First India-Jaipur Edition-12 August 2020

HAPPY

JAIPUR l WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 67

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

7,41,727 2,03,85,342 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 18,306 DEATHS 5,35,601 CASES

46,188 23,28,302

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 5,159 DEATHS 3,08,649 CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 4,139 DEATHS 1,47,391 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN

811

DEATHS

KARNATAKA 3,398 DEATHS 1,88,611 CASES

54,887

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT 2,695 DEATHS 73,238 CASES

It’s curtains for political drama in Raj!

GEHLOT TALKS ‘PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD’ IN CONG

CM will head to Delhi today where he is expected to meet Sonia, Rahul or Priyanka Aditi Nagar

CM Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur: A day after former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot shared his concerns with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party’s High Command announced to set up a committee to hear his grievances, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday reiterated that his government will complete its full term of five years and Congress party will win the next elections as well.

“A three-member committee has been formed by the Congress party to resolve the grievances.

We will try to resolve the grievances of the people who

had left us and came back recently. We will discuss their problems and resolve them. Peace and brotherhood will remain in our party. Our government will complete its full term of five years and we will win the next elections as well,” Gehlot said while speaking to media in Jaipur.

Gehlot also accused BJP of trying its “best to topple the Rajasthan government.”

To a question about other MLAs asking if loyalty towards the party was their crime? CM said, it has become history now when more than 100 people have been together for so long and not one man has broken away. BJP leaders used full force, conspired to bring down the government at any cost. “In that atmosphere if a man did not leave, you can

imagine the situation in our heart after that. I have told those people that you have made history and as long as I will be alive, I will be your guardian. I have told them that it is my duty not to leave those behind who inspite of threats, lures, intimidation, who stayed away from family for so long. How can we forget them?”

The Chief Minister said, “The person who is in power, also has more responsibility to take the opposition along in the Assembly. In the same way, if I am the Chief Minister today and if some of my party’s MLAs are angry, then it becomes my responsibility to satisfy them, win their hearts. It is my responsibility which I have been carrying out all my life, will still do it, there is no problem.”

Turn on P6

Pilot on return: Will do whatever party asks me

Yogesh Sharma Jaipur: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said he has not made any demands with the party and issues raised by him with the party’s central leadership concerning governance in Rajasthan and importance of party workers were being worked on.

Pilot, whose differences with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot led to a political crisis in Rajasthan, said he was an MLA and a Congress worker and will carry out the work assigned to him by the party. “I have not made any demands with the party. I am an MLA and a Congress worker, I will do whatever party asks me to do,” Pilot said.

“Everything happens in its own time. We raised the issues over

Sachin Pilot greets his supporters upon arriving at his residence in Jaipur on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

governance, importance of party workers and the MLA’s work and now it is being worked on,” he added.

Asked about party workers’ reaction about his returning to the state capital ahead of the assembly session, Pilot said they are

Daughters have equal rights in Need to increase testing in 10 their father’s property, says SC most-affected states: PM to CMs New Delhi: Holding that daughters cannot be deprived of their right of equality, the Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that they will have equal coparcenary rights in joint Hindu family property even if the father died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005.

A three-judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Nazeer and M R Shah said the provisions contained in substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confer the status of coparcener on the daughter born before or

after amendment in the same manner as a son with the same rights and liabilities.

Coparcener is a term used for a person who assumes a legal right in parental property by

birth only.

The bench said, “the rights can be claimed by the daughter born earlier with effect from September 9, 2005 with savings as provided in Section 6(1) as to the dispo-

sition or alienation, partition or testamentary disposition which had taken place before December 20, 2004. Since the right in coparcenary is by birth, it is not necessary that father coparcener should be living as on September 9, 2005.”

The verdict makes it clear the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 granting equal rights to daughters to inherit ancestral property would have retrospective effect.

The apex court said the appeals on the issue were pending before different court.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that there is a need to increase coronavirus testing in states where the testing rate is low and the positivity rate is high. He added that “if we defeat coronavirus in these 10 states then the country will also win”.

Speaking at the meeting with Chief Ministers, held through video conferencing, the Prime Minister said if we defeat coronavirus in the 10 states then the country will also win. “In States where the testing rate is low and the positivity rate is high, there

PM Narendra Modi interacts with CM to discuss current situation and plan ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

is a need to increase testing there in particular, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana. A view has emerged that testing should be increased in these states,” he said.

“Today 80 per cent of active cases are in these ten states. Hence, the role of all these states is very big in the fight against coronavirus. The number of active cases is exceeded to 6 lakhs.

happy that “we have kept their hard work in mind and have ensured their equal participation in the party”.

He said governance should be carried out in a manner that the workers have a sense of belonging.

Turn on P6

Sanjay Dutt diagnosed with lung cancer Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has been diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, say reports. It has also been reported that the 61-year-old actor will soon be flying to the US for medical treatment.

A close friend of the actor tweeted about the disease. He said “Baba is devastated. He has little children. Fortunately, they are in Dubai right now with their mother. But breaking this awful news to them would be an ordeal.”

Furthermore, the friend also added that though Sanjay Dutt is pretty shaken he is also certain of being cured.

CM SPEAKS TO HIS MEN

R A H AT I N D O R I 1 9 5 0 - 2 0 2 0

102 is my priority, 19 can wait: Gehlot

URDU POET RAHAT INDORI DIES IN INDORE HOSPITAL

So, an immediate rehabilitation of Pilot camp MLAs is ruled out Laxman Raghav

CM Ashok Gehlot

Jaisalmer: Has all that was broken in Rajasthan Congress, been mended? Will everything be ‘hunky-dory’ yet again for the state government with the return of Pilot camp?

Although by Tuesday evening, political observers were a little skeptical of how will the

fresh wave of development pan out over the course of time in Rajasthan’s politics and termed it would be an immensely difficult task since the fault lines have not been erased completely, by nightfall, the very first fault line reappeared when CM Ashok Gehlot assured his MLAs that their needs and demands would be

looked into even before those of the ‘19 rebels’.

“Any thought on them will be given only after first giving a thought on you all. I will never let your honor be tarnished,” Gehlot assured the MLAs during the CLP meeting at Suryagarh hotel.

With Sachin Pilot and his men returning to Jaipur after a 33 day long ‘hiatus’, its ripples were not seen in the political capital of state ie Jaipur, Turn on P6

Indore: Famous Urdu poet Rahat Indori, who was being treated for COVID-19, died of a heart attack at the Aurobindo Hospital here on Tuesday, his son Satlaj Indori said. He was 70. The poet had been admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning after he tested positive for the disease. Obit P5

Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51 My heartfelt condolences at the sudden demise of renowned Urdu poet #RahatIndori ji. The country has lost an eminent shayar. May the Almighty give strength to his family members, friends & fans to bear this loss. May his soul rest in peace.

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020

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02

GEHLOT WILL BE CM FOR FULL TERM, PILOT’s Corona: Limited visitors allowed for ROLE TO BE DECIDED LATER, SAYS PANDE Assembly session CM’s meeting settles the Laxman Raghav

Jaisalmer: It was a ‘confrontational’ moment at Jaisalmer when the MLAs objected to the rebel MLAs being called back to party fold but senior leaders pacified them. After patiently hearing the MLAs’, CM Ashok Gehlot said that politics is a game of patience and some people are playing politics of perception.

AICC General Secretary and Rajasthan Incharge Avinash Pande, while addressing the MLAs said that Gehlot will remain Chief Minister for five years.

“Their return has been unconditional.

What will be Sachin Pilot’s role in the party, it will be decided at

‘wrongs’ right in Jaipur First India Bureau

MLAs wait for the CLP meeting to begin at the hotel in Jaisalmer.

a later stage,” Pande said to the MLAs that helped in calming the aggrieved MLAs. Prior to this, at the start of the meeting, Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Those who have come to our door, can not be shunned off.”

During the meet, the MLAs raised a huge uproar and the leaders had to instruct them to maintain discipline. Sports and Youth affairs minister Ashok Chandana, taking a jibe at BJP, said during this time, “BJP was not involved in horse trad-

SUPPORTERS CHANT, “WE LOVE YOU PILOT”

ing, rather in Donkey trading. When it was time to stay united and fight against Covid, they were involved in such activities.”

Congress leader Ajay Maken and PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasara also addressed the CLP and pacified the MLAs.

Jaipur: It was a day of setting the ‘wrongs’ right when 3 independent MLAs Om Prakash Hudla, Suresh Tank & Khushveer Singh, known to be from the Sachin Pilot camp, met Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot at his residence in Jaipur on Tuesday. Emotions ran rife during the half an hour long meeting when the three legislators said that they were hurt when SOG case was filed against them.

“If there was anything in your hearts, you should have come to me,” Gehlot

said. Interestingly, a mark of them accepting Gehlot as an ‘elder’. “You are all like my children,” the CM told them.

Notably, while everyone had been looking towards various leaders for the ‘patchup’ it was a long time friend of Rajesh Pilot - Vijay Gupta - who turned to be the point man for the ‘return’ of the three MLAs. Vijay was in contact with them while their ‘stay’ in Manesar. Meanwhile, Gehlot reiterated that his govt will complete its full term and Congress party will win the next Assembly elections as well.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: During the upcoming assembly session that is beginning on August 14, not more than three persons will be allowed at a time to meet ministers in the assembly building.

Under the new arrangements in view of coronavirus spread, only two personal staff per minister will be allowed in the assembly during the session.

In an order issued by the assembly secretariat, it was directed that the delegations coming to meet ministers will not have more than 3 members at a time.

The visitors will be allowed to room number 723 on the ground

floor near the south gate where the ministers will come and meet them.It was said that ministers should meet people in secretariat or at their residences.

The staff of ministers will not be allowed to enter from the north gate and instructions were issued to the security personnel to ensure no one with a valid pass enters the assembly.

SHINING FACES @ THE GOLDEN CITY!

Minister Ashok Chandna, MLA Rohit Vohra, Jogendra Awana, Mahendra Vishnoi and others in Jaisalmer.

Sachin Pilot being welcomed by his supporters at his residence in Jaipur on Tuesday. Suman Sarkar

New Delhi: Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Sachin Pilot on Tuesday, a day after his interaction with top Congress leaders in New Delhi. As he reached his residence in Jaipur, he was greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters with chants of “I love you” and ‘Sachin Pilot zindabad’.

A smiling Pilot walked amidst the throng of his supporters with folded hands, bowed, and waved to them. Fellow leaders and some MLAs who were in support were also present and Pilot greeted all of the leaders and workers with folded hands and expressed ‘thanks’ to them. He said he was disappointed at the kind of language used against him.

Sachin Pilot was greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters with chants of “I love you” and ‘Sachin Pilot zindabad’.

“I did not make any statement against the party and had gone to discuss issues with the Congress high command in Delhi. I am shocked, sad and hurt at the statements made against me,” Pilot said.

He said his 100 per cent commitment is for the people of the state.

He also exuded confidence that the committee will start its work very soon and after

hearing all the issues, it will take action on it.

Pilot was sacked as deputy CM and PCC president for not attending the Congress Legislature Party meetings held in Jaipur last month.

Two MLAs who were in his camp also spoke to the media and said the decision of the party highcommand will be of interest to the people and the party.

MLA Ramniwas Gawriya said that he contested election in the leadership of Pilot and workers shed sweat.

He said that the MLAs had issues with the chief minister’s functioning. MLA Mukesh Bhakar said that all the expenditure of staying was borne by the MLAs only and not by the BJP.

CM Ashok Gehlot, Govind Dotasara, Shantharihari, Pratap Singh, Mahendra Chaudhary, and Sanyam Lodha in air craft.

Safia Juber, Manisha, and Meena Kanwar in Suryagarh.

BD Kalla and others visited tourist places in Jaisalmer.

OPERATION RAJ

AHMED PATEL THE ACE TROUBLESHOOTER New Delhi: By saving the congress government in Rajasthan & ensuring a seamless return of rebel leader Sachin Pilot & his followers to the party fold.

Veteran congress leader Ahmed Patel has again proved why his troubleshooting skills are indispensable for the party leadership.

All eyes are on Patel, whenever there is trouble brewing for the Congress. Not for nothing is the man credited with

being instrumental in the smooth running of two successive UPA govts in alliance with a number of parties between 2004 and 2014.

Patel, a five-term Rajya Sabha member, led the party fight against the rebels and backed Ashok Gehlot to save the state government.

Patel’s style of functioning has helped build bridges between warring factions. He can take along different voices in the party and

Ahmed Patel

yet remain behind the curtains while conducting big political operations. He is also not

loathe to give all credit to the Congress. No surprises then that so far as optics are concerned, it

was Rahul Gandhi who was in the forefront of the Pilot comeback, said a party leader.

Once the nod came from Rahul Gandhi, the return of Pilot and his band of followers into the party fold was worked out in typical Congress style wherein a committee was formed to listen to their grievances. Patel put together the panel led

by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi and it met the MLAs

Prashant Bairwa in Jaisalmer.

and Pilot on Monday night. It may seem a happy ending for the Cong now, but party leaders say that Gehlot was initially reluctant about the ‘ghar wapsi’ of the rebel leader though he wanted the rebel MLAs back.

The party had dispatched Avinash Pandey, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Maken to show the seriousness of the party that it doesn’t want to take risks like in MP. —PTI

Drama may boil-over again, says Mayawati New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday said that it appears that the Congress government in Rajasthan is safe but there is a possibility that drama may erupt again between former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and CM Ashok Gehlot.

“It seems that the Congress government in Rajasthan is safe now but it can not be said that when will the drama between Pilot & Gehlot begin again. BSP wants to say that the

long due internal conflict between these two has affected works of public welfare in the state,” Mayawati said.

“I appeal to the governor of Rajasthan to take cognisance of the situation in the state and carry out his Constitutional responsibility. I think the govt was not serious towards combating Corona and works of public welfare. I think there are chances that it will happen in future too,” she said. —ANI

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State breaks single-day record again: 1,217 cases First India Bureau

Jaipur: Tuesday created a new record by adding 1,217 new cases of corona in the state along with 11 deaths.

Kota added maximum 227 cases followed by 177 from Sikar, 128 from Jodhpur, 106 from Jaipur, 64 from Pali, 60 from Ajmer, 52 from Nagaur, 51 from Alwar, 48 from Jhalawar, 47 from Barmer, 39 from Bharatpur, 37 from Baran, 35 from Ganganagar, 31 from Rajsamand, 24 from Sawai Madhopur,18 each from Karauli & Tonk,16 from Dungarpur, 13 from Sirohi, 8 from Banswara, 7 from Jaisalmer, 4 each from Chittorgarh & Dausa, 2 from Pratapgarh and 1 from Hanumangarh, Last 24 hours reported 4 deaths from Kota, 2 deaths

—FILE PHOTO

each from Baran & Dungarpur, 1 each from Jaipur, Rajsamand and Sawai Madhopur. The tally has reached 54,887, while 13,677 are active.

Former CM Vasundhara Raje tested negative but BJP State general Secretary Bhajan Lal Sharma tested positive, he had met many people in last few days.

‘CELEBRATE JANMASHTAMI AT HOME’

Attack on MP: CS, DGP appears before LS panel

Asaram to get food from outside prison

Dr Rituraj Sharma

Jodhpur: HC allowed self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is serving life sentence in a rape case, to be provided with food from outside prison in view of the prescription by an ayurvedic doctor.

“Rajasthan High Court has allowed Asaram Bapu to be provided with food from outside the jail as advised by ayurvedic doctor,” his lawyer Pradeep Choudhary said. Court also directed the person responsible for supplying the food “once every day” to submit an affidavit before Superintendent of Central Jailwith their details. —PTI

Jaipur: Rajasthan chief secretary Rajeeva Swarup, DGP Bhupendra Singh and other senior officials appeared before the privilege committee of Lok Sabha in connection with the attack on MP Hanuman Beniwal’s cavalcade.

The committee gave necessary directions to the officials who also assured compliance in the next seven days.

The officers also briefed the committee on the incident which happened in Barmer’s Baytoo area on November 12, 2019 when his cavalcade was attacked.

Amit Dhaka, Bhupendra Singh, Umesh Mishra arrive to meet the panel.

Beniwal said it was a breach of privilege and the Speaker Om Birla had referred the matter to the privilege committee which called the state officials.

There were speculations that the committee expressed displeasure towards former chief

secretary DB Gupta but it could not be confirmed.

Along with the CS and DGP, ADG Intelligence Umesh Mishra, special secretary to CM Amit Dhaka and the then Barmer SP Sharad Chaudhary appeared before the committee.

03

ACB traps Nagaur SI with 3 cartons of liquor, `11L

Jodhpur mass suicide: Vaibhav assures justice

First India Bureau

Rajeev Gaur

Nagaur: ACB trapped SI Kesar Singh and recovered Rs 11 lakh and 3 cartons of liquor from his possession.

The action was taken

by ASP ACB Ramesh Maurya under the leadership of DG Alok Tripathi and ADG Dinesh MN. Excise Department arrested SI Singh after filing a case under the Excise Act. The accused is rumoured to have a liking towards costly liquor.

Probationer RPS officer Mahaveer Chotia, who was trapped while taking a bribe of Rs 1.10 lakh, has been terminated by home department. Chotia was arrested by the ACB on September 25, 2017 while accepting the bribe and he was remanded to judicial custody.

Jodhpur: AICC member and RCA president Vaibhav Gehlot visited Jodhpur. During which he went to residential settlements of Pakistani migrants and inquired about status of basic facilities there.

Vaibhav also met the district collector, SP and Hindu Singh Sodha, the leader of Pakistani migrants. He expressed grief over death of 11 members of a family in Dechu.

Vaibhav was accompanied by Hindu Singh Sodha. Sodha told Vaibhav about problems faced by Pakistani migrants while the latter assured him of taking up those issues with the state government.

District Congress

Vaibhav Gehlot with Sangeeta Beniwal, Hindu Singh Sodha, Kirti Singh, Munni Devi Godara, Satyendra Bhardwaj, Saeed Ansari and Shravan Patel paying tribute to the 11 Pak refugees.

President Saeed Ansari and other local congress leaders Shravan Patel, Jeevan Jakhar, Satyendra Bhardwaj were also with him. He also met Bheel leader Kirti Singh.Vaibhav also attended condolence meeting in Alkosar Nagar to pay tribute to 11 people who died.

“The range IG has constituted an inquiry committee and we will

get justice to the victim family justice,” he said. Later, Vaibhav went to RSCPCR president Sangeeta Beniwal’s house to offer condolences on her grandmother-in-law’s death. He spoke with lawyer Dipesh Beniwal and other members of the family.

He also went to Jaswant Singh Vishnoi’s house to express grief on his mother’s death.

Severed body parts found in sewerage plant First India Bureau Jodhpur: Severed limbs found in the sewerage plant of Jodhpur Municipal Corporation located in the Nandri of Jodhpur, elicited sensation in the entire area.

In the treatment plant located in the area, severed pair of hands were found initially, which was fol-

lowed by a pair of legs and then a decapitated head was recovered after 5 hours, which was

a horrendous shock to the nerves of everyone present there.

The severed human parts were found at the end of the pipeline leading to the treatment plant, wrapped in a piece of plastic bag, in the evening. The plastic bag with the dicapitated head was found in another plastic bag.

A police team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dharmendra Singh is investigating the murder case, after filing a report at Banad police station.

The entire investigation is carried out by the police under the leadership of Station House Officer (SHO) Ashok Anjana.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

Ambulance scam: Mangal gets to leave India First India Bureau Jaipur: A lower court, during the hearing of CBI cases, gave permission to Sweta Mangal to leave the country. Mangal is an accused in 108 ambulance scam.

The court directed Mangal, who is from

Ajmer and presently lives in Mumbai, to produce travel tickets before leaving the country and an affidavit after return.

She had sought permission to go to Dubai from August 15 to November 15, 2020. She has left the country in the

Despite a ban, 10 officers transferred

past with permission from the court.

Mangal had surrendered in the court on July 10, 2018 and she received bail on July 11.

There has been a stay on the proceedings on that matter by the High Court since November 6, 2018.

 Hitesh Kumar Meena -

Jaipur: Despite a ban on transfers in state, political transfers continues. Responsibility of logistics department in 7 districts has been entrusted to new officers.

Food Department transferred 7 District Logistics Officers. Of which, 2 DSOs were already turned APO, while 5 have been transferred from other districts. 3 Enforcement Officers have also been transferred.

Departmental Promotion Committee constituted under Rajasthan Subordinate Office, Ministry Services Rules-1999 promoted several Assistant Administrative Offic-

 Hazari Lal Aloria - DSO

First India Bureau



Jaipur: Worried over rising cases of contempt and High Court summons to chief secretary, the state government is now searching for a mechanism to get off the hook.

CS Rajeeva Swarup has recently issued instructions to all departments to prepare details of contempt of court cases, which revealed that there are 4,320 such cases from 51 departments.

The maximum number of such cases is against school education department. The school education has

      

Pratapgarh Vinay Kumar Sharma DSO Chittorgarh Amrit Lal - DSO Alwar Kapil Jhajhadia - DSO Jhunjhunu Rahul Raj Jadon - DSO Kota II Bijal Surana - DSO Pali Randhir Singh - DSO Alwar office Pawan Agarwal - DSO Bharatpur office Banwari Lal - DSO Jaipur Rural office

ers of DPR to Additional Administrative Officers based on senioritycum-merit in the review DPC of 2017-18 and 201819 and regular DPC of 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Heavy downpour for more than four hours on Tuesday, brought the state capital Jaipur to a standstill as most parts of the city were waterlogged causing inconvenience to the commuters.

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

Contempt of court cases hike, CS calls meet to find a solution

First India Bureau

DSO Dausa

She was the CEO of Ziqitza a healthcare pvt ltd.

In regard to the scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has submitted a chargesheet against the director Ravi Krishna and Amit Antony, GM Kamal Saini.

653 cases followed by Jaipur Development Authority 545, medical & health department 458, panchayati raj department 403, higher education department 325 and home department 202, energy department 122, revenue department 192, LSG 218, UDH 199, PHED

142 and transport department 116, water resources department 50, women & child department 49, technical education department 26, RPSC 50, social empowerment department 27, PWD 33, rural development department 10, mining and petroleum department 61, forest department 64, sanskrit education 23, department of personnel 17, finance department 32, agriculture department 62, animal husbandry fisheries and dairy development department 32, cooperative department 59 and industry department 61.

There are many departments including youth affairs & sports, Harish Chandra Mathur Public Administration Institute, science & technology, planning, environment, election and minority affairs departments, which do not have a single such case.

CS has vowed to bring down contempt cases in all departments to zero. After he was summoned by HC, he called a meeting on August 13. Departments’ heads would be asked to provide detail of cases, reasons and solution to resolve these cases.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

DEFEAT CORONA IN YOUR STATES

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rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded the efforts of states in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic together with those of the Centre. In a meeting with chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. Modi said that due to the combined efforts of the Centre and states the number of active Covid-19 cases in India has come down but emphasized that there was an urgent need to ramp up testing in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Telangana. Together these 10 states account for 80 percent of the country’s Covid-19 cases.

The prime minister lavished praise on chief ministers at a time when the pandemic is on the rampage in India and these ten states. That is why the PM added that for the nation to win its war against novel coronavirus it is vital for these ten states to defeat the virus. The PM had a reason to name these states.

Five of them--- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and UP---reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

A significant aspect of the spread of Covid-19 in some of these states shows it to be an urban phenomenon. It raises questions about whether tests are being done in villages at all. Even in urban areas of UP results of one antigen tests are reportedly being taken as final, generally giving the second RT-PCR tests a go-by. Yet positive cases in UP and its capital are rising.

WHY GOLD IS AN ESSENTIAL EVIL IN YOUR PORTFOLIO? ALL THAT’S GLITTERING RIGHT NOW IS GOLD

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DOUBTS OVER SPUTNIK V CLAIMS

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ussian President Vladimir Putin has announced the registration of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine “Sputnik V” without the shot undergoing the mandatory third round of clinical trials. The vaccine’s clinical trials began on June 18 and covered 38 volunteers. The first group was discharged on July 15 and the second on July 20. All the volunteers reportedly developed an immunity. OxfordAstraZeneca, its nearest rival, and a frontrunner is undergoing the third and final stage of clinical trials. So is Moderna’s candidate in the US. Phase two clinical trials of India’s own contender Covaxin began in Nagpur on Tuesday. Strict scientific practices are being adhered to by Oxford, Moderna, and India’s Bharat Biotech but the same cannot be said for Sputnik V with certainty.

Putin asserted that the vaccine had passed all the needed tests and went through all the necessary tests. To allay all doubts he also said that one of his daughters was administered the shot and she was feeling well. The two-stage vaccine is said to have lasting immunity.

The WHO, which had said that all vaccine candidates should undergo all the stages of testing, is expected to subject Sputnik V to rigorous scrutiny.

The scientific community is looking at the Russian claim with skepticism and horror, and for valid reasons. The third stage of human trials was skipped and no scientific paper has been published either. It looks like Russia was in a hurry to win this race, like in 1957 when on October 4, 1957, it launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik. Naming the vaccine Sputnik V has its connotations.

In the last 18 months, gold has delivered a return of 53% beating almost all the global indexes. This is similar to what is being historically seen in some quality stocks globally.

Apple Inc. has delivered negative returns for 20 years starting from 1983 to 2003

illennials are aware of the fact that one should not easily get attracted to gold as it worsens the trade deficit numbers of an importing country, but there are proven justifications that make gold an essential asset class in one’s portfolio.

Before getting into the specifics concerning gold, here’s a small European story on potatoes. I am well aware of the fact that there are research analysts all over the world comparing returns of various asset classes (e.g. gold v/s Nifty 50 benchmark) and here in this blog I am writing about potatoes from Europe! But let’s hear this short story which makes it easier for investors to realize the importance of gold.

When potatoes first entered Europe in the 16th century, some elements opposed its usage of cooking and eating. Of course, there wasn’t any proven theory behind the opposition! Later on, the opponents and the farmers realized the importance of potatoes during the turbulent times of war.

While looting grains and animals, the soldiers and armies fighting in the war, crushed the crops and destroyed the agricultural produce of farmers.

What they couldn’t achieve was destroying and looting potatoes which were deep inside the agricultural land. Hence, the farmers who seeded the potatoes weren’t left to starve because of the war. In the same way, retail investors have realized the significance of holding the rare metal in the portfolio during such turbulent times.

What Has One Missed Because Of The Absence of Gold In The Portfolio?

It is a known fact that since the fall of international gold prices in the early 1980s, it took more than 25 years for gold to reclaim the levels of what was seen in that decade. But since then, gold prices have shot up and the gold investment has delivered positive returns. In

n LIQUIDITY: The globally accepted commodity which is bought and sold in huge volumes, can be easily converted into cash, making it liquid.

fact, in the last 18 months, gold has delivered a return of 53% beating almost all the global indexes. This is similar to what is being historically seen in some quality stocks globally.

Apple Inc. has delivered negative returns for 20 years starting from 1983 to 2003, but since 2003, it has delivered returns more than 300 times. Reliance Industries has given a negative return for more than 8 years starting in 2008, but since 2017, the stock price has shot up significantly.

INTERNATIONAL GOLD PRICES Before talking about the benefits of investing in gold, let us understand the technique with which one can invest in gold.

Apart from physical gold, the simplest form of investment into gold is the gold ETF. Gold ETFs trade on an exchange offering passive investment into gold, while tracking the spot price of physical gold.

WHY GOLD IS A GOOD INVESTMENT?

n DIVERSIFICATION TOOL: The idea behind portfolio diversification is that there should be very little or no correlation between financial instruments and products. Historically it has been proven that gold has a negative correlation with equities and fixed income instruments.

RETAIL INVESTORS HAVE REALIZED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HOLDING THE RARE METAL IN THE PORTFOLIO DURING SUCH TURBULENT TIMES

n HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION AND PROTECTION AGAINST DEFLATION: Historically, during the periods of extreme inflation, gold prices have risen and the stock markets, globally, have crashed.

With high inflation, the local currency loses its purchasing power but gold tends to hold the value and rise against the domestic currency. n SAFE HAVEN ASSET: Demand for gold rises during geopolitical uncertainties, pandemics, and crises because of ease of transportation and good liquidity all over the world.

Corporate activism is more than a marketing gimmick

I

n the past month, there’s been an outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter from America’s largest corporations.

You might have noticed Amazon, for example, announcing its support for Black Lives Matter on its homepage. Even children’s candy brands Gushers and Fruit by the Foot teamed up to condemn police brutality and “stand with those fighting for justice.”

Corporate activism for racial equality and criminal justice reform is almost inescapable.

Often, the assumption is that corporations are making these statements as a form of marketing. They are branding themselves as inclusive to boost their sales and maybe also attract young liberal employees. Critics call these ac

04

tions “performative.” And indeed, prior scholarly research has established that public opinion can drive corporate behavior.

Yet my ongoing research on corporate activism suggests that businesses often engage in social activism because they want to sway public policy outcomes, not solely to appeal to liberal customers and future employees.

While some see companies’ support for Black Lives Matter as a calculated marketing ploy, I argue that companies’ support for Black Lives Matter is an example of corporate activism – in other words, a sincere engagement with the policymaking process.

Setting aside the question of whether corporate activism is good or bad for democracy, and whether it is sometimes clumsy or even offensive, it is a genu-

ine attempt to influence policy outcomes.

MORE THAN CHEAP TALK Corporate activism is distinct from corporate social responsibility and occurs when businesses advocate that the government change public policies on social or

moral issues.

Take Walmart, for example. In 2015, the retail giant stopped selling rifles commonly used in mass shootings – engaging in corporate social responsibility by disassociating themselves from the controversial firearms industry.

However, in 2019 after a

mass shooting in one of its stores, Walmart CEO Doug McMillan engaged in corporate activism when he urged lawmakers to enact stricter gun control measures.

Recently, big businesses like Amazon, Apple, CocaCola, Facebook, Nike and Uber have all pledged contributions to advocacy organi-

zations focused on racial equality and criminal justice reform. This is another example of corporate activism.

The past decade has also seen corporate activism on LGBT rights and immigration.

When it comes to racial justice, big businesses have contributed to the Congressional Black Caucus’s political action committee and advocated for affirmative action in higher education with the US Supreme Court.

My research finds that corporate activism is quite common. Forty-four percent of the S&P 500’s large, public corporations supported the liberal side of LGBT rights, immigration or racial justice between 2008 and 2017. No S&P 500 companies took conservative stances on these issues.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

How Much Gold Should an Investor have in his/her Portfolio?

Now that it’s clear as to why gold should be a part of the investment portfolio, the next important step is the percentage of allocation. It should be noted that there is no specific ratio or a perfect method to calculate the allocation of gold in one’s portfolio. However, historical evidence suggests that along with the percentage of allocation, the reason for allocation is equally important.

n For portfolio diversification, historically it’s seen that a 10-20% allocation significantly reduces the standard deviation, without reducing the average returns much. n From a safe haven perspective, a wide range of 5%-20% is considered, depending upon the economic conditions.

While it is true that historical perspectives are used many times in the above article, they should only be used as guidance to invest in the future.

Top

TWEET NSitharamanOffice @nsitharamanoffc The government on August 11, 2020 released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the fifth equated monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. This would provide them additional resources during the Corona crisis.

Tarun Gogoi @tarun_gogoi The new education policy is going to be elitist, well to do families. Privatization and commercialization will go against the interest of the children of poor section. Thereby exposes Modi’s antipoor attitude in all spheres of the policy of the country.

Spiritual SPEAK

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

—Proverbs 19:11

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‘Will restore 4G internet in 2 dists in J&K after Aug 15’

BJP MP STIRS ROW: BSNL ‘India could’ve been in top 3 economies in 7-8 yrs’ EMPLOYEES ARE TRAITORS More than 88K employees will be fired, as govt will privatise BSNL, says Anantkumar

New Delhi: 4G internet services will be allowed on a trial basis in one district each in Jammu and one in Kashmir valley after August 15, the centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, adding that a special committee has made this decision. The relaxation will not be in any area adjoining the International Border or the LoC, the centre told the top court. The areas which will get the 4G internet will be those which have a low intensity of terrorist activities. The government will review the situation after two months.

High speed Internet service in J&K has been suspended since over a year when the centre scarpped J&K’s special status under Article 370.

New Delhi: BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde on August 10 stirred up a controversy by saying the state-owned telecom firm BSNL is filled with ‘traitors’ who aren’t willing to work to develop a well-known firm. While speaking at an event held in Kumta in Uttara Kannada district, Hegde said more than 88,000 employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited will be fired.

“BSNL has a system filled with traitors. I am using accurate words to describe them. BSNL employees are traitors who weren’t willing to work to develop a wellknown firm. More than 88,000 employees will be fired, as govt will privatise BSNL,” said the Lok Sabha member in Kannada in a video of the event that surfaced online.

“The government has given money, people require services and there

BSNL has a system filled with traitors. I am using accurate words to describe them. BSNL employees are traitors who weren’t willing to work to develop a well-known firm.

—Anantkumar Hegde, BJP MP

is infrastructure. Yet, they (BSNL staff) don’t work. PM talks of Digital India, has provided funds and technology.

Yet, they are not willing

to work,” he added.

The state-owned telecom firm’s losses have swelled by over 2.5 times to Rs 39,089 crore during the April-December

2019 period, Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre has informed Parliament in March 2020.

The public sector telecom firm had recorded a loss of Rs 14,904 crore in the previous financial year 2018-19.

“BSNL has informed that its total accumulated loss during the current financial year i.e. 2019-20 is Rs 39,089 crore,” Dhotre said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The government on October 23 last year approved a Rs 68,751-crore revival package for loss-making BSNL and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and VRS. The Union Cabinet also approved merger of the state-owned telecom firms and till the completion of the process, MTNL will operate as a subsidiary of BSNL. —Agencies

New Delhi: India’s economy was growing at a good pace, had it not been hit by COVID19-induced crisis the country could have been among the top three world economies in the next seven-eight years, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

While speaking during the book launch -Connecting, Communicating and Changing: The Vice President of India’s three years in office -- Rajnath Singh said: “Venkaiah Naidu is blessed that he is vice-president of the country at a time when India is becoming strong and able to present a strong image to the world under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.”

“The country was growing with a good economic pace, if this COVID-19 pandemic had not hit the country then in 7-8 years we would have been in the top three world economies. But we are hope-

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Venkaiah Naidu is blessed that he is vice-president of the country at a time when India is becoming strong and able to present a strong image to the world under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.

—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

ful that we will be able to do so as we are fighting against COVID-19 strongly,” he said.

Rajnath Singh released a book chronicling the Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s third year in office. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar

‘Indian forces prepared for ‘Death of US scholar shows that long haul on Ladakh border’ there is no fear of law in UP’ New Delhi: The armed forces are prepared for a long haul at the Eastern Ladakh region where the Chinese PLA has transgressed into Indian territory, a top military brass headed by CDS General Bipin Rawat has told a Parliamentary Panel.

The top brass of armed forces also informed that adequate deployments have been made to handle the issue. In a meeting with a parliamentary panel, the top Army brass informed that efforts are also being made to bridge the trust deficit with the Chinese, who have amassed troops with armoured regiments and long-range weaponry since May this year.

According to sources, the military team led by the CDS further informed the panel that armed forces were ready for any eventuality on the

05

General Bipin Rawat

FIVE ROUNDS OF TALKS

Line of LAC in the Ladakh sector and have been deploying and preparing for a harsh winter there.

India and China have been engaged in conflict since AprilMay timeframe this

year where the Chinese — in garb of an exercise in Xinjiang province on its side of the LAC — rushed troops to transgress into Indian territories in the Ladakh region.

—Agencies

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the Bulandshahr incident reflects that there is no fear of law in Uttar Pradesh and the women are insecure in the state. Her reaction came on the Bulandshahr road mishap in which a girl named Sudeeksha Bhati, who was studying in the US, died in a road accident on Monday allegedly due to eve-teasing.

Priyanka said in a tweet, “There is no fear of the law in UP and women are getting increasingly insecure. It appears that the state government does not take incidents of eveteasing seriously.” She said that a sweeping change was needed and the “state government should adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards crime against women”.

Sudeeksha Bhati was allegedly being chased by eve teaser while she was going to meet her

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

relatives in Bulandshahr with her uncle Sathendra Bhati. She was living in Dadri Tehsil of Gautam Buddha Nagar district and was on holiday due to COVID-19 pandemic and was supposed to return to college in the US on August 20.

Sathendra Bhati, paternal uncle of Sudeeksha said that she was studying in the US at a scholarship of Rs 3.80 crore from HCL. —ANI

STORY SO FAR...

New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a 19-year-old girl from Greater Noida’s Dadri district was killed after falling off from scooter when two bike-borne eve-teasers chased her while she was on her way to Bulandshahr. Sudiksha Bhati, who was studying in Babson College in Massachusetts, US, had come to India for vacations and was supposed to return to the US on August 20. Sudiksha was on her way with her uncle on a scooty when two men on a motorbike started following them. The bike-borne eveteasers passed derogatory comments on Sudiksha and were trying to overtake her. Suddenly, their bike hit Sudiksha’s scooter and it lost balance.

Sudiksha died on the spot, her family claimed.

launched the electronic version of the book.

Rajnath Singh said: “Book title -- Connecting, Communicating and Changing -- represents what Venkaiah Naidu follows in his life. Venkaiah Naidu says nation first, the party next and self last”.

—Agencies

S Maharaj gets death threat from Pak number Unnao: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has given a written complaint to the police claiming that he has received calls from a Pakistan number threatening to kill him in a bomb blast. In the complaint to inspector in-charge of Sadar Kotwali, Dinesh Chandra Mishra, the MP from Unnao said that he got two phone calls from some terrorist organisation of Pakistan threatening to blow him up along with his residence.

According to the letter, the caller claimed that Kashmir would soon become a part of Pakistan and he also used foul language for the Ram Temple groundbreaking ceremony at Ayodhya. The caller said that he and his mujahideens were keeping an eye on him round the clock, the MP said in the letter, adding that he also abused PM Modi, and others.

—PTI

Rahat Indori, a wordsmith who knew the pulse of nation!

The 70-year-old teacher-turnedpoet, who was being treated for COVID-19, died of a heart attack Indore: Celebrated Urdu poet Rahat Indori, whose simple and lucid couplets attracted a huge fan folliwing in India and abroad, died on Tuesday.

The 70-year-old teacher-turned-poet, who was being treated for COVID-19, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Indore, said his son Satlaj Indori, also a poet.

Among Rahat Indori’s most powerful lines

were, “Sabhi ka khoon hai shamil yahan ki mitti mein; Kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai (Everybodys blood mingles in the soil here; Hindustan does not belong solely to any one)”.

Indori, who recited couplets in very expressive style, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning after he tested positive for the disease.

Congress leader Ra-

JAN 1, 1950 TO AUG 11, 2020 RAJNATH SINGH @RAJNATHSINGH I am deeply saddened by the news of Maqbool Shire Rahat Indauriji passing away. He was an ardent personality of Urdu admiration. With his memorable poetry, he has left an indelible mark on the hearts of people. Today the literary world has suffered a great loss.

My condolences to his loved ones in this hour of grief.

AVINASH PANDE @AVINASHPANDEINC We have lost yet another legend, it is sad to know that #RahatIndori ji is no more with us. May his soul rest in peace.

PRAKASH JAVADEKAR @PRAKASHJAVDEKAR The sad news of the death of the famous poet Dr. Rahat Indouri ji was received. Pray to God to give peace to his soul and give strength to his family and loved ones to bear this grief.

hul Gandhi tweeted a couplet of Indori and wrote, “Goodbye, Rahat Indori sahab.”

“He was admitted for coronavirus treatment but died after suffering a heart attack,” Satlaj Indori said.

Indore District Collector Manish Singh said he was undergoing treatment at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences here.

In the morning, the lyricist-poet tweeted about his confirmed COVID-19 report and said he will keep everyone updated through social media.

—PTI

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06

COVID-19 UPDATE : Russia’s Healthcare Min Mikhail Murashko said, the vaccine proved to be safe and effective

IN A FIRST, RUSSIA REGISTERS VACCINE Moscow: The first COVID-19 vaccine in the world has been registered by Russia on Tuesday, reported Sputnik. “As far as I know, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection was registered this morning,” President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying at a meeting with the government. “I hope we will be able to start mass production of this medication in the near future, which is very important,” he further said. The President also said one of his daughters has been given a shot of the COVID-19 vaccination.

“One of my daughters got vaccinated. In fact, she took part in an experiment. After the first vaccination, she had a [body] temperature of 38 degrees [Celcius, 100 degrees Fahrenheit], the next day slightly higher than 37 [degrees], that’s all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko has informed that the COVID-19 vaccine of Russian Microbiology Re-

A medic arranges samples for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing in Srinagar on Tuesday.

search Center Gamaleya has been registered. The vaccine proved to be safe and effective, he added.

According to the latest global update by the Johns Hopkins University, a total number of 20,092,855 people have been tested positive of coronavirus and 736,254 deaths have been reported so far.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic on March 11. —ANI

Shivraj thanks medical staff after testing -ve

Efforts on to prevent 2nd wave: Thackeray

New Delhi: Expert Committee on vaccine administration under chairmanship of NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul will meet on Wednesday to consider logistics and ethical aspects of procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccine, said Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Committee will engage with all stakeholders including state governments and manufacturers.—Agencies

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that he has tested negative for COVID-19.

Chouhan had tested positive for COVID-19 on July 25. The Chief Minister said that he will be under isolation till tomorrow on the advice of doctors.

“My COVID-19 report is negative. On the advice of doctors, I will be in isolation until tomor-

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is striving to see there is no second wave of COVID-19 in the state, CM Uddhav Thackeray said during a meeting held

by PM Modi. Thackeray also said hospitals will be set up in all districts of the state to control the epidemic, adding, we did not hide a single COVID-19 case and death due to the disease and shared information with transparency. —PTI

row. I sincerely thank the doctors, nurses and the entire team. My well-wishers prayed for my good health and I will be always grateful,” Singh tweeted. —ANI

Condition of Pranab Mukherjee Putin’s daughter gets a shot worsens, still on ventilator: Hosp Moscow: Shortly after announcing the COVID-19 vaccine, Putin said that his daughter, who was given a shot of the vaccine, had developed a slight fever but then recovered.

“She took part in the experiment. After first vaccination, she had a body temperature of 38 degrees C, while the following day it was slightly over 37 degrees C. After the second in-

jection, the second vaccination, her temperature rose a little, then everything cleared up, she feels good and [antibody] titers are high”, Putin said. —ANI

ED quizzes Sushant’s sister to find details of financial transactions Mumbai: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Meetu Singh reached the Enforcement Directorate’s office on Tuesday afternoon in connection with probe related to alleged money laundering in the case involving her brother’s death.

She is the first member of Rajput’s family who has been called for questioning by the ED. Singh was called by Mumbai Police five times, had never produced herself before the investigators for recording her statement.

Sources in the ED said that the agency expects Singh, a Goregaon resident, to put light on some of his brother’s financial activities related to his girlfriend Rhea, who is the prime accused in the case. Singh was among the few people who had first reached Rajput’s residence on June 14 on hearing that the actor is

Expert Panel on vaccine Admn to meet today

UNVEILING MYSTERY

Mitu Singh arrives at ED office on Tuesday.

not opening the door of his room. She had also accompanied the police team to Lonavala farmhouse which Rajput would often give on rent.

Besides Singh, the ED is also questioning Rajput’s former manager and Chakraborty’s present manager Shruti Modi and Rajput’s friend and roommate Sidhharth

Pithani. The two were also questioned previously on two occasions.

ED’s investigation is focused around Chakraborty’s income, expenditures, investments and business and professional deals. Details of her properties in Khar and Navi Mumbai and dealings of her companies established joint-

ly with Rajput, were also under scrutiny. ED is also scanning through Rhea’s phone call details. They wish to retrieve deleted messages between Chakraborty and Rajput suspecting she might have deleted those messages which could explain some suspicious financial transactions. —Agencies

it, Gehlot lamented.

Gehlot added, BJP tried its best to topple the government, but in the end, all our party MLAs are together, not even a single member has left us. None of our MLAs fell for horse-trading. This is a victory of the people of Rajasthan.

Income Tax and CBI are being misused and politics is being done in the name of religion by them. They are dividing people on religion to gain votes and retain power. CM added, the conversation keeps on happening, in politics you know that we talk from time to time, there

is harmony between each other, do not worry about it.

disappointed. Sensing this, Gehlot assured his MLAs that they will always come first for him, even before the rebel 19 MLAs! Gehlot first held one on one chats with senor party leaders like Avinash Pande, Randeep Surjewala and even held a talk with new PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasara. As expected, the riled up MLAs voiced their ‘anger’. “Those who made us stay in this way, we are not against them, but the right path should have been that upon their return they should have said they have complete faith and trust in

I hope we will be able to start mass production of this medication in the near future, which is very important.

—Vladimir Putin, Russian President

Landslide damages several shops in Chamoli Chamoli: Several shops were damaged and a road blocked after a landslide occurred on the Badrinath national highway in Chamoli district, following heavy rainfall last night.

A police post was also damaged. However, no one suffered injuries. Uprooted trees and electricity poles also contributed to the blocking of the road. Earlier on Sunday, a landslide occurred at Uttarakhand’s Lam Bagar in Chamoli that affected traffic on the Badrinath national highway.

According to IMD, heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely at isolated places in Uttarakhand in the coming days. —ANI

New Delhi: The health condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has worsened after undergoing life-saving emergency surgery and remains on ventilator support, the Army Hospital, where he has been admitted, informed on Tuesday.

Mukherjee, who also tested positive for the novel coronavirus, is admitted at the hospi-

tal in the capital. “Former President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee was admitted to Army Hospital (R&R)

Delhi Cantt at 12:07 hours on 10 August 2020 in a critical condition.

Workup at the hospital revealed a large brain clot for which he underwent emergency life-saving surgery.

Post surgery he continues to remain critical on ventilatory support.

He was also found to be COVID-19 positive,” statment from the hospital read. —Agencies

Vrindavan ISKCON temple sealed, 22 test positive Vrindavan: The ISKCON temple at Vrindavan has been sealed after 22 people, including the priest tested positive for COVID-19 infection on Tuesday. “Movement of people has been restricted and the temple sealed,” said an official. ISKCON is celebrating Krishna Janmashtami tomorrow.

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the ISKCON temple in Delhi will not allow devotees on Janmashtami.

“This year the grandeur is less due to COVID-19. Entry will be purely based on limited invitation. We request all devotees to stay with us virtually on this auspicious day,” Vrajendra Nandan Das, Vice President of ISKCON, New Delhi said. Those invited will have to pass through a sanitizer tunnel before entering the temple and packed food will be given to devotees invited. —ANI

COVID-19 recovery rate nears 70 pc: Govt New Delhi: Successful implementation of containment strategy, aggressive testing coupled with standardised clinical management of critical patients have resulted in the rise of COVID-19 recovery rate to nearly 70 per cent while the case fatality rate has fallen below 2 per cent, the Union Health ministry said. With

more patients recuperating and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, the total recoveries have jumped to 15,83,489 with 47,746 patients getting discharged in a span of 24 hours, it said. The national recovery rate has risen to 69.80 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministy. —PTI

FROM PG 1 GEHLOT TALKS...

To a question that there could have been a conversation 32 days ago, CM Gehlot said, “This you should ask them, when you meet them. I think the people of Rajasthan have shown solidarity. This is the real victory of the people of the state. The letter that I had written, the media did not given it a proper place. So this is also a character of the media.

I wrote the letter with so much love, wrote to 200 MLAs and what did I say in it - ask your souls, your family, your voters, then decide and still no importance was given to

Pilot on...

Pilot also took a veiled dig at Gehlot for some of his remarks.

—With ANI Inputs

102 is... rather in the far flung border town of Jaisalmer where Gehlot camp’s 102 MLAs have been housed. When on Tuesday CM Gehlot flew to Jaisalmer from Jaipur to attend a CLP meet, he realised that it was an emotionally charged environment wherein the legislators were a little

the Chief Minister,” Independent MLA Sanyam Lodha spoke, prominently.

While several other Congress MLAs too started on the same line, Gehlot finally took the matters in his hand and in a bid to pacify the aggrieved MLAs, said, “Those who have returned are part of the family, but you all are first for me. I will not let your rights be thwarted.

Will think of the 19 rebels only after you all.

But it is not out sentiment to dishonor them too,” Gehlot thundered.

“All the work should get completed on your level

itself whether the MLAs are of our party, independent, BTP or CPM. If anyone comes to me, then my trust in that particular minister will dwindle,” Gehlot said.

Gehlot’s words worked magic and almost immediately the MLAs said in unison that they have complete faith in CM Ashok Gehlot’ leadership. Interestingly, it appears that the top leadership of Congress has been confused ‘churning’ within the Gehlot camp MLAs and although Rajasthan Incharge Avinash Pande had some idea, AICC General Secretary and

Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan KC Venugopal could not fathom this. It was his report to the high command that facilitated Pilot’s return. The report mentioned that most of MLAs claimed their works would not be completed as bureaucracy was dominating.

This was probably the reason why Pilot’s return was not easy neither did any of his MLAs say anything in Gehlot’s favor nor did Gehlot camp express its elation on their return.

On the contrary, the more than 35 MLAs during CLP meet fer-

vently raised the issue of return of Pilot camp MLAs, before the senior leaders from Delhi and CM had to intervene to establish order and discipline. All the MLAs said in unison that they (rebels) have returned to save their assembly membership. “If that is not the case, then let them exhort faith in the Chief Minister publicly,” they said.

Observer claimed that the return of Pilot camp has been made possible under pressure from high command which has ignored the ground realities.

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07 —PHOTOS BY PTI

RAJ TANTRA BREATHS EASY!

Last-stage preparations were being made for the upcoming Assembly session from August 14. While all eyes were on whether the state government had the numbers before Pilot camp coming back in the fold. Nevertheless, the Session is expected to be a stormy one with bruised opposition preparing to gherao the government on issues like combating corona.

If HC doesn’t give verdict, we will: SC First India Bureau Jaipur: Supreme court on Tuesday heard the matter related to the defection of six MLAs of Rajasthan and deferred the matter for next hearing on August 13.

The court said there will be no stay on hearing in Rajasthan high court but if the high court does not pronounce a verdict, then the supreme court will deliver its judgment.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the petitioner and BJP MLA Madan Dilwar requested the court to stop the MLAs from voting the assembly arguing that their merger with Congress is unconstitutional.

Justice Arun Mishra asked why the petition was filed ten months after the merger. Salve replied that the Supreme court has said that order cannot be issued under para-4 of the tenth schedule.

Senior advocate Satish Chandra Mishra representing BSP opposed the merger saying the Speaker had no right

`33.44 cr spent annually on

EX-MLAs PENSION

Nirmal Tiwari Jaipur: An amount of Rs. 33.44 crore is being spent annually on the pension and family pension of ex-MLAs in Rajasthan, according to a reply of RTI query.

A person who is elected MLA for five-year becomes eligible for lifetime pension and after the demise, his or her family gets family pension whereas there is a section of people who are deprived of this ‘benefit’ despite their

service in low wages.

Ex-MLAs can get pension but this is not the case for government employees.

On one side there are persons like Anganwari workers who work on petty amount with no pension and contributing in nurturing the future of the nation and the other side are the legislators who are eligible to draw a pension of 35,000 per month.

Earlier, government employees used to get 50 per cent of their last

As people feed grains to pigeons in the Pink City, the high political drama has left citizens of the state with bad taste for the democratic setup. The janata felt deprived of developmental growth as MLAs were slugging out to get a seat on the flight of power.

BJP meeting postponed, to convene after Janmashtami Aishwary Pradhan

for this whereas Kapil Sibal who appeared on behalf of the assembly speaker argued that when Congress MLA defected to BJP in Goa and Nagaland then it was fine but not this time because they (BSP MLAs) defected to Congress?

After hearing, the court posted the matter for next hearing on August 13.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha contested and won 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets and they all defected to Congress in September 2019.

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar and BSP challenged the merger in the high court which refused to give stay on the merger following which SLP was filed in the apex court.

With preparations in full swing for Assembly session, dark clouds over government’s future cleared and tension in political corridors was released with Pilot camp’s ‘ghar wapsi’

Jaipur: Opposition BJP will finalise its strategy for the upcoming assembly session in its legislature party meeting to be held on Thursday after the meeting got postponed on Tuesday.

The meeting will be addressed by the party leaders Narendra Singh Tomar, Murlidhar Rao, V Satish and Avinash Rai Khanna. The party’s vice president and former CM Vasundhara Raje will also remain present in the meeting scheduled at 11 am.

BJP state president Satish Poonia, leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, state general secretary Chandrashekhar held discussions over the meeting and chalked out a plan.

After the meeting, Poonia said that the Congress government has no concern for the people and therefore the party and chief minister Ashok Gehlot are playing ‘time pass-time pass’ with the public.

“For 31 days, the party high command kept sleeping and people in the state had to suffer.

salary as monthly pension. However, an MLA gets monthly pension lifetime even if the MLA resigns or the government is collapsed. Not only this, they get pension for every term and after their demise, their family gets half pension.

At present, the expenditure on the pension and family pension of 563 ex MLAs is 33,64,89,600 annually. It includes Rs. 29.81 crore as pension and Rs. 3.83 crore as family pension.

In the present 15th legislative assembly, 158 are ‘crorepati’. Most of the former MLAs are well to do. Interestingly, certain ex MLAs who have been Member of Parliament gets additional pension for that.

Alwar based RTI activist Deependra Arya had sought this information under RTI from the secretariat of Rajasthan legislative assembly.

It was a family fight that made people suffer: Kataria Jaipur: While Gulab Chand Kataria was planting saplings at his residence, First India had an interaction with him.

Kataria targeted Sachin Pilot and said, “It is the responsibility of everyone to plant saplings, but it depends on the person how he plants them. The

country and Rajasthan saw that it was a family fight, but time was wasted on floor tests.

If the big leaders would have got the agreement done before, the public would not have suffered.”

“I spoke to Hanuman Beniwal and the former Chief Minister, they will

also be present in the BJP legislature party meeting to be held on Thursday,” added Kataria.

that phones were tapped, police agencies looked for MLAs but it would have been better if the police

had searched absconding criminal Papla Gurjar, who had escaped from police custody after his accomplices attacked a police station in Alwar.

“If the outer walled of a collapsed fort is repaired, it should not be considered that the fort is safe,” he said.

Outer walled of a collapsed fort is repaired: Rathore

Jaipur: Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said that the opposition will fight from assembly to streets against the misrule of the Congress with full force.

He said that the party will expose the state government in the assembly session. Rathore alleged

Inconclusive hearing deferred till Thursday First India Bureau Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court will on Thursday resume hearing the petitions filed by a BJP MLA and the Bahujan Samaj Party challenging the merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress last year.

The hearing on Tuesday remained inconclusive and the matter was posted for the next hearing on August 13, a counsel for the Speaker said.

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar and the BSP had demanded a stay on the implementation of an

Govt silent on atrocities on minority Hindus: Sharma

Jaipur: BJP state chief spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said that the government is silent on

issues like increasing atrocities on minority Hindu society living in the Mewat region and love jihad. The Hindu society living there also has no support from police and administration. The situation is so bad that it can get out of hand anytime.

The public is not happy with the functioning of the chief minister whose government has

failed on every front,” Poonia said. He alleged that the Congress government failed to deliv-

PENSION OF OVER `1 LAKH l SUMITRA SINGH l PRADYUMAN SINGH l NARAYAN l SUNDAR LAL l KAMLA BENIWAL

1,28,700 1,18,300 1,07,900 1,07,900 1,07,900

PENSION MORE THAN `90,000 l DEVI SINGH BHATI l DIGVIJAY SINGH l BHANWARLAL SHARMA l BHAGRAJ CHOUDHARY l FATEH SINGH l GHANSHYAM TIWARI

99,600 97,500 97,500 97,500 97,500 90,000

PENSION OF OVER `80,000 l MANAK CHAND SURANA l RAWAT RAM ARYA l BANWARI LAL SHARMA l BHANWAR SINGH SHEKHAWAT l MADHAV SINGH DIWAN l SURENDRA PRASAD VYAS l AMRA RAM l DAYARAM PARMAR

87,100 87,100 80,400 80,400 80,400 80,400 80,400 80,400

YOUNG PENSIONERS JINDAL (Sri Ganganagar) (Richest candidate in 2018 election) l SONA DEVI (Ganganagar) l LALIT KUMAR (Bara) l AMRITA MEGHWAL (Jalore) l KAILASH VERMA (Jaipur) l KAMINI

31 years 32 years 32 years 33 years 34 years

If the government does not pay attention, then BJP will launch a big movement. In the assembly, the government will surely be targeted on issues like bad law and order, problems of farmers and locust attacks in the state.

AHMED PATEL @ahmedpatel Best wishes on Shri Krishna Janmashtami Tributes on the death of famous poet Rahat Indori. The departure of Indori Sahab has created a void in the field of Urdu poetry, which is difficult to compensate

er on its promises made in the election manifesto and farmers, youths were betrayed.

THE NUMBER DYNAMICS OF MOOLAH AT HAND l The monthly pension of those

who were MLAs before April 1, 2019 is Rs. 35,000 per month.

There is a provision of giving an additional pension of Rs. 1,600 per month to those who gets another term as MLA. The pension is increased by 20 per cent on the completion of 70 years and 30 per cent on completion of 80 years

l There is a provision to provide

family pension, Rs. 12,500 or the 50 per cent of the last drawn pension (whichever is higher) after the demise of an ex-MLA. Apart from this, medical and travel facilities are available separately

order passed by the Speaker, who recognised the merger last year.

The counsel for the petitioners argued that the merger was against the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, the country’s anti-defection law.

The Speaker’s counsel argued that the petitions were premature and not maintainable.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha had won the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets and later joined the Congress.

AVINASH PANDE @avinashpandeinc We have lost yet another legend, it is sad to know that #RahatIndori ji is no more with us. May his soul rest in peace

SENIOR, JUNIOR ON SAME BOAT l The number of

former MLAs getting more than 50,000 as monthly pension is nearly 125.49 ex-MLAs aged above 80 years and those who could become MLA once are getting 45,500 per month now

LONG LIVE PENSIONERS l Former MLA

from Kumher, Bharatpur Girraj Prasad Tiwari, aged 99 years drawing a pension of Rs. 55,900

Best wishes and greetings on the occasion of Krishna Janmashthmi. May Lord Krishna guide us all as he guided Arjuna.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

2ND FRONT JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020

08

THERE ARE NO PERMANENT CEASEFIRES IN SUCH WARS, BUT FOR NOW, BYGONES WILL BE BYGONES!

z How do you see the way curtains came down on the political scenario for the last 32 days?

Jagdeesh Chandra: It was a fortunate ending of an unfortunate chapter in the political history of Rajasthan, which hitherto had been respecting the majority of an elected government. But somehow the circumstances, both justified and unjustified, led to the camping of MLAs, which tarnished the image of Rajasthan politics in general and Congress in particular.

But all has ended well for now. z What are the reasons you see behind the U-turn by Pilot camp just 4 days ahead of 14 August?

Firstly Sachin Pilot, who had started by saying that Gehlot government was in minority and he had support of 30 MLAs, couldn’t execute his initial plan to topple the government with BJP support. Later, in all probability he couldn’t satisfy his supporters, fearing disqualification from the house, with his answers for an alternate plan in changed circumstances till 10 August. But the most important factor for the ‘home coming’ was the intervention by Priyanka Gandhi, with consent from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, at the 11th hour who didn’t want the party to break at any cost. z Considering the fact that Priyanka Gandhi played the decisive role in Pilot’s comeback, how do you see her future role in Rajasthan?

After her out of the way intervention leading to an amicable settlement of the prolonged political crisis in Congress, now Priyanka Gandhi is the new ‘Godfather’ of Sachin Pilot. Like everybody else in the Gandhi family, she was pained at the thought of Congress breaking up and losing a state in the Hindi heartland so she came forward and settled it. Imagine only 10 days ago, CM Gehlot loaded with sentiments of his 102 supporters, had politely but firmly ruled out Priyanka’s suggestion of finding a face saving formula for Pilot’s return. Yet she intervened and saved a state for Congress. As far as her future role is concerned, she even after refusing to be incharge of Rajasthan will keep herself active in the state.

z How would you term Pilot’s return to Congress? Whether it was ‘Subah ka bhoola sham ko ghar aa gaya’ or ‘laut ke buddhu ghar ko aaye’?

No, it certainly wasn’t the case of ‘laut ke buddhu ghar ko aaye’, for, Sachin Pilot is a handsome, smart and brilliant person. It is more of ‘subah ka bhoola sham ko ghar aa gaya’ but at the cost of mass humiliation, Pilot has to face this only and his changed political behaviour will pronounce whether ‘Subah ka bhoola’ came back with right lessons or not. No matter how his supporters save the face in garb of so-called ‘future promises’ by the High Command, the fact is, it was never expected from a smart man like Pilot and it’s a public humiliation for him. z While the truce was being finalised around same time, UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal and some other MLAs openly opposed the return of the dissident MLAs, what will happen to that now?

For now, bygones will be bygones. Irrespective of the fact that whether the opposition to the return of dissidents was ‘stagemanaged’ or genuine emotional outburst, but now, since CM Gehlot is in Jaisalmer, a lot will depend upon the meeting there. Dhariwal has categorically said that politics is an art of the possible, but he along with others, are still firm on their stand of not admitting the dissidents. z What made CM Gehlot dilute his firm stand on Pilot and dissident Congress MLAs? First of all, understand that Ashok Gehlot is a mature and grassroots politician, who has been brought up not only in Jodhpur, but also by the Gandhi family, so his final mandate emerges from the Gandhi family.

Gehlot was aware of developments over the last three days leading to the return of Pilot camp and may be sensing it, he had told a reporter about having to swallow a bitter pill at times in politics. Even a few days ago, when party MLAs including Dhariwal opposed the dissidents’ entry, Gehlot had told them to abide by the final decision by the party High Command. So in order to uphold the dignity of party discipline and respect for Gandhi family, Gehlot diluted his stand on the dissidents.

Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta, Aditi, Divya, Akanksha and Khushbu.

Editor-In-Chief of First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, while analysing recently concluded political drama in Raj, shares an insightful vision on Pilot’s U-Turn, how it impacted political echelons of the state in ‘general’ & how Gehlot emerged stronger as always. z In normal sense, there is a ceasefire agreement between Gehlot and Pilot camp now, is this agreement permanent or the war has just been postponed?

There are no permanent ceasefires in such wars.

Both factions will have to make themselves understand the truce and imbibe it in their subconscious. But even the subconscious has a limit to understand, so, I feel that it will be 51-49.51% there will be some cross border activity, while 49%, ceasefire will be respected. There are lots of people having good working relationships despite personal differences and that is what is expected of both camps!

The dissidents too have assured High Command of loyalty, so, let’s hope that in due course, both will appreciate each other’s stand. z Will BJP again attempt to topple the Gehlot government even without the support of Pilot and will it lead to mid-term elections?

It is looking a bit too far for now, but it is the job of opposition to challenge state government, for, no government is permanent and even BJP shouldn’t shy away from the fact that as opposition, it attempted to destabilise government.

Even the tone and words used by Gulab Chand Kataria while saying that sooner or later, Gehlot government will crumble hints at a Delhi initiative to it. Whatever happens, but Sachin Pilot will be out of the scheme of things and it will be direct between Congress and BJP, maybe with some new ‘Pilot’. Although, I feel the election will now happen in 2023, but still, the Congress should remain prepared for another assault. Midterm election or not, is the question, which will be answered only after this assault takes place.

z Don’t you think that its serious embarrassment for Pilot camp that even after so much time has elapsed after the socalled ‘pact’ between two camps, but no details have yet come out?

Yes, it is a serious embarrassment with no clarity on Pilot’s role in or out of government, future of expelled ministers, withdrawal of pending cases etc and there is an alternate for the Pilot camp until the three member committee is formed or a fresh statement from the High Command is issued clarifying things or Gehlot himself comes out with some consolation message. Even the threemember committee will not be formed and will not perform or come out with its action plan in haste. Once it comes out with its findings and plan, who all from both the camps will agree to, ‘hands down’ will be a big question. All this will take time and in this case, time will heal a lot of wounds. z Things might or might not have settled for both the camps and as you said, BJP may again attempt to topple the government, is it people’s destiny to remain insecure despite giving clear mandate to a party in elections?

It is unfortunate that elected representatives are forgetting the real mandate of the people, which is development.

All that was heard in the last one month, was camping, poaching and horse-trading. Common men are disillusioned, dissatisfied, sad and helpless as it doesn’t have an alternate right now. The people will reply whenever they get a chance to vote. z There is a view which opines that in the entire case, Gehlot might have won, but

the party lost, do you agree with this?

Gehlot, a political mastermind, has been winning almost all political wars he has fought barring some elections. But yes, Congress as a party lost, but again you can’t blame Gehlot for this.

Nobody will deny that such unfortunate things happened under his Chief Ministership, but maybe, Pilot and his camp were more responsible for the embarrassment Congress had to face for all these days, when there was a clear division in the party, which the entire nation witnessed. z What was the reaction of the MLAs to the emotional letter written by CM Gehlot to them in support of democracy?

This was for the first time that a CM wrote to all MLAs, irrespective of their party affiliations. The core feeling of CM Gehlot was to put an end to the wrong precedent of toppling an elected government with majority. He cited an example from his own experience, when he had upheld democracy by not being party to the coup to topple Late Shekhawat’s government. Secondly, he appealed to all MLAs to unite in the fight against coronavirus and lastly, he assured that his was a transparent, sensitive and accountable government. His letter did have an impact for sure, because at the end of the day, every MLA, irrespective of his party, is elected by common people. The most important aspect was that Gehlot was satisfied with himself for performing his duty of asking for their support towards a right cause just before the floor test, I don’t think the impact of the letter mattered to him. z Did you see the emergence of a new Ashok Gehlot during

this political crisis?

Yes, the Gandhian Gehlot was on a break for a while and he turned into a rough and tough administrator. At times, he played the role of Chief Secretary, at others, he assumed the role of a DGP and not to be forgotten, is the way he conveyed his thoughts in clear terms to Priyanka Gandhi. People saw a new Ashok Gehlot during the crisis. We pray that he turns the Gandhian Gehlot once again and takes the ‘administrative avatar’. z How do you see the Sachin Pilot politics after he took a U-turn without informing or consulting his ‘Godfathers’ on the other side?

Pilot has definitely given a sense of betrayal to the BJP by not exercising the minimum courtesy of informing of going back to Gandhi family, despite knowing the kind of relationship the BJP top leadership shares with them. He should have conveyed them the decision to part ways, explaining his situation.

He left BJP in awe through his behaviour. z How do you see the role of Governor in the entire episode?

Governor seemed to be in a decisive role, but didn’t get a chance and when one such chance came on July 23, but was averted due to the intelligence of Gehlot and Congress High Command. The unplanned sloganeering by the Congress MLAs at the Governor House had miffed the Governor, although the same was done by late Shekhawat as well. Further an upset Gehlot also said something about people taking affairs in their own hands, this was the crucial time for using Article 356. But a timely move by Gehlot, saved the day and finally, the ‘war’. Even Modi and Shah didn’t want to dis-

credit their government for misuse of Article 356. Then the meticulous understanding shared by Gehlot and Avinash Pande on one end and the team work of Gehlot with his CS, law secretary, lawyers, CMO officials like Kuldeep Ranka, ensured that each letter by the Governor was properly replied to. Finally, the Governor agreed to call the Assembly session. z How do you perceive the role of BJP and Vasundhara Raje towards the Gehlot government in future?

A hurt and disappointed BJP will be a bit extra bitter in its role of cornering the government both in and out of the Assembly. It has also said on record to watch out as the current phase, according to them, is just an interval. So, BJP and Congress will share the same relationship with aggravated feelings on part of the BJP. As far as Vasundhara Raje is concerned, she is a factor and phenomena which will matter. The difference between her and others is that when it comes to her, her personality becomes equal to the BJP itself in the state. The High Command tried to correct this situation, which was partly successful and partly failed. She only blamed Congress infighting for the crisis in the state when she broke her month long silence. She went to Delhi to clear issues including Hanuman Beniwal along with other issues. Her meeting has shown some positive results and some more will be witnessed soon.

Raje is an undeniable factor in the state, but it would be wrong to compare her with Modi and Shah, so ultimately, she is finding a right repositioning for herself in a changed scenario, which will happen in due course.

z How credible was the news of Vasundhara Raje leaving the party with 46 MLAs? Even I came across this, but such news is floated by non-credible sources.

Raje might be upset with some things, but she can never say that she is forming another party with her supporters. Imagine, when Sachin Pilot couldn’t gather support of 30 MLAs from under a Gandhian CM like Ashok Gehlot, it would be foolish to dream of taking away 46 party MLAs from hawk eyed Modi and Shah. z Do you feel that Gehlot and Raje were in contact anytime during the political crisis and was she instrumental in creating distance between BJP High Command and Sachin Pilot?

Gehlot did call Vasundhara Raje at one point of time and requested her to follow the rich political traditions of the state and make BJP High Command understand the repercussions of relying on such a political defection. In turn, Raje too conveyed her thoughts on the issue to the High Command and in a way, contributed to create a distance between Pilot and BJP, but she remained within the limits of her party lines.

Earlier, Pilot had unintentionally raised the issue of Bungalow no 13 being allotted to Raje, which was picked by Hanuman Beniwal during the political crisis with his connotations. But I totally deny any connection between allotment of Bungalow and GehlotRaje equation, as some sections of media suggested. Both are too tall for this mean size favour.

During the Show, ‘Jagdeesh Chandra’ was trending on top all over India on Twitter.

‘The New JC Show’ will telecast today at 2.25 pm on First India News.

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09

JAIPUR, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12, 2020

lt prayers that tfe ar he s nd se d an i am ht s a very happy Janmas er ad re its ve and duty! s lo h he is ug w ro a th di lf In t se rs e Fi th i, e at am br ht Janmas Lord Krishna is to cele of er w llo fo a On the occasion of Krishna be To e. lif s to play on in your the music of love continue

(L-R) Prathav Johari, Avika Bhatia, Arnav, Niyati Gupta and Sharvil Choudhary More on pg 10-11

MAIYA YASHODA

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Sponsored by First India News International Pvt. Ltd.

JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020

Yeh Tera Kanhaiya

Amaira Sharma

Roshika Bhatt

The Bal Gopal Competition is one of the most looked forward competitions of the Pink city by one and all. For the past 12 years, on Krishna Janmashtami, Studio Big Boss would give a chance to mothers, children and families to woo Lord Krishna by dressing up as the lord himself and hundreds of kids in more than 5 categories would take part. Last year in partnership with First India, on 24 August, Janmashtami, the Birla Auditorium was filled to overflowing as the program was beamed live to lakhs of viewers and covered extensively in the City First too. The event was a beautiful mix of faith, innocence and love. Ashok Sharma, founder, Studio big Boss said that keeping in mind the COVID19 scare, this year the competition has been taken up online and there has been an excellent response to it. City First brings you some of the participants and the winners of the Bal Gopal 2020.

Kanishka Kumawat

10-11

Devagya Devatwal

WINNERS GROUP A

Navya Lohia

Geetansh Malik

Akasdha Soni

Vaanya Jain

Aashvik Jain

Jinal Jain

Viaan Goyal

Chiti Rock

Shivaay Anil

GROUP B

Rutvi Mittal

Himank

Nitara Sharma

Sona Jain

Amidhi

Yuvaan Bissa

Sayesha Sethi

Darshit Sharma

Divisha Mehandiratta

Mananjot Singh

Vidhi Sharma

Srashti Sharma

Ayansh Sharma

Dewanshi Agarwal

Priyanshi Jain Riya Ratnoo

Ishan Bhatia

Shrinika Pareek

GROUP C

Disha Yadav

Ridhima Asnani

Aarav Agarwal

Namya

Aatifa Khan

Aarvi Agarwal

Bhavishka Rathore

Trishika Gupta

Chahak Choudhary

Syed Armaan Hussain Abbas

Hitakshi Sharma

Manvi Maheshwari

Teesha Narula

Divi Jain

Aanya Maheshwari

Chaitanya Baid

Reyan Nagrani

Darshana

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

Our Little Kanhas

12

BOLO RADHE RADHE

CITY FIRST

K

Daivanshu and Dishita Chhabra

JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020

rishna Janmashtami will be celebrated all over the country today, 12 August 12. But due to the corona pandemic, this time people will not be able to visit the temples. However, live broadcasting has been arranged for the devotees by the temple management. One of these temples includes the famous Govind Devji temple of the Pink City.

ghee, 10 kg boora and 2 kg honey will be offered for the anointing of God. Also, the entire temple is decorated with lighting.

First of all, Mangala Aarti will be held today followed by the Panchamrit Abhishek of the lord. After this, it will be made ready by wearing yellow clothes. Krishna Janmashtami Vrat Katha will be recited from 10 to 11 pm, while there will be a Govindabhishek of Krishna at 12 am. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Like every year, decoration arrangements have been made in the temple this year, where there will be Govinda Abhishek from Panchamrit at 12 am.

Due to corona, the entry of people into the temple will be prohibited, but all events will be held in the temple premises.

All the entry points of the temple have been closed by putting barricades. Here, 31 liters of milk, 21 kg curd, 2 kg

Govind Dev Ji Temple, Jaipur

VIRTUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY

FACEBOOK POST!

CITY FIRST

Kavish Sharma

Divit Agrawal

Powerful POETRY

M

any virtual cultural and musical events will be organised later this week in the USA to celebrate the 74th Independence Day. Jaipur Foot USA is organising a ‘Virtual Kavi Samelan’ on 15 August at 8.30 pm (11 am ET). The chief guest of the session will be Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, and will be presided by the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, P P Chaudhary. The show will feature, Kunwar Javed and Madan Mohan Samar, popular poets from Kota and Madhya Pradesh respectively. The virtual concert will feature a rendition of ‘Vaishnav Janato’ and ‘Ram Dhun’ as well. The session will also feature, Howdy Modi fame, Rishab who will play ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ on Sitar.

Prem Bhandari

Rishab

Jaipur Foot USA Chairman Prem Bhandari said India’s Independence Day

Saving Lives

celebration this year is “very special” as it comes just days after the August 5

Dalai Lama and Robert Vadra

‘Bhoomi Pujan’ ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was “a dream come true” for Hindus around the world.

Leading cultural organisation Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) will present ‘The Freedom Concert’ featuring Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. The concert will feature the legendary maestro’s solo performance and he will give a Sarod and vocal performance of ‘Aeyri Sakhi’, composed by Hazrat Amir Khusro in the 13th Century, IAAC said. The preparation of the event is handled by the Secretary, Jaipur Foot USA, Rajendra Bafna. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GOOD VIBES ONLY

T

ime and again, Vadra shows his sensitivity to what is going around and also the deeprooted need to be happy and at peace. After reaching out to help the young rape victim and making a strong statement about social responsibility Robert Vadra took to Facebook and shared two photos which show his responsibility towards his inner self: one, where he is seen with Dalai Lama and the second, where there is a small Buddha-statue in a peace-

ful environment. He wrote, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo!!”

—Vaishali

DURING THE DAY!

Vinod Padraj CITY FIRST

V

inod Padraj, an eminent poet read on Monday his selected poems in the Facebook live programme held by Rajasthan Progressive Writers Association. His poetry is full of compassion and reflects a wide range of emotions depicting the slice of rural life. They not only talk about the pain and agony of women but also touch upon the humour equally effectively in the intimate world of rural characters he creates. The concern for the environment is another highlight of his poetry.

RPWA general secretary Ish Madhu Talwar informed that Bharat Ola, the noted poet and story writer and the Sahitya Academy Award and Kanhaiya Lal Sethia birth centenary honour award winner will be the next to appear in this ongoing series of FB live programmes on next Sunday. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CITY FIRST

I

n Gitanjali Medical College and Hospital Udaipur, even at the time of the corona pandemic, necessary medical treatments are being done, following all the safe medical precautions. The team of doctors at GMCH successfully performed surgery on Tuesday.

A 74-year-old resident of Rajsamand was admitted with problems such as nervousness and chest pain

while eating, walking, bathing and sleeping or doing any physical activity for a few months.

The patient said that he had undergone angioplasty at other private hospitals a year ago and a stent had also been inserted in one of the pulses.

The examination of Gitanjali hospital found that the patient’s stent had been blocked.

Since there was a blockage, he was advised to go for bypass surgery. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

RAJASTHAN: On the occasion of ‘World Photography Day’ on 19 August, Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) has invited applications for an online photography competition and the last date to apply is 12 August by noon. The theme of the competition is ‘Lock-down at Home’. Participants can make submissions under the sub-themes –Life, Rediscovering Nature, Senior Citizens and Portraiture.

Photographs submitted must have been taken during the lockdown between 24 March and 31 July.

RAJASTHAN: FICCI FLO Jaipur organised a session for its members about LinkedIn ‘BE A PRO’ BY Sampark Sachdeva, who is a corporate leader and Linkedin spotlight winner 2019. During the session, Chairperson Wandana Parnami emphasized the increasing importance of the digital world and social media. She said, “having a profile on Linkedin is a must for your business growth”.

GUJARAT: Girls shopping on the occasion of Janmashtami at the old city in Khadiya area of Ahmedabad city on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

GUJARAT: Radha Madhav idols of Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha seen inside the Iskon Temple Bhadaj near Ahmedabad in preparation of the Janmashtami celebration, though the temple is closed for public entry on Janmashtami.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

HAPPY B’DAY!

IAS Dr Krishna Kant Pathak (left) and IAS Neelabh Saxena celebrated their birthdays on 11 August, Tuesday. We wish them all the best!

GUJARAT: Teachers celebrate Janmashtami online with their students after their daily online class. The teachers of Hari Krishna Dahya Bhai Swami School for mentally disabled students and their parents sang religious songs and bhajans as they celebrated Janmashtami online as per government rules in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

GUJARAT: The devout are celebrating Krishna Janmashtami at home in the wake of the Corona pandemic with making small models of Krishna Leela and also the traditional jhoola for Bal Gopal in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI