First India-Mumbai Edition-23rd October 2022

READ Crucial

ISRO TO LAUNCH 36 SATELLITES IN MAIDEN COMMERCIAL FLIGHT

YE DIWALI, ROZGAR WALI!

Chennai: The ISRO is all set to make its maiden commercial launch of 36 broadband communication satellites on-board the space agency’s heaviest rocket LVM3-M2, the countdown for which began early on Saturday at Sriharikota spaceport in AP.

T20 WC: CONFIDENT IND HOPING TO TURN TABLES ON PAK TODAY Melbourne: Unblemished record of success against

at marquee ICC events a thing of the

Pakistan side in a

Super 12 clash of the

in Melbourne on Sunday.

AMRAPALI GROUP’S EX-CMD AND EX-DIR’S INTERIM BAIL EXTENDED

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches Rozgar Mela, a recruitment drive to provide jobs to 75,000 people in 38 Ministries/Departments of the GoI

PM Modi greeted HM Amit Shah on his 58th birthday on Saturday. “As India’s HM he is making numerous efforts for our nation’s progress. He is also doing commendable work in reforming the important cooperatives sector,” Modi said.

COURT EXTENDS JACQUELINE’S INTERIM BAIL TILL NOV 10

DECKED-UP AYODHYA!

New Delhi: The Supreme Court bench of CJI UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi on Saturday extended the interim bail granted to former CMD of Amrapali Group of Companies Anil Kumar Sharma & real estate firm’s ex-director Shiva Priya on medical grounds.

HAD SENT MAY DAY CALL BEFORE CRASHING’

New Delhi: Military officials reported on Saturday that the Army’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) pilots had made a “mayday” call to air traffic control just before the helicopter crashed near Tuting in AP, indicating a mechanical issue with the aircraft.

New Delhi: Prime Min ister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched Rozgar Mela, the re cruitment drive for 10 lakh personnel by the Union government. The Centre will hand over appointment letters to more than 75,000 people as part of the drive.

The government is working towards softening the blow of the economic problems faced by several countries across the world in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Launching the drive via video conferencing, PM Modi said, "India is

today fifth largest econ omy in the world. In the last eight years, we've jumped to fifth position from tenth. It's true that many big economies of the world are strug gling with inflation, un employment...side ef fects of biggest crisis in 100 years can't just go away in 100 days."

Full Report on P5

Reliance Jio 5G-powered wifi goes live in India now

First India Bureau

Rajsamand: To enable 5G-for-all, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) on Saturday announced that it is introducing JioTrue5G-powered WiFi services in high foot fall areas. As a ShubhAarambh, along with JioTrue5G services, Jio has started JioTrue5Gpowered Wi-Fi services in Shrinath ji temple, Nathdwara, in Ra jasthan. While Jio users will get this service without any charge.

Akash Ambani and his wife Shloka Ambani with Vishal Bawaji at the launch of Jio 5G services, in Nathdwara on Saturday. Service to humanity is one of the most endearing facets of Indian culture, the roots of which can be found in our socio-religious traditions.In addition, we welcome Chennai as our latest city to be added to Jio True5G Welcome Offer.

Woman gang-raped in Chaibasa, SIT formed

Chaibasa (Jharkhand):

A 26-year-old woman, who works for a Bengal uru-based IT company, was allegedly gangraped on Thurs day evening at a secluded place in Chaibasa area of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, police said. According to the police, the inci dent took place when a

STATE GOVT TO PROVIDE 75K JOBS TO MAHA YOUTH IN A YEAR, DY CM FADNAVIS SAYS

Advertisement for 18,000 police department vacancies will be published in the next 5-7 days

Nagpur: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fad navis on Saturday said the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led gov ernment plans to pro vide 75,000 government jobs to youth in the state in the next one year.

Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Fad

navis praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of pro viding 10 lakh jobs to youth.

The prime minister had asked various gov ernment departments and ministries in June to recruit 10 lakh people on a “mission mode” in the next year and a half.

Modi on Saturday dis

tributed 75,000 appoint ment letters among gov ernment job aspirants and said the Centre is

also working on multi ple fronts to create max imum job opportunities for youngsters.

“Along with this ini tiative started by the prime minister, our gov ernment in Maharash tra under the leadership of CM Shinde has de cided to give govern ment jobs to 75,000 youth in the state in the next one year,” Fadnavis said.

Of the 75,000 jobs, 18,000 vacancies will be in the police department and an advertisement for the same will be pub lished in the next five to seven days, he said.

group of men spotted her with a male friend.

A group of eight-ten men stopped the couple, beat boyfriend and allegedly raped woman after tak ing her to seclud ed spot. Accused beat up woman’s friend, raped her, took away phone, belong ings. SIT formed to nab the accused, police said.

'Minor tried as adult can't be denied bail'

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that if a child, who is in conflict with the law, and is being tried as an adult then there are no grounds to deny him/ her bail.The court made this observation while granting bail to a boy who is 17 years and 11 months old and is accused of committing a murder in 2020. P2

Raj: 250 Dalit families convert to Buddhism

Hanspal Yadav

Baran: Hurt by being beaten up by the people of the upper caste com munity, 250 Dalit fami lies, converted to Bud dhism in Baran district of Rajasthan. These people immersed the idols and pictures of gods and goddesses from their homes in the Baithli river. They also expressed their anger against the state gov ernment and alleged that two youths of the

Dalit community were assaulted by the upper castes for performing aarti of Goddess Durga a fortnight ago. The so ciety pleaded for justice from President to the district administration, but no action was taken against the accused. P5

First India Bureau

Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis

—Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited

PM MODI SENDS BIRTHDAY WISHES TO HM AMIT SHAH

THAKUR PRESENTS JOB APPT LETTERS

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at tended the Rozgar Mela event in Chandigarh on Saturday. The Union Min ister also handed over the appointment letters to the appointees at the event.

Record sanction of Rs 7,565 crore for Raj in this year’s budget, says Minister Vaishnaw.

Moni Sharma

PM Modi launches Rozgar Mela-recruitment drive for 10L personnel, via VC, from Delhi on Saturday.

&

RISHI SUNAK, BORIS JOHNSON CAMPS CLAIM HITTING 100 MPs

‘ROUTE

PRASAR

London:

Sunak supporters claimed

required

New Delhi: Delhi court has extended actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s interim bail till November 10 in `200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Court directed ED to provide a chargesheet & other relevant documents to all parties.

Ayodhya district is set to create another Guinness World Record by lighting around 18 lakh earthen lamps as part of Deepotsav, the Diwali celebrations that will include fireworks, a laser show and the staging of Ramlilas, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

picture we see illuminated Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of Saryu river ahead of traditional ‘Deepotsav’ celebrations, in Ayodhya on Saturday.

Minor being tried as adult cannot be denied bail: HC

Court observed that a juvenile is given protection under section 12 of the JJ Act and contains provisions providing bail to a minor even when one is being tried as an adult

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court has ruled that if a child, who is in conflict with the law, and is being tried as an adult then there is no reason to deny him/her bail.

The court made this observation while granting bail to a boy who is 17 years and 11 months old and is ac cused of committing a murder in 2020.

According to Justice Bharti Dangre, “Merely because he is directed to be tried as an adult, he cannot be denied the benefit of section 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act) which pro vides for bail to a child or juvenile in conflict with the law.”

The provision says such juveniles may be released even without sureties and may even be placed under the supervision of a probation officer or

under the care of any fit person.

Section 15 of the JJ Act permits the JJB to send a minor aged be tween 16 and 18 to face trial as an adult if the crime is of a heinous nature. This after con ducting a preliminary assessment of the child’s mental and

physical capacity to commit such an offence and ability to under stand its consequences.

Justice Dangre said “The JJ Act is a benefi cial legislation aimed at making available its benefit to neglected or delinquent juve niles’’ adding that sec tion 12 must be con

strued keeping the so cio-beneficial aim of the law in mind.

“The JJ Act focuses on the principles of presumption of inno cence, best interest and repatriation and resto ration by the virtue of which the applicant has a right to be reunited with his family at the

THE CASE

Police had said that the crime of the boy was of a very heinous nature as he along with his friend had attacked the victim with broken glasses on March 12, 2020. The boy was arrested the very next day and sent to an observa tion home for boys in Dongri. He had informed the court that he was 17 years, 11 months and six days old at the time of the crime. While the court observed that he was actually 17 years, 11 months and 24 days old and hence could not claim protection under the JJ Act.

earliest” Justice Dan gre observed. The law says such repatriation be barred only if it is not in his best interest.

‘4 Uddhav camp MLAs want to switch sides’

First India Bureau

Pune: Four MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena were in touch with him to join the group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Union Min ister Narayan Rane said on Saturday, without naming any names.

He was in the city as part of the Union government’s “Rozgar Mela”, un der which Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over appointment letters to government job aspirants electroni cally in Delhi.

“From 56 MLAs, there are hardly six to seven left (in the Uddhav Thackeray faction). Those too are on the way out. Four MLAs are in touch with me but I won’t divulge their names,” Rane said.

Mocking Thacker ay, Rane said the ex-CM’s politics is confined to Ma

Protest held against NCB DG for ‘insulting’ Ambedkar, Wankhede

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A group of people, mostly from the Scheduled Caste communities, protest ed against Narcotics Control Bureau Depu ty Director General Gyaneshwar Singh on Saturday in Andheri, accusing him of in sulting social reform er Babasaheb Amb dekar and Indian Rev enue Service official Sameer Wankhede.

The agitation was organized near Bhavan’s College. Pro testers included women who shouted slogans against Singh and sought his suspension from service.

Wadar Samaj Presi dent Babannu Ramu Kushalkar said their agitation would contin ue till action is taken against Singh for “in

sulting Babasaheb Ambedkar and Wankhede”.

Earlier this week, Wankhede filed a com plaint with the National Commission of Sched uled Castes (NCSC) against Singh accusing him of harassment, fol lowing which the NCSC launched an investiga tion. Wankhede claimed that Singh had “humili ated and mocked Dr Ba basaheb Ambedkar”, adding that “I have faced continuous har assment and explosion

REJUVENATION

Wadar Samaj President Babannu Ramu Kushalkar said the agitation would continue till action is taken against Gyaneshwar Singh

for a year”.

The NCB had insti tuted a vigilance probe under Singh after sev eral lapses were found in the drugs-on-cruise case connected to a raid on a Goa-bound ship in October last year, in which film superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was among those arrested before being given a clean chit.

Wankhede was the zonal director of the NCB at the time and had helmed the raid, which hit national headlines.

From 56 MLAs, there are hardly six to seven left (in the Uddhav Thackeray faction). Those too are on the way out. Four MLAs are in touch with me but I won’t divulge their names.

—Narayan Rane, Union Minister

toshree (the Thacker ays’ private residence in Mumbai’s Bandra and a power centre of the party along with Sena Bhavan), adding “there is no faction of the Sena left”.

On the “Rozgar Mela”, Rane hailed PM Modi for asking various government

departments and ministries in June to recruit 10 lakh peo ple on a “mission mode” in the next year and a half.

Rane said he will not speak on those spotting politics in this mega-recruit ment drive as it is “the festive season of Diwali”.

CRUCIAL READ

GANGSTER, SON HELD FOR EXTORTING MONEY FROM HOSPITALIZED BIZMAN

Mumbai: A history-sheeter (50) and his son (24) were arrested by Mumbai Crime Branch for allegedly attempting to extort a businessman who was admitted in a hospital in Bandra, an official said on Saturday. The gangster, who was out on parole, and his son had taken two installments of Rs25,000 each from the businessman, and had issued a fresh demand. Bandra police registered an extortion case, criminal extortion and other offences, and later transferred to the Anti Extortion Cell of the Crime Branch, which arrested the duo.

Thane: The body of an unidentified man in his mid-forties was found in Kalwa creek in Thane district on Saturday, a civic official said. Thane Municipal Corporation regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant said the body was found at 3.30 pm near the site of a new bridge being built over the water body. Kalwa police station has registered a case and are investigating further, another official said.

Chandrapur: A 70-year-old farmer was killed in a tiger attack in Brahmapuri tehsil of Chandrapur district on Saturday, a forest department official said. Sadashiv Undirwade of Kudesaoli village was at his farm when a tiger attacked and killed him, Chandrapur Territorial Circle official said. “The kin of the deceased has been given initial compensation. Villagers have sought that the big cat be captured by setting up cages in the vicinity,” he said. On October 20, a 40-year-old woman was mauled by a tiger near Halda village in Bramhapuri tehsil.

103 RIVERS TO GET A NEW LEASE OF LIFE IN MAHA

The ‘Chala Januya Nadila’ (Know Our Rivers) programme will include basins of the Krishna, Godavari, Tapi, Narmada and 27 west-flowing rivers

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Minis try of Tourism and Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Maharash tra have launched a programme in con junction with a Nadi Samvad Yatra to re vive rivers of the state and spread public awareness about them among masses.

The ‘Chala Januya Nadila’ (Know Our Riv ers) programme will in clude 103 rivers in Ma

harashtra that are part of the river basins of the Krishna, Godavari, Tapi, and Narmada, as well as 27 west-flowing rivers. It aims at sensi tizing communities about river banks and biodiversity, creating a report on the catchment areas of each river and ways to revive the catch ment area.

Further, the pro gramme aims to map the condition of these rivers from their source till the end, study cul

tural interactions of communities with the rivers around them, take time-bound meas

croachments and educate the communi ties interacting with the rivers.

The decision was tak en by the government on September 30 and a government resolution detailing the objectives and roadmap of the pro ject was issued on Octo ber 14.

A state-level commit tee has been formed for the Chala Januya Nadi la project, which will be presided over by the Chief Secretary of Ma harashtra and comprise more than 19 other gov ernment representa tives — all secretaries of various other depart ments in the state.

non-governmental rep resentatives, who will be experts in their various fields. Committees have also been set up in each district corresponding to the rivers selected for the programme. Each of these committees will be headed by the Collec tor of the district, will have 25 other govern ment representatives from the local munici pal corporation, educa tion department official, health department offi cial and district infor mation officer.

WELL-PLANNED STRATEGY

ures to mitigate river pollution, map en

It will also have 10

As a river may flow through two or more districts, the state-level committee will oversee such works where necessary.

The state and district-level com mittees have been given a broad 12-point outline of the programme, which includes launching the Nadi Samvad Abhiyan, create the means to spread water literacy in communities as well as information about water health and linked aspects of human health, and create a format of work to be done to create free-flowing uninterrupted rivers.

The decision was taken by the government on September 30 and a government resolution detailing the objectives and roadmap of the project was issued on October 14.

—FILE PHOTO

70-YEAR-OLD FARMER KILLED BY TIGER IN CHANDRAPUR; SECOND DEATH IN 3 DAYS

DIWALI GIFT

Former Minister Aaditya Thackeray inaugurated a children’s park for specially-abled kids at Joggers Park in Mumbai on Saturday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

BODY OF UNIDENTIFIED MAN FOUND IN THANE CREEK; INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY

Uddhav Thackeray

Last-minute shoppers throng markets as festivities begin

Mumbai is celebrating Diwali without any restrictions after 2-year lull due to nCoV

First India Bureau

Mumbai: With the state gearing up to celebrate Diwali without COVID-19 re strictions for the first time since 2019, Mum bai’s markets are awash in shoppers jostling to catch up last-minute purchas es of clothes, sweets, lights, firecrackers, flowers and gifts ahead of the festival.

Govatsa Dwadashi or Vasu Baras, which was celebrated on Friday, marked the beginning of Diwali. Laxmi Pujan, the main day of the fes tival of lights, will be celebrated on October 24, and Bhai Dooj, called Bhaubeej in Marathi, on October 26.

Ahead of Laxmi Pu jan, the city is bustling with last-minute shop

pers, as popular shop ping areas such as Da dar, Crawford Market, Bandra and Masjid Bunder and other local markets are witnessing huge crowds. Day 2 of the five-day festival, Dhanteras,

WR hikes platform ticket costs to `50

Mumbai (PTI): The Western Railway on Saturday said the rate of platform tickets on major stations in the Mumbai division has been increased from Rs10 to Rs50 until Oc tober 31 to curb over crowding during the festive season.

As per an official re lease, the platform tick et rate has been in creased at Mumbai Cen tral, Dadar, Borivali, Bandra Terminus, Vapi, Valsad, Udhna and Su rat stations in the Mum bai division.

The decision was tak

en in view of the festive season rush at railway stations and to regulate the number of passen gers in railway premis es, including platforms and foot overbridges, it stated.

On Friday, the Central Railway had announced a hike in the platform ticket rate at selected railway stations such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma haraj Terminus, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Termi nus, Thane, Kalyan and Panvel stations from Rs 10 to Rs 50 from October 22 to 31, to prevent over crowding.

which is being celebrat ed on Saturday and Sun day, is considered an auspicious day to pur chase gold.

Around Rs40,000 crore of business is ex pected to be generated on this Dhanteras,

which is spread over the weekend, on the back of positive con sumer sentiment, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said on Saturday.

Generally, Diwali is celebrated over five

DUE PRECAUTIONS

Palghar (PTI): A fire broke out at a shop sell ing firecrackers in Nala Sopara of Palghar dis trict on Saturday morn ing. While the shop was completely gutted, no casualties were report ed, an official from the local fire brigade said, adding that it was doused in about an hour. The entire stock of firecrackers in the shop went up in flames and loud sounds of the crackers bursting were heard in the locality. The cause for the blaze is yet to be ascertained, officals said.

Maha police seek help from TN cops to solve Jalna temple theft

First India Bureau

Jalna: The cops in Jal na will take the help of Tamil Nadu police to solve the theft of idols from a Ram tem ple in Jamb Samarth village in Ghansawan gi tehsil on August 22, District Superinten dent of Police Dr Ak shay Shinde said on Saturday.

At least 10 idols were

stolen from the temple in the village, which is the birthplace of the re nowned saint Ramdas Samarth.

According to those familiar with the issue, the Tamil Nadu police’s

idol wing has been in strumental in pursuing smugglers of antiqui ties and returning sto len idols. The police have scanned all phone calls made from mobile phones during the course of investigation, and have also searched wells and water bodies near the village, as it was suspected that the idols were thrown into water bodies.

consecutive days, but this year, as per the Hindu calendar, Laxmi Pujan and Narak Chaturdashi will be celebrated on the same day on Monday, while Diwali Padwa and Bhaubeej will be ob served on Wednesday.

DURING THE DAY!

`

40K cr business expected over two days of Dhanteras

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Positive consumer sentiment is expected to gener ate around Rs40,000 crore of business this Dhanteras, which is spread over the week end, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

This year, Dhanteras is spread over two days, with the muhurat be ginning from 2 pm on Saturday till 6 pm on Sunday. “Around Rs40,000 crores of busi ness” is expected dur ing the two-day festival, CAIT national presi dent BC Bhartia said in a statement.

There is great enthu siasm among jewellery traders across the country regarding the sale of Dhanteras on Saturday and Sunday, for which the industry has made elaborate preparations, All India Jewellers and Gold smith Federation na tional president Pankaj

387 cases, 1 death, 457 recover in Maha

Mumbai: The state on Saturday reported 387 COVID-19 cases and one death, which took Maharashtra’s tally to 81,27,259 and the toll to 1,48,379, an official of the health depart ment stated. The addi tion to the tally is low er than the 402 cases detected on Friday, he pointed out.

The lone death took place in Ulhasnagar in Thane district, which is part of Mumbai Circle,

the official added.

Mumbai Circle ac counted for 257 of the new cases, followed by 75 in Pune, 22 in Nag pur, 14 in Nashik, eight in Kolhapur, four each in Aurangabad and Akola, and three in La tur, he said.

The recovery count increased by 457 in the last 24 hours to touch 79,79,019, leaving the state with an active case

load of 2,496, the official informed.Mumbai has 986 active cases, followed by 472 in Thane and 426 in Pune districts.

State health depart ment data showed the recovery rate was 98.14% and the fatality rate stood at 1.82%.

So far, 8,51,62,544 COV ID-19 tests have been conducted in Maharash tra, including 14,758 in the last 24 hours.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus are decorated in lights with the civic body deciding to illuminate public places, roads, traffic islands and some other sites in Mumbai for a week as part of its Diwali festivities.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

A huge crowd of shoppers throng at Dadar market for shopping ahead of Diwali, in Mumbai.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Arora added.There is also a demand for arti ficial jewellery that is also visible in the mar kets this year, while

gold, silver coins, notes and idols are also likely to be bought in large quantities on Dhan teras, he added.

First India Bureau

COVID-19

So far, 8,51,62,544 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Maharashtra, including 14,758 in the last 24 hours. —FILE PHOTO

While there is a demand for artificial jewellery, gold and silver continue to rule the roost among buyers.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE & ANI

Firecracker shop gutted, no casualties

Women put earthen lamps in a formation that reads “Tejyomay Deepavali 2022” ahead of the Diwali festival, in Nagpur. —PHOTO BY ANI

Congress party activists and residents of Sion Koliwada protest over the unavailability of the Rs100 Diwali food kit, which the state promised earlier this month, in Mumbai on Saturday.

Railway workers hang lanterns to decorate train coaches ahead of Diwali, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, in Mumbai on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI

—PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

VK KRISHNA MENON: NEHRU’S COMRADE AND CONFIDANT

K NATWAR SINGH

Amelancholy anniversary passed unremembered three days ago. China’s invasion of India sixty years ago. The re sponsibility for the debacle rests with Jawaharlal Nehru, his erratic and incompetent Defence Minister, VK Krishna Menon and Brigadier BM Kaul, a favourite of Nehru and Menon. To appoint Menon Defence Minister was to give precedence to friendship over national interest.

S Gopal in volume three of his biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, writes, “On one occa sion, for example in the sum mer of 1961, addressing a large number of junior offic ers, Menon vilified the Chiefs of Staff, “Seventy five per cent of our difficulties come from Chiefs of Staff. I am not saying that they have not made up their minds, be cause they haven’t got minds to make up.”

General Thimayya, the brilliant Chief of the Army Staff, offered to resign be cause Menon constantly ig nored his advice. Gopal, a genuine admirer of Nehru had disdain for Menon. In his words, “as Menon became the Chief figure in the de monology of Indian politics and many at home and abroad saw him as Nehru’s Chief adviser in such mat ters as Goa, the Prime Minis ter’s defence of him became correspondingly more vigor ous and unqualified. “

I am more worried about the Naga trouble from this point of view than about anything the Chinese may do.”

The image of UK has taken an unprecedented beating. How have the mighty fallen.

It really is absurd for Britain to remain a permanent member of the U.N Security Council. At least Britain should give up using the veto. Two days ago a billionaire Indian who has a vast business establishment in Ukraine came to see me. I met him after many years ago. His house is next to that of the President of Ukraine. He told me that the Ukraine would end by December.

I sincerely hope so.

Neither Jawaharlal Nehru nor VK Krishna Menon had the fuggiest idea of how to conduct a war. Krishna Menon had convinced Nehru that the real enemy was Paki stan and not China. Jawaha rlal Nehru at one stage ap pointed Kailash Nath Katju (1887-1968) as Defence Minis ter. He, was the despair of the Defence Ministry. The Prime Minister as late as 1957 was ‘insufficiently alert to possi ble Chinese encroachment on a major scale (Gopal), I quote an incredible pro nouncement on China by Nehru on 26 July 1956. “I am not at all sure of what China may do in ten or twenty years hence. But to protect ourselves against developments, we have to do other things and not to put up a useless Maginot Line. In particular we have to have peace, quiet and content ment on our side of the border.

YET ANOTHER ORDER FOR HARMONY’S SAKE

After the Chinese with drawl, Nehru remarked, “I do not know how I will explain to Parliament why we have been found lacking in equip ment. It is not much good shifting about blame. The fact remains that we have ap proached these things in a somewhat amateurish way.”

The Non-Aligned coun tries remained neutral. The USA under Kennedy prompt ly came to Nehru’s aid. As did UK and France. Winston Churchill was Prime Minis ter of the United Kingdom in 1952 when I was in my first year at Cambridge.

LIZZ TRUSS BECOMES

SHORTEST-SERVING PM

Liz Truss, sat in Churchill’s chair for forty four chaotic days. No other served a short er term. Even the forty four days were like “revolving chaos”. Truss lost her Secre taries of State for Foreign

Neither Jawaharlal Nehru nor VK Krishna Menon had the fuggiest idea of how to conduct a war. Krishna Menon had convinced Nehru that the real enemy was Pakistan and not China.

Jawaharlal Nehru at one stage appointed Kailash Nath Katju (1887-1968) as Defence Minister

and Home Affairs in quick succession. The brutal fact is that the United Kingdom has no government because it has no Prime Minister.

Candidates to succeed her are the Indian origin Rishi Sunak, who was defeated by Liz Truss seven weeks ago.

The next is Penny Mordaunt and the lamentable, discred ited Boris Johnson who lied in the House of Commons.

The Labour Party is seeking a general election. The Con servative will certainly not agree. The party has a large majority in the House of Commons. In an election they will be wiped out. The UK will have a Prime Minister by 28th October. The front run ners appears to be Rishi Su nak. If Barak Obama can be President of the United States why can’t a brown man head a government in the UK.

The image of UK has taken an unprecedented beating. How have the mighty fallen. It really is absurd for Britain to remain a permanent mem ber of the U.N Security Coun cil. At least Britain should give up using the veto. Two days ago a billionaire Indian who has a vast business es tablishment in Ukraine came to see me. I met him after many years ago. His house is next to that of the President of Ukraine. He told me that the Ukraine would end by De cember. I sincerely hope so.

TERROR EXPORTER AND FINANCIER PAKISTAN IS OFF FATF GREY LIST

In a strong-worded order Justices KM Joseph and Rishi kesh Roy of the Supreme Court or dered the governments of Ut tar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi to take suo motu action against those making hate speeches and not wait for any complaint to be lodged. Fail ure to do so will invite con tempt action, the Bench warned. The same Bench ob served last month that the gov ernment should not treat hate speeches as trivial matters.

The three states named by the court have witnessed the maximum hate speeches with their respective governments using kid gloves to deal with the offenders for fear of antag onising the majority commu

In a strong-worded order

Justices KM Joseph and Rishikesh Roy of the Supreme Court ordered the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi to take suo motu action against those making hate speeches and not wait for any complaint to be lodged

nity. Delhi, though a state, has no power over the police who will have to take action without wasting time for the approval of either the lieutenant-gover nor or Union Home Ministry.

It is doubtful if the state gov ernments will act firmly against hate speeches, an issue which was also flagged by An

tonio Guterres, the UN secre tary-general, a couple of days ago for the sake of harmony. The mindset is to promote har mony through fear and not by taking action against hatemongers whose tribe has grown at a frightening speed.

The Supreme Court has been iterating curb on hate speeches. In July this year the court held that as per its 2018 order the states and Union ter ritories must take measures against hate speeches. The order also said that FIR be lodged immediately against those disseminating hate mes sages, or inciting mob vio lence and lynching. The order expected trial courts to award maximum sentence to the con victs. The order remained un implemented.

Pakistan is winning back its credibility in the international community. A defi nite sign of that is its being taken off the “grey list” of Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It no longer has to fear losing creditors and investors. Global banks also will not hesi tate in doing business with Pa kistan. All this will lead to im proved economic activity, con sumption and investment cli mate in India’s neighbouring country which was put on the grey list for terror financing and money laundering. Pakistan’s terror-related activities caused the maximum damage to India and there is no guarantee that it won’t go back to its old ways once it starts getting funds its monitoring slackens. India is aware of Islamabad’s doubtful credentials and wants the world to “remain clear that Pakistan must continue to take credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustained action against terrorism and terror financing emanating from territories un der its control”. To that end Pa kistan must Hafiz Talha Saeed and Shahid Mahmood of LeT as global terrorists.

I will not look at another’s bowl intent on finding fault: a training to be observed.

To empower the country with the energy and potential of youth power, PM @ narendramodi Ji launched #RozgarMela to provide 10 lakh government jobs. In the first phase, 75,000 youths selected in the program got an opportunity to join Kanpur in the episode organized for giving appointment letters.

Hada

by

Printed at Dangat Media Pvt

No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701. Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417.

Jagdeesh

Hada

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Buddha

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

Paying tribute to the immortal revolutionary, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, who sacrificed his life for the freedom of India, on his birth anniversary. A grateful nation can never forget his sacrifice in the freedom struggle.

Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani

TOP

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

To

Whatsapp:

Wishes pour in on Home Minister Amit Shah’s 58th birday

petently discharges every responsibility assigned to him.

New Delhi (PTI):

Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several leaders greeted Home Minis ter Amit Shah on his 58th birthday on Sat urday. PM Modi said he is making numer ous efforts for the country’s progress.

“As India’s Home Minister he is making numerous efforts for our nation’s progress. He is also doing com

mendable work in re forming the important cooperatives sector. May he lead a long and healthy life in service of our nation,” Modi said in a tweet.

Besides, several oth er Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders also greeted the for mer party president on his birthday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Shah has been work ing in a dedicated manner to strengthen India’s internal secu rity and that he com

Union ministers Ni tin Gadkari and Bhu pender Yadav were also among those who wished the home min ister on his birthday.

A close associate of Modi for more than three decades, Shah is credited with launch ing the saffron party’s massive expansion drive after he became its president in 2014 and is considered a key strategist behind its un precedented electoral success since then.

‘GRIHA PRAVESHAM’

of over 4.5 L beneficiaries of PMAY-G in Madhya Pradesh

PMAY has become major medium for ushering in socioeconomic change, says PM Modi

Satna (PTI): The Prad han Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) has become a “major medium for bringing in socio-eco nomic change” in the country, PM Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

He was speaking after conducting, virtually, the ‘griha pravesh’ cer emony of 4.51 lakh ben eficiaries of the scheme in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district by press ing a remote button.

Earlier governments did not do anything for the poor except coining the slogan of poverty

DHAMI GIFTS PM A TRADITIONAL CAP CARVED WITH BRAHMA KAMAL

Dehradun (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for the national capital from Jolly Grant airport in Uttarakhand after his two-day long visit to the state. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami gifted PM Modi famous sweets from Almora and a cap with Brahma kamal flower embossed on it. During his visit to the state, PM Modi pitched for the Vocal for Local initiative.

removal and delayed the implementation of all such schemes, he said. These govts had no

PoK refugees ask Pak to return occupied land

Jammu (ANI): The ref ugees of Pakistan-occu pied Kashmir (PoK) set tled in Jammu observed Black Day on Saturday and demanded to return the illegally occupied ar eas of Kashmir.

On October 22, 1947, Kabali tribals who were backed by the Pakistan Army had attacked Jam mu and Kashmir and killed thousands of peo ple. Their attack on the citizens in the valley in 1947 forced many to leave their homes and take ref uge at other safer places.

Since then, the PoK refugees who are settled in Jammu observe the day as ‘Black Day’ and remember the ones who

lost their lives in the in humane crisis.

Pakistan attacked the Union Territory just nine days after being carved out of India. It first dispatched armed irregulars and then reg ular troops to invade Kashmir. The campaign was led by the maverick Major General Akbar Khan who brazenly called the troops as ‘raid ers’. The Pakistan Army code-named the Kash mir mission as ‘Opera tion Gulmarg’. The boastful book of Khan which was belatedly published in 1970, leaves little to argue or imagi nation about the nature and motive of operation.

time for providing basic amenities to people, he said. The houses under PMAY have all facilities

like electricity, water connection, toilet and gas connection, and will give strength to beneficiaries to fulfil their dreams, he said.

Criticising those in dulging in distributing freebies, Modi said tax payers will be happy to see that people are get ting houses of their own under the PMAY.

People, however, be come unhappy due to the ‘Revdi’ culture in the country, he said.

WILL KEEP WORKING TO FULFIL THE VISION OF GURU SAHIBS: PM

New Delhi: PM Modi on Saturday thanked Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, members of Sikh community including spiritual personalities for their joy and kind words about Hemkund Sahib Ropeway. He assured the Sangat of keep working to fulfil the vision of the Guru Sahibs. In response to a tweet thread by the Press Information Bureau, he tweeted: “Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, respected members of the Sikh community including leading spiritual personalities have expressed joy on the Hemkund Sahib Ropeway. I thank them for their kind words and assure the Sangat we will keep working to fulfil the vision of the Guru Sahibs.”

Naveen Patnaik @Naveen_Odisha

Warm birthday wishes to Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @ AmitShah Ji. Wishing you good health and a long life.

YS Jagan Mohan @Reddy @ysjagan

Best wishes and warm birthday greetings to Honourable HM Sri @ AmitShah ji. May God bless him with good health and long life.

15 more classes get reservation benefits in J&K

Srinagar (ANI): The J&K Govt on Saturday issued an order to re draw the social caste list expanding it by adding 15 new classes under the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.

Jats, West Pakistani Refugees, Gorkhas, Wagheys, Pony Walas among the new classes in the list. In a notifica tion, the JK govt said, “In exercise of the pow ers conferred by the first proviso to clause (o) of Section 2 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reserva tion Act, 2004, and on the recommendations of the Jammu and Kashmir So cially and Educationally Backward Classes Com mission, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir hereby di rects that the following amendments shall be made in Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules 2005.”

Heading home for Diwali, 15 die in bus-truck collision in MP’s Rewa

Rewa (PTI): Fifteen per sons were killed and 40 others injured after an Uttar Pradesh-bound private bus, mostly car rying labourers going home for Diwali, rammed into a trailertruck from behind in Rewa of Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Saturday. The accident occurred around 11.30 pm on Friday near Teon thar. The bus was going to Gorakhpur from Hy derabad. The bus was negotiating a mountain road in Sohagi ghati, about 60 km from the dis trict headquarters, when the accident occurred.

N.Biren Singh @NBirenSingh

Warm birthday greetings to the Hon’ble Union Home & Cooperation Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji. Hailed as the Chanakya of modern India, his efforts in serving our great country have lead us towards achieving great heights and dignity. Praying for your long, healthy & prosperous life.

Dr. Pramod Sawant @DrPramodPSawant

Wishing Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri @AmitShah ji a very #HappyBirthday. May he keep rising to newer heights with his unwavering dedication to India’s progress.

#HBDayAmitShah #AmitShah

Electricity supply not cut at Bhagat Singh’s house: Punjab govt

Chandigarh (Agen cies): Facing criticism, the local administration of Shaheed Bhagat Sin gh Nagar in Punjab on Saturday refuted the electricity disconnec tion of the ancestral house of legendary free dom fighter Bhagat Sin gh situated at Khatkar Kalan and clarified that there is no bill pending.

“In fact, Powercom has an advance bill pay ment worth Rs 6,760 with them,” Deputy Commissioner Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa told the media.

He also made an ap peal to a section of the

media not to use the name of ancestral house as emotions of lakhs of people are at tached with this histor ic place.

Earlier, Power Minis ter Harbhajan Singh also clarified that the power connection of the ancestral house or the museum of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Khat kar Kalan was never disconnected.

Meanwhile, the an cestral house of Shaheed Bhagat Singh has a separate power connection in the name of Department of Cul tural Affairs.

Chandigarh (PTI): Un ion Minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Saturday exuded confidence that his par ty will again form gov ernment in Himachal Pradesh as people have seen the working of the “double-engine” gov ernment.

The “double-engine” phrase is used by BJP leaders to emphasise that development will be expedited if the same party is at the helm in states and the Centre.

Voting for the Himachal Pradesh As sembly elections will take place on November 12 and the counting will

DEEPLY SADDENED: PREZ MURMU ON MISHAP New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday expressed sadness over the loss of lives in a bus accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district and offered her condolences to the bereaved family members.“I am deeply saddened to hear the

HIMACHAL ELECTIONS

news of the death of many passengers due to the accident of a bus going to Gorakhpur from Hyderabad in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. My deepest condolences to all the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Murmu said in a tweet in Hindi.

New Delhi: PM Modi has expressed anguish over the death of 15 people in Rewa accident. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of deceased, and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

PM CONDOLES LOSS OF LIVES IN REWA MISHAP MP CM ANNOUNCES `1L EX-GRATIA FOR KIN

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday announced to provide ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the deceased in the road accident in Rewa district. A total of 15 people died in a tragic road mishap in MP’s Rewa on Friday night.

Thakur exudes confidence of retaining power

CONGRESS’ THIRD LIST OUT; FOUR MORE CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday released its third list of four candidates for the Himachal Pradesh polls.The party renominated sitting MLA Jagat Singh Negi from the Kinnaur-ST seat and fielded Yadwinder Goma from Jaisinghpur-SC constituency. Bhuvneshwar Gaur has been fielded from the Manali seat and old-timer Kirnesh Jung has been renominated from Ponta Sahib.

Himachal Pradesh.

be held on December 8. Speaking to report ers, Thakur said the BJP will again form the government in

“Results will be in fa vour of the BJP because people have seen the working of the BJP and

Modi gave in the coun try and (Chief Minis ter) Jai Ram Thakur at the state level,” he add ed. He said the BJP will also retain power in Gu jarat. Earlier also, the BJP had retained power in Uttar Pradesh, Utta rakhand, Goa and Ma nipur, he said.

ODISHA MAN GETS 15 YEARS IN JAIL FOR RAPE

Baripada: A local court here on Saturday sentenced a man to 15 years of imprisonment after convicting him of raping a girl 8 years ago. The judgment was delivered by Fast Track Court Judge Baripada Durga Charan Mishra.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the convict Arjun Hembram.

BBMP TO REPORT ON BIZ ACTIVITIES IN RESI. AREAS

Bengaluru: The K’taka High Court has directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to file a detailed report on commercial activities in residential areas of the city civic body within eight weeks. The order came on a PIL filed by the Wilson Garden Residents Welfare Association.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier verdict commuting the death sentence of a man who had sexually assaulted and killed a four-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh in April 2013, and said he would now be released after serving 20 years jail term for all the offences. The apex court, in its April 19 verdict, had commuted the death penalty of convict Mohd Firoz into life imprisonment.

HUMAN SACRIFICE: KERALA HC JUNKS PLEA OF ACCUSED

APPOINTMENT OF V-C OF VARSITY IN KERALA QUASHED

the double-engine gov ernment. We will get the benefit of the lead ership which Prime Minister Narendra

Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party, Thakur said the Kejriwal-led outfit will not be able to open an account in the Himachal Pradesh As sembly elections.

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed a plea filed by 3 accused in the sensational human sacrifice case, in which 2 women were killed in a brutal manner, seeking to quash a magisterial court decision granting their custody to police for 12 days, holding that there was nothing wrong with the order.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in Thiruvananthapuram, terming it bad in law and contrary to the UGC. A bench of Supreme Court Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar passed this order on Friday.

Anurag Thakur inspects Doordarshan centre in Chandigarh.

CONVICT IN RAPE-CUM-MURDER CASE TO REMAIN IN PRISON FOR 20 YEARS: SC

‘MAGISTRATE CAN’T PERMIT QUESTIONING OF UNDERTRIALS IN CUSTODY IN SPL CASES’

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed a Magistrate court order permitting the ED to question five undertrials who are in judicial custody in a Special Court case. The case pertained to Harsha D, a clerk who was arrested in police sub-inspector recruitment scam this year. The first case against him was filed in the Chowk Police Station in Kalaburagi which was later transferred to the CID.

IN THE COURTYARD

PM Narendra Modi addresses during ‘Griha Pravesham’ of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - (Gramin) in Satna, via video conferencing, in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel greets Union Home Minister Amit Shah on his birthday at his residence, in Valsad on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Several leaders, chief ministers of many states and celebrities extend greetings on the birthday of the BJP strongman

BHARAT

WHEN WILL PRIYANKA JOIN BROTHER RAHUL’S YATRA?

RSS’s silence over country’s atmosphere sad: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati

Lucknow (PTI):

BSP chief Mayawati alleged on Saturday that the RSS is rais ing issues related to religious conver sion and the popula tion policy to divert people’s attention from the failures of the BJP government at the Centre.

She also said the “silence” of the Rashtriya Swayam sevak Sangh (RSS) on the present situ ation in the country is harmful.

“The discordant voice being raised by the RSS now over the new population policy and religious conversion for di verting the atten tion of the people of the country reeling under the curse of a massive inflation, unemployment, vi olence and disorder is grossly improp er,” she said.

Though their mother Sonia Gandhi participated in the Yatra on Oct 6, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is still to join RaGa Rahul marches with ex-servicemen during Yatra in K’taka’s Raichur

It has been more than 40 days since the start of Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra during which several senior and renowned leaders of Con gress have joined this yatra many times. But till now Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has not joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra. So nia Gandhi was not in the best of health, yet she be came a part of this yatra in Mysuru in Karna taka. It was being said about Priyanka that she would join this yatra after Sonia Gandhi. Sonia had become a part of

the yatra on 6 October and there was news of Priyanka joining the yatra the next day i.e. on 7 October. Later it was said that she would join the yatra on October 14 or 15. Thereafter, news came that she would partici pate in the rally which would be held in Ballari on the completion of 1000 kms of the Yatra. But till now she has not gone to take part in the yatra.

Interestingly, for Pri yanka, it was being said that she would get the Congress contest in Himachal Pradesh. It was also discussed that in the absence of both Sonia and Rahul Gan dhi, she would be the main face of the elec tion campaign in both Gujarat and Himachal. But in the last one and a half months after Ra hul's departure, Priyan ka has held only one

rally in Himachal Pradesh. Apart from this, she did not partici pate in any political pro gram. In Gujarat, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party have made a face-to-face contest in different ways, but no program of Priyanka has hap pened nor is it proposed in the next few days.

Now the question is, why is it that she is nei ther going for the Bharat Jodo Yatra nor is she campaigning in both the election states?

Informed sources say that Rahul Gandhi's team does not want Pri yanka to be a part of this journey right now. In fact, this visit of the Congress to the states of South India has got a very good response and crowds of people gath ered in the three states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and Ra

hul is connecting with people and he is meet ing, communicating with people easily.

That's why his team does not want the focus to be diverted from him. If Priyanka Gandhi joins the Yatra, the fo cus will be on her and at least some discussion will revolve around her.

Although it will be only a matter of a day or two because even if Priyan ka goes on the Yatra, she will go for a day or two. But Rahul's team and Congress strate gists are not ready for that at the moment. It is being told that if the party's yatra in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana does not get a good re sponse, then Priyanka can join otherwise she is likely to be a part of it only after the yatra leaves from South India towards North India.

TERROR OUTFIT ACTIVE IN ASSAM TO IMPLEMENT ‘GHAZWA-E-HIND’

MHA ropes in NIA to initiate probe

New Delhi (ANI): With inputs of a deep-rooted network being operated by Al-Qaeda in the Indi an-Sub Continent (AQIS) in different dis tricts of Assam, the Ministry of Home Af fairs (MHA) has roped in the National Investi gation Agency (NIA) to unearth the module.

A First Information Report (FIR) of the NIA clearly mentions that the module of AQIS was “active in different dis tricts of Assam” having links with a Bangladeshbased terror outfit An sarullah Bangla Team

Cyclone Sitrang: NCMC reviews preparedness for cyclonic storm

New Delhi: Union Cabi net Secy Rajiv Gauba reviewed the prepared ness of the govt agencies to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone Sitrang developing in the Bay of Bengal during the National Crisis Man agement Committee meeting. Reviewing the preparedness measures of the states and Central agencies, Gauba stressed that all preventive and precautionary measures should be taken by the concerned authorities of the state govts.

(ABT). AQIS, a branch of the banned terror outfit Al-Qaeda, estab lished in 2014, is report edly operating in Af ghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma and Bang ladesh. The group seeks

to wage jihad in order to establish an Islamic state. As per the FIR, the objective of the module is to “propagate terror in Indian territory, radi calize likeminded youth and carry out recruit

ment to wage war against the Union of In dia, with a view to over throw the democrati cally elected govern ment by establishing the ‘Rule of Khilafat’ (Sha ria Law) in India as well as to wage war against Bangladesh, an Asiatic neighbour on friendly terms with India and to implement ‘Ghazwa-eHind’, with the help of recruits of India”.

‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ is a term used by terror out fits to justify their auda cious terror strikes as a religious holy war against India.

Raichur (PTI): Con gress leader Rahul Gan dhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, on Saturday walked along with a group of ex-servicemen.

The 45th day of the yatra, which began at Yeragera in the district this morning, will end at Basaveshwara circle ground in Raichur city in the evening.

Members of Ex-Ser vicemen Raichur Dis trict Association marched along with Gandhi holding the na tional flag.

Tweeting a short vid eo of him having a small run with them, Gandhi called the sol diers a “defence shield and pride of India”.

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday termed the government’s ‘Rozgar Mela’ as “eventbaazi” by the “jumla king”, asking when would the promised 16 crore jobs be provided to the youth of the country. Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to provide two crore jobs every year while assuming power which has not been provided in the last eight years. He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has merely moved in four states and the government “had to admit” that unemployment is the biggest problem the country faces.

DIWALI SHOPPING!

You can’t have it both ways: Kishor

New Delhi (Agencies): In yet another potshot at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday dared the Jatata Dal (U) leader to ask Rajya Sab ha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh — a senior leader in Kumar's party — to quit his post.

“Nitish Kumar ji, if you have nothing to do with the BJP/NDA, then ask your MP to quit the post of deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha. You can’t have both ways all the time,” tweeted Kishor, who is on a padyatra in

Bihar in what is wide ly seen as a precursor to his fresh entry into active politics.

The latest jibe comes a day after Kishor pointed out that Nitish Kumar has been Bihar chief minister for 17 years out of which 14 has been with BJP support.

TRIBUTE TO LEGEND

WILL SUPPORT ANOTHER VOLTE FACE BY NITISH IN BIHAR’S INTERESTS: HAM

Patna (PTI): Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi on Satur day said he will continue to “respect and support” the in cumbent Nitish Kumar if the latter decided to return to the BJP-led NDA in the interests of the state. Manjhi, a former protege of Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) head, made the averment in reply to questions about the claim of former political strategist Prashant Kishor that the JD(U) leader was keeping his options open. “Though Kumar has ruled out such a possibility, if he takes such a decision we will continue to support and respect his decision,” he said.

PK’S PADYATRA AIMED AT TARGETTING NITISH, SAYS RJD’S SHIVANAND TIWARI

Patna (Agencies): A day after Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U chief Nitish Kumar slammed Prashant Kishor over his “Paltimar” jibe, vice-president of RJD Shivanand Tiwari on Saturday said that the people of the state are now aware of the motive behind his padyatra. “Initially, I thought that Prashant Kishor (PK) intends to do some thing different from the Grand alliance and BJP in Bihar but now I have realised that the actual motive of his padyatra is to target Nitish Kumar,” Tiwari said.

Biju Patnaik’s Dakota to be transported to Odisha

Efforts to transport the aircraft to Odisha were made in the last 2 years, too, and tender was also floated for the initiative, but the COVID-19 stalled the plan

Bhubaneswar (PTI):

The Odisha govt is set to bring to the state the iconic Dakota aircraft of former chief minister Biju Patnaik from Kolk ata, with the Airport Au thority of India (AAI) having agreed to hand over 1.1 acre land on the premises of the airport here for the purpose.

Efforts to transport the aircraft to Odisha were made in the last two years, too, and ten der was also floated for the initiative, but the

proposal to lease out 1.1 acre of land for set ting up a memorial, where the aircraft will be put up for display,” the home department official said.

The official said the aircraft, which is 64 feet and 8 inches long, with its wings stretch ing to 95 feet, will be dismantled for trans portation by road to Bhubaneswar from the Kolkata airport.

The parts will then be reassembled here after

necessary repairs, he explained.

Biju Patnaik, besides being a social reformer and politician, was also a highly skilled pilot who flew planes and un dertook high-risk mis sions ahead of the coun try’s Independence.

Prasanna Pradhan, director of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), said that the AAI has given its “goahead” to build the me morial as a mark of trib ute to the iconic leader.

4 OF FAMILY KILLED IN HOUSE COLLAPSE IN U’KHAND LANDSLIDE

Gopeshwar: Four mem bers of a family, including two women, were killed when boulders fell on several houses following a landslide in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district in the early hours of Saturday.

The accident occurred at Paingarh village in Pindar valley on the interven ing night of Friday and Saturday at around 1 am, Tharali SDM Ravindra Kumar Juwantha said.

Chennai: An alleged drug dealer, arrested by the NCB with drugs in his pos session allegedly jumped off the third floor of the NCB office. The incident took place on Friday night. The deceased Rayappa Raju Anthony allegedly jumped off the building while an NCB team was preparing to take him to the government hospital for a medical check up. He died later.

DCW CHIEF SWATI MALIWAL SEEKS PANEL TO PROBE GHAZIABAD GANGRAPE COMPLAINT

New Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Saturday wrote to UP CM Yogi Adityanath and urged him to set up a high-level committee to probe the alleged gangrape of a 36-year-old woman in Ghaziabad. She also said that strong action should be taken against the woman if her allegations are found to be false. This comes a day after Ghaziabad police registered a case against the woman and three others for allegedly level ling a “fabricated” gangrape charge against five men with whom she is embroiled in a property dispute.

4 HELD IN NOIDA FOR PLANTING HIDDEN CAMS IN HOTEL ROOMS

Noida: Four men were arrested by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police for their alleged involvement in planting hidden cameras at OYO rooms to blackmail couples and running illegal call centres. The police have identified the arrested accused as Vishnu Singh, Abdul Wahav, Pankaj Kumar and Anurag Kumar and claimed to have busted three different gangs operating in Noida.

EC RAPS GUJARAT FOR NOT FILING COMPLIANCE REPORT

New Delhi: The Election Commission has pulled up the Gujarat govt for not filing a compliance report on transfer and posting of officials ahead of Assembly polls. The EC wrote to state chief secy and the DGP seeking the “circumstanc es as to why the compli ance reports have not been furnished so far even after the stipulated time limit despite issuing another reminder in the matter”.

COVID-19 pandemic stalled the plan.

“The administration is now all set to com

plete the process as the AAI, at its recent board meeting, accepted the state government’s

Iconic Dakota aircraft of Biju Patnaik in Kolkata. —PHOTO BY PTI

‘DRUG DEALER’ DIES AFTER JUMPING OFF NCB CHENNAI OFFICE

CRUCIAL READ

Mahesh Sharma

Rahul Gandhi along with Ex-Servicemen Raichur Dist Association members, in Raichur on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI WHEN WOULD 16 CRORE PROMISED JOBS BE PROVIDED, ASKS CONGRESS

People buy decorative items ahead of Diwali festival, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.

Prashant Kishor

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

—PHOTO BY PTI

business BRIEFS

VODA IDEA TO RAISE `1,600 CRORE DEBT VIA BONDS TO ATC

India’s economic activity impressive: FinMin review

New Delhi: Loss-making telecom operator Voda fone Idea said it has re ceived board nod to settle `1,600 crore dues to equipment vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure Ltd by converting the due amount into equity if un paid in 18 months. Voda fone Idea (VIL) will raise the amount through equi ty convertible debt bonds that carry a coupon rate of 11.2% per annum pay able every six months during its term.VIL said that the funds raised will be used to pay ATC amounts owed to ATC.

SBI HIKES TERM DEPOSIT RATES BY UP TO 0.80 PER CENT

New Delhi (PTI): Sound ing a note of caution, the Finance Ministry’s Eco nomic Review said on Sat urday that inflation might witness another resur gence in case of deteriora tion of geo-political situa tion leading to higher glob al energy prices and supply chain pressures.

Observing that India has managed inflation better than most other countries in the world, the Review said that barring further weather extremities, retail food inflation is expected to decline in the coming months, leading to lower headline retail inflation.

However, it added, global energy prices and supplies remain sources of concern.

“Geopolitical conflicts may yet intensify reignit ing supply chain pressures that have eased recently. If so, inflation may yet see a resurgence rather than a decline in 2023,” the review said.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z Observing that India has managed inflation better than most other countries, the Review said that barring further weather extremities, retail food inflation is expected to decline in the coming months

by 5.4% against the USD, less than the depreciation of 8.9% of six major cur rencies in the DXY Index.

z India’s growth narrative in the first six months of the current FY featured the uninterrupted thrust govt provided to its capex

z A series of measures taken by the RBI during July 2022 is expected to stabilise the capital flow further & support the INR

capital expenditure levels were also supported by stronger revenue genera tion following an improve ment in tax compliance, higher corporate profita bility, and growing eco nomic activity.

Increasing revenue gen eration has further kept the fiscal deficit until Au gust aligned with its budg eted level, which otherwise could have gone awry with high capital expenditure, higher fertilizer and food subsidies and excise tax cuts to rein in inflation, it added.

RBI should focus on softening core inflation

Mumbai: The country’s largest lender SBI upped its interest rates on term deposits by up to 0.80% amid a ‘war for deposits’ in the banking system. Fixed deposits of under `2 crore for a period of over 211 days but less than 1 year will earn an interest of 5.50% from October 22, as against 4.70% earlier. For other maturities, the quantum of the rate hike is lower at 0.25-0.60%, while the 7-45 days deposit rate has been left untouched at 3% per annum.

RELIANCE TO DEMERGE ITS EPC BIZ RESOURCES

Retail inflation for India during these six months stood at 7.2%, lower than the world inflation of 8%, as represented by the me dian inflation of major economies, it said.

During the same period, it said, the INR depreciated

OTHER STORIES

A series of measures taken by the RBI during July 2022 is expected to sta bilise the capital flows fur ther and support the INR, it said.

The report said India’s growth narrative in the first six months of the cur rent financial year featured

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD BECOMES FIRST INDIAN COMPANY TO POST EARNINGS CALL ON METAVERSE

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) posted the proceed ings of its second quarter earnings call on the metaverse, becoming the first Indian firm to use the me dium to engage with its stakeholders. The metaverse earnings call, which can be accessed through any device (even a smartphone), was produced in partnership with GMetri — a nocode metaverse creation platform, sources said. One does not need to wear an AR/VR headgear to access it.

the uninterrupted thrust government provided to its capital expenditure that, until August of FY 2022-23, stood 46.8% higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.

The increase marked a decisive shift towards im proved quality of spending as the ratio of revenue ex penditure to capital outlay fell to 4.5 from 6.4 in the last year, it said, adding, rising

While capital formation and digitalisation boost medium-term potential growth rate, learning loss es caused by the pandemicinduced shutdowns and rising obesity levels re strain it, the report said, a healthy and educated India is a productive India.

The government quietly went about facilitating the development of India’s digital infrastructure on the foundation of unique national identity, financial inclusion and payments, it said.

Similarly, quietly re building the economy’s ability to grow and letting it grow.

New Delhi (Agencies): In dia’s central bank must stay focused on moderating components of inflation that are not directly influ enced by food or fuel, and work on dampening overall price expectations, said a rate-setter usually known for his dovish views.

“As far as monetary poli cy is concerned, modera tion in the core inflation should be the priority,” Shashanka Bhide, an exter nal member of the RBI’s MPC, said.

“It is important that the inflation expectations are anchored closer to the pol icy target.”

While the debate on In dia’s inflation centers around the headline con sumer price inflation, it is the core measure that has troubled policymakers for years. Despite raising its main policy rate by 190 ba sis points this year, the RBI

RUPEE-BASED TRADING GETTING RESPONSES: RBI’S DEPUTY GUV

New Delhi (Agencies):

The Reserve Bank of India is receiving encouraging responses from countries to participate in rupeebased trading, deputy gov ernor T Rabi Sankar said.

New Delhi: Reliance In dustries Ltd will demerge its engineering, procure ment and construction (EPC) business to create a focused entity catering to the group’s EPC needs, the firm said in a state ment. The board of the company helmed by bil lionaire Mukesh Ambani on Friday “approved a scheme of arrangement under which the engineer ing, procurement and construction and infra structure undertaking of Reliance Projects and Property Management Services Ltd, a whollyowned subsidiary of RIL is proposed to be de merged into RIL,” it said.

INDIAFIRST LIFE INSURANCE FILES IPO DRAFT PAPERS

ICICI BANK SECOND QTR CONSOLIDATED NET PROFIT JUMPS 31%

Mumbai: ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 31.43% jump in its September quarter consolidated net profit at `8,006.99 crore. On a standalone basis, the second largest private sector lender reported a 37.14% rise in September quarter net profit at `7,557.84 crore, as against `5,510.95 crore in the year-ago period. The bank’s total income grew to `31,088 crore in the reporting quarter, while the overall expenses climbed to `19,408 crore from `18,027 crore.

New Delhi: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday reported an about 27% rise in net profit at `2,581 crore for the quarter ended Sep tember 2022. Total income during July-September period of 2022-23 grew to `10,047 crore. Net interest income increased to `5,099 crore from `4,021 crore in Q2 FY22, up 27%. Net interest margin for the quarter was at 5.17%. On the assets front, the bank’s gross non-performing assets stood at 2.08% of gross advances at the end of September 2022.

INCENTIVE TO CLEAN ENERGY

RBI has been pushing rupee-based trade settle ment since July this year by creating a comprehen sive framework for it, as part of its endeavour in the process of ‘internationali sation’ of the rupee.

ited uses all these years.

‘MUST MODERATE INFLATION FACTORS’

New Delhi: External member of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy commit tee, Shashanka Bhide said that India’s central bank must stay focused on moderating components of inflation that are not directly influenced by food or fuel, and work on dampening overall price expectations.

failed in its mandate to keep the retail number within its targeted 2%-6% range for nine straight months. More worryingly, the core measure has stayed above 6% for at least a year.

“The food and fuel infla tion are driven by the sup ply conditions and inelas tic demand,” Bhide said. “They may be more respon sive to other policy meas ures. But it is also neces sary to weaken their im pact on the price condi tions in the other sectors.”

50% Indian mobile users wish to upgrade to 5G device

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Bank of Baro da-promoted IndiaFirst Life Insurance has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an IPO. Acc to merchant banking sourc es, the IPO size could be between `2,000 crore and `2,500 crore. The public issue consists of a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to `500 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 141,299,422 equity shares by promoter and selling shareholders.

SETTLEMENT

SINCE JULY 2022

z RBI has been pushing rupeebased trade settlement since July this year by creating a comprehensive framework for it, as part of its endeavour in the process of ‘internationalisation’ of the rupee.

“Increased use of rupee in cross-border transac tions requires a unified global market in rupee both in interest rates and currencies. Such unifica tion would not only im prove depth and liquidity of our markets, but they would also facilitate uni form pricing across bor ders,” he said. Pertinent to note that invoicing export and import in rupees was long permitted, but it was being resorted to for lim

The deputy governor drew a distinction between the status of ‘rupee as an international currency’ and the process of ‘interna tionalisation’ of the local currency. “Rupee as an in ternational currency, with all its attendant privileges that we saw USD enjoys, is a state that lies well into the future. It is not achiev able by financial regula tion alone,” he added.

New Delhi: Close to 50% smartphone users in the country have plans to buy a new device within the first year as 5G roll-out be gins, a report has said. India has more than 500 million smartphone users to date. The price band of ` 20,000-` 30,000 is the most preferred price band for the future smartphone pur chases in the country, ac cording to Counterpoint Research.

India’s smartphone mar ket ASP is expected to rise because consumers tend to prefer a higher price band for every subsequent pur chase. Samsung, Apple and OnePlus are at the top as the survey respondents preferred smartphone brands for the next pur chase, the report noted.

Industrial units to get 50 pc rebate in VAT in Haryana for using natural gas

Chandigarh (PTI): The Haryana government on Saturday said it has decid ed to give a 50 per cent re bate in value added tax (VAT) to industrial units in the state that will re place diesel generator sets required to meet their en ergy requirement with natural gas.

This scheme will be ap plicable to entire indus tries including micro, small and medium enter prises (MSMEs) and will be effective for two years from the date of its notification, said an official statement here. The cities of Guru

gram and Faridabad will be declared as model elec tric mobility (EM) cities with phase-wise goals to adopt electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastruc ture to achieve 100 per cent e-mobility.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the standing finance committee held here under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Deputy Chief Min ister Dushyant Chautala was also present in the meeting.

Notably, the use of die sel-powered generator sets

is banned in the National Capital Region. Now the industries that will meet their energy requirement

also approved giving a sub sidy of Rs 164.66 crore per year to electric vehicle manufacturing companies under various heads, un der Haryana Electric Vehi cle (EV) Policy 2022.

from CNG, PNG will get a 50 per cent exemption in VAT, it said.

Similarly, the committee

The chief minister was apprised that the EV policy aims to protect the environ ment, reduce carbon foot print, make the state an EV manufacturing hub, en sure skill development in EV field, encourage uptake of EV vehicles, and encour age research and develop ment in EV technology.

The policy encourages new manufacturing in EV

technology and also en courages existing automo bile manufacturers to di versify in the EV manufac turing domain.

The policy offers various financial incentives to EV manufacturers by giving incentives on fixed capital investment (FCI), net SGST, stamp duty etc.

Efforts shall be made to convert 100 percent of the bus fleet owned by Hary ana State Transport Under takings into electric buses or fuel cell vehicles or oth er non- fossil-fuel-based technologies by 2030, it said.

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK Q2 PROFIT RISES 27 PER CENT TO ` 2,581 CRORE

PTI

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

KHARGE’S REAL CHALLENGE IS TO OVERCOME RAHUL LOYALISTS

T he moment of the ordeal of newly elected Congress Presi dent Mallikarjun Kharge has just arrived. His political experience of five decades will be feathered when he takes over as the new National President of Congress on October 26 after Di wali. The most impor tant thing is that Rahul Gandhi is going to leave his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in the middle to come to Delhi to participate in this programme to be held at the Congress Headquarters. If sourc es are to be believed, Kharge has consulted some of his loyalists to finalise his Presiden

gress. But the real chal lenge before Kharge will be to deal with the ‘Tu ghlaq orders’ of Team Rahul sitting in Tughlaq Lane. It is possible that these recommendation letters of Team Rahul would be stopped be cause most of the letters that came out from here, have been proving to be an effective weapon in the organisation and posting of committees of Congress. It is said that Kharge is in touch with his family astrolo ger. Kharge’s lucky num ber is 8, so his astrolo gers have suggested him that the right time for his ‘Raj Tilak’ will be on Oc tober 26.

WHAT HAPPENED IN SANGH’S PRAYAGRAJ MEETING?

he four-day ‘All India Ex ecutive Board’ meeting of the Sangh in Prayagraj has just concluded.

In this meeting, 370 All India-level offi cials including top RSS leaders Mo han Bhagwat

and Dattatreya Hosab ole participated. In this meeting, issues like caste-varna-free society and social harmony and population control were discussed in de tail. But in this meet ing, the real focus of the Sangh was on the gen eral elections of 2024.

The concern of the Sangh also came to the fore that whenever the glory of the Ram tem ple, under construction in Ayodhya, is narrated, the cases of Ayodhya land scam also start gaining momentum on social media. If sources are to be believed, it has been decided in Sangh’s meeting that now the cadre will fo cus all its attention on Gyan vapi and Mathura. It is said that in this meet ing of the

Sangh, the strategies for Gujarat elections have also been revealed. Sangh is working on a strategy that like Pun jab pattern, some ferti lizers and water should be put in the organiza tion of Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat, since giving it more power, means cutting the Con gress and it will be eas ier for BJP to hit the ground there. Another news has come out from this meeting that the Sangh wants Man ish Sisodia to be arrest ed only after the voting is over in Gujarat.

MOVIE ON RATAN TATA’S BIOGRAPHY?

atan N Tata: The Authorized Bi ography, the official biography of Tata Sons Emirates Chairman Ratan Tata, is set to hit the market in No vember

Thane man succumbs hours after being shot at

Thane: A local resi dent allegedly in volved in more than two dozen criminal cases has succumbed to bullet wounds after being shot at pointblank on Friday, offi cials said on Saturday.

Vartak Nagar police have added section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the first information report (FIR) registered against three accused, who were arrested in this case.

“Around 10.30 am on Friday, some men took Ganesh Jadhav alias Kala Ganya to a hill in Thane, where they de manded money from him. When he refused, they fired at him from point-blank range. He suffered multiple wounds and collapsed,” an official said.

Later, someone alert ed the police, who admit ted him to a hospital. But he died at night, he said.

Meanwhile, Jadhav’s associates allegedly van dalized the ambulance carrying his body to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem, demand ing that it be handed over to them. Fearing for his life, the ambulance driver drove straight to police station. The body was later shifted to an other ambulance and sent for autopsy.

finds it difficult to de fend him. So it is be lieved that Kharge may present Rahul Gandhi as the new leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha due to his ‘mas ter stroke’. Rahul may not be able to refuse it.

next month. It has been written by Thomas Mathew, a former IAS officer of the Kerala cadre. The publisher of this book is HarperCol lins. It is believed that as royalty for this book, the publisher has paid a huge amount of Rs 2 crore to the author.

Mathew has already written two books. Dur ing Congress leader K Karunakaran’s time, Thomas used to be in the ‘power echelon’. In 2016, when Pranab Mukher jee was the President of the country, Thomas re tired as his Additional Secretary. The publisher hopes that Ratan Tata’s biography will break all

sales records as soon as it comes into the market. In order to make films and shows on the life of Ratan Tata, all the big producers and produc tion companies are ready to pay a begging price to Thomas for its rights, but Thomas wants to wait a little longer. He first wants to see the response to his book once it hits the market.

WILL RAHUL BE THE PARTY’S LEADER IN LOK SABHA?

R ahul Gandhi has publicly acknowl edged that ‘he will glad ly accept whatever re sponsibility the new Party President Kharge assigns to him.’ Hence sources in the Congress Party have revealed that Congress’ leader in Lok Sabha - Adhir Ran jan Chowdhury - will be shown the door on the reason that his tongue falters at times and the party

At the same time, spec ulations are rife about who will be the leader of the Party in the Ra jya Sabha. The name of Digvijay Singh is said to be at the fore in the race, but the name of Pramod Tiwari, a Brah min leader belonging to UP, is emerging as Kharge’s first choice. He has known Kharge for a long time. Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge in the presidential election, may have been able to get only 1,072 votes, but Kharge is not said to be in favor of handing him the leader’s post in the Lok Sabha. Kharge feels that Tharoor sometimes speaks something controver sial.

KHARGE’S NEXT MOVE

K harge has already started carving himself into the new presidential responsi bility. He has become ac tive on social media, especially on Twit ter. He wants to

6-YEAR-OLD GIRL DEAD AFTER GAS LEAK CAUSES FIRE AT PUNE EATERY

First India Bureau

Pune: A six-year-old girl was killed in a fire triggered by a gas leak at a small eatery sell ing biryani in Sad ashiv Peth area of Pune city around 10.50 am on Saturday, fire brigade officials said.

A family from Uttar Pradesh worked at the eatery and lived with three children in a loft on top of the establishment, he said.

“When a team from the fire brigade reached the spot, they were in formed that a small child was stuck on the loft,” the official said.

The child was rescued and shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead, he said.

“According to workers at the eatery, those who

Prima-facie, it looks like there was a leak in the LPG cylinder in the kitch en on the ground floor, which trig gered the blaze. When we reached the spot, we saw three LPG cylinders at one spot and one of them had leaked. We immediately took all the cylinders out. —Police official

TRAGEDY

A family from Uttar Pradesh worked at the eatery and lived with three children in a loft on top of the estab lishment. Workers at the eatery said those who were on the loft managed to come down when the blaze broke out. While the girl’s mother managed to pick up her other two children, she could not lift her daughter because of the fire and smoke, an official said.

UNIQUE PROTEST

were on the loft managed to come down when the blaze broke out. While the girl’s mother man aged to pick up her other two children and come down, she could not lift her daughter because of the fire and smoke,” the official said

The girl identified as Iqra Naeem Khan had sustained minor burn injuries, but had suffo cated due to the smoke, he said.

“Prima-facie, it looks like there was a leak in the LPG cylinder in the kitchen on the ground floor, which triggered the blaze. When we reached the spot, we saw three LPG cylin ders at one spot and one of them had leaked. We immediately took all the cylinders out,” the official said.

associate a person with him, who is recognised even by the smallest Congress worker. If sources are to be be lieved, he has selected Nanhaki Thakur, who was an aide of Sitaram Kesari, for this work. Thakur is currently working in Ajay Mak en’s office. Even though Kharge hasn’t formally taken over as Party Prez, he has been flood ed with complaints against big leaders like Mukul Wasnik. There are also plaints against K Raju. Complaints are also coming against Himachal in-charge Ra jiv Shukla & his close friendship with BJP leader Anurag Thakur is being targeted. It is believed that only after the Himachal polls, Kharge will make a ma jor reshuffle in party organisation, and will entrust important re sponsibilities to the members of G-23 group.

Lost Nigerian child reunited with family

Thane (PTI): A 10-yearold Nigerian boy who had come to Maha rashtra with his moth er, sibling and care taker was reunited with his kin after fail ing to alight from a suburban local train at Vashi station and losing his way thereaf ter, a railway police of ficial said on Saturday. The boy, who is men tally unwell, was spotted at Mankhurd station af ter his mother ap proached the cops, the Vashi railway police sta tion official said.

“The boy, his mother, sibling and caretaker were travelling on a Har bour Line local. While the others managed to get down at Vashi, he could not and lost his way. When we were alert ed, we passed the mes sage to all stations in the area and a team spotted him at Mankhurd,” he said. The child was reu nited with his mother.

Maha pastoralists seek repeal of colonial-era Forest Act

As many as 10,000 postcards and letters have been sent to the offices of CM and Dy CM since Oct 02 in a bid to raise awareness on the issue

First India Bureau

Mumbai: “We have coexisted with forests for centuries. (So) it is ironic that a British law created to take away Indians’ rights is still being used to pe nalize pastoralists 75

years after Independ ence,” says Saurabh Hatkar, dismissing claims that open graz ing threatens forests.

Hatkar, president of the Medhpal Putra Sena (son of the army of shepherds—the first ever organization of no

madic shepherds in Ma harashtra), is spear heading a unique cam paign demanding that the government repeal the Forest Act of 1927.

Under the Forest Act, shepherds and other no madic pastoralists are fined heavily when their animals stray into protected forest land. Grazing is banned in many forest areas, as it is considered a cause for deforestation.

Since October 02,

Hatkar and his group have sent more than 10,000 postcards and let ters to the offices of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis demand ing an immediate sus pension of the financial fines levied on them.

Part of a family of shepherds, Hatkar--who studies at the Tata Insti tute of Social Sciences-says such fines often drain away the meagre

financial resources of the community, which is already facing difficul ties in retaining its no madic lifestyle with ur banization and changes in the landscape.

“The trails taken have not changed in centu ries,” Hatkar adds, ex plaining the annual mi gration undertaken by the shepherds who hail mainly from the nomad ic Dhangar community, to arrange for fodder for their animals.

First India Bureau

Shepherds typically cover 200km a year, in search of fodder for their animals.

—FILE PHOTO

Officials say one of the three LPG cylinders found at the scene of the fire, a biryani outlet in the Sadashiv Peth area had been leaking.

The deceased, the daughter of labourers from Uttar Pradesh, sustained minor burn injuries but asphyxiated

Mallikarjun Kharge

Rahul Gandhi

Ratan Tata

Mohan Bhagwat

FIRST

& the WINNER is...

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

irst India Queen, presented by First India and Bharat24- Vision of New India held its corona tion night on Fri day at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai.

Bhakti Jani, from Mumbai, was crowned First India Queen 2022, with Victoria Fernandez as the first runner-up, Swara Mandlik as the sec ond runner while Sanya Hissaria and Divya Mam nani bagged the third and fourth runner-up awards respectively.

Famous Fashion De signer Aditi Jaggi Rasto gi, who was present as one of the jury members on

the occasion crowned the winner while Pearl Agar wal, First Miss India 2021 felicitated her successor with the winning sash.

Jagdeesh Chandra graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. While wel coming the audience, he said, “We strongly wish to open the gates of opportu nity in the fashion and entertainment industry for many deserving girls. First India and youth are natural allies and we pro mote talent for one and all.” Deepak Agarwal, MD of Bikaji Group was also present as a special guest.

The pageant in its hy brid format had launched a worldwide hunt to find prospective talents from all corners of the world through auditions. These shortlisted finalists un derwent rigorous training and grooming sessions, mentored by the best in the industry, to compete for the coveted title of First India Queen 2022.

The women were brim ming with pride and were

motivated to put their best foot for ward during all the talent rounds.

Parimal Me hhta, Founder Blanckanvas Pvt Ltd said, “I feel truly elat ed to see the ravishing girls put the best foot forward. I congratu late all the participants, especially the winners and our entire team for putting up a great show.

To me, each one of you is already a winner to be able to reach this plat form.

All the best to eve ryone for their future.”

He further added, “I ex press my heartfelt grati tude to Jagdeesh Chan dra and the First India team for giving the op portunity to showcase this extravagant event.”

Various dignitaries in cluding Bollywood and television stars were also present on the occa sion to make the even ing more special.

INDIA GRACEFULLY STRADDLED THE GLOBE AFTER THE HUGE SUCCESS OF FIRST INDIA QUEEN, HELD AT JADE BALLROOM, SAHARA STAR, MUMBAI ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21! BHAKTI JANI, HAILING FROM THE CITY OF DREAMS, MUMBAI WAS CROWNED THE FIRST INIA QUEEN 2022!

Jagdeesh Chandra along with Aditi Jaggi Rastogi felicitate Bhakti Jani, First India Queen 2022 winner with a memento.

Also seen are Parimal Mehhta and Pearl Agarwal, First Miss India 2021 with the other winners and participants during the ceremony

Jagdeesh Chandra with the winners of First India Queen 2022.

(From left) Sanya Hissaria (Third runner-up), Victoria Fernandes (First runner-up), Bhakti Jani (Winner of First India Queen), Swara Mandalik (Second runner up) and Divya Mamnani (Fourth runner-up)

Clockwise: Bhakti Jani (Winner of First India Queen), Swara Mandalik (Second runner up), Divya Mamnani (Fourth runner-up), Sanya Hissaria (Third runner-up) and Victoria Fernandes (First runner-up)

DHANYA LAKSHMI

Dhanya Lakshmi (Grain Lakshmi) is the form of Lakshmi who represents the wealth of agriculture. Dhanya Lakshmi is also the aspect of Lakshmi who provides resources to adherents for their sustenance and well-being. She is depicted wearing green garments with four hands holding sugarcane, rice paddy, bananas and kalasha. In ancient cultures, grains were considered wealth and were even used in exchange to buy other commodities.

GAJA LAKSHMI

Gaja Lakshmi (Elephant Lakshmi) is the giver of animal wealth (such as cattle), or the being who offers royal splendour, according to the Narayana Pancharatra. According to Hinduism, Gaja Lakshmi restored the potential lost by Indra (King of the devas) during the Samudra Manthana. Vasudha Narayanan has interpreted this name as the, “one who is worshipped by elephants. She is depicted as four-armed, donning red garments, carrying two lotuses, two arms expressing the Abhaya mudra and the varada mudra, surrounded by two elephants bathing her with water pots.

DHANA LAKSHMI

Dhana Lakshmi (Wealth Lakshmi) is Lakshmi in her form as the goddess of material wealth. She is depicted with red garments sitting on a red lotus with four hands holding a lotus, an Amrit kalasha and gold coins falling from one hand.

ADI LAKSHMI

This is the earliest form of Lakshmi. Adi Lakshmi is the manifestation who supports a seeker to reach their source or Atman. She is believed to proffer dhyana, a state of absolute silence, bliss and peace. This aspect of the goddess is responsible for the furtherance of the quest for spiritual wealth. She is adorned with Golden clothes and jewellery and has a golden complexion.

SANTANA LAKSHMI

Santana Lakshmi (Offspring Lakshmi) is the goddess’s manifestation who bestows offspring. She is depicted as a mother carrying a child in her lap and food crop in one hand and kalasha in another hand.

VIDYA LAKSHMI

Vidya Lakshmi (Knowledge Lakshmi) is the goddess and the bestower of knowledge of arts and the sciences. She is dressed in a white saree and has a resemblance to the goddess Saraswati. She holds a book of the Vedas, a peacock feather as a pen, the varada mudra and the Abhaya mudra.

Interestingly, during Lakshmi Puja on Diwali, there is a custom to draw 8 petal lotus to rest the coin or the idol of the goddess. These 8 petal lotus depicts Ashta Lakshmi.

PADMA MEANS THE ONE WHO IS LIKE A LOTUS. GODDESS LAKSHMI, THE GODDESS OF WEALTH AND FORTUNE AS WE ALL KNOW, IS AS BEAUTIFUL AND PURE AS A LOTUS. THIS PHOTO SHOOT IS BASED UPON THE ASHTA LAKSHMI ASPECT OF GODDESS LAKSHMI. SIMILAR TO NAVDURGA, ASHTALAKSHMI, IS A GROUP OF THE EIGHT MANIFESTATIONS OF LAKSHMI, THE HINDU GODDESS OF PROSPERITY. SHE PRESIDES OVER EIGHT SOURCES OF WEALTH: SPIRITUALITY, MATERIAL WEALTH, AGRICULTURE, ROYALTY, KNOWLEDGE, COURAGE, PROGENY AND VICTORY. WE ALL WORSHIP GODDESS LAKSHMI ON FESTIVALS LIKE DIWALI BUT WHAT WE KNOW AND WORSHIP IS ONLY THE DHANA LAKSHMI FORM OF THE GODDESS. WITH THIS PHOTOSHOOT, TARUN GUPTA HAS TRIED TO DEPICT ALL EIGHT FORMS. HE CONCEPTUALISED THIS BEAUTIFUL SHOOT KEEPING HIS DAUGHTER IN MIND AND SHE DID TOTAL JUSTICE TO THE SHOOT.

DHAIRYA LAKSHMI

Dhairya Lakshmi (Courage Lakshmi), or Veera Lakshmi (Valourous Lakshmi), is a form of Lakshmi inspired by Durga. She is the form of the goddess who bestows valour during battles and courage plus strength for overcoming difficulties in life.

VIJAYA LAKSHMI

Vijaya Lakshmi or Jaya Lakshmi (Victorious Lakshmi) is also a manifestation drawn from Durga. She is the form of the goddess who bestows victory, not only in battles but also in conquering hurdles in order to achieve success.

—PHOTOS BY TARUN GUPTA

Filmmaker Sanjay Sure talks about his highly acclaimed film ‘Bless You.’

Sharvari’s Diwali rituals

ADITI CHAVAN cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Filmmaking does not al ways have to be a commer cial business. Some films are made to show art through the filmmaker’s lens to a wider world. Such is the movie ‘Bless You’ by filmmaker Sanjay Sure. It has received accolades and awards at several film festi vals including interna tional ones. Sanjay Sure sat down with City First to talk about the film, its success and the process of making it.

Reacting to the posi tive response his film has gotten, Sure said,

“As an Indian film maker, I have tried a different cinema. When we finished the work on our film, I thought about taking international reviews for our hard work. It was very important to know how the interna tional audience views the content that we as Indians make. We got more than what we had imagined. When we watch films like Paradise that show the culture and the society of their country, we find them novel and unique. Even our In dian filmmakers have done such work in the past such as the Mar athi film ‘Court’. So, we thought that we also needed to make a cinema that depicts our society realistical ly.”

The filmmaker fur ther mentioned that it was the idle lifestyle that was given to him and his theatre friends during the pandemic

that gave birth to the film. “We once thought that rather than sit ting here idly, why not make a film on the pandemic! This is how we developed ‘Bless You’ while keeping the

Vihaan receives praises

Mismatched Sea son 2 was every thing we ex pected it to be and so much more. Well, one thing that Season 2 gave us that we absolute ly cherish is the limelight on the cutest chocolate boy, Harsh Agrawal. Fans of the show have posted that Vihaan Samat steals the show with his impres sive act.

Much deservingly, Vihaan has been re ceiving quite an over whelming response on his posts and Instagram for playing the part per fectly and giving us a character we will hold close to our hearts for a long time to come. Harsh surely checks in all the boxes for the green flags we incessantly search for in guys in our own lives. He gives us an awwworthy moment when he sings “Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye” in his cu tesy accent only to make Dimple smile.

Apart from stellar

critic reviews, audiences and fan pages are filling up the comments show ing great love for the ac tor. The fanbase that truly loves Harsh was com pletely heartbroken when the Dimple-Harsh breakup scene took over the screen. One user wrote “I started the show for Dimple and Rishi. Ended up watching it because of Harsh. He stole the whole god damn show!”

pandemic, not as the focus but as the back drop of the film.”

He added, “We had previously done a thea tre play together named ‘Death of a Clerk’. We used the

We felt that the story of the play suits the pan demic backdrop and flows smoothly. I pitched the idea to eve ryone who loved it very much. After that, we immediately started working on the film.”

The film was entire ly shot in real-life loca tions and no sets were used even once in the film. Addressing that, Sure said that as the story demanded reallife situations, they shot in real locations. “For example, we have a scene in a fish mar

Swara taunts producers

ket. And I have seen that the artificially set up fish markets on sets do not have the authenticity of an actual fish mar ket. So, we shot our scene in an actual fish market dur ing the busy hours to get the essence right.”

“All of the cast of the film are theatre actors who are not known faces. They are stars in their own right. So, it became easier for us to blend in and shoot without making the people around us aware of the situation.

And we had also re hearsed our scenes thoroughly as a result, we did not face any chaotic situation while shooting,” he said.

With the motiva tion and hope of mak ing another such path breaking film, the filmmaker signed off with a cheery bye.

Sharvari loves Diwali and all the tradi tions which come with it - right from lighting diyas, to making rangolis, to dressing up in Indian wear to meeting friends and family she thoroughly enjoys all aspects of the festival. Talking about the same Sharvari says “I love Diwali and the ritual of pahili pa hat in which as a family we all wake up before sun rise, use Utna as a scrub for one’s skin, get ready in new In dian clothes, listen to some hap py Marathi songs about Diwali and have breakfast together.”

She further shares “This breakfast is called faral which includes dishes like chiwda, chak li, shankarpale, karanji and many more savouries like that which are all cooked at home. I look forward to this meal as we come together at a table as a family and the mood is very festive and celebratory. It feels like a new beginning. I also relish the wide spread of food and my fa vourite thing is chakli and shankar pale.”

SUCCESS IS AGELESS!

never too young or old to follow your dreams.

Share your experience working with Pankaj Tripathi.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

Truthfully, there is no age limit for success. Every one of us has the freedom to start some thing new at any time in our life. We don’t have to write our end ing until the book of life has many more chapters. Any time can be the start of a new chapter. To pursue your aspirations, you are

Every actor wants to work with Pankaj Trip athi, and it was kind of a dream come true, he is a fabulous actor, and also he is a great coactor I m very grateful that I got an opportu nity to work with him

How do you keep your self motivated and also what is your creative pro cess?

I love being on the set whether it is in front of the camera or be hind the camera in this world of cinema but fortunately or unfortu

nately I couldn’t be there earlier because there is a lot of respon

sibility on me. After the lock down, at the age of fifty-fifty-one, I thought

it is a good time for me to pursue what I have always wanted to do. I

about success or failure because that is all in ma terial, there will be sat isfaction in the end.

Talk about the battles you have faced in your journey.

took that risk because I thought if it was not now then it will be never, So I held onto it very tightly.

also advise everyone to go for the career they love, without thinking

I have been connected to the entertainment busi ness for a long because I knew I belong there. Ear lier I used to do a lot of small work but my ma jor turning point was in 2006 when I joined Lin tas. I started my produc tion vertical there and I have also worked at JWG which gave me perspec tive. Lockdown was the time I didn’t have any job or money, I was start ing from zero. As an or dinary man, I didn’t have any privilege but I

One message to strug gling young actors. Today’s generation is very clear. I can just say whatever your dream is you just have to hang onto it, make your own path and keep walking on it because there ain’t anything like impossi ble. It is said if you don’t get out how will you reach? The future be longs to those who be lieve in the beauty of their dreams.

I believed in myself and am now on my way to achieving what I have always wanted.

“Make your own path and keep walking on it because there ain’t anything like impossible,” says Krishna Kotian while sharing his inspiring journey of being an actor with the City First

Vihaan Samat

Swara Bhasker

Krishna Kotian

Sharvari Wagh

Sanjay Sure

Poster of the movie