First India-Delhi Edition-28th October 2022

READ

DELHI-BOUND AKASA AIR HIT BY BIRD, NOSE DAMAGED; ALL SAFE

New Delhi: A Delhi-bound Akasa Air plane was hit by a bird during the climb on Thursday. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, suffered a radome damage due to the bird hit at 1,900 feet.

‘Aircraft landed safely and all passengers were deboarded, flight positioned for detailed inspection,’ Akasa Air said.

AZAM GETS 3-YR JAIL

TERM IN HATE SPEECH CASE, GRANTED BAIL

Bareilly: SP leader Azam Khan was on Thursday convicted in a 2019 hate speech case and sent to 3 years in jail, and faces disqualification from UP Assembly. Court in Rampur granted bail to the MLA and imposed a fine of Rs 6,000, a government lawyer said.

RAHUL GANDHI-LED BHARAT JODO YATRA RESUMES IN T’GANA

After Article 370 abrogation, 34% decrease in terrorist activities: Shah

Narayanpet: After four days, the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Makthal in the Narayanpet district of Telangana on Thursday at 6.30 am. P6

SACRED PORTALS OF KEDARNATH AND YAMUNOTRI CLOSED

Dehradun: The sacred portals of the Kedarnath and Yamunotri located in high Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand were closed for winter on Thursday. 3,000 devotees along with temple committee president Ajendra Ajay were present during the occasion.

3 SWEDISH TOURISTS, HELD FOR ‘CONVERSION’, SENT TO DELHI Dibrugarh (PTI): Marcus Bloom, Hanna Bloom and Susanna Hakansson, tourists from Sweden who were detained for participating in a prayer meet at a tea garden to allegedly convert people to Christianity, were sent to Delhi from Assam’s Dibrugarh

Faridabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday addressed the inaugural session of the 2-day Chintan Shivir in Surajkund, Haryana. While speaking at the Shivir, Shah said after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K, there has been a 34% decrease in terrorist activities, a 64% decrease in death of secu rity forces and a 90% de crease in civilian deaths.

“We have to give im portance to the 3Cs - Co operation, Coordination and Collaboration, to be able to further our goals of cooperative federal ism and whole-of-govt approach... Resource op timisation and integra tion necessary,” he said.

Various suggestions have been received regarding improvement in CrPC & IPC. I’m looking into it in detail, invested hours in it. We will very soon come up with new CrPC, IPC drafts in the Parliament.

AMIT SHAH HOME MINISTER

AAP, BJP in shouting match as Kejriwal eyes political points

New Delhi (PTI): AAP and BJP workers on Thursday held protests against each other with each party accusing the other of mismanaging the garbage in Delhi as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Ghazipur landfill site.

Scores of BJP sup porters showed black flags and denounced Ke jriwal, accusing his government not releas ing money to the MCD and also scamming the city with its now-rolled back liquor scheme.

BJP workers wore black headbands and ribbons as they raised slogans against Kejriwal.

Amit Malviya to file case against The Wire

New Delhi (PTI): BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya on Thursday said he will file criminal and civil proceedings against ‘The Wire’, as he ac cused the news portal of using “forged docu ments with a view to malign and tarnish” his reputation.

In turn, AAP workers decried the BJP over its alleged inability to clean Delhi Turn to P3

The Wire in a series of news reports, now retracted, had alleged that Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Insta gram, has accorded spe cial privileges to Malvi

ya that enable him to get posts removed from its platforms.

“After consultation with my lawyers and seeking their advise, I have decided to file criminal and civil pro ceedings against ‘The Wire’,” Malviya said.

Sydney:

Pakistan committed atrocities against people in PoK: Rajnath

Srinagar: Defence Min ister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said Pakistan is “committing atroci ties” against people in its occupied Kashmir and will have to bear its consequences.

Hinting at retrieving Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the minister said the goal of overall development in the twin Union Ter ritories of J&K and Ladakh will be achieved “after reaching Gilgit and Baltistan” parts of PoK. “Terrorism has no religion. The only aim of terrorists is to target India,” he said.

The discrimination against the people of Jammu and Kashmir was ended under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2019.

MAKE-IN-INDIA! Tata, Airbus to make military aircraft in Gujarat

PM Modi to lay the foundation stone of the plant on Oct 30

European aviation gi ant Airbus and India’s TATA group will joint ly manufacture at least 40 C-295 trans port aircraft in India with the production unit being set up in Gujarat’s Vadodara as part of a `21,935-crore deal. The foundation laying of same will

at

New Delhi: Lt Gover nor VK Saxena on Thursday inaugurated four artificial water falls at the Asola Bhati Mines here, a move aimed at promoting ecotourism and facilitating growth of flora and fauna in the area, an of ficial statement said.

Located at Neeli Jheela inside the Asola Bhati Mines, the four sites for the waterfalls were carefully selected on the basis of their geological and morpho logical features, it said.

take place on October 30 and will be attended by Modi. “For the first time, the C-295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe,” Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said on Thursday.

mines

Speaking on the occa sion, Saxena said the initiative emanated from Prime Minister

Narendra Modi's vision of rejuvenating the city and augmenting facili ties to residents.

Police trying to separate clashing AAP and BJP supporters near the Ghazipur landfill site on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

LG Vinai Saxena at the Asola Bhati mines on Thursday.

Moni Sharma

India’s Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav during the match.

cricket and will encourage budding talent towards the game!

First India Bureau

Amit Shah, Manohar Lal Khattar, Pinarayi Vijayan, Yogi Adityanath, Banwarilal Purohit, N Biren Singh, senior officers during the ‘Chintan Shivir’ of home ministers of all states in Faridabad on Thursday.

Rajnath Singh with Manoj Sinha being briefed during ‘Shaurya Diwas’, as Lt Gen ADS Aujla looks on, in Budgam on Thursday.

PM Narendra Modi to address ongoing Chintan Shivir of Home Ministers of States via VC today

Amit Shah with Ashwini Vaishnaw & Manohar Lal Khattar greets at ‘Jan Utthan Rally’, in Faridabad on Thursday. Shah lays fndn of projects worth `6,629 cr, said Hooda ran “3D” govt in Haryana. P5

First India Bureau

—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

Shah praises Khattar for ending ‘goondaism

Collective responsibility of states and Centre to tackle crimes: Shah

Faridabad (PTI): Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Manohar Lal Khat tar government had curbed corruption and lawlessness in Haryana, and accused the previ ous chief ministers of favouring their own re gions. He said the Bhupinder Singh Hoo da-led Congress govern ment was marked by corruption and also hit out at the Indian Nation al Lok Dal (INLD) re gime led by Om Prakash Chautala, without tak ing his name.

Shah said, "Remem ber Haryana eight years before. When one gov ernment was formed, corruption used to be rampant and during an other government's time 'goondaism' (hooli ganism) used to rise.

"But the Khattar gov ernment did not allow corruption and ended

When BJP won in 2014 in Haryana, I, as BJP chief, asked Khat tar to be CM. He, how ever, gave me 15 names of leaders who could be CM instead of him.

'goondaism'."

Addressing a Jan Ut than rally, Shah said the Khattar government had worked to change Haryana during its eight years and added that a long time after

Independence, the state had got a CM who worked for its all-round development.

"Earlier, CMs either used to be of Sirsa or Rohtak, they were not of Haryana. But Khat

tar is the CM of entire Haryana," he said.

Former chief minis ter and INLD President OP Chautala belongs to Sirsa, while Hooda is from Rohtak.

Sharpening his at

tack on Hooda, Shah said "When Hooda's 3-D government was in pow er... One sees 3D film, but in the entire coun try, only Hooda showed a 3D government.

"In this, there were the 'darbaris' (courti ers), 'damaad' (refer ring to Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra) and 'dealers'. Later, a BJP govern ment which undertook development was formed in its place."

The Home minister also praised Manohar Lal Khattar for being a "true gentleman".

Surajkund (PTI): It is the collective re sponsibility of states and the Centre to effec tively tackle trans-bor der crimes, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday. "In our Constitu tion, law and order is a state subject...but we can be successful against trans-border or borderless crimes only when all states sit together to ponder over them, make a common strategy and (make) efforts to curb them," he said here.

Shah was address ing a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' organised with the objective to pre pare an action plan for the implementation of 'Vision 2047' and 'Panch Pran' an nounced in PM Modi's Independence Day speech.

The home minister said it is the collective responsibility of states to effectively

tackle crimes operat ing from across the country's border or states' borders or re gional crimes to make society free from fear.

The 'shivir' can be come a good platform to discuss strategies to counter cyber crimes, narcotics and crossborder terrorism, among others, and to exchange good prac tices in law and order.

Shah said that "we

will have to focus on rationalisation of re sources".

The Modi govern ment has recorded success on all fronts of internal security be it Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast or nar cotics smuggling, he said. The minister said all states will have National Investi gation Agency offices as a strategy to coun ter terrorism.

Swamy complains to HC of no security at his residence

New Delhi (ANI): For mer BJP MP Subrama nian Swamy moved a plea before the Delhi High Court claiming that the Central Gov ernment had failed to provide adequate secu rity at his private resi dence as assured before the court.

New Delhi (PTI): Police registered a case over a scuffle on Wednesday allegedly after a car's glasses were broken in Madan pur Khadar area, officials said.

The accused has been arrested, an of ficial said Thursday and refuted any Ro hingya connection to the incident.

On Wednesday, a group of Rohingya refugees alleged they were abused and thrashed by some men who work at a garage nearby.

A scuffle took place between a woman and a man who runs a garage after his car’s glass es were allegedly broken. A case has been registered.

—Senior official, Delhi Police

A senior cop, however, rejected the claim, saying both sides belonged to same commu nity. "A scuffle took place between a woman and a man who runs a garage after his car's glasses were allegedly broken. A case has been registered and the accused arrested,” the official said.

The application has been listed for hearing on Monday. In Septem ber the Delhi high court had asked Swamy to va cate the government ac commodation. The mat ter was mentioned by the senior advocate Jay ant Mehta before the bench headed by chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

The Counsel submit ted that the applicant is a Z-category security protectee. Despite the as surance given before the court by the Centre that the security arrange ments will be done at the applicant's private resi dence, nothing has been done to date.

The Delhi HC on Sep tember 14, 2022, granted 6 weeks' time to BJP leader and former Rajya

Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy to vacate the government accommo dation. The accommoda tion was allotted to him in January 2016.

His tenure as MP end ed in April 2022. He had sought re-allotment of the government accom

HC stays

modation citing security reasons after the period of 5 years lapsed.

Justice Yashwant Varma had directed Swamy to ensure the possession of his gov ernment bunglow to the estate officer within a period of six weeks.

New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed the order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC) di recting the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to provide information related to the issuance of Look out Circular (LOC) against the respond ent. IB has sought the

PIL seeks guidelines for appointment of pol functionaries as public servants

New Delhi (ANI): A Public Interest Litiga tion (PIL) was moved in Delhi HC seeking direction to the Centre and Delhi Govern ment to constitute a committee for framing of guidelines for ap pointments of persons holding official posi tions in political par ties as public servants.

The plea seeks di rection to the respond ents to remove the per

quashing of the order terming it illegal.

Bench of Justice Yashwant Varma is sued notice to Jayesh Vishnu Parab on the petition and directed them to file a reply. The CIC's order has stayed. The matter now has been listed on Febru ary 11, 2023.

Why has IB moved?

sons from their posts who have acted or are continuing to act in wilful ignorance of the principle of neu trality and holding

It is in your favour, the court asked.

Advocate HV Shankar, standing counsel for IB submit ted that the reasoning, I believe is very flawed; it defeats the purpose of LOC. If I give details that LOC is for a,b and c they will leave the country in some other manner. The Court

any official position in a political party while being a public servant. The PIL has been filed by lawyer Sonali Ti wary.

It must be recalled that recently Delhi Di alogue and Develop ment Commission vice-chairman Jas mine Shah was served show cause notice for acting as AAP spokes man despite being on a government position.

said a citizen has right to travel. Why does he not have the right to know that? There has to be some rationale Let's not go down that road. The IB has chal lenged an order passed by CIC on August 31, 2021, directing it to pro vide a revised reply on the application of Parab.

CELEBRATING HISTORY

Exhibition on India’s art journey since independence

lll

Works by Somnath Hore, Sanat Kar, Manjit Bawa, Ganesh Pyne, Paresh Maity apart from MF Husain and SH Raza will be exhibited in the 10-day show

New Delhi (PTI) A group exhibition with artworks from the likes of MF Husain, SH Raza, Ram Kumar and others will show a glimpse of the journey of Indian artists over last 75 years.

Starting November 1 at the India Habitat Cen tre (IHC) here, the “Col ours of Freedom” will feature as many as 53 veterans and contempo rary artists of renown.

Organised by the Cen tre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata, the exhibition aims to provide a

glimpse of the overall visual space shaped by 75 years of India’s inde pendence.

The show will include excerpts from Satyajit

Ray’s iconic film

“Pather Panchali”, tex tiles, indigenous subal tern art as well as works by artists across genera tions from post-inde

We have also featured semi nal works by relatively less exhibit ed artists, unknown weavers and daring visual renderings by subaltern and indige nous masters.

pendence India.

“Works by over 50 leading artists across generations, 1947 on wards, have been fea tured in this exhibition.

While we have selected some leading veteran modernists, we have also featured seminal works by relatively less exhibited artists, un known weavers and dar ing visual renderings by subaltern and indige nous masters,” Rakhi Sarkar, director and cu rator, CIMA, said.

Works by artists such as Somnath Hore, Bhu pen Khakhar, Sanat Kar, Manjit Bawa, Arpita Singh, Ganesh Pyne, Jo gen Chowdhury, Paresh Maity, etc will be exhib ited in the 10-day show.

Sacked employee held for stalking and threatening ex-boss

Gurugram: Police on Thursday arrested a former consultant of a private company for allegedly stalk ing, harassing, and threatening a female manager of the same company, police here said.

The accused was booked at Sadar Police Station Wednesday, they said. He was produced in a city court on Thursday and sent to judicial custody, said police.

According to the complaint by a 30-year-old Gu rugram woman, who works with a DLF Phase 2-based private company, the accused, Yogender, had joined the company on April 7 this year as con sultant. As his work was not satisfactory he was fired from the job on June 13, she claimed.

“It was a company affair and I am a manager with the company but the accused after being sacked out of job started stalking me. He sent me threatening messages through SMS and e-mail,” she said.

—Rakhi Sarkar, Director and Curator, CIMA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah being garlanded by Union MoS for Power and Heavy Industries Krishan Pal and BJP Haryana President Om Prakash Dhankar during 'Jan Utthan' rally, in Faridabad, Thursday. Union Minister for Railways and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal are also seen.

—PHOTOS BY PTI

—Amit Shah, Home Minister

NGOS

n Calls him a CM who looks after all of Haryana n ‘Earlier, CMs used to be of Sirsa or Rohtak’

‘No Rohingya angle in Madanpur scuffle’

View of Rohingya camp in Madanpur Khurd. —FILE PHOTO

Home Minister Amit Shah addressing the 2-day Chintan Shivir of home ministers at Surajkund on Thursday.

35,000 police and CAPF personnel have laid down their lives to keep the unity & integrity of India intact.

—Amit Shah, Home Minister

COURTYARD

FLAK

BJP slams govt over Yamuna pollution

Delhi govt spraying harmful chemical in Yamuna ahead of Chhath Puja: Manoj Tiwari

New Delhi (PTI): BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Thursday accused the Delhi government of spraying poisonous chemical to remove froth from the Yamuna ahead of Chhath Puja during which devotees take a holy dip in the river.

West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh

Verma also challenged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip in the Yamuna and alleged that the AAP chief's visit to Ghazipur land fill site was a ploy to divert attention from the issue of pollution in the river.

"We visited the Ya muna to stock of the pollution situation there. We were sur prised to find that a very poisonous chemical was being sprayed to hide the froth," the North east Delhi MP claimed.

Last year, pictures and videos showing devotees offering prayers in the frothfilled Yamuna on

Canadian envoy visits

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

Chhath Puja had trig gered a political slug fest between the AAP and the BJP, prompting the Delhi government to take measures like installing bamboo nets

and will take a dip. I call upon him to take a dip in the river two days from now," he added.

Environmentalists blame Delhi govt for toxic foam on Yamuna

New Delhi (PTI): Envi ronmentalists blamed the Delhi government for "not taking adequate action" to make the Ya muna pollution free as toxic foam covered sec tions of the river near Kalindi Kunj on Thurs day. Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said lack of political intent, zero urgency in cleaning the Yamuna & minimal ac tion on the ground were behind the frequent foaming of the river.

Lack of political intent, zero urgency in cleaning the Yamuna and mini mal action on the ground are behind the frequent foaming of the river.

Yamuna. "Lack of mini mum flow in the river is another major cause of the Yamuna's pollu tion," he said.

New Delhi (PTI): Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron Mackay on Thurs day visited the Gu rudwara Bangla Sahib here and ob served the facilities, members of the Delhi Sikh Gurd wara Management Committee (DSGMC) said.

Cameron Mackay and other officials of the High Com mission of Canada in New Delhi visited the langar (commu nity kitchen) hall and also enquired about the gurud wara’s Covid-related facilities, they said.

and sprinkling water to dissipate froth.

Verma challenged Kejriwal to take a dip in the Yamuna river. "He (Kejriwal) says he has cleaned the Yamuna

Woman dies after falling off e-rickshaw during snatching bid

New Delhi: A snatch ing incident in (Rohini) northwest Delhi’s Prashant Vihar area took a tragic turn when a 56-year-old woman died after falling off an e-rickshaw when 3 scooter-borne men snatched her purse, po lice said on Thursday.

The victim identified as Sumitra Mittal, sus taining fatal head inju ries. She was going to pick up her sister when the incident happened.

A case under sec tions 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been regis tered in Prashant Vihar Police Station, Tayal said. CCTV footage of the area is being ana lysed to identify and catch the accused, the police said.

According to her nephew, Arun Mittal, “She was going to meet her brother, who lives

CCTV footage of the area is being analysed to identify and catch the accused, the police said.

in Greater Kailash, and went to pick up her sis ter along the way. On the way, she was at tacked and lost her life in this incident.”

Arun said that this was just the latest trag edy that had struck the family. “Her husband passed away some years ago. Then, both her sons died at a young age, de spite being seemingly healthy. One passed away from heart failure, and the other from a brain haemorrhage.”

According to Delhi Police data, snatching cases had surged 12 per cent and fatal accidents rose 18 per cent till July 2022. Delhi reported 5,024 cases of snatching and 4,468 fatal acci dents last year, the data showed.

Attacking Kejriwal over his visit to the Ghazipur landfill site, Verma said, "Is garbage the issue at the moment?

To divert attention from the Yamuna river pollu tion issue, the Delhi CM reached Ghazipur land fill site," he added.

"Environmental gov ernance doesn't seem to be a priority for the Delhi government. The unfortunate part is that there is a lack of politi cal intent, zero urgency in cleaning the Yamuna and minimal action on the ground, leading to frequent foaming and frothing of the river," Jha said. He also cited lack of minimum flow in the river as a major reason behind the pol lution every year.

"Delhi empties more than 3,500 million litres

FIRE IN POSH APARTMENT

65-year-old woman

asphyxiated in Gurugram

Gurugram (PTI): A 65-year-old woman died of suffocation after a fire broke out in a posh condominium in a soci ety located on MG Road in the early hours on Thursday. Four fire en gines were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and rescued three people from the flat in which the woman lived, said fire officials. She died in a hospital.

As per fire officials, the fire broke out on the ninth floor of a flat in Orlov Court-2 of Essel Tower at around

3.30am. At that time Vi nay Kumari Gupta, her father, & mother Push pa Gupta were sleeping and were stuck inside the flat there smoke filled the entire condo. As the smoke spread, the family called the se curity guards and phoned the fire brigade.

A fire squad from Sector 29 Fire Station reached the spot with 4 fire engines. The fire brigade team rescued Vinay Kumari Gupta & her father and doused the fire after an intense hour-long operation.

of municipal sewage in the river and, despite tall claims, over 50 per cent of the sewage is either untreated or not adequately treated, and flows directly into the

"Some of the critical tasks the government needs to undertake to keep the river clean and the citizens of Delhi safe are ensuring every drip of sewage is treat ed before emptying the drains into the river, adequate flow of water in the Yamuna and a comprehensive com mon effluent treatment plan and management," he said.

New Delhi (PTI): The 'Red light on, Gaadi off' cam paign, which was set to be launched in Delhi on Fri day, has been post poned as no approv al has been received from the LG so far, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday.

"The 'red light on, gaadi off' campaign has been successful in previous years. The month-long campaign was set to be launched to morrow for this year but no approv al has been received so far," Rai said.

Rai announced that 2,500 civil de fence volunteers will be deployed to monitor its imple mentation at 100 key traffic intersec tions and 10 volun teers will be de ployed at each traf fic signal in 2 shifts.

AAP, BJP in... during its 15-year-long tenure in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

They raised slogans like ‘We have to remove garbage mountains and clean Delhi’, ‘This time, it will be Kejriwal in MCD also’.

The protesters were separated by barricades and police personnel.

“They deployed po lice personnel to protect this garbage mountain. All evil forces have con spired against us (AAP). They delayed MCD polls and segregated wards hoping that they would get seats. Let me tell them that this time even BJP supporters won’t vote for them,”

Court to hear Satyendar Jain’s bail plea

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Thurs day agreed to hear the bail application of Delhi minister Saty endar Jain in a money laundering case on October 28.

Special judge Vikas Dhull, who was earli er scheduled to hear the plea on October

31, advanced the mat ter on an application moved by the accused.

“It is submitted by the ED that they have no objection to the al lowing of application filed on behalf of ac cused A-1 (Jain) seek ing preponement of next date of hearing from October 31 to 28.

In the facts, said appli cation is allowed,” the judge said.

Jain, arrested by the Enforcement Di rectorate (ED) for corruption charges under the Prevention of Money Launder ing Act (PMLA), is currently in judicial custody.

Kejriwal said.

Addressing the me dia at the landfill site, Kejriwal alleged the BJP in its 15-year rule in Delhi’s three erst while municipal corpo rations gave three gar bage mountains and

filled the entire city with waste.

“Ghazipur garbage mound is the mountain of BJP’s bad deeds and corruption in civic bod ies. The MCD poll will be fought on the issue of garbage,” he said.

Efforts on for Hindi’s inclusion in official languages at UN: EAM

New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Thursday said Prime Minister Naren dra Modi corrected “blunders” of Jawahar lal Nehru related to Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India by nullifying Article 370 and demanded an apol ogy from the Congress.

Addressing a press conference on the 75th anniversary of the re gion’s accession, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that the

first prime minister committed five blun ders, including delay ing action on the acces sion proposal of the re gion’s king Hari Singh.

Jammu and Kashmir, and the country in gen eral had to pay a price for it while this allowed Pakistan to capture a part of the region (Paki stan-occupied Kash mir), he said.

Bhatia quoted from Nehru’s statement to as sert that the king had

first mooted the idea in July 1947 but the then prime minister dithered and allegedly prioritised his and his friend’s in terests, a reference to Sheikh Abdullah, while neglecting the country’s.

Hitting out at the Con gress, he said, “If a time ly action was taken, then there would be no part of the state under Pakistan’s occupation.

Congress since then spread lies & suppressed truth about the issue.”

New Delhi (PTI): Ex ternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thurs day said efforts are on to get Hindi recognised as an official language at the United Nations and progress has been made in that direction but it will take some time.

He made the remarks at an event in Delhi where it was announced that the next World Hin di Conference will be organised in Nadi, Fiji from February 15-17 next year. Asked about efforts to include Hindi

among the official lan guages at the UN, Jais hankar said, "You would know Hindi is being used in UNESCO. As far as the use of Hindi in its headquarters is con cerned, we have an MoU with them, they are us ing it in social media and newsletters. It will take some time in expanding this, it is not so easy that a language is introduced in the UN process."

The logo of the World Hindi Conference and the website were also unveiled at the event.

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari addresses a press conference along with party leaders Parvesh Verma (L) and Manjinder Singh Sirsa (R) at BJP office in New Delhi on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ postponed as LG’s nod ‘awaited’

West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma challenges Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip in the river

AAP chief’s visit to Ghazipur landfill site was a ploy to divert attention from the issue of pollution in the river, said BJP’s West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma

A devotee applies vermillion to another at the banks of the Yamuna river in the midst of toxic foam on the first day of 'Chhath Puja' near Kalindi Kunj in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Vimlendu Jha, Environmentalist

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia visits Ghazipur Landfill Site in New Delhi on Thursday.

Nehru made ‘blunders’ on Kashmir, Modi corrected them: BJP

BJP’S ‘NEHRU BASHING’

Artists perform a historical re-enactment of the 1947 landing of Indian soldiers in Srinagar during an event at the Indian Air-Force station, in Budgam on Thursday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the event.

—PHOTO BY PTI

First India Bureau

High Commissioner for Canada in India Cameron Mackay at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib on Thursday.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Union MoS for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan and Ministery of External Affairs Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar during the first meeting of the advisory committee and sub-committees formed to organise the 12th World Hindi Conference. —PHOTO BY PTI

—PHOTO BY ANI

ROLE AND CONCERNS OF INDIA IN SOUTH ASIA

and use more powerful In dian economy to become an engine of growth of neighbours.

No physical presence of a hostile foreign power in a manner that would ad versely impact its security especially in a case of open borders.

It is in India’s interest to promote regional econom ic integration, and need to step up role of SAARC in regional co-operation, dia logue and regional eco nomic integration.

Geographically, the Indian Subcontinent consists of the peninsular part of pre sent-day India, south of the Himalayas, on the Indian tectonic plate. From a po litical perspective, the In dian subcontinent consists of eight countries: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Af ghanistan and the Mal dives. The people of the Indian Subcontinent have shared ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and historical ties. Even today these na tions bear some marks of their origins. Both the terms - ‘South Asia’ and ‘Indian subcontinent’ are used in an interchangeable manner. The peace in the region is marred by unre solved territorial disputes like Kashmir, separatist and insurgent movements linked to global outfits, a broad range of ethnic, reli gious conflicts, the prolif eration of nuclear technol ogy, climate change and the ensuing water issues. In dia is generally viewed as an ‘Interfering Big Broth er’ by her neighbour.

As the largest country, India needs to promote re gional peace and stability in order to have a strong claim to be a major world player. India’s ability to in tervene in countries is lim ited by resentment at In dia’s paternalism towards its smaller neighbours. An assertive surge in Chinese economic and diplomatic involvement in the region has elevated long-linger ing tensions with India and poses a challenge as the regional economic and diplomatic heavyweight. The South Asian Associa tion for Regional Coopera tion (SAARC) is an eco nomic and political region al organisation of coun tries in South Asia set up in 1985. It aims to acceler

ate the process of econom ic and social development in its member states through increased intraregional cooperation but so far has characterized by weak institutionalism and is often constrained in their effectiveness.

India’s Relations With Its Neighbours

The relationship with Paki stan has been characterised by a virtually unbroken re cord of sustained hostility.

The continued Pak support to terrorism and its stand on Kashmir remains a major irritant between India and Pakistan. Despite change of government, the anti India stand still flourishes in Pak.

Indo-Bangladesh rela tions had become strained over the Farakka issue, the Tin Bigha controversy and illegal Bangladeshi mi grants and their alleged involvement in communal riots in India. The agree ment on sharing of Ganga waters and the pro Indian stance of Sheikh Hasina regime has definitely made some positive impact.

Despite increasing Chi nese influence the Indo Nepalese relationship are likely to see a qualitative improvement owing closer economic ties and better political understanding.

The renewed Mahakali Treaty and grant of over land transit route for its trade with Bangladesh by India underlines the posi tive shift, but border dis pute of Kalapani still re mains a major issue.

The renewal of $400-mil lion currency swap facility and helping hand extended to Sri Lanka facing severe economic crisis has become a positive milestone in Indo Sri Lankan relations. The main irritant in Indo-Sri Lankan relationship that still remains is issue of kill ings of Indian fishermen

by Sri Lankan forces.

The volatile situation in Afghanistan is of major concern to India. The fun damentalist regime in Af ghanistan is an insidious threat to Indian secularism and a potentially destabilis ing factor in the region.

Defence matters of Bhu tan have remained Indian responsibility but owing to Indian weak stance dur ing Doklam skirmishes with China, the Bhutan King has established a fairly good relationship with China. India is trying to regain the lost ground.

Who is Rishi Sunak, the new UK prime minister?

hen Rishi Su nak was elected by Conserva tive MPs as their new lead er and hence prime minis ter of the United Kingdom, the British nation breathed a sigh of relief: thank God it wasn’t Boris Johnson. Had Johnson been re-elect ed leader it would have had serious consequences, not just for the Conserva tives, but in the real world too. Only the most obtuse political observer could have failed to see that the optics of cutting short your Caribbean holiday to try to resolve a cost of liv ing crisis was not good politics. It sounds hard to believe, but this was not obvious to everyone.

Johnson garnered pub lic support from some of the Brexiteer old guard like Jacob Rees-Mogg and

in the pro-Boris media. But in characteristic fash ion, Johnson exaggerated his chances. This latest act of self-promotion back fired and he withdrew from the leadership race on Sunday (regretably having missed half his holiday). Nevertheless, the fact that many Conserva

tives seriously thought a chaotic government could be brought under control by someone known for chaotic management, shows how deep the ideo logical divisions within the party have become.

With the third contend er, Penny Mordaunt, fall ing just shy of the 100 MPs’

Johnson garnered public support from some of the Brexiteer old guard like Jacob Rees-Mogg and in the pro-Boris media. But in characteristic fashion, Johnson exaggerated his chances. This latest act of self-promotion backfired and he withdrew from the leadership race on Sunday (regretably having missed half his holiday).

votes needed to send the leadership contest to a vote of the grassroots party members – a fate to be avoided at all costs after they forfeited the confi dence of MPs by installing Truss – Rishi Sunak will become the next prime minister of the UK.

Now such divisions

seem to be affecting the right of politics too. As we saw in the 2022 federal election in Australia, the right’s traditional sup port base is split between affluent moderates con cerned about climate change, and older social conservatives concerned about immigration. This appears to be happening in the UK too.

This internal division can be exploited by the op position as we saw with the fracking vote. On paper, Sunak should feel secure with a 71-seat majority in a 650-seat parliament. But the Conservatives have lost confidence. The party is behaving like one that has only the slimmest of majorities and is on its way out. Sunak’s premier ship may well be a case of the band playing on.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

As the largest country, India needs to promote regional peace and stability in order to have a strong claim to be a major world player.

India’s ability to intervene in countries is limited by resentment at India’s paternalism towards its smaller neighbours

Despite Chinese over tures, the Maldives has remained fairly under In dian influence. During re cent elections a political party sought votes with the slogan “Keep India” out definitely needs to be watched out.

Indian Options Create effective and endur ing incentives for our neigh bours to remain sensitive to India’s security interests and emerging as a security provider for the region.

Lesser Intervention, due respect of the sovereignty

Enhance effectiveness of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Techni cal and Economic Cooper ation (BIMSTEC) compris ing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

India’s needs to further its positive role in the new ly formed The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) which is a dynamic intergovernmental organisation aimed at strengthening re gional cooperation and sus tainable development with in the Indian Ocean region.

To bring into use its proximity with the other countries, India requires efficient cross-border con nectivity both in terms of infrastructure and proce dures to allow the smooth and seamless transit of goods and peoples.

The economic and tech nological power of India is a vast and expanding mar ket. Even if this market were opened up fully to whatever our neighbours can produce and sell, this would constitute only a small fraction of India’s market but would mean a great deal for them.

Given its much more de veloped land and maritime transport system, India should develop its role as the partner of choice for trade and transportation. This will also create strong inter-dependencies with our neighbours, thus cre ating more sensitivity among them to our secu rity concerns.

India needs to counter Chinese influence by better management of Sanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Quad comprising four countries including US committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, UN through Security Coun cil present membership, the ASEAN member states and Pacific partners.

TOP TWEETS

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Wishing you all a very happy Bhai Dooj - a symbol of immense affection and unwavering faith of brother and sister.

Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur

Saddened by the demise of veteran actor Sh Nipon Goswami. He made immense contributions to the Assamese film industry and began his career as a child actor who captivated audiences through his diverse roles during his career. I express my condolences to his family and friends.

SPIRITUAL

If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Bible

Jagdeesh Chandra

Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection

under the PRB

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

India needs to counter Chinese influence by better management of Sanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Quad comprising four countries including US committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, UN through Security Council present membership, the ASEAN member states and Pacific partners

COL RAJESH BHUKAR

The author has been Head Security Rajasthan Operations of Cairn Energy and DGM HR in Jindal Saw Ltd

ABOUT THE SAARC

An assertive surge in Chinese economic and diplomatic involvement in the region has elevated long-lingering tensions with India and poses a challenge as the regional economic and diplomatic heavyweight. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political regional organisation of countries in South Asia set up in 1985. It aims to accelerate the process of economic and social development in its member states through increased intra-regional cooperation but so far has characterized by weak institutionalism and is often con strained in their effectiveness.

Day of President’s Bodyguard

New Delhi (PTI): Pres ident Droupadi Murmu on Thursday presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President's Bodyguard at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, an official state ment said.

In her brief remarks on the occasion, the president congratulat ed the commandant, of ficers, junior commis sioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks of the President's Bodyguard (PBG) for remarkable display of parade, maintenance of well groomed horses and the impressive ceremo nial attire.

She said that this event is even more spe cial as the President's Bodyguard is celebrat ing 250 years of its rais ing which is coinciding with the 'Azadi Ka Am rit Mahotsav' being cel ebrated across the country.

The president appre ciated PBG for their excellent military tra ditions, professional

ism and discipline in all their tasks, said the statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She said that the nation is proud of them.

President Murmu ex pressed confidence that they will strive with dedication, discipline and valour to maintain the highest traditions of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and be an ideal role model for other regiments of the Indi an Army.

IN THE COURTYARD

Kolkata/Port Blair: Former chief secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Jitendra Narain arrived in Port Blair on Thursday, following a Calcutta High Court order to appear before a Special Investigation Team, which is prob ing alleged gangrape charges against him. Narain was escorted out of the airport amid heavy security cover. He did not respond to questions from mediapersons. A joint team of police officers from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Delhi had raided the house of Narain on October 18.

NGT JUNKS PLEA TO SEEK MONITORING OF POLLUTION DEVISE

New Delhi: The NGT has refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to moni tor and test efficiency of a device to control air pol lution. A bench headed by Justice AK Goel said the Tri bunal’s role is to adjudicate on substantial questions of environment and not to test devices of commercial en terprises. "According to the applicant, he is an expert on the subject of control of air pollution and has invented a device to control air pollution. He has accord ingly sought a direction to monitor and test efficiency of devices of the applicant.

Raipur: A special court here on Thursday sent an IAS officer and two others, including a businessman, to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to alleged ex tortion of money from coal and mining transporters in Chhattisgarh. IAS officer

Sameer Vishnoi, busi nessman Sunil Agrawal and advocate Laxmikant Tiwari were arrested by the Enforcement Directo rate (ED) on October 13 following their questioning after the agency launched multi-city raids in the state on October 11.

MARRIED WOMAN ASKED TO DO HOUSEHOLD WORK FOR FAMILY NOT CRUELTY, SAYS HC

Mumbai: If a married woman is asked to do household work for family, it cannot be equated to the work of a maid and would not amount to cruelty, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court said while quashing a case lodged by a woman against her husband and his parents for domestic violence and cruelty. A division bench on October 21, quashed the First Information Report lodged against the man and his parents. The woman had alleged she was was treated properly for a month after marriage, but thereafter, they began treating her like a maid servant.

Seven people fall sick after chlorine gas leaks in Bhopal

Bhopal (PTI): Seven people fell sick after chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder at a wa ter filtration plant in Bhopal, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 gas tragedy in the Madhya Pradesh capi tal. A 900 kg chlorine cylinder leaked on Wednesday at the water treatment plant of the Bhopal Municipal Cor poration at the Idgah Hills, Shahjanabad’s As sistant Commissioner of Police Umesh Mishra said on Thursday.

Seven people living in

slums near the plant complained of some health issues. They were shifted to hospital. Locals said after the gas leak, some people com plained of breathing difficulties, coughing and vomiting. The snag has been fixed, he said.

Thousands of people were killed and more than five lakh affected after inhaling a toxic gas that spewed out from the now defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on the inter vening night of Decem ber 2 and 3, 1984.

BJP demands probe in TRS’ poaching bid charges

Hyderabad (ANI): Re jecting the charge that his party was trying to poach Telangana Rash tra Samithi (TRS) MLAs, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay on Wednesday said that Chief Minister K Chan drashekar Rao has scripted the raids at a farmhouse and de manded a probe by a sit ting judge.

The BJP chief said that if KCR is not re sponsible for this then he should come to Ya dadri Lakshmi Nar asimha Swamy temple and swear on God. “Sto ry-Screenplay-Direc tion by CM KCR at Moinabad Farmhouse Boomeranged and is laughable. It’s TRS’

farmhouse, TRS com plained, TRS are vic tims, TRS are crimi nals. KCR if you haven’t scripted this, come to Yadadri Lakshmi Nar asimha Swamy temple and swear on God - You fix time and date,” said Sanjay.

The BJP leader al leged that the TRS lead ers are staying at a ho tel for the last threefour days.

BJP URGES HC TO TRANSFER TRS MLAS’ POACHING CASE TO CBI Hyderabad (Agencies): The Telangana BJP has released a manifesto for the Munugode bypoll to be held on November 3, promising to develop the con stituency in 500 days with the help of over Rs 1,000 crore in central government funds. Neither the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), nor Congress or other contesting parties, including Independents, have released any manifestos for the by-poll. The eight-page, 28-point “master plan” promises allround development of Munugode, with funds and direct oversight of at least 10 Central ministries. As per the manifesto, the National Highways Authority of India will invest over Rs 200 crore to develop three stretches of highways that connect to Munugode. Un der the Union Ministry of Textiles, a textile park would be developed with Rs 100 crore. The manifesto states that a central fluoride research centre attached with a 100-bed hospital will be established at Munugode, at a cost of Rs 100 crores. It will be managed by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Telan gana BJP on Thursday approached the High Court seeking transfer of a case pertaining to the TRS MLAs’ poach ing allegations against the party, to the CBI or to constitute a special investigation team to carry out a fair probe into the matter. In a writ petition filed by BJP State Genl Secy Gujjula Premendar Reddy, he claimed the “bias and unfair investigation” be ing carried out is with a “sole intention to frame the leaders” of his party.

BJP RELEASES MANIFESTO IN HIGH STAKES TELANGANA BYELECTION, CATCHES TRS, CONG OFF-GUARD

TRS, MIM USING BJP’S STYLE OF POLITICS, SAYS JAIRAM RAMESH

Hyderabad: The ruling TRS in Telangana and the Asaduddin Owaisiled AIMIM practice the same politics as that of the BJP, AICC General Secretary, in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday. Ramesh, who spoke to reporters during a break in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by party leader Rahul Gan dhi, said the main focus of Yatra is the “divisive politics” of BJP and the RSS, but in Telangana the challenge is also to face the ruling TRS.

Why not Ambedkar’s pic on notes: Tewari

Chandigarh (PTI): A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejri wal sought printing im ages of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on currency, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday asked why not Bhimrao Ambed kar's photo on a new series of notes.

The AAP national convener’s demand drew sharp reactions

tive Hindutva” to out wit the BJP in pollbound Gujarat.

SC: ‘Custodial interrogation not needed’ not a ground for bail

“USE PM’S PIC”

from the Congress with its Punjab unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja accusing Kejriwal of resorting to “competi

Reacting to Kejri wal’s statement, Tewari, a Congress MP from Punjab’s Anand pur Sahib, tweeted, “Why not Dr Babasahib Ambedkar’s photo graph on new series of currency notes? On one side the great Mahatma (Gandhi) the other side Dr (B R) Ambedkar.”

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY-2020

New Delhi: The Su preme Court has criti cised the practice of High Courts to grant anticipatory bail to ac cused in criminal cases on the ground that no custodial interrogation is required. A bench said there is a misconception that if no case for custo dial interrogation is made out by prosecution then that alone would be

a good ground to grant anticipatory bail.

“In many anticipato ry bail matters, we have noticed one common argument being can vassed that no custodial interrogation is re quired and, therefore, anticipatory bail may be granted. There ap pears to be a serious misconception of law,” the bench said.

It aims at de-linking degree from edu & livelihood: MoS Dr Singh

lll

Dr Jitendra Singh gave full credit to the futuristic vision of PM Narendra Modi, who had given a call for Start-Up India, Stand-Up India in 2015 itself

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Min ister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday that National Education Policy (NEP-2020) aims at de-linking degree from education and live lihood opportunities.

Addressing the stu dents at Krishna Ma havidyalaya at Thakurdwar in Mo radabad, Uttar Pradesh, Dr Jitendra Singh said, NEP-2020 also supple ments Start-Up ecosys

tem with the promise to open new career and entrepreneurship op portunities for students and youth in India.

Dr Singh said, NEP2020 introduced by PM Modi will reorient In dia’s Education Policy as per global bench marks. Describing it as the biggest path-break ing reform in India since independence, the Minister said, the new policy is not only pro gressive and visionary but is also in keeping

with the emerging needs and requirements of 21st century India.

He said, it gives due pri orities to the inherent

talent, knowledge, skill and aptitude of the stu dents, rather than focus ing only on degrees.

He said that linking

IN

been an increasing number of educated un employed. He said, NEP2020 is having the provi sion of multiple entry/ exit option thus provid ing academic flexibility to the students.

degrees with education has taken a heavy toll on our education system and society as well and one of the fall-outs has

Referring to Skill In dia Mission, he urged students to imbibe mul tiple skills to be success ful in life as there are ample number of exam ples to show that those equipped with the latest skills are doing wonders in the world today.

He urged students to explore livelihood op portunities in the Startup sector. He said that only in August this year, the Uttar Pradesh government injected Rs 4,000 crore into the state’s start-up corpus for employment genera tion and economic ac tivity. The fresh infu sion of capital has been made to constitute the maiden ‘UP Innovation Fund’ that will be man dated to provide seed capital to start-ups.

AFTER HC ORDER, EX-ANDAMAN CHIEF SECY ARRIVES IN PORT BLAIR TO FACE SIT PROBE

CHHATTISGARH IAS OFFICER SENT TO JUDICIAL REMAND

Locals wait outside their houses after chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder at a water filtration plant, in Bhopal, on Wednesday night.

Manish Tewari

BJP leader Bandi Sanjay

T’gana leg of Yatra resumes after 4 days

Dislodging BJP not possible without Congress, says Jairam Ramesh

Hyderabad (PTI): Af ter a gap of four days, the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra re sumed from Makthal in Narayanpet district of Telangana on Thursday, sources in the Congress party said.

The yatra kicked off at 6.30 am from Makthal with State Congress president A Revanth Reddy, MP Uttam Ku mar Reddy, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and a number of party lead ers joining Gandhi. This is the second day of the yatra in the state.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered the state via Gudebellur on October 23 morning, after exit ing Karnataka from Raichur. After a brief march, it took a break from Sunday noon till October 26.Gandhi who left for the national cap ital on October 23, land ed here last night and left for Gudebellur by road. The Gandhi scionled march is expected to complete 26.7 km, be fore halting for the day at Sri Balaji Factory,

CONG DEMANDS WHITE PAPER ON ‘PLIGHT OF KASHMIRI PANDITS’

New Delhi (PTI): The Con gress attacked the BJP over the alleged exodus of Kash miri Pandits from south Kashmir’s Shopian district and demanded that the Modi government release a white paper on the plight of the minority community during its eight-year rule.

Makthal for the night, according to party sources. From Makthal, the yatra will continue

CRUCIAL READ

ASSAM POLICE CONFISCATES GANJA WORTH `15 CRORE, TWO ARRESTED

Guwahati (ANI): Assam police on Thursday foiled interstate smuggling by intercepting a truck carrying more than two thousand kilos of contraband drugs (Ganja) near the Jorabat area, along the Assam-Meghalaya border.

“Two persons have been arrested,” officials said. Acting on a tip-off, an operation was launched by a team of Guwahati city police and intercepted a truck, on its way to mainland Assam from Manipur, carrying Manipuri Ganja, worth Rs 15 crore. Following the arrest of two persons, the truck and the high-quality Ganja have been seized, officials said.

LAUNCH OF BOOK ON IMRAN KHAN CANCELLED

Bengaluru (ANI): A book on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was set for launch in Bengalu ru on Thursday but had to be cancelled after Hindu outfits protested against the programme and de manded police not to give permission for the event.

The book titled “Imran Khan: A Living Legend” written by Sudhakar SB was set to be launched at Kalagrama near Mallatha halli in Bengaluru at 5pm on Thursday.

HP CM ATTEMPTS TO BUY PEACE AS REBELS HAUNT BJP

Shimla (Agencies): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur paid a surprise visit to Karsog constituency in his home district Mandi. While such visits may be common in the run-up to polls, the purpose of Thakur’s visit was differ ent. The CM’s services had been sought to establish peace with the previous BJP MLA from the seat, Yuvraj Kapoor, who has filed his nomination as a rebel candidate.

FIVE INCLUDING TWO CHILDREN DIE AFTER DRINKING TEA IN UTTAR PRADESH VILLAGE

Mainpuri (PTI): Five persons, including two children and their father died on Thursday here in a village after drinking tea allegedly spiked with a chemical, police said. Shivanan dan (35), his sons Shivang (6) and Divyansh (5), his fatherin-law Ravindra Singh (55), and neighbour Sobran (42) fell seriously ill after drinking tea made in his house in Nagla Kanhai village, Superintendent of Police Kamlesh Dixit said. All of them were taken to the district hospital where doctors declared Ravindra, Shivang, and Divyansh brought dead, the SP said. Sobran and Shivanandan were referred to Saifai in a serious condition where they both died later, he said.

The opposition party also hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir and said the government must apolo gise for it.

for 16 days in Telangana state, covering 19 As sembly and 7 Parlia mentary constituencies

As terrorists carried out a number of targeted killings recently, 10 Kash miri Pandit families left their village, Choud harygund, in Shopian out of fear and reached Jammu, ac cording to residents.

spanning a distance of 375 km, before entering Maharashtra on No vember 7.

Will K’taka Cong witness a third power centre in Kharge faction?

Sharat K Verma

New Delhi: After Mal likarjun Kharge be came the Congress President, there may or may not be any new fac tion in the national politics of the party, but it is certain that a new faction will be formed in Karnataka, which will be called Kharge faction. It can also be called a high command group. At present there are two factions in Kar nataka i.e. Siddaramai ah and DK Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah has been the chief minister of the state but he is not a traditional Congress leader. He left the JDS and joined the Con gress and Rahul Gan dhi made him the Chief Minister. Shivakumar, on the other hand, is the state president, troubleshooter of the Congress and a re source-rich leader. Right now the entire party is divided be

tween these two lead ers. However, apart from these, there are many other big leaders like Margaret Alva and Veerappa Moily.

Kharge is from Kar nataka and has now be come the national pres ident of the party. In such a situation, the leaders who are not in any group have got a shelter. Keep in mind that Kharge being the grassroots leader of Karnataka, every small and big leader has di

Indian Army jawans celebrate Bhai Dooj with women at LoC

Poonch (PTI): The Jawans of Indian Ar my’s Durga Battalion on Thursday celebrated Bhai Dooj with women and girls at Line of Con trol (LoC) in Gulpur sec tor in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Women applied ‘tika’ on the forehead of the army personnel and performed other rituals.“Our Battalion is posted here at Loc and today is the festival of Bhai Dooj. Our sisters are at home and we can’t

UP: Fight over rasgulla shortage leaves 1 dead

Agra (Agencies): A 22-year-old man was killed and five others in jured after a fight erupt ed at a wedding ceremo ny at Etmadpur here due to a shortage of sweets, police said. The incident occurred on Wednesday night at the wedding ceremony of Mohalla Shaikhan resi dent Usman’s daugh ters, the police said.

meet them but here the sisters of Poonch cele brated the festival with us,” said an officer. An

other Army Officer posted here at LoC said that the sister of Poonch has come to celebrate.

rect contact with him. Therefore, the leaders of the party can contact him in Delhi and speak their mind. This fac tion will also be formed because elections are going to be held in Kar nataka next year and both the big leadersSiddaramaiah and Shi vakumar - are busy pre paring their list of can didates. Any leader who is not in the list of these two will remain in Kharge or high com mand faction. So, Kar nataka politics is going to be interesting in the next few days. This dis cussion has also started among many knowl edgeable Congress lead ers that Kharge fell short of becoming CM thrice, and it could be that after becoming the national president, he may yet again become CM. Thus if Congress wins, Kharge may be the consensus candi date instead of Siddara maiah and Shivakumar.

Worldwide emissions will peak in 2025, says IEA

Paris (ANI): The Inter national Energy Agen cy (IEA) on Thursday released its World En ergy Outlook 2022 re port, which stated that global emissions will peak in 2025.

Based on the latest en ergy data and market developments, this year’s WEO explores key questions about the crisis, including set backs for clean energy transitions, government responses on energy markets and possible risks ahead on the path to net zero emissions.

“In the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), the commitments in the NDCs bring about a fast er reduction in emis sions: global emissions peak before 2025 and fall to 31.5 Gt CO2 in 2030, which is around 15pc lower than in the STEPS,” the report said.

Gas tanker explodes after overturning,1dead

Dumka (PTI): One per son was killed and an other injured as a gas tanker overturned after hitting a bus that was parked on the roadside in Jharkhand’s Dumka district on Thursday af ternoon, following which it exploded and caught fire.The acci dent happened on State Highway 17 in Dhava tand area when the tanker was on the way to Hansdiha, Superin tendent of Police Am ber Lakra told PTI. Af ter the tanker exploded, it caught fire that rav

aged at least three buses that were parked one after the other. Several trees were also burnt, police said. “There was an explosion after the tanker overturned. Three buses that were parked nearby and sev eral trees also caught fire,” police inspector said.

IAS Gothalwal may withdraw application for VRS: Sources

Lucknow: After the ap plications of IAS offic ers Juthika Patankar and Renuka Kumar for Voluntary Retirement Scheme were accepted, all eyes are on the 2003-batch IAS officer Vikas Gothalwal who has also sought VRS.

However, the matter of his VRS seems to be stuck in some technical issue. Gothalwal’s wife

Fishermen lay siege to Adani Group port

Thiruvanan thapuram (PTI): Local fishermen, opposing the Vizhinjam interna tional seaport project near here, on Thursday intensified their agita tion by setting a fishing boat on fire and throw ing police barricades into the sea, as the stir entered the 100th day.

Hundreds of fisher folk, including women, reached the area via road and sea and broke open the lock of the gate of the project site,

raising slogans. Besides those from the coastal villages here, a large number of

fishermen arrived in boats from nearby plac es including Muth alapozhi under the ae

boat, one of the protest ers told reporters that they had no other way to make the authorities understand their plight.

“If there is no coast, we have no life. We are setting afire our means of livelihood. If the port comes into being, we will lose our coast for ever,” he said.

gis of the Latin Arch diocese to stage pro tests.

Showing the burning

The Kerala High Court on October 19 said that its orders to remove obstructions have to be implemented by the govt by Oct 25.

as his Principal Staff Officer.

Gothalwal went abroad on academic leave from September 13 last year to September 1, 2022. Sources said that there is some issue re garding the payment of salary of this period due to which his VRS has not been approved yet.

Final decision on the VRS application will be

taken after this pay ment issue is resolved. However, the in formed sources said that IAS Vikas Gothal wal may withdraw his VRS application at the last moment.

Meanwhile, the resig nation of IAS Vidya Bhushan, who sought resignation in the bu reaucracy of UP, may also be accepted soon.

Ensuring welfare schemes for everyone is ‘Ram Rajya’: Yogi

Gorakhpur (Agencies): Sharing the joys of Di wali with members of Vantangiya and Mush ar communities, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minis ter Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that Ram Rajya is all about en suring that the benefits of welfare schemes of the government reach every person honestly.

Inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of 288 develop ment projects worth Rs 80 crore for various gram panchayats of

the district at Van tangiya village, Yogi said that Ram Rajya is where compassion and facilities reach people together simultane ously.

‘MADRASA SURVEY ONLY TO ALLOW HOLISTIC POLICY’ Lucknow (Agencies): Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Danish Azad Ansari said that the government’s objec tive for conducting a survey of unrecognised madrasas is to facili tate in developing ho listic welfare policy for all students. “It is up to madrasas whether they want to benefit from the government’s welfare scheme or not,” he said.

Scene from the protest against the Adani port project at Vizhinjam on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with the children during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Narayanpet on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Cong Prez Mallikarjun Kharge

Army personnel gets tilak applied on his forehead on the occasion of Bhai Dooj festival, in Poonch. —PHOTO BY ANI

CDS ANIL CHAUHAN LAYS WREATH AT NAT’L WAR MEMORIAL New Delhi (Agencies): On the occasion of Infantry Day, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in the national capital on Thursday. Mean while, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Sri nagar in Jammu and Kash mir to attend the ‘Shaurya Diwas’ program organized by the Indian Army. Later in the day, he will arrive in Leh on a two-day visit to Ladakh.

By Ahtesham Siddiqui...

Yogi Adityanath

Amrita Soni, is also a 2003 batch IAS of UP cadre, who is currently

posted in the office of Chief Secretary IAS Durga Shankar Mishra

IAS Vikas Gothalwal IAS Vidya Bhushan

Beijing: India and China bilateral trade continued to boom, crossing $100 billion for the second year in the first nine months of 2022 while India’s trade deficit climbed to over $75 billion, according to trade data released by Chinese customs. The to tal bilateral trade, amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, went up to $103.63 billion, regis tering a 14.6% increase compared to 2021 during the same period. China’s exports to India climbed to $89.66 billion, register ing rise of 31%.

India to see biggest jump in energy demand globally’

New Delhi (PTI): India is likely to see the world’s big gest rise in energy demand this decade, with demand climbing 3% annually due to urbanisation and indus trialisation, the Interna tional Energy Agency (IEA) said in its World En ergy Outlook released on Thursday.

While the push for re newable energy will see it meeting as much as 60% of the growth in demand for power, coal will continue to meet a third of overall en ergy demand by 2030 and another quarter will be met by oil.

“India becomes the world’s most populous country by 2025 and, com bined with the twin forces of urbanisation and indus trialisation, this underpins rapid growth in energy de mand, which rises by more than 3 per cent per year in the Stated Policies Scenar io (STEPS) from 2021 to 2030,” IEA said. “It sees the largest increase in energy

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z While the push for renewable energy will see it meeting as much as 60% of the growth in demand for power, coal will continue to meet a third of overall energy demand by 2030

demand of any country.”

Even though India con tinues to make great strides with renewables deploy

z Oil demand meets a further quarter of the energy demand growth and rises to nearly 7 million barrels per day by 2030 from 4.7 million bpd in

z Coal generation is projected to continue to expand in absolute

peaking

ment and efficiency poli cies, the sheer scale of its development means that the combined import bill

for fossil fuels doubles over the next two decades, with oil by far the largest com ponent. “This points to con tinued risks to energy secu rity,” IEA said.

IEA said the world is in the midst of the first global energy crisis, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Pressures in mar kets predated Russia’s inva sion of Ukraine, but Rus sia’s actions have turned a rapid economic recovery from the pandemic -- which strained all manner of glob al supply chains, including energy -- into full-blown en ergy turmoil,” it said.

In India, coal meets a third of growth with de mand rising above 770 mil lion tonnes of coal equiva lent (Mtce) by 2030, and continuing thereafter be fore peaking in the early 2030s. Oil demand meets a further quarter of the en ergy demand growth and rises to nearly 7 million barrels per day by 2030 from 4.7 million bpd in 2021.

Sensex climbs 212 pts amid mixed global cues, Tata Steel rises

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty settled on a positive note on Thursday, helped by buying in metal and re alty stocks amid mixed global market trends.

The 30-share BSE bench mark climbed 212.88 points or 0.36% to settle at 59,756.84. During the day, it jumped 415.98 points or 0.69% to 59,959.94.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty ad vanced 80.60 points or 0.46% to end at 17,736.95.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Sun

Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Ti tan, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy’s and NTPC were among the major winners.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Tech Mahin dra and Nestle were among the laggards.

INDIAN RUPEE RISES 34 PAISE ON THURSDAY TO CLOSE AT 82.47 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 34 paise to close at 82.47 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as the greenback retreated from its elevated levels. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 82.15 and witnessed a high of 82.14 and a low of 82.51. It finally settled at 82.47 against the American cur rency, registering a rise of 34 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee appreciated by 7 paise to 82.81 against the dollar. The forex market was closed on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Business-tobusiness trade platform

has

$120

OTHER STORIES

up a

989.89 crore),

shareholders

from

(about

Udaan

fi nancial officer Aditya Pande on Thursdaymen tioned that the company

in

RESERVE BANK TO HOLD SPECIAL MPC MEET ON NOV 3

NITI AAYOG’S VICE-CHAIARMAN BERY SATISFIED OVER PROJECTIONS ON INDIA’S GDP GROWTH RATE

Jamshedpur: Niti Aayog vice-chairman Suman Bery expressed satis faction over the projections on the country’s GDP growth rate despite the prevailing uncertain global scenario. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that India GDP rate will be 6.5% despite the prevailing conflict (in Ukraine), the post-COVID conditions among others, he said. He told the media that the Reserve Bank of India has pegged the GDP growth at 7% and the government is target ting to acheive the figure in 2022-23.

‘TELECOM DEPARTMENT HAS ADDRESSED TRAI’S TELECOM BILL FEARS’

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank has called a special meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee on No vember 3 to prepare a re port on its failure to keep

inflation below 6% for three consecutive quarters. “Under the pro visions of Section 45ZN of the Reserve Bank of In dia (RBI) Act ...An addi tional meeting of the MPC is being scheduled on No vember 3, 2022,” the cen tral bank said in a state ment on Thursday. The inflation has remained above the upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent for nine straight months or three quarters.

DELHI’S IGI WORLD’S TENTH BUSIEST AIRPORT: REPORT

New Delhi: TRAI’s apprehen sions over potential dilution of powers under the draft telecom bill have been addressed, and the government may look at the option of taking up provisions related to strengthening of the regulatory body separately at a later stage, DoT sources said. On OTT com munication apps, sources said, the focus is on user protection related regulation, not licencing. The DoT, through the provisions of the draft bill, will come down heavily on spammers. —PTI

DIAL TO DEPLOY MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS

New Delhi: Delhi airport operator DIAL on Thursday said it has deployed 57 electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions in the airport ecosystem and more such vehicles will be operated soon. The Delhi Inter national Airport Ltd (DIAL) has initiated the adoption of electric vehicles and aims to replace all diesel and petrol-run vehicles in a phased manner, according to a release. Out of the 57 electric vehicles, 21 are being deployed on the airside.

FINMIN EXTENDS QUERY SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR IDBI BANK STAKE SALE TILL NOVEMBER 10

New Delhi: The finance ministry on Thursday extended the deadline for potential bidders to submit queries on IDBI Bank privatisation by 13 days till November 10. The ministry on October 7 had floated the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) inviting bids for selling about 61% stake in IDBI Bank. The deadline for raising queries and submission of bids by interested bidder was October 28 and December 16, resp.

Deadline for filing Form 26Q extedned till Nov 30

New Delhi (PTI): The Cen tral Board of Direct Taxes on Thursday extended the deadline for filing quarter ly TDS statement in Form 26Q for the June quarter by a month till November 30.

Form 26Q is used for quarterly filing of TDS re turns on payments other than salary.

“Considering the difficul ties in filing of TDS state ment in the revised and

KNOW ABOUT FORM 26Q

z Form 26Q is used for quarterly filing of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) returns on payments other than salary

CBDT said in a statement.

New Delhi: IGI Airport in Delhi has emerged as the world’s 10th busiest air port in October. In its re port, aviation analytics firm OAG said Delhi air port has improved its po sition from 14th place in October 2019, which was the pre-pandemic time. In October 2022, HartsfieldJackson Atlanta Interna tional Airport was the busiest in the world. After Atlanta, Dubai and Tokyo Haneda airports are at the 2nd and 3rd positions, re spectively.

updated Form 26Q, the Cen tral Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due date of filing of Form

26Q for the second quarter of financial year 2022-23 from 31st October, 2022 to 30th November, 2022,”

India’s textiles sector eyeing $100 billion exports in next 5-6 yrs: Goyal

New Delhi (PTI): India’s textiles sector aims to hit $100 billion exports in 5-6 years, which would take the industry’s combined do mestic and international economic value to $250 bil lion, Union minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Outbound shipments from the country’s textiles segment stood at around $42 billion in 2021-22.

The minister said that last year, textile export was approximately $42 billion, while the target is to achieve $100 billion by next 5-6 years.

He said that if achieved, the economic value of the sector will be worth $250 billion collectively, includ ing its domestic as well as international markets.

Production of cotton is

The form captures de tails of total amount paid and tax deducted on such payments during the quar ter. It would include pay ments on account of inter est on securities, dividend, winnings from lotteries and crossword puzzles, rent, interest other than interest on securities, fees for professional or techni cal services.

‘Satellite comm to play key role in driving India’s tech’

New Delhi (PTI): Satellite communications is emerg ing as an important part of India’s ambitions to scale up quality internet access across the country, Minis ter of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

estimated at 34.19 million bales (of 170 kg each) in the 2022-23 crop year (JulyJune) as against 31.20 mil lion bales in the previous year, as per agriculture ministry’s latest data.

Potato & tomato output estimated to be down by 4-5%

First India Bureau

New Delhi: According to agricultural ministry data released on Thursday, the production of potato and tomato in India is estimat ed to have declined by 4-5% during the crop year that ended July 2022, while on ion output remained high er than the previous year. Releasing the third ad vance estimate of produc tion of horticultural crops, the ministry said potato production is pegged to be lower by 5% at 53.39 million tonnes in 2021-22, as against 56.17 million tonnes in 2021.

Similarly, production of tomato is estimated to have declined by 4% to 20.33 mil lion tonnes as against 21.18.

ACCORDING TO MINISTRY DATA

z The agriculture ministry said potato production could be lower by 5% at 53.39 million tonnes in crop year July 22

z Production of tomato is estimated to have declined by 4% to 20.33 million tonnes in the same period

z Production of onion is higher at 31.27 million tonnes

to be higher at 204.84 mil lion tonnes as against 200.45 million tonnes.

Production of fruits is also estimated to be higher at 107.24 million tonnes during 2021-22 crop year as against 102.48 million tonnes in the previous year.

The total horticultural crops production is pro jected to increase by 2.31% at 342.33 million tonnes in 2021-22 as against 334.60 million tonnes in the previ ous year, the data showed.

For the digital economy and India’s growing clout in global technology land scape, satellite communica tions holds significant rel evance, the minister said.

“Our goal...Is by 2025-26 to have 1.2 billion Indians have the ability to connect to the internet directly through their device, and... Role of satellite communi cations and space segment is an inherent part of this,” Chandrasekhar said.

At times, wireless tech nology may have limita tions and “satellite is clear ly emerging as an impor tant part of the blueprint of delivering quality inter net to all citizens and en terprises of India,” he said. Satellite & space, there fore, will be important in the overall mission to en sure delivery of internet and goal of connecting peo ple to the digital economy.

However, production of onion is pegged higher at 31.27 million tonnes during the 2021-22 crop year as

against 26.64 million tonnes in the previous year. The production of over all vegetables is projected

The government releas es production estimates at different stages of plant growth and harvesting.

‘

z But other than estab lishing a synergy with the Young Gandhis, what other challenges do you see would befall Mallikarjun Kharge?

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: Challenges abound but in Indian politics, the biggest challenge before him is how to take on or counter the be hemoth Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Then there is the challenge of winning elections since before 2024, 11 states will witness elec tions. Firstly election would be held in Kharge’s home state Karnataka, then in 2023 the three states of Ra jasthan, MP and Chat tishgarh would elect governments, im mediately Himachal and Gujarat will un dergo election in this year. All these are political chal lenges, which honestly no one expects Kharge to do miracles in. These are the challenges but he is not concerned or con nected with it. If Congress does not do well in Himachal and Gujarat election, then perhaps no one would say that this loss is on Kharge’s leadership. Secondly, the challenge within the party is that now workers have started feeling a divide in the party between North and South. Workers feel that everything has been given to leaders of the south. Now look at their handling of events. Bhai Dooj was on 26th and that very day eve ryone was called for cover age as the new President would formally take over. Who all would come to wit ness this event and moreo ver, will people at homes across the North India get time to see this unfold? Had it been Pongal or other festi val, this formal take over would not have happened. So basically, from day one, a trust deficit has occurred in their leadership that every thing has been given to South and North has been differentiated against. So this is another challenge to counter. Moreover, he will also have to sort the gap be tween the old guards and the young brigade of Con gress. Although the gap has lessened and issues have been sorted, but still some areas on concern remain. The formation of commit tees and boards in party has to be done, but he appears to be relaxed and I don’t think he is worried to much.

z It is said that Rahul Gandhi wanted the elec tion process to be devoid of any intervention and held in a free and fair manner. But word is that Priyanka Gandhi called up various lead ers and asked for votes in Kharge’s favour. How true is that?

It sometimes seem that Pri yanka Gandhi is the ‘real boss’ whether it is anything to do worth Rajasthan or any other state. She han dles issues, has a different thought process and moreo ver, she is practical while Rahul is more of a rule

book leader. It is my firm belief that Rahul Gandhi must have surely thought that the election should be free, fair and independent, but among the loyalists only. He may or may not want Shashi Tharoor to come to helm, nothing can be said for certain about Ra hul Gandhi. So, he wanted free elections, but that is not what happened. If you try to find out, you will learn that Priyanka defi nitely called up leaders and calls were made to leaders from state PCC to vote in Kharge’s favour, which ba sically beats the sentiment of free and fair elec tions. As such a gap between the votes amassed by Kharge and Tharoor is so great that this sentence has no importance.

Shashi Tha roor was hard ly a candidate to challenge Kharge, but the situation could have been different or tough had Digvijaya Singh been at helm. So by and large, it was fair but there were exceptions has people tried to influence the out come at the level of Priyan ka Gandhi.

z Rahul is a MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, KC Venugopal, the Organi sational General Secre tary, too is from Kerala and now the new Presi dent is from South Indi an state of Karnataka. Is it a well thought out strategy to give impetus and focus on South India or it is a coincidence?

No, this is merely a coinci dence and not part of any strategy. Rahul Gandhi thought he would surely win from Kerala so he went there. KC has been a long time standard bearer for him. Ashok Gehlot denied becoming present and if he had become the Party Chief, then the President would have been from North. It was because of his denial that situation developed and Kharge’s name came in front and incidentally he is from South. So, this is merely a coincidence. Al though this coincidence is hurting Congress, however, that is a separate issue. Ba sically, Congress is a North Indian political party, but over time, it has gained more prominence in South ern states.

z Rahul has started from Kerala and is still in Karnataka although so much time has passed. Amid this, Kharge be comes the Party Chief. Do you think, this is a part of Congress think tank’s strategy? Well, the party is working on promoting the South In dian states and to strength en its base there. They think that this would be beneficial for them since there are 52 eats in more than half are from South India. So, this is their strategy that they would first gain some mo mentum and popularity in south and then enter North ern states. So, this is a fact

Tharoor’s 1,072 votes a warning bell for Gandhis, their supremacy may be shortlived: Dr. Chandra

pected that it might come to this that the entire 8,000 votes roll to the other side. So, it is a word of caution for Gandhis. And if there is internal democracy in the party, the Sonia, Rahul and everyone deserves a vote of thanks.

z But there surely is a dissatisfied camp of G-23. Was Tharoor a candidate of that camp? But an even more impor tant question is who backed him?

that the party would focus more on South and later en ter North and as such they have less hopes from North primarily because of Nar endra Modi and Amit Shah.

z It seems that BJP has taken a vow of silence on Kharge’s elevation as Party President. What does this entail? It could be part of their strategy. Normally, they do not do this, but it could be a strategic move. But one thing is there. PM Modi showed large- heartedness. He called up Kharge and congratulated him. So, he behaved as a ‘Statesman’ and he is being praised eve rywhere for it, in Congress too. It is a fact that BJP did not engage in a large scale attack on this develop ment, rather PM called up and spoke to Kharge con veying his best wishes.

z Kharge was asked about his take on Shashi Tharoor contesting against him and he said that the party and na tion would be strength ened through this elec tion. Is it really so?

Kharge is a decent and simplified individual. He knows its the same party, same family. So, its alright that he has given this state ment for media’s consump tion and for this, he should be commended.

z What are the similar ities and differences between Kharge and Tharoor’s personal ities?

See, the similarity is that both are well experienced.

Kharge is 80 years old, Tha roor is 62. Both have been Cen

tral Ministers, both have had good connect with gen eral public. Kharge was in politics, while Tharoor was in the Foreign Services and UN for almost three dec ades. Speaking of differ ences, Kharge is a Gandhi an leader, while Tharoor is the new age leader. Tha roor’s look is inspired with today’s fashion, while Kharge’s is of the age gone by. Kharge is a little senior to him but basically there is no comparison between the two, but broadly speaking both are senior, been for mer ministers and are well experienced. But the only

On face value, it may be termed as internal party politics, but in reality, this is a warning bell. Without any support or anything, he was voted for, by 1,072 voters, which is more than the combined vote share of the previous two leaders. So this is a new start. Moreover, there was heightened monitoring and vigilance by Priyanka Gandhi to ensure that no voter goes to the other side. And those who sided with Tharoor, on them an en quiry was called and they literally had to give an

apology. Even under an in direct control, against the theory of free and fair polls, 1,072 individuals went to the other camp. So this is a beginning. People thought nothing is going to happen as such even Shashi Tharoor hasn’t been punished for his past acts and is still working in the party. So, this is a start to end the Gandhis’ hold over Congress. Tharoor’s agenda was different and he said that he is a repre sentative of change. So when there is a vision doc ument for change, it is al ways against the establish

He follows his own mind. I am sure he wasn’t a candi date of G-23. I know that when Gehlot denied, every one in G-23 thought that Tharoor is contesting and hasn’t consulted anyone. So, they too wanted that Ge hlot should contest and thus, they kept aside their differences also and sup ported Gehlot initially. Moreover, Hooda, Manish Tewari and others said that they can not contest against Gehlot due to their person al relations with him, so no candidate was left. So, his contesting the election was incidental and he was not a candidate of G-23.

z Why didn’t Kamal Nath or DK Shivaku mar contest the Presi dential election? The same reason applies here too. Since Ashok Ge hlot was contesting, so these and other leaders did not think of standing for the election, but when Ge hlot declined at the elev enth hour, then the groups started taking action. It is said for Kamal Nath that he was given this offer once in the not so distant past, and perhaps the high command did not wanted to disturb Rajasthan at that time. Nath also, infor mally told the high com mand, as to how will he handle three bosses. More over he also reportedly said that he feels at home in Bhopal. The point is no one was ready to let go of the chair of the Chief Min ister and in Rajasthan, the situation became such that Gehlot himself backed out. Had the Rajasthan crisis not occurred, it would have been Gehlot as Con gress President. Similarly, Shivakumar is happy and content in Karnataka. So, all leaders are happy and satisfied in their con cerned state capital and no one wants to come to Cen tre. Now you can imagine that the Congress’ honour is at stake since none of your own leader wants to come to the centre, leaving the state.

the

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India; CMD, First India News takes a decisive look at Congress’ ‘self proclaimed free and fair’ presidential elections, how Tharoor’s challenge highlights the underlying problem of faith in Gandhi leadership among Congmen, how Kharge has a mountain of challenges before him apart from managing the ‘Young Gandhis’, and if he will be able to revive Congress in southern states from where the party has maximum seats at present. Excerpts... (Part-II)

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with (R-L) Poornima Mishra, Mimansa Malik, Aditi Nagar, Srishti Khatri and Amit Mishra during The JC Show.

Dr Jagdeesh

FASHION!

Leather accents on pieces make it fun and spice up an outfit. City First brings to you the significance of leather clothing in the fashion world...

ty greatly.

or a while now, leath er clothing has domi nated the fashion world, but these days, the de mand for leather clothing is soaring.

The fashion world of leather is evolv ing. It is utilised for both fashiona ble outerwear as sortments and in nerwear. Leather clothing is now available in a vari ety of colours and textures thanks to technology.

The texture of the leather cloth ing is referred to as its hand. The softer the hand of the ap parel, the more ex pensive the piece of clothing. The quality of the hide affects the quality of the finished ap parel to a great ex tent. Environmen tal conditions as well as the genetics of the animal af fect the hide quali

Initially, it was thought that leath er clothing would only be appropriate for use in the win ter, but modern technology has as sisted in the devel opment of leather clothing that is lighter, making it feasible to use it in the summer as well. These days, leather clothing comes in a variety of styles so that it can be worn all year round. Cloth ing made of leather is available for both men and women.

Numerous items, including hats, jackets, shoes, belts, pants, and jewellery are of fered in leather and can be worn in various combina tions. Leather clothing can be worn with other outfits to create a distinctive and cur rent look. While leather pants can be worn with a sim ple cotton shirt, a leather vest can be worn with denim pants or a layered skirt. A leather jacket can also give an otherwise basic outfit a stylish ap peal.

Comparatively speaking, leather

clothing is more ex pensive than other common textiles. However, the price is reasonable. They have a great degree of visual appeal and are quite ap pealing. Addition ally, they are very durable. It can be worn repeatedly without losing its smoothness. It may be worn for a long time because it does not wrinkle easily. This makes it the best clothing for travel. Leather clothing is typical ly windproof and waterproof, mak ing it perfect for use while biking, for example. Once worn, high-quality leather clothing stretches to fit the body. It is this leather quality that ensures a nice fit. They are com fortable for the user to wear be cause they are breathable.

The fashion in dustry has long fa voured leather clothing despite protests from ani mal rights cam paigners. Everyone can wear leather clothing. They can last nearly a life time if chosen wisely and taken care of properly.

SHUBHANSHI PATHAK cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

LIBRA

VIRTUALLY PRIVATE

RISKS

z Your account might be hacked

z You might be targeted by trolls and harsh comments might be said about you and your statements

TAURUS

Make

SCORPIO

OCT

are

to

to find

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

1.2…5…10…53…247

As the number of ‘likes’ on any of my posts increases on Facebook and Insta gram, my excitement mounts. I can’t wait to see how far it goes. My pulse races. My heart pounds. How many people and who all have found my latest picture, or my most recent comment, cool? This feeling used to come to me ten years ago, and not much has changed since. We all crave acceptance and validation. I’m 42 years old, and I crave your acceptance, wondering if you liked my last column. You may be 12, 15, or 17. Different things de fine what makes you feel good. Social media though, is what unites us in our meas ure of self-worth. Nothing wrong with that. But hey, can I tell you a little secret?

About five years back my Facebook account got hacked. I tried and I tried to convince the administrators at Face book that it was indeed I who was trying to retrieve my ac count through my alternative email account. They just wouldn’t listen. I had lost eve rything. Years of memories, photographs, special mo ments, opinions, stories and posts. Gone. ALL taken away from me in a flash by some hacker who probably found one little statement of mine, offensive.

That’s when I realized that being on social media, voicing one’s thoughts, and sharing one’s life online, is well and good. But there are some very simple ways in which we can all ensure that we do not risk ourselves and our families. But first, we must understand what these risks are.

1. In an overall sense, think of your social me dia and online existence just as you would, your daily real-world one. Let me explain what I mean. If you met a stranger at the bus stop who asked you where you lived, would you tell that person? Probably, not right? Similarly, we have to exercise the same basic logic, online

2. Voice your opinions. I am not for a minute suggesting not doing

that. It is great to be bold and champion causes we feel strongly about. But do it politely. Remember how our country gained its independence?

3. Be well informed. Let’s say there’s some debate brewing on one of your social media sights that your school principal might be leav ing. First, find out the facts, then, if at all, add to the discussion. Par ticipating as one unit

WAYS

4. Be sensitive. Let’s say my pet dog has met with a terrible accident and I am at the vet’s clinic with him. I share an update on social media. Without even thinking about the gravity of the situation, I will have 50 likes in a matter of minutes. Only 2 people will say something that is helpful or sensitive to the situation. Does it make sense to ‘like’ this situation?

of a herd is a mentality that leads to chaos, rumour-mongering, and confusion which can, at times lead to fights, the spread of misinforma tion that has cata strophic consequences

z You might expose yourself and your loved ones to some psychologically disturbed people who may stalk you, follow you, and try to contact you and trouble you. You may give away too much information about your location, address, where you live, your social status which might solicit the wrong kind of attention from people who might want to take advantage of that

z Finally, with the latest data leaks that we have all been read ing about, we might expose too much infor mation about ourselves that might harm us socially, financially and in many other ways

WHY

The simple answer to this is that we may be one united human race but as a species that has this little thing called ‘free will’, we are all different in our thinking, philosophies, world views, morality, and what we consider right and wrong. If to me Djokovic is the world’s greatest tennis player, you might not agree. You may think it is Nadal or Federer. And if I was to get into an argument with you about it at school, who knows, we might even come to blows if each of us is very passion ately opinionated on the issue. This brings me to the simple ways of being online, but with a little privacy and caution.

Let go of your resistance today, Gemini. As you do, give yourself the permission to eliminate the negative beliefs that are keeping you from growing into the version of yourself you envisioned a long time ago. Know that you will one day bless the very thing that broke you.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Instead of projecting your rage onto others, find a healthy outlet for it today. Offer the rage a seat at your table and listen to what it is urging you to transmute within yourself. Walk through the sacred fires of transformation. What you need to know is that Spirit is supporting you now and in every moment.

LEO

JULY 24 -

23

Today the rage deserves a seat at your table, Leo. So, take a moment to listen to what it has to say. At the same, take a moment to be grateful for the soul lessons. Eclipse season reminder: the truth isn’t always pretty, but it is helping you realign your life in many ways.

VIRGO

AUG

Today, the cards are urging you to make space for the change you desire and deserve. To set the wheels into

DAY

by Saurabbh Sachdeva

Think

a

in the impossible. The stars are talking about the presence of a partner who is not threatened by your power and is holding space for you to be the brightest and boldest version of yourself.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

Today, the stars are bringing your attention to your spending habits. Your need to constantly put your money on things that are neither bringing you joy, not satiating that hunger within. What you want to instead is sit down with that void and listen to what it has to say. Everything you seek already exists within.

CAPRICORN

DEC 23 - JAN 20

The onset of Scorpio season, coupled with the energy of the eclipses, is encouraging you to turn your gaze inwards and ask yourself difficult questions. Allow the truth to unravel as it must. You will find that the answers you are seeking will come to you in the most unexpected of ways.

AQUARIUS

JAN

You will get the emotional help that you are seeking for. Today, the cards are urging you to observe your resistance. The truth is, there is always more than one way to look at everything in your life. Ponder upon this as you get back into the flow of life. Please take good care of your health.

PISCES

5. Lastly, be discreet. With pictures, personal information and points of view. Just like in the real world if we wanted to really have a serious, meaningful conversation about

something, we would do it in private. If you feel you are starting to get agitated or disagree strongly with something or someone’s opinion – breathe. Be polite. It never hurts to say something like “I re spect your opinion but I beg to differ.” And then take the conversation to a private space. Maybe on Messenger where it is just you and that one more person. Better still, meet or call up or email the person.

boon. It has connected the world for the better, be it for commerce, business, culture, sharing, or emergency assistance. So let us use it responsibly to our benefit, as a mature tool to make ourselves heard and to build up our profiles and uniqueness. We are all special individuals. We don’t need to follow. If only we exercise a little virtual privacy, we can be leaders.

Social Media and the worldwide internet are an absolute

KARTIK BAJORIA (the author is a Jaipur-based Communication Skills Educator & Writer)

SANON’S STUNNING SAREE APPEARANCE

Kriti Sanon is one such actress who has repeat edly demonstrated that, in addition to being ex ceptionally attractive,

she is also highly skilled and never fails to make her admir ers’ hearts skip a beat when they glance at her. When it comes to fashion, she is a diva.

KIARA FLAUNTS

GREEN DIOR HANDBAG

Kiara stepped out for the screening of ru moured beau Sid harth Malhotra’s lat est Thank God. She was spotted in a soothing allwhite ensemble. The actress teamed up the pretty white outfit, with a bright green Lady Dior handbag that took her to look to the next level.

The Lady Dior green handbag paired with the all-white ensemble serves lessons on pow er dressing. The time less bright green Dior bag is sleek and re fined. Crafted in pine green patent calfskin, the bag is accentuated with cannage stitching that delivers an attractive quilted texture. Another element of the bag that adds to its charm is its pale gold-finish metal signa ture ‘D.I.O.R.’ charms that illumi nates its look.

Kriti always carries herself in flair, whether she’s slaying like a queen or walking out in casu als. Western attires that are stylish and fashionable are cer

tainly a favourite in any girl’s closet, but nothing rivals the allure of the desi saree. Espe cially when the sarees are as stunning and remarkable as the

ones worn by Kriti Sanon. She has provided us with some re ally lovely and wonderful saree styles that every girl wishes she could wear.

Rhea Kapoor has shared an ador able picture that shows Sonam Kapoor looking lovingly at baby Vayu during the Diwali party.

Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja host ed a Diwali bash at their residence on Monday in Mumbai and it marked their first Diwali post the birth of their

son Vayu. Pictures from Sonam Ka poor’s Diwali bash have been circulat ing on social media. A few of them show new mommy Sonam Kapoor looking gorgeous. Recently, we have stumbled upon another unseen picture of Sonam with baby Vayu from the Di wali party and it is just too adorable.

SARA DROPPED FROM ASHWATTHAMA

A ccording to rumours, Sara Ali Khan was forced to leave Vicky Kaushal’s The Immortal Ashwat thama due to script changes. The reports said that the producers wanted a younger girl in the movie and Sara stepped in at that moment. How ever, once the script was altered, the dates clashed and it was no longer feasible. It was also reported that the producers intended to cast an older lady in the picture, which is why the source in dicated that the producers are seeking an other choice.

Deepika’s goofy mood

Deepika Padukone is a true entertainer and her recent posts on social media always show her fans her humorous side. Just a while ago, the actress, who made her Bollywood debut in Farah Khan’s directorial Om Shanti Om with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, shared a fun video with Kat rina Kaif as they came together for a workout session. The two actresses were seen goofing around in the gym.

Taking to her Instagram handle, Deepika captioned the video: “Me working really hard in the gym! Meanwhile, @katrinakaif is up to no good.” She added the song Survivor Eye Of The Tiger. In the video, Katrina can be seen doing aerial yoga.

GLIMMERING

hether it is dialling up a shimmer saree or pulling off a blingy lehenga, this Di wali Janhvi Kapoor proved she is the queen of fashion. If you are looking for festive out fits, you’ll be glad you stumbled upon this style guide inspired by Janh vi Kapoor. Janhvi Ka poor made us fall in love with her all love again with her first Diwali look as she stepped out for Manish Mal hotra’s Diwali bash in a green mermaidstyle lehen ga set by none other than Manish Malhotra. The glamor ous ethnic fit of the actress was defi nitely the talk of the event. In fact, she managed to serve lessons on how to glam up your festive ward robe.

Deepika Padukone

Deepika’s post...

Janhvi Kapoor

Sara Ali Khan

Kiara

Advani

Rhea Kapoor’s post...

Kriti Sanon

Indian diaspora light up

NY'S TIMES SQUARE!

Jaipur Foot USA in col laboration with the As sociation of Indians in America

(AIA) New York chap ter hosted a grand Deepavali event at NY's Times Square, displaying the true spirit and grit of In dia away from home. Heads of many organ izations, including AIA, FIA NYNJCTNE, RANA, Bihar Founda tion of USA, ETZ, and REDIO came together to wish Deepavali to one and all. Harish Thakkar, President of the AIA NY chapter, was accompanied by chief guest Dr Samin Sharma, a noted inter ventional cardiologist at Mt Sinai, Prem Bhandari, Chairman of Jaipur Foot USA, Dr Varun Jeph, Depu ty Consul General of India in New York, for the Deepawali cele brations at Times Square. A poster with Deepavali greetings from the leaders was

also displayed at Times Square.

Srinivas Ranga, Corporate Vice Presi dent at New York life insurance company, Dr Samin Sharma, John Liu, New York State senator, and Prem Bhandari lit the lamp during the inau

gural ceremony at Times Square.

Speaking on the oc casion, Prem Bhandari, a promi nent voice of the Indi an diaspora in the world, thanked PM Modi for the praising words and said "we are very thankful to Hon

ourable PM Modi for making our parent or ganisation BMVSS partner for India for Humanity initiative and under this pro gram, our parent or ganisation has done 17 international camp and 18th camp is going on in Syria."

Delhi is witness ing a significant transformation in the mobility sector and this is large ly driven by electric scooters. Now, twowheelers with green number plates are a common sight on the Capital’s roads. Apart from changing how peo ple move in cities, escooters have trans formed the electric ve hicle (EV) sector to make these revolution ary vehicles accessible to India’s middle class.

Nearly 7,000 electric two-wheelers were sold

in Delhi in the first three months of 2022.

Factors for this in crease include reduced fuel costs, low commut ing hassle and the abil ity to bypass traffic to name a few. The ease of charging at home, hav

ing multiple charging stations in public, and lower cost of running are only a few advan tages they offer. While many have switched to using them for daily commutes.

cityfirstdel@gmail.com

CITY FIRST

Avon Square the flag ship store of the com pany was inaugurated by its CMD, Onkar Singh Pahwa recently. Avon Square offers the alternate so lution of transport of passen gers and goods through E rick shaws & E carts. A vast range of products from Avon Cycles, Cyclux, Avon E –Scoot, E Rick shaws, E loaders and Fitness equipment will be available under one roof. Being the 70th year of Avon, 2022 marks a special achievement by get ting selected as the Prestig ious Brand in Asia. This year

The

the

DelhiPolice

Mission

as they

the

is new state-of-the-art manu facturing unit to produce Hiend bicycles has become op erational at Neelon as Avon New Age Cycles.

As one of the largest play ers in the Indian bicycle in dustry Avon realises the need to offer a modern, comfort able and convenient buy ing experience to meet the aspirations of today’s de manding customers, hence Avon Square comes to the forefront to enhance customer delight. Through excellent quality and ethical opera tions, Avon has earned instant acceptability in the hearts of the masses over the years.

Thina Delhi Kalostavam

CITY FIRST

An art festival, Thina Delhi Ka lostavam 2022 was organised by the Kerala govern ment’s information and public relations depart ment and Kerala House at Kerala School, Can ning Road. Students from renowned univer sities including JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia, University of Delhi, Central University of Rajasthan, Amity Uni versity and Ambedkar University Delhi partic ipated in the program.

Following the de mands by Mythri, the DU north campus Ma layali students’ organi sation, for an arts festi val similar to the one

held in Kerala schools and colleges, Kerala House chalked out a plan to replicate it in the national cap ital. Twenty-one competitions were hosted for the stu dents during the festi val. Haris Pattalam,

Mythri’s member, said they approached Kerala house officials with de mands for a cultural event two months ago. “The timing could not be better because it is Kerala Pi ravi on November 1 (the day Kerala was given

the status of a state). Since we have the Di wali holidays, we are not anxious about our studies falling behind. There are 4,000 Malaya li students just at DU and we have been see ing an enormous turn out over these two days (October 2 and 26). As many as 60 students have participated in most individual events. All expenses are borne by the Kerala govern ment. I have not heard any other student groups from other states at DU speak of such cul tural events being or ganised by their respec tive governments,” Haris said. The audi ence was enthralled by the mesmerising perfor mances of the students.

In-person career coun selling events along with a mega counsel ling program will be organised for Delhi government school students from Octo ber 31. As the pan demic disrupted physical events of this kind for the last two years, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is conducting a super mega career counselling pro

gram, focusing on careers in the field of commerce at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. While students from Class 9 onwards of all government and gov ernment-aided schools can register themselves for the program, the education directorate and the ICAI have also invited 106 teachers and students of some private schools to participate in it. The programme will be open to students of all streams.

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

Harish Thakkar, Dr Samin Sharma and Prem Bhandari

Glipmses from the event

CMD Onkar Singh Pahwa with a guest during the inauguration —PHOTO BY SHAZID CHAUHAN