywhich in turn revoked thechannel’s license.

The MIB in a sealed coverhad submitted to the court thedetails provided by the MHAthat led it to take the decision.Justice Nagaresh in his order onTuesday said that a perusal ofthe intelligence informationfound that the ministry’s denialof license to the company was

in tune with the intelligenceinputs. “Going through thefiles, I found that the Ministryhas called for intelligenceinputs. Based on the intelli-gence inputs, the committee ofofficers has found that securi-ty clearance should not begiven . The Ministry has decid-ed to accept the finding of theCommittee of officers . Thereare inputs justifying the denialof security clearance to thechannel. Therefore I am dis-missing the writ petition,” saidthe Judge.

Later, the channel author-ities said in a release that it wasclosing down the transmis-sion and would approach aDivision Bench challengingthe Single Bench order. PNS

%�����)��������������0���������������������������� �1�� CHENNAI: Seventy-year-old

Samuel Mar Irenious, bishop ofSyro Malankara CatholicChurch, and five other priestsof the Church were arrested bythe CB-CID officials of TamilNadu Police from Tirunelvelion Saturday.

The arrest is based on adirective by the Madras HighCourt following complaintsgiven by environmental activistsin Tirunelveli who allegedabout illegal sand mining andquarrying taking place alongthe banks of Thaamarabharaniriver including the 300 acrestretch of land owned by theSyro Malankara Church.

Bishop Irenious and apriest by name JoseChamalkkala complained ofuneasiness immediately afterthe arrest and were hospi-

talised. The other four personswere presented before a courtin Tirunelveli and wereremanded and sent them to thesub-jail.

According to a mediarelease issued by the Bishop’sPalace, the Church owns 300acres of land atAmbasamudram on the banksof Thamarabharani River andit has been given on lease toone Manuel George. Georgehas been cultivating the landbut following the outbreak ofCovid-19, the Church officialswere in the dark about thegoings on in the land. TheChurch had initiated moves toget the land back from Georgefollowing complaints of illegalsand mining in the land. Effortswere on to get the Bishop andothers released on bail. PNS

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Charging that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had — in

his speech made in Lok Sabhaon Monday — “insulted” the 12crore people of Maharashtrathrough his “false” accusationthat the State Government hadcontributed to the spread ofCovid-19 infection, the StateCongress on Tuesday demand-ed an apology from Modi.

Talking to media personshere, Maharashtra Congresspresident Nana Patole said thathis party would stage a demon-stration in front of the BJP

offices in the state to demandan apology for making “false”allegations against the StateGovernment. “Congress partyworkers will hold demonstra-tions in front of BJP officestomorrow. If the BJP leaders inthe state have any respect forMaharashtra, they should alsoprotest against the PrimeMinister's statement.Otherwise they will be record-ed as traitors in the history ofthe state,” Patole said.

Accusing Modi of beingthe “main spreader” of theCovid-19, Patole said: “Byattending events like Namaste

Trump during the early days ofthe pandemic, Narendra Modiis the real spreader of theCovid19 virus in the country.Those migrant workers whoare being referred to as Covidspreaders by Modiji are the realCovid warriors”.

“When the workers weresuffering, rather than easingtheir woes, the Prime Ministerwas appealing to the public tolight lamps and beat plates. Hehimself was busy feeding thepeacocks inside his residence. Hehad left the common man tofend for himself during the pan-demic and was more concerned

about his industrialist friendswho were being distributed pub-lic own assets of the country,” theState Congress chief said.

Patole said that since thepeople of Maharashtra unseat-ed the BJP from power, all BJPleaders from the state to Delhiwere showing their hatredagainst the state by hatching falseconspiracies to discredit thestate. “But, the Prime Ministerhas crossed all the boundaries.He has not only displayed hishatred for the state but he hasalso insulted Maharashtra. Hehas forgotten that he is thePrime Minister for the whole

country. By making such state-ments, he has done away withthe dignity of the PM's post andhas reduced the post to that ofa BJP campaigner”.

Recalling the initiativestaken by the MVA governmentto deal with the Covid-19 situ-ation in general and migrantworkers in particular, Patole saidthat the Uddhav Thackeray dis-pensation helped everyone indistress at that time.“Arrangements were made toprovide meals and tickets to theworkers and laborers to ensurethat they were escorted safely andwith full dignity to their homes”.

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Guwahati: The AssamGovernment has filed adetailed affidavit on the policeencounters before the GauhatiHigh Court as sought by it lastmonth.

The high court on Tuesdaydeferred the hearing of a pub-lic interest litigation (PIL) relat-ed to the incidents till February10.

Hearing the PIL, a divisionbench comprising Chief JusticeSudhanshu Dhulia and JusticeSoumitra Saikia had on January11 asked the state governmentto file the affidavit on thepolice encounters that havebeen taking place since the BJPreturned to power in May lastyear.

"The Assam governmentfiled the affidavit yesterday as

sought by the high court. Thecourt has now decided to hearthe case on Thursday," stateAdvocate General Devajit LonSaikia told PTI.

The Assam governmenthad on January 25 failed to sub-mit the affidavit and the court,giving it more time, deferredhearing of the case till Tuesday.

Besides the Assam gov-ernment, state police DGP, lawand justice department,National Human RightsCommission and AssamHuman Rights Commissionhave been named as respon-dents in the PIL filed by advo-cate Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder.

The petitioner sought anenquiry into the encounters byan independent agency such asCBI, SIT or any police team

from other states under thesupervision of the court.

He has also sought a judi-cial enquiry by a sitting Judgeof the Gauhati High Court inthe incidents and monetarycompensation to the victims'families after due verification.

Jwadder claimed in thePIL that more than 80 fakeencounters between AssamPolice and alleged accusedhave taken place since May lastyear, when Chief MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma tookcharge, resulting in 28 deathsand more than 48 injuries.

The people killed orinjured were not dreaded crim-inals and the modus operandiof the police had been the samein all the encounters, the PILclaimed. PTI

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a 15-minute truncated sound-and-light show at the end ofBeating Retreat, a longer andmore comprehensive dronedisplay can be organised at thesame venue next day. If cou-pling the visual spectacle withBeating Retreat passes away asIndianising the event, I havenothing to say. But for diehardveterans, it was an erosion ofa traditional military customsymbolised by the flag, buglesand dusk announcing its end.

In the past, the organisershave tampered with songsand music in order toIndianise the ceremony. ThePipes and Drums bands areessentially tuned for Scottishmusical scores and don’t adapteasily to foreign renditions.Yet, Indian military maestroshave succeeded in adaptingthem, especially to hill songsfrom the Himalayan region.The highly exaggerated sway-ing of bagpipers has gone asway too far and requires theswagger to be moderated.The brass band is moreamenable to playing Indiantunes but regrettably very fewIndian marching tunes(except for Kadam kadambadhaye ja; Saare jahaan seachcha and Jai Bharati) arerecognisable. The first andsecond tunes herald thearrival and departure of thebands over the hump. Ourbands have excelled with dis-

plays by trumpets, drums andbugles and shown their richrepertoire. Once tablas andanother time the sarod wereattempted to synergise withmarching music but theyproved a big failure of fusion.The last Beating Retreat con-sisted for the first time of all26 marching tunes beingIndian though, except fortwo, none other was familiar.Doordarshan neither men-tioned the name of songs nordisplayed them on the scroll.The interminable debate overdropping the last foreign com-position, Mahatma Gandhi’sfavourite hymn Abide withme, for Mere watan ke logonwas necessary. The choice ofthe replacement song, nomatter how moving, harksback to the humiliating defeatof 1962. Instead, Vaishnavjana to tene kahiye, anotherMahatma Gandhi favourite,could have been chosen toeternalise Bapu’s memorywho is the leit motif of com-memorations. The bandsperformed to perfectionthough the new Indian tuneswill take time to becomefamiliar. A first and aptlydemonstrating jointness wasthe Navy, not the senior ser-vice Army, bringing down theTricolor and wrapping it up.Next time, this ceremony canbe done by a tri-service hon-our guard signifying the inte-

gration underway of thearmed forces.

