First India-Jaipur Edition-2nd December 2022

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READ Crucial

‘RESIST HATE’: ACTOR SWARA BHASKER

JOINS RAHUL GANDHI

JP NADDA JIBES AT GEHLOT

‘Leader’s small acts show their intentions’

BJP NAT’L PREZ LAUNCHES

Ujjain: Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker on Thursday joined Congress Bharat Jodo Yatra, walked with Rahul Gandhi to resist ‘hate’. Known for her anti-BJP rants, Swara said that energy, commitment and love is just so inspiring! The enthusiasm of common people is commendable. P5

CONTROVERSY

New Delhi: Offering a “total apology” if his remarks on The Kashmir Files had been misinterpreted, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid has said on Thursday his aim was not to insult the Kashmiri Pandit community or those who had suffered.

BCCI APPOINTS NEW 3-MEMBER PANEL TO PICK SELECTORS

New Delhi: The BCCI on Thursday named a new Cricket Advisory Committee. The committee includes former Indian players and former national selectors Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape alongside Sulakshana Naik, who remains in 3-member committee. Fresh appointments have come after the board sacked complete selection panel.

WILL STAND AND FIGHT AGAIN: BILKIS BANO ON SC VERDICT

New Delhi: On decision to move SC challenging early release of 11 convicts, Bilkis Bano said, “I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right.” She said Guj govt’s decision to grant early release to 11 convicts has “shaken conscience of society”.

Other Raj

TOP STORIES

l The issue surrounding resignation of over 80 ruling Cong MLAs from Assembly reached Raj HC on Thursday, with Dy LoP Rajendra Rathore filing a petition seeking court’s intervention in same. P2

l CM Gehlot will be on Kota-Jhalawar tour today. Gehlot will reach Kota from Ahmedabad at 1 pm.

Jaipur: BJP National President JP Nadda, on Thursday, made scath ing attack on Chief Min ister Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur and said that small acts of any leader shows their intentions.

“Speakers before me

said that Gehlot had made this promise, Ra hul Baba had made that promise, but they were not fulfilled. In politics, the intention of the lead er can be known from small acts. If the leader changes the name of Bhamashah Yojana to Janadhar Yojana, then it

is said that the book has been changed but the book is the same. Noth ing happens in this, but it only goes to show how

small the leader’s think ing is,” Nadda said.

The national presi dent of the saffron party did not stop there and

MINDSET SHIFT!

PM MODI REITERATES THAT, ‘INDIA’S G20 AGENDA WILL BE INCLUSIVE, AMBITIOUS, ACTION-ORIENTED, AND DECISIVE’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: India took over the presidency of the G20, the forum of the world's largest econ omies, on Thursday.

Prime Minister Naren dra Modi penned a note calling for a “shift in fundamental mindset to benefit humanity as a whole.” “I would like to acknowledge the previ ous G-20 presidencies for delivering signifi cant results. I firmly believe now is the best time to go further still and catalyse a funda mental mindset shift, to benefit humanity as a whole,” he further said.

He added, “Today, the greatest challenges we face - climate change, terrorism, and pandem ics - can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together. India is fastest growing large economy.” P6

India’s G20 Presidency will work to promote this universal sense of one-ness. Hence our theme - ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. Our G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow-travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

System snag hits T2 of Mumbai Airport for 2 hrs, airline services hit

Mumbai: Chaos pre vailed for nearly 2 hours at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) after a computer systems fail ure hit check-ins and other ops for all airlines, here on Thursday. The ‘culprit’ is allegedly said to be ongoing infra dig ging works of Mumbai Metro line in CSMIA vi cinity that reportedly snapped a main cable of a major utility company, the sources said.

GOVT LAUNCHES FACIAL RECOGNITION-BASED ENTRY AT AIRPORTS New Delhi: The govt on Thursday launched DigiYatra - which will allow entry of air passengers based on a facial recognition system at the airports in Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi. Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched it at Delhi’s IGIA. P6

It is the “most memorable day” in country’s history. Modi will be setting agenda of world in very challenging times. It’s a unique responsibility because G20 accounts for 80% of global GDP. Its accounts for 78% of global trade. It accounts for 90% of patents and almost 2/3 of the population.

—Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa

further said that the An napurna kitchen of the BJP government was be ing run successfully.

“But he felt that he would

—PHOTO

He does not like the name Annapurna asso ciated with Indian cul ture, but sings a name associated with one fam ily. This is their policy.”

Nadda described the land of Rajasthan as the land of dedication and heroes. At the end of the program, he flagged off 51 Jan Aakrosh Raths.

not be able to show loy alty to the Congress par ty until we rename it into Indira Rasoi. They do not serve the public.

59.24% TURNOUT RECORDED

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: The poll ing for the first phase of Gujarast Assembly elections was held Thursday on 89 seats spread across 19 dis tricts in SaurashtraKutch and southern parts of the state. The voting began at 8 am and a total voter turn out of 59.24% was re corded till 5 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal urged people to come out in large numbers and vote in the first phase of Gujarat elections. As many as 788 candidates are in the fray and Gujarat will witness a threeway contest between BJP, AAP and Cong.

The polling officials sealed the EVMs and the VVPATs as the first phase of Gujarat As sembly elections con cluded on Thursday. P5

Nadda also took a dig at CM Ashok Gehlot re garding the Jal Jeevan Mission. “Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat is from Ra jasthan. It is sad to say that even in the Jal Jee van Mission, Gehlot is creating hurdles.

Turn to P8

The fate of 788 candidates will be decided in 1st phase; barring a few incidents, the polling was largely peaceful across all 89 seats in south Gujarat and SaurashtraKutch regions of the State

Modi’s mega 50-km-long roadshow was held in Ahmedabad. The mega show started from the Naroda Gam and ended at IOC circle in Chan dkheda. It covered 13 seats of Ahmedabad city as well as Gandhinagar.

GEHLOT IN GUJARAT ON A TWO-DAY TOUR

PM

PLAYS EMOTIONAL GAMES

WITH GUJARAT, BUT THIS TIME HIS PULSE IS MELTING: GEHLOT

Ahmedabad: Voting for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elec tions took place on Thursday. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot again reached Gujarat on a two-day tour to campaign for the second phase, where Gehlot held election ral lies in Ahmedabad, Va dodara and Dahod dis tricts. During these ral

lies, Gehlot said that UPA government, through MNREGA, pro vided employment in villages and gave the right to education.

“Congress must come to power for change.

Prime Minister plays emotional games with Gujarat, but this time his pulse is melting.

Tribals have been re spected since the time of Gandhiji. Congress and Gandhi family’s

love for tribals in known to all. Today Ra hul Gandhi is taking out Bharat Jodo Yatra regarding unemploy ment and inflation in the country, on which no action has been tak en. Election of Gujarat is very important for the development,” CM Gehlot said.

On the other hand, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Why

atrocities are not de creasing in Gujarat. The wealth of the rich is increasing, the wealth of the poor is de creasing. The Center has not done any work for the poor. BJP always asks what Congress did in 70 years.”

After this tour, Chief Minister Gehlot left for Ahmedabad from Jhal od and Friday is the sec ond day of Chief Minis ter’s Gujarat tour.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo symbolically handed over the G20 Presidency to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit, in Bali, Indonesia on November 16, 2022. —FILE PHOTO

Amitabh Kant and Vijay Goel at the unveiling of G-20 Logo display at the Mandi House Chowk, in New Delhi on Thursday.

WHENEVER CONGRESS ATTACKED MODI, VOTERS OF GUJARAT GAVE THEM BEFITTING REPLY: SHAH Ahmedabad: Reacting to Congress’ “Ravan” remark against PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah on Thurs day said that the people of Gujarat have always given a reply to Congress through the ballot box whenever they have used inappropriate words against PM Modi.

HM Amit Shah greets the crowd during the roadshow for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections, at Sanand in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

SORRY: LAPID ON ‘THE KASHMIR FILES’

SUNANDA

New Delhi: In a big relief for the people the Central Government has reduced the prices of Petrol and Diesel on late Thursday. The rates of Petrol has gone down by

whereas

of

dropped

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has moved Delhi High Court seeking revision of an order passed by a trial court last year discharging Congress MP Shashi Tharoor of all charges in the Sunanda Pushkar death case.

LET’S

AFTER A YEAR: PATEL’S DAUGHTER ON LS POLL PLANS

Bharuch: Mumtaz Patel, daughter of late veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday spoke about her decision to not contest ongoing Assembly election. ‘For time being, I will observe, understand. I’ll go among public and after that I’ll come,’ she said.

Dimple Sharma

CM Ashok Gehlot addressing a public meeting in the Asarva Assembly constituency in Gujarat on Thursday. Also seen here are Vipul Parmar, Deepak Babaria, Rohan Gupta and other leaders.

❍

Aishwary Pradhan

JP Nadda, Arun Singh, Vasundhara Raje, Satish Poonia, Rajendra Rathore, Kirodi Lal Meena, Ram Lal Sharma other leaders during the flagging-off ceremony of Jan Aakrosh Yatra, in Jaipur on Thursday.

BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Electricity is most ex pensive in Rajasthan and this is a record of Gehlot govt also the most expensive petrol-diesel is in Rajasthan. Commu nal tension has been increased by the Congress. This is their modus operandi.

—JP Nadda, BJP National President

‘Annapurna Rasoi’ of the BJP government was being run successfully, but he felt that he would not be able to show loyalty to the Congress until he renames it into ‘Indira Rasoi’

‘JAN AAKROSH YATRA’

BJP moves Raj High Court

Over 90 ruling Cong MLAs resigned in Sept to prevent Pilot’s possible nomination as CM Gehlot’s successor

Jaipur (ANI): The is sue surrounding the resignation of over 91 ruling Congress MLAs from the Assembly reached the Rajasthan Hign Court on Thurs day, with the BJP filing a petition seeking the court’s intervention in the same.

In his petition before the High Court on Thursday, the state’s Deputy Leader of Oppo sition in the Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, de manded that the HC di

rect the Assembky Speaker to arrive at a ‘decision’ on the mass resignations on Sep tember 25, at the earli est. Amid speculations of the Congress highcommand installing former Union minister Sachin Pilot as Ra

Jaipur: Congress leader & State-In Charge of Punjab, Harish Chaudhary, on Thursday, deleted his tweet that he had posted on Wednesday wherein, he had indicated towards Congress Gen Secy KC Venugopal’s warning, expressing his displeasure over leaders making rhetoric remarks on other leaders of the party. Chaudhary had tweeted the quote of Che Guevara, “I have also seen the graves of those people in the cemetery, who did not struggle because they might not get killed.” The tweet led to a controversy, following which, he deleted his post from Twitter.

VILLAGES OF PALI DECLARED DROUGHT-HIT

The Speaker hasn’t yet taken a decision on the resignation of over 91 Congress MLAs from the Rajasthan Assembly.

Vallabhnagar

MLA Shaktawat, her mother hurt in road accident

First India Bureau

Pali/Saadi: Vallabhna gar MLA Preeti Shakta wat’s car met with an accident on Thursday evening. MLA Shakta wat along with her mother, Bhagwati were on their way to Udaipur when their car collided with another car near Ranakpur Surya Man dir in Saddi police sta tion area district.

JMCH councillors call off strike in leaders’ presence

Bharat Dixit

Jaipur: The hunger strike by the council lors of Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation ended today in the pres ence of Ministers and MLAs. The councillors were annoyed by delay in forming committees in corporation.

jasthan CM in place of Ashok Gehlot, who was believed to the front runner for the post of Congress national pres ident, over 80 Congress legislators, considered to be Gehlot loyalists, tendered their resigna tions in protest. The

resignations came on a day Congress’ ex- Raj in-charge, Ajay Maken, had convened a meet ing of MLAs to report edly install Pilot as next CM. With the Gehlot loyalists not showing up, the meeting had to be cancelled.

The MLA, her moth er, & the car driver were injured in mis hap and were referred to Udaipur. SO Rajen dra Chaudhary, ASI Mularam Meena reached the spot. Dam aged cars were kept at Ranakpur outpost.

Ministers Mahesh Joshi, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, MLAs Rafeek Khan and Amin Kagzi reached JMCH campus and ended the wek-long strike by of fering them juice. The Ministers and MLAs as sured them to get the committees formed fol lowing which, the strike was called off. The

‘MUKHYAMANTRI LAGHU VANIJYIK VAAHAN SWAROZGAAR YOJANA’

Scheme will provide max self-employment opportunities to youth, says Industries Min

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Industries Minister Shakuntala Rawat launched the ‘Chief Minister’s Small Commercial Vehicle Self-Employment Scheme’ in BIP Board Room at Udyog Bhavan on Thursday.

Jaipur: RTDC Chairman Dharmendra Rathore

Vinayak in Sawai Madhopur for negli gence. The action was taken after a woman guest fell in hotel’s bath room & got 8 stitches in head due to injury but Meena was of no help. Family alleged harras ment during checkout.

Jaipur: CM Ashok Gehlot has declared Pali tehsil as drought- hit in order to pay the agricul tural exchange subsidy to affected farmers. in view of damage caused to Kharif crop due to drought in Pali, Girdawari of 92 villages of Pali Tehsil were conducted out of which more than 50% crop failure was reported in 91 villages. Based on report, Pali tehsil of Pali dist has been declared as drought-hit.

Jaipur: The State Govt has taken a big step after Governor Kalraj Mishra returned the bills of 3 private universities without approval. Prof America Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, who is under suspension in Sikar’s Gurukul University case, has been recom mended to be relieved of the post. In a letter to Governor, the govern ment said that Prof Singh has tried to benefit Gurukul Shikshan Sansthan by conniving with it. An FIR has also been registered against him in this case and Singh’s PIL has been rejected in the Rajasthan High Court. Prof Singh has been under ground for the last six months.

The Industries Minis ter said that the scheme will provide maximum self-employment oppor tunities to the youth. He said that under the scheme, a grant of max imum 10 percent of the on-road price of the ve hicle or Rs 60,000 (whichever is less) from the state government and equivalent/will be given on the purchase of small commercial ve hicles up to Rs 15 lakh.

An equivalent/more subsidy will be given by the vehicle company.

Rawat said that under the scheme, any resident of Rajasthan whose age is between 18 years to 45 years can apply through his SSO ID or through mlvsy.rajasthan.gov.in.

She said that the applica tion will be sent to the company concerned af ter investigation by the District Industry and Commerce Centre. After uploading the docu

JJM: CM approves `1,577 crore for 166 rural projects

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Chief Minis ter Ashok Gehlot has approved Rs 1, 577 crore for 166 rural wa ter supply projects across the state under Jal Jeevan Mission.

With this approval, various works going on in the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission will speed up and the works will be completed with in the stipulated time, due to which people will be able to get tap water in villages.

IAS Association organises farewell ceremony in honour of Deepak Nandi

Jaipur: As IAS officer Deepak Nandi retired, a farewell was organised in his honour by the IAS Association at the Secre tariat. A large number of officers participated in the programme and wished Nandi all the best for the future.

At the function, the Commissioner of Ra jasthan Housing Board Pawan Arora narrated his memoirs saying that he and Nandi were batchmates. “He is a

very patient and serious person. Nandi is the real son of soil and his vil lage is Beelwadi in Birat nagar tehsil,” he said. Remembering old

times, Arora said that when he was Biratna gar SDO, he went to Nandi’s village and had food at his house. He said that his words have always been an in spiration.

Secretary Jitendra Upadhyay, Jogaram, IAS Chetanram Deora, Yagyamitra Singh Dev, Rashmi Sharma, Pushpa Satyani and DoP Joint Secretary Devendra Kumar and other officers were among those present on the occasion.

A total of 166 schemes including 47 in Karauli, 24 in Udaipur, 19 in Dungarpur, 18 in Jaipur, 12 in Jaisalmer, 8 in Sirohi, 7 in Jodhpur, 6 in Dholpur, 5 in Sikar, 4 in Sawai Madhopur and Pratapgarh, 3 in Srigan ganagar, 2 in Bikaner, Chittorgarh, Banswara, and Alwar, and 1 in Ha numangarh will be im plemented.

On completion of works, a permanent so lution to the drinking water problem in these areas would be ensured.

ments by firm, it will be sent again to District In dustries and Commerce Centres for testing. Grant will be approved then. Tata Motors, Asho ka Leyland and Mahin dra & Mahindra are eli gible for scheme. Under the scheme, 3,300 people from across Raj would receive benefits on a “first-come-first-serve” basis, Min said.

INDUSTRIES MIN RAWAT REVIEWS

INVEST RAJ

SUMMIT MOUs

Jaipur: Industries Minister Shakuntala

Rawat on Thursday said that 1,939 out of 4,192 MoUs and LOIs signed by State govt at the In vest Rajasthan Summit have been materialised.

The minister informed that 769 projects have been implemented, while 1,170 are in various stages of im plementation. She held a meeting to review ‘One Stop Shop’ and the progress of MoU & LOIs signed in Invest Raj Summit & said that Raj is probably the first state in country where investment is being brought to ground on such level. She instruct ed officers to address investors’ issues.

JMCH Councillors end their hunger strike by drinking juice in the presence of Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Rafeek Khan, Munesh Gurjar and others at the JMCH campus in Jaipur on Thursday.

councillors said that they should not be de ceived and the commit tees should be consti tuted. The strike ended before Mahesh Joshi arrived. Joshi said that

BY MUKESH KIRADOO

committees will be formed soon. Pratap S Khachariyawas said that there is nothing wrong in raising de mand & the committees will be announced soon.

People in Guj suffering from BJP’s misrule: Pilot

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: Ex-PCC Chief Sachin Pilot said that people of Gujarat are suffering since 27 years from BJP’s mis rule and now want to bring about a change.

Addressing public meetings in Gujarat in the second phase, Pilot said that people are fed up with BJP rule in state. He addressed an election meeting in sup port of the party candi

App, travel card to make rides better in city’s low-floor buses

Shivendra Parmar

Jaipur: Passengers travelling in low- floor buses will now be able to know the time of ar rival of the bus at dif ferent stops through an app. With the special efforts of JCTSL CMD Ajitabh Sharma, it is expected that the app will be launched by De cember 15. This would be a boon for the urban transport in Jaipur.

Passengers will be able to use travel cards

RCA elections to be held on December 24

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: If all goes well and there are no legal complications, the Rajasthan Cricket Association elections will be held on De cember 24.

The executive com mittee meeting of the RCA was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of the RCA President Vaib hav Gehlot. Discus sions on RCA elec tions were held. The

RCA executive is be lieved to have agreed to hold the elections on December 24. Elec tion Officer Sunil Arora will release the official schedule of the election. 5 office bearers including Secretary Mahendra Sharma were present while Vice- President Amin Pathan didn’t attend the meeting. RCA polls were earli er scheduled to be held on Sept 30, but HC had put a stay.

in these buses on the lines of Jaipur Metro.

The draft design of the travel card has been finalised under Shar ma’s supervision.

From December 15,

the passengers will be able to travel in lowfloor buses using the card. Under the pilot project, the travel card will initially be given to 500 passengers and lat er its number will be increased. Sharma has been taking decisions in the last few months to bring the city buses on track in the capital.

Travel cards and the app will make travel ling in low- floor buses easier and more con venient for passengers.

date Vakhatsinh Chau han in Dahegam in Gandhi Nagar. Pilot also addressed people in Ahmedabad’s Amrai wadi assembly constit uency in support of Congress candidate Dharmendra bhai Pa tel. During this, Pilot said in an interview to a national channel that ‘Ravana’ remark by par ty chief Mallikarjun Kharge was being twist ed to make it an issue for Gujarat polls.

Jodhpur: Clash between police and miscreants

First India Bureau

Jodhpur: Jodhpur Ru ral SP Anil Kayal said that they were informed on Wednesday that some smugglers are try ing to smuggle drugs near Chaudha village. DST team was sent to spot at night. The team intercepted a suspi cious Scorpio. The mis creants tried to ram over the police person nel. After this, cops also opened fire to nab mis creants. Two were held.

Mount Abu shivers @ 0° Celsius, cold to intensify in Raj from Dec 5

Mount Abu: As cold waves intensified in the State, ice sheets could be seen accumulated on the cars and ground in Mount Abu. The mini mum temperature dipped to zero degrees on Wednesday.

Last year, the temper ature touched freezing point in Mt. Abu around December 14, but this time it has broken the record 14 days in ad vance. About 8 cities have recorded a drop in

night temperature by up to 2 degrees Celsius.

Apart from Mt. Abu, a temperature of 2 de grees Celsius was re corded in 9 cities, in

cluding Barmer, Bhilwara, Ajmer. Ac cording to meteorolo gists, cold is likely to intensify in Raj from Dec 5, but it will be sunny.

RESIGNATION OF 91 CONG MLAs FROM ASSEMBLY

PHOTO

Rajendra Rathore interacts with lawyers at the Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur on Thursday. (Inset) Rajendra Rathore files PIL in the Rajasthan High Court, seeking judicial intervention in matter.

Shakuntala Rawat launches the ‘MukhyamantriLaghuVanijyik VaahanSwarozgaarYojana’ at the BIP Board Room in Udhyog Bhawan on Thursday. Also seen here are Rajiv Arora, Veenu Gupta, Mahendra Kumar Parakh, Om Kasera, Shivprasad Nakate & others.

Sachin Pilot addresses the gathering while campaigning for Cong candidate Dharmendra Bhai Patel at Amraiwadi in Ahmedabad.

RTDC CHAIRMAN SUSPENDS STAFFER FOR LAXITY IN DUTY

suspended Babulal Meena, an Asst at RTDC’s Hotel

CONG LEADER HARISH CHAUDHARY DELETES POST FROM TWITTER

STATE GOVT WRITES TO GOVERNOR MISHRA TO SACK PROF AMERICA SINGH

First India Bureau

Dr Rituraj Sharma

A man clears snow from a car, which stands parked at one of the busiest markets in Mount Abu on Thursday.

—Rajendra Rathore Deputy LoP

—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Deepak Nandi

Blood bank at SMS upgraded with 30K units of blood storage capacity

units of blood can be stored in the blood bank of the hospital. Bagrahatta said that blood of various groups can now be stored in greater numbers to help people during an emergency.

