First India-Mumbai Edition-2nd December 2022

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‘RESIST HATE’: ACTOR SWARA BHASKER JOINS RAHUL GANDHI

MAHA-K’TAKA BORDER ROW

Bommai releases water to drought-hit Maha villagers

Marilyn Gore

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”.

VANDE BHARAT TRAIN: `58,000 CR DEAL, 5 BIDDERS

New Delhi: State-run 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.

The Indian Railways is now evaluating technical bids for the contract. The financial bids will be opened in the next 45 days. P5

Sangli: Even as the bor der row between Maha rashtra and Karnataka gathers steam, Karna taka Chief Minister Ba savaraj Bommai may have turned public tide in his favour with just one move. The southern state has released water to the Tikondi area of Maharashtra’s droughtprone Jat region.

The move puts Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis firmly on the backfoot, coming as it

does just days after area residents threatened to “leave” Maharashtra and formally join Karna taka unless their water woes were solved.

With the Karnataka government’s decision to release water under its Tubchi Bableshwar

scheme, the storage pond at Tikondi is now over flowing.

This comes at a time when protests and coun ter protests have in creased on both sides of the border.

Just last Saturday, a poster bearing Bom

mai’s image was defaced by anonymous protest ers at a bus stop in Mum bai’s Mahim area.

With Bommai already having staked his claim to as many as 40 Kanna da-speaking villages as well as Sangli and Ak kalkot cities, and invit ing area residents to merge with his state, his latest move could well swing fence-sitters in the region to his corner. It will now be interest ing to see how CM Shin de and Deputy CM Fad navis respond in the coming days.

this on the border issue? There is some invisible force behind the border dispute. Why are such things happening in the state? There is a conspiracy to create instability in Maharashtra. Those in power are harming the state.

Solapur: On the same day that Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai released water to thirsty villages in Sangli district, 28 villages in Solapur declared them selves ready and willing to be included in the southern state. To ensure that their intentions were made crystal clear, representatives of

several villages also raised the traditional red and yel low flag of Karnataka and raised slogans including “Bommai sarkar zindabad” in Akkalkot’s Alagi village. “Even after 75 years of independence, we do not have regular road, water or electricity services,” one villager claimed.

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 1 hour, airline services

Mumbai: Chaos pre vailed for nearly 1 hour 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

56.88% 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 56.88% 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

KOSHYARI’S REMARKS ON SHIVAJI

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.

Guv to vacate Raj Bhavan before Winter Session?

an icon of “olden times”, highly placed officials in New Delhi say he may be recalled as early as next week.

Kartikey Dev Singh

Mumbai: Barely a fort night after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari put his foot in his mouth by referring to Chhatra pati Shivaji Maharaj as

Since he made the re mark on November 19, both opposition parties and members of the Bal asahebanchi Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, have been calling for his meta phorical head.

Now, a person familiar with the issue told First India that Koshyari may be recalled by the Union

government later this month.

Notably, the second phase of the Gujarat As sembly election is being held on December 05, and the Winter Session of the Maharashtra As sembly is slated to begin December 19. Getting rid of the embattled Gover nor would help the Bharatiya Janata Party project a “fair image”, amid the Catch-22 situa tion that is the border dispute between Maha rashtra and Karnataka.

Further, the move would also protect the Shinde-Fadnavis govern ment here should the Maha Vikas Aghadi coa lition, comprising the

Interestingly,

Shiv Sena - Uddhav Bala saheb Thackeray, Na tionalist Congress Party and the Congress--take a more aggressive stand in the upcoming Assembly session, this person said.

Dep uty CM Devendra Fadnavis also hinted on Tues day that Ko shyari’s time in Raj Bhavan may soon be at an end.

28 MAHA VILLAGES RAISE KARNATAKA FLAG

—Supriya Sule, NCP leader

K’taka

CM Basavaraj Bommai Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari

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.

First India Bureau

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 display of G-20 Logo at 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’

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 `9 and 50 paise per litre whereas the rates of Diesel dropped by `6 and 50 paise per litre.

NOTHING WRONG Devendra Fadnavis aide on comparing CM with Shivaji

down with BJP MP and Shivaji’s descendent Udayanraje Bhosale, who has since said that Patil’s comments have prompted him to recon sider his relationship with the BJP.

Shiv Sainiks, cops clash over case against Lodha

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Satara: President of Annasaheb Patil Eco nomic Backward De velopment Board Nar endra Patil supported the statement of State Tourism Minister Mangal Prabhat Lod ha in a press confer ence held in Satara on Thursday.

Patil said that Sharad Pawar is called the “Knowledgable King” for the last several years, and there is nothing wrong in comparing a current leader’s achieve ments with the work of Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma haraj. His statement may give rise to a new controversy in the po litical arena.

Patil said, “Chatra pati Shivaji has versa tile leadership. It is not

Chatrapati Shivaji has versatile leadership. It is not wrong to compare his role towards farmers and to save Hindutva if the work done by any representative or leader is good. Pawar is also known as ‘Gyani Raja’ and has also done a great job for the farmers. Hence there are many comparisons between the work of Chhatrapati and the work done by the leaders in the state.

—Narendra Patil, president of Annasaheb Patil Economic Backward Development Board

wrong to compare his role towards farmers and to save Hindutva if the work done by any representative or leader is good. Pawar is also known as ‘Gyani Raja’ and has also done a

CRUCIAL READ

WORK ORDER FOR GOKHALE BRIDGE IN 15 DAYS, SAYS BMC

Mumbai: The reconstruction work of the Gokhale Road bridge could begin soon, as three bidders for the project have been qualified. Civic officials said they will issue a work order in the next 15 days. Thereafter, the BMC will seek the permission of the railways to begin rebuilding the Andheri eastwest connector. The BMC invited a tender of Rs84.72 crore on November 12 for the reconstruction of Gokhale bridge. Five companies participated in the tender process, and three of them qualified. AB Infrabuild Ltd quoted the lowest cost of the project at Rs74.56 crore. SAI Projects Mumbai Pvt Ltd quoted the second lowest amount of Rs82.10 crore and the third bid of Rs83.73 crore came from Shree Manglam Buildcon Private Ltd.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) formally handed over the control of two major arterial roads, Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH), to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on November 29. The handover took place two months after BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal urged the Bombay High Court to make BMC the sole planning authority for the two arterial roads of Mumbai. On September 30, the state government issued an NOC and urged the MMRDA to hand over the two major arterial roads to the BMC, and a portion of the road to Thane Municipal Corporation for its future maintenance and operation.

FIRE BREAKS OUT IN BAMBOO FOREST IN THANE DISTRICT, NO CASUALTIES REPORTED

Thane: Fire broke out at bamboo forest opposite Saket police ground in Thane district on Thursday at around 1:30 pm. However, no casualties were reported, the regional disaster management cell officials said. Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC), Chief of Thane, Avinash Sawant said, “We received the information on Thursday at around 1:20pm about the bamboo trees and dry leaves in the bamboo forest at Saket road in Thane were on fire. Soon after receiving the information our team reached the spot along with one rescue vehicle and one water tanker. Our team with the help of fire brigade personnel doused off the fire at around 2 pm.”

17TH INT’L METAL IONS SYMPOSIUM 2022 ORGANIZED

Mumbai: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis congratulated NSC Chairperson Dr Sunali Khanna for organizing the 17th International Metal Ions Symposium 2022 –Recent advances in Oral Medicine and Radiology, Environmental and Public Health. Mumbai’s Nehru Science Centre hosted the event on Wednesday. Professor (Dr) Reinhilde Jacobs, President of the International Association of Dento Maxillo Facial Radiology, addressed the forum. The two-day event focused on the most recent developments in oral medicine, public health and environmental health.

EXERCISE AGNI WARRIOR CONCLUDES IN MAHA

New Delhi: The 12th edition of a bilateral exercise between the armies of India and Singapore has concluded on Thursday at the Field Firing Range in Devlali, and achieved its aim of improving interoperability between the two sides, the defence ministry here said on Thursday. Held November 13-30, Exercise Agni Warrior involved showcasing joint firepower planning, execution and use of new generation equipment by the artillery arm of both the armies, the ministry said, adding that it also included participation by both sides in a computer war game as part of the joint planning process.

great job for the farm ers. Hence there are many comparisons be tween the work of Chhatrapati and the work done by the lead ers in the state.” This has not gone

According to those close to the develop ment, the party leader ship may be using Patil-a close of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fad navis--as a mouthpiece to communicate with Bhonsle, who has re cently been at odds with the BJP, especially over perceived slights to his venerated ancestor.

Later in the day, Bho sale held a press confer ence in Satara, where he used aggressive lan guage against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and indicated that he might leave the BJP.

“The elite of the party will not dare to act against me on this issue.

I do not believe in any party, only Chhatrapa ti’s opinion is important to me,” he said, indirect ly warning that he may choose to leave the BJP.

Kolhapur: Highvoltage drama en sued after police in Kolhapur refused to book state Tourism Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha for ‘insulting’ Chhatra pati Shivaji Maha raj by comparing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with the Maratha king.

Workers of the Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thacker ay clashed with the police after attempt ing to file a complaint against Lodha, at the Laxmipuri police sta tion. “This govern ment is repeatedly insulting Shivaji Ma haraj,” District Pres ident Sanjay Pawar said.

He said he had giv en a statement to PI Katakdhond of

Police refused to book Mangal Prabhat Lodha for ‘insulting’ Shivaji Maharaj

Laxmipuri police sta tion and demanded that a complaint be registered. However, the police heard the statement without registering a com plaint, which also led to a scuffle between the Shiv Sainiks and the police.

Thereafter, Direc tor General of Police Rajneesh Seth came to Kolhapur to smooth ruffled feathers. Even tually, city DYSP Man gesh Chavan inter vened and directed the agitating Shiv Sainiks to register the complaint with the Satara police

Public being redirected to pvt med shops, reveals Union Min Pawar’s visit

First India Bureau

Osmanabad: Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pawar visited Osmanabad Government Hospital in the afternoon and stood in the queue for medicines. As she ap proached the window, she was advised by the hospital staff to pur chase the medicines from private shops due to unavailability.

Common people have heard this answer many times, and a complaint was also made against this. Even the Union Minister got the same reply during her sur prise visit. The incident came to light when Pa war joined the district hospital medicine queue, holding a pa tient’s prescription.

Pawar reprimanded the hospital administra tion and staff. Actually, the minister had visited the hospital, addressing

the complaint by the people of the area, that they were regularly fac ing the issue of medi cine shortage.

Osmanabad is an as pirational district, and Minister Pawar came there to review various works. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has giv en Pawar the responsi bility of special review and attention to the fa cility-deprived districts.

First Pawar flagged off the rally on the occasion of World AIDS Day and then inspected the medi cal college and hospital.

TMC announces 100% discount on overdue water bill penalty till March 31

First India Bureau

Thane: The Thane Municipal Corpora tion (TMC) made a significant move and declared that the Ab hay Yojana’s overdue water bill penalty programme will re ceive a 100% reduc tion through March 31, 2023.

The decision was tak en by TMC Commis sioner Abhijit Bangar.

Bangar has also appealed to the citizens to take advantage of this scheme on a prior ity basis.

“The Citizens from Thane who have not paid their water bill should note that the overdue amount has to be paid at once and it cannot be paid in install ments. Also there will be no extension on Abhay Yojana after March 31,

WAR OF WORDS

2023,” Bangar said. Adding further he said, “The scheme will not be applicable to the household connection holders who have paid the water bill before the announcement of this Abhay Yojana and the concession will not be applicable to the com mercial connection holders.”

During the period of four months from De cember 01, 2022 to March 31, 2023, the citizens whose water bill is due

will be able to take the benefit of this Abhay Yojana. The scheme is beneficial for defaulters by completely waiving the amount of water tax penalty due till 31st March 2023.

Thackeray faction slams Rijiju’s comments on collegium system

Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena on Thursday said Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has crossed the “Laxman Rekha” by ing on the collegium system of ment of judges,

and he should resign.

An editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ alleged that the Narendra Modi gov ernment wants to con trol all important insti tutions including the ju diciary. “It wants people of its ideology in the ju diciary and is trying to destroy democracy, Par liament and opposition leaders. For this, the gov ernment wants its peo ple in the high courts, Supreme Court,” it said.

Rijiju recently called as “opaque” the present Supreme Court collegi um system through

The one who is occupying that

colleagues whom they know. Obviously, they would not recommend a judge they do not know,” Rijiju had said.

The Sena mouthpiece said it was clear that the law minister had crossed the line which meant he had started meddling in the judicial process. It further said that Rijiju apparently thinks that the PM should appoint the judges.

PROTESTS OVER FORCED POWER BILL RECOVERY

which judges are ap pointed.

“The basic fault with the present collegium system is that the judges are recommending those

“But Rijiju’s sugges tion is more dangerous. The collegium process is, at least, the law of the land and it has to be fol lowed,” it noted.

Aurangabad: The Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Thursday held protests at eight plac es in Aurangabad against what it claimed was collection of electricity bills forcibly. The protest was also aimed at insurance firms for allegedly not cooperating with farmers in distress due to crop loss from heavy rains, func tionaries of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said. The party held a ‘chakka jam’ (traffic at standstill) protest, during which they burnt cattle fodder.

MMRDA HANDS OVER CONTROL OF HIGHWAYS TO BMC

First India Bureau

post now has crossed the Laxman Rekha. The law minister has no right to occupy the post. Like a python, the Centre has swallowed up all the institutions and now it wants to swallow up the judiciary too.

—‘Saamana’ newspaper

An

in

alleged that the Narendra Modi government wants to control all important institutions including the judiciary

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharti Pravin Pawar — FILE PHOTO

Patil’s comments may prompt Satara royal Udayanraje Bhosle to leave BJP

Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths conduct raids on the premises of betelnut traders in connection with an alleged money laundering case, in Nagpur on Thursday. Investigators raided seven locations in the city, in connection with an offence registered in Mumbai, an official said. —PHOTO BY PTI

The civic body commissioner Abhijit Bangar appealed citizens to pay the water bill quickly

Tourism Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha — FILE PHOTO

Mumbai airport sees long queues after server crash

Chaos ensues after network cable was cut due to ‘ongoing work elsewhere in city’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Chhatra pati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport witnessed long queues on Thursday after the computer server at Ter minal 2 went down for nearly an hour, causing check-ins to be done manually and potential ly upsetting the sched ule for some flights.

Notably, the Mumbai airport is India’s sec ond busiest after the one in Delhi. The server went down after a net work cable was cut due to “ongoing work else where in the city”, an official from Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd (MIAL), which operates the airport, said.

“Our passengers are requested to allocate ad ditional time for checkin and also to kindly connect with their re spective airlines, owing to a temporary network interruption outside

First India Bureau

Nagpur: Six interns at the Government Medi cal College and Hospital (GMC&H) in Nagpur have been suspended for allegedly ragging a jun ior, after the latter--a stu dent in the first year of the MBBS course--sent a video of the alleged rag

the airport due to ongo ing development in the city. Our teams are pre

Two held for harassing Korean woman in city

our passengers for their understanding,” MIAL had said in a statement earlier in the day.

Personnel of the Cen tral Industrial Security Force stationed at the airport admitted that the crowds were larger than normal, but added, “The crowd is being managed well and there is no chaos as manual passes are being is sued.” However, irate passengers took to so cial media to complain about the long queues.

“System crash at #MumbaiAirport @air indiain #allairlines Crazy crowd and long queues. Expect delayed flights and more…” a Twitter user with the handle @kiwitwees tweeted.

sent on the ground and manual processing has been initiated to facili

ging to the Central AntiRagging Committee, a college official said.

The complainant had secretly shot a video of the alleged incident, which is said to have taken place six months ago. After receiving the video along with the student's com plaint, the central

committee directed the GMC&H administra tion to initiate action.

College Dean Dr Raj Gajb

tate all passengers. We sincerely regret the in convenience and thank

One of two terminals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, T2 mostly deals with internation al flights but is also used for domestic routes.

First India Bureau Mumbai: Two men have been arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly molesting and stalking a South Korean woman You Tuber on a city street, an official said.

Thursday’s arrests come a day after a video surfaced on Twitter, which shows the woman being sex ually harassed. The Twitter handle which shared the video claimed the woman was from South Ko rea and was lives treaming in subur ban Khar when the incident took place around 8 pm on Tues day.

The video showed a young man coming very close to her and trying to pull her by holding her hand even as she protested. As she attempts to walk away, the youth reap pears, this time on a motorcycle with a friend, offering her a lift despite her telling

hiye immediately issued orders suspending the six students’ internship and also asked them to vacate the hostel, the of ficial said. The anti-rag ging committee of the college has also lodged a complaint with Ajni police station but no FIR has been registered yet, police said.

Nagpur: Fifty-seven student officers of the Indian Armed Forces received certificates at the first-ever ‘Com bined Passing out Pa rade (CPoP)’ for various aviation and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sys tems (RPAS) courses at the premier Combat Army Aviation Train ing School (CAATS) in

Nashik on Thursday.

Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Suri, Di rector General and Colonel Commandant Army Aviation Corps presided over the cere mony, an official stated.

“It is a momentous day in the history of army aviation as we pass out all the four courses in a common parade. This is happen ing for the first time.

Cops take suo motu cognizance after receiving the video of the incident on Twitter

him that she did not want it.

The police regis tered an FIR and started an investiga tion into the incident

after the video was sent to their Twitter handle, an official from Khar police sta tion said.

After establishing the identity of the two accused, aged 19 and 21, the police nabbed them from Patel Na gar in suburban Ban dra, the official said. When asked to come to the police sta tion, the woman told the police would come later, the official added.

at her dad for scolding him, boy slits 9-yr-old girls’ throat

First India Bureau

Thane: nine-yearold girl was found dead with her throat slit near Kalyan rail way station of Thane dis trict on Thurs day morn ing. It is sus pected that the victim was raped before she was killed.

The body was found in the premises of a housing complex near Kalyan railway sta tion, although she was not a resident there, the Mahatma Phule po lice station official said.

The victim and the accused are seen to gether in some CCTV grabs and the crime may have taken place

around 4 am on Thurs day, he said.

“Based on the CCTV footage in the area, we detained a 15-year-old boy, who allegedly killed the child after her father scolded him. The residents of the society alerted the police and the body was sent for post-mor tem. We have regis tered a case of murder and other offences un der IPC and POCSO Act provisions,” he said.

Man held under POCSO for molesting daughter

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A 44-yearold man was arrested for allegedly trying to kill his daughter who was admitted to a pri vate hospital due to overdose of sleeping pills.

The accused alleg edly used to molest his underage daughter. As a result the girl was depressed and experi enced a lot of mental pressure. She recently informed her mother that her father used to touch her in an inap propriate manner whenever she was asleep. As a result of the mental breakdown she ended up consum ing excessive pills.

As per sources, the accused had brought a knife to kill his

daughter at a private hospital but was pre vented from doing so after doctors and hos pital staff intervened and took the weapon off his hands. Later on, he was arrested by the police and was charged under the POCSO Act and an ‘at tempt to assault’ case.

Senior Inspector of RCF police station, Chembur, Balasaheb Ghavate confirmed the arrest, but re fused to provide any information, saying it is a POSCO case.

to

Army aviation is one of the fastest growing arms since its raising 36 years ago in 1986,” Lieutenant General

Suri said in his address.

In

Heli

become Aviation Heli copter Instructors and 18 officers were award ed the RPAS wing to be come RPAS pilot.

Seven officers were awarded Qualified Fly ing Instructor (QFI) Badge to become Avia tion Helicopter Instruc tors after successful completion of the Avia tion Helicopter Instruc tors Course (AHIC) and 18 officers were award ed the RPAS wing to be come RPAS pilot after successful completion of the Basic Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Course.

Twitter user @kiwitees shared a photo of the long lines at T2 on Thursday.

The woman, a YouTuber from South Korea was allegedly molested, in Khar. —PHOTO BY PTI

Passengers are requested to allocate additional time for checkin and also to kindly connect with their respective airlines, ow ing to a temporary network interruption outside the airport due to ongoing development in the city. Our teams are present on the ground and manual processing has been initiated to facilitate all pas sengers. We sincerely regret the inconvenience and thank our passen gers for their understanding.

MIAL

First India Bureau

all, 32 officers, in cluding one from Nige ria, were awarded the coveted Aviation Wings

become Combat

copter Pilots. Seven of ficers were awarded Qualified Flying In structor (QFI) Badge to

The body was found in the premises of a housing complex near Kalyan railway station

NEW PAK ARMY CHIEFIMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA

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”

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 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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

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.

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

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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

At ‘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 dou ble results” for the de velopment in the state.

Addressing BJP’s ‘Vi jay Sankalp Sammelan’ here, PM Modi said, “Today there is trust for the BJP in the hearts and minds of the people of Gujarat. Himmatna gar 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 both ered about the welfare of the people and were busy with self-interest.

“When the Congress government was in power, pulses and oil seeds 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 dou ble-engine government means double benefits, double efforts, and dou ble 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 Guja rat have always given a reply to Congress through the ballot box whenever they have used inappropriate words against PM Modi. While holding a road show 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 com mission 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 Su preme Court Thursday termed as “onerous” and quashed some of the bail conditions im posed by the Telangana High Court in a cheating case like asking the ac cused, one living in Viet nam, to appear twice a week at a police station, besides providing bank and property details.

then the people of Guja rat have given a reply through the ballot box. This time also the peo ple of the state will give a reply.” Shah’s road

India

show is being held when polling for the first phase in 89 of the 182 constituencies is under way 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 prob lems were solved in Gu jarat. Gujarat used to face the problem of wa ter scarcity, but a perma nent solution was found by Narendra Modi by building check damns, bringing ‘Naramada Yo jna’ and ‘Sujalam Su falam Yojana’. Electric ity is being supplied for 24 hours and health ser vices have been upgrad ed 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 constit uencies on Thursday. The polling is underway in 89 constituencies spread across 19 dis tricts of Kutch, Saurash tra and South Gujarat. Exuding confidence in the BJP’s victory in the ongoing elections, Union minister Darsha na 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 sev enth time. “BJP will win all four seats of Rajkot. BJP candidates have done good campaign ing. 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 ten sion arises out of border dispute with Maharashtra, the Karnataka Congress has dubbed the situa tion a “conspiracy”.

Karnataka Con gress President DK Shivakumar said that there are attempts to spoil the peace in the state ahead of the elec tions.(Assembly elec tions will be tentative ly held in May 2023)

“Our CM Bommai is making it a big is sue to hide slurs on the ruling BJP gov ernment in the state.There is a conspira cy behind this,” Shi vakumar explained.

The bor der dispute has been re

solved already. “The region within our borders is ours, the area lying in their ter ritory is theirs. Who ever is on our side is our people,” he said. It is not appropriate on part of anyone be longing to any party in Maharashtra to dis turb peace in the pre text of border dispute, Shivakumar stated.

“We have built Su varna Soudha in Bel agavi.No one should indulge in disturbing peace,” he said. Maha rashtra govt has sub mitted a petition in 2004 to the Su preme Court claiming its rights over Belagavi city and 865 vil lages in four Karnataka dis

Shillong:

The

3 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 con spiracy to poach four TRS MLAs. The court allowed the bail petitions of Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nanda Kumar and Sim hayaji 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 An ti-Corruption People’s Movement.

Kabul (PTI): The Tali ban dispensation in Af ghanistan has said that India will resume work in at least 20 stalled pro jects in several provinc es across the war-torn country. In June, India re-established its diplo matic presence in Kabul by deploying a “techni cal team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

India withdrew its offi cials 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 heart land, difficulties started cropping up with the yatra. On the one hand, the Yatra, under the lead ership of Rahul Gandhi, has started getting more coverage and journalists have started arriving, on the other hand contro versies 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 Pa kistan politics in these states also. But there was no controversy over the slogan of Pakistan Zindabad. It did not hap pen even in Owaisi’s state Hyderabad. But as

soon as the yatra reached Madhya Pradesh, a vid eo 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 organisa tion. He is a strong trib al 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 go ing in one direction and some in the other direc tion. 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 Omka reshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Union Minis ter Smriti Irani taunted him by tweeting an in verted photo.

BHEL among 5 bidders for `58,000 crore deal

New Delhi (PTI): Staterun Bharat Heavy Elec tricals Ltd (BHEL) has formed a consortium with Titagarh Wagons and is among five enti ties 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 consor tium between Swiss railway rolling stock

manufacturer Stadler Rail and Hyderabadbased Media Servo Drives; Siemens along with BEML, and Rus sian rolling stock man ufacturer Transmash holding (TMH) along with an Indian firm.

Officials said while Rs 26,000 crore is the up front payment on the delivery of the trains, Rs 32,000 crore will be paid to the winning bid der over a period of 35 years for the mainte nance of these trains.

next 45 days.

According to the ten der document, the suc cessful 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 Ex press 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 in tensive work and plan ning, 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-Vara nasi and New DelhiKatra in J&K routes.

The Indian Railways is now evaluating tech nical bids for the con tract. The financial bids will be opened in the

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.

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 Decem ber 12, 2020. As the four accused did not appear in the court on Thursday, the court issued the summons.

NIA SPECIAL COURT ISSUES SUMMONS TO 4 LEADERS OF OUTLAWED HNLC

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

will resume work in stalled Afghanistan projects: Taliban

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 lan guish 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 Vil lage, Kisama on Thurs day with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Chief Guest.

The Vice President of India in his greet ings expressed that he was thrilled, excited and captivated by the energy of the Naga youth. He said Naga culture and the memo ries of his stay in Na galand would be em bedded 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. Na galand has been en dowed 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 af fectionate 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 princi pal secretary PK Mishra on Thursday described India taking over the G-20 presidency as a “watershed moment” and said it is our respon sibility 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 en sure that the pan-India nature of event is truly showcased, he said, add ing that every state gov ernment, Union territo ry and citizen is a stake holder in the process of India’s presidency.

“India has as much uniqueness as it has di versity. We have a re sponsibility to bring out the best traditions

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

gratulated the State Government for elect ing the first Naga wom an MP to Rajya Sabha, Phangnon Konyak, which he said is an ex

ample of exemplifying women’s empower ment.He also appreci ated the State for hav ing the lowest crime rate against women in the Country.

Host of the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiph iu Rio stated that the Hornbill Festival exem plifies 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 pro moting the culture and heritage of the people while creating oppor tunities for economic growth and employ ment generation.

Rio said that the Hornbill festival is a symbol of Brand Naga land 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 as pire for genuine peace, and are hopeful that with the successful conclusion of the peace process, Nagas will be able to play a contribu tory role in the interest of humanity on the global stage.

Rio also welcomed and extended his ap preciation to all the tourists for visiting the State and hopes that they will be ambassa dors of Nagaland.

CRUCIAL READ

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

Vizhinjam port protest: Police books bishop

Thiruvananthapuram

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

The Vizhinjam Police have booked father The odacious D’Cruz under the relevant sections of the IPC for allegedly promoting enmity be tween different groups on the ground of reli gion, and provocation with the intent to cause a riot with his comment against state Minister V Abdurahiman. Accord ing to the First Informa tion Report, father

Scindia

launches

Digi Yatra for 3 airports in country

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Min ister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scin dia on Thursday launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three air ports in the country, namely New Delhi, Var anasi and Bengaluru. Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recogni tion Technology (FRT).

D’Cruz had made cer tain statements that were intended to create communal tension be tween the Christian and Muslim communities through his statement against the minister. On Tuesday, Minister Ab durahiman had termed the protest against Ada ni’s port project as “an ti-national”.

versity Connect: En gaging Young Minds programme.

Mangaluru blast: Shariq recovers, cops start grilling

Bengaluru: The police have begun questioning terror suspect Moham mad Shariq in connec tion with the Mangalu ru blast case following his recovery from criti cal burn injuries. Man galuru city Police Com missioner N Shashiku mar stated on Thursday that the police had be gun the process of ques tioning Shariq. Shariq had suffered more than 40 per cent burn inju ries following the explo sion of an improvised explosive device (IED) inside a pressure cook er on November 19.

New Delhi: As India as sumes presidency of G20 on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned a blog to share his insights on this momentous occa sion. Prime Minister Of fice tweeted: “As India assumes G20 Presiden cy, PM @narendramodi penned an insightful blog.” “India’s G20 Pres idency to work towards for benefitting humani ty as a whole.” “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” “The greatest challenges the world faces today, can only be solved, by acting togeth er. “India is a microcosm of the world,” he said in a series of tweets.

New Delhi: The BSF celebrated its 58th Foun dation Day on Thursday. The para-military force seized more than 26,000 kilograms of drugs from the border areas till Oc tober 31 this year. Large caches of arms and am munition 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 continu ous campaigns to pre vent smuggling of drugs and weapons in the bor der 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 greet ings 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 chal lenging 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 Ben gal and the adjoining Andaman Sea that is likely to turn into a de pression, the IMD said. Due to the easterly wave, scattered moder ate rainfall is very like ly over Karnataka, Ker ala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep during the next 4-5 days, the re lease added. The IMD said a cyclonic circula tion 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 Al lister and Julian Alva rez sent Argentina at the top of the Group C table and into the round of 16 as they outper formed 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 dif ference. 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 Pol ish defence.

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

Argentina was ex tremely 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 posses sion. Poland were try ing 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 game play. In 32nd minute, An gel Di Maria tried to hit Poland with a curling corner but the goalkeep er 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.

Kolkata: The Kolkata Police on Thursday arrested three Ban gladeshi nationals for allegedly raping a local woman at a hotel in central Kolkata. The ac cused have been iden tified as Mohammad Russel (37), Moham mad 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.

BAG WITH `1 CR

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, in formed the police that he and his family lived in Lon don 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 Hin du rituals by a pandit at the Agast Muni Ashram located in Madinath. Af ter converting to Hindu ism, 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 inadvertent ly crossed over to the Pakistani side on Thurs day in Punjab, has been handed over to the In dian authorities, a force spokesperson said. The jawan was undertak ing 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 inadver tently due to dense fog.

‘COCAINE’ HAUL: OPPN AIADMK SEEKS CBI PROBE

PM GREETS BSF PERSONNEL ON THEIR RAISING DAY

3

FOR

Chennai: The oppo sition AIADMK has stepped up pressure on the Tamil Nadu gov ernment to order a CBI probe into the alleged seizure of ‘cocaine’ worth Rs 336 crore at Vadalai in Ramanatha puram 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.

NRI’S

JEWELLERY LEFT IN CAB, POLICE FIND IT WITHIN 4 HOURS

HARYANA APPROVES DRAFT OF UNLAWFUL CONVERSION OF RELIGION RULES

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

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 ex pressed confidence that it will surpass the the out put target set for the cur rent 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 pro duction of 700 million tonnes (MT) in the cur rent financial year. —PTI

INDIA’S ELECTRICITY

CONSUMPTION GROWS 14% IN NOV

New Delhi: The collec tions from Goods and Ser vices Tax (GST) goes up by 11% to about ` 1.46 lakh crore in November on in creased consumer spend ing and better compliance. This is the ninth month in a row that the revenues have remained above the `1.4 lakh crore mark. How ever, the collection in No vember was the lowest since August.

In October, GST collec tions had touched the sec ond-highest level of ` 1.52 lakh crore on festive spend ing. The gross GST reve nue 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 im port of goods).

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

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

Markets continue to be on record-making spree

Mumbai (PTI): Bench mark 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.

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.

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

COLLECTION BREAKDOWN

z 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 in stances etc,” Mehta said.

During November, reve nues from the import of goods were 20% higher and the revenues from the do mestic transactions (in cluding import of services) are 8% higher than the rev enues from these sources during the same month last year.

“There has also been a major increase in sales for

real estate and vehicle mar kets. Overall, there is sub stantial spending by con sumers. Further, the au thorities have been crack ing 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: 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 ro bust growth of power consumption in the month mainly indicates an increase in economic activities. Farmers use electricity to run tube wells for irrigation for new crops. In November last year, power con sumption was 99.32 billion units (BU).

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

Among the Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech nologies, 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

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), accord ing to a new white paper.

New Delhi (PTI): Manu facturing activities in In dia touched a three-month high in November as new orders and exports expand ed boosted by demand resil ience and substantial eas ing of cost pressure, ac cording to a monthly sur vey released on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufac turing Purchasing Manag ers’ 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 Novem ber PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall op erating conditions for the 17th straight month.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z 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

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

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

ACCESS SOLAR CAPACITY UP BY 91% TO 596 MW IN Q2

OPEN

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 8 paise to close at 81.22 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday on broad dollar weak ness 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.

Published in collabora tion with NITI Aayog, the World Economic Forum (WEF) paper said the lastmile and urban delivery fleets are leading the adop tion of electric two-and three-wheelers in India and are likely the first seg ments to transition com pletely to electric.

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

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

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

HYUNDAI, TaMo POST DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH IN NOV

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 In dia’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.

New Delhi (PTI): Data centres have received in vestments 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 Cen tre: Scaling up in Green age’, the consultant pro jected 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 dig itisation, increased cloud adoption, etc, over the last

AGRI SEC HELPED BUILD THE MOMENTUM

New Delhi: Car makers have logged the best-ever November sales as de mand for personal trans port 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 passen ger vehicle industry. —PTI

two years. At the same time, data centre opera tors are enthused by the incentives such as subsi dised 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 sub marine cable connectivity.

Delhi-NCR has about 17% of the total.

Petrol, diesel sales see double-digit growth

New Delhi: Petrol and die sel sales in India saw a dou ble-digit year-on-year growth in November as in creased demand from the agriculture sector helped build on the momentum generated by the festive sea son, 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 de mand 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 No vember 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 com pared with 6.25 million tonnes of sales in October 2022. Petrol and diesel sales were highest since June.

Sources said diesel de mand 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 de mand push in October.

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

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

OTHER STORIES

round of job creation and restocking initiatives.

Buying levels expanded at a marked and accelerat ed 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 Cor poration (ONGC) has been reduced to `4,900 per tonne from the existing ` 10,200 per tonne, as per a government notification issued on Thursday.

tries has emerged as the most valuable listed company followed by TCS and HDFC Bank, according to a list released on Thursday. In the ‘2022 Bur gundy Private Hurun India 500 Top 10’ list, companies, on an average, were worth a total of `226 lakh crore. Reliance Industries is valued at `17.25 lakh crore, nearly 6 lakh crore more than TCS which is valued at `11.68 lakh crore.

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%.

MARUTI,

First India Bureu

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

‘Maha ahead of other states in ease of doing biz’

Industry secretary cites report by UK India Business Council that says state is No 1 in terms of operating environment

Mumbai (PTI): Maha rashtra has emerged as the leader in ease of doing business evaluation across all states in India, a top bureaucrat in the state government said on Thursday.

Dr Harshadeep Kam ble, Principal Secre tary, Industries, said a report published by UK India Business Council makes it clear that Ma harashtra is number one compared to other

states and Union Terri tories in India in terms of doing business.

The report, Doing Business in India: The UK Perspective (2022 Edition)' is the UK In dia Business Council's eighth annual report in which views and expe riences of UK business es and higher educa tion institutions on In dia's business environ ment are showcased, Kamble told PTI.

The report states that

Maharashtra was the highest rated state in terms of the operating

environment, followed by Gujarat, Chandi garh, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, he said.

THE

REPORT Doing Business in In dia: The UK Perspec tive (2022 Edition) is the UK India Business Council’s eighth an nual report in which views and experienc es of UK businesses and higher education institutions on India’s business environ ment are showcased, Kamble said. It states that Maharashtra was the highest rated state in terms of the operating environ ment, followed by Gujarat, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Border dispute: Raut’s hearing postponed to Feb 07

First India Bureau

Mumbai: MP Sanjay Raut, leader of the Thackeray faction, will have to appear in the Belgaum court on February 07, 2023.

Earlier, Raut was scheduled to appear be fore the court on Thurs day, however, he could not do so and hence he informed the court through his lawyers cit ing personal reasons.

After that, the court fixed the date to be in February.

Notably, Raut has been accused of making in flammatory statements in his speech on the bor der issue in Belgaum on March 30, 2018. For that, Raut was summoned to appear in the Belgaum court on Thursday.

Speaking on the issue on Wednesday, Raut had said that he would not at tend the hearing and in

Sadhvi Pragya, Sameer Kulkarni withdraw discharge plea from HC

Mumbai: BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Sameer Kulkarni, both ac cused in the Male gaon 2008 blast case, have with drawn their dis charge applications that were pending before the Bombay High Court.

Another accused, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, with drew one of his peti tions alleging defec tive sanction to pros ecute him under pro visions of Unlawful Activities (Preven tion) Act (UAPA).

Purohit’s plea for dis charge was heard by HC last week and is closed for orders.

Advocate Prashant Maggu, appearing for Sadhvi and Kulkarni in person, reasoned that since the charges were already framed against the accused and 289 witnesses had already been pro duced before the trial court, it would not be right to press for dis

Third accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit, too, has withdrawn one more petition

charge from the case at this juncture and so they decided to withdraw their plea.

Sadhvi, Kulkarni and Purohit filed pe titions for discharge in the High Court in 2018 after it was re jected by the special NIA court in 2017. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the petitions did not come up for hearing until now. Purohit, on the other hand, has already argued his discharge plea and the order is re served in the case.

On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motor cycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a communally sensi tive town in Nashik district.

UNITED IN DISSENT

Raut has been taking an aggressive stance on the issue for which he was summoned

form the court. Follow ing which, Raut's lawyer went to the court and got the hearing postponed to a future date.

Currently, the politi cal atmosphere is heated over the Belgaum-Maha

rashtra border dispute. Karnataka Chief Minis ter Basavaraj Bommai has laid claim over 40 villages in Maharashtra, because of which, the political parties are at each other's jugular with some leaders making in flammatory speeches on the matter.

In this connection, Raut, who also made such remarks, was sum moned by the Belgaum Court.

It ranks Maharash tra at number one amongst the states and UTs in India, with a score of 3.33 out of 5, followed by Gujarat, Chandigarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, he said.

The UK India Busi ness Council (UKIBC) is a membership-based, non-profit organisation founded in 2007 to fos ter trade and business relations between the United Kingdom and India and works with businesses in both countries, as well as the UK and Indian gov ernments, to promote and increase bilateral trade.

The report discusses

the challenges that UK businesses face in en tering and operating in India, their reform pri orities, and rating of various aspects of In dia's business environ ment, he said.

“It was determined that Maharashtra out ranks every state and UT in terms of provid ing a conducive busi ness environment to the investors,” he said.

The survey com prised a variety of com panies by size and by sector, varying from those in advanced engi neering and manufac turing, to digital and data services, profes sional services, health care and life sciences.

How is plea against Guv’s remarks PIL?

First India Bureau Mumbai: A Bombay High Court division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja on Thursday asked a social worker how his plea against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshy ari’s recent remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and social re former Savitiribai Phule could be consid ered public interest litigation.

The court also asked the petitioner how it could pass orders re straining the governor from speaking.

The PIL, filed by one Deepak Mavla through his advocate Nitin Sat pute, sought impeach ment proceedings to be initiated against Koshy ari for his alleged defam atory and mocking state ments.

Koshyari recently re ferred to Shivaji as “an icon of olden times” and allegedly mocked 19th century reformers Savit ribai and Jyotirao Phule for “getting married at a young age”.

The plea also sought a

SUBTLE

Mumbai: Former Chief Minister of Ma harashtra Uddhav Thackeray on Thurs day hinted that if voted to power, a woman can also be come the chief minis ter of the state.

The Shiv Sena - Ud dhav Balasaheb Thack eray chief blew the bugle of Maharashtra’s political battle while addressing party work ers during a function organized in Mumbai to mark the 228th birth anniversary of

Lahuji Vastad.

“Our party symbol is a torch, which burns injustice. We will use this torch with equal force to dispel the dark ness,” Thackeray said.

He further said, “Let us all protect Maha rashtra together. If Shiv Shakti, Bhim Shakti and Lahu Shakti come together, then we can create a great pow er in the country.”

“We want to bring power in the state. We will have our own person as the Chief Minister, be it male or female leader,” Thack

eray added. Political experts be lieve Thackeray made

the statement after care ful consideration, and that if necessary, a wom

The court also asked the petitioner how it could pass orders restraining the governor from speaking

direction from HC to Ko shyari to not make any such comments in future that would lower the dig nity of the governor’s office.

Satpute on Thursday mentioned the PIL be fore the bench seeking urgent hearing.

“How is this a public interest litigation? And can we restrain?” Chief Justice Datta asked.

The court said it would peruse the peti tion and then decide when to post the matter for hearing.

and appointed as a chief minister.

However, speculation has begun as to whether this woman leader will be from the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) or the Congress. Female lead ers of Shiv Sena such as Neelam Gorhe, Kishori Pednekar, Manisha Kay ande and Priyanka Chaturvedi have been the frontrunners of the Shiv Sena camp.

Rashmi Thackeray is also a popular face while newbie Sushma And hare has established herself as the firebrand leader of Shiv Sena

an might be brought to the forefront to balance the political equation

Considering the Ma havikas Aghadi (MVA), MP Supriya Sule from NCP is also considered as a potential leader of the state.

First India Bureau

Farmers stage a 'Rasta Roko' protest over Siddheshwar Sugar Factory issue, in Solapur on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

and

Shakti come together, then we can create a great power in the country

Our party symbol is a torch, which burns injustice. We will use this torch with equal force to dispel the darkness. We want to bring power in the state. We will have our own person as the chief minister, be it male or female leader.

—Uddhav Thackeray, former chief minister of Maharashtra

First India Bureau

MALEGAON BLAST CASE

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

Khushi Vijay has been walking catwalks for a few years now, one of those rare models who has set a huge bench mark 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 challeng es and achievements, the beau ty exclaimed, “I faced several rejections initially but that also made me more strong and more experienced. I kept striv ing hard to ful fil dreams.

Watched several YouTube tuto rials and groomed myself and one day, I bagged my first beau ty 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 indus try.” She further added, “I also won Miss Photogenic Award. Not only this, I was also select ed 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 sonally and professionally, I

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 OF

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

Acting as spaces for quiet contemplation and crea tive 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 pre sent their work to a larger group of people, outside of the con fines of dedicated white-wall galler ies 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 art work, Kamal Talai has had quite a history. The space was restored and turned into a gal lery 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 be ing loud and relaxing with out being a snooze fest.

Shilpa Shara, owner, Ka mal Talai, during the launch said, “We’re also planning to host art workshops and exhibitions quite regularly. With artwork that’s pleas ing to the eyes and food that satiates cravings, we look for ward to a soul rejuvenating time with a delightful spot to spend an after noon. “ She further added, “The spot is also a meeting point for many art ists 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 TA LAI (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 piec es 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

cafe boasts of being a para dise 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, espe cially 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 peo ple 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. Vari ous who’s who of the Pink City graced the evening. Mouth watering delica cies 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 Pri yanka always leave their fans swoon ing 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 anniver sary on Thursday .

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

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

Vicky walks in ALL GLORY

ver since Sam Ba hadur was an nounced fans have been waiting with bat ed breaths for the re lease 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 Screwva la, the film will release in theatres on December 1, 2023.

RAY OF Sunshine

Sonam Kapoor is currently enjoying a new phase of her life. In August this year, Sonam and her hus band Anand Ahuja wel comed 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 sun shine in a yellow Anarka li outfit. The actress sure ly looks beautiful and her post-pregnancy glow is adding extra charm to her look. was seen flashing

GOLD MOVIE REVIEW: ORIGINAL YET TIMID

CITY FIRST

Gold, the new outing from the two film old prodigy direc tor Alphonse Puthren has been in the talks for a long time due to a delay in the release. The film which marks Al phonse's return to direct ing after a seven-year hia tus 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, nick named Danger Joshi ( by the film's makers), an easy-going guy living with his home-bound mother, who spends her time, be tween cooking meals and feasting her son and visi tors with great food.

The mother's character is stretched out to be noth ing more than a carica ture, 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 fluid ity with his idiosyncratic inserts and transition shots.

Alphonse Puthren CAST & CREW Prithviraj Sukumaran,Nayantharai

were trying to encroach on their priced posses sion, 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 bo lero 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 ex quisite at places, with definite callbacks to his earlier successful visual stylings. However, the writing is aimless by de sign and oftentimes seems to be choked and punctu ated for his pulsating quirky sensibilities. Al phonse's acute judgement of cinematic pacing and innovative edit structure is awe-inspiring at a craft level but the plot progres sion is minimal and scath ingly escapes any sort of narrative engagement.

DIRECTOR

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra

Vicky Kaushal

Shehnaaz Gill

Sonam Kapoor

ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

The movie Maarich will serve as Tus shar Kapoor’s come back. On Friday, the trailer for Kapoor’s upcoming movie, Maarich, was un veiled. Along with Tusshar Kapoor, the movie also fea tures Naseeruddin Shah, Ra hul Dev, and actor Anita Has sanandani in significant roles. Tusshar and Seerat Ka poor spoke to First India News Exclusively about their experiences and more Sharing about Maarich Tusshar said, “ When as a viewer if people are liking the movie it feels good as that’s an unbiased review and opinion. The love that the audience has shown is reflected in the likes and love the trailer has received “ Adding to this Seerat Said, “ It indeed feels amazing to receive honest feedback on our films. People are loving the film organically and that’s a positive sign for us as a lot of energy and effort have been put through to en

MAARICH: A NERVE WRECKING THRILLER

tertain our audiences. So when a film like this comes up when you get such a posi tive response it gives us vali dation “

Tusshar on saying yes to the movie shared, “I am a very commercial person in the context of entertain ment. The film should feel engaging and entertaining at the same time. There should be excitement till the end of the film”

Seerat shared, “During the Narration I realised the characters are written very promptly, and it has multiple layers to each one, to love the characters is completely de pendent on the audience now. Even though it looks easy, the depth the characters require is quite commendable“

Tusshar who plays the cop role for the second time shared, “During Khakee I was very new to everyone and everything. I was the

junior actor on the set. But the character was very chal lenging as it’s very real and it’s out of my comfort zone.”

Seerat added, “Indeed. He has maintained the style of a cop, he’s honest and the mes sage that he puts across the heroism comes from there”

Speaking on doing a greyshade character Tus shar shared, “It all de pends on how you ap proach a character. If you take your charac ter seriously it’s always challenging as you want to make it look real. To play a serious character is what I like the most because it requires a lot of effort. I have done many comedy films and hence audiences have started to per ceive my characters the same way”

In the meantime, Tusshar Kapoor will be making his

big-screen acting comeback with Maarich after a fouryear absence. Also, this is Kapoor’s second film as a producer is Maarich, follow ing the horror comedy Laxmii, starring Akshay Ku mar, which had its world pre miere only on

Shehnaaz strikes a cute pose with Vicky

Weeks after they posed together for photos at a Diwali party and gave each other shoutouts on social media, Vicky Kaushal and Shehnaaz Gill reunited for her show, Desi Vibes With Shehnaaz Gill. On Wednesday, the actors shot for an upcoming episode of the show While the two hugged and posed together for pictures, a paparaz zi shouted, 'Punjab ki Katrina Kaif'. While Shehnaaz looked uncomfortable being compared to Kat rina, Vicky’s wife, in front of the actor, she thanked him and gave him a tight hug after he said, “Yeh India ki Shehnaaz Gill hai (she is India’s Shehnaaz Gill).” Shehnaaz told Vicky, “Thank you, thank you so much.” Comment ing on the video, a fan wrote, “Katrina Kaif alag hai (Kat

AYUSHMANN Fulfils Delhi street singer’s dream

oung Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurra na has fulfilled a bril liant street singer from Delhi, Shivam’s dream! Shivam, who en tertains people of the na tional capital with his melodious voice and brilliant guitar skills, always wanted to meet Ayushmann and sing with him! His favour ite song is Ayush mann’s Paani Da Rang from Vicky

Shivam uploaded his rendition of the blockbuster song and tagged Ayushmann. See ing Shivam’s post, the actor, who was in Delhi for the pro motions of his upcoming re lease, An Ac tion Hero, had prom ised him that he will meet

him. Ayushmann surprised Shivam to his amazement!

Not only did he meet and chat with Shivam, Ayush mann also jammed with him impromptu on Paani Da Rang and Jehda Nasha from his up coming film An Action Hero and enthralled the crowd that built steadily as they were surprised to see Ayushmann on the streets of the national capital singing live!

Ayushmann responded to Shivam’s post saying, “Shivam mera gaana gaane ke liye shukriya! Lots of love.” Ayushmann has always had an eye for budding artists across India. The talented actor al ways shares the works of such crea tors be it poets, il lustrators, musi cians, singers, dancers, etc! His film An Action Hero releases.

Vijay Deverakonda questioned by ED A

ctor Vijay Deverakonda on Wednes day was questioned by the Enforce ment Directorate (ED) in connection with the funding of his Bollywood film ‘Liger’. The questioning was reportedly done in an alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) violation, Liger was the Telugu ac tor's Hindi debut. It was made reportedly with a budget of some Rs 100 crore."By get ting popularity, there will be few troubles and side ef fects. It is an expe rience, it's life. I did my duty when I was called, I came and an swered the ques tions. They did not call me again," said De verakonda after the questioning which started at 8.30 am ended.

rina Kaif is different), Shehnaaz Gill is one and only… we love both.” Another one said, “Can't wait for this episode.”

Shehnaaz also took to Instagram to share pho tos of herself and Vicky

SRK ANNOUNCES WRAP OF DUNKI!

Actor Shah Rukh Khan wrapped up filming for his upcoming film Dunki in Saudi Arabia. Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, he posted a video from the shoot lo cation and extended his heartfelt grati tude Shah Rukh ap peared in a black coat while also sport ing black sunglasses to match his attire. He ap peared to be in the mid dle of the Arabian de sert. He said, “There’s nothing more satisfying than completing a shoot ing schedule as is with

Dunki here in Saudi.” He further thanked di rector Rajkumar Hirani along with the entire cast and crew members in volved in the making of Dunki. He added that it was ‘lovely’ shooting Dunki and further thanked the govern ment for letting them film at the ‘spectacular locations’ of their country. React ing to the actor’s sweet gesture, a fan wrote in the comment section, “You just made my day.” “Dunki giving classic masterpiece vibe al ready,” added fan.

TURNING DREAM INTO REALITY!

How has your journey as a singer been so far?

My journey has been noth ing less than a blessing.

Working with such incred ible musicians, getting such wonderful songs to my career from the very beginning and the kind of love I’ve received from the audience has only filled me with gratitude and more love.

Tell us something about your recently launched footwear brand 'JUFT'. It all started with my love

for shoes. An instance that triggered this whole thing was - Mirchi awards red carpet, where I wore these really beautiful looking tall heels that were uncomfortable from the word go and to my bad luck I fell with my legs up side down in front of a bunch of people on a red carpet. At that moment I knew, someday I’d like to start my own footwear line, which not only looks stunning but also focuses on comfort.

Describe your dream to start your own brand.

It was a dream project I wanted to pursue for many years but Mu sic being my first love and priorityI could never figure out a time for this

dream. During a lock down when we were all home, with no re cordings, no gigs, and no travels, I got the time and space to finally work on JUFT. And hence I grabbed the opportunity to learn about footwear before I indulged in this passion project and enrolled myself on courses special ised in footwear design and started my background work on it. Took me literally a year and a half to turn this dream into reality.

You had recently involved your friends from the Music fraterni ty like Singer Shilpa Rao, Akriti Kakkar, Sukriti and Prakriti Kakkar and many more for your brand cam paign describe the experience.

Yes, as I always say - I have earned true love and genuine friends in a dec ade and a half long jour ney of mine in this indus try. Who have always been there for me and support ed me in all my endeav ours. It was incredibly sweet of them to show up for me when I told them

I’m starting this footwear label and wanted them to model for me! They all agreed in an instant and

added so many positive energies and spared their time with all their heart & might.

'Tujhe Bhula Diya, Shubharambh, Mar Jaava fame singer Shruti Pathak a went candid for her recently launched footwear brand 'JUFT' with City First!

Shehnaaz met each oth er at producer Ramesh Taurani’s Diwali party in Mumbai. After meet ing Vicky, Shehnaaz had taken to Instagram and dropped pictures of the two posing together.

Ayushmann Khurrana

Vijay Deverakonda

Shruti Pathak

Vicky Kaushal and Shehnaaz Gil

Tusshar Kapoor

Shah Rukh Khan