First India-Jaipur Edition-25th January 2023

READ Crucial AAP AND BJP FIGHT

JAIPUR l WEDNESDAY,

JANUARY

US BLOWS OFF BBC DOCU, SAYS SHARED VALUES WITH INDIA

Washington: The Biden admin blew off questions about controversial BBC documentary on then CM Modi’s purported culpability for the 2002 Gujarat riots while vigorously talking up shared values and close ties between the US and India. P7

 Making Intelligence Bureau, RAW reports public a serious matter, says Rijiju on Supreme Court Collegium

New Delhi: Union Law

Washington: At least seven people were killed and one person critically injured after shootings were reported from 2 locations in Half Moon Bay area in north California of the United States, the news agency said that a 67-year-old suspect is now in custody.

Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said it was a “matter of grave concern” that certain portions of sensitive reports of the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing were put in public domain by the Supreme Court Collegium. He said intelligence agency officials work in a secret manner for the nation, and they would “think twice” in future if their reports are made public. The minister was responding to questions on some recent SC collegium resolutions, which contained portions of IB, RAW reports on certain names reiterated by top court for appointment as high court judges, being made public last week.Collegium had reiterated the names to the government earlier this month while rejecting intelligence inputs.

Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju poses for a picture during the award function for the E-Courts projects of the Dept of Justice and the Ministry of Law and Justice, in Delhi on Tuesday.

Wrestlers say on panel to probe the charges against the WFI chief

First India Bureau

We (CJI DY Chandrachud) are always in touch. He is the head of the judiciary and I am the bridge between the government and the judiciary so we have to work together. You cannot work in isolation.

R ijiju said appts are an administrative issue, judicial pronouncements are “totally different”. “I am not commenting, or nobody should make any kind of comment when it is a judicial order. Some people may say that certain remarks are made which compromise independence of judiciary. “When we are talking about appt process, this is an administrative matter. This has nothing to do with judicial order or pronouncement,” he said.

New Delhi: The wrestlers who accused WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and intimidation on Tuesday rued that the government did not consult them before forming the oversight committee that will probe charges against the sports administrator. Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sarita Mor and Sakshi Malik, who staged a sit-in protest for three days demanding the sacking of the WFI president, posted identical tweet on the micro-blogging site, expressing their dismay.

TWEETED TAGGING MODI, SHAH, THAKUR

We were assured that we will be consulted before the formation of the oversight committee. It’s really sad that we were not consulted,” the wrestlers tweeted and tagged PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah and Thakur.

State in-charge censures Harish Chaudhary for his remarks in Assembly Aditi Nagar

New Delhi: State Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Tuesday warned the state leaders for their acerbic over the paper leak incident. “Enough is enough, I can’t take it anymore. Whoever has any problem should bring it up with high command. But if you talk in front of the media, then it will not be tolerated,” Randhawa said.

“The issue of paper leak is before my arrival, it is a very sensitive matter. I had discussed this matter with the CM who had informed me that 41 accused have been caught and investigation is on. Whether

THREAT LETTER TO NAVEEN JINDAL DEMANDING `50 CR First India Bureau

it is a big man or a small one, action will be taken. It is a question of jobs and livelihood of the youth. It should be taken very seriously, there should be no politics in it,” he said. Randhawa said it is the right of every MLA to speak in the Assembly. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that Harish Chaudhary is the respected leader and member of the high command. “It does not behove Harish Choudhary to make such statements. What Venugopal ji had said should be respected,” he said. Chaudhary on Tuesday cornered the state government in the House over the paper leak issue.

Jaipur: Rajasthan government on Tuesday turned down demand of a CBI probe into the paper leak cases in the state. Rejecting the demand of the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that the state police are completely competent to investigate the matter. “The Rajasthan Police is capable of investigation and we are satisfied with the investigation. SOG is taking further action. The matter is being probed fast,” he said, adding that two recommendations of the committee have been accepted. P4

People do not defeat Congress. Leaders making absurd statements harm the Congress party. Those whom Rahul Gandhi trusted, if they give such statements, it will never

—Sukhjinder

Naveen

Jindal demanding `50 crore from him, police said on Tuesday. The letter was delivered by post at the Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) factory

in Patrapali village last week, a police official said.

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union HM Amit Shah held a meeting with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis in New Delhi on Tuesday. The sugar industry, and the cabinet expansion among other issues were discussed.

“Amit Shah has taken up sugar industry very seriously. There should be margin money, working capital, loan restructuring and strengthening of primary agriculture societies,” Shinde said.

DGCA slaps `10 lakh fine on Air India

First India Bureau

Delhi:

New

DGCA on

slapped a fine of `10 lakh on Tataowned Air India for not reporting two incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard a Paris-Delhi flight (AI142) on December 6,2022.

SHORT READ

l A BJP leader was shot dead in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Tuesday, following which one person was arrested, police said.

l RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is on a 5-day visit to Jaipur starting today. He will participate in various programmes and meetings related to the Sangh.

Indian film RRR’s “Naatu Naatu” gets Oscar nod for best original song

Congratulations to my team: Keeravaani

First India Bureau

‘Naatu Naatu’ is an award season favourite and has won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for best song

peak of success. RRR fans have been going gaga over this achievement and are flooding social media with joy and excitement.

2

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Strong tremors were felt across Delhi and the national capital region after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday afternoon. According to the NCS, the quake hit Nepal at 2.28 pm and the epicenter was about 148 km east of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

2 CASES OF UNRULY PASSENGERS ON THE PARIS-DELHI FLIGHT  An inebriated passenger was caught smoking in the lavatory and was allegedly not following instructions.  Another passenger relieved himself on a vacant seat and blanket of a passenger when she had gone to the lavatory.

Indian documentaries made it to nominationsShaunak’s ‘All That Breathes’ and Kartiki Gonsalves’ ‘The Elephant Whisperers’.

THAT BREATHES: The film revolves around the lives of siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who work out of their derelict basement in Delhi’s Wazirabad, to rescue and treat injured birds, especially the black kites.

The intense tremors in Delhi-NCR lasted for at least 15 seconds, with

3 people were killed while others are feared trapped after a residential building collapsed on Wazir Hasanganj Road in Lucknow. Apartment block collapsed 4 hours after earthquake hit north India.

people seen rushing out of their homes and the offices.

‘POLE STAR IN WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE’ NO MORE

TOP WRESTLERS

Shinde, Fadnavis meet Shah; discuss key project works

‘It

is sad we were not consulted’

TWO MORE NOMINATIONS FOR INDIA

1927 TO 2023

5.8 magnitude quake hits Nepal, strong tremors jolt Delhi-NCR and other cities

3 KILLED, SEVERAL FEARED TRAPPED IN BUILDING COLLAPSE

7 DEAD, 1 INJURED IN CALIFORNIA SHOOTINGS; SUSPECT NABBED

New Delhi: The high-stakes battle for New Delhi’s main municipal body, now hinging on the election of a mayor, was stalled for the second time in weeks after a fresh clash between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP on Tuesday. House was adjourned indefinitely once again. P7

Raigarh: An inmate from a jail in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district allegedly sent a threat letter to a Raigarh-based steel plant of industrialist and former Congress MP

SHAH LAUNCHES FIRST MADE-ININDIA HPV VACCINE Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and Union Home Minister Amit Shah launch the first made-in-India HPV vaccine on the occasion of National Girl Child Day and Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

GRAVE CONCERN!

 This is for the first time govt has reacted to portions of these reports put in public domain by Collegium

Moni Sharma

MIN TALKS ABOUT APPT PROCESS

Union Minister of Law and Justice

the

P8

RANDHAWA WARNS LEADERS OVER PAPER LEAK RHETORIC

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’

Singh Randhawa, State Congress in-charge

BOLLYWOOD BASHING

PM MODI SILENCES PARTY MOTORMOUTHS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned all his party members against making ‘unnecessary comments on the movies’

ROBIN ROY

The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India

On January 5, 2023, veteran action star Suniel Shetty had urged the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, to help the Bollywood film industry get rid of the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend.

Shetty said this when CM Yogi Adityanath had met members of the Bollywood fraternity in Mumbai.

Shetty had said, “Hashtag ‘BoycottBollywood’ can stop with your help. It’s important to convey that we’ve done good work. There can be one rotten apple but 99 percent of us don’t indulge in any wrongdoing. We’ve to change this perception. If you take the lead and also talk to the PM, it will make a difference.”

The hashtag ‘Boycott Bollywood’ had started trending after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely demise.

CUT — 2

It may be noted that on Last Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi’s warning to party workers to avoid ‘unnecessary comments’ on films amid boycott calls was hailed widely by the film fraternity. PM Modi’s statement came amid protests from BJP leaders like Ram Kadam and Narottam Mishra.

CM ADITYANATH HARD-SELLS UP

CM Yogi recently invited prominent members from the entertainment industry to explore his state as a film-making destination.

CM Yogi said under his government’s film policy, if a web series is filmed in UP, it will be given a 50 per cent subsidy. Likewise, a 25 per cent subsidy is given for setting up studios and film labs. CM Yogi also met Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, after interacting with Bollywood members

“If the PM snubs his own people and tells them to shut up and not talk nonsense against the film industry, which is not their area, for mere publicity, it is a big boost of confidence for the industry. That the PM of the country is with you. The signal goes to not only the politicians, but even people from the media, our own industry itself,” Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) said in an interview to Indian Express.

PM Narendra Modi had laid down a series of dos and don’ts for party leaders on Wednesday at the end of the two-day National Executive of the BJP.

Meanwhile, as usual there will be people to draw mileage out of everything. When the fraternity was facing

KOSHYARI’S OFFER TO STEP DOWN

The Prime Minister’s comment was the much-needed booster for the Bollywood industry. It may be noted that the entertainment industry had contributed Rs 50,0000 crore to the economy, equating to 0.5% of GDP way back in 2013, according to the report ‘Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry’, by financial services firm Deloitte. The sector also supports 18.8 lakh jobs.

flak, Shetty stood like a rock to defend Bollywood, however, with the Prime Minister’s warning to his leaders to refrain from making such comments, actor Akshay Kumar on Sunday jumped onto the issue and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for asking BJP workers to refrain from making unnecessary remarks on films and this too he did during the promotions of his latest film!

Akshay went on to say the PM was the “India’s biggest influencer” and if his words can bring about some change it will be great for the film indus-

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and controversies are inseparable but there’s nothing controversial about his latest move to step down as governor and “to quit active politics”. Koshyari said that during a recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi he conveyed his desire to relinquish his gubernatorial post to “spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities”. While New Delhi mulls its response, a Raj Bhawan statement said, “It was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as Raj Sevak or Rajyapal of a great state like Maharashtra.”

In November 2022 Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray)

WHO IS SHAH RUKH KHAN?

A mid protests against SRK’s Pathaan staged by Bajrang Dal in Assam, the state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Saturday said he doesn’t know ‘Pathan-Sathan’. He questioned, “Who is Shah Rukh Khan?” and said he doesn’t know anything about the film. Talking to the media, CM Sarma said, “I don’t know anything about him or his film Pathaan. I don’t know who is Shah Rukh. If there is any protest that has created a law-and-order situation in the state, we will see for it.”

Himanta Biswa Sarma @himantabiswa

Bollywood actor Shri @ iamsrk called me and we talked today morning at 2 am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film. I assured him that it’s the duty of the state govt to maintain law & order. We’ll enquire and ensure no such untoward incidents.

try. “Positivity is always welcome. And if our Prime Minister is saying something like this... He is India’s biggest influencer. If he is saying something and if things change it’ll be great for the industry.

“And why not, things should change, because we go through so much. We make films, go to the censor board, get them passed and then someone says something and phir gadbad ho jati hai (it becomes a mess). But now that he has said it, I think it’ll be better for us,” Akshay said. Sadly, Akshay “realised” this for his fraternity only after

the Prime Minister’s positive comment came in .

The Prime Minister’s comment was the much-needed booster for the Bollywood industry. It may be noted that the entertainment industry had contributed Rs 50,0000 crore to the economy, equating to 0.5% of GDP way back in 2013, according to the report ‘Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry’, by financial services firm Deloitte. The sector also supports 18.8 lakh jobs.

DIGVIJAYA SINGH MAKES CONGRESS SQUIRM WITH HIS PULWAMA REMARK

leader Sanjay Raut claimed that Koshyari had offered to resign but the claim was refuted by the Raj Bhawan. This was in the backdrop of Koshyari calling Chhatrapati Shivaji as an icon of the past and calling Dr BR Ambedkar and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari as the modern-day icons.

He again hurt the Maratha pride when he said that Samarth Ramdas was the guru of Shivaji Maharaj contrary to the belief that the warrior’s mother was his guru. His earlier remark that Mumbai would cease to be the financial capital if people from Gujarat and Rajasthan were to leave the megapolis pitted the Marwaris against Marathis. His remarks against Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule’s child marriage had also raised tempers. After several run-ins with the MVA government, the offer to resign could be in search of happiness as Koshyari once told a Jain spiritual leader that he never got happiness as governor. “Only unhappiness came my way,” he said.

day after former MP CM Digvijaya Singh raised the Pulwama terror attack and sought proof of the surgical strike deep inside the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, the senior Congress leader got strong rebuff from Rahul Gandhi at whose Bharat Jodo Yatra the remark was made. “They are his personal remarks, not of the party,” Rahul Gandhi said. Another senior party leader Jairam Ramesh also tweeted that the views expressed by “Digvijaya do not reflect the position of Cong. Cong has supported and will continue to support all military actions that are in national interest”. Singh obviously had caused huge embarrassment to party which is not raising any issues which would help BJP.

If Digvijaya thinks that divisive issues will work in favour of Congress he is grossly mistaken. Polarisation will only drive majority community towards BJP. Since 2014 polarisation has made BJP’s stronger. Singh cannot match what BJP has to offer its voters.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. Buddha

Best wishes to the people of the state on the foundation day of Uttar Pradesh, the land of cultural heritage and spirituality. Uttar Pradesh is moving forward on the path of progress by taking Modi ji’s welfare schemes and development policies down to the bottom. I wish for the continuous progress of the state and welfare of the people of the state.

Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani

Hearty greetings to all the people of the state on the foundation day of “Uttar Pradesh”, the land of cultural diversity, heritage and spirituality. Over the years, Uttar Pradesh has contributed significantly in the progress of the country. I wish that the state continues to move on the path of development and prosperity in the same way.

● Vol 4 ● Issue No. 230

● RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764.

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

Amit Shah @AmitShah

Koshyari said that during a recent visit of PM Narendra Modi he conveyed his desire to relinquish his gubernatorial post to “spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities”

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

MODI’S ‘BOOSTER’ FOR BOLLYWOOD INDUSTRY...

CELEBRATING FOUNDATION DAY OF ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND NATIONAL VOTERS’ DAY (NVD)

SALUTING EVERY VOTER

The theme for 13th NVD (2023) is

“Nothing Like Voting, Vote For Sure”

The NVD epitomizes the resolve of ECI to pull all stops out to make elections inclusive, participatory, voter friendly and ethical.

As evident, the theme is such that it can capture the imagination of the voters. When citizens take pride in being a voter, as part of their civic duty, its impact on the level of governance is sure to be felt.

HAPPY VOTERS DAY!

Today, January 25, marks the foundation day of Election Commission of India, also celebrated as National Voters’ Day (NVD) since 2011. Its purpose is to sensitize the citizens of India about their rights and responsibilities as voters. The Election Commission (ECI) was established on January 25, 1950 on the eve of the first Republic Day. The Constituent Assembly gave it a Constitutional status under Article 324 to ensure independence of its functioning and decision making. Establishing a permanent, central and autonomous Commission to conduct elections based on the adult suffrage in an era of low literacy and non-existent electoral rolls is a tribute to the foresight of the Constituent Assembly. The institution’s competency, impartiality and trustworthiness have been upheld in 17 Lok Sabha elections, 16 elections each to the office of the President and Vice President, 399 Legislative Assembly elections till date. The 400th assembly elections are underway. Contrary to occasional international experiences, election results in India have been never in dispute. Individual elections petitions are adjudicated by relevant High Courts. The ECI has earned the trust of both political parties and citizens of India. The commitment is to enhance and deepen it.

Strong and inclusive electoral participation is crucial for building a robust democracy. Elections in a vibrant democracy should be more than free, fair, regular and credible. They ought to be popular and participatory as well, in order to bear their full weight upon governance. The right to vote is power only when exercised. We are reminded of a saying of Mahat-

Today, January 25, marks the foundation day of Election Commission of India (ECI), also celebrated as National Voters’ Day (NVD) since 2011. Its purpose is to sensitize the citizens of India about their rights and responsibilities as voters. The ECI was established on January 25, 1950 on the eve of the first Republic Day

elections (2019) leaves a lot to be desired. The challenge is to motivate the missing 30 crore electors to the booth. Missing voters have many dimensions like urban apathy, youth apathy, domestic migration, others. As in most liberal democracies, where enrollment and voting are voluntary, persuasive and facilitative methods are best. This entails targeting the low voting constituencies and underperforming segment of voters.

The ECI has already institutionalized systems for facilitating two crore plus voters of age eighty years and above, eightyfive lakh PWD voters, enrolling of 47,500 plus third gender people. Recently, I thanked over two lakh centenarian voters by a personal letter to recognize their commitment to democracy. On November 5, 2022 I had the mournful honour of paying homage to Late Shyam Saran Negi at Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh. Acknowledged as the first voter in the First General Election of India (1951), he never missed out on exercising franchise, before passing away at the ripe age of 106 years. The example of Late Shyam Saran Negi inspires us to cast our vote dutifully.

Young voters are the future of the Indian democracy. The next gen, born around and after 2000 have started joining our electoral roll. Their participation as voters would shape future of democracy, almost throughout the entire century.

It is, therefore critical that democratic roots are seeded at school level before students attain voting age. Simultaneously, youth are being engaged through various mediums in order to bring them to the

ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION: RIGHT TO VOTE IS POWER WHEN EXERCISED

S trong and inclusive electoral participation is crucial for building a robust democracy. Elections in a vibrant democracy should be more than free, fair, regular and credible. They ought to be popular and participatory as well, in order to bear their full weight upon governance. The right to vote is power only when exercised. We are reminded of a saying of Mahatma Gandhi- If leaving duties unperformed we run after rights, they escape us like a will-o’-the-wisp.”

polling booths. So is the case with urban voters, who tend to display voting apathy.

The ECI is leading the development of Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) like toilets, electricity, drinking water, ramps at every polling station. The Commission is keen that the facilities developed in the schools should be of permanent nature, which is financially prudent decision as well.

In democracy, voters have a right to be informed about the background of candi dates they vote. Enabling the voter to make informed choices thus assumes critical importance. It is for this reason that the criminal cases, if any, pending against the candidates should be notified in newspa per. Also, while every political party is within its right to promise welfare measures in its manifesto, voters equally have right to know their financial implications to the public exchequer.

Though muscle power has largely been subdued, there still remain a few states where election re lated violence impinges upon free choice of voters. Violence should have no place in democ racy. Curbing money power re mains a bigger challenge in the elections. The scale and quan tum of inducement offered to voters is felt more acutely in certain states than others. Though, stricter vigilance by law enforcement agencies have resulted in record seizures as witnessed during recently held elections, there can be no substi tute for sincere and vigilant vot ers in a democracy. The mobile

STRICTER VIGILANCE HAS RESULTED IN RECORD SEIZURES DURING POLLS

S tricter vigilance by law enforcement agencies have resulted in record seizures as witnessed during recently held elections, there can be no substitute for sincere and vigilant voters in a democracy. The mobile Apps like C-Vigil has helped common citizen report incidents of violation of Model Code of Conduct, thereby helping the Election Observers initiate prompt action (within 100 minutes) against the offenders.

Apps like C-Vigil has helped common citizen report incidents of violation of Model Code of Conduct, thereby helping the Election Observers initiate prompt action (within 100 minutes) against the offenders.

Retention and deepening of democratic spaces through credible electoral outcomes, worldwide, stands at a cusp.

Sheer scale and speed with which the social media can disseminate the facts and views/ fake news has propensity to overwhelm other aspects of the technology in election management. Unconstrained by underpinning of moral and legal spaces, which govern ECI’s role and framework, anti-democratic chatter uses technology as an effective tool of its trade.

Hundreds of fake media videos/content are loaded and circulated before every election. In the absence of shelf-life, they continue to linger after the elections are over, especially those which attack key/core election domains. World over there is a growing expectation that the social media platforms proactively use their enormous AI capabilities, in the least, to red flag such evident disinformation efforts. The responsibility to protect the free spaces including free speech is coshared. The realization that deep fakes make job of Election Management Bodies much more difficult, needs to dawn and self-correction

The NVD epitomizes the resolve of ECI to pull all stops out to make elections inclusive, participatory, voter friendly and ethical. The theme for 13th NVD (2023) is “Nothing Like Voting, Vote for Sure”. As evident, the theme is such that it can capture the imagination of the voters. When citizens take pride in being a voter, as part of their civic duty, its impact on the level of governance is sure to be felt. Happy voters Day.

RAJIV KUMAR

The writer is the Chief Election Commissioner of India

GOVT REJECTS OPP’S CBI PROBE DEMAND

DHARIWAL SPEAKS

Jaipur: The Rajasthan Government on Tuesday turned down the demand of a CBI probe into the paper leak cases in the State.

Rejecting the demand of the Opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that the State police is completely competent to investigate the matter.

“The Rajasthan Police is capable of investigation and we are satisfied with the investigation. SOG is taking further action. The matter is being investigated fast,” he said, adding that two recommendations of the committee constituted in this matter have been accepted.

He said that the Gehlot government has taken action against the culprits while before no such action was taken by the previous government in the paper leak cases.

Dhariwal said that in the past 10 years, 12 cases were sent to the CBI of which 10 cases were filed and closure report was filed in seven cases. He cited the example of Shivani incident when Kalicharan Saraf was a Minister. “I reject the CBI demand because Rajasthan Police is capable,” he said.

Dhariwal said that the Congress government is standing with the youth and no guilty will be spared in the case.

He said that the cases of paper leak have also come to the fore earlier.

The minister informed that 19 cases were registered in 4 years before 2019, in this 241 were arrested, 55 people are still at large whereas in the year 2019, one case was registered, 2 cases were registered in 2020, 5 in 2021 and 7 in 2022.

Congress leaders say ‘faith in State probe agencies’ while BJP cries foul

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Talking to the media outside the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on the issue of paper leak, Cabinet Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that the CBI is the agency of the Centre, but the agencies of Rajasthan are also capable of investigating.

“In the past, there have been many big cases when the police and investigative agencies of Rajasthan have made breakthroughs.

Taking strict action in the paper leak case, the agencies of Rajasthan have arrested many people. I do not want to discourage the agencies of Rajasthan by handing over the investigation to the CBI,” he said.

Terming BJP’s demand a ‘political stunt’,

Deputy Chief Whip Mahendra Chaudhary and Sanyam Lodha said that the govt has made a strict law against paper leak.

BJP MLA Ramlal Sharma has demanded a CBI inquiry into the paper leak case. Talking to the media, he said

‘Money, stress and other reasons for Kota deaths’

First India Bureau

MAIN REASONS

that BJP MLAs are raising this matter strongly, but the truth will not come out until the investigation of this matter is handed over to the CBI.

Rajendra Rathore, Madan Dilawar, Anita Bhadel, and Kali Charan Saraf also demanded high-level inquiry.

Govt, Opp spar over Guest faculty scheme, principal given ‘rights’

HIGHLIGHTS

l Paper leak is a big issue. No one should be given a clean chit as the investigation is on: Harish Chaudhary on CM’s clean chit to officials in paper leak

l Report of Business Advisory Committee (BAC) placed in the House; CM Gehlot will reply to Governor’s address on February 2

l The Governor’s address will be debated for 16 hours. Congress gets 8.36 hours, BJP 5.41 hours, Independents for 1.03 hours

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The Opposition BJP cornered Education Minister BD Kalla over the Vidya Sambal scheme during the question hour on Tuesday.

Kalla said, “The guest faculty scheme has been postponed for some time. It has not been cancelled.”

On this, Leader of the Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria raised the question that who will teach the children when the posts have been lying vacant for so long.

Speaker CP Joshi intervened and said that the scheme to fill the vacant posts of teach-

30-40% QUESTION IN EXAMS BASED ON STATE TOPICS: KALLA

ers with guest faculty did not work out. He asked whether the government wants to fill the posts on contract or want to make arrangements through guest faculty.

The Minister said that school principals will be given the right to appoint guest faculty. He said that from now onwards, guest faculty can be appointed at the level of the school principal.

The Education Minister said that the file regarding the provision of the reservation is with the Finance Department and as soon as approval is given, applications will be invited in the scheme.

Question Hour

l House proceedings adjourned till 11 am on January 30

l In the last 5 years, a budget of Rs 1,342 crore was kept in the state to increase greenery, in which Rs 1,230 crore has been spent. But even after that the green area has increased by 0.9 per cent: Kataria to Hemaram

l At present, there is no provision of separate reservation for local residents in recruitments of the state, Education Minister BD Kalla responded to a question by BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani

BUDGET SESSION

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria asked what the government was afraid of.

“Why does the government not want the CBI to investigate paper leaks in Rajasthan?

Papers are being leaked in every recruitment and the state government is protecting the culprits,” he asked.

Jaipur: The Congress Government has accepted that coaching students in Kota are dying by suicide due financial crisis, blackmailing, love affair, parents having high ambitions from the students, as well as physical, mental and academic stress in the students. The Government will soon bring law to stop these incidents.

The Government gave this information in response to a starred question asked by MLA Panachand Meghwal in the Assembly on Tuesday. The ques-

FOR THE SUICIDE BY STUDENTS

Lack of selfconfidence due to lagging behind in tests conducted in coaching centres

Parents having high ambitions from the students

Physical/mental and academic stress in the students

Financial crisis, blackmailing, love affair etc

tion could not be taken up for discussion due to Meghwal’s absence from the House. In the written answer provided by

the government to the MLA, it has been said that in Kota division, in the last four years (2019 to 2022), a total of 53 cases of suicides of school, college and coaching centre students have been registered.

Guidelines have been issued by the Department of School Education and Higher Education to provide mental support and security to the students studying in coaching centres operating across the state including Kota.

The Rajasthan Coaching Institutes (Control and Regulation) Bill 2023 is under process to enact a law to control coaching institutes.

OVER CIVIC PROBLEMS

Education Minister Dr BD Kalla, in response to a supplementary question, informed the house that only 1.05 per cent of candidates from outside the State have been selected in the exams conducted by RPSC since 2012 while this percentage is 0.90 in the exams conducted by the RSSB. about 30 to 40 per cent of questions related to State, so that local candidates can get an advantage in the recruitments.

114.20L

`

SCHEME: MEENA

Minister of State for Agricultural Marketing Murari Lal Meena informed the house that under Krishak Sathi Sahayata Yojana, from January 2018 to November 2018, a total of 59 farmers, including 56 from Agricultural Produce Market Committee Udaipur (grains) and 3 from Agricultural Produce Market Committee Udaipur (fruit-vegetables) have been provided assistance of Rs 114.20 lakh.

Cong councillors protest against Dr Somya

First India Bureau

Jaipur: A Congress councillor and his supporters on Tuesday raised slogans and protested against the Mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Greater) Dr Somya. As soon as the mayor reached Malviya Nagar Zone Office, Ward No. 134 councillor Karan Sharma and his supporters started protesting against the mayor over road accidents due to

stray animals, poor cleanliness work and the civic body not hearing the complaints made by councillors.

The protestors were stopped by the security staff, following which, the Congress councillors became

HOLDS CLEANLINESS WORKSHOP

NO DISCRIMINATION DONE DURING FUND ALLOCATION, SAYS SHANTI DHARIWAL

L oP GC Kataria in his question said that in the last 15 years, 33 per cent of the target of increasing greenery by the department has increased by only 0.9 per cent compared to 2019 in 14 districts of the State.

U rban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal on Tuesday said in the state Assembly that no discrimination is being done regarding development works. Various works of urban development are being done in Malviya Nagar assembly constituency at a cost of about Rs 1,308 crore. Dhariwal was replying to supplementary questions asked in this regard during the Question Hour.

Soon this work will be completed.

The greenery has decreased 32 square kms in Jalore and in Karauli it decreased by 26 per cent. Hemaram Choudhary said, “There has been a decrease in greenery outside the forest area but there has been shortage in the forest areas.”

Minister of State for Labor Sukhram Vishnoi said that an amount of Rs 32.34 crore has been allocated so far in Chittorgarh district under the schemes of the Labor department. Vishnoi said that the Shubhashakti scheme was closed in the year 2017 by the previous govt. He informed that funds have been given under ten schemes of the Labor Dept in Chittorgarh. He also tabled constituency-wise details of the benefits given in Chittorgarh in the last three years.

Final list of State Youth Cong polls out, 16 candidates in fray

First India Bureau

angry and climbed tables and chairs in front of the mayor. Nearly after 20 minutes of ruckus, security per-

sonnel took out the protestors from the public hearing hall and brought the situation under control.

Jaipur: The final list for the Youth Congress Rajasthan elections has been prepared. A final decision on the nominations for the Youth Congress elections was to be taken by January 22. There are 16 contenders for the Youth Congress state president in Rajasthan.

Twenty-nine people had filed nominations for the state president.

Voting and member-

ship will start from January 28 for the elections.

By January 27, the State President, General Secretary, District President and different executive bodies of the Assembly will vote. After February 27, the counting of votes will be done.

According to the nomination, Pooja Bhargava is the first. Rajesh Gurjar is in second position and Dimple Sindal in third. Satveer Chaudhary has been given the fourth, followed by Ashish Tatwal, Sudhindra Mund, Vikas Kumar, Rakesh Meena, Rajesh Raliya, Abhimanyu Poonia, Yashveer Shura, Ajay Jain, Chandraprakash Meena, Arbab Khan and Ashok Kumar Kuladia.

Naresh Sharma & Yogesh Sharma

Mayor Dr Somya with Mahendra

Soni and Gulabo Sapera.

Minister Shanti Dhariwal speaks during the assembly session in Jaipur on Tuesday.

BD Kalla Gulab Chand Kataria

GC

Police capable of investigation and we are satisfied with probe, says Dhariwal

State Govt protecting culprits: LoP GC Kataria on Govt’s refusal to CBI probe

Mahendra Chaudhary

Pratap Singh Khachariyawas Ramlal Sharma

GIVEN TO 59 FARMERS UNDER KRISHAK

JMCG

BY MUKESH KIRADOO

ALL DECKED UP FOR R-DAY, FULL DRESS REHEARSAL HELD IN JPR

Jaipur : The full dress rehearsal for the function to be held at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Republic Day was done on Tuesday. Parade, march past and show by the horsemen of the Rajasthan Police, band played by the Army, police and school boys and girls, and Rajasthani dance and other programmes were rehearsed.

Patriotic cultural programmes were also rehearsed. School children did folk dance.

Apart from Army, Rajasthan Police, Haryana Police, Railway, Scouts and Guides, school boys and girls performed.

The police personnel displayed a thrilling horse show.

In the rehearsal, along with 150 artists from other states including Rajasthan, Odisha, about 1200 school children performed with great enthusiasm.

Three jump to save self from factory fire in Jpr

Bureau

Jaipur : Three labourers were injured after a fire broke out in a factory on Tuesday morning, an official said. The blaze has been brought under control. The fire probably broke due to a short circuit. The cause of the fire is being investigated, fire officer Rajendra Nagar said.

The three labourers got injured after they jumped from the roof to escape the fire, he said.

The owner of the factory estimates a loss of

The factory is on second floor.

about Rs 50 lakh due to fire, he said. Vishwakarma Station Officer Ramesh Saini said all the three injured labourers have been admitted to the Kanvatia Hospital for treatment.

Earthquake felt in Jaipur and eastern parts of Rajasthan

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The eastern part of Rajasthan felt mild tremors on Tuesday, which caused panic among people. The tremors of an earthquake having the epicenter in Nepal were felt in the surrounding areas of Jaipur, Alwar and Dausa around 2.30 pm.

Radheshyam Sharma, Director of Jaipur Met Centre, said, “The epicenter of the earthquake having a magnitude of 5.8 was the mountainous region of Nepal.”

Airport Terminal 2 ready for make over

Kashiram Choudhary

Jaipur: Jaipur International Airport is all geared up for a massive development and renovation work at the landside area of Terminal 2. The development work is likely to start from next month and will get completed in one years.

The main objective to carry out development work at the landside area is to create more facilities for the passengers.

Among the major development work is extension of porch area to avoid any kind of traffic jam during VIP move-

ment and other similar situation. At present there are three lanes (Road) in the porch area while construction of three new lanes near the taxi parking area is on the cards. The porch area will soon have six lane structure of roads where traffic jam will be far from reality.

Apart from this, the present entry and exit gates at airport premis-

es will also be shifted. New exit gate will be constructed near the two-wheeler parking area while the entry gate will be constructed near the VIP parking of the terminal 2. Both the gates will be connected to the six lane poach area. It will ensure smooth and uninterrupted flow of traffic and will also save the time of passengers.

Kirodi marches over paper leak, holds dharna in Jpr

Jaipur: BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Meena on Tuesday started a march to Jaipur with a large number of people in vehicles over the issue of paper leak incidents. Police stopped the march from entering the city, ahead Ghat ki Guni in Jaipur on Agra highway following which Meena sat on a dharna there. “I am demanding a CBI inquiry in the matter. Why is the government scared? There is the involvement of Congress leaders and officers and the government is shielding them,” he told reporters.

He alleged that officials from the CMO were involved in the paper leak case.

The CM has already rejected the allegations saying that no politician or official was involved in paper leak. Meena’s march

JMCH senior assistant in ACB net with `25K

Navin Sharma

Jaipur: The ACB on Tuesday arrested a senior assistant of Jaipur Municipal Corporation Heritage while taking a bribe of Rs 25,000. Police informed that senior assistant Meghraj Chawriya was demanding a bribe to forward the file of the pension of the complainant’s mother.

“The complainant’s mother retired in 2018 from the JMC and died in 2021. Chawriya was demanding bribe to forward the file of retirement benefits,” said ACB ADG Dinesh MN. A trap was laid on Tuesday and the accused was caught.

Election Department to hold events on 13th National Voters’ Day today

Dr Rituraj Sharma

Jaipur: A state-level function will be organized by the Election Department Rajasthan on the 13th National Voters’ Day today at the Harishchandra Mathur Institute of Public Administration. Governor Kalraj Mishra will be the chief guest of the programme and Chief Secretary Usha Sharma will be the special guest.

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that the programme will be organized on the theme of National Vot-

ers’ Day. State election icons will also be present. National Voters’ Day will be organized in all the districts of the state. Gupta said that during the revision programme, names of about 20 lakh new voters have

been added in all the 200 assembly constituencies of the State. A voter awareness exhibition will be organized at the function, where the journey of elections from independence until now will be shown.

PATWARI HELD WITH

BRIBE IN DAUSA

Dausa: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday arrested a patwari while accepting a bribe of Rs. 4000. ACB sleuths informed the patwari, Ram Bhajan Meena, was posted in Kalakho gram panchayat of Bhandarej town of Dausa district.

—Laxmikant Sharma

began from Dausa with thousands people. Elaborate security arrangements were made on Dausa-Jaipur border, police said.

5 judicial officers transferred

in Raj Jaipur (FIB) : The Raj High Court administration on Tuesday transferred five judicial officers. As per the orders issued by HC Registrar Chandra Prakash Shrimali, Pramil Kumar Mathur has been transferred to Member Secretary of RALSA while Madhvi Dinkar has been sent to Karauli as District Judge.

Similarly, Ajay Shukla is posted as judge in Family Court (Third) in Jaipur Metro (I), Pradeep Kumar Verma was shifted to judge in commercial court in Alwar and Bhawani Shankar Pandya was transferred to MACT Court (Second), Udaipur.

3 minor girls drown, bodies of 2 fished out

First India Bureau

Tonk: Three minor girls drowned in a water body in Deoli town of Tonk district on Tuesday. Police informed the deceased has been identified as Kiran Meena (8), Riya Meena (7) and Tina Dhakhad (10).

“The incident took place in Kalyanpura village of Deoli Town on Tuesday. The three girls were returning home from school when they slipped into water body while playing. Tina tried to rescue Kiran

and Riya, but she too got drowned and could not swim back,” police said.

“When the girls did not come back family members started the search. Bodies of Riya Meena and Kiran Meena were fished out while Tina is still missing,” police added.

Jaipur: Governor Kalraj Mishra along with his wife Satyavati Mishra offered prayers to Lord Shiva at Raj Rajeshwar Mahadev Temple at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. After this, a program of Paush Bada Prasadi was also organized, in which the Governor was personally present and received Prasadi along with officers and employees. Mishra also told about the reli-

gious importance of Paush and Magh months on this occasion.

Principal Secretary to the Governor Subir Ku-

`4K

Over 150 artists from other states and Rajasthan along with 1,200 students from various schools performed with great enthusiasm during the rehearsal

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Praveen Gupta, Chief Electoral Officer in a presser on Tuesday.

Police, villagers present on spot.

Over 500 police personnel were deployed at Ghat Ki Guni to stop Kirodi Meena, however he agitated there and sat on dharna.

Students from various schools preping up for the cultural show to be held on Republic Day.

I demand a CBI inquiry in this matter. There is involvement of Cong leaders and govt is shielding them.

—Dr Kirodi Meena,MP

Women Power: (L) From folk artists to (R) cops in uniform, women of Raj to outshine on R-Day. Rehearsal of flag hoisting.

First India

First India Bureau

mar, Chief Special Of-

ficer Govindram Jaiswal along with officers and personnel of vari-

ous cells and branches of Raj Bhavan also received Prasadi.

Governor Kalraj Mishra & his wife Satyvati Mishra offering prayers at Raj Rajeshwar temple in Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.

Contingents of RAC and Haryana Police during the rehearsal at SMS stadium on Tuesday.

GLOBAL VIEWS: After UK PM Sunak last week, now US has distanced itself from controversial documentary

In India, Oppn has grabbed this opportunity to fire fresh salvos at the PM

New Delhi: BBC’s recent controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created stir not only in Indian but in international politics.

While, last week last week, UK PM Rishi Sunak had defended PM Modi and distanced himself from the BBC documentary series, now the United States (US) has has distanced itself from the controversial documentary.

Responding to questions raised by a Pakistani journalist, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Monday told reporters that Washington shares an “exceptionally deep partnership” with New Delhi based on values that are common to both the US and Indian democracies.

In India, while Opposition has grabbed this opportunity to fire fresh salvos at PM Modi, the BJP on Tuesday received over this documentary support from unexpected quarters from senior Congress leader and former AK Antony’s son Anil Antony.

TRUTH HAS NASTY HABIT OF COMING OUT: RAHUL GANDHI

Antony Junior had handled Congress’ digital communications in Kerala till recently. His remarks come at a time when various wings of the state Congress have announced that the screening of the controversial documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots will be done in the state.

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has demanded the BJP-led Centre to ban an upcoming Hindi film on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse like it blocked the BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi. Addressing a public meeting here on Sunday, the AIMIM leader said the Government of India has to take a clear-cut stand that a ban will be imposed on the movie ‘Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh’ and it will not be released in any theatre.

Bharat Jodo Yatra has changed narrative in country: Rahul Gandhi

Jammu (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said his Bharat Jodo Yatra has achieved success in “changing the narrative” in the country and brought crores of people together to denounce hatred and spread the message of love.

He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the RSS have created an atmosphere of hatred in the country and said suppressing or frightening people cannot stop the truth from coming out.

“The yatra has achieved something fundamental, very powerful and what the yatra has done cannot be changed.

It has shown that there are two visions of India, one is hate-filled, arrogant and cowardly and another is love-filled,

Rahul Gandhi leads Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu on Tuesday.

Jammu (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he and the party do not agree with Digvijaya Singh’s comments on surgical strikes and that the armed forces do not need to give any proof. Singh on Monday had questioned the surgical strikes and accused the government of peddling lies. “I don’t agree with the statement of Digvijaya Singh. It is crystal clear that we disagree with it. It is the official position of the Congress,” Gandhi told reporters here.

crystal clear,” Rahul Gandhi told a press conference here.

DEEPEST REGARD FOR ARMY: DIGVIJAYA SINGH

Nagrota (ANI): Amid an ongoing row over his questioning the authenticity of the 2019 surgical strikes, Digvijaya Singh trying to put an end to the row said here on Tuesday: “I have got the greatest regard for the Defence forces”. Meanwhile, an agitated Jairam Ramesh lashed out at the media on Tuesday who had posed queries over this issue.

WHY LATE IN SNUB TO DIGVIJAYA: BJP TO RaGa

New Delhi (PTI): Why did Rahul Gandhi take so long to publicly declare his respect for the armed forces, the BJP asked on Tuesday, slamming Gandhi for dismissing Digvijaya Singh’s controversial comments on surgical strikes as his “personal opinion”. It also asked the Congress to make its stand clear on the issues of terrorism and national security.

FIFTH GENERATION INTERNET

Ramcharitmanas remarks: Maurya lands in trouble

Lucknow (PTI): An FIR was registered against Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday over his controversial remarks on ‘Ramcharitmanas’, police said. “A case has been registered against Swami Prasad Maurya at the Hazratganj police station for allegedly outraging religious feelings with his recent remarks on Ramcharitmanas,” police said. The FIR was registered following a complaint by a resident of Aishbagh in Bazar Khala area of UP.

The first information report (FIR) was lodged under various provisions and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Thiruvananthapuram: The controversial BBC documentary was screened across Kerala on Tuesday by various political organisations, as the BJP youth wing went up in arms protesting against the screening. Protest marches were taken out by Yuva Morcha to the Victoria College in Palakkad and Govt Law College in Ernakulam where SFI followed through with its announcement to screen the documentary.

JNUSU’S PLAN OF SCREENING GETS ‘CUT’ SANS ELECTRICITY

New Delh: A row erupted in JNU as a poster was purportedly released by its students’ union announcing the screening of a controversial BBC documentary on PM Modi at its office on Tuesday, prompting university authorities to issue a warning to cancel the event or face “strict disciplinary action”. Later, there was no electricity at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus since 8.30 pm on Tuesday.

HYDERABAD VARSITY STUDENTS GROUP SCREENS DOCUMENTARY

Hyderabad: A section of students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has screened the BBC documentary on PM Modi on its campus, prompting the University authorities to seek a report. The documentary, was screened on Sunday by a group of students under the banner “Fraternity Movement- HCU unit”, on the campus of the UoH, also known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU).

MCD adjourned again without electing mayor

Ruckus at MCD House meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

New Delhi (PTI): The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) could not elect a mayor as its proceedings were adjourned on Tuesday, a second instance of the new House convening for mayoral poll but not being able to complete the process, prompting a protest by Aam Aadmi Party councillors and MLAs.

There was an unusual security arrangement for the House proceeding with personnel deployed on the Civic Centre premises, and in the House as well.

However, there was a heated discussion between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members following which presiding officer Satya Sharma, a BJP councillor, adjourned the House without holding the poll.

BJP SHOULD ACCEPT MCD POLL DEFEAT: MANISH SISODIA

New Delhi: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Tuesday asked the BJP to accept their defeat in the MCD polls and help ensure the smooth conduct of mayoral elections. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House was adjourned on Tuesday without electing a mayor and deputy mayor amid a ruckus by some councillors.

New Delhi: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari alleged the AAP was running away from the elections of mayor and deputy mayor despite having majority in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, as the House was adjourned amid a chaos on Tuesday. Tiwari alleged that the AAP leaders, including party councilors, misbehaved with BJP leaders.

CHANDIGARH COURT VACATED AFTER BOMB THREAT

search operation is still underway and a dog squad has been brought in to check if there have been any bomb,” they added. The district courts and the police officials said that the District Court, Chandigarh was vacated immediately and all the lawyers were told to leave the premises. Till the filing of this report no bomb was found. More details are awaited.

HC SAYS NO TO UNAUTHORISED RECORDING, LIVE STREAMING OF COURT PROCEEDINGS

New

Delhi: The Delhi High Court has prohibited the unauthorised recording, sharing, or dissemination of live-streamed proceedings or archival data of proceedings. The court notified the rules for live streaming and recording of court proceedings, and said, “To imbue greater transparency, inclusivity, and foster access to justice, it is expedient to set up infrastructure and framework to enable live streaming and recording of proceedings.” These rules were notified in the official gazette on January 13, 2023.

COURT ALLOWS NIRAV MODI’S FORMER FINANCE HEAD TO TRAVEL ABROAD

New

Delhi: A Mumbai special court has quashed a look out circular issued by CBI against the former chief financial officer of Nirav Modi’s Firestar International Ltd company which is accused in Rs 6,498 crore scam pulled off by the diamantaire at large, officials said on Tuesday. The court agreed with the submission of Ravi Shankar Gupta that he is highly qualified and is required to travel outside the country as he is the executive director of a multinational company. Gupta had said that he had appeared 31 times before the CCBI for questioning.

BILKIS CASE: CONVICTS’ REMISSION COULD NOT BE HEARD IN SC

Delhi: The hearing on Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the remission

convicts

the gang-rape case by the Gujarat

Speaker Birla inaugurates Jio True 5G in Kota

becomes 6th city in Rajasthan to get Jio True 5G services

First India Bureau

Udaipur, and Bikaner.

In the next couple of months, Jio True 5G services will be available in Ajmer, Bhilwara, Alwar, Sikar, And Ganganagar as well. By the end of 2023, every town, taluka and tehsil of Rajasthan will have Jio True 5G coverage.

Starting from Tuesday, the technological advantages of highspeed, low-latency, stand-alone True 5G services shall be made available to the people

LS Speaker Om Birla during the function in Kota on Tuesday.

and businesses of the city, opening new growth opportunities in the areas of tourism,

manufacturing, SMEs, e-governance, education, healthcare, agriculture, automation,

artificial intelligence, gaming, and IT.

Speaking on the occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker Birla said, “In the era of research and innovation, True 5G will prove to be a milestone in the development story of the country. With the help of this latest technology, people from remote areas will become part of the mainstream. This will improve the quality of life in the country. India is among the few countries where

5G technology is available. India will become a global economy with the help of 5G. I thank Reliance Jio for launching 5G services in Kota.”

Kota has traditionally been an important industrial destination of Rajasthan and over the past few decades, it has also become India’s coaching hub. Thousands of aspiring young students come to the city each year to prepare for competitive examinations.

bench. The petition of Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family slaughtered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, was scheduled to be heard on Tuesday by a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar.

Conspiracy on to weaken Nitish, claims Kushwaha

Upendra Kushwaha

summon me for an explanation. A meeting of the party can also be convened. But I will keep raising my voice against any attempts to weaken the chief minister,” said Kushwaha.

Kota: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched Jio True 5G services in Kota on Tuesday. With this, Kota has become the 6th city in Rajasthan to get Jio True 5G services, after Nathdwara, Jaipur, Jodhpur,

BBC DOCUMENTARY ON PM MODI STIRS INT’L POLITICS

First India Bureau

PM Narendra Modi interacts with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Awardees 2023, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

BBC DOCUMENTARY SCREENED IN KERALA; BJP HOLDS PROTESTS

BAN UPCOMING MOVIE ON GODSE: OWAISI TELLS CENTRE

AK ANTONY’S SON ANIL ANTONY OPPOSES BBC DOCUMENTARY

Jammu: Amid a row over controversial BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said any kind of ban, oppression and frightening people are not going to stop the truth from coming out. At a press conference, Gandhi said, “If you read our scriptures, if you read Bhagavad Gita or you read the Upanishads, you will see in it, it is written that the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out.”

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader AK Antony’s son Anil Antony said on Tuesday that placing the views of the BBC over Indian institutions would “undermine” the country’s sovereignty.

AAP RUNNING AWAY FROM MAYORAL POLL: MANOJ TIWARI

Chandigarh: The Chandigrah Security officials launched a search operation in the District Court Complex after a bomb threat, the officials said to the news agency ANI on Tuesday.

“A

IN THE COURTYARD

New

of sentence of 11

in

government, could not be held in the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the judges concerned were hearing a matter related to passive euthanasia as part of a five-judge Constitution

RAHUL GANDHI DISTANCES FROM DIGVIJAYA SINGH’S REMARKS ON SURGICAL STRIKES

Kota

DRDO to showcase tableau on surveillance, communication

New Delhi: Delivering on its mandate of developing state-of-the art defence systems, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) will showcase one tableau and one equipment during Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path on January 26, 2023. ‘Securing Nation with Effective Surveillance, Communication and Neutralizing Threats’ is the theme of the first tableau of DRDO. This tableau has been categorised into four parts.

The first part is displaying Underwater Surveillance Platforms, which include sonars like Ushus-2 for submarines, Humsa series of sonars for ships and Low Frequency Dunking Sonar for helicopter launch surveillance.

The second part of this tableau will have Land Surveillance, Communication and Neutralising platforms showcasing D4 counter drone systems, which can perform real time search, detection, tracking and neutralize targets. Two units of Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) Weapon System, Battery Multifunction Radar (BMFR) and Missile Launcher Vehicle (MLV) are also being displayed. The QRSAM is an all-weather, airdefence system that provides mobile air defence cover to mechanized assets of Indian Army in the Tactical

Battle Area. Besides, two versions of Software Defined Radio –Manpack and Handheld are part of this tableau. DRDO has developed

Boy injured in IED blast triggered by CPI(Maoists)

Chaibasa (PTI): A boy was injured on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by outlawed CPI(Maoists) exploded in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, a police officer said.

The incident occurred when the 13-yearold, boy, who was on his way to a market, came under the impact of the blast triggered by the CPI (Maoists) near Arahata village, the officer said.

The injured boy was rushed to a health centre where he was pro-

vided first aid, Officerin-Charge of Goilkera police station, Rahul Singh said.

Earlier, two villagers had been killed in two separate IED explosions in Nov and Dec last year.

Today’s incident took place at a time when Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was holding a review meeting on development work with senior district officials before taking part in ‘Khatiyan Johar’ yatra in the district headquarters town of Chaibasa, around 30 to 35 km from the spot.

the Software Defined Radio for secured communication.

The third part of this tableau is showcasing Aerial Surveillance and

REVIEWS PREPS

Bengaluru (PTI): The upcoming Aero India exhibition in Bengaluru will not only display the country’s growing prowess in the aerospace sector but will also demonstrate the rise of a strong and self-reliant “New India”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.The 14th edition of Aero India, billed as Asia’s largest aerospace exhibition, will be held in Bengaluru from February 13 to 17.Singh made the remarks while chairing a highlevel meeting where he reviewed the preparations for the mega exhibition. Officials said 731 exhibitors have registered for the event so far.“The five-day event on the theme ‘the runway to a billion opportunities’ will be the largest-ever aero show organised at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in a total area of around 35,000 sq metres,” the defence ministry said.

DELHI POLICE

STEPS UP SECURITY

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have stepped up anti-sabotage checks, verification drives and patrolling in the national capital ahead of Republic Day. Anti-sabotage checks are being conducted in markets, high footfall areas and other prominent places by the Bomb Disposal Team along with dog squads, police said. The police are checking hotels and lodges as well as sensitising the staff there to inform police immediately.

LIQUOR SHOPS TO BE CLOSED ON JAN 26

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Monday announced six dry days between January 26 and March 31, in the wake of Republic Day and other festive days.The state’s Excise Department of the Delhi Government has issued the orders following reversing the previous excise policy.

Communication platforms Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) and TAPAS BH Medium Altitude Long Endurance

(MALE) UAV. AEW&C is a true force multiplier, with surveillance, communication, and electronic warfare capabilities.

EC’s int’l conference on election integrity concludes

New Delhi: The Election Commission’s (EC) international conference on the use of technology and election integrity – attended by election officials from 16 countries – will wrapped up on Tuesday, with EC

Anup Chandra Pandey giving a speech on the “way forward”, according to the poll panel.

The conference, which started on Monday, is the second-such event organised by the EC under the United

INDIGENOUS OPERATING SYSTEM

States’ Summit for Democracy initiative.

On Monday, CEC Rajiv Kumar said during the inaugural session that social media platforms had the power to detect and act against “deep fakes”.

can have its own disaster response model’

New Delhi (PTI): Being a vast country with diverse terrains, India can have its own disaster response model which can be emulated by other countries, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. “While it is important to learn from global best practices and follow SOPs, let us learn from the national examples of emergency and disaster response in the past few decades and enrich our model from learning and insights from these,” he said.

‘BharOS’, Made-in-India operating system, tested

The BharOS is an Indian govtfunded project to develop a free and opensource operating system (OS) for use in government and public systems

New Delhi: Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday tested ‘BharOS’, an indigenous operating system developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT).

“Congratulations to everyone involved in developing the system. For the very first time when our Prime Minis-

ter Narendra Modiji talked about digital India eight years ago, some of our friends

mocked him, but today, technocrats, innovators, industries and policymakers, and aca-

demic institutions of the country have accepted his vision after eight years,” he said.

“There will be difficulties in this journey and there are many people around the world who will bring difficulties and will not want any such system to be successful,” Mr Vaishnaw said.

BharOS, a new mobile operating system, focuses on privacy and security. A mobile operating system is a soft-

ware that is the core interface on a smartphone like Android by Google and iOS by Apple. The BharOS is an Indian governmentfunded project to develop a free and opensource operating system (OS) for use in government and public systems. The project aims to reduce the dependence on foreign OS in smartphones and promote the use of locally developed technology.

CASE

Walkar met friend, boyfriend got violent: Cops on murder motive

New Delhi: Aaftab Poonawala murdered his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar in anger after she went to meet a friend, the police said in the chargesheet into the macabre murder case.

In the 6,629-page chargesheet, the Delhi Police said Aaftab Poonawala became extremely violent when he came to know his girlfriend had gone out to meet the friend.

“The accused did not like the fact that she had gone to meet a friend. He became worried. He killed her that day,” Joint Commissioner of Police Meenu Choudhary told reporters today.

After allegedly killing Shraddha Walkar, 27, in May in their rented Delhi flat, Aaftab Poonawala, 28, had chopped up her body and discarded the body parts into a nearby forest and other

places over nearly three weeks to hide evidence. Both had moved to Delhi from Mumbai in May itself and were live-in partners.

The police said they formed nine teams to crack the case and even sent some of them to Haryana, Himachal and Maharashtra to collect evidence and talk to people for a larger picture.

“We collected body parts for a long time. A lot of technology went into analysing the evidence. We got a DNA and other forensic tests done,” Ms Choudhary said.

The police took the statements of some 150 people while framing the chargesheet. Aaftab Poonawala used over five kinds of knives and other tools to chop up his girlfriend’s body, the police said in the chargesheet.

SHRADDHA WALKAR

‘India

Aaftab Poonawala

Anup Chandra Pandey addressing the concluding ceremony of the ECI.

Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw tested ‘BharOS’.

Shraddha Walkar

RAJNATH SINGH

FOR AERO INDIA

Players perform Mallakhamba or mallakhamb (a traditional sport) ahead of the Republic Day in New Delhi, on Tuesday.

Defence forces personnel perform daredevil stunts during the rehearsal for the R-Day event.

Mallakhamba players perform fiery stunts balancing of a pole.

A daredevil performs dangerous stunt during the event.

Nihangs perform Sikh martials arts during the function ahead of R-Day in New Delhi, on Tuesday.

30 girls in Barmer turn brand ambassador of ‘Beti Bachao’

Ruma Devi Foundation, working for the upliftment of the rural women, has taken an initiative under ‘Beti Bachao’ Abhiyaan

Mukesh Mathrani

Barmer: With the aim to promote the education of the girl child, 30 girls from 30 villages of the district have been made brand ambassadors of Beti Bachao abhiyaan. The foundation has gifted a fixed deposit of thirty thousand rupees to each girl child. On the occasion

chairperson of the Ruma Devi foundation

Dr Ruma Devi, Barmer district collector Lok Bandhu Yadav and many others were present. Addressing the event district collector Lok Bandhu Yadav not only appreciated the initiative but also assured that he would ensure benefits of government welfare schemes

I myself belong to a remote rural pocket, I can feel the pain of these daughters and it always punched me to do something for these girls.

—Ruma Devi, Chairperson, Ruma Devi Foundation

to these girl children. In her speech, Ruma Devi said that despite so

many schemes and welfare programs launched for the welfare of girl children, the condition in rural pockets is still the same. Daughters from remote bordering locations are still far from mainstream development. “I myself belong to a remote rural pocket, I can feel the pain of these daughters and it always punched

me to do something for these girls, she said.”

Ruma Devi said that it is good that 30 daughters from 30 different villages became the brand ambassador of Beti Bachao in the first year of their birth. “I hope that these girls will inspire the others to give equal priority to the girl child as to the boys, “ she said.

Campaign to be held for verification of tenants

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The Madhya Pradesh Police will honour 36 police officials of the Dholpur and Karauli districts for rescuing 3 kidnapped shepherds from the Mandrayal police station area in Karauli. Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra informed that MP’s Chambal Zone ADG Rajeev Chawla had announced to honour 20 police personnel of Ka-

rauli district and 16 policemen from Dholpur district with an appreciation letter and cash prize of Rs. 25,000.

“Shivpuri (MP) Superintendent of Police has informed us that 3 shepherds have been kid-

napped from Vijay Nagar Police Station area of Shivpuri district. The location of kidnappers was traced in the Mandrayal police station area, following which, teams from 4 police stations were formed to rescue the victims.

A search operation was carried out and the shepherds were safely rescued. However, the kidnappers managed to flee from the spot,” said Karauli SP Narayan Singh Togas.

Jaipur: A campaign will be organised in the state for verification of tenants. Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra has issued directions and all SHO’s will check the documents of tenants residing in their respective areas & verify their record and background.

Changes in appointment rights of clerical staff Meanwhile, DGP

Umesh Mishra on Tuesday issued an order and made changes in the appointment rights of clerical staff.

Till now, IG Headquarters were authorised to appoint clerical staff, but now IG (Recruitment) will appoint assistant administrative officers and senior assistants.

Similarly, junior assistants will be appointed IG Recruitment and concerned IG and SP. Till now, IG Headquarters was authorised.

First India Bureau

Sikar: Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal laid the foundation stone of the court complex to be built on Sanwali Road in Sikar on Tuesday. The court complex will be ready in 15 months.

The 6-storey court complex will be built at a cost of Rs 85 crore. A budget of Rs 32 crore has been allocated for the first phase.

During this, Executive Chairman of Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority Mahendra Mohan Srivastava, Sikar District and Sessions Judge Rajendra Singh Chaudhary, President of Sikar Advocates Association Rajendra Kumar Sharma, including many officers and lawyers were present.

Western disturbance triggers light rain in eastern Rajasthan

Jaipur (PTI): Light rain triggered by a western disturbance occurred in isolated areas of eastern Rajasthan, the Met office here said on Tuesday. Vair in Bharatpur received the maximum precipitation at 21 mm during the last 24 hours. Roopwas received 17 mm rain and Gangapur and Bayana received 11 mm each.

Other areas of Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli and Dholpur also received

light rain during the last 24 hours, the Met office said. Night temperatures increased in many parts of the state. It was appreciably above normal in Jaipur division, above normal in Kota division and normal in the state’s other divisions. The lowest temperature was recorded in Bikaner at 5.6 degrees Celsius. The weather remained cloudy in many areas & very dense fog occurred at isolated places.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: BJP in-charge Arun Singh on Tuesday attended the convocation ceremony 2023 organised by (ICAI) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s Central India Regional Council in Jaipur. Singh said that Chartered Accountants in the country’s economy work is being done by accountants with constant strength and this year, India got the presidency of G20, under which the

CA institute also urged to organise different types of programs.

Singh appreciated the working style of the CA Institute and said that it will soon work shoulder to shoulder

with the government to make the country the world’s largest economy. In his address, he wished and congratulated the new CA members for their bright future.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Miscreants uprooted State Bank of India’s (SBI) ATM machine filled with over Rs 30 lakh cash late on Monday night in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, police said. Additional Superintendent of Police Vikas Sangwan said that unknown miscreants uprooted the SBI ATM machine with over Rs 30 lakh cash installed at the Power House intersection. He said that efforts

are being made to identify the miscreants with the help of CCTV cameras. He also said that the miscreants probably uprooted the ATM machine with the help of the vehicle they had brought with them.

First India Bureau

Sikar: Police personnel from Sikar district contributed Rs. 2.11 lakh in the marriage of a barber’s son posted in police lines. Police informed that Om Prakash, who is a contractual barber, had recently married his son Rahul in Jaipur’s Harmada area. “Due to his bad economic condition, policemen collected & contributed a fund of Rs 2.11 lakh for Prakash’s son’s wedding.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Justice Indrajeet Singh, issued notices to the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, President, Election Committee, Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society, President, Ravi Prakash Mehrda, General Secretary Ganpat Lal Verma, Treasurer Dayanand & Ravi Mehrda, IPS, ADG Police, of Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society, on the petition filed by Deshraj Mehra and Jivan-

TO ENTHRALL VISITORS

ram Meghwanshi. Advocate Sunil Kumar Singh, along with Rekha Dixit, Saurabh Chatterjee, Keerti Harsha, and M Raja argued on behalf of the Petitioners. It was argued that the matter pertains to the election of one

society namely Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society.

This society is registered with Rajasthan Government & the election of this society was not conducted in a free and fair manner. Singh argued that these elections were conducted by making the bogus members with forged receipts. So, such elections are to be declared as null & void. Also, the respondent parties acted illegally & bogus receipts were formed.

Salim-Suleiman, Ankit Tiwari to perform at 44th Jaisalmer Desert Fest from Feb 3

The 3-day festival will showcase the inherently rich culture of Rajasthan

New Delhi (PTI): Composer duo Salim-Suleiman, singers Ankit Tiwari and Salman Ali are among the celebrated names set to perform at the 44th Jaisalmer Desert Festival.

Set in the scenic and rustic dunes of the Thar Desert, the threeday-long festival is a colourful mix of art, music, and cultural grandeur, showcasing the inherently rich cultural heritage of Ra-

jasthan.

Organised by the department of tourism in Rajasthan, it will begin at the Poonam Singh Stadium with a ceremonial procession on February 3.

Be it musical performances, folk dances, arts camps with a live art activation or an exquisite handicraft exhibition, the show promises to be full of splendour and extravaganza -- having some-

thing for everyone.

“Its main objective is to showcase to worldwide spectators the artistic side of royal Rajasthan in the best possible way! It is all about spraying its colours,

playing the local folks and dances, and whirring its heels from the hub of Thar Desert.

“In the folk fusion of Jaisalmer, tourists alike - whether domestic or international,

will be taking a deep plunge into Rajasthan’s traditional colours like never before,” said Rajasthan MLA Rooparam Meghwal.

Other singers performing in the festival include Shanmukha Priya and Raghu Dixit with his band The Raghu Dixit Project. It will also host one of the youngest and fastestrising electronic acts by the ‘Atrangi Project’.

The heartwarming ‘Dine with Jaisalmer’ initiative, is among the many attractions of the festival.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court administration on Tuesday issued a guideline to flag the pending cases related to the POCSO Act in the POCSO courts of the state within time. As per new guideline, flags of colours yellow, orange and red will tell how old the case is.

Pending cases will be identified with the flags. Yellow flags will have to

be put on the file of Pocso cases more than oneyear-old. Orange flags will be for more than two-year-old cases. Red flags will be for cases older than three years.

Besides, the Pocso court has been asked to prepare a register with details of the pending cases. HC Registrar Gen Chandra Prakash Shrimali has asked all district and Sessions judges to inform about order to all POCSO courts.

Shivendra Parmar

Yellow, orange, red flags to tell time period of pending POCSO cases

Miscreants uproot ATM, flee with over `30 lakh

Malpractice in polls of Dr Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society reaches HC

CJ Mithal lays foundation stone of 6-storey court complex in Sikar

Women walking amid fog on a cold winter day, in Jaipur on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Officials of Ruma Devi Foundation honouring the rural women of the Barmer villages during an event.

Suleiman Merchant and Salim Merchant.

Police officials at the spot where ATM machine was uprooted

Women of the Barmer villages holding their rewards pose for a group photo during the occasion.

BJP in-charge Arun Singh hails CAs for their vital role in India’s progress

MP police to honour Raj cops for saving 3 abducted shepherds

Arun Singh facilitating a CA during Convocation Ceremeony organised by ICAI in Jaipur. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

CM: STATE GOVT COMMITTED TO MINIMISE ROAD MISHAPS

n 25 Digital Interceptors included in the fleet of Rajasthan Police n CM Gehlot attends the wedding of Shubh Agrawal, the son of Bhaskar Group’s MD, Sudhir Agrawal in Bhopal

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot flagged off 25 hi-tech interceptors from his official residence here on Tuesday. The interceptors equipped with digital technique are capable to measure the speed even at night and read the number plate of the vehicles. These vehicles will play an important role in road safety will prove effective in preventing road accidents.

The State Government has provided these interceptors to Rajasthan Police at a cost of Rs 5 crore from the Road Safety Fund.

The Chief Minister said that the State government is committed to prevent road accidents. He said that every year thousands of

COURTESY MEET

people die in road accidents in the country.

The families of those who die in road accidents have to suffer a lot and their children are orphaned.

Addl Director General of Police VK Singh said that these interceptors will ensure contact less and cashless en-

forcement. They are equipped with a highdefinition camera along with a speed laser gun to measure the speed of vehicles from a distance of 1km. These interceptors have laser track speed cameras etc. First aid and medical kits are also available in these vehicles.

DISTRICTS THAT GOT INTERCEPTORS

Traffic Commissionerate Jaipur has been given 4 interceptors, while Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur Rural, Sikar and Bhilwara have been given 2 each, Nagaur, Barmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Pali, Alwar, Jhunjhjunu, Jodhpur Rural, Jhalawar, Sirohi and Kota Cities have been given 1 interceptor each.

State Govt postpones Rajiv Gandhi Urban Olympic Games

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The Rajasthan Staff Selection Board will now impose a hefty penalty on those involved in the practice of unfair means during exams. As per the officials, the Board has decided to impose a penalty of Rs. 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore on candidates found cheating or using unfair means during papers of competitive exams. The Board has made this provision under the Prevention of Unfair Means Regulation 2016. A provision has also been made for the punishment of 5-10 years. The Staff Selection Board has decided to strictly implement these provisions in all the upcoming recruitment examinations.

The guideline also contains directions related to dress code of examinees. Notably, the move has been adopted following a series of papers that were leaked.

Jaipur: The Rajiv Gandhi Urban Olympic Games scheduled to begin from January 26 across the State, have been postponed.

Rajasthan Sports Council shared this information on Twitter. The Council said that the Urban Olympics will now be organised along with the Rural Olympics. Sports Minister Ashok Chandna was also scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday, but it was also postponed after the mega sports event was postponed. When contacted, Chandna did not

The Chairperson of Sports Cpouncil and MLA Dr Krishna Poonia tweeted saying that a request was made to CM Ashok Gehlot to conduct Rajiv Gandhi Urban Olympics and Rural Olympics together which has been accepted by him. “I express my gratitude to the Chief Minister. We will conduct Urban and Rural Olympic Games with great fanfare,” she said.

About 8 lakh people have registered for the Urban Olympics so far.

Khwaja Sahib gave message of love & humanity: Guv

PM TO VISIT MALASERI DUNGRI ON JAN 28

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Patriotic songs will echo at Jaipur Chaupatis on Republic Day. Both Chaupatis will be decorated with Tricolour and live band performance will be held on the public request, said RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora. “There will be performances of patriotic songs through live music bands at the Chaupatis. The musical performances will be held in two shifts i.e. from 2 pm to 6 pm and from 6 pm to 10 pm,” he said.

Shubham Jain

Ajmer: In the ongoing 811th Urs at the Dargah of Khwaja Garib Nawaz, a customary ‘Chadar’ was presented at the Dargah on behalf of Governor Kalraj Mishra on Tuesday.

Principal OSD to Guv Mishra, Govindram Jaiswal arrived at the Khwaja Sahib’s Dargah Ajmer Sharif along with the administrative officials and also presented devotional flowers and a velvet ‘Chadar’ at the Asthana Sharif.

He prayed for and peace & prosperity of the State on behalf of the Governor. After the ziyarat, Raj Bhavan official Rahul Bhargava read out the message to pilgrims on behalf of

First India Bureau

Jaipur: With rhetoric over paper leak going on, Sachin Pilot and Harish Chaudhary met for about an hour on Tuesday. Harish Chaudhary reached Pilot’s official residence and the duo had mutual discus-

sion on issues of the government and the organisation. The proximity between the two

has been going on for some time. Pilot recently surrounded the State government over the issue of paper leak in the public meetings. Harish Chaudhary also surrounded the state government over the issue in the Assembly on Tuesday.

PM Narendra Modi’s 95 minute programme on Jan 28 at Asind’s Malaseri Dungri has been finalised. As per the order issued for PM’s itinerary, Modi will leave for Udaipur from Delhi airport at 9.20 am on Jan 28. He will leave for Malaseri Dungri at 10:35 am and will attend Lord Devnarayan’s 1111th incarnation festival at 11.30 am. He will leave for Udaipur at 1.50 pm. Modi’s helicopter will reach Udaipur airport from where after 5 minutes he will leave for Delhi by plane. The ‘Chadar’ on behalf of PM will be presented today to mark KhwajaSahib’s 811th Urs. National Prez of BJP Minority Morcha, Jamal Siddiqui will bring the ‘Chadar.’ PM’s message will be read from Buland Darwaza, said Khadim Syed Afshan Chishti.

Governor at the Buland Darwaza. In the message, the Governor said that Khwaja Sahib gave the message of love & humanity. He is known as ‘Garib Nawaz’ as he helped the poor.

CM Gehlot’s ‘Chadar’

Jaipur: On the occasion of the 811th Urs of Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a customary ‘Chadar’ will be offered on CM Ashok Gehlot’s behalf at the Dargah of

The two-day long Krishi Mahotsav is being held in Kota due to the incessant efforts of Om Birla to help farmers of Hadoti region become financially strong and prosperous

Kota: On the initiative of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Krishi Mahotsav was launched in Kota on Tuesday to make the farmers of Hadoti financially strong and prosperous.

Inaugurating this agricultural festival, Birla said that they will make Hadoti the leading centre of Green, White and Blue Revolution in India.

“We want the farmers of Hadoti to produce crops and milk, do fish farming, then get good

income through processing and value addition. For this, we are standing with the farmers. We will provide farmers with quality

seeds, new technology, all information that will enable them to get more production and more income on less land and less cost. This

offered at Ajmer Sharif Dargah today

to be

Khwaja Sahib at 3 pm today. CM Gehlot congratulated all the Zaireens (pilgrims) and the people of the state who visited the Dargah Ajmer Sharif on the occasion of Urs. The ‘Chadar’ was sent off by CM Gehlot from CMR on

Tuesday. Minority Affairs Shale Mohammed, Zahida Khan, Khanu Khan Budhwali, Amin Kagzi, Rafeek Khan, Hakam Ali Khan, Danish Abrar, Safia Khan, Wajib Ali, Ashq Ali Tak and others were present on the occasion.

‘Will make Hadoti a hub for Green, White & Blue Revolution in India

Birla is always worried about farmers. Our youth are finding solutions to the problems of agriculture sector through startups. This innotive move of Birla will increase farmers’ income and bring prosperity into their homes.

Choudhary, MoS for Agriculture

More than 75 startups presented their innovations and new technologies in the field of agriculture at the Krishi Mahotsav. Farmers thronged the counters of startups to see and even to understand them during the entire day. Many new techniques were completely new to the farmers and thus, they were very curious to know about these methods.

is our dream which will be fulfilled if not today then tomorrow,” he said.

Rajasthan’s Agriculture and Animal Hus-

bandry Minister Lalchand Kataria said that if farmers adopt innovation and start-ups in the field of agriculture, they will definitely real-

ise the dream of modern farming with high yield at low cost.

Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana said that if the income of

the farmer increases, then definitely the nation will also progress.

During this, Rajeev Dutta, OSD to LS Speaker was also present.

First India Bureau

One of the simplest Mantras’ of success and happiness

Bhanwar S Charan

’

Govindram Jaiswal read out Governor Mishra’s message to the pilgrims at the Buland Darwaza

CM Ashok Gehlot flags off the traffic interceptors from the Chief Minister’s Residence on Tuesday. Also seen here are Brijendra Singh Ola, Usha Sharma, Umesh Mishra, VK Singh, Rajendra Yadav, Kanhaiya Lal Swami, Sanyam Lodha and others.

A ‘Chadar’ was offered on behalf of Governor Kalraj Mishra at the Dargah Ajmer Sharif of Khwajaj Moinuddin Chishti during the ongoing 811th Urs on Tuesday. Principal OSD to Governor Govindram Jaiswal offered the ‘Chadar’ and read the Governor’s message as well.

PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Chadar’ is being handed over to be presented at Dargah Ajmer Sharif on 811th Urs today. Also seen here are Smriti Irani and others.

CM Ashok Gehlot with the ‘Chadar’ which will be offered at the 811th Urs at the Dargah Ajmer Sharif of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer today. Also seen are Shale Mohammad, Zahida Khan, Khanu khan Budhwali, Amin Kagzi, Rafeek Khan, Hakam Ali Khan, Safia Khan, Wajib Ali, Ask Ali Tak, Ashok Bairwa, Naseem Akhtar, Farooq Afridi, Sanyam Lodha, Danish Abrar & others.

Naresh Sharma

respond. Top officials of Sports Department are also refraining from speaking on this matter.

Om Birla inaugurates the two-day long Krishi Mahotsav in Kota on Tuesday. Also seen here are Kailash Choudhary, Lalchand Kataria, Udai Lal Anjana and others.

Om Birla can be seen seated on a tractor during his visit to a stall at the Krishi Mahotsav being held in Kota. Also seen here are Kailash Choudhary, Lalchand Kataria, Udai Lal Anjana and others.

—Kailash

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra greeted Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister for Heavy Industries during a courtesy meet at the latter’s residence on Tuesday at New Delhi.

RSMSSB to impose hefty fine for unfair means in exam

Sachin Pilot H Chaudhary

t is rightly said that a highly developed values system is like a compass.

It serves as a guide to point you in the right direction when you are lost, and ravishing beauty Devshree Hada proved this right.

The diva was born in Ranthambore and brought up throughout the wildlife sanctuaries of the country. To raise a nature-bonded child is to raise a rebel, a dreamer, an innovator, someone who will walk their own verdant, winding path and as a hotelier’s daughter, the very values of Athithi Devo Bhava have been inculcated in me from the very beginning. And that is what has made me the welcoming and loving person that I am today. Although it was my mother who helped me develop a keen interest in the glimmer and glamour of the fashion industry.

What would you say are some vital skills and characteristics to have to make it in the modelling world?

Modelling is nothing about what you see on the outside, it has a lot to do with how you feel on the inside. Looking beautiful is one thing but feeling beautiful is another form of self-belief and love. Only if you love yourself, will you be able to make others fall in love with you.

If you could go in future and tell yourself one thing about your career what would it be?

If I could meet my future self and tell her one thing about her future it would be to never stop feeling grateful for how far she has come in life.

Because I’m sure my younger self would always be proud.

What inspired you to go for Modelling?

Honestly, it was the most random thing I ever chose to do. I have always

been confident in front of the camera and I think that is exactly what has led me towards this field.

What was the biggest rookie mistake you made when just starting?

I think there was a time when I did feel a little self-conscious. To fit in a certain box of stereotypical beauty I would have done anything, but I realised beauty has no certain limits. And stereotypical beauty is something that stays for a short period, just like fashion trends. And to be an ever-shining star you must love yourself.

What has been the most memorable or rewarding moment in your career?

So far, I thank Elite Miss Rajasthan and Gaurav Gaur for all the love and opportunities that it has provided me with. It is just the beginning and a lot more endeavours are yet to come. I say, it is a journey leading me to another journey. But Elite Miss Rajasthan is where it all began.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR

The magnificent five-day Jaipur Literature Festival concluded with the Writers’ Ball at the Leela Palace hotel on Monday. Jagdeesh Chandra along with some prominent faces of Jaipur including the extraordinary writers, speakers, organisers, speakers and who’s who of the city celebrated the evening with foot-tapping music, gastronomic delights and an elegant ambience. The Rajasthani folk music renditions made everyone shake a leg and have a whale of a time amid an atmosphere of camaraderie and bonhomie.

BEAUTY OF KERALA

CITY FIRST

The Kerala Tourism Partnership meet, an exclusive media session took place at Ramada Jaipur on Tuesday. KS Srinivas, IAS Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism and PB Nooh, IAS Director, Kerala Tourism graced the occasion as the chief guests and discussed the new developments and initiatives of Kerala Tourism & interact with tourism officials. During the occasion, Tourism Minis-

ter PA Mohammad Riyas said, “Our focus will not be limited to beaches, backwaters and hill stations only. Now we are going to transform the whole of Kerala and make it an interconnected tourist paradise where travellers will get a lot of options and a variety of experiences. All this makes a trip to Kerala a holistic experience for travellers looking for a variety of experiences be it staying in a houseboat or a caravan, eco-responsible adventure activities or visiting heritage and cultural centres. Travel.”

Principal Secretary, of Kerala Tourism, KS

MAGNIFICENT POLO IN PINK CITY

CITY FIRST

The much-awaited Jaipur Polo Season 2023 presented by Black & White Ginger Ale began on January 23 at the Rajasthan Polo Club (RPC). It will be on till March 12. To promote the upcoming polo players there will be three tournaments for them.

The highlight of the season will once again be a 14-goal Jaipur Open Tournament for the HH Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Jaipur Cup. This Tournament will be from February 13 to 19. This tournament has been sponsored by Carysil. This high handicap tournament was played last year as well.

This season Chris Mackenzie +6 (SA), Juan Losada. +6 (Argentina) Daniel Otamendi +5 (Argentina), Salvador Jauretche +5 (Argentina) and Gonzalo Vanzon +3( Argentina), will also be participating. This was informed

by the Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur at a Press Conference at the Rajasthan Polo Club on Tuesday. This time there will be two foreign professional umpires: Henry Fisher and Ben Turner both of whom are from the UK, he said. The Secretary of Rajasthan Polo Club (RPC), Digvijay Singh, Sr. General Manager, Prestige Craft & Luxury, Ajay Kakkar, and leading Polo player, Abhimanyu Pathak were also present on the occasion. The 14-goal Sirmour Cup will be held from 06 February 2023 to 12 Feb 2023. It has been sponsored by Shree Cement.

Padmanabh Singh further informed that looking at the success of the match and the huge enthusiasm last year, the Ladies’ Polo Match will be held once again as a part of the Jaipur Polo Season. The idea is to encourage women to increasingly take up the game of horse polo.

Srinivas said that the last year has been full of gains and achievements for the tourism sector in the state, especially after being badly

light for the travellers and will give them a unique experience.

“Our efforts will make it convenient for travellers to visit places that have not been visited by tourists and our state is full of such beautiful places,” he said.

hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. He added, “Adventure activities including Kerala houseboats, caravan stays, etc will be a de-

Last year, Kerala achieved the highestever figure in terms of attracting domestic tourists. Kerala Tourism will have its presence at the OTM (Outbound Travel Market) exhibition to be held from February 2-4 at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai. In addition, a roadshow will be organised by Kerala Tourism in Lucknow in January.

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

SIGNIFICANCE OF HANDLOOM ART

CITY FIRST

Aone-day design development workshop to promote handlooms across the state was held at the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD) in Jaipur’s Jhalana Institutional Area on Tuesday. The workshop was organised by the Indian

Institute of Crafts in collaboration with the Rajasthan State Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. Dr Manisha Arora, Chairman and Managing Director, Rajasthan State Handloom Development Corporation Ltd, Dr Tulika Gupta, Director, Indian Crafts Institute and Tanpan Sharma Director, Weavers Service As-

DURING THE DAY!

artisans

sociation,

the event. Chairman and Managing Director, of Rajasthan State Handloom Development Corp Ltd, Dr Manisha Arora said that “In the workshop will be conducted by the faculty of the IICD to educate weavers and artisans on the latest trends in textile design.” Dr Tulika Gupta, Director IICD, said that “IICD’s mis-

SUCCESS

achievers

Almost

sion is to use traditional craftsmanship and technologies to create contemporary designs that can reach a wider market and generate more sales. The workshop was designed to teach new designs to artisans and to provide them with the knowledge and skills to successfully market their products online.”

RSLDC seeks to address unemployment by providing market-driven

skills among the youth, unskilled and unemployed people so that they may get leverage of the RSLDC schemes and program which will lead them to grow in their career.” MK Padma Kumar, COO, of IPE Global remarked, “This is about celebrating the success of Manzil’s intervention, and it is a moment of pride and honour to see this book with impact stories come to life.”

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Government of India, addressed the gathering. Around 30

and weavers from the handloom industry participated in

—PHOTOS

BY SUNIL SHARMA

Jodhpur’s 75-year-old table tennis player Arun Singh Barhat and 16-year-old Sunidhi Dewan, a student of Jodhpur’s Chainpura School, won a bronze medal & a gold medal at the state level in the World Veterans Table Tennis Tournament held in Muscat respectively. The felicitation ceremony of both talents was held at Jodhpur’s Gaushala Maidan in the presence of Raj High Court Judge Sandeep Mehta, Vijay Vishnoi, Pushpendra Singh Bhati, District Collector Himanshu Gupta, State President of TTA Mukul Gupta and Pt Suresh Shrimali.

Glow & Go skin aesthetics is all set to be inaugurated by Diya Kumari a member of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur. The founder of Glow & Go, Vaishali Vijaivargia (Cosmetologist) acknowledges that it’s a state-of-the-art clinic with US FDA-approved lasers with services like laser hair reduction, anti-ageing, skin rejuvenation, medi-facials and advanced skin brightening treatments.

Digital Baal Mela is about to start a historic awareness campaign in Raj on National Voters Day. In this campaign, children will not only get a chance to know the election process, but they will also vote to elect their Loktantra Prahari. Janhvi Sharma of Digital Bal Mela shared that the Director of Secondary Education Gaurav Agarwal will inaugurate this program from Bikaner. This campaign aims to make children aware of the right to vote. In Jaipur program will be held at Mahatma Gandhi Government School.

Shree Kumar lighting the inaugural lamp

The mesmerizing Kathakali

Dr Manisha Arora, CMD, Rajasthan State Handloom Development Corporation address at the Design Develop Workshop at IICD. To her left is Dr Tulika Gupta, Director, IICD

(L-R) Renu Jaipal, Neelakshi, Padma Kumar felicitating a girl achiever Renu Jaipal

(L-R) Padmanabh Singh, Digvijay Singh, Ajay Kakkar and Abhimanyu Pathak during Press conference

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA