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JAIPUR l MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 257

LOCKDOWN A POSSIBILITY IF CASES KEEP RISING FOR 8-15 DAYS, SAYS MAHARASHTRA

CHIEF MINISTER UDDHAV THACKERAY

IT’S A BOY! ACTORS KAREENA KAPOOR AND SAIF ALI KHAN WELCOME THEIR BABY SON, SECOND CHILD AFTER TAIMUR

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW

DJOKOVICREIGNS

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic beats Russian Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to win the men’s singles Australian Open title in Melbourne on Sunday. Djokovic dominated his serve to hold to take a 6-5 lead and then broke back Medvedev to take the fi rst set 7-5. Medvedev lost the plot in the second set as World No. 1 broke his serve thrice to win the set 6-2. Djokovic continued to dominate like a champion as he won the 3rd set 6-2 to seal his 9th Australian Open championship. Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open dominance is intact — nine fi nals, nine championships and increased his overall grand salm tally to 18.

NOVAK THRASHES MEDVEDEV FOR RECORD-EXTENDING 9TH

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE

New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday passed a resolu-tion thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reforms in the agriculture sector and for his able leadership in effective handling of the COVID-19 situation.

The resolution was passed in the first meet-ing of the BJP’s new set of national office-bear-ers and it was chaired by party chief J P Nadda.

During the meeting,

Modi told party leaders to take the benefits of the new farm laws to the people.

The meeting was in-augurated by Prime Minister Modi and it started by paying trib-

utes to those who lost their lives due to the coronavirus.

The political resolu-tion was passed thank-ing the prime minister for the reforms in the agriculture sector and

his able leadership in ef-fective handling of the pandemic, BJP vice pres-ident Raman Singh said at a press conference.

He said the resolu-tion also highlights the Garib Kalyan Yojana during the pandemic, comprehensive budget and diligent handling of the situation on the Line of Actual Control with China.

Earlier, BJP general secretary Arun Singh had informed that dur-ing the course of the meet, discussions will be held on farm laws, Aat-manirbhar Bharat and upcoming state polls.

Turn to P6

Puducherry: Just a day before the floor test in the Assembly, the crisis for Congress in Puduch-erry deepened with two more MLAs of the Con-gress-DMK alliance re-signing on Sunday.

With the resignation of DMK legislator Ven-katesan and Congress MLA K Lakshminaray-anan, the strength of the ruling alliance has been

now reduced to 12. The opposition has 14 MLAs in the 33-member assem-bly, which has seven va-cancies. Lakshminaray-anan, who had been elected from the Raj Bhavan constituency, handed over his resigna-tion letter to Puducher-ry Assembly Speaker VP Sivakozhundu at the lat-ter’s residence.

“I took this decision

because the party didn’t give me due recognition in the government and in the organisation,” Lakshminarayanan told reporters. Later, he also resigned from the party membership.

On being asked if he will join any other par-ty, he said, “I will be joining, as per decision of people of my constit-uency.” Turn to P6

BJP mulls poll strategy withfarm laws, economy on mind

AHMEDABAD: Union Home Minister Amit shah with wife Sonal Shah, son Jay Shah, daughter-in-law Rishita Shah, grand daughter Rudri and Member of Rajya Sabha Narhari Amin after casting his vote at Naranpura Sub Zonal Offi ce in Ahmedabad on Sunday during phase 1 of the state local body polls. Shah expressed confi dence that the people of the state will establish Gujarat as the stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). Polling took place for municipal corporations in six major cities of Gujarat.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

7-5 6-26-2

Wife of Mamata’s nephew gets CBI summon

SHAH WITH FAMILY VOTES IN CIVIC POLLSMadhav: Govt working on law to regulate social media

Puducherry floor test today, two more MLAs quit

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Ram Mad-hav has said social me-dia has become ‘so pow-erful that it can even topple governments, leading to anarchy and weakening democracy, and solutions to tackle this are needed to be found within the consti-tutional framework’.

Speaking at the launch of his new book ‘Because India Comes First’, Mad-hav said democracy is stressed and facing new challenges with the rise of “non-political” and “non-state” forces.

“Social media is so powerful that it can even topple govern-ments Turn to P6

Party hails PM Modi for agri reforms, handling covid situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at BJP national offi ce bearers meet.TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee

Congress legislator K Lakshminarayanan, who had been elected from the Raj Bhavan constituency, handed over his resignation letter to Puducherry Assembly Speaker VP Sivakozhundu at the latter’s residence, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: With the by-polls in four assembly constituencies to be an-nounced in the coming days, the Congress has stepped up the prepara-tions for the by-elections and started setting its pace for the same. State Congress President Go-vind Singh Dotasra is preparing to field a strong team for the four bypolls, while Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also consistently held meetings and dis-cussions with the lead-ers of the respective by-

election constituencies. On Sunday, Chief Minis-ter Ashok Gehlot took a feedback meeting re-garding Sujangarh by-election at his residence after taking feedback of Vallabhnagar, Sahada and Rajsamand recently.

PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasra, MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, Narendra Budania and Krishna Poonia also at-tended the meeting held at the Chief Minis-ter’s residence, besides former minister Na-seem Akhtar, Waqf Board Chairman Khanu Khan, Rehana

Riaz, Mangalaram Godara, Dungaram Ge-dar and Norang Verma. In all more that fifty leaders were present

wherein discussion was also held on pacify-ing the aggrieved.

Apart from taking feedback from these

leaders, CM Gehlot, also gathered ward-wise feedback from sar-panches and councilors to prepare a better strategy. Gehlot also talked to all the leaders regarding candidate se-lection and also called upon all the leaders to work in a united fash-ion so that the party wins the election. “We have to work in a united manner to win the elec-tion by letting go of per-sonal differences. Make sure that our candidate wins by a historic mar-gin,” Gehlot directed the leaders. Turn to P6

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

MADAN LAL SAINI’S NEPHEW ALONG WITH WIFE, TWO DAUGHTERS COMMITS SUICIDEFirst India Bureau

Sikar: In a shocking incident, a couple and their two daughters al-legedly died by hanging in Sikar. The family of Hanuman Prasad Saini (45) was under depres-sion after his son Amar died due to a heart attack four months back. Hanuman was the nephew of former BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Late Madan Lal Saini. Hanu-man’s wife Tara Devi

(40), daughters Pooja (22) and Anu (18) were also battling with mental health after the younger son Amar’s death, said the police. On Sunday, they died by suicide inside their house in Purohit Ji Ki Dhani in Radhakrishnapura area. A suicide note has been found from the room. “We cannot live without son Amar. We too are leaving the world. The world is worthless with-out a son. Police should not harass anyone” the

suicide note men-tioned. On receiving the information, SP Kunwar Rashtradeep and other offi cials rushed to the spot. The bodies were shifted to Kalyan hospital where post-mortem will be conduct-ed on Monday. Hanu-man was class four employee at a nearby government school. His wife was a homemaker, Pooja was a student of MSc First Year and Anu was studying in BSc Second Year.

Gehlot sets the ball rolling for Sujangarh bypolls

There are some leaders (in Delhi) who said

they knew how to break the spine of

Bengal. It is not easy to break our spine.

Bengal taught me to fight bravely like a tiger. We cannot be

intimidated with jail.—Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister

Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday reached the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and served a notice on his wife, asking her to join probe in a coal pil-ferage case.

According to the CBI sources, the team of of-ficials from the probe agency reached Baner-jee’s Kalighat residence but couldn’t find any-one there. They left af-ter 15 minutes, serving a notice to Rujira Ban-dopadhyay Turn to P6

RAJASTHANJAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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Mahesh Sharma 

Jaipur: Jaipur is be-coming a favourite des-tination for gold smug-glers as the number of cases being caught with gold is increasing. Talk-ing about Jaipur Air-port, there are direct flights to and from Gulf countries including Dubai, Sharjah and Oman. People bring cheap gold in these flights. Looking at the record of the last two years, the Customs De-

partment has caught more than 48 kg of gold at Jaipur Airport, which has a market val-ue of more than Rs 23.30 crore.

According to the Cus-toms Department sources, the highest cases of gold smuggling are caught in Kerala. Besides, large quanti-ties of gold is also caught at Delhi, Mum-bai, Chennai, Hy-derabad, and Bengalu-ru airports. But in the last few years, Jaipur

Airport has become a favourite place for smugglers.

During lockdown too, the gold smuggling con-tinued at Jaipur Air-port. Overall 17 cases of smuggling were report-ed in 2020 where 34 kg of gold was caught. The largest number of gold smuggling in a single day was reported at the Rajasthan capital. On 3rd July, 16 people car-ried around 32 kgs of gold in emergency lights.

Vimal Kothari

Jaipur: The elections of the Jaipur Jewellers Association will be held on February 27 for which nominations can be filed till Sunday.

A total of 6252 jewel-lery firms are regis-tered with the associa-tion.

Nominations can be filed by Sunday and the last date of withdrawal of nomination is 22 Feb-ruary. The list of candi-dates contesting elec-tions will be issued on

24 February and if ne-cessitated, polling will be held on 27 February.

For the elections for 2020/21-2022, 15 jewel-lers have formed a unit-ed jewellers group that will contact the voters. Another group of jewel-lers has also become ac-tive for elections.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Four masked men robbed a petrol pump worker at a filling station in Mansarovar area here, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place after midnight on Saturday when four uni-dentified people arrived at the petrol pump on two separate two-wheel-ers. One of them point-ed a gun at the petrol attendant and asked him to hand over his money collection bag, police said.

“A case has been reg-istered on the complaint lodged by the petrol pump operator. The ac-cused have fled away with Rs 23,000. A search is on to nab them,” Mu-hana Station House Of-ficer (SHO) Lakhan Singh said.

Rajiv Gaur

Jodhpur: Dr Pushpen-dra Singh Bhati, Judge of Rajasthan HC ad-dressed a gathering on the topic titled ‘Impor-tance of native lan-guage in primary edu-cation’ on World Moth-er Language Day. He said Rajasthani lan-guage deserves consti-tutional recognition, it should get a place in the 8th schedule of the con-stitution. He was invit-ed as a chief guest at the joint aegis of the Maharaja Mansingh Pustak Prakash Re-search Center, Mehran-garh, Baba Ramdev Shodhpeeth, Rajastha-ni Department of Jay-narayan Vyas Univer-sity and INTACH Jodh-pur Chapter. Given the glorious history of the Rajasthani language, literature and culture, the Rajasthani lan-guage must get consti-tutional recognition.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The Joint En-trance Examination (Main), or JEE Main, is going to be held four times this year.

The exams will be held in 13 languages including English, Ta-mil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Ben-gali, and Assamese, city coordinator of NTA Pradeep Singh Gaur said.

