First India-Jaipur Edition-02 August 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

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ALERT JAIPUR l SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

6,85,780 1,79,01,532 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 15,316 DEATHS 4,31,719 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 4,034 DEATHS 2,51,738 CASES

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RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 57

INDIA

37,403 17,51,919 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 3,989 DEATHS 1,36,716 CASES

RAJASTHAN

694

DEATHS

GUJARAT 2,460 DEATHS 62,574 CASES

43,243

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 2,412 DEATHS 1,29,287 CASES

‘Let first Gehlot govt fall, only thereafter BJP will play its role’ Aditi Nagar New Delhi: In an ongoing Rajasthan political crisis, BJP’s central leadership has again made its stand clear that it has nothing to do with the present infighting in the Congress party between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps and BJP will play its role as an opposition

party only when Gehlot government falls. This viewpoint of the saffron party has virtually endorsed Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Katariya’s two-day-old public statement that they are keeping a regular watch on the developments in the Congress party and can even bring a no-confidence motion in the coming

assembly session from August 14, if the situation demands so.

According to sources, BJP is mainly depending on Pilot camp’s capacity to bring the support of at least 26 MLAs, which is not happening till now, in spite of Pilot camp’s best efforts. However, a source close to Pilot camp claimed on Sat-

BJP’S CENTRAL LEADERSHIP HAS AGAIN MADE ITS STAND CLEAR THAT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PRESENT INFIGHTING IN THE CONGRESS PARTY urday that they have succeeded in ‘managing’ the support of at least three BSP MLAs, mainly from Shekhawati, Bharat-

pur and Alwar areas.

At the moment, all these three MLAs are camping at Jaisalmer in Congress ‘bada’.

Pilot camp says that

MODI JI STOP THIS TAMASHA, SHEKHAWAT SHOULD RESIGN: CM

If High Command forgives rebels, I will welcome them back: Gehlot It's unfortunate that Gehlot govt is working from hotels: Governor

CM Ashok Gehlot addresses media outside Suryagarh Hotel as he leaves for Jaipur. —PHOTO BY PTI

Laxman Raghav & Naresh Sharma Jaisalmer/Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get the alleged attempt to topple his government stopped and said he is open to welcoming back the Congress rebels led by Sachin Pilot.

Answering queries from reporters at Suryagarh hotel, before leaving for Jaipur where loyalist MLAs have been shifted ahead of the assembly session from August 14, Gehlot said if the Congress high command forgives the dissidents, he will embrace them. “I will do whatever the Congress leadership wants,” Gehlot stressed and gave the

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat @gssjodhpur Gehlot ji, Your MLAs, Your Differences, Your Split Party, Your Dysfunctional Govt, Your Tamasha! How can anyone else stop what you have started yourself? party credit for making him the Rajasthan Chief Minister, thrice.

“We have no quarrel with anyone. In a democracy, fights happen over ideology, policies and programmes and not for toppling a government. Modi should get stopped whatever is going on in Rajasthan,” the Chief Minister said, adding, “As Prime Minister of the country, Modi ji should stop the ‘tamasha’ going on in Rajasthan. The rate for horse-trading has in-

creased here. As soon as the assembly session was announced, they have increased the rates further. What ‘tamasha’ is this?” Gehlot said that Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat should resign on moral grounds.

“Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s name has come up in the Sanjivini Cooperative Society (alleged scam). A court has also given directions in the matter. He should resign on moral grounds,” he said.

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Jaipur: As MLAs of Gehlot-led government camp in a hotel in Jaisalmer fearing poaching threats from Pilot camp and opposition BJP, Governor Kalraj Mishra, in an exclusive interview, says “Its unfortunate that state government is working from hotels”.

EXCERPTS…  Has state government answered all your queries now when you have approved their proposal of calling the session on August 14?

Yes, the final proposal sent by the state government addresses all issues which were raised by the Raj Bhavan. The basic query on our part was what is the urgency of calling a session at a time when COVID numbers are crossing the 1,000-mark each day and the seating capacity of the Assembly is also limited (in terms of social distancing). However, the final proposal sent to us quoted the proposed date of convening the

Kalraj Mishra

session with elaborate reasons for calling it unlike the other three previous proposals.  What was stopping you from giving your consent earlier?

Article 174 of the Constitution gives the Governor the power to summon from time to time ‘the House or each House of the Legislature of the State to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit…’ However, the phrase ‘as he thinks fit’ is read as per Article 163 of the Constitution which says that the Governor acts on the aid and advice of the cabinet and the state government was sending the proposal under the same article.

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if their 22 supporting MLAs and 75 BJP MLAs join hands to defeat a Gehlot government trust motion in the assembly, then they require the support of only four MLAs to defeat the trust vote.

There is a speculation in the political market that almost half a dozen MLAs, which are apparently with Gehlot and are camping at

Jaisalmer, might switch over sides, when the D-day comes.

On the contrary, Gehlot and Avinash Pande are absolutely confident that not even a single MLA, out of Gehlot lot, will switch over the side and Gehlot will emerge as a clear winner, if the government seeks a trust vote. So, at the end of the day, BJP

leadership in New Delhi is keeping its fingers crossed and keenly watching Pilot camp’s move to garner the support of at least four or five more MLAs, and if at all it becomes a reality then BJP is all set to bring a no-trust motion against Gehlot government in the assembly in one or the other way.

‘NEP is about spirit, will boost access to education’ ECOSYSTEM FOR INNOVATION BEING BUILT: PM MODI

Narendra Modi

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Saturday said the National Education Policy 2020 has been framed keeping in mind the aspirations of the youth of 21st Century of our country.

While addressing students participating in

the Smart India Hackathon 2020, PM said, “India’s National Education Policy is about the spirit, which reflects that we are shifting from burden of the school bag, which does not last beyond school, Turn on P6

JAN 1956 — AUG 2020

CONTROVERSY KING Amar Singh passes away

ajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who once wielded R immense influence in power circles as a close aide of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, has died in Singapore. Singh, 64, had undergone kidney transplant in 2011 and was not keeping well for a long time. P5

New Delhi: Government is focusing on the quality of education and building an ecosystem for innovation, design, research, development and enterprise, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday adding, “We have been proud of giving the best scientists, technicians, and technology enterprise leaders to the world in the past decades. This is the 21st century and India has to change itself in this rapidly evolving world to perform the same effective role.” —ANI

AP: 11 crushed to death after crane collapses Visakhapatnam: In a grave mishap, 11 people including four employees, were killed when a massive 70-tonne jetty crane collapsed during a load test in the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) on Saturday, said to be the first such tragedy in its 75-year history.

The victims were crushed to death on the spot when they came under the massive iron structure that crashed on the ground with a loud thud after its cabin and base snapped during a trial run. P5

STATE BJP ANNOUNCES FRESH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

A balancing act: Poonia introduces his new team of loyalists Aishwary Pradhan Jaipur: BJP State President Dr Satish Poonia has finally come out with his team of office bearers with whom he envisages to take BJP forward in realising goals set by the party High Command. Poonia has taken a tight rope walk by not only consulting seniors in the state, maintaining the caste equations but also by accommodating

the valuable RSS inputs.

Broadly the state working committee has five Brahmins, three Vaishyas, two Jats, two Rajputs, one Sikh, one Vishnoi, two from the Tribal community, one each from Yadav and Kumawats and one Mali.

Two MPs namely CP Joshi and Diya Kumari have also been made an important part of the team. The BJP state office bearers are as follows: Vice- Presidents – Ajay Pal Singh,

Chandrakanta Meghwal, CP Joshi, Dr Alka Gurjar, Hemraj Meena, Prasann Mehta, Mukesh Dhadhich and Madhuram Chodhary. State General SectrataryMadan Dilwar,Bhajan Lal Sharma, Diya Kumari and Sushil Katara. Main Spokesperson – Ram Lal Sharma, Secretaries – Jitendra Gothwal, Ashok Saini, Mahendra Yadav, KK Vishnoi, Shrawan Singh Bagdi, Ma- Diya Kumari

hendra Jat, Madhu Kumawat, Vijendra Poonia and Vandana Mongia.

State Treasurer – Ram Kumar Bhutra,

about his team. He said that to incorporate all the names suggested by seniors like Gulabchand Kataria, Vasundhara Raje and Rajendra Rathore is a big challenge, but at the end of the day, they suggest names from the party so their suggestions were incorporated as per feasibility after due consultation.

Poonia added that there is only one Ajay Pal Singh person in the list,

Co Treasurer – Pankaj Gupta. State office Secretary – Raghav Sharma.

Dr Satish Poonia was open to questions

Satish Poonia

who has directly made it to the state working committee from the district level, adding that it is a big achievement to find a place in the chosen 69. The State Chief further accepted that he has focused on social engineering and tried to represent various political & social aspects. On being pointed out that his own people could not find a place in his team, Poonia confidently said that it would have sent the wrong

message, but those with affection for me and loyalty towards the party, will be adjusted in a respectful manner.

On being told that he has neglected the Meena community and hasn’t taken even one person from the minority, he said there are limitations at the state level, but those left out, will find a place at district level apart from various cells yet to be announced.

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Socialising Saturday at Suryagarh CM Ashok Gehlot has shifted his supporting legislators from Jaipur to Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer till the commencement of the Assembly session on Aug 14. Besides enjoying the royal ‘Mehman Nawazi’, the MLAs spent their entire day holding discussions and indulging in various playful activities

02

snippets Pareek’s musical message to Pilot and company

Rajendra Pareek

olitical tug of Pmusical war turned on Saturday

CM Ashok Gehlot with women MLAs Manisha Panwar, Indira Meena, Shakuntla Rawat, Shafia Zubair, Meena Kanwar, Krishna Poonia, Ganga Devi, Ramila Khadia, and Nirmla Saharia at Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer.

Krishna Poonia, Gopal Meena, Tikaram Jully, Saleh Mohammed, Mahendra Choudhary, Joginder Singh Awana, Prashant Bairwa, Govind Meghwal, and Mahendra Vishnoi at Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer after having breakfast on Saturday.

Joginder Singh Awana, Krishna Poonia, Mahendra Choudhary, Amin Khan, Wajib Ali, Gopal Meena, Saleh Mohammed, Ashok Bairwa, Mahendra Vishnoi, and Govind Meghwal discussing Rajasthan political situation in Jaisalmer.

when Congress MLA Rajendra Pareek recited old golden songs in the Golden city of Jaisalmer where the legislators of Ashok Gehlot camp are staying. “Mera Dar Khula Hain Khula Hi Rahega…” was the old song Pareek recited in a lighter note, giving a kind of “musical” message to Sachin Pilot and other dissident MLAs who are locked in a tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Pareek entertained the fellow MLAs with his singing talent at the Suryagarh hotel where they were shifted from Jaipur on Friday.

An unwanted ‘vacation’ for Raj pol leaders!

of the I122nterestingly, total 200 MLAs, MLAs of both

Prashant Bairwa taking a selfie with Mahendra Choudhary, Tikaram Jully, Gopal Meena, and Krishna Poonia during a work-out session.

Gopal Meena and Mahendra Choudhary relax while taking a break after exercises.

Lakhan Singh Meena, Sandeep Yadav, Gopal Meena, Joginder Singh Awana, Mahendra Choudhary, Krishna Poonia, and Ashok Bairwa on Saturday.

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Cong MLAs offer Eid prayers in Jaisalmer hotel First India Bureau

Krishna Poonia, Mahendra Choudhary, Tikaram Jully, and Gopal Meena performing yoga at Hotel Suryagarh on Saturday.

Jaisalmer: Congress MLAs Amin Khan, Amin Kagzi, Hakam Ali, Saleh Mohammed, Wajib and Rafiq offered prayers on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha on Saturday at Suryagarh Hotel.

Those Congress MLAs, who are supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are lodged at the hotel. Congress MLAs, supporting Gehlot, reached Suryagarh Hotel in Jaisalmer on Friday.

They were earlier lodged at the Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur. Gehlot said MLAs were shifted to keep them away from external pressure.

“Our MLAs who were lodged here (Jaipur) for many days, were being

A LOW-KEY AFFAIR

E

Confident leaders fly in instalment?

eanwhile, two M Congress MLAs Amit Chachan

Congress MLAs Amin Khan, Amin Kagzi, Hakam Ali, Saleh Mohammed, Wajib Ali, and Rafiq Khan offer prayers at Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer on Saturday.

harassed mentally. We thought of shifting them, to keep external pressure away. Earlier, our MLAs were promised money. What will happen to the country when such a type of horse-trading is going on,” he had said.

Rajasthan Assembly session is scheduled to begin from August 14.

The MLAs were lodged at Jaipur’s Fairmont Hotel after differences between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot came out in open triggering a po-

Eid al-Adha celebrated at Dargah Sharif with restrictions due to Covid-19

Raj receives light to moderate rains

Shubham Jain

Jaipur: Light to moderate rainfall occurred in parts of Rajasthan on Saturday morning. Rohat (Pali) and Poogal (Bikaner) each recorded 6 cm rains, Vallabhnagar (Udaipur), Mandalgarh (Bhilwara), Sanchor (Jalore) and Dungla (Chittorgarh) recorded a maximum of 5 cm rainfall, Weir (Bharatpur), Rashmi (Chittorgarh) and Pokaran (Jaisalmer) recorded 4 cm, while several other places received below 4 cm rains during this period. —PTI

Mahendra Choudhary along with Amin Khan and Wajib Ali.

Ajmer: The country on Saturday celebrated Eid al-Adha sans usual gaiety and fervor because of the corona pandemic. In accordance with the central government’s guidelines, collective namaz was not offered at mosques and Eidgah.

Government and Muslim clerics had appealed to people to celebrate the festival and pray at home.

However, in Ajmer, Jannati Darwaza at Sufi

Dargah Sharif wears a deserted view on the occasion of Eid alAdha festival in Ajmer on Saturday.

Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah

was opened while performing all rituals by

Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps are holed up in different hotels. Gehlot camp has 100, both Congress and allies while Pilot camp has 19 Congress and three independent MLAs. Speaker CP Joshi, Congress MLA Master Bhanwarlal, who is hospitalized, and CPI (M)’s Girdharilal are not holed up.

dargah Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan. He congratulated people and prayed for a quick end to the corona pandemic.

The government has not allowed mosques to open because of corona and did not permit collective namaz. The Jannati Darwaza is opened for zayreen and devotees four times in a year, two of which on the occasion of Eid. However, since dargah was closed at the moment, they couldn’t offer prayer at Jannati Darwaza.

litical crisis in the state.

The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government.

However, the BJP has rejected the allegations.

This year, the number of people offering

sacrifice at homes also came down due to Covid-19. To avoid the risk while buying the animal or hiring services of butchers, many either outsourced the job to traders or socio-religious organizations.

and Jagdish Chander, who could not go to Jaisalmer yesterday, were shifted today in a seven-seater charter plane along with the party leaders Sandeep Chaudhary, Arun Kumawat and Amit Malik. They reiterated that there is no threat to the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot.

BSP to approach Assembly speaker after August 11 First India Bureau Jaipur: BSP will now approach the Assembly speaker with an application after August 11. The party as of now is excited with the High Court notices served to its 6 MLAs who merged with Congress. These MLAs have been asked to file their replies to court

by August 11.

BSP state president Bhagwan Singh Baba said that they will get

Bhagwan Singh Baba

the reply analyzed by legal experts and then move to the speaker.

The party has called a meeting of its state coordination committee on August 10 which

could either happen in Jaipur or Bharatpur.

The meeting will discuss the party strategy on rebel MLAs along with the course to be taken with assembly speaker and in court.

BSP state chief said that the Gehlot government had lost its majority and therefore resorted to camping its MLAs. He claimed that some MLAs in the Gehlot camp are also among the disgruntled ones.

RAJASTHAN

HEALTH MIN INAUGURATES RAJ’S SECOND PLASMA BANK IN KOTA First India Bureau

Jaipur: Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma inaugurated plasma bank in Kota Medical College through video conferencing on Saturday. This was the second plasma bank in Rajasthan, following Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

Local self-government minister Shanti Dhariwal presided over the programme. He expressed happiness in having established a plasma bank in Kota and hoped that corona patients in critical conditions will receive the help they need.

The health minister informed that plasma

First India Bureau Jhunjhunu: Pakistan broke ceasefire in Nowshera sector in Kashmir which Jawan Mohsin Khan, a native of Rajasthan was martyred. Mohsin had recently re-joined duty with 16 Grenadiers after a leave for a period of one month.

Mohsin Khan hailed from Kolinda village of Bisau in Jhunjhunu. His elder brother Amjad too is deputed in Kashmir. Mohsin was the youngest among his siblings.

His mother Balkes Bano and family members were inconsolable when they received the news of his martyrdom. Adding to the family’s woes is the fact that the young soldier got engaged just a few days ago.

In the family of 12 members, 5 are in armed forces and sixth is on route to join the tradition. Mohsin’s father Sarvar Ali also retired as Subedar from the army. The mortal remains of the martyr hadn’t reached his village till evening.

He will be accorded ceremonial guard of honour before his last rites in his village.

Mohsin had joined the army in 2017 after training at Jabalpur.

Dr Raghu Sharma called upon Governor Kalraj Mishra and apprised him of the corona situation in state and the efforts by the government to contain it. CS Rajeeva Swarup also paid a courtesy visit to the Governor.

appealed to corona survivors for donation of plasma in large quantities saying that it could

save lives of coronavius patients.

Meanwhile, the health minister also

called up MP Dr Kirori Lal Meena, Hanuman Beniwal and former speaker Sumitra Singh to ask about their well-being as all three of them have been infected. He wished them the best for speedy recovery. He also inquired SMS Medical College principal Dr Sudhir Bhandari about health condition and treatment of the ministers.

Dr Raghu Sharma also called upon Governor Kalraj Mishra in Raj Bhawan. It was said to be a courtesy visit and the health minister apprised the governor about corona situation and efforts to contain it.

Pratap tours hosps, assures aid to people First India Bureau Jaipur: Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that Gehlot government was dedicated to good governance and service to the people.

Khachariyawas during a whirlwind tour of city hospitals assured people that the Gehlot government will leave no stone unturned to serve people.

The transport minister said to have received

Pratap Singh Khachariyawas during his visit in Janana hospital.

positive feedback from the patients.

“Gehlot’s government’s prime motto is to serve people, solve their problems, provide good governance and develop-

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

Soldier from Jhunjhunu martyred in Kashmir

Dr Sharma also called infected MP Dr Kirori Lal Meena and Hanuman Beniwal to inquire about their health

bank’s capacity is 200 units, and so far 11 people have donated plasma for this bank. He

ment of the state,” he claimed.

According to him, the Gehlot government has been providing wheat and pulses to two crore people, one crore people

RAJASTHANIS GULP LIQUOR WORTH `31CR PER DAY

Outlets earn `2,800cr in 3 mths, `1k cr in state coffers First India Bureau Jaipur: The three month business by liquor outlets worth Rs 2,800 crore has more than justified the state govt’s decision to allow liquor sales in state during lockdown.

With the outbreak of corona, state govt ordered complete lockdown on March 23. But the state didn’t receive expected financial aid from the centre and had to look for revenue sources, hence decided to allow liquor outlets to resume sales. Meanwhile, there were some challenges before the excise department. On one end it had to make financial settlement of

the old licensees of the bygone fiscal year and on the other it had to get license fees from the new contractors of the new fiscal year.

ACS (Finance) Niranjan Arya, SSR Dr Prithviraj and then Excise Commissioner BC Mallik successfully got most of the new contractors to deposit their fees.

When the liquor shops in reopened on May 4, sending all guidelines

03

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for a toss, the first three days registered sale of liquor worth Rs 200 crore.

When bars and hotels were permitted to operate, it brought forward a challenge for new Excise Commissioner Dr Jogaram get bar renewal fees. He got 725 out of 999 bar & restaurant licenses renewed.

Now with things stabilized, the daily average sales is ranging between Rs 20-25 crore.

The Rs 2,800 crore sales has enriched the govt coffers by Rs 1000 crore.

Apart from central share of taxes, aids etc no other source of the state govt is matching the excise revenue in unlocking phase.

received direct cash benefit of Rs 2500 each, additional 25 lakh people received Rs 1000 direct cash in their accounts, free bus service to Haridwar and tax relief to bus operators whereas the BJP has been trying to bring down an elected government.

He assured people that the Gehlot government will complete its full term and with people’s blessings and it will come back to power in 2023.

14 in state succumb to corona, 1,160 new cases

—File photo

First India Bureau Jaipur: Sate reported 14 deaths due to COVID-19 and 1,160 fresh cases on Saturday taking toll and tally to 694 and 43,243 in the state, official data showed.

Jaipur saw seven deaths while Bhilwara and Nagaur recorded two deaths each followed by one each in Jodhpur, Kota and Pali.

Alwar registered the maximum number of fresh cases with 207 while Jodhpur had 163, 129 from Jaipur, 127 from Kota, 64 from Bharatpur, 60 from Dholpur, 59 from Barmer, 48 from Bikaner, 47 each from Bhilwara & Jalore, 32 from Ajmer, 27 from Ganganagar, 18 from Jhalawar, 16 from Nagaur, 15 each from Bundi, Dausa & Hanumangarh, 14 from Chittorgarh, 11 each

TWO DAY LOCKDOWN IN KOTA

from Banswara, Rajsamand & Sawai Madhopur, 8 each from Jaisalmer & Jhunjhunu, 5 from Tonk, 2 from Churu, 1 from Baran.

Other cases were reported from Ajmer 32 cases, Banswara 11 cases, Baran 1 case, Barmer 59 cases, Bharatpur 64 cases, Bhilwara 47 cases, Bikaner 48 cases, Bundi 15 cases, Chittorgarh 14 cases, Churu 2 cas-

es, Dausa 15 cases, Dholpur 60 cases, Ganganagar 27 cases, Hanumangarh 15 cases, Jaisalmer 8 cases, Jalore 47 cases, Jhalawar 18 cases, Jhunjhunu 8 cases, Nagaur 16 cases, Rajsamand 11 cases, Sawai Madhopur 11 cases and Tonk (5).

A total of 30,668 patients have recovered so far and the number of active cases in the state stands at 11,881.

State govt transfers three RAS officers

NOBLE VOW

First India Bureau

Policewomen purchase ‘rakhis’ from a shop ahead of the ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival, in Bikaner on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Jaipur: After the transfer of 97 RAS officers on Thursday, the state government on Saturday transferred 3 RAS officers.

Jamil Ahmed Qureshi, who was the OSD of Transport Minister Yunus Khan in the former Vasundhara Raje government, was transferred from the revenue board Ajmer to the vacant post of director of the Minority Affairs Department.

At the same time, Subdivision Officer of Neemrana Ram Singh Rajawat has been transferred as Subdivision Officer Manohar Thana and Subdivision Officer of Behror Yogesh Singh Deol has been transferred as Subdivision Officer of Neemrana.

Centre did its best to control ‘CM should let his party MLAs do their job’ locusts: Kailash Choudhary BJP QUIPS

First India Bureau Jaipur: Deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore has blamed Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for vitiating political atmosphere in the state for last one month.

“The credit for internal conflict in the congress goes to the CM. He couldn’t keep his flock together.

And, now to save his government, he has been keeping them under police security

in five star hotels and entertaining them with luxuries of five star hotels to quash the rebellion,” he alleged.

The senior BJP leader said that CM Gehlot is going to set a record for keeping MLAs locked in hotel for a month – after 12 days in Jaipur another 14 days in Jaisalmer. Millions have been spent on chartered flights to shift the MLAs to Jaisalmer, which is a clear display of political

Rajendra Rathore

corruption, he added.

Yet, it has become his habit to blame the BJP he quipped later on.

“If the Chief Min-

ister believes in democratic values he should free the MLAs of his party, so that they can take care of their duties towards

the people of the state,” he said.

According to the Deputy leader of opposition, coronavirus cases have crossed 40,000 mark in state and the farmers have been facing problem of locust attack and lack of rain.

He said that the MLAs should have been in their constituency to help people who have been angrily looking for the invisible government and their MLAs.

First India Bureau Jaipur: Union minister of state Kailash Choudhary claimed that the central government has done its best to control locusts. He was in Jaipur on Saturday, and said that, “We deployed drone for spray pesticides, which is still continuing. For the first time helicopter was also pressed in for spraying,” he said, According to the minister, new helicopter machines are coming. So

Kailash Choudhary

far 60 machines have come from the UK to kill locusts. The state government has been provided Rs 14 crore and permission to deploy 800 tractors for spray.

Choudhary also criti-

cised the state government for feasting in luxury hotels while ignoring farmers. “The government is busy in devouring biryani and chowmin but care two hoot for farmers,” he added.

Government does not have majority so they stay in Jaisalmer and the farmers are saying that now the locust would go away because the government is here. Democracy has been locked up in hotels, he said.

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IN-DEPTH

CONG LEADERSHIP CAUGHT IN A WEB OF ITS OWN

04

PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM IS UNSUITABLE FOR INDIA

C

hief Minister Ashok Gehlot sees the BJP’s hand behind dissidence in the state Congress.

The saffron party and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, he alleges, are willing partners in the destabilisation plot. With the trial of strength fixed for August 14, the chief minister feels that there is enough scope for horsetrading. According to him, the legislators now carry a hefty price tag. To keep his flock together he has sent the MLAs to Jaisalmer.

The BJP poaching Cong MLAs in one state after another is verifiable with events in MP, Karnataka, Goa, and Assam. The crossing over of Cong MLAs to the BJP camp in MP was an action replay of Goa where 10 of 15 Congress MLAs jumped the fence to join the BJP. A similar situation is unfolding in Raj. Are Congress leaders jumping the ship due to enticements or their disenchantments with their own party leadership?

Some angry voices heard at a meeting of Rajya Sabha members convened by Sonia Gandhi and the open rift between young and old leaders proves that the party is floundering.

It was Kapil Sibal’s remark calling for “introspection from top to bottom” that elicited a sharp response from the young Rahul Gandhi aide Rajeev Satav who questioned the seniors’ contribution as ministers during UPA-II and blamed them for the Congress’s disappointing show in 2014. Had timely introspection been done, the party’s strength wouldn’t have come down to 44 from over 200 in 2009, Satav said bluntly. Veterans on their part wanted a reality check on the party’s political strategy and organizational weaknesses. Satav was countered by Shamsher Singh Dullo, a senior MP from Punjab, who said that sycophants were being preferred over seniors. Led by Digvijay Singh, some MPs demanded Rahul Gandhi’s return at the helm. Earlier, some Lok Sabha MPs had also urged Rahul to lead the party. Even Sharad Pawar, an ex-Congressman and a veteran NCP politician asked Rahul to take over and stop targeting Narendra Modi.

After the poll debacle in 2014, there were rumblings in the party against Team Rahul which, Milind Deora said, did not have its ear to the ground and those “with no electoral experience” were “calling the shots”. Satyavrat Chaturvedi and Priya Dutt were also critical of the party’s “disconnect”. There was a call for “an honest and ruthless introspection”. However, when Sonia and Rahul offered to resign from their positions the party rejected the offer.

Once again there is a clamour for introspection. Once again the veterans find themselves at loggerheads with Young Turks. And the indecisive leadership can’t bite the bullet yet again.

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

S Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is having a ball. It is now being said he and his MLA supporters have vacated the Fairmont hotel and proceeded to Jaisalmer. I presume the jaunt will be Mount Abu. Not a bad place to have fun. How have the mighty fallen?

ome days back a prominent congress MP of the Lok Sabha, in a newspaper article propounded the stale theory that India should abandon Parliamentary democracy, and adopt the Presidential system. This absurd suggestion was hawked by BK Nehru and LK Jha about forty years ago, both ICS and one or two other lightweights. Sarva Shri Braj Kumar Nehru and Lakshmikant Jha were competent Civil Servants, pillars of the Raj, indifferent to the freedom movement.

Their hair-brained idea was promptly dismissed by Indira Gandhi on the advice of her Principal Secretary, PN Haksar.

I have been a member of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, member of the Congress Working Committee. Hence I am more than familiar with the functioning of Indian democracy.

Our democracy has flaws.

Which democracy is flawless.

What is happening in the USA today. In Britain, it was democracy at home, despotism in the Empire.

I am not for a moment condoning the highly unparlia-

mentarily conduct by members, giving into the well of the House, shouting slogans, interrupting the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, frequent adjournment of both Houses, poor attendance, disrupting question hour, do no credit to offending members, who are always in a minority but do maximum damage by their rowdyism.

The quality of the debates has deteriorated.

Regardless, Indian democracy has deep roots in the political soil of the country. Elections are held eve ry five years.

Not even 0.5% of results are challenged.

Let us now discuss the country opting for the Presidential system. What happened to the existing constitution. To vote in so drastic it will be thrown into the waste paper basket or drastically amended. A twothirds majority will be required in both Houses. Or will new Constituent Assembly be established. Which authority will do so? The President. He would be instantly impeached. Will the armed forces be a party to demolishing Democracy.

Why should they not take over? In short, establish a military dictatorship. Will there be lasting unity among the armed forces. Obviously

OUR DEMOCRACY HAS FLAWS. WHICH DEMOCRACY IS FLAWLESS. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE USA TODAY. IN BRITAIN, IT WAS DEMOCRACY AT HOME, DESPOTISM IN THE EMPIRE

the Army Chief will be number one. For how long. Will the Air and Navy chiefs oust him. Then what. Chaos!

Why? Because a majority of thirty-two state assemblies will not fall in line.

Suppose for a moment that Parliament votes for the Presidential system. Will it be an uncomplicated exercise to elect him or her. For a moment let us accept a President is elected.

How long will his term be? Five years. Seven years. Once in Rashtrapati Bhawan, he or she could refuse to step down. If the individual is a forceful one he would refuse to step down.

There was time dictatorship outnumbered democracies.

This is no longer so.

Redesigning science education is essential for India

E

very year, on Indian Science Day in February, India commemorates the discovery of the Raman Effect by Sir C.V. Raman.

In 1930, Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics and has been revered by Indians ever since.

Fast forward to 2019, and the US National Science Foundation placed India third when it came to publishing science and engineering articles. Despite this, the country came 52nd in the Global Innovation Index. Reaching such a low rank is an alarming sign for science education in the country.

PROBLEMS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION In India, there are two forms of schools: state-run and private. Despite separate school systems, the curriculum is

decided by either the state or central governments. While science and mathematics have seen improvement over the years, they lack enough practical work.

This may be a common problem at schools worldwide — irrespective of public or private models — but it is particularly prominent at state-run schools in India. Most of these institutions are not equipped with well-managed practical science labs. There is also a shortage of science and mathematics teachers. Both state and central governments are trying hard to resolve this problem by implementing new measures. These have included the recruitment of additional teachers, guest faculty members and education fellows, but none of these have been sufficient.

The recruitment of tem-

porary teachers often means they do not take much interest in developing teaching aids for subjects like physics or mathematics as they are only at a school for a short period of time. The appointment of dedicated employees such as education fellows for up to five years could help solve this problem.

These fellows would es-

sentially be employed as innovation experts who are responsible for developing innovative learning aids in local languages around India. These education fellows could go on to become permanent teachers if they do their job well. At the same time, making these developed teaching aids available to other partners, such as private schools or

book publishers, would help distribute the resources to a wider market.

The science curriculum should be revised regularly and kept up to date with the demands of the modern-day market, but it should also be tailored for the individual learner. It is well-known that the majority of Indians live in small villages

and, therefore, science education should be village-centric. Examples from daily village life illustrating scientific principles would enable farmore effective learning than those from urban or foreign settings. Yet most science textbooks are not catered to village students, which leaves many confused with the concepts and thus affects their education.

Science books should focus more on the practical application of science laws. While explaining the laws, students must know about the practical relevance of that scientific principle. On the one hand, students should be made aware of the necessity and relevance of differential equations for automobiles, steel and power industries.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM

Indira Gandhi promulgated the Emergency, to begin with, the people welcomed it.

Soon they were disillusioned, angry, and outraged. Indira Gandhi lost her own Lok Sabha seat. Democracy won.

From what I have written above it should be clear that the people of India will not accept a Presidential system.

At the moment efforts are being made to take democracy lightly. Those doing so will pay the price at the next Lok Sabha elections. Those who saw the wind will reap the whirlwind.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is having a ball. It is now being said he and his MLA supporters have vacated the Fairmont hotel and proceeded to Jaisalmer. I presume the jaunt will be Mount Abu. Not a bad place to have fun. How have the mighty fallen?

A word about the Covid-19 pandemic. Muhammad Yunus the Bangladesh Nobel laureate said the other day, “The pandemic has given a chance to reflect and take bold decisions…. In a normal situation, we will not pay attention to the important consequences of the virus. We are so busy making money…….”

He added that an autonomous rural economy can be built parallel to the urban economy.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Saddened to hear about the crane collapse incident at Hindustan Shipyard Complex in Visakhapatnam this afternoon.

My thoughts are with the affected people and their families in this hour of need. Praying for the safety of all.

Tarun Gogoi @tarun_gogoi While Modi visited flood affected areas of Assam on 1/8/ 2017, PM announced to release immediately Rs.250cr for flood, Rs.400 cr for erosion, Rs100 cr to study flood and erosion. Total Rs.2350 cr for N.E but not a single rupee has been released. It is going to be another jhumla.

Spiritual SPEAK

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his —John 15:13 friends.

Vol 2 Issue No. 57 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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PUNJAB HOOCH TRAGEDY Tarn Taran alone accounted for 63 deaths in the tragedy since Wednesday

Toll rises to 86, six cops suspended

Family members and relatives attend the cremation of Kirpal Singh, who died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor at Mucchal village near Amritsar on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Chandigarh: The death toll in the Punjab spurious liquor tragedy rose to 86 on Saturday even as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh suspended seven excise officials and six policemen, officials said.

The government also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each of the families of the deceased, they said.

Tarn Taran alone accounted for 63 deaths, followed by 12 in Amrit-

sar and 11 in Gurdaspur’s Batala.

Till Friday night, the state had reported 39 deaths in the tragedy unfolding since Wednesday night.

According to an official statement, the CM ordered the suspension of seven excise officials, along with six policemen.