TV channels must be for-bidden from giving ball-by-ball commentary by militaryexperts and their anchorsstopped from competing witheach other to show off theirmilitary vocabulary. This jar-ring intervention has gone onfor too long. Doordarshanshould orchestrate theRepublic Day celebrationswith competent professionals.The MoD should call upsenior veterans as advisors forthe military component ofthe celebrations. They couldhave forged a consensus overfusion of martyrs’ flames, suit-able national hero for thecanopy and choice of gutsymarching music. Remember,Beating Retreat ceremony isessentially a musical tribute toIndia’s martyrs. In 2003, theDelhi Government broughttogether Amjad Ali Khan andUstad Bismillah Khan (BharatRatna) to remember theUnknown Soldier as part ofRepublic Day celebrations ata separate event. Indianisingmilitary traditions is a delicateprocess; handle with care.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

��� ���������� ��������� ���Sir — The rising petrol and diesel priceshave plagued citizens and the vehiclesusing these fuels also cause pollution.Therefore, the Union Government hasnow adopted a policy of promoting elec-tric vehicles. According to the policy, thesevehicles will be cheaper by about 30 percent from April. The battery swapping pol-icy has been announced in the Budget asper the policy announced by the UnionGovernment on February 1. So, of course,the hassle of charging an electric batteryis going to be less. The battery swappingpolicy will be implemented consideringthe space constraints for setting up charg-ing stations in urban areas.

Electric vehicle owners will be able torent a battery from any authorised com-pany with a certain amount as securitydeposit. This will save battery maintenancecost and charging time and benefit the pri-vate sector. About 30-40 per cent of anelectric vehicle cost is spent on batteriesonly. Apart from this, maximum discountswill also be given to EV buyers. The Centreproposes to reduce GST on batteries andtheir services from 18 per cent to 5 percent. Overall, these vehicles are expectedto become cheaper so they can become anaffordable alternative.

Shantaram Wagh | Pune

������������������������ �����Sir — This refers to the news report,‘Channi’s nephew confessed to taking �10crore to facilitate illegal mining: ED’(February 8). The arrest of BhupinderSingh alias Honey, the nephew of Channi,in the money laundering case is a mas-sive blow to the Congress in Punjab, espe-cially when Honey confessed to receivingthe amount in lieu of facilitating sandmining operations and transfer of officialsin the border State. It’s shocking to learnthat he is mired in such a scandal with-in 111 days of his uncle assuming theState’s reins. This episode raises a seriousquestion: If one relative could accumulateso much ill-gotten money, how muchmight have been collected by all the otherrelatives of the Punjab CM?

However, Channi’s efforts to distance

himself from his nephew after thearrest are ludicrous. Channi’s repeatedclaims that he is an aam aadmi nowappear to be deceptive. For its part, theCongress — with its own horriblerecord in corruption deals — hurried-ly termed the arrest as “politically moti-vated”. Precisely, these kinds ofunscrupulous policies and deplorableactions professed by the Congress cre-ate room for a blistering onslaught byPrime Minister Narendra Modi, just ashe did in Parliament on Monday.

N Sadhasiva Reddy | Bengaluru

����������� ����������Sir — Sad to read that Praveen KumarSobti, famous for portraying Bheem in BRChopra’s iconic mythological televisionseries Mahabharat died following a car-diac arrest late on Monday at the age of74. With his robust physique and height,the actor played the goon/henchman invarious Hindi films. Before gaining fameas Bheem in Mahabharat, Praveen Kumarrepresented India in hammer and discus

throw events at international sportingevents. He won the silver medal in ham-mer throw in the 1966 CommonwealthGames held in Kingston, Jamaica. Praveeneven won four medals for India in AsianGames — two Golds in the discus throwevent in the 1966 and 1970 Asian Gamesin Bangkok, Thailand.

In the 1966 games, he also won theBronze medal in the hammer throwevent before finishing his medal countwith a Silver medal in the discus throwevent in the 1974 Asian Games inTehran, Iran. The late actor entered theentertainment industry in the early1980. His most famous Bollywood por-trayal is as Mukhtar Singh in the 1988action vigilante film Shahenshah, head-lined by Amitabh Bachchan. After por-traying Bheem from 1988 to 1990,Praveen the actor became a householdname. May his soul rest in peace!

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

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Nobody will deny thatthe 1,000 drones-empowered son etlumiere was a resound-

ing spectacle to showcase thenation’s atma nirbharta pro-grammes and technological tri-umphs. But its timing, couplingit with Beating Retreat, was ter-ribly wrong and a breach of yetanother military tradition.

After the buglers had sound-ed the retreat and the Tricolourbrought down at sunset, it wastime for the customary ceremo-ny to conclude with the massedbands marching back over thehump fading into the skyline ofRashtrapati Bhavan followed bythe President’s cavalcade.Surprisingly, instead of Northand South Blocks being illumi-nated thereafter as had been thepractice since 1950, a scintillat-ing drone show followed thatlasted much longer than the 10minutes advertised. No one willdeny that its visual richness wasstunning but darkness had set in,exposing the President, PrimeMinister and other VIPs to risk.Beating Retreat got overshad-owed, not complemented, bythe ill-timed show and a legacytradition violated. No one hasventured to point out that oncethe Retreat is played, it’s time toshut shop for tomorrow, whichwill be heralded by soundinganother bugle call: Reveille.

Beating Retreat is an Englishtradition signalling the end ofcombat for the day, bringingdown the ensign, muzzling guns,putting swords back into sheathsand scabbards on bayonets. It wasalso used to call back patrols tothe castles and, in the case of theDutch, to stop serving beer. InIndian military units throughoutthe country, when Retreat issounded at sunset, soldiers out-side their barracks spring toattention, cease working andreturn to quarters. A soldier’s daybegins with reveille at sunrisewith various bugle calls duringthe day signalling different eventsmarking the soldier’s routine.

For 70 years, Beating Retreatmarked the sombre end toRepublic Day celebrations. It wasnever followed by another event;in this case, a drone show-cum-projection mapping, which wasa breach of tradition. Instead of

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Science progresses not through ourresearch institutions alone butthrough the success of innovationsmade by a layman without having

any scientific knowledge. The best inno-vations come from our rural folk who livewith nature. It is the need and necessity thatgenerate curiosity in the minds of humans.This curiosity, in turn, triggers his responseto tide over adverse situations. Our scien-tists who sit within the four walls of researchinstitutions rarely follow nature’s clues toidentify a scientific problem. They usual-ly depend on published research papers tolocate a problem.

Most of them rarely accept anythingthat is not published in scientific journalsor think out of the box.There will not beany precedence to do work in that area insuch instances. That means there will notbe any reference material to start the work.Science survives only through innovations;for that, our scientists should come out ofthe lab and see the problems that affect soci-ety. They have to work to find a solutionfor that.

Students, especially school children,have good observation power, and theycontinually formulate questions in theirminds. Often, they ask these questions,often treated as absurd questions, to theirteachers. There are only very few teachersin our education system who entertainssuch nasty questions from students. It’sthese questions that awaken the pursuit ofinnovation among the students. To pro-mote such innovations from our curiousminds, the Department of Science &Technology (DST), Government of Indiahas started the ‘Innovation in SciencePursuit for Inspired Research’ (INSPIRE)Awards - MANAK (Million MindsAugmenting National Aspirations andKnowledge).

DST is executing this awardthroughNational Innovation Foundation - India(NIF), an autonomous body of DST,which aims to motivate students of class-es 6 to 10. This award scheme aims to tar-get one million original ideas/innova-tions rooted in science and societal appli-cations to foster a culture of creativity andinnovative thinking among school children.Under this scheme, schools can nominatethe five best original ideas/innovations ofstudents. The top 1,00,000 ideas receivedthat can address societal needs throughScience & Technology are shortlisted byNIF. The shortlisted students will getINSPIRE Award of INR 10,000.

It is always an inspiration to go throughthe paths taken by our young researchers.How have they identified a problem?How do they pursue the work despite dif-ficulties? What are the challenges theyfaced? How their parents and teachers sup-port them? All these can have bearer on thenext-generation innovators.

These questions that crept into themind of our young innovators are answeredthrough the programme Vigyanveer. It isa popular science programme telecaston the

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India Science Channel, managed byVigyan Prasar,DST.This scienceseries is specially designed to prop-agate and popularise the innovationsof students who won the prestigiousINSPIRE Award MANAK. In eachseries, one award-winning innova-tion and its innovator are show-cased.

Amazingly, most of our younginnovators have identified problemsfrom their day-to-day experiences.One of the episodes ofVigyanveerhighlights K. Shrawani,a student of Bibinagar village inTelangana, who understood therisk faced by farmers during farm-ing and made a life-saving device forthem.Increasing electrical energygeneration is an area of concern.Riddhi Tiwari, a student of the Sagardistrict of Madhya Pradesh, hasdeveloped a unique model that canincrease the electricity generatingcapacity of standard solar powerpanels.

