First India Gujarat For Gujarat Samachar Epaper 22 Feb 2020 edition

1. AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 88 Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team Pullela Gopichand called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. PM MODI INVITED FOR LAYING FOUNDATION STONE OF AYODHYA RAM MANDIR New Delhi: Trustees of the Sri Ram Jan- mabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust met Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi and in- vited him to the bhoo- mi pujan (foundation stone laying ceremo- ny) of the proposed Ram Temple in Ayod- hya on an auspicious date in April. Four of the trustees, including its newly nominated president Nritya Gopal Das, gen- eral secretary Champat Rai, treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Ma- haraj and R Parasaran, met the PM at his resi- dence on Thursday . The and Nirmohi Akha- Trustees of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Lord Ram is in his heart. So we are very hopeful,” said one trustee, who did not wish to be identified. Modi has not visited the Ram Janmabhoo- mi since becoming PM in 2014. “First Rajendra Prasad had performed installa- tion ceremony Somnath Laying of the founda- tion of Ram Temple is equally big moment. If Modi does this in Ayodhya, it would be a very positive mes- sage to entire country as well as world,” said Chaupal. PM had invited the trus- tees for a courtesy meet- ing after the trust held its first meeting in Del- hi a day earlier. “We have given the PM an invitation to come for the ceremo- ny in Ayodhya,” said Das. The date of the cer- emony will be decided by the trustees in the next meeting of the trust in Ayodhya on March 3 or 4. The ex- pected date is either April 2 (Ram Navami) or April 26 (Akshaya Tritiya). Two Kameshwar Chaupal ra’s Mahant Dinen- dra Das, had told ET on February 7 that the PM should lay the foundation stone of the temple and that an invitation would be extended to him. Although the PM did not commit anything during the meeting, the trustees said they were hopeful that Modi and other senior ministers such as Amit Shah, Ra- jnath Singh and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath would grace the occasion. “PM Modi himself announced the set- ting up of the trust in Parliament and said President of Temple. trustees, First India News Tankara to be developed as pilgrimage centre: Rupani pani recalled how inte- gration of Hyderabad Nizam would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Arya Samaj. The Governor and the Chief Minister also visited the birth- place of the Maharshi and went round an exhibition on his life. Swami born to a Brahmin fam- ily and was a follower of Lord Shiva. He was a believer of Veda and Hinduism. He always believed that Dharma teaches to be impartial. So was a supporter of present on the occasion. Speaking on the occa- sion, Rupani said the Gujarat Government will develop Tankara as a grand pilgrimage cen- tre to acquaint the world about the Ma- harshi’s spiritual reali- sation. The government will also facilitate land for setting up a DAV School on the Tankara- Rajkot Road to incul- cate cultural traditions with education. He said that Day- ananda Sarasvati was thinker of modern India and social re- former and had de- voted his life in the women’s education, uplift of the most backward sections of the society and fought against social evils like child marriage and sati pratha. Born as Mulshankar, Day- ananda Sarasvati had gained spiritual realisa- tion during Shivratri. He had gone from Abu to Haridwar in 1855. He was influenced by In- dia’s first freedom fight in 1857 and founded Arya Samaj in 1875 in Mumbai. Quoting Vallabhbhai Patel, Ru- non-violence worked for the better- ment of mankind. His belief of Swaraj was to make nation free from foreign influence. Swami Saraswati formed Arya Samaj at Bombay. The movement launched for reforms in Hindu religion. He op- posed caste system. He had also challenged Brahmin’s monopoly to read Vedas. He had op- posed idol worship. Dayanand denounced untoucha- bility and had called it in humans. and Rajkot: The state gov- ernment on Friday has announced that it will develop Swami Dayanand Sarasvati’s birth place Tankara as pilgrimage centre and for same govern- ment will give all as- sistance. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated Ri- shi Bodh Utsav at Tankara in Morbi dis- trict. It is been devel- oped by Maharshi Day- anand Smarak Trust. State’s governor Acha- rya Devvrat too was Dayanand was Dayanand Saraswati Sardar CM Vijay Ruapni addressing media at Ahmedabad airport on Friday. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

2. TALKING POINT 02 AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE The festival of Maha Shivratri was celebrated all across India with much enthusiasm. Devotees were seen standing in long queues at various temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. Here are a few glimpses of how the auspicious occasion was observed by people 1 3 2 5 6 4 7 8 9 1.Naga sadhus take part in a religious procession on the occasion of Maha Shivratri festival in Mirzapur. 2. Hindu devotees stand in queues to offer prayer at the Lord Lingaraj temple on the occasion of Maha Shivratri in Bhubaneswar. 3. Devotees pour water over a Lingam at Bhukailash Temple in Kolkata. 4.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performs abhishek of Lord Shiva on Maha Shivratri at Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur. 5. A man dressed up as Lord Shiva and shows his skills on the occasion of Maha Shivratri festival at a temple in Chandigarh. 6. Devotees wait to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivratri festival, at Aap Shambhu Temple in Jammu. 7.Security personnel stand guard as devotees wait in a queue to offer prayers at Shankaracharya Temple on top of the Shankaracharya Hill on the occasion of Maha Shivratri in Srinagar. 8.Devotees offer prayers on the occasion of Maha Shivratri in Kolkata. 9. Devotees offer prayers near a statue of Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivratri in Jabalpur.

3. AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 88 16°C - 33°C OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over a ‘Chadar’ that would be offered at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Friday. The Gori family of Bhilwara fl agged off the 808 Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti on Thursday. The fi rst mehfi l will be held either on February 24 or 25 depending on the sighting of moon. PM’S CHADAR FOR AJMER’S KHWAJA New Delhi: Prime Minis- ter Narendra Modi on Saturday handed over a ‘chadar’ to be offered at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in the coming days. “Handed over a ‘Cha- dar’ that would be pre- sented at the Ajmer Sha- rif Dargah on the 807th over the ‘chadar’. was also present. AJMER-PURI SPL TRAIN FOR URS ALL TO PREVENT VIRAL INFECTIONS The delegation wel- comed the prime minister with ‘dastarbandi’ and prayed for the country’s peace, safety, harmony, a statement from the dele- gation said. Minority Affairs minis- ter Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Urs in the coming days,” the Prime Minister Modi tweeted. A delegation comprising heads of both ‘anjumans’ of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah and the Ajmer Sharif Dar- gah Committee on Saturday met Modi, who handed them Keeping in view popular demands from passengers, the Ministry of Railways is running Special Trains towards Ajmer from Puri for Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the 807th Urs. To ferry the devotee passengers of the region to witness the URS, ECoR started special train from Puri. The train 08422 will leave Ajmer at 2005hrs and will reach Puri at 1615hrs. 08421 Puri- Ajmer Special will leave Puri at 0900hrs and will arrive at Ajmer at 0400hrs. Ajmer: District administration is geared up to combat viral infections during Urs. The task of preventing any viral infections, as thousands of devotees from across the country as well as from abroad will throng the city for almost 15 days. Health department will also take measures to control the spread of viruses and bacteria during the Urs. Clinics will remain operational in dargah region as well as at Vishram Sthalis. Alerts will be sounded if any visitor shows symptoms of any viral or bacterial infection. END OF BLOODSHED? US, Taliban will sign agreement on Feb 29 reduced violence period starting at midnight (1930GMT) Ivanka, husband to accompany Trump on India visit: Sources Both Ivanka and Jared are senior advisors to US Prez Trump NO ONE NEEDS TO FEAR CAA: MAHA CM THACKERAY AFTER MEETING PM Afghan, international and Taliban forces will observe New Delhi:Maharash- tra Chief Minister Ud- dhav Thackeray on Friday, accused some political leaders of in- stigating against the amended citizenship law that is being opposed by peo- ple in several parts of the country. Thacker- ay, who stressed that there was no reason for people to be wor- ried about the citizen- ship law or the nation- al population register. “Those people who have instigated it, they need to understand CAA… Why are we op- posing it, why are we supporting it. First we need to understand it,” Thackeray said to , when asked if he would make efforts to convince people about CAA. Thackeray, who was on his first visit to Del- hi after becoming chief minister, started his visit with a meeting Kabul/Washington: The United States and the Taliban will sign an agreement on Feb- ruary 29 at the end of a week-long period of violence reduction in Afghanistan, US Sec- retary of State Mike Pompeo and the Tali- ban said on Friday. Afghan, internation- al and Taliban forces will observe the re- duced violence period beginning at midnight (1930 GMT), an Afghan official and Taliban leaders said earlier. “Following lengthy negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States of Amer- ica, both parties agreed to sign the finalised ac- cord in the presence of international observ- ers,” a Taliban spokes- man said in a state- ment. people New Delhi: Trump’s Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be part of a high-powered delegation that accom- panies the US Presi- dent to India next week. US National Se- curity Advisor Robert O’ Brien, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of En- ergy Dan Brouillette too are expected to be part of the delegation. US trade representa- tive, Robert Lighthizer, will not be coming. He has been negotiating with Commerce Minis- ter Piyush Goyal for a trade deal, which both sides have put off, with several differences still Donald daughter US President Donald Trump with daughter Ivanka. remaining. Both Ivanka Trump, 38 and Mr Kushner, 39, are senior advisors to the US President. The President and his entourage will ar- rive in Ahmedabad on Monday , February 24, and after a roadshow, Mr Trump and Prime Minister Modi will crowds at the the new- ly-built Sardar Vallab- hbhai Patel cricket sta- dium, an event the gov- ernment says has been organised by the “Don- ald Trump Nagrik Ab- hinandan Samiti”. It is not clear what this “samiti” or committee is and who is paying for the event at the sta- dium, the world’s larg- est cricket stadium. Later that day, the American and his family will trav- el to Agra and then fly into Delhi in the even- ing for formal talks the next day . NOT A ‘CEASEFIRE’ PAK TO REMAIN ON FATF GREY LIST G and warned the country of stern action if it fails to check fl ow of money to terror groups like the LeT and the JeM, sources said. The decision was taken at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in Paris. The FATF decided to continue Pakistan in the ‘Grey List’. The FATF has also warned Pakistan that if it does not complete a full action plan by June, it could lead to consequences on its businesses, a source said. The plenary noted that Pakistan addressed only a few of the 27 tasks given to it in controlling funding to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),  A Taliban leader based in Doha said, period couldn’t be called a “ceasefi re.” lobal terror fi nancing watchdog FATF on Friday decided continuation of Pakistan in the ‘Grey List’  “Every party has the right of self defence but there would no attacks on each other’s positions.” President Narendra address  “It is to create a security environment in Afghanistan and can be extended if things go well after signing of peace accord with US.” he added. Turn on P5 Turn on P5 Turn on P5 Turn on P5 Now, SMC-run hosp asks women staff to strip for medical check-up Surat Municipal Commissioner has constituted a committee to look into serious allegations even the door was not locked making people and other doctors to peep in. The only thing that was in between was a flimsy curtain. The unmarried em- ployees were asked questions that caused them a lot of discom- fiture. They even asked if they had ever been preg- nant. Even the wom- an gynaecologist has been accused of mis- behaving with the em- ployees, including in- serting finger in the private parts check-up. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN SHOCKED National Commission for Women is shocked to hear the news of women being subjected to undress for a medical check-up. Commission Member Rajul Desai told media persons that she condemns the incident. “To ask 10 women altogether to undress is inhuman and insulting. The Commission can act suo moto in the case, but at present we have asked the Municipal Commissioner and Police Commissioner of Surat to submit an inquiry report before the commission. First India News rassing questions. This follows a strong protest lodged by the Surat Mahanagar Pa- lika Karachari Mandal. The commitee will report its finding di- rectly to the Municipal Commissioner within 15 days. The team in- cludes Kalpana Desai, former dean of SMIM- ER college, Gayatri Ja- riwala, in-charge depu- personal Surat: The Surat Mu- nicipal Commission- er has constituted a special three-member committee to look into the serious com- plaint against the SMC-run hospital where wom- en trainee clerks were asked to stand naked for a medical check- up and asked embar- were SMIMER ty commissioner and assitant commissioner of Central Zone and Tripti Kathaliya, execu- tive engineer. women were asked to stand naked in groups. There was no privacy for the employees and employees check done as part of a mandatory routine ahead of promotion of the staff on perma- nent posts. Here, the Surat Municipal In- stitute of Medical Education and Re- search (SMIMER) to have their The employees un- ion complained that around 100 employ- ees, including wom- en, were taken to the for fitness Turn on P5

4. GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 04 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia A’BAD ‘NO DRONE FLY ZONE’ ON FEB 24 Input from Intelligence agencies warn of terror attack, unrest by anti-social elements during US President Trump’s visit to city Travellers to reach airport 3 hours early First India News School students, singers to perform at Motera Stadium Ahmedabad: As a pre- cautionary City Police Commis- sioner Ashish Bhatia on Friday Ahmedabad a ‘No Drone Fly Zone’. No quadcop- ter, powered aircraft, micro-light aircraft, or hang glider can be flown in the city from 6 am to 8 pm on February 24. The move was an- nounced following intel- ligence reports alerting local authorities of ter- rorist attacks or unrest by antisocial elements during US President Trump’s visit. The notification shared by Bhatia, stat- ed, “According to input from intelligence agen- cies, terrorist elements are likely to cause an untoward incident dur- ing the US President Donald Trump Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi’s visit.” As part of the securi- ty arrangements for the dignitaries’ visit, public places like malls, multi- plexes, restaurants, shopping malls, thea- tres and shops, have been instructed by po- lice to install CCTV cameras and keep their recordings for 15 days. Instructions have also measure, First India News declared No quadcop- ter, powered aircraft, mi- Ahmedabad: Passen- gers travelling by air will have to reach the airport at least three hours ahead of their flights on Monday, in view of several road di- versions for the visit of US President Donald Trump and Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi. Airport Manoj Gangal told the media, “Passengers travelling by air on Feb- ruary 24 will have to reach the airport three hours before their flight departs.” The traffic police in- formed that the road from Shahibaug Dafna- la to the Airport Circle will be closed and so will the one from Indira Bridge to Airport Cir- cle. The road from Sa- barmati Power House to Janpath T Road via Visat Circle towards Zundal Circle will be closed from 8 am on Monday, and also that from the Power House to Janpath T Road, Vi- sat Circle towards Tapo- van Circle Road. First India News sociated with cricket have also been invit- ed for the event.” “The stadium’s to- tal seating capacity stands at 1,10,000 and it equipped number of meeting rooms, facilities like a swimming pool, gymnasium and also a resting room,” he added. According to re- ports, the invitee list for the ‘Namaste Trump’ event is still being prepared. Stu- dents of Tapovan School will perform to the tunes of a Bol- lywood song at the stadium. Furthermore, new organization called Donald Trump Nagrik Abhivadan Samiti has been con- stituted Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel has been appointed as the chairperson of the Samiti. crolight aircraft, or hang glider can be flown in Ahmedabad city from 6 am to 8 pm on February 24 —Ashish Bhatia, A’bad PoliceCommissioner To Ahmedabad: mark the historic visit of American President Trump on February 24, school children, Gujarati folk singers and Bollywood sing- ers will be perform- ing at the ‘Namaste Trump’ event sched- uled to be held at the Motera stadium. Addressing media, Nathwani, President, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) said, “The sta- dium is not going to be inaugurated on February 24, but only host the ‘Na- maste Trump’ event. From the entertain- ment industry, we have invited Gujara- ti folk singers and Bollywood singers. Former cricket play- ers, BCCI Chairman Sourav Ganguly and other dignitaries as- Donald is with also a Rapid Action Force (RAF) offi cers on patrol at the Motera stadium on Friday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI been given to surrender the recordings to the po- lice, if needed. for sub- mission to the police station as needed. Furthermore, a noti- fication was also issued to local police stations with instructions to ob- tain the credentials and details of all recent ten- ants (room or house) coming from other cit- ies or states. American President Donald Trump Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi will be visit- ing the city on February 24, under tight security . A large number of po- lice convoys and secu- rity agencies’ officers have been deployed to provide security cover to Trump’s roadshow. Director No ‘Namaste Trump’ for US couple Ahmedabad: It seems the ‘Namaste Trump’ has attracted visitors from oversees too, with a couple living in America crossing sev- en seas to attend the event. New York resi- dents Thakorbhai Pa- tel and his wife ar- rived in India for the event, but unfortu- nately, will be unable to attend it. The rea- son for their cancella- tion is a ban on per- sonal vehicles inside the stadium premises. Since the elderly cou- ple cannot walk long distances. Natives of US PREZ NOT TO INAUGURATE MOTERA the Dhanraj Vice- and a and Modi, but we heard that spectators will not be allowed inside the stadium with their per- sonal vehicles. That meant walking for quite a distance, which my wife and I cannot,” said Patel. Ena village in Surat district, they planned their visit after the an- nouncement Trump’s visit made. “We were eager- ly waiting to see Trump with our be- loved leader Narendra of and was —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI & NANDAN DAVE HUSTLING TO AND FRO The security arrangements for US President Trump’s visit to the city has kept local police on their toes lately. The venue for ‘Namaste Trump’, Motera stadium, has also been decked up for the event. GUP SHUP FEELING ENVY D this one senior offi cer who’s envying his “lesser” colleagues at the moment. He’s not sure if the VVIP visit benefi t him professionally, but his personal life is sure in the dumps. Must be hard having to deal with the stress of work and come home to a disappointed family, who just want to spend some time together on a holiday. No wonder then, he’s been questioning the wisdom of being smart and result-oriented since these seem to invite extra work and stress at the cost of a personal life. Either way, the good little worker will see his tasks through with his full involvement. PERMANENT DAMAGE CONTROL A these days. It seems like employees of different departments are staging a protest in Gandhinagar every day! The latest in the long list is the staff of the Madhyan Bhojan Yojna, who are currently demanding that the government address their pending issues. Some old protests don’t seem to be going away either. Just days after the state convinced candidates of the reserved category to withdraw their agitation, a few women have resumed their protest! This politician told us that maybe his party leaders are just not smart enough to keep everyone happy! SMELL ALL THE ROSES T lengths to pretty up the city. This includes dotting Monday’s VVIP route with plants. That’s old news. What’s new is what happened when a policeman on duty literally stopped to smell the roses potted along the Sabarmati-Motera Road. Apparently one senior offi cer called a constable aside and whispered something into his ear. Obviously, all the other constables wanted to know the secret. Turns out, the offi cer in charge happens to like roses too. No points for guessing what’s coming next: 20 or so rose plants will have a new home come Tuesday. Not coincidentally, this new address will be the same as the offi cer’s! onald Trump’s visit seems to have everyone afl utter; except politician with the ruling party feels that perhaps it is time his government sets up a permanent damage-control team, what with all the protests going around he Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is going to great BUGGED? Or is it the grapevine... . First India begins a column that brings to you gossips or tete-e-tete from the corridors of power NOT QUITE THE TRUMP CARD I been receiving has been phenomenal, at least in terms of airtime minutes on TV and inches in the newspapers. So it’s not all that surprising that at least some people are sick of the Trump mania. We’ve heard mumblings and mutterings both from within the media and without, asking what’s left to be covered about the VVIP visit! By next Monday, perhaps we Indians will be made privy to Trump’s favourite brand of toothpaste, or something equally trivial. f the Indian media is any indication, people are agog about everything Trump. This may or may not actually be true, but there’s no denying the coverage 45 has

5. GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 05 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Vipul Rajput RUMMAGING PRISON In two months, dozen phones found in safest jail Ahmedabad: That the Sabarmati jail has be- come notoriously porous has been established once again with three more mobile phones being found on Friday , even as the jail authorities have launched an “Operation Clean-up” to look for pro- hibited items inside the premises. The three cell phones and a charger were found packed in a plastic bag in- side the main sewer of the bathroom outside the new jail’s Vir Bhagat Sin- gh Singh yard number one. More than a dozen mo- bile phones have been found in the jail in less than two months. All these phones, interest- GST raids on wedding decorators unearth evasion of ` 22 crore —FILE PHOTO Sabarmati Jail. jail authorities have now launched an Operation Clean-up to look for differ- ent items that are prohib- ited on the prison prem- ises. Despite repeated at- tempts to contact him, Inspector-General of Po- lice (Jails) MK Nayak could not be reached. just about a couple of months ago. Again, the revelations have been made by the Crime Branch and not the jail authorities. Alarmed by the continuous discovery of mobile phones from all kinds of places, including bathrooms and toilets, the More shocking, this has been revealed only after the Vishal Goswami ransom racket was de- tected to be running from the prison premises itself. Goswami has been in jail for over two years for var- ious cases, while the ex- tortion racket was busted ingly , have been found abandoned. The story is not just this. The bigger story is that the jail officials claim to be in the dark about how the phones came in- side, who delivered them and who received and used them. Sabarmati prison officials are in the dark about suppliers and receivers of phones —FILE PHOTO 431-feet tall temple to be built in city First India News documents in connec- tion with tax evasion. In recent times, the state as well as central GST departments have unearthed scams where fake compa- nies’ trading shown on paper and credit misused by traders. Among those who were searched are: AL Man Salva Caterers, Subham Blue Lagoon Party Plot, Seven Seas Party Ltd, Aavkar Decora- tion from Ahmedabad, A. M Tapali Mandap Band, One Touch Dec- orators, three branch- es of Kailash Sweet Mart and Restaurants, Riddhi Siddhi Decora- tors and CB Patel Par- ty Plot in Surat. HAILING MAHADEV ! With Ahmedabad: the wedding season on, State’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) de- partment has carried out searches at 20 plac- es in Ahmedabad and Surat, looking for tax evasion by leading players in decoration and catering service sector. According to sourc- es, searches have been carried out at 37 plac- es. During primary investigations, search team earthed documents revealing tax evasion to the tune of Rs 22 crore. The GST teams have collected computers, registers and other First India News was Ahmedabad: The Vishwa Umiya Foundation an- nounced the construction of a 431-feet tall temple dedicated to Goddess Umi- ya at Jaspur on Friday . The stone foundation of the tallest temple in the state, will be held on February 28-29 at Jaspur-Ahmedabad based Umiya Dham. Touted to be built 431-ft (131 metre) high, the tem- ple has been designed by German and Indian archi- tects jointly . A viewing gal- lery will also be part of the structure at the height of 270 ft (82 metre), from Caterers, where a panoramic view of the city will be visible. The garbha griha of the temple will be constructed as per Indian traditional temple architecture. It will have Goddess Umiya’s idol sitting on a 52-ft high aasan. The temple will also have a Shiv Linga of Lord Shiva. the un- —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE Devotees offer prayers to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Mahashivratri in Ahmedabad. Corporator paints speed-breakers First India News provided a contract to any party for the paint- ing of speed breakers. The corporation and civic services have their own limitations, such as manpower shortage or a money crunch. So I feel that people should not wait for the corpora- tion to provide all ser- vices. Wherever it is possible, citizens should take up such public work on their own. That will solve problems fast- er than expected.” Vadodara: In a move aimed at making citi- zens more self-reliant and less dependant on the Vadodara Munici- pal Corporation, Va- dodara councillor Nitin Donga seemingly took matters in his own hands by painting speed breakers in the city . After the civic body constructed breakers on Gotri road, many accidents were three speed breakers near Gayatri School, Kabir School square and Vasna road. “The VMC has not reported on the road be- cause the newly-made speed breakers were not painted. In one night, the councillor painted speed FROM PG 1 No one... with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the media brief- ing that followed, Ud- dhav Thackeray said he had fruitful discus- sions with the prime minister and had spo- ken about issues con- cerning Maharashtra. The discussion at some point veered to the cit- izenship law and the protests around it. “We hope it is ex- tended for a longer time and opens the way for a ceasefire and in- tra-Afghan talks,” he added. Three senior Tali- ban leaders – two in Doha and one in Af- ghanistan – also con- firmed to Reuters that they had agreed on re- duction of violence in Afghanistan for seven days starting Friday night. All three spoke on condition of ano- nymity . said, “A committee of senior officials has been formed to probe the complaint. If the allegations are found true, action will be tak- en. Privacy of the wom- en should be the first priority at any work place.” ghanistan and to re- duce the U.S. presence in the region. The agreement will be signed upon the suc- cessful implementation of an understanding with the Taliban on a significant and nation- wide reduction in vio- lence, Pompeo added. The agreement could represent a chance for peace in the country after years of war and a US troop presence that dates back to 2001. US and Taliban ne- gotiators have been meeting in Doha since 2018 even though fight- ing has raged in Af- ghanistan and thou- sands of civilians and combatants have been killed as the insurgents have expanded their territorial control. “Based on the plan, the reduction in vio- lence (RIV) will start between the Taliban and international and Afghan security forces for one week,” Javid Faisal, spokesperson for the Afghan Nation- al Security Advisor, told Reuters. Ivanka, husband... Even though a trade deal is not happening, a $2.6 billion helicopter deal for the Navy is on the cards. Twenty four naval helicopters -- MH-60R - are likely to replace the obsolete British-made Sea King choppers, which first joined the Indian mili- tary fleet 49 years ago. The MH-60R will be de- ployed on warships to fight submarines and ships. Other pacts Homeland security, nu- clear power plants are also on the cards during Trump’s first state visit to India. PM Modi and Mr Trump have had eight meetings so far since the US president as- sumed office in Jan. Pak to... the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahideen, which are responsible for a series of attacks in India. The FATF said Pakistan has to swiftly complete its full action plan by June, the source said. Now, SMC-run... AA Shaikh, general secretary of the union, said, “The medical test is being done to regu- larize some clerks. We got around half a doz- en complaints before we lodged a protest be- fore the SMC commis- sioner.” Shaikh added, “If they feel the employees are unhealthy , they can ask for a medical certif- icate or for a specific test. But this is immor- al and also inhuman.” SMC Commissioner Banchhanidhi end of... Both sides would also make arrangements for the release of pris- oners, spokesman Zabihullah said. Separately, Pompeo said in a state- ment that the United States and the Taliban have been engaged in talks to facilitate a po- litical settlement in Af- on Mujahid Pani

6. PERSPECTIVE MAHASHIVARATHRI: SAVOUR THE DARKNESS MAHASHIVARATHRI IS A DAY, OR RATHER A NIGHT OF MANY POSSIBILITIES 06 AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia IN-DEPTH NAMASTE TRUMP Planned kem cho Trump, typical Gujarati greeting made way for Namaste, to show that entire India will be there to welcome him P SADHGURU, ISHA FOUNDATION Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service resident of the United States (PO- TUS), Donald Trump is coming to India on February 24 and 25 along with the First Lady Melania. With the forthcoming American elections and a trade imbalance with India on his mind, he is scheduled to visit Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi. He ex- pects Namaste Trump to be far more spec- tacular than ‘Howdy Modi’. “I hear, they’re going to have 10 million people. They say anywhere from six to 10 million people are going to be showing up along the route to one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world,” Trump said at a rally. Ahead of his departure Trump rued, “In- dia has been hitting us very hard with high tariffs for many years” and said he will sign a trade deal with Prime Minister Modi only if it is favourable to American interests. “I’m going to India next week and we’re talking trade. They’ve been hitting us very hard for many, many years,” Trump said at “Keep America Great” rally of his supporters in Colorado a few days back. He said he “really likes” the Indian prime minister but stressed on giving priority to business talks. “We’ve got to talk a little…We’ve got to talk a little business. It’s been hitting us hard. They give us tariffs, one of the highest in the world is India,” he told the crowd. Although the two countries are expected to sign a trade deal, Trump played down his expectations. The talks on a “tremendous” trade deal could slow down, Trump said, if he did not get a good deal. “We’re only making deals if they’re good deals because we’re putting America first. Whether people like it or not, we’re put- ting America first,” Trump said. India is likely to lower tariffs on import of American chicken and dairy products as a sign of flex- ibility. Last year, India had cut down tariffs on American motorcycle Harley Davidson by 50 per cent. Considering that American national elec- tions are around the corner, India may not yield much ground. Trump, who has come through the impeachment process unscathed, is also aware of this as he said, “Maybe we’ll slow down. We’ll do it after the election. I think that could happen too.” The humongous crowd expected at the Na- maste rally , Trump said, would spoil him. The planned kem cho Trump, the typical Guja- rati greeting made way for namaste, the tra- ditional Indian welcome, to show that not just Gujaratis but entire India will be there to welcome him. While the two great democracies move closer, Pakistan got a jolt on Trump’s India visit as it will remain in the FATF Grey list till June 2020. Back in the US, the Indian diaspora may well spoil him further by voting the Republi- cans to power one more time. M ahashivarathri is a day , or rath- er a night of many possibili- ties. The fourteenth day of every month, which is known as a Shivarathri, is the darkest day of the month. Celebrating Shivarathri on a monthly ba- sis, and the particular day, Ma- hashivarathri, almost seems like celebration of darkness. Any logical mind would resist darkness and naturally opt for light. But the word “Shiva” lit- erally means “that which is not.” “That which is,” is exist- ence and creation. “That which is not” is Shiva. That which is not means, if you open your eyes and look around, if your vision is for small things, you will see lots of creation. If your vision is re- ally looking for big things, you will see the biggest presence in the existence is a vast empti- ness. A few spots which we call galaxies are generally much noticed, but the vast emptiness that holds them does not come into everybody’s notice. This vastness, this unbounded emp- tiness, is what is referred to as Shiva. Today, modern science also proves that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. It is in this context that Shiva, the vast emptiness or nothingness, is referred to as the great lord, or Mahadeva. Every religion, every culture on this planet has always been talking about the omnipresent, all-pervading nature of the di- vine. If we look at it, the only thing that can be truly all-per- vading, the only thing that can be everywhere is darkness, nothingness, or emptiness. Generally, when people are seeking wellbeing, we talk of the divine as light. When peo- ple are no longer seeking well- being, when they are looking beyond their life in terms of dissolving, if the object of their worship and their sadha- na is dissolution, then we al- So when we say Shivarathri, which is the darkest night of the month, it is an opportunity for one to dissolve their limit- edness, to experience the un- boundedness of the source of creation which is the seed in every human being. Mahashiv- arathri is an opportunity and a possibility to bring yourself to that experience of the vast emptiness within every human being, which is the source of all creation. On the one hand, Shiva is known as the destroyer. On the other, he is known as the most compassionate. He is also known to be the greatest of the givers. The yogic lore is rife with many stories about Shi- va’s compassion. The ways of expression of his compassion have been incredible and aston- ishing at the same time. So Ma- hashivarathri is a special night for receiving too. It is our wish and blessing that you must not pass this night without knowing at least a moment of the vastness of this emptiness that we call as Shiva. Let this night not just be a night of wakefulness, let this night be a night of awakening for you. ways refer to the divine as darkness. Light is a brief happening in your mind. Light is not eternal, it is always a limited possibili- ty because it happens and it ends. The greatest source of light that we know on this plan- et is the sun. Even the sun’s light, you could stop it with your hand and leave a shadow of darkness behind. But darkness is all-envelop- ing, everywhere. The imma- ture minds in the world have always described darkness as the devil. But when you de- scribe the divine as all-pervad- ing, you are obviously refer- ring to the divine as darkness, because only darkness is all- pervading. It is everywhere. It does not need any support from anything. Light always comes from a source that is burning itself out. It has a beginning and an end. It is always from a limited source. Darkness has no source. It is a source unto itself. It is all-pervading, every- where, omnipresent. So when we say Shiva, it is this vast emptiness of existence. It is in the lap of this vast emptiness that all creation has happened. It is that lap of emptiness that Mahashivarathri is an opportunity and a possibility to bring yourself to that experience of the vast emptiness within every human being So when we say Shivarathri, which is the darkest night of the month, it is an opportunity for one to dissolve their limitedness, to experience the unboundedness of the source of creation. we refer to as the Shiva. In Indian culture, all the an- cient prayers were not about saving yourself, protecting yourself or doing better in life. All the ancient prayers have always been “Oh lord, destroy me so that I can become like yourself.” Hypnobirthing: A technique Kate swears by! I trance and drifting into a calm, deeply relaxed state but are not actually sleep- ing. Hypnobirthing tech- niques are founded on Brit- ish obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read’s observations. In his 1942 book, Childbirth without Fear, he proposed women in a calm state of mind, and who had faith in their ability to give birth, did so with less pain. These days, women and their partners or support people can learn self-hyp- notic techniques for hypno- birthing by attending one- to-one sessions, classes or online courses. Usually, women attend sessions from about 25-30 weeks of pregnancy but self- hypnosis and guided media- tion techniques are some- times taught earlier in preg- nancy . There is also emerg- ing evidence it could be used postnatally if women have had a traumatic birth or are experiencing increased lev- els of anxiety, stress or de- pression after birth. Fear and anxiety in childbirth n a new parent- ing podcast, Catherine, Duchess of Cam- bridge, said she duce fear, pain and anxiety during childbirth. It in- volves learning calm breath- ing techniques, some deep relaxation, guided