˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP....

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F ormer Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “coward” and accused the Centre of “ceding” Indian ter- ritory to China, inviting a sharp rebuttal from the Government even as the BJP reminded Rahul that the coun- try’s security forces and “nation cannot forgive the Gandhi fam- ily for losing 43,000 sq kms of land to China”. “The PM is a coward who cannot stand up to the Chinese. He is betraying the sacrifice of our Army,” Rahul said at a Press conference. Reacting to the allegation, MoS Home G Kishan Reddy said that Rahul must “ask his grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) about who has given India’s ter- ritory to China”, while his Ministerial colleague RK Singh termed Rahul’s jibe as imma- ture and unparliamentary. In a strongly-worded state- ment, the Ministry said the effective safeguarding of the country’s national interest and territory in the Eastern Ladakh sector has taken place because the Government reposed full faith in the capabilities of the armed forces. “Those who doubt the achievements made possible by the sacrifices of our military personnel are actually disre- specting them,” the statement said. The Congress leader’s attack came a day after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that India and China have reached an agreement on dis- engagement in the north and south bank of Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh. Rahul hit out at the Government questioning why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given up the country’s ter- ritory to China. “How he does it is his problem, not mine,” he added. Pointing out that the troops are now going to be stationed at Finger 3, moving back from Finger 4, which is also the Indian territory, Rahul asked, “Why has Modi given up our territory to the Chinese?” Rahul targeted Rajnath for not speaking in Parliament on the “most important strategic area — Depsang Plains — from where China entered”. Rahul said the “truth is that the Prime Minister has given away the Indian territory to China” and demanded Modi to answer the nation. Hitting back at Rahul, the BJP accused the Congress leader of “lying left, right and centre” and denigrating the country’s security forces. “When one does not have a moral conscience, when one cannot contribute anything positive, one resorts to lies. Rahul lied left, right and cen- tre. Perhaps Rahul is depressed that he could not become PM. He knows that even his shad- ow won’t support him & can’t digest the huge public mandate to Modi,” Union minister and BJP leader Pralhad Joshi said. Joshi alleged the former Congress chief’s “utterances” are based on far-fetched pre- sumptions and raise “serious doubts on his mental health”. “The selective amnesia which Rahul often displays seems a regular order. Denigrating efforts and sacri- fices of our security forces, whom you are placating? Why? Because you got some donation for your party? Can’t forget your meeting with the Chinese?” Joshi said in a social media post. Gandhi scion also took to Twitter and sought an expla- nation from the Government of India. “GOI must explain why our forces are withdrawing from dominant positions in Kailash Ranges? Why we are ceding our territory & with- drawing from forward base at Finger 4 to Finger 3? and Why has China not withdrawn from our territory in Depsang Plains & Gogra Hot Springs?” Rahul tweeted. AICC chief spokesman and party general secretary Randeep Surjewala said Modi Government’s unpardonable, blatant and brazen compromise of “national security” & India’s “territorial integrity” stands exposed. “Prime Minister and Defence Minister have under- mined the astounding valour and insurmountable grit of our Armed Forces, who faced Chinese incursions and aggres- sions with indomitable courage and sacrifice,” he said in a statement. The statement of Defence Ministry dated February 12, 2021 issued as part of “Operation Cover-up” has uncovered the conspiratorial mask of a weak-kneed leader- ship that India does not deserve. I n a big setback to the Trinamool Congress ahead of the forthcoming State Assembly polls, party MP Dinesh Trivedi on Friday announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha. He said he was taking this step as he felt helpless to do anything against the violence taking place in his State. During the last few weeks, the TMC has been rocked by a spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Making the announcement about quitting the RS mem- bership, Trivedi said he was resigning after listening to his conscience. Saying that he feels suffo- cated in the House as he is unable to do anything against the violence going on in his State, he added, “If you sit here quietly and cannot do anything, then it is better that you resign from here and go to the land of Bengal and be with people.” Trivedi said the world looks at India when some- thing happens. “What I mean to say is the way violence is tak- ing place in our State. Sitting here, I am feeling perplexed as to what should I do,” he added. “I am grateful to my party that it has sent me here, but now I feel a little suffocated. We are unable to do anything and there is atrocity (going on). My voice of conscience is saying what Swami Vivekananda used to say — arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached,” Trivedi said, while announcing his resignation from the House. Reacting to the develop- ment, Bengal Minister Tapas Roy said, “His (Dinesh) status has never been better than that of a political go-between … a Gujarati bania (business- man) as he has acted like one.” He added that Trivide’s pres- ence in the party had neither benefited it nor his absence will hurt the TMC. T he debris brought by the avalanche in Uttarakhand earlier this week has blocked a stream that joins the Rishiganga river forming a temporary lake which if breached can cause further damage in the valley, said a report by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. According to its director Kalachand Sain, a team of sci- entists from the institute con- ducted an aerial survey of the upper reaches of the Rishi Ganga just a day after the Sunday avalanche and spotted the new glacial lake there. The team took some pho- tographs of the lake taken from a helicopter. It seems that the recent avalanche has led to its forma- tion in the higher stretches of the Rishiganga’s catchment area, he said. “Our scientists are exam- ining the size of the lake, its periphery and the volume of water it contains to ascertain how big and immediate the danger from it is,” Sain told PTI. According to the report by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, the assessment of the actual magnitude of risk involved due to this impound- ment of water requires a detailed survey. “The catastrophic floods on Sunday also brought sedi- ments in the Rishi Ganga river. Since the width of the river is very less in the upper stretch- es, the sediments have blocked a stream forming a lake which may breach and cause further damage in the valley,” he said. C ongress veteran and a Gandhi family loyalist Mallikarjun Kharge is all set to be the leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a let- ter to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu informed him the party’s decision to replace Ghulam Nabi Azad, the out- going LOP, who retires from the House on February 15. Kharge, 78, a Dalit stalwart of the Congress, was leader of the party in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was known for vocif- erous opposition of the Government and as a promot- er of sloganeering and disrup- tion — something he always said the BJP mastered in the 14th Lok Sabha under then leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. Kharge’s appointment to the key Rajya Sabha post comes at the cost of Congress deputy leader in the house Anand Sharma, who was long seen as Azad’s natural inheritor. Other main contenders for the cov- eted post were Digvijay Singh and P Chidambaram. Sharma and Azad last year fell out of favour of Sonia after they wrote to her demanding overhaul of the party organsa- tion and internal elections. Kharge is a nine-time Karnataka MLA and two-time Lok Sabha MP. He lost the 2019 LS elec- tion from Gulbarga by over 95,000 votes. A t least 11 workers were killed and 36 injured when an explosion ripped through a fireworks factory near Sattur in this southern district in Tamil Nadu on Friday, Police said. The explosion occurred when some chemicals were being mixed to produce fireworks at the unit in Acchankulam vil- lage, they said, adding the injured had been hospitalised. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi were among those who condoled the deaths. Modi and Palaniswami announced an ex-gratia of 2 lakh each and 3 lakh each to the kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund respectively. The factory building was damaged badly under the impact of the explosion and many suffered burns. Palaniswami, in a state- ment, said all the 11 workers were killed on the spot and that he has ordered a probe into the incident, while assuring due legal action. Several fire fighting units were deployed to douse the fire and take up the rescue opera- tions. Earlier, TV visuals showed relatives of the victims wailing near the mishap site while the injured were rushed to hospitals in ambulances. Modi said the “fire at a fire- cracker factory in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu is saddening.” Posting in his offi- cial Twitter handle, @PMO India, he said “in this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover soon. Authorities are working on the ground to assist those affected: PM @narendramodi.” “An ex-gratia of 2 lakh each has been approved from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to a fire in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu. 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured,” he said, in tweet, which was also made in Tamil. Palaniswami, in a state- ment, said all the 11 victims were killed on the spot and expressed grief over the deaths. “I was anguished to know that 36 persons have been injured in the explosion and have directed the officials to ensure due medical treatment to them,” he said. He announced a sum of 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased and 1 lakh to those who had suffered grievous injuries. The Chief Minister said he has directed expediting the relief work and asked the dis- trict collector Virudhunagar, home to the country’s fireworks hub, to console the families of the victims in person. The collectors concerned should conduct periodic checks at such units to ensure workers’ safety, he said, adding the fac- tories should follow due safe- ty measures in view of the com- ing summer season, indicating high temperatures then could lead to similar mishaps. Purohit said he was shocked and grieved to hear about the accident and prayed for the early and complete recovery of the injured. T witter has blocked over 97 per cent of the accounts and posts flagged by the IT Ministry for provocative con- tent and misinformation around farmers’ protest, sources said. This followed a meeting between Twitter representa- tives and the Information Technology Secretary on Wednesday evening where the US-based microblogging plat- form was issued a stern warn- ing to comply with local laws or be prepared for action. The Ministry had ques- tioned Twitter’s delay in tak- ing action on its order to block provocative content that could impact public law and order, whereas the American company had been quick to crack down when a similar instance occurred at US Capitol Hill. According to the sources, Twitter has now complied with the orders and over 97 per cent of the accounts flagged have been blocked. A ntibodies against the coro- navirus may last for up to eight months or longer post vaccination, said All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria on Friday. About 75,05,010 doses of Covishield and Covaxin have been administered in India since the mega vaccination drive began on January 16 across the country. Guleria’s statement comes amid reports that some of the Covid-19 vaccination centres in Delhi are mulling to start con- ducting antibody tests before and after beneficiaries receive the shot to test its efficacy. According to a news agency report, the research will be conducted after hospi- tals or vaccination centres get essential approvals from their respective ethical committees. Guleria, who is also a member of the National Task Force on Covid-19, was answering questions related to the vaccines on Twitter earlier in the day. People tweeted to him using #VaccineVarta, fol- lowing which he reverted to them. “Antibodies will develop about 14 days after the second shot. It is not clear how long protection will last but it is believed that it will last for at least 8 months, or may be longer. Currently, scientists are aggressively studying long- term protection provided by vaccines,” said the AIIMS director. Guleria said the population above 50 years of age will start getting the vaccination from March 2021 onwards. “This will also include the population with comorbidities, between 20 years and 50 years,” he announced. One of the citizens asked why veterinarians are not included in the high-risk work- ers list, to which he said it is because they are not treating patients with Covid-19. “Depending on age and presence of comorbidities, linked to more severe diseases, one will get the vaccine,” he added. Currently, health work- ers and frontline workers are being vaccinated in the phase one and two of the drive. On being asked by one netizen as to why the Government is depriving their own citizens of vaccines by exporting the same to other countries, Guleria answered that since people travel and become a carrier of virus, everyone needs to be vacci- nated globally to control the spread. I t has been four days since VK Sasikala, a former aide to late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, returned to Chennai after serv- ing a four-year jail term in Bangalore in connection with a disproportionate asset case. The former AIADMK General Secretary has not come out of the palatial house of her niece Krishnaveni at T-Nagar in Chennai where she is staying as of now. There is no information of her meeting any senior AIADMK leaders or persons close to the party leadership. Throughout her 23-hour jour- ney from Bangalore to Chennai, Sasikala told her cadre about the need to defeat the DMK. The party camp led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has not reacted to her call, while D Jayakumar, the Fisheries Minister and spokesman of the Tamil Nadu Government, stressed that there was no space for the Mannargudi family in the AIADMK. It is learned from sources close to Sasikala that her top priority would be to retrieve the post of general secretary of the AIADMK before the Assembly election. Sasikala’s contention is that her removal from the post of general secretary of the AIADMK was against the party constitution. She was axed as the general secretary of the AIADMK in a specially-con- vened general council meeting of the party held in September 2017. TTV Dhinakaran, who had been authorised by Sasikala to run the party in her absence had said that the general council of the AIADMK could be convened only by the gen- eral secretary and the meeting held in September 2017 was illegal. Sendur Pandian, lawyer of Sasikala, had said that the case would be taken up at the ear- liest to get a court order favour- ing her return as the general secretary of the AIADMK. “Once she wins the case, the AIADMK cadre would come and fall at her feet. Moreover, Palaniswami is about to face the biggest chal- lenge in his life now. The selec- tion of candidates for the upcoming election would be a tough task for the present lead- ership of the party,” said Govindarajan Satyamurti, vet- eran scribe and commentator. According to Satyamurti, there are many among the pre- sent lot of MLAs and Ministers who owe their position to Chinnamma, as Sasikala is addressed in the party circle. “She will strike when Palaniswami is down and out. If Palaniswami fails to win this Assembly election, we will not hear of him again,” said Satyamurti. But Kolahala Srenivasan, an expert in AIADMK affairs since the days of party founder MGR, is of the view that Sasikala may not succeed in her attempts to dethrone Palaniswamy. “The Election Commission of India, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in their verdicts have made it clear that status-quo would contin- ue till the Madras High Court disposes of the petition filed by Sasikala. When will the court pronounce the verdict is any- body’s guess. But there is no illegality in the removal of Sasikala and expulsion of Dhinakaran from the party,” said Srenivasan. A 25-year-old man was stabbed to death by five men following a quarrel at a birthday party in outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri area. The family of victim Rinku Sharma alleged he was killed over communal angle as he was involved in col- lecting funds for the construc- tion of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Security in the area was beefed up as tension pre- vailed. All five accused identified as Zahid, Mehtab, Danish, Tassudin and Islam, residents of the Mangolapuri, have been arrested. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta on Friday met the fam- ily of Rinku Sharma and pro- vided an assistance of 5 lakh to them. He demanded trial in a fast-track court.

Transcript of ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP....

Page 1: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

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Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi termed

Prime Minister Narendra Modia “coward” and accused theCentre of “ceding” Indian ter-ritory to China, inviting asharp rebuttal from theGovernment even as the BJPreminded Rahul that the coun-try’s security forces and “nationcannot forgive the Gandhi fam-ily for losing 43,000 sq kms ofland to China”.

“The PM is a coward whocannot stand up to the Chinese.He is betraying the sacrifice ofour Army,” Rahul said at a Pressconference.

Reacting to the allegation,MoS Home G Kishan Reddysaid that Rahul must “ask hisgrandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru)about who has given India’s ter-ritory to China”, while hisMinisterial colleague RK Singhtermed Rahul’s jibe as imma-ture and unparliamentary.

In a strongly-worded state-

ment, the Ministry said theeffective safeguarding of thecountry’s national interest andterritory in the Eastern Ladakhsector has taken place becausethe Government reposed fullfaith in the capabilities of thearmed forces.

“Those who doubt theachievements made possible bythe sacrifices of our militarypersonnel are actually disre-specting them,” the statementsaid.

The Congress leader’sattack came a day after UnionDefence Minister RajnathSingh announced in Parliamentthat India and China havereached an agreement on dis-engagement in the north andsouth bank of Pangong Lake ineastern Ladakh.

Rahul hit out at theGovernment questioning whyPrime Minister Narendra Modihas given up the country’s ter-ritory to China. “How he does

it is his problem, not mine,” headded.

Pointing out that the troopsare now going to be stationedat Finger 3, moving back fromFinger 4, which is also theIndian territory, Rahul asked,“Why has Modi given up ourterritory to the Chinese?”

Rahul targeted Rajnath fornot speaking in Parliament onthe “most important strategicarea — Depsang Plains —from where China entered”.

Rahul said the “truth is thatthe Prime Minister has givenaway the Indian territory toChina” and demanded Modi toanswer the nation.