Similarly, Jitendra, a student liv-ing in a village in Rajasthan, devel-oped an automatic swing. Thisswing takes care of children whentheir parents do fieldwork and pro-tects children from any unknowndanger.

Another student M.Abhishek,from Telangana, made a machinethat can be used to fill grains in sacksin less time and without mucheffort. This unique innovation savesthe farmers’ time and reduces thelabour involved in loading thegrain. Vandana Kumari, a studentof Mahuakheda village of Etah,Uttar Pradesh, made a uniquedevice to solve her father’s troublesin plucking fruits from trees full ofthorns.

Microscope holds a vital role inunderstanding fundamental biolog-ical concepts in science education.Even though children from city-

bred schools are fortunate to havethe hands-on experience, manyschools in rural regions of thecountry don’t have many laborato-ry facilities. When Ananya Singhrealized that many students don’thave a facility like a microscope fortheir studies, she developed a low-cost microscope from waste plasticbottles. She named this as‘Plastoscope’, which is low cost andcan be easily carried in a school bag.

Managing a house is a tedioustask for our homemakers. For help-ing his mother, Shailendra fromUdaipur, Rajasthan, has developedan automatic device to help hermother clean the house.

Similarly, Dharmendra Yadav, astudent living in the Seoni districtof Madhya Pradesh, created aunique movable toilet after seeingthe difficulties of his grandmother.Vibha, a student from Karnataka,developed a fantastic innovationthat will reduce fuel consumptionin the kitchen and reduce the cook-ing time. Navshri Thakur, a studentof Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh,designed a unique machine to easeher mother’s trouble in the kitchen.This machine can do many tasks inthe kitchen together, and it does noteven require electricity to run.

Manual scavenging is an inhu-man attitude prevailing in our soci-ety. Many oppressed members ofour community are cleaning thepublic toilets without any safetymeasures. Sulochana Kakodia, a stu-dent from a tribal-dominated areaof Chhindwara in Madhya Pradeshnamed Gummach Khamaria, tookthe problem of manual toilet clean-ing as her inspiration and made amachine that can clean the toiletwithout touching hands. Similarly,Ayush, a student from Bangalore,discovered a unique way to preventaccidents due to open manholes.

Many people are living with dis-abilities. To support such ‘divyagyan,’students have developed innovativetechnologies. K Sreeja, a student ofGodavarikhani, Telangana, hasmade such a unique cap and stickthat can bring a new ray of hope tothe lives of blind people.Mainuddin, living in the Gonda dis-trict of Uttar Pradesh, has developeda leg-controlled computer mousethat will make disabled peoplework with a computer. Similarly,Madhav Lavakare, a Delhi student,understands the pain of deaf peo-ple and invented smart glasses.With the help of Transcribe Glass,deaf people can easily understandwhat a person is saying in front ofthem.

Safety issues of women andolder people are always a matter ofconcern. Siddhi Pandey, a studentliving in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh,has created a device to solve theproblem of molestation. This devicewill surprise the maniacs whoharass women and bring them tothe ground by giving them an elec-tric shock. Parv Kapoor, a studentliving in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, sawhis grandfather’s troubles and sig-nificantly made a digital securityalarm watch to help the elderly.

It is heartening to notice thatour young minds have touchedupon every issue an ordinary citi-zen of our country encounters intheir daily life. The vast area of theirresearch shows that India indeed hasbig brains for the future. Their onlysatisfaction is that they have devel-oped something for the society,something for the nation.This is evi-dent from their smiling faces. Theinstincts create curiosity in theseyoung people, and we need tocarry forward these basic scientif-ic instincts to build a self-reliantcountry.

(Dharmapalan is a science writer. Tripathi

is as Scientist F atVigyan Prasar, Govt.of

India, New Delhi. The views expressed

are personal.)

India is missing an effectiveOpposition at the Centreand in States as it tries to

check the surge of ruling BJP.Political equations oftenchange before polls as enemiesbecome friends and vice-versa.BSP and Congress cametogether in 1996. SP and theBSP came together in the earlynineties, and Congress andSP joined hands in the 2017Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

When the situationrequires, opposition partiesdo not mind combining tocheck the ruling party as multi-cornered contests only give theruling party a chance for vic-tory as the votes are splintered.

If the Opposition is tosurvive, it must rebuild itselffrom the states upward. Thecurrent five state Assemblypolls are crucial in this regard.

Putting up a joint candidateagainst BJP or tactical under-standing within theOpposition parties would havehad more victory. It does notmean that the entireOpposition should cometogether, but a broad coalitionwould have gone a long way.

There are many reasons forthe disunity among the oppo-sition parties. Congress hasfailed to lead the Opposition asa pan-national party since2014. The party continues tolive in its past glory while theregional satraps feel they aremuch more effective in oppos-ing BJP in their respectivestates.

The challenge before theOpposition is how to defeatBJP. Although the 2024 LokSabha elections are two andhalf years away, BJP has already

started making moves. Thesefive state Assembly polls arecrucial because they will indi-cate the direction for thefuture. BJP wants to retain UPat all costs. As the Congressweakens, India misses a strong,credible national oppositioninside and outside Parliament.

While individually, eachopposition party talks aboutthe need for unity, they seem

to be more at war within theirrespective parties rather thantaking on the ruling party.

Many leaders like MamataBanerjee, Arvind Kejriwal,Yogi Adityanath are ambitiousand nurture prime ministeri-al ambitions. But what is cru-cial is who or which partydominates India’s Oppositionin the future. Unfortunately forCongress, the party is now ajunior partner in a coalitionwhile regional parties play asignificant role in their respec-tive states. That is where thecompetition lies.

There is war withinCongress. The party faces fac-tionalism and indiscipline.There is erosion and infightingin UP and Punjab as seniorleaders from ‘Team Rahul’ likeJitin Prasada and RPN Singhhas left for BJP. To humour

cricketer Navjot Sidhu, theGandhi siblings foolishlysacked chief minister CaptainAmarinder Singh though theparty could have easily wonPunjab.

Congress and BSP fight forthe same groups. In UP, it is theDalit and Brahmin votes. AAPand SAD are principal oppo-nents of Congress in Punjab.AIMIM and Congress competefor the minority vote inTelangana. Congress and AamAdmi Party are rivals in UP,Punjab, and Goa.

Congress has spurned theoffer of NCP and Shiv Sena(itsMaharashtra coalition part-ners) to form a front in Goa.Mamata Banerjee never miss-es a chance to make snideremarks against Congress. Sodoes Mayawati, but she attacksboth SP and the Congress in

UP.Then there are ego clash-

es among the regional chief-tains. The regional satraps arenot keen to work under theleadership of RahulGandhi.The Opposition needsa new narrative and effectivestrategy to win. While BJP hascornered the committedHindu vote, there are floatingHindu votes. It cannot succeedwithout the support of a sec-tion of Hindus. Rahul Gandhiperhaps realizes this, which iswhy he has been talking of adifference between Hindutvaand Hinduism.

With a proper strategyand strong leadership, theCongress could regain its lostglory. For instance, in 180 setsof 542 in Lok Sabha, the fightis direct between Congressand the BJP. There are over 350

seats where the regional partiesare dominant, including stateslike Uttar Pradesh (80),Maharashtra (48), West Bengal(42), Bihar (40), Tamil Nadu(39), Andhra Pradesh (25),Odisha (21) and Telangana(17), etc. They are MadhyaPradesh (29), Karnataka (28),Gujarat (26), Rajasthan (25),Assam (14), Punjab (13),Chhattisgarh (11) and Haryana(10), etc.

Prime Minister NarendraModi has a secret weapon. Theweak Congress party and dis-united Opposition keep BJP inpower. So, part of the solutionis within the hands of theopposition. Instead of fightingamong themselves, the oppo-sition needs to unite in ahealthy democracy. Unless theopposition parties BJP is likely to return in 2024.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

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French President EmmanuelMacron brought his diplo-

matic effort to defuse the crisisover Ukraine to its capital ofKyiv on Tuesday, a day afterhours of talks with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin yield-ed no apparent breakthrough.

Macron met withUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy as fearsof a possible Russian invasionmount. Moscow has massedover 100,000 troops nearUkraine’s borders, but insists ithas no plans to attack.

The Kremlin wants guar-antees from the West thatNATO will not accept Ukraineand other former Soviet nationsas members, that it halt weapondeployments there and rollback its forces from EasternEurope — demands the U.S.and NATO reject as non-starters.

Western leaders in recentweeks have engaged in multiplerounds of diplomacy in thehope of de-escalating the ten-sions and preventing an attack.High-level talks have takenplace against the backdrop ofmilitary drills in Russia andBelarus. On Tuesday, Russia’sDefense Ministry said six largelanding ships were moving

from the Mediterranean to theBlack Sea for exercises.Macron’stalks with Putin on Mondaylasted more than five hours, andthe French leader told reportersthat they allowed him to ensurethat “there’s no degradationand no (further) escalation.” Hesaid he did not expect Putin tomake any “gestures”, saying hisobjective was to “prevent anescalation and open new per-spectives. ... That objective ismet.”

Macron said Putin “set acollective trap” when he initi-ated the exchange of writtendocuments with the U.S.Moscow submitted its demandsto Washington in the form ofdraft agreements that werereleased to the public, andinsisted on a written response,which was leaked to the press.

“In the history of diploma-cy, there was never a crisis thathas been settled by exchangesof letters which are to be madepublic afterward,” he said,adding that is why he decidedto travel to Moscow for directtalks.

Putin said after the meetingthat the U.S. and NATOignored Moscow’s demands,but signaled his readiness tocontinue talking. NATO, U.S.and European leaders flatlyreject the demands that they say

challenge NATO’s core princi-ples, like shutting the door toUkraine or other countries thatmight seek membership; butthey have offered to talk aboutother Russian security con-cerns in Europe.

Putin warned that Ukrainemembership in NATO couldtrigger a war between Russiaand the alliance should Kyivmove to retake the CrimeanPeninsula, which Moscowannexed in 2014. In that case,he said, European countrieswould be drawn into a militaryconflict with Russia where“there will be no winners.”

U.S. President Joe Bidenhas said that any prospect ofUkraine entering NATO “in thenear term is not very likely,” buthe and other NATO membernations and NATO itself refuseto rule out Ukraine’s entry intothe alliance at a futuredate.Biden met in Washingtonon Monday with GermanChancellor Olaf Scholz, whoalso will travel to Kyiv andMoscow on Feb. 14-15.

Biden vowed that the NordStream 2 Russia-to-Germanygas pipeline, which has beencompleted but is not yet oper-ating, will be blocked “if Russiainvades, that means tanks andtroops crossing the border ofUkraine again.”

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In a flurry of diplomacy acrosstwo continents, President Joe

Biden met with Germany'snew leader Monday and vowedthe crucial Nord Stream 2Russia-to-Germany gaspipeline will be blocked ifRussia further invades Ukraine.

Russia's Vladimir Putinretorted that the U.S. And itsallies are the only ones talkinginvasion. Putin and FrenchPresident

Emmanuel Macron metfor more than five hours inMoscow at the same timeBiden and German ChancellorOlaf Scholz spoke at the WhiteHouse in efforts to defuse thecrisis before armed conflictbreaks out. Russia has massedthousands of troops at theUkraine border, adding mili-tary might almost daily.

The White House hasexpressed increasing alarmabout the prospects of war, andBiden has been looking tosolidify support among

European allies for economy-jarring sanctions against Russiaif it attacks."If Russia invades,that means tanks and troopscrossing the border of Ukraineagain, then there will be nolonger a Nord Stream 2," Bidensaid. "We will bring an end toit." That would hurt Russia eco-nomically but also cause sup-ply problems for Germany.

Construction of thepipeline has been completed,but it is not yet operating. "Weare jointly ready, and all ofNATO is ready," Biden said,referring to the powerfulWestern alliance, thoughUkraine is not a member.

While Biden reiteratedwith certitude that the pipelinewould not move forward,Scholz stressed the need tokeep some ambiguity aboutsanctions in order to pressRussia to de-escalate the cri-sis."It's necessary for Russia tounderstand that a lot morecould happen than they've per-haps calculated with them-selves,." Scholz said.

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Adelegation from Mauritiusis set to sail Tuesday to the

Chagos Islands to press thecountry’s claim for the strate-gically important Indian Oceanarchipelago, which is alsoclaimed by Britain and is hometo an American military base.

It is the first time Mauritiushas embarked upon an expe-dition to the islands withoutseeking the permission of theUnited Kingdom, PrimeMinister Pravind Jugnauth saidin a statement, adding it is a“concrete step” in “exercising itssovereignty and sovereignrights in relation to the ChagosArchipelago.”

Those rights were strength-ened in 2019 by a non-bindingopinion from the InternationalCriminal Court, which saidthat Britain had unlawfullycarved up Mauritius, an arch-ipelago nation whose mainisland is some 2,000 kilometers(1,200 miles) off the southeastcoast of Africa.

The Chagos islands were apart of Mauritius until Britainseparated them a few yearsbefore Mauritius became inde-pendent from British colonialrule in 1968.The UnitedNations General Assembly fol-lowed that opinion with a res-olution two months laterdemanding that Britain end its“colonial administration” ofthe Chagos Islands, which

include U.S. military base onDiego Garcia, and return themto Mauritius. Even PopeFrancis weighed in, saying thatBritain should obey the U.N.resolution.

Thus far, however, Britain,which calls archipelago a“British Indian OceanTerritory,” has refused to abideby non-binding decisions. Ithas argued that Chagos archi-pelago has been under its sov-ereignty since 1814 and that itscontinued presence there isstrategically important. Britain’sForeign Office did not imme-diately respond to requests forcomment on current expedi-tion. In his statement, Jugnauthrecalled ICJ ruling and said that

“continued administration ofthe Chagos archipelago by theUnited Kingdom constituted awrongful act.” His office did notimmediately respond to anemail seeking further com-ment.

Jugnauth has repeatedlysaid that ending British admin-istration, however, would haveno implications for the U.S.military base at Diego Garcia,which he has said Mauritius iscommitted to maintaining.

Britain sealed a deal in1966 allowing U.S. to use DiegoGarcia for defense purposes.The United States maintains abase there for aircraft and shipsand has backed Britain in legaldispute with Mauritius.

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The United States and itsallies clashed with Russia

and China in U.N. SecurityCouncil on Monday over theusefulness and impact of U.N.sanctions, which are currentlyimposed on countries fromNorth Korea to Yemen andCongo as well al-Qaida andIslamic State extremist groupsand their affiliates and sup-porters.

Russia, which holds coun-cil presidency this meeting andchose the topic -- preventinghumanitarian and unintendedconsequences of sanctions --also lashed out at unilateral

sanctions imposed by UnitedStates, European Union andother countries and groups.U.N. political chief RosemaryDiCarlo told council there are14 U.N. sanctions regimes: Asexamples, in Libya, Mali, SouthSudan and Yemen they supportconflict resolution; in GuineaBissau they aim to deter uncon-stitutional changes of govern-ment; in Central AfricanRepublic, Congo and Somaliathey curb illicit exploitation ofnatural resources that fundarmed groups; in North Korea,they target proliferation activ-ities; and they constrain IslamicState and al-Qaida terroristthreats.

DiCarlo said U.N. sanctionsare no longer “ blunt instru-ment they once were.” Since1990s, they have undergonechanges to minimize possibleadverse consequences on civil-ians and third countries, andSecurity Council has includedand provided humanitarianexemptions in most sanctionsregimes, she said.Russia’sdeputy U.N. ambassador

Dmitry Polyansky, who chairedmeeting, said many sanctionsregimes interfere with plans forstate-building and economicdevelopment, pointing toCentral African Republic andSudan and calling measures onGuinea Bissau “anachronistic.”

The Security Council needs“to take greater heed of whatauthorities of states under sanc-tions think” and be more real-istic in setting benchmarks tolift them to make sure theydon’t turn into “a missionimpossible,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador LindaThomas-Greenfield counteredthat sanctions are “a potenttool” that “make it harder forterrorists to raise funds viainternational financial systems,”and have slowed developmentof “certain capabilities” in NorthKorea’s nuclear and ballisticmissile programs. Sanctionsalso “constrain resources ofthose who would spoil peaceprocesses, threaten UN peace-keepers, commit atrocities, andobstruct humanitarian assis-tance,” she said.

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President Joe Biden’s top sci-ence adviser Eric Lander

resigned, hours after the WhiteHouse confirmed that an inter-nal investigation found credi-ble evidence that he mistreat-ed his staff, marking the firstCabinet-level departure of theBiden administration.

An internal review lastyear, prompted by a workplacecomplaint, found evidence thatLander, the director of theOffice of Science andTechnology Policy and sci-ence adviser to Biden, bulliedstaffers and treated them dis-respectfully.

The White House rebukedLander over his interactionswith his staff, but initially sig-naled Monday that he wouldbe allowed to remain on thejob, despite Biden’sInauguration Day assertionthat he expected “honesty anddecency” from all who workedfor his administration andwould fire anyone who shows

disrespect to others “on thespot.” But later Mondayevening, press secretary JenPsaki said Biden had acceptedLander’s resignation with “grat-itude for his work at OTSP onthe pandemic, the CancerMoonshot, climate change,and other key priorities.”

Lander, in his resignationletter, said, “I am devastatedthat I caused hurt to past andpresent colleagues by the wayin which I have spoken tothem.”“I believe it is not pos-sible to continue effectively inmy role, and the work of thisoffice is far too important to behindered,” he added.

The White House saidBiden did not request Lander’sresignation. Earlier Monday,Psaki said senior administra-tion officials had met withLander about his actions andmanagement of the office, butindicated he would be allowedto stay in the job, saying theadministration was followinga “process” to handle work-place complaints.

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China has ordered inhabi-tants of the southern city of

Baise to stay home and sus-pended transportation linksamid a surge in COVID-19cases at least partly linked tothe omicron variant.

Classes have been sus-pended, non-essential busi-nesses closed and mass testingof residents ordered.Restaurants are only permittedto serve take-out. Traffic lightshave been switched to red onlyto remind drivers to stay home.

As of Tuesday, 135 caseshad been reported in the city —at least two of them found to beomicron, health authoritiessaid.The city has become thelatest to be placed under lock-down in keeping with China’s“zero-tolerance” approach tothe pandemic. The policyrequires strict measures beapplied even when only a smallnumber of cases have beenfound.

A major concern is pre-venting outbreaks during theongoing Beijing WinterOlympic Games. No new caseswere reported in the Chinesecapital on Tuesday.More than30 athletes at the BeijingOlympics are in isolation facil-ities after testing positive for thecoronavirus, organizers said

Tuesday. The average stay inisolation is seven days. Baisehas an urban population ofabout 1.4 million, with anoth-er 3 million in the large sur-rounding rural area that abutsthe Vietnamese border.

State media reported cus-toms clearance at crossingpoints of Longbang andPingmeng were delayed, caus-ing further disruptions tocross-border trade that havealready inflicted major losseson Vietnamese fruit farmerswho rely on the Chinese mar-ket for much of their revenue.

The first cases in Baisewere reported Saturday at thetail end of Lunar New Year hol-iday, when many Chinese trav-el vast distances to their home-towns. For third year running,the government asked peopleto remain in place to avoid amajor spread, although suchcalls had only a slight effect onnumbers of trips taken.

Despite occasional region-al outbreak, China has largelybrought pandemic under con-trol through lockdowns, masstesting, case tracing, maskmandates and other strict mea-sures. Almost 85% of popula-tion is fully vaccinated, accord-ing to Our World in Data,although questions have beenraised about efficacy of Chinesevaccines, particularly againstomicron strain.

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Drought conditions haveleft an estimated 13 mil-

lion people facing severehunger in the Horn of Africa,according to the UnitedNations World Food Program.

People in a region includ-ing Somalia, Ethiopia andKenya face the driest condi-tions recorded since 1981, theagency reported Tuesday, call-ing for immediate assistance toforestall a major humanitariancrisis.

Drought conditions areaffecting pastoral and farmingcommunities across southernand south-eastern Ethiopia,south-eastern and northernKenya, and south-centralSomalia. Malnutrition rates arehigh in the region.

WFP said it needs $327million to look after the urgentneeds of 4.5 million people overthe next six months and helpcommunities become moreresilient to extreme climateshocks.

“Three consecutive failedrainy seasons have decimatedcrops and caused abnormallyhigh livestock deaths,” it said ina statement. “Shortages of waterand pasture are forcing familiesfrom their homes and leadingto increased conflict betweencommunities.”

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New Delhi: The demand for housing for senior citizens hasimproved amid the COVID-19 pandemic and is likely to growin the coming years, driven by focus on health and well-beingcoupled with fast ageing population, according to Housing.Com.

Realty portal Housing.Com, which is a part of REAIndia, on Tuesday released a report on 'The Silver Economy - Aperspective on senior living in India'. "Senior Living Housingis poised to become an important residential asset class as demandfor retirement homes is likely to grow exponentially over the nextthree decades with India's fast ageing population," it said in astatement. Senior living housing, which is currently ata very nascent stage, has come into focus after the outbreak ofthe COVID-19 pandemic. PTI

New Delhi: Making it clear that relaxations willnot be provided to US-based electric vehiclesmajor Tesla unless it participates in manufacturingactivities in India, Union Minister Krishan PalGurjar on Tuesday said there cannot be a situa-tion where the market is India but jobs are cre-ated in China.

The minister of state for heavy industries alsotold the Lok Sabha during Question Hour thatthe company is yet to apply for schemes as perthe government's policy.

Last year, the Elon Musk-led company soughta reduction in import duties on electric vehicles(EVs) in India but the Ministry of HeavyIndustries asked the firm to start manufacturingits iconic EVs in the country before any tax con-cessions can be considered.

Gurjar said the government has ProductionLinked Incentives for automobile and auto com-ponents as well as for manufacturing AdvancedChemistry Cell (ACC) battery. Both schemes areopen for domestic as well as foreign entities.

Responding to a query on Tesla, the minis-ter said "the company wants workers from

China and market of India. This is not possiblein Modi Government... Our Government's pol-icy is that if india market is to be used, job oppor-tunities will have to be given to Indians."

The minister's reply came in response to aquestion by Congress member K Suresh onwhether the government would invite Tesla toenter the Indian market and steps being taken topromote mass production of electric vehicles inthe country.

"Want to ask the member if they want india'smoney to go to China? That company has notapplied as per our policy. For that (company),doors of India are open, they can come apply asper policy, set up company, give jobs to our peo-ple, increase government revenue," the ministersaid. "Modiji ki sarkar mein ye nahi ho sakta kirozgar Cheen ko aur market Bharat ki... Modijisarkar ki neeti hai ki agar market Bharat ki hai,rozgar bhi Bharat ke logon ko milega.... (UnderModi government, it cannot happen that jobs arein China while market is India... The govern-ment's policy is that if the market is India, thenpeope in India should get jobs)," Gurjar said.

New Delhi: Power requirement in the coun-try is estimated to be 1,650.59 billion units in2022-23 while it was 1,141.94 billion units tillJanuary of the ongoing fiscal year, Parliamentwas informed on Tuesday.

In financial year 2020-21, power require-ment was 1,275.53 billion units (BU), PowerMinister R K Singh said in a written reply tothe Rajya Sabha.

The minister also informed the House thatthe peak power demand was 2,03,014 MW tillJanuary 2021-22 and it is estimated to touch2,38,899 MW in the next financial year.

The minister provided the information asper estimates of the 19th Electric Power Survey(EPS). PTI

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Mumbai: Snapping their three-day losing run, market bench-marks ticked higher after a see-saw session on Tuesday onfag-end buying in energy, metaland finance counters amid afirm trend in global markets.

Covering-up of short posi-tions by bears also supportedthe late recovery in stocks,traders said.

After swinging betweengains and losses, the 30-shareBSE Sensex finally closed187.39 points or 0.33 per centhigher at 57,808.58. Similarly,the broader NSE Nifty climbed53.15 points or 0.31 per cent to17,266.75.

Tata Steel topped theSensex gainers' chart with ajump of 3.10 per cent, followedby Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv,Reliance Industries, Titan,Asian Paints and Axis Bank.

In contrast, PowerGrid,TCS, UltraTech Cement, TechMahindra, Kotak Bank, L&Tand HDFC twins were amongthe losers, shedding as much as1.66 per cent. Of theSensex constituents, 19 shares

closed higher while 11 were inthe red.

"Indian equities were high-ly volatile today, swayingbetween gains and losses whilemanaging to close on a positivenote. Selling pressure fromFIIs was countered by bargainhunting by domestic investors.

"European sharesadvanced over ECB President'scomments stating that there arelower chances of a measurabletightening of monetary policy,which helped in comfortingglobal investors," said VinodNair, Head of Research atGeojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the ReserveBank's rate-setting panel beganits three-day deliberations onTuesday to decide the nextmonetary policy in the back-drop of Budget 2022-23, infla-tionary concerns and evolvinggeopolitical situation.

S Ranganathan, Head ofResearch at LKP Securities,said, "As policymakers faceone of the fastest pace of priceincreases in the developedmarkets, global stock markets

are facing a challenge in pric-ing the likely actions by centralbankers." PTI

New Delhi: CSC GrameeneStore, a subsidiary of CommonService Centers under Ministryof Information Technology, andAdani Capital have joinedhands for extending businessloans to Village LevelEntrepreneurs (VLEs) for pur-chasing products to be sold tocustomers through the e-com-merce platform.

As per the agreement, theDistributor VLEs working inCSC Grameen eStore can availloan up to Rs. three lakhs. Thefacility will initially be availablefor the VLEs of Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra,Karnataka, Andhra Pradeshand Telangana.

Dr. Dinesh Tyagi,Managing Director, CSC SPVsaid, “VLEs running Grameen

eStores are not only servicingpeople in rural areas, but alsogenerating huge employmentopportunities by employingrural youth. Till date, theseeStores have delivered 40 lakhorders. With the loan facilityavailable to the eStore VLEs,they will be able to purchaseproducts in demand withoutwaiting for capital and deliverthem to the doorsteps of thecustomers.”

The Grameen e-Store,launched in April 2020, offersa large range of productsincluding local handicrafts, gro-ceries, and consumer durablesin far-flung areas. It has touchedthe business of Rs. 450 croressince its launch. The e-store isrun by over two lakh VLEsacross the country. PNS

Mumbai: The rupee edgedlower by 5 paise to close at 74.74against the US dollar onTuesday as stronger greenback,elevated crude oil prices andforeign fund ouflows weighedon forex market sentiment.

At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee opened at74.65 a dollar and later touchedan intra-day high of 74.57 anda low of 74.80. The localunit finally ended the day at74.74, down 5 paise from theprevious close.

In the previous session onFriday, the rupee had settled at74.69 against the greenback.

The forex market wasclosed on Monday asMaharashtra had declaredFebruary 7 as public holiday tomourn the demise of legendarysinger Lata Mangeshkar.

Mumbai: Domestic air pas-senger traffic plunged around43 per cent month-on-month at64 lakh in January 2022 as thethird wave of the pandemic andthe resultant restrictions byState Governments kept flyersaway from air travel, Icra saidon Tuesday.

The domestic passengervolume in December 2021 wasrecorded at 112 lakh.

The rating agency said it isexpecting the recovery processto remain subdued duringMarch quarter and that the jetfuel prices continue to be a dragon the sector. The passengertraffic declined 17 per cent lastmonth over 77 lakh passengerstransported by domestic airlineson local routes in January 2021,Icra said.

Also, airlines deployed 7per cent lower capacity inJanuary 2022, which saw 62,979departures against 67,877departures recorded in the cor-responding month of 2021, it

said, noting that on a sequen-tial basis, the number of depar-tures in January was lower 27per cent due to emergence ofthe new COVID-19 variant.

The sequential recoveryslumped in January 2022 withemergence of the new variant(Omicron) and related restric-tions impacting the leisure trav-el segment along with existingsubdued demand from the cor-porate traveller segment, saidSuprio Banerjee, Vice President& Sector Head, Icra.

The same is also reflectedas passenger traffic duringApril-January period of 2021-22 remained around 45 per centlower than the period year ear-lier, he stated.

“The emergence of thenew COVID variant and reac-tionary air travel restrictionswill keep the recovery prospectssubdued for the domestic air-lines sector in the current quar-ter,” he added. PTI

New Delhi: Electoral bondsworth �324.36 cr were encashedby various political parties in2020-21, Minister of State forFinance Pankaj Chaudharyinformed Parliament onTuesday.

State Bank of India is theauthorised bank to issue andencash electoral bonds.

The political party-wisedetail of electoral bonds encash-ment is not collated centrally atSBI, he said in a written reply tothe Rajya Sabha. D u r i n g2020-21, 14th and 15 tranches of

electoral bonds were issued andencashed.

In another reply, Chaudharysaid the electoral bonds amount-ing to �1,212.86 crore wereencashed by political parties inthe 19th tranche of electoralbonds.

As per the guidelines, thebond under this scheme may bepurchased by a person, who isa citizen of India or incorporat-ed or established in India, anda person being an individual canbuy bonds, either singly or joint-ly with other individuals. PTI

New Delhi: Shares of AdaniWilmar Ltd on Tuesday madea tepid market debut but soonrecovered the lost ground tosurge over 16 per cent againstthe issue price of � 230.

The stock made its debut at�221, a discount of 3.91 percent from the issue price onBSE. But, it soon recovered the lost ground andjumped 15.30 per cent to set-tle at Rs 265.20.

Similarly, on NSE, itdeclined 1.30 per cent to list at�227. But, the stock

bounced back and zoomed16.23 per cent to close at�267.35. The company com-manded a market valuation of�34,467.48 crore on BSE. PTI

New Delhi: Leading digitalhealthcare platformMediBuddy on Tuesday said ithas roped in Bollywood iconAmitabh Bachchan as its brandambassador.

MediBuddy gives users24x7 access to specialist doctorsonline via video call, at-homelab tests, home delivery ofmedicines, mental health sup-port and other health care ser-vices.

"It is an absolute honor tobe associated with him whosename alone carries so muchcredibility, trust, and respect.Bachchan to cinema is whatMediBuddy aims to be to theIndian healthcare system,"MediBuddy co-founder andCEO Satish Kannan said in astatement.

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If you are a social media enthusiast andlooking for ways to become influen-tial and successful at the same time,

following certain techniques can boostyour reach and might also help you buildbetter relationships with your audience.Keeping your audience happy could be atask and once you know what makes themlike your content, you almost reach yourgoal.

As we all know Twitter is a great spaceand a strong space for speaking up, youshould also know the ways to tweet in away that people would invest their timein reading or sharing your tweet. Usingmore ordered tweets can help you with thesame. Using hashtags is very important ifyou want to target a large number of audi-ence.

On social media, taking a little effortand creating special messages for yourclients who are really close or precious toyou can be of great help as it sends a mes-sage to them that you care and need theirsupport.

Being up-to-date with social mediatrends is extremely important becausepeople are always looking for somethingunique and interesting. If you stick to oldmethods of posting photos and stories,people might not pay much attention toyour content. Exploring and experi-menting should be your mantra for socialmedia. Keep it creative so that peopleengage with your content actively.

Unlike Twitter where you are restrict-ed to 140 words, Google+ and Facebookallow you to write longer texts. Yourclients from different parts of the worldwould love to know and engage with your

work. Keeping active on all social mediaplatforms can help attract more follow-ers and spread your content globally.

By creating groups on Facebook, youallow your followers to freely send younecessary content. What is better thanconnecting with your clients or audienceon social media and getting to know whatthey like or dislike by one one one con-versation? It helps them discuss your workwith others. You can send recentannouncements to them and hear theirfeedback.

Building relations is very crucial if youwant to stay and finding interesting anddifferent ways to do that is your work.Exploring everything that a particularsocial media platform offers you is a goodway to know how you can be creative andhow you can put them social media fea-tures to use for your own good.

Over the last two years, theway people work has seensome massive shifts and

adjustments. Changes that wouldhave affected work for the gen-erations to come have happenedin a short amount of time as theworkforces from all over theworld experience a paradigmshift. While 2020 was a year filledwith speculation and doubt,2021’s predictions pointed in thedirection of hope. Now thatwe’ve stepped into 2022, it is pre-dicted that this will be one of themost career defining years forpeople from all walks of life, beit big name companies or eventhe smallest of businesses.

Here are five very powerfulglobal trends that are shaping thecareer of every professional intoday’s world:

Abundance of capital: theprivate and public markets neverhad as much capital as it has -thanks to a middle aged globalworking class pumping in theirsavings in all kinds of invest-ments. What are the industriesand what are the businesses thatwill attract this capital? Youwould be better off working forthose companies that are betterpositioned to attract this capital.

Economic populism - a new

generation of bankers more wor-ried about 'income inequality'and less about inflation areprinting money to fulfil politicalobjectives, and resulting assetinflation will impact all of ourfinances and careers. How youplan your finances should takethis into account.

Nearshoring: as Chinabecomes increasingly unreliable,politically hostile and undercompetitive as a trading partner- more countries like Japan andUSA will be forced to bring somemanufacturing back to theirown countries or look for alter-native manufacturing countrieslike Vietnam, Bangladesh, andmaybe even India. This has puta lot of economic equations influx.

Remote work: this has cre-ated unprecedented opportuni-ties for geoarbitrage in services(as opposed to internationaltrade in goods). Till now, thiswas unthinkable for most organ-isations outside IT. In 2022,remote work is mainstream.These are early days, but asmore organisations learn to workwith remote talent and technicaltools that enable remote work,the world will begin to look verydifferent in the next 5-10 years.

Most of us do not anticipate thesweeping changes that are on theway.

Shift to green energy: themost world changing impact willcome from increasing globalinvestment to finance the shiftaway from fossil fuel. Entire newindustries of gigantic proportionare springing up. Entireeconomies will transform due tothis shift. For example, India'sfundamental economic realitywill change as we shift to solarand nuclear energy from petro-leum and coal. It would be likelifting a curse on the Indianeconomy, or cancelling a mas-sive tax, which we pay due tocurrently being a huge net ener-gy importer.

Also, a silent revolution hashappened in the Indian econo-my already. As UPI transactionshave killed a lot of cash - a lotmore people have come underthe tax net.

Number of people filingITR has quadrupled. A lot moreMSME businesses are within theformal economy today, payingtaxes and complying to laws asthey have adopted digital pay-ments thanks to speed and vol-ume. Even a local paan shop orjuice seller can't operate without

digital payments as consumersoverwhelmingly prefer it.

As a result, tax revenue forthe government has been rapid-ly & unprecedentedly growing inIndia. This augurs well for tax-payers and government spend-ing capacity.

The world is changing. Indiahas already changed. 2021 and2022 are going to be remem-bered as the years the con-sumer and the workforcebecame aware of their sur-roundings on such a microlevel, that they seeked out to fillin the gaps in their profession-al lives themselves.

We are on the cusp of greatchanges that most professionalsdo not understand or anticipate.And while the changes mightseem overwhelming and unpre-dictable (especially with news ofmajor stocks falling, lay-offsand major changes in people’swork habits), it is important tokeep upto date with the sur-roundings and maintain a levelheaded approach to saidchanges.

Those of you who are read-ing signs on the wall and align-ing your career with thesechanges stand to benefit greatly.

How often do you get hooked toa game? Do these excitinggame environments, challeng-

ing levels, and multiple features makeyou wonder how thrilling would it beto design one from scratch? It indeedsounds thrilling to develop a gaminguniverse using the ideas that are yourbrainchild. Gaming has become pop-ular among individuals across all agegroups, and this trend has indirectlymotivated many youngsters to look atit from a career perspective. Theadvent of the internet and unprece-dented access to technology haveadded to the demand for games andaccelerated the overall growth of thisindustry.

With over 2.34 billion gamers pre-sent globally, this sector has come along way in establishing itself as a fast-evolving segment in the entertainmentarena. As per NASSCOM, the overallbusiness done by the Indian gamingindustry stands at $890 million andmore than 100 game developmentorganisations are operating in the sub-continent. The versatility and expo-nential growth of this sector are mak-ing it more than just a pass-time orhobby. Today, many aspirants areconsidering it as a viable career option.According to a recent survey con-ducted by the HP India GamingLandscape Report, 78 per cent and 84per cent of respondents hailing from

the metro and tier-2 cities, respectively,were eager to join a profession in thegaming field.

Having established that gaming isbecoming a preferred career choice,what professional options are presentwithin its vast gambit?

Game DesignerIn simple terms, a game designer

is the architect of the game. They playa critical role in planning and defin-ing all the elements present. Right fromcreating the various in-game settings,rules, story flow, levels, characters,vehicles to weapons, fall under thepurview of a designer. In short, as agame designer, you are responsible forthe entire game environment. It is awell-suited role for those with a cre-ative mind and interest in designing.

Narrative DesignerThese are professionals with a

knack for storytelling. They workclosely with game designers and helpthem add context to the story. Theirwork adds the icing on top of the game-play. They lay the foundation of thestory experience the player will haveduring the game. Narrative designersare responsible for enhancing theentire gaming experience. To be a suc-cessful narrative designer, you need tomake words your forte. A significantpart of your job role will entail writingdialogues for the characters and puttingtogether the in-game text.

Game Animator/ Visual ArtistYou can ideate top-notch charac-

ters, objects, sceneries and other ele-ments of the game environment.However, without visual artists anddesigners to turn these ideas into phys-ical forms, all planning will be washeddown the drain. Within this depart-ment lie an array of roles like ConceptArtists, 3D Modellers, 2D/TextureArtists and many more. Each of thesehas its set of responsibilities, targets andtechniques of doing the job.

Sound Designer/ AudioEngineer

Imagine playing a game withoutany sound or music? It will get dull.Sound designers and audio engineersplay a vital role in keeping the game’srealism intact and boredom at bay.They use a plethora of soundtracks andeffects like gunshots, car’s vroom,crowd noise, helicopter’s whirring, andpublic cheering, among others, to keepthe game interesting. Many sounddesigners even mix tunes and trackswith the help of a variety of softwareto create the right background musicfor a game.

Game Developer/ ProgrammerThey work in liaison with game

artists, game designers, game pro-ducers and sound technicians. Theyensure that the tech-based coding issynchronised with the game design.Their job helps do justice to the cre-ative vision behind every game. Agame developer or programmer teststhe different codes. They fix the flawsand bugs pointed out by game testers.This role involves complex processes.To create the best possible game; a largeteam of programmers is required.

Game TesterThink about a job where your pri-

mary task is to play games all day. Thisis the dream job for all gaming enthu-siasts. A game tester does exactly this.They systematically play the test game,

analyse the entire experience andnote its performance. They pinpointthe errors and suggest improvementsthat will make the game more player-friendly. The quality and ease of play-ing depend on the analysis providedby these game testers.

Game Journalist/CriticThey are an integral part of the

entertainment industry. It is throughthe eyes of these journalists and crit-ics; customers understand the realis-tic overview of a game. They are pro-fessionals who are both gamers andwriters. Once a game is launched, theyplay and explore its dynamics. Postthis, they explain its ins and outs totheir readers, in lucid terms.

Game ProducersTo build and launch an exciting

game, finance is a prerequisite that can-not be ignored. Video game produc-ers look after this aspect of the busi-ness. They tend to all the financialdetails and requirements necessary fordeveloping the end-product. Theyeven focus on how the game will bemarketed, oversee the workforce,ensure timelines are met and keep aneye on the budget constraints.

No matter what avenue youchoose, remember to follow yourinstincts and give your 100 per cent!

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With DU and JNU confirmedto be a part of CUCET,

admission to most of the centraluniversities through a commonentrance test seems to be a real-ity now. A common entrance forall the universities will put a restto ever-increasing cut-offs (likeDU) and may improve thechances of regional languageaspirants as well as it is expectedto be conducted in a minimum of13 scheduled languages. The idea

of having a common entrance testat the undergraduate level is toshift the focus more on develop-ing the critical thinking ability ofthe students rather than going forrote learning.

Central UniversitiesCommon Entrance Test(CUCET), advocated under theNational Education Policy 2020is not a new concept. It was firstconducted for admission in 7 cen-tral universities for 1,500 seats inundergraduate, postgraduate &integrated courses in 2010. Till

the academic year 2021-22, 12Central Universities like AssamUniversity, University ofKarnataka, University of Kerala,University of Haryana, to namea few, already took admissionsthrough CUCET. The NationalTesting Agency (NTA) has beenassigned the task to conduct theCUCET and as per the report,this may be conducted twice ayear from the academic year2022-23 like the JEE entrance test.

“UGC has directed all 45 cen-tralized universities to take appro-

priate measures for the CUCETfrom the academic session 2022-2023, & efforts are ongoing atthese academic institutions toimplement the computer-basedexam that is likely to happen inJune. The exam is most likely tobe divided into two segments- thefirst one focusing on the generalaptitude of the students and thesecond one may be on the specificsubject domain, for which thestudents are seeking admissions,”says Mk Yadav, CMD, AITestified.

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The Les Roches Marbellaannounces admissions for

Postgraduate Diploma inInternational HospitalityManagement.

Module: The PGD is com-posed of 6 months of academ-ic classes, including a fieldtrip, followed by a 6-monthinternship. The academicsemester features courses thatcombine leadership skills andbusiness/operational knowl-edge. There are two intakes peryear, one in March and one inSeptember.

Fee & scholarship: ThePostgraduate Diploma inInternational HospitalityManagement at Les RochesMarbella costs 19,955 EUR. Asa private institution, Les Rochesprovides scholarships andfinancial aid packages for stu-dents.

How to apply: To apply forthis program, download theapplication form here and fillin your personal details accord-ingly. You will be contacted toschedule your admissionsassessment. Assessment willinclude a compulsory interviewand may involve a writtenexercise.

Last call for March 2022

applicationOngoing application

process for September 2022

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The Edu Brain Academy col-laborated with the nation-

al and international universitiesoffering bachelor programmesin Fashion Design, FashionBusiness Management,Communication Design andInterior Architecture & Design.

It also offers postgraduateprogrammes in Fashion Designand Fashion technology. TheInstitute offers these pro-grammes through its creativestudio-based education.

Applications: Apply onlineand offline. No entrance examAdmissions: Based on Class 10and 12 marks and merit

Admissions Process:Personal Interview

Deadline: February 27,2022

http://www.edubrain.in

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After the inoculation drivelaunched by the Union

Health Ministry for childrenin the age bracket of 15 to 18years, India’s premier coachinginstitute for JEE and NEETpreparation, VidyamandirClasses, has also ramped upthe vaccination activities andlaunched a vaccination driveacross various schools inDelhi. The one-week vaccina-

tion drive is held at variousschools across Delhi NCR,with an aim to cover 700doses amongst children, with-in the eligible age bracket.

“In sync withGovernment of India’s Largestvaccination drive being con-ducted, the beat COVID-19initiative taken by VMC to

vaccinate children in the vicin-ity is a commendable stepwhich will ensure that they aresafeguarded amid the pan-demic, and beyond.

We also appeal to all thecitizens to support theGovernment’s initiative in fas-tening the drive, since vacci-nation is the only pathwaytowards the victory ofmankind over the disease,”said Brij Mohan, Co-Founder,Vidyamandir Classes.

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Campus 365 managementhas been working to not

just house diverse staff, but tooffer support to the folks whocome from all walks of life andthat starts with ensuring thatthe women of the company(including transwomen) areoffered the right conditions.After witnessing severalwomen of the company takedays off their regular assignedholidays and work throughtheir pain, the board decidedthat the one way to maintaintheir safety was to offer theman extra day off for each men-

strual cycle. The company members

also want to encourage anenvironment of openness andhonesty. By providing a safespace for women to voice theirconcerns and talk about a peri-od of their lives that is com-pletely natural, de-stigmatisingperiods and women's health.

Mayank Singh, Co-founder& CEO of Campus 365 said, “AtCampus 365, we want to fostera culture of trust, truth, andacceptance.

All women (includingtransgender people) at Campus365 can avail up to 12 days ofperiod leaves in a year.”

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After winning the first ODIconvincingly, RohitSharma-led Team India

will look to continue their dom-ination and win the secondODI and seal the three-matchseries at the Narendra ModiStadium, here on Wednesday.

Since India didn't havemuch trouble in defeating WestIndies in the first match, hostsare unlikely to make any changesin their playing XI. However, thefocus will be on vice-captain KLRahul who has joined the teamafter a family engagement andwas seen sweating it out in thenets ahead of the game.

Ishan Kishan, who openedwith Rohit in the first ODI dida decent job with a 36-ball 28and both Deepak Hooda andSuryakumar Yadav also did wellto finish the game for India. IfRahul plays, then either of thethree among Kishan, DeepakHooda, and Suryakumar wouldhave to sit out to accommodatehim as Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pantand Rohit Sharma are certain toplay.

But the management mightalso choose to play the same XIand win the series and giveRahul, Mayank Agarwal, andShahrukh Khan a go in the last

game of the series.Speaking on the eve of the

match, middle-order batterSuryakumar also didn't revealmuch about the inclusion ofRahul and Mayank Agarwal inthe playing XI.

"They [Rahul and Mayank]are coming back into the squadafter quarantine and it makesour unit really stronger. At theend of the day, it's all team man-agement's call on who's gonnaplay. But yeah, really happy tohave them back," Surya said ina virtual press conference.

Eyes will be there also onVirat Kohli, who will like to getamong the runs and reach his

71st century, which has been inwaiting for over two years.

In the bowling department,India had a clinical outing in theprevious game, so the teammanagement is unlikely to makeany changes. The likes ofWashington Sundar,Mohammed Siraj, YuzvendraChahal, Prasidh Krishna,Shardul Thakur had restrictedvisitors to a below-par target inthe first ODI.

On the other hand, WestIndies, who failed to play even50 overs in the first ODI, willlook to improve their form andget going in the series.

The Kieron Pollard-led side

need to put a bigger prize ontheir wicket and have a bettershot selection. Along with JasonHolder and Fabian Allen, whobatted well, in the first game, therest of the batters would alsohave to come good.

The Windies bowlers alsoneed to be on the mark with lineand length as well as the pace.They were taken to task by theIndian batters, especially Rohit.

Squads:India: Rohit Sharma (cap-

tain), KL Rahul (vice-captain),Mayank Agarwal, RuturajGaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan,Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav,Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda,Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper),Deepak Chahar, ShardulThakur, Yuzvendra Chahal,Kuldeep Yadav, WashingtonSundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd.Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, AveshKhan, Shahrukh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard(captain), Fabian Allen,Nkrumah Bonner, DarrenBravo, Shamarh Brooks, JasonHolder, Shai Hope, AkealHosein, Alzarri Joseph, BrandonKing, Nicolas Pooran, KemarRoach, Romario Shepard,Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr

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The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports hassanctioned 36 proposals for the establishment

of Khelo India Centres, one proposal for the estab-lishment of Khelo India State Centre of Excellence

and 11 sports infrastructure projects, to the Stateof Maharashtra during the last three years.

The Khelo India Scheme is a demand-drivenscheme and the proposals are considered basedon the technical feasibility of the proposals, theiradherence to the prescribed parameters, as wellas the availability of funds, Sports ministerAnurag Thakur informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

To another question, he said that theMinistry has also released a total fund ofRs.87.65 crore till date including Rs.5.49 croreduring current Financial Year 2021-22 forestablishing/construction of the main campusand for the functioning of temporary campusin Manipur.

The National Sports University, established inManipur, is a first-of-its-kind university to pro-mote education in the areas of Sports Sciences,Sports Technology, Sports Coaching, besides func-tioning as the national training centre for select-ed sports disciplines.

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India's top-order batter SmritiMandhana has risen two

places, to fifth, while captainMithali Raj continues to holdon to her second position in thelatest Women's ODI PlayerRankings for Batters releasedon Tuesday.

Mandhana, on 710 points,has displaced South Africa'sLizelle Lee (702) and England'sTammy Beaumont (696) inthe ranking, which is led byAustralia's Alyssa Healy (742points).

Meanwhile, dominant per-formances in the first twoODIs of the Women's Asheshave seen several Australianplayers climb the charts inODI Player Rankings. Havingdropped to the second spotafter the series against India inSeptember 2021, Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry is back atthe top of the Women's ODIPlayer Rankings for All-rounders with 407 points.India's Deepti Sharma is fourthwith 299 points.

Perry was the 'Player of theMatch' in the second ODI,first returning figures of 3/12 toreduce England to 129 all out,

before scoring a 40 off 64 ballsto take Australia close to victo-ry. Perry also made huge gainsin the bowlers' rankings, risingseven spots to break into thetop-10 and occupying the No.9spot. There hasn't been muchfor England to cheer about inthe ODI leg of the Ashes butKatherine Brunt's all-roundbrilliance in the first ODI,where she finished with 3/12and scored 32 not out, sees hergain three spots to No.5 in theall-rounders' rankings. Bruntalso jumped a spot to No.6 inthe bowlers' rankings.

Despite England endingup on the losing side in the firsttwo ODIs, Sophie Ecclestonebowled economically andjumped to third with a career-best 717 rating points in theODI Player Rankings forBowlers, which has India'sJhulan Goswami in second

spot.Perry's teammate Beth

Mooney too climbed the chartsfor batters, rising five places tooccupy the third spot behindMithali Raj after a Player-of-the-Match-winning 73 in thefirst ODI of the series.

Tahlia McGrath played acrucial role in Australia sealingthe ODI series in the first twoODI, with 48 runs and fivewickets. Her strong showingreflected across all threedepartments in the rankings,where she rose six spots toNo.41 for batters, a massive 32spots to No.52 to bowlers and20 spots to No. 31 for all-rounders.

The recently-concludedODI series between SouthAfrica and West Indies alsocaused some movement in thelatest ICC Rankings. WestIndies, who were 1-0 downafter the first two ODIs, wonthe final two matches to takethe series 2-1.

Opener Laura Wolvaardtbroke into the top 10 for bat-ters with a century in the thirdODI and a vital 23 that set upSouth Africa's win in thedecider. She rose four placesto No. 9.

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Confident India aim to seal series against WI

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