SC raises idea of ‘Project GIB’ to save bird, seeks Centre’s view

Vikas Sharma

Jaipur : State’s largest SMS Hospital has created a blood storage cold unit in collaboration with Bhamashah

the hospital to help patients during emergency situations. The unit was inaugurated

4 bike-borne boys die as bike collides with jeep in Bansur

Alwar: Four youths died in a horrific road accident near Nai Sadak Petrol Pump on Kotputli Road. Four bike-ridden youths from Bansur were returning to their village Kanpura. Meanwhile, there was a headon collision between the jeep and the bike. In which all four youths died. According to the information, the four youths had come to Bansur to buy clothes for the

Abhishek Shrivastava

Jaipur: After 69 days, the work of cleaning Dravyavati river in the state capital will start again. Tata projects ltd will start the cleaning work from Dec 2. Those parts of the river have been selected, where there is more dirt.

The company has signed an MoU with JDA for the maintenance of the project. The draft of the MoU was approved by the UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal. The JDA will give Rs 55 cr, which is due of electricity bill from Oct 2018, and the amount under head of maintenance from May 23.

The company had stopped the maintenance work and operations of the project on 23 Sep this year due to a dispute over payment.

wedding. They were going back to their home Kanpura from Bansur after buying clothes, in the meantime, this tragic accident took place.

Police said that Naveen (17), Rahul (17), Lalit (19), and Pradeep (19), residents of Dhani of Kanpura Daulat Singh, died on the spot.

Work to halt at Raj HC as talks fail

Dr Amit Kumar Sharma, HoD of IHTM Department, said that the blood centre of SMS Hospital is a regional transfusion centre, where about 60 to 80 thousand units of blood are donated every year. “About 125000 blood components are made from the stored blood. These blood components are stored at different temp,” he said.

Rivalry takes life of one as youth shot dead in Jpr

Jaipur (FIB): A youth was allegedly shot dead in broad daylight in Pratap Nagar area on Thursday owing a personal rivalry. Police informed the deceased has been identified as Mahendra Meena.

“The incident occurred near Godavari Apartment in Pratap Nagar. Mahendra Meena was sitting at a tea stall along with his friends when the miscreants opened fire on him. Mahendra was seriously in-

jured and was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. Mahendra Meena had a rivalry with Vineet Mera and it is suspected that Mahendra was killed owing to rivalry with Vineet,” police said.

“The miscreants came in Thar Jeep and fired gun-shots on the victim. Barricading was done, but the miscreants managed to flee from the spot. The accused will be arrested soon,” police added.

New (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the chief secretaries of Rajasthan and Gujarat to conduct the assessment in priority areas relating to the total length of transmission lines and the estimated number of bird diverters required to protect the Great Indian Bustard (GIB).

The top court issued the direction in order to ensure that directions issued by the court are complied with. The top court was informed about some deaths of male and female Great Indian Bustard in priority areas. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also

orally asked counsel to take instruction from the Environment Ministry on an issue relating to some mechanism to bring focus on a project Great Indian Bustard similar to project tiger.

The court directed the chief secretaries of Ra-

jasthan and Gujarat to conduct a comprehensive exercise in priority areas relating to the total length of transmission line and the estimated number of bird diverters required and filed a status report in this regard.

Jaipur : Judicial employees will continue their boycott as their talks with Chief Justice in Jodhpur remained inconclusive because there was no consensus on FIR against the name accused.

The family of the deceased wants to file an FIR against the judge of NDPS court.

The talk with Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal with the delegation of

employees was held in Jodhpur High Court in which officials of the High Court administration were also present.

Judicial employees are now talking about placing the case before the Chief Justice of India but before that, another round of talks with the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court will be held, state president of Rajasthan Judicial Employees Association Surendra Narayan Joshi said.

Dungarpur (FIB): In Chaila Kherwara village of Sadar police station area of Dungarpur dist, a woman along with her two children hanged herself in her house on Thursday. The reasons for their suicide is yet not known. DSP Rakesh Sharma said that Devi Lal Meena works as a labourer in Udaipur. His wife Sumitra Katara (25) and two sons Naresh (5), Deepak (4) were alone at home. When Sumitra and her children did not wake up, her sister-in-law Kokila, who lived in a house nearby, came to see the house. She knocked on the door and found the three hanging. After getting information, the husband of the deceased returned.

RAS Assn give memorandum to CM

First India Bureau

Jaipur : A delegation of RAS officers gave a representation to chief minister Ashok Gehlot with demands like creation of posts in apex scale of RAS and review of suspension period.

The delegation led by president Gaurav Bajad also demanded to create a separate post of joint secretary for the establishment management of RAS, review of RAS, strengthening SDO offices, exemption in ex-

perience for promotion to different scales.

There are 15 vacancies in the higher super time scale and 62 vacancies in super time scale. In such a situation, there is a demand of the association for relaxation in experience in the pro-

motion of these scales.

CM instructed Principal Secretary Finance Akhil Arora to examine the demands. CM’s

OSD Deva Ram Saini and other RAS officers were also present during this.

IPS officer Nitin Deep Blaggan empanelled

Thirty-three IPS officers have been empanelled for IG level post at the Centre. IPS Nitin

Deep Blaggan of Rajasthan cadre has been empanelled. He is a 2003 batch officer.

SANJAY MALHOTRA

TAKES

CHARGE AS REVENUE SECRETARY

New Delhi: Sanjay Malhotra has formally taken charge as Secretary in the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance on Thursday. Prior to his joining as Secretary of the revenue department, he was heading the Department of Financial Services in the ministry. Malhotra is a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Rajasthan cadre.

‘Damodar Lal Narayani Devi Khatoria Charitable Trust’ at

by Mission Director NHM Sudhir

Sharma on Thursday.

Principal of SMS Medical College Dr Ra-

jeev Bagrahatta, Hospital Superintendent Dr Achal Sharma were

also present on the occasion. MD NHM Sharma said that now 30,000

Dr Sudhir Sharma, Dr Rjaeev Bagrahatta, and Dr Achal Sharma during the inauguration on Thursday.

First India Bureau

Great Indian Bustard.

—FILE PHOTO

The crushed bike and the jeep after the head on collison.

Tata to start cleaning ops in Dravyawati from today

Mother with two kids dies by suicide

First India Bureau

Sanjay Malhotra

Camilo Men’s fully automatic machine has been introduced in the blood bank of SMS Hospital

Judial employees staging dharna in Jaipur collectorate. —FILE PHOTO

NEW PAK ARMY CHIEFIMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA

ieutenant

broiled in an intense po litical crisis between ousted PM Imran Khan and the government. While the appointment of a new army chief to suc ceed Qamar Javed Bajwa is expected to bring a de gree of calm to Pakistan’s deeply divided polity, much will depend upon how Munir conducts him self, particularly in deal ing with the polarised political situation.

The recent statement by Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Army Commander Northern Command on POK that as far as the Indian Army is concerned, it will carry out any order given by the Government of India. Whenever such orders are given, we will always be ready for it,” To this response by Pak Army has been a routine tweet “unwarranted statement of a high-ranking Indian Army officer concerning Azad Jammu and Kashmir is an apt manifestation of Indian Armed Forces’ delusional mindset”

after a long tenure of six years. He will also be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Commit tee (CJCSC). He is consid ered an officer with an impeccable reputation within the Pakistani mili tary. The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded con siderable power in mat ters of security and for eign policy. The COAS is the most powerful man in the military enjoying the key powers including mo bilisation of troops, ap pointments and transfers. The appointment of new Pakistan army chief has come at a time when the country finds itself em

Lt Gen Munir, a Sword of Honour of the Mangla Officers Training School (OTS) joined the Frontier Force Regiment. He has led the nation’s elite spy agencies- the Inter-Servic es Intelligence that focus es on security and mili tary intelligence. He has served under Bajwa’s di rect command in the of ten-troubled northern ar eas that border Afghani stan, China and India.

Shuja Nawaz, an expert commentator and strate gist on Pakistan and its military, described Asim Munir as a straight arrow to tame Imran Khan and has a reputation of ‘tak ing on corruption’.. Mu nir is the only senior gen

eral in the present crop of three-star officers who has headed both Military Intelligence (MI) and In ter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to be employed as Pa kistan’s army chief. How ever, he was removed as ISI chief at the request of former Prime Minister Imran Khan following

warnings about the al leged corruption by his wife and her relatives.

Munir becomes new chief as per established procedure and is to the likings of Bajwa and PM Sharif and against wish es of Imran. As far as loy alty goes, Asim Munir is being projected by Paki

India’s atrocities in Himalayas: J&K under attack

An ethnically di verse Himala yan region of Kashmir has been a subject of a territorial dispute be tween India and Pakistan since the partition in 1947. Despite both countries claiming full control over the region’s entirety, Kash mir divides into an Indianadministered part and a Pakistan-administered part.

Although India’s fragile relationship with Kashmir is not a new issue, tensions intensified when in 2019, India revoked Article 370, depriving the region of its special status and a certain degree of autonomy attrib uted to it.

Article 370 allowed Kashmir to have its consti tution and to make deci

sions regarding property ownership and permanent residency. As a result, Indi ans from other parts of the country could not pur chase property and settle in Kashmir. Scrapping Kashmir’s special status meant that from that point onwards, the state would have to abide by the Indian Constitution.

Restricted Freedoms

Revoking Kashmir’s special status in 2019 was followed not only by Indian troops pouring into the streets but also by a communications blackout that only ended in 2021 and by restricting the media. These measures, adopted by India in anticipa tion of rather than in re sponse to unrest in Kashmir,

represented a serious viola tion of people’s freedom of expression. And although internet connectivity has been restored now, the cur tailment of people’s funda mental liberties continues.

Militarized Kashmir India-administered Kash mir is one of the world’s most militarized areas. At

any given moment, tens of soldiers patrol the streets of Srinagar, Kashmir’s sum mer capital, and check points can be seen at every corner. “This is the reality of life in a conflict zone. Peo ple from outside the region often see Kashmir as a tour ist paradise, but those who live here feel a sheer amount of pressure,” Viraj said.

Paradox Of Kashmir

Currently, Kashmir is expe riencing a period of relative stability and peace, but secu rity challenges persist, so there is a risk that this order will be short-lived. “There has been a security threat in Kashmir since 1990,” Kamal said. “The government has been changing since then, but the army presence has been a constant.”

SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER

stani media as a protégé of his predecessor, Gen eral Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature as Pakistan attempts to sur vive an economic crisis and recover from historic floods. His core focus will be on reducing political instability at home, as well as dealing with the economic crisis and the resurgent terror threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban.

Implications for India. For India, the appoint ment of Asim Munir as Pakistan’s new army chief will not make much difference in near future as he is likely to follow his predecessor’s line on India. However, in the long run a hardliner Mu nir, keen to restore public support for the military, and knowing how the ar my’s legitimacy has often been advanced by pitch ing itself as Pakistan’s protector from the threat of India, could well recog nise the benefits of the Pakistani State resuming its sharp rhetoric and

hard line on India. He does not have any experi ence at military training academies in US or Brit ain, unlike three of his immediate predecessorsGeneral Kayani, General Sharif and General Ba jwa. It is widely believed that Pakistani military officials who graduate from colleges in the West have a more holistic worldview compared to those who received their training entirely on home soil. Munir, on the other hand, has served and seen close to conservative Saudi Arabia regime. He has been chief of a spy organization ISI, which is intrinsically inimical to wards India and has been at the helm of affairs when the Pulwama attack took place in February 2019 and he was also di rectly involved in return ing the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India safe and sound. The new Pak Army Chief who is a reli giously oriented man may be more inclined to wards China and Arab Countries than West and this definitely impinges on Indian interests in the region.