Hitting back at Rahul, theBJP accused the Congressleader of “lying left, right andcentre” and denigrating thecountry’s security forces.

“When one does not havea moral conscience, when onecannot contribute anythingpositive, one resorts to lies.Rahul lied left, right and cen-tre. Perhaps Rahul is depressed

that he could not become PM.He knows that even his shad-ow won’t support him & can’tdigest the huge public mandateto Modi,” Union minister andBJP leader Pralhad Joshi said.

Joshi alleged the formerCongress chief ’s “utterances”are based on far-fetched pre-sumptions and raise “seriousdoubts on his mental health”.

“The selective amnesiawhich Rahul often displaysseems a regular order.Denigrating efforts and sacri-fices of our security forces,whom you are placating? Why?Because you got some donationfor your party? Can’t forgetyour meeting with theChinese?” Joshi said in a socialmedia post.

Gandhi scion also took toTwitter and sought an expla-nation from the Government ofIndia. “GOI must explain whyour forces are withdrawingfrom dominant positions inKailash Ranges? Why we areceding our territory & with-

drawing from forward base atFinger 4 to Finger 3? and Whyhas China not withdrawn fromour territory in Depsang Plains& Gogra Hot Springs?” Rahultweeted.

AICC chief spokesman andparty general secretaryRandeep Surjewala said ModiGovernment’s unpardonable,blatant and brazen compromiseof “national security” & India’s“territorial integrity” standsexposed. “Prime Minister andDefence Minister have under-mined the astounding valourand insurmountable grit ofour Armed Forces, who facedChinese incursions and aggres-sions with indomitable courageand sacrifice,” he said in astatement.

The statement of DefenceMinistry dated February 12,2021 issued as part of“Operation Cover-up” hasuncovered the conspiratorialmask of a weak-kneed leader-ship that India does notdeserve.

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In a big setback to theTrinamool Congress ahead of

the forthcoming StateAssembly polls, party MPDinesh Trivedi on Fridayannounced his resignationfrom the Rajya Sabha. He saidhe was taking this step as he felthelpless to do anything againstthe violence taking place in hisState.

During the last few weeks,the TMC has been rocked by aspate of defection. A number ofleaders have resigned from theparty and joined the BJP. Theyinclude Rajib Banerjee, SovanChaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari,and Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Making the announcementabout quitting the RS mem-bership, Trivedi said he wasresigning after listening to hisconscience.

Saying that he feels suffo-cated in the House as he isunable to do anything againstthe violence going on in hisState, he added, “If you sit herequietly and cannot do anything,then it is better that you resignfrom here and go to the land ofBengal and be with people.”

Trivedi said the worldlooks at India when some-thing happens. “What I meanto say is the way violence is tak-

ing place in our State. Sittinghere, I am feeling perplexed asto what should I do,” he added.

“I am grateful to my partythat it has sent me here, butnow I feel a little suffocated. Weare unable to do anything andthere is atrocity (going on). Myvoice of conscience is sayingwhat Swami Vivekananda usedto say — arise, awake and stopnot till the goal is reached,”Trivedi said, while announcinghis resignation from the House.

Reacting to the develop-ment, Bengal Minister TapasRoy said, “His (Dinesh) statushas never been better thanthat of a political go-between… a Gujarati bania (business-man) as he has acted like one.”He added that Trivide’s pres-ence in the party had neitherbenefited it nor his absence willhurt the TMC.

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The debris brought by theavalanche in Uttarakhand

earlier this week has blocked astream that joins theRishiganga river forming atemporary lake which ifbreached can cause furtherdamage in the valley, said areport by the Wadia Institute ofHimalayan Geology.

According to its directorKalachand Sain, a team of sci-entists from the institute con-ducted an aerial survey of theupper reaches of the RishiGanga just a day after theSunday avalanche and spottedthe new glacial lake there.

The team took some pho-tographs of the lake taken froma helicopter.

It seems that the recentavalanche has led to its forma-tion in the higher stretches ofthe Rishiganga’s catchment

area, he said.“Our scientists are exam-

ining the size of the lake, itsperiphery and the volume ofwater it contains to ascertainhow big and immediate thedanger from it is,” Sain toldPTI.

According to the report bythe Wadia Institute ofHimalayan Geology (WIHG),an organisation of theDepartment of Science andTechnology, the assessment ofthe actual magnitude of riskinvolved due to this impound-ment of water requires adetailed survey.

“The catastrophic floodson Sunday also brought sedi-ments in the Rishi Ganga river.Since the width of the river isvery less in the upper stretch-es, the sediments have blockeda stream forming a lake whichmay breach and cause furtherdamage in the valley,” he said.

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Congress veteran and aGandhi family loyalist

Mallikarjun Kharge is all set tobe the leader of Opposition inthe Rajya Sabha. Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi in a let-ter to Rajya Sabha chairman MVenkaiah Naidu informed himthe party’s decision to replaceGhulam Nabi Azad, the out-going LOP, who retires fromthe House on February 15.

Kharge, 78, a Dalit stalwartof the Congress, was leader ofthe party in the 16th LokSabha. He was known for vocif-erous opposition of theGovernment and as a promot-er of sloganeering and disrup-tion — something he alwayssaid the BJP mastered in the14th Lok Sabha under thenleaders of Opposition SushmaSwaraj and Arun Jaitley.

Kharge’s appointment tothe key Rajya Sabha post comesat the cost of Congress deputyleader in the house AnandSharma, who was long seen asAzad’s natural inheritor. Othermain contenders for the cov-eted post were Digvijay Singhand P Chidambaram.

Sharma and Azad last yearfell out of favour of Sonia afterthey wrote to her demandingoverhaul of the party organsa-tion and internal elections.

Kharge is a nine-timeKarnataka MLA and two-timeLok Sabha MP.

He lost the 2019 LS elec-tion from Gulbarga by over95,000 votes.

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At least 11 workers werekilled and 36 injured when

an explosion ripped through afireworks factory near Sattur inthis southern district in TamilNadu on Friday, Police said.The explosion occurred whensome chemicals were beingmixed to produce fireworks atthe unit in Acchankulam vil-lage, they said, adding theinjured had been hospitalised.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister K Palaniswami,Governor Banwarilal Purohitand Congress MP RahulGandhi were among those whocondoled the deaths.

Modi and Palaniswamiannounced an ex-gratia of �2lakh each and �3 lakh each tothe kin of the deceased fromthe Prime Minister’s NationalRelief Fund and the ChiefMinister’s Public Relief Fundrespectively.

The factory building wasdamaged badly under theimpact of the explosion andmany suffered burns.

Palaniswami, in a state-ment, said all the 11 workerswere killed on the spot and thathe has ordered a probe into theincident, while assuring duelegal action.

Several fire fighting unitswere deployed to douse the fireand take up the rescue opera-tions. Earlier, TV visualsshowed relatives of the victimswailing near the mishap sitewhile the injured were rushedto hospitals in ambulances.

Modi said the “fire at a fire-

cracker factory inVirudhunagar, Tamil Nadu issaddening.” Posting in his offi-cial Twitter handle, @PMOIndia, he said “in this hour ofgrief, my thoughts are with thebereaved families. I hope thoseinjured recover soon.Authorities are working on theground to assist those affected:PM @narendramodi.”

“An ex-gratia of �2 lakheach has been approved fromPMNRF for the next of kin ofthose who have lost their livesdue to a fire in Virudhunagar,Tamil Nadu. �50,000 would begiven to those seriouslyinjured,” he said, in tweet,which was also made in Tamil.

Palaniswami, in a state-ment, said all the 11 victimswere killed on the spot andexpressed grief over the deaths.

“I was anguished to knowthat 36 persons have beeninjured in the explosion andhave directed the officials to

ensure due medical treatmentto them,” he said.

He announced a sum of �3lakh each to the families of thedeceased and �1 lakh to thosewho had suffered grievousinjuries.

The Chief Minister said hehas directed expediting therelief work and asked the dis-trict collector Virudhunagar,home to the country’s fireworkshub, to console the families ofthe victims in person.

The collectors concernedshould conduct periodic checksat such units to ensure workers’safety, he said, adding the fac-tories should follow due safe-ty measures in view of the com-ing summer season, indicatinghigh temperatures then couldlead to similar mishaps.

Purohit said he wasshocked and grieved to hearabout the accident and prayedfor the early and completerecovery of the injured.

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Twitter has blocked over 97per cent of the accounts

and posts flagged by the ITMinistry for provocative con-tent and misinformationaround farmers’ protest,sources said.

This followed a meetingbetween Twitter representa-tives and the InformationTechnology Secretary onWednesday evening where theUS-based microblogging plat-form was issued a stern warn-ing to comply with local lawsor be prepared for action.

The Ministry had ques-tioned Twitter’s delay in tak-ing action on its order toblock provocative content thatcould impact public law andorder, whereas the Americancompany had been quick tocrack down when a similarinstance occurred at USCapitol Hill.

According to the sources,Twitter has now complied withthe orders and over 97 per centof the accounts flagged havebeen blocked.

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Antibodies against the coro-navirus may last for up to

eight months or longer postvaccination, said All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) director RandeepGuleria on Friday.

About 75,05,010 doses ofCovishield and Covaxin havebeen administered in Indiasince the mega vaccinationdrive began on January 16across the country.

Guleria’s statement comesamid reports that some of theCovid-19 vaccination centres inDelhi are mulling to start con-ducting antibody tests beforeand after beneficiaries receivethe shot to test its efficacy.

According to a newsagency report, the researchwill be conducted after hospi-tals or vaccination centres getessential approvals from their

respective ethical committees.Guleria, who is also a

member of the National TaskForce on Covid-19, wasanswering questions related tothe vaccines on Twitter earlierin the day. People tweeted tohim using #VaccineVarta, fol-lowing which he reverted tothem.

“Antibodies will developabout 14 days after the secondshot. It is not clear how longprotection will last but it isbelieved that it will last for atleast 8 months, or may belonger. Currently, scientists areaggressively studying long-term protection provided byvaccines,” said the AIIMS director.

Guleria said the populationabove 50 years of age will startgetting the vaccination fromMarch 2021 onwards. “Thiswill also include the populationwith comorbidities, between 20

years and 50 years,” heannounced.

One of the citizens askedwhy veterinarians are notincluded in the high-risk work-ers list, to which he said it isbecause they are not treatingpatients with Covid-19.

“Depending on age andpresence of comorbidities,linked to more severe diseases,one will get the vaccine,” headded. Currently, health work-ers and frontline workers arebeing vaccinated in the phaseone and two of the drive.

On being asked by onenetizen as to why theGovernment is depriving theirown citizens of vaccines byexporting the same to othercountries, Guleria answeredthat since people travel andbecome a carrier of virus,everyone needs to be vacci-nated globally to control thespread.

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It has been four days since VKSasikala, a former aide to late

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa,returned to Chennai after serv-ing a four-year jail term inBangalore in connection witha disproportionate asset case.The former AIADMK GeneralSecretary has not come out ofthe palatial house of her nieceKrishnaveni at T-Nagar inChennai where she is staying asof now.

There is no information ofher meeting any seniorAIADMK leaders or personsclose to the party leadership.Throughout her 23-hour jour-ney from Bangalore toChennai, Sasikala told hercadre about the need to defeatthe DMK. The party camp ledby Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswami has not reacted toher call, while D Jayakumar, theFisheries Minister andspokesman of the Tamil NaduGovernment, stressed that

there was no space for theMannargudi family in theAIADMK.

It is learned from sourcesclose to Sasikala that her toppriority would be to retrieve thepost of general secretary of theAIADMK before the Assemblyelection.

Sasikala’s contention is thather removal from the post ofgeneral secretary of theAIADMK was against the partyconstitution. She was axed asthe general secretary of theAIADMK in a specially-con-vened general council meeting

of the party held in September2017.

TTV Dhinakaran, who hadbeen authorised by Sasikala torun the party in her absencehad said that the general council of the AIADMK couldbe convened only by the gen-eral secretary and the meetingheld in September 2017 wasillegal.

Sendur Pandian, lawyer ofSasikala, had said that the casewould be taken up at the ear-liest to get a court order favour-ing her return as the generalsecretary of the AIADMK.

“Once she wins the case,the AIADMK cadre wouldcome and fall at her feet.Moreover, Palaniswami isabout to face the biggest chal-lenge in his life now. The selec-tion of candidates for theupcoming election would be atough task for the present lead-ership of the party,” saidGovindarajan Satyamurti, vet-eran scribe and commentator.

According to Satyamurti,there are many among the pre-

sent lot of MLAs and Ministerswho owe their position toChinnamma, as Sasikala isaddressed in the party circle.“She will strike whenPalaniswami is down and out.If Palaniswami fails to win thisAssembly election, we will nothear of him again,” saidSatyamurti.

But Kolahala Srenivasan,an expert in AIADMK affairssince the days of party founderMGR, is of the view thatSasikala may not succeed in herattempts to dethronePalaniswamy.

“The Election Commissionof India, Delhi High Court andthe Supreme Court in theirverdicts have made it clearthat status-quo would contin-ue till the Madras High Courtdisposes of the petition filed bySasikala. When will the courtpronounce the verdict is any-body’s guess. But there is noillegality in the removal ofSasikala and expulsion ofDhinakaran from the party,”said Srenivasan.

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A25-year-old man wasstabbed to death by five

men following a quarrel at abirthday party in outer Delhi’sMangolpuri area. The family ofvictim Rinku Sharma allegedhe was killed over communalangle as he was involved in col-lecting funds for the construc-tion of the Ram temple inAyodhya. Security in the areawas beefed up as tension pre-vailed.

All five accused identifiedas Zahid, Mehtab, Danish,Tassudin and Islam, residentsof the Mangolapuri, have beenarrested.

Delhi BJP president AdeshGupta on Friday met the fam-ily of Rinku Sharma and pro-vided an assistance of �5 lakhto them. He demanded trial ina fast-track court.

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Shimla:Senior Congress leaderand sitting legislator inHimachal Pradesh, Sujan Singh

Pathania passed away on Fridaymorning. He was 78. Pathaniawas a former Minister and sit-

ting legislator from FatehpurAssembly constituency inKangra district. He died after

a prolonged illness on Fridayand will be cremated onSaturday.

Born on September 22,1943 in Lahore (Pakistan),Pathania was elected seventimes as an MLA.

Having served in the HPForest Department as a rangeofficer, he resigned from ser-vice to join Janata Party in1977 and later became amember of the Congressparty in 1980.

Pathania was elected tothe state Assembly in 1977, re-elected in 1990, 1993, 2003,2009 (by-election) from JawaliAssembly constituency and

in 2012 and 2017 fromFatehpur Assembly con-stituency. Before delimitationin 2007, Fatehpur AssemblyConstituency was known asJawali.

Pathania remained MPPand Power Minister with addi-tional charge of Non-Conventional Energy Sources,Agriculture from December2012 to December 2017.Governor Bandaru Dattatrayaand Chief Minister Jai RamThakur have expressed griefover the demise of Pathania.

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Chandigarh:To further uplift the economic status of the youthof the economically weaker section (EWS), the PunjabGovernment has decided to disburse loan worth Rs 491.26 lakhto 289 youths at low interest rates for self-employment. “PunjabBackward Castes Land Development andFinance Corporation has set a target todistribute a loan of Rs. 1127.75 lakh to751 youth of EWS during 2020-2021,”said the state Social Justice,Empowerment and Minorities MinisterSadhu Singh Dharmsot. He said that 279youths have been provided Rs 474.46lakh as loan on low interest rate till date,and the process to provide this monetaryassistance to others is underway. “Loansworth Rs 16.80 lakh have been provid-ed to 10 youngsters of EWS for self-employment at low interest rate,” headded. The Minister said that the PunjabGovernment has handed over Rs2,436.74 lakh loan to 1,459 poor BC,Minorities and EWS youngsters of theState during the last four years. “Theseyoungsters have already started theirbusinesses and earning livelihood forthem and their families,” he added.

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Page 3: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

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Ahead of the Assembly elec-tions next year, the Punjab

civic body polls would suggestwhich way the political wind isblowing. The high decibel cam-paigning for the polls to be heldon February 14 (Sunday),ended on Friday evening withall the political parties making their last ditch effort towoo the voters.

The last day saw AamAadmi Party’s senior leader andDelhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia campaigningfor the party candidates inAmritsar, Punjab FinanceMinister Manpreet Badal elec-tioneering for Congress candi-dates in Bathinda mainly toretain his citadel, Jails MinisterSukhjinder Singh Randhawaand Congress MP and formerMinister Manish Tewari seek-ing votes for party candidatesin Mohali along with localMLA and Health MinisterBalbir Singh Sidhu, amongothers.

The State ElectionCommission has made all nec-essary arrangements to conductthe polls to elect 400 membersfor eight municipal corpora-tions, 109 municipal councils,and nagar panchayats out of thetotal 9,222 candidates in thefray.

“The required electionmaterial and EVMs will behanded over to polling partieson February 13 while votingwill take place on February 14from 8 am to 4 pm,” said theelection officials adding thatthe counting will take place on

February 17.As per the Punjab

Government’s instructions, 50percent reservation has beengiven for women in municipalelections.

There are 20,49,777 male,18,65,354 female and 149 trans-gender voters, totaling39,15,280 registered voters inPunjab for these elections.

For the purpose of con-ducting polls, 4,102 pollingbooths have been establishedand 18,000 personnel will beput on election duty. Around7,000 Electronic VotingMachines (EVMs) have beenarranged for the polling.

For taking preventive mea-sures for COVID-19, Rs 1.65crore has been allocated to pro-vide masks, sanitizers, andgloves to be used by the staffdeployed for election duty.

Besides the rulingCongress in the state, AAP,SAD and the BJP are also con-testing these polls.

This is the first election inwhich the SAD and the BJP willbe contesting separately afterthe Akalis snapped ties with thesaffron outfit over the farmlaws last year.

Ahead of the polls, theOpposition has accused theCongress of “misusing” thegovernment machinery toinfluence the polls, a chargedenied by the ruling party.

A SAD delegation had onTuesday urged PunjabGovernor V P Singh Badnoreto direct the state governmentto countermand the civic bodypolls at all places where nom-ination papers of opposition

candidates were rejected.A BJP delegation on

Thursday met the governor,urging him to issue directionsfor the deployment of para-military forces in the state inthe view of “deteriorating” lawand order situation ahead of thepolls.

Being held at the timewhen farmers are agitatingagainst the Centre’s three con-tentious farm laws sincemonths now, the BJP candi-dates, along with senior lead-ers and workers are facingmassive protests across theState by the farmers. In fact,several BJP candidates haveopted to contest polls as “inde-pendents”.

In all, 9,222 candidates arein fray, with 30 percent con-testing as ‘independents’. Atotal of 2,832 independentsare in fray on 2215 wards of 117urban local bodies (ULBs) ofPunjab. While the rulingCongress party has fielded2,037 candidates on the partysymbol, AAP has fielded on1606, becoming the secondparty with highest number ofcandidates. SAD has fielded1569 candidates on the partysymbol, with 1,003 by the BJP.

ABSENT FROM ELECTIONDUTY: BHIKHIWINDTEHSILDAR SUSPENDED

Punjab State ElectionCommission on Friday placedunder suspension the servicesof Bhikhiwind Tehsildar haswith immediate effect for beingabsent during the election duty.Commission spokesperson saidthat Lakhwinder Singh,

Tehsildar of Bhikhiwind inTarn Taran district, deliberate-ly remained absent from thework of municipal electionsdue to which he had been sus-pended with immediate effect.

PEOPLE OF PUNJABSHOULD GIVE AAP ACHANCE TO IMPLEMENTDELHI MODEL: SISODIA

AAP’s senior leader andDelhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia on Fridayappealed to the people ofPunjab to give a chance to theAam Aadmi Party once andthey would forget the politicsof Congress, BJP and Akalis.

At Amritsar, he said thatDelhi Chief Minister andAAP”s national convenerArvind Kejriwal’s governmentin Delhi had done such welfareworks for the people, which theCongress and the BJP hadnever imagined.

“Today, the people in Delhiwere provided with betterhealth facilities in governmenthospitals and better educationin government schools as com-pared to the private schools,free electricity and water, 24hours a day,” he said whileappealing to the people to givea chance to AAP once, so thatthe Delhi model would beimplemented in Punjab.

He said that presently, therewere two types of politics goingon. “One is the politics ofCongress, BJP, and Akalis,which are running their busi-nesses and filling their cofferswith the tax money paid by thepeople. On the other hand, it is

the politics of Delhi CMArvind Kejriwal, who is spend-ing the taxpayers’ money forpeople’s development,” he said.

COUNTRY TURN BANK-RUPT UNDER MODIGOVT: TEWARI

Addressing Congressparty’s massive rally in supportof party candidates for MohaliMC elections at Sector 71Mohali, Congress MP fromSri Anandpur Sahib ManishTiwari on Friday lambasted theBJP-led Central Governmentfor making the country bank-rupt.

“Now there is Rs 18 lakhcrore debt on Indian govern-ment. The country’s economythat grew at eight prevent everyyear during Dr ManmohanSingh as PM has now fallen tominus 7.7 percent. ModiGovernment has dented thecountry on socially, politicallyand internationally fronts,” heasserted.

Punjab Cabinet MinisterSukhjinder Singh Randhawasaid that people should notbelieve in those who shift loy-alties for their personal gains.“The expectation of commu-nity development cannot beexpected from these oppor-tunistic businessmen. Thesebusinessmen can’t think ofcommon man’s welfare as theywould only think of their ownwelfare and their businesses.With their money power, theycan only try to buy votes tocome into power,” he added ina direct attack on former Mayorand also a candidate KulwantSingh.

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Ridiculing Aam AadmiParty’s (AAP) ambition to

rule the state as a ‘pipe-dream’,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Fridaysaid that it was ridiculous thata party, that is totally faceless inPunjab, should talk of having agrand Chief Ministerial face inthe 2022 Assembly elections.

“With just a year to go forthe Assembly polls, AAP couldnot find a face from Punjab tocampaign in the municipalelections and had to drag innon-entities from Delhi forelectioneering! And now theyclaim that they’ll find a CMface that will be the pride ofPunjab?” said Capt Amarinder.

“What can a party whichsold off the farmers’ interests byimplementing one of the farmlaws in Delhi back inNovember know of Punjab’s‘aan, baan, and shaan’,” theChief Minister asked, addingthat AAP neither knows norcares what Punjabiyat is allabout.

Far from learning from

their mistakes of the past fiveyears, AAP continues to blun-der its way through Punjab,with absolutely no under-standing or concern about theproblems of its people, he said,adding that all they see here “isanother state to rule, anotherseat of power”.

“They do not see the painand the problems of our peo-ple,” he said, adding that AAPis an outsider in Punjab andwill remain so as long as it con-tinues to be disconnected fromthe state’s ground realities.

The exodus of AAP leadersand members from the party’sPunjab unit over the past two-three years is just the tip of aniceberg, and the fact is that theyhave no roots here.

The Chief Minister said:“Arvind Kejriwal’s party has noexistence outside Delhi, andwill soon be wiped out fromthere too, given their shamelesscollusion with the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), at whosebehest they have been trying tobefool the lakhs of farmerscamping outside their city formore than two months now.”

The Chief Minister alsotermed as ludicrous and futileAAP’s persistent attempt tomislead the people with lies onthe issue of the agriculturalreforms committee set up bythe Government of India.

“Show me one piece ofpaper to prove that the FarmLaws were even mentioned,leave alone discussed, at thetwo meetings of the reformscommittee held after Punjabwas made a member,” CaptainAmarinder challenged AAP,dubbing it a “party of shame-less liars and cheats, with nocompunction about sacrificingthe truth to serve their politi-cal purpose”.

Punjab neither wants norneeds such a party, said theChief Minister, adding that“neither AAP nor its Delhimodel of governance is wel-come in Punjab, which is far-ing better than the nationalcapital on almost every keyindex of development.”

What Punjab needs is solidand sincere leadership, not aparty of loud-mouth liars anddeceivers, he added.

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Punjab State Women Commission chairper-son Manisha Gulati will meet jailed labour

activist Nodeep Kaur in Karnal Jail on February15 (Monday).

The chairperson had taken up the matterwith Haryana counterpart and urged to inter-vene in the matter, said an official spokesper-son of the Commission on Friday.

Acting swiftly, the Haryana State WomenCommission (HSWC) has issued writteninstruction to Director General, Jails, (Haryana)Selvaraj to ensure legal assistance under Section3 (10), (1) (f) (k) of the Haryana State WomenCommission Act-2012 to Nodeep Kaur, a resi-dent of Giadarh village in Sri Muktsar districtof Punjab besides ensuring the safety andsecurity of the detainee.

Spokesperson said that HSWC chairpersonhas directed the Director General Jails to makeall necessary arrangements for the meeting,scheduled at 12 noon on February 15, of

Punjab State Women’s Commission chairpersonand Nodeep Kaur.

The Director General has also been askedto submit the action taken report in this regard.

The development comes a day after thePunjab women panel had taken a “stern notice”of the Nodeep Kaur’s case, seeking a status reportfrom Sonipat Senior Superintendent of Police(SSP) by February 15.“Through a written com-muniqué, the SSP Sonipat has been directed toget the case of Nodeep Kaur investigated by asenior officer,” PSWC chairperson ManishaGulati had stated, adding that the SSP has beenasked to submit a detailed investigation reportwithin five days, that is by February 15, 2021.

Gulati had said that after receiving the policereport, the Commission would immediately takefurther action in the matter.

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Even as the daily cases hascome down to 200 per day

in Punjab, the state Healthand Family Welfare MinisterBalbir Singh Sidhu on Fridayissued instructions to all CivilSurgeons to strictly implementCovid-19 appropriate behaviorsand keep testing for Covid-19at least 1000 per million pop-ulation.

“To accelerate the contacttracing of Covid patients,instructions have also beenissued to trace at least 20 con-tacts of every positive patientand get them tested as well,” hesaid adding that contact trac-ing increased from about fourcontacts per case to nearly 12contacts per positive case.

Sidhu said that during thepeak, Punjab used to report2,500 to 3,000 cases per day.“Due to good containmentefforts of the PunjabGovernment, during last twomonths, the number of caseshave been decreasing steadilyand average daily cases report-ed came down to about 200 perday with a recovery rate of 95percent,” he said.

Recent few days have seenan up rise in number ofCOVID-19 cases in the Statewith 309 cases being reported

on February 11, said theMinister adding that this trendindicates, COVID-19 is notover yet and we are at risk ofwitnessing a surge in numberof cases which strictly requiresthe need for following COVIDappropriate behaviors likesocial distancing, wearing ofmask and hand sanitization.

Divulging about the vacci-nation programme, Sidhu saidthat so far, 2.05 lakh healthcareworkers and 1.77 lakh frontlineworkers have been registeredfor COVID-19 vaccination,and about 74,286 healthcareworkers and 23,085 frontlineworkers have been vaccinated.

The Minister said thatfacility of registering benefi-ciaries for vaccination of frontline workers of Revenue andPRI departments is still opentill February17. The last date oravailing first dose of vaccina-tion for HCW has been extend-ed from February 12 to 19.

At the same time, heassured that the vaccine is safeand effective and every HCWand FLW must get vaccinated.It is for their safety and that oftheir families.

Expressing concern overthe states where COVID-19cases are rising, he said thatMaharashtra and Kerala haveconstantly recorded a high

number of daily cases so thatthe Punjab Government hastaken prompt decisions to con-trol the spread of corona virusin the State.

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Haryana on Friday report-ed one more coronavirus

fatality over the past 24 hours,taking the total death toll to3,035, according to a healthbulletin.

The State also recorded104 fresh cases of the infec-tion, taking the tally to2,68,887. The fresh casesinclude 29 from Gurugram,13 in Faridabad, 12 inPanchkula, 11 inYamunanagar, 9 in Jhajjar, thebulletin said.

The number of activecases in the State is 837,while as many as 2,65,015have recovered. The recoveryrate is at 98.56 percent, it stat-ed.

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With overall Covid-19 vac-cination coverage stand-

ing at just 35 per cent inChandigarh, Punjab Governorand UT Administrator VPSingh Badnore on Fridaydirected the officers concernedto start an awareness cam-paign to remove hesitancyfrom the minds of peopleregarding the vaccination.

Only 22 per cent benefi-ciaries out of the targetedhealthcare and frontline work-ers turned up for Covid-19 vac-cination in the city on Friday.

A total of 643 beneficiariesagainst the target of 2876 wereinoculated at various sites. Thisincluded 346 healthcare work-ers against the target of 1777and 297 frontline workersagainst the target of 1099.

The overall COVID-19vaccination coverage stands atjust 35 percent in the citywhile the coverage of health-care workers stands at 34 per-cent. With this, Chandigarhcontinues to be in the list ofworst performing states /UTs inCOVID-19 vaccination cover-age as per the Union HealthMinistry.

Till now, only 6600 health-care workers against the targetof 19116 and 1529 frontlineworkers against the target of3887 have been inoculated.Overall 8129 HCWs and FLWshave been vaccinated againstthe target of 23003 since thelaunch of vaccination drive inthe city.

During the review meetingon COVID-19 situation in thecity, Badnore directed thatsince 1,21,850 doses ofCovishield are available, allefforts should be made toenhance vaccination rating.All the 14 sites must be fullyfunctional and there should bean IEC campaign to removehesitancy from the minds ofthe persons regarding the vac-cination, he directed.

Badnore also requested thesenior doctors to take a lead invaccination.

VK Singh, AdditionalSecretary Textile, deputed byGovernment of India to mon-itor the vaccination in the cityalso attended the meeting.

It was informed that inPGIMER, against 10,408 work-ers registered for vaccination,2,800 health workers have gotthe vaccine.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Friday said the state’s budget forthe year 2021-2022 would focuson Education, Health Security,Employment and Self-Reliancein which all sections of the soci-ety will be taken care of.

Interacting with mediapersons after presiding overthe monthly meeting of DistrictPublic Relations and GrievanceRedressal Committee held atGurugram, Khattar said thatlike last year, this time too, theState budget would be preparedand presented after holding dis-cussions and seeking sugges-tions from all stakeholders,MLAs and MPs.

“As due to global PandemicCOVID-19, no physical meet-ing has been held, therefore thestakeholders, MLAs and MPshave been asked to send theirsuggestions in writing to theState Government by February20, 2021. Their valuable sug-gestions will be incorporated inthe budget,” said the ChiefMinister.