media- tion, visualisation, positive suggestions & affirmations. These might include phrases such as, “I have the ability to give birth to my baby,” or “I trust in my body and my baby to help me.” Hypnobirthing teaches women to induce a “self- hypnotic” state of mind where a woman focuses her attention inwards, concen- trates deeply and this helps her to decrease peripheral awareness. But she can still respond to suggestions and affirmations. When a woman is afraid she will physically become tense, rigid and produce the stress hormones adrena- line and cortisol. Her per- ception of pain will in- the used hypnobirthing tech- niques to help her get through severe morning sickness – a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. She also used the techniques during labour. She told the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast: I saw the power of it, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick, and actually I realised that this was some- thing I could take control of during labour. It was hugely powerful. So what is hypnobirthing and what does the evidence say about its use? Calmness & relaxation affirmations Historically, women have been supported and com- forted by other women dur- ing labour and birth, in- cluding in traditional Abo- riginal birthing practices. Women would support oth- er women by performing special songs, chants and rituals to ease the birthing process and make the wom- an feel safe and calm. But while great advances in care have resulted in bet- ter outcomes for mothers and babies in childbirth, many women today are ex- tremely anxious and afraid of this process. crease and this can affect labour. Hypnobirthing aims to counteract the ef- fects of fear and help wom- en secrete the hormones oxytocin and endorphins which enable her to remain calm and relaxed, so labour can progress. Some women who have used hypnobirthing tech- niques say they feel like they are day dreaming, in a Hypnobirthing teaches women to induce a “self- hypnotic” state of mind where a woman focuses her attention group TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Today marks the 4th anniversary of the Shyama Prasad Mukherji #Rurban Mission, which was launched by PM Modi in Feb 2016 with the aim to invigorate the villages of India with equitable development and establish them as centers of economic growth. #HarEkKaamDeshKeNaam inwards. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM Hypnobirthing aims to re- G Vol 1 G Issue No. 88 GRNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

7. INDIA AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 07 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia ‘Woman who said Pakistan Zindabad has Naxal links’ ‘PAKISTAN ZINDABAD’ SLOGAN AMULYA LEONA SAID PAKISTAN ZINDABAD AT THE PROTEST WHERE HYDERABAD MP ASADUDDIN OWAISI WAS ALSO PRESENT stage when Amulya Leona said “Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pa- kistan)”. In a video from the event, several men are seen trying to drag her away amid a chaos. She manages to pull herself free, says “Hindustan Zindabad (Long Live In- dia)”. Just before she is taken away again, she is heard saying: “The dif- ference between Hindu- stan Zindabad and Pa- kistan Zindabad is....” In a Facebook post last week, Amulya, 19, had written: “Whatever country may be - long live for all the coun- tries!”. “Long Live In- dia! Long Live Pakistan! Long Live Bangladesh! Long Live Sri Lanka! Long live Nepal! Long live Afghanistan! Long Live China! Long Live Bhutan!,” she had post- ed in Kannada. Owaisi distanced himself his party from the slogan- eering at anti-CAA pro- test in Bengaluru, say- ing, “We, in no way, sup- port our enemy nation Pakistan.”—ANI Bengaluru: A Karna- taka woman, who has been charged with se- dition after she said Pakistan Zindabad at a protest against the Cit- izenship (Amendment) Act or CAA in Bengal- uru , has links,”Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said. The young woman, identified as Amulya Leona, said Pakistan Zindabad at the protest on Thursday where Hy- derabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was also pre- sent. She was charged with sedition, arrested soon after the event, and sent to a 14-day ju- dicial custody . Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the woman should be pun- ished for making such remarks. “Her own fa- ther has said - ‘break her arms and legs, she should not get bail. I will not protect her’,” the 76-year-old leader told reporters. “Secondly, and very importantly, the groups behind these people, the ones who are growing ‘SHE IS WRONG’ Bengaluru: The father of a young woman, charged with sedition after she said “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan at a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA in Bengaluru on Thursday, has criticized her. “What she said is wrong,” he said soon after the anti-CAA event. “Naxal MISCREANTS VANDALISE GIRL’S HOUSE Noida-Delhi road was briefl y reopened which was closed for 69 days due to ongoing anti-CAA/NRC protest, at Shaheen Bagh, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI The way AIMIM leader CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens: V-P Naidu Waris Pathan spoke in Karnataka, we condemn this kind of statement. Earli- er also Akbaruddin Owaisi made a sim- ilar kind of state- ment to flare up the situation. Is there a fixed match between AIMIM and BJP for making these kinds of statements? —Nawab Malik Maha Cabinet Min that those encouraging violence were doing at the cost of the nation. He said that dissent was essential in a de- mocracy but not disin- tegration. Stating that protests have to be con- ducted in a peaceful and democratic man- ner, he said: “No one can speak against the unity and integrity of the country .” —ANI Coimbatore: The Citi- zenship Amendment Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens, said Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. “CAA pertains to per- secuted refugees from the neighbouring coun- tries. It has nothing to do with Indian citi- zens,” said Naidu while interacting with the students and staff of with Naxals. She should be punished and action should be taken against those organisations,” he further Thursday, Asaduddin Owaisi and several oth- er men rushed to the people like Amulya.... action has to be taken against them and they should be investigated properly . It will then be known who is backing her. There is proof that she has connections BJP PSG Institutions here. The Vice President also said the violence was not acceptable in a de- mocracy and observed said.On Shiv Sena’s stand not clear on CAA, NPR and NRC: Chavan FOUNDATION LAYING CEREMONY the benefit of the coun- try. It seems that Shiv Sena’s stand is still not clear on CAA, NPR, and NRC.” “If there is any dispute, Maharashtra coordination commit- tee, which has leaders from three parties will discuss this and sort it out,” he said. —ANI ister (NRC), adding that the issue will be taken by Maharashtra coordi- nation committee. “There is a three-par- ty alliance government in Maharashtra. Con- gress party has cleared its stand on CAA, NPR, and NRC. This is not for of Citizens New Delhi: Maha- rashtra minister and Congress Ashok Chavan Thursday said that Shiv Sena’s stand is not clear on the Citi- zenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population (NPR) & National Reg- leader on Shiv Sena capable of giving befitting reply to Pathan: Raut New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that his party is capable of giving a be- fitting reply to state- ments like those made by AIMIM leader War- is Pathan. “Waris Pa- than made a statement that 15 crore Muslims will dominate 100 crore Indians. I warn that Shiv Sena is capable of giving a proper reply to statements even though we are in government in Maharashtra,” he said. Speaking on Owai- si’s disowning of pro- Pakistan slogans raised by a woman at an anti- CAA rally in Bengalu- ru, Raut said: “This is not a matter of disown- ing someone’s slogans. On your stage, if a wom- an comes & raises a slo- gan then it means that you have made the envi- ronment vitriolic.”—ANI Register Owaisi sowed poison, reaping vitriolic yields, says Naqvi ‘Strict action should be taken against Pathan’ Bhopal: Congress lead- er Digvijaya Singh said that strict action should be taken against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan for his alleged divisive comments at a rally in Kalaburagi in Karna- taka. “This type of comment is made by Asaduddin brother Akbaruddin Owaisi. There should be strict action against Waris Pathan. Con- gress has always fought against fundamentalist ideology. AIMIM complement each other and both spread hatred through religious sentiment,” Singh tweeted. —ANI New Delhi: Union Min- ister and Bharatiya Janta Party Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday said that All India Majlis-e-Ittehad- ul-Muslimeen Asaduddin Owaisi has sowed poison and is reaping vitriolic yields. Reacting on the pro- Pakistan slogans alleg- edly raised by a student at an anti-CAA rally in Bengaluru heralded by AIMIM chief Owaisi, Naqvi told ANI: “Asa- duddin Owaisi sowed poison so he is reaping vitriolic yields. The raising of ‘Paki- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh interacts with Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane during the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Thal Sena Bhawan in Delhi Cantt on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI leader EX-IAS OFFICERS KHULBE & SINHA APPOINTED AS ADVISORS TO PM Ex- MLA’s son held for killing student Chief Owaisi’s Lucknow: Aman Baha- dur, the son of former BSP MLA Shamsher Bahadur was on Friday arrested in connection with the murder of an engineering student in Lucknow’s Gomti Na- gar area. Prashant Singh was murdered on Thursday. The inci- dent was caught on a CCTV camera. ments have been made on contractual basis initially for a period of two years, or until fur- ther orders, the commu- nication said. Usual terms and conditions as applicable in the case of re-employed officers of Secretary-level in the government are appli- cable on them, it added. in the rank and scale of Secretary . Both the IAS officers are from the 1983 batch. Khulbe was from the West Bengal cadre and Sinha was from the Bihar cadre. Sinha retired as the Rural Development Sec- retary last year, while Khulbe has served in the PMO. The appoint- New Delhi: Retired IAS officers Bhaskar Khulbe and Amarjeet Sinha have been ap- pointed as Advisors to PM Narendra Modi, a government order said on Friday . The Appointments Committee of the Cabi- net has approved the ap- pointments in the PMO stan zindabad’ slogan is unacceptable.” “AIMIM leaders like Waris Pa- than are instigating and misleading people to remain in relevance,” he added.—ANI BJP and has HINDUISM DOESN’T SHUT DOOR FOR ANYONE, SAYS MAMATA Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Hin- duism doesn’t shut the door for anyone, instead it believes in together- ness.”Religion is culture, religion is unity, religion is love and the religion is making the poor strong. Hinduism doesn’t shut the door for anyone,” Mamata Banerjee said KEDARNATH TEMPLE TO RE-OPEN FOR DEVOTEES FROM APRIL 29 Dehradun: The gates of Kedarnath temple will be thrown open for public on April 29, a statement from the temple com- mittee said. As per the statement, “The gates will open at 6:10 am. On April 26, the idol of Lord Shiva will leave for Kedarnath in a palanquin and it will reach there on April 28. On April 29, the gates will MYANMAR PREZ WIN MYINT TO VISIT INDIA FROM FEB 26-29 New Delhi: Myanmar president Win Myint will be visiting India next week on a four-day tour from February 26-29. Myanmar President Win Myint to visit India from February 26-29. First Lady Daw Cho Cho to visit Agra, Bodh GayaFile image of Myanmar president Win Myint. Myint’s visit follows an invitation extended by president Ram Nath Kovind, the Ministry of External Af- fairs said in a statement. The Myanmar Pres- ident is also scheduled to hold several offi cial meetings in New Delhi. ‘DELHI SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN FINANCE COMMISSION’ New Delhi: Delhi Finance Minister Manish Siso- dia on Friday said that Delhi should be included in the Finance Commission so that it gets its share of central taxes. The comments came soon after his meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “There was a positive dia- logue over issues related to the development of Delhi with the Union Finance Minister. Delhi has not been included in the Finance Commission since 2001 while a Legislature was established here in 1993 only,” Sisodia said. at an event organised by religious organisation Bharat Sevashram. She further said that Hinduism does not believe in divide and rule but in ‘’togeth- erness.’’Earlier in the day, while expressing her concern, The Bengal CM wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the reduction of central funds to the state.” be opened.” The hour & date for the reopening of the famous Himalayan shrine in Uttarakhand were announced at a re- ligious ceremony held on the occasion of Shivratri at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath where Lord Kedar is worshipped during winter, Mandir Samiti president Mohan Prasad Thapliyal said.

8. INDIA AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 08 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Be cautious while speaking about Ayodhya: PM to Temple Trust officials POWERGallery 1999 BATCH ISS OFFICERS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR EMPANELMENT The offi cers of Indian Statistical Service of the 1999 batch are being evaluated for empanelment for holding the post of Join Secretary/ Equivalent in Government of India. REQUEST FOR EARLY CONSTRUCTION begin soon.” VHP leader Champat Rai, who was also a part of the delegation, said: “This was a courtesy meeting. All of us came here on the invitation of the Prime Minister.” K Parasaran & Swa- mi Govind Giriji Maha- raj were also part of the delegation, which met the P M. Trust members had nominated Nritya Gopal Das of Ram Jan- mabhoomi Nyas as its president VHP’s Rai was made the general secretary on Wednesday . —ANI New Delhi: Vishva Hindu Parishad vice- president Champat Rai on Friday said that Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi urged them to speak with caution on matters related to Ayodhya. “The Prime Minister told us that he wants peace in the country. He told us to be careful while speaking on is- sues pertaining to Ram Janmabhoomi. We gift- ed him clothes, he pre- sented us the same too,” Rai said while speaking to media here. WORK ON DECIDING RANK STRUCTURE OF ARMY OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO DMA The work on deciding Cadre/substantive rank structure of Army offi cers had been transferred to Department of Military Affairs (DMA). NEW CVC AND CIC - PROFILES OF 126 APPLICANTS EXAMINED Credentials of 126 applicants (38 for CVC and 88 for both CVC and vigilance commissioners) were examined by the Selection Committee headed by the PM Narendra Modi . ple will be built soon.” Maharaj further said: “We requested that the wait for the Ram tem- ple has become too long and, therefore, the construction Prime Minister Modi and invited him to visit Ayodhya. The Prime Minister has assured us that he will think over the proposal. He also said that the grand tem- Modi and invited him to visit Ayodhya. Yesterday after meet- ing the prime minister at his residence, Ma- hant Nritya Gopal Das Maharaj said: “We met The officials of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust led by its president Ma- hant Nritya Gopal Das Maharaj on Thursday met Prime Minister whereas BOMBAY HC TO LOSE FOUR SENIOR- MOST JUDGES IN NEXT 2 MONTHS The Bombay High Court is set to lose four of its senior-most Judges over the next two months. should IN THE COURTYARD LT GEN (RETD) SYED ATA HASNAIN APPOINTED NDMA MEMBER Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain has been ap- pointed as Member of National Disaster Manage- ment Authority (NDMA). Over 3,000 tonne gold mine found in Sonbhadra FCRA VIOLATIONS HC allows Azad to hold worker’s meet PUDUCHERRY CM’S PETITION DISMISSED Chennai: The Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition fi led by Puducherry Chief Min- ister V Narayanasamy against a decision of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and the Centre. Narayanasamy had approached the court following the deci- sion to disburse cash instead of free rice to ration cardholders in the Union Territory. Dismissing the writ petition, Justice CV Karthikeyan said: “The President had con- curred with Lt Gover- nor and she is bound to implement his decision. The CM must know it.” Following the deci- sion, Bedi thanked the Madras High Court for upholding the decision. Delhi court takes cognisance of chargesheet against Talwar trict Shende through his law- yer Firdos Mirza, said the outfit had got per- mission from the CP and Berar Education Socie- ty, which controls the Nagpur Improvement Trusted-owned ground, for the meeting. However, the Kotwali police station, under, denied permission for the meet, citing law and order issues, the peti- tion said. The plea sought direction from HC to state government and police commission- er to grant permission to the Bhim Army to hold its workers’ meet- ing. “Permission grant- ed with conditions. It will be a workers’ meet only . It shall not be con- verted into a demon- stration or protest.” “There should be no inflammatory speeches & atmosphere should be peaceful. Azad should give an undertaking on the above conditions,” the court said in its or- der on Friday . —PTI ‘Lawyer of convicts delaying justice’ chief Praful Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday, allowed the Bhim Army to hold a meeting of its workers at Reshimbagh Ground here on Febru- ary 22, but imposed cer- tain conditions. A division bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and Madhav Jamdar said the petition of the Dalit outfit, seeking permission for the con- clave, is allowed with conditions. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad is scheduled to address the meeting. On Tues- day , the High Court had issued notices to the Ma- harashtra government and the Nagpur police commissioner on the pe- tition filed by a Bhim Army functionary . The sprawling ground is close to the headquar- ters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak (RSS) and the Kotwali police had earlier denied permission for the gath- ering, citing law and or- OLD AGE PENSION PIL DISPOSED New Delhi: Delhi HC has disposed of a PIL challenging the procedure of old age pension scheme after Delhi govt assured court that they have reverted to earlier procedure of receiving applications direct- ly from citizens or through departments for pension under the scheme. “In view of aforesaid counter affi davit fi led by respondent, it ap- pears that the respon- dent has now reverted to earlier procedure of receiving applications directly from citizens or through depts for old age pension under old age pension scheme,” a bench of Justices DN Patel &C Harishankar said.—ANI EX DG INDIAN COAST GUARD RAJENDRA SINGH APPOINTED MEMBER, NDMA The Central Government has approved the appointment of former DG , Indian Coast Guard, Rajendra Singh as a Member of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Lucknow: The UP government is pre- paring to auction tonnes of gold re- serve found in Sonb- hadra district of the state. As per reports of Geological Sur- vey of India and Ut- tar Pradesh Directo- rate of Geology and Mining, the estimat- ed gold is said to be around 3,000 tonnes at Son Pahadi and Hardi village area. The UP govern- ment has started the process for alloca- tion of blocks where gold is said to be found. The govern- ment has also consti- tuted a seven-mem- ber team for auction- ing of these blocks through e-tendering process. — PTI FOUR HCS NOW HAVE FULL STRENGTH OF ADDITIONAL JUDGES High Courts of Calcutta, Tripura, Sikkim and Gauha- ti now have full strength of Additional Judges. New Delhi: A Delhi court has taken cogni- sance of the Enforce- ment Directorate’s chargesheet in a case of alleged violations of the Foreign Contribu- tion Regulation Act by an NGO linked to corpo- rate lobbyist Deepak Talwar. Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar, while taking cogni- sance of the same, is- sued summons against all accused for March 16 & observed that allega- tions in chargesheet prima facie show that arrayed accused were involved in the process of acquisition of pro- ceeds of crime. —ANI ITBP TEAM AWARDED SS Deshwal, DG, ITBP has awarded members of those ITBP team, who successfully managed the Quarantine facilities for 406 people taken from Wuham, China. These persons stayed at the Force’s Chhawala camp in Delhi from Feb 1 to 19, 2020. More than 60 staff including Doctors were put on duty for their care. SATYA GOPAL CHATTOPADHYAY RECOMMENDED FOR THE POST OF TRIPURA HC JUDGE Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for elevation of Satya Gopal Chatto- padhyay, Judicial Offi cer for Judge of the Tripura High Court. AB SINGH RECOMMENDED FOR THE MANIPUR HC JUDGE The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for elevation of Ahanthem Bimol Singh, Advocate, as Judge of the Manipur High Court. Sangh der issues. After denial of permission, the Dalit group moved the high court bench in Nagpur. The petition, filed by Bhim Army Nagpur dis- Koregaon-Bhima panel urged to summon Pawar MP government withdraws sterilisation circular after backlash THREE JUDICIAL OFFICERS RECOMMENDED FOR J&K HC JUDGES Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for elevation of three Judicial Offi cers - Vinod Chatterji Koul, Sanjay Dhar and Puneet Gupta - as Judges of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court. circular was sent to in- crease the participation of men in its family planning programme and was issued by the MP’s National Health Mission to achieve ster- ilisation target for 2019- 20. Taking note of NFH report, NHM Mission Director had issued cir- cular, asking top offi- cials to identify those workers who have “zero work output’’ & subse- quently withhold their salaries if they don’t get at least one case in 2019-20. —Agencies Bhopal: Following an uproar over its contro- versial order, MP gov- ernment has decided to withdraw the circular sent to its male health staff to bring at least one man for sterilisa- tion or face salary cuts and compulsory retire- ment. The government has reportedly trans- ferred the official who signed the circular. The govt spokesperson PC Sharma informed that the sterilisation circular is being taken back. The Kamal Nath- Pune: The Koregaon- Bhima judicial inquiry New Delhi: Asha Devi, the mother of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, blamed the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh for try- ing to delay the justice by misguiding court. “Convict’s law- yer now does not have anything.. he is mis- guiding the court to de- lay the justice. Not Vi- nay Singh, it is him who needs rest. Vinay is ab- solutely fine... he is mentally stable,” she said. The Patiala House Court issued death warrants against c o m m i s - sion received an application s e e k i n g summon- ing of NCP has RADM SJ SINGH ASSUMES CHARGE AS COMMANDANT, NAVAL WAR COLLEGE Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh AVSM, NM has assumed charge as the Commandant of the prestigious Naval War College. the four convicts while hearing a petition by the state and Nirb- haya’s parents. During the hearing, convicts’ lawyer AP Singh told the court that Vinay is on a hun- ger strike and his men- tal status is also not well. —ANI President Sharad Pa- war in view of certain statements made by him in the media about the 2018 caste violence near Pune. Sagar Shinde, a mem- ber of, a social group, on, filed the application before the panel. —ANI RADM ANTONY GEORGE ASSUMES CHARGE AS CSO (TRAINING), HQ SOUTHERN NAVAL COMMAND Rear Admiral Antony George has assumed charge as the Chief Staff Offi cer (Training) at Headquarters, Southern Naval Command. government in MP had in February, issued or- ders to its male health staff to bring at least one man for sterilisa- tion by the end of March or lose job. The fresh ‘PEOPLE FRIENDLY ANTI-TERROR OPS HAVE YIELDED RESULTS IN J&K’ Srinagar: The “remark- able” decrease in number of local youths joining various terror groups in J&K has been a result of Operation ‘Maa’ launched by the army, which also targeted leaderships of outfi ts “in a people friend- ly manner.” Lt Gen Kan- CHINA DENIES DELAY IN PERMITTING SPECIAL INDIAN FLIGHT TO WUHAN Beijing: China says it did not “delay” clearance to Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fl ight with relief material that was to also evac- uate remaining Indians from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on its return. The fl ight was originally scheduled to fl y out on Thursday and the Indian foreign affairs ministry cited the CHIRAG EMBARKS ON ‘BIHAR FIRST, BIHARI FIRST’ YATRA Patna: Ahead of Bihar Assembly election 2020, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) national president and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan on Friday launched Bihar First, Bihari First campaign. The fi rst leg of the journey will start from Hajipur in Vaishali. The yatra will travel across different districts of Bihar to culminate at the Gandhi Maidan here on April 14. Paswan, while addressing an event, said: “Bihar First, Bihari First campaign aims at developing the state of Bihar thoroughly. There is a dire need to develop the state.” ‘WON’T ACCEPT INTERLOCUTORS SUGGESTION OF MEET IN GROUPS’ New Delhi: SC-appointed interlocutors, Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran, told the Sha- heen Bagh protestors that conditions of talks will be decided by them. This was their one condition to initiate the dialogue with protestors. Ahead of the interlocutors’ meeting, the women sitting on dharna made it clear that their condition for talks is not acceptable to them. One of the protestors, Mehrunisa, when asked about interlocutors sug- gesting women can meet them in a group of 20, she said that there would be no talks in groups. wal Jeet Singh Dhillon, started Operation ‘Maa’ whereby, a local terrorist trapped in an encounter is made to talk to his mother in a bid to convince him to return to his normal life. “Nothing is lost until your mother can’t fi nd it,” Lt Gen Dhillon said. absence of approval from the Chinese authorities for it not taking off. The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday, however, said there was no delay from its side & added that concerned departments from two countries were communicating. India was still waiting for China’s clearance until Friday afternoon, sources said.

9. SPORTS AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 09 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Indian batsmen falter on challenging track Rain n’ Ruins Getting Kohli was massive, says Jamieson n The play was called off due to heavy downpour, gloomy conditions typifying India’s batting blues n Rahane’s 38 was saving grace for India after debutant Jamieson put on an impressive performance Wellington: India’s top- order batsmen formed woefully on a challenging track as the side crawled to 122 for 5 with New Zealand’s tow- ering pacer Kyle Jamie- son rattling the visiting big guns on his debut on a r ain-hit opening day of the first Test here. Friday’s play was called off after tea due to a heavy downpour, the gloomy conditions typifying India’s bat- ting blues with only Ajinkya Rahane (38 bat- ting off 122 balls) matching wares when it came to winning the mental battle. The 6”8’ Jamieson could not have asked for a better start, picking up 3 for 38 in 14 overs and his prized scalps in- cluded two of India’s best long-form batsmen -- skipper Virat Kohli (2) and the dogged Chetesh- war Pujara (14 off 42 balls). per- Wellington: Virat Cheteshwar Pujara out on his first day in Test cricket is the stuff dreams are made of and no wonder Kyle Jamie- son thinks events of the past couple of weeks have been “surreal”. Jamieson, who made an impact on his white ball debut during New Zea- land’s 3-0 ODI series win, picked three for 38 on his Test debut and also took a fine catch in the deep to leave India struggling at 122 for 5 on the first day of the opening Test. Is he able to believe what’s happening? “Not really. It’s still sinking in. The last couple of weeks have been pretty surreal as well. Pretty pleased and from a team perspective we’re in a pretty good position as well,” said the Auckland- born pacer. Getting and Kohli New Zealand’s Tim Southee celebrates the wicket of Prithvi Shaw during the first test match series at the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington on Friday. —Agencies Taylor first cricketer to play 100 matches in all 3 formats SCOREBOARD —Agencies India vs New Zealand Toss: New Zealand, field first India PP Shaw b Southee MA Agarwal c Jamieson b Boult CA Pujara c Watling b Jamieson V Kohli c Taylor b Jamieson AM Rahane not out GH Vihari c Watling b Jamieson RR Pant not out Extras: 4 (lb 1, w 3), Total: 122/5 (55 Overs, RR: 2.21) Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Prithvi Shaw, 4.2 ov), 2-35 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 15.3 ov), 3-40 (Virat Kohli, 17.5 ov), 4-88 (Mayank Agarwal, 34.3 ov), 5-101 (Hanuma Vihari, 41.1 ov) Bowling: TG Southee 14-4-27-1, TA Boult 14-2-44-1, C de Grandhomme 11-5-12-0, KA Jamieson 14-2-38-3, AY Patel 2-2-0-0. N made history on Friday when he took the field against India in the open- ing Test in Wellington. He became the first player to play 100 matches in all three formats of the game. The ongoing match at the Basin Reserve is his 100th Test. Taylor was presented ew Zealand veteran batsman Ross Taylor his 100th Test cap by for- mer New Zealand wicket keeper Ian Smith before the match. “Really excited about the occasion. It’s very nice for the team and the family to experience something they might never do again,” he said. “I’ll need some help drinking (the hundred bottles of wine), but they can be stored for a while. It keeps the tradition from Fleming, Brendon and Dan, who all played over a hundred Tests each and, hopefully, we can celebrate this one with a win.” The 35-year-old played his 100th T20 International against India last month. He has also played 231 ODIs for New Zealand. R B 4 6 SR 16 18 2 0 88.88 34 84 5 0 40.47 11 42 1 0 26.19 2 7 0 0 28.57 38 122 4 0 31.14 7 20 1 0 35.00 10 37 1 0 27.02 Kyle Jamieson Virat Kohli —Agencies Poonam spins India to 17-run victory Hungarian Open: Manika, Sathiyan enter pre-quarters and brought up her half-century in the 10th over. Immediately reaching half-century mark, Healy was dis- missed by Poonam, re- stricting Australia to 67/3. Indian spinners managed to spin a cob- web around the Austral- ian batters and this led to the dismissals of Haynes (6) and Perry (0) with Australia still 57 runs away from the win. Ashleigh tried her best as she kept the scoreboard moving at one end, but Indian bowlers kept on taking wickets at the other end. In the end, India managed emerge triumphant by 17 runs. Sydney: Poonam Yadav took four wickets as In- dia defeated the defend- ing champions Austral- ia by 17 runs in the opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday here at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Chasing 133, Austral- ian openers Beth Moon- ey and Alyssa Healy provided a steady start as the duo put on 32 runs for the first wick- et. India finally got the breakthrough in the sixth over as Shikha Pandey Mooney (6). Skipper Meg Lanning joined Healy in the middle to put on a brief partner- ship of 23 runs, but as soon as Australia start- ed to gain an upper hand, Lanning (5) was sent back to the pavil- ion by Rajeshwari Gay- akwad. Healy, however, continued to march on after Gardner too made it to the pre-quarter-finals with a 4-0 drubbing of World No. 61 No- shad Alamiyan of Iran in men’s singles. Manika placed at 67th in ITTF world rank- ings, dug deep and held her nerves to edge out Chen 4-3 in a dramatic match Olympic Hall. In a resilient display, Indian quali- fier fought back after being 3 games down and facing a match point in the fourth to win the next 4 games, leaving her much-fan- cied 11th seeded Tai- pei opponent shell- shocked. Budapest: Common- wealth Games gold medallist Batra notched up a stunning win over World No 26 Chen Szu-Yu to enter pre- quarters of 2020 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open. India Gnanasekaran Sathiyan Manika who is to —Agencies SCOREBOARD No 1 India vs Australia Toss: Australia, field first MM Lanning c Bhatia b Gayakwad RL Haynes st Bhatia b Poonam Yadav 6 8 0 0 75.00 A Gardner c & b Pandey EA Perry b Poonam Yadav JL Jonassen c Bhatia b Poonam Yadav 2 6 0 0 33.33 A Sutherland st Bhatia b Pandey DM Kimmince run out M Strano run out M Schutt not out Extras: 2 (lb 1, nb 1) Total: 115 (19.5 Overs, RR: 5.79) Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Beth Mooney, 5.4 ov), 2-55 (Meg Lanning, 8.3 ov), 3-67 (Alyssa Healy, 9.5 ov), 4-76 (Rachael Haynes, 11.3 ov), 5-76 (Ellyse Perry, 11.4 ov), 6-82 (Jess Jonassen, 13.5 ov), 7-101 (Annabel Sutherland, 16.3 ov), 8-108 (Delissa Kimmince, 18.4 ov), 9-113 (Ashleigh Gardner, 19.2 ov), 10-115 (Molly Strano, 19.5 ov) Bowling: DB Sharma 4-0-17-0, RS Gayakwad 4-0-31-1, S Pan- dey 3.5-0-14-3, A Reddy 4-0-33-0, Poonam Yadav 4-0-19-4. India win by 17 runs 5 8 0 0 62.50 at 34 36 3 1 94.44 0 1 0 0 0.00 India Shafali Verma c Sutherland b Perry 29 15 5 1 193.33 S Mandhana lbw b Jonassen JI Rodrigues lbw b Kimmince H Kaur st Healy b Jonassen DB Sharma not out V Krishnamurthy not out Extras: 7 (nb 1, w 6) Total: 132/4 (20 Overs, RR: 6.6) Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Smriti Mandhana, 4.1 ov), 2-43 (Shafali Verma, 5.3 ov), 3-47 (Harmanpreet Kaur, 6.4 ov), 4-100 (Jemi- mah Rodrigues, 15.6 ov) Bowling: M Strano 2-0-15-0, EA Perry 3-0-15-1, M Schutt 4-0-35-0, JL Jonassen 4-0-24-2, DM Kimmince 4-0-24-1, A Gardner 3-0-19-0. Australia AJ Healy c & b Poonam Yadav BL Mooney c Gayakwad b Pandey R B 4 6 SR dismissed 10 11 2 0 90.90 26 33 0 0 78.78 2 5 0 0 40.00 49 46 3 0 106.52 9 11 0 0 81.81 2 5 0 0 40.00 4 5 0 0 80.00 2 3 0 0 66.66 1 1 0 0 100.00 —Agencies R B 4 6 SR 51 35 6 1 145.71 6 12 0 0 50.00 Poonam Yadav celebrates with teammates after dismissing Ellyse Perry of Australia during the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup match between Australia and India in Sydney. Roosh’s ton helps Guj finish day 2 on top against Goa MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SPORTING EVENT PM Modi to launch Khelo India University Games Valsad: Roosh Kalaria slammed his third first- class hundred as Guja- rat remained in the driver’s seat after reduc- ing Goa to 46/2, still leading by 556 runs at stumps on Day 2 of the first Ranji Trophy quar- terfinal in Valsad on Friday. Resuming on 330/4, Gujarat declared at 602/8 with skipper and overnight batsman Parthiv Patel getting out on 124. All-rounder Axar Patel scored 80 as Kalaria remained un- beaten on 118 with Chin- will need to compete in some quality events and, for some reason or the other, that has not happened,” Chand said As many as 3400 ath- letes from 159 universi- ties across the country have been given entries in 17 disciplines namely archery, athletics, box- ing, fencing, swimming, weightlift- ing, wrestling, badmin- ton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rug- by, and kabaddi. tend the event. Ace sprinter Dutee Chand said that her fo- cus will be to perform well and achieve the qualification standard for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I may make the grade on the strength of my world ranking (cur- rently No. 54 in 100m and No. 43 in 200m) but I really want to make it to the Olympic Games by achieving the quali- fication standard. To improve my ranking, I New Delhi: Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi will launch the first edi- tion of Khelo India Uni- versity Games on Feb- ruary 22 in Cuttack, Odisha. PM Modi will kick start the multi-discipli- nary sporting event through video confer- ence. CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, the Union Minister Youth Affairs & Sports Kiren Rijiju and several other dignitaries and sportspersons will at- lll As many as 3400 athletes from 159 universities across the country will vie for top honours across 17 disciplines, including rugby tan also scoring 56. For hapless Goa, Felix Alemao returned best figures of 3/86. Spurred by his hundred, Kalaria hurt Goa further by dis- missing Amonkar for a duck in the first over of the in- nings. judo, for Sumiran —ANI

10. The moon is beautiful but then so are the wildflowers at your feet, appreciation of what we have is the key to contentment. —Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India World leaders’ rendezvous with Guj POWER-PACKED VISITORS 2ND FRONT 10 AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Ahmedabad: before Modi became Prime Minister and shifted base to Delhi, Gujarat has been inviting and hosting leaders from around the world. Let’s look at the three eras of visits of foreign Presidents and Prime Ministers in Gujarat. FIRST ERA about business, invest- ment and opportunities linked visits of foreign leaders to Gujarat. After he settled on the throne well, CM Modi had started vis- iting abroad with his officials and a group of selected leading in- dustrialists and busi- nessmen to invite for- eign guests to attend Vibrant Gujarat sum- mits. In this course, he would also invite for- eign leaders. Say for example, CM Modi visited Kenya and Uganda in November 2008 and invited Ken- yan Prime Minister Raila Odinga to visit Gujarat on the occa- sion of Vibrant Guja- rat Summit 2009. Od- inga accepted the in- vitation and attended Vibrant summit. Some non-Vibrant summit visits of for- eign leaders of small countries would also take place. In October 2010, the President of Mozam- bique Armando Guebu- za was on visit to Guja- rat mainly to attend business meeting wi Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Indus- tries members. Then diamond one?) of for- eign leaders visiting Gujarat started in year 2014 when CM Modi be- came PM Modi. This golden era is all about Modi. Top foreign leaders visit Gujarat because it is their friend Modi’s home-state and Modi wants to play host for them in his dear home state. So Gujarat first wit- nessed a high-profile visit of Chinese Presi- dent XI Jinping in No- vember 2014, just with- in six months of Modi becoming PM. It was Modi’s birthday and he hosted Jinping mainly at Gandhi Ashram and Sabarmati Riverfront Gujarati culture was showcased at both the spots, especially at Riv- erfront park Modi had personally taken care of smallest details Then also came high profile visits of Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Sep- tember 2017 and Israel PM Benjamin Netanya- hu in January 2018. While PM Modi centric visits of foreign leaders have been eye-catching, business centric visits of foreign leaders to Guja- rat, triggered by CM Modi have continued. Much Narendra Narendra The first one was Gan- dhian era. The head of states (Presidents) and head of government (Prime Ministers) vis- ited Gujarat mainly to visit Gandhi Ashram on the bank of river Sa- barmati. Such visits were few- er like Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1961, King of Jor- dan in 1963, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit in 1997, Sri Lankan PM Premadasa in 1988 and Nelson Mandela in 1995, Netherlands Prime Minister Wim Kok in 1999 would fit in this zone. SECOND ERA Snapshots of the galaxy of World leaders that visited Gujarat during different eras and inked crutial diplomatic and business pacts with the both state and the country. done. So this other- wise dry and prolong era was the second one and it was about as I mentioned earlier opportunities, busi- ness cooperation and investment. THIRD ERA tial Gujaratis settled abroad would extend help, sometimes Modi’s special man in Delhi, Indian Forest Service officer Bharat Lal who was stationed at Guja- rat Bhavan in Delhi, would use his person- ally made connections at various foreign em- bassies to get the things and automobiles. The other reason why Guja- rat remained untouched was political hostility be- tween the Centre and Gu- jarat. Modi as CM would manage to have leaders from small countries to attend Vibrant Gujarat Summits through his personal efforts. Sometimes influen- in Uganda. Ugandan Vice President Gilbert Bukenya had visited Gu- jarat in January 2009 at- tend Vibrant Gujarat Summit. More foreign leaders would visit Mum- bai, Bengaluru, derabad and even Chen- nai in those years. One reason was progress of these cities mainly in IT CM Modi too had met him. In March 2013, Ugandan Vice President Edward Kuwanuka Sse- kandi had visited Guja- rat with a delegation. He had also met C Modi and discussed business and agri sector cooperation opportunities. He was accompanied by Guja- rati businessmen settled The second era was Chief Minister Naren- dra Modi led Gujarat. While the earlier era was about Gandhian visits, this new era was Shah’s trip to Guj cancelled, likely to come on Feb 25 Hy- The third era (a golden one or should we say White House to take decision on Trump’s Sabarmati visit: CM CAMELS TOO JOIN TRUMP BANDWAGON! Trump will go to the Sa- barmati Ashram and spend around 30 min- utes there. All prepara- tions are in final stages for the visit of U.S. Pres- ident Donald Trump. He will directly come to Ahmedabad from Washington. “After that a grand roadshow will be organised. “Then he will go to the Motera stadium for ‘Namaste Trump’ programme two top leaders of the world (Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi) will be present, Rupani said. Asked about Mr. Trump’s visit to the Sabarmati Ashram, Mr. Rupani said, rhe White House will de- cide about it and we will be soon. Gandhinagar: preparations are in final stages for the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump The White House will decide if U.S. President Trump will visit the Sabarmati during his day-long trip to the city on Feb- ruary 24, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Fri- day. Mr. Rupani’s state- ment came in the back- drop of speculation in the last two days that the U.S. president will not visit the Sabarmati Ashram, a place closely associated with Mahat- ma Gandhi. Earlier it was an- nounced that after land- ing at the airport here on February 24, Mr. All Gandhinagar: Gujarat trip of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during which he was to participate in the dedication cer- emony of renovated Sursagar pond in Va- dodara city and a few other events, has been cancelled. Shah is now likely to visit Gujarat on Febru- ary 25. BJP sources said that his trip today has been cancelled due to his being occupied in other urgent and press- ing matters. During his likely visit on February 25 he was likely to par- ticipate in the kit dis- tribution event of the social welfare depart- ment in the Bavla APMC in Ahmedabad. He would distribute The Donald Ashram such kits to and other assistance to divyang, old people and wid- ows. Notably, Shah was to participate in the dedication ceremony of Sursagar pond in Vadodara which has been revamped at a cost of around Rs 35 crore. A huge idol of lord Shiva (Sarvesh- war) has been set up in the middle of the pond Border Security force (BSF) take part in rehearsal on their camels ahead of US president Donald Trump and prime minister Narendra Modi road show in Ahmedabad on Friday. —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE where informed Will lone NCP MLA defy party whip to give BJP edge in RS polls RO-RO FERRY SERVICE BEGINS FROM MONDAY Gandhinagar:Centre and the Gujarat Government’s joint efforts have been successful in re- suming Ro-Ro ferry service between the ports of Ghogha in Bhavnagar district and Dahej in Bha- ruch district. The service resumes on Monday. The government has decided to operate the ferry service during high tides in the day. Haresh Jhala relations. Now, once again, two parties are part of Maha- gathbandhan in Maha- rashtra government. So if the NCP MLA defies the party whip again this time, it might have a bearing on the grand al- liance in the neighbour- ing state. When, First India tried to contact NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja over phone, his num- ber was not reachable. The other important factor is Bharatiya Tribal Party headed by tribal leader Chhotub- hai Vasava. His vote had bailed out Ahmed P a t in 2017, but this time it is early to say which way the party will go. BTP’s MLA Mahesh Vasava from Dediyapada, and also son of Chhotubhai, told First India that at appropriate time party will decide its course, including whether to skip voting. The biggest challenge for the Congress is not to win over one vote, but to prevent cross-voting by its own MLAs, since the BJP is trying to lure the fence-sitters. 103 MLAs, Congress 73, Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has two MLAs, NCP one and one Inde- pendent MLA. To get elected to the Rajya Sab- ha, a candidate must fetch a minimum 37 votes. By this norm, BJP’s two candidates can easi- ly get elected but if it wants to have three can- didates elected to the Up- per House, the party falls short of eight MLAs. On the other hand, Con- gress’ one candidate can easily get elected but if it fields two candidates, the party falls short of just e l Gandhinagar: The Ra- jya Sabha elections for four seats, slated for next month, will prove to be a litmus test for both, political parties and some long term relations. In 2017, when Con- gress party’s stalwart Ahmed Patel was con- testing Rajya Sabha election, NCP’s two MLAs had defied the party whip and voted for BJP candidates. State strength is 182 seats, 2 seats are vacant, BJP has trust quotient with Jade- ja is low. NCP and Con- gress alliance is very old, but last Rajya Sabha elections had soured the one MLA vote. In such a situation, every single vote will count for both parties. Now, NCP’s singular MLA Kandhal Jadeja had defied the party whip and cross-voted for the BJP candidate. For the Congress, the Assembly’s

11. www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia 11 AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2020 BELLA TWINS RETURNING TO SMACK DOWN W talk show segment to an al- ready stacked line up for this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. The com- pany has announced that the twin sisters will be taking part in the ‘A Moment of Bliss’ segment hosted by for- mer Women’s Champion Al- exa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The Bellas are not the only big name announced for a re- turn on Friday Night and for- mer Universal Champion Bill Goldberg is also expected to year. appear live on the show. The company has also announced a few matches for the episode with the most interesting one being a #1 contenders match between Carmella and Nao- mi. The winner of this bout will then go on to challenge the current Women’s Champion Bayley for her title at the upcoming Super Showdown event. There is no word yet on why the Bella Twins are re- turning to SmackDown but they are expected to be in- ducted into Hall Of Fame this A FAMILY FILM City First in an exclusive interview with Taapsee Pannu, who was in the Pink City for a special screening of her upcoming film ‘Thappad’ WE has added the return of Bella Twins, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella for a SmackDown —Agency Nikki and Brie Bella Junior SSK in the house hav Sinha before, and it was dur- ing the promotions of my last film ‘Mulk’ with him, when he had decided that he wanted to make ‘Thappad’ and cast me in it. The shoot was really comfortable, and we finished such a crucial script in just 31 days. It was tough, but it was definitely a great time.” The film is about a man-woman relationship. “When we started shooting, we were told that this film is dedicated to the women of our country , but what I feel is that it is made more for the men. There are many times when a few aspects of life are not explained properly while growing up, and we have tried to put together most of them in one film,” she said. The actress feels that a family should watch the film together, as that will really help them make their relationships better and more comfortable. Taapsee has made her name as one of the top female actors in Bollywood and says that she has worked extreme- ly hard to get there. “I’m very thankful for where I am today , as I have been waiting for this day where I’m the first choice of the directors.” Taapsee also that she has had a lovely expe- rience shooting with all her co-actors, and would love to work with them again, especially Amitabh Bachchan. Summing up the film ‘Thappad’ in just one line, Taapsee stated, “Just ek slap, par nahi maar sakta”. nahi maar sakta”. NEHAL NAYAR nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in T eam of ‘Thappad’, actor Taapsee Pannu and di- rector Anubhav Sinha, were in the Pink City for a special screening of the film on Friday , a week before its release. In an exclusive interview with City First, Taapsee opened up about her views of the film and her experience shooting for it. About her experience, Taapsee shared, “I’ve worked with Anub- shared, “I’ve worked with Anub- ... her Instagram post B Raj Kundra have wel- comed a new mem- ber to their family - a baby girl whom they named Shetty Kundra. The couple wel- comed their second child on February 15. According to various reports, they had the child through surro- gacy . The actor broke the news through so- cial media. “Born: February 15, 2020 ~ Please be- stow our angel with all your love and blessings ~ Ecstatic parents: Raj and Shilpa Shetty Kun- dra,” Shilpa posted on her Twitter ac- count along with a cute picture that fea- tured the newborn baby, who Shilpa’s finger. A similar post was shared on her Insta- gram account. “Our prayers have been answered with a mir- acle. With gratitude in our hearts we are thrilled nounce the arriv- al of our little Angel. Samisha Shetty dra. Born on 15th February 2020 Junior SSK in the house,” read the cap- tion of the post. The cou- ple has a son named Viaan who was born in May 2012. ollywood ac- tor Shetty her husband Shilpa and The actress feels that a family Samisha held ly hard to get there. “I’m very thankful for where I am today , as I have been waiting for this day where I’m the first choice of the mentioned that she has had a lovely expe- rience shooting with all her to an- to work with them again, Kun- up the film ‘Thappad’ in just one line, Taapsee Taapsee Pannu MIMI- THE MOMMY GOES VIRAL! A it showed Kriti Sanon flaunting her baby bump. The actress is playing the role of a surrogate mother in the movie. In the photo, Kriti is seen dressed in a simple blue and red salwar kameez and can be seen sitting on stairs caress- ing her baby bump. Kriti has gained 15 kgs for her role in the film. Talking about gaining weight for ‘Mimi’, Kriti earlier said in an interview, “For me, put- ting on so many kilos is actually a challenge as it’s very new for my body. I have to fight my metabo- lism and increase my calorie in- take to gain that much weight in a short time.” “But I’m excited to see the transformation. It’s a role very close to my heart and I want to give it everything I can, even if that means not taking up any oth- er work in the process,” she add- ed. Kriti recently wrapped up the second shooting schedule of the film in Jaipur. ‘Mimi’ is slated to hit theatres in July 2020. —Agency leaked from the set of ‘Mimi’ was sur- faced on net and image —ANI The viral picture of Kriti Shilpa Shetty Kundra Kriti Sanon

12. ETC 12-13 AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia —PHOTOS BY SUNIL SHARMA & MUKESH KIRADOO Kewal Mehra and Ajay Mathur Nimisha, Yogesh and Pawan Jayshree and Rupendra Periwal Pankaj and Reema Kothari Rajesh Ajmera and Rajiv Arora Yasheel Pandel Rajiv, Ineet, Nikita, Vipul and Amit Hemant Ambwani and Raj Bansal Mona, Gaurav and Akanksha Anjali and Deepak Gupta Anudita Gola, Shrishti Bhardwaj and Nitika Panjwani YEH SHAAM MASTAANI JAGDEESH CHANDRA LAUNCHED THE POSTER OF FIRST INDIA’S ‘THE FASHION CONNECT SEASON 7’ ON THURSDAY EVENING AT HOTEL FAIRMONT JAIPUR. HE ALSO REVEALED THE DATE OF THE ESTEEMED FASHION SHOW OF RAJASTHAN, WHICH IS TO BE HELD ON MARCH 19 AT HOTEL CLARKS AMER IN THE PINK CITY. VARIOUS EMINENT PERSONALITIES ENJOYED THE GALA EVENING AT THE VENUE WITH GREAT MUSIC AND GOOD VIBES Devraj, Kavita, Nisha and Rachna Ramit and Surbhi Aayesha grooving to the tunes by Madhu Hemanti and Ashima Karan, Neeru, Sanjay, Madhu and Somil Usha, Rajiv and Rashmi Rashmi Kuchhal, Arneeb and Kulsum Malik Katik Sidharth and Garima Sahil Shipra and Jui Jagdeesh Chandra with Jui and Rishi Wrickie Angrish Doorva Gunjan and Sanjay Jain Vineet and Aniket Richa and Ratika Tina and Anjana Swati Jangid Anirban Bhattacharya and Anoop Srivastava Jaslin, Ekta, Yashika and Charu Manish, Madhu, Anish and Shakti Ankur, Shivendra, Hitesh and Shivansh Shivani, Ayush and Piyush Soni Narendra, Prashant, Sheril, Dilip and Amit Ankur, Minal, Nupur, Milan, Nikhil, Charu and Suvigya

13. CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia 14 —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI VROOMING IN STYLE I static crowd at Gujarat Nation- al Law University, Gandhina- gar on Friday. The street free- styler was also seen interact- ing with students on campus and sharing valuable insight on being a professional stunt riding champion. Talking about his experience, Colton said, “It was a great feel- ing to perform these stunts in front of a large audience here in Gujarat. It was amazing to see people gathered here in large numbers to witness my stunts. I had a lot of fun here and I look forward to coming back to India soon.” Aaron Colton is known for disciplines of motorcycling, competing in street freestyle, AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track, as well as super moto and motocross races. CITY FIRST n a daring display of manoeu- vring skills, US-based stunt riding champion and athlete Aaron Colton enthralled an ec- cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com Celebs to perform in City First G Nathwani on Friday while speaking to the me- dia persons at yet to be opened world’s largest cricket stadium in Motera said the Namaste Trump event scheduled to take place on February 24 will have live performances of popular Gujarati art- Sachin-Jigar to launch Gujarat Cultural Movement THE CITY to welcome President Trump. In reply to subse- quent question whether inauguration of stadium will take place later, Nathwani Nathwani said guest list for the programme is be- ing prepared. Speaking about the stadium, Nathwani said 285 tonne Y’ columns are having sitting arrange- ment in podiums in 360 degree rotation for easy evacuation. The stadium ujarat Cricket As- sociation (GCA) Vice President D h a n r a j said ‘yes’. Tricks of the trade CITY FIRST A people who wish to learn the craft of acting. To be conducted by FTII alumnus Shashi Bhush- an and his team, the workshop will focus predominantly on re- alistic acting, designed mainly for the medium of cinema. Some of the modules to be cov- ered include ‘Breaking physical and mental inhibitions, gener- al/sense awareness, theatre games, concentration exercises, relaxation, imagination, im- provisation, scene work, audi- tioning, among others. The goal of the workshop is to provide the participants with an insight into the kind of training profes- sional actors undergo. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com Sairam Dave Purshottam Upadhyay n intensive 12-day work- shop is to be held from March 16-28 at Scrapy- ard- The Theatre, for Jigar Saraiya and Sachin Sanghvi M an initiative to provide a plat- form to aspiring artistes across fields. They have also written a heartfelt letter to their fans, expressing their gratitude for the love showered on them, and asked them to be a part of their new journey . Gujarat Cultural Movement is a platform on the YouTube Channel of Sachin-Jigar that will feature artistes of vari- ous fields showcasing their talent on the platform. Ar- tistes, who want to create a mark in singing, dancing, mu- sic composing, stand-up com- edy, or any art form that high- lights Gujarat culture, can mail their videos, which will be shortlisted by Sachin-Jigar, who hail from Gujarat, and then featured on the channel. Sachin Sanghvi said: “Over the years, Jigar and I have constantly strived to work harder and better for every project.” The duo will be soon launching Gujarat Cultural Movement with the song ‘Beni’, which records the di- versity of the cultural ethnic- ity in Gujarat. The video was shot across locations of the state, from Baroda to Kutch featuring 20 artistes and in- fluencers of Gujarati origin, along with the locales from the villages. usic composer duo Sachin-Jigar are set to launch Gujarat Cultural Movement, Kailash Kher Kinjal Dave has 1.10 lakh seat capac- ity. Entire view of pitch will be available from each seat. The stadium has also 55-room club house, Olympic swimming pool, gymna- sium and for the first time, 4 players room to host two cricket matches at the same time. ists Purshottam Upad- hyay, Parthiv Gohil, Kir- tidan Gadhvi, Dave, Sairam Dave and also a Hindi performance by Kailash Kher. In reply to a question whether this will be an inauguration event of reconstructed stadium, Nathwani said the entire programme is Donald Trump Kinjal size Parthiv Gohil Kirtidan Gadhvi —IANS