The recent statement by Lt Gen Upendra Dwive di, Army Commander Northern Command on POK that as far as the In dian Army is concerned, it will carry out any order given by the Government of India. Whenever such orders are given, we will always be ready for it,” To this response by Pak Army has been a routine tweet “unwarranted statement of a high-rank ing Indian Army officer concerning Azad Jammu and Kashmir is an apt manifestation of Indian Armed Forces’ delusional mindset.”

India can only afford to remain watchful and cau tious because it has always been the “religiously ori ented” generals that have hurt India the most. Can the new army chief of Pa kistan reverse this trend? Let’s wait and watch!

No work stains a man who is pure, who is in harmony, who is master of his life, whose soul is one with the soul of all.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Bhagavad Gita

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Greetings to the people of Nagaland on the special occasion of their Statehood Day. Not only is Nagaland abundant in natural beauty, but also in its culture. The Naga culture & its values are truly benevolent. I pray for the prosperity of the state & all its people.

TOP TWEETS

Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani

From a 2 road network to a 9 road robust network. Here’s an informative video on road revolution in Gujarat which eventually resulted into planning and implementation of PM Gati Shakti Masterplan.

For the last three decades, Indian-controlled Kashmir has been characterized by unrest due to a separatist insurgency opposing Indian rule

LGeneral Asim Munir replaces General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who retires

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Lieutenant General Asim Munir replaces General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who retires after a long tenure of six years. He will also be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). He is considered an officer with an impeccable reputation within the Pakistani military

COL RAJESH BHUKAR

The author is a Post Graduate in International Studies, Alumni of Defense Services Staff College, Wellington and College of Combat, Mhow

Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Lt Gen Asim Munir

DOUBLE ENGINE GOVT MEANS DOUBLE EFFORTS, DOUBLE RESULTS: PM MODI

‘Vijay Sankalp

Himmatnagar (ANI):

PM Narendra Modi, who is on a poll visit to Gujarat, on Thursday said the double-engine government of BJP means “double benefits, double efforts and double results” for the development in the state.

Addressing BJP’s ‘Vijay Sankalp Sammelan’ here, PM Modi said, “Today there is trust for the BJP in the hearts and minds of the people of Gujarat. Himmatnagar shares a strong bond with BJP. Support from people is at an alltime high.” Slamming Congress on the issue of corruption, the Prime Minister said during Congress rule their leaders were not bothered about the welfare of the people and were busy with self-interest.

“When the Congress government was in power, pulses and oilseeds worth Rs 600 crore were bought in eight years. But the BJP government has bought pulses and oilseeds worth Rs 60,000 from the farmers in eight years. During Congress rule, there were 4 crore fake ration cards. We stopped all this. A double-engine government means double benefits, double efforts, and double results.”

Whenever Congress attacked Modi, voters of Gujarat gave befitting reply, says Amit Shah

Ahmedabad (ANI): Reacting to Congress' “Ravan” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the people of Gujarat have always given a reply to Congress through the ballot box whenever they have used inappropriate words against PM Modi. While holding a roadshow in Sanand in Ahmedabad, the Home Minister told ANI, “Whenever Congress has used inappropriate words against PM Modi,

J&K DELIMITATION

PANEL: VERDICT RESERVED BY SC

New Delhi: The apex court has reserved its judgment on a plea challenging govt’s decision to constitute the delimitation commission for redrawing the assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory of J&K. A bench reserved the judgement after hearing all the parties.

APEX COURT SETS ASIDE ‘ONEROUS’ BAIL CONDITIONS

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday termed as “onerous” and quashed some of the bail conditions imposed by the Telangana High Court in a cheating case like asking the accused, one living in Vietnam, to appear twice a week at a police station, besides providing bank and property details.

then the people of Gujarat have given a reply through the ballot box. This time also the people of the state will give a reply.” Shah’s road-

India will resume work in stalled Afghanistan projects: Taliban

show is being held when polling for the first phase in 89 of the 182 constituencies is underway in the state. He said when Naren-

dra Modi was Chief Minister of the State, he had solved several basic problems of the people.

“Under the tenure of CM Modi, various problems were solved in Gujarat. Gujarat used to face the problem of water scarcity, but a permanent solution was found by Narendra Modi by building check damns, bringing ‘Naramada Yojna’ and ‘Sujalam Sufalam Yojana’. Electricity is being supplied for 24 hours and health services have been upgraded across the State,” Shah told ANI.

BJP BIGWIGS CAST VOTES IN PHASE 1 POLLS

Gandhinagar (ANI): BJP bigwigs cast their votes in the first phase of polling in the Gujarat Assembly election in their respective constituencies on Thursday. The polling is underway in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat. Exuding confidence in the BJP’s victory in the ongoing elections, Union minister Darshana Jardosh said they will form government in the state with an absolute majority.

BJP WILL FORM GOVT IN GUJ FOR 7TH TIME: RUPANI

Rajkot (ANI): Former CM Vijay Rupani and his wife Anjali Rupani cast their votes at a polling station in Rajkot in the first phase of State polls on Thursday. The former chief minister said that he is confident that BJP is going to form the govt in Gujarat for the seventh time. “BJP will win all four seats of Rajkot. BJP candidates have done good campaigning. I appeal to people to cast their votes.

Voting is necessary to safeguard democracy. I am confident that BJP is going to form Govt in Gujarat for the seventh time,” said Rupani.

Karnataka-Maha border row is a conspiracy: Cong

Kalaburgi: As tension arises out of border dispute with Maharashtra, the Karnataka Congress has dubbed the situation a “conspiracy”.

Karnataka Congress President DKShivakumar said that there are attempts to spoil the peace in the state ahead of the elections.(Assembly elections will be tentatively held in May 2023)

“Our CM Bommai is making it a big issue to hide slurs on the ruling BJP government in the state.There is a conspiracy behind this,” Shivakumar explained.

The border dispute has been re-

solved already. “The region within our borders is ours, the area lying in their territory is theirs. Whoever is on our side is our people,” he said.

It is not appropriate on part of anyone belonging to any party in Maharashtra to disturb peace in the pretext of border dispute, Shivakumar stated.

“We have built Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi.No one should indulge in disturbing peace,” he said. Maharashtra govt has submitted a petition in 2004 to the Supreme Court claiming its rights over Belagavi city and 865 villages in four Karnataka dis-

Shillong: The special NIA court in Shillong has issued summons to leaders of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to appear before it on January 4 next year. The summons was issued to HNLC leaders Bobby Marwein, Marius Rynjah and Sainkupar Nongtraw and were published in local newspapers. The NIA had filed charge sheet against the four HNLC leaders in connection with a blast that took place in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills on December 12, 2020. As the four accused did not appear in the court on Thursday, the court issued the summons.

ACCUSED IN TRS

MLAS ‘POACHING’ CASE GET BAIL

Hyderabad: The High Court on Thursday granted bail to three accused arrested in the case of alleged conspiracy to poach four TRS MLAs. The court allowed the bail petitions of Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji Swamy on certain conditions. They were told to furnish personal bonds of Rs 3 lakh each.

“NOTHING WORNG IN GIVING PENSION TO MINS’ STAFF”

Kochi: The Kerala High Court said that there was nothing wrong in giving pension to the personal staff of the ministers in the state, but added that there should be a mechanism to see that there was a limit to the number of personal staff. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption People’s Movement.

Kabul (PTI): The Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan has said that India will resume work in at least 20 stalled projects in several provinces across the war-torn country. In June, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

India withdrew its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, following concerns over their security.

After months, Rahul’s ‘Yatra’ witnesses first real challenge as it enters Hindi heartland!

Shamsher Singh

New Delhi: As soon as the Bharat Jodo Yatra reached the Hindi heartland, difficulties started cropping up with the yatra. On the one hand, the Yatra, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, has started getting more coverage and journalists have started arriving, on the other hand controversies have also started.

Think, before this the yatra passed through six states and almost all of them have large Muslim population. BJP does Hindu, Muslim and Pakistan politics in these states also. But there was no controversy over the slogan of Pakistan Zindabad. It did not happen even in Owaisi’s state Hyderabad. But as

soon as the yatra reached Madhya Pradesh, a video went viral, regarding which the BJP alleged that slogans of Pakistan Zindabad were raised during the yatra. The CM also announced to conduct an inquiry into it and take strict action.

Similarly, the yatra reached MP and a case

of rape was registered against Umang Singhar, a former minister of the state and a strong leader of the organisation. He is a strong tribal leader of the state. Despite the yatra being completely organized, it has happened for the first time in MP that some vehicles involved

VANDE BHARAT TRAINS

in the yatra started going in one direction and some in the other direction. It happened in MP itself that Rahul got down from the car and got stuck in the crowd.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra got down from the car, went into the crowd and pulled Rahul back. In MP, Priyanka joined the

yatra for the first time and she was faced with a barrage of questions on social media. Rahul went to temples in other states as well, but when he meditated at Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister Smriti Irani taunted him by tweeting an inverted photo.

BHEL among 5 bidders for `58,000 crore deal

New Delhi (PTI): Staterun Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has formed a consortium with Titagarh Wagons and is among five entities which have bid for the mega Rs 58,000 crore contract to manufacture 200 Vande Bharat trains and maintaining them for the next 35 years.

Other players in the fray include French railway major Alstom; Medha-Stadler consortium between Swiss railway rolling stock

manufacturer Stadler Rail and Hyderabadbased Media Servo Drives; Siemens along with BEML, and Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding (TMH) along with an Indian firm.

Officials said while Rs 26,000 crore is the upfront payment on the delivery of the trains, Rs 32,000 crore will be paid to the winning bidder over a period of 35 years for the maintenance of these trains.

The Indian Railways is now evaluating technical bids for the contract. The financial bids will be opened in the

next 45 days.

According to the tender document, the successful bidder has to produce a prototype of

the sleeper class for Vande Bharat trains within 24 months.

The Indian Railways is targeting to roll out the first sleeper version of Vande Bharat train by the first quarter of 2024.

Till now, the railways has awarded contracts for manufacture of 102 Vande Bharat trains which are all chair car.

The Vande Bharat trains are expected to be a big upgrade from the premium Rajdhani Express service. The sleep-

er class-version of these trains will be run on the routes to cover overnight rail journey like New Delhi-Patna, New DelhiLucknow and others.

After four years of intensive work and planning, country’s first and the second Vande Bharat trains as electric multiple units at semihigh speed, were flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 on the New Delhi-Varanasi and New DelhiKatra in J&K routes.

NIA SPECIAL COURT ISSUES SUMMONS TO 4 LEADERS OF OUTLAWED HNLC

At

Sammelan’, PM said, “Today there is trust for BJP in people’s hearts and minds”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented with a memento during a public meeting for the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections, at Kalol, in Panchmahal on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Amit Shah at a BJP rally in Gandhinagar. —PHOTO BY ANI

Actress Swara Bhaskar joins Rahul Gandhi during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Ujjain on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

CONG’S BJY RESUMES FROM UJJAIN

PARTY FUMES AS KERALA YOUTH CONGRESS CHIEF SEEN IN QATAR

Thiruvananthapuram (Agencies): Outrage against state Youth Congress president Shafi Parambil, who flew to Qatar to watch the World Cup, is growing as several party workers languish in the Kerala jails after a series of political protests against the government were led by him. Shafi Parambil, who is also a three-time legislator has taken off to Qatar to watch the ongoing World Cup, while numerous Youth Congress activists are cooling their heels in jails after being arrested for various protests, which was initiated and led by him.

DK Shivakumar

Vice Prez Dhankhar arrives in Nagaland to inaugurate Hornbill Festival

Kisama (ANI): The 23rd Edition of the Hornbill Festival began at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama on Thursday with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Chief Guest.

The Vice President of India in his greetings expressed that he was thrilled, excited and captivated by the energy of the Naga youth. He said Naga culture and the memories of his stay in Nagaland would be embedded in his heart even in the days ahead. He praised the rich

Naga songs, dances, crafts, cuisines etc and expressed his happiness over the vibrant Naga culture and traditions.

Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “India is a land of culture and said that the place “Kisama”, where the Annual Hornbill festival takes place, could become the culture of cultures. Nagaland has been endowed with scenic beauty and the pattern of its landscaping is captivating because of which he said the State has a great potential in the tourism industry.

The Nagas being very hospitable, love and affectionate to their guests and outsiders could boost the tourism industry in a big way.”

He also mentioned the rich horticulture produce of the State like Kiwi, Pineapple, Coffee, etc.

Dhankhar also con-

INDIA TAKING OVER G20 PRESIDENCY

A watershed moment in India’s history: PM’s aide

New Delhi (PTI): The prime minister’s principal secretary PK Mishra on Thursday described India taking over the G-20 presidency as a “watershed moment” and said it is our responsibility to showcase the country in “the most rightful ways befitting her stature and glory”.

Holding the meeting at 56 different locations in the country will ensure that the pan-India nature of event is truly showcased, he said, adding that every state government, Union territory and citizen is a stakeholder in the process of India’s presidency.

“India has as much uniqueness as it has diversity. We have a responsibility to bring out the best traditions

of India before the world,” Mishra said in his address at the Uni-

Vizhinjam port protest: Police books bishop

Thiruvananthapuram (ANI): DThe Kerala Police on Thursday booked the convenor of the Fishermen’s protest outside the Vizhinjam seaport here.

The Vizhinjam Police have booked father Theodacious D’Cruz under the relevant sections of the IPC for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, and provocation with the intent to cause a riot with his comment against state Minister V Abdurahiman. According to the First Information Report, father

Scindia launches

Digi Yatra for 3 airports in country

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru. Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

D’Cruz had made certain statements that were intended to create communal tension between the Christian and Muslim communities through his statement against the minister. On Tuesday, Minister Abdurahiman had termed the protest against Adani’s port project as “anti-national”.

versity Connect: Engaging Young Minds programme.

Mangaluru blast: Shariq recovers, cops start grilling

Bengaluru: The police have begun questioning terror suspect Mohammad Shariq in connection with the Mangaluru blast case following his recovery from critical burn injuries. Mangaluru city Police Commissioner N Shashikumar stated on Thursday that the police had begun the process of questioning Shariq. Shariq had suffered more than 40 per cent burn injuries following the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) inside a pressure cooker on November 19.

New Delhi: As India assumes presidency of G20 on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned a blog to share his insights on this momentous occasion. Prime Minister Office tweeted: “As India assumes G20 Presidency, PM @narendramodi penned an insightful blog.” “India’s G20 Presidency to work towards for benefitting humanity as a whole.” “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” “The greatest challenges the world faces today, can only be solved, by acting together. “India is a microcosm of the world,” he said in a series of tweets.

gratulated the State Government for electing the first Naga woman MP to Rajya Sabha, Phangnon Konyak, which he said is an ex-

ample of exemplifying women’s empowerment.He also appreciated the State for having the lowest crime rate against women in the Country.

Host of the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio stated that the Hornbill Festival exemplifies the Naga Way of Life, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Naga people along with the rest of the northeastern states, showcasing the unity and oneness under a spirit of solidarity.

BSF celebrates Foundation Day

He added that it is aimed at protecting, preserving and promoting the culture and heritage of the people while creating opportunities for economic growth and employment generation.

Rio said that the Hornbill festival is a symbol of Brand Nagaland and the emerging Naga Soft Power. The cultural ambassadors representing the tribes of Nagaland and from the different states of the northeast and even the mainland are the heart and soul of the

Hornbill Festival, he added.

The Nagaland Chief Minister said that the people of Nagaland aspire for genuine peace, and are hopeful that with the successful conclusion of the peace process, Nagas will be able to play a contributory role in the interest of humanity on the global stage.

Rio also welcomed and extended his appreciation to all the tourists for visiting the State and hopes that they will be ambassadors of Nagaland.

CRUCIAL READ

HARYANA APPROVES DRAFT OF UNLAWFUL CONVERSION OF RELIGION RULES

New Delhi: The BSF celebrated its 58th Foundation Day on Thursday. The para-military force seized more than 26,000 kilograms of drugs from the border areas till October 31 this year. Large caches of arms and ammunition have also been seized this year. The BSF guards the 6386.36 km borders that the country shares with Bangladesh and Pakistan. Apart from infiltration at these borders, the force has been launching continuous campaigns to prevent smuggling of drugs and weapons in the border areas.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted BSF personnel and their families on the occasion of BSF’s Raising Day. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said: “Raising Day greetings to all @BSF_India personnel and their families. This is a force with an outstanding track record of protecting India and serving our nation with utmost diligence. I also appreciate the noble work of BSF during challenging situations like natural disasters.”

Cyclonic circulation likely in South Andaman Sea: IMD

New Delhi (ANI): A low-pressure area is likely to form over the Southeast Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea that is likely to turn into a depression, the IMD said. Due to the easterly wave, scattered moderate rainfall is very likely over Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep during the next 4-5 days, the release added. The IMD said a cyclonic circulation is likely to emerge into South Andaman Sea around December 4.

FIFA WORLD CUP

Argentina defeat Poland; move ahead

Doha [Qatar] (ANI): A goal each from Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez sent Argentina at the top of the Group C table and into the round of 16 as they outperformed Poland in every department to win by 2-0 in their final group stage match here.

With this, Argentina end their group-stage campaign with six points and two wins and a loss. Poland qualifies for the round of 16 as well despite being equal

with Mexico in terms of points (4 points) due to their superior goal difference. Starting off the match in an all-blue jer-

sey, Argentina earned their first corner of the match. But it was guarded well by the Polish defence.

Robert Lewandowski gets in a decent cross from the right and Krystian Bielik’s shot from the edge of the box got blocked. Even Messi made a couple of attempts at the goal in the opening 10 minutes but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made saves both times.

Argentina was extremely aggressive in their pursuit of opening goal and kept making chances for themselves in the first 20 minutes.

They also enjoyed a great deal of ball possession. Poland were trying their level best to attack but every attempt of theirs was thwarted by Argentinians.

Marcos Acuna and Messi were the stars for Argentina in first 30 minutes of match with their aggressive gameplay. In 32nd minute, Angel Di Maria tried to hit Poland with a curling corner but the goalkeeper managed to avert the danger with one hand.

Chandigarh: The Haryana Cabinet on Thursday accorded approval to the draft of the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Rules of 2022. In order to achieve the objectives and to carry out the provisions of the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2022, it is necessary to provide the procedure for the implementation of the provisions of the Act. For this purpose, the requisite forms are required to be prescribed apart from the other related procedural provisions.

Chennai: The opposition AIADMK has stepped up pressure on the Tamil Nadu government to order a CBI probe into the alleged seizure of ‘cocaine’ worth Rs 336 crore at Vadalai in Ramanathapuram district. Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami had charged that a DMK councillor was involved in the “multi-crore deal” in which cocaine was seized on November 27.

Kolkata: The Kolkata Police on Thursday arrested three Bangladeshi nationals for allegedly raping a local woman at a hotel in central Kolkata. The accused have been identified as Mohammad Russel (37), Mohammad Kaiser Chowdhury (36) and Abdullah Al Mijan (37), all residents of Bangladesh. As per records, they came to Kolkata for a treatment, a police official said.

NRI’S BAG WITH `1 CR JEWELLERY LEFT IN CAB, POLICE FIND IT WITHIN 4 HOURS

Greater Noida: An NRI accidentally left a bag with jewellery worth Rs 1 crore in a cab that he travelled in with his family in Greater Noida. The Bisrakh police station, on receiving information about the incident, took immediate action and retrieved the bag in 4 hours. According to information received, on November 30 complainant Nikhilesh Kumar Sinha of Samridhi Grand Avenue, Greater Noida West, informed the police that he and his family lived in London and were in India for his daughter’s marriage.

Bareilly: Two Muslim girls have converted to marry Hindu boys, here. The wedding was solemnised as per Hindu rituals by a pandit at the Agast Muni Ashram located in Madinath. After converting to Hinduism, Iram Zaidi became Swati and Shahnaz became Suman. Iram Zaidi married Adesh Kumar while Shahnaz married Ajay. Both these girls said that they have great faith in Hinduism.

New Delhi: A BSF jawan, who inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistani side on Thursday in Punjab, has been handed over to the Indian authorities, a force spokesperson said. The jawan was undertaking zero line checking along the India-Pakistan international border (IB) near BSF post G G Base in Abohar sector. The jawan crossed over to the other side inadvertently due to dense fog.

OPPN AIADMK SEEKS CBI PROBE

PM GREETS BSF PERSONNEL ON THEIR RAISING DAY

UP:

TWO MUSLIM GIRLS CONVERT TO MARRY HINDU

3

PAK HANDS OVER BSF JAWAN WHO CROSSED BORDER

A picture of PM Narendra Modi is shared as India commences its G20 presidency, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

The IMD forecast about cyclonic ciculation came on Thursday.

“PM MODI WILL SET AGENDA FOR WORLD”

BSF personnel rehearse for the Raising Day function.

SHOWERS IN TN FROM TODAY, SAYS IMD

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar meets Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton at Raj Bhavan in Kohima, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

BRIEFS

GST revenue up 11% to `1.46 L Cr in Nov

First India Bureu

New Delhi: State-owned CIL on Thursday said it produced 412.6 million tonnes of coal in the April-November period of the current fiscal and expressed confidence that it will surpass the the output target set for the current financial year. The PSU had produced 353.4 MT in the April-November period of the last financial year. Coal India Ltd (CIL) which accounts for over 80% of domestic coal output is eyeing a production of 700 million tonnes (MT) in the current financial year. —PTI

INDIA’S ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION GROWS 14% IN NOV

New Delhi: The collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) goes up by 11% to about ` 1.46 lakh crore in November on increased consumer spending and better compliance. This is the ninth month in a row that the revenues have remained above the `1.4 lakh crore mark. However, the collection in November was the lowest since August.

In October, GST collections had touched the second-highest level of ` 1.52 lakh crore on festive spending. The gross GST revenue collected in the month

of November 2022 is ` 1,45,867 crore of which Central GST is ` 25,681 crore, State GST is `32,651 crore, Integrated GST is ` 77,103 crore (including ` 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ` 10,433 crore (including `817 crore collected on import of goods).

“The revenues for the month of November 2022 are 11% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year, which itself was ` 1,31,526 crore,” the Finance Ministry said.

KPMG Partner Indirect Tax Abhishek Jain said continuing festive procurements, year-end reconcilia-

Markets continue to be on record-making spree

Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices rallied for the eighth day running on Thursday, ending at fresh record closing highs, amid firm global market trends and continuous foreign fund inflows.

New Delhi: India’s power consumption logged a double-digit growth of 13.6% to 112.81 billion units in November 2022 compared to the year-ago period, according to the government data. The robust growth of power consumption in the month mainly indicates an increase in economic activities. Farmers use electricity to run tubewells for irrigation for new crops. In November last year, power consumption was 99.32 billion units (BU). —PTI

OPEN ACCESS SOLAR

Buying in IT counters also added to the momentum. The 30-share BSE

Sensex climbed 184.54 points or 0.29% to settle at 63,284.19, its fresh record closing high.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 54.15 points or 0.29% to end at 18,812.50, its new record closing high.

Among the Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Larsen & Toubro were the major winners.

ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards on Thursday.

INDIAN RUPEE GAINS 8 PAISE ON THURSDAY TO CLOSE AT 81.22 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 8 paise to close at 81.22 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday on broad dollar weakness after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the pace of interest rate hikes may slow. Forex traders said foreign fund inflows and a rally in domestic equities boosted investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.08 and touched an intra-day high of 80.98 and a low of 81.32 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 81.22, registering a rise of 8 paise over its previous close.

tions of input tax credits, credit notes, etc. would have played a significant role in the GST revenue uptick. NA Shah Associates, Partner, Indirect Tax, Par-

COLLECTION BREAKDOWN



The gross GST revenue collected in the month of Nov is `1,45,867 crore of which Central GST is `5,681 crore, State GST is `32,651 cr, Integrated GST is `77,103 crore (including `38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is `10,433 crore (including `817 crore on import of goods)

defaulters, fake invoice instances etc,” Mehta said.

During November, revenues from the import of goods were 20% higher and the revenues from the domestic transactions (including import of services) are 8% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

“There has also been a major increase in sales for

real estate and vehicle markets. Overall, there is substantial spending by consumers. Further, the authorities have been cracking down on tax evaders,

Revenues from GST touched a record of about `1.68 lakh crore in April. In May, the collection was about ` 1.41L crore, June (`1.45L crore), July (`1.49L crore), August (` 1.44L crore), Sept (`1.48L crore), October (`1.52L crore) and Nov (`1.46L crore).

India’s manufacturing PMI hits 3-month high in November 2022

New Delhi: Installation of open access solar capacity in India increased by 91% to 596 megawatt (MW) during the JulySeptember period, according to Mercom Research India. India added 312 MW of solar open access capacity in the same period a year ago, the research firm said in a report on Thursday. Solar power through open access is an arrangement where a power producer establishes a solar power plant to supply green energy to consumers. In the first nine months (9M) of 2022, India added about 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of open access solar. —PTI

MARUTI, HYUNDAI, TaMo POST DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH IN NOV

New Delhi: Car makers have logged the best-ever November sales as demand for personal transport continued to remain strong even after the end of the high-selling festive season, driving towards record sales in 2022.

Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra saw doubledigit growth in dispatches to dealers last month, making it the best-ever November for the passenger vehicle industry. —PTI

New Delhi (PTI): The complete electrification of India’s entire fleet of two and three-wheelers, the largest in the world, will require financing to the tune of $285 billion (nearly Rs 23 lakh crore), according to a new white paper.

Published in collaboration with NITI Aayog, the World Economic Forum (WEF) paper said the lastmile and urban delivery fleets are leading the adoption of electric two-and three-wheelers in India and are likely the first segments to transition completely to electric.

But driver-cum-owners are hesitant to make the transition to electric.

New Delhi (PTI): Manufacturing activities in India touched a three-month high in November as new orders and exports expanded boosted by demand resilience and substantial easing of cost pressure, according to a monthly survey released on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 55.7 in November, up from 55.3 in October, signalling the strongest improvement in operating conditions in three months. The November PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 17th straight month.

“It was business as usual for goods producers, who lifted production volumes to the greatest extent in three months amid impressive evidence of demand resilience. New orders and exports expanded markedly in the latest month,” Pol-

Data centres in India attract investment of $10 bn

DATA CENTRES ARE LIKELY TO DOUBLE

In its report ‘Data Centre: Scaling up in Green age’, the consultant projected that India’s data centre stock is likely to double to about 20 mn sq feet by 2025 from its current capacity of 10.3 mn sq feet.

AGRI

New Delhi (PTI): Data centres have received investments of $10 billion (about Rs 81,247 crore) since 2020 as demand for such facilities has risen amid sharp growth in data consumption, according to property consultant Colliers India.

In its report ‘Data Centre: Scaling up in Green age’, the consultant projected that India’s data centre stock is likely to double to about 20 million

square feet by 2025 from its current capacity of 10.3 million square feet.

India currently has about 770 MW data centre capacity across the top seven cities — Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Kolkata.

“The growth of data centres in India is led by massive explosion of data consumption through digitisation, increased cloud adoption, etc, over the last

two years. At the same time, data centre operators are enthused by the incentives such as subsidised land, stamp duty exemption, etc provided by several states,” the statement said.

Mumbai accounts for the largest share of data centres at 49%, benefiting from the presence of a landing station and submarine cable connectivity.

Delhi-NCR has about 17% of the total.

Petrol, diesel sales see double-digit growth

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel sales in India saw a double-digit year-on-year growth in November as increased demand from the agriculture sector helped build on the momentum generated by the festive season, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday.

Petrol sales soared 11.7%to 2.66 million tonnes in November, as compared to 2.38 million tonnes of consumption in the same month last year.

Sales were 10.7% higher than in COVID-marred

November 2020.

Month-on-month, the demand was up 1.3% on the high-base festive season created in October.

Diesel, the most used fuel in the country, posted a 27.6% rise in sales in November to 7.32 million tonnes, as compared to the same month last year.

Consumption was up 17.4% over Nov 2020 and 9.4% higher than 2019.

The fuel has seen a rise in sales month-on-month since September. It rose by a massive 17.1% when compared with 6.25 million tonnes of sales in October 2022. Petrol and diesel sales were highest since June.

Sources said diesel demand has been surging on pick up in the agriculture season. Use of the fuel in irrigation pumps and trucking has helped build the momentum generated from the festive season demand push in October.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS



The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI stood at 55.7 in Nov, up from 55.3 in Oct, signalling the strongest improvement in operating conditions in three months

lyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global said.

Moreover, firms were strongly confident towards growth prospects, with optimism driving another

OTHER STORIES



The November Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 17th straight month 

In November new orders & exports expanded boosted by demand resilience and substantial easing of cost

round of job creation and restocking initiatives. Buying levels expanded at a marked and accelerated rate as firms also sought to benefit from relatively mild price pressures.

WINDFALL PROFIT TAX ON CRUDE OIL HALVED, LEVY ON EXPORT OF DIESEL SLASHED TOO

New Delhi: The government on Thursday slashed to less than half the windfall profit tax on domestically produced crude oil and also reduced the levy on diesel. The revised tax rates become effective from December 2, 2022. The tax on crude oil produced by firms such as state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been reduced to `4,900 per tonne from the existing ` 10,200 per tonne, as per a government notification issued on Thursday. —PTI

crore more than TCS which is valued at `11.68 lakh crore. —PTI

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO THREE-MONTH

HIGH AT 8 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER: CMIE

Mumbai: The country’s unemployment rate rose to a three-month high at 8% during November, according to data by the CMIE. The unemployment rate in urban India was higher at 8.96%, while in rural areas, it was at 7.55%, the CMIE data showed on Thursday. In October this year, the urban joblessness was at 7.21% and the rural unemployment rate was at 8.04%. Haryana continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the country at 30.6%.

CAPACITY UP BY 91% TO 596 MW IN Q2

ag Mehta said the major factors for the increase in collections are the festive and wedding seasons.

‘Electrification of India’s 2/3 wheeler fleet needs $285 bn’

First India Bureau

FRONT

DEVP OF RAJ HAS STALLED, SAYS NADDA

The Grameen Gaurav Path Scheme has been discontinued by this government, says Nadda

Jaipur: Opening fierce attack on Congress govt, Nadda said that development of Ra jasthan has decreased.

“Gehlot himself is the one who reduced it, since they are more worried about their leaders and mentors than the people of Ra jasthan,” he said.

“Rajasthan is the land of sacrifice, pen ance and dedication and I salute to this holy land. “The Grameen Gaurav Path Scheme has been discontinued by this government.

‘Bhairon Singh Shek hawat Antyodaya Yoja na was implemented by us under which Youth used to get loan. This scheme was stopped.

The Chief Minister Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan in which wells and ponds were built in every village, this scheme too has been stopped.” Nadda said.

“When PM Modi said go take the corona vac cine and got the nation the double doze, even a Congress leaders got vaccinated but later tweeted that they didnt do it. Rather they got vaccinated secretly. In dia has become not a taker, but a giver. Our economic policy is growing rapidly. Ujjwa la scheme was also giv en by Prime Minister Modi, 9 National High ways dedicated to Ra jasthan and 25 new by passes are being built at the cost of thousands of crores. Now Delhi Express highway is also being built to reach the national capi tal in 2 hours,” Nadda added.

Jaipur: Former CM and National Vice President of BJP Vasundhara Raje said on Thursday that workers should not compete to be seen in the press and posters, but to be seen in public. “Let PM Modi and our previous BJP government’s public welfare work reach the people. If we want to break the records, instead of being overconfident, work hard with unity and one voice. Then see what kind of victory comes to us which was neither seen in past nor ever will be in future,” Raje said addressing the Jan Aakrosh rally.

Jaipur: BJP State Prez Satish Poonia said, “The govt started from 99. Due to Congress party’s circus, the people are suffering. Out of 70 lakh, 69 lakh children are wandering door to door. Rajasthan is still waiting for loan waiver. Rahul Gandhi distrib utes flour in litres. BJP will celebrate black day on completion of 4 years of state govern ment.” Poonia recounted achievements of Modi government and expressed gratitude to Arun Singh for his motivation. “We will go to every village and ensure PM Modi’s name and work reaches every home,” he said.

‘WHAT ABOUT 1.20 LAKH CRORE LOAN OF OUR FARMERS THAT WAS TO BE REPAID’

Reminding about the repayment of farm laws, Nadda said, “1.20 lakh crore loan of our farmers was to be repaid and Rahul Gandhi said it will be paid in 10 days’ time. Does he remember that or has forgotten it? Congress harms the farmers, the state government is not giving MSP on Bajra. Such people are not to be kept on the throne, they have to answer.” “We have given you 5 medical colleges. Centre has left no stone unturned in the develop ment of Rajasthan” Nadda said.

wat

state

PSK

says it is their

Shekhawat said that Rajasthan is the land of Mira Bai, Rani Padmini and Pannadhay but now it is recognized as the capital of rape.

BJP MLAs, MPs in worry these days

First India Bureau

Jaipur: It seems that the MLAs and MPs of BJP are in a bit of a worry these days. The reason for their conster nation being the line that the party has towed in recent times, which, in certain party circles, has come to be known as BJP’s own personal code of conduct!

PCC Chief reviews preparation of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Alwar, Dausa

MIN BHAYA

According to this code, no MP or MLA is allowed to address their constituency as ‘My As sembly Constituency’ or ‘My Lok Sabha’. In fact, when an MP or MLA talks about his area and uses the word ‘my assembly’ or ‘my constituency’, then im mediately the top lead ership would interrupt the concerned leader

and remind them “Noth ing belongs to you here, everything belongs to the party. That is why no MP or MLA should mis understand. During election, they can be made to change their seat and asked to con test from any other seat.” Thus, all the MPs and MLAs are stirred by this new attitude of top leadership.

He further said the BJP government has made people's lives miserable by impos ing taxes on items like flour and clothes.

Criticising BJP president JP Nadda over his remark that the Modi government gave free COVID-19 vaccine to people, he said, "Nadda said that Modi gave free vaccines to people.

The government did not oblige people by doing so, it was the duty of the govern ment. They had to give free vaccines un der pressure from Congress."

Jawaharlal Nehru started giving free vaccines to the coun trymen, he added.

Khachariyawas said Nadda's public meeting in Jaipur has failed.

"Nadda should have spoken about the taxes which have been imposed on items like flour, clothes, shoes, para tha etc. It has made the lives of people miserable. The infla tion is skyrocketing but the government instead of providing relief to people has imposed new taxes," he said. "The public

PS Khachariyawas

C hief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s OSD Lokesh Sharma, on Thursday, taunted the BJP on its Jan Aakrosh Rally held in Jaipur and said, “Nadda ji, Poonia ji there are no ‘people’ in the gather ing. Then to whom are you addressing? On the good governance works of Ashok Gehlot government, only your (BJP’s) ‘anger’ is vis ible.” Lokesh Sharma also released the video of the empty chairs of the rally.

meeting of Nadda was a failure. Chairs in the meeting were empty and even their workers did not reach the venue," he said.

He said people are ready to give a befit ting reply on infla tion, unemployment and other issues to BJP in the elections. Nadda addressed a public meeting and launched a 'Jan Aak rosh Yatra' to target the Congress govern ment in Rajasthan on the completion of its four years. The Ashok Gehlot-led government will complete four years on December 17.

Gurjars call-off their rage, way cleared for Cong’s BJY

Naresh Sharma

Dausa/Alwar: PCC

Chief Govind S Dotasra on Thursday reached Dausa and took stock of preparations for the up coming Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Cabinet ministers including Mamta Bhupesh, Murari Lal Meena, Govind Sin gh Meghwal, MLA GR Khatana and other sen ior Congress leaders in spected the places where the yatra will halt briefly.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach Dausa district on Dec 16 and pass through Lalsot, Nangal, Bhandarej, Sikandra and Bandikui to reach Alwar.

In Alwar, Dotasra in spected the arrange ments being made in Malakheda for the rally.

Rahul Gandhi is sched uled to address small public gatherings in Al war.

Nat’l GS Jitendra Singh, Minister Tikaram Juli , State Coordinator

GS Dotasra, Jitendra Singh, Tikaram Julie, GR Meghwal, Mamta Bhupesh and other senior Cong leaders in Alwar on Thursday.

Kota: UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal on Thurs day inspected various places in Kota ahead of the visit of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra.

It is expected that Rahul Gandhi may take a night tour of develop ment works that has taken place in Kota. A photo session of Rahul Gandhi will be held infront of a statue in JDB College along with other such events.

of Bharat Jodo Yatra Go vind Ram Meghwal, and other senior Congress leaders were also present during the inspection.

the rally. Dotasra said that the BJP is destroy ing constitutional insti tutions and there is an atmosphere of fear.

Jaipur: Bamanwas MLA Indira Meena of Sawai Madhopur known for her aggression, on Thursday, reached the electricity corporation office, Bonli and slapped a contract worker here after a complaint of a farmer. The incident be came viral.

The MLA was contin uously receiving com plaints about the unnec essary interference of private people at the Electricity Corporation office in Bauli. The MLA reached the storekeep er’s room and checked the register and gave in structions to give trans formers to farmers on priority basis.

During this, the vil lagers complained that the loading-unloading contract worker Pooran mal took money in lieu of giving the transform er. Soon, the MLA called the labourer and repri manded him.

3-member committee of ministers formed to assuage concerns of the Gurjars ahead of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

Satyanarayan Sharma

Vijay Bainsla and Joginder Awana, and Gurjar leaders along with Minister Ashok Chandna during press conference on Thursday.

has been taken on more than 90 per cent of the issues raised by the Gurjar delegation. The Government and especially the Chief Minister took a positive approach to re solve the issues. The government will also work on the discrepancies so that they do not arise in future.

nity leaders today.

In the first round, the representatives of Gur jar community got an gry and walked out of the talks. However, in the second and third rounds of the meeting, most of the demands were met.

A committee has been formed regarding the is sue of 372 and 1250 posts

which will give a report in a month.

Vijay Bainsla said that the decision taken in the meeting for back log, vacancy and promo tions will benefit the fu ture generations. “I am very happy with the de cision taken for the wel fare of the communi ties,” he said.

Laxmikant Sharma and Ashvini Yadav

‘Gehlot himself is the one who reduced the growth of the state’, alleges JP Nadda

JP Nadda along with (L-R) Rajendra Rathore, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Arun Singh, Satish Poonia, Vasundhara Raje, Gulab Chand Kataria, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Govind Ram Meghwal during the Jan Akrosh Rally in Jaipur on Thursday. —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda and Vice President Vasundhara Raje having a chat during the rally on Thursday.

1 2

Jaipur (PTI): The Modi government did not oblige people by providing free COV ID-19 vaccines for it was its duty, food and civil supplies minis ter Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said on Thursday.

hits back at Nadda over ‘Free vax remark’,

duty

Jaipur: Consensus was reached on many of the demands of the Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh samiti following which the community leaders announced to call-off their protest. After the meeting, Sports Minis ter Ashok Chandna and Gurjar leader Vijay Bainsla held a press con ference and announced that the meeting ended on a positive note. The three-member commit tee of ministers consti tuted to assuage con cerns of the Gurjars ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ reached the consensus. Alert after Bainsla’s warning to protest against Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state, the govt once again held talks with the commu

Decision

—Ashok Chandna, Sports Minister

BHARAT JODO YATRA IN RAJASTHAN

Jhalawar: Mines Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya on Thursday met the team mem bers of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi looking after the ar rangements of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The team members inspected the areas near Chawri border and sought de tails from Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya.

As per sources, it is expected that the Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach Rajasthan via Jhalawar on Dec 4.

—Arif Mansoori

Jaipur : During the rally, while targeting Congress government in Ra jasthan, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekha

said that the leading

has gone in the list of the most backward states. He said that there was justice neither with the farmer nor with the youth. “Corruption has become rampant in the state and also leading in rape cases,” he said.

MEET TEAM OF BHARAT JODO YATRA

NEITHER JUSTICE WITH FARMERS NOR WITH YOUTH: SHEKHAWAT

CM’s OSD TAUNTS ON EMPTY CHAIRS IN NADDA’s RALLY

DHARIWAL INSPECTS PLACES IN KOTA AHEAD OF BHARAT JODO YATRA

OUR PARTY WOKRERS SHOULD COMPETE TO BE SEEN IN PUBLIC NOT IN POSTERS, SAYS RAJE

POONIA: BJP WILL CELEBRATE BLACK DAY ON COMPLETION OF 4 YEARS OF GEHLOT GOVT

In Bonli, MLA Indira Meena slaps employee of power corp

Khushi Vijay has been walking catwalks for a few years now, one of those rare models who has set a huge benchmark in the fashion and glamour industry with her charisma. When asked about her initial journey, Khushi shared, “My journey has been a roller coaster ride emotionally, mentally as well as physically. I lost my parents at an early age and things haven’t been easy for me as a child but with the support of my siblings, I could manage to channelise my energy in the right direction. I am a keen Yoga practitioner and have a huge soft corner for animals.”

She further added, “Keeping the same in mind, I dream big to have an NGO of my own and serve society for a greater cause.”

Talking about her challenges and achievements, the beauty exclaimed, “I faced several rejections initially but that also made me more strong and more experienced. I kept striving hard to ful- fil

Watched several YouTube tutorials and groomed myself and one day, I bagged my first beauty pageant award, Miss Pride of Rajasthan 1st runner up. The platform that transformed my life completely was Elite Miss Rajasthan. Under the mentorship of Gaurav Gaur, I could not just get better in my field but also developed a huge potential to do better in the fashion and modelling industry.” She further added, “I also won Miss Photogenic Award. Not only this, I was also selected as the top 30 finalists of First India Queen and I am glad my talent was appreciated here. I wouldn’t say any drastic change followed, but yes, per-

Khushi Vijayvargiya doesn’t just contain multitudes, she displays them, boldly. City First caught up with supermodel Khushi Vijayvargiya, one of the top 30 finalists of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2022!

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

THE binding art soul

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

Acting as spaces for quiet contemplation and creative stimulation, art cafes offer delicious food with a side of unique sculptures and modern art paintings. They also serve as a place for budding artists to present their work to a larger group of people, outside of the confines of dedicated white-wall galleries and limited audiences. Get a taste of something wildly different from your neighbourhood coffee shop and head to Kamal Talai, located in C-Scheme, Jaipur.

A charming, welcoming cafe that serves up delicious food and showcases beautiful artwork, Kamal Talai has had quite a history. The space was restored and turned into a gallery cafe. Featured here are artwork by Pratibha Goyal, a 65 years old lady hailing from the Pink City who caught up with her passion after 30 years during pandemic. The space is vibrant without being loud and relaxing without being a snooze fest.

Shilpa Shara, owner, Kamal Talai, during the launch said, “We’re also planning to host art workshops and exhibitions quite regularly. With artwork that’s pleasing to the eyes and food that satiates cravings, we look forward to a soul rejuvenating time with a delightful spot to spend an afternoon. “ She further added, “The spot is also a meeting point for many artists and art aficionados.

Reportedly the city’s one of the most unique art galleries, the space gets its name from KAMAL (Lotus), a flower that symbolises strength, purity, new beginnings, beauty & charm while TALAI (The Pond), a home to the Lotus. It resonates with Lord Krishna’s Raas & Krida around the pond of Lotus at the banks of river Yamuna. Drawing an inspiration from the artistic hues of a Lotus life, a fusion of the world charm with today’s contemporaries , ‘Kamal Talai, the cafe gallery’, is a home grown & a humble endeavour to celebrate all that is reminisces of. Each painting is handmade by a house of skilled artist, Pratibha. No two pieces are identical, which only adds to its originality and allure.

When asked about the future plans regarding the cafe, Shilpa confidently said, “We look forward to hosting to many discussions and exhibitions and slowly emerge as the local go-to for good vibes. I have strong faith in art and truly wish to promote it in every possible way. The best part here is, the

OF

cafe boasts of being a paradise for those who love art and wish to enjoy it with a cuppa. One can not only enjoy, but even buy the art work on display and all the funds received will go for charity.”

On being asked as to how this idea popped up, the dynamic lady said, “I am a big believer in exposure, especially if it is art, in whatever form it may take. For an artist early in his/ her career, showing in a non-gallery venue like a restaurant or café can be a good way for the artists to begin to get their feet wet. I would certainly rather have their work out where people can see it than collecting dust in the corner of their studios. At least if the work is showing, they got a shot at someone seeing it and becoming familiar with their art and name.”

Kamal Talai was inaugurated on November 25 and a welcome party continued on the next day too. Various who’s who of the Pink City graced the evening. Mouth watering delicacies were served with a cozy evening ambiance. Visitors appreciated the artwork and congratulated Shilpa for the new venture.

From quaint spaces within restored heritage buildings to bustling contemporary creative centres, Rajasthan is home to several art galleries that double up as cafes. And whether you are drawn to antiques or prefer modern art paintings, you’re bound to enjoy the experience of dining at these one-of-a-kind spaces. City First caught up with Shilpa Shara, founder and owner, Kamal Talai, cafe & gallery, located in the heart of Pink City!

The beautiful interiors of Kamal Talai, cafe and gallery

Siddharth Lodha, Amit Gupta, Siddharth Jain, Avnish Bhatnagar, Pranay Shara, Arihant Murdia, Anuj Modi and Ankit Pareek

Ritu Bhatia, Pallavi Murdia and Ritu Singh

Kapil Bhagia, Kunal Kuchhal, Yash Tholia, Shilpa Shara, Apra Kuchhal and Puja Sharma

riyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas never fail to shell out couple goals. From sharing love-filled pictures together, to dropping adorable comments on each other’s posts- Nick and Priyanka always leave their fans swooning over them.

Priyanka and Nick, who tied the knot four years ago in a grand ceremony at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Rajasthan, celebrated their wedding anniversary on Thursday .

Wishes from their family members, fans and friends have been pouring in on social media.

Priyanka’s bestie Tamanna Dutt also wished the couple by sharing an unseen picture, and it is just so adorable!

Vicky walks in ALL GLORY

ver since Sam Bahadur was announced fans have been waiting with bated breaths for the release of this film. Vicky Kaushal will be seen in and as Sam Bahadur and this Meghna Gulzar film will also star Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra in pivotal roles. On Thursday he took to his Instagram handle to share the first look of the film. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, starring Vicky Kaushal, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, the film will release in theatres on December 1, 2023.

Sonam Kapoor is currently enjoying a new phase of her life. In August this year, Sonam and her husband Anand Ahuja welcomed a baby boy to their family. The couple has named their son

tional outfit on Thursday. In the pictures, she is looking like a ray of sunshine in a yellow Anarkali outfit. The actress surely looks beautiful and her post-pregnancy glow is adding extra charm to her look. was seen flashing

RAY OF Sunshine GILL

GOLD MOVIE REVIEW: ORIGINAL YET TIMID

CITY FIRST

Gold, the new outing from the two film old prodigy director Alphonse Puthren has been in the talks for a long time due to a delay in the release. The film which marks Alphonse's return to directing after a seven-year hiatus is a mixed bag, that floats around groping for the authentic design of his earlier films. Gold is about a simpleton mobile shop owner Joshi, nicknamed Danger Joshi ( by the film's makers), an easy-going guy living with his home-bound mother, who spends her time, between cooking meals and feasting her son and visitors with great food.

The mother's character is stretched out to be nothing more than a caricature, as during the latter hour she genuinely feels bad for not treating a group of ruffians who

relatively high point in his life when we meet him, on the verge of a marriage proposal and getting his new car to impress the bride's family. However, the central thematic

about it. Alphonse Puthren, like in his earlier films is masterful with his use of cinematic time and bypassing narrative fluidity with his idiosyncratic inserts and transition shots.

Alphonse Puthren CAST & CREW Prithviraj Sukumaran,Nayantharai

were trying to encroach on their priced possession, a bolero pickup van that has crashed into their home by some weird event gone wrong. Joshi is at a

GOLD RATING:

McGuffin, the random bolero van ( or rather the package within) parked at the front way of his home triggers intrigue as no one seems to know anything

The filmmaking is exquisite at places, with definite callbacks to his earlier successful visual stylings. However, the writing is aimless by design and oftentimes seems to be choked and punctuated for his pulsating quirky sensibilities. Alphonse's acute judgement of cinematic pacing and innovative edit structure is awe-inspiring at a craft level but the plot progression is minimal and scathingly escapes any sort of narrative engagement.

DIRECTOR

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra

Vicky Kaushal

Shehnaaz Gill

Sonam Kapoor

‘DÖNER AND GYROS’ OPENS IN JAIPUR!

CITY FIRST

Scrumptious, food on the go, & Nutritious food for Jaipur’s Gour mands, opens its doors for guests on Thursday.

Jagdeesh Chandra graced the event as the Chief Guest and inaugu rated the regal cafe by cutting the inaugural ribbon.

Dubai-based quick service res taurant Doner & Gyros is opened its door in Jaipur with its first store at JLN Marg bringing together two distinct foods from around the world.

30-year-old Prateek

Sachdev who owns a chain of restaurants of various formats, while addressing media said, “our country with a population of 1.33 bil lion, easily can be termed as the capital of

food on the world map, owing to its richness in different spices and cul ture-based cuisines.”

The brand is inspired by the street food of Chi cago and Berlin; it will be offering hot and fresh

products. It’s India jour ney and growth so far is a footprint of 41 loca tions, and by end of 2023 aiming for 50 operation al stores.

Doner (meat wrapped in bread) is a popular

street food of Berlin, go ing back to 1971; Chicago Gyro (originally Greek) is meat cooked on a verti cal broiler and then put in baked bread and was first served in the US in 1965. “We are excited to

serve the tastebuds of Jaipurites. Each ingredi ent at our place is picked freshly. Good quality & service is our motto”, said Jaipur franchisee owners, Anish Kalera & Abhay Bhargava.

HAR KAAM DESH KE NAAM’

CITY FIRST

Sapta Shakti Asha School, Jaipur un der the aegis of Headquarters South Western Com mand is celebrating the International Day of the disabled person from De cember 1 to 3 with the International Disability

Day theme of 2022 ‘’Transformative Solu tions for Inclusive Devel opments: The Role of Innovation in Fuel ling an Accessible and Equitable World’’

A comprehensive pro gramme is planned for the children of Asha School, Jaipur. Wherein

INDIGENEITY OF INDIAN SPACE EXPLORATION!

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

SALONI KHANDELWAL AND SAUBHAGYA SHARMA

India is the only coun try with a space pro gram independent of the military, said for mer ISRO Chief Padma AS Kiran Kumar in the 3-day ISRO exhibition or ganised at JECRC Uni versity on Wednesday.

In a conversation with First India, former ISRO Chairman, Dr Kiran shared about the indige neity of Indian space ex ploration and the pro gress of upcoming pro jects like Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-2, the Solar Probe, and more.

“We’ve developed our own technology like ‘GSLV-3’ for the simple reason that one su perpower manipu lated the technology and didn’t allow oth er nations to work with it,” said Kumar.

Though due to geopo litical and economic con straints, ISRO is not yet focusing on developing support systems for the space station but has

SPOTTED!

started grooming astro nauts and planning manned missions in the form of Gagan yaan. Furthermore, ISRO has created 3 up graded and economically feasible versions of the ‘CE-20’ cryogenic engine, which are going to be the backbone of upcoming Lunar Exploration mis sions and India’s maiden

attempt to put astronauts in the orbit. Recently in October, the same Cry oEngine was utilised in the ‘OneWeb’ project in collaboration with Bharti Airtel for launching 36 of their satellites in one go. This was a major com mercial opportunity worth Rs1,000 Crores. Around 12,000 people par ticipated.

EVENTS!

various events are planned to showcase their talent and encour age them for maxi mum participate in educative, extra-cur ricular and sports activities. A sports com petition for children and sharing of experience by staff members, parents, and students on ‘Taare

Zameen Par’’ with the Principal and talk on rights and privileges of differently-abled per sons, medical camps, Ayurvedic and Psychol ogy Counsellor checkups is being organised for all children with follow up at Military Hospital, Jaipur on a required ba sis. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GREETINGS!

On

The ‘Culinary Trail’

CITY FIRST

With winters engulf ing the city, Radis son Jaipur City Center, Khasa Kothi is all set to tantalise the taste buds of Jaipur ites with its latest winter food festivals for the ‘Cu linary Trail’. The 3 month ly long food festivals will have a variety of cuisines from North West Frontier, Pind fest serving array of Punjabi deli cacies to Vietnamese, Indone sian, etc cuisine. Starting De cember 1, the festivity vibes will be on till the entire win ters.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradippta Biiswas, VP, Radis son Jaipur City Centre said, “Winter season brings out the best tourism in the city. From

weddings and celebrations to mouth-watering food fes tivals, tourists are always tempted to try better every time they visit the Pink City. With the same vision, we have revamped the experience of the hotel with newly upgraded rooms. Along with this, we also have 2 celebrity chefs, Chef Wong from Singapore & Chef Qureshi from Lucknow who will be presenting their special dishes throughout the season, thus making Radisson Jaipur City Center an ulti mate food destination for the guests for this season.”

DURING THE DAY!

Jagdeesh Chandra was greeted by Employees of the state under the leadership of Santosh Vijay on completing 9 glorious years of First India News Channel on Wednesday, November 30. The team members reached the former’s residence and congratulated him on Thursday.

Shashikant Sharma, Consulting Editor, Bharat24-Vision of New India, paid a courtesy visit to Speaker Karnataka Vidhansabha Vishveshvar Hegde Kangeri, at the latter’s residence on Thursday. Metropolitan Commissioner Bengaluru Girish Hosur (left) was also present on this occasion.

The grand wedding ceremony of Kapil, son of Naresh Kumar Maurya and Pushpa Maurya with Priyanka, daughter of Veena Kardam and Mahesh Kumar Kardam was solemnized on Tuesday, November 28 at Aman Bagh Wedding Lawns & Banquet, Jaipur. Various dignitaries and whos who of the city reached to bless the newlyweds and wished them a happy married life ahead.

Dr Periwal, in her motivational speech, stressed the need to elevate one’s personality by participating enthusiastically in sports. She further emphasized the need to mould future citizens to strive for excellence in all fields- whether sports or academics. She also drew attention to the significance of sports in our lives. The meet commenced with the Guard of Honor followed by flag hoisting and Lighting of the Torch. After the meet was formally declared open, the athletic and track-field events began with cheer and enthusiasm.

Ratika, Riccha, Prateek, Nikhil

Bollywood Playback Singer Aanchal Shrivastava reached Neewara Academy of Design, Bani Park, Jaipur and interacted with the students of design on Thursday. She has sung and composed songs for the Web series Four More Shot. The singer reached Jaipur for a private affair. During her visit, she also judged a talent round of Fresher’s Week, the fresher day of Neewara Academy of Design will be held at Pint House on December 5.

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Famous actors Hansika Motwani and Jacqueline Fernandez were papped at Jaipur International Airport on Thursday for a private affair.

This time dance guru Pt Rajendra Rao came face to face with music lovers in the monthly online series of Rajasthan Forum being organised for the promotion of arts and artists.

this occasion, Rajendra Rao told the music lovers that he comes from a family where the tradition of dance and music has been going on for generations. I have gotten inspiration from my grandfather, father Pt Gokul Chand Rao, Pt Bhanwar Lal.

Jaipur’s marathon runner world record holder Vishnu Tak was awarded with the National Glorious Award 2022 at the award ceremony held in Jaipur, this honor has been given to him for the remarkable work done in his field.

Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Hemraj Kalera. Also seen are Lalit and Dr Gopal Chaudhary

Jagdeesh Chandra cuts the inaugural ribbon. Also seen are Hemraj Kalera, Anish and Abhay with others

During the event

Students showcasing their scientific projects

Chef Neeraj Kataria, Pratippta Biiswas, Chef Wong and Chef Qureshi

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

—PHOTOS BY SUNIL SHARMA