The Chief Minister further

said that this time the Budgetwill be of public interest, inwhich special care will be takento ensure that the problems ofevery section of the society areresolved.

He said that like last time,this time too, the State Budgetwould focus more onEducation and the budget allo-cation for this sector will beincreased. Besides this, due toCOVID-19 Pandemic, theHealth budget will also beincreased.

Khattar said that the StateGovernment is going to makea rule in which developmentfee for a plot will be levied onlyonce.

If the plot owner receives anotice from the MunicipalCorporation or Municipality topay the development fee again,then he would have to showthe receipt of the developmentfee filled earlier therefore hewill not have to pay the chargesagain.

Responding to a question,Khattar said that the StateGovernment had banned reg-istry of less than one acre ofagricultural land.

Now a provision will be

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The Centre on Fridayrebuffed the Chhattisgarh

Government’s claim that BharatBiotech’s Covaxin had noexpiry date on its vials deliveredand that the jab had not com-pleted the third phase trials,hence doubting its efficacy.

Countering the inhibitionsraised by Chhattisgarh HealthMinister TS Singh Deo pub-licly, Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan wrote to himasking not to sensationalise a“non-issue” and divert focusinstead to step up measures toimprove the “abysmally lowvaccination coverage” in theState.

Deo had tweeted onThursday enclosing a letter tothe Centre about concerns ofthe State regarding the incom-plete third phase trials of thevaccine and the absence ofexpiration date on its vialsdelivered.

He had also requested theunion government to halt thesupply of Covaxin toChhattisgarh until these issueswere addressed.

Harsh Vardhan has given adetailed explanation in his let-ter to Deo stating that all vac-cines supplied to states were“safe and immunogenic” and

should be used expeditiously.The Congress-ruled state

had been expressing its reser-vations about Covaxin since itreceived the Emergency UseAuthorization(EUA) fromIndia’s drug regulator onJanuary 3. The vaccine is yet tocomplete its third phase of tri-als and is being used in clinicaltrial mode under nationwideCovid vaccination drive.

The Union Minister alsopointed out that the state’s per-formance in vaccination cov-erage was way behind schedule.

Harsh Vardhan said thatwhile Chhattisgarh has“achieved 69.87 per cent cov-erage of its Health CareWorkers by giving them thefirst dose of the vaccine, thestate has been able to cover only9.55% of its 2,09,512 FrontLine Workers through the firstdose of the vaccine”.

“Ample supplies of vac-cines have been delivered toChhattisgarh against whichcoverage of only 9.55% front-line workers in the State is amatter of grave concern. Sh. TS

Singh Deoji, rather than sen-sationalising non-issues, kind-ly focus on improving vaccinecoverage in the state,” HarshVardhan tweeted

“You would appreciate thatthis coverage needs to improve

significantly since adequatequantities of both the vaccinesare available with the State,”said the Union Health Ministerin the letter.

“Your concern regardingunavailability of expiry date on

Covaxin vial is also complete-ly unfounded and without basisas the same is mentioned onthe label of vaccine vials,”Vardhan wrote while heattached a photo of a vial withthe label.

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Patients given preventiveblood thinning drugs (pro-

phylactic anticoagulants) with-in 24 hours of admission tohospital with Covid-19 areless likely to die comparedwith those who do not receivethem, a study published by TheBritish Medical Journal hasfound.

Clinical trials are nowunderway to see if prophylac-tic anticoagulants could be aneffective treatment for covid-19. In the meantime, theresearchers say these findingsprovide strong real world evi-dence to support their early useamong patients in hospitalwith covid-19.

Some covid deaths arebelieved to be due to bloodclots developing in major veinsand arteries. Anticoagulantsprevent blood clots formingand have antiviral and poten-tially anti-inflammatory prop-erties, so might be particular-ly effective in patients withcovid-19, but results from pre-vious studies have been incon-clusive.

Their findings are basedon data from the United StatesDepartment of Veterans Affairsfor 4,297 patients (average age68 years; 93% men) admittedto hospital with covid-19between 1 March and 31 July2020.

Other potentially impor-tant factors including age, eth-

nicity, underlying conditions,medication history, weight,and smoking status were takeninto account. The researchersthen followed these patients tosee who died or experienced aserious bleeding event within30 days of hospital admission.

A total of 3,627 (84.4%) ofpatients received prophylacticanticoagulation within 24hours of admission and therewere 622 deaths (14.5%) with-in 30 days.

Death at 30 days was14.3% among those whoreceived prophylactic antico-agulation compared with18.7% among those who didnot - a relative risk reductionas high as 34% and an absoluterisk reduction of 4.4%.

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Over 77 lakh beneficiarieshave been vaccinated in

the country until now, includ-ing 2,61,309 people who wereinoculated till 6 pm on Friday,the Union Health Ministry hassaid.

It said that of the total77,66,319, 58,65,813 benefi-ciaries are healthcare workers,constituting 58.9 per cent ofthe target number. As many as19,00,506 frontline workershave received anti-Covid jabsso far, that is 21.2 per cent ofthe government’s target.

In addition to this, thenumber of hospitalisationsrecorded as part of Covid-19vaccination is 33, of which, 21have been discharged fromhospital, two are under treat-ment and 10 deaths were seen.

“Percentage of hospitali-sation as against total vacci-nations constitutes 0.0004 percent,” the ministry said.

“The new event of hospi-

talisation reported in the last24 hours is a case of anaphy-laxis, which was treated atMurshidabad Medical Collegeand Hospital in West Bengaland has been since dischargedfrom the hospital,” it added.

The ten States with thehighest number of vaccina-tions on Friday are: UttarPradesh (68,135),Maharashtra (24,946),Madhya Pradesh (21897),Jammu and Kashmir (17,900),West Bengal (17,609), Gujarat(16,069), Karnataka (13,741),Chhattisgarh (11,988),Jharkhand (10,488) andOdisha (7,279).

The Ministry’s JointSecretary Mandeep Bhandarisaid that scheduling for all

healthcare workers for vacci-nation has to be carried out by20 February. Mop up roundsfor the healthcare workersshall be completed to end by25 February.

“For the frontline workers,scheduling for vaccination atleast once is fixed for 1 March.Mop up round for those whocouldn’t be vaccinated for anyreason, should be covered lat-est by 6 March,” said Bhandari.

Meanwhile, India hasreported 9,309 new Covid-19cases in the last 24 hours, tak-ing the cumulative count ofpeople infected with the virusin the country to 1,08,80,603.Besides these new cases,15,858 recoveries were report-ed in the country in the sameperiod.

The total count includes1,35,926 active cases and1,05,89,230 recoveries, theMinistry said adding that theCovid-19 death toll hasreached 1,55,447 with 87deaths in the last 24 hours.

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Amid farmers’ protests andmahapanchayats in

Maharashtra, Rajasthan, UttarPradesh, Haryana and Punjabto pressurise the Governmentto repeal the farm legisla-tions, the Supreme Court-appointed expert committeeheld another meeting with12 farmers’ unions and FarmProduce Organisations’(FPOs) and representativesof 18 State and UnionTerritories of agriculturedepartments and sought theirfeedback over the farm legis-lations.

According to the agricul-ture ministry, they not onlygave their frank views aboutthe agrarian laws but also gavesuggestions to improve theimplementation of the laws.This was the second meetingwith FPOs. The Committee

has held nine round of delib-erations with stakeholdersengaged directly or indirect-ly in the agriculture sector sofar. The three-member com-mittee has been holding con-sultations with stakeholders,both online and in person.

In a statement, the com-mittee said it held its interac-tions through video confer-encing with farmers, farmerunions and farmer producerorganisations (FPOs). “Atleast 12 farm unions andfarmers from AndhraPradesh, Bihar, Jammu and

Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Telangana, UttarPradesh and West Bengal dis-cussed the farm laws withcommittee members throughvideo conferencing,” the com-mittee said. “All the partici-pating farmer unions, FPOsand farmers gave theirdetailed views and sugges-tions on the three farm laws,”the committee added.

All the nine deliberationswere held without participa-tion of the 41 protesting farm-ers’ unions. The protestingfarmers under the banner ofSanyukt Kisan Morcha - hasrefused to talk to the com-mittee -continue to protest atDelhi’s borders - Tikri, Singhu,and Ghazipur for over 75days. Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar categorically said thatthe Union government isready for another meeting

only if the farmers want to dis-cuss this proposal.

According to officials, thecommittee members had ear-lier earlier interacted withrepresentatives of agriculturedepartments’ of 18 states-Andaman & Nicobar Islands,Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,Dadra and Nagar Haveli andDaman & Diu, Goa,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Nagaland, Delhi, Punjab,Sikkim, Tamil Nadu andUttarakhand on Thursday.Officials said that StateGovernment representativeshave hailed the farm lawsand also suggested some feed-back to improve it.

At present, the talksbetween the UnionGovernment and the farmers’unions have come to a stand-still.

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The Centre on Friday saidthat farmers’ unions never

agreed to discuss the farmlaws excepting for demandingtheir repeal. The Centre furtherstated that the NationalHighways Authority of India(NHAI) is facing a loss ofnearly Rs 1.8 crore every day asit has been unable to collectuser fee at the affected publicfunded toll plazas due to farmstirs since November 26.

In a written reply to RajyaSabha, Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar said on Friday duringthe 11th round of negotia-tions, the government hadbeen requesting the agitatingfarmers’ unions to discuss theFarm laws clause by clause inorder to resolve their concernson the clauses bothering them.

“The Government had fur-

ther explained during the meet-ings, the benefits includinglegal validity pertaining torecently enacted new Farmlaws. However, farmers’ unionsnever agreed to discuss thefarm laws excepting fordemanding their repeal,”Tomar said.

The question was asked byMP Jharna Das Baidya on thefarmers protests on details oftime-bound proposal of gov-ernment to overcome thestruggle of farmers to get theirlives back on track.

In response to an unstarredquestion by Lok Sabha MP PCGaddigoudar, Union RoadTransport and HighwaysMinister Nitin Gadkari statedthat some of the public fund-ed toll plazas are non-opera-tional owing to the farmprotests.

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Congress MP Adhir RahanChowdhury on Friday

sought in the Lok Sabha a clar-ification from the Governmenton the status of army’s posi-tioning on Kailash range on theLine of Control in Ladakh bor-der following the de-escalationagreement with China.

Raising the issue duringthe zero hour, Chowdhuryasked the defence minister toclarify about the status in theDepsang region where healleged China had moved 18kms inside Indian territory.

The Congress MP askedwhether the Indian army willwithdraw from heights ofKailash range which they hadtactically “seized” during thestand-off along the LAC. “Arewe to keep this advantage? Anygive and take policy,” he asked.

Chowdhury asked what isthe Government’s way toremove China from Depsang ?

The Congress MP wasinterrupted by ParliamentaryAffairs Minister ArjunMeghwal who said the DefenceMinister has given a statementand the member should beproud of the country’s defenceforces.

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Raipur: The new industrial policy implement-ed by the State Government under the leader-ship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel isattracting investors. In the last two years, 1207new industries have been established in the state,a capital investment of 16 thousand 897 crorehas been made through these industries in thestate, in which more than 22 thousand peoplehave got direct employment. Similarly, a total of104 MoUs for mega industrial projects have beensigned during this period. The proposed totalcapital investment of these units is 42 thousand714.48 crore, through which about 65 thousandpeople will get employment.

It is noteworthy that in the last two years inthe state of Chhattisgarh, there has been a rapidindustrial development. To achieve this growth,the state government not only implemented thenew industrial policy but also included amend-ments in this policy as per the requirement ofthe investors. The state government imple-mented food processing policy along with theestablishment of food parks in the developmentblocks of the state and also executed MoU forthis purpose.

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While the number of newpatients diagnosed with

Covid-19 on Friday came downto 483 in Tamil Nadu, neigh-bouring Kerala is being literal-ly battered because of the pan-demic. Kerala, which had beendeclared as a State free ofCovid-19 as on May 8, 2020,diagnosed 5,397 new patientswith the pandemic on Fridaywith a Test Positivity Rate of7.25.

The number of fatalitiesregistered in Tamil Nadu dur-ing the last 24 hours stood at sixwhile 18 persons lost their livesin Kerala due to Coviod-19.According to a release issued bythe office of Kerala’s HealthMinister, death toll is likely tobe high as the Government wasexpecting some more resultsfrom National VirologyInstitute at Alappuzha.

While Tamil Nadu’s deathtoll reached 12,408 mark byFriday evening, Kerala regis-tered 3,954 deaths till Friday.

Tamil Nadu has 4,285 Covid-19patients across the State as onFriday while Kerala, which hadclaimed itself to be the globalleader in Covid-19 manage-ment had 63,691 patients suf-fering from the pandemic, saidthe release from the healthminister’s office. There are 2.41lakh persons in Kerala who areunder observation.

A release issued by TamilNadu’s Directorate of Healthsaid that 142 new patients werediagnosed on Friday withCovid-19 while neighbouring

Chengalpattu registered 45 newcases. Many districts recordedzero cases of the pandemic onFriday.

While this is being seen asa big achievement by the TamilNadu Government, medicalfraternity preferred caution. “Itcan never be due to vaccinationas the vaccines are yet to reachthe population,” said Dr C VKrishnaswamy, veteran physi-cian who has been tracking thepattern of the Covid-19 since itwas reported first in India.

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The administration in the UnionTerritory of Jammu and Kashmir has

been directed by the Division Bench ofJammu and Kashmir High Court to file itsresponse within a month listing out mea-sures taken so far to identify and deportillegal immigrants from Myanmar andBangladesh camping in the region.

The directions were passed by theDivision Bench comprising Chief JusticePankaj Mithal and first Puisne JudgeJustice Ali Mohammad Magrey after hear-ing advocates on behalf of the petitionerHunar Gupta who had filed a PublicInterest Litigation in the matter.

In contrast to this, it is business asusual in the areas where the majority ofthese illegal immigrants especially theRohingya population from Myanmar iscamping in Jammu.

According to the Home departmentestimates there are around 8000 Rohingyas

camping across three dozen locations inand around Jammu and other districtheadquarters in Jammu and Kashmir.

Enterprising youngsters fromMyanmar have set up different shops sell-ing household items, vegetables, ration,and a variety of snacks to tease the tastebuds of Burmese nationals living in thearea.

A Fish market which is located in thetemporary Rohingya colony on the out-skirts of Jammu in Kiryani talab area

remains the focal point of attraction.After returning from work majority ofRohingyas converge at this place tounwind and indulge in routine shopping.There are kiosks where Rohingya youthsettle down, play games on their smart-phones and indulge in chatting, sippingcoffee and munching their favorite snacks.

Kifayatullah, selling different vari-eties of fish, told The Pioneer, “I am sell-ing fish outsourced from New Delhi.Hesaid I travel on a regular basis to eitherGhazipur mandi in New Delhi or Mumbaito book choicest varieties of fish and sellit here. I earn 3000- 4000 on a daily basisby selling different varieties of fish.Majorityof other Rohingyas earn their living by wayof selling scrap material, working aslabourers and laying cables, cleaning lanesand drains under different contractorsengaged by the Jammu Municipal corpo-ration. Womenwork in local factorieswhere dry fruits are segregated, packed andcleaned inside godowns.

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Hours after seniorTrinamool Congress

leader Dinesh Trivedi quit hisparty and Rajya Sabha mem-bership alleging oppressiveatmosphere in the organization,TMC leaders launched ascathing attack on him for act-ing like a “typical Gujaratimiddle man” betrayingMamata Banerjee “because theBJP might be giving himmore…”

The attack came amidreports that Trivedi was joiningthe BJP and might get a nom-ination in the Upper Housefrom Gujarat.

Trivedi, a trusted lieutenantof the Chief Minister, on Fridayquit his party and resigned hisUpper House membership say-ing he could no longer with-stand the muzzling atmos-phere (in the TMC) that notonly choked his voice but alsodid not allow him to work.

While former Bengal

Minister Rajib Banerjee wholast week joined the BJP quit-ting the TMC said more of hisformer colleagues would desertthe Trinamool Congress StateParliamentary Affairs

Minister Tapas Roy said“his (Dinesh) status has neverbeen better than that of a polit-ical go-between … a Gujaratibania (businessman) as he is hehas acted like one,” adding“his presence in the party hadneither benefited us nor hisabsence will hurt theTMC.”Trivedi has left the partynot responding to the call of his“Antar Atma (soul) but PretAtma (ghost) and he will berejected by the people in thisState,” Roy who was most vocif-erous agaisnt the formerRailway Minister said.

Trinamool MP KakoliGhoshdastidar said that Trivedileft the party after a deal withthe BJP. “He must have beenpromised more by the BJP andso he has left the Trinamool,”Dastidar said while her Lok

Sabha colleague KalyanBanerjee called him a “Gaddar”(traitor) like those other lead-ers who left the TMC in thepast few months. The Bengalruling outfit has of late beenplagued by desertions withsenior leaders quitting theparty one after the other.

The State BJP promptlyreacted to Trivedi’s resignationsaying the senior leader was anasset in any party and willaccept him if he wanted to jointhe saffron outfit.

While Bengal BJP presi-dent Dilip Ghosh said Trivediwas always welcome in hisparty. “He has been an honestperson, a good man trapped ina bad party. He will be alwayswelcome in the party if hedecides to do so.” Party’sobserver for Bengal KailashVijayvargiya too soundedenthusiastic about his joiningthe saffron outfit saying “Ihope he comes and joins us forthe bigger cause that we areworking for.”

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Guwahati: To reach out to the peoplebefore the Assembly elections, theCongress in Assam on Friday launchedthe 'Bus Yatras' named 'Axom BasaonAhok' (Let's Save Assam).

The party said the Yatra wouldcriss-cross the State for two weeks,while meeting the people and dis-cussing their grievances and otherissues.

Assam Pradesh CongressCommittee President Ripun Bora saidthat through the four bus yatras, theparty leaders would reach out to everyfamily across the state to know theiropinion, sufferings and hardships in thelast five years of the BJP's “misrule”.

The Axom Basaon Ahok's first busyatra began from Bordowa Than, thebirthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva,the 15the century saint.

Lok Sabha MP and CongressCampaign Committee Chairman,Pradyut Bordoloi launched the Yatrafrom Bordowa Than in central Assam'sNagaon district.

Talking to the media, he said : “Wewill reach-out to every householdthrough this yatra and appeal to everyperson to support Congress party tosave Assam from being destroyed bythe BJP and its cronies. We will inter-act with diverse sections of the societyto understand their issues and prob-lems.”

AICC General Secretary andparty's Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh,Assam Congress President Ripun Bora,Congress Manifesto CommitteeChairman Gaurav Gogoi, party'sPublicity Committee Chairman

Rakibul Hussain and former ministerGautam Bora flagged off the Yatra.

Singh said: “The aim of this Yatrais to listen to every section of the soci-ety -- women, youth, unemployed andpeople from every walk of life. Manysections of the society are coming for-ward to share their issues and concernswith the Congress party through thisYatra.”

The Congress leader said that theruling Bharatiya Janata Party has failedon its 2016 electoral promise to protectthe community, identity and honour ofAssam.

State Congress chief Ripun Borasaid that the Congress governmentunder the leadership of former ChiefMinister Tarun Gogoi had worked real-ly hard to bring stability and peace inAssam. “The BJP wants to push Assaminto turbulence through their divisiveagenda but we will not let it happen,”the APCC President stated.

“The people of Assam have beenput to torture by the BJP governmenton economic, sociological and envi-ronment front. We would listen toeveryone through this yatra and ensureevery section of the society is takenalong the path of peace and prosperi-ty again,” said Gaurav Gogoi, deputyleader of Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Congress Legislature party leaderDebabrata Saikia also launched the sec-ond yatra from the eastern Assam's his-toric town of Sivasagar.

The Congress led by Tarun Gogoigoverned Assam from 2001 to 2016before the BJP came to power five yearsago. IANS

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Patna: Following apex court directions, thePatna High Court on Friday ordered forday-to-day hearings in the Munger firingcase in which a young man was killed inalleged police firing during an idol immer-sion procession at Deen Dayal UpadhyayChowk, a lawyer in the case said.

The court directions came after itadmitted a criminal writ petition filed bythe father of deceased Anurag Poddar, aged18.

The High Court directed the Bihargovernment to file its reply to the petitionby March 1 and thereafter the petitionermight file his rejoinder by March 9.

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava said:“Earlier, the High Court had refused togrant urgent hearing in this case, afterwhich the victim's mother filed a petitionin the Supreme Coaurt. The apex courtasked the High Court on January 25 todecide the case within two months. Accordingly, the High Courtdecided on Friday to conduct daily hear-ings so as to decide it on or before March25, 2021.”

“In the petition listed before the HC,the petitioner has sought a CBI inquiryinto his son's murder primarily on theground that since area police is an accused,investigation must be conducted throughsome independent agency and not bypolice itself,” Srivastava added.

Commenting on the development, theyouth's father said there was some hope ofgetting justice for his deceased son.

“Despite specific allegations by thepetitioner that his son was killed byMunger policemen, not even one personhas been arrested or even named in theFIR. There is virtually no progress in inves-tigation even after a lapse of more than 100days of the crime. Media reports claim thata few eyewitnesses to the Munger firing arebeing implicated in false prohibition casesand shown as absconders,” Srivastavaclaimed. IANS

Amaravati:As many as three former village volunteers, tasked with distributinggovernment services to the people, managed to win the Sarpanch posts inVisakhapatnam district in the recently concluded first phase of the Panchayatpolls in Andhra Pradesh.Volunteers won the Sarpanch posts in the Melipaka vil-lage of Munagapaka Mandalam, Mangalapuram village of BucchayyapetaMandalam and Jamadulapalem of Kashimkota Mandalam.

Ainampudi Bhaskar Raju won the Sarpanch post in Melipaka, Padmarekhain Mangalapuram and Karaka Rajyalakshmi in Jamadulapalem.

Incidentally, the volunteers managed to impress upon the villagers throughthe contact they established with them while delivering government services.

Across the state, several volunteers took the electoral plunge in the recentelections.Similarly, a Russia-educated young doctor contested the Sarpanch elec-tion in Guntur district recently.

Jada Jitin Dev, who was working as a doctor in Guntur town left his job totest his electoral prospects in his village Gopalamvaripalem.

This village falls under Chilakaluripeta rural. Meanwhile, the state is poised to conduct the rest three phases of elections

in the four-phase Panchayt polls. IANS

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Arecord 1.5 crore tourists arrived in Goaby the time coronavirus pandemic

struck the country, Tourism MinisterManohar Ajgaonkar said on Friday.

Ajgaonkar said that the figure wasarrived at following a survey by global con-sultancy firm KPMG engaged by the Goagovernment for the formulation of atourism master plan.

“KPMG survey said that 1.5 croretourists came to Goa, both national andinternational,” Ajgaonkar told a pressconference in Panaji.

According to government records,Goa's population is around 1.5 million.

The Minister said that TourismDepartment records initially recordedaround 88 lakh tourist footfalls. But a sub-sequent survey revealed additional touristsstaying put in unregistered hotels, guest-houses and other lodgings operated byapp-based aggregators.

“Many of these hotels are unregistered.They should not be taking bookingswithout registering with the TourismDepartment,” Ajgaonkar said, adding thatsuch bookings were illegal because it didnot bring the government any revenue.

“The Tourism Department did notearn from these bookings. But peopleearned money. This is illegal,” Ajgaonkarsaid.

Last month, the Goa Assembly haddebated the tourist figures put forth by thestate, especially after the pandemic wanedand travel restrictions were graduallylifted.

While Chief Minister Pramod Sawanthad said that 40-45 lakh tourists hadarrived in Goa after the lifting of travelrestrictions, Ajgaonkar said in a writtenreply tabled during the session that only9.71 lakh tourists had arrived in the state.

Goa is regarded as one of the leadingbeach and nightlife tourism destinationsin the country.

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New Delhi/Patna: Bihar is all setto prepare a strategy for climateresilient and low carbon devel-opment pathway with the sup-port of the UN EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP). An MoUwas signed by the BiharGovernment and UNEP onFriday.

While Union Minister ofState, Environment, Forest andClimate Change Babul Supriyograced the occasion as chiefguest on a virtual platform, theagreement was reached in pres-ence of Bihar Dy Chief MinisterTarakishore Prasad, StateEnvironment Minister Neeraj

Kumar Singh, PrincipalSecretary to Bihar GovernmentDipak Kumar Singh (IAS) andUNEP Country Head Atul Bagaiamongst various other repre-sentatives from Centre, UnitedNations, External AffairsMinistry and Bihar Governmentat the UN office in nationalCapital.Satya S Tripathi, UNAssistant Secretary-General wasalso present. This UNEP sup-ported initiative by theGovernment of Bihar will alsopave the way for other States toembark on this journey of cli-mate resilience and low carbondevelopment. PNS

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Shahjahanpur: Two sistersallegedly committed suicide hereby consuming poison, followinga financial dispute.

The incident took place inthe Tilhar Police circle here.

Nisha, 22, and Gulafsha, 21,consumed a poisonous sub-stance on Wednesday night andwere rushed to a governmenthospital in Tilhar where theircondition started deteriorating.

Additional Superintendentof Police (ASP) Sanjiv Bajpai saidthe sisters were later shifted tothe medical college hospital,but died during treatment onThursday. IANS

Fatehpur (Uttar Pradesh): A mother and daughter committed suicide by jumping in front ofa speeding train in Fatehpur district.

The incident took place on Thursday and officials said that both the bodies were severedinto pieces after being hit by the train. The police have sent the dismembered bodies for postmortem.The deceased have been identified as Rajrani, 47, wife of Nanbudh and their daughterPuja, 18.

According to circle officer Anshuman Mishra, “The two reached near Bheet Baba DevasthanWest Cabin area and jumped before a speeding goods train. The two sustained grievous injuriesand died on the spot. The deceased were natives of Elai village under the Khaga Kotwali policecircle.”

The police said no suicide note has been recovered and they were questioning the familymembers to ascertain the cause behind the extreme step.

“However, preliminary investigations revealed that the woman, along with her daughter com-mitted suicide, after her husband Nanbudh rejected her proposal of marrying their daughter toa man who used to frequent their place. However, further investigations are on and we awaitthe autopsy report to ascertain the exact cause of their death,” said the police officer. IANS

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New Delhi: With the Centreand Twitter continuing theirtussle, Information andBroadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar on Friday joinedIndia's own micro-bloggingplatform 'Koo', joining severalMinisters who have alreadycreated their accounts on it.While Railways and CommerceMinister Piyush Goyal was thefirst Minister from the Modicabinet to join the Koo App,Electronics and informationtechnology minister RaviShankar Prasad, who toojoined the platform a few daysago, on Friday thanked hisfollowers as his follower counton the new app reached 5lakh.

Making the announcementthrough his Twitter handle,Javadekar said, “I am now on#Koo also, the #MakeInIndiamicro-blogging platform.Follow me @prakashjavadekaron #KooApp.” The applicationwas launched 10 months agobut in the last few weeks it sawa massive surge in user base asUnion ministers and govern-ment departments haveendorsed the homegrownmicroblogging platform amida spat with Twitter.

“Great to have 5 Lakh fol-lowers on Koo- an Indianmicroblogging platform.Thank you everyone for yourlove and support#VocalForLocal,” the IT min-ister tweeted. PNS

New Delhi: Brushing aside the Oppositioncharge that the NDA regime was promoting“crony capitalism,” Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Friday took a dig at the Congressfor favouring a “damaad” (son-in-law). “Whotakes Mudra Yojana loans totalling more thanRs 27,000 crore? Damaads?” she asked as sheoutlined that the Government was committedto the welfare of the people.

Putting a spirited defence of her budget for2021-22 tabled in Parliament on February one,she said in the Rajya Sabha it has become theopposition’s habit to constantly accuse theCentre and spin a false narrative.

Replying to a debate on the budget in which48 MPs from difference parties spoke, she saidBudget 2021-22 is the instrument through whichAatmanirbhar Bharat is to be attained.

“It's a budget which clearly draws on theexperience, the administrative capacities andalso exposure that the Prime Minister had dur-ing his long-elected tenure, both as ChiefMinister and as Prime Minister of this country,known for his commitment towards develop-ment, growth, and reforms. So these three thingsare essentially infused in the budget which isnow speaking for itself in the sense that it is theinstrument through which Aatmanirbhar Bharatis to be attained,” Sitharaman said.

On the often repeated charge of crony cap-italism promoted by the present dispensation,the minister said a false narrative was createdto say this government “works only for cronies.” PNS

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Page 6: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

Government has put in placepunitive measures as also suc-ceeded in recovering �1,05,773crore of the total �1,72,565crore through the IBC route.

However, it is imperativethat the Government continuesto improve the “ease of doingbusiness” (EoDB) for the “goodcapitalists”. Budgets 2020 and2021 have, through financialand administrative reforms,shown the intent to walk the talkon eradicating tax terrorism byimplementing faceless assess-ment and appeals, dispensingwith retrospective taxation,decriminalising certain Sectionsunder the Companies Act,improving the ease of filingreturns and reducing from sixyears to three years the periodwhen tax cases can be reopened.

Besides improving theEoDB parameters, it is equal-ly important to lower the costof doing business. This isachievable by not only keep-ing the cost of credit low butalso by lowering electricity andland rates, and by minimalis-ing compliance procedures.

As the PM said: “Wealthcreators are most needed toredistribute wealth or how elsewill we give jobs?” India hasonly 10 crore labourers in theorganised sector as against 40crore in the unorganised sectorwhere they don’t have access to

any social safety net. TheGovernment has stretched itslimits of generating employ-ment through schemes likePMEGP, MNREGA, DDU-GKY and the PM-Mudra Yojna.

Budget 2021 is infrastruc-ture-led rather than consump-tion stimulating as “it is esti-mated that of the Governmentspend of �1 on infrastructure,�2.5 are generated in real econ-omy”. To fund expenditureinstead of raising taxes, theCentre will rely on off-revenuesources like asset monetisationand setting a realistic target fordisinvestment of �1,75,000crore. Therefore, it needs toincentivise the private sector tobid for loss-making PublicSector Units and encourage itsparticipation in infrastructure,for which the Governmenthas raised capital expenditureoutlays by 34.5 per cent.

As global financial marketsare flush with liquidity, or “heli-copter money”, and interestrates are at their lowest, moneylooks for a place for profitableand risk-free deployment. Sothis is the right time to focus onattracting long-term debt cap-ital by forming a DevelopmentFinance Institution, muchneeded for long gestation pro-jects like infrastructure.

