16
R ashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the word “nationalism” is nowa- days equated with Hilter’s “nazism” or Mussolini’s “fas- cism” and it is better to avoid this word, stressing on using some alternative terms. Bhagwat’s remark came amid continued protests in several cities of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is branded by those opposing the CAA as a reflection of “Hindutva nationalism” that is detrimental to Muslims. Besides, analysing the results of this month’s Delhi Assembly polls, the BJP’s ide- ological mentor RSS said in an editorial in its mouthpiece on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah cannot always help the BJP win Assembly elections. Recalling an RSS event in the United Kingdom (UK), Bhagwat said, “During my recent visit to the UK, I was advised by an RSS worker not to use the word ‘nationalism’ as English is not our language and it could have a different mean- ing in England. It's okay to say nation, national and national- ity but not nationalism. Because it means (alludes to) Hitler, Nazism and Fascism (in England).” Calling upon RSS mem- bers to connect with people irrespective of their caste, lan- guage, religion or region, Bhagwat said India’s charac- teristic is to bind everyone in one thread following the prin- ciple of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is a family). “We (Indians) live for each other, not for ourselves. We believe that the world has made us and we have to give back to it. We look at the world with gratitude,” he said. Sharing an anecdote, he said, a Muslim intellectual from the country once went for Haj and was sent to jail on blas- phemy charges for wearing a “locket”. The then Foreign Minister, Sushma Swaraj, inter- vened and got him released within eight days, he said, apparently suggesting that everyone from India is con- sidered a Hindu outside the country. “...Because Bharatiya san- skriti (Indian culture) is also known as Hindu sanskriti, reflecting its values, ethos and culture,” he said. The RSS chief also gave a call to make India a super- power. Bhagwat said, “The aim of the Sangh is to unite Hindu society. The Swayamsevaks are dedicated to their aim. By feel- ing proud of the culture of our country we have to work to take the country to new heights. We have to make India a world ‘Guru’. It is time to make India a superpower, but not like other superpowers that misuse their influence.” R ahul Gandhi is all set to be back as the Congress chief in the party’s plenary session in April. Rahul had quit the post following the Congress rout in the Lok Sabha polls last year. Congress Working Committee (CWC) had appointed Sonia Gandhi as interim president of the party in August last year. But as the unwell Sonia had to skip the party’s campaign in the recent Assembly polls, the calls for Rahul to head the party have become stronger. The Congress on Thursday said Rahul was a clear choice for the party president’s post. Party sources said Rahul was the only contender, hinting that elections in that case may not even be necessary. “Rahul has acceptability across the country and also the capability to lead the party,” said a senior Congress leader. Several party leaders have called for the appointment of a full-time party president. On Thursday, former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, who has been advocating elections to the CWC, said, “I renew my appeal to CWC to hold lead- ership elections to energise workers and inspire voters.” “I was referring to my ear- lier call — eight months ago — for elections among the 10,000 party workers who constitute the ‘AICC plus PCC delegates’ list. These should be for the elected seats in the CWC as well as for the party presiden- cy,” said Tharoor. Former MP Sandeep Dikshit has accused senior leaders of failing to find a new president because they are “scared who will bell the cat”. Reacting to the remarks, Tharoor tweeted, “What Sandeep Dikshit said openly is what dozens of party leaders from across the country are saying privately, including many with responsible posi- tions in the party. I renew my appeal to CWC to hold lead- ership elections to energise workers and inspire voters.” Asked about the remarks made by Tharoor and Dikshit, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the CWC will decide on the Congress chief post. “If anyone has any doubts about this, he should kindly read the resolution of the CWC before giving any statements in public,” Surjewala said. “Instead of giving state- ments on social media and interviews in the media, if Sandeep Dikshit works hard in his own constituency and polit- ically encash the work initiat- ed during Sheila Dikshit’s rule, the Congress will emerge vic- torious. It is my appeal to every leader like Dikshit that instead of giving knowledge to the entire country, they should first show the benefits of their own work done in their con- stituencies,” he said. T he mediation attempt by Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors advocates Sanjay Hedge and Sadhana Ramachandran to persuade the Shaheen Bagh protesters to lift blockade of the Delhi- Noida main road remained futile for the second day on Thursday. The protesters patiently expressed their anguish but refused to budge from their Day 1 demand that they would end protest only after the CAA is repealed and proposed NRC is shelved. After holding talks with the protesters, Hegde and Ramachandran left for the day. It is understood they are like- ly to visit the sit-in protest which has been going on since December 15 again on Friday to find an amicable solution to end the impasse. Like Wednesday, Hedge and Ramachandran expressed their unwillingness to talk with protesters in the presence of the media. As Ramachandran started addressing the protest- ers reporters surrounding the dais tried to suggest her on how to hold talks. It angered her, and she asked the media per- sons to leave the tent where the talks were to be resumed. Ramachandran began addressing the protestors say- ing, “Aapne bulaya, hum chale aaye (You called us and we are here)”. Hegde said the SC has recognised their right to protest, but added “the rights of others have to be respected”. “When Shaheen Bagh has become an example of protests in India, let us set an example of a protest that does not dis- turb anybody. You all must be rest assured that we are here to fight for you. Don’t think if you change your spot, your fight will die down,” Hegde said. “We have seen many PMs come and go. Whoever comes in power and runs the country, sometimes some could be right and some could be wrong. Whatever you are saying the whole country and the PM are listensing,” he added. Ramchandran said she is waiting for that day when the country’s atmosphere will change. Then an elderly man expressed his fear, “I am very scared... I am very scared for my children. Madam save me,” he said. B JP and BJD members exchanged heated words over funding of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas in the State Assembly on Thursday. While Leader of Opposition (LoP) Pradipta Naik alleged that the State Government is establishing and running Adarsha Vidyalayas with the interest money earned from Central funds, BJD members Pradeep Amat, Amar Prasad Satpathy and Bhupinder Singh demand- ed factual figures from Naik. “The State Government has disengaged MCS Coordinators appointed by the Centre. While the Union Government had paid Rs 43 crore, the State Government has neither utilised it nor returned it to the Centre. The State Government is earning inter- est from the fund and running Adarsha Vidyalayas,” said Naik. Raising a Point of Order, Amat said, “Adarsha Vidyalayas had been proposed during the UPA Government. However, when the BJP-led NDA Government came to the power in 2014, the then Union Finance Minister stopped the projects despite repeated requests from Odisha and other States. Then, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik resolved to establish such a school in each of 314 blocks. As of now, 190 schools are operating in Odisha for which the Union Government has not give a sin- gle penny,” said Amat, also a former Finance Minister. Subsequently, Satpathy and Singh said the post of Leader of Opposition is very important in the House. Thus, Naik should not make untrue claims and he should substantiate his claims with factual figures. They demanded that the Speaker ask him to furnish factual figures against his claim. As they kept demand- ing it, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro suggested Naik to give a clarification on a later date. Earlier, Naik had also alleged that the State Government has failed in pro- viding jobs to youths during the last 20 years. “While 22,57,000 boys and girls have registered their names with different Employment Exchanges, the Government has given jobs to 26,350 only. Corporate houses are also not giving jobs to youths as per agreements made with the Government,” he alleged. T he State would have a Biotechnology Park in Bhubaneswar with the Bharat Biotech partnering it. An incu- bation centre would also come up at the Institute of Life Sciences, said Science and Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda on Thursday. He was addressing the valedictory session of Bio-Asia 2020, an event focusing on biotechnology and bio-indus- tries held in Hyderabad. The three-day-long event brought together global biotechnology industries and pharmaceutical houses hosted by the Government of Telangana. Minister Panda, as guest of honour, said the Odisha Industrial Policy Resolution-2015 recognises the biotechnology sector as a pri- ority field and extends all fis- cal incentives, special incentives and other support measures for its growth. About 100 speakers, 800 corporate leaders and 350 CEOs participated in the sum- mit. T he Odisha Government is preparing for an Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting scheduled to be held here on February 28. A high-level meeting in this regard was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy at the Lok Seva Bhawan on Thurday wherein Home Secretary Sanjiv Chopra outlined the issues for discussion. The Chief Secretary directed the concerned depart- ments to feed updates on the status of various issues likely to come up in the meeting to the Home Department. The EZC meeting would be held at the new Convention Centre of Lok Seva Bhawan. Delegates from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha along with officials of Government of India would participate in the meeting. Various inter-State concerns along with issues relating to developmental schemes and programmes would be delib- erated in the meeting, which is to be addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Issues relating to adoption of postage stamp method for unified power tariff in different States, disaster-resilient infra- structures, rail link projects, operation of mines, financial inclusion, grants to gram pan- chayats under the 14th Finance Commission, devolution of powers to panchayat bodies, coal royalty, implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer, telecom and internet connectivity, use of Aadhaar database, timely release of Central grants may figure in the deliberations, sources said. T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) would probe into the financial trans- actions of arrested self-styled godman Jyoti Ranjan Beura alias Golden Baba. He was arrested by the Chandrasekharpur police on December 31 last for allegedly duping people and several companies on the pretext of sanctioning loans from finance companies. After luring a min- ing company to sanction a loan of Rs 110 crore, he had taken 12 cheques with a value of Rs 12.4 crore each. Beura had also signed agreements with a Hyderabad- based construction company, a Thane-based private hospital and two medical equipment suppliers in Odisha to provide loans worth Rs 300 crore. Later, more than a dozen cases surfaced against him from various police stations in Bhubaneswar and other parts of the State. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch had frozen his seven bank accounts having deposits of Rs 51 lakh. E ven as the Government claimed that Odisha has recorded the highest poverty reduction during the last 20 years and the process of devel- opment is speeding up, Opposition BJP and Congress members pooh-poohed the claim saying 70 lakh families are still in utter penury in the State. Opposition and ruling members debated the issue on an Adjournment Motion brought by the BJP in the State Assembly on Thursday. “People are still going out- side in search of work. More than 1.5 lakh Government posts are lying vacant for long. There have been irregularities in selection of beneficiaries under various schemes. Eligible poor people are not getting Government benefits. PC tak- ing has been a practice during the last 20 years,” alleged BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi. He alleged that 90 per cent of tribals and dalits have not got basic amenities yet. Another BJP member Bishnu Charan Sethi slammed the Governemnt for importing potato and flower from West Bengal, pulses from Uttar Pradesh, fish and vegetables from Andhra Pradesh and onion from Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra also criticised both the Union Government and the State Government, saying that the Unoin Government has not provided required support for eradication of poverty and the BJD Government has failed to bring an inclusive growth. Another Congress mem- ber, Suresh Routray slammed the Government for incurring loans. BJD members Amar Prasad Satpathy, Dhruba Charan Sahoo, Prafulla Samal and Aswhini Kumar Patra par- ticipating in the discussion refuted the charges. In his reply, Planning and Convergence Minister Padmanabha Behera said the rate of poverty was reduced from 57.20 per cent in 2004-05 to 32.59 per cent in 2011-12 and the reduction of 24.61 per cent was highest among States in the country. Behera also claimed that Odisha has emerged as a food surplus State from a food defi- cient on. He said the figures submitted by him are based on the survey report of the Union Planning Commission and the NITI Aayog. Expressing dissatisfaction over the Minister’ reply, the BJP members staged a walkout.

The Pioneer · 2020. 2. 20. · ˇ ˆ ˆ˛ ˚ ! ˆ ˜"# $˜˜ # ˛ % ˛ ˛ & ˝ & ’ ˘ˇ ˆ˙ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˝˛ˇˇ ˇ ˆ ( ) ˘ * ! $ + ˝ $ &) ˝ ˜ ˇ ˜ˇ

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    Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) chief MohanBhagwat on Thursday said theword “nationalism” is nowa-days equated with Hilter’s“nazism” or Mussolini’s “fas-cism” and it is better to avoidthis word, stressing on usingsome alternative terms.

    Bhagwat’s remark cameamid continued protests inseveral cities of the countryagainst the Citizenship(Amendment) Act, which isbranded by those opposingthe CAA as a reflection of“Hindutva nationalism” thatis detrimental to Muslims.

    Besides, analysing theresults of this month’s DelhiAssembly polls, the BJP’s ide-ological mentor RSS said in aneditorial in its mouthpiece onThursday that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and HomeMinister Amit Shah cannotalways help the BJP winAssembly elections.

    Recalling an RSS event inthe United Kingdom (UK),Bhagwat said, “During myrecent visit to the UK, I wasadvised by an RSS worker notto use the word ‘nationalism’ asEnglish is not our language andit could have a different mean-ing in England. It's okay to saynation, national and national-ity but not nationalism.Because it means (alludes to)Hitler, Nazism and Fascism (in

    England).” Calling upon RSS mem-

    bers to connect with peopleirrespective of their caste, lan-guage, religion or region,Bhagwat said India’s charac-teristic is to bind everyone inone thread following the prin-ciple of “VasudhaivaKutumbakam” (the world is afamily).

    “We (Indians) live for eachother, not for ourselves. Webelieve that the world has madeus and we have to give back toit. We look at the world withgratitude,” he said.

    Sharing an anecdote, hesaid, a Muslim intellectual fromthe country once went for Hajand was sent to jail on blas-phemy charges for wearing a“locket”. The then ForeignMinister, Sushma Swaraj, inter-vened and got him releasedwithin eight days, he said,apparently suggesting thateveryone from India is con-sidered a Hindu outside thecountry.

    “...Because Bharatiya san-skriti (Indian culture) is alsoknown as Hindu sanskriti,reflecting its values, ethos and

    culture,” he said.The RSS chief also gave a

    call to make India a super-power.

    Bhagwat said, “The aim ofthe Sangh is to unite Hindusociety. The Swayamsevaks arededicated to their aim. By feel-ing proud of the culture of ourcountry we have to work totake the country to newheights. We have to make Indiaa world ‘Guru’. It is time tomake India a superpower, butnot like other superpowersthat misuse their influence.”

    ����� ."���"2*�

    Rahul Gandhi is all set to beback as the Congress chiefin the party’s plenary session inApril. Rahul had quit the postfollowing the Congress rout inthe Lok Sabha polls last year.

    Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) hadappointed Sonia Gandhi asinterim president of the partyin August last year. But as theunwell Sonia had to skip theparty’s campaign in the recentAssembly polls, the calls forRahul to head the party havebecome stronger.

    The Congress on Thursdaysaid Rahul was a clear choicefor the party president’s post.Party sources said Rahul wasthe only contender, hintingthat elections in that case maynot even be necessary.

    “Rahul has acceptabilityacross the country and also thecapability to lead the party,”said a senior Congress leader.

    Several party leaders havecalled for the appointment of afull-time party president. OnThursday, former UnionMinister Shashi Tharoor, whohas been advocating elections

    to the CWC, said, “I renew myappeal to CWC to hold lead-ership elections to energiseworkers and inspire voters.”

    “I was referring to my ear-lier call — eight months ago —for elections among the 10,000party workers who constitutethe ‘AICC plus PCC delegates’list. These should be for theelected seats in the CWC aswell as for the party presiden-cy,” said Tharoor.

    Former MP SandeepDikshit has accused seniorleaders of failing to find a newpresident because they are“scared who will bell the cat”.

    Reacting to the remarks,Tharoor tweeted, “WhatSandeep Dikshit said openly iswhat dozens of party leadersfrom across the country aresaying privately, includingmany with responsible posi-tions in the party. I renew myappeal to CWC to hold lead-ership elections to energise

    workers and inspire voters.”Asked about the remarks

    made by Tharoor and Dikshit,Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala said theCWC will decide on theCongress chief post.

    “If anyone has any doubtsabout this, he should kindlyread the resolution of the CWCbefore giving any statements inpublic,” Surjewala said.

    “Instead of giving state-ments on social media andinterviews in the media, ifSandeep Dikshit works hard inhis own constituency and polit-ically encash the work initiat-ed during Sheila Dikshit’s rule,the Congress will emerge vic-torious. It is my appeal toevery leader like Dikshit thatinstead of giving knowledge tothe entire country, they shouldfirst show the benefits of theirown work done in their con-stituencies,” he said.

    �������������������������������

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    ��!!����������� ."���"2*�

    The mediation attempt bySupreme Court-appointedinterlocutors advocates SanjayHedge and SadhanaRamachandran to persuadethe Shaheen Bagh protesters tolift blockade of the Delhi-Noida main road remainedfutile for the second day onThursday. The protesterspatiently expressed theiranguish but refused to budgefrom their Day 1 demand thatthey would end protest onlyafter the CAA is repealed andproposed NRC is shelved.

    After holding talks with theprotesters, Hegde andRamachandran left for the day.It is understood they are like-ly to visit the sit-in protestwhich has been going on sinceDecember 15 again on Fridayto find an amicable solution toend the impasse.

    Like Wednesday, Hedgeand Ramachandran expressedtheir unwillingness to talk withprotesters in the presence of themedia. As Ramachandranstarted addressing the protest-ers reporters surrounding thedais tried to suggest her on howto hold talks. It angered her,and she asked the media per-sons to leave the tent where thetalks were to be resumed.

    Ramachandran began

    addressing the protestors say-ing, “Aapne bulaya, hum chaleaaye (You called us and we arehere)”. Hegde said the SC hasrecognised their right toprotest, but added “the rights ofothers have to be respected”.

    “When Shaheen Bagh hasbecome an example of protestsin India, let us set an exampleof a protest that does not dis-turb anybody. You all must berest assured that we are here tofight for you. Don’t think if youchange your spot, your fightwill die down,” Hegde said.

    “We have seen many PMscome and go. Whoever comesin power and runs the country,sometimes some could be rightand some could be wrong.Whatever you are saying thewhole country and the PM arelistensing,” he added.

    Ramchandran said she iswaiting for that day when thecountry’s atmosphere willchange. Then an elderly manexpressed his fear, “I am veryscared... I am very scared formy children. Madam save me,”he said.

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    BJP and BJD membersexchanged heated wordsover funding of OdishaAdarsha Vidyalayas in the StateAssembly on Thursday.

    While Leader ofOpposition (LoP) PradiptaNaik alleged that the StateGovernment is establishingand running AdarshaVidyalayas with the interestmoney earned from Centralfunds, BJD members PradeepAmat, Amar Prasad Satpathyand Bhupinder Singh demand-

    ed factual figures fromNaik.

    “The State Governmenthas disengaged MCSCoordinators appointed bythe Centre. While theUnion Government hadpaid Rs 43 crore, the StateGovernment has neitherutilised it nor returned it tothe Centre. The StateGovernment is earning inter-est from the fund and runningAdarsha Vidyalayas,” said Naik.

    Raising a Point of Order,Amat said, “Adarsha Vidyalayashad been proposed during theUPA Government. However,when the BJP-led NDAGovernment came to thepower in 2014, the then UnionFinance Minister stopped theprojects despite repeatedrequests from Odisha and other

    States. Then, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik resolved toestablish such a school in eachof 314 blocks. As of now, 190schools are operating in Odishafor which the UnionGovernment has not give a sin-gle penny,” said Amat, also aformer Finance Minister.

    Subsequently, Satpathy andSingh said the post of Leader ofOpposition is very important inthe House. Thus, Naik shouldnot make untrue claims and he

    should substantiate hisclaims with factual figures.They demanded that theSpeaker ask him to furnishfactual figures against hisclaim. As they kept demand-ing it, Speaker SurjyaNarayan Patro suggestedNaik to give a clarificationon a later date.

    Earlier, Naik had alsoalleged that the StateGovernment has failed in pro-viding jobs to youths duringthe last 20 years. “While22,57,000 boys and girls haveregistered their names withdifferent EmploymentExchanges, the Governmenthas given jobs to 26,350 only.Corporate houses are also notgiving jobs to youths as peragreements made with theGovernment,” he alleged.

    ����� (*�($."��$1

    The State would have aBiotechnology Park inBhubaneswar with the BharatBiotech partnering it. An incu-bation centre would also comeup at the Institute of LifeSciences, said Science andTechnology Minister AshokChandra Panda on Thursday.

    He was addressing thevaledictory session of Bio-Asia2020, an event focusing onbiotechnology and bio-indus-tries held in Hyderabad.

    The three-day-long eventbrought together globalbiotechnology industries andpharmaceutical houses hostedby the Government ofTelangana. Minister Panda, asguest of honour, said theOdisha Industrial PolicyResolution-2015 recognises thebiotechnology sector as a pri-ority field and extends all fis-cal incentives, special incentivesand other support measures forits growth.

    About 100 speakers, 800corporate leaders and 350CEOs participated in the sum-mit.

    ����� (*�($."��$1

    The Odisha Government ispreparing for an EasternZonal Council (EZC) meetingscheduled to be held here onFebruary 28.

    A high-level meeting inthis regard was held under thechairmanship of ChiefSecretary Asit Tripathy at theLok Seva Bhawan on Thurdaywherein Home Secretary SanjivChopra outlined the issues fordiscussion. The Chief Secretarydirected the concerned depart-ments to feed updates on thestatus of various issues likely tocome up in the meeting to theHome Department.

    The EZC meeting wouldbe held at the new ConventionCentre of Lok Seva Bhawan.Delegates from West Bengal,Bihar, Jharkhand and Odishaalong with officials of

    Government of India wouldparticipate in the meeting.Various inter-State concernsalong with issues relating todevelopmental schemes andprogrammes would be delib-erated in the meeting, which isto be addressed by UnionHome Minister Amit Shah.

    Issues relating to adoptionof postage stamp method forunified power tariff in differentStates, disaster-resilient infra-structures, rail link projects,operation of mines, financialinclusion, grants to gram pan-chayats under the 14th FinanceCommission, devolution ofpowers to panchayat bodies,coal royalty, implementation ofDirect Benefit Transfer, telecomand internet connectivity, useof Aadhaar database, timelyrelease of Central grants mayfigure in the deliberations,sources said.

    ����� (*�($."��$1

    The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) wouldprobe into the financial trans-actions of arrested self-styledgodman Jyoti Ranjan Beuraalias Golden Baba.

    He was arrested by theChandrasekharpur police onDecember 31 last for allegedlyduping people and severalcompanies on the pretext ofsanctioning loans from financecompanies. After luring a min-ing company to sanction aloan of Rs 110 crore, he hadtaken 12 cheques with a value

    of Rs 12.4 crore each.Beura had also signed

    agreements with a Hyderabad-based construction company, aThane-based private hospitaland two medical equipmentsuppliers in Odisha to provideloans worth Rs 300 crore.

    Later, more than a dozencases surfaced against himfrom various police stations inBhubaneswar and other partsof the State.

    The Economic OffencesWing (EOW) of the CrimeBranch had frozen his sevenbank accounts having depositsof Rs 51 lakh.

    ��������������(*�($."��$1

    Even as the Governmentclaimed that Odisha hasrecorded the highest povertyreduction during the last 20years and the process of devel-opment is speeding up,Opposition BJP and Congressmembers pooh-poohed theclaim saying 70 lakh familiesare still in utter penury in the

    State.Opposition and ruling

    members debated the issue onan Adjournment Motionbrought by the BJP in the StateAssembly on Thursday.

    “People are still going out-side in search of work. Morethan 1.5 lakh Governmentposts are lying vacant for long.There have been irregularitiesin selection of beneficiariesunder various schemes. Eligiblepoor people are not gettingGovernment benefits. PC tak-ing has been a practice duringthe last 20 years,” alleged BJPchief whip Mohan Majhi.

    He alleged that 90 per centof tribals and dalits have not gotbasic amenities yet.

    Another BJP memberBishnu Charan Sethi slammed

    the Governemnt for importingpotato and flower from WestBengal, pulses from UttarPradesh, fish and vegetablesfrom Andhra Pradesh andonion from

    Congress Legislature Partyleader Narasingha Mishra alsocriticised both the UnionGovernment and the StateGovernment, saying that theUnoin Government has notprovided required support foreradication of poverty and theBJD Government has failed tobring an inclusive growth.

    Another Congress mem-ber, Suresh Routray slammedthe Government for incurringloans.

    BJD members AmarPrasad Satpathy, DhrubaCharan Sahoo, Prafulla Samal

    and Aswhini Kumar Patra par-ticipating in the discussionrefuted the charges.

    In his reply, Planning andConvergence MinisterPadmanabha Behera said therate of poverty was reducedfrom 57.20 per cent in 2004-05to 32.59 per cent in 2011-12and the reduction of 24.61 percent was highest among Statesin the country.

    Behera also claimed thatOdisha has emerged as a foodsurplus State from a food defi-cient on. He said the figuressubmitted by him are based onthe survey report of the UnionPlanning Commission and theNITI Aayog.

    Expressing dissatisfactionover the Minister’ reply, the BJPmembers staged a walkout.

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    Obtaining an admit cardfraudulently to appear inthe annual matriculation exam-ination for her boyfriendproved a girl dear as she wascaught red-handed during theexamination.

    The incident was reportedfrom Dhanupali in Sambalpur.Preliminary investigation sug-gested that the girl from Tiliavillage under the Rengali policelimits was appearing in theexamination in place of herbeau.

    Both the girl and the boywere arrested being bookedunder Sections 419, 420, 468and 471 of IPC read withSection 9 of the Orissa Conductof Examination Act-1988.

    The boy candidate LaxmanMeher of Mahulmunda vil-lage under the SambalpurTown police station who wasreading at the State Institute ofOpen School had been allottedhis examination centre at theCommissioner Colony HighSchool in the Dhanupali area.

    But his girlfriend Kamala Sethallegedly obtained a forgedadmit card in his name andwent to sit for the examination.

    During verification ofadmit cards before com-mencement of examination,the girl identified herself as‘Laxmi Meher’ as mentioned inthe document. When theexaminers raised suspicionover the candidate, she evadedtheir question saying ‘error’ inthe original admit card, whichwas issued in name of ‘LaxmanMeher’.

    The girl’s claim was provedfalse during scrutiny as thedetailed information men-tioned in the original admitcard available with the Board ofSecondary Education (BSE)authorities was mismatched

    with her admit card.The examination invigila-

    tor left the candidate’s answersheet unsigned and informedthe examination centre super-intendent in this regard, fol-lowing which a written com-plaint was lodged with theDhanupali police.

    The police registered a caseand arrested Laxman Meherand Kamala Seth. During inter-rogation, the girl confessed tothe malpractice she attemptedto help her boyfriend pass theexamination.

    Kamala forged the originaladmit card by editing her nameand the photograph of theactual candidate. She wascaught by the invigilator of theexamination centre, accordingto police.

    ����� ,���$,6

    CCTV cameras installed atsome of the matriculationexamination centres to checkmalpractices have been dam-aged “intentionally”.

    In a letter to all DistrictEducation Officers, theController of Examinations,Board of Secondary Education(BSE) said, “It has come to thenotice that some of the CCTVshave been damaged intention-ally and it may happen insome other centres in the com-ing days (too).”

    In the case of damage toCCTV cameras, the centre andconcerned attached schoolsshall be held responsible for it,the Controller of Examinationssaid in the letter, adding thatthe cost of damage shall be col-lected from them and results ofthe concerned candidates shall

    be kept withheld.The BSE official issued

    strict instructions for safe-guarding the CCTV camerasand other connected equip-ment installed at the examina-tion centres. It has been direct-ed not to switch off DVRs ofthe cameras.

    Notably, the BSE hasinstalled CCTV cameras at1,000 sensitive examinationcentres of the annual HighSchool Certificate(Matriculation) examinationswhich commenced onFebruary 19 and is scheduledto conclude on March 2.

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    Ganjam BJD womanleader MeenakshiMishra, who hadattempted self-immola-tion on February 12, diedwhile undergoing treat-ment at a private hospi-tal in Bhubaneswar onThursday.

    She had been admitted tothe hospital with 95-per centburn injuries.

    “Meenakshi had set herselfon fire to seek justice for herson. She was undergoing treat-ment at the SUM Hospital. Thedoctors tried to save her life butfailed. She breathed her last at9.55 am,” the deceased’s sistertold mediapersons.

    On the fateful day,Meenakshi had attempted self-immolation by pouringkerosene on her body in frontof the Brahmapur SP Office.

    She was rescued in criticalcondition and rushed to theMKCG Medical CollegeHospital. Later, she was shift-ed to a private hospital as hercondition deteriorated.

    According to reports,Meenakshi’s son Raja wasarrested for his alleged involve-ment in an altercation overparking issue on January 28 inBrahmapur. Protesting hisarrest, she attempted self-immolation in front of the SPoffice.

    She alleged that her sonwas brutally assaulted up bygoons with cricket bat in broaddaylight. The CCTV footageshowed that her son was thevictim in the incident, butpolice arrested her son.

    ����� �$!($2�1

    In what appeared as a bizarreact, hundreds of currencynotes of Rs 500 denominationwere found dumped near abridge at Tumbesingha hereon Thursday morning.

    Sources said that the cur-rency notes amounting toover Rs 1 lakh were damagedby termites. The notes hadbeen dumped in the aban-

    doned area four days ago,said a local. However, whoand why has dumped thenotes was yet to be ascer-tained.

    On receiving information,the Sambalpur Sadar policereached the spot, seized thenotes and began a probe intothe matter. Meanwhile, it wassuspected that a person mighthave disposed of the notes toevade Income Tax.

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    A58-year-old woman, Archana Das, ofBadamanmgalapur village of Jajpur districtis appearing for the High School Certificate(HSC) examination at the Jajpur GovernmentHigh School through corresponding courses.

    “I had a dream to pass matriculation exam-ination and I hope to fulfil my mission. I mar-ried at the age of 19. But my marriage wentwrong as I separated from my husband sixyears back. I joined as an ASHA Worker in theCommunity Health Centre at Dharmasala. Ihave a son and a daughter. Both are graduates.Now, I am residing in the house of mynephew Prabodh Das at Dharmasala,” saidArchana

    Archana is now a role model for thewomen who discontinued their study after theirmarriage, said social worker Randhir Das. “Itgives us much pleasure to see her write the exam-ination at such an age,” said Archana’s nephew

    Prabodh Das, who works in the police depart-ment at Jaraka.

    Archana proves that there is no age for read-ing, said Dr Basudev Das, a noted writer and aMember of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi.

    ����� $1$��

    APort Health Unit headedby a Port Health Officerwould come up in a four-roombuilding of the Paradip PortTrust (PPT) located at BhuyanChhak, Madhuban. An MoU inthis regard was signed betweenthe PPT and the Port HealthOrganisation (PHO) of theGovernment of India onThursday.

    PPT Senior AEM BiswajitMishra and Senior Regional

    Director, RoH & FW, UnionMinistry of H&FW Dr SK Karsigned the agreement in thepresence of PPT ChairmanRinkesh Roy and PPT HospitalCMO Dr P Panda. This part-nership is part of the obligationof India under the InternationalHealth Regulation 2005.Describing it as a historic day,PPT Chairman Roy said, “ThePHU will be responsible for thehealth and sanitation in the shipscoming to Paradip, food safety,health and hygiene in Paradip

    apart from many more func-tions.” Roy had been chasing it upwith the Ministry for the last fouryears since all the other MajorPorts have this kind of facility.

    Breaking the news aboutanother achievement in termsof cargo handling, Roy said thePPT on the day crossed 99-MMT mark in this fiscal; andwithin next three days, it wouldreach the coveted 100-MMTmark and would, thus, make ahatrick in three consecutive fis-cals.

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    In the backdrop of novel coronavirus claim-ing over 2,100 lives in China, two shipsanchored on the coast off Dhamra in Bhadrakdistrict have led to panic among locals.

    The vessels from Hong Kong reached herevia Chittagong in Bangladesh on Wednesday.

    After coming to know that the ships havecome from China, panic spread among the localsabout the new strain of corona virus spreading.

    However, the district administration allayedthe fears. ADM Shyambhakt Mishra said, “Ispoke to the Dhamra Port Company Ltd(DPCL) authorities. They said two ships fromHong Kong have arrived here and the crewmembers have undergone screening for thedeadly virus. There is no such indication andpeople shouldn’t panic.”

    The ships would leave the coast after load-ing cargo from here. As they don’t have immi-gration passes, the crew members won’t beallowed to disembark, the port authorities

    said.Notably, Hong Kong is controlled by the

    People’s Republic of China after it was liberat-ed as a British colony in 1997.

    Earlier this month, the Paradip Port Trusthad not allowed crew members of seven shipsto disembark at the port town in view of therapidly spreading infection in Wuhan in centralChina. The ships had come from China,Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

    ����� ($2"��$1

    Baleswar would host an AquaExpo Odisha-2020 fromFebruary 22 and 24.

    The mega event is jointlyorganised by the Sea FoodExporters’ Association, AquaFeed Dealers’ Association andOdisha Shrimp Farmers’Association with the assistanceof the Balasore Chamber ofIndustry and Commerce(BCIC) at the ITI field.

    Organising secretary andSea Food Exporters’ AssociationState vice-president SangramDas told reporters that about

    4,000 farmers from the State areexpected to join the expo whichexperts from across India andabroad would attend.

    “The technologies, meansand methods are upgraded dur-ing the three-day mega event,”said Das.

    “The Odisha marineexport, which amounted to amere Rs 200 crore in 1992, hasnow grown to Rs 3,000 croredue to the State and CentralGovernments’ initiative. Theculture in Odisha is being madein about 10,000 hectares ofland with a production of near-ly 60,000 MT per annum and

    direct employment is for about2 lakh people," he said.

    There is further scope of thegrowth in the sector and it couldgo up to Rs 1,000 crore in nextfive years if the sector receivesa wholehearted support of theGovernment, said expo con-vener Abhay Mahapatra. Sincethe sector has scope of furthergrowth, the coastal aquaculturehas resulted benefiting in use ofmarginal lands, generation ofrural jobs, high infusion offunds into the local marketthus strengthening the socialestablishments of rural patches,he observed.

    �������� .�$$�$

    Normal life in Nuapada dis-trict came to a standstillafter farmers resorted to aroad blockades under the lead-ership of BJP in several parts ofthe district on Thursday overdiscontinuation of paddy pro-curement.

    The farmers also demand-ed stoppage in Katni Chhatni(paddy deduction duringweighing) by millers in addi-tion to reopening of paddy pro-curement centres, which wereabruptly closed last week.

    "We are unable to sell hun-dreds of quintals of our pro-duce as the Government hasstopped procurement abrupt-ly. The BJD Government is runby the bureaucrats, who do notwant the farmers to grow,” saidthe agitating farmers at Tukla

    of Khariar block.The aggrieved farmers

    everywhere blocked the roadby keeping paddy bags on theroad. The State Highway atTukla, NH near Tikhali andNuapada and the RD roads inSinapali and Komna wereblocked for more than fourhours. Officials from differentblocks reached the spots and

    received memorandum fromthe farmers. When KalahandiMP Basant Panda led the farm-ers at Nuapada, former BJPMLA Hitesh Bagartti led thefarmers at Tikhali and PruthirajMahanti at Tukla.

    The agitators led by Pandastaged demonstration from 12am to 3 pm and when there wasno response from the district

    officials, he rushed with theagitators to the Collector'soffice. District CollectorMadhusmita Sahu and SPVineet Agrawal arrived at thespot and discussed with theMP. The agitating farmers wereassured of in writing by theadministration that the paddylying in the Mandis would beprocured immediately.

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    The Satkosia sands resort atBadmul, an ecotourismproject in the Satkosia TigerReserve, has earned a revenueof Rs 1 crore by February 15.

    The project was started in2016 with three tented accom-modations on the sandbar ofriver Mahanadi with an invest-ment of Rs 2 lakh and engage-ment of six villagers. And by2019, the project stands with 19accommodations and annualincome of Rs1 crore with 34 vil-lagers directly drawing employ-

    ment from it. The project isalso the indirect source oflivelihood for 7-8 sanctuary vil-lages as they provide milk,

    rice, dal, vegetables, non-vegarticles and travels, etc to theproject on a daily basis.

    By the end of financial

    year 2018-19, the total numberof visitor was 4,450 with rev-enue of Rs 1.3 crore and thisyear repeating the success story,

    the revenue by Februaryhas already reached Rs1crore with more than 4,500visitors. The locals engagedin the project have beentrained and work in dif-ferent capacity like man-ager, cook, service deliverypersonnel, receptionist,eco-guide and boatmanetc. Most of the commu-nity engaged are ruralwomen.

    Different programmeslike “Know Your Birds”,“Poacher turnedProtectors”, “Walk in theJungle” etc are run by thecommunity in the NatureCamp. Boating in Satkosiagorge, birding, trekking,sports, library, canopywalk, bathing ghat in river

    for tourists and farm visits etc,are the activities offered totourists in the destination.

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    The Bharatiya Academy inassociation with the Bodyand Organ Donation Societyof India (BODI) will hold afelicitation programme onMarch 8 on the occasion of theWomen's Day by awarding 20young women below 40 years,who have achieved excellencein 20 different categories.

    The academy sought nom-inations from eligible achiev-ers in fields like politics, sports,social work, film, education,art and craft, print journalism,broadcast journalism, digital

    media, change maker, innova-tion, culture, agriculture,industry, business and litera-ture etc.

    Eminent writer DrPratibha Ray, litterateur Dr ItiSamanta, DoordarshanDirector Dr Dipti Mishra andactress Archita Sahoo willgrace as guests on the awardgiving programme.

    Interested applicants mayapply before February 27 iny o u n g w o m a n a c h i v e r [email protected] statingtheir field of work, age, expe-rience and achievements, saida release by the organisers.

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    Congress Legislature PartyLeader Narasingha Mishraon Thursday alleged in theAssembly that the StateGovernment is violating lawsand furnishing untrue datatime and again.

    “I had asked a question toknow whether the MP LADfund is used for temple pur-poses. In the answer, it camethat the MP LAD fund can’t beused for construction of tem-ple or any structure in templepremises and for repair of suchstructures. Again, it was men-tioned that the fund can beused for such purposes in thename of community centre.This way the Government hassuggested for violation of law,”said Mishra.

    He said the Government’sclaim of increasing MLA LADfund is not true. “FinanceMinister Nirajan Pujari statedin his Budget speech that theamount of MLA LAD fund hasbeen increased three-fold. But

    the fact is that MLAs were get-ting 1.50 crore a year fromwhich the Government hasslashed Rs 50 lakh under ahead. Now, the Governmenthas increased the amount Rs 3crore. How can it be said thatthe MLA LAD fund increasedthree-fold,” wanted to knowMishra.

    He too refuted Pujari’sbudgetary hike claim forEducation and AgricultureSectors. “It is mentioned that

    the funds have been allocatedfor Education and Agriculturesectors at 3.38 per cent and 3.25per cent of the State GrossDomestic Products in 2020-21.However, the last year’s figuresof two departments were 3.50per cent and 3.3 per cent ofSGDP, respectively.

    It is a sheer example of theState Government furnishinguntrue information in theHouse,” alleged Mishra further.

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    Much to the cheer for thecity’s music connoisseurs,the 8th annual edition ofSamarpan Music Festival willbegin here from Friday offer-ing an array of spiritual anddevotional music. The three-day event is being hosted bycity-based six-decade-oldBhubaneswar Music Circle(BMC).

    “The only of its kind inOdisha, the BMC has beenhosting monthly music con-certs and annual music festivalsin Bhubaneswar for many yearsin its sole mission of promotionof Indian classical music and itsawareness among the people ofthe State. Alongside the twomajor music traditions of India- Hindustani and Carnatic -BMC has been consistentlytrying to highlight Odishi as amajor Indian classical musictradition. In recent years, wehave expanded our objectiveand are trying to highlightother genres of music. The

    Samarpan Music Festivalfeaturing Sufi and otherdevotional music tradi-tions was the outcome ofBMC’s expanded out-look,” explained its gen-eral secretary KhirodPatnaik.

    Since its launch in2013, the festival has beengaining greater demandwith each passing year forits message of universallove and brotherhood.Observing its appeal, theDepartment of Tourismof the OdishaGovernment has comeahead as its promoter, headded.

    The inaugural evening onFriday will feature New Delhibased Ghazal, Sufi and Bhajansinger Jitendra Singh who hailsfrom Jammu and Kashmir. HisSufi musings concert will befollowed by “Music of the Soulfrom Bengal” by immenselypopular Baul singer ParvathyBaul who has been decoratedwith the coveted Sangeet NatakAkademi Award recently.

    The second evening of thefestival will commence with“Bhajans of Bhakta Salabega”,the celebrated Muslim devoteeof Lord Jagannath, by eminentOdishi musician GuruRamhari Das. His concertwould be followed by “KabirVani” featuring bhajans of SaintKabir by Mooralala Marvada,a popular Sufi folk singer fromKutch region of Gujarat.

    The third and final eveningof the event would showcaseSufi kalams by Suresh KumarSethi from New Delhi whoworks as a staff artist with theSong and Drama Division ofGovernment of India and Sufiqawwali presentation by aseven-member troupe fromFatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradeshled by Jenab Saleem HasanChisti.

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    The Brahmapur IndustrialTraining Institute (ITI)electrical trade branch stu-dents have come out with alow-cost and energy-efficientLED bulb.

    The main aim behind themove is to conserve energy andbe self- reliant. While the costof the bulb is around Rs 50, abulb can be manufactured

    within five minutesafter a training of oneweek, said ITIPrincipal Rajat KumarPanigrahi.

    “Our main aim isto bring out the entre-preneur in our stu-dents. If required, theskill of manufacturingthis bulb will be pro-vided in the villages,”said Panigrahi.

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    The Odisha GovernmentCollege Teachers’Association officer-bearers’election result was out onThursday.

    According to a Pressrelease by the association, DrManas Behera of the RDWomen’s College has beenelected as the president of theassociation while Dr DebasisMohanty of the DhenkanalAutonomous College was elect-ed as secretary. The other officebearers are Rabindra KumarPradhan (vice president),Biswajit Pradhan (joint secre-tary) and Abhisekh Upadhyaya(treasurer).

    Similarly, three CentralCouncil members, four region-al vice presidents and fourregional coordinators wereelected. The newly formedcommittee will work for twoyears. The newly elected officebearers will take oath at a cer-emony at Rajdhani College,here, on February 23, added therelease.

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    The Ladies’ Forum, UtkalChamber of Commerceand Industry (UCCI) organi-aed an entrepreneurship devel-opment programme for stu-dents of the Christ College,Cuttack, on Thursday.

    Director-in-charge MSMEDr SK Sahoo and AGM,NABARD SS Panda were chiefguest and guest of honorrespectively on the occasion.Christ College Principal DrSiddharth Sahoo welcomedthe guests and participants.

    SS Panda deliberated onthe various schemes availablefor entrepreneurs in agriculture

    and other sectors, while Sahooencouraged the aspiring entre-preneurs to build their ownenterprise that would makethem independent and supporteconomic growth of the coun-try. He talked about the role ofMSME for startup enterprise.

    Deputy Director, MSME,Cuttack, Pragyan Smita Sarangigave an audio visual presenta-tion on various schemes avail-able and also implemented bythe Ministry of MSME.President, Ladies Forum, DrGeeta Rani Padhi presented herexperience as entrepreneur.Forum secretary Dr BharatiBehera proposed vote ofthanks.

    ����� ,���$,6

    The Bharatiya BikashParishad has filed a petitionin the Orissa High Court seek-ing quashing of the GeneralAdministration (GA)Department notification issuedon August 28, 2019 appointingan IAS Officer as transforma-tion and Initiatives (5T)Secretary. Parishad secretarySurendra Panigrahi filed thepetition on Wednesday allegingthat the appointment violatesthe Odisha Government’s Rulesof Business, 1956 and Article166 of the Constitution.

    As per the rule, theGovernment should open adepartment with theGovernor’s consent andappoint a Minister in charge ofthat department and after thatthe Government shouldappoint a Secretary, anAdditional Secretary and otherofficials. But it has not beendone, alleged Panigrahi.

    ����� @*$1��-��$

    The Chhattisgarh policewould soon conduct Narcotest on double murder accused,former MLA Anup Sai and hisdriver Bardhan Toppo.

    Bilaspur IG DipansuKabra, who is supervising thecase along with Raigarh SPSantosh Singh, on Thursday,said police are taking the dou-ble murder case very serious-ly. “The Narco test analysis willact as corroborative evidence tothe existing evidences againstthe accused Sai and Toppo.”

    He added that since thiswas a blind murder with no

    eye-witnesses, hence buildinga tight case against the accusedis important and that Narco testreport would help build astronger case.

    He said, “We have had evi-dence which pointed at the duowhich finally led to theirarrests. Both have confessed tothe murders during interroga-tion; But there have been cer-tain discrepancies in theirstatements which we are tryingto check out.

    Crime scene recreation hasalso been completed and we arealso in the process of collectingother evidence to verify theinvolvement of any other per-

    son. The suspected Innova carused for the murder has alsobeen seized,” he added. Kabraalso said that the former MLAand the deceased Kalpana livedas a married couple inBhubaneswar and that theysuspect that Sai had mentionedKalpana’s daughter as his ownin official documents.

    A team of the Chhattisgarhpolice is currently inBhubaneswar and is trying toverify the same. Earlier, onWednesday, a police team hadchecked the travel records ofSai and Kalpana at the BijuPatnaik International Airportin the capital city.

    ����� (*�($."��$1

    The BJD Government afterits 20-year-long reign hasbetrayed the youths of theState. Due to the Government’sinefficiency, Odisha hasbecome the number State inunemployment, said theBharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha(BJYM) on Thursday.

    The BJYM which held ademonstration at Lower PMGhere to protest against unem-ployment said that from 2009to till date, more than 22.56lakh unemployed youths haveregistered their names in theEmployment Exchanges in theState but only 26, 560 have gotemployment.

    The State Government’sSkilled Odisha programme hascompletely failed. Thoughmore than Rs 62 crores havebeen spent, out of the 90, 011youths only 21, 681 have gotemployment, said BJYM Statepresident Tankadhar Tripathy.

    There are huge vacancies inthe different Governmentdepartments. Besides, the Odiayouths are not getting employ-ment in the private sector.The Government shouldimmediately fill up the vacantposts and ensure engagementof youths in the private sectorcompanies. Otherwise, theBJYM would be forced tointensify its agitation, warnedTripathy.

    ����� @$-$���.-*�1

    Amiddle-aged woman,Lalita Sethy, a resident ofKulakaijanga village underBiridi block, committed sui-cide at her residence onWednesday, after she failed torepay a loan she owed to a pri-vate financial company here.

    The deceased’s husbandSuryakanta Sethy lodged anFIR in Biridi police station

    stating that the financial com-pany was mounting pressureon Lalita to clear the loan.“She was undergoing mentalstress over last week and final-ly consumed poison onTuesday night,” al legedSuryakanta.

    Police rushed to Lalita’shouse, seized the body andsent it for post mortem afterregistering an unnatural deathcase on Wednesday.

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    Police in Bhadrak district onThursday arrested an elder-ly man for allegedly sendingobscene messages to women.The accused was identified asSK Sarif, a resident of Erein vil-lage in the district.

    According to reports, Sarif,who works as a driver with theFood Corporation of India(FCI), used to send messages toseveral women in the areaproposing them to have phys-ical intimacy with him andoffered Rs 2,000 for the same.

    One of the women lodgeda complaint in this regard withthe Bhadrak Town police onWednesday, on the basis ofwhich the accused was arrest-ed and forwarded to court.

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    The Haryana Cabinet onThursday approved theNew Excise Policy for the year2020-2021 in which the totalnumber of liquor vends in theState have been increased from2500 to 2600.

    Talking to reporters,Deputy Chief MinisterDushyant Chautala, who alsohas the Excise Department,said that as per the new ExcisePolicy of the State, allotment ofliquor vends for the year 2020-2021 shall be carried out in theunits of zones.

    The number of vends perzone has been reduced fromsix vends to two vends. It willfacilitate new entrepreneurswith modest means to partic-ipate in the bidding processand would make the processmore competitive. The practiceof allotment by way of e-ten-ders will continue.

    He said that to further

    streamline the trade and as astep to ensure the quality ofliquor to consumers, it hasbeen decided that retaillicensees shall issue an invoiceof sales. A separate POS themachine will be required to beinstalled for IMFL and coun-try liquor at the sale counter ofall retail vends.

    Chautala informed thattemporary one day license forserving of liquor in functionsor parties in form L-12A shallbe made online. The fee struc-ture has further been ratio-nalized. Now, the commercialestablishments hosting func-tions and parties shall have tomandatorily get themselvesregistered with the Excise andTaxation Department.

    He said that the quota ofIMFL in the State has beenreduced from 650 Lakh ProofLiter to 550 Proof Liter where-as no change has been made inthe quota of country liquorwhich is retained at 1050 LakhProof Liter.

    Duties on various cate-gories of low alcoholic drinkbeer have been reduced. Theduty on beer with an alcoholiccontent between 3.5 percentand 5.5 percent has beenreduced from �50 per BL to�40 per BL.

    The duty of BL containingalcoholic content more than5.5 percent has been reducedfrom �55 per BL to �45 per BL.A new category of super mildbeer has been created withalcoholic content up to 3.5 per-cent. The duty of super mildbeer has been fixed at �35 perBL.

    The hours of sales for barsoperating in Gurugram,Faridabad, and Panchkula havebeen extended. Now, the barswould be allowed to operate till1:00 A.M. in Gurugram,Faridabad, and Panchkula.These timings in these districtscan be further extended byanother two hours on paymentof an additional license fee of�10 Lakh per hour.

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    Amidst demand by theopposition parties, thePunjab Vidhan Sabha’s Budgetsession has been extended tillMarch 4, adding three moreworking days. Now, the sessionwould have nine workingdays.The Finance MinisterManpreet Singh Badal will pre-sent the Budget proposals for2020-21 on February 28, whichwas earlier scheduled forFebruary 25.

    The decision was taken bythe Vidhan Sabha’s BusinessAdvisory Committee (BAC) withthe Speaker Rana Kanwar PalSingh as its ex-officio chairman.The BAC has ParliamentaryAffairs Minister BrahmMohindra, Finance MinisterManpreet Badal, Forest MinisterSadhu Singh Dharamsot as itsmembers, besides Leader ofOpposition Harpal SinghCheema, and Congress MLAKushaldeep Singh Kiki Dhillonas other members.

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    Punjab Government maysoon come up with a poli-cy to compensate the farmersfor their land being used forinstalling towers by the Statetransmission utility.

    Announcing this on thefloor of the House on the firstday of the Budget session, theChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Thursday made itclear that the Governmentwould consider compensationonly for installation of towerson farmers’ land by the PunjabState TransmissionCorporation Limited (PSTCL),but not for the land fallingunder the transmission cables.

    “It is not possible to givecompensation to farmers fortheir land falling under thetransmission lines since a sub-stantial chunk of 105 acres ofagriculture land across theState is under the wires,” saidthe Chief Minister whileresponding to the calling atten-tion notice raised by AamAadmi Party MLAs.

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    New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Thursday dismissed theCBI’s plea challenging thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt order by which it had lastyear refused to interfere withthe Punjab Government deci-sion to take back all sacrilegecases from the Central probeagency. A Bench of Justices RF Nariman and S RavindraBhat dismissed the CBI’s pleaon the ground of delay.

    “...Special Leave Petitionsare dismissed on the ground ofdelay. However, the question oflaw is left open. Pending appli-cation stands disposed of,” theBench said. PTI

    New Delhi: Former CongressMP Ashok Tanwar moved theSupreme Court on Thursdayseeking contempt proceedingsagainst the DDA and the DelhiGovernment for allegedly “wil-fully and deliberately disobey-ing” its orders allowing con-struction of a permanent struc-ture for the Guru Ravidas tem-ple at Tughlaqabad. The templewas demolished by the DDA fol-lowing the SC’s August 9 lastyear direction which hadobserved that “serious breach”was committed by Guru RavidasJayanti Samaroh Samiti. PTI

    New Delhi: The SupremeCourt in its interim order onThursday allowed theplea of the KarnatakaGovernment forimplementation ofthe final award by atribunal for sharingof water betweenGoa, Karnataka andMaharashtra from theMahadayi river.

    The interim order waspassed by a Bench comprisingJustice DY Chandrachud and

    Justice Hemant Gupta afterhearing the counsel from

    the three States. TheBench said the final

    hearing in the mat-ter will take place inJuly.

    It also said theinterim order is

    subject to the finaloutcome of the peti-

    tions filed by the threeStates against the tribunal’saward.

    PTI

    New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Thursday questionedthe issuance of black warrantsby trial courts for execution ofdeath penalty even before theexpiry of 60-day time periodfor filing of appeals in theapex court by the convicts. Thetop court’s observation cameduring the hearing of an appeal,filed by death row convict AnilSurendra Singh Yadav, allegingthat the black warrant wasissued by a Gujarat sessionscourt just 33 days after his con-viction was upheld by the highcourt. PTI

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    With Bihar Assembly pollclosing by, BJP presidentJP Nadda will visit Patna onFebruary 22 to discuss hisparty’s strategy with State lead-ers and that of NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA)there besides to inaugurateBJP’s new offices in 11 districts.

    This would be Nadda’s firstvisit to Bihar after taking overparty’s baton this year fromAmit Shah, the Union HomeMinister.

    “Nadda would be inaugu-rating the newly-built office ofthe BJP in 11 districts in Bihar,including Samastipur, Siwan,Bhagalpur, Arwal, Naugachhia,Lakhisarai, Gopalganj,Sasaram, Saharsa, Aurangabad,and Sheohar by a remote con-trol at Patna office. These newoffices are equipped with latestequipment, including an e-library that would help partyworkers in advancing BJP ide-ology in their districts,” saidParty’s General Secretary andBihar-in-charge, BhupendraYadav .

    Nadda will hold meetingswith members of the core com-mittee to ensure the victory ofNDA with Nitish Kumar being

    the Chief Ministerial face of theNDA alliance.

    Picking its lessons from theDelhi poll debacle, BJP is keento rein-in its motor mouthsand spoil its campaign in Bihar.Recently Nadda had sum-moned union minister andMP from Begusarai GirirajSingh’s controversial commentsagainst a prominent minorityinstitution.

    BJP intends to focus onstate and development issuesrather taking up national agen-da in the forefront of its cam-paigning in the Bihar poll. BJPwants to win to end it series ofreverses in Maharashtra, Delhiand Jharkand by faithfullyaligning with the JDU and notqueering its pitch on aNationalist agenda.

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    Amid concerns and criti-cisms, Union Housing andUrban Affairs MinisterHardeep Singh Puri onThursday said thatGovernment infrastructure,including the North and SouthBlocks, was built more than acentury ago and there is no rea-son why the Centre should notgo for a new-look CentralVista aesthetically while pre-serving the heritage.

    Speaking at a function,Puri said that some people aretalking about the Central Vistamakeover without knowingwhat is happening. “Lookevery 100 years somebody hasto take charge and decide whatthe city is going to look like.Delhi in its present from...Thecurrent Delhi Governmentalinfrastructure (including)

    Rashtrapati Bhavan, NorthBlock, South Block, were builtin 1910s or 1920s,” Puri added.

    The questions are beingraised by experts from variousquarters that what is the needto do so and what’s the objec-tive and why it is being imple-mented. “We are paying thou-sands of crores of rent to houseGovernment buildings. Wehave the land, so there is noreason why we can’t do it in anarchitecturally, aesthetic way,preserve the heritage etc andcreate a New Delhi,” he said.

    Sources said that the DelhiDevelopment Authority (DDA)has received nearly 400 objec-tions to the proposed change ofland use for 101 acres in cen-tral Delhi for the Centre’s ambi-tious Central Vista redevelop-ment project. The objectionsrange from questioning theneed for the project to itsimpact on environment andtraffic. Some also stressed onthe need to protect heritage anddemanded a proper assess-ment before going ahead withthe plan.

    LokPATH (people forAppropriate Transformationof Habitat), a collective ofurban development experts,which was formed recently,has flagged the lack of trans-parency in the process of landuse change. The Indian Societyof Landscape Architects(ISOLA) has called the projectan “inappropriate planningdecision”. Many have ques-tioned the need for the projectand said it contradicts the pro-visions of the Master Plan ofDelhi 2021.

    The redevelopment of theCentral Vista — the nation’spower corridor in Delhi —envisages a triangularParliament building next to theexisting one, a common CentralSecretariat for ministries and therevamping of the three-km-long Rajpath - from RashtrapatiBhavan to India Gate.

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    With the discharge of a womanmedico, who was country’sfirst novel coronavirus patient beingtreated at the Government MedicalCollege hospital in Kerala onThursday, India may have becomea pathogen-free country for now, butthe pathogen continues to take itstoll in neighbouring nations.

    One more Indian aboard aquarantined cruise ship off Japanwas tested positive for the novelcoronavirus and shifted to hospital,taking the number of Indian nation-als infected with the virus on thevessel to eight, the Indian embassysaid on Thursday. China has report-ed 2,118 deaths while the overallconfirmed cases has climbed to74,576.

    The Indian embassy said that atotal of 138 Indians, including 132crew and 6 passengers, were among

    the 3,711 people on board theDiamond Princess cruise ship. In atweet, the Indian embassy heresaid, “1 Indian crew who tested pos-itive for #COVID19 among 79 newcases on #DiamondPrincess yester-day too has been shifted to hospi-tal for treatment. All 8 Indiansreceiving treatment are respondingwell. Rest all Indians on-board arebraving out the trying circumstances.”

    Earlier, seven Indians were test-ed positive for the COVID-19. Themission said that infected Indianswere responding well to the treatment.

    Many countries have bannedarrivals from China while major air-lines have suspended flights to thecountry. In India, national carrierAir India has announced that it isextending the suspension of itsflights to the neighbouring countrytill June 30.

    The discharge of the women

    medico student marked the recov-ery of all three cases of infection inIndia reported from Kerala. Twoother students — one fromAlappuzha and another Kasaragod— had been discharged recently

    after they too tested negative for thevirus in fresh tests days after beinginfected by it.

    A total of 650 people werebrought back from Wuhan in Chinaon February 1 and 2 in two 747

    Boeing Air India aircraft after theoutbreak of coronavirus in thatcountry.

    Last month, the Air India hadsuspended its six weekly Delhi-Shanghai flights from January 31 to

    February 14. However, it did notrestart the flight operations fromFebruary 15 onwards.

    The national carrier had alsosuspended its Delhi-Hong Kongflights due to the coronavirus epi-demic that has killed more than2,000 people in China till date.

    “Flight operations on bothroutes— Delhi-Shanghai and Delhi-Hong Kong — have been suspend-ed till June 30,” an Air Indiaspokesperson said on Thursday.

    Earlier, IndiGo and SpiceJet hadsuspended their flight operationsbetween India and China.

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    Aday after US PresidentDonald Trump said inWashington that India has nottreated his country “very well,”on issues of bilateral trade, theMinistry of External Affairs onThursday said the context inwhich the remarks were madewas balance of trade and therehave been efforts to address theconcerns. The US President’sremarks came days ahead of hismaiden two-day visit to Indiacommencing February 24.

    Looking forward to hisvisit to India, Trump had saidIndia has not treated his coun-try “very well” on the tradefront and indicated that a “verybig” bilateral deal with NewDelhi may not be signed beforethe American presidential elec-tion in November.

    Trump, forcefully pursuinghis ‘America first” policy, haspreviously described India as a“tariff king” for imposing“tremendously high” tariffs onAmerican products, also

    expressed dissatisfaction overthe US-India trade ties. “Well,we can have a trade deal withIndia, but I’m really saving thebig deal for later on,” Trumptold reporters at the Joint BaseAndrews outside Washingtonon Tuesday when askedwhether he expects a trade dealwith India before the visit.

    Asked about his com-ments, the External AffairsMinistry spokesperson RaveeshKumar said here it is importantto understand the context inwhich the remarks were made.The context was balance oftrade and efforts have beenmade to address concerns, hesaid.

    India is eagerly awaitingPresident Trump’s visit and itwill strengthen the bilateralglobal strategic ties, Kumarsaid. He also said “we don’twant to create any artificialdeadline” replying to questionon when India-US trade dealwill be signed.

    On how many agreementswill be signed during Trump’sIndia visit, Kumar said aroundfive MoUs were under discus-sion. Asked whether the issuesrelating to H1B visa will figurein Modi-Trump talks, Kumarsaid they could come up.

    Trump will reachAhemdabad on February 24where a grand event - called“Namaste Trump” - to welcomehim will “showcase India’s richand diverse culture that willhave few parallels in India orelsewhere”.

    “US President Trump willland in Ahmedabad aroundnoon, from there he will go tothe Motera Stadium to addressthe ‘Namaste Trump’ event.The route from the airport tothe stadium -- we expect a large

    number of people will line-up,”Ravish Kumar said.

    Talking of the route fromthe Ahmedabad airport to thestadium, he said, “We expect alarge number of people linedup along the route”. So far, 28stages have been set up whichwill represent various parts ofthe country, on which artisteswill be performing.

    The roadshow will featureMahatma Gandhi’s life and theprogramme at the MoteraStadium would be like the“Howdy Modi” event, he saidreferring to the mega pro-gramme at Houston in US,where Trump had shared stagewith Prime Minister NarendraModi and addressed the assem-bled Indians.

    The other stop on Trump’sschedule is Agra and the laststop is New Delhi where Modiand Trump will hold talks onthe entire range of bilateralissues including defence andtrade. Incidentally, it will be thefifth meeting between Modiand Trump in the last eightmonths.

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    Days after the landmarkSupreme Court judgmentdirecting the Government togrant permanent commissionand command postings towomen officers, Army ChiefMM Naravane on Thursdaysaid his force has been cham-pioning gender equality and theapex court verdict has given theArmy clarity to move forward.

    In a momentous ruling onMonday, the apex court onMonday had called for a“change in mindsets” anddirected that women officers ofthe Army, serving under ShortService Commission(SSC), beconsidered for grant ofPermanent Commission, irre-spective of tenure of service,and also for command posts innon-combat areas since “anabsolute bar on women seekingcriteria or command appoint-ments would not comport withthe guarantee of equality underArticle 14.”

    Making the Army’s standclear, the Army Chief said herethe Indian Army does not dis-criminate any soldier based onreligion, caste, creed, or evengender. The outlook of theIndian Army has been through-out like this and “that is why westarted inducting women offi-cers as early as in 1993.”

    Outlining steps taken toinduct women in the force, hesaid the Army has taken theinitiative to induct women inrank and file, and the first batchof 100 women soldiers isundergoing training at Corps ofMilitary Police Centre andSchool, he said.

    Supreme Court’s decision isa welcome one as it brings outa sense of clarity and purpose togainfully employ officers for bet-ter efficiency of the organisa-tion. I must assure that every-body in the Indian Armyincluding women officers will

    be given equal opportunity tocontribute to the nation as alsoprogress in their careers,” he saidhailing the verdict as enabling.Naravane also said letters arebeing sent to women officersasking whether they will preferpermanent commission.

    The court has given threemonths’ time to theGovernment to implement itsverdict and Naravane said aroadmap has been prepared forits implementation. He alsosaid there is equal opportuni-ty for everyone and there is nogender discrimination. “We

    have drafted a plan” he stated.Same procedure for male

    Short Service Commission(SSC) officers will be followedfor women to give permanentcommission, the Army chiefclarified adding “it will besame rule for everyone.”

    Observing that the judge-ment is for those who havecrossed a certain point in theircareer in the Army, he saidthose rules for young officerswill not be applied on them. Inthe next batch of women offi-cers trained all these factors willbe discussed, he stated.

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    Speaking on the situation inJ a m m u & K a s h m i r ,Naravane said terror inci-dents have seen a downturnand the Army is maintainingpressure on terror groups.

    There is an externaldimension to the decrease incross-border terrorism, hesaid, in oblique reference tothe ongoing Financial ActionTask Force (FATF) plenary.

    Pakistan may have torethink strategy as even Chinarealised they cannot back

    their all-weather friend all thetime, the Army chief said onthe FATF plenary.

    On the health conditionof hardline Hurriyat leaderSyed Ali Shah Geelani, thearmy chief only said securityforces are geared up to takecare of any situation. On theproposed creation of a theatrecommand exclusively forJammu and Kashmir, he saidthere will be detailed discus-sions before anything isfinalised.

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    Regarding the new ThalSena Bhawan to be built inthe Delhi Cantonment, forwhich Defence MinisterRajnath Singh will lay the firststone on Friday morning, theArmy Chief said the pro-posed

    “Thal Sena Bhawan willbring all Army Headquarteroffices under one roof there-by improving the working

    efficiency, while reducing thecarbon footprint and logisticsrequirements.”

    However, he clarified thatthe office of the Army Chiefwill not shift to the new build-ing, and will continue to beclose to wherever the DefenceMinister’s office is. The newArmy Headquarters will bespread over 35 acres and willbe built in five years.

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    As China on Thursday object-ed to Home Minister AmitShah’s visit to ArunachalPradesh, saying the visit had vio-lated its territorial sovereigntyand “sabotaged” mutual trustwith India, New Delhi assertedthe eastern State is an integralpart of the country. Moreover,objection to an Indian Minister’svisit there does not stand to rea-son, it reiterated.

    The Home Minister is inArunachal Pradesh to attendfunctions related to the 34thStatehood Day of the north-eastern state and launched pro-jects including industry androad infrastructure. China hasalways claimed the border Stateas part of south Tibet and rou-tinely criticises the visit of anyIndian official to the region.

    Objecting to Shah’s visit,Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesperson Geng Shuangsaid “China’s position on theeastern sector of the China-India boundary, or the south-ern part of China’s Tibet region,is consistent and clear.”

    Responding to a questionabout Shah’s visit, the

    spokesperson said “the ChineseGovernment has never recog-nised the so-called ‘ArunachalPradesh’ and is firmly opposedto the Indian politician’s visit tothe southern part of China’sTibet region as it violatedChina’s territorial sovereignty,undermined stability of theborder area, sabotaged politi-cal mutual trust, and violatedrelevant bilateral agreement,”Geng. The official also saidIndia should stop taking anyaction that may “further com-plicate the border issue.”

    Asked about China’s objec-tion to Shah’s visit, Ministry ofExternal Affairs spokespersonRaveesh Kumar said here onThursday India’s consistent posi-

    tion has been that the State is itsintegral and inalienable part.Objecting to visit to Arunachalby an Indian leader does notstand to reason, he said.

    China last year too raisedsimilar issue when DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh visitedArunachal Pradesh to takestock of the security situationin the frontier border region.

    Earlier in 2019, customsauthorities in a northeasternChinese city had destroyednearly 30,000 world mapsshowing Arunachal Pradeshas a part of India and Taiwanas a separate country.

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    The Indo Tibetan Border Policeon Thursday honoured itsdoctors, paramedics, cooks andsanitation officials who served ina special quarantine centre set uphere housing 406 people suspect-ed to have been exposed to coro-navirus, a spokesperson of theforce said. “Thank you for whatyou did. The country and the forceis proud of you,” ITBP Director

    General (DG) S S Deswal told thepersonnel after he held a special‘sainik sammelan’ at the Chhawlacamp of the force. Deswal gaveaway the top award of the forcecalled the ‘DG commendationdisc’ to 28 personnel, appreciationletters to three while 32 stafferswere presented with cash rewards,ITBP spokesperson Vivek KumarPandey said.

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    Bengal is mulling enhancedsecurity for election strate-gist Prashant Kishore, sourcesin the State Government saidadding already the securitydirectorate has reviewed hissecurity status and submittedits recommendations beforethe Government.

    Accordingly, Kishore whohas reportedly been hired bythe ruling Trinamool Congressto chalk out its strategy roadmap ahead of the 2021Assembly elections is likely toget ‘Z’ category security coverwhich is provided among oth-ers former Chief MinisterBuddhadeb Bhattacharjee,senior Ministers like ParthoChatterjee, Firhad Hakim,Suvendu Adhikary, BCCI pres-ident Sourav Ganguly andanother 5-6 persons.

    Chief Minister MamataBanerjee and his nephew andMP Abhishek Banerjee gets ‘Z

    Plus’ security cover.The security personnel will

    be drawn from the trainedofficers of Kolkata Police andBengal Police, sources saidadding the decision to providesecurity cover to Kishore wastaken following a meeting ofthe security directorate officials.

    Significantly the meetingtook place following two devel-opments. First, Kishore’s expul-sion from the Jantadal UnitedParty of Nitish Kumar andsecond his decision to launch‘Baat Bihar Ki’.

    “A meeting was calledwhere his security wasreviewed and its upgradationwas recommended to the StateGovernment,” sources said.

    However officials inKishore’s election managementcompany said they did nothave any information about thenew security proposals.

    Bengal has seen a lot ofpolitical murders over the pastone decade or so. One such vic-

    tim of recent escalated politi-cal hostilities was a TrinamoolCongress MLA from Nadia.

    Satyajit Biswas KrishanganjMLA was murdered near housein Nadia. Local BJP MP whowas named among 43 otherswas recently grilled for fourhours by the State CID regard-ing his alleged role in the mur-der.

    With TMC’s positionimproving since the losses itsuffered in last year’sParliamentary elections—whenthe party conceded 18 out of 42seats to the BJP —thanksKishore’s reported strategicmanipulations the Bengal rul-ing party wants him secured atany cost, experts said.

    One of the major reflec-tions of Kishore’s successeswith the TMC was a remark-able comeback staged by theTrinamool in the recently heldAssembly elections to threeseats in which the BJP sufferedhumiliating defeat.

    Kolkata: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onThursday wrote a letter toPrime Minister NarendraModi, expressing concern over‘steady reduction’ of centralfunds to the State and ‘inordi-nate delay’ in their release.

    The BJP called the letter a“political ploy to befool people”ahead of civic polls in thestate.

    In her letter, Banerjeeasserted that despite the declinein central funds the state’sGSDP grew by 10.4 per centagainst the national GDPgrowth of 5 per cent in 2019-20. “I write to you with deepconcern regarding steadyreduction of central funds tothe state and also inordinatedelay in release of funds to usfrom the Government of India,”Banerjee wrote.

    She said the state is yet toreceive its share of central

    funds totalling �50,000 croretill January, 2020.

    This “extradordinary situ-ation” is creating major diffi-culties in meeting obligationsfor the welfare of the state, shesaid.

    The letter said, “You will,no doubt, appreciate that boththe central and the StateGovernments are expected tofulfil the constitutional oblig-ations and the commitments tothe people, so that respectivegovernments run smoothly ...However West Bengal is beingdeprived of the huge out-standing dues.”

    Banerjee said West Bengal’sindex of industrial production(IIP) in April-November 2019-20 stood at 3.1 per cent againstthe national figure of 0.6 percent, while growth of the ser-vices sector at 16.4 per cent wasmuch higher than the nation-al number of 6.9 percent. PTI

    Bengaluru: Leaving the organ-isers of an Event to protestagainst the CAA, NRC andNRP here red-faced, a youngwoman on Thursday raised‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan inthe presence of AIMIM chiefAsaduddin Owaisi, whodenounced her action andasserted “we are for India”.

    The woman, identified asAmulya, asked people to shoutwith her ‘Pakistan Zindabad’after the organisers of the eventunder the banner of “SaveConstitution” invited her toaddress the gathering soonafter Owaisi came on the stage.

    Soon Owaisi rushed tosnatchthe mike from her handsand was joined by others whotried to remove her from thestate.

    But the woman wasadamant and raised the sloganagain repeatedly.

    Later, the police stepped inand removed her from thedais.

    Owaisi then addressedthe gathering, saying he did notagree with the woman.

    “Neither me nor my partyhas any link with her. Wedenounce her. The organisersshould not have invited herhere. If I knew this, I would nothave come here. We are forIndia and we no way supportour enemy nation Pakistan.Our entire drive is to saveIndia,” the AIMIM MP said.

    JD(S) corporator ImranPasha claimed she was plantedby some rival group to disruptthe event. The woman, he said,was not in the list of speakersand demanded that the policeinvestigate the matterseriously. PTI

    Chennai: A road crash inTamil Nadu early Thursday left20 dead and 28 injured as alorry collided with their busreducing it to a mangled heap.

    Police said the accidentoccurred on the Salem-Kochihighway at Avinashi in Tirupuraround 4 am as the Kerala StateRoad Transport Corporation(KSRTC) bus was proceedingto Ernakulam from Bengaluru.Tirupur is located about 450km from here.

    Most of the passengerswere asleep when the lorrycrashed into the bus.

    The lorry driver,Ernakulam n