Among the suspended officials are two deputy superintendents of police and four station

house officers. Strict action will be taken against any public servant or others found complicit in the case, said the chief minister, describing the police and excise department failure to check the manufacturing and sale of spurious liquor as shameful.

Nobody will be allowed to get away with feeding poison to our people, he added. A senior police officer told news agency PTI that

families of several victims were not coming forward to record their statements, and were “refusing to accept” that spurious liquor had killed their kin. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ishfaq was quoted by PTI as saying: “The wards of some of those who died are not accepting that they died because of hooch. They are saying their family member had a heart attack.”

Tarn Taran DC Kulwant Singh said some families had even cremated the bodies without informing the police. On Friday afternoon, a Punjab government press note said that dead in these cases will not be cremated without a postmortem. The Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar, will conduct the inquiry, along with Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioner Punjab, and SPs of the districts.

First five fatalities were reported from Mucchal & Tangra villages in Amritsar on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. —PTI

Proud of not ordering firing on kar sewaks in Ayodhya: Singh Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Kalyan Singh said that he is proud of the fact that he, as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, did not order firing on kar sewaks who had assembled in Ayodhya in 1992.

“In 1992 when I was the chief minister, I had ordered that kar sewaks who had assembled in Ayodhya should not be fired at. The district administration of Ayodhya had written to me that four battalions of central forces were

Kalyan Singh

stranded near Saket College as the kar sewaks had assembled there,” Singh told ANI. “In the light of the situation that had developed in Ayodhya, I had then ordered in writing

Water, soil from Badrinath, Mahakaleshwar reach UP Ayodhya: Soil and water from many important religious sites and rivers across India have reached Ayodhya for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ram Mandir on August 5, informed the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra. Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra tweeted, “Water and soil from Shri Badrinath Dham,

Raigad Fort, Shri Ranganathswami Mandir, Shri Mahakaleshwar Mandir, birthplaces of Hutatma Chandrashekhar Azad & Shri Birsa Munda and many other places of Dharmic & National Importance has reached Ayodhya Dham for Pujan.” The administration also tweeted a picture of urns that reached Ayodhya on July 31. —ANI

‘INDIA TO PRODUCE SMARTPHONES WORTH RS 11.5 LAKH CRORES’ New Delhi: Mobile phones and components worth Rs 11.5 lakh crores will be produced in India in the next five years under the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Electronics and IT said. “Under the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme, around 22 companies have applied.

These companies will produce mobile phones and components in India worth Rs 11.5 lakh crores in the coming five years, out of which products worth Rs 7 lakh crores will be exported,” Prasad said in a press conference. He said these companies will create three lakh direct and around nine lakh indirect jobs.

that firing should not be done at the three lakh kar sewaks and other ideas should be used to control them. I had made this decision because if there was firing then several people

would have lost their lives. Since people had come from around the country, violence would have caused immense unrest in the state and the country. I am proud that no kar sewak was killed during that time,” he added.

Singh further said, “I have no regrets that the state government fell for the cause of Lord Ram as I have immense faith in him.” The beginning of construction of Ram temple in marks the fruition of a 500year struggle for this cause, he said. —ANI

UP CM YOGI ADITYANATH TO VISIT AYODHYA TODAY Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will visit Ayodhya on August 2 to take stock of preparations for the Ram temple foundation stone laying ceremony.

The PM is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5, according to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the president of the Sri

Yogi Adityanath

Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust.

The construction of the temple will begin after the foundation stone laying ceremony. —ANI

J&K: ARMY JAWAN KILLED IN CEASEFIRE VIOLATION BY PAK Jammu: Indian Army soldier Rohin Kumar has lost his life in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control in Rajouri sector of J&K on Saturday. During the ceasefire, Sepoy Rohin Kumar sustained critical injuries and later succumbed to his injuries, said the Army defence person said in a statement. “Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation on the LoC in Rajouri Sector. Own troops responded strongly to the enemy fire. Rohin Kumar was critically injured & later succumbed to his injuries.”

11 crushed to death after crane collapses at Hindustan Shipyard

A crane collapsed at the HSL in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

05

Amit Shah hails Tilak, tells youth to imbibe his teachings New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while paying tribute to freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his 100th death anniversary, urged the youth to read about the life of the freedom fighter as that can solve “many of life’s problems.”

“Today is the day 100 years ago that we lost a great soul. I, on behalf of the entire country pay tribute to his soul. I would also appeal to the youth of the country that if they want to know anything about India and its history, then they must read about Tilak Maharajji,” Shah said while speaking at the ‘Lokmanya Tilak: Swaraj to Atmanirbhar Bharat’ webinar organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He added, “It has been hundred years since he has been martyred but even today, his personality, work, and thought is just as relevant as it was back then. It shows that he was a visionary leader. Swaraj is my

EID GREETINGS

U

Hyderabad: Eleven persons were crushed to death when a giant crane collapsed at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam city on Saturday morning.

The 70-tonne crane, which was built by the Mumbai-based Anupam Cranes two years ago but was yet to be made operational, had been undergoing load testing when the mishap took place. Visakhapatnam District Collector V Vinay

Chand said “Today morning they were testing the load capability of the crane when the base portion and the overhead cabin separated resulting in the collapse of the crane.

Ten persons were in the cabin including 3 employees of Greenfield company, 2 of Lead Engineers and 1 of Quad7 apart from four permanent employees of Hindustan Shipyard. All of them died when the cabin crashed. One other person who is yet to be identified also died.”

‘Ram temple coming up with consent of every Indian’

‘Corporate Thakur,’ loved by many, passes away

Kamal Nath

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, four days ahead of the foundation laying ceremony, said, “I welcome the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. People of the country were expecting and wishing for this since long. The construction of the temple is being carried out with the consent of every Indian. It’s possible only in India,” Nath said in a video message.

Singh said Lord Ram is at the centre of everybody’s faith.”The centre of our faith is Lord Ram!And today, the country is being run with trust in the Lord Ram. That’s why we all wish that a grand temple should be built at the birthplace of Ram in Ayodhya. (late PM) Rajiv Gandhiji also wanted the same,” he tweeted. —ANI

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh died at a Singapore hospital on Saturday. Singh had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for several months and had lately been admitted to its intensive care unit.

He was 64.

Earlier on Saturday, he had tweeted a tribute to freedom fighter and educationist Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his death anniversary and also wished Eid Al Adha to his followers.

Singh’s political career was known for his contacts across sectors, his managerial skills, and fund-raising capabilities. Amar Singh’s first stint with the SP was 14 years long, from 1996 to 2010. In this period, he networked extensively for the party and was frequently seen with celebrities from Anil Ambani to the Bachchans, from Sanjay Dutt to Subrata Roy. Singh became the urbane face that a largely rural SP had needed, especially in Delhi. One rival leader had used the expression “Corporate Thakur” for Singh.

AIR MARSHAL CHAUDHARI ASSUMES CHARGE AS WAC AOC-IN-CHIEF New Delhi: Senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Air Marshal VR Chaudhari took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Air Command (WAC) on Saturday.

The Air Marshal took over command from Air Marshal B Suresh, who superannuated on Friday after serving into IAF for 40 years. Air Marshal VR

Chaudhari was commissioned into Fighter Stream of the IAF on Dec 29, 1982 as a Fighter Pilot. In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the Air Officer has flown wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft in the inventory of IAF, an IAF spokesperson said.

He has a flying experience of more than 3800 hrs.

birthright & I shall have it” would always be associated with the freedom fighter.” —ANI

Amar Singh

Narendra Modi @ narendramodi Amar Singh Ji was an energetic public figure.

In the last few decades, he witnessed some of the major political developments from close quarters. He was known for his friendships across many spheres of life. Saddened by his demise.

Om Birla @ombirlakota I express my condolences on the demise of Amar Singhji.

He was active in other fields besides politics and made numerous friends.

He will always be remembered for his liveliness. My condolences to his family.”

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh Saddened to know about the passing away Amar Singh.He was humorous by nature and was always energetic. May his soul rest in peace.

My condolences to the bereaved family.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra @priyankagandhi May Amar Singhji’s soul rest in peace.

My condolences to his family. I express my condolences to his wife and daughters in this hour of grief.

SC SEEKS SHIVINDER SINGH’S RESPONSE ON ED’S PLEA New Delhi: SC has sought a response from former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh on a plea filed by the ED against the Delhi High Court’s order granting him bail in the Religare Finvest money laundering case.A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra on Friday issued notice to Singh and ordered status quo on his release.“Until further orders, status quo with respect to release from jail be maintained and impugned judgment not to be treated as a precedent for any other case,” the bench said.

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COVID-19 UPDATE

Over 57,000 new cases push India’s tally to nearly 1.7 million

06

U’khand: Army conducts rescue ops in Dharchula

There are 1,695,988 cases of the viral disease, according to the Health Ministry’s data

New Delhi: India reported its biggest oneday rise in the cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as 57,118 people tested positive and 764 died in the last 24 hours, which pushed its tally to nearly 1.7 million, data from Union health ministry showed on Saturday.

There are 1,695,988 cases of the viral disease, including 36,511 deaths, as of Saturday morning, according to the health ministry’s dashboard.

More than a million cases were added to the country’s infection tally in July—from 585,493 on July 1 to 1,638,870 on July 31—and the death toll went up to 35,747 from 17,400 in the same period.

The recovery rate stands at 64.52% after 1,094,374 patients—36,569 between

India’s COVID case fatality rate 2.15%, lowest since lockdown

A healthcare worker wearing PPE kit, interacts with children at CWG COVID Care Centre in New Delhi on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Friday and Saturday morning—have been cured so far. The gap between active cases, at 565,103, and recovered cases now stands at 529,271.The surge in numbers came as the

country entered the third phase of Unlock from Saturday. Unlock 2.0, in which the government had eased some restrictions after the 68day hard lockdown, ended on Friday. The new

Sushant’s sister urges PM Modi to ‘scan the entire case’ Mumbai: Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti on Saturday penned down a note, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the entire case.

Shweta has been sharing a lot of updates on her social media handles.

Shweta on Saturday, penned a note tagging PM Modi which reads, “Dear sir, somehow my heart says that you stand with and for the truth.

We are from a very simple family. My brother had no godfather when he was in Bollywood nor do we have anyone right now. My request to you is to immediately look into this case and make sure that everything is handled in sanitised way and no evidence are tampered with. Expecting justice to prevail.” —ANI

Statements of actors to be recorded by cops Mumbai: Bihar Police will record the statements of actors who worked with Sushant Singh Rajput till his last movie in connection with the a case related to his death, police sources said on Saturday. A team of Bihar Police is in Mumbai to probe the actor’s death. —ANI

SC TO HEAR RHEA’S PLEA ON AUGUST 5 New Delhi: SC is scheduled to hear on August 5 a plea filed by actress Rhea Chakraborty who has sought transfer of an FIR, lodged against her in connection with death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, from Patna to Mumbai.The transfer petition filed by her will come up for hearing before a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy on Wednesday. —ANI

Mumbai Police is not inefficient. If anyone has any evidence they can bring it to us and we will interrogate & punish the guilty. Please do not use this case as an excuse to create friction between Maharashtra and Bihar.

Mumbai police should cooperate with Bihar police since a case was lodged by the actor’s father. Bihar police is investigating the case with full honesty and sincerity. The family should get justice.

—Uddhav Thackeray, CM, Maharashtra

—Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Bihar

China study group discusses Eastern Ladakh situation New Delhi: With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army not showing any sign of moving out from the Finger area, the China Study Group (CSG) met this week to discuss the present situation in the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The CSG includes important members of the government including External Affairs Minister, NSA Ajit Doval along with representatives of the military and other government agencies concerned. “During the CSG meeting,

Army trucks with supplies moving towards Ladakh at Manali-Leh Highway on Saturday.

held around July 28, the situation in Ladakh was discussed. India is now firm on the point that it will first seek complete

disengagement by Chinese from all friction points including the Finger area,” sources told ANI.

guidelines, which came into effect from Saturday, said that a strict lockdown will continue in containment zones – areas that report clusters of the disease till August 31.

—Agencies

New Delhi: India’s COVID19 Case Fatality Rate (CFR) stands at 2.15% and is the lowest since the first lockdown started, said the Union Health Ministry on Saturday, adding it has been continuously going down from around 3.33 per cent in mid-June.

“The total number of recovered cases is nearly 11 lakh. With 36,569 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries have jumped to 10,94,374. The recovery rate stands at 64.53% among COVID-19 patients,” said a health ministry press statement. The gap between recovered patients and active cases currently stands at 5,29,271. —ANI

The troops evacuated a large number of villagers and locals were provided with medical aid.

Dharchula: Troops of the Indian Army conducted rescue operations in Uttarakhand’s Dharchula on Saturday following heavy rains in the region, informed the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI), IHQ of MoD (Army).

The troops evacuated a large number of villagers in Dharchula. The locals were

provided with logistics and medical aid.

“Troops of Indian Army conducted Rescue Operations for the evacuation of villagers in Dharchula, Uttarakhand.

A large number of villagers were evacuated. Logistics and medical aid being extended to the locals,” said ADG PI, Indian Army in a tweet.

On Friday, Dharchula MLA Harish

Dhami had a narrow escape after he slipped while crossing a flooded rivulet in Dharchula area on his visit to the district.

Uttarakhand has witnessed several landslides following heavy rains. District administration has also issued red alerts in past few days after rivers were flowing above their danger marks due to excessive rainfall. —ANI

FROM PG 1 If High...

“The BJP’s game of horse-trading is big.

Unke Muh Khoon Lag chuka hai (They have tasted blood or become habitual).They have done horse-trading in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and are now experimenting here,” he said.

Gehlot alleged that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs is engaged in horse-trading.

“The entire Ministry of Home Affairs is engaged in this work.

Many ministers are engaged like Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal.

There are many secrets too,” he said.

He claimed that democracy is under threat in the country and the Union Home Ministry is after his government in the state.

Gehlot recalled, “I had informed PM Narendra Modi about the political situation in the state through a letter and a telephone conversation. I will write another letter to Modi asking him to call a video conference of all chief ministers again to review the COVID-19 situation. The last video conference with PM Modi was on June 17. In this way, he will get feedback from states and what help can be given to states to combat the situation arising due to coronavirus,” Gehlot said.

“We are concerned about revenue loss due to lockdown. I do not deem it fit to impose a lockdown again. People should follow guidelines,” he said.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in July totalled Rs 87,422 crore, 14 per cent less than in the past year as economic activities slowed down due to COVID-19 countrywide lockdown, the government said on Saturday.

“Adequate testing for

coronavirus is not taking place in some states while Rajasthan has increased its testing capacity to 40,000 per day.

We have done excellent Covid management in the state and there is no need to fear. Rahul Gandhi had asked us in February to increase testing and we have done so. We are testing over 40,000 samples on a daily basis. The recovery rate is good, the death rate is less than 1 per cent,” the Chief Minister stressed.

Meanwhile after landing at Jaipur, reacting to BJP state president Satish Poonia’s statement over the shifting of Congress MLAs to Jaisalmer, Gehlot called him a new leader who wants to take on former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. He commented that Raje has disappeared from the scene.

On Friday, Poonia had mocked the Congress, asking if the Gehlot loyalists will next move further westward across the border into Pakistan. At Jaipur airport, Gehlot accused the BJP of trying to topple his government and alleged that its leaders were competing with each other.

Gehlot, also alleged that BSP chief Mayawati was under pressure from investigating agencies and was making remarks against Congress in relation to the political situation in the state. “In these crucial times when the country is battling COVID-19, the BJP is hell-bent to topple the Rajasthan government and is busy finding ways for horse-trading.

Their leaders are competing against each other. In Jaisalmer, I asked where is Vasundhara Raje and who will be a viable option in place of her. They have propped up Gajendra Singh Shekhawat but he could

not make it. That plane crashed even before it could gain height. He has got caught in the audio tape. It is a wonderful case that has been filed on him of properties in Ethopia and of scamming people. Now he only tweets in the day. Stop tweeting, and worry about water. Former government planned a major drinking water project, Shekhawat sahab should help the state in that,” he said.

Gehlot said while questions are being raised on the merger of six BSP MLAs with Congress, there was a similar joining of legislators in the BJP in the past.

“Mayawati is under the pressure of CBI and ED, hence giving statements against Congress. BSP MLAs in the state merged with Congress as per law. Those MLAs merged for development in their areas.

When four TDP MPs joined BJP in Rajya Sabha no one questioned that, now they are saying that merger with Congress is wrong.

There is no merit in her arguments,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Gehlot camp MLAs are likely to visit Tanot Mata temple near the Pakistan border and some other places during their Jaisalmer stay, which is expected to continue till the assembly session begins on August 14.

IT’S UNFORTUNATE...

Meanwhile, the same article empowers the Governor to exercise certain limited discretionary powers. However, rule number 3 of Legislative Business Rules made under Article 208 of Indian Constitution says that the Governor can convene sessions on the notice of 21 days if there isn’t anything urgent. If any-

thing is urgent, the session can be summoned earlier also. So I asked what is the urgency of calling the session when there is COVID, when all your MLAs are stacked up in the hotel and over 1,000 Corona cases are being reported everyday in the state.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet said that it is their right to convene a session and the Governor is bound to the aid and advice of the Cabinet.

So I had to say that I also have the right to question as well.

The proposal had to be sent back three times for it lacked basic information. Finally, the proposal for session with effect from August 14 was finalised as the date was proposed by Cabinet and State Government assured about new arrangements have been made with respect to COVID norms, answering the Raj Bhavan queries and so the session was finalised on the said date and notification was issued. z Amid the present scenario, when it looked as if the government was being toppled, wasn’t it important on your part to call a session.

The Chief Minister was making a public statement that he wanted to prove the majority, and so he wanted to move a trust motion, however, nowhere was this fact mentioned in the file. If he wanted to convene a session for trust motion, it was a valid reason for short term notice as it made a strong ground for the same, however, as it was nowhere mentioned in the proposal, so we have had to take a 21-day notice period on our account.

The very strange fact in the entire context is that no one is asking for a floor test on paper, however, everyone is

discussing it here and there in public and media. z Your opinion on the political crisis in the state.

It is very unfortunate for Rajasthan politics as well as for the people of Rajasthan that the government is working from hotels.

Now, when the assembly session starts from August 14, they should discuss all issues related to public interest and should resolve this crisis, as corona and other development works are being affected.

‘NEP is... to the boon of learning which helps for life, from simply memorising to critical thinking.” Prime Minister Modi said the policy emphasises on the interdisciplinary study.

“This concept has been gaining popularity. And, rightly so. One size does not fit all. One subject does not define who you are. This will ensure the focus is on what the student wants to learn, rather than what the student is expected to do by society.

Inter-disciplinary studies give you control. In the process, it also makes you flexible,” he said.

Prime Minister said the policy will ensure that the languages of India will progress. —ANI A balancing...

Apart from the core state team, the disciplinary committee too has been announced.

Ex- MPs Omkar Singh Lakhawat, Narayan Panchariya, Saroj Kumari, along with MPs Raj Kumar Verma and Srichand Kriplani have been selected for the committee. It is being assumed that the names of the disciplinary committee were finalised by the central High Command.

NEWS JAIPUR | SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020

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07

DON’T CONSIDER RIGHT TO ENFORCE LOCKDOWN AGAIN: CM Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Amidst the ongoing political turmoil in the state, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in an interview with First India, spoke on various issues including the falling mortality rate in corona patients, foundation laying ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya to giving a rebuttal to BSP supremo Mayawati on the issue of merger of six BSP MLAs in Congress last year.

Excerpts, z Rajasthan is working better in combating Corona as com-

pared to other states, but the situation is still fearful and hundreds of cases are coming up on daily basis?

See there is nothing to fear. The mortality rate, which was around 2 percent has come down to one percent. The number is increasing since we have increased the tests. See there are two policies, one being not opting for tests and letting the situation be and slowly the herd immunity develops while in the second you hold tests. We are now doing 50 thousand tests per day and Rajasthn has worked extremely well

in its battle against Corona. People are appreciating us. I have come back to Jaipur to take stock of the financial aspects and will hold review on Corona too.

There is no problem in our Rajasthan. z Is there any plan to impose complete lockdown?

I don’t consider it right to enforce lockdown again, but I would like to inform the people that this is a pandemic and a dangerous disease. The government has advised people to wear masks, wash their hands regularly, maintain social distancing

port from general public, Bhamashahs, religious leaders, activists, doctors and others. I held VC with politicians for 21 hours and everyone welcomed the move.

I never said where has RSS gone now where has BJP gone now, I never do that. We have to save people’s lives, where is the need of politics in that? But the BJP is engaged in horsetrading and people will never forgive them.

and not to hold large gatherings, so people should now help us help them. We all can fight

CORONAVIRUS DAMPENS FESTIVE MOOD

this war off, together.

We have kept Corona under control in Rajasthan due to the sup-

Poonia targets Cong over its choice of hotel in Jaisalmer

z The Puja for Ram Temple will be held on 5th August and BJP is saying the wait of five hundred years is over now.

What will you say on that?

See, the decision was given by court which the entire nation has accepted. But they are looking to get political mileage, there have been so many arsons and acts communal violence, what all has happened in this nation and what they need to do is to take everyone along. All the religions, casts and everyone should be tagged along that is how the nation becomes strong, and will remain undivided and as one, else we don’t know what will happen to the nation.

The unsavoury chemistry of power couples!

Rajendra Chhabra

T Aishwary Pradhan

Muslims offer namaz at almost empty Idgah on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, in Jodhpur on Saturday. Unlike previous years, the celebrations were low-key this year amid the coronavirus pandemic with devotees following COVID-19 guidelines across the state and country. The pandemic also badly hit livestock sale for the festival of sacrifice while restricting most of the people to their homes.

—PHOTO BY PTI

‘Party rewarded me for my long service’ Dr Rituraj Sharma Jaipur: BJP leader Ajaypal Singh has been given important responsibility as vice president in the state unit of the party he spoke about his immediate and long term goals. z Congratulations on the new responsibility, what are the challenges you see?

I feel responsible towards the party. I have been in the party since 1988 and the party has given me so much now it’s my turn to return. z How did the central

useful for the task. It has been 32 years with the party now and I have discharged every duty assigned to me.

Ajaypal Singh

leadership find you suitable for this role?

I have been a cooperator for 5 years, chairman of the Building committee I JMC for 5 years and have been a member of the state unit for 15 years. I have headed the Traders cell of the party.

The party must have found my experience

z How you find thisrole different from previous ones?

Now, I am fully committed to the party and I have to go to every nook & corner of the state and strengthen the party. z How do you see the current political scenario where BJP is repeatedly facing the charges of horse trading?

I don’t think any horse trading is happening.

z Q. What is your analysis on the current political crisis?

Floor test is bound to happen and I feel the state govt is in danger. z Have you talked to the party high command and state president?

I think we will be called to the party office on Sunday and given instructions.

I will follow the instructions. z What are your future plans?

My main job is to bond the party workers with the party.

Jaipur: Congress has come in the line of fire of the BJP state president Dr Satish Poonia over the choice of hotel for putting up its MLAs. The luxury hotel in Jaisalmer belonged to a mining baron whose MRS group was allotted bajri mines during the BJP government and Congress had made a lot of hue and cry.

“Which bajri facilitated this luxury,” the state BJP president asked the chief minister.

“The chief minister had spoken eloquently on bajri but the fact is that it was on his watch that bajri mafia thrived, crime related to bajri mining shot up to the extent that even police was not spared,” he quipped.

Dr. Poonia also attacked the CM on neglecting people in the time of corona. “People are left to take care of themselves. It is good that they have good immunity otherwise they could not have survived if they had relied on this government,” he alleged.

z Should BSP take back its cases? The BSP’s timing.. since Mayawati has said that she was waiting for the right time..

Behenji is under pressure from CBI and ED. Just ask her, BSP MLAs have merged in Haryana too and in fact last time also they had merged which is done legally. Law states that if you have 2/3 majority then you can merge with another party.

These people would have formed another party, instead, they thought it was better to merge with Congress and give the state a stable government.

he bureaucracy of Rajasthan is abuzz with the word that a renowned IAS couple, both serving in the desert state, is going through a strained relationship.

Word in the power corridors is that their love marriage, which at one point of time stood as a symbol and learning for the society, is in shambles and the couple has taken different roads. The problems between the couple started when they were posted in one district and when allegations and counter-allegations started, the senior officials seated in Jaipur also learnt of their issues and for the betterment of the couple, the senior officials posted them 400 kilometers apart. Once considered to be an asset for the state government, the entire Rajasthan bureaucracy is now surprised and confused at the current state of the couple’s relationship.

However, this incident of the young couple isn’t one of its kind incidents in Rajasthan bureaucracy, rather in the past two decades, several similar incidents have come to fore which relate to either estranged relation between the husband and

wife or illicit relation with a third party.

In the 1980s, an incident had made headlines when an IAS official was troubled by the ‘activities’ of his wife. Tensed over this, the IAS met with an unfortunate end in a road accident. Later the deceased’s father, i.e. the IAS wife’s father-in-law even appealed to the government to help him against the harassment met out to him by his daughter-in-law.

The elderly man also claimed that the daughter-in-law kicked him out of the house!

In yet another case, an IAS couple was posted in different districts where the husband suspected the wife of being in an illicit relationship. One day, one receiving an input, the husband drove all the way to the wife’s place at night and caught her redhanded and after this incident, the relation between the duo remained strained.

Then there was an IAS couple who were counseled by the then chief minister and apparently the chief minister’s suggestion worked too!

In yet another case, even after several years passed in their marriage, the relation of another IAS couple remained strained, and such was the situation that even the timing of their arrival and departure at Secretariat was kept different so that neither of them can even see other’s car! The chinks in their relationship were visible to others as well who sat with the duo in various meetings.

More recently, the ‘closeness’ between one IAS with the wife of another IAS was also a major point of discussion in relevant quarters moreover when the wife is also an IAS in the same cadre.

Then there is the story from the 1980s of an IAS being in a relationship with another woman and when the woman’s husband came to know of it, he found the IAS in a cinema hall and slapped him. The incident was reported in a newspaper then and as a result, the IAS had to pay dearly for this and stay low profile for the entire remaining duration of his career.

—FILE PHOTO

PK’S ARRIVAL IN RAJ POLITICS!

I

n a surprising development on Saturday, the Gehlot camp MLAs, holding fort in Hotel Suryagarh at Jaisalmer, while the MLAs had been talking about the political scenario and the fate of the Pilot camp legislators, they were in for a surprise and shock, when during the day a few legislators received a phone call of the master political strategist - Prashant Kishore! It is said that ‘PK’ called up a handful of MLAs in a bid to find out what actually lies in their hearts. However the MLAs were steadfast in their commitment towards Congress, but an MLA who had formerly been with the BJP poured his heart out and

said, “Pilot wrongly colluded with the BJP camp.”

—Laxman Raghav

THE EVOLUTION OF RAJASTHAN POLITICS AND BSP

T

hey say political situation changes with each passing minute and the saying appears to be true for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and its MLAs in Rajasthan. Nearly a decade back, in 2009, the then BSP MLAs had

jumped over into Congress party’s fold during the second term of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. However, at that time the matter did not gain significance like today. Even BSP Supremo Mayawati was also not active in the ‘amalgamation’ and the then assembly speaker also gave dates at longer intervals, so overall the matter never gained as much ‘momentum’ as it has now. But the ‘winds’ have changed now and it is not the

Congress of 2009. Now, ‘rebel’ Sachin Pilot is on one side while the Gehlot camp is on the other. It is thus that Pilot camp has kept its ‘eagle-eye’ on the current six BSP MLAs and has been devising plans to anyhow

stop them from voting in favor of the Gehlot government.

Interestingly, chief minister Ashok Gehlot knows this and has already kept the ‘checks and balances’ in place!

—Naresh Sharma

2ND FRONT

If you can make your daily life interesting and meaningful, you are indeed most fortunate.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

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UNION GOVT IN NO MOOD TO SHARE GST REVENUE here is a huge infighting between the central and state governments over the sharing of revenue from GST, at a time when there has been a severe decline in all revenue receipts of governments in the Corona era. On Tuesday, the Union Finance Secretary, in a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Finance, openly declared that the Centre was unable to give compensation to the states as per the revenue sharing formula, since the GST recovery has come down by 40 per cent. It is worth mentioning that the Centre was to give compensation of more than Rs 4 lakh 10 thousand crore to the states.

One-fourth of the vote

T

in the GST Council is with the Centre and remaining three-fourth of the votes reside with the states and at least threefourth of the votes should be in favour of the motion to pass a resolution. Even if the Centre joins the support of its BJP-ruled states, it cannot reach the required majority, because there are still non-BJP governments in many states, even Nitish Kumar, who is running the government in Bihar with the support of BJP, is not willing to let go of the compensation. In such a situation, the only option left to the central government is to approach the Supreme Court on this issue. The Central Government had probably realized the dark times ahead for the country’s economy even before the Corona

Nitish Kumar

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

crisis came, perhaps that is why in March itself, the Central Government had sought an opinion on this issue from Attorney General KK Venugopal, and now Venugopal’s opinion also came to the fore. According to him, that the central government can refuse to give compensation to the states, which means that now the states will also have the option to go to court. Normally, the Centre gets a collection of one thousand crore rupees every month under the head of GST, but in July it had reached only 65 thousand crores, that is, even when the companies paid their old dues, taking advantage of the rebate given in the Corona period. It is worth remembering that in 2017, the Modi government, in its first term, announced the ‘one country, one tax’ policy in the midnight special parliament ses-

Aishwarya Pradhan

Om Prakash Mathur

hide in Jaisalmer. “No government with a majority will have the fear of poaching. CM doesn’t have control over his statements and therefore refers MLAs as goats and sheep.”

Mathur accused that CM Gehlot was putting across wrong facts about late Shekhawat’s sit-in at the Raj Bhawan.

He said, “I was one of five people who went

—File photo

inside Raj Bhawan.

We had already paraded our MLAs in front of the Governor before that meeting.”

Mathur claimed that late Shekhawat was tired after discussing the issue for 5-6 hours so he sat in the Raj Bhawan lawn to relax and to call it a sit-in is wrong.

The BJP leader cornered Gehlot and said that if he really wanted to prove his majority

AHMED PATEL@ahmedpatel Eid-Ul-Adha epitomises the noble values of harmony, trust and forgiveness. Let us recall the selfless sacrifice made by Hazrat Ibrahim and engage in the service of humanity. May this auspicious occasion bring peace, good health and happiness to all. Eid-Ul-Adha Mubarak Anguished to hear about the passing away of Amar Singh ji. He will always be remembered as a valued colleague and wonderful human being. My condolences to his family and well wishers.

AVINASH PANDE@avinashpandeinc Warm greetings and Eid Mubarak to everyone. May this Eid-al-adha, the almighty shower his blessings on each one of us. #EidAlAdha Remembering the great leader Lokmanya #BalGangadharTilak ji on his 100th death anniversary today.

He spearheaded India’s Freedom Movement. His contributions to the nation will always be remembered.

SCINDIA’S MINISTERSHIP here was a lot of noise recently that Jyotiraditya Scindia would soon be in Modi cabinet and he would be the new education minister of the country, but at the moment these speculations seem to be running out of steam.

Recently, Scindia has been appointed as a member of the Parliamentary Committee of the Ministry of Education, now the question arises that if the BJP top leadership was to make him a minister at the Centre then what was the need to bring him to the Parliamentary Committee, because the Union Minister is never a member of a parliamentary committee. There are also indications that Modi is not going to expand his cabinet in the near future, and could wait till the Bihar election results. One more important thing is that BJP has given Scindia, the Rajya Sabha seat

T sion, with the fact that the states are still collecting their own taxes, and the centre will provide 14 per cent additional revenue and if the states get less revenue than the stipulated amount, then the Centre will also give compensation to the states. The compensation has to be given to the states every five years i.e. compensation from 2017 onwards to be paid in 2022. During the Corona period, the financial condition of the states is already bad, and many states have no money left to pay their employees. In such a situation, compensation can be a great support for them.

If sources are to be believed, the main opposition party - BJP - is not in favour of bringing a noconfidence motion in the state assembly session starting on August 14.

The BJP wants to wait for the right time for this, but the Chief Minister of the state, Ashok Gehlot, wants to see the exact number of his supporting MLAs. If sources in the Congress are to be believed, Gehlot may

GEHLOT CAN BREATH SIGH OF RELIEF n Rajasthan, the Gehlot government has appears to be breathing a sigh of relief.

I

‘CM has no control over words, calls MLAs sheeps’ Jaipur: BJP National V-P Om Prakash Mathur came down heavily on CM Ashok Gehlot and accused him of using undignified language. He took a pot shot at the CM and said that he can’t be at ease unless he utters the names of Modi and Shah in the morning. Mathur said that the state government is in coma right from the beginning and Congress failed to keep its house in order. The state government was trying to save its face by using SOG and ACB and asked it to go ahead with its probe he said adding, he was amazed on charges being levied on BJP despite the fact that all dissidents threatening the government are Congress MLAs. Mathur sarcastically said that when the government has its own police in Jaipur then why did it run to

Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on his birthday, forgetting all the previous incidents.

then he should have paraded all his MLAs before the Governor and should have let individual MLAs issue statements but letting MLAs resort to sloganeering in Raj Bhawan wasn’t justified.

He warned state government to be ready for upcoming session as soon BJP’s MLAs, including former CM Raje, deputy LOP Rathore and state chief Poonia, will meet and decide on the precise attack in the house. Mathur said he had full trust in the judicial process to deliver justice in the BSP merger case. Om Mathur and Srichand Kriplani had come to condole ex-MP Pushp Jain on demise of his son. Former deputy chief whip of BJP Madan Rathore, MLA Gyanchand Parekh, Mahendra Bohra and Rakesh Bhati also accompanied Mathur.

come up with a bill in that session, in support of which the Congress can issue a ‘whip’ for its supporting MLAs for voting, thereby allowing Gehlot to assess the correct count of his supporting MLAs. Apart from this, the top leadership of the Congress and even Gehlot camp itself are trying to search the hearts of those 18 Pilot camp MLAs wand three independents whether they are still ready to return home. Sources reveal that Sonia Gandhi herself spoke to Sachin Pilot recently to convince him and since then Pilot’s attitude has softened. When Congress appointed its new state president in Rajasthan, Pilot congratulated him and he also came forward to congratulate Ashok Gehlot

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CM RUPANI!

08

along with 14 of his supporting MLAs as ministers in the Shivraj government. Now Scindia has to ensure the victory of his 22 supporting MLAs in the upcoming by-election. Apart from this, the BJP has entrusted Scindia with an important responsibility that he should try to bring more political leaders in saffron fold by breaking more and more young leaders of Rahul Brigade. That is, to dream of a ministerial position at the centre, Scindia still has to undergo many more ordeals.

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

Jyotiraditya Scindia

‘To combat Covid, people must follow guidelines’

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Born on August 2, 1956, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will turn 64 on Sunday.

Though it is his birthday and a Sunday, he won’t be spending time with his family and friends but working.

Known to be a sensitive leader and a workaholic, Rupani is visiting Surat, the worrying new Covid-19 hotspot, to take stock of the overall situation in the diamond city. Besides his Surat visit, the Chief Minister would be virtually handing over Rs100 crore loan cheque to the beneficiaries of Rajkot, under the Atma Nirbhar package.

Om Birla addressing to public grievances in his camp office on Saturday.

Bhanwar S Charan Kota: Expressing concern on the rising number of coronavirus positive cases, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday asked the state government and district administration to make proper arrangements to control the spread of coronavirus.

He also called upon people to follow the government guidelines saying active public participation is very crucial for making government’s efforts successful.

During a four-day visit to his parliamentary constituency, Birla said that he has asked the state government and district administration to make proper arrangements to tackle covid-19 spread. He said that he talked to the DG of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) after which the permission to start plasma therapy treatment in Kota medical college was granted within 10 days.

The college authorities had apprised the Speaker of the problem

in getting permission from the ICMR. “Every requirement will be addressed for the treatment of COVID-19.

It is our priority to contain the spread and provide treatment to patients,” he said.

The Lok Sabha Speaker while following social distancing norms heard public grievances in his camp office and assured them action on their complaints, which were related to assistance in medical treatment, inflated electricity bills, water supply among others.

Gehlot ‘gifts’ edu in rebel MLAs’ constituencies 37 new Colleges announced by CM, 10 others to be upgraded First India Bureau Jaipur: The state government is constantly striving to provide ample opportunities for higher education to the youth in all areas of the state. CM Ashok Gehlot had made important announcements in the last two budgets to open new colleges, upgrade the existing ones and give state colleges the status of self-funded. He made these deci-

sions keeping in mind the public representatives and local needs.

Emphasizing on the speedy implementation of these decisions, the Chief Minister has decided to start 37 new colleges from this academic session 2020-21.

He has also approved proposals for upgrading 10 UG colleges to PG, 5 self-funded colleges and 4 private colleges under the state government.

After Gehlot’s approv-

CM Ashok Gehlot

al on Saturday, Colleges will be opened at Chhoti Sarwan of Banswara, Gangdatalai, Malakheda of Alwar, Kathumar and Ramgarh, Deshnok of Bikaner, Hindauli of Bundi, and in various

areas of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jaipur, Jhunjhunun, Sawai Madhopur, Bhilwara, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Chittorgarh, Dausa and others Moreover, CM has given Maharana Pratap

College in Chittorgarh District, Rawatbhata and Shaheed Rupaji Kripa Ji College, Begun and Bhagwan Adinath Jayaraj Marwara College in Bundi District, Aimata College in Pali District, Sojatsati and Shri Premsingh Singhvi College in Baran District, Chhipabaraud College to be completely run by the state government.

Similarly, four private colleges in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Alwar were also decided to be governed by state.

10 colleges will also be upgraded.

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09

JAIPUR, SUNDAY AUGUST 2, 2020

JAISALMER JAISA ‘KOI’ NAHI!

With CM Ashok Gehlot shifting his MLA’s to the Golden City, all eyes are on Jaisalmer. City First brings you a glimpse of this beautiful city on the western frontier of India!

Gadisar Lake

Kuldhara

Tanot Mata

Salim Singh Ki Haveli

KARISHMA GWALANI karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

T

Traditional Thali

Jain Temples

Candlelit dinn

er among th

e dunes

he MLA’s in Badabandi may or may not get a chance to soak in the beauty of Jaisalmer firsthand (despite the fact that they are stationed in Jaisalmer), still as a goodwill gesture City first decided to give a glimpse of the ‘must-do’s’ in Jaisalmer, the city named after Rawal Jaisal Singh.

Located amid the Thar desert, Jaisalmer is unrivalled in both it’s the unique natural beauty and it’s heritage.

The majestic ‘live fort’ Sonar Quilla, added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2013, tops the list of sightseeing venues. The fort’s centre is Dussehra Chowk and towering over this square is the 11-storey palace that still serves as the private residence of the erstwhile royal family.

The group of intricately carved 7 Jain temples built between the 12th and 15th centuries, connected to each other by corridors and walkways are breathtaking.

The Patwon ki Haveli cluster of 5 Havelis and the Nathwon ki Haveli standout among all the other Havelis, all of which are gorgeous.

Bada Bagh, a cenotaph garden stands in memory of the late rulers of Jaisalmer. It is a peaceful place and quite good for introspection which is the need of the hour . Another mustvisit is Vyas Chhatri, dedicated to Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata.

The Thar Heritage Museum, Gadisar lake and Kuldhara must form a part of the itinerary. One can also take up the camel safari and those who like adventure can try a hand at the motorbike safari.

Turn to P12

Jaisalmer Fort

Kalbeliya Dancer

Vyas Chhatri

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ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20 This week you will receive an intriguing message from someone who lives in another town, but do not give in to emotions. Your attention may be drawn to your old ideas or plans related to your family or work. The probability of achieving real success this week is much more real. For many, the week brings an occasion for family reunions. Keep your personal documents from being lost or forgotten at an important time for you. Will need to seriously consider their expenses and income, to better plan their budget and possible expenses that lie ahead of them this week or this month.

TAURUS

WEEKLY AUGUST 2 TO AUGUST 8

CHARLIZE THERON’S BIRTHDAY FALLS ON AUGUST 7. IT WILL BE A SOCIABLE AND MOSTLY PLEASANT YEAR FOR CHARLIZE. FRIENDSHIPS WILL FIGURE STRONGLY. SHE MAY FIND IT EASIER TO EXPRESS HER DESIRES SHE WILL SIMPLY TAKE THE REINS AND HANDLE HER LIFE QUITE EXPERTLY.

JAIPUR | SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020

10

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 This week you will enjoy important professional or business results. They can be associated with better profits or sales, better performance and more. Some of you may get an increase in salary, receive an additional bonus or reward, and more.

The week will be favorable for traveling for family reasons. Delays in documents or frustrations related to broken promises are possible during these seven days. During the week, many will be upset by the unpleasant news about a person they know. Expect pleasant experiences or surprises.

SCORPIO

APR 21 - MAY 20

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

The week ahead favours romantic and love experiences. Many will be invited to a meeting or gathering. You will have interesting conversations or relationships with people near and far. This week is good to achieve greater perseverance, which will be important for your material and financial stability. Tensions will arise in your workplace due to a misunderstanding or someone’s incompetence.

You will be in a better position to develop financial plans, for a well-paid job or other additional income. You are likely to make unexpected money.

A week of opportunities and circumstances arise to achieve success or better professional realization. In many ways, fate will be on your side, but be smart and wise in your actions.

During the week you will have hopes and expectations for success or events related to a man from your family. If your work involves money, during these seven days, be more careful not to make a mistake or be deceived. Do not allow attempts to manipulate you by a person who will want to achieve his goal or desire by trickery.

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21 You may make the wrong choice of purchase or other difficulties of a material nature. Be careful with new acquaintances or contacts with strangers. Above all, avoid sharing personal information, something that can be misused. Also, avoid isolating yourself, because it will not be to your advantage either. Romance is on the cards, so be open. During the week your attention will be engaged in settling a financial document. It is possible to receive an offer related to money or additional income from a person or institution.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23 You will be thrilled with the opportunity to make a purchase for yourself or your home. This will probably be something you have saved money on or paid in monthly installments. The week brings success for you at work, in business or in your career. You leave behind a difficult period of building structures or activities that are important to you. You may receive recognition or a good evaluation in your work.

LEO

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23 You will experience unexpected events or commitments related to a document or contract, which may be related to money (but not required).

The week will be favorable for solving problems or troubles related to relatives, neighbors, friends or colleagues. The emergence of new circumstances favorable to you will have a favorable effect on your actions. During the week you can succeed in work related to production or services. Avoid insincere people who will promise you something they will not be able to fulfill.

VIRGO

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22

You have a week ahead of you in which you will have difficulty communicating with relatives or solving problems with them. You will be required to make more diplomatic decisions, which will not be an easy task for you. In financial terms, you have to solve various problems, payments or obligations. This can not cause difficulties in your family budget, it will burden you emotionally and mentally. The good thing is that these unpleasant moments will pass quickly. Already this week, many will be happy with unexpected money.

CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20

If your expectations are related to a holiday or carefree week, you will be disappointed. You will find that relationships or problems that you have neglected or ignored so far will require your special attention. This also applies to health problems whose treatment you have postponed so far or have relied on your own ideas for therapy.

Your love life will require you to rethink your actions, reevaluate specific decisions or words already said.The development of your financial affairs will largely depend on your family.

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19

You will meet and talk with friends, with new people who will appear in your life during these seven days. During the week you will not miss occasions for meetings and gatherings. It will be very important for you not to shut yourself in, and to look for a reason to postpone such contacts.

The week will be favorable for promotional purchases, with some discount or payout. Your commitments related to the settlement of household problems or property matters will have a good development during these days.

PISCES

AUG 24 - SEP 23

FEB20 - MARCH 20

You have a week ahead of you in which you will realize your plans by going through various difficulties or obstacles. In general, however, the circumstances will be favorable to you. Do not give up, do not rush and do not press events and people. Surprises and pleasant events this week can be connected in some way with money, a financial document or an offer, which will again have a financial character. The negative trend this week can be felt in the emergence of a conflict in which control can easily be lost.

This week it will be good to engage in unfinished commitments or work. The news and contacts you will have with people from different destinations will charge you with positive emotions or expectations. Avoid states of stress or panic, even things that you are committed to developing contrary to your expectations. Do not refuse an invitation to a meeting or gathering. Remember that in this week you are laying the foundations for a new foundation for development in your life, so embrace it completely.

ETC www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

JAIPUR | SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020

Love is in THE AIR

TAAPSEE TURNS

J

ustin Bieber and Hailey Bieber have been painting our timelines red with their quarantine romance.

The couple has been practicing social distancing together since March this year. However, the couple has stepped out for a quick summer vacay. The ‘Yummy’ hitmaker was seen out and about with his lady love. While we recently saw the love birds invent/discover the mask kiss, Justin has now taken to Instagram to reveal he’s grateful to be making these memories with the love of his life. —Agency

11

33

Hardik Pandya with his baby boy

PROUD DAD!

F

T

or Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic, the good news came just a few days ago when they welcomed their baby boy and shared the first glimpse on social media. Now, on Saturday, a happy and proud father Hardik dropped the first photo of his and Natasa’s baby boy and left the internet gushing. The Indian cricketer dropped a first photo of holding the baby in his arms and his smile is what left every one of his fans in awe.

Taking to Instagram, Hardik captioned his photo, “The blessing from God.” In the photo, Hardik can be seen holding the baby boy and smiling away. While looking at his and Natasa’s baby, Hardik could not control his happiness.

—Agency

aapsee Pannu is known for wearing her heart on sleeves and doesn’t shy away for speaking her mind. Be it on-screen or off-screen, Taapsee has always been a delight to watch and it is inspiring to hear her thoughts. In her career of around seven years, the Naam Shabana actress has certainly garnered herself a massive fan following.

So as Taapsee is turning 33 today, she was inundated with best wishes from her fans all over the world.

Joining them, Alia Bhatt also showered love on the Saand Ki Aankh actress with a special note on Instagram.

—Agency

Alia’s insta post

Justin and Hailey Bieber

The Folklore

A

SALMAN WISHES

EID-AL-ADHA

O

n the auspicious occasion of Eid Al Adha, several celebs have been taking to social media to wish their fans. Speaking of this, Salman Khan also shared a heartwarming wish for his on the occasion of Eid. However, this time, his wish also had a message for COVID 19. Not just this, his wish also oozed vibes of his character from the Tiger franchise, and fans could not stop gushing over it. Amid the lockdown, Salman has been spending his time at his farmhouse in Panvel.

On the occasion of Eid, Salman took to social media to drop a photo in which he was seen posing with a scarf as a mask. Clad in a casual green tee, Salman was seen with a black and white cotton mask around his face. One could only see his eyes, Along with this, Salman was seen flaunting his ripped muscles in the photo.

—Agency

fter Taylor Swift, 30, released her eighth studio album on Friday, a Black artist Amira Rasool claimed on Twitter that Folklore’s merch logo bared a striking resemblance to her online store-The Folklore, which sells goods from Africa and the diaspora, according to its website. “Wait hold up. Taylor, it’s one thing to use the name ‘Folklore,’ but we’re out here stealing Black women’s logos too?” “I am sharing my story to bring light to the trend of large companies copying the work of small minority-owned business” she added on Instagram. “I am not going to let this blatant theft go unchecked.” —Agency

Taapsee Pannu

Salman Khan and his post

Baby daddy

Nuts Nan Khatai PROCEDURE

VARTIKA JAIN

TV ARTISTE & YOUTUBER ...her post

Taylor Swift

to make dough take refined flour, semolina and chickpea flour. mix all ingredients well.

2

in a mixing bowl add ghee, powdered sugar. whisk well till it is puffy. add baking powder, cardamom powder to it. mix all well. now add refined flour semolina and chickpea flour mix and make the dough.

3

keep the cooker to heat up. add 1/2 kg salt in the cooker. put the jali stand over it. cover it and let the cooker heat up well.

Nuts nan khatai without oven the occasion of Rakshabandhan

F

rom flaunting her baby bump to showing off her newly designed New York apartment, Gigi Hadid has been giving tiny glimpses into her pregnancy every now and then much to the admiration of her millions and millions of followers on Instagram. These parents-to-be are gearing up to welcome their first child which is reportedly a baby girl in September. Now, the wait is finally over!

Taking to Instagram, Hadid surprised followers by sharing an intimate photo with the love of her life as the pair share a passionate kiss.

While the 25-year-old model is seen wearing a baby pink, baby blue and white striped shirt which layered a simple

1

INGREDIENTS  refined flour - 1 cup  chickpea flour- 2 tbsp  semolina - 2 tbsp  sugar powder- 3/4 cups  ghee- more than 1/2

cups

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid

white tee, Zayn gives us a tease into his chest tattoos in a black v neck t-shirt. How deeply ZiGi is in love with each other and the snap is all the proof we need. “Baby daddy,” Gigi wrote.

—Agency

 baking powder- 1 tsp  green cardamom - 1/2

tsp (powder)

 pistachios- 5 to 6

(grated)

 almond- 5 to 6 (grated)  Kesar- 15 to 20 threads  salt- 1/2 kg (used)

4

to make nan khatai take a plate and grease it with little ghee. take a little dough, make it round and press

lightly and give the desired shape. arrange in the plate at a distance. make a cross on it with a knife. add some almond Kesar pistachio.

5

as the cooker is heated well. keep the nan khatai filled plate in the cooker. cover and bake it

on a medium flame for 10 mins.

6

after 10 mins, if it is puffy n roasted close the cooker again and keep the flame high till it seems brown from above.

7

it is ready now, let it cool down. enjoy the festive time.

CITY BUZZ www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

JAIPUR | SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020

12

A DAY OF ACHIEVEMENT! CITY FIRST

D

FRIENDS FOREVER

CITY FIRST

N

o matter if we love it or not, the only fact of the moment is that we have been hit by a deadly pandemic and staying away from people is one of the precautionary measures to ensure your and others’ well-being. This includes maintaining social distance with your friends as well, without whom you generally don’t plan your day. Friends walk beside you no matter what the circumstances are and how rough the path is. To celebrate the beauty of this eternal bond, Friendship Day is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of August; however, this time, it will be celebrated differently as countries around the world reel from the coronavirus pandemic. City First got in touch

HAPPY B’DAY!

with a few of its readers from Rajasthan and Gujarat to see how they are celebrating Friendship Day amidst the global pandemic and the precautions that they are taking for the same.

Being “together” in every situation is the first attribute of Friendship. But this time on friendship day Situation Demand that not being “Together” consider will be the best friendship. When we think upon this pragmatic friendships. We are making a positive amendment for a definition of friendship in 2020.

And that definition is keeping a safe distance to be “together” in future.

—RJ Pratiksha

I’m celebrating Friendship Day with my staff members, as they’re not only people who I see every day but they’ve become a small part of my family.

Work is worship and work staff are the people who I’m grateful for!

Maintaining all the social distancing protocols though, to be noted!

—Hema Akhade Maisuria Friendship Day has always been a special occasion for me because it celebrates the love that we have for our best friends.

Its the day to appreciate them and their support. The celebration this year will be different because of the pandemic but we can still try to recreate the memories.

—SUJAL KUMAR In this current situation of COVID, we talk a lot, chat, lots of fun together but all are on the virtual platform. We are desperately missing the get together with friends. Hugging your friend is a whole another feeling that virtual platforms can not provide.

—HETAL CHAUHAN GOHIL

Virtual Hackathon

CITY FIRST

r Sudhir Sachdeva has been appointed as the Vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences & Technology.

He was handed over the charge of VC in a brief ceremony held on Saturday by University chairperson Dr Vikas Swarnakar and outgoing VC, Dr MC Mishra.

Dr Sachdeva, apart from being a renowned anaesthesia specialist had also been among the core team to assist Dr ML Swarnakar in producing the first test-tube baby of North India. He has been associated with MCI for two consecutive terms as a senior mem-

(L-R) Dr MC Misra, Dr Sudhir Sachdev, Dr Vikas C Swarankar and Dr GN Saxena

ber. DR Sudhir Sachdeva has been CEO of the university along with serving as Pro-VC for the last nine years. He has worked as a medical superintendent of MG hospital.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sachdeva

the chief guest of the ceremony.

The other members present in the ceremony were Director, SKIT, Jaipal Meel; Principal SKIT, Prof. Ramesh Kumar Pachar and Media Advisor, SIH 2020, Prof. Puneet Sharma. The Director, SKIT welcomed the guests and highlighted how SKIT as an institute is also aligned with the vision of Gramothan.

The event was moderated by Dr Neha Purohit, Head, Department of English. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

mitted to providing the best medical services during the corona epidemic and will also execute the coming academic session complying with the govt guidelines. The programme was conducted by registrar Dr AK Sharma. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

A step forward

PM address at JECRC CITY FIRST

T

he Smart India Hackathon is organised by the All India Council for Technical Education and the Ministry of Human Resource Development to bring together entrepreneurship and innovation for the development of the country and to give a platform to the creativity of youth. Out of 1700 educational institutions 41 institutes have been selected as nodal centres and out of them, JECRC has been selected for the fourth consecutive time for the nodal centre which is a matter of

pride for Jaipur. The Smart India Hackathon began at 9 am, on Saturday, when HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurated it.

PM Modi interacted with the participants at JECRC University and said that Innovation has the power to overcome the challenges our world faces. PM Modi also talked about New Education Policy that it is not just a policy but a compilation of aspirations of all the Indians. It will convert job seekers into job creators. He said that “never stop three things in life – learning, questioning and solving.” cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Anshdeep and Shishupal Singh during the inauguration CITY FIRST

C

ollector Anshdeep along with the family of late Bhopal Singh Rajpurohit laid the foundation stone in his memory for the construction of a new Postal office at village Thakurala on Saturday, after the ritualistic puja.

On the occasion, Collector, who was the Chief Guest, praised the efforts of the Postal department during the corona pandemic and also asked the people assembled to take all precautions. Shishupal Singh Nimbara, former Vice President, Central Child Labour Board who presided over the programme praised the Bhamashah family which has come forward to support the village and the people with their hard-earned income. The family was honoured by the dignitaries. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

EVENTS!

HAPPY B’DAY!

T

he virtual edition of Smart India Hackathon 2020 witnessed its inaugural ceremony at Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology, Management & Gramothan (SKIT), Jaipur on Saturday. SKIT is one of the nodal centres for this nationwide event. 186 finalists, 31 teams and 30 different Institutes of Engineering from across India are participating at SKIT. These teams need to solve 6 problem statements, posed by Ministry of Woman and Child Development. The programme was graced by the renowned social activist Ruma Devi, Nari Shakti Award 2018 recipient as

stressed on the important responsibility medical fraternity has to shoulder in the corona crisis. He said he will contribute in providing dedicated and ethical doctors to the society through the university.

Dr Sachdeva said that they, as a team, are com-

RAJASTHAN: After completing 40 years of service in the State Bank of India, Banwari Lal Sharma retired on Friday, from the post of Chief Associate from Shastri Nagar, Jaipur branch. In a formal ceremony, Chief Manager Tulsi Ram Parihar, Branch Manager Rohit Jain, and other staff members gave him a farewell and appreciated his service.

RAJASTHAN: Prabha Khaitan Foundation is going to host a virtual Tete-a-tea on Wednesday at 5 pm, where Hector Garcia will be seen conversing with Vikram Sampath.

Hector is a co-author of best selling ‘Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life’ and has the honour of being the most translated book ever originally written in Spanish language.

Vikram Sampath

Ashok Rathore, the dynamic GM of Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur celebrates his birthday today. In spite of the COVID 19 crisis, the last month has been good for Rathore as Rambagh was featured among the top 5 hotels of India by the Travel and Leisure Awards 2020 and also by Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2020.

(From top to bottom) Secretary AICC, Zubair Khan; BJP leader Yunus Khan and IAS Naresh Kumar Thakral celebrated their birthdays’ on 1 August, Saturday.

We wish them all the best!

FROM PG 1

JAISALMER JAISA ‘KOI’ NAHIN!..

The border is pretty close and so is the Tanot Mata temple, do take a day off to visit both.

Food is, of course, a major part of Rajasthani and Indian tourism and Jaisalmer offers the best of Tibetan to Mexican and Italian to Rajasthani cuisine!

Do treat your taste buds at Jaisal Italy, The Trio, Cafe the Kaku etc, they boast of exotic

locale and sumptuous food!

Shopping may not hold much attraction but excellent leather items and mirror work clothes can be looked into.

An exhilarating mix of culture, heritage, adventure sports, safaris, camping etc awaits at Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer has a very interesting history with folklore of

Rawal Jaisal,a descendant of Yaduvanshi clan, a sage and his prophecy and a mud fort!

The wars of 1965 and 71 reminded the Centre of the importance of this western frontier Golden city! With Military installations and tourism as it’s mainstays, Jaisalmer has continued to progress through the years.