Besides, private growthmultipliers will come from

increased allocations towardsProductivity-Linked Incentive(PLI) schemes in sunrise sec-tors, while allocations towardsFintech Hubs and TextileParks will bolster job creation.But the key lies in speedyimplementation and ensuringthat the funds are released andfully utilised in time.

Lastly, with formal jobsshrinking, net new job growthhas been created by startups.India needs 10 million jobsannually, and current esti-mates project that it will have60,000 startups and 100 uni-corns by 2025. The exponen-tial growth of startups can beseen by how India scaled up onsubstituting imports with man-ufacturing: From ventilators,PPE kits, masks, sanitisers andtesting kits, to becoming thevaccine supplier to the world.

With multiple reasons foreconomic optimism, we mustget the “Vocal for local” indus-try to thrive. And when we dobag windfall profits, or are jolt-ed by shocks, the Governmentmust continue with its sup-portive policy and monetaryrecalibrations as it has beendoing through 2020 by intro-ducing mini-budgets.

(The writer is an author,columnist and Chairperson,NCFIL, at Niti Aayog. Theviews expressed are personal).

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�������������� ����������� �����Sir— Initially, China was against any probeinto COVID outbreak from its soil. It isclear that the World Health Organisation’s(WHO’s) recent investigation to find theorigin of Coronavirus was not carried outin the best of circumstances which leavesa room for doubt.

The timing of the fact-finding missioncreates suspicion as it has been carried outas per Chinese convenience, including theinvestigation itinerary. These look likeonly attempts by the WHO to save its faceat the global level. Moreover, citing healthreasons the team led by the WHO was notgiven free hand in its fact-finding proceed-ings. Had China been truly transparent andWHO been given a fair opportunity tounearth the origin of the Coronavirus at atime the deadly virus is undergoing muta-tions across the globe, it would haveplaced the world in a safer position.

China will never reveal the actual inci-dents that have led to the spread of the virus.The whole proceedings helped China towash its hands of its sins. The world is fight-ing COVID and countries like India haveput all their weight against it. India andother nations should pressure the WHO forconducting a free and fair investigation tofind out the truth.

V Nagendra Kumar | Hyderabad

������������� �����������Sir —American President Joe Biden and histeam have been on an action spree, takingserious steps to reverse all these ill-con-ceived strategies and policies of his prede-cessor. No doubt such good deeds need themedia attention apart from deservingappreciation, the decision to re-engage withthe United Nations Human RightsCommission (UNHRC) being the latest.Here the Biden team’s penchant for a stringof multilateral activities deserves specialattention.

Biden is a seasoned politician and hispolicies show his mature mind, contrary toDonald Trump who had scattershot poli-cies and was nothing more than a “butt ofa joke”. Similarly, the Biden team’s attention

to social factors like equality, humanity and,above all, democracy is something worthyof appreciation and emulation by others.Way to go, indeed!

To conclude, the so-called charges oflackadaisical attitude and other accusationsrampant on the Geneva-based Commissionshould be looked into sincerely. Startingnow, many more good things will emergefrom the UNHRC with the presence ofmature and sincere regimes like the BidenAdministration. Biden offers hope to theworld and all countries should cooperatewith America’s endeavour to maintainpeace and prosperity across the globe.

P Senthil Sarvana Durai | Mumbai

������ �����������������������������Sir — The prices of domestic gas, petroland diesel have increased under the BJPregime at the Centre and have alreadyreached the saturation point for commonpeople who have already been devastatedby the COVID-19 pandemic. Now theprices of all essential items and commodi-

ties are also expected to increase exorbitant-ly. This will break the back of common peo-ple and land them into the vicious cycle ofloan and interest repayment. It may lead tounrest in the country and turn the citizensagainst the elected Government.

If that happens, it will be against theinterests of the BJP who will lose the nextelections for sure. Indian economy has beenbadly hit by the pandemic; instead of help-ing the people in such an hour of crisis, theGovernment is making things more diffi-cult for its citizens.

The prices of commodities should bereasonable so that even common peoplewith meagre income can afford these andlead a peaceful life. It is high time theGovernment took strong measures to con-trol the prices, else our country will go backin time 10-15 years. We are watchingpatiently.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

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!����������������������������It was heartening to hear

Prime Minister NarendraModi speak up in Parliamentin defence of wealth creators.

This must be as motivational inboosting the confidence of IndiaInc as was the PM’s catchphrase ofbeing “Vocal for local” for domes-tic manufacturers. “The culture ofabusing the private sector is notacceptable any longer,” Modi saidin his reply on the motion ofthanks to the President’s address.

This was indeed a bold rebut-tal to the “andolan-jeevis” (profes-sional protesters) who continue tocriticise pro-corporate reformsand resist agri reforms, whicheven the US and Canada official-ly asked for through the WTOfora. The Opposition’s objections?That “this Government worksonly to benefit the Big Boys”. Let’sput it in perspective: It’s the BigBoys of India Inc, just like the BigBoys who comprise the InternetGiants of the US, who have hada multiplier effect in creatingjobs, contributing towards theGDP and paying taxes.

Isn’t this the Modi we all votedfor in 2014? As a contender, hepromised transformation andmore employment avenues for theaspirational youth. While Modicombined Hindu cultural nation-alism with economic growth, henever built his campaign on a lim-ited and sectarian ideology, butpromised universal prosperity.

Flashback to 2013 whenChief Minister Modi hit thecampaign trail to become thePrime Minister. What was thekey differentiator between himand the incumbent Congress-ledUPA? That Modi was an ableadministrator, a business-friend-ly CM whose Gujarat modelsparked hopes of replicating asimilar paradigm at the Centre;that Modi came unencumberedfrom the baggage of family,dynasty or corruption and that hevowed to shake off the decision-making inertia UPA2 had sunkto as it was steeped in charges ofcorruption and cronyism.

Cut to 2021. It’s time to aban-don the socialist mindset of the1970s and take pride in wealthcreation. For the “bad capitalists”,the tax evaders and wilful default-ers of the UPA2 era who contin-ued to ever-green their loans, the

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Whatever semblance of democracy Myanmarhad, was blown off in a coup d’état by theArmy on February 1. The erstwhile Burma

is again under the shadow of military Governmentor Junta. The Army took control of the power cor-ridors and detained the elected leader Aung San SuuKyi, President Win Myint and other leaders andactivists.

Coup d’état, no matter where, is always a badnews for democracy and is a cause of concern theworld over. With military generals ruling the roost,people lose whatever little control they have over theGovernment. Whenever Army, which is neithertrained to govern nor sensitive to the peoples aspi-ration and deamands, takes control then it does whatit is best trained to do — crush anyone coming onits way and rule with the iron fist. However, whathappened in Myanmar under the democraticregime was no less disturbing. The country’s demo-cratic Government did not help its people in anyway. It only perpetrated a reign of terror to whichthe world turned a blind eye. They might havethought that democracy will take care of it.Ironically, it didn’t.

It tarnished the image of democracy and left peo-ple’s faith shaken to the core. Now when country isunder the direct control of the Junta, the army gen-erals would have to act more responsibly. Else it risksa serious backlash which the military regime mightnot like neither could afford. There are all-aroundprotests in the country. The army is facing flak fromthe international community in no less measure. Itswell-crafted schism between Buddhists andRohingyas may not be enough to legitimise it. Theprotests going on for days have now led to the vir-tual siege of the Capital.

The Army has ruled Country for more than 50years after the coup in 1962. Burma attained inde-pendence in 1948 from the British rule. It is the poor-est country in the region. About a quarter of the pop-ulation lives in abject poverty. Though it is a resource-rich country, yet its economy is one of the least devel-oped in the world and poverty is rampant. Thanksto decades of financial mismanagement and seriouscorruption. The Mayanmar is ranked 137 in theCorruption Perceptions Index by the TransparencyInternational among the 180 countries. Burmaspends the lowest percentage of its Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) on healthcare. Its standard ofhealthcare is very low and so are the standards ofliving. In such a grim situation, the time tested for-mulae of dividing the people on religious lines wasused by both by both military regime and democ-ratic Government. Dividing the people on religiouslines not only legitimises the rule but also divertsthe attention of the people. The Junta did that andmanaged to rule for half a century.

Burma has Buddhist majority. The army playedsmart by coaxing the Buddhists and portrayingRohingyas as the enemies of the State. Thaw Bi Ta,a popular militant Buddhist monk, justifies ethniccleansing and supports army action. He backs evenkilling and torturing of innocent Rohingyas. Hedeclared that “true nationalism” lies in the “univer-sal declaration of Buddhist truths,” who he consid-ers superior to the Universal Declaration of HumanRights by United Nations. Thaw Bi Ta is from themilitary-patronised Sitagu Sangha. The Sitagugives Myanmar military commanders textual jus-tifications from the Buddhists scriptures for killing

the “non-believers”. Because of the propaganda by

Thaw Bi Ta and others, the Buddhistwho opposed the army till late eight-ies have now turned pro-army in theirapproach. Today many Sanghasdefend all the army misdoings inRakhine State. The army courting theBuddhists has cost Rohingyas theirlife and liberty.

The other fallout of this coup hasbeen a shocker for Aung San Suu Kyi.For her, it would be an eye-opener, atime to introspect and ponder overher acts as the Prime Minister. SuuKyi had told Reuters in 2018 that therelationship with the military was“not that bad” and that the Generalsin her cabinet were “rather sweet”!Sometimes poetic justice is deliveredsooner than imagined. It must beeven more disconcerting when it isdelivered by the very set of the peo-ple that she first stood against andthen went on to defend.

To put things in perspective,Aung San Suu Kyi spent good 15years of her life in jail. All her tenureSuu Kyi followed and defended thearmy programmes and pogroms.The ardent champion of democracywho won the Nobel Peace Prize neverput her foot down to stop the army.Worst, she was a mute spectator of thegenocide of Rohingya Muslims. Shesilently witnessed the slaughteringand mass exodus of the minority.

Further, Suu Kyi drew flak for herfailure to address country’s econom-ic and ethnic problems. It was notexpected of someone who spent 15years in detention and fought a long

and arduous battle. She is said to haveextensively read Buddhist literature,the religion she was born into. But shefailed to practice what she read. It wasgood riddance to bad rubbish. At leastthe army might be a little consciousabout its actions. The buffer provid-ed by the democratic setup is no morethere. The Junta might be a little moresensitive to the international commu-nity which is already outraged. It isinteresting to note how the interna-tional community is alarmed whenthe garb of democracy is blown off,no matter how flimsy. New Zealandhas snapped ties with Myanmar.The US has imposed sanctions.However, no one was much con-cerned during the ethnic cleansing ofRohingyas, except for few humanrights organisations.

An Amnesty International reportnoted “The military committed seri-ous human rights violations, includ-ing war crimes, in Kachin, Rakhine,and the Shan States. The Governmentmade no progress in creating condi-tions conducive for the return of the740,000 Rohingya women, men, andchildren who fled to Bangladeshbeginning in August 2017.” At thattime no one cared to intervene or putsanctions in place. Life went on as thehuman crisis swelled. Rohingya whoremained in Rakhine State livedunder apartheid.

Almost a million of Rohingyashad left their country where they weredisfranchised and stripped of theirbasic human rights. Many made it toBangladesh while other succumbedto the tedious journey. When

Bangladesh couldn’t take it anymorethey made it to India and other coun-tries for recluse. Human rights vio-lations transcend borders and theycannot be brushed aside arguing thatit is internal affair of some nation.

There is another reason thatBurma would emerge as a bettercountry after this coup. It is to do withrealpolitik. The American andEuropean Union (EU) involvementis surely going to make a differencehere. Though China has a strategicand economic interest it did not wanta military regime that will make it apariah. The sanctions would hurtChinese economic interests andinvestments.

The US has imposed new sanc-tions against Myanmar’s top militaryofficials who ordered the coup. USPresident Joe Biden signed an exec-utive order that allowed the TreasuryDepartment to also target the spous-es and adult children of those beingsanctioned. Tens of thousands of peo-ple took to the streets of Yangon tojoin the protests, one of the biggestgatherings since the February 1coup.The sanctions name top militarycommanders.

The move will prevent the gen-erals from accessing more than USD1bn in Myanmar Government fundsheld in the US. Now, Burmeseincluding Rohingyas would have abetter chance to be heard. The garbof democracy had done more harmthan good to the country. It is all therein front of everyone. Sometimesdemocracy hurts as it did inMyanmar.

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The last year witnessed alot of developments inA f g h a n i s t a n . O n

February 29 the Afghan insur-gent group Taliban signed apeace accord with the UnitedStates (US) Government underwhich all American troops willhave to leave the Country byMay 2021 and in return theTaliban has promised to notallow the South Asian nation tobe used as a safe haven by thejihadist groups. This agree-ment raised hopes of bringingpermanent peace in the war-torn country devastated by sec-tarian strife, geopolitical tussleand civil war. However, one yeardown the line the hope of theAfghan people to see the lightat the end of the tunnel hasproved to be a mere façade.

Violence has increasedmanifold, with almost dailybomb blasts, assassinations,attacks on military targets andkilling of innocent civilians. The

Afghan Government is helplessand unable to cope with the sit-uation and is apparently on theverge of a collapse. IslamicState of Iraq and the Levant(ISIS) has bolstered its strengthand has displayed it by strikingat the military and civilianareas located in the heart of theCapital Kabul.

The Joe Biden administra-tion has announced a funda-mental shift in the policy vis-à-vis Afghanistan. It looks as if itis trying to change the statusquo on the ground. The subtleaction of reviewing the peacedeal in Afghanistan is a sign ofa new policy. The US is clearlyconcerned with the deteriorat-ing law and order situation inthe South Asian nation as wellas the growing might of theIslamic State of ISIS -KhorasanProvince (ISIS-K) which haschallenged the legitimacy ofboth the Afghan Governmentand the Taliban. If these indi-

cations are anything to go bythen the new American dispen-sation can follow a threepronged approach—First,recommit US troops in massivenumbers to eliminate the men-ace of insurgency by the Talibanand Haqqani network, at thesame time the Americans canimpart more training to theAfghan troops and if necessaryto the ordinary citizens in thenon Taliban controlled areas tobolster their defence against theIslamist militants. Second,intensify reconnaissance war-fare against the militants byordering an increase in thenumber of drones and otherprecision strikes to eliminatepotential militant hideoutswhich can pose a threat to theInternational SecurityAssistance Force (ISAF) troops.

Third, the fact that thekillers of the Wall Street jour-nalist Daniel Pearl were acquit-ted by the Pakistani Supreme

Court is a glaring example ofthe travesty of justice on thepart of Pakistan’s judicial sys-tem. The US president JoeBiden has ordered the termina-tion of all arms transfer to SaudiArabia for its gruesome militarycampaign in Yemen, this couldbe an indication that the US islikely to base its foreign policywith the promotion of humanrights like the Carter adminis-

tration, Pakistan could be introuble over this stance. Fourth,increasing fiscal support for thealready cash-strapped AfghanGovernment but at the sametime demand accountabilityfor the earlier help that theyreceived albeit in a surreptitiousmanner.

This paradigm shift inAmerica’s Afghan policy pro-vides New Delhi an opportuni-ty to change the status quo onthe ground. Avinash Paliwal inhis book “My Enemy’s Enemy”has argued that since 2001India has provided more thanUSD 3 billion in aid and devel-opmental projects toAfghanistan as a result of whichIndia has earned the goodwillof ordinary Afghans. Indiashould not miss the opportuni-ty to change the situation in itsneighborhood. New Delhineeds to take some steps whichinclude—deploying troops onthe ground as a part of the UN

peacekeeping missions, Indiahas gained reputation across theworld for its endeavor to bringpeace to war-torn areas, be itduring the Yugoslavian civil waror in war-ravaged Iraq. Indianeeds to increase its commit-ment with respect to troopdeployments to ensure peace inAfghanistan while not takingsides in the war.

India also needs to changeits policy with regard to theengagement with Taliban,instead of recognising the mil-itants India must provide tacitsupport allowing US to makeuse of the Logistics ExchangeMemorandum of Agreement(LEMOA) for the replenish-ment of its troops.

India can also conduct afew precision strikes againstIslamist militant targets,although it would constitute aviolation of Afghan sovereign-ty but India needs to do this inthe larger context of protecting

its own homeland and ordinaryAfghans from the clutches ofthe Haqqani network, ISIS andothers. India needs to alsobring Pakistan to justice, it ishigh time that the internation-al community especially Chinastop supporting the State spon-sored terrorism and unani-mously impose punitive sanc-tions under the ambit of theFinancial Action Task Force(FATF).

New Delhi should notwaste this opportunity, becausebringing peace to Afghanistanwill not only help India in win-ning the great game in the ter-ror ravaged South Asian nationbut will also brighten NewDelhi’s prospects in a countrywhich has vast untappedreserves of natural resources .As Sun Tzu famously observed“let your plans be dark andimpenetrable as night, andwhen you move fall like athunderbolt”.

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Adraft cybersecurity lawdue to be implemented in

Myanmar has raised proteststhat it will be used to quashdissent rather than protectprivacy.

Human rights advocatesissued statements Friday urgingthe country’s military leaders todrop the plan and end internetdisruptions that have intensi-fied since a Feb. 1 coup.

The draft law shows themilitary’s intent to “perma-nently undermine internetfreedom in the country,” saidMatthew Bugher, head of theAsia program for the groupArticle 19, which issued a state-ment condemning the planalong with the Open NetAssociation and theInternational Commission ofJurists.

Internet service providersand others were given until

Monday, Feb. 15, to respond tothe proposed law.

“It is telling that controllingcyberspace is one of the top pri-orities of the Myanmar mili-tary, which seized powerthrough an illegitimate coupd’etat only last week,” said SamZarifi, the InternationalCommission of Jurists’ secre-tary general.

“The military is used tohaving total power inMyanmar, but this time theyhave to face a population thathas access to information andcan communicate internallyand externally,” he said.

The military’s seizure ofpower and arrest of nationalleader Aung San Suu Kyi andother members of her NationalLeague for Democracy partyhave sparked massive peacefulprotests across the country,despite efforts by authorities toenforce order by disruptinginternet services.

San Diego: The Biden admin-istration on Friday announcedplans for tens of thousands ofasylum-seekers waiting inMexico for their next immi-gration court hearings to beallowed into the United Stateswhile their cases proceed.

The first of an estimated25,000 asylum-seekers inMexico with active cases will beallowed in the United States onFebruary 19, authorities said.

They plan to start slowlywith two border crossings eachprocessing up to 300 people aday and a third crossing takingfewer. officials declined toname them out of fear theymay encourage a rush of peo-ple to those locations.

The move is a major steptoward dismantling one of for-mer President Donald Trump’smost consequential policies todeter asylum-seekers fromcoming to the US About 70,000asylum-seekers were enrolledin “ Remain in Mexico,” offi-cially called “MigrantProtection Protocols,” since itwas introduced in January2019.

On Biden’s first day inoffice, the Homeland SecurityDepartment suspended the

policy for new arrivals. Sincethen, some asylum-seekerspicked up at the border havebeen released in the US withnotices to appear in court.

Biden is quickly makinggood on a campaign promise toend the policy, which theTrump administration said wascritical to reversing a surge ofasylum-seekers that peaked in2019. But the policy alsoexposed people to violence inMexican border cities andmade it extremely difficult forthem to find lawyers and com-municate with courts abouttheir cases.

“As President Biden hasmade clear, the US governmentis committed to rebuilding asafe, orderly, and humane

immigration system,” saidHomeland Security SecretaryAlejandro Mayorkas.

“This latest action is anoth-er step in our commitment toreform immigration policiesthat do not align with ournation’s values.”

Homeland Security saidthe move “should not be inter-preted as an opening for peo-ple to migrate irregularly to theUnited States.”

Administration officialshave said repeatedly that thevast majority of people whocross the border illegally arequickly expelled under a pub-lic health order in place sincethe pandemic struck in March,but releases of some asylum-seeking families in Texas andCalifornia has worked againstthat messaging.

White House press secre-tary Jen Psaki said Thursdaythat she was concerned thatlimited releases in the U.S.May encourage others to crossillegally because “we don’t wantpeople to put themselves indanger at a time where it is notthe right time to come, becausewe have not had time to put inplace a humane and moralsystem and process.” AP

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The 9-year-old Black girl sathandcuffed in the backseat

of a police car, distraught andcrying for her father as thewhite officers grew increasinglyimpatient while they tried towrangle her fully into the vehi-cle.

“This is your last chance,”one officer warned. “Otherwisepepper spray is going in youreyeballs.” Less than 90 secondslater, the girl had been sprayedand was screaming, “Please,wipe my eyes! Wipe my eyes,please!”

What started with a reportof “family trouble” in Rochester,New York, and ended with

police treating a fourth-graderlike a crime suspect, hasspurred outrage as the latestexample of law enforcementmistreatment of Black people.

As the US undergoes a newreckoning on police brutalityand racial injustice in the wakeof George Floyd’s death lastMay, the girl’s treatment illus-trates how even young childrenare not exempt.

Research shows Black chil-dren are often viewed as beingolder than they are, and aremore likely to be seen as threat-ening or dangerous. Advocateshave long said that leads topolice treating them in waysthey wouldn’t dream of treatingwhite children.

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Beijing: In an apparent tit for tatmove, China has banned BBCWorld News from broadcastingin the country for seriously vio-lating its guidelines for report-ing, China’s television and radioregulator has announced.

The move comes a weekafter Ofcom, the British mediaregulator, revoked the license ofChinese state-owned broad-caster China Global TelevisionNetwork’s (CGTN) to broadcastin the UK.

China has criticised theBBC for its reporting on thepandemic and the persecutionof ethnic minority Uighurs inthe restive Xinjiang province andlodged a protest with the Britishbroadcaster. The BBC said it was“disappointed” by China’s deci-sion to ban it.

The Chinese regulator, theNational Radio and TelevisionAdministration (NRTA) hasmade the announcement onThursday night on pulling BBCWorld News off the air in thecountry for serious contentviolation. PTI

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Colombo: For the first time, SriLanka has reported the highlycontagious new variant of thecoronavirus found in the UK,health authorities said onFriday.

Dr Chandima Jeewandara,Director of immunology andmolecular medicine of the SriJayewardenepra Universityhere, said that the latest variant,of B.1.1.7 lineage, is highlycontagious.

It was the third variant ofcoronavirus to be detected inthe country, he said, mention-ing four different locationsfrom where samples have beentested positive for the new UKvariant. According to the healthauthorities, the country isrecording over 800 COVID-19cases on a daily basis.

In late January, with thereceipt of free vaccines fromIndia, the health ministrylaunched a vaccination pro-gramme for the frontline healthworkers and the military. PTI

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Washington: Donald Trumpcannot run for the presidencyagain and Republicans werewrong to support his campaignto reverse the 2020 electionresults, his former ambassadorto the UN and a longtime loy-alist Nikki Haley said in aninterview published Friday.

Haley, a fervent backer ofthe ex-president now on trial inthe Senate for encouraginginsurrection, told PoliticoMagazine that she is “deeply dis-turbed” by what has happenedto Trump since his electiondefeat to Joe Biden.

“He’s not going to run forfederal office again,” Haley, whoserved as Trump’s envoy to theUnited Nations from 2017-2018,said. The former South Carolinagovernor dismissed speculationthat, to avenge his defeat andsecond impeachment, Trump

will return to seek the presidencyin 2024.

“I don’t think he’s going tobe in the picture,” she said.

“I don’t think he can. He’sfallen so far.”

Haley also criticized theRepublican Party for supportingTrump’s campaign to reverse theelection, which led to the shock-ing January 6 attack on Congressby his supporters.

“We need to acknowledgehe let us down,” she told Politico.

“He went down a path heshouldn’t have, and we should-n’t have followed him, and weshouldn’t have listened to him,”she said. And we can’t let thatever happen again.”

Haley confirmed to Politicothat she is considering her ownrun for the presidency in 2024,and said she had not spoken toTrump since January 6. AFP

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Page 9: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

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The Centre has spent over�7.95 crore in five months

till January for a publicity cam-paign to bust myths about thenew farm laws, AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar informed Parliamenton Friday.

Out of this, theInformation and BroadcastingMinistry committed �7,25,57,246 for release of adver-tisements between September2020 and January 2021 onbehalf of the Ministry ofAgriculture and FarmersWelfare, he said.

Tomar, in a written reply inthe Rajya Sabha, further saidthe print advertisements havebeen published through theBureau of Outreach andCommunication (BOC) inHindi, English and regional

language newspapers for “clar-ifications related to farm lawsincluding on myth and realities,

etc” for creating awarenessamong the farmers and otherstakeholders.

The AgricultureMinistry has incurred anexpenditure of Rs 67,99,750 onproduction of three promo-tional and two educationalfilms on the farm laws for itswider publicity through elec-tronic media, social mediaand webinars.

Besides, miscellaneousexpenditure of Rs 1,50,568 wasincurred on development ofcreatives for print advertise-ment, the minister added.

On expenses incurred onoverseas publicity campaign,the minister said there was “nil”expenditure as per the infor-mation received from theMinistry of External Affairs

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Industrial production grew by1 per cent in December,

entering the positive territoryafter a month gap, mainly dueto better performance of themanufacturing sector, officialdata showed on Friday.

The manufacturing sector-- which constitutes 77.63 percent of the index of industrialproduction (IIP) -- recorded agrowth of 1.6 per cent inDecember 2020, as per the datareleased by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO).

Mining sector outputdeclined by 4.8 per cent inDecember 2020. However,power generation grew by 5.1per cent.

The index had grown by0.4 per cent in December 2019.

The industrial productionhad plunged 18.7 per cent in

March last year following theCOVID-19 outbreak andremained in the negative zonetill August 2020.With theresumption of economic activ-ities, factory output postedgrowth of one per cent inSeptember. The IIP had grownby 4.2% in October. InNovember 2020, the factoryoutput contracted by 2.1%, atad higher than the provision-al estimates of 1.9% decline.Thegovt had imposed a lockdownto contain the spread ofCOVID-19 infections onMarch 25, 2020.With the grad-ual relaxation of restrictions,there has been a relativeimprovement in the economicactivities by varying degrees aswell as in data reporting, theMinistry of Statistics andProgramme Implementationhad said in a statement issuedin November.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Friday reeled

out pro-poor measures such asfree ration and gas to hit out atOpposition parties for creatinga “false narrative” of the ModiGovernment being pro-richand said her Budget for thenext fiscal has provided stim-ulus to the economy for a sus-tainable high growth rate.

She took on former financeminister P Chidambaram forquestioning the numbers in herBudget, saying unlike the UPAregime when an “artificial”

increase in capital spendingwas shown to project growthand subsidy shifted from thegovernment budget to compa-nies, the Budget for 2021-22brings transparency by bring-ing all spending on book.

Replying to a debate on theBudget in the Rajya Sabha, shesaid spending on defence forthe fiscal beginning April 1 hasincreased both on revenue andcapital side and there is adecline only in provision forpensions as the previous year’sspending included payment ofarrears for the one-rank-one-pension (OROP) scheme.

“A false narrative is creat-ed to accuse that this govern-ment works only for cronies,”the finance minister said as shereeled out statistics to show the

government’s pro-poor policies. Taking on Chidambaram,

who in his speech called thenumbers in the Budget “sus-pect”, Sitharaman said theformer finance minister dur-ing his term in 2007-08showed Rs 40,000 crore fis-cally neutral transaction ofacquiring the RBI’s stake inSBI under capital expenditureto show a 62 per cent growthin spending.

If this is taken out, “growthrate was only 9 per cent”, shesaid, asking if this was not ‘sus-pect’.

She said her Budget for2021-22 has provided the high-est capex growth of 34.4 percent by providing more moneyto railways, roads and defence,and not Chidambaram’s.

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Retail inflation eased to 4.06per cent in January, main-

ly on account of a decline invegetable prices, as perGovernment data released onFriday.The inflation based onConsumer Price Index (CPI)was 4.59 per cent in December2020.

The rate of price rise in the

food basket was 1.89 per centin January, significantly downfrom 3.41 per cent inDecember, revealed the datareleased by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO).

The Reserve Bank, whichmainly factors in the retailinflation while arriving at itsmonetary policy, has beenasked to keep CPI inflation at4 per cent (+,- 2 per cent).

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Domestic equity bench-marks Sensex and Nifty

ended flat after choppy tradeon Friday, tracking weak cuesfrom global markets.

Participants also remainedon the sidelines ahead of keymacroeconomic data releasesamid lack of fresh buying trig-gers, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensexgyrated 543.96 points before

closing 12.78 points or 0.02 percent higher at its new closingrecord of 51,544.30.

The broader NSE Nifty,however, slipped 10 points or0.07 per cent to 15,163.30.

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New Delhi:Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onFriday said the Budget isaimed at making India self-reliant and provides strongstimulus for medium to longterm sustainable high growth.While replying to the discus-sion on the Budget 2021-22,the minister also attacked for-mer FM and senior Congressleader P Chidambaram forsuspecting the Budget num-bers. She, however did notmention his name. Stressingthat the Budget is forAatmanirbhar Bharat, shesaid, “attempt made in thisBudget is to provide strongstimulus and provide such astimulus which can bring inthat kind of a multipliereffect...”.“We are also lookingat medium to long-term sus-tainable growth which willkeep India in that kind ofgrowth trajectory which willmaintain us as one of thefastest growing economies inthe world,” she said.

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Page 10: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

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The pandemic altered our lives inunexpected ways — redefineddating rules, navigated virtual

and socially-distanced dating etiquettes,and adapted different approaches to rela-tionships. But what remained constantwas the inherent human need to seekand build meaningful connections.

Now that Valentine’s day is almosthere, people are excited about theprospect of dating in real life again andhave taken the next step from justscrolling through various dating apps,updating their dating profiles to figur-ing out new rules of meeting and hang-ing out. Here are a few key trends:

More meaningful connectionsAs single Indians have now started

settling into the changing times, theyalso want to stay in touch with the con-nections made during the lockdown.“More than one in two chats turned intosomething more meaningful with a largenumber of messages being exchanged,”says Samarpita Samaddar, Bumble IndiaPR Director.

The pandemic continues to fade thelines between our digital and physicallives. Today, it would be hard to denythat ‘real life’ is both physical and digi-tal. Rashi Wadhera, Director ofCommunications at Tinder believesthat social distancing has helped every-one understand that a connectionformed entirely through digital meansis just as meaningful as one formed inperson. “We can still share how we feeland who we are, through a screen andit’s incredible how quickly happy hoursand video dates have become normal

and meaningful,” she adds.

Slow datingAs opposed to endless hours of

swiping, slow dating is the new way tomeet engage with people. They now goon ‘pre-dates’ where they use video datesto get to know one another before meet-ing in-person. “We are observingincreased usage and extended video chattimes with people in India spendingroughly 20 minutes on an average onvideo calls or voice chats,” says

Samarpita. This has led to more virtu-al communication before the relation-ship is taken offline.

Spike in smaller townsSince a lot of people went back home

from metros, tier 2 and tier 3 cities haveseen a spike in online dating. “At present,India is one of our fastest-growingmarkets and the rate of growth insmaller cities is twice the rate of growthas compared to bigger cities,” saysRashi. Snehil Khanor, Cofounder &

CEO, TrulyMadly says and adds, “In thelast 12 months, while our overall revenuehas grown, in cities like Patna,Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Surat,Gwalior etc we have grown north of 10x.The maximum revenue growth is nowcoming from beyond T-1 cities. We havebeen observing this trend even beforethe pandemic but reverse migration, dueto the pandemic, definitely fueled thistrend.”

Virtual dating is here to stayRecently, a dating app survey

revealed that 40 per cent of singleIndians want to opt for virtual dating thisValentine’s. People want to feel moresecure as they are connect-ing with one another.They want to have fulfilledconversations that couldlead to a new connectionand video calls are provingto be a great way to formthese connections.

The rise of “New Dawn”daters

A recent internalresearch of a datingapp revealed thatone in two peoplein India are likelyto be “NewDawn Daters” –people who arenewly singleafter expe-riencing a

break-up during the COVID-19 pan-demic.

Season of giftsMost of us are planning to pamper

and surprise our loved ones with choco-lates, perfumes and flowers. As per astudy done by an e-commerce giant,there’s an upsurge in purchase of giftpackages filled with love, chocolates,scented candles, roses and personalisedgifts.

Self loveA matchmaking platform conduct-

ed a survey to understand the sentimentaround the occasion of Valentine’s Day.

It said that 46 per cent sin-gles feel that one of themost annoying thingsabout Valentine’s Day isbeing asked about theirplan. “Societal pressuremakes it hard for singles onValentine’s Day. We areurging people to take thepressure off this day anddiscover the joy of loveand togetherness regardlessof the day,” says AdhishZaveri, Senior Director –

Marketing, Shaadi.com.Another dating

app has teamed upwith actor AnanyaPanday to encouragesingles to move on

from their past rela-tionships and fall more inlove with themselves.

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasinrecently dropped his look

from his next, Looop Lapeta,his first film as the romanticlead. We caught up with theactor to decode his ‘pretty outthere character’ as he is seensporting a nose pin and retrosunglasses. Tahir plays the roleof Satya in the heist film andhas been paired oppositeactress Taapsee Pannu.

Tahir says, “Satya is anirreverent guy. I’m a risk-chas-ing charmer in the film and I’vehad an incredible time playinghim. He’s pretty out there in hisoptimism and lust for life. I’ddescribe him as all silver liningand no cloud. He’s a hustlerwho believes with all his soulthat the universe conspires inhis favour. The look has him ina loose brown shirt, he donsthese retro sunglasses and hasa nose piercing. All of thesestyle elements have been cre-ated in sync with his personal-ity of being the laid back rebel.”

Tahir’s look also reveals atextile mill setting for the film.Ask him about this and he says,“The image of Satya’s look is astill from a scene that was shotat an abandoned textile mill forthe film. For Aakash Bhatia, thedirector, the locations are aninherent character in the film.They make a visual statementabout the vibe of the story andthe world. Yes, this particularlocation plays a central role inthe plot but to know moreabout how and why Satya isthere stay tuned for the releasedate. All I can say at this pointis that it’ll be a mad ride.”

Tahir is relishing playing

the quintessential Bollywoodhero for the first time. Hesays, “Playing the quintessen-tial Bollywood hero has beensuper exciting. When you growup on your dose of Bollywood,it seems like a familiar territo-ry. Satya is the laid-backcharmer that your parentswarned you about. Aakash

Bhatia and producers AtulKasbekar and Tanuj Garg havepoured their heart in to cre-atively balance the style and witthe hero brings to the script.Having Taapsee to play oppo-site has only made exploring anonscreen romantic chemistryan incredibly fun and reward-ing experience.”

Actor Parineeti Chopra has often charmed peo-ple with her singing skills whenever she went

behind the microphone for films like Meri PyaariBindu and Kesari. She is now back with her thirdsong Matlabi Yariyan – Unplugged for her forth-coming release The Girl On The Train (TGOTT).The song is composed by Vipin Patwa and Kumaarhas written the lyrics for the same.

The actor says, “I love singing at whateveropportunity I get. Today, as an actress, I am privi-leged that I have the opportunity to have the worldhear my song. When I had heard this song back inLondon one and half years ago, it was then my direc-tor Ribhu (Dasgupta) and I discussed that do a ver-sion in my voice.”

She adds, “People have given so much love toMaana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin (Meri Pyaari Bindu) aswell as my song from Kesari — Teri Mitti. So, I hopethat the third time also turns out lucky for me.”

Kahani Mitra Ki is an adaptation ofVijay Tendulkar’s Marathi classic

Mitrachi Goshta. Director AkashKhurana says, “The growing relevanceof its theme, the sensitivity of its char-acters, and the complexity of its struc-ture offered a challenge that I couldn’tresist. So, after three decades of my firsttryst with Tendulkar, it was time to paymy homage to the ‘Master’ again. I havealways held Tendulkar in very highesteem personally, and considered himleagues ahead of most Indian play-wrights. Back in 1987, I directed MatYaad Dila, a Hindi adaptation ofTendulkar’s Ashi Pakhare Yeti. It was theprolific theatre group Arpana’s first pro-duction and a success.”

Mitrachi Goshta is often describedas one of the first modern Indian playsdealing with same-sex relationships. Set

in the pre-Independence era, it beginswith what appears to be a convention-al relationship between a boy and girlon a college campus. Soon however, acomplicated love triangle developsbetween the diffident Bapu, the head-strong Mitra, and Nama, her loveinterest. Akash Khurana recalls DishTV and D2H Rangmanch Active andthe unease around the play when it wasfirst performed in 1981. He says, “Theplay deserved to be staged many moretimes than it was for the sheer quali-ty of its writing. One of the reasonswhy it wasn’t, is because it was writ-ten before its time and its first stagingwas received with some discomfiture.”

While directing Kahani Mitra Ki,he was drawn to the unlikely friend-ship between Bapu and Mitra and theupheaval it goes through when Mitra

confides that she has feelings forother women instead of men. It waschallenging to unravel the web ofchaotic feelings leading to aninevitable tragedy in the narrative, butAkash says, “I had a bunch of actorsthat made my task easier. I treated thetheme like a human love story where

the themes of sexual orientation weresubliminal.”

It stars Sayalee Phatak, ParnaPethe, Abhay Mahajan, Om Bhutkarand Priyanshu Painyuli. The ZeeTheatre’s offering will stream on DishTV and D2H Rangmanch Active onFebruary 13 at 2 pm and 6 pm.

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Page 11: ˘ ˇˆ · spate of defection. A number of leaders have resigned from the party and joined the BJP. They include Rajib Banerjee, Sovan Chaterjee, Suvendu Adhikari, and Laxmi Ratan

�What fascinated you to be a partof the film Crazy Rich Asians?

I heard about Kevin Kwan’s novelby the same name. He stated that hisintention of writing the novel was to“introduce a contemporary Asia to aNorth American audience.” He alsoclaimed that the novel was looselybased on his own childhood inSingapore. I can still recall a few ofmy friends from Hongkong andSingapore who came to me one fineday and said, ‘Have you read thisbook? You must really make it intoa film’. So, when I read it, I couldunderstand why they said it. It wasfunny and it was a good take onsuper-rich people, their lifestyles.What really got me going was whenJon M Chu was attached. I felt thatthis really needed a director, whounderstood the culture and also hada very dynamic sense of humour butvery grounded in the cultural reali-ties of what it takes to be an Asian.

�How would you define your char-acter?

Eleanor Sung-Young is formida-ble. Everybody looks at her and trem-ble in their shoes. I think she is a pro-tective and a very caring mother. Sheis trying her best to be the best daugh-ter-in-law, which is never easy, but sheis trying to keep the family togetherbecause she understands what thisfamily means. Not just to themselvesbut to many other families thatdepend on them and their work. Ofcourse, like all mothers, she wants herson to be back home. We send the

kids away so that they get a bettereducation but somewhere deepdown, we hope that after they haveachieved certain things in life, theycome home to their family and domore for their own country. And Ithink that she is working very hardtowards that.

�What do you think of Jon M Chuas the director?

It’s been amazing working withJon. I had a great experience becausehe is one of those directors whoknows what he wants but is also open

to listening and understanding andmaybe learn something new or havea different take on it. He is also sur-rounded by the most fantastic pro-ducers: Nina Jacobson and JohnPenotti and Andrew. It was veryimportant that he is surrounded bypeople who completely support hisvision. He actually had a very strongvision, which is exactly what this filmneeded.

�How was your meeting with theauthor of the book, Kevin Kwan?

We had the privilege of meetingthe author of the book. Kevin was socharming on sets. On the very firstday, he was just standing at the doorand I saw him staring and smiling atme and I was thinking maybe I knowhim from somewhere and it wasKevin. He told me that it was hisdream to see me play the characterof Eleanor Sung-Young, which cametrue! He said, “I am literally watch-

ing my dream come true.” Ithought that was so sweet of him.

�What was your experience ofshooting in Singapore?

When you here it is very organ-ic, when you step out and you feelthe heat, the tropical air, you walkinto that hawker centre, all the dif-ferent food and smell and when youlook at the wedding, the reception,the colours, simply because you arein a tropical climate, the orchids, allthe colours are real and vivid sothat’s the importance of being here.Even though we have some of thebest set designs when you shootinside the studio, nothing beatsbeing in a real location, there’s justsomething about it that is very tan-gible, you can put it in your handsand you can feel it here (heart).

(Crazy Rich Asians premiereson Sony PIX on February 14 at 9pm.)

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Adesperate India havedecided to go for thejugular by opting for a

spicy turner against a well-pre-pared England side in the sec-ond Test starting on Saturday,well aware that it can boomerangand cost them a spot in theWorld Test Championship final.

The honeymoon of theAustralian series is over after asobering 227 run defeat in thefirst Test which must have shak-en a complacent team out of itsstupor ahead of three high stakeTest matches.

But it is an perfect stage forIndia’s mercurial skipper ViratKohli, who loves to bring his Agame to the fore when the chipsare down.

With crowd back inside theheated cauldron ready to egghim on, something he thriveson, the Indian captain would beeyeing a good slugfest against avery resolute opposition. Indianeed to win two matches andnot lose any of the games tomake the WTC final.

England will have a newwicketkeeper in Ben Foakesand Stuart Broad will replaceJames Anderson as part of work-load management. Also in themix is Moeen Ali, a knownnemesis of India, in place of lastmatch’s first innings top wicket-taker Dom Bess.

Jofra Archer’s elbow injurymight make way for bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes, who isa handy batsman apart frombeing a fine pacer in his ownright.

“Jofra is a slight setback buthopefully he is fit and ready forthe third Test,” skipper Joe Rootsaid on the eve of the game.

A look at the newly-laiddark-coloured Chepauk track isan indication that unlike thestrip used during the first Test,this one will offer turn earlierthan expected.

Ravichandran Ashwin willneed a lot of support from theother end in terms of bothrestrictive and attacking options.

A fit-again Axar Patel is theclosest to being a like-for-likereplacement for an injuredRavindra Jadeja. Patel’s Testdebut looks imminent asAshwin will need someone tohold on at the other end.

However, one can’t be sosure about Kuldeep Yadav, whoin his short six-Test career hasplayed some tough games.

He would fancy his chancefor being a better attackingoption than Washington Sundar.

The 20-year-oldWashington might go on tobecome a fine all-rounder in theRavi Shastri mould in the com-ing years but as of now, he is notgood enough to play as a special-ist third spinner.

Kuldeep is an excellentattacking option but the teammanagement’s continued reluc-tance to play him is an indica-tion of lack of faith in the UttarPradesh wrist spinner’s abilitiesof late.

However, it is learnt thatlooking at the track, Kuldeep isset to be inducted into playingXI for this particular game.

The Indian team manage-ment, after a drab first twodays at the Chepauk during theopening game, had two optionsgoing into the second Test.

The first option was to leavea liberal sprinkling of grass andthen get tested by Broad, whowould have got the SG Test toland on seam and move aroundoff the pitch.

The second option, whichthey have taken, is shaving offthe grass and very little wateringof the pitch, leaving it to bake inthe sun.

The ball will bounce andturn and the strip will break

much earlier but then India havehad instances where this kind oftrack has back-fired.

Rewind to Pune 2017, whenSteve Smith punished them ona rank turner on the first day.The home team didn’t have aclue that the ball will turn somuch.

Or perhaps the best inningsever played in India — KevinPietersen’s epic 186 in Mumbaiin 2012. India played a singlepacer in Zaheer Khan withAshwin and Pragyan Ojhaopening the bowling.

In both games, it was therival spinners (Graeme Swannand Monty Panesar in 2012and Steve O’Keefe in 2017) whomade the most of the conditionsand rattled the Indian batsmenin their own den.

The toss will be very crucialand even if turns square, Kohliwill look to bat first and expectRohit Sharma to go beyond thetwo or three pretty shots that hehas been managing so far.

He would have to give theteam a big hundred which it des-perately needs from him.

Kohli gave a master-class onhow to play the reverse swing inthe first Test but it always takestwo to tango.

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Serena Williams overcame an error-strewn start on Friday to thwart

Anastasia Potapova and set up a block-buster fourth-round clash with seventhseed Aryna Sabalenka who thrashedAmerican Ann Li 6-3, 6-1, while 2019champion Naomi Oska was set for ashowdown with last year’s runner up

Garbine Muguruza at the AustralianOpen.

Williams had 31 unforced errors butwore down the Russian 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in97 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

Naomi Osaka had to deal with a but-terfly landing on her but was otherwiselittle bothered as she breezed into the last16 with 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tunisian27th seed Ons Jabeur in 1hr 18min to setup a showdown with Muguruza, whobeat Zarina Diyas 6-1, 6-1 in just 56 min-utes.

French Open champion Iga Swiatek,19, seeded at a Grand Slam for the firsttime, beat France’s Fiona Ferro 6-4, 6-3to set up a meeting with Simona Halep,a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Russia’s VeronikaKudermetova.

THIEM OVERCOMES KYRGIOSIce-cool Dominic Thiem rallied from

two sets down to tame flamboyant NickKyrgios in front of a raucous crowd hoursbefore Melbourne goes into coronaviruslockdown while an injured NovakDjokovic survived a massive scare againstTaylor Fritz in the third round.

The defending champion said he hada tear but fought hard to beat America’sTaylor Fritz 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 pastmidnight.

Djokovic set-up a fourth-round clashwith big-serving Raonic after the 14thseed beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics infour sets.

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