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1. Where am I party to the violence?
Gulfisha Fatima seeks bail from HC
DELHI RIOTS UAPA CASE
New Delhi (PTI): Stu -
dent activist Gulfisha
Fatima on Tuesday
sought bail from the
Delhi High Court in a
case of larger conspira-
cy behind the February
2020 riots in northeast
Delhi, asserting that no
role was ascribed to her
in the violence.
Arguing before a
bench of Justice Sid-
dharth Mridul and Jus-
tice Rajnish Bhatnagar.
the counsel appearing
for Fatima said all the
statements to show her
alleged culpability were
recorded by the police
over a period of several
months after her arrest
and the possibility of
these statements being
“tailored” cannot be
ruled out.
The lawyer argued
that no speech or sug-
gestion at any meeting
of the accused in the
case is ascribed to Fati-
ma. “I am not denying
that violence took place
in Delhi but what is the
role ascribed to me?
Where am I party to the
violence? Where am I
encouraging that vio-
lence?” the counsel said.
Submitting that all
the witnesses “speak
like a great chorus”, the
lawyer questioned the
reliability of the prose-
cution witnesses.
“Does he go to the po-
lice? Does he escalate
the issue? Not one wit-
ness. There is not one
witness that doesn’t
have a role in the pro-
test,” he said.
Gulfisha Fatima at the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh in early
2020. —FILE PHOTO
l Lawyer says all prosecution witnesses
‘speak like a great chorus’
❍No end to passenger congestion at IGI Airport
Reach airport 3.5 hours before,
carry only hand baggage: IndiGo
New Delhi (ANI): Due
to increasing conges-
tion at the Indira Gan-
dhi International (IGI)
Airport, low-budget
carrier IndiGo on Tues-
day advised passengers
to reach the airport at
least 3.5 hours prior to
domestic departures
and carry only one
piece of hand baggage
weighing 7 kg for a
smooth security check.
The airline said the
airport is experiencing
high footfalls, and
check-in and boarding
time is expected to be
longer than usual. It
also advised passengers
to use gate numbers 5
and 6 for entry at IGI’s
Terminal 3.
PAR PANEL SUMMONS AIRPORT CEO
New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel will take up the
issue of congestion at Delhi airport with Videh
Kumar Jaipuriar, the CEO of Delhi International
Airport Ltd (DIAL), on Thursday, according to the
committee’s Chairman Vijayasai Reddy.
The rush at IGI airport on Tuesday. Image tweeted by Nikhil
Inamdar @Nik_Inamdar
READ
CrucialCrucial
‘OVER 40 DOCUMENTS
PLANTED ON STAN
SWAMY’S LAPTOP’
New Delhi: A new report
by an American forensic
firm shows that multiple
incriminating documents
were planted in the
computer of Father Stan
Swamy, the 83-year-old
activist-priest who was
arrested for alleged terror
links in 2020 and who died
in custody a year later.
KERALA PASSES BILL TO
REMOVE GOVERNOR AS

CHANCELLOR OF VARSITIES
Thiruvananthapuram: A
Despite a boycott by the
opposition, the Keralaa
Assembly on Tuesday
passed the University Law
(Amendment) Bill to replace
the Governor as chancellor
of all universities in the state
and instead appoint top
academicians to the post.
MUSK IS NOW THE
WORLD’S SECOND
RICHEST MAN
New Delhi: Elon Musk, once
worth as much as $340
billion, has been displaced
as the world’s richest person
by Bernard Arnault. Elon
Musk, 51, has seen his
fortune tumble by more than
$100 billion since January to
$168.5 billion, report said.
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NEW DELHI l WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 105
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAIBSE SENSEX 62,533.30 402.73 | NSE NIFTY 18,608.00 110.85
NCP PRESIDENT
SHARAD PAWAR
RECEIVES DEATH
THREAT, 1 HELD
Mumbai: A man has been arrested from Bihar
for repeatedly making threat calls at NCP
president Sharad Pawar’s Mumbai residence,
police said. N Soni (45) told “Mumbai Aake
Desi Katte Se Uda Doonga,” said police official.
TEJASHWI YADAV
WILL LEAD IN
2025: CM NITISH
DROPS A BIG HINT
Bihar: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday
announced that his deputy Tejashwi Yadav would
lead the ruling coalition in the 2025 Bihar election,
designating him as his next-in-line and starting the
countdown on his own term as Chief Minister.
Metro connectivity to Noida, IGI
airports via New Delhi station
Noida (PTI): The
DMRC on Tuesday
signed an agreement
with the Yamuna Ex-
pressway Industrial De-
velopment Authority for
preparing a detailed
project report for the
construction of the pro-
posed metro rail link
between New Delhi Rail-
way Station and Greater
Noida, officials said.
The proposed rail
link is part of the Uttar
Pradesh government’s
plan to provide last-
mile metro connectivity
till the Noida Interna-
tional Airport in Jewar,
they said.
A team of Delhi Met-
ro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) made a presen-
tation to YEIDA offi-
cials regarding the rail
line between Greater
Noida’s Knowledge
Park area and New Del-
hi Railway Station, cov-
ering a distance of 37
km over 11 stations in
an estimated one hour
time, according to a
press release.
IPL 2023
auction on
December 23
Mumbai (FIB): “IPL
2023 Player Auction list
is out with 405 cricketers
set to go under hammer
in Kochi on December
23, 2022. 369 players were
shortlisted by 10 teams
from initial list of 991
players. 36 addl players
were requested, which
are added into final list
which makes a total of
405 which will be pre
-
sented at IPL 2023 auc-
tion,” official said. P6
ANNIVERSARY OF
A TRAGIC DAY
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh during a tribute ceremony to pay homage
to martyrs who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament
attack, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
India stands tall!
PLA troops tried to change status quo in
Arunachal Pradesh, India troops forced
them to retreat, says Rajnath Singh in Parliament
Proceedings in parliament were adjourned soon
after they began as the Opposition kept insisting
that the border clash issued be discussed at once
P6
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: Defence
minister Rajanth Singh
on Tuesday said that the
Chinese troops unilater-
ally tried to change the
statue quo along the Line
of Actual Control(LAC)
in Arunchal Pradesh but
Indian troops forces
them to retreat to their
side of the border. "On
December 9 in Yangtse
area of Tawang sector,
the PLA troops en -
croached upon and at-
tempted to change status
quo. This attempt was
tackled by our troops in a
determined manner. Our
troops bravely stopped
the PLA from encroach-
ing upon our territory
and forced them to go
back to their post," he
said in LS. "Indian troops
suffered no casualty or
serious injuries," Ra-
jnath said. "This matter
has also been taken up
with China through dip-
lomatic channels. I want
to assure the House that
our forces are committed
to guard our borders and
ready to thwart any at-
tempt that will be made
to challenge it," the de-
fence minister said in his
statement.
More on P6
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivers a statement in Lok Sabha on the India-China Line of Actual
Control (LAC) clash during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Also present
here are Anurag Singh Thakur, Pralhad Joshi, Dr Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and others.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to the media in presence
of Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal and others
after Parliament session in Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
O
ppn did not allow
Question Hour to run. I
condemn this act. Parl Affairs
Minister clearly said that the
Defence Minister will make a
statement on Tawang faceoff
in Parl, said Shah. “After
seeing question number
5 in question hour list, I
understood anxiety of Cong.
Question was for cancella-
tion of FCRA licence of Rajiv
Gandhi Foundation (RGF),”
he added. “If they would
have allowed I would have
answered that RGF grant
of `1.35 cr from Chinese
Embassy during 2005-2007,
which was not appropriate.
So as per rules, Home Minis-
try cancelled its registration.”
SHAH TURNS TABLES ON CONGRESS IN PARLIAMENT
The Indian Army bravely prevented
the PLA from encroaching on our
territory, and forced them to
withdraw to their posts. Some soldiers from
both sides were injured in the skirmish.
—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister
Yangtse is
under my
assembly
constituency & every
year I meet the Jawans
and villagers of the
area. It’s not 1962
anymore. If anyone
tries to transgress, our
brave soldiers will give
a befitting reply.
—Pema Khandu,
Arunachal Pradesh CM
IAF SCRAMBLED JETS 2-3 TIMES
OVER AIR VIOLATIONS BY CHINA
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force had to scramble its
fighters jets 2-3 times over last weeks to prevent air
violations by the Chinese drones along the LAC in
AP. IAF mobilizations happened before the clashes
between India and China troops last week.
CHINESE SPY VESSEL YANG WANG-5
LEAVES THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION
T
he Chinese scientific research vessel Yang Wang-5, which
had entered Indian Ocean Region (IOR) a few days back,
has now moved out of the area, Navy sources said on Tuesday
and noted that the vessel was being constantly monitored.
SC judge recuses
from hearing
Bilkis Bano’s plea
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Supreme
Court judge Bela M
Trivedi on Tuesday
recused herself from
hearing a plea filed by
Bilkis Bano, who was
gang-raped and seven
members of her family
killed during the 2002
Gujarat riots, challeng-
ing the remission of
sentence of 11 convicts
in the case by the state
government.
As soon as a bench of
justices Ajay Rastogi
and Bela M Trivedi sat
for the day, Justice Ras-
togi announced his sis-
ter judge will not like to
hear the case. The
top court said
that a new
bench will be
constitut-
ed and the
matter
will be
taken
up there-
after.
OTHER COURT
ORDERS
zSC Collegium recom-
mended elevation of 5 HC
judges to SC. It recom-
mended elevations of 3
CJs and 2 judges of HCs.
Justice Pankaj Mithal, CJ of
Rajasthan HC, Justice Sanjay
Karol, CJ of Patna HC,
Justice PV Sanjay Kumar
and CJ of Manipur HC were
the names recommended.
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanul-
lah of Patna HC and Justice
Manoj Misra of Allahabad HC
were also recommended.
zThe Supreme Court on
Tuesday granted anticipatory
bail to businessman and Bol-
lywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s
husband Raj Kundra, models
Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam
Pandey and one Umesh
Kamat in a case in which
a FIR was filed against
them for creating
obscene content and
showing it on OTT
platforms. The
bench said that
all must cooper-
ate and join the
investigation
as and when
required.
MAJOR
HAPPENINGS
l Congress MPs
demanded a statement
from PM Modi over
LAC situation
l Chinese foreign
ministry said situation
at border was
‘generally stable’
l IAF has increased the
frequency of the sorties
by its combat jets
l Air Force keeping
close watch on China
border in Eastern sectors
Bilkis Bano Bela M Trivedi
G20 EVENTS:
LG, CM TO
CHAIR MEET
New Delhi: Lieutenant
Governor VK Saxena will
chair a meeting along
with Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Wednesday to
take stock of preparations
for events as part of
India’s G-20 presidency,
LG House sources said.
Delhi ministers will attend
the meeting to be chaired
by Saxena and Kejriwal.
“The meeting will be to
take stock of preparations
in the run-up to the G-20
summit on December 14,”
sources said.
NUCLEAR FUSION
BREAKTHROUGH
ANNOUNCED
Washington: The US
researchers announced
a historic nuclear fusion
breakthrough on Tuesday,
hailing a “landmark
achievement” in the quest
for a source of unlimited,
clean power and an end to
reliance on fossil fuels.

2. CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
02
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Ashwini Shrivastava
New Delhi: Karmayo -
gi Bharat, a not-for-
profit company set up
by the Union Personnel
Ministry, is looking for
experts from industry
and academia to help
in its national pro-
gramme for transform-
ing approximately two
crore government offi-
cials across the states
and at the Centre.
It has also decided to
engage "young profes-
sionals" who will be
required to
research and analyse
various policy deci-
sions that the govern-
ment takes to meet the
objective of the 'Mis-
sion Karmayogi' --
dubbed as the biggest
bureaucratic reform
initiative-- the national
programme for civil
services capacity build-
ing. Karmayogi
Bharat’s special pur-
pose vehicle (SPV) will
be responsible for own-
ing, managing, main-
taining, and improving
the digital assets, i.e.,
iGOT-Karmayogi (Inte-
grated Government
Online Training) the
digital/e-learning plat-
form, including the IPR
(Intellectual Property
Rights) of all software,
content, process etc. on
behalf of the govern-
ment. iGOT Karmayogi
is an online platform
that enables online,
face-to-face, and blend-
ed learning and man-
ages lifelong learning
records of officials.
"To venture out and
excel in these areas, tal-
ents may not be neces-
sarily available with
the government, hence
Karmayogi Bharat is
willing to take people
from industry and aca-
demia to work with the
KB on a volunteer basis
from their parent or-
ganisation so that these
experts play a key role
in improving iGOT
Karmayogi Bharat
platform," the order
said.
—PTI
Govt looks for experts to train 2 cr officials
‘KARMAYOGI BHARAT’
HOW TO APPLY
Those interested have
been asked to apply
along with a cover
letter mentioning the
"area of expertise of
the person", "Why
they would like to
work with KB" and
"How KB would ben-
efit from the person
working with KB" in
not more than 500
words, besides a cur-
riculum vitae and two
references.
‘YOUNG PROFESSIONALS’ NEEDED
The Karmayogi Bharat is also looking for young
professionals to join its team, according to another
order. They will be required to research and analyse
various policy decisions that the government takes
to meet the objective of the Mission Karmayogi –
create a competent civil service rooted in Indian
ethos, with a shared understanding of India's
priorities, working in harmonisation for effective
and efficient public servicedelivery, the order said.
The last date to apply under the young professional
category is December 21. For those interested to
become volunteers, the last date to apply is Decem-
ber 22. The ideal candidate should have out-of-
the-box thinking, a positive outlook and an eye for
detail, the order added.Police oppose setting up of SIT
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Police on Tuesday op-
posed in the high court
here a plea to set up a
Special Investigation
Team (SIT) to inquire
into alleged police atroc-
ities that took place in
Jamia Millia Islamia
(JMI) University in De-
cember 2019 following
student protests against
the Citizenship (Amend-
ment) Act.
The police responded
to an 'amendment appli-
cation' – filed in a pend-
ing PIL concerning the
incident of violence at
the varsity – that also
sought the transfer of
FIRs lodged against stu-
dents to an independent
agency and argued that
a "stranger" cannot seek
a judicial inquiry or in-
vestigation by any third-
party agency.
The police said the
application was "noth-
ing but a disguised at-
tempt by a third party
interloper to interfere
in criminal matters in
the garb of PIL" and a
PIL petitioner cannot
be permitted to choose
the members of SIT for
investigating and pros-
ecuting any alleged
offence.
"The petitioners, who
are third-party stran-
gers under the garb of
PIL, cannot seek either a
judicial inquiry or in-
vestigation by any third-
party agency for venti-
lating grievances of per-
sons who are not before
the Hon'ble Court. It is
submitted that an
amendment which
changes the nature of
the plaint/petition, in
law, cannot be permit-
ted," the reply said.
"It is submitted that
the petitioners, who
claim to be students of
Jamia, do not have locus
to seek registration of
FIR/judicial inquiry or
investigation by a third
party agency on behalf
of a third person stran-
ger. It is well settled that
it is impermissible in
law to seek the interven-
tion of the Hon'ble
Courts in criminal mat-
ters in the garb of PIL,"
it added.
Several petitions are
pending before HC seek-
ing directions for setting
up SIT, Commission of
Inquiry or a fact-finding
committee, medical
treatment, compensa-
tion and interim protec-
tion from arrest for the
students and registra-
tion of FIRs against err-
ing police officers.
The petitioners are
lawyers, students of
JMI, residents of Okhla
where the university is
located, and Imam of
Jama Masjid opposite
Parliament House.
2019 JAMIA VIOLENCE
POLICE VERSION
New Delhi (PTI): The
CSS Forum, an associa-
tion of Central Secre-
tariat Service (CSS) of-
ficers, on Tuesday took
to Twitter over non-pro-
motion of their mem-
bers. The posts of Sec-
tion Officers (SOs) have
become vacant on a
large scale in the CSS,
one of the members of
the association said.
"Out of 3,640 sanc-
tioned posts for Section
Officer in the central
secretariat, 1,624 are va-
cant (that is about 45 per
cent). Despite the avail-
ability of sufficient
number of qualified of-
ficers, the vacant posts
are not being filled even
through promotion," the
officer said.
"Thousands of people
are requesting for pro-
motion of eligible ASOs
(Assistant Section Offic-
ers) of CSS and filling
up of 1600+ vacancies in
SO grade. CSS Forum
requests @PMOIndia @
DrJitendraSingh and @
DoPTGoI to immediate-
ly look into the issue,"
the CSS Forum tweeted.
Central Secretariat
officers take to
Twitter over

non-promotion
New Delhi (PTI): From
property registrations
to marriage registra-
tions, Delhi will now see
only women sub-regis-
trars involved in dealing
with common people as
LG VK Saxena directed
Chief Secretary Naresh
Kumar to appoint them.
The move would mean
that for the first time, all
22 Sub-Registrars in Del-
hi government's Reve-
nue Department will be
women officers.
In a statement, the LG
office said it is expected
that with women offic-
ers at the helm, the
"prevalent corruption,
red-tapism and harass-
ment of people at such
offices will be mitigat-
ed". The sub-registrar
offices are at the cutting
edge of government's in-
terface with the com-
mon citizens, it said.
After assuming office,
LG Saxena, to empower
women in government
services by placing them
in positions of impor-
tance, had envisaged the
sub-registrar offices of
Revenue Department be
headed by women.
"This, he had under-
lined, would also ensure
more sensitive, corrup-
tion-free and empathetic
public dealing, as expe-
rience around the world
had established," the
statement added.
All 22 sub-registrars in Delhi now women
Delhi govt launches winter
action plan for homeless
New Delhi (PTI): The
government has
launched a winter ac-
tion plan for the home-
less which includes food
and lodging across all
shelter homes in the city.
A 24x7 centralised
control room has been
set up and multiple hel-
pline numbers (14461,
011-23378789 and 011-
23370560) have also been
issued by the Delhi Ur-
ban Shelter Improve-
ment Board (DUSIB).
After reviewing the
plan with officials on
Tuesday, DyCM Manish
Sisodia said, “To ensure
no one is left out in the
cold in peak winter, the
government has estab-
lished food and lodging
facilities for homeless
people across 195 shelter
homes with capacity to
shelter 17,000 people.”
New Delhi (PTI): A
parliamentary commit-
tee has raised concerns
over decrease in mem-
bership of the Delhi
Public Library and rec-
ommended the govern-
ment form a virtual li-
brary through large-
scale digitisation of
texts.
The parliamentary
Standing Committee on
Transport, Tourism and
Culture’s 328th report,
‘Action Taken by the
Government on the Rec-
ommendations/ Obser-
vations of the Commit-
tee contained in its
Three Hundred Tenth
Report on the subject
Functioning of Central
Libraries in the Coun-
try,’ has stated that the
Delhi Public Library has
witnessed a decrease in
membership in recent
times, one of the reasons
being the pandemic.
“It has come down to
1.5 lakh membership
from what it was prior to
coronavirus period i.e.
1.85 lakh. Being a model
library created in 1951 in
Asia with UNESCO’s
technical, financial as-
sistance, it should lead
other libraries in coun-
try and extend all possi-
ble help in their growth.
Delhi Public Library
should make all out ef-
forts to increase its
membership/viewer -
ship in the interest of
general public,” the re-
port stated.
‘Public Library membership down; digitise texts’
PARL PANEL FINDING
lll
To increase its
membership
the library is
approaching
schools/
colleges/RWAs
and also
waiving off
membership
fees
MINISTRY ACCEPTS
First India Bureau
New Delhi: A person
was arrested on charg-
es of rash driving after
two 14-year-old girl stu-
dents of Class 9 were
knocked down dead by
the car he was driving.
The students, Vanshi-
ka Mishra and Manvi,
studied in Sarvodaya
Kanya Vidyalaya in
Peeragarhi village, po-
lice said.
According to police,
the accident took place
on Sunday when both
were going for tuition at
4 pm. While they were
crossing Rohtak Road
(Nangloi to Peeragarhi
carriage way) at Metro
Pillar 294, they were hit
by a car being driven by
Arun Sharma of Nan-
gloi. Sharma and his
father Ravi were going
to Karnal bypass to col-
lect a water tank for
hospital machines of
Sant Onkar Singh Me-
morial Charitable Hos-
pital, police said.
The injured were tak-
en to Pushpanjali Hospi-
tal and later referred to
Balaji Action hospital
where Manvi was de-
clared dead and due to
non-availability of ven-
tilator, Mishra was hos-
pitalised in Maharaja
Agrasen Hospital. Dur-
ing treatment, she also
succumbed, police said.
Two girl students die
after being knocked
down by car, 1 held
AT 177, DELHI RECORDS BEST AIR
QUALITY SINCE OCTOBER 15
OVER 40 LAKH CONSUMERS APPLY
FOR ELECTRICITY SUBSIDY
New Delhi (PTI): Winds gusting up to 16 kmph
gave Delhi its best air quality since October 15 on
Tuesday. The 24-hr average air quality index (AQI)
of the city stood at 177, improving from 218 on
Monday. The AQI was 186 on October 15. This is
also the first time since December 14, 2020 that
the capital recorded a “moderate” air quality day
in December. Meanwhile, Delhi Pollution Control
Committee has directed agencies to strictly imple-
ment curbs under stage 3 (AQI severe) and stage
4 (severe plus) of the Graded Response Action
Plan whenever ordered by the Commission for Air
Quality Management. The maximum temperature
settled four notches above normal at 26.8 degrees
Celsius on Tuesday and the minimum settled at 8.9.
New Delhi (PTI): More than 40 lakh of the national
capital’s 57.60 lakh domestic power consumers
have applied for subsidies under the Delhi govern-
ment’s free electricity scheme till Tuesday, govern-
ment data showed. The data also showed 47 lakh
consumers received subsidies when consumers
didn’t need to apply for the scheme. The Delhi
government revamped its subsidy scheme to make
it mandatory for domestic consumers to apply to
avail of the benefit. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
had earlier announced that from October, only
those consumers who apply for power subsidy
would get it. As of Tuesday evening, 40,28,915
consumers have applied for the subsidy.
New Delhi (ANI): A woman gave chase and nabbed
a juvenile who had allegedly snatched her mobile
phone in Rajouri Garden area, Delhi Police said.
According to the police the incident took place at
9:30 am on December 11 when a woman Ruchi Guly-
ani, 31, was on her way to office. "Ruchi Gulyani of
Moti Nagar was on her way to office and talking on
her phone when two boys on a grey scooty attempt-
ed to snatch her phone. After initial resistance by
her, the robbers forcefully took her phone and fled".
"The woman stopped a scooty rider and requested
his help in chasing them. She then went in pursuit
of the robbers and managed to nab one while the
other managed to escape," Delhi Police said.
Woman gives chase,
nabs phone snatcher
RASH DRIVING
Envisioned as one of the largest capacity-
building initiatives in government
organisations anywhere in the world,
Mission Karmayogi will initially cover
about 33 lakh government officials at the
Centre and will eventually aim to transform
approximately 2 crore government officials
across the Centre, the states and the local
bodies, according to an official order
advertising the recruitment.

3. First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Cen -
tre’s decision to with-
draw the Maulana Azad
National Fellowship for
minority students has
not gone down well with
teachers at Jawaharlal
Nehru University
(JNU) here, with Jawa-
harlal Nehru Universi-
ty Teachers’ Associa-
tion (JNUTA) on Tues-
day demanding an im-
mediate reversal of the
‘anti-minority policy’.
“The JNU Teachers’
Association (JNUTA)
notes with deep dismay
the media reports ap-
pearing on December 10,
2022, that the Ministry
of Minority Affairs has
decided to withdraw the
Maulana Azad Fellow-
ship (MAF), a 5-year fel-
lowship provided by the
Centre in the form of fi-
nancial assistance to six
notified minority com-
munities -- Muslims,
Buddhists, Christians,
Jains, Parsis and Sikhs,
to pursue PhDs,” it said
in a statement.
Last week, in a writ-
ten reply in Lok Sabha,
Minority Affairs Minis-
ter Smriti Irani an-
nounced the decision to
discontinue the fellow-
ship from 2022-23 ses-
sion, saying it over-
lapped with various
fellowship schemes be-
ing implemented by the
government. JNUTA
called the discontinua-
tion of the scheme an
attack on the values of
“inclusivity and democ-
racy” integral to the
higher education sys-
tem required in India.
“JNUTA demands an
immediate reversal of
the anti-minority policy
evident in the with-
drawal of MAF and the
upholding of the demo-
cratic rights of all
teachers to participate
in higher education
with dignity and with-
out fear,” the teachers’
body said.
In the statement, the
JNUTA also noted that
academic excellence
could only thrive in an
environment that was
not only free and devoid
of fear but one that ac-
tively sought to remove
social disadvantages.
On Monday, students
of many universities,
including Jamia Millia
Islamia and JNU, staged
a protest outside the
Ministry of Education
here against the discon-
tinuation of the fellow-
ship. The Centre had
last week announced
discontinuation of pre-
matric scholarships for
minority students from
Class 1 to Class 8.
JNUTA for ‘immediate reversal’ of decision to withdraw fellowship
‘ANTI-MINORITY POLICY’
lll
Minority Affairs
Minister Smriti
Irani last week
announced the
decision to
discontinue the
Maulana Azad
Nat’l Fellowship
from 2022-23
academic session
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
03
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New Delhi (ANI):
Lieutenant Governor
Vinai Kumar Saxena
and other respondents
have filed an affidavit on
the petition of Jasmine
Shah, stating that the
matter has been re-
ferred to the President
in view of the difference
of opinion expressed by
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia and
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal against the
LG’s recommendation.
On November 26, Siso-
dia, the minister in-
charge, made a noting
upon the file concern-
ing the removal of Shah
and disagreed with the
opinion expressed by
the LG and forwarded it
to the CM, who is also
Chairperson of DDCD,
the affidavit said.
The CM on November
26 approved the noting
and the order directing
the Planning Depart-
ment to rescind the two
orders of November 17,
2022 with immediate ef-
fect and issue orders to
de-seal the office of the
vice chairperson of
DDCD, it added.
The affidavit said that
Article 239AA (4) of the
Constitution provides
that in case of a differ-
ence of opinion be-
tween the LG and his
ministers, the LG shall
refer such matters to
the President and shall
act accordingly to the
decision given by the
President.
“In exercise of such
authority vested in him
by Article 239AA (4) of
the Constitution, the
LG, in terms of differ-
ence of opinion ex-
pressed by the Deputy
CM and approved by the
CM, referred the matter
to the President on No-
vember 30,” it said.
The matter is related
to the recommenda -
tions made by the LG to
the CM for the removal
of Jasmine Shah from
the post of Vice Chair-
person of the Delhi Dia-
logue and Development
Commission (DDCD).
Shah’s removal referred
to President: LG tells HC
n‘DUE TO DIFFERENCE IN OPINION OF CM’; NEXT HEARING JAN 9
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena Jasmine Shah CM Arvind Kejriwal
GROSS ABUSE OF POWER: SHAH
Academic ex-
cellence can
thrive in an
environment not only
free & devoid of fear but
one that seeks to remove
social disadvantages.

—JNUTA
Four including
2 Nigerians
arrested for
duping people
New Delhi (PTI): Four
men including two Nige-
rian nationals were ar-
rested for allegedly dup-
ing people of money on
the pretext of sending
them gifts and later call-
ing them for money to
get their gifts released
by posing as excise offi-
cials, police said on
Tuesday.
The accused have
been identified as
Sachin Rai (36), Zigmi
Lama (29) and two Nige-
rians Smith Henry (36)
and Wisdom Okafor (35),
police said.
Police said the ac-
cused created fake pro-
files on Facebook and
approached people for
friendship through so-
cial media. Then they
start chatting with them
through International
WhatsApp numbers. Ac-
cording to police, once
they gained confidence
of the victims, they of-
fered partnership in
their business and in
the meantime, they of-
fered them gift parcels.
New Delhi (PTI): Four
men were arrested for
allegedly posing as Min-
istry of Finance offi-
cials and cheating peo-
ple using forged govern-
ment documents, police
said on Tuesday.
With the arrest of
Mehtab Alam (33), Sar-
taj Khan (31), Mohd Ju-
naid (29) and Deen
Mohd (27), the police
also claimed to have un-
earthed a data sheet of
approximately 3,000 po-
tential victims.
All the accused have
previous experience of
working at insurance
companies, the police
said. Alam, the alleged
kingpin, also has expe-
rience in dealing with
websites and email reg-
istration.
He convinced his as-
sociates to work with
him to earn easy money.
They fraudulently ob-
tained insurance poli-
cyholder data and start-
ed contacting them
with fake email IDs cre-
ated in the name of the
Reserve Bank of India
and the Insurance Reg-
ulatory and Develop-
ment Authority (IRDA).
The gang used forged
documents of the Min-
istry of Finance bear-
ing the signature of Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman, RBI Re-
gional Director SMN
Swamy, the IRDA (Bima
Lokpal) and officials
from various life insur-
ance companies, the po-
lice said.
The accused collected
data from insurance
companies and targeted
the victims by sending
forged documents and
cheques to entice and
dupe the policyholders.
The matter came to
light after the Ministry
of Finance, which also
received a fake letter is-
sued in its name and
bearing Sitharaman's
signature, highlighted
the issue. Similar com-
plaints were also re-
ceived during the in-
quiry.
The police said one
victim was duped of Rs
127,000 using the same
modus operandi.
Deputy Commission-
er of Police (Intelli-
gence Fusion & Strate-
gic Operations)
Prashant Gautam said
after analysing the
technical aspects and
cyber trailing, the team
zeroed in on the loca-
tion and identity of the
alleged fraudsters.
Despite the accused
constantly changing
their locations, the po-
lice managed to arrest
Alam from New Delhi's
Mustafabad following a
raid. Later, his three as-
sociates were arrested,
Gautam said.
Four held for posing as
finance ministry officials
IFSO Unit of Delhi Police Special Cell arrest insurance fraud gang
posing as officials of Ministry of Finance or RBI, in New Delhi on
Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
MODUS OPERANDI
Elaborating on the gang's modus operandi, DCP
Prashant Gautam said the accused used to call the
insurance policyholders posing as IRDA, RBI and
Ministry of Finance officials and lured them on the
pretext of providing maturity amount against their
existing or lapsed policies. "In order to convince
the policy holders, they sent them emails using IDs
similar to that of government financial institutions
with forged documents seemingly issued from the
RBI, Ministry of Finance and the IRDA," Gautam said.
They also sent forged cheques by post to the victims
in order to induce them. After that, they asked for
charges, including processing, no-objection and
fund releasing. "Upon getting the cheques, the vic-
tims transferred the amount into the accounts pro-
vided by the accused persons and then the accused
would withdraw the amount from different locations
in Delhi," the senior police official said.
New Delhi (ANI):
Additional Sessions
Judge of Karkar -
dooma Court, Am -
itabh Rawat while
granting interim bail
to Umar Khalid im-
posed several condi-
tions, including that
he remains at home
except on the days of
wedding functions of
his younger sister
Zainab Fatima.
"He shall not meet
members of the pub-
lic. He will be entitled
to interact with his
family members, rela-
tives and friends dur-
ing the marriage cer-
emony but during his
entire interim bail
period, he shall re-
main at his home at
Johri Farm, Delhi ex-
cept to attend mar-
riage functions on
December 26, Decem-
ber 27, and December
28, 2022, at the desig-
nated place,” the
judge said.
The court noted
verification of the
marriage-related
functions has been
done by the Investi-
gating Agency. It has
also been stated that
both parents of the ac-
cused are earning
members.
Khalid’s bail comes
with many conditions
COURT’S
CONDITIONS
zUmar Khalid shall
not get in touch with
any of the witnesses
nor will tamper with
evidence.
zHe will provide
his mobile number
to the Investigat-
ing Officer (IO) and
keep his mobile
open till the period
of interim bail.
zHe will daily
video call the IO
during the period.
zHe shall not talk
or give any interview
to any media or
social media.
zThe police may
guard the house
from outside, but
shall not go inside.
zOn the expiry of
the period of bail,
Khalid will sur-
render himself
on December 30
before the Jail
Superintendent who
shall thereafter file
a report to court.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) on Tuesday
filed a reply, opposing
bail petitions moved by
AAP’s Vijay Nair, busi-
nessmen Sharath Reddy
and Abhishek Boinpally,
who are in judicial cus-
tody in connection with
the Delhi Excise Policy
money laundering case.
The reply copies were
filed before Special
Judge MK Nagpal by the
ED through Special Pub-
lic Prosecutor Naveen
Kumar Matta. The de-
tailed arguments on the
bail petition of Sharath
Reddy will take place on
December 17.
The court also will
also hear arguments on
the bail plea of business-
man Sameer Mahendru,
who was the first person
to be arrested by the ED
in the excise policy case.
During the proceed-
ings on Tuesday, advo-
cates Kapil Sibal and
Siddharth Luthra ap-
peared for Reddy.
The court also fixed
December 19 as the date
for hearing three more
bail petitions in the case
moved by Vijay Nair, Ab-
hishek Boinpally and
Binoy Babu. At present,
the court of Special
Judge MK Nagpal is ex-
amining the five bail pe-
titions in the excise case.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
BJP leader Yogendra
Chandolia on Tuesday
filed a complaint with
the Anti-Corruption
Branch (ACB) against
AAP leaders, including
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, MP Sanjay
Singh, for being accused
of horse-trading.
Chandolia, who is in-
charge of BJP's north-
west Delhi unit and a
former mayor, alleged
Kejriwal was part of a
"conspiracy" to accuse
his party of trying to
poach AAP councillors.
He said in his com-
plaint that he never
spoke to anyone or in-
dulged in any horse-
trading.
"The allegations lev-
elled against me are
false, baseless, concoct-
ed and far from the
truth. I specifically state
that I neither called nor
made Adesh Gupta talk
to anyone and have not
offered any money to
anyone," he stated.
Excise case: ED opposes bail
pleas of Nair, Boinpally, Reddy
Delhi BJP’s Chandolia files plaint
with ACB against AAP leaders
New Delhi (PTI): The
AAP government will
provide 450 types of
medical tests free of cost
at its hospitals and
health centres from Jan-
uary 1, with CM Arvind
Kejriwal saying the
move will help those un-
able to afford private
healthcare. The number
of medical tests provid-
ed free of cost by the city
government at present
is 212, officials said.
New Delhi (PTI): The
AAP has appointed its
senior leader and Rajya
Sabha member Sand-
eep Pathak as national
general secretary (or-
ganisation), after it re-
cently became eligible
for national party status.
Pathak was the par-
ty's election in-charge
for Punjab and Gujarat,
where assembly polls
were held this month.
"The party hereby ap-
points Shri @Sandeep-
Pathak04 as the Rash-
triya Sangathan Maha-
mantri (National Gen-
eral Secretary Organisa-
tion). He will also be a
Permanent Invitee to
the Political Affairs
Committee (PAC) of
AAP. Congratulations
on your new role!" the
party tweeted from its
official handle.
Sources in the AAP
also said the appoint-
ment has been made eye-
ing the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections.
Sandeep Pathak made
AAP’s nat’l general secy
BJP’s Yogendra Chandolia with Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri
addresses a press conference at Delhi BJP office on Tuesday.
450 med tests
free from Jan 1
—PHOTO BY ANI

4. PERSPECTIVE
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
04
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SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with
me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
—Bible
Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda
Paid his heartfelt tributes to all the
brave martyrs who laid down their lives
while fighting the terrorists to thwart
the terrorist attack on the Parliament
House on 13th December, 2001. The
country will always be indebted to
you for your supreme sacrifice in the
defense of the nation.
TOP TWEETS
Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp
Today one year has been completed
for the inauguration of the grand
Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The
nectar period of faith, spirituality,
knowledge, science and research
has started in India under the
leadership of the Prime Minister @
narendramodi. Along with Kashi
Vishwanath Dham, other spiritual
heritage of India are also being rejuvenated.
A Winning World Cup Strategy for Arab World
MMAN — For
decades, the
Arab world has
suffered from
disunity. While
it is connected by geogra-
phy, language, and culture,
the region’s lack of cohe-
sion has long allowed for-
eign powers to plunder its
resources. The legacy of
colonial divide-and-rule
tactics remains pervasive,
and parochialism has pre-
vented Arabs from leverag-
ing their huge oil wealth
and relatively educated
populations. But the FIFA
World Cup has shown us
another way.
Football has emerged as
a great unifier following a
string of unexpected vic-
tories for Arab countries.
In November, Saudi Ara-
bia beat Argentina, Tuni-
sia defeated France, and
Morocco routed Belgium.
Then, during the knock-
out stage, Morocco made
history by eliminating
both Spain and Portugal
to become the first Arab
country to secure a place
in the semifinals.
Morocco’s victories were
the result of a perfectly ex-
ecuted plan devised by
coach Walid Regragui, who
placed goalkeeper Yassine
Bounou at the center of the
team’s strategy. Bounou re-
peatedly stymied Spain’s
attempts to score, and Mo-
rocco went on to eliminate
the team in penalty
shootouts. Nor could Por-
tugal’s attackers find a way
to beat Bounou, and Re-
gragui’s side pulled off a
stunning 1-0 win. “I’m try-
ing to think of when such
a shock as this has hap-
pened in the World Cup,”
one commentator told the
BBC. “Pinch me, I’m
dreaming,” Bounou said.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
A
Morocco’s success
in the tournament
has united Arabs
throughout the
Middle East and
North Africa behind
a common hope. Can
the team’s winning
strategies do
something similar for
the region’s politics?
l Vol 2
l Issue No.105
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301.
Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone [phone]. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
FIFA WORLD CUP
FOOTBALL ENSURES ‘YOU
WILL NEVER WALK ALONE’
or almost three weeks now,
some regions in India have
had sleepless nights… No…
not because of the Gujarat
or the Himachal Pradesh
Assembly elections. These
people have had nothing to
do with these polls (at least
remotely). They have been
staying awake for football’s
biggest extravaganza, the
FIFA World Cup 2022!Pri-
marily, West Bengal, Kera-
la, Goa and the northeast-
ern states have been India’s
main “cheerleaders” for
the football world cup.
And for a month, there
has been a sharp divide
between people over sup-
porting several teams and
the main opposition has
come from the Argentina
and the Brazil camps. Ini-
tially, when Argentina
was defeated by Saudi
Arabia, the Brazil fans
had mocked the team (Ar-
gentina) and now when
they (Brazil) are out of the
tournament after Croatia
drubbing during the pen-
alties, Argentina fans are
grinning but keeping
their fingers crossed.
And mind you, all this
excitement albeit the fact
India may be 105th in
world ranking. The Indi-
an men’s national team
maintained their 105th
rank in the latest FIFA
men’s rankings released
(again) recently.
There has also been a
sharp divide between the
cricket and football fans.
Understandably, Indian
cricket fans have had
nothing to cheer about
since mid-November as
far as cricket is concerned
and that is the time when
the FIFA World Cup start-
ed. Since November, Team
India have lost mostly eve-
rything they played. To be
precise, we lost the T20
World Cup (needless to
say how pathetically) and
we also lost the ODI series
to Bangladesh!
Our Men in Blue, of late,
has had the habit of wak-
ing up after the require-
ment it seems. In a non-
consequential third ODI
that was played for the re-
cord’s sake, Team India de-
feated Bangladesh but
handed over the trophy to
them! And for this entire
month that is between mid-
November and mid-Decem-
ber, if you have had an en-
counter with an Argentine
fan and by “mistake” if you
have praised the OUR Men
in Blue, you have had it…
The sharp retort would
come in the following
manner… “Chhere din
dada, oi toh barota desh
khele, tar aabar World
Cup” (Just forget it broth-
er, only 12 countries play
cricket so what’s the big
deal about its World Cup).
Bengalis swear by foot-
ball even as the race’s big-
gest international sport-
ing icon, Sourav Ganguly,
has been a cricketer! Ben-
gali’s passion for the game
has been such that it sees
a Bengali-yana in all
teams. We may be 105th in
world ranking but note the
way Bengalis feel about
the Bengali-yana even in
the names of the following
players and the way these
names are pronounced.
FROM DENMARK
zOliver Christen-sen,
Joachim Ander-sen, Andreas
Christen-sen, Rasmus Kristen-
sen, Jens Stryger Lar-sen
FROM BELGIUM
zKevin-De, Romelu Lu-kaku
FROM ENGLAND
zLuke Shaw (pronounced
as Luke Saha…!)
zBukayo Saka (Upbeat
Bengali fans also pronounce
Saka as Saha)
LAST BUT NOT
THE LEAST…
zLionel Messi from Argen-
tina (whose name is pro-
nounced by the aam Bengali
in the following manner Lion
Mashi)
IF YOU THOUGHT
THAT THIS WAS
IT, READ ON…
zAsk any Bengali about
the description of the ball
used for the matches, the
type of surface of the play-
ing arena… etc 90 per cent
of them will give you near
perfect answers
zFootball is indeed a
great game as far as its
“attachment” with Queen’s
language is concerned
zThe game has given
several idioms etc to the
language… sample this
zReferee blows the
whistle… and the term that
has entered our parlance
WHISTLEBLOWER
zKick-off, a football term is
widely used in our daily lives
zTo be on the ball…
zAnd Shifting the Goal
post needs no explanation
This is a fun piece and
no-offence meant.
It is meant ONLY
for fun reading!
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Bengalis swear by football
even as the race’s biggest
international sporting icon,
Sourav Ganguly, has been a
cricketer! Bengali’s passion
for the game has been such
that it sees a Bengali-yana
in all teams. We may be
105th in world ranking but
note the way Bengalis feel
about the Bengali-yana even
in the names of the following
players and the way these
names are pronounced
F
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Journalist and
former Managing Editor, First India
zAn Indian who spotted an
Argentinian with the Indian
tricolour wrapped around
her recently posted a video
clip that has now amassed
more than 7 lakh likes on
Instagram. Leti Estevez
was seen carrying the In-
dian national flag in a video
shared by Yadil M Iqbal, a
football fan from Kerala.
zAccording to reports, the
panchayat authorities had
directed fans to remove the
cut-outs of football icons to
ensure free flow of water.
But it was resolved soon
and the “football giants”
were not shifted. The FIFA
website (fifa.com) shared
pictures, bringing global
recognition, which was
acknowledged by Kerala
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan. He retweeted it
with the words, “Kerala
and Keralites have always
loved football and it is on
full display with Qatar 2022
around the corner. Thank
you, FIFA for acknowledg-
ing our unmatched passion
for the sport.”
zMalayali readers’ love for
Latin American literature is
also amazing, with writers
such as Gabriel Garcia
Marquez and Paulo Coelho
being almost considered
locals!
zMembers of Goan Social
Workers Qatar (GSWQ),
a group formed by Goan
residents working in this
Gulf state, are hopeful that
“aamcho munees [our
man, in Konkani]” will help
Portugal go all the way.
Goa, a former Portuguese
colony, still has many
inhabitants, who speak the
language and follow their
customs and traditions.
OFFSIDE

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6. INDIA
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
05
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New Delhi (PTI):
President Droupadi
Murmu, Vice-Presi -
dent and Rajya Sabha
Chairman Jagdeep
Dhankhar and Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday led
the nation in paying
tributes to those who
laid down their lives
during the 2001 Parlia-
ment terrorist attack.
Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla, former Con-
gress president Sonia
Gandhi and MPs across
the party lined up to
pay tributes to the mar-
tyrs of the 2001 Parlia-
ment terrorist attack.
Murmu said the na-
tion will always remain
grateful to the “valiant
martyrs” who laid
down their lives in the
2001 attack.
Leaders pay tribute to Parliament attack victims
2001 PARLIAMENT ATTACK ANNIVERSARY
CBI FILES CHARGE
SHEET AGAINST
EX-BARC CEO ANKITA BHANDARI
MURDER: NEXT
HEARING ON 22
New Delhi: The CBI
has filed a charge sheet
against former BARC CEO
Sunil Lulla for allegedly
manipulating viewership
ratings of channels from
“his ends” during his ten-
ure in the ratings agency,
officials said Tuesday.
During the probe that was
started on a complaint
from a Lucknow-based
advertiser, the CBI did
not find any evidence of
alleged manipulation being
done at the customer level
by channels, they said.
Dehradun: A local court
here will on December 22,
hear an application by one
accused in Ankita Bhandari
Murder Case seeking
10 days time to give
consent for the Narco and
Polygraph tests. The police
said on Monday that out of
the three accused, one has
sought 10 days time for the
narco and polygraph tests.
The body of 19-year-old
Ankita, who worked as a
receptionist at a resort run
by Pulkit Arya, son of now
expelled BJP leader.
Varanasi: A Varanasi court deferred the hearing to Decem-
ber 22 of a plea seeking the filing of a case against Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and All India Ma-
jlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi
for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of the people of
Kashi by making controversial remarks. The SP and AIMIM
chiefs made the alleged controversial remarks regarding
the Shivling-like structure found in the Gyanvapi mosque
compound during a court-ordered survey on May 16 this
year to December 22. The hearing was deferred due to the
condolence announced after the death of a senior lawyer.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted for
January 10 hearing a batch of petitions filed by the rival
factions belonging to Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena group in relation to the Maha-
rashtra political crisis. A five-judge Constitution bench of
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices MR Shah, Krishna
Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha asked the counsels
of both sides to complete all procedural formalities in the
meantime. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the
Thackeray group told the apex court that he would argue on
the reference of the matter to the seven-judge bench.
COURT DEFERS TO DEC 22 HEARING PLEA
SEEKING CASE AGAINST AKHILESH, OWAISI
SC TO HEAR CASE OF MAHARASHTRA
POLITICAL CRISIS ON JANUARY 10
IN THE COURTYARD
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, LS Speaker Om Birla, PM Narendra Modi,
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and
others paying tributes to the martyrs, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BACKGROUND
21
years ago on Dec 13,
LeT and JeM terrorists
attacked the Parliament com-
plex and opened fire. Their
attempt to storm Parliament
House was foiled by personnel
from Parliament Security Ser-
vice, CRPF and Delhi Police.
The attack victims included
five Delhi police personnel,
a woman CRPF trooper, two
Parliament watch and ward
staff and a gardener.
READY TO GUARD NEW PARLIAMENT IF
DIRECTED, SAY CRPF HEROES
New Delhi: It has been a ritual for CRPF sub-inspectors D
Santosh Kumar and Shyambir Singh to pay tributes to their
fallen comrades on December 13
every year but a gush of adrenaline
and emotions runs through them
as they remember the 2001 terror-
ist attack on Parliament. Both Ku-
mar and Singh, decorated with the
peacetime gallantry medal ‘Shaurya
Chakra’ for thwarting the attack,
say given a chance they will “love
to come back” for security of the new Parliament building. It
is expected that the Budget session of the Parliament, which
usually begins during the last week of January, will be held
in the new building, adjacent to the old structure.
New Delhi (ANI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Tuesday
invited people to share
their inputs for the up-
coming episode of
Mann ki Baat scheduled
for December 25, in-
formed the Prime Min-
ister’s Office.
The scheduled pod-
cast will be the last
‘Mann ki Baat’ of 2022
slated for December 25
at 11 am. Prime Minis-
ter Modi urged people
to write on the NaMo
App, and MyGov app or
record their messages
on 1800-11-7800.
Sharing MyGov’s in-
vitation, Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi
tweeted, “2022's last
#MannKiBaat will take
place on the 25th of this
month. I am eager to re-
ceive your input for the
programme. I urge you
to write on the NaMo
App, MyGov or record
your message on 1800-
11-7800.”
Earlier on November
30, Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi during the
95th Edition of ‘Mann
Ki Baat’ said that “our
country is home to the
oldest traditions tradi-
tions in the world.
Therefore, it is also our
responsibility to pre-
serve our traditions
and traditional knowl-
edge, to promote it and
to take it forward as
much as possible.”
PM invites people to share inputs for 2022’s last Mann Ki Baat
New Delhi (PTI): PM
Narendra Modi will
participate in the inau-
gural function of birth
centenary celebrations
of Pramukh Swami
Maharaj in Ahmedabad
on Wednesday, his office
said. It said Swami Ma-
haraj was a guide and
guru who touched
countless lives across
India and the world.
“He was widely re-
spected and admired as
a great spiritual leader.
His life was dedicated to
the service of spiritual-
ity and humanity. As the
leader of BAPS Swami-
narayan Sanstha, he in-
spired countless cultur-
al, social and spiritual
initiatives, providing
comfort and care to mil-
lions,” it added.
In his birth cente-
nary, people from across
the world are celebrat-
ing his life and work.
The year-long celebra-
tions will culminate in
‘Pramukh Swami Maha-
raj Shatabdi Mahotsav’
that will be hosted by
BAPS Swaminarayan
Mandir, Shahibaug.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —PHOTO BY ANI
2022’s last #Mann-
KiBaat will take
place on the 25th of
this month. I am ea
-
ger to receive your
input for the pro
-
gramme. I urge you
to write on the NaMo
App, MyGov or re
-
cord your message
on 1800-11-7800.

—Narendra Modi,
@narendramodi
PM Modi to participate in birth centenary
celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaj today
FORMER HP CM JAIRAM THAKUR TARGETS CONG GOVT
Shimla (ANI): Former
Himachal Pradesh CM
Jairam Thakur on
Tuesday slammed the
newly formed Congress
government in the state
and claimed that the
Congress was continu-
ing its custom of stop-
ping work and over-
turning the decisions
of BJP in the region
and said that starting
work with a sense of re-
venge is not good.
“Congress, continu-
ing its custom, started
the work of stopping
and overturning the de-
cisions of our govern-
ment, while the cabinet
has not even been
formed yet, but has
started working with a
sense of revenge. Start-
ing work with a sense
of revenge is not good,”
tweeted Thakur. He also
alleged that the current
government was ob -
structing the develop-
ment works in the state.
“School, college, hos-
pital, police station,
bridge, road, drinking
water scheme... the
work of hanging, ob-
structing and distract-
ing all these works has
started, for which the
public will never forgive
them. Starting work
with a sense of revenge
is not good,” he added.
His remarks came af-
ter the newly appointed
Himachal Pradesh CM
Sukhvinder Singh
Sukhu made numerous
announcements in the
first cabinet meeting.
‘WORKING WITH A SENSE
OF REVENGE ISN’T GOOD’
Jairam Thakur (R) with his successor Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Congress, continuing its custom, started
the work of stopping and overturning
the decisions of our government, while
the cabinet has not even been formed yet, but has
started working with a sense of revenge. Starting
work with a sense of revenge is not good.
—Jairam Thakur, former chief minister, Himachal Pradesh
HIMACHAL CM SUKHU
PAYS COURTESY VISIT
TO GUV ARLEKAR
Shimla (ANI): After as-
suming the charge of the
Chief Minister of Himachal
Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh
Sukhu paid a courtesy
call on Governor Rajendra
Vishwanath Arlekar at Raj
Bhavan, on Tuesday for the
first time. While congratu-
lating the Chief Minister, the
Governor hoped that under
his leadership Himachal
Pradesh would achieve new
heights of development. "I
have seen the performance
of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
in Vidhan Sabha. He is a
visionary leader and I hope,
his team will perform all the
administrative work smooth-
ly", said Arlekar. The Chief
Minister said that he would
seek the guidance of the
Governor to take Himachal
Pradesh forward on the path
of development.
Guwahati (ANI): The
All India United Demo-
cratic Front (AIUDF) on
Tuesday proposed form-
ing a grand alliance of
all the “an-
ti-BJP polit-
ical par-
ties” at a
national
level to fight
against Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) in 2024
Lok Sabha elections.
AIUDF MLA Aminul
Islam said that if peo -
ple want to change the
BJP government at the
Centre with a secular
government then it is
imperative to form a
grand alliance of all
secular parties at the
national level. “So, if a
grand alliance is
formed against BJP at
the national level, there
can be Congress or AI-
UDF. But, if both the
parties joined the grand
alliance, it would be not
only Assam based, but
the one at a national
level,” Aminul Islam
said in a conversation
with ANI.
Patna (PTI): Bihar CM
Nitish Kumar on Tues-
day dropped hints that
he was looking forward
to passing on the man-
tle to his
young dep-
uty Tejash-
wi Yadav,
leaders
emerging
from a meeting of legis-
lators of the ruling ‘Ma-
hagathbandhan’ said.
The JD(U) supremo,
once again, ruled him-
self out as a prime min-
isterial candidate for
the next Lok Sabha
polls even as he main-
tained that a “united
opposition” could de-
feat the Narendra Modi-
led BJP in 2024.
“The CM pointed to-
wards Tejashwi ji and
said he is the leader of
the future, under whose
leadership the 2025 as-
sembly polls in the state
would be fought,” said
Mahboob Alam, the leg-
islature party leader of
CPI(ML) Liberation
which supports the govt
from outside.
Damoh (ANI): Con -
gress leader and former
minister Raja Pateria
was on Tuesday de -
tained by the Panna Po-
lice from his residence,
in connection with his
alleged “kill Modi” re-
marks.
A First Information
Report (FIR) was regis-
tered on Monday after-
noon at Pawai police
station in Panna dis-
trict against the Con-
gress leader and former
state minister for mak-
ing remarks against the
prime minister. Pateria
has been booked under
sections 451, 504, 505 (1)
(b), 505 (1)(C), 506, 153-B
(1)(C) of the IPC. He
was detained from his
residence in Hatta of
Damoh district early
this morning.
State Home Minister
Narottam Mishra on
Monday ordered filing a
FIR against the Con-
gress leader.
Hyderabad (ANI): Tel -
angana BJP spokesper-
son NV Subhash took a
sharp dig at the upcom-
ing Delhi office inaugu-
ration of K Chan -
drasekhar Rao’s Bharat
Rashtra Samithi party
on Tuesday and said BRS
is nothing more than “a
rehabilitation shelter for
those politicians who
have been abandoned or
sidelined by their respec-
tive parties”.
Days after the Elec-
tion Commission’s nod
for a change of name of
the erstwhile Telanga-
na Rashtra Samithi
party, Telangana Chief
Minister and BRS su-
premo KCR will inau-
gurate the party's na-
tional headquarters in
Delhi on Wednesday.
Ridiculing KCR’s new
office space and a new
name for the party, Sub-
hash said, “A stage is
set to provide employ-
ment to some leaders by
K Chandrasekhar Rao
in his new political out-
fit at Delhi tomorrow.”
Thiruvananthapuram
(PTI): The Kerala As-
sembly proceedings on
Tuesday saw high dra-
ma as it passed the bill
to replace the Governor
as the Chancellor of
universities in the State
and appoint eminent
academicians in the top
post, while the opposi-
tion UDF boycotted the
House over non-accept-
ance of its suggestions
regarding the bill.
“The University
Laws (Amendment) Bill
is passed,” Speaker AN
Shamseer said on
Tuesday.
The bill, which had
undergone scrutiny by
a Subject Committee of
the House, was passed
after hours long discus-
sions during which the
Congress-led UDF said
it was not opposed to
the removal of the Gov-
ernor as Chancellor.
‘Grand alliance
at national level
must to defeat
BJP in 2024’
Nitish drops
hints he may
pass on mantle
to Tejashwi
BRS is rehabilitation
shelter for abandoned
netas: NV Subhash
KAVITHA IS TRYING
TO WHIP UP WOMEN’S
SENTIMENTS: REDDY
MP CONG ISSUES
SHOW CAUSE NOTICE
AGAINST PATERIA
Hyderabad (ANI): A new po-
litical fracas came to the fore
on Tuesday as BJP Spokes-
person Rachana Reddy
slammed TRS MLC K Kavitha
and said that
the latter was
trying to gath-
er women’s
support a
day after her
interrogation
by the investigative agency
for her alleged involvement
in the liquor scam. “The BJP
has always respected the rule
of law, equal protection of
law and equality before the
law. The matter of Kavitha’s
role in the liquor scam is
under investigation. We will
not comment on it. Kavitha
is speaking a day after her
interrogation and suddenly
reconvenes Jagruti,” Racha-
na Reddy added.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh
Congress on Tuesday issued a
show cause notice to its party
leader Raja Pateria for using
objectionable and condem-
nable words for PM Narendra
Modi while addressing a
meeting. According to the
notice, the party asked him to
reply within three days as to
why he should not be expelled
from the party. Pateria was
heard saying on Sunday, “PM
Modi will end elections, divide
people on the basis of religion
and Dalits face the biggest
threat under his regime. You
should be ready to carry out
‘Modi ki hatya’ if you want to
save the Constitution”.
Kerala govt’s nod to Bill to
remove Guv as Chancellor
MP Cong leader Pateria detained
‘KILL MODI’ REMARKS
Raja Pateria under police detention on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

7. INDIA
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
06
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
New Delhi (Agencies):
It is that time of the
year again, because the
mini-auction for the
2023 season of the Indi-
an Premier League will
take place on December
23 at the city of Kochi,
Kerala. Till now, the
time of the auction was
not known, but the
BCCI have aofficially
announced that the
mega event will begin
from 2.30 pm on that day.
As many as 405 play-
ers will be up for auc-
tion, out of which 273
are Indians and 132 are
overseas players. The
teams will have a total
of 87 slots to fill in the
upcoming auction, out
of which 30 are reserved
for overseas players.
Out of the 273 overseas
players, four are from
associate nations. A to-
tal of 282 uncapped play-
ers from across the
globe will be up for auc-
tion. A total of 991 play-
ers registered them-
selves initially for the
auction. However, the 10
teams at first shortlist-
ed 369 players that
would be put for sale in
the auction. The teams
then later requrested an
addition 36 cricketers to
be added to the final
shortlist. A total of 19
overseas players will
have the highest base
price of Rs 2 crore. 11
players then fall under
the bracket of a base
price of Rs 1.5 crore. 20
players, including the
Indian batsmen Manish
Pandey and Mayank
Agarwal will go for a
base price of Rs 1 crore.
Manish Pandey was re-
leased by the Lucknow
Super Giants, while Ma-
yank Agarwal, who cap-
tained the Punjab Kings
in the last IPL edition
was also released by the
franchise.
Over 400 cricket players to go under hammer on December 23
IPL 2023 MINI-AUCTION
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Rajya Sab -
ha Deputy Chairman
Harivansh Narayan Sin-
gh on Tuesday refused
permission to opposi-
tion MPs to seek clarifi-
cation on Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh’s
statement on the clash
between Indian and Chi-
nese troops in Arunchal
Pradesh, saying clarifi-
cations are not allowed
on sensitive issues.
The Opposition par-
ties led by the Congress,
which stalled proceed-
ings in the first hour of
the session and thereaf-
ter raised slogans de-
manding a discussion
on the border clashes,
wanted to seek a num-
ber of clarifications af-
ter Singh made a state-
ment in both houses of
Parliament. Harivansh
Narayan Singh, howev-
er cited four prece-
dents to say queries
cannot be allowed on
sensitive issues.
Opposition members,
however, were not satis-
fied and continued to
raise the issue for some-
time, before the Con-
gress led them to stage
a walkout of the House.
Rajya Sabha proce-
dures allow MPs to seek
clarifications on any
statement by ministers.
The deputy chair-
man said the House will
appreciate the valour
and bravery of the In-
dian armed forces and
their commitment to
protect territorial in-
tegrity of the country.
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
Will support India’s G20
Presidency, systemic
challenges: G7 countries
Washington (PTI):
Leaders of G7 countries
have backed India’s G20
presidency and pledged
to jointly address major
systemic challenges
and immediate crises
while reiterating com-
mitments towards an
equitable world.
India formally as-
sumed the G20 Presi-
dency on December 1.
The next G20 Leaders’
Summit at the level of
Heads of State/Govern-
ment is scheduled to be
held on September 9
and 10 in New Delhi.
PM Narendra Modi
said India will work to
further promote one-
ness, inspired by the
theme of “One Earth,
One Family, One Fu-
ture” and listed terror-
ism, climate change
and the pandemic as
the greatest challenges
that can be best fought
together.
In a joint statement,
the leaders of the G7
countries said they en-
dorse a sustainable fu-
ture for all. “Under the
German Presidency, we,
the G7, together with
other international
partners, have demon-
strated our resolve to
jointly address both ma-
jor systemic challenges
and immediate crises of
our time,” the grouping
said in the statement.
GoC Gosain, DGP
discuss security
situation in J&K
Jammu (PTI): General
Officer Commanding
(GoC) of 26 Infantry Divi-
sion Major General
Neeraj Gosain on Tues-
day called on DGP Dilbag
Singh and discussed the
security scenario in Jam-
mu and its peripheries.
The GOC, who met
the DGP at the police
headquarters here, dis-
cussed in detail the
countermeasures being
taken to foil the new de-
signs adopted by Paki-
stan that include drop-
ping of arms, ammuni-
tion and drugs through
drones to disrupt the
prevailing peace in
J&K. The DGP appreci-
ated the bond between
the Army, police and
paramilitary forces,
which, he said, has con-
tributed immensely in
wiping out the ill inten-
tions of Pakistan and
its terror associates.
J&K: IED DETECTED,
DIFFUSED BY
SECURITY FORCES
Sopore (ANI): Around three
kilogram of Improvised Ex-
plosive Device (IED) found
along state highway was
diffused by security forces
in Tulibal area of Sopore
on Tuesday. The Army in a
statement said, “In the wee
hours of the morning to-
day, 2-3 KGs of improvised
explosive device (IED) was
detected by security forces
of Uplona Rashtriya Rifles
in Tulibal area alongside
state highway at around
0630 hours.”
TAMIL NADU MAN
KILLS 5 FAMILY
MEMBERS, SELF
Tiruvannamalai (PTI): A
man allegedly killed his wife
and four children, including
two teenage daughters and
ended his life at his house in
Chengam taluk in the district.
Another daughter, aged
about 9, who was admitted
to the government hospital
here with cut injuries initially,
has been referred to the Gov-
ernment Hospital in Chennai
for advanced treatment. The
man, identified as Palanis-
amy, 45, was a labourer from
Oranthavadi village.
GANGSTER’S PROPERTY ATTACHED IN
UTTAR PRADESH’S PRATAPGARH DISTRICT
Amethi (PTI): The Amethi administration on Tuesday at-
tached properties worth Rs 78 lakh belonging to gangster
Bhimsen alias Raju following a local court order on De-
cember 5. Sub Divisional Magistrate (Amethi tehsil) Priti
Tiwari said the property at a village in Antu police station
limits of Pratapgarh district was attached on Tuesday.
A brick kiln in the name of Bhimsen’s wife was also
sealed and a notice pasted stating that the property was
acquired using money earned from crime, she added.
SURAT MAN HELD ON CHARGES OF SPYING
FOR PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ISI
New Delhi (PTI): The Gujarat Police on Tuesday appre-
hended a 33-year-old man from Surat on charges of
spying and allegedly working for Pakistani intelligence
agency ISI, official sources said. Deepak Kishor Bhai
Salunkhe was arrested by crime branch sleuths from
the diamond city, acting on inputs provided by the
Military Intelligence from the Pune-based southern army
command, they said. The man, a resident of Bhuvneswari
Nagar in Surat, used to run a shop.
CRUCIAL READ
Airlines told to deploy more manpower
New Delhi (PTI): Amid
congestion at airports,
the Civil Aviation Minis-
try on Tuesday asked
airlines to deploy ade-
quate manpower at all
check-in and baggage
drop counters to ensure
passengers’ smooth flow.
Besides, the ministry
has requested the
scheduled airlines to
place real time data on
their social media feeds
regarding waiting time
at respective airports’
entry gates.
The latest communi-
cation comes against
the backdrop of rising
passenger complaints
of long waiting hours at
Delhi airport where the
authorities have taken
various measures to
ease the congestion.
As per the ministry, it
has come to the notice
that the airline check-in
counters at certain air-
ports are found un-
manned or inadequate-
ly manned during early
morning hours leading
to congestion at the air-
ports, thereby causing
inconvenience to the
passengers.
Naval chief on Lanka visit
to strengthen bilateral ties
Colombo (PTI): Indian
Navy chief Admiral R
Hari Kumar arrived
here on Tuesday to
strengthen the existing
bilateral maritime rela-
tions between India and
Sri Lanka and enhance
capacity-building initi-
atives towards ensuring
peace in the region.
Earlier in the day, in-
digenous INS Sahyadri,
a multi-role missile
frigate of the Indian
Navy, also made a port
call at Colombo to com-
plement the visit of the
Chief of Naval Staff
(CNS), according to a
press statement.
The ship would en-
gage in training en-
gagements with the Sri
Lankan Navy and par-
ticipate in Maritime
Partnership Exercises
with it.
PARL PANEL TO
TAKE UP AIRPORT
ISSUE WITH DIAL
New Delhi: A Parliamen-
tary panel will take up
issue of congestion at
Delhi airport with CEO
of airport operator DIAL
on December 15 amid
passengers facing long
waiting hours, according
to the committee’s Chair-
man Vijayasai Reddy.
The Department-related
Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Transport,
Tourism and Culture will
be holding the meeting
with the DIAL CEO.
Admiral R Hari Kumar met with
V Adm N Ulugetenne. Crowd at T3 IGI Airport departure, in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
RS Dy Chairman Harivansh.Opposition leaders walkout from Rajya Sabha after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s address.
Move for monetisation
of Rly stations dropped
New Delhi (PTI): The
railways ministry has
dropped its proposal
for monetisation of
stations on public-pri-
vate partnership
mode, and projects are
now being taken up
under engineering,
procurement and con-
struction (EPC) mode,
a source said.
The source said that
the ministry of rail-
ways has been asked
to expedite monetisa-
tion of other assets,
including trains, good-
sheds, hill rail, stadi-
ums, railway colonies
and railway land par-
cels among others.
“Largest asset class
(stations) dropped.
Stations earlier pro-
posed on PPP mode
are now being taken
up under EPC mode,”
the source said.
The ministry has so
far raised only Rs
1,829 crore against the
target of Rs 30,000
crore in the current
financial year, the
source added.
“Likely realisation
from asset monetisa-
tion of Indian Railways
assets under NMP (Na-
tional Monetisation
Pipeline) in the current
fiscal has been now es-
timated at Rs 4,999
crore,” the source said.
Finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
in a meeting with Niti
Aayog CEO Para -
meswaran Iyer on No-
vember 14 reviewed
the progress of NMP
implementation.
Earlier this year, the
then NITI Aayog CEO
Amitabh Kant had
said the government’s
plan to monetise rail-
way assets by allowing
private players to run
trains did not attract
enough investors due
to lack of proper struc-
turing and the rail-
way ministry is look-
ing at it afresh.
CLARIFICATIONS NOT ALLOWED ON
SENSITIVE ISSUES: RS DY CHAIRMAN
We were told by the Leader
of the House and Deputy
Rajya Sabha Chairman
that we would be given a chance for
clarification but they did not give it
and were not ready to listen to us.
This is not good for the country.
—
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Chief
It is unfortunate that we are
not able to maintain good
relations with our neigh-
bours. Everyone knows about our
relations with Pakistan but even
with China we are not able to estab-
lish good relations.
—
Omar Abdullah, former J&K CM
Some people keep questioning
our Army, armed forces and
para-military forces & their
capabilities; for them, politics comes
before nation, so I don’t want to com-
ment on them.
—
Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand CM
MHA: NOT MULLING TO BRING CRIMES
OF CASTE TERRORISM IN NIA’S PURVIEW
BULK OF ILLICIT DRUGS BEING SMUGGLED
INTO INDIA THROUGH SEA ROUTE: FM
NO INCREASE IN CUSTODIAL DEATHS
IN KERALA IN 2018-19: Mo S RAI IN LS
GOVT: FCRA LICENCE
OF 1,811 NGOs
CANCELLED IN 3 YRS
23 MONKEYPOX
CASES REPORTED
TILL DEC 8: GOVT
New Delhi (PTI): The
FCRA registration of
1,811 NGOs were can-
celled between 2019-21
for alleged violation
of law, MoS (Home)
Nityanand Rai said in Lok
Sabha on Tuesday. “Dur-
ing the last three years i.e.
2019 to 2021, the FCRA
registration certificates of
1,811 associations have
been cancelled under
section 14 of The Foreign
Contribution (Regulation)
Act, 2010 (FCRA, 2010)
due to violation of provi-
sions of the FCRA, 2010,”
he said in a written reply.
New Delhi (PTI): A total
of 23 confirmed cases of
Monkeypox have been
reported in India till De-
cember 8 this year, MoS
(Health) Bharati Pravin Pa-
war told the Rajya Sabha
on Tuesday. In response to
a question on the present
status of COVID-19 cases
in the country, Pawar
said the trajectory of the
cases is witnessing a slow
and sustained decline
since mid-July 2022. As
on December 8, a total
of 4,244 active cases of
COVID-19 are reported in
the country.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs (MHA) on Tuesday
made it clear in the Lok
Sabha that there was
“no proposal” under its
consideration for bringing
crimes of caste terror-
ism under the purview of
NIA.MoS (Home Affairs)
Nityanand Rai replied to
the query of a member of
the Lower House D Ra-
vikumar when he asked:
“whether the government
has any proposal to bring
crimes of caste terror-
ism under the purview
of National Investigation
Agency (NIA), if so, the
details thereof and if not,
the reasons therefor”.
New Delhi (PTI): Finance
Minister Nirmala Sithara-
man on Tuesday said a
significant portion of drugs
like heroin, cocaine, and
hashish are being smug-
gled into the country
through sea route. In a
written reply to a ques-
tion in Rajya Sabha, she
said as per inputs received
from NCB, the main drugs
smuggled through the sea
route are heroin, cocaine,
hashish and Amphetamine
type Stimulants (ATS). “The
percentage of these drugs
smuggled through sea
route vis a vis total seizures
is significant, though their
percentage varies from year
to year,” she said.
New Delhi (ANI):
According to data
furnished by the
National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC),
no increase in custo-
dial deaths in Kerala
has been noticed in
2018-19, MoS (Home
Affairs) Nityanand
Rai informed the Lok
Sabha on Tuesday.
The minister replied in
writing to a query of
Congress MP Kumba-
kudi Sudhakaran on
“whether the govern-
ment has taken note
that custodial deaths in
Kerala have increased
by 100 per cent in
2018-19, as per the re-
cords of NHRC”. Asked
whether the govern-
ment has taken note of
the recent incidents of
police brutality and hu-
man rights violations in
Kerala, Rai said, “Police
and Public Order are
state subjects as per
the Seventh Schedule
to the Constitution of
India.”“It is primarily
the responsibility of
the state government
concerned to ensure
protection of human
rights of the citizens,”
Rai added.

8. NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022 07
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Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 54,534.00 8.00 0.01
(Per 10g)
SILVER 68,267.00 82.00 0.12 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.87 0.36 0.43
GBPINR 101.63 0.31 0.31
CURRENCIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Sovereign
Green Bonds are likely to
be issued during the Jan-
uary-March period of the
current fiscal. The objec-
tive of Sovereign Green
Bonds is to mobilize re-
sources for green infra-
structure as part of the
government’s overall
market borrowings in
2022-23. The framework
for these bonds has been
brought out. The bonds
are likely to be issued
from January to March
2023. The proceeds will
be deployed in public sec-
tor projects which help in
reducing carbon intensity
of the economy.—PTI
GOVT LIKELY TO
ISSUE GREEN BONDS
IN JAN-MARCH QTR
New Delhi: Urea produc-
tion stood at 187.21 lakh
tonnes during April-No-
vember period of this fis-
cal, while imports were at
46.14 lakh tonnes to meet
domestic demand. As per
the data, urea production
stood at 250.72 lakh
tonnes in the 2021-22 fis-
cal as against 246.05 lakh
tonnes in 2020-21 and
244.58 lakh tonnes in the
2019-20 financial year.
Urea imports stood at
91.36 lakh tonnes in the
last fiscal, 98.28 lakh
tonnes in 2020-21 and
91.23 lakh tonnes in
2019-20. —PTI
INDIA IMPORTS
46.14 LAKH TONNES
OF UREA IN APR-NOV
New Delhi: Gold price fell
`8 to `54,534 per 10
grams in the national cap-
ital on Tuesday amid a fall
in prices of precious met-
al in overseas market, ac-
cording to HDFC Securi-
ties. In the previous trade,
the yellow metal had set-
tled at `54,542 per 10
grams. Silver, however,
jumped `82 per kg to
`68,267 per kilogram. In
the international market,
gold was quoting lower at
$1,787.80 per ounce
while silver was up at
$23.48 per ounce.—PTI
GOLD FALLS BY ` 8;
SILVER PRICE SEES
A JUMP OF ` 82
New Delhi: Vedanta
Group on Tuesday said
that it has signed pacts
with 30 Japanese technol-
ogy companies to develop
an Indian semiconductor
and glass display manu-
facturing ecosystem. The
pacts were signed at the
Vedanta-Avanstrate Busi-
ness Partners Summit
2022 held last week at To-
kyo, Japan. The company
is committed to make In-
dia a hub for electronics
mfg. It is focussed on
taking the lead in creating
the electronics industry
ecosystem rather than
just tech transfers.—PTI
VEDANTA INKS
PACTS WITH 30
JAPANESE FIRMS
*Rates till the edition went to print.
NCLAT ALLOWS
SETTLEMENT BETWEEN
MCDONALD’S & BAKSHI
New Delhi: The NCLAT on
Tuesday allowed US food major
McDonald’s and its former
estranged
Indian partner
Vikram Bakshi
to withdraw
their petitions
filed against each other over
Connaught Plaza Restaurants
Ltd. The appellate tribunal also
dismissed the intervention ap-
plication filed by HUDCO earlier
opposing the deal. CPRL (Con-
naught Plaza Restaurants Ltd) is
now wholly-owned by McDon-
ald’s after its estranged partner
Vikram Bakshi transferred his
share in the joint venture to the
US-based firm. —
PTI
AIPEF SEEKS 3 MONTHS
TIME ON ELECTRICITY
AMENDMENT BILL 2022
New Delhi: The All India Power
Engineers Federation (AIPEF)
has sought a three-month time
from the
government to
comment on
the Electricity
(Amendment)
Bill 2022. In this regard, the
body said it has written a letter
to the Standing Committee on
Energy. The government’s deci-
sion to invite comments from
stakeholders on the Electricity
(Amendment) Bill 2022 is a
welcoming step, AIPEF said in a
statement. “AIPEF has request-
ed the Standing Committee on
Energy on Monday to give a
three months time.” —
PTI
OTHER STORIES
PLI SCHEME QUALIFIERS, STEEL MINISTRY TO INK
PACTS TO MATERIALISE INVESTMENT PROPOSALS
New Delhi: Qualifiers of PLI scheme for specialty steel will soon
sign agreements with the steel ministry to take their investment
proposals forward. The selected players
have already been sent letter of approv-
als post selection in the scheme, a sen-
ior steel ministry official said. On Friday,
the government announced selection of
67 entries with an investment potential
of `42,500 crore under the scheme. The
proposed investments are expected to generate 70,000 job
opportunities and add 26 million tonnes of speciality steel capacity
in the country. —
PTI
FIRST TO DO SO
India to hold satellite
spectrum auction
New Delhi (PTI): India
will be the first country to
auction spectrum for satel-
lite communication, and it
should be designed to at-
tract investments in the
sector, telecom regulator
Trai chairman PD Vaghela
said on Tuesday.
Vaghela said the Tele-
com Regulatory Authority
of India (Trai) will soon
make recommendations to
make permissions re -
quired for satellite commu-
nication from various min-
istries — Information and
Broadcasting, Space and
Telecom — seamless to en-
hance ease of doing busi-
ness in the sector.
He also said Trai has re-
ceived a reference from the
Department of Telecom-
munication for the spec-
trum required to be put to
auction and associated as-
pects of satellite-based
communication.
“I think India will be the
first to handle the issue of
auctioning the space base
spectrum. We are working
on it,” Vaghela said.
Trai will be coming out
with some sort of model for
the auction of space spec-
trum, he added.
“But it should not kill
the sector. That is very im-
portant. Any system that
we will be bringing is to
actually encourage and
promote investment in the
sector, and not increase
any burden. I mean, that is
the biggest challenge
which we have, and we are
conscious of that fact,”
Vaghela said.
Trai is yet to come up
with a consultation paper
on the spectrum auction as
per the standard process
meant for satellite commu-
nication. When asked
about the status of the pa-
per, Vaghela said that Trai
is in discussion with ex-
perts and regulators world-
wide for a suitable model
and the consultation paper
will be floated after those
discussions are over.
TOP TALKING
POINTS
zTelecom regulator Trai
chairman PD Vaghela said
India will be the first country
to auction spectrum for
satellite communication, and it
should be designed to attract
investments in the sector
zVaghela said the Trai will
soon make recommendations
to make permissions required
for satellite communication
from various ministries
zTrai has received a reference
from the Dept of Telecom for
the spectrum required to be
put to auction
Banks wrote off
NPAs over 10 lakh
crore: Sitharaman
New Delhi (PTI): Banks
have written off bad loans
worth `10,09,511 crore dur -
ing the last five financial
years, finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman in-
formed Parliament on
Tuesday.
The non-performing as-
sets (NPAs), including
those in respect of which
full provisioning has been
made on completion of
four years, are removed
from the balance sheet of
the bank concerned by way
of write-off, she said.
“Banks write off NPAs
as part of their regular ex-
ercise to clean up their bal-
ance sheet, avail tax benefit
and optimise capital, in ac-
cordance with RBI guide-
lines and policy approved
by their boards.
As per inputs received
from RBI, Scheduled Com-
mercial Banks (SCBs)
wrote off an amount of
`10,09,511 crore during the
last five financial years,”
she said.
As borrowers of written-
off loans continue to be li-
able for repayment and the
process of recovery of
dues from the borrower in
written-off loan accounts
continues, write-off does
not benefit the borrower,
she said.
Banks continue to pur-
sue recovery actions initi-
ated in written-off ac-
counts through various
recovery mechanisms
available, such as filing of
a suit in civil courts or in
Debts Recovery Tribunals,
filing of cases under the
Insolvency and Bankrupt-
cy Code, 2016 and through
sale of non-performing
assets.
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
zBanks have written off bad
loans worth ` 10,09,511
crore during the last five
financial years
zThe NPAs, including those
in respect of which full
provisioning has been made
on completion of 4 years, are
removed from the balance
sheet of the bank concerned
by way of write-off
‘Not good’ for
govt to share data
in aggregated
form: Kant
Mumbai (PTI): India’s
G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant
on Tuesday pitched for the
dissemination of data by
the government in a granu-
lar form and said that shar-
ing aggregated informa-
tion is “not good”.
Kant said data is a key
aspect to help any country
meet her developmental
goals and added that India
has benefitted from the
same.
Stressing on the impor-
tance of ensuring quality
of data, the former civil
servant who till recently
worked as the chief execu-
tive of the government
think-tank Niti Aayog
made the reference to data
aggregation practices by
the government.
“…Government data are
provided as aggregates,
which is not good. We
should break down the ag-
gregation,” Kant said.
He said many a time, the
quality of the data is also
very poor and “we need to
ensure that
the data is
de-clut-
tered,
presented
in a sim-
plistic way
and it is not
difficult
to navi-
gate”.
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment on Tuesday said
an amount of ` 60.46 crore
has been received in tax
from entities for transac-
tions in virtual digital as-
sets (VDAs), including
cryptocurrencies, since the
introduction of TDS provi-
sions in July.
The government, from
April 1, has brought in a
30% income tax plus sur-
charge and cess on transfer
of crypto assets, like Bit-
coin, Ethereum, Tether
and Dogecoin.
Also, to keep a tab on the
money trail, a 1% Tax De-
ducted at Source (TDS) un-
der section 194S of I-T Act
has been brought in on pay-
ments over ` 10,000 towards
virtual digital currencies
from July 1.
In a written reply to a
question in the Rajya Sab-
ha, Minister of State for
Finance Pankaj Chaud -
hary said CBDT conducts
outreach/ awareness pro-
grammes for deductors/
taxpayers and also takes
appropriate action, includ-
ing search & seizure opera-
tions, surveys, enquiries
etc, as required.
“Post insertion of Sec-
tion 194S in the Income-tax
Act, 1961 through Finance
Act, 2022, a total of 318 di-
rect tax challans having
TDS code 194S have been
received having total
amount of `60.46 crore,”
Chaudhary said.
GOVT GETS
`60.46 CRORE
TAX FROM TDS
ON VDAs
Sensex snaps two-day losing
streak, jumps 403 points
Mumbai (PTI): Bench -
mark indices ended in the
green on Tuesday after re-
tail inflation dipped below
the RBI’s upper tolerance
level of 6% for the first time
in 11 months in November.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
climbed 402.73 points or
0.65% to settle at 62,533.30.
During the day, it jumped
437.35 points or 0.70% to
62,567.92. The broader NSE
Nifty advanced 110.85
points or 0.60% to end at
18,608. From the Sensex
pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj
Finance, Infosys, Tata Con-
sultancy Services, HCL
Technologies, M&M, Tech
Mahindra and Bajaj Fin-
serv were the winners.
BSE ADDS 1 CRORE INVESTORS IN 148 DAYS
TO REACH 12-CRORE MARK
New Delhi (PTI): Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday said it
has added 1 crore registered investor accounts to its platform in a
span of 148 days, taking the total count to 12 crore. The exchange
added one crore investors’ accounts between July 18 and December
13, BSE said in a statement. In comparison, the exchange took 124,
91, 85 and 107 days for the previous milestones of 11 crore, 10
crore, 9 crore and 8 crore, respectively. “BSE crossed the milestone
of 12 crore registered users based on Unique Client Code (UCC) on
December 13, 2022,” the exchange said. Of the 12 crore users, 42%
fall in the 30 to 40 age brackets, followed by 23% in 20-30 years and
11% in the 40-50 age bracket.
RUPEE DECLINES
36 PAISE TO
END AT 82.87
AGAINST US $
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee
declined by 36 paise to
close at 82.87 (provision-
al) against the US dollar
on Tuesday, weighed
down by persistent
foreign capital outflows
from the capital markets.
Risk aversion sentiment
among investors ahead of
the US Federal Reserve’s
interest rate decision also
impacted trading, forex
dealers said. At the inter-
bank foreign exchange
market, the rupee opened
lower at 82.63 against the
greenback and witnessed
a high of 82.60 and a low
of 82.87. It finally settled
at 82.87, down 36 paise
over its previous close
of 82.51. Meanwhile, the
dollar index, which gauges
the greenback’s strength
against a basket of six cur-
rencies, fell 0.15%.
Passenger vehicle wholesales rise 28% in November
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Aided by ro -
bust demand for both util-
ity vehicles and cars, the
wholesales of Passenger
Vehicles in India jumps by
28% year-on-year in No-
vember, industry body
SIAM said on Tuesday.
Overall passenger vehi-
cles dispatched from com-
panies to dealers stood at
2,76,231 units last month as
compared to 2,15,626 units
in November 2021. Utility
vehicle wholesales rose
32% to 1,38,780 units in No-
vember against 1,05,091
units in the year-ago period.
Similarly, passenger car
dispatches increased 29%
to 1,30,142 units from
1,00,906 units in November
2021. Van sales, however,
dropped to 7,309 units last
month from 9,629 units in
November 2021.
“Positive consumer and
business sentiments have
reflected in the better sales
in the month of November
2022, compared to the pre-
vious year,” SIAM Presi-
dent Vinod Aggarwal said.
DRIVEN BY ROBUST DEMAND
SUPER LUXURY CARS
CLOCK 50% GROWTH
IN INDIA
New Delhi (FIB): Despite a slow-
down in growth across the globe
and rising worries of recession,
the demand for luxury cars in
India continues to grow at a
tremendous pace. This year has
seen the highest-ever growth for
such ultra-luxury cars in India
as sales grew by 50% in 2022,
breaking the previous record,
which was achieved in 2018. The
market is led by Italian super
sports carmaker Lamborghini,
and other big contenders on the
list are Ferrari, Aston Martin,
Bentley. All these luxury wheels
have been in great demand
since the end of post-pandemic
restrictions.
TaMo TO HIKE CV PRICES BY UP TO 2%
New Delhi (PTI): Tata Motors on Tuesday said it will increase prices
of its commercial vehicle range by up to 2% from January to offset
the impact of rising input costs. While the price increase will vary as
per individual model and variant, it will be applicable across the entire
range of commercial vehicles, the auto major said in a statement.

9. NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
082ND FRONT
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zYou must have seen
the media coverage
after Gujarat’s victo-
ry. Why is there so
much appreciation
for PM Modi in the
national media?
Dr Jagdeesh Chandra:
See what actually hap-
pens is that elections
are like festivities for
media. And in that fes-
tivity, the hero is always
praised. And by and
large, the media sup-
ports Modi and is
touched by Modi’s tal-
ent. Let me cite you a
few headlines here.
Bhaskar carried a head-
line saying Gujarat’s
chest is now 156 inch.
Patrika carried ‘Guja-
rati maa Bolu, Tame
Prem Karu Chu’. Media
loves to give catchy
headlines and elections,
like I said, are like the
festivals of Diwali or
Holi. This time too, it
happened and there was
a competition as to who
will file the best head-
line.
zSo how do you ana-
lyse the positive pro-
jection about PM
Modi in international
media?
That was unusual and
wonderful at the same
time. Because it has
been a general attitude
of Indian leaders to see
a ‘Down -sized’ version
of PM since Modi has
emerged as a global
leader. Al-Jazeera, a
channel that rarely sup-
ports Modi came in his
support then several
media portals also sup-
ported him. UK’s The-
Guardian, the biggest
media group also sup-
ported PM. And only
one thing was said by all
in their analyses that
Modi has charisma and
he is a combination of
religion and develop-
ment. So with Modi’s
praise, the nationalists
have felt proud that per-
haps for the first time
foreign international
media has praised an
Indian Prime Minister
openly.
zNow that India has
G20’s Presidency and
the manner in which
PM Narendra Modi
has set its narrative,
do you think BJP will
get benefit of this in
the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections?
I have said this in the
past too that Narendra
Modi knows and even
those near to him also
know which opportuni-
ty needs to be encashed
how. They have a superb
tuning in that matter.
Similarly, G20 is an op-
portunity and PM
chased that and a narra-
tive came out that it is
an opportunity to show-
case the strength of In-
dia at the global level.
So definitely, the gov-
ernment will get benefit
from it going into the
election. Moreover,
Modi himself has said
that the honour of G20
Presidency is not his,
rather of each and eve-
ry citizen of the nation.
They have chased this
opportunity and one
can witness in days to
come, an atmosphere
about the G20 will be
seen across the country
and the Prime Minis-
ter’s Presidency in G20
will be encashed and
publicised, which will
ultimately benefit the
party in elections.
zAfter Congress’ de-
feat in Gujarat, party
in charge for Gujarat
Dr Raghu Sharma re-
signed from the posi-
tion, taking responsi-
bility. Do you think
other leaders from
Gujarat will follow
suit?
As of now, Congress is a
‘Leaderless’ party, even
if Kharge and all other
are there. Dr Raghu
Sharma has resigned
taking responsibility of
the defeat, but it re-
mains to be seen, if the
party chief in Gujarat
or the CLP leader resign
taking responsibility.
Even if they do, then
also there is no rele-
vance because they also
lost. Raghu Sharma be-
lieves that for two years,
there was no CLP leader
of state chief in Gujarat
which has affected the
party. As far as Raghu
Sharma is concerned,
he is a good leader. He
was a Minister in Ra-
jasthan and won two
bypolls for the party in
Rajasthan. So whether
this is a start or an end
of such issues will have
to be seen because only
when Rahul Gandhi
gets time from his
Yatra, will he perhaps
address these issues. In
the meantime, Raghu
Sharma has resigned
and it is believed that
more such resignations
should happen.
zHow responsible is
Rahul Gandhi for the
loss? Should it be that
the Bharat Jodo
Yatra he has under-
taken, have been
started after the Gu-
jarat elections?
There are two things.
Firstly, how responsible
is he for the Gujarat de-
bacle. Well, he is respon-
sible for not taking deci-
sion. For two years the
important posts of par-
ty leader and CLP lead-
er were vacant which is
akin to a joke. How will
an organisation work in
such a manner? There
is no resource manage-
ment there, neither is
there any clarity. Ashok
Gehlot was given re-
sponsibility, but there
was no clarity there too.
No one is free to make
decisions. They (Rahul
Gandhi) wasted 2 years
keeping everyone on
toes, if they will become
Party President or not,
& then they wasted 2
years in Gujarat. Well,
he is responsible for the
party since he is the un-
declared president of
the party and CEO of
Congress. Then as far as
the Yatra is concerned,
so of course, as a politi-
cian, it was a wrong
time to take out the
Yatra. It was not appro -
priate. The Parliament
is in session, Assembly
elections have been con-
ducted in Himachal and
Gujarat. Even if one dis-
counts Himachal that
Priyanka Gandhi went
there, even then, there
is challenge in Gujarat
and Parliament. But he
went for the Yatra. So
even though he went to
Gujarat and conducted
rallies for two days, but
that was a mere sym-
bolic move and he
should have stayed put
there for 15 days. So, I
feel that he is responsi-
ble to a large extent.
zMallikarjun
Kharge is the new
Congress President,
but do you think there
still exists a lack of
leadership in the par-
ty? Also, is there a tri-
partite power centre
in Congress i.e. with-
in the Gandhi family?
Of course, lack of lead-
ership still exists in
Congress. Although
Kharge has become the
Party President, but he
has not been able to take
decisions. How will he
take decisions when he
is a ceremonial Presi-
dent? Moreover, Rahul
Gandhi does not have
time. You are right in
saying that there are
three power centres in
the party and there is no
unanimity in decisions.
I said a little while back
that Congress is like a
headless party and the
power centres are in
their own spheres and
Kharge isn’t able to
work independently. So,
even though, someone
else has been made Con-
gress President, the ac-
tual power still rests
with the ‘Gandhis.’ So
yes, there is still a
leadership crisis in
Congress.
zPriyanka Gandhi
went to Himachal to
campaign for the par-
ty and the party has
won too. So how do
you visualise Priyan-
ka’s role?
Her role was good. She
went to Himachal as she
has a home there. She
went to five districts
and conducted major
rallies. These five dis-
tricts had 22 seats and
the party has won on
these seats, so the party
has won election due to
Priyanka’s activities.
Although no one perso-
na can be singled out
and given all the credit
for the party’s victory in
Himachal. In fact, a few
people were disgruntled
as well saying that she
has come to Shimla and
her phone was switched
off. The leaders wanted
her to reach party’s of-
fice in Shimla to release
the manifesto, but she
didn’t go, so there was
resentment as well. She
was in Shimla, but such
actions don’t bring
about a connect or syn-
ergy with workers. But
still on the face value,
being fair to her, one can
say that yes she had a
role and she has won
Himachal for the party.
zWhat was Owaisi’s
or his party AIMIM’s
role in Gujarat?
Owaisi did do much as
he got only 0.29 percent
vote share. As far as
2024 is concerned, I
don’t see Owaisi playing
any major role. His and
Kejriwal’s role is simi-
lar, that they want to
upset the game and
want to make their pres-
ence felt in it. So, Owaisi
didn’t have any impor-
tant role in Gujarat.
zAs far as workers
are concerned, what
exactly is the basic
difference in cultures
of Congress and BJP?
The basic difference is
that the BJP is a work-
er- oriented party, while
the Congress is a leader-
oriented party. The sec-
ond difference is organ-
isation. They (BJP)
work for the organisa-
tion and would not shy
away from clashing for
even single vote, and on
the other hand, is Con-
gress which does not
have a proper organisa-
tion. You can see for
yourself, Kharge has
become President, but
posts are still lying va-
cant on multitude of
places including that of
District President,
Block President etc. Sec-
ondly, as far as culture
is concerned, let me cite
you an example. The
Congress won Himachal
Pradesh and party
workers and leaders
were hopeful that the
doors of 10, Janpath
would open, AICC
would open its doors
and celebrate the victo-
ry, distributing sweets
among workers & lead-
ers alike. But nothing of
that sort happened as
the leaders were in
Sawai Madhopur’s
Rathmabore Tiger Re-
serve observing wild-
life. Since it was Sonia
Gandhi’s birthday, so as
family, Priyanka and
Rahul were also there.
They could have cele-
brated their birthday,
but at least, they could
have given a time to
workers that they will
meet them at a particu-
lar time and those who
wanted to meet them,
and celebrate the victo-
ry could come. Or they
could have asked to cel-
ebrate the victory at
AICC or at the very least
in Shimla, but nothing
happened anywhere. So
basically, neither are
they sad over loss, nor
happy over victory.
zDid Hardik Patel
set his records
straight by contesting
the election on BJP’s
ticket?
You can say so. He strug-
gled a lot, but it did not
find traction in Modi-
Shah’s rule. Ultimately,
he surrendered and
joined BJP, thereby, win-
ning by over 50,000
votes.
zAAP has made its
entry into the Gujarat
Assembly. Will this
have any far reaching
effect?
Definitely. Kejriwal is
clear on this. He con-
tests first election to
lose, second to make
other main parties lose
& fights the third to win.
Look at how they en-
tered Punjab with 20
seats in 2017 & are now
at 92 seats. Now, where
will he go to cut other
parties? In 2023, polls
will be held for 9 assem-
bly constituencies, spe-
cially in the Hindi belt
of Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattis-
garh. What happened in
Gujarat will happen in
these states also, where
the vote share would be
divided whose direct
benefit would go to the
BJP so it will have a far
reaching effect. The
only far reaching effect
of AAP’s entry in
any state would be
Congress’s loss.
After BJP’s landslide victory in Gujarat, Modi is
international media’s new ‘Hero’: Dr. Chandra
Describing how Rahul Gandhi is responsible for party’s loss in Gujarat and that his Yatra should have been started after the two recently
concluded Assembly elections, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India; CMD, First India News,
Dr Jagdeesh Chandra stresses that Congress’ lack of leadership, uncertain decision making and Rahul Gandhi’s disinterest in aggressive
campaigning in Gujarat assembly elections directly resulted in the abysmal performance of the party. Dr Chandra also says that Owaisi did
not have any role in the election other than divide Congress’ vote which is the same with Kejriwal also. Excerpts... (Part-II)
During the show
#XFactorModi!trended
top All-India
on Twitter
Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with Sonika, Pooja Yadav, Aditi Nagar, Mimansa
Malik and Poornima Mishra during The JC Show.
Dr Jagdeesh
Chandra
during The
JC Show.
It is tough to guide your
children towards developing
into ideal adults, because
you have to lead by example.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

10. NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 14, 2022
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THE PEEK-A-BOO FASHION INCORPORATE
BARE SHOULDERS WITH ANY TYPE OF
SLEEVE LENGTH. CITY FIRST BRINGS TO
YOU AMAZING FASHION, THAT ADDS A POP
OF PERSONALITY TO ANY TOP!
ust like most
fashion
trends this
style isn’t
exactly new.
Some of the
earliest ex-
amples of the
cold shoulder
sleeve are from
the 1930s by
fashion designer
Chanel. Donna
Karan briefly
brought the
style back
in the
early
90s, and the trendy
look has returned to
stay thanks to the
numerous ways to
wear it. The reason
why cold shoulder
tops have become so
fashionable in re-
cent years is that
they give a casual
summer ensemble a
hint of eroticism.
Recently, a few let-
ters have asked me
if cold shoulder
shirts would still be
popular in 2023.
Yes, it is the solu-
tion. Women’s cold
shoulder shirts may
have peaked, but
they have neverthe-
less managed to
hold their own and
look great in the
spring and summer.
I’ve gathered sever-
al that stick out
here.
The two styles of
cold shoulder tops
that are most popu-
lar are sleek and
edgy and soft
and roman-
tic, like the
lovely one
I’m displaying
above. This cold
shoulder shirt is
incredibly fem-
inine thanks to
the combi-
nation of painterly
blooms, gentle pas-
tel hues, and airy
chiffon fabric. Add a
little roughness to
the top with some-
thing like these fad-
ed jeans with the
raw edge step hem.
The bohemian style
is enhanced by
braided mules. It is
Haute Hippie be-
cause of the slouchy
bag with the gold
chain accent. To
play up the chilly
shoulder detail,
don’t forget to wear
some dangly ear -
rings. The charming
swiss dot structure
on this delicate
green cold shoulder
shirt pays homage
to spring. The easi-
est approach to
dressing a colour vi-
brant is to use neu-
trals as the back-
ground. Add your
favourite jeans, fol-
lowed by a delicate
white accent. The
vivid green is bal-
anced with a plain
mule, a lovely white
purse, and some
pearlized white ear-
rings, which keep
the outfit looking
elegant rather than
garish.
DELIGHT IN THE
DETAILS
J
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
[email protected]

11. 10
ETC
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACE OF THE DAY
KRITIKA KANU, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
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 and also you are the
backbone of your family. Be careful of the
words that come out of your mouth. Your
lover may finally say yes to get married.
LIBRA
SEPT 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. Your day
will be blessed.
TAURUS
APR 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.
Scrumptious food is what you are craving
for today. You may start a side business
to earn extra money. You are not a jealous
kind and you feel happy for others.
SCORPIO
OCT 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. Good health is assured
through own efforts. You will feel happy
today.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Your spouse
is someone
who can do
anything for
your happiness.
Tensions on
the family front
are likely to get
sorted out.
Help your mothers at home and give
them a reason to smile. You are
opportunist and this will make you
successful one day.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You are very
fortunate to
have a great
friend circle.
You will manage
to implement
it at work. You
are likely to feel
much energetic
today. Visit a doctor if you have any
doubts about your health. You want to
have your own house and you will work
hard to make your dream come true.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You must create
an environment
of understanding
at home. Your
regular exercise
routine promises
to keep you fit
and energetic.
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.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You make sure to
make things work
your way. You
are most wanted
by your friends.
You can have
romantic affair
in office and a
serious one. You
will invest money in accessories today.
You are a God fearing person. Never
demotivate someone even if someone is
not capable of doing something.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Pending
paperwork
concerning a
property will
be completed.
Your spouse
may make you
spend more than
you expected.
Admit your faults in relationship. Invest
money in stock market as you can make
fortune. You miss your parents a lot and
somewhere fear to loose them.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 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.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will get the
financial help
that you are
seeking for and
then accordingly
you will decide
what steps to
take next. At
work place you
may earn oodles of joy and recognition
by foraying into something new. Please
take good care of your health and avoid
stepping out in adverse
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Some family
issues may need
urgent resolution,
so don’t neglect
them. Some of
you are likely
to enjoy an
excursion with
friends. Your
personality will attract many eligible
bachelors. Spend time talking with
likeminded people as it will make you feel
good for now.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
WOULD YOU ALLOW
ANGER TO OVERTAKE YOU

lmost every
living being is
born with a
survival triad
- fight, flight
and freeze. We
fight when
cornered, take flight if
circumstances are
grave and freeze to
avoid getting noticed
if that one is the most
appreciated strategy.
These all are natural
survival instincts
which help save the
life of a trained practi-
tioner.
Controlled anger is
part of the fight strat-
egy which everyone
experiences off and on
during their lifetime.
There is no bodily im-
pact by mild angry
mood but the problem
arises when one is un-
able to control oneself
and gets excessively
angry, thereby, impact-
ing relationships and
quality of life. Some-
times, anger may be
responsible for gross
injury or even loss of
life. That is the simple
logic to conclude that
we should understand
and manage anger, an
emotion we are born
with.
WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU ARE
ANGRY?
Your heart rate races
up, your breath be-
comes deeper and your
stomach starts churn-
ing. Jaw clenching,
teeth grinding, sweat-
ing, body shaking and
trembling are part of a
strong anger response.
If not controlled at
this stage, the muscles
get tense with feelings
of fainting and leg
weakness. Prolonged
anger episode is char-
acterized by shouting,
abuse, threats, yelling,
and crying which
some people try to con-
trol by smoking or al-
cohol intake or throw-
ing and breaking
things.
Anger activates sig-
nificant inflammation
in body tissues and re-
current episodes may
lead to the develop-
ment of chronic dis-
eases as age advances.
Hence, the cause of
anger should be re-
solved at the earliest
otherwise there would
be a price tag in form
of a lifelong ailment.
The underlying
causes of triggering
anger are numerous. A
threat or an attack,
frustration, powerless-
ness, deception, and
unfair treatment all
cause some degree of
anger even in people
well-trained to main-
tain their calm. What
is important is the de-
gree of loss of temper.
There are so many
issues with partners,
coworkers, family
members, friends and
clients that may be re-
sponsible for the burst
of anger and irrita-
tion. Traffic jams,
callous
government or
private staff, body
ailments or pain,
hunger and ex -
treme weather may
also prompt one to
get angry at
the slightest pre-
text.  Failure in life
goals, injustice, un-
fair criticism and
rejection may be-
come the cause of
extreme anger with
devastating effects.
Many people take an-
ger as aggression but
there is a fine line be-
tween the two. Anger
is an emotion while ag-
gression is an action.
An angry person may
or may not show ag-
gression whilst an act
of aggression can be
performed with no an-
ger at all.
Overall, except for a
well-controlled, well-
understood emotion,
anger is a negative and
harmful behaviour
trait and should be
avoided. It is never
easy to do so but yet,
but it is possible. A
pause of a few minutes
before reaction, count-
ing ten, breathing
deeply and holding it,
and relaxing the body
may help avert the out-
burst. Listening to mu-
sic or talking with
someone leads to dis-
traction and cools the
temper. Since it is part
of behaviour, counsel-
ling and behaviour
therapy may do won-
ders. Religions and
their places of worship
used to provide signifi-
cant calm and coolness
in many people’s lives
but no more are the
older effects visible.
The politicisation of
religions across the
globe has converted
these places into dens
of hatred and anger.
DR RAMAVTAR
SHARMA
[email protected]
A

12. O
ne of the most highly an-
ticipated celebrity mar-
riages of 2023 is not too far
now. So, if you are sick of
the humdrum of the wedding
date confusion, don’t be! We’ve
got you covered. The wedding
dates of Athiya Shetty and KL
Rahul and finally, the lovebirds
will celebrate their wedding
events from 21st to 23rd January
2023. Suneil & Mana Shetty’s
beautiful daughter will walk
down the aisle with Cricketer KL
Rahul in the 4th week of January
2023. Their families and close
ones have geared up for the big-
fat wedding.
ATHIYA & KL
RAHUL’S
WEDDING
he Mili actress was busy
warming up the waters of
Maldives and her beach
bum mode deserves special
attention. We took notes of
the season’s sparkles, party
favourite cut-outs, and
backless dresses and holiday essen-
tials such as denim shorts, a bikini
top, and a printed monokini. If
you’re not a keen enthusiast of a
colour mash-up, follow this all-black
look. And, no doubt this outfit can
be your party wear.
Janhvi’s return to Mumbai was
marked by a round table conference
which also had notable stars like
Anil Kapoor, Dulquer Salmaan,
Rishab Shetty, Ayushmann Khur-
rana, Vidya Balan, Rajkummar
Rao, and a few others. The young
actress was styled by Meagan Con-
cession and her team in a Versace
single-breasted blazer designed
from a silk blend.
The Rs. 335,500 number had
shoulder pads, a single Medusa but-
ton, peak lapels, and flap pockets.
The tailored construction here is
sure to be the headliner, it’s classy.
JANHVI IN VERSACE
T
O
livia Wilde has
been in the
headlines for the
past few weeks for
her reported breakup
with Harry Styles! Ever
since news broke of
the ex-couple calling it
quits, Olivia has been
multitasking between
representing Don’t
Worry Darling during
awards season and
spending quality time
with her family and
friends. Speaking of
Wilde’s loved ones, the talented actress-director
recently took her and Jason Sudeikis’ children to
Disneyland. For the unversed, Olivia Wilde and
ex-fiance Jason Sudeikis share two children; Otis,
8, and Daisy, 6. Taking to her Instagram page, she
shared photos and a video of herself with Otis and
Daisy enjoying a trip to Disneyland.
A
nanya Panday jetted off to Qatar on Tuesday.
The actress has taken her dad Chunky
Panday to watch the semi-finals of the FIFA
World Cup 2022. Ananya, who is a diehard foot-
ball fan, has taken her BFF Shanaya Kapoor along
with her to watch the match. A source revealed
that the actress has been invited by Qatar Airways
and the government to attend the semi-finals of
the FIFA World Cup. On a Tuesday morning, they
were spotted at the private airport. Shanaya was
seen along with her father Sanjay Kapoor and
brother Jahaan. It will be exciting to see their
pictures and videos while watching the match. 
OLIVIA WILDE TURNS
‘GOOFY’ AT DISNEYLAND
ANANYA TAKES
SHANAYA TO QATAR
A Special Gesture for him
S
hehnaaz Gill and Sidharth Shukla’s love story is
one of the most beautiful stories of the decade.
The duo met inside the Bigg Boss 13 house and
their connection was very organic. But the sud
-
den demise of Sidharth Shukla shocked his fans
and loved ones. It was Sid
-
harth Shukla’s 41st birth
anniversary on December
12. The actress Shehnaaz
Gill shared an emotional
post on social media
where she posted a picture
of Sidharth Shukla and
wrote in the captions, “i
will see you again 12 12.”
The actress commemorated the birth anniver
-
sary of Sidharth Shukla by organising langar at
a Gurudwara in Mumbai. She shared a post on so
-
cial media on which it was written on a board, “joh
koi insaan mujhe bhagwaan/parmatma tak paho
-
cha de toh main uske charan/per chu
lunga, aur prasad ke rup mein
main apna jivan daaan kr dunga.”
T
here seems to be a new couple in H-town and
it happens to be Dua Lipa and rapper Jack
Harlow. After Harlow wrote a song after Lipa
in his recent album, it seems the duo have
gotten along well. The duo recently bumped into
each other at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch in Los
Angeles in November and it seems that’s where the
two hit it off. After the duo ran into each other at
the Variety Hitmakers Brunch, the Levitating singer
has become quite smitten with the charming rapper,
and the report also mentioned that the duo have been
in “constant communication” ever since. An insider
also informed that Harlow was already taken by Dua
Lipa and added, “he was very interested in her, and
was going to strongly pursue [the romance].” 
DUA LIPA
SPARKS
ROMANCE
RUMOURS
Janhvi Kapoor
Ananya Panday and Shanaya Kapoor
Olivia Wilde
Athiya Shetty
Shehnaaz Gill
Dua Lipa
Janhvi in Versace single-breasted blazer
Her story...
Jack Harlow and Dua Lipa
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
11

13. 12
NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZGET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
INDIA’S FIRST EVER
FASHION SOIRÉE
CITY FIRST
lways known to
reveal his success
through revelries,
Manish Malhotra
this time hosts a
Khaab Bridal
Soirée, an evening
of couture and cocktails at
the Leela Palace, Delhi on
Saturday, December 10.
The only designer in our
country who extended his
influence beyond fashion
and films celebrates nine
years of his eponymous
Manish Malhotra Flagship
Store in Delhi.
The state’s crème de la
crème and beau monde
gathered for a unique high
aesthetic experience to cel
-
ebrate the designer’s
achievement with a
couture representa
-
tion of his bridal wear
where craft and artistry
dominate.
The highlight of the
soirée was the showstop-
per Vaani Kapoor musing
and making a statement
in an ethereally exagger-
ated ivory ensemble, a de-
constructed asymmetri-
cal Lehenga with a striped
organza trailing drape
and an encrusted broad
Pearl band paired with
the brands signature
crossover stylised
Blouse embellished
in 3D crochet se-
quins.
The couture
range exhibited
at the soirée os-
cillates be-
tween the old-
world regalia
and the mod-
ern repertoire.
Khaab Bridal
2022 is a symphonic har-
mony of various hetero-
geneous elements that
span from staid classic to
the edgy take of new-age
appeal bridal and cocktail
wear. The collection was
accessorized with herit-
age treasures, envisioned
in modern art by Manish
Malhotra Jewellery, cu-
rated in line with Rani-
wala 1881.
CITY FIRST
A
n upcoming four-day art
camp and exhibition titled
‘Rang Mirage’ by Adhvika
Agarwal (Director) will be
organised at Sanik farm, New Delhi.
The exhibition will be sponsored by
Manoj Agarwal (MD, Great Value
Group) in support of Sanskar Bharti.
The camp has collected the works of
various talented artists all across
India and gives the artists an op-
portunity to showcase their
work in the heart of Delhi. Rang
Mirage ‘Rango ka Khel’ as the
name suggests is an illusion of col-
ours on canvas, turned into impec-
cable different styles of paintings.
This concept allows artists to par-
ticipate and attend a 4 day Art Camp
held in Delhi. The camp will take
care of all amenities and accommo-
dations, including paint, lei-
sure, eateries and a whole
lot of fun. The camp has
thirteen artists coming
over to a residence in
Sainik Farms which
will conclude with an
art exhibition on the
last day, showcasing all
the paintings done by 13
artists to an influen-
tial crowd of Delhi
NCR. The focus of
this art camp is to
support and gen-
erate awareness
of our great
senior artists in
India.
THE ILLUSION
OF COLOURS
ON CANVAS
A
—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN
The hidden language
OF THE SOUL
CITY FIRST
S
hriram Bharati-
ya Kala Kendra
and Dancing
Deer will be go
-
ing to organise an
Odissi recital by Mo
-
lina Singh’s debut per-
formance on Friday,
December 16, 2022,
at Kamani Audi
-
torium, New Del-
hi. MP and Padma
Vibhushan Sonal
Mansingh will grace
the event as a Chief
Guest. Capsuled into
an hour of a spectacle,
Molina will present
four distinct Odissi se
-
quences woven into a
solo recital. Express
-
ing her sentiments
about her first-ever re
-
cital, an emotional Mo-
lina said, “My journey
as a dancer has been
unconventional. At
my age, I should’ve
been training new
Kathak students,
but here I am, mak
-
ing my debut as an
Odissi dancer. I am
nervous and excited.”
Cheering her on to
-
wards her passion, her
husband Actor Sush
-
ant Singh ex -
pressed, “Molina
lives and breathes
dance, and I think
in Odissi she has
finally found her
true calling. Her solo
debut performance on
the 16th of Decem
-
ber is the culmi-
nation of years
of ‘Tapasya’. I
am so proud of
her, she inspires
me to be a better
artist and person.”
Vaani Kapoor Ravishing models showcase the collection
Adhvika Agarwal
Molina Singh
Former South Africa
cricketer, Kings XI Punjab
official coach and all-time
best fielder Jonty Rhodes
arrived in Jaipur on Sunday
to appoint Vidyadhar Nagar
Jaipur-based Anytime
Sports Nutrition as the
official distribution partner
for his fitness supplement
brand ESN Ripped Series.
Many dignitaries including
Kamlesh Goyal and Amit
Goyal, directors of Anytime
Sports Nutrition were
present on the occasion.
Jonty Rhodes' ESN Ripped
series of fitness nutrition
products.
MEET AND GREET
Jagdeesh Chandra with
the anchors of The JC
Show (L-R) Sonika,
Karishma Sachdev
Tahlani, Varunavi Singh,
Astha Khandelwal, Aditi
Nagar, Mimansa Malik,
Poornima Mishra, Amit
Mishra, Shazia, Pooja
Yadav, Amrita Garg
and Ayushi Shekhawat
during The New JC
Show at Bharat24-
Vision of New India,
Noida on Monday,
December 12.
THE
JC SHOW
CITY FIRST
T
he inaugural co-
hort of Women-
Lead India Fel-
lows was selected
for work in Education,
Rural Transformation,
Sports for Development
and Arts, Culture and
Heritage. Through a
10-month programme,
the Fellows will be pro-
vided with a course cur-
riculum and access to a
network of global lead-
ers and influencers.
The Fellowship aims to
enhance India’s devel-
opment sector ecosys-
tem through women’s
leadership
Washington, D.C,
USA / Mumbai, India,
December 13, 2022:
Women leaders who
drive, enable and facili-
tate social change in
India will be part of a
new initiative that
strengthens their ca-
pacity with a Fellow-
ship and a strong sup-
port system.
Fifty inspiring wom-
en from India’s social
sector have been identi-
fied for the inaugural
WomenLead India Fel-
lowship, a joint initia-
tive by Reliance Foun-
dation and Vital Voices
Global Partnership.
Driving an ambitious
urgent agenda for wom-
en’s leadership in India,
the Fellowship invests
in change makers, so-
cial entrepreneurs and
social sector leaders,
with a support system
to meaningfully grow
their social initiatives
and achieve the United
Nations Sustainable De-
velopment Goals.
Speaking on the Fel-
lowship award, Nita M
Ambani, Founder &
Chairperson, of Reli-
ance Foundation, said,
“My congratulations
to the 50 exemplary
women who have
been selected for
the first Women-
Lead India Fellowship.
It has been a joy to learn
about their inspiring
journeys and transfor-
mational vision. I hope
this Fellowship will be
a force multiplier that
further strengthens
and amplifies their out-
standing work with
communities across In-
dia. Reliance Founda-
tion is privileged to
partner with Vital Voic-
es in this incredible ini-
tiative to support our
WomenLead India
Fellows and be a
part of their story.”
“I commend
these 50 women leaders
for rising up to the chal-
lenges people face in
their communities to
steer the way forward.
They are shining exam-
ples of what the Wom-
enLead India Fellow-
ship is all about and I
couldn’t be prouder
that Vital Voices is a
part of their journey.
We are enthusiastic
about making a long-
term investment in this
inaugural cohort of Fel-
lows, whom we believe
will use their power to
empower millions of
others,” said Alyse Nel-
son, Co-Founder, Presi-
dent & CEO, of Vital
Voices. “We are thrilled
to partner with Reli-
ance Foundation on
welcoming India’s next
generation of women
leaders into this es-
teemed Fellowship.”
50 leaders awarded the WomenLead India Fellowship!50 leaders awarded the WomenLead India Fellowship!