CORONA CATASTROPHE INDIA
23,529 new cases
NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00
SENSEX DROPS 286 PTS, NIFTY HOLDS 17,600 ; INDIA VIX EASES 2 PERCENT
Mumbai: The benchmark indices suffered sharp losses for the third day in a row defying firm global cues. The Nifty50 index ended at 17,618, down 93 points. The BSE Sensex, meanwhile, ended with a loss of 286 points at 59,126. The volatility remained high on account of monthly F&O expiry. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices, however, closed higher, up 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 33
30 STUDENTS OF A MUMBAI MEDICAL COLLEGE TEST COVID POSITIVE
NEW PARTY TODAY TO SUPPORT BJP TOMORROW? With Captain Amarinder Singh’s declarative move not to join BJP but leave Congress for sure indicates that he will form a new outfit which may make him the decisive factor during upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. SIDHU STAYS ON PITCH TO PLAY
CONSOLIDATORY INNINGS
New Delhi: A coordination committee tasked with monitoring the progress of the Congress’s promises made before the 2017 Punjab polls -this was the big decision of Thursday evening’s meeting between Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has agreed to stay on as the party’s state unit chief. There is a buzz that the threemember committee might comprise Harish Chaudhary, the Chief Minister and Sidhu. A compromise was on the cards since yesterday after the Chief Minister reached out to the sulking party chief, who quit on Monday after disagreeing
CRUCIAL READ ON A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF DELHI, FADNAVIS MEETS SHAH & NADDA New Delhi: Former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed various issues including the 2022 Goa Assembly polls. Fadnavis also met BJP National President JP Nadda to discuss and seek latter’s guidance for Goa Assembly elections. P8
INCIDENTS WITH CHINA WILL GO ON TILL BOUNDARY PACT IS REACHED: ARMY CHIEF New Delhi: Developments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh have added to the ongoing legacy challenges on India’s active and disputed borders on the western and eastern front, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Naravane said on Thursday. According to him, such incidents will continue till such time a long-term solution is reached, which is to have a boundary agreement.
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CAPTAIN NOT KING, KINGMAKER! MAY BE KINGMAKER
New Delhi: Amarinder Singh declared on Thursday that he is not joining the BJP but definitely quitting the Congress what has been furiously speculated since he was forced to quit as Punjab Chief Minister earlier this month and now marching towards possible launch of new outfit. “So far I am in the Congress but I will not remain in the Congress. I have already made my position very clear. I will not be treated in this manner,” the Captain said a day after meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Soon after the reveal, he dropped “Congress” from his Twitter bio. A formal resignation would come at an “appropriate time”, he said. Pulling no punches, the Captain also predicted the Congress’s downfall in Punjab - in the run-up to the polls.
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Mumbai: The BMC administration has ordered RT-PCR tests for medical students of the civic-run GS Medical College in the KEM hospital and their relatives after 30 students were tested positive for Covid-19. “We have asked KEM hospital to do Covid test for 1,100 persons — the fellow students and also relatives of affected students,” said additional municipal commissioner Kakani.
A SMART AND STRATEGIC AMIT SHAH MOVE...
Aditi Nagar/Mohd Fahad
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NEW DELHI
TRUST VOTE WIN CRUCIAL OR PRESIDENT RULE A POSSIBILITY
he political landscape of Punjab could perhaps head to another possibility as highly placed sources reveal that TCaptain could create hurdles in Channi government’s vote
of confidence. Amarinder still enjoys the complete trust and support of a dozen MLAs and therefore Channi could fail in taking the trust vote and in such a situation, some ‘politically powerful individuals’ appear to be all prepared for President Rule. Therefore, the biggest challenge before Rahul and Channi, now, is to have their trust vote.
NATWAR’S BARB AT ‘MESSY’ GANDHIs
with the Chief Minister’s choice for his cabinet, state police chief and the Advocate General. His advisers said it was no more than an “emotional” outburst. The Congress leadership, said his advisor Mohammad Mustafa, understands that Mr Sidhu
“acts emotionally at times”. “The Congress leadership understands Navjot Sidhu and Sidhu is not beyond the Congress leadership. He is not Amarinder Singh, who never cared for the Congress and its leadership,” he added.
Congress veteran and former Union minister Natwar Singh has come down heaviliy on party leadership and criticised the top brass after Amarinder Singh stepped down from his post of Punjab Chief Minister. The veteran went as far as indicating that the Gandhis are largely responsible for the mess. P3
HARISH CHAUDHARY MAY BE IN-CHARGE Knowledge sources say Punjab’s DGP and AG may be changed. Also Congress, in firefighting measures, to bring in Rajasthan Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary as new in-charge of Punjab and with this Sidhu’s resignation is likely to be rejected as almost all the demands of Sidhu are accepted.
KEJRI LURES PUNJAB, PROMISES FREE POWER, HEALTH SERVICES Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) forms the next government in Punjab, it will provide free electricity upto 300 units and assured uninterrupted supply. Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Punjab, made six promises to the people of the state, saying free health benefits will be provided to the public in hospitals. P2
Gangsters involved in crimes from jail using cellphones to face the music New Delhi: Stating that there is good coordination between the Delhi police and the Tihar adm i n i s - tration, Delhi Police
Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Thursday said that the police has taken appropriate measures against the gangsters who are committing crimes using mobile phones inside the jail. Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Asthana said, “There is good coordination between the Delhi police and the Tihar administration. We have taken some appropriate meas-
ures against the people who are using phones in jail.” He said, some of the members of various criminal gangs are outside the jails and on their instruction, gangsters inside the jail are committing crimes. “Very clear instructions have been given for the formation of a team that whenever such things happen and whoever conspires, whether from outside or inside the jail should
CONGRESS NOW BATTLES CHHATTISGARH CONUNDRUM
Baghel’s survival tactic as 15 MLAs camp in Delhi MLAs known to be close to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are camping in Delhi and one of them asserted on Thursday that there was no question of a change at the top in the state and Baghel would complete his full term. New Delhi: Amid speculation over the possibility of leadership change in Chhattisgarh, a group of Congress MLAs known to be close to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are camping in Delhi and one of them asserted on Thursday that there was no question of a change at the top in the state and Baghel would complete his full term. When contacted, Punia said he was in Lucknow and had no information about MLAs be-
ing in Delhi as none of them had contacted him. The AICC in-charge of the state said he had no plans to return to Delhi at least for a week. MLA Brihaspat Singh, however, insisted that they were waiting for Punia and would speak with him when he would return. Asked whether visit was aimed at expressing support to Baghel amid leadership change, Singh said visit was aimed at convincing high command for Baghel.
MLAs HAVE A MESSAGE FOR RAHUL
Around 15 party MLAs are in Delhi and they want to meet AICC in-charge Chattisgarh PL Punia to convey that Rahul Gandhi should extend the duration of his proposed tour to the state so that all MLAs can get benefit of it, said Brihaspat Singh, the party MLA from the Ramanujganj seat of the state.
53% Bhabanipur voters seal Didi’s ‘legislative’ fate Kolkata: Bypoll to the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in West Bengal on Thursday witnessed a relatively low voter turnout amidst isolated disturbances. Till 5 p.m., about 53.32 % voters exercised their franchise in the seat, compared to in 76.12 % at Jangipur and 78.60 % at Samserganj constituencies of the State. There were no major incidents of violence in any of the three constituencies. The Bhabanipur bypoll is crucial because Chief Minister and Trinamool Con-
gress chairperson Mamata Banerjee is contesting here. The voting was largely peaceful amidst high deployment of security personnel. Ms. Banerjee lost from Nandigram in the last Assembly polls. Elections to Jangipur and Samserganj were postponed in April following the death of two candidates.
PM LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF FOUR MEDICAL COLLEGES IN RAJASTHAN
Asthana says all the gangsters who are active in the city will be taken to task be identified and booked under the legal frame,” he said. “We have identified few criminals who have been operating from the jail and directing to such offences,” Asthana said. —ANI
PM Modi with Rajasthan CM Gehlot —FILE PHOTO Jaipur: PM Narendra Modi gave five big gifts to Rajasthan on Thursday in the field of medicine and petrochemicals. Along with this, the foundation stone of 4 medical colleges were also laid. In the 2-hr program, Raj CM Ashok Gehlot, former CM Vasundhara Raje, LS Speaker Om Birla, Union Mins Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Chaudhary, Bhupendra Yadav, Arjun Lal Meghwal, Rajasthan Medical Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma, MP Ramcharan Bohra, MP Neeraj Dangi, MLA Ganga Devi were present. More on P8