Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row

www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai
twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 292
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & MUMBAI
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia being taken to the
CBI headquarters, in New Delhi on Monday. (Right) AAP’s Manish
Sisodia sitting inside the car accompanied by the CBI officials.
INTERIM BAIL OF
KHERA EXTENDED
BY SC TILL MAR 3
AGNIPATH SCHEME: HC ISSES PETITIONS,
SAYS INTRODUCED IN ‘NATIONAL INTEREST’
PIL FOR ‘RENAMING’
PLACES DISMISSED
NEET PG EXAMINATION
IS NOT POSTPONED!
Supreme Court extended
the period of interim
bail granted to Congress
leader Pawan Khera
in a case related to his
alleged ob-
jectionable
remarks
against PM
Modi till
March 3.
A 3-judge
bench headed by CJI DY
Chandrachud took note
of submissions made by
Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta, who appeared in
court on behalf of Assam
govt, that the state police
wanted to file its reply.
Delhi High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the
government’s military recruitment scheme Agnipath, saying
it does not find any reason to interfere with the scheme.
‘Agnipath scheme was introduced in national interest and to
ensure that armed forces are better equipped,’ bench said.
SC dismissed a PIL seeking
constituting of a ‘renaming
commission’ to restore “origi-
nal” names of ancient and
religious places “renamed” by
invaders, saying India can’t be
a prisoner of the past. Bench
of Justices KM Joseph and BV
Nagarathna questioned motive
of PIL by lawyer Ashwini
Upadhyay, saying it will bring
alive those issues, “which
would keep country on boil”.
SC dissmissed the petitions
seeking NEET PG 2023
postponement. It refused
to entertain any pleas
submitted for postponement
of the National Eligibility-
cum-Entrance Test 2023.
Justices Dipankar Datta and
SR Bhat was informed by
ASG Aishwarya Bhati, repre-
senting NBE, that NEET PG
admit card 2023 have been
released on Monday.
Kisans get Holi bonanza!
l PM Modi releases over
`16,000 crore to 8 crore
farmers under PM-KISAN
l Eligible farmer families to
get `6,000 per year in three
installments of `2,000 each
First India Bureau
Belagavi: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
Monday released the
13th instalment of over
`16,000 crore, under the
Pradhan Mantri Kisan
Samman Nidhi (PM-
KISAN), through direct
benefit transfer to more
than 8 cr beneficiaries.
During the pro-
gramme, PM Modi also
dedicated the redevel-
oped Belagavi Railway
Station building, to the
nation. The railway sta-
tion has been redevel-
oped at an approximate
cost of about `190 crore
to provide world-class
amenities to the passen-
gers. PM Modi also laid
the foundation stone of
sixmulti-villagescheme
projects under the Cen-
tre’s Jal Jeevan Mission
in Belagavi. More on P5
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicates multiple development projects to the nation in presence of
Narendra Singh Tomar, Pralhad Joshi, Basavaraj Bommai and others in Belagavi on Monday.
Court sends Sisodia to
CBI custody till March 4
The AAP workers carried out nationwide protests against Delhi Deputy
Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest in the Delhi liquor scam case
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Delhi’s
Rouse Avenue Court on
Monday sent deputy CM
Manish Sisodia to CBI
remand till March 4.
Special judge MK Nag-
pal allowed the CBI’s
plea for the custodial
interrogation of Siso-
dia. The AAP is staging
protestsacrossthecoun-
try against Sisodia’s ar-
rest on Sunday in con-
nection with the alleged
Delhi liquor excise poli-
cy case on Sunday
. The
party also staged pro-
tests at the BJP’s head-
quarters at the Deen
Dayal Upadhyay Marg
in Delhi on Monday
. Del-
hi CM Arvind Kejriwal
on Monday claimed that
Sisodia was arrested
due to political pressure
on the CBI. More on P5
Probe agencies
acting lawfully
against corrupt,
the AAP believes in nei-
ther court nor law. —BJP
Most of the
agency officers
were against ar-
resting the AAP leader but
they were “under pres-
sure” from their political
bosses.
—Arvind Kejriwal,
Delhi Chief Minister
MEGHALAYA AND NAGALAND ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS
NE BATTLE EN ROUTE TO
2024 POLLS!
NAGALAND
MEGHALAYA
82.42%
74.32%
Moni Sharma
Shillong/Kohima:
The percentage of vot-
er turnout in the Naga-
land Assembly Elec-
tions was higher than
Meghalaya at 82.42%,
Meghalaya recorded
74.32%. Earlier in the
day, PM Modi encour-
aged the voters, par-
ticularly young first-
time voters — in both
States to come out and
vote in record num-
bers. In Nagaland, over
13 lakh voters decided
the electoral fate of 183
candidates contesting
59 out of a total of 60
seats. In Meghalaya,
over21.6Lvoterssealed
fate of 369 candidates.
THE COUNTING OF THE VOTES FOR THE 2 STATES
(NAGALAND, MEGHALAYA) INCLUDING TRIPURA,
WHICH VOTED ON FEB 16, WILL BE HELD ON MARCH 2
SWEET ‘18’!
First time voters shows their ink-marked
fingers after casting their votes for the
Meghalaya Assembly Election, at a polling
station, in Ri Bhoi district on Monday.
OLD IS GOLD!
A 103-year-old voter named Jonathan
Sekhose shows his ink-marked finger
after casting vote for Nagaland Assembly
elections in Chumoukedima on Monday.
FROM ‘HAWAI CHAPPALS’
TO ‘HAWAI JAHAZ’...
l Those wearing ‘hawai
chappals’ should travel in
‘hawai jahaz’. I’m seeing it
happening”, PM Narendra
Modi said India’s aviation
market is growing rapidly.
l Inauguration of the air-
port coincided with 80th
birthday of Karnataka BJP
strongman and four-time
CM BS Yediyurappa, who
hails from Shivamogga.
l Airport has been devel-
oped at a cost of around
`450 crore. The passenger
terminal building of the
airport here can handle
300 passengers per hour.
PM Narendra Modi with Pralhad Joshi, Basavaraj Bommai,
BS Yediyurappa and other dignitaries during the inauguration
of the Shivamogga Airport on Monday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
‘TOP’ COURT ORDERS OF THE DAY
59: Total Assembly seats in
Meghalaya and Nagaland
60: Total seats in Tripura
FULL REPORT P5
Tripura
Meghalaya
Nagaland
BJP IN NAGALAND
TRIPURA; TOUGH
FIGHT IN MEGHALAYA
NDA (BJP+IPFT)
NDA (BJP+NDPP
TMP
NPP
BJP
OTH
CONG
NPF
OTH
CONG
SDF
OTH
32
12
22
5
30
43
3
6
9
1
15
1
Cops launch
manhunt to
trace ‘Pak-
trained’ man
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Policehere
have launched a hunt
to trace a man
“trainedinPakistan”
after they were alert-
ed by the National
Investigation Agency
(NIA)abouthismove-
ment in the city, offi-
cials said on Monday
.
“Mumbai police
are searching for a
dangerous man after
an e-mail was re-
ceived from the city
unit of NIA about his
suspicious move-
ments,” an official
said. He said the
email was received
on Sunday, following
which all agencies
are put on alert.
TheNIAcommuni-
cation identifies the
suspect as Sarfaraz
Memon who has en-
tered Mumbai, the of-
ficial said, adding
that as Memon hails
from Madhya
Pradesh,thepolicein
that state are also
alerted. “While in-
forming about the
suspect, NIA officials
also shared details
likeanAadhaarcard,
a driving licence and
a passport. As per in-
formation received,
the suspect has re-
ceived training in
China, Hong Kong,
and Pakistan,” the
police official said.
Oppn demands resolution of K'taka border row
First India Bureau
Mumbai: On the first
day of the Maharashtra
legislature’s budget ses-
sion on Monday
, Opposi-
tionmembersdemanded
afairpricetofarmersfor
foodgrains,resolutionof
the border dispute with
Karnataka and respect
for historical figures.
Legislators of the Na-
tionalist Congress Party
(NCP), Congress, Ud-
dhavThackeray-ledShiv
Sena faction and other
parties gathered at the
Vidhan Bhavan steps
andraisedsloganstoput
forth their demands.
“The state govern-
ment should ensure that
historical figures are re-
spected in the state. The
government needs to
come up with plans for
ensuring fair prices for
foodgrains as well as re-
solving the pending Ma-
harashtra-Karnataka
border issue,” said a leg-
islator.
The opposition mem-
bers also called the rul-
ing Eknath Shinde-
Bharatiya Janata Party
dispensation in the state
asthe“ED”government.
A controversy had
erupted in November
when then-governor
Bhagat Singh Koshyari
said warrior king
Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-
haraj was an “icon of
oldentimes”andperson-
alitieslikeDrBabasaheb
Ambedkar to Nitin Gad-
kari were the modern
icons of the state.
The border issue be-
tween Maharashtra and
Karnataka dates back
to 1957, when the states
were reorganized on
the lines of laguages
spoken there. Maha-
rashtra had laid claim
to Karnataka’s Belagavi
district, and also laid
claim to 814 Marathi-
speaking villages now
in the southern state.
Karnataka, however,
considers the demarca-
tion done as final.
Governor Ramesh Bais with CM Shinde, Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar and others as
they arrive at Vidhan Bhavan for the start of the Budget Session, in Mumbai, on Monday.
The state
government
should ensure
that historical figures
are respected in the
state. The govt needs to
come up with plans for
ensuring fair prices for
foodgrains as well as
resolving the pending
Maharashtra-Karnataka
border issue.
—Legislator
State to hold 600 job fairs this
fiscal: Governor Ramesh Bais
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The state
will organize 600 job
fairs in the financial
year 2022-23, Gover-
nor Ramesh Bais told
the state legislature
on Monday. The Budg-
et Session of the state
legislature began
with the governor’s
address to members
of both Houses.
“Memoranda of Un-
derstanding were
signed with 45 compa-
nies to create 1.25 lakh
jobs. Twenty four pro-
ject proposals have
been approved which
amount to an invest-
ment of Rs87,774
crore, creating 61,000
jobs,” Bais said in his
address.
The state govern-
ment signed MOUs
with 19 companies for
an investment of
Rs1.37 lakh crore at
the World Economic
Forum meet in Davos
last month, he said.
“The government
has successfully or-
ganized training for
4.85 lakh youth and
2.81 lakh farmers un-
der Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yoja-
na,” the governor said.
The state govern-
ment has doubled the
pension of freedom
fighters and their
spouses, from Rs10,000
to Rs20,000 per month,
he said.
Budget Session
began with
Guv’s address to
members of both
Houses
—PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

NEWS
MUMBAI | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
‘Delegation to
meet PM over
Marathi status’
Mumbai (PTI): Chief
Minister Eknath Shinde
on Monday informed
the state legislative As-
sembly that a delegation
will meet Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi to
seek classical language
status for Marathi.
“A delegation of leg-
islators will meet Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi with a request
seeking classical lan-
guage status for Mar-
athi. Along with offi-
cials, Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis and I will meet
the prime minister de-
manding action over
it,” the chief minister
assured the House on
the first day of the
Budget Session.
NCP legislator
Chhagan Bhujbal had
raised the issue asking
details about the long
pending demand to ac-
cord classical language
status to Marathi.
‘Some wrong info in Guv’s
Budget Session speech’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena -
UBT leader and former
Maharashtra minister
Aaditya Thackeray on
Monday said state gov-
ernor Ramesh Bais’
speech had some
“wrong information”
and that several pro-
jects mentioned were
started by the erstwhile
Maha Vikas Aghadi
government. He was
speaking to the media
at Maharashtra Vidhan
Bhavan on the first day
of the Budget session of
the state legislature.
“Statements in the
governor’s speech re-
garding the World Eco-
nomic Forum meeting
held at Davos were
slightly wrong as most
of the projects were ei-
ther started by us or
progressed when we
were in power. Looks
like someone has mis-
led him (the governor),”
said Additya Thacker-
ay, son of Shiv Sena
(UBT) leader Uddhav
Thackeray. The gover-
nor said the state gov-
ernment (of Eknath
Shinde and BJP) signed
MOUs with 19 compa-
nies for an investment
of Rs1.37 lakh crore at
the WEF meet last
month.
“The minutes of the
December 13, 2022 meet-
ing are not yet finalized
but the same companies
went to Davos later and
signed MoUs with Ma-
harashtra again. What-
ever this government
says, it cannot be taken
at face value,” said
Aaditya.
Commenting on the
arrest of Delhi deputy
chief minister Manish
Sisodia by the CBI,
Aaditya Thackeray
said, “I have not gone
into details of the case
but whoever speaks
what the Union govern-
ment doesn’t want to
hear, such people are
targeted through probe
agencies. We have seen
a similar pattern re-
garding many leaders
from the Opposition
who chose to speak the
truth”.
CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena issues
whip for full attendance in House
The move is apparently aimed at cornering the rival Uddhav Thackeray faction
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Chief Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde’s
Shiv Sena has issued a
whip to “all” its legisla-
tors to remain present
full-time during the
Budget Session of the
Maharashtra legisla-
ture which began on
Monday, in an apparent
move to corner the fac-
tion headed by former
CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The Thackeray-led
Maha Vikas Aghadi
government collapsed
in June last year after
Shinde and 39 other
MLAs rebelled against
the party leadership.
The Election Com-
mission recently allot-
ted the “Shiv Sena”
name and the “bow and
arrow” poll symbol to
the Shinde-led faction.
Amid the Shiv Sena
row, Maharashtra As-
sembly Speaker Rahul
Narwekar on Thurs-
day said, “There is only
one Shiv Sena with 55
MLAs which is led by
Shinde and legislator
Bharat Gogawale has
been recognized as its
chief whip.”
Notably, during a
hearing in the Su-
preme Court last week,
senior advocate NK
Kaul, appearing for the
Shinde bloc, assured
the SC bench it will not
take steps like issuing
whip or initiation of
disqualification pro-
ceedings against law-
makers MLAs, MLCs
and MPs of the Thack-
eray faction for the
time being.
The court was hear-
ing the Thackeray fac-
tion’s plea challenging
the decision of the
Election Commission
recognizing the Shin-
de group as the ‘real’
Shiv Sena.
The assurance came
after senior advocate
AM Singhvi, appearing
for Thackeray, had
raised apprehension,
saying “Tomorrow, if
they issue a whip or a
letter and if we do not
do it then we will be
disqualified. Now they
are the party. I have no
protection. Your lord-
ships should give us
the status quo at least.”
When asked about it,
Gogawale said, “The
relief is only for two
weeks. Asking legisla-
tors to attend the Ses-
sion full-time is not an
action against them.
We will come to know
who attends and who
does not.”
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other MLAs arrive at Vidhan Bhavan on the first day of the Budget
Session of the Maharashtra Assembly in Mumbai on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
“We have issued a whip to all MLAs
of the Shiv Sena asking them to re-
main present full-time during the
Budget session. If any legislator does not fol-
low it, he/she will face action.”
—Bharat Gogawale, Chief Whip, Shiv Sena
Supplementarydemands
of `6,383 cr presented
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The state
government on Mon-
day presented supple-
mentary demands of
Rs6,383.97 crore, with
a thrust on rural are-
as on Day One of the
Assembly’s Budget
Session.
Supplementary de-
mands are presented
in the House to cover
additional expenses
over and above sums
allotted in the annual
budget. Most addi-
tional funds sought
have been marked for
village lighting bill
payment and farm
loan waivers.
Of Rs6,383.97 crore,
Rs2,224.72 crore is
meant for the pay-
ment of pending bills
to Maharashtra State
Electricity Distribu-
tion Co. Ltd for street
lights in villages,
while an additional
provision of Rs1,014
crore has been made
for incentive benefit
scheme under Mahat-
ma Jyotirao Phule
farmer loan waiver.
A sum of Rs267.73
crore has been ear-
marked as financial
assistance to loss-
making Maharashtra
State Road Transport
Corporation, whose
employees had gone
on strike between No-
vember 2021 and April
2022 seeking regular
salaries and hikes.
Supplementary de-
mand of Rs763.77
crore has been made
for various incentives
to small, medium,
large and mega pro-
jects under package
schemes, Rs452.47
crore for maintenance
and repairs of roads
and bridges, and
Rs331.56 crore for the
construction of ring
road around Pune city
undertaken by Maha-
rashtra State Road
Development Corpo-
ration.
A sum of Rs598.17
crore is needed for in-
terest on provident
fund of teaching and
non-teaching staff of
aided non-govern-
ment vocational edu-
cation and training
institutes.
During the Winter
Session of the state
legislature, the gov-
ernment had present-
ed supplementary de-
mands of Rs52,327
crore for 2022-23,
which were the high-
est ever sought in re-
cent years.
Governor Ramesh Bais receives a Guard of Honour on the first day of the Budget Session. CM
Shinde and other functionaries were also present. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Milind
Narvekar, a close confi-
dant of Shiv Sena - UBT
leader Uddhav Thack-
eray, on Monday “mis-
takenly” entered the
central hall, meant only
for Maharashtra legis-
lators, at Vidhan
Bhavan here.
Narvekar was sup-
posed to watch the gov-
ernor’s address to the
members of both Hous-
es on the first day of the
Budget Session from
the visitors’ gallery
.
However, he entered
the central hall with
other legislators before
Shiv Sena - Uddhav Bal-
asaheb Thackeray lead-
er Aaditya Thackeray
pointed out to him that
only MLAs and MLCs
can enter the hall.
Narvekar later told
reporters that he en-
tered the central hall by
mistake while looking
for the visitor’s gallery
.
However, it was sur-
prising that not a single
security guard objected
to Narvekar entering
the central hall.
Eknath Shinde camp
MLA Sanjay Shirsath
didn’t miss the opportu-
nity to take a dig at the
Thackerays.
“Narvekar knows he
is no longer a close aide
of (former CM) Uddhav
Thackeray. He is eager
to become a legislator.
But the path to the As-
sembly or Council goes
via CM Eknath Shin-
de,” he said.
Aaditya Thackeray
responded by saying,
“If he (Narvekar) wants
to become a member of
the legislature, I will
have to check with him.
However what hap-
pened today was unin-
tentional on his part.”
Uddhav aide ‘mistakenly’ enters hall meant for legislators
UNINTENTIONAL?
lll
Surprisingly,
not a single
security guard
objected to
Milind
Narvekar
entering the
central hall
SHIV SENA - UBT LEGISLATORS SHIFTED
TO OPPOSITION BLOC IN MAHA ASSEMBLY
Mumbai: Closely avoid-
ing a potential squab-
ble, Assembly Speaker
Rahul Narwekar gave
Sena - UBT leader in the
house Ajay Choudhari
and Aaditya Thackeray
front-row seats next to
Congressmen Dilip Walse
Patil and Ashok Chavan in
the opposition block on
the first day of the Budget
Session. Thirteen other
MLAs of the Thackeray
group were also seated in
the opposition block, even
as Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde is seated on the
treasurer’s benches.
Meanwhile, after losing
the Shiv Sena party office
to the Eknath Shinde-led
faction, the Thackeray
camp has decided to work
out of Leader of Opposi-
tion in Legislative Council,
Ambadas Danve’s cabin
for the time being.
BABY’S DAY OUT
Nationalist Congress Party MLA Saroj Ahire was the cynosure of all eyes on Monday, when
she arrived carrying her four-month-old son on the first day of Budget Session of the
Maharashtra Assembly.While there is a Hirkani unit, or nursing station, on the premises of
Vidhan Bhavan,Ahire complained that these were dusty. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party
MLA Jaykumar Gore, who was injured in a car accident in December, arrived using a walker.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
Shiv Sena - UBT legislator Aaditya Thackeray arrives at the Vidhan Bhavan with his faction leaders
for the Budget Session on Monday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

MAHARASHTRA
03
Pricedrop:Farmersnowstop
onionauctionatLasalgaonAPMC
First India Bureau
Nashik: With prices
falling consistently, an-
gry onion farmers on
Monday stopped the
auction of the kitchen
staple at the Lasalgaon
Agriculture Produce
Market Committee
(APMC)--Asia’s biggest
onion market--in Na-
shik district.
In the latest decline,
the per-kilogram price
of onion dropped by
half to Rs2. This led an-
gry growers to demand
that that the govern-
ment immediately de-
clare a grant of Rs1,500
per quintal of onions
and purchase their pro-
duce at Rs15 to Rs20 per
kg. Else, they threat-
ened, they would not let
the auction resume.
As soon as the auc-
tion process began as
the market opened for
the week on Monday
, on-
ions fetched a minimum
price of Rs200 per quin-
tal, the maximum rate
of Rs800 per quintal and
an average price of
Rs400-450 per quintal.
As a result, farmers
led by the Maharashtra
Rajya Kanda Utpadak
Sanghatana (MRKUS)
stopped the auction of
onions and started an
agitation.
On Saturday 2,404
quintal onions arrived
at the APMC and the
prices were Rs351 mini-
mum, Rs1,231 maxi-
mum and Rs625 average
per quintal.
“During the ongoing
Budget Session of the
state legislature, the
government should im-
mediately declare
Rs1,500 per quintal
grant for onions and
purchase the produce,
being currently sold for
Rs3-5 per kg, at a price
of Rs15 to Rs20 per kg.
If these two demands
are not met today
, onion
auction at Lasalgaon
APMC will not start at
all,” MRKUS leader
Bharat Dighole said.
Recently, a farmer at
Naitale village de-
stroyed his ready to
harvest crop fearing
poor returns.
During the on-
going Budget
Session of the
state legislature, the gov-
ernment should imme-
diately declare Rs1,500
per quintal grant for on-
ions and purchase the
produce--currently be-
ing sold for Rs3-5 per
kg--at a price of Rs15 to
Rs20 per kg. If these two
demands are not met to-
day, the onion auction
at Lasalgaon APMC will
not start at all.
—Bharat Dighole,
MRKUS leader
Freshly harvested onions wait to be transported for sale. —FILE PHOTO
On Monday,
onions fetched
an average price
of `400-450 per
quintal--or
about `2 per kg
at Asia’s biggest
onion market
Procurementcentresoffline
over‘miscommunication’
First India Bureau
Amravati: Crop pro-
curement centres in
Amravati on Monday
went offline to conduct
registration and other
formalities after sev-
eral thousand farmers
gathered there over the
last 24 hours alleged
miscommunication
and mismanagement.
Farmers said a let-
ter from the National
Agricultural Coopera-
tive Marketing Federa-
tion of India Ltd,
which oversees such
procurement, that reg-
istration would start at
7 am on Monday, for
farmers who wanted to
sell their chickpea pro-
duce to the state had
been widely shared on
social media.
However, on reach-
ing the facilities, they
found that some pro-
curement centres had
not got orders to start
the process. Those
that had, were poorly
managed and chaotic,
the farmers further
alleged.
Police personnel
had to be deployed at
some of the centres in
Dhamangaon Railway,
Nandgaon Khandesh-
war and Chandur rail-
way talukas, to avoid
any untoward incident
arising out of the dis-
tress caused to farm-
ers, officials said.
Later in the after-
noon, Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra
Fadnavis said that
while registration and
other processes are
usually done online at
these procurement
centres, a directive has
been given for offline
mode but due to the
extraordinary circum-
stance caused by the
crowding of farmers.
Meanwhile, officials
said the number of
farmers at these cen-
tres is so huge that
crowding continued
through the day de-
spite the deputy CM’s
assurances.
Thousands of farmers
got ‘official’ message
on social media
claiming chickpea
procurement would
start at 7am; many
centres didn’t get
memo
3 HELD FOR SERIES
OF MOTORCYCLE
THEFTS IN PALGHAR
Palghar: Police have
arrested three persons al-
legedly involved in a series
of motorcycle thefts in
Palghar, an official said. At
least 35 stolen motorcy-
cles, worth Rs19.6 lakh,
were recovered from
accused. The police team
had intercepted the ac-
cused with two-wheelers
without number plates
near Castline Naka on
February 20 and recovered
a sickle, an iron chopper
and other items, he said.
79-YO SINGER
ATTACKED, ROBBED
IN THANE DISTRICT
Thane: A 79-year-old
singer was attacked and
robbed by two unidentified
chain snatchers in Thane,
police said on Monday.
The incident took place
in Dombivli around 9 pm
on Sunday, when singer
Shubhada Pavgi was walk-
ing home with her son, an
official said. Two accused
on a two-wheeler hit the
old lady and stole her gold
chain worth Rs2 lakh.
The lady sustained minor
injuries, he added.
MAN'S BODY
FOUND IN LAKE IN
THANE DISTRICT
Thane: The body of an
unidentified man was
found in a lake near
the central jail in Thane
district on Monday, a civic
official said. A body of a
man in his 40s was found
floating in a lake at 8 am,
and the local fire station
was alerted. The body has
been sent to the Thane
civil hospital for post-
mortem and the police
have registered a case of
accidental death.
MAN HELD FOR
BLUDGEONING
FRIEND TO DEATH
Palghar: A 20-year-old
man was arrested for
allegedly bludgeoning his
friend to death during a
quarrel while inebriated in
Palghar district, police said.
The incident took place
on the intervening night
of Saturday and Sunday,
senior inspector Shailendra
Nagarkar of Tulinj police
station said. The duo
got into a quarrel over a
minor issue while drinking
alcoho, official added.
POLICE POSE AS HOUSE OWNERS TO NAB
UNDERTRIAL WORKING AS PAINTER
Mumbai: Kasturba Marg policemen posed as house owners
looking for a painter for their home in order to nab an under-
trial in a murder case who had jumped parole and was work-
ing as a painter. Badal Verma (25) undertrial absconding for
3 years, was nabbed from Palghar recently. He will be sent
back to prison. In 2020, Covid-19 pandemic broke out and
several prisoners were released either on parole or furlough
to decongest prisons. Verma was one of them. But when it
was time to report back to the prison, Verma had vanished.
CRUCIAL READ
Government tables bill to hike nominated councillors at BMC
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A bill to in-
crease the number of
nominated councillors
in the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) from five to 10
was tabled in the state
Assembly on Monday
.
If approved, the move
will help the ruling par-
ty to accommodate ad-
ditional people from
their group as council-
lors in the cash-rich
BMC body
.
Tabled in the Assem-
bly by Industries Minis-
ter Uday Samant, the
bill stated, “A person
having knowledge and
experience in the mu-
nicipal administration
is nominated as a coun-
cillor for more effective
administration of mu-
nicipal corporations in
the state. With a view to
qualitatively improve
the function of the cor-
porations by utilizing
the knowledge and ex-
perience of the mem-
bers nominated, the
government considers
it expedient to increase
the number of nomi-
nated members from
five to ten, in Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation.”
Welcoming the bill,
Mumbai BJP chief
Ashish Shelar said,
“The bill will help the
BMC administration
to improve the quality
of business. It will get
more knowledgeable
persons to participate
in the decision-making
process.”
Meanwhile, Shiv
Sena – Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray leader
Sunil Prabhu said his
party will reveal its
stand on the floor of
the House during
discussion.
Mumbai: The Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) has
signed a 20-year con-
tract to spend a total of
₹2,100 crore on debris
dumping. A proposal on
the same was recently
passed by the municipal
commissioner. The civic
body has invited tenders
and appointed contrac-
tors to lift debris, and
transport it for scientific
dumping. The civic body
has divided Mum-
bai into two groups,
Group A and Group
B to enable smooth
procedure. Around 15
administrative wards of
eastern suburbs and the
city have been pooled
into group A and nine
administrative wards of
western suburbs into
Group B.
`2.1K CR TO BE SPENT IN 20 YEARS TO DUMP DEBRI
State Industries
Minister Uday
Samant
proposed that
the number go
up from five to
10 councillors
Mumbai police issue preventive order ahead of Holi
First India Bureau
Mumbai: With festival
of Holi around the cor-
ner, Mumbai police on
Mondayissuedapreven-
tive order for citizens.
The list of acts pro-
hibited by the police in-
clude sprinkling col-
oured water indiscrimi-
nately and obscene ut-
terancesinpublicplaces
that are likely to lead to
communal tension and
breach of public peace.
To prohibit such acts
is considered necessary
for the preservation of
public peace and public
safety, stated the order.
In order issued by
Deputy Commissioner
of Police (Operations)
Vishal Thakur, acts dis-
allowed include public
utterances of obscene
words or slogans, or
singing of obscene
songs, use of gestures or
mimeticrepresentations
and the preparation, ex-
hibition or dissemina-
tion of pictures, sym-
bols, placards or any
other objects or things
which may offend digni-
ty
, decency or morality
.
As per the notifica-
tion, the practice of
spraying or throwing
colored water, dyes or
powder on pedestrians,
preparation and / or
throwing of balloons
filled with colored or
plain water or any liq-
uid on people has been
prohibited.
Order also states that
whoever disobeys or
abets disobedience
shall be punished under
Section 135 of Maha-
rashtra Police Act 1951.
Precautionary
measures undertaken
by cops to ensure
peace and safety of
citizens
Five held for poaching;
organs of animals seized
First India Bureau
Gondia: The police
and forest department
have arrested five per-
sons during raids for
their alleged involve-
ment in poaching in
Gondia district, an of-
ficial said on Monday
.
The authorities had
received information
about poaching of a
melanistic (black)
leopard a month ago
and investigation led
them to two villages,
range forest officer
Sachin Dongarwar
said. Police and forest
department personnel
conductedraidsintwo
Naxal-affected villag-
es in Deori tehsil on
Sunday morning.
Officials recovered
snares, nails and or-
gans of wild animals,
and more than Rs21.49
lakh cash from the ac-
cused,theofficialsaid.
A team was assem-
bledtoconductraidsat
Palandur Jamindari
andMangazarivillage,
resulting in recovery
and seizure of nails
and animal organs,
country liquor valued
at Rs84,000 and over
Rs21.49 lakh in cash.
An offence under
Wildlife Protection
Act 1972 was regis-
tered against accused
and more arrests are
likely, official said.
Officials recovered
snares, nails and
organs of wild
animals
Man falls prey to sextortionists,
defrauded of more than `3 lakh
Mumbai (PTI): A
30-year-old man from
the western suburb of
Andheri allegedly lost
more than Rs3 lakh to
unidentified persons
who claimed to have
posted nude videos of
him on social media, po-
lice said on Monday
.
The victim, who
works in a private firm,
claimed that he re-
ceived a video call from
an unidentified number
on WhatsApp on the
night of February 22.
On receiving the call,
the complainant saw a
naked woman, whose
face was not seen, and
he disconnected the
call, the official said.
The next day, the vic-
tim received a call from
another number and
the caller claimed that
he has uploaded a nude
video of him on You-
Tube and he would have
to pay Rs31,500 to re-
move it, he said.
The victim paid the
caller through an on-
line transaction. After
making the payment,
he received two more
calls in which the caller
asked for an additional
Rs62,500 to delete two
more videos, the offi-
cial added.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 292
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Detachment from
material things is the way
to inner peace.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
The new India is flying high!!
Under the leadership of PM Shri @
narendramodi Ji, 74 new airports have
been developed in the past 9 years.
This not only lessens the distance but
also generates new opportunities.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
The #ShivamoggaAirport is a gift
from Hon. PM @narendramodi ji
to the people of Malnad region. Its
inauguration today will boost air
connectivity, unfold opportunities and
propel Karnataka’s growth. Gratitude
to PM Modi for fulfilling dreams and
aspirations. @BSBommai
TOP TWEETS
FOR THE CONGRESS
ONE ‘UNIFYING’
YATRA IS CLEARLY
NOT ENOUGH
he electoral divi-
dends of Bharat Jodo
Yatra are still await-
ed but that hasn’t
stopped the Congress
from planning another march---
from Arunachal to Gujarat. Con-
gress leader Jairam Ramesh
said that the party was consider-
ing the East to West yatra from
Arunachal Pradesh to Por-
bandar. The timing of the yatra
is not yet confirmed as it could
happen before June or Novem-
ber this year. The yatra would be
multi-modal. The hope is that
this second yatra would further
invigorate the party before the
2024 Lok Sabha elections.
At the plenary, Rahul Gandhi
described the Bharat Jodo Yatra
asa“four-monthtapasya”which
brought the party alive and re-
quested party president Mall-
ikarjun Kharge to plan a “ta-
pasya ka programme”. Despite
its previous attempts to target
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
it continues to attack him in the
hope of making political gains.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra’s version
of inclusive politics may still be
unacceptable to most elector-
ates who are strong adherents of
Modi’s ideology
.
T
upreme Court’s
order dismissing
lawyer Ashwini
Upadhyay’s PIL
on constituting a
renaming commission to re-
store the original names of
historical and religious plac-
es should put a stop to the
renaming culture. But will
it? The petition sought a re-
naming commission which
was not granted. State gov-
ernments may still have the
freedom to rename “cultural
and religious places” and cit-
ies after Hindu gods, kings
and luminaries. There are
several proposals in the pipe-
line to remove the name of
invaders and it will have to
be seen if the Supreme
Court’s order will prevent
governments and religious
fundamentalists from imple-
menting their plans.
Justices KM Joseph and
BV Nagarathna found the
petition to be against the
secular principles enshrined
in the Constitution. “You are
relooking at the past selec-
tively. India is today a secu-
lar country. Your fingers be-
ing pointed at a particular
community, termed barbar-
ic. Do you want to keep the
country under boil,” Justice
Joseph asked.
Importantly, the court said
that Hinduism has no place
for bigotry as it is a great re-
ligion. “Perhaps Hinduism is
(the) greatest in terms of
metaphysics. Please do not
belittle it,” Justice Joseph
said as he asked the petition-
er not to use it for a particu-
lar purpose. Indeed, the Su-
preme Court has said in sev-
eral of its previous judg-
ments also that Hinduism is
a way of life which does not
allow bigotry. It is a fact
which some forces need to be
reminded of repeatedly. If
only a better sense prevails
and the forces for name
change give up attempts at
creating schism in society!
SC ORDER MAY NOT
STOP NAME CHANGES
Supreme Court’s order
dismissing lawyer
Ashwini Upadhyay’s
PIL on constituting a
renaming commission to
restore the original names
of historical and religious
places should put a stop
to the renaming culture
S
awaharlal Nehru’s secular
India was largely derived
from our colonial masters
and only took root in larger
cities. It was incompatible
with a Hindu-majority popu-
lation that had been ruled by
foreigners—Islamic invad-
ers, and the British—for 1200
years. Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi refers to this as
“the slave mentality of 1,200
years.” Hence, secularism
must recognize the legiti-
mate and unmet needs of its
majority Hindu population.
Contrary to what The New
York Times consistently ar-
gues, Narendra Modi’s BJP is
correcting Nehruvian ex-
cesses instead of imposing
majoritarianism.
How to Make India’s Sec-
ularism Work: The idea of
secularism enshrined in the
Indian constitution is admi-
rable. It means that all reli-
gions are treated equally un-
der the eyes of the law. Secu-
larism does not, however, im-
ply that all philosophies are
equal. Jihadism obviously
cannot be accepted as it poses
serious threats to the way of
life of the Hindus, the Sufi
Muslims, and all other non-
Muslims. Legally it falls un-
der “hate speech”, “sedition”
and likely even “treason”.
It needs to be monitored
and nipped in the bud wher-
ever it rears its ugly head,
particularly in mosques and
madrassas. In this regard, AI-
based monitoring technology
should be utilized, including
online tools. Wahhabism/
Salafism has nearly eradicat-
ed Sufism from the Kashmir
valley
. This needs immediate
attention as well. Select Indi-
an Sufi saints should be rec-
ognized as ‘Cultural Icons’
and Sufism should be recog-
nized as “India’s Islam”. You-
Tube videos on Indian Su-
fism, incorporating Rumi and
Imam Ali’s teachings, should
be disseminated freely
.
Also, the Supreme Court
has ruled that politicians can-
not use religion or caste to
seek votes. This is secularism
in practice. Similarly, the ex-
change of confidential mat-
ters of the state (if at all) be-
tween the unelected RSS and
the elected BJP, would be le-
gally incorrect. Compliance
can only be achieved if it is
self-enforced by both parties.
The Tricky Issue of Con-
version and Freedom of
Religion: Religious conver-
sion has always been a sensi-
tive topic in caste-ridden
Hindu rural India. Accord-
ing to Article 25 of the Indian
constitution, “all persons are
equally entitled to freedom
of conscience and the right
freely to profess, practice and
propagate religion.” In 1977,
the Indian Supreme Court
ruled that the “right to propa-
gate” refers to a right to
transmit or spread one’s reli-
gion but not a “right to con-
vert.” This has been the
standard since.
In 1999, Graham Stuart
Staines with his two young
sons were gruesomely mur-
dered in Odisha. According
to right-wing activists,
Staines and his family were
allegedly converting Adiva-
sis to Christianity under the
guise of his missionary ac-
tivities. He had been working
in India since 1965.
Muslims in Secular In-
dia Need to Change: For
secularism to be effective, it
needs two hands to clap. Mus-
lims in India must come for-
ward, embrace the Sufi be-
liefs of the subcontinent, re-
ject ghettos and divisive ide-
as, come down firmly on Ji-
hadism, adopt modern educa-
tion, and compete openly for
the top positions in India’s
corporations. Currently, the
Muslim community, 75% of
whom are Dalits, lags on eve-
ry socio-economic develop-
ment indicator, especially in
the Hindi heartland. It is true
that with partition the politi-
cal and intellectual elite class
of Muslims mostly migrated
to Pakistan and there is a real
scarcity of leadership. As a
result, Madrassa-educated
clerics with a limited world-
view have ruled the roost.
K Rahman Khan, a mem-
ber of the Indian National
Congress, says in his book,
Indian Muslims: The Way
Forward, that Indian Mus-
lims have “an emotional,
rather than a rational,” ap-
proach to issues. Many suffer
from “superficial religiosity”
and have an “uncompromis-
ing attitude and lack of an
accommodative approach”.
“Religious superiority” is a
feature among some. Certain
sections uphold “exclusivist
and narrow thinking” that is
completely unacceptable, es-
pecially in a plural society
.
Khan comes down heavily
on Muslim clerics for wasting
two decades defending Triple
Talaq. He makes the point
that “Muslims cannot pro-
gress if they remain wedded
to some centuries-old inter-
pretations, notions, and prac-
tices that are not in accord-
ance with the spirit of Islam
and that impede their crea-
tive presence in the contem-
porary world.” He asks Mus-
lims to adopt genuine spiritu-
ality with a focus on human-
ity and human values. He
asks Muslims to learn about
democracy and duties as a
citizen in a plural society and
to set up interfaith dialogues.
Muslims should ask them-
selves what makes small mi-
norities like the Sikhs and
Parsis so successful in India.
Sikhism is also a very con-
servative religion. Yet Sikhs
are openly felicitated for
their contribution to nation-
building. The Parsis sur-
vived for over 1000 years and
built modern India. These
are extraordinary stories
worthy to study and emulate.
At the core of both these sto-
ries is the message of service
to society irrespective of re-
ligion. Islam has always had
that tradition. It’s time that
Muslims adopted it.
SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER
India’s Secularism Needs Better
Interpretation to Retain Relevance
The second of this three-part article examines Indian secularism and its unique characteristics. The article makes the
case that this secularism must be relevant in the context of a formerly colonized Hindu-majority country
J
ROHAN BEDI
The writer is a consultant,
former banker based in Singapore
Lastly, to help dispel fears
that the RSS is a Hindu
supremacist and patriarchal
body, it would do well to
actively recruit prominent
Muslims into its Muslim
wing and prominent women
into the women’s wing. They
should be given a seat at the
table to chart a common
course for Indian society
based on shared values. Let
some of these discussions be
telecast live so that Indians
can see the synergies
Nehru’s secular India was
largely derived from our
colonial masters and only
took root in larger cities.
It was incompatible with a
Hindu-majority
population that had
been ruled by
foreigners—Islamic
invaders, and the
British—for 1,200
years. PM Modi refers
to this as “the slave
mentality of 1,200
years.” Hence,
secularism must
recognize the legitimate
and unmet needs of its
majority Hindu population

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
Telegram:
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.
https://bit.ly/fiwhatsappmumbai
https://t.me/thefirstindiamumbai

05
INDIA
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of State for Person-
nel and Public Griev-
ances, Jitendra Singh
on Monday said that In-
dia will reaffirm unified
action to ensure zero
tolerance against cor-
ruption and deepen G20
commitments towards
countering corruption
globally at the first Anti-
Corruption Working
Group Meeting (ACWG)
of G20, being held at Gu-
rugram, Haryana, from
March 1-3.
In a statement issued
ahead of the first
ACWG, Singh added
that India’s G20 presi-
dency is marked by un-
precedented economic,
geopolitical and climate
challenges.
The Minister, howev-
er, said that amid the
global gloomy econom-
ic outlook, India has
emerged as a bright
spot as described by the
IMF and other global
agencies and therefore,
India will play its right-
ful role to bridge the
North-South divide on
contentious issues.
The Union Minister
added that during the
three-day event at Gur-
ugram, more than 90
delegates from 20 mem-
ber countries, 10 invitee
countries and nine in-
ternational organisa-
tions will engage in de-
tailed deliberations on
strengthening interna-
tional anti-corruption
mechanisms.
The delegates will ex-
perience India’s culture
through specially cu-
rated yoga sessions,
visit to historic sites,
cultural events and lo-
cal cuisine.
Dr Singh said that
since its inception in
2010, G20 ACWG has
been at the forefront of
guiding the anti-cor-
ruption initiatives of
G20 countries.
India will counter corruption globally: Dr Singh
G20 COMMITMENTS
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The BJP
will easily gain major-
ity in Tripura and its
alliance government
will come to power in
Nagaland, exit polls
have predicted. The
race for Meghalaya
will be tight, with Con-
rad Sangma’s NPP like-
ly to emerge as the sin-
gle largest party
.
An aggregate of two
exit polls indicate that
theBJPmayget35seats
—ashadeabovethema-
jority of 31 in 60-seat as-
sembly
. The Left, which
ruled the state for more
than 30 years, is likely
to get only 12 seats —
the Congress, its unex-
pected ally for this elec-
tion, unlikely to add
anything to the tally
.
TipraMotha,thenew
party floated by erst-
while royal Pradyot
Kishore Debbarma
with the core demand
of Greater Tipraland --
is likely to bag 12 seats.
Exit polls, though,
can often get it wrong.
The BJP, according
to India Today, will win
between 36 to 45 seats
in Tripura. Zee News-
Matrize predicts the
BJP would get 29-36
seats, and a slightly
better scenario for the
Left Front -- 13-21 seats.
Zee News-Matrize
has also predicted the
BJP-NDPP (National-
ist Democratic Pro-
gressive Party) alli-
ance will win 35-43 of
Nagaland’s 60 seats.
In Meghalaya, Con-
rad Sangma’s NPP is
likely to emerge as the
single largest party
with 21-26 seats, pre-
dicted Zee News-
Matrize. The BJP,
which won only two
seats in the state in
2018, will expand its
tally with 6-11 seats.
NewentrantTrinamool
Congress will open its
account with 8-13 seats.
The counting of
votes for all three states
will take place on
March 2, Thursday
.
Exit Polls: BJP winning Tripura Nagaland; hung House in Meghalaya
First India Bureau
Shivamogga: In a ma-
jor infrastructure push,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi laid the foun-
dation stone and inau-
gurated multiple devel-
opment projects worth
more than Rs 3,600 crore
at Karnataka’s Shi-
vamogga on Monday
.
PM Modi inaugurat-
ed the Shivamogga Air-
port and took a walk-
through of the facilities.
According to Prime
Minister’s Office
(PMO), the new airport
is developed at a cost of
around Rs 450 crore.
The Passenger Termi-
nal Building of the air-
port can handle 300 pas-
sengers per hour and
will improve connectiv-
ity and accessibility of
Shivamogga and other
neighbouring areas in
the Malnad region.
Referring to the new-
ly inaugurated airport
in Shivamogga, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modisaid that the needs
of the citizens have
been fulfilled today af-
ter a long time.
PM MODI INAUGURATES NEW
AIRPORT IN SHIVAMOGGA
PM Narendra Modi being presented his portrait at the foundation stone laying and dedication to the
nation multiple development projects, in Belagavi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Security personnel detain an AAP supporter during a protest
against the arrest of Manish Sisodia, in New Delhi, on Monday.
Punjab Minister Harpal Cheema
being detained in Chandigarh.
Dr Jitendra Singh with British delegation led by Christina Scott at 4th
WCSSP-India Annual Science Workshop in New Delhi on Monday.
BIG INFRA PUSH FOR POLL-BOUND KARNATAKA
Shivamogga: PM Narendra
Modi, in a special gesture
towards BS Yediyurappa
who is celebrating his 80th
birth anniversary on Monday,
asked the people to turn on
the flashlights of their mobile
phones to extend birthday
greetings to the former chief
minister. “Today is special
for one more reason. It’s
the birthday of Karnataka’s
popular leader BS Yediyurap-
pa. I pray for his long life. He
dedicated his life to the poor
and farmers’ welfare,” the
Prime Minister said.
ON BSY B’DAY, MODI
ASKS PEOPLE TO FLIP
ON MOBILE TORCHES
TO GREET HIM
New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Monday addressed a Budget
Webinar on the subject of ‘Reaching the last mile’. It is the fourth
of a series of 12 post-budget webinars organized by the govt to
seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of
the initiatives announced in the Union Budget. While acknowl-
edging the importance of debate on Budget, he said that the govt
has gone a step further and for the last few years have started
the new tradition of brainstorming with the stakeholders.
PM NARENDRA MODI ADDRESSES BUDGET
WEBINAR ON ‘REACHING THE LAST MILE’
“Sisodia arrested to divert
attentionfromAdaniissue”
New Delhi (PTI): Sen-
ior AAP leader Sanjay
SinghonMondaylashed
out at the BJP and the
Centre and alleged Del-
hi Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia’s arrest was
“nothing but the BJP’s
dictatorship” and that it
was done to divert the
public attention from
the Adani issue. “The
leader who has been
working hard for the de-
velopment of poor chil-
dren has been arrested
by the CBI. Manish Siso-
dia’s house was thor-
oughly raided but noth-
ing was found. This is
happening to divert the
attention of the public
from the outrage over
Adani,” Singh said.
“GIVE ME CBI, WILL ARREST MODI, ADANI
WITHIN 2 HOURS”, SAYS SANJAY SINGH
New Delhi: AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who
was released from detention on Monday,
said the BJP was trying to sully the image
of Arvind Kejriwal, claiming further that
he would have PM Narendra Modi, Home
Minister Amit Shah and industrialist
Gautam Adani “arrested within two hours”
if the ED and the CBI were with him.
New Delhi (ANI): A
high-level organization-
al meeting of the BJP
national general secre-
tary was chaired by BJP
national president JP
Nadda was held at BJP
headquarters to review
the implementation of
the public outreach pro-
gramme to strengthen
all the booths at the
grassroots level as it
gears up for the 2024
Lok Sabha elections.
As per a senior BJP
source, the main agen-
da and focus were on
strengthening the or-
ganization at the grass-
roots level and strength-
ening the booth and re-
viewing the upcoming
six state elections. Ac-
cording to a senior BJP
source, the party is go-
ing to strengthen
10,000,000 booths across
the country
. Along with
this, President Droupa-
di Murmu’s pre-budget
speech would be nar-
rated in 2,00,000 Shakti
Kendras in the second
week of March, party
sources added.
Bhopal: The Budget
session of the Madhya
Pradesh Assembly be-
gan on Monday with
Governor Mangubhai
Patel addressing the
session, during which
he praised the BJP-led
state government’s re-
lentless efforts to make
the state self-reliant.
The Guv said PM
Narendra Modi has set
off on a mission to
make India “prosper-
ous, self-reliant and de-
veloped” and MP was
moving ahead towards
fulfilling this resolve
step-by-step with Cen-
tre. “My govt is commit-
ted to make Madhya
Pradesh self-reliant.
The Global Investors
Summit (GIS)-2023
(held in Indore last
month) was a mile-
stone. Investment pro-
posals to the tune of Rs
15.42 lakh crore.”
MP annual budget on
March 1; session begins
BJP to strengthen 10 lakh booths across
country as it gears up for 2024 LS polls
CHANDIGARH: AAP
LEADERS PROTEST
OUTSIDE BJP OFFICE
Chandigarh: AAP leaders
held a protest outside
the BJP headquarters on
Monday against the arrest
of senior AAP leader and
Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia. AAP leaders and
workers, including Punjab
government ministers Harpal
Singh Cheema, Anmol Gagan
Mann, Lalchand Kataruchak,
among others, participated
in the protest.
KERALA CM VIJAYAN
CONDEMNS SISODIA’S
ARREST BY CBI
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala
CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Mon-
day taking to
Twitter, said,
“The arrest of
@msisodia by
CBI is another
example of
how @
BJP4India
misuses the Union Govern-
ment’s agencies to intimidate
the opposition.”
8 YRS AFTER FIR,
MAN ACQUITED IN
MOM’S MURDER
HC: SEIZE TMC
LEADER’S ALL
PROPERTIES
New Delhi: A local court
here has acquitted a man
accused of murdering his
mother in 2014, saying
the guilt of the accused
could not be inferred from
the evidence and that the
prosecution failed to prove
its case. The court was
hearing a case against
Vinod, who was accused
of assaulting his mother
Maya Devi with a hammer
on July 15, 2014, at Tigri
jhuggi jhopri (JJ) camp in
South Delhi.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High
Court on Monday directed
the CBI to confiscate all
properties in the country
and abroad of Trinamool
Congress legislator and
former president of the
WBBPE Manik Bhattacha-
rya, who is serving judicial
custody in the multi-crore
teachers’ recruitment
scam case. The court took
a strong note of the event
of Bhattacharya missing
the deadline of paying the
penalty of Rs 7,00,000.
New Delhi: Senior advocate KV Viswanathan, the amicus
curiae in the petitions challenging the extension of the
tenure of Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Sanjay
Kumar Mishra, told the Supreme Court on
Monday that the extension was illegal.
He cited the apex court’s decisions
in Vineet Narain others Vs Union
of India and Common Cause Vs
Union of India to support his
contention. He submitted that
the issue was not about the in-
cumbent Director at all, rather
it was about the principle.
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday summoned former
railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former
Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and 14
others in connection with the alleged land-
for-job scam. The case relates to alleged
appointments made in the railways in return
for land parcels gifted or sold to Prasad’s
family when he was the minister of railways
between 2004 and 2009. Special judge Gee-
tanjali Goel directed the accused persons to appear before
the court on March 15.
EXTENSION OF ED CHIEF’S TENURE
ILLEGAL, AMICUS CURIAE TELLS SC
DELHI COURT SUMMONS LALU PRASAD,
RABRI DEVI IN LAND-FOR-JOB SCAM
IN THE COURTYARD
Guv Mangubhai Patel being
welcomed by CM Chouhan.
BJP’S ‘PRAGATHI
RATHA’ FLAGGED
OFF IN K’TAKA’S
MANGALURU
Mangaluru: The ‘Prag-
athi Ratha’ yatra of the
BJP Dakshina Kannada
district unit was flagged
off from Kadri grounds
here on Monday by BJP
district chief Sudarshan
Moodbidri and Vedavyas
Kamath MLA. The
yatra is aimed at creating
awareness among the
people about the achieve-
ments of the BJP govts
at the Centre and State
ahead of the Assembly
polls, Moodbidri said.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Himachal
Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Sukhvinder
Singh Sukhu on
Monday urged Un-
ion Minister for En-
vironment, Forest
andClimateChange
Bhupender Yadav
for timely forest
clearances for expe-
diting ongoing de-
velopment projects
in the state.
Sukhu urged him
to ensure early for-
est approvals in a
time-bound manner
for construction of
heliports and green
corridors as man-
dated by the state
government for
making Himachal
‘Green Energy
State’ by 2025 and
other major ongo-
ing projects.
Himachal CM
wants timely
clearances for
devp projects
Himachal CM Sukhu with
Union Minister Bhupender
Yadav in Delhi, on Monday.
BJP chief JP Nadda interacts with Delhi University students on
Monday. BJP leaders Anil Baluni and Rakesh Sinha also present.
Bengaluru: The Congress on Monday took a jibe at PM
Modi over his visit to the poll-bound southern state, saying
the PM has become a tourist. The Congress said: “He never
bothered to visit when Karnataka faced the flood fury. When
the lives of people were affected, and properties were dam-
aged, PM Modi did not bother to turn towards the state and
did not care to release a single rupee to the state. Thanks to
elections, PM Modi has become a tourist in the state.”
‘PM HAS BECOME A TOURIST’, SAYS
CONGRESS AS MODI VISITS K’TAKA
Election officials return along with EVMs after conducting voting in Meghalaya.
The first Anti-
Corruption
Working Group
Meeting of G20,
is being held at
Gurugram from
March 1-3

06
INDIA
Pulwama (ANI): Dogra
Front organised a pro-
test on Monday against
the killing of 40-year-old
Kashmiri Pandit here.
Scores of people par-
ticipated in protest de-
manding justice and
strict action against Pa-
kistaniterrorists.“We’re
protesting in thousands
demanding strict action
against the culprits in-
volved in the murder of
Pandit Sanjay Sharma.
We request the Lieuten-
ant Governor adminis-
tration to arrest the ac-
cused,” a local said.
Another local, Asim
Masudi said, “We’ve al-
ways lived in unity in
Jammu and Kashmir
and today we protest
against the killing of
Sanjay Sharma. No
matter what the reli-
gion or caste of the po-
eple being killed is, jus-
tice must be served.”
Earlier on Sunday,
terrorists attacked and
fatally shot Sanjay
Sharma when he was
on his way to a local
market in Pulwama.
The critically injured
Sharma was rushed to a
nearby hospital, with
the help of locals. How-
ever, he succumbed to
his bullet injuries.
PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti slammed the
BJP at the centre over
the killing of the Kash-
miri Pandit in the Pul-
wama district.
Shimla: Cold is likely
to grip Himachal
Pradesh again with
heavy rain forecast in
the next two days by
the Met office on Mon-
day. “Some areas in the
state are likely to expe-
rience rainfall or
thunderstorms with
squall or hail from
February 28,” a Mete-
orological Department
official said. He said
chances of heavy rain-
fall and snowfall likely
to occur in the dis-
tricts of Chamba, Kan-
gra, Kullu, Mandi,
Shimla and Lahaul-
Spiti on March 1.
The Met depart-
ment’s forecast said
the western distur-
bances — storm sys-
tems originating from
the Mediterranean Sea
and moving across the
Afghanistan-Pakistan
region — would remain
active in the region till
March 1. Meanwhile,
Keylong in Lahaul-Spi-
ti district was the cold-
est town in the state
with a low of minus 5.1
degrees Celsius. The
minimum temperature
in Shimla was 8.2 de-
grees, while it was 1.8
degrees in Manali and
11.2 degrees in Dhar-
amsala. Shimla saw a
high of 16.6 degrees.
Cold may grip Himachal again: MeT
WEATHER FORECAST
lll
The weather
forecast by the
Meteorological
Department said
the western
disturbances
would remain
active in the
region till
March 1
Raipur (PTI): Their
bags are packed and
they’rereadytogo,wait-
ing just for a signal to
begin walking the
breadth of India. With
BharatJodoYatra2.0ap-
pearing a distinct possi-
bility, several Congress
leaders and workers say
they are raring to get
back on the streets to
quicklytakeforwardthe
gains from the first one.
There has been talk of
another Bharat Jodo
YatraeversincetheKan-
yakumari to Kashmir
campaign ended in Sri-
nagar.Thebuzzescalated
on Sunday when former
Congress chief Rahul
Gandhiappealedtoparty
president Mallikarjun
Kharge at the plenary
sessionheretoformulate
a new plan to carry for-
ward the “tapasya” (pen-
ance) undertaken
through the march.
“The Bharat yatris, as
thosewhocompletedthe
entire journey are
known, are ready
. Our
bags are packed and we
will leave as soon as we
get orders from the par-
ty
,” said Vaibhav Walia,
AICC delegate and one
of those who walked
4,000 km from India’s
southerntiptoKashmir.
“Many of us now
wish for a second phase
of the yatra so it can go
to states it hasn’t been
to,” Walia said.
LhinkimHaokipShin-
gnaisui of Manipur, the
only woman from the
northeast who partici-
pated in the Bharat Jodo
Yatra, said there is a lot
of enthusiasm among
the northeast people af-
ter Rahul Gandhi’s com-
ments on Sunday
.
Prayagraj: A shooter
involved in Umesh Pal
murder case has been
shot dead by the police
after an encounter.
The Special Opera-
tions Group of the UP
Police and the district
police shot the accused,
identified as Arbaz, at
the Nehru Park in Pray-
agraj on Monday
.
Umesh Pal, the
prime witness in the
2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal
murder case, was shot
dead on Friday even-
ing at his residence in
Prayagraj.
Umesh Pal was shot
dead by an unidenti-
fied man while he was
getting out of the back-
seat of an SUV in Pray-
agraj. Pal was rushed
to Swaroop Rani Nehru
Hospital, where he suc-
cumbed during treat-
ment. Pal’s autopsy
report revealed that he
was shot seven times.
Following the mur-
der, Umesh Pal’s wife
Jaya Pal approached
police and filed an FIR.
A case under IPC and
Explosives Act was reg-
istered against former
MP Atiq Ahmed’s
brother, wife Shaista
Praveen and his sons
and several others.
New Delhi: Renowned
chef Sanjeev Kapoor on
Monday hit out at Air In-
dia after he was served
unsatisfactory meals on
aNagpur-Mumbaiflight.
He shared photos of
his meal, describing the
food items as “cold”
chicken tikka, sand-
wich with very little fill-
ing and a dessert term-
ing it “sugar syrup”.
“Wake Up @airindi-
ain. Nagpur-Mumbai
0740flight.ColdChicken
Tikka with watermelon,
cucumber, tomato sev
Sandwich with minus-
cule filling of chopped
cabbage with mayo Sug-
ar syrup Sponge painted
with sweetened cream
yellow glaze,” Kapoor
tweeted.
“Really! Is this what
Indians should eat for
breakfast?” he said in
another tweet.
Dehradun (PTI): A po-
lice constable was alleg-
edly run over by a trac-
tor trolley engaged in
illegal mining in a for-
est in the Jaitanwala
area here, leaving him
critically injured, the
police officials said.
The incident oc-
curred on Sunday, the
police officials added.
Uttarakhand’s Direc-
tor General of Police
(DGP) Ashok Kumar on
Monday ordered the im-
mediate removal of the
Cantonment police sta-
tion in-charge as the
incident took place un-
der his jurisdiction.
The DGP also ordered
the arrest of the four
people identified for fa-
tally attacking consta-
ble Manoj.
He asked Dehradun
Senior Superintendent
of Police (SSP) Dalip
Singh Kunwar to con-
duct a probe into the
incident and submit a
report soon.
Police said Manoj,
who was posted at the
Cantonment police sta-
tion, received a tip-off
on Sunday that a min-
ing mafia was getting
illegally-mined materi-
al loaded on a tractor
trolley in the Jaitanwa-
la area.
He rushed to the spot
and asked the tractor
trolley driver, Vaseem,
to come to the police
station along with him.
As the driver refused
to oblige, the constable
alerted the Cheetah po-
lice unit, which deals
with street crimes, and
asked its personnel to
rush to the spot, the po-
lice officials said.
When the Cheetah
personnel arrived at the
spot, they found Manoj
lying on the road with a
bleeding injury
.
The constable was al-
legedly pushed to the
ground and run over by
the tractor trolley. He
sustained injuries on
his head and feet.
He was rushed to a
hospital where his con-
dition continues to be
critical, police said.
Taking serious note
of the incident, Uttara-
khand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
asked the DGP to take
immediate action in the
matter and bring the
culprits to book.
MINOR KILLED
AFTER SODOMY,
ACCUSED HELD
5, INCLUDING 2
MINORS, HELD
FOR RAPING GIRL
Gurugram: A 24-year-
old man has been
arrested here for
allegedly kidnapping,
sodomising and killing
a 10-year-old boy, the
police said on Monday.
The arrested individual
has been identified
Prince. He used to
earlier reside near the
victim’s house. The
boy’s body was found
in the bushes in the
IMT Manesar area on
the intervening night of
Sunday, the police said.
Ranchi: The Jharkhand
police on Monday
arrested five persons,
including two minors
accused of gang raping
a minor girl when she
was returning from a
wedding in Dewaki vil-
lage of Gumla district.
Three of the accused
have been sent to jail
while the two minors
have been sent to a
juvenile home on the
complaint of the victim
lodged at the Ghaghra
police station.
Surat: A woman allegedly attempted suicide after
poisoning her two daughters in Surat, an official
said on Monday. The woman identified as Asmita, on
Sunday afternoon, first poisoned her two daughters
— Ritanshu and Divya, and later herself consumed
poison. The woman and her two daughters have
been admitted to a Surat hospital. The Pandesara
police have booked the woman in an attempt to mur-
der case and have started investigating the matter.
Srinagar: JK Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said on
Monday that 40 per cent people in the Union Territo-
ry will have to pay no property tax. Talking to report-
ers on the sidelines of an official function here on
Monday, Sinha said that the amount of property tax
fixed in JK is 10 times less than that of Dehradun,
Ambala and Shimla. “Shopkeepers will have to pay
nominal property tax annually. People must come
forward to build a better JK,” Sinha said.
GUJARAT: WOMAN ATTEMPTS SUICIDE
AFTER POISONING TWO DAUGHTERS
JK L-G MANOJ SINHA SAYS 40%
PEOPLE TO PAY NO PROPERTY TAX
CRUCIAL READ
Heavy rainfall likely in some districts on March 1, says Met Dept
The accused was hurt during an exchange of fire and was
brought to the SRN Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Master chef Sanjeev Kapoor hits
out at Air India over flight meals
Miningmafiatriesto‘run
over’constableinDehradun
Sanjeev Kapoor had shared photos of his meals on the flight.
The incident has made police personnel concerned.
U’khand DGP
orders arrest of 4
men identified for
attacking the cop
Accused in Umesh
Pal murder case
killed in encounter
A poster of Congress’ “Bharat Jodo Yatra” in Patna.
CONG TO STEP UP ATTACK ON GOVT
OVER ADANI-HINDENBURG ISSUE
WE HAVE GOT NEW
DIRECTION, SAYS
DK SHIVAKUMAR
Raipur (PTI): To step up its attack on the govt over
the Adani-Hindenburg issue, the Congress has
asked its state units to hold press conferences on
the issue across states and subsequently organise
protests at various levels. In a statement, Con-
gress general secretary in-charge organisation KC
Venugopal said the party has decided to intensify
its agitation and take the issue directly to the
people. All Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs)
have been asked to arrange press conferences
in all districts which will be addressed by senior
state leaders, and subsequently, all state units will
organise the agitational activities at various levels,
he said. Block-level agitations will be organised in
front of offices of public banks and LIC between
March 6 and 10 all over the country, he said.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Con-
gress chief DK Shivakumar
on Monday said that the
Raipur convention has giv-
en a new direction to the
party, with discussions on
how the opposition should
move unitedly and how
to prepare for the 2024
Lok Sabha polls. Speak-
ing to media, Shivakumar
stated the convention has
also been discussed to
implement decisions taken
during the Bharat Jodo
Yatra. “But, the matters
related to Karnataka were
not discussed. The focus
was on the policy of the
party at the national level,”
he said. He said that senior
high command leaders will
come down to Karnataka
for campaigning.
ANGER AGAINST TERRORISM
PROTESTS AGAINST KASHMIRI
PANDIT’S KILLING IN PULWAMA
(Clockwise from top) Last rites of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma being held in Pulwama; Shiv Sena
Dogra Front protest against Pakistan BJP supporters burn an effigy during a protest on Monday.
People demand
justice and strict
action against
Pak terrorists
ACCUSED WILL BE
PUNISHED SOON: LG
ON KP’S KILLING
Srinagar: JK Lt Guv
Manoj Sinha has
condemned the targeted
killing of a Hindu Kash-
miri pandit by terrorists.
While talking to the media
JK LG Sinha said, “I
condemn this act. Those
who have done this will
be punished soon.” LG
Sinha stated that security
forces are currently work-
ing on a strategy that will
help them neutralize such
events in near future. “For
those who have commit-
ted this act, our security
forces will be after them.
Our forces are also
working on a 360-degree
security approach in this
regard,” Sinha said.
Congress leaders and workers
ready for Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 55,520.00 185.00 0.33 (Per 10g)
SILVER 63,227.00 798.00 1.26 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.85 0.10 0.12
GBPINR 98.94 0.52 0.52
CURRENCIES
Sensex,Nifty close in red for seventh
straight session on weak global trends
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark indices Sensex and
Nifty slid for a seventh
straight session on Mon-
day, logging their longest
losing run in the past five
months, following a bear-
ish trend in global markets
amid concerns over aggres-
sive rate hikes by devel-
oped economies.
Fresh for-
eign fund out-
flows and
losses in IT,
auto and oil
stocks also
dented in-
v e s t o r
s e n t i -
ments.
The BSE Sensex declined
by 175.58 points or 0.30% to
close at 59,288.35 with 17 of
its shares posting losses.
The NSE Nifty fell 73.10
points or 0.42% to end at
17,392.70 as 33 of its stocks
ended in the red.
From the Sensex pack,
Tata Steel, Infosys, TCS,
Tata Motors, MM, HCL
Technologies, Larsen
Toubro, Bharti Airtel,
Wipro and Bajaj Fi-
nance were the big-
gest lag-
gards.
BLOODBATH ON DALAL STREET
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi (PTI): The Es-
sar group on Monday an-
nounced a $3.6 billion in-
vestment in low carbon
energy transition projects
in the UK and India in-
cluding the production of
green hydrogen and am-
monia over the next five
years, as it looks at a new
phase of growth. “EET
plans to invest a total of
$3.6 billion in developing
a range of low carbon en-
ergy transition projects
over the next five years,
of which $2.4 billion will
be invested across its site
at Stanlow, between Liv-
erpool and Manchester
and $1.2 billion in India,”
the company said in a
statement.
New Delhi (PTI): Telecom
operator Bharti Airtel on
Monday announced that it
has crossed the 10 mil-
lion unique 5G user mark
on its network. In a state-
ment, the company said it
is well poised to cover
every town and key rural
areas with Airtel 5G ser-
vices by the end of March
2024. The company in-
formed it has surpassed
the 10 million unique 5G
user milestone, on its
network. In November
2022, Airtel became the
first operator to have 1
million unique customers.
BHARTI AIRTEL 5G
CROSSES 10 MN
UNIQUE USERS
ESSAR TO INVEST
$3.6 BILLION IN
ENERGY TRANSITION
New Delhi (PTI): Gold
prices declined by `185
to `55,520 per 10 grams
in the national capital on
Monday amid weak global
trends, according to
HDFC Securities. The yel-
low metal had ended at
`55,705 per 10 grams in
the previous trade (Friday,
February 24). Silver also
plummeted by `798 to
`63,227 per kg. In the
overseas market, gold
and silver were trading
lower at $1,811 per ounce
and $20.75 per ounce, re-
spectively.
GOLD PLUNGES BY
`185; SILVER RATES
FALL BY `798/KG
New Delhi (PTI): The
country’s fertilizer im-
ports rose by 3.9% to
19.04 lakh tonnes in Jan-
uary this year compared
to the year-ago period,
according to the Fertilizer
Ministry data. Of the total
imports of 19.04 lakh
tonne, 10.65 lakh tonnes
of urea, 5.62 lakh tonnes
of Di-ammonium Phos-
phate (DAP), 1.14 lakh
tonnes of Muriate of Pot-
ash (MoP) and 1.63 lakh
tonnes of complexes were
imported. The domestic
fertilizer production dur-
ing January this year also
rose to 39.14 lakh tones.
INDIA’S FERTILIZER
IMPORTS ROSE 3.9%
TO 19.04 L TONNES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to close at
82.85 (provisional) against the US currency on Monday as a
stronger dollar in
the overseas market
and a muted trend
in domestic equities
weighed on investor
sentiments. At the
interbank foreign
exchange market,
the rupee opened
at 82.87 against
the greenback and
closed at 82.85, registering a fall of 10 paise over its previous
close of 82.75. During the session, the domestic unit witnessed
an intra-day high of 82.82 and a low of 82.94.
New Delhi (PTI): Seven consecutive sessions of decline in the
equity market has eroded the wealth of investors by a whopping
`10.42 lakh crore and the benchmark Sensex has tumbled more
than 2,000 points during this period. The Sensex has tumbled
2,031.16 points or 3.31% since February 16. During this period,
the combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms has
eroded by `10,42,790.03 crore to `2,57,88,195.57 crore.
` FALLS 10 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.85/$
INVESTORS' WEALTH PLUNGES `10.42 L CR
ADANI POWER BID FOR
KORBA WEST POWER
UPHELD BY NCLAT
New Delhi (PTI): The National
Company Law Appellate Tri-
bunal (NCLAT) has upheld the
2019 Resolu-
tion Plan of
Adani Power’s
bid for Korba
West Power
and has asked Shapoorji Pal-
lonji Co to pursue arbitra-
tion proceedings for pending
claims. A two-member NCLAT
bench said “there is no illegal-
ity in the order of the approval
of the resolution plan by the
NCLT and it does not see any
reason to set aside the resolu-
tion plan by Adani Power.
CARLYLE AVIATION TO
PICK UP 7.5% STAKE IN
SPICEJET
Mumbai (PTI): No-frills
carrier SpiceJet on Monday
said it has restructured over
$100 million
outstand-
ing dues to
aircraft leasing
firm Carlyle
Aviation Partners, into equity
shares and compulsorily con-
vertible debentures (CCDs).
The Board of Directors of
SpiceJet Ltd on February 27
approved issuing fresh equity
shares of $29.5 million to Car-
lyle Aviation Partners at `48/
share or the SEBI determined
price, whichever is higher.
RETAIL MUTUAL FUNDS ASSETS BASE GROWS
9.3% TO OVER `23 LAKH CRORE IN JAN 2023
New Delhi (PTI): Retail investors’ interest in the Indian mutual
fund industry has seen an uptick with the value of assets held by
them witnessing a rise of 9.3% to
`23.4 lakh crore in January this year.
In comparison, the value of assets
held by retail investors in mutual
funds stood at `21.40 lakh crore in
January 2022, latest data with the
Association of Mutual Funds in India
(Amfi) showed. However, the value of
institutional assets has marginally decreased to `17.42 lakh crore
in January 2023, from `17.49 lakh crore in January 2022.
OTHER STORIES
TO BECOME SIGNIFICANT PLAYER
AIR INDIA HAS ‘ENORMOUS’ POTENTIAL: CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Air In-
dia, which is set to buy 470
planes for about $70 billion,
has ‘enormous’ potential
and efforts are on to make
the group a significant in-
ternational player in the
aviation space, according
to the airline’s chief Camp-
bell Wilson.
Against the backdrop of
incidents of unruly pas-
senger behaviour onboard
flights and the airline’s de-
cision to amend its alcohol
serving policy, Wilson said
strong action is being tak-
en against such instances
of intoxication which is
also a multi-faceted issue.
Last month, in a span of
less than a week, aviation
regulator DGCA had penal-
ised Tata Group-owned Air
India twice related to inci-
dents of unruly passenger
behaviour.
On February 14, Air In-
dia announced placing an
order for 470 planes, includ-
ing 70 wide-body aircraft.
About funding for the
purchase of 470 aircraft,
Wilson said it would be a
combination of many
things, including cash flow
and financing by share-
holder equity
.
“We will be exploring
other opportunities such
as sale and lease back of
aircraft. It suffices to say
that there are a number of
funding sources and likely
to be a combination of var-
ious sources,” he added.
Out of the firm order for
470 planes, 250 are from
Airbus and 220 from Boe-
ing. Among them, 70 are
wide-body aircraft. All six
wide-body A350s will join
the fleet this year.
When asked about the
list price of the aircraft or-
dered, Wilson said that if
the numbers published on
the manufacturers’ web-
sites are taken, it will be
around $70 billion.
While noting that the op-
portunity for Air India as
well as India are really
quite unprecedented, he
said the country has very
attractive economic
growth, significant popula-
tion, attractive demograph-
ics and a geography that is
suited for international
aviation connectivity
.
“We see Air India has
enormous potential and we
see Air India being able to
provide huge opportunities
for professionals to realise
their ambitions,” he said.
470 JETS AT LIST
PRICE OF $70 BN
z Air India had placed an order
for 470 planes, including 70
wide-body aircraft. About
funding for the purchase
of 470 aircraft, Wilson said
it would be a combination
of many things, including
cash flow and financing by
shareholder equity.
z Out of the firm order for 470
planes, 250 are from Airbus
Full-service
carrier to be
known as AI post
Vistara merger
New Delhi (PTI): As the
group works on becoming
a significant international
aviation player, Air India
chief Campbell Wilson on
Monday said the full-ser-
vice carrier post the merg-
er of Vistara will be known
as Air India which is much
more recognised outside
the country
.
While the resultant full-
service carrier will be
known as Air India, Wilson
emphasised that efforts
will be made to retain some
of the “Vistara heritage in
that new manifestation”.
Since taking over the
loss-making Air India in
January last year, Tata
Group has been working on
transforming the airline
group and has announced
that Vistara will be merged
with itself, while AIX Con-
nect, earlier known as Ai-
rAsia India, is getting inte-
grated with Air India Ex-
press. “The intention is to
have one full-service air-
line and one low-cost air-
line in the group. The full-
service airline will be an
amalgam of Air India and
Vistara,” Wilson said.
Advt disclosures should be displayed prominently: Centre
India Inc’s profit margin narrows in Dec qtr
Mumbai (PTI): India Inc’s
operating profit margin
narrowed by a sharp 2.37%
in the December quarter to
16.3% on an annual basis
due to inflation and rising
energy costs, a domestic
ratings agency said on
Monday
.
When viewed se-
quentially, the op-
erating profit
margin for the
December quar-
ter expanded by
1.80% over the pre-
ceding September
quarter, Icra Ratings
said, attributing the
same to the easing in input
costs and also price hikes
by many companies.
Going forward, while
price hikes and sequential
input cost reduc- t i o n s
can boost margins in the
near term, geopolitical ten-
sions, recessionary con-
cerns, and forex volatility
continue to pose risks, the
agency said.
The revenue of com-
panies, excluding
those in the finan-
cial sector, grew
17.2%, which was
as per expecta-
tions, the agency
said, adding that
hotels, oil and gas,
auto, airlines, and
power sectors led the
way
.
However, the reve-
nue growth was a muted
1.4% from a sequential
perspective due to in-
flationary headwinds
weighing on consumer sen-
timents.
New Delhi (PTI): The Cen-
tre on Monday said disclo-
sures in advertisements
should be displayed promi-
nently and not in the form
of hashtags or links, in the
interest of consumers.
Consumer Affairs Secre-
tary Rohit Kumar Singh
also stressed the impor-
tance of conducting social
media advertising respon-
sibly at a time when there
are 50 crore social media
users in India.
There is a need for influ-
encers and celebrities to
disclose any material con-
nections with advertisers
that may affect the credibil-
ity of their representation,
Singh said.
“Disclosures must be
hard to miss and not mixed
with a group of hashtags or
links,” he noted.
For endorsements in pic-
tures, the secretary said
disclosures should be su-
perimposed over the im-
age, and for endorsements
in videos, disclosures
should be made in both au-
dio and video formats. In
live streams, disclosures
should be continuously dis-
played and prominently
placed, an official state-
ment said.
He emphasised the duty
of manufacturers, service
providers, advertisers, and
advertising agencies to en-
sure that their advertise-
ments do not mislead con-
sumers.
EPFO members can apply for
higher pension until May 03
New Delhi (PTI): The Em-
ployees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) on
Monday set May 03 as the
deadline for subscribers to
opt for a higher pension.
The Supreme Court on
November 4 allowed anoth-
er change for employees
who were existing EPS
members as on September
1, 2024, to contribute up to
8.33% of their actual sala-
ries - as against 8.33% of
pensionable salary capped
at `15,000 a month - towards
pension.
The apex court gave a
four-month window to en-
able opting for higher pen-
sions. The deadline accord-
ingly should have been
around March 03, 2023
“The joint option for em-
ployees who were in ser-
vice prior to September 1,
2014, and continued to be in
service on or after Septem-
ber 1, 2014, but could not
exercise joint option under
the Employees’ Pension
Scheme can do so now on
or before May 03, 2023.”

08
2NDFRONT
‘Hope W20 can help us leverage
tech to promote women-led biz’
Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani
inaugurated the two-day W20 inception meeting in Aurangabad
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: Union
Minister Smriti Irani
on Monday said she
hopes that the W20
(Women 20)--an official
engagement group un-
der G20 that was estab-
lished during the Turk-
ish presidency in
2015--could show the
way to using best prac-
tices from each country
to leverage technology
to encourage women-
led businesses.
The women and child
development minister
inaugurated the two-
day W20 inception
meeting in Aurang-
abad as part of India’s
presidency of the G20
forum.
The primary objec-
tive of W20 is to ensure
gender considerations
make their way to
mainstream discus-
sions, and are translat-
ed into the G20 Lead-
ers’ Declaration as
policies and commit-
ments that foster gen-
der equality and wom-
en’s economic empow-
erment, an official
said.
On women’s partici-
pation in the agrarian
sector, Irani said, “To-
day we have a work-
force of 100 million
women across about
6.22 lakh villages in (In-
dia’s) agrarian society.
We have 17 million
women who devote
their time to animal
husbandry.”
India has 800 million
Internet users. Will we
reduce women only to
users of technology, or
shall we “leverage
technology to bring eq-
uity”, she asked.
Of the three million
women who are elected
to political offices in
the world, 1.4 million
are Indian, she noted.
The minister said 320
million loans were giv-
en under the MUDRA
scheme, which was not
a gender financial
scheme, and 230 million
of the beneficiaries
turned out to be women.
She also expressed
the need for a first re-
sponse framework for
helping women and
children in the after-
mathof climatechange.
G20 Sherpa Amitabh
Kant, Chair of W20
Sandhya Purecha, Un-
ion ministers Raosaheb
Danve, Dr Bhagwat
Karad, state minister
Atul Save and W20 chief
co-ordinator Dharitri
Patnaik were present
during the event.
India took over the
presidency from Indo-
nesia on December 12.
Mumbai (PTI): Thelaw
cannot be used as an in-
strument of oppression
toharasspeopleandpre-
vent them from express-
ingtheirviews,theBom-
bay High Court said on
Monday while quashing
two FIRs registered
against a man for post-
ing a video of a Maha-
rashtra minister mak-
ing alleged objectiona-
ble remarks against so-
cialreformersMahatma
Jyotiba Phule and Baba-
saheb Ambedkar.
The HC also said the
onus was on the police
and the State to ensure
Indian Penal Code sec-
tion 153A, pertaining to
promoting enmity be-
tween groups through
acts that are prejudicial
to the maintenance of
harmony
, which was in-
voked against the man,
is not misused by “any-
one, much less, political
parties”.
The HC directed the
state government to pay
a fine of Rs25,000 to the
man for his “unjustified
arrest”, adding the
amount be recovered
from the salary of the
Pune policemen respon-
sible for registering the
FIRs.
Sandeep Kudale, who
claims to be a Congress
worker, had posted a
video of Maharashtra
minister and senior
Bharatiya Janata Party
leader Chandrakant Pa-
til making allegedly ob-
jectionable remarks
aboutPhuleandAmbed-
kar.
Following this act,
FIRs were registered
against Kudale at differ-
ent police stations in
Pune under Indian Pe-
nal Code sections
153A(1)(a) (promoting
enmity between two
groups through words,
written or spoken) and
153A(1)(b) (committing
any act which is prejudi-
cial to the maintenance
of harmony between
different religious, ra-
cial, language or region-
al groups or castes or
communities).
A division bench of
JusticesRevatiDereand
Prithviraj Chavan, in
theirorderquashingthe
FIRs, observed, “(The)
law cannot be used as a
tool or as an instrument
of oppression, by regis-
tering FIRs, to harass
people by preventing/
intimidatingthem,from
expressing their views/
opinions/dissent,which
the Constitution of In-
dia, guarantees to
them.”
The right to express
one’s views is a protect-
ed and cherished right
in our democracy and
cannot be taken away by
imposition of Section
153A of the IPC and by
arresting a person as
was done in the present
case, the HC further ob-
served.
Law cannot be instrument of oppression, says Bombay HC
ON SACRED GROUND
lll
Quashes FIRs
against man for
video on
minister; warns
against misuse
of IPC section
promoting
enmity between
groups
KASBA PETH
Casefiledagainst
BJP’sRasanefor
violatingpollcode
First India Bureau
Pune: Hemant
Rasane, the Bharati-
yaJanataParty(BJP)
candidate for Kasba
Assemblyseatbypoll,
has been booked for
allegedly violating
the model code of
conduct, an official
said on Monday
.
Bypolls to Kasba
and Chinchwad As-
sembly seats, neces-
sitated due to the
death of their respec-
tive BJP MLAs Muk-
ta Tilak and Laxman
Jagtap, were held on
Sunday
.
Rasane was seen
sporting neckwear
bearing his party
symbol while casting
his vote at Nutan
Marathi Vidyalaya in
Pune’s Kasba area on
Sunday. Nationalist
Congress Party
(NCP) leader Rupali
Thombare filed a po-
lice complaint
against Rasane for
alleged breach of the
model code of con-
duct and demanded
action against him.
An official from
Vishrambaug police
station said the assis-
tant returning offic-
er for the bypoll also
filed a complaint
against Rasane,
based on which a
case was registered
against him.
Police have
launched an inquiry
.
I hope W20,
the amalgam
of best minds
across the world, can
also give us guidance
on how to use best
practices from each
country so that we
can leverage technolo-
gy to build more on
women-led business-
es, for women in
agrarian societies.
—Smriti Irani, Union
Minister for Women and
Child Development
ELGAR CASE:
‘No allegation of
violence against
Navlakha’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: There is no
allegation that Gautam
Navlakha committed
any “act of violence” in
the charge sheet filed in
theElgarParishad-Mao-
ist links case, the activ-
ist’s lawyer Yug Chaud-
hary told the Bombay
High Court on Monday
.
While arguing for the
activist’sbail,thelawyer
also said that there was
no prospect of the trial
in the case to commence
in the near future.
A division bench of
Justices AS Gadkari
and PD Naik is hearing
the arguments on the
bail plea; it will next be
heard on Tuesday
.
Navlakha was arrest-
ed in April 2020 after he
surrendered before the
National Investigation
Agency and is currently
under house arrest.
The case pertains to
alleged speeches deliv-
ered at the conclave held
in Pune city on Decem-
ber 31, 2017.
Shinde’sSenagrabbing
shakhas,allegesUBTMP
Thane (PTI): ShivSena
- Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray (UBT) leader
and Thane Lok Sabha
MP Rajan Vichare on
Mondaysaidfunctionar-
ies of the Eknath Shin-
de-led Shiv Sena had
usurped a “shakha” (lo-
cal office) that had been
for running here for sev-
eral years when the par-
ty was undivided.
Despite an undertak-
ing in the Supreme
Court and public state-
ments by Chief Minis-
ter Shinde that neither
he nor his supporters
are keen to claim Sena
properties, “shakhas”
were being grabbed, Vi-
chare alleged at a press
conference.
The Lokmanya Na-
gar “shakha” has been
taken over by Shinde’s
supporters by force, he
alleged.
The Election Com-
mission, earlier this
month, recognised the
Shinde faction as the
real Shiv Sena and allot-
ted it the bow and arrow
symbol.
Since then, there has
been speculation over
the ownership of the
undivided party’s prop-
erties. Several of these
“shakhas” are rented or
given for use by party
workers.
Raj Thackeray calls for unity to popularize the language
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) chief Raj
Thackeray on Monday
asked the people of the
state to unite to popu-
larise Marathi and
make it a larger medi-
um of communication.
Issuing a letter to
mark Marathi Lan-
guage Day, the MNS
chief said all speakers
of Marathi had to stand
up for it and claimed his
party had worked to
have the language as a
medium in business,
administration and tel-
ecommunication.
MNS has also put in
efforts to ensure Mar-
athi is granted the sta-
tus of “classical lan-
guage” but this struggle
needs the support of the
people who speak it,
Thackeray said in the
letter.
“If all Maharashtri-
ans unite, then it will
not take even a minute
to have Marathi every-
where,” asserted the
political leader.
Marathi Language
Day is celebrated to
honour the life and
works of eminent poet,
playwright, novelist
and short story writer
VV Shirwadkar, popu-
lar by his pen name
“Kusumagraj”, and im-
mortalized for his con-
tribution to the lan-
guage in a five-decade
career through master-
pieces like “Vishakha”.
PROTEST, INTERRUPTED
Aam Aadmi Party workers were detained in Mumbai on Monday en route to a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party
office, following the arrest of senior AAP leader and Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia by the Central Bureau of Investigation
on Sunday in connection with alleged corruption. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Despite statements by
CM Shinde that
neither he nor his
supporters are keen to
claim Sena properties,
“shakhas” were being
grabbed, says Vichare
MARATHI BHASHA DIN
MNS DISTRIBUTES BOOKS IN
100 HOUSING SOCIETIES
Navi Mumbai: On the occasion of Marathi Raj Bhasha
Din the Navi Mumbai unit of Maharashtra Navnir-
man Sena (MNS) organized a ‘Book in every Society’.
Under an initiative, a set of quality Marathi books by
renowned authors were distributed to 100 housing
complexes in Navi Mumbai by party workers. Navi
Mumbai MNS city President Gajanan Kale attended
the event as well. Books presented to locals included
autobiographies, travelogues, children’s books, novels,
competitive exam books, and cookery.
We all have been given
priceless gifts and talents- so
not squander them on a life of
below average efforts.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI | TUESDAY
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
Floating in a
Floating in a
turquoise sea
turquoise sea
TURQUOISE IS A STUNNING BLEND OF FOUR COLOUR WHEEL
BEAUTIES AND HAS GREEN, BLUE AND YELLOW TONES. LET’S
DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF TURQUOISE FASHION WITH CITY FIRST
he stone of
the same
name in-
spired the
colour tur-
quoise. Tur-
quoise radi-
ates the serenity of
blue, the growth of
green, and the vi-
brancy of yellow. It is
a calming, amiable,
and happy hue. More-
over, turquoise can
encourage calm and
clear thinking. In ad-
dition to being a gem-
stone, turquoise also
serves as a vernacu-
lar name for the Car-
ibbean seas.
Every lady may be
decorated with a
stunning, distinctive,
and slightly enigmat-
ic hue of turquoise.
Based on the other
colours in a design,
turquoise can have a
warming or cooling
impact. Turquoise
comesoutasastrong,
bright accent when
used with greys, sub-
dued yellows, and
pinks. For a striking
combo, it can also be
used with dark or-
ange, which will
make you stand out
from the crowd, be
more noticeable, and
draw interests. The
colour turquoise is
stunning in all of its
manifestations and
comes in a variety of
tints,fromdeepazure
to delicate aquama-
rine.
There are a few
combinations you
can try to make your-
self the centre of at-
tention at any event.
Each colour mixes
well with white, and
when combined with
turquoise, the result
is breathtaking.
For every colour,
pairing with black is
regarded as tradi-
tional. This also ap-
plies to our situation.
A traditional combi-
nation is grey and
white. This choice
works well for busi-
ness meetings. At a
party, consider tur-
quoise in a pair with
a silvery tint; it will
add elegance and
emphasise a cool
blue-green colour.
Beige is a warm
tone made by
blending brown
and white; as a
result, it will
go well with
our colour. In
every com-
bination,
soft beige
and viv-
id, vi-
b r a n t
tur-
quoise look great to-
gether. White and
brown are two other
hues that you can
choose. All the la-
dies out there who
want to look fresh
andpowerfulcango
try these mesmer-
izing combinations.
MRIDULA SHARMA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row

Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Ähnlich wie Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row

Ähnlich wie Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row (20)

Mehr von FIRST INDIA

Mehr von FIRST INDIA (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Oppn demands resolution of Karnataka border row