The exam in the first phase will be held at the 331 exams from 23 to 26 February. Two shifts will be held, from 9 am to 12 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm.

First India Bureau

Bikaner: After loot-ing 3 lakh at gunpoint from the post office at the railway colony of Bikaner, the same miscreants robbed 10 lakh from Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank (RMGB) in Muk-taprasad Nagar. After a long investigation of five months, the police have finally nabbed the two youths behind the robbery. It wasn’t a gang but local youths who did it. Both are named Dheeraj. The

cyber cell played an important role in this investigation. One pis-tol and eight live car-tridges have been re-covered from both the youths.

Bikaner Range In-spector General of Po-lice Prafulla Kumar and Superintendent of Police Preeti Chan-dra said that both these youths had com-mitted robbery inci-dents. Among them is Dheeraj alias Dhar-mapreet Singh and the second Dheeraj of Muktaprasad Colony.

Kota: The Central Narcotics Bureau team has taken mas-sive action and recov-ered a huge amount of illegal Doda which was being smuggled under the guise of po-tato chips. It was being taken to Jodhpur, Pha-

lodi from MP. The team has arrested Jodhpur resident Om-prakash Vishnoi (32) on charges of smug-gling. The team of Narcotics presented the accused in court which sent him to 5 days remand.

Jaipur airport hotspot for gold smuggling GOLD UNDER RADAR

Customs Department has

caught more than 48 kg of gold at Jaipur Airport, which

has a market value of more than Rs 23.30

crore

Promoted by First India News International Pvt. Ltd.

BJP MLAs seek voice in the Assembly, write to Poonia

Woman dead in hotel, suspect dies after jumping before trainThe police suspect the woman was killed with a poisonous substance or strangulation

First India Bureau

Jaipur: In a hint of in-tra-party differences, around 20 BJP MLAs have written to the par-ty’s state president Sat-ish Poonia expressing their dissatisfaction over allegedly not being given time by their leg-islature party leaders to raise public issues in the Rajasthan assembly.Poonia said that he has not received any letter and would comment only after receiving it.

In the 200-strong state assembly, the op-position BJP has 71 MLAs with the right to allocate time to them to speak in the assembly reserved with Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and

Deputy Leader of Op-position Rajendra Rathore.

In their letter to Poo-nia, the legislators’ group led by senior

BJP MLA Kailash Meghwal has also asked him to instruct Kataria and Rathore to allocate equal time to all party MLAs without any bias to raise public issues in the assembly.

The letter to Poonia was written over a fort-night ago but the entire matter came to light on Sunday ahead of a meeting of party lead-ers of various states with the Central lead-ership.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: A 26-year-old woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a ho-tel room in Badi Ka Bas in Amber area of the city on Sunday. A few hours after she was found dead, a man, with whom she had checked into the hotel room, died by suicide at Kanota by jumping in front of a moving train. The duo, identified as Nitesh Dixit and Nikita Dixit, are said to be from Am-rapur in Kota district and the police have ini-tiated an investigation into the matter.

The police suspect the woman was killed with a poisonous substance or strangulation. Ac-cording to the police, the incident took place in room number 303 of the

Hotel Shyam Palace lo-cated on Jamwa Ram-garh road. “On Saturday afternoon, two men on bikes reached the hotel and booked the room by giving two IDs. They

stayed at the hotel for a while after which they left and one of them re-turned at about 4:30 pm, with a woman with him. The duo stayed in the hotel overnight. Af-ter this, at around 11 am Sunday, the man came to the reception and left saying that he has a bad stomach and needed to see a doctor,” po-lice said. The man was seen leaving with a bag.

Later in the after-noon, hotel staff found the room locked from outside. “He informed the hotel operator Deep-ak and when they did not hear anyone in-side the room, they

climbed on the back wall to see from a win-dow. They were shocked to find the woman in the room in an unconscious state. Police was in-formed and the gate was opened with a spare key. The FSL team was called and we are also searching for CCTV footage,” officials said.

The man was later identified as Ramchan-dra, a resident of Hin-gonia. The police found hotel key from his pock-et and bike is also regis-tered on his name.

A country made pis-tol and a live cartridge were found near dead body of woman.

LOP, CHIEF WHIP TO DECIDE

First India Bureau

Sikar: Accusing Con-gress of coming to pow-er in Rajasthan on fake promises, Rajsamand MP and BJP state gen-eral secretary Diya Ku-mari on Sunday said that the state govern-ment has failed to live up to its promises.

“The Congress gov-ernment has failed to perform and therefore, to divert public atten-tion, a false illusion is being created that BJP is divided. There is no division in the BJP par-ty and both Vasundhara Raje and Satish Poonia have immense affection

for people,” she said during her Sikar visit.

She said that BJP is a cadre-based party and everyone in the party discusses every issue like a party worker.

Commenting on the

farmers’ movement, she said that the central govt is continuously working in the interest of farmers and the mat-ter of the agitation can only be resolved through dialogues.

Naveen Joshi

Bhilwara: Health min-ister Dr Raghu Sharma on Sunday said that the state has made remark-able progress in the health sector due to the efforts of the state gov-ernment.

He said that the gov-ernment is making an effort to increase the storage capacity in blood

banks and maximize the collection of blood. Sharma, who attended a blood donation camp or-ganized by Pratap Yuva Shakti at Kumbha Hos-tel, Bhilwara, said that blood donation is the biggest donation of life which saves the life of others.

He said that people should come forward and donate blood.

JJA elections to be held on February 27

4 armed men loot petrol pump in Jaipur

HC judge bats for Rajasthani language

JEE Main to be held four times a year

Two held for bank loots

4.8 ton doda recovered

Congress failed to live up to its promises: Diya Kumari

State progressed in health sector: Dr Raghu

Diya Kumari with a young supporter at Khudi gram panchayat in Laxmangarh tehsil of Sikar on Sunday.

CRIME BRANCH

DATARAM AMAR RAHE

Huge crowd hit the roads at Niwaru in Jaipur on Sunday to bid fi nal farewell to Havildar Dataram Jat, 45, who was martyred in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir on February 19 during an operation against militants. The last rites were held at the Niwaru cremation ground with full military honours as the area resounded with “Dataram Amar Rahe, Bharat Mata ki Jai” slogans. Dataram was serving in the Rajputana Riftles and served in UN Mission also. His wife Pinki Devi, son Shiva Faujdar, and daughter Jyoti and Simran, army offi cials, and locals bid tearful adieu on Sunday. Governor Kalraj Mishra condoled the demise of Jat.

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARM

A

Raghu Sharma and Dharmendra Rathore in a blood donation camp organized at Kumbha hostel in Bhilwara on the occasion of seventh death anniversary of Pushpendra Singh Khairabad (Sahada), a volunteer of Kshatriya Youth Federation.

Police investigating at the hotel on Sunday.

Gold seized from shoes of a passenger at airport on Saturday.

RAJASTHANJAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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Vikas Sharma

Jaipur: Under the vac-cination programme in the state, the first phase of intensive mis-sion Indradhanush-3 will be organized from 22 February. Total 24 districts will be cov-ered under the first phase.

Health minister Dr Raghu Sharma will launch the initial phase of the campaign from Bhilwara. The campaign will be or-ganized in two phases as per the instructions of the Union Health Ministry.

A total of 3,963 vac-cination sessions will be organized. Health secretary Siddharth Mahajan said that a target has been set to vaccinate 23,980 chil-dren up to 2 years of

age and 6,268 pregnant women. Children and pregnant women who were deprived of vac-

cination in the last months due to covid-19 pandemic will be vac-cinated free of cost.

Nirmal Tiwari

Jaipur: Tourism activi-ties and the promotion of Rajasthan tourism are all set to gain mo-mentum this year as the government has planned several activi-ties to enhance footfall in the desert state.

Having suffered huge losses due to corona pandemic, the govern-ment has now set a tar-

get to bring 1 crore tour-ists to the state this year and to achieve that, the tourism department will attend five major promotional pro-grammes in the coun-try apart from holding Maru festival and other events in the state to woo tourists.

The department is go-ing to organize 4 fairs in the last week of Febru-ary and March. Apart

from it, officials led by tourism director Nis-hant Jain will promote Rajasthan tourism in five domestic marts in different cities of the country. Similarly, more than a dozen road shows will also be or-ganised.

Apart from the pal-aces and forts and other tourism sites, the fa-mous luxury train ‘Pal-ace on Wheels’ will be

promoted in the marts.Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot has tar-geted to bring one crore tourists to the state in the current tourist sea-son. Since then, chief secretary Niranjan Arya, principal secre-tary tourism Alok Gup-ta, director Nishant Jain and other officials are also constantly holding meetings to achieve the target.

MARK THE CALENDER!

Upset father jumps into well with minor daughter & son, dieFirst India Bureau

Pali: A father died by suicide by jumping into a 115-feet deep well with his two children in Basni Bhadavata vil-lage of Pali district on Sunday morning. He lived alone with a daughter and son. The children’s mother left him 2 months back af-ter being upset with her husband’s frequent beating. Police reached the spot and got the three dead bodies out of the well.

Police said Tikamar-am jumped into well with his 10-year-old daughter Surata and 7-year-old son Balaram, trio died. Villagers said that Tikaram left the house at 8 am with both children. He first had breakfast at a person’s house in the village. He

reached a well in the vil-lage and started talking about dying there. Peo-ple at the well drove him away. He went to another well nearby and jumped along with his childrens.

Around 9:30 am some-one saw a blanket near the well, peeped inside. Three dead bodies were floating in the well. Ti-karam’s mental health worsened, which led to the downfall of his coal making business. He al-ways used to keep his childrens with him.

Police, rescue teams at the spot on Sunday.

Health minister Dr Raghu Sharma

The deceased Tikaram’s mental health worsened, which led to the

downfall of his coal making business

Indradhanush-3: First phase of vaccination mission from today

COMPLAINT AGAINST BACHCHAN PANDEY TEAM WITHDRAWN

‘0’ DEATH, 82 FRESH CASES ON SUNDAY

12, including policeman, kids killed in separate accidentsFirst India Bureau

Jaipur: Twelve people including two kids and a policeman were killed in separate acci-dents in the state, the police said on Sunday.

In Churu district, four people including two women and a six-year-old child were killed when a truck hit the pickup van going to Runicha Dham in Bahl on Tonawas Marg near Buchavas. There were about 16 people in the van.

In Sirohi, two bike-

riding men Naresh Nath and Ashok Ku-mar died after being hit by an unknown ve-hicle near Mandar RTO check post.

In Hanumangarh, three bike riders, in-cluding a child, were killed when a car hit a bike near village No-rangdesar in Hanu-

mangarh town police station area. Ishma Bibi, her son Bilaldin and his two-and-a-half-year-old son Hasnain were killed in the acci-dent in Nawan village.

In Jhunjhunun’s Nawalgarh, two bikers died when a trolley came in front of them. After information, po-lice reached the spot.

In Sujangarh, Head constable Hari Maha-ria going to Salasar on VIP duty died after a trailer hit bike. Maha-ria was posted in Ra-tangarh police station.

FREE FASTAGAT TOLLS TILL MARCH 31: NHAIFirst India Bureau

Jaipur: In an important decision on Sunday, the NHAI has decided to give free fastags till March 31. Until now, fastags cost Rs 100. NHAI’s CGM MK Jain said that about 94% of vehicles have been fast-tagged in the state so far. In last 5 days, more than 40,000 vehicles have in-stalled fastags. It is ex-pected that the count of Fastag will reach 98% within 1 week. With sav-ing fuel, environment will also become safe.

ALBERT @ 135An array of extravaganza kickstarted on Sunday, Albert Hall’s 135th Foundation Day. The event witnessed performances by various folk artists of Rajasthan

Plethora of events to get tourism back on track!—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

In Sujangarh, a cop going to Salasar on VIP duty died after

trailer hit bike

PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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� Vol 2 � Issue No. 257 � RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

ith movie theat-ers closed all over the world due to the COV-ID-19 pandemic,

Hollywood studios had lit-tle reason for celebration over the past year. In busi-ness for over a century, Uni-versal Pictures (founded in 1912), Paramount (1912), Warner Bros. (1923), Walt Disney (1923) and Columbia Pictures (1924) now have an extra reason to be con-cerned. In 2020, China took over Hollywood’s crown as the world’s biggest movie market, with a revenue of $3.2 billion, 84% of which came from domestic sales.

Is this new status enough for China? Probably not. New blockbusters will soon rebalance these numbers, but soft power — the ability to seduce people from all over the world through cul-ture — takes time to build

up. Soft power also brings lasting income to its coun-try of origin in terms of products and services, like tourism for example. When in 1934, Walt Disney began work on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” other film studio chiefs derided the project as “Disney’s Folly,” since adults, not chil-dren, were considered to be primary consumers. These executives forgot that chil-dren watch films over and over again and want all the related merchandise. “Snow White” went on to become the first film in his-tory to gross $100 million, selling 400 million tickets from 1937 to 1948.

WELCOME TO CHINAWOODThese are just numbers. Disney’s greatest achieve-ment was making his crea-tions into lucrative vehicles

of US culture for decades to come. That is what China wants to achieve. It has been taking similar steps ever since farmer-turned-entrepreneur Xu Wenrong began building Hengdian World Studios in the 1990s. Known as Chinawood, it be-came the largest outdoor film studio in the world and one of China’s biggest do-mestic tourist attractions, offering historic film sets, a resort hotel and live perfor-

mances. Marketing itself “China’s tourism and per-forming arts capital,” Chi-nawood attracts thousands of TV shows and film pro-ductions every year.

Also, since fewer than 40 foreign films are allowed to take a bite of this massive market due to a strict quo-ta system, Chinawood also houses foreign produc-tions like “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Em-peror,” a Hollywood-China-

wood co-production (these escape quota restrictions), starring the likes of Brendan Fraser and Jet Li, grossed over $400 million worldwide in the first 21 weeks of its release.

Is this enough to make Chinawood a new soft pow-er? The answer is, probably not. Because Chinawood productions face a similar challenge as all the other blockbusters shot in the country, these films often lack creativity, self-criti-cism, audacity and freedom. Take the recent historical war drama, Guan Hu’s “The Eight Hundred,” for exam-ple. The film — at $470 mil-lion, 2020’s top-grossing pro-duction — pushed China to the number one spot in global box office revenues. However, most of this profit comes from China itself and not international markets. While European and US

theaters still struggle to open because of COVID-19, even without the pandemic, it’s hard to say that such pro-ductions could help the Chi-nese film industry overseas.

Hollywood became an ef-fective soft powerhouse not only because of million-dollar budgets and top-quality products, but also thanks to creative freedom. For instance, Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apoca-lypse Now” (1979), both masterpieces, were ex-pressly critical of US mili-tary intervention in Viet-nam. The films are also on the patriotic side, with American values overem-phasized. However, by crit-icizing America’s own cul-ture and politics, the films are far from being hard-power propaganda.

SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER

Can Chinawood win soft power for Beijing?W

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he agreement reached be-tween the two Asian giants to ease tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) took many by surprise. The imple-mentation began on 10th Feb-ruary with phased withdraw-al from the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso Lake, a major area under dis-pute being referred to as fric-tion point by both sides. The entire process including re-moval of infrastructure cre-ated after April 2020 and vaca-tion of heights occupied by the infantry units is likely to take 10-15 days as the entire exercise is being undertaken in an atmosphere of utter trust deficient between the two sides. A strict and fool-proof verification mecha-nism has been put in place to avoid the incidents of the past which left to a physical clash between the two sides at Galwan in June last year. Af-ter the disengagement pro-cess is successfully complet-ed in this sector, the com-manders are scheduled to meet within 48 hours to dis-cuss the modalities from dis-engagement in other sectors. Patrolling has been suspend-ed in the area temporarily to avoid clashes. While the ma-jority at home and abroad are happy with the agreement reached and the possibility of normalcy returning along the LAC, there are many nay-sayers and doubting toms within the country who are blaming the government for a sell-out and ceding our ter-ritory in Eastern Ladakh to the Chinese. Some have also stated that possibly there has been a secret deal between the two countries and govern-ment has given certain com-mitments to the Chinese which are being hidden from the nation. Some senior vet-eran officers have also averred that the government has virtually accepted 1959 Chinese claim line and ques-tioned the logic of having a buffer zone and our troops vacating the heights occu-pied on the Kailash Range. Many of the doubts have aris-en because of the duplicitous and treacherous behaviour of the dragon in recent years.

Nonetheless, credit needs to be given to the Indian ne-gotiators both military and diplomatic for their persever-ance, patience, and persua-sion. Backed by an unambig-

uous political directive of not ceding even an inch of terri-tory to the Chinese, the nego-tiators refused to wither down or get fatigued due to prolonged negotiations, a tac-tic used by the Chinese to tire and wear down the adversary and succumb to the Chinese pressure, a manifestation of the Chinese strategy of “Win-ning without Fighting”. They stuck to their aim and in the process convinced the Chi-nese of the futility of con-fronting a determined India which was in no mood to bow down before the expansionist and the revisionist ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under its all-pow-erful leader Xi Jinping who had taken it upon himself to fulfill the “China Dream” by 2049, the centenary year of Communist rule. The Indians have worked hard to convince the dragon to relent.

The credit also goes to the valiant Indian Army and its field commander who turned the tables on the Chinese through a brilliant tactical manoeuvre to outflank the PLA Army troops on the north bank by occupying tac-tical heights on Kailash Range on the south bank on own side of the LAC. It enabled the ne-gotiators at all levels to under-take tough negotiations with-out conceding to the solutions offered by the Chinese.

Xi Jinping is an astute pol-itician expert in the art of survival. In an earlier article of mine “Will Xi Jinping Re-lent”, I had mentioned that Xi would prefer to relent than to bow down or surrender to his adversaries at home. The in-ternal situation in China is not good and Xi’s adversaries are breathing down his neck. The growing resentment among the masses is also af-fecting the popularity of CCP. Xi Jinping has centralised all powers. Centralisation works well as long as the going is good but the worsening inter-nal situation has given rise to many dissenters within the party and other political op-ponents. The worsening in-ternal situation and dashing of hope of improved rela-tions with America post-Trump have played a major role in reaching the agree-ment after a standoff extend-ing nearly for an year. Xi has enough problems at home and the continued standoff with India was harming their national interests including the economy which probably made the Dragon relent.

The first and the most com-pelling reason was the reali-sation by Xi Jinping that the Chinese have bitten much more than they could chew. The Chinese belligerence and expansionism was for the first time opposed strongly everywhere after the Indians had shown the way of refus-ing to get bullied and giving in to the Chinese hegemony. The determined response of India acted as an elixir for other victims of Dragon’s ex-pansionism in South and East China seas, across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. The Chinese calculation of taking advan-tage of the ongoing pandemic (which is alleged to be of Chi-nese origin) misfired very badly. The Chinese resources but not only overstretched but fatigued thus exposing the fragility of its armed forc-es in a combat situation.

The Chinese troops were found wanting as far as fight-ing in super high altitudes is concerned. They were unable to bear the vagaries of hos-tile weather and extreme wind chill factor which makes survival at these heights extremely difficult. The emphasis in the PLA has been to fight in a digital envi-ronment avoiding contact battles least realising the lo-gistics and physical prob-lems of super high altitude warfare. Thus, the morale of the PLA soldiers was in their boots despite claims of pro-viding them with a centrally

heated habitat. Indian sol-diers on the other hand beat their adversaries hands down and were seen to be by their counterparts as very agile, alert, and aggressive. Conscription in the Chinese Army and their young sol-diers being a product of the one-child norm was another contributory factor. There was tremendous pressure back home from their par-ents and PLA veterans to pull back from the area.

The other major problem faced by China is the failure of the domestic consumption market to pick up momen-tum. Though Chinese GDP has remained positive its at-tempts to shift from a manu-facturing-driven economy to a consumption-driven econo-my has not yielded the de-sired result. China’s con-sumption- a key driver of growth- has dampened the hopes of revival amidst fears of the resurgence of the Wu-han pandemic. The retail sales are still slowed down displaying a lack of confi-dence among the masses. To revive the spirits before the Chinese New Year celebra-tions begin, the disengage-ment has been so timed. Chi-na can ill afford tensions it has acquired globally through its revisionist policies seems to have been realised by Xi.

Problems facing the bank-ing industry have yet to be resolved. The likelihood of a rapid slowdown in credit growth also looms large. Ris-

ing labour costs, aging popu-lation, a spike in credit de-faults, growing rich-poor & urban-rural disparity, rising unemployment, near collapse of Xi’s favourite Belt Road Initiative are the other ills af-fecting the Chinese economy and domestic stability.

Agrarian crisis has emp-tied the domestic granaries compelling China to import food grains. China’s food in-flation has risen by double digits. Spiralling prices of food items particularly pork, the most commonly con-sumed meat in the country, has angered the masses. The continued wartime deploy-ment of its combat forces in Tibet further compounded the problem. Xi has realised that its tactics of diverting the attention of the Chinese public through a display of aggressive behaviour to-wards India and other neigh-bours in fact has backfired.

Unrest in Hong Kong, com-bative Taiwan, growing dis-sension in Tibet and Xinxi-ang, growing dissatisfaction among the masses, and eco-nomic uncertainties have compelled the Dragon to look inwards and resolve domes-tic problems rather than challenge the might of its ad-versaries on the borders. Knowing Xi Jinping, it could be a tactical withdrawal for the time being.

Among the external factors that may have contributed to the Chinese disengagement at this time after a prolonged and elongated standoff through the winters are the Indian revival story and cer-tain pronouncements of the new US President Joe Biden.

The Indian bounce back from China originated pan-demic has taken the Commu-nist China by surprise. India has not only embarked upon the path of Aatm Nirbhar Bharat (Self Reliant India) but the bold decisions taken to ban

the Chinese goods, Apps, and business houses has not only reduced the trade deficit be-tween the two countries but has also hit its economy. The way India controlled the pan-demic and was among the few nations to develop not only one but four vaccines (two already launched) belied the hopes of Chinese leadership which had hoped the collapse of the In-dian economy and its conse-quent weakening as a regional power. Instead, India’s speedy revival of economy and grow-ing soft power through “Vac-cine Maitri” has ruffled many feathers not only in China but its cronies as well.

Another reason which is at-tributed to prolonged negotia-tions is the Chinese desire to wait and watch the way things unfold globally after the presi-dential elections in the US are completed. Contrary to the Chinese expectations despite the change in presidency the new POTUS is as aggressive against China as his predeces-sor. He has termed China as number adversary and the new US administration has not only openly supported In-dia and cautioned China against its growing expan-sionism, it has also promised to strengthen the security al-liance with Japan to counter the increasing Chinese threat in the region. The United States has accused China of bullying and attempting to build a “maritime empire” in the South China Sea, an-nouncing several rounds of sanctions on Chinese state companies involved in build-ing artificial islands. To Drag-on’s dismay France, EU, Great Britain, and Australia have also joined hands with the US to curb China’s expansion.

All in all, a process has be-gun with a ray of hope that normalcy would return soon along the troubled LAC, de facto border between the two Asian giants. Considering that it’s just the beginning and ‘miles to go before we sleep’ peacefully because suc-cessful completion of this phase would pave way for the subsequent disengagements in other disputed sectors that would lead to ultimate de-es-calation without which for peace to prevail is difficult.

India can ill-afford to let its guard down and hence there should be no let-up in its 24x7 surveillance and preparation for an inevitable war with China.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY

THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

WHY DID THE DRAGON RELENT

T

The first and the most compelling reason was the realisation by Xi Jinping that the Chinese have bitten much more than they could chew. The Chinese belligerence and expansionism was for the first time opposed strongly everywhere after the Indians had shown the way of refusing to get bullied and giving in to the Chinese hegemony. The determined response of India acted as an elixir for other victims of Dragon’s expansionism in South and East China seas, across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region

BRIG VETERAN ANIL GUPTA

The author is a Jammu based veteran, political commentator, columnist, security and strategic analyst

THE INDIAN BOUNCE BACK FROM THE CHINA-ORIGINATED PANDEMIC HAS TAKEN COMMUNIST CHINA

BY SURPRISE. INDIA HAS NOT ONLY EMBARKED UPON THE PATH OF AATM NIRBHAR BHARAT (SELF RELIANT INDIA) BUT THE BOLD DECISIONS TAKEN TO BAN THE CHINESE GOODS, APPS, AND BUSINESS HOUSES HAS

NOT ONLY REDUCED THE TRADE DEFICIT BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES BUT HAS ALSO HIT ITS ECONOMY

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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sun-day that she is not afraid of anyone and cannot be intimidated with jail or something else.

Holding out a chal-lenge without naming any one or political par-ty, the Trinamool Con-gress supremo said that they have not learnt to lose.

"Don't try to intimi-date us with jail, we have fought against guns and are not afraid

of fighting against rats," she said.

"As long as there is life in me, I will not be afraid of any intimida-tion," Ms Banerjee said at a programme here on the International Moth-er Language Day.

The chief minister's programme was after the CBI had served a no-tice in the name TMC MP and her nephew Ab-hishek Banerjee's wife and sister-in-law Sun-day in connection with a case of alleged coal pilferage.

Let there be chal-lenge in 21, let us see whose strength is more; there will be only one game in 21 and I will be the goalkeeper in that match and want to see who wins," Ms Banerjee said. —PTI

New Delhi: After a meeting with farmer leaders from Westen Ut-tar Pradesh at Vidhan Sabha on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the Cen-tre’s new farm laws “death warrant for farmers” and said these laws will lead farming under the control of “a few corporates”.

“A detailed discus-sion took place with farmers from Western Uttar Pradesh over the three black laws. These laws are like a death warrant for farmers. If these laws are imple-mented, farming will go into the hands of a few

corporates,” the Cief Minister told reporters. “On February 28, a grand ‘Kisan Panchay-at’ is going to take place in Meerut where these laws will be discussed and an appeal will be made to the Govern-ment of India to take back these laws,” added Kejriwal.

Earlier, Kejriwal and

Uttar Pradesh farmer leaders is underway on Sunday at the Vidhan Sabha in the national capital to discuss farm laws and other issues.

Farmers have been protesting at the differ-ent borders of the na-tional capital since No-vember last year, against the three newly enacted farm laws.

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that it will be good if a single rate policy for electric-ity is adopted for the entire nation as it will benefit states like Bihar which gets power at a higher rate as com-pared to several others.Speaking to media in Patna, Kumar said, “In yesterday’s NITI Aayog governing council meeting, we raised questions about elec-tricity. If everyone pays (rate of electricity sup-

plied by Centre to states) the same for electricity across the country, it would be good. As of now, we pay more than others.” The sixth governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog was chaired

by Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi on Satur-day. The Chief Minister asserted that the gov-ernment will not do not spare violators of liquor prohibition in Bihar. He made the statement while answering a ques-tion over reports of some people who died after consuming spuri-ous liquor in the state. The liquor ban was en-forced in Bihar in April 2016. Kumar also ex-pressed concern over “anti-social activities”.

New Delhi:: In a letter to Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has accused the govern-ment of "profiting off people's misery and suf-fering" by increasing prices of fuel in India.

In her letter, Gandhi says, "On one hand, In-dia is witnessing sys-tematic erosion of jobs, wages and household income. The middle class and those at the margins of our society are struggling. These challenges have been compounded by run away inflation and an unprecedented rise in price of almost all household items and essential commodities. Sadly, in these distress-ing times, the Govern-ment has chosen to profiteer off people's misery & suffering."

She further adds, "Petrol has breached the 100/litre mark in many parts of the coun-try. To put it in context,

the crude oil price is nearly half of what it was during the UPA Government's tenure.

Therefore, your Gov-ernment's act of raising prices [continuously for 12 days till February

20th is little less than a brazen act of profi-teering."

Gandhi further said

that the government has increased excise duty on diesel by 820 per cent and on petrol by

over 258 per cent and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the last six and a half years. "This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected," she says.

She called it "cruel" on part of the govt to refuse to reduce fuel prices "even when glob-al crude oil had crashed to $20/barrel last year."

"The whole principle of deregulation & dy-namic pricing is predi-cated on the principle that reductions in crude oil prices will propor-tionately benefit the end consumers. The fact that your Gov fails to do so implies a delib-erate, conscious deci-sion to deny the com-mon man his due,"

She adds, "Instead, Government has been over-zealous in levying excessive excise duty on petrol and diesel."

—ANI

SERUM INSTITUTE DIRECTED TO PRIORITISE INDIA’S NEEDSPune: Adar Poonawalla, CEO of vaccine major Serum Institute of India (SII), on Sunday urged other countries to be patient as they wait for the supplies of COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, as the company has been direct-ed to prioritise the needs of India. Apart from mak-ing efforts to meet the requirements of India, the

company is also trying its best to balance the needs of the rest of the world, he added. ”Dear countries and governments, as you await #COVISHIELD sup-plies, I humbly request you to please be patient, @SerumInstIndia has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India. We are trying our best”, Poonawalla said.

OWAISI TO LAUNCH AIMIM’S BENGAL CAMPAIGN WITH RALLYKolkata: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi will kick off his party’s election campaign in poll-bound West Bengal on February 25 with a rally in a minority-dominated Metiabruz area of the city. According to party sources, the fi rst

public meeting of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will take place at the Metiabruz Pink square in the afternoon. Metiaburuz Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district comes under Diamond Harbour LS seat.

Suspicion cannot take the place of proof: Supreme CourtOdishas: Suspicion, however strong, can-not take the place of proof, the Supreme Court has said, stressing that an ac-cused is presumed to be innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. School. There has to be a chain of evi-dence so complete as to show that in all hu-man probability the act must have been done by the accused, a bench of justices Indira Banerjee and Hemant Gupta ob-served while uphold-ing an order of the Orissa High Court which acquitted two men accused of mur-dering a home guard by electrocuting him.“It is well settled by a plethora of judicial pronouncement of this court that suspi-cion, however strong cannot take the place of proof. An accused is presumed to be in-nocent unless proved guilty beyond a rea-

sonable doubt,” the bench said.As per an FIR lodged with the police by Gi-tanjali Tadu, her husband Bijay Ku-mar Tadu had been working deputed at Chandabali police station.The woman has al-leged that the ac-cused Banabihari Mohapatra, his son Luja and other ac-complices killed her husband with an electric shock after administering some poisonous substanc-es to him. The apex court said the post mortem report re-veals that the cause of death was electric shock and there is no conclusive evidence.

DELHI CRIME BRANCH ARREST 4 MORE PEOPLE IN RINKU SHARMA’S DEATH CASENew Delhi: After exam-ination of witnesses and CCTV, Delhi Crime Branch on Sunday arrested four more persons in the Rinku Sharma death case.Delhi police in a state-ment said, “in addition to the fi ve people already arrested in connection with the case, Crime Branch has arrested Deen Mohd alias Sakaruddin

(40), Dilshan alias Aftab (22), Fayaiz alias Sadri (21), Faizan alias Nirale (21).” Rinku Sharma was allegedly stabbed by a group of people at a birthday party in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area on Feb-ruary 10. According to the police, the incident took place following a scuffl e at a birthday party over some business rivalry.

Bengaluru : Finance Minister Nirmala Si-tharaman interacted with members of PHD chambers in Bengalu-ru on February 21. FM Sitharaman highlight-ed that unless the pri-vate sector is ener-gised enough and fa-cilitated enough, India will just lose a big op-portunity to be a world leader. "With that spe-cific India touch which is more hu-mane. So if that's the way India approaches its responsibility, That will be incomplete un-less private sector plays the role of key driver," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

New Delhi: In order to avoid any untoward incident at the protest site, farmers protesting against the three farm laws enacted by the Centre government at Singhu border have beefed up the security at Singhu border and adjoining areas.

Around 100 CCTV cameras at both the stages and many loca-tions including the are-as outside restrooms earmarked for women protestors have been installed along with heavy deployment of police personnel near

the barricades close to the protest site. Two control rooms for moni-toring of CCTV camer-as have also been set up behind both the stages.

"Activities of people moving around are been monitored and vol-unteers are keeping a close watch on people coming from outside and farmers staying on tractor trollies. Since there are many cuts for entry and exit towards the villages so the vol-unteers have been deployed at every pos-sible spot," said Maninder Singh.

IN THE COURTYARDNot Afraid Of Anyone, Can't Be Intimidated With Jail: Mamata

Farm laws, ‘death warrant’ for farmers: Kejriwal

Nitish Kumar pitches for ‘one nation, one rate’ policy for electricity

Uttarakhand: In a joint operation, the In-dian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) winched divers to meas-ure the depth of a gla-cial lake formed up-stream of Tapovan in Uttarakhand.

Indian Navy divers were winched by the IAF's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) at an altitude of 14,000 feet above the mean sea lev-el to measure the depth of the glacial lake.

"With no road access, Indian Navy diving team were quickly mo-bilised onboard the IAF ALH," agency quoted the Navy as saying. The

data will help scientists determine the pressure on the mud wall of the

dam. “The Naval divers undertook the challeng-ing task of winching

down from the helo and recording of depth,” the Navy added.

NAVY TEAM DIVES INTO GLACIAL LAKE IN UTTARAKHAND'S TAPOVAN

RESCUE TEAMS BATTLE ON IN TAPOVAN

68 BODIES RECOVERED

Private sector needed to make India leader: FM

Security beefed up at Singhu border and adjoining areas

SONIA GANDHI WRITES TO PM MODI In her letter to PM Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi demanded a rollback of the increase in fuel prices

FOLLOW ‘RAJ DHARMA’ & REDUCE FUEL PRICES

FUEL PRICE RISE: HAVE URGED OPEC COUNTRIES, SAYS PRADHAN

WB GOVT REDUCES TAX BY `1 ON PETROL, AND DIESEL

India has urged the OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and OPEC plus countries to not go for a production cut as that is impacting the fuel price in India, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. "There are two main reasons behind the fuel price rise. International market has reduced fuel production & manufactur-ing countries are producing less fuel to gain more profi t. This is making the consumer countries suffer," the minister said. There was a sharp fall in demand amid Covid-19 pandemic,” he adds. —ANI

Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Sunday announced a reduction of tax by Rs 1 per litre on petrol and diesel, which will be applicable from midnight. In a statement, State Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that the state govern-ment decided Re 1 cut in prices of petrol and diesel to be applicable from midnight. “State govt believe that this will provide some respite to the people. The Central government levies `32.90 as tax + cess on one litre of petrol,” he said. —ANI

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BJP mulls...The meeting, which was also being attended by BJP state unit presi-dents, assumes signifi-cance as it came amid fierce protests by a sec-tion of farmers in Pun-jab, Haryana and west-ern Uttar Pradesh against the three new farm laws.

The farmer union leaders have been step-ping up their attack on the Modi government over the issue.

Wife of...to question her under Section 160 of CrPC (re-quire attendance of wit-nesses, from the Code of

Criminal Procedure). “Yes, she has been sum-moned in an ongoing probe,” said an official. Since Rujira was not present during CBI vis-it, the team has shared their number asking Ru-jira to get in touch with them by today. The CBI said they want to quiz her over some of her bank transactions.

Madhav: Govt...and regulating them is difficult as they are bor-derless. These forces can promote anarchy, which will weaken de-mocracy but solutions should be within the constitutional frame-

work,” he said at the event hosted by the Prabha Khaitan Foun-dation. We require new rules and laws to tackle and manage. The gov-ernment is already working in this direc-tion,” he added.

Madhav’s comments come amid a row be-tween the government and Twitter over block-ing of accounts with In-formation Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking the mi-cro-blogging site to fol-low the Indian law.

Besides, the Supreme Court has issued a no-tice to the Centre and Twitter on a plea, seek-

ing to regulate hate con-tent and to make a law as per which action can be initiated against Twitter and their repre-sentatives in India for willfully abetting and promoting anti-India tweets and penalise them.

Madhav said that in his new book he has penned his observations on several decisions of the Modi government.

Answering a question on Gandhi, he said the RSS does not under-mine any leader’s con-tribution.

Gandhi was a great leader and his mantra of Ahimsa has been

adopted by many global leaders, he said.

Puducherry floor...Venkatesan told the me-dia that he had quit the post of MLA only and continued to be in the DMK. “I was not able to meet the needs of the people in my constitu-ency since there was no allocation of funds un-der the MLA Local Area Development fund,” he said.

Four Congress MLAs, including ex-ministers A Namassivayam (now in BJP) and Malladi Krishna Rao, had quit, while another party leg-islator was earlier dis-

qualified.Telangana Governor

Tamilisai Soundarara-jan, handed over addi-tional charge of Pu-ducherry, had on Thurs-day directed Narayana-samy to prove majority by ordering a floor test on February 22.

Gehlot sets...Replying to Gehlot’s call for a united front, Pusar-am Godara, a leader from Sujangarh, said, “Directions given by CM and PCC Chief will be followed to the hilt and Congress will win Su-jangarh.” Notably, late cabinet minister Bhan-warlal Meghwal and

Pusaram Godara were at loggerheads for most of their political careers in spite of being in the same party however on Sunday the differences were let go of which led to a new surge of energy in Congress workers.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also took stock, from the Congress leaders and public representatives, of the decisions taken by the state government for the development of Sujangarh and assured that there will be no shortfall in the develop-ment of the region. It is important to note that the by-election in Sujan-

garh seat are to be held due to the death of Cabi-net Minister Master Bhanwar Lal Meghwal. It is believed that the Congress will make Meghwal’s son, its can-didate in the by-election.

Notably, on February 27, a farmer rally will be organized around 3 kilo-meter out from Manpu-ra, in Bikaner district, and the venue is adja-cent to the Sujangarh Assembly Constituency. The decision to hold the rally was taken during the feedback meeting at CMR and CM Gehlot along with PCC Chief Dotasra are scheduled to address the rally.

FROM PG 1

MAHARASHTRA DISTRICT ENTERS LOCKDOWN Amid rising cases, Amravati district placed under lockdown for a weekMumbai: Amravati district in Maharash-tra will be placed un-der lockdown for a week amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the state. Cabinet Minister Yashomati Thakur said the lockdown will kick in from Monday evening.

The government said only essential ser-vices will be allowed to function during the strict seven-day lock-down.

The lockdown will be extended if people do not follow safety rules, the minister said, add-ing the decision to stop all non-essential activ-ity was taken after COVID-19 cases contin-ued to rise in Maha-rashtra.

The announcement for the lockdown in Amravati comes hours after the district ad-ministration in Pune shut down schools and coaching centres till February 28. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pa-war met with senior officials to assess the COVID-19 situation in the district before tak-ing the decision.

Earlier today, Maha-

rashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar said they are considering night curfew and a decision would be taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“Coronavirus cases are rising in Nagpur, Akola, Amaravati, Ya-vatmal, Mumbai and Pune. We have asked the district adminis-tration to take a call on lockdown or other re-strictions after assess-ing the situation on the ground,” Mr Wadetti-war said.

Night curfew & schools shut till Feb 28 in PuneNew Delhi: Pune have announced a night cur-few in the city amid a fresh coronavirus spike in the region. No public movement will be al-lowed in Pune between 11 pm to 6 am except for essential services.

Moreover, schools & colleges will also re-main shut till February 28 and fresh guidelines will be issued on Mon-day, said the Pune divi-sional commissioner. Some Vidarbha dis-tricts, along with Mum-bai and Pune have wit-

nessed a spike in Cov-id-19 cases over the past few days. The Vidarbha region in Maharashtra has witnessed a rise in daily coronavirus cases.

The 6 districts of Akola, Amravati, Yavat-mal, Buldana, Wardha & Nagpur in Vidarbha have reported a steady rise in coronavirus cas-es. Two districts where cases have surged are Mumbai & Pune, though this could be due to migration & not maintaining Covid-19 protocols, experts said.

‘New Indian Covid strains could be more infectious’New Delhi: All In-dia Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Randeep Guleria said India’s fight against coronavi-rus faces its latest challenge in the wake of new strains emerging across the country. The new variant can even cause re-infec-tions in people who have developed an-ti-bodies to the vi-rus. While terming herd immunity for coronavirus as a “myth” in India, Guleria said at least 80% people need to have antibodies for the whole of the population to be protected. Two lead-ing experts recently contended that a new coronavirus mutant strain was reportedly detected in Amravati, Yavat-mal & all in Vidarb-ha region in east-ern part of state.

Physical distancing goes for a toss at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. —FILE PHOTO

MAHA CM WARNS PEOPLE OF TOTAL LOCKDOWN AS STATE REPORTS 6K CASESMumbai: In a stern warning, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said there will be a total lockdown in the state if people don’t start wearing face masks. The statement comes amid increasing cases of coronavirus in state. He said that ‘lockdown will start from tomorrow evening wherever needed’. “Lockdown will not start all of a sudden. We aren’t putting a stop to any development works. Lockdown will start from monday evening wherever needed,” said CM Thackeray. A partial lockdown has been imposed in five districts including Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal.

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has written to all states and UTs high-lighting the need to significantly enhance the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations, noting that a large number of healthcare and frontline workers still remain to be covered. In a letter addressed to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the number of days of vaccination in a week should also be increased to a minimum of four days per week at the earliest to speed up the process of vac-cination and gear up system to take up the vaccination of the 50+ population.

New Delhi: Kerala reported 4,070 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday when 57,241 samples were tested in 24 hours. The State’s cumulative case burden, ever since the pandemic began, rose to 10,30,587 cases. The test positivity rate, which has been remaining steady, showed a slight increase to 7.11% on the day. Of the 57,241 tests done by the State, 31,180 were rapid antigen assay while RT-PCR tests numbered 24,219. Other molecular diagnostic tests like Truenat and CBNAAT, constituted the remaining tests.

KERALA REPORTS 4,070 FRESH CASES, 15 DEATHS IN LAST 24 HOURS

NEED TO INCREASE PACE OF COVID VACCINATIONS: CENTRE TO STATES

‘Sreedharan’s impact is likely to be minimal’ New Delhi: With tech-nocrat E Sreedharan throwing his hat in the political ring by decid-ing to join the BJP, sen-ior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he is likely to have a “min-imal” impact on the up-coming Kerala Assem-bly polls, & asserted that BJP is not a serious contender except in a few seats in the state.

Mr Tharoor also said it will be very difficult for the BJP to improve upon its performance of winning one seat in the 2016 assembly polls and the high point of E

Sreedharan’s impact on Kerala elections will turn out to be the an-nouncement of joining the BJP itself.

The 64-year-old for-mer Union minister said that Mr Sreed-haran’s entry came as a

surprise to him because the technocrat had a long innings executing engineering projects, not making or imple-menting policies in a fractious democracy. “It’s a very different world,” he added.

E Sreedharan (left) and Shashi Tharoor (right).

India, Maldives sign $50 million defence agreementMale: India on Sunday reiterated its commit-ment to Maldives’ secu-rity and signed a USD 50 million defence Line of Credit agreement with it to boost the maritime capabilities of the stra-tegic island nation.

The USD 50 million credit line agreement for defence projects was signed between the Fi-nance Ministry of Mal-dives and the Export Import Bank of India.

The signing of agree-ment took place after

External Affairs Minis-ter S Jaishankar held talks with Maldivian Defence Minister Mari-ya Didi, Minister of Fi-nance Ibrahim Ameer,

Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Is-mail & Minister of Na-tional Planning, Hous-ing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions with Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi.

Goswami’s father says she’s a drug addict: Kolkata PoliceKolkata: The father of Pamela Goswami, the flamboyant youth wing leader of the BJP ar-rested for alleged pos-session of cocaine, had told Kolkata police she had become a drug ad-dict under the influ-ence of a friend whom he wanted to be kept “under watch”, police sources said Saturday.

Sources in the city police said Pamela Goswami and her

friend Prabeer Kumar Dey, who was arrested with her on Friday, were living together for some time.

Clad in a red saree, a bespectacled Ms Gos-wami created a flutter at a city court where she was produced, try-ing to wriggle out of the grasp of police and screaming that Rakesh

Singh, a close aide of BJP’s West Bengal pointsman Kailash Vi-jayvargiya, “plotted” her arrest.

Pamela Goswami, a former fashion model and small-time actress, was remanded in po-lice custody till Febru-ary 25.

Very active on social media platforms where

she had taken on celeb-rities like singer Ri-hanna over the farmers protest, Goswami was arrested with Mr Dey and her personal secu-rity guard Somnath Chatterjee on Friday after 90 gm of cocaine was allegedly found in her handbag and con-cealed in the car she was travelling.

lll

Police said that Pamela was

caught on a “tip-off” & her father had complained about her drugs

consumption

Srinagar hospital accused of tax evasion: OfficialsNew Delhi: The Income Tax Department has de-tected multiple instanc-es of alleged tax evasion after it raided a busi-ness group that runs the “biggest private” multi-speciality hospital in Srinagar, tax body CBDT said on Sunday.

The searches were launched on Friday, and

seven premises includ-ing four residential were covered.

The statement said `82.75 lakh cash and jew-ellery and bullion worth `35.7 lakh were seized “as the concerned per-sons from whose custo-dy these were found were not able to explain the same”.

Sreedharan suited to adorn any post in Kerala, including CM’s: State BJP chiefKasaragod: Kerala BJP President K Surendran on Sunday said that ‘Metro man’ E Sreedharan is suited to adorn any post in the state, including Kerala’s Chief Minis-ter’s post. Speaking to media persons ahead of the BJP’s statewide rally ‘Vijayayathra’ in Kasargod, the state BJP President said that Sreedharan join-ing BJP shows that

people are fed up with the anti-development stand of both the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF). “People like Sreedharan joining BJP is an indication that they are not hap-py with the way UDF and LDF have run the state. He is qualified to adorn any post in the state including the Chief Minister’s post.

Pamela Goswami

NEWSJAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

07www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

INDO-US EXERCISE ‘YUDH ABHYAS’ CONCLUDES SUCCESSFULLY IN RAJJaipur: The closing ceremony of the joint military exercise be-tween the Indian and US Army, exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas-20’ was held at Mahajan Field Firing Range on Sun-day.

This was the 16th edi-tion of the joint exer-cise and it began on February 8. The aim of the exercise was to fo-cus on counter terror-ism operations under the mandate of the United Nations.

The training focused primarily on subject matter exchange of top-ical issues of contempo-rary significance, drills at tactical level and sharing of best practic-es of each other, defence spokesperson Lieuten-ant Colonel Amitabh Sharma said.

He said the joint training developed into an excellent profession-al forum which strengthened the capa-bilities of joint opera-tions by both armies.

The exercise was conducted in two phas-es. The first phase of combat conditioning, tactical training and inter-operability was completed successfully by both the contin-gents. The training re-ceived by both the ar-mies in the first phase was validated in the

second phase.The validation exer-

cise was witnessed by Maj Gen Daniel Mc Daniel, Deputy Com-mander General, Unit-ed States Army Pacific and Maj Gen Xavier Brunson, General Of-ficer Commanding, 7th Infantry Division from the US Army to-gether with Maj Gen Michael A J Fernan-dez and Maj Gen Gur-preet Singh, General Officer Commanding, Ranbankura Division of the Indian Army.

—PTI

PK Agarwal

Chittorgarh: Railway minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday inaugurated the electrification work of Ratlam-Chittorgarh rail section virtually.

The project will save time of travelling be-tween Ratlam and Chit-torgarh. Presently, trains are being run by diesel engine in this 189.46 km rail section which requires extra time to change loco from Ratlam. After

electrification of this section, trains will be run by electric loco which will eliminate extra time in changing locos and trains will run with high speed

without hindrance and passengers and goods trains will reach their destinations with short time, the minister said.

He said that it will save diesel and will con-

tribute to green energy.Conversion from die-

sel to electric traction of this section will also save `27.54 crore per year. This electrifica-tion has been done with the cost of ̀ 205.44 crore.

Chittorgarh MP Chandra Prakash Joshi said that in the last five years, the railway infra-structure has improved in Chittorgarh. He in-formed that the Bad Sadri-Neemach track is prepared and will be started soon.

Goyal inaugurates electrification work of Ratlam-Chittorgarh rail section

Project will save time of travelling between Ratlam and Chittorgarh.

EXCITING FINISH

The 16 goal Carysil Jaipur Open for the Brigadier HH Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Cup concluded on Sunday with an exciting match between Sona Polo Team and Piramal Carysil. Piramal Carysil started out with a 4 goal lead from the very first chukker and had everyone believing that this would be a one sided affair but Sona Polo turned the game around brilliantly and ended up winning with a score of 12 goals to Piramal’s 11. Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari was the chief guest. First India was the channel partner in the event.

—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Tikait to address 5 rallies in Raj from today First India Bureau

Jaipur: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, who is spearheading the farmers’ movement, has started the exer-cise to reach out to the farmers in other states, including Ra-jasthan apart from strengthening the ongoing agitation at Delhi borders.

Tikait is now fo-cusing on pushing farmers’ agitation in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, as well as in Rajasthan where he is holding Kisan Ma-hapanchayats.

In Rajasthan alone, he is going to address five Ma-hapanchayats in farmers dominated areas from Monday.

Tikait has tweeted the schedule of the Mahapanchayats to be held in Rajasthan.

The aim of the exercise was to focus on counter terrorism operations under the mandate of the United Nations

Maj Gen Michael AJ Fernandez, VSM of Indian Army, and Major General Xavier Brunson, GOC 7th Infantry Division of USA Army inspecting the guard of honour on Sunday.

Rajasthani language will soon get official recognition: Meghwal

Indira Rasoi scheme: Govt to award best kitchen operators

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Rajasthani lan-guage will soon get of-ficial recognition under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has informed.

The Bikaner MP tweeted about this while extending greet-ings for International Mother Language Day in Mayad language. He said that the language will get official status under the 8th Schedule soon.

It is worth noting that

the demand to accord the official status to the Rajasthani language has been going on for a long time.

Meghwal has raised this demand on various platforms Meanwhile, on the In-ternational Mother Language Day on Sun-

day, the Mayad Bhasha Sangharsh Samiti sent a letter in Rajasthani language to Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi and all 25 MPs from Ra-jasthan requesting them to recognise Ra-jasthan’s 1300-year-old Rajasthani language at the earliest.

Abhishek Srivastava 

Jaipur: With an aim to enhance quality and better services, the Con-gress government in Rajasthan has decided to award best perform-ing kitchen operators working under the In-dira Rasoi scheme twice a year at district, divi-sion and state level.

Apart from them, the personnel of local bod-ies working for the exe-cution of the scheme will also be rewarded on the basis of their performance.

The initiative is

aimed to improve qual-ity of service under the scheme which was launched in August last year to provide nutri-tious and quality food to people on cheaper rates. Under the scheme, the

food is served in 358 temporary kitchens in 213 local bodies across the state. The govern-ment has now decided to award best rasoi op-erators on I-Day and R-Day every year.

Mayad Bhasha Sangharsh Samiti chairman Taranija Mohan Rathore and her team have written letters to PM and MPs.

Joint training developed into an excellent professional forum which strengthened the capabilities of joint operations by both armies.

—FILE PHOTO

Aditi Nagar

New Delhi: BJP state president Satish Poonia on Sunday briefed the party High Command about the political devel-opments in the state in the first meeting of the BJP’s new set of nation-al office-bearers held in New Delhi.

The meeting, which was attended by BJP na-tional Vice- President and former CM Vasund-

hara Raje and other leaders, was addressed by PM Narendra Modi and others.

It was the first physi-cal meeting after the Co-rona outbreak which was chaired by BJP pres-ident J P Nadda.

In the meeting, the party also passed a reso-lution lauding the PM and the Centre for re-forms in the agriculture sector, for effective han-dling of the COVID-19

situation.Various organisation-

al issues, upcoming as-sembly bypolls and oth-er matters were dis-cussed during which Poonia gave a presenta-

tion about Rajasthan. In the meeting, recently held Panchayati Raj and local bodies elections were also discussed. PM Modi and national Presi-dent Nadda also praised

the work of the state or-ganisation. State-wise reports were presented during the meeting in which information about the structure and action plan of the organ-ization in respective states was shared. In the end, in charge for Ra-jasthan Arun Singh took a quick meeting of Ra-jasthan where February 23 was fixed for the core group meeting, which Raje will attend.

Meanwhile, Poonia and Raje came face to face after a long time and had a brief talk.

What is the most powerful energising memory that you have? Keep it with you always and look

at it often; It will help you move ahead.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

JAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia082NDFRONT

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

Aditi Nagar

New Delhi: Much like any rally or agitation that is done to swing peo-ple’s emotion towards a ‘cause’ or a purpose by a politician, similar has been the situation wherein, the Congress party has been going guns blazing against the Centre on the three farm laws. While the party is

looking to ‘consolidate’ its strength, however, there is now a ‘thought’ within the Rajasthan Congress that it is being ‘hurt’ from within its own ranks and struc-tures.

This thought has come about after former Depu-ty Chief Minister Sachin Pilot started ‘flexing his muscles’ à la Rahul Gan-dhi on farm laws and has

held farmer rallies one after the other. Ques-tions are now being raised, in relevant quar-ters in Delhi and Jaipur, over the rallies with the concern if these were actually an ‘indirect’ show of strength of the Pilot camp and if the camp is planning yet again for carrying out ‘Manesar 2.0’?

The Gehlot and Do-

tasra camp in Rajasthan Congress is a troubled lot these days, which has complained to the High Command and request-ed to ask Pilot to stop

these parallel farmer ral-lies. The camp has de-manded that such rallies should be held through the organisational struc-ture only, however, in-

spite of these develop-ments, the Pilot camp is busy preparing for the next rally. On the other hand, highly placed sources in Delhi Con-

gress have hinted at some decision to be tak-en on Pilot’s ‘activities’ in the next couple of days. Interestingly, AICC General secretary and

state in-charge Ajay Maken is coming to state on a four day tour, where-in, he will visit the Maru Mahotsav in Jaisalmer & will also attend farmer rallies in Churu and Chittorgarh on Febru-ary 26-27, in what is seen as some sort of a re-sponse to Pilot’s suo moto rally without in-volving the PCC organi-sation. Now everyone, specially in parts where Pilot has found ‘support,’ will be waiting for his next move!

Pilot’s ‘strength show’ in consonance of Manesar 2.0(?), Cong worriedTURNING HEADS

Commendable: Lather pats Anand’s back after 10 hr review!

Shivendra Parmar

Jaipur: It was a day of reckoning for the Jaipur police Commis-sionerate as Director General of Police ML Lather chaired a mara-thon, ten hour long reveiw meeting of the largest police ensem-ble in the state. During the review, the DGP discussed many impor-tant issues including pending cases, and gave several direc-tions to the officers of Jaipur Police.

The all important meeting was organised

at the Rajasthan Police Academy wherein, Lather told Jaipur po-lice officials that core policing is extremely necessary for good po-licing. “Only through basic policing can we give relief to the peo-ple quickly,” he said.

DGP reviewed every police administrative circle and police sta-tion of all the 4 dis-tricts of the Commis-sionerate during the review with his focus being exclusively on pending cases. On the basis of the feedback that the DGP recently

received from ASP’s, who were directed by him to thoroughly in-spect ACP offices and its workings, the DGP spoke to ACPs and held their thorough review.

Lather conveyed his displeasure on cases that have been pending for over a year and di-rected to decide the line of action for early disposal of such cases. “If any given day a FIR is lodged in the Jaipur

Commissionerate, Its postmortem should be held on the same day. The concerned I.O. will have to analyse the FIR on the very first day and this will reduce pendency,” he directed. DGP told the Jaipur Police officials that our first priority should be to bring jus-tice to the victims.

Speaking on the re-cent ACB action at Vidyadhar Nagar po-

lice station, the DGP said that before ACB can take action, we should also detect and take action against corrupt policemen. “Because after the ac-tion of ACB, the image of the entire Jaipur Police is tarnished,” he said. Meanwhile, on the cyber crime front, the DGP said, “we need to become professionals. Seek ex-pert help and hire

them if need be,” he said.

Notably, during the review meeting, Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Srivastava also gave a presentation to the DGP wherein the Jaipur cop told that in addition to policing, the Jaipur Police also takes care of miscella-neous developments on political events in Jaipur, VIP movement, picketing demonstra-

tions etc. Srivastava briefed the DGP about the operation started by Jaipur Police and also informed about the major incidents of crime which have been solved in a record time. It was perhaps a testi-mony to Commission-er Srivastava’s work ethics that his boss, DGP ML Lather, was visibly extremely hap-py with the Commis-sioner’s work. At the

end of the meeting, the DGP openly praised the work of the Jaipur Police, and stressed that despite all the challenges, the way the Jaipur Police is work-ing is extremely com-mendable. “It is a great compliment, that the preparation of Jaipur Police is much better than the Bharatpur range where I took the first review meeting,” Lather said.

Police Commissioner Anand Srivastava extends a warm welcome to DGP ML Lather during the inauguration of Adarsh Barrack and Gym at City Reserve Police Lines in Jaipur on Sunday.

DGP ML Lather honours ACP Narendra Dayma for his outstanding contribution in the fi eld of cleanliness and management at Police Lines.

ML Lather tastes the food which will be served to the policemen at the mess situated at the Police Lines.

Former CM Vasundhara Raje with PM Modi during the meet.

Postmortem’ of FIRs to be held the day they are registered to end pendency, DGP directs

Jaipur Police is much better than the Bharatpur range where I took the first review meeting, Lather said

PM Modi addresses key BJP meet, discusses farm laws, assembly polls

High Command complained and requested to ask Pilot to stop holding farmer rallies on own accord

THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION...

A BUSY SUNDAY!

Jagdeesh Chandra during his one day visit to Bikaner on Sunday, met many dignitaries and interacted on various issues concerned with development of Bikaner. (Top) Jagdeesh Chandra felicitated by the Maulanas and leading Akhliyat political leaders.(Middle) Jagdeesh Chandra greets SP Preeti Chandra as Collector Namit Mehta looks on.(Bottom) Jagdeesh Chandra with MLA Siddhi Kumari and Congress Leader Rameshwar Dudi

Sachin Pilot

Q: Sir you held a marathon meeting to-day. What points were discussed in the meeting?

Today’s agenda re-volved around review of circle officers and pendency at circle lev-el, that are investigated by ACPs.Q: Any special di-rections in this re-gard?

Each and every case

has been reviewed and the what line of action is to be taken in them has been ascertained. Q: Are you happy with Jaipur Police’s recent actions like Operation clean sweep and Operation Aag and its overall performance?

Definitely. Specially the past two months how Jaipur police has

disposed off the cases. Commendable work

has been done under both the operations and

I think most of the criminals are behind bars.Q: Anything on cy-ber crime and special crimes?

We have held a prop-er review of these since we are a little weak in this area. Our staff does not have the ade-quate knowledge re-quired for these fields but we have decided on a plan to bring experts in and to develop a tal-ent pool so that we are ahead of others in cy-ber crimes.

‘Decided to bring in experts and develop our talent’After his marathon ten hour long review meeting,

DGP ML Lather spoke to Shivendra Parmar on Sunday’s meeting and his thoughts on Jaipur police

EXCLUSIVE

Shivendra Parmar speaks to DGP ML Lather on Sunday.

Raje to attend the Core Group meeting scheduled for February 23

midst the de-serts and the crescent moon, the gala even-ing began with the glamorous display of fash-

ion at Shree Ganesham Resort on Sunday.

Jagdeesh Chandra was the chief guest for the grand Bikaner Couture Show. With a

back-to-back display of ramp walks, the mod-els spread their charm on stage with apparel

crafted by nine ven-tures. Bikaner Cou-ture Show featured nine sequences by Nitu Bhutra, Sapna Sharma Traditional Party Wear, Mody University, Ambika Fashion’s, M N Jew-ellers, Gurukulam

Fashion Bikaner, Rajwadi Men’s

Wear, Nirmal Sarees, and

Renu Shar-ma. The

g r a n d fashion

show featured various glamorous faces includ-ing Akansha Bhalla, Swati Jangid, Divya Ka-sliwal, Neha Jaiswal and Kriti Garg among others. Apart from the glamorous fashion spec-tacle, the show also highlighted rap perfor-mances by Aekaltora which introduced a bash of rhythm amongst the cultural display. For the successful imple-mentation of the show, there were two men be-hind who have put their constant efforts, Gaurav Gaur, founder and direc-tor of the various cou-ture shows, and Bikaner Couture Show’s direc-tor, Yasheel Pandel.

This was the first time, that the city had experienced such a grandiose show. The spectators enjoyed the

fine gala evening. Retd Col Hem Singh, Na-gendra Singh Shekha-wat, Narendra Singh Bhati, Rajendra Swami, Vineet Jain, Richa Chandel, Abhishek Joshi, Yogesh, Jatin, Rahul Soni, Ajay Singh Bhatnagar and Sand-eep Singh were present on the occasion as dig-nitaries among others.

JAIPUR, MONDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2021

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

ETHNIC SAGACity First explores the chronicles of couture show which post-travelling to several cities has finally reached the land of royalty and traditions, Bikaner! With 9 fashion designers, Bikaner

Couture Show features the best of fashion mingled with an essence of ethnicity!

SUSHMITA AINDcityfirst@firstindia.co.in

A

Sumitra Godara, Shashi Bhati, Kajal Choudhury, Ravina Maurya and Swati Jangid

Yasheel Pandel

Isha Agarwal, Yashvi Soni, Laxman Raghav, Akanksha Bhalla,Gaurav Gaur, Sanya, Ruby Choudhury and Sushmita Aind

Clockwise: Neha Jaiswal, Riya Sen and Divya Kasliwal

Jagdeesh Chandra puts forth his views

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

CITY FIRST

eights Institute of Fashion Technology and Beatles in as-sociation with Miss Rajasthan held a look launch of Optima 2021 on Sunday at Beatles Lounge, Jaipur. During the launch, 6 female and 2 male

models showcased their designer dress collection. The main event is scheduled to be held on February 26 at Beatles Lounge.

The director of Heights Fash-ion Institute Anjali Gupta in-formed that there will be 7 fashion sequence during the show, in which models will walk the ramp on distin-

guishing themes.The event will witness

6 showstoppers, 12 fe-male runway models and 12 male runway model. Kayam Kawa (India Got Talent fame

singer) will also be giving a live performance during the show. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

10

FACE

OF TH

E DAY

PAYAL JANGID, Model

LEOJULY 24 - AUGUST 23

Your effort to keep in touch with everyone will come in for appreciation by all on the social front. A good

turn done to someone is likely to be returned with interest. Luck favours you today both personally and professionally. A diet plan adopted recently will suit your system well.

LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

An excellent time is foreseen for those taking a break from the daily grind. A match-making process

may get underway for the eligible. You will fi nd yourself much more active on the social front and will make efforts to remain in touch with all. You will be able to buy property.

ARIESMAR 21 - APR 20

If you are a working mother, you may fi nd it diffi cult to balance home and offi ce as of now, but

this will be a temporary phase. A property deal is likely to be sealed, as you are able to complete all the formalities. Someone close may pay you a visit and brighten your day.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22

Don’t think twice in taking outside help. Your initiative will help mend fences with someone you were not in

talking terms. You can join your friends or family in undertaking a trip to a holiday destination. A chance to prove your mettle on the professional front will be nicely availed by you.

GEMINIMAY 21 - JUNE 21

Good earning promises to keep you in an upbeat mood today. Worries regarding a health issue

are likely to disappear, as you make quick recovery. Do not misunderstand the motives of someone trying to help you. You will enjoying togetherness.

AQUARIUSJAN 21 - FEB 19

Some of you may want to opt for a break from the monotonous routine. This is the best time to forge your

own path, as there are opportunities galore. You remain on a safe wicket on the fi nancial front. Adding to your wealth is possible. Keeping minor ailments at bay by taking up yoga.

TAURUSAPR 21 - MAY 20

Money from an unexpected source may delight you, so keep your fi ngers crossed .Academic front looks

promising. Some of you are set to enjoy a trip out of town. Setting up a new house is on the cards for some. Money well spent may give you inner satisfaction.

CAPRICORNDEC 23 - JAN 20

An ancestral property is likely to come in your name. Luck favours you on the academic front. Career

wise, you are likely to fare well as per the expectations of your seniors. You will need to get a hang of things, before you chip in with suggestions. Be more assertive in dealing.

VIRGOAUG 24 - SEP 23

A fun time is foreseen for those planning to invite people over to their place. Good command over a

particular subject may fi nd you amongst the top positions on the academic front. You are likely to discharge all your domestic responsibilities to the satisfaction.

CANCERJUNE 22 - JULY 23

You will succeed in asserting your authority on the social front by having your way. A property issue

gets resolved amicably. You will be able to establish yourself fi rmly on the professional front. You manage to stabilise expenses and bring yourself into the saving mode.

PISCESFEB20 - MARCH 20

You make all the right moves on the social front and manage to retain your popularity. A property may

fi nally come into your name, as the paperwork is slated to get over soon. Bank balance of the salaried will remain in a healthy, despite rising costs. Health remains satisfactory.

SCORPIOOCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

A change in lifestyle will help some come back in shape. Success is foreseen for those playing the

stocks. Intelligent application on even unfamiliar territory on the academic front will keep your fl ag fl ying high. A windfall can be expected on the property front.

YOUR DAY

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia

ETCJAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

CITY FIRST

Glamour on the way...

H

From left: Ruchi Jha, Devendra, Aarushi, Garima Wadhwani, Ayushman,Khushi Ajwani, Sushmita and Khushi Srivastava

Khushi Ajwani

Garima Wadhwani

Ayushman

Sushmita

Khushi Srivastava

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARM

A

ETCwww.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia JAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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As s u r e Clinic of-fers a w i d e

range of proce-dures for healthy hair, skin and body. After run-ning eight success-ful clinics in India, Assure launched its

9th clinic in Jaipur on Sunday at Vaishali

Nagar, Jaipur. Founders of the clinic, Dr Abhishek Pi-lani and Dr Priyanka Desai Pilani thanked everyone on the occasion.

The launch was done by Bollywood actress Nushrratt Bharuccha.

Talking at the event, Nushrratt said, “I am happy to launch As-sure clinic in Jaipur.

It’s nice to see the way

this chain of lifestyle clinic is growing from city to city. As-sure provides some amazing skin remedies and procedures like hair transplant in India. They have a very professional and well-educated team of doc-tors. My best wishes to the team.”

The leading lady of one of 2018’s biggest hits ‘Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’, Nushrat Bharucha also revealed the one thing she tells her parents be-

fore making them meet her boyfriend. She said, “Every single time I introduce my par-ents to my boyfriend, I have told them before every first meeting, ‘He is my boyfriend at present, we will get married if we are successful in this rela-tionship. But if we aren’t, you will have to understand that it’s okay, he is my partner right now in this journey and he may not be tomorrow, which is okay.”

HEALTH IS WEALTH Ja g d e e s h Chandra was the Chief Guest at a ‘Fit-

ness Motivational’ event organised by Giriraj Saini at Anu-rag Sharma’s Work-outs The Gym on Sunday. Fitness Coach Bharat Singh Walia made a celeb-rity appearance at the event. The event aimed to promote a healthy lifestyle, knowledge of the field, advantages and importance of keep-ing fit, a career in the fitness industry and keeping a healthy lifestyle through nu-trition.

ctress Pamela Anderson re-cently started trending over her latest inter-view! After get-ting married to

body-builder Dan Hay-hurst, and recently gave their first post-wedding interview. And what was surprising was, Anderson and Hay-hurst, joined the talk show, virtu-ally, from their beds! One of the hosts joked, “Pamela, to quote you, you have said in the past ‘in the arms of the man I love is exactly where I should be.’ I didn’t think we were actually going to see you in the arms of the man you love.” “We haven’t left here since Christmas Eve,” Pamela replied.

—Agency

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MITALI DUSADmitalidusad01@gmail.com

Enjoying sinceChristmas

MITALI DUSAD

‘What next?’ was a ques-tion that took centre

stage during a conversa-tion between the Bolly-wood director, Vidhu Vi-nod Chopra, scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi and Vani Tripathi Tikoo at the first-ever virtual edition of the Jaipur Literature Festi-val on the second day.

It is ironical that the filmmaker, whose semi-nal works like Parinda and 1942: A Love Story appear finely scripted, would choose to call his memoir Unscripted: Conversations on Life and Cinema. But Vidhu Vinod Chopra maintains and demonstrates through both his life and

cinema, that it is the un-scripted space where the magic happens.

The book is an un-scripted conversation between screenwriter Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra. When asked would he use the same adjective for his life, the director replied, “I think I would. Except for the fact that I really wanted to make movies. I really wanted to do that. That’s not unscript-ed. But my journey in life is — I got married when I was very young, in the early 20s. When I met Renu (Saluja), who was slightly older than me. The only thing that’s scripted in my life is the pursuit of excellence; everything else is un-scripted.”

UNSCRIPTEDVidhu Vinod Chopra talked about his memoir Unscripted, his unwavering

intention to make good cinema, working with Rajkumar Hirani and whether he wants

a biopic on his life!K

areena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan had many reasons to celebrate on Sun-day as the couple welcomed

their second son. The actress who has been admitted at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital delivered in the wee hours of Sunday, as per reports. Kareena was reportedly rushed to the hospital on Satur-day night. —Agency

It’s a baby boy!

THE BIG LAUNCH

SUSHMITA AIND

JlF explored the journey of one such writer dur-ing the second

day, who is known as an investigative journalist, as well as for his way with words at the non-fictional writing. Patrick Radden Keefe in a conversation with Fintan O’Toole shared his ex-perience while he wrote ‘Say Nothing’ and mentioned, “To enter someone else’s territo-ry is to be responsible for the outcome. You try to see the world with someone else’s head. We must keep in mind that empathy is important, and, you need to earn the

right to write people’s sto-ries.”

Patrick further added that while writing a non-fiction book, we must not burden our minds with the sight of grave horror. Investigation looks deeper into reality, it surpasses judgments and one cannot be perfect at it be-cause the world is different for each individual. There-fore, our individuality must be the least driven essence.

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The Battle of BelongingKARISHMA GWALANI

In an ongoing virtual edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival on Friday, a

question ‘Who is Indian and what is ‘nation-hood’?’ took the centre stage during a conversation be-tween a politician and cele-brated author Shashi Tha-roor, and journalist Faye D’Souza.

The session, titled ‘The Battle of Belonging’ takes inspiration from Shashi Tharoor’s book of the same name, and evaluates the his-torical and current political trends impacting the ‘idea of India.’ The book explores the changing interpretations of

nationalism, patriotism, citizenship and belonging as well as the nature and future of nationhood. The duo, in turn, discussed these themes and ideas in the context of the past, the present and the emergent future during their virtual conversation.

The conversation also traced India’s journey post Partition, and how the free-dom struggle gave birth to the nationalism of shared sorrow.

Jagdeesh Chandra with (left) Giriraj Saini and Bharat Singh Walia Jagdeesh Chandra addressing the audience Tripti, Divya and Lalita

Nushrratt Bharuccha during the inaugural ceremony of Assure Clinic with the founders, Dr Abhishek Pilani and Dr Priyanka Desai Pilani

Nushrratt Bharuccha

Pamela Anderson

During the virtual session

During the virtual session

Kareena Kapoor Khan

During the virtual session

A GALA EVENING

CITY FIRST

T he Indian Polo Awards in association with Wed-ding Asia was organised by LA POLO x LOS

POLITAS at The City Palace, Jaipur on Sunday. Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor delivered a stellar dance performance, leaving the audience spellbound for the night. The ceremony was

anchored by Sophie Choudhary and the dress code for the even-ing was formals with a black tie. The award ceremony was followed by gala dinner. More details on City First tomorrow.

—PHOTOS BY R K SINGH

Sophie Chaudhary Vaani Kapoor

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARM

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he hugely exciting 16-goal Jaipur Open, sponsored by Carysil and played for the Brigadier Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Cup

kept everyone on the edge of their seats on Sunday.

It ended with Sona Polo beating the opposing team, Piramal Carysil by 12 - 11. Diya Kumari was the Chief Guest for the match and pre-sented the prestigious cup to the winning team. The match started with Bolly-wood singer Manasi Scott

singing the National An-them and there was even a special fashion show of Polo Apparel organised for the viewers between the chuk-kers. During the high tea, old polo pictures of Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh were also displayed. It was only appropriate that this high

profile match be followed by an equally spectacular high tea. Spotted at the event were well-known faces like

Zarine Khan, Farah Khan, Chirag Parekh, Harsh Pira-

mal, Manasi Scott and many

others.

A THRILLING FINALE

KARISHMA GWALANIkarishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

T

Rohit Kamra Old polo pictures exhibited during the match Pablo Juareche and Kuldeep Rathore

Selfie session at Polo

TS Bist and Ajit SinghRishee Miglani, Narendra Singh andVishal Mathur

Rhea Parekh, Sania Suhag, Ashley Parekh,Akansha Khangarot, Himani Gupta

Harsh Piramal and Mansi Scott

Akshay Hada andShailendra Singh

Kaushal and Kashmi Doda

Digvijay Singh and Mrigendra Samode

Neeru Soni, Lalit Soni and Suman Soni

Audience enjoying the fashion showMeena Jadeja, Nisha Singh, Priyanjali Rajyalakshmi,Shivani Jadeja, Usha Rajyalakshmi and Diya Shekhawat

Rina Shah

Riya Suledia

Shamsheer Ali, Bhawani Kalvi, Himmat Bedla,Pablo Juareche and Om Singh

Fashion Show at the Polo Match Mansi Scott

Audience enjoying the match

Diya Kumari presenting the Sona Polo Team with the Carysil Brigadier Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Cup

The interesting polo match captured with the First India hoarding making the perfect backdrop.

12JAIPUR | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021

www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia CITY BUZZ

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA