First India Newspaper 29th April 2023 Jaipur Edition

JET AIRWAYS’ CEO-DESIGNATE QUITS A YEAR AFTER JOINING

New Delhi: Sanjiv Kapoor, the CEO-designate of Jet Airways, has left the company just a year after joining the grounded carrier. Monday is his last working day, Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) said on Friday.

READ Crucial

 The govt has named Siddhartha Mohanty as the first chief executive of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for the term beginning in June 2024.

 Large gatherings banned, internet services suspended in Manipur’s Churachandpur following violence ahead of CM N Biren Singh’s visit. P6

 SC directed UP govt to submit a status report on steps taken after killings of Atiq, Ashraf. It also asked govt why were gangsters paraded before the media.

 Delhi Police on Friday filed 2 FIRs against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan on allegations of sexual harassment by 7 women wrestlers. P6

 13 died in separate mishaps in the state, police said on Friday. Four persons died and one was injured after a truck hit a moving tractor in Pali. P2

 SC stayed Justice Gangopadhyay’s order saying it was against judicial discipline and should not have been passed by HC Judge. P6

 SC directed all States, UTs to ensure when any hate speech is made, they shall take suo moto action for registration of FIR even without any complaints. P6

MALIK QUESTIONED BY CBI FOR 5 HOURS IN `300 CRORE CASE

New Delhi: Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik was questioned for 5 hours on Friday by CBI in connection with his claim that he was offered `300 crore as bribe to clear 2 files during his stint as Guv of J&K.

2 DAYS AHEAD OF 100TH EPISODE OF PM MODI’S ‘MANN KI BAAT’

BOOSTING RADIO RECEPTION!

PM Modi inaugurates 91 FM radio transmitters spread across 18 States and 2 Union Territories

Actor Jiah Khan death: Mumbai court acquits Sooraj Pancholi

First India Bureau

BBC CHIEF QUITS AMID FURORE OVER ROLE IN JOHNSON LOAN

London: BBC chairman Richard Sharp resigned on Friday after a report into whether he failed to properly disclose his involvement in the facilitation of a loan to ex-British PM Boris Johnson was published.

I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

If I’m Ravan, you become Ram and return Sanjivani scam victims’ money: CM

CM reiterates that Shekhawat is an accused in Sanjivani scam & may go to jail Gehlot also alleges that Shekhawat was part of conspiracy to topple Congress govt

Narendra Modi inaugurating 91 FM transmitters via VC on Friday. Also seen here is Anurag Thakur.

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated 91 FM transmitters spread across 18 States and 2 UTs, in a move that will boost FM radio connectivity in the border regions and aspirational districts.

With these new transmitters set up in 84 districts, coverage will further increase by about

ENHANCING COVERAGE HERE... Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

35,000 sq km area, benefitting an additional two crore people who did not have access to medium so far. He said tech revolution in coun-

try helped radio emerge in a new avatar, brought new listeners to medium. He said govt is constantly working for democratisation of tech.

Mumbai: The special CBI court on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi in case of actor Jiah Khan’s abetment of suicide in 2013, due to paucity of evidence. Special judge AS Sayyed acquitted Pancholi due to paucity of evidence. He has been out on bail since 2013. Court told Jiah’s mom Rabiya she can appeal against acquittal in Bombay HC. It said, “The available evidence on record reflects that deceased was a victim of her sentiments. She could not overcome emotions.”

Laxman Raghav and Kapil Sharma

Hanumangarh: CM Ashok Gehlot hit back at Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday for calling him “Ravan”. “If I am Ravan, you become Ram and return the investors’ money,” said Gehlot while referring to Shekhawat’s alleged involvement in the Sanjivani Credit Co-operative Society scam. He further challenged Shekhawat, saying, “If you throw stones at me, I will use those to build houses for the poor.” Turn to P7

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot greets people during Mehangai Rahat Camp at Rawatsar in Hanumangarh on Friday.

HC ACCEPTS STATE’S APPLICATION AGAINST RELIEF TO GS SHEKHAWAT

Jodhpur: In the case related to Sanjivani Credit Co-operative Society scam, the Rajasthan HC in Friday accepted the application submitted by the state government challenging relief to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The next hearing in case will be on May 30. P7

CM GEHLOT TAKES A JIBE AT BJP LEADER OVER REMARKS ON SONIA

Hanumangarh: CM Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed a Karnataka BJP leader for calling former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ saying the use of the term was a reflection of vitiated political discourse in the country. “Sonia is respected across country, by both ruling, Oppn parties,” CM said. P7

हो

ह। मह ा से राह ा �ल �0

यो ा म र� � श रवा स ह।

या भी मह ा राह म ा र

र� � श रवा । यह हमारा मह ा से राह ा �व

Moni Sharma

PM

Actor Sooraj Pancholi with his mother and actress Zarina Wahab at the CBI court in Mumbai on Friday.

Tragic Friday: 13 killed in separate road accidents

4 died & one was injured after a truck hit a moving tractor in Pali

First India Bureau

Pali: Four persons died and one was injured after a truck hit a moving tractor in Rajasthan’s Pali district on Friday, police said.

The accident occurred near Netra village when the overspeeding truck crashed into the tractor from behind, killing four and injuring one person, Sumerpur Station House Officer (SHO) Rameshwar Bhati said on Friday.

The deceased were identified as Ranaram, Hiraram, Bharat and tractor driver Savaram, the police said, adding that the injured victim has been admitted to Sumerpur Hospital, said the police on Friday.

The dead bodies have been kept at a mortuary for post-mortem, which will be conducted once their family members arrive, Bhati said. The truck has been seized and officials are trying to nab the absconding driver, he added. The police had a tough time in handling traffic.

CM APPROVES

Dependents of disabled govt staff to get jobs

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Dependents of state personnel who are completely disabled or unfit will now be given appointment on compassionate grounds.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the draft of ‘Rajasthan Compensatory Appointment of Dependents of Permanent Total Disabled Govt Servant Rules 2023’.

According to the format, compassionate appointments will be given to the dependents of the personnel in case of total disability or incapacitation of the personnel while on duty and on voluntary retirement by them. Employees working in various departments, corporations, boards, autonomous institutions etc. of the state government will get the benefit.

Hiked grant for mass weddings

implemented

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday increased the amount of grant given under the Chief Minister’s Mass Marriage and Grant Scheme 2021. The grant has been increased from Rs. 18,000 to Rs. 25,000. Out of Rs. 25,000, Rs. 21,000 has been given to the newlyweds and

BTP LEADER KANTI LAL ROAT INJURED IN ROAD MISHAP, ONE DIES

Banswara: Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) leader, Kanti Lal Roat, who fought the Lok Sabha from Banswara, was injured in a road mishap in Jaipur’s Bagru area on Friday morning. Sources informed that Kanti Lal and other people were returning from Delhi when they met with a road accident in the Bagru area. “In the road accident, Jagdish, a resident of Jhadol, was killed while Manipal Garasiya and one other person sustained injuries. The victims are undergoing treatment at SMS Hospital,” a source said.

TWO KILLED AFTER SPEEDING TRUCK HITS CAR IN NAGAUR

Nagaur: Two people were killed in the Role area of Nagaur district on Thursday night after a speeding truck rammed into a car, police said. Police informed the deceased have been identified as car driver Sahiram Dukiya and Surendra Singh Rajput. “The mishap took place between Tarnau-Fardod road under the Role Police Station. The victims were heading towards their village when a truck filled with sacks of onion collided with a car,” said police.

Bikaner: Three dead, one injured as tempo crashes into private bus

Bikaner (PTI): Three people died and one more was injured in a collision between a tempo van and a bus in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district, police said on Friday. The accident occurred late Thursday night on the Nokha-Nagaur bypass road near Charkada village, Nokha SHO Ishwar Prasad Jangid said. The tempo van, loaded with plastic pipes, was coming from Charkada when it crashed into the private bus travelling in the opposite direction. The deceased were identified as Laxmanram (35), tempo driver Mukesh (37) and Mahendra Swam.

Three died in separate incidents including 15-year-old school student in Barmer

Jodhpur JDC Navneet put on APO in 6 months

First India Bureau

Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti bypolls to be held on May 7

Dr Rituraj Sharma & Pooja Dubey

Barmer:Three people including a 15-year-old girl were killed in separate road incidents in Barmer, police said. One incident was reported Siwana police station area in which an elderly man died after being hit by a speeding car while in another incident that took place under Gudamalani police station area on Friday early morning a 15-years-old girl died after a speedy bolero hit her. In one more incident, a lecturer died after getting hit by a moving train.

—Mukesh Mathrani

Ravi Sharma

Udaipur: Hitting out at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his comments for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP state president CP Joshi on Friday said that the statements reflect the low-level thinking of the Congress.

He said that even before this, Congress leaders have given objectionable statements on Nar-

PROTEST IN BANSWARA

endra Modi, for which they had to bear the brunt. Joshi said that Narendra Modi has im-

possible to return to power bypassing Pilot’

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Chaksu MLA

Ved Prakash Solanki on Friday said that it is not possible to return to power bypassing former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. “Pilot is completely loyal to the Congress party. The government can repeat only with the collective ef-

forts of all. There are many types of things, but on whose face votes are received, those people should be brought forward,” he said. On the rumours of Pilot going to any other party, Solanki said that there was no such discussion, neither is nor will it remain. “People of the opposing camp do such things, who want that there should be no unity,” he said.

bibed the poison of these statements of Congress like Lord Shankar. The BJP leader was speaking at Jan Aakrosh demonstration outside collectorate in Udaipur. Targeting the Congress government in Rajasthan, he said that the government on one hand is talking about giving relief in electricity bills while on the other hand; the bill amount is being increased.

Jaipur: The State Election Commission is conducting by-polls in April-May 2023 for the vacancies arising due to various reasons until January 31, 2023, in the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state. State Election Commissioner Madhukar Gupta said that the by-elections are under process for four

BJP protests against Cong policies in Udaipur

Zilla Parishad members in four districts and 24 Panchayat Samiti members in 13 districts. He said that the voting for Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members will be held on May 7.

Gupta said that the

DR

Sainis, others seek quota; to protest in Bharatpur till May 2

First India Bureau

Bharatpur: In the movement of Saini, Shakya, Maurya, and Kushwaha communities in Bharatpur, the family of deceased Mohan Singh reached an agreement with the administration but an agitator drank petrol at Aroda, the protest site. Now the people of Saini community are adamant on the demand of

Jodhpur: In a late Thursday night development, the DoP issued orders to remove Jodhpur Development Authority Commissioner Navneet Kumar in just six months. The 1997 batch officer was appointed in October 2022. Last week Deputy Commissioner Ravindra Kumar was suspended after nine months. 60-year-old man consumed petrol at the agitation site and was admitted to RBM Hospital on Friday.

reservation and said that the movement will continue till May 2 and all the agitators will remain on the highway.

CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMME

The relatives of Mohan Singh were demanding compensation of Rs 1 crore, government job and martyr status.

Second GIB chick hatches at DNP in Jaisalmer

Suryaveer Singh Tanwar

Jaisalmer: One more Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chick was successfully hatched artificially under the captive breeding program run jointly by the state government, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and the forest department at the Desert National Park (DNP) in Jaisalmer.

Nearly 25 days before, a chick was hatched and now this second GIB chick has

BREEDING CENTRES

been successfully hatched artificially. Incharge and chief sci-

entist of the WII centre, Dr Surthitho Datta, informed that un-

der the Bustard Recovery Program 2016, GIB Conservation Breed-

ing Centers were set up at Sam and Ramdevra in Jaisalmer to increase the population of the Great Indian Bustard.

“A few days back, one of these female Godavans successfully laid an egg which was successfully hatched by the scientists and three days back one of the little Godavan’s chicks came out. This is an important milestone for the team,” said Dr Surthitho Datta.

nomination papers for Zilla Parishad members were received till April 25 and the date of withdrawal of nominations was fixed for April 27. He said 16 candidates submitted 18 nomination papers for four Zilla Parishad members, out of which one nomination paper was withdrawn and seven nomination papers were cancelled by the returning officer.

Jaipur: Mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Greater) Dr Somya inaugurated a cloth bag machine in Lal Kothi Sabji Mandi on Friday. People will be able to get a cloth bag by putting a five rupee coin in the machine or they can also pay online by scanning the QR code. The machine has the capacity to load 100 cloth bags at once. The Mayor said that single-use plastic has been banned and the shopkeepers should not use it now. “Make the customers aware who do not bring the bag and ask them to bring the bag from the vending machine,” said Dr Somya.

MARRIED WOMAN, PARAMOUR DIE BY SUICIDE IN BARMER, PROBE ON Barmer: A woman and her alleged lover had committed suicide by hanging on a tree. The incident has been reported from the Sheo police station area in Barmer. On getting informed police reached the spot and recovered the bodies. While the woman was 25-year-old, the man was 22 -years old. Both were neighbours at Ramdevriya Kahmir village, police said. Police said that a prima facie probe revealed that extramarital affairs led to the incident. Rampratap Singh, station house officer at Sheo police station confirmed the report. Police identified the deceased as Kamla (25) and Kharthram (22). Singh said the deceased woman got married around four years ago and had two kids. Police said that initially, they came into contact via phone and later fell into a relationship. —Mukesh

Mathrani

JDA SEALS SIX-STOREY BUILDING OVER CONSTRUCTION VIOLATIONS IN CHOMU

Jaipur: The enforcement wing of JDA on Friday sealed a six-storied illegal building in Chomu. JDA officials informed the illegal building constructed in Manglam

Industrial Area, Jaitpura was erected by violating the building by-laws. “The six-storied building had 19 flats which were built on zero setbacks and without obtaining construction permission from JDA. On Friday, the building was sealed and entry-exit to the building had been closed. Previously, the building was also sealed, but the building owner broke the seal and started residing in the building,” said Raghuveer Saini, CCE.

Clouds hovered as it rained in several parts in Jaipur city on Friday. The met dept has predicted rain and thunderstorm in several parts of the State in the next 48 hours. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Trailer overturned on the road after the collision in Pali on Friday. Police taking out the injured with the help of local people.

‘Not

The newly hatched GIB chick at the Desert National Park (DNP) in Jaisalmer.

BJP officials and workers staged a protest at the Udaipur collectorate on Friday.

CRACKDOWN IN DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS CASE

Coop

society

babu,

tehsildar wife

held as ACB raids three locations

Sentence of all 30 accused suspended by High Court

Kamal Kant

Navin Sharma

Six plots, farm house in Jhalawar, 6.25 Bigha land in Kumbhalgarh seized by ACB ASI in Jodhpur nabbed while taking `8K bribe

Jaipur : The Anti Corruption Bureau of Rajasthan has registered a disproportionate assets case against deputy registrar cooperative societies Jhalawar Rai Singh Mojawat and his wife Asmita Singh.

11 teams of ACB conducted search operations on the premises of Mojawat in Jhalawar, Jaipur and Udaipur and found the value of their assets more than their sources of income following which a case was registered against them.

The couple invested in agriculture lands, residential and commercial plots in vari -

ous cities, jewellery etc. The ACB recovered documents of six plots, three houses in Jaipur, Jhalawar and Udaipur, farm house in Jhalawar, 6.25 bigha land in Kumbhalgarh, etc. having value of crores of

PM Modi lauds initiative of Sansad Rasoi in Tonk

rupees. Apart from this, Rs 44000 in cash, 315 gram gold jewellery also recovered. The couple also have bank deposits of Rs 12 lakh and two bank lockers. The ACB is probing the matter.

Shiv Prakash Purohit

Jodhpur : An ASI was arrested by the ACB in Jodhpur on Friday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 5,000. Police informed the accused had demanded money to help complainant in a case filed against him.

“ASI Jagdish Prasad , posted at Ratanada Police Station, demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant to help in a case filed against him. The complaint was verified and a trap was laid. The ACB acted under the su-

pervision of ASP Dr Durg Singh Rajpurohit and caught ASI Jagdish Prasad red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 8,000,” police said.

“The accused has been arrested and is being questioned. Searches are also taking place at his residence & other places,” police added.

Public has faith in welfare schemes of Govt: Dhariwal

Shanti Dhariwal, Amit Dhariwal walk in Kota to connect people

Bhanwar S Charan

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated the initiative of Sansad Rasoi in Tonk, Rajasthan. Responding to the tweet by Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, MP from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, the Prime Minister

tweeted in Hindi, “Commendable effort! This initiative of Sansad Rasoi in Tonk is going to give a lot of relief to the poor and needy people.”

Later, Jaunapuria in a video tweet thanked PM Modi for the appreciation and gave details about the rasoi.

Kota : UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal, while addressing the media during the padyatra being taken out in Kota under Haath se Haath Jodo campaign, said that Rajasthan is the only state in the country where the inflation caused by the wrong policies of the Central government is being fought through Mehangai Rahat Camps.

“The common man

Instagram reels cost 3 lives; two girls, woman fall into water tank

Harish Sharma

Jodhpur: A woman and two girls died after falling into a water storage tank while making reels on Instagram in Moolraj village of Lohawat. But two more children were saved. According to information, Priyanka, Sanju, Kaushalya and 2 small children were making reels while standing on the edge of the dug up area to store

The deceased are identified as Priyanka, Sanju, and Kaushalya.

water in their farm when they lost balance and fell into the water.

Hearing the cries of the children, a woman from neighbourhood

saved the two children. The villagers took out the woman and two girls and took them to the Lohawat hospital, but the three died.

has full faith in the schemes of the government, that is why people are thronging the camps. The strong trust of the public in the government is going to form the Congress government again,” said Dhariwal on Friday.

The padyatra reached Ward 42 and

PCC member Amit Dhariwal also accompanied Shanti Dhariwal. They appealed to the residents to register in the relief camps and take advantage of the schemes. The padyatra passed through all the streets of Ramdas Nagar, where the people of the area welcomed them.

Strike ends, sanitation workers to return today

Bharat Dixit

Jaipur: The sanitation workers who were on strike for the last four days have called off the strike after talks with officials.

The govt has made it clear that Valmiki Samaj will be given priority in the recruitment of 30,000 sweepers.

A delegation of the workers held talks with LSG dept’s secre-

Dr CP Joshi inaugurates ‘spice fair’

It’s a good effort to make quality spices available under one roof: Dr CP Joshi

Pooja Dubey

Jaipur : Raj Assembly

Speaker Dr. CP Joshi said that ‘Rashtriya Sahkar Masala Mela’ has become the first choice of Jaipur residents who eagerly wait for it. He said that it is a very good effort of the Cooperative Department to make quality spices available to

the people of Jaipur on a single platform.

Dr. Joshi inaugurated the Rashtriya Sahkar Masala Mela, 2023 by lighting the lamp at JKK on Friday. He said that it is beneficial for the people of Jaipur to have spices from other states. He instructed the officers that the quality of organic products should

remain intact. Agriculture Minister Lal Chand Kataria and Higher Education Min-

ister Rajendra Singh Yadav were also present on this occasion. On this occasion, Co-

Jaipur: Rajasthan high court has suspended the punishment of all 30 persons involved in Phool Mohammad murder case of Sawai Madhopur. A division bench of Justice Pankaj Bhandari and Justice Bhuvan Goyal suspended life imprisonment of Banwari Lal Meena, Ramcharan Meena, Yogendranath, Mahendra Singh Tanwar, Hanuman Meena, Prithviraj Meena and others.

The bench gave orders on application for postponement of sentence.

The incident took place on March 17, 2011 in Mantown police station area of Sawai Madhopur where police in-

Covid Update: Raj logs 414 cases, 546 recovered

First India Bureau Jaipur: The state recorded 414 fresh corona cases, the health department bulletin reported on Friday. With this number of active patients increased to 3023 and cumulative positive increased to 13,24,530. Meanwhile, 546 patients also recovered in the Friday bulletin. Total 9,700 people have so far lost lives to the infection in the State. The new cases include 98 from Jaipur, 49 from Nagaur, 35 from Alwar, 31 from Udaipur, and 26 from Chittorgarh among other places.

EX-CHAIRMAN OF BARAN NAGAR PARISHAD GETS RELIEF FROM RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT Baran: Rajasthan high court has given relief to former chairman of Baran Nagar Parishad Kamal Rathore by setting aside Baran SP’s order to open a history sheet against him. The bench of justice Virendra Kumar gave the order. The court said that Baran police’s action to open the history sheet was wrong and against the rules. The order to open the history sheet was given 10 months ago by the then SP Kalyanmal Meena. Advocates Avtar Singh Rathore and Rajveer Singh Gurjar argued in the case on behalf of Kamal Rathore.

spector Phool Mohammad was burnt alive by a mob.

The SC-ST court of

Sawai Madhopur had awarded life imprisonment to the accused in November last year.

Seven rescued from Sudan land in State

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Migrant Rajasthanis stranded in Sudan reach Jaipur late at night.

Seven Rajasthanis were brought to Jaipur at 10:45 pm after Indigo flight from Mumbai to Jaipur landed at late night. The flight was scheduled to land at 4:45 pm. Among them, there

are 6 people of Jaipur origin, all of whom were brought to Rajasthan by Rajasthan Foundation. These include Dashrath Singh, Onkara Singh, Uttam Singh Rathore, Habib Khan, Shabnam Khan. Unkar Lal Gopawat was sent to Udaipur directly from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

tary Jogaram and other officials at secretariat after which Sanyukt Valmiki - Shramik Sangh announced to end strike. In the meeting, almost all the demands of the employees have been agreed upon. It was also assured that the govt will not take any action against any employee. The sanitation workers will return to work from Saturday.

operative Minister Udai Lal Anjana said that cooperative societies of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Punjab and other cooperative societies have brought their products here. This fair will continue till May 7.

Joshi and ministers visited the stalls of the cooperative organisations and got information about the special spice products brought by them for the people of Jaipur.

RASHTRIYA SAHKAR MASALA MELA

Rai Singh Mojawat and Asmita Singh in ACB custody on Friday.

PHOOL MOHD MURDER CASE

RAHANE

SHINES AS COMEBACK KINGS REGALE IPL LOVERS

RAHANE'S COMEBACK IN THE WTC FINAL...

From being on the fringes of even IPL sides last year, Rahane could well figure in the playing XI for Team India in WTC Final. He takes the place of injured Shreyas Iyer and Surya Kumar Yadav has not even been included in the squad. A day after his India comeback for the World Test Championship final, Rahane even shared his mantra for success in a social media post saying that he only focuses on things that he can control.

It would have seemed a farfetched fairy-tale if the Rahane comeback was a Bollywood saga. But the real-life story of Ajinkya Rahane in IPL-2023 seems more sensational and satisfying than any reel-life saga. Rahane seems to have found a fresh lease of life after joining MS Dhoni’s side where his explosive hitting has surprised many in an IPL season where several veterans are making a powerful statement.

While the adage — ‘old is gold’ — is seldom relevant in sport but nobody defies age like India’s legendary skipper, MS Dhoni. He is still one of the best captains to be leading an IPL team and his tactical manoeuvres have meant that Chennai Super Kings are at the top of the points table with 5 wins. His team, often regarded as the ‘oldies brigade’ are well on their way to IPL glory and prove that age is just a number!

Though he’s usually seen as a rather sedate and conservative batter, at Chennai Super Kings Rahane has scored 209 runs in his first five matches at an amazing strike rate of 199.05 - the second highest strike rate for a season in IPL history! As the third highest scorer for CSK with two fifties and an insane strike-rate, the selectors had little hesitation in re-

calling Rahane to the national side. As of now, Rahane has aggregated 224 runs in six innings, averaging 44.8 and at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 189.83.

From being on the fringes of even IPL sides last year, Rahane could well figure in the playing XI for Team India in WTC Final. He takes the place of injured Shreyas Iyer and Surya Kumar Yadav has not even been included in the squad. A day after his India comeback for the World Test Championship final, Rahane even shared his mantra for success in a social media post saying that he only focuses on things that he can control.

Though Rahane captained Mumbai during the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy and made 634 runs at an average of 57.64, including two centuries, it is doubtful that he might have been recalled to national duty just by his success in first-class cricket. It must be remembered that a night before the BCCI announced the Indian squad, Ra-

MS DHONI

hane had sizzled with a 29-ball 71 in a Player-of-the-match winning effort for CSK against Kolkata Knight Riders. Rahane’s return to Team India underlines once again how the IPL has become a critical platform for players to win higher honours.

PIYUSH CHAWLA

Among bowlers, Piyush Chawla seems to be the big story. He is the leading wicket taker for Mumbai Indians. Chawla produced the goods with the ball for Mumbai to register their first win of the season when the wily leg-spinner shone with 3 for 22 in a brilliant spell against Delhi Capitals. Till now Chawla has picked up 11 wickets in the seven matches he has played for MI at an economy of 7.11. Most experts reckon that Chawla needs to be the top wicket-taker for Mumbai to have a chance of clinching the IPL trophy this year.

AMIT MISHRA

His chief leg-spinning rival in his hey-days, Amit Mishra, is also playing a key role for Luc-

know at the ripe age of 40. Mishra has picked up 4 wickets in 4 matches with an excellent economy rate of 6.5. His efforts have pushed the Lucknow Super Giants in the top 4 of the points table. Former India offspinner Harbhajan Singh reckons the ‘Impact Substitute’ rule allows veteran cricketers like Chawla and Mishra to leave a significant impact on every game they play because they are both seasoned campaigners and as they come on to bowl just 3-4 overs, they can give their best in that duration.

MOHIT SHARMA

Among pacers, Mohit Sharma, for Gujarat Titans has surprised many. He was a vital cog for Chennai till a few years back but then an injury put him out of action. He spent most of the 2022 season as net bowler for the Gujarat side but finally got an opportunity to play in 2023. Mohit has an amazing economy rate of 4.66 this year apart from 4 wickets as well. He is now an important part of the Gujarat Titans

ISHANT SHARMA

One of India’s best fast bowlers of the past decade and a veteran of 100 plus Test matches, Ishant Sharma has figured in IPL after two years for Delhi Capitals. He made an impact in his very first game with a fine spell that fetched him 2 wickets. Ishant won ‘Player of the Match’ award against Kolkata Knight Riders and bowled an excellent spell against Sunrisers Hyderabad as well.

While the adage — ‘old is gold’ — is seldom relevant in sport but nobody defies age like India’s legendary skipper, MS Dhoni. He is still one of the best captains to be leading an IPL team and his tactical manoeuvres have meant that Chennai Super Kings are at the top of the points table with 5 wins. His team, often regarded as the ‘oldies brigade’ are well on their way to IPL glory and prove that age is just a number!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Amit Shah @AmitShah

I mourn the demise of Dr N Gopalkrishnan Ji, a scientist, a gifted orator and a renowned scholar of Indian Philosophy. India has lost a true intellectual. My thoughts are with his family at this moment of grief. Om Shanti!

Kiren TOP TWEETS

Rijiju @KirenRijiju

AJINKYA RAHANE

AMIT MISHRA

KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

“Cong leaders have lost their mind”: Shah over Kharge’s jibe

Union Home Minister attacks Cong over its president’s objectionable barb

Navalgund (PTI):

Training guns on the Congress over its President M Mallikarjun Kharge’s objectionable barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the party and its leaders have lost their mind.

Noting that Modi is welcomed across the world with a lot of respect, he said the Congress cannot instigate people with such statements, because the support for the Prime Minister will increase, as much as they abuse him.

“Congress is lacking on issues, in the last nine years PM Narendra Modi has increased India’s pride in the world, he has worked to make India prosperous, he has made India’s infrastructure strong, he has made India’s borders safe. Wherever Modi ji goes across the world people there welcome him with ‘Modi-Modi’ slogans,” Shah said. By abusing Modi, Congress cannot instigate people of Karnataka, he further said adding that, “If you abuse Modi, support for him will increase.”

WB girl’s death:

Several BJP workers detained

For the sake of vote bank politics, Congress leaders are saying that they will bring back 4 per cent Muslim reservation, I want to ask Congress whose quota they will reduce for this, whether Vokkaligas’ or Lingayats’ or SC/STs’ ? BJP will not allow Muslim reservation to return in Karnataka. This is our promise to the people of Karnataka.

—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

Chikkamagaluru (ANI): BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday lashed out at Congress and said that 80 communal riots occurred during the Congress government. Addressing an election rally in the poll-bound state, Nadda said, “80 communal riots occurred during the Congress government. Today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).” Asking people to vote for BJP in the coming elections for better results, Nadda said, “If you take the right decisions at the right time, then you get the right results.”

INAUGURATION OF 91 FM TRANSMITTERS

Thakur terms inauguration by PM Modi a “historic move”

Kolkata (ANI):

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers who were protesting against the alleged murder of a BJP leader and Kaliyaganj rape and murder case were detained on Friday in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers called for a 12hour bandh on Friday in North Bengal over alleged police brutality against common people in the state. BJP leader Debasree Choudhury alleged that mamata Banerjee-led TMC government is against Rajbangshi people.

JD(U) leader Mahto shot dead in Bihar’s Katihar

“DECISION TO RELEASE ANAND MOHAN

against PM

Katihar (ANI): JD(U) leader Kailash Mahto was shot dead in Bihar’s Katihar, said the police on Friday. “We have started an investigation and the accused will be arrested soon. Around 4-5 round of firing was done. Further details can only be given after post-mortem”, Om Prakash, SDPO, Katihar said. The incident took place in Katihar’s Barari Police Station area.

BJP

New Delhi (PTI): A BJP delegation on Friday met the Election Commission and requested the poll panel to register a criminal case against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and bar him from campaign in the Karnataka assembly polls over his objectionable barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the BJP delegation, told reporters that Kharge’s comment was not merely a slip of the tongue but part of the Congress’ “hate politics”.

Leh (ANI): Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday said that the launch of 91 FM transmitters is a historic move, and it will help in transmitting the information.

“This is a historic move. This will be very helpful in transmitting entertainment, sports, and farming information to the local people.

Mann Ki Baat increased the popularity of radio”, he said. Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while speaking at the launch of 91 FM transmitters in Leh on Friday, said that another record has been established with the world’s highest transmitter installed at an altitude of 4100 in Ladakh’s Nyoma.

“Today another re-

cord has been established. Nyoma has the world’s highest transmitter at an altitude of 4,100. Its benefit is going to be available for many km. Our people will also get the facility of FM, listen to programs, get news and an opportunity to take forward their culture,” Thakur said.

Earlier, Prime Min-

WRESTLERS’ #METOO

ister virtually inaugurated the 91 new 100 Watt FM transmitters installed in 84 districts across 18 States and 2 Union Territories. Inaugurating 91 FM transmitters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Central government has been working towards democratising technology in the country.

What’s happening behind the scenes?

New Delhi (PTI): The protesting wrestlers’ fight for justice at Jantar Mantar is turning out to be an ‘expensive’ one as arranging for even the most basic needs is burning a hole in their pocket.

Despite that, they are prepared for a long haul at the famous protest site, where they have assembled to demand the arrest of WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they have accused of sexual harassment and intimidation.

In five days, they have spent over ` 5 lakh for arranging mattresses, bed sheets,

fans, speakers and microphones, a mini power gen-set, apart from water and food.

Initially, they took mattresses, bed sheets and the sound system on rent, shelling out `27,000 for a single day.

Soon they realised that if they have to sit in for a long period, arranging for even little things would become a huge financial burden.

“So I bought 80 mattresses from my village Kharkhoda by paying `50,000. We were being charged `12,000 a day for all the mattresses,” Somvir Rathi, husband of Vinesh Phogat, told PTI.

SENDS WRONG MESSAGE...” EX-JDU MP

New Delhi: Questioning the decision of the Bihar govt to release murder convict and ex-MP Anand Mohan Singh from jail, All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz Chairman and Former JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar on Friday said that the decision gives “wrong message” to “Dalits and backward Muslims”. This comes after Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh walked free from Bihar’s Saharsa jail on Thursday, a move which was mandated following the amendment of the prison rules by the Bihar govt allowing the release of 27 convicts including him.

EX-JD(U) LEADER AJAY ALOK JOINS BJP; SAYS “FEEL LIKE I’M JOINING MY FAMILY”

New Delhi: Former Janata Dal (United) leader Ajay Alok joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Friday, nearly a year after he was expelled from the Nitish Kumar-led party for alleged “anti-party activities”. Addressing a press conference in the National Capital on Friday morning, Alok said: “By joining the BJP, I feel like I am joining my family. A family led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” He added that the policies of the saffron party have inspired the nation.

Yogi says PM Modi’s vision is UP’s mission New judge to hear RaGa’s appeal against conviction

Shubham Dubey

Agra: Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh civic body elections, CM Yogi Adityanath addressed a gathering in Agra as he campaigned for the BJP. The CM lauded the BJP-led govts at the Centre and in the state, saying that people who earlier had to hide in their houses due to fear of criminals and mafias, are now able to walk around freely.

The UP CM emphasised his govt’s efforts to remove mafia dominance in the state. He praised PM Narendra Modi and asked for public support in the efforts

of the Central and the UP governments to bring the country to the pinnacle of growth.

Yogi Adityanath said that, just as the BJP had a majority in the Agra Municipal Corporation in the past, the same will be witnessed this time in all the municipalities and municipal corporations in urban and rural areas of UP.

Ahmedabad: The appeal filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the Surat sessions court’s order denying a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case will be heard by a new judge of the Gujarat High Court on Saturday. According to the cause list, Justice Hemant Prachchhak will hear the matter on Saturday. On March 23, a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat had sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

80 COMMUNAL RIOTS OCCURRED DURING CONGRESS GOVT: BJP CHIEF NADDA

Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sangita Phogat after a night stay at Jantar Mantar amid their protest, in New Delhi, on early Friday.

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah, with party leaders from Karnataka, waves at the crowd during an election rally in support of party candidates, ahead of Assembly polls, in Dharwad district, on Friday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

BJP chief JP Nadda being received by Union MoS Shobha Karandlaje and party leaders, in Shivamogga on Friday.

Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur during the inauguration of Air FM transmitter, in Ladakh on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI

BJP members take out a protest rally, in Kolkata, on Friday.

URGES EC TO LODGE FIR, DEBAR KHARGE FROM CAMPAIGNING

Yogi Adityanath

Rajnath urges SCO members to unitedly fight against terrorism

The Defence Minister’s tough message on eliminating terrorism came at SCO Meeting

New Delhi (ANI): Union Defence Minister

Rajnath Singh on Friday highlighted the need to fight terrorism unitedly in the light of terrorists using new methods like "social media and crowdfunding" at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting that began in New Delhi.

"We should unitedly fight terrorism. If SCO has to emerge stronger, we have to fight together. Terror groups are using new methods like social media and crowdfunding," said Singh.

"India is fully committed to making SCO stronger, contributing to the implementation of SCO's mandate and facing our common challenges," he added.

Notably, United Nations proscribed Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been seen openly collecting funds in Peshawar, according to several accounts.

“To ensure a secure, stable and prosperous region, we need to focus on our agenda. This will help in improving the quality of life of the people of each member country,” said Singh at SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting.

‘BORDER SITUATION GENERALLY STABLE’: CHINA’S DEF MIN

New Delhi: After India firmly told China that its violation of the border pacts has "eroded" the entire basis of bilateral ties, China's defence ministry on Friday said the situation at the border is generally stable and both sides should put the boundary issue in an appropriate position and promote its transition to normalised management.

China's defence minister General Li Shangfu in meeting with Rajnath Singh discussed the standoff at eastern Ladakh area since May 2020.

WILL WORK TO STRENGTHEN CULTURAL, CIVILISATIONAL LINKS, SAYS RAJNATH SINGH

Lodge FIRs over hate speeches: SC to States

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all States and Union Territories to lodge FIRs against those making hate speeches even without any complaint, terming these speeches as a “serious offence” capable of affecting the secular fabric of the country. Extending the scope of its 2022 order beyond 3 States — Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand, a bench also made it clear to authorities that any hesitation to act will be viewed as contempt of the top court and appropriate action will be taken against the erring officers.

MEMBERS SHOULD RESPECT SOVEREIGNTY, TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF NATIONS: GADKARI

New Delhi: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said connectivity with SCO countries is a priority for India, and emphasised ensuring demand-driven, sustainable development while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries. The road transport and highways minister further said India attaches special attention to SCO in promoting economy and people-to-people interaction in the region. “Connectivity is itself an economic multiplier, connectivity with SCO countries is a priority for India,” Gadkari said.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his opening address, laid stress on the cultural and civilizational ties between the SCO nations. “We have cultural and civilizational links. For ages, we have had people-to-people connections and have exchanges in the field of commodities, and ideas--due to which we have grown in economic and cultural terms. With changing times, we will work to strengthen those linkages. SCO has evolved into a strong regional organisation,” he said.

WRESTLERS REMAIN DEFIANT, DEMAND BHUSHAN'S ARREST

Police tells SC it will lodge FIR against WFI chief

SINGH HOLDS BILATERAL TALKS WITH RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEI SHOIGU

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Russian counterpart, General Sergei Shoigu, on Friday, focusing on various aspects of the bilateral strategic ties amid a geo-political upheaval triggered by the Ukraine conflict. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a conclave of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that was hosted by India in the national capital. Officials said Singh and Shoigu deliberated on various aspects of bilateral cooperation as well as regional developments. The defence minister also held a separate bilateral meeting with his Uzbek counterpart, Lieutenant General Kurbanov Bakhodir Nizamovich. “Delighted to meet the Defence Minister of Uzbekistan, Lt. Gen. Kurbanov Bakhodir Nizamovich on the sidelines of SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting,” Singh said.

SPORT ICONS KAPIL DEV, NEERAJ CHOPRA

New Delhi: Hours after Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that it has decided to register an FIR against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations, protesting grapplers Friday remained defiant and said they would continue their stir until the WFI chief was sent to jail.

LEND SUPPORT TO PROSTING WRESTLERS

The former captain of the Indian cricket team and the man who led India to winning the 1983 World Cup, Kapil Dev, had earlier put out a story on his Instagram account with an image of the protesting wrestlers and captioned it: “Will they ever get justice?”. Meanwhile, After IOA president, PT Usha, labeled protest as “indiscipline”, the athletes received a shot in the arm on Friday as the Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra called for “quick action to ensure justice”.

JUSTICE GANGOPADHAY SEEKS TRANSCRIPTION COPY OF HIS INTERVIEW

Kolkata: Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta HC has sought a transcription copy of his television interview submitted to SC by this midnight. However, SC stayed Justice Gangopadhyay’s suo motu order saying it was against judicial discipline and such order should not have been passed by the Calcutta HC Judge.

We make it clear that such action will be taken irrespective of the religion that the maker of the speech or the person who commit such act belongs to, so that secular character of Bharat as is envisaged by the Preamble, is preserved and protected. —BENCH

CLASS 8 STUDENT BLUDGEONED TO DEATH IN DELHI

New Delhi: A 12-yearold Class-8 student of an MCD school was allegedly bludgeoned to death by two men who dumped the body in a drain in southeast Delhi’s Badarpur area, police said on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Saurabh (12), a resident of the Bilaspur camp in Molarband village in Delhi. He was a student of a school run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. A PCR call was received at the Badarpur police station, informing that a schoolboy was killed by 2 men, police said.

CRUCIAL READ

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh exchanges greetings with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting, in New Delhi on Friday.

Locals held for sheltering Poonch attack terrorists: J&K Police chief

Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday claimed that the terror plot in last week’s Poonch ambush has been uncovered and six locals have been arrested for sheltering the terrorists before they carried out the attack on an army vehicle using explosives and weapons that came from Pakistan through drones.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said the April 20 attack was a well-planned one and executed by three to five terrorists. They first did a recce of the area, understood the terrain and then chose the spot of the attack. He said over 200 people have been questioned till now and the operation to neutralize the terrorists involved in the attack is on.

EIGHT HELD FOR BEATING MAN TO DEATH ON SUSPICION OF THEFT IN THANE

Thane: At least eight persons have been arrested for allegedly beating a 20-year-old man to death and injuring another on suspicion of theft in Maharashtra’s Thane city, police said on Friday. The incident took place in Kasarwadavali area of the city on Wednesday night, when the accused allegedly attacked two men suspecting them of theft, an official said. The accused allegedly stripped the victims, tied their hands and feet and beat them with iron rods and other objects, he said.

MAN CAUGHT DOING INAPPROPRIATE ACT ON DELHI METRO, DCW

“Six persons (of a module) have been arrested. They include those who have provided material (weapons, ammunition, explosives) to the terrorists besides shelter and food

and guided them from one to another place,” Singh told reporters during a visit to Rajouri district. “We are getting clues during questioning. We are working on that,” he said.

The court asked cops to carry out a threat assessment and provide security to minor wrestler. The matter will be heard again on May 5. “If FIR is not registered, the remedy is 156(3). When we saw there is cognizable offence, we said let FIR be registered. We feel something else is playing out here and I cannot say more because this is a sensitive matter,” Mehta, appearing for Delhi police, said.

GAVE CHANCE TO PRESENT THEIR CASE:

ANURAG THAKUR

Union Sports Minister

Anurag Thakur, speaking on the ongoing wrestlers’ protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, said Friday that he had met with them earlier and that a committee has already been formed to investigate the allegations.

BJP forms 4-member panel to probe Hanuman Jayanti violence in Odisha

Bhubaneswar (ANI):

BJP national president JP Nadda has designated a four-member team to look into the incidents of violence in Odisha during this year’s Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. This fact-finding team will be led by BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Brij Lal who’s been the former DGP of Uttar Pradesh. Alongside Brij Lal, three other MPs including Samir Oraon and Aditya Sahu, both Rajya Sabha MPs from Jharkhand and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, MP from West Bengal’s Purulia, will be a part of the team. This delegation will conduct ground visits, interact with the locals and assess the possible

reason which led to the violence and then submit a detailed report to the party’s chief.

Sambalpur had witnessed clashes between two communities on April 12 during a bike rally organised as part of Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. Several police personnel were injured and one tribal was killed during these clashes.

After the violence, the state government issued prohibitory orders and took down the internet services for 48 hours till April 15.

I am ready to quit if wrestlers demand it. I am satisfied with the Supreme Court’s decision asking Delhi Police to file an FIR against him and is ready to cooperate in the probe.

—Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, WFI president

Manipur tense as venue of CM event put on fire

Imphal: Large gatherings have been banned and mobile internet services suspended in Manipur’s Churachandpur following violence ahead of CM N Biren Singh’s visit to the district on Friday. On Thursday, a mob vandalised and set on fire the venue of an event to be attended by the Chief Minister allegedly over the BJP government’s survey of reserved and protected forests and areas like wetlands. The decision to ban large gatherings was taken following a police report citing “likelihood of breach of peace, disturbance to public tranquility and grave danger to human lives and properties” in the district, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur wrote in the order on Thursday.

Climate change increasing diseases: Experts

New Delhi (PTI): Changing climatic conditions, particularly temperature and moisture variations following events such as extreme rainfall in some places and drought in others, will lead to a surge in the spread of vector-borne and infectious diseases across India, say scientists.

As concerns mount over the recent increase in respiratory viral infections, including H2N3, adenoviruses

and swine flu, in many parts of India, the scientists said it might be too early to attribute it to climate change. But is definitely plausible.

The prospect of climate change leading to an increased burden with the spread of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria looms large.

According to public health expert Poornima Prabhakaran, steadily rising temperatures affect the pattern of

transmission of disease agents like viruses as well their vectors

through a number of pathways.

“These include

changes in the incubation period, the transmission potential and the duration of transmission – all of which can impact the trends of diseases,” Prabhakaran, director, Centre for Environmental Health at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), told PTI. Incubation period is the time between exposure to a pathogenic organism and when symptoms and signs are first apparent.

Moni Sharma

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds a bilateral meeting with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTOS BY ANI Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik speak to media in New Delhi on Friday.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari speaking at the 10th meeting of Transport Ministers & Experts Group of SCO Member States, in New Delhi on Friday.

Security personnel stand guard during a search operation at the Tota Gali, Numbar Gali area, in Poonch on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Free smartphones to 40 lakh women on Raksha Bandhan: CM

Modi has done a lot of ‘Mann Ki Baat,’ he should do some ‘Kaam Ki Baatein’ in next episode: CM

Laxman Raghav, Kapil Sharma, Sanjay Prajapat, Ramesh Sharma & Satyanarayan Sharma

Hanumangarh/ Taranagar: The Rajasthan government will give free smartphones with three years of internet pack to 40 lakh women on the festival of Raksha Bandhan, CM Ashok

Gehlot announced on Friday while addressing the people after visiting the Mehangai Rahat Camp in Rawatsar town of Hanumangarh.

“In the Chiranjeevi scheme, we have made all women the head (of the family). 1.35 crore women have become the head of the household. These women will get a smartphone along with three years of free internet. We have decided that on Raksha Bandhan, 40 lakh smartphones will be given to women in Rajasthan,” Gehlot said.

Gehlot again accused the BJP government at the Centre of killing democracy, and said anyone who criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi should

FROM

P1…

If I’m Ravan,...

Addressing a gathering after visiting Mehangai Rahat Camp at Rawatsar town of Hanumangarh, Gehlot said Shekhawat’s friends are in jail in connection with the scam and the Union minister is also likely to go to prison.

Gehlot said that Shekhawat says that he is not an accused. “Then why did he go to the High Court for bail? He should resign on moral grounds or the PM should sack such a corrupt minister. I might be a Ravana but he must pay the 2.5 lakh victims of the Sanjivani scam by selling his property.

If you do so, I will call you Ram,” he said.

Gehlot also alleged that Shekhawat was in

Shekhawat remains accused in Sanjivani case: Govt tells HC

First India Bureau

SPEAKS TO PB CM ON WATER POLLUTION

CM Gehlot said that he told Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday about the deplorable condition of canals and discussed the solution to the problem of polluted water coming from Punjab. Due to this polluted water, the patients of serious diseases like cancer are increasing and the crops of the farmers are getting destroyed.

GEHLOT SUPPORTS

WOMEN WRESTLERS

CM Gehlot has supported women wrestlers fighting for justice at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. “It is well known that Delhi Police is refusing to register an FIR of sexual harassment against Prez of Wrestling Federation and heavyweight BJP MP but judiciary will take cognizance in matter. An independent inquiry will be ordered by a sitting SC Judge. Our international sportspersons deserve respect and justice,” he said.

BJP’s ‘Vishkanya’ remark for Sonia shows rot in politics: CM

Hanumangarh: CM Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed a Karnataka BJP leader for calling former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ saying the use of the term was a reflection of the vitiated political discourse in the country. “Remarks made by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Karnataka against Sonia Gandhi reflect the rot in politics. Sonia Gandhi is respected across the country, by both ruling and the opposition parties,” Gehlot told reporters in Hanumangarh. “With such lowly

be prepared to go to prison. He targeted Modi over a law on Minimum Support Price (MSP), and al-

and despicable statements about her, I think a new form of BJP is emerging,” he said. During an interaction with the media in poll-bound Karnataka, BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal Thursday night called Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ apparently responding to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s comparison of P Minister Narendra Modi with a ‘poisonous snake.’ Gehlot in his turn accused the BJP of distorting its opponents’ remarks in order to mislead the public.

leged there is huge difference between the prime minister’s words and actions.

“When both of us

were chief ministers, he (Modi) used to say a law on MSP should be enacted in the country. You have become the

PM of the country twice now, I want to ask you why is the law not being made,” the CM asked. Gehlot also highlighted other schemes of the state government and asked people to take advantage of them by enrolling in the scheme in the Mahangai Rahat Shivir being organised in the state. Earlier, CM Gehlot, AICC in charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa & GS Dotasra inspected camps and talked to beneficiaries.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Jodhpur: In the case related to Sanjivani Credit Co-operative Society scam, the Rajasthan High Court on Friday accepted the application submitted by state government challenging relief to Union Jal Shakti Minister GS Shekhawat. The application was made by SOG. The next hearing in case will be held on May 30. The govt submitted the application seeking amendment in HC’s order giving relief from arrest to Shekhawat. The hearing was held in court of Justice Kuldeep Mathur. Meanwhile, the ban on Shekhawat’s arrest will continue. Sr advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra presented case on behalf of State govt via VC. No lawyer appeared on behalf of petitioner. Sr advocate Singhvi said, “This could not be explained properly earlier as briefing was online. According to factual report, Shekhawat is an accused. An amendment letter has been presented for this.”

SHEKHAWAT THANKS CM FOR ‘RAM’ REMARK

Sikar: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday thanked CM Ashok Gehlot for equating him with Lord Ram and said that as Ravan had 10 heads so Rajasthan politics also has 10 heads in the present times. “Corruption, anger, pride, appeasement, anti-farmer, atrocities on women, extortion, gundaraj, unemployment, and others are 10 Ravan heads of present politics in Rajasthan. I thank CM Gehlot if he equates me with Ram,” said Shekhawat while addressing Jan Aakrosh Mahasabha in Sikar on Friday.

CONG SLAMS SHEKHAWAT OVER CM REMARK

Jaipur: AICC in charge for Raj Sukhjinder Randhawa attacked Union Minister GS Shekhawat for his comments on CM Ashok Gehlot saying, “Lord Hanuman had saved Laxman’s life by bringing Sanjeevani while on the other hand, GS Shekhawat, in the name of Sanjivani, has robbed crores of rupees of Raj people. Now tell who Ravana is in reality?” he

asked. Reacting sharply Congress co- in charge for Raj Amrrita Dhawan said that there is ‘Ram Rajya’ in state and it is for the BJP to introspect about country’s condition. “ GS Shekhawat is a senior leader & such words do not suit him. The CM is peoples’ representative & using such words brings you & level of politics down.” —Yogesh Sharma

the main role of the conspiracy of toppling his government through rebellion by the Sachin Pilot camp. Gehlot also gave the example of not being involved in the conspiracy to topple the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government and comparing it with the rebellion of the pilot camp against his own

govt. At the same time, he indirectly praised former CM Vasundhara Raje and Kailash Meghwal, fueling political discussion. “Our 19 MLAs went to Manesar. The main role was played by Gajendra Singh. He lured the 19 MLAs. Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan were with him,” he said.

Gehlot said, “The way I refused to cooperate in conspiracy to topple Shekhawat govt while being the PCC president. On the same line, if Vasundhara Raje and Kailash Meghwal said that there is no tradition of toppling the government in Raj by horse trading, then what wrong did they say?”

Jaipur (PTI): Samesex marriage is a ‘blot on humankind’ & there is no need to accept a SC judgment that legalises it, Shankaracharya of Puri Peeth said on Friday. Swami Nischalananda Saraswati of Govardhan Math said if such a judgment comes, nature will punish judges. The matter comes within purview of religious leaders & not a subject to be decided by court, he added. “Same-sex marriage is a blot on humankind and there is no need to accept a decision if it is legalised by the S C,” the Shankaracharya, told

Complete pending works on time, expedite housing scheme works: Arora to AIS Residency Assn officers

Shivendra Parmar

Jaipur: RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora on Friday held a meeting with the office bearers of AIS Residency Residents’ Welfare Association and directed them to complete all pending works on time including expediting the works related to the housing scheme.

President of AIS Residency Residents’ Welfare Association & IAS

Vishnu Charan Mallick, Treasurer and RAS

Bachanesh Aggarwal, Member and IPS

Sachin Mittal, Member and RAS Arvind Saraswat and Mahaveer and other officials were present in the meeting held at ‘Awas Bhawan.’

In the meeting, CCTV installation, Bisalpur water connection, installation of lift in all blocks, connection of sewer line,

pump house and swimming pool, electricity work, installation of solar panels, EV charging station and beautification of the scheme

were discussed. Arora directed officers to get additional labourers engaged in all works related to the housing scheme. “Instructions were also given to impose penalty on vendors who were negligent in their work. “In the upcoming monsoon, tree plantation will also be done on a large scale under the scheme. Along with this, after completing the work of the scheme, the houses will be handed over to the officials as soon as possible,” Arora said.

media.

CM Ashok Gehlot addresses a public meeting after inspecting the Mehangai Rahat Camp at Rawatsar tehsil of Hanumangarh district on Friday. Also seen are Sukhjinder Randhawa, GR Meghwal, GS Dotasra, Rameshwar Dudi, Pawan Godara, Dungarram Gedar, Vinod Chaudhary, Amit Chachan, Balwan Poonia and others.

CM Ashok Gehlot interacts beneficiaries at Mehangai Rahat camp in Taranagar on Friday.

CM Ashok Gehlot & GS Dotasra with the beneficiaries at the MRC in Sikar.

RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora holds a meeting with office bearers of AIS Residency Residents’ Welfare Association and directed them to complete pending works on time including expediting works of housing scheme at Awas Bhawan on Friday. Also seen are VC Mallick, Bachanesh Aggarwal, Sachin Mittal, Arvind Saraswat, Mahaveer Singh, Arun Gupta and others.

Seer calls for not accepting SC verdict

CM Ashok Gehlot interacted with students at Sanskar Marriage Garden in Sikar on Friday night. He said that a college would be opened in a school with 500 girl students in the State.

The only true sustainable power is the one which comes from within, the outside trappings of power are all too flimsy.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ celebrates a century and establishes a direct link between PM and masses: Dr Chandra

z It will be the hundredth ‘Mann Ki Baat’ of PM Narendra Modi on Sunday. As such there is a question among the masses as to what is the basic concept of ‘Mann Ki Baat’?

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: Basic concept of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is to have a direct one- to- one contact with the people, the common man,with the masses, with the citizens. Prior to this, what used to happen was the Presidents or Prime Ministers or other senior leaders would address the public and the nation on television and they would go away. There was no communication or rather there was just ‘one- way’ communication in their actions. This time around, its a ‘two-way’ communication. PM would say and even listen to people, consider people’s suggestion and enforce them as well. That is its basic concept. Secondly, Anurag Thakur recently said that it has now been established, across the world, that PM Modi is a brilliant orator and a brilliant communicator, who can establish direct contact with the masses. If we look at it deeply, we can see that he says each and every point of his with such faith and conviction, his face reflects confidence, his demeanour establishes trust in the people, what ever he says people trust that.

Hence, what ever he says in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, people accepted that and followed it. And this gives inspiration that a ‘Rashtra-Nayak’ is carrying out the ‘Mann Ki Baat.’ One more basic concept of this is that the issues related with the society, with the people or with in the best interest of the nation, those issues would be converted in people’s movement, merely through his speech.

Take for example the cleanliness drive, or the ‘Beti Bachao Aandolan’, ‘Selfie with Daughter’, Water conservation, Made in India, Khelo India and several others. Moreover, what ever PM says, that become a slogan for people and becomes a hit slogan. So the basic concept of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is to hold direct communication with the people.

z Do you think ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has been the first programme of a political leader that has

been like a non-political programme?

Hundred percent it is so. This is perhaps the first such communication in the world, where a politician is engaging in non-political communication. Otherwise, what happens is that politicians have a lust for giving speeches to large gatherings, but no one holds a non-political talk. Perhaps this has never happened in the world. So, this is a first of its kind experiment, which has been a success and just imagine that it is the first time in our nation as well that a political individual is taking up nonpolitical issues in such a major programme. So, this is a good experiment, which should be lauded.

z How do you rate Narendra Modi as a ‘Global Leader’ and also his growing popularity graph across the world?

Excellent. There is no controversy in this. He has become a ‘Global Leader.’ The global leadership be it America, China, Italy, Russia, France, German or Great Britain, all the major world powers have accepted his leadership. One can say that China is a little uptight in accepting this, but when he met

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India; CMD First India News looks back at the eight years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ which will complete 100 episodes on Sunday, April 30. Dr Chandra stresses that it was PM’s conviction to acknowledge and celebrate change makers working at grassroots level. Dr Chandra further says that this is the first non- political communication by a politician

Prime Minister, then it will be PM Modi. Such has been his graph. Moreover, the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme is being heard across the world, in Embassies and Consulates, and at other places. I believe that this 76 percent approval rating would further increase by four or five percent after the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on April 30. So, Modi of course, is a ‘Global Leader’ and his graph is growing with each passing moment.

z What is the most popular theme of ‘Mann Ki Baat’? It is said that a survey has been done on it by IIM? What was the agenda of this survey?

these are those who say that through this, the nation is going in a right direction. So in a way, people are stamping their approval on Modi’s leadership. In fact, 60% people who hear ‘Mann Ki Baat’ claim that they learn from it and get inspired. As far as medium is concerned, about 44% people watch it on TV, about 37 % people watch it on mobile, and about 17% people listen to it on radio. So, it is a popular programme.

forward the grassroots change- makers, which is being done through this programme. So yes, it should be included in curriculum since crores of people are watching it.

Chinese premier, he was accorded immense respect. Some heads of state hug him tightly, some hold his hand for minutes altogether, so this shows that there is an international craze for Modi among the top leadership of the world. This was about leadership, Now see what is the public saying. Recently, a survey was conducted on popularity of world leaders in which, PM Modi had 76 % approval across the world. He is more popular than the American President. This is special. And in fact, it is my stern belief that if the entire world countries have one Parliament, and if one person had to be chosen as President or

The theme has been to project scientific achievements, to focus and highlight education, health, achievements related to army,issues concerning common man, women empowerment etc. The survey has been a good one. The important thing about Narendra Modi’s office is that and his own too is that every work is done in an authentic manner. There is no place for glorification or sycophancy and every work is done in a scientific manner. So, a survey was conducted by the IIM, where three-four points came to light. There are 20 crore people, who are continuously hearing it. 73% people from

z Is the Government of India going to include ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme in school curriculum? This is a brilliant idea. Perhaps after watching our show, PM Modi may ponder on it, because this is a programme, which is connected with the people, with the grassroots. You are teaching history in schools, at lest show the present and the India of the 21 st century. ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is the India of tomorrow. So, it is a good thought and I stress that the government should think over it and include the episodes, lessons and experiences in the school curriculum. Secondly, the idea behind this programme is that the hidden talents of our people, those who live in villages and not in Lutyens, they can be brought forward. So this means bringing

z How do you visualise PM Narendra Modi’s journey of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ over the past eight years? It has been a fast, wonderful and an adventurous journey. Just imagine, eight years back, on October 3, 2014, the first episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ was aired. Modi had become PM in May that year and he chose ‘Gandhi Jayanti’ as the day for this. The first issue he picked was of cleanliness, through ‘ Swachhata Abhiyan’ and with over one crore and 25 lakh listeners, he started this programme. And then as he moved ahead, the caravan kept on increasing. Second issue he picked was of ‘ Khadi’ and said that if we buy one small Khadi item, then it will help the poor in celebrating Diwali. In the third episode, he mentioned about Swami Vivekananda and stressed that people should realise their power and capability and stand up for the development of the nation, like he said in the cleanliness drive that he wants everyone should walk with him and remove the dirt of the nation.

That programme became a super hit. PM Modi also narrated a story on tiger and tigress wherein a tigress hunts down a sheep but in the process her cub gets lost into the flock of sheep. That cub is brought up by the sheep and when years later that tiger comes across its real brother, the brother asks that you are a tiger, but your behaviour is like that of a sheep. To this, the tiger says that he was brought up by sheep hence, he is like them. So, the tiger took his brother to a nearby lake & showed him its face in water. Upon this, the tiger realised that he is not a sheep but a tiger & started roaring. So, PM Modi wanted to say, citing Vivekananda, to realise our potential & power as Indians, to move ahead and develop the nation.

z Why did PM Modi choose radio for the dissemination of ‘Mann Ki Baat’?

This was his personal decision and shows his wisdom too. Firstly, radio is the medium of the poor. TV and mobiles are expensive. But radio is extremely cheap. Secondly, its reach is immense, it is wonderful. There are 142 crore Indians and I believe that children above the age of five years, listen to radio. Such is its reach that radio is heard in vil -

lages of Arunachal and Nagaland as well as in a remote dhani of Barmer, where there would be no television or mobile. He chose radio in the year 2014, which is a medium for the poor and thus for the masses. His target was not the elites, but the people who live in villages and hence, he chose radio. As far as the importance of radio is concerned, everyone accepts this aspect. Now PM is going to launch FM transmission as well. So, radio was chosen because it has reach, it is cheap and thus, people have access to it. And basically, he must have felt that he too is from the rural background so he must promote rural India and not the ‘Elitist Lutyens’’ culture. Otherwise, what happens is that a leader would go on the television, show their face and come back. He did not want to show his face. The nation has seen his face. He wanted to make people listen to his ‘Mann Ki Baat’, hence he chose the radio is a medium.

z What was PM Modi’s vision and focus in the first Mann Ki Baat episode?

In the first episode, his vision and focus was to establish a direct contact with the masses and take up issues with which people have a connect, so he can promote those issues. Like I said, his focus was on

people, who have never been in limelight or in the main stream. Secondly, his focus was on the people living in villages and the talented individuals from various fields and to bring forth such people, to promote and recognise them, be it through awards like Padma Shri, or honouring them at Raj Bhawan or through any other way. So, his basic idea was a success.

z I&B Minister Anurag Thakur recently said that it is not merely ‘Mann Ki Baat’ but it is the voice of the people. Do you think so?

I completely agree with Anurag Thakur. He said one more line that this is a reflection of all round development of India. While the I&B Ministry handles the management of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ but this time around, the Minister himself is handling the affairs, and not left it on bureaucracy. So, it is being carried out in a decent and low profile manner and I agree with his claim that it has become the voice of nation. If crores of people are watching and listening to it, then what else would be the voice of the nation? He is right and I completely endorse his view point.

During the show JCOnMannKiBaat trended top All-India on Twitter

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Poornima Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Shikha Thakur, Mahima Kanwar and Parineeta Bakshi during The JC show.

FROM DITSY PRINTS TO

Flower fashion is a symbol of beauty, femininity and creativity. City First brings to you the significance of the flowery trend to amp up your fashion game

SINDHI KADHI The Dish of Incredible India

ABOUT CAULDRON SISTERS

Ratika & Richa Khetan, two Sisters, started Cauldron Sisters in 2015. It started as an exotic food gift hamper business, but their love for food encouraged them to start culinary workshops, food deliveries, and slowly and gradually it turned huge as restaurants and cafes started approaching them for consultancy.

YOUR DAY

Aries

MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Your spouse is someone who can do anything for your happiness. You are happy spending whole day at home. Tensions on the family front are likely to get sorted out.You are opportunist and this will make you successful one day. The day is in your favour.

Gemini

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

Today is a favourable day for business. Listening to someone’s advice on the professional front will be in your interest. You are very generous by nature and also you are the backbone of your family. Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth.

Leo JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

Pending paperwork concerning a property will be completed. Your spouse may make you spend more than you expected. Fantastic day for investing money in stock market as you can make fortune. You miss your parents a lot and somewhere fear to loose them.

Libra

SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22

Fortunes are set to rise for those in trade and business. You love to live close to your family. You are a child at heart and never let this child die. You have a big heart and you always help someone if you can. Expected payments are likely to get released soon.

Sagittarius

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22

You are very fortunate to have a great friend circle. Whatever you have in mind, you will manage to implement it at work. You are likely to feel much healthy and energetic today. You want to have your own house and you will work hard to make your dream come true.

Aquarius

JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19

This is the best time try something new with life give yourself a new purpose. You will feel amorous towards your wife. Work on your limitations, there can be no better time than this. You have more opposite sex friends than the same and you may be judged sometimes but don’t care.

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You will enjoy good health by remaining regular in your workouts. It will be in your interest to guide a family youngster on the academic front. You may start a side business to earn extra money. You are not a jealous kind.You are a very grounded person.

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

You must create an environment of understanding at home. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. You need a break from day to tensions and the way to cope up with stress is to meditate. You are likely to go on a trip with friends.

Virgo

AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23

Don’t make friends for money and status rather make friends who will stick with you forever. You care about you lover but somehow hesitate in expressing that care. On social front, you may have to spend some extra money in buying gifts for someone for some specific occasion.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22

Family will be supportive of your ideas, but only to an extent. You give tough competition to people. Many people get inspired by you. You will get special treatment from your dear ones. Meeting people you get along with well is likely to make the day enjoyable for you.

Capricorn

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20

You make sure to make things work your way. You are most wanted by your friends. You will invest money in clothes and accessories today. You are a God fearing person. You can likely to have an affair. Never de motivate someone even if someone is not capable of doing something.

Pisces

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20

Some family issues may need urgent resolution, so don’t neglect them. You will feel financially comfortable. Your personality will attract many eligible bachelors. Spend time talking with like minded people as it will make you feel good for now. You are likely to go on a trip with friends.

Ratzz and I have always appreciated the vastness of the culture of the Indian subcontinent. The numerous sects and groups of people in all 36 states are as similar as they are different. The truly Incredible India has many colours, and each society expresses its vibrance in many ways. Food is especially one such important expression. Why did the entire conversation suddenly turn towards edibles?

Well, what else do you expect of the Cauldron sisters?! Also, food is the language of love, care, family, friendship and much more. It is something that everybody understands around the universe. When you are in an unknown land without understanding the language and customs, what you eat will be the dictator of your experience!

Those travel savoy crazies who like to visit every nook and corner of the world, even when everything could feel alien to them. They depend on the richness of the culture to comprehend and absorb their environment. Culture also includes food because it feels very personal and warm to both, the cook and those who consume it.

Kadhi – A concoction of besan, something sour like curd/ tomatoes or imli or Kokum! In northern India, kadhi is frequent and rather liked preparation, but every few kilometres, you will find the taste and way of preparation changing. In the same regard, Sindhi Kadhi is also very well-liked and among the famous dishes in the country. Ritzzy and I are both big fans of this delicacy because, in addition to being very delicious, it also delivers many qualities to the consumer.

This exotic Indian dish is packed with vitamins and minerals and is an appetising nutritious delight. The use of chickpea flour along with various wholesome spices and fresh vegetables is a common practice for cooking Sindhi Kadhi. Additionally, it is a brilliant choice for even those counting calories. The following benefits can be reaped by consuming Sindhi Kadhi: Due to the ingredients and veggies used in this recipe, it is an excellent choice for Anaemic patients who suffer from iron deficiency.

When one is pregnant, one must have folate, vitamin B6 and iron in their diet (or as prescribed) for a healthy pregnancy.

Sindhi Kadhi provides all of it and is one of the most tasteful options out of the rather restrictive list. The selection of vegetables used to make Sindhi Kadhi makes it a perfect high-protein and high-fibre supplement. It improves the digestive health of the consumer.

The nourishing factors of this delicacy also enhance bone health and make you stronger from within. Well wait no more and whip up some of this lovely and beneficial Kadhi and get glowing skin with luxurious hair.

COOKING PREP FOR SINDHI KADHI

● Vegetables to be fried, we generally air fry to save a few extra calories-

● 1 cup cauliflower chunks

● 1 cup potato chunks

● 1 cup okra slit

● 1/2 cup colocassia fingers

● 1 cup guaar beans/cluster beans (ends trimmed)

● 1/2 cup carrots chunks

● 1 cup baby brinjal slit

● 3-4 green chillies slit

● 1/3 cup boiled green peas (optional)

● Excluding peas, deep fry or bake or air fry all vegetables.

MasterChef fame of top 9 contestant Deepa Chauhan says, “We make Sindhi Kadhi with tomatoes and add Kokum to get that tart flavour. We add vegetables like gawar fali, bhindi, drumsticks etc.” She does not like the addition of imli in the kadhi.

Ms Chauhan maintained that a typical Sindhi meal feels like kadhi chawal boondi and aloo tuk; she takes pride in how the Sindhi community has gained much recognition for their ka-

SINDHI KADHI COOKING METHOD

● 1/2 cup oil

● 1 + 1/2 cup besan/ chickpea flour

● 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

● 1/2 tsp heeng/asafoetida

● 1 tsp rai/mustard seeds

● 1/2 cup thick imli pulp/ tamarind pulp

(*Sindhis use tomato instead of imli, but this is how we make it*)

● 2 tsp red chilli powder

● Salt to taste

● Coriander leaves for garnish

● Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds & asafoetida.

● Add besan and roast till it gets fragrant.

● Add red chilli powder and quickly add water to make Kadhi. Be careful while adding water to it, it spatters wildly.

● Add salt and coriander leaves.

● Once it starts boiling, add all vegetables and boil for some time.

● Add tamarind and keep boiling.

● Serve it piping hot with steamed rice & Papad.

dhi Chawal and Papad meals. Additionally, she shared how this particular preparation is salient in the wedding rituals. Since Ganesh pooja happens to be the first ritual in Indian weddings, it only begins after the groom Of side sends kadhi Chawal to the family of the bride. Cauldron sisters feel these tiny gestures are super cute, and we can totally relate to the sentiments. As Shekhawatis, we also have typical Kadhi Moong Chawal Thaali significance for all auspicious occasions.

KHUSHBU BIJAPARI, Model

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

HERE IS SOMETHING EXTRA! WE SPOKE WITH SO MANY CHEFS AND HAVE GATHERED MUCH INSIGHT INTO THE DELICIOUS ART OF CULINARY. WHEN IT COMES TO SINDHI KADHI, THEY HAD PLENTY TO SAY...

Master Chef Deepa Chauhan

International Dance Day, celebrated every year on April 29 serves the purpose of raising awareness and exhorting people to take part in dancing activities. City First highlights a few stunning dance forms that are the core of rituals and celebrations all over the globe. In an exclusive interview with City First, Dr Seemaa Goel, a trained classical dance Guru and choreographer, senior most disciple and daughter of Kathak exponent Guru Dr Shashi Sankhla of Jaipur Gharana sheds some light on the beauty in diversity through Kathak!

DREAMING WITH YOUR FEET!

with City First, Dr Seemaa Goel shares how with the permission and support of her Guru, she started an institute by the name of NRITYA SANSKRITI at Jagatpura to promote the art form.

“Kathak itself is a very accommodating dance form as in modern times there are so many experiments being done in the form of dance, the main thing is that KATHAK means KATHA or a story so it’s up to you how you tell your story!”

Dance isn’t just dance, it’s magical, something that sets you free. Over the years, dance has become a big part of the lives of many people.

From ballet to jazz, to tap, to hip hop, you name it. It gives people a way to express themselves and a way to escape from the world. Long exhausting hours of practice and dedication are worth the 3–6 minutes or even longer time spent on stage. Over time, dance has evolved and changed tremendously throughout the years

In an exclusive interview

Dr Seemaa Goel has rigorously trained under her guidance and completed her PhD in the field of Dance. When asked about her dance journey, she said, "I have a rich experience of performing as well as training students and ladies right from the age of 5 yrs to 75 yrs and teaching not only national but also International students from countries like India, Dubai, USA, Hongkong and China. I am an Ex-Member of the International Dance Council- an official organisation for all forms of dance all over the world and an official partner of UNESCO, Paris.

When asked what is dance according to her, whether everybody should dance or What it adds to life, the passionate woman said, "Dance is the rhythm of life, it keeps you rooted to your culture at the same time allows you to explore other forms in the form of its branches and return adding meaning to your life."

Dance is one of the ways to reach the divine or higher source of life, on this she said, "Yes! I completely agree with it. When we dance we let go of all that binds us to this 3 Dimensional world and become a part of a

beyond our imagination in the mundane life. We become more sensitive, understanding, compassionate and innocent. We are open to learning and accepting, important tools to come into selfawareness and a connection with the divine or higher source. Giving a piece of advice to aspiring dancers, Dr Goel exclaimed, " No advice in particular, but just be yourself and understand that we all have our own rhythm and pace to connect with! So dance away!!"

Kathak is characterized by intricate footwork and precise rhythmic patterns and it evolved into three main schools of thought- Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras forms. Shedding some light on the same, the dance Guru said, "I feel that no Gharana is lesser or higher, all Gharanas have their unique style it’s up to one’s choice what you wish to explore. The Gurus have done tremendous work in adding to this rich dance form and it’s a vast ocean waiting to be explored further. Ingredients consisting of Nritt, Nritya and Natya add beauty and completion to it and each dancer should do full justice to it. Jaipur Gharana has all three but it’s a misconception that people feel that the BHAAV or expression is missing in Jaipur Gharana and it’s only footwork and

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

—DR SEEMA GOEL

Shreya, Swara, Navya, Avyaja, Dharima, Sidhima and Amayra

CELEBRATING LEADERSHIP!

THE JC SHOW TEAM!

Achievements in the year!

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

Amusical event titled, ‘Change of Guard and Musical Gala’ was organised by “Shubham Group” to celebrate the glorious history of Rajasthan at Dyore, C-Scheme,

Jaipur, on Friday. On the occasion, Shubham Group’s founder members, Mala Khaitan, Brinda Rungta, Saroj Goyal, and President 22–23 Pallavi Patni presented the Change of Guard to the incoming President 23–24 Monika

1.25 CR. FUNDING!

During the National Startup Expo event held at SKIT on April 18–19, more than 35 teams from different institutions/ colleges including the participants of SKIT exhibited their products in different categories which were comprised of Ideation stage, Prototype and established Startup. Five participants of SKIT Incubation were shortlisted for funding of Rs.25 lakh each by Director Bharat Sharma of Stocknerv Pvt. ltd. The primary Investor company of the event. Dr Manoj Gattani the founder of IGET innovation lab, joining the event as Co-Investor also announced funding of Rs. 3 lakhs and Rs. 1 lakh to two of the participants of the Startup and Prototype stage. Participants from all three categories were also selected for 1st and 2nd prizes by the panel of five external judges from different segments of industries. In all worth Rs.1.75 lakh cash prizes were awarded to the winners. Full filling the event moto of bringing the innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and mentors on one common platform.

Arya. Meanwhile, the new committee comprising Vice President Jyoti Jain, IPP Pallavi Patni, Secretary Prachi Agarwal, Joint Secretaries Pooja Dadha and Upasana Bajaj, Treasurers Rashi Gadia and Sneha Kabra, Directors Radha Ma -

heshwari, Komal Bagda, Preeti Agarwal, Savita Pansari, Asha Kedia and Advisor Anjana Kedia, Sujata Poddar were entrusted with further operations.

President Monika

Arya said that under the theme of this tenure, ‘Pride of Ra-

jasthan’, an effort will be made to highlight the talent spread in different areas of the state by focusing on the culture and proud history of Rajasthan. At the end of the program, all the members enjoyed dancing to the fusion music. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) celebrated its 53rd foundation day at Stein Auditorium, India habitat Centre, New Delhi on April 25 where Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India were the Chief guest for the function. At the ceremony, HUDCO Jaipur Regional Office was felicitated with Excellent award for Best Performing office in category-B for its outstanding business performance in the state. Sudhir Kumar Bhatnagar, Regional chief HUDCO Jaipur was received the award on behalf of Jaipur re-

INDIA SILVER CONFERENCE

CITY FIRST

The ‘India Silver Conference’ was organised by Eventell Global Advisory Private Limited on Friday in Jaipur. More than 250 participants from countries like India, America, Europe, Thailand etc participated in this conference. Rajiv Arora, Chairman, of RAJSICO and Founder, Amrapali Jewels, was the chief guest at the conference and addressed the gathering on the importance, history, production, technology and its use and possibilities in Indian tradition and perspective of silver.

Arora said that more

than 98% of the silver produced from mines in India originates from Rajasthan. The entrepreneurship-friendly industrial policy of the Government of Rajasthan also encourages production, employment and exports in this sector, and promotes innovation.

Arora pointed out that

AT

the Travel Bazaar,

as many as 45 FTOs witnessed how Diwali is celebrated in India.

The event was jointly organized by the leading destination manage-

ment company, Le Passage To India (LPTI) and Diggi Palace. The

Rajasthan today contributes almost 50% in terms of the value of silver jewellery exports from India. The state government is ready to partner with industries in the field of training and development of its artisans, use in jewellery design etc.

In order to better facilitate and promote the

export of silver jewellery, and gems, the state government has recently constituted a full dedicated Export Promotion Council ‘REPC’, whose first chairman has been made Rajiv Arora. CM Ashok Gehlot has made several provisions in the recent budget to strengthen this council.

PALACE

Executive Director of LPTI, Khalid Khan said that every year after the

travel bazaar, LPTI and Diggi Palace organise some festival for the FTOs to witness, so that they can market the festival accordingly in their respective countries. The owner of Diggi Palace, Ram Pratap Singh also threw light on the Diwali celebration and gave the heritage inputs of the Diggi Palace.

gional office. During the financial year 2022–2023, HUDCO has made outstanding sanction of loan of Rs.2554 crore and released Rs.1431.11 crore for various infrastructure works across the state.

RUDSICO, state agency under Government of Rajasthan was sanctioned Rs.2235 crore by HUDCO for carrying out various infrastructure development works across urban local bodies in the

state and for which RUDSICO was also awarded with Best Performing Agency Award by HUDCO on the annual day. Pradeep Garg, Project Director received the award on behalf of RUDSICO. Under the category of Best Performing Primary Lending Institutions/ Banks, Rajasthan Marudhara grameen bank was awarded from the state for significant contribution in PMAYUrban.

DURING THE DAY!

Fifteen members of a Nepalese disabled organisation were provided with the world-famous Jaipur Foot free of cost by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS). The Nepal-based Banke Disabled Women’s Welfare Association brought the disabled from Nepal on the bus to Jaipur. Though the welfare body primarily works for disabled women, it brought five disabled men to get themselves rehabilitated. They were provided with artificial limbs and callipers. Vinit Sharma, who is herself disabled and moves with the support of a wheelchair said the Manke Disabled Women’s Welfare Association brings the disabled to Jaipur for free fitment. DR Mehta the founder of the BMVSS presented six wheelchairs, four walkers and three crutches to the team.

The play ‘Holding Amorphous’ was staged at the JKK as part of the contemporary dance and theatre festival on Friday. The play delivered a powerful message that life is not just a race for success, and that true happiness lies in creativity. Directed by young theatre director Mumal Tanwar, the play featured contemporary dancer Varsha Bansal, who brought the emotions to life on stage. The play was a unique fusion of dance and acting, using physical theatre techniques, gestures, and silent movements to depict various stages of human life.

Jagdeesh Chandra with The JC Show team during the century of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Thursday at the NOIDA office of Bharat24. Seen here are (L-R) Palak Jain, Parineeta Bakshi, Karemma Khan, Mahima Kanwar, Shikha Thakur, Aditi Nagar, Poornima Mishra and Amit Mishra.

‘DIWALI’ CELEBRATION

DIGGI

the benefit of the Foreign Tour Operators (FTOs) who come to the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB), some events were held with an aim to give them a first-hand experience of how a particular festival is celebrated in India.

Komal, Sujata, Hansa, Shashi, Pooja, Neha, Kailash, Shilpa, Rashmi, Prachi, Jyoti, Deepti, Divya, Sarika, Nidhi, Mamta, Preeti, Pallavi, Rashi, Vimla, Asha, Radha, Brinda, Neeta, Monika, Archana, Shilpa and Sujata

(L-R) Asha Kedia, Komal Bagda, Pooja Dadha, Radha Maheshwari, Prachi Agarwal, Monika Arya, Pallavi Patni, Jyoti Jain, Rashi Gadia, Preeti Agarwal and Savita Pansari

Rajiv Arora lighting the lamp

Foreign tour operators with Ram Pratap Diggi and his wife Jyotika Kumari Diggi

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO