First India Rajasthan-Rajasthan News In English 20 Feb 2020 edition by First India-English News Paper

JAIPUR l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 255

STATE BUDGET 20-21

GEHLOT’S BAGFUL OF GOODIES

WHAT TO EXPECT INSIDE

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Exams are loaded with stress for both students. They are highly busy with test papers, sample papers, extra classes, and important questions to perform their best. But this is also a time of vulnerability when it comes to their mind and body

TIPS TO BEAT EXAM STRESS SAY NO TO JOINT VENTURES Avoid your friends like plague! When four buddies get together, we all know the books feel ignored. But if you can arrange a group study session with the studious topper, that can be permitted.

DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY Some students cannot bear the fact that others are getting ahead. May be someone else has completed a greater part of the syllabus, so what? Perhaps he is not doing it as seriously as you are! Don’t bother about others and stay focused.

DO NOT PUT PRESSURE ON YOUR HANDS Yes, one must practice writing to improve his speed and to remember things better, but one must not put too much pressure on their fingers or they might get stiff while writing the paper! That would be a pretty bad situation!.

ENSURE BETTER SLEEP Proper sleep is extremely important for everyone. Many students consume caffeine during exams to avoid sleepiness. A good night’s sleep is essential for your body and mind to ensure proper rest. You should also sleep properly for 6-8 hours a night before exams.

CRACK BOARD EXAMS, NOT YOUR HEALTH

he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting exams for the 10th and 12th standards in schools affiliated with the board, across the country and abroad. The exams will be held over a period of the next month and a half and 31 lakh candidates will reportedly appear for their board exams. Exams are loaded with stress for both students and parents. Students are highly busy to perform their best. With test

papers, sample papers, extra classes, important question etc. there is an endless list of tasks to be completed in a short span. CBSE exams 2019 began this week and with the exams came an atmosphere of stress, especially for those appearing for boards for the first time. Many students find it difficult to focus during exams due to various reasons. Increased stress can

also affect their performance as well as preparation. Examination stress can have multifarious effects on the body and mind. A lot of students indulge in stress-eating or develop unhealthy eating habits during the exams, which may not only result in weight gain, but may also trigger sluggishness. It is i m - portant for students to fo l l ow

a healthy diet and maintain a good eating schedule, in order to stay alert during the papers. Maintaining a healthy weight is important for the overall well-being of a student. But students’ diet may go for a toss in the months and weeks preceding examinations, due to excessive pressure from parents, teachers and peers, as well as due to internal stress. Stress fogs the brain and hampers clear thinking and cognition, which is important for scoring well.

DIET TIPS INCLUDE ENERGY BOOSTERS IN YOUR DIET Eat natural and healthy energy boosting foods in your exam diet like bananas, apples, eggs, brown rice. Eat more protein-rich foods like eggs, legumes, tofu, chicken, turkey breast etc. The protein-rich foods give you energy and help you stay satiated for longer. Healthy carbs from sweet potatoes can also help you stay energised and full for longer.

EAT MORE STRESS-BUSTING FOODS Foods like berries, almonds, milk and yogurt, fatty fish etc. help you beat stress. It’s important to recognise when you are eating too much and too often that you are doing that because of stress.

CONTROL YOUR CAFFEINE INTAKE

It is easy to drink multiple cups of coffee or tea during exams. But excessive caffeine intake may leave you dehydrated and more stressed. Instead sip on green tea, matcha tea or any caffeine-free herbal tea.

DON’T IGNORE YOUR HUNGER, SNACK OFTEN Avoiding your hunger pangs makes things worse. It may give you gas and may make you binge in your next meal. Eat when you feel hungry instead of putting your meals off. Keep a box of homemade trail mix with low sugar on your study table.

AVOID RUSHING THROUGH YOUR MEALS Stressed-out students often tend to rush through their meals, as they are more than eager to get back to their studies after eating. It is much healthier for you to instead slow down during your meals and eat more mindfully. You will not only feel more fulfilled, but it will also refresh you and make you feel prepared for long hours of studying.

MAKE A PLAN Planning helps you reduce more than half of the stress. Make a plan which can help you organise your study time, playtime and how you are going to study. It will help you prevent last-minute stress and confusion.

EAT ON TIME Eat your last meal as early in the evening as possible and follow a proper meal schedule. It saves time, and keeps your mind and body healthy.

 Banish exam fear

While addressing the nation on the November 2019 ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, Modi said that the fear of exams needs to be banished completely. “I want to see my young friends smiling during examinations, their parents should be stress-free, teachers should be assured,” he said. In his 2017 Mann ki Baat address, he said that exams are not the test of a lifetime but a test of a year.  Realise that marks

are not everything

Though good marks are still held as a benchmark by the majority of parents in India, the fact is that the world is a lot bigger and marks

are starting to matter lesser and lesser. PM Modi advised parents not to pressurize their students and reminded everyone that the world is full of opportunities.  Take care of your

mental health

At the last Pariksha Pe Charcha session, PM Modi advised students to identify why they were feeling low or why their mood was feeling off. He said managing the mind and the mood was all about exerting self control. When asked about depression, he advised parents not to put undue pressure on their children to keep them in their full capacity like Spring. He told parents to accept their kids as they are.

Take a leaf from NaMo’s book

 Manage technology-

use well

It is no secret that mobile phones can be extremely distracting during exams. PM Modi told students to “not let technology rule you, rather, rule the technology.”  Don’t be afraid of

failure

One of the top causes of exam stress is the fear if failing in exams. During the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 session, PM Modi gave the example of Chandrayaan 2 and said, “Every failure is a step towards success.” He also advised students to culture confidence which can help battle the stress and improve their focus in the exam hall.

 Do something

instead of becoming something

PM Modi told students in Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 that students face a lot of stress because they are worried about becoming a great person “You think that if you fail the exam, you’d fail to become that. It is this tension. We should never dream about becoming something rather we should dream of doing something,” said PM Modi.  Take proper rest

Since adequate sleep and a balanced diet could improve one’s health to a great extent, PM Modi advised students in Mann Ki Baat 2017 to make sure they do not skimp on either.

JAIPUR l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 255

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BUDGET TODAY Ahead of visit, Trump US President says India not treating America well on the trade front; Opposition says remarks are an insult to India

Different sections of society have specific and wide-ranging expectations from the budget

CM Ashok Gehlot signing the state budget 2020-21 at the CMR on Wednesday, seen along with Niranjan Arya, Hemant Gera, Dr Prithviraj, Sudhir Sharma and Sharad Mehra.

First India News Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will present the second budget in the Assembly tomorrow. Different sections of society, including farmers, youths, and industrialists, have a lot of expectations from this budget. The Chief Minister could announce health-for-all scheme under Nirogi Rajasthan.

There could be announcement of Metro phase II. A major announcement on refinery—which is Gehlot’s dream project— can also be expected. Important announcements for female education are also on cards. Gehlot could also announce construction of town halls in two cities of the state. The Chief Minister could also announce initiation of Heritage Conservation

ments on relaxation on green building construction and also on increase of green cover in cities. To further encourage sports in the state, Gehlot could announce sops for private sector and sports clubs, while also relaxing various taxes and fees. A policy to provide infrastructure for “walks” for better health of citizens can also be expected. Gehlot could also an-

BUDGET 2020-21

and Protection Regulation wherein old buildings could be conserved. There could be a major announce-

Nritya Gopal Das elected Ram Temple Trust chief New Delhi: Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple Trust at its first meeting here on Wednesday. The meeting, held at the residence of senior lawyer K Parasaran, also elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s former principal secretary Nripendra Misra as the head of the temple construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust. The meeting was aimed at working

nounce senior citizens’ housing scheme on the lines of private builders where all facilities will be provided for occupants. Gehlot could make major announcements for solid waste management and enforcement of rules made by government applied in a different manner. The name of Annapurna Rasoi could be changed to “Indira Rasoi”. Turn on P5

Members of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Trust set up to oversee construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, during its first meeting at New Delhi on Wednesday. Ram Janam Bhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (centre) is also seen.

out modalities to speed up the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It was also decided to open an account in Ayodhya’s

—PHOTO BY IANS

SBM-G Phase-II will also be implemented in a mission mode with a total estimated budgeted financial implication of Rs 52,497 crore for the period from 2020-21 to

2024-25 including the Central and state shares. In addition to this, the 15th Finance Commission has proposed earmarking Rs 30,375 crore for rural water supply

New Delhi/Washington: US President Donald Trump has complained that India has not treated his country “very well” on the trade front and indicated that a “very big” bilateral deal with New Delhi may not be signed before the American presidential election in November. “Well, we can have a trade deal with India, but I’m really saving the big deal for later on,” Trump, who is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25, told on Tuesday when asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before his trip. “We’re not treated very well by India,” the US president complained. The Congress alleged that the remarks made by Trump are an insult and affront to the country’s dignity and the government should respond accordingly. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the issue is serious as it seeks to undermine the progress made in the last many years as regards Indo-US ties. He also said that the tone and tenor of Trump’s visit seems

and sanitation to be implemented by rural local bodies for the upcoming financial year. The ODF Plus programme will converge with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, specially for greywater management and will complement the newly launched Jal Jeevan Mission. Under the programme, provision for incentive of Rs 12,000 for construction of Individual Household Toilet to newly emerging eligible households as per the existing norms will continue. —IANS

POTUS’ GROUSE American products z The US President

z Trump had previ-

ously described India as a “tariff king” for imposing “tremendously high” tariffs on

indicated that a “very big” bilateral deal with New Delhi may not be signed before the US presidential election in November.

z Says: “I’m really

saving the big deal for later on.”

‘I LIKE PRIME MINISTER MODI’ Washington: Though President Trump is not happy with bilateral trade ties with India, he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India. “I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot,” Trump said. “He (Modi) told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under-construction, but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it,” he told reporters.

to be “transactional and not strategic”. “The president of the United States, on the eve of his visit for the first time to India, has made certain remarks. I think it is an insult and affront to the dignity of the country and the ministry of ex-

ternal affairs should respond to it,” he told reporters. Trump, forcefully pursuing his “America first” policy, has previously described India as a “tariff king” for imposing “tremendously high” tariffs on American products. Turn on P5

SHAHEEN BAGH

Mediators to protesters: Let’s work together

Prime Minister Narendra Modi eats litti-chokha at a snacks stall at Hunar Haat in New Delhi on Wednesday.

SBI branch for donations for the Ram temple construction, Chanmpat Rai told reporters after the meeting. Turn on P5

Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar and Smriti Irani at a Cabinet briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday.

WHIPS UP A STORM

A TASTY BITE

Centre’s nod to Swachh Bharat-II New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved Phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) till 2024-25 to focus on Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus), which includes ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM). The programme will also work towards ensuring that no one is left behind and everyone uses a toilet, Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said while briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi: Advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhna Ramachandran, who have been asked by the Supreme Court to speak to the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh and find a solution to the road-block issue, visited the protest site on Wednesday. Hedge and Ramachandran met the protesters and spoke to them. “We have come here according Interlocutors Sanjay Hegde (left) to the order of the Su- and Sadhna Ramachandran preme Court. We hope to (centre) with the protesters. speak to everyone. We hope to resolve the matter with everybody’s cooperation,” said Hegde. Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Shah’s residence in the national capital. The meeting was earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry. Turn on P5

Rahul Raj again?...he sets riders for return Aditi Nagar New Delhi: According to a reliable input, by taking a U-turn on their one-month-old decision to defer Rahul Gandhi’s crowning as Congress President for at least a year, now Gandhi family sources indicate that former Congress President and Gandhi-scion, Rahul Gandhi is all set to take over the Congress ‘Presidency’ once again. Highly placed sources in the party reveal that Rahul has indeed given his as-

Rahul Gandhi

sent to hold the reins of the party once again, but there is apparently a ‘catch’. Sources reveal that Rahul has given a few ‘conditions’ and has stressed that only when the conditions are met, can the formal ‘anointing’ occur. Moreover, the re-chris-

tening can happen in Rajasthan, where seven years back, Rahul was made the Vice-President of the party. Highly placed sources claim that the plenary session of the Congress, which will be called after the culmination of Parliament session, could be held in Jaipur in April, keeping in view exceptional organisational skills of a towering Congress leader and a third time Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and also organising capacities of a 24/7 Congress worker Avinash Pande, who is also AICC Gen-

eral Secretary Incharge of Rajasthan. Interestingly, while one section in the Congress is already trying to finalise Delhi as the spot for the ‘crowning’, there is yet another section that is making efforts to shift the venue to Jaipur, citing a repeat of the successful grand ceremony of 2013. Even senior Congress leaders say that it is the right time to hand over the command to Rahul, specially keeping in view the deteriorating health conditions of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

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BRIEF  Regarding the construction of Mahatma Gandhi Institute and Gandhi Adarsh Museum in Jaipur, the land marking would be done soon and advance action would be taken. Based on Budget announcement of CM Gehlot, Art, Literature and Culture Minister BD Kalla gave these instructions in a meeting held about the matter in Secretariat on Wednesday.  During the meeting, Kalla said that the institute and museum are being constructed to inspire the youth to imbibe Bapu’s ideals and philosophy of life, along with making the society aware of his thoughts. The details of nature, theme and activities of the institute were discussed while taking suggestions from senior officials of the state. Chief Secretary DB Gupta, ACS Industry Subodh Agrawal, advisor to the CM Govind Sharma, Principal Secretary Art, Literature and Culture Shreya Guha, coordinator of peace and non-violence cell Shyam Sundar Bissa and other officials attended the meeting.  Responding to the question of Shakuntala Rawat related to insurance contribution of Anganwadi workers, Minister Mamta Bhupesh said contribution of these workers has ended and it is being given on behalf of the state government.  Kiran Maheshwari raised a question on vacant posts in Ayurveda dispensaries in Assembly to which Health Minister Raghu Sharma said total of 3,579 dispensaries are operational in state.  Chief Whip Dr

Mahesh Joshi assured two MLAs Comrade Balwan Punia and Girhdari Lal, who were sitting on a strike in Assembly, of getting an appropriate solution for their demands. After getting assurance from Joshi, they agreed to sit on their seats. Dr Joshi had played the same role on Tuesday, when he interacted with the angry BJP MLA group to end their protest.

KIRODI, SUPPORTERS BRING CITY TO A STAND STILL First India News Jaipur: City’s traffic came ton a virtual stand still on Wednesday near the Vidhan Sabha when BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Dr Kirodi Lal Meena led a demonstration in support of Sawai Madhopur cement factory workers and unemployed youths on Wednesday. Large number of men and women sat on dharna near Parivahan Bhawan leading to traffic jam. Meena took a train from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur and then started his march from Mahesh Nagar to the Assembly. The march culminated at 22 Godam where Meena said that he would not sit quietly till problems of cement

factory workers are resolved. Meena also accused the Gehlot government of patronising big industrialists. He said that the Gehlot government had come to power by promising employment and unemployment allowance but even after a year did not fulfill its promise. He refused to talk to industry minister Parsadi Lal Meena. Taking a pot shot at the industry minister, the BJP MP said, “A Cabinet minister who can’t help a victim to get his complaint registered how would he provide justice to workers from a big industrialist.” Meena would lead a delegation to meet CM Gehlot on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena led a demonstration in support of Sawai Madhopur cement factory workers and unemployed youths on Wednesday.

GST AMENDMENT BILL PASSED WITH VOICE VOTE There is going to be `2.5 lakh cr shortfall in GST collection: Dhariwal First India News Jaipur: Goods & Service Tax (GST) Amendment Bill 2018 was passed in the Assembly on Wednesday, by voice vote. Parliamentary affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that all the amendments in this bill had been passed by GST Council. Dhariwal also used this occasion to lash out at Modi government saying that it was because of his faulty policies that GDP which was 10% during Man Mohan Singh’s time has now dropped to 4.5%. He said that there is going to be Rs2.5 lakh crore shortfall in GST collection. It has been

constantly declining therefore the Central government is not releasing money due to states. He said unemployment is increasing. Dhariwal also alleged that many GST frauds took place during the previous government of the BJP but no action was taken. “Our government took action against frauds. We caught fake bills worth Rs 300 crore in Kota,” he added.

Oppn corners govt over past Budget promises First India News Jaipur: The Opposition BJP tried to corner ministers over state government’s failure to implement announcements in previous budget. They created uproar saying government is going to present its second Budget but announcement in the first Budget including the one for CM’s home town has not been

GUP

SHUP

FIRST TIME DISTRICT INCHARGE GETS IN ‘REAL ESTATE’ TROUBLE

entire PHQ is abuzz with the ‘doings’ of a Tthe he‘Tiger sahab’ in-charge of a district. Word is that Tiger has entered in a major land ‘deal’ in the

area he is posted in and a complaint of which has been made to the senior officials at PHQ. However, as soon as the ‘complaint’ reached PHQ, Tiger’s sources apprised him of the developments after which the cop has initiated a ‘damage control’ exercise! everyday the Tiger is speaking with one or the other officer and informing of his innocence in the matter. But all to no avail, as the vigilance wing has initiated an investigation into the said deal. Notably, it is for the first time that the tiger has been given the ‘captaincy’ of any district!

completed. They asked if government will take action against officers. However, the real test for ministers came when Speaker CP Joshi began asking questions, making them uncomfortable. Minister Mamta Bhupesh got so nervous that she called LoP Gulab Chand Kataria as deputy LoP and then again called him leader of the House.

Earlier, former minister and BJP MLA Kiran Maheshwari and other BJP leaders lauded Central government’s economic policies. They congratulated Central government on India becoming the 5th largest economy in the world. However, Dhariwal in his reply tore into the Opposition with his wit and sarcasm. He said that deputy LoP Rajendra Rathore doesn’t know about economics, which is why he was speaking on VAT instead of GST. Dhariwal added that rumour is doing the rounds that he along with health minister Raghu Sharma and

chief whip Mahesh Joshi have been hatching a conspiracy against leader of opposition so that deputy LoP Rathore becomes the leader is his place but this rumour is baseless. “I wish you remain where you are and I respect Katariaji,” he chuckled. Kataria did not like it and said that he did not need Dhariwal’s respect; he was elected by the people and will remain in the Assembly till they like. Dhariwal also took a dig at Maheshwari saying that she never sits in the House and when she comes she only talks and never listen. “You should listen to others,” he told her.

Ministerial panel to facilitate state’s organised urban devp First India News Jaipur: The state government took an important decision for expediting urban development process by constituting a Ministerial Empowered Committee. MEC will be coordinated by UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal and will have Industry minister Parsadi Lal Meena, Revenue Minister Harish Chodhary, State ministers Mamta Bhupesh and Arjun Singh Bamaniya as its members while PS UDH will be member secretary. Ministerial secretariat released the orders to this effect on Wednesday. MEC will take decisions on land allotment, regularisation of colonies and other policy related matters of the urban

IN ASSEMBLY  Speaker CP Joshi

reprimanded the ministers and MLAs during the Zero Hour when they stood up from their seats and the MLAs sat close to the ministers.

 A discussion was

seen among three senior leaders of Congress in the Assembly. Raghu Sharma, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Lalchand Kataria held a discussion, which was also joined by Rafiq Khan and Dinesh Abrar.

 On Wednesday, minis-

ters were surrounded by Opposition MLAs as well as MLAs of their party on question regarding Resurgent Raj. At first, Congress MLA Panachand Meghwal targeted minister Parsadi Lal Meena which was followed by BJP’s Gyanchand Parakh asking questions while targetting minister Bhanwarlal Meghwal. Amin Khan demanded a response from minister Saleh Mohammad. Later, LoP Gulab Chand Kataria too cornered minister

HEARTBROKEN TIGER WANTS TO BE PANTHER ne ‘Tiger Sir’, who sits O in his office on the third floor of the PHQ is quite

disappointed these days. The reason: the Tiger was hoping that he would be accorded charge of a district but turned to be naught. The cop believed that he would be given charge of a district in Bharatpur range, however as the transfer list came, the Tiger’s ‘heart sank’ whereas the cop had approached a ‘Bade sahab’ for the same. Interestingly, the cop Tiger was hoping to replace is also eyeing a posting in Jaipur city as ‘Panther’!

2 ARRESTS IN 1 CASE? COMMISSIONER SAYS NO

ow, two arrests will not be made in same case. Jaipur police N Commissioner has instructed all DCPs and ADCPs over the same in a meeting held in the RPA recently. Earlier, the police would arrest

anyone for breaking peace and after a case would be registered, the man was ‘re-arrested’. Now, after Commissioner’s sermons, only one arrest will be done!

Udai Lal Anjana.  Health Minister Raghu

Sharma satisfied Opposition with his responses in the Question Hour by presenting to the point answers. Departmental planning was clearly visible in his replies.

 UDH Minister Shanti

Dhariwal said he was going to be 80, so how could he listen to Speaker like a 25-yr old young man. To this, Joshi said he was praising his dress in which he looked young.

MINISTERS HAVE PANTHER’S BACK

fter being accused of A involvement with sand mafia, a Panther sahab has not

only successfully evaded the controversy but also managed to keep his posting intact! Well, questions were being raised on the Panther’s working style after an MLA raised concerns over the cop few days back. After accusations were made, there were rumours that the panther would be removed off his post, however as the matter developed, the Panther sought ‘sanctuary’ in two cabinet ministers and ‘managed’ them. Notably, one of the minister is associated with development! Now, the word on Panther is that no one can make him leave the position unless by decree of a ‘superior power’.

development. It will also deal with matters related to land allotment to social and charitable organisations at concessional rates. Committee will be empowered to take decisions on land allotments at 30% of the reserved price and DLC rates to such organisations. Matters for higher concessions will be referred to the Cabinet. Empowered committee will send a copy of its decisions to CM Gehlot

for his observation. UDH department will be the administrative department of the MEC. Important powers delegated to MEC include decisions on colonies on acquired or govt land and colonies which can’t be regularised under current rules. MEC will be able to deliberate on relaxation in the rules for such colonies and will also consider complex matters of urban development and cases decided earlier but which need to be reconsidered. MEC has been constituted with the aim of providing relief to the common man with speedy, considerate and transparent decisions to facilitate organised urban development of the state.

Poor show: 19 Cong, 6 Independent MLAs absent from session First India News

Jaipur: The floor management of the ruling Congress went wrong in the Assembly on Wednesday. When the bill was to be passed in the House, 19 Congress MLAs and 6 independent MLAs supporting the Congress were absent from the session. Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi and Deputy Whip Mahendra Chaudhary conveyed the entire scenario through a report to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The MLAs have been warned to take note of not repeating the same in the future.

ABSENT CONG MLAS

ABSENT INDEPENDENT MLAS

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BRIEF z A Delhi-based tourist

guide was found dead on Wednesday morning under mysterious circumstances in a village in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, police said. The body of Anurag Patwa, said to be around 34 years, was found in the middle of a road near a hotel in Nai village, they said. The body has injury marks and it appears that he was murdered with some sharp-edged weapon, SHO of Nai police station Mukesh Soni said.

z Education minister

Govind Singh Dotasara credited the Scout & Guide by terming it a parallel education system. He was speaking at the inauguration of 5 day zone level competition & rally at Rajasthan Scout & Guide State Training Center. Dotasara said that all 65000 schools under state Govt will have Scout & Guide activities which currently are only in 35000 Govt schools.

z Deputy CM Sachin

Pilot met key leaders at his residence in Jaipur on Wednesday. Meanwhile, PCC will organise camps from February 29 to March 6 at Bara Padampura.

z A physical train-

ing instructor of a government school was arrested for allegedly molesting a minor girl in the district on Wednesday, police said. Accused, Prem Singh, 45, posted at a government senior secondary school in Chansda area, had allegedly molested the girl on Tuesday.

TRANSPORT SCAM: ACB ADDS NAMES OF 19 MORE ACCUSED First India News

Jaipur: The atmosphere in the Transport Department has changed after action taken by the ACB on Sunday. ACB has found 34 accused in the entire episode. After 15 accused were arrested on Sunday, the ACB has added the names of 19 more people to the FIR. At the same time, the names of many public servants and private persons are yet to be included in the list. While taking action on Sunday, the ACB had arrested eight transport department officials and seven brokers, in which cash worth about Rs1.5 crore was recovered from them, along with transaction proofs of large bribe amounts. Now, the accused are be-

ing interrogated on the directions of ACB DG Dr Alok Tripathi and ADG Dinesh MN. ACB Investigating Officer, Additional SP Alok Chandra Sharma and his team have interrogated Jaswant Singh Yadav, Manish Mishra, along with DTO of Transport Department Gajendra Singh, Vinay Bansal, Naveen Jain and Udayveer Singh by making the accused confront each other. Also, a special team has been formed by the ACB to search for absconding accused Inspector Alim Khan, Sukhbir Singh and Rajeev Jain. ACB has also charged the Transport Inspectors of Jaipur, Babulal Meena, Rajkumar Singh, Amritpal, Mukund Rathore, SK Sharma, Chaitanya Sa-

Transport extortion case reaches Congress High Command Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: According to sources, to senior Congress leaders have complained to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for an allegedly ongoing massive corruption in the transport department at the grass root level. The complaint refers to the arrest of three DTO and 5 inspectors by ACB. The department is headed by a strong Sachin Pilot loyalist Pratap Singh K h a ch a r i yaw a s. Meanwhile, sources close to officers lobby of the transport department have clarified that there was no

Chinkara poaching: Cops to look for Gawre in Mumbai

Transport Min dedicates 101 new buses

First India News

Jaipur: A team of Mathania police station in Jodhpur district would go to Mumbai to look for Dinesh Gawre, one of the accused in blackbuck poaching case, involving Salman Khan. DCP Dharmendra Singh Yadav has assured that Gawre would be arrested and a police team is being sent to Mumbai to find him. Gawre has been ab-

sconding for more than two decades. He was a spot boy and cases under anti-poaching and arms act were slapped on him. However, Gawre got anticipatory bail during primary investigation. Since then neither Gawre came to police station or court nor did police arrest him. The police had declared him absconder but 21 years later, the police have still not been able to arrest him. It is

CRPF jawan killed in encounter with Maoists cremated in Alwar First India News Jaipur: The mortal remains of CRPF jawan Ajit Singh, killed in an encounter with Maoists, were consigned to flames at his ancestral village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Wednesday. CM Ashok Gehlot and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot offered their condolences to the martyr. Singh succumbed to injuries on Tuesday at a hospital in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district after he was injured in an encounter with Maoists in Bijapur district of the state on

hai Mathur and Sukhbir Chaudhary. Moreover, among the brokers and suspects, Kalyan from Kotputli, Jagdish from Sikar, Rajesh and Ravi from Shahjahanpur, Jaswant Yadav from Behror, Mukesh, Girwar, Shyoji Garhwal from Jaipur, Yogesh alias Bunty and Rajendra Singh alias have been made accused in the matter. If sources are to be believed, ACB is in a mood to take big action against routine monthly operations around ACB office, after catching big fish in the game. In the past, the ACB raided the transport office in Jagatpura about three years ago and found more money than the receipts in the cash counter, on which department took action against cashier and other personnel.

not that the police did not try. It went to Mumbai several times but came empty handed. Every time the police went to Galaxy Apartment, it was told that Gawre did not live there. DCP Yadav conceded that cops have failed to get any clue of Gawre. And, one of the reasons is that they do not even have his photo. So now how will the police recognise him after 21 years!

February 10. “The body was taken to Ganda village by road and the funeral was conducted,” Hardayal, SHO of Neemrana police station said.

He said CRPF IG, officials of the district administration and police and large number of villagers as well as relatives paid floral tributes to Singh.

for road construction from the government. EDUCATION: The Gehlot government is expected to open new colleges and schools in many places, so that students do not have to travel much for basic education. NEW DISTRICTS ANNOUNCEMENT: This is an issue which has been pending for many years. Last time, Pratapgarh was declared a district, but since then, there are many areas where people are demanding to make a district. Also, there have been many protests regarding it in

Kotputli, Beawar and Bandikui.

Mining scam: Four accused sent to JC SPL ED COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT AGAINST SINGHVI First India News Jaipur: Special Court of Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent four accused of mining scam to judicial custody and issued arrest warrant against former IAS Ashok Singhvi on Wednesday. The four accused Pankaj Gehlot, Shyam Sunder Singhvi, Dhirendra Singh and Pushkarraj Ameta had surrendered in the ED court on Wednesday. Court sent them to judicial custody till March 17. Meanwhile, court will hear their anticipatory bail applications on Feb 20. The court has also issued arrest warrant against former IAS Ashok Singhvi, Tamanna Begum, Rashid Sheikh and Sanjay Sethi. ED had registered

a case of money laundering against Ashok Singhvi in November 2015, after the ACB booked him in Rs. 2.5crore bribery case related to mines allotment. The special ED court had taken cognizance against the accused last month and summoned them with arrest warrant. Court released the four accused on bail in ACB case in compliance of the HC order on February 17. But, they were asked to present themselves before ED court today.

IN SPOTLIGHT

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh called on Governor Kalraj Mishra at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday

IN THE COURTYARD

Judgment in Adarsh Credit Coop Society scam reserved First India News

The mortal remains of CRPF jawan Ajit Singh being consigned to flames with full military honours

Jaipur: Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariaywas dedicated 101 new buses to the people of the state by allotting them to various depots. He symbolically waved off 11 buses out of total 876 buses purchased by the RSRTC recently. He was joined by Transport Commissioner Ravi Jain, MD Roadways Naveen Jain and others.

involvement of the former transport commissioner Rajesh Yadav in this entire scandal and he was not a party to a ‘mechanism’ under which a monthly account of all illegal collections was being sent to some ‘top-man’ on 16th of every month. In fact, Rajesh has been a lucky guy who had a narrow escape in this entire defamation exercise because he was transferred from the department only a week back. Now a section of Congressmen are curious to know how party high command deals with this complaint?

Jaipur: After a long hearing in Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society scam cases of Rs38,000 crores the division bench of CJ Indrajit Mahanty and Ashok Gaur reserved judgment in the writ petition filed by Priyanka Modi and 5 others. They challenged SOG, ED cases and case registered by Serious Fraud investigation Office. Addl SG RD Rastogi alongwith Senior Panel advocate for Union of India Anand Sharma argued that Cogni-

zance order of Gurugram Court cannot be challenged in Raj HC. It is a case of Forum Shopping. Once they are not getting relief in other courts, then they have filed case before Raj HC which is not maintainable. Many SC judgements were cited by him. Rastogi argued that co accused Rahul Modi challenged Order of Gurugram court before Delhi HC which was depreciated by SC. He argued that Rs38000 cr of 20 lakh innocent people have been duped by the accused.

On the eve of State Budget, Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari met Chief Secretary DB Gupta and presented him the documents of the approved and pending policies of all eight Assembly constituencies of Rajsamand Lok Sabha area on Wednesday.

A blood donation camp was organised in memory on RAS officer Pushpendra Singh at St Xavier’s School and Amity University, Jaipur. Housing Board Commissioner Pawan Arora too donated blood. 348 units of blood was collected from this camp across both the locations.

FROM PG 1 HOPES RIDE... INDUSTRIALISTS: The business class is hoping for further simplification of rules regarding investment, so that maximum investment can come and Rajasthan’s industrial sector can grow. DRINKING WATER: Even today, there are many villages where there is no drinking water. The government should be focused on making water reach such villages. ROADS: If we look at villages, there are no roads even today. In such a situation, the common man is hopeful

Ahead of... “We’re doing a very big trade deal with India. We’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the election (in November), but we’ll have a very big deal with India,” he said during an interaction with reporters at the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. The US and India could sign a “trade package” during Trump’s maiden visit, according to media reports. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade

negotiations with India, may not accompany Trump to India, sources said. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether. Multiple rounds of talks have taken place between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Lighthizer in the past few weeks over telephone. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), greater market access for its

products from sectors including agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, and cut on import duties on some ICT products. The US has also raised concerns over high trade deficit with India which was $16.9 billion in 2018-19. Meanwhile, the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) in a report said the latest quarterly data depict continuation of overall positive bilateral trade

trends. The third quarter data reflects some downslide in growth rates. “It may be due to several reasons, including the unexpected economic slowdown in India’s economic growth, impact of US-China trade war, GSP withdrawal from the US side and retaliatory tariffs on specific US goods from the Indian side,” it said.

Nritya Gopal... Swami Govind Dev Giri of Pune was appointed as treasurer of the trust at the meeting. Among those present at the meeting were the central government representa-

tive, additional secretary in Home ministry Gyanesh Kumar, UP government’s representative Avinash Awasthy and Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha.

Mediators to... “Met Hon’ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shahji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi,” Kejriwal tweeted. Responding to a query, he said there was no discussion on Shaheen Bagh. Ramachandran, echoing the Supreme Court

order, said, “The Supreme Court has said that you have the right to protest. The law (CAA) has been challenged in the Supreme Court. But like us, others too have their rights, like the right to use roads, open their shops.” Both Hedge and Ramachandran assured the protesters to resolve the on going conflict. Meanwhile, just minutes after Hegde and Ramachandran left the Shaheen Bagh protest site, the third member of the team, former Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, reached the site with an entourage of advocates.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

ADAPTING TO A FAST-FORWARD WORLD

PORNOGRAPHY RULES IN INDIA

The world is going through a period of accelerating change, as four secular developments illustrate

irms and governments must increasingly internalize possibility of an acceleration of four secular developments that influence what business and political leaders do and how they do it. Decision-makers should think of these trends as waves, which, especially if they occur simultaneously, could feel like a tsunami for those who fail to adapt their thinking and practices in a timely manner. First and most important trend is climate change, which has evolved from a relatively distant concern, on which there is ample time to take remedial action, to an imminent and increasingly urgent threat. Second, privacy concerns have grown alongside technical innovations involving AI and big data. Third secular force involves disruptions to multi-decade process of economic and financial globalization. Final trend is demographic and concerns more than aging of societies in Europe and Asia and this trends economic and political implications. For starters, businesses need to be smarter about “anywhere, any place, any time” delivery. Furthermore, job loyalty and tenure are decreasing, while expectations of comprehensive job fulfillment and engagement are rising. Self-mobilisation for political and other causes, often with no visible leadership structure, has become a lot easier, yet often is less durable and raises tricky questions about what comes afterward. And all of this is taking place amid continued migration of an ever-expanding range of interactions from physical to virtual spaces. Each of these secular forces will have an important impact on the effectiveness and success of companies and governments alike. And while being challenging overall, the four trends involve a diverse and geographically dispersed set of winners and losers. Executives and policymakers therefore must make timely revisions to both their tactical and strategic mindsets. Getting this right will require cognitive diversity, openness to constructive criticism, repeated scenario analyses, and multi-disciplinary approaches. And this is even before one considers unanticipated periodic shocks such as the COVID-19 outbreak. Consider another aspect of demographic change: migration and humanitarian challenges with it. The combination of de-globalization and misuse of AI and big data to infringe individual privacy is similarly troubling. This could lead to questionable behavior by governments. The world is in a period of accelerating change, leading edge of which is ever-growing list of developments that have gone from impossible to inevitable. Many challenges facing business and political leaders may be broken down into four secular changes that can help anchor the timely formulation of required responses at the local, national, regional, and global levels. The faster that companies and governments recognize this, the likelier they will be to alter the balance of benefits, costs, and risks in their favour. —MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN

NITISH CHANDAN

if you publish anything containing a sexually explicit act, even if it is an image, you are liable for the same punishment. The same goes for transmitting in private messages, Facebook Chats, WhatsApp messages etc.

his is another one of those posts which I am writing because of a heavy amount of search queries. “Pornography rules in India”, are there any? If you ask a straightforward question, the answer is no. The reason so many people (not just youngsters) want an answer to this question is because they are consuming pornography and are afraid whether watching porn is legal in India. To break the ice for yet another time, it is legal. Nobody in this country will put you in jail for watching porn unless you are doing it in public. Well, there is the whole public morality law in question. But generally speaking, it is definitely legal to watch porn in India until and unless it is child pornography. For that even if you are afraid about the Pornography rules, you are as sick as this gets. No vigilante groups, hackers, state bodies etc. anywhere in the world support the idea of child pornography. The very fact that child pornography exists is a failure of the entire ecosystem of morals, internet, values and the law. Even in USA and UK where possession of pornography has never been an offence, Child Pornography is condemned and is a penal offence. That said, coming back to the topic of Pornography rules in India, it is apt to mention some things here. Though watching porn is legal yet making someone else watch it is a crime punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment. Making someone else watch it might sound a little loose. Trust me when I say this, there are several cases where guys have often forced upon girls to watch porn. It has been while they have been in relationships or just friends as well. Within this ambit of “making someone watch” as I put it, the legal words are publishing, transmitting or causing any of the two. This means that if you publish anything containing a sexually explicit act, even if it is an image, you are liable for the same punishment. The same goes for transmitting in private messages, Facebook Chats, WhatsApp messages etc.

WHAT ARE THE RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS? Section 67, 67A, and 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are the relevant provisions. Section 67 talks about punishment for publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form. Though the definition of obscenity is mostly vague in the Indian context, we have tried to trace the developments. It prescribes imprisonment up to three years or fine up to `5 lakh or both on first conviction. As for second and subsequent convictions, imprisonment up to five years and fine up to `10 lakh have been prescribed. Section 67A criminalises the publication or transmission of any material depicting sexually explicit act or conduct in electronic form. Imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both are prescribed in this section. It also incorporates situations when a person or group of person forces or influences another person to publish or transmit such content over the Internet. For second and subsequent convictions, the extent of fine remains the same; however, imprisonment up to seven years may be prescribed. Section 67B focusses on child pornography and it prescribes for imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both on first conviction. Just like Section 67A, the extent of fine on second and subsequent convictions remain same, but imprisonment up to seven years may be prescribed. This section mentions various acts that can be considered as an offence under its ambit:  Publication or transmission of

material depicting children in sexually explicit conduct or act,

Section 67B focusses on child pornography and it prescribes for imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both on first conviction

or forcing/influencing the same

 Creating text or images

showing child pornography

 Collecting, searching,

browsing, downloading, promoting, advertising, distributing, or exchanging any material showing child pornography in electronic form  Facilitating abuse of children online  Enticing or inducing children to an online relationship with other children for sexually explicit acts  Recording sexually explicit act with children WHAT IF I SENT SOMEONE AN OBSCENE PICTURE? There is definitely a law against it. As for this post, we will keep it to pornography. If you send someone a picture that depicts some sort of sexual act, you are liable for punishment. For anything else obscene, I will write another post. ARE SEX STORIES LEGAL? If you go by the definition of law, unless a text is for the pub-

lic good of creating awareness, sex education etc., “sex stories” though textual will still fall under the ambit of being called pornography and will be tried the same way. So no, sex stories are also within the ambit of the law which will criminalize you for publishing or transmitting. Consumption, however, is legal. So if sex stories are legal in the US and you read them here, it is totally legal.

IS PORN HOSTED OUTSIDE INDIA LEGAL? Outside India is outside India’s jurisdiction in the practical sense. If pornography is legalized in the country where it is hosted, India cannot force upon the website to stop functioning. Alternatively, as we have seen, the Government or the Judiciary might ban it in India, if it is thought to be unacceptable. TO SUM UP ALL THE PORNOGRAPHY RULES IN INDIA

 Watching porn at home is not

illegal.

 Saving it on your personal



 



laptop, smartphone, storage media is also not illegal. Distribution/Sale/Showcasing/ Publishing/Sending on private messages etc. is illegal. Sending porn videos/images/ texts or anything depicting sexually explicit acts (unless educational) to someone is also illegal. Sex stories are also sexually explicit content. Whether ISPs are causing transmission of such porn into the country is a grey area but practically they will not be held responsible except for child pornography. Child Pornography, in any sense, watching, saving, sharing etc. is totally illegal.

Should we ban junk food in schools? O

besity rates are on the rise in Australia and across the world. For years, public health and medical groups have called for schools to ban sales of junk foods as one way to stem the tide. Selling fatty or sugary food and drinks has been banned in Western Australia’s public schools since 2007. A 2018 study found WA children were eating healthier as a result of the ban. But it also found some regional schools were struggling to comply with it. Some countries, including Canada and Chile, have banned junk food in schools. Should Australia do the same? We asked five experts. Four out of five experts said yes.

The more junk food available, the more kids eat it, so changing the foods available at schools supports kids to eat healthier. Kids spend a lot of time at school, so if providing them with attractive, affordable and nutritious options will give them one more rung on the ladder to health and well-being, why wouldn’t we do it? But food is also tied to other things in life including culture, politics and socialising. Bananas may be nutritionally “healthy” but many people who pick them are subject to poor working conditions. A slice of sugary cake may not meet nutrition guidelines, but when considered in the context of baking, sharing, celebrating and the pleasure of eating it, cake may enhance our

The more junk food available, the more kids eat it, so changing the foods available at schools supports kids to eat healthier

well-being. Banning junk food may demonise food in unhealthy ways. For instance, a child (and their parent) could be shamed by a teacher for bringing a cupcake to school. And it does nothing to disrupt the structural inequities that make it difficult for children to access the “right” food outside the

school gates. Children are bombarded with advertising including on television, gaming devices, public transport and billboards. The enormous range of food outlets and foods, along with the rise of delivery systems like Uber Eats, make unhealthy food seem appealing and easy to access. Children should be protected from this, at least in a school setting. Learning about good food choices in a controlled environment is one step towards reducing childhood obesity rates. In several countries, such as Canada and Chile, unhealthy foods cannot be sold at school or provided to children. In Australia, some states, such as New South Wales, have banned unhealthy foods from school canteens. Restrictions on unhealthy foods

are achievable, although evidence shows schools need support in the transition process. Unhealthy diets can compromise learning and behaviour, partly due to unstable blood sugar levels, with spiralling impacts on school performance. In the long-term, they have been linked to mental health problems such as an increased risk of anxiety and depression. On the upside, research shows creating a positive food environment (engaging kids with gardening, cooking and eating healthy food together) can sway their eating behaviours in a healthy direction. It’s high time schools jump aboard the healthy canteen wagon and its multiple rewards. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Transforming lives of crores of annadatas,more than 22.84 cr Soil Health Cards have been distributed so far to support our farmers improve farm productivity. The #SoillHealthCardScheme has proved beneficial in maximising yields and ensuring welfare of farmers. #HarKaamDeshKeNaam

Vol 1 Issue No. 255 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION TO BE COMPLETED IN 3 YRS New Delhi: The construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is likely to start in April this year and will be completed in the next three years, Sant Govind Dev Giri of Pune, who has been appointed as the Treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said on Wednesday. Speaking to media outside Trust chairman advocate K Parasaran’s residence, Giri said, “We believe the construction should be completed within three to threeand-a-half years.” Others who attended the meet were Anil Mishra, Vimlendu Mohan Mishra, Parmanand Maharaj of Haridwar, Dinendra Das Maharaj of Nirmohi Akhara, Dharmdas Maharaj, Nirvani Akhada (not part of the Trust), Swamy Govind Dev Giri of Pune, Jagatguru Prasannateerth of Pejawar Matth and Kameshwar Chaupal. Among the officials who were present were Gyanesh Kumar, Additional Ssecretary MHA; Avnish Awasthi, Additional Chief secretary and Principal Secretary, Home, UP govt, and Anuj K Jha, District Magistrate of Ayodhya. —ANI

BJP chief Nadda to meet ex-Punjab CM Badal today

Hours before trust meet, allegations of occupation New Delhi: Hours before the very first meeting of the Ram Janmabhoomi trust here in Delhi, a controversy has erupted. The Hindu Mahasabha has alleged that VHP, RSS and the BJP have “occupied” the trust through the present government. Calling the present formation of the trust as “unfair”, Hindu Mahasabha Chief Swami Chakrapani said he is “hurt”. “From 1949 we have been fighting for this cause. We were a party to the case. Other Hindu organisations too worked for it. But when the Supreme Court gave it’s verdict and tasked the government to form a trust, the VHP and Sangh occupied it. This is unfortunate,” he alleged. He added, “The govt didn’t feel the necessity to call all stakeholders and thank them for the role they played or ask for their suggestions.” The Shri Ram

SWAMI GIRI PROPOSES TO LEAD TRUST

Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited veteran and Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas head Mahant Nritya Gopal Das for

Wednesday’s meeting. VHP VP Champat Rai may also be made a part of the trust, sources said. —Agencies

Chandigarh: BJP national president JP Nadda on Thursday will meet Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at his residence in Punjab’s Muktsar, days after the former chief minister said the minorities ‘should be taken along’ to run a government. At a rally in Amritsar on Feb 13, Badal had said that all religions should be respected. Nadda will be coming to Punjab for the first time after taking charge of the party, a party leader said on Wednesday. “The BJP president will meet Badal Sahib at his residence in Badal village of Muktsar on Thursday,” said the BJP leader, adding that it will be a courtesy call. Nadda will land at the Bathinda airport in morning from where he will go to Muktsar to meet Badal. —Agencies

Farmers’ issue unaddressed in UP budget: Priyanka New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday targeted the Central Government over the budget and said that the issues pertaining to farmers have not been addressed in the state budget, which was presented yesterday by the Yogi Adityanath led government. Taking to Twitter, the Gandhi scion stated, “ The budget of UP has come. The problem of stray animals belonging to farmers has not been mentioned. The issue of payment of sugarcane to the farmers is missing from the budget. The issue of compensation for crop wastage of farmers is also missing. The problem

MULLING ON CHIEFS

of the price of the crop to farmers is also not mentioned in the budget.” She also shared a video in which farmers are narrating their ordeals. Priyanka did a voiceover claiming farmers are in trouble. “They are not able to sleep at night as the animals enter their farms during the night. The investigation must be carried out on the same.” —Agencies

NUMERO UNO

Government of Rajasthan was once again appreciated at national level for integrated water resources management and participatory approach for irrigation water management, this time central board of irrigation and power awarded efforts of Water resources Rajasthan in two categories. Secretary of Water Resources, GOR, Naveen Mahajan received the CBIP Awards 2020. The CBIP recognized the outstanding work done under IWRM by Indira Gandhi Project and work done by Rajasthan in the field of participatory irrigation management.

INDIA JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

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IN THE COURTYARD

SC KEEN TO KNOW GADKARI’S VIEWS ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES New Delhi: Chief Justice SA Bobde on Wednesday said that it would like to hear Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on the Centre’s policy of switching all public transport and government vehicles to electric vehicles over a period of time in order to curb air pollution. Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, appearing for Centre, objected to the presence of Minister in the court, saying, him coming to the Supreme Court will be misused politically. The Chief Justice clarified that the invitation to the Union Minister is not a

CHINMAYANAND APPEARS BEFORE SPECIAL MP/MLA COURT IN LKO

Lucknow: Former Union minister Chinmayanand, who is out on bail in a case in which he is accused of sexually abusing a law student, appeared before a special MP/MLA court on Wednesday. Judge PK Rai fixed March 4 as the next date of hearing for the framing of charges. Chinmayanand, 72, was released from the Shahjahanpur district jail after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail.

summon and sought response from the Ministry on the plea. A Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, was hearing a plea of Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking implementa-

tion of Centre’s policy to gradually convert all public transport and government vehicles to electric vehicles. The bench sought the government’s response on steps being taken to implement its 2012 electric vehicles policy.

The court, while expressing its keenness to interact with Gadkari on implementation of electric vehicles scheme, said, “He (the minister) has made many statements on the issue. We are not indicting or ordering him.

JNU SEDITION CASE

Hearing adjourned due to pendency of sanctions New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday adjourned till April 3, the hearing in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case, in which Kanhaiya Kumar is an accused, as Delhi government is yet to grant the requisite sanctions in the matter. CMM Purshottam Pathak adjourned the matter after investigating officer informed the court that the file regarding the grant of sanctions is still pending with the Home Department of Delhi government and that there haven’t been any further updates. Patiala House Court also asked the government to file a status

report in the matter and asked Delhi Police to send another reminder to the Government of NCT as no sanction have been granted yet. Earlier, the matter was also adjourned after the public prosecutor had informed that sanction of chargesheet was still pending and home department had not given sanction. In the charge-sheet filed in a court in January, Delhi Police said that former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others led a procession and raised antinational slogans in the university campus during an event on February 9, 2016.

INX MEDIA CASE COURT GRANTS REGULAR BAIL TO SIX BUREAUCRATS New Delhi: A special court granted regular bail to all the six bureaucrats in the INX media corruption case. These bureaucrats were chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and are currently on interim bail. Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar while confirming the interim bail into regular bail, also directed them not to leave the country without the permission of the court. The court granted regular bail to all six bureaucrats on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh each and told them not to tamper with the evidence.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday released the India 2020 yearbook that highlights the flagship programmes of the government and important events of the year. Javadekar also released the e-version of the publication. The book will be priced at Rs 300 and the e-book will be available at Rs 225. The book can be purchased online from February 20, 2020, from the website of the Publications Division.

Mumbai: No-frills carrier SpiceJetNSE 4.34% said it will launch 20 new flights on its domestic routes, including some services under govt’s regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from late next month. The new flights, starting from March 29, include services to Patna from Amritsar, Varanasi and Guwahati. Besides, it will also launch flights on Hyderabad-Mangaluru, Bengaluru-Jabalpur and Mumbai-Aurangabad routes.

SUNIL MITTAL, KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA MEET FM

New Delhi: Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal and Vodafone Idea chief Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to apprise her the current stressed state of affairs in the telecom sector due to huge Adjusted Gross Revenue payment. “We are responding to the Supreme Court judgment on AGR dues. Have made our payments, working to calculate the remaining AGR liability. Telecom industry has seen a lot of stress for the past three years,” Mittal said. On Tuesday, Mittal met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash.

New Delhi: Senior Counsel RS Cheema is set to continue as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) till June 30 to conduct trials on behalf of ED in the money laundering case pertaining to the alleged irregularities in coal block allocations. “On our request RS Cheema, senior counsel/ SPP has agreed to continue as a Special Public Prosecutor to conduct prosecution of the money laundering cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 pertaining to the coal block allocation matters till June 30, 2020.” stated an order passed on Friday by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising of CJI SA Bobde and Justice Deepak Gupta.

CBI VS CBI

Why no lie detector test on Asthana, asks Court New Delhi: A Delhi court rapped CBI on Wednesday for not conducting psychological and lie detector tests on its former special director Rakesh Asthana in a bribery case in which he was recently given a clean chit. Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal directed the initial investigating officer, Ajay Kumar Bassi, in the case to appear before it on February 28 to explain the case diary. The court asked the CBI whether there was any telephonic conversation recording of Asthana, which the agency

denied. “What about calls made to Asthana via WhatsApp? The complainant, Sana Satish Babu, has said this in his statement recorded under 164 CrPC (before a magistrate) ... Evidence cannot be disregarded at filing of charge sheet,” the court said. “Did you collect any electronic equipment, mobile phones from Asthana? Did you confront him with Manoj Prasad and Someshwar Prasad,” it asked. The CBI said, “No, we examined him but never confronted him with anyone.”

UP BJP MLA, 7 others booked in rape case

INDIA 2020 YEARBOOK

SPICEJET TO LAUNCH 20 NEW FLIGHTS

But want to hear him”. Passing the order, the bench said the issue of vehicles is related to a number of other pollution-related cases pending before the apex court and if the policy is implemented it can solve many pollution related problems. The court granted Transport Ministry four weeks to file response on the plea of CPIL. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for CPIL contended that for electric vehicles there is a requirement of you charging infrastructure or charging ports to charge the battery. —ANI

RS Cheema to continue as SPP till June 30

Bhadohi: An FIR was lodged against BJP MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi and six others on Wednesday for allegedly raping a woman in 2017, police said. The 40-year-old woman, who is a widow, had lodged a complaint on February 10, they said. The woman alleged that she was first raped by Tripathi’s nephew Sandeep in 2016. She said she did not lodge a complaint back then as Tiwari had promised to marry her, SP Ram Badan Singh said. She has alleged that in the run-up to the 2017 UP As-

CHHOTA SHAKEEL DENIES MARIA’S ALLEGATIONS Mumbai: Absconder mafiosi Chhota Shakeel rubbished contentions by Rakesh Maria that fugitive mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar had allegedly been given a contract to kill Ajmal Kasab. Chhota Shakeel said, “all these are absolute lies.” Maria has revealed that Dawood had been assigned the task of killing Kasab by LeT and ISI, ostensibly to erase the only living evidence of their heinous (terror) act.

POWER Gallery NAME OF KOTHARI CLEARED FOR CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER

Name of Sanjay Kothari, a 1978 batch retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre and presently Secretary to President, has reportedly been cleared for the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). NAME OF JULKA CLEARED FOR CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

Name of Information Commissioner Bimal Julka, a 1979 batch retired IAS officer of MP cadre, has reportedly been cleared for the post of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). SURESH PATEL TO BE VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER

Former CMD of Andhra Bank Suresh Patel has reportedly been chosen as a Vigilance Commissioner by the panel headed by PM Narendra Modi. AMITA PANDOVE TO BE IC

Former member of Punjab Civil Services Commission, Amita Pandove has reportedly been chosen for the post of Information Commissioner (IC) Central Information Commissioner. 60 SHORT-LISTED FOR SPECIAL DIRECTOR IN ED

60 IPS and IRS officers have been short-listed for over half a dozen posts of Special Director in ED. THREE IRS-IT OFFICERS SHIFTED

Rajiv Kumar Singh has been appointed as CIT (OSD) in the office of Pr. CCIT, Bhopal MP & Chattisgarh Region, while Amitabh Kumar Sinha is CIT (OSD) Delhi Region and Deepak is CIT(A), Jamshedpur. RAGHVENDRA SINGH RELIEVED TO JOIN MP GOVT

The Government of Bihar has relieved Raghvendra Singh of cadre responsibility to join Madhya Pradesh Government cadre transfer. He is a 2013 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre. AFMC DEAN MRS KANITKAR ELEVATED TO LT. GEN RANK

Dean and Deputy Commandant of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, Major General Mrs Madhuri Kanitkar had been elevated to the rank of Lt. General now . She was empanelled in October last year as Lt General. SERVICE TENURE OF M K BHATTACHARYA, ED, INDIAN BANK EXTENDED

Central Government has extended the term of office of M K Bhattacharya, Executive Director of Indian Bank for a period beyond February 17, 2020 till date of his superannuation, i.e. Nov 30, 2020. NAGESHWARA RAO Y GETS TENURE EXTENSION AS WHOLE-TIME DIR OF SYNDICATE BANK TILL MAR 30

The Central Government has extended the tenure of Nageshwara Rao Y. presently posted as Officer on Special Duty and Whole-time Director of Syndicate Bank till March 30, 2020. DR JUSTICE S MURLIDHAR’S TRANSFER TO P&H HC RECOMMENDED

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Dr Justice S Murlidhar, Judge of Delhi High Court to Punjab & Haryana High Court. JUSTICE RANJIT V MORE’S TRANSFER TO MEGHALAYA HC RECOMMENDED

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Ranjit V More, Judge of Bombay High Court to Meghalaya High Court. Ravindra Nath Tripathi

sembly polls, she was kept at a hotel for a month by Tiwari. All the seven accused would visit the hotel and repeatedly rape her, the officer said. She also claimed that she got pregnant and was forced to undergo abortion, he added.

JUSTICE R V MALIMATH’S TRANSFER TO UTTARAKHAND HC RECOMMENDED

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath, Judge of Karnataka HC to Uttarakhand HC. AWANISH KUMAR AWASTHI NOMINATED AS MEMBERS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS, Home and Anuj Kumar Jha, Collector, Ayodhya have been nominated as ex-officio Members in Board of Trustees, in UP.

NOTHING CAN SAVE THOSE WITH DEATH WISH: UP CM

Lucknow: UP CM Yogi Adityanath defended police over the deaths of anti-CAA protesters, saying they were shot by other rioters and nothing can be done to save someone with a death wish. Wrapping up the discussion in the assembly on the Governor’s address, Adityanath said the role of the police in dealing with rioters during the anti-CAA protest should be appreciated. In hard-hitting remarks, he said his government supported democratic protests but will maintain law and order by dealing strictly with those indulging in violence.

‘GST BIGGEST MADNESS OF THE 21ST CENTURY’ Hyderabad: Describing India’s latest tax reform GST as “the biggest madness of the 21st century,” BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said that the country needs to grow at 10% per annum to become a superpower by 2030. He also demanded that former Prime Minister, late P V Narasimha Rao, be given the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, for the reforms he introduced during his tenure.

SPORTS JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

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BRIEF Kenin loses to Rybakina on WTA Dubai: Sofia Kenin lost her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open earlier this month as she went down 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 to Rybakina on Tuesday (Feb 18) at the Dubai Championships. World number 7 Kenin’s loss completed a hat-trick of seeded upsets on the 4th day of action in the UAE. Title holder Bencic was overhauled 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while third seed and two-time tournament winner Svitolina was hammered 6-2, 6-1 by qualifier Brady. Kenin played a pair of non-Tour Fed Cup matches immediately after her Melbourne win over Garbine Muguruza, who cut short Clijsters’ comeback on Monday.

Wrestling royalty to MMA, ‘World Test C’ship

RITU EYES HISTORY New Delhi: A wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country’s first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts. Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November. Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China’s Wu

Pujara to represent Gloucestershire Gloucester: India toporder Cheteshwar Pujara on Wednesday was signed by England county Gloucestershire for the upcoming County C’ship. The batsman will be representing the County for the first six matches of the Championship. He is currently at the seventh spot in the ICC Test batting rankings. “I am really excited to get the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire this season. The club has a rich cricketing history, and this is a great opportunity to be a part of it and contribute to its success,” Pujara said.

Assembly Cricket tourney starts today Jaipur: Two matches will be played on Thursday at the RCA Academy ground under the Assembly Budget Session Cricket Tournament. RPS XI will compete with Doctor’s XI from 7 am. From 4 pm onwards, there will be a match between MLAs XI and IAS XI. State Sports Council Secretary Mahendra Meena said that two matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday also.

After her explosive MMA debut in November, Ritu Phogat is going to face China’s Wu ChiaoChen at the ONE Championship fight night in Singapore

Chiao Chen at this month’s ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus. Phogat is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport. “I got a chance to train with best in Singapore and there was no looking back,” she said. “There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art,” she added. —Agencies

biggest of all events’ Indian team are at the top of World Test Championship table with 360 points whereas NZ are at sixth spot with 60 points

Virat Kohli and NZ Captain Kane Williamson pose with the trophy after the practice session ahead of the test match series, at the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington on Wednesday.

Wellington: India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday put his weight behind the World Test Championship, terming it as the mother of all other ICC events. “I think World Test Championship as an ICC tournament should be right up there. All the other tournaments for me they start under that. This is probably the biggest of them all as every team wants to make it to the final at the Lord’s. We are no different. We are in that zone. We want to make sure that we qualify as soon as we can and be in that frame of mind to hopefully win that (championship),” said Kohli ahead of the In-

Saina advances to second round but Prannoy loses

Barcelona: India’s Olympic bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal advanced to the women’s singles second round of the $170,000 Barcelona Spain Masters with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Germany’s Yvonne Li on Wednesday. Saina took just 35

Gujrathi stays top in Prague chess tourney Prague: Indian Grand Master Vidit Gujrathi maintained a one-point lead after settling for a draw against Vitiugov of Russia in the sixth round of the Prague Chess Festival’s Mas-

ters category here. He has 4.5 points and is ahead of Vitiugov and top seed Jan-Krzysztof Duda, both on 3.5 points. The 25-year old Indian no.2 opted for a London opening in his game against the Russian GM and had to sign the peace treaty in 39 moves late on Tuesday. Gujrathi’s compatriot P Harikrishna had to be content with his fifth draw in six games, against lower-rated Spanish GM David Anton Guijjaro. —Agencies

minutes to beat her opponent in the first round match. In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with easy wins over their respective opponents. While Jayaram beat Christo Popov of

France 21-14, 21-12 in a 30 minute first round match, third seeded Srikanth defeated compatriot Subhankar Dey 23-21, 21-18 in a hardfought 41-min contest. Srikanth and Jayaram run into each other in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday. —Agencies

dia’s first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve from Friday. Kohli said the Test Championship has made the longest format of the game more exciting, adding that India might be sitting on top of the points chart but they need to perform away from home to maintain that. “It has made Test cricket more exciting and that’s something we have experienced as a side although we haven’t had too many games away from home. Couple of games in the Windies and we haven’t had a tour of Australia as a part of Test Championship,” said Kohli.

‘Will play for at least 3 more years’ Wellington: India captain Virat Kohli is preparing himself for a “rigorous three years” of playing all three formats after which he might reassess his workload amid a “transition phase” setting in. The world’s premier batsman is looking at the “bigger picture” in Indian cricket with two T20 and one 50-over World Cup in the next three years after which he might decide on playing two of the three formats. —Agencies

—Agencies

Asian Wrestling C’ships: India bags 3 bronze on day 2

Jai Bharti academy enters finals

Jaipur: Rachit Pandey of Jai Bharti Cricket Academy scored 78 runs, Rohan Singh scored 40 runs and Manish Singh scored 40 runs helped in making total 220 runs for 6 wickets. Khushant Singh Chauhan took 2 wickets for Lakshya Cricket Academy. Lakshya Cricket Academy in response to the target of 221 runs made 146 runs in 31.4 overs. Jai Bharti Academy won by 4 runs.

Hardeep

New Delhi: After the record-breaking gold medal win on day one of the Asian Wrestling Championships, Indian grapplers in the GrecoRoman category had to settle for three bronze medals on the second day of the competition at the KD Jadhav Hall in Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. Youngsters Ashu, Aditya Kundu and Hardeep managed to have the consolation of a podium finish, after having missed a shot at the gold medal. Sunil Kumar, on Tuesday, had overpowered Azat Salidinov of

Aditya and Ashu

Kyrgyzstan 5-0 in the 87kg summit bout to win India’s first GrecoRoman gold medal in Asian Wrestling Championships in 27 years. India now has five medals in the championships, after Kumar’s historic gold and Halakurki’s bronze in 55kg Greco-Roman category on Tuesday. —Agencies

WOMEN’S WORLD T20

‘Teens have brought in a different energy in team’ 

The average age of Indian team, taking part in the Women’s World Cup, is just 23 and features four teenagers

Sydney: Star batswoman Smriti Mandhana believes the young players -- which are part of the India squad -- have brought in a whole, new energy within the group and that in turn will benefit the team in the T20 World Cup. The average age of Indian team, taking part in the World Cup, is just 23 and features four teenagers. “You can think of the vibe if you see the age of our team! With that kind

of age group, there has to be fun and if there’s no fun there’s something wrong with the girls” 23-year-old Mandhana was quoted as saying by the ICC. “It’s been like that for the last one or two years. I won’t say it wasn’t like that in the years before, but since the teenagers have come, there is a different energy. “Young players come into it with fresh thinking, they don’t have anything behind them. They

know nothing. They’re very different people to we were when we came into the side at 17. “They are very fearless, they don’t have a lot of pressure on them. They think like it’s any other match and coming into a World Cup, that’s the best thing about them.” Rodrigues, 19, composed a rap to mark Harmanpreet’s 100th T20I in September last year alongside Harleen Deol. —Agencies

If aggression is in your basic nature then use it to fight ‘for’ something rather than ‘with’ something.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

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Astute Priyanka deserves Upper House berth: Pande Pande briefed Sonia on Rajasthan coordination committee meeting on Wednesday Aditi Nagar New Delhi: AICC General secretary and Rajasthan Incharge Avinash Pande met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at 10, Janpath on Wednesday and apprised her about the meeting of the Rajasthan coordination committee held on Tuesday. Pande also handed a report card of the party MLAs and ministers to Sonia while briefing her about the coordination aspect between the organisation and ‘power’. Interestingly, now that the trumpet for political appointments has been sounded, Sonia also discussed the issue at length with Pande who gave her feedback. Notably, all the minister in-charges will have to submit their lists for political appointments by March 15. Pande also expressed to Sonia Gan-

Avinash Pande with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

dhi that like Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh Congress, Rajasthan Congress too desires that Priyanka be sent to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Moreover, amid speculation about her possible entry in Rajya Sabha, senior Congress leader and in-charge for Rajasthan unit Avinash Pande has said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra deserves a nomination to the up-

per house as she is an undisputed leader of the party. Pande said this is the feeling among Congressmen in every state but there has been no discussion in the party over it yet. He said it is the prerogative of the Congress president on whom to name as party candidates for Rajya Sabha, election to which are slated in April after 51 vacancies

With prime properties, RHB on hot wheels’ mode Shivendra Parmar Jaipur: It was a befitting finale to Rajasthan Housing Board’s (RHB) Swarn Jayanti Uphar Yojna on Wednesday when the board sold a whopping 272 houses generating Rs 83 crore in the process. Moreover, 54 individuals were selected to be handed the keys to Honda Activa scooter under the scheme. Notably, the Wednesday auction will be continued till March 31 2020. “Under the rules of the scheme, lottery was taken out for gifting Activa scooters to one in five customers under the scheme wherein 54 persons were announced as winners,” said RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora.

are arising. “Every Congress worker desires that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be a Rajya Sabha member. She is an undisputed leader of the party and any state would want to recommend her name for nomination to the Upper House,” Pande told Asked if state units have discussed her name for the nomination, the AICC in-charge

SC PUTS ILLEGAL SAND MINING IN ‘QUICK SAND’ First India News New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday took strong note of rampant illegal sand mining in Rajasthan and ordered the state government, all the District Collectors and SPs to ensure no gravel/sand mining takes place in the state with immediate effect. SC also asked the state government to file a Action Taken Report (ATR) within 4 weeks. SC bench headed by CJI SA Bobde and including Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant gave the orders on a contempt petition filed by Naveen Sharma. The petitioner urged “The Governments never stopped illegal mining in our state. Both the parties, BJP and Congress, have been playing 20-20 cricket with people of the state. It is not a hidden fact that Bhu-Mafias are very much prevalent in the state.” The three member bench also appointed a Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) to investigate the illegal mining in Rajasthan and file a report within 6 weeks.

Sand mafia unleashed terror in state: Lahoty Jaipur: Hours after the apex court asked the Rajasthan government to take immediate action against illegal mining, BJP MLA Ashok Lahoty welcomed the decision, saying the sand mafia has unleashed terror in the state. He alleged that the state government and the sand mafia were working “in an alliance” for the past one year. Earlier reacting to the order, state Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary

said the government will submit a report and other information sought by the Supreme Court regarding sand mining. “The Supreme Court’s direction is a welcome step. The sand mafia has written a new chapter of terrorism in Rajasthan. Every night, 2,000 trucks transport sand illegally. This is a very serious matter. The mafia attacks the media and police. An organised crime is flourishing,” Lahoty told reporters.

RSDCL to develop 925 MW solar park Birla hails Joshi for First India News

Jaipur: Rajasthan Solarpark Development Corporation Ltd (RSDCL) a subsidiary of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL), Rajasthan and NTPC Ltd will sign Implementation Support Agreement (ISA)

for development of solar power projects of 925 MW in Nokh Solar Park in Nokh, Jaisalmer. The agreement will be inked between NTPC and state officials at a ceremony to be held in Jaipur on Thursday. The agreement will bring approx Rs 4,000 crore investment that

is touted to be one of the biggest investment in the state. The NTPC board has already approved of the investment in a meeting held on February 7 and signing of the ISA will officially mark commencement of the investment inflow to state.

‘by the book’ attitude

Om Birla at Gayatri Shakti Peeth event in Dungarpur. He was accompanied by Harshvardhan Singh and Arjun Meena.

COURTESY MEET

First India News

Ajmer Resident Engineer Deepak Kaushik awarding the Activa key to the winner.

“Notably, the board sold 191 houses from Jaipur’s first, second and third circle which generated a revenue of Rs 72.60 crore. “Additionally, Rs 4.52 crore in revenue has been generated by selling 12 houses in Jodhpur first and second circles, Rs 24 lakh from 3 houses in Kota circle, Rs 43 lakh from four houses in Bikaner circle, Rs 2.42

crore from 37 houses in Udaipur circle and Rs 2.67 crore from 25 houses in Alwar circle has been generated,” Arora informed. While the gift scheme initiated by the board, which received mass recognition, ended on Wednesday February 19, the Wednesday auction will continue till March 31.

MLA chants Ram naam 24X7 Aishwary Pradhan

he ‘bhakti’ could envelope anyone and true to the word, Congress MLA Madan Prajapat is totally engulfed by it. The MLA has a unique way of remembering the almighty, for he likes to write the word ‘RAM’ in copies. Such is the dedication of Prajapat that he finishes copies after copies in a single day just writing the word when ever he gets time! Even when he is travelling the man keeps himself occu-

—FILE PHOTO

for Rajasthan said no discussion has taken place yet on her name. “She has the potential to be a Rajya Sabha member and if asked we will certainly recommend her name. There is a general feeling among Congress leaders and workers that she should be recommended for a Rajya Sabha berth, but no discussion has taken place on the issue yet,” he said. There is widespread speculation over Priyanka Gandhi being among probable candidates considered by the Congress for a Rajya Sabha nomination. The Congress has, however, remained silent on the issue and have dubbed it as speculative. Asked about Priyanka Gandhi’s name among probable candidates for Rajya Sabha berth, the party chief spokesperson said, “We do not answer speculative questions”.

Madan Prajapat

pied by scribbling away the word in his copy. An interesting episode occurred when a few MLAs, who were unfamiliar with Prajapat’s ‘dedication’ saw

him writing Ram in the assembly itself while the house was in session! This came about after Prajapat asked for a piece of paper from a MLA seated nearby and

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora meets Hamza Yahia-Cherif, Ambassador of Algeria to India, on Wednesday at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

TETE

Udaipur: Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla expressed his confidence in the liveliness of the Indian democracy and reiterated his commitment to make it stronger to effectively resolve the problems faced by 130 crore Indians. Birla was on a one day tour of Mewar region. First on his itinerary was Udaipur where he attended a school function and interacted with the students. Later, inter-

acting with the media, he supported Vidhan Sabha speaker Dr CP Joshi’s ‘By the book’ attitude for running the assembly. Later Birla reached Sagwara in Dungarpur to participate in a religious congregation organised by the Gayatri Shakti Peeth. He was joined by Rajya Sabha MP Harshvardhan Singh and Udaipur MP Arjun Meena at the sanctum sanctorum of the ‘Mahayagya’ to complete the oblation amid religious chants.

TETE Pilot submits list of pol appointments

-A-

the curiosity of finding what Prajapat would do with the paper resulted in the fact coming to light. Seeing the entire episode, one MLA even said, “Those individuals who keep chanting Ram’s name but stab in the back, can learn a good thing on spirituality and dedication from Madanji.” it is rightly said that Prajapat actually lives the saying, “Ram Naam Rat te raho, Jab Tak Ghat mein Pran! Kabhi to Deen Dayal ke bhanak padegi kaan!”

Aditi Nagar

he political appointments in the state will be done in the days to come for which not just MLAs and ministers incharge, even Deputy CM Sachin Pilot has submitted a list and it is reported that the list contains names of ten individuals including Mahesh Sharma, Rajesh Choudhary, Saeed Saudi, Ghanshyam Mehar, Rajendra Choudhary, Karan Singh, Durga Singh

Rathore, Somendra Gurjar, Rukshmani Kumari and Sunita Bhati. Interestingly, highly placed sources in the grand old party claim that the first list of political appointments could see the names of renowned leaders like Dharmendra Rathore, Bina Kak, Rameshwar Dudi, Pukhraj Par-

ashar, Rajeev Arora, Dr Chandrabhan and Ramswaroop Meena. While the appointments over various boards etc are being awaited eagerly, political lobbies are actively participating in swinging the ‘wave’ in their favour. Knowledgeable sources reveal that recently MLAs from one camp got together and ‘devised’ a strategy to hand over a memorandum to the high command. About two dozen MLAs, including ministers, are look-

ing to travel to Delhi to hand the memorandum, albeit covertly! The entire ‘mission’ is being handled by highly ‘skillful’ and strategically experienced ‘netaji’. All this is being done after rumours of a change of PCC Chief ! Interestingly, one senior Congress leader has observed an important aspect and said, “when during ‘powershow’ in 2018, the ‘lobby’ could not muster 25 MLAs, have then actually managed to get hold of 25 men this time around?”

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There are going to be 8 sequences on each day, and the designers are going to showcase several varieties of styles on both the days. Another interesting thing that is going to take place in this season is that a model is going to donate 12 inches of her hair live, for the cancer patients. —GAURAV GAUR

COUTURE

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

CARES THE FIRST LOOK OF JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW SEASON 7 WAS REVEALED ON WEDNESDAY, WITH VARIOUS INSIDERS OF THE SHOW

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

lamour and beauty are never-ending in Rajasthan, with due respect to the culture and heritage of the state. To showcase glamour on-ramp once again, Jaipur Couture Show is coming up with its seventh season next month and as mentioned at the first look launch on Wednesday at Retro, Jaipur. This year the theme for the two-day fashion show taking place on March 3 and 4 at Jaipur Marriott Hotel, is ‘The Colours of Spring’. The main

attraction of the show is that they have an entire sequence dedicated to the acid attack survivours. Talking about the show, one of the Directors, Gaurav Gaur said, “There are going to be 8 sequences on each day, and the designers are going to showcase several varieties of styles on both the days. Another interesting thing that is going to take place in this season is that a model is going to donate 12 inches of her hair live, for the cancer patients.” The seventh season of Jaipur Couture Show will have film celebrities and television stars as special guests and a bevy of beautiful models. Couture Shows have been successfully executed in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota in the past, and another one is slated to take place in Udaipur, in a couple of months.

Models during the look launch on Wednesday

Gaurav Gaur, Yasheel Pandel, Pooja Chhablani, Varsha Jaswani, Mahesh Bang, Madhusadan Dadhich, Anil Bhattar, Ritakshi Soni, Pooja Chandak, Auyush Vijay, Manisha Pandel, Pitu Mehra, Mukhtiyaar Singh Siddu and JD Maheswari

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The Perfect Clap-Back

Enrique-Anna’s

SUNSHINE M

usician Enrique Iglesias and tennis star A n n a Kournikova announced the birth of their bay girl on social media on Thursday. They welcomed their third child last month after keeping Kournikova’s pregnancy a secret. The 44-year-old singer shared the moment of happiness on Instagram and wrote, “My Sunshine 01.30.2020” In the lovely picture, Enrique is seen holding the newborn in the hospital. The 38-yearold Tennis star also shared adorable pictures on Instagram. The first frame captures Anna cuddling with the baby while the other one shows a memorable picture of the child with Enrique and Anna. Iglesias and Kournikova tied the knot in 2011. The couple is parents to 2-yearold twins Nicholas and Lucy who they welcomed in December 2017. Kournikova shared rare footage of the little ones running in an adorable Instagram video, last month. —ANI

Anna’s Instagra

m posts

Ayesha Curry

he Internet proved itself to be both the worst and greatest thing on Monday. It all began when Ayesha Curry posted a picture of her and Steph Curry on a relaxing vacation in Cabo San Lucas. “All the things,” she captioned an Instagram gallery of her lounging in a blue bikini with her hubby by her r Instagram post side. Typically, this would be no big ...he deal, save for all the FOMO inspired by their gorgeous pictures. However, one Instagram user got really rude in the comments section and wrote, “Steph married to an actual real life farm animal.” The user soon realized they made a huge mistake. Chef Curry quickly cooked up a response. “Yes, a GOAT, I know [shrug emoji],” wrote Ayesha, delivering a thunderous clap-back. Considering the racist history of comparing black people, especially black women, to animals, it’s unreal that someone would find it acceptable to call a woman a ‘farm animal’. The person tried to argue with other users in the comment section, before realising that they could just say nothing.—Agency

Enrique’s Instagram post

The Incredible

Susan Lucci

Anna Kournikova

e’ll have what Susan Lucci‘s having! The ‘All My Children’ alum, looks stunning in a new photo she shared from her from her beach vacation on Tuesday afternoon. Susan showed off her amazing figure in a plunging white one-piece that featured a gold buckle. “GOOD morning, St Barth’s,” she captioned the photo. The actress let her brown hair with blonde highlights down as she shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted sunnies. Susan was all smiles while she kicked and frolicked through a shallow part of the ocean. We’re not the only ones who thought she looked incredible in the new snap. Andy Cohen commented, “Looking good.” He joined the thousands of fans who sang Susan’s praises in the com...her Instagram post ments. “Pretty lady with a heart of gold who looks easily 20 years younger than her age,” one extremely accurate fan wrote. Another added, “Always so elegant and beautiful.” —Agency

Ashley’s Secret A Ashley Tisdale

ctress Ashley Tisdale has shared her secret to get a flawless skin. She revealed the secret on Instagram that she has cut off dairy products in her life since five years ago and it helped her a lot to get a clearer skin. “I’ve been dairy free for 5 years,” Ashley wrote along with a video of her showing off her clear skin. She then explained that ever since she stopped consuming dairy products, her skin has become better. “And

I swear it changed everything with my skin,” she said. “I know it’s hard to give up something but when you do, after a while you, barely crave it,” she said, adding that she feels even healthier after she becomes a dairyfree person. Tisdale used to have a struggle with breakouts in the past. But after she did her routine, she gets the results of what she always wanted, which is less breakout. “I barely break out. Skin never looked so good.” —IANS

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Susan Lucci

YOUR DAY

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY

AAKRITI RANA, Blogger

Keep doing good deeds and a lot of goodness will come back to you. You are regular with your fitness plans and you are desperate to have a good body. A huge monetary benefit will come to you.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

You will make others happy. On professional front, your communication skills will play a key role in how much attention you get and if you get noticed by your seniors or not. Your physical strength is improving everyday as you are really working hard on it. Some of you will soon get married.

You are earning well as of now and you are satisfied with your work life. You must not stop yourself from doing that you really love to do as a part time hobby. You will achieve your academic goals. Have faith in yourself when it comes to dealing with love matters.

Practice strict control on your diet as it plays the most important role in your fitness journey. You will be comfortable whole day long no matter where you are. You will get recognition in your academic institution for doing something incredible. You will go on a short yet incredible trip with friends.

Your fitness level is improving day by day as you are really exerting. You will get unexpected support`from your sibling in completing your work. Your parents really go out of their way to do something for you and now its your time to make them feel special.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You will indulge in some outdoor sports. Your lifestyle speaks about your financial status and its improving with time. Avoid any arguments with someone on road or in public. You will acquire a new property for the sole purpose of business. Choose the right person when it comes to marriage.

Your bargaining powers will really help you in buying stuff for your house as you plan to redecorate. You will do a lot of investment in property and trust your intuition in matters like these. A temporary separation from partner for work should not effect you if you keep your partner happy.

You have managed to make yourself momentarily secure and you are in good position to spend. Do your calculations well and in advance for the expenses in your new business. Your lover will do something really special for you that will make you very emotional.

Today is your day and its your month, profits start accusing in your new venture. On professional front, you will the promotion that you have been waiting for a long time. Someone close to you will get married soon. Someone close will boost your image on the social front.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You are blessed with good health and physique and you take good care of yourself. You must be really wise with words when you dealing in sensitive matters. You will get encouragement from your colleagues in office for your higher endeavours. You may travel a lot. Don’t make hasty decisions.

Things look bright for you on the professional front as you will be assigned the responsibility of some prestigious assignment. You will have lots of fun and will enjoy the company of your family and its extended members. You will spend a lot today on accessories and clothes.

You will feel extremely energetic today as you are sleeping on time and waking up on time. You will take the right decisions today as far as your finances are concerned. You will remain occupied in office whole day long to finish work on time. You will be in demand on social front.

Money will come to you from unexpected sources as you are attracting it with all the positivity. You must remain active in your office today as there may be an important sessions arranged everyone where you need to pay attention. A family reunion is on cards.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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B’TOWN QUICKIE!

JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Beauties With Brains At Nykaa Femina Beauty Awards 2020, Bollywood celebs Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Ananya Panday and more dazzled

N Madhuri Dixit attended a wedding reception with her husband Sriram Madhav Nene in Mumbai on Monday. She wore a sequinned beige long choli paired with an embellished lehenga.

A brand new song titled ‘Ooh La La’ from Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar-starrer ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ was unveiled on Wednesday. In the visuals of the song, Ayushmann and Jitendra are boarding the Vivaah Special Express happily.

CLOCKWISE: Rhea Chakraborty, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone and Ananya Panday

ykaa Femina Beauty Awards 2020, while concluding its 6th edition, celebrated the best in beauty. This year’s the event was bedazzled with a number of Btown A-listers donning all sorts of glamourous outfits. The award for Powerful Performer of the Year went to Deepika Padukone who stunned the crowd with an elegant black dress. Her off-shoulder outfit had a body-hugging fit with a plunging neck and a mermaid cut. Meanwhile, Kartik Aaryan bagged the Heartthrob of the Year award. Anushka Sharma took home the award for Beauty Icon of the Year. Katrina Kaif also joined the winners’ list by winning the Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year award. Ananya Panday bagged the Exciting Fresh Face Female award. Other celebrities in attendance included Jawaani Jaaneman actor Alaya F, Angrezi Medium actor Radhika Madan and Shruti Haasan to name a few. —Agency

Malaika Arora

Malaika recalls

her ‘auditions’

MANUSHI KI ADAYEIN

alaika Arora has now earned the label of a dancing diva, but there was a time when she had to struggle like any other newcomer and face rejections. “I remember going for many auditions and my mother used to accompany me. When I started off, I faced many rejections but that never let me down. I never gave up and kept trying. I was 17 years old when I started with my modelling career and from then one thing led to another and today, I am in the position to judge a show,” she said. “It was not easy. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was 15-16 years old and today kids who come for auditions are so clear with what they want to do,” she added. —IANS

F Kiara Advani was snapped at the trailer launch of her Netflix film ‘Guilty’ on Tuesday. For the event, she wore a bodycon midi dress that gave a hint of her washboard abs.

A still from the song

BAAGHI 3 KA ‘BHANKAS’

T Deepika Padukone on Wednesday unveiled her look as Romi Dev, wife of cricket legend Kapil Dev, in the upcoming film ‘83. She says the film is an ode to every woman who puts her husband’s dream before her own.

iger Shroff on Wednesday dropped the peppy wedding song ‘Bhankas’ from his upcoming action-thriller flick ‘Baaghi 3’. The song is a recreated version of ‘Ek Aankh Maru’ from 1984 film ‘Tohfa’ that featured Sridevi and Jeetendra in lead roles. The 29-year-old actor shared the song on Twitter and wrote, “Jab Ronnie aur Siya ke moves par honge sab vaari, tab bajega dhol aur naachegi Duniya saari. #Bhankas Song Out Now!” In the two-minute-twenty-six-second song, Tiger and Shraddha Kapoor are seen dancing at Riteish Deshmukh and Ankita Lokhande’s wedding. The dancing number also shows the bride and groom Riteish and Ankita shaking a leg along with the ‘Tapori’ dancers. Shraddha is seen sporting an embellished pastel green suit while Tiger is seen clad in purple shirt and embroidered waistcoat with grey denim. —ANI

ormer Miss World Manushi Chillar, who will be seen next in the historical film ‘Prithviraj’ alongside Akshay Kumar wrapped up the shooting for the first song from the flick and shared her ecstatic experience of constantly learning on the set. The 27-year-old stunner is a trained Kuchipudi dancer and has trained under legendary dancing couple Raja and Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy, and both were felicitated by the Government of India with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. Manushi revealed that it is her early training in classical dancing that has helped her to confidently perform the song in Prithviraj. She said, “My training in classical dancing when I was a child has definitely helped me for Prithviraj.” She also stated, “These dance sequences have taken the life out of me but I think I have managed to deliver. I was happy that my director and choreographer were happy with my performance.” —ANI

Manushi Chillar

FILMFARE FIDA HUA- ON KHUDA JAANE SINGER VANSHIKHA GOUR

vanshikha.gour@firstindia.co.in

hilpa Rao, who won the award under the category- Best Playback Singer (Female) for the song ‘Ghungroo’ at the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards which took place in Guwahati on February 15, shared a few glimpses of her life, upcoming projects and more, in an exclusive interview with City First.

‘Khuda Jaane’ from the film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ seems to be her all time favourite as when she was asked which song she thinks gave her that gig that every artist dreams of, the 35-year-old singer said, “I feel that all my songs gave me that energy or that gig that every artist looks but my personal favorite is ‘Khuda Jaane’ any day because of the feel of that song and even Ranbir-Deepika did a great job. That song can be said as the ‘Love Anthem’ anytime. My fans and the close ones still request me

Shilpa Rao

to sing ‘Khuda Jaane’ which makes me really happy and content.” On being asked about how it was for her to be honoured at the 65th Filmfare Awards, Rao said, “I am grateful and humbled towards all my fans and ‘Ghungroo’ listeners who took this song to another level, it’s really great to receive such an honourable and prestigious award for the song that is really close to my heart. I would like to thank Vishal, Shekhar, Sidharth Anand and YRF for this super awesome opportunity.”

When asked about her personal opinion about the remakes of the old, legendary songs, the ‘Khuda Jaane’ singer shared, “I personally feel that old is gold and no one can make remake the gold again. I love original music as it has a new freshness, different taste, texture and feeling to it. I believe we should always create something new as an artist.” Shilpa recently gave her voice to the song ‘Haan Tum Ho’ from ‘Love Aaj Kal’ which is again a romantic number.

CITY BUZZ JAIPUR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

—PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA

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WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Rajesh Solanki, NN Sharma, GK Prabhu, H Ravishankar Kamath and RK Gupta On the occasion of receiving ‘A+’ rating from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Manipal University, Jaipur, organised a get-together at Hotel Royal Orchid on Wednesday. The keynote was addressed by GK Prabhu, President (MUJ). Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left) NK Gupta, Tarachand, Anil Kumar Agarwal and Deepak Goyal The wedding reception of Rishabh and Akansha was held at City Palace on Tuesday evening. Rishabh is the son of Rajendra and Seema Agarwal, and Akansha is the —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO daughter of Arun and Ragini Goyal.

Bride & Groom: Akansha and Rishabh

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Ranthambore National Park and met Village Wildlife Volunteers. She commended the volunteers for their dedication and suggested the scale of the program to be increased, and hoped that this model is extended to other Tiger Reserves in Rajasthan. Tiger Watch’s ‘Village Wildlife Volunteer’ Program in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve has become an essential part of the conservation process there since it’s inception in 2013.

Speaker CP Joshi with the members of FICCI Flo, Jaipur Chapter, when they visited the assembly to see it in action. The industry’s Minister Prasadi Lal Meena was also present.

—PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA

The wedding reception of Kunal and Shalini was celebrated beautifully with the blessings of all the guests and loved ones at Jaipur Bagh on Monday. Kunal is the son of Vimla and Narendra Kumar Aswal, and Shalini is the daughter of Yashumati Devi and Ramawtar Rawat.

Ajmer collector Vishwamohan Sharma along with Sagar Sharma inaugurated the Hastshilp Mela udyam Samagam an initiative of government of India and a joint venture of government of Rajasthan on Wednesday in Ajmer.

‘Pratibha Samman Samaroh’ of the RIM Defence Academy took place on Wednesday. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Jagmal Singh (Retd. RPS). He honoured 60 young men for getting selected out of 100 and said that they must serve the country with all their honesty, integrity and perseverance.