First India News Paper|Gujarat-English News Paper Today-08 January 2020 edition

1. AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 45 2578 After ‘This will restore faith in law’ DAYS New Delhi: Four con- victs in the sensational 2012 Nirbhaya Gang rape and murder case will be hanged on Janu- ary 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail, a Delhi court said on Tuesday . The order was pro- nounced by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora who is- sued the death war- rants against the four death row convicts -- Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Shar- ma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). During the hearing, the prosecution said there was no applica- tion pending before any court or the President right now by any of the convicts and the review petition of all the con- victs was dismissed by the Supreme Court. PAGE 2 Nirbhaya case victims mother fl ashes the victory sign along with lawyers. thank the judges. Such rapists should be brought to justice in six months.” The 23-year-old woman, a paramedic student, was brutally gang-raped and tor- tured on the night of December 16, 2012, in- side a moving bus in south Delhi by six per- sons before thrown out on the road. ‘Nirbhaya’ (braveheart), as she came to be known around the country, succumbed to her in- juries almost weeks later — on De- cember 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hos- pital in Singapore. the verdict,” he said. The order was pro- nounced by Addition- al Sessions Judge Sat- ish Kumar Arora who issued death war- rants against them. The four death row convicts are Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Ak- shay Singh Pawan Gupta. Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal welcomed the order. “It’s a vic- tory for every citi- zen of the country , I salute the mother who kept fighting for the past seven years,” she said. “I would also like to New hanging of Nirb- haya convicts will restore the faith of women in law, her mother Asha Devi said on Tuesday. Four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gan- grape and murder case will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail, the court said. Nirbhaya’s moth- er said that January 22 will be a big day for her when the con- victs are hanged. The victim’s father, Badrinath also expressed relief. “It was a long jour- ney , I am happy with Delhi: The AKSHAY THAKUR PAWAN GUPTA MUKESH SINGH VINAY SHARMA Turn on P5 IN THE COURTROOM NIRBHAYA GETS JUSTICE DEATH WARRANT FOR RAPISTS 4 CONVICTS TO HANG TILL DEATH ON JAN 22 AT 7AM Convict Mukesh Singh’s mother walked up to Nirbhaya’s mother, held her sari in a gesture of begging, and pleaded: “Mere bete ko maaf kar do. Main uski zindagi ki bheekh maangti hoon (Please forgive my son. I am begging you for his life).” She wept. So did Nirbhaya’s mother, who replied: “I had a daughter too. What happened with her, how can I forget? I have been waiting for justice for seven years...” The judge then ordered silence in the courtroom. and being FRAME BY FRAME  The execution is expected to take place in Jail 3 of Tihar, where dummy trials have been carried out to test the gallows.  The convicts are in Delhi’s Tihar jail, where offi cials had started pre- paring for the hangings weeks ago. FLASHBACK  The 2012 Delhi gang rape case involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbour- hood in South Delhi. The incident took place when a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern was beaten, gangraped and tortured in a private bus in which she was travelling with her friend, Awindra Pratap Pandey.  Eleven days after the assault, she was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treatment but succumbed to her injuries two days later two  Offi cials say ropes have been brought from Buxar, Bihar, the kind used to hang Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013. * Hang- man From Meerut Singh, JNU RUCKUS SPREADS  Even as the Delhi po- lice is yet to arrest those involved in the hours-long rampage at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Sunday, it has come under fi re for naming students, includ- ing the injured JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, in its FIR. STAMPEDE KILLS 40 AT FUNERAL FOR IRAN GENERAL KILLED BY US Tehran: A stampede on Tuesday at a funer- al procession for a top Iranian general killed in a US airstrike last week killed 40 people and injured 213 oth- ers, two Iranian semi- official news agencies reported. The stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of Revolu- tionary Guard Gen Qas- sem Soleimani, as the procession got underway , said the Fars and ISNA news agencies, citing Pi- rhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergen- cy medical services. Gujarat nahi dekha toh kuchh nahi dekha, declares Rupani  AIMIM president Asa- duddin Owaisi Tuesday condemned the registra- tion of the FIR against “the girl who was injured in the violence”, instead of those who “made an attempt to kill” her. low them. Secondly, what did the V-C do. Thirdly, even the police allowed safe passage for goonda elements,” Owasi said in Hyderabad. Turn on P5, More on P7  “…they made an at- tempt to kill that union president. First thing is that inquiry should look into how did the police al- Turn on P5 Darshan Desai Stating that “Gujarat Nahi Dekha To Kuchh Nahi Dekha”, the Chief Minister said these fes- tivals have put Gujarat on the global tourism map. “The world’s tall- est statue like Statue of Unity has attracted over 35 lakh visitors during one year,” Ru- pani beamed. He greeted the peo- ple for Makar Sank- ranti and said the Kite Festival coinciding with Uttarayan marks the Sun’s northward journey. The motto is ‘sauna saath, sauno vi- kas’. barmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. In all, 153 kiters from 43 countries and 115 kit- ers from 12 states in In- dia are participating in the festival. Rupani recalled, “the contribution of Prime Minister Modi when he was the Chief Minister in popularising Utsav, Tana Riri Mu- sic Festival, Uttara- rdha Mahotsav at Modhera Sun Temple and Festivals at Som- nath, Dwarka besides the National Salt Me- morial at Dandi.” —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE CM OPENS LAND BANK PORTAL Gandhinagar: In one more step towards ease of do- ing business in the State, the Vijay Rupani Govern- ment has developed a special Gujarat Land Bank Portal to enable entrepreneurs and industrialists to identify best locations for their future projects. Ru- pani launched the portal in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. This land bank portal has details of land availability in GIDC estates, Dholera Special Investment Regions (SIR), PCPIR, SEZ and also land available at private industrial parks and logistics parks. The industrial- ists will also get information about basic infrastruc- ture projects or logistics like rail, road, airport, sea port, power lines, water, hospital and gas grid networks in the portal. Chief Principal Secretary to CMO K Kailashnathan, Principal Secretary to CMO as well as Industries and Mines M K Das, Industries Commissioner Rahul Gupta and Indextb managing director Neelam Rani were present when the Chief Minister launched the portal. Ahmedabad: Minister Vijay Rupani was between the kites on Tuesday, pulling a string or two, playing with the kids and giv- ing out autographs, as at his youthful best, declared nahi dekha toh kuchh nahi dekha”. Rupani inaugurat- ed the 31st Interna- tional Kite Festival in presence of Governor Acharya Devvrat and a large number of dignitaries and en- thusiasts at the Sa- Chief Narendra “Gujarat Rann (Left) CM Vijay Rupani with Governor Devvrat Acharya during the inauguration of the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. (Right) Governor Devvrat Acharya releases balloons as Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and MoS (Home) Pradipsinh Jadeja look on. Turn on P5

2. TALKING POINT 02 AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia ‘WE’LL FILE A CURATIVE PETITION IN THE SC WITHIN TWO DAYS. FIVE SENIOR-MOST JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR IT. THERE HAS BEEN MEDIA, PUBLIC AND POLITICAL PRESSURE, WHICH IS WHY AN UNBIASED PROBE DID NOT TAKE PLACE IN THIS CASE,’ SAID NIRBHAYA’S LAWYER JUSTICE ...FINALLY Vasundhara Raje @VasundharaBJP Justice is served! A death warrant for the 4 convicts in the #Nirbhaya case sends across a powerful message. An empowering mo- ment for the women of India! #Nirbhay- aCase A all four convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya Delhi gang- rape case, the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh on Tuesday said that he will file a curative peti- tion in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the same. “We will file a cura- tive petition in the Su- preme Court within two days. Five senior- most judges of the Su- preme Court will hear it. There has been me- dia, public and politi- cal pressure since the beginning, which is why an unbiased probe did not take place in this case,” Singh told ANI. He said that the curative petition will be filed on behalf of all four convicts, namely Akshay, Vinay, Pawan and Mukesh. “The court has given us the time to file a cu- rative petition. We will file the application seeking a stay on the death warrant and I am hopeful that the court will hear it,” Sin- gh said. “Death sentence is Evidence Supreme Court relied upon to uphold death penalty committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial. Another accused was a minor at the time of the commis- sion of the crime and was sent to a reform facility and released after three years. All the four convicts had earlier knocked at the doors of the Su- preme Court against the Delhi High Court order of March 2014 which had confirmed the capital punish- ment awarded to them by the trial court on September 13, 2013. The court had on December 20 reserved the order on an appli- cation filed by Pawan Kumar Gupta’s father till today. The petition had stated that the girl’s friend commit- ted perjury for giving false testimony in the court. The sole eye-witness was accompanying the 23-year-old girl when she was raped and murdered by six men on a moving bus on December 16, 2012. The main accused, Ram Singh, allegedly for the poor of this country. No rich has ever been hanged,” he added. A Delhi court today said that all four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya case will be hanged at 7 am on Jan- uary 22. The court heard the plea of parents of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim seeking to ex- pedite the procedure to hang all four con- victed in the case and also seeking issuance of death against them. fter a Delhi court issued death rant against war- Harshdeep Kaur @HarshdeepKaur Relieved to read this news!! The culprits of Nirbhaya’s case to be hanged on 22nd Jan!! Justice is fi nally being served #Nirbhaya Gautam Gambhir @GautamGambhir Finally! India’s daughter gets JUS- TICE! #Nirbhaya warrant Ritika Jain @riotsjain The four convicts in the #Nirbhayacase will be hanged on January 22 at 7am. However, they can fi le mercy petitions and curative pleas before this date Madhav Sharma @HashTagCricket “The person I’d like to thank above all is my daughter. It is she who had to wait these 7 years.” #Nirbhaya’s Mother Tavleen Singh Aroor @Tavysingh These two. Un- imaginable loss. Unbearable struggle and agony. Irrepara- ble loss. I pray they get some sought of closure today. Asha Devi & Badrinath Singh - more power and peace to you. cused Ram Singh. 5. The court also held that the DNA analysis had cogently linked each of the accused with the victims and the crime scene. 6. The court also said that the odontology re- port which the prosecu- tion had relied upon heavily was credible. 7. The court also said the crime was an act of conspiracy which was established by the se- quence of events. 8. The recovery of the bus and CCTV foot- age was also a major evidence for the prose- cution which the SC said was not tampered with. 9. The court also re- lied on the police theory and said the recovery of articles such as clothes and mobile phones of the victim and her friend from the accused cannot be discarded be- cause there was no ex- planation from the ac- cused explaining how they came to possess those articles. nods and gestures is not only admissible but also possesses evidentiary value. Of her three dy- ing declarations that were recorded, the last one was in gestures. 3. It also took into ac- count the prosecution’s charge that the rape was brutal and inhuman. 4. DNA profile from the blood stains from the rod showed it had the victim’s blood. The rod was recovered at the instance of another ac- 1. In its judgment on May 5, 2017, the top court found the evi- dence of the lone wit- ness who was the vic- tim’s friend, to be unim- peachable. It said the statement cannot be disbelieved simply be- cause there were certain omissions that the de- fence had flagged. 2. The court also re- lied on the victim’s dy- ing declaration and said such a declaration re- corded on the basis of New Delhi: In April 2016, the SC began hear- ing the pleas of the four men sentenced to death for raping a paramedic in a bus in Delhi on De- cember 16, 2012 and a year later upheld the death sentence. Here are the main evi- dence the apex court took into account to de- cide that Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Muke- sh Singh deserved no leniency . Mother of Nirbhaya case victim is seen outside Patiala House Court in New Delhi, Tuesday. Chitra Kishor Wagh @ChitraKWagh Finally a day of recognition for Indian judiciary. After 7 years long courteous journey,judgement day arrives on Jan 22. Hopefully this time no further delays, no more appeals,no more mercy please. Jus- tice to the parents and to the society #nirbhayaverdict #Nirbhaya @PMOIndia What is curative petition? T concept in the Indian legal system. It is the last judicial available for redressal of grievances in court which is normally de- cided by judges in- chamber. It is only in rare cases that such petitions are given an open-court hearing. The concept of cura- tive petition was first evolved by the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and Anr. (2002) where the question whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a re- view petition. above bench agree that the matter needs hear- ing, then it would be sent to the same bench (as far as possible); and The court could im- pose “exemplary costs” to the petitioner if his plea lacks merit. It may be noted that on Tuesday, the SC re- ferred eight curative petitions against the Section 377 of the 1862 Indian Penal Code to a five-judge tion bench, as the is- sue involved a ques- tion of far-reaching constitutional impor- tance. “Whoever vol- untarily has carnal inter-course against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with [im- prisonment for life]. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN NIRBHAYA CASE 23-year-old, Nirbhaya, died days after she was gangraped on a moving bus, tortured with an iron rod and dumped on the road, naked and bleeding, on December 16, 2012. She and her friend had boarded the bus from south Delhi after a movie To entertain the cu- rative petitions, the Su- preme Court has laid down certain specific conditions: The peti- tioner will have to es- tablish that there was a genuine violation of principles of natural justice and fear of the bias of the judge and judgement versely affected him; The petition shall state specifically that the grounds had been taken in the review petition and that it was dismissed by circulation; The pe- tition is to be sent to the three senior most judges and judges of the bench who passed the judgement affect- ing the petition, if available; If the major- ity of the judges on the he curative peti- tion is fairly a new Akshay resort that ad- Pradeep Bhandari @pradip103 All four convicts in the Nirbhaya Case will be hanged on 22nd January 2020. Finally long due justice for Nirbhaya and her mother is delivered. But one question that still remains unanswered is ‘why justice is delayed so much in our coun- try?’ #Nirbhaya Constitu- mentioned was Image for representational purpose only.  Dec 16, 2012: A paramedical student out with her male friend was gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six men in a private bus and thrown out of the moving bus on the streets.  Dec 17: Police identify the accused - bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and a juvenile.  Dec 18: Police arrest the accused.  Dec 21: Juvenile nabbed from Anand Vihar bus termi- nal in Delhi.  Dec 22: Sixth accused  Mar 27: SC reserves verdict after nearly a year of hearing the case.  May 5: SC rejects the plea by four convicts challenging death penalty.  Nov 13: The convicts appeal to the apex court to review the sentence.  May 4, 2018: SC upholds the order on the plea of three convicts seeking a review of its 2017 verdict upholding the death penalty.  July 9: SC dismisses review petitions of three convicts. Fourth convict Akhsay had not fi led a review petition. Ashish Chauhan @AshishSainram As an Indian, I feel relieved that FINALLY justice will be delivered in #Nirbhaya case Her family can take a sigh of relief after 7 years of judicial process I feel hum- bled to be part of organisation like @ ABVPVoice which stood for the cause of justice Akshay Thakur arrested in Bihar.  Dec 29: Victim succumbs to her injuries at a Singapore hospital.  Jan 3, 2013: Police fi les charge-sheet against the fi ve accused.  Feb 28: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) frames rape, murder charges against the juvenile accused.  Mar 11: Main accused Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar jail.  Aug 31: JJB fi nds the juve- nile accused guilty of rape and murder, sentences him to three years in a special home.  Sept 13: Four remaining ac- cused sentenced to death by Additional Sessions Judge.  Mar 13, 2014: Delhi HC up- holds the trial court verdict.  Apr 3, 2016: Hearings begin in SC.  May 5: SC upholds death penalty of Akshay, Vinay, Pawan and Mukesh.  Aug 29: Drama in the courtas the allegation of the police tampering with evidence is made.  Feb 3, 2017: SC decides to rehear the case on the sentencing aspect after the petitioners contend that there are violations in the procedure.

3. AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 45 —FILE PHOTO INDIA-US TIES HAVE GROWN FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: MODI TO TRUMP to President Trump, his family and the people of the US. Trump reciprocated the gesture and wished the people of India prosperity and progress in the New Year. “He ex- pressed satisfaction at the achievements in the relationship in the last few years and reiterat- ed his readiness for fur- ther deepening bilater- al cooperation,” PMO India said. “The PM stated that India-US which are built on trust, mutual respect and understanding, have grown strength to strength. The Prime Minister highlighted the sig- nificant made in deepening the Strategic Partner- ship between the two countries in the pre- vious year and ex- pressed his desire to continue to work with President Trump for enhancing coopera- tion in all areas of mutual interest,” the statement read. New Delhi: Ties be- tween India and the United States grown from strength to strength, PM Naren- dra Modi told Donald Trump during a tele- phonic conversation and expressed his de- sire to continue to work with the US President for enhanc- ing cooperation in all areas of mutual in- terest, the Prime Min- ister Office (PMO) said on Tuesday. During the talks, PM Modi highlighted the significant progress made towards deep- ening the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the previous year, the PMO said in a state- ment. The US Presi- dent expressed satis- faction at the achieve- ments in the relation- ship between the two countries in the last few years and reiter- ated his readiness for further deepening bi- lateral cooperation. PM Modi also extend- ed New Year greetings Gloves are off in ‘healthcare’ battle between Guj and Raj PM CONDOLES THE DEMISE OF PN HOON P former Western Army Commander Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon and said that he served India with utmost dedication. “Extremely sad- dened by the passing away of Lt Gen PN Hoon (retd). He served India with utmost dedication and contributed signifi cantly towards making our nation stronger and more secure. My thoughts are with his family and friends in this sad hour. Om Shanti,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Lieu- tenant General Hoon, who played an important role in the war against Pakistan in 1984, passed away on Monday evening at the age of 90. He was admitted in Command Hospital, Chandimandir, Panchkula due to illness. He was declared dead around 5:30 pm on Monday evening. Born in pre-partition India on October 4, 1929, Lt Gen Hoon had joined the Indian Army and led Operation Meghdoot, the code-name for the Indian Armed Forces operation to capture the Siachen Glacier in the Kashmir region, precipitating the Siachen Confl ict. The action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier. have rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the demise of relations, from progress File Photo of PM Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, US. —ANI —ANI Haresh Jhala Care Unit (NICU) in the Rajkot civil hospi- tal. “They went there just to take photos and selfies,” Patel said, adding that if the Op- position party was concerned about the issue they would have come up with concrete suggestions before the government. “The issue is very se- rious and the entire country is facing it, there is not a single state where the child mortality is zero. Guja- rat is doing better than several other states and has been able to bring down mortality ratio,” he said. Government, that the leaders were acting on the behest of their high command to di- vert the national at- tention away from poor medical services in Rajasthan. Page 5 for report on comparative data and steps taken by State Government) At his aggressive best, Patel asserted, “The Congress lead- ers are trying to de- fame Gujarat by mak- ing false allegations. The party is support- ing Pakistan and ter- ror groups are work- ing against the state alleged Congress and national inter- est.” Nitin Patel told re- porters here that the, “Gujarat Congress lead- ers have instructions from the top to unneces- sarily drag Gujarat into the controversy child mortality ratio, though we are doing far better in health sector compared to the Con- gress-ruled Rajasthan.” The Deputy CM, who also holds the health portfolio, alleged it was just to draw the media eyeballs that State Congress Presi- dent Amit Chavda and other leaders visited the Neonatal Intensive SURJEWALA POOH-POOHS ‘GUJ MODEL’ Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala lashed out at CM Vijay Rupani for children’s deaths at Rajkot and also at the media for the alleged inadequate coverage of it. Surjewala tweeted: “First 1235 innocent children died in Rajkot, 375 children died in Gandhinagar- Ahmedabad. 14 more innocent deaths in the last 5 days. Where is Vijay Rupani, the head of Modi’s ‘Gujarat model’ missing?” But Surjewala didn’t stop there. He went on to train guns at the media ask- ing, “Along with BJP’’s silence, the media is also silent, what are the reasons?” Earlier, the Congress slammed the BJP for the death of children at Rajkot and Ahmedabad Hospitals in Gujarat where more than 200 infants have died in the two hospitals. State Congress in-charge Rajiv Satav had said: “When will the Prime Minister and the Home Minister break their silence on the deaths of children, while they boast of work done in Gujarat.” Gandhinagar: knives are out over the recent infant deaths in Gujarat jasthan with the rul- ing BJP on Tuesday taking the battle right into the rival camp, pointing fingers at the holes in the health- care system in the neighbouring while the Congress mocked at the State’s claim to be a model of development. Deputy Chief Minis- ter Nitin Patel, who has been drafted to do the fire-fighting on behalf of the Vijay Rupani The and Ra- (See on state —Agencies —FILE PHOTO Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.

4. GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 04 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Six passengers on Shatabdi Express come down with food poisoning First India News the food charges of those who fell ill, but refused to refund the passengers’ ticket fare. According to a senior official of the Indian Railways, the six were part of a group of 32 women who were trav- elling from Mumbai to Surat to partake of the city’s delicacy , ponk. “Six of the group of 32 women complained of vomiting and uneas- Surat station for fur- 10 injured as ABVP, NSUI clash in A’bad over JNU violence Incident comes a day after 100+ people held a peaceful demonstration against same attack supplied the food based on the passengers’ com- plaint. Firoz Khan, manager of Sunshine Caterers was taken into custody later in the day . A total of Rs2880 has been refunded to the people who complained of health issues. IRCTC, the arm of the Railways that handles catering and tourism, charges Rs80 per person for the food. ther treatment,” Said CR Garuda, Station Di- rector, Surat. “We started feeling unwell after eating the bread and butter that was served as breakfast. We later discovered that the bread and butter were very old. There was a layer of fungus on the bread,” a passenger said. A complaint has been lodged against the contracted vendor who iness. The other pas- sengers pulled chain as the train reached Bhestan sta- tion. As soon as we re- ceived the information, a team of doctors were sent on the spot. Two women who were se- verely ill were given injections and the oth- er four were given med- icines. All of them were them were brought to HEALTH HAZARD the Surat: At least six pas- sengers came down with food poisoning Tuesday morning after allegedly consuming the breakfast served aboard the Shatabdi Ex- press from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The food came from a private vendor, who has been apprehended. The Rail- ways has also refunded Armed robbers steal `11 lakh in Jamnagar First India News Ahmedabad: An em- ployee of a cash-trans- fer company was alleg- edly robbed at knife- point of Rs11 lakh by three masked men on a bike in Jamnagar on Tuesday. The victim was walking near Saty- am Underpass when three unidentified per- sons on a bike allegedly threatened him with a knife and fled after col- lecting Rs11 lakh as well as his mobile phone. Jamnagar city C Di- vision police have filed a complaint and started an investigation in this case. According to po- lice sources, the com- plainant, identified as Alabhai Bhikhabhai Rathod, works with cash-transfer company Right Safe Guard. This company carries cash from different compa- nies and deposits it in banks. On Tuesday after- noon, Alabhai had col- lected Rs11.14 lakh from three different compa- First India News More Ahmedabad: than 10 people were hos- pitalized with injuries after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vid- yarthi Parishad (ABVP) and its rival National Students’ Union of In- dia (NSUI) clashed here on Tuesday during a protest against Sun- day’s violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru Uni- versity in New Delhi. The incident took place during the protest organized by NSUI, the student wing of the Congress, outside the office of the RSS-affili- ated ABVP in Paldi. The two groups have blamed each other for Sunday’s attack and said the other used sticks and stones to at- tack them. The police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Later in the day , DCP KN Damor Nikhil, NSUI Gujarat president CONDEMNATION We are checking CCTV footage from different parts of the city. Since the accused persons covered their faces with cloths and did not have a number plate on the bike, and the complainant could not identify them. But still, we are investigating the matter. —MJ Jalu, Inspector, Jamnagar C Division —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE Clash between the two groups in Paldi area on Tuesday. “The mute spectators while the ABVP members beat us,” Savani told. However, the ABVP alleged that NSUI mem- bers came to its office with the intention of at- tacking them. “NSUI came to our office wav- ing flags. They then re- moved the flags and used the staffs to attack us,” ABVP member Naresh Desai said. police were In a video clip telecast by some local news channels, close associate of Con- gress leader Hardik Pa- tel, was seen being beat- en by some people in the presence of policemen. Patel and Gujarat Con- gress chief Amit Chav- da later visited the hos- pital and condemned the attack. The Con- gress party has an- nounced a state-wide agitation on Wednesday . Some 250 RTI activists attacked and 14 murdered in the state of Zone 7 told First India that the two bodies have filed complaints against each other. “We will neu- trally investigate the matter,” he said. NSUI General secre- tary Gujarat Nikhil Sa- vani was admitted to VS Hopsital, where he un- derwent minor surgery and received six stitch- es. 5 other NSUI mem- bers were also admitted in the same hospital, an NSUI member said. Savani, a “We CCTV footage of differ- ent parts of the city. Since the accused per- sons covered their fac- es with cloth and did not have a number plate on the bike, and the complainant could not identify them. But still, we are investigat- ing the matter.” are checking nies before he was loot- ed. The bike used by the robbers allegedly did not have a number plate. Jamnagar police have begun their search for the suspects and are monitoring the city’s entry and exit points. Inspector MJ Jalu of the Jamnagar C Divi- sion police station said, members later Attempted kidnapping of 13-year-old girl First India News CRIME BRANCH Banaskantha mamlatdar ensnared in ACB trap Ahmedabad: The mamlatdar of the Di- yodar taluka in the Banaskantha district has become the latest government officer to be trapped by the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB). The Gandhina- gar crime branch on Tuesday caught the He woke up to his wife and daughter scream- ing, and chased the would-be While the assailant fled, Kalabhai had seen his face and identified him as a truck driver who had been seen in the area for the past three days. Later, another driver Munnakumar Rai told him that the person I had chased was Ramjitku- mar, a resident of Bihar. The complaint further says that Kalabhai then informed his company’s night supervisor Avin Bhatt, who called the po- lice control room to re- port the incident. First India News she said that the latest victim of such an attack is RTI activist Amit Par- mar, an LLB Student from Khopala village of Botad district. His only crime was to seek infor- mation of the 14th Fi- nance Commission’s grant used in the vil- lage. Although this in- formation has to be pro- actively disclosed at the village panchayat office as per the GoI Nov 2019 guidelines, the same was not disclosed and, on the contrary, the ac- tivist was attacked, re- sulting in fractured hands and legs. Ahmedabad: Navrang- pura police have regis- tered a against a truck driver for attempting to kidnap a 13-year-old girl on Tuesday . According to the com- plaint filed by migrant labourer Kharad, he and his fam- ily were asleep in a tent at the Gandhigram Rail- way station, when an unknown person at- tempted to pull his 13-year-old daughter in to a vehicle. This inci- dent occurred just after midnight, he said. kidnapper. Ahmedabad: Whistle- blowers are not safe es- pecially if they try to use the RTI (Right To Information) Act to gain access to informa- tion that the officer in charge or other public functionaries want to keep under wraps. In a statement to the press, non-government organization Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), citing data from the CHRI website and RTI helpline, has said that some 14 RTI activists seeking infor- mamlatdar’s driver al- legedly taking a bribe of Rs25,000. sources say a citizen of Banaskantha had filed a complaint with ACB saying mamlat- dar Pranbhai Panchal had allegedly demand- ed a bribe, or a month- ly hafta. complaint ACB coming with proactive disclosure, the hard fact remains that informa- tion that should be shared with stakehold- ers has been concealed and anyone trying to this information through the RTI Act is targeted by the system. Citing an example, mation under the Act were murdered. In addi- tion, some 250 have been attacked or have had the lives of family members threatened. MAGP executive sec- retary Pankti Jog stated that although the gov- ernment claims to be transparent and forth- Kalabhai Mahiti Industries and Mines dept employees caught in trap Gandhinagar: Gan- dhingar ACB caught two government em- ployees at the Indus- tries and Mine depart- ment accepting a bribe worth Rs16,000. An ACB official received a tip-off, stating that some employees of the Industries and Mines department were de- manding bribes from vehicle owners. On re- ceiving this informa- tion, the ACB set up a trap and Prahladbhai Chaud- hary, a clerk at the Chiloda check post and Rohit Desai, a con- tract employee at Chil- oda check post. Gan- dhinagar ACB Inspec- tor HB Chavda filed a complaint both and started an in- vestigation. arrested GUP SHUP Smart Singham and his squirming superior R due to harassment by private money lenders (euphemistically called “fi nancers”) in the city. So it makes sense that one such lender, who was named in an application, was worried about police action against him. What doesn’t make much sense, however, is what came after. We hear that the “fi nancer” sent a “box of sweets” to a DCP, who then instructed an inspector at the local police station not to register a complaint on the basis of application. Luckily for law and order in the city, this Inspector ‘Singham’ went ahead with the complaint against the corrupt money lender! When the angry DCP heard what had happened, he made an angry phone call to his honest if disobedient subordinate—who recorded everything! Wanna guess who’s squirming in his well- upholstered seat now? So much for ‘Khushboo Gujarat ki’ at River Front “T translated into actual functioning restrooms on the ground. We’re not even getting into the paucity of public restrooms around the city, but you’d think that a venue that regularly hosts guests from outside the city, state and even the country would have working loos! Yes, we’re talking about the Sabarmati River Front, that’s currently hosting the week-long International Kite Festival. With no “pukka” sanitation on offer, delegates from more than 45 countries will have to depend on assembled ones. And, given the shape that these are in, well... let’s hope our visitors can hold their breaths if not their bladders. If not, they’ll be smelling something, all right, but it won’t be “Khushboo Gujarat ki,” that much is sure! ecently, there have been as many as seven or eight instances of suicide or attempted suicide oilets fi rst, temples later,” is a fi ne political slogan. Too bad it doesn’t appear to have against Man accused of posing as CBI officer in Nikol Ahmedabad: A Nikol resident has alleged that a man posing as a CBI inspector has lured him and his friends into taking jobs as police inspec- tors, while duping BUGGED? Or is it the grapevine... . First India begins a column that brings to you gossips or tete-e-tete from the corridors of power them of lakhs of ru- pees. According to the complainant, a man named Mauliksinh Rana was posing as a CBI officer and in the end duped them of Rs 11 lakhs.

5. GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 05 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Central Command for Healthcare Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel says Health Secretary will have powers to directly approve equipment repairs Equipment shortage to be sorted soon 2 more infants die in Rajkot in 24 hours, Jan toll 16 First India News Masuma Bharmal Jariwala “These figures are nor- mal we are 10% less than the average infant death ratio. Our infant mortality ratio is 25% while national level ra- tio is 35%. Our hospital constantly upgrading fa- cilities at all hospitals. At the same time, the Depu- ty Chief Minister conced- ed, “We do not claim that we are perfect, we also need to do a lot of work to improve the situation.” Patel said, “if there is any shortage of equip- ment the government will make sure all re- quired equipments are provided to the hospitals. All primary health cen- tres and Community Health Centres will be equipped with modern equipment.” He added that Guja- rat’s majority civil hospi- tals are equipped with equipment like Nebuliz- er, Phototherapy , Suction machine, Infusion pump, Multipara Pulse Ocsometer ma- chine, ABG machine, and Bilirubin Machine. Because of the state gov- ernment’s sincere efforts in the last three year child mortality ratio is constantly dropping. The minister prom- ised, “Wherever there is a shortage of medical or para medical staff, the state will create a net- work and try to fulfil the requirement. Now the PHCs and CHCs will not have to wait for long to get non functional ma- chine repaired as the Health Secretary will di- rectly approve such pro- posals without wasting time.” The Rajkot: Just as the con- troversy over infant deaths refuses to die down, two more chil- dren have lost their lives in past 24 hours at the Rajkot civil hospital, bringing total deaths to 285 so far since October 2019. January 2020 alone has so far registered 16 deaths. This figure is considered as “normal” by medical superinten- dent of the hospital Dr. Manish Mehta. There has been a huge uproar and a big ques- tion on the hospital’s ef- ficiency and the prevail- ing health system in the state with the hospital reporting 269 deaths in 2019 in the months of October (87), November (71) and December (111). When asked about the reasons, Dr. Mehta said, “ premature births, con- ventional infection and delayed referred cases. “ And on insufficient staff and infrastructure, he assured,” we have sufficient staff. We have 90 nursing staff and 20 resident doctors. No po- sition is vacant except requirement of five as- sistant professor and one associate professor. We are well equipped and have sufficient in- frastructure.” The medical superin- tendent Gandhinagar: State Government has decided to set up a Cen- tral Command System (Technical Cell) to en- ‘We do not claim that we are perfect. We need to do a lot more.’ Most cases are referred from district hospitals, says Medical Superintendent. is well equipped. Cur- rently there are 64 in- fants admitted in the NICU. Most of the cases are referred When a doctor knows a child is terminally ill the child should not be referred.” So who is to be blamed for the deaths? Does it mean there are poor health facilities at the taluka level, Dr. Mehta opined,”The health fa- cilities cannot termed as poor, but they surely need strengthened. For ex- ample we had a case from Chotila which was referred after around 5 days, if it had come ear- lier, we could have saved the child. Of the 16 deaths in January, 13 were referred cases.” Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena submitted a memo- randum at the Rajkot Collectorate demanding actions against those re- sponsible for the deaths of the infants.” sure no critical health services come to a halt in the absence of approvals. Deputy Chief Minis- ter Nitin Patel told re- porters here on Tuesday that it often happened that due to some reason machines stop function- ing and to get it repaired the hospital authorities have to put up proposals right up to the secretari- at level. “Patients suffer when his happens since approvals take time,” Pa- tel said. Patel, who also holds the health portfolio, said this situation needs to be addressed and so the gov- ernment has decided to create central command systems, where such pro- posals will be directly sent to the secretary or commissioner for the ap- proval. “It is with this sinceri- ty that the state govern- ment is working to bring down the child mortali- ty ,” he said. Patel added that the government is BIG PICTURE cases. A baby in the neonatal unit of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. KOTA HOSPITAL NICU There is no modern equipment Outdated equipment available 3 X-Ray machines 20 ventilator machines; of which 6 work 71 warmer machines; of which 1 works GUJARAT SCENARIO machine, AHMEDABAD CIVIL HOSPITAL 92 beds 1 X-ray machine 15 ventilator ma- chines; of which 13 are operational 71 warmer machines; all operational 4 bilirubinometer SURAT CIVIL HOSPITAL 84 beds 1 X-ray machine 9 ventilator machine; of which 8 are opera- tional 42 warmer machines; of which 41 are op- erational be to be CRITICAL CHILDREN PATIENTS ADMITTED AT NICU IN THE PAST THREE YEARS RAJKOT CIVIL HOSPITAL 60 beds 2 X-ray machines 9 ventilator machines 57 warmer machines; of which 47 are op- erational VADODARA SSG HOSPITAL 68 beds 2 X-ray machines; of which 1 is operational 11 ventilator ma- chines; all operational 43 warmer machines Year 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Number 45, 935 47,499 49,982 42,736 (till Dec) Mortality ratio (per 1,000) 14.8 15 15.3 12 explained, Demolition takes our homes, say residents as AMC widens road KITE FESTIVAL First India News we are homeless be- cause of the misman- agement of AMC,” said Kishor Vaghela, whose house was among those razed on Monday . Depu- ty estate officer of the south zone, Manish Master said “We have removed some 39 con- structions and other en- croachments to widen a road. Out of the total houses, residents of 24 houses were given alter- native options as they were valid occupiers.” The International Kite Festival kicked off on Tuesday at the Sabarmati River Front in Ahmedabad. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated this year’s edition of the annual event, which is expected to see participation by delegates from 45 countries. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE The Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation razed 39 homes on Mon- day to widen an exist- ing road near Hirabhai Tower in Maninagar. While the civic body re- located some of these residents, many have alleged that AMC offi- cials razed more build- ings than needed. “We have become homeless because the (AMC) hand and have now razed our homes. The civic body has given al- ternatives to those who were not eligible, while AMC has razed more space than what was re- quired for the align margin. They did not even inform us before- FROM JACKET activity on mobiles or camera, are hereby re- quested to come forward and give their statements, footage or pictures to SIT at administrative block, JNU campus,” Joy Tirkey, DCP-Crime, Delhi Police, said. JNU RUCKUS... z CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, who joined a protest march outside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tues- day, said he has reached the university to show solidarity with its teachers and students. “I condemn JNU violence. If the Vice Chancellor thinks he can silence students, then it will not happen. We de- mand the removal of V-C, identification of those who attacked students, and also rollback of fee hike,” he said. Italy, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Mexi- co, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Slo- venia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, Thai- land, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Viet- nam and Zimbabwe among others. the fields, infusing en- ergy and enthusiasm among the people.” The Governor and the Chief Minister re- leased calendar and books on places of tour- ist’s interest published by the Tourism Depart- ment. About 150 artists from 19 countries pre- sented global art festi- val painting on kite fes- tival to the Governor and Chief Minister. The foreign partici- pants are from Argenti- na, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Cam- bodia, Canada, Chili, China, Columbia, Croa- tia, Curacao, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ger- many, Indonesia, Israel, on December 18 had dismissed the plea of Akshay seeking review of its decision, saying review petition is not “re-hearing of appeal over and over again” and it had already con- sidered the mitigating and aggravating cir- cumstances while up- holding the death pen- alty . ing Indian ethos of Va- sudhaiva bakam, believing in world as one family. It reflects the Gujarat’s development soaring high in the sky, achieving new mile- stones.” He said the kite festi- val, which coincides with Makar Sankranti has its scientific basis too, “marking the Sun’s marching away from Tropic of Capricorn, with days becoming longer than leading us from dark- ness to light, as reflect- ed in age-old adage ‘Ta- masoma Jyotirgamayo’, celebrating the harvest festival of Spring across of the convicts - Mukesh and Vinay - said they were in the process of filing curative petition in the Supreme Court. The trial court had earlier directed Tihar jail authorities to seek within a week response from the four death row convicts as to whether they were filing mercy pleas against their exe- cutions with the Presi- dent of India. It was hearing the ap- plications moved by Nirbhaya’s parents and the prosecution (Delhi government) seeking issuance of death war- rant against the con- vict. The Supreme Court later delayed but no new timing was given. “Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatri- ots have been injured and some have been killed during the funer- al processions,” he ear- lier said. In delaying Soleimani’s burial, au- thorities cited con- cerns about the mas- sive crowd that had gathered, the semi-offi- cial ISNA news agency said. A procession in Teh- ran on Monday drew over 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main thoroughfares and side streets in Tehran. Lithuania, Kutum- model Gujarat nahi... Its increasing popu- larity has resulted in the size of kite making in- dustry increase from Rs 20 crore to Rs 600 crore. Speaking on the occa- sion, the Governor said the kite festival has over the years deserved- ly become truly inter- national having drawn global attention to the annual event, “reflect- After 2578... While urging the court to issue the death war- rants, the prosecution said, “In between issu- ance and execution of death warrants of the convicts want to file cu- rative petitions they can do so.” The counsel for two Stampede kills... There was no informa- tion as to what had set off the stampede. Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road and others shouting and trying to help them. Soleimani’s funeral was nights, z “All those who are witnesses to JNU violence or have any info about it or have captured any

6. PERSPECTIVE 06 AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia PROTESTS SYNCHRONISED AFTER LOSING ’19 POLLS 2019 victory led to a flurry of laws and decisions which are hated by the leftist IN-DEPTH BLOWING HIS TRUMP-ET IN WEST ASIA S President Donald Trump is known to blow, well, his own trumpet louder than most. Never the one to back off from a fight, restrain his tongue or hold back his Tweets, he has been a high-decibel pres- ence since his advent on the political firma- ment. The problem with loudmouth is they some- times overdo the jaw-jaw, get carried away by the sound of their own voice. When this hap- pens, they either become a joke or evoke pity for their asinine thoughts. But, sometimes they sound like bullies and dangerous rabble- rousers. Consider Trump’s latest threats to Iran in this context. Since he authorised a drone strike on Iranian General Qasim Soleimani, Trump has been consistently adding to the already tense atmosphere in the Middle East with his intemperate comments. Soon after the Iranian government vowed to avenge Soleimani’s death, Trump raised the tem- perature further by saying the US govern- ment has identified 52 sites for retaliatory attacks. These 52 sites, he claimed, include some of the cultural centres and historical sites of the country . Trump’s threats have caused worldwide consternation and fierce criticism from Teh- ran. Its leaders have called Trump foolish and pointed out that his bullying amounts to a contravention of international law and is tantamount to war crimes. Though Trump has refused to back off, saying bombing the cultural heritage of Iran would be a legiti- mate response to “terrorism,” the Pentagon has ruled out such drastic measures. His de- fense secretary has accepted the criminality of the threat and refused to implement it. The problem with Trump is he lives dan- gerously on the margins of legality and mo- rality . His conduct before and after the Presi- dency has been far from satisfactory and has drawn flak on many occasions. He is also fac- ing impeachment by the US Congress for mis- using his post to coerce Ukraine into starting a probe against one of his political rivals. Trump’s threat to blow up centres of Ira- nian culture and history isn’t different from the Taliban-esque principle of blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas to rile the adversary or subjugate a rival philosophy . It just doesn’t behoove his stature.Trump is expected to be measured in his words, and circumspect with his actions, especially when global peace is at stake. But, he seems to be equating threats with diplomacy and bluster with for- eign policy . Yet another example of his char- acteristic hubris is the threat to impose sanc- tions on Iraq after its parliament passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of US forces from the country. Trump needs to be tread with caution in the global arena. He should understand that West Asia is not the US, where his foes have learned to ignore some of his words as rants. ISHKARAN SINGH BHANDARI U The author is an Advocate at Supreme Court India T he reasons behind all the vio- lent protests on the citizenship act are because the leftists and Naxals are extremely frustrat- ed and angry because of the massive victory of the BJP in the 2019 election. India has long been governed by the Congress & leftist eco- system where political power, media, academia were con- trolled by them. The was a set- back to them but was consid- ered by Leftist ecosystem as a temporary thing arising out of anti-incumbency vote against 10 years of UPA rule (2004-14) but when the 2014 results were repeated & improved by PM Modi they realized India is changing, becoming aware of its rights, facts are free in social media & leftist can no longer control the news, narrative & politics of this country . This 2019 victory led to a flurry of laws and decisions which are hated by leftist & Ji- hadi forces such as ban on tri- ple talaq, abolition of article 35A, 370 & construction of Ram Mandir. These decisions by the government have shattered the leftist policies implemented since Independence & set India to a new path of uniformity and national integration. The 2019 elections broke left’s back and not being able to cope with this set-back the Left came up with a new technique to not let the current govern- ment function. They did this by spreading false interpretations, misguiding the people, fear- mongering and inciting people to come on the streets and cre- ate mayhem. They have thrown stones, destroyed property, burnt buses and attacked po- licemen during the protests against CAA and the same has followed since then to the cur- rent JNU incident on which conflicting versions exist. The Leftist mafia has always criticised our armed forces & police. After the recent incident at Jamia, they targeted the po- lice for entering the Jamia INDIAN MUSLIM, yet is being used to spread misinforma- tion, do fear-mongering among people, them to do violence on streets. The recent events where Paki- stani Jihadi mob is threaten- ing devotees and committing vandalism at Nankana Saheb Gurudwara, followed by a Sikh being targeted and killed in Pakistan, is the best exam- ple to indicate how Indic faiths are facing Genocide. The violent protests against CAA in the country are only indicative of fact that the pro- testors want people of Indic faiths to remain in Pakistani land and face death. That since recently the im- mediate threat in Pakistan came to the forefront on social media, the leftist knew their entire campaign would col- lapse & is likely that to divert attention the attack in JNU was stage-managed. The leftist ecosystem was decisively rejected by people in 2014 & 2019 by exercising their democratic right of vot- ing. Thus the strategy of Jin- nah has been adopted by left- ist but it will not work in mod- ern India under the govt of PM Modi. All violent illegal protests will be crushed by Home Minister Amit Shah and it will be ensured that Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, etc. fac- ing persecution in neighbour- ing nations will be given pro- tection in Bharat. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL Campus and ran a campaign against them which probably made the Delhi Police reluctant to go to universities. But now after the JNU inci- dent, the same leftist started saying “why didn’t police in- vade JNU in full force” the ba- sic premise of these contradic- tory stands is to attack security forces & to not let them func- tion properly . The entire violent protests is a synchronised strategy made after losing the 2019 elections. They have decided to adopt Jin- nah’s strategy of direct action day violence. They have decid- ed to light a million fires from Jamia to JNU, from AMU to Jadavpur University and from UP to West Bengal, sometimes in the name of CAA and NRC. The JNU incident can be seen nothing more than a staged act as the CAA protests have been dying and Urban Naxals had to create a new fire to obstruct governments working but they failed to realize that the 2019 India is a new India. No government supports violence and the government of India has also condemned the violence and has instruct- ed Delhi police to be actively involved in finding out the facts and catch the criminals. The government had always been favorable to students and considers them as the build- ing blocks of society. This gov- ernment from its day one has claimed and titled itself as the government of youth and has taken many initiatives for the provoking The 2019 elections broke left’s back and not being able to cope with this set-back the Left came up with a new technique to not let the current government function betterment of Youth. It’s just the Leftist Naxals have made it a point to target govern- ment and police for every act and have started protesting on streets against the Indian government, which is making laws to save people who are facing Genocide in our neigh- boring countries. The battle lines are made clear, one side is with perse- cuted Hindus, Sikhs, etc. who have no option other than In- dia and the other side, is one who wants millions of Roh- ingya to come to India even though they have various other options to seek refuge but does not want some 30,000 odd Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jains, etc to come to India and has declared war to stop it. The CAA 2019 does not ad- versely affect even a single JNU incident can be seen nothing more than a staged act as the CAA protests have been dying and Urban Naxals had to create a new fire to obstruct governments working Racial stereotypes: Asians are good at math? T the U.S. If all Asian people were innately gifted in math, we shouldn’t see this kind of variation. A better explanation has to do with education policy and federal immi- gration laws. Countries that invest in teacher edu- cation and high-quality curriculum do better on international tests. In the U.S., the 1965 Immigra- tion and Nationality Act gave preference to STEM professionals from Asia. That policy affected my own parents, who were able to immigrate to the U.S. under that law, not because South Asian peo- ple are naturally good doctors. part of students’ classroom experiences in these sub- jects. If we don’t understand how racism works – even in supposedly “neutral” are- as like STEM – we might unintentionally racist ideas. he that “Asians are good at math” is pervasive in the United States. narrative seen as the “model mi- nority” – hardworking, academically and professionally suc- cessful – but it wasn’t al- ways that way. In the 18th century, Asian people were classi- fied as “mongoloids,” a racist term based on the pseudoscience of crani- ometry. Whereas “cauca- soids” (white people) were deemed full human beings with superior intellect, all people of color were con- sidered underevolved. From the late 19th cen- tury, a new image of Asian people was born: national threat. Chinese immigrants were seen as an economic threat to white American workers, and Japan became a mili- tary threat during World War II. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM talented Young children are aware of it. College students’ aca- demic performance can be affected by it. And Asian American candidate Andrew Yang has made his mathemati- cal aptitude a feature of his campaign. On the surface, the “Asians are good at math” narrative sounds like a compliment. what’s wrong with saying that someone is good at something? But as I ex- plain in a recent article, there are two problems. First, the narrative is false. And second, it is racist. I’m an teacher and researcher of STEM education. Research tells us that racism is a recycle presidential DEBUNKING THE MYTH As with many racial ste- reotypes, people are genu- inely curious whether the “Asians are good at math” narrative could be true. There are videos on You- Tube with several million views asking that ques- tion. Don’t test scores prove the narrative? In fact, they don’t. On interna- tional exams, it’s true that Asian countries among the top performers in math. But it’s also true that other Asian nations rank 38th, 46th, 59th and 63rd. Interestingly, those top performers also lead in reading – but there isn’t a narrative that “Asians are good at litera- ture.” Domestically, it’s the same story. shows considerable varia- tion in mathematical per- formance among different Asian ethnic groups in After all, As with many racial stereotypes, people are genuinely curious whether the “Asians are good at math” narrative could be true TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp The purpose of the nation-wide Jan Jagran Abhiyaan is to lift the veil off those who don’t want peace in the country. Our Muslim brethren have also joined in to support #CAA and reject the false propaganda of the opposition. #IndiaSupportsCAA MONGOLOID’ TO ‘MODEL MINORITY’ So if it’s not true, why do we say it? Today, Asians are often Research experienced are G Vol 1 G Issue No. 45 GRNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, Managing Editor: Robin Roy, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

7. INDIA AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 07 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Academicians, celebs write to Modi They have praised the Prime Minister for the ‘humane and historic step’ taken with regard to the CAA and said it was a ‘watershed moment’ in the history of Bengal IN DENIAL MODE Mumbai: Film producer Bhushan Kumar denied attending govern- ment’s dinner at a hotel in Mumbai to discuss the CAA. The event invite was from Union Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP’s National Vice President Baijayant ‘Jay’ Pan- da. Bhushan Kumar said, “I was in Grand Hyatt. That doesn’t mean I was in a meeting or something,” This was after a reporter asked the cast and crew about the meeting. Bhushan Kumar not only arrived at the same time as the other celebri- ties who attended the meeting but was also thanked by BJP’s Tarun Rathi on Twitter CAA ROW Kolkata: A group of academicians, filmmak- ers, actors, artists, and other professionals from West Bengal have written to PM Modi, ex- tending their support to the CAA, which grants citizenship to persecut- ed minorities from Af- ghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. “We the people of West Bengal express our sincerest gratitude and unreserved admira- tion from the deepest core of our heart to you for enacting the CAA and through for finally settling this excruciat- ing episode, which has been tormenting and af- flicting the Bengali psy- che and soul for the last seventy years, since time of reads the letter. Nine signatories, Basu, Prof Debashish Chowdhury, Arindam Chakraborty, Advocate Joydip Sen, Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, indya Pulak Banerjee, Milan Bhowmik, San- jay Som, and Rantidev Sengupta have con- firmed that they have signed the letter along with others addressed to the PM, extending support to CAA. “History bears wit- JOINING HANDS WITH STUDENT ‘I AM YOUR ‘PEHREDAR’ Patharpratima: Contending that she was the custodian of people’s rights, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said she would do every- thing in her power to protect the people of the state, as long as she was alive.“We do not live at the mercy of anyone. I will not allow anyone to take away our rights,” the CM said at a public meeting here, on the western fringes of Sunderbans. “I am your ‘pehradar’, if anyone comes to take away your rights, he will have to do it over my dead body. There is no need to be afraid of anybody,” the TMC leader, Banerjee said. ness to the fact that parti- tion has caused more pain and penury to the Bengali people than any other. A few far-sighted Bengali leaders and thought-lead- ers in the past had fore- seen the calamitous conse- quences of partition. Their wholehearted ef- forts resulted in the crea- tion of Bengal. These per- sonalities includes Sir Jadunath Sarkar, histori- an RC Majumdar, Prof Suniti Kumar Chattopad- hyay, Dr Meghnad Saha, Dr Syama Prasad Mukho- padhyay,” the letter adds. SILENT PROTEST BY UMAC Hyderabad: The United Muslim Action Committee (UMAC) an- nounced that it will organise a silent protest in the city against CAA & NRC on January 30. President Asaduddin Owaisi said, “On January 30, the day on which Mahatma Gandhi was as- sassinated, there will be a silent protest between Mohammadi line fl our mill and Bapu Ghat. There will be a human chain in which every participant will hold each others’ hands.” ‘PIRATED PROPAGANDA’ New Delhi: BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the universities across the country are infl uenced by a pirated propaganda. “These protests are infl uenced by pirated propaganda. We want to appeal to the protesters that they should follow the path of truth as truth always wins and they shouldn’t be a part of the pirated propaganda.” DMK STAGES WALKOUT Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president MK Stalin staged a walkout for the second continuous day from the state Assembly opposing the CAA. “We want to give a strong mes- sage that we do not support the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The AIADMK in the state is not taking any step but just working for the BJP in the centre and hence we have walked out of the assembly today,” Stalin told reporters outside the Assembly. partition,” Anjana An- B-TOWN CELEBS INVITED Mumbai: Many Bollywood ce- lebrities including dissidents like Farhan Akhtar were invited to discuss CAA with Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. Director Vipul Shah has confi rmed that he had personally invited Anurag Kashyap and Swara Bhaskar, who have participated in various anti-CAA protests. Several other celebrities from the industry were invited and were keen to attend the interaction, they couldn’t come on account of be- ing out of Mumbai on that day. JAFAR, DARAPURI OUT Lucknow: Congress worker Sadaf Jafar and former IPS of- fi cer SR Darapuri were released from Lucknow jail.Speaking to media after her release, Jafar said that she will continue to protest until the Centre rolls back the CAA. “The fear of being jailed and beaten up has now gone, thanks to Yogi Ji. I will continue to protest strongly till the time this inhuman law is withdrawn,” she said. Jafar and Darapuri were held last month during CAA protests. WOMEN ACTIVISTS’ TAKE Hyderabad: Women activists in Hyderabad alleged that attacks on students in JNU were an attempt to silence the youth over their opposition to CAA & NRC. “It is heartbreaking to see that while JNU students were being brutally attacked by communal goons, cops stood silently as spectators. How can a country which talks about the demo- graphic advantage of having youth & students just condemn it on paper & fail to arrest & pun- ish the perpetrators of the attack? —ANI UPDATING NPR WITH PILOT SURVEY Bhubaneshwar: Amid a countrywide brouhaha over the implementation of the amended citizenship law, the Odisha government has initiated the process to update the National Population Register (NPR), with the launch of a pilot survey, an offi cial said. A door-to- door survey would be conducted soon as part of the process, he said. “As per instructions of the Registrar General of India, the NPR exercise has begun. A pilot survey has been carried out in parts of the state, while door-to-door survey and house-listing will be taken up mid-April,” he added. BJP workers in Chennai hold placards during CAA support rally. IN THE COURTYARD Court to hear Chandrashekhar’s medical treatment plea today Lawyers remind Constitutional values to masses INCOME TAX CASE STING CASE Court dismisses Karti, wife’s plea ‘No charge-sheet without permission’ Nainital: The Uttara- khand High Court di- rected the CBI to not file charge-sheet without its permission in the 2016 sting video case against former chief minister Harish Rawat. Justice Shudhanshu Dhuliya slated the mat- ter for hearing on March 2. Before the hearing, Rawat took to Twitter seeking the blessing of the people. “Some black sheep were stolen from my house and they are still at my friends houses. My friends have accused quires checkup cerned doctor of AIIMS, Delhi especially Dr Ri- shi Dhawan, Asst Pro- fessor, Haematology Department, Delhi, where the treat- ment of accused is go- ing on for a long time under the supervision of the said concerned doctor and requires day to day checkup of blood, so that as and when, within a week or maxi- mum ten days when the blood becomes thick, if it is not done it may be- come a cause of cardiac attack for the accused,” the plea stated. —ANI to continue from New Delhi: Delhi’s Tis Hazari court will hear on Wednesday Bhim Sena chief drashekhar Azad’s plea regarding his medical treatment. Metropoli- tan Magistrate Arul Verma directed the con- cerned investigative of- ficer to submit the med- ical report of Chan- drashekhar on January 8. Mehmood Pracha, the counsel of Azad moved the court seeking medi- cal assistance for him. Azad stated he has a dis- ease, which pertains to blood thickness and re- quires regular medical treatment from the Hae- con- New Delhi: A group of lawyers read out the preamble of Constitu- tion at SC lawns to make people remember the constitutional val- ues. Kamini Jaiswal & Sanjay Parikh, & other lawyers were present. The move comes in the backdrop of protests against CAA. Protests have been held in differ- ent parts of the country against the Act which grants Indian citizen- ship to Hindu, Chris- tian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. —ANI Chennai: The Special Court for Income Tax cases dismissed pleas moved by Congress leader Karti Chidam- baram and his wife, seeking to discharge them from prosecution initiated by I-T depart- ment for alleged non- disclosure of income of over Rs 7 crore for the financial year 2015-16. The case pertains to a land dealing where I-T department has alleged that property sold by the duo in 2015 was un- dervalued amount shown on the Chan- AIIMS, matology department. The Bhim Sena chief is currently in judicial custody till January 18 after he was arrested by police from Jama Mas- jid during the protest against CAA. “Azad is suffering with “Polycythemia”, that is a disease of blood thickness and re- paper was different. The IT dept filed a case citing the I-T evasion and deliberate attempts by Karti and his wife Srinidi Rangarajan of selling a property in Chennai. Later, Special IT Court was constitut- ed for probe. —ANI me of this. CBI has filed an FIR against me. The case will be heard in the Nainital HC today . I hope your support and blessing are with me,” Rawat tweeted in Hindi. The court had on No- vember 1 postponed the hearing till Tuesday . and the MUTHOOT MD INJURED AFTER STONES THROWN AT CAR Kochi: The Managing Di- rector of Muthoot Finance company was injured after miscreants allegedly threw stones at his car today morning. George Alexander Muthoot suffered a head injury and was taken to a private hospital, the police said.A group of employees have been protesting against the Muthoot management GAGANYAN ASTRONAUTS TO HAVE INDIAN FOOD IN SPACE MISSION New Delhi: The Defence Food Research Labora- tory in Mysore said that it has prepared special desi food items for Indian astronauts scheduled to go into Space in Mission ‘Gaganyan’.The food items include egg rolls, veg rolls, Idli, moong dal halwa and veg pulav. Moreover, food heaters would also be provided to SPECIAL DRIVE TO REMOVE SPEED BREAKERS FROM NHs New Delhi: In a bid to ensure smooth and hassle-free traffi c movement, especially at toll plazas, a special drive has been initiated for removal of all sorts of speed breakers on National Highways. The speed breakers and rumble strips constructed at toll plazas are being removed with immediate effect for smooth vehicular movement. The speed breakers result in consid- erable delay, damage to vehicles and signifi cant discomfort to vehicle occupants and more fuel consumption due to acceleration & deceleration. VP NAIDU PAYS HOMAGE TO VISHVESHATEERTHA SWAMI JI Bengaluru: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu appealed to people to follow the path shown by Pejavara Sri Vishveshateertha Swami Ji & work towards building a casteless society in India. He said that seers like Sri Vishveshatirtha Swami Ji have always provided solace to suffering people and they constantly rushed to the help of the needy. “Our ancient sages always kept welfare of society above everything else. The great Puranic sage Dadhichi sacrifi ced his life to ensure that society remained on the path of righteousness.” over dismissal of 160 people from company’s 43 branches across the state in December. While the Muthoot manage- ment alleged that “Centre of Indian Trade Unions goons” were behind the attack that happened at around 9 am, the union leaders have maintained that they have no role in the incident. them. Special containers have also been developed to help the astronauts drink liquids including water and juices in Space where there is no gravity. ISRO announced that India’s fi rst-ever manned mission ‘Gaganyan’ is slated to take place by mid-2022, and four pilots of the IAF have been selected for training.

8. INDIA AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 08 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia ‘Violence not a solution’ THE ADMN WILL FIND OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT NORMALCY RETURNS TO UNIV JNU VIOLENCE POWERGallery FORMER AIR CHIEF MARSHAL B S DHANOA CHOICE FOR DIPLOMATIC POST ? Whispers are doing the rounds that Air Chief Marshal (Retd) B S Dhanoa is still Govt’s choice for a diplomatic position in France. FIRST CHIEF OF AIR DEFENCE COMMAND COULD BE FROM IAF OR INFANTRY It is being speculated now that the fi rst Chief of Air Defence Command may again be from the Infantry. However, this would again need ap- proval from the Air Force top brass, who may have a different opinion. DID FM NOT CLEAR PROPOSAL OF A K PANDEY ? In the power corridors, it is heard that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not approve the proposal of the appointment of A K Pandey as Chairman of the CBIC. In this case, she reportedly overruled the proposal. TEJENDER SINGH TO JOIN NIA ? Tejender Singh is likely to join the NIA in a cou- ple of months. He is a 2008 batch IPS offi cer of UT cadre. DR MILIND DHARNRAO RAMEKE TO JOIN GOI AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR LBSNA Dr Milind Dharnrao Rameke is joining the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Admin- istration, Mussorie as Deputy Director. He is a 2009 batch IAS offi cer of Tripura cadre. ALLAHABAD HC STILL SHORT OF 44 ADDITIONAL JUDGES The Allahabad High Court had vacancies for 44 Additional Judges as on January 1, 2020. CP, DELHI LEAVE CANCELLED Sanctioned leave of Delhi Police Commissioner has been cancelled. His leave was sanctioned for two days - Monday and Tuesday. But it was cancelled because of JNU episode. SHAHI GIVEN ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF POLICE – 2 IN MHA S K Shahi has been given additional charge of JS Police – 2 in the MHA. He is a CSS offi cer and JS Central - State relations. DR M M KUTTY IS ALSO SECRETARY, STEEL Dr M M Kutty has been assigned an additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Steel for the time being. He is a 1985 batch IAS offi cer of UT cadre. PRABAL BASU LIKELY TO GET EXTENSION Prabal Basu, Chairman & Managing Director of Balmer Lawrie & Co Limited (BLC), is expected to get extension for second term. I C P KESHRI IS PRESIDENT OF MP IAS ASSOCIATION I C P Keshri has been elected as new President of the Madhya Pradesh IAS Association.He is a 1988 batch IAS offi cer. ITS OFFICER S B S REDDY JOINS AP GOVT ON DEPUTATION A 1989 batch ITS offi cer, S Bala Subramayam Reddy has joined the Andhra Pradesh govern- ment on deputation with getting posting as Special Secretary, Investment in Steel Sector in Industries & Commerce Department. JUSTICE MS SANJU PANDA APPOINTED ACTING CJ OF ORISSA HC Central Government has appointed Justice Sanju Panda as acting Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court w.e.f. January 5, 2020. A K SAHU IS ALSO HIGH COMMISSIONER TO DOMINICA Arun Kumar Sahu , presently High Commis- sioner of India to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India to the Commonwealth of Dominica, with residence in Port of Spain. He is an Indian Foreign Service offi cer of 1996 batch. FIR filed against woman New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru (JNU) Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Tuesday termed Janu- ary 5 violence as “un- fortunate” and stated that violence is not a solution. He said that the administration will find every opportunity to make sure that nor- malcy returns to the University . “The incident that took place on Sunday, January 5 is unfortu- nate. Our campus is known for debates and discussions to resolve any issues. Violence is not a solution. We will find every opportunity to make sure that nor- malcy returns to the University,” said. On Sunday evening, more than 30 students of the university in- cluding JNUSU presi- dent Aishe Ghosh were injured and were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. —ANI V-C SPEAK University Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Tuesday regis- tered an FIR against the woman who was seen holding a ‘Free Kash- mir’ poster at Gateway of India during a pro- test against violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University . The woman protester, identified as Mehak Prabhu, had earlier in the day said her inten- tions were to only high- light the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.Stating how the issue was “com- pletely blown out of proportion”, in a video posted on Facebook. Kumar —PHOTO BY ANI Graffi ti wrote on JNU administration offi ce in New Delhi on Tuesday. No proof, story made up: Aishe Ghosh Delhi: Aishe New Ghosh, chief of JNU Students’ Union, said she is confident that there can be no police action against her re- garding the two FIRs since she has not been involved in any vio- lence. “I have not done any violence. The police first need to have proof against me to take ac- tion,” she said. The FIRs Ghosh was filed on Sun- day evening , around the time masked were on an attack spree at the university and she was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, injured and bleeding. The cases, were based on complaints of uni- versity authorities. TWO FIRS FILED against JNU Students’ Union chief Aishe Ghosh interacts with media after being discharged from the hospital. ‘THOSE BEHIND JNU VIOLENCE WILL BE EXPOSED SOON’ goons that the people with the mask will be exposed. People spreading rumors in JNU and across the country are try- ing to instigate violence.” “There is a deliberate attempt at creating un- rest in universities. This is the con- spiracy of some people, These people will also be exposed,” he added. Forensic teams look for clues at JNU New Delhi: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered an inquiry into the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) violence and all the accused would soon be exposed. “The Home Minister has ordered an inquiry into the matter. I believe Poster row: Need to see intent, says Aaditya Thackeray ‘Acts of violence in institutes worrisome’ thority (who severely condemned JNU vio- lence) over what hap- pened at Jadavpur Uni- versity a fortnight ago is painfully some,” tweeted. Sanjay backs protests As soon as former In- dia cricketer-turned- commentator Manjrekar expressed his support for ongoing protests in Mumbai which were organised for showing solidarity with JNU students, Olympic bronze medal- list Yogeshwar Dutt also joined the debate. Mumbai: Mumbai Po- lice has taken “serious cognisance” of a ‘Free Kashmir’ poster spot- ted at the Gateway of India during protests against Sunday’s mob violence at Jawaharlal Nehru Uni- versity . The poster, held by a young woman who later identified herself as Mehak Mirza Prab- hu, was among several held aloft by protesters who had gathered at the iconic monument by the sea after a masked mob, armed with iron rods and sledgeham- mers, attacked JNU stu- dents and teachers and Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Dhankhar said that the acts of violence and an- archy in educational institutions is “worri- some and should not be tolerated.” Taking to Twitter, Dhankhar also stated that silence of those in authority, who had con- demned violence in JNU, over what hap- pened in Jadavpur Uni- versity is “painfully worrisome”. “Acts of violence, anarchy in educational tions is worrisome and should not be tolerated. Silence of those in au- RAJ MEETS BJP New Delhi: Delhi Po- lice issued a public ap- peal seeking pictures, footage or any informa- tion related to Sunday’’s violence in JNU cam- pus that left 34 people injured even as forensic teams looked for evi- dence. Teams from Physics, Chemistry and Biology divisions of the Foren- sic Science Laboratory were in the university , the sources said. A team of photo ex- perts from the Forensic Science Laboratory was also present at the campus. —PTI Jagdeep worri- Dhankhar Delhi’s Manjrekar left 34 people injured. “We have taken seri- ous cognizance of the ‘Free Kashmir’ poster seen in the protest last night at Gateway of In- dia. Yes, we are definite- ly investigating it,” Sangramsingh Nishan- dar, Dy Commissioner of Police said. —ANI Sanjay institu- SC’s 9-JUDGE BENCH TO HEAR SABARIMALA CASE FROM JAN 13 New Delhi: The SC formed a nine-judge Con- stitution bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde to hear from January 13 the issue of allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Kerala’s Sabarimala temple, along with the other contentious issues of alleged discrimination against Muslim and Parsi women. The other judges CONG DEMANDS NSA AGAINST VIJAYVARGIYA FOR REMARKS Indore: Madhya Pradesh Congress unit wrote a let- ter to city district collector demanding the National Security Act against BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for threatening to set “entire Indore on fi re”. “We have written a letter to collector demanding action against Vijayvargiya. He has disrupted peace in the city, SGPC DELEGATION MEETS RAJOANA IN PATIALA JAIL Patiala: An Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee delegation, led by Gobind Singh Longowal met Sikh political prisoner Balwant Singh Rajoana inside Patiala jail. Rakjoana’s sister Kamaljeet Kaur also met him inside the jail. Rajoana’s sister Kamaljeet Kaur told that his brother has postponed his hunger strike of Janu- ary 11 and added, “SGPC Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Pradhan Pawan Singh has assured that the Home Minister will talk to President so that the matter can be resolved soon.” JAMMU: SNOWFALL AFFECTS VEHICULAR MOVEMENT Udhampur: In the wake of fresh snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, the traffi c movement was on Tuesday suspended from Udhampur to Srinagar on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Many vehicles including heavy and light motor vehicles were stranded at various points along the highway in Udhampur. According to the India Meteorologi- cal Department, Srinagar is likely to receive snow next week. Rain and thunderstorm were ob- served in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, said the IMD. on the bench are Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhu- shan, L Nageswara Rao, M M Shantanagoudar, S A Nazeer, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The 9-judge bench has been set up after a 5 judge bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, by a 3:2 majority verdict, referred the matter to a seven-judge bench. investigated people for vi- olence, delivered instigat- ing speech and threatened public offi cers. He was even heard in a video stat- ing that he will set entire Indore on fi re. We demand that NSA should be fi led against him,” Congress leader Devendra Yadav said. He was caught on camera threatening a govt offi cial in Indore.

9. SPORTS AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 09 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia in MEN IN BLUEGO 1-0 UP IN SERIES India clinched a 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Indore India gunned down a 143-run target with 15 balls to spare Shardul and Navdeep Saini shone with the ball for India BRIEF Rossi bids adieu to football Buenos Aires: Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi has confirmed his retirement from foot- ball, expressing his de- sire to spend more time with his family . De Ros- si spent 18 years with Italian club AS Roma. De Rossi also earned 117 caps for Italy at sen- ior level, winning the FIFA World Cup in 2006. SCOREBOARD India vs Sri Lanka Toss: India, fi eld fi rst Sri Lanka MD Gunathilaka b Saini WIA Fernando c Saini b Washington 22 16 5 0 MDKJ Perera c Dhawan b Kuldeep BOP Fernando st Pant b Kuldeep PBB Rajapaksa c Pant b Saini MD Shanaka b Bumrah DM de Silva c Dube b Thakur PWH de Silva not out I Udana c Saini b Thakur SL Malinga c Kuldeep b Thakur CBRLS Kumara not out Extras: 6 (b 1, lb 1, w 4) Total: 142/9 (20 Overs, RR: 7.1) Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Avishka Fernando, 4.5 ov), 2-54 (Danushka Gunathilaka, 7.4 ov), 3-82 (Oshada Fernando, 11.3 ov), 4-97 (Kusal Perera, 13.2 ov), 5-104 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 14.5 ov), 6-117 (Dasun Shanaka, 16.6 ov), 7-128 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 18.2 ov), 8-130 (Isuru Udana, 18.5 ov), 9-130 (Lasith Malinga, 18.6 ov) Bowling: JJ Bumrah 4-0-32-1, SN Thakur 4-0-23-3, NA Saini 4-0-18-2, Washington Sundar 4-0-29-1, Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-38-2. India KL Rahul b PWH de Silva S Dhawan lbw b PWH de Silva SS Iyer c Shanaka b Kumara V Kohli not out RR Pant not out Extras: 2 (b 1, lb 1) Total: 144/3 (17.3 Overs, RR: 8.22) Fall of wickets: 1-71 (KL Rahul, 9.1 ov), 2-86 (Shikhar Dhawan, 11.2 ov), 3-137 (Shreyas Iyer, 17.1 ov) Bowling: SL Malinga 4-0-41-0, CBRLS Kumara 3.3-0-30-1, DM de Silva 2-0-15-0, MD Shanaka 4-0-26-0, PWH de Silva 4-0-30-2. R B 4 6 20 21 3 0 SR 95.23 137.50 121.42 111.11 75.00 87.50 130.76 160.00 50.00 0.00 - 34 28 0 3 10 9 1 0 9 12 1 0 7 8 0 0 17 13 2 0 16 10 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 PBL to kickstart in Chennai Chennai: PBL will be hosted by Chennai for the first five days of the league before it moves to Lucknow on January 25, followed by seven days of badminton ex- travaganza in Hy- derabad while the semi- finals and the grand fi- nale will be staged in Bangalore. Indore: India could not have asked for a better start to the T20 World Cup year thrashed Sri Lanka in the 2nd match of the ongoing 3-match series in Indore on Tuesday. After the 1st T20I in Guwahati was washed out with a ball bowled, India were on the mark as they got down to business in the New Year. KL Rahul contin- ued from where he left in 2019 as he took apart the Sri Lankan bowling attack in the power- play. The in-form opener missed out on a fifty R B 4 6 45 32 6 0 32 29 2 0 34 26 3 1 30 17 1 2 1 1 0 0 SR 140.62 110.34 130.76 176.47 100.00 as they Max Verstappen extends F1 deal London: Max Verstap- pen has signed a new three-year deal with Red Bull that will keep him at the team until at least the end of the 2023 season, in what will be his eighth season as a Red Bull driver. The Dutchman was expect- ed to be one of the key cogs in this year’s driv- er market, with previ- ous contract keeping him until 2020. After a clinical performance from the bowlers, Indian batsmen made sure of 7-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the second T20I. EXCELLENT OVERS BY NAVDEEP AND KULDEEP ond delivery of the over. His next two wick- ets of Isuru Udana (1) and Lasith Malinga (0) came off consecutive deliveries at the end of the over but since it was his last over he missed a hat-trick. but he did the job with a 32-ball 45 at the Hol- kar Stadium. Shardul picked up all his three wickets in his final over of the match. In the 19th over, he first dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva (17) off the sec- N 18 runs. Kuldeep Yadav came back strongly twice in the match to pick two crucial wickets of Oshada Fer- nando and Kusal Perera in his fi rst two overs. Kuldeep started both the overs going for a six but managed avdeep Saini gave the side two crucial breakthroughs for only to have the last laugh. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah, who is returning after an injury lay-off, had a quiet outing in Indore. He accounted for one wicket after giving away 32 runs. Earlier, India won the toss and elected to fi eld against Sri Lanka for the second time in the series. ECB appoints Neil Snowball as MD New Delhi: The Eng- land and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tues- day appointed Neil Snowball as the Manag- ing Director of county cricket. Snowball served as CEO of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 2016. Shapovalov picks up 2nd win against top-10 at ATP Cup Ronaldo scores 2nd half hat-trick, thump Cagliari Barca squad for Spanish Super New Delhi: Barcelona on Tuesday named a 24- man squad for their up- coming Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash against Atletico Ma- drid. Ter Stegen, Ar- thur and O. Dembele missed out from the team owing to their re- spective injuries. nals champion, served seven double against Shapovalov to take his total for the tournament “There’s a lot of things that I still need to im- prove, but it’s the start of the season,” Zverev said. “I need to find my rhythm.” Shapovalov returned with team- mate Felix Auger-Alias- sime to win the deciding doubles rubber against Kevin Krawietz and An- dreas Mies earning Canada a 2-1 win in the tie to keep them in the hunt for quarter-finals. Sydney: Canadian Den- is Shapovalov picked up his second win against a top-10 player at the ATP Cup team event thumping of Alexander Zverev as the German continued to struggle with his serve ahead of this month’s Australian Open. Shapovalov, 20, needed just 70 minutes to brush aside world number seven Zverev, who lost his third straight singles before the year’s first Grand Slam starting in Mel- bourne on 20 January. Zverev, the 2018 ATP Fi- faults Italy: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second-half hat- trick to lead Serie A cham- pions Juventus to a 4-0 win at home to Cagliari, taking his tally to eight goals in his last five league games. The Portuguese pounced on a mistake in the Cagliari de- fence to break the deadlock four minutes after halftime before adding the second from a penalty as he scored for the fifth league game in the row. Ronaldo completed the rout by finishing off a counter-attack one minute. to 31. Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Sydney: Perth Scorch- ers defeated Melbourne Renegades by six wick- ets in the ongoing Big Bash League. Chasing 176, Scorchers got off to a solid start as Josh Ing- lis and Liam Living- stone put on 102 runs stand for the opening wicket. KYRGIOS BEATS TSITSIPAS TO CLINCH 3-0 START FOR AUSSIES Bolstered by a raucous Aussie crowd, Nick Kyrgios made the host country a perfect 3-0 at the ATP Cup on Tuesday night, beating World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece for the second time. Kyrgios saw a break point come and go midway through the third, but regrouped in WILLIAMS BEATS WIND, CAMILA GIORGI IN AUCKLAND 1ST ROUND Serena Williams kick- started her Auckland Classic with an easy vic- tory over Camila Giorgi. Playing her fi rst singles match since losing last year’s US Open fi nal to Bianca Andreescu, the 38-year-old fi red eight aces and was hardly troubled by Giorgi. Wil- liams broke the Italian’s Bad day for Indian shuttlers at Malaysia Masters event Ex-Aussie coach quits social media Sydney: Former Aus- tralia cricket coach Darren Lehmann quit social media Tuesday after his Twitter ac- count was hacked and used to post “vile” con- tent, including anti-Iran messages. The 49-year- old is now coach of Brisbane Heat in the do- mestic Twenty20 Big Bash League. Fadia Silva Ramadhan- ti and Ribka Sugiarto 15-21, 10-21. On Wednes- day, Parupalli Kashyap will open his campaign against top seed Kento Momota, while Kidam- bi Srikanth will take on second seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei. ters badminton tourna- ment. It was a bad day in office for the Indians as the women’s doubles pair of Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh also failed to make the main draw. Dandu and Santosh lost to the Indo- nesian pair of Siti Kuala Lumpur: Lak- shya Sen failed to qual- ify for the main draw while the Satwiksairaj Rankired- dy and Chirag Shetty crashed out in the first round as Indian shut- tlers got off to a poor start at Malaysia Mas- pair of the tie-break, delivering a barrage of forehands and mixing in delicate drop shots to keep Tsitsipas off balance. serve 3 times, while remaining unbroken herself in a fi rst-round encounter that lasted only 68 minutes. England secure victory over South Africa WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP Perry wants Australia to ‘capture people’s imaginations’ London: forced a dramatic 189- run victory over South Africa of the second Test in Cape Town to level the series at 1-1. With the tourists still needing three wickets in the final hour, man of the match Ben Stokes claimed them all to cap a stunning all-round performance. England’s attack was also limited with all-time highest Test wicket-taker James Anderson missing most of the last two sessions because of injury . England thing you want in a World Cup. “I think we want to capture peo- ple’s imaginations and make it really enter- taining and make it something they want to tune in and watch.” Australia is current- ly ranked at the num- ber one spot in the women’s team rankings in both ODIs and T20Is. In the women’s T20 World Cup, Australia will play their first match against India on February 21. ment at home. “We’ve been success- ful and played some re- ally great cricket, espe- cially in the last 24 months or so, so this is the next challenge for us,” she said. “It’s a re- ally great opportunity to hopefully do some- thing special. “Given the quality of opposi- tion, it’s going to be a great spectacle (and) it’s also going to make it re- ally difficult for us to be successful, but I think that’s absolutely every- the aim to break the world record for the highest attendance at a women’s sporting fix- ture. Australia have be- come a dominant force across formats in the women’s game and are currently No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC Wom- en’s Team Rankings in both ODIs and T20Is. Perry reflected on her team’s success in recent years and hoped that her side does “some- thing special” when they play the tourna- Sydney: Australia all- rounder Ellyse Perry is excited about the fast- approaching ICC Wom- en’s T20 World Cup, call- ing it the most hyped-up event in women’s crick- et in the past decade. Australia are hosting both the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups this year, with the wom- en’s event starting on 21 February . The final will be played at the Mel- bourne Cricket Ground on International Wom- en’s Day (8 March), with  As teams get ready to participate in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Ellyse Perry has termed the competition as an ‘exciting challenge’

10. 2NDFRONT Giving back is the way ahead. If you have power, use it to empower everyone else. —Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India 10 AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Face consequences if you go on strike: Govt to employees Central Trade Union staff will stage a protest against some of central government policies AIR INDIA DISINVESTMENT GoM approve EoI, share purchase agreement New Delhi: A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday ap- proved the Expres- sion of Interest (EoI) as well as the share purchase agreement for Air India’s priva- tisation, a senior gov- ernment official said. The EoI and the share purchase would be issued in Jan- uary itself for the bid- ders, he said. The last GoM meeting took place in September 2019. Last year, the Air India Specific Alter- native Mechanism (AISAM) the re-initiation of the process for the government’s 100 per cent stake sale in Air India along with Air India Express and the carrier’s joint venture AISATS. While Air India’s net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore, its current total debt is around Rs 80,000 crore. A Voluntary Retire- ment Scheme (VRS) as well as a debt restruc- turing plan for the air- line was also approved by the AISAM, the offi- Union Nationwide strike: Banking, transport services may be hit New Delhi: The Cen- tre has warned its em- ployees of “conse- quences” if they go on strike called on January 8 by one of their associations to protest against union government’s policies including labour re- forms, foreign direct investment (FDI) and privatisation, accord- ing to a Personnel ministry order. The Central Trade Union, except Bharti- ya Mazdoor Sangh, and their affiliates in different sectors are mobilising and employees for their proposed nation- wide general strike on January 8, to protest against some of the central government policies and press for 12-point common de- mands of the working class relating to mini- mum wage and social security among others. “Any employee going on strike in any form would face the conse- quences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appro- IAS Ramesh Meena named Commissioner land reforms First India News New Delhi: Banking, transport and other ser- vices across the coun- try are likely to be hit as trade unions called a nationwide strike on Wednesday . Nearly 25 crore peo- ple are said to be tak- ing part in this all- India strike to protest against the govern- ment’s “anti-people” policies. Ten central trade unions like INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC along with var- ious sectoral inde- pendent federations and associations had adopted a declaration in September last to go on a nationwide strike on January 8, 2020. Several banks have already informed stock IMPACT agreement WILL ABIDE BY REGULATOR’S DIRECTIVES: GOAIR New Delhi: GoAir on Tuesday said it has received a notice from the DGCA after a “routine FDTL (fl ight duty and time limitations) audit” and it will take appropriate action to abide by the aviation regulator’s directives. A senior offi cial of the Direc- torate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said on Monday that the regulator has started the process of issuing show cause notices to approximately 100 pilots and senior executives of GoAir over alleged violation of the FDTL norms. The FDTL norms are there so that the cockpit crew and cabin crew gets adequate rest to mitigate fatigue, so that they remain alert during any fl ight operations. According to a source, GoAir cancelled as many as 40 fl ights between December 23 and 24. have priate disciplinary ac- tion,” the order said. In a missive issued to all central govern- ment departments, it said existing instruc- tions prohibit a gov- ernment from participating in any form of strike in- cluding mass casual leave etc. It said the right to form the asso- ciation does not include any guaranteed right to strike or protest. “There is no statuto- ry provision empower- ing the employees to go on strike,” the ministry said. The Supreme Court has also agreed in several judgements that going on a strike is a grave misconduct under the rules and that misconduct by the government em- ployees is required to be dealt with in ac- cordance with law, it said. “All officers are also requested not to sanc- tion casual leave or any other kind of leave to the officers and employ- ees, if applied for, dur- ing the period of pro- posed strike, and en- sure that willing offic- ers are allowed hin- drance free entry into the office premises,” said the order, also is- sued to the Central In- dustrial Security Force (CISF) asking it to en- sure strict vigil. approved workers servant exchanges about the Wednesday strike and its impact on banking services. Various bank em- ployee associations, including AIBEA, All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), BEFI, INBEF, INBOC and Bank Karmacha- ri Sena Mahasangh (BKSM), pressed their willing- ness to participate in the strike. ‘State will give compensation to farmers affected by locust attack’ First India News TUCC, stake in cial said, refusing to di- vulge any details about the same. On Saturday , Air In- dia chief Ashwani Lo- hani had said “ru- mours” of the disin- vestment-bound air- line’s shutdown are “all baseless”, weeks after he told the Civil Aviation Ministry that the carrier’s financial situation was “grossly untenable” for sus- taining operations. have ex- SpiceJet’s daily Amd-Jed flights from Feb 20 First India News ment Agency; with this IAS Saidingpuli ChhakChhuak has been relieved from the addi- tional charge of the GEDA director. though IAS BA Shah has been relieved from Registrar of Coopera- tive Societies, he has been asked to hold ad- ditional charge the Chief Town Plan- ner, Gandhinagar, until further notice. The new Registrar of Cooperative Socie- ties is IAS DP Desai, who will replace IAS BA Shah. State Pro- ject Director of Sarva Shikshan and Commissioner of Primary Education, IAS P Bharathi has been given additional charge of Director of Schools. amounted to crores. The state agricul- ture department hired 104 tractor- mounted sprayers to control the swarms in two days. The government claims that had they not acted on time, all crops from northern Gujarat could have been de- stroyed by the pests. Faldu added that there is no shortage of pesticide-spray- ing fertilizers in the state. For this month, 2.20 lakh MT of the stock was released by the central govern- ment, of which 70,000 MT has arrived in Gu- jarat and is being dis- tributed to farmers, he said. Some Gandhinagar: IAS officers are trans- ferred to fill vacancies and relieve some officers from additional charges. As part of this exer- cise, the General Ad- ministration Depart- ment has transferred IAS Ramesh Meena as commissioner of land reforms and Ex- Offi- cio will hold charge of the secretary revenue. Principal Secretary Kamal Dayani has is- sued the transfer or- der on Tuesday. Ac- cording to this order now the Additional Chief Secretary (Reve- nue) Pankaj Kumar is relieved from the addi- tional charge of Reve- nue Secretary . Other IAS officers Gandhinagar: state government has promised to pay com- pensation to farmers who have been hit by the locust swarm at- tack last month. The government said it will release Rs 31.50 crore as compensa- tion to farmers at the earliest, adding that application forms for these reparations can be filed from their vil- lage panchayat offic- es itself. In what was the worst locust attack in 25 years, locusts damaged crops in 280 villages in the Ba- naskantha and Patan districts. Crops on more than 25,000 hectares of land were destroyed in these areas. The Ahmedabad: SpiceJet has planned two more flights from Ahmedabad. One (daily flight) to Jeddah and the other to Hyderabad. Both flights will begin from February 20. The fare from here to Jeddah has been pegged at Rs 12,895 while the ticket cost to Hyderabad will be Rs 2,732. There has been an increase in the num- ber of pilgrims from Gu- jarat to Hajj Umrah. Ahmedabad-Hy- derabad flight will take off at 3.55 am and arrive at 5.45 am. Jeddah flight will depart at 7.30 am and arrive at 10.15 pm. Bookings for both the flights have started. pesticide Al- non-stop of who are also trans- ferred through these orders are IAS Dhanan- jay Dwivedia Secretary Narmada, Water Re- sources, Water Supply, and Kalpsar depart- ment will now hold ad- ditional charge of Sec- retary (GAD-NRI-ART), earlier this post was held by IAS Ramesh Meena. IAS BA Shah is the new Director Guja- rat Energy Develop- The minister added that since gram pan- chayats of the affected villages have all neces- sary survey details in place, it will be easy to give compensation to around 11,000 farmers. Despite made by the central government’s team in combating swarms in the state, crop Agriculture Minis- ter RC Faldu told re- porters that as per the State Disaster Re- lief Fund, farmers get compensated by Rs13500 per hectare, while they will also get compensated by Rs5000 per hectare from the state govern- ment. There will be a cap of Rs 37,000 per farmer, he added. fertilizer- Abhiyan efforts locust damages State govt waiting for Apex Court to take final call on helmet norm Now, ACB to look into cash deal of corrupt officials Vipul Rajput and cash transactions, especially at the time of note ban. So it has been decided that a huge scam of the arrested po- lice and GLDC’s higher officials will be caught in the last few days.” ACB has launched anti-corruption cam- paign in recent times. Due to this, officials including GLDC Man- aging Director KS Deetroja, Assistant Director Praveen Pre- mal were trapped. On the other side, DYSP JM Bharwad ACB’s Police Inspec- tor DD Chawda were Quakes jolt parts of Kutch First India News First India News explain how it could take such a decision that is contrary to its (SC’s) decision. Hence, the government in re- ply has sought the guid- ance of the Supreme Court, but has also re- quested the Supreme Court to allow the state to continue with the re- laxation of rules.” He further added that the state would abide by the Supreme Court’s decision, even if that meant making helmets mandatory for urban citizens again. also trapped. DYSP Bharti Pandya of ACB’s Benaami Asset and Disproportionate Net Asset Unit told First India, “We have conduct- ed a disproportionate as- set investigation of all the officers caught in the ACB trap, including DYSP Bharwad. Given seriousness of the case of the GLDC’s Detroja, we have also recom- mended to ED to initiate suitable action.” She added, “In case of any officer caught in the ACB case, if the need arises on the basis of appropriate evidence.” “We will continue the helmet relaxation in urban areas until the Court asks us to make changes in our decision,” he said. When the transport minister was cornered by reporters, deputy chief minister Nitin Pa- tel chipped in and clari- fied the state govern- ment’s stand on helmet rule. He said, “On pub- lic demand, the sensible government in the in- terest of people have relaxed the norm in ur- ban areas, now the Su- preme Court has asked the state government to Gandhinagar: While the state government decided to relax hel- met norm on public demand, it is still waiting for the Su- preme Court (SC) to take a final call on the issue. The BJP government is sensitive towards people’s problems and the people had been fac- ing a lot of trouble in wearing a which is why the gov- ernment decided to re- lax the norm for urban riders, Gujarat’s trans- Kutch: Two quakes were experienced in the parts of Kutch district on Tuesday. The first one was re- corded at 4.30 am. It was followed by an- other spell at 8.26 am in Bhachau. The quake at Kutch measured 1.6 on the Richter Scale. Earth- quakes and aftershocks have been witnessed in several districts of the state in the last 10 days. Tremors were felt in Jamnagar district for 5 consecutive days. Ahmedabad: An Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation has revealed that a GLDC officer paid Rs 45 lakh in cash within three months of demonetisation. Due to this, the ears of ACB officials have been pierced. ACB sources said, “Now they are also in- vestigating the cash transactions of all such big and corrupt offic- ers. The ACB is also paying special attention to bank transactions port Minister RC Faldu said on Tuesday . Answering a re- porter’s Faldu said that the state would follow SC guidelines when they come in. However, un- til then, the state will continue with the re- laxed helmet norm. helmet question, helmet, and

11. www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8, 2020 PROUD INDIAN Taapsee Pannu PHOTOGENIC ROUND WITH A MOTIVATIONAL SESSION TOOK PLACE FOR THE CONTESTANTS OF ‘MRS. RAJASTHAN 2020’ ON TUESDAY TAAPSEE PANNU GIVES A FITTING REPLY TO A TROLL QUESTIONING HER NATIONALITY A tionality by a troller, when she shared the news piece of vandalism at the Guru Nankana Sahib’s shrine in Pakistan. Taapsee is not new to the trolls on so- cial media, and the actress loves to give it back to them right away with interest. Trolls not just harass the celebrities men- tally , but also provoke in bringing out the worst side of themselves, and Taapsee has had a hands-on experience. She is ex- tremely vocal about her opinions and has an unabashed point of view about every- thing. Recently, a troll asked Taapsee if she was an Indian. Given the current hor- rifying political situation in the country, NRC and CAA, Taapsee took a dig at him and asked, “Ab tumhaare ko bhi pa- per dikhaane hai kya?” She also shared a video with the caption saying, “Chalo ab hu- maari baari.” It had a hint of reference to the JNU attack that was held on the university cam- pus recently. SAY CHEESE! s Taapsee Pannu is known for be- fitting replies to the trolls, the ac- tress is at it again. Recently, Taap- see was questioned about her na- —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO —Agency Jagdeesh Chandra with Yogesh Mishra, Nimisha Mishra and the participants; (From top left) Shiwani, Yamini, Nisha, Rinki, Shikha, Heena, Swati, Pooja, Lovleen and Pratibha; (From bottom left) Esha, Monila, Pratibha, Ekta, Dariyav, Sudhi, Reshmi and Antima NEHAL NAYAR nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in E veryone has their own dreams- some achieve them, and some don’t. For the ones who don’t, it’s never too late to walk towards their fi- nal goal, irrespective of their age, status and everything else that might come in the middle. Look- ing at this and giving an opportunity to the mar- ried women who still have the ability to fulfil their dreams in the fashion industry, Ni- misha and Yogesh Mishra have provid- ed the platform of ‘Mrs. Rajasthan 2020’. The grooming session of the participants ‘Mrs. Rajasthan 2020’ contestants with First India Newspaper organised for the con- testants every day , and will go on till the fi- nale that is on Janu- ary 10.” He added, “We have design- ers like Vanya Kaushik from Delhi, Sanjay Sharma from Kolkata, and An- jali Goyal from Jaipur who will be showcasing their designs dur- ing the Grand Fi- nale.” ties happening every single day . On Tuesday, they had a motiva- tional session with Jagdeesh Chandra, where he spoke about the media line and motivated the participants to fulfil their dreams, come what may. Fol- lowed by that, was a photogenic round which was judged by Fashion Photographer Vishnu Sharma. Talking about the event, Yo- gesh Mishra said, “We are treating this pageant not like a regular one, but like a national fashion camp. There are vari- ous grooming sessions being of this pag- eant started from Janu- ary 3 at Hotel Grand with interesting activi- Esha Sharma Safari, Dariyav Shekhawat Swati Ratan

12. LISTING AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 12 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia FACE OF THE DAY Beyonce slammed by netizens S One user wrote on Twit- ter: “@Beyonce You’re a joke for not standing up for Joaquin Phoenix. Un- derstandable to make a statement. But that’s just poor sportsmanship for someone that actually de- served recognition You’re entitled and arrogant. And as an actress you’re a joke. Smh. You ought to apologise to him.” “Beyonce sitting dur- ing the standing ovation for Joaquin Phoenix’s win is the type of energy I want to see from every- one in 2020,” wrote one, and another said: “Beyon- cé isn’t anyone impor- tant. I’m happy Joaquin won!”. “Yes, that is Joaquin Phoenix, who won a Golden Globe tonight for his role as the Joker in ‘Joker’, something Be- yonce did not do,” said another. inger-actress Be- yonce Knowles is being slammed in the virtual world for failing to give Joaquin Phoenix standing ovation after his Golden Globe win. Phoenix won the Gold- en Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his portrayal of the mentally unstable loner Arthur Fleck in comic book drama ‘Joker’. The actor got a stand- ing ovation when his name was announced. The 38-year-old singer’s decision to remain seat- ed at that moment at the event, held at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Sunday, has caused quite a stir. The singer, who arrived an hour late to the cere- mony , made a silent state- ment about her views about the win. A Twitter user shared a picture of the moment, writing: “Beyonce sitting during the standing ova- tion for Joaquin Phoe- nix’s win is the type of energy I want to see from everyone in 2020.” Beyonce was also up for Best Original Song - Motion Picture, for her ‘The Lion King’ track ‘Spirit’. She lost out to ‘Rocketman’, song, “(I’m gonna) love me again, Rocketman”. The singer also failed to walk the red carpet during the ceremony and turned up one hour late. VINI SINGH, Fashion Blogger actor YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY You will be very happy and satisfied whole year long. You must devote some time to spirituality and there is no looking back. You are apple of your parent’s eyes. Beautiful day awaits you! ARIES MAR 21 - APR 20 TAURUS APR 21 - MA Y 20 Anything is possible if you decide on it. Don’t hesitate from You may travel with your dear ones to a far distance place. helping your friends in studies, be a gentle person. Good work in project will be really admired by your boss who may recommend your name for something big in future. Money comes from inheritance for you. Romance is in the air for you. On professional front, you may spoon feed a junior in office today. Your finances are at place and you are doing what you must in your capacity to build a life that you want. —IANS GEMINI MA Y 21 - JUNE 21 CANCER JUNE 22 - JUL Y 23 Don’t worry too much about your sibling’s future, everything will be Your prior commitments will keep you busy today. Your just fine. Your friends are really precious for you and you will do anything for them. You will come up with many new ideas today. Your payment that has been stuck for a long time will get released today. efforts in academics will be appreciated by your parents and teachers. You will excel in anything that you will devote time to. Make sure to use soft, humble words with your lover. Remember to go to the gym. for the LEO JUL Y 24 - AUGUST 23 Possession of property is on the cards. On academic front, avoid being overconfident and make sure to go through the whole thing again. You will derive immense satisfaction in helping someone in need. Maintain healthy relationship with your colleagues for peace of mind. VIRGO AUG 24 - SEP 23 Avoid any legal complications with your sibling for property. You Beyonce will get promotion in your current job but you may be in dilemma, if you want to continue or not. A new source of income will help those who are in state of taking caring of the parents. CITY THEATRE POLICE 100 FIRE 101 AMBULANCE 102/108 CHILD HELPLINE 1098 HELP IN SUFFERING 26305080 DIAL Do you want to add your establishment here? Email your details to www.firstindia.co.in LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 Your relationship will become stronger with your siblings. Your love for your spouse is unconditional. A heart to heart conversation can resolve any problem. 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13. ETC ETC ETC AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 202013 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Karan’s FOR Bipasha Bipasha Bipasha Bipasha B ing day! You are God’s gift to all of us especially me! Thank you so much for being born my love,” he wrote on Instagram. Along with the post, Karan also posted a couple of pictures in which the two can be seen sharing smiles and cuddling each other. The birthday girl also shared a couple of pictures on her Ins- tagram profile and she cap- tioned it: “Happy on my Happy Birthday.” On the work front, the two, who got married in 2016, will be seen sharing screen space in the upcoming film ‘Aadat’. Earlier, they worked together in ‘Alone’. ipasha Basu turned 41 on Tuesday, and her spouse Karan Singh Grover is leaving no op- portunity to shower love upon her. Taking to social me- dia, Karan, who is currently holidaying with Bipasha in the Maldives, posted an emotional note for her. “Wish you a very very very happy birthday my darling sweet little baby bumbi pie mon- key princess! @bipashabasu. May the universe shower you with infinite abundance, joy, love and success!!! Be the bright shining light that you are and shine brighter with every pass- —IANS Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover ANGREZI SMILE ! KISSING AGE IS PAST? O lywood comeback with an upcoming film ‘An- grezi Medium’. The film has been the talk of the town ever since it was announced and is sequel to the 2017 hit film ‘Hindi Medium’. It also stars Dimple Kapadia, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal. Ir- rfan celebrates his birthday on Tuesday and to mark the occasion, makers of the film shared the still from ‘Angrezi Medium’. The actor can be seen smiling from ear to ear in the latest post of the official Instagram handle of Maddock Films. The caption is, “#happy- birthday to one of our finest @ irrfan. As his birthday treat to all of you we will be giving you #AngreziMedium in March 2020.” —Agency B does not get to do intimate scenes – particularly kissing sequences – in films! Kapoor opened up on the subject at the trail- er launch of his new film ‘Malang’. There are quite a few kissing scenes between Aditya Roy Kapur and Disha Patani in the film. When he sees younger actors puckering up, does he miss doing it onscreen? “Do you want me to get beaten up at home? There is Sonam and Rhea, and (wife) Sunita!” he said. Then, after a pause, he added with a laugh: “Obvi- ously I feel bad about it somewhere down the line!” ‘Malang’ releases February 7. n Irrfan Khan’s birthday, a new still of his upcoming film ‘Angrezi Medium’ has been unveiled. Irrfan Khan is gearing up for his Bol- ollywood actor Anil Kapoor, who has de- fied age and looks barely 30 despite his 63 years of age, has joked how he feels bad somewhere down the line that he —IANS Irrfan Khan Anil Kapoor A still from the film ‘Shikara’ SHIKARA T upcoming film Shi- kara has been re- leased. The film is slated to hit the box office on February 7 and introduces two new faces: Sadia and Aadil Khan. The film tells the story of around 4,00,000 Kash- miri Pandits who had to flee the Valley in a mass exodus in 1990. Shikara is Chopra’s first re- lease since Eklavya in 2007 (he pushed out the English-lan- guage Broken Hors- es in 2015). The 67-year-old filmmak- er, has previously BABLI KI DUNIYA D ed reboot ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’, playing the role of a bubbly con-girl ‘Babli’ with Siddhant Chaturvedi, has said that she always wanted to be an actor, and was really excited to be a part of the Yash Raj Films (YRF) project. EK AWAAZ Talking about getting the golden chance of acting and working with YRF, said, “I have always wanted to be an actor and was a total filmy kid growing up. I love the idea that cinema can transport us into a world of its own and make us happy, get us inspired and also make us ponder.” ebutante Shar- vari, who has been roped in for the much-await- directed Kashmir which around the Kashmiri insurgency . The Indian film makers have been highlighting the is- sues faced by Kash- miris through their films like Roja (1992), Fanaa (2006), Tahaan (2008), Valley Saints (2012), Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Films that are based on the mass exodus of on Kashmiri Pan- dits such as Bub in 2001, Sheen in 2004, I Am in 2010 and Haid- er in 2014 made that special effects on In- dian audience. Mission (2000), revolved Sharvari he awaited trailer of Vidhu Vi- nod Chopra’s much- —Agency Sharvari of NAZAR KE SAAMNE more. D company of a few acid attack sur- vivors. The Bollywood diva cap- tioned the video post as, “Be the change you want to see... A Social Experiment by Team Chhapaak!” While some people were friendly others reacted with what was clearly horror. The entire episode was captured through the team’s hidden cameras and a compiled video was posted on various social media platforms by the actor on Tuesday . At the end of the video, Deepika shares, “ Aaj pura din bita k yeh jaanaa ke kuch nazar ke samne hota hai aur kuch nahi. Nazariya badalna zaruri hai.” Deepika on Tuesday also shared another heartwarming poster of ‘Chhapaak’ on social media. —ANI eepika Padukone and the team of her forthcoming film ‘Chhapaak’ walked the streets of Mumbai to conduct a social experiment and examine how people from various paths of life —Agency ...her Instagram post react to being around acid attack survivors. Deepika donned the character’s makeup and visited an accessory store, supermarket and mall in the A still from the film ‘Shikara’ Deepika Padukone

14. CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 14 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Pampered Woofs and Fluffs of Instagram Fluffs of Instagram Social media isn’t just for humans these days —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE THE SOUND OF MUSIC SIMRAN CHAWLA cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com w hen it comes to a glam life on social media, Amdavadi pets are no less than the brightest stars. Social media accounts made for pets by theirs owners had been in trend for a while now. Mil- lennials treat their pets as their kids and why not share cuteness with the rest of the world? You should definitely fol- low these bundles of joy and cuteness on Instagram. They’re sure to make you smile the next time you’re scrolling through your feed. CITY FIRST T music aficionados were treated to performances by Pandit Puran Maharaj on tabla, Pandit Shiv- kumar Sharma on santoor, Vivek Mishra on tabla and bol, Ikram Khan on saran- gi, Alka Gujar on sitar, Yogesh Samsi on tabla, Ashis Sengupta on tabla, Sumit Mishra on harmo- nium. Somnath Mishra and Kaivalya Kumar gave vocal performances. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com he seventh day of the Saptak music festival in Ahmedabad saw a Kathak performance by Vishal Krishna. In addition, @whoisstannisthemannis @lillytheindie @tales_of_taiko @kuroxxshiro @malharsgafur @pawsome_chihuahua @great_white_ghost GLSBBA to focus on People, Planet and Profit at Image 20-20 T —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE Fest on January 10-11. Not only will partici- pants get an opportu- nity to showcase their managerial skills, but they will also have the opportunity to learn more about sustaina- bility and this grow into socially responsi- ble individuals. More than 400 students of 30 Undergraduate Postgraduate colleges from across the coun- try are expected to participate. The Fest will be inau- gurated at 9:30 am on 10th January 2020 by Padmashri Laila Tyabji in the event chaired by GLS University Presi- dent Shri Sudhir Nana- vati in the august pres- ence of Prof. Amit Garg, an eminent Climate Economist from IIM Ahmedabad. The Fest will draw to a close with Valedictory Function at 5 pm on 11th January 2020. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com versity (GLSBBA) in Ahmedabad on Tues- day announced its up- coming IMAGE 20-20, a two-day national- level Management CITY FIRST he Faculty of Business Ad- ministration at GLS Uni- & These guys stole the show at a dog show organized at Manorama Party plot near AMC bridge in Ahmedabad recently.